Cut the Mustard Update:
The idiom, “to cut the mustard,”
meaning, “to do what is required; prove satisfactory,”[i]
first emerged in the context of Midwestern political debates in the late-1880s. Most of the early appearances of the phrase
appeared in the swathe of land in the Midwestern United States that had been
ravaged by several plagues of “grasshoppers” (Rocky Mountain Locusts) in the
mid-1870s. The coincidence that the
idiom came from grasshopper-plagued regions might otherwise have been unremarkable;
but for the reports of botched relief efforts that unintentionally created a
plague of mustard weed.
In the aftermath of the
“grasshopper” plagues, the relief efforts included shipments of replacement
seeds, to make up for seeds devoured by the locusts. Some of those shipments reportedly contained
unacceptable levels of mustard seed. The
excessive levels of mustard seed were said to have led to excessive numbers of
mustard weed, which displaced, or choked out, the more desirable cash crops.
To limit the damage caused by the
mustard, it is necessary to “cut the mustard” early, and often, to prevent it
from maturing and going to seed, which would spawn new generations of
mustard. But simply cutting once will
not eradicate the problem, since mustard seeds can lay dormant in the ground
for up to twenty years before sprouting.
It is therefore necessary to cut the mustard every year, sometimes more
than once a season, to combat new mustard growth. Since mustard plants on neighboring land can
also go to seed, thereby endangering crops, non-farmers had to cut the mustard
too. Government officials had to ensure
that the mustard was cut on public land, and along the public roadways.
The literal act of regularly
cutting the mustard seems to have become a standard of efficient and effective
management or governance, and may have inspired the idiom, “to cut the mustard.” Although the evidence does not unambiguously
prove that the “grasshopper” relief seeds caused the same problem throughout
the plague areas, it is interesting that the idiom originated and spread
throughout much of that range before becoming well known to the rest of the
country.
You can read about the
grasshopper plagues, the relief efforts, and some of the early appearances of,
“cut the mustard,” in my earlier post, the History and Etymology of “Cut the Mustard” –
Locusts, Bad Seeds, Invasive Species and Politics. When I wrote that piece, the earliest,
idiomatic use of “cut the mustard” that I had found was from November 1889. Since posting the article, however, I have
discovered several earlier uses of the idiom.
Those uses were also from in or near the “grasshopper” plague zone, and
are also, for the most part, related to politics.
Earlier Uses
The idiom, “to cut the mustard,”
appeared several times, in at least two newspapers in Missouri, before November
1889. Of the approximately ten
references that I have found, eight are from the Butler (Missouri) Weekly
Democrat. Butler Missouri lies about
fifteen miles east of the Kansas border, and about sixty miles south of Kansas
City, Missouri. The two other references
are from 200 miles east, in Mexico, Missouri.
The earliest reference, from
April, 1886, hints at the name of someone who may be responsible for coining
the idiom, or at least first popularizing the idiom in cut-the-mustard
ground-zero:
“Can’t cut the mustard,” is what our good brother Wade of the Butler
Democrat calls getting left on a post office.
This jargon of a political juggler shall not divert our attention from
the main issue which is, that Wade’s days as a boss in Bates are numbered, and
we will wager him a ton of Henry county coal against a half dozen lots in
Walnut and three or four of his last year’s railroads, that he “can’t deliver
the goods,” either directly or indirectly, and that when he undertakes to use
the democracy of Bates to pay his personal obligations, that he will be
repudiated by a large majority. – Henry
Co. Democrat.
The Butler Weekly Times (Butler, Missouri), April 7, 1886, page 4,
column 2.
The paper revisited the Wade
issue a few months later:
The readers of the Times will
remember Wade held a midnight consultation in Nevada some time ago with W. J.
Stone and his backers and in consideration of the gift of the Butler post
office promised to deliver, without the loss of a township, Bates county. Well, in
the language of the western poet, ‘he failed to cut the mustard,’ and now
he is as mad as a wet hen, and threatens dire vengeance.
The Butler Weekly Times (Butler, Missouri), August 25, 1886, page
5, column 2.
N. A. Wade, the editor of the
Butler Weekly Times’ rival democratic newspaper, the Butler Democrat, was
locally, politically active. He served as a delegate to the Democratic National
Convention in 1876, served as the postmaster during President Cleveland’s first
term (1885-1889), and later served as oil and coal inspector. These two early “cut the mustard” references,
and several other articles from the same period, paint a picture of Wade as a
sort-of local, political kingmaker, mover and shaker.
 |
| The Old Settlers' History of Bates County, Missouri pp. 70-71 |
Wade is said to have arranged his
appointment to postmaster, over a rival newspaper man J. D. Allen of The Herald, by promising to deliver
votes in favor of some candidate for some office. But he later said that the appointment “can’t
cut the mustard.” It is unclear whether he
felt that the appointment didn’t “cut the mustard” because he deserved more, or
whether it didn’t cut the mustard because he couldn’t deliver the votes he
promised. If you can sift through the
mid-1880s politics of Bates County, Kansas, you are a better man than I am.
The writer of the article
referred to Wade’s comments as, the “jargon of a political juggler;” and the
writer of the follow-up article called the phrase, “the language of the western
poet.” It is not clear how novel the
expression was in April of 1886. Did
Wade coin the expression, or did he use a known expression to describe the
situation? Was Wade (a newspaper editor
and writer himself) the “western poet”? If
not, is the “western poet” refer to a particular writer? – or does it merely
reflect an awareness that “cut the mustard” was a poetic figure of speech used
in the West?
Since Wade reportedly used the
expression, it seems likely that it would have appeared in one of his
newspapers, the Bates County Democrat or the Butler Democrat. Archives of either one of those papers might
hold some clues. But the Library of
Congress’ online records suggest that there are no known archives available for
those papers covering the late 1880s or early 1890s. Perhaps other newspapers from the region might
hold further clues.
But even if the expression was
coined in or around Butler, the expression was not confined to Butler for long. “Cut the mustard” appeared two hundred miles
to the east, in Mexico, Missouri, just two weeks after its first appearance in
Butler; suggesting, perhaps that the expression may already have been known
throughout the region:
Ned Taylor was blooding in
Wellsville Sunday. He reports a jolly
time and says he succeeded in “cutting the mustard.”
Mexico Weekly Ledger, April 22, 1886, page 2.
And no, I have no earthly idea
what “blooding in Wellsville” means. Ned
Taylor, however, was a local character, and clerk at the Windsor Hotel.
During the ensuing years, “cut
the mustard” appeared on at least six more occasions in the Bates Weekly Times, and at least once
more in the Mexico Weekly Ledger,
before it appeared in the Barton County
Democrat, in Great Bend, Kansas, November 7, 1889. Except for Ned Taylor’s successful “blooding”
expedition, and Charlie Lewis’ Restaurant . . .
. . . all of the early
appearances of “cut the mustard” relate to politics.
Whatever the initial impetus to
coin the expression, the idiom grew like mustard weed – that still hasn’t been
cut:
Albert
Badgley may be a little slow but he “cut the mustard” all the same.
The Butler Weekly
Times (Butler, Missouri), April 14, 1886, page 8, column 3.
Tilden
H. Smith has embarked in the newspaper business at West Fallbrook, San Diego
county, California. We are glad to learn
that Til. Has abandoned his old profession (the law) and gone into a money
making business and honorable calling.
Here is our [finger pointing], old boy, and long may you live and great
may you “cut the mustard.”
The Butler Weekly
Times (Butler, Missouri), October 26, 1887, page 5, column 2.
Bro.
Aus. We rise to remark, Newsome respectfully cut the mustard.
The Butler Weekly
Times (Butler, Missouri), April 11, 1888, page 5, column 1.
There
is some talk among the anti-Francis men, who find that Morehouse can’t “cut the
mustard,” of running Judge Norton for Governor.
Too late, boys; Francis has the pole in the race.
Mexico Weekly Ledger
(Mexico, Missouri), July 5, 1888, page 2, column 1.
C.
B. Lewis, the indomitable Charley, “cut the mustard” in fine shape as he said
he would and will do the same thing at the general election.
The Butler Weekly
Times (Butler, Missouri), March 13, 1889, page 4, column 2.
It’s
a cold day when Charlie gets left or fails to respectfully “cut the mustard.”
The Butler Weekly Times (Butler, Missouri), June 26, 1889, page 9,
column 5.
See my earlier piece: History and Etymology of “Cut the Mustard” –
Locusts, Bad Seeds, Invasive Species and Politics.
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