Stephen Girard job

Stephen Girard job
 n.β€” Β«Years ago in Philadelphia they had what was known as a Stephen Girard job. During some previous hard times this philanthropist fenced in vacant ground, and anyone in need came in, carried bricks from one side to the other, and when the bricks were all stacked on one side, the reverse happened. When the men went home at night they received their pay.Β» β€”β€œUseless Work” by John Frier in St. Louis, Missouri Chicago Tribune Sept. 2, 1969. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Mittens in Moonlight (episode #1586)

Need a slang term that can replace just about any noun? Try chumpie. If you’re from Philadelphia, you may already know this handy placeholder word. And there’s Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan, and … The Bronx β€” why do we add...

Diamond Dust (episode #1585)

Diamond dust, tapioca snow, and sugar icebergs β€” a 1955 glossary of arctic and subarctic terms describes the environment in ways that sound poetic. And a mom says her son is dating someone who’s non-binary. She supports their relationship, but...

Recent posts