The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 9 - Masonic and Anti-Masonic Literature 761
ordinary stonemason who claims higher wages is told by his foreman that if he
would work a little harder, he would receive more money; in other words:
Operative - speculative
A lazy mason was moaning to his foreman about low wages. The
foreman replied, 'If you'd be a bit more operative we'd be a bit more
speculative.' 1892
The next joke, "Use and abuse," deals with the curious Masonic custom of
not giving secret passwords in full, but spelling and halving them. For
explanations of this habit see also Sections 4.7.2.1 ("Spelling & Halving"), and
for an example see Section 6.18.1 on word plays ("Two Balls Cane"). In the
joke, somebody who has applied for a job shows off his Masonry in a job
interview, hoping this would raise his chances to become employed. The
employer who is also a Mason beats him with the same tactic, telling him in
Masonic technical terms that for half the wages, he would employ him:
Use and abuse
A mason [sic] went for an interview for a job, explaining his
qualifications with masonic [sic] inferences. He then asked for an
exorbitant salary, hoping that his masonic [sic] inferences would carry
favour. The interviewer told him that his qualifications were fine. 'What
about the salary?' asked the man. 'Halve it and you begin,' replied the
interviewer. 1893
The following joke, "Charity at home," makes fun at the ignorant wife of a
Mason. She, of course, does not know that the expression "broken column" is a
Masonic technical term and a symbol for death, here meaning "charity." She
takes the term literally and thus mistakes it for an architectural column that can
be repaired:
Charity at home
A mason's [sic] irate wife complained at his overspending, to which he
explained it was for the broken column. She tartly replied, 'With what
you spend, you could have paid for its repair by now.' 1894
Jokes on Masonic slips of the tongue
The following slip of the tongue refers to the "pillar of beauty" (there being
three famous Masonic pillars, that of wisdom, strength, and beauty):
1892
Buchanan, p. 111. Bold print added.
1893
Ibid, p. 16.
1894
Buchanan, p. 94.