Terminology of the past and present

[Supe]

Tom,

In my 1832 Webster's dictionary the only meaning for pard is "Used for leopard or any spotted animal, though in this country we usually say leopard." Since Webster was at pains to create an American English I would surmise that pard for leopard was an English usage.

Don.

[Errata]

I think it's a pop culture reference. Around that time a whole bunch of books and stories were coming out about the American West and the Civil War, and there's gotta be a least a dozen with word "Pard" in the title. And "Jack the Ripper's Pard" sounds really familiar (in a rhythmic kinda way). I may be thinking "Si Klegg and his Pard" but I don't know. But I worked Civil War reenactments for a long time, and it was absolutely in use in the US south in 1860. Add to the fact that Wild Bill Cody's western show had actually been in London in 1888, and I'm absolutely sure that the title is a send up of some book, play, act, something.

[Archaic]

Pard

Hi Tom.

I've come across both uses of the word "pard". As others have indicated, in Old English it meant "leopard" (leo-pard: Leo as in 'the Lion' and Pard from the Latin word 'pardus'). Pard is also an American slang term short for "partner" or "pardner" meaning "friend" or "pal".

I've done some searching for other uses of "pard" in Victorian England and here's what I came up with. (Please see attachment.)

It's an LVP political cartoon of Lord Randolph Churchill labeled "The Bearded Pard". Apparently everyone in Parliament was used to his style mustache, but in 1890 he suddenly showed up sporting a beard...

(It took me a minute to get the joke.)

The Victorians loved word-play.
- Lions are often referred to as "bearded" because of their dramatic manes.
- A "pard" is a leopard, but one without a "beard".
- To "beard the lion in his own den" is a phrase meaning "to confront a challenge" or even "to behave recklessly" (something Churchill was famous for).
- A "pard" is also a "pal" or "friend"...

So Lord Randolph shows up at Parliament with a new beard and he is "The Bearded Pard"!

I'm guessing that there might be some additional tie-in, such as a leopard on his family's coat-of-arms or something like that, but I haven't had time to look for it. Maybe someone else will know.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Stewart P Evans]

Well...

It's definitely not a word that has ever been used in the UK, Tom.
I assume, as has been suggested, that it's short for the American 'pardner'.
An interesting headline you've found there

Well, in my Victorian dictionary of slang and colloquial English the word 'pard' is described as meaning 'A partner, chum', see below.

[Phil H]

Does not Shakespear use the word "Pard" in Jaques famous soliloguy in "As You Like It" - "bearded like the pard"?

Phil

[mariab]

Does not Shakespear use the word "Pard" in Jaques famous soliloguy in "As You Like It" - "bearded like the pard"?

Wow, maybe this is where the Lord Randolph Churchill caricature came from: From As you like it?! And “bearded like a pard“ refers to a leopard, who doesn't spot a mane? Weird pun. Or is “bearded like a pard“ the equivalent of “bearded like a dude“?

[Tom_Wescott]

Thanks to all. I actually thought I was coming out of left field by thinking it might mean 'partner', but after all this that might actually be what the journalist meant! Although I'll keep 'leopard' and 'pardon' in mind. That illo of Churchill being called 'the bearded pard', referencing a leopard in relation to a man is contemporary and intriguing. I need to go read that article again and see if any of this makes sense.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[mariab]

What I don't get though is how can Le Grand be referenced as the Ripper's “partner“ instead of the Ripper himself. Unless I'm misremembering the article's title.

[Stewart P Evans]

Okay...

Thanks to all. I actually thought I was coming out of left field by thinking it might mean 'partner', but after all this that might actually be what the journalist meant! Although I'll keep 'leopard' and 'pardon' in mind. That illo of Churchill being called 'the bearded pard', referencing a leopard in relation to a man is contemporary and intriguing. I need to go read that article again and see if any of this makes sense.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott

Okay pardner, saddle your horse and off you go...

[Errata]

You think it might mean "Jack the Ripper's beard", meaning disguise or alter ego?

[Phil H]

Tom

Going back to your original post on the "pard question, I's need to know what the article was about to understand why 'Jack the Ripper's Pard' would be logical or useful headline/title.

can you summarise what it says?

Phil

[Phil H]

Wow, maybe this is where the Lord Randolph Churchill caricature came from: From As you like it?! And “bearded like a pard“ refers to a leopard, who doesn't spot a mane? Weird pun. Or is “bearded like a pard“ the equivalent of “bearded like a dude“?

mariab

The full sentence from the soliloquy reads:

Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth.

The phrase "pard" is used by the Bard" (geddit!!) descriptively. I think this is an image of a small chin-beard (otherwise like an "imperial") fashionable at the time, slightly flashy. (See Charles I of England/Scotland and many French kings of the period, or Napoleon III for examples.)

Phil

[Debra A]

Tom

Going back to your original post on the "pard question, I's need to know what the article was about to understand why 'Jack the Ripper's Pard' would be logical or useful headline/title.

can you summarise what it says?

Phil

Phil,
Here's a link to the original article I found.
The actual subtitle used was "Ripper Jack's" Pard.

[mariab]

Many thanks to Phil H. for quoting the Bard (Jack's soliloquy from As you like it). Which used to be my favorite Shakes comedy when I was a kid, but I haven't read it again since my teen years, I'm afraid. :-(
Many thanks to Debra Arif for re-activating the JTRForums thread discussing “The Ripper Jack's Pard“.

[Phil H]

Thanks for the article Debra.

I don't see any link between the content and the title and as a canadian (I assume US influenced) paper, "Pard" in this context surely must mean Partner.

But why this association? Is it hinting at something now suspected, but then veiled except to a few?

Phil