SLANG AND ITS
ANALOGUES
PAST AND PRESENT.
A Dictionary, Historical and Comparative,
of the Heterodox Speech of all Classes of
Society for more than Three Hundred Years.
WITH SYNONYMS IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, ETC.
COMPILED AND EDITED BY
JOHN S. FARMER and W. E. HENLEY.
VOL. III.—Fla. to Hyps.
PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.
MDCCCXCIII.
VOL. III.
A DICTIONARY OF SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES.
Flabbergast, verb. (colloquial). To astound; to stagger, either
physically or mentally. [O. E., flab = to frighten + gast = to scare.]
Fr., abalober; baba (from ébahi = astounded); épater (= flatten out).
Sp., quedarse de, or hecho, una pieza (= ‘knocked all of a heap’). See
Floored.
1772. Annual Register, ‘On New Words.’ Now we are flabbergasted and
bored from morning to night.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc., p. 79. His colleagues were
flabbergasted when they heard of Castlereagh’s sudden death.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (‘Brothers of Birchington’). He was
quite flabbergasted to see the amount.
1841. Punch, vol. I., p. 261. We rather just imagine they will be
not a little puzzled and flabbergasted to discover the meaning or
wit of some of those elegant phrases.
1864. Derby Day, p. 67. You’re sort of flabbergasted. It’s taken
all the wind out of you like, and you feel like an old screw a
blowing up Highgate Hill.
1889. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 18 Jan. Poor Clarke was
completely flabbergasted.
1891. National Observer, 1 Aug. In no other sport is the laudator
temporis acti so completely flabbergasted as here.
Flabberdegaz, subs. (theatrical).—Words interpolated to dissemble a
lapse of memory; gag (q.v.). Also, imperfect utterance or bad acting.
Flag, subs. (old).—1. A groat, or fourpenny piece. Also Flagg, and
Flagge. For synonyms, see Joey.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65. Roge. But a flagge, a wyn, and
a make. (But a groat, a penny, and a half-penny.)
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept. 1874) s.v.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 12, s.v.
1725. Jonathan Wild, Canting Dict., s.v.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 269. A
tremendous black doll bought for a flag (fourpence) of a retired
rag-merchant.
2. (common).—An apron; hence a badge of office or trade; cf.,
Flag-flasher. Equivalents are Belly-cheat and Fig-leaf.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 232
(List of patterer’s words), s.v.
1872. Dundee Advertiser, 20 April; ‘Report of Meeting of Domestic
Servants.’ It was contended that they were compelled to wear what
was generally known as a flag.
1887. W. E. Henley, Villon’s Straight Tip. Suppose you try a
different tack, And on the square you flash your flag.
3. (obsolete).—A jade.
1539. David Lyndsay, Thrie Estaitis. Works [Ed. Laing, 1879], ii.
109. Ane fistand flag.
4. (common).—The menstrual cloth. Variants are bandage; clout;
danger-signal; diaper; double clout (Durfey); gentleman’s pleasure
garden padlock; periodicity rag; the red rag; sanitary towel;
window-curtain.
The Flag (or Danger-Signal) is up = “The Captain’s at home” (Grose),
i.e., the menstrual flux is on.
English Synonyms.—To have domestic afflictions, or the D.A.’s; to have
the flowers (q.v.); to have one’s grandmother, or little friend, or
auntie, with one; to have them (or it) on; to be in a state of ‘no
thoroughfare’; to have the red rag on; to be road-making; to have the
street up for repairs; to be at Number One, London; to have ‘the gate
locked and the key lost.’
French Synonyms.—Avoir ses cardinales (literally, to have one’s reds);
avoir les histoires; avoir les affaires (common); avoir ses anglais (in
allusion to the scarlet of English soldiers); broyer des tomates (=
tomato-crushing); avoir son marquis (Cotgrave); avoir les fleurs
rouges; avoir sa chemise tachée (Cotgrave); voir Sophie; avoir les
ordinaires.
Italian Synonyms.—Marchese (Florio), marchesano (= menses. Michel says,
Art. marque = a month, a woman. “Il ne saurait être douteux que ce nom
ne soit venu à cette division de l’année, de l’infirmité périodique
qu’ont les marques, ou femmes, lors que la Lune, pour tenir sa diette
et vaquer à ses purifications menstruelles, fait marquer les logis
feminins par son fourrier, lequel pour escusson n’a que son impression
rouge”).
To Fly the Flag, verb. phr. (tailors’).—To post a notice that ‘hands’
are wanted. See also Fly the Flag, post.
Flag of Defiance, subs. phr. (old nautical).—A drunken roysterer. For
synonyms, see Elbow-crooker.
To hang out the flag of defiance (or bloody flag), verb. phr.—To be
continuously drunk. [An allusion to the ‘crimson face’ (Cotgrave) and
the pugnacity of certain terms of inebriety.] For synonyms, see rinks.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v. The flag of
defiance is out (among the Tarrs) the Fellow’s Face is very Red,
and he is Drunk.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Flag-flasher, subs. (common).—One sporting a badge or other ensign of
office (cap, apron, uniform, etc.) when off duty.—Cf., Flag, sense 2.
Flag-about, subs. (old).—A strumpet. [From Flag, a paving-stone]. For
synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.
Flag-Flying.—See Flag.
Flag of Distress, subs. phr. (common).—1. A card announcing ‘lodgings,’
or ‘board and lodgings.’ Hence, any overt sign of poverty.
2. (common).—A flying shirt-tail; in America, a letter in the
post-office (q.v.).
Flagger, subs. (common).—A street-walker. For synonyms, see
Barrack-hack and Tart.
1865. Daily Paper, ‘Police Report.’ She wasn’t a low sort at
all—she wasn’t a Flagger, as we call it. So I replies, ‘I am well,
thankee; and am happy to say I feel as such.’
Flags, subs. (common).—Linen drying and flying in the wind. For
synonyms, see Snow.
Flag Unfurled, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A man of the world.
Flag-Wagging, subs. (military).—Flag-signal drill.
Flam, subs. (colloquial).—Nonsense (for synonyms, see Gammon); humbug;
flattery; or, a lie: as a regular flam (for synonyms, see Whopper). Cf.
FLim-flam.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, [Cf., Flim-flam.]
1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Humourous Lieutenant, iv., 1. With
some new flam or other, nothing to the matter.
1664. Butler, Hudibras, pt. II., ch. iii., p. 29. A flam more
senseless than the roguery of old aruspicey and aug’ry.
1742–4. Roger North, Lives of the Norths, ch. i., p. 368. They must
have known his Lordship better and not have ventured such flams at
him.
1760. Foote, Minor, Act II. Had the flam been fact, your behaviour
was natural enough.
1762. Foote, Liar, bk. II., ch. ii. Can’t you discern that this
flam of Sir James Elliot’s is a mere fetch to favour his retreat?
1830. Sir E. B. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 298 (ed. 1854). Harry ...
told you as ow it was all a flam about the child in the bundle!
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (ed. 1862), p. 325. No trick nor
flam, but your real Schiedam.
1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ch. ii. And their pockets full they
crams by their patriotic flams, And then swear ’tis for the good of
the nation.
1850. D. Jerrold, The Catspaw, Act II. Though the story of that
scoundrel Coolcard, Augustus Coolcard—and I was never before
deceived—never—is a flam—all a flam.
1870. London Figaro, 22 Sept. Is not your boasted power a flam?
1887. W. E. Henley, Villon’s Good Night. You flymy titters fond of
flam.
2. (old).—A single stroke on the drum.—[Grose, 1785.]
Adj. (old).—False.
1692. Sprat, Relation of Young’s Contrivance (Harl. Misc. vi. 224).
To amuse him the more in his search, she addeth a flam story that
she had got his hand by corrupting one of the letter-carriers in
London.
Verb (colloquial).—1. To take in; to flatter; to lie; to foist or fob
off. flamming = lying.
1658. Rowley and Ford, &c., Witch of Edm., ii., 2. Was this your
cunning? and then flam me off with an old witch, two wives, and
Winnifride.
1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia, II. in wks. (1720) iv. 41. Does he
think to flam me with a lye?
1830. S. Warren, Diary of a Late Physician, ch. v. But I’ll show
him whether or not I, for one of them, am to be jeered and flammed
with impunity.
1835. Marryat, Jacob Faithful, ch. xxviii. How she did flam that
poor old Domine.
(American University).—To affect, or prefer, female society; to Grouse
(q.v.). [A corruption of flame (q.v.)]. See Molrowing.
Flambustious, adj. (American).—Showy; gaudy; pleasant.
1868. Putnam’s Magazine. We will have a flambustious time. [Cf.,
Shakspeare (1608), Antony and Cleopatra, iii., 11. Let’s have one
other gaudy night.]
Flamdoodle, subs. (American).—Nonsense; vain boasting. Probably a
variant of flapdoodle (q.v.).
1888. New York Sun. We wasn’t goin’ to have any high falutin’
flamdoodle business over him.
Flame, subs. (colloquial).—1. A sweetheart; a mistress in keeping. Old
flame = an old lover; a cast-off mistress. Also (2) a venereal disease.
b. 1664. d. 1721. Mathew Prior [in Palgrave’s “Golden Treasury of
Songs and Lyrics,” ed. 1885]. Euphelia serves to grace my measure,
but Chloe is my real flame.
1757. Foote, Author, Act I. Let’s see, Mr. and Mrs. Cadwallader,
and your flame, the sister, as I live.
1846–8. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. xiv. On this Rebecca instantly
stated that Amelia was engaged to be married to a Lieutenant
Osborne, a very old flame.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
Flamer, subs. (colloquial).—A man, woman, thing, or incident above the
common. [Literally conspicuous to flaming point, i.e., as a light in
the dark]. For synonyms, see Stunner.
1840. H. Cockton, Valentine Vox, ch. ii. Concocting a criticism on
the evening’s performance, which certainly was, according to the
signor’s own acknowledgment, a regular flamer.
Flames, subs. (old).—A red-haired person. Cf., Carrots and Ginger.
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc., p. 79. Who should I fling
my precious ogles upon but flames—she as lived at the ‘Blue Posts.’
Flaming, ppl. adj. (colloquial).—Conspicuous; ardent; stunning (q.v.).
For synonyms, see A 1 and Fizzing.
1738. Swift, Polite Conv., Dialogue II. Lord Sparkish. My Lady
Smart, your ladyship has a very fine scarf. Lady Smart. Yes, my
lord, it will make a flaming figure in a country church.
1776. Rubrick, The Spleen, ii. I’ll send a flaming paragraph of
their wedding to all the newspapers.
1872. Besant and Rice. Ready Money Mortiboy, ch. xxx. He called one
of the children, and sent her for a bill. She presently returned
with a flaming poster.
Flanderkin, subs. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v. A very large fat
man or horse; also natives of that country.
Flanders Fortunes, subs. phr. (old).—Of small substance.—B. E., New
Dict. of the Canting Crew (1690).
Flanders Pieces, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Flanders pieces,
pictures that look fair at a distance, but coarser near at hand.
Flank, verb (common).—1. To crack a whip; also, to hit a mark with the
lash of one.
1830. Sir E. B. Lytton, Paul Clifford (ed. 1854), p. 18. He then,
taking up a driving whip, flanked a fly from the opposite wall.
1833. ‘An Anglo-sapphic Ode’ (Whibley, Cap and Gown, p. 136). Kicks
up a row, gets drunk, or flanks a tandem whip out of window.
2. (colloquial).—To deliver—a blow or a retort; to push; to hustle; to
quoit (Shakspeare). Fr., flanquer: as in flanquer à la porte, and Je
lui at flanqué un fameux coup de pied au cul!
A Plate of Thin Flank, subs. phr. (common).—A ‘sixpenny cut’ off the
joint. See N. Twill in Fancy Too Late for Dinner.
To Flank the whole bottle, verb. phr. (American soldiers’).—To dodge,
i.e., to outflank, to achieve by strategy. For synonyms, see Stick.
1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 286. When the men wished to escape
the attention of pickets and guards by slipping past them, they
said they flanked them; drill, and detail, and every irksome duty
was flanked, when it could be avoided by some cunning trick. Soon,
however, honesty itself was thus treated, and the poor farmer was
flanked out of his pig and his poultry, and not infrequently even
the comrade out of his pipe and tobacco, if not his rations. The
height of strategy was employed in these various flank manœuvres,
when the Commissary could be made to surrender some of his whiskey,
and thus it came about, in the South at least, that to flank the
whole bottle was a phrase expressive of superlative cunning and
brilliant success.
Flanker, subs. (common).—A blow; a retort; a kick. Cf., Flank, sense 1.
Flankey, subs. (common).—The posteriors. For synonyms, see Blind Cheeks
and Monocular Eyeglass.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.
Flannel. See Hot Flannel.
Flannels. To get one’s flannels, verb. phr. (schools’).—To get a place
in the school football or cricket teams, or in the boats. Cf., ‘to get
one’s colours,’ or ‘one’s blue.’
Flap, subs. (thieves’).—1. Sheet-lead used for roofing. Fr., doussin;
noir. Cf., Bluey.
2. (old).—A blow.
1539. David Lyndsay, Thrie Estaitis. Works [Laing, 1879], ii. 73.
And to begin the play, tak thair ane flap.
Verb (thieves’).—1. To rob; to swindle. For synonyms, see Prig and
Stick.
2. (common).—To pay; ‘to fork out.’ Cf., Flap the Dimmock.
3. (venery).—To possess a woman. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
To Flap a Jay, verb. phr. (thieves’).—To swindle a greenhorn; to sell a
pup (q.v.).
1885. Daily Telegraph, Aug. 18th, p. 3., col. 1. He and three
others of the ‘division’ had ‘cut up’ £70 between them, obtained by
flapping a jay, which, rendered into intelligible English, means
plundering a simple-minded person.
To Flap the Dimmock, verb. phr. (common).—To pay. [From Flap, a verb of
motion + Dimmock = money]. Cf., Flap.
Flapdoodle, subs. (colloquial).—1. Transparent nonsense; “kid.”
Also Flamdoodle and Flam-sauce, or Flap-sauce. For synonyms, see
Gammon.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. xxviii. ‘It’s my opinion, Peter,
that the gentleman has eaten no small quantity of flapdoodle in his
lifetime.’ ‘What’s that, O’Brien,’ replied I. ‘Why, Peter, it’s the
stuff they feed fools on.’
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford. I shall talk to our regimental
doctors about it, and get put through a course of fools’
diet—flapdoodle they call it, what fools are fed on.
1884. S. L. Clemens (‘Mark Twain’), Huck. Finn, xxv., 247. A
speech, all full of tears and flapdoodle about its being a sore
trial for him and his poor brother to lose the diseased [deceased].
2. (venery).—The penis. (Urquhart). For synonyms, see Creamstick and
Prick.
To talk Flapdoodle, verb. phr. (American).—To brag; to talk nonsense.
1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, Mar. 2. Possibly rich men will turn from
sharp dealing, from debauchery, from flapdoodle fashion to a
common-sense recognition of a situation, which clearly shows that
wealth is no longer what it used to be—autocratic, absolute, the
ruler of all else.
Flapdoodler, subs. (American).—A braggart agitator; one that makes the
eagle squeal (q.v.).
Flap-dragon, subs. (old).—The pox or clap (q.v.). For synonyms, see
Ladies’ Fever.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v. Flapdragon, a clap
or pox.
Verb. (old).—To gulp down hastily, as in the game of flap-dragon.
1604. Shakspeare, Winter’s Tale, Act III., Sc. 3. But, to make an
end of the ship: to see how the sea flap-dragoned it!
Flapman, subs. (prison).—A convict promoted for good behaviour to first
or second class.
Flapper, subs. (common).—1. The hand; also flapper-shaker. For
synonyms, see Daddle and Mauley.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. vii. My Dear Mr. Simple, extend
your flapper to me for I’m delighted to see you.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogues’ Lexicon, s.v.
1866. London Miscellany, May 19, p. 235. ‘There’s my flapper on the
strength of it.’ Guy shook hands with the eccentric stranger
heartily.
2. (common).—A little girl. [Also a fledgling wild duck.]
3. (venery).—A very young prostitute; cf., sense 2.
4. (common).—A dustman’s or coal-heaver’s hat; a fantail (q.v.).
5. (in. pl.).—Very long-pointed shoes worn by ‘nigger’ minstrels.
6. (venery).—The penis. (For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick).
7. (colloquial).—A parasite; a remembrancer. (Cf. Swift, Gulliver,
‘Laputa.’)
Flapper-shaking, subs. (common).—Hand-shaking.
1853. Bradley (‘Cuthbert Bede’), Verdant Green, pt. II., ch. iv.
Wondering whether ... if the joining palms in a circus was the
customary flapper-shaking before ‘toeing the scratch’ for business.
Flap-sauce. See Flapdoodle.
Flare, subs. (nautical).—1. Primarily a stylish craft; hence, by
implication, anything out of the common. For synonyms, see Stunner.
2. (colloquial).—A row; a dispute; a ‘drunk’; or spree. Cf., flare-up.
Verb. (thieves’).—1. Specifically to whisk out; hence, to steal
actively, lightly, or delicately.
1850. Lloyd’s Weekly, 3 Feb. Low Lodging Houses of London. B. tried
his pocket saying, ‘I’ll show you how to do a hankerchief; but the
baker looked round and B. stopped; and just after that I flared it
(whisked the handerchief out); and that’s the first I did.’
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., 457. Just after
that I flared it (a handerchief).
2. (common).—To swagger; to go with a bounce.
1841. Leman Rede, Sixteen-String Jack, ii., 3. Crissy Odsbuds, I’ll
on with my duds, And over the water we’ll flare.
All of a flare, adv. phr. (thieves’).—Bunglingly.
1839. Brandon, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, p. 113. Some of the
girls at Milberry’s pick pockets at night: while one talks to the
man, the other robs him; but they are not dextrous, they pull it
out all of a flare.
Flaring, adj. and adv. (colloquial).—Excessive: e.g., a flaring lie;
flaring drunk; a flaring whore; see Flaming.
Flare-up (or -Out), subs. (popular). An orgie; a fight; an outburst of
temper. Also a spree.
1838. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 2 Ser. ch. x. Some of our young
citizens ... got into a flare-up with a party of boatmen that lives
in the Mississippi; a desperate row it was too.
1847. Punch, vol. XIII., p. 148, Address at the Opening of a
Casino. In for flare-up and frolic let us go, And polk it on the
fast fantastic toe.
1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., p. 160. These (hot
eel) dealers generally trade on their own capital; but when some
have been having a flare-up, and have ‘broke down for stock’ to use
the words of my informant, they borrow £1 and pay it back in a week
or a fortnight.
1879. Justin M’Carthy, Donna Quixote, ch. xvii. Paulina had a hard
struggle many a time to keep down her temper, and not to have what
she would have called a flare-out.
English Synonyms.—Barney; batter; bean-feast; beano; breakdown; burst;
booze (specifically a drinking-bout); caper; devil’s delight; dust;
fanteague; fight; flare; flats-yad (back slang); fly; gig; hay-bag;
hell’s delight; high jinks; hooping up; hop; jagg; jamboree; jump;
jun-ketting; lark; drive; randan; on the tiles; on the fly; painting
the town (American); rampage; razzle-dazzle; reeraw; ructions; shake;
shine; spree; sky-wannocking; tear; tear up; toot.
French Synonyms.—La nocerie (popular: une noce à tout casser; or, une
noce de bâtons de chaise = a grand jollification); faire des crêpes (=
to have a rare spree); badouiller (popular: especially applied to
drinking bouts).
Italian Synonym.—Far festa alle campane.
Spanish Synonyms.—Trapisonda (a drunken revel); holgueta.
Verb (common).—To fly into a passion.
1849. Mahoney, Rel. Father Prout, I., 319. ‘Vert-Vert, the Parrot.’
Forth like a Congreave rocket burst, And storm’d and swore, flared
up, and curs’d.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xii. He was in the ‘Cave of
Harmony,’ he says, that night you flared up about Captain Costigan.
1871. Daily Telegraph, 8 June, ‘Paris in Convalescence.’ On this he
flared up like a Commune conflagration, and cried out, ‘Shame, in
the name of religion, art, and history!’
Flash, subs. (old).—1. The vulgar tongue; the lingo of thieves and
their associates. To patter flash = to talk in thieves’ lingo. [The
derivation of Flash, like that of French argot, is entirely
speculative. It has, however, been generally referred to a district
called Flash (the primary signification as a place name is not clear),
between Buxton Leek and Macclesfield: there lived many chapmen who,
says Dr. Aiken (“Description of Country round Manchester”), ‘were known
as flash-men ... using a sort of slang or cant dialect.’]
1718. Hitchin. The Regulator of Thieves, etc., with Account of
flash words, etc. (Title).
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, II., 69. Jigger, being cant or
flash for door.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 25. With respect to that
peculiar language called flash, or St. Jiles’ Greek, etc.
1830. Sir E. B. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. viii. Here a tall
gentleman marched up to him, and addressed him in a certain
language, which might be called the freemasonry of flash.
1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (1889), p. 12. ‘What does
he say?’ roared the long drover. ‘He says he don’t understand
flash,’ replied the lady in gentleman’s attire.
1843–4. Hood, Miss Kilmansegg. His cheeks no longer drew the cash.
Because, as his comrades explain’d in flash, He had overdrawn his
badger.
1827. Maginn, Vidocq’s Song. Pattered in flash like a covey
knowing.
1864. Athenæum, 29 Oct. The northern village of ill-repute, and
bearing that name (flash) gave to felonious high-flying the term
flash.
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 278. Why, when the late
Lord Lytton wrote Pelham it was brought against him that ‘his
knowledge of flash was evidently purely superficial.’ Flash, my
sister, is merely recondite slang or thieves’ argot.
English Analogues.—Back Slang or Kacab-Genals (the main principle
consists in roughly pronouncing the word backwards, as erif for fire,
dab for bad, etc.: the practice exists in most languages); Cant (q.v.);
Centre Slang (the central vowel is made the initial letter, vowels and
consonants being added at pleasure); Gammy (North country: mainly
composed of Gypsy words); Gibberish (formed by inserting a consonant
between each syllable of a word, the result being the F, G, H, M or S
gibberish, according to the letter used: thus, “goming mout tom-daym,”
or “gosings outs tos-days?” = going out to-day?); jargon; the Green
Lingo (French thieves’); Marrowskying or Hospital Greek (manufactured
by transferring the initial letters of words; plenty of rain thus
becomes renty of plain: the ‘Gower St. dialect’ of Albert Smith, Mr.
Ledbury); Pedlar’s French (old cant: Florio, 1598; Cotgrave, 1612);
Rhyming Slang (q.v.); Slang (q.v.); St. Giles’ Greek (last century for
Slang as distinguished from Cant); Thieves’ Latin; the Vulgar Tongue;
Yob-gab (q.v.); Notions (q.v.); Ziph (q.v.).
French and other Analogues.—Argot or arguche; la langue verte (properly
gamesters’); le langage soudardant (soldiers’ lingo); le jars; le
jargon jobelin; (Cotgrave, Dictionarie, 1611. Jargon = ‘Gibridge,
fustian language, Pedlar’s French, a barbarous jangling’); le langage
de l’artis; langage en lem (formed by prefixing “l” and adding the
syllable “em,” preceded by the first letter of the word); thus “main”
becomes “lainmem.” A similar mode of dealing with words of more than
one syllable is to replace the first consonant by the letter “l,” the
word being followed by its first syllable preceded by “du”; thus,
“jaquette” becomes “laqueite du jaq,” or if “m” be used as a
key-letter, “maquette du jaq” etc.; le javanais—here the syllable “av”
is interpolated; e.g., “jave l’avai vavu javeudavi” = (je l’ai vu
jeudi). German.—Rothwalsch (from Roter = beggar or vagabond + walsch =
foreign); Gaunersprache (= thieves’ lingo). Italian.—Lingua gerga
(abbreviated into gerga; Florio, 1598 ‘gergo = Pedlar’s French,
fustian, or roguish language, gibbrish’); lingua franca (Levantine:
the source of some English slang); lingua furbesca. Dutch.—Bargoens.
Spanish.—Germania (the Gypsies were supposed to have come from
Germany); jeriganza. Portuguese.—Calaõ (Zincali or Calo = Gypsy).
2. Hence, at one period, especially during the Regency days, the idiom
of the man about town, of Tom and Jerrydom.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. xxix. To the cultivation in
our times, of the Science of Pugilism, the flash language is
indebted for a considerable addition to its treasures.
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc. They were invariably thieves
and gamblers who used flash formerly; but other kinds of persons,
now-a-day, who may be rippishly inclined, adopt similar terms and
phrases, to evince their uppishness in the affairs of life. These
gentlemen also consider all terms of art and of science as flash;
... of course, those words and sayings which are appropriate to the
turf, the ring, and field sports, are equally considered as flash
by them, and the word has been applied (too generally we allow), to
all this species of quid pro quo lingo.
3. (old).—See quot. and cf., with a Shaksperian gloss of flash = a
burst of wit or merriment.
1748. T. Dyche, Dict. (5th ed.), flash (s.), also a boast, brag, or
great pretence made by a spendthrift, quack, or pretender to more
art or knowledge than he really has.
4. (old).—A showy swindler. (e.g., the Sir Petronel Flash of quot.); a
blustering vulgarian.
1605. Marston, Jonson, and Chapman, Eastward Hoe! iv. 1. ‘Sir
Petronel Flash, I am sorry to see such flashes come from a
gentleman of your quality.’
1632. Shirley, Love in a Maze, i., 2. The town is full of these
vainglorious flashes.
5. (old).—A peruke or perriwig.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue. Rum flash, a fine long
wig. Queer flash, a miserable weather-beaten caxon.
6. (common).—A portion; a drink; or go (q.v.). Cf., Flash of Lightning,
sense 1.
Adj. (common).—1. Relating to thieves, their habits, customs, devices,
lingo, etc.
1782. Geo. Parker, Humorous Sketches, p. 34. No more like a kiddy
he’ll roll the flash song.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ‘Long Ned’s Song.’ And rarely have the
gentry flash, In sprucer clothes been seen.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. viii. I suppose you don’t know
what a beak is, my flash com-pan-i-on.
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3rd ed., p. 448. I have seen Cheeks
(a flash name for an accomplice).
1863. C. Reade, Hard Cash, II., 244. He used some flash words, and
they were shown into a public room.
1864. Cornhill Magazine, ii., 336. In the following verse, taken
from a pet flash song, you have a comic specimen of this sort of
guilty chivalry.
2. (thieves’).—Knowing; expert; showy. Cf., down, fly, wide-awake, etc.
Hence (popularly), by a simple transition, vulgarly counterfeit,
showily shoddy: possibly the best understood meanings of the word in
latter-day English. To put one flash to anything = to put him on his
guard; to inform.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 19. Another philosopher,
Seneca, has shown himself equally flash on the subject.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 17. Laying aside the knowing
look, and flash air, with which he had repeated the previous
anecdote.
1836. Marryat, Japhet, etc., ch. lvii. He considered me as ... a
flash pickpocket rusticating until some hue and cry was over.
1839. W. H. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard, p. 138 (ed. 1840). ‘Awake! to
be sure I am, my flash cove,’ replied Sheppard.
1865. M. E. Braddon, Henry Dunbar, ch. v. He ... took out the
little packet of bank-notes. ‘I suppose you can understand these,’
he said. The languid youth ... looked dubiously at his customer. ‘I
can understand as they might be flash uns,’ he remarked,
significantly.
1888. C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 157. The flash riders or
horsebreakers, always called ‘broncho busters,’ can perform really
marvellous feats.
3. (originally thieves’, now general).—Vulgar, or blackguardly; showy;
applied to one aping his betters. Hence (in Australia), vain glorious
or swaggering. The idea conveyed is always one of vulgarity or showy
blackguardism.
1830. Sir E. B. Lytton, Paul Clifford (ed. 1854), p. 21. A person
of great notoriety among that portion of the élite which
emphatically entitles itself flash.
1861. A. Trollope, Framley Parsonage, ch. ix. If the dear
friendship of this flash Member of Parliament did not represent
that value, what else did do so?
1880. G. R. Sims, Three Brass Balls, Pledge xi. The speaker was one
of the flash young gentlemen who haunt suburban billiard-rooms, who
carry chalk in their pockets, and call the marker ‘Jack.’
4. (common).—In a set style. Also used substantively.
1819. Vaux, Flash Dict., p. 173. s.v. A person who affects any
peculiar habit, as swearing, dressing in a particular manner,
taking snuff, etc., merely to be taken notice of is said to do it
out of flash.
1828. The English Spy. vol. I., p. 189. The man upon that
half-starved nag Is an Ex S——ff, a strange wag, Half-flash and half
a clown.
1851. Mayhew, Lon. Lab. and Lon. Poor, I., p. 36. They all of them
(coster lads) delight in dressing flash as they call it.... They
try to dress like the men, with large pockets in their cord
jackets, and plenty of them. Their trousers, too, must fit tight at
the knee, and their boots they like as good as possible. A good
‘kingsman,’ a plush skull-cap, and a seam down the trousers are the
great points of ambition with the coster boys.
[Hence, in combination, Flash-case, crib, drum, house, ken, or
panny (see Flash-ken); flash-cove (q.v.); flash-dispensary
(American = a boarding house), especially a swell brothel;
flash-gentry (= the swell mob or higher class of thieves);
flash-girl, -moll, -mollisher, -piece or -woman (= a showy
prostitute); flash-jig (costers’ = a favourite dance); flash-kiddy
(= a dandy); flash-lingo, or song (= ‘patter,’ or a song
interlarded with cant words and phrases); flash-man (q.v.);
flash-note (= a spurious bank-note); flash-rider (American, see
broncho-buster); flash toggery (= smart clothes); flash vessel (= a
gaudy looking, but undisciplined ship)].
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, [1890,] p. 58. The rusticity of Jerry
was fast wearing off ... and he bid fair, etc. ... to chaff with
the flash mollishers.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, p. 273 Soon then I mounted in Swell St.
High, And sported my flashiest toggery.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., p. 14. The other
dances are jigs—flash jigs—hornpipes in fetters—a dance rendered
popular by the success of the noted Jack Sheppard.
Verb (common).—1. To show; to expose.
[Among combinations may be mentioned, to flash one’s ivories = to
show one’s teeth, to grin (Grose); to flash the hash = to vomit
(Grose); to flash the dickey = to show the shirt front; to flash
the dibs = to show or spend one’s money; to flash a fawney = to
wear a ring; to flash one’s gab = to talk, to swagger, to brag; to
flash the bubs = to expose the paps; to flash the muzzle (q.v.); to
flash one’s ticker = to air one’s watch; to flash the drag = to
wear women’s clothes for immoral purposes; to flash the white grin
= see grin; to flash it (q.v.), or to flash one’s meat (cf.,
meat-flasher); to flash a bit (q.v.); to flash the flag = to sport
an apron; to flash the wedge = to ‘fence’ the swag, etc.]
1812. Vaux, Flash Dict. Don’t flash your sticks, don’t expose your
pistols.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 2. His lordship, as usual,
that very great dab At the flowers of rhet’ric, is flashing his
gab.
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc. He flashed the blunt, made a
show of money to dazzle the spectators.
1825. E. Kent, Modern Flash Dict. Flashing his ivory, shew his
teeth.
1834. W. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, (ed. 1864), p. 176.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘The Dead Drummer.’ When
trav’lling, don’t flash your notes or your cash Before other
people—it’s foolish and rash.
1887. W. E. Henley, Villon’s Good-Night. Likewise you molls that
flash your bubs, For swells to spot and stand you sam.
1887. W. E. Henley, Straight Tip. Go crying croaks, or flash the
drag.
To flash a bit, verbal phr. (venery).—To show up; to permit
examination; ‘to spread’ (q.v.); to behave indecently. Said of women
only.
To flash it, or to flash one’s meat.—To expose the person. [Hence
meat-flasher] (q.v.). Said usually of men.
To flash the muzzle (old).—To produce a pistol.
c. 1823. Ballad (quoted in Don Juan xi.). On the high toby spice
flash the muzzle In spite of each gallows old scout.
To flash it about, or to cut a flash or dash, verbal phr. (common).—To
make a display; to live conspicuously and extravagantly.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 220. He flashed it
about a good deal for a long time, going from one place to another.
Sometimes he was a lord, at others an earl.
To go flashing it, verb. phr. (venery).—To have sexual intercourse. For
synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Flash-Case (or -Crib, -House, -Drum, -Ken, -Panny, etc.).—1. A house
frequented by thieves, as a tavern, lodging-house, fence (q.v.).
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Flash-ken, c., a house
where thieves use, and are connived at.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1821. D. Haggart, Life, ‘Glossary,’ p. 172. Flash-kain, a house for
receiving stolen goods. [Haggart’s spelling, being that of the
respectable Edinburgh lawyer who took down his ‘confessions’ is
generally misleading and inaccurate.]
1828. Smeeton, Doings in London, p. 39. It is a game in very great
vogue among the macers, who congregate nightly at the flash-houses.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 50 (ed. 1854). There is one Peggy
Lobkins who keeps a public house, a sort of flash-ken called ‘The
Mug’ in Thames Court.
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (ed. 1840), p. 271. I’ve been to all
the flash-cases in town, and can hear nothing of him or his
wives.... Ibid, p. 135. ‘The Black Lion!’ echoed Terence, ‘I know
the house well; by the same token that it’s a flash-crib.’
2. (common).—A brothel; a haunt of loose women.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum (Flash song quoted under flash-panneys).
Next for his favourite mot the kiddey looks about, And if she’s in
a flash-panny he swears he’ll have her out; So he fences all his
togs to buy her duds, and then He frisks his master’s lob to take
her from the bawdy ken.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. xvi. (ed. 1840). You know how
little I frequent flash-houses.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (ed. 1862), p. 380. Those
troublesome swells, Who come from the play-houses, flash-kens, and
hells.
1840. Macaulay, Essays: ‘Lord Clive.’ The lowest wretches that the
company’s crimps could pick up in the flash-houses of London.
1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 34. That is Mary Black who
keeps the greatest flash house in Leonard Street.
Flash-Cove (also Flash-Companion), subs. (common).—A thief; a sharper;
a fence (q.v.).
1825. E. Kent, Modern Flash Dict. Flash-cove, the keeper of a place
for the reception of stolen goods.
1839. H. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (1889), p. 60.—‘Awake! To be sure
I am, my flash-cove!’ replied Sheppard.
Flash-Man, subs. (old).—Primarily a man talking flash (see quots., 1823
and 1862); hence, a rogue, a thief, the landlord of a flash-case
(q.v.). Also a fancy-joseph (for synonyms, see Fancy-man). In America,
a person with no visible means of support, but living in style and
‘showing up’ well.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 141. A flashman is one who
lives on the hackneyed prostitution of an unfortunate woman of the
town.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, II., 1. Soon one is floored upon
the ground. While loud her flashman cries, ‘Arise, my ladybird,
arise!’
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc., p. 80. Derived from his
language, and this again has its appellation (’tis suggested) from
the first flash-men being highwaymen, that then generally abounded
(circa 1770). He is the favorite, or protector of a prostitute,
whose flash-man he is; and she is called inversely, his
flash-woman.
c. 1833. Broadside Ballad. My flash-man has gone to sea.
1849. New South Wales, Past, Present, and Future, ch. i., p. 14.
This man was known to Mr. Day to be what is termed a flash-man;
and, seeing his own imminent danger, he instantly spoke to him and
called him a cowardly rascal, and offered to give him shot for
shot, while he was re-loading.
1859. H. Kingsley, Geoffrey Hamlyn, ch. v. You’re playing a
dangerous game, my flashman.
1862. Smiles, Lives of the Engineers, vol. I., pt. 5, ch. i., p.
307. Those articles were sold throughout the country by pedestrian
hawkers, most of whom lived in the wild country called the flash,
from a hamlet of that name situated between Buxton, Leek, and
Macclesfield.... Travelling about from fair to fair, and using a
cant or slang dialect, they became generally known as flash-men,
and the name still survives (to which may be added: They paid, at
first, ready money, but when they had established a credit, paid in
promissory notes which were rarely honored.)
a. 1873. Lyra Flagitiosa. [Quoted in Hotten.] My flash man’s in
quod, And I’m the gal that’s willin’, So I’ll turn out to-night,
And earn an honest shillin’.
Flash of Lightning, subs. phr. (old).—1. A glass of gin; a dram of neat
spirit. See Go and Drinks. Latterly, an ‘American drink.’ See quot.
1862.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 164, s.v.
1821. P. Egan, Tom and Jerry (ed. 1890), p. 79. I have not exactly
recovered from the severe effects of the repeated flashes of
lightning and strong claps of thunder, with which I had to
encounter last night.
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf (quoted in). But ere they homeward
pik’d it, A flash of lightning was sarv’d round to every one as
lik’d it.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, (ed. 1854), p. 141. The thunders of
eloquence being hushed, flashes of lightning, or, as the vulgar
say, ‘glasses of gin’ gleamed about.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 168. The
stimulant of a flash of lightning ... for so a dram of neat spirit
was then called.
1862. E. MacDermott, Popular Guide to International Exhibition,
1862, p. 185. In the vestibule of each refreshment room there is an
American bar, where visitors may indulge in ... gum-ticklers,
eye-openers, flashes of lightning ... and a variety of similar
beverages.
2. (nautical). The gold braid on an officer’s cap.
Flash in the Pan, subs. phr. (venery).—Connection without emission. Cf.
Dry-Bob (q.v.). Also verbally.
1719. Durfey, Pills, v., 340. Still hawking, still baulking, You
flash in the pan.
Flashy, adj., and Flashily, or Flashly, adv. (old: now colloquial).
Empty; showy; tawdry; insipid.
1637. Milton, Lycidas, 123. Their lean and flashy songs Grate on
their scrannel pipes of wretched straw.
1693. Congreve, Old Batchelor, Act I., sc. iv. It is oftentimes too
late with some of you young, termagant, flashy sinners.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 12. A flashy town beau.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary, (5th ed.) Flashy (a), vain, bragging,
boasting, foolish, empty; also anything waterish and unsavoury.
1755. The World, No. 149. Whose melodious voices give every
syllable (not of a lean and flashy, but of a fat and plump song)
its just emphasis.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 13, (ed. 1854). Vy it be ... the
gemman vot payed you so flashly.
1857. Song in Ducange Anglicus, The Vulgar Tongue, p. 42. Your
fogle you must flashly tie.
1863. Speke, Journal of the Discovery of the Nile, p. 154. Flashily
dressed in coloured cloths and a turban, he sat down in one of our
chairs.
1864. Braddon, Henry Dunbar, ch. v. But he evinced no bad taste in
the selection of a costume. He chose no gaudy colours, or flashily
cut vestments.
1873. Cassell’s Magazine, Jan., p. 246, col. 2. They are rather
prone to dress flashily, and wear, when in full fig, no end of
jewellery.
1874. Mortimer Collins, Frances, ch. xvii. That wild set of people
Captain Heath picked up with—members of Parliament and flashy young
women—all driving four horses, I don’t know where.
1882. Century Magazine, xxvi., 295. As stones, they were cheap and
flashy.
Flash-Tail, subs. (common).—A prostitute.—See Tail.
1868. Temple Bar, xxiv., p. 538–9. Picking-up Moll ... a flashtail?
a prostitute who goes about the streets at nights trying to pick up
toffs.
Flasher, subs. (old).—A high-flyer; a fop; a pretender to wit. For
synonyms, see Dandy. Also (quot. 2), a Bonnet (q.v.).
1779. D’Arblay, Diary, etc. (1876). vol. I., p. 185. They are
reckoned the flashers of the place, yet everybody laughs at them
for their airs, affectations, and tonish graces and impertinences.
1880. Derbyshire Gatherer, p. 128. Long before this date (circa
1800) the cant name of flasher was applied to the man who sat by
the table in the gambling-house to swear how many times he had seen
lucky gamesters break the bank.
Flashery, subs. (old).—Inferior, or vulgar, elegance, dash,
distinction, display.
Flash-yad, subs. (back-slang).—A day’s enjoyment. For synonyms, see
Flare-up.
Flashy Blade or Spark, subs. phr. (old).—A dandy (q.v.); now a cheap
and noisy swell, whether male or female; Cf., Flasher.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., vi., 104. In youth a nauseous flashy
fop, in elder days a bore.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 40. For though all know that
flashy spark, etc.
Flat, subs. (colloquial).—1. A greenhorn; noddy; gull. For synonyms,
see Buffle and Cabbage-head; also Sammy-soft.
1762. Goldsmith, Life of Nash, in wks. p. 546 (Globe). Why, if you
think me a dab I will get this strange gentleman, or this, pointing
to the flat. Done! cries the sailor, but you shall not tell him.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 142. Who are continually
looking out for flats, in order to do them upon the broads, that
is, cards.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 59. Poor Johnny Raw, what
madness could impel, So rum a flat to face so prime a swell.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Misadventures at Margate.’ He’s
been upon the mill, And cos he gammons all the flats we calls him
Veepin Bill.
1841. Lytton, Night and Morning, bk. II., ch. ix. ‘Did he pay you
for her?’ ‘Why, to be sure, he gave me a cheque on Coutt’s.’ ‘And
you took it? My eyes? what a flat.’
1847. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. xiv. I won two hundred of him at
the Cocoa-tree. He play, the young flat!
1847. Punch, vol. XIII., p. 148. It mayn’t precisely please the
moral flat. You won’t find fault with it, kind friends, for that.
1848. Thackeray, The Book of Snobs, ch. x. When he does play he
always contrives to get hold of a good flat.
1857. Ducange Anglicus, The Vulgar Tongue, p. 39. Fawney-droppers
gammon the flats and take the yokels in.
1866. Yates, Black Sheep, I., p. 70. The genius which had hitherto
been confined to bridging a pack of cards, or ‘securing’ a die,
talking over a flat, or winning money of a greenhorn.
1880. Mortimer Collins, Thoughts in My Garden, vol. II., p. 180.
Their quack medicines that will cure everything, and their sales of
invaluable articles at a loss, and a thousand other devices to
catch flats.
1887. W. E. Henley, Villon’s Good-night. You flats and joskins
great and small.
1889. Pall Mall Gazette, Sept. 21, p. 3, col. 1 (In a London
Gambling Hell). The flats who play faro (Cross-heading).
2. (American thieves’).—An honest man.
3. (American). A lover’s dismissal; a jilting.
Adj. (colloquial and literary).—Downright; plain; straightforward; as
in that’s flat? a flat lie, “flat burglary,” etc.
1598. Shakspeare, 1 King Henry IV., Act I., Sc. 3. Wor.: You start
away, And lend no ear to my purposes. Those prisoners you shall
keep. Hot.: Nay, I will; that’s flat.
1835–40. Haliburton, The Clockmaker, p. 6, preface (ed. 1862).
1848. Lowell, Fable for Critics, p. 19. (A fetch, I must say, most
transparent and flat).
[There are other usages, more or less colloquial: e.g., Insipid;
tame; dull: as in Macaulay’s “flat as champagne in decanters.” On
the Stock Exchange. flat = without interest: Stock is borrowed flat
when no interest is allowed by the lender as security for the due
return of the scrip.]
Verb (American). To jilt. Cf., subs., sense 3. For synonyms, see
Mitten.
1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 602. To flat, in the West, means to
jilt, and is probably derived from another slang phrase, ‘to feel
flat,’ denoting the depression which is apt to follow such a
disappointment.
To feel flat, verb. phr. (American).—1. To be low-spirited; out of
sorts; off colour (q.v.).
1838. J. C. Neal, Charcoal Sketches. Not to hurt a gentleman’s
feelings and to make him feel flat afore the country.
2. (American).—To fail; to give way. Also used substantively.
Flat as a flounder (or Pancake), phr. (colloquial).—Very flat indeed.
Also flat as be blowed.
1882. Punch, vol. LXXXII., p. 177, col. 1.
To brush up a flat. See Brusher.
To pick up a flat, verb. phr. (prostitutes’). To find a client. Fr.,
lever or faire un miché (miche = bread, from michon = money. Compare
Breadwinner: under Monosyllable (q.v.)).
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London. On the chance that she
will, in the course of the evening, pick up a flat.
To have (or do) a bit of flat, verb. phr. (venery).—To indulge in
sexual intercourse. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Flat-back, subs. (common).—A bed-bug. For synonyms, see Norfolk Howard.
Flat-broke, adj. (colloquial).—Utterly ruined; dead-broke (q.v.).
Flat-catcher, subs. (common).—An impostor.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i., 6. Cope (speaking of a horse).
Well, Master Gull’em, do you think we shall get the flat-catcher
off to-day?
1841. Blackwood’s Mag., l., 202. Buttoners are those accomplices of
thimble-riggers ... whose duty it is to act as flat-catchers or
decoys, by personating flats.
1856. Mayhew, Great World of London, p. 46. And flat-catchers, or
‘ring-droppers,’ who cheat by pretending to find valuables in the
street.
1864. London Review, June 18, p. 643. ‘The Bobby’ or chinked-back
horse, is another favourite flat-catcher.
1869. Whyte-Melville, M. or N., p. 110. Rather a flat-catcher, Tom?
said that nobleman, between the whiffs of a cigar.
Flat-catching, subs. (common).—Swindling.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, p. 118, The no-pinned hero, on being
elevated, gave, as a toast, ‘Success to flat-catching,’ which
produced roars of laughter and shouts of approbation.
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London. To mark the many kinds of
bait that are used in flat-catching, as the turf slang has it.
Flatch, adj. (back-slang).—A half. flatch-kennurd = half drunk;
flatch-yenork = half-a-crown; flatch-yennep = a half-penny (see subs.,
sense 1).
Subs. 1.—A half-penny. [An abbreviation of flatch-yennep.] For
synonyms, see Mag.
c. 1866. Vance, The Chickaleary Cove. I doesn’t care a flatch as
long as I’ve a tach.
2. (coiners’).—A counterfeit half-crown. For synonyms, see Madza.
Flat-cap, subs. (old).—A nickname for a citizen of London. [In Henry
the Eight’s time flat round caps were the pink of fashion; but when
their date was out, they became ridiculous. The citizens continued to
wear them long after they were generally disused, and were often
satirized for their fidelity].
1596. Ben Jonson, Every Man in H., ch. ii., v. 1. Mock me all over
From my flat-cap unto my shining shoes.
1602. Dekker, Honest Whore. Old Plays, iii., 304. Come, Sirrah, you
flat-cap, where be those whites?
1605. Marston, Dutch Court, ii., 1. Wealthy flat-caps that pay for
their pleasure the best of any men in Europe.
1613. Beaumont and Fletcher, Hon. Man’s Fort., v. 3. Trade? to the
city, child: a flat-cap will become thee.
Flat-cock, subs. (old).—A female. [Grose, 1785.] For synonyms, see
Petticoat.
Flat-feet, subs. (common).—Specifically the Foot Guards, but also
applied to other regiments of the line. Also (generally with some
powerful adjective), applied to militia men to differentiate them from
linesmen. For synonyms, see Mud-crusher.
Flat-fish, (generally, a regular flat-fish) subs. (common).—A dullard.
[A play upon flat = stupid, and Fish = something to hook or catch.] For
synonyms, see Buffle, Cabbage-Head, and Sammy-Soft. Cf., Fr., platpied
= a contemptible fellow.
Flat-footed, adj. (American).—Downright; resolute; honest. [Western:
the simile, common to most languages, is of a man standing, his back to
the wall, resolute to accomplish his purpose.]
1858. Harper’s Magazine, Sept. His herculean frame, and bold,
flat-footed way of saying things, had impressed his neighbours, and
he held the rod in terrorism over them.
1871. Philadelphia Bulletin, Mar. 23. ‘The row at St. Clement’s
Church.’ Now the Committee of the vestry put their foot flatly down
on auricular confession and priestly absolution.
1887. R. A. Proctor, Knowledge, June 1. When, in America, General
Grant said he had put his foot down and meant to advance in that
line if it took him all the summer, he conveyed ... the American
meaning of the expression flat-footed.
Flat-head, subs. (American).—A greenhorn; a sammy-soft (q.v.).
Flat-iron, subs. (common).—A corner public house. [From the triangular
shape.]
Flattie or Flatty, subs. (common).—A gull. [A diminutive of flat, sense
1.] Formerly ‘cheap-jacks’ = one in a new ‘pitch.’
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 232. They
betray to the flatties (natives) all their profits and proceedings.
Flat-move, subs. (old).—An attempt or project that miscarries; folly
and mismanagement generally.—Grose.
Flats, subs. (old). 1. Playing cards. For synonyms, see King’s Books.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 56. We played at flats in a budging-crib.
2. (old).—False dice. For synonyms, see Fulhams.
3. (old).—Base money.
Mahogany flats, subs. phr. (common).—Bed-bugs. For synonyms, see
Norfolk Howards.
Flats and Sharps, subs. phr. (old).—Weapons.
1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, ch. xxx. ‘I have known many a
pretty lad cut short in his first summer upon the road, because he
was something hasty with his flats and sharps.’
Flatten Out, verb. phr. (American).—To get the better of (in argument
or fight). For synonyms, see Floor. Flattened-out = ruined; beaten.
Flatter-trap, subs. (common).—The mouth. Fr., la menteuse, but for
synonyms, see Potato-trap.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
Flatty-ken, subs. (thieves’).—See quot.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 261. Some
take up their abode in what they call flatty-kens, that is, houses
the landlord of which is not ‘awake’ or ‘fly’ to the ‘moves’ and
dodges of the trade.
Flawed, ppl. adj. (common).—1. Half drunk; ‘a little crooked’;
quick-tempered.—Grose. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
2. (venery).—‘Cracked in the ring’; i.e., deflowered.
Flay (or flay the fox), verb. phr. (old).—To vomit: ‘from the subject
to the effect,’ says Cotgrave; ‘for the flaying of so stinking a beast
is like enough to make them spue that feel it.’ Now, to shoot the cat.
For synonyms, see Accounts and Cast up Accounts. Cf., Fox, verb, sense
1.
1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, bk. I., ch. xi. He would flay the fox.
2. (American).—To clean out by unfair means.
To flay or skin a flint, verb. phr. (old).—To be mean or miserly. See
Skinflint.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v. He’ll flay or
skinn a flint of a Meer Scrat or Miser.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, vol. II., p. 194 (ed. 1846). Report
says she would skin a flint if she could.
Flaybottom or Flaybottomist, subs. (common).—A schoolmaster, with a
play on the word phlebotomist = a blood-letter.—Grose. Fr.,
fouette-cul; and (Cotgrave) “Fesse-cul, a pedantical whip-arse.”
Flavour, to catch (or get) the flavour. verb. phr. (common).—1. To be
intoxicated. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
2. (venery). To be ‘half-on’ for coition; to wax proud (q.v.): said of
men and women both.
Flax, verb. (American).—To beat severely; to give it hot (q.v.). For
synonyms, see Tan.
Flax-wench, subs. (old).—A prostitute. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack
and Tart.
1604. Shakspeare, Winter’s Tale, i., 2. My wife’s a hobby-horse;
deserves a name As rank as any flax-wench.
Flea. To send away with a flea in the ear. verb. phr. (common).—To
dismiss with vigour and acerbity.
1854. Notes and Queries, 8 Apl., p. 322, col. 2. The luckless
applicant is peremptorily dismissed with an imperative ‘flee!’ ...
or, facetiously, with a flee in his ear.
To have a flea in the ear = (1) to fail in an enterprise; and (2) to
receive a scolding, or annoying suggestion.
To sit on a bag of fleas, verb. phr. (common).—To sit uncomfortably; on
a bag of hen fleas = very uncomfortably indeed.
To catch fleas for, verb. phr. (venery).—To be on terms of extreme
intimacy: e.g., ‘I catch her fleas for her’ = She has nothing to refuse
me. Cf., Shakspeare (Tempest, III., 2.), ‘Yet a tailor might scratch
her wheree’er she did itch.’
In a flea’s leap, adv. phr. (old).—In next to no time; instanter
(q.v.).
Flea-and-louse, subs. (rhyming slang). A house. For synonyms, see Ken.
Flea-bag, subs. (common).—A bed; Fr. un pucier. For synonyms, see Kip.
1839. Lever, Harry Lorrequer, ch. xl. ‘Troth, and I think the
gentleman would be better if he went off to his flea-bag himself.’
Flea-bite, subs. (old).—A trifle.
1630. Taylor, Works. If they doe lose by pirates, tempests, rocks,
’Tis but a fleabite to their wealthy stockes; Whilst the poore
cutpurse day and night doth toile, Watches and wardes, and doth
himselfe turmoile.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Flea-biting, subs. (old).—A trifle.
1621. Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy. Their miseries are but
flea-bitings to thine.
Flea- (or Flay-) Flint, subs. (old.)—A miser: Cf., Skin flint (q.v.).
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 141. The flea-flints ... strip me
bare.
Flear, verb. (old).—To grin. A flearing fool = a grinning idiot.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew.
Fleece, subs. (old).—An act of theft. Cf., old proverb, ‘to go out to
shear and come home shorn.’ For synonyms, see Skin.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Fleece, to Rob,
Plunder, or strip.
1703. Mrs. Centlivre, Beau’s Duel, ii., 2. Had a fleece at his
purse.
2. (venery).—The female pubic hair. Fr. toison (Baudelaire); It.,
barbiglioni (Florio). For foreign synonyms, see Mott.
English Synonyms.—Banner (Durfey); bandoliers (old); beard; bearskin;
belly-bristles; belly-thicket; belly-whiskers; Boskage of Venus; broom;
brush; bush; cat-skin; clover-field; cunny-skin (Durfey); Cupid’s
Arbour; cunt-curtain; damber-, dilberry-, gooseberry-, furze-, quim-,
or whin-bush; down; Downshire; front-doormat; feather (Prior and
Moore); fluff; forest (Donne); fud (Burns); fur; fur-below (old catch);
‘grove of eglantine’ (Carew); hedge on the dyke; lower-wig (Burton);
moss; mott-carpet; mustard-and-cress; nether eye-brow (or -lashes);
nether-whiskers; parsley (Durfey); plush; quim-whiskers; quim-wig; scut
(Shakspeare); shaving-brush (cf., Lather); scrubbing-brush; shrubbery;
sporran; stubble (see Pointer); sweet-briar; thatch; tail-feathers;
‘toupee’; ‘tufted honours’; twat-rug.
Verb (now recognised).—To cheat; to shear or be shorn (as a sheep).
1593. Nashe, Christ’s Teares, in wks. (Grosart) IV. 140. Tell me
(almost) what gentleman hath been cast away at sea, or disasterly
souldiourizd it by lande, but they (usurers) have enforst him
thereunto by their fleecing.
1598. Shakspeare, I King Henry IV., ii., 2. Down with them: fleece
them!
1620. Dekker, His Dreame, in wks. (Grosart) III. 52. Catchpolles,
and varlets, who did poore men fleece (To their undoing) for a
twelve-peny peece.
1712. Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull, pt. IV., ch. ii. When a poor
man has almost undone himself for thy sake, thou art for fleecing
him.
1822. Scott, Fort. of Nigel, ch. xxiii. He is now squeezed and
fleeced by them on every pretence.
1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 106. He was stabbed by the
Ragamuffin he had fleeced.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. xxxi. Bloundell is a professional
blackleg, and travels the Continent, where he picks up young
gentlemen of fashion and fleeces them.
1859. Times, 25 Oct. ‘Review of Dean Ramsay’s Reminiscences.’ I
don’t know whether they are black or white sheep, but I know that
if they are long there they are pretty certain to be fleeced.
1891. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 16 Jan. How you would be
fleeced! You’ve got a lot to learn yet.
Hence fleeced = ruined; dead-broke (q.v. for synonyms).
Fleecer, subs. (old).—A thief.
1600–69. Prynne, Breviate. Not fleecers, but feeders.
Fleece-Hunter, or -Monger, subs. phr. (venery).—A whore-master. For
synonyms, see Molrower.
Fleeter-Face, subs. (old).—A pale-face; a coward. Cf., Shakspeare’s
‘cream-faced loon.’
1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Queen of Corinth. You know where you
are, you fleeter-face.
Fleet-Note, subs. (old).—A forged note.
1821. Real Life in London.
Fleet of the Desert, subs. phr. (common).—A caravan; cf., ship of the
desert = camel.
Fleet-Street, subs. phr. (colloquial).—The estate of journalism,
especially journalism of the baser sort.
Fleet-Streeter, subs. (colloquial).—A journalist of the baser sort; a
spunging prophet (q.v.); a sharking dramatic critic; a spicy (q.v.)
paragraphist; and so on.
Fleet-Streetese, subs. phr. (colloquial).—The so-called English,
written to sell by the Fleet-Streeter (q.v.), or baser sort of
journalist: a mixture of sesquipedalians and slang, of phrases worn
threadbare and phrases sprung from the kennel; of bad grammar and worse
manners; the like of which is impossible outside Fleet-Street (q.v.),
but which in Fleet-Street commands a price, and enables not a few to
live.
Fleg, verb. (old).—To whip. Bailey.
Flemish Account, subs. phr. (old).—A remittance less than was expected;
hence, an unsatisfactory account. [Among the Flemings (the merchants of
Western Europe when commerce was young) accounts were kept in livres,
sols, and pence; but the livre or pound only = 12s., so that what the
Antwerp merchant called one livre thirteen and fourpence would in
English currency be only 20s.]
1668. T. Brown, The Accurate Accomptant, etc. Quoted in N. and Q.
1. S. I., 286. London, August 10th, 1668. To Roger Pace, Factor,
etc., for 10 pieces cont. 746 Ells Fl. at 10s. Flem. per Ell is
£373 Flem. Exchange at 35s. makes Sterling Money £213 2s. 10d.
1774–1826. Typ. Antiq., p. 1773. A person resident in London is
said to have had most of Caxton’s publications. He sent them to
Amsterdam for inspection, and on writing for them was informed that
they had been destroyed by accident. ‘I am very much afraid,’ says
Herbert, ‘my kind friend received but a Flemish account of his
Caxton’s.’
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tong. Flemish account, a losing or bad
account.
Flesh, subs. (old).—Generic for the organs of generation, male or
female. Also (of women) Fleshly-part.
1604. Shakspeare, Winter’s Tale, iv., 3. She would not exchange
flesh with one that loved her.
1605. Cymbeline, i., 5. If you buy ladies’ flesh at a million a
dram you cannot preserve it from tainting.
1620. Percy, Folio MSS. [Hales & Furnivall, 1867]. ‘As I was
ridinge by the way.’ Sweet hart, shall I put my flesh in thine?
Flesh, verb., or, Flesh It; or, to be fleshed in (venery).—To have
carnal knowledge of—to be ‘one flesh with’—a woman. [For synonyms, see
Greens and Ride.] An equivalent in the passive sense is to feel his
flesh in one’s body (said by women only).
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, Andar in Carnafau. To go a
fleshing or a wenching: (Carnafau = the brat-getting place; the
hole of content).
Flesh and Blood, subs. phr. (common).—Brandy and port in equal
proportions. See Drinks.
Flesh-bag, subs. (common).—A shirt or chemise.
English Synonyms.—Biled rag (American); camesa; carrion-case;
commission; dickey (formerly a worn-out shirt); gad (gipsy); lully;
mill tog; mish; narp (Scots’); shaker; shimmy (= a chemise, Marryat);
smish.
French Synonyms.—Une liquette or limace (thieves’: from the Gypsy. The
form also occurs also in the Italian lima); un panais (popular).
German Synonyms.—Kamis, Kamsel, Kemsel, or Gemsel (from med. Lat.,
Camisiale; Fr. camisole); Kesones, Kusones, or Ksones (also = cotton
and underclothing); Staude or Stauden; Hanfstandt (Liber Vagatorum:
literally hempshrub).
Italian Synonym.—Lima (see Fr., limace).
1820. London Magazine; i., 29. They are often without a flesh-bag
to their backs.
Flesh-broker, subs. (old).—1. A match-maker.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Flesh-broker, a
match-maker; also a bawd; between whom but little difference, for
they both (usually) take money.
2. A procuress [Grose]. Cf., Flesh-fly, Flesh-monger, and Flesh-market.
For synonyms, see Mother.
Flesh-fly (also, Flesh-maggot), subs. (old).—A whoremaster. For
synonyms, see Molrower.
1781. Cowper, Progress of Error, 323–324. Oh! that a verse had
power, and could command far, Far away, these flesh-flies of the
land.
Flesh-market, or Flesh-shambles, subs. (common).—A brothel or
flash-house (q.v.); also the pavement, in Piccadilly or Regent-street,
for instance, where whores do congregate. Cf., Meatmarket.
1608. John Day, Humour out of Breath, II. I Asp. ... She may bee
well discended; if shee be, Shee’s fit for love, and why not then
for me. Boy. And you be not fitted in Venice ’tis straunge, for
’tis counted the best flesh-shambles in Italie.
Flesh-monger, subs. (old).—A procurer; a whore-master. [From Eng. Flesh
+ monger]. For synonyms, see Mother and Molrower. Cf., Flesh-fly,
Flesh-market, and Flesh-broker.
1603. Shakspeare, Measure for Measure, V., 1. And was the duke a
flesh-monger, a fool, and a coward, as you then reported him to be?
Fleshmongering. To go flesh-mongering, verb. phr. (venery).—To quest
for women; to go on the prowl (q.v.)., or after meat. See Greens and
Ride.
Flesh-pot. Sighing for the flesh-pots of Egypt. phr.
(common).—Hankering for good things no longer at command. [Biblical].
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 131. Do you think it is
a hankering after the flesh-pots, and that the canon’s cook
reconciles me to the canon’s opinions?
Flesh-tailor, subs. (old).—A surgeon. For synonyms, see Sawbones.
1633. Ford, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore, iii. Oh, help! help! help! Oh,
for a flesh-tailor quickly.
Fleshy, subs. (Winchester College).—See Cat’s Head.
Fletch, subs. (prison). A spurious coin. Cf., Flatch.
Flick, or Flig, subs. (colloquial).—1. A cut with a whip-lash; hence, a
blow of any sort. A flicking is often administered by schoolboys with a
damp towel or pocket-handkerchief. For synonyms, see tanning.
1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. VI., ch. ii. ‘I do know you are a
woman,’ cries the squire, ‘and it’s well for thee, that art one; if
had’st been a man, I promise thee I had lent thee a flick long
ago.’
1787. Grose, Provincial Glossary, s.v. vlick.
2. (common).—A jocular salutation; usually old flick. Cf., Codger and
My Tulip.
1883. Punch, 28 July, p. 38, col. 1. Well, last night, They’d a
feet in these gardens, old flick, as was something too awfully
quite.
Verb. (thieves’).—1. To cut.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Flicking, c., to cut,
cutting.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict. (flick is given as a ‘country word’).
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue. Flick me some pannam and cassan,
cut me some bread and cheese; flick the peter, cut off the cloak
bag or portmanteau.
1791. Carew, Life and Adventures, q.v.
1837. Disraeli, Venetia, ch. xiv. Flick the bread, cut the bread.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v. Flick the Peter
and rake the swag for I want to pad my beaters.
2. (colloquial).—To strike with, or as with, a whip.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xliii. Near him, leaning listlessly
against the wall, stood a strong-built countryman, flicking with a
worn-out hunting whip the top-boot that adorned his right foot.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xxvii. Who ... receives this
compliment by flicking Mr. George in the face with a head of
greens.
1854. Our Cruise in the Undine, p. 103. It appeared to us that one
of the most frequent, and therefore we supposed the principal
stroke aimed at (in a Heidelberg duel), was to strike your sword
low down, perhaps four inches from the handle, upon your
adversary’s bandaged arm, so that the end of the weapon (the only
part that is sharpened) should Flick itself against your opponent’s
face.
1863. Hon. Mrs. Norton, Lost and Saved, p. 29. Drivers shouting,
swearing, and flicking at the horses.
Flicker, subs. (Old Cant).—A drinking glass.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Flicker, c., a
drinking-glass; Flicker snapt, c., the glass is broken; Nim the
flicker, c., steal the glass; Rum flicker, c., a large glass or
rummer; Queer flicker, c., a green or ordinary glass.
French Synonyms.—Une lampe (masons’); un guindal (popular); un godet
(very old); une gobette (thieves’); un gobeson (thieves’).
Verb. 1. To drink.—Matsell.
2. (old).—To laugh wantonly; also to kiss, or lewdly fondle a
woman.—Palsgrave. For synonyms, see Firkytoodle.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v. Flicker, to grin
or flout.
Also Flicking = (1) drinking, and (2) wanton laughter.
Let her flicker, phr. (American).—Said of any doubtful issue: ‘let the
matter take its chance.’
Flicket-a-Flacket, adv. (old).—Onomatopoetic for a noise of flapping
and flicking.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 20. Their bellies went
flicket-a-flacket.
Flier or Flyer, subs. (racing and yachting).—1. A horse or boat of
great speed; also (American railway) a fast train; hence, by
implication, anything of excellence. Cf., Dasher, Daisy, etc. Also
adj., = keen for.
1865. Braddon, Henry Dunbar, ch. xxii. The mare’s in splendid
condition; well, you saw her take her trial gallop the other
morning, and you must know she’s a flier, so I won’t talk about
her.
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 156. Atalanta might be
a flyer, but an artist like Pycroft, with a clever colt like
Newsmonger under him, was quite likely to outride whatever boy Mr.
Pipes might now be able to pick up.
1888. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 2 Mar. In spite of the strike
passenger trains, what are known as the flyers, are running with
reasonable regularity.
1890. Bird o’ Freedom, 19 Mar., p. 1, col. 1. Clearly the G.O.M. is
no flier over this course.
1891. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 20 Mar. Although he may
doubtless be made a good deal better he may turn out to be no
flier.
1891. Bury and Hillier, Cycling, p. 6. A moderate rider, not being
an athlete or a flier ... can ... get over in an hour seven or
eight miles of ground on a tricycle.
1891. Anti-Jacobin, 23 May, p. 400. When Dangerous,
Plenipotentiary, Bay Middleton, and other flyers ran.
1891. Morning Advertiser, 28 Mar. In any event, he was never a
flyer at breakfast. But late at night, and when, perhaps, he
tumbled across something equivalent to woodcock, tripe and onions,
or a hot lobster, say, why then, take my word for it, he made up
for previous abstinence.
1891. National Observer, 1 Aug. It remains to be seen whether large
yachts constructed on the same principle will be equally
invincible: that is, if the flyers we have are one and all to
disappear.
2. (football).—A shot in the air. See Made-flyer.
3. (American).—A small hand-bill; a Dodger (q.v.).
To take a flier (American trade).—1. To make a venture; to invest
against odds.
2. (venery).—To copulate in haste (Grose); to do a Fast-fuck (q.v.).
Flies, subs. (rhyming).—Lies. Hence, nonsense; trickery; deceit.
There are no flies on me, on him, etc., phr. (common).—‘I am dealing
honestly with you;’ ‘he is genuine, and is not humbugging.’ In America,
the expression is used of (1) a man of quick parts, a man who ‘knows a
thing without its being kicked into him by a mule’; and (2) a person of
superior breeding or descent. Sometimes the phrase is corrupted into
‘no fleas.’ See Gammon.
1868. Diprose, St. Clement Danes, Past and Present. To Deaf Burke,
the celebrated pugilist, is attributed the old story of the ‘flies
and the gin and water;’ and hence the term ‘no flies’ became
prevalent. Burke had ordered ... some ‘hot and strong and a dash of
lemon.’ The goblet was brought ... Burke raised ... the nectar to
his lips, and beheld some dissipated flies lying at the bottom of
the tumbler; he placed the glass on the table, and deliberately
removed the flies with the spoon, five or six in number, and laid
them side by side before him, and then giving a hearty pull at the
gin and water, he as deliberately replaced the flies ... and passed
it to his friend. His companion stared angrily. ‘Do you dare to
insult me, and in the presence of company?’ said the irate
vis-à-vis. ‘Pardon me,’ replied Burke, quietly handing the glass a
second time, ‘though I don’t drink flies myself, I didn’t know but
what others might.’
1888. Detroit Free Press, 25 Aug. There ain’t no flies on him,
signifies, that he is not quiet long enough for moss to grow on his
heels, that he is wide awake.
1888. Missouri Republican, 24 Feb. People who are capable of
descending to New York and Boston English are fully justified in
saying that there are no flies on St. Louis or the St. Louis
delegation either.
Fligger (also Flicker), verb. (old).—To grin.
1720. Durfey, Pills, etc., vi., 267. He fliggered, and told me for
all my brave alls He would have a stroke.
Flim.—See Flimsy.
Flim-flam, subs. (old).—An idle story; a sham; a Robin Hood tale
(q.v.). A duplication of Flam (q.v.).
1589. Pappe with an Hatchet (ed. 1844) p. 39. Trusse up thy packet
of flim-flams, and roage to some countrey faire, or read it among
boyes in the belfrie.
1630. Taylor, Workes. They with a courtly tricke, or a flim-flam,
do nod at me, whilst I the noddy am.
1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. XVIII., ch. xii. I thought thou
had’st been a lad of higher mettle than to give way to a parcel of
maidenish tricks. I tell thee ’tis all flim-flam.
1780. Mrs. Cowley, The Belle’s Stratagem, iii., 1. Mr. Curate,
don’t think to come over me with your flim-flams, for a better man
than ever trod in your shoes is coming over-sea to marry me.
1805. Isaac Disraeli, Flim-flams; or the Life and Errors of my
Uncle, and the Amours of my Aunt [title].
1825. C. Lamb, Munden (in London Magazine) Feb. I wonder you can
put such flim-flams upon us, sir.
Adj. (old).—Idle; worthless.
1589. Nashe, Month’s Minde, in wks. Vol. I., p. 174. But to leaue
thy flim-flam tales and loytering lies.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Filastroccola, flim-flam tales,
old wiues tales as they tell when they spinne, a tale without rime
or reason, or head or foote.
1633. T. Newton, Lennie’s Touch-stone of Complexions, p. 120.
Reporting a flim-flam tale of Robin Hood.
1750. Ozell’s Rabelais, vol. V., p. 247. Glibly swallow down every
flim-flam story that’s told them.
1853. Lytton, My Novel, bk. X., ch. xix. I wish you’d mind the
child—it is crumpling up and playing almighty smash with that
flim-flam book, which cost me one pound one.
Flimp, verb. (thieves’)—1. To hustle or rob. To put on the flimp = to
rob on the highway. For synonyms, see Crack and Prig.
1839. Brandon, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, p. 111. To take a
man’s watch is to flimp him, it can only be done in a crowd, one
gets behind and pushes him in the back, while the other in front is
robbing him.
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3rd ed., p. 445, s.v.
2. (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms, see Ride.
Flimping, subs. (thieves’).—Stealing from the person.
1857. Ducange Anglicus, The Vulgar Tongue, p. 38. He told me as
Bill had flimped a yack.
1862. Cornhill Mag., vol. vi., p. 651. We are going a-flimping,
buzzing, cracking, etc.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. lx. Flimping is a style of theft
which I have never practised, and, consequently of which I know
nothing.
Flimsy, or Flim, subs. (common).—1. A bank-note. [From the thinness of
the paper.] Soft-flimsy = a note drawn on ‘The Bank of Elegance,’ or
‘The Bank of Engraving.’ For synonyms, see Soft.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1818. P. Egan, Boxiana, iv., 443. Martin produced some flimsies and
said he would fight on Tuesday next.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (‘Merchant of Venice’). Not
‘kites,’ manufactured to cheat and inveigle, But the right sort of
‘flimsy,’ all sign’d, by Monteagle.
1855. Punch, XXIX., 10. ‘Will you take it in flimsies, or will you
have it all in tin?’
1870. Chambers’ Journal, 9 July, p. 448. ‘What would it be worth?’
‘A flim, Sam.’
1884. Daily Telegraph, 8 Apl., col. 3. One of the slang terms for a
spurious bank-note is a soft-flimsy.
1891. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up! p. 149. Next morning when I went to the
bank to collect the swag, they stopped the flimsy, and had me
arrested before I could look round.
2. (journalists’).—News of all kinds; points (q.v.). [From the thin
prepared paper used by pressmen for making several copies at once].
First used at Lloyd’s.
1861. Cornhill Magazine, iv., 199 ‘At Westminster,’ my lord is
neither a mumbling nor a short-tempered judge; he will ... read
them a great deal of his notes, which are a thousand-fold clearer,
fuller, and more accurate than the reporter’s flimsy.
1865. Morning Star (‘The Flaneur’). A London correspondent, who, by
the aid of flimsy misleads a vast number of provincial papers.
1870. London Figaro, 23 Sept. ‘Special Lining.’ We do not think it
is altogether worthy of the high repute of the Pall Mall Gazette to
publish flimsy as a special correspondence.
1876. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly, ch. xviii. The sharpest of
the reporters had his flimsy up in a minute, and took notes of the
proceedings.
Flinders, subs. (common).—Pieces infinitesimally small.
1870. New York Evening Sun, 24 May. Report of Speech of Mr.
Chandler. Let us knock the British crown to flinders; let us
arrange for some one or two hundred thousand British graves
forthwith, and cabbage the whole boundless continent without any
further procrastination.
Fling, subs. (colloquial).—1. A fit of temper.
2. (common).—A jeer; a jibe; a personal allusion or attack.
1592. Shakspeare, I Henry VI., iii., 1. Then would I have a fling
at Winchester.
1888. Star, 10 Oct. Those writers who had a fling at Iddesleigh
after his poor running at Stockton will have to take their words
back some day.
1890. Pall Mall Gazette, 24 July, p. 4. col. 2. As the disputants
warmed up, little personal flings were of course introduced.
Verb (old).—1. To cheat; to get the best of; to do (q.v.) or
diddle.—Grose.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. xxi. Flung the governor out of a
guinea.
2. (Scots).—To dance.
1790. Burns, Tam O’ Shanter. To tell how Maggie lapt and flang (A
souple jaud she was, and strang).
3. (venery).—To move in the act; to back-up (q.v.). Fr., ‘frizer la
queue = to wriggle the tayle (in leachering).’—Cotgrave.
1539. David Lyndsay, Three Estaitis, Works (Ed. Laing, Edinburgh,
1879). I traist sche sal find you flinging your fill.
To Fling Out, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To depart in a hurry, and,
especially, in a temper.
To fling (or flap) it in one’s face, verb. phr. (prostitutes’).—To
expose the person.
In a fling, adv. phr. (colloquial).—In a spasm of temper.
To have one’s fling, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To enjoy full liberty of
action or conduct. Cf., High Old Time.
1624. Beaumont and Fletcher, Rule a Wife, &c., iii., 5. I’ll have a
fling.
1846–8. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. xiii. Hang it; the regiment’s
just back from the West Indies, I must have a little fling, and
then when I’m married I’ll reform.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, II., 118. I don’t want to marry until I
have had my fling, you know.
1880. Gilbert, Pirates of Penzance. Peers will be peers, And youth
will have his fling.
1891. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up! p. 253. If policy (police) show up,
then you let me have my fling, eh?
To fling dirt.—See dirt.
Flinger, subs. (Scots).—A dancer.
1821. Scott, Pirate, ch. ix. That’s as muckle as to say, that I
suld hae minded you was a flinger and a fiddler yoursel’, Maister
Mordaunt.
Fling-Dust, subs. (old).—A street-walker. For synonyms, see
Barrack-hack and Tart.
Flint, subs. (workmen’s). A man working for a ‘Union’ or ‘fair’ house;
non-Unionists are dung (q.v.). Both terms occur in Foote’s burlesque,
The Tailors: a Tragedy for Warm Weather, and they received a fresh
lease of popularity during the tailors’ strike of 1832. See quots. Cf.,
Scab Soc, Snob, Snob-stick, and Knobstick.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, flints, journeyman taylors who, on
a late occasion, refused to work for the wages settled by law.
Those who submitted were by the mutineers stiled dungs, i.e.,
dunghills.
1832. P. Egan, Book of Sports, p. 34. Jack Reeve is without a
rival; the throne of the flints is decidedly freehold property to
him.
1834. Noctes Amb., xxxiv., vol. IV., p. 83. (The company is
discussing the tailors’ strike). Tickler. The flints flash fire,
and the day of the dungs is gone.
Old flint, subs. phr. (common). A miser: one who would ‘skin a flint,’
i.e., stoop to any meanness for a trifle.
1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop, ch. vii., p. 34. It’s equally
plain that the money which the old flint—rot him—first taught me to
expect that I should share with her at his death, will all be hers.
To fix one’s flint. See Fix.
To flint in, verb. phr. (American). To act with energy; not to stand on
ceremony; to pitch into; to tackle. A verb of action well-nigh as
common as fix (q.v.).
Flip, subs. (common).—1. Hot beer, brandy, and sugar; also, says Grose,
called Sir Cloudesley after Sir Cloudesley Shovel. See Drinks.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. flip, Sea Drink, of
small beer (chiefly) and brandy, sweetened and spiced upon
occasion.
1690. Ward, London Spy, part II., p. 41. After the drinking a Kan
of Phlip or a Bowl of Punch.
1705. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, vol. I., pt. 4, p. 8. So have I
seen on board of ship, Some knawing beeff, some spewing flip.
1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xxiv. He ... sent for a can of
beer, of which he made excellent flip to crown the banquet.
1810. Crabbe, The Borough, Letter 16. Nay, with the seamen working
in the ship, At their request, he’d share the grog and flip.
1875. C. D. Warner, Backlog Studies, p. 18. It was thought best to
heat the poker red-hot before plunging it into the mugs of flip.
2. (popular).—A bribe or douceur.
3. (common).—A light blow, or snatch.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 23. Barney made a very unceremonious flip
at the bit.
Verb (thieves’).—To shoot.
1819. Vaux, Flash Dict., s.v.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood (ed. 1864), p. 273. Flip him, Dick; fire,
or I’m taken.
To flip up, verb. phr. (American).—To spin a coin.
1879. New York Tribune, 4 Oct. The two great men could flip up to
see which should have the second place.
Flip-Flap, subs. 1 (old).—A flighty creature.
1702. Vanbrugh, False Friend. 1. The light airy flip-flap, she
kills him with her motions.
2. (popular). A step-dance; a cellar-flap (q.v.). Also (acrobats’); a
kind of somersault, in which the performer throws himself over on his
hands and feet alternately.
1727. Gay, Fables, ‘Two Monkies.’ The tumbler whirls the flip-flap
round. With sommersets he shakes the ground.
1872. Braddon, Dead Sea Fruit, ch. xiv. There ain’t nothing you
can’t do, Morty, from Shylock to a flip-flap.
1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 12 Nov., p. 6, col. 2. There were the
clowns who danced, turned somersaults, flip-flaps, and contorted
themselves.
3. (American). A kind of tea-cake.
1876. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly, ch. xviii. The first
evening I took tea with Mrs. Scrimmager. ‘It must be more than a
mite lonely for you,’ she said, as we sat over her dough-nuts and
flip-flaps.
4. (nautical). The arm. For synonyms, see Bender.
5. (venery). The penis.
1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, I., 20. I might have cleft her water-gap
And joined it close with my flip-flap.
Flipper, subs. (nautical and common). 1. The hand. Tip us your flipper
= give me your hand. [From the flipper or paddle of a turtle.] For
synonyms, see Daddle and Mauley.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Lay of St. Gengulphus.’ With
those great sugar-nippers they nipp’d off his flippers, As the
clerk, very flippantly, termed his fists.
1884. Punch, 11 Oct. ‘’Arry at a Political Picnic.’ Old Bluebottle
tipped me his flipper, and ’oped I’d ‘refreshed,’ and all that.
2. (common). See Flapper.
3. (theatrical). Part of a scene, hinged and painted on both sides,
used in trick changes.
Flirtatious, adj. (American).—Flighty.
1881, W. D. Howells, D. Breen’s Practice, ch. i., “Oh, you needn’t
look after her, Mr. Libby! There’s nothing flirtatious about
Grace,” said Mrs. Maynard.
Flirt-gill, Flirtgillian, or Gill-flirt, subs. (old). A wanton; a
chopping girl (q.v.); specifically a strumpet. For synonyms, see
Barrack-hack and Tart.
1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, ii., 4. Scurvy knave! I am none
of his flirt-gills.
1713. Guardian, No. 26. We are invested with a parcel of
flirt-gills, who are not capable of being mothers of brave men.
1729. Gay, Polly, ii. 4. While a man is grappling with these
gill-flirts, pardon the expression, Captain, he runs his reason
aground.
1822. Scott, Fort. of Nigel, ch. v. She is a dutiful girl to her
god-father, though I sometimes call her a jill-flirt.
Flirtina Cop-all, subs. phr. (common). A wanton, young or old; a men’s
woman (q.v.).
Float, subs. (theatrical).—The footlights: before the invention of gas
they were oil-pans with floating wicks. Cf., Ark-floater.
1886. Saturday Review, 24 July, p. 108. To an actor the float is
not what it is to a fisherman.
1889. Answers, 8 June, p. 24. He slapped me on the back, put me in
a hansom, and cried, ‘We’ll have you behind the float (footlights)
in a week.’
If that’s the way the stick floats. See Stick.
Floater, subs. (Stock Exchange).—An Exchequer bill; applied also to
other unfunded stock.
1871. Temple Bar, XXXI., 320. On the Stock Exchange, where slang
abounds, floaters is a term which would puzzle outsiders. Floaters
are Exchequer bills and their unfunded stock.
2. (common).—A suet dumpling in soup.
3. (political).—A vendible voter.
1883. Graphic, 17 Mar., p. 279, col. 3. ‘How many voters are
there?’ asked a candidate in one of these pure-blooded Yankee
townships. ‘Four hundred.’ ‘And how many floaters, i.e.,
purchasable?’ ‘Four hundred.’
1888. New York Herald, 4 Nov. The Building Materials Exchange
people were in line to the number of about 200, with a band, and
were followed by a sixteen-horse stage of the ‘Long Tom’ shape
containing a lot of floaters and some fifers and drummers.
4. (Western American).—A candidate representing several counties, and
therefore not considered directly responsible to any one of them.
1853. Texas State Gazette, 16 July. J. W. Lawrence, Esq., requests
us to withdraw his name as a candidate for floater in the district
composed of the counties of Fayette, Bastrop, and Travis.
5. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.
Floating Academy, subs. phr. (old).—The hulks; also Campbell’s academy
(q.v.), and floating hell (q.v.). For synonyms, see Cage.
Floating Batteries, subs. phr. (military).—1. Broken bread in tea; also
slingers (q.v.).
2. (American).—The Confederate bread rations during the Secession.
Floating Coffin, subs. phr. (nautical).—A rotten ship.
Floating Hell, or Hell Afloat, subs. phr. (nautical).—A ship commanded
by (1) a brutal savage, or (2) a ruthless disciplinarian. See also
Floating Academy.
Flock, subs. (colloquial).—A clergyman’s congregation. Also any body of
people with a common haunt or interest: e.g., a family of children, a
company of soldiers, a school of girls or boys, ‘a cabful of molls,’
and such like.
To fire into the wrong flock, verb. phr. (American pioneers’).—To
blunder. A variant is to bark up the wrong tree.
1858. New York Herald, 9 Nov. When Mr. Saulsbury rose and called
the Speaker’s attention to the alleged blunder in the Secretary’s
report, his own friends jumped up in great excitement and pulled
him down; he soon found out that he had fired into the wrong flock.
Flock of Sheep, subs. phr.—1. (gaming). A hand at dominoes set out on
the table.
2. (colloquial).—White waves on the sea: White horses (q.v.).
Flog, subs. (American thieves’).—1. A whip. A contraction of Flogger
(q.v.). To flog (now recognised), is cited by B. E. (1690), Grose, and
the author of Bacchus and Venus as Cant.
To be flogged at the tumbler, verb. phr. (old).—To be whipped at the
cart’s tail. See Tumbler.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew.
To flog the dead horse, verb. phr. (common).—1. To work up an interest
in a bygone subject; to try against heart; to do with no will nor
liking for the job. [Bright said that Earl Russell’s Reform Bill was a
dead horse (q.v.), and every attempt to create enthusiasm in its favour
was flogging the dead horse.]
2. (nautical).—To work off an advance of wages.
To flog a willing horse, verb. phr. (common).—To urge on one who is
already putting forth his best energies.
Flogger, subs. (old).—1. A whip; cf., Flog. Grose gives the word as
Cant. Fr., un bouis.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 173, s.v.
2. (theatrical).—A mop (i.e., a bunch of slips of cloth on a handle)
used in the painting room to whisk the charcoal dust from a sketch.
Flogging, ppl. adj. (old).—Careful; penurious.
Flogging-cove, subs. phr. (prison)—1. An official who administers the
cat (q.v.).
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Flogging cove, c. the
Beadle, or Whipper in Bridewell, or any such place.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Flogging-cove, the beadle, or
whipper, in Bridewell.
2. See Flogging Cully.
Flogging Cully, subs. phr. (venery).—A man addicted, whether from
necessity or choice, to flagellation; a whipster (q.v.).
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Flogging, c. a Naked
Woman’s whipping (with rods) an Old (usually) and (sometimes) a
young Lecher.
Flogging Stake, subs. phr. (old).—A whipping post.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
Flogster, subs. (old).—One addicted to flogging. Specifically (naval),
a nickname applied to the Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV).
Floor, verb. (colloquial).—1. To knock down. Hence to vanquish in
argument; to make an end of; to defeat; to confound. See Floored and
Dead-beat.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue. Floor the pig, knock down the
officer.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 15. That moment the farmer let fly at the
drover, which floored him.
1857. G. A. Lawrence, Guy Livingstone, ch. xxi. ‘When I saw him so
floored as not to be able to come to time, I knew there had been
some hard hitting going on thereabouts, so I kept clear.’
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, p. 10. Then (apostrophising ‘Maga’)
floor me not. Ibid., p. 60, The Corinthian, being no novice in
these matters, floored two or three in a twinkling.
1835. Coleridge, Table Talk (published posthumously). The other day
I was what you may called floored by a Jew.
1836. C. Dickens, Pickwick Papers, p. 425 (Ed. 1857). Even Mr. Bob
Sawyer ... was floored.
1862. Mrs. H. Wood, The Channings, ch. v. ‘So if the master is
directing his suspicions to the seniors, he’ll get floored.’
1870. L. Oliphant, Piccadilly, Pt. V., p. 196. ‘Whenever the mammas
object to asking her on account of that horrid Lady Wylde,’ I floor
all opposition by saying, ‘Oh, Lady Jane Helter will bring her.’
1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. Pope, who was the fresher, started at a
terrific pace and drove his man all over the ring, ending by
flooring him.
To floor the odds (betting men’s).—Said of a low-priced horse that
pulls off the event in face of the betting.
1882. Daily Telegraph, 16 Nov. The odds were, nevertheless, floored
from an unexpected quarter.
1889. Echo, 24 Jan. As the odds betted on Miss Jessie II. were
easily floored by Marsden.
2. (drunkards’).—To finish; to get outside of. E.g., ‘I floored three
half-pints and a nip before breakfast.’
1837. Punch, 31 Jan. Dear Bill, this stone jug.... Is still the
same snug, Free-and-easy old hole, Where Macheath met his blowens,
and Wylde floored his bowl.
18(?). Macmillan’s Magazine (quoted in Century Dict.). I have a few
bottles of old wine left: we may as well floor them.
3. (university).—To pluck; to plough (q.v.).
To floor a paper, lesson, examination, examiner, etc., verb. phr.
(university).—To answer every question; to master; to prove oneself
superior to the occasion.
1852. Bristed, Five Years in an English University, p. 12. Somehow
I nearly floored the paper.
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford. I’ve floored my Little Go.
To floor one’s licks, verb. phr. (common).—To surpass one’s self; to
cut-around (q.v.).
1844. Puck, p. 14. Now slowly rising, raised his pewter and floored
his licks.
To have, hold, or take the floor, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To rise to
address a public meeting; in Ireland, to stand up to dance; and, in
America, ‘to be in possession of the House.’
1882. McCabe, New York, xxi., p. 342. A member making a bid below
or an offer above the one which has the floor.
1888. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. After a half hour’s recess Mr.
Glover took the floor.
1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 11 Nov., p. 6, col. 1. The Duke of
Rutland, however, who ‘took the floor’ non-politically at the end
of the evening, was really ‘felicitous’ in his few remarks.
Floored, ppl. adj. (colloquial).—1. Vanquished; brought under; ruined.
For synonyms, see Dead-beat and infra.
English Synonyms.—Basketted; bitched; bitched-up; bowled out; broken
up; buggered up; busted; caved in; choked-off; cornered; cooked;
coopered up; dead-beat; done brown; done for; done on toast; doubled
up; flattened-out; fluffed; flummoxed; frummagemmed; gapped; gone
through St. Peter’s needle; gone under; gravelled; gruelled; hoofed
out; in the last of pea-time, or last run of shad; jacked-up; knocked
out of time; knocked silly; looed; mucked-out; petered out; pocketed;
potted; put in his little bed; queered in his pitch; rantanned; sat
upon; sewn up; shut-up; smashed to smithereens; snashed; snuffed out;
spread-eagled; struck of a heap; stumped; tied up; timbered; treed;
trumped; up a tree.
French Synonyms.—Mon linge est lavé (pop.: = I have thrown up the
sponge); coller sous bande (= to put in a hole: at billiards, bande =
cushion); avoir son affaire (pop: = to have got a ‘settler’); aplatir
(fam: = to flatten out); aplomber (thieves’: = to brazen down; to
bluff); être pris dans la balancine (pop.: = to be in a fix); se faire
coller (familiar); envoyer quelqu’un s’asseoir, or s’asseoir sur
quelqu’un (popular).
Italian Synonym.—Traboccare (= to overturn).
Spanish Synonyms.—Pesado (doubled-up: from peso = weight); aculado
(from acular = to corner); arrollar (= to sweep away, as a torrent);
aturrullar (= to shut up); cogite! (= ‘I’ve got you.’ or, ‘there I have
you!’)
2. (common).—Drunk; in Shakspearean ‘put down’: as Sir Andrew
Aguecheek, ‘Never in your life, I think, unless you see Canary put me
down.’ (Twelfth Night, i., 3). For synonyms, see Screwed.
3. (painters’).—Hung low at an exhibition; in contradistinction to
skyed (q.v.), and on the line (q.v.).
Floorer, subs. (common).—1. An auctioneer (q.v.); or knock-down blow;
cf., Dig, Bang, and Wipe. Hence, sudden or unpleasant news; a decisive
argument; an unanswerable retort; a decisive check. Sp., peso.
1819. T. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 20. For in these fancy
times, ’tis your hits in the muns, And your choppers and floorers
that govern the funds.
1839. Swinton, Trial of Wm. Humphreys, p. 297. It is a downright
floorer to the Grown.
1856. Bradley (‘Cuthbert Bede’), Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green.
The Putney Pet stared.... The inquiry for his college was, in the
language of his profession, a ‘regular floorers.’
1861. H. C. Pennell, Puck on Pegasus, p. 20. What a floorers to my
hopes is this performance on the ropes! Miss Marianne suspensa
scalis—(Would twere sus. per coll instead).
1868. Cassell’s Magazine, 4 Jan., p. 213. ‘Ah, she hasn’t told you
of the strokes I have had, one arter the other—clean floorers, and
left like a log of wood in my bed.’
2. (schools’).—A question, or a paper, too hard to master.
3. (bowling alley).—A ball that brings down all the pins.
4. (thieves’).—A thief who trips his man, and robs in picking him up; a
Ramper (q.v.).
1809. G. Andrews, Dict. of the Slang and Cant Languages, s.v.
Flooring, subs. (pugilists’).—Knocking down. Hence, to vanquish in all
senses.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. xii. Cross-buttocking ...
being as indispensable an ingredient, as nobbing, flooring, etc.
Floor-walker, subs. (American).—A shop-walker.
Flop, subs. and verb. (American university).—1. A bite (q.v.); a
successful dodge.
1856. Hall, College Words and Customs. Any ‘cute’ performance by
which a man is sold is a good flop, and by a phrase borrowed from
the base-ball ground is ‘rightly played.’ The discomfited
individual declares that they ‘are all on a side,’ and gives up, or
‘rolls over,’ by giving his opponent ‘gowdy.’ A man writes cards
during examinations to ‘feeze the profs’; said cards are ‘gumming
cards,’ and he flops the examination if he gets a good mark by the
means. One usually flops his marks by feigning sickness.
2. (common)—A sudden fall or ‘flop’ down.
3. (common).—A collapse or breakdown.
4. (For flap or flip, old).—A light blow.
1662. Rump Songs, ii., 3. The good the Rump will do, when they
prevail, Is to give us a flop with a fox’s tail, Which nobody can
deny.
Verb. (colloquial).—1. To fall, or flap down suddenly. A variant of
‘flap.’ Fr., prendre un billet de parterre.
1742. Fielding, Joseph Andrews, bk. iv. ch. v. She had flopped her
hat over her eyes.
1859. Dickens, Tale of Two Cities, bk. ii. ch. i. If you must go
flopping yourself down.
1870. Public Opinion, 12 Feb. But even if they were more numerous
and greater than they are, we should hold aloof from the crowd that
flops in his presence with love and awe, as the dismal wife of
Jerry Cruncher flopped in pious misery.
1883. The Theatre, Feb., p. 93. She is able to call in tumbling to
the aid of tragedy, and bring the plastic arts to the portrayal of
the passions; to flop through four such acts as these night after
night, and finish with a death-scene warranted correct, to the very
last kick and quiver.
1891. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up! p. 118. He cursed under his breath each
time he rose to follow, and smothered a yell of pain and horror
each time he flopped down.
2. (pugilists’).—To knock down; to Floor (q.v.).
1888. Sporting Life, 15 Dec. ’E carnt flop a bloke.
Adv. (colloquial).—An onomatopœia expressive of the noise of a sudden
and sounding fall. Often used expletively, as slap (q.v.) is, and the
American right (q.v.)
1726. Vanbrugh, Journey to London, Act I., Sc. 2. That down came I
flop o’ my feace all along in the channel.
1860. Punch, v. 38, p. 255. ’Twixt two stools, flop, he let me
drop, The fall it was my murther.
1881. Jas. Payn, Grape from a Thorn, ch. vi. ‘She’ll roll down,
papa, and come flop.’
To flop over, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To turn heavily; hence (in
America), to make a sudden change of sides, association, or allegiance.
Flop-Up, subs. (American).—A day’s tramp, as opposed to a sot-down =
half a day’s travel.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 15 Sept. ‘Stranger, did ye lope it?’
(come on foot). ‘Yes.’ ‘A mile or a sot down?’ ‘More’n that. About
a dozen flop-ups.’
Flop-up-time = Bedtime.
[Flop, too, is something of a vocable of all-work. Thus to flop in
= (venery) to effect intromission; to flop round = to loaf; to
dangle; to flop a judy = to lay out, or ‘spread’ (q.v.), a girl; to
do a flop = (colloquial) to sit, or to fall, down, and (venery) to
lie down to a man; to flop out = to leave the water noisily and
awkwardly; belly-flopping = belly-bumping, coition; a flop in the
gills = a smack in the mouth.]
Florence, subs. (old)—‘A wench that has been touzed and ruffled.’
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, and (1785) Grose, s.v.
Floster, subs. (common).—A mixed drink: sherry, noyau, peach-leaves,
lemon, sugar, ice, and soda-water. Cf., Flesh-and-blood.
Flouch. To fall (or go), flouch (or floush), verb. phr.
(colloquial).—To come to pieces; to sag suddenly on the removal of a
restraining influence: as a pair of stays.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 13. Old Georgy went floush, and his
backers look’d shy.
Flounce, verb. (colloquial).—To move with violence, and (generally) in
anger. Said of women, for whom such motion is, or rather was,
inseparable from a great flourishing of flounces.
Flounder, subs. (riverside thieves’).—1. A drowned corpse. Cf., Dab,
and for synonyms, see Stiff.
2. (Stock Exchange).—To sell, and afterwards re-purchase a stock, or
vice versâ.
1889. Echo, 1 Feb. A third expedient offers itself—namely, to turn
round and buy; but this operation goes by the name of ‘floundering’
especially when the speculator loses both ways.
Flounder-and-Dab, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A cab. For synonyms, see
Growler.
Flour, subs. (American).—Money. For synonyms, see Actual and Gilt.
Flourish, subs. (venery).—Coition in a hurry; flyer (q.v.); a fast-fuck
(q.v.). Also verbally. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.
1796. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (3rd ed.), s.v. To enjoy a
woman with her clothes on or without going to bed.
Verb (colloquial.).—To be in luck: e.g., ‘I flourish’ = ‘I am well
off’; ‘Do you flourish,’ or ‘Are you flourishing?’ = ‘Have you got any
money?’
Flourishing, adj. (colloquial).—A retort to the enquiry, ‘How are you?’
The equivalent of ‘Pretty well, thank you?’
To flourish it, verb. phr. (venery).—To expose the person.
Flower, subs. (venery).—1. The female pudendum. Also Flower-pot. For
synonyms, see Monosyllable.
2. In pl. (conventional).—The menstrual flux. Cf., Flag, sense 3.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Biancure, the monthly flowers
that women have.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Le fourrier de la lune a marqué le
logis, applicable to a woman that hath her flowers.
Flower-Fancier, subs. phr. (venery).—A whore-master.
Flowery, subs. (thieves’).—Lodging; entertainment; ‘square the omee for
the flowery’ = pay the landlord for the lodging. [Lingua Franca.]
Flowery Language, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A euphemism for blasphemous
and obscene speech.
Flower of Chivalry, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For
synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Flowing-hope, subs. (military).—A forlorn hope.
Flub-dub-and-Guff, subs. phr. (American).—Rhetorical embellishment;
high-falutin’ (q.v.).
1888. Detroit Free Press, August. Rev. Mr. Selah (to desk editor of
the Daily Roarer)—‘Mr. Seezars, are you going to publish my prayer
in full?’ Desk Editor—‘In full? Well, I guess not.’ (Changing his
tone)—‘However, we’ll do what we can for you. By swiping out the
flub-dub-and-guff, I guess we’ll have room to put in the points.’
Flue, subs. (old). 1. The Recorder of London or any large town.
Bamfylde Moore-Carew.
2. (colloquial).—The filth, part fluff, part hair, part dust, which
collects under ill-kept beds, and at the junctures of sofas and chairs;
Beggar’s Velvet (q.v.).
1860. Dickens, Uncommercial Traveller. ‘Arcadian London.’ A power
they possess of converting everything into flue. Such broken
victuals as they take by stealth appear (whatever the nature of the
viands) to generate flue.... Ibid. ‘Refreshment for Travellers.’
Take the old established Bull’s Head ... with its old-established
flue under its old established four-post bedsteads.
3. (common).—A contraction of ‘influenza.’
Verb (common).—To put in pawn.
In (or up) the flue, phr. (common).—Pawned. For synonyms, see Pop.
1821. Real Life, etc., I., p. 566.
1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, II., p. 250. I’ve had
sometimes to leave half my stock in flue with a deputy for a
night’s rest.
Up the flue (or spout), adj. phr. (colloquial).—Dead; collapsed,
mentally or physically.
To be up one’s flue, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be awkward for one.
That’s up your flue = That’s a ‘facer,’ or that’s up against you.
Flue-Faker (or Scraper), subs. (common).—A chimney-sweep. [From Flue +
Faker (q.v.).] Minor clergy = young chimney sweeps. For synonyms, see
Clergyman.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, p. 60. The ‘office’ has been given to
‘shove’ the poor flue-faker against Tom’s light drab coat.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
1882. Punch. LXXXII., p. 185, col. 2.
Fluff (or Fluffings), subs. (railway clerks’).—1. Short change given by
booking-clerks. The practice is known as Fluffing. Cf., Menavelings.
Fr., des fruges (= more or less unlawful profits of any sort).
1890. Star, 27 Jan. Many porters on this line are but getting 15s.
per week, and with regard to ‘tips,’ or, as we say, ‘fluff’—well,
would you not think it mean to tell your servant when you engaged
him that such were strictly forbidden by punishment with dismissal,
and then proclaim to the world that with good wages and tips your
servant was well paid.
2. (theatrical).—‘Lines’ half learned and imperfectly delivered. Hence,
To do a fluff = to forget one’s part.
1891. W. Archer, The World, p. 28, col. 1, line 34. But even as
seen through a cloud of fluff the burlesque is irresistibly
amusing.
3. (venery).—The female pubic hair. For synonyms, see Fleece.
Verb. (railway clerks’).—1. To give short change.
2. (common).—To disconcert, to Floor (q.v.). Cf., Fluff in the Pan = a
failure.
3. (theatrical).—To forget one’s part. Also To do a fluff.
Fluff it! Intj. (common).—An interjection of disapproval: ‘Be off!’
‘Take it away!’
Fluffer, subs. (common).—1. A drunkard. Cf., Fluffiness.
2. (theatrical).—A player ‘rocky on his lines’; i.e., given to
forgetting his part.
3. (old).—A term of contempt.
Fluffiness, subs. (common).—1. Drunkenness. Cf., Fluffy and Fluffer.
1886. Fun, 4 August, p. 44. A sullen-faced, clerical-looking young
man, charged with fluffiness in a public conveyance, said he was
sober as a judge when taken into custody.
2. (theatrical).—The trick, or habit, of forgetting words.
Fluffy, adj. (common and theatrical).—Unsteady; of uncertain memory.
Cf., Fluffer (sense 2), and Fluffiness (sense 2).
1885. Referee, July 26, p. 3, col. 2. In the last act Groves and
one or two others were either what actors call fluffy in their
lines, or else Mr. Cross was guilty of irritating tautology.
Fluke, subs. (common).—In billiards, an accidental winning hazard; in
all games a result not played for; a crow (q.v.). In yachting an effect
of chance; a result in which seamanship has had no part. Hence, a
stroke of luck. Sp., bambarria.
1857. Notes and Queries, 2 S. IV., p. 208, col. 1. In playing at
billiards, if a player makes a hazard, etc., which he did not play
for, it is often said that he made a crow.... Another term is, ‘He
made a flook (or fluke).’
1869. Whyte Melville, M or N, p. 100. ‘Only lost a pony on the
whole meeting,’ answered Dick triumphantly. ‘And even that was a
fluke, because Bearwarden’s Bacchante filly was left at the post.’
1873. Black, Princess of Thule, ch. xix. ‘These conditions are not
often fulfilled—it is a happy fluke when they are.’
1880. Hawley Smart, Social Sinners, ch. xxxii. ‘I suppose, by your
asking the question, you have become acquainted with Mr. Solamo’s
past.’ ‘That’s just it, Mr. Prossiter; by an odd fluke I have.’
1891. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up! p. 144. He was now being cured only to
be hanged, most likely, unless by some happy fluke he got off with
imprisonment for life.
Verb (common and billiards).—1. To effect by accident.
1888. Sportsman, 20 Dec. Fortune once more assisted Mitchell, who,
in trying to make a red loser, fluked a cannon, from which he got
on the spot, and made forty-three winners in a break of 161.
2. (schoolboys’).—To shirk.
1864. Eton School Days, ch. xvi., p. 203. ‘By Jove! I think I shall
fluke doing Verses; I should like to see Paddy drive tandem through
College,’ said Butler Burke.
To cut flukes out, verb. phr. (nautical).—To mutiny; to turn sulky and
disobedient.
To turn flukes, verb. phr. (nautical).—To go to bed; i.e., to bunk
(q.v.), or turn in.
Fluky, or Flukey, adj. (common).—Of the nature of a fluke (q.v.); i.e.,
achieved more by good luck than good guidance.
1882. Standard, 3 Sept. Bonnor got a Flukey three to square leg.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gazette, 20 March. Now, Grady was a smart
young Irishman who had thrashed Stevens twice in days gone by, and
had won a somewhat flukey victory over Young Norley.
Hence Flukiness = abounding in flukes.
1886. Ill. Sport. and Dram. News, 20 Feb., p. 579. There is no
flukiness about him: he makes his runs because he is an excellent
batsman, and takes his wickets because he is an excellent bowler.
Flummadiddle, subs. (American).—1. Nonsense; flummery (q.v.).
2. (nautical).—A sea-dainty.
1884. G. A. Sala, in Ill. London News, July 19, p. 51, col. 2. I
suppose that when the friendly skippers gam [q.v.], they feast on
flummadiddle, a dish composed, I am given to understand, of stale
bread, pork fat, molasses, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.
Flummergasted, ppl. adj. (colloquial).—Astonished; confounded. A
variant of flabbergasted (q.v.).
1849. New South Wales: Past and Present, ch. i., p. 14. This
coolness so completely flummergasted the fellow, that he kept
talking until Mr. Day shot him through the shoulder.
Flummery, subs. (colloquial). 1. Nonsense; gammon (q.v.); flattery.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. Oatmeal and water
boiled to a jelly; also compliments: neither ... over-nourishing.
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. i. I shall ... blow off as
much of the froth as I can, in order to present the residuum free
of flummery.
1846. Thackeray, Yellow Plush Papers. She swallowed Lord Crabs’
flumery just as she would so many musheruims.
1854. Whyte Melville, General Bounce, ch. xii. None of the dubious,
half-expressed, sentimental flummery.
2. (American nautical).—A kind of bread pudding.—Nordhoff.
3. (old).—Oatmeal and water boiled to a jelly.—Grose (1785).
Flummox, Flummocks, or Flummux, verb. (colloquial).—1. To perplex,
dodge, abash, or silence; to victimize; to best (q.v.); to disappoint.
Also conflummox. To flummox (or conflummox) by the lip = to outslang
(q.v.), or talk down; to flummox the coppers = to dodge the police; to
flummox the old Dutch = to cheat one’s wife, etc. For synonyms, see
Flabbergast.
2. (theatrical).—To confuse, to queer (q.v.). Cf., Corpse.
3. (American).—Used in the passive sense = to abandon a purpose; to
give in; to die.
Subs. (American University).—A bad recitation; a failure.
Flummoxed, ppl. adj. (thieves’ and general).—1. Spoilt; ruined; drunk;
sent down (q.v.); boshed (q.v.); defeated; disappointed; silenced;
floored (q.v.).
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxxiii., p. 283. ‘And my ’pinion is,
Sammy, that if your governor don’t prove an alleybi, he’ll be what
the Italians call reg’larly flummoxed, and that’s all about it.’
1840. Whibley, Cap and Gown, p. 170. So many of the men I know Were
flummoxed at the last great go.
1861. H. C. Pennell, Puck on Pegasus, p. 17. I felt flummox’d in a
brown (study understood) old fellow.
1864. Cornhill Magazine, Dec., p. 742. ‘I say, Tom.’ ‘Yes, mate.’
‘If I should have a fit heave a bucket of water over me.’ Tom was
too astonished, or, as he expressed it, conflummoxed to make any
reply.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 25 July, p. 2, col. 1. I’ll give Tom his
due, and say of him that for flummoxing a cuss (Custom House
Officer) or working the weed, I don’t know any one he couldn’t give
a chalk to and beat ’em.
1890. Punch, 30 Aug., p. 97. I’m fair flummoxed, and singing, ‘Oh,
what a surprise!’
Flummocky, adj. (colloquial).—Out of place; in bad taste.
1891. F. H. Groome. Blackwood’s Mag., March, p. 319. ‘It is a nice
solemn dress,’ she said, as she lifted a piece to examine it more
closely; ‘there’s nothing flummocky about it.’
Flummut, subs. (vagrants’).—A month in prison. See flummoxed. For
synonyms, see Dose.
1889. Answers, 20th July, p. 121, col. 2. If you want to get rid of
an importunate tramp tell him to ‘stow his patter,’ or you will get
him a flummut.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 232. He
[patterer] mostly chalks a signal on or near the door. I give one
or two instances.... ‘Flummut,’ sure of a month in quod.
Flump, verb. (colloquial).—To fall, put, or be set, down with violence
or a thumping noise. Onomatopœic. Also to come down with a Flump. Cf.,
Plump and Cachunk.
1840. Thackeray, Paris Sketch Book, ch. v. Chairs were flumped down
on the floor.
1865. H. Kingsley, The Hillyars and the Burtons, ch. lxii. Before
my mother had been a week in the partly-erected slab-house, the
women began to come in, to flump down into a seat and tell her all
about it.
Flunk, subs. (American colloquial).—1. An idler, a Loafer (q.v.) or
Lawrence (q.v.).
2. (Also Flunk-out).—A failure, especially (at college) in recitations;
a backing out of undertakings.
1853. Songs of Yale. In moody meditation sunk, Reflecting on my
future flunk.
1877. Brunonian, 24th Feb. A flunk is a complete fizzle; and a dead
flunk is where one refuses to get out of his seat.
1888. Missouri Republican, 11th Feb. Riddleberger forced the
presidential possibilities of the senate to a complete flunk.
Verb. (American).—To retire through fear; to fail (as in a lesson); to
cause to fail. Cf., Funk.
1838. Neal, Charcoal Sketches, IV. Why, little ’un, you must be
cracked, if you flunk out before we begin.
1847. The Yale Banger, 22 Oct. My dignity is outraged at beholding
those who fizzle and flunk in my presence tower above me.
1853. Amherst Indicator, p. 253. They know that a man who has
flunked, because too much of a genius to get his lesson, is not in
a state to appreciate joking.
1871. John Hay, ‘Jim Bludso of the Prairie Bell,’ in New York
Tribune, Jan. But he never flunked, and he never lied, I reckon he
never know’d how.
Flunkey, subs. (nautical).—1. A ship’s steward.
2. (American.)—An ignorant dabbler in stock; an inexperienced jobber.
1862. A Week in Wall St., p. 90. A broker, who had met with heavy
losses, exclaimed: ‘I’m in a bear-trap,—this won’t do. The dogs
will come over me. I shall be mulct in a loss. But I’ve got time;
I’ll turn the scale; I’ll help the bulls operate for a rise, and
draw in the flunkies.’
3. (American University.)—One that makes a complete failure in a
recitation; one who flunks (q.v.).
1859. Yale Lit. Magazine. I bore him safe through Horace, Saved him
from the flunkey’s doom.
4. (colloquial).—A man-servant, especially one in livery. Hence, by
implication, a parasite or Toady (q.v.). Fr., un larbin.
1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs; ch. v. You who have no toadies; you
whom no cringing flunkeys or shopmen bow out of doors.
Whence, Flunkeyism = Blind worship of rank, birth, or riches. Fr., la
larbinerie.
1857. J. E. Ritchie, Night Side of London, p. 23. Our trading
classes, becoming richer and more sunk in flunkeyism every day.
Flurryment, subs. (common.)—Agitation; bustle; confusion; nervous
excitement. [Pleonastic, from Flurry.]
1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. II. Mary and all on em was in a
monstrous flurryment.
Flurry One’s Milk, verb. phr. (common).—To be worried, angry, or upset;
To fret one’s kidneys (q.v.); To tear one’s shirt, or one’s hair
(q.v.).
Flush, subs. (gamesters’).—A hand of one suit.
Adj. (colloquial).—1. With plenty of money; the reverse of hard up
(q.v.); warm (q.v.). Also abounding in anything: e.g. flush of his
patter = full of his talk; flush of the lotion = liberal with the
drink; flush of his notions = prodigal of ideas; flush of her charms =
lavish of her person; and so forth.
1603. Dekker, Batchelor’s Banquet, ch. viii. Some dames of the
company, which are more flush in crownes than her good man.
1605. The Play of Stucley, l. 538. They know he hath received His
marriage money: they perceive he’s flush And mean to share with him
ere all be gone.
1663. Dryden, Wild Gallant, Act II. Con. Since you are so flush,
sir, you shall give me a locket of diamonds of three hundred
pounds.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Flush in the pocket c.
full of money. The cull is flush in the fob, the Spark’s pocket is
well lined with money.
1767. O’Hara, Two Misers, Act I. What stops many an hopeful
project? lack of cash—[looking archly at him]. Are you flush, Sir?
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1846. Thackeray, V. F., vol. I. ch. xxviii. The expenses were borne
by Jos and Osborne, who was flush of money and full of kind
attentions to his wife.
1861. A. Trollope, Framley Parsonage, ch. viii. Allow me to draw on
you for that amount at three months. Long before that time I shall
be flush enough.
1864. Economist, 29 Oct. The world was then, if such a very
colloquial expression could be pardoned, ‘flush of cash,’ and it
sent in that cash rapidly and at once.
2. (common).—Intoxicated (i.e., full to the brim); also flushed. For
synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
3. (colloquial).—Level: e.g., flush with the top, with the water, with
the road, with the boat’s edge, etc.
Verb. (common).—1. To whip.
English Synonyms.—To bludgeon; to bumbaste; to breech (Cotgrave); to
brush; to club; to curry; to dress with an oaken towel; to drub; to
drybeat; to dry-bob; to drum; to fib; to flap; to flick; to flop; to
jerk; to give one ballast; to hide; to lamm; to larrup; to paste; to
punch; to rub down; to swinge; to swish; to switch; to trounce; to
thump; to tund (Winchester); to wallop. See also Tan.
French Synonyms.—Donner l’avoine (pop. = to give a feed of hay);
allumer (popular); bouiser (thieves’: un bouis = a whip).
Italian Synonyms.—Smanegrare; cotillare; corillare; cerire.
2. (colloquial).—To clean by filling full, and emptying, of water:
e.g., to flush a sewer; to wash, swill, or sluice away. Also to fill
with water: e.g., to flush a lock.
1884. Henley and Stevenson, Admiral Guinea, i., 8. Pray for a new
heart; flush out your sins with tears.
3. (shooting).—To start or raise a bird from covert: e.g., to flush a
snipe, or a covey of partridges. Hence (venery) to flush a wild duck =
to single out a woman for grousing (q.v.).
To come flush on one, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To come suddenly and
unexpectedly (Marvell); to overwhelm (as by a sudden rush of water).
Flushed on the Horse, phr. (prison).—Privately whipped in gaol.
Flush-hit, subs. phr. (pugilistic).—A clean blow; a hit full on the
mark and straight from the shoulder. For synonyms, see Dig.
1891. Lic. Vict. Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 7, col. 2. Landed a very heavy
flush hit on the mouth.
Adv. (colloquial).—Full; straight; right on (q.v.).
1888. Sporting Life, 15 Dec. Both cautious, Wilson with marked
frequency leading off, and getting the left flush on the face.
Fluster, verb. (old).—To excite; to confuse, abash, or flummox (q.v.);
to upset, or be upset, with drink.
1602. Shakspeare, Othello, I., 3. The very elements of this warlike
isle,—Have I to-night fluster’d with flowing cups.
1711. Spectator, No. 87. It is very common for such as are too low
in constitution to ogle the idol upon the strength of tea, to
fluster themselves with warmer liquors.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 261. When I vext proud Celia just
come from my glass, She tells me I’m flustered, and look like an
ass.
1731. Fielding, Letter Writers. Act II., Sc. 5. Who hath taken me
to the tavern, and, I protest, almost fluster’d me.
Flustered (or Flustrated), ppl. adj. (old).—Excited by drink,
circumstances, another person’s impudence, etc.; also mildly drunk.
Cf., Flusticated. For synonyms, see Screwed.
1686. Common. of Women, Prol. Another to compleat his daily task,
fluster’d with claret, seizes on a mask.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. flustered, drunk.
1709. Steele, Tatler, No. 3. I ... therefore take this public
occasion to admonish a young Nobleman, who came flustered into the
box last night.
1748. T. Dyche, Dict. (5th ed.) Flustered (a) ... somewhat
intoxicated with liquor.
1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. XIV., ch. ix. This latter, though
not drunk, began to be somewhat flustered.
1779. The Mirror, No. 57. All of them flustered, some of them
perfectly intoxicated.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
Flusticated, or Flustrated, ppl. adj. (old and colloquial).—Confused;
in a state of heat or excitement. Cf., Flustered.
1712. Spectator, No. 493. We were coming down Essex Street one
night a little flustrated.
1766. Colman, Cland. Marriage V., in works (1777) i. 271. Your mind
is too much flustrated, and you can neither eat nor drink.
1843. Maj. Jones’ Courtship, I. Somehow I was so flustrated that I
tuk the rong way.
1847. Porter, Big Bear, &c., p. 98. I sot down, being sorter
flusticated like, thinkin’ of that skrape, last time I was there.
Flustration, subs. (old and colloquial).—Heat; excitement; bustle;
confusion; flurry (q.v.).
1771. Smollet, Humphrey Clinker, I., 126. Being I was in such a
flustration.
1843. Major Jones’ Courtship, viii. The old woman’s been in a
monstrous flustration ’bout the comet.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc., p. 177. My wife is in a delicut
way, and the frite might cause a flustration.
1848. Jones, Studies of Travel, p. 21. The old woman was in such a
flustration she didn’t know her lips from anything else.
1872. Mortimer Collins, Two Plunges for a Pearl, vol. II., ch. vii.
Then was this pretty little actress whom he admired in a great
state of flustration.
Flute, subs. (old).—1. The recorder of a corporation.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Tibia, a flute, a recorder, a
pipe.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Flute, c. The recorder
of London or of any other town.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1825. Kent, Modern Flash Dict. Flute—the recorder of any town.
2. (venery).—The penis. Also the one-holed, the living, or the silent
flute. To play a tune on the one-holed flute = to have connection. Cf.,
Dryden (Sixth Juvenal, line 107). ‘And stretch his quail-pipe till they
crack his voice.’ For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.
1720. Durfey, Pills, etc., vi., 31. He took her by the middle, And
taught her by the flute.
1736. Cupid, p. 163. The Flute is good that’s made of Wood, And is,
I own, the neatest; Yet ne’ertheless I must confess, The silent
flute’s the sweetest.
Flutter, subs. (common).—1. An attempt, or shy (q.v.), at anything; a
venture in earnest; a spree; a state of expectancy (as in betting).
Hence gambling.
1883. Echo, 26 Feb. p. 4, col. 2. I have no stable tip, but I fancy
the animal named will at any rate afford backers a flutter for
their money.
1889. Licensed Vict. Gazette, 8 Feb. Of course he told her he only
went in for a little flutter occasionally.
1890. Saturday Review, 1 Feb., p. 134, col. 1. They find out the
addresses of people whom they see at the races—people whom they
suspect to be fond of a flutter, and then an invitation is sent to
a little soirée intime.
1887. Henley, Culture in the Slums, iii. I likes a merry little
flutter, I keeps a Dado on the sly, In fact my form’s the blooming
Utter.
2. (common).—The act of spinning a coin.
3. (venery).—Connection defloration. To have had a flutter = (1) to
have been there (cf., greens); and (2) to have lost one’s maidenhead.
Verb. (common).—1. To spin a coin (for drinks); also to gamble.
2. (common).—To go in for a bout of pleasure.
To flutter the ribbons, verb. phr. (common).—To drive.
1864. Eton School Days, chap. 1, p. 11. As I was going to be
saying, I used to flutter the ribands of the London Croydon and
South Coast coach.
[Flutter, if not a word of all-work, is a word with plenty to do.
Thus, to have (or do) a flutter = to have a look in (q.v.), to go
on the spree, and (of both sexes) to have carnal connection; to be
on the flutter = to be on the spree, and also (venery) to be all
there (q.v.) or on the spot (q.v.); to flutter a judy—both to
pursue and to possess a girl; to flutter a brown = to spin a coin;
to flutter (or fret) one’s kidneys = to agitate, to exasperate; to
flutter a skirt = to walk the streets; and so forth.]
Flux, verb. (old).—1. To cheat; to cozen; to overreach. For synonyms,
see Stick.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
2. (old.)—To salivate. Grose, (1785).
Fly, subs. (old).—A familiar; hence, by implication, a parasite or
sucker (q.v.). [In the sixteenth and seventeenth century it was held
that familiar spirits, in the guise of flies, lice, fleas, etc.,
attended witches, who for a price professed to dispose of the power for
evil thus imparted.]
1596. Lodge, Incarnate Devils. This divel prefers an Ephimerides
before a Bible; and his Ptolemey and Hali before Ambrose, golden
Chrisostome, or S. Augustine: promise him a familiar, and he will
take a flie in a box for good paiment.
1610. Ben Jonson, Alchemist i. You are mistaken, doctor, Why he
does ask one but for cups and horses, A rifling fly, none of your
great familiars.
1622. Massinger, Virgin Martyr, ii., 2. Courtiers have flies That
buzz all news unto them.
2. (old).—A printer’s devil; specifically a boy who lifted the printed
sheets from the press. [Now the vibrating frame used for the same
purpose.]
1688. R. Holme, Academy of Armory. These boys do in a
printing-house commonly black and bedaub themselves, when the
workmen do jocosely call them devils, and sometimes spirits, and
sometimes flies.
3. (trade).—A customer.
4. (common).—The act of spinning a coin. Cf., Flutter.
5. (old).—A public wagon: afterwards (colloquial) a four-wheel hackney
coach. Fr., mouche (fly) = a public boat on the Seine.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall, s.v.
6. (common).—A policeman. For synonyms, see Beak and Copper.
1857. Snowden, Magistrates’ Assistant, 3rd ed., p. 446. A
policeman; a fly.
Adj. (common).—1. Knowing; artful (q.v.); up to every move; cute. Also
fly to, a-fly, fly to the game, and fly to what’s what. Cf., Awake,
and, for synonyms, see Knowing; fly dog (q.v.).
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, Cheese it, the coves are fly = be
silent, the people understand our discourse.
1823. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, Act II., Sc. 2. Jerry.
Charlies’ fiddles?—I’m not fly, Doctor. Log. Rattles, Jerry,
rattles! Jerry rattles! you’re fly now, I see.
1838. Glascock, Land Sharks and Sea Gulls, II., 4. That’s right; I
see you’re fly to every fakement.
1850. Lloyd’s Weekly, 3 Feb. ‘Low Lodging Houses of London.’ They
say the fliest is easy to take in sometimes—that’s the artfullest;
but I could do no good there.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 260. ‘We
were too fly to send anybody to market but ourselves.’
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xxxv. [Chas. Ravenshoe to
Shoeblack]. ‘On the cross?’ said Charles. ‘Ah,’ the boy said, ‘he
goes out cly-faking and such. He’s a prig, and a smart one, too.
He’s fly, is Harry.’
1876. Miss Braddon, Dead Men’s Shoes, ch. lii. ‘Go and fetch the
cleverest police officer in Liverpool, and let him wait outside
this door till I want him.’ ‘I’m fly,’ answers the youth,
brightening at the prospect of excitement and remuneration. ‘Case
of ’bezzlement, I suppose, Sir?’
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. ii., p. 125. A certain
prisoner, who was what is termed a very fly man, i.e., a clever,
scheming fellow ... sounded him as to getting tobacco and other
matters.
188(?). Jenny Hill, Broadside Ballad. I’ve cut my wisdom teeth,
some at top, some underneath.... So you needn’t try it on; I’m fly.
1890. Punch, 30 Aug., p. 9. Briggs, Junior, a lobsculler called me;
I wasn’t quite fly to his lay.
1891. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 9 Jan. If you get among a fly
lot, why they’d skin you in less than no time.
2. (common).—Dextrous.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. v. No dummy hunter had
forks so fly.
1839. Reynolds, Pickwick Abroad, p. 223. We’ll knap a fogle with
fingers fly.
3. (venery).—Wanton. Fly-girl, -woman, or -dame = a prostitute.
1888. San Francisco News Letter, 4 Feb. ‘I’m just gettin’ sick’n
tired o’ the way ’t them fly dames go on, ’n the way ’t the fellahs
hang round ’em ’n dance with ’em ’n so forth.’
Verb. (thieves’).—1. To toss; to raise; to fly the mags = to toss up
half-pence (cf., subs., sense 4).
1857. Snowden, Magistrates’ Assistant, 3rd ed., p. 447. To lift a
window, to fly a window.
2. (pugilistic).—To give way: as, china flies in the baking.
1865. G. F. Berkeley, My Life, II. 296. Heenan ... told me his
right hand was worth nothing to him, and we have since seen that
his left flies, or, in other words, becomes puffed, softened, or
severely damaged by the force of his own blows.
To fly around, verb. phr. (American).—To bestir oneself; to make haste.
Also to fly around and tear one’s shirt.
1851. Hooper, Widow Rugby’s Husband, p. 44. Old ’ooman, fly around,
git somethin’ for the Squire and Dick to eat.
To fly the flag, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To walk the streets.
2. (vulgar).—To experience the menstrual flux.
See also Flag.
To fly high (or rather high).—1. verb. phr. (common).—To get, or be
drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
2. (colloquial).—To keep the best company, maintain the best
appearances, and affect the best aims: i.e., to be a High-flier (q.v.).
Also, to venture for the biggest stakes in the biggest way.
To fly low, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make as little of oneself as
possible; to sing small (q.v.); and (among thieves) to keep out of the
way when wanted (q.v.).
To fly off the handle, verb. phr. (American pioneer).—To lose temper;
to fail of a promise; to jilt; to die; also to slip off the handle
(q.v.); to disappoint in any way. [In pioneer life for an axe to part
company with its handle is a serious trial to temper and patience.]
1843–4. Haliburton, The Attaché. You never see such a crotchical
old critter as he is. He flies right off the handle for nothing.
1867. Home Journal (New York), 21 July (speaking of a man who had
succeeded to a large fortune it says) he went off the handle in
England rather unexpectedly.
1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 195. If a fair lady loses her
temper, or worst of all, if she breaks the tender promise, she is
said to fly off the handle, and the disappointment is as serious to
the unlucky lover as a lost axe to many a settler.
1888. Pittsburg Chronicle. ‘I can’t say that I’am stuck on Sue
Fitzpercy,’ remarked Amy. ‘She is liable to fly off the handle.’
To fly out, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To get angry; to scold.
1612. Chapman, Widow’s Tears, Act II., p. 317 (Plays, 1874). For
wherefore rage wives at their husbands so when they fly out? for
zeal against the sin?
1665–6. Pepys, Diary, 17 Jan. It is to be feared that the
Parliament will fly out against him and particular men, the next
Session.
1712. Spectator, No. 479. He (Socrates) has said, My dear friend,
you are beholden to Xantippe, that I bear so well your flying out
in a dispute.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xx. ‘And then the Colonel flies out
about his boy, and says that my wife insulted him!’
To make the fur (or feathers) fly, verb. phr. (common).—To attack
effectively; to make a disturbance; to quarrel noisily like two tom
cats on the tiles, who are said (in American) to pull fur, or to pull
wool.
1847. Porter, Big Bear, etc., p. 132. Thar, they’ve got him agin,
and now the fur flies.
1888. Denver Republican, 29 Feb. ‘Wait until the National Committee
assembles on February 22,’ said the organizer, ‘and you will see
the fur fly from the Cleveland hide.’
To take on the fly, verb. phr. (vagrants’).—To beg in the streets; a
specific usage of adverbial sense.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, II., p. 59. The ‘first
move’ in his mendicant career was taking them on the fly, which
means meeting the gentry on their walks, and beseeching or at times
menacing them till something is given.
To fly a kite, verb. phr. (common).—To raise money by means of
accommodation bills; to raise the wind (q.v.).
1812. From an old Dublin Jester. [The story, however, with slight
variations, is told of other judges. See N. and Q., S. ix., 6
326–394.] In a case before the Lord Chancellor of Ireland Mr.
Curran, on behalf of the suitor, prayed to be relieved from the
payment of some bills for which he had not received consideration,
but only lent his name as an accommodation. Mr. Curran, in the
course of his pleadings, mentioned the terms kite and raising the
wind several times, when his lordship requested to know the meaning
of the words. ‘My lord,’ Mr. Curran replied, ‘in your country
(meaning England) the wind generally raises the kite, but with us,
significantly looking at the gentlemen of the bar, the kite raises
the wind.’
1848. Punch, XIV., p. 226. ‘The Model Gentleman.’ He never does ‘a
little discounting’ nor lends his hand to ‘flying a kite.’
1849. Perils of Pearl Street, p. 82. Flying the kite is rather a
perilous adventure.
1880. G. R. Sims, Ballads of Babylon (Little Worries). You have a
kite you cannot fly, and creditors are pressing.
1891. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 23 Jan. Prince Alexis
Soltykoff, who has been flying kites, and getting into trouble
thereby, is the only son of Prince Soltykoff, the steward of the
Jockey Club.
2. (thieves’).—To go out by the window.
3. (lodging-house).—To evacuate from a window.
4. (colloquial).—To attempt; to set one’s cap at.
1863. H. Kingsley, Austin Elliot, ch. xii. ‘They say that you flew
your kite at that girl of George Cecil’s who has married that prig,
Lord Mewstone.’
To fly the blue pigeon, verb. phr. (thieves’).—To steal lead from
roofs. See Blue-pigeon. Fr., faire la mastar au gras-double, or la
faire au mastar.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter. Thieves who fly the blue pigeon,
that is, who steal lead off houses, or cut pipes away ... cut a
hundredweight of lead, which they wrap round their bodies next to
the skin. This they call a bible (q.v.), and what they steal and
put in their pockets, they call a testament (q.v.).
1887. Judy, 27 April, p. 200. A burglar whose particular lay was
flying the blue pigeon, i.e., stealing lead.
To let fly, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To hit out. [From cock-fighting.]
1859. Punch, vol. XXXVII., p. 54. ‘Essence of Parliament.’ Monday,
25 July. Lord Lyndhurst let fly and caught him what (if pugilistic
terms be not out of place when one is alluding to so pacific a
personage) may be designated an extremely neat one on the conk.
Not a feather to fly with, adv. phr. (common).—Penniless and ruined;
dead-broke (q.v. for synonyms).
To break a fly on a wheel, verb. phr. (colloquial). To make a mountain
of a molehill. Cf., To crack a nut with a Nasmyth hammer = to lavish
force or energy.
The fly on the wheel, subs. phr. (colloquial).—One who fancies himself
of mighty importance. [From the fable.]
I don’t rise to that fly, phr. (common) = I don’t believe you; you
won’t catch me with such bait as that. [From fly-fishing.]
Off the fly, adv. phr. (colloquial).—On the quiet; laid up in dock;
doing nothing: said of a strumpet retired from business, or a man (or
woman) who has given over the pursuit of pleasure.
On the fly, adv. phr. (popular).—1. Walking the streets; out for a lark
(q.v.); off work (q.v.); out on the spree (q.v.).
2. (thieves’).—In motion: e.g., ‘I got in one on the fly’ = I landed a
blow while I was running.
1868. Temple Bar, xxiv., p. 538. I prigged an old woman’s poke on
the fly.
Fly-blow, subs. (common).—A bastard; cf., Bye-blow. A nonce word.
1875. Ouida, Signa, vol. I., ch. viii., p. 140. No doubt that
little fly-blow is his own.
Fly-blown, adj. (common).—1. Intoxicated. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Screwed.
1877. Judy, 18 May, p. 236. The officer assisted the pastor out,
and hinted that he was slightly ‘fly-blown.’
2. (Australian).—Cleaned-out; without a rap; Hard-up (q.v. for
synonyms).
1889. Star, 3 Jan. Our diggers go into Castlemaine to get their
hair cut, and once there, they get on the spree, and come back
fly-blown.
3. (common).—Used, or done-up; washed-out (q.v.).
4. (venery).—Deflowered. Also stale (q.v.); ‘known for a wanton.’ Also
suspected of disease.
Fly-by-Night, subs. (old).—1. A sedan chair on wheels; a usage of the
Regency days.
2. (common).—A defaulting debtor; one who shoots the moon (q.v.). Also
applied to the act.
3. (venery).—A prostitute. See Bat, and for synonyms, Barrack-hack and
Tart.
4. (common).—A noctambulist for business or for pleasure: i.e., a
burglar or a common spreester (q.v.).
5. (obsolete).—A term of opprobrium.
1796. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (3rd ed.), s.v. An ancient
term of reproach to an old woman, signifying that she was a witch,
and alluding to the nocturnal excursions attributed to witches who
were supposed to fly abroad to their meetings mounted on brooms.
6. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Fly-cage, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Fly-catcher, subs. (venery).—1. The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
2. (common).—An open-mouthed ignoramus; a Gapeseed (q.v.)—Sydney Smith.
Fr., gobe-mouche.
Flycop, subs. (American).—A sharp officer; one well broken in to the
tricks of trade. [From fly = knowing + cop, a policeman.]
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
Fly-disperser Soup, subs. phr. (common).—Oxtail.
Flyer.—1. See Flier in all senses.
2. (old).—A shoe. For synonyms, see Trotter-case.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of Terms, etc., s.v.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1791. Life and Adventures of Bamfylde Moore Carew, s.v.
1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. II., p. 34. There is
another article called a flyer, that is, a shoe sold without being
welted.
3. (Winchester).—A half-volley at football. A made-flyer is when the
bound of the ball is gained from a previous kick, by the same side,
against canvas or any other obstacle, or is dropped, as in a
‘drop-kick.’ This is now confused with a ‘kick-up.’
Fly-flapped, adj. (obsolete).—Whipped in the stocks, or at the cart’s
tail.—Grose.
Fly-Flapper, subs. (old).—A heavy bludgeon.
Fly-flat, subs. (turf).—A would-be connoisseur and authority. [From fly
= knowing + flat = a fool.]
Flying.—To look as if the Devil had shit him (or her) flying (common
and proverbial).—Said in derision of one odd-looking, filthy, or
deformed.
Flying-angel.—See Angel.
Flying Bricklayers, subs. phr. (military).—The mounted Royal Engineers.
Flying Camps, subs. phr. (old).—Couples or gangs of beggars.
1699. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew. Beggars plying in flying
camps. Beggars plying in bodies at funerals.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
Flying-caper, subs. (thieves’).—An escape from prison; leg-bail (q.v.).
1864. Daily Paper, ‘Police Report.’ The blues are always ready to
spot a fellow who has tried on the flying-caper with them, and
given them leg-bail.
Flying-cat.—See Cat.
Flying Country, subs. phr. (hunting).—A country where the going (q.v.)
is fast and good.
1856. Whyte Melville, Kate Coventry, ch. xii. The heavy-top hounds
are an establishment such as, I am given to understand, is not
usually kept in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and other
so-called ‘flying counties.’
Flying Cove, subs. phr. (American thieves’).—An impostor who gets, or
tries to get, money from persons who have been robbed by pretending to
give such information as will lead to recovery. Formerly, Flying-porter
(Grose).
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogues’ Lexicon, s.v.
Flying-dustman.—See Stiff-un.
Flying-dutchman, subs. (common).—The London and Exeter express (G. W.
R.). See also Flying Scotchman and Wild Irishman. Cf., Dead-meat train
and Larky subaltern’s coach.
Flying-horse (or Mare), subs. (wrestling).—The throw by which an
opponent is sent over the head. Introduced, says Bee, by Parkins.
1754. Foote, Knights, Act I. But we don’t wrestle after your
fashion; we ha’ no tripping; fath and soul! we all go upon close
hugs or the flying-mare.
1884. Referee, 23 March, p. 1., col. 1. In the third and last bout,
Klein brought his man clean over his head—holding him by his
own—with a sort of flying-mare, and elicited thunders of applause.
1886. Pall Mall Gazette, 5 July, p. 4. On a Mississippi steamer he
astonished a rowdy who was shocked at his unnatural objection to
whisky, by performing upon him the feat known to British wrestlers
as ‘the flying mare.’
Flying-jigger or Gygger, subs. (thieves’).—A turnpike gate. [Jigger = a
door or gate.]
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
Flying-man, subs. (football).—A skirmisher good at taking, and running
with, the ball.
1864. Eton School Days, ch. 23, p. 255. He possessed good wind, and
was a very good ‘kick-off,’ and he could ‘bully’ a ball as well as
any one. He was a little too heavy for ‘flying-man,’ but he made a
decent ‘sidepost,’ and now and then he officiated as ‘corner.’
Flying-mare. See Flying-horse.
Flying Pasty, subs. phr. (obsolete).—Excrement wrapped in paper and
thrown over a neighbour’s wall. [Grose.]
Flying-porter. See Flying cove.
Flying-stationer, subs. (street).—A hawker of street ballads; a
paperworker (q.v.), or running patterer (q.v.). Cf., croak. ‘Printed
for the flying-stationer’ is the imprimatur on hundreds of broadsheets
from the last century onwards.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. Ballad singers and
hawkers of penny histories.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. I, p. 228. That
order or species of the pattering genus known as flying stationers,
from the fact of their being continually on the move while
describing the attractions of the ‘papers’ they have to sell.
1886. Athenæum, 31 July, p. 139. Scores of tracts were issued in
the Newgate region, from Giltspur Street to Blowbladder Street,
whence numbers of flying stationers drew their supplies long before
either of the Catnachs were born.
Flymy. Adj. (streets).—Knowing, fast (q.v.); roguish; sprightly. From
Fly (q.v.).
1887. W. E. Henley, Villon’s Good Night. You flymy titters fond of
flam.
Fly-my-kite, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A light.
Flymy-mess, to be in a flymy-mess, verb. phr. (military).—To be hungry
and have nothing to eat. For synonyms, see peckish.
Fly-slicer, subs. (common).—A cavalry-man: cf., Mudcrusher. French
lancers are allumeurs de gaz, their weapons being likened to a
lamplighter’s rod.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. Fly-slicers:
Life-guardmen, from their sitting on horseback, under an arch,
where they are frequently observed to drive away flies with their
swords.
Fly the Garter, subs. phr. (schoolboys’).—Leap-frog.
1863. G. A. Sala, Breakfast in Bed, Essay VIII., p. 187 (1864). He
has very probably been playing fly-the-garter in the gutter instead
of waiting his turn at the office.
Fly-trap, subs. (common).—1. The mouth. For synonyms, see Potato trap.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Foaled, adj. (hunting).—Thrown from a horse. Fr., faire parache.
Fob, or Fub, subs. (old).—1. A cheat; a trick; a swindle. To come the
fob = to impose upon; to swindle; cf., come over.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew. Fob, c., a cheat trick.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, Fob, s.v.
1852. Judson, Mysteries of New York, ch. vii. He come ze fob on
some of ze nobilitie, and zey invite him to go to Amerique.
2. (old: now recognised).—A breeches pocket; a watch pocket.
1678. Butler, Hudibras, III., i., 107. Had rifled all his pokes and
fobs Of gimcrack whims and gingumbobs.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew. Fob, c., also a little
pocket.
1703. Marvell, Poems on Affairs of State. ‘Royal Revolutions.’ When
plate was in pawn and fob at an ebb. Ibid. ‘Last Instructions,’
etc. More gold in’s fob, more lace upon his coat.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
3. (common).—A watch chain or ribbon, with buckle and seals, worn
hanging from the fob.
Verb. (old).—1. To rob; to cheat; to pocket; also to fob off.
1700. Congreve, Way of the World, i., 9. There were items of such a
treaty in embrio; and if it shou’d come to life poor Mirabell wou’d
be in some sort unfortunately fobb’d, i’faith.
1703. Mrs. Centlivre, Stolen Heiress, III., iv., wks. (1872), i.,
358. I shall be fobbed of my mistress by and by. Why, Frank, why,
thou wilt not fob me, wilt thou?
1731. Fielding, Grub Street Opera, i., 5. While ev’ry one else he
is fobbing, He still may be honest to me.
1789. Wolcot [P. Pinder], Rowland for an Oliver, in wks. (Dublin,
1795), Vol. II., p. 159. To use a cant phrase, we’ve been finely
fobb’d, Indeed, have very dext’rously been robb’d.
1840. Howitt, Visits to Remarkable Places, p. 170. Very pretty sums
he has fobbed now and then.
1842. Punch, III., p. 239, col. 2. The world turns its back on you,
and neither by cards nor dice can you fob your brother mortal out
of a single guinea.
2. (old).—To deceive; trifle with; disappoint; to put off dishonestly
or unfairly.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., ii., 1. A hundred mark is a long
loan for a poor lone woman to bear, and I have borne, and borne,
and borne, and have been fubbed off and fubbed off.
1602. Shakspeare, Othello, IV., 2. I think it is scurvy, and begin
to find myself fobbed in it.
1610. Shakspeare, Coriolanus, I., 1. You must not think to fob off
our disgrace with a tale.
1884. Fortnightly Review, XXXVI., p. 75. In nothing are amateur
backers of horses fobbed off by professionals with less than the
legitimate odds than in backing double and triple events.
1864. The Tramp Exposed, p. 7. A miserable, a job lot of humanity
as had ever been fobbed off on a defrauded universe.
To gut a fob, verb. phr. (old).—To pick pockets. Cf., Fob, verbal sense
1. For synonyms, see Prig.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, 1. Diddling your subjects, and
gutting their fobs.
Fobus, subs. (old).—An opprobrious epithet.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, II., 1. Ay, you old fobus.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Fodder, subs. (common).—Paper for the closet, bum-fodder (q.v.).
Fœtus. To tap the fœtus, verb. phr. (medical).—To procure abortion.
Fog, subs. (old).—Smoke.—Grose. [1785]; Modern Flash Dict. [1823];
Matsell [1859]. [Cf., Fogus.]
In a Fog, subs. phr. (colloquial).—In a condition of perplexity, doubt,
difficulty, or mystification: as, ‘I’m quite in a fog as to wha you
mean.’
Verb (old).—1. To smoke.
2. (colloquial).—To mystify; to perplex; to obscure.
1836. W. H. Smith, ‘The Thieves’ Chaunt.’ There’s a nook in the
boozing-ken, Where many a mug I fog.
1883. Punch, May, p. 210, col. 1. So large a picture, treated so
ideally—Not that that means stricture—Fogs us to find room for it.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 29 Sept. We turns what we say into tangle
talk so as to fog them.
Fogey, or Fogy, Fogay, or Foggi, subs. (old).—An invalid or garrison
soldier or sailor. Whence the present colloquial usages: (1) a person
advanced in life, and (2) an old-fashioned or eccentric person;
generally old fogey. [Derivation doubtful; suggestions are (1) from Su.
G. fogde and (2) from Eng. folk. See Notes and Queries, 1 S. vii., 354,
559, 632; viii., 64, 154, 256, 455, 652; 6 S. ix., 10, 195.]
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1812. Letter quoted in Notes and Queries, 6 S., ix., 10. My company
is now forming into an invalid company. Tell your grandmother we
will be like the Castle foggies.
1855. Thackeray, The Ballad of Bouillabaisse. When first I saw ye,
cari luoghi, I’d scarce a beard upon my face, And now, a grizzled,
grim old fogy, I sit and wait for Bouillabaisse.
1864. Tangled Talk, p. 104. An old fogey, who particularly hated
being ‘done.’
1867. Nesmith, ‘Reminiscences of Dr. Anthon,’ in The Galaxy, Sept.,
p. 611. The adherents of ‘progress’ mostly regard classics as old
fogey, and ‘see no use’ in the laborious years which youth spend
upon them.
1883. James Payn, The Canon’s Ward, ch. xv. ‘He would have
preferred some bookish sneak like Adair, or some old fogey like
Mavors.’
1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. So it is with the sister art of music,
for I (myself something of an old fogey in such matters).
So also fogeyish = old-fashioned; eccentric. Fogeydom = the state of
fogeyishness; and fogeyism = a characteristic of Fogeydom.
1877. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly, ch. i. They repaired
arm-in-arm to their club—the Renaissance, now past its prime, and a
little fogyish.
1883. Saturday Review, 31 March, p. 403, col. 1. Not the least
among the pleasures of fogeydom, so ably depicted by Thackeray, is
the confidence that it inspires in the hearts of the fairer sex.
Foggage, subs. (colloquial).—Fodder, especially green-meat.
1785. Burns, To a Mouse. And naething now to bigg a new ane
o’foggage green.
Fogged, ppl. adj. (common).—1. Drunk. Cf., foggy. For synonyms, see
Drinks and Screwed.
2. (common).—Perplexed; bewildered; at a loss. [From fog (q.v.), to
perplex]. For synonyms, see Flabbergasted.
1883. Illust. London News, 6 Jan., p. 6, col. 3. They were all
treading on one another’s heels, trying to do their best, but
hopelessly fogged.
1887. All the Year Round, 30 July, 30, p. 68. An Australian says
that he is bushed just as an Englishman, equally
characteristically, declares that he is fogged.
Fogger, subs. (old).—1. A huckster; a cringing, whining beggar; a
pettifogger.
1614. Terence in English. I shall be exclaimed upon to be a
beggarly fogger, greedily hunting after heritage.
2. (old).—A farm servant whose duty is to feed the cattle; i.e., to
supply them with foggage (q.v.).
Foggy, adj. (common).—1. Drunk; i.e., clinched or hazy (q.v.). For
synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
2. (colloquial).—Dull; fatwitted; thick (q.v.).
Fogle, subs. (thieves’).—A silk handkerchief; also generic. [Cf.,
Ital., foglia = a pocket, a purse; Fr., fouille = a pocket]. A cotton
handkerchief is called a clout.
English Synonyms.—Bandanna; belcher; billy; clout; conch-clout;
fam-cloth; flag; kent-rag; madam; muckender; mucketer (Florio);
nose-wipe; pen-wiper; rag; sneezer; snottinger or snot-rag; stook;
wipe. See Billy.
French Synonyms.—Un cachemire (popular); un blave or blavin (thieves’;
from O.F., blave = blue); une fassolette (thieves’: It., fazzoletto);
un chiffon or chiffonnion (popular = a rag); un moufion (popular); les
mouchettes (popular = wipes).
German Synonyms.—Schneitzlingsschneiche (cf., Snot-rag); Flammert or
Flamme (also a neckerchief and an apron); Wisch (= also clothing of any
kind).
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry (1890), p. 74, Jerry’s sneezer was
touched with some convulsive efforts so that his fogle was
continually at work.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood bk. iii., ch. 5. Fogles and fawnies soon
went their way.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. xviii. ‘If you don’t take fogles
and tickers——’ ‘What’s the good of talking in that way?’ interposed
Master Bates: ‘he don’t know what you mean.’ ‘If you don’t take
pocket-handkerchiefs and watches,’ said the Dodger.
1841. Tait’s Edinburgh Mag., viii., p. 220. Fawnies or fogles,
onions gay, all were the same to me.
1849. Punch’s Almanack, ‘The Swell Mobsman’s Almanack.’ Their
fogles fetch next to nothing.
1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, bk. II., ch. i., p. 60. They’re
just made for hooking a fogle [handkerchief] out of a clye.
Fogle-hunter, subs. (thieves’).—A thief whose speciality is fogles
(q.v.). Fr. un blaviniste or un chiffonier, but for synonyms, see
Stookhauler.
1827. Maginn, in Blackwood’s Mag. ... the fogle hunters doing Their
morning fake in the prigging lay.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. xvi. Who’s here so base as would
be a fogle-hunter?
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, p. 44. ‘What’s the matter now?’ said
the man, carelessly. ‘A young fogle-hunter,’ replied the man who
had Oliver in charge.
1843. Punch, IV., p. 129. Rich charities the chapel throng. The
swell mob they are there, The Bishop’s sermon is not long, The
fogle-hunter ware!
Fogle-hunting (or drawing), subs. phr. (thieves’).—Stealing
pocket-handkerchiefs; i.e., ‘prigging of wipes.’
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc., p. 82. Q. ‘Where’s Teddy?’ A.
‘He’s out a fogle-hunting.’ Sometimes ’tis said ‘drawing fogles,’
and ‘fogle-drawing.’
Fogram, or Fogrum, subs. (old).—A fussy old man. [Cf., colloquial sense
of Fogey.]
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1793. Butt, Poems. We teach old maxims, neither less nor more, Than
Locke, or humble Hooker taught before, Those fogrums, quizzes,
treats, and bores, and gigs. Were held in some account with ancient
prigs.
1798. O’Keefe, Fontainbleau, II., 3. Never mind, old fogrum, run
away with me.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
Adj. (old).—Fogeyish; stupid.
1777. Foote, Trip to Calais, i, Father and mother are but a couple
of fogrum old fools.
Hence Fogramity = (1) Fogeyism (q.v.), and (2) the state of
Fogeyishness.
1796. D’Arblay, Camilla, ii., 5. Nobody’s civil now, you know, it
is a fogramity quite out of date.
Fogue, adj. (American thieves’).—Fierce; fiery.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
Fogus, subs. (old).—Tobacco. [Cf., Fogus.] For synonyms, see Weed.
1671. Head, English Rogue, I., v., p. 49 (1874), s.v. 1724. Coles,
English Dict., s.v. 1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulg. Tongue. Tip me
a gage of fogus.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 133. A hole in the roof of my cell, through
which I handed her plenty of fogus.
1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. v. Troll us a stave, my
antediluvian file, and in the meantime tip me a gage [pipe] of
fogus, Jerry.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
Foiler, subs. (old).—A thief.
1669. Nicker Nicked, in Harl. Misc. [ed. Park], ii., 108. Given in
list of names of thieves.
Foin, verb. (obsolete).—To copulate, i.e., to thrust, to poke (q.v.).
Also subs.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Scazzata: A thrust, a push, a
foyne, or the serving to a woman of a man’s pricke.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., ii., 4. Thou whoreson little tidy
Bartholomew boar pig, when wilt thou leave fighting o’days, and
foining o’nights, and begin to patch up thine old body for heaven?
Foist, Foyst, or Fyst, subs. (old).—1. A cheat; a swindler; a sharper.
1592. John Day, Blind Beggar (Bullen), p. 21. Your nipper, your
foyst, your rogue, your cheat.
1596. Ben Jonson, Every Man in His Humour iv., 7. Prate again, as
you like this, you whoreson foist you.
1607. Dekker, Jests to Make you Merie in wks. (Grosart) II., 326.
Now to our foysts, alias pickpocket, alias cutpurse.
1609. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candelight, in wks. (Grosart) III.,
212. A foyst nor a Nip shall not walke into a Fayre or a
Play-house.
1611. Middleton, Roaring Girl, O. Pl., vi., 113. This brave fellow
is no better than a foist. Foist! what is that? A diver with two
fingers; a pickpocket; all his train study the figging law, that’s
to say cutting of purses and foisting.
2. (old).—A trick; a swindle; an imposture. Also Foyster and Foister.
1605. Ben Jonson, Volpone or the Fox, iii., 9. Put not your foists
upon me. I shall scent ’em.
3. (old).—A silent emission of wind through the anus (see quot., sense
2); a cheeser. See Fart and Fousty. [Coles has to fyst, vissio; which
in his Latin part he renders to fizzle. Also fysting cur; and in
Sherwood’s English Dictionary, subjoined to Cotgrave, fysting curs, and
other offenders of the same class, are fully illustrated.]
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Loffa, a fizle, a fiste, a close
fart.
1605. Jonson, Eastward Hoe, pl. iv., 270. Marry, fyst o’ your
Ruidess. I thought as much.
1662. Rump Songs, II., 3. That a reason be enacted (if there be not
one), Why a fart hath a voice, and a fyst hath none, Which nobody
can deny.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew. Foyst ... also a close
strong stink, without noise or report.
1785. Grose. Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. Fice or Foyse.
Verb. (old).—1. To trick; to swindle; to pick pockets.
1607. Dekker, Jests to Make You Merie, in wks. (Grosart) II., 332.
But now to the manner of the foysting of a pocket, the sharing of
the money, and how honest men may avoide them.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874). To
foyst, to picke a pocket.
1653. Middleton, Spanish Gipsy, ii., 1. I mean fitching, foisting,
nimming.
2. (old).—To fart. Also to copulate (Urquhart).
1539. David Lyndsay, Thrie Estaitis (Works, Laing, 1879), ii., 109.
Ane fistand flag.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Loffare, s.v.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie, Vessir, s.v.
Foister, or Foyster, subs. (old).—A pick-pocket; a cheat.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Barattiere, a barterer, a
trucker, a marter, an exchanger, a briber, a cheater, a false
gamester, a cousener, a broker, a fripper, a chaffrer, a cogger, a
foyster, a deceiuer, a coni-catcher, a bareter, a prowler.
(?). Mirrour for Magistrates, p. 483, When facing foisters, fit for
Tiburn. fraies, Are food-sick faint.
Follower, subs. (colloquial).—A maid-servant’s sweetheart; a beau. For
synonyms, see Jomer.
1838. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, ch. xv. Five servants kept. No
man. No followers.
1860. Chambers’ Journal, XIII., p. 32. No followers allowed.
1870. Spectator, 15 Jan. It is safer, unkind as it may seem, to
forbid the presence of a ‘follower’ in the house. A girl is less
likely to get into mischief when she is walking with her friend in
the street or talking with him over the area gate, than when she
receives him alone in the kitchen.
1872. The Ladies, 29 June, p. 335. If you take into consideration
that ‘followers’ are in most houses strictly forbidden, what wonder
is it that girls are now and then caught flirting with the butcher
and the baker at the area railings?
Follow-me-lads, subs. phr. (common).—Curls or ribands hanging over the
shoulder; cf., Fr., suivez-moi-jeune-homme = ribbons flying behind a
lady’s dress. Also Followers.
1872. Spectator. ‘Follow-me-lads’ are not in themselves very
pretty, though, like any other fashion, they become the Princess,
and they are exceedingly costly.
Follow on, subs. phr. and verb (cricket).—A team eighty runs behind the
other in the first innings is obliged to follow on; i.e., to take to
the wickets a second time. A run more, and it saves the follow on.
1891. Pall Mall Gazette, 5 Aug. ‘Notts. v. Surrey.’ The game, with
a possible prospect of the follow-on, being saved.
Follow your nose! intj. phr. (streets’).—A retort on asking the way.
The full phrase is, ‘Follow your nose, and you are sure to go
straight.’
1620. Percy, Folio MSS., p. 462. He went to the sea syde, and
ffollowed his nose.
1854. Notes and Queries, x., p. 66. In what collection of tales
published in 1834 shall I find the tale entitled follow your nose?
Foo-foo, subs. (American).—A person of no account; an insignificant
idiot; a poop (q.v.).
1837. A Glance at New York (in Bartlett). Don’t know what a foo-foo
is? Well, as you’re a greenhorn, I’ll enlighten you. A foo-foo, or
an outsider, is a chap that can’t come the big figure.
Fool, subs. (colloquial.)—A dish of gooseberries, boiled with sugar and
milk. [Fr., groseilles en foule.] Also, a gull (q.v.).
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., III., 9. ‘Praise of the Dairy Maid.’ A
lady, I heard tell, Not far off did dwell, Made her husband a fool,
and it pleased him quite well.
1774. Goldsmith, Retaliation. And by the same rule, Magnanimous
Goldsmith’s a gooseberry fool.
No Fool, subs. phr. (American colloquial).—A phrase laudatory, applied
to neuter nouns. Cf., No Slouch.
1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 33. I tell you what, Charlston
ain’t no fool of a city.
To make a fool of, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To delude. Specifically
(venery), to cuckold, or to seduce under promise of marriage.
To fool about (or around), verb. phr. (American).—To dawdle; to trifle
with; to be infatuated with; to hang about; to defraud.
1837. A Glance at New York. Mose—Now look a-here, Liz,—I go in for
Bill Sykes, ’cause he runs wid our machine; but he musn’t come
foolin’ round my gal, or I’ll give him fits.
1884. Hawley Smart, Post to Finish, ch. xvii. From what I hear, you
came to Riddleton, fooling after my daughter. Now, I’ll have no
caterwauling of that sort.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, p. 124. I should think you
had too much ed-u-cash to fool about such a going on.
Fool-finder, subs. (obsolete).—A bum-bailiff.—Grose.
Foolish, adj. (prostitutes’).—Said of a man that pays. ‘Is he flash
(q.v.) or foolish = Is he the cully or the other.’—Grose.
Fool-monger, subs. (colloquial).—A person, male or female, living by
their wits, e.g., a promoter (q.v.); a betting-man; a swindler. Also
Fool-catcher and Fool-trap (q.v.).
Foolometer, subs. (colloquial).—A standard, positive or neuter, whereby
to gauge the public taste.
Fool’s Father, subs. phr. (theatrical).—The pantaloon or old ’un.
(q.v.)
Fool-sticker, subs. phr. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see
Creamstick and Prick. Also Fool-maker.
Fool’s Wedding, subs. phr. (common).—A party of women. For synonyms,
see Hen Party.
Fool-trap, subs. (colloquial).—1. A fool-monger (q.v.).
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
3. (colloquial).—A high-class harlot.
Foont, subs. (thieves’)—A sovereign [Probably a corruption of Ger.
Pfund.] For synonyms, see Canary.
1879. J. W. Horsley, in Macm. Mag., XL., 502. The mob got me up a
break (collection), and I got between five or six foont
(sovereigns).
Foot, verb. (common).—1. To acknowledge payment; e.g., to foot a bill;
cf., Foot-up.
1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, p. 183. If our plan succeeded the
landlord was to foot the bill, and stand treat.
2. (football and colloquial).—To kick; to hoof (q.v.). Cf., Merchant of
Venice, I., 3, You, that did void your rheum upon my beard, And foot
me, as you spurn a stranger cur.
1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 223. Both teams were footing
their very best.
To foot it, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To walk. For synonyms, see Pad the
Hoof.
1892. Price, From Arctic Ocean to Yellow Sea. The discomfort of
having to foot it.
To foot-up, verb. phr. (American colloquial).—To sum up the total (of a
bill); to tot up (q.v.). Hence, to pay; to discharge one’s obligations;
to reckon up (q.v.); to summarize both merits and defects, and strike a
balance. Footing-up = the reckoning, the sum total. Fr., gamberger.
1865. Sala, A Trip to Barbary. The Arab abhors statistics. He won’t
be tabulated if he could help it, and were you to go to Algeria,
Doctor Colenso, you would find a deeply rooted objection among the
people to the reckoning, or footing-up, as the Americans call it,
of anything animate or inanimate.
1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 310. To foot a bill, by paying the
amount at the bottom of the account, is a phrase equally well known
abroad and with us.
1882. McCabe, New York, XXI., 333. The transactions of ‘the Street’
foot up an almost fabulous sum daily.
1884. G. A. S[ala], in Ill. Lon. News, 29 March, p. 294, col. 3.
They foot up (American English) to an almost alarming amount in
thousands of dollars.
To put one’s best foot (or leg) foremost, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
use all possible despatch; to exert oneself to the utmost.
1596. Shakspeare, King John, iv., 2. Nay, but make haste; the
better foot before.
To put one’s foot into anything, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make a
mess of it; to get into a scrape. The bishop (i.e., the Devil) has put
his foot in it (Old English proverb) is said of burned porridge or
over-roasted meat.—Grose. Fr., faire une gaffe.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v.
1888. Daily Telegraph, 7 May. Faire une gaffe, in modern Parisian
slang, may be best rendered as to put your foot in it.
To have one foot (or leg) in the grave, verb. phr. (common).—On one’s
last legs; measured for a funeral sermon. Also as adj.
1825. English Spy, i., pp. 199–200. With one leg in the grave he’ll
laugh.
1890. Globe, 15 May, p. 5, col. 2. One-foot-in-the-grave paralytic
sort of people.
To pull foot, verb. phr. (American).—To make haste. Variants are to
take one’s foot in one’s hand, and to make tracks; but for synonyms,
see Absquatulate and Skedaddle.
1825. Neal, Brother Jonathan, Bk. I., ch. iv., How they pulled foot
when they seed us commin.
1836. Michael Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. viii. ‘Why, pull foot,
captain,’ promptly replied Paul.
1843–4. Haliburton, Sam Slick in England. I look’d up; it was
another shower, by gosh. I pulls foot for dear life.
To take Mr. Foot’s horse, verb. phr. (old).—To walk; to go by Shank’s
mare (q.v.) For synonyms, see Pad the hoof.
To know the length of one’s foot, verb. phr. (old).—To be well
acquainted with one’s character.
1581. Lilly, Euphues, etc. But you shall not know the length of my
foot, untill by your cunning you get commendation.
1614. Terence in English. He measures an other man’s foote by his
owne last. Hee considers an other mans meaning by his owne intent.
Footer, subs. (Harrow: once common).—1. Short for ‘football.’
2. (University).—A player of football according to Rugby rules.
Foot-hot, adv. (Old English).—In hot haste; hot-foot (q.v.)
1848. Burton, Waggeries, etc., p. 65. I’m darned if I don’t streak
it to the Squire’s foot-hot.
Footing, subs. (common).—Money paid on entering upon new duties, or on
being received into a workshop or society: as at sea when a comrade
first goes aloft. Formerly foot-ale: cf., Garnish. Fr., arroser ses
galons = to christen one’s uniform.
1777. Howard, State of Prisons in England and Wales, quoted in J.
Ashton’s The Fleet, p. 295. A cruel custom obtains in most of our
Gaols, which is that of the prisoners demanding of a new comer
garnish, footing, or (as it is called in some London Gaols)
chummage.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, I., 48; I must instantly pay down
two shillings for my footing.
1788. G. A. Stevens, Adv. of a Speculist, i., 211. I was drove from
street to street by women of my own profession, who swore I should
not come in their beats until I had paid my footing.
1830. Carleton, Collegian’s Colleen Bawn, 94. ‘Pay your footing
now, Master Kyrle Daly, before you go farther,’ said one.
1840. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. iii. ‘Waiter, half-a-dozen
of iced champagne here, to pay for Mr. Slick’s footin’.’
1891. Clark Russell, An Ocean Tragedy, p. 86. I was going aloft and
wished to pay my footing.
Footle, verb., and Footling, adj. (colloquial).—To dawdle, trifle,
potter; dawdling, trifling, pottering; messing about (q.v.).
Footlicker, subs. (old).—A servant: a lickspittle.
1609. Shakspeare, The Tempest, IV., 1. Do that good mischief which
may make this island Thine for ever, and I, thy Caliban, For aye
thy foot-licker.
Footlights. To smell the footlights, verb. phr. (theatrical).—To
acquire a taste for theatricals. [Footlights = the float (q.v.); the
row of burners in front of the stage.]
To smell of the footlights. To carry theatrical concerns and
phraseology into private life; to talk shop (q.v.).
Footman’s Inn, subs. phr. (old).—A poor lodging; a jail. Fr., Hôtel de
la modestie = the Poor Man’s Arms.
1608. Penniles Parliament of Threedbare Poets. Those that depend on
destiny, and not on God, may chance look through a narrow lattice
at Footman’s Inn.
1612. Rowland, Knave of Hearts. Which at the heeles so hants his
frighted ghost, That he at last in Footman’s-inne must host, Some
castle dolorous compos’d of stone, Like (let me see) Newgate is
such a one.
Footman’s Maund, subs. phr. (old).—An artificial sore, as from a
horse’s bite or kick. The fox’s bite of schoolboys. Also the Scaldrum
Dodge, or Maund (q.v.). Maund = a cadger’s sale-basket. Cf., Masons’
Maund.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v. An artificial sore
made with unslacked lime, soap, and the rust of old iron, on the
back of a beggar’s hand, as if hurt by the bite or kick of a horse.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Foot-riding, subs. (cyclists’).—Walking and wheeling one’s machine
instead of riding it.
1887. T. Stevens, Round the World on a Bicycle. Already I realise
that there is going to be as much foot-riding as anything for the
first part of my journey.
Foot-scamp, subs. (old).—A foot-pad.—G. Parker.
Footstool. See Angels’ Footstool.
Foot-wobbler, subs. (old, soldier’s’).—An infantryman. For synonyms,
see Mudcrusher.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Footy, adj. (old).—Contemptible; worthless. Fr., foutu.—Grose.
1836. Michael Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. v. My eye, Captain, no
use to dodge from her; it is only dat footy little King’s cutter on
de Jamaica station.
Foozle, subs. (common and sporting).—1. A boggle; a miss.
2. (common).—A bore; a fogey; and (in America) a fool; a green ’un. For
synonyms, see Buffle, Cabbage-head, and Sammy soft.
1867. Rhoda Broughton, Cometh up as a Flower, ch. xxvi. Frumps and
foozles in Eaton Square.
Verb. (common).—To miss; to boggle; to muff (q.v.).
1888. Field, 25 Feb. Park foozled his second stroke.
Foozled (or Foozley), adj. (colloquial).—Blurred in appearance and
effect; fuzzy; muffed (q.v.). Often said of badly painted pictures, or
parts of pictures.
Fop-doodle, subs. (old).—An insignificant man; a fool.
1689. Shadwell, Bury Fair. Come come, you brace of fop-doodle.
Fop’s Alley, subs. phr. (old).—See quot. 1883.
1782. D’Arblay, Cecilia, bk. II., ch. iv. Sir Robert Floyer,
sauntering down fop’s alley.
1883. Sala, Echoes of the Year, p. 369. Fop’s alley was the gangway
running parallel to the footlights, between the last row of the
stalls and the first row of the pit in Her Majesty’s Theatre, and
in its palmiest days it was always graced by the presence of a
subaltern of the Guards in full uniform, daintily swinging his
bearskin.
Forakers, subs. (Winchester College).—The water-closet. [Formerly spelt
foricus and probably a corruption of foricas, an English plural of the
Latin forica.] For synonyms, see Mrs. Jones.
Foraminate, verb. (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms, see Greens and
Ride.
Force, subs. (colloquial).—The police; properly a body of men trained
for action. For synonyms, see Beak and Copper.
1868. Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, bk. IV., ch. vi. ‘I should
like to ... bring a child up from the very cradle to the police
detective line, to see whether I couldn’t make that ’ere child a
ornament to the force.’
1883. Daily Telegraph, 5 April, p. 2, col. 1. But in all my
experience of the force, I think I never saw a policeman’s eyes so
expressive of gratitude.
To force the voucher, verb. phr. (turf).—It is customary for sporting
tricksters to advertise selections and enclose vouchers (similar to
those sent out by respectable commission agents) for double or treble
the current odds. The correspondent is informed that, in consequence of
early investments, the extra odds can be laid; a remittance is
requested; the voucher is forced; and then the firm ‘dries up,’ and
changes its name and address.
Forcemeat Ball, subs. phr. (old)—Something endured from compulsion: as
(1) a rape: (2) going to prison; (3) transportation; (4) an affiliation
order; (5) abstention (from drink, pleasure, etc.) through
impecuniosity.
Forceps, subs. (old).—The hands. [Properly a pair of surgeon’s
pincers.]—For synonyms, see Daddle.
Fore-and-Aft, verb. (venery).—To copulate. See Greens and Ride.
Fore-and-after, subs. phr. (American).—1. See quot.
1840. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xi. ‘The way she walks her
chalks ain’t no matter. She is a regular fore-and-after.’
2. (venery).—A double-barrelled (q.v.) harlot. [As in the song
attributed to an eminent living man of letters: “Sing whore, sing
whore, Behind and before, Her price is a shilling—She never gets
more.”]
Fore-buttocks, subs. (old).—The paps.—For synonyms, see Dairy.
a. 1745. Swift, Pope, and Arbuthnot, Misc. iv., 222. Now her
fore-buttocks to the navel bare.
Forecaster, subs. (venery). The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Fore-coach-wheel, subs. (common).—A half-crown. For synonyms, see
Caroon.
Fore-court, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. Also Fore-hatch,
Fore-castle, and Fore-room. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Forefoot, subs. (old).—The hand.
1599. Shakspeare, Henry V., II., 1. Give me thy fist; thy forefoot
to me give.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
Foregather, verb. (old).—To share the sexual embrace. For synonyms, see
Ride.
Forehatch, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable. Also Forecastle.
Foreman, subs. (old).—1. The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick and
Prick. [Cf., Forewoman.]
1647. Ladies’ Parliament (q.v.).
Foreman of the jury, subs. phr. (old).—A babbler; one with the gift of
the gab (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew. Foreman of the jury, he
that engrosses all the talk to himself.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
Foreskin Hunter, subs. phr. (venery).—A harlot. For synonyms, see
Barrack-hack and Tart.
Forest, subs. (venery).—The female pubic hair. For synonyms, see
Fleece.
1573–1631. Donne, Elegies, xviii. Yet ere thou be where thou
would’st be embayed, Thou must upon another forest set, Where many
shipwreck and no further get.
1720. Durfey, Pills, etc., vi., 146. Give me the Country lass, That
trips it o’er the field, And opes her forest to the first.
Fore-stall, subs. (thieves’).—In garotting, a look-out in front of the
operator, or ugly-man (q.v.); the watch behind is the back-stall
(q.v.). [From fore + stall (q.v.).]
Forewoman, subs. (old).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Fork, subs. (old). 1. A pickpocket. Fr., ‘Avoir les mains crochues = to
be a light-fingered or lime-fingered filcher; every finger of his hand
as good as a lime-twig.’—Cotgrave.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
2. (thieves’).—A finger. The forks = the fore and middle fingers; also
cf., (proverbial) ‘Fingers were made before forks.’
English Synonyms.—Claws; cunt-hooks (Grose); daddles (also the hands);
divers; feelers; fives; flappers; grapplers; grappling irons; gropers;
hooks; nail-bearers; pickers and stealers (Shakspeare); corn-stealers;
Ten Commandments; ticklers; pinkies; muck-forks.
French Synonyms.—Les apôtres (thieves’: = the ten Apostles); les
fourchettes, or les fourchettes d’Adam (popular: = Adam’s forks); le
peigne d’allemand (thieves’: Rabelais).
German Synonyms.—Ezba (= the finger, especially the first or
fore-finger. The names of the others are: Godel = the thumb; Ammo = the
middle-finger; Kemizo = the ring-finger; Seres, i.e., ‘span’ = the
little finger); Griffling (= also the hand. From greifen = to seize).
Spanish Synonyms.—Mandamiento (= a commandment: cf., Ten Commandments);
tijeras (= the fore- and middle fingers; Minsheu (1599) Dictionarie,
tijeras = ‘small sheares, seizers, snuffers.’).
Portuguese Synonym.—Medunhos.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 121. My forks were equally long, and they
never failed me.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood. ‘Nix my Dolly.’ No dummy hunter had
forks so fly. Ibid. Jack Sheppard (1889), p. 20. I’ll give him the
edication of a prig—teach him the use of his forks betimes.
1841. Tait’s Edinburgh Mag., VIII., p. 220. My forks were light and
fly, and lightly faked away.
1891. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 9 Feb. Up they came briskly
with smiling mugs, shook hands, then stepped back a pace or two,
put up their forks, and the spectators were hushed into silence,
for they saw that the battle was about to begin.
3. In plural (common).—The hands.
4. (old).—A gibbet; in the plural = the gallows. [fork is often applied
to anything resembling a divarication (as of a tree, river, or road),
etc.: Cf., sense 2. Cf., Cicero (de Div., i., 26). Ferens furcam ductus
est: a slave so punished was called furcifer.]
5. (old).—A spendthrift.
1725. New Canting Dict., s.v.
6. (tailors’ and venery).—The crutch (q.v.), nockandro (q.v.), or Twist
(q.v.). [Thus, a bit on a fork = the female pudendum; a grind (q.v.).]
Fr., ‘Fourcheure, that part of the bodie from whence the thighs
depart.’—Cotgrave.
Verb (old).—1. To steal; specifically to pick a pocket by inserting the
middle and forefinger. Also to put one’s forks down: Fr., vol à la
fourchette.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew. Let’s fork him, c. Let us
pick that man’s pocket, the newest and most dextrous way; it is to
thrust the fingers straight, stiff, open, and very quick into the
pocket, and so closing them hook what can be held between them.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue. Let us fork him.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. xvi. Yet so keen was his appetite
for the sport, that the veteran appropriator absolutely burst into
tears at not having ‘forked more.’
1878. C. Hindley, Life and Times of James Catnach. Frisk the Cly
and fork the Rag, Draw the fogies plummy.
2. (venery).—To open up, or spread (q.v.).
To fork out, or over (sometimes abbreviated to fork). Verb. phr.
(common).—To hand over; to pay; to shell out (q.v.).
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. xxxi. The person fork him out ten
shiners.
1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 84. His active mind at once
perceived how much might be done in the way of ... shoving the old
and helpless into the wrong buss, and carrying them off ... till
they was rig’larly done over, and forked out the stumpy.
1837. Barham, I. L., The Execution. He Pulls up at the door of a
gin-shop, and gaily Cries, ‘What must I fork out to night, my
trump, For the whole first-floor of the Magpie and Stump?’
1840. Comic Almanack. ‘Tom the Devil,’ p. 214. ‘That’s a nate way
of doin’ business, sure enough,’ was the commentary; ‘ounly I can’t
larn the sinse of going to a private lodging, where, if you ordher
a kidney for breakfast, you’re expected to fork out to the
butcher.’
1852. H. B. Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ch. viii. You’ve got to fork
over fifty dollars, flat down, or this child don’t start a peg.
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, Bk. III., ch. i. ‘Now,’ said
Fledgeby, ‘fork out your balance in hand, and prove by figures how
you make it out that it ain’t more.’
1867. Albany Argus, 5 Sept. Now, sir, you will please fork over
that money to me, and pay your bill, or I’ll have the law out of
you, as sure as you are born.
1887. Lippincott’s Magazine, Aug., p. 199. Just calculate my
percentage of our liabilities, and allow me to fork over.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 9 Sept. The dozen screw-drivers came up
C. O. D. and he had to fork over for them.
To fork on, verb. phr. (American).—To appropriate. Cf., To freeze on
to.
To pitch the fork, verb. phr. (popular).—To tell a pitiful tale.
To eat vinegar with a fork, verb. phr. (common).—A person either
over-shrewd or over-snappish is said to have eaten vinegar with a fork.
Fr., Avoir mangé de l’oseille. See Nettle.
Forker, subs. (nautical).—A dockyard thief or fence (q.v.). [From fork
= to steal + er.]
Forking, subs. (thieves’).—1. Thieving. See Fork.
2. (tailors’).—Hurrying and scamping (q.v.).
Forkless, adj. (thieves’).—Clumsy; unworkmanlike; as without forks
(q.v.).
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 40. I met George Bagrie, and William
Paterson, alias old Hag, two very willing, but poor snibs,
accompanying a lushy cove, and going to work in a very forkless
manner.
Forloper, subs. (South African).—A teamster guide.
Forlorn Hope, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A gamester’s last stake.—Grose.
Form, subs. (turf.)—1. Condition; training; fitness for a contest.
In or out of form = in or out of condition, i.e., fit or unfit for
work. Better or Top form, etc. (in comparison). Cf., Colour.
1861. Walsh, The Horse, ch. vi. If it be supposed that two
three-year-olds, carrying the same weight, could run a mile and
a-half, and come in abreast, it is said that the form of one is
equal to that of the other.
1884. Hawley Smart, Post to Finish, ch. xxxv. When fillies, in
racing parlance, lose their form at three years old, they are apt
to never recover it.
1868. Whyte Melville, White Rose, ch. xxxiv. That mysterious
property racing men call ‘form.’
2. (colloquial).—Behaviour (with a moral significance: as good form,
bad form = agreeable to good manners, breeding, principles, taste,
etc., or the opposite). This usage, popularised in racing circles, is
good literary English, though the word is commonly printed in inverted
commas(“ ”): Shakspeare (Two Gentlemen of Verona, 4), says, ‘Can no
way change you to a milder form,’ i.e., manner of behaviour.
1871. Orchestra, 13 Jan. This squabble at the Globe may most fitly,
perhaps, be characterised by the words ‘bad form.’
1871. The Drawing Room Gazette, Dec. 9, p. 5. It is an open
question, whether snubbing be not, like cutting, in the worst
possible ‘form.’
1873. Belgravia, Feb. The demeanour and conduct which the ‘golden
youth’ of the period call ‘good form’ was known to their fathers as
bad manners.
1881. Jas. Payn, Grape from a Thorn, ch. xvii. It would be
considered what they call ‘bad form’ in my daughter Ella if she
were known to be a contributor—for pay—to the columns of a
magazine.
1890. Speaker, 22 Feb, p. 211, col. 2. Still, after all, we doubt
very much whether it be fair, or right, or even prudent—it
certainly is not ‘good form’—to publish to a world of Gallios a lot
of irreverent bar-mess and circuit ‘good stories,’ worked up about
living Lord Chancellors, Lord Justices, and other present occupants
of the judicial bench.
3. (common).—Habit; game (q.v.): e.g., ‘That’s my form = That’s what
I’m in the way of doing’; or ‘That’s the sort of man I am.’
1884. Punch, 11 Oct. ‘’Arry at a Political Picnic.’ Athletics ain’t
hardly my form.
Forney, subs. (thieves’).—A ring; a variant of fawney (q.v.).
1871. Egan, Finish of Tom and Jerry, p. 243. He sports a diamond
forney on his little finger.
Fornicating-engine (-member; -tool), subs. phr. (venery).—The penis.
For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.
Fornicator, subs. (venery).—1. The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick
and Prick.
2. In pl. (obsolete),—The old-fashioned flap trousers.
Fornicator’s Hall, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For
synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Fort, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
1620. Percy, Folio MSS. [Hales & Furnivall, 1867]. ‘Come, Wanton
Wenches.’ When they your ffort beleauger; grant but a touch or a
kisse ffor a tast.
Fortune-biter, subs. (obsolete).—A sharper.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii. ‘Hey! for Richmond Ball’!
Fortune-biters, Hags, bum-fighters, Nymphs of the Woods, And stale
City goods.
Fortune-teller, subs. (old).—A magistrate.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew. Fortune-tellers, c. the
Judges of Life and Death, so-called by the Canting Crew.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulg. Tongue. Fortune-teller, or cunning
man; a judge who tells every prisoner his fortune, lot, or doom; to
go before the fortune-teller, lambskin man or conjuror, to be tried
at an assize.
1871. Egan, Finish of Tom and Jerry, p. 242. He had been werry
cruelly used by the fortune-tellers.
Forty. To talk forty (more commonly nineteen) to the dozen, verb. phr.
(colloquial).—To chatter incessantly; to gabble. To walk off forty to
the dozen = to decamp in quick time.
1891. Farjeon, Mystery of M. Felix, p. 107. He run agin me, he did,
and I ased, ‘Who are yer pushing of?’ He didn’t say nothink, but
walked off forty to the dozen.
Roaring forties, subs. phr. (nautical).—The Atlantic between the
fortieth and fiftieth degrees of latitude; also applied to the same
region in southern latitudes.
Forty-faced, adj. (colloquial).—An arrant deceiver: e.g., a forty-faced
liar, a forty-faced flirt, and so forth.
Forty-five, subs. (American).—A revolver. For synonyms, see Meat in the
pot.
Forty-foot or Forty-guts, subs. (common).—A fat, dumpy man, or woman.
In contempt.
English Synonyms.—‘All arse, and no body’; arse-and-corporation;
all-belly (Cotgrave); all guts (idem); bacon-belly; barrel-belly;
belly-god; bladder-figured; bosse-belly; Bosse of Billingsgate (Florio
= a fat woman); chuff (Shakspeare); Christmas beef; double-guts;
double-tripe; fat-cock; fat-guts (Shakspeare and Cotgrave); fatico;
fattymus or fattyma; fubsy; fat Jack of the bonehouse; fat-lips;
flanderkin; fustiluggs (Burton); fussock; gorbelly; grampus;
gotch-guts; grand-guts (Florio); gulche (Florio); gullyguts;
gundigutts; guts; guts-and-stomach; guts-and-garbage; guts-to-sell;
hoddy-doddy; humpty-dumpty; hogshead; hopper-arse; Jack Weight;
loppers; lummox; paunch; pod; porpoise; pot-guts; princod;
pudding-belly; puff-guts; ribs;
‘short-and-thick-like-a-Welshman’s-cock’; slush-bucket; sow (a fat
woman); spud; squab; studgy-guts; tallow-guts; tallow-merchant;
thick-in-the-middle; tripes; tripes and trullibubs; tubs; waist;
water-butt; walking ninepin; whopper.
French Synonyms. Un gros bajaf (popular); un bout de cul (popular); un
bas de plafond, or de cul (popular); un brasset (= a tall, stout man);
un berdouillard.
Spanish Synonym. Angelon de retablo (generally applied to a pot-bellied
child).
Forty-jawed, adj. (colloquial).—Excessively talkative.
Forty-lunged, adj. (colloquial).—Stentorian; given to shouting;
leather-lunged (q.v.).
Forty-rod or Forty-rod Lightning, subs. phr. (American).—Whiskey;
specifically, spirit of so fiery a nature that it is calculated to kill
at Forty Rods’ distance, i.e., on sight. Cf., Rot-gut. For synonyms,
see Drinks and Old man’s milk. Cf., Florio (1598), Catoblepa, ‘a
serpent in India so venomous that with his looke he kils a man a mile
off.’
1884. M. Twain, Huck. Finn, ch. v., p. 36. He got powerful thirsty
and clumb out on to the porch-roof and slid down a stanchion, and
traded his new coat for a jug of forty-rod.
Forty-twa, subs. (Scots).—A common jakes, or bogshop (q.v.).—In
Edinburgh: ‘so called from its accommodating that number of persons at
once’ (Hotten). [Long a thing of the past.]
Forty Winks, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A short sleep or nap. See Dog’s
Sleep.
1866. G. Eliot, Felix Holt, ch. xliii. She was prevented by the
appearance of old Mr. Transome, who since his walk had been having
‘forty-winks’ on the sofa in the library.
1871. Egan, Finish to Tom and Jerry, p. 87. On uncommanly big
gentlemen, told out, taking forty-winks.
[Forty is often used to signify an indefinite number; cf.,
Shakespeare’s usage, ‘I could beat forty of them’ (Cor. iii., 1);
‘O that the slave had forty thousand lives’ (Othello iii., 1);
‘forty thousand brothers’ (Hamlet, v., 1); ‘The Humour of Forty
Fancies’ (Taming of the Shrew); and Jonson ‘Some forty boxes’
(Silent Woman).]
Fossed, ppl. adj. (American thieves’).—Thrown; cf., [foss = a ditch].
Fossick, verb (Australian miners’).—To work an abandoned claim, or to
wash old dirt; hence to search persistently. [Halliwell: = to take
trouble, but cf., fosse, a ditch or excavation.] Also fossicking = a
living got as aforesaid; fossicker = a man that works abandoned claims;
fossicking about = (American) shinning around, or in England ferreting
(q.v.).
1870. Notes and Queries, 4 S., vi., p. 3.
1878. Fraser’s Mag., Oct., p. 449, They are more suited ... to
plodding, fossicking, persevering industry, than for hard work.
1887. Sala, in Ill. Lond. News, 12 Mar., p. 282, col. 2. ‘To
fossick’ in the old digging days was to get a living by extracting
gold from the refuse wash-dirt which previous diggers had abandoned
as worthless.
1890. Illustrations, Jan., p. 158. After some ‘fossiking’ we
discover three or four huts within ‘cooee,’ all diggers, all
‘hatters,’ and mostly good fellows.
Fou, or Fow, adj. (old English and Scots’ colloquial).—Drunk; variants
are bitch-fou; greetin’-fou; piper-fou; roaring-fou; fou as barty
(Burns); pissing-fou; and so forth. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Screwed. Also (Scots’) = full of food or drink, as in quot. under date
1815.
1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, III., ii. (quoted in). Then sit ye
awhile, and tipple a bit, For we’s not very fou, but we’re gayly
yet.
1787. Burns, Death and Dr. Hornbook, st. 3. I was na fou, but just
had plenty.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xlvi. ‘Are ye fou or fasting?’
‘Fasting from all but sin.’
1857. J. E. Ritchie, Night Side of London, p. 166. The time admits
of a man getting fou between the commencement and the close of the
entertainment.
Foul, subs. (nautical and aquatic).—A running into; a running down.
Verb. (idem).—To run against; to run down. Also to come (or fall) foul
of.
[Foul, adj. and verb. is used in two senses: (1) = dirty, as a foul
word, a foul shrew (Dickens), to foul the bed, &c.; and (2) =
unfair, as a foul (i.e., a felon) stroke, a foul blow, and so
forth.]
1626. Captain John Smith, Accidence for Seamen, in wks. (Arber), p.
796. Boord and boord, or thwart the hawse, we are foule on each
other.
1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Foul, hindred or intangled with another
ship’s ropes, etc.
1754. Connoisseur, No. 3. Which sailed very heavy, were often
a-ground, and continually ran foul on each other.
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xiii. Their coxswain ... had
to pull his left hand hard or they would have fouled the
Oxfordshire corner.
1885 Illus. London News, March 28, p. 316, col. 1. In 1849 there
were two races in the course of the year; Cambridge won the first,
Oxford the second, on a foul (the only time the race has been so
won).
1889. Licensed Victuallers’ Gaz., 18 Jan. Dick was done out of the
stakes on an appeal of foul.
To foul a plate with, verbal phr. (old, colloquial).—To dine or sup
with.—Grose.
Foulcher, subs. (thieves’).—A purse.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 243. ‘A foulcher,
with flimsies and couters for a score of quid in it.’
Foul-mouthed, adj. (colloquial).—Obscene or blasphemous in speech.
Found in a Parsley-bed. See Parsley-bed and Gooseberry-bush.
Fountain of Love, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For
synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Four-and-nine (or Four-and-ninepenny), subs. phr. (old).—A hat.
[So-called from the price at which an enterprising Bread Street hatter
sold his hats, circa 1844, at which date London was hideous with
posters displaying a large black hat and ‘4s. and 9d.’ in white
letters.]
1844. Advertisement Couplet. Whene’er to slumber you incline, Take
a short nap at four-and-nine.
1846. Thackeray, Yellow Plush Papers, p. 152 (ed. 1887). You may,
for instance, call a coronet a coronal (an ‘ancestral coronal,’ p.
74) if you like, as you might call a hat a ‘swart sombrero,’ a
‘glossy four-and-nine,’ ‘a silken helm to storm impermeable, and
lightsome as the breezy gossamer;’ but in the long run it is safer
to call it a hat.
1847. Thackeray, Mrs. Perkins’s Ball (The Mulligan). The Mulligan
has withdrawn his custom from the ‘infernal four-and-ninepenny
scoundthrel,’ as he calls him. The hatter has not shut up shop in
consequence.
1849. Viator, Oxford Guide. He then did raise his four-and-nine,
And scratched his shaggy pate.
1867. Jas. Greenwood, Unsent. Journeys, xxx., 229. Because he wore
a four-and-nine, and had a pencil stuck behind his ear.
Four-bones, subs. (thieves’).—The knees.
1857. Punch, 31 Jan. ‘Dear Bill, This Stone-jug.’ For them coves in
Guildhall and that blessed Lord Mayor, Prigs on their four bones
should chop whiners I swear.
Four-eyes, subs. (common).—A person in spectacles: ‘a chap that can’t
believe his own eyes.’
Four-holed Middlings, subs. phr. (Winchester College).—Ordinary walking
shoes; cf. beeswaxers. Obsolete.
Four Kings. The history (or book) of the four kings. subs. phr.
(old).—A pack of cards; otherwise, a child’s best guide to the gallows,
or the devil’s picture books. Fr., Livre des quatre rois.
Four-legged burglar-alarm, subs. phr. (common).—A watch dog.
Four-legged Frolic, subs. phr. (venery).—The act of kind: a
reminiscence of the proverb, ‘There goes more to a marriage than four
bare legs in a bed.’ For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Four-poster, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A four-post bedstead.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xliv. ‘Vill you allow me to en-quire
vy you make up your bed under that ere deal table?’ said Sam.
‘’Cause I was alvays used to a four-poster afore I came here, and I
find the legs of the table answer just as well,’ replied the
cobbler.
Four Seams and a Bit of Soap, subs. phr. (tailors’).—A pair of
trousers. See Kicks.
Four—(more commonly Three)—Sheets in the Wind, adv. phr.
(nautical).—Drunk; cf., half seas over. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Screwed.
Fourteen Hundred, ... phr. (Stock Exchange).—A warning cry that a
stranger is in the ‘House.’
1887. Atkin, House Scraps. So, help me Got, Mo, who is he? Instead
of replying in a straightforward way, Mo raised his voice as loud
as he could, and shouted with might and main, ‘fourteen hundred new
fives!’ A hundred voices repeated the mysterious exclamation.
1890. Cassell’s Saturday Journal, 26 April. The cry of ‘fourteen
hundred’ is said to have had its origin in the fact that for a long
while the number of members never exceeded 1,399; and it was
customary to hail every new comer as the fourteen hundredth. It
has, in its primary sense, long since lost significance, for there
are now nearly three thousand members of the close corporation
which has its home in Capel Court.
Fourteenth Amendment Persuasion, subs. phr. (American).—Negroes. [From
the number of the clause amending the Constitution at the abolition of
slavery.]
1888. Times Democrat, 5 Feb. To take the law is one of the greatest
privileges in the estimation of the colored folk that the
fourteenth amendment conferred, and, whether offender or defendant,
they take a pride in summonses beyond describing.
Fourth, subs. (Cambridge University).—A rear (q.v.) or jakes. [Origin
uncertain; said to have been first used at St. John’s or Trinity, where
the closets were situated in the Fourth Court. Whatever its derivation,
the term is now the only one in use at Cambridge, and is frequently
heard outside the university.] The verbal phrase is to keep a fourth
(see Keep).
On his fourth, phr. (common).—Hopelessly drunk. For synonyms, see
Drinks and Screwed.
Fourth Estate, subs. phr. (literary).—The body of journalists; the
‘Press.’ [Literally the Fourth Estate of the realm, the other three
being Queen, Lords, and Commons.]
1855. Notes and Queries. 1 S. xi., p. 452.
1857. J. E. Ritchie, Night Side of London, p. 202. Let me say a
word about these exceedingly seedy-looking individuals connected
with the fourth estate.
Four-wheeler, subs. (common).—A steak.
2. (colloquial).—A four-wheeled cab; a growler (q.v.).
1873. Black, Princess of Thule, ch. 10. Having sent an all their
luggage by a respectable old four-wheeler.
Fousty, adj. (colloquial).—Stinking [probably derived from foist, sense
3].
Fouter, verb, and Foutering, subs. (common).—To meddle, importune,
waste time and tongue; the act of meddling, importunity, wasting time
and tongue. E.g., ‘Don’t come foutering here!’ [From the French,
foutre: the sense of which is intensified in a vulgarism of still
fuller flavour].
Fox, subs. (old).—A sword; specifically, the old English broadsword.
[Derivation dubious. Suggestions are: (1) from a maker’s name; (2) from
the fox sometimes engraved on the blade; (3) from the Latin falx.] For
synonyms, see Cheese-toaster and Poker.
1598, Shakspeare, Henry V., 4. O signieur Dew, thou dy’st on point
of fox.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii. A fellow that knows nothing but
a basket-hilt, and an old fox in’t.
c. 1640. [Shirley], Captain Underwit, in Bullen’s Old Plays, ii.,
321. Un. An old fox blade made at Hounsloe heath.
1667. Shirley, Love Tricks, Act II., Sc. 1. They say your swords
most commonly are foxes, and have notable metal in them.
1700. Congreve, Way of the World, Act V., Sc. 10. Sir, I have an
old fox by my thigh shall hack your instrument of ram vellum to
shreds, Sir.
1821. Scott, Kenilworth, ch. iv. ‘Come, come, comrade,’ said
Lambourne, ‘here is enough done, and more than enough, put up your
fox, and let us be jogging.’
Verb (old).—1. To intoxicate. Foxed = drunk; to catch a fox = to be
very drunk; while to flay the fox (Urquhart) = to vomit, to shed your
liquor, i.e., to get rid of the beast.
1611. Barry, Ram Alley, Act IV. They will bib hard; they will be
fine sunburnt, Sufficient fox’d or columber’d now and then.
1633. Heywood, Eng. Travellers, IV., v., p. 266 (Mermaid Series).
Rioter. Worthy Reginald. Reig. Will, if he now come off well, fox
you all, Go, call for wine.
c. 1640. [Shirley], Captain Underwit, in Bullen’s Old Plays, ii.
375. Then to bee fox’d it is no crime, Since thickest and dull
braines It makes sublime.
1661. T. Middleton, Mayor of Quinborough, V., i. Ah, blind as one
that had been fox’d a sevennight.
1673. Shadwell, Epsom Wells, IV., in wks. (1720), ii., 248. But
here’s my cup. Come on. Udsooks, I begin to be fox’d!
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 194. Come, let’s trudge it to
Kirkham Fair: There’s stout liquor enough to fox me.
1738. Swift, Polite Convers., Dial. 2. Lady Sm. But, Sir John, your
ale is terrible strong and heady.... Sir John. Why, indeed, it is
apt to fox one.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Fox (v.) ... also to make a
person drunk or fuddled.
1891. Sporting Times, 11 April. And so to bed well nigh seven in
the morning, and myself as near foxed as of old.
2. (old).—To cheat; to trick; to rob (colloquial at Eton). For
synonyms, see Gammon.
1631. Mayne, City Match, iii., 1. Fore Jove, the captain foxed him
rarely.
1866. Notes and Queries, 3, S. x., 123. Where the tramps ... out of
their gout are foxed.
3. (common).—To watch closely. Also to fox about. Cf., fox’s sleep. For
synonyms, see Nose.
1880. Greenwood, Odd People in Odd Places, p. 61. ‘You keep it
going pretty loud here, with a couple of policemen foxing about
just outside.’
4. (colloquial).—To sham.
1880. One and All, 6 Nov., p. 296, ‘Let us look at these vagabons;
maybe they’re only foxin’.’ The two men who had received such
tangible mementos of the whip-handle and the blackthorn lay
perfectly still.
5. (American).—To play truant.
6. (booksellers’).—To stain; to discolour with damp; said of books and
engravings. Foxed = stained or discoloured.
1881. C. M. I[ngleby] in Notes and Queries (6th S., iv., 96).
Tissue paper harbours damp, and in a damp room will assuredly help
to fox the plates which they face.
1885. Austin Dobson, At the Sign of the Lyre, 83. And the Rabelais
foxed and flea’d.
7. (theatrical).—To criticise a ‘brother pro’s’ performance.
8. (common).—To mend a boot by ‘capping’ it.
To set a fox to keep one’s geese, phr. (common).—To entrust one’s
money, or one’s circumstances, to the care of sharpers. Latin, Ovem
lupo commisisti.
To make a fox paw, verb. phr. (common).—To make a mistake or a wrong
move; specifically (of women) to be seduced. [A corruption of the Fr.
faux pas.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue.
Fox’s Sleep, subs. phr. (common).—A state of feigned yet very vigilant
indifference to one’s surroundings. [Foxes were supposed to sleep with
one eye open.]
1830. Sir J. Barrington, Personal Sketches, Vol. III., p. 171 (ed.
1832). Mr. Fitzgerald, he supposed, was in a fox’s sleep, and his
bravo in another, who, instead of receding at all, on the contrary
squeezed the attorney closer and closer.
Foxy, adj. (colloquial).—1. Red-haired; cf., carrotty.
1828. G. Griffin, Collegians, ch. ii. Dunat O’Leary, the
hair-cutter, or Foxy Dunat, as he was named in allusion to his red
head.
2. (colloquial).—Cunning; vulpine in character and look. Once literary.
Jonson (1605) calls his arch-foist volpone, the second title of his
play being ‘The Fox;’ and Florio (1598) defines Volpone as ‘an old fox,
an old reinard, an old, crafty, sly, subtle companion, sneaking,
lurking, wilie deceiver.’
d. 1536. Tyndale, Workes, p. 148. Oh, foxy Pharisay, that is thy
leuen, of which Christ so diligently bad vs beware.
1849. Dickens, David Copperfield, ch. xlix., p. 429. Whatever his
state of health may be his appearance is foxy, not to say
diabolical.
3. (American cobblers’).—Repaired with new toe-caps. See fox, verb,
sense 8.
1877. M. Twain, Life on the Mississippi, ch. lvii., p. 503. It was
the scarecrow Dean—in foxy shoes, down at the heels; socks of odd
colours, also ‘down.’
4. (booksellers’).—A term applied to prints and books discoloured by
damp; see Fox, verb, sense 6.
5. (painters’: obsolete).—Inclined to reddishness.
d. 1792. Sir J. Reynolds, Notes on Dufresnoy. That (style) of
Titian, which may be called the Golden manner, when unskilfully
managed, becomes what the painters call foxy.
6. (common).—Strong-smelling. Said of a red-haired man or woman.
Foy, subs. (old).—A cheat; a swindle.
1615. Greene, Thieves Falling Out. You be crossbites, foys, and
nips.
Foyl-cloy, subs. (old).—A pickpocket; a rogue—B. E. [1690].
Foyst, subs. and verb. See Foist.
Foyster. See Foister.
Fraggle, verb. (Texas).—To rob.
Fragment, subs. (Winchester College).—A dinner for six (served in
College Hall, after the ordinary dinner), ordered by a Fellow in favour
of a particular boy, who was at liberty to invite five others to join
him. Obs. A fragment was supposed to consist of three
dishes.—Winchester Word-book [1891].
Framer, subs. (American thieves’).—A shawl.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
Frater, subs. (old).—A beggar working with a false petition.
1567. Harman, Caveat, s.v. Frater, a beggar wyth a false paper.
1622. Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, ii., 1. And these what name or title
e’er they bear, Jarkman, or Patrico, Cranke, or Clapper-dudgeon,
Frater, or Abramman, I speak to all That stand in fair election for
the title Of king of beggars.
1791. Life of Bamfylde Moore-Carew. ‘Oath of Canting Crew.’ Rogue
or rascal, frater, maunderer, Irish toyle, or other wanderer.
Fraud, subs. (colloquial).—A failure; anything or body disappointing
expectation; e.g., an acquaintance, a picture, a book, a play, a
picture, a bottle of wine. Actual dishonesty is not necessarily
implied.
1882. Punch, LXXXII., p. 177, col. 1. A fraud, Charlie!
Fraze. See Vessel.
Freak, subs. (American showmen’s). A living curiosity: as the Siamese
Twins, the Two-headed Nightingale. [Short for ‘freak of nature.’]
Free, adj. (Oxford University).—Impudent; self-possessed.
1864. Tennyson, Northern Farmer, (Old Style), line 25.—But parson a
coomes an’ a goos, an’ a says it eäsy an’ freeä.
Verb. (old).—To steal; cf., annex and convey. For synonyms, see Prig.
1857. Snowden, Magistrates’ Assistant, 3rd ed., p. 444. To steal a
muff. To free a cat.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
1882. McCabe, New York, ch. xxxiv., p. 509. (Given in list of slang
terms.)
Free-fucking, subs. (venery).—General lewdness. Also the favour gratis.
Also fidelity to the other sex at large.
Free of Fumbler’s Hall, adv. phr. (venery).—Impotent; unable to do ‘the
trick.’ [Fumbler’s Hall = female pudendum.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue s.v., A saying of one who cannot get his
wife with child.
Free, gratis,—for nothing, phr. (common).—A pleonastic vulgarism. Cf.,
On the dead.
To make free with both ends of the busk, verb. phr. (venery).—To take
liberties with a woman. Cf., Both ends of the busk.
Free of the house, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Intimate; privileged to come
and go at will.
Free of the bush, adj. phr. (venery).—On terms of extreme intimacy. See
Bush.
[For the rest, the commonest sense of free is one of liberality:
e.g., free of his foolishness = full of chaff; free-handed = lavish
in giving; free-hearted = generously disposed; free of her favours
= liberal of her person: free of his patter = full of talk.]
Free-and-Easy, subs. (common).—A social gathering where you smoke,
drink, and sing; generally held at a public house.
1796. (In Bee’s Dict. of the Turf, published 1823, s.v.). Twenty
seven years ago the cards of invitation to that (free-and-easy) at
the ‘Pied Horse,’ in Moorfields, had the notable ‘N.B.—Fighting
allowed.’
1810. Crabbe, The Borough, Letter 10. Clubs. Next is the club,
where to their friends in town, Our country neighbours once a-month
come down; We term it free-and-easy, and yet we Find it no easy
matter to be free.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Free-and-easy Johns. A society which
meets at the Hole in the Wall, Fleet Street, to tipple porter, and
sing bawdry.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry (ed. 1890), p. 91. Blew a cloud at a
free-and-easy.
1843. Macaulay, Essays: Gladstone on Church and State. Clubs of all
ranks, from those which have lined Pall-Mall and St. James’s Street
with their palaces, down to the free-and-easy which meets in the
shabby parlour of the village inn.
1869. Mrs. H. Wood, Roland Yorke, ch. xii. He tilted himself on to
a high stool in the middle of the room, his legs dangling, just as
though he had been at a free-and-easy meeting.
1880. Jas. Greenwood, Odd People in Odd Places, p. 64. A roaring
trade is done, for instance, on a Saturday evening at the ‘Medley’
in Hoxton, a combination of theatre and music-hall, and serves as a
free-and-easy chiefly for boys and girls.
1891. Cassell’s Saturday Journal, Sept., p. 1068, col. 3. The
free-and-easy of to-day among us is a species of public-house
party, at which much indifferent liquor and tobacco are consumed,
songs are sung, and speeches are got rid of.
Freebooker, subs. (journalists’).—A ‘pirate’ bookseller or publisher; a
play on the word freebooter.
Free fight, subs. (colloquial).—A general mellay.
1877. W. Mark, Green Past. and Picc., ch. xxx. That vehement German
has been insisting on the Irish porters bringing up all our luggage
at once; and as there has been a sort of free fight below he comes
fuming upstairs.
Free-fishery, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms,
see Monosyllable.
Freeholder, subs. (venery).—1. A prostitute’s lover or fancyman. Cf.,
Free-fishery, and for synonyms, see Joseph.
2. (old).—A man whose wife insists on accompanying him to a public
house.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v. 1785. Grose, Dict. of
the Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Free-lance, subs. (common).—An habitual adulteress.
c. 1889. (Quoted from Spectator in ‘Slang, Jargon, and Cant’).
Sooner than be out of the fashion they will tolerate what should be
most galling and shaming to them—the thought that by these they are
put down among the free-lances.
Also said of a journalist attached to no particular paper.
Freeman, subs. (venery).—A married woman’s lover.
Freeman of bucks, subs. phr. (old).—A cuckold. [In allusion to the
horn.] Grose.
To freeman, or to make a freeman of, verb. phr. (schoolboys’).—To spit
on the penis of a new comer. Also To Freemason.
Freeman’s Quay. To drink, or lush, at freeman’s quay, verb. phr.
(old).—To drink at another’s expense. [Freeman’s Quay was a celebrated
wharf near London Bridge, and the saying arose from the beer that was
given to porters, carmen, and others going there on business.]
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Freeze, subs. (colloquial).—1. The act or state of freezing; a frost.
2. (old).—Hard cider.—Grose.
Verb. (American).—1. To long for intensely; e.g., ‘to freeze to go
back,’ said of the home-sick; ‘to freeze for meat.’
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West (1887), p. 129. Threats of
vengeance on every Redskin they met were loud and deep; and the
wild war songs round their nightly camp-fires, and grotesque
scalp-dances, borrowed from the Indians, proved to the initiated
that they were, one and all, half-froze for hair.
2. (thieves’).—Hence, to appropriate; to steal; ‘to stick to.’
3. (old).—To adulterate or balderdash (q.v.) wine with freeze (q.v.
sense 2).—Grose.
To freeze to (or on to), verb. phr. (American).—To take a strong fancy
to; to cling to; to, keep fast hold of; and (of persons) to button-hole
or shadow.
1883. Graphic, 17 March, p. 287, col. 1. If there was one
institution which the Anglo-Indian froze to more than another, it
was his sit-down supper and—its consequences.
1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, 2 March. The competence of a juror was
judged by his ability to shake ready-formed opinions and freeze on
to new ones.
To Freeze Out, verb. phr. (American).—To compel to withdraw from
society by cold and contemptuous treatment; from business by
competition or opposition; from the market by depressing prices or
rates of exchange.
Freezer, subs. (common).—1. A tailless Eton jacket; cf., Bum-perisher.
For synonyms, see Monkey-jacket.
2. (colloquial).—A very cold day. By analogy, a chilling look, address,
or retort.
French-elixir (cream, lace, or article), subs. phr. (common).—Brandy.
[The custom of taking of brandy with tea and coffee was originally
French.—Whence French Cream. Laced tea = tea dashed with spirits].
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. ix. ‘Get out the gallon punch-bowl,
and plenty of lemons. I’ll stand for the French article by the time
I come back, and we’ll drink the young Laird’s health.’
1821. Real Life, i., p. 606. Not forgetting blue ruin and French
lace.
English Synonyms.—Ball-of-fire; bingo; cold tea; cold nantz; red
ribbon.
French Synonyms.—Le parfait amour du chiffonnier (i.e., ragman’s
happiness = coarse brandy); le trois-six (popular: = rot-gut);
fil-en-quatre, fil-en-trois, fil-en-six (specifically, old brandy, but
applied to spirits generally); le dur (= a drop of hard: common); le
raide (popular = a drop of stiff): le chenique or chnic (popular:); le
rude (popular: = a drop of rough, i.e., coarse brandy); l’eau d’affe
(thieves’); le pissat d’âne (popular: = donkey’s piss; sometimes
applied to bad beer, which is likewise called pissat de vache);
l’avoine (military = hay, as who should say ‘a nose bag’); le blanc
(popular = brandy or white wine); le possédé (thieves’: bingo); le
raspail (popular:); le cric (popular: also crik, crique, or cricque =
rough brandy:); le schnaps (popular); le schnick (common: = bad
brandy); le camphre (popular: = camphor; applied to the coarsest
spirit); le sacré-chien or sacré-chien tout pur (common: = the vilest
sold); casse-poitrine (common: = brandy heightened with pepper; cf.,
rot-gut); le jaune (rag-pickers’: = a drop of yellow); tord-boyaux
(popular = twist-gut); la consolation (popular = a drop of comfort);
requiqui (workmen’s); eau de mort (common: = death-water); le Tripoli
(rank brandy); casse-gueule (= ‘kill-the-carter’; applied to all kinds
of spirits).
French Fake. subs. phr. (nautical).—The fashion of coiling a rope by
taking it backwards and forwards in parallel bands, so that it may run
easily.
French Gout (or Disease, Fever, etc.), subs. phr. (common).—Sometimes
clap (q.v.), but more generally and correctly syphilis, Morbus
Gallicus, especially with older writers. For synonyms, see Ladies
Fever. Also The Frenchman. French Pox = a very bad variety of syphilis.
The French themselves always refer to the ailment as the mal de Naples,
for which see Marston (1598) and his ‘Naples canker,’ and Florio (1598)
mal di Napoli = French pocks. Cf., Shakspeare, Henry V., v., 1. News
have I that my Nell is dead i’ the spital Of malady of France.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Lue, a plague.... It is also used
for the French poxe.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Mal de Naples, the French Pocks.
1690. B. E. Dict. of the Canting Crew. (s.v.).
1740. Poor Robin. Some gallants will this month be so penurious
that they will not part with a crack’d groat to a poor body, but on
their cockatrice or punquetto will bestow half a dozen taffety
gowns, who in requittal bestows on him the French pox.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. He suffered by a blow
over the snout with a French faggot-stick; i.e., he lost his nose
by the pox.
Frenchified, adj. (old).—Clapped; more generally and accurately poxed.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. Frenchified, infected
with the venereal disease; the mort is frenchified = the wench is
infected.
French Leave, To take French leave. verb. phr. (colloquial).—(1) To
decamp without notice; (2) to do anything without permission; (3) to
purloin or steal; (4) to run away (as from an enemy). [Derivation
obscure; French, probably traceable to the contempt engendered during
the wars with France; the compliment is returned in similar expressions
(see Synonyms) + leave = departure or permission to depart. Sense 1 is
probably the origin of senses 2, 3, and 4. See Notes and Queries, 1 S.
i, 246; 3 S. vi, 17; 5 S. xii, 87; 6 S. v, 347, 496; viii, 514; ix,
133, 213, 279; 7 S. iii, 5, 109, 518.]
English Synonyms.—To retire up (one’s fundament); to slope; to smouge;
to do a sneak; to take the Frenchman; to vamoose.
French Synonyms.—S’escarpiner (popular: = to flash one’s pumps);
escarpin = a dancing shoe; jouer de l’escarpin = to ply one’s pumps,
(16th century); s’échapper, s’esquiver, filer, disparaître, s’éclipser,
se dérober, se retirer, and s’en aller à l’anglaise (= to take English
leave); pisser à l’anglaise (= to do an English piss, i.e., affect a
visit to the urinal); prendre sa permission sous son coude (popular:
literally to take one’s leave under one’s arm); ficher or foutre le
camp.
German Synonyms.—Französischen Abschied nehmen (= to take French leave:
from Gutzkow, R., 4, 88, etc., born 1811); französischer Abschied
(Iffland, 1759–1814, 5, 3, 117); auf gut französisch sich empfehlen
(Blumauer, 2, 72, 1758–1798: also Gutzkow, R., 4, 88); hinter der Thur
urlaub (= to take leave behind [or outside] the door, i.e., after one
has got outside it: quoted by Sanders, from Fischart, 1550–1589);
hinter der Thüre Abschied nehmen (= to say good-bye outside, to take
French leave); also, er beurlaubte sich in aller Stille, explained as
er stahl sich, schlich sich davon, and translated ‘he took French
leave’; also, sich aus einer Gesellschaft stehlen.—Hilpert’s Dict.,
1845.
Spanish Synonym.—Despedirse á la francesa (= to take French leave).
1771. Smollett, Humphrey Clinker, p. 54. He stole away an
Irishman’s bride, and took a French leave of me and his master.
1805. Newspaper (quoted in Notes and Queries, 5 S. xii., 2 Aug.,
79, p. 87, col. 2). On Thursday last Monsieur J. F. Desgranche, one
of the French prisoners of war on parole at Chesterfield, took
French leave of that place, in defiance of his parole engagement.
1854. F. E. Smedley, Harry Coverdale, ch. lviii. ‘I thought I would
avoid all the difficulties ... by taking French leave, and setting
off in disguise and under a feigned name.’
1885 Stevenson, Treasure Island, ch. xxii., p. 178 (1886). My only
plan was to take French leave, and slip out when nobody was
watching.
1892. Globe, 25 Mar., p. 5, col. 1. They finally resolved to go on
French leave to the place.
French- (also American, Spanish, and Italian) Letter, subs. phr.
(colloquial).—A sheath—of india-rubber, gold beater’s skin,
gutta-percha—worn by a man during coition to prevent infection or
fruition. Usually described in print as specialities (q.v.). or
circular protectors and (in U.S.A.) as safes (q.v.). See Cundum. Fr.,
capote anglaise.
French Pigeon, subs. phr. (sportsman’s).—A pheasant killed by mistake
in the partridge season. Also moko and oriental (q.v.).
French Pig, subs. phr. (common).—A venereal bubo; a blue boar (q.v.),
or Winchester goose (q.v.).
French Prints, subs. (colloquial).—Generic for indecent pictures.
1849–50. Thackeray, Pendennis II., ch. xxxi. Young de Boots of the
Blues recognised you as the man who came to barracks, and did
business, one-third in money, one-third in eau-de-Cologne, and one
third in French prints, you confounded, demure, old sinner.
French Vice, verb. phr. (venery).—A euphemism for all sexual
malpractices; Larks (q.v.). First used (in print) in the case of
Crawford v. Crawford and Dilke.
Frenchy, subs. (colloquial).—A Frenchman.
Fresh, adj. (University).—1. Said of an undergraduate in his first
term.
1803. Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, s.v.
1866. Trevelyan, Horace at Athens. When you and I were fresh.
2. (common).—Slightly intoxicated; elevated. For synonyms see Drinks
and Screwed, (Scots’ = sober).
1829. Marryat, Frank Mildmay, ch. xiii. Drinking was not among my
vices. I could get fresh, as we call it, when in good company and
excited by wit and mirth; but I never went to the length of being
drunk.
3. (Old English and modern American).—Inexperienced, but conceited and
presumptuous; hence, forward, impudent.
1596. Shakspeare, King John, iii., 4. How green you are and fresh
in this old world.
1886. Francis, Saddle and Mocassin. ‘Has Peggy been too fresh?’ Her
sunburnt cheeks flushed.
4. (common).—Fasting; opposed to eating or drinking.
Fresh as paint, as a rose, as a daisy, as a new-born turd, etc., phr.
(common).—Full of health, strength, and activity; fit (q.v.).
1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. xix. This is his third day’s
rest, and the cob will be about as fresh as paint when I get across
him again.
1880. Punch’s Almanack, p. 12.
Fresh on the graft, adj. phr. (common).—New to the work. Cf., Fresh
bit.
Fresh Bit, subs. phr. (venery).—A beginner; also a new mistress. Cf.,
Bit of fresh = the sexual favour: meat, or mutton, or fish (q.v.),
being understood.
Freshen One’s Way, verb. phr. (nautical).—To hurry; to quicken one’s
movements. [The wind freshens when it rises.]
Freshen Up, verb. phr. (colloquial). To clean; to vamp; to revive; to
smarten.
Fresher, subs. (University).—An undergraduate in his first term.
Freshers. The Freshers, subs. (University).—That part of the Cam which
lies between the Mill and Byron’s Pool. So called because it is
frequented by freshmen (q.v.).
Freshman (or Fresher), subs. (University).—A University man during his
first year. In Dublin University he is a junior freshman during his
first year, and a senior freshman the Second year. At Oxford the title
lasts for the first term. Ger., Fuchs.
1596. Nashe, Saffron Walden, in wks. iii., 8. When he was but yet a
freshman in Cambridge.
1611. Middleton, Roaring Girl, Act iii., Sc. 3. S. Alex. Then he’s
a graduate. S. Davy. Say they trust him not. S. Alex. Then is he
held a freshman and a sot.
1767. Colman, Oxonian in Town, ii., 3. And now I find you as dull
and melancholy as a freshman at college after a jobation.
1841. Lever, Charles O’Malley, ch. xiv. ‘This is his third year,’
said the Doctor, ‘and he is only a freshman, having lost every
examination.’
1891. Sporting Life, 20 Mar. The mile, bar accidents, will be a
gift to B. C. Allen, of Corpus, who has more than maintained the
reputation he gained as a fresher.
Adj. (University).—Of, or pertaining to, a freshman, or a first year
student.
Freshmanship, subs. (old).—Of the quality or state of being a freshman.
1605. Jonson, Volpone, or the Fox, iv., 3. Well, wise Sir Pol.,
since you have practised thus, Upon my freshmanship, I’ll try your
salt-head With what proof it is against a counter-plot.
Freshman’s Bible, subs. phr. (University).—The University Calendar.
Freshman’s Church, subs. phr. (University).—The Pitt Press at
Cambridge. [From its ecclesiastical architecture.]
Freshman’s Landmark, subs. phr. (University).—King’s College Chapel,
Cambridge. [From the situation.]
Freshwater Mariner (or Seaman), subs. phr. (old).—A beggar shamming
sailor; a turnpike sailor (q.v.).
1567. Harman, Caveat (1869), p. 48. These freshwater mariners,
their shipes were drowned in the playne of Salisbury. These kynde
... counterfet great losses on the sea.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Freshwater seamen, that
have never been on the Salt, or made any Voyage, meer Land-Men.
Freshwater Soldier, subs. phr. (old).—A raw recruit.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, Biancone. A goodly, great
milke-soppe, a fresh water soldier.
1603. Knolles, Hist. of the Turkes. The nobility, as freshwater
soldiers, which had never seen but some slight skirmishes, made
light account of the Turks.
1696. Nomenclator. Bachelier aux armes, nouveau ou jeune soudard. A
freshwater souldier: a young souldier: a novice: one that is
trayned up to serve in the field.
Fret, To fret one’s gizzard, guts, giblets, kidneys, cream, etc., verb.
phr. (common).—To get harassed and worried about trifles; to tear one’s
shirt (q.v.).
Friar, subs. (printers’).—A pale spot in a printed sheet. Fr., un moine
(= monk).
Frib, subs. (old).—A stick. For synonyms, see Toko.
1754. Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 43. A Jacob and frib; a
ladder and stick.
Fribble, subs. (old).—A trifler; a contemptible fop. [From the
character in Garrick’s Miss in her Teens (1747)].
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1860. Thackeray, Four Georges. George IV. That fribble, the leader
of such men as Fox and Burke!
Friday-face, subs. (old).—A gloomy, dejected-looking man or woman.
[Probably from Friday being, ecclesiastically, the banyan day of the
week.] Fr., figure de carême.
1592. Greene, Groatsworth of Wit, in wks. xii., 120. The Foxe made
a Friday-face, counterfeiting sorrow.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1889. Gentleman’s Mag., June, p. 593. Friday-face is a term still
occasionally applied to a sour-visaged person; it was formerly in
very common use.
Friday-faced, adj. (old).—Mortified; melancholy; ‘sour-featured’
(Scott).
1592. John Day, Blind Beggar, Act iii., Sc. 2, p. 57. Can. No, you
Friday-fac’d frying-pan, it was to save us all from whipping or a
worse shame.
1606. Wily Beguiled (Hawkins Eng. Dr., iii., 356). Marry, out upon
him! What a Friday-fac’d slave it is! I think in my conscience his
face never keeps holiday.
Friend (or Little Friend), subs.—The menstrual flux or domestic
afflictions (q.v.), whose appearance is sometimes announced by the
formula ‘My little friend has come.’ Conventionalisms are queer;
poorly; changes (Irish); ‘the Captain’s at home’ (Grose). See Flag.
To go and see a sick friend, verb. phr. (venery).—To go on the loose.
See Greens.
Friend Charles. See Charles his friend.
Friendly Lead, subs. phr. (thieves’).—An entertainment (as a sing-song)
got up to assist a companion in trouble (q.v.), or to raise money for
the wife and children of a ‘quodded pal.’
1871. Daily Telegraph, 4 Dec. This was the secret business, the
tremendous conspiracy, to compass which it was deemed necessary to
act with infinitely more caution than the friends of Bill Sikes
feel called on to exercise when they distribute tickets for a
friendly lead for the benefit of Bill, who is ‘just out of his
trouble.’
1889. Cassell’s Saturday Journal, 5 Jan. The men frequently club
together in a friendly lead to help a brother in distress.
1892. Ally Sloper, 2 Apr., p. 106, col. 3. My father takes the
chair at friendly leads.
Friends in Need, subs. phr. (common).—Lice. For synonyms, see Chates.
Frig, verb trans. and refl. (venery).—To masturbate. Also subs. = an
act of masturbation. Known sometimes as keeping down the census.
[Latin, fricare = to rub.]
English Synonyms.—To bob; to box the Jesuit [‘St. Omer’s lewdness,’
Marston, ‘Scourge’ (1598)]; to chuff; to chuffer; to claw (Florio); to
digitate (of women); to eat (or get) cock-roaches; to bring up (or off)
by hand; to fight one’s turkey (Texan); to finger or finger-fuck (of
women); to friggle (Florio); to fuck one’s fist (of men); to fetch
mettle (Grose); to handle; to indorse; to jerk, play, pump, toss, or
work off; to lark; to milk; to mount a corporal and four; to mess, or
pull about; to play with (schoolboys’), to rub up; to shag; to tickle
one’s crack (of women); to dash one’s doodle; to touch up; to play
paw-paw tricks (Grose); to wriggle (old). For foreign synonyms, see
Wriggle.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Fricciare ... to frig, to
wriggle, to tickle.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Branler la pique, To Frig.
1728. Bailey, Dict., s.v. Frig, to rub.
c. 1716–1746. Robertson of Struan. Poems, 83. So to a House of
office ... a School-Boy does repair, To ... fr—— his P—— there.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
Frigate, subs. (common).—A woman.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Friggat well rigg’d, a
woman well drest and gentile.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. A well-rigg’d frigate, a well-dressed
wench.
Frigging, subs. (venery).—1. The act of masturbation; the ‘cynick
friction’ (Marston, Scourge); otherwise simple infanticide.
2. (old).—Trifling [Grose, 1785.]
Adj. and adv. (vulgar).—An expletive of intensification. Thus, frigging
bad = ‘bloody’ bad; a frigging idiot = an absolute fool. See also
Foutering and Fucking.
Frightfully, adv. (colloquial).—Very. An expletive used as are awfully,
beastly, bloody, etc. (q.v.).
Frig-pig, subs. (old).—A finnicking trifler.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Frigster (in fem. Frigstress) subs. (venery).—A masturbator; an
indorser (q.v., also = a Sodomite).
Frillery, subs. (common).—Feminine underclothing. For synonyms, see
Snowy. To explore one’s frillery (venery) = to grope one’s person.
Frills, subs. (American).—Swagger; conceit; also accomplishments (as
music, languages, etc.); and culture; cf., Man with no frills.
1870. Sacramento Paper (quoted in De Vere). ‘I can’t bear his talk,
it’s all frills.’
1884. Clemens (‘Mark Twain’), Adventures of Huck Finn. 33. I never
see such a son. I bet I’ll take some of these frills out of you
before I’m done with you.
To put on one’s frills, verb. phr. (American).—To exaggerate; to chant
the poker; to swagger; to put on side (q.v.); to sing it (q.v.). Fr.,
se gonfler le jabot, and faire son lard.
1890. Rudyard Kipling, National Observer, March, 1890, p. 69. ‘The
Oont.’ It’s the commissariat camel putting on his blooming frills.
2. (venery).—To get wanton or prick-proud (q.v.); in a state of must
(q.v.).
To have been among one’s frills, verb. phr. (venery).—To have enjoyed
the sexual favour. For synonyms, see Greens.
Frint, subs. (old).—A pawnbroker. For synonyms, see Uncle.
1821. Real Life in London, i., p. 566.
Frisco, subs. (American).—Short for San Francisco.
1870. Bret Harte, Poems, ‘Chiquita.’ Busted hisself at White Pine,
and blew out his brains down in Frisco.
1890. Sporting Life, 8 Nov. The battle ... took place in the
theatre, Market St., Frisco.
Frisk, subs. (old).—1. A frolic; an outing; a lark (q.v.); mischief
generally.
1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, iii., 1. If you have a mind to take
a frisk with us, I have an interest with my lord; I can easily
introduce you.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1825. The English Spy, vi., p. 162. Dick’s a trump and no
telegraph—up to every frisk, and down to every move of the domini,
thoroughbred and no want of courage.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xx., p. 171. ‘When you and I had
the frisk down in Lincolnshire, Guppy, and drove over to see that
house at Castle Wold.’
2. (old).—A dance.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 274. Let’s have a neat frisk or so,
And then rub on the law.
1782. Cowper, Table Talk, 237. Give him his lass, his fiddle, and
his frisk, Is always happy, reign whoever may.
1880. Ouida, Moths, ch. xiv. And her fancy-dress frisks, and her
musical breakfasts, were great successes.
3. (venery).—The act of copulation. See Greens and Ride.
Verb (thieves’).—1. To search; to run the rule over (q.v.); Especially
applied to the search made, after arrest, for evidence of character,
antecedents, or identity. Hence, careful examination of any kind.
1781. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 179. They frisk him? That is
search him. Ibid., p. 122. Putting a lap-feeder in our sack, that
you or your blowen had prig’d yourselves though we should stand the
frisk for it.
1828. Jon. Bee, Pict. of London. p. 69. The arms are seized from
behind by one, whilst the other frisks the pockets of their
contents.
1852. Judson, Mysteries, etc., of New York, ch. vii. Vel sare, the
offisare ’ave frisk me: he ’ave not found ze skin or ze dummy, eh?
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, p. 21. ‘The knuck was
copped to rights, a skin full of honey was found in his kick’s poke
by the copper when he frisked him’; [i.e.] the pickpocket was
arrested, and when searched by the officer a purse was found in his
pantaloons pocket full of money.
2. (thieves’).—To pick pockets; to rob. To frisk a cly = to empty a
pocket.
1852. Judson, Mysteries, etc. of New York, ch. iv. You’re as good a
knuck as ever frisked a swell.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 13 June, p. 7, col. 3. The ragged little
wretches who prowl in gangs about the suburbs, who crawl on their
hands and knees into shops in order to ‘frisk the till.’
3. (venery).—To ‘have (q.v.) a woman.’ For synonyms, see Ride.
To dance the Paddington frisk, verb. phr. (old).—To dance on nothing;
i.e., to be hanged. [Tyburn Tree was in Paddington.] For synonyms, see
Ladder.
Frisker, subs. (old).—A dancer.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 20. At no Whitsun Ale there e’er
yet had been Such Fraysters and Friskers as these lads and lasses.
Frivol or Frivvle, verb. (colloquial).—To act frivolously; to trifle.
[A resuscitation of an old word used in another sense, viz., to annul,
to set aside].
1883. W. Black, Yolande, ch. xx. ‘Mind, I am assuming that you mean
business—if you want to frivole, and pick pretty posies, I shut my
door on you but, I say, if you mean business, I have told Mrs. Bell
you are to have access to my herbarium, whether I am there or not.’
Frog, subs. (common).—1. A policeman. For synonyms, see Beak and
Copper.
1881. New York Slang Dict., ‘On the Trail.’ I must amputate like a
go-away, or the frogs will nail me.
1886. Graphic, 30 Jan., p. 130, col. 1. A policeman is also called
... a ‘frog,’ the last-named because he is supposed to jump, as it
were, suddenly upon guilty parties.
2. (common).—A Frenchman. Also froggy and frog-eater. [Formerly a
Parisian; the shield of whose city bore three toads, while the quaggy
state of the streets gave point to a jest common at Versailles before
1791: Qu’en disent les grenouilles? i.e., What do the frogs (the people
of Paris) say?]
1883. Referee, 15 July, p. 7, col. 3. While Ned from Boulogne says
‘Oui mon brave,’ The Froggies must answer for ‘Tamatave.’
3. (popular).—A foot. For synonyms, see Creepers.
To frog on, verb. phr. (American).—To get on; to prosper frogging-on =
success.
Frog-and-Toad, subs. (rhyming).—The main road.
Frog-and-Toe, subs. (American thieves’).—The city of New York.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, p. 35. Coves, let us
frog-and-toe, coves, let us go to New York.
Froglander, subs. (old).—A Dutchman. Cf., frog, sense 2.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v.
1852. Judson, Mysteries, etc., of New York, ch. xiv. The funny swag
which they raised out of the froglander coves.
Frog-salad, subs. (American).—A ballet; i.e., a leg-piece (q.v.).
Frog’s March. To give the frog’s march, verb. phr. (common).—To carry a
man face downwards to the station; a device adopted with drunken or
turbulent prisoners.
1871. Evening Standard, ‘Clerkenwell Police Report,’ 18 April. In
cross-examination the police stated that they did not give the
defendant the frog’s march. The frog’s march was described to be
carrying the face downwards.
1884. Daily News, Oct. 4, p. 5, col. 2. They had to resort to a
mode of carrying him, familiarly known in the force, we believe, as
the frog trot, or sometimes as the frog’s march.... The prisoner is
carried with his face downwards and his arms drawn behind him.
1888. Daily Telegraph, 22 Dec. Whether the ‘bobbies’ ran the tipsy
man in, treating him meanwhile to a taste of the frog’s march, and
whether he was fined or imprisoned for assaulting the police, is
not upon the record.
1890. Bird o’ Freedom, 19 Mar., p. 1, col. 1. And then he gets the
frog’s march to the nearest Tealeaf’s.
Frog’s Wine, subs. phr. (old).—Gin. For synonyms, see Drinks and Satin.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Frolic, subs. (common).—A merry-making.
1847. Robb. Squatter Life, p. 133. At all the frolicks round the
country, Jess was hangin’ onter that gal.
Frosty-face, subs. (old).—A pox-pitted man. Grose (1785).
Front, verb (thieves’).—To conceal the operations of a pickpocket; to
cover (q.v.).
1879. J. W. Horsley in Macmillan’s Mag., XL., 506. So my pal said,
‘Front me (cover me), and I will do him for it.’
Front-attic (or -door, -garden, -parlour, -room, or -window). subs.
phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable. To
have (or do) a bit of front-door work = to copulate.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. Mrs. Fubb’s front-parlour (vide
Tom Rees) is not to be mistaken for any part of any building.
Front-door Mat, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pubic hair. For
synonyms, see Fleece.
Front-gut, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Frontispiece, subs. (pugilists’).—The face. For synonyms, see Dial.
1818. P. Egan, Boxiana, I., p. 221. Tyne put in right and left upon
the Jew’s frontispiece two such severe blows, that Crabbe’s
countenance underwent a trifling change.
1845. Buckstone, Green Bushes, i., 1. It’s a marcy my switch didn’t
come in contract with your iligant frontispiece.
1860. Chambers’ Journal XIII., p. 368. His forehead is his
frontispiece.
1864. A. Trollope, Sm. Ho. at Allington (1884), vol. ii., ch. V.,
p. 47. He said that he had had an accident—or rather, a row—and
that he had come out of it with considerable damage to his
frontispiece.
1891. Sporting Life, 28 Mar. It must be confessed that the
ludicrous was attained when Griffiths subsequently appeared with a
short black pipe in his distorted and battered frontispiece.
Front-windows, subs. (common).—1. The eyes; also the face.
2. In sing. (venery).—The female pudendum. Cf., front-attic; and for
synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Frost, subs. (common).—A complete failure. Cf., Fr., un four noir. Also
un temps noir = a blank interval; a prolonged silence (as when an
actor’s memory fails him).
1885. Saturday Review, 15 Aug., p. 218. He is an absolute and
perfect frost.
1885. Bell’s Life, 3 Jan., p. 3, col. 6. We regret we cannot write
favorably concerning this matter, the affair being almost as big a
frost athletically as it was financially.
1889. Star, 17 Jan. The pantomime was a dead frost.
2. (common).—A dearth of work; to have a frost = to be idle.
Froudacious, Froudacity, adj. and subs. See quots.
1888. Colonies and India, 14 Nov. The word ‘Froudacity,’ invented
by Mr. Darnell Davis in his able review of The Bow of Ulysses,
recently published, has reached the height of popularity in the
Australasian Colonies, where it has come into everyday use. In the
Melbourne Assembly the other day an hon. member observed—speaking
of some remarks made by a previous speaker—that he never heard such
froudacious statements in his life. The colonial papers are
beginning, also, to spell the word with a small ‘f,’ which is
significant.
1889. Graphic, 16 Feb. By exposing some of Mr. Froude’s manifold
errors (the most dangerous is that which assumes the sour Waikato
clays to be rich because they grow fern) he justifies the
Australian adjective Froudacious.
Froust, subs. (Harrow School).—1. Extra sleep allowed on Sunday
mornings and whole holidays. Fr., faire du lard.
2. (common).—A stink; stuffiness (in a room).
Frousty, adj. (common).—Stinking.
Frout, adj. (Winchester College).—Angry; vexed.
Frow (or Froe, or Vroe), subs. (old).—A woman; a wife; a mistress.
[From the Dutch.]
1607. Dekker, Westward Ho, Act V., Sc. 1. Eat with ’em as hungerly
as soldiers; drink as if we were froes.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, V. Brush to your froe
and wheedle for crap, c. whip to your mistress and speak her fair
to give or lend you some Money.
1754. B. Martin, Eng. Dict. (2 ed.), s.v.
1789. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 119 A flash of lightning next Bess
tipt each cull and frow.
Fruitful Vine, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms,
see Monosyllable.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Fruitful vine. A woman’s private
parts, i.e., that has flowers every month, and bears fruit in nine.
Frummagemed, adj. (old).—Choked; strangled; spoilt.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, Pt. I., ch. v., 49 (1874). Frummagem,
Choakt.
1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Frummigam, c. choaked.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Choaked, strangled, or hanged.
Cant.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xxviii. ‘If I had not helped you
with these very fambles (holding up her hands), Jean Baillie would
have frummagem’d you, ye feckless do-little!’
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 21. There he lay, almost
frummagem’d.
Frump, subs. (old).—1. A contemptuous speech or piece of conduct; a
sneer; a jest.
1553. Wilson, Art of Rhetorique, p. 137. (He) shall be able to
abashe a right worthie man, and make him at his witte’s ende,
through the sodaine quicke and vnlooked frumpe giuen.
1589. Greene, Menaphon, p. 45. For women’s paines are more pinching
if they be girded with a frumpe than if they be galled with a
mischiefe.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Bichiacchia, jestes, toyes,
frumps, flim-flam tales, etc.
1606. T. Dekker, Seven Deadly Sinnes, p. 44 (ed. Arber). The
courtiers gives you an open scoffe, ye clown a secret mock, the
cittizen yat dwels at your threshald, a ieery frump.
1630. Taylor, Works. But yet, me thinkes, he gives thee but a
frumpe, In telling how thee kist a wenches rumpe.
1662. Rump Songs, ‘Arsy-Varsy,’ etc., ii., 47. As a preface of
honor and not as a frump, First with a Sir reverence ushers the
Rump.
1668. Dryden, An Evening’s Love, Act IV. Sc. 3. Not to be
behindhand with you in your frumps, I give you back your purse of
gold.
2. (common).—A slattern; more commonly a prim old lady; the correlative
of fogey (q.v.). Fr., un graillon.
1831. J. R. Planché, Olympic Revels, Sc. i. Cheat, you stingy
frump! Who wants to cheat?
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, I., p. 157. Get into the hands of
the other old frumps.
1857. Thackeray, Virginians, ch. xxxi. She is changed now, isn’t
she? What an old Gorgon it is! She is a great patroness of your
book-men, and when that old frump was young they actually made
verses about her.
3. (old).—A cheat; a trick.
1602. Rowland, Greene’s Ghost, 37. They come off with their ...
frumps.
Verb (old).—To mock; to insult.
1589. Nashe, Month’s Mind, in Works, Vol. I., p. 158. One of them
... maketh a iest of Princes, and ‘the troubling of the State, and
offending of her Maiestie,’ hee turneth of with a frumping
forsooth, as though it were a toie to think of it.
1593. G. Harvey, Pierces Super, in Works II., 107. That despiseth
the graces of God, flowteth the constellations of heaven, frumpeth
the operations of nature.
1609. Man in the Moone. Hee ... frumpeth those his mistresse
frownes on.
1757. Garrick, Irish Widow, I., i. Yes, he was frumped, and called
me old blockhead.
Frumper, subs. (old).—A sturdy man; a good blade.
1825. Kent, Modern Flash Dict., s.v.
Frumpish, adj. (colloquial).—Cross-grained; old-fashioned and severe in
dress, manners, morals, and notions; ill-natured; given to frumps. Also
Frumpy.
1589. Greene, Tullies Love, in wks. vii., 131. Who were you but as
fauourable, as you are frumpish, would soone censure by my talke,
how deepe I am reade in loues principles.
1701. Farquhar, Sir Harry Wildair, Act. V., Sc. 5. She got, I don’t
know how, a crotchet of jealousy in her head. This made her
frumpish, but we had ne’er an angry word.
1757. Foote, Author, Act II. And methought she looked very frumpish
and jealous.
1764. O’Hara, Midas, I., 3. La! mother, why so frumpish?
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, Bk. I., ch. xi. ‘Don’t fancy me a
frumpy old married woman, my dear; I was married but the other day,
you know.’
1889. Modern Society, 12 Oct., p. 1271, col. 2. Quite an elderly
and superannuated look is given to the toilette which is finished
off by a woollen cloud or silken shawl, and only invalids and
sixty-year-old women should be allowed such frumpish privileges.
Frushee, subs. (Scots’).—An open jam tart.
Fry, verb (common).—To translate into plain English. Cf., boil down.
1881. Jas. Payn, Grape from a Thorn, ch. xxx. ‘I shall repose the
greatest confidence in you, my dear girl, which one human being can
entrust to another,’ was one of its sentences, which, when it came
‘to be fried,’ meant that she should delegate to her the duties of
combing Fido and cutting her canary’s claws.
Go and fry your face, phr. (common).—A retort expressive of
incredulity, derision, or contempt.
Frying-pan. To jump from the frying-pan into the fire, verb. phr.
(common).—To go from bad to worse. Cf., ‘from the smoke into the
smother’ (As You Like it, i., 2.). Fr., tomber de la poêle dans la
braise.
1684. Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress, Part II. Some, though they shun
the frying-pan, do leap into the fire.
To Fry the Pewter, verb. phr. (thieves’).—To melt down pewter measures.
F Sharp, subs. phr. (common).—A flea; cf., B flat.
Fuant, subs. (old).—Excrement.—B. E. Dict. of the Canting Crew.
Fub, verb. (old).—To cheat; to steal; to put off with false excuses.
Also Fubbery = cheating, stealing, deception.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., II., 1. I have borne, and borne, and
borne, and have been fubbed off, and fubbed off from this day to
that day.
1604. Marston, Malcontent, i., 3. O no; but dream the most
fantastical. O heaven! O fubbery! fubbery!
1619. Fletcher, Mons. Thomas, ii., 2. My letter fubb’d too.
1647. Cartwright, Ordinary. iv., 4. I won’t be fubbed.
Fubsey or Fubsy, adj. (old).—Plump; fat; well-filled. Fubsy dummy = a
well-filled pocket book; fubsy wench = a plump girl.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1825. English Spy, I., p. 188. Old dowagers, their fubsy faces,
Painted to eclipse the Graces.
1837. Marryat, Snarley-yow, I., ch. viii. Seated on the widow’s
little fubsy sofa.
Fubsiness, subs. (common).—Any sort of fatness.
Fuck, subs. (venery).—1. An act of coition. For synonyms, see Greens.
2. (venery).—The seminal fluid. For synonyms, see Cream.
Verb. (common).—To copulate. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
c. 1540. David Lyndsay, ‘Flyting with King James.’ Aye fukkand like
ane furious fornicator.
1568. Clerk, Bannatyne MSS., Hunterian Soc. Publication, p. 298. He
clappit fast, he kist, he chukkit, As with the glaikkis he wer
ourgane; Yit be his feiris he wald haif fukkit.
1568. Anonymous, Bannatyne MSS., Hunterian Soc. Publication, p.
399. ‘In Somer when Flouris will Smell.’ Allace! said sch, my awin
sweit thing, Your courtly fukking garis me fling, Ye wirk sae
weill.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, Fottere. To jape; to sarde, to
fucke; to swive; to occupy.
1620. Percy, Folio MSS., p. 459. [Hales and Furnivall, 1867.] A
mighty mind to clipp, kisse, and to ffuck her.
1647–80. Rochester, ‘Written under Nelly’s Picture.’ Her father
fucked them right together.
1683. Earl of Dorset, ‘A Faithful Catalogue.’ From St. James’s to
the Land of Thule, There’s not a whore who f——s so like a mule.
c. 1716–1746. Robertson of Struan, Poems, 256. But she gave proof
that she could f——k, Or she is damnably bely’d.
1728. Bailey, English Dict., s.v. Fuck ... Feminam subigitare.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. F——k, to copulate.
c. 1790(?). Burns, Merry Muses. And yet misca’s a poor thing That
fucks for its bread.
Fuckable, adj. (venery).—Desirable. Also Fucksome.
Fucker, subs. (common).—1. A lover; a fancy joseph (q.v.).
2. (common).—A term of endearment, admiration, derision, etc.
Fuck-finger, subs. phr. (venery).—A fricatrix.
Fuck-fist, subs. phr. (venery).—A frigster (q.v.); a masturbator. For
synonyms, see Milkman.
Fuck-hole, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Fucking, subs. (venery).—Generic for the ‘act of kind.’
1568. Scott, Bannatyne MSS., Hunterian Soc. Publication, p. 363.
‘To the Derisioun of Wantoun Wemen.’ Thir foure, the suth to sane,
Enforsis thame to fucking ... Quod Scott.
1575. Satirical Poems, etc., Scottish Text Soc. Pub. (1889–90) i.,
208. ‘A Lewd Ballat.’ To se forett the holy frere his fukking so
deplore.
Adj. (common).—A qualification of extreme contumely.
Adv. (common).—Intensitive and expletive; a more violent form of bloody
(q.v.). See Foutering.
Fuckish, adj. (venery).—Wanton; proud (q.v.); inclined for coition.
Fuckster, subs. (venery).—A good performer (q.v.); one specially
addicted to the act. A woman-fucker (Florio), but in feminine
fuckstress.
Fud, subs. (venery).—The pubic hair. For synonyms, see Fleece. Also the
tail of a hare or rabbit.
1785. Burns, The Jolly Beggars. They scarcely left to co’er their
fuds.
Fuddle, subs. (common).—1. Drink. [Wedgwood: A corruption of fuzz.]
1621. Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy. The university troop dined
with the Earl of Abingdon and came back well fuzzed.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v. fuddle, Drink.
‘This is rum fuddle, c. this is excellent Tipple.’
1705. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, I., Pt. iv., p. 18. And so, said I,
we sipp’d our fuddle, As women in the straw do caudle, ’Till every
man had drown’d his noddle.
1733. Bailey, Erasmus, p. 125 (ed. 1877). Don’t go away; they have
had their dose of fuddle.
2. (common).—A drunken bout; a drunk.
1864. Glasgow Citizen, 9 Dec. Turner is given to a fuddle at times.
Verb. (colloquial).—To be drunk.
1720. Durfey, Pills, etc., vi., 265. All day he will fuddle.
1754. B. Martin, Eng. Dict. (2nd ed.). To fuddle. 1. To make a
person drunk. 2. To grow drunk.
1770. Foote. Lame Lover, iii. Come, Hob or Nob, Master Circuit—let
us try if we can’t fuddle the serjeant.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. x. He boxed the watch; he fuddled
himself at taverns; he was no better than a Mohock.
1889. Echo, 15 Feb. If rich, you may fuddle with Bacchus all night,
And be borne to your chamber remarkably tight.
Fuddlecap (or Fuddler), subs. (common).—A drunkard; a boon companion.
For synonyms, see Lushington.
1607. Dekker, Jests to make you Merie, in wks. (Grosart) ii., 299.
And your perfect fuddlecap [is known] by his red nose.
d. 1682. T. Browne, Works, iii., 93. True Protestant fuddlecaps.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, fuddlecap, a drunkard.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.) Fuddlecap (S.) one that loves
tippling, an excessive drinker, or drunkard.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Fuddled, adj. (colloquial).—Stupid with drink. For synonyms, see Drinks
and Screwed.
1661. Pepys, Diary, 8 March After dinner, to drink all the
afternoon ... at last come in Sir William Wale, almost fuddled.
1713. Guardian, No. 145. It was my misfortune to call in at Tom’s
last night, a little fuddled.
1730. Thomson, Autumn, 537. The table floating round, And pavement
faithless to the fuddled foot.
1838. Dickens, Nich. Nickleby, ch. lx., p. 485. You’re a little
fuddled to-night, and may not be able to see this as clearly as you
would at another time.
1841. Punch, I., p. 74. The Sultan got very fuddled last night with
forbidden juice in the harem, and tumbled down the ivory steps.
1864. Glasgow Citizen, 19 Nov. No other word has so many
equivalents as ‘drunk.’... One very common and old one has escaped
Mr. Hotten—fuddled.
1888. Daily News, 28 Nov. Music halls would soon decrease in
numbers if drink were not sold in them, for sober people would not
go to see spectacles only attractive to those who were half
fuddled.
Fudge, subs. (colloquial).—Nonsense; humbug; an exaggeration; a
falsehood. [Provincial French, fuche, feuche; an exclamation of
contempt from Low Ger. futsch = begone; see, however, quots. 1700 and
1712.] Also as an exclamation of contempt.
1700. Isaac Disraeli, Notes on the Navy. There was, in our time,
one Captain Fudge, a commander of a merchant-man; who, upon his
return from a voyage, always brought home a good cargo of lies;
insomuch that now, aboard ship, the sailors, when they hear a great
lie, cry out fudge.
1712. W. Crouch, A Collection of Papers. In the year 1664 we were
sentenced for banishment to Jamaica by Judges Hyde and Twisden, and
our number was 55. We were put on board the ship Black Eagle; the
master’s name was Fudge, by some called Lying Fudge.
1766. Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, ch. xi. Who ... would cry out
fudge! an expression which displeased us all, and, in some measure,
damped the rising spirit of the conversation.
1841. Lytton, Night and Morning, Bk. II., ch. vii. Very genteel
young man—prepossessing appearance—(that’s a fudge!)—highly
educated; usher in a school—eh?
1850. Thackeray, Rebecca and Rowena, ch. i. Her ladyship’s
proposition was what is called bosh ... or fudge in plain Saxon.
1861. Cornhill Magazine, iv., 102. ‘A Cumberland Mare’s Nest.’ ...
Up jumped the worthy magistrate, And seizing ‘Burn,’ Of justices
the oracle and badge, he straight Descended to his ‘lion’s den’ (a
sobriquet in fudge meant) Where he, ‘a second Daniel,’ had often
‘come to judgment.’
1864. Tangled Talk, p. 108. It is fudge to tell a child to ‘love’
every living creature—a tapeworm, for instance, such as is bottled
up in chemists windows.
1865. Morning Star, 1 June. Old as I am and half woor out, I would
lay (too bad, Mr. Henley, this) upon my back and hallo fudge!
1882. Daily Telegraph, 5 Oct., p. 2, col. 2. Much that we hear
concerning the ways and means of the working classes is sheer
fudge.
Verb. (colloquial).—1. To fabricate; to interpolate; to contrive
without proper materials.
1776. Foote, The Bankrupt, iii., 2. That last ‘suppose’ is fudged
in.
1836. Marryat, Midshipman Easy, ch. xviii. By the time that he did
know something about navigation, he discovered that his antagonist
knew nothing. Before they arrived at Malta, Jack could fudge a
day’s work.
1858. Shirley Brooks, Gordian Knot. Robert Spencer was hiding from
his creditors, or fudging medical certificates.
1859. G. A. Sala, in John Bull, 21 May. I had provided myself with
a good library of books of Russian travel, and so fudged my Journey
Due North.
2. (schoolboys’).—To copy; to crib; to dodge or escape.
1877. Blanch, The Blue Coat Boys p. 97. Fudge, verb., trans. and
intrans. To prompt a fellow in class, or prompt oneself in class
artificially. Thence to tell; e.g., ‘fudge me what the time is.’
3. (common).—To botch; to bungle; to muff (q.v.)
4. (schoolboys’).—To advance the hand unfairly at marbles.
Fug, verb. (Shrewsbury School).—To stay in a stuffy room.
Fugel, verb. (venery).—To possess; to have (q.v.).
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 126. Who fugelled the Parson’s fine
Maid.
Fuggy, subs. (schoolboys’).—A hot roll.
Adj. (Shrewsbury School).—Stuffy.
Fugo, subs. (obsolete).—The rectum, or (Cotgrave) ‘bung-hole.’
1720. Durfey, Pills, etc., vi., 247. This maid, she like a beast
turned her fugo to the East.
Fulhams or Fullams, subs. (old).—Loaded dice; called ‘high’ or ‘low’
fulhams as they were intended to turn up high or low. Cf., gourd.
[Conjecturally, because manufactured at Fulham, or because that village
was a notorious resort of blacklegs.] For synonyms, see Uphills.
1594. Nashe, Unf. Traveller, in wks. v., 27. The dice of late are
growen as melancholy as a dog, high men and low men both prosper
alike, langrets, fullams, and all the whole fellowshippe of them
will not affoord a man his dinner.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, i., 3. Let vultures gripe
thy guts! for gourd, and fullam holds, And high and low beguile the
rich and poor.
1599. Jonson, Every Man out of His Hum., iii., 1. Car.: Who! he
serve? ’sblood, he keeps high men, and low men, he! he has—fair
living at Fullam. [Whalley’s note in Gifford’s Jonson, The dice
were loaded to run high or low; hence they were called high men or
low men, and sometimes high and low fullams. Called fullams either
because F. was the resort of sharpers, or because they were chiefly
made there.]
1664. Butler, Hudibras, Part II., C. i., 1. 642. But I do wonder
you should chuse This way t’ attack me with your muse, As one cut
out to pass your tricks on, With fulhams of poetic fiction. [Note
in Dr. Nash’s Ed., vol. I., p. 272 (Ed. 1835). ‘That is, with
cheats or impositions. Fulham was a cant word for a false die, many
of them being made at that place.’]
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxiii. Men talk of high and low
dice, Fulhams and bristles ... and a hundred ways of rooking
besides.
2. (colloquial).—A sham; a make-believe (q.v.). [From sense 1.]
1664. Butler, Hudibras, ii., 1, Fulhams of poetic fiction.
Fulham Virgin, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A fast woman. Cf., Bankside
lady; Covent Garden nun; St. John’s Wood vestal, etc.
Fulk, verb (old schoolboys’).—To use an unfair motion of the hand in
plumping at taw.—Grose.
Fulke, verb (venery).—To copulate. [A euphemism suggested by Byron in
Don Juan, the first and last words of which, so adepts tell you, are
‘I’ and ‘fulke.’]
Fulker, subs. (old).—A pawnbroker. For synonyms, see Uncle.
1566. Gascoigne, Supposes, ii., 3. The Fulker will not lend you a
farthing upon it.
Full, adj. (colloquial).—1. Drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Screwed.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 15 Dec. When he was full the police came
and jugged.
2. (turf). Used by bookmakers to signify that they have laid all the
money they wish against a particular horse.
Full-guts, subs. phr. (common).—A swag-bellied man or woman.
A Full hand, subs. phr. (American waiters’). Five large beers. For
analogous expressions, see Go.
Full in the belly, subs. phr. (colloquial).—With child.
Full in the pasterns (or the hocks), subs. phr.
(colloquial).—Thick-ankled.
Full team, subs. phr. (American).—An eulogium. A man is a full team
when of consequence in the community. Variants are whole team, or whole
team and a horse to spare. Cf. one-horse = mean, insignificant, or
strikingly small.
Full in the waistcoat, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Swag-bellied.
Full of ’em, adj. phr. (common).—Lousy; nitty; full of fleas.
Full to the bung, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very drunk. For synonyms, see
Drinks and Screwed.
To have (or wear) a full suit of mourning, verb. phr. (pugilists’).—To
have two black eyes. Half-mourning = one black eye. For synonyms, see
Mouse.
To come full bob, verb. phr. (old colloquial).—To come suddenly; to
come full tilt.
1672. Marvell, Rehearsal Transposed (in Grosart, iii., 414). The
page and you meet full bob.
Full against, adv. phr. 1. Dead, or decidedly opposed to, a person,
thing, or place.
Full-bottomed (or -breeched, or -pooped), adv. phr. (colloquial).—Broad
in the hind; barge-arsed (q.v.)
Full-flavoured, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Peculiarly rank: as a story, an
exhibition of profane swearing, an emission of wind, etc.
Full-fledged, adv. phr. (venery).—Ripe for defloration.
Full-gutted, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Stout; swag-bellied.
Full of emptiness, adv. phr. (common).—Utterly void.
Full on, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Set strongly in a given direction,
especially in an obscene sense: e.g., full on for it or full on for one
= ready and willing au possible.
At full chisel, adv. phr. (American).—At full speed; with the greatest
violence or impetuousity. Also full drive; full split. Cf. hickety
split; ripping; staving along; two-thirty, etc.
In full blast, swing, etc., adv. phr. (colloquial).—In the height of
success; in hot pursuit.
1859. Sala, Twice Round the Clock, 5 a.m., Part I. At five a.m. the
publication of the Times newspaper is, to use a north-country
mining expression, in ‘full blast.’
1884. Daily News, Feb. 9, p. 5, col. 2. If he visit New York in
that most pleasant season, the autumn, he will find that the ‘fall’
trade is ‘in full blast.’
1888. Daily Telegraph, 17 Nov. By half-past ten o’clock the
smoking-room was in full swing.
In full dig, adv. phr. (common).—On full pay.
In full feather, see Feather.
In full fig.—1. See Fig (to which may be added the following
illustrative quotations).
1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 178. In front of this
shed—full fig, in regular Highland costume, philabeg, short hose,
green coatee, bonnet and feather, marched the bagpiper.
1836. M. Scott, Cringle’s Log, ch. xi. Captain Transom, the other
lieutenant, and myself in full puff, leading the van, followed by
about fourteen seamen.
1838. Haliburton, Clockmaker, (2nd ed.), ch. viii. ‘Lookin’ as
pleased as a peacock when it’s in full fig with its head and tail
up.’
1841. Punch, i., p. 26, col. 1. Dressed in full fig—sword very
troublesome—getting continually between my legs.
1874. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow (1st ed.), No. IV., p. 62. When
our church bells were going for service, Major Parrifer’s carriage
turned out with the ladies all in full fig.
2. adv. phr. (venery).—Said of an erection of the penis; prick-proud
(q.v.). For synonyms, see Horn.
Like a straw-yard bull: full of fuck and half starved, phr. (venery). A
friendly retort to the question, ‘How goes it?’ i.e., How are you?
Full of it, phr. (common).—With child.
Full of guts, phr. (colloquial).—Full of vigour; excellently inspired
and done: as a picture, a novel, and so forth. See Guts.
Full of beans, see Beans.
Full of bread, see Bread.
Fuller’s Earth, subs. phr. (old).—Gin. For synonyms, see Satin.
1821. Real Life in London, i., 394. The swell covies and
out-and-outers find nothing so refreshing, after a night’s spree,
when the victualling office is out of order, as a little fuller’s
earth, or dose of Daffy’s.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, iii., 3. Bring me de kwarten of de
fuller’s earth.
Fullied. To be fullied, verb. phr. (thieves’).—To be committed for
trial. [From the newspaper expression, ‘Fully committed.’] Fr., être
mis sur la planche au pain.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, Vol. iii., p. 397.
He got acquitted for that there note after he had me ‘pinched’
(arrested). I got fullied (fully committed).
1879. Horsley, ‘Autobiography of a Thief,’ in Macmillan’s Magazine,
xl., 506. I ... was then fullied and got this stretch and a half.
1889. Answers, 13 April, p. 313. At the House of Detention I often
noticed such announcements as ‘Jack from Bradford fullied for
smashing, and expects seven stretch,’ i.e., fully committed for
trial for passing bad money, and expects seven years’ penal
servitude.
Fulness. There’s not fulness enough in the sleeve top. phr.
(tailors’).—A derisive answer to a threat.
Fumbler, subs. (old).—An impotent man.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Fumbler, c., an
unperforming husband; one that is insufficient; a weak Brother.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., vi., 312. The old fumbler (title).
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
c. 1790. Burns, ‘David and Bathsheba,’ p. 40. ‘By Jove,’ says she,
‘what’s this I see, my Lord the King’s a fumbler.’
Fumbler’s Hall, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. See, however,
quot. 1690. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Fumbler’s hall, the
place where such (fumblers, q.v.) are to be put for their
non-performance.
Free of Fumbler’s hall, phr.—Said of an impotent man.
Fumbles, subs. (thieves’).—Gloves.
1825. Kent, Modern Flash Dict., s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
1881. New York Slang Dict., s.v.
Fun, subs. (old).—1. A cheat; a trick.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v.
2. (old).—The posteriors, or Western End (Marvell). Probably an
abbreviation of fundament. For synonyms, see Blind Cheeks and Monocular
Eye-glass.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. I’ll kick your fun, c.,
I’ll kick your arse.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Verb. (old).—1. To cheat; to trick. Also to put the fun on.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. What do you fun me? Do
you think to Sharp or Trick me? Ibid. He put the fun upon the cull,
c., he sharp’d the Fellow. Ibid. I funn’d him, c., I was too hard
for him; I outwitted or rook’d him.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1859 Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
To poke fun at, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To joke; to ridicule; to make
a butt.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, i., p. 280. O fie! Mister
Noakes,—for shame, Mr. Noakes! To be poking your fun at us
plain-dealing folks.
1855. Haliburton (‘Sam Slick’) Human Nature, p. 124. I thought you
was pokin’ fun at me; for I am a poor ignorant farmer, and these
people are always making game of me.
1865. Neal, Charcoal Sketches (in Bartlett). Jeames, if you don’t
be quit poking fun at me, I’ll break your mouth, as sure as you sit
there.
To have been making fun, verb. phr. (common).—Intoxicated. For
synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
To have (or do) a bit of fun, verb. phr. (venery).—To procure or enjoy
the sexual favour. For synonyms, see Greens.
Functior or Functure, subs. (Winchester College).—An iron bracket
candlestick, used for the nightlight in college chambers. [The word,
says Winchester Notions, looks like fulctura, an earlier form of
fulture, meaning a prop or stay with phonetic change of l into n.]
1870. Mansfield, School Life at Winchester, p. 68. Beside the
window yawned the great fireplace, with its dogs, on which rested
the faggots and bars for the reception of the array of boilers.
Above it was a rushlight, fixed in a circular iron pan fastened to
a staple in the wall; it was called the functior.
Fundamental Features, subs. phr. (common).—The posteriors. For
synonyms, see Blind Cheeks and Monocular Eye-glass.
1818. Moore, Fudge Family, ix., Aug. 21. O can we wonder, best of
speechers, When Louis seated thus we see, That France’s
‘fundamental features’ Are much the same they used to be?
Funds, subs. (colloquial).—Finances; e.g. ‘my funds are very low.’
Funeral. It’s not my (or your) funeral, verb. phr. (American).—i.e., It
is no business of mine, or yours. Fr., nib dans mes blots (= that is
not my affair). Also used affirmatively.
1867. Mrs. Whitney, A Summer in Leslie Goldthwaite’s Life, p. 183.
‘It’s none of my funeral, I know, Sin Saxon,’ said Miss Craydocke.
‘I’m only an eleventh-hour helper; but I’ll come in for the holiday
business ... that’s more in my line.’
1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 239. This is none of your funeral
is heard quite frequently as an indirect rebuke for intermeddling,
with the ludicrous undercurrent of thought, that the troublesome
meddler has no right to be crying at a strange man’s funeral.
1877. Hartford Times, 17 Oct. Senators Blaine and Barnum passed
down to New York, en route to Washington, on Wednesday last, when
Barnum asked Blaine how he liked the news from Ohio. ‘Oh, that
isn’t my funeral, I want you to understand,’ replied the plucky
Maine Senator.
1888. Missouri Republican, 8 Apr. After a lot of slides had been
exhibited the audience howled for Miss Debar. It got so noisy that
Mr. Marsh reluctantly exclaimed—‘Well, is this your funeral or
mine?’
Fungus, subs. (old).—An old man.
Funk, subs. (old).—1. Tobacco smoke; also a powerful stink. Cf., Ger.,
funke; Walloon funki.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. What a funk here is!
What a thick smoke. Smoak of Tobacco is here! Ibid. Here’s a damn’d
funk, here’s a great stink.
2. (vulgar).—A state of fear; trepidation, nervousness, or cowardice; a
stew (q.v.). Generally, with an intensitive, e.g., a ‘mortal,’ ‘awful,’
‘bloody,’ ‘blue,’ or ‘pissing’ funk. Fr., la guenette; le flubart
(thieves’); la frousse (also = diarrhœa). It., filo = thread.
1796. Wolcott, Pindarina, p. 59. If they find no brandy to get
drunk, Their souls are in a miserable funk.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 21. Up he rose in a funk.
1821. P. Egan, Tom and Jerry (1890), p. 91. I was in a complete
funk.
1837. Barham, I. L., Look at the Clock, ed. 1862, p. 39. Pryce,
usually brimful of valour when drunk, Now experienced what
schoolboys denominate funk.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 9. The mules, which was
a-snorting with funk and running before the Injuns ... followed her
right into the corral, and thar they was safe.
1850. Literary World (New York), 30 Nov. So my friend’s fault is
timidity.... I grant, then, that the funk is sublime, which is a
true and friendly admission.
1856. Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown’s School-days, p. 196. If I was
going to be flogged next minute, I should be in a blue funk.
1859. Whitty, Political Portraits, p. 30. Lord Clarendon did not
get through the business without these failures, which result from
the intellectual process termed freely funk.
1861. Macmillan’s Magazine, p. 211. I was in a real blue funk.
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xxxvi. I was in a real blue
funk and no mistake.
1870. London Figaro, 19 Oct. After the Fire. He was in a mortal
funk, no doubt.
1871. Maxwell, in Life (1882), xvi., 382. Certainly χλωρὸν θéος is
the Homeric for a blue funk.
1888. Cassell’s Saturday Journal, 29 Dec., p. 305. You’re always in
a funk about nothing at all.
3. (schoolboys’).—A coward.
1882. F. Anstey, Vice Versâ, ch. v. Bosher said, ‘Let’s cut it,’
and he and Peebles bolted. (They were neither of them funks, of
course, but they lost their heads.)
Verb. (common).—1. To smoke out. See Funk the cobbler.
1720. Durfey, Wit and Mirth, vi., 303. With a sober dose Of coffee
funks his nose.
1578. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. funk, to smoke, figuratively to smoke or
stink through fear.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 2. Tom. But, I say, only see
how confoundedly the dustman’s getting hold of Logic—we’ll funk
him. (Tom and Jerry smoke Logic), Log. Oh, hang your cigars, I
don’t like it; let’s have no funking.
1841. Punch, I., p. 172. Look here ... isn’t it considerable clear
they’re a all funking like burnt cayenne in a clay pipe, or
couldn’t they have made a raise somehow to get a ship of their own,
or borrow one to send after that caged-up coon of a Macleod.
2. (common).—To terrify; to shrink or quail through nervousness or
cowardice.
1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, Bk. III., ch. vi., p. 294.
Perhaps we’re only funking ourselves useless, and it mayn’t be the
farm chaps at all.
3. (colloquial).—To fear; to hesitate; to shirk; and (among pugilists)
to come it (q.v.).
1836. Smith, The Individual, ‘The Thieves’ Chaunt.’ But dearer to
me Sue’s kisses far Than grunting peck or other grub are, And I
never funk the lambskin men When I sits with her in the boozing
ken.
1846. Punch, X., p. 163. But as yet no nose is bleeding, As yet no
man is down; For the gownsmen funk the townsmen, And the townsmen
funk the gown.
1848. J. R. Lowell, Biglow Papers. To funk right out o’ p’lit’cal
strife ain’t thought to be the thing.
1873. M. Collins, Squire Silchester’s Whim, ch. xvii. Come along!
don’t funk it, old fellow.
English Synonyms.—To come it; to lose one’s guts; to shit one’s
breeches; to get the needle (athletic).
French Synonyms.—Paniquer (thieves’: Panique = sudden fright); blaguer
(familiar: = to swagger: Il avait l’air de blaguer mais il n’était pas
à la noce = he put on a lot of side, but he didn’t like it); avec la
cœur en gargousse (sailors’ = with sinking heart); avoir une fluxion
(popular: fluxion = inflammation); avoir la flemme (popular: also = to
be idle); avoir le trac or trak (general); foirer (popular: foire =
excrement); léziner (popular: also = to cheat).
Spanish Synonym.—Pajarear.
Italian Synonym.—Filare (= to run: Fr., filer).
4. (colloquial).—To be nervous; to lose heart.
1827. ‘Advice to Tommy,’ Every Night Book (by the author of ‘The
Cigar’). Do not go out of your depth, unless you have available
assistance at hand, in case you should funk.
1856. Hughes, Tom Brown’s School Days, ii., p. 5. He’s funking; go
in Williams!
1857. Moncrieff, The Bashful Man, ii., 4. Ah! Gyp, hope I sha’n’t
get plucked; funk confoundedly: no matter, I must put a bold face
on it.
1857. Hood, Pen and Pencil Pictures, p. 144. I have seen him out
with the governor’s hounds: he funked at the first hedge, and I
never saw him again!
1863. Reade, Hard Cash, ii., p. 135. I told him I hadn’t a notion
of what he meant! ‘O yes I did,’ he said, ‘Captain Dodd’s fourteen
thousand pounds! It had passed through my hands.’ Then I began to
funk again at his knowing that.... I was flustered, ye see.
1865. H. Kingsley, The Hillyars and the Burtons, ch. xxxiii. The
sound of the table falling was the signal for a rush of four men
from the inner room, who had to use a vulgar expression, funked
following the valiant scoundrel Sykes, but who now tried to make
their escape, and found themselves hand to hand with the policemen.
1871. Morning Advertiser, 11 Sept. ‘Holy Abr’ham!’ mused he
vauntingly, ‘shall British sailors funk, While tracts refresh their
spirits, tea washes down their junk?’
1890. Pall Mall Gazette, 17 Oct. p. 2, col. 1. They wanted badly to
get one steamer loaded and sent to New Zealand. The non-union men
funked loading her on account of the union men.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gazette, 13 Feb. Smith’s friends thought he
was funking, and shouted to Tom to go in and punch him.
5. (schoolboys’).—To move the hand forward unfairly in playing marbles;
to fudge (q.v.).
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Funk, to use an unfair motion of the
hand in plumping at taw.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 144. I’ve
noticed them, too, playing at ring-taw, and one of their
exclamations is ‘Knuckle down fair, and no funking.’
To funk the cobbler, verb. phr. (schoolboys’).—To smoke out a
schoolmate: a trick performed with asafœtida and cotton stuffed into a
hollow tube or cow’s horn; the cotton being lighted, the smoke is blown
through the keyhole.
1698–1700. Ward, London Spy, Pt. IX., p. 197. We smoak’d the Beans
almost as bad as unlucky schoolboys us’d to do the coblers, till
they sneak’d off one by one, and left behind ’em more agreeable
Company.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
See also Peter Funk.
Funker, subs. (old).—1. A pipe; a cigar; a fire. [From funk = to smoke
+ er.]
2. (thieves’).—A low thief.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, etc., s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon. Funkers, the very
lowest order of thieves.
3. (colloquial).—A coward.
4. (prostitutes’).—A girl that shirks her trade in bad weather.
Funking-room, subs. (medical).—The room at the Royal College of
Surgeons where the students collect on the last evening of their final
during the addition of their marks, and whence each is summoned by an
official announcing failure or success.
1841. Punch, I., p. 225, col. 2. On the top of a staircase he
enters a room, wherein the partners of his misery are collected. It
is a long, narrow apartment, commonly known as the funking-room.
Funkster, subs. (Winchester College).—A coward; one that funks (q.v.).
Funky, adj. (colloquial).—Nervous; frightened; timid.
1845. Naylor, Reynard the Fox, 46. I do seem somewhat funky.
1863. C. Reade, Hard Cash, I., 143. On his retiring with
twenty-five, scored in eight minutes, the remaining Barkingtonians
were less funky, and made some fair scores.
1876. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheapjack, p. 237. The
second round commences with a little cautious sparring on both
sides, the bouncing Elias looking very funky.
1891. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up! p. 51. ‘I’ll noy funky,’ returned the
Chinaman impressively.
Funnel, subs. (common).—The throat. For synonyms, see Gutter Alley.
1712. Blackmore, Creation, Bk. VI. Some the long funnel’s curious
mouth extend, Through which the ingested meats with ease descend.
Funniment, subs. (colloquial).—1. A joke, either practical or verbal.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Funny, subs. (nautical).—A clinker-built, narrow boat for sculls.
1837. Barham, I. L., Sir Rupert the Fearless. Sprang up through the
waves, popped him into his funny, Which some others already had
half-filled with money.
1882. Field, 28 Jan. The only obtainable craft, besides funnies,
pair-oars, and randans, were a couple of six-oars.
To feel funny, verb. phr. (common).—To be overtaken with (1) emotion,
or (2) drink: e.g., to wax amorous, or get the flavour (q.v.); to begin
to be the worse for liquor.
Funny Bit, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum.
Funny Bone, subs. (popular).—The elbow, with the passage of the ulnar
nerve connecting the two bones: the extremity of the humerus.
1837. Barham, I. L. (Blondie Jacke). They have pull’d you down flat
on your back! And they smack, and they thwack, Till your funny
bones crack, As if you were stretch’d on the rack.
1853. Thackeray, ‘Shabby Genteel Story,’ ch. ix. He had merely
received a blow on that part which anatomists call the funny bone.
1870. Lowell Courier. Thanks for your kind condolence; I would
write A merry rhyme in answer if I might; But then—confound the
fall!—the very stone That broke my humerus hurt my funny bone!
Funny-man, subs. (common).—A circus clown. Also a joker in private
life.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor., III., p. 129. What
I’ve earned as clown, or the funny man.
Fur, subs. (venery).—The pubic hair. For synonyms, see Fleece.
To make the fur fly.—See Fly.
To have one’s fur out, verb. phr. (Winchester College).—To be angry.
For synonyms, see Nab the rust.
Fur and Feathers, subs. phr. (sporting).—Generic for game.
Fur-below, subs. (venery).—The female pubic hair. For synonyms, see
Fleece.
16(?). Old Catch. Adam caught Eve by the fur-below, And that’s the
oldest catch I know.
Furioso, subs. (old).—A blusterer; Ital., furioso = raving.
1692. Hacket. Life of Archbishop Williams, ii., p. 218. A violent
man and a furioso was deaf to all this.
English Synonyms.—Barker; blower; bobadil; bouncer; bulldozer
(American); cacafogo; Captain Bounce; Captain Bluff; Captain Grand;
Captain Hackam; cutter; fire-eater; hector; huff-cap; humguffin;
gasser; gasman; mouth; mouth-almighty; pissfire; pump-thunder; ramper;
roarer; ruffler; shitefire; slangwhanger; spitfire; swashbuckler;
swasher; teazer; Timothy Tearcat.
French Synonyms.—Un avale-tout-cru (popular: = an eat-all-he-kills); un
fendart or fendart (popular: = a cutter); un avaleur de charrettes
fereés (popular); un mata (printers’: from matador = a bull-fighter);
un bousineur (popular: bousin = uproar, shindy); un bourreau de crânes
(military): = a scull-destroyer; un bœufier (popular: = an ugly
customer); un mauvais gas (familiar: from garçon); un homme qui a l’air
de vouloir tout avaler (familiar: a man who looks as though he’d
swallow the world); un croquet (popular).
Spanish Synonyms.—Perdonavidas; fierabras (fiera = a wild beast);
botarate; macareno cacafuoco (= a shitfire).
Furk, Ferk, Firk, verb. (Winchester College).—To expel; to send (as on
a message); to drive away. Also to furk up and furk down. [Old English
fercian, High German ferken, Middle English to lead or send away.]
Furmen, subs. (old).—Aldermen. From their fur-trimmed robes.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Furmity-faced, adj. phr. (old).—White-faced (furmity is described by
Grose as ‘wheat boiled to a jelly’). To simper like a furmity kitten
(Grose), see Simper.
Furnish, verb. (common).—To fill out; to improve in strength and
appearance.
Furniture Picture, subs. phr. (artists’).—A ‘picture’ sold not as a
piece of art but as a piece of upholstery, such things being turned out
by the score, as pianos are, or three-legged stools; the worst and
cheapest kind of potboiler (q.v.).
Furrow, subs. (venery). Also Cupid’s (or the One-ended) furrow,
etc.—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable. To draw a
straight furrow. See Draw.
to fall in the furrow, verb. phr. (venery).—To achieve emission.
To fail (or die) in the furrow, verb. phr. (venery).—To do a dry-bob
(q.v.).
Furry Tail, subs. phr. (printers’).—A non-unionist; a rat (q.v.).
Specifically, a workman accepting employment at less than ‘Society’
wages. Cf., Dung, Flint, etc.
Further. I’ll see you further first, phr. (colloquial).—A denial. I’ll
sooner die first (q.v.).
1861–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 29. I gave a
country lad 2d. to mind him (the donkey) in a green lane there. I
wanted my own boy to do so, but he said, I’ll see you further
first. A London boy hates being by himself in a lone country part.
He’s afraid of being burked.
Fur Trade, subs. phr. (old).—Barristers.
1839. Reynolds, Pickwick Abroad, ch. xxvi. Let nobs in the fur
trade hold their jaw, And let the jug be free.
Furze-Bush, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pubic hair. For synonyms,
see fleece.
Fussock, and Fussocks, subs. (old).—Opprobrious for a fat woman.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Fussocks, a meer
fussocks, a Lazy Fat-Arsed Wench, a fat fussocks, a Flusom, Fat,
Strapping Woman.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Fust (or Fust out), verb. (American).—To end in smoke; to go to waste;
to end in nothing. Cf., fizzle.
Fustian, subs. and adj. (old).—1. Bombast; bad rhetoric; sound without
sense: bombastic; ranting. Now accepted.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., II., 4. Thrust him downstairs; I
cannot endure such a fustian rascal.
1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night II., 5. A fustian riddle.
1602. Shakspeare, Othello, II., 3. And discourse fustian with one’s
own shadow.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Fustian-verse, verse in
words of lofty sound and humble sense.
1828–45. Hood, Poems, i., p. 105 (ed. 1846). The saints!—the bigots
that in public spout, Spread phosphorous of zeal on scraps of
fustian, And go like walking ‘Lucifers’ about These living bundles
of combustion.
2. (common).—Wine; white fustian = champagne; red fustian = port.
1834. W. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, p. 51 (ed. 1864). I’m as dry as a
sandbed. Famous wine this—beautiful tipple—better than all your red
fustian. Ah, how poor Sir Piers used to like it!
Fustilarian, subs. (old).—A low fellow; a common scoundrel.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., II., 1. Away, you scullion! you
rampallian! you fustilarian! I’ll tickle your catastrophe.
Fustilug (or Fustilugs), subs. (old).—A piece of grossness, male or
female; a coarse and dirty Blowzalinda; a foul slut; a fat stinkard.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Fustiluggs, a Fulsom,
Beastly, Nasty Woman.
1739. Junius (quoted in Encly. Dict.). You may daily see such
fustilugs walking in the streets, like so many tuns.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
Futter, verb. (venery).—To copulate. Fr., foutre. [A coinage of Sir. R.
Burton’s, who makes continual use of it in the Thousand Nights and a
Night.] For synonyms, see Greens and Ride. Also to do a futter.
1885. Burton, Thousand Nights, II., 332. Eating and drinking and
futtering for a year of full twelve months.
1890. Burton, Priapeia, Ep. xii. Thee, my girl, I shalt futter.
Future, to deal in futures, verb. phr. (Stock Exchange).—To speculate
for a rise or fall.
1862. Globe, 1 Dec. He deals in futures, i.e., speculates in cotton
with Stock Exchange folks, or speculates in securities.
Fuzz, verb. (old).—1. ‘To shuffle cards minutely; also to change the
pack.’ [Grose.]
2. (old).—To be, or to make, drunk.
1685. Life of Amb. Wood, 14 July. Came home well fuzd.
Fuzziness, subs. (old).—The condition of being in drink. Hence
blurredness; incoherence; bewilderment.
Fuzzy, adj. (common).—1. Drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
Hence blurred (as a picture); tangled; incoherent or inconsequent.
1876. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 324. Her
husband or any other man might have drunk six glasses, with no more
hurt than just making him a little fuzzy.
2. (popular).—Rough; as in a fuzzy head; a fuzzy cloth; a fuzzy bit (=
a full-grown wench); a fuzzy carpet; etc.
Fuzzy-wuzzy, subs. (military). A Soudanese tribesman.
1890. Rudyard Kipling, National Observer, 8 Mar., p. 438, col. 1.
So ’ere’s to you Fuzzy-wuzzy And your ’ome in the Soudan, You’re a
pore benighted ’eathen but a first-class fighting man; And ’ere’s
to you Fuzzy-wuzzy with your ’ay-rick ’ead of ’air, You big, black
bouncing beggar, for you bruk a British square.
Fye-buck, subs. (old).—A sixpence. For synonyms, see Bender.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, II., 56. You give a shilling to
buy a comb, for which he gives sixpence, so works you for another
fye-buck.
1885. Household Words, 20 June, p. 155. ‘Buck’ is most likely a
corruption of fye-buck, a slang name for sixpence, which is now
almost, if not altogether, obsolete.
Fylche.—See Filch.
Fyst.—See Foist.
G
Gab, subs. (vulgar).—1. The mouth; also Gob. For synonyms, see
Potato-trap.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1785. Burns, Jolly Beggars. And aye he gies the touzie drab The
tither skelpin kiss, While she held up her greedy gab, Just like an
aumos dish.
1820. Scott, The Abbot, ch. xiv. ‘And now, my mates,’ said the
Abbot of Unreason, ‘once again digut your gabs and be hushed—let us
see if the Cock of Kennaguhair will fight or flee the pit.’
1890. Rare Bits, 12 Apr., p. 347. ‘Clap a stopper on your gab and
whack up, or I’ll let ’er speak!’
2. (vulgar).—Talk; idle babble. Also Gabb, Gabber, and Gabble.
1712. Spectator, No. 389. Having no language among them but a
confused gabble, which is neither well understood by themselves or
others.
1811. Poole, Hamlet Travestied, I., 3. Then hold your gab, and hear
what I’ve to tell.
1863. C. Reade, Hard Cash, ch. xxxiv. ‘Hush your gab,’ said Mr.
Green, roughly.
1887. Punch, 10 Sept., p. 111. Gladstone’s gab about ‘masses and
classes’ is all tommy rot.
Verb. (vulgar: O. E., and now preserved in Gabble).—To talk fluently;
to talk brilliantly; to lie.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales 1652. I gabbe nought, so have I
joye or blis.
1402. [? T. Occleve], Letter of Cupid, in Arber’s Garner, vol. IV.,
p. 59. A foul vice it is, of tongue to be light, For whoso mochil
clappeth, gabbeth oft.
1601. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, Act II., Sc. iii. Mal. ... Have
you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at
this time of night.
1663. Butler, Hudibras, pt. I., ch. i., p. 5. Which made some think
when he did gabble Th’ had heard three Labourers of Babel.
1786. Burns, Earnest Cry and Prayer, st. 10. But could I like
Montgomeries fight, Or gab like Boswell.
1880. G. R. Sims, Zeph, ch. vii. An elderly clergyman ... gabbled
the funeral service as though he were calling back an invoice at a
draper’s entering desk.
1887. Punch, 10 Sept., p. 111. Gals do like a chap as can gab.
Gift of the Gab (or Gob), subs. phr. (colloquial).—The gift of
conversation; the talent for speech. Fr., n’avoir pas sa langue dans sa
poche.
d. 1653. Z. Boyd, Book of Job, quoted in Brewer’s Phrase and Fable,
s.v., ‘gab. There was a good man named Job, Who lived in the land
of Uz, He had a good gift of the gob.’
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew. Gift of the gob, a
wide, open Mouth; also a good Songster, or Singing-master.
1785. Grose, Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1820. Shelley, Œdipus Tyrannus, Act I. You, Purganax, who have the
gift o’ the gab, Make them a solemn speech.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. xliii. And we’ll have a big-wig,
Charley: one that’s got the greatest gift of the gab: to carry on
his defence.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., 250. People reckon
me one of the best patterers in the trade. I’m reckoned to have the
gift—that is, the gift of the gab.
1869. Whyte-Melville, M. or N., p. 29. I’ve got the gift of the
gab, I know, and I stick at nothing.
1870. Lond. Figaro, 18 Sept. ‘Of all gifts possessed by man,’ said
George Stephenson, the engineer, to Sir William Follett, ‘there is
none like the gift of the gab.’
1876. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 193. Others,
although they have the gift of the gab when they are on the ground,
as soon as they mount the cart are dumbfounded.
To blow the gab, verb. phr. (vulgar).—To inform; to peach (q.v.). Also
to blow the gaff (q.v.).
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. 5. Never blow the gab or
squeak.
To flash the gab, verb. phr. (common).—To show off (q.v.) in talk; cf.,
Air one’s vocabulary.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 2. While his Lordship ... that
very great dab At the flowers of rhet’ric is flashing his gab.
Gabble, subs. (colloquial).—1. A gossip. Also Gabbler, Gabble-grinder,
Gabble-merchant, and Gabble-monger.
2. (colloquial).—A voluble talker.
Gabble-mill, subs. (American).—1. The United States Congress. Also
Gabble-manufactory.
2. (common).—A pulpit. For synonyms, see Humbox.
3. (common).—The mouth. For synonyms, see Potato-trap.
Gable, subs. (common).—The head. Also Gable-end. For synonyms, see
Crumpet.
Gabster, subs. (common).—A voluble talker, whether eloquent or vain;
one having the gift of the gab (q.v.).
Gab-string.—See Gob-string.
Gaby (also Gabbey and Gabby), subs. (common).—A fool; a babbler; a
boor. Icl. gapi = a foolish person, from gapa = to gape.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1856. T. Hughes, Tom Brown’s School Days, pt. 1, ch. iii. Two boys,
who stopped close by him, and one of whom, a fat gaby of a fellow,
pointed at him and called him young ‘mammy-sick.’
1859. H. Kingsley, Geoffrey Hamlyn, ch. ix. Don’t stand laughing
there like a great gaby.
1875. Ouida, Signa, vol. I., ch. iv., p. 47. ‘You have never dried
your clothes, Bruno,’ said his sister-in-law, ‘What a gaby a man is
without a wife!’
Gad, subs. (common).—An idle slattern. An abbreviation of gad-about
(q.v.).
Intj. (common).—An abbreviation of by Gad! Cf. Agad, Egad—themselves
corruptions of by God, Lit.
On the gad, adv. phr. (old).—1. On the spur of the moment.
1605. Shakspeare, Lear, i., 2. All this is done upon the gad.
2. (colloquial).—On the move, on the gossip.
1818. Austen, Persuasion. I have no very good opinion of Mrs.
Charles’ nursery maid.... She is always upon the gad.
3. (colloquial).—On the spree (especially of women); and, by
implication, on the town.
To gad the hoof, verb. phr. (common).—To walk or go without shoes; to
pad the hoof (q.v.). Also, more loosely, to walk or roam about.
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3rd ed., p. 447. Going without
shoes, gadding the hoof.
Gadabout, subs. (colloquial).—A trapesing gossip; as a housewife seldom
seen at home, but very often at her neighbours’ doors. [From Gad = to
wander, to stray (Cf., Lycidas: ‘the gadding vine’) + About.] Used also
as an adjective; e.g., ‘a Gad-about hussey.’
Gadso, subs. (old)—The penis. Italian cazzo. For synonyms, see
Creamstick and Prick.
Intj. (old: still literary and colloquial).—An interjection. [A relic
of phallicism with which many popular oaths and exclamations have a
direct connection, especially in Neo-Latin dialects. A Spaniard cries
out, Carajo! (—the member), or Cojones! (—the testicles); an Italian
says Cazzo (the penis); while a Frenchman exclaims by the act itself,
Foutre! The female equivalent, (coño with the Spaniard, conno with the
Italian, con with the Frenchman, and cunt with ourselves), was, and is,
more generally used as an expression of contempt, which is also the
case with the testicles. (Cf., ante, All Balls!) Germanic oaths are
profane rather than obscene; except, perhaps, in Potz! and Potztaufend!
and the English equivalent Pox! which last is obsolete. See Catso. In
Florio (A Worlde of Wordes, 1598), Cazzo = ‘a man’s privie member,’ and
cazzo di mare = a pintle fish; while cazzica = ‘an interjection of
admiration and affirming. What? Gad’s me, Gad forfend, tush.’]
1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, iii., 1. Sir? Gadso! we are to
consult about playing the devil to night.
1770. Foote, Lame Lover, i. Gadso! a little unlucky.
1838. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. iv. ‘Gadso!’ said the undertaker
... ‘that’s just the very thing I wanted to speak to you about.’
Gadzooks! intj. (old and colloquial).—A corruption of Gadzo (q.v.).
Gaff, subs. (old).—1. A fair.
1754. Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 32. The first thing they do
at a gaff is to look for a room clear of company.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. The drop coves maced the joskins
at the gaff; the ring-droppers cheated the countryman at the fair.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 22. We stopped at this place two days,
waiting to attend the gaff.
1823. Jon. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc., s.v. A fair is a gaff as
well as all the transactions enacted there.
2. (common).—A cheap, low music-hall or theatre; frequently penny-gaff,
Cf., quot. 1823, sense 1. Also dookie. Fr., un beuglant (= a low
music-hall; beugler = to bellow); un bouisbouis (boui = brothel); une
guinche (popular). See also quot. 1889.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., p. 46. They court
for a time, going to raffles and gaffs together, and then the
affair is arranged.
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London, p. 68. A gaff is a place
where stage plays, according to the strict interpretation of the
term, may not be represented. The actors of a drama may not
correspond in colloquy, only in pantomime; but the pieces brought
out at the gaff are seldom of an intricate character, and the not
over-fastidious auditory are well content with an exhibition of
dumb-show and gesture.
1870. Orchestra, 18 Feb. The absolute harm done by these gaffs does
not consist in the subjects represented.
1889. Notes and Queries, 7 S. vii., p. 395. I have often heard the
British soldier make use of the word when speaking of the
entertainment got up for his benefit in barracks.
3. (prison).—A hoax; an imposture. Cf., Fr., gaffe = joke, deceit.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iv., p. 312. I also saw that
Jemmy’s blowing up of me wos all gaff. He knew as well as I did the
things left the shop all right.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 227. Can you put me
up to this other gaff.
4. (old sharpers’).—A ring worn by the dealer. [From gaffe = a hook.]
5. (American cock-pit).—A steel spur.
6. (anglers’).—A landing spear, barbed in the iron.
Verb. (old).—1. To toss for liquor. See gaffing.
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v.
2. (theatrical).—To play in a gaff (q.v. sense 2).
To blow the gaff, or gab (q.v.), verb. phr. (common). To give
information; to let out a secret. For synonyms, see Peach.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. To blow the gab (cant), to confess, or
impeach a confederate.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. xliii. One of the French officers,
after he was taken prisoner, axed me how we had managed to get the
gun up there; but I wasn’t going to blow the gaff.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. ii., p. 122. The prisoner,
burning for revenge, quietly bides his time till the chief warder
comes round, then asks to speak to him, and blows the gaff.
1891. Referee, 8 Mar. Under sacred promise not to blow the gaff I
was put up to the method.
Gaffer, subs. (old).—1. An old man; the masculine of Gammer (q.v.).
Also a title of address: e.g., ‘Good day, gaffer!’ Cf., Uncle and
Daddy. Also (see quot. 1710), a husband.
1710. Dame Hurdle’s Letter (quoted by Nares). My gaffer only said
he would inform himself as well as he could against next election,
and keep a good conscience.
1714. Gay, Shepherd’s Week. For Gaffer Treadwell told us,
by-the-bye, Excessive sorrow is exceeding dry.
1842. Tennyson, The Goose. Ran Gaffer, stumbled Gammer.
2. (common).—A master; an employer; a boss (q.v.); (athletic) a
pedestrian trainer and ‘farmer’; and (navvies’) a gang-master or ganger
(q.v.).
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iv., 123. In comes our gaffer Underwood,
And sits him on the bench.
1748. T. Dyche, Dict. (5th ed.) Gaffer (S.) a familiar word mostly
used in the country for master.
1885. Daily News, 24 Jan., p. 3, c. 1. They go and work at
fivepence, and some on ’em as low as threepence halfpenny, an hour;
that’s just half what we get, and the gaffers keep ’em on and sack
us.
1888. Sportsman, 20 Dec. Comic enough were some of the stories
‘Jemmy’ told of his relations with ‘the gaffer.’
1889. Broadside Ballad, ‘The Gaffers of the Gang.’ We are the boys
that can do the excavations, We are the lads for the ’atin’ and the
dhrinkin’, With the ladies we are so fascinatin’, Because we are
the gaffers of the gang.
3. (old).—A toss-penny; a gambler with coins. From gaffing (q.v.).
1828. Jon Bee, Living Picture of London, p. 241. If the person
calling for ‘man’ or ‘woman’ is not right or wrong at five guesses,
neither of the gaffers win or lose, but go again.
Verb. (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Gaffing, subs. (old).—See quot.
1821. Pierce Egan, Life in London, p. 279. Gaffing was
unfortunately for him introduced. Ibid. Note.—A mode of tossing for
drinks, etc., in which three coins are placed in a hat, shaken up,
and then thrown on the table. If the party to ‘call’ calls ‘heads’
(or ‘tails’) and all three coins are as he calls them, he wins; if
not, he pays a settled amount towards drinks.
1839. Brandon, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, s.v.
Gag, subs. (common).—1. A joke; an invention; a hoax.
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. Gag—a grand imposition upon
the public; as a mountebank’s professions, his cures, and his
lottery-bags, are so many broad gags.
1871. All the Year Round, 18 Feb., p. 288. You won’t bear malice
now, will you? All gag of mine, you know, about old Miss Ponsonby.
1885. Daily News, 16 May, p. 5, c. 2. ‘The Mahdi sends you lies
from Khartoum, and laughs when you believe them,’ said a native,
lately. We need not gratify the Mahdi by believing any bazaar-gag
he may circulate.
2. (theatrical).—Expressions interpolated by an actor in his part:
especially such as can be repeated again and again in the course of
performance. Certain plays, as The Critic, are recognised ‘gag-pieces,’
and in these the practice is accounted legitimate. Cf., Hamlet, iii.,
2: ‘And let those, that play your clowns, say no more than is set down
for them.’ Cf., Wheeze. Fr., la cocotte (specifically additions to
vocal scores). A typical example is the ‘I believe you, my boy!’ of the
late Paul Bedford. In the quot. under 1851–61, it is probable that gag
= patter (q.v.)
1841. Punch, i., p. 105. I shall do the liberal in the way of
terms, and get up the gag properly.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., p. 148. When I go
out I always do my own gag, and I try to knock out something new.
1866. W. D. Howells, Venetian Life, ch. v.... I have heard some
very passable gags at the Marionette, but the real commedia a
braccio no longer exists.
1889. Globe, 12 Oct., p. 4, c. 4. In a high-class music hall it is
a rule that no song must be sung till it is read and signed by the
manager, and this applies even to the gag.
1890. Pall Mall Gazette, 5 Mar., p. 4, c. 3. Mr. Augustus Harris
pointed out that if the clause were carried the penalty would, in
many cases, be incurred twenty times in one scene, for actors and
singers were continually introducing gag into their business.
3. (American).—A commonwealth of players in which the profits are
shared round. Cf., Conscience.
1847. Darley, Drama in Pokerville, p. 124. The artist ... merely
remarking that he had thought of a gag which would bring them
through, mounted a ladder, and disappeared.
4. (American).—A fool; i.e., a thing to laugh at. For synonyms, see
Cabbage- and Buffle-head and Sammy Soft.
1838–40. Haliburton, The Clockmaker, p. 46. ‘Sam,’ says he, ‘they
tell me you broke down the other day in the House of
Representatives and made a proper gag of yourself.’
5. (Christ’s Hospital).—Boiled fat beef. Gag-eater = a term of
reproach.
1813. Lamb, Christ’s Hospital, in wks., p. 324 (ed. 1852). L. has
recorded the repugnance of the school to gags, or the fat of fresh
beef boiled; and sets it down to some superstition.... A gag-eater
in our time was equivalent to a ghoul ... and held in equal
estimation.
6. (Winchester College).—An exercise (said to have been invented by Dr.
Gabell) which consists in writing Latin criticisms on some celebrated
piece, in a book sent in about once a month. In the Parts below Sixth
Book and Senior Part, the gags consisted in historical analysis. [An
abbreviation of ‘gathering.’]
1870. Mansfield, School-life at Winchester College, p. 108. From
time to time, also, they had to write ... an analysis of some
historical work; these productions were called gatherings (or
gags).
Verb, trs. and intrs. (theatrical).—1. To speak gags (q.v.), sense 2.
Fr., cascader.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, III., 149. He has to
gag, that is, to make up words.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xxxix. The same vocalist gags in
the regular business like a man inspired.
1883. Referee, 15 April, p. 3, c. 1. Toole ... cannot repress a
tendency to gag and to introduce more than is set down for him by
the author.
2. (old).—To hoax; to puff.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, II., 154. Having discovered the
weak side of him he means to gag.
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc., s.v. A showman cries ‘Walk
in, ladies and gentlemen, they’re all alive,’ but the spectators
soon perceive ’tis all stuff, reproach Mr. Merryman, and he, in
excuse, swears he said ‘they were’ and not ‘are alive’ He thus gags
the public.
1876. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 325. Then
they gag the thing up, and send their bills out about the immense
cost of scenery and dresses, and other expenses they are at, etc.
3. (thieves’).—To inform; to round on (q.v.); also to blow the gag.
Cf., Gaff, Gab, etc. For synonyms, see Peach.
1891. Morning Advertiser, 28 Mar. She ... besought them with
(crocodile) tears not to gag on them, in other words not to give
information to the police.
On the high gag. adv. phr. (old).—On the whisper; telling secrets; cf.,
verb, sense 3.
1823. Kent, The Modern Flash Dict., s.v.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, etc., s.v.
On the low gag, adv. phr. (old).—On the last rungs of beggary,
ill-luck, or despair.
1823. Kent, The Modern Flash Dict., s.v.
1848. Duncombe, The Sinks of London, etc., s.v.
To strike the gag, verb. phr. (old).—To cease from chaffing.
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (ed. 1889), p. 43. ‘A clever
device,’ replied Jonathan; ‘but it won’t serve your turn. Let us
pass, sir. Strike the gag, Blueskin.’
Gage (Gauge or Gag), subs. (old).—1. A quart pot (i.e., a measure).
Also a drink or go (q.v.).
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65. A gage, a quart pot.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Gage, a quart pot.
1622. J. Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush. I crown thy nab with a gage of
benbouse.
1656. Broome, Jovial Crew, Act ii., I bowse no lage, but a whole
gage Of this I bowse to you.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Cant. Crew. Gage, c. A pot or pipe.
Tip me a gage, c. give me a pot, or pipe.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 12. Gage, a pot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Gage, a quart pot, also a pint (cant).
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 40. We drank our gauge and parted good
friends.
2. (18th century).—A chamber-pot.
3. (old).—A pipe.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Cant. Crew (See quot. 1690 under
sense 1).
1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd Ed.), s.v.
1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, Bk. III., ch. v. In the mean time,
tip me a gage of fogus, Jerry.
4. (American).—A man. For synonyms, see Cove.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogues Lexicon. Deck the gage, see the
man.
Gagers, subs. (American).—The eyes. For synonyms, see Glims.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Gagga, subs. (old).—See quot.
1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd Ed). Cheats who by sham pretences
and wonderful stories of their sufferings impose on the credulity
of good people.
Gagger, subs. (theatrical).—A player who deals in gags (q.v.), sense 2.
Also Gaggist, Gagmaster, and Gagster.
1841. Punch, Vol. I., p. 169. Men with ‘swallows’ like Thames
tunnels, in fact accomplished gaggers and unrivalled ‘wiry
watchers.’
1887. Burnand and a’Beckett in Fortn. Review, April, p. 548. Robson
... was an inveterate gagger.
1890. Globe, 3 March, p. 1, c. 4. The low comedy was much toned
down.... In other words, the gaggers were gagged.
Gaggery, subs. (theatrical).—The practice of Gagging (q.v.), sense 3.
Gagging, subs. (old).—1. Bluff (q.v.); specifically, bunco-steering
(q.v.), the art of talking over and persuading a stranger that he is an
old acquaintance. Cf., Gag, verb, sense 2.
1828. G. Smeaton, Doings in London, p. 28. One of the modes of
raising money, well known in town by the flash name of gagging, has
been practised of late to a considerable extent on simple
countrymen, who are strangers to the ‘ways of town.’
2. (cabmen’s).—Loitering about for ‘fares’; ‘crawling.’
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. III., p. 366.
The means used are gagging, that is to say, driving about and
loitering in the thoroughfares for jobs.
3. (theatrical).—Dealing in gags (q.v.), sense 1. Also as ppl. adj.
1883. The Echo, 5 Jan., p. 2, c. 3. A protest, by no means
unneeded, against the insolence or ignorance of some playwrights,
and gagging actors.
1889. Answers, 27 July, p. 143, c. 2. Gagging is a thing about
which the public know little.
Gaggler’s Coach, subs. phr. (old).—A hurdle.
1823. Kent, Modern Flash Dict., s.v.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.
Gail, subs. (old).—A horse. For synonyms, see Prad.
Gaily-like, adj. (American).—Showy; expensive: bang-up (q.v.).
1872. Clemens (Mark Twain), Undertaker’s Chat. Now, you know how
difficult it is to roust out such a gaily-like thing as that in a
little one-horse town like this.
Gain-pain, subs. (old).—A sword; specifically, in the Middle Ages, that
of a hired soldier. [From Fr., gagner = to gain + pain = bread. Cf.,
Breadwinner (prostitutes’) and Potboiler (artists’).] For synonyms, see
Cheese-toaster and Poker.
Gait, subs. (colloquial).—Walk in life; profession; mode of making a
living; game (q.v.).
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum. ‘I say, Tim, what’s your gait now?’ ‘Why,
you see, I’m on the crack’ (burglary).
Gaiters, subs. (American colloquial).—Half boots; shoes.
Gal, subs. (common).—1. A girl; a servant-maid; a sweetheart. Best girl
= favourite flame.
2. (common).—A prostitute. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., p. 535. Upon the
most trivial offence in this respect, or on the suspicion of an
offence, the gals are sure to be beaten cruelly and savagely by
their ‘chaps.’
3. (American).—A female rough.
Galaney. See Galeny.
Galanty (Gallanty or Galantee) Show, subs. phr. (common).—A shadow
pantomime: silhouettes shown on a transparency or thrown on a white
sheet by a magic lantern. Specifically, the former. See Punch and Judy.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. III., p. 81.
The galantee show don’t answer, because magic lanterns are so cheap
in the shops.
1884. Cassell’s Technical Educator, pt. 10, p. 244. That
reminiscence of the nursery, the galanty show.
1888. Notes and Queries, 7 S. v., p. 265. A flourish on the
panpipes and a rumble on the drum was followed by the cry,
galanty-show!
Gal-boy, subs. (American).—A romp; a tom-boy (q.v.).
Galen, subs. (common).—An apothecary. For synonyms, see Gallipot.
Galena, subs. (American).—Salt pork. [From Galen, Ill., a chief
hog-raising and pork-packing centre].
Galeny (or Galany), subs. (old).—The domestic hen; now (West of
England) a Guinea fowl. [Latin, gallina]. For synonyms, see
Cackling-cheat.
1887. Temple Bar, Mar., p. 333 It’s a sin to think of the money
you’d be spending on girls and things as don’t know a hen’s egg
from a galeeny’s.
Galimaufrey, subs. (old).—1. A medley; a jumble; a chaos of
differences. [Fr., gallimaufrée = a hash].
1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, in wks., ii., 93. Coblers, Tinkers,
Fencers, none escapt them, but they mingled them all on one
gallimafrey of glory.
1592. John Day, Blind Beggar, Act iv., Sc. 1, p. 75. Can. Let me be
torn into mammocks with wilde Bears if I make not a gallemaufry of
thy heart and keep thy Skull for my quaffing bowl.
1604. Shakspeare, Winter’s Tale, Act iv., Sc. 4. And they have a
dance which the wenches say is a gallimaufry of gambols, because
they are not in’t.
1690. Durfey, Collin’s Walk, ch. ii., p. 58. But, like thy Tribe of
canting Widgeons, A gallimaufry of Religions.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, i., 207. A compound of Player,
Soldier, Stroller, Sailor, and Tinker! An odd gallimaufry!
1860. Haliburton (Sam Slick), The Season Ticket, No. 7. This
portion of my journal, which includes a variety of topics and
anecdotes, some substantial like solid meat, some savoury as spicy
vegetable ingredients, and some fragments to swell the bulk, which,
though not valuable as materials, help to compound the gallimaufry.
2. (old).—A hodge-podge of scraps and leavings.
1724. Coles, Eng. Dict.; 1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict.; 1785. Grose,
Vulg. Tongue; 1811. Lexicon Balatronicum.
3. A mistress.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, ii., 1. He loves thy gallymawfry;
Ford, perpend.
4. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Gall, subs. (common).—Effrontery; cheek (q.v.); brass (q.v.); e.g.,
‘Ain’t he got a gall on him?’
1789. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd Ed.), s.v. His gall is not yet
broken, a saying used in prisons of a man just brought in who
appears melancholy and dejected, [i.e., ‘He is not yet embittered
enough to care for nothing, and meet everything with a front of
brass.’]
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
a 1891. New York Sun (quoted in Slang, Jargon, and Cant, s.v.).
‘What do you think he had the gall to do to-day?’ Brown: ‘He has
the gall to do anything.’ Dumley: ‘He asked me to drink with him;
but he’ll never repeat the impudence.’
Gallant, subs. (old).—A dandy (q.v.); a ladies’ man; a lover; a
cuckold-maker, whether in posse or in esse (Shakspeare).
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, ii. One that is well-nigh worn to
pieces with age to show himself a young gallant!
1598. Shakspeare, 1 Henry IV., ii., 4. Gallants, lads, boys, hearts
of gold, all the titles of good fellowship come to you.
1663. Dryden, The Wild Gallant [Title.]
1690. B. E., A New Dict. Gallant a very fine man; also a Man of
Metal, or a brave Fellow; also one that Courts, or keeps, or is
Kept by, a Mistress.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iv., 110 There’s never a gallant but sat
at her hand.
1751–4. Jortin, Eccles. Hist. (quoted in Encyclopædic Dict.). As to
Theodora, they who had been her gallants when she was an actress,
related that dæmons, or nocturnal spirits, had often driven them
away to lie with her themselves.
Adj. (old).—(1). Valiant (2) showy; (3) amorous.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 40. O London is a fine town, and a
gallant city.
Verb. (old).—To sweetheart; to squire; to escort; to pursue or to
enjoy.
To Gallant a Fan. verb. phr. (old).—To break with design, to afford an
opportunity of presenting a better.—B. E. (1690).
Gallant Fiftieth, subs. phr. (military).—The Fiftieth Foot. [For its
share in Vimiera, 1808.] Also, blind half hundred (q.v.); and dirty
half hundred (q.v.).
Gallantry, subs. (1). Sparkishness (q.v.); dandyism; (2) the habit, or
pursuit, of the sexual favour. A life of gallantry = a life devoted to
the other sex.
Gallery, subs. (Winchester College).—A commoner bedroom. [From a
tradition of galleries in Commoners.] See gallery-nymphs.
To play to the Gallery, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To act so as to win
the applause of the vulgar: i.e., to abandon distinction and art for
coarseness of means and cheapness of effect. Said indifferently of
anyone in any profession who exerts himself to win the suffrages of the
mob; as a political demagogue, a ‘popular’ preacher, a ‘fashionable’
painter, and so on.
1872. Standard, 23 Oct. ‘New York Correspondence.’ His dispatches
were, indeed, too long and too swelling in phrase; for herein he
was always playing to the galleries.
Hence, Gallery-hit, shot, stroke, etc. = a touch designed for, and
exclusively addressed to, the non-critical.
To play the Gallery, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make an audience; to
applaud.
1870. Echo, 23 July, p. 5, c. 4. He seemed altogether a jovial,
amusing sort of fellow, and as we were close by him, and constantly
called in to play the gallery to his witty remarks, we asked him,
when his friends left him, to join our party.
Gallery Nymph, subs. phr. (Winchester College).—A housemaid. See
Gallery.
Galley—put a brass galley down your back, verb. phr. (printers’).—An
admonition to appear before a principal; implying that the galley will
serve as a screen.
Galley-foist, subs. (old).—The state barge, used by the Lord Mayor when
he was sworn in at Westminster.
1609. Ben Jonson, Silent Woman, iv., 2. Out of my doores, you sons
of noise and tumult, begot on an ill May day, or when the
galleyfoist is afloate to Westminster.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Galley-growler or -stoker, subs. (nautical).—A loafer; a malingerer
(q.v.); a grumble-guts (q.v.).
Galley-halfpenny, subs. (old).—A base coin, tempus Henry IV. [So called
because it was commonly imported in the Genoese galleys. See Leake,
English Money, p. 129; Ruding, Annals of Coinage, i., 250; and Stow,
Survey (ed. 1842) p. 50.]
Galley-Slave, subs. (printers’).—A compositor. [From the oblong tray
whereon the matter from the composing stick is arranged in column or
page.] For synonyms, see Donkey.
1683. Moxon, s.v.
Galleywest, adj. or adv. (American).—An indefinite superlative. Cf.,
About-east.
1884. Clemens, (M. Twain) Huck. Finn, xxxvii., 382. Then she
grabbed up the basket and slammed it across the house, and knocked
the cat galleywest.
1887. Francis, Saddle and Mocassin (quoted in Slang, Jargon, and
Cant). I’ll be darned if this establishment of yours, Hunse, don’t
knock any one of them galley-west!—galleywest, sir, that’s what it
does.
Galley-yarn (or news), subs. phr. (nautical).—A lying story; a swindle
or take-in (q.v.). Frequently abbreviated to ‘G.Y.’
1884. Henley and Stevenson, Admiral Guinea, iii., 4. What? lantern
and cutlass yours; you the one that knew the house; you the one
that saw; you the one overtaken and denounced; and you spin me a
galley-yarn like that.
Gallied, ppl. adj. (old).—‘Harried; vexed; over-fatigued; perhaps like
a galley-slave’ (Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.). In Australia, frightened.
Gallinipper, subs. (West Indian).—A large mosquito.
1847. Porter, Big Bear, etc., p. 119. In the summer time the lakes
and snakes ... musketoes and gallinippers, buffalo gnats and
sandflies ... prevented the Injins from gwine through the country.
1888. Lippincott’s Magazine. I thought the gallinippers would fly
away with me before the seed ticks had sucked all my blood.
Gallipot, subs. (common).—An apothecary.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1836. M. Scott, Cringle’s Log, ch. xiv. In truth, sir, I thought
our surgeon would be of more use than any outlandish gallipot that
you could carry back.
1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, ch. xxvii. ‘Half a-dozen little
gallipots,’ interposed Miss Wirt.
English Synonyms.—Bolus; bum-tender; clyster-giver; clyster-pipe;
croaker; crocus; drugs; Ollapod (from a creation of the Younger
Coleman’s); gage-monger; Galen (from the great physician);
jakes-provider; pill-box; pill-merchant; pills; squirt;
salts-and-senna; squire of the pot.
French Synonyms.—Un mirancu (obsolete: a play on mire en cul,
respecting which cf., Béralde, in Molière, Malade Imaginaire: ‘On voit
bien que vous n’avez pas accoutumé de parler à des visages’); un
limonadier de postérieurs (popular: cf., ‘bum-tender’); un flûtencul
(common); un insinuant (popular: one who ‘insinuates’ the
clyster-pipe).
German Synonyms.—Rokeach, Raukeach, or Raukack (from the Hebrew).
Gallivant, verb. (colloquial).—1. To gad about with, or after, one of
the other sex; to play the gallant; to ‘do the agreeable.’
1838. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, ch. lxiv. You were out all day
yesterday, and gallivanting somewhere, I know.
1862. H. Beecher Stowe, in The Independent, 27 Feb. What business
had he to flirt and gallivant all summer with Sally Kittridge?
1886. Hawley Smart, Struck Down, xi. The ramparts is a great place
for gallivanting.
1863. H. Kingsley, Austin Elliot, i., 112. It’s them gals, Mr.
Austin. Come in afore she sees you, else she’ll not be at home. She
is gallivanting in the paddock with Captain Hertford.
2. (colloquial).—To trapes (q.v.); to fuss; to bustle about.
1859. Boston Post, 10 Dec. Senator Seward is gallivanting gaily
about Europe. Now at Compiègne, saying soft things to the Empress
and studying despotism, now treading the battle-field of Waterloo,
then back at Paris, and so on.
1871. C. D. Warner, My Summer in a Garden. More than half the Lima
beans, though on the most attractive sort of poles, which budded
like Aaron’s rod, went gallivanting off to the neighboring grape
trellis.
1848. Ruxton, Far West, p. 145. The three remaining brothers were
absent from the Mission ... Fray Jose, gallivanting at Pueblo de
los Angeles.
1863. Norton, Lost and Saved, p. 255. A pretty story, if, when her
services were most wanted by the person who paid for them, she was
to be gadding and gallivanting after friends of her own.
1865. M. E. Braddon, Henry Dunbar, ch. x. A pretty thing it would
have been if your pa had come all the way from India to find his
only daughter gallivanting at a theaytre.
1870. London Figaro, 6 Dec. You’re never content but when you’re
galavanting about somewhere or other.
Gallivate, verb (American).—To frisk; to ‘figure about’; cf.,
Gallivant.
Gallon. What’s a gallon of rum among one? phr. (American).—The retort
sarcastic; applied, e.g., to those with ‘eyes too big for their
stomach’; to disproportionate ideas of the fitness of things, and so
forth.
Gallon Distemper, subs. phr. (common).—1. Delirium tremens; (2.) the
lighter after-effects of drinking.
English Synonyms.—(1) For the former, barrel-fever; black-dog;
blue-devils; blue Johnnies (Australian); B. J’s. (idem.); blues;
bottle-ache; D. T.; horrors; jim-jams; jumps; pink-spiders;
quart-mania; rams; rats; shakes; snakes in the boots; trembles;
triangles; uglies.
2. For the latter: a head; hot-coppers; a mouth; a touch of the brewer;
a sore head (Scots).
French Synonyms.—Avoir mal aux cheveux (familiar = the hair-ache); les
papillons noirs (Cf., pink spiders; also = hypochondria); avoir fumé
dans une pipe neuve (= sick of a new clay).
Galloper, subs. (old).—1. A blood horse; a hunter.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. The toby gill clapped his bleeders
to his galloper and tipped the straps the double.
2. (military).—An aide-de-camp.
Gallow-grass, subs. phr. (old).—Hemp. [i.e., halters in the rough.]
1578. Lyte, Trans. of Dodoens History of Plantes, fol. 72. Hempe is
called in ... English, Neckweede, and gallowgrass.
Gallows, subs. (old).—1. A rascal; a wretch deserving the rope.
1594. Shakspeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, v., 2. A shrewd unhappy
gallows too.
1754. B. Martin, Eng. Dict. (2nd ed.). s.v. = a wicked rascal.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist. (To Oliver). Now young gallows.
1838. Jas. Grant, Sketches in London, ch. ii., p. 58. Blow me
tight, young gallows, if I don’t pound your ribs to powder!
2. (common: generally in. pl. = Gallowses).—A pair of braces.
1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 1 S., ch. xv. Chock-full of spring,
like the wire end of a bran new pair of trouser galluses.
1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, p. 168. If I wouldn’t spile his
picter bust my boots and gallowses.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 431. The
braces, which in some parts of the country are called ‘gallowses.’
c. 1852. Traits of American Humor, p. 58. Hole on, dod drot you,
wait till I unbutton my gallowses.
1864. James, etc., Italian-English Dict. Gallowses, batilla.
1883. G. A. S[ala], in Ill. Lond. News, Sept. 22, p. 275, c. i.
Braces (which, when I was young, used, in the north of England, to
be known by the expressive name of gallowses.)
Adv. (old).—Excessively; same as bloody, bleeding, (q.v.), etc. (As
adj.) great; uncommon; real.
c. 1551. L. Shepherd. John Bon in Arber’s Garner, Vol. IV., p. 109.
Ye, are much bound to God for such a spittle holiness. A gallows
gift!
1789. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 120. Some they pattered flash with
gallows fun and joking.
1827. Egan, Anecdotes of the Turf, etc., p. 44. Then your blowen
will wax gallows haughty! [Also quoted in notes to Don Juan.]
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 293. (ed. 1854). Ah, Dame Lobkin,
if so be as our little Paul vas a vith you, it would be a gallows
comfort to you in your latter hend!
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, III., 90. I’ll be
smothered if I’m going to look down that gallows long chimney.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xli. And the pleece come in, and
got gallus well kicked about the head.
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London, p. 244. Put it on your
face so gallus thick that the devil himself won’t see through it.
Gallows-bird (also Newgate-bird), subs. (common).—1. A son of the rope;
an habitual criminal; a vagabond or scoundrel, old or young; a
crack-rope or wag-halter (Cotgrave); a gallows-clapper (Florio). Fr.,
gibier de Cayenne, or de potence.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. One that deserves hanging.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xi. That very gallows-bird were
enough to corrupt a whole ante-chamber of pages.
2. (common).—A corpse on, or from, the gallows.
1861. Reade, Cloister and Hearth, ch. xxviii. I ne’er minced
(dissected) ape nor gallows-bird.
Gallows-faced, adj. (old).—Evil-looking; hang-dog. Also
gallows-looking.
1766. H. Brooke, Fool of Quality, ii. 16. Art thou there, thou
rogue, thou hang-dog, thou gallows-faced vagabond?
1768. Goldsmith, Good-natured Man, Act v. Hold him fast, he has the
gallows in his face.
1837. Barham, I. L. (Misadv. at Margate). A little gallows-looking
chap—dear me! what could he mean?
Gallows-minded, adj. (colloquial).—Criminal in habit and idea; also,
evil-hearted.
Gallowsness, subs. (old).—Rascality; recklessness; mischievousness.
1859. G. Eliot, Adam Bede, ch. vi. I never knew your equal for
gallowsness.
Gallows-ripe, adj. (old).—Ripe for the rope.
1837. Carlyle, French Revolution, Pt. II., bk. v., ch. iii. Loose
again, as one not yet gallows-ripe.
Gallus.—See Gallows.
Gally-foist.—See Galley-foist.
Gallyslopes, subs. (Old Cant).—Breeches. For synonyms, see Kicks.
Galoot (also galloot and geeloot), subs. (general).—A man (sometimes in
contempt); also (in America) a worthless fellow (or thing, see quot.
1888); a rowdy; a cad (q.v.).
1835. Marryat, Jacob Faithful, ch. xxxiv. Four greater galloots
were never picked up, but never mind that.
1869. S. L. Clemens (Mark Twain) Innocents at Home, p. 22. He could
lam any galoot of his inches in America.
1871. John Hay, Jim Bludso. I’ll hold her nozzle agin the bank Till
the last galoot’s ashore.
1885. Saturday Review, Feb. 7, p. 167. ‘I’ll never draw a revolver
on a man again as long as I live.’... ‘Guess I’ll go for the galoot
with a two-scatter shoot-gun.’
1888. New York Tribune, May 16. It is better to have a Carrot for a
President than a dead beat for a son-in-law. In this way we again
score a live beat on the galoot.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 137. ‘My
dear boy, I may be a galoot about literature, but you’ll always be
an outsider in business.’
On the gay galoot, adv. phr. (common).—On the spree.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 3. I’m off on the gay galoot
somewheres.
Galoptious or Galuptious, adj. (popular).—Delightful; a general
superlative.
1887. Judy, 21 Sept., p. 140. Four young ladies represented the
galopshus sum of 20,000,000 dollars.
Galore (also gallore and golore), adv. (old; now recognised).—In
abundance; plenty. [Irish and Gaelic go leor = in plenty.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p 14. Galore of alcohol to
ratify the trade.
1856. C. Reade, Never Too Late, ch. lx. He found rogues galore, and
envious spirits that wished the friends ill.
1891. Licensed Vic. Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 1, c. 1. Of chit-chat this
week we have galore, and the difficulty is how to sift the wheat
from the chaff.
Galumph, verb. (American).—To bump along (Onomatopœia).
1888. New York World, 13 May. The young man tackled the driver of a
green bobtail car that galumphed through Lewis Street at a high
rate of speed.
Galvanised Yankee, subs. phr. (American Civil War).—A Grey-back (q.v.)
who took the oath to the North and served in its armies.
Gam, subs. (thieves’).—1. Pluck; gameness.
1888. Cassell’s Saturday Journal, 8 Dec., p. 260. I’m not so sure
about his lack of cunnin’, speed, or gam.
2. (American thieves’).—Stealing (Matsell, 1859).
Verb. (American thieves’).—1. To steal.
2. (American).—To engage in social intercourse; to make a call; to have
a chat. See Gamming.
Gamaliel, subs. (colloquial).—A pedant; a person curious of the letter
and the form: e.g., ‘these Gamaliels of the theory’ = these
ultra-puritans, to whom the spirit is nothing.
Gamaruche, subs. (venery).—See Cunnilingist and Cock-Teaser. Verb
(venery).—To irrumate; to Bag-pipe (q.v.). Also to cunnilinge (q.v.).
Fr., gamahucher.
Gamb (or Gam), subs. (old).—A leg. In use also in this sense as an
heraldic term. [It., gambe; Fr., jambe; probably through Lingua
Franca.] For synonyms, see Drumsticks and Pins.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 143. If a man has bow legs,
he has queer gams, gams being cant for legs.
1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd ed.), s.v.
1819. Moore, Memorial, p. 61. Back to his home, with tottering
gams.
1887. Henley, Villon’s Good Night. At you I merely lift my gam.
[To flutter a gam = to dance; to lift a gam = to break wind; to gam
it = to walk; to run away; to leg it (q.v.)].
Gamble, subs. (colloquial).—A venture: a flutter (q.v.).
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 250. And you
know the Flying Scud was the biggest gamble of the crowd.
Gambler, subs. (old, now recognised). See quots.
1778. Bailey, Eng. Dict. Gambler, a guinea-dropper; one class of
sharpers.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Gambler, a sharper; a tricking gamester.
1816. Johnson, Eng. Dict. (11th ed.). Gambler, a cant word, I
suppose. A knave whose practice it is to invite the unwary to game
and cheat them.
1890. Cassell’s Enc. Dict. Gambler, one given to playing for a
stake.
Gambol, subs. (booking clerks’).—A railway ticket.
1882. Daily News, 6 Sept., p. 2, c. 5. ... Mr. Chance [the
magistrate] asked what gambols meant. The inspector said doubtless
the railway tickets.
Gam-cases, subs. (old). Stockings (Parker, Life’s Painter). [From gam =
leg + case.]
Game, subs. (old).—1. The proceeds of a robbery; swag (q.v.).
1676. Warning for Housekeepers. Song. When that we have bit the
bloe, we carry away the game.
2. (old).—A company of whores. A game-pullet = a young prostitute, or a
girl inclined to lechery; cf., adj., sense 8.
1690. B. E., New Dictionary, s.v. ... also a Bawdy house, lewd
women.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. game ... Mother, have you any game,
Mother, have you any girls?
3. (old).—A gull; a simpleton. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
1690. B. E., New Dictionary. Game, c. Bubbles drawn in to be
cheated.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
4. (thieves’).—Specifically, the game = thieving; also (nautical),
slave trading; and (venery), the practice of copulation (e.g., good at
the game = an expert and vigorous bedfellow. Cf., Shakspeare, Troilus,
iv., 5, ‘Spoils of opportunity, daughters of the game’). In quot.
(1639) it would seem that hen of the game = a shrew, a fighting woman.
1639–61. Rump, ii., 185. ‘Free Parliament Litany.’ From a dunghill
Cock and a Hen of the Game.
1640. Ladies’ Parliament. Stamford she is for the game, She saies
her husband is to blame, For her part she loves a foole, If he hath
a good toole.
1668. Etheredge, She Would if She Could, i., 1. A gentleman should
not have gone out of his chambers but some civil officer of the
game or other would have ... given him notice where he might have
had a course or two in the afternoon.
17(?). Burns, Merry Muses, ‘Jenny Macraw’ (old song). Jenny Macraw
was a bird of the game.
1839. Brandon, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, Glossary. On the
game—thieving.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 263. Whether the
game got stale, or Peter became honest, is beyond the purport of my
communication to settle.
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assist. (3rd ed.), p. 444, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v. The particular
line of rascality the rogue is engaged in; thieving; cheating.
1860. Chambers’ Journal, Vol. 13, p. 281. I asked him if he meant
by a trading voyage, the game.
5. (colloquial).—A source of amusement; a lark (q.v.); a barney (q.v.);
as, e.g., It was such a game!
6. (colloquial).—A design; trick; object; line of conduct: e.g., What’s
your little game = What are you after? Also, None of your little games!
= None of your tricks! See High Old Game.
1854. Whyte Melville, General Bounce, ch. ix. Honesty, indeed! if
honesty’s the game, you’ve a right to your share, what Mrs.
Kettering intended you should have.
1857. Ducange Anglicus, The Vulg. Tongue, p. 9. Game n. Intention.
‘What’s your game?’ or, ‘What are you up to?’ (very generally
used).
1870. Standard, 27 Sept. If we accept the meaner game which the
Times indicates for us, it can only be by deliberate choice.
1879. Justin McCarthy, Donna Quixote, ch. xiii. Come, what’s your
little game?
1883. Edw. E. Morris, in Longman’s Mag., June, p. 176. A youth, who
left England, and then carried on the same game in Australia.
1889. Standard, 1 May, p. 5, c. 1. The ‘game of law and order’ is
not up, in Paris.
1890. Punch, 30 Aug., p. 97. Mug’s game! They’ll soon find as the
Marsters ain’t going to be worried and welched.
1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, p. 46. She knew how to work the
game of fascination right.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 349, ‘It was
the thing in your times, that’s right enough; but you’re old now,
and the game’s up.’
Adj. (old).—1. Plucky; enduring; full of spirit and bottom (q.v.).
[Cock-pit and pugilists’. The word may be said to have passed into the
language with the rise to renown of Harry Pearce, surnamed the Game
Chicken.]
1747. Capt. Godfrey, Science of Defence, p. 64. Smallwood (a boxer)
is thorough game, with judgment equal to any, and superior to most.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 57. Pitying raised from earth
the game old man.
1821. P. Egan, Tom and Jerry (ed. 1891), p. 38. Tom, however, was
too game to acknowledge any sort of alarm at this slight
visitation.
1823. E. Kent, Mod. Flash Dict. Game, s.v. Sturdy, hardy, hardened.
1827. Reynolds, Peter Corcoran, The Fancy. ‘The Field of Tothill.’
The highest in the fancy—all the game ones, Who are not very much
beneath her weight.
1855. A. Trollope, The Warden, ch. viii. He was a most courageous
lad, game to the backbone.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 19 June, p. 395. The round had lasted
sixteen minutes, and no one present had ever seen gamer or more
determined fighting.
2. (common).—Ready; willing; prepared. [Also from cock-fighting. See
sense 1].
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, p. 99, (ed. 1857). ‘All alive to-day, I
suppose?’ ‘Regular game, sir.’
1856. Reade, Never Too Late, ch. xxi. I’m game to try.
1865. Bentley, p. 182, ‘The Excursion Train.’ Again to London back
we came The day the excursion ticket said, And really both of us
felt game To travel round the world instead.
1880. Punch’s Almanack. Got three quid; have cried a go with Fan,
Game to spend my money like a man.
1891. Farjeon, The Mystery of M. Felix, p. 103. ‘I’m game,’ said
Sophy, to whom any task of this kind was especially inviting.
1891. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up! p. 51. ‘Yes, I am gamey, you bet!’
exclaimed the Chinaman, softly.
1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, p. 121. It is nearly midnight. I
am game for another hour, are you?
3. (old).—Lame; crooked; disabled: as in Game Leg.
1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary. Game-leg, a lame leg.
1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. i. Catching hold of the devil’s
game leg with his episcopal crook.
1851. G. Borrow, Lavengro, ch. lxvii., p. 204 (1888). Mr.
Platitude, having what is vulgarly called a game leg, came
shambling into the room.
1875. Jas. Payn, Walter’s Word, ch. i. Well, you see, old fellow,
with a game-arm (his left arm is in a sling), and a game-leg (he
has limped across the platform with the aid of his friend, and also
of a crutch), one feels a little helpless.
4. (thieves’).—Knowing; wide-awake; and (of women) Flash (q.v.), or
inclined to venery. E.g., Game-cove = an associate of thieves;
Game-woman = a prostitute: i.e., a woman who is game (sense 2);
Game-pullet (Grose) = a girl that will show sport, a female game-cock;
game-ship (old) = a ship whose commander and officers could be
corrupted by bribes to allow the cargo to be stolen (Clark Russell).
1676. Etheredge, Man of Mode, ii. Go on, be the game mistress of
the town and entice all our young fops as fast as they come from
travel.
Cock of the Game, subs. phr. (old).—A champion; an undoubted blood; a
star of magnitude (cock-pit).
1719. Durfey, Pills, iii., 329. Now all you tame gallants, you that
have the name, And would accounted be cocks of the game.
1822. Scott, Nigel, xiv. I have seen a dung-hill chicken that you
meant to have picked clean enough; it will be long ere his lordship
ruffles a feather with a cock of the game.
To make game of, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To turn into ridicule; to
delude; to humbug.
1671. Milton, Samson, 1331. Do they not seek occasion of new
quarrels, On my refusal, to distress me more; Or ake a game of my
calamities?
1690. B. E., New Dictionary. What you game me? c. do you jeer me,
or pretend to expose me to make a May-game of me?
1745. Hist. of Coldstream Guards, 25 Oct. If the militia are
reviewed to-morrow by his Majesty, the soldiers of the third
regiment of Guards are to behave civilly and not to laugh or to
make any game of them.
To die game, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To maintain a resolute attitude
to the last; to show no contrition.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. To die game, to suffer at the gallows
without showing any signs of fear or repentance.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. liv. The ruffian lay perfectly
still and silent. ‘He’s gaun to die game ony how,’ said Dinmont.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick (ed. 1857), p. 363. I say that the coachman
did not run away; but that he died game—game as pheasants; and I
won’t hear nothin’ said to the contrary.
1869. Spencer, Study of Sociology, ch. viii., p. 183 (9th ed.). Nor
should we forget the game-cock, supplying, as it does, a word of
eulogy to the mob of roughs who witness the hanging of a murderer,
and who half condone his crime if he dies game.
1871. Times, 30 Jan. Critique on London, etc. The principal was
acquitted, and though his accomplices were hung in Pall Mall at the
scene of their act, they died game.
To get against the game, verb. phr. (American).—To take a risk; to
chance it. [From the game of poker].
To play the game, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To do a thing properly; to
do what is right and proper.
1889. Geoffrey Drage, Cyril, ch. vii. I really think he is ... not
playing the game.
The first game ever played, subs. phr. (venery).—Copulation. For
synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Gamecock, adj. (old).—Hectoring; angry; valiant out of place.
1838. Lever, Handy Andy. Smoke and fire is my desire, So blaze away
my gamecock squire.
Gameness, subs. (colloquial).—Pluck; endurance; the mixture of spirit
and bottom.
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xxiv. There was no doubt
about his gameness.
1884. Referee, 23 March, p. 1, c. 4. Carter fought with great
gameness, but he never had a look in.
Gamester, subs. (old).—1. A prostitute. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack
and Tart.
1598. Shakspeare, All’s Well, v. 3. She’s impudent, my lord, and
was a common gamester to the camp.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii. 1. Ay, ay, gamesters, mocke a
plain soft wench of the suburbs, do.
1620. Percy, Folio MSS., p. 404. Be not att ffirst to nice nor coye
when gamsters you are courtinge.
2. (old).—A ruffler; a gallant; a wencher; a man fit and ready for
anything; also a player.
1639–61. Rump, i., 253, ‘A Medley.’ Room for a gamester that flies
at all he sees.
1676. Etheredge, Man of Mode, v., 1. Live it also like a frank
gamester, on the square.
Gamey, adj. (colloquial).—1. High-smelling; offensive to the nose;
half-rotten.
2. (colloquial).—Frisky; plucky.
1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. xi. There’s something gamey
in it, young ladies, ain’t there.
1869. S. Bowles, Our New West, p. 275. Horses are fresh and fat and
gamey.
Gaminess, subs. (colloquial).—The malodorousness proceeding from decay
and—by implication—filthiness.
Gaming-house, subs. (old).—A house of ill-repute—hell, tavern, or
stews.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie, Berlan, a common tippling house, a
house of gaming, or of any other disorder.
Gammer, subs. (old).—An old wife; a familiar address; the correlative
of gaffer (q.v.).
1551. Gammer Gurton’s Needle (Title).
1706. Hudibras Redivivus, Part VI. And monkey faces, yawns, and
stammers, Delude the pious dames and gammers To think their
mumbling guides precation So full of heavenly inspiration.
1842. Tennyson, The Goose. Ran Gaffer, stumbled gammer.
Gamming, subs. (nautical).—A whaleman’s term for the visits paid by
crews to each other at sea.
1884. G. A. Sala, in Illus. Lon. News, July 19, p. 51, c. 2. When
two or more American whalers meet in mid-ocean, and there are no
whales in sight, it is customary to tack topsails and exchange
visits. This social intercourse the whalemen call gamming ... I
cannot help fancying that ‘gam’ is in greater probability an
abbreviation of the Danish ‘gammen,’ sport, or that it has
something to do with the nautical ‘gammoning,’ the lasting by which
the bowsprit is bound firmly down to the cutwater.
1890. Century, Aug. To gam means to gossip. The word occurs again
and again in the log-books of the old whalers.
Gammon, subs. (colloquial).—1. Nonsense; humbug; deceit. Sometimes
gammon and spinach. No gammon = no error, no lies.
[Skeat says from Mid. Eng. Gamen = a game; but R. Sherwood (Eng. Dict.,
1660), gives ‘a beggar or seller of gammons of Bacon; and in Cotgrave
(1611), jambonnier = a beggar, also a seller of bacon, or gammons of
bacon.’]
c. 1363. Chester Plays, i. 102. This gammon shall begin.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, I. 208. I thought myself pretty
much a master of gammon, but the Billingsgate eloquence of Mrs. P.
... exceeded me.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Gamon. What rum gamon the old file
pitched to the flat.
1823. Mod. Flash Dict. gammon—Falsehood and bombast.
1823–45. Hood, Poems (ed. 1846), vi., p. 96, Behold yon servitor of
God and Mammon, Who, binding up his Bible with his ledger, Blends
Gospel texts with trading gammon.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxvii. Lord bless their little hearts,
they thinks its all right, and don’t know no better, but they’re
the wictims o’ gammon, Samivel, they’re the wictims o’ gammon.
1837. Barham, I. L., Blasphemer’s Warning. When each tries to
humbug his dear Royal Brother, in Hopes by such gammon to take one
another in.
1839. Comic Almanack, Jan. But if you wish to save your bacon, Give
us less gammon.
1849. Dickens, David Copperfield, ch. xxii., p. 199. ‘Oh, my
goodness, how polite we are!’ exclaimed Miss Mowcher.... ‘What a
world of gammon and spinnage it is!’
1890. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up! p. 92. I’m real grit and no gammon.
2. (thieves’).—A confederate whose duty is to engage the attention of a
victim during robbery; a bonnet (q.v.) or cover (q.v.).
Verb (colloquial).—1. To humbug: to deceive; to take in with fibs; to
kid (q.v.).
1700. Step to the Bath, quoted in Ashton’s Soc. Life in Reign of
Queen Anne, v. ii., p. 111. We went to the Groom Porter’s ... there
was Palming, Hodging, Loaded Dice, Levant, and gammoning, with all
the Speed imaginable.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 6. Vile I can get fifteen bob
a day by gammoning a maim, the devil may vork for me.
1825. Buckstone, The Bear Hunters, ii. There! that’s just the way
she gammons me at home.
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. ii. Why, my lad, we shall
see to-morrow morning; but you gammons so bad about the rhino that
we must prove you a bit; so Kate, my dear,—to the pretty girl who
had let me in.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xiii. So then they pours him out a
glass o’ wine, and gammons him about his driving, and gets him into
a reg’lar good humour.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Misadventures at Margate.’ And
’cause he gammons so the flats, ve calls him Veeping Bill!
1840. Hood, Tale of a Trumpet. Lord Bacon couldn’t have gammoned
her better.
1890. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up! p. 70. Oh, don’t try to gammon me, you
cunning young school-miss.
English Synonyms.—To bam; to bamblustercate; to bamboozle; to bambosh;
to barney; to be on the job; to best; to bilk; to blarney; to blow; to
bosh; to bounce; to cob; to cod; to cog; to chaff; to come over (or the
artful, or Paddy, or the old soldier over) one; to cram; to do; to do
brown; to doctor; to do Taffy; to fake the kidment; to flare up; to
flam; to flummox; to get at (round, or to windward of) one; to gild the
pill; to give a cock’s egg; to gravel; to gull; to haze; to jimmify; to
jaw; to jockey; to jolly; to kid; to make believe the moon is made of
green cheese (Cotgrave); to mogue; to palm off on; to pickle; to plant;
to plum; to poke bogey (or fun) at; to promoss; to put the kibosh on;
to put in the chair, cart, or basket; to pull the leg; to queer; to
quiz; to roast; to roorback; to run a bluff, or the shenanigan; to
sell; to send for pigeon’s milk; to sit upon; to send for oil of
strappum, etc.; to shave; to slum, or slumguzzle; to smoke; to snack;
to soap, soft soap, sawder, or soft sawder; to spoof; to stick; to
stall; to string, or get on a string; to stuff; to sawdust, or get on
sawdust and treacle; to suck; to suck up; to sugar; to swap off; to
take a rise out of; to rot; to tommy-rot; to take in, or down; to take
to town; to take to the fair; to tip the traveller; to try it on; to
throw dust in the eyes; to throw a tub to a whale; to pepper; to throw
pepper in the eyes; to use the pepper box; to whiffle; to work the
poppycock racket (Irish-American). [Note.—Many of the foregoing are
used substantively, e.g., a bam, a barney, a sell, bambosh = nonsense;
deceit; a hoax, etc.]
French Synonyms.—Donner un pont à faucher (also, thieves’ = to lay a
trap); dindonner (popular: from dindon = a gull, a gobbler); battre à
la Parisienne (thieves’: = to cheat; to come the cockney); se ficher de
la fiole, or de la bobine, de quelqu’un (popular: to get on with it,
i.e., to try to fool); envoyer chercher le parapluie de l’escouade
(military: parapluie de l’escouade = the squad’s umbrella: to send on a
fool’s errand; cf., to send for pigeon’s milk, etc.); la faire à
quelqu’un (popular); faucher (thieves’ = to best); enfoncer (familiar:
to let in: also to surpass); cabasser (popular); monter des couleurs,
le Job, or un schtosse (= to do up brown); faire le coup, or monter le
coup, à quelqu’un (popular: = to take a rise); bouffer la botte
(military: = to sell (q.v.) or bilk, as a woman refusing congress after
receiving the socket-money (q.v.) in advance); bouler (popular: also to
whop (q.v.)); être l’autre (popular: = to get left (q.v.)); mettre dans
le sac (thieves’: = to bag, i.e., to trap); coller or poser un lapin
(popular: = to make a hare of (q.v.); also more generally, to bilk
(q.v.)); emblémer (thieves’: = to stick); faire voir le tour (popular:
= to show how it’s done; connaitre le tour = to know the game); faire
la queue à quelqu’un (popular: = to pull one’s leg); tirer la carotte
(thieves’); canarder (popular: = to bring down); empaler (popular: = to
stick); passer des curettes (popular: = to befool); monter une gaffe
(popular: gaffe = a joke, a hoax); jobarder (popular: job = simpleton,
and is the same as jobelin); mener en bateau un pante pour le refaire
(thieves’: = to take a man on); monter un bateau (popular); promener
quelqu’un (popular: cf., to take to town); compter des mistoufles
(fam.: mistoufle = a scurvy trick); gourrer (popular: = to bosh);
affluer (from flouer = to cheat, to diddle); rouster (popular and
thieves’); affûter (thieves’ = to run down, also to make unlawful
profits); bouler (popular); juiffer (popular = to Jew); pigeonner
(popular to pluck a pigeon (q.v.)); flancher (popular = to kid (q.v.));
faire la barbe (popular = to shave (q.v.)); monter or hisser un gandin
(thieves’ = literally to hoist a swell); fourrer or mettre dedans
(popular = to take in and do for); planter un chou (fam.); être marron
(popular); interver dans les vannes (= to let oneself be sucked-up);
monter un godan à quelqu’un (popular); griller quelqu’un (popular = to
cuckold); passer en lunette (popular); goujonner (i.e., to hook like a
gudgeon); fourguer (thieves’ = also to fence (q.v.)); pousser une
blague (popular = to cram); paqueliner (thieves’); se baucher
(thieves’); balancer (popular).
German Synonyms.—Zinkennen an Almoni peloni (= to send one after Cheeks
the Marine [q.v.]. Almoni and peloni are used mockingly in combination
and also singly for a non-existent person); anbeulen (= to fool);
jemanden arbeiten (= to haze, to cram); bekaspern, or bekaschpern, or
beschwatzen (= to fool: from Heb. kosaw = to cheat).
Spanish Synonyms.—Disparar (= also to talk nonsense; to blunder); hacer
á uno su dominguillo, or hacer su dominguillo de uno (colloquial:
dominguillo = a figure made of straw and used at bull fights to enrage
the bulls); freirsela á alguno (freir = to fry: to deceive: Cf., to
roast, or have one on toast); pegar una tostada á alguno (= to put one
on toast: more generally to play a practical joke); echar de baranda (=
to embroider (q.v.)); bola (subs. = humbug; a hoax); borrufalla (subs.
= bombast); chicolear (= to jest in gallantry); engatusar (= to rob, or
hurt; also to trick without intention); candonguear (also = to jeer);
abrir á chasco (also to jeer); encantar (= to enchant).
Italian Synonyms. Ganezzarre; dar la stolfa; traversare (cf., to come
over); scamuffare (= to disguise oneself).
2. (thieves’).—To act as bonnet (q.v.) or cover (q.v.) to a thief.
Intj. (colloquial).—Nonsense; Skittles! (q.v.).
1827. R. B. Peake, Comfortable Lodgings, i., 3. Sir H. (aside).
Gammon!
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. vii. Gammon, tell that to
the marines: you’re a spy, messmate.
1854. Thackeray, The Rose and the Ring, p. 100. Ha! said the king,
you dare to say gammon to your sovereign.
1861. A. Trollope, Framley Parsonage, ch. iv. Gammon, said Mr.
Gowerby; and as he said it he looked with a kind of derisive smile
into the clergyman’s face.
Gammon and Patter, subs. phr. (thieves’).—1. (old).—The language used
by thieves; 2. (modern).—A meeting; a palaver. (q.v.). 3. Commonplace
talk of any kind.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 150. Gammon and Patter is the
language of cant, spoke among themselves: when one of them speaks
well, another says he gammons well.
1811. Lex. Bal. s.v. Gammon and Patter. Commonplace talk of any
kind.
To give (or keep) in gammon. verb. phr. (thieves’).—To engage a
person’s attention while a confederate is robbing him.
1719. Capt. Alex. Smith, Thieves’ Grammar, s.v.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 51. Bagrie called the woman of the house,
kept her in gammon in the back room, while I returned and brought
off the till. Ibid., p. 68. I whidded to the Doctor and he gave me
gammon.
To Gammon Lushy (or queer, etc.). verb. phr. (thieves’).—To feign
drunkenness, sickness, etc.
To Gammon the Twelve. verb. phr. (thieves’).—To deceive the jury.
1819. Vaux, Life. A man who has been tried by a criminal court and
by a plausible defence has induced the jury to acquit him, or to
banish the capital part of the charge and so to save his life, is
said by his associates to have gammoned the twelve in prime twig,
alluding to the number of jurymen.
Gammoner, subs. (old).—1. One who gammons (q.v.); a nonsense-monger.
Fr., bonisseur de loffitudes; blagueur; mangeur de frimes.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry i. Fly to the gammoners, and awake
to everything that’s going on.
2. (thieves’).—A confederate who covers the action of his chief; a
bonnet, a cover, a stall, all which see.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 66. The Doctor played the part of the
gammoner so well that I made my escape without being observed.
Gammy, subs. (tramps’).—1. Cant.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Do you stoll the gammy? Do you
understand cant?
2. (common).—A nickname for a lameter; a Hopping Jesus; (q.v.).
3. (Australian).—A fool.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 191. Well, of all
the gammies you are the gammiest, Slowboy, to go and string
yourself to a woman, when you might have had the pick of Melbourne.
Adj. (tramps’).—1. Bad; impossible. Applied to householders of whom it
is known that nothing can be got. See Beggars’ Marks. Gammy-vial = a
town in which the police will not allow unlicensed hawking. (Vial =
Fr., Ville).
1839. Brandon, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, Glossary, s.v.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., i., 466. No villages that are in any
way gammy are ever mentioned in these papers. Ibid., i., 404. These
are left by one of the school at the houses of the gentry, a mark
being placed on the door post of such as are bone or gammy, in
order to inform the rest of ‘the school’ where to call, and what
houses to avoid.
2. Forged; false; spurious: as a gammy-moneker = a forged signature;
gammy-lour = counterfeit money, etc.
1839. Brandon, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, s.v.
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant (3rd. ed.), p. 445. Spurious
medicine, gammy stuff, bad coin, gammy lower, p. 446.
1889. C. T. Clarkson and J. Hall Richardson, Police, p. 321. Bad
money (coin).... Gammy lower.
3. (theatrical).—Old; ugly.
4. (common).—Same as Game, sense 3: e.g., a gammy arm = an arm in dock.
Gammy-eyed = blind; sore-eyed; or afflicted with ecchymosis in the
region of the eyes. Gammy-leg = a lame leg. Also (subs.) a term of
derision for the halt and the maimed.
Gamp, subs. (common).—1. A monthly nurse; a fingersmith (q.v.). [After
Mrs. Sarah Gamp, a character in Martin Chuzzlewit (1843).] Also applied
to a fussy and gossiping busybody.
1864. Sun, 28 Dec. A regular gamp ... a fat old dowdy of a monthly
nurse.
1868. Brewer, Phr. and Fab. (quoted from Daily Telegraph). Mr.
Gathorne Hardy is to look after the gamps and Harrises of the
Strand.
2. (common).—An umbrella; specifically, one large and loosely-tied; a
lettuce (q.v.). [The original Sarah always carried one of this said
pattern.] Sometimes a Sarah Gamp. For synonyms, see Rain-napper.
1870. Lond. Figaro, 15 June. Though—shattered, baggy, shivered
gamp!
1883. G. R. Sims, Life Boat. He donned his goloshes and shouldered
his gamp.
1890. Daily Chron., 5 Mar. Sainte-Beuve insisted that though he was
prepared to stand fire he was under no obligation to catch cold,
and with his gamp over his head he exchanged four shots with his
adversary.
1892 Ally Sloper, 2 Apr., p. 106, c. 3. I never had a brand new
tile, a glossy silk or swagger brown, But I left home without a
gamp, And rain or hail or snow came down.
3. (journalists’).—The Standard.
Adj. (common).—Bulging. Also Gampish.
1864. Derby Day, p. 18. I wasn’t joking, there is an air of
long-suffering about you, as if you had been mortifying the flesh
by carrying a gampish umbrella up Piccadilly, and back again.
1881. Mac. Mag., Nov., p. 62. Grasping his gamp umbrella at the
middle.
Gamut, subs. (artists’).—Tone; general scheme; swim (q.v.). Thus in the
gamut = a picture, a detail, or a shade of colour, in tone with its
environment.
Gan (also Gane), subs. (old).—The mouth. [A.S., ganian = to yawn.]
Occasionally = throat, lip. For synonyms, see Potato-trap.
1512–13. Douglas, Virgil, 250, 29. To behald his ouglie ene twane,
His teribill vissage, and his grislie gane.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 64. Gan, a mouth.
1610. Rowland, Martin Mark-all, p. 38. (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Gan, a mouth. Ibid. A gere peck in thy gan.
1656. Broome, A Jovial Crew, Act ii. This bowse is better than
rombowse, it sets the gan a giggling.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, Pt. I., ch. v., p. 49. (1874.) Gan, a
lip.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew. Ganns, the lips.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1881. New York Slang Dict., s.v.
Gander, subs. (colloquial).—A married man; in America one not living
with his wife; a grass-widower (q.v.).
Verb. (old).—To ramble; to waddle (as a goose). Also, to go in quest of
women; to grouse (q.v.).
1859. H. Kingsley, Geoff. Hamblyn, ch. x. Nell might come gandering
back in one of her tantrums.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xlvii. She gandered upstairs to
the dressing-room again.
Gone Gander.—See Gone Coon.
To see how the gander hops, verb. phr. (American.)—To watch events. A
variant of To see how the cat jumps.
1847. Porter, Big Bear, p. 96. Seein’ how the gander hopped I
jumped up and hollered, Git out, Tromp, you old raskel!
What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, phr. (common).—A
plea for consistency.
Gander-month, subs. (common).—The month after confinement; when a
certain license (or so it was held) is excusable in the male. Also
Gander-moon, the husband at such a period being called a Gander-mooner.
Cf., Buck-hutch and Goose-month.
1617. Middleton, A Faire Quarrell, iv., 4. Wondering
gander-mooners.
1653. Brome, English Moor in Fiue New Playes. I’le keep her at the
least this gander-month, while my fair wife lies-in.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Gander-party, subs. (common).—A gathering of men; a stag-party (q.v.);
also Bull-dance, Gander-gang, etc. Cf., Hen-party = an assembly of
women.
Gander-pulling. See Goose-riding.
Gander’s Wool, subs. phr. (common.)—Feathers.
Gang, subs. (old: now recognised).—A troop; a company.
1639–61. Rump, i., 228. ‘The Scotch War.’ With his gay gang of
Blue-caps all. Ibid., ii., 104, ‘The Gang; or, the Nine Worthies,
etc.’
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Gang, an ill knot or crew of thieves,
pickpockets or miscreants; also a society of porters under a
regulation.
1704. Cibber, Careless Husband, i., 1. Sir C. Who was that other?
More. One of Lord Foppington’s gang.
1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, bk. i., c. 14. What then have I to
do in the pursuit of greatness, but to employ a gang, and to make
the use of this gang centre in myself? Idem. bk. iii., c. 14. But
in an illegal society or gang, as this of ours, it is otherwise.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum. Gang, company, squad, mob.
Ganger, subs. (old: now recognised).—An overseer or foreman of a gang
of workmen; one who superintends. For synonyms, see Governor.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., ii., 487. The ganger, or head of the
working gang, who receives his orders from the inspector, and
directs the men accordingly.
1884. Cornhill Mag., June, p. 614, The mother and boy do the work,
while the father constitutes himself contractor for and ganger over
their labour.
Ganymede, subs. (old).—1. A sodomist. For synonyms, see Usher.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Catamito, a ganimed, an ingle, a
boie hired to sinne against nature. [And in Cotgrave (1611) under
Ganymedes; Any boy that’s loved for carnal abuse, an Ingle.]
1598. Marston, Satyres, ii. But Ho! What ganimede is it doth grace
The gallant’s heels.
2. (popular).—A pot-boy (i.e., a cup-bearer). The masculine of hebe
(q.v.).
1659. Florio-Torriano, Vocabolario. Mescitore, a skinker or filler
of wine; also a mingler, a ganimede.
1841. Punch I., p. 101, c. 1. Lo! Ganymede appears with a foaming
tankard of ale.
Gaol-bird, subs. (old: now recognised).—A person who has been often in
gaol; an incorrigible rogue. Fr., un chevronné. For synonyms, see Wrong
’Un.
1680. Hist. of Edward II., p. 146. It is the piety and the true
valour of an army, which gives them heart and victory; which how it
can be expected out of ruffians and gaol-birds, I leave to your
consideration.
1701. Defoe, True Born Englishman, part II. In print my panegyrics
fill the street, And hired gaol-birds, their huzzas repeat.
1762. Smollett, L. Greaves, vol. II., ch. ix. He is become a
blackguard gaol-bird.
1857. C. Reade, Never Too Late, ch. xi. The gaol-birds who piped
this tune were without a single exception the desperate cases of
this moral hospital; they were old offenders.
1882. Pall Mall Gaz., 5 Oct. Liberating the gaol-birds in
Alexandria.
Gaoler’s Coach, subs. phr. (old).—A hurdle to the place of execution.
1785. Grose. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Gap, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum: also Sportsman’s gap and
water-gap (q.v.). For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
d. 1746. Robertson of Struan, Poems, p. 84. O gracious Hymen! Cure
this dire Mishap, Sew up this mighty rent, or fill the gap.
To blow the gap, verb. phr. (old).—The same as to blow the gaff (q.v.).
1821. Egan, Real Life, etc., i., 557. He should like to smack the
bit without blowing the gap.
Gaper, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. Also, Gaper (and Gape) over
the Garter. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Gapes, subs. (colloquial).—A fit of yawning; also the open mouth of
astonishment.
1818. Austen, Persuasion. Another hour of music was to give delight
or the gapes.
1838. Haliburton, Clockmaker (ed. 1862), p. 373. But what gave me
the gapes was the scenes (at the theatre).
Gapeseed, subs. (common).—1. A cause of astonishment; anything
provoking the ignorant to stare with open mouth. Also to seek a gape’s
nest.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Ansanare ... to go idly loytring vp
and downe as we say, to go seeking for a halfepenie worth of gaping
seede.
1600. Nashe, Summer’s Last Will, in wks. (Grosart), vi., 144. That
if a fellow licensed to beg, Should all his life time go from faire
to faire, And buy gapeseede, having no businesse there.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew. Gapeseed, whatever the gazing crowd idly
stares and gapes after; as Puppet-shows, Rope-dancers, Monsters and
Mountebanks, anything to feed the eye.
1694. Poor Robin. ’Tis plainly clear, They for their gapes-seed do
pay dear.
1856. N. and Q., 2 S 1., 362. Plenty of persons were sowing
gapeseed.
1870. B. F. Clark, Mirthfulness p. 24. Do you wish to buy some
gapeseed?
1884. Daily News, 8 Oct. Title (at head of sporting column).
2. (common).—An open-mouthed loiterer.
1885. Sportsman, June 23, p. 2, c. 4. The yearlings bred by Messrs.
Graham were offered to a rather select audience of buyers, though
the ring was surrounded by a fairly strong crowd of gapeseeds.
Gapped, ppl. adj. (old).—Worsted; floored (q.v. for synonyms).
1753. Richardson, Sir Chas. Grandison. I will never meet at
hard-edge with her; if I did ... I should be confoundedly gapped.
Gap-Stopper, subs. (old).—1. A whoremaster. For synonyms, see Molrower.
2. (venery).—The penis. [Gap = female pudendum]. For synonyms, see
Creamstick and Prick.
Gar. See by gar!
Garble, to garble the coinage, verb. phr. (old).—See quot. [Garble = to
pick and choose.]
1875. Jevons, Money, etc., p. 81. A practice amongst money-lenders
of picking out the newest coins of full weight for export or
re-melting, and passing the light ones into circulation.
Garden, subs. (various).—1. (greengrocers’, fruiterers’, etc.) = Covent
Garden Market; 2. (theatrical) = Covent Garden Theatre; 3. (diamond
merchants’) = Hatton Garden. Cf., House, Lane, etc.
[The Garden (= Covent Garden) was frequently used for the whole
neighbourhood, which was notorious as a place of strumpets and
stews. Thus, Garden-house = a brothel; Garden-goddess = a woman of
pleasure; Garden-gout = the pox or clap; Garden-whore = a low
prostitute, etc.]
1733. Bailey, Erasmus. When young men by whoring, as it commonly
falls out, get the pox, which, by the way of extenuation, they call
the Common Garden-gout.
1782. Geo. Parker, Humorous Sketches, p. 90 No more the Garden
female orgies view.
1851–61. W. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. I., p. 85. Not
only is the Garden itself all bustle and activity, but the buyers
and sellers stream to and from it in all directions, filling every
street in the vicinity.
1884. Jas. Payn, in Cornhill Mag., Mar., p. 257. She [Miss O’Neill]
talked of the Garden and ‘the Lane,’ and was very fond of
recitation.
1890. Tit-Bits, 29 Mar., p. 389, c. 1. Let me describe the Garden.
A long, straight street, stretching almost due north and south,
from Holborn Circus to Clerkenwell Road. Ibid. c. 2. The cut stones
are chiefly sold to the large dealers in the Garden.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. [The simile is common to all nations,
ancient and modern. Shakspeare, in Sonnet 16, seems to play upon this
double meaning; e.g., Now stand you on the top of happy hours; And many
maiden-gardens, yet unset, With virtuous wish would bear you living
flowers.] Also garden of eden. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
To put one in the garden, verb. phr. (thieves’).—To defraud a
confederate; to keep back part of the Regulars (q.v.), or Swag (q.v.).
Gardener, subs. (common).—1. An awkward coachman. [In allusion to the
gardener who on occasion drives the carriage.] Cf., Tea-kettle
Coachman.
1859. Sala, Twice Round the Clock. Noon: Par. I. He can drive
neither to the right nor to the left, nor backwards nor
forwards.... A sarcastic saloon omnibus driver behind jeeringly
bids him keep moving, accompanying the behest by the aggressive
taunt of gard’ner.
2. (venery).—The penis. Garden (q.v.) = female pudendum. Also
Garden-engine. For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.
Garden-gate, subs. phr. (rhyming).—1. A magistrate. For synonyms, see
Beak.
2. (venery).—The labia minora. [Garden-hedge = the pubic hair.]
Garden-Latin, subs. (colloquial).—Barbarous or sham Latin. Also
Apothecaries’, Bog, Dog, and Kitchen-Latin.
Garden-Rake, subs. phr. (common).—A tooth-comb. Also scratching-rake or
rake.
Gardy-Loo, subs. (old Scots).—A warning cry; ‘take care!’ [Fr. gardez’
(vous de) l’eau! Used before emptying slops out of window into the
street. Hence the act of emptying slops itself, as in quotation dated
1818.]
1771. Smollet, Humphry Clinker, (British Novelists), xxxi., p. 57.
At ten o’clock the whole cargo is flung out of a back windore that
looks into some street or lane, and the maid calls gardy-loo to the
passengers, which signifies ‘Lord have mercy on you!’
1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, ch. xxvii. She had made the
gardy-loo out of the wrong window.
Gargle, subs. (formerly medical students’, now common).—A drink; also
generic. Cf., Lotion, and for synonyms, see Go.
1889. Sporting Times, 3 Aug., p. 3, c. 1. We’re just going to have
a gargle—will you join us?
Verb. (common).—To drink; to ‘liquor up.’ For synonyms, see Drinks and
Lush.
1889. Sporting Times, 3 Aug., p. 5. c. 5. We gargled....
1891. Morning Advertiser, 2 Mar. It’s my birthday; let’s gargle.
Gargle-Factory, subs. (common).—A public house. For synonyms, see Lush
Crib.
Garn, intj. (vulgar).—A corruption of Go on! Get away with you!
1888. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 80. Garn, you farthin’ face! She
your neck.
1892. Ally Sloper, 19 Mar., p. 90, c. 3. Gar’n, you men ain’t got
no sense.
1892. National Observer, 6 Feb. p. 307, c. 2. And so simple is the
dictum, so redolent of the unlettered Arry that we long to add
garn, oo’re you gettin’ at?
Garnish, subs. (old).—1. A fee or footing (q.v.); specifically one
exacted by gaolers and old prisoners from a newcomer. The practice was
forbidden by 4 Geo. IV., c. 43, sec. 12. Also Garnish-Money.
1592. Greene, Quip, in works, xi., 256. Let a poore man be arrested
into one of the counters [prisons] ... he shall be almost at an
angel’s charge, what with garnish [etc.].
1606. T. Dekker, Seven Deadly Sinnes, p. 28 (Arber’s ed.). So that
the Counters are cheated of Prisoners, to the great dammage of
those that shoulde have their morning’s draught out of the garnish.
1632. Jonson, Magnetic Lady, v. 6. You are content with the ten
thousand pounds Defalking the four hundred garnish-money?
1704. Steele, Lying Lover, Act iv., Sc. iv. But there is always
some little trifle given to prisoners, they call garnish.
1752. Fielding, Amelia, Bk. I., ch. iii. Mr. Booth ... was no
sooner arrived in the prison, than a number of persons gathered
round him, all demanding garnish.
1759. Goldsmith, The Bee, No. 5, p. 385 (Globe ed.). There are
numberless faulty expenses among the workmen—clubs, garnishes,
freedoms, and such like impositions.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xliv. [Jailor loq.] Thirty
shillings a week for lodgings, and a guinea for garnish.
2. (thieves’).—Fetters; handcuffs. For synonyms, see Darbies.
Verb. (thieves’).—To fit with fetters: to handcuff.
Garret, subs. (common).—1. The head; cockloft (q.v.); or upper storey
(q.v.). For synonyms, see crumpet.
1625. Bacon, Apothgm, No. 17. My Lord St. Albans said that wise
Nature did Never put her precious jewels into a garret four stories
high, and therefore that exceeding tall men had ever very empty
heads.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1837. Barham, Ingold. Leg. What’s called the claret Flew over the
garret.
2. (old).—The fob-pocket.
To have one’s garret unfurnished, verb. phr. (common). To be crazy,
stupid, lumpish. For synonyms, see Apartments and Balmy.
Garreteer, subs. (thieves’). A thief whose speciality is to rob houses
by entering skylights or garret-windows. Also dancer and
dancing-master. For synonyms, see thieves.
2. (journalists’).—An impecunious author; a literary hack.
1849–61. Macaulay, Hist. of Eng., ch. xxv. Garreteers, who were
never weary of calling the cousin of the Earls of Manchester and
Sandwich an upstart.
1886. Shelley (quoted in Dowden’s Life), i., 47. Show them that we
are no Grub-street garreteers.
1892. National Observer, 18 Mar., p. 453. Has proclaimed urbi et
orbi that governments have no business to manufacture specious
sentiment by greasing the palms of ignorant and greedy garreteers.
Garret-master, subs. (trade).—A cabinet-maker who works on his own
account, selling his manufacture to the dealers direct.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., ii., p. 376. These trading operatives
are known by different names in different trades. In the shoe
trade, for instance, they are called ‘chamber-masters,’ in the
cabinet trade garret-masters, and in the cooper’s trade the name
for them is ‘small trading-masters.’
Garrison-hack, subs. (common).—1. A woman given to indiscriminate
flirtation with officers at a garrison.
1889. Daily Telegraph, 14 Feb. Lord Normantower, Philip’s dearest
friend, to whom she, when a garrison-hack, had been engaged, and
whom she had thrown over simply because he was poor and
prospectless.
1890. Athenæum, 8 Feb., p. 176, c. 1. The heroine is a
garrison-hack, but the hero is an Australian.
2. (common).—A prostitute; a soldier’s trull. For synonyms, see Barrack
Hack and Tart.
Garrotte, subs. (common).—A form of strangulation (see verb). [From the
Spanish la garrota = a method of capital punishment, which consists in
strangulation by means of an iron collar.]
Verb. (common).—1. A method of robbery with violence, much practised
some years ago. The victims were generally old or feeble men and women.
Three hands were engaged: the front-stall who looked out in that
quarter, the back-stall at the rear, and the ugly or nasty-man who did
the work by passing his arm round his subject’s neck from behind, and
so throttling him to insensibility.
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of Lond. Committed for trial for
garrotting and nearly murdering a gentleman.
1873. Trollope, Phineas Redux, ch. xlvi. In those days there had
been much garrotting in the streets.
2. (cards).—To cheat by concealing certain cards at the back of the
neck.
Garrotter, subs. (common).—A practitioner of garrotting (under verb,
sense 1.)
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London, p. 201. The delectable
epistle was written by garrotter Bill to his brother.
Garrotting. 1. See Garrotte (verb, sense 1).
2. (gamblers’).—Hiding a part of one’s hand at the back of the neck for
purposes of cheating.
Garter, subs. (nautical).—1. in. pl. the irons, or bilboes. For
synonyms, see Darbies.
To get over the Garter, verb. phr. (venery).—To take liberties with a
woman.
To Fly or Prick the Garter. See Prick the Garter.
Garvies, subs. (Scots’).—1. Sprats. Sometimes Garvie-Herring.
1845. P. Alloa, Statis. Acc., viii., 597. They are often very
successful in taking the smaller fish, such as herrings, garvies or
sprats, sparlings or smelts.
2. (military).—The Ninety-fourth Foot. [From the small stature of the
earlier recruits.]
1869. Notes and Queries, 4 S. iii., p. 349. Garvie. The soubriquet
points to the low average height of the recruits in the Fifeshire
regiments, which, however, may not now be the case, since
recruiting has become less local.
Gas, subs. (common).—Empty talk; bounce; bombast.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc., p. 120. The boys said that was
all gas to scare them off.
1867. Chambers’ Jour., 29 June. I’ve piped off Sabbath gas in my
time I don’t deny, but under the woods we mostly tell the truth.
1868. Chambers’ Jour., 15 Feb., p. 110. I don’t, an’ never could
splice ends with them as blow off gas about gold-digging—saying
it’s plunder easy come an’ easy gone, seeking the root of evil, an’
other granny talk which hasn’t no meaning.
a. 1871. Emerson (quoted in De Vere’s Amer.). ’Tis odd that our
people should have not water on the brain, but a little gas there.
1889. Globe, 31 Oct., p. 4, c. 4. It went on to state that the
petitioner’s talk about a divorce was all gas, and made a further
appointment.
Verb. (common).—1. To talk idly; to brag; to bounce; to talk for
talking’s sake. Fr., faire son cheval de corbillard (in American ‘to be
on the tall grass.’) See Long Bow.
1872. Lond. Figaro, 14 Dec. There is no good to be got out of
gassing about rallying around standards, uniting as one man to
resist, etc.
1875. ‘American English’ in Chambers’ Jour., 25 Sept., p. 610. To
gas is to talk only for the purpose of prolonging a debate.
1885. Society, 7 Feb., p. 7. Agitators and place-seekers may gas as
much as they please, but they cannot make black appear white.
2. (common).—To impose on by ‘gas’; to pill (q.v.); to splash (q.v.).
For synonyms, see Gammon.
To take the gas out of one, verb. phr. (common).—To take the conceit
out of; to take down a peg.
To turn on the gas, verb. phr. (common).—To begin bouncing; also to Gas
(q.v.).
To turn off the gas, verb. phr. (common).—To cease, or cause to cease,
from bouncing, vapouring, or Gas (q.v.).
To gas round, verb. phr. (common).—To seek information on the sly; also
to Gas (q.v.).
Gas-Bag, subs. (common).—A man of words or gas (q.v.); a gasconader.
Also gasometer. For synonyms, see Mouth Almighty.
1889. Referee, 6 Jan. That great gas-bag of modern days.
Gash, subs. (American).—1. The mouth. For synonyms, see potato-trap.
1878. H. B. Stowe, Poganuc People, ch. xiv., p. 122. Ef Zeph
Higgins would jest shet up his gash in town-meetin’, that air
school-house could be moved fast enough.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Gashly, adj. (common).—A vulgarism for ghastly.
Gaskins, subs. (old).—Wide hose; wide breeches. [From Galligaskins.
Johnson says, ‘an old ludicrous word.’]
Gasp, subs. (common).—A dram of spirits. For synonyms, see Go.
Verb. (common).—To drink a dram, e.g., ‘Will you gasp?’ = Will you take
something neat.
Gaspipe, subs. (nautical).—1. An iron steamer, whose length is nine or
ten times her beam. [At one time a ship’s length but rarely exceeded
four and a half to five times the beam.]
2. (printers’).—Bad rollers.
3. (common).—A rifle; specifically the Snider.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 9 July, p. 5, col. 7. The old Snider—the
despair-breeding gas-pipe of our Volunteers—continues to be used in
many of the competitions.
Gaspipe-crawler, subs. phr. (common).—A thin man. Cf., Lamp-post.
Gasser, subs. (common).—A braggart. For synonyms, see Mouth Almighty.
Gassy (or Gaseous), adj. (common).—1. Likely to take umbrage or to
flare-up.
1863. North American Review, cxliii., p. 220. Gassy politicians in
Congress.
2. (colloquial).—Full of empty talk or gas (q.v.).
1872. Whitney, Life and Growth of Lang., p. 17. As when we call an
empty and sophistical but ready talker gassy.
Gaster, subs. (nonce-word).—A fine and curious eater (Thackeray). In
Rabelais = the belly and the needs thereof: a coinage adopted by
Urquhart.
Gat, subs. (schoolboys’).—A quantity; e.g., a gat of grub = plenty to
eat. Also gats.
1803. Every-day Life in our Public Schools. They are called up in
gats of three at a time.
Gate, subs. (colloquial).—1. The attendance at a race or athletic
meeting, held in enclosed grounds; the number of persons who pass the
gate.
1883. Sportsman, 20 Dec. The Birmingham man, on account of the
large gate that would be secured, wanted the affair to be brought
off in that town, whereas Regan favoured Wolverhampton.
2. Money paid for admission to athletic sports, race course, etc.; the
same as gate-money (q.v.).
1891. Telegraph, 21 Mar. The leading clubs are now commercial
corporations, dependent for revenue on the gates at the matches.
3. in. pl. (University).—The being forbidden to pass outside the gate
of a college. See verb, sense 1.
18(?). Bradley, Tales of College Life, p. 19. That’s the ticket;
that will just land me in time for gates.
1881. Lang, xxxii Ballades, ‘Of Midsummer Term.’ When freshmen are
careless of gates.
Verb. (University).—To confine wholly or during certain hours within
the college gate for some infraction of discipline.
1835. The Snobiad (Whibley, Cap and Gown, p. 141). Two proctors
kindly holding either arm Staunch the dark blood and gate him for
the term.
1853. Bradley, Verd. Green, I., ch. xii. He won’t hurt you much,
Giglamps! Gate and chapel you!
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xii. Now you’ll both be
gated probably, and the whole crew will be thrown out of gear.
1865. Cornhill Mag., p. 227. He is requested to confine himself to
college after a specified hour, which is familiarly termed being
gated.
1870. Morning Advertiser, 23 May. The two least culpable of the
party have been gated.
The gate, subs. phr. (various).—Among fishmongers, Billingsgate; among
thieves, Newgate. Cf., Lane, Row, Garden, etc.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. i., p. 5. The ‘steel,’ a
slang name of the large metropolitan prisons, as the gate is for
Newgate.
To break gates, verb. phr.—(University).—To stay out of college after
hours.
To be at Gates, verb. phr. (Winchester College).—To assemble in Seventh
Chamber passage, preparatory to going to Hills or Cathedral.
1870. Mansfield, School Life, p. 149. Soon after morning chapel on
a holiday or a remedy all the boys assembled at gates.
On the gate, adv. phr. (thieves’).—On remand.
Gate-Bill, subs. (University).—The record of an undergraduate’s failure
to be within the precincts of his college at, or before, a specified
time at night.
1803. Gradus ad Cant., p. 128. To avoid gate-bills he will be out
at night as late as he pleases ... climb over the college wall, and
fee his gyp well.
Gate-money, subs. (colloquial).—The charge for admission to a
race-meeting. See Gate, subs., sense 1.
1885. Daily News, 25 May, p. 3, c. 2. The truth of the matter is,
that so far as sport goes, open meetings like those at Bath and
Salisbury cannot stand up against gate-money meetings such as
Manchester.
1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. The comfort that is brought home at
our great gate-money meetings gatherings to every visitor.
Gate-of-Horn, subs. phr. (venery). The female pudendum. Cf., Horn, and
for synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Gate-of-Life, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. Also Gate-of-Horn.
For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Gater, subs. (Winchester College).—A plunge head foremost into a pot
(q.v.).
Gate-race (or -meeting), subs. (sporting).—Formerly, a contest not got
up for sport but entrance money; now a race or athletic meeting to
which admission is by payment.
1881. Daily News, 14 July. Few of these athletics care to compete
at gate-meetings.
Gath, subs. (colloquial).—A city or district in Philistia (q.v.); often
used, like Askelon (q.v.) for Philistia itself. Hence, to be mighty in
gath = to be a Philistine (q.v.) of the first magnitude; to prevail
against gath = to smite the Philistines hip and thigh, as becomes a
valiant companion of the Davidsbund; and so forth.
Tell it not in Gath, verb. phr. (colloquial).—An interjection of
derision, signifying that the person exclaimed against has done
something the knowledge of which would bring on him the wrath, or the
amazement, of his friends.
Gather. To gather up, verb. phr. (American).—To lead away.
1847. Chronicles of Pineville, p. 182. ‘Gather him up, boys,’ said
the judge, ‘the sentence of the law must be executed.’
To gather the taxes, verb. phr. (tailor’s).—To go from workshop to
workshop seeking employment. Hence, Tax-gatherer = a man out of work
and looking for a job. Cf., Inspector of public buildings.
Out of gathers, adv. phr. (colloquial).—In distress. Cf., Out at
elbows.
Gatherings. See Gags.
Gatter, subs. (common).—Beer; also liquor generally. Shant of gatter =
a pot of beer. Fr., la moussante. For synonyms, see Drinks.
1818. Maginn, Vidocq Versified. Lots of gatter, says she, is
flowing. Lend me a lift in the family way.
1841. Punch, I., p. 243, Gatter is but threepence a pot, and that’s
the price of a reasonable ’pike ticket.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. i., p. 232.
They have a ‘shant of gatter’ (pot of beer) at the nearest
‘boozing-ken’ (alehouse).
Gaudeamus, subs. (colloquial).—A feast; a drinking bout; any sort of
merry-making. [German students’, but now general and popular.] From the
first word of the mediæval (students’) ditty. For synonyms, see
Jamboree.
Gaudy (or Gaudy-day), subs. (common).—A feast or entertainment:
specifically the annual dinner of the fellows of a college in memory of
founders or benefactors; or a festival of the Inns of Court. (Lat.
gaudere = to rejoice.)
1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Gaudy days, college or Inns of Court
festivals.
1754. B. Martin, Eng. Dict., 2nd ed. Gaudies, double commons, such
as they have on gaudy or grand days in colleges.
1760. Foote, Minor, Act i. Dine at twelve, and regale, upon a gaudy
day, with buns and beer at Islington.
1803. Gradus ad Cantab., p. 122. Cut lectures ... give gaudies and
spreads.
1820. Lamb, Elia (Oxford in the Vacation). Methought I a little
grudged at the coalition of the better Jude with Simon—clubbing (as
it were) their sanctities together, to make up one poor gaudy-day
between them.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxiii. We had a carouse to your
honour ... we fought, too, to finish off the gaudy.
1878. Besant and Rice, By Celia’s Arbour, ch. xxxiii. Champagne ...
goes equally well with a simple luncheon of cold chicken, and with
the most elaborate gaudy.
Adj. (colloquial).—Good; frolicsome; festive. Cf., Shakspeare’s ‘Let’s
have one other gaudy night.’—Ant. and Cleo., iii, 13.
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 176. ‘Yes,’ answered
the trainer, slowly, ‘he’s right enough; but a Leger’s a Leger, and
I don’t think they are likely to give him a very gaudy chance.’
Neat but not gaudy, as the devil said when he painted his bottom pink,
and tied up his tail with pea-green, phr. (common).—A locution used to
ancient ladies dressed in flaming colours.
Gauge. See Gage.
To get the gauge of, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To divine an intention;
to read a character; to size, (or reckon) up (q.v.). Hence, That’s
about the gauge of it = That’s a fair description.
Gauley. See by golly.
Gawf, subs. (costers’).—A red-skinned apple.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., i., 63. A cheap red-skinned fruit,
known to costers as gawfs, is rubbed hard, to look bright and feel
soft, and is mixed with apples of a superior description. Gawfs are
sweet and sour at once, I was told, and fit for nothing but mixing.
Gawk, subs. (colloquial).—A simpleton, especially an awkward one,
whether male or female. For synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head.
[Scots Gowk = a cuckoo; a fool; whence, to gowk = to, play the fool. As
in the ‘Derision of Wanton Women’ (Bannatyne, MS., 1567), ‘To gar them
ga in gucking’ = to make them play the fool.]
1837. H. Martineau, Soc. in America, i., 299. They proved such
gawks that they were unable to learn.
1882. McCabe, New York, p. 217. I wasn’t half as awkward as some of
the gawks about me.
1887. H. Frederic, Seth’s Brother’s Wife, ch. iv. Girls brought up
to be awkward gawks, without a chance in life.
Verb. (colloquial).—To loiter round; to play the goat. [The same verb
is used by Jonson (Magnetic Lady, iii., 4, 1632) in the sense of
amazed, or bamboozled, i.e., absolutely befooled: Nay, look how the man
stands, as he were gowked!]
1888. F. R. Stockton, Rudder Grange, ch. xvi. That afternoon we
gawked around, a-lookin’ at all the outside shows, for Jone said
he’d have to be pretty careful of his money now.
Gawkiness, subs. (colloquial).—Awkwardness; silliness; greenness
(q.v.).
1873. Miss Broughton, Nancy, ch. xxxvii. The crude gawkiness of the
raw girl he has drifted into marrying.
Gawking, subs. (colloquial).—Loitering and staring; gathering hayseed
(q.v.).
Gawky, subs. (colloquial).—An awkward booby; a fool. ‘Now squire gawky’
= a challenge to a clumsy lout. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
1686–1758. Ramsay, Poems, ii., 299. Or, gentle born ye be; but
youths in love you’re but a gawky.
1777. Sheridan, School for Scandal, Act ii., Sc. 2. Crab. Yes, and
she is a curious being to pretend to be censorious—an awkward
gawky, without any one good point under heaven.
1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, ii., ch. 18. Great, long, slab-sided
gawkys from the country.
1878. C. H. Wall, tr. Molière, ii., 197. Our big gawky of a
viscount.
Adj. (colloquial).—Lanky; awkward; stupid.
1759. Townley, High Life Below Stairs, i., 1. Under the form of a
gawky country boy I will be an eye-witness of my servants’
behaviour.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xlviii. Even for his cousin Samuel
Newcome, a gawky youth with an eruptive countenance, Barnes had
appropriate words of conversation.
Gawney (or Goney), subs. (common).—A fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
Gay, adj. (colloquial).—1. Dissipated; specifically, given to venery:
As in the French, avoir la cuisse gaie = to be addicted to the use of
men. Hence gay woman, or girl, or bit = a strumpet; gay house = a
brothel; to be gay = to be incontinent; gay in the legs, in the groin,
in the arse = short-heeled (q.v.); gaying instrument = the penis
[Lexicon Balatronicum, 1811, s.v.]; gay man = a wencher; gay ladie
(old) = a mistress; gaying it = copulating.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 3767. What eyeleth you? Some gay
girl, God it wot, Hath brough you thus upon the very trot.
1754. Adventurer, No. 124. The old gentleman, whose character I
cannot better express than in the fashionable phrase which has been
contrived to palliate false principles and dissolute manners, had
been a gay man, and was well acquainted with the town.
1854. Leech, Pictures of Life and Character. How long have you been
gay?
1857. J. E. Ritchie, Night Side of London, p. 40. Here in
Catherine-street vice is a monster of a hideous mien. The gay
women, as they are termed, are worse off than American slaves.
1868. Sunday Times, 19 July. As soon as ever a woman has ostensibly
lost her reputation, we, with a grim inappositeness, call her gay.
2. (common).—In drink. For synonyms, see Screwed.
All Gay (or All so Gay). adv. phr. (common).—All right; first-rate; all
serene (q.v.).
To feel gay. verb. phr. (colloquial).—Inclined for sport, venereal or
other; To feel naughty (q.v.).
Gay Tyke Boy, subs. phr. (old).—A dog fancier.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.
Gazebo, subs. (old).—A summer-house commanding an extensive view.
[Dog-Latin, gazebo = I will gaze.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Geach, subs. (thieves’).—A thief. For synonyms, see Thieves.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 56. He was a tolerable geach.
Verb. (thieves’).—To steal. For synonyms, see Prig.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 73. A small dross scout ... which I knew
had been geached.
Gear, subs. (venery).—1. The private parts, both male and female.
[‘Geere, besognes; aussi les parties honteuses’ (Robert Sherwood’s
Dictionarie, English and French, appended to Cotgrave, 1660).
‘Besongner ... also to do or leacher with’ (Cotgrave). Anglo-Saxon:
gearwe (strong feminine plural) ornaments. Skeat says original sense of
gear was ‘preparation.’]
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, Mozza, a wench, a lasse, a girle.
Also a woman’s geare or cunnie.
1620. Percy, Folio MSS. ‘Ffryar and Boye.’ I sweare, by night nor
day thy geare is not to borrow.
1659. Torriano, Vocabulario, s.v.
2. (obsolete).—Work, business (q.v.). Thus: Here’s goodly gear = Here’s
fine doings; Here’s a pretty kettle of fish. As in Romeo and Juliet
(ii., 2, 106).
Gee, subs. (colloquial).—See Gee-gee.
Verb. (colloquial).—1. To go or turn to the off-side; used as a
direction to horses. Cf.: It.: gio = Get on!
1480. Dialogus Creaturum. Et cum sic gloriaretur, et cogitaret cum
quanta gloria duceretur ad illum virum super equum, dicendo, ‘Gio!
Gio!’ cepit pede percutere terram quasi pungeret equum calcaribus.
2. (colloquial).—To move faster: as a teemster to his horses, ‘Gee up!’
1824. Blackwood’s Mag., Oct. Mr. Babb ge-hupped in vain, and strove
to jerk the rein, Nobbs felt he had his option to work or play.
3. (colloquial).—To stop: as ‘Gee whoa!’
To gee with, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To agree with; to fit; to be
congenial; to go on all fours with; to do.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, Gears, s.v. ... It won’t gee,
it won’t hit or go.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. gee, it won’t gee, it won’t hit or do,
it does not suit or fit.
1850. Seaworthy, Nag’s Head, ch. v., p. 35. It don’t seem to Gee!
said Isaac, as he was trying to adjust the stove.
1888. Missouri Repub., 8 April. He and Mrs. Barnay did not gee.
Gee-gee (or Gee).—subs. (common).—1. A horse. See Gee, verb. in all
senses. For synonyms, see Prad.
1888. Referee, 15 April, 1/2. In nearly all other races they see
most of the gees do a canter on their way up the course.
1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 14 April. He knows as much about gee-gee’s as
a professional trainer.
1890. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 8 Feb. The gees were all broken to the
stable.
2. (colloquial).—The nickname among journalists (of the interviewer,
type) of Mr. G(eorge) G(rossmith), better known, perhaps, as the
Society Clown.
Gee-gee Dodge, subs. phr. (trade).—Selling horseflesh for beef.
1884. Greenwood, Veiled Mysteries. The gee-gee dodge ... was seldom
or ever practised ... it was impossible ... to bargain for a
regular supply.
Geekie, subs. (Scots thieves’).—A police-station.
Geeloot. See Galoot.
Geese, All his geese are swans, phr. (colloquial).—He habitually
exaggerates, or embroiders (q.v.); or, He is always wrong in his
estimates of persons and things.
The old woman’s picking her geese (proverbial).—Said of a snowstorm.
[The other leg of the couplet (schoolboys’) runs: ‘And selling the
feathers a penny a piece.’]
Like geese on a common (colloquial).—Wandering in a body, aggressive
and at large: e.g., as faddists (q.v.) in pursuit of a fad; or members
of Parliament in recess, when both sides go about to say the thing
which is in them.
Geewhilikens! intj. (Western American).—An exclamation of surprise;
also jeewhilikens.
1888. Detroit Free Press. It is on time? No? Three hours late?
Geewhilikens!
Geezer, subs. (popular).—An appellation, sometimes, but not
necessarily, of derision and contempt; applied to both sexes, but
generally to women. Usually, old geezer. For synonyms, see Witch.
1885. Truth about the Stage, p. 16. If we wake up the old geezers
we shall get notice to quit without compensation.
1886. Broadside Ballad, ‘Her Mother’s Got the Hump.’ This
frizzle-headed old geezer had a chin on her as rough—well, as rough
as her family, and they’re rough ’uns.
1890. A. Chevalier, ‘Knocked ’Em in the Old Kent Road.’ Nice old
geezer with a nasty cough.
1892. Anstey, Voces Populi, p. 82. Our old geeser’s perdoocin’ the
custimary amount o’ sensation.
Gelding, subs. (old).—A eunuch.
1380. Wycliffe, Trans. of the Bible, Acts viii. 39. ... the spirit
of the Lord ravysched Filip, and the geldynge say him no more.
1659. Torriano, Vocabolario, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
to enter for the geldings’ stakes, verb. phr. (old).—To castrate a man;
also used to describe a eunuch.
Gelt, subs. (old).—Money; gilt (q.v.). Also gelter.—(Duncombe, 1848).
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. There is no gelt to be
got, Trading is very dull.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Gemini! (or Geminy! or Jiminy!) intj. (common).—An exclamation of
surprise; a mild oath. [Generally referred to the Lat.: Gemini = the
Twins (i.e., Castor and Pollux, the objects of an old Roman oath); but
Palmer (Folk Etymology), traces the interjection to the German, O
Gemine!; Dutch, Jemy Jemini!; both abbreviated from the Latin, O Jesu
Domine!; or merely from Jesu meus!; Italian, Giesu mio! It seems to
have come in at the Restoration.] Also O Jimminy!; O Jimminy Figs!; O
Jimminy Gig! etc.: for the phrase has pleased the cockney mind, and
been vulgarised accordingly.
1672. Dryden, The Assignation, Act ii., Sc. 3. Ben. O gemini! is it
you, sir?
1704. Steele, Lying Lover, Act iv., Sc. 3. Sim. I stay with you? Oh
gemini! Indeed, I can’t.
1731. Fielding, The Lottery, Sc. 2. Lord Lace! Oh gemini! who’s
that?
1780. Mrs. Cowley, The Belle’s Stratagem, iv., 2. Oh gemini! beg
the petticoat’s pardon.
1797. M. G. Lewis, Castle Spectre, iii., 3. Oh gemini! what would
he use with me, lady?
1798. Morton, Secrets Worth Knowing, i., 1. A parcel of lazy chaps,
I dare say—but I’ll make them stir their stumps. Well, here we are
at last.—Oh gemini gig how my poor bones do ache!
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. i. ‘Gemini! what is that
now?’ quoth Tip again.
1863. Reade, Hard Cash, I., 125. O, jiminy! This polite ejaculation
was drawn out by the speaker’s sudden recognition of Alfred.
Gemman, subs. (vulgar).—A contraction of gentleman.
1550. Docteur Double-All (the word occurs in this play).
c. 1551. L. Shepherd, John Bon in Arber’s Garner, iv., 107. Ye be
the jolliest gemman that I ever saw in my life.
1767. Colman, Oxonian in Town, I., i. I am glad to see your
honour’s well. I hope you left all the gemmin well at Oxford.
1818. Byron, Beppo, st. 86. At home our Bow-street gemmen keep the
laws.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. iii., ch. v. ... but knock down a
gemman.
1851. Borrow, Lavengro, ch. 26. Here the gipsy gemman see.
Gen, subs. (costers’).—A shilling. Back slang, but cf. Fr., argent. For
synonyms, see Blow.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. i., p. 19. I’ll
try you a gen (shilling) said a coster.
1887. Saturday Review, 14 May, p. 700. The difficulty of inverting
the word shilling accounts for ‘generalize.’ from which the
abbreviation to gen is natural as well as affectionate.
Gender, verb. (old).—To copulate. [An abbreviation of Engender.] For
synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
1602. Shakspeare, Othello, iv., 2. A cistern for foul toads To knot
and gender in.
1659. Torriano, Vocabolario, s.v.
1778. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1816. Johnson, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1892. Bible, Lev. xix., 19. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender
with a diverse kind.
Feminine Gender, subs. phr. (schoolboys’).—The female pudendum. [As in
the old (schoolboys’) rhyme: Amo, amas, I loved a lass, And she was
tall and slender, Amas, amat, I laid her flat, And tickled her feminine
gender. Quoted (with modifications) by Marryat in Jacob Faithful,
1835.]
Generalize, subs. (costers’). A shilling. See Gen.
Generating Place, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum.
Generation Tool, subs. phr. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see
Creamstick and Prick.
Geneva Print, subs. phr. (old).—Gin. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Satin.
1584–1640. Massinger (quoted in Slang, Jargon, and Cant). And if
you meet an Officer preaching of sobriety, Unless he read it in
Geneva Print, Lay him by the heels.
Gen-net, subs. phr. (back slang).—Ten shillings.
Gennitraf, subs. (back slang).—A farthing.
Genol, adj. (back slang).—Long.
Gent, subs. (once literary: now vulgar).—1. A showily-dressed
vulgarian. [A contraction of ‘gentleman.’]
1635. [Glapthorne], Lady Mother, in Bullen’s Old Plays, ii., 114.
Hees not a gent that cannot parlee. I must invent some new and
polite phrases.
1785. Burns, Epistle to J. Lapraite, st. 11. Do ye envy the city
gent, Behint a kist to lie and sklent?
1843. Thackeray, Irish Sketch Book, ch. viii. The crowd of
swaggering gents (I don’t know the corresponding phrase in the
Anglo-Irish vocabulary to express a shabby dandy), awaiting the
Cork mail.
1844. Disraeli, Coningsby, bk. IV., ch. ii. ‘Ah, not in business!
Hem! professional?’ ‘No,’ said Coningsby, ‘I am nothing.’—‘Ah! an
independent gent; hem! and a very pleasant thing too.’
1846. Sunday Paper, 24 May. Mr. Rawlinson (Magistrate at Marylebone
Police Court). What do you mean by gent? There is no such word in
our language. I hold a man who is called a gent to be the greatest
blackguard there is.
1848. Punch, vol. XIV., p. 226. His aversion for a gent is softened
by pity.
1869. Blue Budget. The gent indicates a being who apes the
gentility without the faintest shadow of a claim to it.
2. (Old Cant).—Money. [From Fr., argent.] For synonyms, see Actual and
Gilt.
1864. Revue des Deux Mondes, 15 Sept., p. 470. Les voleurs anglais
disent gent pour ‘argent.’
3. (colloquial).—A sweetheart, a mistress: e.g., My gent = my
particular friend.
Adj. (old literary).—Elegant; comely; genteel.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales. ‘Miller’s Tale.’ [Skeat, 1878, i.,
194]. As any wesil her body gent and small.
1553–99. Spenser. He loved as was his lot, a lady gent. Idem. A
knight had wrought against a lady gent.
1704. Mad. Knight’s Jour., p. 44. Law you, sais she, it’s right
gent, do you take it—’tis dreadfull pretty.
Gentile, subs. (colloquial). Any sort of stranger, native or foreign;
among the Mormons, any person not professing the Gospel according to
Joe Smith. Hence, In the Land of the Gentiles = (1) in foreign parts;
and (2) in strange neighbourhoods or alien society.
Gentle, subs. (anglers’).—A maggot; vulgarly, Gentile.
1811. Songs of the Chase. ‘The Jolly Anglers.’ We have gentles in
our horns.
Gentle Craft, subs. (old).—1. The trade of shoemaking. [From the
romance of Prince Crispin, who is said to have made shoes.]
1662. Rump Songs. ‘A Hymn to the Gentle Craft,’ etc., ii. 152.
Crispin and he were nere akin: The gentle craft hath a noble kin.
2. (anglers’).—Angling.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 65. Sez I, gentle craft, said I.
Gentleman, subs. (thieves’).—A crowbar. For synonyms, see jemmy.
To put a churl (or beggar) upon a gentleman, verb. phr. (old).—To drink
malt liquor immediately after wine.—Grose.
Gentleman of the (Three, or Four, or Five) Outs (or Ins), subs. phr.
(old).—A varying and ancient wheeze, of which the following are
representative:—
Out of money, and out of clothes; Out at the heels, and out at the
toes; Out of credit, and in debt.
A man in debt, in danger, and in poverty; or in gaol, indicted, and
in danger of being hanged.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. iv. Paul became a gentleman of
three outs—out of pocket, out of elbows, and out of credit.
1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, Bk. III., ch. v. Jerry Juniper was
what the classical Captain Grose would designate a gentleman with
three outs, and, although he was not entirely without wit, nor his
associates avouched, without money, nor certainly, in his own
opinion, had that been asked, without manners.
Gentleman of the Back (or Backdoor), subs. (old).—A sodomist. For
synonyms, see Usher.
Gentleman of fortune, subs. phr. (common).—An adventurer.
1890. R. L. Stevenson, Treasure Island, p. 149. ‘Why, in a place
like this, where nobody puts in but gentlemen of fortune, Silver
would fly the jolly roger, you don’t make no doubt of that.’
Gentleman of Observation, subs. phr. (turf).—A tout.
Gentleman of the Round, subs. phr. (old).—An invalided or disabled
soldier, making his living by begging.
1596. Jonson, Every Man in, etc., 2. Your decaied, ruinous,
worme-eaten gentlemen of the round.
Gentleman of the Short Staff, subs. phr. (old).—A constable.
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (1889), p. 12. In the language of
the gentleman of the short staff an important caption could be
effected.
Gentleman of the Fist, subs. phr. (pugilists’).—A prize-fighter.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 44. Furnish such gentlemen of the fist.
Gentleman in Brown, subs. phr. (common).—A bed bug. For synonyms, see
Norfolk Howard.
1885. G. A. Sala in Daily Telegraph, 14 Aug., 5/3. Bed bugs, the
convertible term for which is ‘chintzes,’ are the disagreeable
insects known in modern polite English as ‘Norfolk Howards,’ or
gentlemen in brown.
The Little Gentleman in Brown Velvet, subs. phr. (obsolete).—A mole.
[The Tory toast after the death of William III., whose horse was said
to have stumbled over a mole-hill.]
Gentleman of the Green Baize Road, subs. phr. (gamesters’).—A card
sharper.
Gentleman Commoner, subs. phr. (University).—1. A privileged class of
commoners at Oxford, wearing a special cut of gown and a velvet cap.
2. (common).—An empty bottle. Also fellow-commoner (q.v.). [A sarcastic
allusion to the mental capacity of this class of student.] For
synonyms, see Dead-man.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gentleman-ranker, subs. (military).—A broken gentleman serving in the
ranks.
1892. Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads. ‘Gentlemen Rankers.’
Gentleman-rankers out on the spree, Damned from here to eternity,
God ha’ mercy on such as we, Baa! Yah! Bah!
Gentleman’s Companion, subs. phr. (common).—A louse. For synonyms, see
Chates.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gentleman’s Master, subs. phr. (old).—A highwayman.—Grose.
Gentleman’s (or Ladies’) Piece, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A small or
delicate portion; a tit-bit.
Gentleman’s Pleasure-garden, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum.
For synonyms, see Monosyllable. [Hence, Gentleman’s Pleasure-Garden
Padlock = menstrual cloth.]
Gentlemen’s Sons, subs. phr. (common).—The three regiments of Guards.
Gently! intj. (stables’ and colloquial).—An interjection = stand still
(q.v.); hence, colloquially, = don’t get into a passion, go slow
(q.v.).
Gentry Cove (or Cofe), subs. (old cant).—A gentleman; a nib-cove
(q.v.). Fr., un messire de la haute.
1567. Harman, Caveat, s.v.
1656. Brome, Joviall Crew, Act ii. For all this bene Cribbing and
Peck let us then, Bowse a health to the gentry cofe of the Ken.
1654. Witts’ Recreations. As priest of the game, And prelate of the
same. There’s a gentry cove here.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. Tour the bien mort twiring the
gentry cove.
1837. Disraeli, Venetia, p. 71. The gentry cove will be ramboyled
by his dam.
Gentry Cove’s Ken (or Gentry-Ken), subs. phr. (Old Cant).—A gentleman’s
house.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65. A gentry cofe’s ken, a noble or
gentleman’s house. A gentry cofe, a noble or gentle man.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Gentry cove’s ken, a gentleman’s house.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gentry Mort, subs. phr. (old cant).—A lady.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65. A gentry mort, a noble or
gentle woman.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Gentry mort, a gentlewoman.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Genuine, subs. (Winchester College).—Praise.
Adj. (colloquial).—Trustworthy; not false nor double-faced.
Verb. (Winchester College).—To praise. ‘He was awfully quilled and
genuined my task.’ [Probably from calling a thing genuine. Cf., to
blackguard, to lord, etc. But fifty years ago it was a subs.
only.—Notions.]
Geordie, subs. (North Country).—1. A pitman; also, a Northumbrian in
general.
2. (nautical).—A North Country collier.
3. See George.
George (or Scots’ diminutive Geordie), subs. (old). 1.—A half crown.
Also (obsolete), the noble = 6s. 8d., temp., Henry VIII.
1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia, List of cant words. george,
half-a-crown.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew. He tipt me Forty Georges for
my earnest, He paid me Five Pounds for my Share or Snack.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (old).—A guinea; also more frequently Yellow George.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1787. Burns, The Twa Dogs. The yellow-lettered Geordie keeks.
3. (old).—A penny.
1820. Reynolds, The Fancy, Glossary. A Penny-piece—a georgy.
Brown George.—See Ante.
By Fore, or By George.—See By George.
George Horne, intj. (printers’).—A derisive retort on a piece of stale
news. Also G. H.! [From a romancing compositor of the name.]
Georgy-Porgy, verb (colloquial).—To pet; to fondle; to beslobber.
1883. R. L. Stevenson, The Treasure of Franchard, ch. iii., in
Longman’s Magazine, April, p. 685. He must be spoken to with more
respect, I tell you; he must not be kissed and georgy-porgy’d like
an ordinary child.
German. The German, subs. phr. (New York).—A round dance.
German Duck, subs. phr. (obsolete).—1. Half a sheep’s head, stewed with
onions.—Grose.
2. (common).—A bed bug. For synonyms, see Norfolk Howard.
German Flutes, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A pair of boots.
Germantowner, subs. (American billiards’).—A pushing shot—when the
balls played with, and at, are jarred together. Cf., Whitechapeller.
Gerry, subs. (Old Cant).—Excrement.
1567. Harman, Caveat, s.v.
Gerry Gan, intj. (Old Cant).—A retort forcible. Stow it! (q.v.). [From
Gerry = excrement + Gan = mouth, i.e., literally, Shit in your mouth.]
The common form is: Shit (or a turd) in your teeth; as in Ben Jonson,
Bartholomew Fair, 1614. Fr., Tais ta gueule ou j’te chie dedans.
1567. Harman, Caveat. Gerry gan, the ruffian cly thee.
Gerrymander (pronounced with the ‘g’ hard, as in ‘get’), verb.
(political American).—To arrange the electoral subdivisions of a State
to the profit and advantage of a particular party.
[The term, says Norton, is derived from the name of Governor Gerry,
of Massachusetts, who, in 1811, signed a Bill readjusting the
representative districts so as to favour the Democrats and weaken
the Federalists, although the last-named party polled nearly
two-thirds of the votes cast. A fancied resemblance of a map of the
districts thus treated led Stuart, the painter, to add a few lines
with his pencil, and say to Mr. Russell, editor of the Boston
Sentinel. ‘That will do for a Salamander.’ Russell glanced at it:
‘Salamander,’ said he, ‘call it a Gerrymander!’ The epithet took at
once, and became a Federalist war-cry, the caricature being
published as a campaign document.]
1871. Boston Daily Advertiser, 6 Dec. Gerrimander was the name
printed under a picture of a pretended monster, whose shape was
modified from the distorted geography which Mr. Gerry’s friends
inflicted on part of the State for the sake of economizing,
majorities.
Gerrymandering, subs. (political American). See Gerrymander.
1872. New York Sunday Mercury, 31 March. The Legislature of Ohio
intends to prove itself a veritable master in the gerrymandering
business.
1890. Athenæum, 22 Feb. p. 238, c. 1. Whatever faults can be found
with Sir John’s administration, it has been good and successful
enough to afford excuse for all the gerrymandering with which he is
charged by his critics.
1891. Belfort’s Mag., Aug., p. 439. The Democrats of Michigan have
carried the art of gerrymandering to such an extent that they have
thoroughly disgusted their opponents.
Gerund-Grinder, subs. (common).—A schoolmaster, especially a pedant.
Also Gerund-Grinding.
1759–67. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, iv., 112. Tutors, governors,
gerund-grinders, and bear-leaders.
1788. Knox, Winter Evenings, 59. A pedant, a mere plodder, a petty
tyrant, a gerund-grinder.
1825–7. Hone, Every Day Book, II., p. 33. Gerund-Grinding and
parsing are usually prepared for at the last moment.
Get, subs. (old).—1. A cheating contrivance; a Have (q.v.).
2. (old).—A child; the result, that is, of an act of procreation or
begetting. Thus, one of his gets = one of his making; whose get is
that? = Who’s the father? It’s his get, anyhow = At all events he got
it.
1570. Scottish Text Society, Satirical Poems, I., 171, ‘Treason of
Dumbarton’ (1891). Ganelon’s gets, relicts of Sinon’s seed.
d. 1798. Burns, Merry Muses. ‘For a’ that.’ O’ bastard getts some
had a score, An’ some had mair than a’ that.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 41. This, again, is unusual for a
Chester, as his get are generally quiet and docile, but a bit lazy.
Get! (or You Get!) intj. (American).—Short for Get out! Usually, Git!
(q.v.).
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 176. None of your
damned impertinence. Get!
To get at, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To quiz; to banter; to
aggravate; to take a rise out of. Also To get back at.
1891. Sloper’s Half Holiday, 3 Jan. ‘Your family don’t seem to get
on, missie.’ ‘On!’ replied the child, with dignity flashing from
her great blue eyes; ‘on! I’ve got a father on the booze, a sister
on the music ’all, an’ a brother on the treadmill. On! who’re ye
gettin’ at?’
2. (racing and colloquial).—To influence; to bribe; to nobble (of
horses), and to corrupt (of persons); applied to horse, owner, trainer,
jockey, and vet. alike.
1870. Spectator, 23 April. That, of course, makes it profitable for
owners to withdraw horses they have secretly betted against, and
for scoundrels to get at horses.
1871. Saturday Review, 9 Sept. It is quite clear that some of the
foreign working men have been got at.
1883. Graphic, 17 March, p. 262, c. 2. The House of Commons ... can
also be trusted to decide in local questions without any suspicion
of being got at, as is sometimes the case elsewhere.
1883. Badminton Library, Steeplechasing, p. 404. Suspicions that
the mare had been got at, that is to say, drugged, were afterwards
noised abroad.
1888. Daily Telegraph, 17 Nov. It was strongly suspected that he
had been got at.
1890. Globe, 11 Aug., p. 1, c. 1. Fancy the professional agitator
trying to get at such men as these—men who gloried in being
soldiers and nothing else!
1892. Pall Mall Gazette, May 10, p. 3, c. 3. The scoundrels (verily
of the lowest form) who have tried to get at Orme.
1892. National Observer, vii. 630. If the horse were got at, then a
bookie who stood heavily to lose is probably assumed.
To get about, verb. phr. (venery).—To do the act of intromission. For
synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
To get back at, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To satirise; to call to
account.
1888. Daily Inter-Ocean. The newspapers are getting back at Sam.
Get back into your box! phr. (American).—An injunction to silence; stow
it! (q.v. for synonyms).
To get encored, verb. phr. (tailors’).—To have a job returned for
alterations.
To get even with, verb. phr. (common).—To take one’s revenge; to give
tit for tat.
To get it, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be punished (morally or
physically); to be called over the coals. Also (venery) to catch a
clap.
To get off, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To (1) escape punishment, to be
let off; (2) to utter, to deliver oneself of, to perpetrate—as to get
off a joke; and (3) to get married.
To get on, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To back a horse; to put a bit on
(q.v.).
2. (colloquial).—To succeed; or, simply, to fare. Thus, How are you
getting on? may signify (1) To what extent are you prospering? or (2)
How are you doing?
1871. Pall Mall Gaz., 29 Dec. That great Anglo-Saxon passion of
rising in the world, or getting on—that is, rising into the class
above him.
1892. A. W. Pinero, The Times: a Comedy, v. 1. We used to go very
early to such places and stay right through, now that papa has got
on, we arrive late everywhere and murmur an apology!
To get one in the cold, verb. phr. (American).—To have at an advantage;
to be on the windward side (q.v.); to have on toast (q.v.).
To get one on, verb. phr. (pugilists’).—To land a blow.
To get down fine (or close), verb. phr. (American).—To know all about
one’s antecedents; and (police) to know where to find one’s man.
To get into, verb. phr. (venery).—To occupy (q.v.). Also To get in and
To get up. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
1620. Percy, Folio MSS., p. 197. Gett vp againe, Billy, if that
thou louest me.
To get over, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To seduce, to fascinate, to dupe.
Also To come over and To get round.
To get outside of, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To eat or drink; also to
accomplish one’s purpose.
1892. S. Watson, Wops the Waif, p. 9. Tickle urged Wops again and
again to drink, but Wops’s only reply was, ‘Yer go on, Tickle; git
outside the lot, if yer can; it’ll do yer good, Cully.’
2. (venery).—To receive the sexual embrace: of women only.
To get out of bed on the wrong side, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be
testy or cross-grained. [A corruption of an old saying, ‘To rise on the
right side is accounted lucky’; hence the reverse meant trials to
temper, patience, and luck.]
1607. Marston, What You Will. You rise on your right side to-day,
marry.
1608. Machin, Dumb Knight, iv., 1. Sure I said my prayers, ris’d on
my right side, Wash’d hands and eyes, put on my girdle last; Sure I
met no splea-footed baker, No hare did cross me, nor no bearded
witch, Nor other ominous sign.
1614. Terence in English. C. What doth shee keepe house alreadie?
D. Alreadie. C. O good God!; we rose on the right side to-day.
1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, i. Women Pleased. You rose o’ your
right side.
1890. Globe, 15 May, p. 2, col. 2. Some of them had—if we may
employ such a vulgar expression—got out of bed on the wrong side.
To get out (or Round), verb. phr. (racing).—To back a horse against
which one has previously laid; to Hedge (q.v.).
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 318. He had an idea
Johnson was this time cleverly working a very well authorised
commission, and that he personally had taken more than one
opportunity of what is termed getting out.
To get set, verb. phr. (cricketing).—1. To warm to one’s work at the
wicket, and collar the bowling; to get one’s eye well in.
To get there, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To attain one’s object; to be
successful; to make one’s jack (q.v.); to get there with both feet = to
be very successful.
1887. Francis, Saddle and Mocassin. He said as he’d been gambling,
and was two hundred dollars ahead of the town. He got there with
both feet at starting.
1888. New York Herald, 29 July. Although not a delegate he got
there all the same.
2. (common).—To get drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
3. (venery).—To enjoy the sexual favour.
To get through, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To pass an examination; to
accomplish.
1853. Bradley, Verd. Green, II. ch. xii. So you see, Giglamps, I’m
safe to get through.
To get up and dust, verb. phr. (American).—To depart hastily. For
synonyms, see Skedaddle and Amputate.
To get up behind (or get behind) a man, verb. phr. (common).—To endorse
or back a bill.
1880. Life in a Debtor’s Prison, p. 87. In other cases he figured
as the drawer, or simply as endorser. This, Mr. Whipper described
as getting up behind.
To get up the mail, verb. phr. (thieves’).—To find money (as counsels’
fees, etc.) for defence.
1889. Clarkson and Richardson, Police, 322, s.v.
[Get enters into many other combinations. See back teeth; bag or
sack; bead; beans; beat; big bird and goose; big head; billet; bit;
boat; bolt; books; bulge; bullet; bull’s feather; crocketts; dander
and monkey; dark; drop; eye; flannels; flint; game; grand bounce;
gravel-rash; grind; grindstone; hand; hang; hat; head; hip or hop;
home; horn; hot; jack; keen; length of one’s foot; measure; mitten;
needle; religion; rise; run; scot, swot, or scrape; set; shut of;
silk; snuff; straight; sun; ticket of leave; wool; wrong box.]
Getaway, subs. (American thieves’).—A locomotive or train; a puffer
(q.v.).
Getter. A sure getter, subs. phr. (Scots).—A procreant male with a
great capacity for fertilization.
Get-up, subs. (colloquial).—1. Dress; constitution and appearance;
disguise. See Get-up, verb, sense 1.
1856. Whyte Melville, Kate Coventry, ch. xiv. Is that killing get
up entirely for your benefit, John? I asked.
1865. G. A. Sala, Trip to Barbary, ch. x. Altogether the get up of
a Mauresque en promenade is livelier and smarter than that of a
Turkish woman.
1866. G. Eliot, Felix Holt, ch. xii. The graceful, well-appointed
Mr. Christian, who sneered at Scales about his get up, having to
walk back to the house with only one tail to his coat.
1882. Graphic, 9 Dec., p. 643, c. 2. Comic gets up, which will make
the house roar presently, are elaborated with the business air of a
judge in banc, or a water-rate collector.
1889. Mirror, 26 Aug., p. 2, c. 1. I cannot, however, congratulate
F. C. G. on his sketch of Blowitz; it isn’t much like the great
man, and the get up is quite too absurd.
1890. Daily Telegraph, 25 Feb., p. 7. col. 7. Dressed as a
copurchic, and, giving himself out as an Italian count—thinking to
entrap some Transatlantic heiress by his title, fascinating
appearance, and gorgeous get up.
Verb. phr. (colloquial).—(1). To prepare (a part, a paper, a case); (2)
to arrange (a concert); (3) to dress (as got up regardless, to the
nines, to the knocker, to kill, within an inch of one’s life); (4) to
disguise (as a sailor, a soldier, Henry VIII., a butcher, a nun). See
also Get into.
1828. L. Hunt, Essays (Camelot ed.), p. 13. The pocket-books that
now contain any literature are got up, as the phrase is, in the
most unambitious style.
1856. Whyte Melville, Kate Coventry, ch. xviii. Three very
gentleman-like, good-looking men, got up to the utmost extent of
hunting splendour.
1864. Eton School Days, ch. xviii., p. 207. He felt confident in
his power of getting up so that no one would recognise him.
1866. New York Home Journal, Jan. While that admirable old dame,
Nature, has been strangely neglectful of much which might be
conducive to our comfort, she has gotten up, regardless of expense,
a few articles which are good for some purposes, as the witty Hood
has told us.
1871. London Figaro, 11 Mar. It is got up very much in the style of
the Paris journals, and is very inferior compared with any
respectable journal in England.
1889. Polytechnic Magazine, 24 Oct., p. 261. He came specially got
up in piebald trousers.
1892. Chevalier. ‘The Little Nipper.’ I’ve knowed ’im take a girl
on six feet tall; ’E’d git ’imself up dossy, Say ‘I’m goin’ out wi’
Flossie.’
G.H. See George Horne.
Ghastly, adj. and adv. (colloquial).—Very: a popular intensitive; Cf.,
Awful, Bloody, Fucking.
Ghost, subs. (common).—One who secretly does artistic or literary work
for another person taking the credit and receiving the price. [The term
was frequently used during the trial of Lawes v. Belt in 188(?).] Cf.,
devil.
1890. Daily Telegraph, 8 Feb. The sculptor’s ghost is conjured up
from the vasty deep of byegone lawsuits.
1892. National Observer, vii., 327. Would not the unkind describe
your ‘practical man’ as a ghost?
Verb. (common).—To prowl; to spy upon; to shadow (q.v.).
The ghost walks (or does not walk) phr. (theatrical).—There is (or is
not) money in the treasury.
1853. Household Words, No. 183. When no salaries are forthcoming
the ghost doesn’t walk.
1883. Referee, 24 June, p. 3, c. 2. An Actor’s Benevolent Fund box
placed on the treasurer’s desk every day when the ghost walks would
get many an odd shilling or sixpence put into it.
1885. The Stage, p. 112. The rogues seldom appear at a loss for a
plausible story when it is time for the ghost to walk. Ibid. The
next day the ghost declines to walk.
1889. J. C. Colman (in Slang, Jargon, and Cant), p. 405.
Ghost-walking, a term originally applied by an impecunious stroller
in a sharing company to the operation of ‘holding the treasury,’ or
paying the salaries, which has become a stock facetiæ among all
kinds and descriptions of actors. Instead of enquiring whether the
treasury is open, they generally say—‘Has the ghost walked?’ or
‘What, has this thing appeared again?’ (Shakspeare).
1890. Illustrated Bits, 29 Mar., p. 11, c. 1. And a few nights with
empty benches laid the ghost completely. It could not even walk to
the tune of quarter salaries.
The ghost of a chance, subs. phr. (colloquial).—The faintest
likelihood, or the slightest trace: e.g., He hasn’t the ghost of a
chance.
1891. Sportsman, 26 Mar. He did not give the ghost of a chance.
Ghoul, subs. (American.)—1. A spy; specifically a man who preys on such
married women as addict themselves to assignation houses.
2. (journalistic).—A newspaper chronicler of the smallest private
tittle-tattle.
Gib, subs. (colloquial).—1. Gibraltar. Once a penal station: whence—2.
A gaol.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 221. I did a
lagging of seven, and was at the gib three out of it.
1892. Pall Mall Gazette, 23 Mar., p. 6, c. 1. ‘Stormy Weather at
gib.’ The weather here has been fearful; 51 inches of rain have
been registered, and the land for miles round Gibraltar is
submerged.
To hang one’s gib, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To pout. See Jib.
Gibberish (or Gebberish, Gibberidge, Gibrige, etc.), subs. (old: now
recognised).—Originally the lingo of gipsies, beggars, etc. Now, any
kind of inarticulate nonsense. [From gibber, a variant of Jabber.] See
Cant, Slang, Pedlar’s French, etc.
1594. Nashe, Unf. Traveller, in wks., v., 68. That all cried out
upon him mightily in their gibrige, lyke a companie of beggers.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Gergare, to speak fustian, pedlers
french, or rogues language, or gibbrish.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Jargon, gibridge fustian language,
pedler’s French, a barbarus jangling.
1638. H. Shirley, Martyr’d Souldier, Act iii., Sc. 4. Feele my
pulse once again and tell me, Doctor, Tell me in tearmes that I may
understand,—I doe not love your gibberish,—tell me honestly Where
the Cause lies, and give a Remedy.
1659. Torriano, Vocabolario, s.v.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Gibberish (s.) an
unintelligible jargon, or confused way of speaking, used by the
gipsies, beggars, etc., to disguise their wicked designs; also any
discourse where words abound more than sense.
1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xxx. He repeated some gibberish
which by the sound seemed to be Irish.
1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. viii. Since that d——d clerk of mine has
taken his gibberish elsewhere.
1850. D. Jerrold, The Catspaw, Act i. Odds and ends ... writ down
in such a kind of gibberish that I can’t make out one of ’em.
1858. G. Eliot, Mr. Gilfit’s Love Story, ch. iv. It’ll learn to
speak summat better nor gibberish, an’ be brought up i’ the true
religion.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 129. It was
Fo’c’s’le Jack that piped and drawled his ungrammatical gibberish.
Gibble-Gabble, subs. (colloquial).—Nonsense; gibberish (q.v.). [A
reduplication of gabble (q.v.).]
1600. Dekker, Shoemaker’s Holiday, in wks. (1873) i., 21. Hee’s
some uplandish workeman, hire him good master, That I may learne
some gibble gabble, ’twill make us worke the faster.
1659. Torriano, Vocabolario, s.v.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Gibble-gabble (s), silly,
foolish, idle talk.
Gib-cat, subs. (old).—A tom-cat. [An abbreviation of Gilbert = O. Fr.:
Tibert, the cat in the fable of Reynard the Fox.]
1360. Chaucer, Romaunt of the Rose, 6204 (Thibert le Cas is
rendered by gibbe, our cat).
1598. Shakspeare, 1 Henry IV., Act i., Sc. 2. I am as melancholy as
a gib-cat.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, i., 1. Before I endure such another
day with him, I’ll be drawn with a good gib-cat through the great
pond at home.
1663. Rump Songs. ‘Rump Carbonadoed,’ ii., 71. As if they had less
wit and grace than gib-cats.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gibe, verb. (American).—To go well with; to be acceptable. See Gee.
Gibel, verb. (thieves’).—To bring.
1837. Disraeli, Venetia, bk. i., ch. xiv. Gibel the chive, bring
the knife.
Gib-face, subs. (colloquial).—A heavy jowl; an ugly-mug (q.v.). Cf., to
hang one’s gib.
Giblets, subs. (common).—1. The intestines generally; the manifold
(q.v.). Cf. trouble-giblets.
1864. Browning, Dramatis Personæ, ‘Flight of the Duchess.’ Is
pumped up briskly through the main ventricle, And floats me
genially round the giblets.
2. (colloquial).—A fat man; forty-guts (q.v.). Also Duke of Giblets.
To join giblets, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate. Also to have or do a
bit of giblet-pie. For synonyms, see Ride. Hence to cohabit as husband
and wife; to live tally. Cf., plaster of warm guts.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1887. Notes and Queries, 7 S., iv., 511. ‘To join giblets.’—This
expression may occasionally be heard in this district, among the
lowest and vulgarest, and has a very offensive meaning.
To fret one’s giblets, verb. phr.—See Fret.
Gibraltar, subs. (American).—A party stronghold: e.g., the Gibraltar of
Democracy.—Norton.
Gibson (or Sir John Gibson), subs. (old coachbuilders’).—A rest to
support the body of a building coach.
Gibus, subs. (colloquial).—1. An opera, or crush hat. Fr., un
accordéon. [From the name of the inventor.]
1867. Jas. Greenwood, Unsent. Journeys, iii., 21. West-End
aristocrats, with spotless jean coats and Gibus hats.
1871. Figaro, 2 Sept. Much fun may be made by wearing a Gibus, and
collapsing it at the moment of contact with the funnel.
1885. Punch, 4 Apr., p. 160. Giving his comic, shiny, curly-brimmed
hat to the swell who couldn’t by any possible chance have mistaken
it for his own Gibus.
1887. Atkin, House Scraps, p. 144. Their Gibus hats are cock’d
awry.
Giddy, adj. (colloquial).—Flighty; wanton: e.g., to play the giddy goat
= to live a fast life; to be happy-go-lucky.
1892. Ally Sloper, 19 Mar., p. 91, c. 2. Fanny Robinson was
flighty; she played the giddy ox—I mean heifer.
Giffle-gaffle, subs. (old).—Nonsense; a variant of gibble-gabble
(q.v.).
1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary. Giff-gaff, unpremeditated discourse.
Gif-gaf (or Giff-gaff), subs. (Scots’).—A bargain on equal terms.
Whence the proverb: Gif-gaf maks guid friens. Fr.: Passe-moi la casse
et je t’enverrai la senne.
Gift, subs. (colloquial).—1. Anything, lightly gained or easily won.
2. (common).—A white speck on the finger nails, supposed to portend a
gift.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
3. (printers’).—See Gift-house.
As full of gifts as a brazen horse of farts, phr. (old).—Mean; miserly;
disinclined to part (q.v.).
1811 Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Gift of the Gab.—See Gab.
Gift-house (or Gift), subs. (printers’).—A club; a house of call;
specifically for the purpose of finding employment, or providing
allowances for members.
Gig (Gigg, Gigge), subs. (old).—1. a wanton; a mistress; a flighty
girl. Cf., Giglet.
1373. Chaucer, House of Fame, iii. 851. This house was also ful of
gygges.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew. A young gig, a wanton lass.
1780. D’Arbley, Diary, etc., (1876), i., 286. Charlotte L—— called,
and the little gig told ... of the domestic life she led in her
family, and made them all ridiculous, without meaning to make
herself so.
1825. Planché, Success in Extravaganzas (1879) I., 26. He! he! What
a gig you look in that hat and feather!
1832. Macaulay in Life, by Trevelyan (1884), ch. v., p. 188. Be you
Foxes, be you Pitts, You must write to silly chits, Be you Tories,
be you Whigs, You must write to sad young gigs.
2. (old).—A jest; a piece of nonsense; anything fanciful or frivolous.
Hence, generally, in contempt.
1590. Nashe, Pasquil’s Apologie, in wks. Vol. I., p. 234. A right
cutte of the worde, withoute gigges or fancies of haereticall and
newe opinions.
1793. Butt, Poems.... Fograms, quizzes, treats, and bores, and
gigs, Were held in some account with ancient prigs.
1856. Whyte Melville, Kate Coventry, ch. xiv. Such a set of gigs,
my dear, I never saw in my life; large underbred horses, and not a
good-looking man amongst them.
3. (old).—The nose. For synonyms, see Conk. To snitchell the gig = to
pull the nose. Grunter’s gig = a hog’s snout.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
4. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
[Possibly from gig = a top, i.e., a toy; possibly, too, from It. giga =
a fiddle (q.v.); but see post sense 8.]
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
5. (old: now recognised).—A light two-wheeled vehicle drawn by one
horse.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1809. Windham, Speech, 25 May. Let the former riders in gigs and
whiskeys, and one horsed carriages continue to ride in them.
6. (old).—A door. See Gigger.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. It is all bob, now let’s dub the gigg of
the case: now the coast is clear, let us break open the door of the
house.
7. (Eton).—A fool; an overdressed person. For synonyms, see Sammy-soft.
1797. Colman, Heir at Law, iv., 3. Dick.—What a damn’d gig you look
like. Pangloss.—A gig! umph! that’s an Eton phrase—the Westminsters
call it Quiz.
1870. Athenæum, 16 Apr. He would now be what Eton used to call a
gig, and Westminster a Quiz.
8. (old).—Fun; a frolic; a spree. [Possibly from Fr.: gigue = a lively
dance movement. Cf., gigue et jon = a Bacchanalian exclamation of
sailors. In Florio, too, frottolare = ‘to sing gigges, rounds, or ...
wanton verses.’] Full of gig = full of laughter, ripe for mischief.
1811. Moore, Twopenny Post-bag, Letter 3. We were all in high
gig—Roman punch and tokay travelled round, till our heads travelled
just the same way.
1820. Randall, Diary. In search of lark, or some delicious gig, The
mind delights on, when ’tis in prime twig.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i., 3. I hope we shall have many a
bit of gig together.
1888. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, p. 134. A laughter-loving lass of
eighteen who dearly loved a bit of gig.
9. (old).—The mouth. For synonyms, see Potato-trap.
1871. Finish to Tom and Jerry, p. 175 (ed. 1872). The bit of myrtle
in his gig.
10. (old).—A farthing. Formerly grig (q.v.).
11. (American).—See Policy Dealing.
Verb. (old).—To hamstring.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. To gigg a Smithfield hank, to
hamstring an overdrove ox.
By Gigs! intj. (old).—A mild and silly oath. See Oaths.
1551. W. Still, Gammer Gurton’s Needle, ii., 51. Chad a foule turne
now of late, chill tell it you, by gigs!
Gigamaree, subs. (American).—A thing of little worth; a pretty but
useless toy; a gimcrack (q.v.).
1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 9. Byin’ fineries and northern
gigamarees of one kind or another.
Ibid. I ax’d the captain what sort of a gigamaree he had got up
there for a flag.
Gigantomachize, verb. (old).—To rise in revolt against one’s betters.
Gr., Gigantomachia = the War of the Giants against the Gods. [Probably
a coinage of Ben Jonson’s.]
1599. Jonson, Every Man Out, Act v., 4. Slight, fed with it the
whoreson, strummel-patched, goggle-eyed grumble-dores would have
gigantomachized their Maker.
Gigger, subs. (tailors’).—1. A sewing machine. (In allusion to noise
and movement).
2. See Jigger.
Giggles-nest. Have you found a giggles-nest? phr. (old).—Asked of a
person tittering, or one who laughs immoderately and senselessly.
Gig-lamps, subs. (common).—1. Spectacles. For synonyms, see Barnacles.
1848. Bradley, in Letter to J. C. H. Gig-lamps (certainly a
university term. I first heard it in 1848 or 1849, long before Mr.
Verdant Green was born or thought of).
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. ii., p. 140. You with the
gig-lamps, throw us your cigar.
1887. Punch, 30 July, p. 45. Jack’s a straw-thatched young joker in
gig-lamps.
1892. F. Anstey, Voces Populi. ‘At the Tudor Exhibition.’ Stop,
though, suppose she has spotted me? Never can tell with giglamps.
2. (common).—One who wears spectacles; a four eyes (q.v.). [Popularised
by Verdant Green.]
Gigler (or Giglet, Goglet, Gigle, Gig), subs. (old).—A wanton; a
mistress. Giglet (West of England) = a giddy, romping girl; and in
Salop a flighty person is called a giggle. Cf., Gig, sense 1.
1533. Udal, Floures for Latine Spekynge, fo. 101. What is the
matter, foolish giglotte? What meanest thou? Whereat laughest thou?
1567. Harman, Caveat, leaf 22, back. Therefore let us assemble
secretly into the place where he hath appoynted to meet this gyleot
that is at your house.
1603. Shakspeare, Measure for Measure, v., 1. Let him speak no
more: away with those giglots too, and with the other confederate
companion.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Gadrouillette, minx, gigle, flirt.
1620. Massienger, Fatal Dowry, Act. iii. If this be The recompence
of striving to preserve A wanton gigglet honest, very shortly
’Twill make all mankind pandars.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Gigglers, wanton women.
Adj. (old).—Loose in word and deed. Also giglet-like, and giglet-wise =
like a wanton.
1598. Shakspeare, 1 Henry IV., Act v., Sc. 1. Young Talbot was not
born To be the pillage of a giglot wench.
1600. Fairfax, Jerusalem Delivered, vi., 72. That thou wilt gad by
night in giglet-wise, Amid thine armed foes to seek thy shame.
Gild, verb. (old).—To make drunk; to flush with drink.
1609. Shakspeare, Tempest, Act v., Sc. 1. This grand liquor that
hath gilded them.
1620. Fletcher, Chances, iv., 3. Is she not drunk, too? A little
gilded o’er, sir.
To gild the pill, phr. (colloquial).—To say, or do, unpleasant things
as gently as may be; to impose upon; to bamboozle (q.v.).
Gilded Rooster, subs. phr. (American).—A man of importance; a howling
swell (q.v.); sometimes the gilded rooster on the top of the steeple.
Cf., big-bug; big dog of the tanyard, etc.
1888. New York Herald. We admit that as a metropolis Chicago is the
gilded rooster on top of the steeple, but even gilded roosters have
no right to the whole corn bin.
Gilderoy’s Kite. To be hung higher than gilderoy’s kite, verb. phr.
(old).—To be punished more severely than the very worst criminals. ‘The
greater the crime the higher the gallows’ was at one time a practical
legal axiom. Hence, out of sight; completely gone.
Giles’ Greek. See St. Giles’ Greek.
Gilguy, subs. (nautical).—Anything which happens to have slipped the
memory; equivalent to what’s-his-name or thingamytight.
Gilkes, subs. (old).—Skeleton keys.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Gilkes or the Gigger, false keyes for the doore or picklockes.
Gill (or Jill), subs. (old).—1. A girl; (2) a sweetheart: e.g., ‘every
Jack must have his Gill’; (3) a wanton, a strumpet (an abbreviation of
gillian). For synonyms, see Jomer and Titter.
1586–1606. Warner, Albion’s England, bk. vii., ch. 37. The simplest
gill or knave.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, Palandrina, a common queane, a
harlot, a strumpet, a gill.
1620. Percy, Folio MSS., p. 104. There is neuer a Jacke for gill.
1659. Torriano, Vocabolario, s.v.
2. (common).—a drink; a go (q.v.).
1785. Burns, Scots Drink. Haill breeks, a scone, and whisky gill.
3. in. pl. ‘g’ hard (colloquial).—The mouth or jaws; the face. See
Potato-trap and Dial.
1622. Bacon, Historia Naturalis. Redness about the cheeks and
gills.
1632. Jonson, Magnetic Lady, i. He ... draws all the parish wills,
Designs the legacies, and strokes the gills of the chief mourners.
b. 1738. Wolcot, Pindar’s Works (1809), i., 8. Whether you look all
rosy round the gills, Or hatchet-fac’d like starving cats so lean.
1820. Lamb, Elia (Two Races of Men). What a careless, even
deportment hath your borrower! what rosy gills!
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. viii. Binnie, as brisk and rosy
about the gills as chanticleer, broke out in a morning salutation.
1884. Punch. He went a bit red in the gills.
4. in. pl. (common).—A very large shirt collar; also stick-ups and
sideboards. Fr.: cache-bonbon-à-liqueur = a stick-up.
1859. Sala, Twice Round the Clock, 6 p., in Part 7. With a red
face, shaven to the superlative degree of shininess, with gills
white and tremendous, with a noble white waistcoat.
1884. Daily Telegraph, July 8, p. 5, c. 4. Lord Macaulay wore, to
the close of his life, ‘stick-ups,’ or gills.
To grease the gills.—verb. phr. (common).—To have a good meal; to wolf
(q.v.).
To look blue (or queer, or green) about the gills, verb. phr.
(common).—To be downcast or dejected; also to suffer from the effects
of a debauch. Hence, conversely, to be rosy about the gills = to be
cheerful.
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. ii. Most of them were very
white and blue in the gills when we sat down, and others of a dingy
sort of whitey-brown, while they ogled the viands in a most
suspicious manner.
1892. G. Manville Fenn, Witness to the Deed, ch. ii. You look
precious seedy. White about the gills.
A cant (or dig) in the gills, phr. (pugilists’).—A punch in the face.
See Bang.
Gill-flirt, subs. (old).—A wanton; a flirt. For synonyms, see Barrack
Hack and Tart.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Gaultiere, a whore, punke, drab,
queane, gill, flirt.
1690. B. E., Dict, of the Cant. Crew, s.v. A proud minx.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Gilly, subs. (American).—A fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
Gilly-gaupus, subs. phr. (Scots).—A tall loutish fellow.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gilt, subs. (popular).—1. Money. [Ger.: Geld; Du.: Geld.]
English Synonyms.—Add to those under Actual:—Charms; checks; cole or
coal; coliander seeds; corn in Egypt; crap; darby; dots; ducats;
gingerbread; kelter; lowie; lurries; moss; oil of palms; palm-oil;
peck; plums; rhino; rivets; salt; sawdust; scad; screen; scuds; shigs;
soap; spoon; steven; sugar; tea-spoons; tinie.
French Synonyms.—Le galtos (popular); l’odeur de gousset (obsolete);
l’onguent (= palm grease, Sp., unguento; the simile is common to most
languages); le morlingue (thieves’); la menouille (popular); le michon
(thieves’: from miche, a loaf, cf., Loaver); les monacos (popular); le
monarque (prostitutes’: primarily a five franc piece); le blé (= corn
or loaver); les étoffes (thieves’).
Spanish Synonyms.—La lana (= wool); la morusa (colloquial); la mosca (=
the flies); lo numerario; la pelusa (= down); lo zurraco (colloquial);
lo unguento de Mejico (= Mexican Grease); a’ toca teja (colloquial:
ready money); caire.
Italian Synonyms.—Cucchi; cuchieri; cucchielli; lugani.
German Synonyms.—Fuchs (= fox: an allusion to the ruddy hue of gold
pieces); fuxig or fuxern = golden, red; fuchsmelochener (= goldsmith);
gips or gyps (Viennese thieves’, from the Latin, gypsum); hora (=
ready-money: from the Hebrew heren); kall (Han: especially small
change: from Heb. kal = lowly light); kis, kies, kiss (applied both to
money in general and the receptacle or purse in which it is carried);
lowe, love (Han.); mepaie (from the Fr., payer) mesumme, linke mesumme
(= counterfeit money); moos (from Heb., mëo = a little stone); pich,
picht, or pech; staub (= dust).
1599. Shakspeare, Henry V., Act ii. Chorus. These corrupted men ...
have for the gilt of France (O guilt, indeed) Confirmed conspiracy.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 9. And from thence
conducted (provided he has gilt) over the way to Hell.
1885. Daily News, 25 May, p. 3, c. 1. Disputatious like mobs
grouped together to discuss whether Charrington or Crowder had the
most gilt.
2. subs. (old).—A thief; a pick-lock; also gilt- or rum-dubber, gilter,
etc.
1669. Nicker Nicked in Harl. Misc. (ed. Park), ii., 108 (given in
list of names of thieves).
1673. Character of a Quack Astrologer. For that purpose he
maintains as strict a correspondence with gilts and lifters.
1676. Warning for Housekeepers, p. 3. The gilter is one that hath
all sorts of picklocks and false keys.
1680. Cotton, Complete Gamester, p. 333. Shoals of muffs, hectors,
setters, gilts, pads, biters, etc. ... may all pass under the
general appellation of snobs.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1882. McCabe, New York, ch. xxxiv., 509. Gilt-dubber, a hotel
thief.
3. (thieves’).—Formerly a pick-lock or skeleton key; now a crow-bar.
For synonyms, see Jemmy.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, Pt. 1, ch. v., p. 50 (1874). Gilt, a
pick-lock.
1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Gilt, c. a pick-lock.
1839. W. H. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard, p. 183 (ed. 1840). We shall
have the whole village upon us while you’re striking the jigger.
Use the gilt, man!
To take the gilt off the gingerbread, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
destroy an illusion; to discount heavily.
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 171. You see we had a
rattling good year all round last, bar the Dancing Master. He took
the gilt off the gingerbread considerably.
Gilt-dubber, see gilt, sense 2.
Gilt-edged, adj. (American).—First-class; the best of its kind; a
latter-day superlative. For synonyms, see A1 and Fizzing.
c. 1889. Chicago Tribune (quoted in Slang, Jargon, and Cant). He’s
a gilt-edged idiot to play the game.
1891. Standard, 18 June, p. 2, c. 1. ‘Gilt-edged mutton’ is the
latest of glorified and ‘boomed’ American products.
1891. Tit Bits, 8 Aug., p. 286, c. 2. Another accomplishment,
peculiar to the gilt-edged academy, is learning to eat asparagus,
oranges, grapes, etc.
Gilter, see gilt, sense 2.
Gilt-tick, subs. (costermongers’). Gold.
Gimbal- (or gimber-) Jawed, adj. (common).—Loquacious; talking nineteen
to the dozen (q.v.). [Gimbals are a combination of rings for free
suspension; hence applied to persons the joints of whose jaws are loose
in speech.]
Gimcrack (Gincrack, or Jimcrack), subs. (old).—1. A showy simpleton,
male or female; a dandy (q.v.).
1618. Beaumont and Fletcher, Loyal Subject, iv., 3. These are fine
gimcracks; hey, here comes another, a flagon full of wine in his
hand.
1637. Fletcher, Elder Brother, iii., 3. You are a handsome and a
sweet young lady, And ought to have a handsome man yoked to ye. An
understanding too; this is a gimcrack That can get nothing but new
fashions on you.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Canting Crew. Gimcrack, a spruce wench.
1706. Mrs. Centlivre, Basset Table, II., Works (1872), i., 122. The
philosophical gimcrack.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (colloquial).—A showy trifle; anything pretty to look at but of very
little worth.
1632. Chapman and Shirley, The Ball, Act iv. Lu. There remains, To
take away one sample. Wi. Another gimcrack?
1678. Butler, Hudibras, pt. 3, ch. i. Rifled all his pokes and
fobs. Cf., gimcracks, whims, and jiggumbobs.
1698–1700. Ward, London Spy, pt. 7, p. 148. I suppose there being
little else to lose except scenes, machines, or some such
jim-cracks.
1843. Thackeray, Irish Sketch Book, ch. i. There was the harp of
Brian Boru, and the sword of some one else, and other cheap old
gimcracks with their corollary of lies.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 63. Such rum-looking gimcracks,
my pippin.
3. (provincial).—A handy man; a jack-of-all-trades (q.v.).
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. A gimcrack also means a person who
has a turn for mechanical contrivances.
4. (venery).—The female pudendum. [A play on sense 2, and crack,
(q.v.).] For synonym, see Monosyllable.
Adj. (colloquial).—Trivial; showy; worthless.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. ix. No shops so beautiful to look at
as the Brighton gimcrack shops, and the fruit shops, and the
market.
1891. W. C. Russell, An Ocean Tragedy, p. 30. Soberly clothed with
nothing more gimcrack in the way of finery upon him than a row of
waistcoat-buttons.
1892. Tit Bits, 19 Mar., p. 425 c. 2. A large cabinet or wardrobe,
beautifully carved, and very substantial, no gimcrack work.
Gimcrackery, subs. (colloquial).—The world of gimcrack (q.v.).
1884. A. Forbes, in Eng. Illustr. Mag., Jan., p. 230. The inner
life of the Empire was a strange mixture of rottenness and
gimcrackery.
Gimlet-eye, subs. (common).—A squint-eye; a piercer (q.v.). Fr.: des
yeux en trou de pine.
Gimlet-eyed, adj. (common).—Squinting, or squinny-eyed; cock-eyed. As
in the old rhyme: ‘Gimlet eye, sausage nose, Hip awry, bandy toes.’
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gimmer, subs. (Scots’).—An old woman. A variant of ‘cummer.’
Gin, subs. (Australian).—An Australian native woman.
1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, ch. xiii. An Australian settler’s
wife bestows on some poor slaving gin a cast-off French bonnet.
1890. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up!, p. 30.
2. (Australian).—An old woman. For synonyms, see Geezer.
Gin-and-gospel Gazette, subs. phr. (journalists’).—The Morning
Advertiser: as the organ of the Licensed Victualling and Church of
England party. Also the Tap-tub and beer-and-bible gazette.
Gin-and-Tidy, adv. phr. (American).—Decked out in ‘best bib and
tucker.’ A pun on ‘neat spirits.’
Gin-crawl, subs. (common).—A tipple (q.v.) on gin.
1892. A. Chevalier, ‘The Little Nipper.’ I used to do a gin crawl
ev’ry night, An’ very, very often come ’ome tight.
Gingambobs (or Jiggumbobs), subs. (common).—1. Toys; baubles.
1690. B. E. Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (venery).—The testicles; also thingambobs. For synonyms, see Cods.
Ginger, subs. (common).—1. A fast, showy horse; a beast that looks
figged (q.v.).
1859. Notes and Queries, 17 Dec. p. 493. A ginger is a showy fast
horse.
2. (common).—A red-haired person; carrots (q.v.). [Whence the phrase
(venery) ‘Black for beauty, ginger for pluck.’]
1885. Miss Tennant in Eng. Illustrated Magazine, June, p. 605. The
policemen are well known to the boys, and appropriately named by
them. There is ‘Jumbo,’ too stout to run; ginger, the red-haired.
3. (common).—Spirit; dash; go (q.v.). To want ginger = to lack energy
and pluck (q.v.).
1888. The World, 13 May. You will remark that your spinal column is
requiring a hinge, and that considerable ginger is departing from
your resolution to bear up and enjoy yourself.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, p. 124. If father objects
send him to me, I’ll take the ginger out of him in short order.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker; p. 207. Give
her ginger, boys.
Adj. (common).—Red-haired; foxy (q.v.); judas-haired (q.v.). Also
ginger-pated, ginger-hackled, and gingery.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Red-haired; a term borrowed from
the cock-pit, where red cocks are called gingers.
1839. H. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard, ch. xii. Somebody may be on the
watch—perhaps that old ginger-hackled Jew.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xix., p. 160. The very learned
gentleman who has cooled the natural heat of his gingery complexion
in pools and fountains of law, until he has become great in knotty
arguments for term-time.
1878. M. E. Braddon, Cloven Foot, ch. iv. The landlady was a
lean-looking widow, with a false front of gingery curls.
Gingerbread, subs. (old).—1. Money: e.g., ‘He has the gingerbread’ = he
is rich.
1690. B. E. Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood. Your old dad had the gingerbread.
1864. Standard, 13 Dec. We do not find ... the word gingerbread
used for money, as we have heard it both before and within the last
six months. The origin of the use of the word may probably be the
old fairy legends wherein the coin obtained over night from the
elves was usually found in the morning to have turned into little
gingerbread cakes.
2. (colloquial).—Brummagem (q.v.); showy, but worthless ware.
Adj. (colloquial).—Showy but worthless; tinsel. Fr., en pain d’épice.
Gingerbread work (nautical) = carved and gilded decorations;
gingerbread quarters (nautical) = luxurious living.
1757. Smollett, Compendium of Voyages and Travels. The rooms are
too small and too much decorated with carving and gilding, which is
a kind of gingerbread work.
To take the gilt off the gingerbread. See gilt.
Gingerly, adj. and adv. (old: now recognised).—As adj., delicate;
fastidious; dainty; as adv., with great care; softly.
1533. Udal, Floures for Latine Spekynge. We stayghe and prolonge
our goyng, with a nyce or tendre and softe, delicate, or gingerly
pace.
c. 1563. Jacke Jugeler, p. 40 (ed. Grosart). We used to call her at
home Dame Coye, a pretie gingerlie pice [piece].
1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, in Wks., ii., 32. That lookes as
simperingly as if she were besmeared, and sits it as gingerly as if
she were dancing the Canaries.
1611. Chapman, May-Day, Act iii., p. 294 (Plays, 1874). Come, come,
gingerly; for God’s sake, gingerly.
1659. Torriano, Vocabolario, q.v.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Gently, softly, easily.
1759–67. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, vol. V., ch. v. My mother was
going very gingerly in the dark.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. To go gingerly to work, i.e., to
attempt a thing gently, or cautiously.
1874. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, 1 S. 12, p. 207. The Squire went
in gingerly, as if he had been treading on a spiked ploughshare.
Ginger-pop, subs. (colloquial).—1. Ginger-beer.
2. (rhyming).—A policeman; a slop (q.v.).
1887. Dagonet, Referee, 7 Nov., p. 7, c. 3. Ere her bull-dog I
could stop, She had called a ginger-pop.
Ginger-snap, subs. (American).—A hot-tempered person, especially one
with carrotty hair.
Gingham, subs. (common).—An umbrella; specifically one of this
material. For synonyms, see Mushroom.
1868. Miss Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, Bk. I., ch. vii. Mr.
Peters therefore took immediate possession by planting his honest
gingham in a corner of the room.
1889. Sportsman, 2 Feb. It would really put a premium on the many
little mistakes of ownership concerning ginghams at present so
common.
Gingle-boy, subs. (old).—A coin; latterly a gold piece. Also Gingler.
See Actual and Canary.
1622. Massinger and Dekker, Virgin Martyr, ii., 2. The sign of the
gingleboys hangs at the door of our pockets.
Gingumbobs. See Gingambobs.
Ginicomtwig, verb. (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms, see Ride.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, Scuotere il pellicione. To
ginicomtwig or occupie a woman.
Gin-lane (or Trap), subs. (common).—1. The throat. For synonyms, see
Gutter-alley. Gin-trap, also = the mouth. For synonyms, see
Potato-trap.
1827. Egan, Anecdotes of the Turf, p. 67. Never again could ... he
feel his ivories loose within his gin-trap.
2. (common).—Generic for the habit of drunkenness.
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 8. Let me advise you on
no account to fly to strong waters for consolation, Joan. One nail
drives out another, it’s true; but the worst nail you can employ is
a coffin nail. Gin Lane’s the nearest road to the churchyard.
Gin-mill, subs. (American).—A drinking saloon. For synonyms, see
Lush-crib.
1872. Belgravia, Dec. ‘A Presidential Election.’ Then goes off to
rejoin his comrades, to adjourn to the nearest gin-mill.
Ginnified, subs. (common).—Dazed, or stupid, with liquor.
Ginnums, subs. (common).—An old woman: especially one fond of drink.
Ginny, subs. (old).—A housebreaker’s tool; see quot., 1754.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1754. Scoundrels’ Dict. An instrument to lift up a grate or
grating, to steal what is in the window. ‘The ninth is a ginny, to
lift up the grate, If he sees but the Lurry, with his Hooks he will
bait.’
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gin-penny, subs. (costermongers’).—Extra profit, generally spent in
drink.
Gin-slinger, subs. (common).—A gin-drinker. For synonyms, see
Lushington.
Gin-spinner, subs. (old).—A distiller; a dealer in spirituous liquors.
Cf., Ale-spinner.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1827. Egan, Anecdotes of the Turf, p. 179. Just as she was about to
toddle to the gin-spinner’s for the ould folk and lisp out for a
quartern of Max.
1888. F. Green, in Notes and Queries, 7 S., vi., 153. I have always
understood that a gin spinner is a distiller who makes gin, but
could never find out why so called.
Gin-twist, subs. (common).—A drink composed of gin and sugar, with
lemon and water.
1841. Comic Almanac, p. 271 What, for instance, but gin-twist could
have brought Oliver Twist to light?
Gin Up, verb. (American).—To work hard; to make things lively or hum
(q.v.). For synonyms, see Wire in.
1887. Francis, Saddle and Moccassin. They were ginning her up,
that’s a fact.
Gip, subs. (American thieves’).—1. A thief. 2. Also (Cambridge
University) a college servant. See Gyp. For synonyms, see Thieves.
Girl, subs. (common).—1. A prostitute; in. pl. = the stock in trade of
a brothel. See Barrack Hack, Tart, and Gay. Fr., fille.
2. (colloquial).—A mistress; a mash (q.v.).
3. In. pl. (venery).—The sex—or that part of it which is given to
unchastity—in general; hence the girls = lechery.
After the girls. He’s been after the girls, verb. phr. (common).—Said
of one with clap or pox.
Girl and Boy, subs. phr. (rhyming). A saveloy.
Girlery, subs. (colloquial).—A brothel. Also a theatre for burlesque
and comic opera.
Girl-getter, subs. (colloquial).—A mincing, womanish male.
Girling. To go Girling, verb. phr. (venery).—To quest for women; to go
on the loose (q.v.).
Girlometer, subs. (venery).—The penis. Also, Girl-catcher. For
synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.
Girl-shop, subs. phr. (common).—A brothel.
Girl-show, subs. phr. (common).—A ballet, a burlesque, a leg-piece
(q.v.).
Girl Street. In Hair Court, Girl Street, subs. phr. (common).—Generic
for fornication. Also the female pudendum.
Girl-trap, subs. phr. (common).—A seducer; a mutton-monger (q.v.).
Git! (or You Git!), intj. (American).—Be off with you! An injunction to
immediate departure; walker! (q.v.). Sometimes a contraction of get
out! Also get out and dust!
1851. Seaworthy, Bertie, p. 78. Thrue as the tin commandhers! Git
aout!
To have no git up and git, phr. (American).—To be weak, vain, mean, or
slow—generally deprecatory.
Give, verb. (vulgar).—1. To lead to; to conduct; to open upon: e.g.,
‘The door gave upon the street.’ Cf. the idiomatic use, in French, of
donner.
2. (American).—An all-round auxiliary to active verbs: e.g., to give on
praying = to excel at prayer; to give on the make = to be clever at
making money, etc.
To give it to, verb. phr. (old).—1. To rob; to defraud.—Grose.
2. (common).—To scold; to thrash. Also to give what for; to give it
hot; to give something for oneself; to give one in the eye, etc. Fr.,
aller en donner. For synonyms, see Wig and Tan respectively.
1612. Chapman, Widow’s Tears, Act i., p. 312 (Plays, 1874). This
braving wooer hath the success expected; the favour I obtained made
me witness to the sport, and let his confidence be sure, I’ll give
it him home.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 134. ‘Take that,’ exclaimed Mr.
Samuel Wilkins.... ‘Give it him,’ said the waistcoat.... Miss
J’mima Ivins’s beau and the friend’s young man lay gasping on the
gravel, and the waistcoat and whiskers were seen no more.
1889. J. M. Barrie in Time, Aug. p. 148. When he said he would tell
everybody in the street about there being a baby, I gave him one in
the eye. Ibid. If it’s true what Symons Tertius says, that Cocky
has gone and stolen my reminiscences about Albert’s curls, putting
it into his reminiscences like as if it was his own, I’ll give him
it hot.
To give in (or out), verb. phr. (colloquial).—To admit defeat; to
yield; to be exhausted; to throw up the sponge. See Floored and Cave
in.
1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xviii. Strap, after having
received three falls on the hard stones, gave out, and allowed the
blacksmith to be the better man.
1760–1. Smollett, L. Greaves, vol. II., ch. viii. By this time the
doctor had given out, and allowed the brewer to be the better man.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 25. Poor Georgy gave in.
1837. Lytton, Ernest Maltravers, bk. IV., ch. ix. Your time is up
... you have had your swing, and a long one it seems to have
been—you must now give in.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 99. Jest about then both on our
pusses gin out.
1850. Buffum, Six Months in the Gold Mines, p. 73. After working
three days with the machine, the earth we had been washing began to
give out.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xxiv., p. 217. I am surprised to
hear a man of your energy talk of giving in.
To give away, verb. phr. (American).—To betray or expose inadvertently;
to blow upon (q.v.): to peach (q.v. for synonyms). Also to give dead
away. Largely used in combination: e.g., give-away = an exposure;
give-away cue = an underhand revelation of secrets.
1883. F. M. Crawford, Doctor Claudius, ch. vi., p. 100. It always
amused him to see sanguine people angry. They looked so
uncomfortable, and gave themselves away so recklessly.
1886. A. Lang, Longman’s Mag., VII., 321. I know not whether the
American phrase, to give a person away, to give yourself away,
meaning to reveal your own or another’s secret, is of provincial
English origin. Did it cross over with the Pilgrim Fathers in the
May Flower, or is it a recent bit of slang? ‘Who giveth this woman
away?’ asked the rural American parson in the wedding service. ‘I
could,’ came the voice of a young man from the gallery, ‘but I’d
never be so mean.’
1888. Detroit Free Press, Aug. Careful what we say, for it will
give us dead away.
1889. Answers, 20 Apr., p. 326. My closely cropped hair, however,
gave me away.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 195. For the
sake of the joke I’ll give myself away.
To give one best, verb. phr. (schoolboys’).—1. To acknowledge one’s
inferiority, a defeat. Also (thieves’) to leave, to cut (q.v.).
1887. Horsley, Jottings from Jail. But after a time I gave him best
(left him), because he used to want to bite my ear (borrow) too
often.
To give the collar, verb. phr. (American).—To seize; to arrest; to
collar (q.v.). For synonyms, see Nab.
To give the bullet (sack, bag, kick-out, pike, road, etc.), verb. phr.
(common).—To discharge from an employ.
Give us a rest! phr. (American).—Cease talking! An injunction upon a
bore.
To give nature a fillip, verb. phr. (old).—To indulge in wine or
women.—B. E. (1690).
To give way, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To permit the sexual embrace: by
women only.
1870. Weekly Times, 1 May. She was sorry to say, she gave way to
him. (Laughter.) Mr. Maude remarked she was a foolish woman, and,
being a widow, ought to have known what giving way would come
to.—Complainant said of course she did, but she thought he meant to
marry her.
[Other combinations will be found under the following: auctioneer;
back cap; bag; bail; baste; beans; beef; biff; black eye; bone;
bucket; bullet; bull’s feather; clinch; double; fig; gas; go by;
gravy; hoist; hot beef; jesse; kennedy; key of the street; land;
leg up; lip; miller; mitten; mouth; needle; office; points; pussy;
rub of the thumb; sack; sky-high; slip; tail; taste of cream;
turnips; weight; white alley; word.]
Giver, subs. (pugilistic).—A good boxer; an artist in punishment
(q.v.).
1824. Reynolds, (‘Peter Corcoran’), The Fancy, p. 73. She knew a
smart blow from a handsome giver Would darken lights.
Gixie, subs. (obsolete).—A wanton wench; a strumpet; an affected
mincing woman.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Faina, a mincing, coie, nice,
puling, squeamish woman, an idle huswife, a flurt, a gixgi. Also as
Foina [i.e., ‘a pole-cat’; while Foirare = ‘to lust for beastly
leacherie, to be salt as a bitch.’]
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie, s.v. Gadrouillette, a minx, gigle,
flirt, callet gixie: (a fained word applyable to any such cattell).
[See further, gadriller (a wench) = ‘to rump or play the rig’].
Gizzard, to fret one’s gizzard, verb. phr. (common).—To worry oneself.
See Fret.
To stick in one’s gizzard, verb. phr. (common).—To remain as something
unpleasant, distasteful or offensive; to be hard of digestion; to be
disagreeable or unpalatable.
c. 1830. Finish of Tom and Jerry, p. 241. It had always stuck in
his gizzard to think as how he had been werry cruelly used.
To grumble in the gizzard, verb. phr. (common).—To be secretly
displeased. Hence, grumble-gizzard (q.v.).
Gladstone, subs. (common)—1. Cheap claret. [Mr. Gladstone, when in
office in 1869, reduced the duty on French wines.] See Drinks.
1876. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly, ch. ix. Claret certainly
good, too—none of your Gladstone tap; sherry probably rather
coarse.
1885. A. Birrell, Obiter Dicta, p. 86. To make him unbosom himself
over a bottle of Gladstone claret in a tavern in Leicester Square.
2. (colloquial).—A travelling bag. [So named in honour of Mr.
Gladstone.]
Gladstonize, verb. (colloquial).—To talk about and round; to evade or
prevaricate; to speak much and mean nothing.
Glanthorne, subs. (old).—Money. For synonyms, see Actual and Gilt.
1789. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 42. Drop the glanthorne = part
with money.
Glasgow Greys, subs. phr. (military).—The 70th Foot. [Which in the
beginning was largely recruited in Glasgow.]
1886. Tinsley’s Mag., Apr., p. 321. The 70th were long known as the
Glasgow Greys.
Glasgow Magistrate, subs. phr. (common).—A herring, fresh or salted, of
the finest. [From the practice of sending samples to the Baillie of the
River for approval.] Also Glasgow Baillie.
1855. Strang, Glasgow and its City Clubs. This club ... better
known by the title of the Tinkler’s club, particularly when the
brotherhood changed the hour of meeting ... and when the steak was
exchanged for a ‘Welsh rabbit’ or Glasgow magistrate.
English Synonyms. (for herrings generally).—Atlantic ranger;
Californian; Cornish duck; Digby chicken; Dunbar wether; gendarme;
Gourock ham; magistrate; pheasant (or Billingsgate pheasant); reds;
sea-rover; soldier; Taunton turkey; two-eye’d steak; Yarmouth capon.
Fr.: gendarme.
Glass, subs. (American thieves’).—An hour. [An abbreviation of
‘hour-glass.’]
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. The badger piped his Moll about a
glass and a half before she cribbed the flat.
There’s a deal of glass about, phr. (common).—1. Applied to vulgar
display = ‘It’s the thing’ (q.v.).
2. (common).—Said in answer to an achievement in assertion. A memory of
the proverb, ‘People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.’
Who’s to pay for the broken glass? verb. phr. (colloquial).—See Stand
the Racket.
Been looking through a glass, adv. phr. (common).—Drunk. For synonyms,
see Drinks and Screwed.
Glass-eyes, subs. (old).—A man wearing spectacles; four-eyes (q.v.);
gig-lamps (q.v.).
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Glass-house. To live in a glass house, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To lay
oneself open to attack or adverse criticism.
Glass-work, subs. (card-sharpers’).—An obsolete method of cheating at
cards. A convex mirror the size of a small coin was fastened with
shellac to the lower corner of the left palm opposite the thumb,
enabling the dealer to ascertain by reflection the value of the cards
he dealt.
Glaze, subs. (old),—A window.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 12. Glaze, a Window.
1754. Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 43. Undub the Jeger and jump
the glaze.
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant (3rd ed.), p. 445. A window, glaze.
c. 1830. Finish to Tom and Jerry [1872], p. 82. A random shot
milling the glaze.
Verb (old).—To cheat at cards. See quot. and Glass-work.
1821. P. Egan, Real Life, I., 297. If you take the broads in hand
in their company, you are sure to be work’d, either by glazing,
that is, putting you in front of a looking glass, by which means
your hand is discovered by your antagonist, or by private signals
from the pal.
To mill (or star a glaze), verb. phr. (old).—To break a window.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, iii., 2. Jerry. What are you about,
Tom? Tom. I’m going to mill the glaze—I’ll——(Is about to break the
glass, when Kate and Sue appear as the Miss Trifles.).
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf. Glaze, s.v., to mill the glaze,
the miller may adopt a stick or otherwise, as seems most
convenient.
On the glaze, adv. phr. (thieves’).—Robbing jewellers’ shops by
smashing the windows. See Glazier.
1724–34. C. Johnson, Highwaymen and Pyrates, q.v.
1889. Ally Sloper, 4 May. Getting a reprieve he went to Dublin on
the glaze.
Glazier, subs., in. pl. (old).—1. The eyes. For synonyms, see Glims.
Fr.: les ardents.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 64. Glasyers, eyes.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Glasiers, eyes.
1611. Middleton and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v., 1. These glasiers of
mine, mine eyes.
1656. Brome, Jovial Crew, ii. You’re out with your glaziers.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. The cove has rum
glaziers, c. that Rogue has excellent Eyes, or an Eye like a Cat.
1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Glaziers, c. eyes.
1725. New Canting Dict. ‘Song.’ Her glaziers, too, are quite
benighted.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue s.v.
2. (old).—A window thief. Cf., Glaze.
1725. New Cant. Dict. Song ‘The Twenty Craftsmen.’... A glazier who
when he creeps in, To pinch all the lurry he thinks it no sin.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gleaner, subs. (old).—A thief. Cf., Hooker, Angler, etc. For synonyms,
see Thieves.
Glib, subs. (common).—1. The tongue. Slacken your glib = loose your
tongue. For synonyms, see Clack.
2. (old).—A ribbon.
1754. Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 42. A lobb full of glibbs, a
box full of ribbons.
Adj. (old, now recognised).—Smooth; slippery; voluble; glib-tongued or
glib-gabbit (cf., Gab) = talkative; ready of speech.
1605. Shakspeare, Lear, Act i., Sc. 1. I want that glib and oily
art, To speak and purpose not.
1659. Torriano, Vocabolario, s.v.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Smooth, without a Rub.
Glib-tongued. Voluble or Nimble-tongued.
1890. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 31 Jan. The rest who were so glib with
their promises.
Glibe, subs. (American thieves’).—Writing; specifically, a written
statement.
Glim (or Glym), subs. (old).—1. A candle, or dark lanthorn; a fire or
light of any kind. To douse the glim = to put out the light. Fr.:
estourbir la cabande. Also short for Glimmer or Glymmar (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. A Dark Lanthorn used in
Robbing Houses; also to burn in the Hand.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 12. Glim, a Candle.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict. Glim, s.v. A candle or light.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Bring bess and glym; i.e., bring the
instrument to force the door, and the dark lanthorn.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 2. Tom. Then catch—here’s the
gentlemen’s tooth-picker, and here’s his glim. (Throws stick and
lanthorn to Jerry.)
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. 5. Every star its glim at
hiding.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. 16. Let’s have a glim ... or we
shall go breaking our necks.
1837. Lytton, Ernest Maltravers, Bk. I., ch. 10. ‘Hush, Jack!’
whispered one; ‘hang out the glim and let’s look about us.’
1852. Judson, Myst., etc., of New York, ch. iv. Old Jack bade
Harriet trim the glim.
1883. R. L. Stevenson, Treasure Island, p. 89. Sure enough, they
left their glim here.
1884. Henley and Stevenson, Admiral Guinea, ii., 6. Now here is my
little glim; it aint for me because I’m blind.
2. (old).—A sham account of a fire as sold by flying stationers (q.v.).
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 233. His papers
certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to’.... Loss by fire
is a glim.
3. in. pl. (common).—The eyes.
English Synonyms.—Blinkers; daylights; deadlights; glaziers; lights;
lamps; ogles; optics; orbs; peepers; sees; squinters; toplights;
windows; winkers.
French Synonyms.—Les quinquets (popular = bright eyes, Vidocq); les
mirettes (popular and thieves’; Italian: mira = sight); les reluits
(thieves’: also daymans—or lightmans [q.v.]); les calots (thieves’ =
marbles); les châsses or les châssis (popular = hunters’); les lampions
(thieves’ = lamps (q.v.); Italian: lanterna and lampante); les apics
(thieves’); les ardents (thieves’ = piercers); les œillets (popular =
eyelets); les lanternes de cabriolet (popular = giglamps); les clignots
(popular = winkers); les carreaux (thieves’ = windows); les clairs
(thieves’ = shiners); les coquards (thieves’).
Italian Synonyms.—Lanterna (= a lamp); calchi; balchi; brunotti (=
brownies); lampante.
Spanish Synonyms.—Fanal (= lantern); lanterna (= idem); visantes
(vulgar); vistosos (vulgar).
German Synonyms.—Dierling (from stieren = to stare); Linzer; Scheinling
(from Schein = daylights (q.v.)).
1824. P. Egan, Boxiana, iv., 417. His glims I’ve made look like a
couple of rainbows.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 47 [ed. 1854]. Queer my glims, if
that ben’t little Paul!
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II., 339. Harold escaped with the
loss of a glim.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 56. A pooty gal, gentle, or
simple, as carn’t use her glims is a flat.
4. in. pl. (common).—A pair of spectacles. For synonyms, see Barnacles.
5. (common).—Gonorrhœa or clap (q.v.). [From sense 1 = fire.]
Verb (old).—To brand or burn in the hand.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. As the cull was Glimm’d,
he gangs to the Nubb, c., if the Fellow has been Burnt in the Hand,
he’ll be Hang’d now.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall, p. 15. Profligate women are glimm’d for
that villany, for which, rather than leave it, they could freely
die martyrs.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
To puff the glims, verb. phr. (veterinary).—To fill the hollow over the
eyes of old horses by pricking the skin and blowing air into the loose
tissues underneath, thus giving the full effect of youth.
Glim-fenders, subs. (old).—1. Andirons, or fire-dogs.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Glimfenders, c.
Andirons. Rum Glimfenders, Silver Andirons.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict. s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (old).—Handcuffs. [A pun on sense 1.]
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.
Glimflashly (or Glim-flashey), adj. (old).—Angry. See Nab the Rust and
Hair.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Glimflashly, c., Angry,
or in a Passion. The Cull is Glimflashly, c. the Fellow is in a
Heat.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. xxxi. No, Captain, don’t be
glim-flashey! You have not heard all yet.
Glim-jack, subs. (old).—A link boy; a moon-curser (q.v.); but, in any
sense, a thief.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glim-lurk, subs. (tramps’).—A beggars’ petition, based on a fictitious
fire or glim (sense 2).
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 233. The
patterer becomes a ‘lurker,’—that is, an imposter; his papers
certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to.’ Shipwreck is
called a shake-lurk; loss by fire is a glim.
Glimmer (or Glymmar), subs. (old).—Fire. See quot.
1567. Harman, Caveat. These Demaunders for Glymmar be for the moste
parte wemen.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38. (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Glymmer, Fire.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 49 (1874).
Glymmer, Fire.
1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1725. New Canting Dict., Song, ‘The Maunder’s Praise of his
Strowling Mort.’ Doxy, Oh! thy Glaziers shine, As Glymmar by the
Solomon.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glimmerer, subs. (old).—A beggar working with a petition giving out
that he is ruined by fire. Also glimmering mort = a female glimmerer.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Glimmerer, c., the
Twenty-second Rank of the Canting Tribe, begging with Sham
Licences, pretending to Losses by Fire, etc.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glimstick, subs. (old).—A candlestick. [From glim = a light + stick.]
Fr.: une occasion.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Glimstick, c., a
Candlestick. Rum Glimsticks, c., Silver Candlesticks. Queer
Glimsticks, c., Brass, Pewter, or Iron Candlesticks.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glister, subs. phr. (thieves’).—See quot., glister of fish-hooks.
1889. Clarkson and Richardson, Police, p. 321. A glass of Irish
whiskey ... a glister of fish-hooks.
Glistner, subs. (old).—A sovereign. For synonyms, see Canary.
Gloak (or Gloach), subs. (old).—A man. For synonyms, see Chum and Cove.
1821. D. Haggart, Life, Glossary, pp. 48 and 172. Gloach, a man;
cove.
Globe, subs. (old).—1. A pewter pot; pewter.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
2. in. pl. (common).—The paps. For synonyms, see Dairy.
Globe-rangers, subs. (nautical).—The Royal Marines.
Globe-trotter, subs. (colloquial).—A traveller; primarily one who races
from place to place, with the object of covering ground or making a
record. Fr.: un pacquelineur.
1886. Graphic, 7 Aug., 147/1. Your mere idle gaping globetrotter
will spin endless pages of unobservant twaddle, and will record his
tedious wanderings with most painful minuteness.
1888. Academy, 17 Mar. The inevitable steamboat, the world, and the
omnivorous globe-trotter.
1889. Echo, 9 Feb. The British globe-trotter knows Japan as he
knows England, and English books about Japan are turned out by the
ton.
1890. Pall Mall Gaz., 27 Jan., p. 5, c. 2. This popular definition
of a quick-mover has now become effete. Miss Bly is a
globe-galloper or she is nothing.
Globe-trotting, subs. (colloquial).—Travelling after the manner of
globe-trotters (q.v.).
1888. Academy, 22 Sept. In fact, globe-trotting, as the Americans
somewhat irreverently term it, is now frequently undertaken as a
mere holiday trip.
Glope, verb. (Winchester College).—To spit. (Obsolete).
Glorious, adj. (common).—Excited with drink; ‘in one’s altitudes’;
boozed. For synonyms, see drinks and screwed.
1791. Burns, Tam o’ Shanter. Kings may be blessed, but Tam was
glorious, O’er a’ the ills of life victorious.
1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, ch. xviii., p. 252. I knew nothing
of the vow, or indeed of the tipsy frolic which was the occasion of
it; I was taken up glorious, as the phrase is, by my servants, and
put to bed.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 9 Feb. But as they all began to get
glorious, personalities became more frequent and very much
stronger.
Glorious Sinner, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A dinner.
Glory, subs. (common).—The after life; kingdom come (q.v.). Usually,
the coming glory.
1841. Punch, 17 July, p. 2. Clara pines in secret—Hops the twig,
and goes to glory in white muslin.
In one’s glory, adv. phr. (colloquial).—In the full flush of vanity,
pride, taste, notion, or idiosyncracy.
Gloves, to go for the gloves, verb. phr. (racing).—To bet recklessly;
to bet against a horse without having the wherewithal to pay if one
loses—the last resource of the plunging turfite. The term is derived
from the well-known habit of ladies to bet in pairs of gloves,
expecting to be paid if they win, but not to be called upon to pay if
they lose.
1877. Hawley Smart, Play or Pay, ch. xi. One of the boldest
plungers of the day, who had begun badly, was going for the gloves
upon this match.
1886. Badminton Library, ‘Racing,’ p. 255. Hardly worth mentioning
are the backers who come in for a hit-or-miss dash at the ring—to
go for the gloves, as it is called in ring parlance.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 3 Apr. Although we frequently read in
stories of the hero backing the right horse at a long price, and so
getting out of sundry monetary difficulties, we rarely find the
idea realised in practice. Many a bookmaker has gone for the
gloves.
Glow, adj. (tailors’).—Ashamed.
Glue, subs. (common).—1. Thick soup. (Because it sticks to the ribs.)
English Synonyms.—Deferred stock; belly-gum; giblets-twist;
gut-concrete; rib-tickler; stick-in-the-ribs.
French Synonyms.—La menêtre (thieves’); la lavasse (= a mess of pot
liquor); la laffe (thieves’); la jaffe (popular); l’ordinaire (popular:
soup and boiled beef at an ordinary); le fond d’estomac (= thick soup);
la mousse; la mouillante (= the moistener).
German Synonyms.—Jauche; Polifke.
2. (common).—Gonorrhœa.
Glue-pot, subs. (common).—A parson. [Because he joins in wedlock.] For
synonyms, see Devil-dodger and Sky-pilot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glum, adj. (old: now recognised).—Sullen; down in the mouth; stern.
Fr.: faire son nez = to look glum; also, n’en pas mener large.
1712. Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull, pt. IV., ch. vii. Nic. looked
sour and glum, and would not open his mouth.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
17(?). Broadside Ballad, ‘Sam Hall, The parson he will come, And
he’ll look so bloody glum.’
1816. Johnson, Dict. of the English Language. Glum, s.v., a low
cant word formed by corrupting ‘gloom.’
1847. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ii., ch. vi. ‘I wonder whether Lady
Southdown will go away; she looked very glum upon Mrs. Rawdon,’ the
other said.
1888. Referee, 21 Oct. Who found him looking glum and gray, And
thought his accent gruff and foreign.
1892. A. W. Pinero, The Times, v., i. What are you so glum about.
Glump, verb. (provincial).—To sulk. Hence glumpy, glumping, and
glumpish = sullen or stubborn.
1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary. Glumping, sullen, or sour looking.
Exm.
1835. Th. Hook, Gilbert Gurney. He was glumpy enough when I called.
1860. G. Eliot, Mill on the Floss, Bk. VI., ch. iv. ‘An’ it worrets
me as Mr. Tom ’ull sit by himself so glumpish, a-knittin’ his brow,
an’ a lookin’ at the fire of a night.’
Glutman, subs. (old).—See quot.
1797. Police of the Metropolis, p. 64. An inferior officer of the
Customs, and particularly one of that class of supernumerary tide
waiters, who are employed temporarily when there is a press or
hurry of business. These glutmen are generally composed of persons
who are without employment, and, being also without character,
recommend themselves principally from the circumstance of being
able to write.
Glutton, subs. (common).—1. A horse which lasts well; a stayer (q.v.).
2. (pugilists’).—A pugilist who can take a lot of punishment (q.v.).
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, xvi. Thus Theocritus, in his Milling Match,
calls Amycus a glutton, which is well known to be the classical
phrase at Moulsey-Hurst for one who, like Amycus, takes a deal of
punishment before he is satisfied.
1891. Licensed Vict. Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 6, c. 3. He was known to
be an awfully heavy hitter with both hands, a perfect glutton at
taking punishment.
Gnarler, subs. (thieves’).—A watch dog. For synonyms, see Tike.
Gnasp, verb. (old).—To vex. For synonyms, see Rile.
1728. Bailey, English Dict. s.v.
Gnoff.—See Gonnof.
Gnostic, subs. (colloquial).—A knowing one; a downy cove (q.v.); a
whipster (q.v.). [From the Gr., gnosis = knowledge.]
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 27. Many of the words used by the Canting
Beggars in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Masque are still to be heard
among the gnostics of Dyot Street and Tothill Fields.
adj. (colloquial).—Knowing, artful (q.v.).
Gnostically, adv. (colloquial).—Knowingly.
1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. iv. He was tog’d gnostically
enough.
Go, subs. (common).—1. A drink; specifically a quartern of gin.
(Formerly a go-down, but Cf., quot. 1811.)
[For other combinations see abroad—all fours—aloft—aunt—baby—back
on—bad—bail—baldheaded—bath—batter—bedfordshire—beggar’s
bush—better—blazes—blind—board—bodkin—bulge—bungay—bury—bust—by-by—call—camp—chump—college—cracked—dead
broke—devil—ding—ding-dong—dock—doss—drag—flouch—flue—gamble—glaze—glory
—gloves—grain—grass—ground—hairyfordshire—hall—halves—hang—hell—high
fly—high
toby—hooks—hoop—jericho—jump—kitchen—man—majority—mill—murphy—pace—pieces—pile—pot—queen—raker—range—rope-walk—salt
river—shallow—shop—slow—smash—snacks—snooks—spout—star-gazing—sweet
violets—top—walker’s bus—west—whole
animal—woodbine—woolgathering—wrong.]
English Synonyms.—Bender; caulker; coffin nail; common-sewer; cooler;
crack; cry; damp; dandy; dash; dew-hank; dewdrop; dodger; drain; dram;
facer; falsh; gargle; gasp; go-down; hair of the dog, etc.; Johnny;
lip; liquor up; livener; lotion; lounce; modest quencher; muzzler; nail
from one’s coffin; night-cap; nip or nipper; nobbler; old crow; a one,
a two, or a three; out; peg; pick-me-up; pony; quencher; reviver;
rince; sensation; settler; shift; shove in the mouth; slug; small
cheque; smile; snifter; something damp; something short; swig;
thimbleful; tiddly; top up; tot; warmer; waxer; wet; whitewash; yard.
French Synonyms.—Un bourgeron (popular = a nip of brandy); un asticot
de cercueil (= a coffin-worm, a play on verre and bière); un coup
d’arrosoir (popular: a touch of the watering pot); un gargarisme
(popular: = a gargle [q.v.]); un galopin (= a pony [q.v.] of beer); un
larme (= a tear); un mistiche (thieves’); un misérable (popular: a
glass of spirits costing one sou; une demoiselle = two sous; un
monsieur = four sous; un poisson = five sous); un mince de chic
(popular: in contempt); une coquille de noix (popular = a thimbleful; a
very small go; a drain); un jeune homme (familiar = in capacity four
litres); un Kolback (popular = a small glass of brandy, or large glass
of wine); une flûte (familiar); un extravagant (popular = a long
drink); un fil (= a drain); un distingué (popular); une douleur
(popular = a comforter or pick-me-up); un ballon (popular).
Italian Synonym.—Schioppa (= a long drink: also a large beer glass).
Spanish Synonyms.—Chisguete (colloquial); enjuagadientes (also = a
mouthful of water or wine for rinsing the mouth after eating); espolada
(= a long drink).
Portuguese Synonym.—Quebrado (= broken: a small glass).
1690. D’Urfey, Collin’s Walk, canto 4. And many more whose quality
Forbids their toping openly, Will privately, on good occasion, Take
six go-downs on reputation.
1793. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Go-shop.... The Queen’s Head in
Duke’s Court.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Go-shop, s.v. The Queen’s Head, in
Duke’s Court, Bow Street, Covent Garden, frequented by the under
players, where gin and water was sold in three-halfpenny bowls,
called goes; the gin was called Arrack.
1823. Jon. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, The Streets: Night. Chops, kidneys,
rabbits, oysters, stout, cigars, and goes innumerable, are served
up amidst a noise and confusion of smoking, running,
knife-clattering, and waiter-chattering, perfectly indescribable.
1841. Punch, Vol. I., p. 11, c. 1. Waiter, a go of Brett’s best
alcohol.
1849. Thackeray, Hoggarty Diamond, ch. ii. Two more chairs, Mary,
two more tumblers, two more hot waters, and two more goes of gin!
1850. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, p. 54. Drinking alternate goes of
gin and water with a dustman for the purpose of insinuating myself
into the affections of Miss Cinderella Smut, his interesting
sister.
1853. Diogenes, Vol. II., p. 271. Shall I spend it in theatres?
shows? In numerous alcohol goes?
1870. Figaro, 28 May. Their musical performances are evidently
inspired by goes of gin.
1883. Echo, 7 Feb., p. 4, c. 3. Witness asked him what he had been
drinking. He replied, ‘Two half-goes of rum hot and a half-pint of
beer.’
2. (colloquial).—An incident; an occurrence: e.g., a rum go = a strange
affair, or queer start; a pretty go = a startling business; a capital
go = a pleasant business.
1803. Kenney, Raising the Wind, i., 3. Ha! ha! ha! Capital go,
isn’t it?
1820. Jack Randall’s Diary. Gemmen (says he), you all well know The
joy there is whene’er we meet; It’s what I call the primest go, And
rightly named, ’tis—quite a treat.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 251. A considerable bustle and
shuffling of feet was then heard upon the stage, accompanied by
whispers of ‘Here’s a pretty go!—what’s to be done?’
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Misadventures at Margate.’ ‘O,
Mrs. Jones,’ says I, ‘look here! Ain’t this a pretty go!’
1841. Punch, vol. I., p. 162. Stating his conviction that this was
rayther a rummy go.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. lxxiii. Master Frank Clavering ...
had only time to ejaculate the words, ‘Here’s a jolly go!’ and to
disappear sniggering.
1869. Mrs. H. Wood, Roland Yorke, ch. xli. ‘I am about to try what
a month or two’s absence will do for me.’ ‘And leave us to old
Brown?—that will be a nice go!’
1876. George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, ch. vii. A rum go as ever I
saw.
1880. G. R. Sims, Three Brass Balls, pledge xvi. He ... exclaimed,
‘Well, I’m dashed if this isn’t a rum go!’
1883. R. L. Stevenson, Treasure Island, p. 55. A pretty rum go if
squire aint to talk for Doctor Livesey.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 305. ‘It was a near go,’ said
Jack.
3. (common).—The fashion; the cheese (q.v.); the correct thing.
Generally in the phrase all the go.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. He is quite the go, he is quite
varment, he is prime, he is bang up.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry [ed. 1891], p. 35. Tom was the go among
the goes.
1835. Haliburton (‘Sam Slick’), The Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xiv.
Whatever is the go in Europe will soon be the cheese here.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, I., 251. It was rather the go With
Pilgrims and Saints in the Second Crusade.
1846. Punch, vol. X., p. 163. From lowly Queen’s quadrangle, Where
muffins are the go.
1880. G. R. Sims, Ballads of Babylon (Beauty and Beast). And all
day long there’s a big crowd stops To look at the lady who’s all
the go.
4. (colloquial).—Life; spirit; energy; enterprise; impetus: e.g.,
plenty of go = full of spirit and dash. Fr.: avoir du chien.
1825. The English Spy, i., 178. She’s only fit to carry a dean or a
bishop. No go in her.
1865. Macdonald, Alec Forbes of How-glen, II., 269. All night
Tibbie Dyster had lain awake in her lonely cottage, listening to
the quiet heavy go of the water.
1882. Daily Telegraph, 9 Oct. Mr. Grossmith’s music is bright and
tripping, full of humour and go, as, under such circumstances,
music should be!
1883. Illustrated London News, 10 March, p. 242, c. 3. There was
any amount of dash and go in their rowing.
1887. Paton, Down the Islands. Barbadian may therefore be said to
mean a man with go and grit, energy and vim.
1889. Sportsman, 19 Jan. It all lent a certain zest and go to the
proceedings.
1890. Pall Mall Gaz., 21 Feb., p. 7, c. 1. There was so much
heartiness and go (so to speak) in the work that it reminded me of
what I had read about peasant proprietors labouring in Switzerland
and elsewhere under a Home Rule Government.
5. (colloquial).—A turn; an attempt; a chance. Cf., No go.
To have a go at, verb. phr. = to make essay of anything: as a man in a
fight, a shot at billiards, and (specifically) a woman.
1836. C. Dickens, Pickwick Papers (about 1827), p. 377 (ed. 1857).
Wot do you think o’ that for a go?
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. III., p. 221. I’ve twelve
this go. I did a lagging of seven, and was at the Gib. three out of
it.
1878. Jas. Payn, By Proxy, ch. iii. ‘I would practise that in the
seclusion of my own apartments,’ observed Pennicuick; ‘and after a
few goes at it, I’ll bet a guinea I’d shake the right stick out
first.’
1888. Haggard, Mr. Meeson’s Will, ch. x. You have had seven goes
and I have only had six.
6. (American).—A success. To make a go of it = to bring things to a
satisfactory termination.
1888. Harper’s Mag., vol. LXXVII., p. 689. Determination to make
the venture a go.
7. (gaming). The last card at cribbage, or the last piece at dominoes.
When a player is unable to follow the lead, he calls a go!
8. (old.)—A dandy (q.v. for synonyms); a very heavy swell indeed, one
in the extreme of fashion.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry [people’s ed.], p. 35. In the parks, Tom
was the go among the goes.
Verb (American political).—1. To vote; to be in favour of. Cf., Go for.
2. (colloquial).—To succeed; to achieve. Cf., Go down.
1866. Public Opinion, 13 Jan., p. 51, c. 1. His London-street
railway scheme didn’t go.
1870. H. D. Traill, ‘On the Watch.’ Sat. Songs, p. 22. Eh, waddyer
say? Don’t it go? Ho, yes! my right honnerble friend. It’s go and
go over the left, it’s go with a hook at the end.
3. (colloquial).—To wager; to risk. Hence to stand treat; to afford.
1768. Goldsmith, Good Natured Man, Act iii. Men that would go forty
guineas on a game of cribbage.
1876. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly, Prologue ii. The very dice
on the counter with which the bar-keeper used to go the miners for
drinks.
1877. S. L. Clemens (M. Twain), Life on the Mississippi, ch.
xliii., p. 390. There’s one thing in this world which a person
won’t take in pine if he can go walnut; and won’t take in walnut if
he can go mahogany.... That’s a coffin.
c. 1882. Comic Song, ‘The West End Boys,’ verse 3. Another bitter I
really can’t go.
1887. World, 20 Apr., p. 8. While making up his mind, apparently
whether he would go ‘three’ or ‘Nap.’
4. (racing).—To ride to hounds.
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 219. There would be far
too many there who had seen Gerald Rockingham go with the York and
Ainstey not to at once know that he and Jim Forrest were identical.
5. (colloquial).—To be pregnant.
1561–1626. Bacon, (quoted by Dr. Johnson). Women go commonly nine
months, the cow and ewe about six months.
1601. Shakspeare, Henry VIII., iv., 1. Great bellied women that had
not half a week to go.
Go down, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To be accepted, received, or
swallowed; to wash (q.v.).
1609. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candle-Light, in wks. (Grosart), III.,
272. For the woorst hors-flesh (so it be cheape) does best goe
downe with him.
1659. Massinger, City Madam, i., 1. But now I fear it will be spent
in poultry; Butcher’s-meat will not go down.
1663. Pepys, Diary, 9 Nov. The present clergy will never heartily
go down with the generality of the commons of England.
1742. Fielding, Joseph Andrews, bk. II., ch. xvii. ‘O ho! you are a
pretty traveller,’ cries the host, ‘and not know the Levant! ...
you must not talk of these things with me, you must not tip us the
traveller—it won’t go here.’
1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xxi. He ... shook his head, and
beginning with his usual exclamation said, ‘That won’t go down with
me.’
1885. W. E. Norris, Adrian Vidal, ch. vii. In fashion or out of
fashion, they always pay and always go down with the public.
2. (University).—To be under discipline; to be rusticated.
1863. H. Kingsley, Austin Elliot, i., 179. How dare you say ‘deuce’
in my presence? You can go down, my Lord.
3. (common).—To become bankrupt. Also, to go under.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 19. Some one
had certainly gone down.
To go due north, verb. phr. (obsolete).—To go bankrupt. [That is, to go
to White-cross Street Prison, once situate in north London]. See
Quisby.
To go on the dub, verb. phr. (old).—To go house-breaking; to pick
locks. See Dub.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew. Going upon the dub, c.
Breaking a House with picklocks.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
To go to the dogs, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To go to ruin. [Cf., the
Dutch proverb ‘Toe goê, toe de dogs’ = money gone, credit gone too.]
See Demnition bow-wows.
1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, ch. i. The service, he said, would
go to the dogs, and might do for anything he cared and he did not
mind how soon.
1863. H. Kingsley, Austin Elliot, 1, 179. ‘Got a second!—bah! The
University is going to the ‘——’ Deuce!’ suggested Lord Charles, who
was afraid of something worse. ‘Dogs, Sir, dogs!’
c. 1879. Broadside Ballad, ‘Old Clo’.’ My line of business is
played out, it’s going to the dogs.
To go off on the ear, verb. phr. (American).—To get angry; to fly into
a tantrum. See Nab the rust.
To go for, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To attempt; to tackle; to
resolve upon; to make for (q.v.).
1871. John Hay, Jim Bludso. He see’d his duty, a dead-sure
thing—And he went for it thar and then.
1890. Athenæum, 22 Mar., p. 366, c. 1. The authors have spared
neither their creatures nor the reader one iota; whenever an
unpleasant effect was obtainable, they straightway seem to have
gone for it with unflinching zest.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 221. Some men had gone for half a
dozen, others for two or three, and very few for a single.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 118. We are strong,
my boy, strong now, and are going in for the slugging of books
also, as well as the immorality of trade.
2. (colloquial).—To attack with violence and directness, whether
manually or with the tongue.
1871. Morning Advertiser, 2 Feb., ‘A curtain lecture.’ On ...
arrival home the derelict husband is to be gone for in the most
approved style of the late lamented Mrs. Caudle.
1883. James Payn, Thicker than Water, ch. xxxvii. There were
occasions ... when Charley could hardly help going for the legs of
that lofty philosopher, for higher he could not hit him.
1889. Polytechnic Magazine, 24 Oct., p. 261. He went for the jam
tarts unmercifully.
1889. Star, 24 Aug., p. 4, c. 2. As the enlightened tailor still
declined to pay the blackmail one of the anti-machinists went for
him with a chopper.
1892. Tit Bits, 19 Mar., p. 424, c. 1. So it comes to much the same
thing, with the exception that you cannot indulge in the sad
delight of going for Master Bertie sometimes as you might do were
he a member of your own household.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 123. “Well mate, go
for him, and we’ll keep the cops off till you settle his hash.”
3. (colloquial).—To support; to favour; to vote for.
4. (theatrical).—To criticise; specifically, to run down. [An extension
of sense 2.] For synonyms, see Run down.
To go in for (or at), verb. phr. (colloquial).—To enter for; to apply
oneself to (e.g., to go in for honours). Also to devote oneself to
(e.g., to pay court); to take up (as a pastime, pursuit, hobby, or
principle). Closely allied to go for.
1836. C. Dickens, Pickwick Papers, p. 18 (ed. 1857). This advice
was very like that which bystanders invariably give to the smallest
boy in a street fight; namely, ‘Go in, and win’: an admirable thing
to recommend, if you only know how to do it.
1849. Dickens, David Copperfield, ch. xviii., p. 162. Sometimes I
go in at the butcher madly, and cut my knuckles open against his
face.
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, iii., 3. Go in for money——Money’s
the article.
1869. Whyte Melville, M. or N., p. 31. Long before he had reached
his uncle’s house, he had made up his mind to go in, as he called
it, for Miss Bruce, morally confident of winning, yet troubled with
certain chilling misgivings, as fearing that this time he had
really fallen in love.
1870. Agricultural Jour., Feb. Men who go in for bathing, running,
etc.
1872. Besant and Rice, My Little Girl (in Once a Week, 14 Dec., p.
508). He had, after a laborious and meritorious career at Aberdeen,
gone in for Scotch mission work in Constantinople.
1873. Miss Broughton, Nancy, ch. xlv. His cheeks are flushed; he is
laughing loudly, and going in heavily for the champagne.
1883. James Payn, Thicker than Water, ch. xx. This is very nice,
but I do wonder, Mrs. Tidman, that you never go in for curries.
1890. H. D. Traill, ‘A Noble Watchword,’ Sat. Songs, p. 58. To go
in solid for the cause how noble! (though, ’tis true, We must hope
at next election that you’ll go in liquid, too).
To go in unto, verb. phr. (Biblical).—To have sexual intercourse with.
For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
1892. Bible, Gen. xxx. 3. Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her.
To go it, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To act with vigour and daring; to
advocate or speak strongly; to live freely. Also to go it blind, fast,
bald-headed, strong, etc. Cf., Dash.
1689 (in Arber, Eng. Garner, vol. VII., p. 365). When these had
shared her cargo, they parted company: the French with their shares
went it for Petty Guavas in the Grand Gustaphus.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry [people’s ed.], p. 67. Logic, under the
domino, had been going it on a few of his friends with much humour.
Ibid., p. 22. To go it, where’s a place like London?
1837. R. H. Barham, The Ingoldsby Legends (Ed. 1862), p. 375. For
of this be assured, if you go it too fast, you’ll be ‘dished’ like
Sir Guy.
1846–48. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, vol. I., ch. 26. ‘He’s going it
pretty fast,’ said the clerk.
1849. Dickens, David Copperfield, ch. 6. I say young Copperfield,
you’re going it.
1841. Dow, Sermons, vol. I., p. 176. I would have you understand,
my dear hearers, that I have no objection to some of the sons and
daughters of the earth going it, while they are young, provided
they don’t go it too strong.
1864. Fraser’s Mag., Aug., p. 54. But what if that O, brave heart?
Art thou a labourer? Labour on, Art thou a poet? Go it strong.
1880. Milliken, in Punch’s Almanack Apr. Nobby togs, high jinks,
and lots o’ lotion, That’s the style to go it, I’ve a notion.
Intj. (common).—Keep at it! Keep it up!—a general (sometimes ironical)
expression of encouragement. Also go it ye gripples, crutches are
cheap! (or newgate’s on fire); go it, my tulip; go it my gay and
festive cuss! (Artemus Ward); or (American) go it boots! go it rags!
i’ll hold your bonnet! g’lang! (usually to a man making the pace on
foot or horseback.) For similar expressions see Mother. Fr., hardi!
1840. Thackeray, Cox’s Diary. Come along this way, ma’am! Go it, ye
cripples!
1854. Thackeray, The Rose and the Ring, p. 92. ‘Go it, old boy!’
cried the impetuous Smith.
1868. Miss Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, bk. I., ch. iii. Three
cheers for red! Go it—go it, red!
1890. Tit Bits, 1 Mar., p. 325. ‘Not for Joe’ ... came from a once
popular song. So did go it, you cripples.
To go out, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To fall into disuse.
1841. Punch, vol. I., p. 113. Pockets, ... to use the flippant
idiom of the day, are going out.
To go over, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To desert from one side to
another; specifically (clerical) to join the Church of Rome; to vert
(q.v.).
1861. Thackeray, Lovel the Widwer, ch. ii. I remember Pye, of
Maudlin, just before he went over, was perpetually in Miss Prior’s
back parlour with little books, pictures, medals, etc.
1878. Miss Braddon, Open Verdict, ch. vi. Mr. Dulcimer is a horrid
person to tell you such stories; and after this, I shouldn’t be at
all surprised at his going over to Rome.
2. (colloquial).—To die; i.e., to go over to join the majority. Also to
go off. To go off the hooks, to go under, to go aloft, and to go up.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 4. ‘A sight, marm, this
coon’s gone over.’ Ibid., p. 3. Them three’s all gone under.
3. (thieves’).—To attack, rifle, and rob.
1889. Referee, 2 June. A few who had ... gone over the landlord,
left him skinned.
To go off, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To take place; to occur.
1866. Mrs. Gaskell, Wives and Daughters, ch. xiv. The wedding went
off much as such affairs do.
2. (colloquial).—To be disposed of (as goods on sale, or a woman in
marriage).
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 208. Miss Malderton was as well
known as the lion on the top of Northumberland House, and had an
equal chance of going off.
3. (colloquial).—To deteriorate (as fish by keeping, or a woman with
years).
1883. Pall Mall Gazette, 16 Apr., p. 3, c. 2. Shotover rather went
off in the Autumn, and her Leger preparation was not altogether
satisfactory.
1892. Tit-Bits, 17 Sept., p. 422, c. 3. To those ... who are apt to
go off colour, so to speak, through injudicious indulgence at
table.
4. (colloquial).—To die. For synonyms, see Aloft.
1606. Shakspeare, Macbeth, v., 7. I would the friends we miss were
safe arrived: Some must go off.
1836. C. Dickens, Pickwick Papers (about 1827), p. 368 (Ed. 1857).
She’s dead, God bless her, and thank him for it!—was seized with a
fit and went off.
Go as you please, adj. phr. (athletics’).—Applied to races where the
competitors can run, walk, or rest at will: e.g., in time and distance
races. Hence, general freedom of action.
1884. Punch, 11 Oct. ‘’Arry at a Political Picnic’ ’Twas regular go
as you please.
To go to Bath, Putney, etc.—See Bath, Blazes, Hell, Halifax, etc.
To go through, verb. phr. (American).—1. To rob: i.e., to turn inside
out. Hence, to master violently and completely; to make an end of.
1872. Evening Standard, 21 June. The roughs would work their will,
and, in their own phrase, go through New York pretty effectually.
1888. Baltimore Sun. He was garrotted, and the two robbers went
through him before he could reach the spot.
Ibid. It was a grand sight to see Farnsworth go through him; he did
not leave him a single leg to stand upon.
2. (venery).—To possess a woman. For synonyms, see Ride.
To go up (or under), verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To go to wreck and
ruin; to become bankrupt; to disappear from society. Also, to die. For
synonyms, see Deadbroke.
1864. The Index, June. Soon after the blockade, many thought we
should go up on the salt question.
1879. Jas. Payn, High Spirits (Finding His Level). Poor John
Weybridge, Esq., became as friendless as penniless, and eventually
went under, and was heard of no more.
1890. Pall Mall Gaz., 29 May, p. 5, c. 1. He asks us further to
state that the strike is completely at an end, the society having
gone under.
2. (colloquial).—To die: Cf. Ger.: untergehen. For synonyms, see Aloft.
18(?). Hawkeye, The Iowa Chief, p. 210. Poor Hawkeye felt, says one
of his biographers, that his time had come, and knowing that he
must go under sooner or later, he determined to sell his life
dearly.
1849. Ruxton, Life in the far West, p. 2. Them three’s all gone
under.
1888. Daily Inter. Ocean, Mar. All solemnly vowed to see that the
mine should be worked solely for the benefit of the girl whether
Jim lived or had gone under.
To go up, verb. phr. (American).—To die; specifically to die by the
rope.
1867. Hepworth Dixon, New America, i., 11. Unruly citizens are
summarily hung on a cotton tree, and when any question is asked
about them, the answer is briefly given, gone up—i.e., gone up the
cotton tree, or suspended from one of its branches.
To go up for, verb. phr. (common).—To enter for (as an examination).
1889. Globe, 12 Oct., p. 1, c. 4. Always, it seems likely, there
will be men going up for examinations; and every now and again, no
doubt, there will be among them a wily ‘Heathen Pass-ee’ like him
of whom Mr. Hilton speaks—who had cribs up his sleeve, and notes on
his cuff.
To go with, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To agree or harmonise with. See
Gee.
2. (colloquial).—To share the sexual embrace. For synonyms, see Greens
and Ride.
On the go, adv. phr. (colloquial).—On the move; restlessly active.
No go, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Of no use; not to be done; a complete
failure. Frequently contracted to N.G.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 18. I know something about this
here family, and my opinion is, it’s no go.
1853. Diogenes, vol. II., p. 271. Dear master, don’t think of me
ill; If I say—as the lists are no go—You’ve in future no fear for
the till!
1884. Notes and Queries, 6 S., x., p. 125. There were on the
occasion so many rounds and so many no goes.
1888. Puck’s Library, May, p. 12. He thought a moment, and shook
his head. It’s no go was the dictum.
1890. Punch, 22 Feb., p. 85. He’s a long-winded lot, is Buchanan,
slops over tremenjous, he do;... But cackle and splutter ain’t
swimming; so Robert, my nabs, it’s no go.
1892. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Ladies’ Gallery, p. 84.
She sees it is no go with the baronet.
A little bit on the go, adv. phr. (old).—Slightly inebriated; elevated.
For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry [peoples’ ed.], p. 58. The Corinthian had
made him a little bit on the go.
Goad, subs. (old).—1. A decoy at auctions; a horse-chaunter; a peter
funk (q.v.). [One who goads (i.e., sends up) the prices.]
1609. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candle light, ch. x. They that stand by
and conycatche the chapman either with out-bidding, false praises,
etc., are called goades.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Goads, those that
wheedle in Chapmen for Horse-coursers,
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. in. pl. (old).—False dice.—Chapman. For synonyms, see Ivories.
Goal, subs. (Winchester College).—1. At football the boy who stands at
the centre of each end, acting as umpire; and (2) the score of three
points made when the ball is kicked between his legs, or over his head
without his touching it.
1870. Mansfield, School-Life at Winchester College, p. 138. Midway
between each of the two ends of the line was stationed another boy,
as umpire (Goal, he was called) who stood with his legs wide apart,
and a gown rolled up at each foot: if the ball was kicked directly
over his head, or between his legs, without his touching it, it was
a goal, and scored three for the party that kicked it.
Goaler’s Coach. See Gaoler’s Coach.
Go-along, subs. (thieves’).—A fool; a flat (q.v.). For synonyms, see
Buffle and Cabbage Head.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 460. In
four days my adviser left me; he had no more use for me. I was a
flat. He had me for a go-along, to cry his things for him.
1853. Household Words, No. 183. s.v. ‘Slang.’
Goat, subs. (old).—A lecher; a molrower (q.v.).
1599. Shakspeare, Henry V., iv., 4. Thou damn’d and luxurious
mountain goat.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Goat, a Lecher, a very
lascivious person.
1717. Cibber, Nonjuror, i., 1. At the tea-table I have seen the
impudent goat most lusciously sip off her leavings.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Verb (common).—1. To thrash. For synonyms, see Tan.
1864. Derby Day, p. 70. You won’t goat me? Not this journey.
To play the goat. verb. phr. (common).—1. To play the fool; to monkey
(q.v.). Fr., faire l’oiseau.
2. (venery).—To lead a fast life; to be given to molrowing (q.v.).
To ride the goat, verb. phr. (common).—To be initiated into a secret
society. [From the vulgar error that a live goat, for candidates to
ride, is one of the standing properties of a Masonic lodge.]
Goatee, subs. (colloquial).—A tufted beard on the point of a shaven
chin. [In imitation of the tuft of hair on a goat’s chin.]
English Synonyms (for a beard generally).—Charley; imperial; Newgate
(or sweep’s) frill, or fringe.
French Synonyms.—Une marmouse (thieves’); un impériale (colloquial:
formerly une royale); un bouc or une bouquine (= a goatee); bacchantes
(thieves’: the beard, but more especially the whiskers, from bâche =
awning).
German Synonym.—Soken (from the Hebrew; also = old man).
Italian Synonyms.—Bosco di berlo (the forest on the face); settosa (=
full of hair); spinola (= thorny).
Spanish Synonym.—Bosque (= wood).
1869. Orchestra, 18 June. Working carpenters with a straggling
goatee on the chin, and a mass of unkempt hair on the head.
Goater, subs. (American thieves’).—Dress. For synonyms, see Togs.
Goat-house, subs. (old).—A brothel. [From Goat, subs., sense 1.] For
synonyms, see Nanny-shop.
Goatish, adj. (old, now recognised).—Lecherous. [As vieing with a goat
in lust.] Hence Goatishly, adv., and Goatishness, subs.
1622. Massinger and Dekker, Virgin Martyr, iii., 1. Give your
chaste body up to the embraces of goatish lust.
1605. Shakspeare, King Lear, i. 2. An admirable evasion of
whoremaster-man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of a
star.
Goat-Milker, subs. (venery).—1. A prostitute. For synonyms, see
Barrack-hack and Tart.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Goat’s Jig (or Gigg), subs. (old).—Copulation. For synonyms, see
Greens.—Grose.
Go-away, subs. (American thieves’).—A railway-train.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. The knuck was working the goaways at
Jersey City.
Gob (or Gobbett), subs. (old: now vulgar). 1. A portion; a mouthful; a
morsel. Also a gulp; a bolt (q.v.). [Latin, gob = mouth: Old Fr., gob =
a gulp.] Skeat says the shorter form gob is rare.
1380. Wycliffe, Trans. of Bible. Thei token the relifis of broken
gobetis twelve cofres full.
1542. Apop. of Erasmus [1878], p. 14. A bodie thinketh hymself well
emende in his substaunce and riches, to whom hath happened some
good gubbe of money, and maketh a great whinyng if he haue had any
losse of the same.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, in wks., v., 261. And thrust him downe
his pudding house at a gobbe.
1605. Chapman, All Fools, Act iii., p. 62 (Plays, 1874). Ri. And do
you think He’ll swallow down the gudgeon? Go. O my life, It were a
gross gob would not down with him.
1611. L. Barry, Ram. Alley, I., i. That little land he gave,
Throate the lawyer swallowed at one gob For less than half the
worth.
1689. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 50 (Arber’s ed.). The meaning of the
Law was, that so much should be taken from a man, such a gobbet
sliced off, that yet notwithstanding he might live in the same Rank
and Condition he lived in before; but now they Fine men ten times
more than they are worth.
1690. B. E., Dict. Canting Crew, s.v. Gob(c) ... also a Bit or
Morsel; hence gobbets, now more in use for little Bits.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Gob or gobbet (s.) a piece
just big enough, or fit to be put into the mouth at once.
1774. Foote, Cozeners, ii., 2. The venison was over-roasted, and
stunk—but Doctor Dewlap twisted down such gobs of fat.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1816. Johnson, Eng. Dict. (12th ed.). Gob, a small quantity, a low
word.
1869. S. L. Clemens (M. Twain), Innocents Abroad, ch. vii. It is
pushed out into the sea on the end of a flat, narrow strip of land,
and is suggestive of a gob of mud on the end of a shingle.
2. (common).—The mouth. Shut your gob = an injunction to silence. See
Gab. A spank on the gob = a blow on the mouth. Gob-full of claret = a
bleeding at the mouth. Gift of the gab or gob, see Gab. For synonyms
see Potato-trap.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Gob, the Mouth.
1819. T. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 18. Home-hits in the
bread-basket, clicks in the gob. Ibid., p. 30.
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. 1. ‘All right—all right,’ I
then exclaimed, as I thrust half a doubled-up muffin into my gob.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 469. I
managed somehow to turn my gob (mouth) round and gnawed it away.
3. (common).—A mouthful of spittle. Fr., un copeau; It., smalzo di
cavio (= gutter-butter). For synonyms, see Sixpences.
Verb. (common).—1. To swallow in mouthfuls; to gulp down. Also gobble
(q.v.).
1692. L’Estrange, Fables. Down comes a kite powdering upon them,
and gobbets up both together.
2. (common).—To expectorate. Fr., glavioter (popular); molarder.
Gobbie, subs. (nautical).—A coastguardsman; whence gobbie-ship, a man
of war engaged in the preventive service.
1890. Scotsman, 4 Aug. When a meeting takes place the men indulge
in a protracted yarn and a draw of the pipe. The session involves a
considerable amount of expectoration all round, whereby our friends
come to be known as gobbies, and in process of time the term came
to be applied to the ships engaged in the service. Ibid. There are
no fewer than three other gobbie ships in the channel fleet, each
of which carries a considerable number of coastguardsmen putting in
their annual period of drill.
Gobble (or Gobble up), verb. (vulgar).—To swallow hastily or greedily;
hence (American) to seize, capture, or appropriate. Also gob: e.g., gob
that!
1602. Dekker, Satiro-mastix, in wks. (1873) i. 233. They will come
to gobble downe Plummes.
1728. Swift, Misc. Poems, in wks. (1824) xiv. 232. The time too
precious now to waste, The supper gobbled up in haste.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. cvi. Summoned in such a
plaguy hurry from his dinner, which he had been fain to gobble up
like a cannibal.
1846–48. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, vol. 1, ch. v. Mr. Jos. ... helped
Rebecca to everything on the table, and himself gobbled and drank a
great deal.
1860. Thackeray, Philip, ch. xiii. There was a wily old monkey who
thrust the cat’s paw out, and proposed to gobble up the smoking
prize.
Gobble-prick, subs. (old).—A lecherous woman.—Grose.
Gobbler, subs. (old).—1. A duck.—Harman.
2. (colloquial).—A turkey cock; a bubbly-jock (q.v.). Also Gobble-cock.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1851. Hooper, Widow Rugby’s Husband, etc., p. 94. Her face was as
red as a gobbler’s snout.
3. (vulgar).—The mouth. For synonyms, see Potato-trap.
4. (colloquial).—A greedy eater. For synonyms, see Stodger.
Gobbling, subs. (vulgar).—Gorging.
1846–48. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. iii., vol. 1. His mouth was
full of it, his face quite red with the delightful exercise of
gobbling ‘Mother, it’s as good as my own curries in India.’
Go-between, subs. (old).—A pimp or bawd. Now an intermediary of any
kind.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act ii., sc. 2. Even as
you came into me, her assistant, or go-between, parted from me.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Goblin, subs. (old).—A sovereign. For synonyms, see Canary.
1887. W. E. Henley, Villon’s Straight Tip. Your merry goblins soon
stravag: Boose and the blowens cop the lot.
Gob-box, subs. (common).—The mouth. [From gob, subs.] For synonyms, see
Potato-trap.
1773. Forster, Goldsmith, Bk. IV., ch. xiv., p. 414 (5th ed.).
Shuter protesting in his vehement odd way that ‘the boy could
patter,’ and ‘use the gob-box as quick and smart as any of them.’
1819. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor, ch. i. Your characters ... made
too much use of the gob-box; they patter too much.
Gob-stick, subs. (old).—A silver table-spoon. (In use in America =
either spoon or fork); (nautical), a horn or wooden spoon.
1789. Parker, Life’s Painter, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Gob-string (or Gab-string), subs. (old).—A bridle.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Go-by, subs. (colloquial).—The act of passing; an evasion; a deception.
To give one the go-by = to cut; to leave in the lurch. Cf., Cut (subs.
sense 2, verb. sense 2).
1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, p. 214. When we came in contact with a
travelling bookseller we could give him the go-by with our library.
1892. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, ch. ix. She gave us the go-by in
the fog—as I wish from the heart that ye had done yoursel’!
1892. Sala’s Journal, 25 June, p. 194. Now can you understand how
it is possible, and, I think, expedient, to give politics the
go-by, so far as one conveniently can?
Go-by-the-Ground, subs. (old).—A dumpy man or woman.—Grose.
God, subs. (common).—1. in. pl., the occupants of the gallery at a
theatre. [Said to have been first used by Garrick because they were
seated on high, and close to the sky-painted ceiling.] Fr., paradis =
gallery; also poulailler. In feminine, Goddess.
1772. Cumberland, Fashionable Lover [probably spoken by printer’s
devil]. ’Tis odds For one poor devil to face so many gods.
1812. J. and H. Smith, Rejected Addresses, p. 128 [ed. 1869]. Each
one shilling god within reach of a nod is, And plain are the charms
of each gallery goddess.
1843. Thackeray, Irish Sketch Book, ch. xxvii. The gallery was
quite full ... one young god, between the acts, favoured the public
with a song.
1872. M. E. Braddon, Dead Sea Fruit, ch. xiv. There come
occasionally actors and actresses of higher repute, eager to gather
new laurels in these untrodden regions, and not ill pleased to find
themselves received with noisy rapture and outspoken admiration by
the ruder gods and homelier goddesses of a threepenny gallery.
1890. Globe, 7 Apr., p. 2, c. 2. The gods, or a portion of them,
hooted and hissed while the National Anthem was being performed.
1892. Sydney Watson, Wops the Waif, iii., iv. It is only when we
have paid our ‘tuppence’ and ascended to the gallery just under the
roof, known as ‘among the gods,’ that we begin to understand what
is meant by the lowest classes, the ‘great unwashed.’
1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 20 Apr., p. 2, c. 3. If theatre managers
would only give the public the chance of as good a seat as can be
got at the Trocadero or the Pavilion, at the same price, and manage
the ventilation of their houses so as not to bake the gods and
freeze the ‘pitites,’ I venture to think that fewer people would go
to the music halls.
2. in. pl. (printers’).—The quadrats used in jeffing (q.v.).
3. (tailors’).—A block pattern. Gods of cloth = ‘classical
tailors.’—Grose. See Snip.
4. (Eton).—A boy in the sixth form.
1881. Pascoe, Life in our Public Schools. A god at Eton is probably
in a more exalted position, and receives more reverence than will
ever afterwards fall to his lot.
A sight for the gods, phr. (common).—A matter of wonderment.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 31. Stringy Bark
prepared to greet his native land, was a sight for the gods to
behold with satisfaction, and men to view from afar with awed
respect.
God Pays! phr. (old).—An expression at one time much in the mouth of
disbanded soldiers and sailors (who assumed a right to live on the
public charity). The modern form is, ‘If I don’t pay you, God Almighty
will.’
1605. London Prodigal, ii., 3. But there be some that bear a
soldier’s form, That swear by him they never think upon; Go
swaggering up and down, from house to house, Crying, God pays.
1630. Taylor, in wks. These feather’d fidlers sing, and leape, and
play, The begger takes delight, and God doth pay.
1640. Ben Jonson, Epigr. XII. To every cause he meets, this voice
he brays, His only answer is to all, God pays.
God (or Bramah) Knows: I don’t, phr. (common).—An emphatic rejoinder.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Come Iddio vel dica., a phrase,
as wee would say: God himselfe tell you, I cannot.
Goddess Diana, subs. phr. (rhyming). A sixpence. For synonyms, see
Tanner.
1864. The Press, 12 Nov. Goddess diana is the rhyming equivalent
for a tanner which signifies sixpence.
God-dot! intj. (old).—An oath. By God! [A contraction of ‘God wot!’]
For synonyms, see Oaths.
Godfather, subs. (old).—A juryman.
1598. Shakspeare, Merchant of Venice, iv. 1. In christ’ning thou
shalt have two godfathers, Had I been judge, thou should’st have
had ten more, To bring thee to the gallows, not the font.
1616. Ben Jonson, Devil’s An Ass, v., 5. Not I, If you be such a
one, sir, I will leave you To your god-fathers in law. Let twelve
men work.
1638. Randolph, Muses’ Looking Glass, ix. 251. I had rather zee him
remitted to the jail, and have his twelve godvathers, good men and
true, condemn him to the gallows.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
To stand Godfather, verb. phr. (common).—To pay the reckoning.
[Godfathers being the objects of much solicitude and expectation.]
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Will you stand godfather, and we
will take care of the brat? = repay you another time.
Go-down, subs. (old).—1. A draught of liquor; a go (q.v.).
2. (American).—See quot.
1881. New York Times, 18 Dec., quoted in ‘N and Q’ 6, S. v. 65. Go
Down.—A cutting in the bank of a stream for enabling animals to
cross or to get to water.
God-permit, subs. (old).—A stage coach. [Which was advertised to start
Deo volente.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. God-permit, a stage coach, from
that affectation of piety, frequently to be met with in
advertisements of stage coaches or waggons, where most of their
undertakings are promised with if God permit, or God willing.
1825. Modern Flash Dict., s.v.
God’s-mercy, subs. (old).—Ham (or bacon) and eggs. [‘There’s nothing in
the house but God’s mercy’: at one time a common answer in country inns
to travellers in quest of provant.]
God’s-penny, subs. (old).—An earnest penny.
1690. B. E., Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. God’s Penny, Earnest
Money, to Bind a Bargain.
1765. Percy, Reliques, ‘The heir of Linne.’ Then John he did him to
record draw, And John he cast him a God’s pennie.
Go-easter, subs. (American cowboys’).—A portmanteau; a peter (q.v.).
[Because seldom used except in going city- or east-wards.]
Goer, subs. (old).—1. The foot. For synonyms, see Creepers.
1557–1634. Chapman, in Encyclop. Dict. A double mantle, cast
Athwart his shoulders, his faire goers grac’t With fitted shoes.
2. (colloquial).—An expert or adept; as in drawing, talking, riding;
one well up to his (or her) work: generally with an adjective, as e.g.,
a fast (or hell of a) goer = a good goer.
1857. G. A. Lawrence, Guy Livingstone, ch. xx. Nevertheless, she
was always deeply engaged, and generally to the best goers in the
room.
Goff. See Mrs. Goff.
Goggles, subs. (common).—1. A goggle-eyed person. Also Goggler.
1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Knight of Malta, v., 2. Do you stare,
goggles?
1891. Clark Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 51. No use sending blind man
aloft, gogglers like myself, worse luck.
2. in. pl. (common).—The eyes: specifically those with a constrained or
rolling stare; also Goggle-eyes. Goggle-eyed = squint-eyed.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, Strabo, he that looketh a squint
or is goggle-eide.
c. 1746. Robertson of Struan, Poems, 69. An eagle of a dwarfish
size, With crooked Beak, and gogle eyes.
1691–1763. Byrom, Dissection of a Beau’s Head. Those muscles, in
English, wherewith a man ogles, When on a fair lady he fixes his
goggles.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1821. Pierce Egan, Life in London, p. 241. Rolling your goggles
about after all manner of people.
3. in. pl. (common).—Spectacles. For synonyms, see Barnacles.
Verb (colloquial).—Goggle = to roll the eyes; to stare.
1577–87. Holinshed, Description of Ireland, ch. i. They goggle with
their eyes hither and thither.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Goggle, to stare.
1820–37. Walpole, Letters, iii., 174. He goggled his eyes.
1880. Millikin, Punch’s Almanack, April. Scissors! don’t they
goggle and look blue.
Gogmagog, subs. (colloquial).—A goblin; a monster; a frightful
apparition.—Hood.
Going, subs. (colloquial).—The condition of a road, a piece of ground,
a cinder-path: i.e., the accommodation for travelling. E.g., the going
is bad.
1872. Morning Post, 19 Aug. The Lamb’s starting in the Frankfort
steeple-chase will depend upon the state of the ground, and,
avoiding Wiesbaden, where the going is indifferent.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 23 Nov. The going was wonderfully clean for
the time of year.
Goings-on, subs. (colloquial).—Behaviour; proceedings; conduct. Cf.,
Carryings on.
1845. Douglas Jerrold, Mrs. Caudle, Lecture viii. Pretty place it
must be where they don’t admit women. Nice goings-on, I daresay,
Mr. Caudle.
1870. Lloyd’s Newspaper, 11 Sept. ‘Review.’ Elsie is beloved by
Gawthwaite, the village schoolmaster, and he takes her to task for
her goings-on.
Goldarned (or Goldurned, Goldasted, etc.), adj. (common).—A mild form
of oath: = Blamed (q.v.); Bloody (q.v.). See Oaths. As intj., Goldarn
it! etc.
1888. American Humorist. ‘Bill, are you hurt?’ ‘Yes, by gum; I’ve
broke my goldarned neck.’
1888. Cincinnati Enquirer. Finally, Deacon Spalding broke out with:
‘That goldasted St. Louis mugwump has made suckers of us again with
his cracks about coming into the league. I move we adjourn.’
Gold-backed ’Un, subs. (common).—A louse. Also Grey-backed ’un. For
synonyms, see Chates.
Gold Bug, subs. phr. (American).—A man of wealth and (inferentially)
distinction; a millionaire. See Bug.
1888. St. Louis Globe Democrat, Mar. 5. I do not think the feeling
against silver is anything like as strong as it was. Of course, a
few gold bugs might fight him.
Gold-dropper, subs. (old).—A sharper. An old-time worker of the
confidence trick. See quots. Also Gold-finder.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Gold-droppers, Sweetners, Cheats,
Sharpers.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Gold-finder (s.) ... also a
cant name for a cheat, who under the pretence of finding a piece of
money, and inviting a by-stander to partake of a treat, etc., out
of it, endeavours to get him to play at cards, dice, etc., in order
to win or cheat him of his money; they are sometimes also called
guinea-droppers.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Sharpers who drop a piece of gold,
which they pick up in the presence of some unexperienced person,
for whom the trap is laid, this they pretend to have found, and, as
he saw them pick it up, they invite him to a public house to
partake of it: when there, two or three of their comrades drop in,
as if by accident, and propose cards, or some other game, when they
seldom fail of stripping their prey.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Golden-cream, subs. (thieves’).—Rum.
1889. Clarkson and Richardson, Police, p. 321, s.v.
Gold-end Man, subs. phr. (old).—An itinerant jeweller; a buyer of old
gold and silver. [Gold-end = a broken piece of jewellery.] Also
Goldsmith’s Apprentice. See Eastward Hoe.
1610. Jonson, Alchemist, ii., 1. I know him not, he looks like a
gold-end man.
1622. Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, iii., 1. Hig. Have ye any ends of
gold or silver?
Golden Grease, subs. phr. (old).—A fee; also a bribe. For synonyms, see
Palm Oil.
Goldfinch, subs. (old).—1. A well-to-do man; a warm ’un (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Goldfinch, c. He that has
alwaies a Purse or Cod of Gold in his Fob.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1852. Judson, Mysteries, etc., of New York, ch. iv. ‘Was the swell
a goldfinch?’ ‘He wasn’t nothin’ else. Got a clean ten times ten
out of him.’
Ibid. ‘It’ll be a great lay, if the game’s fat. Is it a goldfinch?’
‘Fifty thousand, hard dust.’
2. (common).—A guinea; a sovereign. For synonyms, see Canary.
1700. Farquhar, Constant Couple, ii., 2. Sir H. Don’t you love
singing-birds, madam? Angel (aside). That’s an odd question for a
lover; (aloud) Yes, sir. Sir H. Why, then, madam, here is a nest of
the prettiest goldfinches that ever chirped in a cage.
1822. Scott, The Fortunes of Nigel, ch. iv. Put your monies aside,
my lord; it is not well to be seen with such goldfinches chirping
about one in the lodgings of London.
1826. Buckstone, Luke the Labourer, iii., 4. Good-night, noble
captain. Pipe all hands at five o’clock, for I’ve a day’s work to
do. We’ll jig it to-morrow, to the piping of gold-finches.
1834. W. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, p. 101 (ed. 1864). Here’s a
handful of goldfinches ready to fly.
Goldfinch’s Nest, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms,
see Monosyllable.
1827. The Merry Muses, p. 70. And soon laid his hand on the
goldfinch’s nest.
Gold-finder, subs. (old).—1. An emptier of privies. Also Tom-turd-man;
Gong-man; and Night-man. Fr., un fouille-merde; un fifi. Also passer la
jambe à Jules = to upset Mrs. Jones, i.e., to empty the privy tub.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie, Gadouard, a gould-finder,
Jakes-farmer.
1635. Feltham, Resolves. As our goldfinders ... in the night and
darkness thrive on stench and excrements.
1653. Middleton, Sp. Gipsy, ii., 2, p. 398 (Mermaid series). And if
his acres, being sold for a maravedii a turf for larks in cages,
cannot fill this pocket, give ’em to goldfinders.
1659. Torriano, Vocabolario, s.v.
1704. Gentleman Instructed, p. 445 (1732). We will commit the
further discussion of the poet to a committee of goldfinders, or a
club of rake-kennels.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v
2. (old).—A thief; a gold-dropper (q.v.).
Gold Hat-band, subs. (old University).—A nobleman undergraduate; a tuft
(q.v.).
1628. Earle, Microcosmography. His companion is ordinarily some
stale fellow that has been notorious for an ingle to gold hatbands,
whom hee admires at first, afterwards scornes.
1889. Gentleman’s Mag., June, p. 598. Noblemen at the universities,
since known as ‘tufts,’ because of the gold tuft or tassle to their
cap, were then known as gold hatbands.
Goldie-locks, subs. (old).—A flaxen-haired woman. Goldy-locked = golden
haired.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Biondella ... a golden-lockt wench,
as we say a goldilocks.
1605. Ben Jonson, The Fox, i., 1. Thence it fled forth, and made
quick transmigration to goldy-locked Euphorbus.
Gold Mine, subs. phr. (common).—A profitable investment; a store of
wealth, material or intellectual.
1664. H. Peacham, Worth of a Penny, in Arber’s Garner, vol. VI., p.
249. Some men ... when they have met with a gold mine, so brood
over and watch it, day and night, that it is impossible for Charity
to be regarded, Virtue rewarded, or Necessity relieved.
1830 Tennyson, Dream of Fair Women, p. 274. Gold-mines of
thought—to lift the hidden ore.
1882. Thormanby, Famous Racing Men, p. 81. Mendicant ... ran
nowhere in the Cup ... in reality she was destined to prove a gold
mine, for ten years afterwards she brought her owner £80,000
through her famous son, Beadsman.
1883. Sat. Review, 28 Apr. 533/2. His victory proved a gold mine to
the professional bookmakers.
1887. Froude, Eng. in West Indies, ch. v. Every one was at law with
his neighbour, and the island was a gold mine to the
Attorney-General.
Golgotha, subs. (old).—1. The Dons’ gallery at Cambridge; also applied
to a certain part of the theatre at Oxford. [That is, ‘the place of
skulls’: Cf., Luke xxiii. 33, and Matthew xxvii. 33, whence the pun:
Dons being the heads of houses.]
1730. Jas. Miller, Humours of Oxford, Act ii., p. 23 (2nd ed.).
Sirrah, I’ll have you put in the black-book,
rusticated,—expelled—I’ll have you coram nobis at Golgotha, where
you’ll be bedevilled, Muck-worm, you will.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1791. G. Huddesford, Salmagundi, (Note on, p. 150). Golgotha, ‘The
place of a Scull,’ a name ludicrously affixed to the Place in which
the Heads of Colleges assemble.
1808. J. T. Conybeare in C. K. Sharpe’s Correspondence (1888), i.,
324. The subject then, of the ensuing section is Oxford News ... we
will begin by golgotha ... Cole has already obtained the Headship
of Exeter, and Mr. Griffiths ... is to have that of University.
2. (common).—Hence, a hat.
English Synonyms.—Battle of the Nile (rhyming, i.e., a tile [q.v.]);
bell-topper; billy-cock; beaver; box-hat; cady; canister cap; castor;
chummy; cathedral; chimney; chimney-pot; cock; colleger;
cock-and-pinch; cowshooter; David; deerstalker; digger’s delight;
fantail; felt; Gibus; gomer (Winchester); goss; moab; molocher;
mortar-board; muffin-cap; mushroom; nab; nap; napper; pantile;
pimple-cover; pill-box; plug-hat; pot; shako; shovel; sleepless hat;
sou’wester; stove-pipe; strawer; thatch; tile; topper; truck;
upper-crust; wash-pot; wee-jee; wide-awake.
French Synonyms.—Un accordéon (popular: an opera hat); une ardoise (= a
tile); une bâche (thieves’: also an awning); une biscope or viscope
(vulgar); un blockaus (vulgar: a shako); un bloumard or une bloume
(popular); une boîte à cornes (a horn case; i.e., a cover for a
cuckold); un Bolivar (from the hero of 1820); un boisseau (also = a
bushel); un bosselard (schoolboys’: from bosselé = bruised or dented);
un cabas (popular: = old hat; also basket or bag); un cadratin
(printers’ = a stove-pipe); un caloquet (thieves’); cambriau,
cambrieux, or cambriot (popular); un capet (from old French, capel);
une capsule (popular = a percussion cap); un carbeluche galicé (a silk
hat); une casque (= helmet); un chapska (= a shako); une cheminée
(popular: = chimney-pot); une corniche (popular: = a cornice); un
couvercle (popular: = pot-lid); une couvrante; un couvre-amour
(military); un cylindre (= a stove-pipe); un Desfoux (from the maker’s
name); un epicéphale (students’: from the Greek); un gadin (an old
hat); un galure or galurin (popular); un Garibaldi; un Gibus (from the
inventor’s name); un lampion (thieves’: = grease-pot); un loubion
(thieves’); un marquin (thieves’); un monument (popular); un nid
d’hirondelle; un niolle (thieves’: an old hat); un tromblon (obsolete =
blunderbuss); un tubard, tube, or tube à haute pression (= a cylinder);
une tuile (= a tile); une tuyau de poêle (= a stove-pipe).
German Synonyms.—Bre (Viennese); Kowe (from the Hebrew, kowa).
Italian Synonyms.—Bufala, baccha or biffacha; cresta or cristiana (= a
cruet); fungo (= mushroom).
Spanish Synonyms.—Tejado or techo (= tiled roof).
Goliath, subs. (colloquial).—1. A big man.
2. A man of mark among the Philistines (q.v.). [Mr. Swinburne described
the late Matthew Arnold as ‘David, the son of Goliath.’]
Goll, subs. (old).—The hand; usually in. pl. See Bunch of Fives and
Daddle.
1601. B. Jonson, Poetaster, v., Bring the whoreson detracting
slaves to the bar, do; make them hold vp their spread golls.
1602. Dekker, Satiro-Mastrix, in wks. (1873), i., 203. Holde up thy
hand: I ha seene the day thou didst not scorne to holde vp thy
golles.
1611. Middleton, Roaring Girl, Act i. This is the goll shall do’t.
1620. Middleton, Chaste Maid, ii., 2. What their golls can clutch.
1634. S. Rowley, Noble Souldier, Act ii., Sc. 2. Bal. Saist thou me
so? give me thy goll, thou art a noble girle.
1659. Massinger, City Madam, iv., i. All the gamesters are
ambitious to shake the golden golls of worshipful master Luke.
1661. T. Middleton, Mayor of Quinborough, v., i. Down with his
golls, I charge you.
1672. Dryden, The Assignation, Act iii., Sc. 1. A simperer at lower
end of a table, With mighty golls, rough-grained, and red with
starching.
1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary. Goll, a hand or fist; give me thy
goll.
1803. C. K. Sharpe in Correspondence (1888), i., 179. Miss Reid
with her silk coat and greasie golls.
Gollop, verb. (common).—To swallow greedily; to gulp. For synonyms, see
Wolf.
Gollumpus, subs. (old).—A clumsy lout.—Grose.
Golly!—A contraction of By Golly! (q.v.).
1890. R. L. Stevenson, The Wrong Box, p. 275. Golly! what a paper!
Goloptious (or Golopshus), adj. (common).—Splendid; fine; delicious;
luscious.
1888. Sporting Life, 7 Dec. It would better scoop the situation if
it were described as goloptious.
Goloshes, subs. (colloquial).—India rubber overshoes. But see Grose.
1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Goloshes, i.e. Goliah’s shoes.
Large leathern clogs, worn by invalids over their ordinary shoes.
Gombeen-man, subs. (Irish).—A usurer; a money-lender; a sharking
middleman. For synonyms, see Sixty-per-cent.
Gomer, subs. (Winchester College).—1. A large pewter dish used in
college.
2. (Winchester College).—A new hat. See Golgotha.
Gommy, subs. (old).—1. A dandy. Fr., gommeux. [Anglo-Saxon, guma = a
man; a person: gomme = gommer = gammer. Cf., Gomus. Beaumont has gom =
a man.]
2. (colloquial).—See quot.
1883. Weekly Dispatch, 11 Mar., p. 7, c. 4. There has recently been
considerable debate as to the meaning of the term gommie. It is
very simple. A gommie is one who calls Mr. Gladstone a G.O.M.
[Grand Old Man], and thinks he has made a good joke.
3. (colloquial).—A fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head.
Gomus, subs. (Irish).—A fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
Gondola, subs. (American).—1. A railway platform car, sideless or
low-sided. Also a flat-bottomed boat.
Gondola of London, subs. phr. (common).—A hansom cab; a shoful (q.v.).
[The description is Lord Beaconsfield’s.]
Gone, adj. (colloquial).—1. Ruined; totally undone. Also, adv., an
expression of completeness, e.g., Gone beaver, corbie, coon, gander, or
goose = a man or an event past praying for: Cf., Go up and Go down.
1604. Shakspeare, Winter’s Tale, iv., 3. He must know ’tis none of
your daughter nor my sister; we are gone else.
1843–4. Haliburton, Sam Slick in England, ch. xviii. If a bear
comes after you, Sam, you must be up and doin’, or it’s a gone
goose with you.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 40. From that moment he was
gone beaver; he felt queer, he said, all over.
1857. Notes and Queries, 2 S. iii., 519. To call a person a gone
corbie, is only to say in other words, it’s all up with him.
1862. Clough, Poems. He had been into the schools; plucked almost;
all but a gone-coon.
1863. C. Reade, Hard Cash, I., 178. I shall meet her again next
week; will you come? Any friend of mine is welcome. Wish me joy,
old fellow; I’m a gone coon.
Gone on, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Enamoured of; infatuated with; mashed
on (q.v.); sweet on (q.v.). Generally in contempt. Fr., aimer comme ses
petits boyaux. For synonyms, see Sweet on.
1887. John Strange Winter, That Imp, p. 44. He was a fine fellow,
and no mistake. And was gone on Lady Lorrimor!
1890. Illustrated Bits, 29 Mar. p. 10, c. 3. He must have been
terribly gone on this woman.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 113. ‘Poor chap, he’s very far
gone,’ thought Jack.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 31. I’ll eat my old boots if she
isn’t dead gone on.
Goner, (or Gones, Gonus, or Goney), subs. (American).—1. A fool; a
simpleton. Also Gauney (q.v.). For synonyms, see Buffle or
Cabbage-head.
1857. Punch, 31 Jan. But the lark’s when a goney up with us they
shut, As ain’t up to our lurks, our flash patter, and smut.
1860. Haliburton, Sam Slick, ‘The Season Ticket,’ No. X. ‘It’s only
grief, Nabby dear, my heart is broke.’ ‘Is that all, you goney?’
says she, ‘it’s lucky your precious neck ain’t broke.’
a. 1871. The Dartmouth, vol. iv. One day I heard a Senior call a
fellow a gonus. ‘Gonus,’ echoed I, ‘what does that mean?’ ‘Oh,’
said he, ‘you’re a Freshman, and don’t understand. A stupid fellow,
a dolt, a boot-jack, an ignoramus, is here called a gonus. All
Freshmen,’ he continued gravely, ‘are gonuses.’
2. (colloquial).—A person past recovery, utterly ruined, or done for in
any way.
1876. S. L. Clemens (Mark Twain), Tom Sawyer, p. 99. ‘Yes, but she
ain’t dead; and, what’s more, she’s getting better too.’ ‘All
right, you wait and see. She’s a goner, just as dead sure as Muff
Potter’s a goner.’
1888. Cincinnati Enquirer. Fortunately, she did not see me, or else
I should have been a goner.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 261. ‘Make a noise or follow me,
and you’re a goner,’ said Smirk.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 212. A few more of
her meddlings and she’s a goner, that’s what she is.
Gong (or Gong-house), subs. (old).—A privy. For synonyms, see Mrs.
Jones.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales. ‘The Parsons Tale’ [Riverside Ed.
(1880)], ii., 241. Thise fool wommen, that mowe be likned to a
commune gong, whereas men purgen hire ordure.
Gong-farmer (or Gong-man), subs. (old).—An emptier of cesspools; a
gold-finder (q.v.).
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Curadestri, a iakes, goong, or
doong farmer.
Gonof (or Gonnof or Gonoph or Gnof), subs. (thieves’).—1. A thief;
specifically a pick-pocket, and especially an adept. [From the Hebrew.
Ancient English; a legacy from the old time Jews. It came into use
again with the moderns who employ it commonly. Cf., gonov = thief in
Ex. xxii, 2 and 6, viz., ‘if the gonov be found.’] See Thieves.
1857. Dickens, On Duty with Inspector Field, in ‘Reprinted Pieces’
p. 256. If the smallest gonoph about town were crouching at the
bottom of a classic bath Inspector Field would nose him.
1849. Morning Chronicle, 2 Nov. A burglar would not condescend to
sit among pickpockets. My informant has known a housebreaker to say
with a sneer, when requested to sit down with the gonoffs, ‘No, no,
I may be a thief, but at least I’m a respectable one.’
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. III., p. 325.
The gonaff (a Hebrew word signifying a young thief, probably learnt
from the Jew ‘fences’ in the neighbourhood).
1852. Judson, Myst., etc., of New York, ch. vii. He next assumed
his present profession, and became a gnof or pickpocket.
1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 146. Oh, you tief!
you cheat! you gonnof!
1889. Referee, 12 May. Gonophs ... were frequent in Tattersall’s on
Friday.
1889. C. T. Clarkson and J. Hall Richardson, Police, p. 321. Boys
who creep into houses.... Young gunneffs or gonophs.
2. (old).—A bumpkin; a churl; a clumsy hand; a shameless simpleton.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 3187–8. Whilom there was, dwelling
in Oxenforde, A rich gnof, that gertes helde to borde.
c. 1547. Song (quoted by Hotten). The country gnoffes, Hob, Dick,
and Hick, With clubbes and clouted shoon, Shall fill up Dussin Dale
With slaughtered bodies soone.
Verb (old).—To wheedle; to cheat; to steal.
Gonophing, subs. (thieves’).—Picking pockets.
1857. Dickens, The Detective Police, in ‘Reprinted Pieces,’ p. 240.
From the swell mob, we diverge to the kindred topics of cracksmen,
fences ... designing young people who go out gonophing, and other
‘schools.’
Gooby, subs. (common).—A simpleton; a blockhead. For synonyms, see
Buffle and Cabbage-head.
1892. Ally Sloper, 19 Mar., p. 90, c. 3. Why, you old gooby, Mister
Sloper will pay us twice as much for the ducks.
Good! subs. (printers’).—An abbreviation of ‘Good Night!’
Adj. (colloquial).—Responsible; solvent; principally now with ‘for’;
e.g., He is good for any amount. Also, expert.
1598. Shakspeare, Merchant of Venice, i., 3. Antonio is a good man:
my meaning in saying that he is a good man, is to have you
understand me that he is sufficient.
1824. Reynolds, Peter Corcoran, 91 Good with both hands and only
ten stone four.
Good goods, in. pl., subs. phr. (sporting).—Something worth trying for;
a success. In the superlative, ‘best’ goods.
1886. Sporting Times, 17 July, 1/4. He was a nice young man for a
small tea party, And rather good goods at a Sunday-school treat.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 39. There’s Warner in ‘Drink’;
now, that’s business, good goods and no error.
Bit (or Piece) of Goods, subs. phr. (common).—A woman. For synonyms,
see Petticoat.
Good old ... adj. phr. (popular).—A familiar address, derisive or
affectionate according to circumstances. See quots.
1891. Pall Mall Gaz., 16 Sept., p. 6, c. 1. It was Mephisto’s
greeting to Mary Anne—in Marguerite’s garden—‘Good old Mary
Anne!’!!!
Ibid. The famous medico craned his neck out of the window, and,
sniffing in the smoke, cried, good old London. This is a true
story.
Ibid., 17 Sept. Mr. Chirgwin ... rouses mirth by ... exclaiming
good old spot! as he discloses the large white ace of diamonds
painted over his right optic.
1892. Chevalier ‘The Little Nipper.’ ’E calls ’is mother ‘Sally,’
And ’is father ‘good old pally,’ And ’e only stands about so ’igh,
that’s all!
To feel good, verb. phr. (American).—To be jolly; comfortable; ‘in
form’; to be on perfect terms with oneself.
1887. Proctor [in Knowledge, 1 Dec., p. 29]. A friend of mine tells
me a proposition was once invitingly made to him which, to say the
least, involved no virtuous self-abnegation, and he was urged to
accept it by the plea that it would make him feel good.
1888. Texas Siftings, 15 Sept. The saloons are going Saturday
afternoon, and the men feel pretty good before they come abroad.
To be in one’s good books, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be in favour; in
good opinion. Conversely, To be in one’s bad books = To be in
disfavour. See Book.
Good at it (or at the Game), adj. phr. (venery).—An expert bedfellow,
male or female.
To have a good swim.—See Swim.
For good (or For good and all), adv. phr. (colloquial).—Completely;
entirely; finally.
1673. Wycherley, Gent. Danc. Master, ii., in wks. (1713), 276. If I
went, I would go for good and all.
1693. Congreve, Old Batchelor, Act i., Sc. 3. Sharp. Faith, e’en
give her over for good and all: you can have no hopes of getting
her for a Mistress.
1875. Ouida, Signa, vol. II., ch. v., p. 66. So the child went up
to the hills with Bruno, and stayed there for good and all.
Good as Wheat.—See Wheat.
Good as ever pissed, phr. (venery).—A qualification of extreme
excellence.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 260. And she is as good for the
game as e’er pissed.
Good as a Play.—See Play.
Good as Gold, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Very good; usually of children.
As good as they make ’em.—See Make ’em.
Good-bye, John! phr. (American).—It’s no go; all’s U.P.
Good cess, subs. phr. (Irish).—Good luck. (Probably an abbreviation of
‘success.’) Bad Cess = the reverse.
1845. Buckstone, Green Bushes, i., 1. All. Bravo, Paddy! Good cess
to ye, Paddy! Hurrah!
Goodfellow (or Good Boy, or Good Man), subs. (old).—1. A roysterer; a
boon companion.
1570. Ascham, Scholemaster. Sir Roger had been a good fellow in his
youth.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Good Fellow, a Pot companion or
Friend of the Bottle.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. A word of various imports,
according to the place where it is spoken; in the city it means a
rich man; at Hockley in the Hole, or St. Giles’s, an expert boxer;
at a bagnio in Covent Garden, a vigorous fornicator; at an alehouse
or tavern, one who loves his pot or bottle: and sometimes, though
but rarely, a virtuous man.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. Rattling Reginald
Lowestoffe of the Temple—I know him; he is a good boy.
2. (old).—A thief. See Thieves.
1608. Middleton, Trick to Catch the Old One, ii., 1. Luc. Welcome,
good fellow. Host. He calls me thief at first sight. [Footnote in
‘Mermaid Series’ Ed. Good fellow was then the cant term for a
thief.]
1870. Evening Standard, 11 Feb. ‘Police Report.’ Police detective
said that he believed the two prisoners were good men. In reply to
the magistrate he explained that he meant they were old thieves.
Good Girl (or Good One), adj. phr. (old).—A wanton.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Gaultière—A whore, punke, drab,
queane, gill, flirt, strumpet, cockatrice, mad wench, common
hackney, good one.
Goodman, subs. (old).—1. A gaoler; a dubsman (q.v.).
1721–2. Woodrow, History, ii., 636. The goodman of the Tolbooth
came to him in his chamber, and told him he might save his life, if
he would sign the petition.
2. (colloquial).—The devil. For synonyms, see Skipper.
Goodman-turd, subs. (old).—A contemptible fellow; a bad-egg (q.v.).
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Dometa, an old worde for a shitten
fellow, or goodman-turde.
Good Night! intj. phr. (general).—A retort to an incredible statement
or a delightful piece of news. See Carry me out!
Good-people, subs. (old colloquial).—The fairies.
1828. G. Griffin, Collegians, ch. v. An nothin’ shows itself now by
night, neither spirits nor good people.
1848. Forster, Oliver Goldsmith, bk. I., ch. 1, p. 8 (5th ed.). A
small old parsonage house (supposed afterwards to be haunted by the
fairies, or good people of the district).
1891. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 168. ‘Did ever ye hear tell of
the story of the Man and the Good People?’—by which he meant the
fairies.
Good (or Good Old) Sort, subs. phr. (popular).—A man of social and
other parts.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 149. Had we not
better make a clean breast of it, and trust to his generosity; he
seems a good sort?
Good Thing, subs. phr. (colloquial).—Something worth having or backing;
a bon mot; good goods (q.v.). In racing a presumed cert (q.v.).
1844. Puck, p. 63. Here’s to the good thing whose neatness we
prize.
1884. Saturday Review, 2 Aug., p. 147, c. 2. The Goodwood Stakes
was considered a good thing for Florence, who has proved herself to
be an extraordinary mare.
1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. In a field of four, Livingstone, who
was voted a good thing, was served up a warm favourite.
1891. Daily Telegraph, 21 Mar. It had been generally anticipated
that this was a good thing for Oxford.
1892. Ally Sloper, 19 Mar., p. 90, c. 3. That them as trades in
rags and bones Makes more than them as writes good things.
Good Time, subs. phr. (old).—A carouse; a friendly gathering; an
enjoyable bout at anything.
To have a good time, verb. phr. (old).—To be fortunate or lucky; to
enjoy oneself; to make merry. See Cocum.
1596. Jonson, Every Man in His Humour, i., 2. As not ten housewives
pewter, again a good time, shews more bright to the world than he!
[= some festival, ‘when housewives are careful to set out their
furniture to the best advantage.’—Note by Whalley, given in
Cunningham’s Gifford’s Jonson (1870)].
1863. A. Trollope, Rachel Ray, ii., 6., 109. Eating cake and
drinking currant wine, but not having, on the whole, what our
American friends call a good time of it.
1864. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. xxxviii. And what have you been
doing? Had a good time?
1883. Bret Harte, In the Carquinez Woods, ch. ix. But we must keep
it dark until after I marry Nellie, don’t you see. Then we’ll have
a good time all round, and I’ll stand the drinks.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 14. My idea
of man’s chief end was to enrich the world with things of beauty,
and have a fairly good time myself while doing so.
Good ’un, subs. phr. (colloquial).—1. A man, woman, or thing of decided
and undoubted merit. Cf., Good-girl.
1828–45. T. Hood, Poems, vi., p. 254 [ed. 1846]. A good ’un to look
at but bad to go.
1854. Martin and Aytoun, Bon Gaultier Ballads. ‘The Dirge of a
Drinker.’ Like a good ’un as he is.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 160. He’s a real good un, and when
his party plank the stuff down it’s generally a moral.
2. (colloquial).—An expression of derisive unbelief: e.g., a lie. See
Whopper.
Good-wooled, adj. phr. (American).—Of unflinching courage; of the
greatest merit; thoroughly dependable.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Goody, subs. (popular).—1. A matron: the correllative of goodman =
husband. (Used like auntie, and mother, and gammer, in addressing or
describing an inferior.) (A corruption of good-wife).
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Mona, ... Also a nickname for
women as we say gammer, goodie, goodwife, such a one.
1689. Accts. of the Churchwardens of Sprowston. Paid goody Crabbin
for washing the surplis and church powrch, 1s. 3d.
d. 1732. Gay. Swarm’d on a rotten stick the bees I spy’d Which erst
I saw when goody Dopon dy’d.
d. 1745. Swift. Plain goody would no longer down: ’Twas Madam in
her grogram gown.
1802. Bloomfield, Rural Tales, ‘Richard and Kate.’ Come, Goody,
stop your humdrum wheel.
1816. Johnson, Eng. Dict. s.v. A low term of civility used to mean
persons.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘The Witches’ Frolic.’ Old Goody
Price, Had got something nice.
Hence Goodyship = ‘ladyship.’
1663. Butler, Hudibras, pt. 1, c. 3. The more shame for her
goodyship, To give so near a friend the slip.
2. (colloquial).—A religious hypocrite, male or female; the ‘unco guid’
of Burns.
1836. Kidd, London Ambulator, p. 14. Clapham is celebrated for
goodies—ladies of a certain age, who not having succeeded in
finessing for husbands, betake themselves to a religious life as a
dernier resort.
Hence goody-goodyism = sentimental piety.
1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 23 Nov., p. 3., c. 1. The Christmas tale of
adventure ... has perhaps cast off its element of goody-goodyism,
but the general features and cast are as of old.
3. generally in. pl. (colloquial).—Sweetmeats; bon-bons; cakes and
buns.
1853. Mayhew, Letters Left at a Pastrycook’s. Propped up on each
side with bags of oranges, cakes, and goodies.
1855. H. A. Murray, Lands of the Slave and the Free, ch. xii.
Adjourning from time to time to some café for the purpose of eating
ices or sucking goodies.
4. (American).—The kernel of a nut.
Adj. (colloquial).—Well-meaning but petty; officiously pious. Also
goody-goody.
1864. D. W. Thompson, Daydreams of a Schoolmaster, p. 230. I would
rather they were not too good; or goody. Let us have a little
naughtiness, sprinkled in at intervals.
1892. S. Watson, Wops the Waif, p. 7. He knew well enough the whole
of this enterprise had sprung from a goody-goody idea of ‘doing
something,’ born of impulse and whim.
Goodyear, subs. (old).—The pox. (A corruption of gougeer, from gouge =
a soldier’s trull). For synonyms, see Ladies’ Fever.
1605. Shakspeare, Lear, v., 3. The goodyears shall devour them.
Gook, subs. (American).—A low prostitute. For synonyms, see Barrack
Hack and Tart.
Goose, subs. (common).—1. A tailor’s smoothing iron. (Whose handle is
shaped like the neck of the bird.) Hence the old ditton, ‘A taylor be
he ever so poor is sure to have a goose at his fire.’—Grose. Fr., un
gendarme.
1606. Shakspeare, Macbeth, ii., 3. Come in, taylor; here you may
roast your goose.
1606. Dekker, Newes from Hell, in Wks. (Grosart) ii., 114. Every
man being armed with his sheeres and pressing Iron, which he calls
there his goose.
1638. Randolph, Hey for Honesty. ... Tailor. Oh! it is an age that,
like the Ostrich, makes me feed on my own goose.
1703. Ward, London Spy, pt. xii., p. 276. He grew as hot as a
Botcher’s goose.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Goose (s.) ... also the
large, heavy iron used by taylors, to press down their seams with
when heated very hot.
1766. Kenrick, Falstaff’s Wedding, iii., 1. Although they had been
hissing all the way like a tailor’s goose.
1861. Sala, Twice Round the Clock, Noon, Par. 12. An Irish tailor
who has had a slight dispute with his wife the night before, and
has corporeally chastised her with a hot goose—a tailor’s goose, be
it understood—to the extent of all but fracturing her skull.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. ii., p. 89. On the return of
the warders from their own breakfast, the tools—scissors,
sleeve-boards, irons, or geese—are served out.
2. (common).—A simpleton: usually only of women. Also Goosecap (q.v.).
1591. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, ii., 4. Mercutio. Was I there
with you for the goose? Rom. Thou wast never with me that thou wast
not for the goose.
1696. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
3. (venery).—See Winchester Goose.
4. (colloquial).—A reprimand; a wigging (q.v.); cf., verb, sense 1.
1865. G. F. Berkeley, My Life etc., i., 276. On the adventure
reaching the ears of the Duke of Wellington, the active
experimentalist received considerable goose.
5. (printers’).—See Wayz goose.
6. (colloquial).—A woman: whence, by implication, the sexual favour.
Verb. (common).—1. To hiss; to condemn by hissing. Also to get the
goose or the big bird (q.v.). Among Fr. equivalents are: appeler or
siffler Azor (= to whistle a dog, Azor being a common canine
appellation); boire une goutte (= to be goosed); attrapper; reconduire;
se faire travailler; empoigner; éreinter; polisonner; égayer.
1854. Dickens, Hard Times, ch. vi. He was goosed last night, he was
goosed the night before last, he was goosed to-day.
1858. Dickens, Xmas Stories (Going into Soc.), p. 67 (House. Ed.).
Which makes you grind your teeth at him to his face, and which can
hardly hold you from goosing him audible when he’s going through
his War-Dance.
1873. Hornet, 29 Jan., p. 211, c. 2. Ferdin. Fact! My soul is sick
on’t. Goosed last night; My salary docked.
1875. T. Frost, Circus Life, p. 281. An artiste is goosed, or gets
the goose, when the spectators or auditors testify by sibillant
sounds disapproval or dissatisfaction.
1886. Graphic, 10 Apr., p. 399. To be goosed, or, as it is
sometimes phrased, ‘to get the big bird,’ is occasionally a
compliment to the actor’s power of representing villainy, but more
often is disagreeably suggestive of a failure to please.
2. (colloquial).—To ruin; to spoil. See Cook one’s goose.
1888. Cassell’s Saturday Journal, 22 Dec., p. 301. We was pretty
nigh goosed.
3. (cobblers’).—To mend boots by putting on a new front half-way up,
and a new bottom; elsewhere called footing boots. Cf., Fox.
4. (venery).—To go wenching; to womanize (q.v.).
5. (venery).—To possess a woman.
Goose Without Gravy, subs. phr. (nautical).—A severe but bloodless
blow. See Wipe.
To be sound on the goose. verb. phr. (American).—Before the civil war,
to be sound on the pro-slavery question: now, to be generally staunch
on party matters; to be politically orthodox.
1857. Providence Journal, 18 June. To seek for political flaws is
no use, His opponents will find he is sound on the goose.
1857. Gladstone, Kansas: or Squatter Life, p. 43. One of the boys,
I reckon? All right on the goose, eh? No highfaluten airs here, you
know.
1862. Lowell, Biglow Papers, II. Northern religion works wal North,
but it’s ez suft ez spruce, compar’d to our’n for keepin’ sound,
sez she, upon the goose.
1875. American English in Chamb. Journal, 25 Sept., p. 610. A man
who can be depended upon by his party is said to be sound on the
goose.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 22. He didn’t appear quite so
sound on the goose as he ought to ha’ done.
To find fault with a fat goose, verb. phr. (old).—To grumble without
rhyme or reason.—B. E. (1690).
To kill the goose for the golden eggs, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
grasp at more than is due; to over-reach oneself. (From the Greek
fable.)
Everything is lovely and the goose hangs high, phr. See Everything.
He’ll be a man among the geese when the gander is gone, phr.
(old).—Ironical; = ‘He’ll be a man before his mother.’
Go! shoe the goose, phr. (old).—A retort, derisive or incredulous = the
modern ‘To hell and pump thunder.’
Unable to say boh! to a goose, phr. (colloquial).—Said of a bashful
person.—Grose.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 76. And now ... he can hardly say
boh to a goose.
See also Wild-goose Chase.
Goose-and-Duck, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A fuck.
Goose and Gridiron, subs. phr. (political American).—The American
eagle, and the United States flag. See Gridiron.
1891. Standard, 3 Jan., p. 3, c. 1. This is curious, considering
the almost fetish-like veneration entertained by the modern
American for his Standard, which, coupled with the national bird,
tempted the Loyalists in the early days of the war to vent endless
rude witticisms on the goose and gridiron.
Gooseberry, subs. (common).—1. A fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head. [Perhaps from Gooseberry Fool; as in Goldsmith’s
Retaliation:—‘And by the same rule Magnanimous Goldsmith’s a gooseberry
fool.’]
2. (common).—A chaperon; one who takes third place to save appearances
or play propriety (q.v.); a daisy- or gooseberry-picker.
3. (common).—A marvellous tale; a munchausen (q.v.); a flim-flam. Also
gigantic, and giant goosberry. Hence Gooseberry season = the dull time
of journalism, when the appearance of monstrous vegetables, sea
serpents, showers of frogs, and other portents is chronicled in default
of news. Cf., silly season (q.v.).
1870. Figaro, 22 June. If we have no big gooseberries this season,
we have at least a big salmon.
1871. Graphic, 22 Apr. Mr. Tupper excited a great deal of
incredulity a few years ago by announcing in the prodigious
goosberry season that he had discovered an ancient Roman coin
embedded in the heart of an oak tree.
1885. Ill. London News, 18 July, p. 50, c. 2. Amongst journalists
there is popularly known what they call ‘the giant gooseberry
season,’ the meaning of which is, that when Parliament has risen
and the Law Courts are shut and subjects on which to write become
scarce, adventurous spirits are apt to discourse in their
newspapers of fruit of abnormal size, and other natural prodigies,
which, according to current banter, exist only in their own
imagination.
4. in. pl. (venery).—The testicles. For synonyms, see Cods.
To play (or do) gooseberry, verb. phr. (common).—To play propriety;
also to sit third in a hansom.
1877. Hawley Smart, Play or Pay. ch. vi. To take care of a pretty
girl, ... with a sister to do gooseberry.
1880. G. R. Sims, Jeph, p. 8. Mamma always played gooseberry on
these occasions.
1883. Globe, 6 July, p. 1, c. 5. They will be compelled in
self-defence to have a shorthand writer present to play gooseberry,
and to be able to furnish proof that their discourse was innocent.
1892. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Ladies’ Gallery, p. 51.
Well, I am not a good hand at playing gooseberry, and I don’t like
spoiling sport.
To play old gooseberry, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To play the deuce; to
upset or spoil; to throw everything into confusion; but see quot. 1811.
Old Gooseberry = The devil (see Skipper). [See Notes and Queries, 2 S
x., 307, 376; xii., 336.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Gooseberry. He played up old
gooseberry among them; said of a person who, by force or threats,
suddenly puts an end to a riot or disturbance.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 22. Will play up old gooseberry soon with
them all.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf. To play up gooseberry; children
romping about the house or the parent rating them over.
1837. Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Bloudie Jacke of Shrewsberrie.’ There’s a
pretty to-do! All the people of Shrewsbury playing old gooseberry
With your choice bits of taste and virtù.
1865. H. Kingsley, Hillyars and the Burtons, ch. lxii. Lay on like
old gooseberry.
1892. Globe, 12 July, p. 2, c. 2. We all know his capacity for
playing old goosberry with things in general.
Gooseberry-eyed, adj. (old).—Grey-eyed. (Lex. Bal., 1811).
Gooseberry-grinder, subs. (old).—The breech. For synonyms, see
Monocular eyeglass.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Gooseberry-grinder, s.v. Ask Bogey the
gooseberry-grinder, ask mine a——e.
Gooseberry Lay, subs. phr. (thieves’).—Stealing linen from a line.
Gooseberry-picker, subs. (colloquial).—1. A person whose labour
profits, and is credited to, another; a ghost (q.v.).
2. (common).—A chaperon. See Gooseberry, subs. sense 2.
1884. Cornhill Mag., Dec., p. 578. The good host experienced the
sensations of being gooseberry-picker. He sat under a tree, ate,
drank, smoked, and finally fell asleep, whilst the Prince and
Ottilie explored the Gaulish city and the convent.
Gooseberry-pudding, subs. (rhyming).—A woman. For synonyms, see
Petticoat.
Gooseberry-wig, subs. (old).—A large frizzled wig. ‘Perhaps,’ says
Grose (s.v.), ‘from a supposed likeness to a gooseberry bush.’
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Goosecap, subs. (common).—A booby, male or female; a noodle. For
synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head.
1593. G. Harvey, Pierce’s Super. in wks. II., 72. A foole, an
idiot, a dolt, a goose-capp, an asse, and soe fourth.
1604. Dekker, Honest Wh. in wks. (1873), ii., 81. Out, you gulles,
you goose-caps, you gudgeon-eaters!
1622. Beaumont and Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, iv., 4. Why, what a
goose-cap wouldst thou make me!
1763. Foote, Mayor of Garratt, Act i. My husband is such a
goose-cap that I can’t get no good out of him at home or abroad.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. A silly fellow or woman.
Goose- (or Goose’s) Egg, subs. (American).—No score. Also Gooser. See
Duck.
1886. New York Times, July. With nine unpalatable goose-eggs in
their contest.
1889. Modern Society, 12 Oct., p. 1264. An enthusiastic lady
cricketer has just bowled over Mr. Jones in a matrimonial match.
‘No, Mr. Brown, I cannot marry you. You score a gooser this time.’
Goose-flesh (or Goose-skin), subs. (colloquial).—A peculiar tingling of
the skin produced by cold, fear, etc.; the sensation described as ‘cold
water down the back’; the creeps (q.v.).
1824. Miss Ferrier, Inheritance, ch. ii. Her skin began to rise
into what is vulgarly termed goose-skin.
Goose-gog (or Goose-gob), subs. (common).—A gooseberry.
Goose-grease, subs. phr. (venery).—A woman’s spendings (q.v.). See
Goose, subs., sense 6.
Goose-month, subs. (old).—The lying-in month. Cf., Gander-month.
Goose-persuader, subs. (common).—A tailor. For synonyms, see Snip.
Gooser, subs. (popular).—1. A settler; a knock-out blow; the act of
death. See Dig and Wipe.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. III., p. 133.
It was he who saved my life. If it hadn’t been for him it would
have been a gooser with me.
1857. Morning Chronicle, 9 Sept. In the event of my getting a
gooser.
2. (sporting).—No score; a goose-egg (q.v.).
3. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.
Goose-Riding. See Gander-pulling.
Goose’s Gazette, subs. (old).—A lying story; a flim-flam tale; that is,
a piece of reading for a goose, sense 2.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xxxiv. Lieutenant Brown ... told
him some goose’s gazette about his being taken in a skirmish with
the land-sharks.
Goose-shearer, subs. (common).—A beggar. For synonyms, see Cadger.
[From goose = simpleton + shearer = a cheater.]
Goose’s-neck, subs. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick
and Prick.
Goose-step, subs. (common).—Balancing on one foot and moving the other
back and forwards without taking a step. [A preliminary in military
drill, the pons asinorum of the raw recruit.] Also (more loosely)
‘marking time’: that is, lifting the feet alternately without
advancing.
1840. Tate’s Mag., Sept., p. 607. Whether the remarkable evolution
[the goose step] was called ... from the nature of the operation
requiring the exhibitor to stand on one leg, in imitation of the
above-named animal, I am totally at a loss to say.
1890. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 7 Nov. He won his spurs at Punchestown
before he had mastered the goose step.
Goose-turd Green, adj. (old).—A light-yellowish green.—Cotgrave.
Goosey-gander, subs. (common).—A fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
Goosing-slum, subs. (American).—A brothel. [Goosing = womanizing; also
copulating.] For synonyms, see Nanny-shop.
Gopher, subs. (American).—1. A young thief; especially a boy employed
by burglars to enter houses through windows, skylights, etc. [In
natural history gopher = a burrowing squirrel.]
2. (Southern States).—A rude wooden plough.
Goree, subs. (old).—Money; specifically gold or gold-dust. From Fort
Goree on the Gold Coast. For synonyms, see Actual and Gilt.
1696. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Gorge, subs. (vulgar).—1. A heavy meal; a tuck-in (q.v.); a blow-out
(q.v.).
1553. Wilson, Arte of Rhetorique, p. 112. The counseler heareth
causes with lesse pain being emptie, then he shal be able after a
ful gorge.
1883. Daily News, March 24, p. 3, c. 4. The keeper tries these
brutes once a week to see whether they are ready for a gorge, and
the python has been known to devour eight ducks at one meal,
feathers and all, before signifying enough.
2. (theatrical).—A manager; an abbreviation of gorger (q.v.).
Verb (vulgar).—To eat voraciously; also to gulp as a fish does when it
swallows (or gorges) a bait. For synonyms, see Wolf.
1572. Satirical Poems, Scottish Text Society, 1889–91,
‘Lamentacioun,’ ii., 232. Gorged waters ever greater grows.
1633. Massinger, New Way to Pay Old Debts, iii., 2. Mar. Come, have
patience If you will dispense a little with your worship, And sit
with the waiting women, you’ll have dumpling, Woodcock, and
butter’d toasts too. Greedy. This revives me: I will gorge there
sufficiently.
1654. Chapman, Revenge for Honour, Act i., Sc. 1. Here men o’ th’
shop can gorge their musty maws With the delicious capon, and fat
limbs of mutton.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Gorge (v.), to eat over-much,
to cram, glut, or fill unreasonably.
1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. xxxiv., p. 336. No man had
spoken a word; every one had been intent, as usual, on his own
private gorging; and the greater part of the company were decidedly
dirty feeders.
1853. Wh. Melville, Digby Grand, ch. iii. Who might be such a fine
race, if they would only not gorge their food so rapidly.
Gorger, subs. (vulgar).—1. A voracious eater; a scruncher (q.v.).
Rotten gorger = a lad who hangs about Covent Garden eating refuse
fruit.
2. (common).—A well-dressed man; a gentleman. [Gypsy, gorgio =
gentlemen.] Fr., un gratiné.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Mung the gorger; beg child beg, of
the gentleman.
3. (common).—An employer; a principal: especially the manager of a
theatre. [Perhaps because he takes (or gorges) all the fat (q.v.).]
Also cully-gorger. Fr., amendier.
1872. M. E. Braddon, Dead Sea Fruit, ch. xiv. The gorger’s awful
coally on his own slumming, eh?... I mean to say that our friend
the manager is rather sweet upon his own acting.
4. (old).—A neckerchief. [From gorge = throat.]
1320–30. Gawaine, 957. That other wyth a gorger watz gored ouer the
swyre.
Gorgonzola Hall, subs. phr. (Stock Exchange).—Formerly the New Hall;
now the corporation generally. [From the colour of the marble.]
1887. Atkin, House Scraps, Gorgonzola Hall got turned into New
Billingsgate.
Gorm, verb. (American University).—To gorge (q.v.). For synonyms, see
Wolf.
I’m gormed, phr. (popular).—A profane oath. See Gaum.
1849. Dickens, David Copperfield, ch. iii. If it [his generosity]
were ever referred to, ... he struck the table a heavy blow with
his right hand (had split it on one such occasion), and swore a
dreadful oath that he would be gormed if he didn’t cut and run for
good, if it was ever mentioned again.
1883. Punch, May 19, p. 230, c. 2. Why, of course I hardly expects
to be believed, but I’m gormed if there was more than six of one
and half-a-dozen of the other.
1884. Julian Sturgis, in Longman’s Mag., iii., 623. ‘Gormed if
there ain’t that old parson again!’ cried Henry, with enthusiasm.
Gormagon, subs. (old).—See quots.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. A monster with six eyes, three
mouths, four arms, eight legs, five on one side and three on the
other, three arses, two tarses, and a cunt upon its back; a man on
horseback with a woman behind him.
1892. Fennell, Stanford Dict., s.v., Gormagon ... a member of an
English Secret Society which existed in the second quarter of 18 c.
Gormy-ruddles, subs. (common).—The intestines.
Gorram (or Goram).—See By Goldam.
Gorry.—See By Gorry!
Goschens, subs. (Stock Exchange).—The 2¾ per cent. Government Stock
created by Mr. Goschen in 1888.
1889. Man of the World, 29 June. The nickname Goschens is going out
of fashion. The new 2¾ stock is now called by the old name.
1891. Punch, 4 Apr. Securities yielding a larger return than 2¾
Goschens.
Gosh, see by gosh.
Gospel, subs. (colloquial).—1. Anything offered as absolutely true.
Also gospel-truth.
1862. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. lx. She is a good young woman,
and a honest young woman in her way, and what she says this night
about her brother is gospel-truth.
1864. Derby Day, p. 35. Apparently unable to resist the powerful
influences brought to bear upon him, he replied, in a tone which
carried the impress of veracity with it, ‘Gospel.’
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 175. It was true as gospel.
To do gospel, verb. phr. (common).—To go to church.
Gospel-gab, subs. (common).—Insincere talk concerning religion; cant.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 146. Yes; when I saw
I was in for it, I told them my name and all about my father
without any reserve; that, with a little gospel-gab and howling
penitence, got the church people interested in me, and so I was let
off easily.
Gospel-Grinder (-postillion, -sharp, or -shark), subs. (common).—A
clergyman or missionary. For synonyms, see devil-dodger and sky-pilot;—
French Synonyms.—La forêt noire (thieves’ = the black forest); une
entonne ramparte (thieves’); entonner = to intone; une antiffle
(thieves’); une cavée (thieves’ = a black hole); une chique (thieves’).
Spanish Synonym.—Salud.
Italian Synonyms.—Balza; balzana.
1869. S. L. Clemens, Innocents at Home, p. 19. ‘A what!’
‘Gospel-sharp—parson.’ ‘Oh! why did you not say so before? I am a
clergyman—a parson.’
1877. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly, ch. viii. Else we should
be as stagnant as a Connecticut Gospel-grinder in his village
location.
Gospeller, subs. (colloquial).—An Evangelist preacher; in contempt.
Also Hot-gospeller (= a preaching fanatic.)
Gospel-mill (or -shop), subs. (common).—A church or chapel. Also
schism-shop and doxology-works (q.v.).
1782. Geo. Parker, Humorous Sketches, p. 88. From Whitfield and
Romaine to Pope John range; Each Gospel-shop ringing a daily
change.
1791. Life of J. Lackington, Letter xix. As soon as I had procured
a lodging and work my next enquiry was for Mr. Wesley’s
Gospel-shops.
1852. Judson, Mysteries of New York, pt. II., ch. ii., p. 13. On
about that ere gospel-shop as you was agoin for to crack last week.
1869. S. L. Clemens (Mark Twain) Innocents at Home, p. 17, 18. Are
you the duck that runs the gospel-mill next door.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 35. It’s all gospel-shop gruel.
Goss (or Gossamer), subs. (common).—A hat. (At first a make of peculiar
lightness called a four-and-nine (q.v.).) In quot. 1836 = a white hat.
For synonyms, see Golgotha.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xii. ‘That’s one thing, and every hole
lets in some air, that’s another—wentilation gossamer I calls it.’
On the delivery of this sentiment, Mr. Weller smiled agreeably upon
the assembled Pickwickians.
1838. Jas. Grant, Sketches in London, ch. ix., p. 294. Another
passenger inquired whether the hat was ‘a vashing beaver von?’
while a fourth inquired whether it was ‘a gossamer ventilator?’
1851. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. II., p. 49. I have
sold hats from 6d. to 3s. 6d., but very seldom 3s. 6d. The 3s. 6d.
ones would wear out two new gossamers, I know.
1884. A. Lang, Much Darker Days, p. 25. Yes, the white hat, lying
there all battered and crushed on the white snow, must be the hat
of Sir Runan! ... who else would wear the gay gossamer of July in
stormy December?
1888. Harper’s Magazine, LXXVII., 139. Flinging off his gossamer
and hanging it up to drip into the pan of the hat rack.
To give (or get) goss, verb. phr. (American).—To requite an injury; to
kill; to go strong; to get an opportunity; to put in big licks (q.v.).
Sometimes ejaculatory, as ‘Give me goss and let me rip!’
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 75. Gin him goss without sweetin.
1847. Darley, Drama in Porterville, p. 114. Divers hints passed
from one to another among the more excitable citizens, that ‘Old
Sol’ was going to get goss, sure.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc., p. 115. Shouts of ‘Fair play,’
‘Turn ’em out,’ ‘Give him goss,’ were heard on all sides.
a. 1852. Traits of American Humour, II., 261. Ef I don’t, the old
man will give me goss when I go back.
Gossoon, subs. (colloquial Irish).—A boy. [A corruption of Fr., garçon
= a boy.]
Gotch-gutted, adj. (old).—Pot-bellied; ‘a gotch in Norfolk, signifying
a pitcher or large round jug.’—Grose.
Got ’em Bad, phr. (common).—A superlative of earnestness or
excessiveness: e.g., anyone doing his work thoroughly, a horse
straining every nerve, a very sick person, especially a patient in the
horrors (q.v.), is said to have got ’em bad.
Got ’em On (or All On), phr. (common).—Dressed in the height of
fashion. See Rigged Out.
1880. Punch, 28 Aug., p. 90.
188(?). Broadside Ballad, ‘’Arry.’ Where are you going on Sunday,
’Arry, now you’ve got ’em on?
188(?). Broadside Ballad. ‘He’s got ’em on.’
Goth, subs. (common).—A frumpish or uncultured person; one behind the
times or ignorant of the ways of society.
1712. Spectator, No. 367. But I shall never sink this paper so far
as to engage with Goths and Vandals.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. lxi. You yourself are a Goth
... to treat with such disrespect a production which ... will, when
finished, be a masterpiece of its kind.
1865. Ouida, Strathmore, ch. ii. For God’s sake don’t suppose me
such a Goth that I should fall in love with a dairymaid, Strath!
Gotham, subs. (common).—New York City. Gothamite, a New Yorker. [First
used by Washington Irving in Salmagundi (1807).]
1852. Jutson, Mysteries of New York. ch. xiii. One of the vilest of
all hells in Gotham.
1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 37. The first thing, as a
general rule, that a young Gothamite does is to get a horse.
Gothic, adj. (old).—See Goth.
1700. Congreve, The Way of the World, iv. 4. Ah, rustic, ruder than
Gothic!
1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, ii., 8. Why, with his usual
Gothic vivacity, he said I only wanted him to throw off his wig to
convert it into a tête for my own wearing.
Go-to-meeting Bags (or Clothes, Dress, etc.), subs. phr. (common).—Best
clothes. [As worn on Sundays, or holiday occasions.]
1837–40. Haliburton, The Clockmaker, p. 243 (Ed. 1862). If he
hadn’t his go-to-meetin’ dress and looks on this day to the jury,
it’s a pity.
1854. Bradley, Verdant Green, Pt. II., p. 5. Besides his black
go-to-meeting bags please to observe the peculiarity, etc.
1856. Hughes, Tom Brown’s Schooldays, pt. II., ch. v. I want to
give you a true picture of what every-day school life was in my
time, and not a kid-glove and go-to-meeting-coat picture.
1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago. Looks right well in her
go-to-meeting clothes.
Gouge, subs. (American).—An imposture; a swindle; a method of cheating.
1845. New York Tribune, 10 Dec. R—— and H—— will probably receive
from Mr. Polk’s administration $100,000 more than respectable
printers would have done the work for. There is a clean, plain
gouge of this sum out of the people’s strong box.
Verb. (old).—1. Grose says, ‘To squeeze out a man’s eye with the thumb,
a cruel practice used by the Bostonians in America.’
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 49. His eyes having been
gouged in a mountain fray.
2. (American).—To defraud.
1845. New York Tribune, 26 Nov. Very well, gentlemen! gouge Mr.
Crosby out of the seat, if you think it wholesome to do it.
1874. W. D. Howells, Foregone Conclusions, ch. iii. The man’s a
perfect Jew—or a perfect Christian, one ought to say in Venice; we
true believers do gouge so much more infamously here.
1885. Bret Harte, A Ship of ’49, ch. i. He’s regularly gouged me in
that ’ere horsehair spekilation.
Gouger, subs. (American).—A cheat; a swindler. For synonyms, see Rook.
Gouging, subs. (American).—Cheating.
Goujeers. See Goodyear.
Gourd, subs. (old).—False dice with a cavity within, which in Fullams
(q.v.) was filled with lead to give a bias. See also High-men and
Low-men.
1544. Ascham, Toxophylus. What false dyse use they? as dyse stopped
with quicksilver and heares, dyse of vauntage, flattes, gourds, to
chop and chaunge when they liste.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, i., 3. Let vultures gripe
thy guts! for gourd and fullam holds, And high and low beguiles the
rich and poor.
1616. Beaumont and Fletcher, Scornful Lady, iv. And thy dry bones
can reach at nothing now But gourds or nine-pins; pray go fetch a
trencher, go.
Gourock Ham, subs. (common).—A salt herring (Gourock was formerly a
great fishing village). For synonyms, see Glasgow Magistrate.
Government-man, subs. (old Australian).—A convict.
1864. Smythe, Ten Months in Fiji Islands, q.v.
1883. Graphic, 17 Mar., p. 262, c. 3. They never settle down as
thousands of our Government men cheerfully did in Australia after
they had their freedom.
Government-securities, subs. (common).—Handcuffs; fetters generally.
For synonyms, see Darbies.
Government-signpost, subs. (old).—The gallows. For synonyms, see
Nubbing-cheat.
1887. A. Barrère, Argot and Slang, p. 272. Montagne du géant. Fr.
(obsolete), gallows, scrag, nobbing cheat, or government signpost.
Governor (or Guv), subs. (common).—1. A father. Also relieving officer;
old ’un; pater; nibso; and his nibs. Applied to elderly people in
general. Fr., le géniteur and l’ancien (= the old ’un).
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xx. p. 169. ‘You’re quite certain it
was them, governor?’ inquired Mr. Weller, junior. ‘Quite, Sammy,
quite,’ replied his father.
1841. Punch, vol. I., p. 28. But—mind! don’t tell the governor!
1852. Comic Almanack, p. 19. Your father: Speaking to him, say
‘Guvnor,’ or ‘Old Strike-a-light;’ of him, ‘The old un.’
1859. Witty Political Portraits, p. 111. Unconscious of the
constitutional delusions on which his governor has thrived.
1889. Answers, 20 Apr., p. 323. To call your father ‘The Governor’
is, of course, slang, and is as bad as referring to him as ‘The
Boss,’ ‘The Old Man,’ or ‘The Relieving Officer.’
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 9 Jan. It was mortifying to be done in
that manner by a low fellow like Muggins, that I had always looked
upon as a fool, and had made a butt of when the guv. was out of the
way.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 118. The Governor is
in an awful funk about him.
2. (common).—A mode of address to strangers. Fr., bourgeois.
1892. Anstey, Voces Populi (Second Series). ‘At the Guelph
Exhibition.’ Right, guvnor; we’ll come.
3. (colloquial).—A master or superior; an employer.
English Synonyms.—Boss; captain of the waiters; captain; chief;
colonel; commander; chief bottle-washer; ganger; head-butler; head-cook
and bottle-washer; gorger; omee; rum-cull.
French Synonyms.—Le pantriot (popular and thieves’: also = a young
nincompoop); le, or la, pâte (popular: properly paste or dough); le
naïf (printers’: obsolete); le herz or hers (thieves’: obviously from
the German); le loncegué (thieves’: Fr., back-slang; = gonce, itself a
slang term for a man); le galeux (popular: = one with the itch); le
grêle (popular: specifically a master-tailor); le singe (= monkey); le
troploc; le nourisseur (= the grubber); l’ogre (specifically a fence);
le notaire (= publican); le patron (colloquial: = governor).
Italian Synonyms.—Chielmiero (vulgar).
Governor’s-stiff, subs. (American).—A pardon.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Gower-street Dialect. See Medical Greek.
Gowk, subs. (prison).—A simpleton. (Scots’ gowk = a cuckoo). For
synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head. Also a countryman. For synonyms,
see Joskin.
1816. Scott, Antiquary, ch. x. ‘Hout awa’, ye auld gowk,’ said
Jenny Rintherout.
To hunt the gowk, verb. phr. (common).—To go on a fool’s errand.
Gowler, subs. (old).—A dog; specifically a howler.
Gown, subs. (Winchester College)—1. Coarse brown paper. (obsolete).
2. (University).—The schools as distinguished from the town (q.v.).,
e.g., Town and Gown.
1847. Thackeray, Punch’s Prize Novelists, ‘Codlingsby,’ p. 232.
From the Addenbrooke’s hospital to the Blenheim turnpike, all
Cambridge was in an uproar—the College gates closed—the shops
barricaded—the shop-boys away in support of their brother
townsmen—the battle raged, and the Gown had the worst of the fight.
1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, II., ch. iii. When Gown was absent,
Town was miserable.
1891. Pall Mall Gaz., 30 May, p. 4, c. 3. Town and Gown joined in
harmony.
Gownsman (also Gown), subs. (university).—A student.
1800. C. K. Sharpe, in Correspondence (1888), i., 96. A battle
between the gownsmen and townspeople ... in spite of the
Vice-Chancellor and Proctors.
1850. F. E. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, ch. xxv. The ancient town of
Cambridge, no longer animated by the countless throngs of gownsmen,
frowned in its unaccustomed solitude.
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford. The townsmen ... were met by the
gownsmen with settled steady pluck.
Grab, subs. (vulgar).—1. A sudden clutch.
1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 1st S., ch. viii. He makes a grab at
me, and I shuts the door right to on his wrist.
2. (American).—A robbery; a steal (q.v.). Cf., Grab-gains.
3. (old).—A body-stealer; a resurrectionist.
1830. S. Warren, Diary of a Late Physician, ch. xvi. Sir ——’s
dressers and myself, with an experienced grab—that is to say, a
professional resurrectionist—were to set off from the Borough.
4. (gamesters’).—A boisterous game at cards.
Verb (vulgar).—1. To Pinch (q.v.); to seize; to apprehend; to snatch or
steal. Grabbed = arrested.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. The pigs grabbed the kiddy for a crack.
1818. Maginn, Vidocq’s Song. Tramp it, tramp it, my jolly blowen,
Or be grabbed by the beaks we may.
1837. Lytton, Ernest Maltravers, Wk. I., ch. x. There, man, grab
the money, it’s on the table.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. xiii. Do you want to be grabbed,
stupid?
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 39. Don’t muddle your
brains with any more of that Pharaoh. You’ll need all your strength
to grab him.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., 396. I was
grabbed for an attempt on a gentleman’s pocket.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 236. I watched a
movement, till one of the servant girls had brought another load of
grub out, and as she turned her back and went into the house I
grabbed the key, and so they couldn’t lock it nohow.
1886. Baring Gould, Golden Feather, p. 23 (S.P.C.K.). There are
some folks ... so grasping that if they touch a farthing will grab
a pound.
2. (thieves’).—To hold on; to get along; to live.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., 149. I do manage
to grab on somehow.
Grab-all, subs. (colloquial).—1. An avaricious person; a greedy-guts
(q.v.).
1872. Sunday Times, 18 Aug. This gentleman, it is well known, has
worked with indomitable energy on behalf of the millions, and has
succeeded in wresting from the mean and contemptible grab-alls of
that government which professes to study the people’s interest
those portions of the Embankment which the public money has paid
for.
2. (colloquial).—A bag to carry odds and ends, parcels, books, and so
forth.
Grabber, subs. (common).—In. pl., the hands. For synonyms, see Daddle
and Mauley.
Grabble, verb. (old).—1. To seize: a frequent form of grab (q.v.).
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. To grabble the bit; to seize any one’s
money.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum. You grabble the goose-cap and I’ll frisk
his pokes.
2. (venery).—To grope; to fumble; to fam (q.v.).
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., 193. When Nelly, though he teized her,
And grabbled her and squeezed her.
Grabby, subs. (military).—An infantry-man. [Used in contempt by the
mounted arm.] Fr., marionnette.
1868. Whyte Melville, White Rose, ch. x. ‘Is it a good regiment?
How jolly to dine at mess every day!’ ‘I shouldn’t like to be a
grabby though’ (this from the Dandy); ‘and after all, I’d rather be
a private in the cavalry than an officer in the regiment of feet!’
Grab-gains, subs. (thieves’).—The trick of snatching a purse, etc., and
making off.
Grab-game (or -coup, or -racket), subs. (old).—A mode of swindling: the
sharpers start by betting among themselves; then the by-standers are
induced to join; then stakes are deposited; lastly, there is a row,
when one of the gang grabs the stakes, and decamps. But see quot.,
1823.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. Grab-coup, modern practice of
gambling, adopted by the losers, thus the person cheated, or done,
takes his opportunity, makes a dash at the depository of money, or
such as may be down for the play, and grabs as much as possible,
pockets the proceeds, and fights his way out of the house.
18(?). Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, p. 282. ‘I’ll bear you
company. What d’ye say to that?’ ‘Just as you like,’ responded his
two companions, ‘that is provided you won’t attempt the grab game
on us.’
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 219. ‘Now,
boss!’ he cried, not unkindly, ‘is this to be run shipshape; or is
it a Dutch grab-racket?’
Grace-card, subs. (Irish).—The Six of Hearts. [For origin see N. and
Q., 5th Series, iv., 137].
Gracemans, subs. (old).—Grace-church Street Market.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (W. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Gracemans, Gratious Streete market.
Graduate, subs. (turf).—1. A horse that has been run.
2. (colloquial).—An adept; an artful member (q.v.).
3. (venery).—An unmarried woman who has taken her degree in carnal
lore.
Verb. (colloquial).—To seek and acquire experience: in life, love,
society, or trade; and so on.
Gradus, subs. (gamesters’).—A mode of cheating: a particular card is so
placed by the shuffler that when he hands the pack to be cut, it
projects a little beyond the rest; the chance being that it is the
turn-up. Also the step (q.v.). [From the Latin.]
Gradus-ad-parnassum, subs. (old literary).—The treadmill. For synonyms,
see Wheel-of-life.
Graft, subs. (common).—Work; employment; lay (q.v.).: e.g. What graft
are you on now? Great-graft = profitable labour; good biz (q.v.). Also
Grafting and Elbow-grease.
French Synonyms.—Le bastimage (thieves’); le goupinage (thieves’); la
laine (tailors’); le maquillage (thieves’); le massage (popular); la
masse; le mèche (printers’).
1878. Graphic, 6 July, p. 2. According to the well-known maxim in
the building trade, ‘Scotch masons, Welsh blacksmiths, English
bricklayers, Irish labourers’.... Perhaps in a generation or two
Paddy will fail us. He will have become too refined for hard
grafting.
1887. Henley, Villon’s Straight Tip. The merry little dibbs you bag
At my graft, no matter what.
1892. Tit Bits, 19 Mar., p. 417, c. 1. Millbank for thick shins and
graft at the pump.
Verb (common).—1. To work. Fr., bausser; membrer.
2. (American).—To steal.
3. (old).—To cuckold; to plant horns.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
4. (American).—To sole old boots. Cf., Goose and Translate.
Grampus, subs. (colloquial).—A fat man. For synonyms, see Forty-guts.
To blow the Grampus. (nautical).—To drench; and (common), to sport in
the water.
Grand, subs. (colloquial).—Short for ‘grand piano.’
1891. Morning Advertiser, 28 Mar. A precocious young relative is
now about to take the daïs. There she stands, violin in hand, and
there begins the preliminary scramble on the hired grand.
Adj. (colloquial).—A general superlative.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 19. Wot we want in a picter is
flavour and ‘fetch,’ and yours give it me grand.
To do the Grand, verb. phr. (common).—To put on airs. For synonyms, see
Lardy-dah.
Grand Bounce. See Bounce.
Grandmother. To see one’s grandmother, verb. phr. (common).—To have a
nightmare.
To see (or have) one’s grandmother (or little friend, or auntie) with
one. verb. phr. (common).—To have the menstrual discharge. See Flag.
To shoot one’s grandmother, verb. phr. (common).—To be mistaken; to
have found a mare’s nest; to be disappointed. Commonly ‘You’ve shot
your grannie.’
To teach one’s grandmother (or grannie) how to suck eggs, verb. phr.
(common).—To instruct an expert in his own particular line of business;
to talk old to one’s seniors.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1892. Globe, 27 Jan., p. 1, c. 5. Evidently he did not consider, as
Englishmen seem to do, that grandmothers possess no more knowledge
than is required to efficiently suck eggs.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 210. ‘Confound you
stupid, what do you take me for, that you try to teach your
grandmother to suck eggs.’
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 77. She’s a teaching ’er
grandmother, she is, although she’s a littery swell.
My grandmother’s review. subs. phr. (obsolete).—The British Review.
[The nickname was Lord Byron’s.]
Grand-strut, subs. (old).—The Broad Walk in Hyde Park.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i., 4. We’ll start first to the
show shop of the metropolis, Hyde Park! promenade it down the grand
strut.
Granger, subs. (American political).—1. A member of the Farmers’
Alliance; a secret society, nominally non-political, but really taking
a hand in politics when occasion offered to favour agricultural
interests. [During the decade of years ending 1870, it attained to
great numerical strength, and extended throughout the United States.]
See Agricultural Wheel.
2. (American).—Hence, a farmer; a countryman; anyone from the rural
districts. For synonyms, see Joskin.
Grangerise, verb. (literary).—To fill out a book with portraits,
landscapes, title-pages, and illustrations generally not done for it.
1883. Sala, Living Wonders, p. 497. Mr. Ashton’s Social Life in the
Reign of Queen Anne ... would be a capital book to grangerize.
Grangerism, subs. (literary).—The practice of illustrating a book with
engravings, etc., from other sources. [From the practice of
illustrating Granger’s Bibliographical History of England.]
1883. Saturday Review, Jan. 27, p. 123, c. 2. Grangerism, as the
innocent may need to be told, is the pernicious vice of cutting
plates and title-pages out of many books to illustrate one book.
Grangerite, subs. (literary).—A practitioner in grangerism (q.v.).
1890. ‘Grangerising,’ in Cornhill Mag., Feb., p. 139. Another
favourite subject, and suitable also for the Grangerite, is
‘Boswell’s Johnson.’ It must be admitted that this delightful book
may gain a fresh chance by being thus treated, but ‘within the
limits of becoming grangerism.’
Grannam, subs. (old). Corn. [From the Latin.]—Fr., le grenu, or grelu.
It., re di granata; staffile; corniole. Sp., grito.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65. Grannam, corne.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Granmer, corne.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 49 (1874).
Grannam, corn.
1706. E. Coles, Eng. Dict., Grannam, c. corn.
1737. Bacchus and Venus. ‘The Strowling Mort.’ Grannam ever filled
my sack.
Grannam’s-gold. subs. (old).—Wealth inherited. [Grannam = grandmother:
cf., Beaumont and Fletcher, Lover’s Progress, iv., 1. ‘Ghosts never
walk till after midnight, if I may believe my grannam.’]
Granny, subs. (nautical).—1. A bad knot with the second tie across; as
opposed to a reef knot in which the end and outer part are in line.
Also Granny’s Knot or Granny’s Bend.
2. (common).—Conceit of superior knowledge.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 404. To take the
granny off them as has white hands.
Verb (thieves’).—To know; to recognise. Also to swindle.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 461. The shallow
got so grannied in London.
Ibid., p. 340. If they granny the manley (perceive the signature)
of a brother officer or friend.
Grant. To grant the favour, verb. phr. (venery).—To confer the sexual
embrace; to spread (q.v.).
1720. Durfey, Pills, etc., vi. 58. If at last she grants the
favour, And consents to be undone.
1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, iv. 7. I ... never would grant the
favour to any man till I had drunk a heavy glass with him.
Grape-shot, adj. (common).—Drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
Grape-vine, subs. (American).—A hold in wrestling.
Grape-vine Telegraph, subs. phr. (American).—News mysteriously
conveyed. [During the Civil War bogus reports from the front were said
to be by the Grape-vine Telegraph.] Also Clothes-line Telegraph.
Grapple, subs. (common).—The hand. Also grappler. For synonyms, see
Daddle and Mauley.
1852. Hazel, Yankee Jack, p. 9. Give us your grappler on that, old
fellow.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 246. Anything she
once put her grapples on she slipped inside.
Grapple-the-rails, subs. (Irish).—Whiskey. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Old Man’s Milk.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Grapple-the-rails, a cant name used in
Ireland for whiskey.
Grappling-irons (or -hooks), subs. (old).—1. Handcuffs. For synonyms,
see Darbies.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1830. Buckstone, Wreck Ashore, i., 4. I hope the bailiffs have not
laid their grappling irons on young Miles.
2. (nautical).—The fingers. For synonyms, see Fork. Also Grapplers and
Grappling-Hooks.
Grass, subs. (Royal Military Academy).—1. Vegetables. Cf., bunny-grub.
Fr., gargousses de la canonnière.
2. (American).—Fresh mint.
3. (common).—Short for sparrow-grass (q.v.) = asparagus.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab and Lond. Poor, I., 539. He sold grass,
and such things as cost money.
4. (Australian printers’).—A temporary hand on a newspaper; hence the
proverb, ‘a grass on news waits dead men’s shoes.’ Cf., Grass-hand = a
raw worker, or green hand.
a. 1889. Fitzgerald, Printers’ Proverbs, quoted in Slang, Jargon,
and Cant. Why are the grass, or casual news hands not put on a more
comfortable footing?
Verb (pugilistic).—To throw (or be thrown); to bring (or be brought) to
ground. Hence, to knock down; to defeat; to kill.
1818. Egan, Boxiana, ii., 375. He had much the worst of it, and was
ultimately grassed.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 57. The shame that aught but death should
see him grassed.
1846. Dickens, Dombey, xliv., 385. The Chicken himself attributed
this punishment to his having had the misfortune to get into
Chancery early in the proceedings, when he was severely fibbed by
the Larkey One, and heavily grassed.
1881. Daily Telegraph, 26 Nov. The Doctor had killed twenty out of
twenty-five, while his opponent had grassed seventeen out of the
same number.
1883. W. Besant, All in a Garden Fair. Intro. It was a sad example
of pride before a fall; his foot caught in a tuft of grass, and he
was grassed.
1888. Sporting Life, 11 Dec. Just on the completion of the minute
grassed his man with a swinging right-hander.
1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, p. 119. I saw I was grassed, so I
took his measurement.
1892. F. Anstey, Voces Populi. ‘The Riding-Class,’ p. 108. Didn’t
get grassed, did you?
To give grass, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To yield.
To go to grass, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To abscond; to disappear.
Also to hunt grass.
2. (common).—To fall sprawling; to be ruined; to die.
1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, p. 237. Elias was sent to grass to rise
no more off it.
3. (common).—To waste away (as of limbs).
To hunt grass, verb. phr. (common).—1. To decamp.
2. (cricket).—To field; to hunt leather (q.v.).
3. (American). To fall; to go to ground; hence, to be puzzled or
bewildered.
1869. S. L. Clemens, Innocents at Home, p. 21. You’re most too many
for me, you know. When you get in with your left I hunt grass every
time.
To cut one’s own grass. verb. phr. (thieves’).—To earn one’s own
living.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 242. ‘Cut her own
grass! Good gracious! what is that!’ I asked. ‘Why, purvide her own
chump—earn her own living,’ the old man replied.
To be sent to grass. verb. phr. (University).—To be rusticated; to
receive a travelling scholarship (q.v.).
1794. Gent. Mag., p. 1085. And was very near rustication [at
Cambridge] merely for kicking up a row after a beakering party.
‘Soho, Jack!’ briskly rejoined another, ‘almost presented with a
travelling fellowship? very nigh being sent to grass, hey?’
Go to grass! phr. (common).—Be off! You be hanged! Go to hell!
1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, p. 95. A gentleman who was swimming
about, upon being refused, declared that he might go to grass with
his old canoe, for he didn’t think it would be much of a shower,
anyhow.
1865. Bacon, Handbook of America, p. 363. Go to grass! be off! get
out!
To let the grass grow under one’s feet, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
proceed or work leisurely. Fr., limer.
To take Nebuchadnezzar out to grass, subs. phr. (venery).—To take a
man. [Nebuchadnezzar = penis.] For synonyms, see Greens.
Grass-comber, subs. (nautical).—A countryman shipped as a sailor.
1886. W. Besant, World Went Very Well Then, ch. xxix. Formerly,
Jack would have replied to this sally that, d’ye see, Luke was a
grass comber and a land swab, but that for himself, there was no
tea aboard ship, and a glass of punch or a bowl of flip was worth
all the tea ever brought from China.
Grasser, subs. (sporting).—A fall.
Grasshopper, subs. (common).—1. A waiter at a tea-garden.
2. (rhyming).—A policeman, or copper (q.v.).
3. (thieves’).—A thief. See Gunner.
1893. Pall Mall Gaz., 2 Jan., p. 4., c. 3. Quite a ‘school’ of
youthful grasshoppers are in possession of one corner of the ice,
but on the Westminster side of the park ’pon bridge there is a good
sprinkling of old hands.
Grassing, subs. (printers’).—Casual work away from the office. See
Smouting.
Grassville, subs. (old).—The country; cf., Daisyville.
Grass-widow, subs. (old).—1. An unmarried mother; a deserted mistress.
See Barrack-hack and Tart.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Widow’s weeds, a grass-widow,
one that pretends to have been married, but never was, yet has
children.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Widow’s weeds; a grass-widow; a
discarded mistress.
2. (colloquial).—A married woman temporarily separated from her
husband.
[The usually accepted derivation that grass = Fr., grâce is
doubtful. Hall (says J. C. Atkinson, in Glossary of Cleveland
Words) gives as the definition of this word ‘an unmarried woman who
has had a child’; in Moor’s Suffolk Words and Phrases, grace-widow,
‘a woman who has had a child for her cradle ere she has had a
husband for her bed’; and corresponding with this is the N. S. or
Low Ger., gras-wedewe. Again, Sw. D., gras-anka, or -enka =
grass-widow, occurs in the same sense as with us: ‘a low,
dissolute, unmarried woman living by herself.’ The original meaning
of the word seems to have been ‘a woman whose husband is away,’
either travelling or living apart. The people of Belgium call a
woman of this description haeck-wedewe, from haecken, to feel
strong desire.... It seems probable, therefore, from the etymology,
taken in connection with the Clevel. signification, that our word
may rather be from the Scand. source than from the German; only
with a translation of the word enka into its English equivalent.
Dan. D., graesenka, is a female whose betrothed lover (fastman) is
dead; nearly equivalent to which is German, strohwittwe, literally
straw-widow. See N. and Q. 6 S. viii., 268, 414; x. 333, 436, 526;
xi. 78, 178.]
English Synonyms.—Californian widow; widow-bewitched; wife in water
colours.
1700. Congreve, Way of the World, Act iii. If the worst come to the
worst,—I’ll turn my wife to grass—I have already a deed of
settlement of the best part of her estate, which I wheedl’d out of
her.
1877. Chamb. Journal, 12 Mar., p. 173. Mrs. Brittomart was one of
those who never tolerated a bow-wow—a species of animal well known
in India—and never went to the hills as a grass-widow.
1878. London, a grass-widow. And so, you see, it comes to pass That
she’s a widow out at grass And happy in her freedom.
1882. Saturday Review, 11 Feb. She is a grass-widow, her husband is
something in some Indian service.
1885. W. Black, White Heather, ch. xli. Mrs. Lalor, a grass-widow
who was kind enough to play chaperon to the young people, but whose
effective black eyes had a little trick of roving on their own
account.
1889. Daily Telegraph, 12 Feb. She had taken up her residence at a
house in Sinclair-road, Kensington, where she passed as a
grass-widow. She represented that her husband was engaged in
mercantile pursuits.
Grass-widower, subs. (common).—A man away from his wife.
1886. New York Evening Post, 22 May. All the grass-widowers and
unmarried men.
Gravel, verb. (old).—1. To confound; to puzzle; to floor (q.v.).
1593. G. Harvey, Pierus Supererog, in wks. II., 296. The finest
intelligencer, or sagest Politician in a state, would undoubtedly
have been gravelled in the execution of that rash attempt.
1597. Hall, Satires, III., vi., 14. So long he drinks, till the
black caravell Stands still fast gravelled on the mud of hell.
1600. Shakspeare, As You Like It. When you were gravelled for lack
of matter.
1604. Marlowe, Faustus, Act i., Sc. 1. And I, that have with
concise syllogisms gravell’d the pastors of the German church.
1659. Torriano, Vocabulario, s.v.
1667. Dryden, Sir Martin Marr-all, Act iii. Warn. He’s gravelled,
and I must help him out.
1663. Dryden, An Evening’s Love, Act ii. A difficult question in
that art, which almost gravels me.
1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, ch. xxxiv. He was somewhat
gravelled for an answer to Alaric’s earnest supplication, and
therefore made none till the request was repeated.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 206. I thought Alan would be
gravelled at that, for we lacked the means of writing in that
desert.
1893. National Observer, 11 Feb., p. 321. In truth to talk of Burns
as the apotheosis of Knox is really to gravel and confound your
readers; and but for the context one might be suspected that the
innuendo hid a touch of sarcasm.
2. (American).—To go against the grain.
1887. Clemens, Life on the Mississippi, ch. xiv., p. 138. By long
habit, pilots came to put all their wishes in the form of commands.
It gravels me to this day, to put my will in the weak shape of a
request, instead of launching it in the crisp language of an order.
Gravel-crusher, subs. (military).—A soldier doing defaulter’s drill.
Gravel-grinder, subs. (popular).—A drunkard. For synonyms, see
Lushington.
Gravel-rash, subs. (colloquial).—The lacerations caused by a fall.
To have the gravel rash, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be reeling drunk.
For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
Gravesend-bus, subs. (common).—A hearse.
Gravesend-sweetmeats, subs. (popular).—Shrimps.
Gravesend-twins, subs. (common).—Solid particles of sewage.
Grave-yard, subs. (common).—1. The mouth. For synonyms, see
Potato-trap.
To keep a private grave-yard, verb. phr. (American).—To affect
ferocity; to bluster.
Gravy, subs. (venery).—The sexual discharge; the spendings (q.v.) both
male and female. [Hence gravy-giver = the penis and the female
pudendum; and gravy-maker = the female pudendum. Hence, too, to give
one’s gravy = to spend (q.v.). Cf., Beef and Mutton.]
d. 1796. Burns, ‘Dainty Davie,’ in Merry Muses. I wot he cam atween
my thie, An’ creeshed it weel wi’ gravy.
Gravy-eye, subs. (common).—A derisive epithet: e.g., Well Old
gravy-eye.
Grawler, subs. (old).—A beggar. For synonyms, see Cadger.
1821. D. Haggart, Life, Glossary p. 62. Not so much as would
sweeten a grawler in the whole of them.
Gray, subs. (thieves’).—1. A coin showing either two heads or two
tails; a pony (q.v.).
1828. G. Smeeton, Doings in London, p. 40. Breslaw could never have
done more upon cards than he could do with a pair of grays
(gaffing-coins).
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. II., p. 154.
Some, if they can, will cheat, by means of a half-penny with a head
or a tail on both sides, called a gray.
1868. Temple Bar, Vol. XXIV., p. 539. They have a penny with two
heads or two tails on it, which they call a grey, and of course
they can easily dupe flats from the country. How do they call it a
grey, I wonder? I suppose they have named it after Sir George Grey
because he was a two-faced bloke.
2. (common).—See Grayback, sense 1.
3. in. pl. (colloquial).—Yawning; listlessness. Cf., Blues.
Grayback, subs. (common).—1. A louse. Also Scots Greys. Fr., un
grenadier. For synonyms, see Chates.
2. (American).—A Confederate soldier. [Partly from the colour of his
uniform, and partly because of its inhabitants. Cf., sense 1.] See
Blue-bellies.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 9 Feb., p. 5, c. 4. The Confederate armies,
during the great Civil War in America ... were known ... as
Greybacks, whereas their Federal opponents, from the light-azure
gaberdines which they wore, were dubbed ‘blue-bellies.’
1890. Scribner’s Mag. Mar., p. 283. Mrs. Rutherford stood in such
abject fear of the graybacks that she regarded the possession of so
large a sum as simply inviting destruction.
Gray-beard, subs. (colloquial).—1. An old man. Mostly in contempt.
1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shrew, Act ii., Sc. 1. Grey-beard,
thy love doth freeze.
a. 1845. Longfellow, Luck of Eden Hall. The gray-beard, with
trembling hand obeys.
2. (old).—Originally a stoneware drinking jug; now a large earthenware
jar for holding wine or spirits. [From the bearded face in relief with
which they were ornamented.]
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, Grey-beard, s.v. Dutch earthen jugs,
used for smuggling gin on the coasts of Essex and Suffolk, are at
this time called grey-beards.
1814. Scott, Waverley, ch. lxiv. There’s plenty of brandy in the
grey-beard.
1886. The State, 20 May, p. 217. A whisky or brandy which is held
in merited respect for very superior potency is entitled [in
America] ‘reverent,’ from the same kind of fancy which led the
Scotch to call a whisky jar a grey-beard.
Gray-cloak, subs. (common).—An alderman above the chair. [Because his
proper robe is a cloak furred with grey amis.]
Gray-goose, subs. (Scots’).—A big field stone on the surface of the
ground.
1816. Scott, Black Dwarf, ch. iv. Biggin a dry-stane dyke, I think,
wi’ the grey-geese as they ca’ thae great loose stones.
Grayhound, subs. (general).—1. A fast Atlantic liner; one especially
built for speed. Also ocean grayhound.
1887. Scientific American, vol. LVI., 2. They [ships] are built in
the strongest possible manner, and are so swift of foot, as to have
already become formidable rivals to the English grey hound.
2. (Cambridge University).—An obsolete name for a member of Clare
College; a clarian.
1889. Whibley, Cap and Gown, xxviii. The members of Clare ... were
called grayhounds.
Gray-mare, subs. (common).—A wife; specifically one who wears the
breeches (q.v.). [From the proverb, ‘The gray mare is the better horse’
= the wife is master: a tradition, perhaps, from the time when priests
were forbidden to carry arms or ride on a male horse: Non enim licuerat
pontificem sacrorum vel arma ferre, vel praeter quam in equâ
equitare.—Beda, Hist. Eccl. ii., 13. Fr., mariage d’epervier = a hawk’s
marriage: the female hawk being the larger and stronger bird. Lord
Macaulay’s explanation (quot. 1849) is the merest guess-work.]
1546. John Haywood, Proverbs [Sharman’s reprint, 1874]. She is
(quoth he) bent to force you perforce, To know that the grey mare
is the better horse.
1550. A Treatyse, Shewing and Declaring the Pryde and Abuse of
Women Now a Dayes (in Hazlitt’s Early Popular Poetry, iv., 237).
What! shall the graye mayre be the better horse, And be wanton
styll at home?
1605. Camden, Remains Concerning Britain [ed. 1870, p. 332]. In
list of proverbs. (Is said to be the earliest in English.)
1670. Ray, Proverbs, s.v.
1698–1750. Ward, London Spy, part II., p. 40. Another as dull as if
the grey mare was the better Horse; and deny’d him Enterance for
keeping late Hours.
1705–1707. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, vol. II., pt. iv., p. 5.
There’s no resisting Female Force, Grey mare will prove the better
Horse.
1717. Prior, Epilogue to Mrs. Manley’s Lucius. As long as we have
eyes, or hands, or breath, We’ll look, or write, or talk you all to
death. Yield, or she-Pegasus will gain her course, And the grey
mare will prove the better horse.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., p. 240. For the grey mare has proved the
better horse.
1738. Swift, Polite Convers., dial. 3. I wish she were married; but
I doubt the gray mare would prove the better horse.
1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xix. By the hints they dropped, I
learned the gray mare was the better horse—that she was a matron of
a high spirit.
1819. Macaulay, Hist. England. The vulgar proverb, that the grey
mare is the better horse, originated, I suspect, in the preference
generally given to the grey mares of Flanders over the finest coach
horses of England.
1883. G. A. S[ala], in Illustr. London News, 14 Apr., p. 359, c. 2.
She [Mrs. Romford], did not over-accentuate either her
strong-mindedness or her jealousy of her flighty husband; but she
let him and the audience unmistakably know that she was in all
respects the grey mare in the Romford stable.
Gray-parson (or Gray-coat parson), subs. (old).—A lay impropriator, or
lessee of tithes.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, grey parson, s.v. A farmer who rents the
tythes of the rector or vicar.
1830 in Cobbett’s Rural Rides, vol. I., p. 123 note (ed. 1886). The
late editor says, that, having been a large holder of lay tithes,
the author applied to Mr. Nicholls, the name of the grey-coated
parson.
Grease, subs. (common).—1. A bribe; palm-oil (or -grease). (q.v. for
synonyms). In America Boodle (q.v.). greasing = bribing.
1823. Bee, Dict. of Turf, s.v. A bonus given to promote the cause
of anyone.
2. (printers’).—Well-paid work; fat (q.v.).
3. (common).—Fawning; flattery (a figurative use of sense 1).
Verb (old).—1. To bribe; to corrupt by presents; to tip (q.v.). Also
more fully to grease in the fist, hand, or palm. Fr., coquer la
boucanade. For synonyms, see Square.
1557. Tusser, Husbandrie, ch. 68, pt. 2, p. 159 (E.D.S.). How
husbandrie easeth, to huswiferie pleaseth, And manie purse greaseth
With silver and gold.
1578. Whetstone, Promoss and Cassandra, ii., 3. Grease them well in
their hands.
1592. Greene, Quip, in wks., xi., 261. That did you not grease the
sealers of Leaden Hall throughly in the fist, they should never be
sealed, but turned away and made forfiet by the statute.
1619. Fletcher, Wild Goose Chase. Am I greased once again?
1649. F. Quarles, Virgin Widow, IV., i., p. 40. Greaze my fist with
a Tester or two, and ye shall find it in your penny-worths.
1678. C. Cotton, Scarronides, Bk. IV., p. 70 (ed. 1725). Him she
conjures, intreats, and prays, With all the Cunning that she has,
greases his Fist; nay more, engages Thenceforth to mend his
Quarters-wages.
1693. Dryden, Persius, iii., 139. And after, envy not the store Of
the greas’d advocate, that grinds the poor.
1698–1700. Ward, London Spy, pt. xv., p. 364. But the Gay Curteyan
who trades for gold, That can but grease a palm when she’s in hold,
No Justice need she dread.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1878. Jas. Payn, By Proxy, ch. x. His Excellency, your master, has
given orders, I presume, that after I have made my compliments—as
delicate a phrase as he could think of for greasing the hands of
justice—I shall be at liberty to visit my friend.
1879. Horsley, in Macmillan’s Magazine, Oct. When I went to the
fence he bested (cheated) me because I was drunk, and only gave me
£8 10s. for the lot. So the next day I went to him and asked him if
he was not going to grease my duke (put money into my hand).
1891. Pall Mall Gaz., 2 Sept., p. 7, c. 2. Did other people having
business with the printing bureau tell you that it would be
necessary to grease Sénécal?
2. (common).—To fawn; to flatter. Formerly, to grease one’s boots.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Onger i stivali, to grease ones
bootes, id est, to flatter or cog with, to faune vpon one.
3. (old).—To gull; to cheat; to do.
To grease a fat sow in the arse, verb. phr. (old).—To bribe a rich
man.—Grose.
To grease one’s gills, verb. phr. (common).—To make a good or luxurious
meal.
Greased Lightning, subs. phr. (American).—An express train.
1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 359. The usual Express Train is not
half fast enough for the impatient traveller; he must have his
Lightning Express Train, and in the Far West improves still farther
by calling it greased lightning, after a favourite Yankee term.
Like Greased Lightning, adv. phr. (American).—Very quick. See Bed-post.
1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, p. 72. Quicker than greased
lightnin’, My covies, I was dead.
1890. Globe, 27 Aug., p. 2, c. 5. He is drawn along at a rapid
rate, or, as the correspondent puts it, he is whisked all over town
like greased lightning.
1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, p. 98. He measured again, and
then off went his coat like greased lightning, and we all followed
suit.
Greaser, subs. (American).—1. A Mexican in general; also a Spanish
American: see quots. 1848 and 1888. The term originated during the
Mexican war.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 3. Note. The Mexicans are
called Spaniards or greasers (from their greasy appearance) by the
Western people.
1855. Marryat, Mountains and Mole Hills, p. 236. The Americans call
the Mexicans greasers, which is scarcely a complimentary
soubriquet; although the term greaser camp as applied to a Mexican
encampment is truthfully suggestive of filth and squalor.
1876. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly, Prologue i. Behind the
leaders followed a little troop of three, consisting of one English
servant and two greasers.
1883. Bret Harte, In the Carquinez Woods, footnote to ch. vii.
Greasers, Californian slang for a mixed race of Mexicans and
Indians.
1888. Century Mag., October. To avenge the murder of one of their
number the cowboys gathered from the country round about, and
fairly stormed the greaser—that is, Mexican—village where the
murder had been committed, killing four of the inhabitants.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody, ch. 2. Don’t let the greaser git his
fingers in your ha’r.
2. in. pl. (Royal Military Academy).—Fried potatoes, as distinguished
from boilers = boiled potatoes.
To give one greaser, verb. phr. (Winchester College).—To rub the back
of the hand hard with the knuckles.
Grease-spot, subs. (common).—The imaginary result of a passage at arms,
physical or intellectual.
1844. Haliburton, The Attaché, ch. xvi. If he hadn’t a had the
clear grit in him, and showed his teeth and claws, they’d a
nullified him so you wouldn’t see a grease-spot of him no more.
Greasy-chin, subs. (old).—A dinner.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Lay of St. Gengulphus.’ And to
every guest his card had express’d ‘Half past’ as the hour for a
greasy chin.
Great Cry and Little Wool.—See Cry.
Great Go (or Greats), subs. (Cambridge University).—The final
examination for the B.A. degree; cf., Little-go. At Oxford, greater.
1841. Prince of the New-made Baccalere, Oxford. Great-go is passed.
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. x. Both small and great are
sufficiently distant to be altogether ignored, if we are that way
inclined.
1856–7. Thackeray, King of Brentford’s Test., st. 7. At college,
though not fast, Yet his little-go and great-go, He creditably
pass’d.
1871. Morning Advertiser, 28 Apr. Yes, Mr. Lowe has been plucked
for his great go.
1883. Echo, 3 May, p. 2, c. 4. But few, indeed, are the men who
have been in for greats during the last twenty years, and who have
not blessed Mr. Kitchin for his edition of the Novum Organum.
Great Gun, subs. phr. (common).—1. A person of distinction; a thing of
importance.
English Synonyms.—Big bug; big dog of the tanyard; big dog with the
brass collar; big gun; big head; big one; big (or great) pot; big wig;
biggest toad in the puddle; cock of the walk; don; large potato; nob;
rumbusticator; stunner; swell; swell-head; topper; top-sawyer.
French Synonyms.—Un gros bonnet (familiar = big wig); un fiérot (a
stuck-up); un herr (from the German); Monsieur Raidillon or Monsieur
Pointu (= Mr. Stuck-up).
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. ii. A Spanish Ecclesiastic,
the Canon of ——. Plenty of great guns, at any rate—a regular park
of artillery.
1843. Haliburton, Sam Slick in England, ch. xv. The great guns and
big bugs have to take in each other’s ladies.
Ibid., p. 24. Pick out the big bugs and see what sort of stuff
they’re made of.
1853. Wh. Melville, Digby Grand, ch. x. The great guns of the
party, the rector of the parish, the member for the county.
2. (pedlers’).—A peculiar practice; a trick of particular usefulness
and importance; a favourite wheeze (q.v.).
1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 256. The
street-seller’s great gun, as he called it, was to make up packets,
as closely resembling as he could accomplish it those which were
displayed in the windows of any of the shops.
To Blow Great Guns, verb. phr. (nautical).—To blow a gale; also to blow
great guns and small arms.
1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], 23. ‘Curse me, if I
don’t think all the world means to cross the Thames this fine
night!’ observed Ben. ‘One’d think it rained fares as well as
blowed great guns.’
1854. H. Miller, Sch. and Schm. (1858), 14. It soon began to blow
great guns.
1865. H. Kingsley, Hillyars and Burton, ch. lxxvii. It was blowing
pretty high guns, sou’ eastern by east, off shore and when we came
to the harbour’s mouth there was Tom Wyatt with his pilot just
aboard.
1869. Arthur Sketchley, Mrs. Brown on Things in General. I never
did see such weather, a-blowin great guns as the sayin’ is.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 340. It blew
great guns from the seaward.
Great-house. See Big-house.
Great-Joseph, subs. (old).—An overcoat.
Great Scott! intj. (American).—An exclamation of surprise; an apology
for an oath. [Possibly a memory of the name of Gen. Winfield Scott, a
presidential candidate whose dignity and style were such as to win him
the nickname “Fuss-and-Feathers.”] Also Great Cæsar.
1888. New York Mercury. Great Scott! you don’t say so.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, p. 98. Bob, what’s the matter
with you? Great Scott! the mine hain’t give out.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 19 June, p. 396, c 2. Great Scotch!—no,
we mean Scott—well, language worthy of the great Harry prevailed
for awhile.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 305. ‘Great Scott! what the deuce
is Wells up to?’ said the Squire.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 106. Great
Cæsar!
1892. Tit Bits, 19 Mar., p. 416, c. 1. He. Great Cæsar! There you
go again! She. James will you please remember that it is your wife
to whom you are speaking, sir? He. No other woman could drive me
raving, distracted, crazy, asking silly questions about—She. James!
Great Shakes. See Shakes.
Great Smoke, subs. (thieves’)—London.
Great Sun, intj. (common).—An exclamation.
1876. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly. Great Sun! I think I see
it now.
Great-unwashed, subs. (colloquial).—The lower classes; the rabble. Also
the unwashed. [First used by Burke; popularised by Scott.]
1892. Sydney Watson, Wops the Waif, ch. iii., p. 4. We begin to
understand what is meant by the lowest classes, the great unwashed.
Great Whipper-in, subs. phr. (common).—Death; old floorer (q.v.).
Grecian, subs. (old).—1. A roysterer; a greek (q.v.).
2. (Christ’s Hospital).—A senior boy.
3. (popular).—An Irishman.
Grecian Accent, subs. (popular).—A brogue.
Grecian-bend, subs. (common).—A stoop in walking. [Affected by some
women c. 1869–80.] Cf., Alexandra Limp, Roman Fall, Italian Wriggle,
Kangaroo Droop.
1821. Etonian, ii., 57. In person he was of the common size, with
something of the Grecian bend, contracted doubtless from sedentary
habits.
1869. Daily Telegraph, 1 Sept. I do not, however, think the ‘stoop’
our girls now have arises from tight-lacing. Some affect what is
called the Grecian bend.
1870. Orchestra, 25 Mar. ‘Grand Comic Concert.’ The ladies have
their Grecian bend, our typical gentleman explains a correspondent
masculine affectation which he dubs ‘The Roman Fall—The Roman
Fall.’
1871. Morning Advertiser, 4 Dec. A lady of five feet becomes, say,
five feet two inches per heels, five feet six inches per hair, five
feet again, per Grecian bend.
1876. Chambers’ Journal, No. 629. Your own advocacy for the Grecian
bend and the Alexandra limp—both positive and practical imitations
of physical affliction.
1886. Cornhill Magazine, Dec., p. 618. You ain’t nearly fine enough
for a waitress or for ’im, neether. He likes a smart young woman
with a Grecian bend.
Greed, subs. (thieves).—Money. For synonyms, see Actual and Gilt.
1857. Ducange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Greedy-gut (or -guts), subs. (old).—A voracious eater; a glutton. [As
in the old (schoolboys’) rhyme: ‘Guy-hi, Greedy-gut, Eat all the
pudding up.’] For synonyms, see Stodger. Fr., un glafâtre.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, Edace, an eater, a devourer. a
greedigut. Ibid. Putti occhi, greedie eies.
1772. Coles, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Greek, subs. (old).—1. Slang, or flash (q.v.); usually St. Giles’ Greek
(q.v.). Cf., Cant, Gibberish, etc.
2. (colloquial).—A card-sharper; a cheat.
1528. Roy and Barlow, Rede me and be not wrothe, p. 117 [ed. Arber,
1871]. In carde playinge he is a goode Greke And can skyll of post
and glycke, Also a prayre of dyce to trolle.
1568. Satirical Poems, ‘Scottish Text Soc.’ [1889–91] i., 77. A
cowle, a cowle, for such a greek were fitter far to wea’re.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Grecheggiare ... to play the
Greek.
1602. Shakspeare, Troilus and Cressida, v. 6. Come, both you
cogging Greeks; have at you both.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, xxviii. Most of the cant phrases in Head’s
English Rogue, which was published, I believe, in 1666, would be
intelligible to a Greek of the present day.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 5. Come lads, bustle about;
play will begin—some of the pigeons are here already, the Greeks
will not be long following.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. IV., ch. i. Jerry was a Greek by
nature, and could land a flat as well as the best of them.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xxxvi. He was an adventurer, a
pauper, a blackleg, a regular Greek.
1861. Once a Week, 25 May, p. 97. As the Greek places the packet
[of cards] on the top of the other, he allows it to project the
least bit in the world.
1884. Saturday Review, 16 Feb., p. 202. Without a confederate the
now fashionable game of baccarat does not seem to offer many
chances for the Greek.
3. (old).—An Irishman.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf. Greek, s.v. Irishmen call themselves
Greeks.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. i., p. 240. We
had the Greeks (the lately arrived Irish) down upon us more than
once.
1872. Standard, 3 Sept. ‘Melbourne Correspondence.’ The most
noticeable point of comparison between the two Administrations is
the presence or the absence of the Greek element from the Cabinet.
Greek, as some of your readers are aware, is colonial slang for
‘Irish.’
4. (thieves’).—A gambler. Also a highwayman.
Merry Greek, subs. phr. (old).—A roysterer; a drunkard. Cotgrave. [In
Latin, Graecare = to play the Greek—high-living and hard drinking.]
1602. Shakspeare, Troilus and Cressida, iv., 4. A woful Cressid
’mongst the merry Greeks.
Greek Fire, subs. phr. (thieves’).—Bad whiskey; Rotgut (q.v.).
1889. Clarkson and Richardson, Police, p. 321, s.v.
Greek Kalends, subs. phr. (colloquial).—Never. To defer anything to the
Greek Kalends is to put it off sine die. (The Greeks used no kalends in
their reckoning of time.)
c. 1649. Drumm. of Hawth. Consid. Parlt., wks. (1711) 185. That
gold, plate, and all silver, given to the mint-house in these late
troubles, shall be paid at the Greek Kalends.
1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, bk. I., ch. xx. The judgment or decree
shall be given out and pronounced at the next Greek Calends, that
is, never.
1823. Byron, Don Juan, c. xiii., st. 45. They and their bills,
‘Arcadians both,’ are left To the Greek Kalends of another session.
1825. Scott, Betrothed. Intro. Will you speak of your paltry prose
doings in my presence, whose great historical poem, in twenty
books, with notes in proportion, has been postponed ad Græcas
Kalendas?
1872. O. W. Holmes, Poet Breakf. T. i., 18. His friends looked for
it only on the Greek Calends, say on the 31st of April, when that
should come round, if you would modernize the phrase.
1882. Macmillan’s Mag., 253. So we go on ... and the works are sent
to the Greek Calends.
English Synonyms.—In the reign of Queen Dick; when the devil is blind;
when two Sundays come in a week; at Doomsday; at Tib’s Eve; one of
these odd-come-shortlys; when my goose pisses; when the ducks have
eaten up the dirt; when pigs fly; in a month of Sundays; once in a blue
moon.
French Synonyms.—Mardi s’il fait chaud (obsolete); Dimanche après la
grande messe (popular); quand les poules pisseront; semaine des quatre
jeudis (popular: when four Thursdays come in a week).
Green, subs. (common).—1. Rawness; simplicity. Generally, ‘Do you see
any green in my eye’? = Do you take me for a fool? See adj. sense.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, ii., 247. I’m not a
tailor, but I understands about clothes, and I believe that no
person ever saw anything green in my eye.
1892. Ally Sloper, 19 Mar., p. 95, c. 2. Ally Sloper the ’cute,
Ally Sloper the sly, Ally Sloper, the cove with no green in his
eye.
1892. Illustrated Bits, 22 Oct., p. 14, c. 2. Sindin’ both shlips
is it? How wud Oi have a check on ye? Do ye see inny green in me
oi?
Adj. (colloquial).—Simple; inexperienced; gullible; unsalted (q.v.).
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, Act i., Sc. 3. Pol. Affection! pooh! you
speak like a green girl.
1605. Chapman, All Fools, Act iv., p. 67 (Plays, 1874). Shall I
then say you want experience? Y’are green, y’are credulous; easy to
be blinded.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Green (a) ... so likewise a
young or unexperienced person in arts, sciences, etc., is sometimes
said to be green, raw, etc.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry. Tom. No; you’re green! Jerry.
Green! Log. Ah! not fly! Tom. Yes, not awake!
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. viii. ‘My eyes, how green!’
exclaimed the young gentleman. ‘Why a beak’s a madgst’rate.’
1841. Punch, July 17, p. 6. What a green chap you are, after all. A
public man’s consistency! It’s only a popular delusion.
1850. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, p. 19. Eh! why! what’s the matter
with you? have I done anything particularly green, as you call it?
1856. T. Hughes, Tom Brown’s School Days, pt. I., ch. ii. You try
to make us think ... that you are, even as we, of the working
classes. But bless your hearts, we ain’t so green.
1869. Literary World, 31 Dec., p. 129, c. 2. His fellow-passengers
laughed at him for being so green.
1879. Punch’s Almanack, p. 7. Seasonable Slang. For Spring.—You be
blowed! For Summer.—I’ll warm yer! For Autumn.—Not so blooming
green! For Winter.—An ice little game all round.
1887. Lippincott, July, p. 104. Within the last day or so a young
fellow has arrived who is in danger of being eaten by the cows, so
green is he.
1890. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 7 Nov. Being quite green at the time, I
rather lost my head over my good fortune.
Verb (colloquial).—To hoax; to swindle. At Eton to green up. For
synonyms, see Gammon.
1836–41. T. C. Buckland, Eton. I was again catechized on many
points personal to myself, and some mild attempts were made to
green me, as boys call it.
1889. Answers, 2 Mar., p. 218, c. 1. Whereupon the old humbug burst
into a loud guffaw, as though he were rejoicing at having greened
the toff.
1892. Anstey, Voces Populi (Second Series). ‘Bank Holiday,’ 147.
The Damsel (giggling). You go on—you don’t green me that w’y.
Greens, subs. (old).—1. Chlorosis: i.e., the green sickness.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 313. The maiden takes five, too,
that’s vexed with her greens.
2. in. pl. (printers’).—Bad or worn out rollers.
To have, get, or give one’s greens, verb. phr. (venery).—To enjoy,
procure, or confer the sexual favour. Said indifferently of both sexes.
Hence, also, on for one’s greens = amorous and willing; after one’s
greens = in quest of the favour; green-grove = the pubes; green-grocery
= the female pudendum; the price of greens = the cost of an embrace;
fresh greens = a new piece (q.v.). [Derived by some from the old Scots’
grene = to pine, to long for, to desire with insistence: whence greens
= longings, desires; which words may in their turn be referred,
perhaps, to Mid. Eng., zernen, A.S., gyrnan, Icelandic, girna = to
desire, and Gothic, gairns = desirous. Mod. Ger., begehren = to desire.
See Dalziel, Darker Superstitions of Scotland, 1835, p. 106:—‘He
answered that he wald gif the sum Spanyie fleis callit cantarides,
quhilk, gif thou suld move the said Elizabeth to drynk of, it wold mak
hir out of all question to grene eftir the.’ Trial of Peter Hay, of
Kirklands, and others, for Witchcraft, 25th May, 1601. But in truth,
the expression is a late and vulgar coinage. It would seem, indeed, to
be a reminiscence of garden (q.v.), and the set of metaphors—as kail,
cauliflower, parsley bed, and so forth (all which see)—suggested
thereby.]
English Synonyms.—To be all there but the most of you; in Abraham’s
bosom; up one’s petticoats (or among one’s frills); there; on the spot;
into; up; up to one’s balls; where uncle’s doodle goes; among the
cabbages.
To dance the blanket hornpipe; the buttock jig; the cushion dance (see
Monosyllable.); the goat’s jig; the mattress jig; the married man’s
cotillion; the matrimonial polka; the reels o’ Bogie (Scots’); the
reels of Stumpie (Scots’); to the tune of the shaking of the sheets;
with your arse to the ceiling, or the kipples (Scots’).
To go ballocking; beard-splitting; bed-pressing (Marston);
belly-bumping (Urquhart); bitching (Marston); bum-fighting;
bum-working; bum-tickling; bum-faking; bush-ranging; buttock-stirring
(Urquhart); bird’s-nesting; buttocking; cock-fighting; cunny-catching;
doodling; drabbing; fleshing it; flesh-mongering; goosing; to
Hairyfordshire; jock-hunting; jottling; jumming (Urquhart);
leather-stretching; on the loose; motting; molrowing; pile-driving;
prick-scouring; quim-sticking; rumping; rump-splitting; strumming;
twatting; twat-faking; vaulting (Marston, etc.); wenching; womanizing;
working the dumb (or double, or hairy) oracle; twat-raking;
tummy-tickling; tromboning; quim-wedging; tail-twitching; button-hole
working; under-petticoating.
To have, or do, a bit of beef (of women); business (Shakspeare);
bum-dancing; cauliflower; cock; cock-fighting; cunt; curly greens;
fish; on a fork; fun; off the chump end; flat; front-door work; giblet
pie; the gut- (or cream- or sugar-) stick (of women); jam; ladies’
tailoring; meat; mutton; pork; quimsy; rough; sharp-and-blunt (rhyming
slang); stuff; split-mutton; skirt; summer cabbage.
To have, or do, or perform, the act of androgynation (Urquhart); a
ballocking; a bit; a lassie’s by-job (Burns); a bedward bit (Durfey); a
beanfeast in bed; a belly-warmer; a blindfold bit; a bottom-wetter (of
women); a bout; a brush with the cue; a dive in the dark; a drop-in; a
double fight; an ejectment in Love-lane; a four-legged frolic; a fuck;
a futter; a game in the cock-loft; a goose-and-duck (rhyming); the
culbatizing exercise (Urquhart); a grind; a hoist-in; a jottle; a
jumble-giblets; a jumble-up; an inside worry; a leap; a leap up the
ladder; a little of one with t’other (Durfey); a mount; a mow (David
Lyndsay, Burns, etc.); a nibble; a plaster of warm guts (Grose); a
poke; a put; a put-in; a random push (Burns); a rasp; a ride; a roger;
a rootle; a rush up the straight; a shot at the bull’s eye; a slide up
the board; a squirt-and-a squeeze; a touch-off; a touch-up; a
tumble-in; a wet-’un; a wipe at the place; a wollop-in.
Specific.—To have, or do, a back-scuttle, (q.v.); a buttered bun
(q.v.); a dog’s marriage (q.v.); a knee-trembler, perpendicular, or
upright (q.v.); a matrimonial (q.v.); spoon-fashion (q.v.); a st.
george (q.v.).
To play at, All-fours; Adam-and-Eve; belly-to-belly (Urquhart);
brangle-buttock (Urquhart); buttock-and-leave-her; cherry-pit
(Herrick); couple-your-navels; cuddle-my-cuddie (Durfey); Hey Gammer
Cook (C. Johnson); fathers-and-mothers; the first-game-ever-played;
Handie-Dandie; Hooper’s Hide (q.v.); grapple-my-belly (Urquhart);
horses-and-mares (schoolboys’); the close-buttock-game (Urquhart);
cock-in-cover; houghmagandie (Burns); in-and-in; in-and-out;
Irish-whist (where-the-jack (q.v.)-takes-the ace [see Monosyllable.]);
the-loose-coat-game (Urquhart); Molly’s hole (schoolboys’);
pickle-me-tickle-me (Urquhart); mumble-peg; prick-the-garter;
pully-hauly (Grose); put-in-all; the-same-old-game; squeezem-close;
stable-my-naggie; thread-the-needle; tops-and-bottoms; two-handed-put
(Grose); up-tails-all.
General.—To Adam and Eve it; to blow the groundsels; to engage three to
one; to chuck a tread; to do (Jonson); to do it; to do ‘the act of
darkness’ (Shakspeare), the act of love, the deed of kind, the work of
increase, ‘the divine work of fatherhood’ (Whitman); to feed the
dumb-glutton; to get one’s hair cut; to slip in Daintie Davie (Scots’),
or Willie Wallace (idem); to get Jack in the orchard; to get on top of;
to give a lesson in simple arithmetic (i.e., addition, division,
multiplication and subtraction); to give a green gown (q.v.); to go
‘groping for trout in a peculiar river’ (Shakspeare); to go
face-making; to go to Durham (North Country); to go to see a sick
friend; to have it; to join faces (Durfey); to join giblets; to make
ends meet; to make the beast with two backs (Shakspeare and Urquhart);
to make a settlement in tail; to play top-sawyer; to put it in and
break it; to post a letter; to go on the stitch; to labor lea (Scots);
to tether one’s nags on (idem); to nail twa wames thegither (idem); to
lift a leg on (Burns); to ride a post (Cotton); to peel one’s end in;
to put the devil into hell (Boccaccio); to rub bacons (Urquhart); to
strop one’s beak; to strip one’s tarse in; to grind one’s tool; to
grease the wheel; to take on a split-arsed mechanic; to take a turn in
Bushey-park, Cock-alley, Cock-lane, Cupid’s-alley, Cupid’s-corner,
Hair-court, ‘the lists of love’ (Shakspeare), Love-lane, on Mount
Pleasant, among the parsley, on Shooter’s-hill, through the stubble; to
whack it up; to wollop it in; to labour leather; to wind up the clock
(Sterne).
Of women only.—To get an arselins coup (Burns); to catch an oyster; to
do the naughty; to do a spread, a tumble, a back-fall, what mother did
before me; a turn on one’s back, what Eve did with Adam; to hold, or
turn up one’s tail (Burns and Durfey); to get one’s leg lifted, one’s
kettle mended, one’s chimney swept out, one’s leather stretched; to
lift one’s leg; to open up to; to get shot in the tail; to get a shove
in one’s blind eye; to get a wet bottom; what Harry gave Doll (Durfey);
to suck the sugar-stick; to take in beef; to take Nebuchadnezzar out to
grass; to look at the ceiling over a man’s shoulder; to get outside it;
to play one’s ace; to rub one’s arse on (Rochester); to spread to; to
take in and do for; to give standing room for one; to get hulled
between wind and water; to get a pair of balls against one’s butt; to
take in cream; to show (or give) a bit; to skin the live rabbit; to
feed (or trot out) one’s pussy (q.v.); to lose the match and pocket the
stakes; to get a bellyful of marrow pudding; to supple both ends of it
(Scots); to draw a cork; to get hilt and hair (Burns); to draw a man’s
fireworks; to wag one’s tail (Pope); to take the starch out of; to go
star-gazing (or studying astronomy) on one’s back; to get a green gown
(Herrick and Durfey); to have a hot pudding (or live sausage) for
supper; to grant the favour; to give mutton for beef, juice for jelly,
soft for hard, a bit of snug for a bit of stiff, a hole to hide it in,
a cure for the horn (q.v.), a hot poultice for the Irish toothache; to
pull up one’s petticoats to; to get the best and plenty of it; to lie
under; to stand the push; to get stabbed in the thigh; to take off
one’s stays; to get touched up, a bit of the goose’s-neck, a go at the
creamstick, a handle for the broom.
Conventionalisms.—To have connection; to have carnal, improper, or
sexual intercourse; to know carnally; to have carnal knowledge of; to
indulge in sexual commerce; to go to bed with; to lie with; to go in
unto (Biblical); to be intimate, improperly intimate, familiar, on
terms of familiarity with; to have one’s will of; to lavish one’s
favours on; to enjoy the pleasures of love, or the conjugal embrace; to
embrace; to have one’s way with; to perform connubial rites; to scale
the heights of connubial bliss; to yield one’s favours (of women); to
surrender, or give one the enjoyment of one’s person (of women); to use
benevolence to; to possess. For other synonyms, see Ride.
To send to dr. green, verb. phr. (old).—To put out to grass.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. My horse is not well, I shall send
him to Doctor Green.
S’elp me greens! (or taturs!) intj. (common).—A veiled oath of an
obscene origin; see Greens. For synonyms, see Oaths.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. iii., p. 144.
They’ll say, too, s’elp my greens! and ‘Upon my word and say so!’
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 23 Jan. ‘Well, s’elp me greens,’ he
cried, wiping his eyes and panting for breath, ‘if you arn’t the
greatest treat I ever did meet; you’ll be the death o’ me, Juggins,
you will. Why, you bloomin’ idiot, d’ye think if they had’nt been
rogues we should have been able to bribe ’em?’
Just for greens, adv. phr. (American).—See quot.
1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 7. I’ve made up my mind to make
a tower of travel to the big North this summer, jest for greens, as
we say in Georgia, when we hain’t got no very pertickeler reason
for anything, or hain’t got time to tell the real one.
Green-apron, subs. (old).—A lay preacher. Also adjectively. For
synonyms, see Devil-Dodger and Sky-Pilot.
1654. Warren, Unbelievers, 145. It more befits a green-apron
preacher, than such a Gamaliel.
1705. Hickeringill, Priestcraft, I. (1721) 21. Unbeneficed Noncons.
(that live by Alms and no Paternoster, no Penny, say the
green-aprons).
1765. Tucker, Lt. Nat., II., 451. The gifted priestess amongst the
Quaker is known by her green apron.
Green-back, subs. (common).—1. A frog.
2. (University).—One of Todhunter’s series of mathematical text-books.
(Because bound in green cloth. Cf., Blue-ruin.)
3. (American).—The paper issue of the Treasury of the United States;
first sent out in 1862 during the civil war. [From the backs being
printed in green.] Hence green-backer = an advocate for an unlimited
issue or paper money.
1873. Echo, 8 May. This was accomplished by the issue of legal
tender notes, popularly known as greenbacks.
1877. Clemens, Life on the Mississippi, ch. lvii., p. 499. Anything
in the semblance of a town lot, no matter how situated, was
saleable, and at a figure which would still have been high if the
ground had been sodded with greenbacks.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, p. 228. Gussie can hear the
crinkle of the greenbacks as he folds them up.
Green Bag, subs. (old).—A lawyer. [From the green bag in which robes
and briefs were carried. The colour is now blue, or, in cases of
presentation from seniors to juniors, red.]
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
English Synonyms.—Black box; bramble (provincial); devil’s own;
gentleman of the long robe; land-shark; limb of the law; mouth-piece;
Philadelphia lawyer (q.v.); quitam; six-and-eightpence; snipe; sublime
rascal.
French Synonyms. Un bavard (pop. = a talker or mouthpiece); un
blanchisseur (= whitewasher); un brodancheur à la plaque, aux macarons,
or à la cymbale (thieves’: a notary-public); un gerbier (thieves’); un
grippemini (obsolete: grippeminaud = thief); un inutile (thieves’: a
notary-public); une éponge d’or (= a sucker-up of gold: in allusion to
the long bills); un macaron huissier (popular).
Italian Synonyms.—Dragon del gran soprano; dragonetto (= a dragon, or
suck-all).
Spanish Synonyms.—Remedio (= a remedy); la letraderia (= a body or
society of lawyers); cataribera (jocular).
Green-Bonnet, to have (or wear) a green bonnet, verb. phr. (common).—To
fail in business; to go bankrupt. [From the green cloth cap once worn
by bankrupts.]
Green Cheese. See Cream Cheese and Moon.
Green Cloth. See Board of Green Cloth.
Green Dragoons, subs. (military).—The fifth Dragoon Guards; also known
as the Green Horse. [From their green facings.]
Greener, subs. (common).—A new, or raw hand; specifically employed of
inexperienced workmen introduced to fill the place of strikers; Dung
(q.v.). Cf., Flint. For synonyms, see Snooker.
1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 14 Oct., p. 6, c. 3. A howling mob of Hebrew
men and women ... in their own Yiddish jargon criticised the new
arrivals, or greeners, in language that was anything but
complimentary.
Green-Goods, subs. (American).—1. Counterfeit greenbacks.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, p. 223. In his opinion
Stillman Myth, and Co., were in the green goods business.
2. (venery).—A prostitute new to the town; a fresh bit (q.v.).
Green-goods Man (or Operator), subs. (American).—1. A counterfeiter of
spurious greenbacks; a Snide-pitcher (q.v.).
1888. Troy Daily Times, 3 Feb. Driscoll was hung, but the green
goods-man escaped, for the only proof against him was that he sold
a quantity of paper cut in the shape of bills, and done up in
packages of that size.
2. (venery).—A Fresh Bit (q.v.) fancier. Also an amateur of
defloration; a minotaur (q.v.).
Green-goose, subs. (old).—1. A cuckold.
2. (old).—A prostitute. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.
1594. Shakspeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, iv., 3. This is the liver
vein, which makes flesh a deity; A green goose, a goddess, pure,
pure idolatry.
1607. Beaumont and Fletcher, Woman Hater, i., 2. His palace is full
of green geese.
Green-gown. To give a green-gown, verb. phr. (old).—To tumble a woman
on the grass; to copulate. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
1647–8. Herrick, Hesperides. ‘To Corinna To go a Maying.’ Many a
green gown has been given.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Green gown, s.v. A throwing of young
lasses on the grass and kissing them.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 277. Kit gave a green gown to Betty,
and lent her his hand to rise.
1719. Smith, Lives of Highwaymen, i., 214. Our gallant being
disposed to give his lady a green gown.
1742. C. Johnson, Highwaymen and Pyrates. Passim.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Green-head, subs. (old).—A greenhorn. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Greenhead, s.v., A very raw novice
or inexperienced fellow.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Greenhorn (or Green-Head, or Greenlander), subs. (common).—A simpleton;
a fool; a gull (q.v.); also a new hand. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head. To come from Greenland = to be fresh to things; raw
(q.v.). Greenlander sometimes = an Irishman.
1753. Adventurer, No. 100. A slouch in my gait, a long lank head of
hair and an unfashionable suit of drab-coloured cloth, would have
denominated me a greenhorn, or in other words, a country put very
green.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xliv. ‘Why, wha but a crack-brained
greenhorn wad hae let them keep up the siller that ye left at the
Gordon-Arms?’
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist. A new pall.... Where did he come from?
Greenland.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. ix. All these he resigned to lock
himself into a lone little country house, with a simple widow and a
greenhorn of a son.
Greenhouse, subs. (London ’bus-drivers’).—An omnibus.
Green Howards, subs. phr. (military).—The Nineteenth Foot. [From its
facings and its Colonel’s name (1738–48), and to distinguish it from
the Third Foot, also commanded by a Col. Howard.] Also Howard’s
Garbage.
Green Kingsman, subs. (pugilistic).—A silk pocket-handkerchief: any
pattern on a green ground.
Green Linnets, subs. phr. (military).—The 39th Foot. [From the
facings.]
Greenly, adv. (old).—Like a greenhorn; foolishly.
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, Act iv., Sc. 5. King. ... We have done
but greenly, In hugger-mugger to inter him.
Greenmans, subs. (old).—1. The fields; the country.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept.) 1874.
Greenemans, the fields.
2. in sing. (builders’).—A contractor who speculates with other
people’s money.
Green-meadow, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Greenness, subs. (colloquial).—Immaturity of judgment; inexperience;
gullibility.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Greenness (s) ... also the
rawness, unskilfulness, or imperfection of any person in a trade,
art, science, etc.
1838. Jas. Grant, Sketches in London, ch. vi., p. 205. Instances of
such perfect simplicity or greenness, as no one could have
previously deemed of possible existence.
Green-rag.—See Greeny, sense 1.
Green-river. To send a man up green-river, verb. phr. (American).—To
kill. [From a once famous factory on Green River, where a favourite
hunting-knife was made.] For synonyms, see Cook One’s Goose.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 175. A thrust from the keen
scalp-knife by the nervous arm of a mountaineer was no baby blow,
and seldom failed to strike home up to the green river [i.e., the
mark] on the blade.
Green-sickness, subs. (old).—Chlorosis.
Green-turtle. To live up to green-turtle, verb. phr. (American).—To do,
and give, one’s best. [From the high esteem in which the green fat of
turtle is held.]
1888. Paton, Down the Islands. People who, as hosts, live up to
their green turtle.
Greenwich Barber, subs. (old).—A retailer of sand from the Greenwich
pits. [A pun upon ‘shaving’ the banks.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Greenwich-Goose, subs. (old).—A pensioner of Greenwich Hospital.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Greeny, subs. (old theatrical).—1. The curtain. [From the colour.] Also
Green-rag.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, p. 110 [ed. 1890]. It is far more
difficult to please the company behind Greeny; I beg pardon, sir, I
should have said than the audience before the curtain.
2. (University).—A freshman. For synonyms, see Snooker.
1834. Southey, The Doctor, ch. i. He was entered among the greenies
of this famous University.
3. (common).—A simpleton; a Greenhorn (q.v.). For synonyms, see Buffle
and Cabbage-head.
1852. Judson, Myst., etc., of New York, part III., ch. 9, p. 58.
Anybody could know that these was took by a greeny.
1887. Congregationalist, 7 April. Jim said I was a greeny ... [and]
that he had a lot of houses.
Greetin’ Fu’, adv. phr. (Scots’), Drunk: literally ‘crying drunk.’ For
synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
Greeze, subs. (Westminster School).—A crowd; a push (q.v.).
Gregorian, subs. (old).—A kind of wig worn in the 17th century. [After
the inventor, one Gregory, a barber in the Strand.]
1658. Honest Ghost, p. 46. Pulling a little down his Gregorian.
Gregorian-tree, subs. (old).—The gallows. [After a sequence of three
hangmen of the name.] For synonyms, see Nubbing-cheat.
1641. Mercurius Pragmaticus. This trembles under the black rod, and
he Doth fear his fate from the Gregorian tree.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gregorine, subs. (common).—A louse; specifically, head vermin. [From
the Italian.] For synonyms, see Chates.
Greshamite, subs. (old).—A Fellow of the Royal Society.—B. E. [1690.]
Grey.—See Gray, passim.
Griddle, subs. (streets’).—To sing in the streets. Whence, Griddling =
street-singing; griddler = a street-singer.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor. Got a month for
griddling in the main drag.
1877. Besant and Rice, Son of Vulcan, pt. I., ch. xii. Cardiff
Jack’s never got so low as to be griddling on the main
drag—singing, I mean, on the high-road.
1888. W. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, ch. iv., p. 53. They [street
singers] have not yet invented Moody and Sankey, and therefore they
cannot sing ‘Hold the Fort’ or ‘Dare to be a Daniel,’ but there are
hymns in every collection which suit the gridler.
1890. Daily Telegraph, 20 May. Singing or shouting hymns in the
streets on Sundays. To this system the name of gridling has been
applied. The gridlers, it was stated, were known to boast, as they
returned to their haunts in Deptford and Southwark, how much they
could make in a few hours.
Gridiron, subs. (American).—1. The United States’ flag; the Stars and
Stripes. Also Stars and Bars; Blood and Entrails; Gridiron and
Doughboys; and, in speaking of the Eagle in conjunction with the flag,
the Goose and Gridiron.
2. (common).—A County Court Summons. [Originally applied to Writs of
the Westminster Court, the arms of which resemble a gridiron.]
1859. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, ch. xxi. He collects debts for
anybody in the neighbourhood, takes out the abhorred gridirons, or
County Court summonses.
3. (thieves’).—The bars on a cell window. Fr., les gaules de Schtard.
The Gridiron, subs. phr. (common).—The Grafton Club. [Where the grill
is a speciality.]
On the Gridiron, adv. phr. (common).—Troubled; harassed; in a bad way;
on toast (q.v.).
The Whole Gridiron, subs. phr. (common).—See Whole Animal.
Grief, To Come to Grief, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To come to ruin; to
meet with an accident; to fail. In quot., 1891 = trouble.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. x. We drove on to the Downs, and we
were nearly coming to grief. My horses are young, and when they get
on the grass they are as if they were mad.
1888. Cassell’s Saturday Jour., 8 Dec., p. 249. In the United
States he had started a ‘Matrimonial Agency,’ in which he had come
to grief, and he had been obliged to return to this country for a
similar reason.
1891. Sportsman, 28 Feb. The flag had scarcely fallen than the
grief commenced, as Midshipmite and Carlo rolled over at the first
fence, Clanranald refused at the second, and Dog Fox fell at the
third.
Griffin (or Griff), subs. (common).—1. A new-comer; a raw hand; a
Greenhorn (q.v.) See Snooker and Sammy Soft. [Specific uses are
(Anglo-Indian) = a new arrival from Europe; (military) = a young
subaltern; (Anglo-Chinese) = an unbroken horse.] Griffinage (or
Griffinism) = the state of greenhornism.
1859. H. Kingsley, Geoffry Hamlyn, ch. xxviii. All the griffins
ought to hunt together.
1878. Besant and Rice, By Celia’s Arbour, ch. xxx. We were in the
Trenches; there had been joking with a lot of griffs, young
recruits just out from England.
1882. Miss Braddon, Mount Royal, ch. xxii. There was only one of
the lads about the yard when he left, for it was breakfast-time,
and the little griffin didn’t notice.
1883. Graphic, 17 March, p. 286, c. 3. Many a youngster has got on
in his profession ... by having the good fortune to make a friend
of the old Indian who took him in as a griffin or a stranger.
2. (colloquial).—A woman of forbidding manners or appearance; a Gorgon.
Also a caretaker, chaperon, or sheep-dog (q.v.) [A reflection of the
several griffins of ornithology and of heraldry: the former a feeder on
birds, small mammals, and even children; the latter (as in Milton) a
perfection of vigilance.]
1824. R. B. Peake, Americans Abroad, i., 2. It is always locked up
by that she-griffin with a bunch of keys.
3. (thieves’).—A signal: e.g., to tip the griffin = to warn; to give
the office (q.v.), or tip (q.v.). The straight griffin = the straight
tip.
1888. Cassell’s Sat. Jour., 22 Dec., p. 305. Plank yourself at the
corner to give the griffin if you hear or see owt.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 22. He’s got the straight griff
for something.
1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, p. 95. When he wanted to give the
chaps in the office the straight griffin, he used to say, ‘Nelson’s
my guide.’
4. in. pl. (trade).—The scraps and leavings from a contract feast,
which are removed by the purveyor.
Griff-metoll, subs. (old).—Sixpence. For synonyms, see Tanner.
1754. Discoveries of John Poulter, s.v.
Grig, subs. (old).—1. An active, lively, and jocose person: as in the
phrase ‘Merry as a Grig.’ [An allusion to the liveliness of the
grasshopper, sand-eel, or to grig (= Greek: cf., Troilus and Cressida
i. 2; iv. 4).]
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Gale-bon-temps. A merry grig.
1673. Wycherley, Gent. Danc. Master, i., 1., wks. (1713) 251. Hah,
ah, ah, cousin, dou art a merry grigg—ma foy.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, Grig s.v. A merry grig; a merry
fellow.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 43. The statesman that talks on the
Woolsack so big, Could hustle to the open as merry as a grig.
1765. Goldsmith, Essays VI. I grew as merry as a grig, and laughed
at every word that was spoken.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xix, p. 159. The learned gentleman
... is as merry as a grig at a French watering-place.
2. (thieves’).—A farthing; a gigg (q.v.). For synonyms, see Fadge.
1680. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Not a grig did he tip me, not a
farthing would he give me.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 15. ‘He shall go
through the whole course,’ replied Blueskin, with a ferocious grin,
‘unless he comes down to the last grig.’
Verb. (American).—To vex; to worry.
1855. Haliburton [S. Slick], Human Nature, p. 83. That word
‘superiors’ grigged me. Thinks I, ‘My boy, I’ll just take that
expression, roll it up in a ball, and shy it back at you.’
Grim, subs. (American thieves’).—A skeleton. Also Grin.
Old Mr. Grim, subs. phr. (common).—Death. For synonyms, see Old
Floorer.
Grin, verb. (American University, Virginia).—See quot.
1887. Lippincott, July, p. 99. If there are many ‘old men’ in the
room they immediately begin to grin him; that is, they strike on
their plates with their knives and forks, beat with their feet, and
shout at the top of their voices, in the effort to make their
victim grin. Woe to him if they succeed; for in that event the same
thing will be repeated three times a day, until he ceases to notice
it.
To grin in a Glass Case. verb. phr. (old).—To be shown as an anatomical
preparation. [The bodies and skeletons of criminals were once preserved
in glass cases at Surgeon’s Hall.—Grose.]
To flash the Upright Grin, verb. phr. (venery).—To expose the person
(of women).
Grinagog, the Cat’s Uncle, subs. phr. (old).—A grinning
simpleton.—Grose.
Grincums, subs. (old).—Syphilis. For synonyms, see Ladies’ Fever.
1608. Middleton, Family of Love, B. 1. I had a receipt for the
grincomes in his own hand.
1635. Jones, Adrasta or the Woman’s Spleen, c. 2. You must know,
sir, in a nobleman ’tis abusive; no, in him the serpigo, in a
knight the grincomes, in a gentleman the Neapolitan scabb, and in a
serving man or artificer the plaine pox.
1637. Massinger, Guardian, iv. The comfort is, I am now secure from
the grincomes, I can lose nothing that way.
Grind, subs. (common).—1. A walk; a constitutional: e.g., ‘to take a
grind’ or (University) ‘to go on the Grandchester (or Gog Magog Hills)
grind.’
2. (common).—Daily routine; hard or distasteful work.
1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, pt. III., ch. xi. To a University
man, a grind did not possess any reading signification, but a
riding one. In fact, it was a steeple-chase, slightly varying in
its details according to the college that patronised the pastime.
1870. London Figaro, 28 July. The world is a wearisome grind, love,
Nor shirk we our turn at the wheel.
1880. A. Trollope, The Duke’s Children, ch. xxv. ‘Isn’t it a great
grind, sir?’ asked Silverbridge. ‘A very great grind, as you call
it. And there may be the grind and not the success. But——’
1880. One and All, 27 Mar., p. 207. Soul-weary of life’s horrid
grind, I long to come to thee.
3. (schools’).—Study; reading up for an examination; also a plodding
student, i.e., a grinder.
1856. Hughes, Tom Brown’s School Days, pt. II., ch. v. ‘Come along,
boys,’ cries East, always ready to leave the grind, as he called
it.
1887. Chambers’ Jour., 14 May, p. 310. Smalls made just such a goal
as was required, and the grind it entailed was frequently of no
slight profit to him.
4. (medical students’).—A demonstration: as (1) a ‘public grind’ given
to a class and free to all; and (2) a ‘private grind’ for which a
student pays an individual teacher. In America, a quiz (q.v.).
5. (Oxford University).—Athletic sports. Also, a training run.
1872. Chambers’ Jour., April. Joe Rullock, the mighty gymnasiarch,
the hero of a hundred grinds, the unwearied haunter of the
palæstra, could never give the lie to his whole past life, and deny
his own gymnastics.
6. (venery).—An act of sexual intercourse: e.g., To do a grind. [Mill
and grindstone (venery) = the female pudendum.] For synonyms, see
Greens and Ride.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Macinio, the grinding of grist.
Also taken for carnal copulation.
1647. Ladies Parliament. Digbie’s lady takes it ill, that her Lord
grinds not at her mill.
The grind, subs. phr. (Cambridge University).—The ferry-boat at
Chesterton.
Verb. (University).—1. To prepare for examination to study: to read.
1856. T. Hughes, Tom Brown’s School Days, pt. II., ch. vii. ‘The
thing to find out,’ said Tom meditatively, ‘is how long one ought
to grind at a sentence without looking at the crib.’
2. (University).—To teach; to instruct; to coach (q.v.).
3. (common).—To do a round of hard and distasteful work; to apply
oneself to daily routine.
1880. Punch, 5 June, p. 253. ‘Fred on Pretty Girls and Pictures.’
And the pars in the Scanmag—he does them—are proper, and chock full
of ‘go.’ Only paper I care to grind though.
4. (venery).—To copulate.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Grind, s.v.
5. trans. (American).—To vex; to ‘put out.’
1879. W. D. Howells, Lady of the Aroostook, ch. vii. After all, it
does grind me to have lost that money!
Also grinding = (1) the act of reading or studying hard; (2) the act or
occupation of preparing students, for an examination; and (3) the act
of copulation.
On the grind, subs. phr. (venery).—Said of incontinent persons of both
sexes. Also of prostitutes.
To grind an axe.—See Axe.
To get a grind on one, verb. phr. (American).—To play practical jokes;
to tell a story against one; to annoy or vex.
To grind wind, verb. phr. (old prison).—To work the treadmill. See
Everlasting Staircase.
1889. Clarkson and Richardson. Police, p. 322. On the treadmill ...
grinding wind.
Grinder, subs. (college).—1. A private tutor; a coach (q.v.). Cf.,
Crammer.
1812. Miss Edgeworth, Patronage, ch. iii. Put him into the hands of
a clever grinder or crammer, and they would soon cram the necessary
portion of Latin and Greek into him.
1841. Punch, vol. I., p. 201. Then contriving to accumulate five
guineas to pay a grinder, he routs out his old note books from the
bottom of his box and commences to read.
1841. A. Smith, ‘The London Medical Student’ in Punch, i., p. 229.
G was a grinder, who sharpen’d the the fools.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. v. She sent me down here with a
grinder. She wants me to cultivate my neglected genius.
2. Usually in. pl. (common).—The teeth.
English Synonyms.—Bones; chatterers; cogs; crashing cheats; dining-room
furniture (or chairs); dinner-set; dominoes; front-rails; Hampstead
Heath (rhyming); head rails; ivories; park-palings (or railings);
snagglers; tushes (or tusks); tomb-stones.
French Synonyms.—Les soeurs blanches (thieves’ = the ‘white sisters’ or
ivories); les chocottes (thieves’); les cassantes (thieves’ =
grinders); les broches (popular = head-rails); les crocs (popular =
tusks); le clou de giroflé (common = a decayed, black tooth); les
branlantes (popular = the quakers: specifically, old men’s teeth); le
mobilier (thieves’ = furniture); les meules de moulin (popular =
millstones); le jeu de dominos (thieves’ = dominoes); les osanores
(thieves’); les osselets (thieves’ = bonelets); les palettes (popular
and thieves’); la batterie (= the teeth, throat, and tongue).
German Synonyms.—Krächling (= grinderkin; from krachen = to crush).
Italian Synonyms.—Merlo (= battlement); sganascio; rastrelliera (= the
rack).
1597. Hall, Satires, iv., 1. Her grinders like two chalk stones in
a mill.
1640. Humphrey Mill, Night’s Search, Sect. 39, p. 194. Her grinders
white, her mouth must show her age.
1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, bk. IV. Author’s Prologue. The devil of
one musty crust of a brown George the poor boys had to scour their
grinders with.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Grinder, s.v. The Cove has Rum
Grinders, the Rogue has excellent Teeth.
1693. Dryden, Juvenal, x., 365. One, who at sight of supper open’d
wide His jaws before, and whetted grinders tried.
1740. Walpole, Correspondence. A set of gnashing teeth, the
grinders very entire.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. xlv. Like a dried walnut
between the grinders of a Templar in the pit.
1817. Scott, Ivanhoe, c. 16. None who beheld thy grinders
contending with these peas.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 23. With grinders dislodg’d, and with
peepers both poach’d.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. iv., ch. i. A grinder having been
dislodged, his pipe took possession of the aperture.
1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 83. Every now and then he
would clap his head sideways on the ground, so as to get the back
grinders to bear on his prey.
1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, ch. xiii. Sir Robert Peel, though
he wished it ever so much, has no power over Mr. Benjamin
Disraeli’s grinders, or any means of violently handling that
gentleman’s jaw.
1871. Chambers’ Jour., 9 Dec., p. 772. My grinders is good enough
for all the wittels I gets.
1888. Sporting Life, 28 Nov. Countered heavily on the grinders.
To take a grinder, verb. phr. (common).—To apply the left thumb to the
nose, and revolve the right hand round it, as if to work a hand-organ
or coffee-mill; to take a sight (q.v.); to work the coffee-mill (q.v.).
[A street boy’s retort on an attempt to impose on his good faith or
credulity.]
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxxi. Here Mr. Jackson smiled once
more upon the company; and, applying his left thumb to the tip of
his nose, worked a visionary coffee-mill with his right hand,
thereby performing a very graceful piece of pantomime (then much in
vogue, but now, unhappily, almost obsolete) which was familiarly
denominated taking a grinder.
1870. Athenæum, 8 July. ‘Rev. of Comic Hist. of United States.’ He
finds himself confronted by a plumed and lightly-clad Indian, who
salutes him with what street-boys term a grinder.
Grinding-house, subs. (old).—1. The House of Correction. For synonyms,
see Cage.
1614. Terence in English. The fellow is worthy to be put into the
grinding-house.
2. (venery).—A brothel. For synonyms, see Nanny-shop. [Grinding-tool =
the penis.]
Grinding-mill, subs. (common).—The house of a tutor or Coach (q.v.)
where students are prepared for an examination.
Grind-off (or Grindo), subs. (common).—A miller. [From a character in
The Miller and his Men.]
Grindstone, subs. (common).—1. A tutor; a coach (q.v.).
2. (venery).—The female pudendum.
To bring (hold, put, or keep) one’s nose to the grindstone, verb. phr.
(colloquial).—To oppress, harass, or punish; to treat harshly. To have
one’s nose kept to the grindstone = to be held to a bargain, or at
work.
1578. North, Plutarch, p. 241. They might be ashamed, for lack of
courage, to suffer the Lacedæmonians to hold their noses to the
grindstone.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hold. Hold his nose to the
grindstone, to keep him Under, or Tie him Neck and Heels in a
Bargain.
To have the grindstone on his back, verb. phr. (common).—Said of a man
going to fetch the monthly nurse.—Grose.
Grinning-stitches, subs. (milliners’).—Slovenly sewing; stitches wide
apart; ladders (q.v.).
Grip (or Gripsack), subs. (American).—A hand-bag or satchell.
To lose one’s grip, verb. phr. (American).—To fail; to lose one’s
control.
Gripe, subs. (old).—1. A miser; a usurer. Also Griper or Gripe-fist
(q.v.). For synonyms, see Hunks and Sixty-per-cent. Griping =
extortion.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Gripe, or griper, s.v. An old
covetous wretch. Also a banker, money scrivener, or usurer.
2. in. pl. (colloquial).—The colic; the stomach ache; the Collywobbles.
For synonyms, see Jerry-go-nimble.
1684. Bunyan, Pilgr. Prog., Pt. II. He concluded that he was sick
of the gripes.
1705. Char. of a Sneake, in Harl. Misc. (ed. Park), ii., 356. He
never looks upon her Majesty’s arms but semper eadem gives him the
gripes.
1714. Spectator, No 559. Meeting the true father, who came towards
him with a fit of the gripes, he begged him to take his son again,
and give back his cholic.
1812. Coombe, Tour in Search of Picturesque, c. xxvi. That he who
daily smokes two pipes, The tooth-ache never has—nor gripes.
Gripe-fist, subs. (common).—A miser; a grasping broker. For synonyms,
see Hunks. Also Gripe-penny.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Grist, subs. (American).—A large number or quantity. [Swift uses grist
= a supply; a provision.]
1848. Cooper, Oak Openings. There’s an unaccountable grist of bees,
I can tell you.
a. 1852. Traits of American Humour, i., 305. I ... got pretty
considerable soaked by a grist of rain.
To bring grist to the mill, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To bring
profitable business; to be a source of profit.
1719. Poor Robin’s Almanack, May. Lawyers pleading do refrain A
while, and then fall to ’t again; Strife brings grist unto their
mill.
1770. Foote, Lame Lover, i. Well, let them go on, it brings grist
to our mill.
1804. Horsley, Speech, 23 July. A sly old pope created twenty new
saints, to bring grist to the mill of the London clergy.
1817. Scott, Ivanhoe, c. 16. Some three or four dried pease—a
miserable grist for such a mill.
1838. Dickens, Nich. Nickleby, ch. xxxiv., p. 268. Meantime the
fools bring grist to my mill.
Gristle, subs. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick and
Prick.
Grit, subs. (originally American: now colloquial).—1. Character; pluck;
spirit; sand (q.v.). Also clear grit. No grit = lacking in stamina;
wanting in courage.
1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, bk. II., ch. xiv. A chap who was clear
grit for a tussle, any time.
1848. Burton, Waggeries, etc., p. 13. The old folks ... began to
think that she warn’t the clear grit.
1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ch. vi. A real lady—l’air noble—the
rael genuine grit, as Sam Slick says.
1852. H. B. Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ch. vii. You’re a right brave
old girl. I like grit, wherever I see it.
1860. Thackeray, Philip, ch. xxxi. If you were a chip of the old
block you would be just what he called the grit.
1889. Referee, 6 Jan. They never did think there was any real grit
about him.
1890. Scribner, Feb., 242. ‘Looks like he got grit, don’t it?’ Lige
muttered.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 249. I am as
full of grit and work as ever, and just tower above our troubles.
2. (Canadian political).—A member of the Liberal party.
Gritty, adj. (American).—Plucky; courageous; resolute; full of
character.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 106. There never was a grittyer crowd
congregated on that stream.
Grizzle, verb. (colloquial).—To fret. Also to grizzle one’s guts.
1872. Miss Braddon, To the Bitter End, ch. xvi. ‘If the locket’s
lost, it’s lost,’ she said philosophically; ‘and there’s no use in
grizzling about it.’
Grizzle-guts (or Grizzle- or Glum-pot). subs. (common).—A melancholy or
ill-tempered person; a sulkington (q.v.).
Groaner, subs. (old).—A thief plying his trade at funerals or religious
gatherings.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Groaning, subs. (old).—The act of parturition. Also, adj., parturient;
or appertaining to parturition: as in groaning-malt (Scots’) = drink
for a lying-in; groaning-pains = the pangs of delivery; groaning-wife =
a woman ready to lie-in.
1594. Nashe, Unfort. Trav. (Chiswick Press, 1892), p. 92. As
smoothe as a groaning-wive’s bellie.
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii., 2. It would cost you a groaning to
take off my edge.
1786. Burns, The Rantin’ Dog the Daddie O’t. Wha will bring the
groaning-malt?
Groats, subs. (nautical).—The chaplain’s monthly allowance.
To save one’s groats, verb. phr. (old University).—To come off
handsomely. [At the Universities nine groats are deposited in the hands
of an academic officer by every person standing for a degree, which, if
the depositor obtains, with honour, are returned to him.—Grose.]
Grocery, subs. (common).—1. Small change.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
2. (American).—A drinking bar. Also Confectionery and Groggery.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc. 104. He went into his favourite
grocery.
3. (common).—Sugar. [A restricted use of a colloquialism.]
1841. Lytton, Night and Morning, Bk. V., ch. ii. A private room and
a pint of brandy, my dear. Hot water and lots of the grocery.
Grog, subs. (old: now recognised).—Spirits and water; strong drink
generally. [Till Admiral Vernon’s time (1745) rum was served neat, but
he ordered it to be diluted, and was therefore nicknamed ‘Old Grog,’ in
allusion to his grogram coat: a phrase that was presently adapted to
the mixture he had introduced.] Groggy = drunk.
Verb. (old).—To dilute or adulterate with water.
1878. Lincoln, Rutland, and Stamford Mercury, 8 Mar. The defendants
had grogged the casks by putting in hot water.
To have grog on board (or to be grogged), verb. phr. (common).—To be
drunk. For synonyms, see Screwed.
1842. Comic Almanack, October. He stands and listens, sad and
dogged, To ‘fined five bob’ for being grogged.
Grog-blossom, subs. (common).—A pimple caused by drinking to excess.
Also Copper-nose and Jolly-nose. Fr., un nez culotté and un nez de
pompettes.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, Grog-blossom, s.v.
1883. Thos. Hardy, The Three Strangers, in Longman’s Mag., March,
p. 576. A few grog-blossoms marked the neighbourhood of his nose.
1888. W. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, ch. xi., p. 169. The outward and
visible signs of rum were indeed various. First, there was the red
and swollen nose, next, the nose beautifully painted with
grog-blossoms.
Grog-fight, subs. (military).—A drinking party. Cf., Tea-fight.
1876. R. M. Jephson, Girl he Left Behind Him, ch. 1. He had been
having a grog-fight in his room to celebrate the event.
Groggery, subs. (American).—A public bar; a grog-shop.
Groggy, adj. (colloquial).—1. Under the influence of drink. For
synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
1829. Buckstone, Billy Taylor. i., as a gay young woman, will
delude Taylor away from Mary, make him groggy, then press him off
to sea.
1863. Fun, 23 May, p. 98, c. 2. They fined drunkards and swearers,
and there is a record in the parish-books, among others of a
similar nature, of a certain Mrs. Thunder who was fined twelve
shillings for being, like Mr. Cruikshank’s horse at the Brighton
Review, decidedly groggy.
1872. Echo, 30 July. A model of perfection had she not shown more
than necessary partiality to her elder friend’s brandy bottle
during the journey, despite the latter’s oft-repeated caution not
to become groggy.
2. (colloquial).—Staggering or stupified with drink. Also (stable)
moving as with tender feet. Also (pugilists’) unsteady from punishment
and exhaustion. Fr., locher = to be groggy.
1831. Youatt, The Horse, ch. xvi., p. 380. Long journeys at a fast
pace will make almost any horse groggy.
1846–8. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, vol. ii., ch. v. Cuff coming up
full of pluck, but quite reeling and groggy, the Fig-merchant put
in his left as usual on his adversary’s nose, and sent him down for
the last time.
1853. Diogenes, vol. ii., p. 177. The anxiety is not confined to
the metropolis; as a respectable grazier, who rides a groggy horse,
on hearing of it at a public-house the other day, affirmed it to be
the mysterious cause of the rise in the value of horseflesh.
1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. In the tenth Thompson, who had been
growing groggy, to the surprise of Evans began to force the
fighting.
Grogham, subs. (old).—A horse; a daisy-kicker (q.v.). Now mostly in
contempt. For synonyms, see Prad.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Grog-shop, subs. (common).—The mouth. For synonyms, see Potatoe-trap.
1843. Thackeray, Men’s Wives, Frank Berry, ch. i. Claret drawn in
profusion from the gown-boy’s grog-shop.
Grog-tub, subs. (nautical).—A brandy bottle.
Groom, subs. (gamesters’).—A croupier.
Groomed. See Well-groomed.
Groovy, subs. (American).—A sardine.
Adj. (popular).—Settled in habit; limited in mind.
Grope, verb. (venery).—To feel a woman; to fumble; to fam (q.v.).
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Mariolement. Groping of a wench.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 194. Smoking, toping, Landlady
groping.
Groper, subs. (old).—1. A blind man; hoodman (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (old).—A pocket. For synonyms, see Brigh and Sky-rocket.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 143. Gropers. Pockets.
3. (old).—A midwife; a fingersmith (q.v.).
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Grotto, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Ground. To suit down to the ground, verb. phr. (common).—To be
thoroughly becoming or acceptable.
1878. M. E. Braddon, Cloven Foot, ch. xlv. Some sea coast city in
South America would suit me down to the ground.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 9 Feb. I knows the very bloke that’ll
suit you down to the ground.
1891. Sporting Life, 28 Mar. At Knowle he is suited down to the
ground.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. ii. They suit me right down to
the ground.
To wipe (or mop) up the ground (or floor) with one, verb. phr.
(common).—To administer the very soundest thrashing; to prove oneself
absolutely superior to one’s opposite.
1887. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i., 3. Muck! that’s my
opinion of him; ... I’ll mop the floor up with him any day, if so
be as you or any on ’em ’ll make it worth my while.
1888. Detroit Free Press, Aug. The Scroggin boy was as tough as a
dogwood knot. He’d wipe up the ground with him; he’d walk all over
him.
To go (or get) well to the ground, verb. phr. (old colloquial).—To
defæcate; to rear (q.v.). For synonyms, see Mrs. Jones.
1608. Middleton, Family of Love, v. 3. Do you go well to the
ground?
1856. Notes and Queries, 2 S., i., p. 324. To get to the ground, in
medical phraseology, means to have the bowels opened.
Grounder, subs. (cricketers’).—A ball with a ground delivery; a sneak;
a grub; and (in America) at base-ball, a ball struck low, or flying
near the ground.
Ground-floor. To be let in on the Ground-floor, verb. phr.
(American).—To share in a speculation on equal terms with the original
promoters.
Ground-squirrel, subs. (old).—A hog; a grunter—Lex. Bal. For synonyms,
see Sow’s Baby.
Ground-sweat. To have (or take) a ground-sweat, verb. phr. (old).—To be
buried.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Ground sweat, s.v., a grave.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Grouse. To do a grouse (or to go grousing), verb. phr. (venery).—To
quest, or to run down, a woman; to molrow (q.v.). Groused = Molled
(q.v.).
Grouser, subs. (popular).—1. A grumbler. For synonyms, see Rusty-guts.
2. (venery).—One who goes questing after women; a molrower (q.v.).
3. (sporting).—A rowing man; a wet-bob (q.v.).
Grousing, subs. (venery).—Going in quest of women; sparrow-catching
(q.v.); molrowing (q.v.).
Groute, verb. (Marlborough and Cheltenham Colleges).—To work or study
hard; to swot (q.v.). For synonyms, see Wire In.
Grouty, adj. (common).—Crabbed; sulky.
Grove of Eglantine, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum; also the
female pubic hair. For synonyms, see Monosyllable and Fleece.
1772. Carew, Poems. ‘A Rapture.’ Retire into thy Grove of
Eglantine.
Grove of the Evangelist, subs. phr. (common).—St. John’s Wood; also
Apostle’s Grove, and the Baptist’s Wood.
Grow, verb. (prison).—To be accorded the privilege of letting one’s
hair and beard grow. Also to grow one’s feathers.
Growler, subs. (common).—A four-wheeled cab. Cf., Sulky.
English Synonyms.—Bird-cage; blucher; bounder; fever-trap;
flounder-and-dab (rhyming); four-wheeler; groping hutch; mab (an old
hackney); rattler; rumbler.
French Synonyms.—Un bordel ambulant (common = a walking brothel); un
char numèroté (popular); un flatar (thieves’); un foutoir ambulant (= a
fuckery on wheels); un mylord (popular).
1870. Orchestra, 21 Mar. A recent enigmatical bill-poster on the
walls, with the device ‘Hie, Cabby, Hie!’ turns out to be a Patent
Cab Call—an ingenious sort of lamp-signal for remote hansoms and
growlers.
1873. Land and Water, 25 Jan. The knacker’s yard is baulked for a
time, while the quadruped shambles along in some poverty-stricken
growler.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 8 Jan., p. 5, c. 3. But while a great
improvement has been made in hansoms of late years, the
four-wheeler or growler is still as a rule a disgrace to the
metropolis.
1890. Daily Graphic, 7 Jan., p. 14, c. 1. What with hansom cabs and
growlers and private broughams; what with bonded carmen’s towering
waggons.
1891. Globe, 15 July, p. 1, c. 3. Adapting the words of Waller to
the condition of many of our growlers—The cab’s dull framework,
battered and decayed, Lets in the air through gaps that time has
made.
To rush (or work) the growler, verb. phr. (American workmen’s).—See
quot. [Growler = pitcher.]
1888. New York Herald, 29 July. One evil of which the inspectors
took particular notice was that of the employment by hands in a
number of factories of boys and girls, under ten and thirteen
years, to fetch beer for them, or in other words to rush the
growler.
Grown-man’s-dose, subs. (common).—A lot of liquor. Also a long drink
(q.v.). For synonyms, see Go.
Grown-up, subs. (colloquial).—An adult: among undertakers, a grown.
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, Bk. ii., ch. 1. I always did like
grown ups.
Grub, subs. (vulgar).—1. Food.
English Synonyms.—Belly-cheer (or chere); belly-furniture;
belly-timber; Kaffir’s tightener (specifically, a full meal); chuck;
corn; gorge-grease; manablins (= broken victuals); mouth harness;
mungarly; peck; prog; scoff (S. African); scran; stodge; tack; tommy
(specifically, bread); tuck; yam. Also, verbally, to bung the cask; to
grease the gills; to have the run of one’s teeth; to yam. See also
Wolf.
French Synonyms.—La becquetance (popular = peck); le biffre (popular);
la frigousse (popular); la fripe (popular, from O. Fr., fripper = to
eat); la gringue (common); les matériaux (freemason’s = materials); la
briffe (popular); la boustifaille (popular); le harnois de gueule
(Rabelais: = mouth-harness); le coton (popular, an allusion to a
lamp-wick); les comestaux (popular = comestibles); le tortorage
(thieves’); la broute (popular = grazing); la morfe (O. Fr. Also, in a
verbal sense = to feed); tortiller du bec (popular = to wag a jaw); se
calfater le bec (nautical: also = to drink); becqueter (popular = to
‘peck’); béquiller (popular); chiquer (popular = to ‘chaw’); bouffer
(popular); boulotter (common); taper sur les vivres (popular = to
assault the eatables); pitancher (common: also = to drink); passer à la
tortore (thieves’); se l’envoyer; casser la croustille (thieves’ = to
crack a crust); tortorer (thieves’); briffer; passer à briffe
(popular); brouter (Villon = to browse); se caler, or se caler les
amygdales (popular); mettre de l’huile dans la lampe (common = to trim
the lamp); se coller quelque chose dans le fanal, dans le fusil, or
dans le tube (popular = to trim one’s beacon-light; to load one’s gun,
etc.); chamailler des dents (popular = to ‘go it’ with the ivories);
jouer des badigoinces (common: badigoinces = chaps); jouer des dominos
(popular: dominos = teeth); déchirer la cartouche (military);
gobichonner (popular); engouler (popular = to bolt); engueuler
(colloquial = to gobble); friturer (popular: also = to cook); gonfler
(popular: to blow out); morfiaillier (Rabelaisian); morfigner, or
morfiler (From O. Fr., morfier; cf., Ital., morfire or morfizzare);
cacher (popular = to stow away); se mettre quelque chose dans le
cadavre (popular = to stoke); se lester la cale (nautical: to lay in
ballast); se graisser les balots (thieves’: to grease the gills); se
caresser (to do oneself a good turn); effacer (popular = to put away);
travailler pour M. Domange (popular: M. Domange was a famous goldfinder
or gong farmer [q.v.]); clapoter (popular); debrider la margoulette
(popular = to put one’s nose in the manger); croustiller (popular);
charger pour la guadaloupe (popular); travailler pour Jules (common:
Jules = Mrs. Jones); se faire le jabot (popular, jabot = stomach);
jouer des osanores (popular: osanores = teeth); casser (thieves’);
claquer (familiar = to rattle one’s ivories); klebjer (popular); faire
trimer les mathurins (popular = to make the running with one’s teeth);
se coller quelque chose dans le bocal (common: bocal = paunch);
estropier (popular = to maim); passer à galtos (nautical); bourrer la
paillasse (common = to stuff the mattress); faire trimer le battant
(thieves’); jouer des mandibules (popular); s’emplir le gilet (popular
= to fill one’s waistcoat); se garnir le bocal (popular: to furnish
one’s paunch); se suiver la gargarousse (nautical: also = to drink);
babouiner (popular); charger la canonnière (popular: canonnière = the
breech); gousser (popular); gouffier (obsolete).
German Synonyms.—Achile, Achelinchen, or Acheliniken (from Heb. Ochal);
Achelputz (from Heb. ochal + putzen from O.H.G. bizan or pizzan = to
eat).
Italian Synonyms.—Artibrio; and, verbally, sbattere (= to beat, to
struggle); intappare il fusto (= to bung the cask); smorfire.
Spanish Synonyms.—Papar (colloquial: from papa = pap); hacer el buche
(low: buche = craw or crop); echar (colloquial); manducar; meter.
1659. Dialogue betwixt an Exciseman and Death, transcribed from a
Copy in British Museum, printed in London by J. C[lark]. I’ll pass
my word this night Shall yield us grub before the morning light.
1725. New Cant. Dict. Grub, s.v., victuals.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, I., 171. How did you procure your
grub and Bub?
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 149. Bub and Grub. A mighty
low expression, signifying victuals and drink.
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. iii. Poor Purser! de people
call him Purser, sir, because him knowing chap; him cabbage all de
grub, slush, and stuff in him own corner.
d. 1842. Maginn, Vidocq’s Song. Any bubby and grub, I say?
1857. Thackeray, Shabby Genteel Story, ch. i., p. 9. He used to ...
have his grub too on board.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. i., p. 45. I at once
congratulated myself on not being a large eater, as there was no
doubt but my grub would run very short if it depended on my
oakum-picking.
1889. Star, 3 Dec., p. 2, c. 6. Of course it was grub. It was for
food, the food for which they beg, and steal, and go willingly to
prison, for a certain good square meal of meat.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 154. That sad, sad
secret about Mary would keep him in grub for the next day or two at
‘The Rose in Bloom.’
2. (old).—A short thick-set man; a dwarf. In contempt. For synonyms,
see Hop-o’-my-Thumb.
3. (colloquial).—A dirty sloven; generally used of elderly people.
4. (American).—A careful student; a hard reader.
1856. Hall, College Words and Phrases, quoted from Williams’ Coll.
Quarterly, ii., 246. A hard reader or student: e.g., not grubs or
reading men, only wordy men.
5. (American).—Roots and stumps; whatever is ‘grubbed up.’
6. (cricketers’).—A ball delivered along the ground; a grounder (q.v.);
a daisy-cutter (q.v.). For synonyms, see Lob-sneak.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf. Grub, s.v.
Verb. (old).—1. To take or supply with food. For synonyms, see subs.
sense 1.
1725. New Cant. Dict. Grub, s.v., to eat.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Grub, s.v., to dine.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxii., p. 184. I never see such a chap
to eat and drink; never. The red-nosed man warn’t by no means the
sort of person you’d like to grub by contract, but he was nothin’
to the shepherd.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 18 May, p. 3, c. 1. ‘They are not bound to
grub you, don’t you know,’ said Mr. Sleasey, ‘and they try the
starving dodge on you sometimes.’
2. (old).—To beg; to ask for alms, especially food.
3. (American).—To study, or read hard; to ‘sweat.’
To ride grub, verb. phr. (old).—To be sulky; crusty (q.v.);
disagreeable.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. To ride grub, to be sullen or out of
temper.
To grub along, verb. phr. (common).—To make one’s way as best one can;
‘to rub along.’
1888. Daily Telegraph, 19 Oct. When a youth left school to follow
the pursuits of life he found that he had to grub along as best he
could.
Grubbing, subs. (common).—Eating.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib. What with snoozing, high grubbing, and
guzzling like Cloe.
Grubbery, subs. (common).—(1) an eating-house. Also (2) a dining-room,
and (3) the mouth.
Grubbing-crib, subs. (general).—1. An eating-house. Grubbing-crib faker
= the landlord of a cheap cookshop. Fr., le nourrisseur; Sp., un
ostalero. See Grub Shop, sense 2.
English Synonyms.—Grubbery; grubby-, or grubbing-ken; grub-shop;
guttle-shop; hash-house; mungarly casa; prog-shop; slap-bang shop;
tuck-shop; waste-butt.
French Synonyms.—Un bourre-boyaux (popular = a stuff-your-guts); un
claquedents (popular, also = a brothel, or punting-house); une
guingette (general); une mangeoire (popular = a grubbery: manger = to
eat); un mattais (popular); un gargot (thieves’).
German Synonym.—Achilebajes (from Heb., Ochal = to eat).
Spanish Synonym.—Ostaleria, or Osteria (also = lush-crib).
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v.
2. (tramps’).—A workhouse. For synonyms, see Spinniken. Sometimes
Grubbiken.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., 416. I know all
the good houses, and the tidy grubbikens—that’s the unions where
there’s little or nothing to do for the food we gets.
Grubble, verb. (colloquial).—(1) To feel for at random or in the dark;
and (2) (venery) to grope (q.v.).
1684. Dryden, The Disappointment. ‘Prologue.’ The doughty bullies
enter bloody drunk, Invade and grubble one another’s punk.
Grubby, subs. (thieves’).—Food. [A diminutive of Grub (q.v.).]
d. 1842. Maginn, Vidocq’s Song. I pattered in flash like a covey
knowing, Tol lol, etc. Ay, bub or grubby, I say.
Adj. (colloquial).—Dirty; slovenly.
d. 1845. Hood, A Black Job. Like a grubby lot of sooty sweeps or
colliers.
Grub-hunting, subs. (tramps’).—Begging for food.
Grub-shite, verb. (old).—To make foul or dirty; to bewray.—Grose.
Grub-shop, (or -crib, -trap, etc.), subs. (common).—1. The mouth; and
(2) a grubbery (q.v.). For synonyms, see Potato-trap.
1840. Thackeray, Comic Almanack, p. 229. ‘That’s the grub shop,’
said my lord, ‘where we young gentlemen wot has money buys our
wittles.’
3. See Grubbing-crib in both senses.
Grub-stake, subs. (American).—Food and other necessaries furnished to
mining prospectors in return for a share in the ‘finds.’ Hence, to
grub-stake = to speculate after this fashion.
1884. Butterworth, Zig-zag Journeys. When miners become so poor
that they are not able to furnish the necessary tools and food with
which to ‘go prospecting’, a third party of sufficient means offers
to furnish tools and provisions on condition that he is to have a
certain interest in anything that may be found.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, p. 100. He grub-staked us and
we used to work on the Tillie mine together.
Grub-street, subs. (colloquial).—The world of cheap, mean, needy
authors. [Originally a street near Moorfields, changed in 1830 to
Milton Street.]
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Grub-street news, false,
forg’d.
1728. Pope, Dunciad, iii., 135. Shall take through grub-street his
triumphant round.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. A Grub-street writer means a
hackney author, who manufactures books for the booksellers.
1813. J. and H. Smith, Horace in London, ‘The Classic Villa.’
Grub-street, ’tis called.
1821. Egan, Life in London, i. Few, if any, writers, out of the
great mass of living scribblers, whether of Grub-Street
fabrication, or of University passport ... possess souls above
buttons.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 119. We are going
it, have got our agents in Grub Street.
Gruel, subs. (common).—1. A beating; punishment (q.v.). For synonyms,
see Tanning. Hence, to get (or give) one’s gruel = to castigate, or be
well beaten; also killed. In the prize ring = to knock a man out for
good. Gruelled = floored; also Gruelling.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xxviii. He gathered in general,
that they expressed great indignation against some individual. ‘He
shall have his gruel,’ said one.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Babes in the Wood.’ He that was
mildest in mood gave the truculent rascal his gruel.
1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ch. xii. They were as well gruelled
as so many posters, before they got to the stile.
1888. Sporting Life, 15 Dec. Preferred to be easily knocked out to
taking his gruel like a man.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 23 Jan. Both men were badly punished,
but George had, of course, the lion’s share of the gruel.
1891. Licensed Vict. Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 7, c. 3. All the advantage
rested with the same side for some little time, Paddock getting
such a gruelling that his head swelled out like a pumpkin.
2. (American thieves’).—Coffee.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Grueller, subs. (common).—A knock-down blow; a settler; a floorer
(q.v.).
Grumble-guts, subs. (popular).—An inveterate croaker. Also
Grumble-gizzard.
Grumbles. To be all on the grumbles, verb. phr. (popular).—To be
discontented; cross; on the snarly-yow (q.v.).
Grumbletonian, subs. (common).—A pattern of discontent: one ever on the
grumble. [Grumbleton (during the reigns of the later Stuarts) = an
imaginary centre of discontent; hence, Grumbletonian, a nickname of the
County party, distinguished from the Court, as being in opposition.]
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Grumbletonians, malecontents, out of
Humour with the Government, for want of a Place, or having lost
one.
1705–7. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, vol. I., pt. 1, p. 24 (2nd Ed.).
But all the grumbletonian throng Did with such violence rush along.
1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, Act 1. Now, if I pleased, I
could be so revenged upon the old grumbletonian.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Grumbletonian, s.v., a discontented
person.
1849–61. Macaulay, Hist. of Eng., ch. xix. Who were sometimes
nicknamed the grumbletonians, and sometimes honoured with the
appellation of the County party.
Grummet, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Grumpy (or Grumpish), adj. (colloquial).—Surly; cross; angry.
1840. Mrs. Trollope, Michael Armstrong, ch. vi. If you blubber or
look grumpish.
1859. Sala, Twice Round the Clock, 3 a.m., par. 13. Calling you a
‘cross, grumpy, old thing,’ when you mildly suggest that it is very
near bed-time.
1868. Miss Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, bk. IV., ch. i. A grumpy
old deaf keeper, and a boy, his assistant.
1883. Punch, 19 May, p. 230, c. 2. They all looked grumpy and down
in the mouth.
Grundy, subs. (old).—A short fat man; a forty-guts (q.v.).—See Mrs.
Grundy.
1563. Fox, Acts and Monuments (London, 1844), iii., 1104. For that
he being a short grundy, and of little stature, did ride commonly
with a great broad hat.
Grunter, subs. (old).—1. A pig; a grunting-cheat (q.v.). In quot. 1652
= pork. For synonyms, see Sow’s Baby.
1656. Brome, Jovial Crew. Here’s grunter and bleater, with
tib-of-the-buttry.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Grunter, s.v. A sucking pig.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Grunter, s.v.
1841. Comic Almanack, p. 266. And the squeaking grunter is loose on
the green.
1847–50. Tennyson, Princess, v. 26. A draggled mawkin, That tends
her bristled grunters in the sludge.
2. (common).—A sixpence. In quot. 1785 = 1s. Cf., Hog and Pig.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, Grunter, s.v. A shilling.
1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, bk. III., ch. iii., p. 267. One
of the men ... had only taken three ‘twelvers’ [shillings] and a
grunter.
1885. Household Words, 20 June. p. 155. The sixpence ... is
variously known as a ‘pig,’ a ‘sow’s baby,’ a grunter, and ‘half a
hog.’
3. (common).—A policeman; a trap (q.v.); a pig (q.v. sense 2). For
synonyms, see Beak.
1820. London Magazine, i., 26. As a bonnet against ... grunters.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum. Grunter, s.v., a country constable.
4. (tailors’).—An habitual grumbler; a grumble-guts (q.v.)
Grunter’s-gig, subs. (old).—A smoked pig’s chap.—Grose.
Grunting-cheat, subs. (old).—A pig. See Chete. For synonyms, see Sow’s
Baby.
1567. Harman, Caveat, p. 86. She has a cackling-chete, a
grunting-chete, ruff pecke, cassan, and poplarr of yarum.
1622. Fletcher, Beggars Bush, v., 1. Or surprising a boor’s ken for
grunting-cheats? Or cackling-cheats?
Grunting-peck, subs. (old).—Pork or bacon.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, Grunting-peck, s.v., pork.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1836. Smith, Individual. ‘The Thieves’ Chaunt.’ But dearer to me
Sue’s kisses far Than grunting peck or other grub are.
Gruts, subs. (common).—Tea; For synonyms, see Scandal-broth.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
G. T. T. Gone to Texas, phr. (American).—Absconded. [Moonshining gentry
used to mark G. T. T. on the doors of their abandoned dwellings as a
consolation for inquiring creditors.] Fr., aller en Belgique. For
synonyms, see Swartwort.
1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 5 S., ch. viii. Before this
misfortin’ came I used to do a considerable smart chance of
business; but now it’s time for me to cut dirt, and leave the
country. I believe I must hang out the G. T. T. sign.—‘Why, what
the plague is that?’ says I. ‘Gone to Texas,’ said he.
Guage.—See Gage.
Gubbins, subs. (old).—Fish-offal.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie, q.v.
Gudgeon, subs. (old).—1. A bait; an allurement. Hence, To gudgeon (or
to swallow a gudgeon) = to be extremely credulous or gullible.
1598. Shakspeare, Merchant of Venice, i., 1. But fish not with this
melancholy bait, For this fool’s gudgeon, this opinion.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, Bersela, s.v. To swallow a gudgeon
... to believe any tale.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, Gudgeon, s.v. To swallow the bait, or
fall into a trap, from the fish of that name which is easily taken.
1892. National Observer, 23 July, vii., 235. It has educated Hodge
into an increased readiness to gorge any gudgeon that may be
offered him.
2. (colloquial).—An easy dupe; a buffle (q.v.).
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Guerrilla, subs. (American sharpers’).—See quot.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. This name is applied by gamblers to
fellows who skin suckers when and where they can, who do not like
the professional gamblers, but try to beat them, sometimes inform
on them, and tell the suckers that they have been cheated.
Guff, subs. (common).—Humbug; bluff; jabber. For synonyms, see Gammon.
1889. Sportsman, 19 Jan. Hereafter he can have the newspapers to
himself, and with that windbag Mitchell fill them with guff and
nonsense, but I won’t notice them.
Guffy, subs. (nautical).—A soldier. For synonyms, see Mudcrusher.
Guiders, subs. (general).—1. Reins; ribbons (q.v.).
2. (common).—Sinews; leaders (q.v.).
Guinea. A guinea to a gooseberry, phr. (sporting).—Long odds. See
Lombard Street to a China Orange.
1884. Hawley Smart, Post to Finish, ch. vli. What! old Writson
against Sam Pearson? Why, it’s a guinea to a gooseberry on Sam!
Guinea-dropper, subs. (old).—A sharper. Specifically one who let drop
counterfeit guineas in collusion with a gold-finder (q.v.). For
synonyms, see Rook.
1712, Gay, Trivia, iii., 249. Who now the guinea dropper’s bait
regards, Tricked by the sharper’s dice or juggler’s cards.
Guinea-hen, subs. (old).—A courtezan. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack
and Tart.
1602. Shakspeare, Othello, i., 3. Ere I would say I would drown
myself for the love of a guinea-hen, I would change my humanity
with a baboon.
1630. Glapthorne, Albertus Wallenstein. Yonder’s the cock o’ the
game About to tread yon guinea-hen, they’re billing.
Guinea-pig, subs. (old).—1. A general term of reproach.
1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, xxiv. A good seaman he is, as ever
stepp’d on forecastle—none of your guinea-pigs,—nor your
freshwater, wishy-washy, fair-weather fowls.
2. (old).—Any one whose nominal fee for professional services is a
guinea: as vets., special jurymen, etc. Now mainly restricted to
clergymen acting as deputies, and (in contempt) to directors of public
companies. Hence Guinea-trade = professional services of any kind.
1821. Coombe, Dr. Syntax, Tour III., c. iv. ‘Oh, oh,’ cried Pat,
‘how my hand itches, Thou guinea-pig [a ‘vet.’], in boots and
breeches, to trounce thee well.’
1871. Temple Bar, vol. xxxi., p. 320. A much more significant term
is that of guinea pigs, the pleasant name for those gentlemen of
more rank than means, who hire themselves out as directors of
public companies, and who have a guinea and a copious lunch when
they attend board meetings.
1880. Church Review, 2 Jan. Guinea pigs ... are, for the most part,
unattached or roving parsons, who will take any brother cleric’s
duty for the moderate remuneration of one guinea.
1883. Saturday Review, 25 Aug., p. 246, c. 2. A country parson was
suddenly attacked with diphtheria, late in the week. Recourse was
had in vain to the neighbours, and it was decided at last to
telegraph to London for a guinea pig.
1884. Echo, 19 May, p. 1, c. 5. Let us apply the principle further,
and imagine ... limited liability swindlers tried by a jury of
guinea-pigs and company promoters.
1884. Graphic, 29 Nov., p. 562, c. 3. And the guinea-pig, whose
name is on a dozen different Boards, is justly regarded with
suspicion.
1886. Chambers’s Jour., 24 Apr., p. 258. In order to be considered
of any value as Director of a Company, a guinea-pig ought to have a
handle to his name.
1887. Payn, Glow Worm Tales. ‘A Failure of Justice.’ He is best
known to the public as a guinea-pig, from his habit of sitting at
boards and receiving for it that nominal remuneration, though in
his case it stands for a much larger sum.
1889. Drage, Cyril, vii. The rector has, as usual, got the gout,
and we live under a régime ... of guinea-pigs.
1890. Standard, 26 June, p. 5, c. 4. The least attempt to saddle
responsibility for misleading statements upon Boards of Directors
would drive prudent, ‘respectable’ men out of what is vulgarly
called the guinea-pig business.
3. (nautical).—See quot.
1840. Marryat, Poor Jack, ch. xxvi. While Bramble was questioned by
the captain and passengers, I was attacked by the midshipmen, or
guinea-pigs as they are called.
Guise’s Geese, subs. phr. (military).—The Sixth Foot or ‘Saucy Sixth.’
[From its Colonel’s name, 1735–63.]
Guiver, subs. (theatrical).—(1) Flattery, and (2) artfulness (q.v.).
For synonyms, see Soft Soap.
Adj. (common).—Smart; fashionable; on it (q.v.). Guiver lad = a
low-class dandy; also an artful member (q.v.).
a. 1866. Vance, Chickaleary Cove. The stock around my squeeze of a
guiver colour see.
Verb (sporting).—To humbug; to fool about (q.v.); to show off.
1891. Sporting Life, 25 Mar. He goes into a ring to fight his man,
not to spar and look pretty, and run, and dodge, and guiver.
Gulf, subs. (old).—1. The throat; also the maw. For synonyms, see
Gutter-alley.
1579. Spencer, Shephearde’s Calendar, Sept. That with many a lamb
had glutted his gulf.
2. (Cambridge Univ.).—The bottom of a list of ‘passes,’ with the names
of those who only just succeed in getting their degree.
1852. Bristed, Five Years in an English University, p. 205. Some
ten or fifteen men just on the line, not bad enough to be plucked,
or good enough to be placed, are put into the gulf, as it is
popularly called (the examiners’ phrase is ‘degrees allowed’), and
have their degrees given them, but are not printed in the calendar.
3. (Oxford Univ.).—A man who, going in for honours, only gets a pass.
Verb (Cambridge Univ.).—To place in the gulf, subs., sense 2 (q.v.); to
be gulfed = to be on such a list. [Men so placed were not eligible for
the Classical Tripos]. Cf., Pluck and Plough.
1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, pt. iii., p. 89. I am not going to
let them gulph me a second time.
1863. H. Kingsley, Austin Elliot, p. 123. The good Professor
scolded, predicted that they would all be either gulfed or
ploughed.
1865. Sporting Gaz., 1 Apr. A man who was gulfed for mathematical
honours was certainly, in olden time, unable to enter for the
classical examination; but though the arrangement is altered, the
term is not obsolete. A man who is gulfed is considered to know
enough mathematics for an ordinary degree, but not enough to be
allowed his degree in mathematics only; he is consequently obliged
to pass in all the ordinary subjects (except mathematics) for the
‘poll,’ before taking his degree.
1876. Trevelyan, Life of Macaulay (1884), ch. ii., p. 61. When the
Tripos of 1822 made its appearance, his name did not grace the
list. In short ... Macaulay was gulfed.
1852. Bristed, Five Years in an English University, p. 297. I
discovered that my name was nowhere to be found—that I was gulfed.
Gulf-spin, subs. (American cadet).—A rascal; a worthless fellow; a beat
(q.v.) a shyster (q.v.).
Gull, subs. (old, now recognised).—1. A ninny. For synonyms, see Buffle
and Cabbage-head.
1596. Sir J. Davies, Book of Epigrams. A gull is he who feares a
velvet gowne, And when a wench is brave dares not speak to her; A
gull is he which traverseth the towne, And is for marriage known a
common wooer; A gull is he, which while he proudly weares A
silver-hilted rapier by his side. Indures the lye and knockes about
the eares, While in his sheath his sleeping sword doth bide. But to
define a gull in termes precise—A gull is he which seems, and is
not, wise.
1598. Florio, A World of Wordes, passim.
1609. Jonson, Case is Altered, iv., 3. Jun. Tut, thou art a goose
to be Cupid’s gull.
1609. Shakspeare, Timon of Athens. Lord Timon will be left a naked
gull. Which flashes now a phœnix.
1614. Overbury, Characters. ‘A Roaring Boy.’ He cheats young guls
that are newly come to town.
1618. Rowlands, Night Raven, p. 28 (H. C. Rept., 1872). I know the
houses where base cheaters vse, And note what gulls (to worke vpon)
they chuse.
1661. Brome, Poems, ‘The Cure of Care.’ Those gulls that by
scraping and toiling.
1818. S. E. Ferrier, Marriage, ch. li. The poor gull was caught,
and is now, I really believe, as much in love as it is in the
nature of a stupid man to be.
1850. D. Jerrold, The Catspaw, Act i. Pshaw! some rascal that lives
on simpletons and gulls.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 231. I was a
dweller under roofs; the gull of that which we call civilisation.
2. (old).—A cheat; a fraud; a trick.
1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado about Nothing, ii., 3. I should think
this a gull, but that the white-bearded fellow speaks it.
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie, q.v.
3. (Oxford Univ.).—A swindler; a trickster. Cf., Gull-catcher, of which
it is probably an abbreviation.
1825. The English Spy, v. I., p. 161. ‘You’ll excuse me, sir, but
as you are fresh, take care to avoid the gulls.’ ‘I never
understood that gulls were birds of prey,’ said I. ‘Only in Oxford,
sir, and here, I assure you, they bite like hawks.’
Verb (old: now recognised).—To cheat; to dupe; to victimise; to take in
(q.v.). in any fashion and to any purpose.
1596. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, v. This is a mere trick, a
device, you are gulled in this most grossly.
1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, ii., 3. Mar. For Monsieur
Maluolio, let me alone with him; If I do not gull him into a
nayword, and make him a common recreation, do not thinke I haue
witte enough to lye straight in my bed; I know I can do it.
1607. Rowlands, Diogenes, his Lanthorne, p. 11 (H. C. Rept. 1873).
He promist me good stuffe truly, a great pennyworth indeed, and
verily did gull me.
1610. Jonson, Alchemist, v., 2. Hast thou gulled her of her jewels
or her bracelets?
1639. Selden, Table Talk, p. 98 (Arber’s ed.). Presbyters have the
greatest power of any Clergy in the world, and gull the Laity most.
1778. Sketches for Tabernacle-Frames, p. 25, note. These fanatical
Preachers frequently squeeze out Tears to gull their Audience.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., 472. It’s generally
the lower order that he gulls.
1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, ix. Pay your debts, and
gull the world a little longer.
Hence Gullible, adj., = easily duped.
1841. Thackeray, Character Sketches, ‘Fashionable Authoress.’ And,
gulled themselves, gull the most gullable of publics.
Gullage, subs. (old colloquial).—The act of trickery; the state of
being gulled.
1605. B. Jonson, Volpone, v., 5. Had you no quirk To avoid gullage,
sir, by such a creature?
1611. Chapman, May Day, Act II., p. 284 (Plays, 1874). For
procuring you the dear gullage of my sweetheart, Mistress
Franceschina.
Gull-catcher (or Guller, Gull-sharper, etc.), subs. (old).—A trickster;
a cheat. See Gull, senses 1 and 3.
1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, ii., 5. Here comes my noble
gull-catcher.
Gullery, subs. (old colloquial).—Dupery; fraud; a cheat’s device. Cf.,
Gullage.
1596. Jonson, Every Man in His Humour, iii., 2. Your Balsamum and
your St. John’s wort are all mere gulleries and trash to it.
1608. John Day, Humour out of Breath, Act iv., Sc. 3. I am gulld,
palpably gulld ... and mine owne gullery grieves me not half so
much as the Dukes displeasure.
1630. Taylor, Works. Neverthelesse, whosoever will but looke into
the lying legend of golden gullery, there they shall finde that the
poore seduced ignorant Romanists doe imitate all the idolatrous
fornication of the heathen pagans and infidels.
1633. Ile of Guls. Upon you both, so, so, so, how greedily their
inventions like beagles follow the sent of their owne gullery, yet
these are no fooles, God forbid, not they.
1633. Marmion, Fine Companion. Lit. What more gulleries yet? they
have cosend mee of my daughters, I hope they will cheate me of my
wife too: have you any more of these tricks to shew, ha?
1689. Selden, Table Talk, p. 38 (Arber’s ed.). And how can it be
proved, that ever any man reveal’d Confession, when there is no
Witness? And no man can be Witness in his own cause. A meer
gullery.
1819. H. More, Defence of Moral Cabbala, ch. iii. The sweet
deception and gullery of their own corrupted fancy.
1821. Scott, Kenilworth, ch. xx. Do you think, because I have
good-naturedly purchased your trumpery goods at your roguish
prices, that you may put any gullery you will on me?
Gullet, subs. (old: now recognised).—The throat. For synonyms, see
Gutter-alley.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 12, 477. [Quoted in Ency. Dict.]
Out of the harde bones knocken they The mary, for they casten
nought away, That may go thurgh the gullet soft and sote.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, Gullet, s.v. A Derisory Term for the
Throat, from Gula.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. 15. So he puts a pistol to his mouth,
and he fires it down his gullet.
1893. National Observer, x. 168. Through sympathetic gullets.
Gull-finch, subs. (old).—A simpleton; a fool. For synonyms, see Buffle
and Cabbage-head.
1630. Taylor, Works. For ’tis concluded ’mongst the wizards all, To
make thee master of Gul-finches hall.
Gull-groper, subs. (old).—A gamesters’ money-lender.
1609. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candle-light. The gul-groper is
commonly an old mony-monger, who having travaild through all the
follyes of the world in his youth, knowes them well, and shunnes
them in his age, his whole felicitie being to fill his bags with
golde and silver.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Gull-groper, s.v. A Bystander that
Lends Money to the Gamesters.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gully, subs. (common).—1. The throat. For synonyms, see Gutter-alley.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
3. (old and Scots’).—A knife. For synonyms, see Chive.
1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, bk. I., ch. xxvii. Fair gullies which are
little haulch-backed demi-knives.
1785. Burns, Death and Dr. Hornbook. I red ye weel, tak care o’
skaith, See, there’s a gully.
1789. Burns, Address to Captain Grose. The knife that nickit Abel’s
craig, He’ll prove ye fully It was a faulding jocteleg, Or
lang-kail gully.
Verb (common).—To gull (q.v.); to dupe; to swindle. For synonyms, see
Stick.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. v. I rode about and
speechified, and everybody gullied.
Gully-fluff, subs. (colloquial).—Pocket-filth; beggar’s velvet (q.v.).
Also Flue (q.v.).
Gully-gut, subs. and adj. (common).—A glutton. For synonyms, see
Stodger.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Crapulatore, a surfeiter; a
gormand; a glutton; a gullie-gut.
1672. Lestrange, Fables. A gulli-gut friar.
Gully-hole (or Gully), subs. (common).—1. The throat, or gullet. For
synonyms, see Gutter-alley.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Gully-raker, subs. phr. (venery).—1. The penis; and (2) a wencher. For
synonyms, see Creamstick, Prick, and Molrower.
2. (Australian). A cattle-whip; a cattle-thief.
1881. A. C. Grant, Bush Life in Queensland ... following up his
admonition by a sweeping cut of his gully-raker, and a report like
a musket-shot.
Gulpin, subs. (common).—A simpleton; a gapeseed (q.v.). Fr., un
gobemouche; une éponge. For synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head.
1886. W. Besant, World Went Very Well Then, ch. xxix. But Jack
persisted, and I rose too. ‘Go then!’ the Admiral roared, with a
great oath. ‘Go then, for a brace of gulpins!’
Gulpy, adj. (common).—Easily duped.
Gulsh. To hold one’s gulsh, verb. phr. (provincial).—To hold one’s
tongue; to keep quiet.
Gum, subs. (old).—1. Chatter; talk; jaw (q.v.). Also abuse.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. xiv. There’s no occasion to
bowse out so much unnecessary gum.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Come let us have no more of your
gum.
1824. R. B. Peake, Americans Abroad, i., 1. Dou. Come, none of your
gum—now you are but an underlin’, tho’ you are so uppish and
twistical—where’s the chair?
2. (American).—A trick; a piece of dupery; a sell (q.v.). Also
gummation.
3. (American).—A golosh; an india-rubber overshoe. [Short for
‘gum-shoes.’]
1872. Morning Post, 9 Jan. Forbidding him again to cross her
threshold or to leave his gum-shoes in her hall.
Verb (common).—To cheat; to take in (q.v.), to roast (q.v.) or quiz.
For synonyms, see Gammon.
1859. Sala, Twice Round the Clock, 6 p.m., par. I. I began to think
either that he was quizzing me—gumming is the proper Transatlantic
colloquialism, I think.
1875. ‘American English’ in Chamb. Journal, 25 Sept., p. 611. To
‘gum-tree’ is to elude, to cheat [from opossum], and this again is
shortened into ‘to gum,’ as the phrase, ‘Now don’t you try to gum
me.’
Old Mother Gum, subs. phr. (common).—An old woman: in derision.
By gum! intj. (common).—A mild oath. For synonyms, see Oaths.
1860. Haliburton (‘Sam Slick’), The Season Ticket, No. ix. By gum,
Squire Shegog, we have had the greatest bobbery of a shindy in our
carriage you ever knowed in all our born days.
Bless your (or his, her, its, etc.) gums, phr. (common).—A piece of
banter: a facetious way of saying ‘Bless your soul!’
Gummagy, adj. (common).—Snarling; of a scolding habit.
Gummed, adj. (billiards).—Said of a ball close to the cushion.
Gummy, subs. (common).—1. A toothless person; i.e., with nothing but
gums to show. Generally, Old Gummy.
2. (thieves’).—Medicine. Also Gummy-stuff.—Matsell.
3. (common).—A dullard; a fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
Adj. (common).—Puffed; swollen; clumsy.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Gummey, clumsy, particularly
applied to the ancles of men, or women, and the legs of horses.
To feel Gummy, verb. phr. (University).—To perspire.
Gump, subs. (common).—A dolt. For synonyms, see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, bk. II., ch. xv. He’s ... sort of a
nateral too, I guess; rather a gump, hey?
Gumption, subs. (colloquial).—Cleverness; understanding; nous (q.v.).
Also Rum Gumption.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Gumption, or rum gumption, s.v.,
docility, comprehension, capacity.
1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary, s.v. ‘Gawm.’ Gawm, to understand; I
dinna gawm ye, I don’t understand you. Hence, possibly, gawmtion,
or gumption, understanding.
1834. Atlantic Club-book, I., 33. D’ye think I’m a fellow of no
more gumption than that?
1843. Comic Almanack. Poor beasts, ’tis very clear, To any one
possess’d of gumption, That if they’d not come over here, They’d
have been carried off by home consumption.
1853. Lytton, My Novel, bk. IV., ch. xii. Gumption—it means
cleverness.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 25 June, p. 3, c. 2. But poor
people—leastways, those that have got any gumption—know better than
that.
1890. Notes and Queries, 7 S., x., 303. As familiar as the Greek
word nous for what ... is known ... as gumption.
Gumptious, adj. (colloquial).—Shrewd; intelligent; vain.
1853. Lytton, My Novel, bk. IV., ch. xii. Landlord. There’s
gumption and gumptious! Gumption is knowing, but when I say that
sum un is gumptious, I mean—though that’s more vulgar like—sum un
who does not think small beer of hisself. You take me, sir?
Gum-smasher (or tickler), subs. (common).—A dentist. For synonyms, see
Snag-catcher.
Gum-suck, verb. (American).—To flatter; to humbug; to dupe. For
synonyms, see Gammon.
Gum-sucker, subs. (Australian).—1. See quot. Cf., Corn-stalk.
1887. All the Year Round, 30 July, p. 67. A gum-sucker is a native
of Tasmania, and owes his elegant nickname to the abundance of
gum-trees in the Tasmanian forests.
2. (common).—A fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head.
Gum-tickler, subs. (colloquial).—1. A drink. Specifically, drop or
short, or a dram. For synonyms, see Go.
1814. Quarterly Review, vol. X., p. 521. A gill, taken fasting, is
called a gum-tickler.
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, bk. IV., ch. iii. I prefer to
take it in the form of a gum-tickler.
2. See Gum-smasher.
Gum-tree. To be up a gum-tree, verb. phr. (American).—To be on one’s
last legs; at the end of one’s rope. ‘He has seen his last gum-tree’ =
It is all up with him.
Gun, subs. (old).—1. A lie. New Cant. Dict., 1725. For synonyms, see
Whopper.
2. (common).—A thief; specifically, a magsman (q.v.) or street-artist.
Also Gun-smith and Gunner. Gunning = thieving. [An abbreviation of
Gonof (q.v.).] See Area-sneak and Thieves.
1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, bk. II., ch. i., p. 70. I tell
you you ain’t a-going to make a gun (thief) of this here young
flat.
1868. Temple Bar, xxv., 213. ... returned to his old trade of
gunsmith, gunning being the slang term for thieving, or going on
the cross.
1882. Cornhill Mag., p. 649. Flats graft for guns.
1889. Clarkson and Richardson, Police. Gunners and grasshoppers
sneak about watching their opportunities.
3. (American).—A revolver. For synonyms, see Meat-in-the Pot.
4. (Irish).—A toddy glass. See In the Gun.
Verb (American).—1. To consider with attention.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Gunned. The copper gunned me as if
he was fly to my mug.
2. (American).—To strive hard; to make a violent effort: e.g., to gun a
stock = to use every means to produce a ‘break’; when supplies are
heavy and holders would be unable to resist.
In the Gun, phr. (old).—Drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Gun, s.v., he’s in the gun, he is drunk,
perhaps from an allusion to a vessel called a gun, used for ale in
the universities.
Son of a Gun. See Son.
Sure as a Gun, phr. (common).—Quite certain; inevitable.
1633. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, ii., 1. ’Tis right; he has spoke as
true as a gun, believe it.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew.
1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, v., 20. All turned topsy-turvy, as
sure as a gun.
1720. Gay, New Song of New Similes. Sure as a gun she’ll drop a
tear.
1749. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. xviii., ch. ix. As sure as a gun I
have hit o’ the very right o’t.
1759. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, vol. vi., ch. xxvi. Think ye not
that, in striking these in,—he might, peradventure, strike
something out? as sure as a gun.
1825. Egan, Life of an Actor, iv. By gum! he roared out, sir, as
sure as a gun.
d. 1842. Father Prout, Reliques, I. 19. ‘Vert-Vert, the Parrot.’
Scared at the sound,—‘Sure as a gun, The bird’s a demon!’ cried the
nun.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. lviii. In every party of the
nobility his name’s down as sure as a gun.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 141. Nobbed, sure as a gun!
1892. Manville Fenn, New Mistress, xxxv. They were both down there
about that school-money Betsey, as sure as a gun.
Gundiguts, subs. (common).—A fat man; a forty guts (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gunner’s Daughter. To Kiss (or Marry) the Gunner’s Daughter, verb. phr.
(nautical). To be flogged. [Gunner’s daughter = the gun to which boys
were lashed for punishment.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. xxxii. I don’t know what officers
are made of now-a-days. I’ll marry some of you young gentlemen to
the gunner’s daughter before long. Quarter-deck’s no better than a
bear-garden.
Gunpowder, subs. (old).—An old woman.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gunter.—See Cocker.
Gup, subs. (Anglo-Indian).—Gossip; scandal.
1868. Florence Marryat, Gup, xix. With regard to my title ... Gup
is the Hindustani for ‘Gossip.’ Voilâ tout!
1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines, ch. xxix. Our Eastern empire is
much addicted to what they term gup, whereby they mean gossip,
scandal, or by whatever other equivalent the taking away of one’s
neighbours’ characters may be designated.
To be a gup, verb. phr. (American).—To be easy to take or steal.
Gurtsey, subs. (American Cadet).—A fat man; a podge (q.v.). For
synonyms, see Forty-guts.
Gush, subs. (colloquial).—The expression of affected or extravagant
sentiment.
1883. Saturday Review, 3 Feb., p. 148, c. 2. Mr. Picton’s style is
pleasant and easy, as long as he allows himself to be natural, and
does not fall into gush.
1886. Church Times, 17 Sep. Not mere gush or oratorical flip-flap.
Verb (colloquial).—To overflow with extravagant or affected sentiment.
1883. Miss Braddon, Golden Calf, ch. vii. ‘Yes, and you saw much of
each other, and you became heart-friends,’ gushed Miss Wolf,
beaming benevolently at Brian.
Gusher, subs. (colloquial).—A practitioner of gush (q.v.). Also
Gushington.
1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. vi., p. 66 (1873). The
enthusiastic gusher who flings his or herself upon our necks, and
insists upon sharing our sorrow.
1882. Miss Braddon, Mount Royal, ch. viii. ‘But, surely there is
nothing improper in the play, dear Lady Cumberbridge,’ exclaimed
the eldest gusher, too long in society to shrink from sifting any
question of that kind.
Gushing, adj. (colloquial).—Extravagant; affected or irrational in
expression; demonstratively affectionate. Also Gushingly.
1864. ‘The Campaigner’ (No. XVI.), in Fraser’s Mag., p. 627. Donald
did not belong to what, in the slang of translated Cockneys, is
called the Gushing School.
1864. Punch’s Almanack, ‘Our Growling Bard.’ Some, I admit, are
Milingtary Dears, As gushing ladies say, and some are Muffs.
1872. Sunday Times, 18 Aug. This however, was no surprise to the
plaintiff, it having been understood from the first that the
parties being past the gushing age the letters between them should
be of a business character.
1880. Ouida, Moths, ch. viii. Your heroics count for nothing. All
girls of sixteen are gushing and silly.
1883. Hargrave Jennings, quoted in Saturday Review, 28 Apr., p.
536, c. 1. Women are not the gushingly credulous creatures that man
in his constant condescension and in his appreciation of himself
would deem.
1884. F. Anstey, Giant’s Robe, ch. xx. ‘It’s not precisely
gushing,’ he said to himself, ‘but she couldn’t very well say more
just yet.’
Gusset, subs. (common).—Generic for the female sex. Thus, Brother (or
Knight, or Squire) of the Gusset = a pimp; Gussetting = wenching;
Gusseteer = a wencher; etc.
Gusset of the Arse, subs. phr. (common).—The inside edge of the
buttocks.
d. 1796. Burns, Merry Muses, pp. 99–100. An’ he grippit her fast by
the gusset of her arse.
Gut, subs. (vulgar).—The vice or habit of gluttony; the belly [as
opposed to the Groin (q.v.).]
2. in. pl. (common).—The stomach and intestines.
1609. Dekker, Gul’s Horne-Booke, chap. ii. The Neapolitan will
(like Derick, the hangman) embrace you with one arme, and rip your
guts with the other.
1640. Rawlins, The Rebellion, iii. (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed.,
1875, xiv., 48). Thou hast a gut could swallow a peck loaf.
1661. Brome, Poems, ‘A Satire on the Rebellion.’ The grumbling
guts, the belly of the State.
1713. Bentley, On Free Thinking, sect. 53. What then was our
writer’s soul? Was it brain or guts?
1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, bk. iv., c. 1. But so it was that
the knife, missing these noble parts (the noblest of many) the
guts, perforated only the hollow of his belly.
1787. Burns, Death and Dr. Hornbook, st. 27. A countra Laird had
ta’en the batts, Or some curmurring in his guts.
3. in. pl. (old).—A fat man; a forty-guts (q.v.). Also
Guts-and-garbage. More Guts (also More Balls) than Brains = a fool.
1598. Shakspeare, Henry IV., pt. 1, ii., 2. Peace, ye fat-guts.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Gutts, a very fat gross Person.
4. (artists’ and colloquial).—Spirit; quality; a touch of force, or
energy, or fire: e.g., a picture, a book, an actor. With guts = a
strong thing. Put your guts into it (aquatic) = Row the very best you
can. He (or it) has no guts in him (or it) = He (or it) is a common
rotter (q.v.). Hence, Gutsy, adj. = having guts, and Gutsiness, subs. =
the condition of being gutsy.
1738. Swift, Polite Conversation, I. The fellow’s well enough if he
had any guts in his brain.
1893. Pall Mall Budget. No. 1292 (June 29), 1906. The body of the
cigar, or what might vulgarly be called the guts.
Verb (vulgar).—1. To plunder, or take out all or most of the contents
(i.e., intestines) of a place or thing; to drain; to ‘clean out’: e.g.,
to gut a house (thieves’) = to rifle it; to gut an oyster = to eat it;
to gut a book = to empty it of interesting matter; to gut a quart pot =
to drain at a draught. Whence, Gutted = dead-broke.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 1. Whether diddling your subjects or
gutting their jobs.
1849–61. Macaulay, Hist. of England. The king’s printing-house ...
was, to use a coarse metaphor, which then for the first time came
into fashion, completely gutted.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 373. Well,
we’ve got the guts out of you!
2. (schools’).—To eat hard, fast, and badly. For synonyms, see Wolf.
To fret one’s guts, verb. phr. (common).—To worry.
To have plenty of guts but no bowels, verb. phr. (common).—To be
unfeeling, hard, merciless.
My great guts are ready to eat my little ones, phr. (old).—‘I am very
hungry.’ Also, my guts begin to think my throat’s cut; my guts curse my
teeth; and my guts chime twelve.—Grose.
Not fit to carry guts to a bear, phr. (common).—To be worthless;
absolutely unmannerly; unfit for human food (q.v.).
Gut-entrance, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. Also front-gut. For
synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Gut-foundered, adj. (old).—Exceedingly hungry.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gut-pudding, subs. (old).—A sausage.—Nomenclator (1696). For synonyms,
see Mysteries.
Gut-puller, subs. (common).—A poulterer; a chicken-butcher (q.v.).
Gut-scraper, subs. (common).—A fiddler. Also catgut scraper, and
tormentor of catgut. For synonyms, see Rosin-the-bow.
1719. Durfey, Pills, ii., 218. ‘A Song’ etc. Strike up, drowsie
gut-scrapers.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1785. Burns, Jolly Beggars. Her charms had struck a sturdy Caird,
As weel’s a poor gut-scraper.
1834. W. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, p. 192 (ed. 1864). Make ready
there, you gut-scrapers, you shawm-shavers; I’ll put your lungs in
play for you presently. In the mean time—charge, pals, charge—a
toast, a toast!
1834. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. xxxi. ‘You may save yourself the
trouble, you dingy gut-scraper,’ replied O’Brien [addressing a
fiddler].
Gut-stick, subs. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick and
Prick. To have a bit (or a taste) of the gut-stick = to copulate (of
women only).
Gut-sticker, subs. phr. (venery).—A sodomite. Also gut-fucker and
gut-monger. For synonyms, see Usher.
Gutter, subs. (American thieves’).—1. Porter.—Matsell. [Probably a
corruption of gatter (q.v.).]
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Verb (Winchester College).—To fall in the water flat on the stomach.
Fr., piquer un plat-ventre.
To lap the gutter, verb. phr. (common).—To be in the last stage of
intoxication. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
Carry me out and leave me in the gutter, phr. (American).—See Carry me
out.
Gutter-alley (or Lane), subs. (common).—The throat. All goes down
Gutter-lane = ‘He spends all on his stomach.’
English Synonyms.—Beer Street; common sewer; drain; funnel; Gin Lane;
gulf; gullet; gully-hole; gutter; Holloway; Peck Alley; Red Lane; the
Red Sea; Spew Alley; swallow; thrapple; throttle; whistle.
French Synonyms.—La carafe (tramps’); la creuse (popular = Holloway);
le corridor; le cornet (popular); le couloir; le lampas; la goule
(popular); le gose (popular: an abbreviation of gosier: also gésier);
la gargoine (thieves’); la gargarousse (thieves’ = Old Gargles); le
four (popular = the oven); le fanal (popular); l’entonnoir (popular =
the funnel); l’avaloir (thieves’ = the swallow).
German Synonym.—Kollert (Hanoverian).
Spanish Synonym.—La gorja.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary, g. (1811), p. 81. All goeth down
Gutter Lane. That is, the throat. This proverb is applicable to
those who spend all their substance in eating and drinking.
2. (common).—A urinal. For synonyms, see Pissing-post.
Gutter-blood, subs. (common).—1. See quot. Also (2) a vulgarian; an
upstart from the rabble.
1822. Scott, The Fortunes of Nigel, ch. v. In rushed a thorough
Edinburgh gutterblood—a ragged rascal.
Gutter-chaunter, subs. (common).—A street singer.
Gutter-hotel, subs. (tramps’).—The open air. For synonyms, see
Hedge-square.
Gutter-literature. See Blood-and-thunder, and Awful.
Gutter-master, subs. (old).—A term of reproach.
1607. Marston, What You Will, iii, 1. And now my soule is skipt
into a perfumer, a guttermaster.
Gutter-prowler, subs. (thieves’).—A street thief. For synonyms, see
Area-sneak and Thieves.
Gutter-snipe, subs. (common).—1. A street arab. Also Gutter-slush. For
synonyms, see Mudlark.
2. (American printers’).—A poster for the kerb.
3. (American Commercial).—An ‘outside’ broker who does business chiefly
in the street; a kerbstone broker (q.v.). Fr., un loup-cervier.
Guttie, subs. (golfers’).—1. A gutta-percha ball.
2. (colloquial).—A glutton.—For synonyms, see Stodger.
3. (colloquial).—A forty-guts, which see for synonyms.
Guttle, verb. (vulgar).—To eat greedily; to gormandize (q.v.). Also to
drink: e.g., to guttle a pint = to take off, or do, a pint; ‘He’s been
guttling swipes’ = he’s been drinking beer. Hence guttler = a coarse,
or greedy eater; a sturdy pot-companion: a gorger (q.v.). Cf.,
Thackeray’s Book of Snobs for Guttlebury Fair. See Guzzle.
1672. Lestrange, Fables, p. 260. A jolly guttling priest.
Guttle-shop, subs. (Rugby).—A pastry-cook’s; a tuck-shop (q.v.).
Guv, subs. (common).—An abbreviation of governor (q.v.).
Guy, subs. (colloquial).—1. A Fifth of November effigy; whence (2) an
ill-dressed person. As in the old street cry, ‘Hollo, boys, there goes
another guy!’ (an abbreviation of Guy Fawkes) = a figure of fun; a
fright.
English Synonyms.—Caution; Captain Queer-nabs; chivey; comic bird;
ragamuffin; sight.
French Synonyms. Un paquet (popular); une hallebarde (popular = a
clothes-prop); un nippe-mal (popular); une bécasse (= a gaby); un
carnavale (popular = a figure of fun).
1806. W. Burrell, in C. K. Sharpe’s Correspondence (1888), i., 277.
A month ago there was neither shape nor make in use ... no guy ever
matched me.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘The Nurse’s Story.’ Did you see
her, in short, that mud-hovel within, With her knees to her nose,
and her nose to her chin, Leering up with that queer, indescribable
grin, You’d lift up your hands in amazement and cry, ‘Well!—I never
did see such a regular guy!’
1858. G. Eliot, Janet’s Repentance, ch. vi. Ned Phipps ...
whispered that he thought the Bishop was a guy, and I certainly
remember thinking that Mr. Prendergast looked much more dignified
with his plain white surplice and black hair.
1871. Morning Advertiser, 26 Jan. There is no imperative reason why
a constable should be a guy.
3. (common).—A dark lantern. [Obviously a reminiscence of the Gunpowder
Plot].
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Guy, s.v. Stow the guy, conceal the
lanthorn.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
4. (streets).—A jaunt; an expedition.
1889. Sporting Times, 3 Aug., p. 5, c. 5. There was a gee, there
was a buggy, but there wasn’t a punctual Pitcher. So a cheerful guy
to Waterloo was the game.
Verb (common).—1. To quiz; to chaff; to roast (q.v.); to josh (q.v.).
1889. Detroit Free Press, 26 Jan. His advent here created much
merriment, and the operators guyed him loud enough for him to hear
them.
2. (common).—To escape; to hedge (q.v.); to run away. Also to do a guy
(which also = to give a false name). For synonyms, see Amputate and
Skedaddle.
1879. J. W. Horsley, in Macmillan’s Mag., xl. 500. I planned with
another boy to guy (run away).
1887. Fun, 23 Mar., p. 125. ‘Boat-race Day, as per usual,’ said the
clerk to the court, ‘they’ll all be doing guys’ (giving false
names!).
1889. Clarkson and Richardson, Police, p. 321. To run away.... Do a
guy.
1892. Punch, 24 Sept. ‘’Arry at Arrygate.’ I just did a guy.
3. (American).—To spoil; to muddle; to disfigure or distort.
1891. New York Herald, 31 May, p. 12, c. 4. Finally, I would remind
them that they are apt to guy their cause by making ‘guys’ of
themselves, and that the best way of making women a power in the
land is by encouraging them to be womanly women.
4. (theatrical).—To damn; to hiss; to slate (q.v.) or give the bird
(q.v.).
Guzzle (or Guttle), subs. (vulgar).—1. An insatiable eater or drinker.
For synonyms, see Stodger and Lushington respectively.
2. (vulgar).—A debauch.
1876. Hindley, Adventures of Cheap Jack, 58. Doing a guzzle with
money he earned.
3. (common).—Drink.
1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, Bk. II., ch. i., note. It signifies
rum-booze, as our gipsies call good-guzzle.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1698–1700. Ward, London Spy, part III., p. 47. A Pennyworth of
burnt Bread soften’d in a Mug of Porter’s guzzle.
c. 1795. Wolcot [P. Pindar], Peter’s Pension, in wks. (Dublin,
1795), vol. i., p. 484. Lo, for a little meat and guzzle, This
sneaking cur, too, takes the muzzle.
Verb. (vulgar).—1. To drink greedily, or to excess.
1607. Dekker, Westward Ho, v., 1. My master and Sir Gosling are
guzzling; they are dabbling together fathom-deep.
1693. Dryden, Persius, vi., 51. And, lavish of suspense, Quaffs,
crams, and guttles, in his own defence.
1698. Farquhar, Love and a Bottle, Act i. His education could reach
no farther than to guzzle fat ale.
1727. Gay, Beggars Opera, i., 3. Tom Tipple, a guzzling soaking
sot, who is always too drunk to stand himself.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Guzzle (v.) to tipple, to
fuddle, to drink much and greedily.
1782. Wolcot [P. Pindar], Lyric Odes, Ode i. The poet might have
guttled till he split.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. lxi. Are you ... to tell me that
the aim of life is to guttle three courses and dine off silver?
Guzzle-guts, subs. (common).—A glutton; a hard drinker.—Lex. Bal.
(1811). See Guzzle.
Guzzler, subs. (colloquial).—A hard drinker; a coarse, voracious
feeder. See Guzzle.
a. 1760. T. Brown, Works, iii., 265 [ed. 1760]. Being an eternal
guzzler of wine, his mouth smelt like a vintner’s vault.
1841. Dickens, Barnaby Rudge, ch. xiii. To be looked upon as a
common pipe-smoker, beer-bibber, spirit-guzzler, and toss-pot.
Guzzling, subs. (vulgar).—Eating or drinking to excess; also eating or
drinking in a coarse unmannerly fashion.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 28. What with snoozing, high-grubbing and
guzzling like Chloe.
1882. F. Anstey, Vice Versâ, ch. xv. There shall be no pocketing at
this table, sir. You will eat that pudding under my eye at once,
and you will stay in and write out French verbs for two days. That
will put an end to any more guzzling in the garden for a time, at
least.
Guzzum, subs. (American).—Chatter; noise. For synonyms, see Patter.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 22 Dec. ‘Now, Jerry, if yer don’t stop
yer guzzum I’ll skin yer alive!’ she exclaimed as she stood in the
door and flourished a skillet at him.
G.Y. All a G.Y., adv. phr. (North Country).—Crooked; all on one side;
‘all of a hugh.’
Gybe, subs. (old).—A written paper.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65 A gyb, a writing.
1608. Dekker, Belman of London, in wks. (Grosart) III., 104. His
office is to make counterfet licences, which are called gybes.
1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Gybe, any Writing or Pass.
1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, ch. xxv. He knows my gybe [pass]
as well as the jark [seal] of e’er a queer cuffin [justice of
peace] in England.
Verb (old).—1. To whip; to castigate. E.g., gybed at the cart’s arse =
whipped at the cart’s tail.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, Gyb’d, jerkt or whipt.
Gybing (also Gibery), subs. (old: now recognised).—Jeering.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gyger. See Jigger.
Gymnasium, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Gyp, subs. (Cambridge University).—1. A college servant. At Oxford, a
scout, at Dublin, a skip. [Etymology doubtful: according to Sat. Rev.
an abbreviation of Gipsy Joe; according to Cambridge undergraduates
from the Greek γύψ (gups) = a vulture; from the creature’s rapacity.]
1794. Gent. Mag., p. 1085. [A Cambridge college servant is called a
jip.]
1842. Tait’s Mag., Oct., ‘Reminiscences of Coll. Life.’ There is
attached to colleges and halls a person more useful than
ornamental, and better known than paid, whom Oxonians name Gyp,
from his supposed moral affinity to a vulture (γύψ). The same is in
Dublin denominated a Skip, because of the activity which is an
indispensable item in his qualifications.
1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ch. xii. I’ll send you in luncheon
as I go through the butteries; then, perhaps, you’d like to come
down and see the race. Ask the Gyp to tell you the way.
1850. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, p. 254. Fellow you call the gyp
wanted to make me believe you were out—thought I looked too like a
governor to be let in, I suppose.
1882. F. Anstey, Vice Versâ, ch. v. Who should we see coming
straight down on us but a Proctor with his bull-dogs (not dogs, you
know, but the strongest gyps in the college).
2. (American).—A thief. For synonyms, see Thieves.
Gypsies of Science, subs. phr. (literary.)—The British Association.
1846. Times, 5 Sept. On Thursday next, the Gipsies of Science (the
British Association) will have pitched their tents at Southampton.
Gyrotwistive, adj. (American).—Full of evasions and tricks; a
‘portmanteau word.’
Gyte, subs. (common).—1. A child; in contempt. [A corruption of goat.]
2. (Scots’).—A first year’s pupil in the Edinburgh High School.
Gyvel, subs. (Scots’ venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
d. 1796. Burns, The Merry Muses, ‘Nine Inches for a Lady,’ 33–4.
Come louse and lug your battering ram, An’ thrash him at my gyvel.
H
Haberdasher, subs. (old colloquial: now recognised).—1. A dealer in
small wares; specifically (1) a hatter, and (2, humorously) a publican
(i.e., a seller of tape [q.v.]). Now restricted to a retail draper.
1599. Minsheu, Dictionarie, s.v.
1632. Jonson, The Magnetic Lady, ‘Induction.’ Poetaccios,
poetasters, poetitos.... And all haberdashers of small wit.
d. 1680. Butler, Remains (1759), ii., 107. He set up haberdasher of
a small poetry.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, iii., 5. The haberdasher is the
whistler, otherwise the spirit-merchant, Jerry—and tape the
commodity he deals in.
Haberdasher of pronouns, subs. phr. (common).—A schoolmaster. For
synonyms, see Bumbrusher.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Habit, subs. (old University).—See quot.
1803. Gradus ad Cantabrigiam. Habit. College Habit, College dress,
called of old, Livery: the dress of the Master, Fellows, and
Scholars.
Hab-nab (or Hob-nob (q.v.)), adv. (old).—1. At random; promiscuously;
helter-skelter; ding-dong.
1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, iii., 4. His incensement at this
moment is so great that satisfaction can be none but by pangs of
death and sepulchre. Hob-nob is his word; give’t, or take’t.
1664. Butler, Hudibras, ii., 3. Although set down hab-nab at
random.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Hab-nab, at a Venture, Unsight,
Unseen, Hit or Miss.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
2. (old).—By hook or by crook; by fair means or foul.
1581. Lilly, Euphues, 109. Philantus determined habnab to send his
letters.
Verb (old).—To drink with; giving health for health.
1836. Horace Smith, The Tin Trumpet. ‘Address to a Mummy.’
Perchance that very hand now pinioned flat Has hob-and-nobbed with
Pharaoh glass for glass.
Hack (or Hackney), subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A person or thing
let out for promiscuous use: e.g., a horse, a whore, a literary drudge.
Whence (2) a coach that plies for hire; (3) (stables’) a horse for
everyday use, as offered to one for a special purpose—hunting, racing,
polo. (4) (Cambridge Univ.), see quot. 1803. Also Hackster.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 16,027. His Hakeney, which that
was a pomele gris.
1540. Lyndsay, Satyre of the thrie Estaits, 3237. I may finde the
Earle of Rothus best hacknay.
1582. Hakluyt, Voyages, i., 400. There they use to put out their
women to hire as we do here hackney horses.
1594. Shakspeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, iii., 1. The hobby-horse is
but a colt, and your love perhaps a hackney.
1594. Nashe, Unf. Traveller, 101 (Chiswick Press, 1890). Out whore,
strumpet, sixpenny hackster, away with her to prison!
1672. Ray, Proverbs. Hackney mistress, hackney maid.
1678. Butler, Hudibras, pt. iii., c. 1. That is no more than every
lover Does from his hackney-lady suffer.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Hacks, or Hackneys, Hirelings. Ibid.,
Hackney Horses. Ibid., Hackney Scribblers. Ibid., Hackney Whores,
Common Prostitutes.
1738. Pope, Ep. to Sat. Shall each spurgall’d hackney of the day,
Or each new pension’d sycophant, pretend To break my windows?
1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, iv., 14. With wonderful alacrity he
had ended almost in an instant, and conveyed himself into a place
of safety in a hackney-coach.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hackney-writer, one who writes for
attornies or booksellers.
1803. Gradus ad Cantabrigiam. Hacks. Hack Preachers; the common
exhibitioners at St. Mary’s, employed in the service of defaulters,
and absentees.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib. I first was hired to peg a hack.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i., 7. A rattler is a rumbler,
otherwise a Jarvy! Better known, perhaps, by the name of a hack.
1841. Leman Rede, Sixteen String Jack, ii., 3. I’ll get a hack, be
off in a crack.
Verb (colloquial, football).—To kick shins. Hacking = the practice of
kicking shins at football.
1857. G. A. Lawrence, Guy Livingstone, ch. i. I saw, too, more than
one player limp out of his path disconsolately, trying vainly to
dissemble the pain of a vicious hack.
1869. Spencer, Study of Sociology, ch. viii. p. 186 (9th ed.). And
thus, perhaps, the ‘education of a gentleman’ may rightly include
giving and receiving hacking of the shins at foot-ball.
1872. The Echo, 3 Nov. Some of the modern foot ball players have
the tips of their shoes tipped with iron, and others wear a kind of
armour or iron plate under their knicker-bockers to avoid ... what
is called hacking.
Hackle, subs. (common).—Pluck; spirit; bottom (q.v.). To show hackle =
to show fight. [Hackle = a long shining feather on a cock’s neck.] Fr.,
avoir du foie; n’avoir pas le flubart, or avoir du poil au ciel.
Hackslaver, verb. (old).—To stammer; to splutter; to hesitate in
speech.
Hackum (or Captain Hackum, or Hackster), subs. (old).—A bully; a bravo.
For synonyms, see Furioso.
1657. Lady Alimony, 1, 3 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, xiv.,
p. 282). Vowing, like a desperate haxter that he has express
command to seize upon all our properties.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Hackam, Fighting Fellow.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hackum, Captain Hackum, a bravo, a
slasher.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum. Hackum, a bravado, a slasher, ‘Capt.
Hackum,’ a fellow who slashes with a bowie-knife.
Had.—See Have.
Haddock, subs. (common).—1. A purse. Haddock of Beans = a purse of
money. [Haddock = cod: O. Sw., Rudde; Ic., Koddi = a small bag. Cf.,
Codpiece.] For synonyms, see Poge.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Melrusio, the fish we call a
hadock, or a cod. Ibid. Metter la faua nel bacello, to put the
beane into the cod.
1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. xiii. ‘What’s here?’
cried he, searching the attorney’s pockets ... ‘a haddock, stuffed
with nothing, I’m thinking.’
2. in. pl. (Stock Exchange).—North of Scotland Ordinary Stock.
Haddums (or Had ’em).—See quots.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew. The Spark has been at Haddums. He is
Clapt, or Poxt.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. He has been at Had’em and come home
by Clapham, said of one who has caught the venereal disease.
Hag, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A witch. Whence (2) an ugly old
woman; a she-monster. Also (3) a nightmare. At Charterhouse, a female
of any description; at Winchester, a matron. Hence, Hag-ridden =
troubled with nightmare. Hag-born = witch-born. Hag-seed (Shakspeare,
Tempest) = spawned of a witch. Hag-faced = foul-featured. In another
sense, Hags = spots of firm ground in a moss or bog.
d. 1529. Skelton, Duke of Albany, Lyke a Scottish hag.
1606. Wily Beguiled (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, ix., 277).
Like to some hellish hag or some damned fiend.
1606. Shakspeare, Macbeth, iv., 1. How now, you secret, black, and
midnight Hags!
1627. Drayton, The Moon-calf (Chalmer’s English Poets, 1810, iv.,
133). The filthy hag abhoring of the light.
1632. Jonson, Magnetic Lady, v. 6. Out hag!
1637. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, ii., 2. As if you knew the sport of
witch-hunting, Or starting of a hag.
1680. Cotton, Poems, etc., ‘To Poet E.W.’ Adulterate hags, fit for
a common stew.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v.
1748. Thomson, Castle of Indolence, i., 73. Fierce fiends and Hags
of hell their only nurses were.
1773–83. Hoole, Orlando Furioso, xliii., 998. But such a Hag to
paradise conveyed, Had withered by her looks the blissful shade.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xliii. Hatteraick himself, and the
gypsy sailor, and that old hag.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 89. Old women were
there also, with hideous vice-stamped features, veritable hags all
of them.
Your Hagship! phr. (common).—In contempt (of women).
Hag-finder, subs. (old).—A witch finder.
1637. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, ii., 2. That I do promise, or I am no
good hag-finder.
Hagged, adj. (old, now [as Haggard] recognised).—Ugly; gaunt; hag-like.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Hagged, Lean, Witched, Half-starved.
1716–1771. Gray, A Long Story. The ghostly prudes with Hagged face.
Haggisland, subs. (common).—Scotland.
Haggle, verb. (old, now recognised).—To bargain keenly; to stick at, or
out for, trumpery points; to debate small issues.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v.
1849–61. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., ch. xx. Haggling with the greedy,
making up quarrels.
Haggler, subs. (old).—Formerly a travelling merchant; a pedlar: now (in
London vegetable markets) a middleman. Cf., Bummaree.
1662. Fuller, Worthies; Dorsetshire. Horses, on which Haglers used
to ride and carry their commodities.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. A Hagler, one that buys of the
Country Folks, and sells in the Market, and goes from Door to Door.
1697. Vanbrugh, Æsop, ii, 1. I’se no hagler, gadswookers; and he
that says I am—’zbud, he lies!
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 83. A
Haggler being, as I before explained, the middle-man.
Hail. To raise hail (or Ned, or Cain, or Hell), verb. phr.
(American).—To make a disturbance; to kick up a row.
1888. Portland Transcript, 7 Mar. He is determined that they shall
have a clear deed to one hundred and sixty acres of land when the
question is settled, or he will raise hail.
To be hail fellow well met, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be on very easy
terms: also at hail-fellow.
1574–1656. Hall’s Satires, III., i., p. 40. Now man, that erst
haile-fellow was with beast, Woxe on to weene himselfe a god at
least.
1665. Homer à la Mode. The cookes too, having done, were set At
table hay fellow well met. [Quoted by Nares].
1667–1745. Swift, My Lady’s Lamentation. Hail fellow, well met, all
dirty and wet; Find out, if you can, who’s master, who’s man.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 108. And at first he sings
small, and is hail-fellow-well-met with Sheamus—that’s James of the
Glens, my chieftain’s agent.
To be hailed for the last time, verb. phr. (nautical).—To die. For
synonyms, see Aloft.
1891. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 322. He’s been hailed for
the last time.
Hair, subs. (venery).—1. The female pubes. Whence (2) generic for the
sex: e.g., after hair = in quest of a woman; plenty of hair = lots of
girls; hair to sell = a woman with a price; hair-monger = a wencher;
bit of hair = the sexual favour. For synonyms, see Fleece.
To go against the Hair, verb. phr. (old colloquial).—To go against the
grain, or contrary to nature. [From the texture of furs.]
1589. Nashe, Martin’s Months Minde (Grosart), i., 188. For hee euer
went against the haire.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, ii., 3. If you should fight, you go
against the hair of your professions.
1661. Middleton, Mayor of Queenborough, C. P. xi., 122. Books in
women’s hands are as much against the hair, methinks, as to see men
wear stomachers, Or night-railes.
Both of a Hair, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Very much alike. Also, two of a
trade, and two in a tale.
Not worth a Hair, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Utterly worthless. Cf., Cent,
Rap, Dump, etc.
To a Hair, adv. phr.—(colloquial).—Exactly; to a nicety. Cf., To fit to
a Hair = to fit perfectly.
1697. Vanbrugh, Æsop, i, 1. Here was a young gentlewoman but just
now pencilled me out to a hair.
1738. Swift, Polite Conversation. Miss. Well I love a Lyar with all
my Heart; and you fit me to a hair.
1891. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 30. The fellow fits my
temper to a hair.
To split Hairs, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To cavil about trifles; to
quibble; to be over-nice in argument.
1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, ii., 2. Now, I must speak; it will
split a hair by the Lord Harry.
Suit of Hair, subs. phr. (American).—A head of hair (q.v.).
To raise (or lift) Hair, verb. phr. (American).—To scalp; hence,
idiomatically, to defeat; to kill. To keep one’s hair = to escape a
danger.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 194. Kit Carson ... had
raised more hair from the red-skins than any two men in the Western
country.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody, p. 101. If you’ll take the chances of
keeping your hair.
To comb one’s Hair, verb. phr. (common).—To castigate; to monkey
(q.v.). See Comb one’s Hair, ante.
To hold (or keep) one’s Hair (or Wool) on, verb. phr. (common).—To keep
one’s temper; to avoid excitement; to take easily. Also to keep one’s
shirt on, or to pull down one’s jacket (or vest). Fr., être calme et
inodore.
1885. Bret Harte, A Ship of ’49, ch. vi. ‘But what the devil——’
interrupted the young man impetuously. ‘Keep yer hair on!’
remonstrated the old man with dark intelligence.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 78. Do keep your ’air on, dear
pal.
1892. Cassell’s Sat. Jour., 5 Oct., p. 45, c. 1. ‘Who make devil’s
row like that all night?’ he asked. ‘Keep your hair on, Moses
Trinko,’ replied the reception officer, cheerily.
A Hair of the Black Bear (or B’ar), subs. phr. (American).—A spice of
the devil.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 6. Thar was old grit in him,
too, and a hair of the black b’ar at that.
To get one’s Hair Cut, verb. phr. (venery).—To visit a woman; to see a
sick friend (q.v.). For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
1892. Anstey, Model Music Hall, 154. Tommy. What, Uncle, going? The
W. U. (with assumed jauntiness). Just to get my hair cut.
To make one’s hair stand on end, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To astonish.
1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, lv., 4. It’s well you are come: I’m
so frightened, my hair stands on end.
1886. J. S. Winter, Army Society, ch. iii. If I were to tell you
some incidents of my life since you and I last met, I should make
your hair stand on end.
A Hair of the Dog that Bit you, subs. phr. (common).—A ‘pick-me-up’
after a debauch. [Apparently a memory of the superstition, which was
and still is common, that, being bitten by a dog, one cannot do better
than pluck a handful of hair from him, and lay it on the wound. Also
figuratively, see quot. 1888.]
1531. Bovilli, Prov. ii., xvi. siècle, t. i., p. 102. Du poil de la
beste qui te mordis, Ou de son sanc sera guéris.
1546. Heywood, Proverbs [1874], 79. What how fellow, thou knave, I
pray thee let me and my fellow have A haire of the dog that bit us
last night. And bitten were we bothe to the braine aright.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fayre, I. ’Twas a hot night with some of
us, last night, John: shall we pluck a hair of the same wolf
to-day, proctor John?
1738. Swift, Polite Convers., Dial. 2. Lady Gur. But, Sir John,
your ale is terrible strong and heady.... Sir John. Why, indeed,
it is apt to fox one; but our way is to take a hair of the same dog
next morning.
1841. Dickens, B. Rudge, ch. lii. Put a good face upon it, and
drink again. Another hair of the dog that bit you, captain!
1888. Detroit Free Press. ‘Talk of the Day,’ 3 Nov. Travis.—‘Hello,
De Smith! You’re looking better than I expected. I understood that
you were completely crushed by that love affair. How did you
recover?’ De Smith.—‘Hair of the dog that bit me. Fell in love with
another girl.’
Hair-butcher, subs. (American).—A barber. For synonyms, see
Nob-thatcher.
1888. Puck’s Library, May, p. 15. ’Oi ’m wullin’ thot bloomin’
hair-butcher shud have a fit, av he wants.
Hair-court, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable. To take a turn in Hair-court = to copulate.
Hair-divider (or -splitter), subs. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms,
see Creamstick and Prick. Also Beard-splitter.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hair-splitter, a man’s yard.
Hair-pin, subs. (American).—An individual, male or female: e.g., That’s
the sort of hair-pin I am = that’s my style.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 6 Oct. ‘That’s the kind of hairpins we
are,’ said the enthusiastic swain.
Hairy, adj. (Oxford University).—1. Difficult.
d. 1861. Arthur Clough, Long Vacation Pastoral. Three weeks hence
we return to the shop and the wash-hand-stand-bason, Three weeks
hence unbury Thicksides and hairy Aldrich.
1864. The Press, 12 Nov. Hairy for difficult is a characteristic
epithet.
2. (colloquial).—Splendid; famous; conspicuous; uncommon.
1892. Rudyard Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads. ‘The Sons of the
Widow.’ Did you hear of the Widow of Windsor with a hairy gold
crown on her head?
3. (venery).—Desirable; full of sex; fuckable (q.v.). [Said only of
women: e.g., Hairy Bit = an amorous and taking wench.] See Hair.
To feel hairy, verb. phr. (venery).—To be inclined for coition; to have
a must (q.v.).
Hairyfordshire, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. To go to
Hairyfordshire = to copulate. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Hairy-oracle (or -ring), subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. Working
the hairy-oracle = wenching. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Halbert. To get the halbert, verb. phr. (old military).—To rise to
sergeant’s rank. [The weapon was carried by sergeants of foot.] To be
brought to the halberts = to be flogged; to carry the halbert in one’s
face = to show that one rose from the ranks (of officers in
commission).
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Half. It’s half past kissing time and time to kiss again. phr.
(common).—The retort impudent (to females) when asked the time. A
snatch from a ballad. [In Swift (Polite Conversation) = an hour past
hanging time.]
Half-a-crack (or jiffy, or tick).—Half a second.
Half-and-half, subs. (colloquial).—Equal quantities of ale and porter;
Cf., Four-half and Drinks.
1824. Reynolds, Peter Corcoran, 41. Over my gentle half-and-half.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 111. We were never tired of
wondering how the hackney-coachmen on the opposite stand could ...
drink pots of half-and-half so near the last drop.
1841. Albert Smith (in Punch). ‘The Physiology of the London
Medical Student.’ Half-and-half ... is ... ale and porter, the
proportion of the porter increasing in an inverse ratio to the
respectability of the public house you get it from.
1854. Martin and Aytoun, Bon Gaultier Ballads. ‘My Wife’s Cousin.’
Half-and-half goes down before him, Gurgling from the pewter-pot;
And he moves a counter motion For a glass of something hot.
1872. Fun, July. ‘The Right Tap.’ If the lever, meaning a plumper,
were labelled ‘stout,’ and those recording a split vote half and
half, the illusion would be complete.
Adj. (common).—Half-drunk; half-on (q.v.). For synonyms, see Drinks and
Screwed.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London. Half and half, half seas over,
tipsy.
Half-and-half-coves (or men, boys, etc.), subs. (old).—Cheap or
linsey-woolsey dandies; half-bucks (q.v.) and half-tigers (q.v.).
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i., 7. Jerry. The half-and-half
coves are somewhat different from the swaddies, and gay tyke boys,
at the dog pit—Eh, Tom?
Half-an-eye. To see with half an eye, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
discern readily; to be quick at conclusions.
Half-baked (or Soft-baked), adj. (common).—Halfwitted; cracked; soft
(q.v.); doughy (q.v.); also half-rocked (q.v.). For synonyms, see
Apartments and Tile Loose. Fr., n’avoir pas la tête bien cuite.
1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ii., 221. He must scheme forsooth,
this half-baked Scotch cake! He must hold off and on, and be
cautious, and wait the result, and try conclusions with me, this
lump of natural dough!
1857. C. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, ch. iv. ‘A sort of half-baked
body,’ said Kate.
1886. W. Besant, Children of Gibeon, Bk. II., ch. xiv. A daughter
of seventeen not quite right in her head—half-baked, to use the
popular and feeling expression.
1890. Answers, Xmas No., p. 19, c. 3. ‘You needn’t be so crusty,’
said Todkins to his better half. ‘Better be a little crusty than
not half-baked,’ was the reply of his amiable spouse.
1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 1 Nov., p. 2, c. 3. Mr. Vane Tempest as
serenest of half-baked cynics, and Mr. H. Vincent as most credulous
of bibulous optimists.
Half-breed, subs. (American political).—A nick-name applied to certain
New York Republicans, who wavered in their allegiance during an
election to the Senate in 1881.—Norton.
Half-cocked, adv. (common).—Half-drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Screwed.
1887. H. Smart, Saddle and Sabre, ch. xvii. ‘Black Bill,’ as he was
called by his brother jockeys, was very often half-cocked when he
got up to ride.... The man could ride as well half-drunk as sober.
To go off at half-cock (or half-cocked), verb. phr. 1. (sporting).—To
fail through hasty and ill considered endeavours; and 2. (venery) = to
ejaculate before completing erection.
1848. Lowell, Biglow Papers [Wk. 1891], p. 231. Now don’t go off
half-cock: folks never gains By usin’ pepper-sarse instid o’
brains.
Half-cracked, adv. (common).—Lacking in intelligence. See Apartments
and Tile Loose.
1887. W. P. Frith, Autobiog., i., 129. Who was what is vulgarly
called half-cracked.
Half-crown Word, subs. phr. (common).—1. A difficult or uncommon
vocable; a jaw-breaker (q.v.) or crack-jaw. Also (tailors’) = a
sleeveboard (q.v.).
Half-crowner, subs. (booksellers’).—A publication costing 2s. 6d.
Half-cut, adv. (common).—Half-drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Screwed.
Half-fly Flat, subs. phr. (thieves’).—A thief’s jackal; a man (or
woman) hired to do rough or dirty work.
Half-grown Shad, subs. phr. (American).—A dolt. For synonyms, see
Buffle and Cabbage-head.
1838. Neal, Charcoal Sketches. No more interlect than a half-grown
shad.
Half Laugh and Purser’s Grin, subs. phr. (nautical).—A sneer; a
half-and-half meaning.—Clark Russell.
Halflings, adj. (Scots’).—Betwixt and between. [Usually said of a boy
or girl just leaving childhood.]
1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, xi. In my youth, nay, when I was
a hafflins callant.
Half-man, subs. (nautical).—A landsman rated as A.B.
Half-marrow, subs. (old Scots’).—1. A faithless spouse; also a parcel
husband or wife.
1600–61. Rutherford, Letters, i., 123. Plead with your
harlot-mother, who hath been a treacherous half-marrow to her
husband Jesus.
2. (nautical).—An incompetent seaman.
Half-moon, subs. (old).—1. A wig; and (2) the female pudendum. For
synonyms, see Periwinkle and Monosyllable.
1611. Lodowick Barry, Ram Alley (Dodsley, Old Plays, vii., 326, ed.
1875). Is not her half-moon mine?
Half-mourning, subs. (common).—A black eye. Full-mourning = two black
eyes or deep grief.
Half-nab (or nap), adv. (old).—See quot.
1791. Bampfylde-Moore Carew, Life. Half-nab—at a venture, unsight
unseen, hit or miss.
Half-on, adj. (colloquial).—Half-drunk.
Half-rocked, adv. (common).—Half-witted; silly. [From a West Country
saying that all idiots are nursed bottom upwards.] See Apartments and
Tile Loose.
Half-saved, adv. (common).—Weak-minded; shallow-brained. See Apartments
and Tile Loose.
1834. Southey, The Doctor, ch. x. William Dove’s was not a case of
fatuity. Though all was not there, there was a great deal. He was
what is called half-saved.
1874. M. Collins, Frances, ch. xlii. This groom was what they call
in the west country half-saved.
Half-screwed, adj. (common).—More or less in liquor. See Drinks and
Screwed.
1839. Lever, Harry Lorrequer, ch. ii. He was, in Kilrush phrase,
half-screwed, thereby meaning more than half tipsy.
Half-seas Over, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Loosely applied to various
degrees of inebriety. Formerly = half way on one’s course, or towards
attainment. For synonyms, see Screwed.
[In its specific sense Gifford says, “a corruption of the Dutch op-zee
zober, ‘over-sea beer,’ a strong heady beverage introduced into Holland
from England.” ‘Up-zee Freese’ is Friezeland beer. The German zauber
means ‘strong beer’ and ‘bewitchment.’ Thus (1610) in Jonson,
Alchemist, iv., 2. ‘I do not like the dulness of your eye, It hath a
heavy cast, ’tis upsee Dutch.’ Other nautical terms = drunk are
water-logged; sprung; slewed; with one’s jib well bowsed; three sheets
in the wind; channels under, but see Drinks and Screwed.]
1631–1701. Dryden. I am half-seas over to death.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Half-seas over, almost Drunk.
1697. Vanbrugh, Relapse, iii., 3. Good; that’s thinking half-seas
over. One tide more brings us into port.
1714. Spectator, No. 616. The whole magistracy was pretty well
disguised before I gave them the slip. Our friend the alderman was
half-seas over before the bonfire was out.
1738. Swift, Pol. Convers., Dial. 1. You must own you had a drop in
your eye; when I left you, you were half seas over.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. ix. Who, by this time, had
entered into all the jollity of his new friends, and was indeed
more than half-seas-over.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1829. J. B. Buckstone, Billy Taylor. The public-houses will not
close till morn, And wine and spirituous liquors are so cheap, That
we can all get nicely half seas over, And see no sea at all.
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 40. Mr. Smith, now being
more than half-seas over, became very uproarious.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. xxx. It’s pay-day with the General
... and he’s a precious deal more than half-seas over.
1866. G. Eliot, Felix Holt, ch. xxviii. There’s truth in wine, and
there may be some in gin and muddy beer.... I’ve got plenty of
truth in my time out of men who were half-seas-over, but never any
that was worth a sixpence to me.
1890. Globe, 16 Apr., p. 2, c. 1. The familiar phrase half-seas
over, for example, is wanting, and for this we appear to be
indebted to the Dutch.
1892. The Cosmopolitan, Oct., p. 724. The fellow half-seas-over
everyone excuses.
Half-slewed, adj. (common).—Parcel drunk. For synonyms, see Screwed.
Half-snacks (or Half-snags), adv. phr. (colloquial).—Half-shares. See
quots.
1683. Earl of Dorset, A Faithful Catalogue. She mounts the price
and goes half snack herself.
1887. Walford’s Antiquarian, p. 252. Half-snags is a corrupted form
of half snacks, i.e., half shares. If one of a party of arabs finds
any article it becomes his entire property unless his fellows say
Half-Snags, or ‘Quarter-bits,’ or ‘Some for your neighbours.’
Half-’un, subs. (common).—Half-a-glass of spirits and water; Half-a-Go
(q.v.).
Half-widow, subs. (American).—A woman with a lazy and thriftless
husband.
[For Half in combination, see also Bean: Borde; Bull; Case:
Century; Couter; Dollar; George; Go; Grunter; Hog; Jack; James;
Ned; Ounce; Quid; Skiv; Stretch; Tusheroon; Wheel.]
Halifax. Go to Halifax, verb. phr. (American).—Be off! go to hell
(q.v.). The full text is Go to Hell, Hull, or Halifax. Cf., Bath,
Blazes, Hull, Putney, etc.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe (Grosart, 1883–84, p. 284). If frier
Pendela and his fellowes, had any thing to say to him, in his
admiral court of the sea, let them seek him, and neither in hull,
hell, nor halifax.
1875. Notes and Queries, 5 S., iv., p. 66. Go to Halifax. This
expression is sometimes used in the United States as a mild
substitute for a direction to go to a place not to be named to ears
polite.
Hall, subs. (fishmongers’).—1. Specifically the hall = Leadenhall
Market. Cf., Garden, Lane, etc.
2. (Oxford Univ.).—Dinner. [Which is taken in College hall.] To hall =
to dine.
Go and Hire a Hall. phr. (American).—A retort upon loquacious bores.
Hall by the Sea, subs. phr. (medical students’).—The Examination Hall
of the conjoined Board of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and
Surgeons. [Situate on the Embankment at the foot of Waterloo Bridge.]
Hall of Delight, subs. phr. (Australian).—A music hall.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 53. I thought you
coons would find your way to this hall of delight.
Hallan-shaker (or Hallen-shaker), subs. (old).—A vagabond or sturdy
beggar. For synonyms, see Cadger and Mumper.
c. 1503–4. Dunbar, A General Satyre wks. (ed. David Laing, 1834),
ii., 26. Sic knavis and crakkeris to play at cartis and dyce. Sic
halland-schakkaris.
c. 1600. Montgomerie, Poems (Scottish Text Soc., 1885–7), ‘Polwart
and Montgomerie’s Flyting,’ p. 85. halland-shaker, draught-raiker,
bannock-baiker, ale-beshitten.
(?) 1642. Old Ballad. ‘Maggie Lauder.’ Right scornfully she
answered him, Begone, you Hallan-shaker.
1724. Journal from London, p. 4. Had seen me than staakin about
like a hallen-shaker, You wou’d hae taen me for a water-wraith.
1816. Scott, Antiquary, ch. iv. I, and a wheen Hallenshakers like
mysel’.
Halliballo.—See Hulliballo.
Hallion (or Hallyon), subs. (old).—1. A rogue; a clod; a gentleman’s
servant out of livery; also (2) a shrew. Cf., Hell-cat.
1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. iv. This is a decentish hallion.
1847. Porter, Big Bear, etc., p. 69. The scoundrels! the oudacious
little hellions!
Halloo. To halloo with the under dog, verb. phr. (American).—To take
the losing side.
Halo. To work the halo racket, verb. phr. (common).—To grumble; to be
dissatisfied. [From the story of the Saint in Heaven who got
dissatisfied with his nimbus.]
Haltersack, subs. (old).—A gallows-bird; a general term of reproach and
contempt.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, Bazaro, a shifter, a conicatcher
... a haltersacke.
1619. Beaumont and Fletcher, King and no King, ii., 2. Away, you
haltersack, you.
Halves, subs. (Winchester College).—(pro. Hāves.) Half-Wellington
boots, which were strictly non licet (obs.).—Notions.
To go (or cry) halves, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To take (or claim) a
half share or chance. In America, at the halves.
1831. Neal, Down Easters, ch. iv., p. 45. ‘Lives by preachin’ at
the halves a sabba’-days.’ ‘Preaching at the halves—how’s that?’
‘Why don’t you know? in partnership for what’s taken arter the
sarmon’s over.’
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, III., 122. He’ll then
again ask if anybody will go him halves.
Ham, subs. (old).—1. (in. pl.) Trousers: also Ham-cases. For synonyms,
see Kicks.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Hams, Breeches.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1791. Bampfylde-Moore Carew, Life. Hams—breeches.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hams. Pants.
2. (American).—A loafer (q.v.). Also Ham-fatter. [The American Slang
Dict. says ‘A tenth-rate actor or variety performer.’]
1888. Missouri Republican, 27 Mar. Connelly ... is a good fighter,
but will allow the veriest ham to whip him, if there is any money
to be made by it.
1888. New York Herald, 29 July. The ... more prosperous
professional brother of the hamfatter.
No ham and all hominy, phr. (American).—Of indifferent quality; ‘no
great shakes’; ‘all work and no play’; ‘much cry and little wool.’
Hamlet, subs. (old and American). See quots.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Hamlet ... a High Constable.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Hamlet, a High-Constable.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hamlet, a high constable (cant).
1791. Bampfylde-Moore Carew. Hamlet, a high-constable.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hamlet. A captain of police.
Ham-match, subs. (common).—A stand-up luncheon.
1890. Daily Telegraph, 4 Feb. At one o’clock they relieve their
exhausted frames by taking perpendicular refreshment—vulgarly
termed a ham match—at some City luncheon bar.
Hammer, subs. (pugilistic).—1. A hard-hitter: especially with the right
hand, like the illustrious Hammer Lane. Also Hammerer and Hammer-man.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 33. A letter written on the occasion by
Henry Harmer, the hammerer.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, 93. When a man hits very hard,
chiefly with a favorite hand, his blows are said to fall like those
of a sledge-hammer. Such boxers are hammering fighters, that do not
defend their own vitals, cannot make sure of a blow, and are termed
hammerers and hammermen.
2. (common).—An unblushing lie. For synonyms, see Whopper.
Verb (pugilistic).—1. To beat; to punish (q.v.).
1887. T. E. Brown, The Doctor, p. 159. And bedad I did, and before
herself too, And hammered him well.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody, ch. ii. ‘Hammer him? What with?—a club?’
‘No, with my fists.’
2. (American).—To bate; to drive down (prices, etc.).
1865. Harper’s Magazine, p. 619. The chronic bears were amusing
themselves by hammering, i.e., pressing down the price of Hudsons.
3. (Stock Exchange).—To declare one a defaulter.
1885. Fortnightly Review, xxxviii., p. 578. A ‘defaulter’ has been
declared or hammered, as it is technically termed.
1888. Echo, 28 Dec. If any unfortunate member be hammered to-day or
to-morrow it will in all probability be a bear.
1890. Daily Telegraph, 1 Nov. This being the third day after the
general settlement, a defaulter who had been unable to provide cash
was hammered, and private arrangements are reported in other
quarters without resort to this extreme measure.
1891. Pall Mall Gazette, 25 July, p. 1, c. 3. But what is an
‘outside broker?’ some (possibly lady) reader may ask. Well, he may
be, and often is, a regular, who has been hammered for failing to
meet his ‘differences.’
1891. Tit Bits, 15 Aug. I need not go into the circumstances which
led to my being expelled from that honourable body, or hammered as
it is familiarly called, owing to the taps with a hammer which the
head porter gives before he officially proclaims the name of a
defaulter.
Down as a hammer, adv. phr. (common).—1. Wide-awake; knowing (q.v.);
fly (q.v.).
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 45. To be down to anything is pretty much
the same as being up to it, and down as a hammer is, of course, the
intensivum of the phrase.
2. (colloquial).—Instant; peremptory; merciless. Cf., Like a thousand
of bricks. Also To be down on ... like a hammer.
At (or under) the hammer, adv. phr. (auctioneers’).—For sale at
auction.
That’s the hammer, verb. phr. (colloquial).—An expression of approval
or assent.
To be hammers to one, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To know what one means.
To hammer out (or into), verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be at pains to
deceive; to reiterate; to force to hear.
1596. Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, iii., 3. Now am I, for
some five and fifty reasons, hammering, hammering revenge.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iii., 23. If any Scholar be in doubt,
And cannot well bring this matter about; The Blacksmith can hammer
it out.
1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, The Ladies’ Gallery, ch.
i. I think the chaps that are always hammering on about repentance
and atonement and forgiveness of sin have got hold of the wrong
end.
Hammer-and-Tongs, adv. phr. (common).—Very violently; ding-dong.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, II., 108. His master and mistress
were at it hammer and tongs.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. xxxv. Our ships were soon hard at
it, hammer and tongs.
1837. Marryat, Snarleyow. Ods bobs! Hammer and Tongs! long as I’ve
been to sea.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. lx. Mr. Malone fell upon them
hammer and tongs
1862. M. E. Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret, ch. iv. ‘I always said
the old buffer would marry,’ he muttered, after about half an
hour’s reverie. ‘Alicia and my lady, the stepmother, will go at it
hammer and tongs.’
1884. Jas. Payn, Talk of the Town, ch. xx. Both parties went at it
hammer and tongs, and hit one another anywhere and with anything.
Hammer-headed, adj. (common).—1. Oafish; stupid.
1600. Nashe, Summers Last Will (Grosart), vi., 169. A number of
rude Vulcans, vnweldy speakers, hammer-headed clownes.
2. (colloquial).—Hammer-shaped: i.e., long and narrow in the head.
1865. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, i., 9. Mr. Boffin’s equipage
consisted of a long hammer-headed old horse, formerly used in the
business ... a driver being added in the person of a long
hammer-headed young man.
Hammering, subs. (pugilistic and colloquial).—1. A beating; excessive
punishment (q.v.).
2. (printers’).—Over-charging time-work (as ‘corrections’).
Hammering-trade, subs. (pugilistic).—Pugilism.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 49. The other, vast, gigantic, as if
made, express, by Nature for the hammering trade.
Hammersmith. To go to Hammersmith, verb. phr. (common).—To get a sound
drubbing.
Hampered, adj. (old: now recognised).—Let or hindered; perplexed;
entangled. [From Old. Eng., hamper = a fetter: see quot. 1613].
1613. Browne, Britannia’s Pastorals, bk. i., s. 7. Shackles,
shacklockes, hampers, gives and chaines.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
Hampstead Donkey, subs. phr. (common).—See quot. For synonyms, see
Chates.
c. 1870. Daily Paper. The witness testified to the filthy state of
the linen which she wore, and also the state of the sheets. Was
told not to get into bed until she had looked for the Hampstead
donkeys. ‘Did you know what that meant?’—‘No sir, not until I
looked on the pillow and saw three’ (loud laughter). ‘Do you mean
lice?’—‘Yes, sir, I do.’
Hampstead-heath, subs. phr. (rhyming).—The teeth. For synonyms, see
Grinders.
1887. Referee, 7 Nov., p. 7, c. 3. She’d a Grecian ‘I suppose,’ And
of Hampstead Heath two rows, In her ‘Sunny South’ that glistened
Like two pretty strings of pearls.
Hampstead-heath Sailor, subs. phr. (common).—A landlubber (q.v.); a
freshwater sailor (q.v.). Fr., un marin d’eau douce or un amiral Suisse
(= a Swiss admiral: Switzerland having no seaboard).
Hanced, adj. (old).—In liquor. [From Hance = ‘to elevate.’] For
synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
1630. Taylor, Works. I doe finde my selfe sufficiently hanced, and
that henceforth I shall acknowledge it; and that whensoever I shall
offer to bee hanced again, I shall arme my selfe with the craft of
a fox, the manners of a hogge, the wisdom of an asse, mixt with the
civility of a beare.
Hand, subs. (colloquial).—Properly a seaman; now a labourer, a workman,
an agent.
1658. Phillips, New World of Words, s.v. Hand ... a Word us’d among
Mariners ... when Men are wanted to do any Labour they usually Call
for more hands.
1632–1704. Locke, Wks. A dictionary containing a natural history
requires too many hands, as well as too much time.
1711. Spectator, No. 232. The reduction of the prices of our
manufactures by the addition of so many new hands, would be no
inconvenience to any man.
1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, i, 14. The mercantile part of the
world, therefore, wisely use the term ‘employing hands,’ and esteem
each other as they employ more or fewer.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. We lost a hand, we lost a sailor.
1871. Chambers’ Miscellany, No. 113, p. 3. He was admitted as a
hand in an establishment already numbering three hundred active
workers.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 70. The hands has all bloomin’
well struck.
1892. National Observer, 22 Oct., vol. viii., p. 571. The dispute
in the South-East Lancashire cotton trade is like to result in the
stoppage of fourteen or fifteen million spindles which will take
employment from sixty thousand hands, a fifth of them women and
children.
1893. Fortnightly Review, Jan., p. 62. The wages paid to the
operatives in our woollen industry are, to a marked extent, lower
than those received by the hands employed in our cotton mills.
2. (coachmen’s).—See quot.
1856. Whyte Melville, Kate Coventry, ch. xv. Lady Horsingham was
tolerably courageous, but totally destitute of what is termed hand,
a quality as necessary in driving as in riding, particularly with
fractious or high-spirited horses.
A good (or cool, neat, old, fine, etc.) hand, subs. phr.
(colloquial).—An expert.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.), s.v. Hand (v.). ‘He is a good
hand,’ spoke of one that is an artist in some particular mechanical
art or trade, etc.
1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, iii., 1. When I was in my
best story of the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene, he asked
if I had not a good hand at making punch.
1854. Whyte Melville, General Bounce, xii. A quaint boy at Eton,
cool hand at Oxford, a deep card in the regiment, man or woman
never yet had the best of ‘Uppy.’
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, i., p. 33. The new man, the
green hand, takes little or no heed of the entrance of the
officers.... Not so the old hand.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 195. Ye’re a grand hand at the
sleeping!
1892. W. E. Gladstone, Times ‘Report.’... This old Parliamentary
hand.
1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i., 7, p. 18. You always
was a neat hand with the bones.
A hand like a foot, phr. (common).—A large, coarse hand. Also a vulgar
or uneducated handwriting.
1738. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Col. Whoe’er writ it with a
hand like a foot.
A hand like a fist, phr. (gamesters’).—A hand full of trumps. Also (in
derision) a hand there’s no playing.
To take a hand with the outside music, verb. phr. (American).—See quot.
1892. J. L. Sullivan, A 19th Century Gladiator, iii. After
thirty-seven rounds in fifty-five minutes, the umpires and seconds
got into a fight, and Sullivan felt fresh enough to take a hand in
the outside music.
To get a hand on, verb. phr. (tailors’).—To suspect; to be distrustful.
To get one’s hand in, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To practise with a view
to proficiency.
To get one’s hand on it, verb. phr. (venery).—To grope a woman.
To bear a hand, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Bear a hand, make haste.
To bring up by hand, verb. phr. (venery).—To procure erection manually.
To bring down (or off) by hand, verb. phr. (venery).—To masturbate. For
synonyms, see Frig.
To stand one’s hand, verb. phr. (Australian).—To Treat (q.v.); to Stand
Sam (q.v.).
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 58. I used to see
her at some of the public-houses frequented by Mrs. Condon,
standing her hand liberally to all who happened to be in the bar,
and therefore being made much of by the thirsty loafers whom she
treated.
To hand in one’s chips (or checks).—See Cash one’s Checks.
To have (or get) the upper hand, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To have at an
advantage; to get to windward (q.v.).
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 173. I was growing impatient
to get back and have the upper hand of my uncle.
To hand up, verb. (Winchester College).—To give information against; to
betray.—Notions.
Hands up! intj. (common).—An injunction to desist; stow it! (q.v.).
Also (police) = a command to surrender. Bail up (q.v.).
1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 120. Hands up! Jerry.
[Amongst other colloquial usages of Hand are the following:—At hand
= readily, hard by; at any hand (Shakspeare) = on any account; at
no hand = on no account; for one’s own hand = for one’s own purpose
or interest; from hand to hand = from one to another; in hand = in
a state of preparation, under consideration, or control; off one’s
hands = finished; on hand = in possession; in one’s hands = in
one’s care; out of hand = completed, without hesitation; to one’s
hand = ready; hand over head = negligently, rashly; hand to mouth =
improvident; hands off! = stand off; heavy on hand = hard to
manage; hot at hand = difficult to manage; light in hand = easy to
manage; to ask (or give) the hand of = to ask (or give) in
marriage; to be hand and glove with = to be very intimate with; to
bear a hand = to help; to bear in (or on) hand = to cheat or mock
by false promises; to change hands = to change owners; to come to
hand = to be received; to get hand = to gain influence; to give a
hand = to applaud; to give the hand to = to be reconciled to; to
have a hand in = to have a share in; to have one’s hands full = to
be fully occupied; to hold hands with = to vie with, to hold one’s
own; to lay hands on = to assault, to seize; to lend a hand = to
help; to make a hand = to gain an advantage; to put (or stretch)
forth the hand against = to use violence; to set the hand to = to
undertake; to strike hands = to make a bargain; to take by the hand
= to take under one’s guidance; to take in hand = to attempt; to
wash one’s hands of = to disclaim responsibility; a heavy hand =
severity; a light hand = gentleness; a slack hand = idleness,
carelessness; a strict hand = severe discipline; clean hands =
freedom from guilt; to stand one in hand = to concern, to be of
importance to; hand to fist = tête-a-tête, hip to haunch; hand over
hand = easily; to get a hand = to be applauded.]
Hand-and-Pocket Shop, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hand-and-Pocket-Shop. An eating
house, where ready money is paid for what is called for.
Handbasket-portion, subs. (old).—See quot.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hand-basket-portion. A woman whose
husband receives frequent presents from her father, or family, is
said to have a hand-basket-portion.
Handbinder (in. pl.), subs. (old).—Chains for the wrists. For synonyms,
see Darbies.
1696. Ray, Nomenclator, Menotes, liens à lier les mains, fers à
enferrer les mains. Manicls, or handbinders.
Hander, subs. (schoolboys’).—A stroke on the hand with a cane; a palmie
(q.v.).
1868. Jas. Greenwood, Purgatory of Peter the Cruel, v., 149. You’ve
been playing the wag, and you’ve got to take your handers.
Handicap, subs. (colloquial).—An arrangement in racing, etc., by which
every competitor is, or is supposed to be, brought on an equality so
far as regards his chance of winning by an adjustment of the weights to
be carried, the distance to be run, etc.: extra weight or distance
being imposed in proportion to their supposed merits on those held
better than the others. [A handicap is framed in accordance with the
known performances of the competitors, and, in horse-racing, with
regard to the age and sex of the entries. The term is derived from the
old game of hand-in-cap, or handicap.]
1660. Pepys, Diary, 18 Sep. Here some of us fell to handycapp, a
sport that I never knew before.
1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines xxi. The race carried so many
penalties and allowances that it partook somewhat of the nature of
a handicap.
Verb (colloquial). 1. To adjust or proportion weights, starts, etc., in
order to bring a number of competitors as nearly as possible to an
equality.
1841. Lever, Charles O’Malley, ch. lxviii. Pleasant and cheerful
enough, when they’re handicapping the coat off your back, and your
new tilbury for a spavined pony and a cotton umbrella; but regular
devils if you come to cross them the least in life.
2. To make even or level; to equalise between.
3. To embarrass, burden, hinder, or impede in any way.
1883. Grenville-Murray, People I Have Met, 123. He was not
handicapped by a title, so that the beautiful ethics of hereditary
legislation had no claim on his attention.
Handie-Dandie, subs. phr. (old).—Copulation.
1490–1554. David Lyndsay, Kitty’s Confessioun [Laing], i., 136. Ane
plack I will gar Sandie, Gie the agane with Handie-Dandie.
Handle, subs. (common).—1. The nose. For synonyms, see Conk.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. The cove flashes a rare handle to his
physog; the fellow has a large nose.
1887. Modern Society, 27 Aug., 864. A restless, intriguing, and
busy old lady, with an immense handle to her face.
2. (colloquial).—A title. Fr., une queue, as Monsieur Sans-queue = Mr.
Nobody.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xxiii. She ... entertained us with
stories of colonial governors and their ladies, mentioning no
persons but those who had handles to their names, as the phrase is.
1857. Ducange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue. Handle, n. Title. Oh, you
want a handle to your name.
1871. London Figaro, 17 June, ‘The plaint of a poor Parson.’
Neither he nor his clerical neighbours—unless they belong to county
families, or have handles to their names—have ever been invited by
the Dean to partake of the hospitalities of the Deanery.
1886. J. S. Winter, Army Society, ch. ii. That’s the worst of
having a handle to one’s name.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 16 Jan. Here’s the Honourable Tom Jones,
and Lord Smith, and Viscount Brown—that’s them, with the handles
knocked off their names.
1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i., 2. He was aye
ettling after a bit handle to his name.
3. (colloquial).—Occasion; opportunity; means.
1753–77. Melmoth, Cicero, bk. ii., let. 17 (note 5). The defence of
Vatinius gave a plausible handle for some censure upon Cicero.
Verb (cardsharpers’).—1. To conceal cards in the palm of the hand, or
up the sleeves; to palm (q.v.).
2. (colloquial).—To use; to make use of; to manage.
1606. Chapman, Gentleman Usher, iii., 5. Now let the sport begin: I
think my love will handle him as well as I have done.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Handle. To know how to handle
one’s fists; to be skilful in the art of boxing.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ii., 7. Smart chap that cabman—handled his
fives well.
1892. Henley and Stevenson, Admiral Guinea, ii., 5. Commander, you
handled him like a babby, kept the weather gauge, and hulled him
every shot.
To handle the ribbons, verb. phr. (common).—To drive.
1857. Moncrieff, Bashful Man, ii. 4. Shouldn’t have any objection
in life, squire, to let you handle the ribands for a stage or two,
but four-in-hand, you know, requires——.
1872. Evening Standard, 10 Aug. The Princess of Wales is expected,
and her Royal Highness has several times during the week driven
through the town in an open phaeton, drawn by four beautiful
ponies, and she appears to handle the ribbons in a very skilful
manner.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 198. It was agreed Marston should
handle the ribbons.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 32. He ’andled the ribbings to
rights.
To fly off the handle. See Fly, to which add the following earlier
quot.
1825. Neal, Brother Jonathan, bk. I., ch. iv. Most off the handle,
some o’ the tribe, I guess.
Hand-me-downs (or Hand-’em-downs), subs. (common).—Second-hand clothes.
Hand-me-down-shop, or Never-too-late-to-mend-shop = a repairing
tailors’. Fr., un decrochez-moi-ça.
1878. Notes and Queries, 5, s. ix., 6 Apr., p. 263. Hand-’em-down—A
second-hand garment (Northamptonshire).
1888. New York World, 5 Mar. Russell Sage, it is said, walked into
a Broadway clothing store the other day and tried on and purchased
a twelve-dollar suit of hand-me-downs.
1889. Sporting Times, 29 June. Trousers which fit him nowhere in
particular, and which all over proclaim themselves entitled to the
epithet of hand-me-downs.
English Synonyms.—Reach-me-downs; translations; wall-flowers.
French Synonyms.—La musique (popular); la mise-bas (servants’:
especially ‘perks’).
Hand-out, subs. (American).—Food to a tramp at the door.
1887. Morley Roberts, The Western Avernus. Some of the boys said it
was a regular hand-out, and that we looked like a crowd of old
bummers.
Handpiece, subs. (American).—A handkerchief. For synonyms, see Wipe.
1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 67. Then ... he tied his
white hand-pieces to an opening made for the purpose on one side of
the dashboard.
Handsaw, subs. (common).—A street vendor of knives and razors; an
itinerant Chive-fencer (q.v.).
Handsome, adj. and adv. (colloquial, and formerly literary).—Sharp,
severe; convenient, fit; neat, graceful; dextrous, skilful, ready;
ample, generous, liberal; manageable; in good or proper style; and (in
America) grand or beautiful.
1553. Wilson, Arte of Rhetorique, p. 3. Phauorinus the Philosopher
did hit a yong man ouer the thumbes very handsomely.
1553–99. Spenser, Wks. For a thief it is so handsome, As it may
seem it was first invented by him.
1590. Goldynge, Cæsar, p. 220. They had not so handsome horses.
1593. Shakspeare, Titus Andronicus, ii., 3. If we miss to meet him
handsomely.
1600. P. Holland, Livy, p. 255. A light footman’s shield he takes
with him, and a Spanish blade by his side, more handsome to fight
short and close.
1604. Shakspeare, Winter’s Tale, iv., 3. His garments are rich, but
he wears them not handsomely.
1614. Raleigh, History of the World, Bk. III., ch. viii., § 6.
Playing their games handsomely against so nimble a wit.
1672–1719. Addison, Wks. An alms-house, which I intend to endow
very handsomely.
1778–79. V. Knox, Essays, 102. A handsome sum of money.
1798. Lodge, Illust. Brit. Hist., i., 178. He is very desyrus to
serve your Grace, and seymes to me to be a very handsome man.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 8. He turned on his back
handsome.
To do the handsome (or the handsome thing), verb. phr. (common).—To
behave extremely well; to be ‘civil.’
1887. Manville Fenn, This Man’s Wife, ii., 15. Sir Gordon’s ready
to do the handsome thing.
Handsome is that handsome does, phr. (colloquial).—‘Actions, not words,
are the test of merit’; also ironically of ill-favoured persons.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Handsome is that handsome does: a
proverb frequently cited by ugly women.
Handsome-bodied in the face, adv. phr. (old).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Handsome Bodied Man in the Face, a
jeering commendation of an ugly fellow.
Handsome as a last year’s corpse, adv. phr. (American).—A sarcastic
compliment.
Handsomely! intj. (nautical).—Gently! A cry to signify smartly, but
carefully. Also Handsomely over the bricks = Go cautiously.
Handsome-reward, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Handsome-reward. This, in
advertisements, means a horse-whipping.
Handsprings. To chuck handsprings, verb. phr. (common).—To turn
somersaults.
Handstaff, subs. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick and
Prick. [From that member of the flail which is held in the hands].
Handy. Handy as a pocket in a shirt, phr. (American).—Very convenient.
Handy-blows, (or cuffs), subs. (old).—Cuffs with the hand; fisticuffs;
hence close quarters.
1603. Knolles, Hist. of the Turkes. If ever they came to
handy-blows.
1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Handy Blows, Fistycuffs.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
Handy-man, subs. (colloquial).—A servant or workman doing odd jobs.
1847. De Quincey, The Spanish Military Nun, Wks. (1890), xiii.,
165. She was a handy girl. She could turn her hand to anything.
1872. Times, 27 Aug. ‘Autumn Manœuvres.’ The result is he cannot be
called a handy-man.
1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 8 Nov., p. 2, c. 1. Again did Mr. Sambourne’s
handy-man appear, this time clad in the real robes of the Lord
Mayor.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 55. He was a
handy-man.
Hang, subs. (colloquial).—1. The general drift, tendency, or bent: as
in to get the hang of = to get conversant with; to acquire the trick,
or knack, or knowledge of.
1847. Darley, Drama in Pokerville, p. 67. The theatre was cleared
in an instant ... all running to get the hang of the scrape.
1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 70. By this time I began to git
the hang of the place a little better.
1851. Hooper, Widow Rugby’s Husband, etc., p. 64. To be efficient a
solicitor must get the hang of his customers.
a. 1871. Prime, Hist. of Long Island, p. 82. If ever you must have
an indifferent teacher for your children, let it be after they have
got a fair start and have acquired the hang of the tools for
themselves.
1884. Milliken, Punch, 11 Oct. They ain’t got the ’ang of it,
Charlie, the toffs ain’t.
1890. Daily Chronicle, 4 Apr., p. 7 c. 2. When the Raw Cadet enters
Woolwich Academy, it is sometime before he gets what some call the
hang of the place.
1892. Illustrated Bits, Oct. 22, p. 6. c. 2. When I get the hang of
them I shall be a regular dab at theosophy.
2. (colloquial).—A little bit; a bit; a Damn. See Care. Fr., s’en
contreficher or s’en tamponner le coquard (or coquillard).
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xliii. She looks as well as you
by candle-light, but she can’t ride a hang.
Verb (generally Hang it!).—An exclamation of vexation, disgust, or
disappointment; also, more forcibly, a euphemism for Damn it! Fr., Ah!
mince alors.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., ii., 4. He a good wit? hang him,
baboon!
1609. Jonson, Epicœne, ii., 2. A mere talking mole, hang him.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, v. 3. Ay, and be hanged.
1694. Dunton, Ladies’ Dict., p. 229. Aristænetus telling a brisk
buxom Lass of a proper fine Man that would make her a good Husband,
Hang him [reply’d she] he has no Mony.
1772. Coles, Eng.-Lat. Dict., s.v. Hanged. Go and be hanged.
1780. Mrs. Cowley, Belle’s Stratagem, iv., 1. Hang Harriet, and
Charlotte, and Maria! the name your father gave ye?
1823. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 5. Hang cards! bring me
a bobstick of rum slim.
1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 169. ‘You be hanged,
Felix,’ quoth his ally, with a most quizzical grin.
1863. Ch. Reade, Hard Cash, ii., 218. Hang the grub; it turns my
stomach.
1883. R. L. Stevenson, Treasure Island, p. 161. You can go hang!
1889. Sporting Times, 6 July. Hebrew Scholar: Rub up your Hebrew.
Or go and hang yourself.
1890. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, ch. xvii. Hang it all, if that’s
English law, you know, I don’t thing very much of the wisdom of our
ancestors.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 164. Hang it all.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 7. But ’ang it, I can’t stand the
style of the silent and the stare-me-down sort.
1892. F. Anstey, Voces Populi, ‘On the Ice,’ p. 122. Stick by me,
old fellow, till I begin to feel my——Oh, hang it all!
To hang an arse, verb. phr. (old).—To hang back; to hesitate.
1598. Marston, Satyres, ‘Ad Rythmum.’ But if you hang an arse like
Tubered, When Chremes dragged him from his brothel bed.
1637. Massinger, Guardian, v, 5. Nay, no hanging an arse.
1639–61. Rump Songs, ii., 86. Nay, if it hang an arse; We’ll pluck
it from the stares, And roast it at hell for its grease.
1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, ch. lxv. My lads, I’m told you
hang an arse.
1780. Tomlinson, Slang Pastoral, 2. My arse hangs behind me as
heavy as lead.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
To hang in, verb. phr. (common).—To get to work; to do one’s best; to
wire in (q.v.).
To hang in the bellropes, verb. phr. (common).—To defer marriage after
being ‘asked’ in church.
To hang on by one’s eyelashes, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To persist at
any cost, and in the teeth of any discouragement.
To hang on by the splash-board, verb. phr. (common).—To ‘catch’ a tram,
omnibus, etc., when it is on the move; hence to succeed by the ‘skin of
one’s teeth.’ Fr., arcpincer l’omnibus.
To hang around (or about), verb. phr. (American).—To loiter; to loaf;
to haunt.
To hang out, verb (common).—To live; to reside. Also (subs.), a
residence; a lodging; and (American university) a feast; an
entertainment.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hang out. The traps scavey where
we hang out; the officers know where we live.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxx. ‘I say, old boy, where do you
hang out?’ Mr. Pickwick replied that he was at present suspended at
the George and Vulture.
1852. Bristed, Five Years in an English University, p. 80. The
fourth of July I celebrated by a hang-out.
1871. City Press, 21 Jan. ‘Curiosities of Street Literature.’ He
hangs out in Monmouth-court.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 14. I should like to go in for
blue blood, and ’ang out near the clubs and the parks.
To hang out a shingle, verb. phr. (American).—To start or carry on
business.
1871. Public Opinion, Dec. Tom Stowell hung out his shingle as a
lawyer at the Tombs, afterwards at Essex-market, and eventually in
Brooklyn.
To hang one’s latchpan, verb. phr. (common).—To be dejected; to pout.
Fr., faire son aquilin.
To hang it out, verb. phr. (common).—To skulk; to mike (q.v.).
To hang up, verb. phr. (common).—1. To give credit; to score (or chalk)
up: said of a reckoning. Also ‘to put on the slate’ or (American) on
the ice (q.v.).
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Hang-it-up, speaking of the Reckoning
at a Bowsing-Ken, when the Rogues are obliged, for want of Money,
to run on Tick.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (American).—To bear in mind; to remember.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hang it up. Think of it, remember
it.
3. (American).—To pawn, For synonyms, see Pop.
4. (thieves’).—To rob with violence on the street; to hold up (q.v.).
Fr., la faire au père François.
5. (common).—To be in extremis; to know not which way to turn for
relief: e.g., a man hanging = one to whom any change must be for the
better.
6. (colloquial).—To postpone; to leave undecided.
1887. Cornhill Magazine, June, p. 624. To hang up a bill is to pass
it through one or more of its stages, and then to lay it aside, and
defer its further consideration for a more or less indefinite
period.
To hang on, verb. phr. (colloquial).—(1) To sponge; and (2) to pursue
an individual or a design.
1601. Shakspeare, Henry VIII., iii., 2. Oh, how wretched Is that
poor man that hangs on princes’ favours!
To hang off, verb. phr. (printers’).—To fight shy of.
To hang up one’s fiddle, verb. phr. (American).—To retire; to desist.
To hang up one’s fiddle anywhere = To adapt oneself to circumstances.
To hang up one’s hat, verb. phr. (common).—1. To die. For synonyms, see
Aloft.
1854. Notes and Queries, Vol. X., p. 203. He has hung up his hat.
This sentence, which is sometimes used in reference to persons
deceased, etc.
1882. Punch, lxxxii., 185, c. 1.
2. (common).—To make oneself permanently at home.
Hang-bluff, subs. (rhyming).—Snuff.
1857. Ducange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Hang-by, subs. (old).—A hanger-on; a parasite; a companion.
1598. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, iv., 2. I am not afraid of
you nor them neither, you hang-byes here.
Hang-dog, subs. (old).—A pitiful rascal, only fit for the rope or the
hanging of superfluous curs. Cf., Gallows-bird.
1732. Fielding, Mock Doctor, i., 4. Heaven has inspired me with one
of the most wonderful inventions to be revenged on my hang-dog.
Adj. (old).—Vile, or suspicious, in aspect; gallows-looking (q.v.).
Hang-gallows, adj. (old).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hang-gallows Look, a thievish, or
villainous appearance.
Hanger, subs. (old).—A side-arm—short sword or cutlass—hanging from the
girdle. (See Hangers, in. pl., sense 1.)
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, x. A couteau de chasse, or short
hanger.
In. pl. (old).—1. Ornamental loops from the girdle to suspend the sword
and dagger.
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, v. 2. Six French rapiers and poignards,
with their assigns, as girdle, hangers, and so on.
1596. Nashe, Unf. Trav. [Chiswick Press, 1891]. Huge hangers that
have half a cowhide in them.
1599. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, iv., 4. I had thrown off
the hangers a little before.
1610. Jonson, Alchemist, v., 2. Where be the French petticoats, And
girdles and hangers?
2. (common).—Gloves; specifically gloves in the hand.
3. See Pothooks.
Hang-in-chains, subs. phr. (old).—See quots.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hang-in-chains, a vile desperate
fellow.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, Hang-in-chains. A vile, desperate
fellow. Persons guilty of murder, or other atrocious crimes, are
frequently, after execution, hanged on a gibbet, to which they are
fastened by iron bandages; the gibbet is commonly placed on or near
the place where the crime was committed.
Hanging, adj. (colloquial).—Fit for the halter.
Hanging-bee, subs. (American).—A gathering of lynch-lawmongers, bent on
the application of the rope. See Bee.
Hanging Johnny, subs. phr. (venery).—The penis: specifically, in a
condition of impotence or disease. For synonyms, see Creamstick and
Prick.
Hangman, subs. (old).—A jocular endearment.
1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado About Nothing, iii., 2. He had twice or
thrice cut Cupid’s bowstring, and the little hangman dare not shoot
at him.
Hangman’s-day, subs. (old).—Monday, and (in America) Friday.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hangman’s day. Friday is so called
from the custom of hanging people on a Friday.
Hangman’s-wages, subs. (old).—Thirteen-pence-halfpenny. [The fee for an
execution was a Scots mark: the value of which piece was settled, by a
proclamation of James I., at 13½d.]
1602. Decker, Honest Whore, Pt. II., in Wks. (1873) ii., 171. Why
should I eate hempe-seed at the hangman’s thirteene-pence
halfe-penny ordinary?
1659. Hangman’s Last Will (Rump Song quoted in Notes and Queries, 2
S. xi., 316). For half thirteen-pence half-penny wages, I would
have cleared out all the town cages, And you should have been rid
of all the sages. I and my gallows groan.
1678. Butler, Hudibras, Pt. III., c. 2. To find us pillories and
cart’s-tails, Or hangman’s wages.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hangman’s wages, thirteenpence
half-penny, which according to the vulgar tradition was thus
allotted, one shilling for the execution, and three halfpence for
the rope.
Hang-slang about, verb. phr. (common).—To abuse; to slang (q.v.); to
Billingsgate (q.v.).
Hank, subs. (old colloquial).—1. A tie; a hold; an advantage; a
difficulty. [In a hank = in trouble].
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. He has a hank upon him, or the
Ascendant over him.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. He has a hank upon him; He ... will
make him do what he pleases.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. He has a hank on him, i.e., an
ascendant over him, or a hold upon him: A Smithfield hank = An ox
rendered furious by over driving and barbarous treatment.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hank. To know something about a man
that is disreputable. He has a hank on the bloke, whereby he sucks
honey when he chooses, he knows something about the man, and
therefore induces him to give him money when he chooses.
2. (common).—A spell of rest; an easy time.
1888. Sporting Life, 7 Dec. So quiet was the first round that the
ire of the company was raised, and they called out, ‘No hank!’
Verb (common).—To worry; to bait; to drive from pillar to post.
Hanker, verb (old: now recognised).—To desire eagerly; to fret after;
to long or pine for: generally with ‘after.’ Also, Hankering (subs.) =
an importunate and irritating longing.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hanker after, to Long or wish
much for.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. To hanker after anything, to have a
longing after or for it.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 98. I did see a creatur’ once, named
Sofy Mason ... that I tuk an orful hankerin’ arter.
1878. Whitman, Leaves of Grass, ‘Spontaneous Me,’ 90 (ed. 1884).
The hairy wild-bee that murmurs and hankers up and down.
Hankin, subs. (commercial).—The trick of putting off bad work for good.
[Cf., To play hankey, or To play hanky-panky.]
Hanktelo, subs. (old).—See quots.
1593. Nashe, Strange Newes (Grosart, Wks., ii., 251). Is the
Astrologicaall Discourse a better booke than Pierce Pennilesse?
Gabriel Hangtelow saies it is?
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hanktelo, a silly Fellow, a
meer Cods-head.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hanky-Panky, subs. (common).—(1) Legerdemain; whence (2) trickery;
underhand (q.v.) work; cheating; any manner of double-dealing or
intrigue. Hanky-panky business = conjuring; hanky-panky work (or
tricks) = double-dealing. A bit of hanky-panky = a trick; a piece of
knavery.
1841. Punch, Vol. I., p. 88. Only a little hanky-panky.
1880. G. R. Sims, Zeph, ch. xiii. He knew that ... any crime
committed on his premises would tell against him on licensing day,
and he kept a pretty sharp look out to see that what he was pleased
to term hanky panky was not carried on under his nose.
1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. xxxviii. If there was any
hanky panky, any mystery I mean, he’d always swear he was out
whenever he called, for fear it should be bullied out of him.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. v., p. 323.——There’s some
hanky panky business going on among the men of No. 2 prison; the
Catholic side is ringing changes and it is done in this shop.
Hanky-panky-bloke, subs. phr. (theatrical).—A conjuror; a pile of mags
(q.v.).
Hanky-Spanky, adj. (common).—Dashing; nobby (q.v.). Specifically of
well-cut clothes.
Hannah. That’s the man as married Hannah, phr. (streets’).—‘That’s the
thing’: used of a thing well begun and well ended; or as an expressive
of certainty. Varied sometimes by that’s what’s the matter with Hannah.
Hans Carvel’s Ring, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For
synonyms, see Monosyllable. [From Poggio (tit. Annulus); Cent Nouvelles
Nouvelles (xi.); Ariosto (Sat. v.); the Nouvelle of Malespini (89,
ii.); Rabelais (Pantagruel, iii., 28); and Matthew Prior.]
Hansel (or Handsel), subs. (common).—The first money taken in the
morning; lucky money. Hence, earnest money; first-fruits, &c.
Hansel-Monday = the first Monday in the new year, when presents were
received by children and servants. [A. S., handselen = to deliver into
the hand.]
1587. Greene, Menaphon (Arber), p. 71. He should like inough haue
had first handsell of our new Shepheards sheepehooke.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii. Bring him a sixpenny bottle of
ale: They say a fool’s handsel is lucky.
1679. Holland, Ammianus Marcellinus. With which wofull tidings
being sore astonied, as if it were the first hansell and beginning
of evils comming toward him.
1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary, etc. (1811), p. 121. It is a common
practice among the lower class of hucksters, pedlars, or dealers in
fruit or fish, on receiving the price of the first goods sold that
day, which they call hansel, to spit on the money, as they term it,
for good luck.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. iii. There was a whin bonnie lasses
there, forbye mysel’, and deil ane to gie them hansels. Ibid., ch.
xxxii. Grizzy has naething frae me, by twa pair o’ new shoon ilka
year, and maybe a bit compliment at Hansel Monanday.
1821. Scott, Kenilworth, ch. xix. ‘How wears the Hollands you won
of me?’ ‘Why, well, as you may see, Master Goldthred,’ answered
Mike; ‘I will bestow a pot on thee for the handsel.’
Verb (common).—1. To give handsel to; also (2), to use for the first
time.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, in Wks., v., 249. And gather about him
as flocking to hansell him and strike him good luck.
1605. Chapman, etc., Eastward Hoe, ii. My lady ... is so ravished
with desire to hansell her new coach.
1639–61. Rump Songs, i. [1662], 137. Belike he meant to Hansell his
New Satten.
1663. Pepys, Diary, 12 Apr. Coming home to-night, a drunken boy was
carrying by our constable to our new pair of stocks to handsel
them.
1874. [G. A. Lawrence], Hagarene, ch. xvii. The habit of stout blue
cloth ... was Pete Harradine’s last and crowning extravagance, as
they passed through town on their way to Fulmerstone, and it had
never been hanselled yet.
1881. Besant and Rice, Sweet Nelly, in Ten Years’ Tenant, etc.,
Vol. I., p. 200. I wanted to present her with something to hansel
friendship.
Hanseller, subs. (common).—A street vendor; a Cheap Jack.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 392. The sellers
of tins, who carry them under their arms, or in any way on a round,
apart from the use of a vehicle, are known as hand-sellers.
1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 10. Cheap-Jacks, as
they were then as now called by the people, although the term
han’-seller is mostly used by themselves.
Hans-en-Kelder, subs. (old).—A child in the womb: literally,
Jack-in-the-Cellar (q.v.). [From the Dutch.]
1647. Cleaveland, Character of a London Diurnall. The originall
sinner in this kind was Dutch; Galliobelgicus, the Protoplast; and
the moderne Mercuries, but hans-en-kelders. The countesse of
Zealand was brought to bed of an almanack; as many children as
dayes in the yeare.
1648. Mercurius Pragmaticus, i. The birthday of that precious new
government which is yet but a Hans-en-kelder.
d. 1658. Lovelace, Poems, p. 63. Next beg I to present my duty To
pregnant sister in prime beauty, Whom [who] well I deem (ere few
months elder) Will take out Hans from pretty kelder.
1663. Dryden, Wild Gallant, v., Wks., i. 61 (1701). Seems you are
desirous I should Father this Hans en Kelder heere.
1672. Marvell, Char. of Holland, line 65. More pregnant then their
Marg’ret, that laid down For Hans-in-Kelder of a whole Hanse town.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hans-en-Kelder, Jack in the
Box, the Child in the Womb, or a Health to it.
1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, v. Then I am as it were a
grandfather to your new Wiffe’s, hans en kelder.
1678. T. Baker, Tunbridge Wells, p. 27. Here’s a health to this
Lady’s Hans in Kelder!
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hans in Kelder, a health frequently
drank to breeding women, or their husbands.
Hansom, subs. (coster).—A chop.
Hap-Harlot, subs. (old).—A coarse stuff to make rugs or coverlets with;
a rug. Cf., Wrap-rascal = an overcoat.
1577–87. Holinshed, Description of England, bk. ii., ch. xii. A
sheet vnder couerlets made of dagswain, or hap-harlots (I vse their
owne termes).
Ha’porth o’ Coppers, subs. phr. (legal).—Habeas Corpus.
Ha’porth of Liveliness, subs. phr. (Coster).—1. Music.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 21. Or they
will call to the orchestra, saying, ‘Now then you catgut-scrapers!
Let’s have a ha’porth of liveliness.’
2. (common).—A loitering Lawrence; a slowcoach (q.v.).
Happify, verb. (American).—To please.
1612. Sylvester, Lach. Lach., 642. One short mishap for ever
happifies.
1848. Burton, Waggeries, etc., p. 70. For eatin’ and drinkin’, it
happifies me to say that we bang the bush.
Happy, adj. (common).—Slightly drunk; elevated (q.v.). For synonyms,
see Drinks and Screwed.
Happy-despatch, subs. (common).—Death, specifically, a sudden or
violent end.
Happy-dosser. See Dosser.
Happy Eliza, subs. (common).—A female Salvationist [As in the Broadside
Ballad (1887–8), ‘They call me Happy Eliza, and I’m Converted Jane:
We’ve been two hot’uns in our time.’]
Happy-family, subs. (colloquial).—See quot.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., p. 224. Happy
families, or assemblages of animals of diverse habits and
propensities living amicably, or at least quietly, in one cage.
Happy-go-lucky, subs. (colloquial).—Careless; thoughtless; improvident.
Fr., va comme je te pousse and à la flan.
1856. Reade, Never Too Late to Mend, ch. xv. In the happy-go-lucky
way of his class.
1883. Illust. London News, 8 Dec., p. 551, c. 1. He dashes off a
play in a happy-go-lucky style, basing it on theatrical precedent
so far as certain stock situations are concerned.
Happy Hunting-grounds, subs. (American).—1. The future state; glory
(q.v.). [From the North-American Indian’s conception of heaven.]
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 98. After a long journey,
they will reach the happy hunting-grounds.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, ch. v. Old Mescal is now
keeping a sharp eye out for the child and the cowboy, that he may
send them to the happy hunting-grounds also.
2. (colloquial).—A favourable place for work or play.
1892. Cassell’s Sat. Journal, 26 Oct., p. 119. The happy
hunting-ground of the swell mobsman is the opening of some
Exhibition.
3. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Happy-land, subs. (common).—The after life; glory (q.v.).
1893. Danvers, The Grantham Mystery, ch. xiii. The old ’un will
soon join the young ’un in the happy land.
Happy-returns, subs. (Australian).—Vomiting. See Flay the Fox.
Harbour, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable. Also Harbour of Hope.
Hard, subs. (prison).—1. Hard labour.
1890. Globe, 26 Feb., p. 1, c. 4. Monetary penalties, therefore, do
not act as deterrents, but the certainty of seven days’
incarceration, with or without hard, would soon diminish the
nuisance.
2. See Hard-Shell.
3. (colloquial).—Third-class. As opposed to soft (q.v.). Thus: ‘Do you
go hard or soft?’ = ‘Do you go Third or First?’ An abbreviation of
Hard-arse.
Adj. (American).—1. Applied to metal of all kinds: e.g., hard (cole or
stuff) = silver or gold as compared to cheques or soft (q.v.).
1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, ii., ch. 18. The bill ... amounted to
one dollar and a quarter hard money.
1844. Puck, p. 146. That cunning old file wont let her go with the
hard cash down.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hard; metal.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hard cole. Silver or gold money.
1863. Charles Reade, Hard Cash. [Title.]
2. (old: now recognised).—1. Sour or souring; as in hard-cider; (2)
hard drinks (American) = intoxicating liquors, as wine, ale, etc.,
while lemonade, soda-water, ginger-beer, etc., are soft.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hard drink, that is very Stale,
or begining to Sower.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hard, stale beer nearly sour, is
said to be hard.
1882. Daily Telegraph, 10 Oct., p. 5, c. 3. A fourth defendant, in
pleading guilty, urged that the month of August last ‘turned a lot
of beer sour,’ and that he had only used some sugar for the purpose
of mollifying the hard or sour porter.
Hard as a Bone (Nails, etc.), adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very hard;
austere; unyielding.
1885. Indoor Paupers, p. 79. He stood it for a week or two without
flinching—being at that date hard as nails, as he expresses it.
Hard at it, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very busy; in the thick of a piece
of work.
To die hard, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To sell one’s life dearly; e.g.,
The die-hards (q.v.), the 59th Regiment, so called from their gallantry
at Albuera.
To give hard for soft, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate. See Greens.
To be Hard Hit. See Hard-hit.
[Hard, adj., is used in many combinations; generally with an
unpleasant intention. Thus, hard-arsed (or fisted, or handed) =
very niggardly; hard-bit (or hard-mouthful) = an unpleasant
experience; hard-driven (or hard-run) = sore bested; hard-faced (or
favoured, or featured) = grum, shrewish, or bony; hard-headed (or
hard-witted) = shrewd and intelligent, but unimaginative and
unsympathetic; hard-hearted = incapable of pity; hard-lipped =
obstinate, dour; hard-master = a nigger-driver; hard-nut = a
dangerous antagonist; hard-on = pitiless in severity; hard-riding =
selfish and reckless equestration; hard-service = the worst kind of
employment; hard-wrought = overworked, etc., etc.]
Hard-a-weather, adj. (nautical).—Tough; weather-proof.
1891. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 44. They were hard-a-weather
fellows.
Hard-bake, subs. (schoolboys’).—A sweetmeat made of boiled brown sugar
or treacle with blanched almonds.
1825. Hone, Every-day Bk., I., 51. Hardbake, brandy-balls, and
bull’s-eyes.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ii. The commodities exposed for sale in
the public streets are marine stores, hard-bake, apples, etc.
Hard-baked, adj. (old).—1. Constipated.
1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of Turf, s.v.
2. (common).—Stern; unflinching; strong.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 73. It’s my opinion, these squirtish
kind a fellars ain’t perticular hard-baked.
Hard-bargain (or Case), subs. (common).—1. A lazy fellow; a bad-egg
(q.v.); a skulker. One of the Queen’s Hard-bargains = a bad soldier.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 71. La Bonté had lost all
traces of civilised humanity, and might justly claim to be
considered as hard a case as any of the mountaineers then present.
1888. Lynch, Mountain Mystery, ch. xliii. A fellow who comes and
goes between here and Rockville, generally considered a hard case,
and believed to be more outlaw than miner.
2. (trade).—A defaulting debtor.
3. (nautical).—A brutal mate or officer. Also hard-horse.
Hard-bit (or Bit of Hard), subs. (venery).—1. The penis in erection;
whence (2), for women, the act of connection.
Hard-bitten, adj. (colloquial).—Resolute; game (q.v.); desperate.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, liii. My sooth, they’ll be hard-bitten
terriers will worrie Dandie.
Hard-cheese, subs. (Royal Military Academy).—Hard lines; bad luck;
specifically at billiards.
Hard-cole. See Hard and Cole.
Hard-doings, subs. (American).—1. Rough fare; and (2) hard work.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 37. Hard doins when it comes
to that.
Hard-drinking, subs. (old: now recognized).—Drinking to excess.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hard-drinking, excessive
Soking, or toping aboundance.
Hard-head, subs. (American).—A man of good parts, physical,
intellectual, or moral.
1824. R. B. Peake, Americans Abroad, i., 1. Dou. None of your
flouting, by jumping jigs, I won’t stand it—we Americans have got
hard heads—we warn’t brought up in the woods to be scart at by an
owl—you can’t scare me so.
1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, p. 110. Most of the passengers had
disappeared for the night, and only a knot of hard-heads were left
upon deck.
Hard-hit. To be hard hit, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To have
experienced a heavy loss; as over a race, at cards, etc.
2. (colloquial).—To be deeply in love; completely gone on (q.v.).
1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Ladies’ Gallery, ch.
xxv. The wound was keen, I had been hit hard.
1891. M. E. Braddon, Gerard, p. 312. You’ve been hard hit.
Hard-lines, subs. (colloquial).—Hardship; difficulty; an unfortunate
result or occurrence. [Formerly line = lot: Cf., Bible and Prayer book
version of Psalm xvi., 5, 6.]
1855. Notes and Queries, 1 S. xii., p. 287. Hard Lines. Whence is
this expression, so common, particularly among seafaring men,
derived?
1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, ch. xxiii. I think it’s deuced
hard lines to lock up a fellow for merely humbugging an old parson
up in Kentish Town.
1888. Sporting Life, 15 Dec. For the Kempton folks it was rather
hard lines.
1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Ladies’ Gallery, ch.
xxvi. It’s awful hard lines, Lady Star Strange, that I am only
thought good enough for you Londoners in the dead season.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 3. I call it ’ard lines, dear old
man.
Hard-mouthed, adj. (colloquial).—Difficult to deal with; wilful;
obstinate. Also coarse in speech. [From the stable.]
1686. Durfey, Commonw. of Wordes, i., 1. [Speaking of a girl.] I
hate your young Wechees, Skitish Colts—they are so hard mouth’d,
there’s no dealing with em.
1704. Swift, Tale of a Tub, Sect. ix. I myself, the author of these
momentous truths, am a person, whose imaginations are hard-mouthed,
and exceedingly disposed to run away with his reason.
1704. Swift, Operation of the Spirit, Sect. ii., par. 9. The flesh
... when it comes to the turn of being bearer, is wonderfully
headstrong and hard-mouthed.
Hard-neck, subs. (tailors’).—Brazen impudence, monumental cheek (q.v.).
Hard-on, adj. phr. (venery).—Prick-proud. For synonyms, see Horn.
Hard-pan, subs. phr. (American).—The lowest point; bed-rock (q.v.).
1882. Besant, All Sorts and Conditions of Men, ch. xxi. And as for
business, it’s got down to the hard pan, and dollars are skurce.
1861. Holmes, Elsie Venner, ch. viii. Mr. Silas Peckham had gone a
little deeper than he meant, and came upon the hard pan, as the
well-diggers call it, of the Colonel’s character, before he thought
of it.
1888. Missouri Republican, 2 Mar. Prices were at hard pan.
To get down to hard-pan, verb. phr. (American).—To buckle to; to get to
business.
Hard-puncher, subs. (common).—The fur cap of the London rough; formerly
worn by men in training; a modification of the Scotch cap with a peak.
[From the nickname of a noted pugilist.]
Hard-pushed, adv. (colloquial).—In difficulties; hard-up (q.v.).
a. 1871. Perils of Pearl Street, p. 123. As I said, at the end of
six months we began to be hard-pushed. Our credit, however, was
still fair.
Hard Put To, adj. phr. (colloquial).—In a difficulty, monetary or
other; e.g., He’d be hard put to it to find a sovereign (or a word, or
an excuse) = It would take him all his time, etc.
Hard-row. See Row.
Hard-run, adj. (colloquial).—In want of money; hard-up (q.v.)
Hard-shell, subs. (American).—A member of an extreme section of
Baptists holding very strict and rigid views. [The soft-shells are of
more liberal mind.] Also Hards and Softs.
1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 30. The old hard-shell laid
about him like rath.
1888. Baltimore Sun. Mr. E., a regular member of the hard-shell
Baptist Church.
1893. Stevenson, Island Night’s Entertainments, p. 35. He’s a
hard-shell Baptist is Papa.
2. (political American).—A division of the Democratic Party in 1846–48,
when the Hunkers (q.v.) received the name of Hards, and their
opponents, the Barn-burners (q.v.) that of Softs.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 91. Hards, softs, whigs and Tylerites
were represented.
Adj. (American).—Extremely orthodox; unyielding; hidebound.
Hard-stuff, subs. (American).—1. Money.
2. (Australian).—Intoxicating liquors; see Hard (adj. sense 2). For
synonyms see Drinks.
Hard-tack, subs. (nautical).—1. Ship’s biscuits; specifically, ordinary
sea-fare as distinguished from food ashore, or Soft-Tommy (q.v.).
1841. Lever, Charles O’Malley, ch. lxxxviii. No more hard-tack,
thought I, no salt butter, but a genuine land breakfast.
1889. Lippincott, Oct., p. 476. They have feasted on salt horse and
hard-tack many a day; but they know a good thing when they find it.
2. (common).—Coarse or insufficient fare.
Hard-up, subs. (common).—1. A collector of cigar ends, a topper-hunter.
[Which refuse, untwisted and chopped up, is sold to the very poor.]
Sometimes Hard-cut. Fr., un mégottier.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 5. The
cigar-end finders, or hard-ups, as they are called, who collect the
refuse pieces of smoked cigars from the gutters, and having dried
them, sell them as tobacco to the very poor.
1888. Tit Bits, 24 March, 373. Smoking hard-up is picking up the
stumps of cigars thrown away in the streets, cutting them up, and
smoking them in the pipe.
1891. Morning Advertiser, 26 Mar. A constable on duty on the
Embankment early in the morning saw the accused prowling about, and
on asking what he was doing, received the reply that he was looking
for hard cut.—Mr. Vaughan: Looking for what?—The Prisoner:
Hard-cut; dropped cigar-ends.
2. (common).—A poor man; a stony-broke (q.v.).
1857. Ducange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue. Hard-up, a poor person.
Adv. phr. (colloquial).—1. Very badly in want of money; in urgent need
of anything. Also Hard-run and Hard-pushed.
1809–41. Th. Hook, The Sutherlands. He returned, and being hard up,
as we say, took it into his head to break a shop-window at
Liverpool, and take out some trumpery trinket stuff.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 104. There I met in with two Edinburgh
snibs, who were hard up.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Merchant of Venice.’ Who by
showing at Operas, Balls, Plays, and Court, ... Had shrunk his
‘weak means,’ and was ‘stump’d’ and hard up.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xi. He ... was, not to put too fine
a point upon it hard-up.
1865. New York Herald. This anxiety ... shows conclusively that
they are hard-up for political capital.
1871. Lond. Figaro, 25 Jan. For years, England has been a refuge
for hard-up German princelings.
1887. Manville Fenn, This Man’s Wife, i., 13. I don’t look hard up
do I? No, because you’ve spent my money on your wretched dress.
1891. Fun, 25 Mar. You’re hard up, ain’t you? Stumped? Well, it’s
Threadneedle Street to a frying-pan, that if Popsy knew your real
name, he’d lend you a thousand or two like a shot.
English Synonyms.—Many under floored apply equally to hard-up; others
are:—At low water mark; cracked up; dead-broke; down on one’s luck;
fast; in Queer Street; in the last of pea time; in the last run of
shad; low down; low in the lay; oofless; out of favor with the
oof-bird; pebble-beached; seedy; short; sold-up; stony-broke; strapped;
stuck; stumped; suffering from an attack of the week’s (or month’s)
end; tight; on one’s uppers; under a cloud; on one’s beam ends.
French Synonyms.—Se mettre dans le bœuf (common = to go in for block
ornaments (q.v.)); être en brindezingue (mountebanks = gone to smash);
être brouillé avec la monnaie (familiar = to have had a row with one’s
banker); être coupé (printers’); être à la côte (familiar = on the
shelf); être fauché (thieves’ = cut down); être dans la purée
(thieves’); être molle (thieves’); être à la faridon (popular); être en
dèche (popular); être désargenté (thieves’ = oofless); être bref
(popular = short); être à fond de cale (popular = down to bed-rock);
être à la manque (popular = on short commons); manger de la misère
(popular = to sup sorrow); être dans le lac (popular = a hole); être
pané (general); panné comme la Hollande (general = very hard up).
Spanish Synonyms.—Estar pelado or ser un pelado (= skinned); tiñoso (=
scabby).
Italian Synonym.—Calcare a ventun ’ora.
2. (common).—Intoxicated. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
3. (Winchester College).—Out of countenance; exhausted (in swimming).
Hard-upness or Hard-uppishness, subs. (colloquial).—Poverty; a
condition of impoverishment.
1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack. There were frequent ...
collapses from death or hard-upness.
1883. Illust. London News, 26 May, p. 519, c. 3. These I O U’s ...
do not imply, as might be supposed, common hardupness.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 28. Ike’s knowledge of some of the
bookmakers he had met in the old land led him to believe that
hard-uppishness would scare any knight of the pencil away.
Hardware (or Hard), subs. (American).—Counterfeit coin.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Hardware-bloke, subs. (thieves’).—A native of Birmingham; a Brum
(q.v.).
Hardy-annual, subs. (Parliamentary).—A bill that is brought in every
year, but never passed into law. Hence (journalistic), any stock
subject.
1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 16 Aug., p. 4, c. 2. Signs of the so called
‘silly season’ which has been somewhat delayed this year owing to
the political crisis, are now beginning to appear. The readers of
the Daily Telegraph are once more filling the columns of that
journal with ‘Is Marriage a Failure?’ The hardy annual is called
‘English Wives’ this time.
Hare, verb. (old).—To dodge; to double; to bewilder.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 92. Running, haring, gaping,
staring.
1672. Marvell, Rehearsal, Tr. (Grosart), iii, 372. They amaze,
shatter and hare their people.
To hare it, verb. phr. (American thieves’).—To retrace one’s steps; to
double back. [From the way of a hare with the hounds.]
To make a hare of, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make ridiculous; to
expose the ignorance of any person.
1830–32. Carleton, Traits and Stories, ‘The Hedge-School.’ What a
hare that made of him ... and did not leave him a leg to stand on!
1844. Lever, Tom Burke of Ours, ii., 393. It was Mister Curran made
a hare of your Honor that day.
To swallow a hare, verb. phr. (old).—To get very drunk. For synonyms,
see Drinks and Screwed.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict. Hare, s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. He has swallowed a hare, he is
drunk, more probably a hair which requires washing down.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
To hold with the hare and hunt with the hounds, verb. phr.
(colloquial).—To play a double game; to keep on good terms with two
conflicting parties.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
To kiss the hare’s foot, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be late; to be a
day after the fair; to kiss the post.
Hare-brained (or Hair-brained), adj. (old colloquial: now
recognised).—Reckless; flighty; impudent; skittish. Also,
substantively, hare-brain = a hare-brained person.
1534. N. Udal, Roister Doister, I., iv., p. 27 (Arber). Ah foolish
hare-braine, This is not she.
1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, in Wks., ii., 53. A harebraind
little Dwarfe it is.
1621. Burton, Anat. of Mel., I., III., I., ii., 259 (1836). Yet
again, many of them, desperate hare-brains.
1622. Bacon, Henry VII. That same haire-braine wild fellow, my
subject.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. xliii. When the government of
a nation depends upon the caprice of the ignorant, hair-brained
vulgar.
1870. Chambers’ Miscellany, No. 53, p. 28. The Slater girls are as
hare-brained as herself.
Hared, adj. (old).—Hurried.
Hare-sleep, subs. (old).—Sham slumber; foxes’ sleep (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hare-sleep, with Eies a’most
open.
Harking, subs. (old).—See quots.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Harking, whispering on one side
to borrow Money.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hark-ye-ing, whispering on one side
to borrow money.
Harlequin, subs. (theatrical).—1. A sovereign. For synonyms, see
Canary.
2. (Winchester College).—The wooden nucleus of a red india-rubber ball.
3. (old).—A patchwork quilt.
Harlequin China, adj. phr. (old).—Sets composed of several patterns and
makes.
Harlotry, subs. (old).—A wanton.
d. 1529. Skelton, Bowge of Courte. He had no pleasure but in
harlotrye.
1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, iv., i. But O the harlotry, did
she make that use of it then.
1695. Congreve, Love for Love, iii., i. O you young harlotry.
1893. T. E. Brown, Old John, p. 205. That specious harlotry from
hell’s black bosom spewed.
Adj. (old).—Disreputable.
1598. Shakspeare, 1 Henry IV., ii., 4. Oh rare! he doth it as like
one of these harlotry players, as ever I see.
Harman-beck (or Harman), subs. (old).—An officer of justice. For
synonyms, see Beak and Copper.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 66. The harman-beck, the constable.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-All. With the harman-beake out and alas
to Whittington we goe.
1656. Broome, Jovial Crew, ii. Here safe in our skipper let’s cly
off our peck, And bowse in defiance o’ th’ harman-beck.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Harman-beck, a Beadle.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 12. Harminbeck, a
Constable.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Harman Beck, a beadle (cant).
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. From the watchmen who
skip On the Harman Beck’s errand.
1828. Lytton, The Disowned. The worst have an awe of the harman’s
claw.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Harman Beak. The Sheriff.
Harmans, subs. (Old Cant).—The stocks. [The suffix ‘mans’ is common;
Cf., lightmans, darkmans, roughmans, etc.]
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 66. The harmans, the stockes.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-All, p. 39 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Harmons the stockes.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 12, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Harness. In Harness, adj. phr. (colloquial).—In business; at work: as,
to die in harness = to die at one’s post; to get back into harness = to
resume work after a holiday. [Harness also = armour.]
1872. Fun, 10 Aug. ‘Over.’ Aye! But the sting of it’s here, Just as
I’m back into harness, Others are off to sea, mountain, and mere.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 2. My father died in
harness.
Harp, interject. (Irish).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Harp ... harp is also the Irish
expression for ‘woman’ or ‘tail,’ used in tossing up in Ireland,
from Hibernia being represented with a harp, on the reverse of the
copper coins of that country, for which reason it is in hoisting
the copper, i.e., tossing up, sometimes likewise called music.
To harp on, verb. phr. (old, now recognised).—To dwell persistently and
at any cost upon a subject.
1596. Nashe, Have with you to Saffron Walden. As if I had
continually harped upon it in every tenth line of my book.
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, ii., 2. Still harping on my daughter.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Harp-upon a business, to insist
on it.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 291. He was back harping on my
proposal.
Harper, subs. (old).—A brass coin current in Ireland, temp. Elizabeth,
value one penny. [From the Irish Harp figured upon it.]
1574–1637. Ben Jonson, The Gipsies Metamorphosed. A two-pence I had
to spend ever and above; besides the harper that was gathered
amongst us to pay the piper.
Have among you my blind harpers, phr. (old).—See quot.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Harpers.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Have among you my blind harpers, an
expression used in throwing or shooting at random among a crowd.
Harridan, subs. (old, now recognised).—See quots. Also (colloquial) a
disagreeable old woman. [A corruption of O. Fr. haridelle = a worn out
horse, a jade.]
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Harridan, one that is half
Whore, half Bawd.
1705–7. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, vol. II., pt. ii., p. 27. Old
Leachers, Harridans, and Cracks.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Harridan, a hagged old woman, a
miserable scraggy worn out harlot, fit to take her bawd’s degree.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch., xxxix. ‘Now what could drive it
into the noddle of that old harridan,’ said Pleydell.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Harrington, subs. (old).—A brass farthing. [Lord Harrington obtained a
patent of manufacture under James I.]
1616. B. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, ii., 1. Yes, sir, it’s cast to
penny half-penny farthing, O’ the back side there you may see it,
read; I will not bate a Harrington o’ the sum.
1632. B. Jonson, Magn. Lady, ii., 6. His wit he cannot so dispose
by legacy As they shall be a Harrington the better for’t.
Harry, subs. (old).—1. A countryman; a clown. For synonyms, see Joskin.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Harry. A country fellow.
2. (colloquial).—See ’Arry.
Old Harry, subs. (common).—The devil. For synonyms, see Skipper.
1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, ii., 1. By the Lord Harry I’ll stay
no longer.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. iv. May Old Harry fly off with
him.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (1865), p. 406. Shall I summon Old
Harry himself to this spot?
Harry of the West, subs. phr. (political American).—Henry Clay.
To play old Harry, verb. phr. (common).—To annoy; to ruin; to play the
devil.
1889. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 18 Jan. Otherwise played old Harry with
the guardians of the peace.
Tom, Dick, and Harry, phr. (common).—Generic for any and everybody; the
mob.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 287. He rode from public house
to public house and shouted his sorrows into the lug of Tom, Dick,
and Harry.
What Harry gave Doll, verb. phr. (old venery).—The penis: also generic
for fornication.
Harry-bluff, subs. (rhyming).—Snuff.
Harry-common, subs. phr. (old).—A general wencher.
1675. Wycherley, Country Wife, v., 4. Well, Harry Common, I hope
you can be true to three.
Harry-soph, subs. (Cambridge Univ.: obsolete).—See quots.
1795. Gent. Mag., p. 20. A Harry, or errant Soph, I understand to
be either a person, four-and-twenty years of age, and of an infirm
state of health, who is permitted to dine with the fellows, and to
wear a plain, black, full-sleeved gown: or, else, he is one who,
having kept all the terms, by statute required previous to his
law-act, is hoc ipso facto entitled to wear the same garment, and,
thenceforth, ranks as bachelor, by courtesy.
1803. Gradus ad Cantabrigiam. Harry Soph; or Henry Sophister;
students who have kept all the terms required for a law act, and
hence are ranked as Bachelors of Law by courtesy. They wear a
plain, black, full-sleeved gown.
Harum-scarum, adj. and subs. (old colloquial).—1. Giddy; careless;
wild; a thoughtless or reckless fellow.
1740. Round about our Coal Fire, c. i. Peg would scuttle about to
make a toast for John, while Tom run harum scarum to draw a jug of
ale for Margery.
1780 Mad. D’Arblay, Diary, i., 358 [ed. 1842]. He seemed a mighty
rattling harem-scarem gentleman.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Harum Scarum, he was running harum
scarum, said of any one running or walking carelessly and in a
hurry, after they know not what.
1836. Marryat, Japhet, ch. xcii. I’m not one of those harum-scarum
sort, who would make up a fight when there’s no occasion for it.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. v. They had a quarrel with Thomas
Newcome’s own son, a harum-scarum lad, who ran away, and then was
sent to India.
1870. London Figaro, 19 Oct. ‘Within an inch.’ Tom—that’s my
son—has worked with me in the mine ever since he was quite a little
chap; and a harum-scarum young dog he was, when a boy.
2. (sporting).—Four horses driven in a line; suicide (q.v.).
Has-been, subs. (colloquial Scots’).—Anything antiquated; specifically
in commendation: as ‘the good old has-beens’; cf., never was.
1891. Sportsman, 1 Apr. Big Joe M’Auliffe proved conclusively that
he is one of the has beens or else one of the never wasers, as Dan
Rice, the circus man, always called ambitious counterfeits.
Hash, subs. (colloquial).—1. A mess; specifically in the phrase ‘to
make a hash of.’ For synonyms, see Sixes and Sevens.
1747. Walpole, Lett. to Mann, 23 Feb. (1833) Vol. II., p. 274.
About as like it, as my Lady Pomfret’s hash of plural persons and
singular verbs or infinitive moods was to Italian.
1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 115 [Ry. ed.]. Listado
never could compass Spanish, because, as he said, he had previously
learnt French, and thus spoke a hash of both.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘M. of Venice.’ Don’t suppose my
affairs are at all in a hash, But the fact is, at present I’m quite
out of cash.
1843. Punch’s Almanack, July (q.v.).
1845. Punch’s Guide to Servants, ‘The Cook,’ Vol. IX., p. 45. He
who gives a receipt for making a stew, may himself make a sad hash
of it.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 97. Ye’ve made a sore hash of
my brig.
1889. Sporting Life, 30 Jan. Successfully negotiated the tricky
entrance to the stable-yard of the hotel, at which job I have been
in a mortal funk many a time with poor old Jim beside me, for fear
of making a hash of it.
1890. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, ch. xvi. She made a hash of the
proper names, to be sure.
2. (American cadets’).—Clandestine preparation for supper after hours.
3. (colloquial).—A sloven; a blockhead.
1785. Burns, Epistle to J. Lapraik. A set o’ dull, conceited
hashes.
Verb (colloquial).—1. To spoil; to jumble; to cook up and serve again.
1891. Notes and Queries, 7 S. xii., 22 Aug., p. 144. I do not think
that Earle, a scholar of a high order and a man of the most keen
wit and judgment, would have spoken thus of a thing hashed up by a
hard-headed pedant, however able, such as Gauden.
2. (American).—To vomit. Also to flash the hash (q.v.). For synonyms,
see Accounts and Cat.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
3. (Cheltenham School).—To study hard; to swat (q.v.).
To settle one’s hash, verb. phr. (common).—To defeat one’s object; to
kill. For synonyms, see Cook one’s Goose.
1864. Browning, Dramatis Personæ. ‘Youth and Art.’ You’ve to settle
yet Gibson’s hash.
c. 1871. Butler, Nothing to Wear. To use an expression More
striking than classic, it settled my hash.
1883. Punch, Nov. 3, p. 208, c. 1. That one stab, with a
clasp-knife, which settled the young Squire’s hash in less than two
seconds.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 123. We’ll keep the
cops off till you settle his hash, the rest replied, getting round
us.
To go back on one’s hash, verb. phr. (American).—To turn; to succumb;
to weaken (q.v.).
Hash-house, subs. (American).—A cheap eating-house; a grubbing crib
(q.v.).
1883. Daily Telegraph, 10 Jan., p. 5, c. 4. There are [in New York]
lunch counters, cookshops, ‘penny’ restaurants, fifteen-cent
restaurants, commonly called hash-houses and foreign cafés.
Haslar-hag, subs. (nautical).—A nurse at the Haslar Hospital. Cf., Hag.
Hastings. To be none of the Hastings sort, verb. phr. (old
colloquial).—To be slow, deliberate, or slothful.
1690. b. e., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. You are none of the Hastings,
of him that loses an Opportunity or a Business for want of
Dispatch.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. He is none of the Hastings sort; a
saying of a slow, loitering fellow: an allusion to the Hastings
pea, which is the first in season.
Hasty, adj. (old: now recognised).—Rash; passionate; quick to move.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hasty, very Hot on a sudden.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hasty G., subs. (Cambridge Univ.).—See quot.
1883. Daily News, 24 Mar., p. 5, c. 2. Mr. Weller’s own hasty g.
(as Cambridge men say when they mean a ‘hasty generalisation’).
Hasty Pudding, subs. (common).—1. A bastard. For synonyms, see Bloody
Escape.
2. (old).—A muddy road; a quag.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. The way through Wandsworth is
quite a hasty pudding.
Hat, subs. (Cambridge Univ.).—1. A gentleman commoner. [Who is
permitted to wear a hat instead of the regulation mortar-board.] Also
Gold Hatband.
1628. Earle, Microcosmographie. ‘Young Gentleman of the
Universitie’ (ed., Arber, 1868). His companion is ordinarily some
stale fellow that has beene notorious for an ingle to gold
hatbands, whom hee admires at first, afterwards scornes.
1803. Gradus ad Cantabrigiam. Hat Commoner; the son of a Nobleman,
who wears the gown of a Fellow Commoner with a hat.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. xxxii. I knew intimately all the
hats in the University.
1841. Lytton, Night and Morning, bk. I., ch. i. He had certainly
nourished the belief that some one of the hats or tinsel
gowns—i.e., young lords or fellow-commoners, with whom he was on
such excellent terms ... would do something for him in the way of a
living.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. Generally Old Hat. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, i., 6 (note). I shall conclude this
learned note with remarking that the term old hat is used by the
vulgar in no very honourable sense.
1760. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, ch. cxxvi. A chapter of
chambermaids, green gowns, and old hats.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. [‘Because often felt.’] See also
Top Diver.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
3. (Scots’).—A prostitute of long standing. For synonyms, see
Barrack-Hack and Tart.
To eat one’s hat (or head), verb. phr. (common).—Generally, I’ll eat my
hat. Used in strong emphasis. See Eat.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xlii., 367. ‘If I knew as little of life
as that, I’d eat my hat and swallow the buckle whole,’ said the
clerical gentleman.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. xiv. Even admitting the
possibility of scientific improvements being ever brought to that
pass which will enable a man to eat his own head, Mr. Grimwig’s
head was such a particularly large one that the most sanguine man
alive could hardly entertain a hope of being able to get through it
at a sitting.
1844. J. B. Buckstone, The Maid with the Milking Pail. If you are
not as astonished as I was, I’ll eat old Rowley’s hat.
1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 216. I’ll eat my hat.
1887. E. E. Money, Little Dutch Maiden, II., viii., 148. And if you
don’t run up against him next day in Bond Street, you may eat your
hat!
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 38. If some of the swells didn’t
ditto, I’ll eat my old hat, which it’s tough.
To get a hat, verb. phr. (cricketers’).—See Hat-trick.
To get into the hat, verb. phr. (common).—To get into trouble.
To have a brick in one’s hat, verb. phr. (American).—To be top-heavy
with drink. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
To hang up one’s hat.—See Hang.
To pass (or send) round the hat, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make a
collection.
To talk through one’s hat, verb. phr. (American).—To rag; to huff; to
bluster.
1888. New York World, 13 May. Dis is only a bluff dey’re
makin’—see! Dey’re talkin’ tru deir hats.
All round my hat, phr. (streets).—A derisive retort. [From a Broadside
Ballad, popular c. 1830: ‘All round my hat I wears a green willow, All
round my hat for a twelvemonth and a day, And if any one should ask you
the reason why I wear it, Tell them my true love is gone far away’;
sung to a tune adapted from a number in Zampa.] Also, as in quot. = all
over; completely; generally.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 54. I’m a ’ot un, mate, all round
my ’at.
Shoot that hat! phr. (streets).—A derisive retort. Also I’ll have your
hat! Both circa 1860–72.
Well, you can take my hat! phr. (American) = ‘Well, that beats me,’
i.e., ‘that is past belief.’
1873. A Yankee in a Planter’s House. ‘What’s yer name?’ ‘Name
Grief, manssa.’ ‘Name what?’ ‘Name Grief.’ ‘Get out! Yew’re jokin’!
What’s yer name, anyhow?’ ‘Name Grief manssa.’ ‘Wal, yew kin take
my hat.’
What a shocking bad hat, phr. (streets).—[Said to have originated with
a candidate for parliamentary honours, who made the remark to his
poorer constituents, and promised them new head-gear.]
1892. Anstey, Model Music Hall, 140. Lord B. Regular bounder!
Shocking bad hat! Ver. Not so bad as his boots, and they are not so
bad as his face.
Hatch, verb. (common).—To be brought to bed with child; to bust up
(q.v.).
To be under hatches, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be in a state of
trouble, poverty or depression. Also dead.
1606. Marston, The Fawne, iv. Remember hee got his elder brother’s
wife with child ... that will stow him under hatches, I warrant
you.
1632–1704. Locke [quoted in Ency. Dict.]. He assures us how this
fatherhood continued its course, till the captivity in Egypt, and
then the poor fatherhood was under hatches.
1639–1661. Rump Songs, i. [1662], 260. And all her orphans bestowed
under hatches.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Under the Hatches, in Trouble,
or Prison.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Under the Hatches, in Trouble, or
Prison.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Under the hatches, in trouble,
distress, or debt.
1789. Dibdin, Tom Bowling, For though his body’s under hatches his
soul has gone aloft.
1835. Buckstone, Dream at Sea. iii., 3. Good-bye, dame, cheer up;
you may not always be under hatches.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Hatchet, subs. (tailors’).—1. An ill-favoured woman. For general
synonyms, see Ugly Mug.
2. (American).—A bribe received by Customs officers in New York for
permitting imported dutiable goods to remain on the wharf when they
ought to go to the general store-house.
To bury (or dig up) the hatchet.—See Bury.
To throw (or sling) the hatchet, verb. phr. (common).—1. To tell lies,
to yarn; to draw the long bow (q.v.). Hence hatchet flinging (or
throwing) = lying or yarning.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 94. This is a fault, which
many of good understanding may fall into, who, from giving way too
much to the desire of telling anecdotes, adventures, and the like,
habituate themselves by degrees to a mode of the hatchet-flinging
extreme.
1821. P. Egan, Life in London, p. 217. There is nothing creeping or
throwing the hatchet about this description.
1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, ch. xx. We had to call her mother,
and, if anyone stopped, she’d sling the hatchet to them, and tell
them she was a poor lone widow left with five children.
2. (nautical).—To sulk.
Hatchet-faced, adj. (old colloquial: now recognised).—See quots. For
synonyms, see Ugly-mug.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hatchet-fac’d, Hard favor’d,
Homely.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hatchet Face, a long thin face.
1865. Sala, Trip to Barbary, p. 130. The man in black baize with
the felt képi, and who had a hatchet face desperately scarred with
the small-pox, looked from head to heel a bad egg.
1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 7. His hatchet face with its
piggish eyes, his thin cruel lips, his square jaw, are all
murderous.
Hatch, Match, and Dispatch Column, subs. phr. (journalistic).—The
births, marriages, and deaths announcements. Also Cradle, Altar and
Tomb Column.
Hatchway, subs. (common).—1. The mouth. For synonyms, see Potato-trap.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. Also Fore-hatch. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Hate-out, verb. (American).—To boycott; to send to Coventry.
18(?). S. Kercheval, History of Virginia. The punishment for
idleness, lying, dishonesty, and ill-fame generally, was that of
hating the offender out, as they expressed it. It commonly resulted
in the reformation or banishment of the person against whom it was
directed. If a man did not do his share of the public service, he
was hated-out as a coward.
Hatfield, subs. (common).—A drink, whose chief ingredients are gin and
ginger-beer.
1883. Daily News, 5 July, p. 5, c. 1. There are, we believe, all
sorts of strong waters in the mild-looking and seductive hatfield,
while the majority of ‘cups’ are distinctly ‘mixed.’
Hatful, subs. (colloquial).—A large quantity; a heap.
1859. Punch, lxxx., vi., 236. If they had trusted their own
judgment they would have won a hatful.
1864. M. E. Braddon, Henry Dunbar, ch. xxii. He was in a very good
temper however, for he had won what his companions called a hatful
of money on the steeple-chase.
Hatpeg, subs. (common).—The head. For synonyms, see Crumpet.
Hatter, subs. (Australian).—A gold-digger working alone.
1881. A. Bathgate, Waitaruna, p. 88. He is what they call a hatter,
that is he works alone.
1885. Chambers’ Journal, 2 May, p. 286. Some prefer to travel, and
even to work, when they can get it, alone, and these are known to
the rest as hatters.
1890. Illustrations, p. 158. The former occupant was what is known
as a hatter, i.e., a digger living by himself.
1890. Marriott Watson, Broken Billy. He was looked upon as a
hatter, that is to say, a man who has lived by himself until his
brain has been turned.
Who’s your hatter? phr. (streets).—A catch-cry long out of vogue.
Mad as a hatter, phr. (colloquial).—Very mad.
1863. Marshall [Title, of a farce]. Mad as a Hatter.
Hat-trick, subs. (cricket).—Taking three wickets with three consecutive
balls: which feat is held to entitle the bowler to a new hat at the
cost of the club.
1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. Mr. Absolom has performed the hat trick
twice, and at Tufnell Park he took four wickets with four balls.
1892. Cassell’s Sat. Jour. 21 Sept., p. 13, c. 2. On one occasion I
succeeded in doing the hat trick.
1892. Woolwich Polytechnic Mag., 20 May. Three of these wickets
were taken in succession, thus accomplishing the hat-trick.
Hat-work, subs. (journalists’).—Hack work; such stuff as may be turned
out by the yard without reference to quality.
1888. H. Rider Haggard, Mr. Meeson’s Will, c. 1. And
five-and-twenty tame authors (who were illustrated by thirteen tame
artists) sat—at salaries ranging from one to five hundred a year—in
vault-like hutches in the basement, and week by week poured out
that hat-work for which Meeson’s was justly famous.
Haulable, adj. (University).—Used of a girl whose society authorities
deem undesirable for the men: e.g., she’s haulable = a man caught with
her will be proctorised.
Haul-bowline, subs. (nautical).—A seaman. For synonyms, see
Strawyarder.
Haul-devil, subs. (common).—A clergyman. For synonyms, see Devil-dodger
and Sky-pilot.
Haul Devil, Pull Baker. See Devil.
Haut-boy (or Ho-boy), subs. (American).—A night scavenger; a jakesman
or gold-finder (q.v.).
Have, subs. (common).—1. A swindle; a take-in (q.v.); a do (q.v.). For
synonyms, see Sell.
2. in. pl. (common).—The moneyed classes; as opposed to the Have-nots,
their antipodes.
1893. National Observer, Feb. 25, ix., 357. A body whose policy is
to make the Have-nots as comfortable and objectionable as possible
at the cost in coin and comfort of the Haves.
3. (in. pl.) subs. (Winchester College).—Half-boots. Pronounced Hāves.
Is that a Catch or a Have? verb. phr. (vulgar).—A formula of
acknowledgment that the speaker has been ‘had.’ [If the person
addressed be unwise enough to answer with a definition, the instant
retort is ‘Then you catch (or have, as the case may be) your nose up my
arse.’]
Verb (colloquial).—1. To cheat; to take-in; to do. See Be.
1805. G. Harrington, New London Spy (4th Ed.) p. 26. Ten to one but
you are had, a cant word they make use of, instead of saying, as
the truth is, we have cheated him.
1825. Egan, Life of an Actor, ch. iv. ‘He’s not to be had,’ said
Gag, in an audible whisper.
1878. Hatton, Cruel London, bk. II., ch. v. ‘They have had me,
bless you,’ said Brayford, ‘the men who have “limbed” you.’
1889. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 8 Feb. Not to be had so easily, my good
man.
1889. Answers, 23 Feb., p. 196, c. 2. But even these fellows, sharp
as they are, have been caught napping lately in a humorous way.
Those who have had them have been young fellows with friends inside
the Stock Exchange.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 161. Had me nicely once at cards.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 23 Jan. I never felt so wild in my life.
I’m no fool, you know, and I began to think I was being had a bit.
1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, p. 58. I was nearly had.
1892. Illus. Bits, 22 Oct., p. 14. c. 2. Oh, mebboy, Oi wasn’t t’
be had that way. Oi always kape resates—spishully Gov’ment wans. Oi
got it safe and cosy in me pocket-book.
2. (venery).—To possess carnally. [Said indifferently of, and by, both
sexes.] For synonyms, see Greens.
To have had it, verb. phr. (venery).—To have been seduced.
To have (or take) it out of one, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To punish; to
retaliate; to extort a quid pro quo; to give tit for tat.
To have it out with one, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To speak freely in
reproof; to complete an explanation; to settle a dispute with either
words or blows.
1886. J. S. Winter, Army Society, ch. xix. Instead of going down to
St. Eve’s and having it out, he fretted, and worried, and fumed the
six days away.
1888. Daily News, 8 Dec. There was a question as to who struck the
first blow, but it seemed to him certain that a man who crossed the
road to have it out with another was the most likely to have
commenced hostilities.
To have on, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To secure a person’s interest,
attention, sympathy: generally with a view to deceiving him (or her).
To have towards (or with, or at), verb. phr. (old).—1. To pledge in
drinking; to toast. See Here.
1637. Cartwright, Royal Slave. Here’s to thee, Leocrates. Leoc.
Have towards thee, Philotas. Phil. To thee, Archippus. Arch. Here,
Molops. Mol. Have at you, fidlers.
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. ii. ‘Have with you, boy—have
with you,’ shouted half-a-dozen other voices, while each stuck his
oaken twig through the handkerchief that held his bundle, and
shouldered it, clapping his straw or tarpaulin hat, with a slap on
the crown, on one side of his head, and staggering and swaying
about under the influence of the poteen.
2. (common).—To agree with.
To have on toast, verb. phr. (common).—1. To take in.
2. (common).—To worst in argument.
To have on the raws, verb. phr. (common).—To teaze; to touch to the
quick.
To let one have it, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To punish severely.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 8. ‘Hurraw, Dick, mind your
hair,’ and I ups old Greaser and let one Injun have it, as was
going plum into the boy with his lance.
Have up, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To bring before the authorities; to
summons (q.v.).
Havercake-lads, subs. phr. (Military).—The Thirty-third Foot. [From the
circumstance that its recruiting sergeants always preceded their party
with an oatcake on their swords.]
Havey-cavey, adj. (old).—Uncertain; doubtful; shilly-shally.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Havil, subs. (old).—A sheep. For synonyms, see Wool-bird.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Havock, subs. (old: now recognised).—Devastation; waste.
1607. Shakspeare, Julius Cæsar, iii., 1. Cry havock, and let slip
the dogs of war.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. They made sad Havock, they
Destroy’d all before ’em.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
Hawcubite, subs. (old).—A roysterer; a street bully. [After the
Restoration there was a succession of these disturbers of the peace:
first came the Muns, then followed the Tityre Tus, the Hectors, the
Scourers, the Nickers, the Hawcubites, and after them the Mohawks
(q.v.).]
Hawk, subs. (common).—1. A card-sharper; a rook (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hawk, c., a Sharper.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Hawk, a Sharper.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hawk also signifies a sharper, in
opposition to pigeon.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hawk. A Confidence Man; a swindler.
1891. New York Herald [London ed.], 31 May. These were hawks and
pigeons, and those who are no longer pigeons, and never had, or
will have, an inclination to be hawks.
2. (common).—A bailiff; a constable. For synonyms, see Beak.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. I., ch. iii. ‘The game’s spoiled
this time, Rob Rust, anyhow,’ growled one, in an angry tone; ‘the
hawks are upon us, and we must leave this brave buck to take care
of himself.’
Verb (old).—See quots.
1589. Nashe, Anatomie, Whereas, by their humming and hawking ...
they have leisure to gesture the mislike of his rudeness.
1600. Shakspeare, As You Like It, v., 3. Shall we clap into ’t
roundly, without hawking, or spitting, or saying we are hoarse?
1604. Marston, Malcontent, ii., 2. Is he troubled with the cough of
the lungs still? Does he hawke a night’s?
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. ... Also spitting difficulty.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. ... Hawking, an effort to spit up
the thick phlegm, called oysters, whence it is wit upon record, to
ask the person so doing, whether he has a license, a punning
allusion to the act of hawkers and pedlars.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xlvi. This tremendous volley of
superlatives which Sampson hawked up from the pit of his stomach.
1822. Byron, Vision of Judgment, xc. To cough and hawk, and hem,
and pitch His voice into that awful note of woe.
Ware Hawk! phr. (old).—A warning; look sharp! See subs. sense 2.
d. 1529. Skelton, Ware Hawk (Title).
1625. Jonson, Staple of News, v. 2. See! the whole covey is
scattered; ware, ware the hawks!
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hawk, ware hawk, the word to look
sharp, a bye-word when a bailiff passes.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. iii. Ware hawk! Douse the Glim.
To hawk one’s meat, verb. phr. (common).—To peddle one’s charms, i.e.,
to show a great deal of neck and breasts. Fr., montrer sa viande.
Hawk-a-mouthed, adj. phr. (old).—See quot.
c. 1750. Dialogue in the Devonshire Dialect (Palmer, 1839) s.v. One
that is perpetually hawking and spitting; also foul-mouthed.
Hawker, subs. (old: now recognized).—A pedlar.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hawkers. Retail News-Sellers.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hawkers, licensed itinerant
retailers of different commodities, called also pedlars; likewise
the sellers of newspapers.
Hawking, verb. subs. (old: now recognised).—Peddling; offering small
wares for sale from door to door. Also see quot. 1690.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hawking, going about Town and
Country with Scotch-Cloth, etc., or News-Papers: also Spitting
difficultly.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
Hawk-eye State, subs. phr. (American).—Iowa. [After the famous Indian
chief.]
Hawse. To fall athwart one’s hawse, verb. phr. (nautical).—To obstruct;
to fall out with; to counter and check.
Hawse-holes. To come (or creep) in through the hawse-holes, verb. phr.
(nautical).—To enter the service at the lowest grade; to rise from the
forecastle.
1830. Marryat, King’s Own, ch. viii. His kind and considerate
captain was aware that a lad who creeps in at the hawse-holes,
i.e., is promoted from before the mast, was not likely to be
favourably received in the midshipmen’s mess.
1889. Chambers’ Journal, 3 Aug., 495. A sailor who rose from the
ranks was formerly said to have crept through the hawse-holes.
Hay. To make hay, verb. phr. (University).—To throw into confusion; to
turn topsy-turvy; to knock to pieces in argument or single combat.
Also, to kick up a row.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. vii. The fellows were mad with
fighting too. I wish they hadn’t come here and made hay afterwards.
To dance the hay, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. To Dance the Hay. To make Hay
while the Sun Shines, or make good use of one’s Time.
Hay-bag, subs. (thieves’).—A woman. [I.e., something to lie upon.] For
synonyms, see Petticoat. Fr., une paillaisse.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. I., p. 231,
q.v.
Hay-band, subs. (common).—A common cigar. For synonyms, see Weed.
1864. Glasgow Herald, 9 Nov., q.v.
Haymarket-hector, subs. (old).—A prostitute’s bully. See Hector.
c. 1675. Marvell, Cutting of Sir John Coventry’s Nose, vi. O ye
Haymarket Hectors!
Haymarket-ware, subs. (common).—A common prostitute. For synonyms, see
Barrack-hack and Tart.
Hay-pitcher (or Hay-seed), subs. (American).—A countryman. Cf.,
Gape-seed.
1851. Herman Melville, Moby Dick, p. 36 (ed. 1892). Ah! poor
hayseed.
1888. New York World. ‘I wouldn’t hev come into his shop if I had
known it,’ protested the imitation hay-pitcher.
1888. Detroit Free Press, Sept. Al. (to hayseed)—Ever read Ouida?
H.—No, but by golly I must get his books. The weeds in my garden
are raisin’ eternal tarnation.
1890. Norton, Political Americanisms, p. 53. Hayseeds—rustics. The
‘hayseed delegation’ in a State legislature is supposed to consist
of farmers or their representatives.
1890. Judge, ‘Christmas No.’, p. 31. Them two fellers ... has been
passin’ d’rog’tory remarks about that hayseed’s ears.
1893. Clark Russell, Life of the Merchant Sailor, in Scribner’s,
xiv, 8. Hired by the State to court the hayseed to the tenders.
Hays! intj. (American).—An injunction to be gone; git (q.v.).
1851. Judson, Mysteries of New York, ch. i., p. 12. Cut and run, my
darling! Hays! is the word, and off you go.
Haze, subs. (American).—Bewilderment; confusion; fog (q.v.).
Verb (American).—1. To play tricks or practical jokes; to frolic.
Hence, Hazing. Also to mystify or Fog (q.v.).
1848. N. Y. Com. Adv., 2 Dec. W. had been drinking, and was hazing
about the street at night, acting somewhat suspiciously or
strangely [when the officer arrested him].
1887. Lippincott’s Mag., July, p. 105. This and the Dyke are the
only approaches to hazing that I have ever heard of here.
1888. Philadelphia Bulletin, 27 Feb. So woman is completing her
conquest of the planet. She rows. She smokes. She preaches. She
hazes. She shoots. She rides.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 39. In some
of the studios at that date, the hazing of new pupils was both
barbarous and obscene.
2. (nautical).—To harass with overwork or paltry orders. Also to find
fault.
1840. R. H. Dana, Two Years Before the Mast, ch. viii. Haze is a
word of frequent use on board ship, and never, I believe, used
elsewhere. It is very expressive to a sailor, and means to punish
by hard work. Let an officer once say ‘I’ll haze you,’ and your
fate is fixed. You will be ‘worked up,’ if you are not a better man
than he is.
1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 205. Here I have been five
days ... hazing—what you call slanging—upholsterers.
1883. Stevenson, Treasure Island, ch. xi., p. 89 (1886). I’ve had
a’most enough o’ Cap’n Smollett; he’s hazed me long enough, by
thunder!
1889. Notes and Queries, 7 S. viii., 31 Aug. My old partner, who
served his time at sea, always spoke of giving a man ‘a good
hazing’ when he meant he had been finding fault with his doings,
etc.
Hazel-geld, verb. (old).—See quots.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hazel-geld, to Beat any one
with a Hazle-Stick or Plant.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hazle-gild, to beat anyone with a
hazle stick.
Hazy, adj. (old: now recognised).—1. See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hazy Weather, when it is Thick,
Misty, Foggy.
2. (common).—Stupid with drink; mixed (q.v.). For synonyms, see Drinks
and Screwed.
1824. T. Hook, Sayings and Doings, 1st. S. ‘Friend of the Family,’
p. 179. One night at a public-house I was foolish enough to brag.
Hazy, Sir—you understand? smoking and drinking.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Lay of S. Cuthbert.’ Stamp’d on
the jasey As though he were crazy, And staggering about just as if
he were hazy.
He, subs. (Charterhouse).—A cake. A young he = a small cake. See She.
Head, subs. (nautical).—1. A man-of-war’s privy.
2. (common).—The obverse of a coin or medal. Heads or tails? = Guess
whether the coin spun will come down with head uppermost or not. [The
side not bearing the Sovereign’s head has various devices: Britannia,
George and the Dragon, a harp, the Royal arms, an inscription, etc.—all
included in the word ‘tail,’ i.e., the reverse of ‘head.’ The Romans
said heads or ships?]
d. 1680. Butler, Remains (1759), ii., 431. Let his chance prove
what it will, he plays at cross you lose, and pile you win.
1871. Observer, 16 Apr. Perhaps for the first time Parliament is
asked to enjoin a settlement of public dispute by means of tossing
heads or tails, ‘cross or pile.’
3. (old).—An arrangement of the hair; a coiffure.
1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, ii., 10. Pray how do you
like this head?... I dressed it myself from a print in the Ladies’
Memorandum Book for last year.
To have at one’s head, verb. phr. (old).—To cuckold.
1640. Gough, Strange Discovery. Not if you stay at home, and warm
my bed; But if you leave me, have at your head.
To take one in the head, verb. phr. (old).—To come into one’s mind.
1609. Holland, Amenianus Marcellinus. Now, it tooke him in the
head, and incensed was his desires (seeing Gaule now quited) to set
first upon Constantius.
To do on head, verb. phr. (old). To act rashly.
1559. Eliote, Dict. Abruptum ingenium, a rash brayne that dooeth
all thinges on head.
To do on one’s head, phr. (thieves’).—To do easily and with joy.
To fly at the head, verb. phr. (old).—To attack; to go for (q.v.).
1614. Terence in English. Fellow servant, I can very hardly
refraine my selfe, but that I must needes flee at the head of him.
To eat one’s head. See Hat.
To eat one’s (or its) head off, verb. phr. (common).—To cost more than
the worth in keep.
1703. Country Farmer’s Catechism. My mare has eaten her head off at
the Ax in Aldermanbury.
1878. Parker Gillmore, Great Thirst Land, ch. vii. Our horses were
eating their heads off at livery.
1893. Cassell’s Sat. Jour., 1 Feb. p. 384, 2. A lot of raw material
in stock which, in local parlance, would eat its head off if kept
warehoused.
To run on head, verb. phr. (old).—To incite.
1556. Heywood, Spider and Fly. Thirdlie, to set cocke on hope, and
run on heade.
To give one’s head (or one’s beard) for washing, verb. phr. (old).—To
yield tamely and without resistance. Fr., laver la tête = to reprimand;
to admonish with point, energy, and force.
1615. Beaumont and Fletcher, Cupid’s Revenge, iv., 3. I’m
resolved.... And so am I, and forty more good fellows, That will
not give their heads for the washing, I take it.
1663. Butler, Hudibras, I., iii., 255. For my part it shall ne’er
be said, I for the washing gave my head, nor did I turn my back for
fear.
To put a head (or new-head) on one, verb. phr. (common).—1. To change a
man’s aspect by punching his head: hence, to get the better of one’s
opponent; to annihilate. Also to put a new face on.
1870. R. Grant White, Words and their Uses. But all his jargon was
surpassed, in wild absurdity, By threats, profanely emphasised, to
put a head on me.... Instead of putting on a head he strove to
smite off mine.
18(?). Bret Harte, Further Words from Truthful James. To go for
that same party for to put a head on him.
1888. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 80. I’d put a new head on yer for
tuppence.
2. (colloquial).—To froth malt liquors. [E.g., ‘Put a head on it,
Miss,’ addressed to the barmaid, is a request to work the engine
briskly, and make the liquor take on a cauliflower (q.v.)]
Heads I win, tails you lose, phr. (common).—A gage of certainty = In no
case can I fail: I hold all the trumps.
1890. Welfare, Mar., p. 8., c. 1. A director holding shares to the
extent of £50 will draw a yearly recognition of his patronage to
the tune of £100. It is unnecessary to ask whether such a course of
speculation follows the principle of tails you lose, heads I win.
To get the head into chancery, verb. phr. (formerly pugilists’: now
common).—To get the other fighter’s head under one arm and hold it
there; a position of helplessness. See Chancery.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 18. When Georgy, one time, got the head
of the Bear into chancery.
2. (colloquial).—Hence to get, or be got, into a posture of absolute
helplessness.
To knock on the head, verb. phr. (common).—To kill; to destroy; to put
an end to.
1871. Weekly Dispatch, 21 May. ‘Police Report.’ The magistrate (Mr.
Newton) refused the application for bail, remarking that the sooner
the house was done away with the better, and he would take care
that it and all connected with it were knocked on the head.
To get (or put) the head in a bag. See Bag.
To get (or have) a swelling in the (or a big-) head, verb. phr.
(common).—To be or become conceited; to put on airs.
1888. Cincinnati Enquirer. Anna Kelly ... is missing from her home
in Newport. Somebody has been swelling her head.
1890. Star, 27 Jan. Although he received but £100 for his share, he
got the big head, went to pieces, and is now on the retired list.
To hit the right nail on the head, verb. phr. (common). To speak or act
with precision and directness; to do the right thing. [The
colloquialism is common to most languages. The French say, Vous avez
frappé au but (= You have hit the mark). The Italians, Havete dato in
brocca (= You have hit the pitcher: alluding to a game where a pitcher
stood in the place of Aunt Sally (q.v.)). The Latins, Rem acu tetigisti
(= You have touched the thing with a needle: referring to the custom of
probing sores.)]
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iii., 21. The common Proverb as it is
read, That a Man must hit the nail on the head.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 43. That’s what I meant when I
said that that josser, whose name I’ve forgotten ’ad ’it the right
nail on the ’ead.
To argue (or talk) one’s head off, verb. phr. (common).—To be extremely
disputative or loquacious; to be all jaw (q.v.).
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 22. Argue your ’ead off like.
To bundle out head (or neck) and heels, verb. phr. (common).—To eject
with violence.
To have no head, verb. phr. (common).—1. (of persons). To lack ballast;
to be crack-brained. See Apartments to Let. Hence, to have a head on =
to be cute, alert; to have sand (q.v.).
1888. Lynch, Mountain Mystery, ch. 2. Caledonia was declared to
possess a Coroner with a head, and a very good one on him, and a
messenger was sent to rouse him.
2. (of malt liquors).—To be flat. See Cauliflower.
To have a head, verb. phr. (common).—To experience the after-effects of
heavy drinking (cf., Mouth); also to have a head-ache. For synonyms,
see Screwed.
To give one his head, verb. phr. (common).—To give one full and free
play; to let go.
To have maggots in the head, verb. phr. (common).—To be crotchetty,
whimsical, freakish; to have a bee in one’s bonnet. For synonyms, see
Apartments.
To hurt in the head, verb. phr. (old).—To cuckold; to cornute.
To lie heads and tails, verb. phr. (common).—To sleep packed sardine
fashion, i.e., heads to head-rail and foot-rail alternately.
Over head and ears (in work, love, debt, etc.), phr.
(common).—Completely engrossed in; infatuated with; to the fullest
extent.
1589. Nashe, Pasqvill of England (Grosart), i., 114. Presently he
fetcheth his seas himselfe, and leaps very boldly ouer heade and
eares.
1735. Granville (quoted in Johnson’s Dict., s.v. Head). In jingling
rimes well fortified and strong, He fights intrenched o’er head and
ears in song.
Without head or tail, adv. phr. (common).—Incoherent; neither one thing
nor the other. E.g., I can’t make head or tail of it = I cannot make it
out.
1728. Vanbrugh, Journey to London, iv. He had the insolence to
intrude into my own dressing room here, with a story without a head
or tail.
1736. Fielding, Pasquin, v. Take this play, and bid ’em forthwith
act it; there is not in it either head or tail.
1874. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, 1st Series, No. 12, p. 203. Mrs.
Blair has been writing us a strange rigmarole, which nobody can
make head or tail of.
1891. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 22. There is nothing to make
heads or tails of in it that I can see.
To have a head like a sieve, verb. phr. (common).—To be unreliable; to
be forgetful.
Heads out! phr. (American university).—A warning cry on the approach of
a master.
Arse over Head. See Arse and Heels over Head.
Mutton-head (or Headed).—See Mutton-head.
Fat (or soft) in the head, adv. phr. (common).—Stupid. For synonyms,
see Apartments.
Off one’s head, adv. phr. (common).—Stupid; crazy. For synonyms, see
Apartments.
Shut your head, phr. (American).—‘Hold your jaw.’
Head-beetler, subs. (workmen’s).—1. A bully; and (2) a foreman; a
ganger (q.v.).
1886. Chambers’ Journal, 18 Sept., p. 599. Head-beetler is used (in
Ulster) in the same vulgar sense as ‘Head-cook and bottle-washer’
in some localities. The ‘beetle’ was a machine for producing
figured fabrics by the pressure of a roller, and head-beetler
probably means the chief director of this class of work.
Head-bloke. See Head-screw.
Head-bully (or -cully).—See quots.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Head bully of the pass or
passage bank. The Top Tilter of the Gang, throughout the whole
Army, who Demands and receives Contribution from all the Pass Banks
in the Army.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Head-cook and bottle-washer, subs. phr. (common).—1. A general servant;
in contempt.
2. (common).—One in authority; a boss (q.v.). Cf., Head-beetler.
1876. Hindley, Adv. of a Cheap-Jack, p. 66. Fred Jolly being the
head-cook and bottle-washer.
Head-clerk. Head-clerk of doxology works, subs. phr. (American).—A
parson. See Devil-dodger.
1869. Clemens (Mark Twain), Innocents at Home, ch. ii. If I’ve got
the rights of it, and you are the head clerk of the doxology works
next door.
Header, subs. (tailors’).—A notability; a big-wig (q.v.).
to take a header, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To plunge, or fall,
headforemost, into water: and (theatrical), to take an apparently
dangerous leap in sensational drama. Hence, to go straight and directly
for one’s object.
1856. Inside Sebastopol, ch. xiv. We may surely shut the door and
take a header.
1863. Fun, 4 Apr., p. 23. Did the chairman commence the proceedings
by taking a tremendous header ... a verbatim report might be
interesting.
1884. W. C. Russell, Jack’s Courtship, ch. vii. ‘Miss Hawke,’ said
I, plucking up my heart for a header and going in, so to speak,
with my eyes shut and my hands clenched.
Head-fruit, subs. (old).—Horns: i.e., the result of being cuckolded.
1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, ii., 3. That boded horns: the fruit
of the head is horns.
Head-Guard, subs. (thieves’).—A hat; specifically, a billy-cock.
1889. Clarkson and Richardson, Police, p. 21. A billy-cock, a
head-guard.
Heading, subs. (American cowboys’).—A pillow; any rest for the head.
Heading ’em, subs. phr. (streets).—The tossing of coins in gambling.
(In allusion to the head on the coin.)
Head-marked, adj. (venery).—Horned. To know by head-mark = to know (a
cuckold) by his horns.
Headquarters, subs. (racing).—Newmarket. (Being the chief racing and
training centre.)
1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. Of the two-year olds that ran ... races
for them are the strong point of that particular gathering at
headquarters.
Head-rails, subs. (old nautical).—The teeth. For synonyms, see
Grinders.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1853. Bradley, [Cuthbert Bede] Verdant Green, Pt. II., ch. iv. He
had agreeable remarks for each of his opponents ... to another he
would cheerfully remark, ‘your head-rails were loosened there,
wasn’t they?’
Head-robber, subs. (journalists’).—1. A plagiarist.
2. (popular).—A butler.
Head-screw (or bloke), subs. (prison).—A chief warder.
Heady, adj. (old: now recognised).—1. See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Heady, strong Liquors that
immediately fly up into the Noddle, and so quickly make Drunk.
2. (colloquial).—Restive; full of arrogance and airs; opinionated.
1864. National Review, p. 535. I think it’s the novels that make my
girls so heady.
Heady-whop, subs. (streets).—A person with a preternaturally large
head. (A corruption of whopping-head (q.v.).)
Healtheries, subs. (common).—The Health Exhibition, held at South
Kensington. [Others of the series were nick-named The Fisheries, The
Colinderies, The Forestries, etc.]
Heap, subs. (colloquial).—A large number; lots; a great deal.
1371. Chaucer, Boke of the Duchesse, iii., 295 (1888, Minor Poems,
Skeat, p. 23). Of smale foules a gret hepe.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, i., 23/575 (Riverside Press). The
wisdom of an heepe of lerned men.
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xxxv. I sha’n’t see her
again, and she wont hear of me for I don’t know how long; and she
will be meeting heaps of men.
1885. Punch, 4 July, p. 4. ‘Splendid sight,’ he goes on, ‘heaps of
people—people you don’t see anywhere else—and lots of pretty
girls.’
1888. Texas Siftings, 20 Oct. He did not encroach on the domain of
familiarity, but he looked a heap.
1892. Gunter, Miss Dividends, xi. Every one here would do a heap
for Bishop Tranyon’s darter.
Adv. (American).—A great deal.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 223. He pronounced himself a
heap better.
All of a heap, phr. (old: now colloquial).—Astonished; confused; taken
aback; flabbergast (q.v.); and (pugilists’) ‘doubled up.’
1593. Shakspeare, Titus Andronicus, ii., 4. Lord Bassianus lies
embrewed here, all on a heap.
1775. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. VIII., ch. ii. My good landlady was
(according to vulgar phrase) struck all of a heap by this relation.
1775. Sheridan, Duenna, ii., 2. That was just my case, too, Madam;
I was struck all of a heap for my part.
1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. xxiv. The interrogatory seemed to strike
the honest magistrate, to use the vulgar phrase, all of a heap.
1832. Egan, Book of Sports, s.v. All of a heap and all of a lump,
unmistakably doubled up by a smasher.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick. ‘And what’s the lady’s name?’ says the
lawyer. My father was struck all of a heap. ‘Blessed if I know,’
said he.
1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, The Ladies’ Gallery, ch.
xiv. The idea seemed to take him all of a heap.
1891. Scots’ Mag., Oct., p. 321. Spinks and Durward were struck, as
we may say, all of a heap, when they fully realised that Folio had
disappeared.
Heaped, adj. (racing).—1. Hard put to it; floored (q.v.).
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 158. They’ve all heard
of Blackton’s accident, and fancy we’re fairly heaped for someone
to ride.
2. (venery).—Piled in the act.
1607. Cyril Tourneur, Revenger’s Tragedy, ii., 1. O, ’twill be
glorious to kill ’em ... when they’re heaped.
Hear. To hear a bird sing (old).—To receive private communication; in
modern parlance, a little bird told me so.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., v., 5. I will lay odds, that ere
this year expire, We bear our civil swords and native fire As far
as France. I hear a bird so sing.
Hearing, subs. (common).—A scolding; a lecture. For synonyms, see
Wigging.
Hearing-cheats, subs. (old cant).—The ears.
1567. Harman, Caveat, s.v.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hearing Cheats, Ears.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
English Synonyms.—Drums; flappers; leathers; lugs (Scots’); taps;
wattles.
French Synonyms.—Les plats à barbe (popular = large ears); les oches or
loches (thieves’); les isgourdes (popular); des feuilles de chou
(popular = cabbage leaves); des écoutes or éscoutes (popular = hearing
cheats); des cliquettes (popular).
German Synonyms.—Horcher (= the listener); Linzer, Loser, (Viennese:
also Losling, Leusling, Leisling, or Lauschling): Osen.
Heart. Next the heart, adv. phr. (old).—Fasting.
1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse [Grosart], ii., 37. You may command
his hart out of his belly, to make you a rasher on the coales, if
you will next your heart.
1633. Rowley, Match at Midnight, i. Made drunk next her heart.
[Other colloquial usages are at heart = in reality, truly, at
bottom; for one’s heart = for one’s life; in one’s heart of hearts
= in the inmost recesses of oneself; to break the heart of = (a) to
cause great grief, or to kill by grief, and (b) to bring nearly to
completion; to find in one’s heart = to be willing; to get or learn
by heart = to commit to memory; to have at heart = to feel strongly
about; to have in the heart = to design or to intend; to lay or
take to heart = to be concerned or anxious about; to set the heart
at rest = to tranquilize; to set the heart on = to be desirous of,
to be fond of; to take heart of grace = to pluck up courage.]
Heart-and-dart, subs. (rhyming). A fart (q.v.).
Heartbreaker, subs. (old).—A pendant curl; a love-lock (q.v.). Fr., un
crêvecœur.
1663. Butler, Hudibras, Pt. I., c. 1. Like Samson’s heartbreakers,
it grew In time to make a nation rue.
1694. Ladies’ Dict. A crevecœur, by some called heartbreaker, is
the curled lock at the nape of the neck, and generally there are
two of them.
1816. Johnson, Eng. Dict., s.v. A cant name for a woman’s curls,
supposed to break the hearts of all her lovers.
Heartburn, subs. (streets).—A bad cigar. For synonyms, see Weed.
Heartsease, subs. (old).—1. See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Heartsease. A twenty-shilling
piece.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (old).—Gin. For synonyms, see White Satin.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hearts-ease. An ordinary sort
of strong water.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hearty, subs. and adj. (common).—Drink; drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks
and Screwed.
My Hearty, phr. (nautical).—A familiar address.
Hearty-choke. To have a hearty choke and caper sauce for breakfast,
verb. phr. (old).—To be hanged. Cf., Vegetable breakfast, and for
synonyms, see Ladder.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, ‘Nix my Doly,’ Who cut his last fling
with great applause To a hearty choke with caper sauce.
1893. Danvers, The Grantham Mystery, ch. xiii, I am not
particularly anxious to run the risk of being compelled to have a
hearty-choke for breakfast one fine morning.
Heat, subs. (racing and colloquial).—A bout; a turn; a trial; by whose
means the ‘field’ is gradually reduced. Cf., Handicap.
1681. Dryden, Epil. to Saunders’s Tamerlane, 25. But there’s no
hope of an old battered jade; Faint and unnerved he runs into a
sweat, And always fails you at the second heat.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. lxxxviii. Our adventurer had
the satisfaction of seeing his antagonist distanced in the first
and second heats.
1753. Adventurer, No. 37. The first heat I put my master in
possession of the stakes.
1819. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor, ch. xxii. There was little to
prevent Bucklaw himself from sitting for the county—he must carry
the heat—must walk the course.
On Heat, subs. phr. (venery).—Amorously inclined, hot (q.v.). [Said of
women and bitches.]
Heathen-philosopher, subs. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. A sorry poor tatter’d Fellow,
whose Breech may be seen through his Pocket-holes.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v. This saying arose from the
old philosophers, many of whom despised the vanity of dress to such
a point, as often to fall into the excess complained of.
Heave, subs. (old).—1. An attempt to deceive or cajole: a dead-heave =
a flagrant attempt.
2. in. pl. (American).—An attack of indigestion or vomiting.
Verb (American).—1. To vomit.
1862. Browne (‘Artemus Ward’), Artemus Ward, his book. ‘Cruise of
the Polly Ann.’ Stickin my hed out of the cabin window, I hev.
2. (old).—To rob: has survived, in Shropshire, as a provincialism. The
heler (hider) is as bad as the heaver = the receiver is as bad as the
thief.
1567. Harman, Caveat, p. 66. To heue a bough, to robbe or rifle a
boweth.
1575. Awdeley, Fraternitye of Vacabondes. But hys chiefest trade is
to rob bowthes in a faire, or to pilfer ware from staules, which
they cal heaving of the bowth.
1608. Dekker, Belman of London in Wks. (Grosart) III., 102. But the
end of their land-voiages is to rob Boothes at fayres, which they
call Heaving of the Booth.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, Pt. I., ch. xlv. p. 319 (1874). I met
with an old comrade that had lately heav’d a booth, Anglice broken
open a Shop.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Heave a bough. To rob a house.
1724. Coles, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary, (5th Ed.). Heave (v.) ... and in the
Canting Language, it is to rob or steal from any person or thing.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
To heave on (or ahead), verb. phr. (old).—To make haste; to press
forward.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. iv. Come heave ahead, my lads, and
be smart.
Heaven, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable. To feel one’s way to heaven = to grope (q.v.) a woman.
See also, St. Peter.
Heavenly-collar, (or lappel), subs. (tailors’).—A collar or lappel that
turns the wrong way.
Heaver, subs. (old).—1. The bosom; the panter (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Heaver. A breast.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (American).—A person in love: i.e., sighing (= heaving the bosom, or
making play with the heaver) like a furnace.
3. (old).—A thief: cf., Heave (verbal sense 2).
Heavy. See Heavy-wet.
Adj. (American).—Large: e.g., a heavy amount = a considerable sum of
money.
To come (or do) the heavy, verb. phr. (common).—To affect a vastly
superior position; to put on airs or frills (q.v.). See Come and Do.
The heavies, subs. phr. (military).—The regiments of Household Cavalry,
4th and 5th Dragoon Guards, and 1st and 2nd Dragoons. [From their
equipment and weight.]
1841. Lever, Chas. O’Malley, ch. lviii. I’m thinking we’d better
call out the heavies by turns.
Heavy-arsed (old colloquial), adj. phr.—Slow to move; inert; hard to
stir. See Arse.
d. 1691. Richard Baxter. Shove to heavy-arsed Christians. [Title.]
Heavy-Cavalry (or Dragoons), subs. (common).—Bugs; light-infantry =
fleas. Also heavy horsemen, the heavy troop, and the heavies.
Heavy-grog, subs. (workmen’s).—Hard work.
Heavy-grubber, subs. (common).—1. A hearty eater; a glutton. For
synonyms, see Stodger.
1858. Dickens, Great Expectations, ch. xl., p. 190. ‘I’m a heavy
grubber, dear boy,’ he said, as a polite kind of apology when he
had made an end of his meal, ‘but I always was. If it had been in
my constitution to be a lighter grubber, I might ha’ got into
lighter trouble.’
Heavy-plodder, subs. (old).—A stock-broker.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.
Heavy- (or Howling-) swell, subs. (common).—A man or woman in the
height of fashion: a spiff (q.v.).
1892. Anstey, Model Music Hall, 74. We look such heavy swells, you
see, we’re all aristo-crats.
Heavy-wet, subs. (common).—1. Malt liquor; specifically porter and
stout. Also heavy. For synonyms, see Drinks and Swipes.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, p. 75. The soldiers and their companions
were seen tossing off the heavy wet and spirits.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. vii. I had been lushing heavy wet.
1838. Grant, Sketches in London, p. 92. If it be heavywet, the
favorite beverage ... of Dr. Wade.
1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ch. ii. Here comes the heavy. Hand
it here to take the taste of that fellow’s talk out of my mouth.
1852. Judson, Mysteries of New York, bk. II., ch. x. What’ll it be,
my covies? Heavy wet, cold or warm?
1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 86. Mother up with your heavy
wet and try suthin’ short.
2. (common).—An extraordinarily heavy drinking bout.
Hebe, subs. (old).—1. See quots.
1648–9. Crashaw, Poems. ‘On the Death of Mr. H.’ Ere Hebe’s hand
had overlaid His smooth cheeks with a downy shade.
1778. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v. The first Hair appearing about the
genital parts; also the Parts themselves; but more specifically the
Time of Youth at which it first appears.
2. (common).—A waiting maid at an inn; a barmaid.
1603. J. Sylvester, Tr. Du Bartas, Mag., p. 65 (1608). Heer, many a
Hebe faire, heer more than one Quick-seruing Chiron neatly waits
vpon The Beds and Boords.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xlix. Shortly after the same Hebe
brought up a plate of beef-collops.
1886. Athenæum, 9 Jan., 63/2. It is not with the Colonel’s Hebes,
however, that the manœuvres of the military quintet are carried on.
1891. Sportsman, 25 Mar. Not even the kindly morning welcome of La
Rærdon, most pleasant and courteous of deft-handed Hebes, could
blot out the fact.
Hebrew, subs. (common).—Gibberish; Greek (q.v.). To talk Hebrew = to
talk nonsense or gibberish.
1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, ii., 1. Mon. If she did but know what
part I take in her sufferings——. Flip. Mighty obscure. Mon. Well,
I’ll say no more; but——. Flip. All Hebrew.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. ‘You may as well talk Hebrew,’
said of jargon.
Hector, subs. (old).—A bully; a blusterer.
1659. Lady Alimony, ii., 6 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
xiv., 322). Hectors, or champion haxters, pimps or palliards.
Ibid., iii., I., (p. 326). Levelling at honour, they declare
themselves glorious hectors.
b. 1670. J. Hacket, Archbp. Williams, ii., 203. One Hector, a
phrase at that time for a daring ruffian, had the ear of great ones
sooner than five strict men.
1674. Cotton, Complete Gamester, p. 333. Shoals of Huffs, Hectors,
Setters, Gilts, Pads.... And these may all pass under the general
or common appellation of Rooks.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iv., 1. She would rather trust her
honour with some dissolute debauched hector.
1679. Butler, Hudibras, iii., 2, 108. As bones of Hectors when they
differ, The more th’are Cudgel’d, grow the Stiffer.
1689. Lestrange, Tr. Erasmus, p. 139. And a Ruffling Hector that
lives upon the Highway.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hector, a Vaporing, Swaggering
Coward.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 24. I hate, she cry’d, a hector, a
Drone without a Sting.
1725. New Cant. Dict.
1750. Ozell, Rabelais, iv., Pref. xxiii. These roaring hectors.
1757. Pope, Imit. Hor., ii., 1, 71. I only wear it in a land of
Hectors, thieves ... and Directors.
1778. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1826. Congress Deb., ii., 1., p. 1024. He hoped it would invite ...
a reply from the Southern Hector ... of this debate.
Verb (common).—To play the bully; to bluster. Also to play the Hector.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, ii., 1. No hectoring, good Captain.
1849–61. Macaulay, Hist. of Eng., ch. xvi. To play the Hector at
cockpits or hazard tables.
To wear Hector’s cloak, verb. phr. (old).—To receive the right reward
for treachery. [When Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, was routed
in 1569, he hid himself in the house of Hector Armstrong, of Harlaw,
who betrayed him for hire, and prospered so ill thereafter that he died
a beggar by the roadside.]
Hectoring, subs. and adj. (old: now recognised).—Bullying; blustering.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, ii., 1. Thou art soe debauched,
drunken, lewd, hectoring, gaming companion. Ibid., ii., 1. Every
idle, young, hectoring, roaring companion, with a pair of turned
red breeches, and a broad back, thinks to carry away any widow of
the best degree.
1893. St. James’s Gazette, xxvii, 4074, p. 3. Mr. Sexton with much
unnecessary outlay of hectoring bluster, repudiates guilty
knowledge.
Hedge, subs. (racing).—See verbal sense.
1856. Hughes, Tom Brown, p. 200. Now listen, you young fool, you
don’t know anything about it; the horse is no use to you. He won’t
win, but I want him as a hedge.
1864. Eton Schooldays, ch. vii. He took the precaution to take
those odds five or six times by way of a hedge, in case anything
should happen to Chorley.
Verb (racing).—1. To secure oneself against, or minimise the loss on a
bet by reversing on advantageous terms; to get out (q.v.). [Thus, if a
man backs A to win him £100 at 5 to 1, he will if possible hedge by
laying (say) 3 to 1 to the amount of (say) £60 against him. He will
then stand thus: If A wins he gains on the first bet £100, and loses on
the second £60, leaving a net gain of £40; if A loses he loses on the
first bet £20, and wins on the second £20, thus clearing himself.] See
Standing on Velvet and Go.
1616. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, iii., 1. I must have you do A noble
gentleman a courtesy here, In a mere toy, some pretty ring or
jewel, Of fifty or threescore pound. Make it a hundred, And hedge
in the last forty that I owe you, And your own price for the ring.
1671. Buckingham, The Rehearsal, Prol. Now, critics, do your worst,
that here are met, For, like a rook, I have hedg’d in my bet.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hedge, to secure a desperate
Bet, Wager, or Debt.
1736. Fielding, Pasquin, Act iii. Sneer. That’s laying against
yourself, Mr. Trapwit. Trap. I love a hedge, sir.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Hedge (v.) ... also to secure
or re-insure a dangerous debt, voyage, wager, etc.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. lxix. They changed their
note, and attempted to hedge for their own indemnification, by
proposing to lay the odds in favour of Gauntlet.
1754. Connoisseur, No. 15. Whatever turn things take, he can never
lose. This he has effected, by what he has taught the world to
call, hedging a bet.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1854. Whyte Melville, General Bounce, ch. xii. If she says ‘Yes,’
sell out.... If she says ‘No’ get second leave.... So it’s hedged
both ways.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 201. You’d better hedge some of
your sweep money.
2. (common).—To elude a danger.
To die by the hedge, verb. phr. (common).—To die in poverty.
To hang in the hedge, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. It hangs in the hedge, of a Law-suit
or anything else Depending, Undetermined.
As common as the hedge (or highway), phr. (old).—Very common.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. As common as the hedge or
highway, said of a prostitute or Strumpet.
1725. New Cant. Dict. s.v.
By hedge or by crook. See Hook.
Hedge-bird, subs. (old).—See quot.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii., 1. Out, you rogue, you
hedge-bird, you pimp, you panier-man’s bastard, you.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Hedge-bird, a Scoundrel or sorry
Fellow.
1725. New Cant. Dict.
Hedge-bottom Attorney (or Solicitor), subs. phr. (legal).—A person who,
being not admitted or being uncertificated (or, it may be, admitted and
certificated both, but struck off the rolls for malpractice), sets up
in the name of a qualified man, and thus evades the penalties attaching
to those who act as solicitors without being duly qualified. [All the
business is done in another name, but the hedge-bottom is the real
principal, the partner being only a dummy.]—Sir Patrick Colquhoun in
Slang, Jargon and Cant.
Hedge-creeper, subs. (old).—A hedge-thief; a skulker under hedges; a
pitiful rascal.
1594. Nashe, Unfortunate Traveller p. 32 (Chiswick Press, 1892).
Call him a sneaking eavesdropper, a scraping hedge-creeper, and a
piperley pickthanke.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hedge-creeper; a pitiful
rascal.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hedge-docked, adj. (venery).—Deflowered in the open.
Hedge-marriage (or wedding), subs. (old).—An irregular marriage
performed by a hedge-priest (q.v.); a marriage over the broom.
Hedge-note, subs. (old).—Low writing. [As Dryden: ‘They left these
hedge-notes for another sort of poem.’]
Hedge-popping, subs. (sporting).—Shooting small birds about hedges.
Whence Hedge-popper = a trumpery shooter; and Hedge-game = small birds,
as sparrows and tits.
Hedge-priest (or parson), subs. (old: now recognised).—A sham cleric; a
blackguard or vagabond parson; a couple beggar. [As Johnson notes, the
use of Hedge in a detrimental sense is common. As Hedge-begot;
Hedge-born; Hedge-brat; Hedge-found; Hedge-docked (q.v.); Hedge-tavern
(= a low alehouse); Hedge-square (q.v.); Hedge-reared; Hedge-mustard;
Hedge-writer (= a Grub-street author); Hedge-building, etc. Shakspeare
uses the phrase ‘Hedge-born’ as the very opposite of ‘gentle blooded’
(1 Henry VI., iv., 1).] Specifically, Hedge-priests = (in Ireland) a
cleric admitted to orders directly from a Hedge-school (q.v.) without
having studied theology. [Before Maynooth, men were admitted to
ordination ere they left for the continental colleges, so that they
might receive the stipend for saying mass.]
1588. Marprelate’s Epistle, p. 30 (Ed. Arber). Is it any maruaile
that we haue so many swine dumbe dogs nonresidents with their
iourneimen the hedge-priests ... in our ministry.
1594. Shakspeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, v., 2. The pedant, the
braggart, the hedge-priest, the fool, and the boy.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Arlotto, the name of a merie
priest, a lack-latine, or hedge-priest.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hedge Priest. A sorry Hackney,
Underling, Illiterate, Vagabond, see Patrico.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. s.v.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. A hedge-parson, or
buckle-beggar, as that order of priesthood has been irreverently
termed.
Hedger. See Hedge, sense 2.
1828–45. Hood, Poems (Ed. 1846), p. 96. A black-leg saint, a
spiritual hedger.
Hedge-school, subs. (Irish).—A school in the country parts of Ireland
formerly conducted in the open air, pending the erection of a permanent
building to which the name was transferred. Hence, hedge-schoolmaster.
Hedge-square. To doss (or snooze) in Hedge-square (or street), verb.
phr. (vagrants’).—To sleep in the open air.
English Synonyms.—To skipper it; to doss with the daisies; to be under
the blue blanket; to put up at the Gutter Hotel; to do a star pitch.
French Synonyms.—Coucher à l’hotel de la belle étoile (pop. = to sleep
at the Star Hotel); manger une soupe aux herbes (popular); filer la
comète (popular = to nose the comet); coucher dans le lit aux pois
verts.
1877. Greenwood, Under the Blue Blanket. The vagrant brotherhood
have several slang terms for sleeping out in a field or meadow. It
is called ‘snoozing in Hedge Square,’ etc.
Hedge-tavern (or -ale-house), subs. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hedge Tavern or Alehouse, A
Jilting, Sharping Tavern, or Blind Alehouse.
1705. Farquhar, Twin-rivals, i., 1. That was ... in the days of
dirty linen, pit-masks, hedge-taverns, and beef-steaks.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hedge-whore (or Hedge-bit), subs. (old: now recognised).—A filthy
harlot working in the open air.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, s.v., Zambracca, a common
hedge-whore, strumpet, a base harlot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hedging, subs. (racing).—See Hedge, verbal sense 2.
1867. A. Trollope, Claverings, ch. xxiv. He would be lessening the
odds against himself by a judicious hedging of his bets.
Heel. To bless the world with one’s heels, verb. phr. (old).—To be
hanged. For synonyms, see Ladder.
1566–7. Painter, Palace of Pleasure, sign R., 8. And the next daye,
the three theves were conveied forth to blesse the worlde with
their heeles.
To cool (or kick) the heels, verb. phr. (common).—To wait a long while
at an appointed place.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair. Who forthwith comitted my little
hot furie to the stockes, where we will leave him to coole his
heeles, whilst we take a further view of the faire.
1673. Wycherley, Gentleman Dancing Master, iv., 1. They ne’er think
of the poor watchful chambermaid, who sits knocking her heels in
the cold, for want of better exercise, in some melancholy lobby or
entry.
1752. Fielding, Amelia. In this parlour Amelia cooled her heels, as
the phrase is, near a quarter of an hour.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford [Ed. 1854], p. 22. He expected all who
kicked their heels at his house would behave decent and polite to
young Mr. Dot.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. xiii. Tell him that I’ll trouble
him to forget to go to sleep again as he did last time, and leave
me here kicking my heels contrary to the rules of the service.
1879. Sala, Paris Herself Again, i. We cooled our heels during the
ordinary an intolerable half hour.
1888. Lynch, Mountain Mystery, ch. xlvi. That young gentleman, who
had been cooling his heels for what seemed like half the night.
To lay by the heels, verb. phr. (common).—To confine; to fetter; to
jail.
1601. Shakspeare, Henry VIII., v., 4. If the king blame me for it,
I’ll lay ye all By the heels, and suddenly.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, iii. Sir, if you be not quiet the
quicklier, I’ll have you clapp’d fairly by the heels, for
disturbing the Fair.
1663–1678. Butler, Hudibras, i., 3. Th’ one half of man, his mind,
Is, sui juris, unconfined, And cannot be laid by the heels.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 184. If they lay me by the
heels, Alan, it’s then that you’ll be needing the money.
To lift one’s heels, verb. phr. (venery).—To lie down for copulation;
to spread (q.v.).
To turn (or topple) up the heels (or toes), verb. phr. (old).—To die.
For synonyms, see Aloft.
1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse [Grosart], ii., 77. Our trust is ...
you will tourne up their heeles one of these yeares together, and
prouide them of such vnthrifts to their heires, as shall spend in
one weeke ... what they got ... all their lifetime.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe. Leaven thousand and fifty people
toppled up their heels.
To take to (or show) a pair of heels, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To take
to flight; to run away. For synonyms, see Amputate.
1593. Shakspeare, Comedy of Errors. Nay ... Sir, I’ll take my
heels.
1864. Chambers’ Journal, Dec. Once before he had ‘found meanes yet
at length to deceive his keepers, and took him to his heels’ to the
sea coast.
His heels, verb. phr. (gaming).—The knave of trumps at cribbage or
all-fours. Hence ‘two for his heels’ = two points scored (at cribbage)
for turning up this card.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
To tread upon (or to be at or upon) the heels, verb. phr.
(colloquial).—To follow close or hard after; to pursue.
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iv., 7. One woe doth tread upon another’s
heels.
To go heels over head, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To turn a somersault;
to be hasty; to fall violently. Also Top over Tail.
1540. Lyndsay, Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis, 3744. This fals warld
is turnit top ouir taill.
To have (or get) the heels of, verb. phr. (old).—To outrun; to get an
advantage.
1748. Smollett, Roderick Random. Thou hast got the heels of me
already.
Down (or out) at heel, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Slipshod; shabby; in
decay.
1605. Shakspeare, King Lear, ii., 2. A good man’s future may grow
out at heels.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1851–6. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., 122. He was a
little down at heel.
Heeled, adj. (American).—Armed. [From the steel spur used in
cock-fighting.]
Heeler, subs. (American).—1. Followers or henchmen of a politician or a
party.
1888. Denver Republican, 29 Feb. The heelers and strikers, bummers
and stuffers, otherwise known as practical politicians, who do the
work at the Democratic polls, and manipulate the primaries and
local conventions.
1888. New York Herald, 4 Nov. A band succeeded them and preceded a
lot of ward heelers and floaters.
2. (American).—A bar, or other loafer; anyone on the look-out for shady
work.
3. (American thieves’)—An accomplice in the pocket-book racket (q.v.).
[The Heeler draws attention, by touching the victim’s heels, to a
pocket-book containing counterfeit money which has been let drop by a
companion, with a view to inducing the victim to part with genuine coin
for a division of the find.]
4. (Winchester College).—A plunge, feet foremost, into water. Fr., une
chandelle.
Heel-taps, subs. (common).—1. Liquor in the bottom of a glass. Bumpers
round and no heel taps = Fill full, and drain dry! See Daylight. Fr.,
la musique.
1795. Gent. Mag., p. 118. Briskly pushed towards me the decanter
containing a tolerable bumper, and exclaimed, ‘Sir, I’ll buzz you:
come, no heel-taps!’
1836. Dickens, Pickwick (Ed. 1857), p. 10. No heel-taps, and he
emptied the glass.
1838. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, ch. xxxii. There was a proper
objection to drinking her in heeltaps.
1841. Punch, i., 117. Empty them heeltaps, Jack, and fill out with
a fresh jug.
1844. Buckstone, The Maid with the Milking Pail. Added to which,
she’s a termagant, and imbibes all the heeltaps.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xiv. The relics of yesterday’s
feast—the emptied bottles ... the wretched heel-taps that have been
lying exposed all night to the air.
2. (common).—A dance peculiar to London dustmen.
Heifer, subs. (common).—A woman; old heifer (in Western America) = a
term of endearment. For synonyms, see Petticoat.
18(?). In the Back Woods, p. 71. Now, git out, I says, or the ol’
heifer ’ll show you whar the carpenter left a hole for you to
mosey.
Heifer-paddock, subs. (Australian).—A ladies’ school.
1885. Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Australian Life. The cattle (women)
hereabouts are too scattered.... Next year I shall look over a
heifer-paddock in Sydney, and take my pick.
Heigh-ho, subs. (thieves’).—Stolen yarn. [From the expression used to
apprise the fence that the speaker had stolen yarn to sell.]
Heights. To scale the heights of connubial bliss, verb. phr.
(venery).—To copulate. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Helbat, subs. (back).—A table.
Hell, subs. (old).—1. Generic for a place of confinement, as in some
games (Sydney), or a cell in a prison: specifically, a place under the
Exchequer Chamber, where the king’s debtors were confined.
1593. Shakspeare, Comedy of Errors, iv., 2. A hound that runs
counter, and yet draws dry-foot well, One that before the
judgement, carries poor souls to hell.
1658. Counter-Rat. In Wood Street’s hole, or counter’s hell.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Secreta.... Also the name of a
place in Venice where all their secret records and ancient
evidences be kept, as hell is in Westminster Hall.
2. (old).—A workman’s receptacle for stolen or refuse pieces, as cloth,
type, etc.; one’s eye. Also Hell-hole and Hell-box. See Cabbage.
Hell-matter = (printers’) old and battered type.
(?). Newest Academy of Compliments. When taylors forget to throw
cabbage in hell, And shorten their bills, that all may be well.
1589. Nashe, Martins Months Minde (Grosart), i. 185. Remember the
shreddes that fall into the Tailors hell, neuer come backe to couer
your backe.
1592. Defence of Conny Catching, in Greene’s Wks., xi., 96. This
hel is a place that the tailors haue vnder their shopboord, wher al
their stolne shreds is thrust.
1606. Day, Ile of Gulls. That fellowes pocket is like a tailors
hell, it eats up part of every mans due; ’tis an executioner, and
makes away more innocent petitions in one yeere, than a red-headed
hangman cuts ropes in an age.
1625. Jonson, Staple of News, i., 1. That jest Has gain’d thy
pardon, thou hadst lived Condemn’d To thine own hell.
1663. T. Killegrew, Parson’s Wedding, iii., 5., in Dodsley, O.P.
(1780) xi., 452. Careless [addressing a tailor]. Why then, thou art
damned. Go, go home, and throw thyself into thine own hell; it is
the next way to the other.
1663–1712. King, Art of Cookery. In Covent Garden did a taylor
dwell, Who might deserve a place in his own hell.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hell, the Place where the
Taylers lay up their Cabbage, or Remnants, which are sometimes very
large.
1698. Money Masters All Things, p. 56. The Cheating Knave some of
the clues does throw Into his hell-hole; and then lets her know
That he her web cannot work out o’ th’ Loom.
1704. Swift, Tale of a Tub, Sec. iii. The tailor’s hell is the type
of a critic’s common-place book.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1814. C. Lamb, Melancholy of Tailors in Poems, etc. (Ed. Ainger),
p. 333. The tailor sitting over a cave or hollow place, in the
cabalistic language of his order, is said to have certain
melancholy regions always open under his feet.
1853. Notes and Queries, 1 S., viii., 315, c. 2. The term cabbage,
by which tailors designate the cribbed pieces of cloth, is said to
be derived from an old word ‘cablesh,’ i.e., wind-fallen wood. And
their hell where they store the cabbage, from helan, to hide.
3. (common).—A gambling house. [Whence Silver-hell = a gambling house
where only silver is played for; Dancing-hell = an unchartered hall;
and so forth.]
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 4. Jerry. A hell, Tom? I’m at
fault again! Log. A gambling house, Jerry!
1841. Comic Almanack, p. 280. A man at a hell, Playing the part of
a Bonnetter well.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. xxxix. He plays still; he is in a
hell every night almost.
1890. Saturday Review, 1 Feb., p. 134, c. 2. These private hells
nevertheless exist, and as all money found on the premises is
seized by the police, the players have to resort to all kinds of
subterfuge when the three loud knocks are heard which indicate the
presence of the commissaire.
4. (venery).—The female pudendum; cf., Heaven. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable. [See Boccaccio, Decameron.]
Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, subs. phr. (old).—Three ale-houses formerly
situated near Westminster Hall.
1610. Jonson, Alchemist, v., 2. He must not break his fast In
Heaven or Hell.
Hell broke loose, subs. phr. (common).—Extreme disorder; anarchy.
1632. Hausted, Rivall Friends, v., 10. Fye, fye, hell is broke
loose upon me.
1672. Marvell, Rehearsal (Grosart), iii, 212. War broke out, and
then to be sure hell’s broke loose.
1703. Farquhar, Inconstant, iv., 4. Hell broke loose upon me, and
all the furies fluttered about my ears.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 96. Tho’ hell’s broke loose, and the
Devils roar abroad.
Hell of a (lark, goer, row, and so forth), adj. phr. (common).—Very
much of a ——; a popular intensitive.
All to hell (or gone to hell), adj. phr. (colloquial).—Utterly ruined.
To hope (or wish) to hell, verb. phr. (common).—To desire intensely.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 229. I hope to h—— the horse will
break his neck and his rider’s too.
To play (or kick up) hell and tommy, verb. phr. (common).—To ruin
utterly. Also, to play hell and break things; to raise hell; to make
hell’s delight.
1837–40. Haliburton, The Clockmaker, p. 287 (Ed. 1862). And in the
mean time rob ’em, plunder ’em, and tax ’em; hang their priests,
seize their galls, and play hell and tommy with them, and all
because they speak French.
1859. De Quincey, Wks. (14 vol., ed. vi., 336). About a hundred
years earlier Lord Bacon played h—— and tommy when casually raised
to the supreme seat in the Council by the brief absence in
Edinburgh of the King and the Duke of Buckingham.
1867. Lahore Chronicle, 20 May. The Sepoys are burning down the
houses, and playing h—— and tommy with the station.
1879. Justin M’Carthy, Donna Quixote, ch. xxxii. We’ll have a fine
bit of fun, I tell you. I’ve played hell-and-tommy already with the
lot of them.
To lead apes in hell, verb. phr. (old).—To die an old maid. [From a
popular superstition.]
1599. Henry Porter, The Two Angry Women of Abingdon. (Dodsley, Old
Plays, 4th ed., 1875, vii., 294–5). For women that are wise will
not lead apes in hell.... Therefore, come husband: maidenhead
adieu.
1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado about Nothing, ii., 1. He that is more
than youth is not for me, and he that is less than man I am not for
him; therefore I will ... even lead his apes into hell.
1605. London Prodigal, ii. But ’tis an old proverb, and you know it
well, that women, dying maids, lead apes in hell.
1611. Chapman, May-day, v. 2. I am beholden to her; she was loth to
have me lead apes in hell.
1659. The London Chanticleers, i., 2. I’ll always live a virgin!
What! and lead apes in hell?
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 179. Celladon at that began To talk
of apes in hell.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Bloudie Jacke.’ They say she is
now leading apes ... And mends Bachelors’ small clothes below.
To put the devil into hell, verb. phr. (old).—To copulate.—Boccaccio.
[Hell = female pudendum.] For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
To give hell, verb. phr. (common).—To trounce; abuse; or punish
severely. Also (American), to make one smell hell (or a damn particular
smell).
Hell-for-leather, adv. phr. (common).—With the utmost energy and
desperation.
1892. R. Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads. When we rode
hell-for-leather, Both squadrons together, Not caring much whether
we lived or we died.
Like hell, adv. phr. (common).—Desperately; with all one’s might.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xxix. I tried every place,
everything; went to Ems, to Wiesbaden, to Hombourg, and played like
hell.
Go to hell! phr. (Common).—An emphatic dismissal: the full phrase is,
‘Go to hell and help the devil to make your mother into a bitch pie.’
[A variant is, ‘Go to hell and pump thunder.’] For analogous phrases,
see Oaths.
1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 72. So, good men, go
to hell all of you—do—very mosh go to hell—do.
1889. Daily News, 21 Dec., p. 7, c. 1. He was asked to see somebody
about his evidence, and told him to go to hell.
1892. Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads. ‘Ford o’ Kabul River.’ Kabul
town’ll go to hell.
Hell and Scissors! intj. (American).—An ejaculation of surprise and
ridicule. In England, Scissors!
Hell-bender, subs. (American).—A drunken frolic; a tremendous row. Also
Hell-a-popping and Hell’s delight.
Hell-broth, subs. (common).—Bad liquor. For synonyms, see Drinks.
Hell-cat (-hag, -hound, -kite, etc.), subs. (old: now recognised).—A
man or woman of hellish disposition; a lewdster of either sex; cf.,
Hallion.
1606. Shakspeare, Macbeth, v., 7. Macd. Turn, hell-hound, turn!
Macb. Of all men else I have avoided thee.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hell-driver, subs. (old).—A coachman.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
Hellite, subs. (gaming).—A professional gambler.—Ducange.
1838. Grant, Sketches in London. Prosecuting the hellites for
assault.
Hellophone, subs. (American).—The telephone. [From Halloo! + phone.]
Help, subs. (colloquial: once literary).—A hired assistant. Lady-help =
a woman acting as a companion, and undertaking the lighter domestic
duties with or without wages.
1824. Peake, Americans Abroad, i., 1. Have you seen my help—my
nigger.
1839. De Quincey, Murder as one of the Fine Arts, ii. For domestic
helps are pretty generally in a state of transition.
1848. Burton, Waggeries, p. 77. A bevy of ready helps rushed upon
him and tore him from the seat of honour.
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. vi. ‘Well, you’ve had a
pretty good day of it,’ said Tom, who had been hugely amused; ‘but
I should feel nervous about the help, if I were you.’
So help (or s’elp or s’welp) me God (Bob, never, or say-so, etc.), phr.
(common).—An emphatic asseveration.
1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 86. I’ll pay it back, s’elp me
Gord.
1892. A. Chevalier, ‘Mrs. ’Enery ’Awkins.’ Selp me Bob I’m crazy,
Liza, you’re a daisy.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 62. ’Selp me never, old pal, it’s
a scorcher.
1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, ch. xiv. Well, so help my blessed
tater, if this isn’t our old Jose turned up again.
Helpa, subs. (back).—An apple.
Helpless, adj. (colloquial).—Drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Screwed.
Hemispheres, subs. (venery).—The paps. For synonyms, see Dairy.
Hemp (or Hemp-seed, Stretch-Hemp, Hemp-string, or Hempy), subs.
(old).—1. A rogue; a candidate fit for the gallows. Frequently used
jocularly. A crack-halter (q.v.). Fr., une graine de bagne.
1532. Sir T. More, Wks. [1557], folio 715. [He] feareth [not] to
mocke the Sacrament, the blessed body of God, and ful like a
stretch hempe, call it but cake, bred, or starch.
1566. Gascoigne, Supposes, iv., 3. If I come near you, hempstring,
I will teach you to sing sol fa.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., ii., 1. Do, do, thou rogue, thou
hemp-seed.
1606. Chapman, Mons. D’Olive, Act v., p. 135. (Plays, 1874). Van. A
perfect young hempstring. Va. Peace, least he overhear you.
1659. Lady Alimony, iv., 6. (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
xiv., p. 350). Now, you hempstrings, had you no other time to nim
us but when we were upon our visits?
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hemp, young-hemp, An appellation
for a graceless boy.
1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. xxxiv. She’s under lawful authority now;
and full time, for she was a daft hempie.
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard, [Ed. 1840], p. 139. ‘We’ll see
that, young hempseed,’ replied Sharples.
2. (old).—A halter.
1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, iv, 14. Laudanum, therefore, being
unable to stop the health of our hero, which the fruit of hempseed,
and not the spirit of poppy-seed, was to overcome....
Verb (American).—To choke or strangle.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
To wag hemp in the wind, verb. phr. (old).—To be hanged. See Hempen
Fever and Ladder.
1532. Sir T. More, Wks. [1557], folio 715. Tindall calleth blessing
and crossynge but wagging of folkes fingers in the æyre, and
feareth not (like one yt would at length wagge hempe in the winde)
to mocke at all such miracles.
Hempen-bridle, subs. (old).—A ship’s rope or rigging. See Horse and
Tree.
Hempen Collar (candle, circle, cravat, croak, garter, necktie, or
habeas), subs. (old).—The hangman’s noose; a halter. Also Hemp, and the
Hearty-choke. Cf., Anodyne neck-lace. See quot. 1595.
1530–95. Turbervile, Of Two Desperate Men. A man in deepe despaire,
with hempe in hand, Went out in haste to ende his wretched dayes.
c. 1586. Marlowe, Jew of Malta, iv., 4. When the hangman had put on
his hempen.
1594. Shakspeare, 2 Henry VI., iv., 7. Ye shall have a hempen
candle then, and the pap of a hatchet.
c. 1785. Wolcot [P. Pindar], Rights of Kings, Ode xviii. Your hemp
cravats, your pray’r, your Tyburn miser.
1819. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor, ch. xvi. I wad wager twa and a
plack that hemp plaits his cravat yet.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Hempen Habeas. He will get over it by a
hempen habeas.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. iv. If ever I know as how you
makes a flat of my Paul, blow me tight, but I’ll weave you a hempen
collar: I’ll hang you, you dog, I will.
1886. Miss Braddon, Mohawks, ch. xxviii. A full confession were
perhaps too much to expect. Nothing but the immediate prospect of a
hempen necklace would extort that.
Hempen Fever. To die of a hempen fever, verb. phr. (old).—To be hanged.
For synonyms, see Ladder.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hempen Fever, a man who was hanged,
is said to have died of a hempen fever; and in Dorsetshire to have
been stabbed with a Bridport dagger; Bridport being a place famous
for manufacturing hemp into cords.
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 76. She had been married
four times; three of her husbands died of hempen fevers.
Hempen-fortune, subs. (old).—Bad luck; a term for the gallows.
1705. Vanbrugh, The Confederacy, v., 1. If ever I see one glance of
your hempen fortune again, I’m off your partnership for ever.
Hempen-squincy, subs. (old).—Hanging. For synonyms, see Ladder.
1646. Randolph’s Jealous Lovers. Hear you, tutour, Shall not we be
suspected for the murder, And choke with a hempen squincy.
Hempen-widow, subs. (old).—A woman widowed by the gallows.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hempen Widow, One whose Husband
was Hanged.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th Ed.). Hempen-Widow (s.), a woman
whose husband was hanged.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1834. Harrison Ainsworth, Rookwood, p. 89. In a box of the
stone-jug I was born, Of a hempen-widow the kid forlorn Fake away.
Hen, subs. (common).—1. A woman. Specifically, a wife or mistress. For
synonyms, see Petticoat.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Hen. In Black-boy Alley I’ve a ken, A
tyke and fighting cock; A saucy tip-slang moon-eyed hen, Who is oft
mill-doll at block.
2. (common).—Drink money. See Hen drinking.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 20. Whenever there’s hens on the
crow, ’Arry’s good for a hinnings,—no fear!
Verb (Scots’).—To funk; to turn tail; to hen on = to fear to attempt.
Cock and hen club, subs. phr. (common).—A club composed of men and
women.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Hens and Chickens, subs. phr. (thieves’).—Pewter measures; quarts and
pints. Cf., Cat and Kittens.
1851. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. i., p. 276. The
hens and chickens of the roguish low lodging-houses are the
publicans’ pewter measures; the bigger vessels are ‘hens,’ the
smaller are ‘chickens.’
Hen-drinking, subs. (provincial).—See quot.
1859. Notes and Queries, 2 S. viii., 239. There is yet another
[Yorkshire marriage-custom], viz., the hen-drinking. On the evening
of the wedding day the young men of the village call upon the
bridegroom for a hen—meaning money for refreshments ... should the
hen be refused, the inmates may expect some ugly trick to the house
ere the festivities terminate.
Hen Frigate, subs. (nautical).—A ship commanded by the captain’s wife.
Cf., Hen-pecked.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1883. Clark Russell, Sailors’ Language, s.v.
Hen-fruit, subs. (American).—Eggs.
Hen (or Chicken)-hearted, adj. (old: now recognised).—Timorous;
cowardly.
d. 1529. Skelton, Why Come Ye not to Courte. They kepe them in
their holdes Lyke hen-hearted cuckoldes.
1506–56. Udal, James I. He is reconed a lowte and a henne-hearted
rascall.
1639–61. Rump Songs, i., [1662] 319. Let the hen-hearted Cit drink
whey.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th Ed.). Hen-hearted, of a cowardly,
fearful, or timorous disposition.
1754. B. Martin, Eng. Dict. (2nd Ed.), s.v. ‘Poltron.’ A coward, or
hen-hearted fellow.
1762. Foote, Liar, iii., 2. Why, what a dastardly, hen-hearted——But
come, Papillion, this shall be your last campaign.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1812. Johnson, Eng. Dict., s.v. Hen-hearted ... a low word.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xxviii. Are you turned hen-hearted,
Jack?
Hen-house, subs. (old).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hen-house, a house where the woman
rules, called also a she-house.
Hen of the game. See Game.
Hen-party (Convention- or Tea-), subs. (common).—An assemblage of women
for political or social purposes. Cf., Bull or Stag-party. Also,
Bitch-, Tabby-, and Cat-party.
Hen-pecked, adj. (old: now recognised).—Petticoat government; ruled by
a woman.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Henpeckt Friggat, whose
Commander and Officers are absolutely sway’d by their Wives. Ibid.
Henpeckt Husband, whose Wife wears the Breeches.
1695. Congreve, Love for Love, iv., 13. I believe he that marries
you will go to sea in a hen-pecked frigate.
1712. Arbuthnot, History of John Bull, Pt. I., ch. v. He had a
termagant wife, and, as the neighbours said, was playing henpecked!
1712. Spectator, No. 479. Socrates, who is by all accounts the
undoubted head of the sect of the hen-pecked.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th Ed.). Hen-pecked, a man that is
over-awed by his wife, and dares do nothing disagreeable to her
inclinations.
1771. Smollett, Humphry Clinker, l. 27. I shall never presume to
despise or censure any poor man for suffering himself to be
henpecked, conscious how I myself am obliged to truckle to a
domestic demon.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. xxxvii. He had fallen from all the
height and pomp of beadleship, to the lowest depth of the most
snubbed hen-peckery.
1857. A. Trollope, Barchester Towers, ch. iii. But Mrs. Proudie is
not satisfied with such home dominion, and stretches her power over
all his movements, and will not even abstain from things spiritual.
In fact, the bishop is hen-pecked.
Hen’s-arsehole.—See Mouth.
Hen-snatcher, subs. (American).—A chicken thief.
1888. Bulletin, 24 Nov. All the dead-beats and suspected
hen-snatchers plead when before the Bench that they were only
‘mouching round,’ etc.
Hens’-rights, subs. (American).—Women’s rights.
Hen-toed, adj. phr. (common).—To turn the toes in walking like a fowl.
Here. Here’s to you (at you, unto you, now, or luck), phr. (common).—An
invitation to drink; here’s a health to you. For synonyms, see Drinks.
1651. Cartwright, Royal Slave. Here’s to thee, Leocrates.
1717. Ned Ward, Wks. ii., 71. Then we were fain To use
Hertfordshire kindness, here’s to you again.
1853. Diogenes ii., 46. Each a pot in his hand.... Observed in a
style of remarkable ease, ‘Old Buck here’s luck,’ And then at the
pewter proceeded to suck.
Here’s luck, phr. (tailors’).—I don’t believe you.
I am not here, phr. (tailors’).—‘I don’t feel inclined to work’; ‘I
wish to be left alone.’
Here’s to it, phr. (common).—An obscene toast. See It, sense 2.
Here-and-Thereian, subs. phr. (old).—A rolling stone; a person with no
permanent address. Lex. Bal., 1811.
Hereford, adj. (American cowboy). White. [Herefords are white-faced.]
Herefordshire-weed, subs. (old).—An oak.
Her Majesty’s Carriage, subs. phr. (common).—A prison van; the Queen’s
’bus. See Black Maria. Fr., l’omnibus à pègres.
Her Majesty’s Tobacco Pipe, subs. (common).—The furnace where the
forfeited tobacco from the Customs House is burnt. [Now a thing of the
past: the tobacco being distributed to workhouses, etc.]
1871. Echo, 27 Jan. All that was not sold will be burnt, according
to custom, in her majesty’s tobacco pipe. We cannot think such
waste justifiable.
Hermit (or Baldheaded Hermit), subs. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms,
see Creamstick and Prick.
Herod. To out-herod Herod, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To out-do;
specifically (theatrical) to excel in rant.
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii., 2. Oh, it offends me to the soul to
hear a robustious, perriwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters,
to very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings ... it
out-herods Herod.
Herring. Neither fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring, phr.
(old).—Neither one thing nor the other.
1682. Dryden, Duke of Guise, Epil. (6th line from end). Neuters in
their middleway of fleering, Are neither fish, nor flesh, nor good
red herring.
To throw a sprat to catch a herring (or whale), verb. phr. (old).—To
forego an advantage in the hope of greater profit.
1826. Buckstone, Luke the Labourer, i., 2. I give dat like throwing
away a sprat to catch a herring, though I hope on this occasion to
catch a bigger fish.
1890. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, ch. xix. He’s casting a sprat to
catch a whale.
Dead as a herring (or shotten herring), adv. phr. (old).—Quite dead.
[Herrings die sooner on leaving the water than most fish.] See Dead.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, ii., 3. By gar de herring
is no dead as I vill kill him.
1785. Burns, Death and Dr. Hornbook. I’ll nail the self-conceited
sot As dead’s a herrin’.
1790. Rhodes, Bombastes Furioso, Sc. 4. Ay, dead as
herrings—herrings that are red.
Like herrings in a barrel, adv. phr. (common).—Very crowded.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 117. People jammed inside like
herrings in a barrel.
The devil a barrel the better herring, phr. (old).—All bad alike.—Lex.
Bal. In modern American, all alike; indistinguishable. Cf., Sardine.
Herring-gutted, adj. (old).—Lanky; thin.—Grose.
Herring-pond, subs. (common).—The sea; specifically, the North Atlantic
Ocean. See Briny and Puddle. To be sent across the herring-pond = to be
transported.
1722. England’s Path to Wealth. ’Tis odds but a finer country,
cheaper and better food and raiment, wholesomer air, easier rents
and taxes, will tempt many of your countrymen to cross the
herring-pond.
1729. Gay, Polly, i., 1. Bless us all! how little are our customs
known on this side the herring pond!
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, etc., s.v. Herring-pond—the sea, the
Atlantic; and he who is gone across it is said to be lagged, or
gone a Botanizing.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 256, ed. 1854. You’re too old a
hand for the herring-pond.
1864. M. E. Braddon, Henry Dunbar, ch. xxv. You’re not going to run
away? You’re not going to renounce the pomps and vanities of this
wicked world, and make an early expedition across the
herring-pond—eh?
1884. Phillipps-Woolley, Trottings of a Tenderfoot. Everyone
nowadays has read as much as he or she cares to about the voyage
across the herring-pond.
1889. Notes and Queries, 7 S., vii., p. 36, c. 2. Terms which have
lived in America, and again crossed the herring-pond with modern
traffic.
1890. Punch, 6 Feb. Saturday.—My connection with war ended.
Calculate I start to-morrow with the Show across the herring-pond,
to wake up the Crowned Heads of Europe!
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody, ch. xvii. If so, I’ll—I’ll cut him, when
I cross the—er—herrin’ pond.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 119. I guess we have
ruined one or two well-known authors, on the other side of the
herring pond.
Hertfordshire-kindness, subs. (old).—An acknowledgment, or return, in
kind, of favours received. (But see quots., 1662, 1690, and 1738).
1662. Fuller, Worthies. This is generally taken in a good and
grateful sense, for the mutual return of favours received: it being
(belike) observed that the people in this county at entertainments
drink back to them who drank to them.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hertfordshire-kindness,
Drinking to the same Man again.
1717. Ned Ward, Wks., ii., 7. Then we were fain To use
Hertfordshire-kindness, Here’s to you again.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1738. Swift, Polite Conversations. Neverout. My Lord, this moment I
did myself the honour to drink to your Lordship. Lord Smart. Why
then that’s Hertfordshire Kindness. Neverout. Faith, my Lord, I
pledged myself: for I drank twice together without thinking.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hertfordshire Kindness, drinking
twice to the same person.
Hewgag. The Hewgag, subs. (American).—A name for an undeterminate,
unknown, mythical creature.—Slang, Jargon, and Cant.
Hey-gammer-cook. To play at Hey-gammer-cook, verb. phr. (venery).—To
copulate. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
1720. C. Johnson, Highwaymen and Pyrates, ‘Margaret Simpson’
(q.v.).
Hiccius Doccius, subs. phr. (Old Cant).—A juggler; also a shifty fellow
or trickster.
1676. Shadwell, Virtuoso, ii., p. 19. I shall stand here till one
of them has whipt away my Mistris about business, with a Hixius
Doxius, with the force of Repartee, and this, and that, and
Everything in the world.
1678. Butler, Hudibras, iii., 3, 579. At Westminster, and
Hickses-Hall, And Hiccius Dockius play’d in all.
1688. Wycherley, Country Wife, iii. That burlesque is a Hocus-pocus
trick they have got, which by the virtue of Hictius doctius,
topsey-turvey, etc.
1812. Johnson, Eng. Dict., s.v. Hiccius doccius ... a cant word for
a juggler; one that plays fast and loose.
Adj. (old).—Drunk; slovenly. Also, Hickey (q.v.). For synonyms, see
Drinks and Screwed.
1733. North, Examen, i., 3, 137 (1740). The author with his
Hiccius-doxius delivery.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hicksius Doxius, Drunk.
Hic Jacet, subs. phr. (common).—A tombstone; also a memorial
inscription. [From the opening words.]
1598. Shakspeare, All’s Well, etc., iii., 6. The merit of service
is seldom attributed to the true ... performer. I would have that
drum ... or hic jacet.
1858–59. Tennyson, Idylls of the King (‘Vivien’). Among the cold
hic jacets of the dead.
Hick, subs. (Old Cant).—I. A man; specifically a countryman; a booby.
Also (American thieves’) Hickjop and Hicksam. For synonyms, see Joskin.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hick, any Person of whom any
Prey can be made, or Booty taken from; also a silly Country Fellow.
1720. Smith, Lives of Highwaymen and Pyrates, ii., 39. Among whom
was a country farmer ... which was not missed at all by the Country
Hick.
1725. New Cant. Dict. Song 3. ‘The Thief-catcher’s Prophesy.’ The
Eighth is a Bulk, that can bulk any Hick.
1754. Scoundrel’s Dict. The fourteenth, a gamester, if he sees the
Hick sweet He presently drops down a cog in the street.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hickety-split, adj. (American).—With all one’s might; at top speed;
hammer and tongs (q.v.); full chisel (q.v.).
Hickey, adj. (old).—See quot.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hickey, Tipsy; not quite drunk;
elated.
Hickory-shirt, subs. (American).—A checked shirt, cotton or woollen.
Hide, subs. (common).—The human skin. Once literary; now colloquial and
vulgar.
1568. Bannatyne MSS., ‘When Flora, etc.’ (Hunterian Club, 1879–88).
Sche is so brycht of hyd and hew, I lufe bot hir allane I wene.
1607. Marston, What You Will, ii., I. A skubbing railer, whose
course harden’d fortune, Grating his hide, gauling his starued
ribs, Sittes hauling at Deserts more battle fate.
1731. C. Coffey, The Devil to Pay, Sc. 5. Come, and spin, you drab,
or I’ll tan your hide for you.
1892. Kipling, Barrack-Room Ballads. ‘Gunga-Din.’ An’ for all ’is
dirty ’ide ’e was white, clear white, inside.
Verb (common).—To flog. For synonyms, see Tan.
1868. Cassell’s Mag., May, p. 80. This was carried across the yard
to Jacky as a regular challenge, and some said that Kavanagh and
his friends were coming over to hide Jacky after dinner.
1885. Punch, 29 Aug. p. 98. And the silver-topped rattan with which
the boys I used to hide.
Hidebound, adj. (old: now recognised).—Barren; intractable; niggardly;
pedantic; utterly immovable.
1606. Return from Parnassus, ii., 4 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed.,
1875, ix., 125). Any of the hidebound brethren of Oxford or
Cambridge.
1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, i., 2. I am as barren and
hidebound as one of your scribbling poets, who are sots in company
for all their wit.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hidebound Horse, whose Skin
sticks very close, and tite like a Pudding Bag, usually when very
Fat. Ibid. Hidebound Muse, Stiff, hard of Delivery, Sir J. Suckling
call’d Ben Johnson’s so.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1893. Pall Mall Gaz., 24 Feb. ‘High Time to Get Up.’ The most
dragging inertness and the most hide-bound celerity.
Hiding, subs. (common).—A thrashing. For synonyms, see Tanning.
1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, ii., p. 23. May the Gown give the
Town a jolly good hiding.
1864. Mark Lemon, Jest Book, p. 236. Some people have a notion that
villany ought to be exposed, though we must confess we think it a
thing that deserves a hiding.
1871. All the Year Round, 18 Feb. p. 288. Served me right if I’d
got a hiding.
1883. Pall Mall Gaz., 16 Apr., p. 7, c. 2. They should stone all
boys they met who were not members of the society, or in default
themselves receive a good hiding.
1888. Sportsman, 22 Dec. The chairman told Deakin he could scarcely
expect anything but a hiding for being connected with such a
scurrilous publication.
1891. Licensed Vict. Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 7, c. 1. Before Paddock
could claim the victory, which cost the Redditch fighter one of the
severest hidings he ever had to put up with.
Higgledy-piggledy, adj. (Old Cant: now recognised).—In confusion;
topsy-turvy; at sixes and sevens.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Alla rappa, snatchingly,
higledi-pigledie, shiftingly, rap and run.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Higglede-piggledy, all
together, as Hoggs and Piggs lie Nose in Arse.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1758. A. Murphy, The Upholsterer, ii. Ambassadors and Hair-Cutters,
all higgledy-piggledy together.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1812. Johnson, Eng. Dict., s.v. Higgledy-piggledy, a cant word,
corrupted from higgle, which denotes any confused mass, as higglers
carry a huddle of provisions together.
1849. Dickens, David Copperfield, ch. xxii., p. 199. His name’s got
all the letters in it, higgledy-piggledy.
1873. Miss Broughton, Nancy, ch. ii. We are all
higgledy-piggledy—at sixes and sevens!
1876. M. E. Braddon, Joshua Haggard, ch. xvi. ‘If some of you will
sit down,’ remonstrated Judith, ‘I’ll pour out the tea. But I don’t
feel as if anybody wanted it while you’re standing about
higgledy-piggledy.’
Higgler, subs. (old).—A hawker.
High, adj. (American).—Drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
2. (colloquial).—Stinking; gamey (q.v.).; whence, by implication,
diseased (as a prostitute); obscene in intention and effect.
The high and dry, subs. phr. (clerical).—The High Church or
Anglo-Catholic party in the Establishment, as opposed to the low and
slow (q.v.), or Evangelical section. Cf., Broad and Shallow.
1854. Conybeare, Church Parties, 74. Its adherents [of the High
Church] are fallen from their high estate, and are contemptuously
denominated the high and dry, just as the parallel development of
the Low Church is nicknamed ‘low and slow.’
1857. Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers, ch. liii. Who belongs to
the high and dry church, the High Church as it was some fifty years
since, before tracts were written and young clergymen took upon
themselves the highly meritorious duty of cleaning churches?
1886. Graphic, 10 Apr., 399. In the Church have we not the three
schools of High and Dry, Low and Slow, and Broad and Shallow?
High and dry, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Stranded; abandoned;
irrecoverable.
1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 18 Oct., 6, 1. It seems to me that Mr.
Chamberlain must really look out or he will find himself, as the
result of that insidious ‘mellowing process’ to which Mr. Matthews
has testified, landed high and dry in a Toryism compared to which
Sir Walter Barttelot will show in Radical colours.
High and mighty, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Arrogant; imperious; proud;
‘on the high horse,’ or the ‘high ropes’ (q.v.); full of side (q.v.).
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 121. None of your high and mighty
games with me.
1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i., 2. Ye need na be sae
high and mighty onyway.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 49. ‘Mighty high
some people are, ain’t they?’ the man observed loudly,
straightening himself, and ordering a nobbler for himself.
Too high for one’s nut, adv. phr. (American).—Out of one’s reach;
beyond one’s capacity; over one’s bend (q.v.).
You can’t get high enough, verb. phr. (common).—A derisive comment on
any kind of failure. [Probably obscene in origin.]
How is that for high? phr. (American).—‘What do you think of it?’ [Once
a tag universal; common wear now.]
1860. Bartlett, Americanisms, s.v. High. For when he slapped my
broad-brim off, and asked, How’s that for high? It roused the Adam
in me, and I smote him hip and thigh!
1872. Clemens (Mark Twain), Roughing It, 334. We are going to get
it up regardless of expense. [He] was always nifty himself, and so
you bet his funeral ain’t going to be no slouch,—solid silver
door-plate on his coffin, six plumes on the hearse, and a nigger on
the box in a biled shirt and a plug hat,—how’s that for high?
1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 23 Sep., p. 2, c. 1. ‘Cricket’ stories are
the thing just now. How is this for high?
High-bellied (or High in the Belly), adj. phr. (colloquial).—Far gone
in pregnancy. Also High-waisted.
Highbinder, subs. (American).—1. A Chinese blackmailer.
2. (political American).—A political conspirator.—Norton.
High-bloke, subs. (American).—1. A judge.
2. (American).—A well-dressed man; a splawger (q.v.).—Matsell.
Higher-malthusianism, subs. phr. (colloquial).—Sodomy.
Highfalute, verb. (American).—To use fine words. Also to yarn (q.v.).
See Highfaluting. Fr., faire l’étroite.
Highfaluting, subs. (formerly American: now general).—Bombast; rant.
1865. Orchestra. We should not think of using high-falutin on
ordinary serious occasions, and that we never shall use it in
future, unless we happen to speak of the Porcupine critic.
1886. Pall Mall Gaz., 3 May, 6, 2. A glib master of frothy fustian,
of flatulent high-falutin’, and of oratorical bombast.
Adj. (general).—Bombastic; fustian; thrasonical.
1870. Friswell, Modern Men of Letters. A driveller of tipsy,
high-flown, and high-falutin’ nonsense.
1884. Echo, 17 Mar., p. 1, c. 4. It is the boast of high-falutin’
Americans that theirs is a country ‘where every man can do as he
darn pleases.’
High-feather. In high feather, adv. phr. (colloquial).—In luck; on good
terms with oneself and the world.
High-fly. To be on the high-fly, verb. phr. (thieves’).—Specifically,
to practise the begging-letter imposture, but (generally) to tramp the
country as a beggar.
1839. Brandon, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, 163. The
High-fly—beggars, with letters, pretending to be broken-down
gentlemen, captains, etc.
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, (3rd ed.), p. 445. Begging
letters—the highfly.
Highflyer, subs. (old).—1. Anything or anybody out of the common, in
opinion, pretension, attire, and so forth: as a prostitute (high-priced
and well-dressed); an adventurer (superb in impudence and luck). 2. A
dandy, male or female, of the first water. 3. A fast coach.
1690. Dryden. Prol. to Mistakes in Wks., p. 473 (Globe). He’s no
high-flyer—he makes no sky-rockets, His squibs are only levelled at
your pockets.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. High-flyers, Impudent, Forward,
Loose, Light Women. Also, bold adventurers.
1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, i., 1. Well, as high a flyer as you
are, I have a lure may make you stoop.
1706. R. Estcourt, Fair Example, Act i., p. 10. You may keep
company with the highest flyer of ’em all.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, i. Mail-coach races against
mail-coach, and high-flyer against high-flyer, through the most
remote districts of Britain.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, v. As you have your high-fliers at
Almack’s, at the West End, we have also some ‘choice creatures’ at
our All Max in the East.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. High-flyers—women of the town, in
keeping, who job a coach, or keep a couple of saddle-horses at
least.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, (Ed. 1854) p. 75. Howsomever, the
high-flyers doesn’t like him; and when he takes people’s money, he
need not be quite so cross about it!
1860. Dickens, Uncommercial Traveller, xxii., p. 131. The old room
on the ground floor where the passengers of the High-flyers used to
dine.
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, i., 5. Mrs. Boffin, Wegg ... is a
’ighflyer at fashion.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 40. Foller yer leader, ... all
who can carry sufficient skyscrapers to keep in the ’unt, with that
’ighflyer ’Arry.
4. (thieves’).—A beggar with a certain style; a begging-letter writer;
a broken swell.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 268.
While pursuing the course of a high-flyer (genteel beggar).
1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, bk. III., ch. iii., p. 268. He
was a high-flier, a genteel beggar.
1887. Standard, 20 June, p. 5, c. 2. The pretended noblemen and
knights who ‘say they have suffered by war, fire, or captivity, or
have been driven away, and lost all they had,’ are still
represented by the high-flyers or broken-down gentlemen.
5. (circus).—A swing fixed in rows in a frame much in vogue at fairs.
High-flying, subs. (old).—1. Extravagance in opinion, pretension or
conduct.
1689. Dryden, Epil. to Lee’s Princess of Cleves, 6. I railed at
wild young sparks; but without lying Never was man worse thought on
for high-flying.
2. (thieves’).—Begging; the high-fly (q.v.); stilling (q.v.).
High-gag, subs. (American).—A whisperer.—Matsell.
The high-gag, subs. phr. (American).—Telling secrets.—Matsell.
High-game, subs. (thieves’).—See quot.
1889. C. T. Clarkson and J. Hall Richardson, Police, p. 321. A
mansion ... a high game.
High-gig. In High-gig, adv. phr. (old).—In good fettle; lively. Cf.,
Gig.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 15. Rather sprightly—the Bear in
high-gig.
High-go, subs. (common).—A drinking bout; a frolic.
High-heeled Shoes. To have high-heeled shoes on, verb. phr.
(American).—To set up as a person of consequence; to do the grand
(q.v.).
High Horse. To be (or get) on (or ride) the high horse, verb. phr.
(colloquial).—To give oneself airs; to stand on one’s dignity; to take
offence. [Fr. monter sur ses grands chevaux. The simile is common to
most languages.]
1716. Addison, Freeholder, 5 Mar. He told me, he did not know what
travelling was good for, but to teach a man to ride the great
horse, to jabber French, and to talk against passive obedience.
1836. Marryat, Midshipman Easy, ch. xii. He was determined to ride
the high horse—and that there should be no Equality Jack in future.
1842. Comic Almanack, p. 327. Yet Dublin deems the foul extortion
fair, And swears that, as he’s ridden the high horse, So long and
well, she now will make him mayor.
1864. Times, 5 July. Mr. Gladstone in the Dano-German Debate. The
right hon. gentleman then got on what I may call his high horse,
and he would not give us the slightest opinion upon any matter of
substantive policy, because that, he said, would be accepting
office upon conditions.
1868. Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone, 2nd Period, 3rd Narr., ch. ii.
Miss Rachael has her faults—‘I’ve never denied it,’ he began. ‘And
riding the high horse now and then is one of them.’
High-jinks, subs. (old).—1. An old game variously played. [Most
frequently dice were thrown by the company, and those upon whom the lot
fell were obliged to assume and maintain for a time a certain
fictitious character, or to repeat a certain number of fescennine
verses in a particular order. If they departed from the characters
assigned ... they incurred forfeits, which were compounded for by
swallowing an additional bumper.—Guy Mannering, 1836. Note to ch.
xxxii.]
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Highjinks, a Play at Dice who
Drinks.
1780. Ramsay, Maggy Johnston, i., 25. The queff or cup is filled to
the brim, then one of the company takes a pair of dice, and after
crying Hy-jinks, he throws them out; the number he casts out points
out the person that must drink; he who threw beginning at himself
number one, and so round till the number of the person agree with
that of the dice (which may fall upon himself if the number be
within twelve); then he sets the dice to him, or bids him take
them; he on whom they fall is obliged to drink, or pay a small
forfeiture in money, then throws, and so on. But if he forgets to
cry ‘Hy-jinks’ he pays a forfeiture into the bank. Now, he on whom
it falls to drink (if there be anything in the bank worth drawing)
gets it all if he drinks; then with a great deal of caution he
empties his cup, sweeps up the money, and orders the cup to be
filled again, and then throws; for if he errs in the articles he
loses the privilege of drawing the money. The articles are—(1)
Drink, (2) Draw, (3) Fill, (4) Cry ‘Hy-jinks,’ (5) Count just, (6)
Chuse your doublet, man—viz., when two equal numbers of the dice is
thrown, the person whom you chuse must pay a double of the common
forfeiture, and so must you when the dice is in his hand (sic).
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xxxvi. The frolicsome company had
begun to practise the ancient and now forgotten pastime of high
jinks.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, lv. He had made an engagement to
drive Lord Saltire, the next morning, up to Wargrave in a
pony-chaise, to look at Barrymore House, and the place where the
theatre stood, and where the game of high jinks had been played so
bravely fifty years before.
2. See quot., and cf. sense 1.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. A gambler at dice, who, having a strong
head, drinks to intoxicate his adversary, or pigeon. Under this
head are also classed those fellows who keep little goes, take in
insurances; also, attendants at the races, and at the E O tables;
chaps always on the look out to rob unwary countrymen at cards,
etc.
3. (common).—A frolic; a row. [From sense 1.]
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, i. All sorts of high jinks go on
on the grass plot.
1872. Daily Telegraph, 13 Sept. ‘Filey the Retired.’ Frisky Filey
cannot assuredly be called. There are no high jinks on her jetty;
and, besides, she hasn’t got a jetty, only a ‘Brigg.’
1890. Pall Mall Gaz., 24 July, 4, 2. Yesterday and to-day there
have been high jinks in Petworth Park, rich and poor for miles
round being invited, and right royally feasted on the coming of age
of Lord and Lady Leconfield’s eldest son.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 3 Apr. While Bank Holiday was being
celebrated with such éclat at Kempton, they were carrying on high
jinks over hurdles and fences at Manchester.
1892. Sala’s Journal, 2 July, p. 223. High jinks with the telephone
have been the order of the day at Warwick Castle; taps and wires
have been turned on and off, and floods of melody of various kinds
have delighted listening ears.
1893. National Observer, 25 Feb., ix., 357. Time was when there
were high jinks in that vast quadrangle.
To be at his high jinks, phr. (common).—To be stilted and arrogant in
manner; to ride the high horse (q.v.). Fr., faire sa merde or sa poire.
High-kicker, subs. (colloquial).—Specifically, a dancer whose
speciality is the high kick or the porte d’armes; whence, by metaphor,
any desperate spreester (q.v.), male or female.
High-kilted, adj. (Scots’).—Obscene or thereabouts; full flavoured
(q.v.).
Highland-bail, subs. (Scots’).—The right of the strongest; force
majeure.
1816. Scott, Antiquary, ch. xxix. The mute eloquence of the miller
and smith, which was vested in their clenched fists, was prepared
to give Highland bail for their arbiter.
High-lawyer, subs. (old).—A highwayman. For synonyms, see Road Agent.
1592. John Day, Blind Beggar, p. 21 (Ed. Bullen). He wo’d be your
prigger, your prancer, your high-lawyer.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 50 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874). He
first gaue termes to robbers by the high-way, that such as robbe on
horse-backe were called high lawyers, and those who robbed on
foote, he called Padders.
High-liver, subs. (old).—A garretteer; a thief housed in an attic.
Hence, High-living = lodging in a garret.—Lex. Bal.
High-men, subs. (old).—Dice loaded to show high numbers. Also,
High-runners. See Fulhams and Low-men.
1594. Nashe, Unf. Traveller in Wks. [Grosart], v., 27. The dice of
late are growen as melancholy as a dog, high men and low men both
prosper alike.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, i., 3. Let vultures gripe thy guts!
for gourd and fullam holds, And high and low beguiles the rich and
poor.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Pise, false dice, high men or low
men.
1605. London Prodigal, i., 1. I bequeath two bale of false dice,
videlicet, high men and low men, fullams, stop-catertraies, and
other bones of function.
1615. Harington, Epigrams, i., 79. Your high And low men are but
trifles.
1657–1733. John Dennis, Letters, ii., 407. Shadwell is of opinion,
that your bully, with his box and his false dice, is an honester
fellow than the rhetorical author, who makes use of his tropes and
figures, which are his high and his low runners, to cheat us at
once of our money and of our intellectuals.
1822. Scott, Fort. of Nigel, ch. xxiii. Men talk of high and low
dice.
High-nosed, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very proud in look and in fact;
supercilious in bearing and speech; superior (q.v.).
High- [or gay-] old (time, game, liar, etc.), adj. phr. (common).—A
general intensitive: e.g., high old time = a very merry time indeed;
high old liar = a liar of might; high old drunk = an uncommon booze
(q.v.).
1883. Referee, 11 Mar., p. 3, c. 2. All the children who have been
engaged in the Drury Lane pantomime took tea on the stage, and had
a high old time (while it lasted).
1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Ladies’ Gallery, ch.
xxxv. I went down to Melbourne, intending to have a high old time.
1891. Murray’s Mag., Aug., p. 202. There will be a Want of
Confidence Motion, and a high old debate.
1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, p. 7. You are a big fraud and a
high old liar.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 35. We’d the highest old game.
1892. F. Anstey, Voces Populi, ‘The Riding Class,’ p. 108. We’ve
bin having a gay old time in ’ere.
High-pad (or Toby, or High-toby-splice), subs. (old).—1. The highway.
Also, high-splice toby. For synonyms, see Drum.
1567. Harman, Caveat, p, 86. Roge, Nowe bynge we a waste to the
hygh pad, the ruffmanes is by.
c. 1819. Slang Song (quoted in notes to Don Juan, x., 19). On the
high-toby-splice flash the muzzle In spite of each gallows old
scout.
1836. H. M. Milner, Turpin’s Ride to York, i., sc. 2. Come, lads a
stirrup-cup at parting, and then hurrah for the game of high-toby.
1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 4. Halting for a few
hours at mid-day during the heat in the high spice-toby, as we used
to call the main road.
2. (old).—A highwayman. Also, high-tobyman (or -gloak). For synonyms,
see Road Agent.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. High Pad, a Highwayman, Highway
Robber well Mounted and Armed.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. High toby-gloak, a highway robber well
mounted.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. IV., ch i. Tom King, a noted
high-toby gloak of his time.
1857. Punch, 31 Jan. (from slang song). That long over Newgit their
Worships may rule, As the High-toby, mob, crack, and screeve model
school.
3. (old).—Highway robbery.
1819, Vaux, Cant. Dict. High-toby, the game of highway robbery,
that is exclusively on horseback.
High-pooped, adj. (colloquial).—Heavily buttocked.
High-rented, adj. (popular).—1. Hot.
2. (thieves’).—Very well known to the police; hot (q.v.).
High-roller, subs. (American).—A goer (q.v.); a fast liver; a heavy
gambler; a highflyer (q.v.).
1887. Francis, Saddle and Moccasin, He’s a high-roller, by gum!
High-ropes. To be on the high ropes, verb. phr. (common).—To be angry
or excited. Also to put on airs; to stand on one’s dignity; to ride the
high-horse (q.v.).
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. To be on the high ropes, to be in
a passion.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
1866. Yates, Land at Last, ii. He’s on the high ropes, is Master
Charley! Some of you fellows have been lending him half a-crown, or
that fool Caniche has bought one of his pictures for seven-and-six!
High-seasoned (or Highly-spiced), adj. (colloquial).—Obscene. For
synonyms, see Spicy.
High- (or clouted-) shoon, subs. (old).—A countryman. For synonyms, see
Joskin.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
High-sniffing, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Pretentious; supercilious; very
obviously better than one’s company; high-nosed (q.v.).
High-stepper, subs. (common).—An exemplar, male or female, of what is
fashionable in conversation, conduct, or attire; a swell (q.v.). Also,
a person of spirit. Whence, adj., high-stepping (or high-pacing) =
conspicuously elegant or gallant in dress, speech, manner, conduct,
anything.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, ch. ix. From her actions and
style I’m pretty certain she’s English and a high-stepper.
High-stomached, adj. (colloquial).—Proud; disdainful; very valiant.
High-strikes, subs. (common).—A corruption of ‘hysterics.’
1838. Selby, Jacques Strop, ii., 4. Capital! ... didn’t I do the
high-strikes famously.
1860. Miss Wetherell, Say and Seal, ch. vii. She wants you to come.
I’m free to confess she’s got the high-strikes wonderful.
High-tea, subs. (colloquial).—A tea with meat, etc. In Lancashire
Bagging (q.v.).
1888. Sporting Life, 15 Dec. Following run there will be high tea
and a grand smoking concert, to which visitors are cordially
invited.
High-ti, subs. (American: Williams Coll.).—A showy recitation; at
Harvard = a squirt (q.v.).
High-tide (or water) subs. (colloquial).—Rich for the moment; The state
of being flush (q.v.). For synonyms, see Well Ballasted.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. high tide when the Pocket is
full of Money.
1725. New Cant. Dict.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. High-tide—plenty of the possibles;
whilst ‘low-water’ implies empty clies.
Up to high-water mark, adv. phr. (colloquial).—In good condition; a
general expression of approval.
High-toby. See High Pad.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. v. Oh! the game of
High-Toby for ever.
High-toned, adj. (American).—Aristocratic; also, morally and
intellectually endowed; spiritually beyond the common. High-souled =
cultured; fashionable. High-toned nigger = a negro who has raised
himself in social position. [Once literary; now utterly discredited and
never used, save in ignorance or derision.] Stokes, the maniac who shot
Garfield, described himself as a ‘High-Toned Lawyer.’
1884. Phillips Woolley, Trottings of a Tender Foot. I never saw any
so-called high-toned niggers.
1893. Cassell’s Sat. Jour., 1 Feb., p. 389, 1. One day a
fashionably-dressed young man, giving an address in a high-toned
suburb, called upon Messrs. Glitter.
Highty-tighty (or Hoity-toity), subs. (old).—A wanton.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hightetity, a Ramp, or Rude
Girl.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
Adj. (colloquial).—Peremptory; waspish; quarrelsome.
1848. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. xviii. La, William, don’t be so
highty-tighty with us. We’re not men.
High Wood. To live in high wood, verb. phr. (common).—To hide; to
dissemble of purpose; to lie low and keep quiet.
Higulcion-flips, subs. (Texas).—An imaginary ailment.
Hike, verb. (old).—To move about. Also to carry off; to arrest.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hike. To hike off; to run away.
1884. Daily Telegraph, 2 Feb., p. 3, c. 1. We three, not having any
regler homes nor a steady job of work to stick to, hike about for a
living, and we live in the cellar of a empty house.
Hilding, subs. (old).—A jade; a wanton; a disreputable slut.
1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shrew, ii., 1. For shame thou
hilding of a devilish spirit.
1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, ii., 4. Hildings and harlots.
Hill. Not worth a hill of beans, phr. (American).—Absolutely worthless.
Hills, subs. (Winchester Coll.).—1. St. Catharine’s Hill.
1870. Mansfield, School Life, p. 28. Some of his principal duties
were to take the boys ‘on to hills,’ call names there, etc.
2. (Cambridge Univ.).—The Gogmagog Hills; a common morning’s ride.
Gradus ad Cantab.
Hilly, adj. (colloquial).—Difficult: e.g., hilly reading = hard to
read; hilly going = not easy to do; etc.
Hilt. Loose in the hilt, adv. phr. (old).—Unsteady; rocky (q.v.); lax
in the bowels.
1639–61. Rump Songs. ‘Bum-fodder,’ ii., 56. If they stay longer,
they will us beguilt With a Government that is loose in the hilt.
Hind-boot, subs. (common).—The breech. For synonyms, see Monocular
Eyeglass.
Hind-coachwheel, subs. (common).—A five shilling piece. Fr., roue de
derrière, thune, or palet, = a five-franc piece. For synonyms, see
Caroon.
Hinder-blast, subs. (old).—Crepitation.
1540. Lindsay, Thrie Estaitis [in Bannatyne MSS., Hunterian Club,
ed., (1879–88), p. 511] line 1429–30. Scho hes sic rumling in her
wame, That all the nycht my hairt ouercastis With bokking and with
hinder blastis.
Hinder-end, subs. phr. (common).—The breech. Also, hinder-parts and
hinder-world.
Hinder-entrance, subs. phr. (common).—The fundament.
Hind-leg. To kick out a hind leg, verb. phr. (old).—To lout; to make a
rustic bow.
To talk the hind leg off a horse (or dog). See Talk.
To sit upon one’s hind legs and howl, verb. phr. (American).—To bemoan
one’s fate; to make a hullabaloo.
Hindoo, subs. (American).—See Know Nothing.
Hindoo Punishment, subs. phr. (circus).—See quot.
1875. Frost, Circus Life, ch. xviii. The Hindoo Punishment is what
is more often called the muscle grind, a rather painful exercise
upon the bar, in which the arms are turned backward to embrace the
bar, and then brought forward upon the chest, in which position the
performer revolves.
Hind-shifters, subs. (old).—The feet. For synonyms, see Creepers.
1823. Lamb, Elia, Wks., (Ed. 1852), p. 311. They would show as fair
a pair of hind-shifters as the expertest loco-motor in the colony.
Hinges. Off the hinges, adv. phr. (common)—In confusion; out of sorts;
‘not quite the thing.’
Hinterland, subs. (old).—The breech.
Hip, (in. pl.), subs. (colloquial).—Conventional—as in the proverb,
‘Free of her lips; free of her hips’—for the buttocks. Hence, to walk
with the hips = to make play with the posteriors in walking; long in
the hips; and hips to sell = broad in the beam; nimble-hipped = active
in copulation.
c. 1508. Dunbar. Poems, ‘Of a Dance in the Quenis Chalmer’ (1836),
i., 119. His hippis gaff mony a hiddouss cry. Ibid. i., 124. ‘Of
Ane Blak-moir.’... Sall cum behind and kiss hir hippis.
1540. Lindsay, Thrie Estaits, line 3227. My craig will wit quhat
weyis my hippis. Ibid., line 4424. Ye wald not stick to preise my
graith With hobbling of your hippis.
c. 1580. Collier of Croydon, iv., I. (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed.,
1875, 459). I keep her lips and her hips for my own use.
d. 1607. Montgomerie, Poems, ‘Polwart and Montgomerie’s Flyting,’
p. 85, line 779 (Scottish Text Soc., 1885–6). Kailly lippes, kiss
my hips.
To have (get, or catch) on the hip, verb. phr. (old).—To have (or get)
an advantage. [From wrestling.]
1591. Harington, Orlando Furioso, bk. xlvi., st. 117. In fine he
doth apply one speciall drift, Which was to get the pagan on the
hip, And having caught him right, he doth him lift By nimble
sleight, and in such wise doth trip That down he threw him.
1598. Shakspeare, Merchant of Venice, i. 3. If I can catch him once
upon the hip. I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.
1605. Marston, Dutch Courtezan. iii., 1. He said he had you a the
hyp.
1617. Andrewes, Sermons (‘Library of Ang.-Cath. Theology’), Vol.
IV., p. 365. If he have us at the advantage, on the hip as we say,
it is no great matter then to get service at our hands.
1635. D. Dike, Michael and the Dragon, in Wks., p. 328. The Divell
hath them on the hip, he may easily bring them to anything.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Upon the Hip ... at an
Advantage in Wrestling, or Business.
1697. Vanbrugh, Relapse, iv., 1. My lord, she has had him upon the
hip these seven years.
1812. Johnson, Eng. Dict. Hip, s.v., A low phrase.
1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 226. ‘Ha! ha! I have
you on the hip now, my master,’ shouted Peter.
Hipe, subs. (wrestling).—A throw over the hip. Hence Hipe, verb = to
get across the hip before the throw.
Hip-hop, verb (old).—To skip or move on one leg; to hop. ‘A cant word
framed by the reduplication of hop.’—Johnson, 1812.
1670–1729. Congreve [Quoted in Johnson’s Eng. Dict.]. Like Volscius
hip-hop in a single boot.
Hip-inside, subs. (thieves’).—An inner pocket. Hip-outside = an outer
ditto.
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant (3rd Ed.), p. 445, s.v.
Hipped (or Hippish), adj. (common).—Bored; melancholical; out of sorts.
[From hypochondria.]
1710. Gay, Wine in Wks. (1811) p. 348. By cares depress’d, in
pensive hippish mood.
1712. Spectator, No. 284. I cannot forbear writing to you, to tell
you I have been to the last degree hipped since I saw you.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Babes in the Wood.’ The wicked
old Uncle, they say, In spite of his riot and revel, Was hippish
and qualmish all day, And dreamt all night long of the devil.
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, bk. III., ch. x. ‘You are a
little hipped, dear fellow,’ said Eugene; ‘you have been too
sedentary. Come and enjoy the pleasures of the chase.’
Hippen, subs. (Scots’: colloquial).—A baby’s napkin (i.e., hipping
cloth). Also (theatrical), the green curtain.
Hiren, subs. (old).—1. A prostitute. [A corruption of ‘Irene,’ the
heroine in Poole’s play: see quot. 1584.] For synonyms, see
Barrack-hack and Tart.
1584. Poole, The Turkish Mahomet and Hyren the Fair Greek. Note. In
Italian called a courtezan; in Spaine a margarite; in English ... a
punk.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., ii., 4. Have we not Hiren here?
1615. Adams, Spiritual Navigator. There be sirens in the sea of the
world. Syrens? Hirens, as they are now called. What a number of
these sirens [Hirens], cockatrices, courteghians, in plain English,
harlots, swimme amongst us!
d. 1618. Sylvester, Trans. Du Bartas’ Week of Creation, ii., 2, pt.
3. Of charming sin the deep-inchaunting syrens, The snares of
virtue, valour-softening hyrens.
2. (old).—A sword. Also a roaring bully; a fighting hector. [From Irene
= the Goddess of Peace, a lucus a non lucendo.]
Hishee-hashee. See Soap-and-bullion.
His Nibs (or Nabs). See Nibs.
Hiss. The hiss, subs. phr. (Winchester College).—The signal of a
master’s approach.
Historical- (Wrought, or Illustrated-) Shirt, subs. (old).—A shirt or
shift worked or woven with pictures or texts.
1596. Ben Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour; iv., 6. I wonder he
speaks not of his wrought-shirt.
1639. Mayne, City Match, ii., 2. My smock sleeves have such holy
imbroideries, And are so learned that I fear in time, All my
apparel will be quoted by Some pure instructor.
1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Custom of the County, ii., 1. Having a
mistress, sure you should not be Without a neat historical-shirt.
1848. Punch, XIV., 226. He never broke a bank, He shuns
cross-barred trousers, His linen is not illustrated, but
beautifully clean.
1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., 51. Colored, or
illustrated shirts, as they are called, are especially objected to
by the men.
1889. Puck’s Library, Apr., p. 12. Being an educated man, I feel
ten thousand woes, Cavorting for the populace In illustrated
clothes.
History of the Four Kings. See Four Kings.
Hit, subs. (common).—A success; e.g., To make a hit = to score; to
profit; to excel.
1602. Marston, Antonio and Mellida. Induction. When use hath taught
me action to hit the right point of a ladie’s part.
1700. Congreve, Way of the World, ii., 5. A hit, a hit! a palpable
hit! I confess it.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, bk. I., ch. i. Teach me to make a hit of
so Kean a quality that it may not only ‘tell,’ but be long
remembered in the metropolis.
1822–36. Jno. Wilson, Noctes Amb., Wks. II., 210. Mr. Peel seems to
have made a hit in the chief character of Shiel’s play, The
Apostate.
1828–45. T. Hood, Poems, v., p. 197, (Ed. 1846). Nor yet did the
heiress herself omit The arts that help to make a hit.
1870. Figaro, 10 June. To make a great hit is, after all, more a
matter of chance than merit.
1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 3 July. Madam Melba makes an especial hit in
the valse from Roméo et Juliette.
1889. Referee, 6 Jan. Quite a hit has been made by the clever
juvenile, La Petite Bertoto.
Adj. (Old Bailey).—Convicted.
Hard-hit, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Sore beset; hard-up (q.v.). Also deep
in love (or grief, or anger).
1890. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 7 Nov. It was pretty generally known
that he had been hard hit during the season.
Verb (American).—To arrive at; to light upon.
1888. Detroit Free Press, Oct. Professor Rose, who hit this town
last spring, is around calling us a fugitive from justice.
To hit it, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To attain an object; to light on a
device; to guess a secret.
1594. Shakspeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, iv., 1. Thou cans’t not hit
it, hit it, hit it, Thou can’st not hit it, my good man.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, iii., 2. I can never hit one’s name.
1773. O. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer. Ecod, I have hit it.
It’s here. Your hands. Yours and yours, my poor sulky! My boots
there, ho! Meet me two hours hence at the bottom of the garden.
1880. A. Trollope, The Duke’s Children, ch. lii. He dressed himself
in ten minutes, and joined the party as they had finished their
fish. ‘I am awfully sorry,’ he said, rushing up to his father, ‘but
I thought that I should just hit it.’
To hit off, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To agree together; to fit; to
describe with accuracy and precision.
1857. A. Trollope, Barchester Towers, ch. xxxiv. It is not always
the case that the master, or warden, or provost, or principal can
hit it off exactly with his tutor. A tutor is by no means
indisposed to have a will of his own.
1880. A. Trollope, The Duke’s Children, ch. xxxvi. ‘One gentleman
with another, you mean?’ ‘Put it so. It don’t quite hit it off, but
put it so.’
1886. J. S. Winter, Army Society. ‘Sidelight,’ ch. xiv. ‘Hey!’ said
Orford. ‘Didn’t you and he hit it off?’
1889. Daily News, 22 Oct., p. 5. The nations that quarrel are the
nations that do not hit it off on some point of feeling or taste.
To hit the flat, verb. phr. (American cowboy).—To go out on the
prairie.
To hit the pipe, verb. phr. (American).—To smoke opium.
To hit one where he lives, verb. phr. (American).—To touch in a tender
part; to hurt the feelings; to touch on the raw (q.v.).
Hit (or struck) with, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Taken; enamoured;
prepossessed. Also, hit up with.
1891. Tales from Town Topics. ‘Count Candawles,’ p. 28. She is very
amusing, but the Count cannot be really hit with such a little
mountebank.
Hit on the tail, verb. phr. (old venery).—To copulate. For synonyms,
see Greens and Ride.
d. 1529. Skelton, Bowge of Courte. How oft he hit Jonet on the
tayle.
Hit in the teeth, verb. phr. (old).—To reproach; to taunt; to fling in
one’s face.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, ii., 6 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 431). They are always hitting me in the teeth
with a man of my coat.
Hitch, verb (American).—1. To marry. Hitched = married.
1867. Browne, Artemus Ward’s Courtship, People’s ed., p. 23. If you
mean getting hitched, I’m in.
1883. L. Oliphant, Altiora Peto, II., xxix., 156. ‘How long is it
since we parted, Ned?’ ‘A matter of five years; and it wasn’t my
fault if we didn’t stay hitched till now.’
1892. Tit-Bits, 17 Sept., p. 419, c. 1. ‘We’ve come to get
hitched,’ said the man, bashfully.
2. (American).—To agree. Also to hitch horses.
To hitch one’s team to the fence, verb. phr. (American).—To settle
down.
Hittite, subs. (pugilists’).—A prize fighter.
English synonyms.—Basher; bruiser; dukester; fistite; knight of the
fist; gemman of the fancy; milling-cove; pug; puncher; scrapper;
slasher; slogger; slugger; sparring-bloke.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Hittites—boxers and ring-goers
assembled.
1860. The Druid, Post and Paddock. ‘The Fight for the Belt.’ And
the Sherwood Ranger, bold Bendigo, Is on training no more intent;
But the trout full well that ex-Hittite know On a Summer’s eve in
the Trent.
Hive, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. Cf. Honey. Hence, verbally,
to hive it = to effect intromission.
Verb (American cadet).—To steal. For synonyms, see Prig.
To get hived, verb. phr. (American Cadets’ and popular).—1. To be
caught out in a scrape. Also, to be hidden. To be hived perfectly
frigid = to be caught in flagrante delicto.
Hiver, subs. (Western American).—A travelling bawd.
Hivite, subs. (school).—A student of St. Bees’ (Cumberland).
1865. John Bull, 11 Nov. To be a Hivite has long been considered a
little worse than a ‘literate’.... Of the value of some St. Bees
testimonials we may form an estimate, etc., etc.
Hoaky. By the hoaky, intj. (nautical).—A popular form of adjuration.
Hoax, subs. (old: now recognised).—A jest; a practical joke; a Take-in.
Originally (Grose) University cant. [Probably from Hocus (q.v.).]
1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd Ed.), s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hoaxing. Bantering, ridiculing.
Hoaxing a quiz; joking an odd fellow.—University wit.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. iii. Whose humble efforts at
jocularity were chiefly confined to what were then called bites and
bams, since denominated hoaxes and quizzes.
1835–7. Richardson, Dict. Eng. Lang., s.v. Hoax. Malone considers
the modern slang hoax as derived from hocus, and Archdeacon Nares
agrees with him.
Verb. To play a practical joke; to ‘take-in’; to bite (q.v.). See subs.
sense. For synonyms, see Gammon.
1812. Combe, Syntax, Picturesque, xix. An arch young sprig, a
banker’s clerk, Resolv’d to hoax the rev’rend spark.
1854. F. E. Smedley, Harry Coverdale, ch. viii. I thought you were
hoaxing us, and I sat down to play the duet for the amiable purpose
of exposing your ignorance.
Hob (or Hobbinol), subs. (old).—A clown.—Grose.
Hob and Nob (or Hob Nob), verb. (old).—1. To invite to drink; to clink
glasses.
1756. Foote, Englishman from Paris, i. With, perhaps, an occasional
interruption of ‘Here’s to you, friends,’ ‘Hob or nob,’ ‘Your love
and mine.’
1759. Townley, High Life Below Stairs, ii. Duke. Lady Charlotte,
hob or nob. Lady Char. Done, my lord; in Burgundy, if you please.
1772. Graves, Spiritual Quixote, bk. VIII., ch. xxi. (new Ed.,
1808). Having drunk hob or nob with a young lady in whose eyes he
wished to appear a man of consequence, he hurried out into the
summer-house.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Hob nob—two persons pledging each other
in a glass.
1836. Horace Smith, Tin Trumpet, ‘Address to a Mummy.’ Perchance
that very hand now pinioned flat, Has hob-and-nobbed with Pharoah
glass for glass.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. xxx. He would have liked to hob and
nob with celebrated pick-pockets, or drink a pot of ale with a
company of burglars and cracksmen.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 68. So the pair sat down and
hob-a-nobbed.
2. (old).—To give or take; to hit or miss at random. [Saxon, habban, to
have; nabban, not to have.]
1577–87. Holinshed, Chroncles of Englande, Scotlande, and Irelande
(1807) p. 317. The citizens in their rage shot habbe or nabbe (hit
or miss) at random.
1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, iii., 4. Hob-nob is his word, give
’t or take ’t.
1615. Harington, Epigrams, iv. Not of Jack Straw, with his
rebellious crew, That set king, realm, and laws, at hab or nab.
1673. Quack Astrologer. He writes of the weather hab nab, and as
the toy takes him, chequers the year with foul and fair.
3. (colloquial).—To be on terms of close intimacy; to consort
familiarly together.
1870. Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad, ch. i. They were to hob-nob
with nobility and hold friendly converse with kings and princes.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 109. I had
hob-nobbed for the last two hours with the most notorious
bushranger in the colony.
1892. A. K. Green, Cynthia Wakeham’s Money, p. 5. Each tree looks
like a spectre hob-nobbing with its neighbour.
Hobbes’s-voyage, subs. (old).—A leap in the dark.
1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, v., 6. So, now, I am in for Hobbes’s
voyage; a great leap in the dark.
Hobbinol, subs. (old).—A countryman. For synonyms, see Joskin.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, ii., 3 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 396). Who, Master Jeffrey? Hobbinol the
second! By this life, ’tis a very veal, and licks his nose like
one.
Hobble. In a hobble (or Hobbled), adv. phr. (colloquial).—In trouble;
hampered; puzzled. Also (thieves), committed for trial. Fr., tomber
dans la mélasse (= to come a cropper), and faitré (= booked (q.v.)).
Hobbled upon the legs = transported, or on the hulks.
1777. Foote, Trip to Calais (1795), ii., p. 39. But take care what
you say! you see what a hobble we had like to have got into.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 163. A term when any of the
gang is taken up and committed for trial, to say, such a one is
hobbled.
1811. Poole, Hamlet Travestie, iii., 5. Horatio, I am sorry for
this squabble; I fear ’twill get me in a precious hobble.
1819. Vaux, Cant. Dict., s.v. Hobbled, taken up, or in custody; to
hobble a plant, is to spring it.
1838. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 2nd S., ch. xvii. A body has to be
cautious if he don’t want to get into the centre of a hobble.
1849. Punch, Fortune-Tellers’ Almanack. To dream that you are lame
is a token that you will get into a hobble.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 44. I got into a ’obble.
Verb (venery).—See quot.
1688. Sempill, ‘Crissell Sandilands’ in Bannatyne MSS. (Hunterian
Club, 1879–88), p. 354, lines 21–2. Had scho bene undir, and he
hobland above, That were a perellous play for to suspect them.
Hobbledehoy, subs. (old, now colloquial).—A growing gawk: as in the
folk-rhyme, ‘Hobbledehoy, neither man nor boy.’ [For derivation, see
Notes and Queries, 1 S., v., 468, vii., 572; 4 S., ii., 297, viii.,
451, ix., 147; 7 S., iv., 523, and v., 58.]
1557. Tusser, Husbandrie, ch. 60, st 3, p. 138 (E. D. S.). The
first seuen yeers bring vp as a childe, The next to learning, for
waxing too wilde. The next keepe vnder sir hobbard de hoy, The next
a man no longer a boy.
1738. Swift, Polite Convers., Dial 1. Why, he is a mere
hobbledehoy, neither a man nor a boy.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Aunt Fanny.’ At the epoch I speak
about, I was between a man and a boy, A hobble-de-hoy, A fat,
little, punchy concern of sixteen.
1848. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. iv. He remembered perfectly well
being thrashed by Joseph Sedley, when the latter was a big,
swaggering, hobbadyhoy, and George an impudent urchin of ten years
old.
Hence Hobbledehoyish and Hobbledehoyhood.
1812. Colman, Poetical Vagaries, p. 12 (2nd Ed.). When Master Daw
full fourteen years had told, He grew, as it is term’d,
hobbedyhoyish; For Cupidons and Fairies much too old, For Calibans
and Devils much too boyish.
1839. Thackeray, Fatal Boots, Apr. From boyhood until
hobbadyhoyhood (which I take to be about the sixteenth year of the
life of a young man).
1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, ch. xlii. A half-grown, or
hobbadehoyish footman, so to speak, walked after them.
Hobbledejee, subs. (old).—A pace between a walk and a run; a jog-trot.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Hobbler, subs. (nautical).—A coast-man, half smuggler, half handyman;
an unlicensed pilot. Also a landsman acting as tow-Jack.—Smyth. Also
(Isle of Man), a boatman.
1887. T. E. Brown, The Doctor, p. 226. An’ the hobblers there was
terr’ble divarted.
Hobby, subs. (old).—A hackney; a horse in common use.
1606. Return from Parnassus, ii., 6 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed.,
1875, ix., 151). An’t please you, your hobby will meet you at the
lane’s end. Idem (p. 154). Is not my master an absolute villain
that loves his hawk, his hobby, and his greyhound more than any
mortal creature? Idem (p. 145). Sirrah, boy, hath the groom saddled
my hunting hobby?
2. (university).—A translation. To ride hobbies = to use Cribs (q.v.).
Sir Posthumous Hobby, subs. phr. (old).—One nice or whimsical in his
clothes.
Hobby-horse, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A whim; a fancy; a
favourite pursuit. Hence Hobbyhorsical = strongly attached to a
particular fad.
1759. Sterne, Tristram Shandy (1793), ch. vii., p. 18. Have they
not had their hobby-horses?
d. 1768. Sterne, Letters (1793), letter 19, p. 65. ’Tis in fact my
hobby-horse.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hobby Horse, a man’s favourite
amusement, or study, is called his hobby horse.
1893. Westminster Gaz., 15 Mar., p. 9, c. 1. We quarrel a bit—he is
so hobby-horsical, you can’t avoid it—and then we make friends
again.
2. (colloquial).—A rantipole girl; a wench; a wanton.
1594. Shakspeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, iii., 1. Call’st thou my
love hobby-horse? Moth. No, master; the hobby-horse is but a colt,
and your love, perhaps a hackney.
1604. Shakspeare, Winter’s Tale, 1., 2. They say my wife’s a
hobby-horse.
3. (old).—A witless and unmannerly lout.
1609. Jonson, Epicœne, iv., 2. Daw. Here be in presence have tasted
of her favors. Cler. What a neighing hobby-horse is this!
Verb (old).—To romp.
Hob-collingwood, subs. phr. (North Country).—The four of hearts,
considered an unlucky card.
Hob-jobber, subs. (streets).—A man or boy on the look out for small
jobs—holding horses, carrying parcels, and the like.
Hob-nail, subs. (old).—A countryman. For synonyms, see Joskin.
1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Women Pleased, ii., 6. The hob-nail
thy husband’s as fitly out o’ th’ way now.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hobnail, a country clodhopper, from
the shoes of country farmers and ploughmen being commonly stuck
full of hobnails, and even often clouted, or tipped with iron.
Hobnailed, adj. (colloquial).—Boorish; clumsy; coarse; ill-done.
1599. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour. Sog. A wretched
hobnailed chuff.
Hobson’s-choice, subs. (common).—That or none: i.e., there is no
alternative. [Popularly derived from the name of a Cambridge livery
stable keeper, whose rule was that each customer must take the horse
next the door, or have no horse at all. That old Hobson existed is
clear from Milton’s epitaph, but Bellenden Ker (Archæology of Popular
Phrases) affirms the story to be a Cambridge hoax, and maintains the
proverb to be identical in sound and sense as the Low Saxon, Op soens
schie ho eysche = when he had a kiss he wanted something else.]
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hobson’s Choice, that or None.
1710. Ward, England’s Reformation, ch. iv. ’Tis Hobson’s Choice,
take that or none.
1712. Steele, Spectator, No. 509, p. 191. I shall conclude this
discourse with an explanation of a proverb [Hobson’s choice], which
by vulgar error is taken and used when a man is reduced to an
extremity, whereas the propriety of the maxim is to use it when you
would say there is plenty, but you must make such a choice as not
to hurt another who is to come after you. Ibid. He [Hobson] kept a
stable of forty good cattle, always ready and fit for travelling;
but when a man came for a horse he was led into the stable, where
there was great choice, but was obliged to take the horse which
stood nearest to the stable-door; so that every customer was alike
well served, according to his chance, and every horse ridden with
the same justice.
1717. Cibber, Non-Juror, i. Can any woman think herself happy
that’s obliged to marry only with a Hobson’s choice?
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1820. Reynolds [Peter Corcoran], The Fancy. Black men now are
Hobson’s choice.
1851. F. E. Smedley, Lewis Arundel, ch. liii. ‘When shall we go?’
inquired Laura. ‘Why, it’s a case of Hobson’s choice,’ returned
Leicester.
1854. Notes and Queries, 21 Jan., p. 51. It was clear a choice had
been given to him, but it was a Hobson’s choice.
Hock, subs. (American).—1. The last card in the dealer’s box at faro.
[From soda (q.v.) to hock = from beginning to end.]
2. In. pl. (common).—The feet. Curby hocks = clumsy feet. For synonyms,
see Creepers. [From the stable.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hocks ... you have left the marks
of your dirty hocks on my clean stairs.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Old hock, subs. phr. (common).—Stale beer; swipes (q.v.). See Hockey.
In hock, adv. phr. (general).—Laid by the heels; fleeced; bested
(q.v.).; and (thieves’), in prison.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum. ‘If the cove should be caught in the hock
he won’t snickle,’ if the fellow should be caught in the act, he
would not tell.
Hock-dockies, subs. (old).—Shoes. For synonyms, see Trotter-cases.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 173. Shoes. Hockey-dockeys.
Hockey, adj. (old).—Drunk, especially on stale beer. For synonyms, see
Drinks and Screwed.
1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd Ed.), s.v.
Hocus, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A cheat; an imposter. [An
abbreviation of hocus-pocus (q.v.).]
1654. Witts Recreations. Here Hocas lyes with his tricks and his
knocks, Whom death hath made sure as a juglers box; Who many hath
cozen’d by his leiger-demain, Is presto convey’d and here
underlain. Thus Hocas he’s here, and here he is not, While death
plaid the Hocas, and brought him to th’ pot.
2. (old: now recognised).—Drugged liquor.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Hocus or Hocus Pocus.... A deleterious
drug mixed with wine, etc., which enfeebles the person acted upon.
Adj. (old).—See quots. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
1725. New. Cant. Dict., s.v. Hocus, disguised in Liquor; drunk.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hocus Pocus, he is quite hocus, he
is quite drunk.
Verb (old: now recognised).—1. To cheat; to impose upon.
2. (old: now recognised).—To drug; to snuff (q.v.).
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xiii., p. 104. ‘What do you mean by
hocussing brandy and water?’ inquired Mr. Pickwick. ‘Puttin’
laund’num in it,’ replied Sam.
1836. Comic Almanack, p. 1. For that we hocuss’d first his drink.
1848. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, II., ch. xxix. Mr. Frederick Pigeon
avers that it was at her house at Lausanne that he was hocussed at
supper and lost eight hundred pounds to Major Loder and the
Honourable Mr. Deucease.
1854. De Quincey, Murder as one of the Fine Arts, Wks., xiii., 119.
Him they intended to disable by a trick then newly introduced
amongst robbers, and termed hocussing, i.e., clandestinely drugging
the liquor of the victim with laudanum.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hocus ... ‘Hocus the bloke’s lush,
and then frisk his sacks,’ put something into the fellow’s drink
that will stupify him, and then search his pockets.
1859. The Bulletin, 21 May. An offence which goes by the name of
hocussing, and which consists of an evil doer furtively introducing
laudanum or some other narcotic into beer or spirits, which the
victim drinks and, becoming stupified thereby, is then easily
robbed.
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, bk. II., ch. xii. I will not say
a hocussed wine, but fur from a wine as was ’elthy for the mind.
Hocus-pocus, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A juggler’s phrase. Hence
a juggler’s (or impostor’s) stock in trade. Also Hocus-trade.
1639–61. Rump Songs. ‘Vanity of Vanities.’ A hocus-pocus, juggling
Knight.
1639–61. Rump Songs, ii., 156. ‘The Rump Ululant.’ Religion we made
free of hocus trade.
1646. Randolph, Jealous Lovers, If I do not think women were got
with riddling, whip me! Hocas Pocas, here you shall have me, and
there you shall have me.
1654. Gayton, Test. Notes Don. Quix., 46. This old fellow had not
the Hocas Pocas of Astrology.
1675. Wycherley, Country Wife, iii., 2. That burlesque is a
hocus-pocus trick they have got.
d. 1680. Butler, Remains (1759), ii., 122. With a little heaving
and straining, would turn it into Latin, as Mille hoco-pokiana, and
a thousand such.
1689. Marvell, Historical Poem, line 90. With hocus-pocus.... They
gain on tender consciences at night.
c. 1755. Adey, Candle in the Dark, p. 29. At the playing of every
trick he used to say, hocus-pocus, tontus, talontus, vade celeriter
jubeo.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1824–28. Landor, Imaginary Conversations [2nd Ed., ii., 275].
Torke. What think you, for instance, of Hocus! Pocus! Johnson. Sir,
those are exclamations of conjurors, as they call themselves.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 26 Mar., p. 5, c. 3. The lock of hair, the
dragon’s blood, and the stolen flour were only the hocus-pocus of
her sham witchcraft like the transfixed waxen puppets of the
sorcerers of the past.
2. (old).—A trickster; a juggler; an impostor.
1625. Jonson, Staple of News, ii. That was the old way, gossip,
when Iniquity came in [on the stage] like Hokos Pokos, in a
juggler’s jerkin, with false skirts, like the knave of clubs.
1634. Hocus Pocus Junior, The Anatomie of Leger de main. [Title].
1656. Blount, Glossographia, s.v. Hocus Pocus, a juggler, one that
shows tricks by sleight of hand.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hocus-pocus, a Juggler that
shews Tricks by Slight of Hand.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
3. (old).—A cheat; an imposition; a juggler’s trick.
1713. Bentley, Free Thinking, 12. Our author is playing hocus-pocus
in the very similitude he takes from that juggler.
4. (old).—See Hocus, sense 2.
Adj. (old).—Cheating; fraudulent.
1715. Addison, The Drummer. If thou hast any hocus-pocus tricks to
play, why can’st not do them here?
1725–29. Mason, Horace, iv., 8. Such hocus-pocus tricks, I own,
Belong to Gallic bards alone.
1759. Macklin, Love à la Mode, ii., 1. The law is a sort of
hocus-pocus science that smiles in yer face while it picks your
pocket.
Verb (old).—To cheat; to trick.
Hod (or Brother Hod), subs. (common).—A bricklayer’s labourer.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Hod of Mortar, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A pot of porter.
Hoddy-Doddy (or Hoddie-doddie), subs. (old).—A short thick-set man or
woman. The full expression is ‘Hoddy Doddy, all arse and no
body.’—Grose. For synonyms, see Forty-guts. Also a fool.
c. 1534. Udall, Roister Doister, i., I. (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th
ed., 1875, iii., 58). Sometimes I hang on Hankyn hoddy-doddy’s
sleeve.
1596. Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, iv., 8. Well, good wife
bawd, Cob’s wife, and you, That make your husband such a
hoddy-doddy.
1639–61. Rump Songs, ii. [1662], 55. Every noddy ... will ... cry
hoddy-doddy Here’s a Parliament all arse and no body.
1723. Swift, Mary the Cookmaid’s Letter (Chalmers, Eng. Poets,
1810, xi., 433). My master is a personable man, and not a
spindle-shanked Hoddy-doddy.
Hoddy-peak (or -Peke), subs. (old).—A fool; a cuckold.
d. 1529. Skelton, Poems, ‘Duke of Albany.’ Gyue it up, And cry
creke Lyke an huddy peke.
1551. W. Still, Gammer Gurton, O. P., ii., 45. Art here again, thou
hoddypeke?
1554. Christopherson, Exh. ag. Rebel. They counte peace to be cause
of ydelnes, and that it maketh men hodi-pekes and cowardes.
d. 1555. Latimer, Sermons, fol. 44, b. What, ye brainsicke fooles,
ye hoddy-peakes, ye doddy poules.
1560. Nice Wanton (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, ii., 164).
Yea, marry, I warrant you, master hoddy-peak.
1589. Nashe, Anatomie of Absurdities, b. Who, under her husband’s
that hoddy-peke’s nose, Must have all the destilling dew of his
delicate rose.
1594. Nashe, Unf. Trav., 106 [Chiswick Press, 1891.] No other apte
meanes had this poore shee captived Cicely to worke her hoddy peake
husband a proportionable plague to his jealousy.
Hodge, subs. (colloquial).—A farm labourer; a rustic.
1589. Greene, Menaphon, p. 58 [ed. Arber, 1880]. These Arcadians
are giuen to take the benefit of euerie Hodge.
1675. A. Marvel, Satire. Hodge’s Vision from the Monument. [Title.]
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hodge, a Country Clown, also
Roger.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1791. Smart, Fables, xiii., 27. Is that the care (quoth Hodge)? O
rare!
1880. Richard Jefferies, Hodge and his Masters. [Title.]
1884. Mrs. Craik, in Eng. Ill. Mag., Mar., p. 356. Quite different
from the bovine, agricultural Hodge of the midland counties.
1893. National Observer, 25 Feb., ix., 358. ‘Pay me an
infinitesimal sum,’ Lord Winchilsea says (in effect) to Hodge, ‘and
you shall have a weekly newspaper for nothing.’
Hodge-podge (or Hotch-potch), subs. (old: now recognised).—A mixture; a
medley. Sp., commistrajo. See Hotch-potch.
1553–99. Spenser, State of Ireland. They have made our English
tongue a galimaufrey, or hodgepodge of all other speeches.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 199. Some Collier-like Saint, ...
Had rak’d a hodg podg for the Devil.
1726. Vanbrugh, Journey to London. They were all got into a sort of
hodge-podge argument for the good of the nation which I did not
well understand.
d. 1764. Lloyd, Poems (774), ‘A Tale.’ Was ever such an hodge-podge
seen.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hodman, (Oxford Univ.).—A scholar from Westminster School admitted to
Christ Church College, Oxford.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v. Hodman.
Hodmandod, subs. (old).—1. A snail in his shell—Bacon. See Doddy.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, v., 4 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 525). Painted snails with houses on their
backs, and horns as big as Dutch cows.... Can any woman be honest
that lets such hodmandods crawl o’er her virgin breast and belly?
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (old).—A Hottentot.
1686. Captain Cowley in Harris Voyages, i., 82. We walked,
moreover, without the town to the villages inhabited by the
hodmandods, to view their nasty bodies.
Hoe. To hoe in (American Univ.).—To work with vigour; to swot (q.v.).
To hoe one’s own row, verb. phr. (American).—To do one’s own work.
Hard row to hoe. See Hard Row.
Hoe-down, subs. (American).—A negro dance; a breakdown (q.v.).
Hog, subs. (old).—1. A shilling: also a sixpence: and (in America) a
ten-cent piece. For synonyms, see Blow. Half-a-hog = sixpence, or
five-cent piece.
1688. Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, s.v. Hog, a shilling.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hog, You Darkman Budge, will
you Fence your hog at the next Boozing ken?
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th Ed.), p. 12, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Half a Hog, Six-Pence.
1809–12. Miss Edgeworth, Ennui, ch. vi. ‘It’s only a tester or a
hog they want your honour to give ’em, to drink your honour’s
health,’ said Paddy. ‘A hog to drink my health?’ ‘Ay, that is a
thirteen, plase your honour; all as one as an English shilling.’
1825. Egan, Life of an Actor, ch. iv. You shall have ... eighteen
hog a week, and a benefit which never fails.
1842. Thackeray, Cox’s Diary in Comic Almanack, p. 237. Do you
think I’m a-going to kill my horses, and break my precious back,
and bust my carriage, and carry you, and your kids, and your traps,
for six hog?
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. i., p. 529. The
slang phrases are constantly used by the street lads; thus a
sixpence is a ‘tanner’; a shilling a ‘bob,’ or a hog.... The
collections of coin dealers amply show, that the figure of a hog
was anciently placed on a small silver coin.
1857. Mrs. Mathews, Tea Table Talk, p. 207. The shopwoman satisfied
Suett after her fashion, that his little lump of Suett had absorbed
flour and lard (pastry) to the amount of what her queer customer
would have termed a hog.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hog, a ten-cent piece.
2. (colloquial).—A foul-mouthed blackguard; a dirty feeder. Also, a
common glutton.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Ciro, a hogge, a swine, a
filthie fellowe.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 69. ’Arry’s a hog when he feeds.
3. (Cambridge Univ.: obsolete).—A student of St. John’s. Also, Johnian
Hog. See Crackle, Bridge of Grunts, and Isthmus of Suez.
1690. Diary of Abraham de la Pryme (Surtees Society, No. 54),
quoted in Notes and Queries, 6, S. xi., 328. For us Jonians are
called abusively hoggs.
1795. Gent. Mag., lxv., 22. The Johnian hogs were originally
remarkable on account of the squalid figures and low habits of the
students, and especially of the sizars of Saint John’s College.
[Another story of how name originated is given in detail in Gent.
Mag. (1795), lxv., 107.]
1889. Whibley, In Cap and Gown, p. 28. An obsolete name for members
of St. John’s College, Cambridge.
4. (old Scots’).—A yearling sheep.
1796. Burns, Poems. What will I do gin my hoggie die, my joy, my
friend, my hoggie.
5. (American).—An inhabitant of Chicago. [That city being a notable
pig-breeding and pork-packing centre.]
6. (old).—A Hampshireman.
1770. Lord Hailes, Ancient Scottish Poems, ‘Dance of the Seven
Deadly Sins.’ Note on line 115. And thus his ill-bred raillery will
be like that of Essex calves, Hampshire hogs, Middlesex mongrels,
Norfolk dumplings, Welsh goats, etc.
Verb (American).—1. To cheat; to humbug; to gammon (q.v.).
1867. Browne (Artemus Ward). ‘Among the Mormons’, ii., 10. Go my
son, and Hog the public.
2. (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.
3. (stables).—To cut short; e.g., to hog a horse’s mane.
A hog in armour, subs. phr. (old).—A lout in fine clothes. Also a
Jack-in-office; Hog-in-togs = (in America) a well-dressed loafer. [Hog
= Hodge (q.v.), a rustic.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hog ... an awkward, or mean looking
man or woman, finely dressed, is said to look like a hog in armour.
Hog and hominy, subs. phr. (American).—Plain fare; Common doings
(q.v.). [Pork and maize are the two cheapest food stuffs in the U.S.A.]
To go the whole hog. See Whole Animal.
To bring one’s hogs (or pigs) to a fine market, verb. phr. (old).—To do
well; to make a good deal (q.v.). Also, in sarcasm, the opposite.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew., s.v. He has brought his hoggs to a
fair market, or he has Spun a fair Thread.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hog.... He has brought his hogs to
a fine market, a saying of one who has been remarkably successful
in his affairs, and is spoken ironically to signify the contrary.
To drive one’s hogs (or pigs) to market, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
snore.
1738. Swift, Polite Conversations, ii., 455. I’gad he fell asleep,
and snored so loud that we thought he was driving his hogs to
market.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hog.... to drive one’s hogs, to
snore, the noise made by some persons in snoring being not much
unlike the notes of that animal.
Hog-age, subs. (American).—The period between boyhood and manhood. Cf.,
Hobbledehoy.
Hogan-mogan, subs. (old).—See quot.
1892. Aitken, Satires of Andrew Marvell, p. 128. The States General
of the United provinces were officially addressed as High and
Mighty Lords, or in Dutch, Hoogmogenden; hence English satirists
called them hogans-mogans, and applied the phrase to Dutchmen in
general. Cf., Hoganmoganides, or the Dutch Hudibras (1694), and ‘A
New Song on the hogan-mogans’ in ‘A Collection of the Newest Poems
... against Popery, etc.’ (1689).
Hog-grubber, subs. (old).—A miser; a niggard; a mean cuss (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. A hog-grubber, ... a
narrow-soul’d sneaking Fellow.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hog Grubber, a mean stingy fellow.
Hogmagundy (or Houghmagandie), subs. (Scots).—Copulation. For synonyms,
see Greens and Ride.
1786. Burns, The Holy Fair [last stanza]. There’s some are fou o’
love divine, There’s some are fou o’ brandy; An’ mony jobs that day
begin, May end in hougmagandie Some ither day.
Hogmenay, subs. (old Scots’).—1. New Year’s Eve, which is a national
festival. [The origin has been the subject of much discussion.]
1776. Brand, Popular Antiquities, p. 102. Sirs, do you what Hagmane
signifies? It is the devil be in the house.
1793. The Bee, 10 July, p. 17. The night preceding that festival
Hoggmonay.
1879. James Napier, Folk Lore, p. 154. After the Reformation, the
Scotch transferred Hagmanay [from Xmas Eve] to the last day of
December, as a preparation day for the New Year.
2. Hence a wanton. [The feast is celebrated with much drink and not a
little license.]
Hogo, subs. (old).—A flavour; an aroma; a relish. Hence, in irony, and
by corruption, a stink. Cf., Fogo. [From Fr., haut goût.] See High,
sense 2.
1569. Erasmus, Trans. Praise of Folly, p. 13 [1709]. Pleasure that
haut-goust of Folly.
1639–61. Rump Songs. ‘A Vindication of the Rump.’ Oh! what a Hogo
was there.
1645. Howell, Letters, V., xxxviii., p. 42. He can marinat fish,
make gellies, and is excellent for a pickant sawce, and the haugou.
1653. Walton, Compleat Angler, I., ch. vii. To give the sawce a
hogoe let the dish (into which you let the Pike fall) be rubed with
it [garlick].
1656. Choyce Drollery, p. 34. And why not say a word or two Of she
that’s just? witnesse all who Have ever been at thy ho-go.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, iii., 2 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 451). We’ll work ourselves into such a sauce
as you can never surfeit on, and yet no hogough.
1667. Cowley, Government of Oliver Cromwell, Prose Works
(Pickering, 1826), 94. Cromwell ... found out the true hogo of this
pleasure, and rejoiced in the extravagance of his ways.
1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, ii., 1. She has ... no more teeth
left than such as give a haut gout to her breath.
1686. Twelve Ingenious Characters. A bad husband is an
inconsiderate piece of sottish extravagance; for though he consist
of several ill ingredients, yet still good fellowship is the causa
sine qua non, and gives him the ho-go.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hogo.
1705–7. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, Vol. I., Pt. vi., p. 4. Most
stinking meat, Toss’d up with leeks into Raggoo, To overcome the
unsav’ry hogo.
1718. Durfey, Pills, iii., 177. ‘Let’s drink and be merry.’ Your
most Beautiful Bit, that hath all Eyes upon her, That her Honesty
sells for a hogo of Honour.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hogo ... it has a confounded hogo,
it stinks confoundedly.
Hogshead. To couch a hogshead, verb. phr. (Old Cant).—See quot. For
synonyms, see Balmy.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 66. To couch a hogshead: to ly
downe and slepe. Ibid., I couched a hogshead in a skypper this
darkemans.
Hog-shearing, subs. (old).—Much ado about nothing; great cry and little
wool.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hog. Labour in vain, which the
Latines express by Goats-wooll, as the English by the shearing of
Hoggs.
Hogs-norton. To have been born at Hogs-Norton, verb. phr. (old).—To be
ill-mannered.
d. 1666. Howell, Eng. Proverbs, p. 16. I think thou wast born at
Hoggs-Norton, where piggs play upon the organs.
1676. Marvel, Mr. Smirke [Grosart], iv., p. 89. A pair of organs of
cats which he had done well to have made the pigs at Hogs-Norton
play on.
Hogstye of Venus, subs. phr. (venery).—See quot. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Porcile di venere, the
hog-stye of Venus, a womans privities or geare.
Hog-wash, subs. (common).—1. Bad liquor; specifically, rot-gut (q.v.).
2. (journalists’).—Worthless newspaper matter; slush, swash, and
flub-dub (q.v.).
Hoi polloi, subs. phr. (university).—The candidates for ordinary
degrees. [From the Greek.] Cf., Gulf.
Hoist, subs. (old).—A shop-lifter; also a confederate hoisting or
helping a thief to reach an open window. The Hoist = shop-lifting. To
go upon the hoist = to enter a house by an open window.
1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd Ed.), s.v. Hoist. This is done by
the assistance of a confederate called the hoist, who leans his
head against the wall, making his back a kind of step or
ascent.—Grose.
1819. Vaux, Cant. Dict. Hoist, the game of shop-lifting is called
the hoist; a person expert at this practice is said to be a good
hoist.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 38. We were principally engaged upon the
hoys and coreing.
Verb (thieves’).—1. To practise shop-lifting; to rob by means of the
hoist (q.v.).
2. (American).—To run away; to decamp. For synonyms, see Amputate and
Skedaddle.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc., p. 174. Jist hist, and take
yourself off.
3. (common).—To drink. E.g., Will you hoist? = will you have a liquor?;
Hoisting = drinking; On the hoist = on the drunk. Also a hoist in.
To give a hoist, verb. phr. (tailors’).—To do a bad turn.
To have (or do) a hoist in, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate. For
synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Hoister, subs. (old).—1. A shop-lifter; a hoist (q.v., sense 1). Also a
pickpocket.
1847–50. J. H. Jesse, London, i., 30. He that could take out a
counter without any noise was allowed to be a public hoyster.
N.B.—That a hoyster is a pickpocket.
2. (common).—A sot. For synonyms, see Lushington.
Hoisting (or Hoist-lay), subs. (thieves’).—1. Shop-lifting. The hoist
(q.v.). Also shaking a man head downwards, so that his money rolls out
of his pockets.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1821. D. Haggart, Life, glossary, p. 172. Hoys, shop-lifting.
1868. Temple Bar, xxiv., 534. She can secrete articles about her
dress when in a shop looking at things, and that’s one way of
hoisting.
2. (old).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hoisting, a ludicrous ceremony,
formerly performed on every soldier, the first time he appeared in
the field, after being married: as soon as the regiment, or
company, had grounded their arms, to rest awhile; three or four men
of the same company, to which the bridegroom belonged, seized upon
him, and putting a couple of bayonets out of the two corners of his
hat, to represent horns, it was placed on his head, the back part
foremost, he was then hoisted on the shoulders of two strong
fellows, and carried round the arms, a drum and fife beating and
playing, the pioneers call, named Round-heads and Cuckolds, but on
this occasion stiled the Cuckold’s March; in passing the colours,
he was to take off his hat.... This in some regiments was practised
by the officers on their brethren.
Hoit (or Hoyt), verb. (old).—To be noisily or riotously inclined.
1611. Beaumont and Fletcher, Knight of the Burning Pestle, iv., 1.
He sings, and hoyts, and revels among his drunken companions.
Hoity-toity. See Highty-tighty.
Hokey-pokey, subs. (common).—1. A cheat; a swindle; nonsense. [From
Hocus Pocus.]
2. (common).—A cheap ice-cream sold in the streets.
Holborn Hill. To ride backwards up Holborn Hill, verb. phr. (old
colloquial).—To go to the gallows. [The way was thence to Tyburn,
criminals riding backwards.—Grose.]
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii., 1. Urs. Up the heavy
hill—Knock. Of Holbourn, Ursula, mean’st thou so? for what, for
what, pretty Urse? Urs. For cutting halfpenny purses, or stealing
little penny dogs out o’ the Fair.
1659. Harry White’s Humour (Nares). Item, he loves to ride when he
is weary, yet at certaine times he holds it ominous to ride up
Holborne.
1695. Congreve, Love for Love, ii., 7. Sirrah, you’ll be hanged; I
shall live to see you go up Holborn hill.
Hold, verb. (old).—1. To bet; to wager. See Do you hold?
1534. Udall, Roister Doister, i., 2 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed.,
1875, iii., 7). I hold a groat ye will drink anon of this gear.
1551. W. Still, Gammer Gurton’s Needle, iii., 3 (Dodsley, Old
Plays, 4th ed., 1875, iii., 216, and passim). I hold thee a groat I
shall patch thy coat.
1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, ii., 1. I’ll hold you a guinea you
don’t make her tell it you.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 54. I’ll hold ye five Guineas to
four.
2. (venery) (or Hold it).—To be impregnated; to be got with child. [In
certain parts of Scotland, it is said, a farm servant stating that she
“disna haud” commands double wages.]
To hold on to, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To apply oneself; to be
persistent: generally, to hold on like grim death.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 71. He recovered, and wisely
held on to for the future.
Hold up, verb. phr. (American and Australian).—1. To rob on the
highway; to bail or stick up (q.v.). Also as subs. = a highwayman or
road-agent (q.v.).
1888. Detroit Free Press, 8 Dec. One man held up six stage
passengers in Arizona the other day and robbed them of $2,000. Each
was armed, but it is customary to submit out there, and so up went
their hands.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 13 Oct. Mounted on a white horse, he
started on a land-prospecting tour and ran against a party of
hold-ups.
1892. Lippincott, Oct., p. 495. Would hold the train up until I had
finished.
2. (thieves’).—To arrest. For synonyms, see Nab.
To hold the stage, verb. phr. (theatrical).—To have the chief place on
the boards and the eye of an audience. Fr., avoir les planches.
To hold a candle to (the devil, etc.), verb. phr. (colloquial).—See
Devil, and add the following quot.
1868. Reade and Boucicault, Foul Play, p. 65. But you see, sir, he
has got the ear of the merchant ashore; and so I am obliged to hold
a candle to the devil.
To hold a candle to, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To vie with; to be
comparable to; also to assist in or condone.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 79. They had killed poor
Ransome; and was I to hold the candle to another murder?
To hold (or hang) on by the eyelids, eyelashes or eyebrows, verb. phr.
(common).—To pursue an object desperately; to insist upon a point; to
carry on a forlorn hope. See also quot. and Splash Board.
1883. Clark Russell, Sailor’s Language, p. 69. Holding on with his
eyelids. Said of a man aloft with nothing much to lay hold of.
To hold in hand, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To amuse; to possess the
attention or the mind; to have in one’s pocket.
To hold the market, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To buy stock and hold it
to so large an extent that the price cannot decline.
Do you hold? phr. (streets).—Have you money to lend? Can you stand
treat? Cf. verb., sense 1.
Hold your horses, phr. (American).—Go easy; don’t get excited: a
general injunction to calm in act and speech.
Hold your jaw, phr. (colloquial).—Hold your tongue; stow your gab
(q.v.).
Hold hard! (or on)! intj. (colloquial).—Wait a moment! don’t be in a
hurry!
1761. Colman, Jealous Wife, V., in Wks. (1777), i., 130. Hold hard!
hold hard! you are all on a wrong scent.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 280. ‘Hold hard!’ said the
conductor; ‘I’m blowed if we ha’n’t forgot the gen’lm’n as vas to
be set down at Doory-lane.’
1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. iv., p. 38 (1873). I told
Meaburn to hold on, and we’d get a rise out of Punch.
Hold-stitch.—See Stitch.
Hold-water.—See Water.
Hold-out, subs. (gambling).—An old-fashioned apparatus, in poker, for
‘holding out’ desirable cards.
Hole (venery).—1. The female pudendum. Also, Hole of Content, and Hole
(or Queen) of Holes. For synonyms, see Monosyllable. To give a hole to
hide it in = to grant the favour (q.v.). [Hence, by a play upon words,
Holy of Holies.]
1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, ii., 4. This drivelling love is
like a great natural, that runs lolling up and down to hide his
bauble (q.v.) in a hole.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Carnafau, the brat-getting
place, or hole of content.
1620. Percy, Folio MS., p. 197. ... He light in a hole ere he was
aware!
1647–80. Rochester, Poems. Thou mighty princess, lovely queen of
holes.
d. 1649. Drummond, Posthumous Poems, ‘The Statue of Alcides.’ Fair
nymph, in ancient days, your holes, by far, Were not so hugely vast
as now they are.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iv., 72. It has a head much like a
Mole’s, And yet it loves to creep in holes: The fairest She that
e’er took Life, For love of this became a Wife.
2. (old).—A cell; cf., Hell, sense 1.
1540. Lindsay, Thrie Estaits, line 1016. Wee have gart bind him
with ane poill, And send him to the theifis hoill.
1607. Miseries of Enforced Marriage, iii., I. (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875. ix., 514). If you shall think ... it shall accord
with the state of gentry to submit myself from the feather-bed in
the master’s side, or the flock-bed in the knight’s ward, to the
straw-bed in the hole.
1607. Wentworth Smith, The Puritan, iii. But if e’er we clutch him
again the Counter shall charm him. Rav. The hole shall rot him.
1657. Walks of Hogsdon. Next from the stocks, the hole, and
little-ease.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, iv., 2 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 482). Make his mittymus to the hole at
Newgate.
3. (old).—A private printing office where unlicensed books were made; a
cock-robin shop (q.v.).—Moxon, 1683.
4. (colloquial).—A difficulty; a fix; on the turf, to be in a hole = to
lose (a bet) or be defeated (of horses).
1760–61. Smollett, Sir L. Greaves, ch. xvi. I should be in a deadly
hole myself if all my customers should take it into their heads to
drink nothing but water-gruel.
1868. Ouida, Under Two Flags, ch. i. ‘I am in a hole—no end of a
hole.’
5. (common).—A place of abode; specifically, a mean habitation; a dirty
lodging. For synonyms, see Diggings.
6. (common).—The rectum: short for arse-hole. E.g., suck his hole = a
derisive retort upon an affirmative answer to the question, ‘Do you
know So-and-So?’ For synonyms, see Monocular Eyeglass.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, ‘The Miller’s Tale.’ And at the
window she put out hir hole.
1540. Lindsay, Thrie Estaits, line 2174. Lift vp hir clais: Kis hir
hoill with your hart.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, v., 3. A pox o’ your manners, kiss
my hole here, and smell.
1649. Drummond, Madrigals and Epigrams, ‘A Jest’ (Chalmers, English
Poets, 1810, x., 667). She turned, and turning up her hole beneath,
Said, ‘Sir, kiss here.’
d. 1732. Gay, Tales ‘In Imitation of Chaucer’s Style’ (Chalmers,
English Poets, 1810, x., 504). Thou didst forget to guard thy
postern, There is an hole which hath not crossed been.
Verb (venery).—To effect intromission; to put in (q.v.). Hence, Holed,
adj. = in (q.v.).
A hole in one’s coat, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A flaw in one’s fame; a
weak spot in one’s character. To pick a hole in one’s coat = to find a
cause for censure.
1789. Burns, Verses on Capt. Grose. If there’s a hole in a’ your
coats, I rede you tent it.
To make (or burn) a hole in one’s pocket, verb. phr. (colloquial).—Said
of money recklessly spent.
To make a hole in anything, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To use up largely.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, iii., 5 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 456). Do it then, and make a hole in this
angel.
To make a hole in the water, verb. phr. (common).—To commit suicide by
drowning.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 76. I should just make a hole in
the water, if ’tworn’t for the wife and the kids.
To make a hole, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To break; to spoil; to upset;
to interrupt. Thus to make a hole in one’s manners = to be rude; to
make a hole in one’s reputation = to betray, to seduce; to make a hole
in the silence = to make a noise, to raise cain (q.v.).
Too drunk to see a hole in a ladder, phr. (common).—Excessively
intoxicated. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
Hole-and-corner, adj. (colloquial).—Secret; underhand; out of the way:
e.g., hole-and-corner work = shady business. Also (venery) =
copulation. [Cf., Hole, subs. sense 1.]
Holer (also Holemonger), subs. (colloquial).—A whoremaster (cf., Hole,
subs., sense 1). Also (old), a harlot; a light woman (cf., Hole,
verb.). Hence, Holing = whoring.
Holiday, adj. (old).—Unskilled; indifferent; careless.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Holiday, a holiday bowler, a bad
bowler.
Blind Man’s Holiday. See ante.
To have a holiday at Peckham, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To go
dinnerless. All holiday at Peckham = no work and nothing to eat. [A
play upon words.] See Peckish.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. All holiday at Peckham ... a saying
signifying that it is all over with the business or person spoken
of or alluded to.
1848. Forster, Oliver Goldsmith, bk. I., ch. vi., p. 55 (5th Ed.).
‘Oh, that is all a holiday at Peckham,’ said an old friend very
innocently one day.
To take a holiday, verb. phr. (common).—To be dismissed; to get the bag
(q.v.) or sack (q.v.)
Gone for a holiday, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Said of a flaw, lapse, or
imperfection of any kind (as dropped stitches, lost buttons, slurred
painting, and so forth). See also quots.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Holiday ... a holiday is any part
of a ship’s bottom, left uncovered in painting it.
1883. Clark Russell, Sailors’ Language, p. 69, s.v. Holidays.
Places left untarred on shrouds, backstays, etc., during the
operation of tarring them.
Holler, verb. (American).—To cry enough; to give in; to cave in (q.v.).
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc., p. 89. The truth must come, he
warped me nice, So jist to save his time I hollered.
Hollis, subs. (Winchester College).—A small pebble. [Said to be derived
from a boy.—Notions.]
Hollow, adj. (colloquial).—Complete; certain; decided. As adv.
completely; utterly. E.g., to beat or lick hollow. See Beat and
Creation.
1759. Townley, High Life Below Stairs, i., 2. Crab was beat hollow.
1761. Colman, Jealous Wife, V., in Wks. (1777), i., 134. So, my
lord, you and I are both distanced: a hollow thing, damme.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hollow. It was quite a hollow
thing, i.e., a certainty, or decided business.
1814. Edgworth, Patronage, ch. iii. Squire Burton won the match
hollow.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Bloudie Jack.’ His lines to
Apollo Beat all the rest hollow And gained him the Newdegate Prize.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. lxiv., p. 529. I have therefore
taken a ’ouse in that locality, which, in the opinion of my
friends, is a hollow bargain (taxes ridiculous, and use of fixtures
included in the rent).
1871. Durham County Advertiser, 10 Nov. ‘It licks me hollow, sir,
as I may say,’ put in the silent member.
1892. Punch, 9 July, p. 3. Booby-traps were beaten hollow.
Holloway, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Holloway, Middlesex (common).—The lower bowel; the arse-gut (q.v.).
Holt, verb. (American).—To take; to take hold of.
Holus-bolus, subs. (nautical).—The head. Also the neck.
Adv. (colloquial).—Helter skelter; altogether; first come, first
served.
1868. Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone, 1st Period, ch. xv. And,
making a sudden snatch at the heap of silver, put it back,
holus-bolus, in her pocket.
Holy. More holy than righteous, adv. phr. (common).—Said of a person in
rags, or of a tattered garment.
Holy-boys, subs. (military).—The Ninth Foot. [From a trick of selling
bibles for drink in the Peninsula.] Also, Fighting Ninth.
1886. Tinsley’s Magazine, Apr., 322. The 9th having bartered their
Bibles in Spain for wine, and having there gained a reputation for
sacking monasteries, were long known as the Holy Boys.
Holy-father, subs. (Irish).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Holy Father, A butcher’s boy of St.
Patrick’s Market, Dublin, or other Irish blackguard; among whom the
exclamation, or oath, by the Holy Father (meaning the Pope), is
common.
Holy Iron. See Holy Poker.
Holy Joe, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A pious person, whether hypocritical
or sincere. Also (nautical), a parson.
Holy Jumping Mother of Moses. See Moses.
Holy-lamb, subs. (old).—A thorough-paced villain.—Grose.
Holy-land (or ground), subs. (old).—1. St. Giles’s; Palestine (q.v.).
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress, p. 7. For we are the
boys of the holy ground, And we’ll dance upon nothing and turn us
round.
1821. The Fancy, i., p. 250. The Holy-land, as St. Giles’s has been
termed, in compliment to the superior purity of its Irish
population.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, ch. ii. At Mammy O’Shaughnessy’s in the
back Settlements of the Holy Land.
1823. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 5. Let’s have a dive
among the cadgers in the back slums, in the Holy Land.
1843. Punch’s Almanack, 1 Sept. St. Giles. The Marquis of Waterford
makes a pilgrimage to his shrine in the Holy Land.
1859. Sala, Twice Round the Clock, one a.m., par. 28. Unfaithful
topographers may have told you that the Holy Land being swept away
and Buckeridge Street being pulled down, St. Giles’s exists no
more.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 3 Apr. p. 215, col. 1. It would be hard
to say whether the Irishmen of the Holy Land or the Hebrew scum of
Petticoat Lane showed the finest specimens of ‘looped and windowed
raggedness.’
2. (common).—Generic for any neighbourhood affected by Jews;
specifically, Bayswater, and Brighton. Cf., New Jerusalem, and Holy of
Holies.
Holy Moses. See Moses.
Holy of Holies, subs. phr. (common).—1. The Grand Hotel at Brighton.
[Which is largely tenanted by Jews: cf., Holy Land (sense 2), and New
Jerusalem.]
2. (colloquial).—A private room; a sanctum (q.v.).
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 215. Fletcher did not venture into
that holy of holies.
1893. Westminster Gaz., 31 Jan., p. 3, c. 2. The Cabinet Council is
the holy of holies of the British Constitution, and as Mr. Bagehot
long ago regretted, no description of it at once graphic and
authentic has ever been given.
3. (venery).—See Hole, sense 1, and for synonyms, Monosyllable.
Holy Poker (or Iron), subs. phr. (university).—The mace carried by an
esquire bedel (of Law, Physic, or Divinity) as a badge of authority.
[The term, which is applied to the bedels themselves, is very often
used as an oath.]
1840. Comic Almanack, ‘Tom the Devil,’ p, 214. A hotel’s the place
for me! I’ve thried em all, from the Club-house at Kilkinny, to the
Clarendon, and, by the holy poker, never wish mysilf worse luck
than such cantonments!
1870. London Figaro, 8 Oct., p. 2, col. 2. The bedels of a
University are very important persons, although derisive
undergraduates familiarly term them holy pokers.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 169. I swear upon the holy
iron I had neither art nor part.
2. (venery).—The penis (by a play upon words). Cf., Hole, sense 1, Holy
of Holies, sense 3, and Poke. For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.
Holy-water Sprinkler, subs. phr. (old).—A mediæval weapon of offence; a
morning star (q.v.).
Home, subs. (colonial).—England.
1893. Gentlemen’s Mag., Jan., p. 74. And then I learnt that by home
he meant England, which, moreover, is referred to as ‘home’ by
dusky myriads, who have never seen her cliffs rise above the waves.
To get home, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To achieve an object; to
succeed perfectly; and (athletic) to reach the winning post.
1891. Sportsman, 26 Mar. A close struggle for the Palace Selling
Plate ended in favour of Rosefield, who just got home a head in
front of Mordure.
1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 23 Jan., 3, 2. It is delightful to watch Mr.
Charles Hawtrey telling lie after lie to his unbelieving wife, and
joyfully, in misplaced confidence, saying to himself, ‘I’ve got
home.’
2. (pugilists’).—To get in (a blow) with precision and effect; to land
(q.v.). Also (old) to give a mortal wound.
1559. Elyot, Dictionarium, 3rd. ed. Aere meo me lacessis, thou
gevest me scoffe for scoffe, or as we saie, thou paiest me home.
1631. Chettle, Hoffman. Sax. Not any, Austria; neither toucht I
thee. Aust. Somebody toucht me home; vaine world farewell, Dying I
fall on my dead Lucibell.
1698. Farquhar, Love and a Bottle, iv., 3. But hark ye, George;
don’t push too home; have a care of whipping through the guts.
1706. Farquhar, Recruiting Officer, ii., 1. That’s home.
1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. In the next round got home several
times without a return.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 19 June, p. 395, c. 3. Mac got home a
terrific cross-counter with the left on Bob’s left eye, which
seemed to split the flesh open both above and below.
3. (turf).—To recover a loss; neither to win nor lose; to come out
quits. Also, to bring oneself home.
4. (venery).—To get with child. Also, to compel the sexual spasm.
To make oneself at home, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To take one’s ease;
to be familiar to the point of ill-breeding.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 10. As at home as a cat in a
cream-shop.
To come home to, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To reach the conscience; to
touch deeply.
To go (send, or carry) home (or to one’s last home), verb. phr.
(colloquial).—To die; to kill; to bury. [The Chinese say ‘to go home
horizontally.’] See Aloft.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Mandar ’al palegro, to send to
ones last home.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Home. Gone home, dead.
Home-bird, subs. (colloquial).—A henpecked husband. Also, a milksop.
Fr., chauffe-la-couche (= warming-pan).
Home for lost dogs, subs. phr. (medical).—A large and well known
medical school in London. [From the fact that the majority of its
inmates have strayed there from the various hospital schools, as a last
resource toward taking a degree.]
Home-rule, subs. (common).—Irish whiskey. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Old Man’s Milk.
Home-sweet-home, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
Homo, subs. (old).—A man: generally omee (q.v.). [From the Latin.] For
synonyms, see Cove.
Homoney, subs. (old).—A woman. For synonyms, see Petticoat. Also, a
wife. For synonyms, see Dutch and Cf. Homo.
1754. Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 43. My homoney is in quod, my
wife is in gaol.
Homo-opathise, verb. (American).—To get bills (i.e., petitions) through
Legislature, Congress, or City Council, by means of bills (i.e.,
bank-bills).
Hone, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 204. So I may no more pogue the hone
of a Woman.
Honest, adj. (old).—1. Chaste.
1596. Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, ii., 1. Why’t cannot be,
where there is such resort, O wanton gallants, and young revellers,
That any woman should be honest long.
1599. Henry Porter, Two Angry Women of Abingdon (Dodsley, Old
Plays, 4th ed., 1875, vii., 389). Is my fellow Dick in the dark
with my mistress? I pray God they be honest, for there may be much
knavery in the dark.
1600. Look About You, Sc. 28 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
vii., 476). What, lecher? No, she is an honest woman. Her husband
is well known.
1602. Shakspeare, Othello, iii., 3. I do not think but Desdemona’s
honest.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, v., 3. De honest woman’s life is a
dull scurvy life, indeed.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, iii., 2 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 454). There’s none but honest women.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, v., 4 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 525). Crooked, dirty-souled vermin,
predestined for cuckolds, painted snails with houses on their
backs, and horns as big as Dutch cows.... Can any woman be honest
that lets such hodmandods crawl o’er her virgin breast and belly?
1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, ii., 1. A man ... may bring his
bashful wench, and not have her put out of countenance by the
impudent honest women of the town.
1686–7. Aubrey, Gentilisme (1881), p. 163. The towne is full of
wanton wenches, and ... (they say) scarce three honest women in the
Town.
1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, iii., 10. Silvia. I’m not such a fool
neither, but I can keep myself honest.
1695. Congreve, Love for Love, iii., 14. Mrs. Fore. Do you think
any woman honest? Scan. Yes, several very honest; they’ll cheat a
little at cards sometimes; but that’s nothing. Mrs. Fore. Pshaw!
but virtuous, I mean.
2. (common).—Not positively illegal: as honest penny or shilling =
money earned by means immoral (as by prostitution) but within the law.
Also, To turn an honest penny = to make a profitable deal.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iii., 1. You must call usury and
extortion God’s blessing, or the honest turning of the penny.
1886. J. S. Winter, Army Society, ch. xxi. There was a chance of
turning an honest penny in hiring them out for the donkey-race.
To make an honest woman, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To marry a mistress.
1629. Earle, Microcosmographie (5th ed.). ‘A Serving Man.’ The best
work he does is his marrying, for he makes an honest woman, and if
he follows in it his master’s direction, it is commonly the best
service he does him.
1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, v., 6. Dap. Why she was my wench.
Gripe. I’ll make her honest then.
1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. XV., ch. viii. Mr. Nightingale, and
his love, stepped into a hackney-coach, which conveyed him to
Doctors’ Commons, where Miss Nancy was, in vulgar language, soon
made an honest woman.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxv. My right honourable father
nourished some thoughts of making an honest woman of Marie de
Martigny, and a legitimate elder brother of Francis.
1827. Egan, Anecdotes of the Turf, p. 182. She had now only to play
her cards well, she was sure of winning the game, also of becoming
an honest woman.
As honest a man as when kings are out, phr. (old).—Knavish.
Honest as the skin between the brows (or Horns), phr. (old).—As honest
as may be.
1551. W. Still, Gammer Gurton’s Needle, (O.P.), ii., 67. I am as
true, I wold thou knew, as skin betwene thy brows.
1599. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, ii., 2. Punt. Is he
magnanimous? Gent. As the skin between your brows, sir.
1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado, iii., 5. An old man, sir, and his wits
are not so blunt, as, God help, I would desire they were, but in
faith, honest, as the skin between his brows.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, iv., 5. It shall be justified to
thy husband’s faish, now: tou shalt be as honesht as the skin
between his hornsh, la.
Honest Injun! phr. (American).—A pledge of sincerity; honour bright
(q.v.).
1884. Clemens [Mark Twain], Huckleberry Finn. She says ‘Honest
Injun, now hain’t you been telling me a lot of lies?’ ‘Honest
Injun’ says I.
1892. Detroit Free Press, 12 Aug. I’ll agree not to feel hard about
it. Honest Injun?
Honey, subs. (American).—1. A good fellow.
1888. Missouri Republican, 24 Feb. Dave is a honey.
2. (rhyming slang).—Money. For synonyms, see Actual and Gilt.
3. (old colloquial).—A term of endearment.
4. (venery).—The semen. Also White Honey (q.v.). Cf., Hive.
Verb (American).—To cajole; to exchange endearments; to deceive by soft
words or promises.
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii., 4. Stew’d in corruption; honeying
and making love Over the nasty sty.
1602. Marston, Antonio and Mellida, A. 4. Can’st thou not honey me
with fluent speach, And even adore my toplesse villany?
1604. Marston and Webster, Malcontent, O.P., iv., 66. O unpeerable!
invention rare! Thou god of policy, it honies me.
1631. Chettle, Hoffman. Clo. A pretious villaine: a good villaine
too. Well if he be no worse; that is doe worse, And honey me in my
death-stinging thoughts, I will preferre him.
1888. Tuskaloosa News. It is of no use to honey; payments must be
made at least once a year.
To sell honey for a half-penny, verb. phr. (old).—To rate at a vile
price.
1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse [1842], p. 43. Thou that in thy
dialogues soldst hunnie for a halfe-penie, and the choysest writers
extant for cues a peece.
Honey-blobs, subs. (Scots’).—Large, ripe, yellow gooseberries.
1746. Walpole, Letters, i., 144. As he returned to the Tower, he
stopped the coach at Charing Cross to buy honey-blobs, as the
Scotch call gooseberries.
Honeycomb, subs. (old).—A sweetheart; a general term of endearment.
1552. Huloet, Abcedarium, s.v. Darlynge, a wanton terme used in
veneriall speach, as be these: honycombe, pyggisnye, swetehert,
true love.
Honey-fogle (or fugle), verb. (American).—To cheat; to swindle; to
humbug. For synonyms, see Gammon.
1888. Missouri Republican, 20 Jan. Noonan’s companion objected to
this honey-fugling by knocking the demonstrative stranger down.
Honey-pot, subs. (old).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iii., 342. For when you have possession
got, Of Venus’ Mark, or hony-pot.
Honour Bright! intj. (common).—Upon my honour.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 36. At morning meet, and,—honour
bright,—Agree to share the blunt and tatters!
1843. Selby, Antony and Cleopatra Married. Cle. Will you love me as
dearly as ever? Ant. Dearer, dear Chloe, dearer! Cle. Honour? Ant.
Bright and shining.
1869. F. Hall, Marginal reading to Lyndsay’s Satire of Three
Estates [E.E. Text Soc.], p. 382. She is more than a match for
twenty-four a night, honour bright.
1878. Hatton, Cruel London, bk. VIII, ch. ii. Honour bright, no
kid, as we say in London.
1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, ch. xix. ‘I do not mean to marry
Mr. Jacomb, if that is what you mean.’ ‘No? Honour bright?’ ‘I
shall not marry Mr. Jacomb.’
1892. Cassell’s Sat. Jour., 28 Sep., p. 29., c. 3. ‘Come, come, Mr.
Smith, you’re drawing the long bow!’ ‘Honour bright, I’m not.’
1892. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 158. ‘She did, honour bright,’
said Smirk.
Hood. two faces under one hood (or Hat), phr. (old).—Double-dealing.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hood.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Hood. May the man be d——d and never
grow fat, Who carries two faces under one hat.
To put a bone in one’s hood, verb. phr. (obsolete).—To cuckold.
1560. Nice Wanton (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, ii., 169). I
could tell you who putteth a bone in your hood. Ibid. (p. 170),
Then by the rood, a bone in your hood, I shall put you ere long.
Hoodlum, subs. (American).—A boy rough. Also, a rough of either sex.
Also (political), a low-class voter. Originally Californian. Cf., Arab.
1872. Sacramento Weekly Union, 24 Feb., p. 2. All the boys to be
trained as scriveners, tape-measurers, counter-hoppers, clerks,
pettifoggers, polite loafers, street-hounds, hoodlums, and bummers.
1877. Los Angeles Express, 25 Aug. A gang of boys ... associated
for the purpose of stealing.... Their words of warning were ‘Huddle
’em, Huddle ’em.’ ... soon contracted into hoodlum.
1877. Boston Journal, Aug. You at the East have but little idea of
the hoodlums of this city. They compose a class of criminals of
both sexes, far more dangerous than are to be found in the Eastern
cities. They travel in gangs, and are ready at any moment for the
perpetration of any crime.
1877. Congregationalist, 26 Sep. A newspaper man attempting to coin
a word to designate a gang of young street Arabs under the beck of
one named ‘Muldoon,’ hit upon noodlums, simply reversing the
leader’s name.... The compositor, taking the n for an h, printed it
hoodlum.
1877. Morning Call, 27 Oct. The rowdy element in the city ... who
were soon after designated as hoodlums.
1885. G. A. Sala, in Daily Telegraph, 12 Aug., p. 5, c. 5. In order
to guard against the contingency of the white hoodlums, or roughs,
coming down in force from the American quarter of the city [San
Francisco], and ‘going for’ the Celestials.
1888. Missouri Republican, 31 Mar. It is conceded by all that the
hoodlums have nominated weak men, and the citizens will have easy
sailing on Tuesday.
1890. Norton, Political Americanisms, s.v. hoodlums, A general name
for roughs. It originated on the Pacific coast, as the designation
of a company of young ruffians in San Francisco (about 1868).
Subsequently it spread Eastward, and attained some political
significance; as ‘the hoodlum element’ in politics.
1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 29 Feb., p. 2, c. 2. A right of public
meeting dependent on the good will of the hoodlum is not worth
having.
1893. National Observer, 4 Mar., ix., 398. In America, home of the
Hoodlum, where they turn their murderers into mayors.
Hoodman, subs. (old).—A blind man; a groper (q.v.).
Adj. (old).—1. Blind. Also Hoodman Blind = blind drunk; cf., sense 2.
Fr., berlu and sans mirettes.
2. (streets).—Drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
Hoof, subs. (common).—A foot. For synonyms, see Creepers.
1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 134. Contriving in their
complex twirlifications not only to tread heavily on my toes with
his own hoofs, but to hop his partner repeatedly over the same
unfortunate members.
1838. Grant, Sketches in London, p. 213. He again put both his ugly
hoofs on it.
1867. Browne (‘Artemus Ward’), Among the Mormons [People’s ed.], p.
193. Waving their lily-white hoofs in the dazzling waltz.
1892. Sydney Watson, Wops the Waif, ch. iv., p. 5. Teddy, look out,
yer’ve got yer hoof on my trotters!
Verb (common).—To kick; e.g., to hoof (or toe) one’s bum; to root (q.v.
for synonyms). Hence to hoof out = to eject; to dismiss; to discharge;
to decline to see.
To hoof it, (or to pad or beat the hoof), verb. phr. (common).—To walk;
to ‘tramp it’; to run away. For synonyms, see Amputate and Skedaddle.
Hence Hoof-padding.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, i., 3. Rogues, hence, avaunt, vanish
like hailstones, go: Trudge, plod, away o’ the hoof.
d. 1687. Cotton, Poems, ‘Epistles’ (Chalmers English Poets), vi.,
736. Being then on foot away I go And bang the hoof incognito.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hoof it or beat it on the hoof,
to walk on Foot.
1691–2. Wood, Athenæ Oxonienses, ii., 560. Landing at Liverpool, in
Lancashire, they all beated it on the hoof thence to London.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1772. Cumberland, Fashionable Lover. Prologue. I am a devil, so
please you, and must hoof Up to the poet yonder with this proof.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hoof. To beat the hoof, to travel
on foot; he hoofed it, or beat the hoof, every step of the way from
Chester to London.
1813. J. and H. Smith, Horace in London, ‘Hurly-Burly,’ p. 24. When
hostile squadrons beat the hoof.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. ix. Charley Bates expressed his
opinion that it was time to pad the hoof.
1885. Detroit Free Press, 5 Sept., p. 1, c. 1. These busted
theatrical people who are hoofing it back to Detroit. They come
along at all hours of the day and night.
1888. Lynch, Mountain Mystery, ch. xviii. I s’posed he was tired
out, and had got over watchin’ for tricks. So I hoofed it in.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 70. Scenery’s all very proper,
but where is the genuine pot who’d pad the ’oof over the moors.
To see one’s hoof in (a thing), verb. phr. (common).—To detect personal
influence or interference in a matter.
1863. Thackeray, Roundabout Papers, ‘On Screens in Dining Rooms’
(1887, p. 58). I am informed by the same New York correspondent
that ... I once said to a literary gentleman, who was possibly
pointing to an anonymous article as his writing, ‘Ah! I thought I
recognised your hoof in it.’
Hoof-padder, subs. (common).—A pedestrian.
Hoofy, adj. (common).—Splay (or large).
Hook, subs. (thieves’).—1. A finger. (Cf., Cunt-hooks). For synonyms,
see Fork. In plural = the hands. Also, Hooks and Feelers.
d. 1842. Maginn, Vidocq Versified. To his clies my hooks I throw
in.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iv., p. 259. I one day asked
a man ... if the hard work of prison did not spoil his hands for
delicate manipulations. ‘Oh, bless you, no!’ he replied; ‘... In a
week or two a man can bring his hooks and feelers into full working
trim again and no mistake.’
2. (thieves’).—A thief. Specifically, a pickpocket; a hooker (q.v.).
For synonyms, see Thieves.
1562. Jacke Juggler (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, ii., 139).
So, yonder cometh that unhappy hook.
1887. Horsley, Jottings from Jail. Take my tip and turn square,
from a hook who is going to be lagged, would be, in common
parlance, take my advice and get your living honestly.
1892. Anstey, Voces Populi (2nd Series). ‘In Trafalgar Square.’ A
professional hook.
3. (common).—A catch; an advantage; an imposture.
Verb (old).—1. To rob; to steal. Specifically, to steal watches, rings,
etc., from a shop by cutting a small hole in the window, and fishing
for such articles with a piece of string with a hook at the end.
1615. Albumazar, iii., 3. Is not this braver than sneak all night
in danger, Picking of locks, or hooking cloths at windows.
b. 1796. Burns, Jolly Beggars. For mony a pursie she had hookit.
1876. Clemens [Mark Twain], Tom Sawyer, p. 34. And while Aunt Polly
closed with a happy Scriptural flourish, Tom hooked a doughnut.
1884. M. Twain, Huck. Finn, xxx., 312. Didn’t you have it in your
mind to hook the money and hide it?
2. (colloquial).—To secure, as for marriage; to marry.
1886. J. S. Winter, Army Society, ch. xviii. I wonder if Mrs. Traff
has contrived to hook him for her sweet Laura.
1892. Manville Fenn, New Mistress, ch. xxv. Have you I will—there
now. Don’t you think you’re going to hook Lambent.
Intj. (Oxford Univ.).—An expression implying doubt. [Query from the
note of interrogation (?) or connected with Hookey Walker (q.v.).]
On the hook, subs. phr. (common).—1. On the thieve; on the cross
(q.v.).
2. (old).—On the Hip (q.v.); at an advantage.
1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, iv., 18. Consider I have you on the
hook; you will but flounder yourself a-weary, and be nevertheless
my prisoner.
Hook and eye, subs. phr. (tailors’).—Arm in arm.
To take (or sling) one’s hook (or to hook it), verb. phr. (common).—To
decamp; to run away. For synonyms, see Amputate and Skedaddle.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, ii., 137. He slipped
from her and hooked it.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xlvi. ‘Hook it! Nobody wants you
here,’ he ses. ‘You Hook it. You go and tramp,’ he ses.
1856. Bradley [Cuthbert Bede], Tales of College Life, p. 36. Hook
it! old ’un, hook it!
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xli. They all begins to get a bit
noisy and want to fight, and so I hooked it.
1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 16 Jan., p. 43, col. 3. If you lot don’t
hook it, I’ll stave in your blooming cocoa-nuts.
1891. Sportsman, 2 Apr., p. 2, col. 1. Plainly the worthy
magistrate laid it down that a wife may hook it when and how she
pleases.
1892. Anstey, Model Music Hall, 129–30. Take your ’ook while you
can. Even now the outraged populace approaches.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 58. I went jest for a lark, and
wos quietly slinging my ’ook.
1892. Kipling, Barrack-Room Ballads, ‘Loot.’ Before you sling your
’ook, at the ’ousetops take a look.
1892. Globe, 19 Oct., p. 3. Again from some neighbouring roof comes
back the weird responsive cry, Hook it! hook it.
1892. Herbert Campbell, Broadside Ballad, ‘Then Up Comes I with My
little Lot.’ And the houses shook and the copper took his ’ook, and
down come all the tiles.
To drop (go, or pop) off the hooks, verb. phr. (common).—1. To die. For
synonyms, see Aloft.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Black Mousquetaire.’ I fear by
his looks, Our friend, Francis Xavier, has popp’d off the hooks!
1842. Punch’s Almanack, Dec. 15. Death wandered by the sea And
struck by Walton’s looks Broke Isaac’s line of life And took him
off the hooks.
1872. M. E. Braddon, Dead Sea Fruit, ch. iv. ‘S’pose the odds are
against Jerningham going off the hooks between this and the first
spring-meeting, so as to give a party a chance with Mrs. J.
herself,’ speculates young Belgravia, dreamily.
1880. Greenwood, Odd People in Odd Places, p. 37. I thought, to be
sure, I was going off the hooks, and it was no use talking about
it.
1890. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, ch. xii. The old man has popped
off the hooks this afternoon at Aix.
2. (colloquial).—To get married.
1876. M. E. Braddon, Joshua Haggard, ch. x. Some of the young chaps
will be wanting her to get married. These here pretty ones go off
the hooks so soon.
To hook on to, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To attach oneself to; to
buttonhole (q.v.); to follow up.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 4. It’s nuts to ’ook on to a
swell.
On one’s own hook, adv. phr. (colloquial).—On one’s own account, risk,
or responsibility; for one’s own sake; dependent on one’s own resources
or exertions.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 23. The signal was given, and in
poured the subscribers to the dinner, with their guest, and in
poured John on his own hook.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. lxix. Do we come out as Liberal
Conservative, or as Government man, or on our own hook?
1861. Whyte Melville, Good for Nothing, ch. xxvii. I worked on my
own hook, after that, and I rather think I paid my expenses.
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London, p. 409. To steal on your
own hook as a bookmaker.
1889. Answers, p. 52, c. 3. Finally Edison went to work on his own
hook.
1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, ch. viii. We used to have to part
company and go in twos and threes then on our own hook.
By hook or by crook, phr. (colloquial).—By some means or other; by fair
means or foul; at all hazards. [Probably of forestal origin.]
d. 1298. Thomas the Rhymer, On Parliaments. Their work was by hook
or crook to rap and bring all under the emperor’s power.
1525. Bodmin Register. Dynmure Wood was ever open and common to the
... inhabitants of Bodmin ... to bear away upon their backs a
burden of lop, crop, hook, crook, and bag wood.
d. 1529. Skelton, Collyn Cloute. Nor wyll suffer this boke By hooke
ne by crooke Prynted for to be.
1550. Bacon, Fortress of the Faithful. Whatsoever is pleasant or
profitable must be theirs by hook or by crook.
1557. Tusser, Good Husbandrie, 30 Mar. Watch therefore in Lent, to
thy sheepe go and look, For dogs will have vittels by hooke and by
crooke.
1566. Archbp. Parker, Correspondence (Parker Soc.), p. 252. To win
him in time, by hook or crook.
1596. Spenser, Faery Queen, v., 2, 27. The spoyle of people’s euill
gotten good, The which her sire had scrapt by hooke and crooke.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Barocco, a shift made for good
cheere, meate and drinke gotten by hooke or crooke.
1621. Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, xi., 186 (1836). By hook and
by crook he will obtain it.
1629. Fonseca [Eng. by J. M.]. Devout Contemplations. Bee it by
hooke or by crooke, by right or wrong.
1678. Butler, Hudibras, iii., 1. Which he by hook, or crook, had
gather’d.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. By Hedge or By Style, by Hook
or by Crook.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1781. Cowper, Letter to Newton, 12 July. And by hook or crook, with
another book, If I live and am here, another year.
1820. Reynolds [Peter Corcoran]. The Fancy. Father, ere our purpose
cool, Get down by hook or crook to Liverpool.
1824. Hitchings and Drewe, Hist. Cornwall, ii., 214. The prior’s
cross, on which is cut the figure of a hook and a crook, in memory
of the privilege granted ... to the poor ... for gathering such
boughs and branches of such trees ... as they could reach with a
hook or by a crook ... whence ... they will have it by hook and by
crook.
1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 363. We must be manned
by hook or crook, you know, however unwilling to distress running
ships.
1868. Reade and Boucicault, Foul Play, p. 54. Several
fellow-creatures have cheated me. Well, I must get as much back, by
hook or by crook, from several fellow-creatures.
1883. W. Black, Yolande, ch. xlix. I should get you a ticket by
hook or by crook, if I failed at the ballot; I heard that one was
sold for £40 the last time.
1888. Rider Haggard, ‘Mrs. Meeson’s Will’ [in Illustrated News,
Summer Number, p. 5, c. 1]. Somehow or other, it would go hard if,
with the help of the one hundred a year that he had of his own, he
did not manage, with his education, to get a living by hook or by
crook.
With a hook at the end, phr. (common).—A reservation of assent; over
the left (q.v.); in a horn (q.v.). Cf., hook, intj.: and Hookey Walker.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. Hookey Walker—and with a hook,
usually accompanied by a significant upliftment of the hand and
crooking of the forefinger, implying that what is said is a lie, or
is to be taken contrary-wise.
1843. Moncrieff, Scamps of London, i., 1. Bob. Will you have some
gin? Fogg. Gin—Yes! Bob (turning away). Ha—ha!—With a hook ... I
wish you may get it.
1870. Traill, Saturday Songs, p. 22. It’s go and go over the left,
It’s go with a hook at the end.
Off the hooks, phr. (old).—Out of temper; vexed; disturbed; out of
sorts. Fr., sortir de ses gonds = off the hinges (q.v.). For synonyms,
see Nab the rust.
1639–61. Rump Songs. ‘Bum-fodder.’ That’s a thing would please the
Butchers and Cooks, To see this stinking Rump quite off the hooks.
1665. Pepys, Diary, 26 May. In the evening by water to the Duke of
Albemarle, whom I found mightily off the hooks, that the ships are
not gone out of the River; which vexed me to see.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hooks. Off the hooks, in an ill
Mood, or out of Humour.
d. 1704. L’Estrange [quoted in Ency. Dict.]. Easily put off the
hooks, and monstrous hard to be pleased again.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iii., 22. Another that’s in the
Blacksmith’s Books, And only to him for remedy looks, Is when a Man
is quite off the hooks.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxx. Everybody that has meddled
in this St. Ronan’s business is a little off the hooks—... in plain
words, a little crazy.
Hook and Snivey (or Hookum Snivey), subs. phr. (old).—1. An imposture;
specifically, the getting of food on false pretences.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, ii., 79. ‘Hook and Snivey, with
Nix the Buffer’ [Title].
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hook and Snivey with Nix the
Buffer. This rig consists in feeding a man and a dog for
nothing.... Three men, one of whom pretends to be sick and unable
to eat, go to a public house; the two well men make a bargain with
the landlord for their dinner, and when he is out of sight feed
their pretended sick companion and dog gratis.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf. s.v. Hook and Snivvy—practised by soldiers
in quarters when they obtain grub for nix.
1835 in Comic Almanack 1835–43 (Hotten), p. 17, Zoological Society
at Hookem Snivey. A new animal has been transmitted from No-Man’s
Land, which has been named the Flat-Catcher.
2. (old).—An impostor as described in sense 1.
3. (streets).—A contemptuous or sarcastic affirmation, accompanied by
the gesture of taking a sight (q.v.) or playing hookey (q.v.).
4. (thieves’).—A crook of thick iron wire in a wooden handle, used to
undo the wooden bolts of doors from without.
1801. Edgeworth, Irish Bulls, With that I ranges ’em fair and even
on my hook ’em snivey, up they goes.
Hooked, adj. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hookt, over-reached, Snapt,
Trickt.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hooker, subs. (Old Cant).—1. A thief; an angler (q.v.). Also, (modern)
a watch-stealer; a dip (q.v.). Cf., quots. 1567 and 1888.
1567. Harman, Caveat, p. 35. These hokers, or Angglers, be
peryllous and most wicked knaues, ... they customably carry with
them a staffe of v. or vi. foote long, in which, within one ynch of
the tope thereof, ys a lytle hole bored through, [leaf 9] in which
hole they putte an yron hoke, and with the same they wyll pluck
vnto them quickly any thing that they may reche ther with.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 8 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874). They
are sure to be clyd in the night by the angler, or hooker, or such
like pilferers that liue upon the spoyle of other poore people.
d. 1626. John Davies, Scourge of Folly, p. 34. [Wks., Ed. Grosart].
A false knaue needs no brokers, but a broker Needs a false knaue (a
hangman or a hooker).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hookers, the third Rank of
Canters; also Sharpers.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. v. No strange Abram,
ruffler crack, hooker of another pack.
1888. Tit Bits, 17 Nov., p. 82, col. 2. There are usually three men
in a gang; the hooker having got into conversation with his man,
number two ‘covers’ his movements, whilst number three (on the
opposite side of the street) keeps a look-out for the ‘enemy.’ The
hooker, having by careful manipulation got a hold of the desired
prize, detaches it from the chain by breaking the ring and passes
it to number two, who in turn passes it on to number three, from
whom it is usually transferred to a receiver and melted down within
a few hours of its being purloined.
2. (American).—A prostitute: i.e., a fisher, angler, or Hooker of men.
For synonyms, see Barrack Hack and Tart.
Hookey. To play hookey, verb. phr. (American).—To play truant; to do
Charley-wag (q.v.).
1876. Clemens [Mark Twain], Tom Sawyer, p. 100. Took his flogging
... for playing hookey the day before.
To do (or play) hookey (or hooky), verb. phr. (common).—To apply the
thumb and fingers to the nose; to take a sight (q.v.); to coffee-mill
(q.v.).
Hookey Walker! (or Walker!) intj. (common).—Be off! go away. Also
implying doubt. Cf., with a hook. [Bee: From John Walker, a hook-nosed
spy, whose reports were proved to be fabrications.]
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hookey Walker, An expression
signifying that the story is not true, or that the thing will not
occur.
1843. Dickens, Christmas Carol [1843], p. 169. ‘Buy it,’ said
Scrooge. ‘Walker!’ said the boy.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Old Woman Clothed in Grey.’ For
mere unmeaning talk her Parch’d lips babbled now,—such as
Hookey!—and Walker!—She expired, with her last breath expressing a
doubt If ‘his Mother were fully aware he was out?’
1840. ‘Characters of Freshmen’ (Whibley, Cap and Gown, p. 183). The
pestilent freshman ... is very pugnacious, and walking in the
streets suddenly turneth and asketh a huge snob ‘what the deuce he
meant by that?’ Whereat the snob (having done nothing at all)
coolly answereth (as the Pestilent Freshman intended he should)
Hooky Walker, provocative of a combat.
Hooking-cow, subs. (Western American).—A cow that shows fight.
1887. Francis, Saddle and Mocassin. One ... was ... a hooking-cow,
and to escape her repeated charges tested all our ability.
Hook-pointed (or Hook-pintled), adj. (venery).—Imperfectly erected.
Cf., Lob (q.v.).
Hook-pole Lay, subs. phr. (old).—Pulling a man off his horse by means
of iron hooks at the end of a long pole, and plundering him. (Smith,
Lives of Highwaymen, III., 192, 1720).
Hook-shop, subs. (American).—A brothel. [Hooker (q.v.) = prostitute.]
For synonyms, see Nanny-shop.
Hoop, subs. (American).—1. A ring.
2. (Devon).—See Bullfinch.
3. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Verb (old).—To beat. To well hoop one’s barrel = to thrash soundly. For
synonyms, see Tan.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
To hoop it (or go through the hoop), verb. phr. (old).—1. To pass the
Insolvent Debtor’s Court; to get hooped up = whitewashed (q.v.). For
synonyms, see Dead-broke.
2. (old).—To run away. For synonyms, see Amputate and Skedaddle.
1839. Brandon, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, 116. I have heard
them tell ... boys ... who have hooped it from home that they had
better go back whilst they had a home to go to.
Hooper’s Hide, subs. phr. (old venery).—Copulation. For synonyms, see
Greens.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 278. The while that his wife with
Willy Was playing at Hooper’s Hide.
Hoop-stick, subs. (common).—The arm. For synonyms, see Chalk Farm.
Hoosier, subs. (American).—A native of Indiana. [Perhaps the most
reasonable of several ingenious explanations is, that in the early days
the customary challenge or greeting in that region was, ‘Who’s yer?’
(who’s here?): pronounced hoosier.—Norton.]
1843. D. Corcoran, A Genuine Hoosier. An original character is your
genuine Hoosier. By genuine, we mean such a one as has all the
attributes that peculiarly belong to the back-woodsmen of the West.
1847. Darley, Drama in Pokerville, p. 197. None of them ‘cotton’d’
to him more kindly than an elderly hoosier from the innermost
depths of Indiana.
1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, p. 79. There is a swarm of
‘suckers,’ ‘hoosiers,’ ‘buckeyes,’ ‘corn-crackers,’ and
‘wolverines’ eternally on the qui vive in those parts.
Hooter, subs. (American).—1. A steam-whistle; an American devil (q.v.).
2. (colloquial).—A wooden trumpet, so contrived as to make a horrible
noise.
3. (American).—A corruption of ‘iota’: e.g., ‘I don’t care a hooter for
him.’
Hooting-pudding, subs. (provincial).—A plum-pudding with such a paucity
of plums that you can hear them hooting after each other.—Slang,
Jargon, and Cant.
Hop, subs. (common).—A dance. [Generally informal, as a Cinderella
(q.v.).] Also, as in quot. 1579, the motions of dancing. For synonyms,
see Skip.
1579. Gosson, Schoole of Abuse, p. 33 (Arber’s Ed.). He gaue
Dauncers great stipends for selling their hopps.
1811. Jane Austen, Sense and S., ch. ix. At a little hop at the
park, he danced from eight o clock till four.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Hop—a contra-dance of ordinary persons
and promiscuous company is ‘a hop’ and ‘a penny-hop’ from the price
formerly paid for admission.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, iv. He gave them from time to time a
very agreeable hop.
1847. Thackeray, Mrs. Perkins’s Ball (Mr. Larkins). To describe
this gentleman’s infatuation for dancing, let me say, in a word,
that he will even frequent boarding-house hops, rather than not go.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 189. The ‘temple’ was
generally cleared for a hop two or three times during the week.
1850. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, p. 121. You’ll be at old Coleman’s
hop to-night, I suppose; so bye! bye! for the present.
1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 129. Two undress-balls—hops
they were.
1882. Daily Telegraph, 13 Nov., p. 5, c. 3. At all seasons there is
an immense amount of dancing; and at Washington there are continual
‘hotel hops’ in the winter.
1887. W. S. Gilbert, Patience, ii. Prefers suburban hops To all
your Monday Pops.
1889. Lippincott, Oct., p. 447. Hang me if she isn’t always on the
plain, or at a hop, with one of those twin kids!
1892. Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads. ‘Gentlemen Rankers.’ To dance
with blowzy housemaids at the regimental hops.
Hop-and-go-kick, subs. phr. (tailors’).—A lameter; a Hop-and-go-one.
Cf., Dot-and-carry-one.
To hop the wag, verb. phr. (common).—To play truant, or Charley-wag
(q.v.).
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., 207. They often
persuaded me to hop the wag, that is play truant from school.
To hop (or jump) over the broom (or broomstick), verb. phr.
(colloquial).—To live as husband and wife; to live (or go) tally
(q.v.).
1811. Poole, Hamlet Travestied, ii., 3. Jump o’er a broomstick, but
don’t make a farce on The marriage ceremonies of the parson.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 336. There was
always a broomstick wedding. Without that ceremony a couple weren’t
looked on as man and wife.
1860. Dickens, Great Expectations, xlviii., 227. This woman in
Gerrard Street, here, had been married very young, over the
broomstick (as we say), to a tramping man.
c. 18(79). Broadside Ballad, ‘David Dove that Fell in Love.’ By L.
M. Thornton. The girl that I had hoped to hear Pronounce my happy
doom, sir, Had bolted with a carpenter, In fact hopped o’er the
broom, sir.
To hop the twig, verb. phr. (common).—1. To leave; to run away; to
skedaddle (q.v.). For synonyms, see amputate.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 143. Hop the twig ... means
to depart suddenly.
1830. Egan, Finish to Life in London, p. 217. I have lost my
ticker; and all my toggery has been boned, I am nearly as naked as
when I was born—and the cause—the lady bird—has hopped the twig.
1884. Daily News, 31 Oct., p. 3, c. 1. They knocked the Liberals
down as fast as they could until they got too numerous and strong,
and then we hopped the twig.
1888. All the Year Round, 9 June 543. To hop the twig ... and the
like, are more flippant than humorous.
2. (common).—To die; to ‘kick the bucket’ (q.v.); to peg out (q.v.).
Also To hop off.
English Synonyms. To be content; to cock up one’s toes; to croak; to
cut (or let go) the painter; to cut one’s stick; to give in; to give
up; to go to Davy Jones’ locker; to go off the hooks; to go under; to
go up; to kick the bucket; kickeraboo (West Indian); to lay down one’s
knife and fork; to lose the member of one’s mess; to mizzle; to pass in
one’s checks; to peg out; to put on a wooden surtout; to be put to bed
with a shovel; to slip one’s cable; to stick one’s spoon in the wall;
to snuff it; to take an earth bath; to take a ground sweat.
French Synonyms.—Passer l’arme à gauche (pop.: = to ground arms);
casser sa pipe (= to break one’s pipe); dévisser or décoller son
billard (= to break one’s cue); graisser ses bottes (= to grease one’s
boots); avaler sa langue (= to swallow one’s tongue); avaler sa gaffe
(= to lower one’s boat-hook); avaler sa cuiller or sa fourchette (= to
swallow one’s spoon or one’s fork); avaler ses baguettes (military: =
to swallow one’s drumsticks); n’avoir plus mal aux dents (= to get rid
of the toothache: mal de dents, also = love); poser sa chique (pop.: =
to put down one’s quid); claquer (familiar: = to croak); saluer le
public (theat.: = to go before the curtain); recevoir son décompte
(military: = to get one’s quietus; décompte = also [military] a mortal
wound); cracher son embouchure (= to spit one’s mouthpiece); déteindre
(pop.: = to wash off one’s colour); donner son dernier bon à tirer
(familiar: in American = to pass in one’s checks; properly = to send
one’s last proof to press); lâcher la perche (pop.: = to hop the twig);
éteindre son gaz (pop.: = to turn off one’s gas. Cf., to snuff it);
épointer son foret (pop.: = to blunt one’s drill, as in boring); être
exproprié (pop.: = to be dispossessed); exproprier (= to take
possession of a debtor’s land); péter son lof (sailor’s); fumer ses
terres; fermer son parapluie (pop.: = to close one’s umbrella); perdre
son bâton (pop.: = to lose one’s walking stick); descendre la garde
(pop.: = to come off guard); défiler la parade (military: = to face
about); tortiller, or tourner de l’œil (pop.); perdre le goût du pain
(pop.: = to lose one’s appetite); lâcher la rampe (theat.: = to chuck
the footlights); faire ses petits paquets (pop.: = to pack up one’s
traps); casser son crachoir (pop.: = to break one’s spittoon);
remercier son boulanger (thieves’: = to thank the baker; boulanger =
the Devil); canner; dévider à l’estorgue (thieves’); baiser or épouser
la Camarde or camarder (pop: = to hug, or go to church with, Mother
Bones [Camarde = Death]); fuir (thieves’: = to flee or escape); casser
son câble (pop.: = to slip one’s cable); casser son fouet (pop.: = to
break one’s whip); faire sa crêvaison (pop.: crêver = to burst up);
déralinguer (sailors’: = to loose from the bolt-rope); virer de bord
(sailors’: = to tack about); déchirer son faux-col (pop.: = to break
one’s collar); dégeler (= to thaw); couper sa mèche (coachman’s: = to
cut off one’s lash); piquer sa plaqu (sailors’); mettre la table pour
les asticots (pop.: = to lay the cloth for the worms); aller manger les
pissenlits par la racine (pop.: = to go grubbing off dandelion roots);
laisser fuir son tonneau (familiar); calancher (vagrants’); laisser ses
bottes quelque part (familiar: = to leave one’s boots about); déchirer
son habit (pop.: = to tear one’s coat); déchirer son tablier (pop.: =
to tear one’s apron); souffler sa veilleuse (pop.: = to blow out one’s
candle: cf., to snuff it); pousser le boum du cygne (pop.); avoir son
coke (familiar: = to get one’s cargo); rendre sa secousse (pop.);
rendre sa bûche (tailors’); rendre sa canne au ministre (military: = to
resign one’s commission); rendre sa clef (gipsy: = to give in one’s
key); rendre son livret (pop.: = to pass in one’s checks); passer au
dixième régiment (military); s’ennuyer (pop.: = to be at death’s door);
chasser les mouches (pop.: to go fly-catching); ingurgiter son bilan
(popular); resserrer son linge (pop.); faire sa malle (pop.: = to pack
one’s trunk); avaler le goujon (pop.); s’habiller de sapin (pop.: = to
put on a wooden surtout); avoir son compte (pop.); battre de l’œil
(thieves’); s’évanouir (pop.: to mizzle); machaber (pop.: machabre =
the Dance of Death); glisser (pop.); s’en aller dans le pays des
marmottes (pop.: marmotte = puppet); déménager (pop.: = to move house).
German Synonyms.—Krachen gehen; niftern; pegern or peigern; schochern
or verschochern (= to get black); verschwarzen.
Italian Synonyms. Sbasire (= to faint); sbasire su le funi (= to faint
on the rope).
Spanish Synonyms.—Hacer bodoques (= to take an earth bath); liarlas (=
also to run away); obispar; corvado (= bent, curved); cierto (=
certain).
1839. Dance, Alive and Merry, i., 1. Couldn’t you wait a bit till
she’s hopped off, and then you and I could marry, and be ladies and
gentlemen?
1841. Punch, I., 2, 2. Clare pines in secret—Hops the twig and goes
to glory in white muslin.
1842. Punch, vol. II., p. 20, c. 2. Yet henceforth—dash my wig!
I’ll live with thee, with thee I’ll hop the twig!
1863. Fun, vol. IV., p. 188. The night when Cromwell died a storm
tore up many of the trees [of St. James’s Park]—though what
connexion there may be between the destruction of their branches
and the hopping the twig of the Protector, we leave to our
philosophical readers to decide.
1870. Chambers’s Miscellany, No. 87, p. 26. That her disease was
mortal, was past a doubt, and a month or two more or less could
make no difference, provided she hopped off ... before the year was
expired.
On the hop, adv. phr. (common).—1. Unawares; at the nick of time; in
flagrante delicto. Also On the h. o. p.
1868. Broadside Ballad, ‘The Chickaleary Cove.’ For to catch me on
the hop.... You must wake up very early in the morning.
1870. London Figaro, 26 Aug. If to catch any of the more ordinary
folk on the hop is to secure a laugh, what must it be to catch the
Tycoon ‘on the—top?’
1872. Daily Telegraph, 3 Sept. Goodbye, Johnny: before I leave you,
One more kiss before I go. For to catch me on the hop.
1892. Anstey, Model Music Hall, 32. I never saw a smarter hand at
serving in a shop, For every likely customer she caught upon the
’op.
2. (common).—On the go; in motion; unresting.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 22. A deal on the ’op.
3. (colloquial).—See Hip.
Hopeful (or Young Hopeful), subs. (colloquial).—A boy or young man; in
sarcasm or contempt.
1856. Bradley (‘Cuthbert Bede’), Tales of College Life, 24. He’ll
be no end riled at seeing his hopeful play truant in this fashion.
Hop- (or Hap-) Harlot, subs. (old).—A coarse coverlet; Cf.,
Wrap-rascal.
1807–8. Hollinshed, Chronicles of England, ch. 12. Covered only
with a sheet, under coverlets made of dag-swain, or hop-harlots.
Hopkins (Hoppy, or Mr. Hopkins), subs. (old).—A lameter. For synonyms,
see Dot-and-go-one Giles.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Don’t Hurry, Hopkins! phr. (American).—Ironical to persons slow to move
or to meet an obligation.
Hop-merchant (or Hoppy), subs. (common).—A dancing master; a
caper-merchant (q.v.). Also, a fiddler.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v.
1892. Sydney Watson, Wops the Waif, ch. iii., p. 4. Who-ay, Cully,
here’s Hoppy with the rozin.
Hop-o-my-thumb, subs. (common).—A dwarf.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, in Wks. v., 248. Though the greatnesse
of the redde herring be not small (as small a hoppe-on-my-thumbe as
hee seemeth).
1603. Dekker, etc., Patient Grissell, IV., ii., in Wks. (Grosart)
vi., 195. Bab. No; he shall not haue them [children]: knocke out
his braines, and saue the little hop-a-my-thombes.
1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xi. You pitiful hop-o’-my-thumb
coxcomb.
1764. O’Hara, Midas, i., 5. You Stump-o’-the-gutter, you
Hop-o’-my-thumb, A husband must for you from Lilliput come.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hop-o-my-Thumb. She was such a
hop-o-my-thumb that a pigeon, on sitting on her shoulder, might
pick a pea out of her a—se.
1821. Scott, Kenilworth, ch. xi. A mean-looking hop-o’-my-thumb
sort of person.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Account of a New Play.’ A
hop-o’-my-thumb of a Page.
English Synonyms.—Go-by-the-ground; grub; grundy; Jack Sprat; little
breeches; shrimp; stump-of-the-gutter; tom-tit. See also, Forty-foot.
Hopper, subs. (colloquial).—The mouth. For synonyms, see Potato-trap.
To go a hopper, verb. phr. (sporting).—To go quickly.
Hopper-arsed (or Hipped), adj. (old).—Large in the breech. Also (as in
quot. 1529) snaggy-boned. Also as subs.
d. 1529. Dunbar, Poems, ‘Complaint to the King’ (1836, i., 144).
With hopper-hippis and hanches narrow.
1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, ii., 1. Moreover, she is
bow-legged, hopper-hipped, and, betwixt pomatum and Spanish red,
has a complexion like a Holland cheese.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hopper-arst, when the Breach
sticks out.
1704. King, Orpheus and Eurydice (Chalmers, English Poets), vol.
ix., p. 284. A lady of prodigious fame, Whose hollow eyes and
hopper breech Made common people call her witch.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., vi., 351. And there’ll be hopper-arsed
Nancy.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hopper-docker, subs. (old).—A shoe. For synonyms, see Trotter-cases.
Hop-picker, subs. (common).—1. A prostitute; also Hopping-wife. For
synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.
1888. Indoor Paupers, p. 55. Numbers of them go regularly to the
hop-gardens; and each man must have a female companion—a hopping
wife as she is termed.
2. in. pl. (gaming).—The queens of all the four suits.
Hopping-Giles, subs. (common).—A cripple. For synonyms, see
Dot-and-go-one.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1885. Household Words, 27 June, p. 180. St. Giles is the patron
saint of cripples; hence a lame person is mockingly called hopping
giles.
Hopping-jesus, subs. (colloquial).—A lameter. For synonyms, see
Dot-and-go-one.
Hopping-mad, adj. (American).—Very angry.
Hop-pole, subs. (common).—A tall, slight person, male or female. For
synonyms, see Lamp-post.
1850. Smedley, Frank Farleigh, p. 5. I was tall for my age, but
slightly built, and so thin, as often to provoke the application of
such epithets as hop-pole, ‘thread-paper,’ etc.
Horizontal-refreshment, subs. (venery).—1. Carnal intercourse; cf.,
Upright. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride. [Fr., une horizontale = a
prostitute.] Also, To Horizontalise.
2. (common).—Food taken standing; generally applied to a mid-day snack
at a bar.
Horn, subs. (common).—1. The nose. Also, Horney. For synonyms, see
Conk.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. Horney—a nose; one that resounds
in expectoration.
2. (common).—A drink; a dram of spirits. For synonyms, see Go.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, p. 193. Go on, Venus. Take another horn
first.
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West. p. 126. They called the
Scotchman to take a horn.
3. (venery).—An erection of the penis. [Properly of men only; but said
of both sexes. In the feminine equivalents are Cunt-itch and
Cunt-stand].
Hence To get (or have) the horn, verb. phr. = to achieve erection;
to cure the horn = to copulate; horning and horny, in course of, or
disposed to erection; hornification, subs. = the state, or process,
of erection; hornify (see verb), = to get (or give) the horn; Miss
Horner, subs. = the pudendum muliebre; old horney (or hornington) =
the penis.
English Synonyms.—Cock- (or prick-) stand; Irish toothache; in one’s
Sunday (or best) clothes; the jack; hard-on (American); horn-colic;
horn-mad (said also of an angry cuckold); fixed bayonets; lance in
rest; the old Adam; standing; on the stand; stiffened up; the spike.
4. (old).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.
5. (colloquial).—Also in pl., see verb.
Horn, verb (colloquial).—To cuckold. [Becco (= a he-goat) and cornuto
(= a horned thing) are good Italian for a cuckold; in Florio (Worlde of
Wordes, 1598) andar in cornouaglia senza barca (i.e., to go to Cornwall
without a ship) = to win the horn; and the expression, as the example
from Lydgate appears to show, may very well have been imported into
English from the Italian. Also, it seems to have begun to be literary
about the middle of the sixteenth century, when the Italian influence
was at its height. For the rest it passed in triumph into written
English, was used in every possible combination, had a run at least two
centuries long, and is still intelligible, though not in common
service.] See Actæon, antlers, bull’s feather, freeman of bucks, etc.
Hence, to hornify (see subs., sense 3), and to graft (or give)
horns; to wear horns = to live a cuckold; horner, subs. = a cuckold
maker; horn-mad, adj. phr. (q.v.); horned, adj. = cuckolded;
horn-grower (or merchant) subs. = a married man; horn-fever, subs.
= cuckoldry; to exalt one’s horn, verb. phr. = (1) to cuckold, and
(2) to rejoice in, or profit by, the condition; to wind the horn =
to publish the fact of cuckoldom; horns-to-sell, subs. phr. = (1) a
lewd wife, and (2) a wittol; to point the horn = to fork the
fingers in derision (as in Hogarth’s ‘Industrious and Idle
Apprentice,’ 1790, plate v.); horn-works = the process of
cuckolding; at the sign of the horn = in cuckoldom; horn-pipe =
(see quot. 1602); horned herd, subs. phr. = husbands in general
(specifically, the city men, the Citizens of London, the cuckolding
of whom by West-end gallants is a constant theme of seventeenth
century jokes); gilt-horn, subs. = a contented Cuckold; spirit of
hartshorn = the suspicion or the certainty of cuckoldom; long
horns, subs. = a notorious cuckold; knight of Hornsey, also member
for Horncastle, subs. phr. = a cuckold, etc.
d. 1440. Lydgate, Falle of Prynces, ii., leaf 56 (ed. Wayland,
1557, quoted in Dyce’s Skelton, 1843, ii., 132). To speke plaine
Englishe made him cokolde. Alas I was not auised wel before
Vnkonnyngly to speake such language: I should haue sayde how that
he had an horne.... And in some land Cornodo men do them call, And
some affirme that such folk have no gall.
c. 152(?). Hick Scorner (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, i.,
180). My mother was a lady of the stews, blood born, And (Knight of
the Halter) my father wore an horne.
c. 1537. Thersites (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, i., 412).
Why wilt thou not thy hornes inhold? Thinkest thou that I am a
cuckold.
c. 1550. The Pride and Abuse of Women (176 in Early Pop. Poetry,
ed. Hazlitt, iv., 237). And loke well, ye men to your wives.... Or
some wyll not styche.... To horne you on everye side.
1568. Bannatyne MSS. ‘The use of Court,’ p. 765 (Hunterian Club,
1886). Vp gettis hir wame, Scho thinkis no schame For to bring hame
The laird ane horne.
1574. Appius and Virginia (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, iv.,
118). A hairbrain, a hangman, or a grafter of hornes.
1575. Laneham’s Letter (ed. 1871). p. 40. With yoor paciens,
Gentlmen, ... be it said: wear it not in deede that hornz bee so
plentie, hornware I beleeue woold bee more set by than it iz, and
yet thear in our parts, that wyll not stick too auoow that many an
honest man both in citee and cuntree hath his hoous bv horning well
vphollden, and a daily freend allso at need.
c. 1580. Collier of Croydon (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
viii., 436). My head groweth hard, my horns will shortly spring.
1586. Lupton, 1,000 Not. Things, ed. 1675, p. 261. Take heed thou
art not horn’d, and then fetcht home.
1597. Hall, Satires, i., 8. Fond wittol that would’st load thy
witless head, With timely horns before thy bridal bed. Idem, ii.,
7. If chance it come to wanton Capricorne, And so into the Ram’s
disgraceful horne.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., Act i., sc. 2. Well, he hath the
horn of abundance and the lightness of his wife shines through it.
1598. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, v., 1. See, what a drove of
horns fly in the air, Winged with my cleansèd and my credulous
breath.
1598. Sylvester, Du Bartas, ed. 1641, v., 41. The adulterous
Sargus.... Courting the Shee Goates on the grassie shore Would horn
their husbands that had horns before.
1599. Jonson, Every Man Out of his Humour, iv., 4. Now horn upon
horn pursue thee, thou blind, egregious, dotard.
1600. Look About You, Sc. 10 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
v., 415). By adding horns unto our falcon’s head.
1600. Shakspeare, As You Like it, iv., 2. Take thou no scorn to
wear the horn, It was a crest ere thou wast born.
1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado about Nothing, i. Then up comes the
devil with his horns upon his head, looking like an old cuckold.
Ibid. v. 1. But when shall we see the savage bull’s horns on the
sensible Benedict’s head.
1601. Jonson, Poetaster, iv., 3. And there is never a star in thy
forehead but shall be a horn if thou dost persist to abuse me.
1602. Campion, English Poesy (Bullen, Works, 1889, p. 248). Mock
him not with horns, the case is altered.
1603. Philotus (Pinkerton, Scottish Poems, 1792, iii., 17). Sen
thair may be na uther buit? Plat on his heid ane horne.
1604. Marston, Malcontent, i., I. Mendoza is the man makes thee a
horned beast: ’tis Mendoza cornutes thee.
1605. Jonson, Volpone, ii., 4. Volp.: Nay, then, I not repent me of
my late disguise. Mos.: If you can horne him, Sir, you need not.
1605. Chapman, All Fools, v., 1 (Plays, 1874, p. 75). And will you
blow the horn yourself where you may keep it to yourself? Go to,
you are a fool. Ibid. (p. 76.) It may very well be that the devil
brought horns into the world, but the women brought them to the
men.
1607. How a Man May Choose a Good Wife From a Bad, ii., I.
(Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, ix., 28). Quando venis aput, I
shall have two horns on my caput.
1607. Dekker, Northward Hoe, Act i., p. 8. If a man be deuorst,
whether may he haue an action or no, gainst those that make horns
at him. Ibid. iv., p. 54. This curse is on all letchers throwne,
They give horns and, at last, hornes are their owne.
1608. Rowlands, Humor’s Looking Glass, p. 22. Besides, shee is as
perfect chast as faire. But being married to a jealous asse, He
vowes shee horns him.
1609. Jonson, Epicœne, iii., 1. By that light you deserve to be
grafted, and your horns reach from one side of the island to the
other.
1616. Jonson, Devil’s an Ass, v., 5. And a cuckold is, Wherever he
puts his head, with a wannion, his horns be forth, the devil’s
companion.
1618. Samuel Rowlands, The Night Raven, p. 25. ’Tis this bad liver
doth the horne-plague breed, Which day and night my jealous
thoughts doth feed.
1623. Cockeran, Eng. Dict. s.v. Sargus, an adulterous fish which
goes on the grassie shore, and hornes the hee Goates that had horns
before.
1627. Drayton, Agincourt and Other Poems, p. 174. Some made mouthes
at him, others as in scorne With their forkt fingers poynted him
the horn.
1629. Davenant, Albovine, ed. 1673, p. 436. ’Twas a subtle reach to
tell him that the King had horn’d his brow.
1633. Rowley, Match at Midnight (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
xiii., 40). horning the headman of his parish and taking money for
his pains.
1633. Ford, Love’s Sacrifice, iii., 3. Fernando is your rival, has
stolen your duchess’s heart, murther’d friendship; horns your head,
and laughs at your horns.
1637. Beaumont and Fletcher, Elder Brother, iv., 4. I shall have
some music yet At my making free o’ th’ company of horners.
1640. Rawlins, The Rebellion, i., I. (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed.,
1875, xiv., 15). Fresh as a city bridegroom that has signed his
wife a grant for the grafting of horns.
1643. Brome, A New Diurnal. (Chalmers, Eng. Poets, 1810, vi., 667).
Prince Rupert, for fear that his name be confounded, Will saw off
his horns, and make him a Roundhead.
1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Women Pleased, v. 3. I shall then be
full of scorn, Wanton, proud (beware the horn).
1653. Middleton and Rowley, The Spanish Gypsy, iii., I. Beggars
would on cock-horse ride. And boobies fall a-roaring, And cuckolds
though no horns be spied, Be one another goring.
1653. Davenant, The Siege of Rhodes, p. 34. It stuffs up the
marriage bed with thorns, It gores itself, it gores itself with
imagined horns.
1657. Middleton, Women, Beware of Woman (1657), iii., 2. Cuckolds
dance the hornpipe, and farmers dance the hay. Idem., iv., 2. Go,
lie down, master; but take care your horns do not make holes in the
pillow-beers.
1659. Lady Alimony, i., 2 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, xiv.,
280). My scene, Trillo, is horn alley. Ibid., iii., 6 (p. 340).
Doubt nothing, my fellow Knights of hornsey.
1661. Webster, Cure for a Cuckold (1661), v., 2. He that hath horns
thus let him learn to shed.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, iv., 1 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 473). I hope to exalt the Parson’s horn here.
Ibid., (p. 477). Only to fright the poor cuckholds and make the
fools visit their horns. Ibid., v., 4 (p. 519). Methinks my horns
ache more than my corns. Ibid. ib. (p. 520). I have seen a cuckold
of your complexion: if he had lent as much hoof as horn, you might
have hunted the beast by the slot.
1664. Butler, Hudibras, II., ii. For when men by their wives are
cowed, Their horns of course are understood.
1668. L’Estrange, Visions of Quevedo, p. 251 (ed. 1708). He that
marries, ventures fair for the horn, either before or after.
1672. Ray, Proverbs (in Bohn, 1889), s.v. He had better put his
horns in his pocket than wind them. Idem. (p. 184). Horns and gray
hairs do not come with years. Idem. id., Who hath horns in his
pocket let him not put them on his head.
1675. Wycherley, Country Wife, v., 4. Epilogue: Encouraged by our
woman’s man to-day, a horner’s part may vainly think to play.
Ibid., i., 1. I make no more cuckolds, sir. [Makes horns.] Ibid.,
iv., 3. If ever you suffer your wife to trouble me again here, she
shall carry you home a pair of horns.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iv., 1. First, the clandestine
obscenity in the very name of horner.
d. 1680. Butler, Remains (1757), ii., 372. His own branches, his
horns, are as mystical as the Whore of Babylon’s Palfreys, not to
be seen but in a vision.
1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, iv., 15. Pox choke him. Would his
horns were in his throat.
1695. Congreve, Love for Love, iv., 15. The clocks will strike
twelve at noon, and the horned herd buzz in the Exchange at two.
1698. Farquhar, Love and a Bottle, iv., 3. Should I ever be tried
before this judge, how I should laugh to see how gravely his goose
cap sits upon a pair of horns!
1700. Congreve, Way of the World, iii., 7. Man should have his head
and horns, and woman the rest of him.
1702. Steele, The Funeral or Grief à la Mode, Act. i., p. 22. This
wench I know has played me false, and horned me in my gallants.
[Note.—That the speaker is a female shows the word to have been
transferable to the other sex.]
1708. W. King, Art of Love, pt. x. (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810,
ix., 274). Sometimes his dirty paws she scorns, While her fair
fingers show his horns.
1708. Prior, Poems. ‘The Turtle and Sparrow,’ line 302–9. ‘Two
staring Horns,’ I often said, ‘but ill became a sparrow’s head’ ...
‘Whilst at the root your horns are sore, The more you scratch, they
ache the more.’
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 174. Who’s the Cuckoo, Who’s the
Cuckold, who’s the horner?
1728. Patrick Walker, Alexander Peden, ‘Postscript’ (ed. 1827, i.).
A profane, obscene meeting called the horn-order.
1737. Fielding, Tumble-Down Dick, Works (1718) iii., 408. Think it
enough your betters do the deed, And that by horning you I mend the
breed.
d. 1742. Somerville, Occasional Poems (Chalmers, English Poets,
1810, xi., 238). If I but catch her in a corner, Humph! ’tis your
servant, Colonel Horner.
1759–67. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, ch. xxxvii. Nor have the
horn-works he speaks of anything to do with the horn-works of
Cuckoldom.
1765. C. Smart, Fables, xi., line 66. And though your spouse my
lecture scorns. Beware his fate, beware his Horns.
d. 1770. Chatterton, The Revenge, i., I. Let her do what she will,
The husband is still, And but for his horns you would think him an
ass. Idem., ii., 4. Have you come horning.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1786. Captain Morris (Collection of Songs), The Great
Plenipotentiary, (9th ed. 1788, stanza ix., p. 43). She had horned
the dull brows of her worshipful spouse Till they sprouted like
Venus’s myrtle.
d. 1796. Burns, Merry Muses, ‘Cuddy the Cooper,’ p. 84. On ilka
brow she’s planted a horn, An’ swears that there they shall stan’,
O.
1813. Moore, Poems, ‘Re-inforcements for the Duke,’ iii., 209. Old
H——df——t at horn-works again might be tried.
1816. Quiz, Grand Master, canto vii., p. 199, line 10. (She)
smil’d, declaring that she scorn’d him, (She might have added that
she’d horn’d him).
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, c. xxxvi. O what a generous
creature is your true London husband! Horns hath he, but, tame as a
fatted ox, he goreth not.
1825. Scott, The Betrothed, ch. xvii. I ever tell thee, husband,
the horns would be worth the hide in a fair market.
To draw in one’s horns, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To withdraw or to
retract; to cool down.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Horns.
To horn off, verb. phr. (American). = To put on one side; to shunt. [As
a bull or stag with his horns.]
1851. Hooper, Widow Rugby’s Husband, etc., p. 69. You horned me off
to get a chance to get gaming witnesses out of the way.
In a horn, adv. phr. (American).—A general qualification, implying
refusal or disbelief; over the left (q.v.).
1858. Washington Evening Star, 26 Aug. I have mentioned before the
innumerable comforts—in a horn—of the old White Sulphur Springs.
To wind (or blow) the horn, verb. phr. (old).—To break wind; to fart
(q.v.).
1620. Percy, Folio, MSS., ‘Fryar and Boye.’ Her tayle shall wind
the horne.
To cure the horn, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate. See Horn, subs.,
sense 3. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
To have the horn, verb. phr. (venery). See Horn, subs., sense 3.
To come out of the little end of the horn, verb. phr. (common).—To get
the worst of a bargain; to be reduced in circumstances. Also, to make
much ado about nothing. Said generally of vast endeavour ending in
failure. [Through some unexpected Squeeze (q.v.)].
1605. Jonson, Chapman, and Marston, Eastward Hoe, i., 1. I had the
horne of suretiship ever before my eyes. You all know the devise of
the horne, where the young fellow slippes in at the butte-end, and
comes squesd out at the buckall.
1624. Fletcher, Wife for a Month, iii., 3. Thou wilt look to-morrow
else Worse than the prodigal fool the ballad speaks of, That was
squeezed through a horn.
1847. Porter, Big Ben, etc., p. 37. How did you make it? You didn’t
come out at the little end of the horn, did you?
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc., p. 24. You never saw such a run
of luck; everywhere I touched was pizen, and I came out of the
leetle end of the horn.
1891. Pall Mall Gaz., 3 July, i., 2. The ‘great Trek,’ in that
expressive transatlantic phrase, has toddled out of the little end
of the horn.
Horn-colic, subs. (venery).—See Horn, subs., sense 3.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hornet, subs. (common).—A disagreeable, cantankerous person.
Hornie (or Horness), subs. (old).—1. A constable or watchman; a
sheriff.
1819. Vaux, Life, s.v. Horney, a Constable.
1821. Haggart, Life, 51. The woman missing it immediately, she sent
for the hornies.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Horness.
2. (Scots’).—The devil; generally Auld Hornie (q.v.).
1785. Burns, Address to the Deil. O thou! whatever title suits
thee, Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie.
Hornify, verb. (colloquial).—See Horn, subs., sense 3 and verb.
2. (venery).—See Horn, subs., sense 3.
Horn-mad, adj. (old).—1. See quot. 1690.
1593. Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors, ii., 1. Why, mistress, sure my
master is horn-mad.
1599. Henry Porter, The Two Angry Women of Abingdon (Dodsley, Old
Plays, 4th ed., 1875, vii.). And then I wound my horn, and he’s
horn-mad.
1604. Marston, Malcontent, i., 7. I am horn mad.
1605. Jonson, The Fox, iii., 6. Yet I’m not mad, Not horn-mad, see
you.
1639–61. Rump Songs, [1662], 293. The Country has grown sad, The
City is horn-mad.
1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, The Woman’s Prize, ii., 6. After my
twelve strong labours to reclaim her, Which would have made Don
Hercules horn-mad.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Horn-mad, stark staring Mad,
because Cuckolded.
1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, iv., 22. Ay, I feel it here; I
sprout; I bud; I blossom; I am ripe horn-mad.
1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, iv., 20. She forks out cuckoldom
with her fingers, and you are running horn-mad after your fortune.
1695. Congreve, Love for Love, v., 8. She’s mad for a husband, and
he’s horn-mad.
1698. Farquhar, Love and a Bottle, iv., 3. Thou’rt horn-mad.
Prithee, leave impertinence.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxvi. Ye might as well expect
brandy from beanstalks, or milk from a crag of blue whunstane. The
man is mad, horn-mad, to boot.
1825. Harriette Wilson, Memoirs, ii. 228. The little he did say was
chiefly on the subject of cuckolds and cuckolding. His lordship was
horn-mad.
2. (venery).—Sexually excited; lecherous; musty (q.v.). Also, Horny.
Hornswoggle, subs. (American).—Nonsense; humbug (q.v.). For synonyms,
see Gammon.
Verb (American).—To humbug; to delude; to seduce.—Slang, Jargon, and
Cant. Cf., In a horn.
Horn-thumb, subs. (old).—A pickpocket. [From the practice of wearing a
sheath of horn to protect the thumb in cutting out.] See Thieves.
1569. Preston, Cambises (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1874, iv.,
235). But cousin, because to that office ye are not like come,
Frequent your exercises, a horne on your thumbe, A quick eye, a
sharp knife.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii. I mean a child of the
horn-thumb, a babe of booty, boy, a cut-purse.
1614. Greene, Looking-Glass [Dyce], p. 138. I cut this from a
new-married wife by means of a horn-thumb and a knife.—Six
shillings, four pence.
Horrors, subs. (common).—The first stage of delirium tremens. For
synonyms, see Gallon-distemper. Also low spirits, or the blues (q.v.).
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 50. Paying the penalty in a
fit of horrors.
1857. Philadelphia Evening Bulletin (quoted by Bartlett). This
poison (fusil oil), which acts with terrible results on the nerves;
seeming like a diabolical inspiration, stirring up mania,
convulsions, and the horrorsin an incredibly short space of time.
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, bk. iv., ch. viii. What are
popularly called ‘the trembles’ being in full force upon him that
evening, and likewise what are popularly called the horrors, he had
a very bad time of it; which was not made better by his being so
remorseful as frequently to moan ‘Sixty threepennorths.’
1864. F. W. Robinson, Mr. Stewart’s Intentions, ch. i. ‘Well,
sermons always gave me the horrors, and engendered a hate of the
sermonizer.’
1883. Stevenson, Treasure Island ch. iii., p. 20 (1886). If I don’t
have a dram o’ rum, Jim, I’ll have the horrors.
1889. C. Haddon Chambers, In Australian Wilds. He’s sober now, you
see; but he managed to get blind drunk before eleven o’clock this
morning, and last week he narrowly escaped an attack of the
horrors.
1892. Henley and Stevenson, Three Rags, ‘Admiral Guinea,’ iv., 3.
It’s the horrors come alive.
2. (common).—Sausages. See Chamber of Horrors and Dog’s-paste.
3. (thieves’).—Handcuffs. For synonyms, see Darbies.
Horse, subs. (common).—1. A five-pound note. See Finnup.
2. (thieves’).—Horsemonger Lane Gaol. Also the Old Horse. Now obsolete.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, 1, p. 457. The only
thing that frightens me when I’m in prison is sleeping in a cell by
myself—you do in the Old Horse and the Steel.
3. (American).—A man: generally in affection. Also Old Hoss, or
Hoss-fly.
1838. Haliburton (‘Sam Slick’), The Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xviii. He
is all sorts of a hoss, and the best live one that ever cut dirt
this side of the big pond, or t’other side either.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 74. What in the yearth did you do
with old Hoss on the road?—He ain’t gin out, has he? Ibid., p. 70.
None of your stuck-up imported chaps from the dandy states, but a
real genuine westerner—in short, a hoss!
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 5. Hyar’s a hoss as’ll make
fire come.
1857. Gladstone, Englishman in Kansas, p. 43. Here, boys, drink.
Liquors, captain, for the crowd. Step up this way, old hoss, and
liquor.
Verb (venery).—1. To possess a woman. For synonyms, see Ride.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, iv., 3. Say’st thou so, filly? Thou
shalt have a leap presently, I’ll horse thee myself, else.
2. (workmen’s).—See quots. Cf., Flog the dead horse.
1857. Notes and Queries, 2 S., iv., p. 192. A workman horses it
when he charges for more in his week’s work than he has really
done. Of course he has so much unprofitable work to get through in
the ensuing week, which is called dead horse.
1867. All the Year Round, 13 July, p. 59. To horse a man, is for
one of two men who are engaged on precisely similar pieces of work
to make extraordinary exertions in order to work down the other
man. This is sometimes done simply to see what kind of a workman a
new man may be, but often with the much less creditable motive of
injuring a fellow workman in the estimation of an employer.
The gray mare is the better horse. See Gray-mare.
Horse foaled of an acorn, subs. phr. (old).—1. The gallows. For
synonyms, see Triple-tree.
1760–61. Smollett, Sir L. Greaves, ch. viii. I believe as how ’tis
no horse, but a devil incarnate; and yet I’ve been worse mounted,
that I have—I’d like to have rid a horse that was foaled of an
acorn (i.e., he had nearly met with the fate of Absalom).
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1827. Lytton, Pelham, ch. lxxxii. The cove ... is as pretty a
Tyburn blossom as ever was brought up to ride a horse foaled by an
acorn.
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 8. ... As to this little
fellow ... he shall never mount a horse foaled by an acorn, if I
can help it.
2. (military).—The triangles or crossed halberds under which soldiers
were flogged.
Old- (or Salt-) Horse, subs. (nautical). Salt beef. Also Junk and
Salt-junk.
1889. Chambers’s Journal, 3 Aug., 495. Mr. Clark Russell declares
that salt-horse works out of the pores, and contributes to that
mahogany complexion common to sailors, which is often mistakenly
attributed to rum and weather.
One-horse, adj. (American). Comparatively small, insignificant, or
unimportant.
1858. Washington Evening Star. On Friday last, the engineer of a
fast train was arrested by the authorities of a one-horse town in
Dauphin County, Pa., for running through the borough at a greater
rate of speed than is allowed by their ordinances.
1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 221. The indignant settler who has
been ill-treated, as he fancies, in court, denounces his attorney
as a ‘miserable, one-horse lawyer;’ and the Yankee newly arrived in
England does not hesitate to declare that ‘Liverpool is a poor
one-horse kind of a place,’ a term applied by Mark Twain to no less
a city than Rome itself; and a witty clergyman of Boston inveighed
once bitterly against ‘timid, sneaking, one-horse oaths, as
infinitely worse than a good, round, thundering outburst.’
1891. National Review, Sep., p. 127. Mr. Marion Crawford’s Witch of
Prague (Macmillan & Co.) is, as his compatriots would say, rather a
one-horse witch.
To be horsed, verb. phr. (old).—To be flogged [from the wooden-horse
used as a flogging-stool]; to take on one’s back as for a flogging.
1678. Butler, Hudibras, pt. III., c. 1. The spirit hors’d him like
a sack Upon the vehicle his back.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. xvii. Our unfortunate hero
was publicly horsed, in terrorem of all whom it might concern.
1857. Thackeray, Virginians, ch. v. Serjeants, school-masters,
slave-overseers, used the cane freely. Our little boys had been
horsed many a day by Mr. Dempster.
1881. Notes and Queries, 1 Jan., p. 18. I got well horsed for such
a breach of discipline.
To fall away from a horseload to a cartload, verb. phr. (old).—See
quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Horseplay. Fallen away from a
horseload to a cartload, spoken ironically of one considerably
improved in flesh on a sudden.
To flog the dead horse.—See Dead-horse and Horse, verb. sense 2.
To put the cart before the horse, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To begin at
the wrong end; to set things hind-side before.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Horse.
To put the saddle on the right horse, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
apportion accurately.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Horse. Set the saddle on the
right horse, lay the Blame where the Fault is.
To ride on a horse with (or bayard of) ten toes, verb. phr.
(common).—To walk; to use the Marrowbone-stage. Cf., Shanks’s Mare.
1606. Breton, Good and Badde, p. 14. His trauell is the walke of
the woful, and his horse Bayard of ten toes.
1662. Fuller, Worthies, Somerset, ii., 291. At last he [Coryat]
undertook to travail into the East Indies by land, mounted on an
horse with ten toes.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Bayard.
As good as a shoulder of mutton to a sick horse, phr. (old).—Utterly
worthless.
1596. Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, ii., 1. Counsel to him
is as good as a shoulder of mutton to a sick horse.
As strong as a horse, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Very strong: a general
intensitive.
Horse and horse, adv. phr. (American).—Neck and neck; even.
Horsebreaker (or Pretty Horsebreaker), subs. (colloquial).—A woman (c.
1860), hired to ride in the park; hence, a riding courtesan. See also
quot. 1864. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.
1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. iv., p. 33 (1873). Kate
Mellor was a horsebreaker, a bonâ fide horsebreaker; one who curbed
colts, and ‘took it out of’ kickers and rearers.
1865. Public Opinion, 30 Sep. These demi-monde people, anonymas,
horsebreakers, hetairæ ... are by degrees pushing their way into
society.
Horse-buss, subs. (old).—A loud-sounding kiss; a bite.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Horse-capper (-coper, -coser, -courser, or -chaunter), subs.
(common).—A dealer in worthless or ‘faked’ horses. [Originally good
English. To cope = to barter.] See Chanter. Hence Horse-coping and
Horse-duffing.
1616. Overbury, Characters (Rimbault, 9th ed., 1856, p. 120). An
arrant horse-courser hath the trick to blow up horseflesh as the
butcher does veal.
d. 1680. Butler, Remains (1759), ii., 458. A horse-courser is one
that hath read horses, and understands all the virtues and vices of
the whole species by being conversant with them, and how to take
the best advantage of both.
1742–4. North, Life of the Lord Keeper, i., 271. There were
horse-copers among them.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Horse-coser, vulgarly and corruptly
pronounced horse-coser, a dealer in horses. The verb to cose, was
used by the Scots, in the sense of bartering or exchanging.
1863. Sporting Life, 29 Apr., p. 4, col. 3. Copers and Chaunters
are now in full feather.
1864. London Review, 18 June, p. 643. Amongst the mysteries of
horse-flesh is the noble science of coping, and its practitioners
the horse-copers.
1874. G. A. Lawrence, Hagarene, ch. ii. He had lived somewhat
precariously by his wits; eking out the scanty allowance wrung from
his miserly old sire, by betting and horse-coping on a small scale.
1884. Daily News, 23 Aug., p. 4, c. 7. The most accomplished gipsy
copers, if they are not belied, are not satisfied with merely doing
up an unsound horse and selling him as a sound one, but frequently
steal outright the subject of their scientific and often lucrative
experiments.
1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, ch. i. Poaching must be
something like cattle and horse-duffing.
1889. Answers, 27 July, p. 141, c. 1. Allow me to expose some more
tricks of horse copers.
1893. National Observer, 5 Aug., p. 291, col. 1. A veracious
horse-coper is a monster which the world ne’er saw.
Horse-collar, subs. (venery).—1. The female pudendum. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
2. (tailors’).—An extremely long and wide collar.
3. (old).—A halter. To die in a horse’s nightcap = to be hanged. See
Ladder.
English Synonyms.—Anodyne necklace; Bridport dagger; choker; hempen
cravat; hempen elixir; horse’s neckcloth; horse’s necklace;
neck-squeezer; neckweed; squeezer; St. Andrew’s lace; Sir Tristram’s
knot; tight cravat; Tyburn tiffany; Tyburn tippet; widow.
French Synonym.—La cravate de chanvre.
1593. Bacchus’ Bountie in Harl. Misc. (ed. Park), ii., 304. Yea,
his very head so heavie as if it had beene harnessed in an
horse-nightcap.
1608. Penniles Parliament in Harl. Misc. (ed. Park), I., 181. And
those that clip that they should not, shall have a horse night-cap
for their labour.
1681. Dialogue on Oxford Parliament (Harl. Misc., ii., 125.). He
better deserves to go up Holbourn in a wooden chariot, and have a
horse night-cap put on at the farther end.
1883. Echo, 25 Jan., p. 2, c. 4. Even an attempt is made to lighten
the horror of the climax of a criminal career, by speaking of dying
in a horse’s night-cap, i.e., a halter.
Horse-editor, subs. (American journalists’).—A sporting editor.
Horse-copy = sporting news.
Horseflesh, See Dead Horse and Horse, verb. sense 2.
Horse-godmother, subs. (old).—A strapping masculine woman; a virago.
Fr., une femme hommasse.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
d. 1819. Wolcot, Wks. In woman angel sweetness let me see No
galloping horse-godmother for me.
1838. Selby, Jacques Strop, iii., 1. What a couple of
horse-godmothers.
1846–8. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ii., ch. 4. How do, my dear? Come
to see the old man, hay? Gad—you’ve a pretty face, too. You ain’t
like that old horse-godmother, your mother.
Horse-latitudes, subs. (nautical).—A space in the Atlantic, north of
the trade-winds, where the winds are baffling.
1891. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 137. The winds even north of
the rains and horse-latitudes were in a sense to be reckoned on.
Horse-laugh, subs. (colloquial).—A loud, noisy laugh; a guffaw.
1738. Pope, Ep. to Satires, i., 38. A horselaugh, if you please, at
honesty.
Horse-leech, subs. (colloquial).—1. An extortioner; a miser.
2. (venery).—Anything insatiable. Also a whore.
1597. Hall, Satires, iv., 5. An horse-leech, barren wench, or
gaping grave.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii., 1. You are one of those
horse-leeches that gave out I was dead in Turnbull Street.
3. (old).—A horse-doctor; also a quack.
1594. Nashe, Terrors of the Night (Grosart, iii., 250). Whereas his
horse-leech ... will give a man twenty guineas in one.
1597. Hall, Satires, ii., 4. No horse-leech but will look for
larger fee.
Horse-marines, subs. (common).—A mythical corps, very commonly cited in
jokes and quizzies on the innocent. [The Jollies (q.v.) or Royal
Marines, being ignorant of seamanship, have always been the butt of
blue-jackets.] Tell that to the marines (or horse-marines) the sailors
won’t believe it = a rejoinder to an attempt at imposition or
credulity. Often amplified with when they’re riding at anchor. See also
Bingham’s Dandies.
1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxi. ‘Come, none of your
quizzing, my old buck,’ said Sir Bingo—‘what the devil has a ship
to do with horse’s furniture?—Do you think we belong to the
horse-marines?’
c. 1870. Broadside Ballad, ‘Captain Jinks.’ I’m Captain Jinks of
the Horse-Marines.
1886. Stephens and Yardley, Little Jack Sheppard, p. 3. They may
tell that yarn to the horse marines, For we bean’t such fools as we
looks.
1886. Tinsley’s Mag., Apr., 321. Owing to a singular deviation from
the ordinary functions of cavalry, the 17th Lancers were once
christened the horse marines.
1892. Wops the Waif [Horner’s Penny Stories], ch. i., p. 1. Oh,
nothink, eh! You’d better tell that to the hoss marines; I’ve lived
a sight too long in Shoreditch to take that in.
Horse-milliner, subs. (common).—1. A dandy trooper.
1778. Chatterton, Ballads of Charity, ii., 113. The trammels of his
palfrey pleased his sight, For the horse-milliner his head with
roses dight.
1813. Scott, Bridal of Triermain, ii., 3. One comes in foreign
trashery Of tinkling chain and spur, A walking haberdashery Of
feathers, lace and fur; In Rowley’s antiquated phrase,
Horse-milliner of modern days.
2. (old).—A saddler and harness-maker.
1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, xi. In my wretched occupation of
a saddler, horse-milliner, and harness maker, we are out
unconscionable sums just for barkened hides and leather.
Horse-nails, subs. (common).—1. Money. For synonyms, see Actual and
Gilt.
To feed on horse-nails, verb. phr. (cribbage).—So to play as not so
much to advance your own score as to keep down your opponent’s.
To knock into horse-nails, verb. phr. (common).—To knock to pieces; to
be absolutely victorious.
Horse-nightcap, subs. (old).—See Horse’s-Collar.
Horse-pox, subs. (old).—A superlative of Pox (q.v.). Used in
adjuration. E.g., A horse-pox on you! Ay, with a horse-pox, etc.
Horse-Protestant, subs. (tailors’).—A churchman.
Horse-sense, subs. (American).—Sound and practical judgment.
1893. Lippincott, Mar., p. 260. A round bullet head, not very full
of brains, perhaps, yet reputed to be fairly stocked with what is
termed horse sense.
Horses-and-Mares. To play at horses-and-mares, verb. phr.
(schoolboys’).—To copulate. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Horse’s-head, subs. (cobblers’).—The boot-sole, heel, and what is left
of the front after the back and part of the front have been used to fox
(q.v.) other boots withal.
Horse-shoe, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. [In German, Sie hat
ein Hufeisen verloren (of women) = she has been seduced, i.e., she has
lost a horse-shoe.]
Horse’s-meal, subs. (old).—Meat without drink.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Horse-sovereign, subs. (common).—A twenty-shilling piece with
Pistrucci’s effigies of St. George and the Dragon.
1871. London Figaro, 26 Jan. A number of those coins, sometimes
known as horse sovereigns, are to be issued.
Hortus, subs. (venery).—See quot. [Cf., Garden.] For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v. Hortus [by some writers] the privy
parts of a woman.
Hose. In my other hose, subs. phr. (old). A qualification of refusal or
disbelief; in a horn (q.v.); over the left (q.v.).
1598. Florio. A Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Zoccoli Zoccoli, tushtush,
awaie, in faith sir no, yea in my other hose.
Hoss. See Horse.
Hoss-fly (or Old Hoss-fly), subs. (American).—A familiar address; cf.,
Horse, subs. sense 3.
Host. To reckon without one’s host, verb. phr. (old: now
recognised).—To blunder.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Host. To reckon without one’s
host, or count your Chickens before they are Hatched.
Mine Host, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A taverner.
Hosteler, subs. (old).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hosteler, i.e., oat stealer.
Hot, subs. (Winchester College).—1. A mellay at football.
2. (Ibid).—A crowd.
1878. Adams, Wykehamica, p. 367. It would be replaced and a fresh
hot formed.
Adj. (colloquial).—1. Of persons: sexually excitable; lecherous; on
heat (q.v.); randy (q.v.). Of things (as books): obscene; blue (q.v.);
high-kilted (q.v.); Hot member (q.v.) = a male or female debauchee; or
(as in sense 2), a man or woman contemptuous of decorum. Hot as they
make them = exceedingly amorous or reckless. Hot-blooded = lecherous:
as (in Merry Wives, v., 5) ‘the hot-blooded gods assist me.’ Hot-house
(q.v.) = a brothel.
1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales. Prologue to Canterbury Tales,
lines 97 and 98. So hote he lovede, that by nightertale, He sleep
no more than doth a nightyngale.
1596. Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, iv., 8. Dost thou not
shame, When all thy powers in chastity are spent, To have a mind so
hot.
1598. Shakspeare, 1 Henry IV., i., 2. A fair hot wench in
flame-coloured taffeta.
1599. H. Porter, Two Angry Women of Abingdon (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, vii., 354). Are ye so hot, with a pox? Would ye kiss
my mistress?
1605. Jonson, Volpone, iii., 6. I am now as fresh, As hot, as high,
and in as jovial plight As when in that so celebrated scene At
recitation of our comedy For entertainment of the great Valois, I
acted young Antinous.
1608. Shakspeare, Antony and Cleopatra, iii., 11. Besides what
hotter hours, Unregistered in vulgar fame you have Luxuriously
picked out.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii., 1. The whelp was hot and
eager.
1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, v., 8. If either you esteem my
friendship or your own safety, come not near that house—that corner
house—that hot brothel.
1697. Vanbrugh, Relapse, iii., 5. Young men are hot, I know, but
they don’t boil over at that rate.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iv., 123. He laughs to see the girls so
hot.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 37. As most of our plays are now
cribbed from the French, wy they’re all pooty hot.
2. (colloquial).—Careless of decorum; boisterous; utterly reckless and
abandoned.
1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 187. You’re a red-hot member!
3. (thieves’).—Well known to the police; dangerous; uncomfortable;
e.g., To make it hot for one.
1830. Buckstone, Wreck Ashore, i., 4. Mil. This place is now too
hot for me, captain. Bills overdue, and bailiffs in full chase,
have driven me to a hasty leave of my home.
1841. Tait’s Edinburgh Mag., viii., 217. Finding all too hot to
hold him.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hot. The cove had better move his
beaters into Dewsville, it is too hot for him here.
1882. Evening Standard, 3 Oct., p. 5, c. 4. The Constable added
that at the station the Prisoner told him that if he did not make
it too hot he would give him £5.
1888. Tit Bits, 24 Mar., 373. The hottest suburb of London during
Jubilee year was supposed to be Ealing.
1890. Marriott-Watson, Broken Billy (in Under the Gum-tree, p. 31).
With a few pals, almost as brutal as himself, he made the place
pretty hot from time to time.
1891. Morning Advertiser, 26 Mar., p. 2, col. 4. When Baker was
arrested he asked Detective-sergeant Gold not to make it too hot
for them, and tried to induce the officer to receive a sovereign.
1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, p. 36. You’ll find they will make
it hot for you.
4. (colloquial).—See quot. 1690. Also violent; sharp; severe.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. hot, exceeding Passionate.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 167. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘yon was
a hot burst, David.’
1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, ch. xvi. I started life in a training
stable, and a hot life it was for a boy.
5. (venery).—Infected; venereally diseased.
6. (colloquial).—Alive; vehement; instant.
1864. Browning, Dramatic Romances (ed. 1879, iv., 180), ‘The
Italian in England.’ Breathed hot and instant on my train.
Verb (Winchester College).—To crowd; to mob.
To give (get, or catch) it hot, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To thrash or
reprove soundly; to be severely beaten or taken to task.
1859. Fast Life, p. 54. The craters, of course, caught it hot, and
many had the sack.
1872. Figaro, 22 June. The German Emperor, Bismarck, and Earl
Granville also got it, but not quite so hotly.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iv., p. 887. A young man who
... had been guilty of bigamy, and to such a degree that he got it
hot for such a crime—five years.
1892. Anstey, Model Music-Hall, 32. She spotted me in ’alf a jiff,
and chaffed me precious hot.
Like a cat on hot bricks, phr. (colloquial).—Uncomfortable; restive.
1886. J. S. Winter, Army Society, ch. xvi. Lady Mainwaring looked
like an eel in a frying-pan, or, most of anything perhaps, like a
cat on hot bricks.
Hot with, phr. (common).—Spirits with hot water and sugar. See Cider
and, and Cold without.
Hot-arsed, adj. phr. (venery).—Excessively lewd. [Of women only.] Cf.,
Biter.
Hot-beef. To give hot-beef, verb. phr. (thieves’ rhyming).—To cry ‘Stop
thief.’ Also Beef (q.v.).
1879. J. W. Horsley, in Macm. Mag., xl., 506. He followed, giving
me hot beef (calling ‘Stop thief’).
Hot-cakes. To go off like hot cakes, verb. phr. (common).—To sell
readily; to be in good demand.
1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 11 Oct., p. 6, c. 1. Sold at one penny retail
they often go off like hot cakes.
1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, ch. xii. It went off like hot cakes.
Hot-foot, adv. (colloquial).—Instant in pursuit.
Hotch-potch, subs. (old: now recognised).—A medley; a hodge-podge
(q.v.).
1597. Hall, Satires, i., 3. A goodly hotch-potch when vile
russettings are matched with monarchs and mighty kings.
1606. Return from Parnassus, iv., 2. (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed.,
1875, ix., 183). This word, hotch-potch in English is a pudding;
for in such a pudding is commonly not one thing only, but one thing
with another.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hotch-potch, an Oglio, or Medly
of several Meats in one Dish.
c. 1709. W. King, Art of Cookery, ix. (Chalmers, English Poets,
1810, ix., 259). The first delighting in hodge-podge, gallimaufry,
forced meats ... and salmagundy.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1728. Patrick Walker, Alexander Peden, ‘Postscript’ (ed. 1827, i.,
128). A hotch-potch or bagful of Arian, Arminian, Socinian,
Pelagian, etc.
1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 17 Oct., p. 2, c. 1. Both are a sort of
hotchpotch of songs, dances, and extravaganzas.
Hot-coppers, subs. (common).—The fever and parched throat, or mouth
(q.v.), attending a debauch. See Cool one’s Copper.
1830. Egan, Finish to Life in London, 156. The ‘uncommonly big
gentleman’ in spite of swallowing oceans of soda-water, declared
his copper to be so hot that he thought all the water in the sea
could not reduce his thirst!
1841. Punch, vol. I., p. 244. ‘Oh blow your physiology!’ says Rapp.
‘You mean to say you’ve got a hot copper—so have I. Send for the
precious balm and then fire away.’
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. xliii. ‘Nothing like that beer,’ he
remarked, ‘when the coppers are hot.’
1864. Comic Almanack, p. 63. ‘Cold Cream Internally.’ Cold cream is
an excellent remedy for hot coppers.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 134. He came ... as
happy-looking, and lively as if no such thing as hot coppers
existed.
Hotel (also Cupid’s Hotel and Cupid’s Arms).—subs. (venery).—The female
pudendum. Cf., Cock Inn. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Hotel Barbering, subs. (common).—Bilking.
1892. Daily Chronicle, 28 Mar., p. 5, c. 7. The inference is now
fairly admissable that he may possibly have divided his time
between polygamous pursuits and hotel barbering exploits.
Hotel Warming-pan, subs. phr. (common).—A chambermaid. Also warming-pan
(q.v.). Fr., une limogère.
Hot-flannel (or Flannel), subs. (old).—Gin and beer, with nutmeg,
sugar, etc., made hot.
1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 144. A mixed kind of liquor
... when drank in a morning it is called flannel.
1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, bk. III., ch. iii., p. 269. A jug
of what he termed hot flannel for three—a mixture of gin, beer, and
eggs.
Hot-house, subs. (old).—A brothel. Also (see quot. 1616), a public
bath. For synonyms, see Nanny-shop.
1596. Nashe, Have with You to Saffron Walden (Grosart, iii., 106).
Any hot-house or bawdy-house of them all.
1599. Jonson, Every Man out of His Humour, iv., 4. Let a man sweat
once a week in a hot-house, and be well rubbed and froted with a
plump juicy wench and clean linen.
1603. Shakspeare, Measure for Measure, ii., 1. Now she professes a
hot-house, which is a very ill house too.
1606. The Return from Parnassus, i., 2 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th
ed., 1875, ix., 115). He cannot swagger it well in a tavern, nor
domineer in a hot-house.
1616. Jonson, Epigrams, ‘On the New Hot-house.’ Where lately
harboured many a famous whore, A purging bill now fixed upon the
door Tells you it is a hot-house: So it may, And still be a
whore-house. They’re synonyma.
1699. Garth, The Dispensary, ii., line 157. A hot-house he prefers
to Julia’s arms.
Hot Meat (or Beef or Mutton), subs. phr. (venery).—See Bit.
Hot-member (or Hot ’un).—See Warm Member.
Hot-Milk, subs. (venery).—The semen. For synonyms, see Cream.
Hot-place, subs. (colloquial).—Hell. For synonyms, see Tropical
Climate.
1891. F. H. Groome, Blackwood, Mar., p. 320. A letter from her son
in Hull, told the curate that ‘that did give me a tarn at fust, for
I thought that come from the hot place.’
Hot-pot, subs. (old).—Ale and brandy made hot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1788. G. C. Stevens, Adv. of a Speculist, ii., 56. A watchman and
an old Blind Woman, troubled with the palsy, drinking hot-pot
together.
Hot-potato. To drop like a hot potato, verb. phr. (common).—To abandon
(a pursuit, a person, a thing) with alacrity.
Hot-pudding. To have a hot-pudding for supper, verb. phr. (venery).—To
copulate. Of women only. [Pudding (Durfey) = the penis]. For synonyms,
see Greens and Ride.
Hot-stomach. So hot a stomach as to burn the clothes off his back, phr.
(old).—Said of one who pawns his clothes for drink.—Lex. Bal.
Hottentot, subs. (East-end). See quot.
1880. G. R. Sims, How the Poor Live, ch. x. The cry of Hottentots
went round. ‘Hottentots’ is the playful way in this district of
designating a stranger, that is to say, a stranger come from the
West.
2. (common).—A fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head.
Hot-tiger, subs. (Oxford Univ.).—Hot-spiced ale and sherry.—Hotten.
Hot-water. To be in hot-water, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be in
trouble, in difficulties, or worried.
1846. Punch’s Almanack, 29 Nov. The Times first printed by steam,
1814, and has kept the country in hot water ever since.
1864. Mark Lemon, Jest book, p. 238. Lord Allen, in conversation
with Rogers, the poet, observed: ‘I never put my razor into hot
water, as I find it injures the temper of the blade.’ ‘No doubt of
it,’ replied Rogers; ‘show me the blade that is not out of temper
when plunged into hot water.’
Hound, subs. (Cambridge Univ.).—1. See quot.
1879. E. Walford, in N. and Q., 5 S., xii., 88. In the Anecdotes of
Bowyer ... we are told that a hound of King’s College, Cambridge,
is an undergraduate not on the foundation, nearly the same as a
‘sizar.’
2. (colloquial). A mean, contemptible fellow; a scoundrel; a filthy
sneak.
Hounslow-heath, subs. (rhyming).—The teeth. For synonyms, see Grinders.
Also Hampstead-heath.
1887. Dagonet in Referee, 7 Nov., p. 7, c. 3. She’d a Grecian ‘I
suppose,’ And of Hampstead Heath two rows.
Houri of Fleet-street, subs. phr. (common).—A prostitute. For synonyms,
see Barrack-hack and Tart.
House, subs. (theatrical).—1. An audience. To bring down the house = to
elicit a general burst of applause. Fr., avoir sa côtelette; boire du
lait.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. House. With them (the players)
it means Covent-garden or Drury-lane, or indeed any other theatre.
‘A full-house’ and ‘half-a-house’ indicate the state of the
receipts or number of the audience.
1870. Athenæum, 13 Aug., p. 120. ‘Letter of J. O. Halliwell.’ It is
now certain that Shakespeare was never proprietor of either (the
Globe or Blackfriars) theatre. His sole interest in them consisted
in a participation, as an actor in the receipts of what is called
the house.
1873. Home News, 24 Jan. I exerted myself, not for praise of that
well-dressed mob they called the house, but for very love of the
congenial sport.
1892. Sydney Watson, Wops the Waif, ch. iii., p. 4. There was
tremendous enthusiasm this evening. Every scene was uproariously
applauded, and at the climax the whole house rose and cheered and
encored with tumultuous feeling.
The House (colloquial).—(1) The Stock Exchange; (2) The House of
Commons; (3) Christ Church, Oxford.
House under the hill, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For
synonyms, see Monosyllable.
House (or apartments) to let, subs. phr. (common).—A widow.—Lex. Bal.
Also Bill-of-Sale and Man-trap.
Father of the House, subs. phr. (Parliamentary).—The oldest elected
member. See Babe.
House that Jack built, subs. phr. (common).—A prison. For synonyms, see
Cage.
Like a house on fire, adv. phr. (common).—Quickly; with energy. See
Like.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, ii., 85. I’m getting on
like a regler house on fire.
Safe as houses, adv. phr. (common).—Perfectly safe.
1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. xxxii., p. 361 (1873). I
have the means of doing that, as safe as houses.
1874. T. Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd, ch. lvii. ‘The clothes
will floor us as safe as houses,’ said Coggan.
1886. Grant Allen, In All Shades, ch. i. Why, of course, then,
that’s the explanation of it—as safe as houses, you may depend upon
it.
1890. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, ch. xxviii. You may make your
forgery itself as safe as houses.
House-bit (or -keeper, or -piece), subs. (colloquial).—A
servant-mistress.
House-dove, subs. (old).—A stay-at-home.
Household-brigade. To join the Household Brigade, verb. phr.
(common).—To marry. For synonyms, see Splice.
1881. Home Tidings, April, p. 42, c. 1. Jem Ryan joined the
household brigade on Easter Monday, E. New acting as best man.
House of Civil Reception, subs. phr. (old).—A brothel. For synonyms,
see Nanny-shop.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
House of Commons (or House of Office), subs. phr. (old).—A W.C. For
synonyms, see Mrs. Jones.
1611. Chapman, May-Day, iv., 2. No room save you turn out my wife’s
coal-house, and her other house of office attached to it, reserved
for her and me sometimes, and will you use it being a stranger?
1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, c. xiii. Taking the candle in his
hand, which he had left burning for the purpose, he went down to
the house of office.
d. 1780. Robertson of Struan, Poems, 83. So to a House of Office
straight a school-boy does repair, To ease his postern of its
weight.
House-tailor, subs. (old).—An upholsterer.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. House-tailers, Upholsterers.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
Housewife (or Huswife, or Hussy), subs. (colloquial).—1. Primarily, a
house-keeper. Hence (a) a domestic servant; (b) a wanton or a gad-about
wench; and (c) a comic endearment. Hence, too, housewifery, subs., and
housewife’s tricks = the habit of wantonness, the practice of men.
1508. Gawain and Gologras, ‘Ballade,’ (Pinkerton, Scottish Poems,
1792, iii.). A gude husy-wife ay rinning in the toun.
1589. Puttenham, English Poesie, 1589, ii., 16 (ed. Arber, p. 148).
Half lost for lack of a good huswife’s looking to.
1600. Look about You, sc. 28 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
vii., 476). Huswife, I’ll have you whipped for slandering me.
1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, i., 2. I hope to see some
housewife take thee between her legs and spin it off.
1659. Lady Alimony, iii., 3 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
xiv., 331). And if the hussy challenge more, Charm the maundering
gossip with your roar. Idem. iii., 6. (p. 340). If I make not these
haxters as hateful to our hussies as ever they were to us, their
husbands, set me up for a Jack-a-Lent.
1672. Ray, Proverbs, s.v., Cat. Cats eat what hussies spare.
1673. Wycherly, Gentleman Dancing Master, iv., 1. What, hussy,
would you not do as he’d have you?
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, iv., 3. When I was of your age,
hussy, I would have held fifty to one I could have drawn my own
picture.
1697. Vanbrugh, Æsop, i., 1. Hark you hussy. You can give yourself
airs sometimes, you know you can.
1708. Mrs. Centlivre, The Busy-Body, iv., 2. I’ll charm you,
housewife. Here lies the charm that conjured this fellow in.
1708. Prior, Poems (Aldine ed. ii., 270), ‘The Insatiable Priest.’
To suppress all his carnal desires in their birth At all hours a
lusty young hussy is near.
1720. Swift, Poems, ‘A Portrait’ (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810,
xi., 448). A housewife in bed, at table a slattern.
1728. Swift, Poems, ‘My Lady’s Lamentations’ (Chalmers, English
Poets, 1810, xi., 460). Consider before You come to threescore, How
the hussies will fleer Whene’er you appear.
1731. C. Coffey, The Devil to Pay, i. Don’t you know, hussy, that I
am king in my own house.
1732. Henry Fielding, The Mock Doctor, i. Ay, hussy, a regular
education; first at the charity-school where I learned to read.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, c. xviii. He supposed the object
of his love was some paltry hussy, whom he had picked up when he
was a boy at school.
d. 1764. Lloyd, Poems (1774), ‘Chit-Chat.’ Lud! I could beat the
hussey down, She’s poured it all upon my gown.
1768. Goldsmith, Good Natured Man, ii. And you have but too well
succeeded, you little hussy, you.
1771. Smollett, Humphrey Clinker (ed. 1800, p. 43). And I have been
twice in the bath with mistress and na’r a smock upon our backs,
hussy.
1782. Cowley, Bold Stroke for a Husband, i., 2. Don C. Now, hussy,
what do you expect?
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1786. Burns, The Inventory. Frae this time forth I do declare, I’se
ne’er ride horse nor hizzie mair.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxii. Say nothing of that,
housewife, ... or I will beat thee—beat thee with my staff.
1829. C. A. Somerset, The Day After the Fair, i. Oh, you hussy! so
you were Madame Maypole!
1893. R. le Gallienne, Intro. Liber Amoris, p. xliv. To think of
poor Hazlitt gravely lavishing his choice Elizabethan quotations on
the hussey.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Housey, adj. (Christ’s Hospital).—Belonging to the Hospital.
Housle, verb. (Winchester College).—To hustle.
Hoveller, subs. (nautical).—A beach-thief.
How. How came you so? phr. (old).—Drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and
Screwed.
1824. T. Hook, Sayings and Doings, 1st S. Merton, ch. xiii. Ould
Mrs. Etherington was a right bad one; she used to be Lord, how come
you so! every night, as regular as she went to bed.
How much? phr. (common).—‘What do you say?’ ‘What do you mean?’ What
price?—a general request for explanations.
1852. F. E. Smedley, Lewis Arundel, ch. xxxiv. ‘Then my answer must
mainly depend on the exact height of the principles.’ ‘On the how
much?’ inquired Frere, considerably mystified.
How are you off for soap, phr. (old).—A street catch.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. iv. Well, Reefer, how are you off
for soap?
1842. Punch, ii., 94, c. 2. Walker! how are you off for soap?
How the blazes. See Blazes.
How is that for high. See High.
How’s your poor feet, phr. (streets’).—A street catch, of no particular
meaning. See Street Cries.
1863. All the Year Round, x., 180. How’s your poor feet? a year ago
cheated half the natives of Cockaigne into the belief that they
were gifted with a special genius for repartee.
1863. G. A. Sala, Breakfast in Bed, p. 163 (1864). But how would
you like a screeching multitude, fifty thousand strong, and with
not one of whom, to the best of your knowledge, you had even a
bowing acquaintance, to vociferate in your track—in the public
street, mind—‘Ya-a-a-h! how are your poor feet?’
1890. Town and Country (Sydney), 11 Jan., p. 19, c. 4. Henry
Irving’s revival of ‘The Dead Heart’ has revived a bit of slang....
When the play was brought out originally, where one of the
characters says, ‘My heart is dead, dead, dead!’ a voice from the
gallery nearly broke up the drama with How are your poor feet? The
phrase lived.
How’ll you have it, phr. (common).—An invitation to drink. For
synonyms, see Drinks.
How we apples swim (sometimes amplified by Quoth the horse-turd)! verb.
phr. (old).—Said in derision of a parvenu; of a person in better
company than he (or she) has any right to keep; or of a pretender to
honour or credit he (or she) does not deserve.
1670. Ray, Proverbs, s.v.
1697–1764. Hogarth (Works by J. Ireland and J. Nichols, London,
1873) III., p. 29. And even this, little as it is, gives him so
much importance in his own eyes, that he assumes a consequential
air, sets his arms akimbo, and strutting among the historical
artists cries, how we apples swim.
1860. Cornhill Mag. (D. Mallett, Tyburn), Dec., p. 737. While
tumbling down the turbid stream, Lord, love us, how we apples swim.
Howard’s Garbage, subs. phr. (military).—The Nineteenth Foot. Also
Green Howards.
Howard’s Greens, subs. phr. (military).—The Twenty-fourth Foot. [From
its facings and its Colonel’s name, 1717–37.]
How-do-you-do, subs. (colloquial).—A ‘to do’; a ‘kettle of fish’; a
‘pass.’
1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 1 S., ch. xxvi. Thinks I, here’s a
pretty how do you do; I’m in for it now, that’s a fact.
Howler, subs. (common).—An unblushing falsehood; an enormous blunder; a
serious accident; and so forth. To come (or go) a howler = to come to
grief; to run amuck.
1885. Daily News, 16 May, p. 4, c. 8. Now, to speak respectfully of
old scholars that were before us, the translators of the Bible
constantly made what undergraduates call howlers, or grievously
impossible blunders.
1886. Stephens and Yardley, Little Jack Sheppard, p. 34. Jack. My
dears, you’re late. Bess. Our hansom came a howler.
1888. Indoor Paupers, p. 24. As to how we are to spend the eight
hours, or thereabouts, that remain after meals, church, and howlers
are disposed of, nobody, except ourselves and a few private friends
outside, cares in the least.
1891. Moonshine, 14 Mar. Oh, I saw some piece in which a Johnnie
smoked some cigarettes, and at last came a howler, and wanted to
commit suicide.
1891. Pall Mall Gaz., 12 Sep., p. 2, c. 3. We wondered yesterday
how many of our classical readers would see the howler—or the joke.
Howling, adj. (common).—A general intensitive. E.g., Howling-swell = a
man in the extreme of fashion; howling-lie = a gross falsehood;
howling-bags = trousers extravagant in cut or pattern; howling-cad,
etc.
1865. G. A. Sala, Trip to Barbary, ch. vii. The hotel at Marseilles
was full of our countrymen of the order known at Lane’s and
Limmer’s as howling swells.
1887. Household Words, 11 June, 116. Let’s hook it; that Jenny
Morris is such an howling swell that she won’t wait for any one.
1889. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 8 Feb. The Hon. Juggins was what is
popularly known as a howling swell.
1892. Anstey, Model Music-Hall, 146. And all the while your heart
was given to a howling cad.
Hoxter, subs. (old).—1. An inside pocket.
1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood bk. III., ch. v. No slour’d hoxter my
snipes could stay.
2. (Royal Military Academy).—Extra drill. [Corruption of extra.] Fr.,
le bal.
1887. Barrère, Argot and Slang. The hoxter consists in the painful
ordeal of being compelled to turn out of bed at an early hour, and
march up and down under the watchful eye of a corporal.
Hoys. See Hoist.
Hoyt. See Hoit.
Hub, subs. (American).—1. Boston. Also, Hub of the Universe. [The
description is Oliver Wendell Holmes’s.] Since extended to other
centres or chief cities (see quot. 1876).
1869. Boston Herald, Dec. He is to have a quintette club of
amateurs with him, from the Hub.
1872. Daily Telegraph, 4 July. Boston claims to be the Hub of the
universe; but New York grandiloquently asserts itself to be the
universal wheel itself.
1872. Daily Telegraph, Dec. The wealth of the Hub of the Universe,
as Bostonians delight to call their city, is very great.
1876. Daily News, 18 Jan. Calcutta ... swaggers as if it were the
hub of the Universe.
1888. Boston Daily Globe. The typical girl of the Hub has been much
written about in the novels of the period, and without doubt she is
worth all the attention bestowed upon her.
2. (colloquial).—A husband. See Hubby.
Hubble-bubble, subs. (colloquial).—1. See quots.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th Ed.). Hubble-Bubble (s.) a confused
noise made by a talkative person, who speaks so quick, that it is
difficult to understand what he says or means.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hubble-bubble. Confusion. A hubble
bubble fellow, a man of confused ideas, or one thick of speech,
whose words sound like water bubbling out of a bottle.
2. (common).—A hookah; a pipe by which the smoke is passed through
water.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hubble-bubble.... Also an
instrument used for smoaking through water in the East Indies,
called likewise a caloon and hooker.
1868. Ouida, Under Two Flags, ch. xxii. The Moor, warmly grateful,
was ever ready to give him a cup of coffee and a hubble-bubble in
the stillness of his dwelling.
1887. Field, 15 Oct. Off I went down the ravine, and half a mile
below came to Besan quietly smoking his hubble-bubble.
1891. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 130. A burning atmosphere
sickly with the smell of the incense of the hubble-bubble, with a
flavour of hot curry about.
Hubble-de-shuff, adv. (old).—Confusedly.—Lex. Bal.
Hubbub, subs. (old: now recognised).—See quots.
d. 1639. Robert Carey (Earl of Monmouth), Memoirs, 1759, p. 155.
This made a great hub-bub in our Court.
1667. Milton, Paradise Lost, ii., 951. A universal hubbub wild, Of
stunning sounds.
1682. Bunyan, Holy War (1893 ed. M. Peacock, p. 58). The conscience
and understanding begin to receive conviction, and they set the
soul in a hubbub.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hubbub, a Noise in the Streets
made by the Rabble.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hubbub, a noise, riot, or
disturbance.
1893. Westminster Gaz., 8 Aug., p. 2, col. 1. An indescribable
hubbub of showmen’s, hawkers’, and children’s voices from near and
far.
Hubby (or Hub), subs. (colloquial).—A husband.
1798. Morton, Secrets Worth Knowing. Epilogue. The wife poor thing,
at first so blithe and chubby, Scarce knows again her lover in her
hubby.
1807. Stevens, Wks., p. 175. What could hubby do then, what could
hubby do? But sympathy-struck, as she cry’d, he cry’d too.
1811. Poole, Hamlet Travestied, ii., 3. Now, madam, this once was
your hubby.
1883. Referee, 17 Apr., p. 3, c. 2. I did hear it whispered that
her parents and guardians, or her horrified hubby, had turned the
key on her.
Huck, verb. (old).—To chaffer; to bargain.
1577. Holinshead, Description of England, ed. 1807, i., 315. It was
his custome likewise to saie, if anie man hucked hard with him
about the price of a gelding: ‘So God helpe me ... either he did
cost me so much,’ or else, ‘By Jesus I stole him.’
Huckleberry. Above one’s huckleberry (bend, or hook), adv. phr.
(American).—Beyond one’s ability; out of one’s reach. See Bend.
1848. J. F. Cooper, The Oak Openings. It would be above my bend to
attempt telling you all we saw among the red skins.
1852. ‘L’Allegro,’ As Good as a Comedy, p. 61. Well, Squire Barry,
you’re a huckleberry above my persimmon, but I reckon something can
be done.
Huckle-my-butt, subs. (old).—Beer, egg, and brandy made hot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, iii., 5. ‘If that’s a bowl of
huckle-my-butt you are brewing, Sir William,’ added he, addressing
the knight of Malta, ‘you may send me a jorum at your convenience.’
Huckster, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A retailer of small goods; a
pedlar.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Huckster, the Retailers of the
Market, who Sell in the Market at second Hand.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hucksters, itinerant retailers of
provisions.
2. (old).—A mean trickster.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
In huckster’s hands, adv. phr. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hucksters.... In huckster’s
hands, at a desperate Pass, or Condition, or in a fair way to be
Lost.
Hucksum (also Huckle, or Huckle-bone, or Huck-bone).—The hip.
c. 1508. Dunbar, Flyting (Poems, ed. 1834, ii., 72). With
huck-bones harth and haw.
d. 1529. Skelton, Elynor Rummyn (Poems, 1843, i.). The bones of her
huckels Lyke as they were buckels.
1575. Still, Gammer Gurton’s Needle, i., 3 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th
ed., 1875, iii., 180). For bursting of her huckle-bone, or breaking
of her shin.
Huddle, verb. (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Hue, verb. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. The Cove was Hued in the
Naskin, the Rogue was severely Lasht in Bridewell.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Huey, subs. (Old Cant).—A town or village.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 231.
‘Where do you stall to in the huey?’ which, fairly translated,
means, ‘Where do you lodge in the town?’
Huff, subs. (colloquial).—1. An outburst of temper; peevishness;
offence at some real or imaginary wrong or slight. Hence, to get (or
take) the huff = to fly into a passion.
1599. H. Porter, Two Angry Women of Abingdon (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, vii., 311). And as thou say’st to me, to him I said,
But in a greater huff and hotter blood.
1676. Etherege, Man of Mode, Wks. (1704), i., 190. Tax her with the
next fop that comes Into my head, and in a huff march away.
1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia, Wks. (1720), iv., 63. If you were
not the brother to my dearest friend, I know what my honour would
prompt me to [walks in a huff].
1700. Farquhar, Constant Couple, ii., 2. I offer’d her fifty
guineas, and she was in her airs presently, and flew away in a
huff.
1705–7. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, vol. II., pt. iv., p. 26. I pay’d
three Shillings, in a Huff, For my half Pint of liquid Stuff.
1759–67. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, ch. xxix. He left off the study
of projectiles in a kind of huff, and betook himself to the
practical part of fortification only. Idem. ch. c. Can I? cried
Susannah, shutting the door in a huff.
1769. Chatterton, Poems, ‘Journal’ (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810,
xv., 495). ‘Sir,’ quoth the Rector in a huff.
1777. Sheridan, Trip to Scarborough, i., 1. The lady not
condescending to give me any serious reasons for having fooled me
for a month, I left her in a huff.
1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, bk. II., ch. 16. What a huff you’re at!
I only axed a question.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xx. He is as proud as Lucifer, he is
always taking huff about one thing or the other.
1855. Browning, Men and Women, ‘Fra Lippo Lippi’ (Ed. 1864, p.
357). You’ll not mistake an idle word Spoke in a huff by a poor
monk?
1885. T. E. Brown, The Doctor, p. 30. Already my goodness! he’s
taking the huff.
1892. Anstey, Model Music-Hall, 37. Some parties in a huff rage At
the plea for Female Suffrage.
2. (old).—A bully; a Hector (q.v.); a sharper. Also Captain Huff.
1569. Preston, Cambises (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, iv.,
177). [Enter three ruffians, huff, Ruff, and Snuff.]
1680. Cotton, Complete Gamester, p. 333. Huffs, hectors, setters,
gilts, pads, biters, etc.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, iv., 9. Good, slovenly Captain Huff,
Bluffe (what is your hideous name?).
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
3. (common).—A dodge; a trick.
4. (draughts’).—A term in the game of draughts; the penalty for not
taking a piece.
5. (Winchester College).—See Huff-cap.
Verb. (colloquial).—1. To bluster; to bounce; to swagger.
1607. How a Man May Choose a Good Wife, etc., iv., 3 (Dodsley, Old
Plays, 4th ed., 1875, ix., 78). A huffing wench i’ faith.
1630. Taylor, Workes. The smell is the senting bawd, that huffs and
snuffs up and downe, and hath the game alwayes in the winde. Ibid.
One asked a huffing gallant why hee had not a looking-glasse in his
chamber; he answered, he durst not, because hee was often angry,
and then he look’d so terribly that he was fearefull to looke upon
himselfe.
d. 1631. Donne, Satires, iv. (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810, v.,
158). To th’ huffing, braggart, puffed nobility.
1643. Randolph, Muses Looking-Glasse, i., 1. Flowrd. Iniquity
aboundeth, though pure zeal Teach, preach, huffe, puffe, and snuffe
at it, yet still, Still it aboundeth.
1673. Wycherley, Gentleman Dancing Master, v., 1. How! my surly,
huffing, jealous, senseless, saucy master.
1675. Wycherley, Country Wife. ‘Prologue.’ Well, let the vain rash
fop, by huffing so, Think to obtain the better terms of you.
1680. Dryden, Prol. to Lee’s Cæsar Borgia, p. 29. So big you look,
though claret you retrench, That, armed with bottled ale, you huff
the French.
d. 1680. Rochester, Poems, ‘Woman’s Honour’ (Chalmers, English
Poets, 1810, viii., 239). This huffing honour domineers In breasts
when he alone has place.
1682. Bunyan, Holy War (ed. M. Peacock, 1893, p. 72). He refused
and huffed as well as he could, but in heart he was afraid.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Huff. To huff and ding, to
bounce and swagger.
1690. The Pagan Prince. And the same threats and menaces of the
palatine being carry’d to the marshal de Tonneure, notwithstanding
all his former encomiums, Oh! quo he, the palatine’s a young
prince; give him leave to huff and ding for his living; words break
no bones: when all’s done, ’tis the coach wheel, not the fly that
raises the dust.
1699. Robert Franck, Northern Memoirs (quoted in New Review, Aug.,
1893, p. 145). So huffed away.
1700. Mrs. Centlivre, Perjured Husband. ‘Epilogue.’ Let cowards
cease to huff.
1705. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, vol. I., pt. iii., p. 14. And in
their frenzy, huff and threaten With what sad stripes we shall be
beaten.
1708. Prior, Poems, ‘The Mice.’ (Aldine ed. ii., 244, 50). One went
to Holland where they huff folk, T’other to vend his wares in
Suffolk.
1714. Newest Academy of Compliments. Pray neighbour, why d’ye look
awry? You’re grown a wondrous stranger; You huff, you pout, you
walk about As tho’ you’d burst with anger.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 283. Thus, thus I strut and huff.
Idem., i., 154. But when the new ones did stoop, The t’other as
huffing would be. Idem., v., 99. When Bullies leave huffing and
Cowards their Trembling.
1725. Swift, Poems, ‘A New Song’ (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810,
xi., 446). If he goes to the baker’s the baker will huff, And
twenty pence ask for a twopenny loaf.
d. 1742. Somerville, Occasional Poems, ‘The Officious Messenger’
(Chalmers, English Poets, 1810, xi., 206). Her ladyship began to
huff.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. To anger; to cheek (q.v.); to get angered.
1708. Mrs. Centlivre, The Busy-Body, iii., 4. Impossible, without
he huffs the lady, and makes love to Sir Francis.
1835. Marryat, Jacob Faithful, ch. xliii. Upon this she huffs
outright, and tells Tom he may go about his business, for she
didn’t care if she never sees him no more.
1839. W. H. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard, p. 133 (Ed. 1840). If they
do, now and then, run away with a knocker, paint a sign, beat the
watch, or huff a magistrate.
Intj. (obsolete).—See quots. Also Huffa and Huffa-gallant. [Probably
the oldest form of the word.]
c. 1510. Rastell, Four Elements (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
i., 20). With huffa gallant, tirl on the berry, And let the wide
world wind.
c. 152(?). Hick Scorner (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, i.,
188). Huff! huff! huff! who sent after me.
d. 1529. Skelton, Poems, ‘Against Garnesche’ (Dyce, i., 118, and
note ii., 181–2). Huf a galante, Garneysche, loke on your comely
ars.
To stand the huff, verb. phr. (old).—To stand the reckoning.—Lex. Bal.
Also Huffy = easily offended; Huffed = annoyed; Huffily = testily; in a
tantrum.
1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, bk. II., ch. 15. A leetle on the huffy
order, I guess! Aint you?
1852. H. B. Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ch. xvi. I ... actually was
so cruel as to restrict him to one dozen of my cambric
handkerchiefs. Dolph was particularly huffy about it, and I had to
talk to him like a father to bring him round.
1853. Lytton, My Novel, bk. I., ch. ix. Though the Squire was
inclined to be very friendly to all his neighbours, he was, like
most country gentlemen, rather easily huffed.
1873. Miss Broughton, Nancy, ch. xxxvi. ‘I have no doubt you
would!’ say I, turning sharply and huffily away.
1875. Ouida, Signa, vol. II., ch. xx., p. 324. ‘She is a stupid
little mule,’ thought the old woman, angrily. ‘She feels nothing,
she sees no greatness in it all—she is only good to grub amongst
her cabbages.’ And she went away huffed.
1885. T. E. Brown, The Doctor, p. 31. huffed is he, eh? And who
regards him?
Huff-cap (or Huff), subs. (Old Cant: still in use at Winchester
College).—1. Strong ale. [‘From inducing people to set their caps in a
bold and huffing style.’—Nares.]
1579. Fulwell, Art of Flattery. Commonly called Hufcap, it will
make a man look as though he had seene the devil.
1586. Holinshed, Description of England. These men hale at Huff-cap
till they be red as cockes and little wiser than their combes.
1602. Campion, English Poesy (Bullen, Works, 1889, p. 247). Hunks
detests when huffcap ale he tipples.
1614. Greene, Looking-Glass [Dyce], p. 127. The ale is strong ale,
’tis hufcap; I warrant you, ’twill make a man well.
1630. Taylor, Wks. And this is it, of ale-houses and innes,
Wine-marchants vintners, brewers, who much wins By others losing, I
say more or lesse, Who sale of hufcap liquor doe professe.
1870. Mansfield, School Life, p. 180. Washed down by libations of
Huff.
1878. Adams, Wykehamica, s.v. Huff, the strong ale brewed by the
College.
2. (old).—A swaggering bully; a Hector (q.v.).
1596. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe (Grosart, Works, v., 306). The
huff-cappes to drink in that house, thou shalt be sure of always.
1630. Taylor, Wks. But ’tis a maxime mortals cannot hinder, The
doughty deeds of Wakefield’s huffe-cap Pinder Are not so pleasant
as the faire Aurora, When Nimrod rudely plaid on his bandora.
1687. Clifford, Notes upon Dryden, letter 2. Prethee tell me true,
was not this huff-cap once the Indian emperour, and at another time
did not he call himself Maximine?
1706. Farquhar, Recruiting Officer, v., 6. You have made a fine
speech good Captain Huff-cap.
Adj. (old).—Swaggering; blustering; rousing.
1597. Hall, Satires, i., 3. Graced with huff-cap terms and
thundering threats.
Huffer, subs. (old).—A swaggerer.
1682. Banks, Vertue Betrayed, Prol. lines 23–4. Welcome
mask-teazer, peevish gamster, huffer: All fools, but politicians,
we can suffer.
1770. Lord Hailes, Ancient Scottish Poetry, note on ‘Seven Deadly
Sins,’ line 34. Huffers (or threateners), boasters, and they who
pick quarrels.
Huffle, verb. (venery).—1. To bag-pipe (q.v.).
2. (colloquial).—To shift; to hesitate; to waver.
Huff-snuff, subs. (old).—A person apt to take offence.
1592. Nashe, Strange News, etc. (Grosart, Works, ii., 184). Gabriel
Huffe-Snuffe Knowne to the world for a foole, and clapt in the
Fleete for a poet.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Risentito.... Also a huffe
snuffe, one that will soone take pepper in the nose, that will
revenge euerie small matter.
1750. Ozell, Rabelais, iv., pref. xxiii. Freebooters, desperadoes,
and bullying huff-snuffs.
Huftie-tuftie, adj. (old).—Swaggering; gallant.
1596. Nashe, Saffron Walden (Grosart, Works, iii., 106). Came a
ruffling it out, huftie-tuftie, in his velvet suit.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, (Grosart, Works, v., 250).
Huftie-tuftie youthful ruffling comrades, wearing every one three
yards of feathers in his cap for his mistres’ favour.
Hug, subs. (thieves’).—Garrotting (q.v.). Also verbally, and to put on
the hug.
1864. Home Magazine, 16 Mar. Hoax upon hoax about the putting on
the hug was played off upon a credulous and bugbear-loving
community.
2. (old).—The sexual embrace. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride. Also
the close hug.
1659. Lady Alimony, ii., ‘Prologue’ (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed.,
1875, xiv., 288). Apt for a spousal hug.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iv., 163. They’ve a new drug Which is
called the close hug.
Verb. (colloquial).—Properly to grapple with and hold the body, as a
bear with his fore-paws. Hence (1) to cuddle; and (2) to perform the
sexual embrace (see subs., sense 2). Hence, also, to hug brown bess
(q.v.); to hug the gunner’s daughter = to cuddle a gun for punishment;
to hug the ground = to fall, or be hit off one’s legs; to give the hug
(pugilists) = to close with and grapple the body; to hug the shore (or
bank, or wall) to keep close to; cornish hug = a hold in wrestling; to
hug a belief (or delusion, or thought) = to cherish; to hug one’s
chains = to delight in captivity.
1696. Landsdowne, Poems, ‘Prologue to The She-Gallants’ (Chalmers,
English Poets, 1810, xi., p. 36). Then, like some pensive
statesman, treads demure, And smiles and hugs to make distinction
sure.
1602. Campion, English Poesy (Buller, Works, 1889, p. 249). Changed
is Helen. Helen hugs the stranger.
1631. Drayton, The Mooncalf (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810, iv.,
133). Hug him, and swear he was her only joy.
1637. Beaumont and Fletcher, Elder Brother, iv., 1. This night I’ll
hug my Lilly in my arms.
d. 1649. Drummond, Posthumous Poems, ‘Of a Kiss.’ Nor her who had
the fate Ravis’d to be and hugged on Ganges’ shore.
1659. Lady Alimony, iv. (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, xiv.,
288a). Shall we hug none of our own, But such as drop from the
frigid zone.
c. 1708. W. King, The Art of Love, Pt. iv. (Chalmers, English
Poets, 1810, ix., 266). Then hugging her in brawny arm.
d. 1710. R. Duke, Poems, ‘A Song’ (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810,
ix., 224). Close hugs the charmer, and ashamed to yield, Though he
has lost the day yet keeps the field. Idem. She hugs the dart that
wounded her, and dies.
d. 1742. Somerville, Occasional Poems, etc., ‘The Fortune-Hunter,’
canto iii. (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810, xi., 221). Drinks double
bub with all his might And hugs his doxy every night.
1746. Smollett, Advice, line 4. We’ll hug the curse that not one
joy can boast.
d. 1764. Lloyd, Poems (1774), ‘The Cit’s County Box.’ Hugging
themselves in ease and clover.
d. 1773. G. Cunningham, Poems, ‘Holiday-Gown’ (Chalmers, English
Poets, 1810, xiv., 441). He hugs me so close, and he kisses so
sweet.
1791. Antient and Modern Scottish Songs, ‘My Jockey is a Bonnie
Lad,’ ii., 325. And then he fa’s a kissing, clasping, hugging,
squeezing, tousling, pressing, winna let me be.
d. 1796. Burns, The Jolly Beggars. And at night in barn or stable,
hugs our doxies on the hay.
Hugger-mugger, subs. (colloquial).—Muddle; confusion.
1868. C. Reade, Foul Play, ch. vii. Why didn’t you tell me, and I’d
have tidied the room: it is all hugger-mugger, with miss a leaving.
1885. T. E. Brown, The Doctor, p. 36. And every place as neat as a
pin, And couldn’t stand no hugger-mugger.
1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 28 Oct., p. 2, c. 2. He wrote some lampoons
in the papers at the time, in which he ridiculed the hugger-mugger
of the prosecution.
Adv. (old).—See quots.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hugger-Mugger, Closely or by
Stealth, Underboard: To eat so, that is, to Eat by one’s self.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hugger-Mugger, by stealth,
privately, without making an appearance; they spent their money in
a hugger-mugger way.
Adj. (common).—Confused; disorderly; hap-hazard; hand-to-mouth (q.v.).
1882. Daily Telegraph, 5 Oct., p. 2, c. 2. Nor, can they be very
severely blamed for this hugger-mugger, slipshod way of life.
Verb. (common).—To meet by stealth; to lay heads together.
1879. Justin McCarthy, Donna Quixote, ch. xxxii. I can see already
that she won’t stand much more of you and me hugger-muggering
together.
In hugger-mugger, adv. phr. (old).—1. In secret.
1565. Stapleton, Fort. of the Faith, fol. 88. They should not have
lurked all this while in hucker-mucker.
1588. J. Udall, Demonstration of Discipline, p. 30. (ed. Arber).
The Byshop without any lawfull election, is chosen in huggermuger
of the canons, or prebendaries onely, without the knowledge of the
people.
1594. Nashe, Unfortunate Traveller (Grosart, Works, v., 19). Myself
that am but a poore childish wel-willer of yours, with the vain
thought that a man of your desert and state by a number of pesants
and varlets should be so incuriously abused in hugger-mugger haue
wept al my vrine upward.
1596. Nashe, Saffron Walden (Grosart, Works, iii., 181). Hee sent
her 18 pence in hugger-mugger, to pay the fiddlers.
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iv., 5. King. ... We have done but
greenly, In hugger-mugger to inter him.
1602. Dekker, Satiromastix, iii., 133 (Dodsley, Old Plays, viii.,
48). One word, sir Quintilian, in hugger-mugger.
1607. Tourneur, Revenger’s Trag. (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed.,
1875), v., i. And how quaintly he died, like a politician, in
hugger-mugger.
1611. Coryat, Crud., ii., p. 251, repr. So these perhaps might
sometimes have some furtive conversation in hugger mugger.
1633. Ford, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore, ii., 1. There is no way but to
clap up a marriage in hugger-mugger.
1639–61. Rump Songs, i. [1662], 54. They brought me Gold and Plate
in Huggar-Muggar.
1663. Butler, Hudibras, i., 3. Where’er th’ in hugger-mugger lurk,
I’ll make them rue their handy-work.
1762. Churchill, The Ghost, bk. iii., line 27. It must not, as the
Vulgar say, Be done in Hugger Mugger way.
1815. Mirror for Mag., p. 457. For most that most things knew, in
hugger-mugger utter’d what they durst.
Hugging, subs. (common).—Garotting (q.v.).
Hugsome, adj. (colloquial).—Carnally attractive; Fuckable (q.v.).
Hulk (Hulky, or Hulking Fellow), subs. (colloquial).—A fat person; a
big lout. Generally, ‘great hulk of a fellow.’
d. 1631. Drayton, The Mooncalf (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810, iv.,
126). Wallowing she lay, like to a boist’rous hulk Dropsied with
humours.
1698. Ward, London Spy, Pt. xiv., p. 324. Up in the Chimney Corner
sat a great hulking Fellow.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th Ed.). Hulk (s.) ... also a lazy,
dronish fellow.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hulkey, or Hulking, a great hulkey
fellow, an overgrown clumsy lout, or fellow.
1858. G. Eliot, Mr. Gilfil’s Love-Story, ch. ii. When you’ve got
... some great hulky fellow for a husband, who swears at you and
kicks your children.
1870. Chambers’s Journal, 9 July, p 447. He sees a slouching,
shambling, hulk of a fellow standing listlessly in a doorway.
1871. G. Eliot, Middlemarch, ch. lvi. I want to go first and have a
round with that hulky fellow who turned to challenge me.
1883. A. Dobson, Old-World Idylls, p. 164. I’d like to give that
hulking brute a hit—Beating his horse in such a shameful way!
1893. National Observer, 29 July, p. 267, col. 2. The absolute
ascendancy exercised by a small but brilliant member ... over a
hulking Junior.
Verb (colloquial).—To hang about; to mooch (q.v.).
Hull between Wind and Water, verb. phr. (venery).—To possess a woman.
For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Hull-cheese, subs. (Old Cant).—See quot. For synonyms, see Swipes.
1622. Taylor, A Very Merry Wherry-Ferry (Hindley, Works, 1872), 19.
Give me hull-cheese, and welcome and good cheer. Ibid. Hull-cheese,
is much like a loafe out of a brewers basket, it is composed of two
simples, mault and water, in one compound, and is cousin germane to
the mightiest ale in England.
Hulverhead, subs., and Hulver-headed, adj. (old).—See quots. For
synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hulver-head, a silly Foolish
fellow.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hulver Headed, silly, puzzle-pated.
Hum, subs. (Old Cant).—1. A kind of strong liquor: probably a mixture
of beer and spirits, but see quot. 1690. Also hum-cap.
1616. Ben Jonson, Devil’s an Ass, i., 1. Carmen Are got into the
yellow starch, and chimney sweepers To their tobacco, and strong
waters, hum, Meath, and Obarni.
1619. Fletcher, Wild Goose Chase, ii., 3. Lord, what should I ail?
What a cold I have over my stomach; would I’d some hum.
1622. Fletcher, Beggars’ Bush, ii., 1. Except you do provide me hum
enough, And lour to bouze with.
d. 1645. Heywood, Drunkard, p. 48 [Gifford]. Notwithstanding the
multiplicity of wines, yet there be stills and limbecks going,
swetting out aqua vitæ and strong waters, deriving their names from
cinnamon, balm, and aniseed, such as stomach-water, humm, etc.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hum-cap, old, mellow and very
strong Beer.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (common).—A trick; a delusion; a cheat. Also a lie.
1756. The World, No. 164. Now if this be only a hum (as I suppose
it is) upon our country apes, it being blown in the World will put
an end to it.
d. 1764. Lloyd, Poems (1774), ‘A Tale.’ There, my good critics,
lies the hum.
1806. Lamb, Letters in Wks. (Ed. 1852), ch. v., p. 81. I daresay
all this is hum!
1820. Reynolds (P. Corcoran), The Fancy, ‘King Tims the First.’ You
or your son have told a bouncing hum.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Hum—a whispered lie.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Row in an Omnibus Box.’ It’s ‘No
Go!’—it’s ‘Gammon!’—it’s ‘all a Hum!’
1848. Punch, vol. XIV., p. 37. ‘Ye Frenche Goe Uppe to London.’
That ye French threats were all bouncing, That ye muster was a hum,
And they’d never dare to come.
1885. T. E. Brown, The Doctor, p. 49. A hum and a huff, And none o’
the real stuff.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 76. Married life may be ticketed
honey, but I know it’s more of a hum.
3. (old).—See quot.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hums, persons at church; there is a
great number of hums in the autem, there is a great congregation in
the church.
Verb (old).—1. To cheat; to bamboozle; to quiz (q.v.).
1762. Goldsmith, Life of Nash, in Wks., p. 552 (Globe). Here Nash,
if I may be permitted the use of a polite and fashionable phrase,
was humm’d.
1764–1817. J. G. Holman, Abroad and at Home, i., 3. Ser. It is
queer enough that his father, Sir Simon Flourish, should be hummed
so as to think he is going the tour of Europe, when, all the while,
he never got a step farther than St. George’s Fields.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Poole, Hamlet Travestied, iii., 1. Go seek him there: I fear
he’s only humming.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 4. While you hum the poor spoonies with
speeches so pretty.
d. 1840. Mad. D’Arblay, Diary, ii., 153 [ed. 1842]. I don’t mean to
cajole you hither with the expectation of amusement or
entertainment; you and I know better than to hum or be hummed in
that manner.
1856. Elliott, Carolina Sports, p. 122. I hummed him, my stripping
was all a feint.
2. (old).—To mumble.
d. 1842. Maginn, Vidocq Versified. To hear Old Cotton humming his
pray.
To hum and haw, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To hesitate, to raise
objections.
1469. Paston Letters, II., 347 (Ed. Gairdner). He wold have gotyn
it aweye by humys and by hays, but I wold not so be answeryd.
1594. Nashe, Unf. Traveller (Grosart, Wks., v., 96). Hee made no
more humming or haulting, but in despite of her husbandes
kinsfolkes, gaue her her Nunc dimittis.
1610. Jonson, Alchemist, iii., 2. You may be anything, and leave
off to make Long-winded exercises; or suck up Your ha! and hum! in
a tune.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, i., 1. A sober-drawn exhortation of
six hours, whose better part was the hum-ha-hum.
1620. Massinger, Fatal Dowry, iv., 1. Do you stand Humming and
hahing now?
d. 1680. Butler, Remains (1759), ii., 103. He hums and hahs.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hum and Haw, to Hesitate in
Speech; also to delay, or difficultly to be brought to Consent.
1706. Mrs. Centlivre, Love at a Venture, iv., 2, Wks. (1872), i.,
304. That was the first excuse that came at my tongue’s end—and you
know there is no humming and hawing with my old master, sir.
1729. Swift, Intelligencer, No. 14, p. 165 (2nd Ed.). If any person
... shall presume to exceed six minutes in a story, to hum or haw,
use hyphens between his words, or digressions.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. vi. Lord Ascot hummed and hawed,
and told him to tell his father he had been a good boy.
To make things hum, verb. phr. (American).—To force the pace; to keep
moving.
1888. San Francisco Weekly Exam., 23 Feb. Ever since he has taken
the newspaper reins in San Francisco he has made things hum.
1890. Punch, 22 Feb. If I was flush of the ochre, I tell you I’d
make the thing hum.
1891. Pall Mall Gaz., 28 Aug., p. 2, c. 3. With their advent things
begin to hum.
1893. W. T. Stead, Review of Reviews, p. 152. In the opinion of
both foes and friends we make things hum.
To hum around, verb. phr. (American).—To call to account; to call over
the coals (q.v.).
Human, subs. (old: now American).—A human being. [Also Human Boar]. For
synonyms, see Cove.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 332. Mongst humans by Court
dunning.
1783–5. Cowper, Task, ii., line 105. And agonies of human and of
brute.
1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 1 S., ch. xxviii. They have little
hovels for their cattle ... and a house for the humans as grand as
Noah’s Ark.
1882. Daily Telegraph, 13 Dec., p. 2, c. 2. In the opening pages
Mr. Matthew Arnold mourns in verse over the death of ‘Poor
Matthias,’ who is not a human but a canary.
1888. Denver Republican. He was only a dog ... but was much more
useful to society than many humans.
Humber-keels. See Billy-Boy.
Humble Pie. To eat humble pie, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To submit; to
apologise; to knock under. For synonyms, see Cave In.
1862. Thackeray, Philip, xxvii. If this old chief had to eat humble
pie, his brave adversaries were anxious that he should gobble up
his portion as quickly as possible, and turned away their honest
old heads as he swallowed it.
1887. Manville Fenn, This Man’s Wife, ch. ii., 4. Our savings are
gone and we must eat humble pie for the future.
Hum-Box, subs. (common).—1. A pulpit.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1827. Lytton, Pelham, p. 302 [Ed. 1862]. Well, you parish bull
prig, are you for lushing Jacky, or pattering in the hum-box?
1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, bk. III., ch. ix., p. 309. He was
nicknamed the ‘Amen bawler’ (parson) and recommended to take to the
hum-box (pulpit) as better suited to him than cadging.
English Synonyms:—Autem; cackle tub; clack loft; cowards’ castle;
gospel mill (also a church); wood.
2. (American).—An auctioneer’s rostrum.
Humbox Patterer, subs. (common).—A parson. For synonyms, see Devil
Dodger and Sky Pilot.
1839. G. W. M. Reynolds, Pickwick Abroad, p. 223. Though the humbox
patterer talked of hell.
Humbug, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A hoax; an imposture; a
swindle.
1735–40. Killigrew, The Universal Jester; or a pocket companion for
the Wits: being a choice collection of merry conceits, facetious
drolleries, &c., clenchers, closers, closures, bon-mots, and
Humbugs. [Title].
1754. Connoisseur. No. 14. Single words, indeed, now and then broke
forth; such as—odious, horrible, detestable, shocking, humbug. This
last new-coined expression, which is only to be found in the
nonsensical vocabulary, sounds absurd and disagreeable whenever it
is pronounced.
1762. Churchill, The Ghost, bk. I., line 72. And that Great Saint,
we Whitefield call, Keeps up the Humbug Spiritual.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1828. Webster, Eng. Dict., s.v.
2. Deceit; pretence; affectation.
1837. R. H. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. (Ed. 1862). p. 239. That
sort of address which the British call humbug and Frenchmen
‘Finesse.’ (It’s ‘Blarney’ in Irish—I don’t know the Scotch.)
1842. Douglas Jerrold, Bubbles of the Day, i. Never say humbug;
it’s coarse. Sir P. And not respectable. Smoke. Pardon me, my lord;
it was coarse. But the fact is, humbug has received such high
patronage, that now it’s quite classic.
3. A cheat; an impostor; a pretender. Also (old), hummer.
d. 1783. Henry Brooke, Poems (1776). ‘On Humbugging.’ (Chalmers’
English Poets, 1810, xvii., 428). Our hummers in state, physic,
learning, and law.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. Hum. He is a humbug that has
recourse to the meanness. He wishes to be a bugaboo, or most
exalted fool.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxx. ‘You’re a humbug, sir.’ ‘A what?’
said Mr. Winkle, starting. ‘A humbug, sir. I will speak plainer, if
you wish it. An imposter, sir.’
Verb. To hoax; to swindle; to cajole.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. lxxxv. He who seemed to be
most afflicted of the two taking his departure with an exclamation
of ‘Humbugged, egad!’
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1826. The Fancy, ii., 77. We would not have the reader believe we
mean to humbug him—not for a moment.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xliii. She was always ready to
help him, provided, as she told him, ‘he didn’t humbug.’
Hence Humbugging = hoaxing, swindling, or Humbugable = gullible.
Humbuggery = deception; imposture. Humbugger = a cheat, a hoaxer.
d. 1763. Henry Brooke, Poems (1778), ‘On Humbugging.’ (Chalmers,
English Poets, 1810, xvii., 428). Of all trades or arts in repute
or possession humbugging is held the most ancient profession. Idem.
To you, ... the humbuggers of hearts.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xviii. The species of wit which
has been long a favourite in the city, under the names of
cross-biting, giving the dor, bamboozling, cramming, hoaxing,
humbugging, and quizzing.
1825. Southey, Letters, iii., 488 [ed. Warter, 1856]. My charity
does not extend so far as to believe that any reasonable man
(humbuggable as the animal is) can have been so humbugged.
1826. The Fancy, ii., 29. A contemporary writer of eminence some
years ago termed such exhibitions humbugging.
1840. Thackeray, Paris Sketch Book, p. 31. Do you not laugh, O
Pharos of Bungay, at the continuance of a humbug such as this?—at
the humbugging anniversary of a humbug?
1852. Judson, Myst., etc., of New York, ch. iv. Oh, blast your
humbuggery—talk plain English to me.
1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. v. When the old lady was gone, Mr.
Hobson had no need of any more humbugging, but took his pleasure
freely.
1883. Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, ch. xl., p. 369. Traces
of its inflated language and other windy humbuggeries survive along
with it.
Humdrum, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A tiresome dullard; a
steady-going, common-place person. See also quot. 1725.
1596. Jonson, Every Man in His Humour, i., 1. By gads-lid I scorn
it, I, so I do, to be a consort for every humdrum.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Hum-Drums or Hums, a Society of
Gentlemen, who meet near the Charter-House, or at the King’s Head
in St. John’s Street. Less of mystery, and more of Pleasantry than
the Free Masons.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. Monotony; tameness; dullness.
1823. Hints for Oxford, p. 63. Men of spirit must ever dislike the
unleavened humdrum of its monkish constitution.
1893. The Nation, 13 July, p. 32, col. 1. We go so far with the
adorers of home and humdrum.
3. (old).—The same as Humbug (q.v.).
1596. Nashe, Saffron Walden (Grosart, Works, iii., 14). Whereof
generous Dick (without humdrum be it spoken) I utterly despair of
them.
4. (old).—A wife; also a husband.
Adj. Dull; tame; commonplace; monotonous.
1702. Vanbrugh, False Friend, ii. A very humdrum marriage this.
1705. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, vol. I., pt. ii., p. 6. Tho’ it is
their humdrum fashion To hate all musical precation.
1730. Jas. Miller, Humours of Oxford, Act I., p. 7 (2nd Ed.). Your
fellows of colleges are a parcel of sad, muzzy, humdrum, lazy,
ignorant old caterpillars.
d. 1764. Lloyd, Poems (1774), ‘A Familiar Epistle.’ So frothy,
vapid, stale, humdrum.
1765. C. Smart, Fables, xv., line 5. Content in humdrum mood
t’adjust Her matters to disperse the dust.
1774. Foote, Cozeners, i., 1. Not one, madam, of the humdrum,
drawling, long winded tribe.
1775. Sheridan, Rivals, ii., 1. Yet am I by no means certain that
she would take me with the impediment of our friends’ consent, a
regular humdrum wedding, and the reversion of a good fortune on my
side.
d. 1823. Bloomfield, Poems, ‘Richard and Kate’ (1825), p. 89. Come,
Goody, stop your humdrum wheel.
1825. Harriet Wilson, Memoirs, iii., 237. You are, in fact, too
constant for Paris. One has enough of all that hum-drum stuff in
England.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. lxi. The most fervent Liberals,
when out of power, become humdrum Conservatives, or downright
tyrants or despots in office.
1863. Alex. Smith, Dreamthorpe, p. 23. Giddy people may think the
life I lead here staid and humdrum, but they are mistaken.
1893. Standard, 8 Aug., p. 4, col. 6. The thing, in his view, is to
rattle off something pretentious, and avoid the humdrum and
tiresome methods which statesmanship of the pre-Home-Rule period
used to respect.
Humdurgeon, subs. (old).—1. An imaginary illness.—Grose.
2. (common).—Needless noise; ado about nothing.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xxiii. I would never be making a
humdudgeon about a scart on the pow.
Humdurgeoned, adj. (old).—Annoyed.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford. Don’t be humdurgeoned but knock down a
gemman.
Humguffin (common).—A hobgoblin. Also a derisive address.
Humgumptious, adj. (obsolete).—See quot.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. Hum. A knowing sort of humbug is
humgumptious.
Hummer, subs. (old).—1. See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hummer, a loud Lie, a Rapper.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th Ed.). Hummer (s.) a great,
monstrous, or notorious lie.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (American).—A man or woman of notable parts; a high stepper (q.v.);
a good goer (q.v.). Cf., Rustler.
1889. Ally Sloper, 6 July. If Tootsie is anything as lively as the
‘Gaiety Girls,’ she must be a hummer.
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody, ch. xvii. I just wanted to see my Tillie
dance once. She’s a society hummer now.
3. (obsolete).—See Humbug, sense 3.
Humming, adj. (old). Strong—applied to drink; brisk—applied to trade;
hard—applied to blows. Humming October = the specially strong brew from
the new season’s hops; stingo (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. Humming Liquor, Double Ale, Stout,
Pharoah.
1701. Farquhar, Sir Harry Wildair, iv., 2. The wine was humming
strong.
1736. Fielding, Don Quixote, iii., 4. Landlord, how fares it? You
seem to drive a humming trade here.
1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, ch. vii. Let us fortify our stomachs
with a slice or two of hung beef, and a horn or so of humming
stingo.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxiii. A humming double pot of
ale.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘The Wedding Day.’ A mighty
magnificent tub Of what men, in our hemisphere, term ‘Humming Bub,’
But which gods—who, it seems, use a different lingo, From mortals,
are wont to denominate ‘Stingo.’
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, bk. III., ch. vii. Wegg, in
coming to the ground, had received a humming knock on the back of
his devoted head.
Hump, verb. (common).—1. To spoil; to botch; to do for.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. i., p. 252. To
hump in street parlance, is equivalent to ‘botch,’ in more genteel
colloquialism.
2. (colonial).—To shoulder and carry. E.g., To hump one’s swag = to
shoulder one’s kit.
1886. Daily Telegraph, 1 Jan. Ladies whom I have met humping their
own drums.
1887. All the Year Round, 30 July, p. 66. A large blanket rolled up
which contains the personal luggage of the man who carries or humps
it.
1887. G. A. Sala in Illus. Lon. News, 12 Mar., 282/2. All kinds of
luggage, generally speaking, which are manually carried, are at
present said to be humped. I have had to hump mine many a time and
oft.
1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, ch. xxii. We humped our
saddles and swags ourselves.
1890. Family Herald, 8 Feb., p. 227. I was just debating whether I
had better hump my drum.
3. (old).—See quot. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hump, to hump. Once a fashionable
word for copulation.
To hump oneself, verb. phr. (American).—To stir; to prepare for attack;
to fancy oneself.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc. p. 177. Ef thar are anything he
humps hisself on besides ugly, it is his manners among the
fimmales.
1847. Porter, Big Bear, etc., p. 126. He was breathin’ sorter hard,
his eye set on the Governor, humpin’ himself on politics.
To get (or have) the hump, verb. phr. (common).—To be despondent, hurt,
put out, down in the mouth (q.v.). also, to have the hump up or on. For
synonyms, see Snaggy.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe (Grosart, Works, v., 267). So in his
humps about it ... that he had thought to have tumbled his
hurrie-currie ... into the sea.
1885. Punch, 10 Jan., p. 24. I had got the ’ump, and no error,
along o’ Bill B. and that gal.
1892. Anstey, Model Music-Hall, 43. The company consume what will
be elegantly referred to as ‘a bit of booze.’ Aunt Snapper gets the
’ump.
1886. Jerome, Idle Thoughts, p. 14. ’Arry refers to the heavings of
his wayward heart by confiding to Jimee that he has got the
blooming hump!
Humpey, subs. (Australian).—See quot.
1893. Gilbert Parker, Pierre and his People, p. 135. McGann was
lying on his back on a pile of buffalo robes in a mountain hut.
Australians would call it a humpey.
Humphrey, subs. (American thieves’).—A coat with pocket holes but no
pockets.—Matsell.
To dine with Duke Humphrey. See Dine, Sir Thomas Gresham, and Knights.
1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse [Grosart], ii., 18. I ... retired me
to Paules, to seeke my dinner with Duke Humfrey.
1843. Moncrieff, The Scamps of London, i., 1. Dines oftener with
Duke Humphrey than anybody else, I believe.
Humpty-dumpty, subs. (colloquial).—1. A short and thick-set person; a
grundy (q.v.); a hunch-back. For synonyms, see Forty Guts.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (old).—See quot. 1690.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Humptey Dumptey, Ale boild with
Brandy.
1698. M. Sorbière’s Journey to London in the Year 1698, p. 135,
quoted in Notes and Queries, 6 S., xii., 167. He answer’d me that
he had a thousand such sort of liquors, as Humtie Dumtie, Three
Threads....
1786. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1837. Disraeli, Venetia, i., 14. As for the beverage they drank
humpty-dumpty, which is ale boiled with brandy.
Adj. and adv. (colloquial).—Short and thick; all of a heap; all
together.
Hum-strum, subs. (old).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Humstrum, a musical instrument made
of a mopstick, a bladder, and some pack-thread, thence also called
bladder and string, and hurdy gurdy; it is played on like a violin,
which is sometimes ludicrously called a humstrum; sometimes instead
of a bladder, a tin canister is used.
Hunch, verb. (old: now colloquial).—To jostle; to shove; to squeeze.
For synonyms, see Ramp.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hunch, to justle, or thrust.
1712. Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull, Pt. III., App., ch. iii. Then
Jack’s friends began to hunch and push one another.
1738. Swift, Polite Convers., Dial. 1. I was hunched up in a
hackney-coach with three country acquaintance.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc., p. 163. I hadn’t fairly got to
sleep before the old ’oman hunched me.
Hung. See Well-hung.
To be hung up, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To come to a standstill; to be
in a fix.
1891. Fun, 10 June, p. 237. ‘Ah! by Bendigo, I forgot! Grimmy’s
hung up!’ ‘What, Grimmy? Never!’
Hungarian, subs. (Old Cant).—1. A hungry man; a rare pecker (q.v.).
1608. Dodsley, Merry Devil of Edmonton [Old Plays, v. 267]. Away, I
have knights and colonels at my house, and must tend the
hungarians.
1632. Lupton, London [‘Harl. Misc.’], ix., 314. The middle aile [of
St. Paul’s] is much frequented at noon with a company of
hungarians, not walking so much for recreation as need.
2. (Old Cant).—A freebooter.
1608. Merry Devil of Edmonton [Dodsley, Old Plays, v. 285]. Come,
ye Hungarian pilchers, we are once more come under the zona torrida
of the forest.
1893. National Observer, ‘Spoliation,’ ix., 357. But, after all, it
is only another note in the gamut of spoliation, whereof Mr.
Gladstone’s hungarians (a good old word that!) would have the
mastery.
Hunk. To be (or get) hunk or all hunk, verb. phr. (American).—1. To hit
a mark; to achieve an object; to be safe. Also (2) to scheme. [From
Dutch honk = goal or home.]
1847. Darley, Drama in Pokerville, p. 50. I’ll allow you’re just
hunk this time.
1893. Detroit Free Press, June 23, ‘He Threatens to go back,’ p. 3.
I propose to have some of it, or I’ll get hunk.
Hunker (or Old Hunker), subs. (American).—In New York (1844) a
Conservative Democrat, as opposed to the Young Democracy or
Barn-Burners (q.v.). Hence, an anti-progressive in politics.
Hunks, subs. (old).—A miser; a mean, sordid fellow; a curmudgeon. For
synonyms, see Snide.
1602. Dekker, Satiro-Mastix, in Wks. (1873), i., 201. Blun. Nay
prethee deare Tucca, come you shall shake—Tuc. Not hands with great
Hunkes there, not hands, but Ile shake the gull-groper out of his
tan’d skinne.
1602. Campion, English Poesy (Works, Bullen, 1889, p. 247). But it
drinks up all: that hunks detestable.
1647–80. Rochester, Wks.; p. 11. There was an old coveteous hunks
in the neighbourhood, who had notwithstanding his age, got a very
pretty young wife.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, v., 2. Make a very pretty show in
the world, let me tell you; nay, a better than your close hunks.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hunks, a covetous Creature, a
miserable Wretch.
1712. Spectator, No. 264. Irus has ... given all the intimations he
skilfully could of being a close hunks with money.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1837. Marryat, Snarley-yow, ch. 12. So while they cut their raw
salt junks, With dainties you’ll be cramm’d. Here’s once for all my
mind, old hunks, Port Admiral, you be dammed!
1839. Buckstone, Brother Tom (Dick’s ed., p. 15). One calls him an
old hunks, another a selfish brute.
1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop, ch. vii., p. 35. That you become
the sole inheritor of the wealth of this rich old hunks.
1846. Melville, Moby Dick, 75 (ed. 1892). Bildad, I am sorry to
say, had the reputation of being an incorrigible old hunks.
1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, ch. iii. I am sure he is a cross
old hunks, though Mamma says he’s not.
1893. Theodore Martin, Roman Elegies, ii. (Goethe Society Trans.,
1891–2, p. 72). Joys that he stints not his gold like the close
hunxes of Rome.
Hunky, adj. (American).—Good; jolly; a general superlative. Also
Hunkidorum.
d. 1867. Browne, ‘Artemus Ward,’ The Shakers (Railway ed.), p. 43.
‘Hunky boy! Go it my gay and festive cuss!’
1873. Justin McCarthy, Fair Saxon, ch. xxxviii. The guard dies, but
never surrenders! Fine, isn’t it? But the hunky-boy that said that
surrendered all the same.
1888. Texas Siftings, 20 Oct. Robert is all hunky, but he had a
mighty close call the week before last.
Hunt, verb. (old).—To decoy a pigeon (q.v.) to the tables. Hence
hunting = card-sharping. Flat-catching (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hunting (c.), decoying or
drawing others into Play.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
To hunt for soft spots, verb. phr. (American).—To make oneself
comfortable; to seek one’s ease.
1888. San Francisco Weekly Examiner, 22 Mar. It was demnition hot,
and I commenced to hunt for soft spots in my saddle.
To hunt grass, verb. phr. (pugilists’).—To be knocked down; to be
grassed (q.v.). Also, to be puzzled; to be dumfoundered.
1869. Clemens [Mark Twain], Innocents at Home, ch. ii. I hunt grass
every time.
To hunt leather, verb. phr. (cricketers’).—To field at cricket.
1892. Cassell’s Sat. Jour., 21 Sep. p. 13, c. 2. For nearly ten
years I earned a living—and a good one—by ‘wielding the willow’ and
hunting the leather.
To hunt the dummy, verb. phr. (thieves’).—To steal pocket books.
1878. Charles Hindley, Life and Times of James Catnach, p. 171.
(Chorus)—Speak to the tattler, bag the swag, And finely hunt the
dummy.
To hunt the squirrel, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hunting the Squirrel, an amusement
practised by post boys, and stage coachmen, which consists in
following a one-horse chaise, and driving it before them, passing
close to it so as to brush the wheel, and by other means terrifying
any woman, or person that may be in it. A man whose turn comes for
him to drink, before he has emptied his former glass, is said to be
hunted.
In, or out of, the hunt, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Having a chance, or
none; in or out of the swim (q.v.). Admitted to, or outside, a circle
or society.
Hunt-about, subs. (colloquial).—1. A prying gossip.
2. (common).—A walking whore.
Hunt-counter, subs. (old).—A beggar.
1623. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., i., 2. You hunt-counter, hence!
Avaunt!
Hunters. Pitching the hunters, verb. phr. (costermongers’). See quot.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 390. Pitching the
hunters is the three sticks a penny, with the snuff-boxes stuck
upon sticks; if you throw your stick, and they fall out of the
hole, you are entitled to what you knock off.
1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, p. 235. When ... there was no cattle
jobbing to be done, he would pitch the hunters, that is, put up the
‘three sticks a penny’ business.
Hurly-Burly, subs. (old: now colloquial).—A commotion; a bustle; an
uproar.
c. 1509–1547. Lusty Juventus (Dodsley), [Old Plays, 4th ed., 1874,
ii., 85]. What a hurly-burly is here! Smick smack, and all this
gear!
1539. Tavernier, Garden of Wysdom, E. ii. verso. Thys kynge [Gelo]
on a tyme exacted money of hys comons, whome when he perceuyed in a
hurly burly for the same, and ready to make an insurrection, he
thus sodaynly appeased.
1542. Udall, Apophthegms of Erasmus [1877], p. 115. the meaning of
the Philosophier was, that princes for the ambition of honour, rule
and dominion, being in continuall strife, and hurlee burlee, are in
very deede persons full of miserie and wo.
1551. More, Utopia, (Pitt Press ed., 1884, i., 52, 5). Whereby so
many nations for his sake should be broughte into a troublesome
hurlei-burley.
1567. Fenton, Tragical Dicsourses, f. 104. They heard a great noyse
and hurleyburley in the street of the Guard and chief officers of
the Watch.
1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse (Grosart, Works, ii., 53). Not
trouble our peaceable Paradise with their private hurlie-burlies
about strumpets.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe (Grosart, Works, v., 293). Put them in
feare where no feare is, and make a hurlie-burlie in the realm.
1606. Shakspeare, Macbeth, i., 1. When the hurley-burley’s done,
When the battle’s lost and won.
1619. T. North’s Diall of Princes (1557), corrected, p. 703, c. 1.
Two or three dayes before you shall see such resort of persons,
such hurly burly, such flying this way, such sending that way, some
occupyed in telling the cookes how many sorts of meates they will
have....
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1771. Smollett, Humphrey Clinker (ed. 1890, p. 185). As for the
lawyer he waited below till the hurly-burly was over, and then he
stole softly to his own chamber.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. J. and H. Smith, Horace in London, pp. 18–25, Ode ii.,
‘Hurly-burly’ (Title).
1886. Max Adeler, Out of the Hurly-Burly. Title.
1893. St. James’s Gazette, xxvii., 4076, p. 4. While all London was
making holiday, Paris was engaged in a hurly-burly of a very
different kind.
Hurra’s-nest, subs. (nautical).—The utmost confusion; everything
topsy-turvy. For synonyms, see Sixes and Sevens.
1840. R. H. Dana, Two Years Before the Mast, ch. ii. Everything was
pitched about in grand confusion. There was a complete hurrah’s
nest, as the sailors say, ‘everything on top and nothing at hand.’
1869. Mrs. Stowe, Old Townsfolks, ch. iv. You’ve got our clock all
to pieces, and have been keeping up a perfect hurrah’s nest in our
kitchen for three days. Do either put that clock together or let it
alone.
Hurrah in Hell. Not to care a single hurrah in hell, verb. phr.
(American).—To be absolutely indifferent.
1893. Harold Frederic, National Observer, IX., 1 Apr., p. 493, col.
2. I don’t care a single hurrah in sheol.
Hurry, subs. (musical).—A quick passage on the violin, or a roll on the
drum, leading to a climax in the representation.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 66. The wrongful heir comes in
to two bars of quick music (technically called a hurry).
Hurry-curry, subs. (obsolete).—See quot.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe (Grosart, Works, v. 267). The ... was so
in his humps upon it ... that he had thought to have tumbled his
hurrie currie, or ... can, into the sea.
Hurry-durry, adj. (old).—Rough; boisterous; impatient of counsel or
control.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, i., 1. ’Tis a hurrydurry blade.
Hurrygraph, subs. (American).—A hastily written letter.
1861. Independent, 31 July. I must close this hurrygraph, which I
have no time to review.
Hurry-whore, subs. (old).—A walking strumpet.
1630. Taylor, Wks. And I doe wish with all my heart, that the
superfluous number of all our hyreling hackney carryknaves, and
hurry-whores, with their makers and maintainers, were there, where
they might never want continuall imployment.
Husband’s-boat, subs. (common).—The Saturday boat to Margate during the
summer season.
c. 1867. Vance, Broadside Ballad. ‘The Husband’s Boat.’
1887. Murray, in New Eng. Dict., Pt. III., p. 956, c. 3. Waiting at
Margate Pier for the husband’s boat on Saturday afternoon.
Husband’s-supper. To warm the husband’s supper, verb. phr. (common).—To
sit before the fire with lifted skirts. Fr., faire chapelle.
Husband’s-tea, subs. (common).—Weak tea; water bewitched (q.v.).
Hush, verb. (old).—To kill.—Grose.
Hush-money, subs. (old: now recognised).—Money paid for silence, to
quash a case, or stay a witness; a bribe; blackmail.
1709. Steele, Tatler, No. 26. I expect hush-money to be regularly
sent for every folly or vice any one commits in this whole town.
1713. Guardian, No. 26. A poor chambermaid has sent in ten
shillings out of her hush-money, to expiate her guilt of being in
her mistress’s secret.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th Ed.), s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xxxvii. To allow Ada to be made a
bribe and hush-money of, is not the way to bring it out.
1884. Spectator, p. 530. They were disappointed of their
hush-money, but he gave them an easy revenge.
Hush-shop (or -crib), subs. (common).—An unlicensed tavern.
1872. Globe, 18 Sep. At Barrow-in-Furness the new Licensing Act has
had the effect of calling numerous hush shops into existence.
Husky, subs. (Winchester College).—Gooseberry fool with the husks in
it, obsolete. [Notions.]
1870. Mansfield, School Life, p. 145. There were two kinds
[Gooseberry fool] Husky and non-husky.
Adj. (American).—Stout; well built.
Husky-lour, subs. (Old Cant).—A guinea; a job (q.v.). For synonyms, see
Canary.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew., s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hussy, subs. (colloquial).—A corruption of housewife (q.v.).
Hustle, verb. (venery).—1. To copulate. For synonyms, see Greens and
Ride.
2. (American).—To bestir oneself; to go to work with vigour and energy.
Also to hustle around.
Hustler, subs. (American).—An active, busy man or woman. A hummer
(q.v.); a rustler (q.v.).
1890. Harold Frederic, Lawton Girl. A whimsical query as to whether
this calamitous boy had also been named Benjamin Franklin crossed
his confused mind, and then ... whether the child if so named,
would be a hustler or not.
Hutch, subs. (common).—A place of residence or employment; one’s
diggings (q.v.).
Hutter. See Hatter.
Huxter, subs. (common).—Money. Also Hoxter. For synonyms, see Actual
and Gilt.
c. 186(?). Broadside Ballad. These seven long years I’ve been
serving, and Seven I’ve got for to stay, All for meeting a bloke
down our alley And a-taking his huxters away.
Huzzy (or Huzzie), subs. (old).—A case of needles, pins, scissors,
bodkins, etc.; a housewife’s companion.
Hymeneal-Sweets, subs. (venery).—Copulation.
1604. Marston, Malcontent, i., 3. True to her sheetes, nay, diets
strong his blood, To give her height of hymeneall sweetes.
Hypernese, subs. (Winchester College).—See quot. Ziph (q.v.).
1864. The Press, 12 Nov. p. 1098. This dialect of school cryptoëpy
was known in our youth as Hypernese. When spoken fast it defies an
outsider’s curiosity. If two consonants commence a syllable, the
former is dropped, and W substituted: thus breeches would be
wareechepes. If P commences a syllable, G is interpolated: thus
penny would be pegennepy.... That Ziph and its cognate languages
are well known beyond the boundaries of Winchester is certain.
Bishop Wilkins described it, without mentioning it as a novelty, a
couple of centuries ago.
Hyphenated American, subs. (American).—A naturalised citizen, as
German-Americans, Irish-Americans, and the like. [Nortons.]
Hypocrite, subs. (American).—A pillow slip or ‘sham.’
Hypogastric-cranny, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum.—Urquhart. For
synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Hyps (or Hypo), subs. (old).—The Blue Devils (q.v.).
1710. Swift, Tatler, No. 230. Will Hazard has got the hipps, having
lost to the tune of five hund’rd pound.
1729. Swift, Poems (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810, xi., 486). And
the doctor was plaguily down in the hips.
1738. Swift’s Polite Conversation, Dial. 1. Her ladyship was
plaguily bamb’d; I warrant it put her into the hipps.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1830. C. Lamb, Pawnbroker’s Daughter, i., 2. The drops so like to
tears did drip, They gave my infant nerves the hyp.
1854. Haliburton, Americans at Home, i., 176. The old man would
give up to the hypo, and keep his bed for weeks. During this time,
he wouldn’t say a word, but ‘I’m not long for this world.’
End of Vol. III.
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Slang and its analogues past and present, volume 3 [of 7] : $b A dictionary, historical and comparative, of the heterodox speech of all classes of society for more than three hundred years. With synonyms in English, French, German, Italian, etc.
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