Slang & Its Analogues Vol. 5 (1902)

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Slang *»■> ™

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 & W. E. HENLEY

VOL. V.—N. to Razzle-dazzle

PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

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Vol. V.

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ab (or Nap), stibs. (Old Cant). — i The head : also napper. See Tibby. — B. E. ( c. 1696) ; Coles (1706) ; Bailey (172S) ; Grose (1785) ; Jamieson (1880).

1567. Harman, Caveat, (E. E. T. S.), 86. Now I tower that bene bouse makes nase nabes.

1609. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candlelight [Grosart, Wks. (1886), iii., 203]. The Ruffin cly the nab of the Harman beck.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all p. 39 [Hunt. Club. Repr.]. s.v.

1611. MiDDLETON and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v. 1. So my bousy nab might skew rome bouse.

1622. Fletcher, Beggars Bush, ' The Maunder's Initiation.' I crown thy nab with a gage of ben bouse.

1632. Dekker, English Villanies [Grosart, Wks. (1886), iii]. He carries a short staff . . . having in the nab or head of it a ferme.

1671. R. Head, English Rogue (1874), i., v., 50, s.v.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. A lon:;-sleeve cadi on his napper, and a pair of turtles on his martins finished him.

2. (old).—A hat ; a cap : also nab-cheat and napper. See Golgotha.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Coles (1708) ; Bailey (1728) ; Dyche (1748); Grose (1785); Matsell (1859).

¹53^I-47Copland, Hey-way to the Spyttel-hous [Hazlitt, Early Popular Poetry, iv.]. His watch shall feng a prounces nab-CHETE.

1567. Harman, Caveat [E. E. T. S. (1869), 85]. I toure the strummel upon thy nabchet and Togman.

1622. Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, i., i. We throw up our nab-cheat, first for joy, And then our filches.

1671. R. Head, English Rogue, i.,

v. 51 (1874), s.v.

1688. Shadwell, Sç. of Alsatia, ii. [Works (1720), iv., 47]. Bel/. Sen. . . . Here's a nabb ! you never saw such a one in your life. Cheat. A rum nabb : it is a beaver of £5.

1706. Farquhar, RecmitingOfficer, ii., 3. Ise keep on my nab.

1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild,'\\.,

vi. Those who preferred the nab, or trencher-hat with the brim flapping over their eyes.

3. (old).—A fop -Matsell (1859).

see Dandy.

4. (American).—See quot. Beak, and Copper.

Nab

Nab.

1852. Judson, Mysteries of New 1 'ork, iv. I don't know nothin' about no persuits, 'cept the nab's persuits. Ibid., s.v. Nab, an officer or constable.

Verb. (Old Cant).—1. Primarily, to catch ; but also a general verb of action. E.g., To nab the rust = (i) to take offence, to turn rusty ; (2) to receive punishment unexpectedly ; to nab the sno\v = to steal hedgelinen ; to nab the stifles =

to be hanged ; to nab the stoop = to stand in the pillory ; to nab the TEiZE = to be whipped ; to nab it on the dial = to get a blow in the face ; to be nabbed = to be arrested ; to nap a cog = to cheat (at dice) ; to nap the bib = to cry ; to nab the regulars = to divide a booty ; to nap a winder = to be hanged ; to nap it at the n ask = to be lashed at Bridewell ; etc. See Bib, Regulars, and Rust.

English synonyms {see also Cop and Prig when = to tike or receive). To bag ; to bone ; to box ; to claw ; to collar ; to cop ; to grab ; to nail ; to nap ; to nibble ; to nick ; to nim ; to nip ; to pinch ; to pull over ; to rope in ; to scoop ; to smug ; to snabble ; to snaffle ; to snake ; to snam ; to sneak ; to snitch.

French synonyms. Aganter (popular : agenter une c laque = to warm the wax of the ear) ; agrafer ( = to hook) ; arcpittcer (or arquepincer) ; attrimer (thieves') ; cintrer en pogne (thieves') ; colletiner (thieves') ; coltiger (thieves') ; enffaqucr (thieves') ; graffinger (common) ; griffer (a falconry term = to claw) ; grifler (thieves') ; gripper (Rabelais) ; harper (popular) ; harponner { = to harpoon) ; pagourer (thieves')

1609. Dekker, Lanthornt and

Candlelight [Grosart, Whs. (1886) iii. 233]. This hearbe being chewd downe by the Rabbit-suckers almost kils their hearts, and is worse to them than naBbinü on the neckes to Connies.

1676. Warning for Housekeepers [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 30]. But if the cully nap us, And the lurries from us take.

1688. Sh adwell, Squire of A Isatia, iiL [IVorks (1720), iv., 56]. Our Suffolk heir is nabbed, for a small business ; and I must find him some sham-bail.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nap and Nask.

1708. Memoirs of John Hall, s.v. Nap and Naslc

1723. Capt. Alex. Smith, Lives of Bailiffs, 5. The bailiff, though he had long waited for him, could not nap him.

1728. Bailey, Eng. Diet., s.v. Nab . ... to surprise, to take one nappini; ; also to cog a dice.

1733. Fielding, Tom Thumb, ii., 1. Were he a bully, a highwayman, or a prizefighter I'd nab him.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, xxiiL They embraced the prisoner . . . and asked how long she had been nabbed, and for what.

1754. Discoveries of John Poult er, yj. Nap my kelp (hold my hat) whilst I stall at the jigger.

t755Johnson,Eng.Diet., s.v. Nab. To catch unexpectedly ; to seize without warning. A word seldom used but in low language.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nab. To nab the rust. A jockey term for a horse that becomes restive. Ibid. (1796). To nab the snow ; to steal linen left out to bleach or dry. To nab the stoop ; to stand in the pillory.

1789. G. Parker, View of Society, ii., 30, note. Nap the stoop, pilloried. Ibid., ii., 75. To nap the teize is to receive this correction (whipping) privately.

1789. Geo. Parker, Life's Painter, 153. Napt a couple of bird's eye wipes. Ibid., 163. Nap the bib, a person crying.

_ rf.1817. Holman, Abroad and Home, iii., 2. Bravo! Nab'em, have'em tight, Merry then we'll l>e at night.

Naball.

Nabob.

1819. Vaux (J. H.), Memoirs, 1., 190. s.v. Nap the bib, to cry; as, the mollisher nap'd her biu, the woman fell a crying.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 227. Dirty Suke began now to nap her bib. Ibid., Boxiana (1824), iv., 145. Josh napped again on the other eye.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, xvi., Nabbing, grabbing all for himself.

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, i., "• x. Well, cried she, they've nabbed my husband.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 'The Black Mousquetaire.' Once he prevail'd . . . On the bailiff who nabb'd him, himself to ' go bail ' for him,

1838. Comic Almanac, April. Don't nab the bib, my Bet, this chance must happen soon or later.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., iii., 139. I give him the nap and knock him on the back.

1859. Matsell, Vocab., 'Hundred Stretches.' Some rubbed to wit had napped a winder.

1867. London Herald, 23 Mar., 221, 3. We're safe to nab him ; safe as houses.

1885. Belts Life, 3 Jan., 8, 4. Johnny led off with his left, but napped it in return from Bungaree's left on the temple, which raised a bump.

1886. Daily News, 3 Nov., 5, 6. In one corner, four boys are learning how to knap a fogle fly.

1888. Sporting Life, 1 Dec. In endeavouring to reach his opponent's ribs with the right, napped it on the dial.

1892. MlLLlKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 21. He napped me.

2. (old).—See quot.

1775. Ash, Diet., s.v. Nab (a colloquial word). To bite, to bite with repeated quick but gentle motion.

His Nabs. See Nibs.

Naball, subs. (old).—A fool : see Buffle and Cabbage-head.

1612. Rowlands, More Knaves Yet, ' Epig.' To all London's naballs.

Nabber (or nabbler), subs. (Scots').—A thief. Whence nabbery = theft. — Jamieson (180S) ; Matsell (1859).

Nabbing-cull, subs. (old).—A bailiff ; a constable. Also nabman.

178a Tomlixson, Slang Pastoral, st. x. Will no blood-hunting footpad, that hears me complain, Stop the whine of that nabbing-cull, constable Payne?

1816. Terry, Guy Mannering, ii. 3. Old Donton has sent the nabman after him at last.

Nab by. See Nobby.

Nab-cheat. subs. (old).—i. See Nab, subs., sense 2.

Nab-girder, subs. (Old Cant).— A bridle : also nob-girder.— B. E. c. 1696) ; Bailey (1728) ; Grose (1785) ; Matsell (1859).

Nabob, subs. (Anglo-Indian : now colloquial). —i. See early quots. ; and (2) a rich man. Hence Nabobbery = the class of nabobs.

1612. R. Co verte, Voyage, 37. An Earle is called a Nawbob.

1625. Purchas, Pilgrims, 1., iv., 467. The Nabob with fifty or 60 thousand people in his campe.

1665. Sir Th. Herbert, Travels (1677), 99. Nobleman, Nabob.

1764. Walpole, Lett. (1857), iv., 222. Mogul Pitt and Nabob Bute.

1772. Foote, The Nabob [Title],

1784. Burke on Fox's E. I. Bill \Works (1852), m., 506]. _ He that goes out an insignificant boy in a few years returns a great nabob.

1786. H. More, Florio, 272. Before our tottering castles fall And swarming nabobs seize on all !

d.1796. Burns, Election Ballads, m. But as to his fine nabob fortune We'll e'en let this subject alane. Ibid., ' Ded. to G. H.' 2. And there will be rich brother nabobs, Though nabobs, yet men o' the first.

Nabs on. 6

Nag.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xix. (1852), 170. He resolved ... to place himself upon the footing of a country gentleman of easy fortune, without assuming . . . any of the faste which was then considered as characteristic of a nabob.

1834. Baboo, i., vii., 18. Though no king, I wait for no man, not even for a

nuwab.

1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair(i&6j), i. They say all Indian nabobs are enormously rich.

1852. Savage, Ä. Medlicot, 11. x.' [1S64]. ' How particularly great he is to-night ; he reminds me of a nabob ! ¹' Nabobbeky itself,' said Hyacinth.

1862. Thackeray, Philip, xiv. The days of nabobs are long over, and the General had come back . . . with only very small means for the support of a great family.

1872. E. Braddon, Life in India, i., 4. The English flag was raised over the kingdom once ruled by Mogul, Rajah, and nuwaub.

1878. Lecky, Eng. in iith Cent., xiii. The Indian adventurer, or, as he was popularly called, the nabob, was now a conspicuous . . . figure in Parliament.

Nabs on, sues. phr. (thieves').—A hull-mark.

1889. Richardson, Police, 320, s.v. Watch.

Nace.—See Nase. Nack.—i. See Knack.

2. (thieves').—See quot. and cf. Nag.

1889. Richardson Police, 320. A horse. A prad, nack, four-runner.

Nackers, subs. pi. (common).— The testes: sceCovs.—Jamieson (18S0).

NACKY, adj. (old).—Ingenious; full of knacks (t/.v.) or dexterity. Also nackie.—Grose (1785); Jamieson (180S) ; Matsell (1859).

.1758. Ramsey, Elegy on John Cower [Jamibson] He was right naikie in is way.

Naf, subs, (back-slang). — The female pudendum : see Monosyllable and Fanny.—Halliwell (1847).

NAG, subs, (colloquial).—1. A horse; a mount (t/.v.): seeYRAV.

Also naggon, n agg ie or naggy,

and (Scots') = a horse of blood.

c. x 189. Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), i., 7727. He neyt as a nagge at his nosethrilles !

c. 1596. Dick o the Cow. [Child, Ballads, vi., 80]. Yet here is a whitefooted nagie, I think he'll carry both thee and me.

1598. Shakespeare, i Hen. IV., iii., i, 135. Like the forced gait of a shuffling

nag.

1611. Corya r, Crudities, 1, 287. I saw but one horse in all Venice . . . and that was a little bay nagge.

1624-45. Spalding, Troubles in Scotland (1850), ii., 183. [Jamieson]. The ladies came out with two grey plaids, and gat two work naigs, which bore them into Aberdeen.

1630. Taylor, IVorkes [NaresJ. My verses are made, to ride every jade, but they are forbidden, of jades to be ridden, they shall not be snaffled, nor braved nor baffled, wert thou George with thy naggon, that foughtst wilh the draggon.

1692. L'Estkange, Fables. A hungry lion would fain bave been dealing with good horseflesh ; but the nag was too fleet.

d.i-jii. Prior [Johnston]. Thy nags, the leanest things alive, So very hard thou lov'st to drive.

^I755Johnston, Eng. Did., s.v. Nag. A horse in familiar language.

d. 1796. Burns, Tain o' Shanter, 3. That every naig was ca'd a shoe on The smith and thee gat roaring fou on

1836 H. M. Milner, Turpin's Bide to York, i., 3. If your mistress is only as true to you as my nag is to me.

1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, xxxviii. Old boy was splendacious, did everything one wanted—good nag to ride, good shooting, capital cellar—let you smoke where you like—no end !

1887. Henley, Villon's Straight Tip, i. Or fake the broads, or fig a nag.

Nag.

Nail.

2. (venery).—The penis: see Creamstick and Prick.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft [Works (1725), p. 174]. Let her alone, and come not at her, But elsewhere, lead thy nag to water.

c. 1707. Old Ballad, 'The Trooper Watering His Nag' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1896), i., 192]. When Night came on to Bed they went, . . . What is this so stiff and warm, . . . 'Tis Ball my nag—he will do you harm.

3. in pi. (venery).—The testes: see Cods. Span., angle.

4. (common).—A whore ; a jade (q.v.).

1598. Marston, Scourge of Vill. vi., 64. Gull with bombast lines the witless sense of these odd nags.

1608. Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, iii., 10, 10. You ribaudred nag of Egypt.

1775. Ash, Diet., s.v. Nag ... a paramour.

Verb, (colloquial).—To scold, or fault-find persistently ; to tiff. Whence nagger = a persistent scold; nagging (subs, and adj.) = fault-finding ; and naggy = shrewish ; irritable.

1846. Notes and Queries, x., 89. Nagging—whence is this word derived ?

1861. Thackeray. Lm>ell tlie Widower, iii. Is it pleasing to . . . have your wife nag-nagging you because she has not been invited to the Lady Chancelloress's soirée, or what not.

1869. Orchestra, Mar. 14, 'Reviews.' Don't nag. I know the expression is vulgar, and not in the dictionaries.

c. 1870. Dickens, Ruined by Railways. You always heard her nagging the maids.

1872. Daily News, 10 Aug. Harvey pleaded in his defence that his wife was a nagger.

1880. W. D. Howells, The Undiscovered Country, ii. The . . . sparrows . . . quarrelled about over the grass, or made love like the nagging lovers out of a lady's novel.

1882. Athenœum, 25 Feb. Describes Agnes as having nagged the painter to death.

1884. Besant, Julia, ii. Where there would be no old grandmother to beat and nag at her.

TO water the nag (or dragon), verb.phr. (common).— To urinate : see Dragon.

To tether one's nag, verb, phr. (Scots').—To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

Nag-drag, subs. pkr. (thieves').— A term of three months' imprisonment : see Drag.

Naggie, subs, (venery).—1. The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

2. See Nag, subs., sense i.

Naggle, verb, (colloquial).—To toss the head in a stiff and affected manner.—Halliwell (1847).

Nail, subs. (Winchester College).— i. Ätfquots. andBlBLING under nail.

1866. Mansfield, Sek. Life Winchester, s.v. Nail. To stand up under the nail. The punishment inflicted on a boy detected in a lie ; he was ordered to stand up on Junior Row, just under the centre sconce, during the whole of school time. At the close of it he received a ' Bibler.'

1887. Adams, Wykehamica, s.v. Nail, the central sconce at the east and west ends of the school were so-called. A boy who had committed some unusually disgraceful offence, was placed there during school, previously to being ' bibled.'

2. (Old and Scots').—Disposition ; spirit ; nature. The auld NAlL = original sin ; a bad nail = a bad disposition ; a guid nail = a good disposition. Also as in quot. 1819.

Nail.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, 1., 190, s.v. Nail. A person of an over-reaching, imposing disposition, is called a nail, a dead nail, a nailing rascal, a rank needle or a needle pointer [also (1S23), Gkose].

Verb, (common).—1. To catch: like nab (g.v.) and cop (q.v.), a general verb of action. Whence nailing = thieving.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Talcs, Clerkes Tale' 1184 (Skeat, 425). Let noon humilitee your tongë naille.

1760. Foote, Minor, ii. Some bidders are shy, and only advance with a nod ; but I nail them.

1766. Goldsmith, Vicar 0/ Wakefield, xii. When they came to talk of places in town you saw at once bow I nailed them.

1875. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nailed. He offered me a decus and I nailed him.

rf.1796. Huvens, Death and Dr. Hornbook. Ev'n Ministers, they ha'e been kenn'd ... A rousing whid ... to vend, An' nail't wi' Scripture, Ibid. I'll nail the self-conceited sot As dead's a herring.

1819. Vaux (j. H.) Memoirs, 1., 190, s.v. Nail. To nail is to rob or steal ; as, I nail'd him for (or of) his reader, I robbed him of his pocket-book ; I nail'd the swells montra in the push, I picked the gentleman's pocket in the crowd. To nail a person, is to overreach, or take advantage of him in the course of trade or traffic.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf s.v. Nail . . . The man is nailed who is laid hands upon.

_ 1836. M. Scott_; Tom Cringle, viii. This is my compact—if he nails you, you will require a friend at court, and I will stand that friend.

1840. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, i., 25. Mrs. Ogleton had already nailed the cab.

1S50. Lloyd's Weekly, 3 Feb. ' Low Lodging-houses of London.' Now I'll have money, nailed or not nailed. I can pick a woman's pocket as easy as a man's, though you wouldn't think it.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., ii., 57. At last he was bowled out in the very act of nailing a yack. Ibid., i., 457. At Maidstone I was nailed and had three months of it.

1857. Lawrence, Guy Livingstone, xxxiv. Oct him to talk . . . he's safe to commit himself, and we'll nail him at the first word.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, iv., 270. He listened to the tempter, ' filched the ticker,' and was nailed almost immediately.

1883. Stevenson, Treasure Island, (1886), iii., 21. Lubbers as couldn't keep what they got, and want to nail what is another's.

1388. Boldrewood, Robbery Undet Arms, xxiv. I'll give you and Bell a pair each, if you're good girls, when we sell the horses, unless we're nailed at the Turon.

1889. Richardson, Police, 32a. Stealing Horses. Nailing hacks.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 16. It nailed her. Ibid., 46. You haven't quite nailed.

3.1893. Sir S. W. Baker, Heart of Africa, xxii. We had lost the boats at Gondokoro, and we were now nailed to the country for another year.

2. (American).—See quot.

1885. North American Review, cxli., 434. What did you do before you was a snatcher? . . Nailed [i.e.] I worked as a carpenter.

3. (printers').—To back-bite. Also to brass nail. See Nailbox.

4. (Winchester College).—To impress for any kind of fagging. Also, to detect.— S.J.C. (1889).

1808. Jamieson, Diet., s.v. Nail. To strike smartly, to beat, a cant use of the term.

5. (Scots).—See quot.

On the nail. phr. (old).— At once ; on the spot ; instanter.

1596. Nashe, Saffron Waiden, [Works, iii., 59]. Tell me, haue you a minde to aine thing in the Doctors Booke ? speake the word, and I will help you to it vpon the naile.

1622. Fletcher, Spanish Curate, v., 2. Pay it on the nail to fly my fury.

Nail.

1663. Dryden, Wild Gallant,iv. A waiter's place at Custom-House, that had been worth to him an .£100 a year upon

the nail.

1733. Swift, On Poetry, [Works (1824), xiv., 334]. He pays his workmen on the nail.

1798. Colman (the Younger), Blue Devils, i. 1. i will make the proposal, pay down all the money that's wanted, on the nail.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, 11.,

vi. A thousand pounds for his life. Upon the nail? asked Rust.

1S45. Disraeli, Sybil. You shall have ten thousand pounds on the nail, and I will . . . teach you what is your fortune.

1859. Punch, xxxvii., 51, 1. I must have money now. I cannot wait. The word must be—fork out upon the nail.

1872. Braddon, Dead Sea Fruit,

vii. He does a bad adaptation of a French vaudeville, and gets twenty pounds down on the nail for his labour.

1889. Century Diet., s.v. Nail (on the). This phrase is said to have originated in the custom of making payments, in the exchange of Bristol, England, and elsewhere on the top of a pillar called the nail.

1898. Braddon, Rough Justice, 38. And paid him half a sovereign for it on

the nail.

TO hit the nail (or the right nail) on the head (or to drive the nail home,)

verb. phr. (colloquial). — To

succeed ; to come to the point.

Fr. toucher au blanc ( = to hit the white).

1574. Withals, Diet. (1608), 460. You hit the naile on the head, rem tencs.

1654. Witts Recreations [Nares]. Venus tels Vulcan, Mars shall shooe her steed, For he it is that hits the naile o' the head.

1670. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 165, s.v.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft [Wki. (1725), 151]. Ha! ha! old Smutty-face, well said, Th'ast hit the nail (i' faith) o'th' head.

1719. Dukkey, Pills to Purge, iii., 21. The common proverb as it is read, That a man must hit the nail on the head.

1892. Illustrated Bits, 22 Oct., 6, 2. I have driven the nail home.

1897. Barrett, Harding Scandal, xiv. He must drive the nail home, and clench it on the other side, by leaving no doubt in the minds of Denise and Thrale.

1897. Kennakd, Girl in Brown Habit, ii. " In other words," said I, with a broad smile, " he goes a-rourting against his master's wishes and advice." Exactly ; • you've hit the right nail on the head.

TO put (or drive) a nail in one's coffin, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To do anything that shortens life : specifically, to drink. Hence, as sub. = a drink.—Grose (1823).

1836. Fonblanque, Eng. Under Seven Adm. (1837), in., 321. A dram

which . . . drives nails into the

victim's coffin, according to the expressive vulgar expression.

1874. M'Carthy, Linley Rockford. Every dinner eaten under such conditions

is a nail driven into one's coffin.

1888. Fun, 4 April, 148. Silently they walked into the Gaiety bar just as though they were going to order a couple of coffins instead of only two more nails.

1897. Mitford, Romance oj Cape Frontier, i., iii. Every moment lost is a

nail in his coffin.

2. (colloquial).—To hasten an end ; to advance a business by a step.

1834. ///. Lond. News, 29 Nov., 526, 3. The great value of ' The Candidate ' to the contemporary stage is that it is one more nail in the coffin of slow acting.

1885. Society, 7 Feb., 8. This dispelling of the illusion of cheapness should prove a nail in the coffin of Cooperative Stores.

1897. Daily Mail, 26 Oct., 4, 3. With the occupation of this important post another nail will be driven into the coffin of Dervish tyranny.

Nail.

Nailer.

Hard as nails, adj. phr. (colloquial).—i. In good condition.

189J. Sportsman, 25 Mar. Neither Rathbeal, who struck me as hard as nails not long since.

2. (colloquial).—Harsh ; unyielding ; pitiless.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Amis, xxxviL Hard as nails.

TO nail to the counter, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To expose as false : as a lie. [From putting a counterfeit coin out of circulation by fastening it with a nail to the counter of a shop.]

1883. O. W. Holmes, Med. Essays, 67. A few familiar facts . . . have been suffered to pass current so long that it is time they should be nailed to the counter.

1888. Texas Siftings, 20 Oct. That lie was nailed a good while ago. I know it, chuckled the C. L., but it's easy enough to pull out the nail.

1888. Denver Republican, 6 May. The La Junta Tribune has scooped all the papers in the State by nailing the first campaign lie this season.

1898. Re/eree, 18 Sep., 2, 1. How often this particular falsehood has been nailed to the counter I don't know ; more than once I have done it myself. Still, it obtains currency.

1900. Daily Telegraph, 20 Mar., ç, 3. That truth, sooner or later, will out is an accepted maxim amon£ many of us ; and it is, therefore, with a peculiar satisfaction that I am able to announce that the champion lie of this campaign has, without doubt, uf.en securely nailed to the counter of public judgment.

Naked as my nail, phr. (old colloquial). — Stark-naked.

1605. Drayton, Man in tJie Moone, 510. And tho' he were as naked as my nail, Yet would he whinny then, and wag the tail.

1633. Heywood, Eng. Trav., ii., 1. Did so towse them and . . . plucke them and pull them, till he left them as naked as my naile.

Off at the nail, phr. (Scots').—i. See quot.

1808. Jamieson, Diet., s.v. Nail. It is conceivable, that the S. phrase . . . might originate in family and feudal connexion. . . . When one acted as an alien, relinquishing the society, or disregarding the interests of his own tribe, he might be said to go off at the nail ; as denoting that he in effect renounced all the ties of blood. But this is offered merely as a conjecture.

2. (Scots').—Mad.

3. (Scots'). — Tipsy : see Drinks and Screwed.

1S22. The Steamboat, 300. When I went up again intil the bedroom, I was what you would call a thought off the nail; by the which my sleep wasna just what it should have been.

Nails on the toes, phr. (old).—See quot.

1602. Shakespeare, Troi. andCress., iL, i. Whose wit was mouldy ere your grandsires had nails on their toes.

To eat one's nails, verb. phr. (colloquial). See quot.

1708-t0. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Indeed, Mr. Nez'crout, you should be cut for Simples this morning : Say a word more, and you had as good eat your nails.

Also see Dead ; Down.

Nail-Bearers, subs. phr. (old). The fingers : see Fork.

Nail-box, subs. phr. (printers').— A centre of back-biting : see Nail, verb., sense 3.

Nailer, subs, (colloquial).—i. An extortioner.

1883. Illustrated London Xcws, Summer Number, 26, 3. The Stomach of the Bar, collective and individual, is revolted and scandalised at the idea of one of its members doing anything for nothing. Yes, put in Eustace, I have always understood that they were regular nailers.

Nailing.

il Nameless Creek.

2. (common).—Something out of the common ; a clipper (q.v). A general term of excellence : e.g., a handsome woman ; a clever student ; a fast horse, and so forth.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Ponies' from the Pink 'C/n, 88. At guzzling the whole lot were nailers.

Nailing, suis, (common).—i. See nail, verb.

2. (common).—Excellent ; almost beyond comparison.

1894. George Moore, Esther Waters, xxxvi. A nailing good horse once.

Nailrod, subs. (Australian). See

rod.

Nair, subs, (back-slang). Rain.

Naked, subs, (common). — Raw spirit ; neat [q.v.).

Nakedness, subs, (conventional). —The privy parts : see Prick and Monosyllable.

1613. Bible (Authorised Version), Gen. ix., 22. And Ham . . . saw the nakedness of his father.

Nale, subs, (old Scots'). — See quot.

1808. Jamieson, Diet., s.v. Nale. This, i suspect, is a cant term used as an abbreviation, an ale, for ' an ale-house.' I observe no similar word.

Nam, subs, (back-slang).—A man. Nam esclop = a policeman.

Namase. See Nammous.

Namby-Pamby, adj. (old colloquial).—Affected ; effeminate ; overnice. [Swift's invention, and first applied to the affected short-lined verses addressed by Ambrose Philips to Lord Carteret's infant children]. Also as subs, and verb. — to flatter ; to pamper.

1781. Johnson. Lives 0/ the Poets [A. Phillips], iv., p. 173 (ed. 1793.) The pieces that please best are those which, from Pope to Pope's adherents, procured him the name of Namby Pamby, the poems of short lines, by which he paid his court to all ages and characters.

1812. Maria Edgworth, Absentee. xvi. A lady of quality . . . sends me Irish cheese and Iceland moss for my breakfast, and her waiting gentlewoman to

namby-pamby me.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Nambypamby—verse, ill-composed, unmeaning.

1857. Bell, Ballads and Songs of Peasantry, Intro., p. 8. Resisting everywhere the invasion of modern nambypamby verse.

1862. Thackeray, Philip, ix. That namby-pamby ballet and idyll world, where they tripped up to each othei in rhythm, and talked hexameters.

Name. His name is Dennis (or Mud), phr. (American).—A phrase indicative of collapse or defeat : to be sent up Salt River (q.v.); to be played out (q.v.).

To take one's name in vain, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To mention by name : the person spoken of having unexpectedly or accidentally overheard.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, Neverout .... Smoke Miss yonder biting her lips .... (Miss). Who's that takes my name in vain ?

To put one's name into it, verb. phr. (tailors'). To get a thing well forward ; to greatly advance a matter.

Nameless,The (orName-it-not),

subs. (venery). —The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

£■.1674. Bristol Drollery [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), v., 50], 89. Such delicate Thighs, And that shall be nameless between.

Nameless Creek (The), subs, phr. (anglers')—A lucky place whose whereabouts is for that reason untold.

Nammous. 12 Nanny-shop.

Nammous (Namase, Nommüs or

Namous), verb, (thieves').—See quots., and Skedaddle.

1857. j. E. Ritchie, Night Side of Lo/uton, p. 193. Nommus (be off), I am going to do the tightncr.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1866. London Miscellany, 3 Mar., p. 57. It was aregular trosseno (bad one). If it went on that always, he said, he should precious soon nom mus (cut it).

Nam mow, subs, (back-slang).—A woman ; delo nammow = an old woman.

Namurs (The), subs, phr., (military). — The Royal Irish Regiment, formerly The 18th Foot. Also " Paddy's Blackguards. "

Nan, subs, (colloquial).—A maid.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, i., 4, 160. Good faith, it is such another Nan.

Nan-boy, subs, (common).—An effeminate man ; a Miss Nancy (q.v.)

1691. Merry Drollery, ' Jovial Lover,' p. 12. The Pipe and the Flute are the new Alamode for the nan-boys.

1898. Sporting Times, 19 Feb., i., 3. P>ut do you think we enjoyed these superfine Miss Nancies a quarter as much as we did the daring darlings who subsequently lured themdown the Madeira Drive '?

2. (venery).—A catamite.

Nancy, subs, (common).—1. The breech.—Vaux (1823). See Bum and Monocular eyeglass. Ask my nancy, see quot.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf,s.v. Ask my nancy, a very vulgar recommendation, seeing that it is a mute.

Also see Nan boy.

Nanny, subs, (colloquial).—1. A goat.

2. (common).—A whore : see Barrack-hack and Tart.

Nanny-goat, subs, (colloquial).—

1. An anecdote.

i860. Haliburton (Sam Slick), The Season Ticket, No. 11. I'll swop nanny goats with you, and give you best when you tell the best one.

2. (military).—In pi. = The Royal Welsh Fusiliers, formerly the Twenty-third Foot : the regiment has a pet goat which is led with garlanded horns and a shield at the head of the drums—how the custom arose is unknown. Also "The Royal Goats."

Nanny-h en, As nice as a nannyhen,/^, (old).—Very affected; delicate. Cf Nun's hen.

[?] M.S. Lambeth, 306, f. 135. Women, women, love of women Make bare purs with some men. Some be nyse as a nanne hen, . . . Some be lewde, some all be shreude, Go schrewes where thei goo.

1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie [Halliwell]. ... as nice as nunnes

henne.

Nanny-shop (or -house), subs. (common).—A brothel : in quot. 1836 the cottage of a planter's smock-servant.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

English Synonyms. Academy ; badger-crib ; bawdy-house ; bed-house ; bread-and-butterwarehouse (specifically Ranelagh Gardens : cf. bread and butterfashion); bum-shop; buttockingshop (cf. Fr. magasin de fesses) ; cab (cf. Fr. tin bordel ambulant); button-hole factory ; case (Old Cant) ; cavaulting school; Corinth; coupling-house ; Covent Garden nunnery ;cunt-shop;cunny-warren; disorderly-house ; fancy-house ; finishing-academy ; fish-market ; fish-pound ; flash-drum (-house, or-ken); flesh-market ; fuckery ; garden-house; goal; green-grocery; hook-house (or -shop) : also hockhouse : hooker in America =

Nanny-shop. 13 Nap.

prostitute); house of accommodation ; House of Civil Reception ; knocking-shop ; ladies' college ; leaping-house ; meat-fancier's (-market, or -house) ; molly-shop; mot-case; naughty-house; Number 9 ; nunnery ; occupying-house ; (Fi.orio) ; panel-crib ; pushingschool ; stews ; touch-crib ; trugging-ken ; vaulting house (or -school) ; vrow-case ; warren ; whore-house (or -shop).

French synonyms. Une abbaye des s'offre à tous (Rabelais) ; une académie d'amour ; un autel de besoin ; un bazar ; un boc, bocan, bocson, boucan, or bocard (La Fontaine) ; un bordeau, or bordel (Rabelais and Villon); une boucherie (cf. meat-market) ; une boni (popular) ; une bousin or bousingot (also disorder, or disturbance) ; u?i boxon ; les carreaux brouillés ; un clapoire (Rabelais) ; un claque-bosse ; un claqtiedent ; un couvent, un couvent de Venus, or un couvent laique (Voltaire) ; un curatrie (Rabelais) ; la cythire (generic) ; un dépotoir (also chamber-pot and confessional) ; tin foutoir (generic) ; une gantière (Parisien) ; un gros numéro ; une laure (thieves') ; un lieu dhonneiir (generic) ; tin lupanar, oxune lupinaire (Rabelais) ; un magasin de blanc, or defesses (cf. buttocking-shop) ; une maison à gros numéro, de tolérance, de sociétié, parties, or de passe ; un manufacture de bouchon (Rabelais) ; un montretottt (generic) ; un pailloire (Rabelais) ; un peatttre (Rabelais) ; une petite maison (Colle) ; un pince-cul (generic, but specificallya low public-house given over to sexual debauchery) ; un poulailler (generic) ; unputcfy (Rabelais) ; un serail (generic) ; un trucsin.

German Synonyms. Baisel (also —inn and pitcher) ; Kandich ; Kitt ; Knalhutte (knallen = (1) to shoot ; (2) to copulate) ; Kuwo (also A'ubbe, Kowe, Kamvo) ; Puff (also = the act of kind) ; Schofelbajis (Heb. schophal = bad, common, low).

Spanish synonyms. Aduana ; casa liana, de putas, de tapadillo ; cerco ; comejera ; conventillo ; cortejo ; guanta ; guisado ; mancebia ; manfla ; vianflota ; montana ; montana de pinos ; pifla ; pisa ; puteria ; rameria ; vulgo.

Dutch synonyms. Poetkeete ; sonuenkeete ; trankeete.

1836. M. Scott, Cruise of Midge, p. 166. A nest of nanny houses, as they are called, inhabited by brown free people.

Nantee, adv. (Lingua Franca).— Nor any ; ¹ I have none ; ' also ' shut up ! ' or ' leave off ! ' Nantee palaver = hold your tongue ! Nanty dinarly = no money ; nanty parnarly = be careful ! [Ital. niente — nothing],

1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab., iii., 136. He had nanti vampo, and your nabs must fake it ; which means,—we have no clown, and you must do it.

Nantz, subs. (old).—Brandy.

1691-2. Gentlemen's Journal, Feb., 24. Our jovial crew there made a halt To drink some Nantz or what-d'ye call-'t.

c.1817. Keats, A Portrait. He sipped no olden Tom or ruin blue, or Nantz or cherry brandy.

1821. Scott, Pirate, xxix. What a leer the villain gave me as he started the good Nantz into the salt water.

1884. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, t., i. 7. G. S. and Co's. celebrated Nantz.

Nap. i. See Nab, subs, and verb. in all senses.

2. subs, (common).—'A short sleep.'—B. E. (c. 1696).

Nap. 14 Nap.

1600. The Maydes Metamorphosis, I'll take a nap and come annon.

1625. Massinger, Parliament of Ltr-e, ii., 3. I here shall take a nap.

1664. Cotton, Scarronides, 102. And whilst he taking was a nap, She layed him neatly in her Lap.

r/.iyçô. Burns, Aiua, Whigs, Awa. Grim Vengeance lang has ta'en a nap.

1842. Tennyson, Day Dream, 156. 'Twas but at after dinner nap.

3. (colloquial).—5«quot. 1867.

1858. Lytton, What Will He Do With It, 309. He would not have crossed a churchyard alone at night for a thousand naps.

1867. Latham, Diet., s.v. Nap. Abbreviation for Napoleon, i.e., the coin so called.

4. (Scots').— See quot. 1808 ; an abbreviation of nappy (q.v.).

1804. Tarras, Poems, p. 24. Nor did we drink o' gilpin water ; But reemin nap, wi' houp weel heartit.

1808. Jamieson, Diet, s.v. Nap. A cant term for ale, or a stronger kind of beer. Aberd.

5. (old).—See quots. Also as verb.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nap, a clap or pox.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nap. You have napt it, you are infected.

Verb. (old).—I. See quots.

c. 1996. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nap. By cheating with the Dice to secure one chance.

</.i704. Tom Brown, Works, in., 60. Assisting the frail square die with high and low fullams, and other napping tricks.

1728. Bailey, Eng. Diet., s.v. Nap, to cheat at dice.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nap.

To catch (or take napping. verb. phr. (colloquial).—i. Totake unawares ; to take in the act.

1587. Greene, Tritameron, 11. [Grosart, Works (1886), iii. J. With that Panthia, & the rest, tooke them napping.

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shreiv, iv., 2. Nay, I have ta'en you napping, gentle love.

i6of. Ret. fr. Pa'-nassus, iii., 5 [Dodslev, Old Plays, ix., 286L Now may it please thy generous dignity To take this vermin napping, as he lies In the true lap of liberality.

1663. Butler, Hud., 1., iii. I took thee napping unprepared.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

d.1727. Defoe, Tour through Gt. Brit., in., 143. Hand-napping—that is when the criminal was taken in the very act of stealing cloth.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nap. He caught him napping as Morse caught his mare.

1847. Porter, Quarter Race, 120. They'd caught the old man napping once.

To go nap, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To risk everything on a single point ; ' to go the whole hog' (q.v.) [From the game of cards].

i860. Glover, Racing Life, 38. Look here, you go nap—now, hear that? nap— on Royal Angus.

1S83. W. Black, Yolande, xxxix. After dinner the familiar and innocent sixpenny nap was agreed upon. But even at this mild performance you can lose a fair amount if you persistently go nap on almost any sort of a hand that turns up.

1888. Barnet Press, 1 Dec He could say that Elstree and Shenley would go nap for Mr Todhunter.

1891. Answers, 28 Mar. In the innocence of my heart, I adjured all readers of the paper to go nap on Nostrils for the 2.30 race !

1898. Pall Mall Gaz., 20 Sep., 2., 2. It is permissible to doubt whether it was wise to Go nap—if an Orleans can go nap —on Dreyfus's guilt and the infallibility of the court-martial which condemned him.

To nap toco for yam, verb, phr. (old).—See quot.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf s.v. Nap . . . to get more beating than is given.

See also Regulars, Slap, and Teize.

Napkin.

Nark.

Napkin. See Dish-clout.

To be buried in a napkin, verb. phr. (common).—1. To be asleep ; and (2) to be half-witted.

Knight of the Napkin, subs, phr. (common).—A waiter ; a grasshopper (g.v.)

Napkin-snatching, subs. phr. (old).—See quot. Also napkinsnatcher.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Napkin-snatching, or Fogle-hunting. Sneaking pocket-handkerchiefs.

Nap-nix, subs. phr. (theatrical).— An amateur player of minor parts for the sake of experience.

Napper, subs, (common).—1. See Nab, subs., senses 1 and 2.

2. (old).—A cheat or thief. Whence napper (or naper) of NAPs = a sheep-stealer.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Bailey (1728) ; Grose (1785) ; Jamieson (1880).

ci712. Old Ballad, ' The Black Procession' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 39]. The sixteenth a sheep-NAiTER.

3. (old).—A false witness.

4. (old).—See Rain-napper.

Nappy, subs, (old). —Strong ale : also napping-gear. Hence as adj. (1) strong or heady ; and (2) drunk.

1593. Harvey, Pierces Super. [Grosart, Works, 11., 51]. The nippitaty of the nappiest grape; that infinitely surpasseth all the Invention . . in the world.

1593. Harvey, New Lett. Notable Contents [Grosart, Works, i., 283]. The very steame of the nappy liquor will lullaby thy fine wittes.

1594. Lochrine,'\\. 1. The can stands full of nappy ale.

c.1600. My Wife Will Be My Master [Collier, Roxburglie Ballads (1847), 87]. A cup of nappy ale and spice of which she is first taster.

1602. Cooke, How a Man may Choose a Good Wife [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix., 64]. And from the pond and river clear Mak'st nappy ale and Good March beer.

c. 1630. Parker, Harry White, his Humour. M. P. wisheth happy Successe and ale nappy, That with the one's paine He the other may gaine.

1662. Rump Songs, ii., 59. The body being eaten, we strive for the Tayl, Each man with his Kanikin of nappy brown Ale, Doth box it about for the Rump.

b. 1685. Tlie King and the Miller of Mansfield. Nappy ale, good and stale, in a browne bowle.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nappy Ale. Very strong, heady.

17 [?] Old Ballad, Battle's Wedding Herd, ii., 191]. The auld wives sat and they chew'd, and when that the carles grew nappy, they dane'd as weel as they dow'd, Wi' a crack o' their thumbs and a kappie.

1714. Gay, Shepherd's Week. Tues. In misling days, when I my thresher heard, With nappy beer I to the barn repair'd.

1762. Wilson, The Cheats, i. 5. This is napping gear .... but pray no more of this bowl.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

d. 1796. Burns, Twa Dogs, 18. An' whyles twa pennie worth o' nappy Can mak the bodies unco happy. Ibid., Ta?n o' Shanter. While we sit bousing at the nappy.

1867. Latham, Diet., s.v. Nappy Old epithet applied to ale : (this is the entry in the previous editions, and the present editor is unable to give greater definitude to it.)

Nare. See Never.

Nark (or Copper's-nark),

nubs, (common).—A police spy ; a common informer.

English synonyms (See also Beak and Copper). Buz-man ; D ; dee ; deeker ; fox ; marker ; nose ; noser ; peach (omnibus spy) ; pig ; piper (omnibus spy) ; queer-rooster ; rat ; rosser (or rozzer) ; setter ; shadow ; shepherd ; snitcher ; split ; spotter ; squealer ; stag (or stagger) ; tec ; teck ; worm.

Nark. 16 Narrow.

French synonyms. Un arnacq (also arnacke) ; une bourriqne ( = an ass) ; le cadratin (generic) ; une casserole ; un charieur ; un contre-allumeur ( = spy engaged by thieves to counteract the machinations of the police) ; un coqueur (also coqueur mouton, or musicien = a prison-informer) ; un co uin (= knave) ; un correcteur (a prison-spy) ; un cuisinier ; un diable ; un fileur ; un fiancheur ; un friquet ( = tree-sparrow) ; un gobemouchcs ( = gull trap) ; un grand meudon ; un gaffeur ; un indicateur ; un larnac (see arnacq : also rousse à laruac); un macaron ; un mireur : un mouchard ; une mouche ( = fly [q.v.J) ; un mouton (a prisonerspy) ; un bourgeois de nuit ; un rousse (also roussin and une rousselette) ; une vache ; un vesto de la cuisine.

1879. Hoksley in Mac»!. Mag., xl., 505. He had a nark (policeman's spy) with him.

1887. Henley, Villon's Good Night. Likewise you copper's narks and dubs What pinched me when upon the snam.

1888. Daily Chronicle, 29 Dec. Take that, you copper's nark !

1889. Daity Telgraph, 11 Sept. You arc what is known as a copper's nark, are you not?

1892. Mii.liken, 'Arry Ballads, 60. I once knew a copper's nark, as earned many a quid.

1895. Daily Telegraph, 26 Feb., 3. Is not a copper's nark an associate of thieves, who gives information against his companions to assist the police ? Certainly not. A copper's nark would not go amongst thieves.

1898. Pall Mall Gaz., 19 Jan., 2, 3. The narks may light upon that swag even yet.

Verb, (thieves').—To see ; to watch ; to spy.

English synonyms. To buz ; to castell ; to dick ; to fox ; to lay ; to mark ; to nose ; to ogle ; to pipe ; to quiz ; to roast (or roast-brown) ; to shadow ; to shepherd ; to skin ; to snitch ; to spot ; to stag ; to tout ; to twire ; to be on the beefment ; to be on the pounce.

French synonyms. Etre à f affût (colloquial) ; battre Pantif (also = to pad the hoof) ; borgner ; coqiter ; donner la chasse à la rousse (thieves' : = to watch the police) ; faire le gaf ; filer un sinve ; faire la filature (or lâcher de lafilature) à quel-qu'un ; exhiber ; gaffer (also gafßner) ; allumer son gaz ; surbiner.

1886-9. Marshall, Honest Bill [ ' Pomes,' 49]. You'd be sure to nark the ruby round his gill.

1889. Sporting Times, 29 June. And as terseness of expression was an art she'd studied well, She determined that her lady friend should nark it.

Narp, subs. (Scots).—A shirt : see Flesh-bag.—Ducange (1857).

Narrish, adj. (colloquial).— Thrifty : see Narrow.

1889. London Society, Oct., p. 367. I have been told that he is very narrish. . . . He has always paid his debts very scrupulously, lived within his income, and certainly I saw no signs of undue economy.

Narrow, adv. (old colloquial). —i. Ne'er a ; not one.

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, vin., ii. I warrants me there is narrow a one of all those officer fellows but looks upon himself to be as good as arrow a squire of £500 a year.

1711. Smollett, Hump. Clink., 186. As for master and the young squire, they have as yet had narro glimpse of the new light.

Narrowdale Noon. 17

Nask.

Adj. (colloquial).—I. See quot., and Near.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Narrow. A narrow-soul'd Fellow, poor or mean-spirited, stingy.

: 2. (common).—Stupid ; foolish the reverse of fly (q.v.) or wideawake (q.v.).

3. (bowlers').—See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Narrow. When the Bias of the Bowl holds too much.

4. (old).—See quot.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Narrow. Narrow or Near search, Watch him narrowly or nearly. Ibid. Of a Narrow or slender Fortune.

All narrow, adv. phr. (old). —See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Narrow. 'Tis all Narrow. Said by the Butchers one to another when their meat proves not so good as expected.

Narrowdale noon, subs. phr. (provincial).—See quot.

1868. Brewer, Phrase and Fable, s.v. Narrowdale Noon. One o'clock. The top of Narrowdale Hills, in Staffordshire, is so high that the inhabitants under it never see the sun for one quarter of the year, and when it reappears they do not see it till one o'clock, which they call Narrowdale Noon. A thing long deferred.

Narrow-gauge, adj. phr. (American). — Inferior ; small : e.g., a narrow-gauge mule = a worthless beast.

Narrow-squeak. See Squeak.

Nary, adj. (American). — Not one [ne'er a]. See Narrow, Nary red = not a red cent. Also as an emphatic negative.

184S. Lowell, Biglow Papers [Bartlett]. It's a good way, though, come to think, coz ye enjoy the sense o' lendin' lib'rally to the Lord, an' nary red o' expense.

1850. Seaworthy, Nags Head, xix., 162. There shan't nary drop on't go into him.

1857. Philadelphia Bulletin, May, As regards the old cents, there will be nary red to be seen, except such as will be found in the cabinets of coin collectors.

1858. New York Evening Post, i Sept. The Atlantic Cable and the White Mountains—both monuments of God's power, but nary one alike.

Nasal, subs, (pugilists').—The nose : see Conk.

1888. Sporting Life, 21 Nov. Planted a couple of well-delivered stingers on Harris's nasal.

Nase, adj. (old). — Drunken.

Also nace, naze, and nazy.

See quots. — B. E. (c. 1696) ; Bailey (1728) ; Matsell (1859).

1536. Copland, Spittel-lwus [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet. (1866), iv. 69]. With bousy cove maimed nace.

1567. Harman, Caveat, p. 86. Now I tower that bene bouse makes nase nabes.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nazie, drunken : Nazie cove or mort, a drunken rogue or harlot ; nazie nabs, drunken coxcombs.

NASH, verb. (old).—I. See quot. 1819.—G rose (i 823); Bee (1823).

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, i, 191, s.v. Nash, to go away from, or quit, any place or company ; speaking of a person who is gone, they say, he is nash'd, or Mr. Nash is concerned.

2. (old). — To throw away : e.g., ' Nash your leading-strings ' = throw off all restraint.

Nash-gab, subs. phr. (common). —Insolent language ; impertinence.

Nask (or Naskin), subs. (old). —See quots. and Cage.

1686. H ig den, On Tenth Satire of Juv., p. 38. Each heir by dice, drink, whores, or masking, Or, Stistead brought into the * Naskin. [* Note.—The cant word for a Prison.]

Nasty. 18 Natty.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nask. The Old Nask, the City Bridewell. The New Nask, Clerkenwell Bridewell. Tuttle Nask, The Bridewell in Tuttle-Fields.

1775. Ash, Diet. s.v. Naskin (a Cant word), a jail, a bridewell.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

See also Nab.

Nasty, adj. (colloquial). — Illtempered ; disagreeable ; cutting : e.g., nasty jar, a stinging retort ; nasty knock (or one), a disagreeable experience ; nasty one in the eye = a telling blow.

1874. E. L. Linton, Patricia Kemball, iii. He would have thought her temper had turned nasty, though that was not her way.

1878. Trollope, Is he Poßenjoy? ix. She is a nasty hateful creature ; and I do hate her . . . How a woman can be so nasty I can't imagine.

1880. Ouida, MotJis, xv. The lovely Fuschia possessed in reserve an immense relating power of being nasty were she displeased

1881. R. G. White, Eng. Without and Within, xvi. Lady A— said ... to her husband . . . Do take some, [soup] A—, it's not at all nasty. Ibid. A stormy day in England is called a nasty day.

1886-96. Marshall, Honest Bill, [' Pomes,' 50]. They called him Captain Chick weed, and he'd planned a nasty knock.

1891. Harry Fludycr, 84. Then he said . . . one idle son in a family was more than enough (that's a nasty one for you, Pat, my boy).

Cheap and nasty, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Pleasing to the eye, but worthless in fact.

1864. Atlienœum, 29 Oct. Cheap and nasty, or, in a local form, ' Cheap and nasty, like Short's in the Strand,' a proverb applied to the deceased founder of cheap dinners.

Nasty-man, subs, (thieves').—See Garrotte, verb.

Nation, subs, and adv. (old colloquial).—See quot. 1785.

1759-67. Sterne, Trist. Shandy, v., 21. The French have such a nation of hedges.

1765. Moving Times [BarTLETT], 4. I believe, my friend, you're very right : They'll get a nation profit by't

1775. Yankee Doodle. And every time they shoot it off, It takes a horn of powder, And makes a noise like father's gun, Only a nation louder.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nation, an abbreviation of damnation, a vulgar term used in Kent, Sussex, and the adjacent counties, for very ; nation good, a nation long way, a very long way.

1805. J. Reynolds, Blind Bargain, i., i. There it be—there be the old fireside, and nation glad I am to clap eyes on't.

1824. Peake, Americans Abroad, i., i. I have no doubt he will push his fortune, as he is a nation deal of the gentleman. Ibid., ii., 2. It's nation lonesome to sit by one's self.

1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, ist S., xix. There was a nation sight of folks there.

1848. Burton, Waggeries, etc., p. 20. As much as you say, ' What the nation are you at ? '

1854. Ainsworth, Flitch of Bacon, pt. i., v. We're 'nation fond of old brandy.

1868. C. Reade, Foul Play, ix. Don't be in such a nation hurry : for, if you do, it will be bad for me, but worse for you.

National Intelligencer. Unable to say National Intelligencer, phr. (American). —Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed. Cj. British Constitution.

Natty, adj. (colloquial).— Neat ; tidy ; spruce. Hence nattily, nattiness.

1557. Tusser, Husbandrie, cb. 68, st. i, p. 159 (E.D.S.). Concerning how

Erettie, bow fine and how nettie. Good uswife should iettie, from morning to night.

Natty-Lad. 19

Natural.

1789. Geo. Parker, Life s Painter, p. 149. A kind of fellow who dresses smart, or what they term natty.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib's Mem., io. From natty barouche down to buggy precarious.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v.

i?49. C. Bronte, Shirley, xv. Sweeting alone received the posy like a smart, sensible little man as he was, putting it gallantly and nattily into his-button-hole.

i860. G. Eliot, Mill on the Floss, ii., 7. A connoisseur might have seen ' point ' in her which had a higher promise for maturity than Lucy's natty completeness. Ibid., Silas Marner (1861), xi. Everything belonging to Miss Nancy was of delicate purity and nattiness ... as for her own person it gave the same idea of perfect unvarying neatness as the body of a little bird.

1867. Latham, Diet., s.v., Natty, Smart, spruce [colloq.].

1872. Figaro, 22 June. A nattier rig you'll hardly twig.

1875. Ouioa, Signa, m., x., p. 221. It seems a nice easy trade, said Nitaj tempted ; and lying must be handy in it ; that would suit him. No one lies so nattily as Toto.

1889. Harpers Mag., lxxix., 819. A very natty little officer, whose handsome uniform was a source of great pride and a matter of great pride to him.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, p. 24. Natty cove.

Natty-lad, subs, (thieves').—A young thief or pickpocket.— Grose (1785) ; Halliwell (1847).

Natural, subs. (old).—1. A mistress : see Tart.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1688. Shadwei.l, Sq. of Alsatia, ii. [Wks. (1720), iv., 47]. But where's your lady, captain, and the blowing, that is to be my natural, my convenient, my pure? Ibid., i., iv., Shamwell. Thou art i' th' right ; but, captain, where's the convenient, the natural?

2. (colloquial).—An idiot ; a simpleton. — B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1595. Shaksi'EARe, Romeo and Juliet, ii., 4. This drivelling love is like a great natural, that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole. Ibid., Tempest (1609), iii., 2, 37. That a monster should be such a natural.

1609. Decker, Güls Hornc-booke, ii. [Grosart, Works (1886), ii., 216]. They which want sleepe . . . become either mere naturals or else fall into the Doctor's hands.

1614. Rowlands, A Fooles Bolt is Soone Shott, 1. p. 22 (H. Club's Repr., 1873). The Duke of Brunsiuicke had a naturall, Whom all the Court did sotton Joris call.

1722. Steele, Consc. Lovers, ii., 1. I own the man is not a natural ; he has a very quick Sense, tho' a slow Understanding.

1766. Colman, Cland. Marriage, i. [Works (1777), i., 177]. This ridiculous love ! we must put a stop to it. It makes a perfect natural of the girl.

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, ii., 15. He's your brother, I guess?—ain't he?— sort of a natteral, too, I guess ?

1S74. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, ist S., No. xvi., p. 287. The man opened his mouth and closed it again ; like, as Molly put it, a born natural.

3. (old).—A bastard. — B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

4. (American thieves').—A clever, quick-witted, generous man.—Matsell (1859).

5. (obsolete).—See quot.

1888. F.ncycl. Brit, xxiv., 560 s.v. Wig. In 1724 the peruke-makers advertised full bottom tyes, full bobs, minister's bobs, naturals, half naturals . . . among the variety of artificial head gear which they supplied.

Adj. (American). — Not squeamish.—Matsell (1859).

Nature. 20 Naughty.

Nature, subs. (venery). — i. The generative organs : male or female ; and (2) the semen (quot. 1547). Hence Nature's Privyseal (treasury, or tuftedtreasure) = the female pudendum; Nature's Scythe = the penis; Nature's Duty = copulation ; Nature's Founts = the paps. See Cream, Creamstick, Dairies, Greens, Monosyllable, Prick, and Ride.

1547. Boorde, Seconde Booke of tJte Breviary of Health, Fol. xxn. back._ I had two lordes in cure that had distyllacion like to nature.

1635. Glapthorne, T/ie Lady Motlicr,\.,\. Lovell. The totall some of my blest deity Is the magazine of Nature's treasury.

c. 1661. Old Song, ' The Maid a Bathing' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1895), ii., 41]. Her legs she opened wide, My eyes I let down steal, Until that I espy'd Dame Nature's privy-seal.

c.1707. Durfey, Pills to Purge, iii., 213. I am rashly bent, To subject your Beauty To kind nature's duty.

1766. Rattle, 33. Love's meadow, happy Dick, With nature's scythe was mowing.

1827. Tlie Merry Muses, 75. What words can paint the pleasure, That springs from love's soft powers, When nature's tufted treasure Pourssweets in spermy showers.

Nature's Garb, subs, (common). —Nakedness.

English synonyms. To be abram ; all face ; in one's birthday suit ; in buff ; to cast one's skin ; peeled ; on the shallow (q.v.).

French synonyms. Etre en couennes ; Rhabiller en sauvage.

Spanish synonyms. Pelota; poseta ; en cuero.

Naughty, adj. (common).—1. Loose ; obscene. Hence to do the (go, or be) n au g ht y = to play the whore : shop and working girls in large towns sometimes say they work for their living, but do the naughty for their clothes ; naughtiness = lewdness; the naughty = the female pudendum; naughtypack (or dicky-bird) =a wanton ; naughty-house — a brothel ; naughty-man = a whoremonger; naughty-dream = a lascivious dream.

1550. Bansley, Pride of Women [Hazlitt], Early Pop. Poetry, iv., 232. For wanton lasses and gallant women, And other lewde noughty packes.

[ ? ]. Apprelten, Three Witches. Having two lewde daughters, no better than naughty packs.

1538. R. B[ernard], Terence, in English. Dost thou still speake ambiguously to me, thou naughty packe ?

1603. Shakspeare, Measure for Measure, ii., i, 77. It is a naughty

house.

1611. MiDDLETON and Decker, Roaring Girl [ Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), vi., p. 20). She's a varlet—a naughty pack.

1638. Rowley, Shoemaker a Gent. G. 4. Got a wench with childe, Thou naughty packe, thou hast undone thyself for ever.

1632. Nabbes, Covent Garden, iii., 1. Susan. If ever I lie under any of them for the greene sickness. Dorot. Fie upon thee. Susan. Why, I doe not meane naughtines.

1673. Wycherley, The Gentleman Dancing Master, i., 1. Ay; but to be delighted when we wake with a naughty dream, is a sin, aunt ; and I am so very scrupulous, that I would as soon consent to a naughty man as to a naughty dream.

1675. Crowne, Country Wit, i., 1. Most severely censuring all that are young and handsome to be naughty.

Naughty-Pack. 21 Nay.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, i. Miss. She's no better than she should be. Lady Smart. Well . . . the world is very censorious : I never heard that she

Was a NAUGHTY-PACK.

1772. Coles, Eng.-Lat. Diet., s.v

1869. Hall [Lyndsay, Satyre of the Three Estaitis (k. e. t. S.), 498, Note]. The wealth of the prelates keeps our daughters unwedded. And some of them go naughty.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 118. Lady May-field's history was pretty well-known, and the naughtiness surrounding her past life added a piquant flavour of excitement to the curiosity manifested on the occasion.

1896. Cotsfokd Dick, Ways of the World, 12. J. is the juvenile maiden of forty, Who hopes it's not wrong, but she longs to be naughty. Ibid., 18. French songs, that are tant soit peu naughty.

1898. Le Queux, Scribes and Pharisees, iv. If a poet isn't naughty now-adays, nobody reads him.

2. (old).—Flash.

1864. Vance, Chickaleary Cove. My downy kicksies . . . Built on a plan werry

naughty.

Naughty-pack, sues, (old colloquial).—i. See Naughty.

2. (modern).—A half reproving endearment of children.

Navel, subs, (old colloquial)— Combinations are : proud below the navel = amorous, or wanton ; navel-tied = inseparable ; to gall one's navel = to wax wanton ; to wriggle navels = to copulate. See Cuntitch ; Greens ; Prick-proud ; Ride.

1629. Davenant, Albovine, i. When I see her I grow proud below the

navel.

1767. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 52.

They have tied their navels together, i.e., they are inseparable companions.

Navigator, subs, (rhyming slang). —A potato ; 'tatur. Navigator Scot = a hot baked potato. Also Nav.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lifipo, xiv. As we were dining, in came North Eye carrying a dish from the bake-house, a sheep's knock over a dollop of navs.

Navvy, subs, (old : now recognised). —An abbreviation of ' navigator ' : a term humorously applied to excavators employed in cutting and banking canals, making dykes to rivers, &c.

1848. C. Kingsley, Yeast, xl. There's enough of me to make a good navigator if all trades fail.

1863. Fawcett, Pol. Econ., 11., v. It was proved that one English navvy would do as much work as two French labourers.

1865. M. E. Braddon, Henry Dunbar, xxvi. Great wooden barricades and mountains of uprooted paving-stones, amidst which sturdy navigators disported themselves with spades and pickaxes . . . blocked the way.

1872. Builder, Aug. The class of men employed in earthwork were very peculiar, and very unlike the ordinary labourers of the country. They were called navvies, from having been employed originally upon works of internal navigation, and they came from the Northern counties, especially Lancashire.

Navy-office, subs. (old). — See quot.

1823. Grose. Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Navy Office. The Fleet Prison. Commander of the Fleet : the warden of the Fleet prison.

Navy-sherry,subs. (American).— Man-of-war grog.

Nawpost. Mr. Nawpost, subs, phr. (old).—' A foolish fellow.'— B. E. [c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

Nay, verb, (old colloquial).—To deny.

Nay-word. 22

Neat.

1589. Greene, Tullies Love, Shepherd's Ode [Grosart, Works (1886), vu., 183]. Shee nise, Following fashion, NAYEu him twise.

Nay-word, subs. (old).—'A common By-word or Proverb.'—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

Nazold, subs, (old colloquial).—A vain fool.

1629. Optick Glosse 0/Humors, 160. I know some selfe-conceited nazold, and some jaundice-fac'd ideot, that uses to deprave and detract men's worthinesse, by their base obloquy.

Nazy, See nase.

N.C. phr. (common).—' Enough said' (nuf ced) ; Cf. O.K.

Near (also Nigh and Narrow),

adj. and adv. (colloquial).—1. Formerly careful, now (contemptuously) = sting); ' closefisted.' Fr. serré. Thus nearness (subs.) = a parsimonious habit.

1591. Savile, Tacitus, Hist., 1., 11. Now for neareness Galba was noted extremelie.

1603. Dekker, Batc/telors Banquet, vii. The good man he goes euery way as neere as he can, and warilie containes himselfe within his bounds, casting vp what his yearely reuenues are, or what his gaime is by his profession, be it merchandize or other, and then what his expenses be.

1616. The Merchants' Avizo (quoted in Notes and Queries, 7 S., vi., 504). Also to be circumspect and nigh in all his expenses.

1712. Spectator, No. 350. I have a very good affectionate father ; but though very rich, yet so mighty near, that he thinks much of the charges of my education. Ibid., No. 402. I always thought he lived in a near way.

1816. Scott, Antiquary, xi. I'll rather deal wi' yourself ; for, though you're near enough, yet Miss Grizel has an unco close grip.

1847. E. Bronte, Wuthering Heights, xv., iii. The villagers affirmed Mr. Heathcliff was near, and a cruel hard landlord to his tenants.

1849. Dickens, David Copperfield, x. Mr. Barkis was something of a miser, or, as Peggotty dutifully expressed it, ' was a little near.'

2. (colloquial). — On the left side: cf. Off.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Near. Postillions ride on the near horse in England—the Russians drive on the off horse. Ibid. The left kidney being nearer the heart than the right one is called the near, the melt interposing between it and the ribs.

1859. Art of Taming Horses, 77. The motion will draw up the off leg into the same position as the near leg.

Neardy, subs, (provincial : North). —A person in authority—master, parent, foreman [Hotten].

Neat, adj. (colloquial).—Unmixed with water; naked (q.v.) ; short (q.v.) ; straight (q.v.)

English synonyms. Aboriginal ; 'ah ! don't mingle' ; as it came from its mother ; baldfaced ; bare-footed ; clean from the still ; cold-without ; in puris naturalibus ; in a state of nature ; naked ; neat as imported ; neat ; simplex munditiis ; out of the barrel ; plain ; primitive ; pure ; raw ; raw recruit ; reverend ; stark-naked ; straight ; stripped ; unalloyed ; unmarried ; unsophisticated ; uncorrupted ; untempered ; virgin ; without a shirt.

1596. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, iv., 4. We'll go to the Windmill ; there we shall have a cup of neat grist, we call it.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, i., iii. [Bohn, i., 106]. He loved to drink neat, as much as any man that then was in the world.

1711. Steele, Sped., No. 264. The hogsheads of neat port came safe.

Neb. 23 Neck.

1742. Fielding, Joseph Andrews, in., iii. My wines, which I never adulterated after their importation, and were sold as neat as they came over.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, viii. He . . . judged the cordial to be no other than neat Cogniac.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., etc., i., 397. I was obliged to drink rum ; it wouldn't ha' done to ha' drunk the water neat, there was so many insects in it.

1876. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly, i. I should take a small glass of brandy neat. Mind, no spoiling the effect with water.

AS neat as (a bandbox, a new pin, wax, ninepence),

phr. (colloquial).—As neat as may be.

1884. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, iii., 3 (Three Plays, 36). We've nobbled him, as neat as ninepence.

Neat, but not gaudy : as the devil said when he painted his bottom red, and tied up his tail with skyblue RiBBOX,/^r. (common).— Spick and span ; 'fresh as a daisy. '

1887. Lippincott' s Mag., July, p. 116. I have sent, I say, just such manuscript as editors call for, fair, clean, written on one side, not with a pencil, but with a good gold pen, stamps enclosed for return if declined ; the whole thing ' neat, but not gaudy, as the monkey said ' on the memorable occasion ' when he painted his tail sky-blue.'

1892. Society, 6 Aug., p. 757, col. 1. Tennyson when in a rage is neat and not gaudy.

Neb (or Nib), suds, (old colloquial : now recognised).—i. Originally the bill of a bird ; hence the face, mouth, or nose : specifically [B.E. (c. 1696), Grose (1785), and Matsell (1859)] of a woman.

c. 1225. Ancren Riwle, go. Scheau thi leoue neb to me.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Neb. She holds up her neb : she turns up her mouth to be kissed.

2. (old colloquial : now recognised).—Apen.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

3. (old).—The neck.

^I53SCoverdale, Bible, Gen. viii., it. Beholde she had broken of a leaf of an olyue tre and bare it on her nebb.

d.1622. Bacon, Nat. Hist. Take a glasse with a belly and a long neb.

Nebuchadnezzar, subs, (venery). —i. The petits. [From its taste for Greens (q.v.)]. See Prick. To take Nebuchadnezzar out to grass = to copulate. See Greens and Ride.

2. (common).—A vegetarian.

Necessary, subs. (old).—1. A bedfellow. See Tart.

2. (old colloquial).—A privy. Also necessary house (01 vault).

1609. Field, Woman is a Weathercock, iv., 2. She showed me to a necessary vault. Within a closet in the chamber too.

1611. Field, Amends for Ladies, ii., 4. I met her in the necessary house i' th' morning.

c. 1786. Morris, The Plenipotentiary. For fancied delight ... To frig in the school necessary.

Neck, verb (old).—1. To hang: see Ladder. Whence, neckcloth (neckinger, necklace, neck-squeezer, or necktie) = a halter; necktie-sociable = a hanging done by a Vigilance Committee; neck-question =a hanging matter something vital ; neck-verse, see quot, 1696 ; neck-weed = hemp, or gallows-grass {q.v.) ; to wear a hempen necktie, etc. = to be hanged.

Neck. 24 Neck.

Tyndale, Workes, 112. Yea set foorth a neckeuerss to saue all marier of trespassers, fro the feare of the sword.

1578. Whetstone, Promos and Cass., iv., 4. And it behoves me to be secret, or else my neck-verse cun [con].

1578. Lyte, Transi, of Dodoen's Hist. 0/ Plantes, fol. 72. Heinpe is called in . . . English, necke-weede, and Gallows grasse.

1578. Hist, of K. Lier [Six Old Plays, iL, 410]. Madam, I hope your grace will stand Betweene me and my neck-verse, if I be Call'd in question for opening the king's letters.

1586. Marlowe, Jew of Malta, iv., 4. Within forty foot of the gallows conning his neck-verse.

1587. Greene,Menapiion[Grosart, Works(1886), vi., 15]. A sort of shifting companions, that . . . busie themselues with the indeuors of Art, that could scarcelie latinize their necke-verse if they should haue neede.

1593. Harvey, Pierces Supererogation [Grosart, //0^^(1884-5), ii.,281]. Thy penne is as very a Gentleman Foist, as any pick-purse liuing ; and, that which is most miseiable, not a more famous neckverse, than thy choice.

1630. Taylor, Works [Nares]. Some call it neck-weed, for it hath a tricke To cure the necke that's troubled with the crick.

1637. Massinger, Guardian, iv., 1. Have not your instruments To tune, when you should strike up, but twang it perfectly, As you would read your neck-verse.

rÔ47. Beaumont and Fletcher, Bonduca, iv., 1. What's the crime committed That they wear necklaces ?

1655. Fuller, Ch. Hist. These words, ' bread and cheese,' were their neck-verse or shibboleth to distinguish them.

1659. Clobery Div. Glimpses [quoted in Slang, Jargon, and Cant]. The judge will read thy neck-verse for thee here.

1662. Bump Songs, ' The Rump Dock't,' ii., 45. Instead of nf.ck-verse, Shall have it writ on his Herse, There hangs one of the King's Fryers.

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Wis. (1725), Bk. iv., p. 133]. Seeing the Rope Ty'd to the Beam i' th' Chambertop, With neat alluring Noose, her sick grace E'en long'd to wear it for a necklace.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Neck-verse. A Favor (formerly) indulged to the Clergy only, but (now) to the Laity also, to mitigate the Rigor of the Law, as in Man-slaughter, etc. Reading a verse out of an old Manuscript Latin Psalter (tho' the Book now used by the Ordinary is the same Printed in an Old English Character) save the Criminal's Life. Nay now even the Women (by a late Act of Parliament) have (in a manner) the benefit of their Clergy, tho' not so much as put to Read ; for in such cases where the men are allow'd it ; the Women are of course sizz'd in the Fist, without running the risque of a Halter by not Reading.

1710 OUI Song (in British Apollo). If a clerk had been taken For stealing of bacon, For burglary, murder, or rape. If he could but rehearse (Well prompt) his neck-verse, He never could fail to escape.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v.

Johnson, Eng. Diet., s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg Tongue. The . . . neck verse . . . was the first verse of the fifty-first psalm, Miserere mei, etc.

c. 1816. Old Song, ' The Night Before Larry was Stretched,' [Farmer, M usa Pedestris (1896), 79]. For the neckcloth I don't care a button.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan],

s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1877. J. H. Beadle, Western Wilds [Bartlett]. He joined the Vigilantes, and had the pleasure of presiding at a necktie sociable where two of the men who had robbed him were hanged.

1886. Notes and Queries, 7 S., ii., 98. Neckinger is nothing more than neckerchief, but implies, I think, its proximity to a place of execution, the Devil's Neckerchief on the way to Redriffe,' which sign would further imply that it was euphemistic or slang for the gallows, the rope, or the hempen collar.

2. (old colloquial). — To swallow. Also to wash the neck.—Bee (1823).

Neck and crop, adv. (colloquial).—Ätfquot., 1823.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, etc., s.v. Neck and Crop. Turn him out neck and crop, is to pusti one forth all of a heap, down some steps or stairs being understood, so that the patient may pitch upon his neck (or head).

Neck. 25 Neck-stamper

1836. Dickens, Pick-!uick(r%sj), 125. When I was first pitched neck and crop into the world to play at leap frog with its troubles, replied Sam.

1847. Lytton, Lucretia, 11., xx. I was a-thinking of turning her out neck an' crop.

Neck or nothing, adv. (colloquial).—At every risk ; desperately.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations,

i. Neck or nothing ; come down or I'll fetch you down.

1731. Fielding, Grub Street Opera,

ii. 4. It is always neck or nothing with you.

1747. Gentleman Instructed, 526. The world is stock'd with neck or nothing ; with men that will make over by retail an estate of a thousand pound per annum to a lawyer in expectation of being pleaded into another of two hundred.

1766. Garrick, Neck or Nothing [Title].

1842. Dickens, American Notes, iv., 38. And dashes on haphazard, pellmell, neck-or-nothing, down the middle of the road.

1870. Daily News,_ 31 Mar. ' On Acrobats.' It must be literally neck or nothing with him, neck or 35s. per week.

1896. Sala, London Up to Date, 39. We resolved for once on a neck-ornothing outing.

Neck and neck, adv. (colloquial.—Close ; almost equal : as horses in a race.

1861-2. Earl Stanhope, Life of Pitt, xxii. After two neck and neck votes the same evening, the final numbers were 54 against 54.

1864. London Society, Oct., 389. Number 1 waltzes all round her affections, but No. 2 sings like ' ten cherubs,' and he finds her out at concerts, and comes to five o clock te*. It is neck-and-negk between Nos. i and 2.

On (or in) the neck of,//;;-. (colloquial).—Close upon, or behind.

1598. Smakspeare. i Henry IV., iv., 3. And in the neck of that tasked the whole state.

1775. Ash, Diet., s.v., Neck . . . on the neck, immediately after.

To win (or lose) by a neck, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To win (or lose) by next to nothing.

To break the neck of anything, verb.phr. (colloquial). —To get the worst part done : see quot.

1775. Ash, Diet., s.v. Neck ... to break the neck, to do more than half, to hinder from being done.

TO be shot in the neck, verb. phr. (American). — To be drunk. See Drinks and Screwed.

1855. Brooklyn Journal, 18 April. Mr. Schumacher defended his client by observing that some of the prisoners' attorneys got as often shot in the neck as the Under-SherifT did in the head.

Unable to neck it, phr. (colloquial). — Lacking moral courage.

Also see Shut.

Neck-beef. As coarse as neckbeef, phr. (common). — Very coarse ; of the poorest quality. As subs. —a. general synonym for coarseness.

Neck-oil, subs. (old).— Drink; lap (q.v.).

Neck-stamper, subs.phr. (old).—

See quots.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Neck-stamper. The Pot-Boy at a Tavern or Ale-house.

1785. Grose, Vulg: Tongue, s.v. Neck-stamper, the boy who collects the pots belonging to an ale-house, sent out with beer to private houses.

Nectar.

Needful.

Nectar, subs, (common).—Drink ; lap (q.v.).

Ned, subs. (old).—A guinea : America a 10 dollar piece. Half a ned = half a guinea or 5 dollar piece. Also neddy. See Canary.

1754. Discoveries 0/ John Poulter, 41. They ask change for a ned or six.

1789. Parker, Life's Painter, ' The Happy Pair.' With spunk let's post our

neddies.

1859. Matsell, Vocahulum, s.v. Half a ned. A s dollar gold piece.

1882. McCabe, New York, xxxiv., 509, s.v.

2. See Neddy.

Nedash, phr. (old).—See quot., 1823.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nedash, of no use. Ibid. Nothing.

Neddy, subs, (colloquial).—1. An ass ; a moke (q.v). Also Ned : see Moke.

1658. Rowley, Tourneur, etc., Witch 0/Edmonton [Southey's Commonplace Book, ii., 447]. The ass was called Tom, as well as Jack and Neddy.

1790. Wolcot [P. Pindar], Rowland /or an Oliver [Wks. (Dublin, 1794), ii.,

412.] But, Peter, thou art mounted on a Neddy : Or, in the London phrase—thou Dev'nshire Monkey, Thy Tegasus is nothing but a Donkey.

1818. Egan, Boxiana, 1., 35. Coster* mongers, in droves, were setn mounting their neddies.

2. (colloquial). — A fool ; a donkey (q.v.). See Buffle and Cabbage-head.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Neddy —sometimes Ass-neger, other names for jackass—the living emblem of patience and long suffering.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, i. All types of all characters march through all fables ; tremblers and boasters ; victims and bullies ; dupes and knaves ; long-eared neddies, giving themselves leonine airs.

3. (Irish)—A large quantity ; plenty. Fr. hugrement ; la foultitude (subs. ) ; and gourdevient.

4. (thieves').— See quots. Fr. un tourne-clef.

English synonyms. Billy ; cosh ; colt.

1864. Com/till Mag., vi., 647. Pis

tob are seldom carried by them ; the

weapon is generally a neddy or lifepreserver.

1879. JW. Horsley [Macm. Mag., xl., 503]. He said, We shall want . . . the stick (iron-bar), and bring a Neddie (life-preserver) with you.

1884. Re/eree, 21 Dec, 1, 2. If husbands left off kicking their wives to death . . . and if the neddy and knuckle-duster went suddenly out of fashion.

1897. Brewer, Phrase and Fable, s.v. Neddy. A life-preserver ; so called from one Kennedy, whose head was broken in St. Giles's by a poker.

5. See Ned.

Ned-fool, subs. (old). — A noisy idiot. See Jack (subs., sense 8).

1600. Nashe, Summer's Last Will [Dodsley, Old Plays (1S74), viii., 61]. Ned fool's clothes are . . . perfumed with the beer he poured on me.

Ned Stokes, stibs. (old provincial). See quot.

1791. Gent. Mag., Ixi., 141. The Queen of Clubs is here [Lines.] called Queen Bess . . . the Four of Spades, Ned Stokes, for why I don't know.

Needful (The), subs, (common).—Money. See Rhino.

1771. Foote, Maid 0/ Bath, ii. Then I will straight set about getting the needful.

1821. Egan, Li/e in London, 1., iv. The diamond necklace . . . did not operate more strongly . . . than the poor woman's flat-iron to raise the needful.

1836. Comic Almanack, 45, 'Transfer day.' Needy men the needful need.

Needham. 27 Needle-dodger.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xxxviii. I passed, soon after that precious party, and my friends came down with the needful for this business.

1857. Hood, Pen and Pencil Pictures, 153. Let me have the pleasure of lending an old college-mate some of the needful !

1864. Eton School Days, i., 3. Goodbye. Here's a supply of the needful.

1889. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 8 Feb. Searching for the needful to satisfy so just a demand.

1900. Free Lance, 6 Oct., 20, 1. I am glad to take anything that comes along, even if it is only ten per. Someone had to get the needful, you know.

Needham. On the highroad to Needhham, phr. (old). —See quot. Cf. Peckham, Land of Nod, Bedfordshire, Etc.

1670. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 221. You are on the high-way to Needham. Needham is a market-town in this county [Suffolk] ; according to the wit of the vulgar, they are said to be in the highway thither which do hasten to poverty.

Needle, subs. (old). — i. A sharper ; a thief.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 138. Amongst the needles at the West end of the town.

2. (venery).—The penis: see Prick. Whence needle-woman = a harlot (see quot. 1849).

1632. Nabises, Covent Garden, i., 6. Susan. The loadstone of my heart . . . pointing still to the North of your love. Jeffcry. Indeed, mistris, 'tis a cold corner ; pray turne it to the South, and let my needle run in your Diall.

c. 1680. Earl of Dorset, Poems, ' On Dolly Chamberlain.' In revenge I will stitch Up the hole next her breech, With a needle as long as my arm.

d.i6So. Rochester, Poems, 'A Satire which the King took out of his Pocket.' The seaman's needle nimbly points the pole ; But thine still turns to ev'ry craving hole.

e.1720. Durfey, Pills to Purge, vi., 91. But if by chance a Flaw I find, In dressing of the Leather ; I straightway whip my Needle out, And I tack 'em close together.

1849. Carlyle, Nigger Question [Cent. ed. xxix. 366]. We have thirty thousand distressed needlewomen . . . who cannot sew at .ill ... on the street with five hungry senses.

Verb, (common).—1. To annoy ; to irritate ; to rile (q.v.). To give (or get) the needle = to annoy (or be annoyed).

1881. G. R. Sims, Dagonet Ballads (Polly). There, he's off ! the young warmint, he's needled.

1884. Daily Telegraph, 4 Sept., 2, 2. I felt a bit needled at the sort of sneering way Teedy had spoken.

1887. Punch, 30 July, 45. It give 'im the needle in course, being left in the lurch in this way.

1889. Sporting Times, 3 Aug., 3, 1. He's seen a girl, one of his old flames, pass the door. He doesn't want to needle her, as she's a good little sort.

1391. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 3 April. This seemed to needle Gideon, who, determined not to be outdone, offered 900 to 100 on the field.

1897. Evening Standard, 24 Dec, 4, 5. When one, or both, of two proficient antagonists at any sport have taken the needle . . . the result, nine times out of ten, is an improvement in the exhibition.

1898. Illustrated Bits, Xmas No., 50. Then Maudie gets the needle, and she jumps across the floor, And ketches me a fair ole rousin' socker on the jore.

2. (old).—To haggle over a bargain.—Vaux (1819).

Also see Spanish needle; St. Peter's needle, Knight.

Needle-and-thread, subs. phr. (rhyming). —Bread.

Needle-book (or -case"), subs. (venery).—The female pudendum: see Monosyllable.

Needle-dodger, subs, (common). —A dress-maker.

Needle-point. 28 Nephew.

Needle-point, subs. (old).— A sharper : also needlei'Ointer.—B.E (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785); Vaux (1819) ; Ency. Diet. (1885).

Needy-mizzler (or Needy),

subs, (tramps').—See quot. 1823. Hence needy-mizzling. 1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Needy Mizzler. A poor ragged object of either sex.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwod, iii., v. Though a needy mizzler mysel, I likes to see a cove vot's vel dressed.

18CS. Temple Bar, xxiv., 536. His game is needy-mizzling. He'll go without a shirt, perhaps, and beg one from house to house. Ibid. Needy-mizzlers, mumpers, shallow-coves.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. AU I get is my kip and a clean mill tog, a pair of pollies and a stoock, and what few medazas I can make out of the lodgers and needies.

Neel, adj. (back-slang). — Lean.

Ne'er • be • lickit, subs, (colloquial Scots).—See quot.

1885. Encyel. Diet., s.v. Ne'er-belickit. Nothing which could be licked by a dog or cat ; nothing whatever.

Ne'er-do-well, subs, (colloquial.—See quot.

1835. Encycl. Diet., s.v. _ Ne'er-dowell. One who is never likely to do well.

Adj. (colloquial) —Incorrigible.

1S98. Le Queux, Scribes and Pharisees, v. His two cousins . . . looked on the Ne'er-do-well student as an interloper.

Neergs, subs, (back-slang). — Greens.

Neggledigee, subs. (old). — See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, [Egan], s.v. Negligee. A woman's undressed gown, vulgarly termed a neggledigee.

Negotiate, verb, (colloquial).— To contrive ; to accomplish.

1891. Sporting Life, 18 Mar. They pulled themselves together, and ultimately negotiated Hammersmith Bridge in better style.

1S91. Daily Chronicle, 20 Mar. The other two—who al?o negotiated the same distance, namely, a mile and a half—went together as usual.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 32. To see him negotiate corners was one of the loveliest sights.

1897. Kenn ard, Girl in Brown Habit, ii. She had negotiated the obstacle all right, but if we had happened to come to grief, I should have blamed myself a lit tie.

Negro, subs, (old : now recognised).—A black man ; a slave.— Grose (1785).

Negro-head, subs, (nautical).— A brown loaf.—Grose (1796).

Negro-nos'd, adj. (old: now recognised).—Flat-nosed.—B. E. {c. 1696).

Neighbourly, adj. (old : now recognised). —Friendly; obliging. —Diet. Cant. Crew (1696).

Neman, subs. (American thieves'). —Stealing.—Matsell (1859).

Nenti, adv. (circus).—Nothing : cf. Nantie.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xx. I gets sixteen bob a week . . . and I get my kip for nenti here for helping old Blower tidy up.

Nephew, subs, (common). — The illegitimate son of a priest : see Niece.

1847. Ruxton, Far West, 145. They were probably his nieces and nephews— a class of relations often possessed in numbers by priests and monks.

Neptune's Bodyguard. 29

Nest-egg.

Neptune's Bodyguard, subs, phr. (military"). — The Royal Marines. Also " The Little Grenadiers," " The Jollies," '• The Globe Rangers " and •• The Admiral's Regiment."

Nerve, subs. (old). — 1. See quot.

1753. Adventurer, No. 98. I am, in short, one of those heroic Adventurers, who have thought proper to distinguish themselves by the titles of Buck, Blood, and Nerve.

2. (common). — Impudence ; cheek.

1899. Critic, 21 Jan., 12, 2. How Messrs Gordon and Levett can have the nerve to refer to the evidence given at the Royal Commission on Money-lending in one sentence and in the other boldly proclaim that they charge from 60 to 108 per cent, per annum interest to borrowers, passes my comprehension.

N ervous-can E,subs. phr. (venery). —The penis (Urquhart). For synonyms, see Creamstick, Prick.

Nescio. To sport a nescio. verb, phr., 1823 (old University). —See quot.

£.1670. J. Hacket, Abp. Williams, ii., 94, 97 (1693) But as our Cambridge term is, he was staid with nescio's.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nescio. He sports a Nescio ; he pretends not to understand anything. After the senate-house examination for degrees, the students proceed to the schools to be questioned by the proctor. According to custom immemorial the answers must be Nescio. The following is a translated specimen: Q. What is your name ? A. I do not know. Q. What is the name of this University? A. I do not know. Q. Who was your father ? A. I do not know. The last is probably the only true answer of the three.

NEST, subs, (venery : American).—I. The female pudendum : also the nest in the bush : see

Monosyllable. Hence, to

have an egg in the nest = to be pregnant; nsst-hiding = illicit intercourse (attributed to Henry Ward Beecher) ; nest

hunting = grousing (u.V.) or

fornicating.

1782. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satirical, 124. Here's the nest in that bush, and the bird-nesting lover.

d. 1796. Burns, The Court of Equity, [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), iv., 234]. And yet, ye loon, ye still protest, Ye never herried Maggy's nest.

2. in pi. (thieves').—See quot.

1851-61. H. Mayhevv, London Lab., etc., i., 231. List of patterer's words. Nests —Varieties.

3. (colloquial).—A place : as of residence ; a centre : as of activity ; a gang : as of thieves.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, v., 3. Come from that nest of death.

1596. Spenser, Fairie Queene, iv., v., 32. They spied a little cottage, like some poor man's nest.

1604. Shakspeare, Winter's Tale, ii., 3. A nest of traitors.

1728. Bailey, Diet., Nest ... an Harbour for Thieves and Pirates.

1847. Tennyson, Princess, v., 416. We seem a nest of traitors—none to trust.

Verb. (old).—To defecate.

1670. Mod. Act. Scotland. Tonest upon the stairs.

See also Feather.

Nest-cock (Nescock or Nestle

cock), subs, (colloquial).—See quot. 1775.

1662. Fuller, Worthies, ii., 55. One . . . made a wanton or a nestle cock of.

1775. Ash, Diet., s.v. Nestcock (a Cant word). A tenderling, a fondling.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Nest-egg, subs, (colloquial).— Money saved ; a little hoard.

Nestling.

Nettle-bed.

Nestling, subs, (old: now recognised).—See quot. 1696.

C.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nestling, Canary-Birds brought up by Hand.

1728. Bailey, Diet., s.v.

TO keep a nestling, Verb, phr. (old).—See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nestling. What a Nestling you keep, how restless and uneasy you are.

Nestor, subs. (Winchester College).—An undersized boy.

Net. All is fish that comes to net, phr. (colloquial).—All serves the purpose. 1670. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 160,

s.v.

1830. Buckstone, Wreck Ashore, ii., 4. We are not on one of our Spanish Islands, where all's fish that comes to net.

Netgen, subs, (back-slang).— Half a sovereign : see Rhino [net = ten + gen (q.v.) = a. shilling]

Nether-end (or -eye), subs. (venery).—The female pudendum: see Monosyllable. Whence

nether-eye brows (whiskers

or lashes) = the pubic hair ; nether-lips = the labia majora ; nether-work = groping or copulation.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, Miller's Tale, 666 [Skeat (1895), 1., v., m). Thus swyved was the carpenteres wyf, For al his keping and his Ialousye ; and Absolon hath kist hir nether ye.

d. 1749. Robertson of Struan,Poems, 126. At th'upper End she Cracks her Nuts, While at the nether end her Honour.

Netherlands (The), subs. (venery).—A man's or woman's underparts.

Nettle, verb, (common). — To annoy ; to provoke ; to rile (q.v.); to needle (qv.). To

have pissed on a nettle —to

be peevish or out of temper ; nettled = (i) annoyed, and (2) afflicted (Amer. Matsell, 1859);

nettler = a spoil-temper (q.V.).

—B.E. (c. 1696Ï ; Grose (1785).

a. 1592. Greene, George a Greene, 397 [Grosart, Works (1886), xiv., 139]. There are few fellowes in our parish so netled with loue as I haue bene of late.

1625. Massinger, Parliament of Love, iii., 1. Nov. We have nettled him. Peri. Had we stung him to death, it were but justice.

1641. Milton, Animad. upon the Renions. Dep., etc. But these are the nettlers, these are the blabbing books that tell.

1767. Fawkes, Theocritus, Idyl 5. I've nettled somebody full sore.

1847. Tennyson, Princess, i., 161. I, tho' nettled that he seem'd to slur . . . Our formal compact.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., iii., 221. Of course he was nettled.

1895. Marriott-Watson [New Review, July 2]. As for that, I said, for I was nettled at his sneering.

Nettle in, dock out, phr. (old).—Fickleness of purpose ; thing after thing ; place after place.

1369. Chaucer, Troi. and Cres., v. Nettle in, dock out, now this, now that, Pandare ?

c. 1696, B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nettled. In dock, out nettle, upon the change of Places, when one is no sooner out, but another is in his Place.

Also see Rose.

Nettle-bed, subs, (children's).— See quot. : cf. Parsley-bed and Gooseberry-bush : see Monosyllable.

1875. Notes and Queries, 5 S., iii., ' Babies in Folk-lore.' In England every little girl knows that male babies come from the nettle-bed, and the female ones from the parsley-bed.

Nevele. 31 New-Chum.

Nevele, adj. (back-slang). — Eleven. Thus, nevele gen, eleven shillings ; nevele yanneps, elevenpence.

Never. Never(or -nare)-A

FACE-BUT-HIS-OWN, phr. (old).

—See quot.

c.1696, B. E., Diet. Cant. Crezu, s.v. Nare-a-face-but-his-own, Not a Penny in his Pocket.

Never-fear, subs. phr. (rhyming). —Beer: j^s Drinks and Swipes.

Never-never country, subs.phr. (Australian).—The confines of civilization : specifically (in Queensland) the occupied pastoral land furthest from the more settled districts.

1890. Nisbet Bail up ! An Australian hot wind in the great Never-never land.

1895. Pall Mall Gaz., 15 Aug. 3, 1. ' Yarns ' about traces of the party have often been told by bushmen from the Never-never country, but nothing has ever been recovered from the wide wastelands of the interior to back up the romantic stones.

2. (Australian).—The future life ; heaven.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, 2. I want to die and go with him to the Never-never country parson tells us about up there !

Never-out (The), subs, (venery). —The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Never-too-late-to-m end-shop,

subs. phr. (tailors').—A repairing tailor's.

Never-wag Man-of-war, subs, phr. (old).—The Fleet Prison : see Cage.

1821. Egan, Life in London, n., viii. Bob Logic . . . will be happy to see them in Freshwater Bay, on board the Never-wag man-of-war, on the homeward-bound station.

Never-waser, subs, (circus). — See quot.

1891. Sportsman, 1 April. He is one of the ' has beens ' or else one of the never wasers as Dan Rice, the circus man, always called ambitious counterfeits.

Nevis, adj. (back-slang).—Seven. Thus, nevis-gen = seven shillings ; nevis-stretch = seven year's hard ; nevis-yanneps = sevenpence.

New. To new collar and cuff verb. phr. (clerical).—To furbish up an old sermon.

New-Billingsgate, subs. phr. (Stock Exchange). —See Gorgon-Zola Hall.

1887. Atkin, House Scraps. Gorgonzola Hall got changed into New Billingsgate.

New-bug, subs. phr. (Marlborough School).—A new boy.

N ewcastle. To carry (or send) coals to Newcastle, verb. phr. (colloquial). — To undertake a work of supererogation ; see Owl. [Newcastle is a large coal centre].

1662. Arsy Versy, x. Stanza [Rump songs (1874), 11., 48]. So that their fewel upon him to spend, What was it but coals to Newcastle to send.

1670. Ray, Proverbs[ftonn],i$4, s.v.

1813. Bvron, Occasional Verses [Henley, Works, 1. 434]. When coals to Newcastle are carried, and owls sent to Athens as wonders.

New-Chum, subs. (Australian).—A new arrival : cf. Currency, Sterling and Lime-Juice.

1887. All t/ie Year Round, 30 July, 66. The new chum generally betrays his character by the newer cut of his clothes, the shape and brilliance of his hat . . . and by the topics of his conversation.

1S89. Star, 2 Jan. We quickly rolled up our blankets into swags, somewhat ' tokening ' of the new chum, and started on the road to Castlemaine.

Newcome. 32

Newgate.

Newcome, subs, (common).—A new arrival ; a fresh face : as a freshman at college ; a new midshipman ; a new baby. Alse Johnnie Newcome.

1821. Egan, Life in London, Nocturnal Hells. There were some newcomes. [The name given to any new faces or persons among the usual visitants in a gambling house].

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, etc., s.v. Newcome Johnny.

New-drop, subs. (old).—See quot.

1788. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. New drop. The scaffold used at Newgate for hanging criminals ; which dropping down, leaves them suspended. By this improvement, the use of that vulgar vehicle, a cart, is entirely left off.

New England ofthe WEST,subs.

phr. (American).—The State of Minnesota. [Many New Englanders settled there].

Newgate, subs. (old).—A gaol: specifically the prison for the City of London : see quots. 1592 and 1823. Also Newman's Hotel (or tea-gardens : man's (Old Cant.) = a place). Hence, Newgate-bird (or Newgate-nightingale = a thief, sharper, or gaol-bird ; Newgate (or Tyburn) collar, fringe, 01 FRlLL = a collar-like beard worn under the chin ; Newgate-frisk = a hanging ; Newgateknocker = a lock of hair like the figure 6, twisted from the temple back towards the ear (chiefly in vogue 1840-50 — see Aggerawators) ; Newgatering = moustache and beard as one, without whiskers ; Newgate-saint = a condemned criminal ; to dance the Newgate-hornpipe = to be hanged ; Newgate-solicitor = a pettifogging attorney ; Born on New

gate-steps = of thievish origin ; as black as Newgate = very black ; Newgate seize me = ' the gaol be my portion ' ; Newman's-lift = the gallows.

c.1531. Copland, Hyeway to Spyttelho us [Hazlitt, Pop. Poet, iv., 41]. By my fayth, nyghtyngales of Newgate : These be they that dayly walkes and jettes.

1592. Nash, Pierce Penilesse . . . Newgate ... a common name for all prisons as liomo is a common name for a man or woman.

159S. Shakspeare, i Henry IV., iii., 3. Must we all march ? Yes, two and two, Newgate fashion.

1607. Dekker, Jests [Grosart, Works (1886), ii., 343]. Our Newgatebird . . . spreading his Dragon-like wings, . . . beheld a thousand Synnes.

1677. Thomas Otway, Cheats of Scapin, i., 1. Newgate-bird . . . what a trick hast thou played me in my absence.

1732. Ozell, Miser, L, 3. Out of my House, thou sworn Master-Catpurse, true Newgate-bird.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. New m an's-hotel.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, etc., s.v. Newgate. A house of entertainment for rogues of ev^ry description. . . . The name itself hns been . . . naturalized in Dubliu, as also in Manchester, where the sessions-house is modernized into New Bailey. The old building . . . stood across the entrance to Newgate Street ; and probably had its name from . . . having been the newest of all the gates that then choked up ihe accesses to the metropolis. Ibid. Newgate Steps, figurative fora low or thievish origin. Before 1780, these steps . . . were much frequented by rogues and w—s connected with the inmates of that place : some might be said to have received their education there, if not their birth. Ibid. As black as Newgate is said of a street Lady's lowering countenance, or of her muslin-dress, when either is changed from the natural serene. Ibid. Newgate seize me if I do, there now ! is an asseveration of the most binding nature, when both parties may be following the same course of life.

1829. Maginn, The Pickpocket's Chaunt [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1S96), 105I, xiii. And we shall caper a-heel and toeing a Newgate hornpipe some fine day.

New Guinea. 33

Nezus.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lon. Lab., i., 36. As for the hair, they [coster-lads] say it ought to be long in front, and done in figure-six curls or twisted back to the ear, Newgate knocker style.

1867. Smyth, Word Book, 497, s.v. Newgate biro. The men sent on board

* ships from prisons ; but the term has also been immemorially used, as applied to some of the Dragon's men in the voyage of Sir Thomas Roe to Surat, 1615.

1868. Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, vi., vi. Two greasy locks of hair carefully twisted into limp curls . . . known to his poetically and figuratively-disposed friends as Newgate knockers.

1871. £A, n Dec. The greasy and begrimed wide-awake, which they wear pushed back, for the display of a philosopher's brow, and a Newgate knocker of ambitious dimensions and oleaginous rigidity.

1885. Com/till Mag., Sept., 259. Some of them beardless, others with a fringe of hair around their fares, such as the English call a Newgate frill.

188S. Daily News, 1 Dec. Visions of Bill Sykes, with threatening look and carefully-trained Newgate knockers, are almost inevitably suggested in the mind of the recipient.

1S92. Tit Bits, 19 March, 421, 2. The frill rounl the chin . . . called the Newgate frill, and the sweep's frill, would, I imagine, have made the Antinous, or the Apollo Belvedere, look undignified and slovenly.

Verb. (old).—To imprison.

1740. North, Exam., 258. Soon after this he was taken up and Newgated.

New Guinea, subs. phr. (Oxford Univ.).—See quot.

1S23. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. New Guinea. First possession of income.

NEW-hat, subs, (cheap-jacks').— See quot.

1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, 104. I'll lay you a new hat (i.e., a guinea).

New Jerusalem. See Cubitopolis.

Newland. See Abraham New

la.n'l).

New Light, subs. phr. (old).—1. See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. New Light. One of the New Light; a methodist ; [one] who attends the gaols to assist villains in evading justice.

2. (American thieves').—New money.—Matsell (1859).

Newmarket, subs, (tossing).—See quots. 1823 and 1842 : cf. Sudden Death.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, etc., s.v. Newmarket ; best two in three as a phrase is erroneous ; races are not decided there by the best in three, as prevails elsewhere.

1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop, xxxvi. He imparted to her the mystery of going the odd man or plain Newmarket for fruit, ginger-beer, baked potatoes, or even a modest quencher.

A1842. Maginn, Bob Burke's Duel. . . . Which is it to be—two out of three, as at Newmarket, or the first loss to decide? Sudden death, said I, and there will soon be an end of it.

Newmarket-heath commissioner, subs. phr. (old).—A highwayman ; a road-agent {.v.).

New pin. Smart (bright, neat,

or nice) as a new pin, phr. (colloquial). —First-class.

1S93. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xxii. One day when I came into the kitchen, there sat Jack looking as smart as a new pin.

New plates. See Plates.

News. Tell me news! phr. (colloquial).—A retort to a stale jest or chestnut (q.v.) ; usually preceded by ' that's ancient history ' : cf. Queen Anne.

New Settlements. 34

Nibble.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, i. Miss. Lord ! Mr. Neve rout, you are as pert as a Pearmonger this Morning. Neverout. Indeed, Miss, you are very handsome. Miss. Poh ! I know that already ; tei.l me news.

New Settlements, subs. phr. (old Oxford Univ.).—See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. New Settlements, Final reckoning.

Newtown-pippin,.rttfo. (common). —A cigar : see Weed.

Newy, subs. (Winchester College). —The ' cad ' paid to look after the canvas tent in ' Commoner ' field.

New York grab, subs. phr. (American).—

1858. W. W. Pratt, Ten Nights in a Bar-room, i., i. First throw, or New York grab?

N.F., subs, (printers').—A knowing tradesman. [An abbreviation of ' no flies '].

N.Q., phr. (common).—'No go'; ' no good ' ; of no avail.

1888. Cincinnatti Weekly Gazette, 22 Feb. His claim was n.g.

N.H. (That is,Norfolk Howard), subs. phr. (common).—A bug. [From one Bugg who, it is said, so changed his name in 1863].

Nias, subs. (old).—A simpleton. [From the Fr. niais'].

1616. Ben Jonson, The Devils an Ass, i., 3. Laugh'd at, sweet bird ! Is that the scruple? come, come, Thou art

a niaise.

Nib (or Nib-cove), subs, (beggars'). —i. A gentleman. Whence half-nibs = one who apes gentility (Fr. un herz) ; Niblike (or nibsome) = gentlemanly ; NibsoMEST-CRiBS = the best houses. —Vaux (1819) ; Grose (1823). Cf. Nibs.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, hi., v. He's a rank nib. Ibid. And ne'er was there seen such a dashing prig, . . . All my togs were so niblike.

1839. Reynolds, Pickwick A broaa, 223. Betray his pals in a nibsome game.

2. See Neb.

3. (printers').—A fool.

Verb. (old).—i. To catch ; to arrest; to nab (q.v.).—Vaux (1819) ; Goose (1823).

2. See Nibble.

Nibble, verb. (old).—1. To catch ; to steal. Also to cheat. Whence

nibbler (or nibbing-cull) =a

petty thief or fraudulent dealer : see quot., 1819.

1608. MiDDLETON, Trick to Catch the Old One, i., 4. The rogue has spied me now : he nibbled me finely once.

1775. Old Song LFarmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 54]. For nibbing culls I always hate.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Nibble, to pilfer trifling articles, not having spirit to touch anything of consequence.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, etc., s.v. Nibble. I only nibbled half a bull for my regulars [ = 1 only got a half-crown for my share]. There now I feel you nibbling : said by thieves when they are teaching each other to pick pockets.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nibbler. A pilferer, or petty thief.

1843. W. T. Moncrieff, The Scamps of London, iii., 1. You are spliced—nibbled at last—well, I wish you joy.

2. (venery).—To copulate. Also to do a nibble. See Greens and Ride.

3. (colloquial).—To consider a bargain,oran opportunity, eagerly but carefully : as a fish considers bait.

To get a nibble, verb. phr. (tailors').—To get an easy job.

Nibs.

35 Nicholas (Saint).

Nibs (or NABS),subs. (colloquial).— Self : his nibs = the person referred to; your nibs = yourself; my nibs = myself—' dis child.' Also= ' friend,' ' boy,' &c. in addressing a person. Also nibso. Cf. watch.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Your nabs, yourself; an emphatical term used in speaking to another person.

1821. D. Haggart, Life, ' Glossary,' p. 172, s.v.

1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab., iii. 136. He had nanti-vampo, and your nibs must fake it ; which means,—We have no clown, and you must do it.

1890. Punch, 22 Feb. So Robert, my nabs, it's no go.

1892. Sporting Times, 29 Oct. For out of his nibs I had taken a rise.

r893. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 23. That nicked 'er, my nibs.

1893. Chevalier, 'Our Little Nipper.' So in we goes, followed by 'is nibs.

nice, adj. and adv. (old : still colloquial).— 1. Simple; witless.

1297. Robert of Gloucester, 106. He was nyce and knowthe no wisdome.

1350. William of Paterne (E. E. T. S.), i.. 491. Now witterly ich am vn-wis wunderliche nyce.

1383. Chaucer, Wife of Bath's Tale, i., 82. But seye that we be wyse, and no-thing nyce.

1430. Ye Develis Perlament and Hymns to Virgin (E. E. T. S.), 54. Whi were thou so nyce to leete him go?

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Creiv, s.v. Nice. More nice than wise ; a Sir Courtly Nice, a silly, empty, gay, foolish Fellow.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v.

2. (old : still colloquial).—See quot., 1696. and cf. Swift's definition of a ' nice man 'as 'a man of nasty ideas.'

1543. Book of Precedence (E. E. T. S., extra series), i., 66. Be not to noyous, to nyce, ne to nefangle.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Creiv, s.v. Nice ; squeamish, precise.

1775. Sheridan, Rivals, ii., 2. Nay, Sir Lucius, I thought you wa'n't rich enough to be so nice.

1818. Greville, Memoirs, 15 Aug. I have seen her . . . much amused with jokes, stories, and allusions which would shock a very nice person.

1895. Iota, A Comedy in Spasms, i. Fine blend of Henry Fairchild, Pelham, and John Halifax, all nice books to think of in connection with boys.

3. (colloquial). — Pleasant ; agreeable : e.g., a nice woman or a nice fellow ; cf. the satirical extension : as in ' a nice young man for a small tea-party.'

Niche (or Niche-cock), subs. (venery). —The femalepudendum : see Monosyllable.

Nicholas (Saint), subs.phr. (old). —The devil : see Old Nick.

1822. Nares, Glossary, s.v. Nicholas, Saint. But a very different person was also jocularly called St. Nicholas, now converted into Old Nick; the same person whom Sir James Harrington has called saunte Satan, in his introduction to the Blacksaunt.

Saint Nicholas's Clerk, subs. phr. (old).—A highwayman. Also knight ok St. Nicholas, and St. Nicholas clergyman. [St. Nicholas was the patron saint of thieves].

1595. Shakspeare, Two Gent. Ver., iii., i. S. Come, fool, come try me in this paper. L. There, and St. Nicholas be thy speed.

t598. R. Harvey, Pl. Perc, i., A quarrel, by the highway side, between a brace of Saint Nicholas clakgie men.

i5q8. Shakspeare, / Henry IV. ii., i. G. Sirrah, if they meet not with saint Nicholas's clerks, I'll give thee this neck.

1598. Shakspeare, 1 Henry IV. ii., i. I prythee keep that for the hangman ; for I know thou worships't saint Nicholas as truly as a man of falsehood may.

Nick.

1611. Cotgrave, Didionarie, s.v. Compter. One of saint Nicholas clerks, or an arrant theefe.

1633. Rowley, Match at Midnight [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), vii., 353]. I think yonder come prancing down the hills from Kingston a couple of hur tother cozens saint Nicholas's clerks.

1662. Wilson, The Cheats, L I was t'other night upon the randan, and who should I meet with but our old gang, some of St. Nicholas' clerks'?

Nick, subs. (American).—1. A fivecent piece. [Abbreviation of • nickel '].

2. (venery).—The female pudendum. Also nick in the

notch. See Monosyllable.

c. 1720. Old Song [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), iii., 223]. And in the nick he seiz'd her, She trembled, blush'd, and hung her head.

1736. The Cupid, p. 129. So in the kick the Nymph was finely fitted.

«'.1749. Robertson of Struan, Poems, 1S6. And as one guides me to the nick, The other cries—Put up thy

1782. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satirycall, ' The Sentiment Song.' The nick makes the tail stand, the farrier's wife's mark !

3. See Old Nick.

4. (old).—A dent, or island, in the bottom of a beer can : cf. Kick. Hence nick and froth = (i) false measure; and (2) a publican.

.1529. Skelton, Elynour Rumtnynge. Our pots are full quarted, We were not thus thwarted With froth-canne and nick pot.

1612. Rowland, Knave of Hearts, 13. We must be tapsters running up and downe With cannes of beere (malt sod in fishes broth) Ami those they say are fil'd with nick and froth.

a. 1625. Fletcher, Poems, 133. From the nick and froth of a penny pothouse.

162S. Life of Robin Goodfellow. There was a tapster, that with his pots smalnesse, and with frothing of his drinke, had got a good summe of money together. This nicking of the pots he would never have.

166t. Poor Robin. All we know

of the matter is, that she [a conscientious

hostess] still continues the nick and f hot h trade as usual.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nickum. Nick and Froth built the Pye at Aldgate, sharping in the Reckonings and cheating in the measure built that (once) Noted House.

1822. Nares, Glossary, s.v. Nick. A deceptive bottom in a beer can, by which the customers were cheated, the nick below and the froth above filling up part of the measure.

5. (colloquial). — The exact or critical instant.

1594. Look About You [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), vii., 459]. Come they in the nick To hinder Reynard of his fox's trick?

1611. Barry, Ram Alley [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), x., 286]. I have a trick, To second this beginning, and in the nick To strike it dead.

1621. Beaumont and Fletcher,Pilgrim. Now ye have hit the nick.

1633. Ford, Love's Sacrifice, ii., 2. Most lit opportunity ! her grace comes just i' th' nick.

1655. Phillis of Scyros. And see when Nerea comes just in the nick.

1664. Wilson, Andronicus, v., i. Drama. Rest. (1874), i. 94. He catches at anything. This is our nick.

1708. Centlivre, Busie Body, ii., Sir Geo. Ads-heart, Madam, you won't leave me just in the nick, will you? Sir Fran. Ha, ha ha, She has nick'd you, Sir George, I think, Ha, ha, ha.

d.iyiô. South, Sermons, ix., ser. 4. God delivered them at the very nick of time.

1823. Bee, Did. Turf &*c., s.v. Nick. You are arrived in the nick of time, is addressed to one who comes in at the critical minute.

6. (gaming).—A winning throw at dice.

d.xjzi. Prior, Cupid and Ganymede. The usual trick, Seven, slur a six, eleven a nick.

Verb. (old).—I* To steal ; and (2) to cheat. Fr. rißer.

Nick.

1617. Fletciie:;, Mad Lover, \., r. You'men of wares, the men of wars will nick ye : For starve nor beg they must not.

1677. Wychekley, Plain Dealer, iii. Free. I ventured my last stake upon the squire to nick him of his mother.

1727. Gay, Beggars Opera, ii., 4. She rivetted a linen-draper's eye so fast upon her, that he was nick'd of three pieces of cambric before he could look off.

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, vu., xii. Thinks I to myself. I'll nick you there, old cull ; the devil a smack of your nonsense shall you ever get into me.

1752-1840. Darblay, Diary. I entirely depended upon it, and for four mornings was up at 7 o'clock and all the trouble and fatigue of washing face and hands quite clean, putting on clean linnen, a tidy gown and smug cap, and after all we were choused, for he nicked us entirely and never came at all.

1817. Scott, Rob Roy, iii. The polite and accomplished adventurer, who nicked you out of your money at White's.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, &c, s.v.

1834. Harrison Ainsworth, Rookwood, iv., ii. I nick the broads.

1869. Temple Bar, xxvi., 75. I bolted in and nicked a nice silver tea-pot.

1869. Echo, 9 Sept. ' Life of London Boys.' They climbed up there as they would climb anywhere—in at your window, over your hedges, where they would nick the taters, or apples, or onions, or anything else, and waste them in the kiln.

1871. Standard, 8 Sept. 'Bow St.' Shannon confessed that he himself was as big a thief as any one in London, and asked him (witness) to nick a watch, pledge it at Morris's, and give him (Shannon) the ticket, as he was determined to have Morris convicted.

1880. Punch's Almanack, 9. The Cad's Calendar. 'Ot July, just nicked a handy fiver.

1889. Sporting Times, 6 July. ' The Shah at Fleet St.' The well-known diamond aigrette and the celebrated emerald were also left behind, to the intense disgust of the staff, who had calculated on nicking out a few stones from the former.

1897. Ally Sloper's Half Holiday, 23 Oct., 342, 2. Even down to her Sunday stays, Which she calmly nicks from missus's box.

3. (old).—See quot.

1808. Jamieson, Diet., s.v. Nick. A cant word signifying, ' to drink heartily ; as, he nicks fine.'

4. (old).—To break windows with copper coins. Hence, nicker = a person addicted to the practice.

1712. Gay, Trivia, iii., 313. His scattered pence the flying nicker flings.

[17?] Martinus Scriblerus [Century], Your modern musicians want art to defend their windows from common nickers.

T714. Lucas, Gamesters, 203. Called by the nickers and sharpers little DickFisher.

1717. Prior, Alma, iii. Break watchmen's heads and chairmen's glasses, And thence proceed to nicking sashes.

1886. Braddon, Mohawks, ix. The Flying Post described how the nickers had broken all Mr. Topsparkle's windows with halfpence.

5. (old).—To fool.

1593. Shakspeare, Com. Errors, v., i. His man with sissors nicks him like a fool.

1682. Beaumont and Fletcher, Little Thiefs. Nick him home, thou knowest she dotes on thee.

6. (old).—To score at dice.— B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1598. Fi.orio, Worlde of Wördes, p. 280. To tye or nicke a caste at dice.

1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, ii., i. Thou art some debauch'd drunken, leud, hectoring, gaming companion, and want'st some Widow's old gold to nick upon.

^x773Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, iii. My old luck ; I never nicked seven that I did not throw ames ace three times following.

7. (old).—To hit the mark.— B. E. (c. 1696) : Grose (1785).

1690. Pagan Prince [Nares]. She nickt it, you'l say, exactly.

Nick.

1696. Aubrey, MisceL, 50. This dream . . made him get up very early ; he nicked the time, and met with the waggoner just at the very door, and asked him what he had in his cart.

1691-2. Gentlemen's Journal, Jan., p. 39. It seems he nick'd the critical moment.

1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 62. He conjur'd that Beldam to nick the opportunity.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom &* Jerry [Dick], p. 6. Tom. You've nicked it ; the fact is this, Dicky—you must turn missionary. Here is a young native from the country, just caught, whom you must civilize.

1831. C. Lamb, Satan in Search of a Wife, i., xii. ' I wish my Nicky is not in love'—'O mother, you have nicked it '—And he turn'd his head aside with a blush.

1883. Field, 21 Jan. The white [greyhound] nicked up on the inside for two or three wrenches.

1891. Sporting Life, 26 March. As he interfered with Innisheen, it perhaps saved an objection when the latter just nicked the verdict 6y the shortest of heads.

8. (old).—To nickname.

1634. Ford, Perkin Warbeck, iv., 3. Warbeck, as you nick him, came to me.

i689._ Princess of Cleve. Believe me, sir, in a little time you'll be nick'd the town-bull.

9. (old).—To catch ; to arrest.

1700. Cibber, Love Makes a Man, v., 3. Well, madam, you see I'm punctual —you've nick'd your man, faith.

1759. Town ley, High Life Below Stairs, ii., 1. _ You have just nicked them in the very minute.

d.iSzj. Holm an, Abroad and at Home, ii., 3. He had nicked his man, and accosted me accordingly. We lost one another in the crowd, and he departed in his error.

1835. SelbY; Catching an Heiress, i. I've nicked it !

1836. Makryat, Japhet, Ivii. That is the other fellow who attacked me, and ran away. He has come to get off his accomplice, and now we've just nicked them both.

1841. Lytton, Night and Morning, 11., iv. I must be off—tempus fugit, and I must arrive just in time to nick the vessels. Shall get to Ostend or Rotterdam, safe and snug ; thence to Paris.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xvii. I found my way back to Vestminster, got palled in with a lot more boys, done^a bit of gonoffing or anything to get some posh, but it got too hot, all my pals got nicked, and I chucked it and done a bit of costering and that's how I lost my eye.

1896. Farjeon, Betray, of John Fordham, in. 279. Louis had plenty of money to sport ; e'd been backin' winners. Maxwell 'ad been nicked the other way through backin' losers.

10. (common).—To compare or jump with.

1887. Bury and Hii.lier, Cycling, 227. Only one sport nicks with cycling.

11. (old).—To indent a beer can ; to falsify a measure by indenting and frothing up.

1628. Life of Robin Goodfellotv [Halliwell]. There was a tapster, that with his pots smallnesse, and with frothing of his drinke, had got a good somme of money together. This nicking of his pots he would never leave.

ci636. London Chanticleers, Sc. 5. The sleights of nicking and frothing he scorns as too common.

12 (venery).—To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

To nick the pin, verb. phr. (old).—To drink fairly.—B. E. (c. 1696).

To knock a nick in the

post, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.

1847. Halliwell, Archaic Prov. Words, s.v. Nick. To knock a nick in the post, i.e., to make a record of any remarkable event. This is evidently an ancient method of recording.

Out ok au. nick, adv. phr. (old).—Past counting.

1595. Shakspeare, Two Gent., iv., 2. I tell you what Launce, his man, told me, he lov d her out of all nick.

Nickel.

39 Nickname.

Out on the nick, phr. (thieves').—Out thieving; on the pinch (q.v.).

To nick with nay, verb, phr. (old).—To deny.

1350. William of Paterne, (e. e. t. S.), 4145. Zif sehe nickes with nay & nel nouzt com sone.

[?]. Romance of Athelstone. On her knees they kneleden adoun, And prayden hym off hysbenysoun:he nykkyd

hem with nay.

1820. Scott, Abbot, xxxviii. As I have but one boon to ask, I trust you will not nick me with nay.

Nicks. See Nix.

Nickel, subs. (American).—A fivecent piece.

1857. New York Herald, 17 May. The new cent creates quite a furor. It is a neat, handy coin, and will soon supplant the cumbersome copper one. ' Nary red ' will soon be an obsolete phrase among the boys, and ' nary nickel' will take its place.

Nicker, subs. (old).—A dandy

(q.v.).

Nickerers, subs. pi. (Scots').—'A cant term for new shoes.'— Jamieson (1808).

Nickeries, subs.pl. (old).—'Nickeries are the same [as Nicknames] applied to actions and things, or quid pro quo.''—Bee (1823).

Nickey. See NiKiN and Old Nick.

Nick-nack, subs, (old : now recognised).—i. A trifle; a toy; a curio. Also knick-knack. See Knack. sense2. Hence.NicK-nackatory,

nick-NACKERYand nick-nacky.

—Grose (1785).

1580. G. Harvey, Txvo Other Letters, âfc, in Wks. (Grosart), i., 80. Jugling castes and knickknackes, in comparison of these.

i6r8. Beaumont and Fletcher, Loyal Subject, ii., 1. But if ye use these knick-knacks, This fast and loose, with faithful men and honest, You'l be the first will find it.

.1682. T. Brown, in Works (1760), ii., 15. For my part, I keep a knick

nackatory Or toy-shop.

1726. Terrce Filius, No. 34, ii., 183. I went with two or three friends, who were members of the University, to the museum, vulgarly called the mck-nackatory.

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, viii., x. Besides the extraordinary neatness of the room, it was adorned with a great number of nicknacks, and curiosities, which might have engaged the attention of a virtuoso.

1753. Richardson, Grandison, v., 71 (ed. 1812). I know he has judgement in nick-knackatories, and even as much as I wish him in what is called taste.

1790. Morison, Poems, 458. And in the kist, twa webs of wholsesome claith ; Some ither nick nacks, sic as pot and pan, Cogues, caps, and spoons, I at a raffle wan.

1824. Miss Ferrier, Inheritance, i., 86. His dressing-room is a perfect show, so neat and nick-nacky.

1849. Lytton, Caxtons, 1., iv. One of those fancy stationers common in country towns, and who sell all kinds of pretty toys and nick-nacks.

1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, 7. Chimney ornaments and her sideboard nick-nackery on the Pembroke table.

2 (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

3. in (venery).—The testes ; cods (q.v.).

Nickname, .r;/^. (old: now recognised).—A name invented in derision, contempt, or reproach. [M. E. an ekename = an agnomen]. —Grose (1785) Bee (1823).

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xvi. A very go^d name it [Job] is ; only one I know that aint got a nickname to it.

Verb, (colloquial).—To miscall in contempt, derision, or reproach.

Nigger-luck.

Nick-ninny, subs. phr. (old).—A flat-catcher.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

Nick-pot, subs. (old).—Astealerof publican's pots.

1602. Rowlands, Greenes Ghost, 22. A necessarie caveat for victuallers and nick-hots.

NlCKUM, subs. (old).—See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nicku.m. A sharper ; also a Rooking Ale-house or Innkeeper, Vintner, or any Retailer.

Nickumpoop. See Nincumpoop.

NiDDlCOCK, subs. (old).—A fool.

1587. Holinshed, Disc, of Ireland, G. 3, col. i a. They were never such fond ntddicockes as to offer any man a rodde to beate their owne tayles.

1654. Gayton, Festivous Notes, p. 61. Oh, Chrysostome, thou . . . deservest to be stak'd as well as buried in the open fields, for being such a goose, widgeon, and niddecock, to dye for love. Ibid. Shee was just such another niddecook as Joan Gutierez.

Niddipol, subs. (old).—A fool.

1583. Stanvhurst, Vigil : ALneid, iv., no. What niddipol hare brayne.

N IDG et. See NiGiT.

Niece, subs, (common).—A priest's illegitimate daughter, or concubine : whence the expression, ' No more character than a priest's

niece.'

1848. Ruxton, Life in tlte Far West, p. 145. They were probably his

nieces.

Niffnaffy, adj. (old).—Fastidious; trifling.—Grose (1785).

1815. Scott, Guy Mamicring, xliv. Niff-naffy gentles that gae sae muckle fast wi' their fancies.

Nifty, adj. (American).—Conspicuous : smart.

1869. S. L. Clemens ('Mark Twain'), Tlte Innocents at Home, ii. He was always nifty himself, and so you bet his funeral ain't going to be no slouch.

Nig, subs, in pi. (old).—1. The clippings of money. Also nig, verb. = lo clip money. — B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

2. (American).—A negro. [Abbreviation of ' nigger ']. See Snowball.

1809. Harper's Mag., Ixxviii., 248. Some of the little nigs have no clothes at all.

3. (back-slang). — Gin. See Drinks and White Satin.

Verb. (old).—1. To catch. See Nab and Nick.

1754. Scoundrels Diet. Tho' he tips them the Pikes they nig him again.

2. (venery).—See Niggle.

3. (American). — To revoke : at cards. Also re-nig.

Nigger. Nigger in the fence, subs. phr. (American). —An underhand design, motive, or purpose.

Nigger-baby, subs. phr. (American Civil War).—A monster projectile : as used at the siege of Charleston. [Attributed to General Hardie of the Confederate Army]. See Swamp Angel.

Nigger-driving, subs, (colloquial). —Exhausting with work.

1880. G. R. Sims, Three Brass Balls, Pledge xiv. In the worst days of American slavery never was there such nigger-driving as that practised systematically by the wholesale drapery trade.

Nigger-luck, subs. phr. (American).—Very good fortune.

1888. The Critic, 14 Ap. I am cussed, he howled to a crowd of his own stripe, if any darned rebel can have such nigger luck and enjoy it while I live. You can bet I'll soon settle that.

Nigger-spit.

Night.

Nigger-spit, subs. phr. (popular). —The half-candied lumps in cane sugar.

Niggle (or Nig), verb. (old).—1. See quots., Greens and Ride. Also Niggling, subs. = Copulation.— B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1567. Hakman, Caveat (1814), p. 66. To NYGLE, to have to do with a woman carnally.

1608. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candlelight [Grosart, Works (1886), iii., 203]. If we niggle, or mill abowzing Ken.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 39 (H. Club's Rcpt. 1874). Nigling, company keeping with a woman : this word is not used now, but mapping, and thereof comes the name wapping morts, Whoores.

1612. Dekker, 'Bing out, bien Morts,' v. [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), n). And wapping Dell that niggles well, and takes loure for her hire.

1641. Brome, Jovial Crew [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 25]. The autum-mort finds better sport In bowsing than in nigling.

2. (common).—To trifle. Also Niggling = trifling. — Grose

(I785)

1632. Massinger, Emperor of the East, v., 3. Take heed, daughter, You niggle not with your conscience.

3. (artists').—To attend excessively to detail ; to work on a small scale, with a small brush, to a small purpose.

1883. W. Black, Yolande, ch. xlix. Do you think Mr. Meteyard could get that portrait of you finished off to-day? Bless my soul, it wasn't to have been a portrait at all !—it was only to have been a sketch. And he has kept on niggling and niggling away at it—why ?

Night, subs. (old).—Combinations are Night-bird {q.v.) ; nightcap (q.v.); night-fossicker (Australian mining) = a nocturnal thief of quartz or dust : whence

night-fossicking ; nightgear (or -piece) —a. bedfellow, male or female ; night-hawk ( -hunter, -snap, or -trader)

= night-bird (q.V.) ; nighthouse = (1) a public-house licensed to open at night, and (2) a brpthel ; night-hunter = (i) a poacher, and (2) a

night-bird (q.V.) ; night-jury

= a band of night brawlers :

night-magistrate =(l) the

head of a watch-house, whence (2) a constable; night-man = see quot., 1785, and goldfinder ; night-physic (or -work) = copulation : nightrale (or -rail) = (1) night apparel, and (2) a combing

Cloth ; night-shade = nightbird, 2 {q.V.) ; night-sneaker

— see quot., 1598 ; night-walker = night-bird {q.v ). whence night-walking = prowling at night for robbery, prostitution, etc.

1598, Florio, Worlde of Wördes, p. 105. Wanton or effeminate lads, night

sneakers.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Hen. IV., iii., 2. Shalloxv. And is Jane Nightvvork alive ? . . . She was a bona-roba . . . certain she's old, and had Robin Nightwork by old Nightwork before I came to Clement's Inn.

b. 1600. Grim the Collier [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), viii., 463]. Except my poor Joan here, and she is my own proper night-gear.

1632. Massingeb, Maid of Honour, ii., 2. Which of your grooms, Your coachman, fool, or footman, ministers night-physic to you ?

1637. Massinger, Guardian, iii., 5. Now I think I had ever a lucky hand in such smock night-work.

1639. Mayne, City Match, v., 7. Panders, avoid my house ! O devil ! are you my wife's night-pieces.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v., Night-rale. a woman's combing cloth, to dress her head in. Ibid. Nightmagistrate.

Night-and-day.

Night-cap.

172S. New Cant. Diet., s.v. Nightmagistrate.

1785. Grose, Fut. Tongue, s.v. Nightman, one whose business it is to empty necessary houses in London, which is always done in the night, the operation is called a wedding. Ibid. Night-magistrate.

1835. Dickens, SketcJies by Boz, i. The night-houses are closed.

TO make a night OF IT.verb, phr. (common).—To spend the night in drinking, whoring, gaming, etc.

Night-and-day, subs.phr. (rhyming)-—The play.

Night-bird (cap, -hawk, -hunter,-poacher,-snap, -trader, or -walker), subs. (old).— i. A thief working by night.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; New Cant. Did.

(1725).

1544. Ascham, Toxophilus. Men that hunt so be privy stealers, or night walkers.

1620. Beaumont and Fletcher, C/iances, ii. 1. Sure these fellows Were night snaps. Ibid. The Night walker, or the Little 7V«V[Title].

1623. Webster, DucJiess 0/ Malfi, ii., i. If you hear the common people curse you, be sure you are taken for one of the prime night-caps.

1637. Massinger, Guardian, v., 2. Ador. You have been, Before your lady gave you entertainment, A night-W'ALKer in the streets. Mirt. How, my good lord ! Ador. Traded in picking pockets.

c.1819. Old Song [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 83]. A night bird oft I'm in the cage.

2. (old).—A harlot. Also night-piece (or -shade) : see Night.—B. E. (:. 1696); New Cant. Diet. (1725).

1612. Beaumont and Fletcher, Coxcomb, ii., 2. Here comes a nightshade.

1630. Massinger, Picture, i., 2. All kinds of females, from the night-trader, in the street.

e.1707. Durfey, Pills to Purge, iii., 99. Now Miss turn night-walkek.

3. (common). — A bully ; a street brawler. Also (in bands), night-jury.

1664. Etherege, Comical Revenge, iv., 2. Grace. Do you take me for a night-walker, Sir?

1693. Congreve, Old Batchelor, i., 5. The knight was alone, and had fallen into the hands of some nightwalkers, who, I suppose, would have pillaged him.

1708. Hatton, New View 0/London [quoted in Ashton's Soc. Life in Reign of Q. Anne], vii., 238. Loose and disorderly Servants, Night-walkers, Strumpets, etc.

4. (old).—Abellman ; a watchman.—B. E. {c. 1696) ; New Caul. Did. (1725).

Night-cap, subs, (common).—1. The last drink ; a dodger (q.v.).

1840. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 3rd S., xi. Suppose we have brandy cocktail, it's as 'bout as good a night-cap as I know on.

1843. Moncrieff, Tlte Scamps of London, i., 2. You've had your nightcap, a little daffy.

1S43. Handley Cross, xxiv. Mr. Jorrocks celebrated the event with ... a night-cap of the usual beverage.

1883. Greenwood, ' Seaside Insanity ' in Odd People in Odd Places, p. 51. Who would begrudge them their pilfered repast, or the stiff glass of gin or brandy and water on which their parents and the maid-of-a!l-work regale after supper, and by way of a nightcap.

2. (old).—The cap pulled over the face before execution. See Horse's night-cap.

1681. Dialogue on Oxford Parliament [Harl. MSS., 11., 125]. He better deserves to go up Holbowrn in a wooden chariot and have a horse night-cap put on at the further end.

Nightingale.

Nim.

1851-61. Mayuew, Lon. Lab., &*c., iii., 153. I always come on to that scene with a white night-cap and a halter on my arm.

1884. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, iv., g. [Three Plavs, 62]. The gallows . . . How's a man to die with a night-cap on.

3. (old).—Sec Night-bird.

4. (common). — A wife : see Dutch.

Nightingale, subs, (military). —i. See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nightingale. A soldier who, as the term is, sings out at the halberts. It is a point of honour in some regiments, among the grenadiers never to cry out, or become nightingales, whilst under the discipline of the cat of nine tails ; to avoid which, they chew a bullet.

2. (common).—A prostitute. See Barrack-hack and Tart.

3. See Spithead, Cambridgeshire, and Arcadian¹Nightingale.

Night-liner, subs. phr. (American).—A night-walking cab: cf. Owl-train.

Nighty (or Nightie), stibs. (colloquial).—A night-dress.

Nigit (or Nidget), subs. (old).—A fool. See Buffle, and Cabbage-head.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725) ; Bailey (1728) ; Matsell (1859).

(/.1623. Camden, Works [Johnson]. There was one true English word of greater force than them all, now out of all use ; it signifieth no more than abject, base-minded, false-hearted, coward, or nidget.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nigit, a fool, seemingly a corruption and contraction of the words an idiot.

1867. Smyth, Sailors' Word-book, 497, s.v. Nidget. A coward. A term used in old times for those who refused 10 join the royal standard.

Nigler (or Niggler), subs. (old).— i. A clipper of money ; a sweater (q.v.). See Nig.— B. E. (1696) ; Grose (1785).

2. (venery). — A practical amorist : cf. niggle, sense 1 ; a performer (q.v.).

1659. Lady Alimony, ii., 5. This was a bold-faced niggler.

3. (old).—See quot.

1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nigler. One who is clever and dextrous.

NlHlL-AD-rem, adj. phr. (Winchester College).—-Vague ; unconscious : e.g., ' He sported nihil-ad-rem duck.'

NlKlN, subs. (old).—See quots.

1725. Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nikin. A Natural, or very soft creature ; also Isaac.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nickin, nikey or nizey.

Nil, adj. (common).—Half; half profits, etc.

Nilly-willy, adv. (old).—Ni 1.1. ye, will ye, whether you will or no. [A familiar version of the Latin, nolens-volens, Generally written now, willynilly].

Nim, verb (old).—To seize, take, or steal ; to nab (q.v.). [A. S., niman = to take]. Whence nimmer = a thief, and nimming = theft, robbery.

1350. Will, of P. [E. E. T. S.,51, 1364]. How William went to here foos, & dede deliuerly nym the duk.

1369. Chaucer, Troilus, i., 242. Men reden not that folk han gretter wittu Than they that han ben most with love ynome.

[?]. Harl. MS., 1701, f. 44. Goddes aungeles the soule nam And bare hyt ynto the bosum of Abraham.

Nim.

Nimrod.

(?]. MS. Trin. Coli. Oxon., 57. Nym, he seyde, this thief Faste in alle wyse, And wyn of him the tresour, And make him do sarrifyse.

1586. The Booke of Hunting[quoted by H alliweli.]. Then boldly dIow the prize thereat, Your play for to nime or ye come in.

c. 1600-62. Common Cries of London [Collier, Roxburglie Ballads (1847), 213]. And some there be . . . That pinch the countryman With nimming of a fee.

1606. John Day, lie of Güls, iii., p. 67. As I led him to his Chamber I nimde his Chayne and drew his Purse, and next morning perswaded him he lost it in the great Chamber at the Reuels.

1608. Penniles Pari, in Harl. Misc. (eil. Park), l, 182. To the great impoverishing of all nimmers, lifters, and cutpurses.

1634. T. ToMKis (?), Albumazar, iii., 7. Met you with Ronca? 'tis the cunning'st nimmer Of the whole company of Cut-Purse Hall.

1637. Massinger, Guardian, v., 2. I am not good at nimming.

1640. Rawlins, The Rebellion, iii. If our hell afford a devil, but I see none, unless he appear in a delicious remnant of nim'd satin.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, 1., i., 598. Examine Venus, and the Moon, VVho stole a thimble or a spoon . . . They'l question Mars, and by his look Detect who 'twas that nimm'd a Cloke.

1664. Butler, Hud., 11., iii., 209. Bookers, Lilly's, Sarah fimmers And Blank-Schemes to dis-cover Nimmers.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nim. Nim a togeman—to steal a cloak. Nim a cloak, To cut off the buttons in a crowd, or whip it off a man's shoulders.

d. 1704. Lestkange, Works [Johnson], They could not keep themselves honest of their fingers, but would be nimming something or other for the love of thieving.

1727. Gay, Beggar's Opera, ii., 2. I must now step home, for I expect the gentleman about this snuff-box that Filch Nim med two nights ago in the park.

1728. Bailey, Eng. Diet., s.v. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. 1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, &>c, s.v.

1831. C. L\MH,HerculesPacipicatus, in Englishman's Mag. And whatsoe'er they nimm'd, she hid it.

1836. Smith, The Individual, 'The Thieves' Chaunt,' 5. But because she lately nimm'd some tin, They have sent her to lodge at the King's Head Inn.

nimble, adj. (colloquial).—Easygot ; quickly ' turned-over ' : of money. Cf. Ninepence.

1898. Le Queux, Scribes andPliarisees, viii. The baronet was not very wealthy, and allowed his name to appear as director of certain companies, and pocketed fees ranging from the nimble half-sovereign to the crisp and respectable five-pound note.

Nimble as a cat on a hot

bakestone (or hot bricks),

phr. (common).—As nimble as may be ; in a hurry to get away ; alert ; on the qui-vive. Also as

nimble as an eel in a sandbag, as a new-gelt dog, as a bee in a tar-barrel, as a cow in a cage, or as ninei'ence.—

Ray (1676). NiMENOG, subs.(old). —A fool. Also

nigmenog.—B. E. (1696).

Niivigimmer, subs. (old).—6'^quot —Grose (1785 and 1823).

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nim-gimmer. A Doctor, Surgeon, Apothecary or any one that cures a Clap or the Pox.

Nimrod, subs, (colloquial).—1. A hunting-man ; a sportsman.

1599. Hakluyt, Voyages, 11., i., 309. These mighty Nimrods fled, some into holes and some into mountaines.

1765. Blackstone, Comm., iv., 416. The game laws have raised a little Nimrod in every parish.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v.

1887. Athemrum, 13 Aug., 208, 1. To the former (old sportsmen) he will recall events almost forgotten concerning the Nimrods of a past generation.

2. subs, (venery).—The penis. [Because ' a mighty hunter']. See Creamstick and Prick.

Nimshi.

Nines.

NlMSHI, suis. (American).—A nincompoop ; a conceited fellow.— De Vere (1872).

NlMSHOD, suis, (common).—A cat.

Nincompoop (or nickumpoop),

suis, (common).—An impotent ass.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725).

1673. Shadwell, Epsom Wells, 11., in Wks. (1720), ii., 217. Yes, you nicompoop ! you are a pretty fellow to please a woman indeed !

1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, ii. Wid. Thou senseless, impertinent, quibbling, drivelling, feeble, paralytic,

nincompoop !

1706. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, i., x., p. 9. Thus did the sundry Female Troops, Conducted by their nincompoops, In scatt'ring Numbers, jostling meet.

1764. Foote, Mayor of Garratt, i. I come, lovy. Trot, nincompoop.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nickumpoop, or nincumpoop, one who never saw his wife's

1821. Scott, Kenilworth, xi. Wayland Smith expressed . . . his utter scorn for a nincompoop who stuck his head under his wife's apron-string.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf â^c, s.v. NlNCUM-poop, a term of derision, applied by a young lass to her lover, who presses not his suit with vigour enough.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ii., 367. Ackland would have called him a snob, and Buckland a nincoompoop.

1855. Punch's Almanack, ' A Farmer's opinion of Conscience Money.' Wha-at ? send more income payments oop? You think I bees an inxoompoop?

1883. Greenwood, Odd People, 101. His behaviour is that of the most consummate NiNCOM, that ever was led with an apron-string.

Nine. Nine Tailors make a man. See Ninth.

Nine-bob-square, adv. (obsolete). —Out of shape.

Nine corns, suis. phr. (obsolete). —A pipeful of tobacco.

Nine-eyed, adj. (old).—Observant.

1694. Plautus made English, Pref. A damnable, prying, nine ey'd witch.

Ninepence, suis, (common). — The female pudendum : see Monosyllable. [An echo, on a liberal display of leg or underclothing, of the old alliterative retort, " Up to the Knees and ninepence,"] Cf. Money.

Neat (nice, or right) as ninepence, phr. (common).— All right ; correct to a nicety. Also cj. alliterative proverb, ' A nimble ninepence is better than a slow shilling']. Cf. Nimble.

1850. F. E. Smedley, Frank Fairlegh, li. Well, let her say ' no ' as if she meant it, said Lawless ; women can, if they like, eh ? and then it will all be as right as ninepence.

1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, i., ix. And with you and me leaning back inside, as grand as ninepence !

1882. Daily Telegraph, 7 Oct., 3, 1. When asked how he was getting on . . . he replied that he was ' right as ninepence, 'cepting a bit of rheumatism in his left shoulder.'

1884. T. Ashe, in Temple Bar, August, 525. The trick of alliteration is often useful to give point to old proverbs. In such familiar sayings as ' fine as fivepence,' nice as ninepence, ' to lie by the legend,' its importance is most curious.

1886. R. A. King, in Household Words, 19 June, 147. She . . . sent her children, neat as ninepence, to school and church on Sunday.

Ninepins, suis, (common).—Life in general.

1879. Sims, Dagonet Ballads, ' Told to the Missionary.' It's a cold I caught last year, as has tumbled my ninepins over, and lef me a-dyin' here.

Nines. Up to the nines, phr. (common).—To perfection.

d.jygô. Burns (attributed to), Pastoral Poetry. Thou paints auld nature to the nines In thy sweet Caledonian lines.

Nine-shillings. 46

Ninny.

1820. London Mag-., i., 25. He was always togged out to the nines.

1821. Galt, Ayrshire Legatees, viii. He's such a funny man, and touches off the Londoners to the nines.

1822. Wilson, Noctes Ambrosiana; i., 315. That young chiel Gibb hits off a simple scene o' nature to the nines.

1856. Reade, Never too Late, lxv. Bran-new, polished to the nine.

1879. Howells, Lady of the Aroostook, xxvii. I'd know as I see anything wrong in his kind of dressin' up to the nines, as you may say. As long's he's got the money, I don't see what harm it is.

1891. Gould, Double Event, 31. You do things up to the nines here.

Nine-shillings, subs. phr. (rhyming). —Nonchalance.

Nine-spot. Only a nine-spot, phr. (American).—Indifferent ; of small account. [The nine at cards rarely counts for a trick].

Nine-tail bruiser (or mouser),

subs. phr. (prison).—The cat-o'nine-tails.

Nineways. To look nine ways

(or nine ways for sundays),

verb. phr. (common).—To squint.

1542. Udall, Apoplh. of Erasmus, 203 (Note). Squyntyied he was and looked

nyne wayes.

Nine winks, subs. phr. (old).—A short nap: cf. forty-winks.— Bee (1823).

Ningle. See Ingle.

Ning-nang, subs, (veterinary).—A worthless thoroughbred.

Ninny, subs. (old).—1. Afool: see Buffle and Cabbage-head. Also ninny-hammer, and hence

ninny-hammering = foolish

ness.—B. E. (c. 1696); New Cant. Diet. (1725) ; Grose (1785).

1593. Nashe, Strange Newes, in Works, ii., 253. Whoreson ninihammer, that wilt assault a man and have no stronger weapons.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, Fagnone ... an idle loytring gull, a

n in nie.

1606. Marston, The Fatvne, ii., i. A foole? Acoxecombe? A ninny-hammer?

1604. Yorkshire Trag., i., 2. Why the more fool she ; Ay, the more ninnyhammer she.

1609. Shakspeare, Tempest, iii., 2. What a pied ninny's this.

1609. Field, Woman is a Weathercock [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), xi., 24]. My father is a ninny ; and my mother was a hammer.

1698-1700. London Spy, vu. (1706), i., 154. You cuckoldy company of Whissling, Pedlin», Lying, Over-reaching ninny-hammers.

1712. Arbuthnot, History of John Bull, l, xii. Have you no more manners than to rail at my husband, that has saved that clod-pated, numskulled, ninnyhammer of yours from ruin ?

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, ii., 2. A Senator some say He made his dapple grey For his Italian Neigh A crackbrain'd ninny.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v.

1753. Adventurer, No. 25. The words ninny-hammer, noodle, and nurascull, are frequently bandied to and fro betwixt them.

1763. Foote, Mayor of Garratt, ii., 2. This whey-faced ninny, who is but the ninth part of a man.

1811. Jane Austin, Sense and Sensibility, xl. The Colonel is a ninny, my dear ; because he has two thousand a-year himself, he thinks that nobody else can marry on less.

1838. Comic Almanack [Hotten], p. 159. We're not such ninnies as to stand in all this riot.

1847. Lytton, Lucretia, 11., ii. If she's a good girl, and loves you, she'll not let you spend your money on her. I haint such a ninny as that, said Beck, with majestic contempt.

Ninny-broth. 47

Nip.

1882. H. W. Lucy, in Harper's Mag., April, 747. Any bore or ninnyhammer who cared to invest a penny in a postage stamp could draw from the great man a post-card written in the well-known handwriting.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger s Szveetheart, 64. Who would have thought the old duffer such a ninny?

2. (Old Cant). — A whining beggar.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725); Dyche (1748).

NlNNY-BROTH, subs. (old).—See quot., 1696.

1696. Poor Robin [Nakes], How to make coffee, alias ninny broth.

1698-1700. Ward, London Spy, 1. (1706), i., 15. Being half choak'd with the Steem that arose from their Sootcolour'd ninny-broth, their stinking Breaths, and suffocating Fumes.

1708. Hudibras Redivivus, pt. 1. Their wounded consciences they heal With ninny-broth, o'er which they seek Some new religion ev'ry week.

Ninth. Ninth (or tenth*) part of a man, subs. phr. (common). A tailor. See Snip. [From the proverb ' Nine tailors make a man ' : whence Queen Elizabeth's traditional address to a deputation of eighteen tailors :—' God save you, gentlemen both.']

[*There exists literary usage for this form. Unfortunately, however, the quotation, which ante-dated the first authority infra by fifty years or more, has been mislaid, and memory, though judicially certain as to its existence, fails as regards the reference.—J. S. F.]

1763. Foote, Mayor of Garratt, ii., 30. A journeyman taylor . . . This crossleg'd cabbage-eating son of a cucumber, this whey-fae'd ninny, who is but the ninth part of a man.

1767. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 135. Nine tailors make but one man.

1838. Desmond, Stage Struck, 1. The most savage of hoaxes ! instead of gallanting a goddess to our shores, I had the felicity to usher from the boat the ninth part of a man.

NlP, subs, (colloquial). — 1. A pinch.

2. (old).—A thief : specifically a cut-purse.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1592. Grf.ene, Third Part Connycatching, in Works, x., 174. Away goes the young nip with the purse he got so easily.

1608. Dekker, Belman of London, in Wks. (Grosart), iii., 154. He that cuts the purse is called the nip . . . The knife is called a cuttle-bung. Ibid., Sig. H. 3. They allot such countries to this band of foists, such townes to those, and such a city to so many nips.

1611. Middleton, Roaring Girle [Dodsley, Old Plays, vi., 113]. One of them is a nip, I took him in the twopenny gallery at the Fortune. Ibid., vi., 115. Of cheaters, lifters, nips, foists, puggards, curbers, With ah the devil's black guard.

1658. Honest Ghost, p. 23t. Pimps, nips, and tints, prinados, highway slanders, All which were my familiars.

3. (colloquial).—[a) See quot. 1808 : hence (b) a sip ; a small drink ; a go (q.v.). Also nipper.

1606. Rollock, on 2 Thes. 140. If thou hast not laboured . . . looke that thou put not a nip in thy mouth. Ibid., 150. The Lord vouchsafes not a nip on them unless they worke.

1788. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nyp or Nip. A half pint, a nip of ale ; whence the nipperkin, a small vessel. Ibid, nyp-shop. The Peacock, in Gray'sInn-lane, where Burton ale is sold in

nyps.

1808. Jamieson, Diet., s.v. Nip. A small quantity of spirits ; as a nip of whiskey.—generally half a glass. Ibid. A small bit of anything, as much as is nipped or broken off between the finger and thumb.

1848. Lowell, Blgbnu Papers [Bartlett]. Then it waz, ' Mister Sawin, sir, you're middlin' well now, be ye? Step up an' take a nipper, sir ; I'm dreffle glad to see ye.'

Nip.

1853. Harper's Mag., May. One of our Western villages passed an ordinance forbidding taverns to sell liquor on the Sabbath to any persons except travellers. The next Sunday every man in town, who wanted a nip, was seen walking around with a valise in one hand and two carpetbags in the other.

1861. James Conway, Forays Among Salmon and Deer, 71. Having discussed a Scotch breakfast . . . preceded by a nip of bitters as a provocative of the appetite.

1868. Collins, Moonstone, 1., 15. Mrs. Yolland . . . gave him his nip.

1873. Black, Princess of Thüle, xxiii. Young Eyre took a nip of whiskey.

1888. Runciman, The Chequers, 86. The missus '11 fetch me some corrfee, and, hear you, put a nip o' that booze in.

4. (old).—A hit ; a taunt.

1556. Heywood, Spider and File [Nares]. Wherwith, thought the Aie, I have geven him a nvp.

1567. Edwards, Damon &* Pithias [Dodsley, Old Plays (1876), iv., 27]. From their nips shall I never be free?

1581. Lyly, Euphues, D 3 b. Euphues, though he perceived her coie nip, seemed not to care for it.

1589. Puttenham, Art of Eng. Poesie, 43. The manner of Poesie by which they vttered their bitter taunts and priuy nips.

Verb, (colloquial). — 1. To pinch. See quot. 1696.

[16 ?]. Little John and the Four Beggars, 49 [Child, Ballads, v. 327]. John nipped the dumb, and made him to rore.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nip. To Press between the Fingers and Thumb without the Nails, or with any broad Instrument like a pair of Tongs as to squeeze between Edged Instruments or Pincers.

1859. Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien, 200. _ May this hard earth cleave to the Nadir hell, Down, down, and close again and nip me flat.

1886. Greely, Arctic Service, 73. The launch . . was nipped between two floes of last year's growth.

1887. Henley, Villon's Straight Tip to all Cross Coves [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 177]. It's up the spout and Charley-wag With wipes and tickers and what not. Until the squeezer nips your scrag, Booze and the blowens cop the lot.

2. (old).—To steal : specifically, to cut a purse.

1567. Edwards, Damon 6° Pithias [Dodsley, Old Plays, 1. (1874), iv., 19]. I go into the city some knaves to nip For talk, with their goods to increase the kings treasure.

1573. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 66. To nyp a boung, to cut a purse.

1592. Greene, Third Part Connycatching, in Works, x., 157. Oft this crew of mates met together, and said there was no hope of nipping the boung [purse] because he held open his gowne so wide, and walked in such an open place.

1600. Sir John Oldcastle, v., 2. Be lusty, my lass ; come, for Lancashire : we must nip the bung for these crowns.

1608. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candlelight [Grosart, Works (188 .), iiL, 203]. Or nip a boung that has but a win.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Markall, p. 39 (H. Club's Rept. 1874). To nip a Ian, to cut a purse.

1620. Descr. of Love [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 15]. Then in a throng, I nip his bung.

c. 1636. London Chanticleers, Sc. i. I mean to be as perfect a pick pocket, as good as ever nipped the judge's bung while he was condemning him.

</. 1658. Cleveland, Works [Nares]. Take him thus and he is in the inquisition of the purse an authentick gypsie, that nips your bung with a canting ordinance ; not a murthered fortune in all the country, but bleeds at the touch of this malefactor.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

1712. Shirley, Triumph of Wit, ' The Black Procession,' 4. If a cull he does meet, He nips all his cole.

1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 13. Nip, to pick.

1736. Ramsay, Scotch Proverbs, 87 [Jamieson]. Yet was set off frae the oon for nipping the pyes.

1740. Poor Robin. Meanwhile the cut-purse in the throng, Hath a fair means to nvp a bung.

Nip.

Nip-lug.

1768. Ross, Helenore, 126. Frae yohr ain uncle's gate was nipt awa' That bonny bairn, 'twas thought by Junky Fa.

3. (common).—To go. To Nil' along = to move with speed ; to nip in = to slip in, etc.

1885. Daily Telegraph, 2 Jan., 2, 2. I nipped out of bed.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 66. Managed to nip in first-class.

1892. F. Anstey, Voces Populi, ' At the Tudor Exhibition.' Jove—my Aunt ! Nip out before she spots me.

4. (common).—To take a dram.

1888. Rolf Boldrëwood, Robbery Under Arms, xxiv. You never saw a man look so scared as the passenger on the box-seat, a stout, jolly commercial, who'd been giving the coachman Havana cigars, and yarning and nipping with him at every house they passed.

1896. The Lancet, No. 3452, 863. In the homes alike of rich and poor the women have learned the fatal habit of nipping, and slowly but surely become confirmed dipsomaniacs.

5. (old).—See quot., nip, verb., sense 1, nip-cheese, and niplouse.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nip. To pinch or sharp anything.

6. (old).—To taunt ; to wring.

1599. Stowe, Hist. Lond., 55. There were some, which on the other side, with epigrams and rymes, nipping and gripping their fellowes.

1581. Riche, Farewell. These cogitations did so nippe him, that he could not so well dissemble his grief.

7. (thieves').—To arrest ; to

pinch ((/.V.).

1851-61. Mayhew, Lon. Lab., iii., 147. They'd follow you about, and keep on nipping a fellow.

Nip and tuck, adv. phr. (common).—Touch and go ; neck and neck; equality or thereabouts. Also nip and tack, nip and chuck, &c.

1847. Porter, Quarter Race, &■»£., 17. It will be like the old bitch and the rabbit, nip and tack every jump.

1869. Putnam's Mag., Jan. It was nip and tuck all along, who was to win her.

18 88. Detroit Free Press, 20 Oct. We had some pretty running. It was nip and tuck. We kept about an equal distance apart.

To nip IN the bud, verb, phr. (old : now recognised).— See quot.

c.i696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nip. To nip in the hud. Of an early Blast or Blite of Fruit ; also to crusb anything at the beginning.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v.

Nip-cheese, subs. (old).—i. A miser. Also Nip-squeeze and Nip-farthing.—Grose (1785).

1566. Drant, Horace, Sat. 1. I would thee not a nip-farthing, Nor yet a niggard have.

2. (nautical).—See quots. 1785, 1842, and 1867.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nip Cheese, a nickname for the purser of a ship, from those gentlemen being supposed sometimes to nip, or diminish the allowance of the seamen, in that and every other article.

1834. Marryat, Jacob Faithful, xx. (1873), 156. It's some of old Nipcheese's eights, that he has sent on shore to bowse his jib up with, with his sweetheart.

1842. Marryat, Percival Kerne, xiii. ' That's a nipcheese.' ' Nipcheese ! ' ' Yes ; nipcheese means purser of the ship.'

1867. Smyth, Sailors' Word Book, 477, s.v. Nipcheese. The sailors' name for a purser.

Nip-louse, subs, (common).—A tailor. Also pricklouse. See Snip.

k "»-lug, subs. (Scots').—A teacher ; a schoolmaster.

Nippent.

50 Nipping Christian.

At Nip-lug, adv.phr. (Scots'). —At loggerheads ; on the point of collision.

NlPPENT, adj. (American).—Impudent.

Nipper, subs, (common).—1, Alad.

1S51-61. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 37. Such lads, however, are the smallest class of costermongering youths ; and are sometimes called ' cas'alty boys,' or nippers.

1888. Runciman, Chequers, 54. They calls it a stream, but I dussn't say wot I thinks it is afore the nipper.

1888. Referee, 11 Nov. Other nippers—the little shrimps of boys—were sometimes the best part of an hour at a stretch, from the time they left till they returned to the paddock to weigh in.

1892. Chevalier, Idler, June, p. 549. I've got a little nipper, when 'e talks I'll lay yer forty shiners to a quid You'll take 'im for the father, me the kid.

2. (old thieves').—See quot. I785.

1659. John Day, Mind Beggar, 1., 3, p. 21. Had. Your nipper, your foyst, your rogue, your cheat, your pander, your any vile thing that may be.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nypper, a cut purse, so called by one Wotton, who in the year 1585, kept an academy for the education and perfection of pick-pockets and cut purses ; his school was near Billinsgate, London. As in the dress of ancient times many people wore their purses at their girdles, cutting them was a branch of the light fingered art, which is now lost, though the name remains . . there was a school house set up to learn young boys to cut purses : two devices were hung up, one was a pocket, and another was a purse, the pocket had in it certain counters, and was hung about with hawks bells, and over the top did hang a little sacring bell. The purse had silver in it, and he that could take out a counter, without noise of any of the bells, was adjudged a judicial nypper, according to their terms of art ; a foyster was a pickpocket ; a nypper was a pick purse, or cut purse.

3. (nawys').—The serving lad attached to a gang of navvies, to fetch water and carry tools.

4. in//, (thieves').—Handcuffs or shackles.— Haggart (1821); Grose (1823) ; Matsell (1859).

5. in (thieves').—A burglar's instrument used from the outside on a key. Also American tweezers.

6. (Marlborough School).—A boy or ¹ cad.'

Verb (old).—To arrest; to catch. See Nab, and Nip.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, âr'c, s.v. Nippered. What d'ye think? My eyes, if Bill Soames warnt nippered only for a fogle little better than a wipe ; and he was there upon transported.

1824. Egan, Boxiana, iv., 150. The Pope being nippered and brought to face the Beak.

NiPPERKlN, subs. (old).—A small measure : see quot. 1696 ; a stone jug

e.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nipperkin. Haifa pint of Wine, and but half a Quartern of Brandy, strong waters, &c.

1608-1700. Ward, Lond. Spy, 11. (1706), i., 31. By that time we had sip'd off our nipperkin of my Grannums Aqua Mirabilis.

1707. Durfey, Pills to Purge . . . Quart-pot, pint-pot, nipperkin, &c.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1832. Nodes Ambrosianœ, Sept. William III., who only snoozed over a nipperkin of Schiedam with a few Dutch favourites.

1882. J. Ashton, Social Life in Reign of Q. Anne, i., 197. [Beer] was of different qualities, from the ' penny Nipperkin of Molassas Ale ' to ' a pint of Ale cost me five-pence.'

Nipping, adj. (old).—Sharp ; cutting.—B. E. (V. 1696).

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, i. 4. It is a nipping and an eager air.

Nipping Christian, subs. phr. (old).—A cut-purse : see Nipper, sense 2.

Nipping-jig.

Nix.

Nipping-jig, subs. (old).—Hanging.

NlPPlTATE, subs, and adj. (Old Cant).—Strong drink, especially ale. Also nippitato and nippitatum.

c.1575. Laneham, Lettir [Nares]. And ever quited himself with such estimation, az yet too tast of a cup of nippit ati, hiz judgement will be taken above the best in the parish, be hiz nose near so read.

1583. Stubbes, Anat. of Abuses [Nares]. Then when this nippitatum, this huffe cappe, as they call it, this nectar of life, is set abroach, well is he that can get the soonest to it, and spend the most upon it.

1592. Nashe, Summer's Last Will [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), viii., 60]. Never cap of Nipitaty in London come near thy niggardly habitation.

1593. Harvey, Pierce's Supererogation. The Nipitaty of the nappiest grape.

1594. Look About You [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), vii., 445]. He was here to-day, Sir, And emptied two bottles of nippitate sack.

1600. Oliffe, Weakest Goes to Wall, B. 2. Well fare England, where the poore may have a pot of ale for a penny, fresh ale, firme ale, nappie ale, nippitate ale.

1611. Beaumont and Fletcher, Knight of Burning Pestle, iv. R. Lady, 'tis true, you need not lay your lips To better nippitato than there is.

1654. Chapman, Alphonsus, iii., 1. 'Twill make a cup of wine taste nippitate.

1891. Fennell, Stanford Diet., s.v. Nippitatum, quasi-ï^sx. ; nippitato, quasi-It. . . . possibly connected with the Eng. vb. nip,=Du. nippen, 'to take a dram.'

Nipps, subs. (old).—Shears for clipping money.—B. E. (c. 1696): Grose (1785).

Nippy, subs, (children's). — The penis: see Creamstick and Prick.

Adj. (common). — Mean ; stingy ; curt ; snappish.

NiPSHOT. To play nipshot, verb, phr. (old).—To fail ; to decamp : see Absquatulate and Skedaddle.

1775. Baillie, Letters, ii., 198. Our great hope on earth, the City of London has played nipshot ; they are speaking of dissolving the assembly.

Nique, subs. (American thieves'). —Contemptuous indifference.— Matsell (1859).

Nisey. See Nizey.

Nit, subs. (old).—1. See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nit. Wine that is brisk, and pour'd quick into a glass.

2. (old : now recognised).— The egg of a louse.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; New Cant. Dict.{\']2^).

1598. Florio, Worlde of Words (1611). Zeiche neets in the eie lids. Also tikes that breed in dogs.

1698-1700. Ward, London Spy, i. (1706), i., 12. [He] has as many Maggots in his Noddle, as there are . . . Nits in a Mumpers Doublet.

3. (Scots').—A wanton : see Barrack-hack and Tart Qamieson].

Nits will become lice, phr. (old).—See quot.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v. Nits will become lice ; of small matters that become important.

Nit-squeezer, subs, (common).— A hair-dresser.—Grose (1788).

Nix (or nicks), adv. (common).— Nothing. Also nix my doll, and (American), nixy and nixycully. Synonyms. Ack (Christ's Hospital) ; love ; nib, niberque, niberte, nif, nisce, nix (French) ; niba, niberto (Italian) ; nexo (Spanish).

1789. Geo. Parker, Life's Painter, p. 143. Nicks. How they have brought a German word into cant I know not, but nicks means nothing'vx the cant language.

Niz-priz.

No.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v.

1824. Egan, Boxiana, iv., 444. Men who can be backed for large stakes do seldom fight for nix (comically called ' love ').

1852. Old Song, ' The Cadger's Ball ' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 147]. Old Mother Swankey, she consented to lend her lodging-house for nix.

1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, hi., i, p. 254. Do you see all this land? said he . . . well, the grandfather of this here Lord Southwark got it for nix.

1887. Henley, Villon's Straight Tip, 3. For nix, for nix the dibbs you bag.

1892. Ally Sloper, 19 Mar., 90, 3. When death of Uncle John bereft us, We said we mourned because he'd left us ; Our mourning was a lot profounder To find he'd left us nix—the bounder !

2. (American).—See quot.

1885. IV. S. Official P.O. Guide, Jan., 685. Nixes is a term used in the railway mail service to denote matter of domestic origin, chiefly of the second and first class, which is unmailable because addressed to places which are not postoffices, or to States, etc., in which there is no such post-office as that indicated in the address.

Intj. (common).—See quot.

1883. Indoor Paupers, 45. So the thing goes on until some one on the watch cries, ' Nix lads, buttons."—the warning that the taskmaster is at hand.

Nix my doll, phr. (common). —Never mind ! [Popularised by Ainsworth's song]. Also (Vaux) = nothing. 1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood . . . . And my old dad, as I've heard say, Was a famous merchant in capers gay ; Nix my dolly, pals, fake away !

1846. Punch Almanack, ' Song of September' (after Ainsworth) . . What ho ! my gun, my gallant boys, September's always jolly ; I love the sportsman's pleasant noise Yoicks ! Forward ! Nix my dolly.

Niz-priz, subs. (legal).—A writ of nisi-prius.

NizzlE, subs. (old).—I. A fool : see Buffle and Cabbagehead. Also nikin.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Coles (1724).

1755Johnson, Eng. Dict.,_ s.v. Ni'zy [from niais]. A dunce ; a simpleton. A low word.

£.1755. Anon [quoted by Johnson]. True critics laugh, and bid the trifling nisy Go read Quintilian.

2. (old).—A coxcomb.—b. e. (c. 1696).

No. No battle, phr. (printers'). —No good ; not worth while.

No chicken, phr. (common). Getting on in years : usually of women.

1889. Drage, Cyril, iv. I dont think that Miss Vera is any chicken.

No end, adv. phr. (colloquial). —Extremely ; a great many. A general intensive.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, xiii. (1864), 141. The black and yellow seems to slip along so fast. They're no end of good colours. I wish our new boat was black.

1863. Reade, Hard Cash, 1. 325. They drifted past a Revenue Cutter, who was lying to with her head to the Northward. She howled no end of signals, but they understood none of them.

1876. Grant, One of the Six Hundred, xiv. We were beset by London Jews and army contractors, and I had, as the phrase goes, no end of unsuspected things to provide.

No fear. See Fear.

No-flies, adv. (printers').— Artful; designing.Also N.F. (q.v.)

No fool, adv. phr. (common).

—An ironical intensive : cf. no slouch.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xix. It was thirty feet nigh—no fool of a drop.

No.

Nob.

No go, adv. phr. (common). —No use ; impossible. Fr. zut ! and (a ne mord pas.

1830. Moncrieff, Heart of London, i. i. I'm much obliged to you : it's no go.

1836. Marryat, Midshipman Easy, xix. But it's no go with old Smallsole, if I want a bit of caulk.

1848. Ruxton, Life in Far West, 146. Outside is no go.

1852. Notes and Queries, 17 Jan. Ser.

1. v. 55. My publisher coolly answered that it was no go.

1871. Daily News, 17 April, p. 2. col.

2. How many beyond those mentioned in the foregoing remarks have been backed in earnest, I should not like to say ; and it strikes me that it is a case of no go with Autocrat, Sarsfield ....

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, viii. Well, I tried to get some banjo pupils—no go ; no testimonials.

1896. Farjeon, Betray. John Fordliam, m.,281. But it was no go; them as gathered round wouldn't part.

No kid, adv. phr. (common). —No mistake.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xx. I was knocked silly and taken to the same 'orspital, and when I woke I was in bed, my boko all plastered up like a broken arm, and a gal in a white hat and blue dress a-waiting on me—a real lady, no kid.

No moss, phr. (tailors').— No animosity.

No name, no pull, phr. (tailors').—If I name no names there can be no libel = if I do not mention his name he cannot take offence, unless he likes to apply the remarks to himself.

No odds, adv. phr. (colloquial). —No matter ; of no consequence.

1855. Dickens, Little Dorrit, 1. ch. xix. 'How vexatious, Chivery?' asked the benignant father. ' No odds,' returned Mr. Chivery. ' Never mind.'

No repairs. See Repairs.

Noah's ark, subs, (common).—1. A long closely-buttoned overcoat. [A coinage of Punch : from a similarity to the wooden figures in a toy ark.]

2. (nautical).—See quot.

1867. Smyth, Sailors' Word-book, 498, s.v. Noah's Ark, Certain clouds elliptically parted, considered a sign of fine weather after rain.

3. (rhyming slang).—A lark (q.v.).

1887. Sims, Referee, Nov. 7. Tottie She cried, What a Noah's Ark.

Noakes. See John o' Noakes.

Nob, subs, (common).—1. The head : see Crumpet.—B. E. (c 1696); Grose (1785).

1733. Kane O'Hara, Tom Thumb, i. 4. Do pop up your nob again, And egad I'll crack your crown.

1782. Parker, Humorous Sketches, 155. Here no despotic power shews oppression's haughty nob.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib's Mem., p. 23. With daddies high uprais'd, and nob held back, In awful prescience of th' impending thwack.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, etc., s.v. Nob. ' Josh paid his respects pretty plentifully to the Yokel's nob. ' His noh was pinked all over,' i.e. marked in sundry places.

1834. Dowling, Othello Travestie, i. 3. A thought has crossed my nob.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick Papers (¹857), 360. Leave off rattlin' that 'ere nob o' yourn, if you don't want it to come off the springs alltogether, said Sam impatiently, and behave reasonable.

1840. Barham, Ingoldsby Leg. (Black Mousquetaire). Whom I once saw receive, such a thump on the nob From a fist which might almost an elephant brain.

1845. Punch, ix. 9. Getting the nob into chancery is a fine achievement, I once got several nobs into chancery ; and I certainly gave several of them severe punishment.

Nob.

1S51-61. Mayhew, London Lab., i. 341. These he would engage at a boh a

nob.

1856. Punch, xxx. 241. Mary Ann's Notions. Vulgar, dear. You might as well have written one for his nob—you meant it.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 40. Why shouldn't her stage trotter-out take his perks too at so much a nob.

2. (common). — A person of rank or position. [From Nobility : cf. Mob, Fr. mobile vulgus\ Hence to come the nob = to put on airs.—Grose (1823). See Dandy.

1703. English Spy, 255. Be unto him ever ready to promote his wishes, whether for spree or sport, in term and out of term . . . against dun or don—nob or big-wig—so may you never want a bumper of bishop.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Nob. A . . . nob . . . differs from swell, inasmuch as the latter makes a show of his finery ; whereas the nob, relying upon intrinsic worth, or bona-fide property, or intellectual ability, is clad in plainness.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick Papers, (ed. 1857), 12. ' Wait a minute,' said the stranger, ' fun presently—nobs not come yet—queer place. Dock-yard people of upper rank don't know Dock-yard people of lower rank—small gentry don't know tradespeople—Commissioner don't know any body.'

1840-45. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (1862), 70. No I no !—The Abbey may do very well For a feudal nob, or poetical ' swell.'

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, vii. The high principle that Nature's nobs felt with Nature' nobs.

1849. Thackeray, Hoggarty Diamond, iv. He was at the West End on Thursday, asked to dine, ma'am, with the tip-top nobs.

1S51-61. Mayhew, Lon. Lab., 11., 56. I may observe that the nobs is a common designation for the rich among these sporting people.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, 11., 58. Sherrick loa. Capital house, Mr. Newcome, wasn t it ? I counted no less than fourteen nobs.

1863. Reade, Hard Cash, i., 228. Once more, [1846 Railway Mania] ... a motley crew of peers and printers, etc. . . . ; in a word, of nobs and snobs, fought and scrambled pell mell for the popular paper ; and all to get rich in a day.

1870. Figaro, 18 July. Is itmore cruel for a snob to shoot a sea-bird in the breeding season than it is for a nob to shoot pigeons in the breeding season, thereby starving all their young ?

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xli. He was introduced to all the

nobs.

1892. Anstey, Voces Populi, ' In the Mall on Drawing Room Day,' p. 84. All I was goin' to see was a set o' blanky nobs shut up in their blankdash kerridges.

3. (Oxford University).—See quot.

1825. The English Spy, i. 136. We must find you some more tractable personage ; some good-humoured nob.*

[Note. * A fellow of a college].

4. (workmen's). — A KNOBSTICK (q.v.).

5. (old).—The game of pricker cheat-) the-garter.

1754. Disc&veries of John Poulter, 10. We got about three pounds from a butterman at the Belt or nobb.

6. (old). —A sovereign ; 20s.

Verb, (pugilists'). — I. To strike ; to get home a blow (specifically on the head) : cf. nobber.

1821. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 5. Tom. I've nobb'd him on the canister.

2. (showmen's).—To collect money ; to take round the hat. Fr. faire la manche.

1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab., in., 145. When we go about the streets with tumblers ... we also nob or gather the money.

1890. Spare Moments, 23 Aug. A good nobber or collector—always a very gentlemanly fellow—is worth every penny of his share for nobbing alone.

Nob-a-nob. 55 Nobble.

1803. Emerson, Signor Lippo, vi. At' Chichester we opened up opposite the George Hotel, and I nobbed half a sovereign from a young visitor, besides a lot of small money.

Nob in the fur trade, subs, phr. (old).—A judge.

c. 1838. Reynolds, Pickwick Abroad, ' The Housebreaker's Song.' Let nobs in the fur trade hold their jaw.

To nob it, verb. phr. (old).— See quot.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Nob it. To act with such prudence and knowledge of the world, as to prosper and become independent without any labour or bodily exertion ; this is termed nobbing it, or fighting nob work. To effect any purpose or obtain anything by means of good judgment and sagacity, is called nobbing it for such a thing.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan],

s.v.

One for his nob, subs. phr. (pugilists').—i. A blow on the head.

2. (gamesters').—A point in cribbage for holding the knave of trumps. Cf. Two for his heels.

i?88. Notes and Queries, 7th S. v., 28th April, 340. The old name of cribbage was 'noddy.' 'Noddy,' being the name for the knave, has been contracted into nob. As nob=head, the antagonism of ' heels ' is obvious.

To Pitch the Nob. See Prick-the-garter.

Nob-a-NOB.—See Hob-nob (q.v.). Probably a corruption.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood (ed. 1864), 192. We must have a nou-a-nob glass together, for old acquaintance sake.

Nobba, adj. (common). — Nine [Italian, Nove ; Spanish, Nova ; the b and v being interchangeable, as in safe and sawey].

Nobber, subs, (pugilists').—See Nob, sense 1.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 40. For, though, all know, that flashy spark From C—st—r—gh received a nobber.

2. (showmen's).—See quots.

1890. Echo, 30 Oct. Nobber is beach slang for financial agent, and indicates the gentleman who goes round with the plate or box. Great care is always bestowed upon the selection of the nobber. He is really the most important member of the troupe, and must be an artist of the first water if he is to get any money . . . Only a nobber can know the extraordinary meanness of the British public, the reluctant way in which it doles out its coppers, and its refusal to donate silver on any terms.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, vi. I have often met honourable nobbers since like the poller, that poor honest artiste, who was far too honourable to allow any slur to be cast upon his character.

Nobbily,o^'. (common).—Showily; smartly : cf. nobby.

Nobbing,subs, (pugilists').—1. The administration of blows on the head.

1825. Jones, True Bottomed Boxer [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 92]. With flipping and milling, and fobbing and nobbing.

2. in pi. (showmen's).—Money collected : see Nobber.

1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lond. Poor, in. 118. After him i began my performance, and he went round for the nobbings.

Nobbing-cheat, subs. (old).—See Nubbing-cheat.

Nobbing-slum, subs. phr. (showmen's).—The bag for collecting money : see Nobber, sense 2.

Nobble, verb, (pugilists').—i. To strike on the head ; to stun.

2. (racing).—See quot. 1882 ; To get at(?.z>.).

Nobble. 56 Nobbier.

1868. Pall Mall Gaz., 4 May. Buccaneer underwent the same fate as Old Calabar, and was nobbled, i.e. maimed purposely, before the Two Thousand in which he was engaged, and this rascally proceeding drove Lord Portsmouth, from the turf in disgust.

1882. Saturday Review, 25 Mar. In the elegant dialect of sporting novelists to nobble is a stronger term for to ' get at ' a horse, or his owner or his jockey, and to ' get at ' means secretly to frustrate, spoil, lame, dose, drug, or otherwise prevent the horse from 'doing his level best,' or for that matter his best across hurdles, or in a steeple-chase.

1888. Gould, Double Event, 145. Found out who tried to nobble the horse?

1892. Evening Standard, 11 May, 4, 4. A very sensible suggestion has been made with reference to the nobbling of horses. It is extremely improbable that there would be any attempt to injure a horse except for the purpose of winning bets of one sort or another about him.

3. (common).—To circumvent ; to cheat ; to do (q.v.) ; to square (q.v.).

1877. Greenwood, Dick Temple [Slang, J. S* C.]. There's a fiver in the puss, and nine good quid. Have it. Nobble him, lads, and share it betwixt you.

1883. Punch, 2 June, 264, 1. Never have anything to do with the Turf. They are all scamps alike, and would sell their own fathers to gain their ends. But if you can't resist it, like me, there's only one chance for you, and that is, to nobble the jockey !

1886. Fortnightly Rev., xxxtx. 136. It was never certain whether he was going to nobble the Tories, or square the Radicals.

1890. Grant Allen, The Tents of Shent, xii. I've nobbled her, he thought to himself, with a triumphant smile.

1896. Sala, London up to Date, 67. The proposers and seconders of the various candidates have warily ranged themselves on guard .... and remain there hour after hour, skilfully nobbling members as they enter.

4. (common).—To appropriate ; to catch ; to NAB (q.v.).

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xxv. I don't know out of how much the reverend party has nobbled his poor old sister at Brighton.

i860. Thackeray, Philip, xvi. The old chap has nobbled the young fellow's money, almost every shilling of it, I hear.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xi. We're bound to be nobbled some day.

Nobbler, subs, (pugilists'). — I. A blow on the head ; and 2 (common), a finishing stroke ; a settler (q.v.). In rod-fishing = the gaff (.that kills).

i8['?]. Sir Harry Pottinger, Trout Fishing: Then after one alarming flurry On the top of the water, my left hand slips the landing-net under him and his final struggles are shortly ended with a single tap of the nobbler.

3. (sharpers').—A confederate of thimble-riggers and card-sharpers ; bonnet (q.V.) ; bearer up (q.v) ; also : nob pitcher. [The nobbler plays as if a stranger to the rig (q.v.), to draw unsuspecting persons into play.]

1854. Whyte-Melville, General Bounce, vii. Nohblers and noblemen— grooms and gentlemen—betting-house keepers and cavalry officers—apparently all layers and no takers.

1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, 261. In my young days there used to travel about in gangs, like men of business, a lot of people called nobblers, who used to work the ' thimble and pea rig ' and go buzzing, that is, picking pockets, assisted by some small boys.

4. (North country).—A pettifogging lawyer.

5. (Australian).—A drink : a go (g.v.) ; specifically of spirits.

1759. Fowler, Southern Lights ana Shadows, p. 53. To pay for liquor for another is to 'stand,' or to 'shout,' or to ' sacrifice.' The measure is called a nobbler, or a break-down.

1S59. Kingsley, Geojffrey Hamlyn xxxi. I had two nobblers of brandy and one of Old Tom.

Nobble-tree. 57 Nob-thatcher.

i860. Cliambers J I. xiii. 154. On the/banks of the winding but now streamless creeks, . . . there was generally a solitary inn or squatter's hut, where the universal nobbler of brandy and a snack of food were to be procured.

1870. Amphion, in Baily's Mag:, xix. 172. Who hit his leg for Spite or for pelf, Was it the nobbler, or Was it himself?

1873. Braddon, To the Bitter End, xliv. He had eaten nothing since yesterday, but he did not get through these dismal hours of suspense without an occasional nobbler.

1881. Grant, Bush Life, 1. 243. He must drink a nobbler with Tom, and be prepared to ' shout ' for all hands at least once a day.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, iii. We used to make it a point of drinking our nobbler, and sometimes treating the others twice, if we had cash.

Nobble-tree, subs, phr. (provincial).—The head ; the nob (q.v.).

Nobby, subs, (provincial).—A fool. See Buffle and Cabbage-head.

Adj. (colloquial).—1. Smart ; elegant ; fashionable. Also nobbish, nobbily, and nabby.

1808. Jamieson, Diet. Scot. Lang., s.v. Nobby. Neat, trim, well dressed ; hence applied to a person who dresses above his position.

c.1810. Broadside Ballad . . . And all the coves said, what around did stan', That he were a werry nobby dog's meat man.

1844. Selby, London by Night, ii. i. My togs being in keeping with this nobby place.

1847. Albert Smith, Nat. Hist, of the Gent, x. 67. He would think that he was not nobby if he did not have some wretched champagne.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, liv. The nobbiest way of keeping it quiet.

d. 1870. Dickens, Our English Watering-Place, in Reprinted Pieces, 167. So far from being at a discount as to company, we are in fact what would be popularly called rather a nobby place. Some tip-top NoisBS come down occasionally— even Dukes and Duchesses.

18Q7. Sporting Tunes, 13 Mar. 1. i. Who says a go o' nobby whelks ?

Noble. To bring a noble to nine-pence, verb. phr. (old).— To decline in fortune.—B. E. (c. 1696).

1725. N. Bailey tr. Erasmus, Colloquies, i. 348. En. Have you given over study then ! Po. Altogether ; I have brought a noble to ninepence, and of a master of seven arts I am become a workman of but one art.

See Beggar's Noble.

Noble Art, subs. phr. (common). —Pugilism ; boxing.

Nob-pitch er, subs. (old).—See quot. 1819, and Nob, sense 3.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Nobpitchers : A general term for those sharpers who attend at fairs, races, etc. To take in the flats at prick-in-the-garter, cups and balls, and other similar artifices.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan],

s.v.

Nobs-houses, subs. phr. (old).— The Houses of Parliament.—Bee (1823).

Nob's-NOB, subs.phr. (old).—King George IV.—Bee (1823).

Nob-stick.—See Knobstick.

Nob-thatch, subs, (common).— The hair.

1865. Yates, Land at Last, vii. You look, tho' you've got a paucity of nob-thatch, and what 'air you 'ave is gray.

Nob-thatcher, subs. phr. (common).—A wig-maker ; a strummel-faker (q.v.). Also a strawbonnet maker.—Grose (1823).

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i. 5. Now you can make an assignation with some of our dashing straw-chippers and nub-thatchers in Burlington Arcade.

Nob-work. 58

Nod.

Nob-work, subs, (common). — Mental occupation.

Nockanoro (or Nock), subs. (old). —I. The posteriors ; THE bum (q.v.). [Nock = notch + Gr. andros = a man].—grose (1785); Nares (1822).

1632. Cotgrave, Did., s.v. Cul. An arse, bumme, tayle, nockandro, fundament.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, i. 194. My foul nockandrow all bemerded.

1654. Gayton, Pest. Notes, 14. Blest be Dulcinea, whose favour I beseeching, Rescued poor Andrew, and his nock-andro from breeching.

1662. Rump Songs, ii. 85. The Rump Carbonadoed, 41. Lenthall now Lords it though the Rabble him mock, In calling him Speaker, and Speaker to the Dock, For an hundred pound more hee'l kiss their very nock.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, 1. i. 285. But when the date of nock was out, Off drop't the sympathetic snout.

1775. Ash, Diet., s.v. Nock. . . . the aperture of the fundament.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

1598. Florio, Worlde 0/ Wördes, Cunno a womans nocke.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft, in Works (1725), p. 278. It being pretty coldish weather, He needs must have us lie together ; And so we did . . . When . . . Twixt some twelve and one o'clock, He tilts his tantrum at my nock.

Verb, (venery). — See quot. 1775Cf. knock, verb. See Greens and Ride.

1568. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Cunnata, a woman nocked.

1775. Ash, Did., s.v. Nock, to perform the act of generation on a female.

Nocky, subs. (old).—A simpleton ; a dullard. Also nocky-boy, and as adj.—B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785) ; Matsell (1859).

Nocturne, subs, (venery).—A prostitute ; a night piece (q.v.): see Barrack-hack and Tart.

Nod, verb, (colloquial). — To be stupid or dull.

The land of nod, subs. phr. (colloquial). — Sleep. [Cf. ¹ the Land of Nod on the East of the Jordan ' (q.v.), Gen. iv. 16.]

1608-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, iii. Col. I'm going to the land of Nod. Neverout. Faith, I'm for Bedfordshire.

1819. Scott, Tales oj'my Landlord, in. 124. And d'ye ken, lass, said Madge, there's queer things chanced since ye hae been in the land of nod.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan],

s.v.

1828. Hood, Miss Kilmansegg. A first-class carriage of ease, In the land of nod, or where you please.

1889. Detroit Free Press, 16 Feb. So he waked it up, and all baby did was to open its little eyes, sniff, smile sleepily, and go right off again to the land of nod.

1S92. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger s Sweetlieart, 275. We flung ourselves down on our blankets, and were soon in the land of nod.

A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse, phr. (colloquial).—Said of a covert hint— an allusion not put into plain words.

1831. Buckstone, Beggar Boy, i. 1. Jean (laughing.) You understand him by that ? Bart. To be sure I do ! A nod's as good as a wink for a blind horse, you know, master.

1837. Richard Brinsley Peake, A Quarter To Nine, ii. A nod's as

good as a wink to a blind horse.

1889. Evg. Standard, 25 June. A wink was as good as a nod, and trainers and jockeys .... easily gathered whether a particular horse was only out for an airing, &c

Nodcock. 59 Noddle.

893. Nineteenth Century, July, 6.

A nod is as good as a wink to a blind

horse ; and there are certain understandings, in public as well as in private life, which it is better for all parties not to put into writing.

On the nod, phr. (common). —On credit.

1882. The Rag, 30 Sept. [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 163.] A pay-onthe nod, An always-in-quod young man.

1889. Bird d Freedom, 7 Aug., 1. The next book you make, take a Gentile's advice, It's safer to bet on the nod.

1889. Daily Telegraph, 23 Oct., 5, 5. The defendant deposed that he lost over ,£30 by taking the bank, and that then the players agreed that he might go on the nod, which meant that he might owe what he lost.

1891. Standard, 25 Aug., 3, 6. When Witness asked where he got them from ; he said, on the nod, meaning that he did not intend to pay for them.

1894. Moore, Esther Waters, xxxi. He didn't suppose the guv'nor would take him on the nod, but he had a nice watch which ought to be good for three ten.

1897. Daily Telegraph, 15 March; 8, 4. The old idea of the law was that betting on credit—or, as it is vulgarly called, betting on the nod—was not illegal.

Nodcock, subs. (old).—A simpleton : see Büffle and Cabbagehead.

Noddipol. See Noddy.

Noddle, subs. (old).—The head : see Crumpet. B. E. (e. 1696) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725) ; grose (1785).

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shrew, i. 1. Doubt not her cares should be to comb your noddle with a threelegg'd stool, And paint your face, and use you like a fool.

1596. Nashe, Saffron Waiden, in Works, m. 149. No roofe had he to hide his noddle in.

1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Occipute, the hinder part of the head, the nape of the necke, the noddle.

1611. Barry, Ram Alley, iv. 1. You say very right, Sir Oliver, very right ; I have't in my noddle i' faith.

1620. Shelton, Don Quixote, in. iii. 21. Let every Man looke how he speakes or writes of Men, and set not downe each thing that comes into his noddle in a mingle-mangle.

1645. Howell, Letters, 11. 43. I could tell you how, not long before her Death, the late Queen of Spain took off one of her Chapines, and clowted Olivares about the noddle with it.

1662. Rump Songs, 1. iii. God blesse Ruperte and Maurice withall, Tha' gave the Roundheads a great downfall, And knockt their noddles 'gainst Worcester wall.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, 1. iii. 123. He'l lay on Gifts with hands, and place On dullest noddle light and grace.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft, in Wks. (1725), 164. And could I in ingenuous Noddle, Have chosen out a fitter Model.

1683. Earl of Dorset, A Faithful Catalogue. O sacred James ! may thy dread noddle be As free from danger, as from wit 'tis free,

1690. Mundus Muliebris [Nares]. Behind the noddle every baggage, Wears bundle ' choux,' in English cabbage.

1692. L'Estrange, sEsop., Come, master, I have a project in my noddle.

1705. Ward, Works (ed. 1717), ii. 3. When ready we adjourned to an Alehouse . . . And there I made the Bumkin fuddle Till muddy ale had seized his noddle.

1709. Steele, Taller, No. 178. These reflections, in the writers of the transactions of the times, seize the noddles of such as were not born to have thoughts of their own.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge Melancholy, i. 154. The New with false, sham storys of which each noddle was full.

1749. Robertson of Struan, Poems, ' The Wheel of Life.' Then fill about a Bumper to the Brim, Till all repeat it round, and ev'ry noddle swim.

1825. The English Spy, i. 188. Old dowagers, their fubsy face, Painted to eclipse the Grace, By their noddles out In some old family affair That's neither chariot, coach, or chair, Well known at every rout.

Noddle-case. 60 Nodgecock.

1834. Dowling, Othello Travestie, i. i. For fear old Drab, when he comes back, should take it in his noddle To march me to the Duke with him.

1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, ii. ii. There's something in that, replied Miss Wren ; you have a sort of an idea in your noddle sometimes.

noddle-case, Subs, (old).—A wig.

rf.1680. T. Brown, Works, ii. 197. Next time you have occasion for a noddlecase.

Noddy (Nod, Noddie-Noddipole, Noddy-pole, Noddy-pate, or Noddy-peake), subs. (old).—1. A simpleton : see Buffle and Cabbage-head. Also Tom Noddy.—Grose (1785).

1540. Heywood, Four P's [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), i. 360]. If I denied, I were a noddy.

1557. Sir Thos More, Works, 709. Or els so foolyshe, that a verye nody-poll nydote myght be ashamed to say it.

1562-63. Jack Juggler [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 130]. It would grieve my heart, so help me God, To run about the streets like a masterless nod.

1567. Edwards,/)«»«?« and Pithias [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), iv. 17]. Ere you came thither, poor I was somebody ; The King delighteth in me, now I am but

a noddy.

1589. Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, B. 1. xx. As we find of Irus the beggar, and Thersites the glorious noddie, whom Homer makes mentions of.

1598. Florio, A Worldc of Wördes. Coglione, a noddie, a foole.

1606. Return from Parnassus [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 102]. You that can play at noddy, or rather play upon noddies.

1610. Jonson, Alchemist, iv. 2. Nay, see ; she will not understand him ! Gull, noddy !

1611. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Bcnet. A simple, plaine, doltish fellow ; a noddipeake, a ninny-hammer, a pea-goose, a cox, a sillie companion.

1614. Terence in English. Vix tandem sensi stolidus. I now yet scarse perceive it, foole that I am ; I now at length hardly understand with much adoe, whorson nodipol that I am.

1662. Rump Songs, ii. 55. There is another Proverb which every noddy, Will jeer the Rump with, and cry hodddoddy, etc.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft[Works (1725), 203]. What would'st thou have me such a noddy.

1691-92. Gentlemen s Journal, Feb., p. 24. Diana, whom poetic noddies Would have us think to be some goddess.

1852. Judson, Myst. of New York, iv. Open a jewelry store, you noddy, 'ow 're you goin' to do that ?

2. (old).—See quots.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Noddy a kind of buggy or one horse chaise, with a seat before it for a driver, used in and about Dublin in the manner of a hackney coach.

1847. Sketches of Ireland [quoted by Brewer]. The ' Set-down ' was succeeded by the noddy, so called from its oscillating motion backwards and forwards.

d. 1894. Stevenson, Treasure of Franchard. Jean-Marie led forth the doctor's noddy.

Adj. (old).—Simple ; foolish.

1598. Shakspeare, Two Gentlemen, i. i. S. She did nod, and I said, I. P. And that set together is noddy. .S°. Now you have taken the pains to set it together, take it for your pains.

Knave noddy, subs. phr. (old).—The knave of trumps.— B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1823).

1757. Foote, Author, ii. 1, Mod. Brit. Dram. (1811), V. 281. You want four, and I two and my deal : now knave noddy—no, hearts be trumps.

Noddy-headed, adj. (common).— i. Witless.

2. (common). — Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

Nodgecock, subs. (old).—A simpleton.

1566-7. Painter, Pal. Pleas., i. E and 5. This poore nodgecock contriving the time with sweete and pleasaunt woordes with his dareling Simphorosia.

Noffgur.

61 Nokes.

Noffgur, subs, (popular). — A

prostitute : see Barrack-hack and Tart.

18 [?]. Bird o' Freedom [quoted in S. J. & C.\. Wrong 'uns at the Wateries, Noffgurs at the Troc, Coryphyées by Kettner, Tartlets anywhere.

Nog. See Noggin.

Noggin (Nog or Knoggin), subs. (old).—I. A small measure of spirits ; a go (q.v.). — B. E. (<-. 1696).

1719. Swift, To Dr. SJieridan, 14 Dec. For all your colloguing, I'd be glad of a knoggin.

1789. Parker, Life's Painter, 154,

s.v.

i860. Mrs. Gaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, xxiv. The sergeant. . . brought up his own mug of beer, into which a noggin of gin had been put.

2. (old).—A mug.

1635. Heywood, Drunkard Opened, 45. Mazers, broad mouth'd dishes, noggins, whiskins, piggins, etc.

c.i720. Virgin Sacrifice, Song [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), iii. 221]. When merrily jogging, Home to the Brown Noggin.

c.1816. Maher, Song, 'The Night before Larry was Stretched ' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 79]. 'Pon my conscience, dear Larry,' says I, ' I'm sorry to see you in trouble, And your life's cheerful noggin run dry.'

1818. Lady Morgan, Fl. Macarthy (1819), i. iii. 161. Repeatedly drank from a noggin of water beside him.

1833-34. Carlyle, Sart. Resar. 196. The furniture of this caravansera consisted of a large iron Pot, two oaken Tables, two Benches, two Chairs, and a Potheen noggin.

3. (old).—The head : see Crumpet.

Noggy, adj. (provincial).—Intoxicated : see Drinks and Screwed.

No-how, adv. (colloquial).—I. Upset ; out of sorts.

1868. Dickens, Dr. Marigold's Prescription. Ain't Mr. B. so well this morning ? You look all nohow.

2. (old colloquial).—Out of countenance.

c.1840. D'Arblay, Diary, 1. 161. I could not speak a word ; I dare say 1 looked no-how.

Noise, subs, (old colloquial).—1. A band of musicians.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV. ii. 4. And see if thou canst find Sneak's noise ; mistress Tear-sheet would fain hear some music.

1608. Dekker, Belman of London [Halliwell]. Those terrible noyses, with thredbare cloakes.

1614. Beaumont and Fletcher, Wit at Several Weapons, iii. 1. Have you prepared good music? G. As fine a noise, uncle, as heart can wish.

1632. Heywood, Iron Age [Nares]. We shall have him in one of Sneak's noise,—with—will you have any music, gentlemen ?

1633. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, i. 4. Press all noises of Finsbury in our name.

2. (old).—See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Noise. Used either of Harmonious or confused Sounds, Noise of Thunder, or of a Mill, Noise of the Hounds, A Noise of Fiddles, of Trumpets and Drums, A Noise of Swords, or clashing.

To make a noise at one, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To scold.

To noise one, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To tell tales of ; to split (q.v.).

Noisydog-racket, subs. phr. (old). —See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Noisy Dog Racket. Stealing Brass knockers from doors.

Nokes, subs. (old).—5^quots.,and John-a-nokes.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nokes. A Ninny or Fool ; also a noted Droll lately Dead.

Noli-me-tangere.

Non-con.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nokes ; John-a-Nokes and Tom-a-Stiles, two honest peaceable gentlemen, repeatedly set together by the ears by lawyers of different denominations. Two fictitious names commonly used in law proceedings.

noli-m e-tangere, subs. phr. (Scots').—i. The itch ; the pox : any disgusting contagious disease : cf. scotch fiddle.

1626. Cockeram, Pt. i. (2nd Ed.). Noli-me-tangere, The French disease.

1676. Coles, Eng. Diet. (1732) (Touch me not). . . The French disease.

1728. Bailey, Eng. Diet., s.v.

1755Johnson, Eng. Diet., s.v. Noli me tangere. A kind of cancerous swelling, exasperated by applications.

2. (old colloquial).—A repellant, person, attitude, or occurrence. Also as adj. = repellant, forbidding. [Lat. 'touch-me-not'.]

1591. Peele, Speeches, iii. [Works (1861) 579, 2]. Noli me tangere ; I let go my hold and desire your majesty that you will hold yours.

c. 1630. R. Naunton, Frag. Reg. (1870) 18. He was wont to say of them that they were of the tribe of Dan, and were noli me tangere's.

1634. W. Wood, New Englands Prosp., 22. The Porcupine is a small thing not unlike a Hedgehog ; something bigger, who stands upon his guard and proclaims a noli me tangere, to man and beast that shall approach too neare him.

1692. Watson, Body of Div. (1858), 460. Herod could not brook to have his incest meddled with—that was a noli me tangere.

1791. C. Smith, Desmond, 1. 248 (1792). Every attempt at redress is silenced by the noli me tangere which our constitution has been made to say.

1806. Beresford, Miseries, 1. 219. Every dish, as it is brought in, carrying a noli me tangere on the face of it.

1817. Byron in Moore's Life (1875), 605. I used to think that I was a good deal of an Author in . . . noli me tangere.

1821. De Quincey, Confess. (1823,) 1. 29. A sort of Noli-me-tangere manner.

1828. Lytton, Pelham, iii. The noli me tangere of literary lions.

1832. Edin. Rev., lv. 520. Under less restraint from the noli me tangere etiquettes of conventional good breeding.

1877. Reade, Woman Hater, x. A trick of putting on noli me tangere faces amongst strangers.

Noll (or Nole), subs. (old).—The head : see Crumpet.

c.1400. Arthur^. E. T. S.], line 211. How darst now any wyse Azenst the Emperour nus aryse? And make kynge to be obey '? nu art wood on the Nolle !

2. (old).—A simpleton.

1587. Higgins, Mir. for Mag. K. Chirinnus, 20 Brit. Bibl. (1814), iv. A drousy nole that lyes On drinke a sleepe so long, May pardon craue, although His tongue trip twtfold wrong.

Old Noll, subs. (old).—See quot. 1696.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nol Oliver. Old Nol, the late Vsurper, Cromwell.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

NO-man's-land, subs. phr. (common).—Waste ground ; an unsettled acreage ; a barren or broken stretch between two provinces or kingdoms : cf. Tom Tiddler's ground.

Nominate. See Poison.

Nommus. See Nammous.

Non-com, subs, (common). — A non-commissioned officer.

1885. J. S. Winter, In Quarters, viii. Well-tipped quartermasters and their favourite tools among the non-coms.

Non-con, subs. phr. (old).—A nonconformist : see quots. 1696 and 1823.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Non-con, one that don't conform to the Church of England.

Non-est-inventus. 63

Noodle.

c.ijoy. Durfey, Pills to Purge, âr>c. (170^), ii. 226. The Niece of a Canting, Bleer-Ey'd Non-con.

1748. Dodsley, Collection of Poems,

i. 66. Said a formal non-con, whose rich stock of grace Lies forward expos'd in shopwindow of face, Ah ! pity your soul, come, be of our sect, For then you are safe, and may plead you're elect.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Nonconformist—a discontented person, who will think and act differently from all others.

1843. Crabb Robinson, in Diary, 7 April, ii. 239 (3rd ed. 1872). So it is that extremes meet, and that we non-cons are in accord with the High Church divines.

non-est-inventus, phr. (popular).—Absent.—De Quincey, Murder as one of the Fine Arts.

Non-licet, adj. phr. (Winchester College).—Illegal ; unbefitting a Wykehamist : e.g. Don't sport non-licet notions.

Nonny (nonino, or hey, nonny, nonny), subs. (old).—I. A refrain once used to cover indelicate allusions.

1593. Drayton, Eccl. These noninos of beastly ribauldry.

c.1620-50. Percy Folio MS., 201. Cupid bidds itt shold bee soe, because all men were made for her hinononino.

c.1625. Beaumont and Fletcher, Hum. Lieut., iv. 2. That noble mind to melt away and moulder For a hey nonny, nonny.

2. (old).—A simpleton : see Buffle and Cabbage-head.

Nonplust, adv. (old).—At the end

of one's tether. Also at point nonplus.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation,

ii. Faith, Tom is nonplust ; he looks plaguily down in the mouth.

1821. Egan, Life in Lond., 11. i. T47. Remember that he is not yet out of Pupil's Straits, and must not, as you say, be blown up at point nonplus.

nonsense, subs, (old).—i. Money : see Actual and Gilt.

1821. Egan, Life in London. Shell out the nonsense : half a quid Will speak more truth than all your palaver.

2. (old).—See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nonsense. Melting butter in a wig. Also, fastening the door with a boiled carrot.

3. (Eton College).—A small division of the Third Form.

Nonsuch, The, subs, (venery).— I. The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

2. (old colloquial).—See quot. 1785. Ital. una coppa oVoro. 1767. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 172,

s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. None-such, one that is unequalled ; frequently applied ironically.

Nonjuror, subs. (old).—See quot.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nonjurors. Clergymen and others (Officers in the Army, Navy, etc.) That refus'd to take the Oaths to King William and Queen Mary, and were turn'd out of their Livings and Employments.

Noodle, subs, (common). — A simpleton. Also billy noodle. See Buffle and Cabbage-head. —Ash (1775) ; Bee (1823).

1843. Moncrieff, The Scamps of London, ii. 3. Half-and-half know-nothing noodle.

c.1845. Sydney Smith Review of Benthajn on Fallacies. The whole of these fallacies may be gathered together in a little oration which we will denominate the noodles' oration.

1864. Forsyth, Life of Cicero, xi. He was such a noodle he did not know the value of what he had bought.

1892. G. M. _ Fenn, The New Mistress, xv. Making a great noodle of yourself.

Noodledom. 64 Norfolk-dumpling.

The house of noodles, subs, phr. (old). —See quot.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Noodle. The House of Noodles, the Upper Nobs' house at Palace Yard, Westminster.

Verb, (common).—To fool.

1829. Tlte Lag's Lament [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), in]. He so prewailed on the treach'rous varmint That she was noodled by the Bow St. sarmint.

Noodledom, subs, (colloquial).— The world of fools.

nookery, subs, (colloquial).—A snug corner ; a place of hiding.

1857. Old Song, 'The Leary Man' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 154]. Then go to St. Giles's Rookery, And live up some strange nookery . . . To be a Leary Man.

Noom, subs, (back-slang).—The moon ; Oliver (q.v.).

Noose (or Nooze), verb, (common). —I. To hang.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1676. Warning for Housekeepers [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 32]. And when that he hath noosed us.

c. 1712. Old Ballads, 'The Twenty Craftsmen' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 37]. None shall be nooz'd if you find but one true.

1754. Scoundrers Diet. If they catch him horse-stealing he's nooz'd for all.

1809. Scott, The Poacher. Our buckskinn'd justices expound the law, Wire-draw the acts that fix for wires the pain, And for the netted partridge nooze the swain.

2. (old).—To marry. Whence noosing = a wedding ; noose (or marriage-noose) = the nuptial knot.—B. E. (c. 1699) ; Grose (1785) ; Matsell (1859).

1617. C Shadwell, Fair Quaker of Deal, iv. I'll take the freedom of sending for our noble commodore and his lady too, who are by this time noozed.

1693. Dryden, Juvenal, vi. 59. To thrust his neck in the marriage-noose !

1694. Crowne, Married Beau, i. i. Works (1874), iv. 258. I'm loth to noose myself in marriage.

1748. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Nooze (V.) ... in the Cant Language, it means both to marry and to hang.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, xxix. The lieutenant, with a sly regard, pronounced, ' Tunley, warn't you noozed by the curate ? '

1771. Smollett, Humphry Clinher, Letter 52. His indefatigable rival ordered a post-chaise, and set out with the lady for Coldstream, a few miles up the Tweed, where there was a person who dealt in this branch of commerce, and there they were noosed.

1821. Combe, Syntax, Wife, v. Nay, on the third or fourth day after : They were both noos'd in Hymen's garter.

1828-45. T. Hood, Poems, i. 22 (ed. 1846). Next to that interesting job The hanging of Jack, or Bill, or Bob, There's nothing do draws a London mob As the noosing of very rich people.

1901. St. James's Gaz., 7 Feb., 8, 5. The attendant announced that the bride and bridegroom were at the altar. "Oh, if that's so," said the Bishop to Wesley, " let's go and tie the noose" !

Nope, subs. (old). — A blow.— Grose (1785) ; Matsell (1859).

Nope, intg. (American).—' No.'

Noras, subs.pl. (Stock Exchange). — Great Northern Railway Deferred Ordinary Stock.

1887. Atkin, House Scraps. For we have our Sarahs and Claras, Our Noras and Doras for fays.

Norfolk-capon, «A.(common).— A red herring : see Glasgow Magistrate.—Grose (1785).

1836. Smith, The Individual, 4. A Norfolk capon is jolly grub.

Norfolk-dumpling, subs. phr. (old).—See quot. 1785.

Norfolk Howard. 65

North.

1670. Ray, Proverbs, 245. Norfolk dumplings. This referres (sic) not to the stature of their bodies ; but to the fare they commonly feed on and much delight in.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Norfolk Dumpling, a nick name or term of jocular reproach to a Norfolk man, dumplings being a favourite food in that country.

Norfolk Howard, subs. phr. (common).—A bug.

[From (says John Camden Hotten) an advt. in Times, 23 June 1862, as follows :— I, Norfolk Howard, heretofore called and known by the name of Joshua Bug, late of Epsom, in the county of Surrey, now of Wakefield, in the county of York, and landlord of the Swan Tavern, in the same county, do hereby give notice that on the 20th day of this present month of June, for and on behalf of myself and heirs, lawfully begotten, I did wholly abandon the use of the surname of Bug and assumed, took, and used, and am determined ... to be called and known by the name of Norfolk Howard only . . . duly enrolled by me in the High Court of Chancery.—Dated this 23 day of June, 1862.—Norfolk Howard, late Joshua Bug.—Diligent search in the Times of the date mentioned has failed to unearth the document. At the same time it is certain that a Joshua Bug lived at Epsom about the date mentioned.]

1870. Figaro, 19 Oct. Those entomological pests that are euphemistically called Norfolk Howards. Ibid. 1871, 26 Dec. A traveller at a hotel, while registering his name, saw a lively Norfolk Howard making his way briskly across the page. In consternation he declared that he had . . . never before stopped at a place where a Norfolk Howard looked over the hotel register to see where his room was.

1872. Era, 27 July. Negligent domestic servants, lodging-house keepers, bathing arrangements, bad drainage, Norfolk Howards, careless boatmen, and a thousand other topics will be seized upon as pegs on which to hang a series of grumblings.

1885. Sala, in Daily Telegraph, 14 August, 573. _ ' Bed bugs,' the convertible term for which is ' chintzes,' are the disagreeable insects known in modern polite English as Norfolk Howards.

1892. Society, 6 Aug., 757/1. Such writers as this, says the lord of verse, are the lice on the locks of literature. Also I should presume they are the flea down the back of Poetry, and the Norfolk Howard in the shirt of Art.

2. In pi. (military).—The Norfolk Regiment, formerly the 9th Foot.

Nor folk-nog, subs. phr. (old).— A kind of strong ale.

1726. Vanbrugh, Journey to London, i. 2. Here's Norfolk nog to be had at next door.

c1745. Swift, Upon The Horrid Plot. Dog Walpole laid a quart of nog on't He'd either make a hog or dog on't.

Nor-loch trout, subs. phr. (Scots').—See quot.

1808. Jamieson, Diet. s.v. A cant phrase formerly denoting a joint or leg of mutton, ordered for a club of citizens who used to meet in one of the closes leading down to the North loch. The invitation was given in these terms : Will ye gang and eat a Nor loch trout ? The reason of the name is obvious. This was the only species offish which the North Loch, on which the shambles were situated, could supply.

Norp, verb, (theatrical).—To put in phrases that will ' fetch ' the gallery ; to pilk it up (q.v.).

North, adj. (nautical).—1. Strong; good ; well fortified ; usually of grog. Hence due north = neat; too far north = drunk.

1864. Glasgow Herald, 9 Nov. ' Review of Hottens' Slang Diet.' An old salt delights to order his steward to make his grog ' a little more north,' ' another point, steward ;' and so on he may go until the beverage is due north as the needle.

2. (common). — Intelligent ; fly (q.V.) ; up to snuff (q.v.). Cf. Fr. perdre le nord = to be confused.

Northallertons. 66 Nose.

1700. Step to the Bath [quoted in Ashton, Social Life in Reign o/Q. Anne, v. ii. p. 168]. I ask'd what Countrey-man my Landlord was ? answer was madej Full North ; and Faith 'twas very Evident, for he had put the Yorkshire most damnably upon us.

1859. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, iii. p. 39. Her husband—who, however far gone he may be in liquor, is a long way too far north to 'list in reality.

Northallertons. See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Northallertons. Spurs; that place, like Rippon, being famous for making them.

Northcountrycompliment,^»^.

phr. (common).—A gift not wanted by the giver nor valued by the receiver.

North-easter, subs, (old American).—A New England sixpence or shilling temp. Charles I. [On one side were the letters N.E.]

North-eye, subs.phr. (showmen's). —[As in quot., but failure has followed all attempts to ascertain the meaning].

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. Don't get your back up only having a bit of chaff with your North Eye.

Northumberland, Lord Northumberland's Arms, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Northumberland. Lord Northumberland's arms ; a black eye : so called in the last century.

Norway neckcloth, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, Norway Neckcloth, the pillory, usually made of Norway fir.

Norwich er, subs. (old).—An unfair drinker : i.e., a man who, taking first pull at a tankard, does not draw breath till he has pretty well emptied the pot.

1896. Athenœum, 15 Aug., p. 168. Thirsty souls ! there was no resisting it. Half-a-dozen old Norwichers, after a bout of this sort, would become as hilarious, and would dance as uproariously as half-adozen Egyptians, full of the barleywine of Memphis.

Nose, subs. (old).—1. An informer. Fr., une riflette ; une tante ; une soûlasse, and une sondeur.

1780. Parker, Life's Painter, 167, s.v. Nose. Snitch.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan],

s.v.

1828. Bee, Living Picture of London, 286. They are frequently made use of as noses by the officers.

1836. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (ed. 1862), 356. Now Bill, . . . Who as his last speech sufficiently shows Was a ' regular trump '—did not like to turn

Nose?

1838. Reynolds, Pickwick Abroad, 223. I was never a nose for the regulars came Whenever a pannie was done.

2. (police).—A paid spy ; A shadow (q.v.) ; a nark (q.v.). Also noser.

181g. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. A person who, seeing one or more suspicious characters in the street, makes a point of watching them, in order to frustrate any attempt they may make, or cause their apprehension.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nose.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i. 391. I live in Westminster, at a padding-ken. I'd rather not tell you where, not I've anything to fear, but people might think I was a nose, if anybody came after me.

1862. Comhill Mag., ii. 336. There are a few men and women among thieves called nosers. They are so called because they are in the secret pay of the police, giving information when the information will not lead to the crimination of themselves.

1877. JGreenwood, Dick Temple. How could they know that there wasn't a nose—that is a detective p'lceman—there in disguise ?

Nose. 67 Nose.

1884. Saturday^Review, 9 Feb., 178. Ta bring a hidden crime to light by means of the policeman's nose.

Verb. (old).—1. See quots. 1598 and 1785.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iv. 3. You shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, Nasare, to smell, to scent, to nose.

1728. Bailey, Eng. Diet., s.v.

17B5. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nose, to nose a stink, to smell it.

2. (common).—To pry ; to suspect ; to discover.

1651. Cartwright, Ordinary, v. 5. Nosing a little treason 'gainst the King.

1662. Rump Songs, i. 60. We will thrust them out of the Main-yard, If they do but nose us.

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie (ist ed). Must these same Trojan Rascals nose me, Because the Fates (forsooth) oppose me ?

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. v. You are determined no one shall nose your ideas. Ibid. Their ogles were on the roll, under an apprehension that the beaks were " on the nose."

1830. Westminster Rev., April, The Six Acts. The public that nosed the ' Six Acts ' gave the title that has stuck by them ; and condemned them to everlasting remembrance by the energy of its simplicity.

1830. Moncrieff, The Heart of London, ii. 1. I nose : up to snuff.

1838. Glascock, Land Sharks and Sea Gulls, ii. 103. Go to the landlord an' ax if he knows the cove :—'t won't do to be nosed, you know.

1889. Detroit Free Press, 16 Feb. He said he didn't like one nosing around downstairs.

3. (thieves').—To inform.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 278. No, no, no ! no nosing.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nose. His pall nosed, and he was twisted for a crack ; his confederate turned king's evidence, and he was hanged for burglary.

1829. Tlte Lag's Lament [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), m.]. I adwiseyou to nose on your pals.

1834. Ainsworth, Roohwood, v. i. Nor was he ever known to nose upon any of his accomplices ; or in other words to betray them.

4. (old).—See quot. 1775.

1775. Ash, Diet., s.v. Nose. To bluster, to look big.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

5. (old).—See quot.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Nose . . To nose upon any one, is to tell of anything he has said or done with a view to injure him, or to benefit yourself.

[Many colloquialisms are here conveniently grouped : e.g., to put one's nose out of joint = to supplant ; to wipe one's nose = (1) to cozen ; (2) to affront ; and (3) in medicine, to discover an error in diagnosis and alter treatment (the mistaken practitioner is said to have his nose wiped) ; to put one's nose in the manger = tO eat ; to follow one's nose = to go straight forward ; to lead by the nose=to govern ; to pay through the nose = to pay extravagantly ; to put one's nose into anyTHiNG = to meddle; to turn up one's nose=to disdain ; to cast in (or to play with) one's nose = to twit, or to ridicule ; to have one's nose on the grindstone = to be held at a disadvantage ; to be bored through the nose = to be cheated ; in spite of your nose = in your teeth ; to bite (or to cut off) one's nose to spite one's face = to be revenged to one's own detriment ; to tell (or TO count) noses = to appeal to numbers ; to make a person's nose swELL = to make jealous; to measure noses = to meet ; to take pepper in the nose = (i) to take offence ; and (2) to mistrust ; as plain as the nose on one's face = beyond argument; a good nose = a smell-feast ; to make a bridge of someone's NosE = to pass in drinking, also to supersede ; to hold up one's nose = to be proud; a nose of wax = a complaisant or accommodating disposition ; candles (or dewdrops) IN the

nose = snots ; on the nose = on the look out ; a nose to light candles at = a drunkard's nose, a poop-lantern ; your nose up my arse=an expression of supreme contempt ; a long nose is a

Nose.

lady's liking (length above being held to indicate length below) ; to see the nose cheese FiKST = to refuse contemptuously; my nose itches ! = a jocular invitation to kiss, the retort being ¹ I knew I was going to sneeze, be cursed, or kissed by a fool, but see quot. 1708-10 ; and so forth].

1542. Udall, tr. of Apopht. of Erasmus, p. 65. A feloe had cast him in the nose, that he gave so large monie to soche a naughtie drabbe.

1570. Elderton, Lenten Stupfe. Pepper ys come to a marvelus pryse, Som say, thys Lenton season ; And every body that ys wyse May soone perceve the reson ; For every man takes pepper in the nose For the waggynge of a strawe, God knowse.

1580. Tarlton, Newes out of Purg., 10. Myles, hearing him name the baker, took straight pepper in the nose, and, starting up . . . swore I by cockesbread, the baker ; and he that saies to the contrary, heere stand I, Myles, the bakers man, to have the proudest cardinall of you all by the eares.

1581. Riche, Farewell [Nares]. Who . . . was verie well assured that it could bee no other than his owne manne that had thrust his nose so farre out

of joynte.

1591. Nashe, Prognostication [Grosart (1883-4), »• 167]. Some shal be so sun burnt with sitting in the Alehouse, that their noses shall bee able to light a candle.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. M ont are su la Pica, to take pepper in the nose, to be sore angrie.

1602. Decker, Satiromastix, in Wis. (1873), i. 216. Yonder bald Adams,

is put my nose from his 10YNT ; but

Adam I will be even to you.

1604. Shakspeare, Winter's Tale, iv. 4, 832. Though authority be a stubborn bear, yet he is oft led by the nose with gold.

1606. Wily Beguiled [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 242]. There is one Sophos, a brave gentleman ; he'll wipe your son Peter's nose of Mistress Lelia.

1607. Marston, What You Will, Induction. He's a chollerick gentleman : he will take pepper in the nose instantly.

1607. Puritan, v. 1. Now all the Knights noses are put out of joint.

1608. Armin, Nest _ of Ninnies [Nares]. Standing on tip-toe, looking toward the door to behold a rivall, that he would put his nose out of joint.

1612. Passenger of Benvenuto [Nares]. Strange children, to wipe her husbands owne childrens nose of their share in his goods.

1614. Bernard, Terence in English [Nares]. And why so, I pray you, but that you love him better than me ? And fearing now least this wench which is brought over hither should put your nose out the joynt, comming betweene home and you, and so have such a trimme fellow her selfe.

1614. Bernard, Terence in English [Nares]. But loe, nowe comes forth the very destruction of our substance : who wipes our noses of all that we should have. Ibid. I've wiped the old men's noses of their money.

1639. Optick Glosse of Humors [Nares]. A man is teisty, and anger wrinckles his nose, such a man takes

pepper in the nose.

1639. Massinger, Unnat. Combat, v. 2. But vows with you being like To your religion, a nose of wax, To be turned every way.

1642. Howell, Porreine Travell, p. 44. I have known divers Dutch Gentlemen grosly guld by this cheat, and som English bor'd also through the nose this way.

1646. Randolph, Jealous Lovers [Nares]. Shee was soe nose-wip't, slighted, and disdain'd, Under honour's cloak soe closely muffled, And in my rare projects soe shuffled.

1660. Howell, Pari, of Beasts, p. 35. Those fears and jealousies appeared afterwards to every common man as plain as the nose on his face to bee but meer forgeries and suppositious things.

rf.1660. Bp. Gauden, Teares of the Church, p. 105. The polle and number of the names ... I think to be but the number of the Beast, if we onely tell noses, and not consider reasons.

1662. Pepys, Diary, 31 May. The King is pleased enough with her : which I fear, will put Madam Castlemaine's nose out of joynt.

Nose.

69 Nose-and-chin.

1 1C62. Rump Songs [Nares]. Alas, what take ye pepper in the nose To see king Charles his colours worne in pose?

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie (ist ed.), 60. There lies your way, follow your nose.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft, in Wks. (1725), p. 182. Spight of your nose, and will ye, nil ye, I will go home again, that will I.

1693. Wood, Fasti Oxon., ii. Too easy, like a nose of wax, to be turned on that side.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nose. Follow your nose, said in a jeer to those that know not the way, and are bid to smell it out, as we say to smell a post. Ibid. He is led by the nose. Of one that is easily imposed upon. Ibid. As plain as the nose in your face. Ibid. He has a good nose. Of a Smell Feast. Ibid. You make a bridge of his nose. When you pass your next Neighbor in Drinking or one is preferr'd over another's head. Ibid. He holds up his nose, of one that is Haughty, and carries his Head high.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, i. Follow your Nose ; go, enquire among the Servants. Ibid. Neverout. Pray, my Lord, don't make a Bridge of my nose. Ibid. Miss. Anything for a quiet life ; my nose itch'd, and I knew I should drink wine, or kiss a fooL

1720. New Cant. Diet., s.v. Nose.

(/.1745. Swift, TV Gay. Nor think yourself secure in doing wrong By telling noses with a party strong.

1731. Windsor Medley, 13. If you follow your nose, you're as sure as a Gun.

1764. O'Hara, Midas, i. 4. Aye, Pol, the hind, put out of joint our noses.

1767. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 151, s.v. To make a bridge of one's nose. i.e. To intercept one's trencher, cup, or the like ; or to offer or pretend to do kindnesses to one, and then pass him by, and do it to another ; to lay hold upon and serve himself of that which was intended for another.

1781. Cowper, Truth. . . With slipshod heels & dewdrop at his nose.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nose ; to put one's nose out of joint, to rival one in the favor of any person, Ibid. To follow one's nose, to go straight forward. Ibid. He is led by the nose, he is governed. Ibid. As plain as the nose on your face, evidently to be seen. Ibid. To make a bridge of anyone's nose, to pass by him in drinking.

1833. Lytton, Godolphin, 11. iii. To find their noses put out of joint bythat little mischief-making interloper !

1838. Neal, Charcoal Sketches [De Vere]. At all events he had his nose to the grindstone, an operation which should make men keen.

1844. Buckstone, The Maid with Milking Pail. Now my nose is put completely out of joint. No niceties— no pudding—no fresh salt butter—no cabbage soup—no nothing !

1859. Kingsley, Geoffry Hamlyn, xxxiii. Lesbia gave herself the airs, and received the privileges of being the handsomest woman in those parts, till Alice came, and put her nose out of joint, for which she never forgave her.

1860. Geo. Eliot, Milton the Floss, iii., 5. To turn up his nose at his father's customers, and to be a fine gentleman.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxjord, vi. I like to see a fellow an honest grubber at breakfast and dinner ; but you've always got your nose in the manger.

1869. Yeats, Fairy Tales of tfie Irish Peasantry, 237. From this. . . he kept Bill's nose to the grindingstone.

1870. Figaro, 26 Oct. The Prussians, to whom an immediate supply of these is necessary, have to pay what is vulgarly called through the nose.

1872. De Vere, Americanisms, 620, s.v. Nose to the grindstone, a very expressive phrase, denoting the ill-treatment received at the hands of a successful adversary who takes full advantage of his triumph.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery under Arms, xxiii. These sort of men pay through the nose for everything.

NOSE-and-chin, subs, phr (rhyming).—A penny : a WIN (q.v.).

Nosebag.

jo Notch.

Nosebag, subs, (waiters').—i. A sea-side visitor who carries his own victuals with him.

2. (common).—A veil.

3. (old : now recognised).—A bag of provender fastened to a horse's head.—Grose (1788).— Whence (colloquial) a hand-bag.

1887. Cornhill Mag., April, 37a So I yesterday packed up my nosebag, and away I posted down to Aldgate.

TO have the nose-bag in one's face. See quot.

1788. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nose-bag. I see the nose-bag in his face ; i.e., he has been a private man, or rode private.

TO put on the nose-bag, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To eat hurriedly, or whilst at work.

nosegent, subs. (Old Cant).—See quot. 1785.

1573. Harman, Caveat (Repr. 1814), p. 87. There was a proude patrico and a

nosegent.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

172a New Cant. Diet., s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nose-gent, a nun.

Nose'm, subs, (common).—Tobacco; FOGUS (q.v.).

Nosender (Noser or Nosegay),

subs, (pugilists').—A bloody blow on the nose.

iS23. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nose-gay. A blow on the nose. Pugilistic cant.

1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab., 1. 14. A bloody nose however is required to show that the blow was veritably a noser.

i860. Bradley ('Cuthbert Bede'), Verdant Green, 11. p. 25. You see, Sir, said the Pet, I ain't used to the feel of it, and I couldn't go to business properly, or give a straight nosender, nohow.

1868. Whyte Melville, White Rose, xxxvi. He told his neighbour at the Blues Mess how it was a regular nose-ender for the Dandy, and he was glad of it,

1876. HiNDLEYj Adventures of a Cheap Jack, 190. Giving the man such a nose-ender that sent him all abroad.

Noser-my-Knacker, subs. phr. (rhyming). — Tobacco ; fogus(q.v.)

Nose-warmer, subs, (common).— A short pipe. Fr., un brûlegueule.

Nose-watch, phr. (Old Cant).— See quot. and Watch.

1573. Harman, Caveat (E. E. T. S. Rept.), 85. I will läge it of with a gage of benebouse ; then cut to my nose watch. I wull washe it off with a quart of good drynke ; then say to me what thou wylt.

Nose-wipe, s. phr. (vulgar).—A handkerchief : see Fogle.

Nos-rap, subs. phr. (back-slang).— A parson;a devil-dodger (q.v.).

Nostrum, subs, (old : now recognised).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nostrum, a medicine prepared by particular persons only, a quack medicine.

Not. See Baker ; care ; carrot ; curse ; dam ; devil ; feather ; fig; fit; fly; half bad ; in it ; joe (or joseph) ; long shot (or sight) ; much ; shower ; rap ; to-day ; worth ; yesterday.

Notch, subs, (venery).—&<? quot., and Monosyllable.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Notch, the private parts of a woman.

Verb, (cricketers'). — I. To score ; and (2—common) to denote an advantage : e.g., ' Notch me another.'

Note. 71 Nottamizer.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, vii. In short, when Dumkins was caught out, and Podder stumped out, All-Muggleton had notched, some fifty-four, while the score of the Dingley Dellers was as blank as their faces.

Note, subs. (American).—1. A bon-bon.

2. (American). — A singer.— Matsell (1859).

Noter, subs. (Harrow School).— A notebook.

Note-shaver, subs. phr. (American).—A usurer ; a usurious compositor : specifically a wild-cat bank (q.v.) purchasing notes of hand at excessive rates of discount. [Obsolete since the regulation of banks by Congress. ] See Paper.

Nothing. See Dance, Neck, and Say.

Notice to quit, subs. phr. (old).— See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Eg an J, s.v. Notice to quit. A cant phrase. When a person is in danger of dying from bad health, it is said, he has received a notice to quit.

Notion, subs. (Winchester College). — I. A word, usage, or phrase peculiar to Winchester College. 1891. Notions [Title].

2. (American).—A trifle ; a nick-nack: specifically (in//.) = wares in general.

1719. Ward, London Spy, i. 2. s.v.

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, n. 22. The tallow, corn, cotton, hams, hides, and so forths, which we had got in exchange for a load of Yankee notions.

1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of Midge, 300. A cargo of flour and notions, consigned to Macal, Walker, and Co.

1840. Dana, Two Years before the Mast, xxxv. A cargo of fresh provisions, mules, tin bake-pans, and other notions.

1846. Marry at, Peter Simple, in. iii. [1846], 325. Her cargo consisted of what the Americans call notions : that is in English an assorted cargo.

t866. Howells, Venetian Life, ix. Fruitstands, and stands for the sale of crockery, and—as I must say for want of a better word, if there is any—notions, were in a state of tasteful readiness.

1867. Smyth, Sailors Word Book, 501, s.v. Notions. An American seaterm for a cargo in sorts ; thus a notion vessel on the west coast of America is a perfect bazaar : but one, wbich sold a mixture—logwood, bad claret, and sugar—to the priests for sacrament wine had to run for it.

i8?4. C. Kennan, in The Century, xxxviii. 82. American goods of all kinds bought from California, suddenly made their appearance in the village shops ; and ... I saw the American tin-ware, lanterns, and Yankee notions.

1888. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 21 Jan. Thursday, January 26, regular auction sale of dry goods, furnishing goods, notions, hats and caps, etc.

1891. Sportsman, 1 April. To examine the remedies which came from the land of the Stars and Stripes, the home of Colonel Buncombe and of innumerable notions.

Notional, adj. (colloquial).— Imaginative ; whimsical ; sentimental. Also notionate.

1691-92. Gentlemen s Journal, Mar., 5. The lady tip'd (perhaps) out of her notional love, was downright bent fora more substantial one.

1728. Bailey, Eng. Diet., s.v.

1881. Howells, Dr. Breen's Practice, ix. She's been a little notional, she's had her head addled by women's talk, and she's in a queer freak.

Nottamizer, subs, (old).—A dissecting surgeon.

1828. Smeaton, Doings in London. At length h is affectionate rib acknowledged that she had sold the corpse saying she had no idea the nottamizers would have given so much for poor John's body.

Nottingham Lamb. 72

Nowhere.

Nottingham Lamb. See Lamb, subs., sense 2.

Nous, subs, (literary). — Sense ; shrewdness. [From the Greek nous].

1678. Cudworth, Intell. System, Bk. i. iv. 406. But in other places of his Writings he frequently asserts, above the self-moving Psyche an Immovable and standing Nous or Intellect, which was properly the Demiurgus, or Architectonic Framer of the whole World.

1729. Pope, Dunciad, iv. 244. Terine is the genuine head of many a house, And much Divinity without a nous.

a. 1796. Wolcot (' Peter Pindar'), i. 229. Oh ! aid, as lofty Homer says, my nouse To sing sublime the Monarch and the Louse.

1800. R. Polwhele, in Biogr. Sk. in Cornwall, ii. App. p. 37. In admiration of my own keen nous That framed the model of so fine a house.

1819. Byron, Don Juan, il cxxx. The good old man had so much nous.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Nous— uppishness; ' to be up,' is to be nous; but this latter is chiefly confined to the gambling-houses—hells.

1827. Reynolds, The Fancy, ' The Fields of Tothill.' Most men of any nous will tell you this.

1838. Comic Almanack, 133. No doubt it's very wrong, and shows but little nous, To go a tea-drinking, and making merry.

^l839/47Todd, Cyc. Anal, and Phys., iii. p. 144/2. Aristotle regarded the nous or reasoning faculties as separable from the remainder of the psyche.

1840-45. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 11. 247. Dont . . . fancy, because a man's nous seems to lack, That whenever you please, you can give him the sack.

1846. Hood, Poems, 92. But where'* the reverence or where the nous, To ride on one's religion thro' the lobby.

1862. Thackeray, Phillip, ii. ch. xvii. (1887), p. 244. The fellow has not nous enough to light upon any scientific discovery more useful than a new sauce for cutlets.

1870. London Figaro, 26 Oct. A Bab Ballad.' When burglars came to rob his house, He never failed their chief to thank ; And, to reward their skilful nous, Would hand them cheques upon his bank.

1877. Reade, Woman Hater, xiv. (1883), p. 136. It is only of late I have had the nous to see how wise she is.

ci880. J. G. Saxe, Wife's Revenge. The literal Germans call it Mutterwiss, The Yankees gumption, and the Grecians nous. A useful thing to have about the house.

Nous-box, subs, (common).—The head. Cf. knowledge-box : see Crumpet. — Grose (1823) ; Matsell (1859).

Nova, adj. (showmen's).—Nine.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. There I bought the lot from big-headed Tom for nova soldi, and as you are gena-men you can have it for the same.

Novelty, The, subs.phr. (venery). —The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Nowhere, adv. (common).—Not in the reckoning ; so far behind as not to be. [A reminiscenee of that ' Eclipse first, and the rest nowhere,' which described the victory of a famous horse].

1852. Miss Wetherell, Queechy, x. All start alike, or there's no fun in the race. You've fairly distanced us—left us nowhere.

1859. Spirit of Ute Times [De Vere, 620]. Where was Flora ? Flora ? why, she was nowhere—came in last but one.

1869. J. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London. The brave Panther when he has once crossed the threshold of that splendid damsel (who, by the way, is a thief, and addicted to drinking brandy by the 'bumper') is, vulgarly speaking, nowhere.

1872. De Vere, Americanisms, 620, s.v. Nowhere, to be, denotes utter failure or complete ignorance.

1884. Mrs. Oliphant, Madam, xxvii. You are kept in such a state till the last moment, not knowing which is to win. Sometimes the favourite is simply

nowhere.

Nozzle.

73 Nubbing-cheat.

Nozzle, subs, (pugilists').—The nose : seeCOKK.—Grose (1785).

1871. G. Meredith, Harry Richmond, vii. 79 (1886). Fight, my merry one ; she takes punishment, the prizefighter sang out. First blood to you, Kiomi ; uncork his claret, my duck ; straight at the nozzle, he sees more lamps than shine in London, I warrant.

Verb, (tailors').—1. To shrink : e.g., to nozzle the bottoms = to shrink the fronts of trousers. Also (2), to pawn.

Nth (or Nth plus one), subs. (University).—See quot.

1864. Brewer, Phrase and Faille, s.v. . . . Nth, to the utmost degree. Thus Cut to the Nth means wholly unnoticed by a friend. The expression is taken from the index of a mathematical formula, where n stands for any number, and « plus i more than any number.

Nub, subs.(Old Cant).—1.The neck. —B. E. (c. 1696); Bailey (1728); Grose (1785); Matsell (1859).

2. (old). — Copulation : see Greens and Ride. — Grose (1785).

3. (Old Cant).—A husband.

Verb. (Old Cant).—To hang : see Ladder.

c.1712. Budg and Snudg Song [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 32]. When that he hath nubbed us.

1743. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, iv. ii. I am committed for the filing lay, man, and we shall be both nubbed together.

Nubbin, subs. (American).—A remnant ; a small remainder.

Nubbing, subs. (Old Cant).—1. Hanging.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725) ; G rose (1785).

2. (Old Cant).—Copulation : see Greens and Ride.

Nubbing-cheat (or nubblingchit), subs. (Old Cant).—The gallows, whence nubbing = a hanging ; nubbing-cove = the hangman; and nubbing-ken = the Sessions House. — B. E. (c. 1696) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725); Grose (1785).

English synonyms. Abraham's balsam (in botany = a species of willow) ; Beilby's ballroom ; Chates (chattes or chats) ; City stage (formerly in front of Newgate ; crap ; deadly nevergreen ; derrick ; forks ; government sign-post ; hanging-cheat ; horse foaled by an acorn ; hotel door-posts ; the ladder ; leaflesstree ; mare with three legs ; Moll Blood (old Scots') ; morning-drop; prop (Punch and Judy) ; the queer-'em (queer-'un queer-'um) ; scrag ; scrag-squeezer ; sheriffs picture-frame ; squeezer ; stalk (Punch and Judy) ; the stifler ; the swing ; three-legged mare ; three trees ; topping cheat ; Tower-hill vinegar (the swordsman's block) ; tree that bears fruit all the year round ; tree with three corners ; treyningcheat ; triple-tree ; Tuck'em Fair ; Tyburn cross ; widow ; woodenlegged mare.

French synonyms. Vabbaye de Monte-à-regret ( = Mount Sorrowful Church : also l'abbaye de Monte-à-rebours, and rabbaye de Saint-Pierre = cinq pierres, the five flag-stones in front of La Roquette) ; la bascule ; le béquille ( = crutch); la béquillarde ; la butte-à-regret (= Flea vy-ArseHill) ; les deux mâts, or le haut mât (old); Jêschelle (-Ladder, q.v.); la fenêtre (in allusion to the aperture into which falls the knife) ; le géant ; la jambe ; la

Nuddikin.

Null.

louisette (old) ; la lune à douze quartiers ( = the wheel on which criminals were broken) ; la lunette d approche (specifically, the knife); la Marianne ; la mécanique ; la mere, or la mere au bleu : le monde renversé ; le Monte-à-regret ( = Mount Sorrowful : also monte-àrebours) ; la passe ; le rasoir national (so named in'93 : also le rasoir à Roch, or de la Cigogne —Roche = a one-time executioner, and la Cigogne = the Préfecture of Police) ; la sans-feuille ( = the Leafless tree, q.v.) ; la veuve ( = the widow, q.v.) ; la voyante.

1712. The Black Procession [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1836) 37]. Up to the nudbing cheat where they are nubb'd.

1714. John Hall, Memoirs (4th ed.), 13, s.v.

1749. Fielding, Tom Jones, xii. Nubbing cheat, cries Partridge, pray, sir, what is that ? Why that, sir, said the stranger, is a cant phrase for the gallows.

c.1812. Maher, The Death 0/ Socrates [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896)], . . . When he came to the nubbingchit, He was tucked up so neat and so pretty.

1821. Martin and Aytoun ('Bon Gualtier'), in Tail's Edinburgh Mag., viii. 223. The faking boy to the crap has gone, at the nubbling-CHIt you'll find him.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood (ed. 1864), 313. I fear Dick will scarce cheat the nubbing-Cheat this go. His time's up, I calculate.

Nuddikin [or Noddleken], subs. (common).—The head.

Nuff, adj. and adv. (soldiers').— Enough. To have had one's nuff = to be 'elevated' or drunk : cf. N. C.

NUQ, verb. (old).—I. To fondle ; to grabble ; and (2.) to swive (q.v.). Whence my Nug = ' My dear ' : a general endearment. Cf.

nugging dress and nugging house.—B. E. (<-. 1696) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725) ; G rose (1785) ; Matsell (1859).

Nugget, subs, (common).—In pi. — money : see Actual and Gilt.

1892. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 53. Keep check on the nuggets you spend.

Nuggety, adj. and adv. (Australian).—See quot.

1887. Daily News, April 9, 5/4. The sort of man we call ' cobby,' the Americans designate ' stocky,' and the Australians

Style nuggetty.

nugging-dress, subs. phr. (old). —See quots. 1696 and 1823, Nuo, verb, and Nugging-HOUSE.

c. 1696. B. E. Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nugging-Dress. An odd or particular way, out of the Fashion.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nugging-dress. . . A loose kind of a dress, denoting a courtezan.

Nugging-house, subs. (old).—A brothel : see Nanny-house.— Goose (1823) ; Halliwell (1847).

'Nuity. subs. (American). — See quots.

1872. De Vere, Americanisms, 620, s.v. 'Nuity, a word believed by some writers to be derived from annuity, and by others to be an absurd form of knew, is thus explained.

i8[?]. Charles Nordhoff [De Vere, 620]. Tom had what the capemen call 'nuity, which means what the rest of Americans call go-aheaditiveness—a barbarous word, which no nation could coin, that did not find it easier to coin money than words.

Null, verb. (old).—To beat : see Tan.—Grose (1785) ; Matsell (1859).

Null-gropers. 75

Nums.

Null-gropers, subs. phr. (old).— See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Null gropers. Persons who sweep the streets, in search of old iron, nails, etc.

nulling-cove, subs, (pugilists').—

A pugilist. — Vaux (1819) ; Grose (1823).

NULLI secundus club, subs. phr. (military). — The Coldstream Guards. Also known as ' ' The Coldstreamers. "

Numans, subs. (Old Cant).—Newgate.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all (H. Club's Repr. 1874), 39, s.v.

Number. See Mess.

To consult the book of numbers, verb. phr. (old Parliamentary).—To call for a division ; to put the matter to the vote.— Grose (1785).

Number 9, subs. phr. (old).— The Fleet Prison. [No. 9, Fleet Market].—Bee (1823).

Number nip, subs, (venery). —The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Number One, subs, (colloquial).—i. Self. To takecare of Number One = to look after one's own interests.

1838. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xlii. Some conjurors say that number three is the magic number, and some say number seven. It's neither, my friend, neither. It's number one. Ha ! ha ! cried Mr. Bolter. Number one for ever.

18^8. Lowell, A Fable for Critics, 48. Like most fathers, Bull hates to see number one Displacing himself in the mind of his son.

1871. Judy, 29 July. If a man doesn't take care of No. i, he will soon have O to take care of 1

1873. Spectator, 22 Mar., 379, col. 1. It is in the early chapters, too, that the author speaks of himself, seldom referring to number one afterwards—for a less egotistical book we have seldom seen.

1886. Kennard, Girl in Br. Habit, xi. I was just beginning to find number one remarkably bad company, and am most grateful to you for your visit. It will do me an immensity of good.

2. (nursery).—Urination; also a chamber-pot.

3. (prison).—The cat-o'-ninetails.

1889. Answers, 9 March, 233, 3. Punishment was ordered by the Directors —the Governor has no power to order flogging—and took the shape of two dozen of No. i.

To be at Number One, London, verb. phr. (common).—To have the menstrual discharge : see Flag.

Number six. See Newgate knocker.

Number two, subs. phr. (prison).—I. The birch.

1889. Answers, 9 Mar., 233, 3. No. 2, by the way, is the birch.

2. (nursery).—Evacuation.

Numps, subs, (old).—A dolt; a fool : see Buffle and Cabbagehead.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair,

s.v.

1673. Parker, Reproof of Rehearsal Trans, p. 85. Take hearts, numps ! here is not a word of the stocks.

Nums (or Numms), subs. (Old Cant).—A clean collar on a dirty shirt. Cf. dickey. — B. E. (c. 1696) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725) ; Grose (1785). Also as adj. = sham.—Matsell (1859).

Numskull. 76 Nunquam.

Numskull, subs, (old: now colloquial).—A simpleton : see Buffle and Cabbage-head.— B. E. (c. 1696) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725) ; Grose (1785).

1712. Arbuthnot, John Bull Still in his Senses, in. i. Arber's Garner, vi. 614. D— this numbed skull of mine, quoth he, that I could not light on it sooner.

1728. Vanbrugh, Journey to London, i. 2. Thou art a numskull I see already.

1742. Fielding, Joseph Andrews, in. xii. His wife . . . told him he would never leave following the nonsensical dictates of his own numskull, till she and her family were ruined.

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, ii. i. You numskulls ! and so while like your betters, you are quarrelling for places, the guests must be starved.

_ 1859. Dickens, Tale of Two Cities, ii. iv. I dined, myself, while those numskulls were deliberating which world you should belong to—this, or some other.

Numskulled, adj. (old).—Foolish; silly.

i7i2._ Arbuthnot, History of John Bull, i. xii. Have you no more manners than to rail at my husband, that has saved that clodpated, numskulled, ninnyhammer of yours from ruin.

1856. Punch's Ess. of Parliament, xxx. 61. _ Such blockheads as Vincent Scully ruin whatever cause they advocate. Mr. Punch means to get Vincent the Royal licence to call himself, as other people call him, Num scully.

Nun, subs. (old).—A prostitute : cf. Abbess. Also Covent garden nun. See Barrack-hack and Tart. Hence nun's flesh=a cold temperament.

1608-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Col. Faith, you'll never lead Apes in Hell. Neverout. No, no, I'll be sworn Miss has not an Inch of Nun's Flesh about her.

1777. Randall, Excursion round London, 33. A couple of nuns out of Hedge-lane, Bet Brazer and Charlotte Cheap.

1770. Foote, Lame Lover, i. Last night . . . who should trip by but an abbess, well known about town with a smart little nun in her suite.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. 1. Those three nymphs . . . are three nuns ; and the plump female is of great notoriety and generally designated the abbess.

Nunky (Nunks or Nuncle), subs. (colloquial).—An uncle [Nuncle = mine uncle : once the customary address of the licensed fool to his superiors].

1599. Porter, Two Angry Women [Dodsley (Old Plays), vii. 381]. I' faith, I should be glad To have myself called nuncle, and thou dad.

1684. Lacy, Sir Hercules Buffoon, ii. 3. Now good my Hony nuncle, let us not gea to France, but send me back to my Naunt at York again.

1760. Foote, Minor, ii. p. 57. I suppose this is a spice of your foreign breeding, to let your uncle kick his heels in your hall . . . Sir George. Oh, a proof of my respect, dear nuncle.

1841. Comic Alwanack, 291. But where's the stoic can resist When pretty lips so sweetly coax'? Come, nunks, one game at Blindman's-buff.

188S. Sportirig Life, 10 Dec. Wallace now fought him with both hands and got all the best of the exchanges. Mr. Bull, Good, my little nunky !

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, 1. vii. p. 16. I don't mind telling you that nunkey Lawson's a customer of George's.

Nunnery, subs. (old).—A brothel ; cf. Abbess and Nun. See Nanny-house.—Grose (1785) ; Halliwell (1847).

1822. Egan, Peal Life, 11. 182. Having visited a certain nunnery in the precincts of Pall-Mali.

Nunquam, subs. (old).—See quot. [From the Latin].

1560-1. Awdeley, Fratemitye of Vacabondcs, leaf 9. Nunquam is he that when his Maister sendethhim on his errand he wil not come againe of an hour or two.

Nunyare. 77 Nurse.

NUNYARE, subs, (showmen's).—See quot.

1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab., vol. in. 201. [Ethiopian serenader log.} We could then, after our nunyare and buvare (that's what we call eat and drink, and I think it's broken Italian), carry home our 5/-or 6/-each, easy. Ibid., 149. We [strolling actors] call breakfast, dinner, tea, supper, all of them nunyare ; and all beer, brandy, water, or soup, are beuvare.

Nup (or Nupson), subs.—A fool : see Buffle and Cabbage-head.

1580. Lingua [Dodsley, Old Plays, v. 150]. 'Tis he indeed, the vilest nup ; yet the fool loves me exceedingly. Ibid., v. 238. I say Phantastes is a foolish transparent gull ; a mere fanatic nupson.

1596. B. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, iv. 4. O that I were so happy as to light upon a nupson now.

1616. Ben Jonson, Devil is an Ass, ii. 2. Who having matched with such a nupson.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue., s.v.

Nuppence, subs. (American).— Nothing. [From ' no pence,' on the model of ' tuppence ' = 2d. ]

1886. A. Lang, in Longmans' Mag., vu. 551. The Americans can get our books, and do get them, and republish them and give us nothing—that awful minus quantity, nuppence 1

Nuptiate, verb. (American).—To marry; to get hitched (q.v.).

Nuremburg-egg, subs. phr. (old). —An early kind of watch, oval in shape. [Invented, c. 1500, in Nuremburg].

Nurly, adj. and adv. (American). —Ill-tempered ; cross-grained. [From ' gnarly ']. — De Vere (1872).

Nurse, subs, (common).—1. An old man's maid, frequently doing double duty—nurse and smock servant (q.V.).

2. (nautical).—Ä^quot.

1867. Smyth, Sailors Word-Book, 502, s.v. Nurse. An able first lieutenant, who in former times had charge of a young boy-captain of interest, but possessing no knowledge for command.

3. See Wet-nurse.

Verb. (Old Cant).—1. To cozen.—Grose (1785).

2. (billiards').—To keep the three balls close in play so as to score successive cannons. Hence, nursery-business (q.v.).

3. (omnibus drivers'). — To cheat an opposition bus of passengers by driving close in front or behind ; two vehicles are generally employed to nurse the victim.

1858. Morning Chronicle, 8 Mar. The cause of the delay was that defendant was waiting to nurse one of their omnibuses.

1863. The Dean of Canterbury, in Good Words, p. 197. Many words are by rule hitched off with two commas ; one before and one behind ; nursed, as the Omnibus Company would call it.

1884. Echo, 7 May, 1, 4. Another phenomenal witness, a 'bus conductor, did not even know what nursing rivals meant.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xvi. Some of 'em wanted to nurse me, but I managed to give the mare a touch of the spur and she flew out, the starter calling me to account.

1889. Man of tiie World, 29 June. Only a fortnight ago I witnessed an elderly man run over and killed in Qneen Victoria Street through this very cause. Surely a man's life is worth more than the gratification of the ambition of a nursing omnibus driver.

1900. Daily Telegraph, 22 Mar., 4, 6. A case of alleged nursing by rival omnibuses occupied a large part of the afternoon sitting.

To be at Nurse, verb. phr. (old).—To be in the hands of trustees.—Grose (1785).

Nursery. 78 Nut.

Nursery, subs, (racing).—A race for two-year-olds ; almost always a handicap. Also as adj.

1883. Daily Telegraph, 26 Oct. Winning three nurseries off the reel.

The Nursery, subs, (venery). —The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Nursery-business (or Cannon),

subs, (billiards').—Playing the three balls close together and so scoring successive cannons.

1891. Licensed Victuallers' Mirror, 30 Jan., 3. Richards, too, is a demon on the nursery business, some of his breaks being extremely interesting.

Nurse's-VAIL, subs.phr. (common). —A nurse's petticoats when they are wet with urine.

Nush, subs. (American).—The mouth : see Potato-trap.— Matsell (1859).

Nut, subs, (common).—1. The head. [Hence, as in quots. 188S and 1889 = intelligence, brains]. See Crumpet.

1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, 11. xii. The first round was soon terminated, for Jack got a cracker on his nut.

i860. Chambers's Journal, xiii. 348. He has no longer a head, but a nut : his hair is ' wool.'

1879. Mac. Mag., xl. 501. He rammed my nut against the wall.

1888. J. Runciman, Tlte Chequers, 106. It's Tom Tiddler's ground if you've got a nut on you.

1889. Sporting Times, 3 Aug, 1, 2. They gave Gladstone a portico on his golden wedding day. A few tiles tr repair deficiencies in the old 'un's nut would have been better while they were at building materials.

1892. Anstey, Voces Pofuli, 'In the Mall on Drawing-Room Day,' 82. Look at the diamonds all over 'er bloomin' old nut.

1892. Kipling, Barrack • Room Ballads, ' Gonga Diu.' If we charged or brike or cut, You could bet your_ bloomin' nut, 'E'd be waiting fifty paces right flank rear.

2. (common).—The core of fat in a leg of mutton ; the pope'seye (/.v.).

1611. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Nuguette de Mouton, The nut of a leg of mutton.

3. (provincial). — A harumscarum ass.

4. in pi. (venery).—The testes: see Cods.

5. in pi. (common).—Small round coals.

6. in (common).—A delightful practice or experience.

1678. Cotton, Scarronides, p. 15. It will be nuts, if my case this is, Both Atrides and Ulysses.

1712. Swift, Journal to Stella, Jan. 8, Letter 38. Lord-keeper and Treasurer teazed me for a week. It was nuts to them.

1744. North, Life of Lord Guilford, i. 37 [2nd ed. 1808]. This was nuts to the old Lord, who thought he had outwitted Frank.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nuts. It was Nuts for them, i.e. it was very agreeable to them.

1805. C. Lamb, Letter, in Wks. (1852), v. 72. But 'tis nuts to the adept.

1840. Dana, Two Years before the Mast, xxv. He . . . found them waiting on the beach, and a little afraid about going off, as the surf was running very high. This was nuts to us ; for we liked to have a Spaniard wet with salt water.

1843. Dickens, Christmas Carol, Stave i. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call nuts to Scrooge.

1884. Hawley Smart, Post to Finish, 223. Yes, it was nuts to me to find I had just done Phaeton, and hit my black-blooded cousin in his only vulnerable spot—the pocket. But why should Cuthbert detest me.

Nut.

1887. Henley, Culture in the Slums, ' Ballade,' iii. The Grosvenor's nuts—it is, indeed.

1893. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 4. It's nuts to 'ook on to a swell.

7. in pi. (Stock Exchange).— Barcelona Tramway Shares.

8. (common).—a drink ; a go {q.v.) : see drinks.

Verb, (old).—i. To fondle ; to ogle ; to spoon (q.v.).—Vaux (1819).

1820. London Mag., i. 26. Always nutting each other.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nuts. The cove's nutting the blowen ; the man is trying to please the girl.

2. (pugilists'). — To strike on the head.

TO be nuts (or dead nuts) on, verb. phr. (common). — i. See quot. 1819.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Nuts upon it, to be very much pleased or gratified with any object, adventure, or overture ; so a person who conceives a strong inclination for another of the opposite sex, is said to be quite nutty, or nuts upon him or her.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nuts. She's nuts upon her cull ; she's pleased with her cully.

1853. Diogenes, ii. 30. It's rich nutty flavour I'm nuts on no more.

i860. Punch's Book of British Costumes, xxxviii. p. 219. Or cowls, but left their heads with nothing but their hair to cover them. The fact was that the dandies were so nuts upon their 'nuts' that they did not like to hide their fair (or dark) proportions.

1873. Black, Princess of Thüle, xi. My aunt is awful nuts on Marcus Aurelius ; I beg your pardon, you don't know the phrase ; my aunt makes Marcus Aurelius her Bible.

1882. Punch, lxxxii. 177. I am nuts upon Criminal Cases, Perlice News, you know, and all that.

1893. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 10. I'm not nuts on Bohea.

2. (common). — To be very skilful or dexterous.

3. (common).—To be particular ; to detest.

1890. Punch, 22 Feb. He's nuts on Henery George.

TO crack a nut (Old Scots'). —See quot.

1889. Notes and Queries, 7 S. viii. 437. In country gentlemen's houses [in Scotland] in the olden time, when a fresh guest arrived he was met by the laird, who made him crack a nut—that is, drink a silver-mounted cocoa-nut shell full of claret.

The nut, subs. phr. (nautical). —See quot.

1891. Daily Telegraph, 27 Mar. Other notes and time-honoured hostelries of Portsmouth town are affectionately commemorated, if not by absolute reproduction, by borrowing their signs. Thus, in one corner, may be discovered the Keppel's Head, known to all her Majesty's navy as the Nut, but perhaps hardly to be recognised in its Chelsea guise—a temperance café.

A nut to crack, phr. (colloquial).—A problem to solve ; a puzzle to explain ; a difficulty to overcome.

1843. Longfellow, SpanishStudent. I've nuts to crack, but where shall I find almonds.

1849. Lytton, Caxtons, 1. i. To others this nut of such a character was hard to crack.

1897. Daily Mail, 26 Oct., 4, 3. The information gained by the recent gun-boat reconnaissance up river . . . shows that this position will be a hard nut to crack.

Off one's NVT,phr. (common). —i. Crazy.

1876. Sims, Dagonet Ballads (Polly). Or to go off their nuts about ladies as dies for young fellers as fights.

2. (common).— Drunk ; in liquor : see Drinks and Screwed.

Nut-cracker. 80 Nutty.

Nut-cracker, subs, (pugilists').— i. The head ; (2) a sharp blow on it ; and (3) in pi. the fists.

4. m pi. (old).—See<\uot. 1696. —Hall, Memoirs (1708) ; Grose (1785).

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nut-crackers. The cull looked through the nut crackers, the rogue stood in the pillory.

5. in (common).—A curving nose and protruding chin.

6. (common).—The teeth : see Grinders.

7. (military). —The Third Foot. See Buff Howards.

1871. Chambers' s Journal, 23 Dec, 802. The 3rd Foot, best known as the ' Old Buffs,' their accoutrements having been the first that were made of buffalo leather, possess two other sobriquets, the Nut-crackers and the ' Resurrectionists.'

Nut-hook, subs, (old).— See quot. 1755

1598. Shakspeare, Henry IV., Nuthook, nuthook, you He.

'755Johnson, Eng. Diet., s.v. Nuthook . . . anciently, I know not why, a name of contempt.

Nutmegs, subs, (venery).—The testes ; the cods {q.v.).—Grose (1785) ; Halliwell (1847).

16 [?]. Hist, of Jack Homer(j6gj), p. 13. My precious nutmegs doe not wound, For fear I should not live.

Wooden nutmegs, subs. phr. (American).—See quot. 1872.

1871. Congress-Globe, March [De Vere, 620]. I leave the honorable gentleman from Massachusetts to his Wooden Nutmegs and silver spoons ;he will receive his deserts before the people are done with him.

1872. De Vere, Americanisms, 620, s.v. Nutmegs, when made of wood, as were those immortalized by Sam Slick, have become so familiar to the public mind, that they have passed into a slang term for any cunning deception. Not only is Connecticut called the Nutmeg State— although a factious native says the true reason is ' because you will have to look for a grater,'—but in the press and in Congress Wooden Nutmegs have to answer for forged telegrams, political tricks and falsified election-returns.

Nutmeg-state, subs. phr. (American). — Connecticut. [A nick name of Judge Haliburton's].

1851. Allin, Home Ballads, 19. Still give me the Nutmeg State—Where shall we find a grater?

Nutshell. In a nutshell,phr. (colloquial).—In small compass. Condensed ; ⁴ boiled down.'

1622. Fletcher, Spanish Curate, ii. i. All I have to lose, Diego, is my learning ; And, when he has gotten that, he may put it in a nut-shell.

a. 1745. Swift, Tale of a Tub, vii. I have sometimes heard of an Iliad in a nutshell.

1866. W. Collins, Armadale, iii. A nervous patient who is never worried is a nervous patient cured. There it is in a nutshell.

Nutted,adj. (common).—Deceived by a false friend.

Nutty, adj. and adv. (common).— i. See quot. 1823. Also = fascinating.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 230. He was so nutty upon the charms of his fair one.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Nutty —sweet, amatory ; bestowed by bucks upon buxom landladies, and spruce barmaids.

1827. Egan, Anecdotes of the Turf, 183. Jemmy became quite nutty, and often repeated his visits.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, 116 (ed. 1864). But my nuttiest blowen, one fine day, To the beaks did her fancy-man betray.

Nutty. 81 Nyp.

2. (common). — Fruitful of details ; spicy {q.v.).

1894. Sala, London up to date, 329. The case, he incidentally adds, promises to be a nutty one.

3. (common).—Smart ; doggy (q.v.) ; swagger (q.v.); nobby (q.v.) ; nice (q.v.).

1823. Byron, Don Juan, xi . . . . So prime, so gay, so nutty and so knowing.

1839. Reynolds, Pickiuick Abroad, 223. And the beak wore his nuttiest wig.

1841. Martin and Aytoun, Bon Gaultier Ballads, The Nutty Blowen [Title].

1842. Punch, iii. 126. Colin Youth's most nutty son.

1893. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 75. Life goes on nutty and nice.

Nux, subs, (thieves').—The object in view ; the plant (q.v.) ; the lay (q.v.).

Nymph of darkness (or the

pavement), subs. phr. (colloquial).—A prostitute : see Barrack-hack and Tart.

Nyp. See nip.

Oaf.

Oak.

a f, subs. (old).—i. A loutish simpleton : see Buffle and Cabbagehead. Hence oafdom = the world of louts ; oafish = stupid. —B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1621. Burton, Anat. of Mel., i. n. iv. vi. 229 (1836). Though he bean aufe, a ninny, a monster, a goos-cap.

1627. Drayton, Nymphidia, 79. The fairy left this oaf, And took away the other.

1633. Fletcher and Shirley, Night Walker, i. 4. The fear of breeding fools and oafs.

1668. Dryden, An Evening's Love,

ii. This master of mine, that stands before you, without a word to say for himself, so like an oaf, as I might say.

1693. Congreve, Old Batchelor, v. 6. Sharp. Death ! it can't be—an oaf, an ideot, a wittal.

1700. Congreve, Way of the World, Prologue. With Nature's oafs, 'tis quite a difFrent Case. For Fortune favours all her Idiot-race.

1706. Farquhar, Recruiting Officer,

iii. i. What's that to you, oaf?

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, iv. You great ill-fashioned oaf, with scarce sense enough to keep your mouth shut.

i8[?]. Bypon, Verses left in a Summerhouse. This guiltless oaf his vacancy of sense Supplied, and amply too, by innocence.

1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, iii. 45. Her chair had been stopped by a highwayman ; the great oaf of a servantman had fallen down on his knees armed as he was.

1883. A. Dobson, Old-World Idylls, 34. We have passed from Philosop/te-dom Into plainer modern days,—Grown contented in our oafdom, Giving grace not all the praise.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 68. I'll 'owl at sich oafs till I'm 'oarse.

2. (old).—See quot.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, oaf, a Wise-acre.

Oak. subs. (old).—i. A man of substance and credit.—B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785); Matsell (1859).

2. (University). — An outer door. To sport one's oak = to be ' not at home ' : indicated by closing the outer door. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1845. T/ie Collegian's Guide, 14. In college each set of rooms is provided with an oak or outer door, with a spring lock, of which the master has one key, and the servant another.

1853. Bradley ('Cuthbert Bede'), Verdant Green, 1. viii. Mr. Verdant Green had, for the first time, sported his oak.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, vii. One evening he found him-self as usual at Hardy's door about eight o'clock. The oak was open, but he got no answer when he knocked at the inner door.

Adj. (American). — Strong ; rich ; in good repute.—Matsell (1859).

Felling of oaks, subs. phr. (old). —Sea-sickness.

1608. Withal, Diet., 39. The word signifieth to be provoked, or to have appetite or desire to vomit properly upon the sea, or in a ship. They call it felling of oaks merilie.

Oaken-towel. 83

Oat.

Oaken-towel, subs. phr. (old).— A cudgel ; a Plymouth cloak (q.v.).—Whence to rub down with an oaken towel = to thrash.—Grose (1785); Matsell (1859).

Oar, subs. (old).—1. A busy body: hence, to put (or shove) one's oar in = to interfere ; to meddle officiously.—Grose (1785).

1596. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, 37. A busie-body, medler in other's matters, one that hath an oare in other's boates.

1597. G. Harvey, Trimming of Nashe, in Whs. (Grosart), iii. 33. Think not that I thinke all those to haue good wits, that will talke of euerie subiect, and have an oare (as we say) in euerie mans boate : for manie fooles doo so, and so doost thou.

1606. Return from Parnassus. [Nares]. Lodge for his oare in every paper boate, He that turnes over Galen every day, To sit and simper Euphues legacie.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, iii. Pray thee mind him not, fellow ; he'll have an oar in everything.

1659. Howell, Diet. He loves to have an oar in every one's boat, he likes meddling with other people's business.

1731. Coffey, Devil to Pay, i. 2. I say, meddle with your own affairs ; I will govern my own house, without your

putting in an oar.

1843. Moncrieff, The Scamps of London, iii. 1. I'll thank you not to put your oar in my private affairs.

1874. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, ist S. No. in. 41. If you shove in your oar, Johnny Ludlow, or presume to interfere with me, I'll pummel you to powder.

1892. Gunter, Miss Dividends, ix. Mr. Kruger thinks to himself, ' Time for Lot to put his oar in.'

2. (colloquial).—(1) In pi. = a waterman : i.e., oars ( = two men) as opposed to sculls, q.v. = one man) ; and (2) an oarsman.

1611. Tarleton's Jests [Halliwell]. Tarlton being one Sunday at court all day, caused a paireof oares to tend him,who at night called on him to be gone. Tarlton, being a carousing, drunk so long to the watermen, that one of them was bumpsie ; and so, indeede, were all three for the most part.

First-oars, subs. phr. (common).—A favorite ; a person or thing holding the first or highest place.

1774. Dibdin, The Waterman . . . 'The Jolly Young Waterman.'—He was always first oars with the fine City ladies.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xxxiii. But was it the maidens of humble life only who soothed, consoled, and supported him ? No ! He was always first oars with the fine City ladies.

To lie (or rest) on one's oars, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To rest ; to take things easy.

1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 3 Aug., 3, 2. The Jacobyns, who were not present in force, and who have rested on their oars since the famous muster of 116, were not at all sorry that the division was decently let slip.

Oat, subs, (common).—An atom ; a particle : e.g. ' I've not an oat' = I'm penniless.

Wild Oats, subs. phr. (old). —A rake ; a debauchee : hence, to sow one's wild oats = to indulge ; to have sown one's wild oats = to have reformed.

rf.1570. Becon, Works (1843), 240. The tailors now-a-days are compelled to excogitate, invent, and imagine diversities of fashions for apparel, that they may satisfy the foolish desire of certain light brains and wild oats, which are altogether given to new fangleness.

1576. Touchstone of Complexions, 99. We meane that wilful and unruly age, which lacketh rypeness and discretion, and (as wee saye) hath not sowed all theyr wyeld oates.

1602. How a Man may Chuse a Good Wife [Nares]. Well, go to, wild oats 1 spendthrift, prodigal.

Oath.

84 Ob-and-soller.

1670. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn (1893), 178], s.v.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Oats. One that has sold his wild oats, or one having run out of all, begins to take up and be more staied.

A1707. Durfey, Pills to Purge, ar>c. (1707), ii. 276. Sow your wild Oats, And mind not her wild Notes.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Oats, he has sowed his wild oats, he is staid, or sober, having left off his wild tricks.

1858. Lytton, What Will He Do With It? viii. v. Poole had picked up some wild oats—he had sown them now.

Feed of oats, suds. phr. (common).—I. A whip ; and (2) a beating.

TO earn a gallon OF oats, verb. phr. (provincial).—Of horses : to fall on the back rolling from one side to the other [Halliwell].

To feel one's oats, verb. phr. (American).—To get bumptious. Cf. Beans.

1888. St. Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer, 22 July. The Kentuckians have certainly brought Little Falls to the front durng the past year, and Little Falls feels her oats, and will undoubtedly expand under her new name of Falls City.

Oath.—To take an oath, verb, phr. (common).—To drink ; TO liquor up (ç.v.).—Matsell (1859)

HlGHGATE oath, Subs, phr. (old).—A jocose asseveration which travellers towards London were required to take at a certain tavern at Highgate. They were obliged to swear that they would not prefer small beer before strong, unless indeed they liked the small better ; never to kiss the maid if they could kiss the mistress, unless the maid was prettier ; with othei statements of a similar kind.

Oatmeal, subs. (old).—A roystering profligate : see Roaring boy and Dandy.

1656. Ford, Sun's Darling, 1. L Swagger in my pot-meals, D—n—me's rank with, Do mad pranks with Roaring boys and oatmeals.

All the world is not oatmeal, phr. (old colloquial).—See quots. Cf. Beer and Skittles.

1542. Apoph. of Erasmus (Rept), 329. When Leosthenes had perswaded the citee of Athènes to make warre beeyng set agog to thinke ail the worlde otemele, and to imagin the recouering of an high name of freedome and of principalitee or soueraintee.

1615. Araignment of Lewde, Idle Wowen, cap. iii. par. 1. The worlde is not all made of otemeale, nor all is not golde that glisters.

1673. Vinegar and Mustard, 'Wednesday's Lecture.' Now you are come ashore, you think the world runs on wheels, and that all the world is oatmeal ; but you'll find it to the contrary.

Oats-and-barley, subs. phr. (rhyming). —Charley.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 149. Bob and his particular chum Oats (which is short rhyming slang for Charley. "Oats-and-Barley" it is in full, but the true art of it lies in the abbreviation).

Oats-and-chaff,subs.phr. (rhyming).—A footpath.

Oat-stealer, subs.phr. (common). —An ostler.

Ob, subs. (Winchester College).— A contraction of ' obit. '

Obadiah, subs, (obsolete).—A Quaker.

Ob-and-soller, subs.phr. (old).— A scholastic disputant. [From ' Objection ' and ' Solution ' used in the margin of books. ]

1638. Whiting, Albino and Bellama [Nares]. Minerva does not all her treasures rivet Into the scrues of obs and sols.

O-be-easy.

Obstropulous.

1678. Butler, Hud., m. ii. 1241. To pass for deep and learned scholars, Although but paltry ob-and-sollers : As if th' unseasonable fools Had been a coursing in the schools.

O-be-easy. TO sing ' O be easy,' verb. phr. (old).—See quot.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan],

s.v. O be joyful. To sing O be easy:

to appear contented when one has cause to complain.

O-be-joyful, subs. phr. (old).— See quot. Whence O-be-joyful works = a drinking shop.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. O be joyful, good liquor ; brandy.

TO make one sing ' O be joyful' on (or with) the other side of the mouth, verb. phr. (old).—To make one cry : see Mouth.—Grose (1785).

Obeum, The, subs. phr. (University).—The name for a watercloset building at Cambridge. [Attributed by the Undergraduates to the energy of O(scar) Browning)]

Obfuscated, adj. (common).— Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed. Also obfuscation.

1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoc, xxi. In a general state of obfuscation, in consequence of being plied with strange liquors by their patrons.

1869. Bradwood, The O. V. H. xxviii. Whose ignorance or temporarily obfuscated brain caused him to mistake his employer for Mr. Blake.

1872. Standard, 30 Dec. He then missed three shillings from his pockets, and a knife. Witness added that he was very much obfusticated at the time, but he was sure there was no other man in the room.

Obit, subs, (journalists').—An obituary notice.

1874. W. Black, in Athenieum, 12 Sept., 353. Some little time ago, the sub-editor of a New York daily newspaper wrote to me begging me to send him the proper materials for the construction of an obit. He said it was the custom of his j'ournal to keep obits in readiness.

Object, subs, (colloquial).—i. A laughing-(orgazing-) stock. Little object (of children) = a halfplayful half-angry endearment. Also (2) a sweetheart (i.e. the object of one's affections).

1824. Lockhart, Reginald Dation, iii. 119. What, roars Macdonald — You puir shanglin' in-kneed scray of a thing ! Would ony Christian body even you bit object to a bonny sonsie weel-faured young woman like miss Catline ?

Obiquitous, adj. and adv. (American).—Innocence of right and wrong. [From obliviotts and obliquity].

Obscute, adj. (American). — Under-handed ; ' crooked.'

Observationist, subs, (thieves'). —See quot.

1889. Barrere and Leland, Slang, Jargon, and Cant, s.v. Observationist, one who looks out tempting objects for the skilful thief to steal, etc. Generally pedlars, hawkers, etc.

Obstropulous, adj. (vulgar).—A corruption of ' obstreperous.'

1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, viii. I heard him very obstropulous in his sleep.

1762. Smollett, Sir L. Graves, 11. iv. He has been mortally obstropulous, and out of his senses all this blessed day.

^I773Goldsmith, She Stoojs to Conquer, iii. 1. I'm sure you did not treat Miss Hardcastle, that was here awhile ago, in this obstropolous manner.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

Oil.

1847. Halliwell, Archaic Words and Phrases, s.w. Obstropolous. I was going my rounds and found this here

femman very obstropolous . . . Genuine .ondon dialect.

Occabot.

86 Ocean-greyhound.

1S76. Sims, Dagonet Ballads¹ Miss Jarvis). But their minds is so awful perverted—they're such an obstropolous pack.

Occabot, subs, (back-slang). — Tobacco; tib fo occabot = bit of tobacco.

Occasion. To improve the occasion, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make the most of a chance.

i860. Dickens, Uncommercial Traveller, 11. 6. This serene avoidance of the least attempt to improve an occasion which might be supposed to have sunk of its own weight into my heart.

1865. G. Macdonald, Alec Forbes, Ixii. The faces of the congregation wore an expectant look, for they knew Mr. Turnbull would improve the occasion.

1867. A. Trollope, Claverings, xliv. He improved the occasion by telling those around him that they should so live as to be ever ready for the hand of death.

i860. Freeman, Norm. Conq. III., xii. 159. His next thought was how to improve the occasion.

1883. G. A. S[ala], in Illustr. London News, 27 Oct., 395, 2. I am obliged to ' Nominis Umbra ' for his information ; but I improve the occasion by observing that I am resolved for the future not to take the slightest notice of anonymous communications.

Occupant, subs, (old).^i. A prostitute ; cf. occupy. See Barrack-hack and Tart.

1598. Marston, Satires [Nares]. He with his occupant Are cling'd so close, like dew-wormes in the morn, That he'll not stir.

2. (old).—A bawdy-house ; a brothel. See Nanny-house.

Occupy, verb. (old).—i. To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., ii. 4. These villains will make the word captain as odious as the word occupy.

1598. Florio, A Worlde 0/ Wördes. Negotiare .... to occupif a woman. Ibid. ... a good wench, one that occupies freely.

1620-50. Percy Folio MS., 104. I bluntlye asket pro to occupye her; but first shee wold know wherfore that was good.

1640. Ben Jonson, Fftigr., 117. Groyne, come of age, his state sold out of hand For's whore : Groyne still doth occupy his land.

1648. Ben Jonson, Discoveries, vu. 119. Many, out of their own obscene apprehensions, refuse proper and fit words, as occupy, nature, and the like.

1656. Fletcher, Martiall, xi. 98. I can swive four times in a night : but thee Once in four years I cannot occupie.

<z".i68o. Rochester, ffs Answer. The only bawd that ever I, For want of whore, could occupy.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, v. 139. For she will be occupied when others lay still.

1811. Lex. Bal., s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Occupy. To occupy a woman, to have carnal knowledge of her. Ibid. Now all good men upon your lives, Turn round and occupy your wives, And when that you have done your best, Turn arse to arse and take your rest.

2. (American thieves').— To wear.—Matsell (1859).

Occupying-house, subs.phr. (old). —See quot. and Nanny-HOUSE.

1598. Florio, A Worlde 0/Wördes, s.v. Chiausterio, an occupying house, a bawdy house.

Ocean, subs, (colloquial).—In pl.— a very large quantity : e.g. oceans of drink, of coin, of ' notices,' and the like.

Ocean-greyhound, subs. phr. (common).—A swift steamer : specifically one running between England and America. Also Atlantic Greyhound. Mr. T. Dykes (Glasgow Mail, 28 May, 1900), says that in 1882 three great shipbuilding yards— Barrow, Dalmuir, and Fairfield—

Ochive.

87 Odd-come-shortly.

had each on hand a new steamer that was to beat the record, at that time held by the Arizona. He was commissioned by Mr. Gordon Bennett to write an article on the subject, and, as an old ' coursing' correspondent, was called upon to name the winner. He interviewed men best qualified to give an opinion, amongst others Mr. G. L. Watson, who plumped for the Fairfield boat as ' likely to prove theGreyhoundof theAtlantic' The Alaska, therefore, was named the ' Greyhound of the Atlantic' before she was launched.

1891. Daily Chronicle, 24 Mar. Another is an unarmoured cruiser, a 'commerce destroyer,' to make a minimum of 21 knots an hour, and capable of catching any of the great ocean greyhounds.

Ochive,subs. (Old Cant).—A knife. [From the gypsy 0 chif — the knife]. Also oschive.—Lex. Bal. (1S11 ) ; Matsell (1859).

Ochre, subs, (thieves').—Money: specifically gold. [From the colour]. See Actual and Gilt.

1854. Dickens, Hard Times, i. vi. If you want to cheek us, pay your ochre at the doors, and take it out.

1880. Punch's Almanack, 12. Lor', if I'd the ochre, make no doubt I could cut no end of big-pots out. Call me a cad: When money's in the game, Cad and swell are pooty much the same.

1890. Punch, 22 Feb. If I was flush of the ochre, I tell yer I'd make the thing hum.

O'clock. To know what's o'clock, verb. phr. (popular). — To be alert ; to be put up to the time of day. See know.

1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz. Our governor's wide awake, he is. I'll never say nothin' agin him, nor no man ; but he knows what's o'clock, he does, uncommon.

1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, x. I'm not clever, p'raps : but I am rather downy ; and partial friends say I know what's o'clock tolerably well.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxvii. As for old Mullockson, he used to take a drive to Sawpit Gully, or Ten-Mile, as soon as ever he saw what o'clock it was—and glad to clear out, too.

Like one o'clock,//w. (common).—Quickly; readily; in 'a jiffy' (q.v.). See Like.

1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab., &°c. i. 29. He trotted on like one o'clock.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, xx. He has seen him through the shop-door, sitting in the bark premises, sleeping like one o'clock.

1876. Braddon, Dead Men's Shoes, xx. I declare this den of yours swarms with reptiles. I saw a toad under the bench yesterday. Toads are valuable animals, answers Jane. They eat the snails like one o'clock.

O Criminy. See Crimes.

October, subs. (old). — 1. See quot. Specifically ale or cider brewed in October.

1869. Sporting-Life, 1 Oct. October . . . is a synonym for the best ale.

2. (pugilists').—Blood.

1853. Bradley ('Cuthbert Bede'), Verdant Green. While to another he would mention as an interesting item of news, Now we'll tap your best October.

Odd, adj. and adv. (once literary : now colloquial).—Strange ; peculiar ; difficult.

1602. Shakspeare, Troilus and Cressida, iv. 5. You're an odd man.

171t-2. Addison, Spectator. Mr. Locke's Essay would be a very odd book for a man to make himself master of.

Odd-come-shortly, subs. phr. (old).—Some day. Also oddcome-short, which likewise = odds and ends or fragments.

Odd-fish. 88 Odds.

1738. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Col. Miss, when will you be married? Miss. One of these odd-come-shortly's, Colonel.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1825. Scott, St. Ronans Well, xvii. They say she is to be . . . off to England ane of thae odd-come-shortlys.

1879. J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus, vii. Note. Run fetch me de ax, en I'll wait on you one erdeze odd-come-shorts.

Odd fish, subs.phr. (colloquial).— An eccentric : see Queer Card.

1771. Franklin, Auto. [Works(1887) i. 137]. He was an odd fish.

1820. Lamb, Elia, 'South Sea House.' Humourists, for they were of all descriptions . . . Odd fishes.

1837. Dance, The Country Squire, i. ß. Hor. (Crossing behind, to Georgegoing). He's a devilish odd fish.

Oddity, subs, (colloquial).—A singularity.

1813. Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 54. He must be an oddity, I think, said she. I cannot make him out.

1882. Howells, Modem Instance, iv. The mother (who remained in the room when her daughter had company) was an oddity almost unknown in Equity.

Odd man out, subs. phr. (common).—A mode of tossing for drinks by three or more. Each spins a coin, and if two come up ' head ' and one ' tail,' the 'tail,' or 'odd-man' is out, i.e. has not to pay. Should all three coins be alike, they are ' skied ' again.

1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop, xxxvi. He imparted to her the mystery of going the odd man, or plain Newmarket for fruit, ginger-beer, baked potatoes, or even a modest quencher.

1861. Albert Smith, Medical Student, 23. He purposes at lunch-time every day that he and his companions should go the odd man for a pot.

Odds, subs, (colloquial). — The probabilities for or against ; the chance of something occurring ; that which justifies the attributing of superiority to one of two or more persons or things : specifically, in betting, the excess of the amount of a bet made by one party over that of another: as ' the odds against the favourite were 3 to 1.'

1591. Greene, Second Part Connycatching, in Works, vol. x. p. 83. These fellows will refuse to lay if the ods may grow to their aduantage.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV, v. 5, 3. I will lay odds that ere this year expire We bear our civil swords and native fire As far as France.

1602-3. Shakspeare, Hamlet, v. 2. Ring. You know the wager? Ham. Very well, my lord ; Your grace häth laid the odds o' the weaker side.

1704. Cibber, Careless Husband, iv. Lady Betty. There's no standing against two of you. L. Toppington. No faith, that's odds at tennis.

1751. Fielding. Amelia, x. v. If the knowing ones were here, they would lay odds of our side.

1754. Connoisseur, No. 15. He has so contrived the bets on his own life, that, live or die, the odds are in his favour.

1818. Scott, Rob Roy, vi. Rashleigh alone possessed more arithmetic than was necessary to calculate the odds on a fighting-cock.

What's the odds ? phr. (colloquial).—' What does it matter ' : an intensive of recklessness and good-fellowship.

1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop, ii. What is the odds so long as the fire of soul is kindled at the taper of conviviality, and the wing of friendship never moults a feather ?

1880. A. Trollope, The Duke's Children, xvii. If they do send me down, what's the odds ? said the younger brother, who was not quite as sober as he might have been.

Odling. 89 Off-chance.

Odling, subs. (old).—Cheating.

1599. Ben Jonson, Every Man out 0/ his Humour. A thread bare shark ; one that never was a soldier, yet lives upon lendings. His profession is skeldering and

olding.

Odno, phr. (back-slang).—' No do.' Riding on the odno = travelling by rail without payment.

1889. Sporting Times. Doin' a duck, macin' the rattler, ridin' on the cheap, on the odno, under the bloomin' seat.

Odour, subs, (colloquial).—Repute: as ' good ' or ' bad ' odour, the odour of sanctity, &c.

1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, ix. As the Chevalier de Balibari was in particular good odour at the court of Dresden .... I was speedily in the very best society of the Saxon capital.

1858. Geo. Eliot, Amos Barton, vi. He got into rather bad odour there, through some scandal about a flirtation, I think.

Ods, stibs. (old). — A wilful attenuation of ' God's ' : common in 17th and 18th Century oaths ; e.g., ods-bodkins = God's little body, ods-bobs, ods-fish, etc.

1695. Congreve, Love for Love, iii. 5. Odsbud, Madam, have no more to say to him.

1705. Mrs. Centlivre, Gamester, v. i (1892), i. 184. Odsbud, sir, go to Angelica, this minute.

1782. Centlivre, Bold Stroke for a Wife. Free. Odso ! 'tis Miss Anne Lovely.

1812. Combe, Dr. Syntax, Picturesque, C. xi. O ! were she in coal-pit bottom, And all such jades, 'od rot 'em ! My cares would then be over, And I should live in clover.

1813. Moore, Twopenny Post-bag, Letter 4. These Papist dogs—hiccup— 'od rot 'em !

1844. BuCKSTONE, Ttie Maid with the Milking Pail. Lord P. Ods fish, why this interest in poor Lady Lucy ?

Off, subs, (cricketers').—The field of the wicket-keeper.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, ii. 8. Johnson, the younger bowler, is getting wild, and bowls a ball almost wide to the off.

Adv. (colloquial).—1. Out-ofdate. [Originally waiters' : e.g. ' Chops is hoff ' = ' there are no more chops to-day'].—2. Stale; in bad condition : e.g. Smells a little bit off, don't it ?

1892. Illustrated Bits, 22 Oct., 6, 2. Theosophy is off—decidedly off.

1892. Tit-Bits, 17 Sept., 417, 3. If the leopard's tail is not spotted to the root this conundrum is declared off.

To be off, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To depart ; to run away. See Amputate and Skedaddle.

1892. Ally Sloper, 27 Feb., 66, 2. Will you allow me to offer you a glass of ale? I'm afraid it's a little off. Is it? then, I'm off too.

Off bat, phr. (Winchester College).—See quot.

1866. Mansfield, Sclwol Life at Winchester, 222. Off bat. The station of one of the field in a cricket match, called by the outer world ' Point.'

Offthe horn,//zr. (common). —Said of very hard steak.

Off the hinge, phr. (common).—Out of work.

1853. Fun, iv. 58, A Song About Centralization. We've rights within our city bounds which no one should infringe And if those rights were broken down 'twould chuck us off the hinge.

Also see Base ; bat ; chump; cocoanut;colour; dot; feed; head ; hook ; kadoova ; nut ; onion ; reel ; rocker ; saucer; song ; spot.

Off-chance, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A doubtful hazard.

Office. 90 Ogle.

1880. N. Gould, Double Event, 105. He didn't think Caloola would win, but he took .£50 to £1 on the off chance, 'just to have an interest in the brute,' he said.

Office, subs. (old).—quot. 1819. Fr. donner un tuyau.

1818. Egan, Boxiana, 11. 436. Reynolds observed to his seconds that if he could but see his man he certainly must win. The office was immediately given, when a farmer jumped into the ring, and lanced his eyes.

1819. Vaux, _ Memoirs, ii. 193. Office, a hint, signal, or private intimation, from one person to another ; this is termed officeing him, or giving him the office ; to take the office, is to understand and profit by the hint given.

1830. Buckstone, A Dead Shot. I, understanding the game, soon discovered a crack player—went up to him—gave the office—he was on his mettle.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xlii. Mivins ! said Mr. Smangle, with a passionate air. What's the office ; replied that gentleman from his couch. Who the devil is this fellow ?

1843. Moncrieff. The Scamps of London, iii. 1. Give the office to the waiter.

1864. Braddon, Henry Dunbar, xxxix. I gave you th eof f ice just now, he said, because I thought if you spoke to me, that old chap would leave off talking, and I might miss something that was on the tip of his tongue.

1875. Greenwood, Lcnu Life Deeps [Slang; Jargon, and Cant.]. And then, in a word or two which none of the outsiders can understand, the conductor gives the office to his driver, who sits the picture of good behaviour .... till the point of danger is passed.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxxii. How the deuce did you get the office.

1S91. Newman, Scamping Tricks,

70. I gave the office.

Verb. (old).—To give notice or information.

1819. Moore, Tom Cribb's Memorial, 19. To office with all due dispatch through the air, To the Bulls of the Alley the fate of the Bear.

Cook's office, subs. phr. (nautical).—The galley.

Jack in office. See Jack.

Office-sneak, subs. phr. (common).—A stealer of office overcoats and umbrellas.

Offish, adv. (colloquial).—Distant.

1842. Betsy Bobbet, 289. I am naturally pretty offish and retirin' in my ways with strange men folks. I think it is becoming in a woman to be so, instead of bold.

1883. Century, xxxvi. 35. She was rather offish, but really would have been glad to make up.

1883. L. Oliphant, Altiora Pets, 11. xxxii. 202. You did not know that your husband . . . married my niece before he married his other wives, or you wouldn't ha' been so offish when we first met over in Paris.

1892. Gunter, Miss Dividend, vi. You make me feel as if you were offish, says the youthful news-agent.

Off-ox, subs.phr. (American).—An unmanageable, cross-grained fellow.

1862. Lowell, Biglovj Papers, 2nd Series, s.v.

Ogging ot tekram, phr. (backslang).—Going to market.

Ogle, subs, (old).—i. In //. the eyes. Also Oglers. Hence, queer-ogled = squinting; rum ogles = bright or piercing eyes.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Ogles. The Gentry Mort has rum Ogles, that Lady has charming black eyes.

1706. Centlivre, Love at a Venture, iv. i. [Works ^2), i. 295.] Flor. Why, what do you fear? Rob. Those pinking ogles of thine.

1706. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, i. pt. vi. 25. He rowl'd his ogles with a grace Becoming so a zealous face.

1748. Dyche, Dictionary. Ogles in the Cant. Language, are the eyes.

Ogle.

Oil.

1735. Grose, Vulg: Tongue, s?v.

' 1819. Moore, Tent Cribb's Memorial, 51. Round lugs and ogles flew the frequent fist.

1821. Haggart, Life Glossary, 172. s.v. Oglers.

1827. Egan, Anec. Turf, 67. Never again would he put the ogles of the ring in mourning.

1839. Ainsworth, Jack S/teppard, 1. ii. It does sparkle almost as brightly as your ogles.

1846. Punch's Almanac, November. Remarks. Fiery links gleam through the unfiltered air, and in their transit sputter hot pitch on the fog-bound traveller ! Let Snodgrass beware ! An Adverse torch threatens his dexter ogle.

1853. Bradley, ('Cuthbert Bede'), Verdant Green. That'll raise a tidy mouse on your ogle, my lad.

1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, vi. A little brown, bright-eyed creature, whose ogles had made the greatest impression upon all the world.

2 (common).—An ocular invitation or consent, side glance, or amorous look. Whence ogling = an amorous look.

1704. Cibber, The Careless Husband, iii. i. Nay, nay, none of your parting ogles. Will you go ?

1710. Congreve, Song to Celia. Those oglings that tell you my passion.

d. 1719. Addison, The Fortune Hunter. When an heiress sees a man throwing particular graces into his ogle . . . she ought to look to herself.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, àfic, i. 43. To oagle there a Tory tall, or a little Whig, Defying the Pretender.

1751. Fielding. Amelia, xi. iii. He immediately laid siege in form, setting himself down in a lodging directly opposite to her, from whence the battery of ogles began to play the very next morning.

1818. Byron, Beppo, xvi. For glances beget ogles, ogles sighs.

c.1820. Maher, Death of Socrates. With the mots their ogles throwing.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 37. They ain't in it with ogles and antics and 'ints.

Verb, (common).—1. To look amorously ; to make sheep's eyes (q.v.).— B. E. (c. 1696).

1712. Pope, Pape of tlte Lock, v. 23. To patch, to ogle, may become a saint.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, à>*c., ii. 97. When Tiptoes are in fashion, and Lovers will jump and play, Then he too takes occasion to leer and ogle me.

1775. Sheridan, The Rivals, ii. 1. I will make you ogle her all day, and sit up all night, to write sonnets on her beauty.

rf.1800. Cowper, Pairing Time Anticipated. Dick heard, and tweedling, ogling, bridling.

1834. Dowling, Otliello Travestie, i. 3. She first began To throw sheep's eyes, and ogle at the man.

2. (colloquial).—To examine ; to consider.

1836. Michael Scott, TomCringle's Log. I perceived that she first ogled the superscription, and then the seal, very ominously.

3. (thieves').—To look.

1821. Haggart, Life, 62. Seeing a cove ogling the yelpers.

1842. Egan, Captain Macheath, ' The By-blow of the Jug.' Jack had a sharp-looking eye to ogle, And soon he began to nap the fogle.

Ogler, subs. (old).—i. See Ogle, subs., sense 1.

2. (common). — One who ogles (q.v.).

1702. Steele, Grief-a-la-Modc, iii. i. Oh 1 that Kiggle, a pert ogler.

171a Tatter, 145. A certain sect of professed enemies to the repose of the fair sex, called oglers.

Oh. See after you ; dummy ; Jupiter ; Moses; my; swallow.

Oil, subs, (various).—1. Used in humorous or sarcastic combination : e.g., Oil of Angels = a gift or bribe (in allusion to the coin) ; oil of barley = beer ; oil of baston (birch, glad

Oil.

ness, hazel, holly, rope, stirrup, strappem. or \vhip) = a beating ; oil of giblets (or horn) = a woman's spendings (Butter, q.v. ; Letchwater,

q.V.) ; oil of man (cotgrave)

= the semen ; oil of palms (or palm-oil) = a bribe ; oil of tongue = flattery.

1592. Greene, Repentance, etc. Sig C. My Mother pampered me so long, and secretly helped mee to the oyle of Angels, that I grew thereby prone to all mischefs.

1608. Withal, Diet., 308, s.v. Oil of Baston.

1608. Penniles Pari., in Harl. Misc. (Park), i. 183. The oil of holly shall prove a present remedy for a shrewd housewife.

1609. Dekker, Ravens Almanacke, in Wks. (Grosart), iv. 202. To apply . . the oiLE of holly to her shoulders, I heatherto was affraide, because I had no warrant that a man might lawfullye beate his wife.

1623. Massinger, Duke of Milan, iii. 2. His stripes wash'd off With oil of

ANGELS.

c. 1650. Bad Husband [Collier, Roxburg/ie Ballads (184), 300]. She'd tell me it was too early, Or else it was too late, Until by the oyle of barley They had gotten my whole estate.

1662. Fuller, Hist. Worthies of England, 'The Beggars of Bath.' And although oil of whip be the proper plaister for the cramp of laziness, yet some pity is due to impotent persons.

1693. Poor Robin [Nares]. Now for to cure such a disease as this, The oyl of whip the surest medicine is.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Oyl of Barley, Strong Drink.

1715. Centlivre. Wife Well Managed, sc. 5. When wives, like mine, gives inclination scope, No cure for cuckoldom like oyl of rope.

1785. Grose, l^rulg. Tongue, s.v. Oil of barley, barley broth, strong beer. —Ibid. Oil of gladness, I will anoint you with the oil of gladness, ironically spoken for, I will beat you.—Ibid. Oil of Stirrup, a Dose the cobler gives his wife, when ever she is Obstropulus.

1S19. Muokk, Tom Crib's Memorial, 81. Oil of Palm's, the thing that flowing Sets the naves and felloes going.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Oil of Palms. Money.

1840. Lytton, Paul Clifford, viii. I dare say you may manage to soften the justice's sentence by a little oil of palms.

1854. Punch, ii. 168. Oil of palms. —Metaphora vetustissima. A specific much in vogue for rigid fingers and horny fistedness ; though strange to say, it only serves to augment the itch which so often affects the hand.

1879. Dickens, Diet, of London, s.v. Sight-Seeing. The enterprising sight-seer who proceeds on this plan, and who understands the virtues of palm oil, is sure to see everything he cares to see.

2. (venery).—The semen : see Cream.

1647-80. Rochester, The Imperfect Enjoyment. Too hasty zeal my hopes did spoil, Pressing to feed her lamp, I spilt my oil.

Verb, (common).—To flatter ; to bribe.

1616. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, iii. 1. They'll part, sir, with no books, without the hautgout He oiled : and I must furnish.

1877. W. Thornbury, in Gent. Mag., Jan., 85. Passed my things through the Custom-house quickly, having first oiled the douanier's hands.

1881. Doran, In and About Drury Lane, ii. 62. Sir Edward had oiled the palms of men-servants and clerks to the tune of eighty shillings.

1891. Newman, Scamping Tricks, 95. After oiling him a little and pleasing him in the old-fashioned way, we managed to overcome the natural dulness of his mind.

To strike oil (or ile), verb, phr. (American).—To meet with a stroke of good luck ; to be successful. [From the financial advantage accruing from the discovery of the Pennsylvanian and other mineral oil springs.]

Oiner.

Old.

1866. Sat. Review, 6 Jan. Here the ingenious and industrious explorer constantly strikes ile, and of the very best quality.

1894. Sketch, 28 March, 462, 1. You were speaking just now of ' Babil and Bijou ' having been a financial failure, but I suppose you have struck ile sometimes ?

To oil the wig, verb. phr. (provincial).— To make tipsy: see Drinks and Screwed.

To oil the knocker, verb, phr. (common).—To fee the porter. Fr. graisser le marteau.

OlNER, stibs. (University).—Acad.

Ointment, subs.(medicalstudents'). —I. Butter ; cart-grease (q.v.).

2. (old).—Money. [From the 13th Century Fabliau, ' De la Vieille qui Oint la Palme au Chevalier '].

3. (venery).—The semen : see Spendings.

O.K., phr. (originally American : now universal).—See quot. 1871.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, 72. His express reported himself after his night ride, assured Allen that all was o. k. , and received his dollar.

1852. Judson, Mysteries of New York, iv. 'Tis one of us ; it's o.k.

1871. De Vere, Americanisms. General Jackson, better known . . as Old Hickory, was not much at home in the art of spelling, and his friend and admirer, Major Jack Downing, found therefore no difficulty in convincing the readers of his ¹ Letters,' that the President employed the letters 0. k. as an endorsement of applications for office, and other papers. They were intended to stand for ' All Correct,' which the old gentleman preferred writing Oil Korrect.

1853. Graphic, 17 March, 287, 1. It was voted o.k., or all correct, whereas the other was pronounced only a one-horse affair.

1889. Answers, 56, 1. John Jenkins . . was o.k. with Matilda Ann at Williams Street.

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 12 Nov., 3, i. If a stock has been falling and a sudden rise of 1 comes over there is an immediate inquiry, to make sure that there is no mistake. The reply o.k. no doubt comes back, and the price goes out.

189t. Sporting Times, 11 Ap. There can be no doubt that it was all o.k., for your insistence upon strict veracity is well known to all readers of the Pink ' Un.

Verb. (American).—To signify that all is right.

1888. Missouri Republican, 25 Jan. Please o.k., and hurry the return of my account.

Old, subs, (common).—Money : see Rhino.

1900. Sims, In London's Heart, 10. "Perhaps its somebody you owe a bit of the old to, Jack" . . . "No, I don't think so," he replied. " Most of the people I owed money to turned up, my dear, when I married you."

Adj. (old colloquial). — 1. Crafty ; cunning ; experienced.

2. (old literary : now colloquial).—Great; famous; grand; once a common intensitive ; now only in combination with ' high,' ' good,' ' gay,' etc.

1590. Tarlton, Newes out of Purgatorie. On Sunday, at masse, there was an olde ringing of bells.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives,

1. 4. There will be an old abusing of God's patience, and the king's English.

1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado, v.

2, 98. Madam, you must come to your uncle. Yonder's old coil at home.

1603. Tomkis, Lingua, ii. 6. Imagine there is old moving amongst them.

1611. Middleton and Dekker, Roaring Girl (Century). Here's old cheating.

1612. Dekker, If it be not Good, etc. We shall have old breaking of neckes.

1621. Fletcher, Pilgrim, iii. 7. Strange work at sea ; I fear me there's old tumbling.

Old.

1624. MiDDLETON, Garni at Chess, iii. i. Mass, here will be old firking.

1664. Cotton, Vergil Travestie (ist ed.), 10.J. There was old drinking and old singing.

1883. Referee, 11 Mar., 3, 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, xxxv. I went down to Melbourne, intending to have a high old time.

1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, 7. You are a big fraud and a high old liar.

1892. F. Anstey, Voces Populi, ' The Riding Class,' 108. ' We've bin having a gay old time in 'ere.

1899. Gunter, Florida Ench., 86. Well, my boy, did you have a high old time last evening with that pretty widow.

3. (Old Cant).—See quot. 1811. Lex. Bal. Old, ugly.

4. (old literary : now colloquial).—A general term of endearment or cordiality : e.g., old chap ; old fellow ; old boy ; old hoss ; old man ; old gal ; etc. See Boy.

1598. Shakspeare. / Henry IV., ii. 4. Go thy ways, old Jack.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Old Cuff, a frolicksome old Fellow. Ibid. Old Toast, a brisk old Fellow.

1740. Richardson, Pamela, in. 380. Never fear, old boy, said Sir Charles, we'll bear our parts in conversation.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Old toast, a brisk old fellow.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan]. Old Chap, a good-natured flash phrase.

1854. Our Cruise in the Undine, 142. Here's a go. Bill '. said the Doctor. Never mind, old boy, replied the Captain; we'll get the other side of him yet.

1871. T/ie Echo, 16 March. Are you going to have a wet, old boy ? one familiarly remarked.

1889. Illus. London News Summer Number, 26, col. 2. You are right there, old boy, said Eustace.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger's Sweetheart, p. 165. Now for business, old boy.

5. (common).—A general disparagement : as in old bloke ; old buffer ; old cat ; old cock ; old codger ; old coon ; old crawler ; old curmudgeon ; old dog ; old file; old fiz-gig; old geezer; old huddle and twang ; old image ; old pot-and-pan ; old shaver; old square-toes; old stager ; old stick ; old stickin-the-mud.

1600. Sir John Oldcastle, x. 2. If ever wolf were clothed in sheep's coat, Then I am he ; old huddle and twang.

1760. George Colman, Polly Honeycombe, i. 3. The old codger's gone, and has locked me up with his daughter.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii. 4. Tom. Good night, old stick-inthe-mud.

1836. Leman Rede and R. Brinsley Peake, The Middle Temple, 3. Bru. Thank you, ma'am ; there was an old fizgig told me to bring that card here. Mrs. M. old fizgig ! (Aside) Does not speak quite respectful of his parent.

1838. Selby, The Dancing Master, 2. Hard-hearted old codger, he'd see me killed with as much unconcern as he would a sucking-pig.

1846. Planche, Court Favour, i. Duke. (Aside) Tiresome old cat ! Madam—(aloud)—permit me.

1864. Sun, 28 Dec, Review of Hotten's Slang Diet. We look in vain here for any mention of old SquareToe s.

1867. Mark Lemon, Golden Fetters, ii. p. 74. Mr. Clendon did not call Mr. Barnard old cock, old fellow, or old beeswing.

1870. Haylewood and Williams, Leave it to Me, i. Jos. (aside) Blowed if I know what to say. (Aloud to Quince) My worthy old Cockalorum.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxxvi. You're a regular old image, Jim, says she. Ibid., i. I used to laugh at him, and call him a regular old

crawler.

Old Adam. 95 Old Boots.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 17. Life don't want lifting, old oyster.

1895. H. B. Marriott-Watson, in New Review, 4 July. He was a comfortable old cock, of an affluent habit, and pretty well to do, as I suspected.

As old as Charing Cross (or as Paul's), phr. (old).—Of ripe age.—Ray (1676).

Old Adam, subs. phr. (venery).— The penis : see Creamstick and Prick.

Old Agamemnons, suds. phr. (military).—The 69th Foot, now the 2nd Batt. of the Welsh Regiment : bestowed by Nelson at St. Vincent in 1769, when the regiment were serving as marines. Also " The Ups and Downs."

Old and Bold, subs. phr. (military). — The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), formerly The 14th Foot. Also " Calvert's Entire," " The Powos," and " The Fighting Brigade."

Old Bailey underwriter, subs, phr. (old). —See quot.

1830. Moncrieff, Van Dieman's Land, i. 1. An old bailey underwriter —forgery on a small scale.

Old Bendy, subs.phr. (old).—The devil : see Skipper.

Old Bird, subs. phr. (thieves').— i. An experienced thief. Also old hand.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, i. 32. In nine cases out of ten an old bird would betray himself.

1899. Star, 3 Jan. Only the cook was there ; but a right good fellow was he, though an old hand of very questionable antecedents.

2. (common). —An expert. Also old hand and old dog. Hence old dog at it = expert.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Old hand, knowing, or expert in any business.

1889. Daily News, 9 Nov., 5, 2. Was the interest in Jane wearing off, or was Bysshe too old a bird to praise one lady in the hearing of another ?

1892. Ally S toper's Half Holiday, 19 Mar., 90, 3. I'm too old a bird to be had on toast like that.

Old Blazes (common). — The devil : see. Skipper.

1849. Southern Literary Messenger, June. He looked, upon my word, like Old Blazes himself, with his clothing all on fire, and rage and despair in his face.

Old Block. See Chip.

Old Bold, subs. phr. (military).— The 29th Foot, now the ist Batt. Worcestershire Regiment. Also " The Ever-Sworded 29th."

Old Bold Fifth, subs. phr. (military). — The Northumberland Fusiliers : formerly The 5th Foot. Also " The Shiners," " The Fighting Fifth," and "Lord Wellington's Bodyguard."

Old Boots. Like old boots,phr. (common).—A general and irrelevant comparison. See Like.

1850. SiMEDLEY, Frank Fairleigh, xxv. He . . . drove his heels into ' Tom Trot'—that's the new grey horse, sir, if you please—and was out of sight like old boots.

1864. Hotten, Slang Diet., s.v. Old boots . . . 'As cheeky as old boots ; ' 'As quick as old boots,' seem a little more reasonable, new boots being somewhat unfavourable to speedy locomotion.

1868. Miss Braddon, Sir Jasper, xxvii. I'll stick to you like old boots.

1874. Saturday Review, Jan., 55. An Oxford man, nay even a Balliol man . . . introduced in the story a pleasing change by such a phrase as jawing away

like old boots.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 33. I jest blew away like old boots.

Old Braggs. 96

Old Floorer.

Old Braggs, subs. phr. (military). —The 28th Foot, now the ist Batt. Gloucestershire Regiment : from its Colonel's name, 1734-51. Also " The Slashers."

Old Bucks, subs. phr. (military). —The Bedfordshire Regiment, formerly The 16th Foot. Also " The Peacemakers" and "The Feather-beds."

Old Buffs, subs. phr. (military).— The Third Foot, now The Buffs (East Kent Regiment). Also Nut-crackers and Resurrectionists.

Old-crow, subs. phr. (American). —A drink ; a dram. [In the United States old crow = a choice brand of Bourbon or corn whiskey].

«■.1860. Broadside Ballad [quoted in Slang, Jargon and Cant]. Life seems a brt to soften when I try a good old crow.

Old-ding, subs. phr. (venery).— The female pudendum : see Monosyllable. — Lex. Bal. (1811) ; Grose (1823).

Old-dog, subs. phr. (common).— I. A half-burnt plug of tobacco left in the bowl of a pipe.

2. (colloquial).—A lingering antique.

1846. Dickens, Dornbey, x. 79. An old campaigner, sir, said the Major, a smoke-dried, sun-burnt, used-up, invalided old dog of a Major, sir.

Adj. phr. (old).—Particularly good.

1596. Nashe, Haw with you, Epis. Ded. par. 5. O, he hath been olde dogge at that drunken, staggering kinde of verse.

1664. Butler, Hudibras, 11. iii. 5, 208. He (Sidrophel) was old dog at physiology.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. OxD-dog-at-it, good or expert. Ibid. Old-dog-at-common-prayer, a poor Hackney that cou'd Read, but not Preach well.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

Old Donah (or Old Woman),

subs. phr. (tramps').—A mother.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xvi. Well my old pot switched with the cook, my old donah, and ... I was born a twelvemonth afterwards.

Old Doss, subs. phr. (thieves').— See quots. and Cage.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan]. s.v. Old doss, Bridewell.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Old doss, The Tombs [the New York City gaol].

Old Dozen, subs. phr. (military). —The Suffolk Regiment, formerly the 12th Foot.

Old Driver, subs. phr. (common). —The devil : see Skipper.

Old ebony, subs, (literary).—Blackwoods Magazine. Also Maga.

OLD Exes, subs. phr. (military).— The Grenadier Guards ; also known as " The Sand Bags," "The Coalheavers," "The Housemaids' Pets," and "The Bermuda Exiles."

Old File, subs. phr. (common).— A miser ; a skinflint (q.v.). Also see Old, adj. sense 5.

Old Five and Threepennies,

subs. phr. (military).—The Fiftythird Foot. [From its number and (formerly) the daily pay of an ensign]. Also Brickdusts.

Old Floorer, subs. phr. (common).—Death.

Old Fogs. 97 Old Harry.

Ol9 Fogs, subs. phr. (military).— The 87th Foot, now the Royal Irish Fusiliers. [From their battlecry, • Fag-an-Bealach ' = ' Clear the Way']. Also " Blayney's Bloodhounds" and "The Rollickers."

Old gentleman, subs. phr. (cardsharpers').—i. See quot.

1828. G. Smeeton, Doings in London, 77. An old gentleman (a card somewhat larger and thicker than the rest of the pack, and now in considerable use amongst the ' legs ').

2. (common).—The devil : see Skipper.

1727. De Foe, Hist. App. [1729], 364. The devil is not so black as he is painted, but that you may form such images of the old gentleman [etc.]. M.

1836. Buckstone, Marana, ii. 1. They do say, if he's not the old gentleman himself he is a very near relation. . . . Gil. And as true as you stand there, only two evenings ago I saw his Satanic Majesty.

1840. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Lay of St. Nicholas). And how, to the day of their death, the old gentleman Never attempted to kidnap them more.

Old Glory, subs. phr. (American). —The United States' flag (1770— 1844)

Old Gooseberry, subs.phr. (common).—The devil : see Skipper.

1861. H. Kingsley, RavensJioe, xxxvii. Hornby (who would, like Faust, have played chess with Old Gooseberry) allowed himself to be taken into a skittleground.

To play old Gooseberry, verb. phr. (common).—To play the devil.—Grose (1785); Bee (1823).

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 22. Will play up old gooseberry soon with them all.

1835. Selby, Catching an Heiress, i. Go to the fair, get jolly, and play up

old gooseberry.

1843. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Bloudie Jack). There's a pretty to do 1 All the people of Shrewsbury Playing old gooseberry, With your choice bits of taste and virtù.

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, xxxviii. I'll play old gooseberry with the office.

1865. H. Kingsley, Hillyars and the Burtons, Ixii. Lay on like old gooseberry.

1892. Globe, 12 July, 2, 2. We all know his capacity for playing old gooseberry with things in general.

Old gown, subs, (com n).— Smuggled tea.

Old hand. See Old bird.

Old Harry, subs. phr. (common). —The devil. Also The Lord Harry. See Skipper.—Grose (178S).

1687. Congreve, Old Bach., ii. 2. By the Lord Harry he says true.

1744. O'Hare, Midas, ii. 1. I swear by the Lord Harry, The moment madam's coffined—Her I'll marry.

1810. Poole, Hamlet Travestie, i. 1. I'll speak to it, should even Old Harry dare me.

1849. Lytton, Caxtons, vin. ch. ii. By the Lord Harry 1 muttered the policeman, if he ben't going to sleep again 1

1866. Mahony, Reliques of Fat iter Front, ' Vert-Vert.' Nay sometimes, too, by the Lord Harry ! He'd pull their caps and ' scapulary. '

2. (old).—See quot. 1696.

1696. B. E., Did. Cant. Crew, s.v. Old Harry, a composition used by Vintners, when they bedevil their Wines.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

To play old Harry, verb, phr. (common).—To play the devil : see Play.

1837. Marry at, Dog Friend, xlvii. They've played old Harry with the rigging.

Old Harvey. 98 Old Lady

1SS4. \V. C. Russell, Jack's Courtship, xii. I'm afraid he'll now take such steps to stop all chance of my meeting or communicating with his daughter as will play old harry with my hopes.

Old Harvey, subs. phr. (nautical). —The large boat (the launch) of a man-of-war.

Old hat, subs. phr. (venery).— See quots. and Monosyllable.

1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, i. vi. (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, cxxvi. A chapter of chambermaids, green gowns, and old hats.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue,^ s.v. Hat. Old hat, a woman's privities : because frequently felt.

Old Horney (or Hornington),

sub. phr. (venery).—The penis : see Prick. Cf. Miss Horner = the female pudendum.

Old (or salt) horse, subs. phr. (nautical).—I. Salt junk. Fr. souspied, and tire-fiacre.

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.

2. (American).—An endearment : a familiar address. See old, adj., sense 4. Also old hoss.

1884. S. L. Clemens(' M. Twain'), Huckleberry Finn, xvii. Are you all ready ? All right—come olong, old hoss.

1888. Gunter, Mr. Potter of Texas, 123. Lubbius, old os, is that ere lunch ready?

1893. Emerson, Sigttor Lippo, xiv. Well, old hoss, how are you, and how's the world been playing on yer since I last vardied yer? Alright, mate.

Old Inniskillings, subs. phr. (military).—The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. Also ' ' The Skillingers."

Old iron, subs. phr. (nautical).— Shore clothes. To work up old iron = to go ashore.

OVd Lady, subs. phr. (card-sharpers').—i. See quot. and cf. old gentleman, sense 1.

1828. G. Smeeton, Doings in London, 78. There is not only an old gentleman, but an old lady (a card broader than the rest) amongst them.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

The old lady of Threadneedle St., subs. phr. (common).—The Bank of England.

1797. Gilray, Tlie Old Lady in Threadneedle Street in Danger [Title of Caricature, the reference being to the temporary stopping of cash payments 26th February, 1797, and the issue of pound bank-notes 4th March the same year.]

1859. Punch, xxxvi. 174. The girl for my money. The old lady of Threadneedle Street.

1864. Braddon, Henry Dunbar, xxv. The .... convenient and flimsy paper circulating medium dispensed by the Old Lady in Threadneedle Street.

1871. Chambers's Journal, 9 Dec, 773. The Old Lady in Threadneedle Street can always take care of herself : if a note is stolen, site don't suffer ; while, if it is lost, it is just so much in her own pocket, unless you can get a justice of the peace to swear it's burned.

1889. Tit Bits, 30 Nov., 119, i. From seven o'clock in the evening until seven o'clock in the morning the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street is as well protected by Her Majesty's soldiers as Her Majesty in her palace.

1894. Pall Mall Gazette, 28 July. In its infancy there were only fifty-four persons employed in the service of the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street ; now the staff numbers nearly a thousand employees.

Old lag.

Old Nick.

Old, lag. See Lag.

Old Line State, subs. phr. (American). — Maryland. [From the old line regiments contributed to the Continental army in the War of the Revolution].

Old man, subs. phr. (venery).—I. The penis : see Creamstick and Prick.

2. (Australian).—A full-grown male kangaroo.

18 [?]. Bush Wanderings of a Naturalist .... Some of the old men reach to an immense size, and I have often killed them over 2 cwts.

1873. J. B. Stephens, Mis. Poems [1880] ^rBnsbane Reverie.' Where the Kangaroo gave hops, the old man fleetest of the fleet.

1897. Pall Mall, 23 Sep., 9, 2. Almost the first kangaroo put up was an old man, and the pack bustled him through a patch of heavy timber, into a bog and out of it again.

3. (common).—A familiar mode of address. See old, adj., sense 4.

4. (common).—A master ; a governor {q.v.). ; a boss (q.v.)_t

1899. Gunter, Florida Ench. 9. ' One would think you like to frighten people.' 'So I does,'giins the youth solemnly, ' when the old man's out.

5. (common).—A husband : cf. old woman. Fr. le géniteur.

1856. Whyte Melville, Kate Coventry, xvi. Aunt Deborah only stipulating that there should be no male addition to the party, except Mr. Lumley himself, or, as the lady of the house termed him, her old man.

1883. Stevenson, Tlte Silverado Squatters, 98. When her old man wrote home for her from America.

6. (American).—The captain of a merchantman.

1823. Fenimore Cooper, Pilot, vi. We must get them both off. . . before the old man takes it into his head to leave the coast.

1847. Howitt, Journal, 187. To begin with the captain. He was a firstrate old man as far as good treatment and good living went.

1850. Seaworthy, Nag's Head, viii. 66. Land O ! Where away '? shouted the

old man.

1883. W. Clark Russell, Sailor's Language, preface, xi. But the lack of variety is no obstruction to the sailor's poetical inspiration when he wants the old man to know his private opinions without expressing them to his face, and so the same chantey, as the windlass or halliard chorus is called, furnishes the music to as many various indignant remonstrances as Jack can find injuries to sing about.

7. (common).—The ridge between two sleepers in a feather bed.

8. (nurses').—A blanket used to wrap a young child in.

9. (common).—A father.

OLD man's milk, subs. phr. (common). — Whiskey : see Drinks. In Scotland a mixture of cream, eggs, sugar and whiskey.

18 [?]. Saxon and Gael, ii. 78, 79. Flora made me a bowl of ould man's milk, but nothing would bring me round.

Old Mr. Gory, subs.phr. (old).— 'Apiece of gold.'—B.E. (c.1696); Grose (1785).

Old Mr. Grim, subs. phr. (old). —Death: see Old Florer(^.z>.). —Grose (1785); Lex Bal. (1811).

Old Nick, subs. phr. (common).— The devil : see Skipper. Also nickie and nickie-ben.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1662. Rump Sonçs, ii. 43. In this prodigal trick They nave outdone Old Nick For what he did give he did show.

1678. Butler, lludibras, m. i. 1313. Nick Machiavel had no such trick, Though he gave's name to our Old Nick.

1706. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, 1. v. 14. In painful fury roaring out, I wish your patterns at Old Nick.

Old one. ioo Old Saucy Seventh.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, àr'c., i. 264. The God of Love, or else Old Nick, Sure had design'd this Devilish trick.

1720. Swift, Apollo to the Dean [IVorks (1824), xiv. 134]. Fori think in my conscience he deals with Old Nick.

a. 1796. Burns, Tant o' Shanter, 11. There sat auld Nick, in shape o' beast. Ibid. Add. to the Devil. But fare-you

weel, auld NlCKIE-ben.

1829. Buckstone, Billy _ Taylor, Nick or Belzebub, Or as our children call thee, black old Bogey, Appear !

1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 1 S. x. And kick like mad, and then Old Nick himself wouldn't start 'em.

1855. Notes and Queries, 1 S. xii. 228. All over the North a demon bearing this designation, slightly modified by dialectic variations, is commonly acknowledged. He is the Anglo-Saxon Nicer ; Dan. Nöecke or Nökke (Nikke) ; Swedish Neck, Necken ('ejusdem significationis ' as Finn Magnusen observes, ' ut et Anglorum Nick—Old Nick ; Belgarum, Nicker—qui, jam nune diabolum indicant'); Fennish Naki ; Esthonian Nack ; Scotch Nicneven ; German Nichs, Nicks, Nichse, the Nickar of the people of the Feroës, and the Nikel of those of the Rügen.

1870. Moncrieff, Giovanni in London, i. 2. And, pray, what were you sent to Old Nick for, my love?

1884. Clark Russell, Jack's Courtship, xvi. I knew you'd do it—it's the Seymour spirit—a fair grip, and Old Nick may shriek for mercy.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 38. In that Gallery, Charlie, Old Nick would have found it too warm.

Old one (or old'un), subs. phr. (common).—1. The devil : see Skipper.—Grose (1785).

2. (common).—A father.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xx. It's the old 'un. Old one, said Mr. Pickwick, What old One? My father, sir, replied Mr. Weiler.

3. (racing).—A horse more than three years old.

4. (theatrical).—The pantaloon; the fool's father (q.v.).

Old pegq, subs. phr. (old).— ' Poor Yorkshire cheese, made of skimmed milk.'—Grose (1785).

Old pelt, subs. phr. (printers').— An old pressman. [In allusion to the ink pelts formerly in use for distributing the ink].

Old pod (or Old Pot-and-Pan),

subs. phr. (rhyming).—1. An old man ; a father. Also (2) a wife ; a woman.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xvi. You must know that my old pot was a bark.

Old Poger, subs. phr. (old).— The devil : see Skipper. — Grose.

Old probabilities, subs. phr. (American). — The Superintendent of the United States weather bureau. Sometimes Old Prob.

1888. New York Herald, 4 Nov. When you come to think of the sort of weather we have had in New York upon the occasions of great popular political turnouts .... you will find that as a rule old probabilities has been rather kindly disposed to both parties.

Old red-eye, subs.phr. (American). —Whiskey. See Old Man's Milk.

Old Rip. See Rip.

Old Roger, subs. phr. (old).—

The devil : see Skipper.—Grose (1785) ; Lex. Bal. (1811).

Old salt, subs. phr. (nautical).— An experienced sailor.

Old Saucy Seventh, subs. phr. (military).—The 7th (The Queen's Own) Hussars : in Peninsula times. Also "The Lily-White Seventh," " Young Eyes," " Old Strawboots" and " Straws."

Old Scratch. loi

Old Toast.

Old Scratch, subs.phr. (common). —The devil : see Skipper.

1762. Smollett, L. Greaves, 11. x. He must have sold himself to Old Scratch ; and, being a servant of the devil, how could he be a good subject to his Majesty.

1780. Lee, Chapter of Accidents, v. 2. I be sick enough of passing for a lady ; but if old Scratch ever puts such a trick again in my head, i hope—your lordship will catch me, that'&.all.

1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, xx. He don't mean anything, and I said he didn't all along. He'd have pitched me to Old Scratch, while I was sitting there on his knee, if he'd have had his own way.

Old Seven and Sixpennies, subs, phr. (military).—The 76th Foot, now the 2nd Bait. Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) : from its former number and the amount of a lieutenant's pay. Also ' ' The Immortals " and "The Pigs."

Old shell, subs. phr. (nautical).— A sailor.

Old shoe, stibs. phr. (common).— A portent (or augury) of good fortune.

.1892. Tennyson, Will Waterproof. And whereso'er thou movs't good luck Shall fling her old shoe after.

TO wear (or ride in) another man's old shoes (or boots), verb. phr. (colloquial).— To marry or keep another man's woman.

Old soldier, subs.phr. (common). —A cigar end or old quid.

1901. People, 7 Ap., 18, 2. An old soldier—both in the literal and metaphorical sense—down to every move on the board, suspicious and even touchy, he forms a genuine friend, ever ready to do his comrade a good turn.

TO come the old soldier.

See Come.

Old song, subs, (common).—a trifle ; a nominal sum or price.

Old Split-foot, subs. phr. (common).—The devil : see Skipper.

1848. Lowell, Bigloiv Papers, . . . They go it like an Ericsson's ten-hosspower coleric ingine, An' make ole splitfoot winch an' squirm, for all he's used to singein'.

Old stager, subs. phr. (common). A person of experience ; an old dog (q.v.).

Old stick, subs. phr. (common). —i. A disparagement : cf. old, adj., sense 5.

2. (old). — A complimentary mode of address to an old man, signifying he is a capital fellow [Halliwell].

Old stubborns, subs. phr. (military).—The Forty-fifth Foot, now The Sherwood Foresters.

Old Strawboots (or Straws),

subs. phr. (military).—The 7th (The Queen's Own) Hussars : for substituting at Warbourg (1760) strawbands for worn-out boots. Also " The Old Saucy Seventh" and " The Lily-White Seventh."

Old timer, subs. phr. (colloquial). ■—i. A laudator temporis acti; and (2) one who has grown old in a place or profession.

1S60. Music and Drama, xm. ix. 14. Old timers unanimously declared that in the new-comer had indeed arisen another Tausig.

1866. New Princetown Rev., v. 122. Most of us old timers . . . are poor now.

Old Toast, subs. phr. (common). —i. The devil : see Skipper. Also old toaster.—Matsell (1859)

Old Tom. 102

Oliver.

2. (old).—' A brisk old fellow.' Grose (1785) ; Lex. Bal. (1811).

Old Tom, subs. phr. (common).— Gin : see White Satin.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v.

1832. Egan, Book of Sports, 268. When Love turns his back, and old friendships are failing, And the spirits are sinking therefrom—The only receipt, that is ne'er unavailing, Is a jolly stiff glass of

old tom.

1837. Lytton, Ernest Maltravers, iv. i. Old Tom, he is the best of gin : Drink him once, and you'll drink him agin !

1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab. ii. p. 256. Rum he preferred to gin, only it was dearer, but most of the scavengers, he thought, liked old tom (gin) best.

1854. Punch, xxxvii. 75. Mr.

Stuggers was promptly thrust into a cell into which five of his companions followed him, and their united consolations, and those of a bottle of the ancient thomas Vintage which was speedily produced, restored the Varmint to something of his habitual placidity.

1868. Brewer, Phrase and Fable, s.v. Old Tom. Thomas Norris, one of the men employed in Messrs. Hodges' distillery, opened a gin palace in Great Russell Street, Covent Garden, and called the gin concocted by Thomas Chamberlain, one of the firm of Hodges, old Tom, in compliment to his former master.

1892. Sydney Watson, Wops the Waif, i. 2. And a-slides along from ' shampain ' to brandy, and from that to

old tom.

Old Toughs, subs. phr. (military). —The One Hundred and Third Foot, now the 2nd Batt. Royal Dublin Fusiliers. [For long and arduous service in India].

Old trot. See Trot.

Old 'un. See Old one.

Old whale, subs. phr. (nautical). —A sailor.

Old woman, subs. phr. (venery).— I. The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

2. (prison).—A prisoner who, unfit for physical hard work, is set to knitting stockings.

3. (common).—A man with the character and habits of a woman. Also, old wife.

4. (colloquial). — A wife or mother : cf. old man. See Dutch.

1892. Idler, June, p. 550. As we was a-comin' 'orne I says to the old gal, Let's pop into the Broker's Arms and 'ave a drop o' beer.

Olive-branches, subs. phr. (colloquial).—Children. [In allusion to Psalm exxviii. 4, in Book of Common Prayer].

1688. Prior, The Mice. May you ne'er meet with Tends or Babble, May olive-branches crown your Table.

1888. Harper's Mag., lxxvi. 791. There were hardly quarter's enough for the bachelors, let alone those blessed with wife and olive branches.

Oliver, subs. (old).—The moon ; the sky-lantern. Oliver whiddles (or is up) = the moon shines ; Oliver is in town = the nights are moonlight.

1781. G. Parker, View of Society, 11. 133, note. Oliver don't widdle. The Moon not up.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, ii. 193, s.v.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, in. v. Now Oliver puts his black nightcap on And every star its glim is hiding. Ibid. iv. vi. Oliver whiddles—the tatler old ! Telling what best had been left untold, Oliver ne'er was a friend of mine ; All glims I hate that so brightly shine. Give me a night black as hell, and then See what I'll show to you, my merry men.

1837. Lytton, Ernest Maltravers, iv. i. In half an hour Oliver puts on his nightcap, and we must then be off.

Oliver's skull. 103

On.

1895. H. B. Marriott-Watson, in New Review, 7 July. There's a moon out, The better for us to pick 'em off, Dan, I returned, laughing at him. What— Oliver? damn Oliver! said Zacchary. Let's push forward and come to quarters.

To give a Rowland for an Oliver. See Rowland.

Oliver's skull, subs. phr. (old). —A chamber-pot : see It.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785) ; Matsell (1859).

Ollapod, subs. (old).—An apothecary. [From George Coleman's comedy (1802) The Poor Gentleman. ] Sp. olla podrida = putrid pot.

Olli compolli, subs. phr. (Old Cant).—'The by-name of one of the principal Rogues of the Canting Crew.'—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785) ; Matsell (1859).

Om ee, subs, (thieves'and theatrical). A man : specifically, a master. [Fr. It. 110mo]. Fr. le pilier du creux. Also omer and homee.

1864. Hotten, SlangDiet., s.v. Omee . . . the omee of the Carsey's a nark on the pitch, the master of the house will not let us perform.

1883. Echo, 25 Jan., 2, 3. From the Italian we got the thieves' slang terms casa for house . . . and omee for man (nomo).

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiii. When I got back the cullies said, Well, cully, how did you get on with the omer ? Bono, about sa rounds of fine blocks.

Omnibus, subs, (venery).—1. The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

2. (venery).—A prostitute : see Barrack-hack and Tart.

3. (common).—A man of allwork ; a handy man.

1894. Pall Mall Gaz., y Dec., 8, 2. One of the omnibuses employed at the café says that he saw a man in one of the upstairs lavatories after the café had been closed.

Omnium, subs.{Stock Exchange).— The aggregate value of the different stocks in which a loan is funded.

Omnium gatherum, subs. phr. (old : now recognised).—A medley ; a Jack-of-all-trades. [Lat. Omnium, genit. plural of omnis = all, and Eng. gather.] Grose (i785).

1576. Dee [Arber, English Gamer (1879), ii. 63]. A fortnight in providing a little company of omni gatharums taken up on a sudden to sewe at sea.

1592. G. Harvey, Foure Letters [Grosart, Wks. i. 190]. A Player, a Coosener, a Rayler, a beggar, an Omnigatherum, a Gay nothing.

1596. Nashe, Saffron Waiden, in Works, iii. 46. Shew vs some of them, that like a great Inquest, we may deliuer our verdit before it come to the Omnigatherum of Towne and Countrey.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Markall, p. 24 (H. Club's Repr. 1874). They haue a language among themselues, composed of omnium gatherum.

1689. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 62 (Arber's ed.). So in our Court in Queen Elizabeth's time Gravity and State were kept up. In King James's time things were pretty well. But in King Charles's time, there has been nothing but Frenchmore and the Cushion Dance, omnium gatherum, tolly, polly, hoite come toite.

i8[?]. D. of Buckingham, Court of William IV. and Victoria, ii. ch. v. Our meeting . . . was merely an omniumgatherum of all the party.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, lxiii. She . . . gave me to understand that this party was only an omnium gatherum, not one of the select parties.

On, adv. (back-slang).—1. No.

1874. Hotten, Slang Diet., Back Slang, 355. On doog, no good.

On.

104 Once.

2. (common). — Tipsy : see Drinks and Screwed.

1882. Jas. Payn, For Cash Only, xxii. I was no more on at the Crown that night than I am at this blessed moment of time.

1888. Cornhill Mag., March, 227. I wasn't drunk, only on, but if she had given me another bumper I should have gone clean off my head.

3. (once literary : now vulgar). —Used for 'of.

1657. MiDDLKTON, Women Beware Women, I. ii. Ward. Many, that I am afraid on.

rf.1625. Fletcher, Elder Brotlier, iv. iä. We have no quarrel to you, that we know on, sir.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ii. _ 3. Come on ! said the cab-driver, sparring away like clockwork. Come on—all four on you.

4. (Winchester College).—See quot.

1866. Mansfield, School Life at Winchester, 222. On—The word given by the Prefect of Hall for the boys to start to or from Hills, or to Cathedral. When any person or thing of importance was known to be likely to meet the boys when on Hills, the word was passed that he, she, or it was on,—e.g., ridsworth on, snobs on, badger on, etc.

5. (venery).—Carnally minded ; concupiscent : on it (in America), said of a woman willing to copulate unlawfully.

1847. Halliwell, Archaic Words, etc., s.v.

To be (or get) on, verb. phr. (racing).—i. To make a bet : generally to have a bit on.

1872. Standard, 23 Oct. Everyone . . . had something on.

1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, xxiv. I'll bet you five sovereigns to one that they let him out. . . are you on ?

1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines, ix. In the mean time you are on at 100 to nothing about your own horse.

1891. Answers, 28 Mar. Thanks to the eagerness of some small local bookmakers to let people get on late.

1894. George Moore, Esther Waters, ii. Oh, we did have a fine time then, for we all had a bit on.

2. (common). — Ready and willing ; good at ; fond of.

1872. S. L. Clemens (' Mark Twain'), Innocents at Home, ... Pard, he was on it ! He was on it bigger than an Injun! On it! On what? On the shoot. On the shoulder. On the fight, you understand.

1883. Referee, 6 May, 3, 3. If the directors should think fit to otter me £200 a night to warble, you may depend upon it I shall be on at that figure.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xi. I'm half a mind to tell Warrigal to go back and say we're not on, I said.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, 124. Make it a hundred, and I'm on, said Bandy.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. One day he meets an old college pal and off they go on the booze, and when he got the flavour of it he was on to it and the old man chucked him.

To try it on. See Try.

[See also back ; ballot ; bat ; batter ; beam-ends ; beer ; bend ; board ; bone ; boot-leg ; bounce ; box ; burst (or bust) ; cards ; chain ; cheap ; crook ; cross ; dead ; dead broke ; dead quiet ; dee \ fly ; forty-ninth ; fourth ; fuddle ; grass groundfloor ; half-shell ; head ; hip ; hop ; ice ; job ; lay ; ledge ; loose ; make ; muddle ; nail ; nod ; nose ; one's p's and q's ; pounce ; prairie ; promotion ; quiet ; q.t. ; ramble ; rampage ; rantan ; ready ; reerau road ; rails ; scent; scoot ; scout; sentry ; shallow; sharp ; shelf ; shove ; shunt ; skyte ; slate ; sly ; snap ; spree ; spot ; square; stairs ; straight ; stretch ; string ; swing ! tailboard ; take ; tappy ; tiles; time; tick; tramp ; toast; top ; uppers ; velvet ; wallaby ; warpath ; win, etc.].

Once. In once, phr. (common). —First time.

One.

105 One-eyed scribe.

1900, Sims, In London's Heart, 72. " Meaning, Tim," he said . . . "you found something in the cab as is of a private natur'?" "You've guessed it in once, father."

1900. Free Lance, 6 Oct., 16, 1. You've hit it in once.

One, subs, (common).—1. A lie: see Whopper.

2. (general). — A blow ; a grudge ; a score. Also one in the eye.

1839. O'Connell, in O'Connell Correspondence (1888), ii. 168. i owe Brougham one, and i intend, if i can, to pay him.

1856. T. Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days, 11. vii. If we can slip the collar and do so much less without getting caught, that's one to us.

1883. J. H. Wilson, in Longman's Mag.J Nov., 103. But you know, Cap'n, you ain't a man to be trusted. i owe you one already for stealing my silver.

1892. Ally Sloper, 27 Feb., 67, 2. On his wife on one occasion saying to him, ' i wish you would reform, Bill, yourself,' he was much enraged, and gave her one for herself—not a Reform Bill, but in the eye.

1900. Sims, In London's Heart, 25. The girl took the money and went downstairs three at a time. She felt that it was, in the outdoor language of Exeter Street, one in the eye for her aunt.

One va,, phr. (tailors').—Hearing another's good fortune and wishing the same to oneself.

One out,phr. (tailors').—Congratulating oneself on a fortunate escape.

One of my cousins, phr. (old).—A harlot.—B. E. (f.1696); Grose (1785).

One of us (or them), phr. (old).—'A woman of the town.' —Ray (1767) ; Grose (1785).

One under the arm, phr. (tailors').—An extra job.

One out of n,phr. (tailors'). —' I don't want to be mixed up with it.'

One of the Lord's own, subs. phr. (American).—A dandy.

One with t'other, phr. (venery).—Copulation : see Greens and Ride.

1661. Old Song, ' Maidens Delight ' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), Quoth she, my friend, let

kissing end, Where with you do me smother, And run at Ring with t'other thing ; A little o' th' one with t'other.

To be one upon another's taw, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, ii. 193. One upon your taw, a person who takes offence at the conduct of another, or conceives himself injured by the latter, will say, never mind I'll be one upon your taw ; or, I'll be a marble on your taw ; meaning I'll be even with you some time.

One and thirty, adj. phr. (old).—Drunk: see Drinks and Screwed.—Ray (1767).

One for his nob, phr. (common).—i. A blow on the head.

2. (cards').—See, Nob.

See Three out.

One-a-piece. To see one-apiece, verb. phr. (common).—To see double : see Drinks and Screwed.

1842. Punch, ii. 21. Our head swims, and our eyes see one a-piece.

Onee, adj. (theatrical).—One: e.g. onee soldi (or win) = one penny.

One-eyed scribe, subs. phr. (American). — A revolver : see Meat-in-the-pot.

One-horse. ïoô

Onion.

One-horse (or-eyed),<Kr>'.(formerly

American ; now general).—Petty; insignificant ; of no account. Also

one-goat.

1858. Washing-ton Star [quoted by Bartlett]. 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. Having neglected, however, to give publicity to these ordinances, they could not impose any fine ; and their discomfiture was aggravated by the malicious excuse of the engineer, that ' he didn't know there was a town there ! '

(/.1877. Motley, Letters, 11. 334. Any other respectable, one-horse New England city.

1884. Clemens, Huckleberry Finn, xx. 195. There was a little one-horse town about three mile down the bend.

1886. GoLDWiN Smith, Nineteenth Century, July, p. 21. The provincial University of Toronto was thrown open to Nonconformists, unluckily not before the practice of chartering sectarian institutions had been introduced, and Canada had been saddled with one-horse universities.

1888. Boston Weekly Globe, 28 Mar. It seems a shame to let a petty one-goat power kingdom insult our citizens.

One-in-ten, suôs. phr. (old).—A parson. [In allusion to tithes}.

One nitch (or nick), subs. phr. (printers').—A male child : two nitch = a baby girl.

One o'clock. See Like.

One-er, subs, (common).—A person or thing of great parts : as a very successful play ; an exceedingly pretty woman ; a crushing blow, a ' monumental ' lie, etc.

Also wunner.

1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop, lviii. Do they often go where glory waits 'em and leave you here? Oh, yes; I believe you they do, returned the small servant. Miss Sally's sich a one-er for that, she is.

1861. Dutton Cook, Paul Foster's Daughter, x. Oh, I've got it at last— such a onener—clean off my legs—first blood—first knock down—everything.

1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses 0/ London, . . . The watcher is generally hanging about, and he'll ' down' you with a oner in the back or side (he won't hit you in the face, for fear of spoiling it).

1871. Hamilton, Parodies, part 71, p. 269. Before a-inviting of you to enter, and taste the joys of Elysium to be 'ad at the small charge of one penny, I will exhibit to your astonished and admiring gaze a few pictorual illusterations of the wonders to be shortly disclosed to you. Give the drum a one-er !

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xi. Well, pal, forgive me, I always was a one-er for the gab. Here's off or the missus will be waiting. When you're off the pitch there's a bite and a sup at Duke's cottage, Lea, for you. So 'long !

1895. f. Boyle, in Idler, Aug. Mrs. Mumson is a oner.

2. (common).—A shilling: see Blow.

One's Eye, subs. phr. (tailors' and dressmakers'). — A hidingplace for cabbage (q.v.); hell (q.v.).

One two, phr. (pugilists').—See quot. 1823.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. One Two. In boxing, two blows rapidly put in after each other. Jem Belcher was distinguished for his one two.

On icker, subs. (streets').—See quot.

1887. Walfords Antiquarian, 252. A mot and onicker are also terms for fallen women.

Onion, subs, (common).—1. The head. Hence, off his onion = off his wits. See Tibby.

2. (thieves').—A seal : generally in plural : e.g. bunch of onions.

Oddish.

Open-arse.

1811. Lex. Bai. s.v. Onion hunters, a class of young thieves who are on the look out for gentlemen who wear their seals suspended on a ribbon, which they cut, and thus secure the seals or other trinkets suspended to the watch.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, ii. 193, s.v.

i8[?]. Maginn, Vidocq's Slang Song [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896) . . .] When his ticker I set a-going, With his onions, chain, and key.

1834. H. AiNSWORTH, Rookwood, iv. i. A handsome gold repeater . . . with a monstrous bunch of onions (anglice, seals) depending from its massive chain. Ibid. 'Nix my doll.' My fawnied famms and my onions gay.

Oddish, adv. (popular).—Tipsy : see Drinks and Screwed.

Oodles, subs. (American).—See quot. 1869.

1869. Overland Monthly, iii. 131. A Texan never has a great quantity of any thing, but he has ' scads ' of it or

oodles Or dead oodles Or scadoodles

or ' s wads.'

1886. Century Magazine, xxxiii. 846. All you lack's the feathers, and we've got oodles of 'em right here.

Oof (or ooftish), subs, (popular). —Money. Hence oof-bird = the goose that lays the golden eggs, the source of supply ; the feathered oof-bird = money in plenty ; to

make the oof-bird walk — to

circulate money ; oofless = poor. See quot. 1870.

c.1870. Sporting Times, 26 Dec, 1891. i. Ooftish was, some twenty years ago, the East End synonym for 'money,' and was derived from auf tische, ' on the table '—the aristocracy of Houndsditch being in the habit of refusing to play cards, even with their best friends, unless the money were down ' on the table.' Hence ooftish, a word which was freely used by the late Mr. Benson and his companions in the De Goncourt frauds. We—that is to say Gub—met ooftish at a thieves' supper in Little Wylde Street, took the animal home, cut his tail off, and turned him loose. So that oof now swaggers about the mansions of the aristocracy.

1888. Sportsman, 27 Dec It is a sad and weary time for many, for when the dustman, the man who blacks the boots, and he with the grog-blossom on his nose who does nothing but hold cab-doors open when nobody asks him to have all been paid, the oof bird lakes unto itself wings and flies away.

1889. Daily News, 27 Aug., 7, 1. Henry Smith, her coachman, next gave evidence. He said he heard King say he had come after some ooftish.

1897. Pall Mall Gazette, 8 Mar., 7, 3. No splosh, no oof-bird from those blokes.

O.P., phr. (theatrical).—1. See quot. 1823.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. O.P. and P.S. Theatrical cant, for Opposite the Prompter and Prompt Side.

1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 69. That gentleman . . . lounging behind the stage-box in the o.p. side.

1885. Sportsman, 23 June, 2, 1. The limelight mechanic made a gorgeous full moon in a convenient position on the o.p. side.

2. (booksellers'). — ' Out of print.'

Open. To open the ball, verb, phr. (colloquial).—To start or begin anything.

1812. Bvron, Waltz, xiii. [Note]. Waltz and the battle of Austerlitz are . . . said to have opened the ball together.

1876. Eton Chronicle, 20 July. He who opened the ball and who saw them all fall, Scarce deserved that defeat in one innings.

1887. Haggard, Allan Quatemiain, xi. When the advancing boats were about five hundred yards away, Sir Henry opened the ball by firing at the threeparts grown young one.

TO open one's mouth too wide, verb. phr. (Stock Exchange). — To bid for larger amounts of stock than one can pay for.

To open up, verb. phr. (venery).—To spread (/.v.).

Open-arse, subs. phr. (old).—i. A medlar.

Open C.

108

Optime.

1383. Chaucer, Prol. to Reeve's Tale, i. 17. I fare as doth an openers ; That illce fruyt is ever leng the wers Til it be roten in mullolc or in stre.

1530. Palsgrave, Les Clar. Langue Fran, s.v. opynars.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, ii. i. Now will he sit under a medlar-tree, And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit, As maids call medlars, when they laugh alone—Oh, Romeo, that she were, oh, that she were An open-arse.

1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Nespola, the fruit we call a Meddler or an open-arse.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Medlar. A fruit vulgarly called an open-a—e, of which it is more truly than delicately said, that it is never ripe till it is rotten as a t—d, and then it is not worth a f—t.

2. (old).—A wench : see Barrack-hack and Tart.—B. E. (f.1696).

Open C, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Open house, subs. phr. (colloquial).—Hospitality for all comers. —B. E. fc.1696).

1530. Palsgrave, S97> The

Kyng is determyned to kepe house or open house this Christmas.

1891. Daily Chronicle, 23 Mar. Mr. Verburgh, M.P., again played the part of host, and kept open house in a large marquee near the winning-post.

Opera buffer, subs. phr. (theatrical).—An actor in opera bouffe.

Opera house, subs.phr. (old).— A workhouse. [Fr. Latin opera = work].

Operator, subs. (old).—A pickpocket.

O-per-se-O, subs. phr. (Old Cant). —A Cryer.

1612. Dekker, O per se O, or a new crier of lanterne and candle-lights [ Title}.

O.P.H., phr. (common).—' Off ': e.g. ' Demme, I'm O.P.H.'

Oppidan, subs. (Eton College).— A boy who boards in the town, as distinguished from a King's Scholar.

Opiniator, subs, (old colloquial).— See quot.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Opiniator, an Assuming positive Fellow, an obstinate self-conceited Cox-comb.

Opium-joint, subs. phr. (American).—An opium den.

Optic, subs, (once literary : now chiefly colloquial).—1. An eye. For synonyms see Glims.

1600. B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, i. 3. Whose optiques haue drunke the spirit of beautie.

_ 1782. Cowper, Hope, 494. From which our niier optics turn away.

1821. Egan, Life in Londom [Dick's], 56. Those three nymphs who have so much dazzled your optics . . .

1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of the Nudge, 187. I distinctly saw, either with my bodily optic, or my mind's eye, I am not quite certain which to this hour, a dark figure standing on the long-yard.

1842. Thomas Egerton Wilks, Bamboozling. I've got a pain in my

optics.

1851. Hawthorne, Seven Gables, xvi. She screwed her dim optics to their acutest point.

1888. Daily Telegraph, 15 Nov. I've got my optic on 'em and shall have 'em by-and-by.

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 10 Ap. A deep cut under the dexter optic.

2. (old).—An optic-glass ; a spy-glass.

d.1721. Prior, Celia to Damon. When you Love's Joys through Honour's optic view.

Optime, subs. (University).—^ quot.

Oracle. 109 Order.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan]. Optime. The senior and junior optimes are the second and last classes of Cambridge honours conferred on taking a degree. That of wranglers is the first. The last junior optime is called the Wooden Spoon.

Oracle, subs. (Old Cant).—A watch : see Ticker.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, i. Pray, my lord, what's o'clock by your oracle ?

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

To work the oracle, verb, phr. (common).—To plan ; to succeed by stratagem : specifically to raise money.

1863. All the Year Round, 10 Oct., 168. He has a double, who . . . worked the oracle for him.

1888. _ Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xii. They fetched a rattling price through Starlight's working the oracle with those swells.

1891. Newman, Scamping Tricks, 116. Well, what with, so they told me, big local loan-mongers to work the oracle and swim with them, etc.

TO work the dumb (double,

or hairy) oracle, verb. phr. (venery). — To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

Orange. To suck the orange dry, verb. phr. (colloquial).— To exhaust ; to deplete.

1888. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, 47. It is rather rough on the boy, I admit, to suddenly discover that his father has sucked the orange, and that he has merely inherited the skin ; but it is so.

Orange Lilies, subs. phr. (military).—The Thirty-fifth Foot. [From the facings till 1832 and the plumes awarded for gallantry at Quebec in 1759]. Now the ist Batt. Royal Sussex.

Orate, verb. (American). — To make a speech.

1877. Besant & Rice, Golden Butterfly, xxvi. I am not, he said, going to orate. You did not come here, I guess, to hear me pay out chin-music.

1883. Referee, 15 July, 2, 4. There was a panic among the two thousand people who were being orated by Mr. Ballington Booth, the general's son.

1888. Fortnightly Review, N.S. xliii. 848. Men are apt ... to orate on any topic that chances to be uppermost.

Orator, subs. (old).—See quot. [Cf. oration, dialectical for ' noise ' or 'uproar'].

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Orator to a Mountebank, the Doctor's Decoy who in conjunction with Jack Pudding, amuses, diverts and draws in the Patients.

Orchard, subs, (venery).—The

female pudendum : see Monosyllable. To get jack in the orchard = to effect intromission.

Orchid, subs. (Stock Exchange). —A titled member.

1871. Atkins, House Scraps . . . A young sprig of nobility . . . was once heard to tell a friend that when he was in the house he felt like an ' orchid ' in a turnip field . . . orchid has become the nickname for any member who has a 'handle ' to his name.

1890. Casselïs Saturday Journal, 26 Ap. All members [of the Stock Exchange] who have handles to their names are described as orchids.

Order. A large order, subs, phr. (common).—Something excessive.

1890. Pall Mall Gazette, 17 Feb., 7, i. A large order [Title].

1891. Tit Bits, 8 Aug., 274, 1. In asking me to tell you about my clients and their wills, you give a pretty large order.

1892. Illustrated Bits, 22 Oct, 10. Well, sir, that's a largish order.

Order-racket. 110 Ostiarius.

To order one's name, verb, phr. (Winchester School) : obsolete).—See quots,

1866. Mansfield, School Life at Winchester, 223. Order your name. An order given to a delinquent by the Head or Second Master, which was carried out by the boy requesting the Ostiarius to do so, the consequence of which was, that at the end of school that officer presented to the Master the victim's name on a Roll who forthwith received a Scrubbing. When the words " to the Bible Clerk" were added, the business was confided to that officer, who, with the Ostiarius, officiated at the subsequent ceremony, which in this case was called a Bibler.

1878. Adams, Wykeluimica, xxiii. 429. Order your name, the direction given to an offender by any of the authorities. The boy so directed, if he was in College, or if the order was given in school, had to go to the Ostiarius—or to the Prefect in course, if the offence was committed in commoners—and give information of the order, and the reason why it had been given. The Ostiarius, or the Prefect in course, wrote down the culprit's name, together with that of the Master, and the offence, and carried it up to the Head or Second Master, when due execution was done.

Order-racket, subs. phr. (old).—

See quot.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, ii. 193. Orderracket, obtaining goods from a shopkeeper, by means of a forged order or false pretence.

Ordinary, subs, (common).—A wife : see Dutch.

Organ, subs. (Scots servants').—i. A clothes' trunk.

2. (old).—A pipe.

1785. Grose, Vulg: Tongue, s.v. Organ, will you cock your organ, will you smoke your pipe.

3. (printers'). — A workman who lends money to his fellows at exorbitant interest. To play the organ = to apply for such a loan.

To carry the organ, verb, phr. (military).—To shoulder the pack or valise at defaulters' or marching order drill.

Organ-pipe, subs, (colloquial).— i. The throat ; the wind-pipe ; the voice.

2. (dressmakers' : obsolete).— In pl. = a fulness in skirt-backs created by folds of starched muslin.

Orifice, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum: see Monosyllable.

Original go, subs. phr. (American) —A novel predicament.

1854. T. W. N. Bayley, New Tale of a Tub. Excellent ! marvellous 1 beautiful ! O ! Is'n't it now an original go ?

Orinoko, subs, (rhyming). — See quot.

1874. Hotten, Slang Diet., Rhyming Slang, 367. Orinoko (pronounced Orinoker), a poker.

Ornament, subs, (venery).—The

female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Ornythorhynchus,«/3j. (Australian).—A creditor ; ' a beast with a bill.'

Orphan Collar, subs.phr. (American).—One that does not match the shirt in colour or material.

Oschive. See Ochive.

Ostiarius, subs. (Winchester College : obsolete).—See quots.

1866. Wykehamist, No. 1, Oct. We know of nothing more which calls for notice, except the revival of Dr. Moberley of the ostiarius—an office which had been discontinued for many years, but was revived by the Head Master on account of the great increase in the number of the School.

Ostler. in

Out.

1866. Mansfield, School Life at Winchester, 223. Ostiarius—An office held by the Prœfects in succession. The duties were, to keep order in school, collect the Vulguses, and prevent the boys from shirking out. It is also the official title for the Second Master.

1878. Adams, Wykehamica, xxiii. 429. Ostiarius, the Prœfect in charge of school.

Ostler, subs. (old).—i. An oatstealer ; and (2) in America, a horse-thief.—Matsell (1859).

Otter, subs, (common).—A sailor.

Adj. (costermongers').—Eight. [It. otto]. Also otto.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. I'll take otto soldi, that's due soldi for baking and six soldi for navs.

Ottomy, subs. (old).—A skeleton; a bag of bones (q.v.); an atomy {q.v.). Ottomised = anatomised.

1738. Swift, Polite Conversation (Conv. i). Lady Answ. Why, my lord, she was handsome in her time ; but she can't eat her cake and have her cake. I hear she grown a meer otomy.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Ottomy. You'll be scragged, ottomised, and grin in a glass case, You'll be hanged, anatomised, and your skeleton kept in a glass case.

1834. H. AiNSWORTH, Rookwood, in. ii. Is that Peter Bradley? asked Sybil. Ay, you may well ask whether that old dried-up otomy ... be kith and kin of. . . Luke, said Turpin.

Ounce, subs. (old).—See quots.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v. Half an ounce, Half-a-crown.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Half an ounce, half a crown, silver being formerly estimated at a crown or five shillings an ounce.

Out, subs. (old).—1. A dram-glass: they are made ' two-out ' ( = halfquartern), ' three-out,' and ' fourout.' When a man wants to ' treat ' a couple of friends he asks for 'a quartern of gin and

three-out,' meaning, a quartern of gin and three glasses, which together will exactly hold that quantity.

1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, 40. Having imbibed the contents of various ' three-outs' of gin and bitters in the course of the morning.

2. (colloquial).—One out of employment or office ; specifically (in politics) a member of the party in ' opposition'. Cf. In.

1768. Goldsmith, Good Naturca Man, v. Was it for this I have been dreaded both by ins and outs ? Have I been libelled in the Gazetteer, and promised in the St. James's ?

1770. Chatterton, Prophecy. And doomed a victim for the sins. Of half the outs and all the ins.

1842. Dickens, American Notes, ii. The in's rubbed their hands ; the out's shook their heads ; the Government party said there never was such a good speech ; the opposition declared there never was such a bad one.

1857. Lawrence, Guy Livingstone (5th ed.), 216. If he had backed the in instead of the out.

1884. Pall Mall Gazette, 7 July. The pledges which the ins have to contend with in their strife with the outs.

_ 1888. Boston Daily Globe. It is the civil service that turns out all the ins and puts in the outs.

1890. Norton, Political Americanisms, s.v. Ins and outs.

3. (colloquial).—Leave to go out ; an outing (q.v. ) ; a holiday.

1847. Halliwell, Archaic Words, etc., s.v.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, vii. Us London lawyers don't often get an our.

1855. Mrs. Gaskell, North and South, xiii. When I have gone for an out, I've always wanted to go high up and see far away, and take a deep breath o' fulness in that air.

1862-5. Shirley Brooks, Naggletons (1875), p. 202. We have had three pleasant days, Maria, and I think you need not have finished the out with a row.

Out.

112

Out.

4. (American). —A discarded mistress.—Matsell (1859).

Verb, (thieves').—i. To kill. Whence outing-dues.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 279. It was a dire calamity for a Cohen to handle the dead. " He is out," gasped the Jew.

1900. Sims, In London's Heart, 294. He glanced contemptuously at the prostrate form of his accomplice. "Looks like I've outed him," he said, "Good job if I have—he'll never blab again." Ibid. 123. " I'm hanged if I haven't done for him. It's outing dues this time if we're copped." " Dead !" exclaimed Joe.

2. (pugilists').—To knock out an opponent so that he fails to respond at the call of time.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 86. ' Gently, my lad, gently . . . yer don't want to knock 'im out yet ; give us a little show o' yer quality afore you outs him.'

Adv. (old).—i. Tipsy : see Drinks and Screwed.

2. (colloquial).—General (society) = just presented ; (cricketers') = sent from the wickets ; (politicians') = not in office ; (thieves') = released from gaol ; (marketmen's = not on sale ; (popular) = (1) having a tendency to lose, (2) wrong, inaccurate, and (3) unfashionable.

1660. Pepys, Diary, 7 Oct. Calling at my father's to change my long black cloake for a short one (long cloakes being now quite out).

1877. Belg-ravia, August, 189. This young lady is only just out. She lacks the ease, the imperturbability, the savoir, vivre of her elder sister.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, iii. 223. Oh, that's one of the cleverest gentlemen cracksmen out.

1885. Dickens, Dorrit, 1. xvi. 123. They were all so easy and cheerful together (Daniel Doyce either sitting out like an amused spectator at cards, or coming in with some shrewd little exriences of his own, when it happened to to the purpose).

To live out, verb. phr.(American).—To be in domestic service : i.e. as living from home.

/5.i86o. New York Tribune [Bartlett]. She came to this city and lived out as a cook.

18 [?]. Terhune, Hidden Path, 78. She has never lived out before [Century],

Out of it (the hunt, or the running), adj. phr. (colloquial). i. Debarred from participation ; having no chance or share ; completely ignorant.

1889. Echo, 9 Feb. For example— respecting ' the reversion ' to the Laureateship—we were informed a day or two back that Mr. Browning was out of the running.

To stand out, verb. phr. (common).—To take no part.

Out of twig, adj. phr. (old). —i. See quot.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, ii. 194. To put any article out of twig, as a stolen coat, cloak, etc., is to alter it in such a way that it cannot be identified. Ibid. To put yourself out of twig, is to disguise your dress and appearance, to avoid being recognised, on some particular account.

2. (old).—See quot.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, ii. 149. a man reduced by poverty to wear a shabby dress is said by his acquaintances to be out of twig.

TO play at in and out. See

In and in and In and out.

Out of God's blessing into the warm sun, phr. (old).— From better to worse.

1581. Lvly, Euphues, Z. 3, b. Therefore if thou wilt follow my advice, and prosecut thine owne determination, thou shalt come out of a warme sunne into God's blessing.

1605. Shakspeare, Lear, ii. 2. Good King, thou must approve the common saw; Thou out of heaven's benediction comest To the warme sun.

£e

Out.

113

Out-and-outer.

1608. Sir John Harington, Catal. of Bishops, Carlyle. Marks — removed from Carlisle to Lamos in Greece ; viz. out of God's blessing into a warme sunne, as the saying is.

1615. Harrington, Epigrams, ii. 56. Pray God they bring us not, when all is done, Out of God's blessing into

this warm sun.

1660. Howell, Eng. Proverbs, 5.

s.v.

1760. Ray, Proverbs, s.v.

Out for an airing, phr. (racing).—Said of a horse not meant to win.

1889. Sporting Times, 29 June. But while Isabel, in racing slang, was fairly 'on the job,' Her friend was only

out for an airing.

1889. Standard, 25 June. Trainers and jockeys, from various trivial circumstances, very easily gathered whether a particular horse was only out for an airing, or whether it was on the job.

[Other colloquial combinations are To be at ouTS = to quarrel ; to make no outs (of a person) = to misunderstand ; out of countenance = confounded ; out of hand= (i) immediately, without delay, (2) ungovernable ; out of cry=out of measure ; out of frame = out of order ; out of heart = worn out (of land), down hearted (of persons) ; out (or down) at heel (or at elbows)=shabbily dressed ; out at leg = feeding in hired pastures (of cattle) ; out-of-pocket = a loser : out of temper = too hot, or too cold ; out of

print = «f qUOt. ; out oftheway = Un

common, etc., etc. Also see barrel ; collar ; funds ; harness ; have ; kelter ; loose ; lug ; picaroon ; pocket ; puff ; register ; sorts j wood.

rf.1555. Latimer [Century], The King's majesty when he cometh to age, will see a redress of those things so out of frame.

1605. Shakspeare, King Lear, ii. 2. A good man's jfuture may grow out

at heels.

1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Out at heels.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Out at heels.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, ii. 194. Out of the way, a thief who knows that he is sought after by the traps on some information, and consequently goes out of town, or otherwise conceals himself, is said by his pals to be out of the way for so and so, naming the particular offence he stands charged with. [See Wanted].

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan]. Out of Print. Slang made use of by booksellers. In speaking of any person that is dead, they observe, he is out of print.

1851-6. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond, Poor, iii. 122. He was a little down at heel.

Out-and-out, adj. and adv. (colloquial). — Thorough ; prime (q.v.) ; ' far and away.'

.... Rawlinson MS., C. 36. The kyng was good alle aboute, And she was wyckyd oute and oute, For she was of suche comforte, She lovyd mené ondir her lorde.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, ii. 193. Out-and-out, quite ; completely ; effectually.

1837. Thackeray, Yellow Plush Papers, in Fraser's Mag., 10 Oct. Skelton's Anatomy is a work which as been long wanted in the littery world A reglar, slap up, no mistake, out-an'-out account of the manners of gentele society.

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, vii. 71. A quarrelsome family, or a malicious family, or even a good out-and-out mean family, would open a field of action as I might do something in.

1874. E. L. Linton, Patricia Kernball, vii. You are out-and-out the most independent radical for a lady I have ever seen.

1897. Kennard, Girl in Brown Habit, ii. That's the way with them outand-out sportsmen. They're always the first to come to a comrade's assistance.

Out-and-outer, sues. phr. (colloquial). — A person or thing, superlative.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, ii. 194. Out and outer, an incorrigible depredator, who will rob friend or stranger indiscriminately. Ibid. A person of a resolute determined spirit, who pursues his object without regard to danger or difficulties.

Outer.

114

Outing.

182t. Egan, Life in London [Dick], 95. Logic . . . was considered an outand-outer.

1829. Old Song [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 107]. Are they out-andouteps, dearie '?

1836. Dickens, Pickivick, xl. p. 354. It was discovered that one of the turnkeys had a bed to let . . . If you'll come with nie, I'll show it you at once, said the man. It ain't a large 'un, but it's an out-andouter to sleep in.

1838. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, lx. I am the man as is guaranteed .... to be an out-and-outer in morals.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xviL Master Clive was pronounced an out-andouter, a swell, and no mistake.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, iii. She were an out-and-outer in going into shops on the filch.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xx. Isn't he a regular out-andouter to look at ?

1893. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 37. Now one twigs out-and-outers take down wots too spice a'most for the Pis.

Outer, subs, (shooting).—i. That part of a target used in rifleshooting, which is outside the circles surrounding the bull's-eye; and (2) a shot which strikes the outer part of a target.

1884. Times, 23 July. Running through the scoring gamut with an outer, a magpie, and a miss.

Outfit, subs, (colonial).—See quot. 1840.

d. 1840. McClure, Rocky Mountains, 211. In the Far West and on the Plains, every thing is an outfit, from a railway train to a pocket-knife. It is applied indiscriminately,—to a wife, a horse, a dog, a cat, or a row of pins.

1889. O'Reilly, Fifty Years on the Trail . . . The wagon master had the presence of mind to gallop his team out into the prairie, whilst the entire outfit made for the best cover it could find.

1888. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 16 Feb. The fortune we had longed for lay at our feet . . . That night we let three of the most reckless devils in the outfit into the secret, and the next morning I started for San Francisco.

1888. Missouri Republican, 1 Ap. I returned to Las Vegas with a freighter, whose outfit consisted of six horses and two wagons, one of the latter being a trail vehicle.

Out-Herod. To out-herod Herod, verb, (colloquial).—To exceed in excess.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii. 2, 15. I would have such a fellow whipped for o'er-doing Termagant ; it out-herods Herod : Pray you, avoid it.

1821. Egan, Life in London [Dick's], 23. The author . . . intends to do a great deal, but he does not mean to out-herod Herod.

1845. Poe, Prose Tales, i. 343. The figure in question had out-heroded Herod, and gone beyond the bounds of even the prince's indefinite decorum.

d.iSsg. De Quincey, Essenes, i. Yet another and a very favourite emperor out-herods even this butcher [Gallienus].

Outing, subs, (colloquial).—r. A holiday; an out (q.v.).

i860. Haliburton (' Sam Slick '), The Season Ticket, No. vii. I once gave her an outing to London, and when she returned, I asked her how she liked it.

1864. Sun, 28 Dec, Review of Hotten's SI. Diet. There is no mention of a holiday term in very common use that we ought to have found here alphabetically recorded in ' The Slang Dictionary '— meaning the phrase of an outing.

1B79. Jas. Payn, High Spirits (Adventure in a Forest). I only knew Epping Forest as a spot rarely visited save by the wild East Enders on their Sunday

outings.

1885. Field, 4 Ap. They got their outing *hich is a great deal.

2. (provincial).—See quot.

Outrider. 115 Outsider.

1847. Halliwell, Arch. Words, etc.¹, s.v. Outing. A feast given to his friends by an apprentice, at the end of his apprenticeship : when he is out of his time. In some parts of the kingdom, this ceremony is termed by an apprentice and his friends ' burying his wife.'

Outrider, subs. (old).—A highwayman : see Road-agent.

1600. Heywood, / Eduard IV. [Pearson, Works (18 . .), i. 43]. I fear thou art some outrider that lives by taking of purses.

Outrun. See Constable.

Outs. Gentlemen of the three outs, subs. phr. (old).—See quots.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Gentleman — without money, without wit, and without manners.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, iv. Paul became a gentleman of three outs—out of pocket, out of elbows, and out of credit.

1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, in. 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 certainty, in his own opinion, had that been asked, without manners.

Outside, subs, (common).—An outside passenger. Fr. un voyageur à quinze francs le cent. See Inside.

1798. Canning, Anti-Jacobin, 163 [1890]. So down thy hill, romantic Ashbourn, glides The Derby dilly carrying three insides.

1816. Scott, Old Mortality, ii. A wheel carriage bearing eight insides and six outsides.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick,. . . The outsides did as outsides always do. They were very cheerful and talkative at the beginning of every stage.

Adj. (old colloquial).—1. The utmost.—B. E. (c. 1696).

Outside 'Liza, intj. (common).—' Get out of this.'

To get outside of, verb. phr. (common). — i. To eat or drink ; as, to get outside of a pint of beer, or a chop ; (2) to understand ; and (3) see quot.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xiv. He looked better outside of a horse than on his own legs.

2. (venery). —To copulate : of women only : see Greens and Ride.

Outsider, subs, (thieves').—i. In A pair of nippers with semitubular jaws which can be inserted in a keyhole from the outside to turn the key.

2. (common).—An ignoramus. Also, a person unattached. Also, an incompetent, doubtful, or unknown champion or competitor in any walk of life or sport. Also, a duffer (q.v.), moral, physical or social.

1864. Saturday Revient', July, ' Stray Votes.' The game he has in view is that peculiar variety of Parliamentary species known as an outsider or a loose fish, but described by itself under the more flattering title of ' an independent member. '

1877. W. Mack, Green Past, and Piccadilly, xxvii. Of course it was as a mere pleasure excursion that we outsiders were permitted to speak of this long journey.

1880. Hawley Smart, Social Sinners, xxxiii. That fellow Hainton, has beat the lot of us. I never was more than quite an outsider myself, still I feel so bad about it, that really I must . . . have something to drink !

1884. Hawley Smart, Post to Einish, xvii. For the stable to follow up last year's successes by taking the first great three-year-old event of the season, with an outsider, ridden by a Riddleton lad, was something to boast of.

1885. Morning Post, 5 Feb. So far as outsiders can see there is always the same cheerfulness.

Oven.

116 Overfl. & Plunder.

1890. Grant Allen, The Tents of Shem, x. Nobody, and especially not a peppery old General who's served more than half bis life in India likes to have it dictated to him by rank outsiders what disposition he's to make of his own money.

1901. M. A. P., 2 Feb., 113, 2. As he has already some connection with the music halls, he must have more opportunities of learning the ropes than an outsider.

3. (racing).—A person who fails to gain admission to the ' ring ' from pecuniary or other causes.

Oven, sues. (old).—1. A large mouth.—Grose (1785) ; Matsell (1859).

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

c. 1720. Durfev, Pills to Purge, &c. (1720), vi. 91. ' The Jolly Tradesmen." But if my Oven be over-hot, I dare not thrust it in, Sir ; For burning of my Wrigling-Pole, My Skill's not worth a Pin, Sir.

In the same oven, adj. phr. (common).—In the same plight.

over, subs, (commercial).—In A surplus on the day's accounts ; fluff (q.V.) ; menavelings (q.V.).

TO come over (or the old soldier over) one. See COME

over and Come the old soldier.

To get over, verb. phr. (common).—To get the better ; to best (q.v.).

187a Hazlewood and Williams, Leave it to Me, i. She'll soon get over her foolish attachment, but whether or no she don't get .over me.

TO call (or fetch) over the

coals, verb. phr. (common).— To reprimand.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, b"c., iii. 22. Yet your Blacksmith can fetch them over the coals.

To do over, verb. phr. (venery).—To possess a woman : see Greens and Ride.

Over the bay, phr. (American).—Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

Over the stile, phr. (rhyming).—Sent for trial. (Hotten).

TO put over the door, verb, phr. (old colloquial).—To turn OUt ; to give the key of the street (q.V.).

Over at the knees, phr. (stable).—Weak in the knees.

Over-shoes, over boots, phr. (old).—See quot.

C.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew. Over-shoes over Boots, or to go through-stitch.

See also Bender ; Broomstick ; and Left.

Over-day tarts, subs. phr. (Billingsgate).—See quot.

1889. Tit Bits, 17 Aug., 298, 2. About 24 hours after capture the herring is liable to the pouring out of extravasation of blood about his gills and fins, which darkened and damaged or bruised appearance is quaintly called in the fish trade over-day tarts.

Overdo, verb, (old : now recognised).—See quot. c. 1696.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, Justice Overdo, &c.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Overdo, double diligence.

Overdraw. To overdraw the badger. See Badger.

Overflow and ptvsDtR,subs.phr. (theatrical).—See quot.

Overlander. 117

Owl.

1890. Coleman [Slang, Jargon, and Cant], s.v. Overflow and Plunder. The unsuspecting auditor has an order for the pit ; he goes there, and finds the pit crammed to suffocation by people who have not paid. Upon payment of sixpence he goes to the upper boxes, they are also crowded ; sixpence more takes him to the dress circle. Before he can obtain a seat he is bled of another sixpence for his greatcoat, another for his umbrella, and another for a programme. The performances in these places were as disreputable as the management, and, as a rule, would disgrace a show at a country fair.

Overlander, subs. (Australian).— A tramp ; a sundowner (qv.~). Also Overland man and Overland-mailer.

Overland-trout, subs. phr. (American). —Bacon.

Overrun. See Constable.

Overscutched(overswitched or

overwhippe)-housewifed,

subs. phr. (old). —See quots., Barrack-hack and Tart.

.... Kennett MS. [Halliwell]. An overswiTCHT HouswiFE, a loose wanton slut, a whore.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV, iii. 2. He came ever in the rear-ward of the fashion ; and sung those tunes to overscutched huswifes that he heard the carmen whistle, and sware—they were his fancies, or his good-nights.

1675. Ray, North-Country Words. Overswitched housewife. A whore ; a ludicrous word.

Overseen,^*, (old).—Moreorless in liquor : see Drinks and Screwed.

1611. Cotgrave, Diet. Well nigh whittled, almost drunke, somewhat overseene.

(£1654. L'Estrange [Thoms. (1838), Anecd. and Trad., p. 54.] He heard he tooke a Cuppe too much at Ipswich, and was sorry ... he should be so much

overseen e.

1847. Halliwell, Arch. Words, etc., s.v.

Overseer, subs, (old).—A man in the pillory.—Grose (1785).

Overshot, adj. (common). — Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

Overspar red, adj. (nautical).— Top-heavy ; drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

1891. Clark Russell, Ocean Tragedy, 4. I believe he could have carried awholebottle in hishead without exhibiting himself as in the least degree oversparred.

Overtaken, adj. (common).— Drunk Drinks and Screwed.

1655. Massinger, Very Woman,

iii. 5. And take heed of being o'ertaken with too much drink.

1692. Hacket, Life of Williams, .... He was temperate also in his drinking .... but I never spake with the man that saw him overtaken.

1699. Congreve, Way of the World,

iv. 10. My nephew's a little overtaken, cousin—but 'tis with drinking your health.

1712. Spectator, No. 450. I do not remember I was ever overtaken in drink.

1847. Halliwell, Arch. Words, &*c, s.v.

1871. Mrs. S. C. Hall, in Chambers's Misc., No. 122, 11. I'm sure Murphy must have been overtaken, or he'd never dare to propose such a thing.

Overtoys box, subs. phr. (Winchester College).—A box like a cupboard to hold books : see Toys.

0\NL,subs. (common). — 1. A prostitute : see Barrack-hack and Tart.

2. (University).—A member of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge : obsolete.

3. (general).—A person much about at night.

Owl.

118 Own.

Verb, (common).—I. To sit up at night ; and 2 (obsolete) to carry on a contraband night-trade; to smuggle. Cf. Owler.

To catch the owl, verb, phr. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Owl, to catch the owl, a trick practised on ignorant country boobies, who are decoyed into a barn under pretence of catching an owl, where after divers preliminaries, the joke ends in their having a pail of water poured upon their heads.

To take the owl, verb. phr. (old).—To get angry.

To live too near a wood to be frightened by an owl, verb. phr. (old).—Not easy to alarm.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, i. What, do you think I was born in a wood, to be afraid of an owl?

TO bring (or send) owls to Athens, verb. phr. (common).— To undertake a work of supererogation ; to take coals to Newcastle (q.v.). [Gr. Noctuas Athénas : owls abounded in Athens].

Drunk as a biled owl, phr. (American). — Very drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

Like an owl in an ivybush, phr. (old).—Seequot. 1823.

1708-10. Swift,Polite Conversations, ons, i. Lord Sparkislu How did the Fool look ? Col ... . Egad, he look'd for all the world like an Owl in an Ivy Bush.

1767. Ray, Proverbs [BohnJ, 57, s.v.

1S23. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. He looks like an owl in an ivy bush ; frequently said of a person with a large frizzled wig, or a woman whose hair is dressed a-la-blouze.

Owl-car (or train), subs. phr. (American).—A late tram-car, or train.

1882. McCabe, New York, iqo. The Third avenue line runs its trains all night . . . These are the owl-trains, and carry home the late workers in the great newspaper offices, belated travelers, and the ' b'hoys ' who have been making a night of it.

Owler, subs. (old).—Seequot. [At one time it was illegal to carry wool or sheep out of the country : owling was repealed by 3 Geo. IV. c 107].

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Owlers, those who privately in the Night carry Wool to the Sea-Coasts, near Rumney-Marsh in Kent, and some Creeks in Sussex, etc. and Ship it off for France against Law.

17S5. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

Owl-light, subs. phr. (old).— Dusk. Hence, to walk by owl-light = to skulk from arrest. Fr. Entre chien et loup.

1610. Letter [quoted by Nares]. Ned Wimarke appears not in Paul's, but ever since before Christmas hath taken a toy to keep in, saving that now and then he steals out by owl-light to the Star and to the Windmill.

1625. Massinger, Parliament of Love, ii. 1. To have it order'd, All women that have stumbled in the dark, Or given, by owl-light, favours, should complain, Is most intolerable.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft [Works (1725) 207]. A great-design. He has, that won't endure the Sun, But is by owllight to be done.

1767 Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 57, s.v.

Own. On one's own, phr. (common).—On one's own account.

1S97. Daily Mail, 25 Sep., 2, 6. I came to Europe on my own, and I only got about ,6400 from Mr. Hoffmeyer.

To own up, verb, (colloquial). —To confess ; to ' make a clean breast.'

1880. A. Trollope, The Duke's Children, xxxv. The fact is if you own up in a genial sort of way the House will forgive anything.

Owned.

119

Oyster.

Owned, verb, (obsolete ecclesiastical).—See quot.

1853. Dean Counybeare, in Edin. Rev.i Oct., 295 note. A preacher is said in this phraseology to be owned when he makes many converts and his converts are called his ' seals.'

OWT, adj. (back-slang).—Two : e.g. owt-yannep-flatch = twopence-halfpenny ; owt-gens = two shillings.

Ox. The black ox has trod on his FOOT.phr. (old colloquial). —To know decay, misfortune, or old age.—B. E. (c. 1696).

1537. Tusser, Wiving and Thriving [Brewer]. Why then, do folk this proverb put, The black ox near trod on thy foot, If that way were to thrive?

1581. Lyly, Euphues, E 1. When the black Crowe's foote shall appeare in their eie, or the black oxe tread on their foote—who will like them in their age who liked non in their youth.

1646. Heywood [Brewer]. The black oxe had not trode on his or her foote ; But ere his branch of blisse could reach any roote, The flowers so faded, that in fifteen weekes a man might copy the change in the cheekes Both of the pooie wretch and his wife.

1670. Ray, Proverbial Phrases, 205. The black ox never trod on his foot, i.e., he never knew what sorrow or adversity meant.

1850. Leigh Hunt, Autobiography, iv. The black ox trod on the fairy foot of my Cousin Fan.

Oxer, subs, (sporting).—An oxfence.

1879. Corn/till Mag., v. 722. Across the road, over, an oxer, "like a bird."

1886. Kennard, Girl in Brown Habit, ix. Good mare that, Sir, you are on. That double oxer has choked most of them off.

Oxford, subs, (common). — A crown piece ; half-oxford = half-a-crown : see Bull.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 65. In peacocked the little man with the long chain, the 'wine-steward' who chucked away Ernest's half-oxford.

Oxford Blues, subs. phr. (military).—The Royal Horse Guards. [From their facings, 1690].

Oxford clink, subs. phr. (old).— I. A play upon words.

2. (theatrical).—A free pass.

Oxford grove, subs. phr. (old). —See quot.

1608. Dekker, Dead Tearme [Nares]. Conscience goes like a fool in pyed colours, the skin of her body hanging so loose, that like an oxford glove, thou wouldst swear there wer a false skin within her.

Ox-house. To go through the Ox-house to bed, verb. phr. (old).— To be cuckolded ; to wear horns (q.v.).

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Ox-house ... of an old Fellow that marries a young woman.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

Ox-pop, subs. (old).—a butcher.

Oyl-of-Barley. See Oil.

Oyster, subs, (common)—i. Profit or advantage : because it has a beard.

2. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Oyster, a gob of thick phlegm, spit by a consumptive man, unum viridum gobbunt (law Latin).

3. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

4. (common).—A gob of spittle.

Oyster.

120 Oyster-faced.

A choking oyster, subs.phr. (old).—A reply that leaves one nothing to say.

rf.1556. Udall, Apoph., 61. At an other season, to a feloe laiyng to his rebuke that he was over deintie of his mouthe and diete, he did with this reason give a

stopping oistre.

1547. Heywood, Proverbs, xi. [She] therefore deviseth to cast in my teeth checks and choking oysters.

Old Oyster, subs. phr. (common).—A vulgar, playful endearment.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 17. Life don't want lifting, old oyster.

The Oyster, subs, (venery). —The semen. Whence oyster catcher = the female pudendum ; and oyster-catching = whoring.

Oyster-faced, adj. (streets').— In need of shaving. [In allusion to the oyster's beard].

P and Q. 121

Pace.

AND Q. TO be P

and q, verb. phr. (old colloquial). —To be of the first quality, or good measure.

1612. Rowlands, Knaue of Harts, 20 (Hunterian Club's Repr.). Boy y'are a villaine. didst thou fill this Sacke? Tis flat you Rascall, thou hast plaid the lacke, Bring in a quart of Maligo, right true : And looke, you Rogue, that it be Pee and Kew.

To mind one's p's and q's, verb. phr. (colloquial). — To be careful or circumspect in behaviour ; to be exact. [Of uncertain origin ; amongst suggested derivations are (1) the difficulty experienced by children in distinguishing between ' p ' and ' q ' ; and (2) the old custom of alehouse tally, marking ' p ' for pint, and 'q' for quart, care being necessary to avoid overor under-charge. Probably both, in combination with the phrase TO be p and q (q.v.), have helped to popularise the expression].—Grose (1785).

1779. Cowley, Who's the Dupe ? i. i._ You must mind your P's and Q's with him, I can tell you.

1821. Egan, Life in London, v. I must once more remind you, my dear Jerry, said Tom, that we must be on our P's and Q's.

1826.^ Buckstone, Luke the Labourer, iii. i. Now, lad, mind thy P's and Q's, and you're a made man !

1840. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends Wedding-day). Gently ! gently, Miss Muse I Mind your P's and your Q's !

1861. Trollope, Framley Parsonage, xiv. But the Archdeacon was not quite at ease. Keep Dumbello up to his P's and Q's, you know, a friend had whispered to him at his club.

1864. Essays on Social Subjects [Saturday Reznew, 265.] A chiel's among us takin' notes. Virtue is put upon its p's and q's.

1881. James, Washington Square, xix. He hoped very much that, as regarded this affair of Catherine's, she would mind her p's and q's.

1892. Fenn, New Mistress, xxxv. If you don't mind your p's and q's. You hold your tongue.

1894. Moore, Esther Waters, i. My mother's the cook here ; you'll have to mind your p's and q's or else you'll be dropped on.

1896. Cotsford Dick, Ways of World, 25. Thus our letters we learn, with their P's and their Q's, From some pseudonym sexual transgressions.

pac, subs, (back-slang).—A cap.

Pace. To go the pace, verb.phr. (common).—To live a fast life ; to be extravagant.

e.1710. Steele, Tatler[Slang,Jargon and Cant], He is the son of a famous racing man, who went the pace, and cut his throat in Newmarket.

1869. Daily Nevus, 8 Nov. ' Leader.' Going the pace and taking a cropper are gradually being admitted into sma Il talk.

1890. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 5 Dec. Fresh from Oxford Arthur had been going the pace.

Alderman's pace, subs. phr. (common).—A slow and stately gait. Fr. pas d'Abbé.

1611. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Abbe. Alderman's pace a leasurely walking, slow gate.

Pacer. 122 Pack.

1629. Gaule, HolyMadn,, 94. What an Alderman's pace he comes.

To show one's paces, verb, phr. (colloquial). — To exhibit one's capability ; to show what one can do.

Pacer, subs, (colloquial ).—Primarily a fast horse; hence anything of great speed or activity.

Pack, subs. (old). — A prostitute: see Tart. Also a general term of reproach with no reference to sex. See Naughty.

Adj. (Scots' : colloquial). — Intimate ; familiar.

rf.1795. Burns, iii. 3. Nae doubt but they were fain o' ither ; An' unco' pack an thick the gither.

1805. NicoL, Poems, ii. 89. They war auld comrades, frank an' free, An' pack an' thick as tods cou'd be.

1808. Jamieson, Diet., s.v. Pack. Probably a cant word from English pack, a number of people confederated.

Verb, (also pack off, send

packing, give a packingpenny to, etc.) (old colloquial). — i. To dismiss without ceremony ; to send about one's business ; to discharge summarily : also, to depart hurriedly.—B. E. (e. 1696).

1540. Lyndsay, Satyre 0/ the Thrie Estaitis [E. E. T. S. (1869) line 975] Suyith ! hursun Carle : gang, pak the hence.

1580. Baret, Alvearie [Halliwell]. Make speede to flee, be packing awaie.

1593. Skakspeare, Taming of t/te Shrew, ii. 1. If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks, As though she bid me stay by her a week. Ibid. Ricliard III. (1597) i. i. He . . . must not die, Till George be pack'd with post horse up to Heav'n.

1603. ToMKis, Lingua [Brewer]. Roses and bays, pack hence ! This crown and robe . . . How gallantly it fits me !

1608. Day, Law Triches, iii. Win, prethee give the Fidler a testar and send him packing.

1609. Jonson, Case is Altered, iii. 3.

Will you give a packing-penny tO

virginity ?

1629. Descr. of Love [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896) 15]. Without delay, poore wretches they will set their Duds a packing.

1641. Baker, Chronicles, 106. So once again is Gaveston sent packing out of the Kingdom.

1659. Day, Blind Beggar, \. 2. Tudy. Do you but send away Sir Walter Playnsey, Let me alone to pack the Cardinal.

1662. Rump Songs, i. 59. And so we'll banish Popery, And send it packing hence.

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie, 78. And if that he shall still be lacking, Then back again we'll straight be packing.

1667. Dryden, Sir Martin Markau, iv. One word more of this gibberish, and I'll set you packing from your new service.

1656. Muses Reer. [Hotten], 31. We must all pack into the North.

1728. Bailey, Eng. Diet., s.v. Pack. To pack up his awls . . . to march off, to go away in haste.

1730. Miller, Humours of Oxford, iv. 2. I have sent him a packing as conjurors do a ghost.

1766. Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, xxi. Gentle or Simple out she shall pack.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xxxiv. I believe he would have packed him back here, but his nephew told him it would do up the free trade for many a day, if the youngster got back to Scotland.

1846. Planche, Court Favour, i. Lucy. It would be so charming to send all the Dutch packing . . . and for you to be made generalissimo !

1884. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, ist S. No. vi. 94. I'll send you back to school : you shall both pack off this very hour.

2. (American).—To drink : see Drinks and Screwed.

1847. Porter, Quarter Race, arc, 103. The captain used to boast that he could pack a gallon without its setting him back any.

Packet. 123

Pad.

TO eat the pack (or packie),

verb. phr. (Scots').—To waste one's substance ; to spend all. Eat-the-pack = a spendthrift. Cf. Pact.

Packet, subs, (provincial ). —A hoax ; a false report. Packets = an expression ofincredulity.—Grose (1785).

Pack-thread, subs. (old).—Covert obscenity.—Grose (1785).

Pact. To spend the pact, verb, phr. (Scots').—To waste one's substance : also TO perish the pact.

Pad, subs. (Old Cant).—1. A path; a road or highway. Also Highpad.

1573. Harman, Caveat (1814), 66. The hygh pad, the high way.

1610. Rowlands, Mariin Markau, 40(H. Club's Repr. 1874), s.v.

1611. MiDDLETON and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v. 1. Avast, to the pad, let us bing.

1622. Fletcher, Beggar's Bush. To maund on the pad.

1625. Jonson, Staple of News, ii. A rogue, a very canter I, sir, one that maunds upon the pad.

rf.1721. Prior, Thief and Cordelier. The squire of the pad and the knight of the post.

1724. Coles, Eng. Diet., s.v.

1818. Scott, Rob Roy, iv. Gentlemen of the pad, as they were then termed.

2. (old colloquial).—An easypaced horse ; an ambler. Also pad-nag.—B. E. (<-. 1696).

1717. Cibber, Nonjuror, i. 1. I was about buying a pad-nag for your sister.

1770. Foote, Lame Lover, i. 1. He would not sample to break an appointment ... in order to buy a pad-nag for a lady.

rf.1892. Tennyson, Lady of S halo t, ii. 20. An abbot on an ambling pad.

3. (old).—A highway robber ; a foot-pad ; a tramp : also padder and (Scots') paddist.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Markall, p. 40 (H. Club's Repr. 1874), s.v.

1665. R. Head, English Rogue, 1. v. p. Si (1874), s.v.

1625. Massinger, New Way to Pay Old Debts, ii. 1. Are they padders or Abram-men that are your consorts ?

1668. Dryden, Albumazar, Prot. ig. Who, like bold padders, scorn by night to prey, But rob by sunshine, in the face of day.

1671. Annand, Mysterium Pietatis, 85. A paddist or highwayman, attempting to spoil a preacher, ordering him to stand . . . was answered, etc.

1672. Shadwell, Epsom Wells, nr. [Wis. (1720), ii. 245]. Bribes received from pads, pick-pockets, and shop-lifts.

1678. Butler, Hudibras, in. 1. He spurr'd as jockies use to break, Or padders to secure a raik.

1680. Cotton, Gamester, 333. Gilts, pads, biters, etc. . . . may all pass under the general appellation of rooks.

1683. Crowne, City Politics, v. 1. Such rogues as you, who abuse your trade, and like so many padders, make all people deliver their purse that ride in the road of justice.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pad . . . Rum pad, a daring or stout Highwayman.

1707. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, 11. iv. 22. Since the Ladder Has turn'd off many a handsom Padder.

1708. London Bewitched, 6. This month hedges . . . will be the leacher's bawdy-house ; the padder's ambuscade ; . . . and the farmer's security.

1712. Shirley, Triumph of Wit [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 37]. The third was a padder, that fell to decay, Who used for to plunder upon the highway.

1746. Poor Robin [Nares]. Mercury, What does that thief Mercury do with Venus? Why even the very same that hectors and padders do with ladies of pleasure.

1781. Messink, Song [Choice of Harlequin]. Ye scamps, ye pads, ye divers, and all upon the lay.

Pad.

124

Pad.

1S18. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, xxv. A gude fellow that has been but a twelvemonth on the lag, be he ruffler or

padder.

1819. Byron, Don Juan, 11. 11. These freeborn sounds proceeded from four pads In ambush laid.

4. (old).—See quot. 1823.

1664. Etheredge, The Comical Revenge, i. 2. Palmer ... I am grown more than half virtuous of late. I have laid the dangerous pad now quite aside.

c.1819. Song of the Young Prig [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 83]. The cleanest angler on the pad.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Pad (the)—highway robbery, forcibly. Footpads—dismounted highwaymen. Pads— are also street-robbers.

ci824. Egan, Boxiana, iii. 621-2. For Dick had beat the hoof upon the pad.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodle, 11. i. 23. He's a light hand on the pad, has Jemmy, and leaves his mark.

5. (old).—A bed : also pod. [Pod = a bundle (Diet. Cant. Crew), often used as a pillow or bed]. See Letty.

Verb. (Old Cant). — 1. To travel on foot ; to tramp : also to pad (plod, bang, or beat) the hoof (q.v.). Fr. fendre Pergot ( = to split the spur).

1598-9. Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, i. 3. Trudge, plod, away,

o' the hoof.

1610. Rowlan ds, Martin Mark-A11, 'The Maunder's Wooing.' O Ben mort wilt thou pad with me.

1644-55. Howell, Letters, 1. i. 17 [1726]. The Secretary was put to beat the hoop himself, and foot it home.

d. 1659. Bradford, Letters [Parker Soc. (1858), ii. 46]. Though the weather be foul . . . yet go not ye alone . . . your brothers and sisters pad the same path.

1684. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, 11. A lion . . . came a great padding pace after.

1665. Head, Eng. Rogue, 1. vi. 59. Beating the hoof we overtook a Cart.

1687. Brown, Saints in Up., 82 [Wks. (1730), i. 78.] We beat the hoof as pilgrims.

1748. Dyche, Diet., s.v. Hoof. To beat the hoof (V.) to walk much up and down, to go a-foot.

1788. Picken, Poems, 37, 85. Fareweel, ye wordiest pair o' shoon, On you I've padded, late an' soon.

1789. Parker, Life's Painter [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 69]. Ere they to church did pad, To have it christen'd Joe, sir.

1859. Matsell, Vocab. I must pad like a bull or the cops will nail me.

1868. Browning, Ring and Book, 11. 277. The muzzled ox . . . gone blind in padding round and round one path.

188a Somerville, Fables, 1. Two toasts, with all their trinkets gone, padding the streets for half-a-crown.

1883. Daily News, 22 June, 3, 2. As the child of Seven Dials walks the streets, padding the weary hoof .... he sees plenty of street sights.

1887. Henley, Fillon's Straight Tip, 2. Pad with a slang, or chuck a fag.

2. (old).—To rob on foot, or on the highway : also to go on the pad.—B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785).

1639. Ford, Lady's Trial, v. i. One can . . . pick a pocket, pad for a cloak, or hat, and, in the dark, Pistol a straggler for a quarter-ducat.

1685. Cotton Mather, Discourse on Witciicraft (1689), 7. As if you or I should say : We never met with any robbers on the road, therefore there never was any padding there.

d. 1745. Swift, to Mr. Congreve [Century], These pad on wit's high-road, and suits maintain, with those they rob.

On the YAD,phr. (common).— On the tramp.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. 1. 462. Her husband was on the pad in the country.

Pad-borrower. 125

Paddle.

To stand pad, verb. phr. (vagrants')—To beg by the wayside.

186z. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. i v. 24. Beggars . . . who stand pad with fakement and pretend to hide their faces.

1875. Letter [Ribton-Turner, Vagrants and Vagrancy, 642]. I obtained three children ... for three shilling, . . to stand pad with me ... on a Saturday.

To pad round, verb. phr. (tailors').—To pay great attention to a customer ; to cringe ; to crawl.

Gentlemen of the pad. See Padder.

Pad in the straw, subs. phr. (old colloquial).—Anythingamiss; danger concealed ; ' a snake in the grass.'

1551. Still, Gammer Gurton's Needle, v. 2. Ye perceive by this lingring there is a pad in the straw.

15 [?] Collier, Old Ballads [Halliwell]. Here lyes in dede the padde within the strawe.

Pad-borrower, subs. phr. (old). A horse thief.—Grose (1785).

Pad-clinking, subs. phr. (Old Cant).—Hobnobbing with footpads.

1865. Kingsley, Hillyars and Burtons, xix. My pad-clinking . . . bucks, Good day.

Padded, subs. (old).—1. See Pad ; subs, sense 3.

2. in pi. (common). — Feet ; boots, or shoes ; see Creepers.

1828. Egan, Finish to Tom and Jerry, 309. My padders, my stampers, my buckets, otherwise my boots.

Padding-crib (or -ken), subs. phr. (Old Cant).—A lodging house : cf. doss-house.

1851. H. Mayhew, London Lab. \. 261. Others resort to the regular paddingkens, or houses of call for vagabonds.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assist. 444,

s.v.

1866. Temple Bar, xvi. J84. Let the spikes be what they may they were a great deal better than the padding-kens.

1883. Referee, 25 March, 1, 4. The hotel and lodging-house keepers, the proprietors of padding-kens, .... expect to make profit out of the race being held where it is to be held.

1889. Answers, 11 May, 374. Not long ago considerable disturbances took place at this very padden ken.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. Before you can open a paddin-ken, you must get a licence from the charpering carsey which lasts for a stretch.

Paddington-fair, subs. (old).—A hanging. [Tyburn being in Paddington Parish]. To dance the Paddington frisk = to be hanged: see Ladder.—Diet. Cant. Crew(1696); Grose (1785).

Paddington-spectacles, subs, phr. (old).—The cap pulled over the eyes of a criminal on the scaffold : see Paddington-fair.

Paddle, subs, (common). — The hand : see Daddle.

Verb, (common).—1. To drink: hence to have paddled = to be intoxicated : see Drinks and Screwed.

2. (venery).—To play with a woman ; to mess about : see Firkytoodle.

1604. Shakspeare, Winter's Tale, i. 7. Paddling palms and pinching fingers.

1847. Halliwell, Diet., s.v. Paddle . . . etiam désignât molliter manibus tractare aliquid et agitare, as to paddle in a ladies neck or bosom.

Paddy. 126

Pagan.

3. (American).—To go or run away.

See Canoe.

Paddy, subs, (common).—1. An Irishman : also paddy-whack and paddylander. Hence, Paddy-land = Ireland.—Grose (1785).

English synonyms. Bogtrotter ; Emeralder ; Mick, mike or micky ; paddylander ; paddywhack ; Pat ; patent Frenchman ; patlander ; shirt.

1S01. Sharpe [Cotrespondence (18SS), i. 113]. You would be much surprised to see these cronies of mine . . . they are all there Paddies.

1817. Scott, Search after Happiness, xxii. The odds that foil'd Hercules foil'd Paddy Whack. . . . Alack ! Ubbubboo ! Paddy had not—a shirt to his back ! ! !

1850. Smedley, FrankFairlegh, lx. After I had had a good laugh . . . I . . . ' discoursed ' 'em, as Paddy calls it.

1874. Linton, Patricia Kemball, xii. He once went over on business to what he always called Paddy-land.

18 [?]. Irish Song [Hotten]. I'm Paddy Whack, from Ballyhack.

2. (common).—A rage ; a passion : also Paddy-whack.

To come Paddy over, verb, phr. (American).—To bamboozle; to humbug.

Paddy Quick, subs, and adj. (rhyming slang).—i. A stick ; and (2) thick.

Paddy's Blackguards, subs. phr. (military). — The Royal Irish Regiment, formerly The 18th Foot. Also " The Namurs."

Paddy's hurricane, subs. phr. (nautical).—No wind at all; a ' breeze up and down the mast.'

Paddy-wack (Paddy, or Paddy's watch), subs. phr. (common).— See quot

1886. Notes and Queries, 7th S.., i. 478. Before the tax on almanacs ... a class of printers [sold] an almanack unstamped, and this was often called Paddy's Watch. They were hawked about, . . . sold at 3d., and often for less, when a stamped almanac cost is. gd. or 2s. I have often heard . . . ' Have you an almanac ?' and the answer has been, ' We have a Paddy.'

2. See Paddy, subs, i and 2.

Paddywester, subs, (nautical).— See quot.

1892. Perry, Voyage of Boadicea [Boy's Own Paper, 28 May, 649]. Paddy Westers . . . Incompetent, worthless, or destitute sailors or landsmen masquerading as seamen.

Padlock. See Pleasure-boat.

Pad-nag. See pad, szibs. sense 2.

Padre, subs, (services).—A clergyman : see Devil-dodger. [From the Portuguese].

1888. Chamb. Journal, 14 Jan., 18. The chaplain, who on board ship is known by a a thousand more or less irreverent names—Padre, sky-pilot, etc.

Paff, intj. (colloquial). — An interjection of contempt ; bosh ! Hence piff-paff= jargon.

1851. Longfellow, Golden Legend. These beggars . . . lamed and maimed, and fed on chaff, chanting their wonderful

piff and paff.

1897. Pall Mall, 28 Sept., 2, 3. The combatants used their fists only . . . Paf ! paf ! one for you, and paf ! paf ! for your opponent.

Pagan, subs. (old).—A prostitute : see Barrack-hack and Tart.

1659. Massinger, City Madam, ii. i. I have had my several pagans billeted for my own tooth.

Pagets Horse. 127

Pal.

Paget'8 Irregular Horse (military). — The Fourth Hussars. [From its loose drill after return from India].

Paid, adj. (old).—Intoxicated: see Drinks and Screwed.

PAIKER (PAIKIE OrCALSAY PAIKER).

subs. phr. (Old Scots'). — A prostitute : see Barrack-hack and Tart.

Paint, subs, (common).—Money: see Actual and Gill.

1866. Harris {Evidence before Totness Election Commission]. The voters ask for ' sub,' which is the term used here for money, as ' sugar ' and paint are used elsewhere.

Verb, (common).—To drink. Painted = drunk. [Cf. Macbeth, ii. 3].

1853. Whyte Melville, Digby Grand, ii. Each hotel we passed . . . called forth the same observation, ' I guess I shall go in and paint.'

1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, xxiv. The muse is dry and fain would paint—imbibe the vulgar call.

See Red, and Fresh.

Painted-box, subs. phr. (American).—A coffin.

1888. Point Pleasant Register. We give such creatures timely and due notice to have a painted box prepared.

Painted MiscHiEF,subs. phr. (old). —Playing cards ; the history of the four kings (ç.v.).

1879. Daily News, 8 Mar. There are plenty of ways of gambling . . . without recourse to the " painted mischief."

Painter. To cut the painter, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To send away ; to cut adrift ; to interfere to prevent mischief : also see Cut.

e.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Painter. I'll cut your painter for ye, I'll prevent ye doing me any Mischief ; the Tar-Cant when they quarrel one with another.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Painter. I'll cut your painter for you ; I'll send you off ; the painter being the rope that holds the boat fast to the ship.

Pair, subs, (colloquial).—A flight of stairs ; e.g., Two-pair back = the room at the back of the second flight of stairs.

Pair of shears. See Shears.

Pair of spectacles. See Spectacles.

Pair of Wings, sttbs.phr. (old).— Oars.—Grose (1785).

Pal, subs, (common).—A chum ; a friend ; a partner ; an accomplice. [Probably from the Gypsy.]

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pall. A companion. One who generally accompanies another, or who commit robberies together.

1789. Parker, Life's Painter, 150. Pal. When highwaymen rob in pairs, they say such a one was his or my pal.

1821. Haggart, Life, 172, s.v.

1821. Egan, Life in London [Dick], p. 60. Jem is so cut up, that all his old pals have turned their backs upon him.

1830. Moncrieff, Heart of London, ii. i. Your pals have been laid up in lavender.

1836. Milner, Turpin's Ride, i. 3. A further reward . . . for the apprehension of his pal, the gentleman highwayman.

1838. Reynolds, The Housebreaker s Song [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896) 123]. But if ever a pal in limbo fell, He'd sooner be scragg'd at once than tell.

1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard, (1889), 15. It's all right, pals, cried Baptist.

1841. Comic Almanac, 260. I can't even svear ; my pals u'd hardly know me.

1840-1845. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (1862), 267. Highborn Hidalgos With whom e'en the King himself quite as a pal goes.

1843. Moncrieff, Scamps of London, L 2. Our young pal.

Palace. 128

Palaver.

1844. Selby, London by Night, i. 2. I see you are not too proud to shake hands with an old pal.

1858. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, in. v. Ned and Phil, mutually agreed that their pal was ' a born genius.'

1871. Standard, 26 Dec. Their pals outside, the gentry who hocus Jack ashore in the east, pick the pockets of Lord Dundreary in the west.

1879. McCarthy, Donna Quixote, xxxvii. A coward like that couldn't even be true to his pal.

1882. Daily Telegraph, 7 Oct., 6, 1. The witness added that the parties were very good friends ; in fact, they were pals together.

1891. Newman, Scamping Tricks, 70. I had an old pal with me.

1892. Chevalier, The Little Nipper [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 192]. 'E call 'is mother 'Sally,' and 'is father ' good old pally,' and 'e only stands about so 'igh, that's all !

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, v. His pals didn't seem to take notice.

Verb, (common).—1. To make friends with ; to chum.

1879. Autobiography of a Thief, in Macmillan's Mag., xl. 500. I palled in with some older hands at the game.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 7. We'll pall off to Parry.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xvii. I palled in with a lot more boys, done a bit of gonoffing or anything to get some posh, but it got too hot, all my pals got nicked, and I chucked it.

1898. Cigarette, 26 Nov., 13, 1. It's their weddin day on Toosday ; Married fifty year ago. That's a tidy time to pal it ! More than I could do, I know !

2. (thieves').—See quot.

1851. Mayhew, London Lab. ix. 768. It was difficult to pall him upon any racket (detect him in any pretence).

Palace, subs, (police).—A policestation.

Palarie, verb, (vagrants').—To talk : cf. palaver.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xvi. Though they offered me lots of money to blow the gaff, I felt afraid to palarie a dickey for fear of being trapped. Ibid. She knew all the cant, and used to palarie thick to the slaveys.

Palatic, adj. (theatrical).—Drunk: see Drinks and Screwed.

1885. The Stage, 28. Sandy told me he last saw him dreadfully palatic

Palaver, subs, (colloquial Scots'). — i. A fussy and ostentatious person : generally old palaver.

2. (general). — Conversation ; discussion : specifically idle talk, flattery, or cajolery : also as verb. Hence, palaverer = a flatterer. [From Port, palavra ( = talk)].— Grose (1785) ; Bee (1823).

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, xii. None of your palaver.

1763. Foote, Mayor of Garratt, ii. 2. Have a good caution that this Master Mug does not cajole you ; He is a damned palavering fellow.

1822. Douglas Jerrold, Black Ey'd Susan, ii., 2. Wit. No palaver ; tell it to the marines.

1838. Bayly, Spitalfelds Weaver. Hang it ! he'll see through all that palaver the way you say it.

1838. Desmond, Stage Struck, 2. No more of your palaver—I'll not be made a Jerry Sneak.

1858. G. Eliot, Janet's Repentance, xxv. I used to think there was a great deal of palaver in her, but you may depend upon it there's no pretence.

1864. Miss Wetherell, Melbourne House, v. Come . . . don't palaver.

1866. Howell's, Venetian Life, xxii. There hang their mighty works for ever, high above the reach of any palaverer.

1883. Payn, Canon's Ward, xv. Vou have deceived him long enough with palaver, now you'll have to undeceive him with palaver.

1884. Smart, Post to Finish, 193. Have a palaver with your father.

1888. Runciman, Chequers, 107. I liked to hear Jowett palaver.

Pale.

129

Palliard.

1892. Illustrated Bits, 22 Oct. 14, 2. She can't get the comehither over me for all her palaver.

Verb. I. See subs. 2.

2. (colloquial Scots').—To fuss.

Pale. To leap the pale, verb, phr. (old colloquial).—To break bounds ; to exceed.

1593. Shakspeare, Com. Errors, ii. i, 100. But, too unruly deer, he breaks the pale And feeds from home.

1609. The Man in ttie Moone, sig. C. 4. It you proceede as you have begune . . . your leaping the pale will cause you looke pale.

1847. Tennyson, Princess, ii. Deep, indeed, Their debt of thanks to her who first had dared To leap the rotten pales of prejudice.

Paleface, subs. (American colloquial).—A white : in poetry and fiction, as from an Indian dialect.

i8[?] G. H. Colton, Tecumseh, ii. 18. [F]. Then shall the paleface sink tonight.

1826. Cooper, Last of Mohicans, xxxiii. The hunting grounds of the Lenape contained vales as pleasant, streams as pure, and flowers as sweet as the heaven of the pale-faces.

i8[?] Durfee, Whatcher, iv., xxxv. The palefaced strangers came.

Palestine in London, subs. phr. (old).—See quot. and Holy Land.

1821. Egan, Real Life, it. 165. Palestine in London, or the Holy Land, includes that portion of the parish of St. Giles, Bloomsbury, inhabited by the lower Irish.

Palette, subs, (old).—A hand : see Daddle.

Palliard, subs. (Old Cant.).—1. Aborn beggar; a tramp; primarily a vagabond who lies on straw. [From. Fr. paillard'].—Awdeley (1567) ; Coles (1724) ; New Cant. Diet. (1725) ; Grose (1785) ; Lex. Bal. (1811).

1573. Harman, Caveat (1814), 26. These Palliards be called also Clapperdogens, these go with patched clokes, and haue their morts with them which they cal wiues.

1608. Dekker, Bclman of London, [Grosart, Wks., in. 99]. A palliard carryes about him (for feare of the worst) a Certificate . . . where this Mort and he were marryed, when all is but forged.

i6it. Middleton and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v. 7. And couch till a PAi.i.iAKD docked my dell.

1616. Beaumont and Fletcher, Monsieur Thomas, ii. 2. No, base palliard, I do remember yet.

1687. Dryden, Hind and Pantlier, 11. 563. Thieves, panders, palliards, sins of every sort.

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Palliards, c. the Seaventh Rank of the Canting Crew, whose Fathers were Born Beggers, and who themselves follow the Same Trade, with Sham Sores, making a hideous Noise, Pretending grievous Pain, do extort Charity.

1707. Shirley, Triumph of Wit [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 35]. Palliards all thou didst excel.

1748. Dyche, Diet. A cant name for wretched men and women, who live by begging, thieving—anything but honest industry. The women go with one, or more small children, in a dirty, ragged condition, who cry, as though starved, the women making a doleful tale. Her male companion lies begging in fields, streets, &c, with cleymes or artificial sores, the flesh raw and shocking to the sight ; the impostor pretending great pain, deceives the compassionate, charitable, and welldisposed passengers, whom, when opportunity presents, he can recover his limbs to rob, and even murder, if resisted. [Condensed].

1834. AiNSWORTH, Rookwood, iii. v. Adjoining him was the palliard, a loathsome tatterdemallion, his dress one heap of rags, and his discoloured skin one mass of artificial leprosy and imposthumes.

2. (old).—A lecher ; a womanizer (q.v.). Hence palliardise = fornication ; and palliardy = whoredom.

Palliasse.

130 Palm.

1512-13. Douglas, Virgil, Prol. 96. 41. Eschame ye not rehers and blaw on brede Your awin defame ? hawand of God na drede, Na yit of hell, prouokand vtheris to syn, Ye that list of your palyardky neuer blyn.

.1555. Lyndsay, Works, 76. That blind gat sieht, and cruikit gat their feit ; The quhilk the palyard na way can appreue.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, sig. a 6 vo. Whose Communication is Athéisme, contention, detraction, or

paillardise.

1604. Digges, Foure Parad, i. 4. Pallardize, Murder, Treachery, and Treason are their Attendants.

1728. Bailey, Eng. Diet., s.v. Palliardise, Whoredom, Fornication.

Palliasse, subs, (common).—A harlot : see Tart.

Palm, verb. (old).—1. To bribe; to tip (q.v.): also to grease (anoint, or gild) the palm (or hand) : cf. sense. 2. Hence (1) an itching palm = a hand ready to receive bribes : cf. the old superstition that money is about to be received if the palm itches; and(2) palm-oil (grease or soap, or oil of palms or angels, q.v.) — a bribe, whence also = money : Fr. huile and graisse (Grose, 1785) ; Mr. Palmer is concerned, of a person bribed or bribing (Vaux, 1819). See Grease.

c.1513. Skelton [Dyce, Works (iZ^), ii.]. Grese my handes with gold.

rf.1572. Knox, Hist, of Reformation, [Works (1846) i. 102.] Yea, the handis of our Lordis so liberallie were anoynted.

1592. Greene, Repentance, etc. Sig C. My Mother pampered me . . . and secretly helped mee to the oyle ok angels, that I grew . . . prone to all mischefs.

1607. Shakspeare, Jul. C. iv. Let me tell you, Cassius, you . . . Are much condemned to have an itching palm.

1623. Massinger, Duke of Milan, iii. 2. His stripes wash'd off With oil of ange ls.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (1725) 71]. She conjures, prays, . . . greases his fist.

17 [?] [quoted in Ashton, Social Life in Reign of Q. Anne, 11. 220]. He accounts them very honest Tikes, and can with all safety trust his Life in their Hands, for now and then gilding their palms for the good services they do him.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 81. Oil of palm's the thing, that flowing, Sets the naves and felloes going.

1840. Lytton, Paul Clifford, viii. I dare say you may manage to soften the justice's sentence by a little oil of palms.

1854. Punch, ii. 168. Oil of palms. —Metaphora vetustissima. A specific much in vogue for rigid fingers and horny fistedness ; though, strange to say, it only serves to augment the itch which so often affects the hand.

1858. Morning Chronicle, 10 Feb. It is not an unusual thing in our trade to palm the police.

1879. Dickens, Diet, of London, s.v. Sight-Seeing. The enterprising sight-seer who proceeds on this plan, and who understands the virtues of palm oil, is sure to see everything he cares to see.

1898. Saturday Review, 3 Sep., 298, i. It was suggested . . . that one of the reasons for the failure of British diplomacy in China was that we did not rightly appreciate the uses of palm oil.

1900. Ouida, Massarenes, 32. I think she'll take us up, William, . . . but she will want a lot of palm-grease.

2. (colloquial).—To conceal in the palm of the hand ; to swindle ; to misrepresent. Whence palming (palmistry or palmingracket) = trickery (by secreting in the palm of the hand) : specifically shop-lifting, the thieves hunting in pairs, one bargaining, the other watching opportunities : see quots. 1714 and 1755. Also to palm off = to beguile ; to gammon (q.v.); palmer = a trickster : specifically at cards and dice. — Dyche (1748) ; Vaux (1819).

1601. Ben Jonson, Poetaster, v. Well said, this carries palm with it.

Palm-acid.

Paltock's Inn.

1698. Farquhar, Love anda Bottle [Old Dram. 492]. [He will] palm letters on you.

1700. Step to tlie Bath [Ashton, Soc. Life in Reign of Q. Anne, ii. in]. . . . There was Palming, Lodging, Loaded Dice, Levant, and Gammoning, with all the Speed imaginable.

1704. Swift, Tale of a Tub, Sect, vi. A rogue that .... palmed his damned crusts upon us for mutton.

1711. Spectator, No. 117. She . . . has made the country ring with several imaginary exploits which are palmed upon her. Ibid., 130. He found his pocket was picked ; that being a kind of palmistry at which this race of vermin [gypsies] are very dexterous.

1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 27. Palming the die ; that is, having the box in hand, he nimbly takes up both dice as thrown within the hollow of his hand, puts but one into the box, reserving the other in the palm, and observing with quick eye what side was upward, he accordingly conforms the next throw to his purpose, delivering that in the box, and the other in his hand smoothly together.

^I755Connoisseur, No. 68. The dexterity ... to palm an ace, or cog a die.

1811. Austen, Sense and S., xx. Don't palm all your abuses . . . upon me.

1818. Scott, Rob Roy, xxxvii. A foundered blood-mare, which he wished to palm upon a Manchester merchant.

1826. Lamb, Elia (Popular Fallacies, xi.). A horse-giver, no more than a horse-seller, has a right to palm his spavined article upon us for good ware.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 445. Robbing in shops by two—Palming.

1877. Five Years' Penal, ii. 119. The warder . . . watches that the prisoner does not palm anything—in other words, practise some legerdemain trick to conceal any contraband article.

To bear the palm, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To excel ; to be first or best. [The Romans gave branches of palm to a victorious gladiator. ]

Palm-acid (or Oil) subs. phr. (schoolboys').—i. A caning : on the hand.

2. See Palm, verb. 1.

Palmer, subs. (Durham School).— i. A shy fellow.

2. See Palm, sense 2.

Palmerston, subs, (pugilists').— See quot.

1865. Field. Feb. Bottle-Holder . . . Slang term for Lord Palmerston .... He described himself as acting the part of a judicious bottle-holder among the foreign Powers. A lately-invented instrument to hold a bottle has thus received the name of a palmerston.

Palmetto State, subs. phr. (American). — South Carolina. [From the arms of the State : a variety of dwarf palm or palmetto is abundant therein.] Whence Palmetto Flag, Palmetto City, and Palmetto Boys.

1861. Charleston Mercury, ¹ War Song.' March, march on, brave Palmetto Boys, Sumter and Lafayette, forward in order.

Palm-oil.—See Palm, and Palmacid.

Palsy, subs, (old colloquial). — 1. Generic for weakness. Palsy in the hand (old) — the habit of dicing.

1608. Yorkshire Tragedy, i. 4. What is there ... to make a man . . . with the gentleman's palsy in the hand shake out his posterity, thieves or beggars ?

1623. Massinger, Duke of Milan, iv. 3. Lock up thine own wife, fool, that must take physic From her young doctor, physic upon her back, Because thou hast the palsv in that part That makes her active.

Paltock's \hh, subs. phr. (old).— A poverty-stricken place.

1579. Gosson, School of Abuse, 52. Comming to Chenas, a blind village, in comparison of Athens a Paltockes Inne, he found one Miso well governing his house.

Pain.

132

Pan.

1582. Stanihurst, /Eneid, iii. 65. Swiftlye they determine! too flee from a countrye so wycked, Paltocks Inne leauing, too wrinche thee nauye too southward.

PAM, subs, (old gaming).—1. The Knave of Clubs. [Skeat : A contraction of Pamphillion (Fr.) = the Knave of Clubs : see. Littre].—B.E. (^.1696); Grose (1785) ; Lex. Bal. (1811).

1706. Estcourt, Fair Example, i. Scandal is the very pam in conversation.

1712. Pope, Rape, in. 61. Ev'n mighty pam that kings o'erthrew.

1713. Guardian, 120. Play .... engrosses the whole woman. She quickly grows . . . more fond of pam, than of her husband.

1745. Walpole, Leiters (1833), 11. 74. One gets pam, the other gets pam, but . . . no conclusion of the game, till one side has never a card left.

1777. Colman, School for Scandal. Epil. That spirit-stirring drum !—odd trick—pam—basto—king and queen !

1810. Crabbe, Borough, 9, Amusements. Faint in the morn, no powers could she exert ; at night with Pam delighted and alert.

2. (literary). —Lord Palmerston.

1854. Smedley, Harry Coverdale, xxxvii. I just scribbled off a line to Palmerston . . . It's very jolly to be on those terms with a man like Pam.

Pan, subs, (tramps'). — 1. The workhouse : see Pan ny, subs. 2.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xx. Next day all us kids were sent to the pan, and she got two months' hard.

2. (old).—A bed : see Kir.— Hall (1708).

3. (Old Cant). — Money : see Rhino.—IIalliwell (1847).

To pan out, verb. phr. (American).—To yield ; to give a result or return : originally a mining term ; ' gold dust ' being

put with water in a pan and shaken, when gold sinks to the bottom.

1882. McCabe, New York, 221. Altogether, my first evening among the ' lumtums' panned out well.

1888. Providence Journal. A penniless young man, with nothing to back him but a dream, had secured almost unlimited credit and a rich heiress in the bargain. Dreams don't pan out in that way, said one.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 25 Aug. They got to blows, but things didn't pan out as I thought they would.

1894. To-day, 21 Ap., 317, 1. Hereupon the current of criticism takes a turn . . . ' Ought ter pan out well.'

1901. Referee, 7 Ap. 1. 1. We do not want to know about repairs to the M.C.C.'s big roller, or the plumbing account, or how the members' luncheon pans out as a commercial speculation.

To have a pan on, verb, phr. (printers').—To have a fit of ' the blues ' ; to be ' down in the dumps.'

To savor of the pan (or frying-pan), verb. phr. (colloquial).—To betray origin ; to smell of the lamp (q.v.) Also (old literary) to savour of heresy : cf. Sentir le fagot, from which there would appear to be a reference to the ancient punishment for heresy. ]

rf.1555. Ridley [Bradford Letters, Parker Society, 1853, 11. 160]. Although there be many things that savoureth of the pan, and also he himself was afterward a Bishop of Rome, yet, I dare say, the papists would glory but a little to see such books go forth in English.

1824. Southey, Book of the Church, xi. Bishop Nix of Norwich, one of the most infamous for his activity in this persecution, used to call the persons whom he suspected of heretical opinions men

savouring of the frying-pan.

See Cat, Fluff and Flash.

Pancake. 133

Pannicky.

Pancake, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Pan-cake Tuesday, subs. phr. (colloquial).—Shrove Tuesday. [By ancient custom pancakes are then eaten.]

Pandy (or Pan die), subs, (schools' and nursery). A stroke from a cane, strap, or tawse on the palm of the hand by way of punishment. Also (Scots) Paumie. [From the order in Latin ''Pande palmum' (or manum) = 'Hold out your hand.'] Also as verb — io cane or strap.

1832. Scott, Redgauntlet, i. You taught me . . . to . . . obey the stern order of the Pande manum, and endure my pawmies without wincing.

1863. Kingsley, Water-Baldes, 187. And she boxed their ears, and thumped them over the head with rulers, and i'andied their hands with canes.

Panel (Parnel or Pern el), subs. (old).—An immodest woman ; a prostitute : see Tart.—Bailey (1728) ; Grose (1785).

1362. Langland, P. Plowman's Vision, 2313. Til Parnells purfille be put in hire hucche. Ibid. 2790. Dame Pernele a priestes fyle.

1560. PiLKiNGTON, Works, 56. But these tender pernels must have one gown for the day, another for the night.

1560. Becon, Prayers [Parker Soc. Works], 267. Pretty Parnel [= a nickname for a priest's mistress].

Panel-crib (-den, or -house),

subs. phr. (common).—A brothel specially fitted for robbery. A woman picking up a stranger takes him to a panel-house, known also as a badger or touch-crib, or a shakedown. The room has means of secret ingress—door frames, moveable panels, and the backs of wardrobes —swinging noiselessly on oiled

hinges. The woman engages her victim, an accomplice enters the room, rifles his pockets, and retires. Then, coming to the door he knocks, and demands admission. The victim hastily dresses, leaves by another exit, and discovers that the whole thing is a plant (q.v.). Hence panel-game and panel-dodge: cf. Panny. For syns. see Nannyshop.—Bartlett (1848) ; Farmer (1888).

1882. McCabe, New York, xxx. 187. Many of the street walkers are in the regular employ of the panel-houses.

1885. Burton, Thousand Nights, i. 323. The Panel-dodge is common throughout the East—a man found in the house of another is helpless.

1899. Reynolds, 22 Jan., 8, 3. Panel Robberies. [Title.]

Panjamdrum (The Great), subs, phr. (common).—A village potententate ; a Brummagem magnate. [From Foote's nonsense lines, written to test Macklin's memory : see quot.].

</. 1777. Foote [Quarterly Reziiew, xcv. 516-7]. So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage leaf to make an apple pie ; and at the same time a great she-bear, coming up the street, pops its head into the shop. "What! no soap?" So he died, and she very imprudently married the barber ; and there were present the Picninnies, and the Joblillies, and the Garyulies, and the Grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, and they all fell to playing the game of catch as catch can, till the gunpowder ran out at the heel of their boots.

1883. H. James, in Harper s Mag., lxxvii. 86. ' Well, no, not exactly a nobleman.' 'Well, some kind of a panjandrum. Hasn't he got one of their titles ?'

Pannicky, adj. (colloquial).— Given to panic.

1886. New Princeton Review, v. 206. Our national party conventions have come to be pannicky hordes.

Pannier.

134 Panny.

Pannier. To fill a woman's pannier, verb. phr. (common). —See quot. 1611.—Halliwell (1847).

1611. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Emplir une femelle, to fill her panniers to get her with yong.

See Wear.

Pannier-man, subs. phr. (old).— A servant of an inn of court : his office is to announce dinner.— Grose (1785).

1654. Witts Recreation [Nares]. On T. H. the Pannier man of the Temple. [Title.]

1712. Great Britans Honycombe, MSS. [Nares]. The panyer man, whose office is to lay the cloths on the tables in the hall, set saltsellers, cut bred, whet the knifes, and wait on the gentlemen, and fetch them beer and other necessaries when they are in commons in term time. He also blows the great horn between twelve and one of the clock at noon at most of the corners in the Temple three times presently one after another to call the gentlemen that are in commons to dinner.

Pannikin. To roll one's pannikin into another shed (Australian). To leave one man's service for another.

Pannum (panum, or pannam),

subs. (Old Cant).—Bread ; food. [Latin pants']. Hence pannumbound = (prison) cut of one's allowance ; pannum(or cokey-) fence = a street pastry cook ; pannum-struck = starving.— Harman (1567) ; B. E. (f.1696) ; Hall (1714) ; Coles (1724); Grose (1785). For synonyms see Staff-of-life.

1608. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candlelight [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 3]. The Ruffin cly the nab of the Harmanbeck, If we mawnd Pannam, lap, or Ruff-peck.

1611. Middleton and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v. i. [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 10]. a gage of ben Rombouse. ... Is benar than a Caster, Peck, pennam, lap, or popler.

1641. Brome, Jovial Crew [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 23]. Here's Pannam . . . To fill up the Crib, and to comfort the Quarron.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf s.v. Panum. "Mat de dem div, me Middery?" asks the gipsey child. Nonarem panum.

1837. Disraeli, Venetia, xiv. Berana flick the panem.

1844. Selby, London by Night, i. 2. As far as an injun, pannum, and cheese, anda drop of heavy goes, you are perfectly welcome.

1867. Vance, Chickaleary Cove. Some pannum for my chest.

Panny, subs, (old).—i. The highway.

1754. Discorveries of John Poulter, 42. I'll scamp on the panney.

2. (Old Cant). — A house, public or otherwise ; also apartments, rooms, lodgings. Hence flash-panny = (1) a brothel ; and (2) a public-house used by thieves.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Panny. The pigs frisked my panney and nailed my screws.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. ii. To send them to their fannies full of spirits.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Panny —a small house, or low apartment ; a dwelling-shed, or gipsey building without stairs.

1827. Egan, Anec. of Turf 183. He never called at her panny now without invitation.

3. (thieves'). — A burglary : also panny-lay. Hence, pannyman — a housebreaker ; to do a panny = to rob a house.— Grose (1785) ; Snowden (1857).

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ii. Ranting Rob, poor fellow, was lagged for

doing a panny.

£■.1838. Reynolds, Pickwick Abroad [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 122]. The reg'lars came Whenever a pannie was done.

Pantables.

135

Pantler.

Pantables. To stand upon one's pantables, verb. phr. (old colloquial).—To stand upon dignity ; to assert one's position. [Pantables — pantoufle = slipper].

1580. Saker, Narbonus, 11. 99. Hee

standeth upon his pantables, and re

gardeth greatly his reputation.

1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Faithful Friend, iii. 2. Then comes a page : the saucy jacket-wearer Stood upon's pantables with me, and would in : But, I think I took him down ere I had done with him.

1734. Cotton, Works, 85. Is now, forsooth, so proud, what else ! And stands so on her pantables.

Pantagruelian, subs, (literary).— An artist in life. [From Pantagruel, the title character of Rabelais.]

Panter, subs. (Old Cant).—i. The hart. [Because said (in Psalms) to pant after the fresh water brooks].—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

2. (common). — The heart. Also, in pi. = the paps. Fr. le Saint-ciboire ; le battant ( = the beater) ; la fressure ( = the pluck or fry) ; le palpitant. It. la salsa ( = sauce).

c. 1725. Old Song [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 44]. Didst thou know, my dear doxy, but half of the smart Which has seized on my panter, since thou didst depart.

Pants, subs, (vulgar).—Short for ' pantaloons.' Also panteys, and (colloquial) pantalettes [ — a school-girl's breeches].

1870. White, Words and their Uses, 211. Gent and pants—Let these words go together like the things they signify. The one always wears the other.

1847. Porter, Big Bear, 104. If I hadn't a had on pantalets I reckon somebody would of knowd whether I gartered above my knees or not.

1848. Burton, Waggeries, 95. I've a colt's revolver in each pantev's pocket.

1851. Wendell Holmes, Poems, 217. The thing named pants in certain documents, A word not made for gentlemen, but gents.

1852. Wetherell, Qucenic. Miss Letitia Ann Thornton, a tall grown girl in pantalettes.

1853. Whvte Melville, Digby Grand, xx. Wonderfully-fittingcontinuations, pants he calls them.

1878. Yates {World, 16 Jan.]. Sterry, the pet of pantalettes, the laureate of frills.

1883. Clemens, Life on Mississippi, xxxviii. The young ladies, as children, in slippers and scalloped pantelettes.

Pantile subs, (common).—1. A hat.

2. (schoolboys').—A flat cake covered with jam.

3. (nautical).—A biscuit.

Adj. (old colloquial).—Dissenting. [See Pantiler.]

1715. Centlivre, Gotham Flection, sc. ii. Mr. Tickup's a good churchman, mark that ! He is none of your hellish pantile crew.

Pantiler, subs, (common).—A Dissenter—minister or layman : see Devil-dodger. Hence Pantile, adj. [q.v.), and Pantileshop (see quot. 1785).

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pantile-shop. A presbyterian, or other dissenting meeting house, frequently covered with pantiles : called also a Cock-pit.

1856. Mayhew, World of London, 249. The officers used to designate the extraordinary religious convicts as pantilers.

1863. Knight, Pass, of a Working Life (1S73), i. 217. This vulgar term of opprobrium for sectaries in the palmy days of ' Church and King' was Pantilers.

Pantler, subs, (literary : perhaps obsolete).—A butler ; a pantryman.—B. E. (<\ 1696); Grose (1785).

Panupetaston. 136 Paper.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry ii. 4. A good shallow young fellow ; he would have made a good pantler, he would have chipped bread well.

1604. Shakspeare, Winters Tale, iv. 4. My old wife . . . was both pantler, butler, cook ; Both dame and servant ; welcom'd all ; serv'd all.

1605. Mis. ofInf. Marr. [Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), v. 26.] A rogue that hath fed upon me—like pullen from a pantler's chippings.

1656. Brome, Jovial Crew [Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), x. 338]. But I will presently take order with the cook, pantler, and butler, for my wonted allowance to the poor.

Panupetaston subs, (obsolete, University).—A loose overcoat with wide sleeves.

Pap, subs, (common).—1. The emoluments of office—salaries, fees, perquisites.

1880. Nation, xlviii. 379. At the end of four years, not only should an officer make an accounting and submit to an audit, but should vacate his place, so that somebody else might get some of the pap he had enjoyed during this period.

2. (thieves').—Paper: specifically paper money, or soft (q.v.)

1877. HoRsley, Jotting's from Jail. Come on, we have had a lucky touch for half-a-century in pap.

3. (literary : perhaps obsolete). —(a) A nipple ; (b) a breast.

1390. Mandeville, Travels, 154. Zif it be a female, thei don away that on Pappe, with an hote Hiren ; and zif it be a Womman of gret Lynage, thei don awey the left Pappe, that thei may the better beren a Scheeld.

1592. Shakspeare, Mid. Nights Dream, v. 1, 303. Ay, that left pap, Where heart doth hop.

1594. Lyndsay, Squyer Meldrum [E. E. T. S. 945]. Hir Pappis wer hard, round, and quhyte, Quhome to behald wes greit delyte.

1603. Chapman, Homer, ' Iliad,' iv. He strooke him at his breastes right pappe, Quite through his shoulder bone.

1612. Drayton, Polyolbion, i. Nourish'd and bred up at her most plenteous Pap.

4. (American).—Father : Pop (ç.v.)

1892. Gunter, Miss Dividends, iii. Your pap has had too much railroad and mine on his hands.

5 (old).—Bread sauce.—Grose

(1785).

To give pap with a hatchet, verb. phr. (old). — To chastise ; to do an unkindness, or treat unhandsomely.

1589. Nash, Pappe with a Hatchet [Title].

1594. Shakspeare, 2 Henry VI., iv. 7. Ye shall have a hempen caudle then, and the pap [now read lielp] of a

hatchet.

. . . . Disc, of Marr. [Hart. MS. (Park), ii. 171]. He that so old seeks for a nurse so young, shall have pap with a hatchet for his comfort.

1623. Lyly, Court Comedy, Z. 12b. They give us pap with a ypoone before we can speake, and when we speake for that wee love, pap with a hatchet.

Mouth full of pap, phr. (old).—Still childish. — Grose (1785).

Papaw, subs. (American). A bushwhacker. [Century : with reference to possible subsistence on the fruit].

PAPER, subs, (theatrical).—1. Free passes of admission to a place of entertainment ; also (collectively) recipients of such passes ; also Oxford clink and stationery. Hence, papery = occupied by persons admitted with free tickets ; and, as verb —to issue free passes. Fr. tine salle de papier = a house filled with

paper.

1870. Mrs. John Wood [Figaro, 15 July]. I have abolished the free order system from a firm belief that the best sort of paper for a theatre is Bank of England notes.

Paper. 137 Papoose.

ii88o. Sims, Zeph, 84. The house was only half full and there were whispers that a good deal of "paper was about.

1885. Referee, 8 Nov. The stalls were partly papery, and partly empty.

1890. Figaro, 1 June. A box now and then, or carte-blanche in the way of papering a theatre, will go far to wring from them profuse admiration of everything and everybody.

2. (commercial).—Negotiable instruments : as promissory notes, bills of exchange, &c.

1837. Dickens, Pick-wick, xl. Ah, said Mr. Smangle, paper has been my ruin. A stationer, I presume, sir? said Mr. Pickwick . . . No, no. When I say paper, I mean bills.

1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, lxiv. It was whispered . . . that the Captain's paper was henceforth of no value.

1891. Stevenson, Kidnapped, 185. For I'll have to paper your friend from the lowlands too.

3. (old).—Broadsides and similar literature : hence paper worker = a vendor of street literature : a running stationer (q.v.).

j 851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. 1, 234. The best known publisher of the paper in demand for street sale, was the late ' Jemmy Catnach,' who is said to have amassed upwards of 10,000/ in the business.

To eat paper, verb. phr. (American).—See quot.

c.1852. American Humour, 1., 200. He . . . took a very long sight—fired, and didn't even eat paper.

TO read the paper, verb.

phr. (common).—To excuse oneself for taking a nap : see Doss.

See Shave and Spot.

Paper-building, subs. (old).— See quot. and cf. House of Cards.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Paper-buildings, Slight, Wooden, or old.

Paper-maker, subs. phr. (common).—A rag-gatherer ; a gutterraker. Fr. un chiffortin.

paper-man, subs. phr. (military). See quot.

1892. Standard, 24 Oct. The practice of retaining on the strength .... paper men ; that is to say, officers who, being employed on the staff, are not available for regimental duty.

Paper-marriage, subs. phr. (common).—A Society wedding. [The fees are paid in bank notes.]

Paper-mill, The, subs. phr. (old legal).—The Record Office of the Court of Queen's Bench.

Paper-scull, subs. (old).—A fool : hence paper-sculled — foolish ; silly : see Buffle. — B. E. (c 1696) ; Grose (1785).

Paper-stainer, subs. phr. (common).—An author, or clerk : in contempt.

Pap-feeder, subs. (old).—A spoon.

1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Cold, m. iii. 268. In the hopes of purloining a silver pap feeder.

pap-head, subs. (old).—A woman's nipple ; the cherrylet (q.v.).— Palsgrave (1530).

Paphian, subs, (literary).—A prostitute. [Paphos a city in Cyprus sacred to Venus]. See Tart.

Papler. See Poplar.

Pap-mouth, subs. phr. (old).—An effeminate man.

Papoose, subs, (colloquial). — A child ; a kid (q.v.). [Of Indian origin.]

1634. W. Wood, New England's Prosp., 96. This little pappouse travells about with his bare footed mother to paddle in the Icie Clammbankes.

Par.

138 Paralysed.

1677. Mather, New England(1864), 197. To make the English believe those base Papooses were of royal Progeny.

1683. Roger Williams [Bartlett]. Papoose . . . among the native Indians of New England, a babe or young child.

18 [?]. Dow, Sermons [Bartlett] Where the Indian squaw hung her young pappoose upon the bough, and left it to squall at the hush-a-by of the blast, the Anglo-Saxon mother now rocks the cradle of her delicate babe.

par, subs, (old colloquial : now recognised).—I. See quot.

c. 1696. B. E. Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Par, gold and silver at a like Proportion.

2. (colloquial).—An abbrevia" tion of ' paragraph.'

1885. Sat. Review, 7 Feb., 163. It is natural that the reporter should want news. Pars are as much his quarry as dynamiters are that of the police.

1S91. Morning Advertiser, 28 Mar. I cannot give the wording of the par, but here is a faithful digest of it.

Parade, To burn the parade, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Warning more men for a guard than were necessary, and excusing the supernumeraries for money. . . . A practice formerly winked at in most garrisons, a perquisite to the adjutants and sergeant majors ; the pretence for it was to purchase coal and candle for the guard, whence it was called

burning the parade.

Parader, subs. (old).—i. Aperson of good figure and address employed to walk up and down in front of, or inside a shop ; a shopwalker : cf. Barker. Hence (2) a person or thing that by challenging attention acts as a foil or set-off.

1748. Richardson, Clarissa, ii. 3. What think you ... of rejecting both your men and encouraging my parader.

1821. Egan, Ancc. of Turf, 179. His fine figure obtained him"employment as a parader to Richardson.

Paradise, subs, (popular).—1. The gallery of a theatre ; the gods (.q.v.). Fr. le paradis.

2. (University).—A grove of trees outside St. John's College, Oxford.

3. (venery).—The female pudendum : cf. the way to heaven : see Monosyllable.

rf.1638. Carew, A Rapture, 59. So will I rifle all the sweets that dwell In thy delicious Paradise.

1640. Herrick, Disc, of a Woman, 72. This loue-guarded parradice.

c. 1697. Aphra Behn, Poems (2nd ed.), 70. His daring Hand that Altar seiz'd, Where Gods of Love do Sacrifice : That Awful Throne, the Paradise.

Fool's Paradise, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A state of fancied security, enjoyment, &c.

1528. Roy, Rede Me, &>c. [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 446]. A folks paradyse.

1591. Shakspeare, Romeo_ and Juliet, ii. 4. If ye should lead her into a fool's paradise, as they say, it were a very gross kind of behaviour.

1607. Dekker, Westward Hoe, v.

i. Since we ha' brought 'em thus far into a fool's paradise, leave 'em in't.

1733. Bailey, Erasmus Coll. (1900),

ii. 173. The designing courtier had been for a long time kept in Fool's Paradise.

1896. Cotsford Dick, Ways of World, 20. So she dreamt of a Paradise (fool so fair !) Whose glories she now is allowed to share.

1898. Braddon, Rough Justice, 22. She had exchanged a wretched wandering Life with her father fora fool's paradise at the West End of London.

To have (or get) a penn'orth of paradise, verb. phr. (common).—To take drink, esp. gin : see Screwed.

Paralysed, subs, (common).— Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

Paralytic-fit. 139

Park.

Paralytic-fit (or -stroke), subs, phr. (tailors').—A badly fitting garment — that ' fits where it touches.'

Param, subs. (Old Cant).—Milk: also Varum.—Harman (1573).

Parcel, subs. (racing).—The day's winnings ; a pocket-book.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 227. Here it was that Exile No. 1 made the painful discovery that he'd lost his parcel. His pocket-book and all it contained had vanished.

1901. Sporting Times, 6 Ap., 1, 3. No less than four winners did the wily one back. "My word !" he cried, "I shall have a pretty little parcel in my kick."

Parcel-bawd, subs. phr. (old).— One whose employment was partly that of bawd. [Parcel = part : as ' parcel-gilt ' = partly gilt.]

1603. Shakspeare, Meas. for Meas., i. 2. A tapster, sir ! parcel-bawd ; one that serves a bad woman.

Pard, subs, (chiefly American).— A partner ; a chum (/.v ).

1872. Clemens, Roughing It, ii. He was the bulliest man in the mountains,

pard.

1882. McCabe, New York, xxiii. 398. Let's have a shake-down for me and my pard, for the night.

1889. Mod. Society, 19 Oct., 1296. We got such a strain, me and my pard, starting the car, that we ought to have been entitled to a lay-off for a week.

Parenthesis, subs, (printers').— In pl. = a pair of bandy legs.

Wooden parenthesis, subs, phr. (old).—A pillory.—Grose

(I785)

Iron parenthesis, subs. phr. (old).—A prison : see Cage and Stir.—Grose (1785).

To have one's nose (or bowsprit)in parenthesis, zw-/;. phr. (old).—To have it pulled.— Grose (1785). Also see quot.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Parenthesis (a)—it is this thing, itself (); and when a man's nose, or any prominent part of him, may get irrevocably between the thing—he is in a bad way : some few novices have died of it.

Parings, subs. (Old Cant).— Clippings of money. — B. E. (f.1696).

Parish. His stockings belong to two parishes, phr. (old).— Odd ; mis-paired.—Grose(i785).

Parish-bull(-prig, or -stallion),

subs. phr. (thieves').—1. A parson : see Devil-dodger.—Grose (1785). Also (2) see Muttonmonger.

Parish-lantern, stibs. phr. (old). —The moon; Oliver (q.v.); noom (q.v.). Fr. synonyms are la cafarde ( = the tell-tale) ; la cymbale ; la luisante (or hasarde) ; la grosse lentille ; la moucharde ; la pâlote ; and le pair.

1847. Halliwell, Arch. Words, s.v.

1887. J. Ashton, Eighteenth Cent. Waifs, 235 note. The link-boy's natural hatred of the parish lantern which would deprive him of his livelihood.

Parish-soldier, sttbs. phr. (old). —See quot. and Mudcrusher.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Parish soldier. A jeering name for a militia-man : from substitutes being frequently hired by the Parish.

Park, subs, (common).—1. A prison : see Cage and Stir. Also as in quot. 1823.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Park. . . . The park is also the rules or privileged circuit round the king's bench or fleet. ' The park is well stocked,' when many prisoners have obtained the rules.

1847. Halliwell, Arch. Words, s.v.

2. (common). —A back yard ; a strip of town-garden.

Parker.

140

Parrot.

Parker, verb, (tramps').—Seecpox..

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. Have you parkered to the omer for your letties ? Ibid. I get no regular parkeriNG-ninty. Ibid. xx. She had to parker letty every darkie, and parker for someone to look arter me.

Par key (or Parky), adj. and adv. (tramps').—Cold; uncomfortable : as when sleeping in the open.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 273. ' Morning, William ; cold s'morning ? ' remarked the victualler patronisingly. ' It is a bit parky,' assented William.

Park-rai lings (or-palings), subs, phr. (common). — 1. The teeth: see Grinders.—Grose (1785).

2. (common). — The neck of mutton.

Parleyvoo, sub. (school).—The conventional school study and use of the French language : hence, as verb — to speak French ; to talk gibberish.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 'Bagman's Dog.' Grimacing and what sailors call parleyvooing.

1843. Macaulay, St. Dennis and St. George. He kept six French masters to teach him parleyvoo.

d. 1891. Lowell, Oracle of tlie Goldfishes. No words to spell, no sums to do, No Nepos and no parlyvoo.

Parliamentary-press, subs. phr. (tailors').—See quot.

1889. Slang, Jargon, and Cant. s.v. Parliamentary press ... an old custom of claiming any iron, which happens to be in use, for the purpose of opening the collar seam.

Parlour (or Front Parlour, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Parlour—may be a room as well as some other thing. Mrs. Fubb's front parlour is no part of any building . . . she who is said to let out her parlour and lie backward, cannot be supposed to repose with her face downwards.

Out of the parlor into the kitchen, phr. (old).—From better to worse ; ' out of God's blessing into the warm sun. '

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Da baiante a ferrante . . . out of

the parlor into the kitchen.

Parlour full of razors, subs. phr. (American).—Claret with seltzer or lemonade : see Drinks.

Parlour-jumping, subs. phr. (thieves').—Robbing rooms : specifically by window-entry : see Jump.

1879. Autobiography of a Thiej [Macmillans Mag. xl. 500.] I palled in with some older hands at the game, who used to take me parlour-jumping.

Parnel. See Panel.

Parnee (or Paunee), subs, (theatrical).—Rain. Dowry of parney = plenty of rain. Pawneegame = water-drinking. [Hindoo pani=water: cf. Brandy-pawnee ; Gipsy pane.]

1851. Mayhew, London Lab., iii. 149. Parni is rain [among strolling actors].

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. Arter a bit the old man gets him a berth ... So he sticks to the pawnee game . . . long enough to learn the graft.

Parrot (or Parroteer), subs. (colloquial).—A talkative person, esp. one given to mechanical repetition. Whence, as verb = to chatter ; to repeat mechanically. Also Parrotry = servile imitation ; Parrot-lawyer = a solicitor obsequious to a client's Yea and Nay.

1612. Chapman, Widow's Tears, v. 5. If you parrot to me long—go to.

i6[?]. T. Adams, Works, 1. 16. They have their bandogs, corrupt solicitors, parrot lawyers that are their properties and mere trunks.

Parsley.

141 Part.

rf.1859. De Quincey, Style, iii. Passages of great musical effect . . . vulgarised by too perpetual a parroting.

18 [?]. Hall, False Philol. 31. The verb experience is, to Mr. White, parroting Dean Alford, altogether objectionable.

1873. Mill, Autobiog., 31. Mere parroteers of what they have learnt.

See Almond.

Parsley, subs, (venery).—The pubic hair : see Fleece. Hence parsley-bed = the female pudendum : see Monosyllable ; to

take a turn among the

parsley = to copulate.

1707. Old Song[Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), 1 S. in. 131]. It was said, that one Mr. Ed—mond, Did both dig and sow in her Parsly-bed.

1719. Ward, London Spy, 1. 36. I am very glad it's no worse ; I was never so scar'd since I pop'd out of the parsley bed.

1851. Notes and Queries, 1, S. vi. 517. I was told that little girls came out of a parsley-bed, and little boys from under a gooseberry bush. Ibid. 5 S. iii. (1875) ' Babies in Folk-lore.' In England every little girl knows that the male babies come from the nettle-bed, and the female ones from the parsley-bed.

Parson, subs. (old).—A wayside sign-post (q.v.).— Grose (1785).

Verb, (colloquial). — 1. To marry ; and (2) to church (after child-delivery). Whence parson ed — married or churched ; married and parsoned = duly and legally married.

TO kiss the parson's wife, verb. phr. (old).—To be lucky in horse-flesh.—Grose (1785).

Remember Parson Mallum ! intj. phr. (old).—' Pray drink about Sir.'—B. E. (1696).

Maryland parson, subs. phr. (American). — A disreputable cleric.

Parson Palmer, subs. phr. (old). —See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Parson Palmer. One who stops the circulation of the glass, by preaching over his liquor, as it is said was done by a parson of that name whose cellar was under his pulpit.

Parson's Barn, subs. phr. (old). —A barn never so full but there is room for more.

Parson's-journeyman, subs. phr. (common).—A curate.—Grose (1785).

Parson's-nose, subs. phr. (common).—A chicken's rump : cf. Pope's nose and Pope's-eye : Fr. le bonnet (Pévéque.

Parson's Leman. See Tender.

Parson's Week, subs. phr. (clerical).—The period from Monday to Saturday.

1800. Price, Life of H. F. Carey, i. 144. Get my duty done for a Sunday, so that I may be out a Parson's week.

Part, verb, (colloquial).—To pay ; to restore ; to give : hence parter = a paymaster, good or bad. Cf. ' a fool and his money are soon parted' (Tusser, 1573, and Howell, 1617).

1670. Old Ballad, 'Seaman's Adieu.' Some . . . Have parted with their ready rino.

1880. Sims, Three Brass Balls, xix. The top floor rarely parted before Monday morning.

1888. Runciman, Chequers, 106. If I could get the mater to part.

1892. Ally Sloper, 2 April, 107, 2. ' Hand over the other tenner.' Miss Mudge parted cheerfully.

1896. Farjeon, Betray. John Fordfiam, in. 281. But it was no go ; them as gathered round wouldn't part.

Particular. 142 Party.

Parts below (parts more

dear, of shame, Or carnal, or

other parts). —I. The female pudendum : see Monosyllable ; and (2) the penis and testes : see Prick : also Other parts — the paps ; parts behind = the buttocks.

1620-50. Percy Folio MS., f. 480 [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), iii. 31]. Yett, for her parts below, there's not a woman flairer to the showe.

1656. Muses Reer. [Hotten], 33. Forehead, eyes . . . Breast. . . Neck . . . And other parts not evident.

b. 1683. Roxburghe Ballads, i. 66-7. Skinne white as snow . . . brest soft as doune, . . . parts below ... all firme and sound.

1731-5. Pope, Moral Essays, 11. 67. A very heathen in the carnal part, Yet still a sad, good Christian at her heart.

Particular, subs. (old).—A favorite mistress : Fr. tine particulière : see Tart. Also (generally) a special choice : e.g., to ' ride one's own particular,' to ' a glass of one's particular,' &c : see Special.

Particular Jesse. See Jesse.

London particular (or London ivy), subs. phr. (common).—A thick yellow or black fog, the product of certain atmospheric conditions and carbon : formerly peculiar to London, now common in most large manufacturing cities situated near water and lying low.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, iii. ' Was a great fire any-where ? ' ¹0 dear no, miss,' he said. ' This is a London particular.'

1889. Sport. Life, 4 Jan. A cold caught by contact with London ivy.

1890. Sportsman, 13 Dec. From the question of cost... a clean sweep should be made of London particular.

1891. Belfort's Magazine, Sep., 29. But the crowning masterpiece of the climate is a London fog, locally known as a London particular.

1896. Sala, London Up to Date, 86. It happens to be a London particular foggy morning.

1897. Daily Chronicle, 20 Dec, 6, 4. The real London particular . . . played sad havoc with the traffic arrangements.

Pa rtl et, subs, (old colloquial).— A woman.

1598. Shakspeare, / Henry IV., iii. 3. How now, Dame Partlet. Ibid. Winter's Tale (1604), ii. 3. Thou dotard, thou art woman tyr'd, unroosted By thy dame Partlet here !

Partner. See Sleeping partner.

Partridge, subs. (old).—A whore: cf. plover.

c.1700. Old Song. [Farmer, Merry Songsand Ballads (1897), iv. 247.] Go home, ye Fop . . . And for half Crown a Doxey get, But seek no more a partridge here.

Party, subs, (once literary : now vulgar). — A person ; an individual. See Cove. — Bailey (1744)

1542. Udall, Apoph. of Erasmus [Roberts, 1877], 325. To please all parties [party = homo occurs fassim].

1596. Jonson, Every Man in Humour, iv. 9. See when the party comes you must arrest . . . him quickly.

1538. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Zuccoli. We vse also to say so, when speaking of anybody in secrecie, and the partie comes in.

1609. Shakspeare, Tempest, iii. 2. Canst thou bring me to the party ?

1837. Comic Almanack, 103. A werry slap-up party, I assure you.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, xxii. My little woman . . . attends the Evening Exertions ... of a reverend party of the name of Chadband.

1864. Yates, Broken to Harness, xxxiii. Mr. Schröder ... a good old cock, sir ; a worthy old party ; kind-hearted, and all that.

1885. Daily Telegraph, 25 Aug. The seedy-looking old party . . . may be worth a million of money.

Party-roll.

143

Past.

1895. Iota, Comedy in Spasms, 1. He had dropped into the nursery shortly after luncheon, and . . . stumbled on an ecstatic party, nearly naked.

Party-roll, subs. phr. (Winchester College).—A list of boys going home together : see Peal.

Pass, verb, (colloquial).—To fail to understand ; to have no concern in: e.g., I pass = I don't know what you are driving at. [From euchre.]

To pass (or hand) in one's chips (or checks), verb. phr. (American).—To die : see Aloft. [From adjusting one's accounts at poker.]

1872. Clemens, Roughing It, 332. One of the boys has passed in his checks, and we want to give him a good send-off.

1892. Nisbet, Bushranger s SweetIieart, 310. Money-lending Mortimer . . . passed in his checks quite unexpectedly, without leaving a will.

TO pass the time OF day, verb. phr. (colloquial). — To salute.

1851-6. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., 11. 489. The police . . . are very friendly. They'll pass the time of day with me.

1900. Sims, London's Heart, 4. I thought it was only right to pass the time o' day to an old pal.

TO pass the compliment, verb. phr. (common).—To offer (or give) a douceur ; to tip.

Passage-at-arms, subs.phr. (colloquial).—A squabble ; a row.

Passenger, subs, (rowing).—An oar who, from incompetence or accident, is unable to do his share of the work.

To wake up the wrong passenger, verb. phr. (American).—To ' mistake one's man ' ; to commit an error of judgment in regard to character, action, or motive. [From transcontinental travel. ]

1855. Haliburton, Human Nature, 289. ' Poor, ignorant wretch ! ' ' Massa,' replied the negro, ' you have waked up de wrong passenger dis time. I isn't poor. I ab plenty to eat and plenty to drink.'

1871. Ev. Post (Chicago), 21 Ap. He had clearly found out that in making the attack he had waked up the wrong

passenger.

Passions. See Pocket.

Passy, adj. (Christ's Hospital).— Severe : of a master. That is 'passionate'—Blanch.} Now obsolete ; the modern equivalent is vish (q.v.)

1844. Re min. Ch. H. [The Blue, Aug. 1874]. Punishment depended less on correctness than on temper. Anxiously the question was asked, ' Is he passy this morning ? ' and of a new master our first queries were of his manners and temper [abridged].

Past. Past complaining, phr. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. The man is past complaining, saying of a person murdered for resisting the robbers.

TO be past dying of a first child, verb. phr. (old). — To have had a bastard. Ray (1767).

[Colloquialisms are : Past believing = incredible ; past praying for = hopeless ; pastmaster (or -mistress) = an adept ; past whooping = undeniable, beyond question ; pastprice = invaluable. See also Mark of Mouth.]

1602. Da vies, Mirum in Modum [Grosart, Works, i. 6]. The Soule is such a precious thing As costs the price of past-price deerest bloud.

Paste.

144

Pat.

Paste, subs, (printers').—Brains. [From ' paste-and-scissors ' : in sarcasm.]

Verb, (common).—To beat ; to thrash : specifically to slap the face right and left. [From billsticking]. Hence pasting = a drubbing.

1851. Mayhew, London Lab., 1. 461. He . . . gave me a regular pasting.

1882. Daily Telegraph, 6 Oct. 2, 2. No matter how he punches her and pastes her, she won't give in about that.

1887. Henley, Villon's Good Night. Paste 'em, and larrup 'em, and lamm ! Give Kennedy, and make 'em crawl !

1888. Sport. Life, 11 Dec. Set to work in earnest, and, driving his man round the ring, pasted him in rare style.

1896. Crane, Maggie, iii. I'll paste yeh when I ketch yeh !

Paste-and-scissors, subs. phr. (journalistic). — Extracts ; ' padding ' : as distinguished from original matter.

Pasteboard, subs, (common).—1. A playing card.

1857. Thackeray, Virginians, xv. The company voted . . . three honours in their hand, and some good court cards, more beautiful than the loveliest scene of nature ; . . . hour after hour delightfully spent over the pasteboard.

1896. Farjeon, Betrayal of John FordJiam, iii. 277. I might 'ave done well among the swells, I'm that neat with the pasteboards. I can shuffle 'em any way I want, kings at top, aces at bottom, in the middle, anywhere you like.

2. (common). —A visiting card. Also as verb (or to shoot, or drop, one's pasteboard) = to leave a visiting card at a person's house.

1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, xxxvi. We shall only have to leave our pasteboards.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, xxv. I shall just leave a pasteboard.

1886. Kennard, Brown Habit, x. I told my missus to drop a card on you to-day. You see ... we hunting men have not much time for that sort of thing ; and pasteboard leaving is quite out of my line.

1891. Ally Sloper, 3 Jan. Then his pasteboard he presented—puffed a cigarette, contented.

1897. Mitford, Romance Cape Frontier, ii. ' Engaged,' said the sharp boy. . . . 'Take that pasteboard in.'

Pasteboard-customer, subs.phr. (trade).—A customer taking long credit.

Paste-horn, subs, (shoemakers'). —The nose : see Conk : hence Old Paste-horn = a largenosed man.

1856. Mayhew, World of London, 6, note. Upon this principle the mouth has come to be styled the ' tater-trap ' ; . . . the nose, the paste-horn.

Pastern, subs, (common).—In pi. = the feet : see Creepers. Hence, full in the pasterns = thick-ancled.

1700. Dryden, Wife of Bath's Tale, 32. So straight she walked on her pasterns high.

Pasty, subs, (common).—A bookbinder.

Adj. (colloquial). — Out of sorts ; angry ; off colour (q.v.).

1885. Daily Telegraph, 25 Aug. A mealy-faced, at least a pasty-faced boy.

1891. Newman, Scamping Tricks, 2. I feel pasty, but am better now.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 65. Miss Bonsor went pasty, and reared.

Pat, subs, (common).—An Irishman. Also Patlander.

1828. Bee, Picture of London, 170. Mild rebuke is Httle calculated to cool a Patlander.

1836. Scott, Tom Cringle. The officer was a Patlander.

Patch. 145 Patent-digester.

Adj. and adv. (old : now recognised). — Apt, convenient, suitable ; timely ; exactly to the purpose.—B. E. (/. 1696) ; Grose (1785)

1592. Shakspeare, Mid. Night's Dream, v. i. It will be full pat as I told you.

1612. Beaumont and Fletcher, Coxcomb, iii. 2. This falls out pat.

1678. Butler, Hudibras, in. iii. I thank you, . . . 'tis to my purpose pat.

1838. Comic Almanack, 137. 'Tis a matter, I know, that you're pat in.

1869. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, Ivii. You are very pat with my granddaughter's name, young man.

1895. Marriott-Watson [New Review, 16 July]. A . . . brave bold tongue you ply . . . You have it all pat.

Patch, sues, (old colloquial).— I. A saucy fellow ; a fool. Primarily, the domestic jester. Hence cross-patch = an illnatured fool : as in the children's rhyme :—Cross-patch, draw the latch, Sit by the fire and spin.

1579. Lyly, Euphues, England, 296. When I heard my Physition so pat to hit my disease I could not dissemble with him.

1588. Marprelate's Epistle (Arber), 3. Bridges was a verie patch and a dims when he was in Cambridg.

1592. Shakspeare, Mids. Night's Dream, iii. 2. A crew of patches . . . That work for bread upon Athenian stalls.

1595. Mencechmi [Halliwell]. Why doating patch, didst thou not come with me . . . from the ship?

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes. Coticone, a great gull, sot, patch, lubbar.

1619. Fletcher, Wild Goose Chase, iv. 2. Call me patch and puppy, And beat me if you please.

1633. Massinger, Old Debts, v. The ideot, the patch, the slave, the booby.

1830. Scott, Doom of Devorgoil, ii. i. Thou art a foolish patch.

1840. Cunningham [Glossarial Index to Gifford's Massinger, s.v.]. Patch was the cant name of a fool kept by Cardinal Wolsey . . . transmitting his appellation to a very numerous body of descendants.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Not a patch upon, phr. (common).—Not to compare to.

1861. Reade, Cloister and Hearth, xxxvii. Not a patch upon you for looks.

1884. Russell, Jack's Courtship, xvii. Is Wellington a patch upon the living splendid generals?

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery under Arms, xxviii. There isn't a woman here that's a patch on her for looks.

1897. Mitford, Romance Cape Frontier, 1. xv. I don't think she's a patch on Miss Brathwaite ; but there's something awfully fetching about her.

Patch ey, subs, (theatrical).—The harlequin; spangle-maker (q.v.)

Pate, subs, (old colloquial).—The head : almost always in derision : see Crumpet.—Grose (1785).

1604. Shakspeare, Winter's Tale, i. 2. Was this taken By any understanding pate but thine?

1622. Fletcher, Sp. Curate, iii. ^. She gave my pate a sound knock that it rings yet.

1825. Jones, True-Bottom d Boxer [Univ. Songst. ii. 96.] Shaking a flipper, and milling a pate.

1836. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, i. 54. The thin grey locks of his failing hair Have left his little bald pate all bare.

Patent-coat, subs. phr. (obsolete). —See quot.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assist. 446. Inside skirt coat pocket—Patent Coat.

Patent-digester, subs, (common). —See quot)

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xxxviii. Ben . . . bring out the patent digester. Mr. Benjamin Allen smiled . . . and produced ... a black bottle half full of brandy.

Patent Frenchman. 146 Patnco.

Patent Frenchman, subs. phr. (tailors').—An Irishman.

Patent-inside (or -outside),

subs. phr. (journalistic).—A newspaper printed on the inside (or outside) only, the unprinted space being intended for local news, advertisements, &c.

Patent Safeties (The"), subs, phr. (military).—The First Life Guards. Also " The Cheeses" ; " The Piccadilly Butchers " ; and "The Tin Bellies."

Pater-cove. See Patrico.

Paternoster, subs, (anglers').— A fishing-line with hooks and shot at regular intervals. [As beads on a rosary.]

1849. C. Kingslev, Yeast, iii. Here's that paternoster as you gave me to rig up.

Devil's Paternoster, subs, phr. (old). — A muttering or grumbling ; a profane expletive.

1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (1856), 540. Grutche and murmure prively for veray despit ; which wordes they call the divels Pater noster, though so be that the divel had never Pater noster but that lewed folke yeven it swiche a name.

1614. Terence in English [Nares], What devills paternoster is this he is saying ?

Ape's Paternoster. See Ape.

In a paternoster while, phr. (old).—Quickly ; in a jiffey (q.v.). [While one could say a paternoster.]

1362. Langland, Piers Plowman, 3169. He pissed a potel In a paternoster while.

1422-1509. Paston Letters, i. 74. All . . . don ... in a paternoster wyle.

1597. Langham, Garden of Health [Smythe-Palmer]. [A direction to boil onions] while one may say three paternosters.

[?]. Farindon, Sermons [Jackson, iv. 241]. Indeed, there is nothing sooner said, we may do it in a Pater-nosterwhile.

Pathic, subs. (old).—A pederast ; an ingle (q.v.) : see Usher.

1603. Jonson, Sejanus, 1. 2. The noted pathic of his time.

1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, li. His valet-de-chambre, who, it seems, had been the favourite pathic of his lord.

1750. Robertson, Poems, 56. Your pathick cannot boast an A— so fair as I.

Patience on a Monument, subs, phr. (colloquial).—A long-suffering person.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Three Plays [' Beau Austin,' i. 2]. Dolly, I must insist on your eating a good breakfast : I cannot away with your pale cheeks and that Patience-on-a-Monument kind of look.

Patrico, subs. (Old Cant).—A

vagabond, or unfrocked priest ; a hedge-priest (q.v.): also

patriarck-co, patricove, pattering-cove and pater-cove.

[Suggested derivations are : (1) pater = father + cove = aman ; cf. patriarck-co ; (2) patter (or pattering) = talk + cove, i.e., a patterer or mutterer of paternosters = a priest.]—B. E. (c.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1536. Copland, Spyttel-hous [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 1]. Teare the patryng coue in the darkeman cace Docked the dell.

1565. Awdeley, Vacabondes [E.

E. T. S. (1896), 6]. A patriarke-co

doth make marriages . . . untill death depart . . . after this sort : when they come to a dead horse or any dead catell, then they shake hands, and so depart every one of them a severall way.

1567. Harman, Caveat [E. E. T. S. (1896), 89]. There was a proude patrico and a nosegent, He tooke his Iockam in his Famble, and a wappinge he went.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Markall, 40 (H. Club's Repr. 1874), s.v.

Pattens. 147 Patter.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii. ' You are the patrico, are you ? the patriarch of the cut-purses ? Ibid. Staple oj Neivs (1625), iv. i. Aim. A super-citious rogue ! he looks as if He were the patrico. Mad. Or archpriest of Canters.

1622. Beaumont and Fletcher, Beggar s Bush, ii. i. What name or title e'er they bear, Jarkman, or Patrico, Cranke, or Clapper-dudgeon.

1725. OldSong[farmf.k, Musa Pedestris (1896), 45]. But alas ! 'tis my fear that the false Patri-coe Is reaping those transports are only my due.

1749. Old Song [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 51]. No whip-jack, palliard, patrico ; No jarkman, be he high or low.

1791. Carew, Bamphylde-Moore Carew. Cadge-cloak, curtal, or curmudgeon ; no Whip-Jack, palliard, patrico.

1827. Lytton, Pelham, lxxx. My idea at the moment was to disguise myself in the dress of the pater cove and perform the double job.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, in. iv. This venerable personage was no other than the patrico ... or hierophant of the canting crew.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, iii. 2. He's a pattercove from Seven Dials.

Pattens. To run on pattens verb.phr. (common).—To clatter ; ' to talk nineteen to the dozen.'

1575. Still, Gammer Gurton's Needle, ii. 4. The tongue it went on patins, by him that Judas sold !

[?]. Taming 0/ a Shrew [Child, Ballads, vm. 185.] Stil hir tongue on pattens ran Though many blowes she caught.

Patter, subs, (common).—1 Originally muttering (of paternosters) : hence, talk of any kind, but specifically (1) the inconsequent orations of cheap Jacks (q.v.), buskers (q.v.), or showmen ; and (2) the dialect or cant of a class. Hence also patter = a piece of street literature ; a pin-up (q.V.) ; a slum (q.V.).

Hence, patterer = a vendor of

street literature : with runningpatterer (or stationer) : obsolete since police control of traffic. Also as adj. and verb, whence to patter flash =to talk slang or cant ; to flash the patter = to talk, or to talk slang ; to stand (or be in for) the patter — (thieves') to stand for trial (Vaux, 1819, and Haggart, 1821), humbox-patterer = a parson. [Conjecturally from Pater noster : see quots. 1590 and 1864.] Also Gammon and patter.

English Synonyms. To cackle ; to cant ; to chin ; to chinwag ; to chip ; to chirp ; to chow ; to chuck it out ; to clack ; to confab ; to crack ; to cut ; to Duke of York (rhyming

— talk) ; to flam ; to flummox by the lip ; to gabble ; to give lip ; to jabber ; to jaw ; to jaw-hawk ; to jerk chin-music ; to ladle ; to lip ; to lip-labour ; to mag ; to mang ; to pipe ; to rap ; to slam ; to slang ; to voker ; to waffle ; to wag the red rag ; to warble.

French Synonyms. Arçonner; arsouiller ; bajoter ; balancer la rouscaillante (also balancer son chiffon rouge = ' to wag the red rag ' ) ; baver ; jaspiner bigorne ( = ' to patter flash ' : also rouscailler bigorne) ; blaguer (specifically to chaff) ; bonir ; bouffeter ; cabasser ; casser un mot ; chainberter ( = to talk indiscreetly) ; lever son copeau ; cracher (also jouer du crachoir) ; débagouler ; dégueularder ; dépenser sa salive ; dévider ( = ' to patter ' ; dévider à féstorgue = to flam ; dévider le jars

— ' to patter flash ' ; dévider son peloton = ' to clack ') ; engueuler ; gazouiller ( = ' warble ') ; pousser

sa glaire ; glousser ; faire peter

Patter.

148

Patter.

son grelot ; faire la jactance ;

jarguer ( = to patter flash ; also

jas piner le jars ) ; jarviller ;

javoter ; radouber la lanterne ; lantenni (Breton cant.) ; limer ( = 'to stutter'); mouliner ( = to prattle : specifically of women) ;

pallasser ; papoter ; par lot ter ; rouscailler.

c.1360. Alliterative Poems [Morris, p. 15, !. 485]. Thou coutheg neuer god nauther plese ne pray Ne neuer nawther pater ne crede.

c. 1394* Piers Plmvman's Creed, 5. A, and all myn abc, After have I lerned, And patred in my pater-noster Iche poynt after other.

1500. How the Ploughman learned his Paternoster [Halliwell]. Ever he patred on theyr names faste ; Than he had them in ordre at the laste.

d. 1536. Tyndale, Works, 232. How blind are they which thinke prayer to be the pattering of many words.

1546. Heywood, Wit and Folly [Percy Soe], p. xxxvii. Lorde ! how my husbande nowe doth patter, And of the pye styl doth clatter.

1561. Godly Qucene Hester [Grosart], 22. By his crafti pattering, hath turned law into flattering.

1589. Nashe, MonthsMind[Works, i. 173]. See how like the old Ape this young Monkey pattereth.

c.1648. Knaves No Honest Men, &c. [Collier, Roxburghe Ballads(1847), ^xxi]. Marry, they say that the running stationers of London, I mean such as used to sing ballads, and those that cry malignant pamphlets in the streets.

£.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v., Patering.

1781. Parker, Vieiu of Society, 1. 200. I could patter him on the Cant Universities of Newgate, Bedlam, and Bridewell.

17S5. Grose, i'ulg. Tongue, s.v., Pattering. The maundering or pert replies of servants : also talk or palaver ... to amuse one intended to be cheated. Pattering of prayers; the confused sound of . . . praying together. Ibid. Patter. How the blowen lushes jackey, and patters flash.

1789. Parker, Life's Painter, 150. Gammon and patter is the language of cant.

1819. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor, i. Your characters . . . patter too much.

1821. Haggart, Life, 88. It was shown upon my patter that I had the dub in my fam.

c.1838. Reynolds, TIuHousebreakers Song [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 125]. Though the hum-box patterer talked of hell.

1841. Leman Rede, Sixteen String Jack, i. 6. Stash your patter and come along !

1851. Mayhew, London Lab., 22851. The pattering genus known as running patterers, or flying stationers, from the fact of their being continually on the move . . . Contradistinguished from them, however, are the standing patterers, [who] require, a 'pitch' . . . where they can hold forth . . . The longsong sellers did not depend upon patter —though some of them pattered a little. . . . The parsons came out as stunning patrons of the patter. . . . He patters very little in the main drag. Ibid. i. 253. One quick-witted Irishman, whom I knew to be a Roman Catholic, was working a patter against the Pope.

1852. Judson, Myst., &>c, of New York, iv. Nothin' much worth pattering about. Ibid. iv. Patter flash, my lucky, you're as used to it as I am.

1853. Dickens, Bleak House, xxxix. Patter allusions to the subject, [are] received with loud applause.

1856. Mayhew, World of London, 6, note. Patter, ... is borrowed merely from the pater-nosters that the old-established mendicants delighted to mumble.

1863. Story of a Lancashire Thief, 9. Joe was ... a patterer ; and could screeve a fakement with any one.

1864. Hotten, Slang Diet., s.v. Patter. . . . Probably from the Latin, paternoster . . . said, before the Reformation, in a ' low voice ' by the priest, until he came to ' and lead us not into temptation,' to which the choir responded, 'but deliver us from evil.' In the reformed Prayer Book this was altered, and the Lord's Prayer directed to be said 'with an loud voice.' Dr. Pusey takes this view of the derivation in his Letter to the Bishop of London, 78, 1851.

Patteran. 149 Paunch.

1864. Derby Day, 155. She had finished the patter she had learnt by heart.

1877. Five Years Penal Servitude, ii. 244. Well she could do the French's patter, as she'd been there afore, when she was living on the ' square.'

1880. Sims, Three Brass Balls, xvii. It is thieves' patter, but someone in the crowd understands it well enough and answers him.

1883. Daily News, 26 March, 2, 4. A patter song . . . was twice redemanded.

1889. Answers, 11 May, 374. Beggars who cannot read are being taught hymns or doleful songs, patter as it is called professionally.

1891. Newman^-, Scamping Tricks, 61. Pay me and I'll patter pretty ; but no pay, no patter is my motto.

1897. Sporting Times, 13 Mar., 1, 3. She did it in a sort of "it's of no consequence " way that fairly amazed the learned counsel who was pattering on her behalf.

2. Verb, (common). — i. See subs. 2. (Australian).—To eat.

1833. C. Sturt, Southern Australia, 11., vii. 223. He himself did not patter any of it.

1881. Grant, Bush Life, 1. 236. 'You patter potehuni.' _ ¹ Yohi,' said John, doubtful . . . how his stomach will agree with the strange meat.

Patteran, subs, (vagrants').—See quots.

1864. Hotten, Slang Diet., s.v. Patteran, a gipsy trail, made by throwing down a handful of grass.

1877. Besant and Rice, Son of Vulcan, i. xi. Maybe it's the gipsy's patteran they mean.

Patter-cove. See Patrico.

Patter-crib, subs, (thieves').—A lodging-house or inn frequented by thieves ; aflash-panny (q.v.).

Paul. To go to Paul's (or Westminster) for a wife, verb. phr. (old colloquial).—To go whoring : to molrow (q.v.). [Halliwell : Old St. Paul's was in former times a favorite resort for purposes of business, amusement, lounging, or assignations ; bills were fixed up there, servants hired, and a variety of matters performed wholly inconsistent with the sacred nature of the edifice.] Hence Paul'swalkers — loungers ; as wellknown as Paul's = notorious.

1598. Shakspeare, / Henry IV., ii. 4. This oily rascal is known as well as Paul's.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., i. 2, 58. I bought him in Paul's, and he'll buy me a horse in Smithfield : an I could get me but a wife in the stews, I were manned, horsed, and wived.

1670. Ray, Proverbs, 254. Who goes to Westminster for a wife, to St. Paul's for a man, and to Smithfield for a horse, may meet with a whore, a knave, and a jade.

1807. Moser, European Magazine, July. The young gallants . . . used to meet at the central point, St. Paul's ; and from this circumstance obtained the appellation of Paul's walkers, as we now say Bond Street Loungers.

See also Old; Peter; Pigeon.

Paul Pry, subs. phr. (colloquial). —An inquisitive man. [From Poole's comedy.]

1825. Poole, Paul Pry [Title].

1864. Sala, Quite Alone, i. I asked him one day who she was, and he called me Paul Pry.

1901. Referee, 7 April, 1. 1. No one except, perhaps, the Paul Pry's of the press . . . desire to publish what is of private concern only.

Paunch, verb, (old colloquial).— To eat.

1564. Udal, Erasmus, 382. Now ye see him fed, paunched as lions are.

Paunch-guts. 150 Pay.

1612. Pass, of Benvenuto [Nares]. If you did but see . . . how negligent he is in my profit, aud in what sort he useth to glut and tanche himself.

To join paunches, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate ; to join giblets (q.v.) : see Greens and Ride.

1656. Muses Beer. [Hotten], 48. My Father and Mother when first they join'd paunches.

Paunch-guts, subs. phr. (common).—A fat-bellied man ; a jelly-belly (q.v.): see Fortyguts.

Pav, subs. (London).—The Pavilion Music Hall : cf. Met.

Paved. To have one's mouth paved, verb. phr. (old).—To be hard of mouth.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, i. How can you drink your Tea so hot ? Sure your mouth's pav'd.

Pavement. Nymph.

Pavior's-workshop, subs. phr. (old). — The street. — Grose (1785).

Paw, subs, (common).—The hand : see Bunch of Fives and Daddle. Hence Forepaw = the hand ; hind-paw = the foot ; paw-cases = gloves ; and as verb = to handle roughly or obscenely. — B. E. (^.1696); Dyche (1748) ; Grose (1785).

1605. Chapman, All Fools, ii. I . . . laid these paws Close on his shoulders, tumbling him to earth.

d. 1637. Jonson (attributed to) [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), iii. 13]. Then with his pawe . . . hee puld to a pye of a traitor's mumbles.

d.ijoi. Dryden [Century]. Be civil to the wretch imploring And lay your paws upon him without roaring.

1753. Foote, Englishman in Paris, i. How do'st, old buck, hey ? Give's thy paw !

1836. Scott, Cruise of Midge, 137. He held out him's large paw.

1840. Thackeray, Paris Sketch Book, 107. The iron squeeze with which he shook my passive paw.

1848. Ruxton, Far West, 164. Ho, Bill ! . . . not gone under yet ? . . . Give us your paw.

1891. Sporting Life, 3 Ap. In less than a minute he held out his paw, to the surprise of the company.

Pawn, verb. (old).—See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pawn. To pawn anybody, to steal away and leave him or them to Pay the Reckoning.

Pawnee. See Parney.

Paw-paw, adj. (old).—Naughty. Hence paw-paw words = obscene expressions ; paw-paw tricks = (1) masturbation ; and (2) (of children, by nurses) = tiresome pranks, etc. —Grose (1785).

Pax, subs. (Winchester College).— An intimate friend. [Wrench : Possibly the plural of pack, which word has an extended use in reference to friendship . . . as adj., subs., and vb. . . . This seems a more likely origin than the Pax of the Church. ]

Intj. (school).—Keep quiet ! Hands off ! Also Have pax ! [Wrench : Almost the pure Latin use of the word. ]

1900. Kipling, Stalky &* Co., 4. ' I'm an ass, Stalky ! ' he said, guarding the afflicted part. ' Pax, Turkey, I'm an ass.'

pay, verb, (colloquial).—To beat ; to punish ; to ' serve out ' ; to ' pitch into ' : generally with out : also to pay home (or away). Hence payment = chastisement. —Grose (1785).

Pay. 151 P.D.

1592. Greene, Blocke Bockes Messenger, in Works, xi. 34. Though God suffer the wicked for a time yet hee paies home at length.

1595. Shakspeare, 3 Hen. VI., i. 4. To such mercy as his ruthless arm, With downright payment, showed unto my father.

1614. Terence in English [Nares]. To conclude, be sure you crosse her, pay her home with the like.

1620. Robin Goodfellmv [Halliwell]. If they uncase a cloven and not unty their points, I so pay their armes that they cannot sometimes untye them, if they would.

d. 1631. Capt. John Smith, Works, 1. 140. Defending the children with their naked bodies from the vnmercifull blowes, that pay them soundly.

1631. Chettle, Hoffman. Luc. Well farewell fellow, thou art now paid home For all thy councelling in knavery.

1640. King and poore Northerne Man [Halliwell]. They with a foxe tale him soundly did pay.

1711. Spectator, No. 174. Sir Roger . . . thinks he has paid me off, and been very severe upon the merchant.

1748. Dyche, Diet. Pay . . . also to thrash, beat, or whip a boy, i.e., for a fault.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pay. I will pay you as Paul paid the Ephesians, over the face and eyes and all your d—d jaws.

d.ijgô. Burns, Poems. An' wi' a mickle hazel rung, She made her a weel payed daughter.

1849. Thackeray, Dr. Birch. You see if I don't pay you out after school— you sneak you !

1871. Meredith, Harry Richmond, xiv. Now they had caught me, now they would pay me, now they would pound me.

1884. Russell, Jack's Courtship, xxiv. Were he not so cruelly ill I should say he was being well paid out.

To PAY AWAY, verb, (colloquial).—I. To go on ; to proceed : as with a narration or action. 2. See quot. 1785.

1670. Eachard, Contempt of Clergy [Arber, Gamer, vii. 308]. Who . . . think, had they but licence and authority to preach, O how they could pay it away ! and that they can tell the people such strange things, as they never heard before, in all their lives.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pay. To pay away, to fight manfully, also to eat voraciously.

1887. Besant, World Went Very Well Then, xxviii. Ay, ay, my girl ; pay it out. I am a sailors' apothecary. I am old and envious. Pay it out. I value not thy words—no,!not even a rope's yam.

To pay with a hook, verb, phr. (Australian thieves'). — To steal ; cf. hook : see Prig.

1873. Stephens, My Chinee Cook. . . . You bought them? Ah, I fear me John, You paid them with a hook.

Colloquialisms are: — To pay old scores = to get even ;

to pay one in his own coin =

to give tit for tat ; to pay the last debt (or the debt of

nature) = to die; 'What's to pay ? ' = ' what's the matter ' ; to pay up and look pretty (or big) = to accept the inevitable with grace. See also Deuce, Devil, Footing, Fidler, Nose, Pepperidge, Piper, Rent, Scores, Shot, and Whistle.

1633. Ford, 'Tis Pity, iv. 1. I was acquainted with the danger of her disposition ; and now have fitted her a just

payment in her own coin.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (1725) 74]. Venus . . . Like cunning Quean in Smiles array'd her, And in her own Coin thus she paid her.

1687. Prior, The Mice. The Sire of these two Babes (poor Creature) Paid his last Debt to human Nature.

1894. Sala, London Up to Date, 297. The Hon. Plantagenet paid up and

looked pretty.

P. D., subs. phr. (trade).—A mixture used in adulterating pepper. [A contraction of 'pepper-dust.']

P. D. Q.

152

Peach.

P. D. Q.,phr. (common).—'Pretty damned quick.'

1900. Free Lance, 6 Oct., 20, 1. It looked as if I'd be on my uppers if I didn't get something to do p. d. q.

Pea, subs, (common).—The favourite ; the choice. [From thimblerigging : e.g., ' This is the pea I choose.']

1888. Sport. Life, 11 Dec. Sweeny forced the fighting, and was still the pea when ' Time ! ' was called.

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 20 Mar. Well, Albert, now what is the pea? we asked, hurrying towards the paddock. How much do you want on ? he queried. Oh, a fiver is quite enough.

TO pick (or do) A sweet pea, verb. phr. (common).— To urinate ; cf. to gather violets, and to pluck a rose.

Peacemaker, subs, (venery).—i. The penis : also Matrimonial Peacemaker : see Prick.

1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue(ycà ta.), s.v. Matrimonial Peacemaker. The sugar stick, or arbor vitae.

2. in//, (military).—The Bedfordshire regiment, formerly The Sixteenth Foot. [From Surinaam in 1804 to Chitral in 1895 the Bedfordshires missed all chances of active service. ]

3. (American).—A revolver : see Meat in the Pot.

Peach, subs. (old).—I. Adetective : specifically one employed by omnibus and (formerly) by stagecoach proprietors to check receipts. [See verb. ]

2. (common). —A girl or young woman of pleasing parts ; cf.

plum.

Verb, (once literary : now colloquial or slang).—To inform ; to betray; TO split (q.v.): TO round ON (q.v.). [From 'impeach.'] Hence peacher = an infoimer.—Grose (1785).

English Synonyms. To bust; to blow the gaff ; to cast up accounts ; to cackle ; to castell ; to crab ; to crack ; to clipe ; to chirp ; to come it ; to hedgehog ; to dick ; to inkle ; to leak ; to let on ; to let out ; to lip ; to make a song ; to nose ; to give the office ; to put away ; to put up : to put a down on ; to be rusty ; to ruck on ; to round on ; to scream ; to snap ; to snitch ; to stag ; to squeal ; to squeak ; to split ; to tip ; to tip the wink ; to whiddle ; to whittle. [For other synonyms see Split.]

c.1362. York Plays, i,it). For-thy as wightis that are will thus walke we in were, For pechyng als pilgrymes that putte are to pees.

1554. Fox, Martyrs. Accusers or peachers of others that were guiltless.

1598. Shakspeare, / Henry IV., ii. 2. If I be ta'en, I'll peach for this. Ibid. Measure for M. (1603), iv. 3. Then is there here one master Caper, at the suit of master Three-pile the mercer, for some four suits of peach-colour'd satin, which now peaches him a beggar.

1607. Puritan, iv. 3. George, look to't ; I'll peach at Tyburn else.

1607. MiDDLETON, Ptuenix, v. i. Let me have pardon . . . and I'll peach 'em all.

1632. Jonson, Magnetic Lady, iv. 2. Go peach, and cry yourself a fool.

1639. Beaumont and Fletcher, Tlie Bloody Brother, iii. 2. "You peaching rogue, that provided us These necklaces."

1641. Evelyn, Diary [Century]. I> I did not amidst all this peach my liberty.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, 1. i. Make Mercury confesse and peach Those thieves which he himself did teach.

Peacock.

153 Peagoose.

1713. Arbuthnot, Hist, of John Bull¹, iii. i. Your Ptschirnsooker came off, as rogues usually do upon such occasions, by peaching his partner.

1731. Fielding, Letter Writers, ii. 11. It were good for you to resolve on being an evidence, and save your own neck at the expence of his. Risg. Well, sir, if I must peach, I must, I think.

1850. Lytton, Paul Clifford, xxxi. You will not peach, I suppose ! I peach ! devil a bit 1

1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (1889], 31. He . . . only escaped the gallows by impeaching his accomplices.

1849. Kingsley, Alton Locke, x. Now ... no peaching. If any man is scoundrel enough to carry tales, I'll

1857. Hughes, Tout Brown at Rugby, i. 8. He . . . used to toady the bullies by offering to fag for them, and peaching against the rest of us.

1884. Sat. Review, 9 Feb. 178. Known to the police, as likely to peach.

1890. Pall Mall Gaz., 8 Feb., i. If some fellow was to go and peach, how would he prove the case?

1901. Sporting Times, 27 Ap., 1, 4. A sea-green, incorruptible navvy was offered half a sovereign for his vote, which he accepted. At the same time, he felt that it was an outrage on his honour and integrity, so he peached, and became a valuable witness in the unseating of Mr. Barker.

Peacock, subs. (old).—1. A gull ; and (2) (racing) a horse with action : cf. peacock-horse = (undertakers' ) a horse with a showy mane and tail. Hence peacocky-showy ; as verb-(1) to display (as a peacock its tail), to put on ' war-paint,' or ' side ' ; and (2—Anglo-Indian) = to make a formal call (see quots. 1883 and

1893)

1580. Sidney, Arcadia, i. That love which in haughtie hearts proceeds of a desire onely to pleas, and as it were peacock themselves.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii. 2. And now reigns here A very, very—pajock.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Zazzeare. To play the simple selfeconceited gull, to go ietting or loytring vp and downe peacockising and courting of himself.

1869. Telegraph, 5 Ap. Speculators . . . were fairly disgusted with the flash peacock, with his bumble foot and ¹ threadleing ' action.

1872. Tennyson, Gareth and Lynette. Peacocked up with Lancelot's noticing.

1883. Graphic, 17 Mar., 286, 5. Another curious custom of Indian hospitality which extended to a late period— not longer than thirty years ago—was that of inviting visitors, or ' nailers,' to take beer at eleven o'clock in the forenoon. . . . The quantity of bottled ale which a gentleman of the period out peacocking, as it was called, could put inside him may be calculated when it is said that a visit never extended beyond ten minutes, and he had three hours in which to make the most of his time.

1884. Smart, Post to Finish, xvi. Bushranger was pronounced peacocky, a three-cornered brute, and was very generally disliked.

1893. Life 0/ Sir R. Burton, 1. 136. Few preferred peacocking, which meant robing in white grass clothes and riding ... to call upon regimental ladies.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 65. In peacocked the little man with the long chain.

Peacock-engine, subs. phr. (railway).—A locomotive with a separate tender for coals and water.

Pea(or peak-) goose, subs. phr. (old).—A silly fellow : a general term of reproach : see Buffle.— Cotgrave(i6ii) ; B.E. (r.1696).

1570. Ascham, Scholemaster, 48. If thou be thrall to none of these, Away, good peakgoose, away, John Cheese.

1606. Chapman, Möns. d'Olive, iii. Respect's a clowne supple-jointed, courtesie's a very peagoose.

1622. Fletcher and Massinger, Prophetess, iv. 3. 'Tis a fine peak-goose.

Peak. 154 Peas.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, in. xii. The phlegmatic peagoose Asopus.

Peak, subs. (old).—1. Lace.—B.E. (c.1696) ; Grose (1785).

2. (common).—The nose : see Conk.

Peak-goose. See Pea-goose.

Peaking, subs, (trade).—Remnants of cloth : cf. makings and cabbage.

Peal, subs. (Winchester : obsolete). —( i ) A custom in Commoners of singing out comments on Prœfects at Cloister-time (q.v.) ; (2) cheers given on the last three Sundays of the Half for articles of dress, &c., connected with going home, such as " Gomer Hats" (q.v.), Party Rolls (q.v.), &c. ; and (3) Chapel bells which were divided into Peals. [Halliwell = a noise or uproar : cf. M. E. ape I = an old term in hunting music consisting of three long moots.]

c.1840. Mansfield, ScJiool Life, 62. The Junior in chamber . . . had to keep a sharp ear on the performance of the chapel bell, and to call out accordingly, ' first peal ! ' ' second peal ! ' ' bells down ! '

Verb. (old). — To scold.— Grose (1785).

Pealer, subs. (American).—Avery energetic person ; a rustler (q.v.) ; a hummer (q.v.).

1869. Stowe, Old Town Folks, 117. She was spoken of with applause under such titles as 'a staver,' a pealer, 'a roarer to work.'

See Peeler.

Peanut-politics, subs. phr. (American).—Secret tactics. [The pea-nut buries its pods after flowering, a process by which the nuts are ripened.]

1887. Neiv York Mail, 27 May. Governor Hill to-day said what he thought of Quarantine Commissioner T. C. Piatt's letter, offering to resign his post, if the Governor would consent not to play peanut politics, and would appoint Colonel Fred Grant in his stead.

Pear, verb, (thieves').—To draw supplies from both sides : as from the police for information, and from thieves for a warning : cf. tear-making = bounty jumping.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pear-making. The Cove was fined in the steel for pear making ; the fellow was imprisoned in the house of correction for taking bounties from different regiments.

Pea-rigger (or Pea-man). See

Thimble-rigger.

Pearl. To make a pearl on the nail, verb. phr. (old).—To drink.—Ray (1767).

Pearlies, subs, (costers').—In pi. — pearl buttons : sewn down the sides of the trousers.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' from, the Pink 'Un ('Bleary Bill'), 60. Oh! why are your pearlies so bright, bleary Bill?

1892. National Observer, 27 Feb., p. 378. Look at my pearlies, Kool my 'ed of 'air.

1894. Chevalier, Tlie Coster's Serenade [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 196]. Me in my pearlies felt a toff that day.

190a Daily Mail, 23 Mar., 4, 5. Had the soldier had as many buttons to his tunic as the average London coster has pearlies on his holiday inexpressibles, he could speedily have realised a small fortune.

1901. Henley, Hawthorn and Lavender, 78. With pearlies and a barrer and a Jack.

Peas. As like as two peas, phr. (common). —As like as may be.

Pease-kill.

155

Peck.

1,765. Walpole, Letters, 13 Oct. Yes, yes, Madam, I am as like the Duke de Richelieu as two peas ; but then they are two old withered grey peas.

Pease-kill. To make a peasekill, verb. phr. (Scots' colloquial).—To squander lavishly : e.g. when a man's affairs go wrong and interested persons get the management of his property it is said ' They're makin' a bonny pease-kill o't.' A law-suit is said to be a pease-kill for the lawyers. [Jamieson.]

Peas-field. To go into the peas-field, verb. phr. (old).— To fall asleep : see Balmy.— Ray (1670).

Peat, subs. (old).—A delicate person : esp. a young girl. Also = (ironically) a spoilt favourite.

1578. King Lear [Nares]. To see that proud pert peat, our youngest sister.

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of Shrew, i. 1. A pretty peat ! 'tis best Put finger in the eye.

1605. Jonson, Chapman, &c. Eastward Hoe {Old Plays (Reed), iv. 279. God's my life, you are a peat indeed.

1632. Massinger, Maid of Honour,

ii. 2. You are a pretty peat, indifferent fair too.

Pea-time. In the last of peatime (or -picking),/Ar. (American colloquial).—In decline of years ; ' hard-up ' ; passé. Peatime is past = dead ; ruined ; gone beyond recall.

1848. Lowell, Biglow Papers . . . There's oiler's chaps a-hangin' roun' that can't see pea-time s past.

Pebble, sttbs. (venery).—In pi. = the testes : see Cods.

My pebbles, phr. (old).—A familiar address.

1843. Moncrieff, Scamps of London,

iii. i. Dick, my pebble. Ibid. Now, my pebbles, i'll give you a toast.

Pebbly-beached, adv. phr. (common).—Without means; stonybroke (q.v.) ; high-and-dry (q.v.). Hence to sight (or

land on) a pebbly beach = to

be face to face with ruin ; to pebble beach = to suck dry, to clean out : see Dead-broke.

1886-96. Marshall, Age of Love {'Pomes,' 26]. Yiffler could see himseli stranded, for he could sight a pebbly beach. Ibid. (Beautiful Dreamer), 65. I was able to see that my beautiful dreamer had pebble-beached me.

1889. Lie. Vict. Gaz., Jan. One of those mysteries which only those who have been pebbly-beached can reveal.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 278. Fleet St. can possibly ' give a bit of weight ' to most places as a ' run ' for the utterly wagless, rapless, and pebblebeached.

1901. Referee, 21 Ap., 9, 2. In the slang of the day a gentleman who is "stony broke" describes himself as Pebbly Beach. With a deficit of fiftythree millions to warrant the change, "Hicks Beach" may now be fairly substituted.

Pec, subs. (Eton College : obsolete). Money : see Rhino. [From Latin pecunia.]

Peccavi, intj. (colloquial).—An acknowledgment of offence, mistake, or defeat. To cry peccavi = to confess to wrong-doing or failure. [Latin = ' I have sinned. '] —Grose (1785).

1578. Whetstone, Promos ana Cassandra, 32.

1611. Beaumont and Fletcher, Knight of the Burning Pestle, iv. 1. Make him sing peccavi ere I leave him.

Peck (or pek), subs. (Old Cant).— i. Food of any kind ; grub (q.v.) ; a meal; a feed: also peckage. Hence ruff-peck (q.v.) = bacon ; gere-peck = a turd ; peck and booze = meat and drink ; rum-peck (q.v.) =

Peck.

156 Pecker.

good eating ; grunting-peck = pork ; off one's peck = without appetite, ' off one's feed.'— Harman (1567) ; Head (1665) ; B. E. (^.1696) ; Dyche (1748) ; Grose (1785).

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1806), 8]. A gere peck in thy gan. Ibid. [Hunt. Club Rept. (1874), 40]. Peckage meat or Scroofe scraps.

1611. Middleton and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v. 1. a gage of ben Rombouse ... Is benar than a Caster, Peck, pennam, lap, or popler.

1621. Jonson, Metam. Gipsies. With the convoy, cheats [goods] and peckage, Out of clutch of Harman Beckage.

1641. YiR.(y>>\¥., Jovial Crew [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 23]. Here safe in our Skipper let's cly off our peck.

1706. Centlivre, Basset Table. Prologue, Free from poor housekeeping ; where peck is under locks, Free from cold kitchens, and no Christmas-box.

1821. Egan, Life in London, vii. The peck and booze are lying about in such lots that it would supply numerous poor families.

1836. Smith, The Thieves' Chaunt [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 121]. Oh ! grunting peck in its eating Is a richly soft and savoury thing.

1843. Moncrieff, The Scamps of London, i. 2. Hurrah :—the peck. Ibid. iii. i. I don't care how soon after this walk I bite my name in for a peck.

1884. Daily Telegraph, 30 July, 2, 1. A pint of cocoa, five slices of thick bread and butter, and a bloater ! Or a fair peck without the relish—a pint of cocoa or coffee, and a> much bread and butter as you can eat, for the same money !

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 71. Gives yer the primest of pecks.

2. See Racing-peck.

Verb. (Old Cant : now colloquial).—i. To eat.

c.1536. Copland, Spyttel-hous [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 2]. Thou shalt pek my jere In thy gan.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 39. (H. Club's Repr. 1874.) Pecke is taken to eate and byte : as t/ie Buff a peckes me by t/ie stampes, the dogge bites me by the shinnes.

1665. Head, English Rogue, 1. iv. 36 (1874). The night we spent in Boozing, pecking rumly.

1703. Levellers \Harl. Misc. (Park), v. 454]. So they all fell heartily to pecking till they had consumed the whole provision.

1821. Egan, Life in London, vii. Jerry . . . Complained that he could not peck as he wished.

1867. Dickens, No Thoroughfare, i. But if you wish to board me and to lodge me, take me. I can peck as well as most men.

2. (colloquial).—To pitch ; to throw.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brown s Schooldays, 11. iv. I've been longing for some good honest pecking this half hour.

Peck-alley, subs. phr. (common). —The throat ; gutter-alley (q.v.).

Pecker, subs, (common).—1. The appetite. Hence, a good (or rare) pecker = a hearty eater. [Cf. peck.]

2.(common).—Courage; spirits; good cheer : e.g. Keep your pecker up ='be of good heart.'

1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, 1. 114. Keep up your pecker, old fellow . . . and don't be down in the mouth.

1861. Punch, xl. 205. The times were bad, and Gladstone looked sad, . . . And puzzled to keep up his pecker.

1866. London Miscellany, 3 Mar. 57. You'll be better for something cheering, sir, said he, just to keep your pecker up.

1869. Standard, 31 Aug. When a crew is taking very hard and rapid work, some slight stimulant is absolutely necessary ; it keeps up the pecker, and gives the digestion a timely fillip.

i8[?]. Gilbert, The Haughty Actor. Dispirited because our friend Depressed his moral pecker.

Peck ham. 157 Pedlar's French.

1880. Sims, Zeph, 86. Keep your pecker up, old-man, and I'll pull you through.

1892. Watson, Wops the Waif, 16. Since that I've been a-trying to keep my pecker up and git a honest livin'.

3. (venery).—The penis : see Prick.

Peckham. To have (or spend) a holiday at Peckham, verb, phr. (old).—To have nothing to eat. Going to Peckham = going to dinner.—Halliwell (1847).

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Peckham ..." No Peckham for Ben, he's been to Clapham,' i.e., is indisposed, in a certain way.

Peckish, adj. (common).—Hungry. —Grose (1785) ; Bee (1823). For synonyms see Wolf.

1837. Halimurton, Clockmaker (1862), 167. I don't care if I stop and breakfast with you for I feel considerably peckish this mornin'.

1845. Disraeli, Sybil, vi. iii. AVhen shall I feel peckish again?

1847. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, xxix. Seeing these nobs grubbing away has made me peckish too.

i860. Chambers' Journal, xiii. 212. There's the tea on the hob, brewing like mad. Are you peckish?

1887. Henley, Culture in Slums, ' Rondeau ' 1. For lo, old pal, says she, I'm blooming peckish.

1894. Moore, Esther Waters, xli. I feel a bit peckish, don't you ? We might have a bit of lunch here.

Pecnoster, subs, (venery.)—The penis: see Prick.

Peculiar, subs. (old).—1. A belonging ; and (2) a mistress : see Tart.—b. E. (1696) ; Grose (1785).

1647-8. Herrick, Hesperides, ' Larr's Portion.' A Holy-cake : Part of which I give to Larr, Part is my peculiar.

Peculiar River (The), subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

1603. Shakspeare, Meas. for Meas., ii. 1. Ov. What's his offence? Pom. Groping for trouts in a peculiar river. Ov. What, is there a maid with child by him?

Peculiar Institution, subs. (American). — Negro slavery—• ' the peculiar domestic institution of the Southern States.'

Ped, subs. (Old Cant).—1. A basket.—B. E. (r.1696) ; Grose (I785)

1579. Spenser, Shep/teards Calender, Nov. A bask in a wicker ped, wherein they use to carry fish.

2. (common).—A professional walker or runner.

1884. Sat. Review, 21 June, 810, 1. Running paths, except for the use of professional peds, were then unknown.

1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. The six peds turned out to fight their way through the roaring and raging wind.

Ped-BELLY, subs, (provincial).—A fat man or woman ; a corporation {q.v.). [Ped — basket.]

Pedescript, subs, (old).—Bruises from kicks.

1659. Shirley, Hon. and Mammon [Nares]. I have it all in pedescript.

Pedestrian digits, subs. phr. (schoolboys').—The legs.

Pedlar's French, subs. phr. (old).—I. Cant, or the language of thieves and vagabonds ; and (2) any unintelligible jargon ; also St. Giles' Greek {q.v.). ['French' and 'Greek' here = ' unintelligible.']—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1530. Palsgrave, Lang. Françoyse, 368. s.v. Speke. They speke a pedlars frenche amongst themselfe.

Pedlars-news. 158

Peeler.

c.1536. Copland, Spyttel-hous [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 2]. And thus they babble ... I wote not what with their pedlyng frenche.

1567. HarmaNj Caveat (1841). vi. Their language which they terme peddelers Fkenche or canting.

1595. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Gergare, to speake fustian, peddlers French, or rogues language, or gibbrish.

1611. Middleton and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v. 1. I'll give a schoolmaster half-a-crown a week, and teach me this pedler's French.

1622. Massinger, Virgin Martyr, ii. i. Why, fellow Angelo, we were speaking in pedlar's French, I hope.

1640. [Shirley], Captain Underwit, [Bullen, Old Plays, ii. 351]. Gis. One rime more and you undoe my love for ever. Out upon't ! pedlars French is a Christian language to this.

1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Faithful Friend, i. 2. 'Twere fitter Such honest lads as myself had it, that instead Of pedlar's French gives him plain language for his money.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood. Preface. Its meaning must be perfectly clear and perspicuous to the practised patterer of Romany, or Pedler's French.

Pedlar's-news, subs. phr. (common).—State news ; 'stereo.' Also piper's (mungor tinker's) news.

Pedlar's-pony (-horse or -pad),

«/k/^-.(common).—A walkingstick ; a Penang-lawyer (q.v.) ; a waddy (q.v.).

Pee, verb, (chiefly nursery).—To urinate ; to pump ship (q.v.).

1788. Picken,Poems, ' The Favourite Cat,' 47. He never stealt though he was poor, He never pee'd his master's floor.

Peel, verb, (common). — To undress; to strip.—Grose (1785). Hence peeled = naked : see Nature's Garb.

1811. Moore, Tom Crib, 13.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i. Tom. Come Jerry, cast your skin— peel—slip into the swell case at once.

1827. Corcoran, The Fancy, Note, 89. Randull's figure is remarkable when peeled for its statue like beaty.

1827. Scott, Two Drovers, ii. Robin had not art enough even to peel before setting to, but fought with his plaid dangling about him.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford (1854), 256. You may call me an apple if you will, but I take it, I am not an apple you'd like to see peeled.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, ' The Double Cross.' They peeled in style, and bets were making.

1857. Holmes, Autocrat of Breakfast Table, i. What resplendent beauty that must have been which could have authorised Phryne to peel in the way she did !

1885. Field, 4 Ap. I got into bed, and under cover peeled off, one by one, those pieces of clothing.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 20 Oct. She peeled off her wedding dress and boots, . . . and threw them at him.

To peel it, verb. phr. (American).—To run at full speed.

To peel one's best end,

verb. phr. (venery). — To effect intromission : see Greens and Ride.

To peel eggs, verb. phr.

(common).—To stand on ceremony.

See Keep.

Peeler, subs, (common).—1. A policeman : see Beak. [First applied to the Royal Irish Constabulary established by Sir Robert Peel, when Irish Secretary (1812-18), and subsequently, for similar reasons (1828-39), ^tothe Metropolitan Police : see quot. 1889 and cf. bobby.]

1842-3. Dublin Monthly Mag. [Notes and Queries, 7th S. vii. 392], ' The Peeler and the Goat.' As some Bansha peelers were out wan night On duty and pathrollin, O.

Peep. 159 Peeper.

1843. Thackeray, Irish Sketch Book, xiv. Half-a-dozen Peelers . . . now inhabit Bunratty.

1846. Punch, x. 163. And forth three peelers rushing Attempt to storm the Pass ; Truncheons are thick, but fists are quick, and down they go to grass I

1850. Kingsley, Alton Locke, xxxv. He's gone for a peeler and a search warrant to break open the door.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., 1. 22. As regards the police, the hatred of a costermonger to a peeler is intense.

1857. Lawrence, Guy Livingstone' iv. Six or seven peelers and specials.

1889. Encyclo. Brit.,xv'ni. 453. His [Sir Robert Peel] greatest service to Ireland as secretary was the institution of the regular Irish constabulary, nicknamed after him Peelers.

1886-96. Marshall, Word of a Policeman [' Pomes,' 73]. The other peeler had a cut at him as well.

1889. Daily News, 24 July, 6, 1. The peelers seized it.

1892. Nisbet, Bushranger's Sweetheart, 64. When I heard him shout thieves, I thought it was the peeler, and knew it was time to walk.

1897. Punch, 23 Oct., 191, i. He goes his way escorted by A single mounted

peeler.

2. (pugilistic).—One ready to strip for the combat.

1852. L'Allegro ; As Good as a Comedy, 56. Just you try it, then, with another sort of look in your face, and see if I ain't a peeler.

3. (American).—A very energetic person ; a ripper (q.v.).

1869. H. B. Stowe, Oldlown Folks. She was spoken of with applause as a staver, a peeler, ' a roarer to work.'

Sir Peeler, subs. phr. (old). —A poverty-striking crop.

1557. Tusser, Husbandrie, xviii. 12. Wheat doth not well, Nor after sir peeler he loveth to dwell.

Peep, verb, (colloquial).—1. To speak.

2. (Old Cant).—To sleep.— b. E. (f.1696).

Peeper, subs, (common).—1. A

spy-glass ; (2) the eye ; and (3), in pl. = a pair of spectacles. Hence painted peepers (or peepers in mourning) = black eyes.—B. E. (c. 1696); Dyche (1748) ; Grose (1785).

English synonyms. Blinkers ; daylights ; glaziers ; glims ; mutton-pies (rhyming) ; ogles ; optics ; sees ; winkers.

1656. Fletcher, Martiall, I. 51. Thy peepers more than active friends delight.

1707. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, 11. iv. 4. No sooner had they fix'd their peepers Upon the lifeless WhipperSnappers.

1795. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Peeper. A spying glass.

1808. Jamieson, Diet., s.v. Peepers . . . a cant term for spectacles.

1818. Egan, Boxiana, 11. 43. His peepers were taken measure of for a suit of mourning.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. v. If you have even the good fortune to keep your peepers from being measured for a suit of mourning, you are perhaps ... in more real danger among the refined heroes.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, xvi. Chalk him across the peepers with your cheery.

1831. Almar, Pedlars Acre, ii. 3. There's something to open your aged peepers.

1852. Judson, Myst. of New York, x. You just keep cool, and say nothing, but use your peepers.

1857. Thackeray, Virginians, xvi. Keep on anointing my mistress's dainty peepers with the very strongest ointment, so that my noddle may ever appear lovely to her.

1861. Pennell, Puck on Pegasus, 16. Slave ! (I said) base Kitchen-creeper I (said I) I will stop your peeper ! I will tap your claret.

1864. Times, 18 Oct. Which will at least, my gentle friends, open your peepers for the rest of time.

1891. Lie. Vict. Mirror, 30 Jan., 7, 3. Jones had one of his peepers . . . ornamented with a fringe of black.

Peeping. 160 Peg.

4. (old).—A looking-glass.— B. E. (c.1696); Dyche (1748); Grose (1785).

Single peeper, subs. phr. (common).—A one-eyed man.— Grose (1785).

Peeping. A peeping Tom, subs, phr. (common).—An inquisitive person ; a Paul Pry (q.v.). [From the Coventry legend.]— Grose (1785).

Peep-o'-day boy, subs. phr. (old). —A street roister [Regency].

1821. Egan, Life in London, n. vi. Jerry and Bobby, . . . With the Peep-o'day boys, Hunting after wild joys.

Peepsies, subs, (street performers'). —The pan-pipes.

Peepy, adj. and adv. (old).— Drowsy ; sleepy. To go to peepy (or peep-) by = to sleep. —B. E. (1696); Grose (1785).

Peery (or peerie), adj. (old : nowrecognised).—Suspicious ; knowing ; sly ; sharp-looking : also as verb. =to look about suspiciously. —Head (1665); B. E. (<r.i696); Grose (1785).

1703. Ward, London Spy, xi. 259. Another . . . look'd as Peery as if he thought every fresh Man that came in a Constable.

1751. Fielding, Amelia, 11. ix. You are so shy and peery, you would almost make one suspect there was more in the matter.

1758. Cibber, Refusal, iii. Are you peery, as the Cant is?

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 20. Fixing his eye on the Porpus's snout, Which he knew that Adonis felt peery about.

Peety, adj. and adv. (Old Cant).— Cheerful—Bailey (1726).

PEE-WEE, subs. phr. (nursery).— (1) The penis and (2) the female pudendum. See Prick and Monosyllable. Also as verb. = to urinate. See Pee.

3. (school).—A small marble.

Peg, subs, (common).—1. A dram; a 'drink'; a go (q.v.) : specifically (in India), a ' brandy-andsoda.' In the 16th century ' peg-tankards ' held two quarts, divided by seven pegs or pins, one above the other, into eight equal portions. Hence, to drink to pegs = to drink the draught marked in a peg tankard ; to add (or drive) a peg (or nail) into one's coffin = to drink hard ; to go a peg lower = to drink to excess ; a peg too low = (1) drunk, and (2) low-spirited ; pegger = a persistent drinker, or nipster (q.v.).

1821. Egan, Life in London, n. ii. To chaff with the flash Mollishers, and in being home to a peg in all their various sprees and rambles.

1871. Figaro, 15 Oct. A man who, in the days of peg tankards, would have got on peg by peg, marvellously rapidly to the state of the ' much-loved intemperance of the Saxons'—as the old chronicler, Brady, has it.

1871. Sala [Belgravia, April]. Ensign Plume of the 200th Foot, at present languishing obscure at ' Gib ' and taking too many pegs of brandy and soda when on guard.

1883. Graphic, 17 March, 286, 3. The dispensation of food and liquor, however, never entered into the calculations of the Anglo-Indian of the last generation. Even the shopkeepers used to think nothing of giving their customers pegs.

1884. World, 16 April, 18, 2. And then he took to play and pegs, and his naturally excitable disposition did the rest.

1894. Illustrated Bits, 31 Mar., 7, 1. Come and have a peg, he cried.

Peg. i6i Peg.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 35. ust as we were all taking a j'EG at the ar . . . a local postman delivered that letter.

2. (old).—A blow : spec, (old boxers') a straight drive in the pit of the stomach : see Dig and Wipe. Whence pegging = a beating.—Grose (1785).

c. 1600. [Collier, Dram. Poet. (1831), ii. 198]. Strike a pegüe into him with a club.

1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, xxviii. Pegs on the stomach without number.

3. (common).—A foot or leg: cribbage-pegs : see Creepers.

1841. Punch, i. 243. You'll not stir a peg out of where you are untill you pay me for my throwble.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. in. 221. The donkey stopt short and wouldn't move a peg.

1862. Lowell, Biglow Papers, 11. 99. To rise a peg an' jine the crowd that went for reconstruction.

1874. Hood, Faithless Nelly Gray. The army-surgeons made him limbs ; said he, ' They're only pegs ; But there's as wooden members quite As represent my legs.

1887. Sims, Referee, 7 Nov. A bow-wow . . . right through my ' rankand-riches ' Did my cribbage-pegs assail.

4. (common).—A tooth.

5. (thieves').—A shilling ; a bob (q.v.).

1857. Ducange Anglicus, The Vulgar Tongue, 39. Lawyer Bob draws fakements up ; he's tipped a peg for each.

6. (colloquial). — A step ; a degree : cf. sense 1. Hence to take down a peg = to humiliate ; to hoist a peg higher = to advance.

1625. Court and Times, Chas. I. i. 58. Two maids . . . fell a-talking together of the brave times that would be shortly . . . when _; . . the Bishop of Chester that bore himself so high should be hoisted a peg higher to his little ease.

d. 1677. Barrow, Pope's Supremacy (Encyclopeedic Diet.). To screw papal authority to the highest peg.

1664. Butler, Hudibras, 11. 2. Trepanned your party with intrigue, And took your grandees down a peg.

1834. Dowling, Otltello Travestie,

i. 4. I'll take you down a peg, and

stop your music.

1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, 163. If they didn't get their nations tuck down a peg or two, then I'm terribly mistaken.

1869. Daily Telegraph, 6 Sept. It was her duty to bring him down a peg or two. She did her duty.

1882. Literary World, 3 Feb. The brilliant young athlete wanted taking down a peg.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 1 Sep. It was Hallam who . . . not liking a certain condescension in his manner, resolved to take him down a peg or two.

1891. Gould, Double Event, 195. You took me down a peg, Jack, and I deserved it.

1892. Nisbet, Bushranger's Sweetheart, 85. We were regarded ... as blooming swells, who wanted taking down a peg or two.

1900. Free Lance, 6 Oct., 8, 1. ' Taking him down a peg ' [Title].

7. (colloquial).—A text; an excuse.

1791-1823. Disraeli, Curiosities of Literature. His successors now only made use of the sentences as a row of pegs to hang on their fine-spun metaphysical questions.

1871. Globe, 22 Sep. Given a peg— that is to say, some scrap of news or incident of passing interest—upon which to hang a string of historical, argumentative, or moral reflections.

1885. Field, 17 Oct. A peg whereon to hang an account of a hunt breakfast.

8. (colloquial).—A diminutive of Margaret : also Peggy.

Verb. (old). — 1. To drive.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 80. I first was hired to peg a hack.

Peg.

2. (old).—See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Peg at Cocks, to throw at them at Shrovetide.

3. (old).—To beat.

4. (common).—To drink frequently ; to tipple.

1883. Miss Braddon, Golden Calf, xxv. There is a great deal of what is called pegging—an intermittent kind of tippling which goes on all day long.

5. (Stock Exchange).—To fix a market price, and prevent fluctuation by buying all that is offered at it, thus debarring lower quotations ; or, selling all that the market will take at it, thus preventing higher quotations.

1891. New York Herald, 31 May, 6, 2. Portuguese have also been well pegged, but other 'Internationals' have been featureless.

6. (old).—To run : cf. to peg away.

1884. Le Fanu [ Temple Bar, August, 484]. Away with me out of the hall-door, that chanced to be open, and down the street I pegged like a madman.

7. (venery). — To copulate : also to peg up (or down) : see Greens and Ride.

TO peg away (at or on), verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To work persistently ; to put in licks (q.v.). Cf. Fr. aller son petit bonhomme de chemin. Hence pegging = plodding.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 167. Large pieces of bread and good substantial slices of roast meat, at which we began pegging with all possible pertinacity.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick Papers, xxx. Peg awav, Bob, said Mr. Allen to his companion, encouragingly. Ibid., Bleak House (1852), xvii. 143. I should peg away at Blackstone and all those fellows with the most tremendous ardour.

1856. Bret Harte, Dow's Flat. But Dow in his well kept a peggin', in his usual ridiculous way.

1862. Thackeray, Philip, vii. He's been . . . pegging away at the olives and maceroons.

1864. Daily Telegraph, 19 Oct. The plan of pegging away must end either in the capture of Richmond, or in the utter discomfiture of the attacking force.

1864. Glasgow Herald, 10 Dec. In all ... I find only an echo of the words of their chief, to keep pegging away till the end comes.

1873. Pall Mall Gazette, Jan. To peg away continually is, as we well know, the loftiest idea of modem statesmanship, but it is necessary to find something to peg at, as even a statesman pegging away at nothing, and beating the air with vain motions may become ridiculous.

1879. Leland, Abraham Lincoln, xi. President Lincoln, when asked what we should do if the war should last for years, replied, " We'll keep pegging away."

1888. Black, House-boat, vii. The rain keeps pegging away in a steady, unmistakeable, business-like fashion.

18 [?]. American Hebrew, xxxix. 52. We have gradually worked and pegged along year by year.

2. (colloquial).—To fight.

To peg into, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To hit; to 'let drive.'

1834. Dowling, Othello Travestie, ii. 5. You peg it into him, and pray don't spare him.

1889. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 18 Jan. Peg into him, snacks.

To peg out, verb. phr. (colloquial).—i. To die : see Hop the Twig.

1870. Echo, 10 Mar. Then . . . the heart-broken man exclaimed, Oh, George, George, why did you peg out?

1884. Daily Telegraph, 9 Oct., 2. 3. He . . . was told that it was so bad that it might peg-out any minute.

1892. Daily Chronicle, 28 Mar., 5, 6. I thought ... I was going to peg out last night.

Pegasus.

163

Pell-mell.

1897. Mitford, Romance Cape Frontier, 11. xv. Better fun than pegging out with only the sooty-faced niggers prodding away at you.

2. (colloquial).—To be ruined; quisby (q.v.)

To be pegged out, verb, phr. (common).—See quot.

1886. Tit-bits, 31 July, 252. Being pegged out (i.e. too notorious) in the neighbourhood, he begged by proxy.

On the peg,//*/-, (military).— I. Under arrest ; roosted (q.v.).

2. (military).—Under stoppage of pay ; fined.

To put on the peg, verb, phr. (military).—To pull oneself up (or together) ; to be careful : as of drink, behaviour, etc.

To peg up. See verb., sense 7.

There are always more round pegsthanroundholes, phr. (colloquial).—There are always more candidates than places.

Old Peg, subs. phr. (old).— See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Peg. Old Peg, poor bard Suffolk or Yorkshire Cheese.

Pegasus. To break Pegasus's neck, verb. phr. (old).—To write halting verse.

1728. Pope, Duneiad, iii. 161. Some, free from rhyme or reason, rule or check, Break Priscian's head, and Pegasus's neck.

Peggy, subs, (common).—A slender poker, disposedly bent at right angles for the purpose of raking the fire : cf. rector and curate.

Peg-leg, subs. phr. (common).— A wooden legged man or woman.

Pego, subs, (venery).—The penis : see Prick. [Gr. pege = a fountain.]—Grose (1785) ; Halliwell (1847).

1709. Ward, London Spy, ii. 8. Pego like an upstart Hector . . . Would fain have rul'd as Lord Protector, Inflam'd by one so like a goddess, I scarce cou'd keep him in my codpiece.

Peg Puff, subs. phr. (Scots').— An old young woman : cf. old ewe dressed lamb-fashion.

Pegtops, subs, (obsolete).—In pi. — Trousers : very wide at the hips and narrowing down to a tight-fit at the ancles.

1859. Farrar, Julian Home, xx. His . . . tailor . . . produced . . . the cut-away coat, and mauve-coloured pegtops.

1861. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, Ixvi. Pegtops, and a black bowler hat.

1864. Le Fanu, Uncle Silas, xlvi. Dudley, in a flagrant pair of cross-barred pegtops . . . approaching our refined little party with great strides.

1892. MlLLlKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 24. 'Im with the peg-tops and pipe.

1892. Gunter, -Ifitj Dividends, iii. Trousers that are cut in what was then called the peg-top pattern.

Peg Trantum. Gone to Peg Trantum's, phr. (old).—Dead : see Hop the Twig. [Peg Trantum (provincial) = a wild romping girl.]—Grose (1785).

Pek. See Peck.

Pelican State, subs. phr. (American). — Louisiana. [From its armorial bearings, the bird being common in the State.]

Pell-mell, adv. (old : now recognised).—In confusion ; ' higgledypiggledy.'—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (17S5). Also as subs, and verb.

Pelt.

164

Pelt.

1591. Garrard, Art Warre, 299. That either they may enter Pesle Mesle, or kill some Chiestana, or make such a slaughter of Soldiours.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, 1. 3. To come pell-mell to handy blows.

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie (ist ed.), 109. Too't they fell, Roaring and Swaggering pell mell.

c.1709. The Female Scuffle [Durfey, Pills to Purge (1709), iv. 18]. Both PellMell fell to't, and made this uproar, With these Compliments, th'art a Baud, th'art a Whore.

bef. 1733. North, Examen (1740), 1. iii. 48, 151. He falls in pesle-mesle.

1764. W. Tavernier, Trav., 11. 16. They fought hand to hand with their sables, pesle mesle.

1767. Sterne, Tristam Shandy [Works (1830), ix. xxvi. 386.] To attack the point of the advancing counterscarp, and pelé mêle with the Dutch, to take the counterguard.

1837. Cooper, Europe, 11. 188. The revolution has made a pele mele in the Salons of Paris.

1850. Lytton, Harold, vu. iii. For some minutes the pele mele was confused and indistinct.

1865. Ouida, Strathmore, 1. iii. They fell pele mele one on another.

1892. Fennell, Stanford Diet., s.v. Pele-mele . . . The form pesle mesle is earlier Fr. (Cotg.). Early Anglicised as

pelle(y) melle(y).

PELT, subs. (old). — I. A hurry : hence to pelt (or c-o full pelt) = to go as hard or as fast as may be.

1843. Dickens, Christmas Carol. The clerk . . . ran home to Camden Town as hard as he could pelt.

2. (common). — A rage ; a passion ; a blow : also pelter. As verb. — to be violently angry ; pelting (or out for a pelter) — very angry, passionate.—B. E. (c.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1594. Shakspeare, Lucreece [Malone, Supp. i. 554]. Another smother'd seems to pelt and swear.

1608. Topsell, Hist. Serpents, 250. In a pelting chafe she brake all to peaces the wenches imagery worke.

1632. Vicars, Virgil [Nares]. Troyes Illioneus brave With a huge stone a deadly pelt him gave.

1677. Wrangling Lovers [Nares]. That the letter, which put you into such a pelt, came from another.

1688. Grubb, British Heroes [Percy, Religues], line 99. George hit th' dragon such a pelt.

1697. Unnatural Brother. Which put her ladyship into a horrid pelt.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 23. A pelt in the smellers ... set it going like fun.

1865. Kingsley, Hillyars and Burtons, iii. I wasn't really in a pelter.

3. (colloquial).—The skin. 1694-6. Dryden, Virgil, Géorgie,

iii. 672. A scabby tetter on their pelts will stick.

4. (old).—A miser ; a stingy fellow : also pelter.

1552. Huloet, Diet. s.v. A pelt or pinchbecke.

1577. Kendall, Flowers of Epigrammes. The veriest pelter pilde maie seme To have experience thus.

1587. Gascoigne, Works [Nares]. Yea let such pelters praite, Saint Needam be their speed, We need no text to answer them but this, the Lord hath neede.

5. (old).—Clothes ; sometimes in pi. : spec, garments made of ' peltry ' = the furs of beasts.

1567. Harman, Caveat [E. E. T. S. (1869), 76]. Many wyll plucke of their smockes, and laye the same vpon them in stede of their vpper sheete, and all her other pelte and trashe vpon her also.

1585. Nomenclator [Nares]. A pelt, or garments made of wolves and beares skin, which nobles in old time used to weare.

1630. Taylor, Works [Nares]. For they from sundry men their peltes can pull, Whereby they keepe themselves as warme as wooll.

Verb. i. See subs., sense 2. 2. (tailors').—To sew thickly.

Pelter.

165 Penance-board.

Pelter, subs, (colloquial).—1. A heavy shower : hence, a rain of missiles.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ' Dead Drummer.' The lightning kept flashing, the rain too kept pouring . . . what I've heard term'd a regular pelter.

1887. Religious Herald, 24 Mar. Presently, another shower came. . . . She shrugged up her shoulders and shut her eyes during the peltek.

2. (colloquial). — Anything large ; a whopper (q.v.).

1892. MiLLlKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 70. Down upon Sport, now, a pelter.

3. (tramps').—A whore-monger ; a mutton-monger (q.V.).

4. See subs., senses 2 and 4.

5. (obsolete).—See quot.

1827. j. Barrington, Personal Sketches (3rd Edition, 1869), i. 274-275. Every family then had a case of hereditary pistols, which descended as an heirloom ... for the use of their posterity. Our family pistols, denominated pelters, were brass.

Pelting, adj.—i. See Pelt, subs., sense 2.

2. (obs.).—Mean ; paltry ; contemptible.—B. E. (e. 1696).

1570. Ascham, Scholemaster, 191. Packing up pelting matters, such as in London commonly come to the hearing of the masters of Bridewell.

1578. North, Plutarch, 458. Hybla being but a pelting little town. Ibid., 69. My mind in pelting prose shall never be exprest, But sung in verse heroical, for so I think it best.

1581. Lvly, Alexander [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 140]. Good drink makes good blood, and shall pelting words spill it?

1597. Shakspeare, Richard II., ii. i. This land—Is now leas'd out . . . Like to a tenement or pelting farm.

1605. Shakspeare, Lear, ii. 3. From low farms, Poor, pelting villages, sheepcotes, and mills.

<r".i6i6. Beaumont and Fletcher, Bloody Brother, iii. 2. Your penny-pot poets are such pelting thieves.

Peltis-HOLE, subs. phr. (Old Scots').—A term of reproach: of women : cf. pelt, subs., sense 4. [That is ' tan-pit.']

15 t?]. Aberdeen Register\]kv\\^i=,oti\. Maly Awaill was conwickit . . . for myspersonyng of Besse Goldsmycht, calling her peltis hoyll.

Pempe, subs. (Winchester).—An imaginary object in search of which a new comer is sent : cf. pigeon's milk, strap-oil, the squad umbrella, &c. [From pempe moron proteroy — ' Send the fool farther.']

Pen, subs. (old).—i. A prison ; a penitentiary : see Cage.

2. (Scots').—A saucy man with a sharp nose—[Jamieson].

3. (colonial).—A three-penny piece.

4. (venery).—The female pudendum : see monosyllable. [Properly of sows.]

To have no ink in the pen, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.

3.1547. Wever, Lusty Juventus [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 97]. When there is no more ink in the pen*, I will make a Shift as well as other men. [* Note by Hazlitt : 'an indelicate figure, which occurs in jest-books and other early literature.']

Knight of the pen, subs, phr. (common).—An author or journalist.

1864. Reader, 22 Oct., 505. i. The best guard against any such spirit, is that the publisher should be a knight of the pen himself.

Penance-board, subs. phr. (old). —The pillory.—B. E. (/.1696) ; Grose (1785).

Pen-andlnk. 166 Penniless bench.

Pen-ANO-Ink, subs.phr. (rhyming). —A stink. Also as verb.

1892. Sporting Times, 29 Oct., ' Rhyme of Rusher,' 6. The air began . . .

to pen-and-ink.

Penang-lawyer, subs. phr. (common).—See quot. [Probably a corruption of Penang liyar, the wild areca.]

1865. Chambers's Encyclopedia, vn. 371. Penang lawyers, the commercial name for the stems of a species of palm imported from Penang for walking sticks. They are small and hard, and have a portion of the root-stock attached, which is left to form the handle.

Pen bank, subs. (Old Cant).—A beggars can.—Bailey (1728).

Pencil-fever, subs. phr. (racing). —A ' disease ' amongst racehorses, generally preceded by milking (q.v.). When a horse has been milked to the utmost, and can no longer, in spite of marketeers (q.v.), be kept at a short price, his true condition gets known, pencil-fever sets in, and every layer is anxious to pencil his name in his bettingbook, i.e. lay against him as a safe or stiff-'un (q.v.). Also milk-FEVERand market-fever. Whence penciller = a bookmaker : also Knight of the pencil ; and pencilling fraternity = the world of bookmakers.

1885. Punch, 7 March, 109. The knights of the pencil, Sir, hold that backers, like pike, are more ravenous in keen weather, and consequently easier to land.

1886-96. Marshall, 'Pomes' from tlie Pink 'Un ('The Merry Stumer'), 8. The knight of the pencil was wide awake.

1887. Field, 31 Dec. The race proved a busy one for the pencillers, the greater part of the runners being backed.

1888. Sporting Life, 13 Dec. The defeat of the favourite could not have brought much grist to the mill of the pencillers.

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 20 Mar. Last year some of the shrewdest of the pencilling fraternity were had over Theodolite when he won the Champion Hurdlerace at Sandown.

Pen-driver, subs. phr. (common). —A clerk or writer : cf. quilldriver.

1888. Century, xxxvii. 580. She . . . looked round on the circle of fresh-faced pen-drivers for explanation.

Pendulum, subs, (venery).—The penis : see Prick.

Pen-gun (or Penguin), subs. (Scots').—A talkative person : esp. of small stature. To crack like a pen-gun = to chatter.

Peninsular, subs, (oldcolloquial). —A veteran of the Peninsular war.

1845. Quarterly Review, clxvi. He speaks of the ruffling captain, who was, no doubt, an old Peninsular.

Pennif, subs, (back-slang).—A five pound note ; a finnup (q.v.).

1862. Comhill Mag., vi. 648. It is all in single pennifs on the England jug.

Penniless bench, subs.phr. (Old Cant).—Poverty. On the penniless bench = poverty stricken ; Pierce Penniless = an embodiment of impecuniosity : cf. Poverty Corner.

1579. Lvi.y, Euphues, D. 3. That everie stoole he sate on was pennilesse bench, that his robes were rags.

1630. Taylor, Works [Nares]. I entred like Pierce Pennilesse, altogether monyles.

rf. 1640. Massinger, City Madam, iv. i. Bid him bear up, he shall not Sit long on penniless bench.

Penny. 167 Penny-a-liner.

Penny, subs, (old).— 1. Money in general ; oof (q.v.). Hence 'a pretty penny ' = a large sum.

See Rhino.

1362. Langland, Piers Plowman, xiii. 246. Lo, how pane purchasede faire places and drede.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, ii. 2. i. I will not lend thee a penny.

1596. Shakspeare, King John, v. 2. What penny hath Rome borne, what men provided ?

1887. Contemporary Review, 1L 17.

Shah Sujah and Shere Ali cost India a pretty penny.

ci. 1892. Tennyson, Will Waterproof. That eternal want of pence Which vexes public men.

2. (American).—A cent.

[Various colloquial usages obtain : e.g. A penny for YOUR

thoughts = a call to persons in a brown study (q.v.) ; at first penny = at first bid or offer ; clean as a penny = (i) very clean, and (2) completely ; not a penny to bless oneself

with = very poor ; penny or paternoster = pay or prayers, love or money : cf. money or

marbles (GaSCOIGNE) ; to think one's penny silver = tO

have a good opinion of one's self ;

to turn a honest penny = to

earn money honestly ; to turn (or get) a penny = to make money, to endeavour to live

(dryden) ; penny wise and

pound foolish-careful in small matters and extravagant in large ones (Grose) ; penny plain or two-pence coloured — said of things varying in quality.]

1510. Foxe, Acts and Monuments [Cattley], iv. To turn a peny.

c. 1520. MaidEmlyn [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet. iv. 85]. His wyfe made hym so wyse, That he wolde tourne a peny twyse, And then he called it a ferthynge.

1546. Heywood, Proverbs, s.v. He had not one peny to dlisse him. Ibid. A peny for youk thought. Ibid. No

peny no paternoster.

1566. Gascoigne, Supposes, i. 1. Pity nor pension, penny nor paternoster should never have made nurse once to open her mouth in the cause.

1594. Greene and Lodge, Looking Glass for London and England, 123. Believe me, though she say that she "is fairest, I think my penny silver, by her leave.

1594. Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay [Century]. How cheer you, sir? a penny for your thoughts.

rf.1631. Capt. John Smith, Works, ii. 219. Her fraught, which she sold at the first penny.

1641. Peacham, Worth a Penny, 267. Penny wise and pound foolish.

C1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Penny-white. Penny-wise and poundfoolish, Sparing in a little and Lavish in a great Deal, save at the Spiggot and let it out at the Bung-hole. Ibid. To get a penny, to endeavour to Live. Ibid. To turn and winde the penny, to make the most of one's Money.

(/.1701. Dryden, Works [Century], Be sure to turn the penny.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, i. Neverout. . . . Come ; a Penny for your Thoughts. Miss. It is not worth a Farthing ; for I was thinking of you.

1740. Richardson, Pamela, 11. 56. I am as clean as a penny, though I say it.

1885. Daily Telegraph, 23 Sep. Override any arguments advanced by the supporters of a penny-wise and poundfoolish policy.

Penny-a-liner, subs. phr. (journalists').—A writer of paragraphs at the rate of a penny a line, or some such small sum ; a literary hack. Fr. un écrivain de ferblanc. Hence, penny-a-linerism.

1840. Thackeray, Paris Sketch Book, 232. As inflated as a newspaper document, by an unlimited penny-a-liner.

Penny-boy. 168 Penny-lattice-house.

1845. Punch; viii. 190. If the paper were limited in its knowledge to facts, what on earth would become of the pennya-liners.

1853. Diogenes, ii. 21. An idea worth, we should say, a very great deal more than a penny a line.

1857. Bradley, Verdant Green, n. viii. Young ladies, moreover, who, as penny-a-liners say, are possessed of considerable personal attractions.

1S65. Atlantic Monthly, June, 711. There must be an end to all temporal things, and why not to books. The same endless night awaits a Plato and a pennya-liner.

1872. Kington Oliphant, Standard English, 244. The penny-a-liners now write about a splendid shout.

Penny-boy, subs. phr. (old).—A boy who haunted the cattle markets on the chance of driving beasts to the slaughter-house, an ankle-beater (ç.v.). [They were paid a penny per head.]

Penny-dreadful (or -awful),

subs. phr. (colloquial).—A sensational story, newspaper, or print. [Published at a penny.]

See Awful, Blood-and-Thunder, and Shilling Shocker.

1883. Daily News, 30 Jan., 5, 2. Persons of culture are apt to speak harshly of penny dreadfuls, as they call the novels which appear in cheap weekly journals.

1885. Daily Telegraph, 3 Oct. From whatever penny dreadful she had got the chloroform incident.

1891. Morning Advertiser, 18 Mar. The chairman said he must have been reading some penny dreadpuls or other low literature.

1892. Pall Mall Gas., 17 Nov., y, 2. A victim of the penny dreadful [Title].

Penny-father (or peni-father),

subs. phr. (old).—A miser ; a

niggard. 1551. More, Utopia, 11. vi. And yet knowing them to be such niggish peny-fathers, that ... as long as they live, not the worth of one farthing of that heap of gold shall come to them.

1594. Drayton, Idea, x. 1262. To nothing fitter can I thee compare Than to the son of some rich penny-father.

1595. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Ghiarone, old gold laide vp by mizers, ... or pennie-fathers.

1607. Topsell, Beasts, 262. The great men, the rich mysers and pennyfathers.

d. 1612. Harrington, Epigrams, ii. 21. Alas, this reconfirms what I said rather, Cosmus has ever been a penny-father.

d. 1627. MiDDLETON, Father Hubbert's Tales [Century], Illiterate hinds, rude boors, and hoary penny-fathers.

1629. PasqutTs Jests [Halliwell]. Hee(good old penny-father) was glad of his liquor, and begänne to drinke againe.

d. 1693. Morgan, Pltoenix Brit., 33. Ranck penny-fathers scud, with their hälfe hammes Shadowing their calves, to save their silver dammes.

Penny-gaff, subs, (obsolete).—A low-class theatre or music-hall. [The charge for admission being a penny or two.] .S^quot. 1851. Also penny-room and du key : cj. penny-hop.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., 1. 42. In many of the thoroughfares of London shops have been turned into a kind of temporary theatre . . . Rude pictures of the performers are arranged outside, to give the front a gaudy and attractive look, and at night-time coloured lamps and transparencies are displayed to draw an audience. These places are called by the costers penny-gaffs ; and on a Monday night as many as six performances will take place, each one having its two hundred visitors.

7866. Annie Thomas, Walter Goring, 11. 131. The difference between a penny-gaff and a fair, or, as we call it, a canvas-clown.

Penny-hop, subs. phr. (old).—A country dancing club. [Each person paid a penny to the fiddler.]

Penny-lattice-house, subs. phr. (old). — A low ale-house : see Lush-crib and Red-lattice.

Penny-poet. 169 Pennyworth.

Penny-poet, subs. phr. (old).—A reproach ; a gutter rhymester.— Kemp, Dance to Norwich (1601).

Penny-pots, subs. phr. (common). —Pimples on the face of a hard drinker.

Pen ny-royal, adj. (American).— Poor ; common ; inferior.

Penny-starver (or -buster),subs, phr. (common).—A penny roll, or bun.

Penny-wedding, subs. phr. (Old Scots').—See quot. 1897.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, xxvii. We'll have a'to pay ... a sort of penny-wedding it will prove, where all men contribute to the young folks' maintenance.

1897. Brewer, Phrase and Fable, s.v. Penny-wedding. Wedding banquets in Scotland, to which a number of persons were invited, each of whom paid a small sum of money not exceeding a shilling. After defraying the expenses of the feast, the residue went to the newly-married pair, to aid in furnishing their house. Abolished in 1645.

Penny-weight, subs. (American).

—See quot.

1890. Daily Chronicle, 1 Dec. Wright and two American women . . . had pleaded guilty to . . . stealing . . . jewellery from the shops of jewellers in the City and the West-end. . . . Wright was well known as a penny-weight thief in America, which was explained as a thief who devoted his attention to robberies of this description.

Penny-white, adj. (old). —See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Penny-white, said of her to whom Fortune has been kinder than Nature.

Pennyworth (or Penn'orth),

subs, (colloquial). —One's money'sworth ; a right equivalent ; what's owing and more : a oood penny

worth = a royal bargain : cf. Robin Hood's pennyworth ; to cast pennyworths = to count the cost.—B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785).

1534. Udall, Polster Doister, iv. vii. 75 [Arber]. I will haue some penyworth, I will not leese [lose] all.

1588. Marprel. Epistle, 27 [Arber]. If you deny me this request I will . . . haue my peniworths of them for it.

1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado, ii. 3. We'll fit the kid fox with a penyworth.

1605. Chapman, All Fools, ii. I do not doubt, But t'have my pennyworths of these rascals one day.

1678. Dryden, Prot, to Œdipus, 33. You needs will have your penn'orths of the play, And come resolved to damn, because you pay.

1695. Locke, Reas. of Chr. [Ency.]. The priests sold the better pennyworths, and therefore had all the custom.

1713. Swift, Journal to Stella, 25 March, 62. The bishop . . . has bought abundance of pictures, and Dr. Pratt has got him very good pennyworths.

1717. Cibber, Non-Juror, iv. Col. One would think the villain suspects his footing ... is but short-lived : he is in such haste to have his pennyworths out on't.

1724. Defoe, Tour thro' East. Counties, 21. It is very good farming in the marshes, because the landlords let good pennyworths.

1748. Montague [Dodsley, Poems, in. 287]. Behold this equipage by Mathers wrought, With fifty guineas (a

good pen'orth !) bought !

1757. Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac, f. 1758. Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths.

1771. Smollett, Humph. Clinker [Gibbings (1900), i. 54]. Mistress said, if I didn't go, I should take a dose of bumtaffy ; and so remembering how it worked Mrs. Gwyllim a penn'orth, I chose rather, &c.

i860. Eliot, Mill on Floss, in. vi. My mother gets a good penn'orth in' picking feathers an' things.

Pensioner.

Pepper.

Pensioner, subs, (venery).—i. A prostitute's bully ; fancy-man (q.v.)-. see Petticoat.—Vaux (1819).

1887. A. Barrere, Argot and Slang, 272. Prostitute's bully, or pensioner.

2. (University: Cambridge).— One who pays a ' pensio ' or rent for rooms in College : at Oxford a Commoner (q.v.).

1780. Mansel [Whiblev, Cap and Gown]. At Cambridge Commencements the time When gentlemen come for degrees, And with wild-looking cousins and wives Through a smart mob of Pensioners squeeze.

Pent (The), subs. (old).—Pentonville prison : see Cage.

1857. Punch, 31 Jan., 49. For if Guv'ment wos here, not the Alderman's Bench, Newgit, soon 'ud be bad as the Pent, or ' the Tench.'

Penthouse-nab, subs. phr. (old). —A broad-brimmed hat : see Golgotha. — B. E. (1696) ; Grose (1785).

Penwiper, subs, (venery).—1. The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

2. (common).—A handkerchief : see Fogle.

People, subs, (colloquial). — Any sort of allies or connections— racial, parental, hired, voluntary : with or without the possessive. At Harrow = relations or visitors: 'I've got people coming down.'

i₃[?]. English Gilds [E. E. T. S.], 332. Where-thurgh the Kynges lege peopell scholde be disceuyd.

1440. Generydes [E. E. T. S.1, i, 1967. And what peopvll they brought among them three, Mynne Auctour seith it is a wonder to see.

1474. Caxton, Game of the Chesse

[Kington-Oliphant, New English, i. 331. Caxton is fond of using peple for homines ; a queen should spring of (from) honest peple, p. 27 (ed. Axon) ; we now often use my people for my family].

1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, iii. 3. You slew great number of his people.

1743. Pococke, Description of the East, i. 33. A stranger . . . being conducted ... to the Pacha's coffee-room, is civilly entertained by his people with sweetmeats and coffee.

1790. Bruce, Source of the Nile, 1. 141. Some of our people had landed to shoot.

1841. Lever, Charles O'Malley, xxxvi. Our people have not been engaged.

Pepper, subs, and verb. (old).—1. Vigorous or persistent action. Thus pepper, verb. = (1) to chastise desperately by word or deed ; and (2) to pain or inconvenience or punish : as a pugilist by blows, cannon by shot, or a whore by infection. Whence (3) violent and ardent motion : e.g. pelting rain, heavy betting, or (in skipping) when the turn of the rope is increased from a slow pace to salt (q.v.), and then to the quickest possible or tepper (Fr. du vinaigre). Derivatives are pepperer = (1) forcible or rigorous attack, and (2) a hottempered, active, or violent person ; peppering = a fierce attack. As adj. (peppering-or peppery) = angry ; and peppered = badly hurt, or hurt to the death (see Pipped) : usually with a hint at pox or clap.

1589. Nashe, Retume of Pasquill, {Works, i. 97]. Mar. It is a common reporte that the faction of Martinisme hath mightie freends. Pas. Thats a bragge Marforius : yet if there be any such ... I wyll picke out a time to pepper them.

Pepper.

iyi Pepper.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet', iii. 1. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world.

1598. Shakspeare, 1 Hen. IV., ii. 4. ' Pray God you have not murdered some of them.' 'Nay, that's past praying for : I have peppered two of them.'

1607. Dekker, Northward Hoe, ii. i. Hor. Hold up, my fine girl—what ghosts haunt thy house ? Doll. I have a clothier's factor or two, a grocer that would fain pepper me ... a Dutch merchant that would spend all . . . to take measure of my Holland sheets when I lie in 'em.

1615. Stephens, Essays and Characters [Nares]. You snarle ... As if you had beene pepperd with your wench.

1622. Massinger, Virgin Martyr, iv. i. Gone, gone ; he's peppered. It is thou Hast done this act infernal.

1652. Shirley, Brothers, v. 3. I have made him sure too, I have pepper'd him ... I have cut his throat.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pepperd off, Damnably Clapt or Poxt. Ibid. Pepper proof, not Clapt or Poxt.

c.1707. Durfey, Pills to Purge, arc. (1707), ii. 211. Their Tails are pepper'd with the Pox, And that you're welcome to.

1712. Swift, Journ. to Stella, Feb. Letter 20, 41. Sir Thomas Hamner is . . . drawing up a representation of the state of the nation to the queen ... I believe it will be a pepperer.

1764. Hara, Midas, ii. 4. And I'll warrant we'll pepper his jacket.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, . . . Showers of Randall's shot . . . fell peppering hot.

1836. M. -Scott, Tom Cringle, i. The French, . . . are . . . sufficiently strong to pepper us very decently in the outgoing.

1851. Mayhew, London Lab., in. 109. I felt it when the doctor dressed it, for it gave me pepper taking the plaster off.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, i. iv. What do they do with the pea-shooters? inquires Tom. Do wi'em ! Why, peppers every one's faces as we comes near.

1856. C Reade, Nez'er Too Late, xxxiv. Now don't you be so peppery, father, said she. There is nothing to make a quarrel about.

1863. Literary Times, 14 Mar. There were several shops, where, under pretence of a small purchase, you could get pepper to a ' pony ' on any pending race.

1865. Dickens, Mutual Friend, 1. vi. It's my way to make short cuts at things. I always was a pepperer.

1868. Ouida, Under Two Flags, iii. Some peppering one or other of the favorites, hotly.

1882. Athenceum, 28 Nov. The peppery governor promptly refused to see such people.

1884. Field, 6 Dec. The peppering of the rain on the tent.

1885. Casselfs Sat. Journal, 19 Sep. The vessel at which we were now peppering away.

1891. Gould, Double Event, 135. It seemed to be an understood thing that the horse was a 'dead un,' and they peppered him accordingly. Ibid. 183. Messrs. Isaacs and Moss peppered Caloola to their heart's content.

1888. Sporting Life, 15 Dec. Gower sent his man down twice, and, following up, administered pepper. Ibid. 6 Dec. Continued to pepper his canister with his left.

1891. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, 23. Will she be armed, I wonder. It would then make the oddest of all peppering matches.

1892. Anstey, Voces Populi, ' At the Military Exhibition,' 72. Never mind. You peppered 'im. I sor the feathers floy !

1897. Mitford, Romance Cape Frontier, 11. xii. Twenty of the best shots are told off to pepper the retreating enemy.

2. Verb. (University). — To mark-in the accents of a Greek exercise.

3. Verb, (common).—To humbug ; to gammon (ç.v.). Also to throw pepper in the eyes (or to use the pepper-box).

Pepper 172 Peps t.

To have (or take) pepper in the nose, verb. phr. (old).— I. To be testy ; to offend quickly ; to get angry. Fr. la moutarde lui monte ate nez.

1362. Lanüland, Piers Plowman, xv. 197. There are fui proude-herted men paciente of tonge, And boxome as of Derynge to burgeys and to lordes, And to pore peple hav peper in the nose.

rf.1529. Skelton[Dyce, Works, ii. 38]. For drede of the red hat Take peper in the nose.

1547. Heywood, Dialogues, sig. G. Hee taketh pepper in the nose, that I complayne Vpon his faultes.

1570. Elderton, Lenton Stuffe [Halliwell]. For every man takes pepper i' the nose For the waggynge of a strawe.

1578. North,Plutarch, 173. Wherewith enraged all (with pepper in the nose) The proud Megarians came to us, as to their mortal foes.

1590. Tarleton, Newes out of Purgatorie [Halliwell]. Myles, hearing him name the baker, took straight pepper in the nose, and, starting up, threw of his cardinals roabes.

1595. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Montare su la Bica, to take pepper in the nose, to be sore angrie.

1607. Marston, What you Will, Induction. He's a chollerick gentleman : he will take pepper in the nose instantly.

1611. Chapman, May-Day, iii. Because I entertained this gentleman . . . he takes pepper i' the nose.

1639. Optic Classe of Humors [Nares]. A man is teisty, and anger wrinckles his nose, such a man takes pepper in the nose.

1653. MiDDLETON and Rowley, Spanish Gipsy [Anc. Dr.,iv. 190] Take you pepper in your nose, you mar our sport.

c.1662. Bump Songs [Nares]. Alas, what take ye pepper in the nose To see king Charles his colours worne in pose ?

1670. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn (1883), 174]. s.v.

PEPPER-AND-SALT, adj. (common). —Light grey ; mingled black and white : applied to fabrics.

1843. Dickens, Chuzz/ewit, xxvii. A short-tailed pepper-and-salt coat.

1876. Eliot, Daniel Deronda, xlii. A man in a pepper-and-salt dress.

Pepper-box, subs. phr. (old).—A revolver.

The Pepper-boxes (or castors), subs. phr. (common).— Domes or cupolas : specifically the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, but applied to any domeshaped building : cf. Boilers.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xxii. Think of half a mile of pictures at the Louvre ! Not but that there are a score under the old pepper-boxes in Trafalgar Square as fine as the best here.

1887. Frith, Autobiog., i. 56. What the students called the pepper-box, namely, the centre cupola of the new National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.

1901. Daily Telegraph, 2 Feb., 10, 5. Godalming's Pepperbox is to be preserved. This is the local appellation by which the old market house and former town hall is known, and the title was bestowed on it because the shape of the structure, which stands in the middle of the main street, is more like that article of domestic use than anything else.

See Pepper, verb. 3.

Pepperidge. To pay the pepperidge, verb. phr. (provincial). —To pay one's footing (q.v.) : as a schoolboy has to pepperidge his mates when he puts on a new suit of clothes.

Pepper's Dragoons, subs. phr. (military).—The Eighth Hussars.

Pepst, adj. (old).—Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

1577. Kendall, Plowers of Epigrammes [Nares]. Thou drunken faindst thyself of late ; Thou three daies after slepst : How wilt thou slepe with drinke in deede, When thou art thoroughly pepst?

Perambulator. 173

Perisher.

Perambulator, subs, (streets').— See quot.

1870. Hazlewood and Williams, Leave it to Me, i. Joe's a perambulator ; . . . a perambulating greengrocer, called by vulgar people a costermonger.

Perch, subs, (colloquial).—A high seat ; a resting place.

To drop (hop or fall) off

(or tip over) the perch, Verb.

phr. (common). — To die: see Hop the Twig. Also to perch.

1594. Nashe, Nu/. Traveller [GroSart, Works, v. 41]. It was inough [in the time of the ' sweating sickness '] if a fat man did but trusse his points, to turne him ouer the pearch.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, nr. Prol. Through negligence, or want of ordinary sustenance, they both tipt over the perch.

1748. Richardson, Clarissa, vi. 350. Her late husband . . . tipt off the perch in it, neither knowing how to yield, nor knowing how to conquer.

1821. Scott, Pirate, xl. He . . . expired without a groan. I always thought him a d—d fool . . . but never such a consummate idiot as to hop the perch so sillily.

1886. Sporting Times, 3 Aug. 1, 3. Well, s'pose I perched first? Well, replied Pitcher, I should just come in where you were lying in the cold-meat box, and I should whisper in your ear, etc.

TO knock off the perch, verb. phr. (common).—To upset ; to defeat : to do for [q.v.).

Percher, subs. (Winchester College).—A Latin cross laid horizontally against the name of an absentee on any roll.

Perfect-lady, subs. phr. (common).—A prostitute : see Tart.

Perfectly dem my, adj. (American cadet).—Stylishly dressed.

Perforate, verb, (venery).—1. To take a maidenhead : see Greens and Ride.

Perform, verb, (colloquial).—1. To carry out a design : generally a dishonest one ; to play ; to work. to perform on A flat = to cozen a fool.

2. (venery).—To copulate : see Greens and Ride. Hence, performer = a whoremonger.

Perqer. See Purger.

Pericranium (or pericrane^wAt.

(old : now recognised). — The head or skull. [Properly the lining membrane of the bones of the skull.].—B. E. (r.1696).

1690. Dukfey, Collin's Walk, i. Attempt to storm thy pericrane.

Periodicity-rag, subs. phr. (common).—The menstrual cloth ; the flag (q.v.).

Perished, adj. (colloquial). — Starved with cold : hence, collapsed, as from fear or pain.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery under Arms, xli. Says Aileen, looking regularly perished, You don't mean to say they've taken him ?

Perisher, subs, (common).—1. A short-tailed coat ; a jacket : also bum(or arse-) perisher.

2. (common). — A consummation ; an extreme.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery under Arms, xli, Then he most times went in an awful perisher—took a month to it, and was never sober day or night the whole time.

1890. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 7 Nov. He went in a perisher last night, laying against Sir Tatton Sykes for the Derby with a half-a-dozen thousand pound notes in his hands, all of which he will lose.

Periwinkle. 174 Persimmon.

Periwinkle (or Perriwinkle),

subs. (old).—I. A wig. [A corruption of periwig]. Fr. une panoufle, un gazon, and (thieves') un boubane.—B. E. (1696).

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Perks, subs, (vulgar).—Perquisites.

1887. Fun, 30 March, 138. The perks, etc, attached to this useful office are not what they were in the ' good old times.'

1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 27 Sep., 2, 2. How incorrigible the City Corporation is, to be sure, in a matter of its perks.

1890. Traill, Saturday Songs, 68. The position ain't high, and the perks isn't weighty.

1897. Sporting Times, 13 Mar., 1, 2. She's of value in a thousand ways, she never looks for perks, Even when she takes a holiday she stops at home and works.

To perk up, verb. phr. (old colloquial).— 1. To plume oneself ; to adorn.

1691. Shakspeare, Henry VIII., ii. 3. 'Tis better to be lowly born . . . Than to be perked up in a glistering grief, And wear a golden sorrow.

2. (colloquial). — To recover from sickness.—B. E. (c. 1696).

Board of Perks, subs. phr. (common).—Board of Works.

1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 27 Sep. Provincial boards of perks. [Title.]

perkin, .TwAr. (old). — 1. Weak cider or perry.—Grose (1785).

2. (obsolete). — Beer. [From Barclay, Perkin & Co.]

Perking, subs. (old).—See quot. c. 1696 : as adj. = peering ; inquisitive.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Perking, the late D of M. Also any pert, forward, silly Fellow.

1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, iv. He is a tall, thin, bony man with . . . little restless, perking eyes.

Pern el. See Panel.

Pernicated, adj. (American).— Swaggering ; full of side (q.v.).

Pernickity (or pernicketty), adj.

(Scots'). — Fastidious ; over-particular.—Jamieson.

1886. Pop. Sei. Monthly, xxvi. 52. This I say for the benefit of those who otherwise might not understand what pernickity creatures astronomers are.

1888. Harper's Mag., Eng. ed. viii. 875. Any white man . . . grows lame and impatient at such confining and pernickety work.

Perpendicular, subs, (common). —i. A stand-up lunch ; an evening party where the majority of the guests stand ; an upright position.

1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. He soon resumed the perpendicular, and went for his antagonist, who evaded him easily.

1882. Edna Lyall, Donovan, ix. I duly attended my mother to three fashionable crowds, perpendiculars is the best name for them, for there is seldom more than standing room.

2. (venery). — Coition taken standing : cf. horizontal. Also upright and knee-trembler.

Persimmon, subs. (American colloquial).—[A species of wild plum; in America as common, south of latitude 42⁰, as is the blackberry in England. Its fruit and hard wood are much esteemed. The hucklebeny is akin to the whortleberry.] Among popular phrases are : To rake up the persimmons = to pocket the stakes or spoils, to rake (or pull) in the pieces-(q.V.) ; the longest

Perspire.

175

Pet.

pole gets (or knocks) the

most persimmons = the best man wins, the strongest party gains the day [the persimmon tree sometimes attains to 60 ft.] ;

the persimmon is above the

huckleberry = a confession of inferiority; nota huckleberry to one's persimmon = not comparable ; that's persimmon (or all persimmon) =' That's fine.'

Perspire, verb, (colloquial).—To melt away ; to vanish.

1897. Maugham, 'Liza of Lambeth, iii. The money's perspired like . . . It got less.

Persuader, subs, (common).—A pistol or revolver ; a spur or digger (q.v.) ; a jemmy (q.v.) or other burglar's tool ; the tongue.

1785. Grose, Vulg: Tongue, s.v. Persuaders . . . The kiddey clapped his persuaders to his prad, but the traps boned him.

1841. Léman Rede, Sixteen String Jack, ii. 4. Dra (showing pistols). I came in with my persuader.

1886-96. Marshall, Une Affaire d'Honneur [' Pomes,' no]. With finger nails she soon was going strong ; As persuaders they were nobby, for it seems it was her hobby To invariably wear them rather long.

Persuading-plate, subs. phr. (thieves').—An iron disk used in forcing safes : it revolves on a pivot, and is fitted with a cutting point.

Pert, adj. (colloquial).—Impudent. Pert end up (American) — in good spirits ; cheerful.

Perthshire Greybreeks (The),

subs. phr. (military).—The 2nd Batt. Cameronian(ScottishRifles): formerly the 90th (Perthshire Volunteers) Regiment of Foot.

Per usual. See Usual.

Pesky, adj. (American colloquial).

■—Troublesome ; plaguy : also, as adv. = excessively.

1843-4. Haliburton, Attache, viii. He might have known how to feel for other folks, and not funkify them so peskily. Ibid, xxviii. I'm peskily sorry about that mare.

1869. H. B. Stowe, Oldtown Folks, 66. I got caught in those pesky blackberry-bushes.

1881. Harper's Monthly, May, 872. I'm fishin' for pickerel, 'n I vaow they're pesky scarce.

Pester, subs. (American colloquial).—A trouble ; a bother.

1869. H. B. Stowe, Oldtown Folks, 119. The pester on't was they allers lost.

Pestle, subs, (venery).—r. The

penis : see Prick : cf. mortar = female pudendum. Also, as verb. — to copulate : see Ride.

2. (old).—A constable's staff.

3. (old).—A leg : cf. 'pestle of pork,' long and still in vogue.

d.1529. Skelton, Elynour Rummyng [Dyce, i. 108]. Her kyrtell she did vptucke An ynche aboue her kne, Her legges that ye might se . . . Myghty pestels ... As fayre and as whyte As the fote of a kyte.

See Knight.

Pestle-head, subs. (old).—A blockhead : see Buffle.

Pet, subs, (colloquial). — i. An angry mood ; a tantrum ; a fling of temper. —B. E. (c. 1696); Bailey (1748); Grose (1785). Hence, to be petted = to take offence.

1548. Barclay, Eclogue, iv. Of rascolde poètes yet is a shamfull rable . . . Though all their cunning be scantly worth a pet.

Pet. 176 Peter.

163^. Milton, Comus [Aldine], 721. Should in a pet of temperance feed.

1685. Sir P. Hume, Narrative, 42. As we were to goe, several gentlemen inclined to have gone with us, but the Erie petting at it, forbare and stayed there.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 109. They may take themselves off in a pet sometimes, the itch of writing brings them back again.

1766. Brooke, Fool 0/ Quality, 1. 193. I would have sent to enquire after them, but I was petted at their neglect of us during our long illness.

2. (old : now recognised).—A darling : also in sarcasm. [In quot. 1607 = a delicate young thing.] Also peat. Whence, as verb. = to fondle.

d.1529. Dunbar [Kington-Oliphant, New English, i. 361-3. Dunbar wrote ... in Northern English . . . There are the Celtic words tartan . . . pet (darling) . . . tedder (tether), brat].

1562-77. Gascoign [Chalmers, Eng. Poets, ii. 485.] I grooped in thy pocket pretty peate, And found a Lemman which I looked not.

1578. King Lear [Nares]. To see that proud pert peat, our youngest sister.

1581. Riche, Farewell to Mil. Prof. [ShakspeareSoe., 63]. Have you founde your tongue, now pretie peate ? then wee most have an almon for parrat. How durst thou, strompette, chalenge me to bee thy father.

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of Shrew, i. i. A pretty peat ! 'tis best Put finger in the eye.

1605. Jonson, Chapman, &c, Eastward Hoe [Old Plays (Reed), iv. 279.] God's my life, you are a peat indeed.

1607. Dekker and Webster, Westward Hoe, ii. 2. Mon. She's not troubled with the green sickness still, is she ? Bird. The yellow jaundice . . . Troth she's as good a peat !

1629. Boyd, Last Battell, 324. Grosse euill thoghts fedde and petted with yeelding and consent.

rf.1631. Donne, Poems, 90. The wench a pretty peat, And (by her eye) well fitting for the seat.

1632. Massinger, Maid of Honour, ii. 2. You are a pretty peat, indifferent fair too.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge (1866), 168]. I was her pet, and came in for the caresses of all the men that frequented the house.

Petard. Hoist with a petard (or petar), phr. (old).—Caught in one's own trap ; involved in danger meant for others.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii. 4, 207. For 'tis the sport to have the enginer Hoist with his own petar.

Pete Jenkins, subs. phr. (circus). —An auxiliary clown. [The original Pete Jenkins (c. 1855) had a line of business (q.v.) : he planted ' rustics ' in the audience, and played them thence.

Peter, subs. (Old Cant).—1. A portmanteau, box, trunk, bag, or purse : generic for any parcel, bundle, or package, large or small. Whence peter-biter (-claimer, or -man) = a carriage thief (see Drag) ; peter-drag (-hunting, or -lay) = robbery from vehicles of all kinds ; peterhunting jemmy = a small crowbar used in smashing the chains securing luggage to a vehicle.— Grose (1785) ; Vaux (1819) ;

• Bee (1823).

1724. Harper, Frisky Molfs Song [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 41]. To you of the Peter Lay.

1728. Street Robberies Considered, ' Glossary,' s.v. Peter.

1752. Smollett, Faithful Narrative [Henley, Works (1901), xii. 184]. For snabbling his peter and queer Joseph.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, x. If so be as your name's Paul, may you always rob Peter [a portmanteau] in order to pay Paul.

1863. Story of a Lancashire Thief, . Sometimes he'd turn peterman, and e had been generally lucky at it

Peter.

177 Peter Collins.

187g. Horsley, in Macmillan's Mag-!, Oct. While I was looking about I piped a little pf.ter (parcel). Ibid. After we left the course we . . . got a peter (cash-box) with very near a century of quids in it.

2. (Australian prison). — A punishment cell : see Box.

3. (poachers').—A partridge.

4. (venery).—The penis : also St. Peter {q.v.) : see Prick.

5. Intj. (old).—An oath : cf. Mary !

6. See Peter-see-me.

7. (old gaming).—See quot.

1762. Wilson, The Cheats, iv. 1. Did not I . . . teach you . . . the use of up-hills, down-hills, and petars.*

[* Note. Terms applicable to false or loaded dice, or to the knavish mode of handling them.]

Verb, (gaming).—1. To call (in whist) for trumps by discarding an unnecessarily high card : see Blue-peter.

1887. Notes and Queries, 7 S. iv. 356. The Blue Peter ... is always used when a ship is about to start. . . . Calling for trumps, or petering, is derived from this source.

2. (old).—To cease word or deed ; to stow it (q.v.).—Vaux (1819).

3. (auctioneers').—To run up prices : see Peter Funk.

To peter out, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To fail ; to become exhausted.

1876. Boston Post, s May. The speculator recommended a gentleman . . . to sell out at any sacrifice, as the mines were petered out.

1877. New York Tribune, 28 Feb.

The influence of the Hon. -, formerly a

Democratic politician of some prominence, seems to have quite petered out.

1888. Missouri Republican, 15 Feb. The Boston Herald thinks the Hill boom is petering out.

1893. Bret Harte, Dow's Flat. Then the bar petered out, And the boys wouldn't stay.

1899. M. A. P., 8 Ap., 315, 2. In 1869 rumours went abroad that the Cornstock mines were petering out.

TO go (or pass) through St.

Peter's needle, verb. phr. (old).—To be severely disciplined: of children.

TO rob (or borrow from)

Peter to pay (or clothe) Paul, verb. phr. (old).—To take of one to give to another ; to manœuvre the apostles (q.v.). —Grose (1785). [John Thirleby, the first and only bishop of Westminster (1541-50), ' having wasted the patrimony allotted by the King (Hen. VIII.) for the support of the see was translated to Norwich, and with him ended the bishopric of Westminster.'— Haydn, Dignities • see quot. 1661.]

1548. Barclay, Eclogues [Percy Soc, xxii. p. xvii.] They robbe St. Peter to cloth St. Paul.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, in. iii. You may make a shift by borrowing from Peter to pay Paul ['faciez vers ure ' = Lat. versurum /acere], and with other folks earth fill up his ditch.

1661. Heylin, Hist. Ref. Ch. Eng., i. 256. The lands of Westminster so delapidated by Bishop Thirlby that there was almost nothing to support the dignity . . . Most of the lands invaded by the great men of the Court, the rest laid out for reparation to the Church of St. Paul, pared almost to the very quick in those days of rapine. From hence came first that significant byeword (as is said by some) of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Peter Collins (theatrical).—See quot.

Petticoat.

1889. J. C. Coleman [S. J. & G, s.v. Peter Collins.] A gentleman never to be found . . . [on whom] young aspirants . . . are told to call. . . . The youth is sent from roof to cellar, and, finally, is generally let down a trap and left to get out as best he can. The password at circuses is the "green-handled rake," which the youth is requested to ask for. He is generally settled with a pill of horse-dung when they have had enough of him.

Peter Funk, subs. phr. (American).—i. A decoy at a mock auction ; also, at genuine but petty sales, a runner-up of prices ; a puffer (q.v.). Hence (2) the personification of petty deceit and humbug.

Peter-Grievous, subs. phr. (common).—A fretful child.

Peter-Gunner, subs. phr. (old). —An amateur gun ; a plasterer (q.v.).— Grose (1785).

1614. The Cold Year [Nares]. _ It was a shame that poore harmlesse birds could not be suffered to save themselves under a bush . . . but that every paltrie Peter-gunner must shoote fire and brimstone at them.

1633. Shirley, Witty Fair One, ii. 2. I smell powder . . . this petergunner should have given fire.

Peter Lug, subs. phr. (old).—A laggard in drinking. — B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

Peter-man, subs. phr. (old).—1. A fisherman : specifically ' those who formerly used unlawful engines in catching fish in the river Thames.'—Bailey (1728). Whence, peter-boat = a fishingboat : specifically one built sharp, bow and stern, for quick handling. [In allusion to Math. iv. 18.]

1605. Marston, Jonson, and Chapman, Eastward Hoe, ii, 3. Yet his skin is too thick to make parchment ; 'twould make good boots for a Petekman to catch salmon in.

1607. Dekker, Northward Hoe, ii. i. If we have but good draughts in my peter-boat, fresh salmon, you sweet villains, shall be no meat with us.

1657. Howell, Londinop., 14. There are a great number of other kind of fishermen—belonging to the Thames, called Hebber-men, Petermen, and Trawlermen.

2. (thieves').—See Peter.

Peter-see-me, subs. phr. (old).— A Spanish wine. [From Sp. ' Pedra Ximenes,' the famous cardinal.] Also Peter, Petersa-mene, and Peter-semine.

1617. Brathwaite, Vandunk's Four Humours [Palmer in Stanford]. I am phlegmaticke as may be, Peter see me must inure me.

1620. Beaumont and Fletcher, Chances, v. 3. By Canary thus I charge thee, By Britain metheglin, and peeter, Appear and answer me in meeter.

1623. MlDDLETON, Spanish Gypsy, iii. 1. Peter-see-me shall wash thy noul, And malaga glasses for thee.

1630. Taylor, Works, sig. 2 Fff 4 r. i. Peter-see-mea or head strong Charnico.

Petman, subs, (provincial).—The smallest pig in a litter ; a tantony-pig (q.v.).

Petronel. Sir Petronel Flash, subs. phr. (old).—A swaggerer; a penniless ruffler ; ras quot. 1595.

1595. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, 585. Sir Petronel Flash, a boasteing fellowe, a braggadochio.

1605. Jonson, Chapman, and Marston, Eastward Hoe, Dram. Pers. Sir Petronel Flash.

[?]. Brit. Bibl., ii. 167. Give your scholler degrees, and your lawyer his fees, And some dice for Sir Petronell Flash.

Petticoat, subs, (colloquial).—A woman : also as adj. Hence, petticoat-affair — a matter with a woman in it ; petticoatgovernment = female homerule ; petticoat-hold = a life

Petticoat.

179 Pettifogger.

interest in a wife's estate (Grose, 1785) ; petticoat-merchant = a whoremonger (see Molrower); petticoat-pensioner (squire, or -knight, or squire of the petticoat) = a male keep (q.v.) ; petticoat-hunting = whoring ; petticoat-led = infatuated of a woman ; petticoat-loose (of women) ='always ready'; up one's petticoat = unduly intimate, &c. — B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785).

1607. Dekker, Northward Hoe, v. i. Where's this wench to he found '? here are all the moveable petticoats of the house.

1662. Rump Songs, ii. 41. The late Petticoat Squire From his shop mounted higher.

1690. Dryden, Amphitryon, i. 1. Venus may know more than both of us, For 'tis some petticoat affair.

1690. Wilson, Belphegor, iv. 2. Thou shalt supply my place—all petticoats are sisters in the dark.

c. 1707. Old Song, 'The Irish Jigg' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), iv. 181]. In short I found it was one of the Petticoat sort . . . And then I went to her, resolving to try her.

1717. Prior, Lucius [Epilogue]. Fearless the petticoat contemns his Frowns ; The Hoop secures whatever it surrounds.

1725. Bailey, Coll. Erasmus, 186. What does this petticoat-preacher do here ? Get you in and mind your kitchen.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 356. This . . . made me suspect that he was tied to the string of some petticoat in the hamlet.

1766. Brooke, Foot of Quality, 1. 199. I am quite impatient to be instructed in the policies and constitution of this your petticoat government.

1830. Buckstone, Cabdriver, i. Do you think the gentlemen are to have all the loaves and fishes ? Petticoats must be provided for.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, 11. 6. Disarmed—defied by a petticoat . . . What ! afraid of a woman ?

1849. Kingsley, AltonLocke, xxvii. Out came the very story which I had all along dreaded, about the expurgation of my poems, with the coarsest allusions to petticoat influence.

1897. Mitford, Romance of Cape Frontier, 1. i. There was a petticoat in the case.

See Smock.

Petticoat Lane, suds. phr. (common).—Middlesex Street, E. : a well-known rendezvous of oldclothes dealers, mostly Jews. [In Yiddish = Pilomet = the initials (in Hebrew) P. L. Also Doverstreet, Ticcadilly, the seat of the Court milliner.

1887. /. D. B., 251. ' What do you think'?' ejaculated Soloman, falling back on Pilomet for his expletives.

1901. D. Telegraph, 9 Nov., 5, 5The dovecotes of Petticoat-lane, as Dover-street is now called, and its vicinity are fluttered by rumours of a great invasion of London during the Coronation festivities by representatives of French firms.

Pettifogger, subs, (old: now recognised).—An attorney of the baser sort : a sharking lawyer. Hence (generally) = one given to mean or underhand practices, and as verb. = to conduct business in a sharp or paltry way. Whence derivatives: Pettifoggery, Pettifogging, and Pettifogulise.—Grose (1785).

157C. Fleming, Panopl. Epist., 320. As for this pettie fogger, this false fellowe that is in no crédite or countenance.

1577. Harrison, Desc. of Eng. [Holinshed's Chron. (Shakspeare Soc), i. 206]. Brokers betweene the pettie koggers of the lawe, and the common people.

1588. M. Kykfin, Terence's Andria, iv. 5. I should be exclaimed vpon to bee a beggerly fogger, greedily hunting after heritage.

c. 1600. Norden, Spec. Brit. Cornw. (1728), 27. The baser sorte . . . verie litigious . . . whereof the Fogers and Petie Lawiers . . . gett . . . great advauntage.

Petty. 180 Pharaoh.

1604. Marston, Malcontent, i. 6. Pas. You will know me again, Malvole. Mal. O ay, by that velvet. Pas. Ay, as a pettifogger by his buckram bag.

1610. Webster, DevtTs Law Case, iv. i. Ari. Are you her knave. San. No, sir, I am a clerk Art. You whoreson fogging rascal.

1618. Rowley and Middleton, Cure for a Cuckold, Dram. Per». Pettifog, an Attorney.

1627. Minsheu, Guide to Tongues, ... A pettie fogger, a sillie aduocate or lawyer, rather a trouble-Toune, having neither law nor conscience.

1709. Ward, London Spy, i. 191. It may not be improper to conclude our Remarks of this Place with the Character of a Pettyfogger [then follows a description of upwards of two pages].

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 138. A plodding pettifogger's worthless brood might have gorged . . . on the love of a young nobleman . . . like yourself. Ibid., 193. He practised as an attorney at Valencia, and bore his faculties in all the infamy of pettifogging.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick, xxxi. ' Ah, they're smart fellows ; very smart indeed ' . . . Messrs. Dodson and Fogg. ' They are great scoundrels,' said Mr. Pickwick.

1886. Oliphant, New English, i. 596. Pettie fogger of the law ; this strange word is the Dutch fokker, a monopolist.

Petty, subs. (old).—A scholar low in the school.

1692. Hacket, Archb. Williams, 1. 37. Mr. Lamb . . . came, by holding fast to Fortunes' middle finger, from a schoolmaster that taught petties, to a proctor in a Christian Court, and so to an official.

Pew, subs, (colloquial).—A place of abode, or business ; a crib : see Diggings. Formerly a box at a theatre : see Room. In quot. 1659 = a sheep-pen.

1605. Shakespeare, Lear, iii. 3. Poor Tom whom the foul fiend . . . hath laid knives under his pillow, and halters in his pew ; set ratsbane by his porridge.

1613. Webster, Devil's Law Case, iv. 1. In a pew of our office ... I have been dry-founder'd . . . this four years, Seldom found non-resident from my desk.

1659. Milton, Means to Remove Hirelings. His sheep oft-times sit the while to as little purpose of benefitting, as the sheep in their pews at Smythfield.

Pew-opener's muscle, subs. phr. (medical).—A muscle in the palm of the hand. [Sir Benjamin Brodie : ¹ because it helps to contract and hollow the palm for the reception of a gratuity.']

Pewter, sttbs. (nautical).—Generic for money : specifically prizemoney : see Rhino.

1842. Egan, Mac heath, ' TheBould Yeoman,' v. Hand up the pewter, farmer, you shall have a share.

1857. Whitty, Fr. of Bohemia, 9. In these days it's the pewter makes the rank—and no mistake. By pewter Dwyorts meant gold.

1888. Academy, 24 Mar., 202. Another trifle to be noticed is the anxiety for pewter or prize-money which . . . animated our officers and men.

Pewy, adj. (sporting).—Enclosed by fences so as to form small fields.

1885. Daily Telegraph, 11 Dec. Sixty or seventy years since the fences were stronger, the enclosures smaller, the country more pewy, and the hedges rougher and hairier than is now the case.

Pfotze, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.—J. Hall Stevenson, Crazy Tales (1762).

Phallus, subs, (literary).—The penis: see Prick. [Latin.]

Pharaoh, subs.—1. A corruption of ' faro.'

d. 1732. Gay, To Pulteney [Davies]. Nanette last night at twinkling Pharaoh play'd, The cards the Talliers sliding hand obeyed.

Pheasant.

i8i

Philander.

1748. Walpole, Letters, 11. 105. We divert ourselves extremely this winter ; plays, balls, masquerades, and phakaoh are all in fashion.

1760. Murphy, Way to Keep Him, i. May I never taste the dear delight of breaking a Pharaoh bank, &c.

c. 1796. Wolcot, Peter Pindar, 249. Behold a hundred coaches at her door, Where Pharo triumphs in his mad career.

2. (old).—A strong ale or beer : also old Pharaoh : see Swipes. —B. E. (f.1696); Grose (1785).

1685. Praise of Yorkshire Ale, 3. Lac'd Coffee, Twist, Old Pharaoh, and Old Hoc.

d.\-jo\. T. Brown {Works, ii. 286]. Ezekiel Driver, of Puddle-dock, carman, having disorder'd his pia mater with too plentiful a morning's draught of three threads and old Phakaoh, had the misfortune to have his cart run over him.

1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], 39. Don't muddle your brains with any more of that Pharaoh.

One of Pharaoh's lean kine, subs. phr. (common).—A thin, spare person : one who looks (1) as though he'd run away from a bone-house ; or (2) as if he wete walking about to save his funeral expenses.

1598. Shakspeare, / Hen. IV., ii. 4. If to be fat be to be hated, then Pharaoh's lean kine are to be loved.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, iii. Lady Smart. . . . The Man and his Wife are coupled like Rabbets, a fat and a lean ; he's as fat as a Porpus, and she's one of Pharaoh's lean kine.

Pheasant, subs, (common). — i. A wanton. Hence pheasantry = a brothel.

2. See Billingsgate-pheasant.

Pheeze (Pheaze, Feaze, or Feize), verb. (old).—To chastise ; see Tan.

1579. Puttenham, Partheniades, 180. Your pride serves you to feaze them all alone.

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of Shrew, Induct. I'll pheese you, i'faith.

1602. Shakspeare, Troilus and Cr., ii. 3. An he be proud with me, I'll pheeze his pride.

1610. Jonson, Alchemist, v. 5. Come, will you quarrel ? I will feize you, sirrah.

Philadelphia-catechism, subs, phr. (American nautical).—The couplet :—' Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thou art able, And on the seventh-holystone the decks and scrape the cable.'

Philadelphia-lawyer, subs. phr. (common).—A smart attorney: hence, to puzzle (be as smart

as, beat, Or know as much as)

a Philadelphia-lawyer = to be a paragon of shrewdness : see Greenbag.

1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, 128. In that style he'd hammer out all the old and usual 'whids' which, to persons away south of his country, . . . to use a modern metaphor, would puzzle half-a-dozen Philadelphia-lawyers to understand.

i88[?]. Hamilton, Men and Manners, xi. 203. It is not unusual among the lower orders in England, when any knotty point is proposed for discussion, to say it would puzzle a Philadelphia-lawyer.

1901. Daily Telegraph, 6 Nov., ' Racing in the Fog.' Racing by electric light is better, all the same, than racing by no light at all, and what entertainment is afforded by a horse-race run " in camera," only a Philadelphia lawyer would be able to explain.

Philander, verb, (old colloquial : now recognised).—To flirt ; to spoon (q.v.) ; to wanton : of both sexes. Hence, as subs, (or philanderer) =a lover: specifically a dangler after women.

1619. Massinger and Fletcher, Laws of^ Candy. Dram. Pers. Philander, Prince of Cyprus, passionately in love with Erota.

Philip.

182 Philistine.

1700. Congreve, Way of the World, v. i. I'll couple you ; I'll baste you together, you and your Philander.

170g. Steele, Tatler, 10 May. Philander . . . the most skilful of all men in an address to women.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 113. Tired of waiting . . . she had gone back . . . and the happy moment of philandering was over. Ibid., 364. In a philandering tone of voice.

1800. Edgeworth, Castle Rackrent, 11. Sir Kit was too much taken up philandering to consider the law in this case.

1827. Lvtton, Pelham, iii. Sir Lionell Garrett . . . the favourite of the old ladies, the Philander of the young.

1852. Thackeray, Esmond, in, iv. 'Tis no question of sighing and philandering between a nobleman of his Grace's age and a girl who hath little of that softness in her nature.

1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, xix. A phenomenon which . . . perturbed . . . the spirits not only of the Oxford philanderers, but also those of Elsley Vavasour.

1870. Hall, Modern English, 275. Who in Queen Anne's time ever heard . . . of the verbs cede, olden, philander ? This verb not impossibly did not see the light till after Mr. Thackeray (£.1812) himself.

1876. Eliot, Deronda, xxv. You can't go philandering after her again for six weeks.

Philip, suds, (thieves').—A policeman : see Beak.

Intj. (thieves').—A warning. Hence, Philiper = a thiePs accomplice. [Who watches and cries Philip !]

Philip and Cheiney, subs. phr. (old). — Any, and every one ; ' Tom, Dick, and Harry ' (q.v.).

1542. Udall, Apop. of Erasmus, 311. It was not his entent to bryng unto Sylla Philip and cheiney, mo than a good meiny, but to bryng hable souldiours of manhood approued and well tried to his handes.

1557. Tusser, Good Husby. [E. E. D. S. (1878), 8]. Loiterers I kept so meanie, Both Philip, Hob, and Cheanie.

1563-4. Becon, Workes, iii. 276. Ye pray for Philip and Cheny more than a good meany.

Philippi. To meet at Philippi, verb. phr. (old).—To keep an appointment without fail. [Cf. Julius Casar, iv. 3, where the ghost of J. C. so delivers itself to Brutus.]

1782. Cowley, Bold Stroke for a Husband, i. 1. Car. At seven, you say? Jul. Exactly. Car. I'll meet thee at Philippi !

PHILISTIA, subs, (literary).—The region of the unenlightened or commonplace: specifically (Mathew Arnold) the English middle-class—' ignorant, narrowminded, and deficient in great ideas.' Whence (generally) Philistine = an unlettered barbarian (q.v.) ; a person, male or female, who has never read Mathew Arnold. [Orig. German students' = anybody not belonging to a university.]

1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, x. Yet have Philistia and Fogeydom neither right nor reason to consider him a despicable or merely ludicrous person.

1886. McCarthy and CampbellPraed, Rt. Hon., 1. iii. Aristocratic Philistia and Upper Bohemia.

1900. Kipling, Stalky &* Co., 209. Vile bad form to turn your back on the audience ! He's a Philistine—a Bopper ■—a Jebusite an' a Hivite?

1901. Daily Telegraph, 25 Ap., 8, 7. We . . . have always had a reputation on the Continent for an almost brutal vitality and vigour, combined with a Philistine deficiency in all matters concerning the delicate and the beautiful.

Philistine, subs. (old).—1. Generic for a representative of authority : a sheriff's officer, a bailiff, a revenue officer, a watchman, and (in //.) the press-gang [Judges xvi.].—B. E. (r.1696); Grose (1785) ; Bee (1823).

Phiz.

183

Physic.

1731. Fielding, Amelia, v. vi. She was too ignorant ... to know that if he had fallen into the hands of the Philistines he would hardly have been able so soon to recover his liberty.

1771. Smollett, Humphrey Clinker, ii. toi. I must make an effort to advance what further will be required to take my friend out of the hands of the Philistines.

2. (old).—A drunkard : see lushington.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Lady Answ. But, Colonel, they say, you went to Court last Night very drunk : Nay, I'm told for certain you had been among Philistines.

3. (provincial).—'Earwigsand such like insect tormentors.'— B. E. (f.1696).

4. See Philistia.

Phiz (Phyz or Physog), subs. (old).—The face : see Dial.— B. E. Or.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, iv. 8. What a furious phiz I have.

1702. Steele, Grief a-la-Mode, i. i. Who can see such a horrid ugly Phyz as that Fellow's and not be shock'd ?

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, Intro. Abbreviations exquisitely refined ; as, . . . Phizz for Phisiognomy.

1725. Bailey, Fr. of Colloquies of Erasmus, i. 51. Why, truly a Body would think so by thy slovenly Dress, lean Carcass, and ghastly Phyz.

1785. Poems in Buchan Dial, 33. Can Ajax count his sculls wi' me? Fan I brought Priam's sin, And Pallas' phiz, out through my face.

1789. Parker, Song, ' The Masqueraders' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 73]. Twig methodist phizzes, with mask sanctimonious, Their rigs prove to judge that their phiz is erroneous.

1828. Smeaton, Doings in London. There is an odious harmony between his glossy garment and his smooth and senseless phiz.

1841. Rede, Sixteen String Jack, ' Song.' Says he, with his knowing phiz, I ain't very pertic'lar who it is !

1886-96. Marshall, 'Pomes'from the Pink I Un, 76. He'd his right mince in mourning, which so worried Liz That she bung'd up his left, just to steady his

phiz.

1894. Egerton, Keynotes, 87. It was so jolly to see the quaint little phiz smile up.

Phiz-gig, subs. (old).—I. An extravagantly dressed old woman ; ' an old ewe dressed lamb-fashion.'

2. (school).—A pyramid of moistened gunpowder, which, on ignition, fuses but does not flash.

Phœnix-man, subs. phr. (old).— See quot. — Bailey (1726) ; Grose (1785).

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Fire-drakes, Men with a Phenix for their Badge, in Livery, and Pay from the Insurance-Office, to extinguish Fires, Covering their Heads with an Iron-pot, or Head-piece.

Phcenix-nest, subs. phr. (venery). —The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

1619. Massinger and Field, Fatal Dowry, iii. i. He toil'd to climb urj to the Phœnix' nest, And in his prints leaves your ascent more easy. I do not know, you that are perfect critics, In women's books, may talk of maidenheads.

c. 1620-44. Herrick, Hesperides, ' Love perfumes all Parts.' If I kisse Anthea's brest, There I smell the Phenix nest . . . Hands, and thighs and legs, are all Richly Aromaticall.

Physic, subs, (venery).—1. Copulation : see Greens and Ride.

1623. Massinger, Bonduca, i. 2. You are no sooner out of sight, but she Does feel strange qualms ; then sends for her young doctor, Who ministers physic to her on her back, Her ladyship lying as she were entranced, /bid., Duke of Milan, iv. 3. Lock up thy own wife, fool, that must take physic from her young doctor, physic upon her back Because thou hast the palsy in that part that makes her active.

Phyz. 184 Picayune

c.ijoy. Old Ballad [Durfey, Pills (1707), ii. 160]. For in your warm Beds Your Physick works best ; And tho' in the taking Some stirring's required, The motion's so pleasant You cannot be tir'd.

2. (common).—Strong drink ; medicine [q.v.); lush (q.v.) : see Drinks and Screwed.

3. (pugilists').—Hard hitting ; punishment (q.v.) : also as verb.

4. (gaming).—Losses : wagers, points, and so forth. Also as verb.—Bee (1823).

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. v. If you do not get punished in your person, yet you may be most preciously physicked in your clie.

Phyz. See Phiz.

Pi (or Pie), subs, (printers').—1. Type, jumbled and mixed. [Ordinarily a compositor, when distributing type, reads a line or sentence and is enabled to return it to ' case ' with expedition : with PI, however, each 'stamp' has to be recognised separately.] Fr. le pâté : faire du pâté = to distribute pi ; German, zwiebelfisch ( = 'fish with onions').— Bailey (1728). Also as verb.

d. 1790. Franklin, Autobiog., 176. One night, when, having impos'd my formes, I thought my day's work over, one of them by accident was broken, and two pages reduced to pi.

1837. Carlyle, Fr. Revol., 11. ii. iv. Your military ranked arrangement going all (as the typographers say of set types in a similar case) rapidly to pie.

2. (booksellers').—A miscellaneous collection of books out of the alphabet (q.v. ).

Adj. (general.) — Virtuous; sanctimonious : e.g., ' He's very Pi now, he mugs all day ' ; ' He pi-jawed me for thoking.' Whence, pi-jaw (or gas) = a serious admonition ; pi-man = Sim (q.v.).

1901. To-Day, 22 Aug., 124, 2. The one blot on her staircase was an individual who . . . had turned ostentatiously pious. " I 'ates them pi-men," Mrs. Moggs was wont to say, "as often as not it's sheer 'ypocrisy."

Piazzas. To walk the piazzas, verb. phr. (old).—To quest for men ; now ' to walk the streets.' —Bee (1823). [The piazzas were those in Covent Garden, only a portion of which now (1901) remain.]

Picaroon (pickaroon or picaro),

subs. (old).—A rogue ; a shabster : also as verb. = to rob ; to prowl in quest of plunder.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785). Also, on the picaro = on the make (q.v.). See pick, verb. i.

c. 1617. Howell, Letters, i. iii. 30. I could not recover your diamond Hatband, which the Picaroon* snatched from you in the Coach, tho' I used all Means Possible.

1653. Middleton, Spanish Gypsy, ii. i. The arts . . . used by our Spanish picaroes—I mean filching, foisting, nimming, jilting.

1675. Crowne, Country Wit, iii. 1. These night-corsairs and Algerines call'd the Watch, that picaroon up and down the streets.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias, vu. ii. Monsieur de Santillane . . . I see yon have been in your time a little on the picaro.

1821. Scott, Kenihvorth, xx. Notwithstanding thy boasted honesty, friend . . . I think I see in thy countenance something of the pedlar, something of the

picaroon.

Picayune, subs. (American).— Formerly the Spanish half-real in Florida, Louisiana, &c. : now a five cent, piece or any small coin. Also (generic) money ; rhino (q.v.). Whence picayune (or picayunish) — small ; mean ; of little value. [Cf. Title of a famous journal, The New Orleans Picayune (the price of which is five cents).]

Pice ad ill.

185

Pick.

«5.1848. New York Herald [Bartlett]. There is nothing picayune about the members of St. George's Club ; for the love of sport they will . . . enter upon matches that other clubs would not accept.

18 [?]. The Writer [Century], in. 112. If only two cents are required, you will have prevented a picayune waste.

PlCCADILL (or PlCCADILLO), Subs.

(old).—i. See quot. 1892. Also (2) the ornamental border of a broad collar worn by women early in 17th century, as in quot. 1607.

1607. Dekker and Webster, Northward Ho, iii. i. A short Dutch waist with a round Catherine-wheel fardingale, a close sleeve with a cartouse collar, and a pickadil.

l6ll. cotgrave, Diet., s.v. PlCCA

dilles . . . the seuerall divisions or peeces fastened together about the brimme of the collar of a doublet.

1616. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, ii. 1. I am not . . . the man ... of that truth of Picardil in clothes, To boast a sovereignty o'er ladies.

1621. Fletcher [? and another], Pilgrim, ii. 2. Do you want a band, Sir? This is a coarse wearing. 'Twill sit but scurvily upon this collar, But patience is as good as a French pickadel.

1670. R. Lassels, Voy. /tat., ii. 117 (1698). One half of his band about his neck, was a broad bone lace, starched white, the other half was made of coarse Lawn, starched blew, and standing out upou a pickydilly of wire.

1892. Fennell, Stanford Diet., s.v. Piccadill ... A stiff collar over which an ornamental fall or collar was arranged, worn first at the close of the 16th century. Perhaps the spelling piccadil was suggested by the Italian use of Picardia for ' hanging,' ' place where persons are hanged.'

Piccadilly Butchers (The), subs. f>hr. (military).—The First Life Guards. [Having been called out to quell the Piccadilly riots in 1810.] Also "The Cheeses"; "The Tin Bellies" ; and "The Patent Safeties."

Piccadilly-crawl, subs. phr. (obsolete).—A walk : modish in the Eighties. Cf. Alexandra Limp, Grecian Bend, Roman Fall, &c.

Piccaninny (pickaninny, pinkaninny, &c), subs, (colloquial).— A baby ; a child : specifically (modern) a child of negro parents. [Originally from pink (an endearment) — small : see Pigsney.] —Grose (1785).

1696. Durfey, Pills to Purge (1719), i. 283. Dear Pinckaninny, if half a guinea, To Lord will win ye, I lay it here down.

1855. Haliburton, Nature and Human Nature, 59. Let me see one of you dare to lay hands on this pickaninny.

1865. H. Kingsley, Hillyars and Burtons, xxviii. Five-and-forty black fellows, lubras, picaninnies, and all, at my heels.

1879. F. Locker, The Old Cradle. You were an exceeding small picaninny, Some nineteen or twenty short summers ago.

1883. Harper's Mag. [Century], lxxvi. 809. A poor puny little pickaninny, black as the ace of spades.

Pick, verb, (old colloquial: now wrestlers').—1. To shoot ; to fling.—Bee (1823).

1530. Palsgrave, Lang. Francoyse [Halliwell]. I holde a grote I pycke as farre with an arrowe as you.

1610. Shakspeare, Coriolanus, i. 1. Il'd make a quarry With thousands ot these quarter'd slaves, as high As I could pick my lance.

2. (old : now colloquial).—To pilfer ; to choose thievishly : also pickeer, but, usually to pick and cut or to pick pockets. Also as subs, (or picking) = petty larceny (Grose, 1785) : cf. (Prayer Book) ^; Keep my hands from picking and stealing.' Hence picker (picker-up or pickeerer) = (1) a petty thief ;

Pick. 186

and (2, in pi.) — the fingers (B. E., c.iôçô). The same idea (stealthy, underhand) occurs in PlCKPENNY, PlCKTHANK, PlCKpurse, &c. (all of which see). See Prig.

d. 1400. Chaucer, Leg. Good Women, 2456. He piked of her all the good he might.

1440. Prompt Parv., s.v. Pykare, lytylle \\œ.î, fur cuius.

1503. Acts of Parliament [quoted by Oliphant]. Theves and pikars.

d. 1529. Skelton, Bowge of Courte, 236. To kepe him from pykynge it was a grete payne. Ibid., Maner of the World, 130. Pickers of purses and males [bag or wallet]. Ibid., Garlande of Laureil, 184. Some be called crafty that can pyke

a purse.

1550. T. Lever, Sermons [Arber], 38. Pickinge theft is lesse than murtheryng robrye.

[?]. Ure, Hist. Rutherglen [Act Counc. ] (1793). Whaevir beis found out sheiring, leiding, &c, before the bell ringing in the morneing, and efter the ringing thairof at night shall—be repute and holden as a pycker, and one that wrongeth there neighbours.

d. 1555. Latimer, Sermons [Parker Soc.], 432. I had of late occasion to speak of picking and stealing.

1577. Holinshed, Chronicles [Nares]. Thefte and pickerie were quite suppressed.

1582. Hakluyt, Voyages, 1. 241. If he be a picker or a cutpurse . . . the second time he is taken he hath a piece of his Nose cut off.

T596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii. 2. By these pickers and stealers. Ibid., Merry Wives, i. 1. Pistol, did you pick Master Slender's purse.

1604. Shakspeare, Winter s Tale, iv. iv. In this time of lethargy I ticked and cut most of their festival purses.

1611. Cotgrave, Diet.,s.v. Picoree, PiCCORY, forraging, ransacking. Ibid. Picorer, to forrage, rifle, rob, or prey upon the poor husbandman.

1660. Howell, Lex. Tetra, s.v. Picaroon.

Pick.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 55. They ticked my pocket of my ring. Ibid., 173. Moralez . . . had conned over the pretty pickings to be made out of this juggle.

1754-64. Erskine, Instit., B. iv., Tit. 4, s. 50. The stealing of trifles, which in our law language is styled pickery, has never been punished by the usage of Scotland, but by imprisonment, scourging, &c.

1808. Jamieson, Diet. Scot. Proverb. It is ill to be called a thief and aye found

piking.

1878. Stevenson, Edinburgh^ 1894), I. 29. Slinking from a magistrates' supperroom to a thieves' ken, and pickeering . . . by the flicker of a dark lamp.

Expressions more or less colloquial are : to pick a bone (crow or matter) = to seek a quarrel : see Bone, Crow, and Pluck; to pick up = (i) to improve gradually : as from illness or failure ; (2) to make acquaintance with, or accost : usually in disparagement of the person accosted—sharpers, street walkers, and such like pick up ' flats ' or 'culls ; (3) to get casually ; and, generally, (4) to impose upon or take an advantage in a contract or bargain (Bee, 1823) ; to pick flies off (tailors') — to fault-find ; to pick out robins' eyes (tailors') = to side-stitch black cloth or fine material ; to pick off (general) = (1) to aim with effect, and (2) to wound or kill ; to pick on = to disturb, to nag ; to pick up = to put in order : as a room ; to pick a bit = to eat mincingly ; to pick and choose = to select with discrimination ; to pick the brains (or mind) = to steal ideas ; to plagiarise ; to pick holes (or a fault) = to fault-find : hence pick-fault = a censorious fault-finder ; to pick a quarrel = to make offence : hence pick-quarrel =

Pick.

187 Pick-a-back.

a cantankerous person ; to pick at '= to nag ; and so forth. See also pick-thank and pickpurse.

1321. Old Poem [Camden Soc., Political Songs, 334, line 238]. The best he PiKETH up himself, and maketh his mawe touht ; And zeveth the Gode man soupe, the lene broth that nis noht for seke.

1448-60. Paston Letters [Oliphant, New English, i. 288-90. In the Paston Letters we mark the lingering traces of th« Norfolk dialect soon to vanish from the correspondence of the educated. Among the (new) verbs may be remarked go lose (loose), peke a quarrell, &c.].

d. 1529. Skelton, Ag. Comely Coystrowne, 35. A bungler, a brawler, a

pyker of quakellys. Ibid., BoiUge of

Courte, 314. Fyrste pycke a quarrell, and fall oute with hym then.

1530. Tyndale, Works [Oliphant, New English, i. 427. Tyndale talks of a pick-quarrel].

15 [?]. Hyrde, Tr. Christian Woman (1541), fol. 138b. They medle with other folkes busines . . . exhort and giue préceptes, rebuke and correcte, pyke fautes.

1579. Lyly, Euphues [Arber], 246. Men picke thy minde out of thy hands.

1581. Lyly, Euphues, 'Anat. of Wit,' 107. As I am not minded to picke a thank with the one, so am I not determined to picke a quarrell with the other.

1598. Shakspeare, Alfs Well, iv. 5. We may pick a thousand salads ere we light on such another herb. Ibid., i Hen. IV., iii. 3. You owe me money, Sir John ; and now you pick a quarrel to beguile me of it.

1609. Shakspeare, Pericles, iv. 2. Therefore, if in our youths we could pick up some pretty estate, 'twere not amiss to keep our door hatched.

1612. Beaumont and Fletcher, Coxcomb, iii. 3. She'll pick a quarrel with a sleeping child, Ere she fall out with me.

1673. Wycherley, Gent. Dancing Master, ii. 2. Since we poor slavish women know Our men we cannot pick

and choose.

_ 1680. North, Lives of the Norths [Oliphant : There are the verbs take fire, go to the expence, pick holes, kidnap].

1709. Dampier, Voyages, 11. i. 167. By this trade the Freemen of Malacca pick up a good livelihood.

rf.1719. Addison, Vision of Mirza. When I was at Grand Cairo, I picked up several oriental manuscripts which I have still by me.

1730. Vanbrugh, Provoked Husband, iv. Feyther, an you doan't come quickly the meat will be coaled ; and I'd fain pick a bit with you.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge (1866), 169]. I halted ... to recruit a little under the trees. At one of these baits I picked up two young gentlemen who were chatting at their ease. Ibid., 375. As long as I had money . . . my landlord was cap in hand ; but . . . the funds low he became high and mighty, picked a German quarrel with me, anil . . . begged . . . me to march out of his house.

1767. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 25. Children and chickens must be always picking,

1786. Capt. Morris, Lyra Urban. (1848), i. 80-2. For me, I protest, if it wasn't for shame, I could pick till tomorrow at dinner. Ibid. I hope from their budget they'll pick out a song, While I pick a little more dinner.

£.1790. Busy Bee, 'Flash Man of St. Giles's.' She pick'd up the flats as they passed by.

1790. Bruce, Source of the Nile, 1. 195. I picked up courage, and . . . said, without trepidation, ' What men are these before ? '

1855. Browning, Men and Women, 'An Epistle.' Karshish the picker-up of learning's crumbs.

1888. Texas Siftings, 7 July. The act closes by the party picking off 200 Indians with unerring aim.

1892. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 23. I'm just tidy myself, flush of tin, with no end of a thunderin' pick.

PlCK-a-back (pickback, pick-apack, or pickpack), adv. (colloquial).—On the back or shoulders: as a pack.

1558. Foxe, Acts and Mon. [Cattley (1843), i. 30I. Carried pick-back on men's shoulders.

Pick-and-dab.

188 Pickle-herring.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, Disdossct, alia disdossa, loosely on ones backe, a pick-a-pack.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, 1. ii. 72. Mounted a pick-back.

1665. Homer-a-la-mode [Nares]. Some two or three meet in a hole Together, their state to condole, Yet none of them knowes what they lack Unlesse they'd be brought home pick-pack.

1677. Wrangling Lovers [Nares]. He have her to him, tho it be on pickpack.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (1725), t29]. And through the Fire a-pick a-pack, Bore the old Sinner on his Back.

d. 1704. L'Estrange [Century]. In a hurry she whips up her darling under her arms, and carries the other a pickapack upon her shoulders.

pick-and-dab, suös. phr. (Scot6').

—A meal of potatoes and salt ;

potatoes-and-point (q.v.).

Pickers. See Pick, verb. 2.

Picker-up, subs. phr. (Stock Exchange). — A dealer buying on quotations trickily obtained from a member trapped into giving a wrong price.

Pickle, subs, (colloquial).—1. A difficult or disagreeable position ; a plight. Hence, a case of pickles = a bad breakdown ; a serious quandary.

1609. Skakspeark, Tempest, v. 1. How earnest thou in this pickle ?

1614. Time's Whistle [E. E. T. S.], 60. But they proceed till one drops downe dead drunke, . . . And all the rest, in a sweet pickle brought, . . . Lie downe beside him.

1633. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, iii. 5. I am now in a fine pickle.

1694. Crowne, Married Beau, iv. 1. Oh ! pox ! in what a pickle am I 1

1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked W'ife, iv. 6. Sir J. [coz'ered "with dirt and blood]. What the plague does the woman squall for ? Did you never see a man in a pickle before ?

T749. Smollett, Gil Blas, iv. vi. Gentlemen, I know this epicure ; it is . . . the . . . rector of our university ; notwithstanding the pickle yon see him in now, he is a great man ... a little addicted to lawsuits, a bottle, and a wench.

2. (colloquial).—A wag: specifically, a troublesome child : cf. Peregrine Pickle (1751). Title. Hence pickled = roguish ; waggish.— B. E. (c.1696) ; Grose (1785)

1706. Farquhar, Recruiting Officer, v. 4. His poor boy Jack was the most comical bastard ... a pickled dog ; I shall never forget him.

1883. Harper's Mag., Ixxvi. 140. Tummas was a pickle—a perfect 'andful.

3. (medical students').—In

= specimens for dissection direct from the subject.

Verb, (common).—To humbug; to gammon (q.v.).

In pickle, adv. phr. (old).— Poxed or clapt.—B. E. (c.1696) ; Grose (1785).

A rod in pickle (or piss), subs. phr. (colloquial).—A flogging or scolding in reserve ; ' a revenge in lavender.' — B. E. (c.1696); Grose (1785). [As in the old school rhyme :—' Rod in pickle, Rump to tickle.' In the days of authority rods were pickled in urine or in brine, which elements, it was held, imparted toughness.]

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (1725), 126]. Therefore I think it not amiss for's To launch, for there are Rods in Piss for's.

Pickle-herring (or pickledherring), subs. phr. (old).—A buffoon : see Buffle.—Grose (1785).

1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, i. 5. A plague o' these pickle-herring ! How now, sot.

Pickle-jar.

189 Pick-thank.

1694. Crowne, Married Beau, iv. 1. i don't₍know what I am now ; a pickleherring I think. I'd be loath to meet with a hungry Dutch seaman.

1711. Addison, Spectator, No. 47. There is a set of merry drolls . . . whom every nation calls by the name of that dish of meat which it loves best. In Holland they are termed pickled herrings, &c. [See Jack Pudding.]

Pickle-jar, subs. phr. (common). —A coachman in yellow.

Pickle-me-tickle-me. To play

at pickle-me-tickle-me, Verb.

phr. (venery).—To copulate.— Urquhart (1653). See Greens and Ride.

Picklock, subs, (venery).—The penis; the key (q.v.) : see Prick. — Urquhart (1653) 5 Clelland.

Pick-me-up, subs. phr. (common). —A stimulant.

1901. Free Lance, n May, 123, 2. The doctors are said to frown upon the new pick-me-up, and to threaten serious consequences from its use.

Pick-penny, subs. (old).—i. See Pinchifist.

2. (old).—A sharper.

Pick-pie. To turn a pick-pie, verb. phr. (old).—To make a somersault.

Pick-purse, subs. (old).—A thief : also as adj. — mercenary ; fraudulent.

rf.1529, Dunbar [Laing, Works, 161]. Be I ane lord, and not lord like, Than every pelour and purse-pike.

*555[Mailland, Reformation (1849), 529]. Such pick-purse matters is all the whole rabble of your ceremonies ; for all is but money matters that ye maintain.

1594. Lyly, Mother Bombie, v. 3.

This is your old trick, to pick one's purse, and then to picke quarrels.

is[?]. Reasoning betw. Crossraguell and J. Knox, B. iii, b. They affirmed— Purgatorie to be nothing but a pykepurs.

1598. Shakspeare, i Hen. IV., ii. i, 54. At hand, quoth pick-purse. Ibid. (1600), As You Like it, iii. 4. I think he is not a pick-purse nor a horse-stealer.

1767. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 69. A good bargain is a pick-purse.

Picksome, adj. (colloquial).—Fastidious ; particular ; given to ' picking and choosing.'

1888. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, 136. We were not quite so picksome in the matter of company as we are now.

Pick-thank, sttbs. (old).—A toady : also as adj. and verb. —Awdeley (1567); B. E. (c.1696); Grose (1785).

1412. Occleve, Dc Reg. Prin. [Roxburgh Club], no. He never denyethe His lordes resons, but a thanke to pike.

1512-13. Douglas, Virgil, Prol. 238, b.55. Sum prig penny, sum fyke thank with preuy promit.

^IS^I3-²5Skelton [Dyce, Works, ii. 60]. There be two tyther, rude and ranke, Symkyn Tytyuell and Pers Pykthanke.

1516. More, Utopia, i. He is ashamed to say that which is said already, or else to pick a thank with his prince,

d. 1577. Gascoigne [Arber. English Garner, 1. 63]. A pack of pick-thanks were the rest, Which came false witness for to bear.

1580. Lyly, Euphues, A4, b. Fine heads will pick a quarrell with me, if all be not curious, and flatterers a thanke if anie thing be currant.

1598. Shakspeare, / Henry IV., iii. 2. Which oft the ear of greatness needs must hear, By smiling pick-thanks and base newsmongers.

1603. Knolles, His. Turks, 108. Whereunto were joined also the hard speeches of her pickthanke favourites, who to curry favell spared not, &a

Pickt-hatch. 190

d.\6i2. Harrington, Epigrams, 55. Or doth he mean that thou would'st pick a thank. No sure, for of that fault I count thee frank.

1628. Wither, Brit. Rem., 89. By slavish fawning or by picking thanks.

d. 1682. Sir T. Browne, Christ. Mor.>

i. 20. Be deaf unto the suggestions of . . . pick-thank or malevolent delators.

rf.1688. Buckingham, Works (1705), ii. 118. They . . . insinuated themselves into the familys of the poor good natured tenants ; then they carry'd pickthank stories from one to another.

1740. North, Examen, 278. He did it to pickthank an opportunity of getting more money.

Pickt-hatch To go to the

manor of pickt-hatch (or to

pickt-hatch grange), verb, phr. (old).—To whore: see Greens and Ride. [The Pickthatch—a hatch with pikes—was a common brothel sign : specifically in Shakspeare's time a notorious tavern-brothel in Turnbull St., Clerkenwell].—Grose (1785).

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives,

ii. 2. Go—a short knife and a thong—to

your manor of PlCKT-hatch.

1596. Jonson, Ev. Man in his Humour, i. 2. From the Bordello it might come as well, The Spittle, or Picthatch.

1610. Jonson, Alchemist, ii. 1. The decay'd vestals of Pict-hatch would thank you That keep the fire alive there.

d. 1618. Sylvester, Du Bartas, 576. Borrow'd and brought from loose Venetians, Becomes Pickt-hatch and Shoreditch courtizans.

1630. Optick Glosse op Humours, 89. These be your Pickt-hatch Curtezan wits that merit after their decease to bee carted in Charles waine.

1630. Cupids' Whirligig [Nares]. Set some pickes upon your hatch, and I pray profess to keep a bawdy-house.

d. 1635. Randolph (?) Muses' Looking Glass [Reed, Old Plays, ix. 244]. The lordship of Tuinbal so—which with my Pickt-hatch Grange, And Shoreditch farm, and other premises Adjoining—very good—a pretty maintenance.

1638. Randolph, Hey for Honesty, B. 3b. Why the whores of Pict-hatch, Turnbull, or the unmerciful bawds of Bloomsbury.

Pick-tooth, adj. phr. (old colloquial).—Leisurely.

1726. Vanbrugh and Cibber, Provoked Husband, iii. My lord and I . . . sat us down by the fireside in an easy, indolent, pick-tooth way.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 155. With the pick-tooth carelessness of a lounger.

PlCK-up, subs. phr. (common).—A carnal acquaintance, male or female : whence, a whoremaster.

Adj. (colloquial).—Composed of what is at the moment available : as a pick-up dinner ; a pick-up crew, or team. Cf. scratch and pot-luck.

1840. Betsy Bobbet, 302. She needn't make no fuss about dinner at all. I will eat a picked-up dinner.

Pickwickian Sense, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A technical or constructive sense. [See quot. 1837.]

1837. Dickens, Pickwick, i. The chairman felt it his imperative duty to demand . . . whether he had used the expression ... in a common sense. Mr. Blotton had no hesitation in saying he had not—he had used the word in its Pickwickian sense.

i8[?]. H. James, Substance and Slutdow, 199 [Century]. Unitarianism and Universalism call themselves the church in an altogether Pickwickian sense of the word, or with pretensions so affable as to offend nobody.

Picnic, subs, (common).—A mellay; a rough-and-tumble.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 177. He asked me if I'd " yeared " what a picnic old Ben Harrity had had with his missis.

Picture, subs, (colloquial).—A model ; a pattern; a beau-ideal : as ' a picture of health,' ' a

Picture-frame. 191

Pie.

perfect picture '—child, horse, and so forth : also ironically, e.g., a pretty picture = a strange figure.

Not in the picture, phr. (colloquial).—Strange ; inappropriate ; better away ; and (racing) unplaced.

See also Lawful Pictures.

Picture-frame. See Sheriff's picture-frame.

Picture-hat, subs. phr. (common).

—See quot.

t901. Referee, 14 Ap., 5 3. The lady who is the subject of the picture [the Gainsborough Duchess of Devonshire] set a fashion in hats which women continue to wear up to the present style. Even the Parisian ladies affected the style. And nowadays no suburban wedding is complete if the bridesmaids do not wear picture hats, the usual but very foolish description of the articles under discussion. Ibid., 9, 3. The return of the Gainsborough will, we are told, revive the big hat. The amiable "Gainsborough" of South Molton-street assures me that the picture hat has never really gone out of fashion.

Piddle, subs, (nursery). — Lant (q.v.). Also as verb. = rack off (q.v.); stroan (q.v.).— Grose (1785).

2. (common). — To do languidly or to little purpose ; to niggle (q.v.). Hence, piddler = a trifler ; and piddling = mean, of small account, squeamish.—Grose (1785).

1544. Ascham, Toxophilus [Arber], 117. And so . . . auoyde bothe greate trouble and also some cost whiche you cunnynge archers . . . put your selues vnto . . . neuer ceasynge piddelynge about your bowe and shaftes when they be well, but eyther with . . . newe fetheryng, &c.

c. 1622. MlDDLETON, Mayor of Quinborough (1661), v. i. Nine geese, and some three larks for piddling meat.

1629. Massinger, Picture, iii. 6. My lord Hath gotten a new mistress. Ubald. One ! a hundred . . . They talk of Hercules' fifty in a night, 'Twas well ; but yet to yours he was a piddler.

1632. Shirley, The Changes, ii. 2. Let children, when they versify, stick here and there these piddling words for want of matter. Poets write masculine numbers.

1690. Crowne, English Eriar, ii. He has a weak stomach and cant make a meal, unless he has a dozen pretty dishes to piddle upon.

^I733Pope, Horace, 11. ii. 137. Content with little I can piddle here, On brocoli and mutton round the year.

d. 1745. Swift [quoted by Maidment]. From stomach sharp, and hearty feeding, To piddle like a lady breeding.

d. 1774. Goldsmith, Criticisms [Century]. A piddling reader .... might object to almost all the rhymes of the above quotation.

1902. Henley, Views and Reviews, 11. 10. Though the Castle of Otranto is a piddling piece of super-nature.

Pie, subs, (colloquial).—(1) A magpie ; and (2) a prating gossip. Wily pie = a sly rogue.

1369. Chaucer, Troilus, iii. 527. Dredeles it clere was in the wynde Of every pie, and every lette-game.

d. 1529. Skelton, Balletys andDyties [Dyce, i. 24, 34]. By theyr conusaunce knowing how they serue a wily py.

1577. Stanihurst, Desc.qf Ireland, 13. Howbeit in the English pale to this day they use to tearme a slie cousener a wilie pie.

c.1580. Ballad of Troilus [Halliwell]. Then Pandare, lyke a wyly pye . . . Slept to the tabell by and by, And forthe he blewe the candell.

[?]. M. S. Rawlinson, C258. The pye hathe pecked you.

3. See Pi, subs., sense 1.

[More or less colloquial are :— To have a finger in the pie (or, indeed, any matter) = to meddle, to join in : cf. boat ; to make a pie = to combine with a view to profit ; like pie = with

Piece.

192

Piece.

zest : cf. jam ; in spite of the pie = obstinately (piE = the Book of the Offices of the Church) ; not to cook any of the pie (American) = to abandon an enterprise, to take no further interest (Mark Twain).

1601. Shakspeare, Henry VIII., i. i. No man's pie is preed from his ambitious finger.

1603-15. Court Jas. I. (1848), i. 37. If this earl should be found hereafter anyways privy thereto, it cannot be but that Beaumont's hand was in the pie.

1608. Withal, Dictionarie, 390. Pertinax in rem aliquam, that is fully bent to doe a thing, that will doe it, yea marie will he, maugre or in spight of the pie.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 169. It was but fair I should have a finger in the earnings. Ibid., 297. I was entitled to have a finger in the dissipation.

1767. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 159. He had a finger in the pie when he burnt his nail off.

1842. Egan, By-blow 0/ the Jug, ii. She taught him soon to swear and lie, And

tO have a finger in every pie.

1887. Henley, Culture in Slums, ' Ballade ' 3. I goes for 'Olman 'Unt like pie.

Piece, subs. (old).—i. A person, male or female : often in contempt. Also (of women) piece

(or bit) of mutton, muslin, or goods.

1290. Cursor Mundi, 634. A wel godd pece [of St. John].

1574. R[ichard] B[ower], Appius and Virginia [Dodsley, Old Plays (Hazlitt), iv. 125]. O passing piece.

1604. Shakspeare, Winter's Tale, v. i. ' His princess say you'?' . . . 'Ay, the most peerless piece.' Ibid., v. 3. O royal piece.

1606. Chapman, Monsieur D'Olive, v. i. She's but a sallow, freckle-faced piece when she is at the best.

1607. Dekker, Northward Hoe, iv. i. 'S blood, I was never cozened with a more rascal piece of mutton, Since I came out a' the Lower Countries.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, i.

1. He is another manner of piece than you think for.

1629. Massinger, Picture, iii. 6. Ubald. This ring was Julietta's, a fine piece, But very good at the sport.

1633. Nabbes, Totenham-Court, ii.

2. She seems a handsome piece. That opportunity Would play the Bawd a little !

1635. Glapthorne, The Lady Mother, i. 3. She is ... a corrupted peice, A most lascivious prostitute.

1655. Strode, Floating Island, E 1. This lewde crack'd abominable peice.

1673. Wycherley, Gentleman Dancing Master, v. i. I am thinking . . . what those ladies who are never precise but at a play would say of me now :—that I were a confident coming piece, I warrant, and they would damn the poor poet for libelling the sex.

1678. Cotton, Scoffer Scoft [ Works (1725), 227]. But each one must not think to bear So fine a piece as Mulciber.

1688. Crowne, City Politics, i. 1. Since she is so weak a piece I'll fortify her.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge (1866), 4]. She seemed a pretty piece of goods enough, and such a stirring body. Ibid., 80. Keeping open house . . . for the votaries of pleasure . . . She had always two or three other pieces of damaged goods in the house.

17S5. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Piece . . . A damned good or bad piece ; a girl who is more or less active and skilful in the amorous congress. Hence the (Cambridge) toast, May we never have a piece (peace) that will injure the Constitution.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Piece— a soldier calls his musket his piece, and so he calls his trull ; but highflyers are so termed—behind their backs.

2. in pi. (common).—Money ; rhino (q.v.). [From the old Spanish ' pieces of eight.']

1558. Foxe, Martyrs [Catley (1843), 473]. The maid . . . having a piece of money lying by her, given unto her by the death of a kinsman of hers . . . brought unto him thirty pounds.

Piece-of-entire. 193

Pig.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' from the'Pink 'Un ['Boycotting the Author'], 45. So he added two 'oughts,' and got cash for it too, And promptly, proceeded the pieces to ' blew.'

1887. Bauman, Londonismen, 'Rum Coves.' Rum coves that relieve us Of chinkers and pieces, Is gin'rally lagged.

To go (or fall) to pieces, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be brought to bed.

TO go all to pieces, Verb.

phr. (colloquial).—To collapse ; to become exhausted ; to be ruined.

1667. Pepys, Diary, 29 Aug. I find by all hands that the Court is at this day all to pieces, every man of a faction of one sort or other.

1672. Ray, Proverbs[Bohn], 64. s.v. A Bankrupt. He's all to pieces.

1811. Austen, Sense and S., xxx. ' Fifty thousand pounds ! and by all accounts it won't come before its wanted ; for they say he is all to pieces.'

1882. Punch, lxxxil, 185, 2. 'These pals will be all right after dinner.' ' Let us hope they will,' said the Corinthian, ' for they look all to pieces now.'

1804. Echo, 7 April, 3, 1. The Oxford men were now all to pieces ! their boat was full of water.

To eat a piece, verb phr. (U. S. colloquial).—To eat between meals. Also to piece.

See also Flesh, Muslin, Pudding, Thick, and Top.

Piece-of-entire, subs. (old).—A jolly fellow.

Piece-out, subs, (tailors').—Employment ; a loan.

Pieman, subs, (streets').—The one in hand at pitch-and-toss (q.v.).

2. See Pi, adj.

PlERCER,.rttfo.(common).--A squinteye : one looking nine ways for Sundays (q.v.).

Piffing. See Spiff.

Piffle, subs, (colloquial).—Twaddle : esp. mincing, pretentious, affected twaddle. Hence as verb (colloquial) = to trifle pretentiously ; to twaddle with a purpose and an air. Pifkler = an earnest futility, i.e., a person with a moral end in view, and nothing to back it but a habit of talking, or writing sentimental rubbish. [In Jamieson, ' Piffer ' = to do peevishly,' or ' in a feeble or trifling way ' ; while ' pifferin ' = ' trifling, insignificant. ']

Verb (old).—2. To filch ; and 3 (old) = to be squeamish.— Bailey (1728) ; Halliwell (1847).

Pig, subs, (colloquial). — 1. An epithet of disparagement or abuse. Thus, a dirty pig = a person unclean in word or deed (Grose) ; an old pig = an ill-natured boor ; a learned pig = a bombastic shallow-pate ; as verb, (or to pig it, Grose) — to herd as pigs ; to pig together = to lie (or sleep) two (or more) in a bed (Grose) ; piggery = a squalid or untidy room ; pigeyed = small-eyed ; pig-faced = heavy jowled ; piggish = greedy ; pig-headed = obstinate (Grose) ; as happy as a pig in muck (or shit) = contented but filthy ; like a pig, no good alive = selfish ; to long for pig (or a Bartholomew pig) (q.v.) = to show signs of, or presume upon, pregnancy ; to bleed like a pig = to bleed copiously, like a pig under the knife ; to stare like a stuck pig = to look fixedly or terrifically.

194

Pig.

rf.1529. Skelton, Elynour Rummyng, 233. Then swetely together we ly, As

tWO pygges in a sty.

1621. Jonson, News from the New World [Century}. You should be some dull tradesman by your pig-headed sconce now.

1607. Dekker and Webster, Westward Hoe, v. 3. He bleeds like a pig, for his crown's crack'd.

1678. Cotton, Scoffer Scoft [Works (1725), 185]. Can. But when i pig'd with mine oven Dad, i us'd to make him hopping mad.

1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, iv. 6. Now, you being as dirty and as nasty as myself, we may go pig together.

169S. Unnatural Motlier [Nares]. By the zide of the wood there is a curious hansom gentlewoman lies as dead as a herring, and bleeds like any stuck pig.

1704. Gentleman Instructed, 537. When reason sleeps extravagance breaks loose ; quality and peasantry pig together.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 373. He stared like a stuck pig at my equipment.

c.1780. Tomlinson, Flash Pastoral. And Nancy pigged with me wherever i went.

d.1%45. Hood, Tale of a Trumpet. How the Smiths contrived to live and whether The fourteen Murphies all pigg'd together.

1857. Whitty, Fr. of Boltemia, 86. What narrow stairs ! How dreadful it is that grandfather will stick to this piggy street.

<r".i859. Macaulay, Sir Wm. Temple. But be hardly thinks that the sufferings of a dozen felons pigging together on bare bricks . . . suited to the dignity of history.

18 [?]. West. Review [Century]. To pig it like the prodigal son.

i8["?]. The Engineer [Century], The working man here is content to pig it, to use an old-country term, in a way that an English workman would not care to do.

i86d. George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, i. 3. A thoroughly pig-headed fellow.

1888. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, ii. 4, 1. Brodie (searching\ Where's a hat for the Deacon ? where's a hat for the Deacon's headache ? This place is a piggery,

2. (old). — A policeman, or detective. Also grunter: see Beak. China street pig = a Bow St. officer.—Grose (1785) ; Vaux (1819).

1821. Egan, Life in London, 1. i. Do not frown upon me, but stretch out thine hand to my assistance, thou bashaw of the pigs, and all but beak !

3. (military). — In pi. = The Seventy-Sixth Foot, now the 2nd Batt. West Riding Regiment. [From its badge.] Also The Immortals (q.v.) and The Old Seven and Sixpennies (q.v.).

4. (printers'). — A pressman : cf. donkey.

1841. Savage, Diet. s.v.

5. (common).—Sixpence : see Bender, Hog, and Rhino.— B. E. (c.1696) ; Grose (1785).

6. (Cambridge University).— See Hog, subs., sense 3.

7. (tailors').—An utterly spoiled garment. Also pork.

Colloquial phrases are :— A pig in a poke = a blind barbargain : Fr. acheter chat en poche (B. E., ^.1696; Grose, 1785; Bee, 1823) ; to stuff a fat pig in the tail = to give unnecessarily : to take one's pigs (or hogs) to market = to deal, or do business : generally with

pretty, fair, fine, or bad,

when = a good or bad bargain, to succeed or fail (B. E., c. 1696; Grose, 1785); to drive one's pigs (or hogs) to market = to snore (Grose. 1785) ; to follow like an Anthony pig = to beg, to hang on (Grose, 1785) ; to get the wrong sow by the ear (or, Am., the wrong pig by the tail) = to make a mistake ; when pigs fly = Never :

Pig.

195

Pigeon.

see Queen Dick ; cold pig = (1) see ante and add ' Grose, 1785' ; (2) goods on sale when returned (Bee, 1823) ; and (3, medical) = a corpse, dead-meat (q.V. ) ; to have boiled pig at home = to be master in one's house (Grose : an allusion to a well-known poem and story) ; brandy is Latin for pig and goose = an excuse for a dram after either (Grose) ; please the pigs = ' If circumstances permit,' ' Deo volenle ' ; long (or -masked) pig = human flesh : exposed openly for sale in Hayti under this name ; to teach a pig to play on a flute = to attempt the absurd or impossible; ' When a pig is proffered, hold up the poke ' = ' Never refuse a good offer ' ; ' You can't make horn of pig's tail ' (see Sow's ear) ; to mistake a pig for a dog = to act stupidly ; child's pig but father's bacon = a pretended benefit : as when a pet animal is sold ; to grease a fat pig (or sow) on the arse (Ray) = to be insensible of a kindness.

1383. Chaucer, Reeves Tale, I. 358. And in the floor, with nose and mouth to broke, They walwe as doon two pigges in a poke.

14 [?]. Douee MS. 52. When me profereth the pigge, open the poghe.

1546. Heywood, Proverbs, s.v. To pull the wrong pig by the ear.

1634. Withal, Diet., 583. Terra volat, pigs flie in the ayre with their tayles forward.

1678. Cotton, Scoffer Sco/t [ Works (1725) 257]. He will not buy a pig a poke in : But wisely will bring all things out, And see within doors and without.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (1725) 122]. Thou hast of Hope not one Spark left, Th' hast brought thy Hogs to a fair Market.

rf.1682. T. Brown, Works, ii. 198. I'll have one of the wigs to carry into the country with me, and please the pigs.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, ii. 455. I'gad he fell asleep, and snored so loud that we thought he was driving his hogs to market.

1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, xv. Strap with a hideous groan observed that we had brought our pigs to a fine market. Ibid., Hump Clinker (1771). Roger may carry his pigs to another market.

rf.1819. Wolcot ('Peter Pindar')[BEE]. ' And then for why, the folk do rail ; To stuff an old fat pig i' th' tail,—Old gripus of Long-Leat.'

1853. Lytton, My Novel, v. xvii 'Please the pigs,' then said Mr. Avenel to himself, ' I shall pop the question.'

1890. Boldrewood, Squatters Dream, 50. Of course I must see them . . . I never buy a pig in a poke.

1896. Stevenson, South Seas [Edin. xx. 84]. While the drums were going twenty strong . . . the priests carried up the blood-stained baskets of long pig.

1900. Nisbet, Sheep's Clothing, 201. He felt that he had sold his pigs in a bad market. If he had waited he might have met the right woman with even a larger dower.

Pig and tinder-box, subs. phr. (old).—The Elephant and Castle.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. iii. Toddle to the Pig and Tinder-box, they have got a drap of comfort there.

Pig andWhistle Light Infantry

(The), subs. phr. (military).— The Highland Light Infantry, formerly the 71st and 74th Regiments of Foot.

Pigeater, subs. (old).—An endearment.

Pigeon (or Stool-pigeon), subs. (old).—i. Adupe;aGULL (q.v.); a fly (q.v.) : cf. rook and spider [cf. Thackeray's title, Captain Rook and Mr. Pigeon]. Hence, as verb, (or to pluck a pigeon = to swindle.) Fr. un

Pigeon. 196 Pigeon.

pigeon, un dindon, or un tordu ;

Sp. palamo (= pigeon), or sangrado ( = subject for bleeding) ;

It. unspagnuolo.—Grose(i78^!5) ;

Bee (1823).

1585. Les Dialogues de Jacques Tabureau. Je me deffieroy tantost que tu serois un de ceux qui ne se laissent si facilement pigeonnek à telles gens.

1720. Observer, No. 27. He's pigeon'd and undone.

1740. Smollett, Gil Blas [Routledge (1866), 146]. A flatterer may play what game he likes against the pigeons of high life ! They let you look over their hand, and then wonder that you beat them.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. i. Always on the look out for a ' good customer.' He, however, prefers pigeons.

1831. Disraeli, Young Duke, iv. vi. Lord Castlefort was the jackal to these prowling beasts of prey ; looked out for pigeons, and got up little parties to Richmond or Brighton.

1871. Levant Herald, 22 Feb., ' Gambling Table at Constantinople.' The police agents . . . made a sudden razzia . . . Catching some of the croupiers, bonnets, and pigeons infragrante delicto.

1888. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i. 1, 7. Smith. I've trapped a pigeon for you. Brodie. Can't you pluck him yourself?

1897. Referee, 14 Mar., 1, 1. These senators could differentiate between the claimants and debtors who knew the ropes, the hawks who harried pigeons, and, generally speaking, the straight and the crooked.

1901. Pall Mall Gaz., 13 May, 7, 3. A plaintiff objected to the description of "moneylender," and explained that he had many other interests besides the lending of money—for instance, he was devoted to birds. Pigeons?" asked the judge.

2. (old).—Sec quots. and cf. sense i.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pigeons. Sharpers, who, during the drawing of the lottery, wait ready mounted near Guildhall, and, as soon as the first two or three numbers are drawn, which they receive from a confederate on a card, ride with them full speed to some distant insurance office, before fixed on, where

there is another of the gang, commonly a decent-looking woman, who takes care to be at the office before the hour of drawing : to her he secretly gives the number, which she insures for a considerable sum : thus biting the biter.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf s.v. Pigeon . . . ' To pigeon the news ' is to send information by carrier pigeon. So fellows, who ran or rode with news surreptitiously obtained, received the name of pigeons from their occupation.

3. See Blue Pigeon.

4. (colonial). — Business : see Pigeon English. [The Chinese pronunciation of the English word. ]

Paul's pigeons, subs. phr. (school).—The scholars of St. Paul's school.

1662. Fuller, Worthies (London), i. 65. St. Anthonie's Pigs (so were the scholars of that School [City of London] commonly called, as those of St. Paul, Paul's Pigeons). [Fuller refers to Stowe's Survey as his authority.]

To milk the pigeon, verb, phr. (old).—' To attempt impossibilities, to be put to shifts for want of money.'—Grose (1785). Cf. Pigeon's-milk.

Phrases more or less colloquial are :—Pigeon-breasted = with protruding breast ; pigeonhearted (or livered) = timid ; pigeon-toed — with turned-in toes ; pigeon-wing = (1) a late 18th century mode of dressing the side hair : now American, (2) a wig so called, and (3) a brisk step or caper in dancing, skating ; to shoot at a pigeon and kill a crow = to blunder wilfully ; to catch two pigeons with one bean (see Stone).

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, ii. 2. I am pigeon-liver'd, and lack gall To make oppression bitter.

1621. Fletcher, Pilgrim, iii. 4. I never saw such pigeon-hearted people.

Pigeon English. 197 Pigs-and-whistles.

1749 Smollett, Gil Blas [Routledge], 328. Yet he was not so pigeonLIVERed as to surrender without an effort in my favour.

1836. Clarke, Ollapodiana Papers. One haw-buck dancer—a fellow whom I caught in several vulgar attempts to achieve a pigeon-wing—came up to me with an impudent air.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 'Dead Drummer,' n. 171. The pigeontoed step and the rollicking motion, Bespoke them two genuine sons of the ocean.

Pigeon English (or Pidgin), subs, phr. (colonial).—A jaigon serving as a means of inter-communication between the Chinese and the English-speaking races all over the world : alike in Shanghai and San Francisco. [A corruption of ' business-English ' — business — bidginess — bidgin— pidgin— pigeon.]

Pigeon-hole, subs.phr. (printers'). —i. An over-wide space between printed words ; a rat-hole (q.v.).

2. (Winchester College). — A small study.

3. (venery).—The female pudendum ; the breadwinner (q.v.) : see Monosyllable.

Pigeon-hole soldiers, subs, phr. (military).—Clerks and orderlies.

1871. Echo, i July, ' The Guards' Review.' Now and then I observed a little confusion, but this was caused by a number of pigeon-hole soldiers who scarcely ever do any duty in the ranks.

PIG eon-pair, subs. phr. (old).— Twins of opposite sex. [Pigeons lay two eggs which usually hatch as a pair.]

PlGeon's-M ilk, subs. phr. (common).—An imaginary product in quest of which fools are sent : cf. Strap-oil, Squad umbrella,

&c.—Grose (1785). Hence to milk the pigeon = to attempt impossibilities. [The idea is old : cf. Aristophanes in Aves (line 1672).]

1883. Frere, Birds 0/ Aristophanes, iii. p. 75. Here you shall domineer and rule the roast, With splendour and opulence and pigeon's milk.

Piggot, verb, (political : obsolete). —To forge. [A reminiscence of the Parnell Commission : the expression was born in the House of Commons, 28th Feb., 1889.] Cf. Salisbury ; Burke; Boycott ; Maffick, &c.

Piggy-wiggy(Pigwiggin or Piggywhidden), subs. phr. (familiar). —A pet pig : hence, a comic endearment (see Drayton, Nymphidia, where it is used as the name of a kind of Puck). [From piggy = a diminutive + whiddy — white.]

1678. Cotton, ScofferScofft [IVorks (1725), 197]. Vulc. What such a nazardly PiGWiGGEN, A little Hang-strings in a Biggin ?

Pig-poker, subs. (old).—A swineherd.

Pig-running, subs. phr. (old).— See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pig Running. A piece of game frequently practised at fairs, wakes, &c. A large pig, whose tail is cut short, and both soaped and greased, being turned out, is hunted by the young men and boys, and becomes the property of him who can catch and hold him by the tail, above the height of his head.

Pigs-and-whistles. To go to

pigs-and-whistles, verb phr. (Scots).—To be ruined.

1801. The Ilar'st Big, 48. The back-ga'en fell ahint, And couldna stand ; So he to pigs-and-whistles went, And left the land.

Pig-sconce.

[98

Pig-yoke.

1822. Galt, Entail, i. 9. I would be nane surprised the morn to hear that the Nebuchadnezzar was a' gase to pigs and whistles, and driven out wi' the divors bill to the barren pastures of bankruptcy.

Pig-sconce, subs. (old).—A lout ; a dullard : see Buffle.

1659. Massinger, City Madam, iii. i. Ding. He is no pig-sconce mistress. Secret. He has an excellent headpiece.

1879. Meredith, Egoist, xxxvii. These representatives of the pig-sconces of the population.

Pig's-ear (or -lug), subs. phr. (tailors').—A very large lappel collar or flap.

Pig's-foot, subs. phr. (American). —A short cloven crowbar ; a jemmy (q.v.).

Pigskin, subs, (racing).—A saddle.

Hence knight of the pigskin = a jockey.

.1870. Dickens [quoted in Century], He was my governor, and no better master ever sat in pig-skin.

1898. Sporting Times, 26 Nov., 3, 3. After a few days' rest he was in the saddle and has again electrified English turf followers by riding rings around their crack knights of the pigskin.

PlGSNEY, subs. phr. (old).—A girl : an endearment : see Titter. Hence (2), a woman's eye.—B. E. ((r.1696); Grose (1785).

13 ['?] Chaucer, Remédie 0/ Loue [Ency. Diet.]. Come hither, ye piggesnye, ye little babe.

rf.1529. Skelton [Dyce, Works, i. 20, 19]. Good mastres Anne . . . What prate ye, praty pyggsney.

1534. Udall, Roister Doister [Arber, i. 4, p. 27]. Then ist mine oune pygs nie, and blessing on my hart,

1580. Sidney, Arcadia, 277. Miso, mine own pigsnie, thou sbalt have news of Dametas.

</*.i588. Tarleton, Horse Loade of Fooles [Halliwell]. The player fooles deare darling pigsnie.

1594. Lyly, Mother Bombie, ii. 2. Pigsnie is put up, and . . . Tie let him take the aire.

1621. Burton, Anat. Melan. nr., ii. 4, i. All the pleasant names may be invented ; bird . . . lamb, puss . . . pigsNEy, hony, love, dove ... he puts on her.

1665, Homer-a-la-Mode [Nares]. As soon as she close to him came, She spake and call'd him by his name . . . Pigsny, Quoth she, tell me who made it cry.

Pig-sticker, subs, (common).—1. A pork-butcher.

2. (common).—A long-bladed pocket-knife ; and (3) a sword.

Pig-sty, subs. phr. (printers').—1. The press-room. See Pig, subs. sense 4.

2. (common). — A place of abode or business : see Diggings.

Pig's-whisper, subs. phr. (common) = i. A grunt.

2. (common).—A very short space of time [i.e., as brief as a grunt]. Bee(i823). Also (American), pig's-whistle.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xxxii. You'll find yourself in bed in something less than a pig's whisper.

Pig-tail, subs, (colloquial).—1. A Chinaman.

2. (Stock Exchange).—In pi. = the Shares of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China : see Stock Exchange.

Pig-yoke, subs. phr. (nautical).—A quadrant.

1836. M arry at, Midshipman Easy, xiv. Mesby agreed with Jack that this was the ' ne plus ultra ' of navigation ; and that old Smallsole could not do better with his pig-yoke and compasses.

Pike.

199 Pikestaff.

PiRe, subs, (common).—i. A turnpike road ; and (2) = a tramp, a gypsy (also pikey and piker) : as verb — to walk (also to pike off, and to tip a pike) : whence to pike on the been = to hook it for all one's worth. Hence pikekeeper (or pikeman) = a tollkeeper ; to bilk a pike = to cheat a toll-gate.

15 ['?!• Parlament of Byrdes [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet. iii. 180]. When his tethers are pluked he may him go pike.

c.1570. Ane Ballat of Matrymonie [Laing, Pop. Poet. Scotland, ii. 77]. He bad them then go pyke them home.

1712. Shirley, Triumph of Wit, ' Budg and Snudg Song,' 2. We file off with his cole As he pikes along the street. Hid., 'The Black Procession.' Tho' he tips them a pike, they oft nap him again.

c.1789. Parker, Sandman's Wedding [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 65]. Into a booze-ken they pike it.

1826. Morley, Song, ' Flashey Joe ' Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 97]. So I'll pike off with my mack'ral And you may bolt with your salt cod.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick, xxii. ' What do you mean by a tike-keeper ? ' enquired Mr. Peter Magnus. ' The old 'un means a turn-pike keeper ' . . . observed Mr. Weiler.

1857. Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, i. iv. Then there was . . . the cheery toot of the guard's horn to warn some drowsy pikeman, or the ostler at the next change.

1874. Borrow, Wordbook, . . . The

Ceople called in Acts of Parliament, sturdy eggars and vagrants in the old cant language Abraham men, and in the modern

pikers.

1888. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, 42. The turnpike has gone, and the pikeman . . . has gone . . . and the gates have been removed.

3. (American: Southern States). —A poor white.

1873. Nordhoff, California, 137. The true pike ... is the wandering, gipsy-like southern poor white.

4. (venery).—The penis: see Prick.

1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado, v. 2. You must put in the pikes with a vice ; and they are dangerous weapons for maids.

Verb. (old). — 1. See subs., sense 1.

2. (old).—To die: also to pike off : see Hop the Twig.

3. (American gaming). —To play cautiously and for small stakes. Hence piker = a moderate punter.

To pass the pikes, verb. phr. (old).—To be out of danger.— B. E. (f.1696).

1648. Herrick, Hesperides, ' His Cavalier.' This a virtuous man can doe, Saile against Rocks, and split them too : I ! and a world of Pikes passe through.

.1663. Sanderson, Works, ii. 45. Neither John's mourning nor Christ's piping can pass the pikes.

1675. Hacket, Transfig. (3rd Ser.). There were many pikes to be passed through, a complete order of afflictions to be undergone.

To give the pike, verb. phr. (old).—To dismiss : see Bag and Sack.

Pike I (or Prior pike), intj. (schools').—An assertion of prior claim or privilege ; Bags (or Bags I).

Piker, subs, (common).—1. See Pike, subs. 1 and verb. 3.

2. (Australian).—Wild cattle.

Pikestaff, subs, (venery).—The penis : see Prick.

See Plain.

Pilate-voice.

200

Pilgarlick.

Pilate-voice, sues. phr. (old).—a

big ranting voice. [Brewer : In the old mysteries all tyrants were made to speak in a rough ranting manner. Thus Bottom the Weaver, after a rant "to show his quality," exclaims, "That's 'Ercles' vein, a tyrant's vein ; " and Hamlet describes a ranting actor as " out-heroding Herod."]

1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 3126. In Pilate voys he gan to cry, And swor by armes, and by blood and bones.

1530. Palsgrave, Lang. Franeoyse, 442. A haulte voyx ... a Pylate's voyce.

1564. Udall, Apophth., 382. He heard a certain oratour speaking out of measure loude and high, and altogether in Pilate's voice.

Pilch, verb. (American thieves').— To pilfer : see Prig.

1557. Tusser, Husbandrie, 33. Some steale, some pilch, Some all away filch.

Pilch er, subs. (Old Cant).—A scabbard. [The word is used nowhere in English save in Romeo and Juliet. It seems to be a ' literal ' due to an Elizabethan 'comp.' Perhaps Shakspeare wrote ' pilch, Sir ' ; perhaps he didn't. Anyhow ' pilch = a leathern coat, or overall, and was good enough business for a leathern sheath.]

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, iii. 1. Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher by the ears?

Pile, subs. (American and colonial). —A large sum of money ; a fortune : see Rhino. Hence, to make one's pile = to make a fortune ; to go the whole pile — to stake everything.

1732-57. Franklin, Poor Richards Almanack, Ap. Rash mortals, ere you take a wife, Contrive your pile to last your life.

1858. New York Tribune, 25 Oct. I dug 25 dollars worth of gold dust, and my expenses were about 300 dollars ; however, I nave clung to the pile, and intend to keep it as a memorial of my trip. Ibid. (Dec, 1861). The jobber has made his pile, and what does he care?

1877. Black, in North Am. Rev., July, 8. While the carpet-baggers . . . were making enormous piles, petty larceny ruled supreme.

1888. Bryce, American Commonwealth, 11. 704. Great fortunes grow with the growing prosperity of the country, and the opportunity it offers of amassing enormous piles by bold operations.

1897. Mitford, Romance Cape Frontier, i. xxi. Didn't care what they did, so they made their pile quickly.

To pile on. See Agony.

To pile in, verb. phr. (American).—(1) To take part; (2) to eat.

1887. Roberts, Western Avernus [S. J. and C.]. They . . . asked up to sit down with them and pile in.

To pile out, verb. phr. (American).—To come forth.

Pile-driver, subs. phr. (venery). —The penis : see Prick. Whence pile-driving = copulation : see Greens and Ride.

Pilgarlick, subs. (old).—i. An outcast ; see quot. 1785.

1483. Cath. Anglicum [E. E. T. S.], s.v. Vcllicare . . . pille garleke.

.1529. Skelton [Dyce, Works, i. 122, 68]. Your pylled garleke hed.

1619. Fletcher, Humourous Lieutenant, ii. 2. And there got he a knock, and down goes pilgarlick.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Col. Was your Visit long, Miss ? Miss. Why, truly, they went all to the Opera ; and so poor Pilgarlick came home alone.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pill, or Peele Garlick. Said originally to mean one whose skin or hair had fallen off from some disease, chiefly by the venereal one ; but now commonly used by persons speaking of themselves ; as, there stood poor pill garlick: i.e., there stood I.

Pilgrim.

201

Pill.

2. (old).—A person of ripe age : see Antique.

d. 1605. Stow [Century], He will soon be a peeled garlic like myself.

Pilgrim, subs. (American).—1. See quot.

1875. L. Swinburne [in Scribner*s Monthly, 11. 508]. Pilgrim and 'tenderfoot ' were formerly applied almost exclusively to newly imported cattle, but by a natural transference they are usually used to designate all new-comers, tourists, and business-men.

2. (Western American). — In — cattle on the drive.

1889. Roosevelt, Ranch Life. Pilgrims . . . that is animals driven up on the range from the South, and therefore in poor condition.

Pilgrims-salve, subs. phr. (old). — Excrement; shit (q.v.).— Grose (1785).

1670. Mod. Account of Scotland [Harl. Misc., vi. 137]. The whole pavement is pilgrim-salve, most excellent to liquor shoes withal, and soft and easy for the bare-footed perambulators.

Pilgrim's-staff, subs. phr. (venery).—The penis : see Prick.

Pill, subs, (common).—1. A black balloting ball : see Blackball. Also as verb. — to reject by ballot.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xxx. He was coming on for election at Bays, and was as nearly pilled as any man I ever knew in my life.

1901. Free Lance, 27 Ap., 74, 1. The ex-acrobat, as every one knows, was badly pilled—some people being malicious enough to say that, although he had a proposer and a seconder, there was not a single white ball !

2. (common).-—A disagreeable or objectionable person ; a bore (q.v.) : also of events—"a bitter pill.'

a. 1556. Udall, Luke IV. [Century], Yet cannot thei abyde to swallow down the holsome pille of viritie, being bitter in their mouths.

1580. Lyly, Euphues, 468. Thinking . . . that the time was past to wo[o]e hir ... I digested the Pill which had almost [choakt] me.

1595. Shakspeare, Two Gentlemen,

ii. 4. Val. Û, flatter me ; for love delights in praises. Pro. When I was sick you gave me bitter pills, And I must minister the like to you.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 191. This decision was a bitter pill for me to swallow.

c.1801. Jefferson, To Madison[Y>ancroft, Hist. Const., 1. 430. He said the renunciation of this interest was a bitter pill which they could not swallow.

1897. Maugham, 'Liza of Lambeth,

iii. Well, you are a pill.

3. (common).—A drink; a go (q.v.) : see Drinks.

4. (American).—A bullet : also blue-pill (q.v.).

18 [?]. Drake's Mag., 'He Died Game' [S. J. and C.]. He had always told him he'd run plumb ag'in' a pill some day if he wan't blanked careful like.

Verb. i. See subs. 1.

2. (University).—To twaddle ; to talk platitudes.

The Pills, subs. phr. (military).—The Royal Army Medical Corps. Also "The Licensed Lancers"; "The Poultice Wallopers"; and "The Linseed Lancers." Also (generally) pills — a doctor or surgeon.

1899. Casselfs Saturday Journal, 15 March, 1,1. " Pills, are they all mad on board that vessel, or merely drunk, as usual ? "

To gild the pill, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To sweeten a bitter thing, soften a hard thing, beautify an ugly thing, explain away a sure thing ; to present the inevitable as though it were optional : to gammon (q.v.). Also pill.

Pill.

202

Pillicock.

1612. Webster, White Devil, iii. 2. I discern poison under your gilded pills.

1740. Smollett, Gil Bias, iv. iii. I . . . began to gild the pill, and . . . prove that this mad project was no more than an agreeable frolic. Ibid. iv. vii. The good old man . . . gilded the pill I was to swallow with a present of fifty ducats.

1899. Critic, 8 Ap., 3, 2. He quotes Goldsmith, then himself ; his desire being

to gild the pill.

To PILL and poll, verb. phr. (old). — To pillage and strip : specifically in modem usage (thieves'), to cheat a comrade of his regulars (jj.v.) : Fr. faire Pésgard. Whence (poll-thief, or poller) = (1) a thief ; and (2) an informer.

rf.1529. Skeiton [Dyce, Works, ii. 29]. With pollyng and shaving. Ibid. [i. 204]. Like voluptuous harlottes, that ... to haue their goodes, presenteth to them their beddes, for to take their carnall desires, and after they haue taken all their dispones, they pill them as an onion. Ibid., Maner 0/ World, 147. So many baudes and pollers, Sawe I never. Ibid., Colin Clout, 362. By poolynge and pyllage In cytyes and vyllage.

1548. Hall, Union [Halliwell]. And have wynked at the pollyng and extorcion of hys unmeasureable officiers.

rf.1577. Gascoigne, h. 3 b. [Nares]. Bicause they pill and poll, because they wrest.

1587. Hollinshed, /fist. Ireland, F7, col. 2a. Kildare did use to pill and poll his friendes, tenants, and reteyners.

1596. Spenser, Faerie Queene, v. ii. 6. Which Pols and pils the poor in piteous wise.

1597. Shakspeare, Rich. II., ii. 1. The Commons he hath pill'd With grievous taxes, and quite lost their hearts. Ibid., Rich. III., 1. Hear ire, you wrangling pirates, that fell out In sharing that which you have pill'd from me.

1600. W. Kemp, Nine Days' Wonder [Arber, English Garner, vii. p. 37]. One that . . . would Pol his father, Derick his dad ! do anything, how ill soever, to please his apish humour I

1610. Mirr. for Magistrates, 279. The prince thereby presumed his people for to pill. Ibid. 467. Can pill, and poll, and catch before they crave. Ibid. They would not bear such polling.

162t. Burton, Anatomy of Mel., 41. Great man in office may securely rob whole provinces, undo thousands, pill and poll.

rf.1626. Bacon, Judicature [quoted in Century from edition 1887], Neither can justice yield her fruit with sweetness among the briars and brambles of catching and polling clerks and ministers.

1648. Herrick, Hespirides, ' Duty to Tyrants.' Doe they first pill thee? next, pluck off thy skin ?

1675. Crowne, Country Wit, ii. . . . 'Tis a rare thing to be an absolute Prince, and have rich subjects. Oh, how one may pill 'em and poll 'em.

1893. Emerson, Lippo, v. i spose he wants to accuse us of polling—a thing i never done in my life, and i know my other pals are as straight as darts. Ibid., vi. i have often met honourable robbers since like the poller.

Pillar. See Post.

Pill-box, subs. phr. (common).— A small brougham.

1857. Dickens, Little Dorrit, xxxiii. She drove into town in a one-horse carriage, irreverently called at that period of English history, a pill-box.

2. (common).—A soldier's cap.

3. (American).—A revolver or gun. Also pill-bottle. See Mèat-in-the-pot.

Pill-driver (-monger or -peddler).—An itinerant apothecary : see Trades and Professions.

1763. Foote, Mayor 0/ Garret, i. There has, Major, been here an impudent pill-monger, who has dar'd to scandalise the whole body of the bench.

Pillicock (Pillock or Pilicock),

subs, (venery).—1. The penis : see Prick. Hence pillicock-hill — the female pudendum. Also (Burns and Jamieson) pillie.

Pillory. 203

Pimp.

[r]. Relic. Antic., ii. 2ii._ Ye ne

may no more of love done, Mi pilcoc pisseth on my schone.

1539. Lyndsay, Thrie Estaitis, 1. 4419. Methink my pillock will nocht ly doun.

1598. Florio, Worlde 0/ Wördes, Dolcemelle . . . Also taken for a mans

pilicock.

1605. Shakspeare, King Lear, iii. iv. Edg. PiLLicocK sat on Pillicock-hill.

161:. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Türelurean and Vitault, a pillicock, a man's yarde.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. xi. Very pleasantly would pass their time in taking you know what between their fingers and dandling it . . . One of them would call it her pillicock, her fiddlediddle, her staff of love, &c.

1719. Durfey, Wit and Mirth, Song. When pillicock came to his lady's toe.

d.1796. Burns, Merry Muses . . . He followed me baith out and in, Wi' a stiff standin' pillie.

1879. Davenport Adams, Shakspeare's Works [Howard ed., p. 1216]. Note on Pillicock . . . Lear's mention of his pelican daughters suggests this word —a cant term of familiar licentiousness—to Edgar.

2. (obs.).—An endearment.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, 382. A prime-cocke, a pillicocke, a darlin, a beloved lad.

1611. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Vitatdt. A great toole, or one that has a good toole, also a flattering word for a young boy like our my pretty pillicocke.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. xii. By my faith, saith Ponocrates, I cannot tell, my pillicock, but thou art more worth than gold.

Pillory, subs. (old).—1. A baker : see Trades and Professions.— B. E. (c.1696).

2. (old : now recognised).— See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pillory . . . also a Punishment mostly heretofore for Beggers, now for Perjury, Forgery and suborned Persons.

Pillow-m ate, subs. phr. (common). —i. A wife ; and (2) a whore : see Dutch and Tart.

Pill-pate, subs. (old).—A friar ; a shaveling.

d. 1570. Becon, Works, ii. 315. These smeared pill-pates, I would say prelates, first of all accused him, and afterward pronounced the sentence of death upon him.

Pi-man. See Pi, adj.

PiMGlNNiT, subs. (old).—'A large, red. angry Pimple.' — B. E. (c.1696). Cf. Old Saying, ' Nine pimgenets make a pock royal.'

1694. Dunton, Ladies Diet. [Nares]. Is it not a manly exercise to stand licking his lips into rubies, panting his cheeks into cherries, parching his pimginits, carbuncles, and buboes.

Pimp, subs, (common).—1. A pander ; a cock-bawd : also pimpwhisking^ quot. 1696). Hence as verb. = to procure. —B. E. (c.1696); Grose (1785).

1638. Ford, Fancies, i. 2. 'Tis a gallant life to be an old lord's pimpwhiskin : but beware of the porter's lodge for carrying tales out of the school.

1681. Dryden, Absolam and Achit., i. 81. But when to sin our biassed nature leans, The careful Devil is still at hand with means, And providently pimps for ill desires.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pimp. Ibid. Pimp-whisking, a Top Trader that way ; also a little mean-spirited narrow-soul'd Fellow.

rf.1742. Bailey, Erasmus, ' The Profane Feast.' Go hang yourself, you Pimp.

1890. Century Diet., s.v. Pimp. This explanation [Skeats] is, however, inadequate ; the word is apparently of low slang origin, without any recorded basis.

2. (old).—See quots.

1724-7. Defoe, Tour through Gt. Britain, i. 138. Here they make those faggots . . . used in taverns in London to light their fagots, and are called ... by the woodmen pimps.

Pimple.

204

Pin.

1785. Grosh, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pimp . . . also a small faggot used about London for making fires, named from introducing the fire to the coals.

3. (University). — To act meanly ; to curry favour. Whence pimping [adj.) = small, feeble; perhaps well-meaning, but in every way inconsiderable.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 32. They only care for pimping sycophants.

d. 1832. Crabbe [quoted in Century]. He had no paltry arts, no pimping ways.

1890. S. Judd, Margaret, i. 4. ' Was I so little ? ' asked Margaret. ' Yes, and pimping enough.'

Pimple, subs. (old).—i. A boon companion.

1700. Congreve, Way of the World, iv. 10. The Sun's a good pimple, an honest Soaker, he has a Cellar at your Antipodes.

2. (common).—The head : see Tibby.—Grose (1785); Bee (1823). Hence, pimple-cover = a hat : see golgotha.

Pimple in a bent, subs. phr. (old).—Something very minute : cf. Knot in a rush.

1582. Stanyhurst, AEnid., Dedic. I could lay down heere sundrye examples, were yt not I should bee thoght ouer curious by prying owt a pimple in a bent.

Pin, subs, (common).—In pi. = the legs. Hence, on one's pins = (1) alive ; (2) faring well; and (3) in good form.—Grose (1785); Vaux (1819).

1520. Hick Scorner [Hawkins, Eng. Drama, i. 102]. Than wolde I renne thyder on my pynnes As fast as I might goe.

1628. Earle, Microcos. [Downeright scholler]. His body is not set upon nice piNNES . . . but his scrape is homely and his nod worse.

1783. Burgoyne, Lord of the Manor, iii. 3. I never saw a fellow better set upon his pins.

1821. Egan, Life in London, Intro. Therefore he must get upon his pins how he can.

1842. Song, 'By-blow of the Jug' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896], 144]. Scarcely had Jack got on his young pins, When his mammy . . . taught him soon to swear and lie, And to have a finger in every pie.

1889. Harper's Mag., lxxx. 269. Glad to hear that he is on his pins yet ; he might have pegged out in ten years, you know.

2. (venery).—The penis: see Prick : cf. pincushion = female pudendum ; and push-pin = copulation.

1635. Glapthorne, The Lady Mother, i. i. LoT'ell. Her Belly a soft Cushion where no sinner But her true love must dare stick a pin in her. Grimes. That line has got the prick and prayse from all the rest.

3. (common).—A trifle : the lowest standard of value : also pin-head. See Button, Cent, Fig, Point, Rap. Rush. Straw, &c—B. E. (c.1696). [In quots. 1470 and 1592 frein = pin, but is derived [Jamieson] from SuG. Dan, pren = a graving tool or any sharp instrument.]

1433. Babees Book [E. E. T. S.], 93. But when he is to highest power, Yet he is not worth a pin.

1470. Wallace, vii. 910, MS. Quhat gentill man had nocht with Ramsay beyne ; Off courtlynes thai cownt him nocht a

preyne.

c. 1540. Doctour DoubblcAle [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet, iii. 306]. He careth not a pyn, How much ther be wythin, So he the pot may wyn.

1550. Bansley, Abuse of Women [Hazlitt, E. Pop. Poet, iv. 233]. And therefore your fonde blynd skuses wyl not serve ; They are not worth a pyn.

d. 1555. Lyndsay, S. P. K., ii. 29. Thocht I ane servand long hes bene, My purchess is nocht worth ane prene.

e. 1555. A Pore Helpe [quoted in Dyce, Skelton, i. cxiv.]. If she were supprest, A pyn for all the rest.

Pin.

205

Pinch.

-1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, i. 4. I do not set my life at a pin's fee.

[?[. Sir Andrew Barton [Child, Ballads, vu. 206]. And tho' he cared not a pin For him and his company.

1633. Marmyon, Fine Com/an., 11. i. 68. I do not care a pin for her.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (1725), 90]. But neither by the Nap, nor Tearing, Was it a Pin the worse for wearing.

c. 1707. Durfey, Pills (1707), ii. 112. For her Favour I care not a Pin.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Here's a Pin for that Lye ; I'm sure Lyars had need of good Memories.

d.ijgô. Burns, Poems (Globe), 80. My memory's no worth a preen.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' from the Pink' Un [' Boycotting the Author'], 44. Not caring a pin if the lotion was whiskey or unsweetened gin.

1887. Stevenson, Underwoods, ' The Scotsman's Return.' A bletherin' clan, no worth a preen, As bad as Smith o' Aiberdeen.

1890. Boldrewood, Squatter's Dream, 157. For two pins I'd put a match in every gunyah on the place.

4. (old : now recognised).—A measure containing four-and-ahalf gallons, or the eighth part of a barrel.—B. E. (c. 1696).

Verb, (thieves').—To steal ; to nab (q.v.).

Phrases :—To be down pin = to be out of sorts ; TO put in the pin = to stop, arrest, or pull up : as a habit or indulgence ; to

pin oneself on another = to

hang on ; to pin down (or to the ground) = (1) to secure, (2) to make sure, and (3) to attack with no chance of escape ; pinned to a wife's tail = petticoat-led ; TO pin one's faith to (or upon one's sleeve) = to trust implicitly : see also Bottle ; Merry-pin ; Nick.

Pin-basket, subs. phr. (old).—The youngest child.—Grose (1785).

PlN-buttock, subs. phr. (old).—A bony rump : with bones like pins pricking : the reverse of bargearse (q.v.).

1598. Shakspeare, All's Well, ii. 2, 18. It is like a barber's chair that fits all buttocks, the pin-buttock, the quatchbuttock, the brawn-buttock, or any buttock.

Pin-case (or -cushion), subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum: cf. pin, subs. 2 : see Monosyllable.

Pinch, subs, (common).—1. A dilemma ; a critical situation ; a scrape. Whence, to come to the pinch = to face the situation ; at a pinch = ' upon a push or exigence.'—B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785).

(/. i486. Berners, Froiss. Chron., 11. cxviii. At a pynch a frend is knowen.

1607. Dekker, Westward Hoe, iii. i. O, the wit of a woman when she is put to the pinch.

1613. Selden, Drayton's Polyolb., xviii. 735. The Norman in this narrow pinch, not so willingly as wisely, granted the desire.

1647. Fletcher, Hum. Lieut., iv. 4. I can lie yet, And swear, too, at a pinch.

1704. Swift, Tale of a Tub, i. Where t.he pinch lay I cannot certainly affirm.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 433. If you want my purse, come and take it : it will not fail you at a pinch.

1880. Glover, Racing Life, 38. It's one of the deadest pinches ever known. I guy or hook it, skedaddle or absquatulate.

2. (racing).—A certainty.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' from the Pink 'Un ['Honest Bill'], 50. The race would be a pinch, Sir, barring accident or spill.

Pinch.

206 Pinch-belly.

Verb, (thieves').—1. To steal : formerly, encroach little by little ; to appropriate. The pinch (or pinching lay) = (1) pilfering while purchasing, (2) exchanging bad money for good : ringing the changes (q.v.). Hence

pincher (or pinch-gloak) = a

shop-lifter. Also, to pinch on the parson's side = ' to sharp him of his tithes ' ; and pinched to the bone = robbed of all.— B. E. (f.1696); Grose (1785); Vaux (1819).

1362. Langland, Piers Plowman [Wright, vii. 267]. Yf ich zede to the plouh ich pynchede on hus half-acre.

1712. Shirley, The Black Procession, ii. To pinch all the lurry he thinks it no sin.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 378. The old codger will be pinched to the bone and left penniless.

1842. Egan, Captain Macheath (Song, ' Miss Dolly Trull. ') She runs such precious cranky rigs With pinching wedge and lockets.

1859. A Hundred Stretches Hence [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 159]. And where the swag so bleakly pinched?

1886-96, Marshall, 'Pomes' from the Pink 'Un ["The Luxury of Doing Good '], 41. He charged the barmaid's mash with the pinching of the cash.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 227. He was convinced, from the instant he discovered his boodle was gone, that it had been pinched.

2. (thieves').—To arrest.

c. 1600-62. Common Cries of London [Collier, RoxburgJie Ballads(1847), 213]. And some there be . . . That pinch the countryman With nimming of a fee.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., in. 397. He got acquitted for that there note after be had me pinched.

1886-96. Marshall, 'Pomes,' 72. And she was pinched for loitering with felonious intent.

1887. Henley, Villon's Good Night, iii. For you, you copper's-narks, and dubs, Who pinched me when upon the S nam.

1900. Sims, London's Heart, 284. Her husband had been pinched, and these were his pals who were going to try ... to get a lawyer to defend him.

3. (old).—' To cut the Measures of Ale, Beer,'&cB. E. (r.1696).

To pinch at, verb. phr. (old). —To demur ; to fault-find.

1383. Chaucer, Manciples' Tale, Prol. He speke wol of smale thynges As for to pynchen at thy rekenynges, That were not honeste, if it came to prüf.

See Nab, Nick, and Shoe.

Pinchbeck, adj. (common). — Showy ; meretricious ; sham. [In the 18th century Christopher Pinchbeck, a London watchmaker, invented an amalgam much used in cheap jewellery. ]

1782. Walpole, Letters, viii. 310. The highwayman . . . insisted on more. The poor girl, terrified, gave him not only her own pinchbeck watch, but her grandmother's gold one.

1886. West. Rev., Oct., 795. Most of these men were of the school of Molyneux, and theirs was pinchbeck patriotism.

1901. Punch, 25 Dec, 452, 1. The Irish Party, under the leadership of a pinchbeck Parnell, have given themselves away.

Pinch-belly (-back, -commons, -fist, -guts, -penny. or -pincher), subs. phr. (old).—A miser; a niggard in food, dress, or money : see Skinflint.

1412. Occleve, De. Reg. Princip. [Oliphant, New English, i. 210]. He [Occleve] uses many phrases seldom repeated before Barclay's time, a hundred years later, such as . . . shepes skyn (parchment) . . . pynchepeny (niggard).

1440. Prompt. Parv. s.v. Cupidinarius . . . pykepeny . . . pincher.

1579. Lyly, Euphues, ' Anat. of Wit, p. 109. They accompt one ... a pynch penny if he be not prodygall.

1593. HOLLYBAND, Diet., s.V. Chiche . . . PlNCHPENNY.

Pinch-board. 207

Pink.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, i. xlvii. Pinchpenny said to him ... we are here very ill provided of victuals.

1690. Crowne, Eng. Friar, ii. _ i. ' We are my Lady Pinch-gut's men Sir.' . . . ' Her men ? no, her mice. We live on crumbs. '

1821. Scott, Pirate, vi. If this house be strewed in ruins before morning where would be the world's want in the . . . niggardly pinchcommons by which it is inhabited.

1883. Clark Russell, Sailor's Language, s.v. Pinchgut. A mean purser.

PlNCH-board, subs. phr. (American).—A swindling roulette table : see Pinch, verb.

Pinch-bottom (-buttock, or

-cunt), subs. phr. (venery).—A whoremaster : see Mutton-monger.

Pinch er, subs. phr. (political American).—Alegislative measure calculated to secure a pecuniary reward to those interested in its rejection.

See Pinch, verb., and Pinchbelly.

, PlNCH-gut-money, Subs.phr. (old). —See quot.

C.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pinch-gut-money, allowed by the King to the Seamen, that Serve on Bord the Navy Royal, when their Provision falls Short ; also in long Voyages when they are forced to Drink Water instead of Beer.

Pinch-prick, subs. phr. (venery). —I. A whore ; and (2) a wife that insists on her dues.

Pinch-wife, subs. phr. (venery).— A vigilant and churlish husband.

Pincushion. See Pin-case.

Pineapple, verb(American).—To close-shave ; to ' county-crop ' ; to shingle (i/.V.).

Pine-top, subs. phr. (American).— Common whiskey : see Old Man's Milk.

Pine-tree money, subs, (old American). —Money coined in Massachusetts in 17th century : as bearing a figure resembling a pinetree. —Bart Lett.

Pine-tree State, subs. phr. (American).—Maine. [From its extensive pine forests.]

1888. Boston Transcript. The good old Pine-tree State is pretty well represented . . . scarcely a town of any size . . . but what contains one or more Maine men.

Pink, subs. (old).—1. A beauty : hence (2) a pattern or model : as a woman of fashion, a wellgroomed man, the pick of the litter, a champion at sport, &c.— Grose (1785).

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, ii. 4, 4. I am the very pink of courtesy.

1602. Breton, Wonders, 7. He had a pretty pincke to his own wedded wife.

1621. Fletcher, Pilgrim, 1, 2. This is the prettiest pilgrim, The pink of pilgrims.

1693. Congreve, Old Batchelor, ii. i. I am happy to have obliged the Mirrour of Knighthood and Pink of Courtesie in the age.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation,

i. Miss. Oh ! Mr. Neverout ; every body knows that you are the Pink of Courtesy.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. i. The lady and her scullion—the pink of the ton and his "rain-bow"— . . . they are "all there."

1827. Lytton, Pelham, xl. Now, reely, Mr. Ritson, you, who are the pink of feeshion, ought to know better than I can.

3. (American cadet).—A bad report, e.g., ' There are several pinks against you.' Also as verb.

Pink. 208 Pin-money.

4. (hunting).—A hunting coat : commonly scari.kt (a.v.). Also a hunting man (as wearing pink).

1857. Hughes, Tom Brown s Schooldays, i. iv. The pinks stand about the inn door lighting cigars and waiting to see us start.

i860. Macm. Mag., 16. With peacoats over their pinks.

Verb. (old).—i. To put home a rapiers point. Also, as subs. — a wound so made. — Ii. E. (<-. 1696); Grose (1785).

1598. Jonson, Ev. Man in His Humour, iv. i. .1 will pink your flesh full of holes with my rapier for this.

1607. Mluw.eton, Five Gallants, iii. 5. A freebooter's 1'ink, sir, three or four inches deep.

1778. Dakblay, Evelina, lxxxiii. Lovel . . . you must certainly imnk him ; you must not put up with such an affront.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, etc., s.r. Nob. ' Josh paid his respects ... to the Yokel's nob.' ' His nob was pinked all over,' i.e. marked in sundry places.

2. (American thieves').—To convict : as a result of perjury or cross-examination to one's prejudice.

3. (tailors').—To make carefully, even exquisitely.

4. (pugilists').—To get home easily and often.

1819. Moore, Tom Cribb, 'The Milling Match.' And muns and noddle pink'k in every part.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf, s.v. Pink [of Jim Belcher's method]. I felt myself suddenly pinked all over ... no blow of finishing importance, to be sure, but all conducing toward victory.

Dutch pink, subs. phr. (pugilists').—Blood : cf. claret.

1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, 11. 31. That'll take the bark from your nozzle, and distill the Dutch pink for you, won't it ?

PlNKING-dinder, Subs. phr. (old).

—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg: Tongue, s.v. Pinking-dinder. A sweater or mohawk. Irish.

PlNK-SPIDERS, subs. phr. (common).—Delirium tremens ; gallon-distemper (l/.V.).

Pinky, subs. (Scots' and American).

—The little finger : also anything little ; the smallest candle, the weakest beer, etc.

Pin-money, subs. phr. (old colloquial).—An allowance to a woman for pocket expenses : originally to a married woman by lier husband, either by settlement or gift [Grose, 1785]. Also (modern) the proceeds of adultery or occasional prostitution.

1673. Wvcherley, Gentleman Dancing Master [Leigh Hunt, Old Dramatists, 67]. ' But what allowance? "... ' Stay let me think ! first for advance money, five hundred pounds for pins.'

1703. Steele, Tender Husband, i. i. The main article with me is, that foundation of wives' rebellion, and husbands' cuckoldom—that cursed pin-money.

1705. Vanhrugh, Confederacy, iv. But then, sir, her coach-hire, her chair-hire, her pin-money, her play-money, her china, and her charity would consume peers.

171S. Hearnk, Diary, 29 Aug. Mr. Calvert tells rac, that the late princess of Orange (wife of him that they call King William iii.) had fifty thousand pounds per annum for pin money (as they commonly call ordinary pocket-money).

d. 1719. Addison, Ladies Association [Century]. They have a greater interest in property than either maids or wives, and do not hold their jointures by the precarious tenure of portions or pin-money.

1901. D. Telegraph, 13 Nov., 6, 3. I was to take a profit of 2s. or 3s., his explanation being that he would like to give his wife a little ' pin ' money.

Pinnace.

209

Pint.

Pinnace, subs. (old).—A bawd ; a prostitute : see Tart. Also (quots. 1607 and 1693) = a woman ; a piece {q.v.).

I ? ]. Songs of the London Prentices, 66. For when all the gallants are gone out o' th' town, O then these fine pinnaces lack their due lading.

1607. Dekker and Wriistku, Northward Hoe, v. 1. There is as pretty a little pinnace struck sail hereby, and come in lately !—she's my kinswoman . . . her portion three thousand . . . her hopes better.

1614. Bartholomew pair, i. 1. She hath been before me—punk, pinnace and bawd—any time these two and twenty years, upon record in the Pie-Poudres.

1693. Congkeve, Old Bachelor, v. 7. A goodly pinnace, richly laden . . . Twelve thousand pounds and all her rigging, besides what lies concealed under hatches.

Pinner (or Pinny), subs, (old colloquial).—A pinafore.

1672. Wycheri.i.y, Love in a Wood, iii, 2. Pish ! give her but leave to gape, rub her eyes, and put on her day pin neu.

[?]. The Crafty Miller [Nares]. With a suit of good pinnkrs pray let her be drest, And when she's in bed let all go to rest.

1681. Radclifke, Ovid Travestie, 5. My hair's about my ears, a* i'm a sinner He has not left me worth a hood or pinner.

1705. The London Ladies Dressing Room [Nares]. The cinder wench, and oyster drab. With Nell the cook, and hawking Bab, Must have their pinners brought from France.

1886. F. Lockek, Piccadilly [quoted in Century}. When, poor bantling ! down she tumbled, daubed her hands, and face, and pinny,

1901. Referee, 14 Ap., 9, 2. Hundreds of tiny toddles in their white pinnies and their little bows of pink and blue were dancing together to a piano-organ.

PlNNER-UP, subs. phr. (tramps').— A vendor of broadside songs and ballads. [They are usually pinned-up on canvas against a wall.]

PiNNlPE, subs. (American thieves'). —A crab. Hence pinniped — sideways ; crab fashion. [The Pinnipedia are fin-footed animals.]

PlNNOCK. To bring pinnock to

pan nock, verb. phr. (old colloquial).—See quot.

1552. Huloet .... Bryngesomethynge to nothynge, as the vulgare speache

is, to hrynge pvnnock to pannock.

PlN-PANNIERLY-FELLOW, subs.phr. (old).—See quot.

.... Kennett Jl.S. [Halliwf.ll]. A pin-pknnieri.e fellow, acoveteous miser that pins up his baskets or panniers, or that thinks the loss of a pin to be a pain and troulile to him.

PlNS-AND-NEEDLES, subs. phr.

(common).—The tingling which accompanies the recovery of circulation in a benumbed limb.

1876. G. Ei.iot, Deronda, lxiii. A man. . . may tremble, stammer, and show other signs of recovered sensibility no more in the range of his acquired talents than pins and needles after numbness.

PiN'S-HEAD. TO look for apin'shead in a cartload of hay,

verb. phr. (old).—To attempt the impossible. Whence to find a pin's-head, &c. = to achieve wonders. See Bottle.

1565. Calfhill, Martialls Tr. oj Cross [Parker Soc. ], 173.

Pinsrap, subs, (back slang).—A parsnip.

Pint, subs, (tailors').—Recommendation ; praise.

Pints round ! intj(tailors'). —A fine imposed upon a cutter for dropping his shears : nearly obsolete.

Pintle.

210

Pipe.

Pintle, subs, (venery).—The penis : see Prick. Whence pintlebit (or -maid) = a mistress or keep (q.v.) ; pintle-blossom = a chancre ; pintle-fever = a clap or pox ; pintle-merchant (or -monger) = a harlot ; pintleranger (or -fancier) = a wanton ; pintle-case = the female pudendum : see Monosyllable. —Bailey (1728) ; Halliwell

(1844). Also pintle-keek

(Scots') = a leer of invitation.

13 [?]. Shane MS., 2584, 50. [A receipt] ffor bolnyng of pyntelys.

14 [?]. MS. Med. Ree., xv. century. For sore pyntulles Take lynschede . . . with sweet mylke . . . make a plaster, and ley to, and anoynte . . . till he be whole.

1598. Florio, Worldt of Wördes, s.v. Cazzomarino, a pintle-fish.

1749. Robertson of Struan, Poems, 83. So to a House of Office streight A School-Boy does repair, To ease his Postern of its Weight, And fr— his P

there.

1785. C. Hanbury Williams, Odes, To L—d l—n,' 112. With whores be lewd, With Whigs be hearty, And both in (pintle) and in party, Confess your noble race.

c.1786. Captain Morris, The Plenipotentiary. She spread its renown through the rest of the town, As a pintle past all understanding.

rf.1796. Burns, Merry Muses, 'Nine Inch Will Please a Lady.' We'll add two thumb-breads to the nine And that's a sonsie pintle. Ibid., Burns, Godly Girzie. But ay she glowr'd up to the moon, And ay she sigh'd ... I trust my heart's in Heaven aboun, Where 'er your sinful pintle be. Ibid, (old), For a' That and a' That. A pintle like a rolling-pin : She nicker'd when she saw that.

Pioneer-of-Nature, subs. phr. (venery).—The penis : see Prick.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. xi. And some . . . women . . . give these names, my Roger, my . . . pioneer . . . lusty live sausage . . . my rump-splitter.

PIP, subs (gaming).—I. A spot on dice or playing cards.—Bailey (1728). [A corruption of picks = (O.E.) 'diamond' and (sometimes) ' spade ' : from old Fr. picque = a spade.]

2. (old). — The pox : see French disease : hence pipped — poxed.

1584. Monday, Weakest to the Wall, iii. 5. Do not you pray that the pip may catch the people, and that you may earn many groats for making graves ?

1622. Dekker and Massinger, Virgin Martyr, ii. 1. Therein thou shewed'st thyself a perfect demi-christian too, to let the poor beg, starve, and hang, or die of the pip.

1670. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 172. As much need of it as he has of the pip, or a cough.

Verb, (club).—To blackball ; to pill (q.v.).

1880. Huth, Buckle, i. 252. If Buckle were pipped, they would do the same to every clergyman.

1892. Punch's Model Music-hall Songs, 20. And what his little game is, he'll let us perceive, And he'll pip the whole lot of 'em, so I believe.

2. (gaming).—To take a trick from an opponent.

To have (or get) the pip, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be depressed, or out of sorts : see Hump.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' from the Pink 'Un ['The Luxury of Doing Good '], 41. It cost a bit to square up the attack ; For the landlord had the pip.

Pipe (or pipers), subs, (old).—i. Generic for the vocal organs ; and (2) the voice : in pi. = the lungs. Hence as verb. = (1) to talk ; and (2) to cry : also to pipe up, to take a pipe, to

Pipe.

211

Pipe.

tune one's pipes, and to pipe one's eye. Hence, to shut (or put) up the pipes = to be silent. Also, piper = a brokenwinded horse : a roarer (q.v.).

1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales [Skeat], 1. 2752. The pypes of his longes gönne to swelle.

c.1400. Towneley Myst. [Camden Soc. ], 103. Who is that pypys so poore ?

1560. PilKington, Sermons [Parker Soc], 601. If that were true, physicians might put up their pipes.

1579-80. Lyly, Euphues, 278. Hee also strayned his olde pype, and thus begänne . . .

el. 1663. Sanderson, Works, ii. 45. Neither John's mourning nor Christ's piping can pass the pikes.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias, 1. v. I happened one day to scratch myself, upon which, setting up my pipes, as if he had flayed me my mother . . . turned my master out of doors.

1772. Burlesque Trans. Homer, ix. 392. His wife came last, and rubbed her eye, Then tun'd hek pipes. Ibid., 11., 72. Sink me, says one, there hardly pipes A braver fellow than Ulysses.

1790. DlBDlN, Song. Why, what's that to you if my eyes I'm a piping, A tear is a comfort, d'ye see, in its waj*.

['?]. Brownie 0/ Bodsbeck, ii. 155. He's coming, poor fellow—he's takin a pipe to himsel at the house-end—his heart —is as soft as a snaw-ba'.

1825. Jones, Song, ' True Bottom'd Boxer' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 93]. With ogles and smellers, no piting and chiming.

1829. The Prigging Lay [Vidocq's Mem., iv.]. There's a time to pipe, and a time to snivel.

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, xxxii. He had got it into his head that his own peculiar mission was to pipe his eye ; which he did perpetually.

d. 1845. Hood, Faithless Sally Brown. He heav'd a bitter sigh, And then began to eye his pipe, And then to pipe his eye.

1899. Whiteing, John St., 88. Nance is called to oblige with a song. She is shy . . . But the Amazon brings her forward with a stern ' Pipe up, yer blessid little fool.'

3. (Scots').— In pi.-the bagpipes. Hence to tune one's pipes = to talk or write.

4. (old).—A boot : see Trotter-cases.—Vaux (1819).

5. (venery).—The female pudendum: see Monosyllable.

Ve?-b. (old).—See subs. 1 and 2.

3. (American).—To waylay; to intercept.

4. (thieves').—To watch; to spy. Also to pipe off. Fr. allumer. See Nark. Whence piper — a spy.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' from the Pink 'Un [' Nobbled '], 115. I waited to pipe off the fun.

1808. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 87. His mission up there on the roof was to exclude . . . any who sought to pipe off the contest through the skylight.

1888. Sims {Referee, 12 Feb.]. If I pipe a good chat, why I touch for the wedge.

1899. Daily Telegraph, 7 Ap., 8, 3. Then, King Kid. You piped him. There's a child o' sin, now.

The Queen's pipe, subs. phr. (common).—The kiln in the great East Vault of the WineCellars of the London Docks, where useless and damaged goods that have paid no duty are burnt : as regards tobacco a thing of the past, stuff of this kind being distributed to workhouses, &c.

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.

1899. Daily Mail, 21 Mar., 3, 3. Tea for the Queen's pipe. Five hundred and eighty-two half-chests of tea were seized by the sanitary authorities of the Port of London.

To put one's pipe out, verb, phr. (common). — 1. To spoil sport or a chance ; ' to take the shine out ' ; and (2) to kill : see Light. Fr. casser sa pipe.

Pipe.

212

Pipe-layer.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it, ////'. (common).—A straight rebuke; 'digest that if you can." Fr. mets ça dans ta poche et ton mouchoir par dessus. See Take.

1824. Pkake, Americans Abroad, i. i. Don. (writes.) " No tobacco allowed in England." There—(shuts book.) put that in your pipe and sjioKK it. There's another slap at 'em !

1836. Dickens, Pickwick (1857), p. 6. Pull him up—put that in his pipe— like the flavour—dammed rascals ! And with a lengthened string of similar broken sentences . . . the stranger led the way to the travellers' waiting room.

1840. Harham, Ingoldsby Legends (Lay 0/ S. Odille). For this you've my word, and I never yet broke it, So put that in your pipe, my Lord Otto, and smoke it !

1883. Miss Rraddon, Golden Calf, ch. xix. Ah, then he'll have to put his i.ove in his pipe and sjmick it ! That kind of thing won't do out of a French novel.

TO pipe another dance,

verb. phr. (old). — To change one's means, or one's course of action or attack.

rf.1529. S kelt on, Colyn Clout [Brewer], They would pype you another daunce.

1544. Knox, Godly Letter [Maitland, lief., 88]. Nowe they haue . . . lerned amongst ladyes to daunsic as the

dkuill i.yst to pype.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 112. How do I know but my young mistress may caper to a tune of my piping.

To pipe in (or with) an ivyleak, verb. phr. (old).—To busy oneself to no purpose : as a consolation for failure ; 'to go whistle,' or ' to blow the buck's horn.' fIvy-leak — a thing of small value, as fig. rush, straw, &c],

c. i374_. Chaucer, Troilus, v. 1433. Hut Troilus thou mayst now east and west Pipe in an ivie leafe, if that thee lest.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, 1. But on of you, al be him loth or lefe, He

mot gon p1pen in an ivy lefe.

1387-8. [T. Usk], Test. Love, in. vii. [Skeat], I. 50. Far wel the gairdiner, he may pipe with an yuk leafe, his fruite is failed.

1390. Go wer, Conf. Aman., 11. 21. That all nis worth an yvy i.eff.

Pipeclay, subs, (colloquial).— Routine ; red-tape {q.v.).

Verb, (colloquial).— 1. To wipe out ; to settle : as accounts.

1853. Dickens, Bleak House, xvii. You . . . would not understand allusions to their pipe-claying their weekly accounts.

2. (tailors').—To hide faults of workmanship ; or defects in material.

Pipe-layer, subs. phr. (American). —A political intriguer; a schemer. Hence pipe-laying = scheming or intriguing for political purposes. [Bartlett: circa 1835, a traitorous New York Whig election agent concocted a plot to throw odium on the party, supporting it by correspondence in the form of bogus business letters relating to the Croton water supply then in progress, the number of men hired to vote being spoken of as so many yards of pi pe. —Abridged. ]

1848. New York Tribune, 30 Oct. The result of the Pennsylvania election would not be in the least doubtful, if we could be assured of fair play and no pipelaving.

1856. New York Herald, Sep. There is a magnificent scheme of pipelaving and log-rolling going on in Pennsylvania.

1883. Thurlow Weed, Autobiography, 493. Among the Glentworth papers was a letter in which he said that the men sent from Philadelphia were to be employed in laying the pipes for the introduction of Croton water. The Whig leaders were immediately stigmatised as pi pic-layeks, a term persistently applied to them for several years.

Pipe-merry.

213

Pipkin.

1888. San Francisco Weekly Examiner, 22 Mar. There are not a few who are hpe-laying and marshalling forces for the fray.

Pipe-merry, adj. and adv. (old). —Merry : as from wine [Which is stored in pipes].

1564. Udal, Eras. Apophth., 159. Wine deliuereth the harte from all care and thought when a bodie is rii'k mekie.

Piper, subs, (common). — 1. A detective : specifically (in England) an omnibus spy : tec Nark.

2. See Pipe, subs. 1.

Drunk as a pi per, phr. (old). —Very drunk : also piper-fou : see Fou and Screwed.

1772. Graves, Spiritual Quixote, x. xxix. Jerry . . . proceeded so long . . . in tossing off horns of ale, that he became

as drunk as a titer.

TO pay the pi per (or fiddler), verb. phr. (colloquial).—To pay expenses ; to assume responsibility. Fr. payer les violons.

1695. Congreve, Love for Love, ii. I warrant you, if he danced till doomsday, he thought I were to pay the piper.

1749. Smoi.i.ett, Gil Bias [Routi.kdgkJ, 69. We will make Doctor Oloroso pay the piper. . . . There is no reason why the forehead of a physician should be smoother than the brow of an apothecary.

1819. Scott, Ivanhoe, 1. 267. ' I like not that music, father Cedric' . . . ' Nor I either,' said Wamba, ' I greatly fear we shall have to pay the piper.'

rf.1868. Brougham [quoted inCentury]. They introduce a new tax, and we shall have to pay the piper.

1881. Caklyle, Miscell., iv. 89. Negotiation there now was . . . Dupont de Nemours as daysman between a Colonel and a Marquis, both in high wrath ;— Buffière to pay the piper.

Piper's-cheeks, subs. (old).— Swollen or puffed cheeks.

1608. Withal, Dictionarie, 286. That hath bigge or great cheekes, as they tearme them, piper's cheekes.

Piper's-news, subs.phr. (Scots'). —Stale news.

t3 ['?]. Perils of Man, i. 29. ' I came expressly to inform you '—' Came with piper's news,' said the lady ; ' which the fidler has told before you.'

Piper's-wife, subs. phr. (old).—A whore : see Tart.

Piping hot, adv. phr. (colloquial). -—Very hot.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, ' Miller's Tale,' 193. Wafres pipync hoot, out of the glede.

1530. Palsgrave, Lang: Francoyse,

s.v.

c. 1600. London Cries, 12 [Halliwei.i.1. Piping hot, smoking hot ! What have 1 got ? You have not ; Hot grey pease, hot ! hot ! hot !

1618. Mainwaring, Letter [Lodge, 11 his. Brit. Hist., iii. 403]. Foure huge brawnie pi.^gs, pipeing hott, hiked and harni.sed with ropes of sausages.

1678. Chiton, Virgil Travestie {Works (1725), 103I. Yet having now fall'n to his Lot, A good rich Farm lies piping hot.

1698. Congreve, Old Bachelor [Old Dramatists (1880), 163I, iv. 8. She thanked me, and gave nie two apples, piping hot out of her under-petticoatpocket.

1759. Goldsmith, Citizen 0/ the World, Ixv. A nice pretty bit of oxcheek, piping-hot, and dressed with a little of my own sauce.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. iii. In rushed Chaffing Peter . . . the oracle of the dustmen, piping hot from the Old Bailey, with an account of one Lummy.

Pipkin (The), subs. phr. (venery).

-—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable. Hence, to crack a pipkin = to deflower. —Grose (1785).

1709. Ward, London Spy, i. 16. He became one of her earliest suitors, and was very importunate with her to have the cracking of her Pipkin.

Pippin.

214

Piss.

2. (pugilists').—The head : see TlBBY.

1825. Jones, True Bottom'd Boxer [Univ. Songst., ii. 96]. At the pipkin to point.

Pippin. My pippin, subs. phr. (common).—An endearment.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 23. Take the shine out of some screamers, I tell yer, my pippin, would Loo.

Pippin-squire. See Applesquire.

Pirate, subs, (literary). — 1. An infringer of copyright : specifically of publishers, print-sellers, and booksellers, who, without permission, appropriate the work or ideas of an author or artist ; a freebooker. Also as verb. : cf. Barabbas, Ghost, Jackal, &c.

1703. W. King, Art 0/ Cookery, vii. I am told that, if a book is anything useful, the printers have a way of pirating on one another, and printing other persons copies : which is very barbarous.

1729. Hearne, Diary, 23 Sep. The said Davis . . . makes it his business to pyrate books, and hath reprinted something from mine without acknowledgment.

d. 1744. Pope [quoted in Century]. They advertised they would pirate his edition. Ibid., Letters, Pref. The errors of the press were . . . multiplied ... by the avarice and negligence of piratical printers.

1887. Shakespearian^, vi. 105. Meres refers to them [Shakspere's ' Sonnets'] in 1598 . . . and in 1599 two of them were printed by the pirate Jaggard.

1888. New Princeton Review, v. 50. We are doing all the pirating in these days ; the English used to be in the business, but they dropped out of it long ago.

rf.1891. Lowell, Coleridge [Century]. It was a pirated book, and I trust I may be pardoned for the delight I had in it.

2. (venery).—An adulteress : one who chases other women's men : also, conversely, of men.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 222. Lorenza . . . smuggles the surgeon . . . Every evening into her apartment. . . the pirate generally stays pretty long upon his cruise.

3. (common).—See quot. Now (1902), thanks to police regulations and the imposition of heavy penalties, almost a thing of the past : chiefly applied, without depreciation, to any non " Company" or "Association" vehicle.

1897. Pall Mall Gaz., 31 Dec, 5, 3. In 1829 George Shillibeer introduced omnibuses into London, and . . . took care to impress upon every man he employed the importance of politeness towards all passengers. But in 1832 it was noticed that this high standard . . . was not maintained by . . . conductors of the new 'buses running from Paddington to the Bank via Oxford-street. They overcharged passengers, and met protests with abuse. Frequently, when females only were in the 'bus, they brought their journey to an end long before they reached their advertised destination, compelling the passengers to walk a considerable distance after paying their fares. . . . These were the first pirate omnibuses. To let the public know which really were his vehicles Shillibeer at once had painted on them " Shillibeer's Original Omnibus." In a few days the same inscription appeared on some of the pirates with the word " not " in very small letters preceding it.

Pishery-pashery, subs, (old).— Gabble.

1621. S hoe ■ maker's Holy ■ day [Nares]. Peace, my fine Firke ! stand by with your pishery-pashery ! Away !

PlSS, subs, (vulgar).—Urine. Also as verb. = to urinate. Combinations are many : thus, pisser = (1) the penis, and (2) the female pudendum ; piss-bowl (or pot) = a chamber pot ; piss-burnt = stained with urine ; piss-maker = on£ given to much liquor ; pissprophet (or knight of the piss-pot = a pot-inspecting physician ; piss-pot hall = (see quot. 1785) ; piss-factory = a

Piss.

215

Piss.

public house ; pissing-post (or piss-dale) = a urinal; piss-fire = a blusterer ; Fiss-KiTCHEN = a kitchen-maid : piss-proud = of a false erectio penis ; piss-quick = hot gin-and-water (Bee, 1823); pissing-clout =a napkin ; pissing = small, mean, brief, as in pissing-while = a very short time; pissing-conduit = a conduit with a flow of water like a stream of urine : specifically one near the Royal Exchange set up by John Wels (Lord-mayor, 1430) ; pissingcandle = a small make-weight candle; rods in piss = a reckoning in store ; to piss pure

cream (or pins and needles)

= to be clapped (Grose) ; to

piss when one can't whistle = to be hanged (Grose) ; to

piss money against the wall

= to spend money in drink (Grose) ; to piss down the back = to flatter (Grose) ;

TO piss ON a nettle = to be peevish or angry ; when the goose pisseth = never ;

as good as ever pissed = as good as may be ; TO piss in a quill = to agree on a course of action ; piss-a-bed = a dandelion : with reference to its diuretic properties ; " So drunk that he opened his shirt collar to piss " = blind drunk ; "the tin-whiffin" = when you cannot sh-t for pissing ; to piss hard (bones, or children) = to be brought to bed ; TO piss blood (Urquhart) = to bleed ; to piss one's tallow = to sweat. Also not a few saws and proverbs —' As easy pissing a bed as to lick a dish ' ; ' As good (or, as very a knave) as ever pissed ' ; ' As surly as if he had pissed on a nettle ' ; ' By fits and starts as the hog pisseth ' ; ' Every

little helps as the old woman said when she pissed in the sea' ; ' Fire ! quoth the fox, when he pissed on the ice' ; ' He did me as much good as if he had pissed in my pottage'; 'He who once a good name gets, May piss a bed and say he sweats' ; ' Let her cry, she'll piss the less ' ; ' Fiss clear and defy the physician'; 'Piss not against the wind,' or ' He that pisseth against the wind wets his shirt ' ; ' He'd have died had he never pissed or shit ' ; ' Money will make the pot boil though the devil piss in the fire ' ; ' M any excuses pisses the bed' ; ' My horse pisseth whey, My man pisseth amber : My horse is for my way, My man is for my chamber ' ; ' The devil shits and pisses on a great heap ' ; ' Such a reason pisses my goose ' ; ' You'll be good when the goose pisseth ' ; ' He that's afraid of every grass must not Piss in a meadow.' See Rack-off.

1356. Mandeville, Travels, 242. The moste Synne that ony man may do is to pissen in hire Houses that thei dwellen in.

1362. Langland, Piers Plowman's Vision, 1. 3169. He pissed a potel in a paternoster-while.

1383. Chaucer [Skeat, Works, 3798]. This Nicholas was risen for to pissk. Ibid., 4215. Sone after this the wyf hir routing leet, An gan awake, and wente hir out to pisse. Ibid., 729. That Socrates had with hise wyes two How Xantippa caste pisse up-on his heed.

1440-99. Blind Harry, Maner oj Crying [Laing, Scot. Poet, ii. 14I. Scho pischit the mekle matter of Forth ; Sic tyde ran efter hendir.

1525. Tyndale, Tr. Bible, 1 Sam. xviii. 22. If I leave by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

rf.1529. Skelton, Elynour Rummyng, 370. And as she was drynknge . . . She pvst where she stood.

Piss.

1539. Lvndsav, Thrie Estaitis, 11. 98. And ye ladles that list to pisch, Lift up your taill plat in ane disch.

1539. Palsgrave, Lang. Francoyse, . . . But a pvssvnge whyle, tant quon auroyt pisse, or ce pendant. Ibid., subst. f. 66. Stale, tysse, escloy.

e. 1541. Scholthouse of Women [Hazlitt, E. Fop. Poet., iv. 113I. He would not once turn me for to kisse ; Every night he riseth for to pisse. Ibid., 121. A PissF.roT they brake vpon his pate.

1551. Still, Gammer Gurion [Dodsley, Old Plays, ii. 50]. He shall never be at rest one pissing-while a day.

1554. Udall, Apoph. of Erasmus, 25. She, beyng moche the more incensed by reason of her husbandes quietnesse and stillnesse, powred doune a pissebolle upon hym out of a windore.

¹555Vpeheringe of the Messe, 96. Alacke, for payne I pyssa.

1575. Touchstone of Complexion, 99. Manye men . . . take the matter in as greate snuffe, as they would to be crowned

with a PYSSEIiOLLK.

1594. Shakspeare, / Hen. VI., iv. 6. I charge and command, that, of the cities cost, The pissing-conduit run nothing but claret wine, The first year of our reign.

1595. Shakspeare, Two Gentlemen, iv. 3. He had not been there a pissingwhiie but all the chamber smelt him.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Ciangola . . . Also a pisse-pot. Ibid., Pisciatoio, a pissing place . . . Also a pis-pot.

1598. Stowe, London, 144. Some distance west is the Royal Exchange—and so downe to the little conduit, called the pissing-conduit by the stockes market.

1620. Fletcher, Women Pleas'd, i. 2. I shall turn pissing-conduit shortly [quoth a servant drenched with water).

1623. Mabbe, Guzman (1630), 240. Master Nicolas hath rods in pisse for you . . . and is plotting how he may be reuenged of thee.

1623. Webster, Devil's Law Case, ii. i. When that your worship has bepist yourself, Either with vehemency of argument, Or, being out from the matter.

1630. Taylor, Works [Nares]. On every pissing-post their names I'll place.

1632. Jonson, Magnetic Lady, i. 7. I shall entreat your mistress ... to have patience but a pissing-while.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. v. 'ihe pissing tool and urinal vessels shall have nothing of it. Ibid.,x\. He pissed in his shoes, shit in his shirt, and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

1672. Lacy, Dumb Lady, v. i. The household . . . paid my worship with their pisse-pots out of the garret.

1672. Wycherlev. Lo7-e in a Wood, i. 2. That spark, who has his fruitless designs upon the bed-ridden rich widow, to the sucking heiress in her pissing-clout.

1672. Ray, Proverbs, 206. To stay a pissing-while.

1676. Ethkredge, Man of Mode, ii. i. Old Bell. Out, a pise of their Breeches. Idem, v. 2. Old Bell. Out, a pise ! (el passim).

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (1725), 137]. Allât the first that they amiss thought, Was that her Grace had mist the Piss-pot. Ibid., 126. Therefore I think it not amiss for's To launch, for there are Rods it. Piss for's.

<r". 1678. Marvell, Poems [Murray], 188. I'll have a council shall sit always still, And give me a license to do what I will ; and two secretaries shall piss through a quill.

1682. A. Radclifke, The Ramble, 86. I roused my doe, and laced her gown, I pinn'd her whisk, and dropt a crown, She piss'd, and then I drove her down, Like thunder.

1694. Poor Robin [Nares]. Each pissing-post will be almost pasted over with quacks bills.

1706. Ward, Wooden World, 67. He crawls up upon Deck to the Piss-dale. Ibid. (1709), London Spy, i. 64. He had provided them a plentiful bowl of piss.

1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 71. As he was pissing at Temple Bar.

1740. North, Examen, 70. So strangely did Papist and Fanatic or . . . the Anti-court Party piss in a quill ; agreeing in all things that tended to create troubles and disturbances.

d. 1745. Swift, Miscellanies, "On the Discovery of the Longitude." Now Ditton and Whiston may both be be-pissed on. [Ft passim.]

Pistol.

217

Pit.

"1749. Robertson of Struan, Poems, 259. Thou drunken sot, go Home and spue, And piss a Bed, as thou art wont.

1772. Burlesque Trans. Horner, m. 181. Hut what I mostly fear is this, Some God has steep'd a rod in piss.

1785. Grose, I'nig. Tongue, s.v. Piss-proud . . . The old fellow thought he had an erection, but his prick was only piss-proud ; said of any old fellow who marries a young wife. Ibid. Piss-burned, piss-maker, and Piss-prophet. Ibid. Piss Pot Hall. A house at Clapton, near Hackney, built by the potter chiefly out of the profits of chamber pots, in the bottom of which the portrait of Dr. Sacheverel was depicted.

1821. Byron, Occasional Pieces (ed. 1840), p. 574. Posterity will ne'er survey a nobler grave than this : Here lie the bones of Castlereagh ; stop, traveller, p— !

Pistol, subs, (venery). — 1. The penis: see Prick.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Hen. IV., ii. 4. Pal. Here Pistol ... do you discharge upon mine hostess. Pistol. I will discharge upon her, Sir John, with two bullets. Pal. She is pistol-prook, sir. . . . Pist. Then to you Mistress Dorothy. . . . Pol. Charge me ! . . . you lack-linen mate ! Away ... 1 am meat for your master.

1623. Webster, Duchess of Malfi, ii. 2. Sent. There was taken even now a Switzer in the duchess' bed-chamber . . with a pistol in his great cod-piece.

2. (old).—A swaggering bully : see Furioso.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, Dram. Pers. Bardolph, Pistol, Nynt, sharpers attending on Falstaff. Ibid. (1598), 2 Hen. IV., ii. 4. First D. Sir, Ancient Pistol's below. Dot. Hang him, swaggering rascal ! ... it is the foulmouthed'st rogue in England.

1598. Florio, H'orlde of Wördes, s.v. Pistolfo ... a roguing begger, a cantler, an upright man that liveth by cosenage.

1748. Smollett, Pod. Random, xlvi. He snatched his hat and hanger, and assuming the looks, swagger, and phrase of Pistol, burst out, &c.

Also see PocKBT-risTOL.

Pistol-shot, subs. mon).—A drink ; see Drinks and pistol.

phr. (coma go {q.v.) : cf. pockET

PlT, subs. (old). — i. A breast pocket in a coat. Also, a fob. —Grosf. (1785) ; Vaux (1819). Hence pitman = a pocket-book.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : also bottomless pit, pit-hole, pit-mouth, and pit

of darkness : see Monosyllable. Hence, to lay pit

and boxes (or back and front

shops) into one {see quot. 1785).

d. 1674. Herrick, Poems, 'Cherry-pit.' Julia and I . . . playing for sport at Cherry-pit : ... I got the Pit, and she the stone.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Pit. To lay pit and boxes into one ; an operation in midwifery or copulation, whereby the division between the anus and vagina is cut through, broken, and demolished : a simile borrowed from the playhouse, when, for the benefit of some favourite player, the pit and boxes are laid together.

3. (old).—See quot. 1696.— Grose (1785).

c. 1696. 15. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pit, the hole under the gallows into which those that Pay not the Fee, viz., 6s. Sd., are cast and Buried.

Knight of the pit, phr. (old).—A cocker.

subs.

To shoot (or fly) the pit, verb. phr. (old).—To turn tail [Cocking].

1740. North, Examen, 327. The whole nation . . . expressing utmost detestation and abhorence of the Whig principles, which made the whole party shoot the pit and retire.

1740. Richardson, Pamela, ii. 308. We were all to blame to make madam here fly the pit as she did.

Pit-a-pat.

218

Pitch.

PlT-A-PAT, verb, (colloquial).— To walk lightly and quickly : as with a quick succession of sounds ; to palpitate. Also adj. and subs. [The same word as ' prittleprattle ' (or ' pittle-pattle ' = to chatter) : see quot. 1555. ]

rf.1555. Latimer, Remains [Parker Soc. (1844-5), >• 106]. In our deeds I fear me too many of us deny God to be God, whatsoever we pittle-pattle with our tongues. Ibid., Sermons, 306 verso. She doth not as our Papistes doe, which prittle prattle a whole day uppon theyr Bead es.

1601. Jonson, Poetaster, iv. 1. You shall have kisses from them go pit-pat, pit-pat, pit-pat upon your lips as thick as stones out of slings at the assault of a city.

1605. Sylvester, Du Bartas, ii. Run bow'd with burthens to the fragrant Fat, Tumble them in and after pit-a-pat Vp to the Waste.

1618. Fletcher, Loyal Subject, ii. 2. ' Lord, how my heart leaps ' . . . 'Twill go pit-a-pat shortly.

1690. Dryden, Don Sebastian, iii. 2. Now again I hear the pit-a-pat of a pretty foot through the dark alley.

1693. Congreve, Old Batchelor, ii.

2. Agad, my heart has gone a pit pat for thee.

1711. Steele, Spectator, 503. She immediately stepped out of her pew, And fell into the finest pitty-pat air.

d. 1891. Lowell, Courtin' [Century], His heart kept going pity-pat, But hern went pity Zelcle.

Pitch, subs. (showmen's and tramps').—(1) A place: of sale or entertainment. Also (2) a performance or sale. Hence, to pitch (or do a pitch) = to do business ; to queer a pitch = to spoil a performance or a sale ; to mar one's plans.

1S51-6. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., 1. xii. In consequence of a new Police Regulation ' stands ' or pitches have been forbidden.

c.i864. Vance, TheCkickalearyCove,

3. At Groves's you're safe to make a sure pitch.

1876. Hindley, Adv. of a Cheap Jack. When I had done my pitch, and got down from the stage.

1887. Henley, Villon's Good Night, 2. You swatchel-coves that pitch and slam. Ibid., A Book of Verses, ' Hospital Outlines.' A conjuror Doing his pitch in the street.

1S99. Pall Mall Gaz., 21 Ap., 8, 1. Lord Rosebery and his sons had come out evidently to enjoy a brief spell of the bright sunshine. When they came to the crossing-sweeper's pitch there was a cheery word with a smile, and something bright and yellow changed hands.

1901. St. James's Gaz., 10 Ap., 3, 1. The Russian Squadron, by a timely appearance at Villefranche, followed by a visit of its chiefs to President Loubet at Nice, has at once testified to the solidarity of the Franco-Russian alliance, and avoided queering the pitch of the Italians at Toulon.

3. (common).—A short sleep ; a nap.

Phrases : To pitch the hunters — to set up the three-sticksa-penny business ; to pitch it strong — to exaggerate, overdo, or embroider (q.v.) : to pitch and pay = to pay on the nail (at Blackwell Hall it was enacted that a penny be paid by the owner of every bale of cloth for pitching) ; to pitch in = (1) take a hand ; (2) to start ; and (3) to work hard ; to pitch ivro= to attack ; to pitch a tale (or fork) = to tell a story, romantic, playful, or pitiful ; to pitch on = to select at random.

d. 1580. Tusskr, 145 [Nares]. Where strangers well may seem to dwell That

pitch and pay.

1599. Shakspeare, Henry V., ii. 3. Let senses rule ; the word is ' Pitch and pay ' ; Trust none.

1610. Mirror for Magistrates, 374. No creditor did curse me day by day, I used plainnesse, ever pitch and pay.

1651. Barlow, Remains (1693), ' To Rev. J. Goodwin.' It is this argument of yours 1 shall pitch on, And the rather because it hath been cry'd up.

Pitch-and-fill. 219

Pitchfork.

~i8to. Evans, i. 23, ' Yorkshire Song.' And there was neither fault nor fray, Nor any disorder any way, But every man did

pitch and pay.

1851-61. Mayhew, Land. Lab., i. ßoo. 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.

1863. Story 0/ a Lancashire Thief, Brummagem Joe, a cove as could patter and pitch the fork with any one.

1867. London Herald, 23 March, 222, 2. If he bad had the sense to appeal for help, and pitch them a tale, he might have got off.

1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack. When Elias was at a pleasure fair, he would

pitch the hunters, that is, put Up the

three sticks a penny business.

1901. Punch, 25 Dec, 461, 1. We were pitching into the umpire.

Pitch-an dfill, subs. phr. (rhyming).—Bill.

Pitched, adj. and adv. (tailors').-Cut (q.v.).

Pitcher, subs, (venery).—1. The

female pudendum. Also the miraculous pitcher ('that holds water with the mouth downwards'). Whence, crackedpitcher = a harlot with a certain pretension to repute ; to crack a pitcher = to deflower. See Monosyllable. — Grose (1785).

1672. Wycherlev, Love in a Wood, iii. 2. My daughter is a girl of reputation, though she has been seen in your company; but . . . she is resolved never more to venture her pitcher to the well.

1771. Smollett, Humph. Clinker [Works (1899), in. 92]. Though my being thought capable of making her a mother might have given me some credit, the reputation of an intrigue with such a cracked pitcher does me no honour at all.

2. (old).—Newgate prison: also the stone pitcher or (jug) : see Cage.—Vaux (1819).

3. (thieves'). — See Sn i depitcher.

Pitchers have ears ! phr. (colloquial). — ' Listeners may overhear ' : also (of children) little pitchers have long (or great) ears-= What children hear at home soon flies abroad : Fr. Ce que Penfant oit au foyer, est bientôt connu jusqu'au Monstier.—Heywood(i546); Bailey (1728).

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shrew, iv. 4. Not in my house, Lucentio, for, you know Pitchers have ears, and I have many servants.

Other colloquialisms are :—To get the sheards after the pitcher is broken (Ray, 1760) = to receive a kindness after others have no need of it, or to get the refuse ; to bang a pitcher = to drain a pot. See also Crocus-pitcher.

Pitch er-bawd, subs. phr. (old).— See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pitcher-bawd. The poor Hack that runs of Errands to fetch Wenches or Liquor.

Pitcher-man, subs. phr. (old).— A drunkard ; a tickle-pitcher. See Lushington.

1738. Poor Robin [Nares]. For not one shoemaker in ten But are boon blades, true pitcher-men.

Pitch-fingers, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A pilferer : also tarfingers (q.v.). Whence pitchfingered = thievishly inclined.

Pitchfork, subs, (common).—A tuning-fork.

Verb, (colloquial).—To thrust into a position ; to toss, or settle carelessly.

Pitch-kettled. 220 Placebo.

1708-10. Swift, PoliteCon7<ersation, i. She wears her Cloaths as if they were thrown on her with a pitchfork.

1879. Nineteenth Century, 277. Your young city curate pitchforked into a rural benefice ... is the most forlorn . . . of all human creatures.

PiTCH-KETTLED, adj. phr. (old).— Puzzled : stuck fast : confounded. —Grose (1785).

d. 1800. Cowper, Pp. to Lloyd, 32. I fairly find myself pitch-kettled, And cannot see . . . How I shall hammer out a letter.

PITCH pole, verb, (old colloquial). — i. To sell for double the cost.

2. (schoolboys').—To turn a somersault.

Pitch-up, subs. phr. (Winchester School).—One's home circle ; a crowd or knot of people ; a set of chums. Hence, to pitch up with = to associate with.

Pit-hole (or Pit), subs, (colloquial). — A grave. Hence, as verb. = to bury.

1607. Puritan, i. 2. All my friends were pit-holed, gone to graves.

2. (venery).—See Pit.

Pitman. See Pit.

Pit-of-darkness, subs. phr. (venery). — The female pudendum : see Monosyllable. Also Pit-mouth, and Pit-hole.

Pitter-patter, verb, (common).— To palpitate ; to 'go pit-a-pat.'

Pittle-pattle. See Pit-a-pat.

Pitt's-PICTURE. subs. phr. (old political).—Abricked-up window. [To save Pitt's Window-tax].— Grose (1785).

Pizzle, subs, (venery). — i. The penis : see Prick. Also, as verb.

— to copulate : see Ride.— Rai ley (1728). Whence (2) a scourge : as made of bull's pizzles.

1607. Dekker, Northward Hoe, iv. i. Doll. This goat's-PizzLE of thine —. Bell. Away ! i love no such implements in my house.

1749. Smollett, Gil Blas, i. vi. I felt across my shoulders five or six hearty thwacks with a bull's pizzle.

Place, subs, (colloquial).—(1) An abode ; a place of business : see Diggings. (2) Ajakes, or house of ease (^.7'.) : see Mrs. Jones.

The place, subs. phr. (venery).

— The privities ((/.v.) : see Monosyllable and Prick: also place of ease.

^I759-°7Sterne, Tristram Shandy, ix. xx. You shall see the very place, said my uncle Toby. Mrs. Wadman blushed.

Place of sixpenny sinfulness, subs. phr. (old). — The suburbs : specifically a bawdyhouse so situated.

1607. Dekker, West-ward Hoe, v. 3. 'Go, sail with the rest of your bawdytraffickers to the place ok sixpenny sinfulness . . . ' 'I scorn the sinfulness of any suburbs in Christendom.'

See Spot.

Placebo, subs. (medical and general). — 1. A pacifying dose : hence (2) a sop of placation. Whence, to sing (or hunt, or go to the school of) placebo = to be servilely complaisant, or time-serving ; to ' hold with the hare and hunt with the hounds.'

1362. Lang land, Piers Plowman's Vision, 1. 1991. Preestes and persons

With Pl.acebo to hunt.

f.1383. Wyclif (?) Leaven of Pharisees, iv. [Mathew, Ünpr. Eng. Whs. of Wyclif (1880), 15]. Zif thei visyten not pore men in here sikenesse but riche men with preue massis and placeboes and diriges.

Placer.

221

Placket.

1-383. Chaucer, Summoner's Tale, i. 367. Beth ware, therefore, with lordes how ye pleye, Svngeth Placebo—and I shal if I kan.

1481. Caxton, Reynard the Fox (1880), xxvii. 65. Ther ben many that

ri.ay placebo.

1508. Skei.ton, J'Ayl Sparowe, 466. At this placebo We may not well forgo The countrynge of the coe.

1544. Knox, Godly Letter [Maitlani), Reformation, 88]. Nowe they haue bene at the skoole ok Placebo, and ther they haue lerned amongst ladyes daunse as the deuill lyst to pype.

1591. Sir J. Harrington, Pref. to Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. Of which comédie . . . when some (to sing placebo) aduised that it should be forbidden, because it was somewhat too plaine, . . . yet he would haue it allowed.

1625. Bacon, Ess. xxvi. And in stead of giuing Free Counsell sing him a Song of placebo.

1819. Scott, Bride oj Lämmermoor, i. I made my bow in requital of the compliment, which was probably thrown in by way of placebo.

18 [?]. American Jour. Psychol. [Century], Physicians appeal to the imagination in desperate cases with bread pills and placebos.

1890. Microcosm (New York), Mar. Delight at the temporary effects of such a placebo hypodermically administered.

1892. Fennell, Stanford Diet., s.v. placebo . . . Lat. placeke = to please : the opening antiphon of the vespers for the office of the dead in the Latin church, named from the first word of the Vulgate version, Placebo Domino in regione vivorum, ' I will walk before (please) the Lord in the land of the living ' . . . hence phrases to sing placebo, to pi.av placebo = ' to be complacent,' ' to be obsequious ' ; also an useless medicine intended merely to gratify and conciliate a patient.

Placer, verb. (American). — To live in concubinage ; to livk tally (q.V.) ; to dab it up (q.v.).

Placket (or Placket-hole), subs.

(old). — (1) A petticoat-slit or pocket-hole ; (2) a woman : cf. petticoat ; (3) the female pudendum (also placket-box) : see Monosyllable ; and (4) a petticoat. Whence placket-racket = the penis : see Prick ; to seek a placket-to whore ; placket-stuno = infected (Ray). Occasionally placket = shift.

1594. Shakspeare, Love's Lab., iii. i. Liege of all loiterers and malcontents, Dread prince of plackets, King of codpieces.

1594. Tvlney, Locrine, iii. 3. My first wife was a loving quiet wench ; but this, I think, would weary the devil . . . O Codpiece, thou hast done thy master ; this it is to be meddling with warm

plackets.

1604. Shakspeare, Winter's Tale, iv. 3. Is there no manners left among maids? will they wear their plackets where they should bear their faces ?

1605. Shakspeare, Lear, iii. 4. Keep thy foot out of brothels, thy hands

OUt of plackets.

c. 1608. Beaumont and Fletcher, Love's Cure, i. 2. That a cod-piece were far fitter here than a pinn'd placket. Ibid. (1619), Humourous Lieut., iv. 3. Was that brave heart made to pant for a placket ?

1623. Webster, Duchess of Malfi, iv. 2. A snuffling knave, that while he shows the tombs, will have his hand in a wench's placket.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. xi. One would call it her pillicock . . . another her touch-trap . . . Another again her placket-racket.

1654. Gayton, Pest. Notes, 170. Just like a plow-boy tir'd of a broune jacket, And breeches round, long leathern point, no placket.

1665. Sel. Coll. Epigrams [Halliwell]. Deliro playing at a game of racket Far put his hand into Florinda's placket ; Keep hold, said shee, nor any further go, Said he, just so, the placket well will do.

Plaguy. 222 Plant.

d.1674. Herrick, Works [1897], ii. 160. If the maides a spinning goe, Burn the flax, and fire their toe, Scorch their plackets, But beware that ye singe no maiden-haire.

Plaguy (or Plaguily), adj. and adv. (colloquial).—Troublesome; annoying; 'deuced'; very.

1580. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, iii. Most wicked woman, that hast so plaguily a corrupted mind as thou . . . must most wickedly infect others.

16 [?]. Sir Eglamour\Q.w\iA>, Ballads, viii. 197]. The dragon he had a plaguy hide, Which could both sword and spear abide.

1601. Webster, Cure /or Cuckold, ii. 3. What plaguy boys are bred now-adays.

1602. Shakspeare, Troilus, ii. 3, 187. He is so plaguy proud that the death-tokens of it cry ' No recovery.'

c.1608. Fletcher, Humourous Lieutenant, ii. 2. I am hurt plaguily. Ibid. (1617), Mad Lover, v. 4. Oh, 'twas a plaguy thump, charg'd with a vengeance.

1709. Steele, Tatler, No. 55. He looked plaguy sour at me.

1711. Swift, To Stella, xxxi. He was plaguily afraid and humbled.

1768. Goldsmith, Good Natured Man, ii. You're so plaguy shy that one would think you had changed sexes.

1843-4. Haliburton, Attache, xix. ' Squire,' said Slick, ' I'd a plaguy sight sooner see Ascot than anything else in England.

Plain, adj. (colloquial).—Watered; neat (q.v.).

Plain as a pikestaff (or packstaffe), phr. (colloquial).— Beyond argument : also packstaff (adj.) — plain. Also plain as the nose on your face.

1546. Becon [Parker Soc, Early Works, 276]. He is no dissembler, his heart and tongue goeth together, He is as

plain as a packstaff.

1598. J. Hall, Virgid., in.,_ProI., 1. 4. Not riddle-like obscuring their intent, But pack-staffe plaine, uttering what things they meant

1599. Marston, Scourge of Villanie, i. [Halliwell, Works, iii. 249]. His honestie Shall be as bare as his anatomie, To which he bound his wife. O, packstaffe rimes ! Why not, when court of stars shall see these crimes ?

1641. Bernard, Terence in Eng., 89. You make a doubt, where all is

plaine as a pike staffe.

Hall, Satires, vii. Prol. Not riddle-like, obscuring their intent, But pack-staffe plaine, uttering what thing they ment.

d. 1657. JBradford, Works [Parker Soc, 1853, 11. 319]. To make all as

plain as a pack-staff.

1695. Congreve, Love for Love, iv. ' As witness my hand ' . . .in great letters.

Why, 'tis as plain as the nose on one's face.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 409. Continual intercourse gave me an opportunity of prying into the duke's inmost soul, ... a masked battery to all mankind beside, but plain as a pikestaff to me.

Plain-statement, subs. phr. (tailors')—1. An indifferent meal ; common-doings (q.v.) ; and (2) a simple straight-forward piece of work.

Plank, sues. (political). — See Platform.

Verb, (common).—To deposit : as money ; to pay : also to plank up (or down).

1843-4. Haliburton, Attache [Bartlett]. I've had to plank down handsome . . . Ibid. ' Why,' says he, ' shell out and plank down a pile of dollars.'

1856. Southern Sketches, 163. Come, plank up the tin.

1886-96. Marshall, 'Pontes' from the Pink 'Un ('The Merry Stumer'), 8. He planked down a stumer bob.

Plant, subs, (thieves').—(1) Plunder ; (2) a swindle or robbery ; (3) a decoy ; and (4) a place of hiding. Whence as verb. = (1) to conceal ; (2) to select a person

Plant.

223 Plant.

orhouse for swindling or robbery ; (3) to utter base coin ; (4) in mining, to salt (q.v.); (5) to humbug, to gammon (q.v.) ; and (6) to prepare cards for unfair play. Also in plant = in hiding ; to spring a plant = to unearth.— B. E. (c.1696); Grose (1785); Vaux(i8i9) ; Matsell (1859). Hence (conjurors') = to prepare a trick by depositing an object in charge of a conscious or unconscious confederate.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, E 4. To plant, to hide.

1612. Dekker, Oper se O [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 12]. When they did seeke, then we did creepe, and plant in ruffe-mans low.

c. 1819. Song, 'The Young Prig¹[Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 82. I have a sweet eye for a plant.

1838. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xxxix. ¹ I was away from London a week and more, my dear, on a plant,' replied the Jew.

1853. Reade, Gold, iv. i. Levi. This dust is from Birmingham, and neither Australian nor natural. Rob. The man planted it for you.

d. 1870. Dickens [quoted in Century]. It wasn't a bad plant, that of mine, on Filey, the man accused of forging the Sou' Western Railway Debentures.

1886-96. Marshall, ¹ Pontes' from the Pink 'Un ['Honest Bill'], 50. For plants he always hated, 'cept the plants upon his sill.

1889. Notes and Queries, 7 S. ix. 50. Such-and-such an author says that so-andso was ' burnt alive,' followed by . . . righteous indignation at what never happened, while the dispassionate scholar finds the whole thing a plant.

1892. Percy Clarke, N&v Chum in Australia, 72. A salted claim, a pit sold for a £10 note, in which a nugget worth a few shillings had before been planted.

5. (old).— In pi.-the feet. Verb, (thieves').—1. .S^subs. 1.

2. (old : now mostly colloquial).—To post, set, or fix in position.

1555. Cavendish, IVolsey [Oliphant]. [He plants himself near the King.]

1600. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, ii.

i. Plant yourself there, sir : and observe me.

1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night,

ii. 3. i will plant you two, and let the fool make a third, where he shall find the letter.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, i. 148. He planted himself with a firm foot in front of the image.

3. (old).—To bury. — Grose (1785)

1872. Clemens (' Mark Twain'), Innocents at Home, 20. ' Now, if we can get you to help plant him —.' 'Preach the funeral discourse?'

4. (footballers').—To drive the ball into another player : hence planter = a blow so given : specifically one delivered in the face.

5. (venery).—To achieve (or assist) intromission; also to plant a man (old) = to copulate : see Greens and Ride.

TO plant whids and stow them, verb. phr. (old).—To be wary of speech.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1610. Rowlands, Maunder's Wooing [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 8]. Stow your whids & plant, and whid no more of that.

TO plant home, verb. phr. (common).—(1) To deliver (as a blow) ; (2) to make a point (as in argument) ; and (3, general) to succeed.

1886. Phil. Times, 6 May. Cleary planted two rib-roasters.

1899. Daily Telegraph, 7 Ap., 8, 3. See over there ! Opposition in the crowd. That roar means the opposition's planted one 'ome.

224

Platform.

To water one's plants, verb. phr. (old).—To shed tears : see Bib.

Plaster, verb, (common). — To natter.

Plaster of warm (or hot) guts, subs. phr. (venery). — Copulation ; ' one warm Belly clapt to another.'—B. E. (f.1696); Grose (1785) : see Greens and Ride.

Plasterer, subs, (sporting).—An amateur gun : see quot. and cf. Peter Gunner.

1885. Bromley-Davenport, Sport. The plasterer is one who thinks nothing of the lives and eyes of the men who surround him on all sides, and blows his pheasant to a pulp before the bird is seven feet in the air.

Plate (Plate-fleet or Family Plate), subs, (common). — 1. Generic for money : formerly a piece of silver: also (Halliwell) = ' illegal silver money ' : see Rhino. Hence to melt the plate = to spend lavishly ; when the plate-fleet comes in = money in plenty.—B. E. (^.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1586. Marlow, Jew of Malta [Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), viii. 335]. He's worth three hundred plates.

1608. Shakspeare, Antony and Cleopatra, v. 2. In his livery Walk'd crowns and crownets ; realms and islands were As plates dropt from his pocket.

1624. Beaumont and Fletcher, Pule a IVife, ii. 2. 'Tis such a trouble to . . . have a thousand things of gTeat importance, Jewels and plates.

1740. Smollett, Gil Bias, vu. vii. I left [Phenicia] busy in melting the plate of a little merchant goldsmith, who, out of vanity, would have an actress for bis mistress.

2. (rhyming). — In pi. = the feet : originally plates of meat : see Creepers. Whence to plate it = to walk. Also (American thieves') plates of meat = a street.

1886-96. Marshall, Pomes from the Pink 'Un ['Some Object Lessons'], 108. He is rocky on his plates, For he has forced them into ' sevens.' Ibid. (' Nobbled), 114. A cove we call Feet, sir, on account of the size of his plates.

1887. Sims, in Referte, 7 Nov. ' Tottie.' As she walked along the street With her little plates of meat.

Old Plates, subs. phr. (Stock Exchange).—The shares of the London and River Plate Bank. New Plates = shares of the English Bank of the River Plate : see Stock Exchange.

TO be in for the plate and

win the heat, verb. phr. (old). —To get pox or clap.—Grose (I785)

To foul a plate, verb. phr. (old).—To dine or sup.—Grose (1785).

Platform, subs, (colloquial).— Formerly a plan, design, or model : now a declaration of principles or doctrines (chiefly religious and political) governing organised public action, each section or paragraph of which is called a plank. Also, as verb. = to draft or publish such a declaration of principles or doctrines. [See the earlier quots. for an inkling of the modern usage.]

1555. Foxe, Acts and Monuments, vi. 25, If my lord of St. Davids . . . have their head encumbered with any new platform. Ibid., 592. The bishop had spent all his powder in casting such a platform to build his policy on as he thought should stand for ever and a day.

Platter-face. 225

Play.

1605. Bacon, Adv. of Learning, ii. 355. The wisdom of a lawmaker consisteth not only in a platform of justice, hut in the application thereof.

1641-2. Milton, Reas. Ch. Government, i. Some ... do not . . . grant that church discipline is platformed in the Bible.

(£1732. Bishop Atterbury, Sermons, 11. xiii. Every little society . . . imposed the platform of their doctrine, discipline, and worship as divine.

1848. New York Herald, 6 May. The Whigs, whether on the Lexington platform, or some other non-committal platform, will be and must be at once known as the party that opposed their country in her just and generous war.

d. 1865. Lincoln [in Raymond, p. 86]. In the Chicago platform there is a plank on this subject.

d. 1878. S. Bowles [Merriam, i. 291]. We want two planks—non-extension of slavery, and state reform.

1888. Louisville Courier Journal, Feb. Mr. Cleveland will be re-nominated by acclamation. His message will be his platform.

Platter-face, subs. (old).—A broad 01 flat face : also as adj. : see Dial— B. E. (c.1696) ; Grose (1785)

Plausible, adj. (recognised). — Specious ; persuasive. — B. E. (c.1696).

Play, subs, (venery).—Copulation : see Greens and Ride. Hence, foul play = adultery ; fair play = fornication ; playfellow = a lover, mistress, husband, or wife ; plaything = (1) a mistress, and (2) the penis (as in the proverb, ' A fool's bauble (q.v.) is a lady's plaything' : cf. Toy); love's playground — (1) the female pudendum, and (2) a bed : see Monosyllable and Kip. As verb. = (1) to wanton (Bailey), and (2) to copulate : also to play

with ; to play the woman

(the wanton, the fool, or the

ace against the jack) = to grant the favour ; to play the goat = to fornicate hard ; to

play off (or with oneself) = to

masturbate: seeY^\G; playsome (Bailey) = wanton. See Beast, Wily-beguiled, Tail, &c.

1383. Chaucer, Miller's Tale, I. 87. On a day this hende Nicholas Fil with this yonge wyf to rage and pleye. Ibid., 13,352. Let us laugh and play, Ye shai my joly body han to wedde : By God I n'lll not pay you but a-bedde.

1393. Gower, Confess. Aman., i. She bygan to plaie and rage, As who saith, I am well enough.

c.1520. Mayd Emlyn [Hazlitt, E. Pop. Poetry, iv. 94]. To ease her louer She toke another, That lustely conde do . . . With her lusty playe.

d. 1529. Skelton, ElynourRummyng, 219. Ich am not cast away, That can my husband say, Whan we kys and play In lust and in lykyng. Ibid. [Dyce, Works, i. 24, 37]. For your jentyll husband sorowfull am I ; ... he is not the first hath had a loss . . . warke more secretly . . . Playe fayre, madam . . . Or with gret shame your game wylbe sene.

d. 1549. Borde, Mylner of Abyngton [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet., iii. 109]. Of her he had his will ynough, And plaide them togyther. When the clarke had done his will, By the damosell he lay full stil.

1603. Shakspeare, Meas. for Meas., i. 4. He hath got his friend with child . . . I would . . . play with all virgins so.

1608. Shakspeare, Pericles, i. [Gower], The beauty of this sinful dame made many princes thither frame, To seek her as a bedfellow : In marriage-pleasures

playfellow.

1612. Webster, White Devil, iv. 4. I do suspect my mother played foul play, When she conceiv'd thee.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 93. The favours which my goddess winked at my snatching . . . fell short of the only perfect issue . . . Said I, this lady . . . thinks it beneath her quality to play the very woman at the first interview. Ibid., 190. Though noblemen . . . attach themselves to pretty playthings like yourself, it is highly unbecoming in you to forget your proper distance.

Play.

226

Play.

d. 1796. Burns, Merry Muses, ' They Took Me,' &c. They took me to the Holy Band For playing by [ = away from] my wife, Sirs.

Phrases :—To play artful = to feign simplicity, to keep a card or two up one's sleeve ; to play boots (the devil, the mischief, Ned, &c.) = to thrust, to spoil, to ruin ; to play off =

(1) to simulate, and (2) to expose to merriment, and (3) to make an end ; to play on (or upon) = to trifle with ; to play up = (1) to do one's best, and

(2) to be troublesome ; to play up to = to take one's cue from another ; played up (or out) = used up, or ruined ; to play with one's beard = to deceive ; to play it low = to take advantage ; to play light = (i) to take it easy, and (2) to keep one's temper ; to play for = to deal with generally ; to play dark = to conceal one's character or motive ; to play the whole game = to cheat ; to play least in sight = to hide ; to play to the gas (theatrical) = to play to small audiences (see quot. 1899) ; to play to the gallery (theatrical) — to rant, ^to g^ag> ^t0 ^use ^tne coarsest and cheapest means ; to play it off = to cheat ; to play the sovereign = to flatter an inferior ; to make good play = to work to advantage, or with execution ; to come into play = to take one's turn, or share ; to play fair (or false) = to act or deal honestly (or the reverse) ; to play one's cards well = to advance one's interests;

to play into one's hands =

to advantage ; to keep (or hold) IN play = to retain control, keep things going, or to engage ; TO PLAY THE GIDDY GOAT = to

behave like a fool ; to play with = to trifle ; to play upon advantage = to cheat ; to play in and out = to trifle ; played out = exhausted, ruined, done for; to play a good knife and fork (see knife, and add quot. 1749) ; to play the game = to do honestly at whatever cost ; to play diddlediddle = to trick, to cajole ; to play the duck = (i) to go contrary, or against the grain : as ducks are plucked, and (2) to prove a coward ; to play off one's dust = to drink. Other proverbial sayings are : ' She's like a cat, she'll play with her tail,' of a wanton ; ' The play won't pay the candles' (or 'the acting is not worth the lights') = the end is not worth the means or risk ; ' He'll play a small game rather than stand out,' of a meddler or busybody. Also see bear ; beard ; bob-fool ; booty ; deuce ; devil ; dickens; ducks; fast ; fathersand-mothers ; fiddle ; gooseberry ; Harry ; hell ; hob ; hooky ; in-and-in ; in-andout ; knife ; love ; mischief; possum ; second fiddle ; schoolmaster ; tail ; ugly ; uptails-all ; velvet ; wag ; wagtail.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, 1. 13,163. Til we be ded, or else that we play a pilgrimage [i.e., to play off or pretend to go a pilgrimage].

1400. York. Myst. [Oliphant, New English, i. 194. There are the new phrases . . . spille sport, play fair, &c.].

1525. Tyndale, Works [Parker Soc.], ii. 35. As soon as he hath played out all his lusts ... he cometh again with his old profession.

1530. Skelton [Dyce, Works, ii. 203]. What blunderer is yonder that playth didil-diddil.

Play. 227 Pleasure.

1544. Ascham, Toxopkilus [Arber], 97. Men play with laws.

1566. R. Edwards, Damon and Pythias [Nares]. Yet have I play'd with his beard, in knitting this knot I promist friendship, but ... I meant it not.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii. 2. Though you can fret me you cannot play upon me.

1598. Shakspeare, / Hen. IV., v. 4. Art thou alive? Or is it fantasy that plays upon our eyesight ? I prithee, speak. Ibid., ii. 4. They call drinking deep, dyeing scarlet ; and when you breathe in your watering, they cry ' hem ! ' and bid you play it off.

1600. Ionson, Cynthia's Revels, iv. i. If she hath played loose with me, I'll cut her throat.

1609. Jonson, Cosels Altered, iv. 5. Is't not enough That you have played upon me all this while, But still to mock me, still to jest at me.

1610. Beaumont and Fletcher, Maid's Tragedy, iv. 1. Do not play with mine anger.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. xlii. By God ! whoever of our party shall offer to play the duck ... I give myself to the devil if I do not make a monk of him.

1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, iii. Flip. Brass, the game is in our hands if we can but play the cards.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge (1866), 14. Domingo, after playing a good knife and fork, and getting gloriously muddled, took himself off to the stable. Ibid., 143. Ortiz . . . was determined to play up to my mistress. Ibid., 108. The little fellow . . . was but just coming into play. Ibid. (1812), iii. 83. ' What dost thou think of my lodging and ceconomy?' 'Thou must have certainly played thy cards well at Madrid, to be so well furnished.

1778. Sheridan, Rivals, ii. 1. You rely upon the mildness of my temper . . . you play upon the meekness of my disposition. Ibid., ii. 2. You play false with us, madam—I saw you give the baronet a letter.

1842. Macaulay, Horatius, xxix. Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, With all the speed ye may : I with two more to help me, Will hold the foe in play.

1868-9. Browning, Ring and Book, vi. Why play . . . into the devil's hands Dy dealing so ambiguously.

i86[?]. Bret Harte, Further L. from Truthful James. Is our investigation a failure, or is the Caucasian played out ?

1882. Fortnightly Review, 88. After all there is some refreshing sense of the primaeval about this played-out country.

1888. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i. You play false, you hound !

1888. MlLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads . . . Bin playing some dark little game '?

1892. Zangwill in Idler, Feb., 62. I think it's playing it too low upon a chap. It's taking a mean advantage of my position.

1895. Pocock, Rules of the Game, ii. You can ride on the waggon if you are too played out for a saddle horse.

1898. Newbolt, Admirals All, 21. The word that, year by year, While . . . School is set . . . her sons must hear, And none . . . forget. This, they all, with joyful mind, Bear through life like a torch in flame, And falling, fling to the hosts behind, Play up, play up, and play the game !

1899. Daily Mail, 16 Mar., 7, 1. Playing to thegas is used in the general sense in reference to small audiences, but strictly it means that an audience was only large enough to render receipts sufficient to pay the bill for the evening's lighting.

Pleasure, subs, (venery).—The sexual spasm : Fr. le plaisir. Hence, the art of pleasure = the practise of love ; the deed of pleasure = the act of

kind ; pleasure-BOAT (-GARDEN, -ground, or -place) = the female pudendum : also THE palace of pleasure: ^Monosyllable ; pleasure-garden padlock = the menstrual cloth ; pleasure-lady (or lady of pleasure) = a harlot : Fr. fille de joie ; A votary of pleasure = a whoiemonger(BAiLEY, 1748);

to pleasure (or PLEASE) A

Pleasure.

228

Plèbe.

woman = to give her an orgasm (as the Duchess of Marlborough wrote in her diary that the Duke had pleasured her thrice 'in his boots ').

c.1500. Roberte the Deuyll [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poetry, i. 223]. He toke her in hys armes, and her kyste ; And of that Lady he had all hys pleasure, And so begate a chylde.

d. 1529. Skelton, Phyllyp Sparowe, T194. Her kyrtell so goodly lased, And vnder that is brased [ready] Such plasures that I may Neyther wryte nor say.

1594. Lyly, Mother Bombie, iii. 4. Rix. If you take your pleasure of me, I'le in and tell your practises against your masters. Half. In faith, soure hart, he that takes his pleasure on thee, is very pleasurable.

1596. Davies, Epigrams, ' In Katam,' viii. Kate being pleased, wished that her pleasure could Endure as long as a buff jerkin would : Content thee, Kate, although thy pleasure wasteth, Thy pleasure's place like a buff jerkin lasteth.

1605. Chapman, All Eools, i. 1. All day in ceaseless uproar with their households, If all the night their husbands have not pleased them.

1608. Shakspeare, Pericles, i. 1. Untimely claspings with your child (Which pleasure fits a husband, not a father) ; And she an eater of her mother's flesh.

1623. Webster, Duchess of Malfi, v. 2. We that are great women of pleasure . . . join the sweet delight and the pretty excuse together.

c. 1640-2. Shirley, Captain Underwit, L Custome and nature make it less offence In women to commit the deed of pleasure Than men to doubt their chastity.

1663-85. Old Ballad, ' Poor Robin's Prophesie.' Your Lady of pleasure . . . will then become modest, and . . . live like a Nun in a Cloyster all day.

1681. Radcliffe, Ovid Trau., 30. When first with pleasure I lay under you, Would yo'd been lighter by a stone or two.

1736. Jacob, Rape of the Smock, 21. And ardently round Celia's waist he twines . . . Soft pleasure now succeeds an age of pain.

1749. Smollett, Oil Buts (1812), ii. 77. Is it possible that a person of such delicacy can be a lady of pleasure? Ibid. [Routlf.dge], 89. A celebrated wanton . . . keeping open house night and day for the votaries op pleasure. She was ... so perfect a mistress in the art of pleasure that she sold the waste and refuse of her beauty at a higher price than the first sample of the unadulterated article. Ibid., 286. Whether pimping was a virtue or a vice . . . what a promotion for me to be the provider of pleasure to a great prince. Ibid., 222. You cannot help admitting, that where a young man does insinuate himself slily into a girl's bedchamber, he takes better care of his own pleasure than of her reputation.

1754. Earl of Cork, Connoisseur [Englandin iSth Century, i. 47]. I was present at an entertainment where a celebrated lady of pleasure was one of the party ; her shoe was pulled off . . . filled . . . with champagne and drank off to her health.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 97. A fine long nose, and proper measure . . . to give the fair ones pleasure. Ibid., 244. He'd done his best to please. Ibid., 399. Patroclus' bed was warm'd the last, And he his nights in pleasure past By a fair maiden's side.

d.1796. Burns, Merry Muses, ' O, Saw Ye my Maggie ? ' My Maggie has a treasure, A hidden mine o' pleasure, I'll heuk it at my leisure, It's a' alane for me. Ibid., 'Nine-Inch,' &c. I learned a sang in Annandale, Nine-inch will please a lady.

1827. Lytton, Pet/iam, xlix. The rest were made up of unfortunate women of the vilest . . . decrepit, but indefatigable votaries of pleasure.

1866. Swinburne, Poems and Ballads, * In the Orchard.' The pleasure lives there, when the sense has died. ' Dolores.' Pleasure more salt than the foam of the sea, Now felt as a flame, now at leisure, As wine shed for me. Et passim.

Pleb, subs. (Westminster School). —A tradesman's son.

Plebe, subs. (American Collegiate). —A freshman ; specifically one in the lowest class at West Point. Hence plebeskin = a freshman's tunic.

Pledge. 229

Plover.

1888. New York World, 22 July. West Point, N.Y., July 21.—The fourth class entered camp on Monday, but are still wearing their plebeskins.

Pledge, suds, (colloquial). — A baby.

1622. Fletcher, Sp. Curate, i. 3. 'Tis the curse Of great estates to want those pledges which The poor are happy in.

1751. Smollett, Per. Pickle (1895), iii. 122. In a few hours a living pledge of my love and indiscretion saw the light.

Verb. (Winchester School).— To give away. 'Pledge me' — ' After you ' ; ' I'll pledge it you when I have done with it : cf. poste te.

Plenipo, subs, (oldcolloquial).—1. A plenipotentiary.

1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, iii. i. I'll . . . say the plenipos have signed the peace, and the Bank of England's grown honest.

1740. North, Examen, iq-j. Whiteacre . . . was the treason plenipo at that time.

1815. D'Arblay, Diary, 329. We were buoyed up . . . with the hope that G neral Laurington was gone to England as plenipo.

2. (venery).—The penis: see Prick.

c. 1786. Capt. Morris, The Plenipotentiary [Title and passim],

Pli er, subs, (common).—The hand : see Daddle.

Ploll-cat, subs. (old).—A whore : see Tart.

Plough, verb. (University). — 1. To reject in an examination. [See infra Smyth-Palmer on Pluck.]

1863. Reade, Hard Cash, Prol. Gooseberry pie . . . adds to my chance of being ploughed for smalls.

1877. Driven to Rome, 68. These two promising specimens were not ploughed, but were considered fit to teach that ... of which they were so lamentably ignorant themselves.

1895. Pocock, Rules of the Game, i. I knew one of that iot at Corpus ; in fact, we were crammed by the same Tutor for ' smalls,' and both got ploughed.

1900. White, West End, 148. ' I'll pay you back directly I have passed ' . . .

But suppose you're ploughed.' ' Well, then, I suppose you'll have to wait.'

Verb, (venery).—To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

1608. Shakspeare, Pericles, vi. 6. Bawd. Take her . . . use her . . . crack the glass of her virginity . . . Boult. She shall be ploughed. Ibid., .4«/. and Cleop., ii. 2, 232. Royal wench ! She made great Caesar lay his sword to bed : He plough'd her and she cropped.

TO plough THE DEEP, verb, phr. (rhyming).—To sleep.

TO PUT THE plough before

THE oxen, verb. phr. (old).—To reverse ; ' to put the cart before the horse.'

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. He

would put the plough before the

oxen, and claw where it did not itch.

Proverbial phrases are :— To plough with ass and ox = to sort or. do things ill ; to let

the plough stand TO catch a

mouse = to neglect weighty matters for small ; TO plough the air (or a rock) = to attempt the absurd or impossible.

Ploughed, adj. and adv. (common).—Drunk : see Screwed.

Ploughshare, subs, (venery).— The penis : see Prick.

1865. Swinburne, Atalanta, &*c, 107. Thou, I say Althea, sin^e my father's ploughshare, drawn Through fatal seedland of a female field, Furrowed thy body.

Plover, subs. (old).—A wanton : cf. partridge, pheasant, and grouse : see Takt.

Ploivtcr.

230

Pluck.

1614. Jonson", Bartholomew Fair, iv. 3. Here will be Zekiel Edgworth, and three or four gallants with him at night, and I have neither plover nor quail for them ; persuade this . . . to become a bird of the game.

plowter, verb, (venery)— To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

Pluck, subs, (colloquial).—Courage;

spunk (q.V.) : also pluckiness.

— Grose (1785). Hence plucked = valiant : usually with ' good,' ' well,' ' rare,' &c ; hard-plucked (see quot. 1857) ; plucky = bold, spiritedly, or indomitable ; pluck-less = fainthearted.

1821. Egan, Life in London, l. i. My hand . . . possesses not weight enough to combat with thee, although the pluck, perhaps, attached to it may be always gay.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 11. 146. If you're plucky, and not oversubject to fright.

1854-5. Thackeray, Newcomes, lix. ' Shall I break off with the finest girl in England, and the best-plucked one, and the cleverest and the wittiest? ' . . . ' By Jove, you are a good-plucked fellow, Farintosh.'

1857. Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, i. vii. The bad-plucked ones thinking that after all it isn't worth while to keep it up.

1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, iv. A terrible hard-plucked one . . . hanged if I don't think he has a thirty-two pound shot under his ribs instead of a heart.

1858. Trollope, Dr. Thorn, xxix. ' No,' said Frank, pluckily, as he put his horse into a faster trot.

1860-3. Thackeray, Roundabout Papers, ' On a Peal of Bells,' Note. I wish I was such a good-plucked one as you. Miss Anville.

1863. Story of a Lancashire Thief, 8. We prigs liked to see the rare plucked 'uns as much as decent folk hanker after Barnum and Blondin.

1883. Max Muller, Biog. Essays, 289. He set to work digging at Nineveh with that pluck . . . which he has since shown on other occasions.

1889. Mrs. Whitney, Leslie Golathwaite, vi. [Century]. Her quaint, queer expression, in which curiosity, pluckiness, and a foretaste of amusement mingled.

Verb. (University).—To reject at an examination. [Suggested derivations are ( 1 ) the analogy between plucking, or divesting a bird of plumage, as the magpie in the fable (see quot. 1360) ; and (2) as given in quot. 1853. As regards plough (q.v.) Smyth-Palmer says (Folk Etymology) it seems a wilful perversion of pluck. . . . the Germ, pflücken having been sportively confounded with plough, Ger. pflügen, from pflug, a plough].—Grose (1785). Also as subs.

1360. Chaucer, Romaunt of the Rose, S983. I shall so pulle him, if I can That he shall in a fewe stoundes Lese all his markes and his poundes, . . . Our maidens shall eke plucke him so, That he shall neden fethers mo.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge (1866), 146]. I had attended an experimental course among the actresses ; and had always found that the elderly candidates had been plucked in their amours.

1847. C. Bronte, Jane Eyre, x. He went to college, and he got plucked, as I think they call it.

1849-50. Thackeray, Pendennis, xix. Pendennis of Boniface was plucked. Ibid., xx. 'Was it done in public,' the

Major said. 'What?' 'The-the

plucking,' asked the guardian.

1849. Kingsley, Alton Locke, xx. He had been a medical student, and got plucked, his foes declared, in his examination.

1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, xi. [Note]. When the degrees are conferred, the name of each person is read out before he is presented to the Vice-Chancellor. The proctor then walks once up and down the room, so that any person who objects to the degree being granted may signify the sarre by pulling or plucking the proctor's robes. This has been occasionally done by tradesmen, in order to obtain payment of their ' little bills,' but such a proceeding is very rare, and the proctor's promenade is usually undisturbed.

Pluck-penny.

231

Plug-ugly.

1855. Bristed, Eng. Univ., 258. If a man is plucked—that is, does not get marks enough to pass—his chance of a Fellowship is done for.

1886. Stubbs, Medieval and Mod. History, 386. I trust that I have never plucked a candidate . . . without giving him every opportunity of setting himself right.

2. (venery).—-To deflower : see Dock.

1608. Shakspeare, Pericles, vi. 5. Never plucked yet, I can assure you. Is she not a fair creature.

Against the pluck, adv.phr. (old).—Against the inclination.— Grose (1785).

To pluck the Riband, verb, phr. (old).—See quot.—Grose (I78.S).

c. 1696. B. TL., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pluck the Riband, or Pluck Sir Onion, ring the Bell at the Tavern.

See Crow ; Pigeon ; Nose ; Rose.

Pluck-penny, subs. phr. (old).— See quot.

1643. Theeves, Theeves, 2. He that is once so skilled in the art of gaming as to play at Pluck penny, will quickly come to sweepstake.

Plug, sties, (common).—1. A silk hat : also plug-hat : see Golgotha.

1872. Clemens, Innocents at Home, . . . A nigger in a biled shirt and a

plug-hat.

1888. Eclectic Mag. Caesar was the implacable foe of the aristocracy, and refused to wear a plug-hat up to the day of his death.

2. (common).—Aman or beast, short and thick-set : see Fortyguts.

1872. Clemens, Innocents at Home. An old plug-horse, that eat up his market value in hay and barley in seventeen days by the watch.

1888. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 22 April. Some . . . screamed with delight, and others . . . anathemised the jockey who rode the plug they had barked.

3. (artisans'). — A workman whose apprenticeship has been irregular; a turn-over (q.v.) : specifically (in America) a craftsman who has learned his business in casual or evening classes. Such teaching is called plug-teaching.

4. (common). — Anything damaged or deteriorated : as an unsuccessful book ; an old horse ; coins bored full of holes and plugged with base metal ; a shopsoiled bicycle ; and so forth. Also old plug. Hence (generally) plug = any defect—moral, physical, or otherwise.

1888. Texas Siftings, 3 Nov. Can't sell you a ticket for that quarter; it's plugged.

5. (schools').—A translation ; a crib (q.v.) ; a pony (q.v.).

1853. Bradley, Verdant Green. Getting up his subjects by the aid of those royal roads to knowledge, variously known as cribs, crams, plugs, abstracts, analyses, or epitomes.

6. (American).—A loafer, welldressed or other : see Plugugly.

Verb. (Western States). — 1. To hit with a bullet.

2. (venery).—To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

Plug-hat. See Plug, subs. 1.

Plug-tail, subs. phr. (old).—The penis: see Prick.—Grose (1785).

Plug-ugly, subs. phr. (American). —A Baltimore street rowdy, circa 1860-80. Hence any loafer or rough (q.v.).

Plum. 232 Plum.

1876. Providence Journal, 30 Sep. The Democrats are getting up a soldiers' convention at Indianapolis. As Union soldiers are scarce in the Democrat ranks, many are recruited from the plug-uglies of Baltimore.

1891. Daily Telegraph, 13 July, p. 5, col. i. The plug-ugly, the 'dead rabbit,' and the Californian ' hoodlum ' are as racy of the soil of America as the ' larrikin ' is of that of Australia.

1896. Crank, Maggie, xiv. And she goes off with that plug-ugly, who looks as if he had been hit in the face with a coin die.

Plum (or Plumb), subs, (common). ■—i. ;£ioo,ooo ; a fortune : see Rhino. Hence, a rich man.— Grose (1785).

1709-11. Steele, Taller, No. 244. An honest gentleman who sat next to me, and who was worth half a plumb, stared at him.

d.1721. Prior, The Ladle, Moral. The Miser must make up his Plumb, And dares not touch the hoarded Sum.

c. 1719. Vision of Justice [quoted in Century]. Several who were plums, or very near it, became men of moderate fortunes.

1766. Oilman, Clandestine Marriage, iii. My brother Heidelberg was a warm man, a very warm man ; and died worth a plumb at least.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. v. Then your visit to Almack's will be at least worth a tlum to you.

1844. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, xiii. An English tallow-chandler's heiress, with a plum to her fortune.

1890. Boldrewood, Squatter's Dream, 104. Twenty years on the Warroo with the certainty of a plum and a baronetcy at the end.

1899. Besant, Orange Girl, 56. You the only son of Sir Peter Halliday . . . the heir to a plum—what do I say ? Three or four plums at the least.

2. (common).—A good thing ; a tit-bit: also as adj. (q.v.).

1889. Academy, 2 Nov., 280. The reviewer who picks all the plums out of a book ... is regarded with . . . terror . . . by both authors and publishers.

1892. The Writer, 120 {Century], Often, indeed, the foot-note contains the very plum of the page.

Adj. (old).—A general appreciative : good ; desirable ; exactly ; quite ; dextrously ; thorough-going. Whence also plumb-centre = exactly at the centre : as a plummet hangs.— Grose (1785) ; Vaux (1819). Also plummy.

1667. Milton, Paradise Lost, ii. 933. He meets a vast vacuity, all unawares, Fluttering his pennons vain, plumb down he falls.

1748. Richardson, Clarissa, iv. 262. Neither can an opposition, neither can a ministry be always wrong. To be a plumb man therefore with either is an infallible mark that the man must mean more and worse than he will own he does mean.

idi9. Song, 'The Young Prig' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 82]. Frisk the cly, and fork the rag, Draw the fogies plummy.

1830. Barri ngton, Personal Sketches [Bartlett]. The best way to avoid danger is to meet it plumb.

1839. Reid, Osceola, 415. We seed 'em both fire acrost the gleed, an' right plum-centre at young Randolph.

1867. London Herald, 23 March, 222, i. Ain't this ere plummy.

1876. George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, xvi. The poets have made tragedies enough about signing oneself over to wickedness for the sake of getting something plummy.

1883. Century Magazine, xxxvi. 900. O Sal, Sal, my heart ar' plum broke.

1888. San Francisco Weekly Examiner. I'm awful fond o' po'try—jus' plumb crazy ovah it.

1895. Pocock, Rules of the Games, 11. 10. But, doc, he ain't plumb stove up ; He ain't going to die here in this goal 3.

1898. Winthrop, Cecil Dreeme, vi. How refreshing to find such a place and such a person plump in the middle of New York.

Verb, (common).—To deceive : see Gammon.

See Blue plum.

Plum-duff.

233 Plum -puddinger.

Plum-duff, subs.phr. (nautical).— Plum-dumpling ; spotted-dog (q.v.).

Plump, subs. (old).—A blow.— Grose (1785). Also plumper.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 378. Gave me a plumper on the jaw, And cry'd : Pox take you !

Adj. and adv. (old : now recognised).— i. Exactly ; downright ; quite. Also as verb. = to meet in more or less violent contact ; and plumply (or plump and plain) = without reserve.roundly.

^I53SCoverdale, Trans. Bible [Oliphant, New English, i. 441. We see 'The waters plumped together'; hence our ' going plump into a thing.']

1614. Beaumont and Fletcher, Wit at Several Weapons, i. 1. The art of swimming he that will attain to't, Must fall plump and duck himself at first.

1778. Burney, Evelina, lv. Plump we comes against a cart, with such a jog it almost pulled the coach-wheel off.

2. (old : now recognised).— Fat. full, fleshy.—Grose (1785). Hence, plump in the pocket = with plenty of money ; warm (q.v.).

Verb, (political).—1. Torecord a whole(i.e., an unsplit-) vote. Whence plumper = (1) the voter and (2) the vote. Also (racing) = to back one horse ; and (general) — 'to put all one's eggs in one basket.'—Grose (1785).

1871-2. G. Eliot, Middlemarch, li. Mr. Brooke's success must depend either on plumpers, or on the new minting of Tory votes into reforming votes.

1885. Westminster Rev. [Century]. They refused to exercise their right of electing local members, and plumped for Earl Grey himself in 1848.

2. (old).—To strike ; to shoot. —Grose (1785).

3. See adj. and adv., sense 1.

Plumper, subs, (common).—1. An unqualified falsehood : see Whopper.

2. (common). — A device for puffing out to smoothness the wrinkles of the cheeks.—Grose (1785). Also a false bosom.

t6 [?]. London Ladies Dressing Room [Nares]. And that the cheeks may both agree Their plumpers fill the cavity.

d. 1745. Swift, Young Nymph. Now dextrously her plumpers draws, That serve to fill her hollow jaws.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 123. Unless I dress your plumpers out . . . Then you'll ... be willing To earn a sixpence or a shilling.

3. (political and general).— See Plump, verb.—Grose (1785).

4. See Plump, subs.

Plump-currant, adj. and adv. (old). — In good condition ; in fettle ; in high spirits.—Grose (I785)

Plum-porridge, subs. phr. (old). — A term of contempt : cf. pudding-head.

1634. Shakspeare and Fletcher, Two Noble Kinsmen, ii. 2. I'll be hanged though If he dare venture; hang him, plum-porridge ! He wrestle ? he roast eggs.

Plump-pate, subs. (old).—A blockhead : see Buffer.

Plum-puddinger, subs. phr. (American). — A small whaler making short voyages. [Century. the crew is dieted on fresh provisions and an abundance of plum-pudding.]

i8[?]. Scammon, Marine Mammals, 24_i. Provincetown has ever been foremost with her numerous fleet of plum-pud

dingers.

Plyer.

Plum-tree, subs, (venery).—The

female pudendum : see Monosyllable. Whence have at the plum-tree, a proverbial phrase, or the burden of a song.

c. 1547. Mariage of Witt and Wisdome, 16. I was neuer stained but once falling out of my mother's plumtre.

1594. Shakspeare, 2 Henry VI., ii. i. Suf. How earnest thou so? [lame]. Simp. A fall off of a tree. Wife. A plumtree, master. Glou. How long hast thou been blind? Simp. O, born so, master.

1611. Cotgrave, Diet.,s.v. Hocheprunier. A Plum-tree shaker, a man's yard.

Plunder, subs. (American).—1. Household goods ; personal effects ; baggage. [M. D. plunder = household effects.]

d. 1834. Coleridge, Letters, 214. They [Americans] had mistaken the English language for baggage (which is called plunder in America), and had stolen iL

1846. Major Jones's Courtship, 165. Old Bosen was going to have more'n his match to pull us, they'd put in so much plunder, Two trunks, bandboxes, &c.

1859. Hoffman, Winter in t/te West, xxxiii. ¹ Help yourself, stranger,' added the landlord, ' while I tote your plunder into the other room.'

1873. Lynch Law in tlie Sucker State. On Sunday afternoon, two long dug-outs, loaded with plunder, stopped at the cabin . . . This was the family and property of Hank Harris.

2. (common).—Profit; makings (q.v.).

Plunge, verb, (racing).—To bet recklessly. Hence a plunge = a reckless bet ; plunging = gambling for high stakes ; plunger = a reckless gambler. [E.g.. the Marquis of Hastings, the first so-called. One night he played three games of draughts for £1000 a game and lost all three. He then ' cut ' for ^500 a ' cut ' and

lost ^5000 in less than two hours. Benzon (the Jubilee Plunger) lost
^250,000 in little more than twelve months.]

1880. Fortnightly Review, 319. Plunging was the order of the day.

1800. Sims, in Referee, 20 Ap., ' Rondeau of the Knock.' One plunger more has had his little flare, And then came Monday when he couldn't ' square.'

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 3 Ap. The Squire of Kingscote took to plunging and shaking his elbow at baccarat nearly every night.

1901. Free Lance, 9 Feb., 471, 1. Sponging on their friends in order to settle their Stock Exchange "differences" . . . Husbands are ruined in a day by the secret plunging of their wives.

Plunger, subs, (military).—1. A cavalry man.

1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, xvi. It's an insult to the whole Guards, my dear fellow, after refusing two of us, to marry an attorney, and after all to bolt with a plunger.

2. See Plunge, verb.

3. (clerical).—A Baptist.

Plush, subs, (nautical).—1. See quot.

1867. Smyth, Sailors' Word Book, s.v. Plush . . . The overplus of the gravy, arising from being distributed in a smaller measure than the true one, and assigned to the cook of each mess, becomes a cause of irregularity.

2. (venery).—The pubic hair: see Fleece.

John Plush, subs. phr. (common).—A footman : cf. thackeray, The Yellowplush Correspondence, by Charles Yellowplush, Esq.

Plyer, subs. (old).—A crutch.— B. E. (c.1696) : Grose (1785).

2. (old).—A trader. — Grose (1785).

Plymouth-clonk. 235

Pocket.

Plymouth (or Dunkirk) -cloak,

stibs. phr. (old).—A cudgel.

1602. Dekker, Honest Whore, ii. Shall I walk in a Plymouth cloak (that's to say) like a rogue, in my hose and doublet, and a crab-tree cudgel in my hand.

1626. Owen, Spec. Jesuit (1629), to. I would haue soone recall'd him with a Plymouth cloake (margin Cudgell).

[ ? ]. Lenton, Characterismi, Char. 30. Reserving still the emblème of a souldier (his sword) and a Plimouth cloake, otherwise called a battoone.

1628. Massinger, New Way to Pay Old Debts, i. 1. Wellborn. How, dog? (Raising his cudgel.) Tapnuell. Advance your Plymouth cloak, There dwells, and within call ... A potent monarch, called the constable, That doth command a citadel, called the stocks.

rf.1668. Davenant [Nares], fol. p. 229. Whose cloak (at Plimouth spun) was crabtree wood.

d-idéZ. Denham, Works, 75, ' Ballad on Sir J. Mennis.' He being proudly mounted Clad in cloak of Plymouth.

1742. Ray, Proverbs, 238. That is a cane, a staff ; whereof this is the occasion. Many a man of good extraction, coming home from far voyages, may chance to land here, and being out of sorts, is unable for the present time and place to recruit himself with clothes. Here (if not friendly provided) they make the next wood their draper's shop, where a staff cut out serves them for a covering. For we use, when we walk in cuerpo, to carry a staff in our hands, but none when in a cloak.

Pmaker, subs. phr. (venery).—1. The penis: see Prick ; and (2) the female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Poach, subs, (colloquial).—i. To steal ; to sneak (q.v.) : see Prig. Hence (venery) = to steal a man's wife or mistress—generally to

poach upon another man's

preserves : cf. Pirate 2. Also (racing) = to get the best of a start : esp. by unsportsmanlike methods.—Grose (1785) ; Bee (1823).

c.1531. Copland_; Spyttel Hous [Hazlitt, E. Pop. Poet, iv. 41]. Prolyng and pochyng to get somwhat.

1611. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Poclter de labeur d'autruy, to poch into, or encroach upon, another man's imployment, practice in trade.

1620. Beaumont and Fletcher, Philaster, iv. i. His greatest fault is he hunts too much in the purlieus ; would he leave off poaching.

1821. Egan, Life in London, n. iv. You shall be admitted into the preserve ; but remember, no poaching.

1862. Corn/till Mag., vi., 651. In their wanderings they fall in with other shoals, and some get lost, and some are famished to death, and some are poached, and some get hooked.

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 20 Mar. Seward maintained that the start was a false one, and that his opponent poached full five yards before he (Seward) moved.

2. (old).—To blacken the eyes. Fr. les yeux pochés au beurre noir.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 23. With grinders dislodg'd and with peepers both poach'd.

Poacher, subs. (Stock Exchange). —A jobber or broker who deals out of, or is continually changing, his market.

Poacher-court,subs.phr. (Scots'). —The Kirk-Sessions.

d. 1796. Burns, Ep. to J. Rankine. Ae night lately in my fun, I brought a paitrik to the grun, . . . But, deil-ma care ! Somebody tell't the poacher-court The hale affair.

Pocket, subs, (colloquial). — 1. Money ; means ; resources : also pocket-book and pocket-lining. Hence, to be in pocket

= to profit ; to be out of pocket = to lose ; pockets to let

= penniless, broke (q.v.) ; to put one's hand in one's pocket ■= (1) to give money (as in charity), and (2) to spend ; to

Pocket. 236

have (or carry) in one's pocket = to control ; to pick pockets = to steal from the person (hence pick-pocket = a thief from the person : cf. Pickpurse) ; pocket-piece = (1) a show coin, whence (2) anything meretricious or unreal : see Rhino.

1598. Shakspeare, / Hen. IV., iii. 3 I'll be sworn my pocket was picked. Ibid. (1603), Meas. for Meas., iii. 2. Is there none ... to be had now for

putting the hand in the pocket and

extracting it clutched ? Ibid. (1604) Winter's Tale, iv. 3. Ant. [picking his pocket]. Softly, good sir !

1693. Congreve, Old Batchelor, ii.

i. Sir Jo, But, agad, I'm a little out of pocket at present. Sharp. Pshaw, you can't want a hundred pound. Your word is sufficient anywhere.

1709. Dampier, Voyages, 11. i. 03. For tho there were Fowls to be bought at every house where I lay, yet my pocket would not reach them.

1738. Ladys Decoy, 4. My money is spent ; Can I be content With pockets depriv'd of their lining?

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 191. As long as his pockets were lined his reception was warm : empty purses meet with fastened doors. Ibid., 216. Not only did we line our pockets with ducats, &c.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry,

ii. 5. Tom. Clean'd out ! both sides ; look here—pockets to let !— . . . and we have stood the nonsense in prime style.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick (1S57), 380. This is rayther a change for the worse, Mr. Trotter, as the gen'l'm'n said, wen he got two doubtful shillin's and six

Cenn'orth o' pocket-pieces for a good alf-crown.

1846. Punch, x. 272. It is the work of one moiety of the world to put off certain pocket-pieces as though they were sterling coin. Ibid., 268. Cannot see the brassy pocket-piece under the thin wash of a 'Gentleman exterior.'

1856. Quarterly Revirtv, cxlv. 315. They . . . have more than once again glutted our markets, and been punished in pocket.

Pocket.

1857. trollope, Barchester Tatvers [Century]. Dr. Proudie had interest with the government, and the man carried, as it were, Dr. Proudie in his pocket.

1885. Queen, 26 Sep. It is entirely a question of position, pocket, and inclination.

Adj. (colloquial).—Small : e.g., pocket-Hercules = a sturdy dwarf ; pocket-volume = a portable book ; pocket-venus (or -piece) — a diminutive whore or mistress ; pocket-parliament = a town-council, or debating society ; pocket-hell = a Tartarus of one's own, a Tophet on a minor scale ; and so forth.

Verb, (colloquial).—1. To endure ; to submit : as to ridicule, insult, or wrong. Hence, to pocket one's horns = to play the wittol ; to put one's pride in one's pocket = to suppress one's pride ; to carry one's

passions in one's pocket = to

smother one's feelings ; to pocket an affront = to Submit and say nothing.—Ray (1670) ; B. E. (<r.i6a6) ; Grose (1785).

1592. Harvey, Foure Letters [Grosart, Works, i. 166]. Patience hath trained mee to pocket-vp more hainous indignities.

1596. Shakspeare, K. John, iii. 1. Well, ruffian, I must pocket-up these wrongs.

1600. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, iv. When they come in swaggering company, and will pocket up anything, may they not properly be said to be white-livered ?

1607. Heywood, Woman Killed, ii. 3. My master shall not pocket up this wrong.

163a Mabbe, Guzman [Oliphant,

ii. 85. We are paid in our own coyne ; . . . wrongs are pocketed].

1659. Day, Blind Beggar, i. 2. Yet the worst boy that feeds on Glosters beef Hold it high scorn to pocket up the lye.

1700. Farquhar, Constant Couple,

iii. i. What ! Wear the livery of my king, and pocket an affront.

Pocket-book dropper. 237

Pock-nook.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 235. Take my advice . . . and pocket the affront.

1759. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, xix. If I calmly pocket the abuse, I am laughed at.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 72. Like the bold blust'ring Uickey Hunt, He pocketed the whole affront.

1869. Gent. Mag., July, 195. The member had sense enough to pocket the rebuke, and sat down quietly to enjoy the remaining convivial hours.

2. (common). —To embezzle or steal.

1851. Spencer, Social Statics, 463. They seized the goods of traders, sold them, and pocketed a large part of the proceeds.

1885. Daily Telegraph, g Nov. She appears to have been pocketing money from her employer.

3. (colloquial).—To win.

IF not pleased put hand in pocket and please yourself,

phr. (old).—A retort on grumblers.—Ray (1760).

He plays as fair as if he'd

picked your pocket,/^r. (old).

—Said of rooking gamblers.

Pocket-book dropper. See

Drop-game.

Pocket-borough, subs. phr. (political). — A constituency in which votes are controlled by one man : theoretically, since the Reform Act of 1832, a thing of the past ; to pocket a borough = to control votes.

1872. Eliot, Middlemarch, xlvi. "When I think of Burke I can't help wishing somebody had a pocket-borough to give you, Ladislaw." ..." Pocketboroughs would be a fine thing," said Ladislaw, " if they were always in the right pocket, and there were always a » Burke at hand."

1882. Schouler, Hist. U. States, \. 10. He was . . . loyal to some one of the blood families who contended for the honour of pocketing the borough in which he voted.

Pocketed, adj. (racing).—Said of a runner so surrounded that he cannot possibly get out of the press, and push to the front.

Pocket-pistol, subs. phr. (common).— See quots.

1598. Shakspeare, / Hen. IV., v. 3. Fal. But take my pistol if thou wilt . . . [ The Prince draws it out and finds it to be a bottle of sack.]

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, iv. viii. He had conveyed a thimbleful of the liquid to his own parched throat, and replenished what Falstaff calls a pocketpistol which he had about him.

1847. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1. xxx. A wicker-covered flask or pocketpistol, containing near a pint of a remarkably sound Cognac brandy.

1861. G. Eliot, Silas Marner, iv. The inclination for a run, encouraged by . . . a draught of brandy from his pocketpistol at the conclusion of the bargain, was not easy to overcome.

18 [?]. Naylor, Reynard tlie Fox, 42. He . . . swigged his pocket-pistol.

1864. Babbage, Life of a Philosopher, 218. A glass bottle enclosed in a leather case, commonly called a pocketpistol.

1870. Orchestra, 7 Jan. My friend was only saved from fainting by a little sherry which I had happily brought in a pocket pistol.

Pocket-thunder, subs. phr. (vulgar).—A fart.

Pock-nook. To come in on one's own pock-nook, verb, phr. (Scots').—See quot.

1821. Sir A. Wylie, Works, iii. 61. I came in on my own pock-nook ; as we say in Scotland when a man lives on his own means.

Pock-pudding. 238

Pogram.

Pock-pudding, subs. phr. (old Scots').—A bag-pudding : hence, by force of metaphor, a glutton : especially an Englishman : whose appetite the Scotchman affected to despise, even as he hated and envied him for its manifold opportunities.

1730. Burt, Letters, i. 13, 13S. 'Tis from this notion of the people, that my countrymen not only here, but all over Scotland, are dignified with the title of Poke-pudding, which, according to the sense of the word among the natives, signifies a glutton.

.... Herd, Scot. Songs (1776), i. 118. They'll fright the fuds of the Pockpuds, For mony a buttock bare's coming.

Pocky. See Pox.

Pod, subs, (colloquial).—1. A foot : specifically of children. Hence, to pod = to toddle.

2. A protuberant belly ; a corporation (q.v. ) : also podbelly. Hence, pod-bellied (poddy, or in pod) = (1) fat or stout : of men ; and (2) pregnant, lumpy (q.v. ) : of women. Hence, too, podgy, pudgy, and pudsey, See Pot.

1753. Richardson, Grandison, vii. 232. He . . . kissed its forehead, its cheek, its lips, its little pudsey hands, first one, then the other.

1836. Dickens, Boz, i. The vestry clerk, as everybody knows, is a short, pudgv, little man in black.

1845. Thackeray, Cornhill to Cairo, iii. The good old man ! I wish I had had a shake of that trembling podgy hand somehow before he went. Ibid. (1854), Newcomes, vit. She . . . with infinite grace put forward one of the pudgy little hands, in one of the dirty gloves.

1871. Mathew Arnold, Friendship's Garland, v. A blond and disorderly mass of tow-like hair, a podgy and sanguine countenance.

1885. Field, 17 Oct. A good little spaniel if she was not shown so fat and

podgy.

3. (Scots'). — A louse : see Chates.

Podge, subs, (colloquial).—1. A fat man or woman.

2. (old).—An epaulette.

1834. Marry at, Peter Simple, . . . To put it into the wame of yon man with the gold podge on his shoulder, who has dared to affront the bluid of McFay.

Poddy, adj. (colloquial). — I. Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

2. See Pod, sense 2.

Podunk, subs. (American).—An imaginary place : in burlesque.

Poem, subs, (colloquial).—A foolish appreciative : as a well-cooked dish ; a pretty dress ; a smart-cut coat, and so forth.

1898. Pelican, 19 Feb., 17. Certain newly-shaped pieces, which, instead of being called by old-time English names are no wrefen-ed to as bifurcated "Watteau visions " — " dreams " — " creations " —

poems.

1899. Illustrated Bits, 25 Mar., 15, 2. Your dress is charming—a perfect poem in curves.

Poet-sucker, subs. phr. (old colloquial).— A budding poet: cf. Rabbit-sucker.

1625. Jonson, Staple of News, iv. 2. What says my poet-sucker? He's chewing his muse's cud.

Poet's-walk, subs. phr. (Eton).— The tea served to Upper Club, on half holidays, in River-walk.

Poge (Pogue, or Pogh). See

Poke.

Pogram, subs. (old).—A Dissenter ; a formalist ; a puritanical starch maw-worm ; a creak-shoes (q.v.).— Hotten (1864).

Pogy.

239

Point.

Poqy, adj. (old). —Drunk. See Drinks and Screwed.—Grose (1785) ; Halliwell (1847). [Cf (Bee, 1823) ' Pogey-aqua— long-shore for — make the grog strong.']

1881. New York SlangDiet, 42. Without his bloss to prevent him from getting pogy.

Point, suds, (colloquial).—In pi. = Beauties : of women or children : accepted as applied to the characteristics of animals.

1370. Torrent 0/ Portugal [Halliwell], iqio. This lady . . . delyvered were, Of men children two. In poyntes they were gent, And like they were to Ser Torent.

Possession is nine (or eleven) points of the law, phr. (colloquial).—Said in deprecation of any attempt to change things as they are, or to seek redress.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 368. At least she had possession, and that is nine points of the law, though scarcely one of honesty.

Phrases, more or less colloquial, are numerous. They mostly centre on a figurative use of point = (1) a sharp end, or (2) a small but well-defined spot : as a dot, a speck, a hole, a moment, &c.

to see (tell, or make plain)

a point = to understand (narrate or explicate) the drift, or application of a thing : as an argument, a narrative, a detail ; to

care (or be worth) but a

point = to esteem lightly ; point (like pin, rap, cent, &c.) = the smallest standard of value ;

to untruss a point = (i) tO

take down one's breeches, and hence (2) to ease one's bowels ; point = a tagged lace, used of old to keep doublet and hose together; to give point to

(or bring a point to bear on) = to emphasise : also to point ; to come to the point = to go to the root of a matter ; to boil down (or close) to a point = ( i ) to condense : as a paragraph, and (2) to balance : as an account ; to stretch (or strain) a point

= to exceed a limit (Grose) ;

to make a point of = (i) to strive (or insist) to an end, and (2) to elicit a detail or make a desired impression (also to

prove one's point) ; to gain

one's point = to effect a purpose ; to stand on points = to be punctilious ; to be at a point = to be determined ; to come to points = to fight : with swords ; to give points to = (1) to have (or give) an advantage, and (2) to impart exclusive or valuable information, to tip {q.v.): also pointers; at all points = completely ; at (or in) the point = (1) ready, and (2) in the act of ; in good point ~ in good condition (Fr. embonpoint) ; in point = apropos ; in point of — as regards; point for point = exactly ; to point = completely ; beyond a point = in excess; a point in favour = an advantage in hand ; full of point = epigrammatic, effective; the point of a matter = its end or purpose ; at Point Nonplus = hard up, in Queer St. (q.v.) ; at point blank = immediately, direct. \See also Cuckold's Point; Potato; Spear; and V.

1350. William of Palerne [E. E. T. S. ], 107. Armed at alle poyntes.

1358. Chaucer, Parliament of Emois [Chaucer Soc], 76. [Oliphant, New Eng., 1. 112. Another verb is dropped in to the poynte.]

^I359Gaytrigg [Relig. Pieces (E. E. T. S.), 29]. And prove his poynt [purpose].

Point.

240

Point.

1362. Langland, Piers Plowmatts Crede [Wright], 1. 1676. But for I am a lewed man, Paraunter I myghte Passen par adventure, And in some povnt erren.

.... Rom. of Partenay [E.E.T.S.], 3392. Where she no point had of diffame no dais.

.... Palladius, Husbondrie[K. E. T. S. ], 154. And over yere thai wol been

in goode pointe.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Taies, Prol., 136. He was a lord ful fat and in good poynt. Ibid., Man of Lawes Tale, 232. Lordes ... ye knowen everich on, How that my sone in point is for to lete The holy lawës of our Alkaron. Ibid., Menkes Tale. He can al devyse Fro point to point, nat o word wol he faille.

c. 1400. The Smyth and his Dame [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet. iii. 219]. But here a poynt I gyue the, The mayster shalt thov yet be Of all thy craft trvely.

f.1440. Merlin [E. E. T. S.], ii. 350. Amaunt be-lhought hym that he myght come neuer in better poynt to conquere his Castell. Ibid., i. 106. Thei cowde not in hym espie no poynte of covetise. Ibid., iii. 562. The thirde was Monevall, that was a noble knyght, and richely armed of alle pointes.

.1529. Skelton, Bowge 0/ Courte, 246. But to the poynte shortely to procède.

1564. Udall, Apoph. Eras., 8. In matters not worth a blewe poinct . . . we will spare for no cost.

1580. Sidney, Arcadia, i. But in what particular points the oracle was, in faith I know not.

1587. Harrison, Desc. of England [Oliphant, New Eng., 11. 3. Among the Romance words are . . . at point blank, &c.].

1590. SpenseRj Faerie Queene, 1. ii. 12. Full large of limbe and every joint He was, and cared not for God or man

a point.

1592. Shakspeare, Mid. Night's Dream, v. 1, 118. This fellow doth not stand upon points. Ibid. (1594), Henry VI., iv. 7. Now art thou within pointblank of our jurisdiction legal. Ibid. (1596), Hamlet, i. 2. A figure like your father, Armed at point exactly, Cap-a-pe, Appears before them. Ibid. (1598), 2 Hen. IV., ii. 4. Give me some sack : and, sweetheart, lie thou there. [Laying down his sword. ] Come we to full points here.

Ibid. (1601), Henry VIII., i. 2. I'll hear

him his confessions justify ; And point by point the treasons of his master he shall again relate. Ibid. (1602). Twelfth Night, v. i. Like to the Egyptian thief at point of death. Ibid. (1603), Measure for Measure, i. 2. No, indeed, sir . . . you are therein in the right : but to the point. Ibid. (1609), Tempest, i. 2, 194. Hast thou . . . Performed to point the tempest that I bade thee.

1611. Chapman, May-day, i. 2. I'll to the enemy point blank ; I'm a villain else.

1611. Bible [Auth. Ver.], Gen. xxv. 32. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die.

1616. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, iii. i. If I transgress in point of manners, afford me Your best construction.

1637. Fletcher, Elder Brother, iii. i. Young Eustace is a gentleman at all points. Ibid. (1647), Knight of Malta, i. i. Thou hurriest me beyond mine honour's point.

1648. Suckling, Letters, 86. A pretty point of security, and such a one as all Germany cannot afford.

.1657. Bradford, Letters [Parker Soc. (1853), ^u^I2°lB^e ^AT ^a point with yourselves, to follow not your will but God's will.

1713. Steele, Guardian, 42. There is a kind of drama in the forming of a a story, and the manner of . . . pointing it is the same as in an epigram.

d. 1732. Gay, Poems [Century], Beauty with early bloom supplies Her daughter's cheek, and points her eyes.

d. 1745. Swift, To a Young Clergyman. The constant design of both these orators, in all their speeches, was to drive some one particular point.

1749. Johnson, Human Wishes, 111. He left the name at which the world grew pale To point a moral, or adorn a tale.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], no. Settheir faces point-blank against the tastes of the public ; and as a proof of this there were a thousand cases in point. Ibid., 120. Blanche . . . was armed at all points with the weapons of a most perfect beauty.

1759. Sterne, Tristam Shandy, i. 9. Every author has a way of his own in

bringing his points to bear.

Point. 241 Poison.

1760. Smollett, Greaves, iii. They woulcLhave come to points immediately had not the gentlemen interposed.

1779. Sheridan, Critic, ii. 1. When history . . . furnishes anything like a case in point ... an author will take advantageof it . . . It is a received point among poets that . . . you may fill up with a little love at your own discretion.

1790. Bruce, Source of Nile, 1. 371Many disadvantages in point of climate

1814. Wordsworth, Excursion, vi. Our Swain, A very hero till his point was gained.

1819. Grenville, Memoirs, 3 Feb. Both her letters and her conversation are

full of point.

1830. Southey, Bunyan, 42. He maintained, which indeed was the point at issue, that the opinions held that day by the Quakers were the same that the Ranters had held long ago.

(£1832. Crabbe, Works, i. 93. Not one grief was pointed by remorse.

1841. D'Israeli, Amen. 0/Lit., 11. 352. An epigram now is a short satire, Closing with a point of wit.

1843. Macaulay, Clive [Century}. Shah Alum had invested Patna, and was on the point of proceeding to storm.

1847. Tennyson, Princess, iii. I . . . found her there At point to move.

1847. Bronte, Jane Eyre, xi. I suppose the point of the exhibition lay in hearing the notes of love and jealousy warbled with the lisp of childhood ; and in very bad taste that point was.

1870. Medbery, Men and Mysteries of Wall St., 83. If the operator has a good point, he has a sure thing ... In other words, ... a bit of secret information concerning a stock, whether an extra dividend to be declared, a bull movement organizing, an emission of new shares to take place, or some other cause at work, or likely to beat work, which will seriously affect prices.

1883. American, vi. 383 [Century], Any average Eton boy could give points to his Holiness in the matter of Latin verses.

1884. New York Herald, 4 Nov. I will give him a pointer that will be of great benefit to you in your business.

1888. New York Mercury, 7 Aug.

All things taken into consideration, there never was a bolder voyage over the Atlantic than this made by the ' Römer," all for the sake of a few points in news.

1888. Denver Republican [Americanisms], There is a big pointer for those gentlemen who cannot restrain their sporting proclivities in these sentences.

1888. Pittsburg Times, 26 Jan. Boiled down to a fine point, bondsmen are in demand.

1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 23 Sep., 2, 1. The smallest chit of a dressmaker's apprentice could give her points about modern dress and its present rational tendency.

1892. Ally S toper's Half Holiday, 19 Mar., 94, 2. Harry Payne is a clown of the old school, 'tis true_; but still he can give points and an easy licking to most, if not all, of his modern rivals.

1901. Daily Tel., 19 Oct., 7, 1, 2. Would any person who was not mad say he was not himself? I have made my point.

Pointer, subs. (American).—1. See Point.

2. (venery). — The penis : see Prick, and cf. Sportsman's Toast.

Point-of-attraction, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum: see Monosyllable.

1782. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, 184. Beneath, where in centre Love buckles her Zone, The Point of Attraction we place.

Poison, subs, (common). — 1. Drink; tipple (q.v.). nominate your poison = 'What will you drink ?' : cf. quot. 1362, where poyson = a draught, a drink.

1362. Langland, Piers Plowman, C. xxi. 52. And with a pole poyson putten to hus lippes, And beden hym drynke.

d. 1641. Suckling, Brennoralt, ii. 1. Mar. Come, your liquor and your stanzas . . . Vil. Since it must be, Give me the poison then. [Drinks and spits.]

Poisoned.

242 Poke.

1827. Lytton, Pelham, xlix. Champagne with the taste of a gooseberry, and nock with the properties of a pomegranate . . . young men . . . purchase poison at a dearer rate than the most medicineloving hypochondriac in England.

e.1863. Artemus Ward [Works (\Zgo) 160]. I found Dr. Schwazey, a leadin citizen, in a state of mind which showed that he'd bin histin in more'n his share of

pizen.

1867. Pl.nkerton, Great Adams Express Robbery, 41. It's a cold day when Barney O'Hara will let a bog-trotter go dry. Name your poison.

1886-96. Marshall, ¹ Pomes' from the Pink 'Un ["the Garret'], 20. 'My favourite poison,' murmurs she, ' Is good old gin.'

1888. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 50. Wot's yer pison, old pal?

2. (common).—Anything unpleasant. Whence to hate like poison = to detest.

1530. Palsgrave, Lang. Fran., 259. Hate me like poyson.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Leg. ' Knight and the Lady.' And both hating brandy, like what some call pison.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, 60. It got to be parfect pizen to hear.

Poisoned, adj. (old).—Pregnant ; lumpy (q.v.).—B. E. (c.1696) ; Grose (1785).

Poison-pated, adj. phr. (old).— Red-haired.—Grose (1785).

Pojam, subs. (Harrow).—A poem : set as an exercise : a portmanteau-word (q.v.).

POKE (POGE, POGH, Or POGUE),

subs, (common).—1. A pocket ; a bag ; a sack ; a pouch ; a purse : generic : cf. peter.— B. E. (c. 1696); Martin (1754) ; Grose (1785) ; Vaux (1819). Also (corrupt) palke and pakke.

English synonyms.—Bounge ; brigh ; bung ; busy-sack ; carpetswab ; cly ; cod ; haddock ; hoxter;

kick ; peter ; pit ; roger (also = portmanteau) ; roundabout ; skin; sky (or skyrocket = rhyming) ; slash ; suck.

French synonyms. — Une baguenaude ; une balade (ballade, or valade : avaler = to swallow) ; un bouchon ; une felouse (felouze, filoche, fouille, or fouillouse) ; une fondrière ; un four (or un four banal) ; une grande ; un gueulard (or une gueularde) ; une louche ; une morlingue ; une parfonde (or profonde) ; une prophète ; un porte-morningue (or porte-mornif).

Italian synonyms.—Fegatello ; figadelto ; foglia ( = Fr. fouillouse : Michel) ; santa ; scarsello (= Fr. escarcelle) ; scarpa; tuosa ; -zavatta (= Fr. savate).

1362. Langland, Piers Ploivman Creed [Wright (1847), line 791]. Trewely, frère, quath I tho, To teilen the the sothe, There is no peny in my pakke To payen for my mele. Ibid., Vision, 1. 165. A poke full of pardons.

1383. Chaucer [Skeat, Works (1894), ' Reeves Tale,' 1. 358]. And in the floor, with nose and mouth to-broke, They walwe as doon two pigges in a poke.

14 [?]. Douce MS., 52. When me profereth the pigge, opon the poghe.

1514. More, A Sergeaunt wold lerne, arc. [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet, iii. 128]. They roule and romble, they turne and tumble, as pygges do in a poke.

d. 1529. Skelton, Bowge of Courte [Dvce, i. 48]. I have a stoppynge oyster in my poke.

d. 154g. Borde[?], Mylner of Abyngton [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet, iii. too]. Me thinke our poke is waxen light.

1600. Shakspeare, As You Like It, ii. 7. And then he drew a dial from his poke.

1662. Fuller, Worthies, 63. Some will have the English so called from wearing a pouch or poake (a bag to carry their baggage in) behind their backs.

Poke. 243

Poker.

1678. Butler, Hudibras, 111. i. Had rifled all his pokes and fobs.

1868. Temple Bar, xxiv. 538. I prigged an old woman's poke on the fly.

1879. Horsley, Macm. Mag., xl. 504. A poge, with over five quid in it.

1883. Echo, 25 Jan., 2, 3. The POKE, which a pickpocket glories in having appropriated, is the Saxon bag or purse.

1888. Echo. 18 Dec. He heard a woman demanding money of the accused, who replied, " What have you done with the £2 I gave you out of the poge ? "

2. (thieves').—Stolen property.

3. (colloquial).—A thrust or push ; a dig with the fingers ; ' a blow with the fist ' (Grose, 1785). As a verb. poke has always been literary.

1849. Bulwer, Caxtons, xvii. 1. ' But,' concluded Uncle Jack, with a sly look, and giving me a poke in the ribs.

4. (venery).—(1) An act of coition, and (2) a mistress : a Good (or bad) poke = an expert (or the reverse) at the game. Also as verb = to copulate : cf. push and see Greens and Ride. Whence poke(or poking-) hole = the female pudendum. See Poker.

1709. Durfey, Pills to Purge Melancholy . . . May I never more pogue the hone of a woman.

5. (colloquial). — A pokebonnet.

1876. G. Eliot, Daniel Deronda, xxiv. A grey frieze livery, and a straw poke.

6. (American).—A dawdler ; a lazy-bones (q.v.).

d.xZçi. Lowell, Eitz Adam's Story [Century]. They're only worn by some old-fashioned pokes.

Colloquialisms are : — To

poke about (or one's nose

into) = (1) to meddle, and (2) to busy oneself aimlessly or

officiously ; whence poke-nose = a meddler, and as adj. = offensively intrusive ; to poke fun = to ridicule ; to poke bogey = to humbug ; to buy a pig in a poke (see pig) ; to poke fly (tailors') — to show how ; to poke a smipe (old : cf. Medical Greek) = to smoke a pipe : see Marrow-skying ; to poke borak (see borak).

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, i. 280. Poking your fun at us plaindealing folks.

1838. Neal, Charcoal Sketches, m. 124. Don't you be poking fun at me now, Judge ; this is too serious a matter.

1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, i. ' What's the Latin for gooseberry, Redmond?' says she. She was always poking her fun, as the Irish phrase it.

1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago. Poking about where we had no business.

1862. New York Tribune, 7 June. The Senate refused to tax watches, plate, and dogs. The main reason for this refusal is the large expense of collecting, and the poke-nose scrutiny involved in levying such taxes.

(£1865. Life of Abraham Lincoln, 137. It was often said of Mr. Lincoln that he liked nothing so much as to poke fun at his advisers in the Cabinet, but those who could appreciate him knew very well, what a depth of wisdom and earnest lay under the slight drapery of jest.

Poker, subs, (old)—i. A sword ; a cheese-toaster (q.v.).—B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785).

2. (venery).—The penis : see Prick. Hence, to burn one's poker = to get a pox or clap, Grose (1785) ; and pokerbreaker = a married woman.

3. (Oxford).—A bedel (q.v.) carrying a silver mace before the Vice-Chancellor ; also the mace itself : also holy poker. Frequently used as an oath.

Poker.

244 Poky.

1841. Rime of the New-Made Baccalere. Around, around, all, all around, On seats with velvet lined, Sat Heads of Houses in a row, And Deans and College Dons below, With a poker or two behind.

1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, vii. A sort of young procession—the ViceChancellor and Yeoman-bedels. The silver maces carried by the latter gentlemen, made them by far the most showy part of the procession. Ibid. Tom is the bell that you hear at nine each night ; the Vice has to see that he is in proper condition, and, as you have seen, goes out with his pokers for that purpose.

1865. Cornhill, Feb., 225. The heads of houses and university officers attend [St. Mary's] in their robes, and form a stately procession to and from the church. The Vice-Chancellor is escorted by his mace-bearers, familiarly called pokers, to and from his residence.

1870. London Figaro, 8 Oct. j 2, 2. The bedels of a University are very important personages, although derisive undergraduates familiarly term them holy pokers.

4. (old).—A single-barrelled gun.

5. (fencing).—A rough fencer.

6. (old).—' One that conveys coals (at Newcastle) in sacks, on Horseback.'—B. E. (c. 1696).

Other Colloquial usages: —Fore-pokers (old) = ' Aces and kings at cards' (Grose, 1785) ; Old Poker = the devil : see Skipper ; by the Holy Poker (or Iron) = an oath : also, by the Holy Poker and tumbling Tom : cf. Poker, subs. 3 ; Jews-poker (q.v.), and add

quot. 1899 ; to chant the

poker = to exaggerate, to swagger, ' to put on side' (q.v. ) : Fr. se gonfler le jabot, and faire son lard.

rf.1797. Walpole, Letters, iv. 359. As if old Poker was coming to take them away.

1836. Marryat, Midshipman Easy, xxvii. " By de holy poker, Massa Easy, but that terrible sort of gale the other day, anyhow."

1840. Comic Almanack, 'Tom the Devil,' 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 !

1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, 169. I swear upon the holy iron I had neither art nor part.

1897. Mitford, Romance Cape Frontier, i. viii. " I never saw anything to beat that—by the holy poker I never did."

1899. Whiteing, John St., 210. ' Does the Jew's Poker, Saturdays,' says Low Covey, ' tho' it's a poor lay summertime ' . . . ' A Jew's Poker is a Christian person who attends to Jewish fires on the Sabbath-day.

Pokerish, adj. (colloquial).—1. Stiff ; reserved : hence pokerishly.

1867. Broughton, As a Flower, xxxvi. I'm afraid I'm interrupting a pleasant tête-a-tête,' says the old lady pokerishly.

18S3. Century Mag., xxxvi. 35. Stiff and pokerish, Ella called her.

2. (American). — Frightful : cf. Old Poker.

1864. Lowell, Fireside Travels, 144. There is something pokerish about a deserted dwelling, even in broad daylight.

Poker-talk, subs. phr. (common). —Gossip ; fireside chit-chat. 1885. Mrs. Edwardes, Girton Girl, ii. Gaston rattled forth this specimen of poker-talk lightly.

Poky (or Poking), adj. (colloquial). —Cramped ; stuffy ; shabby ; stupid : a general depreciative. Also poke-hole.

d.\Tj\. Gray, Works, 11. Letter 36. Bred to some poking profession.

1850. Kingsley, Alton Locke, xxiv. I shall be shoved down into some poking little country-curacy, without a chance of making play before the world.

Pole.

245

Policy.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, Ivii. The ladies were in their pokiest old headgear.

1856. Beecher-Stowe, Dred, 1. 138. That's the way we girls studied at school, except a few pokey ones, who wanted to be learned.

1864. Studies /or Stories, 1. 67. Amelia made me believe that there was plenty of property in ther family, but that her sisters had a natural liking for living in that pokey way, and for having no footman.

1882. Anstey, Vice-Versa, iv. They've a poky little house in Brompton somewhere, and there was no dancing.

Pole, subs, (printers').—1. The weekly account for wages.

2. (venery). — The penis. Hence poling (or pole-work) = copulation.

Verb. (American University).— To study hard.

Up the pole, phr. (military). —In good report : also goodygoody ; strait-laced.

2. (common).—Over-matched ; in difficulty.

1S86-96. Marshall, ' Pomes'/rom the Pink 'Un ['The Word of a Policeman '], 73. But, one cruel day, behind two slops he chanced to take a stroll, And ... he heard himself alluded to as being

up the pole.

1899. Daily Mail, 29 March, 5, 1. When there are nineteen Frenchmen to four Englishmen they were slightly up the pole. Nineteen, you know, were rather too many for them.

Like a rope-dancer's pole, phr. (old).—' Lead at both ends; a saying of a stupid sluggish fellow.'—Grose (1785).

Pole-cat, subs. phr. (old).—A whore : also a general reproach.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, iv. 2. You witch I you hag ! you polecat !

1607. Dekker, Northward Hoe, i. i. Your captains were wont to take their leaves of their London pole-cats (their wenches I mean, sir), at Dunstable.

Pole-work, subs, (colloquial).—A long, tedious business ; collarwork (q.v.).

See Pole.

Policeman, subs, (common).—1. A fly : esp. a blue-bottle (q.v.), which (in turn) = a constable.

1864. E. D. Forgues, Revue des deux Mondes, 15 September, 470. Quand celui-ci [un prig de Londres] appelle un mouche un policeman, et quand celui— là qualifie de "mouche" un sergent de ville, l'un et l'autre font même rapprochement, bien qu'en seus inverse.

2. (thieves').—A mean fellow ; a spy.

Police-nippers, subs. phr. (common).—Handcuffs or leg-irons: see Darby's bands.

Policy, verb. (American). — To gamble in lottery numbers : see quot. Also as subs. : whence policy-shop = a lottery office.

1882. McCabe, New York, xxxix. Policy-dealing is one degree lower in infamy than the lottery business . . . The game consists in betting on certain numbers within the range of the lotteryschemes being drawn at the noon or night drawing. Seventy-eight numbers usually make up the lottery-scheme, and the policy player can take any three of these numbers and bet that they will be drawn, either singly, 01 in such combinations as he may select. The single numbers may come out anywhere in the drawing, but the combination must appear as he writes it in making his bet. He pays one dollar for the privilege of betting, and receives a written slip containing the number or numbers on which he bets. If a single number is chosen and drawn, he wins 5 dollars ; two numbers constitute a ' saddle,' and if both are drawn the player wins from 24 to 32 dollars ; three numbers make a 'gig,' and win from 150 to 225 dollars ; four numbers make a ' horse,' and win 640 dollars. A ' capital straddle ' is a bet that two numbers will be among the first three drawn, and wins 500 dollars.

Polish.

246

Poll.

Polish, verb, (common). — To thrash ; to punish (q.v.).

To polish off, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To finish out of hand ; to get rid of summarily : as a dinner, or an adversary.

1834. DowLiNG, Othello Travestie, i. 6. Just wait awhile, And may be I won't polish you off in siyle.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xxvi. " Mayn't I polish that ere Job off, iu the front garden ? " said Mr. Weller. " Certainly not," replied Mr. Pickwick.

1847. Thackeray, Vanity Pair, xxxiv. 246. Bob had his coat off at once —he stood up to the Banbury man for three minutes, and polished him off in four rounds easy. Ibid. (1855), Newcomes, 11. 252. He expressed repeatedly a desire that some one would speak ill of the Colonel, so that he might have an opportunity of polishing that individual off

in about two seconds.

1862. Cornhill Mag., vi. 643. I used to steal something and take it to the marine-store dealers. ... As 1 got on in thieving, I left home, and was soon polished off into a first-class wire.

1870. Sunday Times, 21 May. If you keep a sharp look-out you may perchance see a critic, for, unfortunately, the Royal Academy cannot be polished off at a private view like other exhibitions.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, i. He rolled into a man big enough to eat him, and polished him off.

TO polish (pick, or eat) A bone, verb. phr. (common).—To make a meal.—Grose (1785).

To polish the King's iron with the eyebrows, verb. phr. (old).—'To look through the iron-grated windows of a prison.' —Grose (1785).

Polite. See Do, verb., sense 4.

Polka. The Matrimonial Polka, subs. phr. (venery).— Copulation : see Greens and Ride.

Poll, subs. (Cambridge University). —i. The ordinary examination for the B.A. degree : as distinguished from the Honours examination. Whence (2) a student taking the " pass" degree without "Honours." [Gr. Hoi polloi = the many.] Hence, to go out in the poll = to take an ordinary degree. Also poll-man and poll-degree.

1855. Bristed, Five Years in an English University, 62. Several declared that they would go out in the Poll.

1884. Payn, Cornhill, Ap., 370. I took my degree, however—a first-class poll ; which my good folks at home believed to be an honourable distinction.

1889. Academy, 2 Mar. It is related of some Cambridge poll-man that he was «

once so ill-advised as to desert a private tutor.

3. (nautical).—A woman: generic. Hence (specifically) = a prostitute ; polly-hood = a state of wantonness (Walpole accused the ladies of his day of pollyhood, ' more fond than virtuous') ; to poll up = (1) to court ; and (2) to live in concubinage.

1893. Emerson, Lippo, ix. They began to give him money ... a poll gave him a bob.

4. (old). — A wig. — Hall (1708) ; Grose (1785).

5. (thieves').—A decoy bitch. See Pill and Poll.

Verb. i. See Pill and Poll.

2. (sporting).—To beat ; to distance.

3. (common).—To snub.

To poll off, adj. phr. (common). — To get drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

Pollard.

247

Pompkin.

Pollard, subs. (old).—A counterfeit coin, worth about a halfpenny, made abroad, and smuggled into England, temp. Ed. I. [Said to be named after the original maker.]

c. 1350. Fabyan, Chronicle, ii. He sodeynly dampned certayne coynes of money, called pollardes.

Poller, i. See Pill and Poll. 2. (old).—See quot.

1676. Warningfor Housekeepers, 4. They carry in one band a dark Glim, and in the other a poller, which is a dark Lanthorn and a Pistol.

Poll-parrot, subs.phr.(common). —A talkative woman : also poll and Polly.

1865. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, xii. If it warn't wasting good sherry wine on you, I'd chuck this at you for Poll Parroting with this man.

Pollrumptious, adj. (colloquial). —Restive ; unruly ; foolishly confident.

Polly, subs, (tramps').—i. Used as in quot.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. All I get is my kip and a clean mill tog, a pair of pollies and a stoock, and what few medazas I can make out of the lodgers and needies.

2. (common). — Apollinaris water.

1894. G. Egerton, Keynotes, 59. The draught is transformed into lukewarm water, or Polly without the ' dash ' in it.

1894. Illustrated Bits, 31 Mar., 10, 3. What is more gratifying—he could drink. Not sips of weak tea, or " polly," but the Extra Sec of the right year, and plenty of it.

To do polly, verb. phr. (American prison). — To pick oakum; to mill doll(^.z>.).— Matsell (1859).

Pollycon, subs. phr. (American students').—Political economy.

POLT, subs. (old). — A blow; a stroke.—B. E. (c. 1696); grose (1785).

1782. D'arblay, Cecilia, n. ix. Give me a good polt of the head.

Poltroon, subs, (old : now recognised). — A coward. — B. E. (t.1696).

1595. Shakspeare, s Henry VI., i. i. Patience is for poltroons such as he.

1778. Sheridan, The Rivals, iv. i. Out, you poltroon ! — you ha'n't the valour of a grasshopper.

PoLTY(or dolty), adj. (cricketers'). —Easy.

Polyphemus, subs, (venery).— The penis : see Prick. [The Monops, the/One-eyed One.]

Pommel. See Pummel.

Pompadours (The), subs, (military).—The late 56th Regiment of Foot, now the 2nd Batt. Essex Regiment. [Tradition relates that, when facings were changed in 1764, the crimson not wearing well, the Colonel desired Blue. The authorities, however, objected, and he chose purple, a favourite colour of Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV. of France.] Also "The Saucy Pompadours."

pompaginis. aqua pompaginis, subs. phr. (old). — Pure water : see Aqua.—Grose (1785).

Pompey's-pillar. Pompey'spillar to a stick of sealingwax, phr. (old).— A fanciful bet : cf. All Lomard-street to a China orange, and Chelseacollege to a sentry-box.

Pompkin. See Pumpkin.

Pom-pom. 248 Ponce.

Pom-pom, subs, (military). —A quick-firing gun, of light construction, much used in South Africa 1899—190t?]. [Onomatopeia.]

Ponce (Pouncey or Pounceshicer), subs, (common). — A harlot's keep (q.v.). or bully. Hence poncess = a woman supporting another woman by prostitution.

English synonyms.—Abbot (croziered abbot, or abbot on the Cross) ; apple-knight (-monger or -squire) ; apron-knight (or -squire) ; bouncer ; brother of the gusset ; bruiser ; buck ; bully ; captain ; carpet-knight ; cock-bawd (or -pimp) ; cunt-pensioner ; faker ; family-man ; fancy-bloke (-cove or -man) ; fancy-Joseph ; fish ; fucker ; gamester ; jackgagger ; kaffir ; kiddy ; knight of the petticoat ; lap-priest ; mack (or mackerel) ; mash ; meat-merchant ; pensioner ; petticoat-pensioner ; prosser ; smock servant ; servant ; squire of the body (or the petticoat) ; stallion ; Sunday-man (-cove, or -bloke); twat-faker.

French synonyms. — Un adonis ; un advocatière (Rabelais) ; un Alphonse (generic : hence Alpho-nsisme = the calling of a cunt-pensioner (cf. Dumas fils, who classicised the term in his M. Alphonse) ; un amant de cœur (Rabelais) ; un aquarium (depoissons : un maquereau, ârc.) ; un architriclin (de Nerciat) ; un Arthur (generic) ; un baigne-dans-le-beurre (beurre = cream, q.v.); une barbe; un barbeau (deriv. are une barbille and un barbillon); un barbise; un bébé ; un bichon ; un bonneau ;

un bordelier (Rabelais) ; un bouffeur de blanc (blanc = cream, q.v.); un boxonneur ; un brasde-fer ; un brochet ; un caprice ; une casquette à trois ponts (in allusion to the tall three-storied silk cap of the French ponce) ; un chalant (Rabelais) ; un chasseur (de Neuville) ; un chevalier de bidet (or de guichc) ; un chiquette de blanc ; un concombre ; un coquardeau ; un costel ; un courratier (Rabelais) ; un cousin ; un cousin de Aloise (spec, a man who marries a whore) ; un dauphin ; un Désgrieux (Prévost) ; un dessons ; un dos (un dos vert, or un dos azur ; Bruant) ; un dresseur de femmes ; un écaillé (i.e., scaled like a fish: cf. poisson) ; un embaucher ; un entremetteur ; un faraud ; un farfadet (XVIII. Century) ; un fish (cf. poisson) ; un foulard rouge ; un gandelin (Rabelais) ; un gentilhomme sous-marin — macquereau or dos vert ; un goujon ; un goyer (Rabelais) ; un greluchon ( = half ponce, half client) ; un guiche ; un lacrovnuhe ; un mac (macque, macquet = maquereau) ; un macchoux ; un niachabé ; un macrotin ; un mangeur de blanc ; un maquereau (Villon, Rabelais, Voltaire) ; un maquignon bidoche ; un marcheur ; un marlou (marloupatte, marloupin, or marlousier ; Jean Richepin) ; un marquant ; un mec (also un mec de la guiche : les guiches = kiss-curls worn by fancy men) ; un meublant ; un monsieur à nageoires (or à ronflaquettes) ; un neg à viande chaude ( = meat merchant) ; un patenté ; un poisson (un poisson d'Avril or un poisson frayeur) ; un porte-nageoires ; un qui va à

Pond.

249 Pon. Pilâtes Body-guard.

épinards (cf. Greens) ; un releveur de fumeuse ; un rélrousseur ; un roi de la mer ; un rotiflaqtiette (in allusion to the kiss-curl) ; un roule-en-cul { — cunt-PENSiONER) ; un rußen (old) ; un sacristain (see Abbess) ; un serviteur ; un soixante-six ; un souteneur; un tête de patère ; un trimbaleur de rouchies (or de carne pour la sèche) ; un valet de cœur ; un visqueux.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab.,&'e.,

m. 364. They are a queer set we have to do with in the ranks. The ' pounceys ' (the class I have alluded to as fancy-men, called ' pounceys ' by my present informant) are far the worst.

1887. Henley, Villon's Good Night, i. You ponces good at talking tall.

Pond (The), subs, (common).— The sea : spec, the Noith Atlantic Ocean : also herringpond (q.v.) ; the big (or great) pond (q.v.) ; and the puddle

(q.v.). — Grose (1785); Bee (1823).

1722. England's Path to Wealth. A finer country, cheaper and better food . . . easier rents and taxes, will tempt many ... 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.

1838. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 3 S. xviii. He is . . . the best live one that ever cut dirt this side of the big J'Ond, or t'other side either.

1863. Story of a Lancashire Thief, 8. A swell prig who had hooked it from London to escape being slowed, and maybe sent over the herring-pond.

1883. Sala, Living London, 204. Next time Miss Ward crosses the big pond, 1 . . . hope that she will cross the Rockies.

1890. Tit-Bits, 29 Mar., 388, 3. 1 may tell you that I came over the big pond for poisoning from jealousy. It wasn't for petty thefts

1901. D. Telegraph, 7 Oct., 3, 5. Two gentlemen who betrayed a strong American accent . . . offered to buy the house as it stood in order " to lift it bodily across the pond."

PONG, subs, (common).—Beer : also pongelow or pongellorum : as verb. (1) = to drink : see Swipes.

Verb, (theatrical).—2. To vamp a part, or (circus) = to perform ; and (3) to talk, to gas (q.v.).

Pon go, subs, (showmen's). — A monkey.

Poniard (or Ponyard),subs, (old: long recognised).—A dagger.— B. E. (c.1696).

Ponte, subs, (showmen's).—Twenty shillings. [It. pondo = pound]

Pontie, adv. (common).—On credit ; ' on tick' (q.v.).

Pontius Pilate, subs. phr. (common).—A pawn-broker.—Grose (1785).

Pontius Pilate's Body-Guard,

subs. phr. (military).—The late ist Regiment of Foot, now The Royal Scots, the oldest regiment in the service. [When the Périment de Douglas, and in the French service [1633-78], the officers disputed with the Picardy regiment about the antiquity of their corps. The Picardy men declared they were on duty on the night of the Crucifixion, when the colonel of the ist Foot replied, "If we had been on guard, we should not have slept at our posts." — Brewer.] — Grose (1785).

Pon. Pilâtes Counsellor. 250

Pony.

Pontius Pilate's Counsellor,

subs. phr. (legal).—A briefless barrister : Fr. avocat ae Pilate. [Who, like Filate, ' can find no (just) cause.']

Ponto, subs, (school).—New breadcrumbs kneaded into a pellet.

1900. St. James's Gazette, 15 Mar., ' Arnoldiana.' He [Mathew Arnold] was placed at the end of the great school, and, amid howls and jeers, pelted with a rain of pontos for some time.

PONY, subs. (old).—I. A bailiff: spec, an officer accompanying a debtor on a day's liberty.

2. (common).—Money. Hence, as verb, (to post the pony or to pony up) = to pay ; to settle. See Post, verb.—Grose (1785) ; Vaux (1819) ; Bee (1823).

1S23. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry [Dick], 6. It's every thing now o'days— to be able to flash the screens—sport the rhino—show the needful—post the pony —nap the rent—stump the pew.

1824. Atlantic Mag., i. 343. Every man . . . vociferously swore that he had ponied up his 'quarter.'

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood (1S64), 240. I shan't let you off so easily this time, depend upon it. Come, post the pony, or take your measure on that sod.

1838. J. C. Neal, Charcoal Sketches [Bartlett]. It was my job to pay all the bills. " Salix, pony up at the bar, and lend us a levy."

c. 1861-5. Song, 'A Portland Conscript ' [B]. We hadn't no rich parients to pony up the tin, So we went unto the Provost, and there were mustered in.

1876. New York Herald, 16 Mar. General Rice is a bachelor of expensive habits . . . you must pony up and keep him going, for he can't live on less than 10,000 dollars a year.

3. (common). —Twenty-five pounds sterling : see Rhino.

1818. Greville, Memoirs, 15 Aug. He is equally well amused whether the play is high or low, but the stake he prefers is fives and ponies.

1837. Dance, The Country Squire, i. 3. Geo. Look here, old man ! (Holding up note.) Hor. Well, to be sure a fifty is two ponies ; and the hair will grow again.

1842. Comic Almanack, 327. A Mayor who, though he makes of Fifties— cronies, Yet has a most maternal love for Ponies.

1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, lxi. The five-and-twenty pounds, or pony, which the exemplary Baronet had received.

1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, xviii. The bet of a pony which he offers five minutes afterwards.

1870. Figaro, 1 June. I have pulled off a couple of ponies on the event.

1880. Sims, Three Brass Balls, Pledge xv. " Here's a pony for the young 'un, and directly I get a bit straight I'll send you some more."

1883. Braddon, Phantom Fortune, xli. Sheafs of bank notes were being exchanged for counters which represented divers values, from the respectable pony to the modest chip.

1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 23 Mar., 6, 3. Mr. Kisch said the bets were two ponies The Master of the Rolls: What? Two what? Mr. Kisch said a pony was .£25.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 155. He would write a long letter . . . and reproach him for not sending the pony he had been three times asked for.

4. (American school).—A translation ; a bohn (q.v.) ; a crib (q.v.) : also as verb.

1832. Tour Through College, 30. Their lexicons, ponies, and text-books were strewed round their lamps on the table.

1852. Yale Tomahawk, May. We learn that they do not pony their lessons.

1854. New England Mag., 208. In the way of pony or translation to the Greek of Father Griesbach, the New Testament was wonderfully convenient.

1856. Hall, College Words, s.v. Pony. So-called, it may be, from the fleetness and ease with which a skilful rider is enabled to pass over places which toa common plodder may present obstacles.

Poodle. 251 Poop.

5. (common).—A generic diminutive, prob, of turf origin : as pony = a very small horse, and pony-stakes = an insignificant event. Whence (generally).in comparison, anything of small size, stature, or value. Hence, pony = (i) a small glass ('a pony of ale, or stout'), containing a gill, or (of wines and spirits) a mouthful : (2) a woman of very small stature. Also pony-brandy = the best brandy : as served in a pony-glass; pony-purse = an impromptu collection : of small contributions. The word is becoming recognised : as in ponysaw, pony-engine, and ponytruck.

1885. Nenu York Journal, Aug. 'I'm on the inside track,' said a pony of beer as it went galloping down a man's throat.

1896. Crane, Maggie, vii. Bring d'lady a big glass ! What use is dat pony ?

6. (venery).—The penis: see Prick.

d. 1796. Burns, Merry Muses, ' Ye Hae Lien Wrang, Lassie.' Ye've let the pounie o'er the dyke, And he's been in the corn.

7. (common). —A gaffingcoin (q.v.) ; a piece showing either two heads or two tails. Whence,

to sell the pony (or lady) =

to toss for drinks : certain coins, say twelve, are placed one on top of another, all, save one, being turned the same way ; the coins are cut, as at cards, and he who cuts the single piece has to pay, having bought the pony.

See Jerusalem.

Poodle, subs, (common).—A dog : in sarcasm, without reference to breed.

Poon, verb. (Winchester College).— To prop a piece of furniture with a wedge.—Wrench.

Poon a, subs, (costermongers').—A sovereign : cf. ponte.

Poona Guards, subs. phr. (military).—The East Yorkshires, formerly the 15th Regiment of Foot : also " The Snappers."

Poont, subs, (common).—In pi. = the paps : see Dairy.

Poop, subs. (old).—i. A worthless creature, a weakling, a nincumpoop (q.v.) ; (2) the posteriors: see Stern and verb, sense 3 ; and (3) the face (cf. Shakspeare, i Henry IV., Falstajf to Bardolph, é*c, 'Thou art our admiral, thou bearest the lantern in the poop, but 'tis in the nose of thee').

1598. Shakspeare, i Hen. IV., iii. 4. Fais. Thou art our admiral, thou bearest the lantern in the poop, but 'tis in the nose of thee.

1706. Ward, Wooden World, 67. He crawls up upon Deck, to the Piss-dale, where, while he manages his Whip-staff with one hand, he scratches his Poop with the other.

Verb. (old).—1. To overcome; to be set down.

1551. Still, Gammer Gurton's Needle, ii. 1. But there ich was powpte indeed.

1609. Shakspeare, Pericles, iv. 2. She quickly pooped him, she made him roast meat for worms.

2. (venery).—To copulate : see Greens and Ride. Hence poopnoddy = copulation.

1606. Wily Beguiled [Hawkins, Eng. Drama, in. 310]. I saw them close together at poop-noddy.

3. (vulgar).—To break wind : also as subs.— Bailey (1728).

Poop-downhaul. 252

Pop.

Poop-downhaul, subs. phr. (nautical).—An imaginary rope, a seaman's jest : cf. ' clapping the keel athwart-ships,' &c.—Clark Russell.

Poop-ornament (old nautical).— An apprentice.

c. 1855. [A thenoeum (1902), 8 Feb. ,177, x, 'Rev. of Schooland Sea Days']. [For the rest, he was and is emphatically the ship's loblolly-boy and rouse-about," miscalled "a blarsted poop ornament," the drudge even of ordinary seamen. ]

Poopster (or pooper), subs. (venery).—A fornicator ; a mutton-monger (q.v.).

Poor. To serve the poor, with a thump on the back with a stone, phr. (colloquial).—To shark the needy.—Ray (1670).

Poor-man, subs. (Scots').—1. A heap of corn-sheaves : four set upright and one above. 2. (Scots').—See quot.

i 3iq. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor, xix. I should like well would my wife and family permit me to return to my sowens and my poor-man-of-mutton. [Scott : ' The blade-bone of a shoulder of mutton is called in Scotland "a poor man," as in some parts of England it is termed a "poor knight of Windsor," in contrast, it must be presumed, to the baronial ' Sir Loin. A Scotch laird was once asked by an English landlord what he would have for dinner. He replied, " I think I could relish a morsel of a poor man."]

Poor Man's Blessing, subs. phr. (venery). — The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Poor Man's Oyster, subs. phr. (common).—See quot.

1891. Tit-Bits, 8 Aug., 277,2. There are thousands of costers who earn a livelihood by the sale of . . . mussels, which are regarded as the poor man's oyster.

Poor-man's treacle, subs. phr. (common).—An onion.—Century.

Poor mouth. To make a poor mouth, verb. phr. (Scots').—To whine ; to make the worst of things.

1822. Blackwood, Sep., 307. It's no right o' you to be aye making a puir

mouth.

Poor Robin, subs. phr. (old).—An almanack. [Robert Herrick, in the 17th century, issued a series of almanacks so-called.]

3.1704. Darrell, Gentleman Instructed, 120. I was informed she discern'd by the beat of the pulse a Feast from a Feria without the help of Poor Robin.

Pop, subs. (American).—1. A father ; ' papa ' : also poppa and popper.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 22 Dec. Jerry wants a new pop right bad.

1899. Sporting Times, 15 Ap., 2, 1. Say, Van, why should we fret? It was poppa's house.

1901. Free Lance, 16 Nov., 171, 2. The young lady has an independent fortune, and popper happened to be at the other end of a cable, three thousand miles away, at the moment she was getting married !

2. (common).—A popular concert : as ' The Saturday (or Monday) Pops.'

1869. Orchestra, 19 Nov. How beautiful is the behaviour of our eminent artists at the Monday Pops !

1891. Gilbert, Patience, ii. Who thinks suburban hops more fun than Monday Pops.

1898. D. Telegraph, 13 Dec, 7, 5. Probably never before did the experienced director of the Pops, give a special concert on account of a particular artist.

3. (Eton College). — A club chiefly confined to Oppidans though Collegers are sometimes elected : otherwise " The Eton

Pop. 253

Pop.

Society " for reading and debates. [Supposed to be a contraction of ' Popina,' the rooms having been for many years over a cook-shop or confectioner's. — See Public School Word Book.]

1865. Etoniana, 207. The chief attraction of Pop lies in its being a sort of social club . . . and as the members are strictly limited (originally twenty-two, since increased to twenty-eight), to be elected into the society gives a boy a certain degree of prestige in the school.

Verb., with subs, and adv. (old).—Generic for more or less quick, unexpected, and explosive action. Whence, (1) = to shoot : as subs, (or popper) = (1) a shop, and (2) a firearm : spec, a pistol, but in quot. 1383, a dagger (Hall, 1714 ; Grose,
^85 ; Vaux, 1819 ; and Bee, 1823) ; (2) = to crack—as a whip ; (3) — to explode—as a hat when sat on, or a cork when drawn : as subs. — (a) a drink which fizzes from the bottle when opened—spec, ginger-beer, but in quot. 1836 = champagne (Grose, 1785 ; Bee, 1823), and (b) the noise made in drawing a cork ; and (4) = to rap out one's words : whence popping = babbling. Also, as adv. — suddenly or unexpectedly. See also many allied colloquialisms infra.

1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 3929. A joly poppere baar he in his pouche.

1621. Fletcher, Pilgrim, iii. 2. Into that bush Pop goes his pate, and all his face is comb'd over.

1724. Harper, ' Frisky Moll's Song ' [Harlequin Jack Sheppard). Two popps Had my Boman when he was ta'en.

1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, viii. A pair of pops silver mounted ... I took them from the captain. Ibid. (1749), Gil Bias [Routledge], 345. We were startled out of our sleep by the report of musketry popping so near.

1821. Haggart, Life, 98. I plunged my fam into my sack, as if for a pop.

1829. Moncrieff, Giovanni in London, ii. 1. Made up your mind to have a pop at him.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford (1854), 296. Lord love ye, they says as 'ow you go to all the fine places in ruffles, with a pair of silver pops in your waistcoat pocket !

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, m. v. His crape-covered vizard drawn over his eyes, His toi by his side and his pops in his pocket.

1834. Buckstone, Agnes de Vere, ii. 3. I've an excellent case of poppers here that I always keep loaded for such occasions.

1836. Milner, Turpin's Ride to York, i. 3. It is not even safe to hunt without pops in your pocket. Ibid. Damn the popper ! we must be off to Yorkshire now.

1836. Hood, Miss Kilmansegg [Works (1846), i. 246]. Home-made pop that will not foam.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, i. 277. With wine and naygus and imperial pop.

1844. Marryat, The Settlers, 1. vi. 103. " Fowling-pieces,—they are birdguns, I believe,—no use at all ; muskets are soldiers' tools,—no use ; pistols are pops, and nothing better."

1845. Browning, Englishman in Italy. And all around the glad church lie old bottles With gunpowder stopped, Which will be, when the Image re-enters, Religiously popped. Ibid. More poppers bang.

1847. Porter, Quarter Race, 6fc., 95. He'd pop his whip, and stretch his chains, and holler ' wo, gee ! '

1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, 150. The rascal went to his coach, jumped on the box, popped his whip and wiggled his fingers at me as he drew off.

1848. Lowell,Biglovj Papers, Intro. Past noontime they went trampin' round An' nary thing to pop at found.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., âr'c, i. 187. Not above one-eighth . . . but sell with their pop some other article.

1857. Holmes, Autocrat of Breakfast Table, viii. A hat which has been popped, or exploded by being sat down upon, is never itself again afterwards.

Pop. 254 Pop.

1863. Alex. Smith, Dreamthorp, 133. In the pit, sober people relax themselves, and suck oranges, and quaff ginger

pop.

1871. Morning Advertiser, 11 Sept. Shall the Admirals of England now their former prowess drop, All courage ooze from tarry hands, like fiz from uncorked pop?

1872. Standard, 29 Aug. ' Autumn Manœuvres.' Buying pop in the cheapest and selling it in the dearest market is his trade.

1876. George Euot, Daniel Deronda, xxxix. I cannot bear people to keep their minds bottled up for the sake of letting them go off with a pop.

1884. Hawley Smart, Post to Finish, 228. I went for this Dancing Master myself, and he don't warrant my calling for pop (Champagne).

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. Well, i don't mind if I do, and old Teapot here can come and have pop, like the little boys.

1887. Henley and Stevenson, Three Plays, 69. Another illusion gone

pop.

1893. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 71. I'm horf for a pop at the birds.

5. (common).—To pawn; 'to put away ' : whence pop-shop = a pawnbroker.—Grose (1785); Bee (1823). See Spout.

1837. Lytton, Maltravers, iv. i. As to the other cloak and shawl, don't be afraid ; they shan't go to the pop-shop.

1841. Punch, i. 77. The eight waistcoats wanted for dinner. Peter ordered to pop accordingly—proceeds 7s. 6d. Invested in a small leg of mutton and half and half.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lai., ér'c., i. 530. Knew of such a book to a sartinty, because a young 'oman took one to pop for an old 'Oman what was on the spree.

1866. Orchestra, 10 Nov. The next day the gentleman transports it to a pawnbroker's, and, as cognoscenti have it, pops it.

1880. G. R. Sims, Three Brass Balls, Pledge x. I am not at all sure that all congregations would act so kindly and thoughtfully as did the Bishop Ortonites if they found out that their parson was in the habit of popping his surplice.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes ' from the Pink 'Un [' Nixes in the Kick'], 63. With his nibs the luck was out, for he popped it up the spout.

1889. Answers, 13 July, 105, 1. Having, unfortunately, a very extended acquaintance with the pop shop, my account . . . may be relied upon as being accurate.

1891. Harry Fludyer, iii. When your aunt Sophia was with us last week it kept on yelling something about ' the pop-shop round the corner ' and ' paying your incle a visit,' which I did not understand.

1898. Hume, Hagar, 54. Rosa, to get rid of the necklace until the affair of the murder was blown over, might pawn it ... so I sent a printed slip to all the pop-shops in London.

1900. Kipling, Stalky &• Co., 44. ' Confound you ! You haven't been popping my Sunday bags, then ? ' ' Keep your hair on. It's only your watch . . . got 13s. 7d. Here's the ticket.'

6. (American University).—To get an advantage.

Other Colloquialisms, mostly with the same root-idea, are :—To pop off saws = to babble ; to pop upon (in, into, above or out)=(i) to come, put, spring, or thrust suddenly into view or place, and (2) to offer abruptly ; to pop with the mouth = to smack the lips ;

to pop one out (or off) = to

deprive, with little or no warning ; to pop off with = to put off

(or aside) ; to pop the question (or to pop) — to offer marriage ; to pop up (or down) = to appear (or disappear) suddenly ; to pop off = (1) to die (also to pop off the hooks—see Pop and Hook), and (2) to make a sudden exit ; to pop it in = to effect intromission ; to pop it on = to increase a demand : as chance offers.

Pop. 255 Pop.

'S^-'SSkelton [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 394. We see the phrase to pop forth saws ; at p. 235, popping means babbling ; our pop still implies noise, as pop-gun].

1571;. Touchstone of Complexions, 124. Still to dilate and open his breaste with coughing, hawking, neesing and popping or smacking with the mouth.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, v. 2. He that hath killed my king, and whored my mother, popped in between the election and my hopes. Ibid., King John, i. That is my brother's plea . . . The which if he can prove, a' pops me out at least from fair five hundred pounds a year. Ibid. (1602), Troilus and Cressida, iv. 5. That's no argument for kissing now ; for thus popped Paris in his hardiment, and parted thus you and your argument.

1600. Heywood, / Ed. IV. [Pearson, Works (1874), i. 47]. My daughter Nell shall pop a posset vpon thee, when thou goest to bed.

1626. Fletcher, Noble Gent., i. 1. And do you pop me off with this slight answer.

d. 1631. Donne, Sermons, iv. So, diving in a bottomless sea, they pop some times above the water to take breath.

d. 1674. Milton, De/. Humb. Remonst. [Century]. These our Prelates, who are the true successors of those that popt them into the other world.

1706. Ward, Wooden Worla, ' To Reader.' Finding . . . the air begin to change apace, and wet, thick, cloudy weather pop in at once upon us.

d. 1745. Swift Tquoted in Century], Others have a trick of popping up and down every moment from their paper to their audience, like an idle schoolboy.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 113. I know how to tickle a girl in a stiff gown, or an actress. You swagger . . . with an easy, impudent assurance, and pop the question without making any bones about it. Ibid., 143. When they had been together long enough, in popped I, with a message to the enamoured spark.

1753. Richardson, Grandison, vi. 103. Afraid he would . . . pop out the question which he had not the courage to put.

1764. Foote, Patron, i. O fie ! what chance have I there? Indeed, if Lady Pepperpot should happen to pop off—

1773. Goldsmith, Stoops to Conquer, ii. When company comes you are not to pop out and stare, and then run in again.

1773. Thompson, Fair Quaker 0/ Deal [Shadwell's comedy recast], ii. 3. If I could get a lover upon the first popping of the question.

1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, ' Watkins Tottie.' I suppose you popped the question more than once.

1837. Barham, Ingold. Legends (1862), 249. His abruptness in popping the question So soon after dinner disturbed her digestion. Ibid. (1857), ² S. 20. I fear by his looks Our friend, Francois Xavier, has popped off the hooks. Ibid. (1900), 141. On the fire, too, she pops some nice mutton-chops.

1841. Punch, i. t53. A considerate old aunt, who had kindly popped off in the nick of time.

1851. Smedley, Lewis Arundel, iii. Some of the fools about here wanted me to put up for the county if he popped off.

1853. Lytton, My Novel, v. xvii. ' Please the pigs,' then said Mr. Avenel to himself, ' I shall pop the question.'

1855. Taylor, Still Waters, i. I'll deposit my carpet-bag in my dressing room, and then pop in on Emmy.

1855. Thackeray, Neivcomes, 1. She was so handsome, and so clever . . . that he had been on the point of popping the fatal question ever so many times. Ibid. (1862), Philip, xvi. Eat your porridge now, little ones. Charlotte, pop a bit of butter in Carrick's porridge.

1869. Stowe, Oldtown Folks, 37. One of the sort that might pop off any time.

1871. Figaro, 18 Mar., The Penalty for Popping. To Bachelors and Widowers : If you are about to pop the question, think of Breach of Promise at Nisi Prius, and don't. He who pops and does not wed, By a jury will be bled.

1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, 313. Travellers well know how they must put the price when doing business with Cheap John now that he is keeping a shop. It's no use for them to pop it on.

Pope.

256 Popés-size.

1888. Black, Houseboat, viii. While some of the small fry popped out their heads to have a look.

1892. Chevalier, Little Nipper. Let's pop into the ' Broker's Arms ' and 'ave a drop o' beer. Ibid., Wot Cher ! Your rich Uncle Tom of Camberwell, Popped off recent, which it ain't a sell.

Pope, subs, (old : now provincial). —A term of contempt : e.g., • What a pope of a thing ! ' Also, drunk as a pope = very drunk (Benedict XII., a glutton and a wine-bibber gave rise to the expression, Bibamus papaliter) : see Drinks and Screwed ; to be (or play) pope-holy = to be sanctimonious ; to play the prig (q.v.) or hypocrite; to know no more than the pope of

Rome = to know nothing.—Ray (1670). Ray also gives, ' If you would be a pope, you must think of nothing else.'

1360. Chaucer, Rom. of Rose {Works (1662), in.]. Another thing was doen . . . That seemed like an ipocrite, And it was cleped pope holy.

13É2. Langland, Piers Plowman. sig. T, ii. (1561). And none so singuler by himselfe, nor so pope holy.

d.n6o. Lydgate, Prohemy 0/ a Mariage {MS., Harl., 372, 51]. And for popholy and nyce loke wel aboute.

1509. Barclay, Ship 0/ Fooles (1570)1 57Ouer sad or proude, disceitfull and pope holy.

rf.1529. Skelton, A Replycation [Dyce, i. 208]. Popholy and penysshe presumpcion. Ibid., Garlande of Laurell, 611. Fais forgers of mony, for kownnage atteintid, pope holy ypocrytis.

d. 1536. Tyndale, Ans. Sir T. More [Parker Soc. (1850,), 36]. There be popeholy, which . . . resist the righteousness of God in Christ.

1620. Westward for Smelts [Halliwell]. He, having no answere, began to curse and ban, bidding a pope on all women.

1706. Oxford Jests, 93. They bid him read. ' Read I truly, my Lord,' says he, ' I can read no more than the Pope op Rome.'

Pope-of-Rome, subs. phr. (rhyming).—Home

poperine-pear, Subs. phr.

(venery).—The penis : see Prick.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, ii. i. Oh, Romeo ! that she were, oh, that ?he were an open arse, thou a poperin pear !

1632. Rowley, Woman Never Vexed [Dodsley, Old Plays (Hazlitt), xii.]. I requested him to pull me A Katherine pear, and had I not look'd to him, He would have mistook and given me a popperin.

1822. Nares, Glossary, s.v. Poperin ... In the quarto edition of Romeo and Juliet was a passage, afterwards very properly omitted, containing a foolish and coarse quibble on the name.

Pope's-eye, subs. phr. (common). —The thread of fat in a leg of mutton.

1852. Shirley Brooks, Miss Violet. The oratorical undertaker having made a most successful joke about the pope's-eye on a leg of Protestant mutton.

1869. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, ii. You should have . . . the pope's-eye from the mutton.

Pope's(or Turk's-) head, subs, phr. (common).—Around broom, of bristles or feathers, with a long handle.

d. 1849. Edgeworth, Love and Law, i. v. You're no witch if you don't see a cobweb as long as my arm. Run, run, O child, for the pope's-head.

1852. Savage, Reuben Medlicott (1864), i. iii. You are not going to send the boy to school with this ridiculous head of hair ; why, his schoolfellows will use him for a pope's head.

Pope's-nose, subs. phr. (common). —A chicken's rump : also parson's-nose.—Grose (1785).

Popes-size, subs. phr. (trade).— See quot.

Pop-gun. 257 Pork.

1888. Notes and Queries, 7 S. vii. 225A year or two ago I bought a merino vest. On the bill I noticed P.S. after it, and by enquiry elicited that P.S. stood for pope's size, and that pope's size meant short and stout.

Pop-gun. See Pot-gun.

Popinjay, subs. (old).—A general term of contempt : specifically (1) a chatterer ; and (2) a fop.

1598. Shakspeare, / Hen. IV., i. 3. " I then, all smarting with my wounds being cold, To be so pestered with a popinjay, Answered neglectingly I know not what."

1599. Jonson, Every Man Out of His Humour, ii. 2. A number of these popinjays there are.

1620. Massinger and Field, Fatal Dowry, iii. 1. Nov. pun. What have I done, sir, To draw this harsh unsavoury language from you ? Rom. Done, popinjay ! why, dost thou think.

Poplars (Poppelars, Popler, or Paplar), subs. (Old Cant).— Porridge : spec, milk-porridge.— Harman (1576); Head (1665) ; B. E. (/.i696); Coles (1724); Grose (1785).

1608. Dekker, Lanthome and Candlelight [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 3]. The Ruffin cly the nab of the Harmanbeck, If we maund . . . poplars of yarum, he cuts, bing to the Ruffmans.

1611. MiDDLETON and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v. i. A gage of ben Rombouse ... Is benar than . . . Peck, pennam, lap, or popler.

1641. Brome, Jovial Crew, ii. Here's Pannam and Lap, and good Poplars of Yarrum.

1707. Shirley, Triumph of Wit [Farmeb, Musa Pedestris (1896), 36]. With lap and poplars held I tack.

poplet (popelet Or poppet),

subs. (old).—Äequot. 1694 : also as an endearment.

1694. Dunton, Ladies Diet., s.v. Popelet. A puppet, or young wench.

1843. Selby', Antony and Cleopatra Married and Settled. There, there's a poppet ; hush, hushaby—hush ! it's very like me—very, just the same interesting twist of the eyes, and insinuating turn of the nose.

2. (old).—A corpulent person. —Chaucer (d. 1400).

pop-lolly, subs. phr. (cheapjacks').— A sweetmeat: i.e.,

lollipop.

i860. Hindley, Cluap-Jack, 100. Ever and anon bawling out in a Billinsgate voice, ' Two ounces a penny again—lollipop and pop-lolly.

Popped, adj. (tailors').—Annoyed. Popped as a hatter = very angry.

Popper. See Pop, subs. 1.

Poppy-cock, subs.phr. (American). —Nonsense; bosh (q.v.). Also poppy-cock racket.

Pop-shop. See Pop, verb. 5.

Pop-squirt, subs. phr. (American).—A jackanapes.

Popsy-wopsy, subs. phr. (common).—A foolish endearment.

1892. Ally Slopers Half-Holiday, 19 Mar., 90, 3. Bless me if the little popsy-wopsy hasn't been collecting all the old circus hoops and covering them with her old muslin skirts.

Popular, adj. (colloquial American). —Conceited.

1862. Lowell, Biglow Papers, 2 S. Int. Pop'lar as a hen with one chicken.

P. P. See Play or Pay.

Pork, subs. (old).—1. A pig-headed one : cf. Pig, subs. 1.

1645. Milton, Colasterion ... 1 mean not to dispute philosophy with this

PORK.

Porker. 258 Portal.

2. (tailors').—A garment spoiled in cutting or making ; goods returned on hand : also pig : cf. cold pig.

3. (venery).—Mutton (q.v.) : cf. Flesh, Meat, Greens, Beef, Fish, &c.

To cry pork, verb. phr. (old). —To act as undertaker's tout.— Grose (1785).

Porker, subs, (common).—1. A young hog.—Grose (1785).

1725. Pope, Odyssey, xiv. 86. Where the fat porkers slept beneath the sun.

2. (old). — A Jew.—Grose (1785).

3. (old).—A sword.—B. E. (/.1696).

1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia, i. [Works (1720), iv. 18]. The captain whipt his porker out.

Porkopolis, subs. (American).— Chicago : formerly Cincinnatti : cf. Cottonopolis.

1888. American Humourist, Aug. Since Cincinnatti ceased to be Porkopolis.

iooi. Daily Telegraph, 7 Jan., 8, 4. The firm of Armour and Co. is one of the chief of those huge meat-packing concerns which have given to Chicago its epithet of " Porkopolis."

Pork-pie, subs. phr. (obsolete).— A hat : modish in the Sixties. [In shape resembling a pork-pie, or the Spanish 'toreador,' fashionable in the Nineties.]

i86[?]. Music Hall Song, 'In the Strand.' A pork-pie hat with a little feather.

1S60. Punch, xxxix. 118. ' O, look here_t Bill ; here's a swell with a Pork-pie on his head ! "

1863. Braddon, Aurora Floyd, xii. She rode across country, wearing a hat which provoked considerable criticism,—a hat which was no other than the now universal turban, or pork pie, but which was new to the world in the autumn of fifty-eight.

1S69. C. Reade, Foul Play, xxxii. She made herself a sealskin jacket and pork-pie hat.

1883. Bret Harte, In the Carquinez Woods, iv. The hat thus procured a few days later became, by the aid of a silk handkerchief and a blue-jay's feather, a fascinating pork-pie.

Porpoise, subs, (common).—A stout man; fortyguts (q.v.) = Fr. Saint-Lichard, or SaintPansart.

Porridge. To cook the porridge, verb. phr. (Scots').—To contrive and execute a design.

1814. Scott, Waverley, iii. 354.

' But wha cookit the parridge for

him ? ' exclaimed the Bailie, ' I wad like to ken that :—wha, but your honour's to command. '

See Breath.

Porridge-bowl, subs. phr. (common). The stomach ; the breadbasket (q.v.); see victualling Office.

Porridge-disturber, sub. phr. (pugilistic).—A drive in the pit of the stomach.

Portable, adv. (old). — ' Pocketable.'— B.E. OM696).

Portage, subs, (old: now recognised).—'Carriage of anything, whether by land or water.'—B.E. (/■.1696).

Portal to the Bower of Bliss,

subs. phr. (literary).—The female pudendum: see Monosyllable.

Portcullis.

² 59 Portmanteau-word.

1647-8. Herrick, Poems [Hazlitt, Works, ii. 273]. This loue-guarded parradice—Above the entrance there is written this, This is the portail to the bower

OF busse.

Portcullis (or Portcullis money), subs. phr. (old colloquial).—Money, of various values, temp. Elizabeth, struck for the East India Company (est. 1599) : also India money [it bore a portcullis verso].

1599. ToNSON, Every Man Out of Humour, in. 6. It comes well, for I had not so much as the least portcullice of coyn before.

Porter, subs, (old : long recognised).—' Hirelings to carry Burthens, Beasts of Burthen, or else Menial Servants set to guard the gates in a great Man's House.'— B.E. (c.1696).

Porterhouse-steak, subs. phr. (American).—A chop from the middle of the sirloin—with upper and undercut : occasionally, but improperly, from the wing-rib.

1870. Clemens, Innocents Abroad, xiii. One would not be at all surprised to hear him say : ' A mutton-roast to-day, or will you have a nice porterhousesteak ? '

Porter's-knot, subs. phr. (obsolete).—A large bob of hair, with a hanging curl : fashionable with women in the Sixties : also waterfall, cataract, &c.

Port-hole, subs, (venery).—(1) The fundament : see Bum ; and (2) the female pudendum: see Monosyllable.

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie (ist ed.) 15. Bounce cries the port-hole, out they fly, And make the world dance Barnaby.

Portionist, subs. (University).— See Postmaster.

Portmantle (portmantick or portmantua), subs, (once literary: now vulgar).—A corruption of ' portmanteau. '

[ ? ] Robin Hood and the Butcher [Child, Ballads, v. 38]. And out of the sheriff's portmantle He told three hundred pounds.

1617-30. Howell, Letters, 127 [Oliphant, New English, ii. 79. Buckingham, in his Spanish journey carries a portmantle under his arm ; our form of the word was to come seven years later. ]

1623. Mabbe, Guzman (1630) 158 [Oliphant, New English, ii. 86. We see portmanteau in page 158, and the form portmantua in the Index ; our mantuamaker is a relic of this confusion].

1690. Hacket, Life of Williams, i. 160. He would linger no longer, and play at cards in King Philip's palace till the messenger with the port-mantick came from Rome.

1726. Vanbrugh, Provoked Husband, i. i. My lady's gear alone were as much as filled four portmantel trunks.

1753. Mrs. Lennox, Henrietta, v. x. He sent orders to a servant to bring

his portmantua.

Portmanteau-word, subs. phr. (common). — A made vocable packed with two or more meanings : e.g., slithy = lithe + slimy ; torrible = torrid + horrible ; squarson = squire + parson ; squirshop = squire + bishop. [The name was Lewis Carrol's, the method Bishop Sam. Wilberforce's. ]

1876. Lewis Carrol, Hunting of the Snark, Preface. [Concerning] portmanteau-words — take the two words 'fuming' and 'furious.' Make up your mind that you will say both words, but leave it unsettled which you will say first ... if you have that rarest of gifts, a perfectly balanced mind, you will say ' frumious.'

1892. Globe, 12 Oct., i. 4. _ In these circumstances it is really surprising that so few of these portmanteau words, as Lewis Carroll called them, are perpetrated.

Portrait.

260

Pose.

Portrait. — See Queen's pictures.

To sit for one's portrait, verb. phr. (prison).—See quot.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick (1857) 339. Here they stopped, while the tip-staff delivered his papers ; and here Mr. Pickwick was apprised that he would remain until he had undergone the ceremony known to the initiated as sitting for your portrait. . . . Mr. Pickwick complied with the invitation, and sat himself down : when Mr. Weiler, who stationed himself at the back of the chair, whispered that the sitting was merely another term for undergoing an inspection by the different turnkeys, in order that they might know prisoners from visitors.

Portuguese Man-of-War, subs, phr. (nautical).—A nautilus.

Pos (Poss or Poz), adj. and adv. (common). —Positive.

T708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation. Lady Smart. What ! . . . Do you say it upon Rep ? Neverout. Poz, I saw her with my own Eyes.

1711. Spectator, No. 135. It is perhaps . . . speaking no more than we needs must which has so miserably curtailed some of our words, that . . . they often lose all but their first syllables, as in mob, rep, pos, incog, and the like.

1715. Addison, Drummer, iii. I will be flattered, that's pos.

1719. Durfby, Pills to Purge, v. 329. Drunk I was last night, that's poss, my wife began to scold.

1839-40. Thackeray, Cat/ierine [Century]. I will have a regiment to myself, that's poz.

1853. Diogenes, 11. 46. But the crier said, poz, They were fresh as it was.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' from the Pink 'Un ['The Dolls'], 24. While the public morals-shaper Thinks of writing to the paper To upset the show, if pos.

Pose, verb, (old colloquial).—1. To puzzle ; and (2) to posture, to pretend, to feign. [Sense 1 has been chiefly influenced by the scholastic M.E. posen (Prompt.

Parv.) = to examine, whence to puzzle ; whilst sense 2 owes more to posture, which again is from the same Latin root.] Whence poser (i) = an unanswerable question or argument ; and (2) an impostor, a pretender : also to put a poser. Also (3) poser

[apposer, opposer or oppositor] (old) = a bishop's examining chaplain ; (in modern schools) = an examiner — at Eton for King's College, and at Winchester for New College scholarships and exhibitions.

1387. Trevisa, f/igden, iv. 291. The childe Jesus . . . sittynge and apposynge the doctours.

1574. Queen Elizabeth, Endorsement on Recommendation of Candidates for College Election, 8 May. To our trustie and welbeloved, the wardens of the new Colledges in Oxford and nere Winchester and others of them and to the oppositors and others having interest in the election of scollers.

1577-87. Harrison, Englatid, 1. 11. iii. 84. In those [Windsor, Wincester, Eaton, Westminster schools] . . . thetriall is made by certeine apposers yearlie appointed to examine them.

1603. Bacon, Discourse [1887]. Let his questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for a poser.

1662. Fuller, Worthies, Norfolk, 11. 462. The university [of Cambridge] . . . appointed Dr. Cranmer ... to be posergeneral of all candidates in Divinity.

1647-8. J. Beaumont, Psyche, i. no I still am pos'd ahout the case, But wiser you shall judge.

1662. Donne, Satires [1819]. A thing which would have pos'd Adam to name.

1807. Crabbe, Parish Register [Works (1823)], i. 62. Then by what name th' unwelcome guest to call Was long a question, and it posed them all.

1820. Lamb, South Sea House [Century]. A sucking babe may have posed him.

1838. W. Desmond, Stage Struck, 1. My own aunt by the mother's side—but how to find her out will be a poser, for we never could learn the name of the great man she caught.

Posh. 261

1867. Collins, TJte Public Schools, 61. -'Winchester.' Two posers (or at one time supervisors) arrive at the college, where they are received with a Latin oration ' ad portas ' by the senior scholar.

1872. C. D. Warner, Backlog Studies, 161. ' What do you think women are good for?' ' That's a poser ! '

Posh. subs, (thieves').—1. Money : generic, but specifically, a halfpenny or other small coin : see Rhino.

1888. Page's Eavesdropper, 11. ii. They used such funny terms : ' brads,' and ' dibbs,' and ' mopusses,' and ' posh ' ... at last it was borne in upon me that they were talking about money.

1891. Ally S toper's Half Holiday, 4 April. I am authorized by the executive council ... to send you an invitation . . . to take care of the posh.

1893. Emerson, Lippo, xx. She'd always get some posh from them.

2. (society).—A dandy.

Posse Mobilitatis, subs. phr. (old).—The mob.—Grose (1785).

Possess, verb, (conventional).— To have (q.v.) : see Greens and Ride.

1620. Massinger and Field, Fatal Dowry, iii. 1. To set down to a lady of my rank Limits of entertainment'? Rom. Sure a legion Has possest this woman !

c.1707. Old Ballad, ' Wooburn Fair' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), i S. iv. 179]. And tho' I let Loobies Oft finger my Bubbies : Who think when they kiss me, That they shall possess me.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 209. The four cut-throats all avowed a like desire of possessing the female who had fallen into their hands ; and they were proposing to draw lots for her.

Possible, adv. (old).—See quot.

1823. Egan, Diet. Ttirf, s.v. Hightide.-plenty of the possibles ;

whilst ' low-water ' implies empty dies.

Possum, verb. (American).—See quots. : also to play possum.

1828. Flint, Geog. 0/the Mississippi Valley. As one who counterfeits sickness, or dissembles strongly for a particular purpose, is said to be possuming.

1855. Haliburton, Human Nature, 14. I will play possum with these folks, and take a rise out of them that will astonish their weak nerves.

1877. Bartlett, Americanisms, s.v. Possum. The expression alludes to the habit of the opossum, which throws itself on its back, and feigns death on the approach of an enemy.

1886. Scribner's Mag., Jan., 436. It's almost time for Babe to quit playing possum.

Possom-quts, subs. phr. (colonial).—A term of reproach.

1859. H. Kingsley, Geof. Hamlyn [S. J. & C.]. I'll teach you to whistle when a gentleman comes into the hut, you possum-guts.

Post, subs, (old : now recognised or colloquial). — 1. 'Employment, Office, Station ; also an advanced or advantageous piece of ground : a Pillar in the Way or Street.'— B.E. (c.1696).

2. (venery).—An act of coition.

Verb. (University). — I. To

reject : to pluck (q.v.) : also as subs. At Eton = to put down for bad work in ' Collections ' : the penalty is a holiday-pœna or a swishing.

1855. Bristed, Eng. Univ., 74. Should a man be posted twice in succession, he is generally recommended to try the air of some other college, or devote his energies to some other walk of life.

2. (common).—To publish : by exposing a list of nominations or defaulters: spec. (Univ.) to publish a list of those in debt for College rations ; and (3) to hold up to ridicule or contempt, as (see quot. 1882) a coward. Whence, to post up (or be well posted)

= to keep one (or be) well informed.

Post. 262

Post.

1731. Hearne, Diary, 13 Ap. The Royal Society sinks every day in its credit . . . try its new statues for election of foreigners and natives, by posting up their names . . . for ten weeks together, and . . . with much difficulty electing them.

1860. Chambers'', xin. 22. But there is no occasion for us to say, with the Americans, that a man is well posted up on a subject, while we can say that he is well informed on it.

1861. Black-wood, April, 429. We hear often enough in passable London Society of a man who is well posted up on any special subject, or on the general topics of the day.

1861. Kingsley, Ravenslioe, Iv. We are now posted up well enough in the six weeks which preceded the arrival of the mysterious Archer.

1863. Reade, Hard Cash, 1. 191. He will say to himself, ' She can—post me, I think these people call it—this afternoon for not cashing her cheque, and she can turn me and my bank into the street to-morrow.'

1864. Spectator, 455. The reader is posted carefully in the latest news about uncial fragments and Biblical MSS.

1882. Harper s Monthly, June. The fiery young midshipman posted him in the streets of Baltimore.

1884. W. C. Russell, Jack's Courtship, xviii. Where I could have kept myself posted in all the latest news about the Hawkes' movements.

1885. D. Telegraph, 13 Nov. Nor may the merest schoolboy be posted up in the dates.

4. (old).—To pay: cf. Cole, Pony, and Tip.—Grose (1785) ; Vaux (1819).

1789. Parker. Happy Pair [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 68]. With spunk let's post our neddies.

1854. Martin and Aytoun, Bon Gualtier Ballads. ' The Knyghte and the Taylzeour's Daughter.' Once for all, my rum 'un, I expect you'll post the tin.

1885. D. Telegraph, 7 Sep. He must to-day post the final deposit.

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 3 Ap. 'Done! Post the money.'

5. (nautical).—To raise to the rank of post-captain.

1818. Austin, Persuasion, xxiii. Tell me . . . when I . . . was posted into the Laconia, if I had then written to you, would you have answered my letter?

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, lv. Whispers were afloat which . . . prevented him from being posted.

From pillar to post, phr. (old).—Hither and thither ; with aimless effort or action. [Lit. from the same to the same— pillar = Lat. columna = post]. —B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1340. Ayenbite of Inwyt [Oliphant, New English, i. 30. A good man becomes a post in God's temple ; this explains our phrase, ' from pillar to post '].

1509. Barclay, Eclogues [Percy Soc], xxii., lvii. From post unto pillar tosseth.

1531-47. Copland, Spyttel Hous [Hazlitt, Pop. Poet, iv. 56]. And auentreth, tyll them haue all lost, And turmoyleth alway fro pyler to post.

¹537-5°. V°x Populi, Vox Dei [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet., iii. 274]. That from piller vnto post The powr man he was tost.

1582. Stanihurst, JEneid, iv. 296. From thee poast toe piler with thoght his rackt wyt he tosseth.

1607. Marston, IVhat You Will, iv. r. Come you ; you prate : yfaith He tosseth you from post to piller.

c. 1611. Shakspeare and Fletcher, Two Noble Kinsmen, iii. 5. And, dainty duke, whose doughty dismal fame From Dis to Daedalus, from post to pillar, Is blown abroad.

.1624. Breton, Character of Elizabeth, 5. In the tyme of her sister Queene Marie's raigne, how was she handled ? tost from pillar to post, imprisoned, sought to be put to death.

1678. Cotton, Scarrouides, 62. Our guards from pillar banged to post, He kicked about till they were lost.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 86. He threw his arms about the old man's neck ; and these two . . . began sending him backwards and forwards . . . After they had tossed him about from pillar to post they suffered him to depart.

Posi-and-rail. 263

Postillion.

1767. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 17s.

To be tOSt from post to pillory.

1898. Braddon, Rough Justice, 18. Hunted from pillar to post.

Other Colloquialisms are : —To run (or knock) the head against a post = to go blindly ; stiff as a post = unyielding : as a gatepost in the ground ; to talk (or preach) to a post = to talk to deaf ears : hence deaf as a post = as deaf as may be ; to ride a post — to copulate ;

to go to the post = to visit

a woman ; to talk tost = to speak hastily ; post alone = solitary ; to kiss the post = (see Kiss, and add quots. 1529 and 1548) ; to hold up a post (or the wall) = to cling for support when drunk. See also Bedpost ; Knight ; Nick.

1400. Hymns to Virgin and Christ [E. E. T. S.], 61. [Here conscience is scornfully told] to prêche to the post.

d. 1529. Skelton, Phyllyp Sparowe, 715. Troylus also hath lost On her moch loue and cost, And now must kys the post.

15^8. Barclay, Eglogues (1570), ii. sig. B tiii. Yet from beginning absent if thou be, Eyther shalt thou lose thy meat and kisse the post.

1582. Stanihurst, CEnid, iv. 492. Her self left also she deemed Post aloan, andsoaly fromwoonted coompanye singled.

1599. Shakspeare, Hen. V., iii. 2. A' never broke any man's head but his own, and that was against a post when he was drunk.

rf.1608. Sack ville, Stafford D. of Buck., st. 49. She chang'd her cheer, and left me post alone.

1632. Shirley, The Changes, i. 1. 'Twere no good manners to speak hastily to a gentlewoman, to talk post (as they say) to his mistress.

Post-and-rail, subs. phr. (Australian). — A wooden match ; post-and-rail tea = ill-made tea, with floating stalks and leaves.

1851. Australasian, 298. Hysonskin and post-and-rail tea have been superseded by Mocha, claret, and cognac.

1855. Mundy, Our Antipodes, 163. A hot beverage in a tin pot, which richly deserved the colonial epithet of post-andrail tea, for it might well have been a decoction of ' split stuff,' or ' ironbark shingles,' for any resemblance it bore to the Chinese plant.

1870. Braim, New Homes, i. The shepherd's wife kindly gave us the invariable mutton-chop and damper, and some post-and-rail tea.

1883. Keighley, Who are You ? 36. Then took a drink of tea . . . Such as the swagmen in our goodly land Have with some humour named the post-andrail.

Posteriors, subs, (old colloquial). —i. The buttocks ; and (2) the after part.

1594. Shakspeare, Love's Lab. Lost, v. i, 94. It is the King's . . . pleasure ... to congratulate the princess at her pavilion in the posteriors of this day, which the rude multitude call the afternoon.

Postern, subs, (venery).—1. The fundament ; also postern-door : see Monocular-eyeglass ; (2) the female pudendum ; also postern gate to the ElYSIAN

Fields (Herrick): see Monosyllable.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (1725), 139]. And thrice her latest breath did roar, In hollow Sound at Postern-door. Ibid. (ist ed., p. 8). Whom Jove observing to be so stern, In the wise conduct of his postern.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, i. 264. So Sissly shone with Beauty's rays Reflecting from her Postern grace.

1749. Robertson of Struan, Poems, 83. So to a House of Office streight A School-Boy does repair, To ease his Postern of its Weight.

Post-horn, subs. phr. (common). —The nose : also paste-horn : see Conk.

Postillion. See St. George.

Postillion.

264

Pot.

Postillion of the Gospel, subs. phr. (old). — A gabbling parson.—Grose (1785).

Postman, sues, (obsolete legal).— See quot. [The old Court of Exchequer is now merged in the High Court of Justice.]

1763-9. Blackstone, Com., nr. iii. Note. In the courts of exchequer, two of the most experienced barristers, called the post-man and the tub-man (from the places in which they sit), have also a precedence in motions.

Postmaster, subs. (University).— An exhibitioner of Merton College : also portionist.

1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, vii. I remember Mr. Larkyns . . . telling us that the son of one of his old friends had been a postmaster of Merton.

1886. Oxford Guide [S. J. & C.]. The postmasters anciently performed the duties of Choristers, and their payment for this duty was six shillings and fourpence per annum.

Postmaster General, subs. phr. (old).—The prime minister : ' who has the patronage of all posts and places.'—Grose (1785).

Post-mortem, subs. phr. (Cambridge).—The examination after failure.

1844. Fuck, 13. I've passed the Post-mortem at last.

Post-anointer, subs. phr. (old). — A house painter.—Grose (1785).

Post-office. A letter in the post-office, subs. phr. (American).—A flying shirt-tail.

Post-office Bible, subs. phr. (Post-office).—The London Delivery Book.

Post-office Prayer-book, subs, phr. (Post-office). — The Postoffice Guide.

Pot, subs, (old colloquial). — A quart : the quantity contained in a pot. Whence as verb. = to drink : also (American) to potate ; potting = boozing (q.v.) ; potations (recognised) = a drinking-bout ; pot-house (or shop) = a beer-shop, a lushcrib (q.v.); pot-house (or coffee-house) politician = an ignorant, irresponsible spouter of politics; pot-companion — (1) a cup-comrade, and (2) an habitual drunkard : as also = Potfury (also = drunkenness), -knight, -head, -leach,

man,-polisher,-sucker,

walloper, potator, pot

ster, toss-pot, and rob-pot ; pot-punishment = compulsory tippling; pot-quarrel = a drunken squabble ; pot-sick (or -shot) = drunk : pot-sure (-hardy, or -valiant) = emboldened by liquor : cf. Dutch courage (B. E., c.1696, and Grose, 1785); pot-bellied = fat, bloated in stomach as from guzzling : also pot-belly (or guts) = a big-bellied one ; potrevel = a drunken frolic ; potmania (or potomania) = dipsomania ; Sir (or Madam) Pintpot = a host (or hostess) ; potboy (or -man) = a bar-scullion : whence pot-boy-dom.

1560. Becon, Works [Parker Soc], 276. Good wife Pint-pot.

1584. [? Monday], Weakest to Wall, iii. 4. Now, mine host rob-pot, emptycan, beer-barrel.

1594. Lyly, Mother Bombie, iii. 2. Dro. How sped'st th ,<i after thy potting ? Bis. Nay, my master rung all in the taveme, and thrust all out.

1597. Hall, Satires, i. iii. With some pot-fury . . . they sit and muse.

1598. Lotnat ius on Painting [Nares]. But these base fellowes I leave in their ale-houses, to take pot-punishment of each other once a day, till, &c.

Pot.

265

Pot.

1598. Shakspeare, / Hen. IV., ii. 4, 438. Peace, good pint-pot : peace, good tickle-brain. Ibid., 2 Henry VI., ii. 3. And here's a pot of good double beer. Ibid. (1602), Othello, ii. 3. 1 learned it in England, where, indeed, they are most potent in potting : your Dane, your German, and your swag-bellied Hollander . . . are nothing to your English.

1614. Time's Whistle [E. E. T. S.], 59. One pot-companion and his fashion I will describe.

1620. Fei.tham, Resolves, 84. It is less labour to plow than to pot it.

1630. Taylor, Works [Nares]. And being mad perhaps, and hot pot-shot, A crazed crowne or broken pate hath got. Ibid. This valiant pot-leach that upon his knees Has drunke a thousand pottles up-se-freese.

c. 1650. Bratiiwayte, Barnaby's J. (1723), in. 119. Kindly drink to one another Till pot-hardy. Ibid., 167. If thou dost love thy flock, leave off to pot.

1651. Cartwright, Royal Slave [Nares]. Arc. Faith, landlord. Mol. I'd have sworn thou hadst bin of a better nature, than to remember pot-quarrels.

1653. Walton, Complete Angler, 181. Let's each man drink a pot for his morning's draught.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. xl. Well-antidoted with pot-proof armour.

1659. Legend of Captain Jones [NaresJ. When these rough gods beheld him thus secure, And arm'd against them like a man pot-sure.

1703. Ward, London Spy, xv. 366. He had made himself Pot Valiant with his Countryman's Liquor.

d. 1704. L'Estrange, Quevado [Latham]. For fuddling they shall make the best pot-companion in Switzerland knock under the table.

1715. Hearnf, Diary, 11 Oct. Tho' he [a posture-master] is a well-growu fellow yet he will appear ... as hunchtback'd, pott-bellyd, sharp-breasted.

1729. Swift, Directions to Servants, iv. They will wait until you slip into a neighbouring ale-house to take a pot with a friend.

3.1744. Arbuthnot and Pope, Martin Scriblerus [Ency. Diet.]. He will find himself a forked stradling animal, and a pot-belly.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 179. A long bench, such as usually graces a pot-house porch. Ibid., 266. He told me . . . they could only be coffee-house politicians. Ibid. (1771), Humphrey Clinker, 1. 30. Like a man who has drunk himself pot-valiant, I talked to her in such a style of authority and resolution, as produced a most blessed effect.

1772. Graves, Spiritual Quixote, iv. viii. You pot-gutted rascal.

1803. Lamb, To Coleridge, 13 Ap. Last night ... a pipe, and some generous Port, and King Lear had their effects as solacers. I went to bed pot-valiant.

i8[?]. Gray, To Mason [Latham]. He appears to be near forty ; a little potbellied and thick-shouldered, otherwise no bad figure.

1834. Southey, Tlte Doctor, xliv. Barnabee, the illustrious Potator, saw there the most unbecoming sight that he met with in all his travels.

1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle, xii. The little pot-valiant master, primed with two tumblers of grog, in defiance of the Captain's presence, fairly fastened on him.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick, li. ' Perhaps we had better retire,' whispered Mr. Pickwick. 'Never, sir,' rejoined Pott, pot-valiant in a double sense, ' never.' Ibid., Iii. A sequestered pot-shop on the remotest confines of the Borough.

1849. Kingsley, Alton Locke, xiii. It is a part of his game to ingratiate himself with all pot-boy-dom.

1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., v. The coarse dialect which he had learned in the pot-houses of Whitechapel.

1851. _ S. Judd, Margaret, iii. The old man is still mecurial ; but his potvaliantry is gone.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., 11. 17. I could get a pot-boy's place again, but I'm not so strong as I were, and its slavish work in the place I could get.

1855. Kingsley, Westward Ho, xv. She was too good for a poor pot-head like me.

1860. Dickens, Uncommercial Traveller, xiii. The potman thrust the ast brawling drunkards into the street.

1864. Eton School Days, viii. Bird'seye's patrons would ... sit in his cottage and smoke and drink beer, for they were potent at potting.

Pot.

266

Pot.

1876. S. Dowell, Taxes in England, i. 200. The increase in drinking . . . carried your English in potency of potting above even your Dane, your German, and your swag-bellied Hollander.

1899. Whiteing, John St., xiv. I have contracted fatal habits . . . one . . . is that I want a nip in a pot-house before retiring to rest. Ibid., xxiv._ You could never git through it if you paid a quid for every pot o' beer.

2. (sporting).—A large sum ; the collective amount of money staked ; the pool. Hence (racing) = a horse backed for a large amount, a favourite ; to pot, or to put on the pot = to wager large sums (Bee, 1823) ; and to upset the pot = to beat the favourite.

1840. Sporting Review, iv. 119. It needed only to lay against all, to insure a prize proportioned to the pot put on.

1859. Lever, Davenport Dunn fTauchnitz], i. 191. Ihe horse you have backed with a heavy pot.

1864. Derby-day, 2. The knowing ones . . . potted their money on him without hesitation. Ibid., 170. The trainer of course found the ready money to buy a share in the ' Horse and Jockey,' but that's not to be wondered at considering the pot he made when Ascapart won the Derby.

1868. Ouida, Under Two Flags, v. All them fiddlers have lost such a sight of money by you ; them bookmakers have had such a lot of pots upset by you.

1870. L. Oliphant, Piccadilly, v. 196. " Harrie . . . went down to the Derby on Heiter's drag, and won a pot on the French horse under his judicious advice."

1883. Graphic, 17 Nov., 494. 2. Medicus, the great Cambridgeshire pot, and Thebais, who showed well in that race, were among the runners.

1887. Henley, Villon's Straight Tip, i. Suppose . . . you land your pot . . . Booze and the blowens cop the lot.

1891. Sportsman, 28 Feb. Homeward Bound, the medium of a plunge here last week, was the potted article for the United Service Selling Hunters' Steeplechase.

1894. Moore, Esther Waters, vL My great-grandfather had a pot of money, but it all went.

3. (sporting). —A prize. [Usually given in cups, mugs, or pots.] 'Whence pot-hunter (or -fisher) = (1) a professional athlete of the baser sort—one who, of good quality, enters for events he is sure to win for the sake of the pots offered as prizes ; and (2) = a man who seeks a large bag (q.v.) without regard to the rules and usages of sport. Also pot-hunting = going in for sport for profit alone.—Grose (1785).

1870. Scribner's Mag., Aug., 506. With no other let or hindrance than those which the gory pot-hunters compel.

1882. W. W. Greener, The Gun, 570. Poachers and pot-hunters are encouraged that they may keep the tables of their friends in office well-supplied with game. Ibid., 575. The Chinese have an original and effective manner of pothunting after Wild-fowl.

1884. Daily News, 9 Feb., 5, 3. Common birds are better off in England than abroad where they are shot by way of sport, and potted by pot-hunters.

1885. Field, 12 Dec. Some protection should betaken against pot-hunting.

1889. Sir H. Pottinger, TroutFishing. But ordinary mortals have a natural dislike to returning with empty baskets, and some people not necessarily pot-hunters like to eat trout.

1891. National Observer, 14 Feb., 332. But does Mr. Everard seriously pretend ... he v-as contemplating the rivalry of the t-/t> in a gigantic pothunting ' competeetion ' ?

4. (common). — A person of importance ; an adept : also big pot.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 70. The genuine pot.

Pot.

267

Pot.

1891. Licensed Victualler's Gaz., 9 Feb. Dick pointed out some of the big pots of the day, but there did not seem much union of hearts among them.

1899. Whiteing, John St., 150. Grandfather sold things over the counter. The father's some tremendous pot in the financial way, and got his baronetcy for a Royal visit.

1900. Nisbet, Sheep's Clothing, 131. He is rather a big pot as a preacher I hear.

5. (nautical).—A steward.

6. (medical students').—Sixpence: five-pot piece = 2s. 6d.

1885. Household Words, 20 June, 155. To many drinkers the coin . . . was known as a pot, because it was the price of a pot [q.v., sense 1], or quart of ' halfand-half.'

7. (Stock Exchange).—In pi. = North Staffordshire Railway Ordinary Stock. [The railway serves the Potteries.]

8. (Winchester College).—The pot = the Canal. Pot-cad = a workman at the saw mills ; potgates = lock-gates ; pot-houser = a jump into the canal from the roof of a house called pot-house. —Mansfield (c 1840).

9. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

1678. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft [ Works (1725), 260]. In Love fm not so simple, But to observe she has a Dimple, And such a one, as who would not Put all his Flesh into the Pot?

10. (old).—A urinal; a chamber. Hence as good a

piece as ever strode a pot

= as good a girl as ever pissed. Adj. (back slang).—Top.

Verb, (old colloquial). — 1. To kill : specifically (modern) to shoot from cover : also to potshot. Hence pot-shot, subs. = (1) a shot so made ; (2) a shot

made for the sake of a bag (q.v.) without regard to the rules and usages of sport ; and (3) a shot at random, as into a flight of birds without definite aim : cf. Snipe. Whence to pot away = to keep up a rain of shot.

1858. Edinburgh Courant, 2 Sep. All . . . were firing pot-shots at him, while he was rushing about with a tulwar determined to sell his life dearly.

i860. _ Russell, Diary in India, 11. 327. Taking pot-shots at their sentries and pickets.

1860. Chambers' Jl., xiii. 90. A few . . . amuse themselves by potting at us, but they are in too great a state of fear to make good practice.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, xl. My gracious sovereign pays me seven and sixpence a day : for which sum I undertake to be shot at on certain occasions and by proper persons . . . But that doesn't include turning out to be potted at like a woodcock.

1861. Reade, Cloister and Hearth, viii. Martin had been in a hurry to pot her, and lost her by an inch.

1866. G. A. Sala, Trip to Barbary,

xv. Tourists . . . are in the habit of bringing Devisme's fowling-pieces with them, and potting the monkeys by way of a chasse-cafe.

1883. Daily Telegraph, 23 Mar., 5, 3. The English father of a family has not yet taken to the evil course of waiting for the tax-collector behind a stone wall and potting him with a blunderbuss.

1884. Sat. Rev., 15 Mar. All the pretty shy beasts . . . are potted by cockneys.

1888. Greener, TheGun, 331. The desire of puntsmen to pot as many birds as possible by one shot.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxiii. He and old Crib were a stunning pair for pot-shooting. Ibid.,

xvi. Take a cool pot at him with a revolver.

1889. Phillipps-Wolley, Trottings of a Tenderfoot [S. J. and C.]. There is none of the credit due to the quiet potshot which a quick snap-shot at a buck on the jump might earn.

Pot.

268

Pot.

1889. Time, Aug., 151. The proper thing for men, with their powerfuller brains, is not to set on to a woman as though they despise her, but just to pot away at her, unless she carries it too far, when it is necessary to go for her.

1891. Murray's Mag., Aug., 211. I came here about a week ago to pot at the pigeons, and I've done very well, so far.

1900. Nisbet, Sheep's Clothing, 26. ' He'll carry the trade mark of Elola . . . for the rest of his life.' ' Serve him jolly well right for not shooting straight. However, he is in with us now since he has potted the girl.

2. See subs., senses I and 2.

3. (billiards). — To pocket a ball.

1885. Ev. Standard, 18 Dec. After making three he potted his opponent's ball.

1891. Sportsman, 26 Mar. Roberts, opening with a fluke by potting the red, ran up in his best style a capital 132.

4. (common).—To ' take a rise out of ; to do (q.v.) ; to be revenged ; to land (q.v.).

1855. Taylor, Still Waters, ii. A greater flat was never potted.

i28o. Millikin, Punch's Almanack, St. Valentine's Day. Crab your enemies, —I've got a many, You can pot 'em proper for a penny.

5. (old).—To excel : as to pot verses = to cap them.

1599. Stowe, Survey, 53. The boies of different schooles did cap or potte verses.

To go to pot, verb. phr. (common).—To perish ; to be done for : as by death, bad seasons, pecuniary difficulties, and soforth.—Ray (1670). [SmythPalmer, Folk Etymology, thinks pot = a pit (i.e., of destruction) : An alternative suggestion, apparently supported by most of the (especially the earlier) quotations, is that pot = a cooking, or a

refiner's melting pot]. Whence go to pot ! = 'Go to the devil' ; ' Go hang yourself: Fr. Sucré ! and Va-te-faire-suer ! PoTTEDout = buried. See Hop the Twig and Quisby.

1394. Langland, Piers Ploughman, 627. Vnder a pot he schal be put in a pryvie chambre.

1512-3. Douglas, Eucados (1710), 108, 16. And vthir sum thare with gan schete ful hot Deip in the soroufull grisle hellis pot.

1525. Tyndale, Ans. to Sir T. More [Parker Soc. (1850), no]. Then goeth a part of little flock to pot, and the rest scatter.

1552. Latimer, Serinons, 183. The more wicked, the more lucky : but they that pertaine to God . . . must go to the pot, they must suffer here according to the Scriptures.

1563. Hakluyt, Voyages, ' Ballad of R. Baker.' If Cannibals they be In kind we doe not know ; And if they be, then welcome we, To pot straightway we goe.

1573. New Custom, ii. 3. Crew. Thou wouldest not sticke to bringe thine owne brother to payne. Avar. No, nor father and mother, if there were ought to be got, ... if I could I would bring them to the pot.

1601. Jack Drum's Ent. (1616), i. 218. Flawn. Why, the weakest goe to the pot still. Mam. That jest shall saue him.

1610. Shakspeare, Coriolanus, i. 4. First sold. See they have shut him in. All. To the pot, I warrant him.

i6ri. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Aussitost meurt vache comme veau. As soon the young, as old, goes to the pot.

1612. Webster, White Devil, iv. 4. Pigeons though j they destroy never so much corn, the farmer dare not present the fowling-piece to them . . . because they belong to the lord of the manor ; whilst your poor sparrows, that belong to the lord of heaven, they go to the pot for't.

1648. Life of A. a Wood [Bliss], 39. He was conniv'd at and kept in his place, otherwise he had infallibly gon to the pot.

Pot.

269

Pot.

1662. Rump Songs, ii. 44. If Monesk be turn'd Scot, The Rump goes to pot, And the good Old cause will miscarry.

1665. Head, English. Rogue (1874), i. x. 77. We will make his Till spring a leak for it, or his Goods go to Pot, and break him at last.

1680. Dryden, Prol. to Univ., Oxford, 15 (Globe, 443). Then all you heathen wits shall go to pot For disbelieving of a Popish plot.

1686. Higden, On Tenth Satire of Juvenal, 13. The Founder's fournace grows red-hot—Sejanus Statue goes to pot.

1712. Arbuthnot, Hist, of John Bull, i. vi. John's ready money, book debts, bonds, mortgages, all went into the lawyers' pockets. Then John began to borrow money on Bank Stock, East India Bonds : and now and then a farm went to pot.

1771. Smollett, Humphry Clinker, 61. We went by sea to another kingdom, called Fife, and, coming back, had like to have gone to pot in a storm.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 31. Mother, since I'm to go to pot, And must be either hang'd or shot.

1840. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ' Merchant of Venice.' In the first place you know all the money I've got, Time and often, from now has been long gone to pot."

1889. Cornhill Mag., July, 46. For the potato is really going to pot . . . Constitutional disease and the Colorado beetle have preyed too long upon its delicate organism.

Colloquialisms are :—A pot (or pitcher) oft sent to the

well is broken at last =

the inevitable must happen : see Pitcher, subs, i ; to agree

like pot and kettle — to

wrangle : see Black-arse ; as like as one pot's like another = very like indeed ; a

little pot is soon hot = (i)

a little suffices, and (2) little people (or minds) are soon angered (B. E., c. 1696); to make the pot boil (or keep the pot boiling) = (1) to pro

vide necessaries, and (2) to keep things going : Fr. (artists') faire du métier : see Pot-boiler ; to

make \ pot with two ears =

to set the arms akimbo ; to put on the pot = (1) see Pot, subs , (2) = to overcharge, (3) = to exaggerate, (4) = to bully, (5) = to snub, or patronise (also to put on the big pot) : see Pot, subs. 4, and (6) = to provide the necessaries of life ; to put on the pot = to banish, to extinguish ; to make a pot at = to grimace ;

to make pots and pans = ' to

spend freely, then beg ' (Bee,

1823) ; to give moonshine in

a mustard-pot = to give nothing (Ray, 1670) ; ' If you

touch pot, you must touch penny = ' You must pay for what you have.' Also see Piss, Pot-and-pan, Old Pod, Potshot, pot-hat, honey-pot, &c

1481. Reynard the Eoxe [Percy Soc.]. A pot may goo so longe to

water that at last it cometh tobroken hoom.

1535. Coverdale, Bible, Eccles. xiii. How agree the ketell and the

pot together.

1546. Heywood, Proverbs, s.v. Little pot, soone hot.

1593. Shakspeare, Tarn, of Shrew, iv. i, 5. Now, were I not a little pot

and soon hot.

1661. Heylin, Hist. Reformation, 212. So poor that it is hardly able to keep the pot boiling for a parson's dinner.

1678. Cotton, Scarronides, 236. See what a goodly port she bears, Making

the pot with the two ears.

1812. Coombe, Dr. Syntax, 1. xxiii. No fav'ring patrons have I got, But just enough to boil the pot.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xxx. Mr. Pickwick . . . went slowly and gravely down the slide ..." Keep the pot a bilin', sir!" said Sam; and down went Wardle . . . Mr. Pickwick, and then Sam, . . . following closely upon each other's heels.

Potato. 270 Potato-trap.

1837. Marryat, Snarley-Yow(iSgj), 52,4. Smack ! crack ! This is our jubilee ! Huzza, my lads, we'll keep the pot boiling.

1847. Buckstone, Nine too Many, i. Well, then, I was saying that I furnish the means to keep the pot boiling, therefore it only remains to distribute the different employments of our little household !

1858. G. Eliot, Amos Barton, vi. " The poor fellow must have a hard pull to get along, with his small income and large family. Let us hope the Countess does something towards making the pot boil."

1869. Fun, 29 May, 'A Double Event.' The Treasurer and the Box Book-keeper take their benefits . . . heavily backed by the two companies, and we trust the public will put on a pot for them.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, i. There were other chances and pickings which helped to make the pot boil.

1893. Emerson, Lippo, xxii. He gets to know their account, and he puts the pot on 'em settling day. Ibid., viii. I found at last I must go on pitch by myself, to keep the pot boiling, as many a true artiste has too.

1898. Cigarette, 26Nov., 13, 3. Now then, keep the pot a-biling, Mister Graydon down below !

Potato, subs, (common). — See quot. : used esp. for a heel through an undarned sock or stocking.

1885. Baring-Gould, Eng., III. Mag., June, 616. The gladiators wore

fjasteboard helmets . . . and fleshings for egs and arms, with—what are vulgarly termed potatoes, that is, holes in the fleshings perceptible in many places.

Small Potatoes, adv. phr. (American).—Petty ; mean ; contemptible : also as adj. and subs.

1846. New York Herald, 13 Dec. Small potato politicians and pettifogging lawyers.

1855. Haliburton, Human Nature, 38. It's small potatoes fora man of war to be hunting poor game like us little foreand-aft vessels.

18 [?]. Whitcher, Widow Bedott Papers, 188. The Presbyterian minister here is such small potatoes.

1891. Morning Advertiser, 20 April. The Hardwicke Plate dwindled down to very small potatoes.

The potato (or clean potato), subs. phr. (common).— The best ; the whitest (q.v.) ; the tip-top : see A I.

1849. Ainsworth, Rookwood, Pref. xxxvi. Of all rhymesters of the 'road,' however, Dean Burrowes is as yet most fully entitled to the laurel. Larry is quite the potato.

188a R. M. Jephson, Pink Wedding, 235. " I am convinced he is a firstrate one—quite the clean potato, in fact."

1899. Sporting Times, 15 Ap., 2, 4. Mr. Pinero has . . . pulled his play out from the oven absolutely the clean

potato.

Potatoes and point, subs, phr. (common).—Potatoes without salt : point = an imaginary seasoning, as in pointing, to bacon, cheese, anything : cf. ¹ Eat your bread and smell your cheese ! '

1834. Carlvle, Sartor Resartus [Century], Their universal sustenance is the root named potato, . . . generally without condiment or relish of any kind, save an unknown condiment named point.

Potato-boggle, subs. phr. (common).—A scarecrow.

Potato-finger, subs. phr. (old colloquial). — I. A long thick finger. Whence (2) a penis of dimension; and (3) a dildo (q.v.).

1602. Shakspeare, Tr. and Cress., v. 2, 56. How the devil Luxury, with his fat rump and potato-finger, tickles these together.

Potato-trap (or -JAw), subs. phr. (common).—The mouth: hence, ' Shut your potato-trap and give your tongue a holiday' = Be

Potato-trap. 271 Pot-Boiler.

silent !—Grose (1785), Bee (1823); 'to make full use of one's potato-trap = to scold roundly.

English synonyms.—Beak ; blabber ; blubber ; bone-box ; box of dominoes (or wories) ; chaffer; chirper ; chops; clacker (or clack-box) ; clams (or clamshells) ; coffee-mill ; coffer ; dining-room ; domino-box ; dribbler ; dubber ; East-and-south (rhyming) ; flatter-trap ; fly-trap ; gab ; gan ; gash ; gig ; gills ; gin-lane (or trap) ; gob ; gobbler ; gobbox ; grave-yard ; grog-shop ; grub-trap (-shop, or -box) ; grubbery; hatchway ; hopper ; ivorybox ; jug ; kisser ; kissing-trap ; lung-box ; maw ; mizzard ; moey ; mouse (or mouse-trap) ; mug ; muns ; mush ; muzzle ; neb ; prater ; prattler ; prattle-box ; rattler ; rattle-trap ; rat-trap ; respirator ; sauce-box ; sewer ; sink ; sluice-house (or -mill) ; sluicery ; trumpeter ; yob (or yop).

French synonyms. — Abajoues ( — the chops) ; angoulême (thieves' : engouler = to swallow. se caresser Pangoulême = to eat and drink) ; babines (popular); babouines (also = little hussy) ; badigoinces (popular) ; barres (popular) ; bavarde ( = the prater or blab-box) ; bécot ; caisse d'épargne (also = Savings-bank) ; cassolette (= the stinkpot) ; couloir (popular) ; crachoir (also = spittoon); égoul ( — the sewer) ; gargoine (formerly gargamelle = the gargler) ; gaviot (popular) ; gargouille (gargouine, or gargue) ; goule ; goulot ; guadeloupe ; menteuse ; mornos ; moule à blagues ( — chaffer) ; mouloir ; pampine (specficially a thick-lipped coarse mouth) ; pantière ( = bread-basket,

which in English = stomach) ; plomb; respirante (bâche ta respirante = Shut up !) ; mette (popular) ; salle à manger ( — diningroom) ; tinette ; triangle (artists'); trompette ( = trumpeter) ; trou aux pommes de terre ( = potatotrap).

1791. Darblay, Diary, v. 209. ' Hold you your i>otato-jaw, my dear,' cried the Duke, patting her.

1836. M. Scott, Cruise of tJu Midge, xv. Hold your tongue, and give your potato-trap a holiday.

1853. Dodgson, Verdant Green, ii. iv. That'll damage your potato-trap.

T856. Mayhew, World of London, 6, note. Fanciful metaphors contribute largely to the formation of slang. It is upon this principle that the mouth has come to be styled the ' tater-trap ' ; the teeth, dominoes.

Pot-belly (or -Guts).—See Pot, subs.

Pot-Boiler, subs. phr. (artists').— I. A piece of work done for money : i.e., to boil the pot (q.v.) ; also as ad;'. Hence, potboiling, and to pot-boil.

1870. Daily Telegraph, 10 Feb. Even those who buy pictures and artobjects merely out of vanity would prefer good work for their gold if they only knew how to choose it ; and consequently Professor Ruskin cast upon the artists the great responsibility for the eccentric, superficial, or pot-boiling qualities which degrade much of what is manufactured and sold.

1879. Lindsay, Mind in the Lower Animals, i. 20. What are vulgarly known as pot-boiler books or articles.

18S0. H o w e l l s, Undiscovered Country, xx. They write for pleasure and from duty. I am sorry to say that my work is mostly for the pay it brings ... I write and sell my work. It's what they call pot-boiling.

1882. Athenäum, 1 April. A mere pot-boiler, though it is marked by much of the ability of the artist. Ibid. (1883), 17 Mar., 340, 2. " The Captain's Room " is, in fact, a pot-boiler.

Potching.

272 Potheen.

1885. D. Telegraph, 28 Dec. Below the composer's mark, and distinctly of the pot*boiling order.

1887. Lippincotfs Mag., July, 160. Colonel Higginson, for example—advises a connection with a newspaper. Doubtless as a pot-boiler that would be a good thing.

1888. Globe, 17 Oct. It is quite impossible for an author to produce a level series of books . . . First there is a good book, then a pot-boiler, perhaps two pot-boilers, perhaps more, and then a a return to the old form.

1892. Sala's Journal, 2 July, 239. Between the ages of eighteen and twentythree I must have produced myself many scores of pot-boilers.

2. (provincial).—A housekeeper.

3. (scientific).—See quot.

1874. Dawkins, Cave Hunting, iii. Among the articles of daily use were many rounded pebbles, with marks of fire upon them, which had probably been heated for the purpose of boiling water. Potboilers, as they are called, of this kind are used by many savage peoples at the present day, and if we wished to heat water in a vessel that would not stand the fire, we should be obliged to employ a similar method.

Potching, subs, (waiters?).—See quot. [Century: PoTCH = an obsolete form of ' poach.']

1883. Graphic, 17 March, 283, 3. Good-natured customers may imagine that if they have given a fee to the waiter who presents the bill, they may hand another to the usual man who has attended upon them ; but head-waiters are alive to the perils of this practice, which they call potching (probably from poaching), and dismissal will be the punishment of the waiter who is caught taking vails on the sly.

Pot-faker, subs. phr. (common). — A hawker ; a Cheap-jack (q.v.) : spec, one dealing in crockery.

Pot-gun, subs. phr. (old).—i. A toy gun : pop-gun is a later form : see Pop, verb.

1550. Udal, Roister ZW.rrrrlARBER], 73. Bryng with thee my potgunne hangyng by the wall.

1585. Nomenclator, s.v. Sclopus, &*c. A pot-gun made of an elderne sticke, or hollow quill, whereout boyes shoole chawen paper.

1610. Hall, Married Clergy, 148. They are but as the potguns of boys.

rf.1637. Jonson [Moxon, Works, 719]. The ratling pit-pat noise Of the less poetic boys, When their potguns aim to hit With their pellets of small wit.

1707. Ward, Hudibras Rcdivivus, i. xii. 16. Such dreadful Pot-guns of Correction, That threaten'd nothing but Destruction.

1899. Whiteing, John St. [1901], 80. Pigeons may be killed, of course, with a pop-gun in a back-yard.

2. (old).—A reproach.

1623. Webster, Duch. of Malfi, iii. 3. I saw a Dutchman break his pate once For calling him pot-gun.

1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, iii. 8. That sign of a man there—that potgun charged with wind.

Pot-hat, subs. phr. (common).— See quot. 1891.

1869. Bradwood, O. V. H., xi. Jemmy . . . securing a pot-hat, peajacket, and double-thong as precaution, went to the servants' hall.

1889. Sporting Times, 3 Aug., 3, 1. A gentlemanly young fellow in a tweed suit and a pot hat.

1891. Notes and Queries, 7 S. xii. 48. . . . The term pot-hat . . . until lately I always thought was short for ' chimney

Cot hat,' less reverently known as a ' tile ' ; ut at the present time it is often applied to a felt hat.

1896. Sala, London Up to Date, 62. I should respectfully advise him . . . not to be in the habit of perambulating Pall Mall in a suit of dittoes and a pot hat.

Potheen, subs. (Irish).—Illicit whiskey. Also potsheen.

Pot-hooks. 273 Pot-luck.

c. 1809. Edgeworth, Absentee, x. 'A glass of what ? ' ' Potsheen, plase your honour ; beca-ase it's the little whiskey that's made in the private still or pot ; and sheen it's a fond word for whatsoever we'd like, and for what we have little of, and would make much of.

1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle's Log, ii. Staggering and swaying about under the influence of the poteen.

Pot-hooks, subs.phr. (military).— The Seventy-seventh Foot, now the 2nd Batt. Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment). [From the resemblance of the two sevens in the old regimental number to pothooks.]

Pot-hooks and hangers, subs. phr. (colloquial). — 1. The elementary characters formed by children when learning to write. Hence, a scrawl, or bad writing. —B. E. (V.1696) ; Grose (1785). [Cf. Flesh-hooks (c. 1321, Eel. Antiq. i.) = notes of music]

1690. Dryden, Don Sebastian, ii. 2. I long to be spelling her Arabick scrawls and pot-hooks.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 469. If ever ... I such a pack of pothooks saw. What language does he write ?

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. v. Whose to understand it? Vy it's full of pothooks and hangers.

2. (old).—Shorthand.

Pot-house (The), subs.phr. (Cambridge). — St. Peter's College : formerly Peterhouse.

1891. Harry Fludyer, 85. I made a shot and said ' Pothouse.' He said, ' I suppose you mean St. Peter's College.'

See Pot, subs. 1.

Potion. See Bitter Pill.

Pot-hunter. See Pot, verb 3, and Pot-luck.

potle-bell. To ring the potlebell, verb. phr. (Scots').—To confirm a bargain by linking the little fingers of the right hand.

pot-luck, sttbs. phr. (old colloquial).—Whatever is going in the way of food and drink ; an impromptu invitation ; whence, a hearty welcome : to take potluck = to take the hazard of a meal. Hence pot-hunter = a self-invited guest.

1593. Nashe, Strange Newes [Grosart, Works, ii. 242]. This . . . greedy pothunter after applause, is an apparent Publican and sinner ; a selfe-loue surfetted sot. Ibid. (1600), Summers Last Will [Grosart, Works, vi. 131]. We had but even pot-luck, a little to moysten our lips, and no more.

1749 Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 71. He then offered us his crusts, and asked with a smile if we would take potluck with him.

1772. Graves, Spiritual Quixote, xix. xii. He should be very welcome to take pot-luck with him.

1814. Saxon and Gael, i. 55. If you . . . and my Leddy Mary, wad come in a canny way, and tak pat-luck wi' Jean and me ... I gie nae dinner ae day but what I can gie ilka day in the year.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (r862>, 248. Quoth the Lady, ' Dear Sir, no apologies, pray, You will take our pot-luck in the family way.'

1857. Thackeray, Virginians, lxxvi. " What ! come to take potluck with us, Brown my boy ? Betsy ! put a knife and fork for Mr. Brown. Eat ! Welcome ! Fall to ! It's my best !"

1858. G. Eliot, Amos Barton, i. He never contradicted Mrs. Hackit, a woman whose pot-luck was always to be relied on.

1870. Chambers-'s Miscellany, No. 87, 6. "I'm going home to dinner, and you must take pot-luck with us."

r89i. Harry Fludyer at Cambridge ... 38. I decided to accept a very kind invitation from Blofield to take pot-luck with him and Mrs. Blofield yesterday in Grosvenor Gardens.

Pot-of-wine.

274 Pot-walloper.

1898. Sat. Rev., 19 Nov., 657, 1. Whilst rival nations have been taking ' potluck ' and helping themselves freely to whatever happened to be going.

1899. Whiteing,/<?A* St., xxv. He leaves the meeting, and accepts an invitation to pot-luck for the remainder of the revel from one of the Bacchanalian floors.

Pot-of-wine, subs. phr. (old).—A bribe. Fr. pot-de-vin.

Pot-shot. See Pot, subs, and verb. i.

Pottage. See Breath and Piss ; besides which there are proverbial sayings :—' With cost one may make pottage of a joint-stool' ; ' Scald not your lips in another man's pottage ' ; ' Like a chip in a pottage-pot, neither good nor harm.'

Potted-fug, subs. phr. (Rugby).— Potted meat.

Potter, verb, (colloquial).—1. To walk aimlessly and listlessly ; (2) to make a pretence of work ; and (3) to dawdle: usually with about. Hence as subs. — a saunter, a slow pace : also potterer.

1854. Martin and Aytoun, Bon Gualtier Ballads, ' The Lay of the Lover's Friend.' He waxes strong upon his pangs, And potters o'er his grog.

1857. T. Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, i. 2. Past the old church and down the footpath, pottered the old man and the child, hand-in-hand.

1859. George Eliot, Adam Bede, xvii. His servants stayed with him till they were so old and pottering he had to hire other folk to do their work.

1868. Collins, Moonstone, 1. xxiii. I . . . was pottering about the grounds, when I heard my name called.

1870. Belt s Life, 29 July. It was a day of pottering about—no run worthy of the name, and no kill.

1878-80. McCarthy, Hist. Own Times, xvii. Lord John Russell's Government pottered with the difficulty rather than encountered it.

1884. H. James, Jr., Little Tour, 252. I . . . pottered about Beaune rather rather vaguely for the rest of my hour.

1886. Field, 27 Feb. The run . . . degenerated into a potter.

1898. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, v. You haven't got to do with the old-fashioned mounted police as was pottering about.

Pottery, subs, (common).—Poetry.

pot-walloper (-wabbler, -wallon er, or -waller', subs. phr. (political : was obsolete).—1. See quots. [The qualification was abolished by the Reform Bill of 1832.] Hence pot-walloping, and also subs, and adj.—Grose (1785).

1724-7. De Foe, Tour thro' Great Britain, ii. 18. The election of members here [Taunton] is by those whom they call pot-walloners—that is to say," every inhabitant, whether housekeeper or lodger, who dresses his own victuals ; to make out which, several inmates or lodgers will, some little time before the election, bring out their pots, and make fires in the street, and boil victuals in the sight of their neighbours, that their votes may not be called in question.

1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary, s.v. "Walling." Walling, i.e., boiling . . . Perhaps the same as wallopping ; whence in some boroughs, persons who boil a pot there are called pot-walloppers, and entitled to vote for representatives in Parliament.

1807. Southey, Letters, iv. 39. A pot-walloping borough like Taunton.

1857. Trollope, Three Clerks, xxix. " I am once more a constituent part of the legislative wisdom of the United Kingdom, thanks to the patriotic discretion of the pot-wallopers, burgage-tenants, and tenpound freeholders of these loyal towns."

2. (common).—A scullion ; a kitchen-maid ; and (nautical) a cook, esp. on board a whaler : also pot-wrestler.

Pouch. 275 Poultry.

3. (common). — A tap-room •loafer ; a spouter : esp. (theatrical) a prosser (q.v.).

Pouch (or pouch up), verb, (colloquial).—i. To pocket.

1567. Edwards, Damon and Pythias [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), iv. 40]. [Oliphant, New English, i. 565. In p. 40 stands to pouch up money (for his own use) ; in our time a liberal friend pouches schoolboys.)

1635. Quarles, Emblems, i. 9. Come, bring your saint pouch'd in his leathern shrine.

1821. Scott, Pirate, vi. And for the value of the gowden piece, it shall never be said I pouched her siller.

1881. Sei. Amer, 55. They [the letters] have next to be pouched.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' from the Pink ' Un [' Parkey '], 90. He pouched the change.

1889. Licensed Victuallers' Gaz., 4 Jan. Two hundred solid quids he pouched, And then he slid.

2. (common).—To eat.

1892. MlLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 49. Fancy pouching your prog on a terrace.

3. (common).—To tip; to provide with money.

1844. Disraeli, Coningsby, i. n. He had been loaded with kindness, . . . and, finally, had been pouched in a manner worthy of a Marquess and of a grandfather.

1864. Eton School Days, i. 4. " Did your governor pouch you," asked Purefoy, as they were going towards the Station. " Yes," replied Butler Burke, " and so did the mater."

Pouch et, subs. (old).—A pocket.

1682. Radcliffe, Rambler, &*c., 44. ' Upon a Bowl of Punch.' Did out of his Pouchet three nutmegs produce.

Pouch-mouth, subs. phr. (old).—A ranter. Also as adj. = ranting.

1600. Dekker, Satiro-Mastix [Hawkins, Eng. Dr., iii. 172]. Players, I mean, theatenans, pouch-mouth stagewalkers.

pouderinq(or powdering-) tub, subs. phr. (old).—The salivating cradle or pit formerly used in cases of lues venerea ; the pickling tub.—Grose (1785), and Halliwell (1847). Also 'The Pocky Hospital at Kingsland, near London.'—B. E. (c. 1696).

1599. Shakspeare, Henry V., ii. 1. " From the powd'ring-tub of infamy^ Fetch forth the lazar kite Doll Tearsheet. '

1611. Chapman, May-day, ii. 5. How mean you that? d'ye think I came lately ath' powdering tub.

c. 1697. T. Brown, Comical View [Works (1715), i. 182]. As fair as a sinner newly Come out of the powdering tub.

Pouf, subs, (theatrical).—A wouldbe actor.

Poulain, subs, (venery).—A bubo ; a Winchester-goose (q.v.).— Grose (1785). Fr. poulaiu.

Poulderling, subs. (obs. University).—See quot.

1607. Christmas Prince (1816), t. The whole companye, or most parte of the students of the same house mette toogeher to beginne their Christmas, of wch some came to see sports, to witte the seniors as well graduates as vnder-graduates. Others to make sports, viz., studentes of the seconde yeare, whom they call Poulderlings.

Poulterer, subs. (old).—A thief who stole and gutted letters.— Grose (1785); Matsell (1859).

Poultice Wallah, subs. phr. (military).—A surgeon's assistant.

Poultice-walloppers, subs.phr. (military). — The Royal Army Medical Corps. Also "The Licensed (or Linseed) Lancers " ; " The Pills."

Poultry, subs. (old).—Womenkind: generic: cf. Hen. Plover, Pheasant, Partridge, &c. Celestial poultry = angels.

Pounce.

276

Pound.

1611. Chapman, May-Day, i. 2. If I do not bring ... at least some special favour from her . . . then never trust my skill in poultry whilst thou livest again.

Pounce, verb. (American).—To thrash : see Tan.

1847. Porter, Big Bear, tb'c., 146. He did then and there . . . most wantonly pounced his old wife.

Pouncey. See Ponce.

Pound, subs. (old).—A prison : see Cage and Lob's Pound. Hence pounded = imprisoned.—Grose (1785).

Verb, (colloquial).—To hammer (q.v.): see Tan.—Grose (1785). Whence poundingmatch = a fight. Also pun.

1596. Spenser, Fairy Queen, iv. iv. 31. A hundred knights had him enclosed round, . . . All which at once huge strokes on him did pound, in hope to take him prisoner.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, 6. To stampe or punnb in a mortar.

1602. Shakspeare, Troilus, ii. 1. He would pun thee into shivers with his fist, as a sailor breaks a biscuit.

1859. Whitby, Political Portraits, 206. The Crimean War was at best a pounding-match ; the result proved nothing but that Russia, single-handed, could not hope to keep its ground against united France and England.

1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. To see the men pound each other.

2. (colloquial).—To move forward, steadily and with more or less noise: generally with 'along,' or ' up and down.'

1884. Century Mag., xxxvu. 900. He's pounded up and down across this Territory for the last five years.

1885. Daily Telegraph, 3 Oct. Pounding along a dusty high road.

1894. Yellow Book, i. 196. We can't escape her . . . she pounds along untiringly.

3. (hunting).—To get caught, or left in a field with no easy means of egress save a fence your horse won't take : stuck as in a pound.

1884. Saturday Review, 5 Jan. He jumps a little and I see him pounded every day.

1885. Daily Telegraph, 27 Oct. Any fence which would be likely to pound or give a fall to his rival.

4. (old).—See quot.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. ii. This feature is what the bon vivants term being pounded ; i.e., being caught "astray" from propriety.

5. (American).—To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

To pound it, verb. phr. (old). — i. See quot. 1819. Hence poundable = certain, inevitable ; and (2) to wager in pounds (Bee, 1823).

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Pound It. To ensure or make a certainty of any thing ; thus, a man will say, I'll pound it to be so ; taken, probably, from the custom of laying, or rather offering ten pounds to a crown at a cock-match, in which case if no person takes this extravagant odds, the battle is at an end. This is termed pounding a cock.

1828. Bee, Living Picture of London, 44. You'll soon be bowled out, I'll pound it.

1838. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xxxix. I'll pound it that you han't.

To go one's pound, verb. phr. (military).—To eat a thing out. [The weight of a soldier's ration of bread and meat is 1 lb.]

In for pound, adv. phr. (thieves').—Committed for trial.

Shut in the parson's pound, phr. (old).—Married ; spliced (q.v.).—Grose (1785).

Pounders. 277 Powder-monkey.

Pounders, subs. (old).—The testes:
^see Cods.

1693. Dryden, Juvenal, vi. (3rd ed.), 114. Their solid joy, Is when the Page, already past a boy, Is caponed late, and to the guelder shown, With his two pounders to perfection grown.

Poundrel, subs. (old).—i. The head.

1734. Cotton, Works, 14. So nimbly flew away these scoundrels, Glad they had 'scap'd, and sav'd their poundrels.

Pound-text, subs. phr. (common). —A parson : see Sky-PILOT.

Poupe (or Poop), subs, (vulgar).— A noisy vent; a fart (q.v.) : also as verb.

Pout, subs. (Scots').—A sweetheart. [O. E. pult = a yong henne, Prompt. Parv.]

1768. Ross, Helenore, 93. The Squire—returning mist his pout, . . . And for her was just like to burn the town.

Pouter, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable, and cf. Diddlypout.

Poverty-basket, subs. phr. (old). —A wicker cradle.—Bee (1823).

Poverty-junction (or -corner),

subs. phr. (variety artists').—The corner of the York and Waterloo Roads, London. See quot. In New York that portion of 14th Street, opposite the Washington Statue, is known as ' The Slave Market ' for similar reasons.

1890. Tit-Bits, 29 Mar., 390, 3. Any Monday, between eleven and three, may be seen a hundred or more persons of both sexes outside [the York Hotel] waiting in the hope of obtaining engagements in music-halls or variety theatres—"lion comiques," " serio-comics," "character comedians," in fact, every variety of musichall artiste. Anyone wishing to see faces beaming with joy and prosperity [or] worn pale and thin by privation, care, and

anxiety, will not find any better opportunity than by paying a visit on a Monday morning to Poverty Junction.— [Abridged.]

Powder, subs, (old : now pugilists').—Strength ; vigour ; inspiration ; beans [q.v.) ; devil (q.v.) : hence, as verb. = to be all over an adversary ; to powder one's jacket = to swinge 'like hell.'

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie (ist ed.), 19. The Windes grew louder still and louder, And play'd their gambals with a Powder.

.1704. Sir R. L'Estrange [Century]. Whilst two companions were disputing it at sword's point, down comes a kite powdering vpon them, and gobbets up both.

d. 1870. Dickens [Century]. He had done wonders before, but now he began to powder away like a raving giant.

1889. Licensed Victualler s Gaz., 18 Jan. Peg into him, Snacks—put more powder in 'em.

Powder and shot, subs. phr. (colloquial). — Cost ; effort ; labour. Not worth powder or shot = not worth trouble or cost.

Powder-monkey, subs. phr. (formerly naval).—A boy employed to carry gunpowder from magazine to gun. Fr. moussaillon.— B. E. (f.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1682. Radcliffe, Rambler, arc, 68. ' Call to the Guard.' To be near him the next takes care not to fill, Powdermonkey by name.

rf.1704. T. Brown, Works (1760), ii. 212. Lucifer . . . would not . . . have listed them ; they would not have been fit for so much as powder-monkeys.

1787. Sir J. Hawkins, Johnson, 195. One poet feigns that the town is a sea, the playhouse a ship, the manager the captain, the players sailors, and the orange-girls powder-monk ies.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, Hi. Ellangowan had him placed as cabin-boy or powder-monkey on board an armed sloop.

Power.

278

Pox.

1870. Chambers's Mis., No. 77, 4. The boy is employed in handing the cartridges, for which he is honoured with the name of powder-monkey.

Power, subs, (old : now colloquial). —A large number or quantity: also Poweration. Whence powerful, adj. and adv. = extremely ; also (quot. 1847) eloquent.

[ ? ]. MS. Cotton, Vespas. A, xxv. Then came into Inglond kynge Jamys of Skotland, with a pouar of men, after Alhalow tide.

1675. Wycherley, Country Wife, iii. 2. Lord, what a power of brave signs are here.

1740. Richardson, Pamela, ii. 389. I am providing a power of pretty things for her.

175T. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ii. " He has a power of money, and spends it like a prince. "

1777. Sheridan, Trip to Scarborough, iv. i. These lords have a power of wealth indeed.

1847. Darley, Drama in Poterville, 94. Mr. Gwie, a ' powerful man," was expected to make a 'great effort.'

1848. Burton, Waggeries, 23. He felt it tickle powerful from the top of his head to the end of his starn-fin.

1851. Hooper, Dick McCoy's Sketches, 36. "Is he lazy much?" ' Powerful.'

d.iS&). Carlton, New Purchase, 11. 8. This piano was sort o' fiddle like,—and with a powerful heap of wire strings. Ibid., 74. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I'd a powerful sight sooner go into retiracy among the red, wild aborigines of our wooden country, nor consent to that bill.

1872. Chambers's Miscellany, No. 152, 3. 'Was there a good fair to-day?' ' There _ was, ma'am, a power and all of people in it.'

1376. Clemens, Tom Sawyer, 34. You can work when you're a mind, Tom . . . But it's powerful seldom you're a mind to, I'm bound to say.

1892. Tit-Bits, 17 Sep., 419,2. He's powerful bad, miss.

Powos (The), subs, (military).— The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), formerly The 14th Foot. Also " The Old and Bold"; "Calvert's Entire."

Pow-wow, subs. phr. (American). —Noise : hence (political) = a noisy meeting, and as verb. = to take part in such : also to frolic. [From N.A. Indian pow-wow = a council.]

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, in. 37. Off she goes ; and if all they say's true, turned witch herself, an' cussed poor Bet with sich a pow-wow. Ibid. (1833). Down Fosters, vii. 105. Glancing at the ladies' cabin, where a tremendous pow wow had just broken out. Such a screaming of mothers ! and such a squalling of babies 1

1885. New York Herald, 22 June. The Know-Nothings were holding their grand national pow-wow . . . and laying it on thick that " Americans shall rule America."

Pox, subs. (old).—Syphilis : sometimes qualified as FrenchItalian-, German-, or Indian-) pox, for which, and other synonyms see French-gout and Ladies'-fever. Whence, verb. — to syphilize ; and pocky, or pockified (adj.) = syphilized. Used vulgarly and popularly as a petty oath or common malison (e.g., Pox ! Pox on't ! Pox take you ! What a pox ! With a pox ! &c. : see the Elizabethan drama passim). Hence poxter = a syphilist ; poxopholit = an opponent of the Contagious Diseases Acts ; poxology = the study of siph. (q.v.); and poxologist = a pox-doctor, a siphophil (q.v.).—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785). [Originally and occasionally as in quots. 1594 and 1631, the small-pox; but for some three centuries specialized as above.] See Horse

pox.

Pox.

279

Pox.

1522-3. Skelton, Why Come ye not ta. Courte, 1167. Men wene that he [Wolsey] is pocky, Or els his surgions they lye. ibid., Balthasor, they helyd Domingo . . . From the puskylde pocky nose . . . Hath promised to hele our cardinals eye : Yet sum surgions put a dout, Lest he will put it dene out, And make him lame of his neder limmes.

T528. Roy, Rede me, tb'c. [Hart. Mis. [Park], ix. 32]. He [Wolsey] had the pockes, without fayle, Wherefore people on hym did rayle.

1584. [Monday?], Weakest to W,all, t. 2. These Frenchmen's feet have a pocky strong scent.

1588. Lyly, Endimion, iv. 1. A poxe of all false proverbs.

1594. Shakspeare, Love's Lab. Lost, v. 2. Ros. O that your face were not so full of O's ! Kath. A pox of that jest ! Ibid. (1598), 2 Hen. IV., i. 2. A man can no more separate age and covetousness than a' can part young limbs and lechery : but the gout galls the one, and the pox pinches the other. . . . A pox of this gout ! or, a gout of this pox ! for the one or the other plays the rogue with my great toe. Ibid. (1609) Pericles, iv. 6. Pand. Now a pox on her green sickness for me. Bawd. Faith there's no way to be rid on't, but by the way to the pox.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Varolare, to infect, or to be infected with the poxe. Ibid., Varole, the great or French poxe. Ibid., Varoloso, pockie, full of the poxe, botches, or blanes.

1599. T. Hall, Virgid., nr. i. When ech brasse-basen can professe the trade Of curing pockie wenches from their paine.

1599. Jonson, Ev. Man Out of His Humour, iv. 4^ Carlo. Let a man sweat once a week in a hot-house and be well rubbed and froted, with a good plump juicy wench, and sweet linen, he shall ne'er have the pox. Punt. What, the French pox? Car. The French pox! our pox : we have them in as good a form as they. What? Ibid. (1613), Epigrams, xii. But see ! the old bawd hath served

him in trim, Lent him a pocky whore

She hath paid him. Ibid., Underwoods, lxii. Pox on thee, Vulcan ! thy Pandora's pox, And all the ills that flew out of her box Light on thee _! or if those plagues will not do, Thy wife's pox on thee, and Bess Broughton s too.

1605. Chapman, All Fools, iii. 1. Da. I know a doctor of your name, master Pock. Po. My name has made many doctors, sir.

1613. Webster, DeviVs Law Case, ii. i. Art. Incontinence is plagued in all the creatures of the world ! Jul. When did you ever hear that a cock-sparrow Had the French pox. Ibid., iii. 3. The scurvy, or the Indian pox, I hope, Will take order for their coming back.

1619. Fletcher, Humorous Lieut., i. 2. Celia. Pox on these bawling drums ! I'm sure you'll kiss me.

1631. Massinger, Emp. of East, iv. 4. Surg. An excellent receipt ! . . . 'tis good for . . . tbe gonorrhoea, or, if you will hear it In a plainer phrase, the pox.

rf.1631. Donne, Letters [Nares]. At my return from Kent, I found Peggy had the poxe—I humbly thank God it has not much disfigured her.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. xiv. Let me be peppered with the pox if you find not all your wives with child at your return . . . for the very shadow ... of an abbey is fruitful.

1662. Rump Songs, i. 28. Pox take dem all, it is (Mort-Dieu) Not à la mode de France.

1668. Etheridge, She Would, àfc, i. i. Sir Oliv. Well, a pox of this tying men and women together, for better or worse. Ibid., iii. 2. Sir John. A pox upon these qualms.

1675. Wycherley, Country Wife, i. i. A pox on't ! the jades would jilt me. Ibid. ii. 1. Mrs. Pinch. He says he won't let me go abroad for fear of catching the pox. A litha. Fy ! The small pox, you should say.

d. 1680. Rochester, Works, 63. But punk-rid Ratcliffe's not a greater cully, Nor taudry Isham, intimately known To all pox'd whores.

*r". 1680. Butler, Dildoides. By dildo Monsieur sure intends For his French pox to make amends.

1680. Dorset, Poems, ' On the Countess of Dorchester.' Can'st thou forget thy age and pox ? Ibid. (1686), Faithful Catalogue. With Face and Cunt all martyred with the pox. Ibid. Thou wondrous pocky art, and wondrous poor.

Poz.

280

Prad.

1682. Radclifpe, Ramble, 88. With mangled fist he grasp'd the box, Giving

the table bloody Knocks, He throws

and calls for plague and pox T'assist him. Ibid., 34. What a pox of these fellowes' contriving.

16 [?]. T. Brown, Horace, 1. xxvii. What a pox should we fight for? Ibid. The arms of a pockified whore.

1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, iii. 6. The pox light upon thee for a contemplative pimp. Ibid (1694), Double Dealer, iii. 3. Pox, I have lost all appetite to her ; yet she's a fine woman.

1693. Urquhart, Rabelais, in. Prol. As for Hypocrites, much less ; attho' they were all of them unsound in Body, pockify'd, scurfie, furnish'd with unquenchable Thirst.

1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, ii. i. Heart. Why, there's no division, I hope. Sir John. No ; but there's a conjunction : and that's worse. A pox 0' the parson.

1705. Hearne, Diary, 17 Nov. The duke of Buckingham . . . whilst he was there [Spain] happened to receive a pox, by lying with a Spanish beauty ... so violent that he could not rid himself of it before he was obliged to return to England.

1706. Ward, Wooden World, 9. He epicurizes his pocky Carcass for ever after. Ibid., 45. One pocky Whore brings the Surgeon more grist in than a thousand French cannon. Ibid., 67. A pox on it, cries he.

1714. Pope, Rape of tlte Lock, iv. 128. ' Nay, prithee, pox ! Give her the hair '—he spoke and rapped his box. Ibid. (-733)Imitations of Horace, 1. 83-4. From furious Sapho scarce a milder fate, Pox'd by her love, and libell'd by her hate.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 12. Pray, who the pox made you a witch?

POZ. See pos.

Practical-politician, subs. phr. (common).—A pot-house spouter.

Practise. To practise in the milky way, verb. phr. (venery). —To handle a woman's breasts.

1633. Carew, Caelum Brit. [Ebsworth], 139. Jupiter too begins to learn to lead his own wife : I left him practising in the milky way.

Practitioner, subs, (thieves').— See quot.

1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses oj London [S. J. & C.]. He had them from a practitioner : from a thief that is to say.

Prad, subs. (Old Cant).—Ahorse. Hence prad-cove = a horsedealer ; prad-napper = a horsethief ; the prad-lay = the theft of bridles, saddle-bags, and the like ; prad-holder — a bridle. —Hall (1714) ; Grose (1785).

English synonyms.—Bit of blood ; Charing-cross (rhyming) ; crock ; crocodile ; daisy-kicker (or -cutter : also = an ostler) ; gee ; gee-gee ; ginger ; grogham ; jade ; jib (or jibber) ; high-stepper ; knacker ; long-faced 'un ; lunk-head ; macaroni ; mount ; muddler; nag (naggie or naggon) ; ning-nang ; pinto ; prancer ; roarer ; screw ; sciub ; star-gazer ; tit ; undergraduate; weaver; whistler; wind-sucker ; wobbler.

French synonyms.—Bique ; canard (tram drivers') ; canasson (= gee-gee); carcan; carne ( — screw) ; gail ; galier ; gat lion; gayet ; maître d'école (horsebreakers') ; parisien ( = screw) ; rase-tapis ( = high-stepper) ; trot tin.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 8. Long before daylight gigs, rattlers, and prads.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. iv. I am going to Tattersall's, to purchase a

prad.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, i. 93. It would never do To go to the wars on a rickety prad.

1841. Leman Rede, Sixteen String Jack, 'The High-pad's Frolic' Coaches and prads, lasses and lads.

1846. Dickens, Dombey, xlvi. How can a cove stand talking in the street with his master's prad a wanting to be took to be rubbed down ?

Prairie.

281

Prancer.

1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab., iii. 143. Veal's was the best circus I was at i there they had six prads and two ponies.

1854. AiNSwoRTHj/awfM the Second, i. ii. It may be, young squire, you'll have to go forth afoot, instead of on your prad.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xvi. We moved to some new stables, where there was stalls for eight prads, four each side, besides a loose box.

1895. Marriott-Watson, New Review, July, 9. Creech . . . swerved out of line and ran his mare full face upon the struggling prads.

Prairie. On the prairie, phr. (Western American).—See quot.

1848. Ruxton, Far West, 127. Presented to them on the prairie, or "giftfree."

Prairie-dew, subs. phr. (American).—Whiskey : cf. Mountaindew (Scots').

1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, 81. Jest fetch on your prary dew for the hull lot, and d-the expense.

Prairie-oyster (or -cocktail),

subs. phr. (American).—A raw yolk dropped into spirits, flavoured with Worcester or cayenne, and gulped.

1898. Sporting Times, 19 Feb., i. 5. "Take anything? "Yes, I'll have a prairie oyster." "Hedge! hedge!" cried the young 'un, " I don't mean lunch . . . have a drink ? "

Prairie-schooner, subs. phr. (American).—An emigrant waggon.

1887. Stevens, Around the World [S.J. &C.]. Meeting prairie-schooners will now be a daily incident of my Eastward journey.

1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, 14 April. The old prairie-schooner ... is now mainly a thing of the past.

Prairie State, verb. phr. (American).—Illinois.

Pram, stibs. (vulgar).—A perambulator.

1891. Notes &* Queries, 7 S. xi. ro4. May we not hope that the odious and meaningless vulgarism of pram, for perambulator, will be exploded from popular use.

Prancer, subs. (Old Cant).—1. A horse : see Prad ; and (2) a horsethief. Hence prancer's-nab = a horse's head : as a seal to a counterfeit pass ; the sign of the prancer = The Nag's Head.—Rowlands (1610) ; B.E. (c. 1696); Hall (1714) ; Grose (1785)

1567. Harman, Caveat (1869), 85. A bene mort hereby at the sign of the

prauncer.

1591. Greene, Second Part Connycatching [Grosart, Works, x. 76]. They . . . take an especiall and perfect view where Prancers or horses be.

1622. Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, v. 2. Higgen hath prigged the prancers in his day.

1712. The Twenty Craftsmen [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 37]. The fifteenth a prancer, whose courage is small, If they catch him horse-coursing, he's nooz'd once for all.

1749. Oath of Canting Crew [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 51]. Prig of cackler, prig of prancer.

1834. Ainsworth, ' The Game of High Toby ' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 115. His matchless cherry-black prancer riding.

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, xix. 203. My four long-tailed prancers, never harnessed under ten pound ten !

1852. Judson, Mysteries of New York, iv. I prigged two prancers and sold 'em.

3. (old).—A dancer : also as verb. — to dance. Also pranker.

1621. Burton, Anat. Melan., in. ii. If she be a noted reveller, a gadder, a singer, a pranker or dancer, then take heed of her.

4. (military).—A cavalry officer.

Prank. 282

Prating.

PRANK, subs, (old : now recognised).— A trick.—B. E. (c.1696).

Prat, subs. (old).—1. Usually in pi. = the buttocks or thighs.— Harman (1573) ; Rowland (1610); Head (1665); B. E. (c. 1696); Coles (1724); Grose (1785). Hence, as verb — to beat ; to swish.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, iv. 2. Mrs. Page. Come, Mother Prat ; . . . Ford. I'll prat her [Beating him].

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all (H. Club's Rept. 1874), 3. And tip lowr with thy prat.

1641. Brome, JoznalCrew_x ii. Fiddle' Patrico, and let me sing. First set me down here on both my prats.

1707. Shirley, Triumph of Wit [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 33]. No gentry mort hath prats like thine.

1895. Marriott-Watson [Aew Review, July, 8]. We ain't to do nothing, Dick Ryder, but to set down upon our prats and see 'em put up their hands and cry for mercy to this fire-eater here.

2. (old).—A tinder-box.—B. E. (f.1696); Grose (1785).

3. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

4. (old).—A trick.

Verb, (thieves'). — See quot. Fr. entauler, and enquiller.

1879. Horsley [Maem. Mag., xl. 501J. I piped a slavey (servant) come out of a chat (house), so when she had got a little way up the double (turning), I pratted (went) in the house.

Pratie (or Praty), subs. (Irish).— A potato : see Murphy.

1834. Marryat, Peter Simple, xii. In future you must do something to get your own dinner ; there's not praties enow for the whole of ye.

1857. C. Reade, Never Too Late, lxv. I wish it was pratees we are digging, I'd may be dig up a dinner any way.

Prating (prattlingor prattle-) cheat, subs. phr. (Old Cant).— The tongue : see Clack, where addtosyns. 'Manchester' (Eng.), and la rouscaillante (Fr.). [Prittle or Prattle = diminutives of ' prate ' : and from pittle-pattle the weakened reduplication of prittle-prattle comes pit-a-pat (q.v.).] Whence,

prating (prattle or prittle

prattle) = talk, esp. gabble ;

to prattle (prittle or prittle-prattle) = to chatter or clack (q.V.) ; prattle-basket (-box, prate-roast, prattler,

or prate-apace) = a chatterbox ;

prattle-broth = tea : -/.chatter (or scandal-) broth [q.V.);

prattling-box = a pulpit, or hum-box (q.v.) ; prattlingparlour = a private apartment, or snuggery (q.v.) ; praty (adj.) = talkative. — Harman (1567) ; B. E. (<m6q6) ; Grose (1785).

1520. Schote House 0/ Women [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet, iv. 129]. No remedy for to discontent, To prattle to them of reason or lawe.

1528. Roy, Rede me, arc. [Arber (1871), 43]. Neverthelesse amonge this arraye, Was there not ... A littell pratye foolysshe poade ?

1548. Latimer, Sermons and Remains [ParkerSoc.]. Toprittle-prattle prayers. Ibid. To pittle-pattle.

1577. Bellowes, Guevara Letters, 161. The office of the woman is to spin and prattle, and the office of the man is to hold his tongue and talk.

1594. Lyly, Mother Bombie, iv. 2. I see my daughter hath prattled with Accius, and discovered her simplicity.

1598. Florio, Worlde 0/ Wördes, s.v. Cianfrogna, gibrish, pedlars french, roguish language, fustian toong, prittleprattle.

1598. Shakspeare, Alls Well, iv. i, 46. Tongue, I must put you into a butter-woman's mouth, and buy myself another of Bajazet's mule, if you prattle

Prating.

283 Pray-pray Fashion.

me into these perils. Ibid. (1602), Othello,

i. i, 26. Mere prattle without practice Is all his soldiership. Ibid. (1606) Macbeth, iv. ~~2, 64. Poor prattler, how thou talk'st.

d. 1626. Breton, Mothers Blessing, lxxiv. A prattle-basket or an idle slut.

1636. Heywood, Love's Mistress, 26. Prince of passions, prate-apaces, and pickl'd lovers . . . admiral of ay-mes ! and monsieur of mutton lac'd. Ibid. (1637), Royall King, Sig. B. You prittle and prattle nothing but leasings and untruths.

1638. Ford, Lady's Trial, i. 2. Now we prattle of handsome gentlemen.

1659. Bramhall, Church of England Defended, 46. It is plain prittle

prattle.

1673. Wycherley, Gentleman Dancing Master, ii. 2. Y'fackins but you shant ask him ! if you go there too, look you, you prattle-box you I'll ask him.

1693. Congreve, Old Bachelor, iv. 9. Nay, now I'm in, I can prattle like a magpie.

1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife,

ii. i. By your ladyship's leave we must have one moment's prattle together.

1720. Durfey, Pills to Purge, vi. 11. Her prittle-prattle, little tattle.

1725. Bailey, Erasmus (1900), i. 78. Don't be a Prittle prattle, nor Prate apace, nor be a minding anything but what is said to you.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 261. These two noblemen . . . were listening with admiration to his prattle.

1757. [Paltock], Peter Wilkins, 1. ii. The old prattle-box made a short pause to recover breath.

17S3. Cowper, Task, ii. 382. Frequent in park with lady at his side, Ambling and prattling scandal as he goes.

1821. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry [Dick], 5. Jerry. Chaffing crib ! I'm at fault, coz, can't follow. Tom. My prattling parlour—my head quarters, coz, where 1 unbend with my pals.

1836. The Thieves' Chaunt [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 121.] She's wide-awake, and her prating cheat, For humming a cove was never beat.

Prayer, subs.—Common colloquial expressions are : To say prayers = to stumble : of horses : cf. Devotional habits ; to say prayers backwards = to blaspheme (Ray) ; to pray with knees upwards (Grose) = to copulate : of women ; at her last prayers -= of an old maid (Ray) ; prayer-bones = the knees.

1706. Ward, Wooden World, 42. All the Ship's Company daily pray for him, but they pray as they row, backwards.

1725. Bailey, Erasmus (1900), i. 73. Ra. Sirrah ! did I not hear you mutter ? Sy. I was saying my Prayers. Ra. Ay, I believe so, but it was the Lord'sPrayer backwards then.

Prayer-book, subs, phr, (gaming). —I. A pack of cards.

2. (nautical).—A small holystone ; a bible (ç.v.y—Clark Russell (1883).

1840. Dana, Before the Mast, xxiii. Smaller hand-stones, which the sailors call prayer-books, are used to scrub in among the crevices and narrow places, where the arge holystone will not go.

See Post-office prayerbook.

Prayer-book Parade, subs. phr. (common).—A promenade in fashionable places of resort, after morning service on Sundays.

Pray er-powder, subs. phr. (American).—See quot.

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, ii. xiv. With a silver bullet—a leaf o' the Bible for wadding—and a charge of prayer-powder —powder, over every 365 grains of which the Lord's prayer has been said.

Pray-pray fashion, adv. phr. (old).—Imploringly.

1753. Richardson, Grandison, ii. 183. 'Pray, sir, forgive me;' and she held up her hands pray-pray fashion thus.

Preach. 284

Precious.

Preach, verb, (colloquial).—To moralise out of season ; to cant (g. v. ) : as subs. — ( i ) a sermon ; and (2) canting talk. Hence preaching-shop = a church (or chapel) ; preachifying = tiresome moralising ; preachypreachy = long-windedly moral; preachman = a clergyman ; preachment = affectedly solemn cackle.

1592. Marlowe, Edward II., iv. 6. Come, come, keep these preachments till you come to the place anointed.

1595. Shakspeare, .7 Henry VI., i. 4. Was't you that revell'd in our parliament, And made a preachment of your high descent ?

1597. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, r. 28. No sermon, no seruice. Which ouersight occasioned the French spitefully to terme religion in that sort exercised a mere preach.

1644-5. Howell, Letters, 11. 33. Some of our preachmen are grown dogmad.

1795. Burns, Spoken at tlie Theatre, Dumfries [Century]. Old Father Time deputes me here before ye, Not for to preach but tell his simple story.

1822. Douglas Jerrold, Black Ey'd Susan, i. 2. Tut ! if you are inclined to preach, here is a mile-stone—I'll leave you in its company.

1847. Thackeray, Vanity Pair, 1. x. ' Shut up your sarmons, Pitt, when Miss Crawley comes down,' said his father ; 'she has written to say that she won't stand the preachifying.' Ibid. (18 . .), Ballads 0/Policeman X (A Woeful New Ballad). And them benighted Protestants, on Sunday they must go Outside the town to the preaching-shop by the gate of Popolo.

1889. Academy, 19 Oct., 260. She has the art of making her typical good women real and attractive . . . never . . . prudish or preachy.

1894. Moore, Esther Waters, xvii. I don t 'old with all them preachypreachy brethren says about the theatre.

TO preach at tyburn-cross, verb. phr. (old).—To be hanged : see Ladder.

Precious, adj. and adv. (colloquial).—Worthless ; great ; overnice : as precious little = very little ; a precious humbug = an eminent rascal, and so forth.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale [Tyrwhitt], line 5659. In swiche estât as God hath cleped us, I wol persever, I n'am not precious.

'535Coverdale, Trans, of Bible, Ezek. xvi. 30. Thou precious whore.

1605. Jonson, Volpone, i. 1. Your worship is a precious ass.

1612. Webster, White Devil, iv. 4. Now my precious gypsy . . . We have many wenches about the town heat too fast.

c. 1616. Fletcher, Bonduca, iv. 2. Run, run, ye rogues, ye precious rogues, ye rank rogues. Ibid. (1617), Mad Lover, iii. 3. Oh, you're a precious man ! two days in town, and never see your old friend.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], in. This precious abigail . . . was just as young, just as pretty, and just as loose as her mistress.

1784. Connoisseur, No. 7. This precious fooling, though it highly entertained them, gave me great disgust.

1777. Sheridan, Schoolfor Scandal, v. 2. A precious couple they are.

c. 1790. Song-, 'The Flash Man of St. Giles' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 74]. For we have mill'd a precious go.

1792. Lord Thurlow, Lett, to Cowper [Cowpers Letters (1834), ii. 318]. Precious limbs was at first an expression of great feeling, till vagabonds, draymen, &c, brought upon it the character of coarseness and ridicule.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. ii. Suke swears by her precious sparklers that she will have a fight.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick Papers (1857), 443Precious warm walking, isn't it ? said Lowden, drawing a Bramah key from his pocket, with a small plug therein to keep out the dust.

1857. Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, i. v. Precious little good we get out of that. Ibid., 11. vii. It's a precious sight harder than I thought.

1869. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, xxvii. A precious heavy book it was.

Precisian.

285 Present.

1881. Black, Beautiful Wretch, xix. ' She might as well try to leave off her affectations as her clothes. She couldn't go about without any.' ' She goes about with precious little,' said Mr. Tom.

Precisian, sues, (old : now recognised).—A stickler : spec. (17th century) = a Puritan (q.v.) in depreciation : also as adj. — punctillious, rigidly exact.—B. E. (c. 1696).

1596. Jonson, Ev. Man in his Humour, iii. 2. He's no precisian, that I'm certain of.

1607. Dekker, Westward Hoe, i. 2. We have the finest schoolmaster, a kind of Precisian, and yet an honest knave too.

1615. Harington, Epigrams, i. 20The man, affrighted at this apparition, Upon recovery grew a great precisian.

1612. Drayton, Polyolbion, vi. 301. These men . . . like our precisians be, Who for some Cross or Saint they in the window^ see Will pluck down all the Church.

1614. Time's Whistle [E. E. T. S.], 10. Hypocriticall precisians, By vulgar phrase entitled Puritanes.

1619. Fletcher, Custom of the Country, iv. 1. He was of Italy, and that country breeds not Precisians that way, but hot libertines.

1625. Massinger, New Way, i. 1. Verity, you brach, The devil turn'd precisian.

1628. Earle, Micro-cosmog, 2. His fashion and demure Habit gets him in with some Town-PRECisiAN, and maks him a Guest on Fryday nights.

rf.1655. Rev. T. Adams, Works, 11. 465. If a man be a Herod within and a John without, a wicked politician in a ruff of precisian set, God can distinguish him.

1694. Gildon, Mis. Let. and Essays, Pref. I hope too the graver gentlemen, the precisians will not be scandaliz'd at my zeal for the promotion of poetry.

1821. Scott, Kenilworth, ii. Tony married a pure precisian ... as bitter a precisian as ever eat flesh in Lent, and a cat-and-dog life she led.

1822. Byron, Vision of Judgment, cv. As Wellborn says—' the devil turn'd precisian.'

1864. Alford, Queen's English, 78. This pronunciation in the mouth of an affected precisian is offensive.

1888. Stevenson, Inland Voyage, Epilogue. He is no precisian in attire.

Preeze, verb, (provincial).—To urinate ; to piss (q.v.}.

Premises, subs, (venery).—The

female pudendum ; cf. Lodger and Lodgings to let : see Monosyllable.

Presbyteress, subs, (old colloquial).—See quot.

«'.1563. Bale, English Votaries, i. Marianus sayth she was a presbyteresse, or a priestes leman.

Presbyterian, ad;, (old). —An epithet of ridicule or contempt.

i6[?]. Broadside Ballad [Title]. A Presbyterian trick.

1706. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, v. 26. But, Lord, I pray thee, by the bye, Look down and cast a jealous Eye Upon our cunning Elder Brethren, Call'd by the name of Presbyterian.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 117. For the right Presbyterian breed Always coin pray'rs in time of need.

1847. Halliwell, Archaic Words and Phrases, s.v. Presbyterian-trick. A dishonest bargain ; a knavish trick.

Prescott, subs, (rhyming). — A waistcoat : also Charley Prescott.

Present, subs, (colloquial).—1. A white spot on the finger nail : supposed to augur good fortune.

2. (common).—A baby.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 13. Three months after marriage . . . as . . . I had no particular wish for the present my wife was likely to make me, I joined issue with some desperate blades.

Presenter er. 286 Pretty.

Presenterer, subs. (old). — A whore : see TART.

Preserve, subs, (old University). —A collection of outstanding bills.—Grose (1785).

Press, subs. (American sporting). —A winning bet added to the original stake.

Prettify, verb, (colloquial).—To adorn ; to decorate. Whence prettification = the process of adornment ; prettified = the fact (or condition) of being adorned.

Pretty, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum : also prettypretty : see Monosyllable. Pretty dear = a mistress.

T749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 372. Who pamper up their

pretty dears.

Adj. and adv. (literary and colloquial).—A generic intensive : ironical or complimentary at occasion or will : see quot. 1814.

c. 1500. How a Sergeaunt, th'c. [Hazlitt], Early Pop. Poet, iii. 122]. First faire and wele a pretie deale, he hyd it in a potte.

1530. Palsgrave, Langue Fran., 453. A preaty whyle ago, ung peu de temps passe.

1537-40. Supp. of Monasteries [Camden Soc], 198. Pratt besynes [of some monkish crimes].

155a Udal, Roister Doister [Arber], 37. My pretty maid [an ironical address by a mistress to a servant].

15 [?]• Political Poems [Furnivall], 244. A bok hym is browt Naylyd on a brede of tre, That men callyt an abece, Pratylych I-\vrout.

1594. Shakspeare, Lucreece, 1233. A pretty while these pretty creatures stand.

1596. Jonson, Ev. Man in His Humour, i. 2. Know. Is the fellow gone that brought this letter? Brai. Yes, sir, a pretty while since.

1611. Coryat, Crudities, 1. 6. It is a pretty way distant from the town.

1628. Earle, Micro-cosmog, ' A Weake Man.' A great affecter of wits and

SUCh pretinesses.

1630. Capt. John Smith, True Travels, 1. 26. Meldritch . . . was advised of a pretty stratagem by the English Smith.

d. 1657. Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, 235. Aboute some 3. or 4. years before this time ther came over one Captaine Wolastone (a man of pretie parts).

1678. Bunyan, Pilgrims Progress, 208. You are pretty near the business.

1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 143. He . . . being no bad player won a pretty deal of money.

1726. Vanbrugh, Provoked Husband, ii. i. A pretty sort of a young woman.

1763. Foote, Mayor of Garratt, i. i. I believe things are pretty secure. Ibid. ' A pretty son you have provided ' . . . ¹1 hope all for the best.'

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 96. You then will find, tho' now you pish on't You've made a pretty kettle of fish on't.

d. 1774. Goldsmith, Reverie at Boar'sHead Tavern [Century]. The gallants of these times pretty much resembled the bloods of ours.

1814. Scott, Waverley, xviL He even mentioned the number of recruits . . . and observed that they were pretty men, meaning not handsome, but stout warlike fellows.

1777. Sheridan, Schoolfor Scandal, i. i. Egad ! ma'am, he has a pretty wit, and is a pretty poet too. Ibid. (1778), The Rivals, iv. 3. The quarrel is a very pretty quarrel as it stands.

1870. Hawthorne, Eng. Note Books, 11. 306. Suburban villas, Belgrave terraces, And other such prettinesses.

1874. J. A. Symonds, Italy and Greece, 76. The painter . . . was forced . . . to perpetuate pious prettinesses long after he had ceased to feel them.

1891. Stevenson, Kidnapped, 73. " There are some pretty men gone to the bottom."

Pretty-dancers. 287

Price.

1802. Anktey, Voces Populi, ' At the Military Tournament,' 97. Cost a pretty sight o' the People's Money.

1899. Whiteing, John St., ix. Pretty child you must ha' been . . . Oh my ! Ibid. Was you knocked about much when you was a young 'un ? Pretty tidy, only I alwiz stepped it when it got too 'ot.

TO do the (or talk) pretty, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To affect amiability or obsequiousness.

1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, 2. We can talk pretty to each other. Ibid., 46. I saw they were started on the road of mutual admiration, and travelling pretty, and that he meant calling again.

1902. Free Lance, 5 April, 8, 2. They must be spoken pretty to, caressed, humoured, coaxed.

See also Way and Horse

breaker.

Pretty(or merry-) dancers,

subs. phr. (Scots').—The Aurora Borealis.

Pretty-pretty, subs, (common).— I. A knick-knack; and (2) see Pretty.

1887-9. Trollope, What I Remember, 21. My mother . . . had contrived to keep a certain number of prettypretties which were dear to her heart.

Previous, adv. (colloquial).—See quot. 1885.

1885. D. Telegraph, 14 Dec. "He is a little before his time, a trifle previous, as the Americans say, but so are all geniuses."

1890. Pall Mall Gaz., 23 June, 4, 2. Next year his term of service expires, and then we shall both be . . . But to state that now is what the Americans would call a little previous. Ibid. (1901), 10 Ap., 1, 3. So there it is—an object-lesson in the inadvisability of the too previous.

Prey, subs. (old).—Money.—B. E. (c. 1696).

Prial, subs, (old gaming).—Three cards of.a sort (at commerce, cribbage, Sec.) : Double-prial = four of a kind : whence also, of persons and things. [A corruption of pair-royal : in quot. 1608 is seen a step towards prial, whilst in quot. 1680 'pair-royal' rhymes with ' trial.']

1608. Day, Humour out of Breath, sig. C2. Fl. Why two fooles? Fr. Is it not past two, doth it not come neere three, sister [meaning, to call her one]. Pa. Shew perryall and take it.

a. 1680. Butler, Ballad on Pari. But when they came to trial, Each one prov'd a fool, Yet three knaves in the whole, And that made up a pair-royal.

PRlAP(or Priapus), subs, (venery). — i. The penis: see Prick ; (2) = a dildo (q.v.); and (3) — a stallion (q.V.).

1672. Butler, Dildoides. Who envying their curious frame Expos'd their Priaps to the flame. Ibid. Priapus thus, in Box opprest, Burnt like a Phoenix in his Nest.

d. 1680. Rochester [ Works (1718), 87]. Saying if one priapus I could shew, One holy relic of kind pearly dew. Ibid. Priapus squeez'd, one Snowball did emit.

1692. Dryden, Juvenal (1702), 114, Seen from afar and famous for his ware, He struts into the bath among the fair ; Th' admiring crew to their devotion fall ; And, kneeling, on their new Priapus call.

Price, verb, (colloquial).—To enquire the cost of.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 11. 261. If you priced such a one in a drawing-room here, And was asked fifty pounds, You'd not say it was dear.

1886-96. Marshall, 'Pomes' from the Pink 'Un I' The Age of Love'], 26. They priced him at fifty to one.

What price-? phr. (racing and common).—How's that ? What do you think ? How much ? What odds?

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. What price you, when you fell off the scaffold.

Prick. 288 Prick.

1895. Pocock, Rulesoftlte Game, n. 10. What price Mr. Jack Hayles, eh, boys? That proves he's a thief.

1898. Cigarette, 26 Nov., 13, 1. Ain't he gone on saucy colours, Eh? What price the green and red ?

1899. Whiteing, John St., 1. ix. What price grammar? It don't seem to teach people to keep a civil tongue in their head.

1901. Free Lance, 13 Ap., 28, 2. " It is all very well," writes a traveller, " to iegislate with regard to pure beer, but what price pure wine ? "

Prick (or Prickle), subs, (common).—I. The penis ; and (2) a butcher's skewer (see quot. 1622, with a pun on both senses of the word). Hence prickholder (-purse, -scourer, or -skinner) = the female pudendum ; prick-scouring — copulation ; prick-pride = an erectio penis, a prick-stand ; prickproud = ' satyrical, lustful ' (Florio : also cf. Pride) ;

prick-hunting = grousing (q.v.) ; prick-chinking = copulating ; to look pricks = to challenge with the eye ; to knock down a prick = to abate an erection ; cf. also Beggar's benison (q-v.) = 'May your prick and your purse never fail you.'

English synonyms.—Aaron'srod ; Abraham ; Adam (The old) ; Adam's-arsenal (penis and (estes) ; affair (Clelland) ; angle (Rochester) ; arbor-vitae ; arseopener ; arse-wedge ; aspersingtool (Urquhart) ; Athenœum.

Baby-maker ; bag-of-tricks (penis and testes) ; bald-headed hermit ; battering-piece (Clelland) ; bauble (Shakspeare) ; bayonet ; beak ; bean-tosser ; beard-splitter ; bed-fellow ; bellyruffian ; best-leg-of-three ; Billy

(or Bob) my-nag ; bird ; bit of hard ; blade (Davies) ; bludgeon ; Bluebeard ; Blueskin ; bodkin ; bonfire ; bow ; bracmard (Urquhart) ; brat-getter ; broom-handle ; bum-tickler ; bush-beater ; bush-whacker ; busk ; butcher (butcher's-shop — female pudendum) ; butterknife (butter = spendings q.v.).

Candle (candlestick = female pudendum) ; Captain Standish (Merry Drollery : Ebsworth) ; catso ; child-getter ; chink-stopper ; claw-buttock ; clothes-prop ; club ; cock (Shakspeare) ; concern ; copper-stick ; coral-branch (Urquhart) ; crack-hunter ; cracksman ; cranny-haunter ; creamstick ; crimson-chitterling (Urquhart); cuckold-maker (Marston); cuckoo; cunnyburrow ferret (Urquhart) ; cunny-catcher ; Cupid's-torch ; custom's-officer ; cutlass ; cuttygun (Scots').

Dagger ; dearest member (Burns) ; dibble (old Scots') ; dick ; dicky (nursery) ; diddle (nursery) ; dingus (American) ; dirk (Scots') ; dolly ; Don Cypriano (Urquhart) ; Don Orsino (Urquhart) ; Dr. Johnson ; down-leg ; dropping-member ; drumstick.

Engine (Clelland) ; enemy ; eye-opener.

Father Abraham ; father-confessor ; father-of-all ; fiddle-bow ; fiddle-diddle ; fiddle-stick ; firebrand ; flap-doodle ; flapper ; flesh (generic) ; flip-flap (Urquhart) ; floater ; fork ; fornicating member ; fornicator ; flute (Dur

fey).

Gadso ; gap-stopper ; gardenengine (garden = female puden

Prick.

289

Prick.

dum) ; gardener ; gaying-instrujnent (Grose) ; gear (Shakspeare. Florio, Burns); generation-tool (C. Johnson, Urquhart) ; gentle-tittler (Urquhart) ; girl-catcher ; girlometer ; goat ; gooser ; goose's-neck ; gravy-maker ; gristle (Clelland) ; gully-raker ; gut-stick.

Hair-divider ; hairsplitter ; handstaff; hanging-Johnny ; hardbit (— the penis in erection) ; hermit ; hunter.

Intercrural-pudding (urquhart) ; Irish-root ; It (generic).

Jack (an erection) ; Jack-in-thebox ; Jack Robinson ; Jacob ; jargonelle ; Jezabel ; jigger ; jiggling-bone (Irish) ; Jock (q.v.) ; jockam (Old Cant) ; John Thomas ; jolly-member (Urquhart) ; Julius Caesar.

Kennel-raker ; key ; kingmember ; kit ( = penis and testes) ; knack (Fletcher); knocker.

Ladies'-delight ; ladies'-plaything ; ladies'-treasure ; lady-ware ( = penis and testes) ; lamp-of-life ; lance-of-love ; Langolee (Irish) ; leather-dresser ; leather-stretcher; life-preserver ; Ungarn ; littleDavy (Scots') ; liver-turner ; livesausage (Urquhart); lobster; lodger ; lollipop ; love-dart ; love's-picklock ; luggage (—penis and testes) ; lullaby.

Machine ; man-root (Whitman) ; man-Thomas ; marrowbone ; marrowbone-and-cleaver ; Master John Goodfellow (Urquhart) ; Master John Thursday (Urquhart) ; master-member (Clelland) ; master of the ceremonies ; Master Reynard ; matrimonial-peacemaker(grose); meat (generic) ; meat-skewer ;

member (conventional) ; memberfor-Cockshire ; mentule ; merrymaker ; merry-man ; middle ; middle-leg ; milkman ; mole ; mouse ; mowdiwart (Scots').

Nag ; nakedness ; nature's-scythe ; Nebuchadnezzar (cf. Greens) ; needle (Dorset) ; nervous cane (Urquhart); nilnisitando (Urquhart); Nimrod ; nocker (or nine-inch-nocker, Urquhart) ; nippy.

Old-Adam ; old man ; oldSlimy ; old Rowley.

Partner ; peacemaker ; pecker ; pecnoster ; pee-wee ; pego (A. Radcliffe) ; pendulum ; pestle ; peter ; phallus ; picklock (Clelland) ; pike (Shakspeare) ; pike-staff ; pile-driver ; pilgrim'sstaff ; pillicock (Shakspeare, Florio, Durfey) ; pillock (Lyndsay); pin; pintle (Florio, Burns, Dorset, Morris) ; pioneer-of-nature ; pisser ; pistol ; pizzle ; placket-racket (Urquhart) ; plenipo ; ploughshare ; plug (Burns) ; plug-tail (Grose); P-maker ; pointer ; Polyphemus ; pond-snipe (Whitman) ; pony ; poperine-pear (Shakspeare) ; priap ; priapus (Rochester) ; prick (Shakspeare, Fletcher et passim) ; prickle (Fletcher, Clelland, R. Burton); privateproperty ( = penis and testes) ; privates ( — penis and testes) ; privities ; privy-member (Biblical) ; pudding (Durfey).

Quarter-master ; quim-stake ; quickening-peg (Urquhart).

Radish ; ramrod ; ranger ; rawmeat ; rector-of-the-females (Rochester) ; rod ; Robin (Gascoigne) ; Roger ; rollingpin ; root ; rubigo ; rudder ; ruffian ; rump-splitter.

Prick. 290 Prick.

Saint Peter (who keeps the keys of Paradise [q.v.]) ; sausage (Sterne) ; sceptre ; schnickel (Yiddish) ; sensitiveplant (Clelland) ; sensitive truncheon (Clelland); shaft of delight ; shove-straight (Urquhart) ; Sir Martin Wagstaff (Urquhart) sky-scraper; snapper ; solicitor-general ; spikefaggot ; spigot ; spindle ; splitrump (Urquhart) ; sponge (cf. Ramrod) ; staff-of-life ; sternpost ; sugar-stick ; sweet-meat.

Tail ; tail-tree ; tallywag (schoolboys') ; tantrum ; tarse (Dorset) ; tenant-in-tail ; that ; tent-peg ; thing ; thingamy ; thingumbob ; thorn-in-the-flesh ; thumb-of-love (Whitman); thyrsus ; tickle-faggot ; ticklegizzard (Urquhart) ; tickletoby ; Timothy-tool ; tool (Florio) ; toy ; touch-her-home (Urquhart) ; touch-trap (Urquhart) ; trifle; trouble-giblets (Urquhart) ; tug-mutton ; twanger (Florio).

Uncle ; unruly-member.

Vestry-man.

Wand (Denham); ware (Dryden) ; watch-and-seals ( = penis and /estes) ; weapon ; wedge ; wepene (Halliwell) ; What Harry gave Doll (Durfey); whore-pipe (Rochester) ; winkle (nursery) ; wimble ; worm (nursery).

Yard (Florio, &c.) ; yum-yum.

Zadkiel (almanack = female pudendum).

French synonyms.—Acteur ; affaire (also affaire avec quoi Vhomme pisse); agréments naturels ; aiguille (also aiguillon, and aiguillette : = needle : Rabelais) ; allumelle (Rabelais) ; allumette ; anchois (Rabelais) ;

andouille ( = chitterling : also andouilie des carmes : Rabelais) ; animal ; antenne ; arbalète (Rabelais) ; arc (also arc-boutant) ; ardillon ; argument ; arme ; asperge ; aspersoir ( = ' aspersingtool ' : Rabelais) ; astic ( = glazing-stick) ; asticot (= slug) ; autre-chose (also = female pudendum) ; avance.

Badinage oT amour (Rabelais) ; bagage (= luggage = penis and testes) ; baguette (ramrod [q.v.]) ; balancier ; ballestrou (Rabelais); bandage; batail (Old Fr. = bell-clapper) ; baton (also baton de lit, baton à un bout, baton de sucre de pomme, baton de chair, and baton pastoral) ; battant ; béquille ; berlingot (Rabelais) ; bête (cf. animal) ; bibite ; bichette ( = pretty, q.v. ) ; bidault; bidet ( = pony) ; bijou (Rabelais, Diderot : also bijou de famille) ; billart (Rabelais) ; bistoquette (Rabelais) ; bon-bon ; bondon (=bung); bonhomme; bouchon (Rabelais) ; boudin (= pudding : Rabelais : also boudin blanc) ; bougeoir ; bougie ( = candle: Rabelais); bourdon (Rabelais) ; bourse ( = penis and testes) ; bout (also bout de viande) ; boute-feu ( = firebrand : also bouteioie = pleasure-maker) ; boutique (= ware [q.v.]) ; boyau (Rabelais) ; braguette (Rabelais) ; branche (also branche de corail) ; brandon (firebrand : Rabelais) ; braquemard ( = cutlass) ; bras ; bréviare ; briche ; brichouard ; broche (=spit); broqtte (also broquette : of children).

Ça ( = That) ; canal ; canon à pisser (Rabelais) ; carotte ; catze ( = catzo : Rabelais) ; cauda (=tail: Rabelais); ceci ( = this : Rabelais) ; cela ( = that: Rabelais) ; cerkos (Rabelais) ;

Prick.

291

Prick.

cervelas (= the sausage) ; chair (= flesh : generic); chalumeau (Rabelais) ; chameau; champignon ; chandelle ( — candle: Rabelais) ; chanterelle (Rabelais) ; charrue (cf. ploughshare) ; chenille (= worm); cheval (cf. Ride); cheville ( = pin [q.v.] : also cheville ouvrière and cheville d'Adam : Rabelais); chevillot ( = belaying-pin : rabelais) ; chibre ; chiffe (specifically = lobcock [ç.v.]); Chinois (cf. Celestial Empire = female pudendum); chose ( — thing); chou art ; cierge (= candle and torch : Rabelais) ; cigarette ; clavis (Rabelais) ; clé (cf. lock = female pudendum : Rabelais); clou : clysoir galant ( = the lover's clyster-pipe) ; cogtioir (printers' = shooting-stick); coin (= pin and wedge : also petit coin) ; colonne ; compagnon (also compagnon fidèle) ; corde sensible ; cordon de saint François (Rabelais) ; corne ( = Mr. Horner) ; cornichon (Rabelais) ; cotai (Rabelais) ; coue (Rabelais) ; coursier (cf. Billy-my-Nag) ; courte (also phis courte) ; courtaud ( = pony : Rabelais) ; couteau (also couteau naturel : cf. butterknife) ; crête de coq dinde ; criquet (— 'the little man'); cyelope ; cylindre (cylindre consolateur — a dildo).

Dard (Rabelais) ; dardillon (Rabelais) ; dauphe ; degré de longitude; denrée(cf. commodity: also denrée d'aventure) ; diable (Boccaccio and la Fontaine : cf. Hell = female pudendum*) ; dille (Rabelais) ; dispensateur des plaisirs ( = merry-maker) ; docteur ; doigt (Rabelais : z\sopetit doigt, doigt de milieu, and doigt qui n'a point d'ongle) ; don (la Fontaine) ; douzil (= spigot :

Rabelais) : dressouer (Rabelais) ; droit (also droit d'homme) ; drôle (Rabelais).

Echalas ; écluse (= sluice, écureuil (O. Fr., also = fem./«a'.); écuvillon ; égout ; élytroïde (Musset) ; endure ( = the sufferer) ; enflure ( = the bloated) ; engenreure (Rabelais) ; engin ( = tool); ettttemi; epée (Rabelais); éperon ; épervier ; épine ( = thorn-in-the-flesh : rabelais) ; espadon ; esprit ; et cat er a (= Mr. What's-its-name) ; étendard (also étendard d amour) ; éteuf ; étrille ; étui (also = female pudendum) ; exécuteur de la basse justice.

Fascinum (Rabelais) ; fax (Rabelais) ; ferrenient ( = tool : Rabelais) ; fétu ; fifre ; flageolet (Rabelais); flambeau ( — torch : Beranger) ; flamberge ; fléau ; flèche (Rabelais : also flèche d'amour); flilte (= flageolet and flute : Rabelais : also flûte à bec : cf. silent-flute) ; fouet (sportmen's = ' dog-tail ') ; fourrier de nature (= Nature'squartermaster : Rabelais) ; frappart ; friandise ( — sweet-meat : Rabelais) ; fruit de caspendu ; furon ; fuseau ; fusil ( — cuttygun).

Gaule ; gibre (also chibre) ; gland ; gluant (Old Slimy) ; gogoiie ; goujon (also gougon) ; goupillon ( = ' holy-water sprinkler : Rabelais) ; gouvernail ; grand-maître des cérémonies ; grimaudin (Rabelais) ; gros boyau ; grosse corde ; guigui (also [nursery] guiguitté).

Haire (Rabelais) ; hameçon ; harnais (Rabelais) ; hasta (Rabelais) ; herbe qui croit dans la main (— greens [q.v.] that grow in the hand : Rabelais) ;

Prick. 292 Prick.

hic (Rabelais) ; histoire (Rabelais) ; hochet ( = toy [ct. v.] : also hochet de Vénus).

Il (= it) ; inconvénient ; instrument (Rabelais : also instrument de musique).

Jacquemard (Rabelais) ; Jacques (Rabelais : also Jatquot) ; jambe (Rabelais) ; jambot (Villon) ; Jean Chouart ; Jean Jeudi (Rabelais) ; joie ; joujou ; joyau (also = female mtdendum).

Kapros (Rabelais).

Laboureur (Rabelais : also laboreur de nature : cf. Nature's Workshop = the female pudendum) ; lacet; lance (= lance-oflove : also lance à deux boulets and lance gaie : Rabelais) ; lancette ; lard ; lavette ; le (cf. la = female pudendum) ; limace ; lingot d amour (Rabelais) ; longon (Rabelais); lourdois (Old Fr.).

Machin (la Fontaine) ; Mahomet ; petite majesté (Rabelais) ; manche ( = broom-handle : also manche de gigot : Rabelais) ; marque de la vaisselle (Rabelais); mât ; mèche; membre (Rabelais : also membre viril) ; mentule (Rabelais) ; mirliton (rabelais); misère; mistigouri (Rabelais) ; moigtum; moineau (also moineau dsLesbie : Rabelais) ; Monsieur le Fils ; Monsieur la Pine ; morceau Rabelais : also morceaux honteux ; moule ; muscle ; mutinum (Rabelais) ; muto (Rabelais).

Nature de V homme ; navette ; nerf ( rabelais : also nerf caverneux) ; nervus (Rabelais) ; nez; ri importe quoi (= Thingumbob) ; niphleseth (Rabelais : from the Heb.) ; noctuinus (Rabelais) ; nœud ( = penis and testes).

Obélisque; objet (= thing); oiseau (Rabelais) ; onzième doigt (cf. middle-leg); organe; os à moelle ( = marrow-bone) ; outil ( = tool : also outil priapesque, outil à faire la pauvreté, and outil à faire la belle joie : Rabelais) ; ouvrier de nature.

Pacquêt de mariage ( = penis and testes : also pacquet d'amour : Rabelais); paf ; paille ; pain (cf. dévorant — female pudendum = Dumb glutton) ; palette ; palus (Rabelais) ; partie (also, in pl. parties casuelles, and parties honteuses = the penis and testes') ; Pascal ; pasnaise (O. Fr. ) ; pastenade (O. Fr.) ; pâte ; pauvre cas (Rabelais) ; pauvre marchandise (Rabelais) ; pauvreté (Rabelais); pauvre petit ; paxillus (Rabelais) ; peadium (Rabelais) ; pelée (cf. prickskinner) ; penart (Rabelais) ; pendeloche (Rabelais) ; penis (Rabelais); perchaut; Perrinboute-avant (Rabelais) ; perroquet (Rabelais) ; persuasif (Rabelais); pestel(Rabelais); petit (cf. grand = female pudendum) ; petit pauvre (also petit bonhomme, petit caporal [cf. Dr. Johnson and Julius C/esar], petit jeune homme, and petit bout) ; petite flûte ; petit frère (cf. Schwesterlein = female pudendum) ; petit voltigeur ; phalle (Rabelais) ; pible (nautical : Rabelais : also pibol) ; piche ; pièce (Rabelais : also pièce de génération and pièce du milieu) ; pied de roi ; pier?-e à casser les œufs (Rabelais : also pierre de touche) ; pieu ; pignoti (Rabelais) ; pilon ( — pestle : Rabelais) ; pilum (Rabelais : classical) ; pine ( = prick : rabelais, &c); pinette ( = prickle : also pinocht) ; pique (Rabelais) ;

Prick.

293

Prick.

pis (Rabelais) ; pissot (Rabelais : pissotière = f.p.) ; pistolandier ; pistolet ; piston ; pivot ; plume charnelle ; poignard ; poinçon (Rabelais = punch) ; poinil (also poinille) ; pointe (la Fontaine) ; poireau ; poisson ; polichinelle ; pommeau ; pompe aspirante (also pompe foulante) ; pomus (Rabelais) ; potence (Rabelais); poulain; poupignon ; poussouer (Rabelais) ; précurseur ; premier rôle ; Priape (Rabelais, &c.) ; proportion ; provision ; pyramide.

Quelque chose de chaud (also quelque chose de court = something warm and something

short) ; uenouille (Rabelais) ; quéquette ; queue (Rabelais = tail) ; quille (Rabelais).

Racine ( = root) ; radis (radis noir = negro's penis) ; raquette ; rat (also raton) ; relique (Beranger); rêne; rien ; robinet de Pâme (Rabelais) ; roide ; rossignol (la Fontaine) ; rubens ; rubiscabochon.

Sacrement (Beranger) ; SaintAgathon ; Saint-Esprit de la culotte ; SaintPierre ; salsifis ; sangsue; sannion (Rabelais: from the Gr.); sansonnet; saucisse ( — live sausage : also

saucisson) ; scapus (Rabelais) ; sceptre ; schtiv (sch + anagram of vit) ; sentinelle ; serin ; seringue (also seringue à peruque, and seringue à poil : Rabelais) ; sexe (Rabelais) ; sifflet ; simulacre d amour ; sixième sens ; soulier; sous-préfet ; sucre d'orge.

Taurus (Rabelais) ; tétin [Rabelais]; thermomètre ; timon (la Fontaine) ; tirliberly ; tiv (anagram of vit) ; torche ; toton ; totoquini (Rabelais) ; touche d'alemant; trabes (Rabelais);

train ; trait ; tréhans (Rabelais) ; trépignoir ; triquebille ; troisième jambe (cf. middle-leg); truelle; tube; turlututu.

Utensile (Rabelais).

Vélu ; verge ( = yard : Rabelais : also verge de saint-Benoit); verpe (Rabelais) ; veretille (Rabelais); verètre(Rabelais); viande de devant (also viande crue) ; vibrequin ; viçon (Rabelais) ; violon; vireton (Rabelais) ; virgule (Rabelais) ; virolet (O. Fr.) ; vit ( — prick) ; vitault (Rabelais) ; vivandier de nature (Rabelais).

Zèbre; zist.

German synonyms.—Bletzer ( = wedge) ; Breslauer (Viennese) ; Bruder (cf. Schwesterlein = little sister = female pudendum) ; Butzelmann ; Fiesel ; Dickmann ; Pinke ; Schmeichaz ; Schwanz.

Italian synonyms.—Anguisigola (Florio = needle) ; barbagianni; bestia (Florio); cazzo ; coda ( = tail) ; cotale (Florio) ; cucitusa (Florio) ; deslriere, or destriero (Florio) dolcemelle (Florio) ; erpiee (Florio, ' a harow to breake clods of earth ') ; facende (Florio) ; grignappola (Florio) ; mentole (Florio) ; natura (Florio) ; naturale (Fl.orio) ; nervo (Florio) ; occhello ; pastinaca (Florio : 'paslinaca murauese, a dildoe of glasse ') ; pastorale ; pestello (Florio : ' a pestle') ; pinchino; pinco (Florio) ; pina (Florio : cf. Fr. pine) ; rilla (Florio) ; robinetto (Florio : 'a little rubie . . . also a dildoe ') ; rozzone (Florio) ; San Cresei-in-Mano (Florio : ' because it grows in one's hand '); San Giovannibocco doro( Florio) ; tempella (Florio : ' a great swag

Prick.

294

Prick.

gring twanger, a horse-toole, a great dildo, or good pricke ') ; tincone (Florio): vergogne (Florio) ; verpa (Florio) ; vieto (Florio) ; vit to (Florio : ' victuals . . . vsed in iest for a man's priuie member') ; vomere (Florio : ' the iron of the plough that pierceth the ground ').

Spanish synonyms.—Berga; bergajo ; capullo ; carajo ; mague; maquilen (Sp. gypsy) ; menina ; monda ; nabo ; picha ; pijote ; pinga; pitilén ; poya ; quite (Sp.

gypsy)

Portuguese synonyms.— A parario ; bacamarte ( = creamstick); badalo ; baioneta ; banana ; bimb»; capita0 ; carat'ho ; chico ; chinguiço ; chunço ; deabrete ; Don Cipriano ; espadäo (augmentative) ; espada ; espiga ; formigäo ; fumo ; largato ; linguiça ; macacheira ; malho ; minhoca; maranhào ; marsapo; nabo; Philippe; paosinho da matrimonio ; päo de Leite ; päo de iodos (= father-of-all) ; päo magico; porra (classic) ; pica; pica (classic) ; pomba ; paio ; pichola ; quiabo ; rolla ; sulipa ; tromba ; vergalho ; virgolleiro ; vara ; zé-caitano.

Dutch synonym.—Pit.

Walloon synonym.—Bock.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, ii. 4. Mer. 'Tis no less, I tell you, for the bawdy hand of the dial is now on the prick of noon. Nurse. Out upon you ! what a man are you ?

[ ? ]. The Wyll of the Devill [Halliwell]. I geve to the butchers pkickes inoughe to sette up their thinne meat that it may appeare thick and well fedde.

1598. Florio, Worlde 0/ Wördes, Coglinto, a man that hath a good pricke. A conscienza vitta . . . with a stiffe standing pricke. Hid. Priapismo . . . the standing of a man's yard which is when the yard is stretched out in length and breadth ... If it come with a beating and

panting of the yard the phisicians call it then Satiriasi. Called also in English . . . prick-pride, or lust-pride (et passim).

1605. Jonson, Marston, &c., Eastward Ho ! iii. 2. Gert. May one be with child afore they are married, mother? Mistr. T. Ay, by'r lady, madam ; a little thing does that ; I have seen a little prick no bigger than a pin's head swell bigger and bigger till it has come to an ancome ; and e'en so 'tis in these cases [see sense 4].

1608. Heywood, Rape of Lucreece, £_

iii. 5. I would wish all young maids, before they be sick, To enquire for a young man that has a good prick.

c.1610-20. Rawl. MS., B 35, 54 back He shall not do so that I love, But so scone as I am sick, Shall never faile me in the nick, To give me proof of his good-.

1611. Beaumont and Fletcher, Kn. of Burning Pestle, v. 3. With hey, trixy, tirlery-whiksin, The world goes round on wheels. When the young man's prick's in, Up go the maiden's heels.

c.1613. Fletcher, Nice Valour, v. 1. As nightingales, And things in cambric rails, Sing best against a prickle.

1622. Dekker and Massinger, Virgin Martyr, ii. 1. Bawdy Priapus, the first schoolmaster that taught butchers to stick pricks in flesh, and make it swell, thou know'st, was the only ningle that I cared for under the moon.

1656. Fletcher, Martiall, x. 63. One prick was privy to my chastitie.

1672. Butler, Dildoides. Women must have both youth and beauty, Ere prick, damn'd Rogue will do his duty. Ibid. Are you afraid lest merry Griggs Will wear false pricks like Perriwigs ? Ibid. He paus'd, another stepp'd in With limber prick and grisly chin.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (1725) 74]. ('Twixt you and me) I'm sore afraid, My son's so big (which

rarely fallsj About his -, and Genitals,

That I am half afraid lest he Should chance to spoil her Majesty. Ibid. And quickly The Trojan does with the great P-k lie.

rf.1680. Rochester, Satire on the King. His sceptre and his prick are of a length. Ibid. (Works, 1718). Here walks Cuff and Kick, With brawny back and legs, and potent prick.

1681. John Aubrey, Life of Seiden, MS. He told me that Mr. Seiden had got more by his prick than by his practice.

Prick.

295 Prick-louse.

1682. A. Radcliffe, The Ramble, S%. While duns were knocking at my door,~" I lay in bed with reeking whore, With back so weak and prick so sore, You'd wonder.

Etheredge [Rochester and Roscommon, Works (1718), 1. 159]. A Band of naked Cupids draws With pricks no bigger than Wheatstraws. Ibid. One figures Love's Hieroglyphic, A couchant Cunt and rampant Prick.

c.1698. Durfey, Tom Tinker [Pills to Purge (1719), vi. 265]. I met with a Butcher a killing a Calf, I then stepp'd to him and cryed out half : At his first denial I fell very sick, And he said it was all for a touch of his-.

1749. Robertson, of Struan, Poems,

256. My Lord had but one p--k To

satisfy my Lady's C—ny. Ibid., 186. And as one guides me to the nick, The other cries—Put up thy--.

17 p?]. Earl of Cork, The Bumper Toast. In a lovely field argent, crown

sable she glows, And two rampant P-s

as supporters we fix, Here's C--in a

bumper wherever she goes.

1760-7. Sterne, Tristram Sliandy, viii. xx. ' I can honestly say, an' please your honour—that ** ***** ***** ***** once.' ' That was very odd, Trim,' quoth my uncle Toby.' ' I think so too, said Mrs. Wadman. ' It never did,' said the corporal.

1785. Hanbury Williams, Odes,

'To L—d L--n.' Oh, Lincoln ! joy of

womankind, To you this humble ode's designed ; Let (Prick) inspire my song : Gods ! with what powers you are endu'd ! Tiberius was not half so lewd, nor Hercules so strong.

c. 1786. Capt. Morris, Tlie Plenipotentiary. ' Christ Jesus,'she said, 'what a prick for a maid.

d. 1796. Burns, The Merry Muses of Caledonia, ' Act Sederunt o' the Court o' Session ' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897) v. 215]. In Embrugh town they've made a law, In Embrugh, at the Court o' Session, That stanin' pricks are fau'tors a', An' guilty o' a high transgression. Ibid. We're a' Gaun Southie, O. Kind kimmer Kirsty, 1 loe wi' a' my heart, O ; An' whaur there's ony pricks gaun, She'll ay get a part, O.

17 [?]. Old Song, [ The Highland Laddie.' The gayest girl in Embro's town, With paint and clothes made ready, Can't knock a prick so sweetly down As bonny, buxom Peggy Brady.

3.i84[?]. Old Country Side Doggrel [quoted by Halliwell]. Now if Steenie Smith don't mend his manners The skin of his-shall go to the tanners.

1885. Burton, Thousand Nights, in. 302. My prickle is big.

3. (old).—A term of endearment. — Palsgrave (1540) ; Halliwell (1847).

4. (old colloquial).—A pimple : see sense 1, quot. 1605.

Prick-ears, subs. phr. (old cavalier). — A Roundhead. [The Puritan head-gear was a black skull-cap, drawn down tight, leaving ears exposed].—Grose (1785). Also prick-eared (or lugged) adj. = a general term of contempt.

1599. Shakspeare, Hen. V., ii. 1, 44. Pish for thee, Iceland dog ! thou prick-ear'd cur of Iceland.

Pricked, adj. (costermongers').— 'Sour; acid.'—B. E. (c. 1696).

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., 1. 68. It [salmon] is usually bought for is. a kit, a little bit pricked.

Pricker (old military).—In pi. =

a Cavalry regiment. [That is a light horseman : cf. prick = to ride : e.g., ' A gentle knight was pricking o'er the plain.']

Pricket, subs, (auctioneers').—A fictitious bidder ; a Peter Funk (q.v.) ; a putter-up (q.v.).

Pricking /Eger. See /Eger.

Prick-louse (Nip-louse, or prick-the-louse), subs. phr. (common).—A tailor : see Snip. —B. E. (r.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1590. Tari. Eton, Purgatorie [Halliwell]. She would in brave termes abuse him, and call him rascall, and slave, but above all pricklouse, which he could not abide. Ibid. The more he beat her, the more she calde him pricklouse.

Prickinedenty. 296

Pride.

1592. Greene, Defence of Connycatching [ Works, xi. 96]. Even the poore pricklouse the country taylor.

c. 1603. Sack for my Money [Collier, Roxburghe Ballads (1847), 178]. Rich Malligo is pure, I know, And bravely can compose a man Of a very trick-lows taylor.

1607. Dekker and Webster, North•ward Hoe, ii. 1. If I take master pricklouse ramping so high again . . . I'll make him know how to kiss your blind cheeks sooner.

1620. Rowlands, Night Raven, 9 (Hunterian Club's Repr., 1872). My choller tells thee, th'art a botching slaue, Thy Journy-man a very pricklowse knave.

1625. Jonson, Staple of News, i. 1. Tailor, thou art a vermin, Worse than the same thou prosecut'st, and prick'st in subtle seam.

c. 1700. Thomas Brown, Paneg. on a Louse [Works (1715), i. 145]. No wonder then . . . such sturdy Valour Against thy Enemy, the Prick-Louse Taylor, To take him every Moment by the Collar.

rf.1704. Lestrange [Century]. A taylour and his wife quarrelling, the woman in contempt called her husband pricklouse.

1720. Durfey, Pills to Purge, vi. 293. Says Prick Louse, my Jewel I love you most dearly, My breast every minute still hotter does grow.

d. 1796. Burns, To a Tailor, st. 2. Gae mind your seam, ye prick the louse, An' jag the flae.

Prickmeoenty (prick-me

dainty or prick-ma-dainty),

subs, (old).—A finical person. Also, as adj. — over-precise ; affected.

d. 1529. Skelton, Elynour Rummyng, 382. There was a tryckmedenty, Sat lyke a seynty, And began to paynty, As thoughe she would faynty.

1534. Udall, Roister Doister, ii. 3. Mary, then prick-me-dainty, come toste me a fig.

1822. Galt, Provost, xxxi. Bailie Pirlet, who was naturally a gabby prickme-dainty body.

Prick-the-garter, suds. phr. (old).—I. See quot. 1762. Also

pitch the nob, prick the belt (or loop), and fast and loose.

1762. Goldsmith, Life of Nash [Works (Globe), 545]. The manner in which country men are deceived by gamblers, at a game called Pricking in the Belt, or the old Nob. This is a leathern strap folded up double, and then laid upon a table : if the person who plays with a bodkin pricks into the loop of the belt, he wins, if otherwise he loses. However, by slipping one end of the strap, the sharper can win with pleasure.

1776. Brand, Popular Antiquities. This was, doubtless, originally a gipsy game, and was much practised by the gipsies in the time of Shakespeare. In those days it was termed pricking at the belt, or fast and loose.

1788. G. A. Stevens, Adv. of a Speculist, i. 69. This is the cant of those who go about the country defrauding the unwary with the game called, Pricking

at the belt.

1840. Cockton, Valentine Vox, lx. They were standing at a prick-in-theGarter table, at which a gentleman had a long piece of list, which he wound round and offered any money that no man could prick in the middle.

1892. Sydney, Eng. and English in 18th Century, i. 83. One class of gamblers cheated passers-by ... by inviting them to prick in the belt, or the garter for a wager.

TO play at prick-the-garter, verb. phr. (venery).— To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

Pride, subs. (conventional).— Sexual appetite : hence proud = amorous; lustful.—B. E. (c.1696); Grose (1785). See Prick.

.... Arthur and Merlin [Edinburgh Auchinlech MS., 11]. Yong man wereth jolif, And than proudeth man and wiif.

is9⁸Florio, Worlde of Wordesi s.v. Esser in Jrega, to be proud ... as a bitch or a catterwalling as cats.

Pride-and-Pockets. 297

Prig.

1602. Shakspeare, Othello, iii. 3, 402. It is impossible you should see this, Were-they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, As salt as wolves in pride.

1629. D avenant, A Ibovine, i. When I see her I grow proud below the navel.

d. 16S0. Rochester, Ramble in St. James's Park [Works (1718), i. 82]. So a proud Bitch does lead about Of amorous Curs the humble Rout.

Pride-an d-pockets, subs. phr. (common).—See quot.

1893. Emerson, Lippo, xiii. The place, too, was what we call ' shabby genteel '—a lot of retired tradesmen and half-pay officers . . . pride-and-pockets as we called them.

Pride-of-the-morninq (The),

subs phr. (Irish).—A shower of rain.

Priest, subs. (Irish). —A short bludgeon : used to administer the ' last rites ' to a landed fish.

To be one's priest, verb.phr. (Scots').—To kill.

1810. Homespun Lays, 135. An' wi' an awfu' shak, Swore he wad shortly be his priest, An' threw him on his back Fu' flat.

A great priest, subs. phr. (Scots'). — A strong but ineffectual inclination to stool.— Jamieson.

to let the priest say grace, verb. phr. (old).—To marry : hence priest-link'd = married. — B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

Priest of the Blue-bag, subs. phr. (common).—A barrister : see Greenbag.

1849. Kingsley, Alton Locke, xx. " He . . . showed himself as practised in every law quibble ... as if he had been a regularly ordained priest of the blue bag. "

Priest's niece, subs. phr. (old).— A cleric's illegitimate daughter, or concubine : whence ' No more character than a priest's niece.'

1663. KiLLiGREW, Parson's Wedding [1827], 1. 3, p. 471.

1848. Ruxton, Far West, 145. They were probably his nieces.

Prig, subs. (Old Cant).—1. A thief : also prigger and prigman ; as verb. = to steal. Whence prigger of prauncers (or palfreys) = a horse-thief ;

prigger of cacklers = a poultry-thief ; prig-napper = a thief-taker ; Prince prig (or (Prig-star) = ' a King of the Gypsies, also a Top Thief, or Receiver General' (B. E.); to

work on the prig (or prig

ging-lay) = to thieve ; to prig and buz = to pick pockets ; priggish = thievish ; priggery (or priggism) = thievery. — Awdeley (1560) ; Harman (1563) ; Dekker (1608) ; Head (/.1665); B. E. (c.1696); Hall (1714) ; Grose (1785).

English synonyms. — To angle ; to annex ; to bilk ; to bite ; to bone ; to bounce ; to bunco ; to bust ; to buz ; to cabbage ; to chouse ; to claim ; to clift ; to clink-rig ; to cloy (cligh or cly) ; to collar ; to collect ; to convey ; to cop ; to crack ; to crib ; to cross-fam ; to curb ; to cut ; to dip ; to dive ; to drag ; to draw ; to ease ; to fake ; to filch ; to file ; to find ; to flap ; to fleece ; to flimp ; to fop ; to fork ; to fraggle ; to free ; to frisk ; to glean ; to haul ; to hook ; to jump ; to klep ; to knap ; to knuckle ; to lag ; to lap ; to lurch ; to mag ; to make ; to maltool (or moll tool) ; to manarvel ; to mill ; to mug ; to nab ; to nail ; to nap ; to

Prig.

298

Prig.

nibble ; to nick ; to nim ; to nip ; to palm ; to parlor-jump ; to pay with a hook ; to pinch ; to poach ; to poll ; to pug ; to pull ; to purchase ; to ramp ; to rent ; to respun (tinker) ; to ring ; to shake ; to shark ; to shoulder ; to smouch ; to smug ; to snabble ; to snaggle ; to snake ; to snam ; to snap ; to snatch ; to sneak ; to snipe ; to speak ; to spice ; to swipe ; to tool ; to touch ; to trot ; to wolf ; to work.

French synonyms.—Agripper; aquiger (or quiger) ; aumôner (or roler à l'aumône, giving small articles stolen from counters as alms to a confederate) ; barboter ( = tO turn over [q.V.]) ; barboter les poches ; barboter la caisse ; bijouter ( = to purloin jewels) ; faire le bobe ; cabasser ; rincer une cambriole ( = ' to clean out a crib'); caribener; casser la hane ( = ' to buz a skin ') ; chambrer; chaparder (military); grincher à la chicane ( = picking pockets with your back to the pocket picked) ; choper (or faire un chopiti) ; comprendre ; décrasser ; décrocher ; déleurir la picouse ; dégauchir ; dégraisser ; dégringoler (also dégringoler à la carre = to shoplift) ; doubler ; faire en douceur ; entiffier ; fabriquer (also fabriquer un gas à la flan, fabriquer à la rencontre. or fabriquer à la dure = to rob with violence) ; fabriquer un poivrot ( = to ' jump a lushington ') : faire ; faire le bobe ; faire la bride ( = ' to buz slangs ' ) ; faire la retourne des baguenaudes ( = ' to fake a cly ' ) ; faire la souris ( = to do the mouse) ; faire la tire ( = ' to cut a bung ') ; faire le barbot dans une cabriolle (= 'to crack a crib'); faire le saut ; faire le morlingue ( = ' to

cut a bung ') ; faire le mouchoir (— 'fogle-hunting') ; faire un coup a l'esbrouffe ('to flimp'); faire un coup <f étal ( = to shoplift) ; faire un coup de fourchette (= to fork) ; faire un coup de radin ; faire un coup de roulette (='to claim a peter'); faire grippe-cheville ; faire la soûlasse sur le grand trimar (= hightoby) ; faucher ; filer ; acheter à la foire d'empoigne ( = buying at Pinching-Fair) ; four liner ; fourlourer ; fourmiller ( = ' to crossfam') ; goufiner ; graisser (also gressier) ; gratter (= ' to cabbage'); greffer (='to nip'); griffer ; grinchir ; tirer la laine (Old Fr.); lever(= lift); marner ; matriculer (military : le numéro matricule = a soldier's mess number, his sole proof of ownership) ; mettre dé la paille dans ses souliers ; mettre la pogne dessus ; taper un morne ; pagoure ; pegrer ; piger ; poisser (also poisser les phi lippes or poisser tauber ; ramastiquer ; retirer Par tic he ; rib 1er ; sauter ; savonner (also savonner une cambuse ( = 'to mill a ken'); faire la savoyarde ( = ' to claim a peter') ; secouer la perpendiculaire ( = ' to snatch a slang ' ; also secouer un chandelier = ' to rob with violence at night ') ; solicer (also sollicer) ; soulever ; travailler ( = ' to work ').

1591. Greene, Second Part Conny catching[Works, x. 78]. He bestrides the horse which he triggeth, and saddles and bridles him as orderly as if he were his own.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Markall [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896). 5. That did the prigg good that bingd in the kisome.

1611. Shakspeare, Winter's Tale, iy. 3. Clo. Out upon him ! Prig, for my life, prig : he haunts wakes, fairs, and bear-baitings.

Prig.

299 Prig

1612. Dekker, O perse O [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 11]. And prig and cloy so benshiply, All the dewseavile within.

1622. Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, v. 2. Higgen hath prigged the prancers in his days.

[ ?]. Drant, Horace, ' To Julius Florus.' A pridgeman from him pryuillie his money did purloyne.

1712. Shirley, Triumph of Wit, ' The Black Procession.' The nineteenth's a prigger of cacklers who harms, The poor country higlers, and plunders the farms.

1724. J. Harper, 'Frisky Moll's Song ' in Harlequin Jack Shefpard. From priggs that snaffle the prancers strong.

1743. Fielding, /. Wild (1893), 17. The prig . . . the vulgar name for thief. Ibid., 28. An undeniable testimony of the great antiquity of priggism. Ibid. Without honour priggery was at an end.

1749. Goadby, Bamfylde MooreCarew, ' Oath of Canting Crew.' Prig of cackler, prig of prancer.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 160. à staring, gaping, hair-brain'd prig, Came up to steal his hat and wig.

1789. Pa-rker, Life's Painter, 158. In order to give them an opportunity of working upon the prig and buz, that is, picking of pockets.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. iii. Cadgers ; . . . fish-fags ; . . . and the prigs, spending the produce of the day ; and all . . . happy and comfortable.

1827. Lytton, Pelham, lxxx. Well, you parish-bull prig, are you for lushing jackey, or pattering in the hum box ?

1828-9. H. T. R., Vidocq's Memoirs, Tr. of Un Jour a la Croix Rouge. When twelve bells chimed, the prigs returned.

1829. Maginn, The Pickpocket's Chaunt, i. As from ken to ken I was going, Doing a bit on the prigging lay.

1834. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (1889), 20. I'll give him the edication of a prig—teach him the use of his forks . . . make him ... as clever a cracksman as his father.

1838. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xviii. I suppose you don't even know what a prig is? said the Dodger mournfully. 'I think I know that,' replied Oliver, looking up. ' It's a th— ; you're one, are you not ? ' inquired Oliver, checking himself.

1840. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 'Jackdaw of RJieims.' They can't find the ring ! And the Abbot declared that, "when nobody twigg'd it, Some rascal or other had popp'd in, and pkigg'd it !"

1841. Hewlett, Peter Priggins [Title].

1850. Thackeray, Policeman X [Misc. (1899), 213]. Prigs their shirts and umbrellers, Prigs their boots and 'ats and clothes.

1851. Borrow, Lavengro, xxxi. We never calls them thieves here, but prigs and fakers.

1864. Glasgow Daily Mail, 9 May. All kinds of cheats, and thimble-riggers, and prigs.

1870. London Figaro, 19 Feb. They came and prigg'd my stockings, my linen, and my store ; But they couldn't prig my sermons, for they were prigg'd before.

1891. Clark Russell, Ocean Tragedy, 87. She prigged the furniture.

2. (old colloquial).—A superior person, i.e., a person esteeming himself superior ; in dress, morals, social standing, anything ; and behaving as such. [The connotation is one of deliberate and aggressive superiority : you must get that, or you get no prig : see quot. 1836.] Also a bore. Whence prigdom, priggery, priggishness, and priggism.— B. E. (r.1696); Dyche (1748); Grose (1785).

1676. Etherige, Man of Mode, iii. 3. What spruce prig is that ?

1686. Dorset, Faithful Catalogue. Her Court (the Gods be prais'd) has long been free From Irish Priggs, and such dull Sots as he.

1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia, i. Thou shalt shine, and be as gay as any spruce prigg that ever walked the street. Ibid. If you meet either your father, or brother, or any from those prigsters, stick up thy countenance.

1695. Congreve. Love for Love, v. What does the old prig mean? I'll banter him, and laugh at him.

c.1697. Tom Brown, Satire on the French King [Works (1715), i. 66. Thou that hast look'd so fierce, and talk'd so

Prig.

300

Prig.

big, In thy old Age to dwindle^ to a Whigg, By Heaven, I see thou'rt in thy Heart a Prigg.

1702. Steele, Funeral, iv. Trim sounds so very short and priggish—that my name should be a monosyllable ! Ibid. Tatler, No. 77. A cane is part of the dress of a prig.

1714. Spectator, No. 556. His companion gave him a pull by the sleeve, begging him to come away, for that the old prig would talk him to death.

1749. Robertson of Struan, Poems, 83. T'other unperforming puny Prig Could only with his Page retire and f-.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 265. He is a young barrister, with more of the prig than the lawyer about him.

1752. Adventurer, No. 12. He placed more confidence in them, than he would in a formal prig, of whom he knew nothing but that he went every morning and evening to prayers.

1752. Foote, Taste, ii. How I adore the simplicity of the antients ! How unlike the present priggish, prick-eared puppets !

1836. Dickens, Sketches, 23. Little spare priggish men, who are perfectly satisfied wilh their own opinions, and consider themselves of paramount importance.

1849. Thackeray, Dr. Birch (The Doctor). A more supercilious little prig ... a more empty, pompous little coxcomb I never saw.

1851. Borrow, Laveng-ro, lxvii. The subjects being, if I remember right, college education, priggism, church authority, tomfoolery, and the like.

1857. Trollope, Three Clerks, xlvii. I think I'll take out that about official priggism—hadn't I better?

1857. Hughes, Tom Brown, i. 2. Your great Mechanic's Institutes end in intellectual priggism.

1861. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, lv. Lord Hainault, who was accused by some people of priggishness, was certainly not pRKiGiSH before Lord Saltire. He was genial and hearty.

1884. Stevenson [Eng. Illustr. Mag:, Feb., 303]. One is even stirred to a certain impatience with a character so destitute of spontaneity, so passionless in justice, and so priggishly obedient to the voice of reason.

1871. Geo. Eliot, Middlemarch, xi. A prig is a fellow who is always making you a present of his opinions.

1882. Emerson, Clubs. One of those conceited prigs who value nature only as it feeds and exhibits them.

1884. Oxenham, Short Studies, 150. There is a deficiency, a littleness, a priggishness, a set of vulgarity.

1885. Notes cV Queries, 7 S. it. 438. All but the . . . very priggish admit that the folk-lore of the people can teach us several things . . . not to be learned in any other manner.

1892. McCarthy and CampbellPraed, Ladies' Gallery, 53. Fancy a fellow studying Homer when he was camping out in the bush ! Not that he is a prig. It slipped out quite naturally when we were talking.

1893. Saturday Review, 10 Dec., 769, 2. Courteous even at the risk of being branded as priggish.

3. (Old Cant).—A tinker.

1567. Harman, Caveat (1876),' 59. These droncken Tynckers, called also Prygges.

Verb. I. See subs. 1.

2. (old).—To ride.—Harman (1573); Dekker (1608) ; Rowlands (1610) ; Head (1665) ; B. E. (c.1696); Coles (1724); Grose (17.85).

3. (venery).—To copulate : see verb., sense 2, and Ride.—B. E. (r. 1696) ; Grose (1785). Whence, as subs. = a fornicator. — Bee (1823).

1707. Shirley, Triumph of Wit, ' Maunder's Praise of Strowling Most.' Wapping thou I know does love . . . then remove, Thy drawers, and let's prig in sport.

4. (Scots'). —To haggle ; to cheapen. Hence prigger and prigging.

1512-3. Douglas, Virgil, Prol. 238, b. 55. Sum treitcheoure crynis the cunye, and kepis corne stakkis ; Sum prig penny, sum pyke thank with preny promit.

Prig-star.

301

Prime.

1623. Webster, Dei'tTs Law-Case, i. 2. The wafer-woman that prigs abroad With musk-melons and malakatoones.

1765. Rutherford, Letters, 11, 11. The frank buyer—cometh near to what the seller seeketh, useth at last to refer the difference to his will, and so cutteth off the course of mutual prigging.

d. 1796. Burns, Briggs of Ayr, New Brig. Men wha grew wise priggin' owre hops an' raisins.

1800. Ramsay, Poems, i. 439. In comes a customer, looks big, Looks generous, and scorns to prig.

1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, xxiv. Took the pains to prigg for her himself.

Prig-star, subs. phr. (old).—1. See Trig, subs. 1.

2. (old).—' A rival in love.'— B. E. (r.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1725. New Canting Dictionary, 'When my Dimber Dell I Courted,' ii. Her glaziers too are quite benighted Nor can any prig-star charm.

Prim, subs. (old).—1. A wanton : see Tart.

1509. Barclay, Ship of Fooles [Jamieson (1874), i. 250]. [Kington Oliphant (i. 379) : ' The French had a phrase c/ieveux primes, delicate hair ; a pryme means a paramour : our adjective prim has now a very different sense ; but we still talk of a prime cut.']

c.1520. Mayd Emlyn [Hazlitt, Pop. Poet, iv. 84]. The yonge lusty prymme She coude byte and whyne . . . And with a prety gynne Gyue her husbande an home.

1548. Barclay, Fyfte Eclog. [Nares]. Aboute all London there was no propre prym, But long tyme had ben famylyer with hym.

2. (old).—' A very neat or affected person.'—B. E. ((-.1696).

Prime, adj. (venery).—Sexually excited ; proud (q.v. Pride).— Grose (1785).

1602. Shakspeare, Othello, iii. 3. Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, as salt as wolves in pride.

2. (colloquial).—(1) Eager; more than ready. Whence (2) = of the first quality (esp. butchers' : as in prime joints, prime American, &c.) ; bang-up [q.v.).— Grose (1785). Hence, verb. — to fortify, to invigorate, to inspire, bring to the height of a situation : with liquor, information, counsel.

1637. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, 1. ii. Rob. Had you good sport i' your chase to-day ? John. O prime !

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. . . . Any person who is found an easy dupe to the designs of the family is said to be a prime flat.

1815. Moore, Tom Crib to Big Ben [Works (1854), 401]. Having conquered the prime one that milled us all round. Ibid. (1819), Tom Crib's Memorial . . . What madness could impel So rum a Flat to face so prime a Swell. Ibid. (183 ['?]), Grand Dinner, âr'c. [Works (1854), 575]. Joints of poetry—all of the prime.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. ii. Tom and Jerry have just dropped in, . . . quite prime for a lark.

1823. Hints Jor Oxford, 73. They [young Oxonians] for a determination when they sit down to table to have a row as soon as they are primed, and often before they rise they commence the work of destruction on glasses and plates and decanters.

1823. Byron, Don Juan, xi. 19. So prime, so swell, so nutty, and so knowing.

1827. Lytton, Pelham, lxxxiii. You are going to stall off the Daw's baby in

prime twig.

1836. _ Dickens, Pickwick, xxx. Capital ! said Mr. Benjamin Allen. Prime ! ejaculated Mr. Bob Sawyer.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ii. 8. Your thorough French Courtier . . . thinks it's prime fun to astonish a citizen.

1854. Whyte Melville, General Bounce, viii. Primed with such sage counsel, his lordship determined to lose no time in "opening the trenches." Ibid., xii. A fat little man, primed with port.

c.1886. Music Hall Song, 'They're all very Fine and Large.' They're all very fine and large, they're all very fresh and prime.

Prime-cock-boy. 302

Prink.

1887. Henley, Culture in Slums. Was it not prime—I leave you all to guess How prime ! to have a jude in love's distress Come spooning round.

1899. Whiteing, John St., ix. It's prime, jest when you are goin' off, and jest when you're coming to.

Prime-cock-boy. See Princock.

Primitive, adj. (colloquial).—Unmixed : as spirits with water ; neat (q.v.).

Primo, subs, (fiiendly societies').— The chairman or master of a lodge of Buffaloes."

Prinado, subs. (old).—A sharper.

1631. Clitus's Whimzies, 12. His nipps, ints, bungs, and prinados, of whom he holds in fee, ofttimes prevent the lawyer by diving too deep into his client's pocket.

i6[?]. Honest Ghost, 231. Pimps, nips, and ints, prinados, &c.

Princock (princox, primcock, or princycock), subs. (old).—1. A pert youth.—Also as ad;. = saucy ; conceited. — B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785). Primecock-boy also = (Florio), ' a freshman, a novice, a milkesop, a boy new come into the world.'

'573New Cust. [Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), i. 264]. Yes, prinkockes, that I have ; for fortie yeares agoe, I could smatter in a Duns—Better I am sure then an hundred of you.

1592. Nashe, Pierce Pennilesse (Shaks. Soc), 52. You shall heare a caualier of the first feather, a princockes that was but a page the other day in the court, and is now all to be frenchified in his souldiours sute.

1592. Greene, Quip Jor Up. Courtier, B. 4. I will teach thee a lesson worth the hearing, proud princocks, how gentility first sprung up.

1594. Lyly, Mother Bombte, i. 3. I have almost these two yeares cast in my head, how I might match my princocks with Stellio's daughter.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, i. 5. You are a saucy boy . . . You are a princox, go.

1595. Tylney, Locrine, ii. 4. " Naught reek I of thy threats, thou princox boy."

1596. Gosson, Quippes for Up. Gentlewomen [Hazlitt, Pop. Poet, ir. 250]. And when proud princoks, rascals bratte, In fashion will be princes mate.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Pinchino. A pillicock, a primcock, a prick, a prettie lad, a gull, a noddie.

1611. Coryat, Crudities, ii. 255 [Reprint], To teach many proud, princocke scholars, that are puffed up with the opinion of their learning, to pull downe the high sailes of their lofty spirits.

1611. Chapman, May-Day, i. 1. I have love to employ thee in as well as the proudest young princock.

1615. Daniel, Hymen's Triumph, 313. Ah, sirrah, have I found you? are you heere, You princock boy ?

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.— [Dunbar.] Also the penis: see Prick.

Princod, subs. (old). — i. 'A round, plump man or woman.'— Grose (1785).

2. (old). — A pincushion.— Grose (1785).

Prink (or princk), verb. (old).— To dress for show ; to adorn fantastically ; to ' put on airs ' : see quot. c. 1696.—Grose (17S5). Hence princums = high-sniffing niceties, and fads, scruples ; Mrs. Princum Prancum (B. E. and Grose) ' a nice, precise, formal madam ' ; prinker = a jetter (q.V.).

[ ?]. Lansdowne MS., 1033. To be prinkt up, to be drest up fine or finical like children or vain women.

1576. Gascoigne, Philomene [Chalmers, ii. . . .]. Enflamede hir haughtie harte To get more grace by crummes of cost, And princke it out hir parte.

1614. ToMKis, Albumazar, ii. 5. " Just .rEsop's crow, prink'd up in borrow'd feathers."

Print.

303

Privy.

1690. Durfey, Collins Walk, i. My behaviour may not yoke With the nice princums of that folk.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Prinking . . . Prinkt-up, set up on the Cupboards-head in their best Cloaths, or in State, Stiff-starched. Mistress Princum-Prancum, such a one.

*751Jane Collier, Art of Tormenting [Ency. Diet.]. "She was every day longer prinking in the glass than you was. "

1820. Scott, Monastery, xxiv. Ay, prune thy feathers, and prink thyself gay.

Print. In print, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Exactly in order. Out of print — disordered ; tumbled. Quite in print = formal and precise : see Talk. — Grose (1785).

1621. Burton, Anat. Melan., 539. He must speak in print, walk in print, eat and drink in print.

1625. Jonson, Staple of News, 1. 1. P. fun. Fits my ruff well? Lin. In

print.

1851. Notes and Queries, 1 S. iv. 12. Take care, Sir, you'll put your hair OUT

of print.

Printer's-devil. See Devil, subs., sense 2.

Printed-character, subs. phr. (common). — A pawn-ticket ; a

mortgage-deed ((J.V.).

Prioress. See Better Horse.

priscian's-head. To break Priscian's-head, verb. phr. (literary).—To use bad grammar. [Lat. diminuère Prisciani caput. Priscian a famous grammarian of the 5th century.]—Grose (1785).

1527-37. Ellis, Orig. Letters . . . [The well-known Father Forrest being ungrammatical is said to] breke Master

precyens hede.

1664. Butler, Hudibras, 11. ii. 219. And hold no sin so deeply red As that of breaking Priscian's head.

1728. Pope, Dunciad, iii. 161. Some, free from rhyme or reason, rule or check, Break Priscian's head, and Pegasus's neck.

1819. Byron [Life, 'To Moore']. Also if there be any further breaking of Priscian's head, will you supply the plaster.

Prittle-prattle. See Prating

cheat.

Privates, subs, (conventional).— The organs of generation, male or female. Also privity (of women), privities, and privy member. Analogous terms (venery) are Private property = (1) penis, and (2) the female pudendum ; privy-hole (-council or -paradise, or privy) = the female pudendum.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Capocchio. A woman's privitie.

1620. Percy, Folio MS., ' Fryarand Boye.' The thornes this while were rough and thicke, and did his privy members pricke.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie [Works (17. .), 21]. When on Grounsel He firkt her Mother's Privy-counsel.

To private stitch, verb.phr. (tailors').—To conceal the thread in stitching.

Private-business, subs. phr. (Eton).—Extra work done with a tutor.

Privy, subs, (colloquial).—An outdoor cesspool.

1647. Fletcher, Noble Gent., v. 1. Lay all night for fear of puirsuivants In Burgundy privy-house.

1662. Rump Songs, i. 104. I hid myself i' the Privy.

1746. T. Warton, Prog, of Discontent. This awkward hut, o'ergrown with ivy, We'll alter to a modern privy.

See Private.

Prize-packet. 304

Prog.

Prize-packet, subs. phr. (theatrical).— i. A novice who pays to go on the boards.

1899. Globe, 27 July, 7, 1. Another man spent a happy holiday as a strolling player, having got an engagement through an agent in a small company as a prize packet.

Pro, subs, (theatrical).—1. An actor: i.e., one who belongs to ' The Profession ' = acting. Hence, pro's-Bible = The Era newspaper; pro's-Testament = The Sunday Times.

c.1860. Music Hall Sotte-, 'Oh She was such a Beautiful Girl.' Oh, why did she bolt with another pro.

1880. Sims, Ballads of Babylon, ' Forgotten.' And the quiet pro.'s pass onward To the stage-door up the court.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Potties' from tlie Pink 'Un (' The Merry Stumer'), 8. It was told me by Tinribs, a Fleet-street pro.

1893. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 38. All our pros, felt their nose out of joint when this Comerdee Frongsay lot came.

2. (University).—A pro-proctor : a second in command in the proctorial police.

1823. Hints for Oxford, 10. They [Freshmen] cap the Pro.'s too in the street. . . .

1869. Bradwood, O. V.H., x. The proctor (more strictly a pro.) backed out of the room with wholesale apologies.

Proboscis, subs, (common).—The nose : see Conk.

1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. Atford again became the aggressor, and landing very heavily on the proboscis again drew copious supplies of claret.

Procession (or Procesh), subs. (colloquial).—1. A matter of following. Hence, to go on

with the procession = to maintain continuity ; to stand at the head of the procession — to lead.

1883. Graphic, 24 March, 303, 1. The [boat] race can hardly be spoken of as a procession, which is a title only applicable to an ignominious defeat.

1891. Daily Chronicle, 23 Mar. The feeling seemed to be general that nothing better than a procession could be looked for.

1899. Daily Telegraph, 7 Ap., 8, 2. " A reg'lar procession o' the proprieties ! " said Perce.

2. (circus).—A street parade.

Proclamation. To have one's head full of proclamations, verb. phr. (old).—' To be much taken up to little purpose.'—B. E. (f.1696) ; Ray (1760)

Proctour, subs. (old).—(1) See quot. Also (2, Halliwell) = one who collected alms for lepers, or other incapables. Also (Kennett) beggars of any kind.

1560-1. Awdeley, Fraternitye of Vacabondes, 'XXV. Orders of Knaues,' 12. Proctour is he, that will tary long, and bring a lye, when his Maister sendeth him on his errand. This is a stibber gibber knaue, that doth fayne tales.

Prodigious, adj. and adv. (colloquial). — Very ; exceedingly ; immensely : cf. awful.

</.i744. Pope [quoted by Todd]. I am prodigiously pleased by this joint volume.

Profession (The). See Pro.

Prog, subs, (common).—Food.— B. E. (r.1696) ; Dyche (1748) ' a cant word for provisions, goods, or money laid up in store' ; Johnson (1755) ' a low word ' ; Grose (1785). Also as verb. = to beg ; prog-basket — a beggar's wallet ; prog-shop = an eatinghouse : see Grub.

1440. Prompt. Parv., 4^14. Prokkyn or styfly askyn, procor, procito.

1622. Fletcher, Spanish Curate, iii. 3. That man in the gown, in my opinion, Looks like a proguing rogue.

Progger. 305

Proof.

1655. Fuller, Ch. Hist., v. 290. The Abbot also every Saturday was to visit their beds, to see if they had not shuffled in some softer matter or purloyned some progge for themselves. Ibid. Pandulf, an Italian and Pope's legate, a perfect artist in progging for money.

1688. Shadwell, Sç. of Alsatia, ii. So, here's the prog, here's the dinner coming up.

1730. Swift, Directions to Servants, ii. You can junket together at nights upon your own prog, when the rest of the house are a-bed.

1795. Cumberland, Jew, ii. 2. Jabal. I have not had a belly-full since i belong'd to you. You take care there shall be no fire in the kitchen, master provides no prog upon the shelf, so between you both I have plenty of nothing but cold and hunger.

1818. Moore, Fudge Family [Works (1854), 406]. There's nothing beats feeding, And this is the place for it, Dicky, you dog, Of all places on earth—the headquarters of prog.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (1862), 191. Och ! the Count Von Strogonoff, sure he got prog enough.

1845. Disraeli, Sybil, in. vii. Ayn't you lucky, boys, to have reg'lar work like this, and the best of prog !

1871. Morning Advertiser, 11 Sep. So we'll cut down their full rations, and knock off all their grog, Whilst I feast at home with sleek lord mayors on aldermanic prog.

1893. MlLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 18. See old mivvies with prog-baskets prowling about. Ibid., 27. Lots o' prime prog in the bag.

Verb, (printers').—To prognosticate.

See Prog, subs.

Progger (or Proggins), subs. (University).—A proctor: whence to be progged = to be proctorised ; and progging = a proctorial discipline.

Prognostic, subs, (literary).—An artistic feeder. [Prog [q.v.) + Gr. gnosis.]

Project, verb. (American).—To play tricks; to monkey (q.v.).

1847. Chronicles of Pineville, 181. I'll blow 'em all to everlastin' thunderation, if they come a projectin' about me.

Prom, subs, (common).—A promenade concert : cf. Pop.

1902. Free Lance, 4 Jan., 358, 1. Musically speaking, there is never one of the programmes at the Proms, that is unworthy of the attendance of the most cultured music lover.

Promoter, subs. (old).—See quot. 1509, and Putter-on.

1509. Barclay [Jamieson (1874), ii. 50], Ship of Fools. [Oliphant, New English, i. 378. There is the word promoter used for a lawyer ; fifty years later it was degraded to mean an informer. ]

1563. Foxe, Acts and Monuments [Cattley]. [Oliphant, New English, i. 550. Barclay had used promoter for a lawyer ; Foxe constantly uses the word to signify an informer, and this last word is also employed.]

1608. Yorkshire Tragedy, i. 2. My second son must be a promoter ; and my third a thief.

2. (colloquial).—A fool-catcher.

Promoss, verb. (Australian).—To talk rubbish ; to play the fool ;

to gammon (q.V.).

Promotion. On promotion, adv. (common).—i. On approval ; (2) unmarried.

1848. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, xliv. ' You want to smoke those filthy cigars,' replied Mrs. Rawdon. 'I remember when you liked 'em, though,' answered the husband . . . ' That was when I was on my promotion, Goosey,' she said.

Prompter, subs. (Merchant Taylors' School).—One of the second form.

Proof, subs. (University).—The best ale at Magdalen, Oxford.

Prop. 306 Proper.

Prop (or property), subs, (theatrical).— i. Generally in : e.g., manager's-props = stuff for stage use ; actors-props = acting material provided by himself. Fr. accessoires.

ci5!?). Tarn. S/ir. [Old Play, Act i., p. 164]. My lord, we must Have a shoulder of mutton, for a propertie.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, iv. 4. Go get us properties and trickings tor our fairies.

1845. Punch, ix. 60. " Well covered in With a lot of property snow."

1871. Standard, 8 Sep., 'The Campaign.' Officers are buying the properties necessary^-—camp beds, canteens, and pocket-flasks are at a premium.

1883. Referee, 6 May, 3, 2. The Theatre Royal scenery and props were sold by auction.

1893. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 78. Names and metres is any one's props ; but one thing they don't 'ave the 'ang.

2. (thieves').—A breast-pin: whence prop-nailer (see quot. 1856).

185 t?]. Dickens, Reprinted Pieces (Three 'Detective' Anecdotes, The Artful Touch). In his shirt-front there's a beautiful diamond prop.

1856. Mayhew, Gt. World of London, 46. Those who plunder by stealth, as . . . prop-nailers, who steal pins or brooches.

1863. Story of a Lancashire Thief, 8. Lucky Middlesex's best was, of how he had nailed a diamond prop only the week before.

1879. Horsley, Auto, of Thief [Macmillan's Mag-., xl. 506]. Pipe his spark prop.

1888. Sims, Plank Bed Ballad [Referee, 12 Feb., 3]. A spark prop a pal . . . and I Had touched.

1891. Sporting Times, 11 Ap. But he is proudest of all of the pin, set with diamonds and rubies, presented to him by the Heir to the Throne . . . John was wearing this prop in the Paddock at Epsom.

3. (pugilistic).—A straight hit : see Wipe.

1887. Lie. Vict. Gazette, 2 Dec, 358/3. Ned met each rush of his enemy with Straight rROPS.

4. (Punch and Judy). — The gallows.

5. (common).—In-the legs.

1891. Sportsman, 20 Ap. There are those amongst his detractors who assert that with such props he will never successfully negociate the Epsom gradients.

6. (common).—In //. = crutches.—Grose (1785).

7. (theatrical).—See quot : also propster.

1889. New York Tribune, 14 July. The property-man, or, as he is always called, props for short.

8. (common). — In pi. = the arms.

1869. Temple Bar, xxvi. 74. Take off your coat and put up your props to him.

Verb, (pugilists').—To hit; to knock down. Hence, to put the prop on = to seize an adversary's arm, and so prevent him from hitting.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., ôr'c., m. 397. If we met an old bloke (man) we propped him.

1853. Bradley, Verdant Green. His whole person put in Chancery, slung, bruised, fibbed, propped, fiddled, slogged, and otherwise ill-treated.

1887. Lie. Vict. Gazette, 2 Dec, 358/3. Ned . . . stopped Smith's blows neatly, and propped his man right and left as he came in.

1892. National Observer, 27 Feb., p. 378. Give me a snug little set-to down in Whitechapel : Nobody there that can trop you in the eye !

TO kick away the prop, verb. phr. (old).—To be hanged : see Ladder.

P.P. See Flay or Pay.

Proper, adj. and adv. (old colloquial).—An ironical inversion or perversion of a popular epithet of commendation and approval.

Property. 307 Protection.

1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado, iv. i. Talk with a man out at a window ! A proper saying !

1664. Pepys, Diary, 34 June. I was properly confounded. Ibid., 14 July. All . . . was most properly false, and nothing like it true.

1843-4. Haliburton, Attache, xxvi. Father . . . gave me a wipe . . . that knocked me over and hurt me properly.

TO make oneself proper,

verb. phr. (colloquial). — To adorn ; to tittivate (q.v.).

Property. To make property of one, verb. phr. (old).—To use as a convenience, tool, or cat's-paw.—Grose (1785) ; Bee (1823).

1596. Shakspeare, K. John, v. 2, 79. I am too high-born to be propertied.

Prophet, subs. (Fleet St.).—A sporting tipster.

Propster and Prop-nailer. See

Prop.

Pros, subs. (Cambridge). — A W.C. : hence the old undergrad wheeze :—When is pote put for pros ? When the nights are dark and dreary, When our legs are weak and weary, When the quad we have to cross, Then is pote put for pros.

Adv. (streets').—See quot.

1887. Walford's Antiquarian, April, 250. Pros means proper. Nothing but the word prosperous offers in explanation.

Prose, subs. (Winchester). — A lecture : also as verb.

Prosit, intj. (academical). — A salutation in drinking : ' Your health ! ' [ Ut tibi prosit meri potio.] Fr. Ut!

Pross, subs, (streets'). — 1. A prostitute : see Tart : also prossy.

2. (theatrical).—A cadged drink : also as verb, (or adv., on the pross) = (1) to spunge, and (2) to instruct or break in a stage-struck youth ; prosser = (1) a cadger of drinks, dinners, and small monies (but see quot. 1851), and (2) a ponce (q.v.). Prosser's Avenue = the Gaiety bar.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., iii. 145. The regular salary [of strolling player] doesn't come to more than a pound a-week, but then you make something out of those who come up on the parade, for one will chuck you 6d., some is. and 2s. 6d. We call those parties prosses.

c.1876. Song, ' I Can't Get at it.' I've prossed my meals from off my pals, ofttimes I've badly fared.

1883. Referee, 18 Nov., 3, 4. For he don't haunt the Gaiety Bar, dear boys, A-standing (or prossing for) drinks.

1885. Saturday Review, 15 Aug., 218. Accept his decision and neither thunder against him in Prosser's Avenue (as it is called), nor encourage young journalists to state your views upon him in print.

1886. Cornhill Mag., Nov., 559. Gradually, he became what is known as a prosser—a loafer, a beggar of small loans, a respectful attendant outside the circle of other men's merriment, into which for charity's sake he was sometimes invited.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. He started walking about clamming, getting a few middays as from one and another, fairly on the pross and glad to put up with a quatro soldi kip, like the rest of us.

Protected-man, subs. phr. (old naval). — A merchant seaman unfit for the Royal Service and therefore free of the press-gang.

Protection. Under protection, phr. (conventional).—In keeping (q.v.); living tally (q.v.); dabbed-up (q.v.).

Proud.

308 Prunes.

Proud,*!^". (common).—1. Pleased; gratified. Hence. to do one proud = to flatter ; to honour ; to do oneself proud = to be pleased.

1836. Clark, OUapodia.no. Papers. With my brain reeling with fancies of wine and women, I really thought, for the moment, that 'she did me proud."

1S3S. Selby, Jacques Strop, L 2. Plön. Certainly ! how can we refuse ? especially as he is so pressing. Ber. You do me proud.

1887. Sidney Luska, Land of Lowe [Lippincotf's Mag., 241]. Ah? So? The frank confession does you proud.

1892. Chevalier, 'The Little Nipper.' And 'e's a little champion, Do me proud, well, 'e's a knock out !

1000. Kipling, Stalky Co., 4. ' Beetle, give me the hammer.' ' All right. I'm not proud. Chuck us down that net on top of the lockers, Stalky.'

2. See Pride.

Prov. On the prov, phr. (workmen's).—Out of work and on the Provident Fund of a trade society.

Provender, subs. (Old Cant).— ' He from whom money is taken on the highway: perhaps providor. or provider.' — Grose (1785).

Provost, subs, (military). — A garrison or other cell for prisoners whose sentences are for a week or less.

Prow, subs, (old naval).—A bumpkin : see Buffle.

Prowl, subs, and verb. (old).—(1) (Hugh Prowler) = a thief or highwayman ; (2) prowling (or prowlery) = robbery ; (3) to womanize ; to grouse (q.v.) ; to go after meat (q.v.), B. E. (c. 1696) ; (4, theatrical) = to wait for the ghost (q.v.) to walk.

1557. TUSSER, Husbandry, xxxiii. 25. For fear of Hugh Prowler get home with the rest

-635Quarles, Emblems, iL 2. We pry, we prowl ... we prog from pole to pole.

1692. Hacket, Life of Williams, 1. 51. Thirty-seven monopolies, with other shocking prowleries.

1885. Daily Telegraph, 4 Sep. There are so many young prowlers on the lookout that they'd precious soon empty a bin.

Prox, subs. (American).—A proxy: specifically a ticket or list of candidates at elections, presented to voters for their votes.

Pruff, verb. (Winchester School). —Sturdy ; ' proof against pain.

1881. Pascoe, Public Schools. Deprive a Wykehamist of words . . . such as quill . . . pruff . . . spree . . . cad . . . And his vocabulary becomes limited.

Prugge, subs. (old).—' A partner or doxy.' — Nares (1822); Halliwell (1847).

1631. Clitus's Cater-Char., 32. If his prugge aspire to so much stock, or so great trust, as to brew to sell, he will be sure to drinke up all the gaines.

Prunella, subs. (old).—A clergyman : see Skypilot. Also Mr. Prunella. — Grose (1785). [Clerical gowns were largely made of this material.]

183S. Jerrold, Men of Character (John Applejohn), viiL The finest lawn [bishop] makes common cause with any linen bands—the silken apron shrinks not from poor prunella.

Prunes. See Stewed prunes.

To have prunes in the voice, verb. phr. (American).— To speak huskily ; from emotion.

1888. Sl Louis Globe-Democrat. There seemed to be prunes in my voice, and it seemed strange to me.

Prussian-blue. 309

Pucker.

Prussian-blue, subs. phr. (obsolete).—See quot. 1868.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick, xxxiii. ' Veil, Sammy,' said the father. ' Veil, my Prooshan Blue,' responded the son.

1865. Brewer, Phrase &» Table, s.v. Prooshan Blue (My). A term of great endearment. After . . . Waterloo the Prussians were immensely popular, and in connection with the Loyal True Blue Club gave rise to the toasts, " The True Blue" and the " Prussian Blue."

Pry, subs, (old : now recognised as verb.).—A busybody ; a ' peeping Tom': now Paul Pry (q.v.) : from Poole's farce.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

Prygge. See Prig.

Psalm-sm it er, subs. phr. (common).—A ranting dissenter.

Pub (or Public), subs, (colloquial). —A tavern ; in the public line = engaged as a licensed victualler.

1816. Scott, Old Mortality, xii. This woman keeps an inn, then ? interrupted Morton. A public, in a prim way, replied Blane.

1840. Lytton, Paul Clifford, xxii. Ascertaining the topography of the public at which he spake.

1866. Eliot, Felix Holt, xxviii. The Cross-Keys was a very old-fashioned

public.

c. 1871. Siliad, 16. All the great houses and the minor pubs. Ibid. Peelers . . . watch publics with a jealous eye.

1883. Payn, Thicker than Water, xxxv. One doesn't expect to see . . . the inevitable hanger-on of pubs outside, waiting for a job.

1884. Good Words, June, 400, 1. He had done twelve months for crippling the chucker-out of one of these pubs.

1885. D. Telegraph, 31 Oct. The difficulty will be to persuade him to come out of the domestic paradise into a world without pubs.

1886-87. Marshall, ' Ponies ' [It's a Sad Heart that never Rejoices '], 76. The bloke at the tub.

1887. Henley,Villon's Good-Night,

i. You sponges miking round the pubs.

1893. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 3. No pub but a sand-parloured shanty.

1899. Whiteing, John St., vii. Waiting for the opening of the pubs.

Public-buildings. Inspector

of public buildings, Subs. phr.

(common).—(1) An idler : from choice or necessity : a loafer or a man seeking work.

Public-ledger, subs. phr. (common).—A prostitute : see Tart. [' Because (Grose), like that paper, open to all parties.']

Public-man, subs. phr. (old).—A bankrupt.—grose (1785).

Pub Lie-patter er, subs, /^.(obsolete).—See quot.

1866. Hotten, Slang Diet., s.v. Public patterers, swell mobsmen who pretend to be Dissenting preachers, and harangue in the open air to attract a crowd for their confederates to rob.

puck, subs. (old).—The devil : see Skipper.

1362. Langland, Piers Plowman, xix. 282. Fro the poukes poundfalde no maynprise may ous fecche.

Pucker, verb, (showmen's).—See quot.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., i. 269. The trio at this stage of the performances began puckering (talking privately) to each other in murdered French, dashed with a little Irish.

In a pucker, phr. (colloquial). — Anxious ; agitated ; angry ; confused : cf. Pudder.—Dyche (1748) ; Grose (1785). Whence to pucker up = to get angry.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle,

ii. The whole parish was in a pucker : some thought the French had landed.

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, 1. vii. Miriam [was] in a plaguy pucker.

Pucker-wa ter. 310

Pudding.

1888. Howells, Annie Kilburn, xxix. He was in such a pucker about her.

1883. Payn, Thicker than Water, xiii. Mary's letters, therefore, were among the few things that did not agitate Mrs. Sotheran, or, to use her own homely phrase, put her into a pucker—a moderately cold perspiration.

Pucker-water, subs, phr. (old).— An astringent : used to counterfeit virginity.— Grose (1785).

Puck-fist (or Puck-foist), sties, phr. (old).—A braggart. [Nares : equivalent to ' vile fungus,' ' scum of the earth.']

1601. Jonson, Poetaster, iv. 4. Valiant ? so is mine arse. Gods and fiends ! ... he dares not fight with a puck-fist. Ibid. (1630), New Inn. Oh, they are pinching puck-fists.

1607. Dekker, Northward Hoe, i. 2. Do you laugh, you unseasonable puckfist?

1608. MlDDLETON, Epigrams [Halliwell]. Old father puckfist knits his arteries, First strikes, then rails on Riot's villanies. Ibid. (1657), More Dissemb. than Women, iv. 3. What pride Of pampered blood has mounted up this puck-foist ?

1610. Fletcher, Cust. of Country, i. 2. But that this puck-fist, This universal rutter.

1630. Taylor, Works [Nares]. These puckfoyst cockbrain'd coxcombs, shallow pated, Are things that by their taylors are created.

1633. Ford, Love's Sacrifice, ii. 1. Sanazar a goose, Ariosto a puck-fist to me.

pud (or Pudsey), subs, (colloquial). —A hand ; a fist.

1823. Lamb, Distant Correspondents. Those little short . . . puds.

Verb, (colloquial).—To greet affectionately or familiarly.

Pudder, subs, (old colloquial).— Confusion ; bother : cf. pucker. Also as verb. = to bustle ; to search ; to dabble ; to potter (q.v.).

[ ? ]. Hart. MS., 388 [Halliwell]. My Lorde Willoughbie's counsell, though to little purpose, made a great deale of pudder.

1605. Sylvester, Du Bartas, i. 5. Some almost always pudder in the mud Of sleepy pools.

1609. Beaumont and Fletcher, Scornful Lady, ii. 2. Some fellows would have cried out now . . . and kept a pudder.

1642. Milton, Apol. for S meet [Works (1806), i. 211]. Able enough to lay the dust and pudder in antiquity, which he and his, out of stratagem, are wont to raise.

1663. Dryden, Wild Gallant, i. You need not keep such a pudder about eating his words.

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie, 19. Then, then indeed began the pudder.

c. 1670. Locke, Understanding, 13. Contrary observations that . . . perplex and pudder him if he compares them.

1674. Fairfax, Bulk and Selvedge [Halliwell]. So long as he who has but a teeming brain may have leave to lay his eggs in his own nest, which is built beyond the reach of every man's puddering-pole.

d. 1731. Ward, Simple Cobbler, 2. Such as are least able are most busie to pudder in the rubbish, and to raise dust.

1759. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, 11. ii. What a pudder and racket !

1840. Judd, Margaret, i. 16. Parkins's Pints has been making a great pudder over to England.

Pudding, subs. (thieves').—1. Drugged liver : used by burglars to silence house-dogs.

1877. Horsley, Jottings from Jail. When I opened a door there was a great tyke lying in front of the door, so I pulled out a piece of pudding and threw it to him, but he did not move.

2. (venery). — Coition : see Greens. Also the penis : see Prick. In the pudding club (or with a belly-ful of marrow pudding) = pregnant.

Pudding. 311

Pudding.

1682. Wit and Mirth (' From Twelve Years Old '), 18. He Rumbl'd and Jumbl'd me o'er, and o'er, Till I found be had almost wasted the store Of his pudding.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, vi. 301. Quoth he, my dear Philli, I'll give unto thee, Such pudding you never did see.

3. (old).—The guts.—Grose (1785). Hence pudding-house = the belly ; pudding-ken = a cook-shop ; pudding-snammer = a cook-shop thief ; puddingfiller (old Scots') = a glutton.

1503-8. Dunbar [Bannatyne Club], 44 st., 14. Sic pudding-fillaris, descending doun from miliaris, Within this land was nevir hard nor sene.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, ii. i. As sure as his guts are made of puddings.

1596. N a s h e, Saffron Waiden [Works, iii. 148]. What a commotion there was in his entrayles or puddinghouse, for want of food. Ibid. (1599), Lenten Stuffe [liarI. Misc., vi. 166]. He . . . thrust him downe his pudding-house at a gobbe.

1607. Rowlands, Diogenes Lanthorne, 7 (Hunterian Club's Repr., 1873). All the guttes in his puddinc-house rumble and grumble at their slender alowance.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 206. As on the ground his bum came smash His puddings jumbled with a swash.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant (3rd ed.), 446. One who steals food. A pudding snammer.

1893. Emerson, Lippo, x. I just went to one of my regular pudding-kens to sell the mungarly to some of the needies there.

4. (common).—Good luck.

Colloquialisms, mostly contemptuous are :— Puddingbellied = big-stomached ; pudding-faced = fat, round, and smooth in face ; pudding-head = a fool : whence puddingheaded (Grose) = stupid ; pudding-heart =■ a coward ;

pudding-hose = baggy breeches; pudding-sleeves = (1) large baggy sleeves as in the full dress clerical gown ; whence (2) a parson : see sky-pilot ; in pudding time (Grose) = in the nick of time, opportunely ; puddingy = fat and round ; pudding about the heels = slovenly, thick-ankled ; to ride post for a puDDiNG = toexertfor little cause ; to give the crows a pudding (Grose) = (i) to hang on a gibbet, and (2) to die : see Hop the Twig. Also proverbs and sayings :—' The proof of the pudding is in the eating' ; ' Hungry dogs will eat dirty puddings'; 'Cold pudding will settle your love (Grose) ' ; ' Better some of a pudding than none of a pie ' ; ' There is no deceit in a bag-PUDDiNG ' ; ' Puddings and paramours should be hastily handled' ; ' Puddings an' wort are hasty dirt' ; 'It would vex a dog to see a pudding creep' ; 'Be fair conditioned and eat bread with your pudding.'

1594. Tylney, Locrine, iii. 3. You come in pudding time, or else I had dress'd them.

1599. Shakspeare, Hen. V., ii. 1, 91. By my troth he'll yield the Crow a pudding one of these days.

1608. Withal, Diet., 3. I came in season, as they say in pudding time, tempore veni.

1614. Terence in English [Nares]. Per tempus advents, you come in pudding time, you come as well as may be.

1630. Taylor, Works [Nares]. Our land-lord did that shift prevent, Who came in pudding time, and tooke his rent.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, i. 2. Mars that still protects the stout, In pudding time came to his aid.

1707. Ward, Hud. Red., 11. ii. 25Sweethearts aft'r 'em will be crowding Like hungry Dogs to dirty Pudding.

Puddle. 312 Pudgy.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, ii. Sir John, . . . will you do as we do? You are come in Pudden-Time. Ibid.,

ii. Miss. This Almond Pudden was pure good, hut it is grown quite cold. Neverout. So much the better, Miss ; cold Pudden will settle your Love. Ibid.,

iii. Scornful Dogs will eat dirty Puddens. Ibid., ii. Madam, I'm like all Fools, I love everything that is good ; but the Proof of the Pudden is in the Eating. Ibid., Baucis and Philemon. About each arm a pudding sleeve.

1720. Hearne, Diary, 8 Feb. The whiggs and the enemies of the universities . . . all go in pudding-sleeve gowns.

c. 1750. Old Song, 'Vicar of Bray-.' When George in pudding time came o'er, &c.

1749 Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 344. The proof of the pudding is in the eating ; so I will . . . give you a specimen of my talent.

1759. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, 11. ii. Such a confused, pudding-headed, muddle-headed fellow.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 140. The horns ! . . . Became this Scotchman's lawful plunder, Who just in pudding time came in.

^J777Jackman, All the Worlds a Stage, i. 2. How can you extort that d—d pudding face of yours to madness ?

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, xxvi. A purse-proud, pudding-headed, fat-gutted, lean-brained Southron.

1833. Carlyle, Cagliostro [Fraser, viii.]. Stupid, pudding-faced as he looks.

1834. Taylor, Ph. van Artevelde, 11. iii. i. Go, pudding-heart ! Take thy huge offal and white liver hence.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., m. 65. A limpness and roundness of limb which gave the form a puddingy appearance.

Puddle, subs. (old).—i. A term of contempt : also as adj. Whence puddle-poet = a gutter rhymester ; a puddle of [a man, &c] = a blundering fool.

1665. Fuller, Church Hist., 1. iii. i. It seems the puddle-poet did hope that the jingling of his rhymes would drown the sound of his false quantity.

1782. Darblay, Cecilia, vu. v. i remember, when i was quite a boy, hearing her called a limping old puddle.

1834. Carlyle [Froude, Life in London, 1. 16]. A foot which a puddle of a maid scalded three weeks ago.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Verb, (common).—To tipple : see Drinks and Screwed.

2. (old).—To muddy ; to turbidize.

1602. Shakspeare, Othello, iii. 4, 143. Hath puddled his clear spirit.

The Puddle, subs. phr. (common).— i. The Atlantic Ocean : see Big Pond, Herring-pond, and Pond ; also (2), in Cornwall, the English Channel.

1889. Half Holiday, 6 July. There seems to be no end to the chaff which the downy dandies across the puddle have to bear.

Puddle-dock. The Duchess (or Countess) of Puddledock, subs. phr. (old).—1. An imaginary dignitary. [Puddledock = an ancient pool in Thames Street, nol of the cleanest description.]

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Neverout. . . . i'll go to the Opera to-night, . . . for i promised to squire the Countess to her Box. Miss. The Countess of Puddledock, i suppose.

Pud end, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.—Urquhart (1653).

Pudsey, subs, (common).—i. A foot : see Creepers.

2. See Pod and Pud. Pudgy. See Pod.

Puff.

313

Puff

puff, subs, (old : now colloquial). —i. A sham ; an impostor ; (2) false praise : also puffing and puffery (see quots. 1732 and 1779). Whence (3) a decoy : as a critic who extols a book or a play from interested motives ; a mock-bidder, or runner-up (q.v.) of prices at auctions; or a gambler's confederate or bonnet (q.v.) : also puffer (Bailey, 1728) ; (Grose, 1785). As adj. (also puffed) = fat ; and as verb, (also puff up) = to blow, to bloat, to fill with wind, falsehood, conceit : whilst puff-worker (American) = a penny-a-liner making a speciality of theatrical paragraphs.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, v. 5. What ... a puffed man. Ibid. (1598), 2 Hen. IV., v. 3. I think a' be, but goodman Puff of Barson.

1610. Jonson, Alchemist, ii. 1. Mam. That is his fire-drake, His Lungs ... he that puffs his coals . . . Ibid. Lungs ... I will restore thee thy complexion, Puffe.

1647. Fletcher, Nice Valour, iv. 1. Why I confess at my wife's instigation once (As women love these herald's kickshaws naturally) I bought em ; but what are they, think you? Puffs.

1729. Hearne, Diary, 7 Sep. I remember Bale's book is puff'd with other lyes.

1731. St. James's Ez'g. Post, ' List of Officers attached to Gaming-houses ' . .. 4. Two Puffs, who have money given them to play with. 5. A ¹ Clerk' who is a check upon the puffs to see that they sink none of the money given them to play with. 6. A " Squib" who is a puff of a lower rank, who serves at half salary while he is learning to deal.

1732. Weekly Register, 27 May. Puff has become a cant word, signifying the applause set forth by writers ... to increase the reputation and sale of a book, and is an excellent stratagem to excite the curiosity of gentle readers.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 79. If I had a mind to puff my vices into virtues, I might call this sloth of mine a philosophical indifference. Ibid.

(1751), Peregrine Pickle, xciii. This science, which is known by the vulgar appellation of puffing, they carried to such a pitch of finesse, that an author very often wrote an abusive answer to his own performance, in order to inflame the curiosity of the town, by which it had been overlooked.

1754. The World, No. 100. I hope that none . . . will . . . suspect me of being a hired and interested puff of this work.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 157. Tho' we, by Jove, and I'm no puffer, By the comparison can't suffer.

1779. Sheridan, Critic, i. 2. Puff. I am, sir, a practitioner in panegyric, or, to speak more plainly, a professor of the art of puffing . . . 'Twas I first taught [auctioneers] to crowd their advertisements with panegyrical superlatives, each epithet rising above the other, like the bidders in their own auction rooms . . . Puffing is of various sorts ; the principal are the puff direct, the puff preliminary, the puff collateral, the puff collusive, and the puff oblique, or puff by implication.

1806. Eldon, ' Mason v. Armitage,' 13 Ves., 25, 37. Upon the suspicion that the plaintiff was a puffer, the question was put whether any puffers were present.

1833. Carlyle, Sartor, i. ii. At an epoch when puffery and quackery have reached a height unexampled in the annals of mankind.

1836. Marryat, Japhet, _ xxxiv. They were very pretty, amiable girls, and required no puffing on the part of her ladyship.

1839. Martineau, Literary Lionism [London and Westminster Review, April]. Like newspaper puffery, which is an evidence of over population.

1850. Kingsley, Alton Locke, v. They wouldn't go home from sermon to sand the sugar, and put sloe-leaves in the tea, and send out lying puffs of their vamped-up goods.

1866. London Miscellany, 5 May, 201. He said he had been in the habit of frequenting mock auctions . . . They had a barker to entice people in, and then confederates or puffers would say to the person looking at the article for sale, " Ah ! that is a fine watch (or whatever it might be) ; I should think that is worth a good deal ; if I were you I'd buy it."

Puff.

314

Pug.

1870. L. Oliphant, Piccadilly, v. 188. Is it not enough to puff your dinner-parties in the public journals at so much a ' notice.'

1872. D. Telegraph, 30 Nov. Cicero lays it down that a seller has no right to employ a puffer to raise prices. Ibid. With very few exceptions, the bona-fide private bidder has not the slightest chance in a sale-room against the puffer and the dealers.

1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, 217. We . . . often acted as puffers or bonnets, to give him a leg up.

1884. Graphic, 27 Dec, 659, 1. It is rather surprising that puffery as a fine art should have made so little progress.

1888. New York Mercury, 21 July. Every professional ... is afflicted with an unquenchable thirst for newspaper publicity, hence press paragraphers, or . . . puff-workers . . . do a thriving trade.

1893. Westminster Gaz., 20 Feb., 3, i. He is one of our finest actors, yet has never reached the prominence of his rivals, because he has been almost quixotish in avoiding the puff direct or indirect,

1899. Whiteing, John St., v. It ain't worth while to puff 'er up abaht it.

3. (tramps').—A sodomist.

4. (common).—The breath : whence to puff and blow = to gasp ; out of puff = winded ; puff-guts =a fat man ; a jellybelly (q.v.). — Grose (1785). Also (tailors') = life ; existence : e.g., ' Never in one's puff' ; the cop of one's puff = the copestone of one's life.

c. 1777. Kilmainham Minute [Ireland Sixty Years Ago, 88). You'd bring back de puff to my belows, And set me once more on my pins.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes'[' The Age of Love '], 26. He's the winner right enough ! It's the one sole snip of a lifetime—simply the cop of one's puff.

To puff the glim, verb. phr. (horse-copers').—See quot.

1891. Tit-bits, 11 Ap. Old horses are rejuvenated [by] puffing the glim, that is, filling up the hollows . . . found above all old horses' eyes, by pricking the skin and blowing air into the loose tissues underneath.

Puffer, subs, (common).—1. A locomotive ; puffing-Billy ; and (2) a small river tug or launch : also puff-puff.

1899. D. Telegraph, 29 March, 7, 1. The wonderful puff-puft [which] breathed smoke and spat fire and screamed if it saw a station or another train.

1901. Troddles, 143. Down went Wilks with a blare . . . broken by lamentation for his puff-puff.

See Puff, subs. 1.

Pug, subs. (old).—i. An endearment ; and (2) a whore.

1567. Drant, Horace, 11. iii. Call it pugges and pretye peate.

1602. Marston, Antonio and Mellida, ii. 1. Good pug, give me some capon.

1607. Dekker and Webster, West ward Hoe, ii. 2. The lob has his lass . . . the western-man his pug, the serving-man his punk . . . the puritan his sister.

1611. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Gouge.

A Souldier's pug or punke, a whthat

followes the camp.

1660. Howell, Lex. Tetra. My pretty pug, ma belle, m amie.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, 1. iii. A jolly pug, and well-mouthed wench.

1678. Dryden, Kind Keeper, Epil. 18. In all the boys their father's virtues shine, But all the female fry turn pugs, like mine.

3. (pugilists'). — A pugilist : also PUGiL (old). Hence Pug'sacre = a corner of Highgate cemetery where Tom Sayers and other pugilists lie buried.

1692. Hacket, Life of Williams, i. 37. He was no little one, but saginati corporis bellua, as Curtius says of Dioxippus the pugil.

Puggard. 315

Pull.

1858. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, 11. xii. 184. He was known by his brother pugs to be one of the gamest hands in the ring.

1882. " Thormanby," Famous Racing Men, 75. John Gully . . . retired from the Ring, and like most of his brother pugs, took a public-house.

1887. Henley, Villon's Good-Night, 2. You bleeding bonnets, pugs, and subs.

1888. Referee, 21 Oct. The sporting papers always kept the pugs in their proper place, and scarcely contemplated they would have to do lip and lackey service to them.

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 20 Mar. A posse of pugs guarded the course.

4. (domestics'). — An upper servant : hence pug's-hole the housekeeper's room.—Halliwell (1847).

5. A dog : with no reference to breed.

6. (sporting).—A fox.

1809. Edgeworth, Absentee, vii. There is a dead silence till pug is well out of cover.

1849. Kingsley, Yeast, i. Some well-known haunts of pug.

Puggard, subs. (old).—A thief : hence pugging = thievish.

1604. Shakspeare, Winter's Tale, iv. 2. The white sheet bleaching on a hedge . . . Doth set my pugging tooth an edge.

1611. MiDDLETON, Roaring Girl [Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), vi. 115]. Lifters, nips, foists, puggarus.

Puke, subs. (American). — 1. A term of contempt : cf. puker (Shrewsbury) = a good-fornothing.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, 152. Captain and all hands are a set of cowardly

PUKES.

2. (American).—An inhabitant of the State of Missouri (Century Diet.).

Verb. (old).—To vomit: still in use at Winchester.—B. E. (c.1696).

1600. Shakspeare, As You Like It, ii. 7. The infant Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

1734. Pope, Satires of Donne, iv. 153. As one of Woodwards patients, sick and sore, I puke.

1893. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 78. People puke at the shams till they think the originals ain't no great shakes.

Puling, adj. and adv. (old : now recognised). — Sickly : hence puler = a weakling. — B. E. (c. 1696).

1608. Yorkshire Tragedy, i. 1. My young mistress keeps such a puling for a lover.

röog. Man in the Moone, Sig. G. If she be pale of complexion, she will prove but a puler ; is she high coloured, an ill cognizance.

c. 1617. Fletcher and others, Knight of Malta, ii. 3. Come . . . put this puling passion out of your mind.

1820. Lamb, New Year's Eve [Gibbings, Works, iii. 181]. Where be those puling fears of death ?

Pull, subs, (old and still colloquial).—i. A drink ; a go (q.v.) : as verb. = to drink ; to lush (q.v.). Puller-on — an appetiser : of liquids only : cf.

drawer-on.

1436. Political Songs [' Master of the Rolls,' ii. 169]. [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 249. The verb pulle takes the sense of bibere].

1469. Coventry Myst. [Halliwell], 142. I pulle 00 draught.

1600. Decker, S ho. Holiday [Works (1873), i. 22]. O heele give a villanous pull at a can of double beere.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, lvi. The vessel being produced, I bade him decant his bottle into it . . . and said, "Pledge you." He stared . . . "What 1 all at one pull, measter Randan ? "

Pull.

316

Pull.

1760. Foote, Minor, i. Mrs. Cole. I won't trouble you for the glass ; my hands do so tremble and shake, I shall but spill the good creature. Load. Well

pulled.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 246. When my landlord dees not nick me . . . But very fairly fills it full, I just can swigg it at one pull.

1820. The Fancy. We'll pull a little deady.

1825. Scott, Talisman, xxvi. Wash it down with a brimming flagon, man, or thou wilt choke upon iL—Why so—well pulled !

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, Iii. Taking a long and hearty pull at the rumand-water.

1857. Trollope, Three Clerks, xiv. A deep pull at the pewter.

1868. Whyte-Melville, White Rose, 11. ii. The other . . . sucked in a long pull of his hot coffee.

1888. Century Mag., xxx viii. After a long pull at the pitcher of persimmon beer.

1891. Newman, Scamping Tricks, 49. 1 went straight away and had a pull of rum.

2. (colloquial).—An advantage ; a hold ; power : e.g., to have a pull over one = to have at an advantage, in one's power, or under one's thumb. — Grose (1785) ; Vaux (1819).

c. 1500. Medwall, Interlude of Nature, sig. C ii. It cost me a noble . . . The scald capper sware, That yt cost hym euen as myche But there Pryde had a pull.

1783. Burgoyne, Lord of the Manor, iii. i. You'll have quite the pull of me in employment.

1821. Egan, Life in London, n. ii. [The watchmen,] besides having the pull in their favour, in opening the charge, and colouring it as they think proper. . . .

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xli. They know . . . who naturally have the pull over them.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brown's SciwolDays, i. vii. What a pull, said he, that it's lie-in-bed, for I shall be as lame as a tree, I think.

1868. Whyte-Melville, White Rose, 11. 24. It's a great pull not having married young.

1885. D. Telegraph, 21 Dec. The pull in the weights alone enabled Ivanhoe to win by a length.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' [' Her Sunday Clothes '], 105. She'd also a pull o'er those well-dressed elves.

1883. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxiii. We had twice the pull now, because so many strangers, that couldn't possibly be known to the police, were straggling over all the roads.

1892. Half-Holiday, 19 Mar., 91, 2. I had all the advantage of having a better case than he. I had that pull on him.

1892. Gunter, Miss Dividends, xi. Don't this give the Church a pull upon the daddy?

3. (old).—See quot.

is19. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Pull ... A person speaking of any intricate affair, or feat of ingenuity, which he cannot comprehend, will say, There is some pull at the bottom of it, that I'm not fly to.

4. (common).—An attempt to extort something from another ; a go (q.v.).

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 7^. Relations and strangers were all for having a pull at him.

5. (colloquial).—Rowing exercise : also as verb. = to row.

1841. Hook, Fathers and Sons, xvii. To pull Lady Cramly and her daughters down the river.

Verb. I. See subs. 1.

2. (cricketers').—To strike a ball from the ' off ' to the ' leg ' side of the wicket. To take a pull = to drive a straight ball.

3. (thieves').—To arrest ; to raid : see Nab and Cop. Whence Pi lled up = brought before a magistrate.—Grose (1785).

Pull. 317 Pull.

c. 1811. Broadside Ballad [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 77]. He had twice been pull'd, and nearly lagg'd, but got off by going to sea.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Pull . . . To hull a man, or have him ruLLED is to cause his apprehension for some offence ; and it is then said that Mr. Pullen is concerned.

1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, 82. The loquacious little gentleman . . . finding that he had already paid more than he ought, avowed his unalterable determination to pull up the cabman in the morning.

1871. Figaro, 15 April. The police pulled every Keno establishment in the city. Pulling is the slang for seizing the instruments, and arresting the players and proprietors.

4. (racing).—To slow a horse, while seeming to ride one's best.

1S68. Ouida, Two Flags, x. They . . . had broken down like any . . . jockey bribed to pull at a suburban selling-race.

1889. Evening Standard, 25 June. [Sir Chas. Russell's speech in DurhamChetwynd case). Sir g. Chetwynd never did anything so gross and vulgar as that [tell the jockey to pull horses], and that if horses were pulled, that was not the way in which in any class of turf society instructions were given.

1890. Sat. Rev., 1 Feb., 134, 1. They all bet, and when they lose of course it is the fault of the jockey, or of the trainer, or of the owner, who gave instructions to have his horse pulled.

1891. Gould, Double Event, 102. Wells had pulled horses when no one but a thorough judge could have seen the game.

5. (old).—To steal; to cheat.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, Prologue, 654. Fui prively a finch [ = novice] eke coude he pull.

1625. Jonson, Staple of News, ii. 1. What plover's that they've brought to pull.

1821. Haggart, Life, 63. I pulled a scout, and passed it to Graham.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., 1. 460. We lived by thieving and I do still —by pulling flesh

The Long pull, subs. phr. (licensed victuallers').—.^ quot.

1901. D. Telegraph, 24 Dec, 3, 4. The attempt to abolish the long pull made by the Birmingham brewers has ended in failure. . . . The result was seen in decreased profits. Customers left their houses and patronised others where overmeasure was given.

Colloquialisms are : — To pull down, I. (thieves' : see quot. 1857) ; (2) to destroy, to depress, to endanger chances ; to pull in the pieces = to make money : Fr. faire son beurre ; to pull it (or foot) = to decamp : see Amputate and Skedaddle ; to pull through = to succeed, to get out of a difficulty ; to pull together = to co-operate ; to pull up = (1) to take to task, to arrest, to stop ; (2) to exert oneself, to make a special effort ; to pull faces = to grimace ; to pull a long face = to look blue (q.v.) ; to pull off = to succeed ; to get there (q.v.) ; to pull oneself together = to rouse oneself ; to rally ; to pull (or draw) in one's horns = to retract ; to cool down (Grose, 1785) ; to

pull down a side = to spoil all ; to pull by the sleeve =

to remind ; to pull out (American) = (1) to chuck (q.v.) ; 2 (athletic) = to strive to the utmost, to extend (q.v.), usually by means of a friendly pacemaker ; 3 (common) = to run away ; 4 (tailors') = to hurry, to get on with work in hand ; to pull up A Jack (see quot.

1819) ; to pull a kite = to

be serious, to look straight

(q.V.) ; to pull one's (or draw) the leg = to impose upon, to

bamboozle (q.V.), to chaff (q.V.) ; to pull about = (i) to

masturbate : see Frig, and (2)

Pull.

318

Pull.

to essay a woman, TO mess about (q.v.), to paddle (q.v.) ;

to pull over = to Catch, to

arrest : a general verb of action, see Nab ; to pull about one's ears = to ruin, to chastise. See Bacon ; Baker ; Cap ; Crow ; Dead Horse; Devil; Foot; Horns ; Longbow ; Stakes ; String ; Vest ; Wires ; Wool.

1589. Puttenham, Art of Eng. Poes., 34. Nothing pulleth downe a man's heart so much as aduersitie and acke.

1596. Spenser, Faerie Queene, v. ii. 41 [Twyrhitt, 252). He pulleth downe, He setteth up on hy.

1610. Shakspeare, Coriolanus, iii. 2. Let them pull all about mine ears . . . yet will I still be thus to them.

1616-25. Court James I. [Oliphant, New Eng., 70. As to the verbs we see

pull in his horns].

1625. Massinger, Duke of Florence, iv. 2. If I hold your cards I shall pull down the side ; I am not good at the game.

1640. Howell, Vocall. Forrest, 104. In political affairs as well as mechanical, it is farre easier to pull down then build up.

1749. Fielding, Tom Jones, xii. xiii. As the vulgar phrase is, [he] immediately drew in his horns.

17 [?]. Fessenden, Yankee Doodle [BartlettI. And then she flew straight out of sight As fast as she could pull it.

1818. Scott, Midlothian, iv. 51. Jeanie Deans is no the lass to pu' him by the sleeve, or put him in mind of what he wishes to forget.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Pull or Pull Up, to accost ; stop. Ibid. To pull up a jack, is to stop a post-chaise on the highway.

1825. Macaulay, Gladstone on Church and State The world is full of institutions, which . . . never ought to have been set up, yet, having been set up, ought not to be rudely pulled down.

1849. Punch's Almanack, ' Fortune Tellers Almanack.' You are going too fast, and . . . you ought to pull up.

1853. Dickens, Bleak House, xxxvii. I shall be all right ! I shalll pull through, my dear.

1855. Browning, Era. Lippo Lippi. The Prior and the learned pulled a face.

1857. Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, i. v. The Slogger pulls up at last . . . fairly blown.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant (3rd ed.), 446. To steal from shop doors— to pull down.

1867. Anderson, Rhymes, 17. He preached, an' at last drew the auld body's leg, Sae the kirk got the gatherins o' our Aunty Meg.

1868. Trip through Virginia [De Vere]. Driver, when will you pull up? I don't pull up at no tavern till I gets home.

1870. Figaro, 9 Nov. These sweepstakes, in which the commissioners are always to pull off the money, may help to lessen the figures in the Parliamentaty estimates.

1871. Globe, 12 May. Colonel Corbett was about to speak, but he was pulled up by the Speaker.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servituae, iii. He occasionally took what required a little screw in the morning to counteract and enable him to pull himself together before going his rounds with the doctor.

1882. D. Telegraph, 9 Nov. Before the train pulls up at the next station.

1882. Field, 28 Jan. All equal to the work put in their hands, and helped to pull the author through. Ibid. (1886), 27 Feb. The Middlesex men now pulled themselves together.

1888. Comhill Mag., Oct. 'Phantom Picquet.' I am very hopeful of your regiment arriving in time to pull us

through.

1888. Missouri Republican, 24 Feb. He knows that if he keeps his money in the show business any longer he will lose it all, and so be has pulled out.

1888. Churchward, Blackbirding, 216. Then I shall be able to pull the leg of that chap . . . He is always trying to do me.

1889. Francis, Saddle and Mocassin [Slang, Jargon and Cant]. For a minute or two they stood looking at one another, and then Doc pulled out.

Pulled-trade. 319 Pulse.

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 3 Ap. The chief bank official . . . told him pretty plainly that he must now pull up, and arrangements made in regard to certain over-due acceptances.

1806. Crane, Maggie, xiv. 'She was pulling m' leg, That's the whole amount of it,' he said.

1898. Whiteing, John St., xxix. I am working up a little affair of my own just now . . . but I'm not sure I shall be able to pull it off.

1901. Troddles, 38. He certainly didn't perceive that Wilks was pulling his leg, and he stammered out expressions of gratitude.

Pulled-trade, subs.phr. (tailors'). —Secured work.

Pullet (poulet or pulley), subs. (colloquial ).—-(1) A girl of tender years. Hence pullet-squeezer = an amateur of young girls ; a

chicken-fancier (q.V.); virgin-pullet = ' a young woman . . . who though often trod has never laid.'—Bee (1823). Also 2 (thieves') — a female confederate.

Pulling-time, subs. phr. (provincial).—See quot.

1847. Halliwell, Arch, and Prov. Words, s.v. Pulling-time. The evening of a fair-day, when the wenches are pulled about.

Pullman-pup, subs.phr. (railway). —See quot.

1890. Tit-Bits, i Nov. The Midland night Scotch train from Leeds runs in front of the London Scotch train, and is therefore nicknamed the Pullman Pup.

pully-hauly, adj. phr. (colloquial). — Rough-and-tumble : haul devil, pull baker (q.V.). to play at pully-hauly, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate: see Greens and Ride.— Grose (1785).

Pulpit, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum : see monosyllable.

1656. Choice Drollery, 44. Quoth she, the Son is prov'd a Daughter. But be content, if God duth blesse the Baby, She has a Pulpit where a Preacher may be.

c. 1685-95. Broadside Ballad [Roxburghe Ballads (Brit. Mus.), ii. 73] 'The Country Parson's Folly.' He pitch'd on a subject was hard by the rump, And into her Pulpit he straightways did jump, Where all the night long he her cushion did thump.

pulpit-cuffer (drübber, drummer, sm iter, Or thumper),

subs. phr. (common).—A ranting parson ; a cushion-thumper (q.v.). Whence pulpit-cuffing (&c. ) = violent exhortation.

1699. Brown [Works (1715), i. 209]. A pulpit-drubber by profession, who knows all the witches forms in the kingdom.

1706. Ward, Hud. Redivivus, vi. 10. Thought I, for all your pulpitdrumming, Had you no Hose to hide your Bum in.

Pulpiteers, subs. (Winchester College).—See quot.

1891. Wrench, Wincfustcr Word Book, s.v. Pulpiteers. An arrangement during Cloister-time of Sixth Book and Senior Part V. going up to books together . . . Middle and Junior Part taken together were called Cloisters.

Pulse. To feel one's pulse, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To gauge opinions, views, feelings,

&c. ; to sound (q.V. ) ; to take

one's measure (q.V.).

.1843. Southey, Letters, iv. 139. So much matter has been ferretted out that this Government wishes to tell its own story, and my pulse was felt.

2. (venery). — To grope a woman.

1648-50. Brathwayte, Barnaby's J I. (1723), 50, 51. Thence to Meredin did steer I, Where grown foot-sore and sore weary, I repos'd where I chuck'd Joan-a, Felt her pulse (Hopitem in genu cepi).

Pummel.

320

Pump.

pummel (pumble or pommel),

subs. (old).—A drubbing : amongst pugilists, acrippler (q.v.). Also as verb. = to beat ; to tan (q.v.): also pum.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1515. [Hall, Henry VIII., an. 6J. Ve duke by pure strength tooke hym about the necke, and pomeled so about the hed that the bloud yssued out of his nose.

1530. Palsgrave, Lang: Fran., s.v.

d. 1556. Udal, Luke, iii. They turne him cleane out of his owne doores, and pumble him about the pate in stede.

1713. Observer, No. 95. I was pummelled to a mummy by the boys, showed up by the ushers, &c.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 96. But I . . . Go quite upon another plan, And sleep unpummel'd when I can.

1819. Byron, Don Juan, 1. 184. Alphonso pummelled to his heart's desire Swore lustily.

1858. Dickens, Great Expectations, xii. I used to want ... to ... fly at Pumblechook, and pummel him all over.

1890. Milligan, Groves of Blarney. But Oliver Cromwell he did her pummel, And made a breach in her battlement.

pump, subs, (common).—1. In pi. = dancing shoes. Also occasionally as verb. = to don dancing shoes.—Grose (1785).

1592. Nash, Piers Penniless [Collier, xxv.]. [Oliphant, New English, ii. 10. We hear of pumps, opposed to commoner shoes ; this is from pomp and luxury].

1592. Shakspeare, Mid. Night's Dream, iv. 2. Get your apparel together, good strings to your beards, new ribbons to your pumps. Ibid. (1593) Taming of Shrew, iv. 1. And Gabriel's PUMrs were all unpink'd i the heel.

1601. Jonson, Poetaster, iii. 1. Thou shalt not need to travel with thy pumps full of gravel any more.

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie (ist ed.), 59. You might have walkt your pumps apieces, Ere light on such a Place as this is.

1840. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Sir Rupert). When a gentleman jumps In the river at midnight for want of the dumps He rarely puts on knee-breeches and pumps.

1845. Buckstone, Green Bushes, i. 2. When, to step a lady of high degree, You put on your pumps and are happy indeed.

1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, i. The usual attire of a gentleman, viz., pumps, a gold waistcoat, a crush hat, a sham frill, and a white choker.

1848. Dickens, Dombey cV" Son, xiv. All the young gentlemen tightly cravatted, curled and pumped.

1857. Moncrieff, Bashful Man, i. 2. Go and dress at once ; your pumps are all ready.

2. (common). — In pi. = the eyes : see Glim.

1825. Buckstone, Bear Hunters, i. 2. Your pumps have been at work—you've been crying, girl.

3. (venery).—1. The female pudendum : also pump-dale : see Monosyllable ; (2) = the penis : also pump-handle : see Prick ; and (3, Scots') = a fart (q.v). As verb. (1) = to copulate : see Ride ; (2) = to piss (q.v.) : also to pump ship (or water) ; and (3) = to fart (q.V.) ; to pump

off = to masturbate : see Frig. —Grose (1785).

1706. Ward, Wooden World, 3. That sage hit it best . . . who compared a ship to a Woman . . . her pump-dale smells strongest when she has the soundest bottom.

1730. Broadside Song, ' Gee ho, Dobbin' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), ii. 204]. I worked at her Pump till the sucker grew dry, And then I left pumping a good Reason why. Ibid. Then Roger's Pump-handle ran the Devil knows where.

4. (Scots').—A public house : see Lush-crib.

5. See verb, sense I.

6. (common). — A solemn noodle.

Pump. 321 Pumpkin.

Verb. (colloquial). — I. To question artfully ; to make one tell without knowing he's telling ; to sound (q.v.). Hence, as subs. = an indirect question ; ' Your pump is good but the sucker's dry ! ' = a retort or an attempt to pump.—B. E. (e. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

^T^33Jonson, Tale of a Tub, iv. iii. I'll stand aside whilst thou pump'st out of him His business.

rf.1635. Randolph, Muses Looking Glass, ii. 4. I'll in to pump my dad, and fetch thee more.

1668. Dryden, An Evening's Love, iii. Markall, pump the woman ; and see if you can discover anything to save my credit.

1693. Congreve, Old Batehelor, v. 4. She was pumping me about how your worship's affairs stood.

1740. Richardson, Pamela, 1. 208. For all her pumps, she gave no hint.

1749. Fielding, Tom Jones, xi. vi. She therefore ordered her maid to pump out of him by what means he had become acquainted with her person.

1826. Buckstone, Death Fetch, ii. 2. She wants to pump me, but two words to that bargain.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick, xvi. Undergoing the process of being pumped.

1847. Thackeray, Vanity Pair, vii. But old Tinker was not to be pumped by this little cross-questioner.

1886-96. Marshall, 'Pomes' from the Pink 'Un ['The Age of Love'], 26. So she sought him and gently pumped him.

1893. MlLLlKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 32. I've parted so free to the coachies, and artfully put on the pump.

2. (old colloquial).—To duck under the pump : also to give

a taste of the pump (B. E.,

c. 1696, and Grose, 1785) ; 'Christened with pumpwater,' said of a red-faced boy or girl (Ray, 1760, and Grose, 1785).

1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], 13. If he don't tip the cole without more ado, give him a taste ok the pump, that's all.

3. (colloquial).—To go breathless ; to wind (q.V.); pumped out (or dry) = completely blown.—B. E. (f.1696). Hence pumper = anything that pumps : as counsel, a race, a course, a spurt, &c.

i860. Russell, Diary in India, n. 370. Darkness began to set in, the artillery horses were pumped out, and orders were given to retire.

1882. Lield, 28 Jan. Tiger . . . had all the best of a long pumping course.

1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. She came on the scene when Bismarck was quite pumped out.

5. (common).—To vomit ; to cast up accounts (q.V.).—

Grose (1785).

6. (American).—To steal.

1824. Atlantic Mag., i. 344. Vot I vants to show is the vay in which she pumped my fob this ere mornin'.

7. (common).—To cry.

1837. Marryat, Snarley-Yow. And she did pump While I did jump In the boat to say, Good bye.

Pump-and-Tortoises (The),

subs. phr. (military).—The late 38th Regiment of Foot, now the 1st Batt. South Staffordshire Regiment.

Pumpkin, subs. (old).—i. See quot.

1785. Grose, Vtilg. Tongue, s.v. " Pompkin, a man or woman of Boston, America, from the number of pompkins raised and eaten by the people of that country. Pompkins-hive, for Boston and its dependencies."

2. (common).—The head : see Crumpet and Tibby.

3. (American). —The female pudendum : see Monosyllable : whence pumpkin-cover = the pubic hair : see Fleece. [From the shape of a pumpkin seed. ]

Pumpkin-head. 322

Punch.

Some (or big) pumpkins (or as big as pumpkins), phr. (American).—A high appreciation : cf. small potatoes (q.V.).

i8[?]. Pickings front the Picayune, vyj [De Vere]. I swow, my son Fred is a fine fellow ; you may axe every rouster on the levee, and I'll be hanged if they don't tell you he is some pumpkins to hum.

1848. Ruxton, Far West, 178. Afore I left the settlements I know'd a white gal, and she was some punkins. Ibid., 41. The biggest kind of punkin at that.

1852. Bristed, Up. Ten Thousand, 216. We being punkins were of course among the invited. Ibid., Note. A slang expression of young New York for people of value and consequence.

1855. Haliburton, Human Nature [De Vere]. Franklin was a poor printerboy and Washington a land-surveyor, yet they growed to be some pumpkins.

1871. De Vere, Americanisms. Bostonians are said to have derived, from their attachment to this vegetable, and the esteem in which it is universally held among them, the phrase some pumpkins, expressive of high appreciation. . . Ibid. It is stated, however, by one high in authority among New Englanders, that this explanation of the term is not the tiue one, although the latter cannot well be stated, because it would offend ears polite.

Pumpkin-head, sues.phr. (American).—A fool : see BuFFLE.

Pump-sucker, subs. phr. (common).—A teetotaller.

Pump-thunder, subs. phr. ("common).—A blusterer : jccFurioso. Also as verb. See Hell.

Pum-pum, subs. phr. (old).—A

fiddler.

Pu m pw at er. See Aqua and

Yard.

Pun, subs, (old: now recognised). —i. A play upon words, similar in sound but different in meaning : also as verb.—B. E. (f.1696).

2. (Harrow school).—Punishment. Hence pun-paper = specially ruled paper for puns and impositions.

To pun out, verb. phr. (Christ's Hospital).—To inform against : <?.£•., ' I'll pun out'; ¹ I'll pun you out ' : exclusively a London expression ; at Hertford, to pun or pun of.

Punch, subs. (old).—i. See quots. 1669 and 1870 : hence, punchy = fat-bellied : cf. paunch. — B. E. (c. 1696). Punchiness = stoutness of build.

1669. Pepys, Diary, 30 Ap. I . . . did hear them call their fat child punch, which pleased me mighty, that word being become a word of common use for all that is thick and short.

1707. Ward, Hud. Rediv., 11. iv. 24. Two Punches next, with wond'rous Vigour, Perform'd a Dance in double Figure.

1S37. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, i. 119. A stout Suffolk punch. Ibid., 11. 124. A fat, little, punchy concern of sixteen.

1850. Leigh Hunt, Autobiog., iii. A short, stout man, inclining to punchiness.

1870. Farrier's Diet. [Ency. Diet.]. " Punch is a horse that is well-set and well-knit, having a short back and thin shoulders, with a broad neck, and well lined with flesh."

2. (colloquial).—A blow ; also as verb. : e.g., ' to punch one's head.'

1c03. Chapman, Iliad, vi. 126. With a goad he punch'd each furious dame.

1837. Dickens, Picktvick Papers, ii Smart chap that cabman . . . but . . . punch his head.

Punchable. 323

Punish.

Verb, (venery). — I. To deflower : hence punchable = ripe for man, coming (q.v.).—Grose (1785).

2. (Western American).—To drive and brand cattle. Whence puncher (Bull or cow-puncher) = a cowboy.

1889. Francis, Saddle and Moccasin [Slang; Jargon, and Cant], The title ' cow-servants ' so delighted the gentle puncher that it has become a standing quotation in New Mexico.

18 [?]. H. Kendall, Billy Vickers. At punching oxen you may guess There's nothing out can camp him.

3. (old).—To walk : see Absquatulate. — Grose (1785). Hence to punch outsides = to go out of doors.—Grose

(1785); haggart(l82l).

1780. Tomlinson, Slang Pastoral, vii. Now she to Bridewell has punch'd it along.

Cobbler's-PUNCH, subs. phr. (old).—'Urine with a cinder in it.'—Grose (1785).

Punchable, subs. (old).—' Old passable money, anno 1695.'— B. E. (c-.1696).

See Punch, verb., sense 1.

Punch-and-Judy, subs. phr. (common). —Lemonade.

1885Eng. I litis. Mag., June, 604. I'd drink a pennorth of gingeret, or a glass of Punch and Judy.

Puncher, subs, (sporting).1. A pugilist.

2. See Punch, verb.

Punch-clod, subs, (provincial).— A farm-laborer ; a clod-hopper.

Punch-house, stibs. phr. (old).— ' A bawdy house.'—BE. (^.1696).

Punchy, subs. (American). — A house of entertainment.

See Punch, subs.

Puncture, verb, (cyclists'). — To deflower; to prick (q.v.). [An allusion to pneumatic tyres.]

Punish, verb, (sporting and general).—A strong verb of action : thus (in boxing) to punish = to hit hard, to handle severely ; (in cricket) to punish the bowling = to hit freely ; (general) to punish the bottle = to drink hard ; to punish the spread = to eat much and heartily ; and so forth. Hence punishing = exhausting, fatiguing ; punisher = a glutton for work ; punishment = a severe beating, complete exhaustion, &c.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib. An eye that plann'd punishing deeds. Ibid. If to level, to punish, to ruffian mankind.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. iii. What a punisher, too !

1831. Egan, Finish Life in London, 221. Blacky punished the steaks.

1848. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, liii. He punished my champagne. Ibid. (1862), Philip, iv. Tom Sayers could not take punishment more gaily.

1857. Barton Experiment, xiv. After we'd punished a couple of bottles of old Crow whisky ... he caved in all of a sudden.

1S82. Field, 28 Jan. Each course to-day was of the most punishing kind.

1886. D. Telegraph, 5 Mar. Afterwards punished his opponent very scientifically.

1886. Cassel?s Saturday Journal, 6 Mar., 359. I shall . . . punish the old gentleman's sherry.

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 3 April. M'Carthy put in a lot of clinching to save himself from punishment.

Punk. 324

Punt.

Punk (or punquetto), subs. (old). —i. A harlot : see Tart : also as verb. = to procure. Hence, punkek — a wencher ; and punkish = meretricious.—B. E. (f.1696) ; Grose (1785).

c.1575. Old Ballad, ' Simon the King' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), iii. 1]. Soe fellowes, if you be drunke, of ffrailtye itt is a sinne, as itt is to keepe a puncke.

1600. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, ii.

1. Marry, to his cockatrice, or punquetto, half a dozen taffata gowns or satin kirtles in a pair or two of months—why, they are nothing.

1603. Shakspeare, Measure for Measure, v. i. She may be a punk, for many of them are neither maid, widow, nor wife.

1607. Dekker, Westward Hoe, ii.

2. The sewing-man [has] his punk, the student his nun in White-Friars. Ibid., iv. i. Thou hast more tricks in thee than a punk has uncles, cousins, brothers, sons or fathers.

1611. Chapman, May-day, iv. 4. She was Some stale punk i warrant you.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Faire, ii. i. Here you may have your punk and your pig both in state, sir, piping hot.

1620-55. Broadside Ballad [Roxburghe Coll. (Brit. Mus.), i. 46, 47]. A woman that will be drunk, Will eas'ly play the Punck.

1630. Taylor, Works, i. no. His pimpship with his punke, despight the home, Eate gosling giblets in a fort of corne.

1632. Massinger, City Madam, ii. 2. I'll wed a pedlar's punk first.

c.1650. Drunken Barnaby'c J I. (1723), ii. 50. Hence to Dunchurch where report is Of pimps and punks a great resort is.

rf.1655. Adams, Works [Nichols', 18612]. These punkish outsides beguile the needy traveller.

1670. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft [ Works (1725), 249]. He is a very honest Younker, A bonny Lad, and a great Punker.

1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood' ii. i. Are you not a fireship, a punk> madam'?

1687. Cleveland, Works. Among the roaring punks and dammy-boys.

1695. Congreve, Love for Love, i. i. A worn-out punk . . . without a whole tatter to her tail.

1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, iii. 4. What, a po\ ! . . . two whores, egad ! . . . Have you never a spare punk for your friend.

1706. Ward, Wooden World, 15. Some snotty-nosed Letter-man, the Product of some quondam Punk.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 20. If you're not mad you must be drunk, To drub your gen'ral for a punk.

Verb, (cyclists').—2. To puncture a tyre : also, as subs. — a punctured tyre.

Punse, subs. (Yiddish).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Punsh. See Punch, verb.

Punt, verb, (colloquial). — 1. To gamble : formerly generic, but mostly confined to small or 'chicken' stakes. Hence, punter = a gambler ; puntingshop = a hell.

17 [?]. Pope, Basset Table. How often have I sworn ... I could punt no more.

1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 230. Punter, a Term for every one of the Gamesters that play.

1754. The World, No. 69. To cut in at whist, ... to punt at faro, or to sit down at a hazard-table.

d. 1817. Holman, Abroad and at Home, ii. 4. You who so kindly took me by the hand, taught me to punt at faro.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xxviii. A crowd of awestruck amateurs and breathless punters. Ibid., xxxvi. The idea ... of his punting for half-crowns at a neighbouring hell in Air Street.

1886-96. Marshall, 'Pomes' ['Nobbled'], 114. There was only one horse in the Derby at which heavy punters would look.

Puny. 325 Puppy.

1889. Sporting Times, 3 Aug., 4, 4. If the banker deals to both sides without dealing any to himself, the punters can allow the coup to stand.

1898. Referee, 4 Sep., 11, 4. While Paul is punting with the outside bookmakers, Virginia may listen to the artless prattle of the Silver Ring.

1899. Critic, 11 Mar., 2, 1. A gentleman . . . whose face is familiar in the neighbourhood of Capel-court, has been punting in maximums in the private club at Monte Carlo.

2. (Rugby footballers'). — To kick the ball before it touches the ground. Hence punt-about — a practice-ball or -game.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brown, 1. v. Hurra! here's the punt-about — come along and try your hand at a kick.

3. (auctioneers').—To act as decoy : also Punter.

1891. Answers, 4 Ap. When visiting a small place the auctioneer usually takes his punters with him, as the faces of local men might be known. A well-dressed punter earns five or six shillings a day, and . . . are expected to appear in tall hats, gloves, sticks, big brass chains and button-holes.

Puny, sues. (old).—I. A freshman;

(2) a student at the Inns of Court ;

(3) a junior. Hence, punyship = youth. Also (4) = a puisne judge or bencher.

1548. Patten, Somerset's March [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 520. We see the phrases good literature (scholarship) . . . punies (juniors)].

iS[?]. Christmas Prince at St. John's College i. Others to make sporte . . . were they whom they call freshmenn, punies of the first yeare.

15 [?]. Ulysses vpon Ajax, B8. A puney of Oxford.

1593. Nashe, Christ's Teares [GroSart, Works, iv. 228]. Laughing at the punies they have lurched. Ibid. (1598), Lenten Stuffe [Hart. Misc., vi. 171]. In the punieship or nonage of Cerdicke Sandes.

1607. Dekker, Westward Hoe, i. a. There is only in the amity of women an estate at will, and every puny knows that is no certain inheritance. Ibid., v. 3. The punies set down this decree.

1634. Marston, in Lectores, cVc [Nares]. Each odd puisne of the lawyer's inne.

c.1640. [Shirley], Capt. Underwit [Bullen, Old Plays, ii. 340]. Preach to the puisnes of the Inne sobriety.

Adj. (old : now recognised).— Weak; small.—B. E. Or.1696); Grose (1785).

Pup, subs, (colloquial). — 1. A puppy [q.v.).

2. (colloquial).—A pupil.

Verb, (colloquial). — To be brought to bed. [As a bitch with puppies.] In pup = pregnant.

To sell a pup, verb. phr. (thieves').—To swindle a greenhorn ; to flap a jay (q.V.).

Pupe, subs. (Harrow school).—A pupil room.

Pupil-monger, subs. phr. (old).— A tutor : specifically at the universities.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785)

1662. Fuller, Worthies, Northampton, 11. 517. John Preston . . . was the greatest pupil-monger in England.

Puppy (Pup, or Puppy-dog), subs. (colloquial).— 1. A vain or unmannerly fool ; a fop ; a coxcomb. —Grose (1785). Hence puppyism = conceit or affectation ; puppyish (or puppily) = impertinent ; puppy-headed = stupid.

1593. H arvey, Pierce's Super. [ Wks. (Grosart), ii. 328]. A Jack-sauce, or vnmannerly puppy.

Puppy. 326 Purchase.

1598. Chapman, Blind Beggar [Shepherd (1874), 3]. Who could have picked out three such lifeless puppies, Never to venture on their mistresses.

1609. Shakspeare, Tempest, ii. 2, 159. I shall laugh myself to death at this puppy-headed monster.

c. 1620. Fletcher and Massinger, Little French Lawyer, ii. 3. Go, bid your lady seek . . . Some unexperienced puppy to make sport with.

1639. Chapman and Shirley, Tlie Ball, iv. Oh, my soul, How it does blush to know thee ! bragging puppy !

d. 1680. Rochester, From Art. to Chloe. The unbred puppy, who had never seen A creature look so gay or talk so fine.

1690. Crowne, Eng. Friar, ii. 1. My Lord, prithee marry thy daughter to my puppy.

1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, i. The surly puppy ! Yet he's a fool for it.

1703. Steele, Tender Husband, v. 2. What does the puppy mean ? His wife under a hat ?

1740. Fielding, Wedding Day, ii. 13. Your master is is a negligent puppy, and uses me doubly ill.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 104. A puppy of fashion, and a she-wolf of the stage. Ibid., 155. The affectation of a puppy, and the pertness of a wit.

i77[?]. R. Cumberland, The Jew, v. i. I knew your honour at the length of the street, and saw you turn into this tavern : the puppily waiter wou'd have stopt me from coming up to you.

1775. Sheridan, Rivals, ii. 1. None of your sneering, puppy ! no grinning, jackanapes !

1778. Burney, Evelina, Ixxvi. I am by no mean such a puppy as to tell you I am upon sure ground.

1811. Austen, Sense and S., xxxiii. The puppyism of his manner.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xxxv. Silly young men, displaying various varieties of puppyism and stupidity.

1851. Smedley, Lewis Arundel, xl. His whole demeanour blasé and puppyish in the extreme.

1858. G. Eliot, Mr. Gilfits LoveStory, ii. Men . . . were inclined to think this Antinous in a pig-tail a "confounded puppy."

2. (common).—A blind man. Fr. sans-inirettes ; sans-châsses. —Matsell (1859). Also as adj. = blind.

Puppy-snatch, sues. phr. (old).— A snare ; a plant (q.v.).

1670. Cotton, Scarronides [1692I,

10. It seem'd indifferent to him Whether he did sink or swim ; So he by either means might catch Us Trojans in a puppysnatch.

Purchase, subs. (old).—Plunder: as verb, (or to live on one's purchase) = (i) to live by swindling, thieving, or blackmailing. To get in purchase = to beget in bastardy. [O. Fr. purchacitr = to procure.]

1512-3. Douglas, Virgil, 303, 4. And first has slane the big Antiphates,— Son to the bustuous nobyl Sarpedoun, In purches get ane Thebane wensche apoun.

1590. Spenser, Fairy Queen, 1. ii. 16. Of nightly stelths, and pillage severall, Which he had got abroad by purchas criminall.

1592. Greene, Disputation [Works, x. 207]. But looke he neuer so narrowly to it we haue his pursse, wherein some time there is fat purchase, twentie or thirtie poundes.

1597. Shakspeare, / Henry IV., ii. i, 101. Gads. Give me thy hand : thou shalt have a share in our purchase, as I am a true man. Cham. Nay, rather let me have it, as you are a false thief. Ibid. (1599), Henry V., iii. 2. They will steal anything and call it purchase.

1607. Puritan, i. 4. The slave had about him but the poor purchase of ten groats.

1610. Jonson, Alchemist, iv. 4. Do you two pack up all the goods and purchase.

1613. Webster, D<n<iTs Law-Case,

11. i. Tailors in France they grow to great abominable purchase, and become great officers. Ibid. (1623), Duch. of Malfi, iii. 1. They do observe I grow to infinite purchase, the left hand way.

c.1620. Fletcher and Massinger, False One, iii. 2. I scorn to nourish it with such bloodly purchase, Purchase so foully got.

Pure. 327 Pure.

c. 1622. Fletcher, Chaucer, i. 2. What have I got by this now? What's the purchase? (etpassim).

1633. Rowley, Match at Midnight [Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), vii. 355]. A bag, Of a hundred pound at least, all in round shillings, Which I made my last night's purchase from a lawyer.

17 [?]. Herd, Scot. Songs (1776), ii. 234. There dwells a Tod on yonder craig, And he's a Tod of might ; He lives as well on his purchase As ony laird or knight.

174S. Smollett, Rod. Random, viii. This here purchase, a gold snuffbox . . . which I untied out of the tail of a pretty lady's smock.

1821. Scott, Kenilworth, ii. For even when a man hath got nobles of his own, he keeps out of the way of those whose exchequers lie in other men's purchase.

Pure, subs. (old).—1. A mistress: a keep (q.v.). Hence purestpure — ' a Top mistress or Fine Woman' (B. E., f.1666).

1688. Shadwell, Sç. oj Alsatia, ii. [Wis. (1720), iv. 47]. But where's your lady, captain, and the blowing, that is to be my natural, my convenient, my pure?

2. (scavengers'). —See quot : also as verb. : hence purefinder.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., ii. 158. Dogs'-dung is called pure, from its cleansing and purifying properties. Ibid. The name of Pure-finders, however, has been applied to the men engaged in collecting dogs'-dung from the public streets only, within the last 20 or 30 years.

Adj. (common).—Neat; unadulterated : see Drinks. Whence pure-element = water: see Adam's Ale.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 61. And then we all must be content To guzzle down pure element.

1789. White, Selborne, i. A fine limpid water . . . much commended by those who drink the pure element.

1840. Barham, Ingoldsby Leg., 'Patty Morgan.' The pure element is for Man's belly meant ! And Gin's but a snare of Old Nick.

2. (old and colloquial).—Used intensively : cf. prime, exquisite, tip-top, stunning = no-end (q.v.) ; mighty (q.v.) ; out-and-out (q.V.), &c. Also

as adv.

1362. Langland, Piers Plowman, viii. 20. Godes pyne and hus passion is pure selde in my thoubte.

1371. Chaucer, Blanche tlte Duchess, 1251. I durst no more say thereto For pure feare.

1390. Mandeville, Travels [Halliwell], 130. Natheless there is gode Londe in sum place ; but it is pure litille, as men seyn.

1393. Gower, Confessio Amantis, iii. 38. It torneth meto pure grame [ = vexation].

1592. Shakspeare, / Hen. VI., ii. 4. Thy cheeks blush for pure shame.

1601. Jonson, Poetaster, ii. 1. Purely jealous I would have her.

1700. Concreve, Way of the World,

ii. 5. When your laship pins it up with poetry, it fits so pleasant the next day as anything, and is so pure and so crips.

1704. Cibber, Careless Husband,

iii. i. Mrs. E. Ha ! she looks as if my master had quarrelled with her. . . . This is pure.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Col. I'm like all Fools; I love everything that's good. Lady Smart. Well, and isn't it pure good? 'Tis better than a worse.

d.ijgj. Walpole, Letters, 11. 207. His countess . . . looks pure awkward amongst so much good company.

1847. Halliwell, Arch, and Prov. Words, s.v. Pure. Mere; very. Still in use. A countryman shown Morland's picture of pigs feeding, corrected the artist, by exclaiming, " They be pure loike surelye, but whoever seed three pigs a-feeding without one o' em having his foot in the trough ? "

1884. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, 1. iii. 3. O, such manners are pure, pure, puke ! They are, by the shade of Claude Duval.

1887. Lippincott's Magazine, 397. I never struck a hole yet where there was more . . . what you call pure cussedness than in that wbited sepulchre of a divinity school.

Purge. 328 Puritan.

The pure quill, phr. (common). — The best ; the ' real thing ' : any person or thing of superlative quality. See A i and O. K.

1888. Detroit Free Press, Aug. When religun is religun, an' it's the pure quill . . . there's never one of us but kin take it in large doses.

Purge, subs, (common).—Beer ; swipes (q.v.) : as in the barrackroom wheeze—"Comrades, listen while I urge ; Drink, yourselves, and pass to purge."

Purger (or perger), subs, (common).—Primarily a teetotaller ; a tea-pot sucker : hence a term of contempt.

c. 1864. Vance, Chickaleary Cove. My tailor serves you well, from a perger to a swell.

puritan, subs. (Old Cant : now recognised).—i. A name given in contempt (c. 1564-9) to clergymen and laymen who wanted a simpler, and what they considered a ' purer,' ceremonial than was authorised : by extension, a man or woman setting up for better (esp. chaster) and more pious than their neighbours. Hence, Puritanism = a condition of exacerbated righteousness; "unco' guidness " ; a habit of life beyond impeachment, strict, godly, and austere. Also, as adj. = sour, precise, malevolently and tyrannically severe. Also Precisian (q.v.).

1567. Three Fifteenth Century Chronicles [Camden Soc.], 143. About that tyme were many congregations of the Anabaptysts in London who cawlyd themselves Puritans, or Unspotted Lambs of the Lord.

1598. Shakspeare, Alls Well, i. 3. Though honesty be no puritan, yet it will do no hurt : it will wear the surplice of humility over the black gown of a big

heart. Ibid., Twelfth Night (1602), ii. 3. Marry, sir, sometimes he is a kind of puritan. Ibid. (1604), Winters Tale. But one puritan among them, and he sings psalms to horn-pipes.

1599. Chapman, Hum. Day s Mirth [Shepherd (1874), 26]. Why, every man for her sake is a Puritan. The devil I think will shortly turn Puritan, or the Puritan will turn devil.

1605. Jonson, Chapman, &r., Eastward Hoe, ii. i. Your only smooth skin is your Puritan's skin ; they be the smoothest and slickest knaves in a country.

1607. Dekker, Westward Ho, ii. 2. The serving-man has his punk, the student his nun . . . the puritan his sister.

1650. Barnabys Journal, 5. To Banbury came I, O prophane-One ! Where I saw a Puritanh-One.

e. 1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Puritans, Puritanical, those of the precise Cut, strait-laced Precisians, whining (as Osborn saies) for a sanctity God never yet trusted out of Heaven.

1705. Hearne, Diary, 17 Nov. Magd. hall : the chief members of which were always rigid puritans, for whom he could not have a very fair opinion upon account of their unmercifull usage of Archbishop Laud.

1705. Ward, Hud. Rediv., 1. x. 24. So Puritans, the World to cheat, Appear in Garb precisely neat.

1902. D. Telegraph, 2 May, 5, 1, "Special Law Reports." Mr. Tindal Atkinson called attention to the fact that at this particular licensing meeting no fewer than twenty-three out of thirty-seven applications for music license renewals were refused. No fault was suggested, no evidence offered, and that went to show that the magistrates, perhaps owing to the particular composition of the Bench at the time, and the views they took in regard to the matter, did not decide each case upon its merits, but upon a view of their own. It was true they might become so puritanical that the Legislature might think fit to say that no music license should be granted to a licensed house. The Lord Chief Justice : You must not say these magistrates have acted puritanically. I do not think they have done so. Mr. Tindal Atkinson : I only made the general observation that the Legislature might become so puritanical. I was not reflecting on the justices. The Lord Chief Justice : I thought you used the word puritanical in a secondary sense.

Purko. 329 Purse.

2. (old).—A whore : see Tart. [Probably an echo of the hypocrisy imputed to the Puritans : cf. sense 1, esp. quot. 1607.]

Purko, subs, (military).—Beer: see Swipes. [Barclay, Perkins and Co.]

Purl, subs, (old : now recognised). —i. See quots. 1696 and 1851 ; afterwards (2) applied to beer warmed nearly to boiling point, and flavoured with gin, sugar, and ginger. Hence purl-man = a boating vendor of purl to Thames watermen.—G rose (1785).

1680. Pepys, Diary, 19 Feb. Forth to Mr. Harper's to drink a draft of purle.

1690. Durfey, Collin's Walk, iv. Or like a Porter could Regale, With Pots of Purle, or Mugs of Ale.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Purl, Wormwood infus'd in Ale. Ibid. Purl-Royal, Canary with a dash of Wormwood.

1711. Spectator, No. 88. My lord bishop swore he would throw her out at window . . . and my lord duke would have a double mug of purl.

1790. Old Song, ' Flashman of St. Giles's' [Busy Bee]. I call'd for some purl, and we had it hot.

1836. Dickens, Sketches, 33. Watermen . . . retire ... to solace themselves with the creature comforts of pipes and purl.

1841. Rede, Sixteen String Jack, i. 2. Long Terry's half way down a pot of purl ; Kit s finishing a bowl of punch-.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., ii. 108. It appears to have been the practice at some time or other in this country to infuse wormwood into beer or ale previous to drinking it, either to make it sufficiently bitter, or for some medicinal purpose. This mixture was called purl. Ibid. The drink originally sold on the river was purl, or this mixture, whence the title purl-man.

3. (schools'). — A dive, head foremost : cf. sense 2.

Adj. (hunting). — Thrown ; spilt (q.v.) ; foaled ( .v.) : e.g., ' He'll get purled at the rails.' Hence (as subs.), or purler = a fall ; a spill.

1857. C. Reade, Never Too Late, xxxviii. They went a tremendous pace— with occasional stoppages when a purl occurred. Ibid. They commonly paddle in companies of three ; so then whenever one is purled the other two come on each side of him.

1868. Ouida, Two Flags, iii. Right in front of that Stand was an artificial bullfinch that promised to treat most of the field to a purler, a deep ditch dug and filled with water, with two towering blackthorn fences on either side of it.

1885. Field, 26 Dec. To trifle with this innovation means a certain purler.

Purpose. To as much purpose as the geese slur upon the

ice (or as to give a goose

hay), phr. (colloquial).—To no purpose at all. Also ' to no more purpose than to beat your heels against the ground (or wind).'— Ray (1670).

Purse, subs, (venery).—1. The female pudendum : see Monosyllable : Fr. bourse-à-vits : cf. Prick-purse. Also (2) = the scrotum. Hence, no money in his purse = impotent ; purseproud = lecherous ; pursefinder = a harlot ; &c.

c. 1620. Beaumont and Fletcher, Little French Lawyer, v. 3. And put a good speed-penny in my purse that has been empty these thirty years.

c.1720. Broadside Song, ' The Turnep Ground' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), i. 224]. [When] gently down I L'ayd her, She Op't a Purse as black as Coal, To hold my Coin.

2. (colloquial). — A sum of money : a prize, a collection, a gift. Also (generic) = money ; resources.

Purse. 330

Pursy.

1891. Sporting Life, 3 Ap. He will send a deposit as a guarantee to keep his appointment if any club or gentleman will give a purse for him to face the victorious one in the match referred to.

Verb. (old).—To take purses ; to steal.

1609. Beaumont and Fletcher, Scornful Lady, i. 1. Why I'll purse", if that raise menot I'll bet at Bowling Alleys.

One or two colloquialisms merit notice : thus, a light (or empty) purse = poverty ; a long (or heavy) purse = wealth; sword and purse = the military power and wealth of a nation ; to make a purse = to amass money ; purse-proud (or full) = haughty, because rich (B. E., 1696) ; out of purse = penniless : purse-pinched = poor ; ' I've left my purse in my other hose (old), or on the piano ' = a bald excuse for not parting (q.v.). Amongst proverbs there are:—'A full purse makes the mouth to speak ' ; ' An empty purse fills the face with wrinkles ' ; ' Ask thy pu rse what thou should'st buy ' ; ' An empty purse and a new house make a man wise, but too late ' ; ' An empty purse frights away friends'; ' A friend at Court is better than a penny in the purse.'

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shrew, iv. 3. Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor ; For 'tis the mind that makes the body rich.

1615. Fisheries [Arber, Gamer, iii. 635]. [He was] out of purse.

rf.1626. Davies, Microcosmus [Grosart, Works (1876), 14]. Ladies and lords, purse-pinched and soule-pained.

1634. Withal, Diet., Zonarn perdidit : he hath left his purse in his other hose.

1814. Edgeworth, Patronage, xix. Dr. Percy's next difficulty was how to supply the purse-full and purse-proud citizen with motive and occupation.

Purse-leech,subs.phr. (old).—A money-grubber.

1648. British Belman [ffarl. Misc. (Park), vii. 625]. Golden days of peace and plenty, as we must never see again, So long as you harpyes, you sucking purse-leeches, and your implements be our masters.

Purse-milking, adj. phr. (old).— Spendthrift ; greedy.

1621. Burton, Anat. Melan. [163S], Democ. to Reader, 49. A purse-milking nation, a clamorous company, gowned vultures [of lawyers].

Pursenets, subs. (old).—See quot.

c. 1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pursenets, Goods taken upon Trust by young Unthrifts at treble the Value ; also a little Purse.

Purser, subs, (nautical).—A ship's storekeeper : used contemptuously as follows : — Purser's dip (quart, &c.) = an undersized candle, or quart short in measure ; purser's grin = a hypocritical or satirical sneer: e.g., 'There are no half laughs or purser's grins about me, I'm right up and down like a yard of pump water,' meaning that the speaker is in earnest ; purser's-name = a false name ; purser's shirt on a handspike (said of ill-fitting clothes) ; purser's-grind (venery) = ' plenty of prick and no money': a Yiddish compliment (q.v.).

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, xxxiii. We had languished five weeks on the allowance of a purser's quart per diem for each man.

Purser's-pump, subs. phr. (old). —(1) A syphon ; and (2) a bassoon.—Grose (1785).

Pursy (or pursive), adj. (old : now colloquial). — 1. Rich ; (2) fat with well-being; and (3) shortwinded.—B. E. (r. 1696) ; Grose (178S).

Purting-glumpot. 331

Push.

1440. Prompt. Parv. [Camden Soc] . . . Purcy in wynd drawynge.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii. 4. The fatness of these pursy times.

1607. [? Middleton] or W ['Pentworth] S [?mith], Puritan, i. iv. I . . . by chance set upon a fat steward, thinking his purse had been as pursy as his body ; and the slave had about him the poor purchase of ten groats.

18 [?]. H. Luttreli., May/air (1827), 11. 16. Of tedious M.P.'s, pursy peers, Illustrious for their length of ears.

1820. Irving, Sketch-Book, 264. A short, pursy man, stooping ... so as to show nothing but the top of a round, bald head.

d. 1832. Crabbe, Works, iv. 12. Slothful and pursy, insolent and mean, Were every bishop, prebendary, dean.

c. 1871. The Siliad, xiv. The pursy man, whose Capital's his God.

Purting-glumpot, subs. phr. (common).—A sulker.

Puseum (The), subs. (Oxford University).—The Pusey House in St. Giles's St.

Push, subs. (old).—1. A crowd; an assembly of any kind : e.g. (thieves') = a band of thieves ; (prisons') = a gang associated in penal labour; (general) = a knot or party of people, at a theatre, a church, a race-meeting, &c. Fr., abadie, tigne, vade, trépe. (It., treppo ; O. Fr., treper — to press, to trample).

1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, ii. i. I will not stay the push. They come ! they cone ! oh, the fellows come !

1718. C. HlGGlN, True Disc., 13. He is a . . . thieves' watchman, that lies scouting . . . when and where there is a push, alias an accidental crowd of people.

1754. Disc, of John Poulter, 30. In order to be out of the push or throng.

1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Push . . . When any particular scene of crowding is alluded to, they say, the push . . . at the spell doors ; the push at the stooping-match.

1830. Moncrieff, Heart of London.

ii. i. He's as quiet as a dummy hunter in a push by Houndsditch.

1852. Judson, Myst. of New York, 11. ii. This is one ver grand push.

1877. Davitt, Prison Diary. Most of these pseudo-aristocratic impostors had succeeded in obtaining admission to the stocking-knitting party, which, in consequence, became known among the rest of the prisoners as the "upper ten push."

2. (thieves'). — A robbery ; a swindle : also as in sense 1. Thus, ' I'm in this push ! = ' I mean to share '—an intimation from one magsman to another that he means to stand in (q.v.).

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 248. Tho' Now-a-days So bold a push Would make an honest Hebrew blush.

3. (colloquial). — Enterprise ; energy : also pushery = forwardness.

18 [?]. D'arblay, Diary, iv. 45. I actually asked for this dab of preferment ; it is the first piece of pushery I ever was guilty of.

Verb, (venery).—To copulate : see Greens and Ride : also to

stand the push ; to do A

random push ; and to play at push-pin (push-pike or putpin). Whence pushing-school = a brothel : see Nanny-shop.— B. E. (/.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1560. Rychardes, Misogonus [Halliwell]. That can lay downe maidens bedds, And that can hold ther sickly heds : That can play at put-pin, Blowe-poynte, and near lin.

1623. Massinger, Duke of Milan,

iii. 2. This wanton at dead midnight, Was found at the exercise behind the arras, With the 'foresaid signoir . . . she would never tell Who play'd at pushpin with her.

1656. Men Miracles, 15. To see the sonne you would admire, Goe play at push-pin with his sire.

Pushed.

332 Puss.

1707. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, ii. vii. 10. When at push-a-pike we play With beauty, who shall win the day?

1750. Robertson of Struan, Poems, 96. Push on, push on, ye happy Pair.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 337. They star'd like honest Johnny Wade, When he one evening with the maid A game at pushpin had begun, And madam came before he'd done.

Colloquialisms. — To get (or give) the push (or the

order of the push) = to be

discharged (or to îeject), to be sent (or send) about one's business ; put to the push (or at a push) = subjected to trial, in a difficulty or dilemma (B. E., c.1696); to push one's barrow = to move on ; at push of pike — at defiance (B. E., c. 1696). See also Face.

c.1870. Music Hall Song, ' I'll say no More to Mary Ann.' The girl that stole my heart has given me the push.

1886-96. Marshall, ' Pomes' ['A Meeting on the " Met " '], 126. He felt like people do who gain The order of the push.

1890. Sims, Rondeau of the Knock [Referee, 20 Ap. ]. No more with jaunty air He'll have the push.

1893. Emerson, Lippo, xx. She was always taking on new ones, for you got the push in a year or two, arter you got too big.

Pushed, adj. (common). — 1. Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

2. (colloquial).—Hard up.

1827. London Mag., xix. 39. He was frequently pushed for money.

Pusher, subs. (old).—1. Seeopax..

c.1696. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pushers, Canary-birds new Flown, that cannot Feed themselves.

2. (common).—A woman : see Petticoat. Hence square pusher = a girl of good reputation.

3. (shoemakers').—A blucher boot ; a high-low.

4. (nursery).—A finger of bread: used by children with a fork when feeding.

Pushing-school, subs. phr. (old). — i. A fencing-school.—B. E. (Y.1696); Grose (1785).

Pushing-tout, subs. phr. (old).— See quot.

1718. C. HlGGiN, True Disc, 13. He is a pushing toute, alias thieves' watchman, that lies scouting in and about the City to get and bring intelligence to the thieves, when and where there is a Push, alias an Accidental Crowd of People.

Push-pin. See Push, verb.

Puss, subs. (old).—1. Sometimes complacently used of a woman suspected of loose morals (cf. Cat) : but usually a playful endearment : e.g., ' little puss,' 'saucy puss,' 'you puss, you.'

1583. Stubbes, Anatomy of Abuses [New Shaks. Soc], 97. [Oliphant, New English, i. 6T4. The word pussie is now used of a woman. ]

1621. Burton, Anat. Melan., in. ii. iii. i. Pleasant names may be invented . . . puss . . . honey, love, dove.

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie (ist ed.), 3. That cross-grained peevish scolding Quean, That scratching cater-wawling Puss.

1761. Colman, Jealous Wife, ii. 3. Gone ! what a pox had I just run her down, and is the little puss stole away at last.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 101. The Rainbow-goddess flies to Helen : Most modern puss I ever knew.

Puss-gentleman. 333

Put.

1859. Eliot, Adam Bede, ix. The little puss seems already to have airs enough to make a husband as miserable as it's a law of nature for a quiet man to be when he marries a beauty.

1885. F. Locker, Mabel. My jealous Pussv cut up rough The day before 1 bought her muff With sable trimming.

2. (sporting). — A hare, or rabbit.

1821. Scott, Kenilworth, xxix. Thou shalt not give Puss a hint to steal away—we must catch her in her form.

1886. Field, 27 Feb. Dusting her hare about half a dozen times up to the fence, where puss escaped.

3. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable : also pussy and pussy-cat : Fr., chat ; angora. Hence, to feed one's pussy = to copulate.

1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie, 107. iEneas, here's a Health to thee, To Pusse and to good company.

4. (local Woolwich : obsolete). —A cadet of the Royal Military Academy. [The uniform was a short jacket with a pointed tail : vide old pictures at the R.A. Institution, Woolwich.]

Puss-gentleman, suds. phr. (old). —An effeminate.

1781. Cowper, Conv., 284. I cannot talk with Civet in the room, A fine pussgentleman that's all perfume.

Pussy-cat, subs. phr. (clerical).— i. A Puseyite.

2. See Puss, subs., sense 4.

Put, subs. (old).—1. A rustic ; a shallowpate ; also country put. —B. E. (it. 1696); Grose (1785).

1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia, i. Belf sen. I always thought they had been wittiest in the Universities. Sham. A company of putts, meer putts.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation, ii. He's a true Country Put.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 531. Orestes, last, a country put, Got such a cursed knock o' th' gut. Ibid., 55. Just such a queer old put as you.

1782. Chambaud, Diet., 11. s.v.

1847. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1. xi. The captain has a hearty contempt for his father, I can see, and calls him an old put.

2. (old).—A harlot : see Tart. [Fr. putain.] Hence putage = fornication. Also (3, venery) — an act of coition ; intromission : also to do a put, to have a put-in, to put it in, to put

in all, and to play at twohanded put : see Greens and Ride.

c. 1720. Durfey, Pills to Purge, âr'c., vi. 251. My skin is White you see, My Smock above my Knee, What would you more of me, put in all?

1730. Broadside Song, ' Gee ho, Dobbin ' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), ii. 203]. I rumpl'd her Feathers, and tickl'd her scutt, And played the round Rubber at two handed Put.

3. (Stock Exchange). — See quot. 1884 : also put and call.

1776. Cibber, Refusal, i. Gran. And all this out of Change-Alley? Wit. Every shilling, Sir ; all out of Stocks, Putts, Bulls, Rams, Bears, and Bubbles.

1884. Bisbee and Simonds, Law Prod. Ex., 50. A put is an option to deliver, or not deliver, at a future day.

1889. Rialto, 23 Mar. Having a pocket order from the promoters, which gives him the put and call of as many shares as he requires for his purpose.

Phrases more or less colloquial merit a mention:—To put off (-by or -on) = (1) to baffle, delay, or dismiss, (2) to foist or deceive, and (3) to get rid of or sell : whence a put-off (put-by or put-on), subs. = a shift, trick, or excuse ; to put to = to ask a question, advice, &c. ; 10 put down = ( i ) to baffle or suppress,

Put.

334

Put.

and (2) to enter one's name, for a speech, donation, &c. ; to put upon = (1) to accuse, and (2) to inflict or oppress ; to be put upon (or on) = to be depressed, deceived, or blamed ; to put in for — to compete ; to put two and two (or this and that) together = to draw conclusions ; to be put up = to be accused or pulled up (q.v.) ; to be put to it = (1) to be compelled, and (2) to be hard pressed or embarrassed (B. E., c.iôçô); to put in one's head = (1) to suggest, and (2) to remind ; to put out of one's head = to forget ;

to put up (or put it up) with = (1) to submit or endure, (2) to accommodate (or be received) as a lodger or guest, (3) to nominate, and (4) to spend or bet ; to put back = to hinder or refuse ; to put a quarrel (or rudeness) on one = to force to anger or incivility ; to put away = (1) to dispose of by eating (whence put-away, sues. = an appetite or twist, q.v.), sale, pawning, imprisonment, &c.,and (2) to inform against, to nark (q.V.); to put a hand to = (I) to begin a matter, (2) to sign or endorse a document, and (3) to steal ; to put finger in the eye = to cry ; to put on = to imitate, assume a character, airs, &c. (whence a put-on, sues. — a trick or shift), and (2) see putoff, supra; to put out = (l) to confuse or perplex, and (2) to vex ; as much as one can put in one's eye = nothing (B. E., c. 1696) ; to put a good (or bad) face on = to appear pleased (or the reverse) ; put-up = arranged, planned (whence a put-u p job = a concerted swindle or robbery, whence also putterup) ; to put about = (i) to

publish a rumour, lie, or statement,

(2) to change one's tactics, and

(3) to inconvenience, annoy, or embarrass ; to put through = (1 ) to succeed, and (2) to swindle ; to put out (forth or off) = to set out ; to put on = to bet : see Pot; to put one on = (1) to tip (q.v.), (2) to bet for another, and (3) to promise a bonus if a certain horse wins ; to put up to = (1) to explain or impart information, and (2) to suggest or incite ; to put out = to vex ; to put in one's motto = (1) to enter rashly into a discussion, and (2) to ' lay down the law ' ; to stay put (American) = to remain as placed ; to put ina hole = (i) to inconvenience, non-plus, or get the better of (see Hole), (2) to defraud (thieves' : see Well), and (3) to victimize ; to put on one's mettle = to urge ; to be put to one's trumps = to be forced back on one's resources ; to put by = to save ; to put (or lay) heads together = to confer ; to put one's head in the lion's mouth = to run into danger ; to put to the door = to eject ; to put over (Australian) = to kill ; to put on the woman = to shed tears ; to put a hat on a hen = to attempt the impossible (Ray, 1765) ; to put

together with a hot needle (or burnt thread) = to fasten insecurely ; Put up ! = Shut your mouth ! (American). See also Ape ; back ; bag ; balmy ; balmy-stick ; basket ; bed ; best-leg ; boot ; business ; cart; chair; doctor; double ; down ; drag ; dukes ; end ; frills ; grindstone ; hand ; head ; horse ; kibosh; light ; miller ; MILLER'S-EYE ; nail ; name ; nose ; oar ;

Putney. 335 Pygostole.

pin ; pipe ; pot; side ; spoke ; strong; time-o'-day; tongue; war-paint ; wrong-leg.

Putney. Go to Putney on a pig,/Ar. (common).—Sea quot., and cf. Bath, Halifax, Hong Kong, Jericho, &c.

1863. Kingsley, Austin Elliot, xv. Now, in the year 1845, telling a man to go to Putney, was the same as telling a man to go to the deuce.

Putrid, adj. (common).—A depreciative: cf. awful, bloody, &c.

1901. SportingTimes, 27 April, 1, 4. All beer is putrid, even when it's pure.

Putter, suds. (old).—A foot: see Creepers.

1821. Haggart, Life, 53. His ogles being darkened by the putter.

Putter-on, subs. phr. (old colloquial).—An instigator ; a prompter.

1601. Shakspeare, Henry VIII., i. 2, 24. They vent reproaches Most bitterly on you, as putter-on Of these exactions. Ibid. (1604), Winter's Tale, ii. 1, 140. You are abus'd, and by some putter-on That will be damn'd for it.

Puttock, subs. (old).—I. A whore : see Tart.

Putty, subs. (American).—Money: generic : see Rhino.

1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, 82. ' I'll take that lot.' ' You will V 'Yes, Mister ; and yere's yer putty ! '

2. (common). —A glazier or painter.

The putty and plaster on the Solomon knob, phr. (masons').—An intimation that the Master is coming ; ' be silent ! '

Puzzle (or Dirty-puzzle), subs. (old).—A slattern.

1583. Stubbes, Anatomy of Abuses [Nares]. Nor yet any droyle or puzzel . . . but will carry a nosegay in her hand.

1592. Shakspeare, / Henry VI., i. 4. Pucelle or puzzel, dolphin or dog fish.

1607. Stephanus, Afiol. for Herod., 98. Some filthy queans, especially our puzzles of Paris.

Puzzle-cove (or cause), subs. (old).—A lawyer.—Grose (1785); Matsell (1859).

Puzzledom, subs, (old colloquial). —Perplexity ; bewilderment : also puzzlement. Whence, puzzleheaded and puzzleheadedness.

1748. Richardson, Harlowe, vi. 367. I was resolved to travel with him unto the land of puzzledom.

1881. Freeman, Venice, 79. The wonderful interior of the double basilica opens upon us. The first feeling is simply puzzledom.

Puzzle-headed-spoon. See

Apostle-spoon.

Puzzle-text, subs. phr. (old).—A clergyman : see Sky-pilot. — Grose (1785).

Puzzling arithmetic, subs. phr. (old gamblers').—A statement of the odds.

1613. Webster, Devil's Law-case, ii. i. Studying a puzzling arithmetic at the cockpit.

Puzzling-sticks, subs. phr. (old). —The triangle to which culprits were tied for flagellation.—Vaux (1819).

Pygostole, subs, (clerical). — A

M.B. waistcoat (q.V.).

1844. Puck, 13. It is true that the wicked make sport Of our pygostoles, as we go by.

1886. Graphic, 10 April, 39. The M.B. coat, otherwise known as a pygostole.

Q. 336 Quack.

(cueor kue), subs. (old). —i. See quots. 1440 and 1617. Hence (2) a score (whence a reminder : cf. quot. 1594 and the theatrical usage), and (3) an item of small value : see Worth.

c.1440. Prompt. Parv., 106. Cu, hälfe a farthynge or q.

c.1510. Barclay, Good Manners (1570), Bij. All these . . . are scarcely worth a

kue.

1526. Skelton, Magny/ycence, 36. That lyberte was not worth a cue.

1594. Lyly, Mother Bombte, ii. 3. If you be examined how we met, sweare by chance . . . Every one remember his

que.

1617. Minsheu, Guide unto Tongues, Cue, hälfe a farthing, so called because they set down in the Battling or Butterie Bookes in Oxford and Cambridge the letter q for hälfe a farthing, and in Oxford when they make that Cue or q a farthing, they say, Cap my q, and make it a farthing

thus*

Q in a corner, phr. (legal). —Something not seen at once, but subsequently brought to notice.

See P's and Q's.

Q.H.B, (or K.H.B.), phr. (naval and military).—See quots. : also Queen's (or King's) bad bargain (or shilling).—Grose (1785).

1865. Cornhill Mag., Feb., 243. This was a man of the old school. The younger Bohemians of the service of my own standing were a more polished breed. . . . They were generally indeed, what used to be called Q. H. B.'s—Queen's hard bargains—from a professional point of view.

1890. Tit-Bits, 26 Ap., 35, i. A worthless character such as used to be called a Queen's bad shilling, when men were enlisted with a shilling. . . . He schemes into hospital ... to get off a route march, a field-day, coal-carrying.

1S98. Daily Mail, 13 Ap., 7, 2. The Q.H.B, used to devote his attention to the Militia, but the Royal Artillery is now a favourite corps with him. . . . Sent to so many different stations, the chances of detection are less.—[Abridged.]

Q.T. On the Q.T., phr. (common).—On the quiet : also on the strict Q.T.

c.1870. Broadside Ballad, ' Talkative Man from Poplar.' Whatever I tell you is on the Q.t.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, ix. We asked him on the Q.t. how it was.

Qua, subs. (old).—A prison : hence qua-keeper = a gaoler.—Tufis (1798).

Quab, subs. (old).—i. An unfledged bird.

1628. Ford, Lover's Melon., iii. 3. A quab. 'Tis nothing else, a very quab.

Quack, subs, (common).—1. A duck : also quacking-cheat and quacker.—Harman(1567); Dekker (1616) ; B. E. (<r.i6o6) ; Grose (1785).

Quackle. 337

Quag.

1707. Shirley, Triumph of Wit, 'Rum-Mort's Praise,' &c. A quacking cheat, Or tib-o'-th'-buttry was our meat.

2. See Quacksalver.

Verb, (old booksellers').—See quot.—Bailey (1726).

1715. Centlivre, Gotham Election, . . . He has an admirable knack at quacking titles . . . they tell me when he gets an old good-for-nothing book, he claps a new title to it, and sell off the whole impression in a week.

In a quack, phr. (Scots').— In the shortest time possible : cf. crack.

Quackle, verb. (American).—To drink ; to gobble ; to choke : Bartlett (1847) : ' provincial in England, and colloquial in America.'

1627. Rev. S. Ward, Sermons, 153. The drink, or something . . . quackled him, stuck so in his throat so that he could not get it up nor down, but strangled him presently.

1837. Carlyle, Er. Revolution, 11. i. i. Simple ducks in those royal waters quackle for crumbs from young royal fingers.

Quacksalver (Quacksalve or Quack), subs, (old : now recognised).—Originally a charlatan ; a travelling empiric who cackled about his salves : shortened by Wycherley to quack, which now = any noisy, specious cheat. Also as adj. and verb.—B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785). Whence quackery = professional humbug.

1579. Gosson, School of Abuse [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 604. He has the substantive quacksalver].

1596. Jonson, Ev. Man in Humour, iii. 2. All mere gulleries ... I could say what I know . . . but I profess myself no quacksalver.

1608. MiDDLETON, Mad World, ii. 6. Tut, man, any quack-salving terms will serve for this purpose.

1625. Massinger, Pari, of Love, iv. 5. What should a quacksalve, A fellow that does deal in drugs ... do with so fair a bedfellow.

1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, iii. Quacks in their Bills ... do not disappoint us more than gallants with their Promises.

Quad, subs, (colloquial). — 1. A quadrangle. Hence as verb. (Rugby) = to promenade Cloisters at 'calling over' before a footballmatch. Also quod (q.v.).

1840. Collegians' Guide, 144. His mother . . . had been seen crossing the quad in tears.

iSs?. Trollope, Warden, v. The quad, as it was familiarly called, was a small quadrangle.

1884. Daily News, 14 Oct., 5, 1. His undignified nickname is carved in the turf of the college quad.

2. See Quod, subs, and verb.

3. (common).—A horse ; a ' quadruped.'

1885. Eng. III. Mag., April, 509. The second rider . . . got his gallant quad over, and . . . went round the course alone.

4. (cyclists'). — A bicycle for four.

Qu/edam, subs. (old).—A harlot : see Tart.

1692. Hacket, Life of Williams, ii. 128. A seraglio of Quaidams.

Qu/e-gemes, subs. phr. (old).—A bastard : cf. Johnny Quœ-Genus, a character title.

Quaff, verb, (old : once and still literary in the weakened sense 2). —i. To carouse (B. E., f.1696): also to quaff off ; and (2) to drink with gusto. Quafftide (Stanyhurst) = the time of drinking.

Quag, subs. (old). —Marsh-land; a quagmire.—B. E. (c. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

Quail.

338

Quaker.

Adj. (American). — Untrustworthy; unsafe.--M.atsell(i859).

Quail, subs. (old).—A harlot : see Tart and cf. Plover, Pheasant, &c.

1602. Shakspeare, Troilus and Cressida, v. 1. Here's Agamemnon—an honest fellow enough, and one that loves quails.

1708. Motteux, Kaielais, Pro!, to Book IV. With several coated quails, and laced muttons, waggishly singing.

1640. Glapthorne, Hollander, . ._. The hot desire of quails, To your's is modest appetite.

Quail-pipe, subs. phr. (old).—1. A woman's tongue. — B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785). Also (2) the throat.

1692. Dryden, Juvenal, Satire 6. And stretch his quail-pipe till they crack his voice.

1714. Pope, Wife 0/ Bath, 213. To clear my quail-pipe, and refresh my soul, Full oft I drain'd the spicy nut-brown bowl.

Quail-pipe boots, subs. phr. (old). —Boots full of plaits and wrinkles : temp. Chas. II. ; also quillpipes.—Grose (1785).

1602. Middleton, Blurt, Master Constable, ii. i. A gallant that hides his small-timbered legs with a quail-pipe boot.

Quaint (Queint, Queynte, Quaynte or Cunt), subs. (old). —The female pudendum : see Monosyllable and Cunt.

1383. Chaucer. The Miller's Tale. And prively he caught hire by the queint.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes. Conno, A womans privie parts or quaint as Chaucer Calles it.

Adj. and adv. (old : now recognised). — ' Curious, neat, also strange.'—B. E. (<r. 1696).

Quake-br each, subs. phr. (old). —A coward.

1608. Withal, Diet. 338. Excors, ahartlesse, a faint-hearted fellow, a quakebreech, without boldnes, spirit, wit, a sot.

Quaker, subs. (old).—1. A member of the Society of Friends. Like Puritan (q.v.), which was ultimately accepted, Quaker originated in contempt, but it has never been accepted by the Society. Whence also Quakerdom = the world of Quakers ; Quakerish = prim, demure, and so forth.

1664. Butler, Hudiiras, 11., ii., 219. Quakers that, like to lanterns, bear Their lights within 'em wfll not swear.

1677. Penn, Travels in Holland [Century], A certain minister in Bremen . . . reproached with the name of Quaker.

1847. Bronte, Jane Eyre, xxiv. Don't address me as if I were a beauty ; I am your plain Quakerish governess.

1876. Eliot, Daniel Deronda, xviii. Her rippling hair, covered by a Quakerish net-cap, was chiefly grey.

2. (old).—A rope or pile of excrement ; a Turd (q.v.), Fr. rondin and sentinelle. Hence

to bury a quaker — to ease

the bowels ; and Quaker's burying-ground = a jakes : see Mrs. Jones.

3. (naval and military).—See quot. 1882 : also quaker-gun.

1840. Dana, Before the Mast, xxvii. A Russian government barque, from Asitka, mounting eight guns (four of which we found to be quakers).

1862. New York Tribune, Mai. The . . . impregnability of the position turns out to be a sham . . . Quakers were mounted on the bulwarks.

Quaker City. 339 Quantum.

1883. Daily Telegraph, 30Der^-., 6, 1. Gangways and quarter-decks bristling with guns and lower portholes rendered formidable to the eye by those sham wooden pieces called quakers, because they were never fought.

Stewed-quaker, sues. phr. (American colloquial).—A remedy for colds: composed of vinegar and molasses (or honey), mixed with butter and drunk hot.

Quaker City, stibs. phr. (American). — Philadelphia. [William Penn, its founder, belonged to the Society of Friends.]

Quaker's bargain, subs. phr. (old). — A bargain ' Yea ' or ' Nay ' ; a ' take-it-or-leave-it ' transaction.

1697. Vanbrugh, Prov. Wife, ii. Lady F. At what rate would this ... be brought off? . . . Heart. Why, madam, to drive a Quaker's bargain, and make but one word with you, if, &c.

Quaking-cheat, subs. phr. (old). — I. A calf; and (2) a sheep.— B. E. (^.1696); Grose (1785).

qualify, verb, (venery).—To copulate : see Greens and Ride.

Quality (The), subs, (once literary, now colloquial or vulgar).— The gentry ; the upper ten {(/.v.) : cf. 'the dignity' applied (Patten, 1548) to nobles in the army. Whence quality-air = a distinguished carriage.

1599. Shakspeare, Henry V., iv., 8, 94. The rest are princes, barons, lords, knights, squires, and gentlemen of blood and quality.

1700. Centlivre, Perjured Husband, iii., ii. 'Tis an insufferable fault, that quality can have no pleasure above the vulgar, except it be in not paying their debts.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 106. They have themselves

quality airs.

1857. A. Trollope, Barchester Towers, xxxv. The quality, as the upper classes in rural districts are designated by the lower with so much true discrimination, were to eat a breakfast, and the non-quality were to eat a dinner.

Qualm, subs, (old : once, and still, literary).—'A stomack-fit ; also calmness.' Also qualmish = 'crop-sick, queasy stomackt.' —B. E. (f.1696).

Quandary, subs, (colloquial).—A difficulty or doubt ; ' a low word' (Johnson, 1755). Alsoaszw£.= to hesitate; to puzzle.—Grose (1785). [a* quot. 1563.]

c.1440. Pel ig. Pieces [E. E. T. S.], 11. The sexte vertue es strengthe . . . euynly to suffire the wele and the waa, welthe or wandreth.

1563. Foxe, Acts and Monuments [Oliphant, New. Eng. i. 540. The k is prefixed ; the old wandrethe (turbatioj becomes quandary].

1590. Greene, Never Too Late [Whs. viii, 84]. Thus in aquandarie, he sate.

d.1655. Rev. T. Adams, Works. 1. 505. He quandaries whether to go forward to God, or ... to turn back to the world.

1681. Otway, Soldier s Fortune, iii. I am quandary'd like one going with a

Earty to discover the enemy's camp, but ad lost his guide upon the mountains.

1748. Smollett, Bod. Random, liv. Throw persons of honour into such quandaries as might endanger their lives.

1874. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, i S., No. xxiii., 424. Sam Rimmer sat looking at her as if in a quandary, gently rubbing his hair, that shone again in the sun.

Quantum, subs, (common).—As much as you want or ought to have : spec, a drink ; a go (q.v.). Whence quantum suff = enough.

Quarrel.

340

Quashie.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 57. Juno and he have had their quantum, And play no more at rantum-scantum.

C.1871. Siliad, 99. I, too, O comrade, quantum suß. would cry.

Quarrel. — See Bread-and-Butter, Pick, Take.

Quarrel-picker, subs. phr. (old). —A glazier. — B. E. (c.1696); Grose (1785).

1676. Warening for Housekeepers, 4. The third sort of thieves, which are called glasiers, are the right quarrel-pickers . . . they take out a pane of glass, and so go in at the window, and take what stands next them.

Quarroms (Quarrome, or Quarron), subs. (Old Cant).—The body.—Harman (1567); Dekker (1620); B. E. (e. 1696).

1377. Langland, Piers Plowman, B. xiv., 331. Ne noyther sherte ne shone To keure my caroigne.

c. 1450. Knt. de la Tour, xxvii (1868) 39. To adorne suche a carion as is your

[?] Colin Bl&wbols Testament (Hazlitt, E. Pop. Poetry, i, 96]. First, I bequeath my goost that is barren, When it is depertid from the careyne.

1567. Harman, Caveat, 84. Bene Lightmans to thy quarromes, in what lipken hast thou lypped in thisdarkemans, whether in a lybbege or in the strummell ?

1707. Old Song, ' The Maunder's Praise of His Strowling Mort' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 33. White thy fambles, red thy gan, And thy quarrons dainty is.

Quarry, subs, (venery). — The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Quarter, subs. (American). — A quarter dollar ; twenty-five cents.

1824. Atlantic Magazine, 1. 343. Every man . . . vociferously swore that he had ponied up his quarter.

Quarter • decker, subs. phr. (naval).—An officer more remarkable for manners than seamanship. HenceQUARTER-DECKish = punctilious.

Quartereen, subs, (theatrical).— A farthing : see Rhino.

Quarter-sessions Rose, subs, phr. (gardeners').—A 'perpetual ' rose. [Fr. rose de quatre saisons. ]

Quart-mania, subs. phr. (common).—Delirium tremens : see Gallon-distemper.

Quarto (or Mr. Quarto), subs. (old).—A publisher or bookseller : see Barabbas.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, iv. My bookseller . . . Mr. Quarto.

Quart-pot tea, subs. phr. (Australian).—See quot.

1885. Finch-Hatton, Advance Australia. Quart-pot tea, as tea made in the bush is always called, is really the proper way to make it. A tin quart of water is set down by the fire, and when it is boiling hard a handful of tea is thrown in, and the pot instantly removed from the fire.

Quash, verb, (old : once, and still, literary).—'To annul; to overthrow ; to extinguish : vulgarly pron. squash.'—B. E. (f. 1696); Grose (1785).

Quashie (or Quassy), subs, (common).—A negro ; generic : see Snowball.

1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle's Log, xi. Half a dozen mules, accompanied by three or four negroes, but with no escort whatsoever. ' I say, quashie, where are the bombardiers ? '

1847. Porter, Big Bear, 89. To show his gratitude invited quashev to go up to the doggery and liquor.

Quat. 341 Quean.

Quat, subs. (old). —A dwarfish person : also (occasionally) a

shabster (q.V.).

1602. Shakspeare, Othello, v. 1. I have rubbed this young quat almost to the sense, And he grows angry.

1609. Dekker, Quits Horn Book, vii. Whether he be a young quat of the first yeare's revennew, or some austere and sullen-faced steward.

1613. Webster, Devil's Law Case. O young quat ! incontinence is plagued in all creatures in the world.

Verb, (common).—To ease the bowels : also to go to quat.

Quatch, adj. (old).—Flat.

1598. Shakspeare, Air s Well, ii. 2, 18. Like a barber's chair that fits all buttocks ; the pin-buttock, the quatchbuttock, ... or any buttock.

Quatro, adj. (showmen's).—Four. [From the It.]

Quaver, subs, (common).—A musician.

Quavery-wavery, adj. and adv. (old : dialectical).—Undecided.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 338. Standing . . . quaverywavery between life and death.

Quay, adj. (American thieves').— Unsafe ; untrustworthy.

Quean (or Queen), subs. — 1. Primarily a woman : without regard to character or position. Hence (2) = a slut, hussy (q.v.), or strumpet : to play the quean = to play the whore.— B. E. (c. 1696); Bailey (1725) ; Grose (1785). Whence queanry = (1) womankind ; (2) harlotry ; and (3) the estate of whoredom.

1362. Langland, Piers Plowman, ix. 46. At churche in the charnel cheorles aren yuel to knowe, Other a knyght fro a knaue other a queyne fro a queene.

1383. Chaucer, Manciple's Tale, Prol., 18. Hastow with som quene at nyght yswonke.

[?] Scott, Chron. S. P., iii. 148. Quhair hurdome ay unhappis With quenry, cannis and coppis.

1591. Harington, Ariost., xxxv. 26. Penelope was but a queane.

1593. Nashe, Christ's Teares [Grosart, Works (18. .), iv. 224]. Every queane vaunts herselfe of some or other man of Nobility.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, iv. 2. A witch, a quean, an old cozening

quean.

1596. Jonson, Ev. Man in Humour, iv. 3. Kib. A bitter quean ! Come, we will have you tamed. Ibid. (1601), Poetaster, iv. 3. She's a curst quean, tell him, and plays the scold behind his back.

.... Watkyns in Heywards Quint., i. 143 [Nares]. If once the virgin conscience plays the quean, We seldom after care to keep it clean.

1611. Middleton, Roaring Girl, ii.

i. There are more queans in this town of their own making than of any man's provoking.

c. 1613. Fletcher, Nice Valour, ii. 1 [Dyce, x. 316]. A man can in his lifetime make but one woman, But he may make his fifty queans a month.

1614. Times Whistle [E. E. T. S.], 45. Flavia because her meanes are somewhat scant, Doth sell her body to relieve her want, Yet scornes to be reputed as a

quean.

1621. Burton, Anat. Melan., I. 11. iv. 6. A base quean. Ibid., III. 11. i. 2. Rahab, that harlot began to be a professed quean at ten years of age. Ibid., III. 11.

ii. i. They are commonly lascivious, and if women, queans. Ibid., III. 11. ii. 5. I

erceived ... by the naked queans, that was come into a bawdy-house.

1634. Ford, Perkin Warbeck, ii. 3. I never was ambitious Of using congees to my daughter-queen—A queen ! perhaps a quean !

1731. Coffey, Devil to Pay, i. 2. Where are my sluts '? Ye drabs, ye queans—lights there !

1777. Sheridan, School for Scandal,

iii. 3. Here's to the flaunting extravagant quean.

Queasy.

342 Queen Dick.

1787. Burns, To the Guidwife of Wauchofe House. \ see her yet. the sonsie quean That lighted up my jingle. Ibid. (1791), Tarn CSkanter. Now Tarn, O Tarn ! had there been queans A' plump and strapping in their teens. Ibid., Merry Muses O.1800), 'Wha'll Mow Me Noo." An' I maun thole the scornful sneer O' mony a saucy quine.

1822. Scott, Nigel, iii. I was disturbed with some of the_ night-walking queans and swaggering billies.

Queasy, adj. (old : now recognised).—Qualmish; squeamish.— B. E. (<M6o6).

Queed, subs. (old).—The devil : see Skipper.—Bailey (1726).

Queen. Where the Queen goes on foot (or sends nobody), phr. (common).—A watercloset : see Mrs. Jones.

Queen Anne. Queen Anne (Queen Elizabeth, My Lord Baldwin (Ray, 1670)—or any personage whose decease is wellknown) is dead, phr. (old).—A retort on stale news : also Queen Anne is dead and her bottom's cold. Whence (in quot. 1753) Queen Elizabeth's women = ensigns of antiquity. Cf. News. Fr. Cest vieux comme le Pont-Neuf : Henri Quatre est sur U Pont-Neuf.

c.1619. Bp Corlet, Elegy on Death of Queen Anne [of Denmark, Consort of Jas. I.]. Noe ; not a quatch, sad poets; doubt you There is not griefe enough without you? Or that it will asswage ill newes To say, Shee's dead that was your muse.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversations, i. Lady Smart. . . . What news Mr. Neverout ? Neverout. Why, Madam, Queen Elizabeth's dead.

1753. Richardson, Grandison, i. 296. We will leave the modem world to themselves, and be Queen Elizabeth's

WOMEN.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 'Account of a New Play.' Lord Brougham, it appears, isn't dead, though Queen Anne is.

1859. Thackeray, Virginians, lxxiii. ' He was my grandfather's man, and served him in the wars of Queen Anne.' . . . On which my lady cried petulantly, ' Oh Lord, Queen Anne's dead, I suppose, and we ain't a going into mourning for her.

Queen Anne's Fan, subs. phr. (old). — A sight (q.v.) : see Bacon, Thumb, and Fig.

Queen Bess, subs. phr. (old).— See quot. and Ned Stokes.

1791. Gent. Mag., lxi. 141. The Queen of Clubs is here [Lincolnshire] called Queen Bess, perhaps because that Queen, history says, was of a swarthy complexion.

Queen City, subs. phr. (American). —Cincinnati : also Porkopolis and The Paris of America.

oli8S2. Longfellow [Bartlett]. This song of the vine . . . The winds and the birds shall deliver To the Queen of the West.

Queen City of the Lakes, subs.

phr. (America).—Buffalo.

Queen City of the Mississippi,

subs. phr. (American).—St. Louis.

Queen Dick, subs. phr. (old).— Nobody. Hence, in the reign of Queen Dick = Never ; to

the tune of the life and

death of Queen Dick = no tune at all.—Grose (1785).

English synonyms. — At Latter Lammas (see Lammas) ; on the Greek Calends (q.v.) ; on St. Tib's Eve (see Tib's Eve) ; on to-morrow-come-never ; in the month of five Sundays ; when two Fridays (or three Sundays) come together ; when Dover and Calais meet ; when

Queen Elisabeth. 343 Queen's College.

Dudman and Ramehead meet ; when the world grows honest ; when the Yellow River runs clear ; on the 31st June (or some other impossible date) ; once in a blue moon ; when two Sundays come in a week ; when the devil is blind (or blind drunk) ; at Doomsday ; one of these odd-comeshortlys ; when my goose pisses ; when the ducks have eaten up the dirt ; when pigs fly ; on St. Geoffrey's day (Grose).

French synonyms.—Dans une semaine de trois ou quatre fendis ; Mardi s'il fait chaud (obsolete) ; Dimanche après la grande messe ; quand les poules pisseront.

1691-2. Gentlemen's Journal, Feb., 15. And then from Queen Dick got a patent On Charlton Green to set up a tent.

1864. Standard, 13 Dec A bus driver in altercation with his conductor, who threatened him with paying off soon, replied, Oh yes, in the reign of Queen Dick.

Queen Elizabeth, i. 5«Queen Anne.

2. (thieves').—The street-door key : see Betty.

Queen Elizabeth's Pocketpistol, subs. phr. (old).—'A brass cannon of a prodigious length at Dover Castle.'—B. E. (r.1696).

1751. Smollett, Per. Pickle, xxxiv. The company walked up hill to visit the castle, . . . where they saw Queen Elizabeth's pocket-pistol.

Queenite, subs, (obsolete). — A partizan of Queen Caroline. [The consort of George IV.] Cf. KlNGITE.

1834. Southey, The Doctor, Interch., xvi. He thought small beer at that time of some very great patriots and Queenites.

Queen-of-holes, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum: see Monosyllable.

d. 1680. Rochester, On tlu Charms of Hidden Treasure [Works (1718), 1. 91]. Thou mighty Princess, lovely Queen of Holes, Whose monarchy the bravest man controls.

queen-of-the-dripping pan,

subs. phr. (common).—A cook.

Queen's (or King's) Ale, subs, phr. (old).—The strongest ale brewed.

1574. Burgh Ree. Glasgow (1876), 1. 25. That thair be na derare aill sauld nor sax penneies the pynt, and that the samyn be Kingis aill and verraye guid.

Queen's bad-bargain (or Shilling).— See Q. H. B.

Queen's Bays (The), subs. phr. (military).—The Third Dragoon Guards, now " The Bays." [The Corps were (c. 1767) mounted on bay horses ; the other heavy regiments (except the Scots Greys) having black.]

Queen's Bus, subs. phr. (thieves'). —A prison van : Black Maria (q.v.) ; also Her Majesty's Carriage.

Queen's (or King's) Carriage (or Cushion), subs. phr. (common). —An improvised seat : made by two persons crossing and clasping hands, the rider holding both bearers round the neck ; as bandy-chair (q.v.)

1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, vii. He was now mounted on the hands of two of the rioters, clasped together, so as to form what is called . . . the King's cushion.

Queen's College. — See College.

Queen's English. 344

Queer.

Queen's (or King's) English,

subs. phr. (colloquial).—The English language correctly written or spoken.

1593. Nash, Strange Newes. [Grosart, Works, ii. 184]. He must be running on the letter, and abusing the Queenes English without pittie or mercie.

c.1604. Shakspeare, Merry Wives (played c. 1600), i. 4, 6. Abusing of God's patience and the King's English.

1836. E. Howard, R. Reefer, xxxv. They . . . put the King's English to death so charmingly.

1869. Alford, Plea for the Queen's English [Title].

1886. Oliphant, New English, i. ai2. King Henry V. comes before us, and we may now fairly begin to talk of King's English.

Queen's (or King's) Head, subs, phr. (common). — A postagestamp.

1843. Moncrieff, Scamps of London, i. 2. On that occasion you sent me a queen's head, politely inviting me . . . to . . . advance you a few hundreds on your personal security.

Queen's-herb, subs. phr. (old).— Snuff.

Queen's (or King's) Picture (or Portrait), subs. phr. (old).—1. Money : generic : see Rhino. Also (2—spec.) = a sovereign ; 20: hence to draw the Queen's (or King's) picture (or portrait) = to coin money.— B. E. O-.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1632. Brome, The Court Beggar [Works (1873), i. 258], v. 2. This picture drawer drew it, and has drawn more of the King's pictures than all the limners in the town.

1706. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, i. vii. 26. In short. Queen's pictures, by their features, Charm all degrees of human creatures.

1845. _ Disraeli, Sybil, ni. i. I have been making a pound a-week these two months past, but, as I'm a sinner saved, I have never seen the young Queen's picture yet.

1858. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, in. iii. 265. 'I've brought a couple of bene coves, with lots of the Queen's pictures in their sacks.'

1887. Judy, 27 April, 202. While we had the Queen's portrait in our pockets we were well received everywhere.

Queen's (or King's) pipe.—See

Pipe.

Queen's-STICK, subs. phr. (common).—A stately person.

Queen Street. To live in Queen Street (or at the sign of the Queen's Head), verb, phr. (old).—To be under petticoat-government (q.v.). — Grose (1785).

Queen's-woman, subs. phr. (military). — A soldier's trull : see Tart.

1871. Royal Commission on Cont. Dis. Act. [Report]. Some of them are called Queen's Women, and consider themselves a privileged class, and exhibit the printed order to attend the periodical examination as a certificate of health.

Queer (Quire or Quyer), subs. and adj. (Old Cant : now in some senses colloquial or accepted).— A generic depreciative : criminal, base, counterfeit, odd (B. E., r.1696, and Grose,

„ 1785) : cf. Rum. Later usages are (1) = out of sorts or seedy (q.v. ) from drink, sickness, or accident ; (2) unfavourable or unpropitious; and(3)strange or cranky (q.v.) : whence also queers

(subs.), queered, and qu eery.

Thus (old) queer-bail = fraudulent bail, straw-bail (q.v.) ; queer-bird = a jail-bird, a convict ; queer-bitch = ' an odd, out-of-the-way fellow ' (GROSE) ;

Queer.

345

Queer.

queer-bit (-cole, -money, -paper, -screens, -soft, or

queer) = base money, coin or notes (whence queer-shover ; to shove the queer = to pass counterfeit money ; and queer-bit maker = a coiner) ; queer-bluffer = a cut-throat innkeeper ; queer-booze = poor lap, swipes {q.v.) ; queer-bung = an empty purse ; queer-checker = a swindling box-keeper ; queercard (fellow, or fish) = a person strange in manner or views (also, in pi. = queer-cattle) ; queer-clout — a handkerchief not worth stealing ; queer-colemaker — a coiner ; queer-colefencer = a receiver (or utterer) of base coin; queer-cove -bird, -cull, or -gill) = (i) a rogue, thief, or gaol-bird, (2) a f°P) (3) ^a f°⁰¹i ^and (4) a shabbilydressed person ; queer-cuffin = (1) a magistrate, a beak {q.v.), and (2) a churl; queerdegen = a poor sword ; queer-diver = a bungling pickpocket ; queer-doxy = (i) a jilting jade, and (2) an ill-dressed whore ; queer-drawers = old or coarse stockings ; queer-duke = (1) a decayed gentleman, and (2) a starveling ; queer-'em (queer-'un or queer-'um) = the gallows; queer-fun = a bungled trick ; queer-ken (or queer-ken-hall) — (l) a prison ; and (2) a house not worth robbing ; queer-kicks = tattered breeches ; queer-mort = a dirty drab, a jilting wench, a pocky whore ; queer-nab = a shabby hat ; queer-peeper = (i) a mirror of poor quality, and (2), in pi. = squinting eyes ; queerplunger = a cheat working the drowning man and rescue dodge ; queer-prancer = (i) a

foundered whore, and (2) an old screw ; queer-rooster = a police spy living among thieves; queer-topping = a frowsy wig ; queer-wedge = base gold ; queer-whidding = a scolding ; queer-gammed = crippled ; to queer = to spoil, to get the better of ; to be queered = to be drunk ; to tip the queer = to pass sentence ; to be queer to (or on) = (i) to rob ; (2) to treat harshly; in Queer Street = (1) in a difficulty, (2) = wrong, and (3) = hard-up. —Awdeley (1560) ; Harman (1567) ; Rowlands (1610) ; Head (1665); B. E. (c. 1696); Coles (1724); Bailey (1726) ; Parker (1781) ; Grose (1785); Vaux (1812); Bee (1823).

1560. Awdeley, Fratemitye 0/ Vacabondes, 4. A quire bird is one that came lately out of prison, and goeth to seeke seruice.

1567. Harman, Caveat, 85. It is quyer bouse (it is small and naughtye drynke).

1592. Greene, Quip [Grosart, Works (18 . .) xi. 283]. You can lift or nip a bounge like a quire coue, if you want pence.

1608. Dekker, Lant/iome and Candlelight [Grosart, Works (188 ), iii. 203]. To the quier cuffing we bing. laid. 196. In canting they terme a Justice of peace, because he punisheth them belike (by no other name than by quier cuffin, that is to say, a Churle, or a naughty man). Ibid. Then to the quier ken, to scoure the Cramp-ring.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all. ' Towre out ben Morts.' And the quire coves tippe the lowre. Ibid. But if we be spid we shall be clyd, And carried to

the quirken hall.

1622. Fletcher, Beggar's Bush. We the cuffins quere defy.

1707. Shirley, Triumph of Wil [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 35]. Duds and Cheats thou oft has won, Yet the cuffin quire couldst shun.

Queer.

346

Queer.

1712. Spectator, No. 474. I beg you would publish this letter, and let me be known all at once for a queer fellow, and avoided.

1752. Smollett, Faithful Narrative, Wks. (1901, xii. 184). The very cule who hath a warrant against me for snabbling his peeter and queer Joseph.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 59. Thyestes died exceeding rich, And left his staff to this queer bitch. Ibid. 103. Gods are queer fish as well as men.

1789. Parker, Happy Pair [in Life's Painter]. Though fancy queergamm'd smutty Muns Was once my fav'rite man. Ibid. Bunter s Christening; v. Such a queer procession of seedy brims and kids. Ibid. (1800). Life's Painter, 144. The queer-plunger, the surgeon, and the landlord get upon this lock about ten guineas, and share the whack.

1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, xxv. " He knows my gybe [pass] as well as the jark [seal] of e'er a queer cuffin [justice of peace] in England."

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. i. The duke and the dealer in queer—the lady and her scullion— .... they are "all there."

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, xxiii. " Vou would be queered in the drinking of a penny pot of malmseys. "

1824. Sonnets for the Fancy [Boxiana, iii. 622]. The queerum queerly smear'd with dirty black. Ibid. The knowing bench had tipped her buzer

queer.

18*5. Jones, True Bottomed Boxer [Univ. Songster, ii. 96]. Till groggy and queery.

1826. Bruton, My Mugging Maid [Univ. Songster, iii. 103] Told me, that Hodge's max had queered My mugging maid.

1827. Lytton, Pelham, lxxxfii. Oh, my kiddies, cried Bess . . . you are in Queer Street.

1829. Marryat, Frank Mildmay, xx. ' You Englishmen go to work in a queerish kind of way,' said he, ' you send soldiers to live on an island where non« but sailors can be of use.'

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood (1864), 180. Rum gills and queer gills. Ibid. ' Nix my Doll.' Readily the queer screens I could smash.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, lv. 482. " If you had gone to any low member of the profession, it's my firm conviction . . . that you would have found yourselves in Queer Street before this."

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ' Grey Dolphin.' Things . . . were looking rather queerish.

1S37. Disraeli, Venetia. Queer Cuffin will be the word yet if we don't tout.

1844. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, xvii. I could tell tales of scores of queer doings there.

1848. Dickens, Dombey &* Son, xl. ' A fair friend of ours has removed to Queer Street.' 'What do you mean, Major ? ' 'I mean . . . that you will soon be an orphan-in-law.'

1855. C. Kingsley, Westward Ho. " ' Go away,' I heard her say, ' there's a dear man.' And then something about a ' queer cuffin,' that's a justice in these carter's thieves' Latin." Ibid. (1857) Two Years Ago, xiv. I am very high in Queer Street just now, ma'am, having paid your bills before I left town.

1862. Thackeray, Philip, iv. ' We've seen his name—the old man's—on some very queer paper, says B. with a wink to J.

1865. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, ii. 5. Put it about in the right quarter that you'll buy queer bills by the lump.

1366. London Misc., 5 May, 202. I don't think I told you all the business. A precious queer start it was.

1871. Figaro, 20 Feb. He established a saloon in New York which became the headquarters of all the counterfeiters and shovers of the queer in the country.

1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, 218. Consumption was queering him.

1886-96. Marshall, Pomes [1897], 16. It is true her descent was in some respects

queer.

1888. Missouri Republican, 4 Mar. The police are looking for the queershover, and are confident of effecting his capture. Ibid. 25 Jan. Moulds for making the queer having been found on his premises.

Queer.

347

Queer.

1894. Moore, Esther Waters, xli. It was not his habit to notice domestic differences of opinion, especially those in which women had a share—queer cattle that he knew nothing about.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 240. He hardly ever uttered the spurious coins himself . . . and, consequently, seldom had any queer about his person.

2. (old).—See quot.

1818. Egan, Boxiana, 11. 423 [Note]. Queer, a term made use of by the dealers in soot, signifying a substitute imposed for the original article, inferior in point of value, 4d. per bushel.

3. (common).—A quiz (q.v.) ; a look ; a hoax : also queerquish. As verb. = (1) to ridicule, and (2) to distinguish or divine, to spot (q.v. ) ; queerer = a quizzer (q.V.).

c. 1790. Old Song, ' Plash Man of St. Giles's' [Busy Bee . . .] And queer'd the flats at thrums, E, O.

1814. Colman, Poetical Vagaries, 144. A shoulder-knotted puppy, with a grin, Queering the thread-bare curate, let him in. Ibid. 150. These wooden wits, these quizzen, queerers, smokers.

1818. Scott, Midlothian, xxvi. " Wha is he, Jeanie?—wha is he?—I haena heard his name yet—Come now, Jeanie, ye are but queering us."

1823. Byron, Don Juan, xi. 19. Who in a row like Tom could lead the van, Booze in the ken, or at the spell ken hustle ? Who queer a flat ?

1844. Puck, 13. I'm as happy o'er my beer as anyone that's here, And if need comes can queer a bargee again.

1857. Punch, 31 Jan., 49. 'DearBill, This Stone-jug.' In the day-rooms the cuflins we queer at our ease.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, v. 15. Have a queer at her phiz. Ibid. Tab. 11. 2. Let's have another queer at the list.

2. (old).—Cute; knowing; fly (q.v.).

1789. Parker, Sandman's Wedding, ' Air,' ii. For he's the kiddy rum and

queer.

Verb, (common). — 1. See subs. 3.

2. (common).—To spoil ; to outwit ; to perplex. Hence to queer a pitch (cheap Jacks and showmen) — to spoil a chance of business ; to queer the noose or stifler = to cheat the hangman ; to queer fate = to get the better of the inevitable ; to queer the ogles = to blacken the eyes.—Grose (1785) ; Vaux (1819).

1818. Scott, Midlothian, xxiii. I think Handie Dandie and I may queer the stifler for all that is come and gone.

Ibid. If the bqueers the noose,

that silly cull will marry her.

1819. Old Song, 'Young Prig' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 83]. There no queering fate, sirs.

1836. Milner, Turpin's Ride to York, i. 2. I can queer these brither blades of the road.

1843. Moncrieff, Scamps of London, ii. 3. I'll queer them yet.

1875. Frost, Circus Life, 278. Any interruption of their feats, such as an accident, or the interference of a policeman, is said to queer the pitch.

1886. Referee, 21 Feb. Endeavours made to queer a rival's or an antagonist's pitch. Ibid. (1889), 26 May. Why should not our non-professors' little game be queered ?

1891. Morning Advertiser, 27 Mar. His pitch being queered he marched to another point, but here he found the police in possession.

1900. Free Lance, 6 Oct., 20, 2. That's the third show she's queered this season. I believe she'd sink a ship.

Queer (fine, odd, or tight) as Dick's (or Nick's) hatband, phr. (old).—Out of order or sorts, not knowing why : also as queer as Dick's hatband that went nine times round and wouldn't meet.—Grose(1785).

Queer-roost. 348 Quid.

Queer-roost. To doss (or sleep)

on the queer-roost, verb. phr. (old).—To live as man and wife ; to live tally (q.v.) ; to dab (q.v.) it up.

1800. Parker, Life's Painter, 120. We dorsed some time upon the queer

roost.

Queint. See Quaint.

Qu em e. See QuiM.

Quencher, subs, (common).— A drink ; a go (q.v.). Also modest quencher. 1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop,

XXXV. a modest quencher.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brawn's SclwolDays, i. i. We must really take a modest quencher, for the down air is provocative of thirst.

1888. Sporting Life, 7 Dec. Ohl the l. a.C. are jovial souls, They quaff the modest quencher.

1901. Nisbet, Hermes, 62. Come below and have a quencher.

Querier, subs. (old).—See quot.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., ii. 403. The "Gumblers" or queriers, that is to say, those [chimney-sweepers] who solicit custom in an irregular manner, by knocking at the doors of houses and such like.

Question. To question a horse, verb. phr. (racing).—To test a horse before a race.

1890. Lie. Vict. Gaz.,7 Nov. He is a thorough judge of horses, knows what work they want, and is not afraid of asking them a question, like some trainers we know of.

See Pop. Queynte. See Quaint.

Qui. To get the qui, verb. phr. (printers').—To be dismissed; to get a quietus.

• Quibble. See Quip.

Quick. Quick and Nimble, more like a bear than a Squirrel, phr. (old).—A jeer on leisurely movement. — Grose (1823).

See Sticks and Trigger.

Quickening-peg, subs. phr. (venery). — The penis : also quickener : see Prick.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, m. Prol. In the name of . . . the four hips that engendered you, and to the quickening peg which at that time conjoined them.

Quicunque vult. See Athanasian Wench.

Quid, subs. (common).—1. A sovereign ; 20/: formerly a guinea. Also, in//., generic for money : see Rhino. — b. E. (f.1696) ; Grose (1785) ; Parker (1789) ; Vaux (1819). Fr. de quoi and quibus.

i3ig. Moore, Tom Crib's Memorial, 27. If quids should be wanting, to make the match good.

1S34. Ainsworth, Rookivood, in. ix. Zoroaster took long odds that the match was off; offering a bean to half a

quid.

1857. Dickens, All Year Round' Take yer two quid to one,' adds the speaker, picking out a stout farmer.

1870. Hazlewood and Williams, Leave it to Me, i. Sarah, I'm going to be rich, I shalr have money—lots of money— quids, quids, quids !

1883. Pall Mall Gaz., 27 Ap., 4, 2. £4 13s. is announced in the plate, amid cheers and exhortations to " make it up to five quid."

1900. White, West End, 17. ' I say, Rupert, could you lend me a couple

of quid?

2. (common).—See quot. 1748: as verb. = to chew. — Grose (1785)

Quidnunc.

349

Quietus.

1748. Dyche, Diet., s.v. Quid, so much tobacco as a person can take between his thumb and two fore-fingers, when cut small, in order to put into his mouth to chew.

1771. Smollett, Humphry Clinker, 57. A large roll of tobacco was presented by way of dessert, and every individual took a comfortable quid.

1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of Midge, 103. Wait until your wound gets better. Surely you have not a quid in your cheek now?

1889. Daily Telegraph, 1 Jan. A deleterious custom—that of chewing quids.

3. (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

Verb. (American).—To puzzle ; to embarrass.

See Quip.

Quidnunc, subs, (colloquial).—(1) A person curious, or professing, to know everything. [Latin = 'What now?']. Hence (2) a politician. [Popularised by a character in Murphy's Upholsterer (1758).]

1709. Steele, Tatter, No. 10. " The insignificancy of my manners to the rest of the world, makes the laughers call me a quidnunc, a phrase which I neither understand, nor shall never enquire what they mean by it.'

1729. Pope, Dunciad, i. 270. This the great Mother dearer held than all The clubs of Quidnuncs, or her own Guildhall.

1818. Moore, Fudge Family, pt. 8r. Or Quidnuncs, on Sunday, just fresh from the barber's Enjoying their news.

1886. Athenteum, 6 Nov. 595, 1. What the masses believed . . . and what the quidnuncs of London repeated, may here be found.

Quid pro Quo,/»Ar. (colloquial).— A tit for tat ; a Rowland for an Oliver (q.v.) : an equivalent.

Also quid for quod. Cf. quip.

1565. Calfhill, Anszv. to Martiall [Parker Soc.). [Oliphant, Neiu Eng. i. 571. Among the Romance words are . . . quid pro quo, Tom Fool . . .]

1592. Shakspeare, / Hen. IV. v. 3. I cry for mercy, 'tis but quid for quo.

1608. Middleton, Mad World, ii. Let him trap me in gold, and I'll lap him in lead ; quid pro quo.

1611. Chapman, May-day, i. 2. Women of themselves . . . would return quid for quod still, but we are they that spoil 'em.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 262. Unless she lets her conscience go, And gives the knave a quid pro quo.

1820. Combe, Syntax, u. iii. I shall be able With all fair reasoning to bestow What you will find a quid pro quo.

1890. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, x. A quid pro quo, his friend suggested jocosely, emphasising the quid with a facetious stress.

Qu i en, subs, (common).—A dog.

1861. Reade, Cloister and Hearth iv. ' Curse these quiens,' said he.

Quier. See Queer, passim.

Quiet. On the Quiet. See Q. T.

As quiet as a wasp in one's nose, phr. (colloquial).— Uneasy; restless.—Ray (1670).

Quietus (or Quietus est), subs. (colloquial).—A form of finality ; a settling blow ; death, &c. : originally = a quittance or pardon.

c.1537. Latimer, Remains [Parker Soc], 309. [You will] have your quietus est.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii. 1. "Who would fardels bear . . . When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin ? "

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 317. Nestor's in danger, stop and meet us, Or Hector gives him his quietus.

1891. Lie. Vic. Gaz., 3 Ap. After a contest which lasted for the best part of an hour and a-half, M'Carthy received his quietus.

Quiff.

350 Quill-driver.

1901. Clement Scott [in Free Lance, 19 Oct., 94, 1.] What am I to do with the whisky? It may do me good, but, on the other hand, it may give me an everlasting headache, or my quietus.

Quiff, subs, (general).—A satisfactory result : spec, an end obtained by means not strictly conventional. As verb. = to do well ; to jog along merrily. Also (tailors ) to quiff in the press = to change a breast pocket from one side to the other ; to quiff the bladder = to conceal baldness : cf. quiff (military) = a small flat curl on the temple.

Verb, (venery).—To copulate : see Ride.—Grose (1785).

c.1709. Old Ballad [Durfey, Pills (1709), iv. 18]. By quiffing with Cullies three Pound she had got.

Qui-Hl, subs. phr. (Anglo-Indian). —An English resident or official in Bengal.

1855. Thackeray, Ntwcomes, lxii. The old boys, the old generals, the old colonels, the old qui-his . . . came and paid her homage.

Quill, verb. (Winchester College). —To curry favour ; hence, to be quilled = to be pleased ; quiller (or quilster) = a toady (Fr. suceur) : cf. sucker.

Phrases.—Under the quill = under discussion : spec, in writing ; to carry a good quill = to write well ; in a quill = in a push ; to Piss in a quill (Irish proverb : ' They pissed in the same quill') = to be agreed to act as one ; to PISS through a quill = to write.

1594. Shakspeare, 2 Hen. VI., i. 3, i. My masters let's stand close ; my lord protector will come this way by and by, and then we may deliver our supplications in the quill.

1740. North, Examen, 70. So strangely did Papist and Fanatic or . . . the Anti-court Party piss in a quill ; agreeing in all things that tended to create troubles and disturbances.

d.1678. Marvell, Poems [Murray], 188. I'll have a council shall sit always still, And give me a license to do what I will ; and two secretaries shall piss

through a quill.

1692. Hacket, Life of Williams, ii. 28. The subject which is now under the quill is the Bishop of Lincoln.

Quill-driver (-man, -monger, -merchant; Brother, or Knight of the Quill), subs, phr. (common).—A penman — author, journalist, clerk, or (racing) bookmaker : Fr. rond de

cuir. Also hero of the quill

= a distinguished author. Hence quill-driving = clerking; to drive the quill = to write.—

Grose (1785).

1680. Observ. ' Curse ye Meroz,' 7. This Aphorism is but borrowed from another Brother of the Quill.

1691-2. Cent, /ml., 2 Mar. I know some of your sturdy tuff Knights of the Quill, your old Soakers at the Cabbaline Font.

1719. Durfey, Pills, &°c, iv. 319. When Inns of Court Kakes, And Quilldriving Prigs.

.1745. Swift, Epil. to Play for Benefit of Irish Weavers [Davies]. Their brother quill-men, workers for the stage, For sorry stuffe can get a crown a page.

1761. Murphy, The Citizen, 'Dram. Pers.' Quildrivb, clerk to old Philpot.

1827. Lytton, Pelham, xlix. Tolerably well known, I imagine, to the gentlemen of the quill.

1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle, vii. A dozen clerks were quill-driving. Ibid., Cruise of the Midge, 3. I had much greater license allowed me than . . . any of my fellow quill-drivers.

1853. Kingsley, Hypatia, xii. Some sort of slave's quill-driving.

1885. Weekly Ec/to, 5 Sep. This most eccentric of quill-drivers gets up his facts in a slap-dash fashion.

Quill-pipes. 351

Quip.

1899. Besamt, Orange Girl, 25. An overwhelming disgust fell upon my soul as I thought of the . . . long hours . . . driving the quill all the day.

Quill-pipes. See Quail -pipe

boots.

Quillet. See Quibble. Quilt, subs. (old).—A fat man.

1598. Shakspeare, / Hen. IV., iv. 2, 53. How now, Bloun Jack ? How now, Quilt.

The Quilt, subs. phr. (American).—The Union Jack : cf. rag.

Verb, (common).—To beat ; to tan (q.v.) : hence quilting = a rope's-ending.—Grose (1785).

1821. Egan, Real Life, 1. 351. They were a set of cowardly rascals, and deserved quilting.

.1828. Randall's Diary, 'To Martin.' Turn to and quilt the Nonparel.

1840. Cockton, Valentine Vox, xii. "Bless his little soul, he shall have a quilting yet."

Quilting, subs, (obsolete American). — A patchworking-party with a spree at the end : see Bee.

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, 1. 7. ' Where is Edith ? ' said he, at last. ' Gone

to a quiltin.'

1843. Maj. Jones' Courtship, viii. My time is tuck up with so many things . . . . goin to quiltens and partys of one kind another.

1847. Hobb, Squatter Life, 94. As sharp as lightnin', and as persuadin' as a young gal at a quiltin'.

quim (queme, quimsby, quim

box, or Quin), subs, (venery).— The female pudendum : see Monosyllable. Hence quim-stake (or wedge) = the penis: see Prick ; quim-sticker = a whoremonger ; see Mutton

monger ; quim-sticking(quimming, or quim-wedging) =

copulation : see Greens ; quimbush (-wig, or -whiskers) = the pubic hair : see Fleece.— Grose (1785).

1613. Old Play in Rawl. MS. (Bodleian), 'Tumult' [Halliwell]. "I tell you, Hodge, in sooth it was not cleane, it was as black as ever was Malkin's queme."

c. 1707. Broadside Ballad, 'The Harlot Unmask'd' [Farmer, Merry Songs arid Ballads (1897), iv. 111]. Tho' her Hands they are red, and her Bubbies are coarse, Her quim, for all that, may be never the worse. Ibid. On her quim and herself she depends for support.

1847. Halliwell, Archaic . . . Words, s.v. Queme ... (3) the same as the old word queint, which, as I am informed by a correspondent at Newcastle, is still used in the North of England by the colliers and common people.

Quinsey. See Hempen-squincey.

Quip, subs, (old colloquial).—1. A play upon words ; a jesting or evasive reply ; a retort ; and (2) a trifling critic. — B. E. (/.1696); Grose (1787). Also as verb. = (1) to trifle ; to jest ; to censure ; and (2) to criticise. Variants more or less allied in meaning and usage are conveniently grouped : e.g., quib, quill, quibble, quiddle, quiblet (also, mod. Amer. : the patter between turns in negro minstrelsy), quidlet, quillet, quiblin, and quidlin; Sir Quibble Queere (quibbler, quipper, or quiddler) = a trifler or shatter-brain (q.v. ) ; quibbling (or quiddling) = uncertain, unsteady, or mincing (of gait); quiddifical = triflingly.

1420. Andrew of Wyntoun, Chronicle [Laing (1872) . . .]. [Oliphant, New English, i. 229. There is the Celtic word quhvpe (quip = a quick turn or flirt.

1571. Edwards, Damon &* Pitheas [Dodsley (Old Plays, 1744), i279]. Set up your huffing base, and we will quiddle upon it.

Quip.

352

Quisby.

1583. Tarleton, Jests [Halliwell (1844) 132]. [Olii'hant, New Eng., ii. 13. The word quip gets a new sense, and is used of words.]

1542. Udal, Erasmus's Apoth., 13c. Diogenes, mocking soch quidificall trifles . . . said, Sir Plato, Your table and your cuppe I see very well, but as for your tabletee and your cupitee I see none soche.

1587. Nashe, Greene's Menaphon, Int. And here . . . some desperate QUtPPER will canuaze my proposed comparison.

1591. Lvly, Alex, and Campaspe [Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), ii. 13]. Why, what's a quip? We great girders call it a short saying of a sharp wit, with a bitter sense in a sweet word.

rf. 1592. R. Greene [/Pari. Misc. viii. 383]. Are you pleasant or peevish that you quip with such briefe girdes.

1594. Shakspeare, Love's Labour's Lost, iv. 3. " Oh, some authority how to proceed ; Some tricks, some quillets, how to cheat the devil." Ibid. (1595), Two Gentlemen, iv. 3. Her sudden quips, the least whereof would quell a lover's hopes. As You Like It, v. 4. If I sent him word again it was not well cut, he would send me word, he cut it to please himself. This is called the quip modest.

1596. Spenser, Fairy Queen, vi. vii. 44. The more he laughs, and does her closely quip.

1605. Jonson, Chapman, &c, Eastward Ho, iii. 2. Go to, old quipper ; forth with thy speech. Ibid. 'Tis a trick rampant—'tis a very quirlyn.

1609. Man in the Moone, sig. cii. A thing repugnant to philosophy, and working miraculous matters, a quillit above nature.

1611. Barry, Ram Alley [Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), v. 427]. Nay, good sir Throate, forbear your quillets now.

1633. Fletcher, Tamer Tamed, iv. i. Let her leave her bobs . . . and her quillets, She is as nimble that way as an eel.

1637. Milton, VAllegro, 27. Quips and cranks and wanton wiles.

1656. Goffe, Careless Shepherdess, Prel. His part has all the wit, For none speakes, carps, and quibbles beside him.

1705. Ward, Hud. Rediv., 1. vii. 6. Such frothy quibbles and cunnunders.

180s. A. Scott, Poems, 65. 'The Dutch hae taken Hollan', The other, dark anent the quib, Cry'd, O sic doolfu' sonnets !

1856. Emerson, Eng. Traits, vi. The Englishman is very petulant and precise about his accommodation at inns, and on the roads ; a quiddle about his toast and his chop.

d.i8$ç. Macaulay, Mill on Govt. Quibbling about self-interest and motives ... is but a poor employment for a grown man.

Quire. See Queer, passim.

Quirk, suds, (old legal : now recognised).—An evasion ; a shift ; a quip (q.v.). Hence quirkist = shifty ; quibbling (B. E.,r. 1696) ;

quirks and qu i i.letts = tricks

and devices; quirklum (Jamieson : ' a cant term ') = a puzzle ; quirky — sportively tricky.

1538-50. [Ellis, Original Letters]. [Oliphant, New English, i. 508. There is the Celtic quirk, connected with law.]

1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado, ii. 3. Some odd quirks and remnants of wit. Ibid. (1609), Pericles, iv. 6. She has me her quirks, her reasons.

1828. Bee, Living Picture 0/ London, 251. Hear them laying quirkish bets that are to take in the unwary.

Quisby, subs. (old).—An eccentric ; a queer card (q.v.).

1838. Desmond, Stage Struck, 4. That old quisby has certainly contrived to slink out of the house.

Adj. and adv. (common). — Bankrupt : drunk ; upset ; out-ofsorts ; wrong : generic for misadventure.

1887. Punch, 30 July, 45. Arter this things appeared to go quisby.

1888. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 27. There's bound to be lots on 'em quisby Ibid., 80. Makes me feel quite quisby.

To do quisby, verb. phr. (common).—See quot.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., arc, in. 219. One morning when we had been doing quisby, that is stopping idle.

Qui-tam.

353

Quiz.

Qui-tam, subs. phr. (old).—See quot. 1864. Hence qui-tam horse = ' one that will both carry and draw' (Grose, 1785).

1782. Parker, Humorous Sketches, 1S9. A lawyer [speaks of] John Doe and Richard Roe, terms_; vacations, Quitams, processes and executions.

1843. Moncrieff, Scamps of London, ii. 2. The quitam lawyer, the quack doctor.

1864. Hotten, Slang Diet., s.v. Qui-tam, a solicitor. He who, i.e., "he who, as much for himself as for the King," seeks a conviction, the penalty for which goes half to the informer and half to the Crown. The term would, therefore, with greater propriety, be applied to a spy than to a solicitor.

Quius-kius, intj. (theatrical).—A warning to silence.

Quiver, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum : see Monosyllable.

c. 1600-20. Old Ballad, 'A Man's Yard ' [Farmer, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), i. 11]. And every wench, by her owne will, Would keep [it] in her quiuer still.

Quiz (or Quoz), subs, (colloquial). —I. A puzzle; a jest; a hoax: also quizzification ; (2) a jesting or perplexing critic ; also quizzer; and (3)any odd-looking person or thing. As verb. = to banter ; to puzzle ; to confound. Hence quizzical (or quizzically) — jocose or humorous ; to quizzify = to make ridiculous. — Grose (1785) ; Bee (1823).

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 147. Women of light character . . . play the comedy of love in many masks, ... as they fall in with the quiz, the coxcomb, or the bully.

1797. D'Arblay, Diary, vi. 138. I cannot suffer you to make such a quiz of yourself. Ibid., vi. 187. These and his spout of satire are mere quizziness. Ibid., Cannilla (1796), vu. ix. What does the old quoz mean ?

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.

1803. C. K. Sharpe [Correspondence (1888), i. 17]. Billy Bamboozle, a quizzer and wit.

1803. Edgeworth, Belinda, ix. You have taken a fancy to the old quizical fellow. Ibid., xi. After all, my dear, the whole may be a quizzification of Sir Philip's.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering; iii. What were then called bites and bams, since denominated hoaxes and quizzes.

1818. Austen, NortJianger Abbey, 33. Where did you get that quiz of a hat? it makes you look like an old witch.

1830. Poole, Turning tlte Tables, i. I'll quiz his heart out.

1840. Lytton, Paul Clifford, vi. Stab my vitals, but you are a comical quiz.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, lix. The landlord of the "King's Arms" looked knowing and quizzical. Ibid., lxii. I don't think it's kind of you to quiz my boy for doing his duty to his Queen and to his father too, sir.

1856. C. Bronte, Professor, iii. He was not odd—no quiz—yet he resembled no one else I had ever seen before.

1837. Carlyle, Diamond Necklace, xvi. How many fugitive leaves quizzical, imaginative, or at ieast mendacious, were flying about in newspapers.

1902. Henley [Hazlitt, Works, 1. xxi.]. And dead is Burke, and Fox is dead, and Byron, most quizzical of lords.

2. (American students').—A weekly oral examination : also spec, notes made and passed on to another : hence Quiz-class, surgery-quiz, legal-quiz,

&c. ; quiz-master = a tutor or coach (q.v.). Also as verb. = (1) to attend, and (2) to conduct such a class.

3. (general). — A monocular eye-glass : also quizzing-glass.

1843. Thackeray, Irish Sketch Book, xxiv. The dandy not uncommonly finishes off with a horn quizzing-glass.

Quockenvodger. 354 Quyer.

Fw*. (common). — I. See subs.

2. (thieves').—To watch; to NOSE (q.v.) ; to nark (q.v.).

Quockerwodger, subs, (common). —A puppet on strings ; hence (2) a tool ; an agent or âme damnée ; a dependant.

Quod (or Quad), subs, (common). —A prison : hence quodded = imprisoned ; quod-cove = a turnkey. — B. E. (c.1696); Hall (1714); Grose (1785); Vaux (1812).

1751. Fielding, Amelia, 1. iv. He is a gambler, and committed for cheating at play ; there is not such a pickpocket in the whole quod.

1804. Tarras, Poems, 97. By the cuff he's led alang, An' settl'd wi' some niccum, In quad yon night.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, in. v. The knucks in quod did my schoolmen play.

1836. Disraeli, Henrietta Temple vi. xx. Fancy a nob like you being sent

to quod.

1855. Taylor, Still Waters, ii. 2 A fellow who risks . . . the spinning of a roulette wheel is a gambler, and may be quodded by the first beak that comes handy.

d. 1863. Thackeray, Ballads oj Policeman X., 'Eliza Davis.' And that Pleaseman able-bodied Took this vornan to the cell ; To the cell vere she was quodded, In the Close of Clerkenwell.

1871. M. Arnold, Friendship's Garland, vii. Do you really mean to maintain that a man can't put old Diggs in quod for snaring a hare, without all this elaborate apparatus of Roman law.

1886. Braddon, Mohawks, ii. " I got quodded and narrowly escaped a rope."

1900. Kii-ling, Stalky & Co., 31. You got off easy considerin'. If I d been Dabney I swear I'd ha' quodded you.

QuoDGER,/Är. (legal).—Quo jure = by what law.

Quodling, subs. (old).—A fledgling ; a green-'un (q.v.). [Gifford : ' A young quod, alluding to the quids and quods of lawyers.' Nares : ' Dol intended to call Dapper, a young raw apple, fit for nothing without dressing : codlings are particularly so used when unripe.'] Quill-driver (q.v.) : cf. quod.

1610. Ben Jonson Alchemist, i. 1. Dol. A fine young quodling. Face. O, my lawyer's clerk, I lighted on last night.

Quoniam, subs. (old). — I. See quot.

c.1620. Healy, Disc, of New World, 69. Out of Can, quoniam, or Jourdain. Ibid., Marginal Nole. A quoniam is a cup well known in Drink-allia.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum: see Monosyllable.

Quot (Quotor Cot-quean),

subs. (old).—See Quean.

1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Love's Cure, ii. 2. Don Lucio ? Don quotquean, Don Spinster, wear a petticoat still.

Quote (or Quot.), subs, (literary). A quotation.

1888. Sportsman, 29 Dec. Will shortly make her reappearance on the London stage, and he also sends a list of quotes and her portrait.

Quoz. See Quiz.

Quyer. See Queer, passim.

Rabbit 355 Rabbit.

See Three R's.

abbit, subs. (old). —I. A term of contempt : hence

rabbit-sucker

(i.e., a sucking rabbit) = an innocent fool ; ' Young Unthrifts taking up Goods upon Tick at excessive Rates.'—B.E. (^.1696); Grose (1785). Cf. Poet-sucker.

1598. Shakspeare, / Henry IV., ii. 4. Hang me up by the heels for a rabbitsucker. Ibid., 2 Hen. IV., ii. 2. Away you whoreson, upright rabbit, away !

1609. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candlelight [Grosart, Wks. f 1886), iii. 233]. This hearbe being chewd downe by the Rabbit-suckers almost kils their hearts, and is worse to them than nabbing on the neckes to Connies.

2. (old).—A wooden drinking can : also rabit.—B. E. (/.1696) ; Grose (1785).

1697. Praise of Yorkshire Ale, 1. Strong beer in rabits and cheating penny cans, Three pipes for two-pence and such like trepans.

3. (American). — A rowdy : also Dead-rabbit and Deadduck. [A gang of roughs paraded New York in 1848, carrying dead rabbits and ducks as emblems of victory.]

4. (political).—See quot.

1866. House of Commons Election Commission [Report]. Out of £$o . . . he had paid a number of rooks and rabbits. ... In general it was stated

that " the rabbits were to work in the burrow and the rooks to make a noise at the public meetings."

5. (racing).—See quot. and In and Out.

1882. Standard, 3 Sep. Milan, though somewhat of a rabbit, as a horse that runs ' in and out ' is sometimes called.

6. (old).—A new-born babe. Whence rabbit-catcher = a midwife.—Grose (1785).

Verb. (old).—Usually as intj. — Confound it ! Also odsrabbit ! and drabbit ! cf. drat = God rot it ! [Od, 'd = God + rabbit = rot it !]

1742. Fielding, Joseph Andrews. ' Rabbit the fellow ! ' cries he.

1748. Smollett, Roa. Random, xviii. Rabbit it 1 I have forgot the degree.

Live rabbit, sttbs. phr. (venery).—The penis : see Prick : also rabbit-pie = a whore : see Tart. Whence to skin the live rabbit (or have a bit of rabbit-pie) = to copulate : see Greens and Ride.

Phrases.—To buy the rabbit = to get the worst of a bargain ; fat and lean, like a rabbit (see quot. 1708-10) ; to go rabbit-hunting with a

dead ferret = to undertake a business with improper or useless means (Ray, 1760) : also see Welsh-Rabbit.

Rabbit-pie shifter. 356 Rack.

1708-10. Swift, l'olite Conversation, i. Col. I am like a Rabbit, fat and lean in Four-and-twenty Hours. Ibid. Lady Smart. . . . The Man and his Wife are coupled like Rabbets, a fat and a lean ; he's as fat as a Porpus, and she's one of Pharaoh's lean kine.

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, it. xv. Keep a civil tongue in your head ; or you'll buy the rabbits. Ibid., xviii. If that air invoice aint ready soon, thee'll

buy the rabbit, I guess.

Rabrit-pie shifter, subs. phr. (streets'). — A policeman : see Beak.

c.1870. Music Hall Song [S. J. & C.]. Never to take notice of vulgar nicknames, such as "slop," "copper," rabbit-pie shifter, "peeler."

Rabbit-skin (or Cat-skin), subs, phr. (University).—An academical hood. Hence, to get one's rabbit-skin = to win the B.A. degree. [The trimming is of rabbit's fur.]

R a b1 tt e r , subs. (Winchester College).—A blow with the side of the hand, on the back of the neck : as in killing a rabbit.

Rabble, subs., adj. and verb, (once and still literary).—Generic for confusion.—B. E. (f. 1696).

Rabid-beast, subs. phr. (American cadets').—A new-comer who sets up against the authority of his elders : cf. Reptile.

rabshakle, subs, (old).—A profligate.

rachel, verb, (obsolete).—To renovate ; to make young again. [From Madame Rachel, the "beautiful for ever" swindler.]

Rack, subs. (Winchester).—1. A chop from the neck or loin. [Rack (Halliwell) = the neck of mutton or pork ; (Johnson) = a neck of mutton cut for the table.]

2. (slaughterers').—See quot.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., i. t8g. The bones (called racks by the knackers) are chopped up and boiled.

Phrases.—To live at rack and manger = to live on the best gratis : to lie at rack

and manger = (i) 'to live

hard' (B. E. ,.1696), and (2) ' to be in great disorder' (Grose, 1785) ; to go to rack and ruin = to go utterly wrong ; on the rack = (1) in a state of tension, and (2) on the move, shinning round (Amer. spec, for money) ; to rack off = (1) to relate, to tell, and (2) to piss (q.v.).

1586-1606. Warner, Albion's England, viii. 4, 200. A queane corrival with a queene ! Nay kept at rack and manger.

159g. Nashe, Leuten Stuffe [Harl. Misc., vi. 165]. The herring is such a choleric food that whoso ties himself to rack and manger to it shall have a child that will be a soldier before he loses his first teeth.

1605. Chapman, All Fools [Reed, Old Plays (17 . .) iv. 136]. To lie at rack and manger with your wedlock, And brother.

1628. Life of Robin Goodfellow [Halliwell]. When Vertue was a country maide, And had no skill to set up trade, She came up with a carriers jade, And lay at racke and manger.

1600. Pagan Prince [Nares]. The Palatine . . . lay at rack and manger.

1700. Congreve, Way of the World, ii. i. I wou'd have him ever to continue upon the rack of Feare and Jealousy.

d. 1703. Pepys, Diary [Century]. We fell to talk largely of the want of some persons understanding to look after the business, but all goes to rack.

1722. Steele, Conscious Lovers, iv. i. Hand and Heart are on the rack about my son.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 197. I wrote down in my pocketbook such anecdotes as I meant to rack off in the course of the day.

Rackabimus. 357

Racket.

1843. Carlyle, Past and Present, 11. i. A blustering, dissipated human figure . . . tearing out the bowels of St. Edmundsbury Convent ... in the most ruinous way by living at rack and manger there.

Rackabimus, subs. (Scots').—See quot.

1808. Jamieson, Diet. s.v. Rackabimus. A sudden or unexpected stroke or fall ; a cant term ... It resembles racket.

Rackabones (or Rack-of-bones,

subs. (American). — A skinny person or animal ; a bag of bones (g.v.) ; a shape (q.v.).

1862. New York Tribune, 13 June. He is a little afraid that this mettlesome charger cannot be trusted going down hill ; otherwise be would let go of the old rackabones that hobbles behind.

Racket, subs. (old). — i. A confusion, sportive or the reverse : whence (2) generic for disorder, clamour ot noisy merriment (B. E., 6.1696) ; also (3) any matter or happening (Grose, 1785) ; also ~ a general verb of action. Thus, to racket about (round, through, &c.) — to go the rounds at night ; to go on the racket = to spree (q.V.); TO raise a racket =

to make a disturbance ; ' What's the racket?' = 'What's going on?'; to be in a racket = to be part in a design ; to work the racket = to carry on a matter (see quots. 1785 and 1851, and cf. rig, lay, &.C. : whence racket-man [thieves'] = a thief) ; to stand the kacket = (1) to pay a score, and (2) to take the consequences ;

without racket = without a

murmur ; to tumble to the racket = (1) to understand, to twig (q.v.), and (2) see quot. 1890 ; rackety (or racketty)

= (1) noisy, and (2) dissipated ;

racketer (or rackapelt) =

a whoremonger or spreester (q.v.).

1565. Parker, Correspondence (Parker Soc), 234. I send you a letter sent to me of the racket stirred up by Withers, of whom ye were informed, for the reformation of the university windows.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Hen. IV. ii. 2. That the tennis-court keeper knows better than I ; for it is a low ebb of linen with thee when thou keepest not racket there.

1609. Jonson, Case is Altered, iv. 4. Then think, then speak, then drink their sound again, And racket round about this body's court.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie {Works (1725) 100]. And leads me such a fearful racket.

169S. Unnatural Mother [Nares]. Yonder haz been a most heavy racket . . . there is a curious hansom gentlewoman lies as dead as a herring, and bleeds like any stuck pig.

c. 1707. Old Ballad, ' The Long Vacation ' [Durfey, Pills (1707), iii. 65]. We made such a noise, And con[found]ed a racket ; My Landlady knew, I'd been searching the placket.

r75i. Smollett, Pickle, ii. Goblins that. . . keep such a racket in his house, that you would think ... all the devils in hell had broke loose upon him.

t753' Richardson, Grandison, 1. 117. I shall be a racketer, I doubt.

1767. Sterne, Tristam Shandy, ii. 6. Pray, what's all that racket over our heads.

1772. Bridges, Homer Burl., 281. Without the least demur or racket.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Racket. Some particular kinds of fraud and robbery are so termed, when called by their flash names ... as the Letterracket ; the Order-racket ... on the fancy of the speaker. In fact, any game may be termed a racket ... by prefixing thereto the particular branch of depredation or fraud in question.

1789. Parker, Life's Painter, ' Happy Pair.' And stood the racket for a dram.

1809. Byron, Lines to Mr. Hodgson. Then I'd 'scape the heat and racket Of the good ship, Lisbon Packet.

Racket. 358 Raft.

1840. Barham, Ingolds. Leg. ⁽M. of Venice). Old Shylock was making a

racket.

184c Judd, Margaret, i. 17. The wind blazed and racketed through the narrow space between the house and the hill.

1843. Macaulay, in Trevelyan, 1. 302. I have been racketing lately, having dined twice with Rogers and once with Grant.

1851. Longfellow, Golden Legend, iv. What an infernal racket and riot.

1851. Mayhew, London. Lab., i. 268. It was difficult to pall him upon any racket (detect him in any pretence). Ibid. iii. 264. I joined because I felt I was getting racketty, and giving my mind to nothing but drink. Ibid. (1S56), Gt. World of London, 46. Lady and gentlemen racket-men, who steal cocks and hens . . . Noisy racket-men, who make off with china or crockery-ware from earthenware shops.

1868. Temple Bar, xxiv. 538. Snidepitching . . . is a capital racket.

1882. D. News, 27 Oct., 7. 4. Walker said, ' I will stand the racket of this. I stole it because I was hard up.'

1885. D. Teleg., 16 Nov. He had been off on the racket perhaps for a week at a time. Ibid. (1S86), 20 Feb. The unhappy dispenser of police law and his rackety son.

1886-96. Marshall, Pomes, 82. I'm on the polling-racket.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, i. And now—that chain rubbed a sore, curse it !—all that racket's over. Ibid. xi. It's only some other cross cattle or horse racket.

1889. Century Mag., xxxix. 527. ' Lucky I learned that signal-racket.'

1890. New York Evg. Post [Century], 29 Jan. To give the name of legislation to the proceedings at Albany . . . would be an abuse of language. The proper name was " tumbling to the racket." The Assembly passed the bill without debate . . . much as they might pass a bill authorising a man to change his name.

1901. Troddles, 45. They had broken a chair and kicked up such an awful racket that Mrs. Bloggs had to make a reproachful request for consideration.

To play racket, verb. phr. (old).—To prove inconstant.

1369. Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 461. Canst thou play raket to and fro, Nettle in, duck out, now this, now that?

R ac lan, subs, (tramps').—A married woman : [ef. Gipsy = a girl]

RAD, subs, (political).—A Radical.

1844. Disraeli, Coningsby. They say the Rads are going to throw us over.

1858. Trollope, Dr. Thome, xxxv. He's got what will buy him bread and cheese, when the Rads shut up the Church.

i8[?]. Thackeray, Imitations 0/ Beranger, ' Jolly Jack,' st. 1. And Rads attacked the throne and state, And Tories the reforming.

e. 1871. Giliad, 195. The Whigs are heirless, and the Rads are mad.

Raddled, adj. (old).—Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed. [Dial. (Line.) = to do anything to excess.]—Ray (1767).

Rafe (or Ralph), subs, (common). —A pawn-ticket.

Raff and Raffle. See Riff-raff.

Raffling-shop, subs. phr. (old).— A lottery agent's : the article or lottery ticket was divided into shares, and cast for by a throw of the dice. [M. E. raffle — a game at dice.]

1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 103. He . . . haunted all the Raffling-Shops about Town.

Raft, subs. (American). — 1. A whole lot ; and (2) a goodly number. [The rafts of lumber on American waterways are sometimes of enormous size.]

iS [?]. Widow Bedott Papers, 21a The Elder's wife was a sick-lookin' woman, with a whole raft o' young ones Squalling round her.

Rag.

359 Rag.

c. 1861-5. Maj. Downing's Letters, 93. We have killed Calhoun and Biddle ; but there is a raft of fellows to put down yet.

1886. Phil. Times, 24 Oct. This last spring a raft of them [serving girls] was out of employment.

Rag, subs. (old).—Generic: (i)in = clothes, old or new ; whence (2), in sing. = a tatterdemalion, a ragamuffin, anyone despicable and despised ; and (3) anything made out of textile stuff (as a handkerchief, shirt, undergrade gown, newspaper, and exercise[or examination-] paper). Hence

tag(or shag-) rag-and-bob

tail (or fag end) = one and all, the common people (Grose, 1785) ; tag-rag = tattered, villainous, poor, disreputable ; ragmannered = violently vulgar ; raggery = duds. esp. women's: Fr. chiffons; rag-bag (or ragdoll) = a slattern ; rag-trade = (1) tailoring, (2) dressmaking, and (3) the dry-goods trade in general ; rag-stabber = a tailor, a snip (q.v. ) ; rag-tacker = (1) a dressmaker, and (2) a coach-trimmer ; rag-sooker (or seeker) = see quot. 187S ; ragsand-jags = tatters ; to have

two shirts and a rag = to be

comfortably off (Ray, 1760) ; to

tip one's rags a gallop = to

move, depart, get out ; to get

one's rag (or shirt) out =

(1) to bluster, and (2) to get angry; to rag out = (1) to dress, to clobber up (q.v.) ; and (2) to show the white rag : see White Feather.

1535. Bvgod [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 481. Bygod has ' your fathers were wyse, both tagge and rag ' ; that is one and all].

1542. Udall, Apoph. Eras. [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 484. Phrases like . . . not a rag to hang about him . . . ].

7582. Stanvhurst, sEneis [Arber], 21. Thee northen bluster aproching Thee sayls tears tag rag.

1597. Shakspeare, Ricliard III., v. 3. These overweening rags of France. Ibid. (1610), Coriolanus, iii. 4. Will you hence Before the tag return.

1597. Heywood, Timon [Five Plays in One, p. 10]. I am not of the raggs or fagg end of the people.

1623. Jonson, Time Vindicated. The other zealous ragg is the compositor.

1659-60. Pepys, Diary, 6 Mar. The dining-room was full of tag-kag-andbobtail, dancing, singing, and drinking.

1698. Collier, Eng. Stage, 220. This young lady swears, talks smut, and is . . . just as rag-mannered as Mary the Buxsome.

16 [?]. Nursery Rhyme. Hark, hark ! the dogs do bark, The Beggars come to town, Some in rags, and some in jags, And some in velvet gowns.

1706. Ward, Wooden World, 73. While he has a Rag to his Arse, he scorns to make use of a Napkin.

1708-10. Swift, Polite Conversation,

i. Lady Answ. Pray, is he not rich? Ld. Sparkish. Ay, a rich Rogue, Two Shirts and a Rag.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 166. A sorry rag of a cassock. Ibid., 173. A band of robbers . . . left us not a rag but what we carry on our backs.

1785. Wolcot {Works (1S12), i. 80]. Tagrags and Bobtails of the sacred Brush.

1000. Colquhoun, Comm. Thames,

ii. 75. That lowest classof the community who are vulgarly denominated the TagRag and Bobtail.

1811. Moore, Tom Crib, 27. One of Georgy's bright ogles was put On the bankruptcy list, with its shop-windows shut ; While the other soon made quite as

tag-rag a show.

c. 1819. Old Song, 'The Young Prig, [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1890). Üj. Frisk the cly, and fork the rag.

1820. Byron, Blues, ii. 23. The rag, tag and bobtail of those they call 'Blues.'

1840. Dickens, Barn. Rudge, xxxv. We don't take in no tagrag and bobtail at our house.

Rag.

360

Rag.

1842. Tennyson, Poems, ' The Goo«e. ' I knew an old wife lean and poor ; Her rags scarce held together.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xxxv. Old hags . . . draped in majestic raggery.

d.1867. Brown, Artemus Ward[S. J. and C.j. Wall, don't make fun of our clothes in the papers. We are goin' right straight through in these here clothes—we air. We ain't agoin' to rag out till we get to Nevady.

1869. S. Bowles, Our New West, 506. A finely dressed woman rags out.

1870. Hazlewood and Williams, Leave it to Me, i. He has forbidden me his house. Joe. I see ; told you to tit your rags a gallop, and you won't go.

1877. Figaro [reference lost]. We took a last peep, and saw the rag-tacker, mounted on a stool, still declaiming with an energy that argued much for his zeal.

1878. Tramp Exposed, 21. The Ragsooker, an instrument attached to the end of a long pole for removing clothespins from the lines, and afterwards dragging the released clothes over the fence.

1889. SportingTimes [S. J. & C. ]. A writer in a penny rag . . . failed far more lamentably ... to entertain the public.

1888. Henley, Book of Verses, ' Hospital Outlines.' Rags and Tatters, belts and bayonets.

1900. Kipling, Stalky and Co., 228. You cut along and finish up your old rag, and Turkey and me will help.

1895. Pall Mall Gaz., 19 Sept., 2, 1. I refer to the . . . yelling of a set of wretched creatures selling wretched papers, which, since the introduction of these rags within the last few years, has become unbearable.

1899. Whiteing, John St., iii. The daily paper, now, veritably ... a daily rag. /bid., vi. That gal would live by a flower basket where others would starve. Rag-bags tied in the middle with a bit of string.

1S99. Answers, 14 Jan., 1, 1. This matter of the rag is hedged about with many unwritten laws. One who has mastered these will never go to breakfast in another man's rooms in cap and gown . . . Nor will he wear the rag in the theatre which is strictly barred.

1901. D. Telegraph, 3 Oct., 9, 1. There is some talk, we believe, of a prosecution ; but meanwhile the scandalous rag can be seen in the kiosks, " open pages," as our Correspondent says, "being flaunted in conspicuous positions. "

4. (American). — Bank paper, bills of exchange, and so forth ; soft (q.v.). Whence rag-shop = a bank (see ante) ; rag-shop boss (or cove) = a banker; ragshop cove = a cashier ; ragmoney (or currency) = soft

(q.V.); to flash one's rags =

to display one's notes ; without a rag = penniless. Old Cant. = a farthing : whence in = money (B. E. and Grose).

1593. Shakspeare, Com. Errors, iv. 4. Not a rag of money.

1613. Beaumont and Fletcher, Captain, iv. 2. fac. 'Twere good she had a little foolish money To rub the time away with. Host. Not a rag, Not a denier.

1826. Old Song, ' Bobby and His Mary' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 95]. The blunt ran shy, and Bobby brushed To get more rag not fearing.

1840. American Song . . . The banks are all clean broke, Their rags are good for naught.

1864. Glasgow Citizen, 19 Nov. Is not the exhilarating ' short length ' of handy known beyond our own Queen Street that it is not registered here? And we miss the rag trade whose worthy members do the above named goes.

1875. Nation, 29 July, 66. All true Democrats were clamorous for ' hardmoney' and against rag-money.

1887. Henley, Villon's Straight Tip, i. Suppose . . . you pitch a snide, or smash a rag.

1389. Leland in S. J. & C. s.v. r \gs . . . bank-bills. Before . . . uniform currency, bills of innumerable banks of the " wild cat," "blue pup," and " ees' dog" description often circulated at a discount of 50 or 60 per cent., in a very dirty and tattered condition. These were . . . rags, a word still used ... for paper-money.

Rag.

t.1879. North Am. Rev. [Century]. Fortunately the ' specie basis ' of the national banks is now chiefly paper—the rag-baby—three hundred and forty-six millions of greenbacks.

5. (service). — A flag : spec, the Union, but also the regimental colours. Hence ragcarrier = an ensign (Grose).

i86[?]. Whitman [in Century, xxxvi. 827]. It cost three men's lives to get back that four-by-three flag—to tear it from the breast of a dead rebel—for the name of getting their little rag back again.

c. 1870. Music Hall Song, ' John Bull's Flag.' In India Nana Sahib flew, when Campbell showed the flag, At Trafalgar, too, when Nelson fell, he died before the rag.

1892. Kipling, Barrack-Room Ballads, 'The Rhyme of the Three Captains.' Dip their flag to a slaver's rag —to show that his trade is fair. Ibid., 'The Widow at Windsor.' You won't get away from the tune that they play To the bloomin' old rag over 'ead.

1901. Henley, For England's Sake, ' The Man in the Street.' And if it's the rag of rags that calls us roaring into the fight, We'll die in a glory.

6. (actors' and showmen's).— (1) The curtain; whence (2) a dénouement, i.e., a "curtain" = a situation on which to bring down the drop ; rags-and-sticks = a travelling outfit : see quots. passim.

1875. Athenaeum, 24 April, 545, 2. Rags is another uncomplimentary term applied by prosperous members of circuses to the street tumblers.

1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, 99. Sawny Williams . . . was horrified at finding his rags and sticks, as a theatrical booth is always termed, just as he had left them the overnight.

1886. Referee, 20 June. Poor Miss

A-was left for quite a minute before

the rag could be unhitched and made to shut out the tragic situation.

1897. Marshall, ' Pomes,' 44. Which brought down the rag on no end of a mess.

7. (military).—The order of the rag = the profession of arms; rag-fair = kit inspection (Grose). See Rag-andFamish.

1751. Fielding, Amelia, 11. iv. It is the opinion which, I believe, most of you young gentlemen of the order of the rag deserve.

8. (common). — The tongue : also red-rag, or red-flannel (B. E., c. 1696; Dyche, 1748; Grose, 1785) ; (9) = talk, banter, abuse. As verb. = ( 1 ) to scold ; (2) to chaff ; and (3—American University) to declaim or compose better than one's class-mates : see Ragtime. Whence rag-box (or -shop) = the mouth ; ragsauce = (1) chatter, and (2) cheek (q.v.) ; ragster = a bully or scold ; a dish of redrag = abuse ; to chew the rag = (1) to scold, and (2) to

sulk; to give the red rag a

holiday = to be silent ; too

much red rag = loquacious.

1820. Combe, Syntax, Consolations, iv. For well i know by your glib tongue, To what fine country you belong. And if your red rag did not show it, By your queer fancies I should know it.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. iv. ' Hang you 1 ... if you don't hold that are red rag of yours, I'll spoil your mouth.' Ibid. Anec. of Turf, 183. She tipped the party such a dish of red rag as almost to create a riot in the street. Ibid. (1842), Jack Flashman [in Captain Macheath]. Here's the rag-sauce of a friend.

1826. Bruton, My Mugging Maia [Univ. Songst. iii. 103]. Say, mugging Moll, why that red-rag ... is now so mute.

1876. W. S. Gilbert, Dan'l Druce, i. Stop that cursed red rag of yours, will you ?

1882. Anstey, Vice ■ Versa, xiv. " You're right there, sir," said Dick ; "he ought to be well ragged for it."

362 Ragamuffin.

1888. Notes and Queries, 7 S., v. 469. " He was chewing the rag at me the whole afternoon." Ibid., 7 S., vi. 38. To rag a man is good Lincolnshire for chaff or tease. At school to get a hoy into a rage was called getting his rag out.

1892. Kipling, Barrack Room-Ballads, 'The Young British Soldier.' You shut up your rag-box, an' 'ark to my lay.

1900. Atheiurum, 37 Mar., 391, 2. There is not much sport in ragging a body of men some of whom were but lately rowing in the same boat with yourself or dining at the saine table.

10. (common).—Generic for a jollification, a wenching(or drinking-) bout, or (Amer. Univ.) a brilliant success in class : also rag-time. [In this connexion rag-rowtering = romping.] As adj., rag-time = merry, lively. Whence rag-time girl = (1) a sweetheart, a ' best girl,' and (2) a harlot.

7900. Daily Mail, to Mar., 2, 4. There was keen excitement at Cambridge yesterday when the magistrates proceeded to deal with the last two prosecutions of students arising out of the notorious rag in celebration of the relief of Ladysmith.

1902. Sp. Times, 1 Feb., 1, 5. It's the moosic what's a-queering your pitch ! the ruddy people can't eat fried fish to rag

TIME !

Verb, (common, thieves').—To divide; to nap the regulars (q.v.).

The Rag, subs. phr. (London). — i. See quot.

1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses 0/ London. The unaristocratic establishment in the neighbourhood of the Leather Lane, originally christened the " Raglan," but more popularly known as the " Rag."

2. (military). —See Rag and Famish.

To take the rag off, verb, phr. (America) = to surpass ; to overcome; to 'take the cake' (q.v.).

1855. Haliburton, Human Nature,

28. The fun of the forecastle ! I would back it for wit against any bar-room in New York or New Orleans, and I believe they take the rag off all creation. Ibid. 218. I had an everlasting fast . . . pacer . . . He took the rag off the bush in great style.

Ragamuffin, subs, (old colloquial : long recognised). — A tattered vagabond ; also as adj. and adv. — beggarly, ragged, disorderly. [In quot. 1383 = the Devil.] —B. E., e. 1696; Halliwell, 1847. Also ragaboot, ragshag, ragabrash, &c.

1383. Langland, Piers Plowman, xxi. 283. Ac rys vp, Ragamoffin, and reche me alle the barres.

1440. Prompt Partu, 421. Ragmann, or he that goythe wyth raggyd clothys, pannicins velpannicia.

1597. Shakes., / Henry IV., 3, 36. Pal. ... I have led my ragamuffins where they are peppered.

1601. Jonson, Poetaster, i. Here be the Emperor's captains, you ragamuffin rascal, and not your comrades.

c. 1620. Disc, of a New World, 81. They are the veriest lack-Iatines, and the most unalphabetical raggabrashes that ever bred louse.

1634. S. Rowley, Noble Soldier, iv. 2. All rent and torne like a ragamuffin.

1660. Dryden, Don Sebastian, iv. 2. Be not afraid, Lady, to speak to these ragamuffins.

1707. Ward, Hud. Rediv., 11. iii. 3. Autumn that Raggamuffin Thief That blows down ev'ry fading leaf.

1769-72. Junius, Sin Stigmatized. The most unalphabetical ragabrashes that ever lived.

1771. Smollett, Humphry Clinker,

29. The postilion . . . was not a shabby wretch like the ragamuffin who had driven them into Marlborough

1887. Conn. Courant, 7 July [Century], While the ragshags were marching . . . [he] caught his foot in his ragged garment and fell.

Rag-and-famish. 363 Ragman.

Rag-and-famish (or The Rag),

subs. phr. (military).—The Army and Navy Club.

1864. Yates, Broken to Harness, iv. From the Doctor's I went to the Rag and found Meaburn there.

1864. Sala, Quite Alone, xiii. The Rag and Famish seems to me a most palatial edifice, superb in all its exterior appointments.

1877. Punch's Pocket-Book (1878), 172. There's a Major I know who belongs to the Rag.

1887. Lovf.tt-Cameron, Neck or Nothing, i. The very smartest and bestlooking man to be met with between the Rag and Hyde Park Corner.

1890. D. Telegraph, 19 Aug., 5, 2. The genial "Rag" welcomes the sympathetic spirits of the Naval and Military with open arms.

Rag-baby, subs. phr. (American). —The policy advocated by Greenbackers ; inflation of the currency as a panacea for financial ills.— Bartlett.

Rage, verb, (old : colloquial).—To wanton : hence ragerie = wantonness ; skittishness : cf. Rag, subs. 10.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, ' Miler's Tale,' 1. 87. On a day this hende Nicholas Fil with this yonge wyf to rage and pleye. Ibid., ' Merchant's Tale,' 1. 603. He was al Coltissh, ful of ragerye.

1393. Gower, Confess. Aman. i. She began to plaie and rage, As who saith, 1 am well enough.

c.1440. Reliç. Antiç., i 29. When sehe seyth gallantys revell yn hall, Yn here hert she thinkys owtrage, Desyrynge with them to pley and rage, And stelyth fro yow full prevely.

The rage (or all the rage), phr. (colloquial).—The fashion ; the vogue ; the go (q.v.).

1785. The New Rosciad, 37. 'Tis the rage in this great raging Nation, Who wou'd live and not be in the fashion?

1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, xxw. You don't know how charming it is, and it will be all the rage.

1868. Spencer, Social Statics 178. In our day the rage for accumulation has apotheosized work.

1885. Daily Chronicle, 16 Sep. Criterion was all the rage.

Rag-fair, subs. phr. (old).— I. See quot. 1892 ; and (2) see Rag, subs. 7.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, xxvii. Mr. Morgan's wife kept a gin-shop in Rag-Fair.

1772. Bridges, Homer Burlesque, 205. One kept a slop-shop in Rag Fair.

1892. Sydney, English and the English in lit h Century, i. 32. Situated in the parish of St. Mary, Whitechapel, near the Tower of London, was the district called Rag Fair, where old clothes and frippery were sold.

Ragged-arse, adj.phr. (vulgar).— Disreputable ; tattered ; spoiled. Ragged-arse brigade = the baser sort ; tag-rag-and-bobtail ; 'Tom Dick, and Harry.' Ragged-arse reputation (or virtue) = one gone to tatters.

Ragged,aß/, (rowing).—Collapsed.

Ragged-brigade, subs. phr. (military).—Thirteenth Hussars. Also "The Green Dragons"; "The Evergreens"; and "The Great Runaway Prestonpans."

Ragged-Soph. See Soph.

Ragged Robin, subs. phr. (provincial). — A keeper's follower (New Forest).

Ragman (or Rageman), sttbs. (old). —The devil. Also (2) see Rigmarole.

1363. Lamgland, Piers Plowman, xix. 122. Filius by the faders wil flegh with Spiritus Sanctus, To ransake that rageman and reue hym hus apples, That fyrst man deceyuede thorgh frut and false by-heste.

Ragout. 364 Rainbow.

Ragout, sues, (old : now recognised).—' A Relishing Bit, with a high Sawce.'—B. E. (<m6q6).

Rags-and-bones, sues. phr. (popular). — A miserable remnant ; a pell-mell of rubbish. Thus rag and bone shop (also rag-shop) = a crapulous and tumbled room ; a piggery (q.v.).

c. 1890. Elizabeth Bellwood, Music Hall Song, 'The Man that Struck O'Hara.' Rags and bones was all that was left, Of the man that struck O'Hara.

Rag-splawger (or -gorger),

suds. phr. (old).—A rich man ; 'generally used in conversation to avoid direct mention of names' (grose) : Fr. riflard.

Rag-water, subs. phr. (old).— i. 'Any common spirit.'—B. E. (r. 1696) ; (2) = gin (Grose).

Raid. To raid the market (Stock Exchange).—To derange prices by exciting distrust or causing a panic.

Rails, subs. (American).—A curtain lecture : whence, a dish of rails = a regular jobation.

Front (or head-) rails, subs, phr. (common).—The teeth.

See Ride.

Raillery, subs, (old).—« Drolling. To railly, or Droll. A Railleur, or Droll.'—B. E. (c.\b^.

Railings. To count the railings, verb. phr. (common).—To go hungry : see Peckham.

Railroad, subs. (American).—See quot. and Drinks.

18 . . Neal, Charcoal Sketclies, 1. 117 [De Vere]. Now he is asked to take a Stone Fence, and now a railroad, but both are simple whisky, so called, in the latter case, " because of the rapidity with which it hurries men to the end of their journey."

Verb. (American).—To run a matter with all speed ; to rush (q.v.).

1889. Sei. Arn., N.S., lvii. 37. The Alien Act that was railroaded through at the close of the last session.

18S9. Pop. Sei. Monthly, xxxii. 758. A New York daily some time ago reported that a common thief . . . was railroaded through '-ourt in a few days.

Rain. Proverbs and sayings— ' It never rains but it pours ' = misfortunes never come singly ; ' If it should rain pottage, he would want his dish,' said of a wastrel or star-gazer (q.v.). 'It rains by planets,' i.e., partially ; to get out of the rain = to absent oneself, to refrain from meddling. See also Catsand-Dogs. Right, &c.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 18. As it never rains but it pours, I was in the front of the battle . . . that I might lose no time in learning to stand fire.

1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, 95. Ham was one of 'em—he was. He "knew sufficient to get out of the fain.'

Rainbow, subs. (old).—i. A mistress ; (2) a footman in livery : also knight of the rainbow ; and (3) a pattern book. [Dressed in or exhibiting variety of colour.]

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. i. The pink of the ton and his rainbow—the Whitechapel knight of the cleaver and his fat rib— . . . they are " all there." Ibid. 11. vi. It was the custom of Logic never to permit the Rainbow to announce him. Ibid. 'Now, Dicky, out with your rainbow.' ' Here are the patterns, gentlenren, the very latest fashions.'

Rainbotv-chase. 365

Rake.

3. (costers').—A sovereign; HALF-A-RAiNBO\v = ten shillings : see Rhino.

Rainbow-chase, subs. phr. (common). — A run after a dream ; a wild-goose chase (q.v.). [From the folk-story of the pot of gold found where the two points of a rainbow touch the earth.]

1886. St. James's Gaz., i June, 10. A fact which had led Mr. Rylands off a rainbow-chase after a visionary Chancellorship.

rain-napper, subs. phr. (old).— An umbrella ; a mush (q.v.).

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, iii. 4. My hat and rain-napper there !

Rainy(or wet-) day, subs. phr. (common).—Hard times ; whence, to lay up for a rainy-day = to provide against necessity or distress.—Grose (1785).

d.1626. Andrews Sermons [Ang. Cath. Lib. (1841-3), ii. 346]. This they caught as an advantage we see, and laid it up for a rainy day, and three years after, out they came with it.

1662. Fuller, Worthies, xi. Ergo, saith the Miser, part with nothing, but keep all against a wet day.

1836. Everett, Orations, i. 285 The man whose honest industry just gives him a competence exerts himself that he may have something against a rainy day

1885. Evening Standard, 23 Oct. They must in prosperous times put by something for a rainy day.

Raise, subs, (colloquial).—An improvement in conditions.

1848. Ruxton, Ear West, 19. If we don't make a raise afore long, I wouldn't say so.

1886. Phil. Times, 6 Ap. Xo further difficulty is anticipated in making permanent the raise of the freight blockade in this city.

Verb, (old : now American colloquial).—To rear: of human beings, crops and cattle.

1597. Shakspeare, Richard III., v. 3, 247. A bloody tyrant and a homicide ; One raised in blood.

1744. Math. Bishop [Oliphant, New Eng., ii. 164. A child is raised (bred up) . . . this is still an American phrase].

1768. Franklin, Letter to J. Alleyne, 9 Aug. By these early marriages we are blest with more children ; and . . . every mother suckling and nursing her own child, more of them are raised.

1851. Allin, Home Ballads, 22. Rhody has raised the biggest man, Connecticut, Tom Thumb.

1869. Stowe, Oldtown Folks, 98. Miss Asphyxia had talked of takin' a child from the poor-house, and so raisin' her own help.

1887. Lippincott's, August, 398. I was born and raised 'way down in the little village of Unity, Maine.

1890. Literary World, 3r Jan., 102, 2. She was raised in a good family as a nurse and seamstress.

See Bead ; bill ; bobbery ; bristles ; Cain ; dander ; dash ; dead ; devil ; hair ; hatchet ; hell ; market ;

mischief ; muss ; ned ; organ; racket ; roof ; row ; rumpus; wind.

Raise-mountain, subs. phr. (old). —A braggart.

Rake (Rakehell, Rakehellon ian , or Rakeshame), Sllbs. (old: now recognised).—A disreputable person ; a blackguard, esp. a whoremonger ; ' one so bad as to be found only by raking hell, or one so reckless as to rake hell ' (Century) : also 'Rake hell and skin the devil, and you'll not find such another.'—Harman ( 1573) ; Cotgrave (161 i, s.v. garnement); B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785). Also, as verb.

2 A

Rake. 366 Rake.

= to live dissolutely. Whence

rakish (raking, rakehelly, rakely, or rakeshamed) =

dissolute (B. E., f.1696); rakery (or rakishness) = blackguardism; rake-jakes = a blackguard. [Rake = abbrev. of Rakehell.]

1360. A Hit. Poems [E. E. T. S.] [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 64. There is the Swedish rakel ... to be written rake-hell in more modern times].

1542. Udall, Apop. Eras. [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 487. The old adjective rakel (promptus) from a mistaken analogy, gives birth to the phrase to rake hell].

1557. Tottel, Misc. [Arber], ii. The rakehell lyfe that longs to loues disporte.

1573. Harman, Caveat (1814), ii. All these rowsey, ragged rabblement of

rakehelles.

1596. Spenser, Faerie Queene, v. xi. 44. And farreaway, amid their rakehell bands, They spide a Lady left all succourlesse. Ibid., Shep. Cal., Ded. I scorne and spue out the rakehellye route of ragged rymers.

1605. Jonson, Chapman, &c, Eastward Hoe, i. i. I turn not a drunken whore-hunting rake-hell like thyself.

1635. Long Meg. 0/ Westminster [Nares]. Away, you foule rake-sham'd whore, quoth he, if thou pratest to mee, He lay thee at my foote.

d.1704. T. Brown, Dial. 0/ Dead [Works, ii. 313]. I have been a man of the town . . . and admitted into the family of the rakehellonians.

1699. Farquhar, Constant Couple, i. i. Whipped from behind the counter to the side-box, forswears merchandise,— where he must live by cheating, — and usurps gentility, where he may die by raking. Ibid. (1703), Inconstant, iii. 1. A wild, foppish, extravagant rake-hell.

1709. Steele, Tat 1er, 14. We have . . . rakes in the habit of Roman senators, and grave politicians in the dress of rakes. Ibid., 336. These Rakes are your idle Ladies of Fashion, who, having nothing to do, employ themselves in tumbling over my Ware. Ibid., No. 20. I could not but be solicitous to know of her, how she had disposed of that rakehell Punch.

1713. Shadwell, Hum. of the Army. Our rakely young Fellows live as much by their Wits as ever.

c.1728. Swift, Stella, xx. 'Tis his own fault, that will rake and drink when he is but just crawled out of his grave. Ibid., Against Abol. Christ. A rakehell of the town ... is rewarded with a lady of great fortune to repair his own.

1740. Shenstone, Epil. to Cleone. Women hid their necks, and veil'd their faces Nor romp'd, nor rak'd, nor star'd at public places.

1742-4. North, Lord Guildford, 11. 300. He . . . instructed his lordship in all the rakery and intrigues of the lewd town.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias (1812), in. v. You are too forward, and have the air of a libertine ; I am afraid you are no better than a downright rake.

1809. Byron, Eng. Bards and Scotch Reviewers. And every brother rake will smile to see That miracle, a moralist in me.

1831. C. Lamb, Hercules Pacificatus in Englishman's Mag. A crew of rakehells in terrorem Spread wide, and carried all before 'em.

1859. Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien. Nor will she rake ; there is no business in her.

1866. Eliot, Felix Holt, ii. The stupid rakishness of the original heir.

1890. Globe, 7 Feb., 6, 3. The functions of his rake-helly associates are reduced to insignificance.

2. (common).—A comb: also garden-rake.

Colloquialisms are :—To rake and scrape = to pinch, to save, to play the miser ; TO rake in the pieces = to make money in plenty ; TO rake the pot = to take the stakes : see Pot ; TO rake OUT — to possess a woman ; to carry heavy rakes = to put on side (q.v.) ; to overbear ;

TO rake down = to SCOld, to

drub : also as subs. rakedown = a scolding, a beating ; better WITH A RAKE THAN A FORK =

Rally. 367 Ravicat.

(Ray) ' more apt to pull in and

scrape up, than to give out and communicate : also vice versa ' ; lean as a rake = as lean as may be.

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, Prol., 289. As lene was his hors as is a rake.

.1529. Skelton*, Phyllyp Sparowe, 913. His bones crake, Leane as a rake.

1582. Stanyhurst, AZneis [Arker], 89. A meigre leane rake with a long berd.

1611. Cotgrave, Diet., s.v. Maigre. MaigTe comme pies, as leane as Rakes (we say).

1614. Terence in English [Nares]. C. Woe is me for you, carrie you such heavie rakes, I pray you? M. Such is my desert.

c.1732. Gay, Works (1784), 11. 115. Lean as a rake with sighs and care.

Raker (or Rake-kennel), subs. (old).—A scavenger : also Jack Raker.

1611. Tarleton, Jests. When the cart came, he asked the raker why he did his businesse so slacklye.

c. 1704. Gentleman Instructed, 445. A

Club of rake-kennels.

To go a raker, verb phr. (racing).—To bet recklessly ; to plunge (q.v.). Hence, raker = a heavy bet.

1884. Hawley Smart, Post to Finish, i. If Bill Greyson takes the Leger it will be with Caterham. I am standing him a raker, and I mean standing him out.

1891. Sportsman, 25 Mar. Jennings, whose usual betting limit is very moderate, indeed, stood to win a raker this time over Lord George.

Rally, subs, (theatrical). — The rough-and-tumble work after the transformation scene in a pantomime.

1880. Sims, Left, 16S. Then, when the company found out the trick, the waiters, who were all supers, started a rally, and threw the things at each other.

1885. D. Telegraph, 16 Nov. Provide comic actors, pantomimes, rallies, and breakdowns.

Ralph, subs. (American).—1. A fool : also Ralph Spooner.— B. E. Cf.1696); Grose (1785).

2. (printers'). — A mischiefmongering deus ex machina : the supposed author of the tricks played on a recalcitrant member of a chapel (q.v.).

Ram, subs. (American University). —i. A practical joke ; a hoax.

2. (venery).—An act of coition : hence, as verb. = to possess a woman : cf. Ramrod and see Ride.

The rams, subs. phr. (American). — Delirium tremens : see Gallon-distemper.

To ram one's face in, verb, phr. (American).—To intrude ; to meddle.

Ramagious, adj. (old). —'Untamed, wild.'—Coles (1717).

Ram-booze (or -buze). See Rum.

Rambounge, subs. (Scots').—' A severe brush of labour . . . most probably a cant term.'—Jamieson.

Rambustious, Rambunctious, Rambumptious, Ramgumption, Ramfeezled, Ramshackle, Ramstrugenous,

and similar words. See Rumgumption.

ramcat (or ran-cat cove), subs.

phr. (thieves').—A man wearing furs.

Ramhead. 368

Ramp.

Ramh ead, subs. (old).—A cuckold : hence ramheaded = horned (q.v.).

1630. Taylor, Works [Nares]. To be cald ramhead is a title of honour, and a name proper to all men.

1713. Poor Robin [Nares]. Listen a little to my rime, The more because 'tis cuckow time ; For fear you should be this day wedded, And on the next day be ramheaded.

Ramjam, subs. (American).—A surfeit : as verb. = to stuff (q.V.).

Ramjollock, verb. (old).—To shuffle cards.

Ram mag ed, adj. (Scots').—Drunk : see Drinks and Screwed.

Rammer, subs. (Old Cant).—The arm.—Grose (1785).

Rammish, adj. (colloquial).—1. Stinking, hircine, abominable to the nose : cf. goatish. Also

rammy.

1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 16,409. Her savour is so rammish and so hoot

rf.1529. Skelton [Dyce, Works, i. 124]. Thou rammysche stynkyng gote.

1601. Jonson, Poetaster, iii. i. Hang him, fusty satyr, he smells all goat ; he carries a ram under his armholes.

1607. MlDDLETON, Phoenix, i. 2. Whose father being a rammish ploughman, himself a perfumed gentleman.

l6l i. cotgrave, Diet., s.v. BoU

quin. Ranke, rammish, goatlike.

1621. Burton, Anat. Melan., III. in. iii. i. A nasty rank, rammy, filthy, beastly quean.

1670. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft [ Works (1725), 165]. Do you not love to smell the Roast Of a good Rammish Holocaust ?

2. (colloquial). — Lustful ; on heat (q.v.) : also Rammy and Rammishness ; rammaking = wantonness and ram-skyt (see quot. c. 1400).—B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785).

c.1400. Townley Myst. [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 200. We see ram-skyt . . . applied to a woman skittish as a ram].

'635. Quarles, Emblems, iL 1. Go, Cupid's rammish pander, go.

Ram nuggar Boys (The), subs, phr. (military-).— The 14th (The King's) Hussars. [They encountered enormous odds at the battle in question.] Also "The Emperor's Chambermaids."

Ramp (see Romp), subs, (old).—i. A wanton ; a whore : see Tart ; and (2) = lascivious horseplay. As verb. = to wanton, to back up (q.v.); and rampant (or rampish : Palsgrave, 1530) = wanton (B. E., r.1696). Cf. Cotgrave, s.v. Rampeau. Droict de rampe, A priviledge, or power. A lecher.

1548. Halle, Henry VI. (an. 6). lone . . . was a rampe of such boldnesse, that she would ... do thynges that other yong maidens both abhorred and wer ashamed to do.

155a Udall, Roister Doister, ii. 4. Good wenches would not so rampe abrode ydelly.

1551. Still, Gammer Gurions Needle [Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), iL 43]. Nay, fye on thee, thou rampe, thou ryg

1591. Lyly, Sapho and Ph., iii. 1. What victlers follow Bacchus campes? Fools, fidlers, panders, pimpes, and rampes.

1593. Harvey, Pierces Supererog. [Wis., 11. 229]. Although she were a lustie bounsing rampe, somewhat like Gallemetta, or maide Marian.

1598. Florio, Worlde 0/ Wördes, s.v. Galluta ... a cockling wench, a kamp.

Ramp. 369 Rampage.

1605. Shakespeare. Cymbeline, i. 6. Should he make me Live like Diana's priest, betwixt cold sheets ; Whiles he is vaulting variable ramps, In your despite.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, iv. 3. Peace, you foul ramping jade !

1697. Poor Robin. To duel rampant Miss on a soft Bed.

1732. Fielding, Miser, iv. 15. The young fellows of this age are so rampant that even degrees of kindred cannot restrain them.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 69. a charming woman . . . open to all mankind . . . Let me see how many rampant chaps have been brought to their bearings . . . without the . . . husband being waked out of his evening nap.

3. (thieves').—A robbery with violence (Vaux, 1812) ; (4) = a swindle ; whence (5) = a footpad ; and (6) = a trickster : also rampsman and ramper : cf. Rush. As verb. = (1) to rob with violence ; (2) to blackmail ; and (3, racing) to bet against one's own horse; ramping (adj.) = violent ; ramping-mad = noisily drunk ; to ramp and reave = to get by fair means or foul (Halliwell).

1830. Moncrieff, Heart of London, ii. i. And ramp so plummy.

1840. Lytton, Paul Clifford, viii. The latter personage, giving him a pinch in the ear, shouted out " Ramp, ramp ! " and Paul found himself surrounded in a trice by a whole host of ingenious tormentors . . . this initiatory process, technically termed " ramping," reduced the bones of Paul, who fought tooth and nail in his defence, to the state of magnesia.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum. It is their business to jostle or ramp the victim, while the file picks his pocket.

1876. Runciman, Cliequers, 7. A man who is a racecourse thief and ramper hailed me affably.

1880. G. R. Sims, Hcnu the Poor Live, x. These . . . were mostly ramps, or swindles, got up to obtain the gate-money.

1883. Punch, 26 May, 252, 1. "Look 'ere, this hinnocent cove has been trying a ramp on !" Crowd. Welsher ! kill him ! Welsher !

1885. Chamb. Journal, 28 Feb., 136. He is a ramper and bully to a couple of outside betting-men.

1889. Kipling, Cleared [in Tlie Scots Observer}. They never told the ramping crowd to card a woman's hide.

7. (thieves').—A hall-mark. [A ' rampant lion ' forms part of the essay stamp for gold and silver.]

1879. Horsley, Jottings from fail [Macm. xl. 500]. They told me all about the wedge, how I should know it by the ramp.

Rampage, verb, (colloquial).—To storm ; also on the rampage = (1) in a state of excitement, from anger, lust, violent movement, or drink. Whence rampaging (rampacious or rampageous) = (1) furious, hot (q.v.), wild, or outrageous : and (2) loud (q.v.) : whence rampageousness. Also ram pager (or rampadgeon) = (1) a Hector; (2) a vagabond; and (3) a wencher.

1722. Hamiltoun, Wallace, 244. Psewart rampag'd to see both man and horse So sore rebuted, and put to the worse.

1768. Ross, Helenorc, 64. He rampaged . . And lap and danc'd, and was in unco' mood.

1816. Scott, Antiquary, v. The young gentleman was sometimes heard . . . ram panging about in his room, just as if he was one o' the player folk.

1823. Galt, R. Gilhaize, i. 40. His present master was a saint of purity compared to that rampagious Cardinal.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick, xxii. A stone statue of some rampacious animal . . . distinctly resembling an insane carthorse.

1858. Dickens, Great Expectations, xv. Joe . . . followed me out into the road to say ... on the rampage, Pip, and off the rampage, Pip—such is Life.

i860. Tennyson, Village Wife, vii. An' they rampaged about wi' their grooms, and was 'untin' arter the men.

Ranipallian. 370

i8öo. Athemeum [Century]. One there is . . . who out-Herod s everyone else in rampagiousness and lack of manners.

1881. Black, Beautiful Wretch, xx. If only . . . Frank got to hear of it, I suppose there would soon be a noble rampage.

1890. Spectator, 28 June. A diplomatist like Prince Bismarck . . . out for the time on the rampage, seems to Continental Courts a terror.

Ranipallian, sues. (old).—A villain ; a Hector : cf. ramp and rapscallion.

1593. Nash, Strang* News [Oliphant, New Eng., ii. 11. ... stands the word rampalian, whence may have come the later rapscallion.]

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV. ii. 1. Away you scullion, you rampallian, you fustilarian !

1599. Green, Tu Quoque[Dodsley, Old Plays (Reed), vii. 23]. Who feeds you?—'tis not your sausage face, thick, clouted cream, rampallian, at home.

1613. Beaumont and Fletcher, Honest Man's Fortune, ii. 1. Out upon them, Rampallions, I will keep myself safe enough Out of their fingers.

1639. Davenport, New Trick, &r>c. S.t. And bold rampallion like, swear and drink drunk.

1822. Scott, Fortunes oj Nigel, xx vi. I was almost strangled with my own band by twa rampallians wha wanted yestreen ... to harle me into a changehouse.

Ram-reel, subs. phr. (Scots').—A dance of men ; a bull-dance : cf. stag-party.

1813. D. Anderson, Poems, The chairs they coup, they hurl and loup, A ram-reel now they're wantin'.

Ramrod, subs, (venery). — The penis : see Prick.

c.1796. Morris, Plenipotentiary. The Nymphs of the Stage did his ram ko u engage.

2. (Winchester). — A ball bowled along the ground ; a Raymonder (q.v.)—Mansfield (/.1840).

Ramshackle. See Rumgump

tion.

Rance-sniffle, subs. phr. (American).—See quot.

1869. Overland Monthly, m. 131. Rance-sniffle is a strange combination of words to express a mean and dastardly piece of malignity.

Randal's-man (or Randlesman),

subs. phr. (pugilists').—A green handkerchief with white spots : Jack Randal's colours : cj. Belcher, Bird's-eye fogle, &c.

Randan, adv. (colloquial). — 1. See quot., and (2) see Rant.

18 ['?]. Dickens, Down with tlie Tide [Reprinted Pieces]. These duty boats . . . were rowed randan which . . . may be explained as rowed by three men, two pulling an oar each, and one a pair of sculls.

Randem(or Random-) tandem,

subs. phr. (University).—Three horses driven abreast : cf. Harum Scarum ; Sudden Death ; Tandem ; and Unicorn.

Randle, verb, (various).—See quots.

1847. Halliwell, Archaic Words, s.v., Randle. To punish a schoolboy for an indelicate bnt harmless offence.

1S79. Thos. Satchel l [Notes <&* Queries, 5th S. xi. 405]. From the evidence given in a case before the police magistrate at Birkenhead, it appeared that when any apprentice, at the Britannia Works in that town, remains at work, while the others have decided on taking a holiday, he is punished by a process known as randling. He is surrounded by his companions, who seize him by the hair and pull it at intervals until his scruples are overcome.

Randy, Rand, Randan. See

Rant.

Range.

371

Ransack.

Range, verb, (old venery).—To whore ; to grouse (q.v.).—B. E. (c. 1696). Whence ranger = (1) a whoremonger ; and (2) the penis (see Prick) : cf. the schoolboy rhyme—' Ye bitch of brass, hold up your arse Till I get in my ranger.

Ranger, subs, (old.)—1. A highwayman.

2. (old). — In pi. = mounted troops using short arms : cf. Connaught Rangers (late 88th and 94th Regiments).

3. See Range, verb.

RANK, adj. (old colloquial).—I. A generic intensive : unmitigated ; utter (B. E., f.1696; Grose, 1785 ; Vaux, 1819) : e.g., a rank lie = a flat falsehood ; a rank knave = a rogue of the first water ; a rank outsider (see Outsider) ; a rank swell = a pink of fashion ; a rank duffer = a downright fool ; and so forth.

1465-70. Mallory, Morte d'Arthur [E. E. T. S.] I.2402. The renke rebelle has been un-to my round Table, Redy aye with Romaynes !

.1547. Surrey, sEnid, ii. Whose sacred filletes all besprinkled were With filth of gory blod, and venim rank.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iii, 4, 148. Rank corruption, mining all within, Infects unseen.

c.1616. Fletcher, Bonduca, iv. 2. Run, run, ye rogues, ye precious rogues, ye rank rogues.

d.1719. Addison, Man of tlte Town. What are these but rank pedants.

1S34. Ainsworth, Rookwood, nr. v. "A rank scamp!" cried the upright man ; and this exclamation, however equivocal it may sound, was intended to be highly complimentary.

1894. Moore, Esther Waters, xxx. I saw that the favourites had been winning. But I know of something, a rank outsider, for the Leger.

2. (American). — Eager ; anxious ; impatient [Century] : e.g. ' I was rank to get back.'

Verb, (common).—To cheat.

Rank• and-riches, subs. phr. (rhyming).—Breeches = trousers.

1887. Sims, Tottie [Referee, 7 Nov.]. And right through my rank-and-riches Did my cribbage-pegs assail.

ranker, subs, (military).—An officer risen from the ranks : cf. Gentleman-ranker.

1878. Besant and Rice, By Celia's Arbour, xxxii. Every regiment has its rankers; every ranker his story. I should be a snob if I were ashamed of having risen.

1886. St. James's Gaz., 2 June, 12. The new Coast battalion, most of whose officers are rankers.

Rank-rider, subs. phr. (old).—1. A highwayman ; and (2) a jockey. See Ride, verb. Whence rankriding = rough-riding.—B. E. (e. 1696) ; Grose (1785).

1612. Drayton, Polyolbion, iii. 28. And on his match as much the Western horseman lays As the rank-riding Scots upon their Galloways.

Rannack (or Rannigal), subs. (old).—A good-for-nothing.

Rann el, subs, (old Cant).—A whore : see Tart.

1600. Gab. Harvey, Pierces Superer. Although she were a lusty rampe . . . yet she was not such a roinish rannel, such a dissolute Gillian-flirt.

Ransack, verb. (old).—To grope (q.v.) ; to deflower ; ' to explore point by point.'—B. E. (c. 1696).

T485. Mallory, Morte dArthur, x. civ. And anone he ransakyed him.

Ranshackle. 372 Rant.

1602. Shakspeare, Troilus and Cressida, ii. 2. But i would have the soil of her fair rape Wip'd off, in honourable keeping her, What treason were it to the ransack'd queen ....

1605. Sylvester, Du Barlos, i. 5. With sacrilegious Tools we rudely rend her, And ransack deeply in her bosom tender.

Ranshackle, subs, (common).— To pillage ; to ransack [On model of 'ramshackle' (q.V.)].

? ]. Jamie Teljer [Child, Ballads, vi. 106]. They loosed the kye out, ane and a' And ransh ackled the house right well.

Rant, verb, (various : see definition). —i. ' To talk Big, High, or Boast much' (B. E., c. 1696) ; to storm ; to rave : in this sense rant has always been literary, including the corresponding subs., adj., &c. Whence, however, many usages more or less colloquial :— Rantan (randan, randy, rand, randydan, rant, ranty,

rantan, or rantytan) = (i) a jollification, (2) a wenching bout,

(3) the sound of a drum, and

(4) a drunken frolic ; also as verb, (or to go on the rantan, &c.) = to go on a round of debauchery ; ranter = (1) ' Extravagants, Unthrifts, Lewd Sparks, also of the Familv of Love' (B. E., r.1696) ; (2) = a noisy talker, bawling singer, or ruffian ; (3) — a Primitive Methodist : often extended to Dissenters generally, and spec, to a sect dating from 1822, self-registered as such in the Census returns ; (4) in pi. = idle drunken bolstering ; ranting, adj. = (1) in high spirits ; and (2) = amorous, HOT (q.v.) ; and (3) extravagant : see quot. 1599 ; randy (or ranty), subs. = (1) a beggar, ballad singer, or tinker : espec. such as bully or menace ; (2) a scold : also RANDY-DANDY (or

ranty-tanty) ; (4) a ramping wanton ; (4) see rantan, supra ; as adj. = (1) vagrant ; (2) thieving, shrewish ; (3) wanton, hot (q.v.) ; as verb. = (1) see rantan, supra ; and (2) to beat continuously, as a tinker ; rantipole, subs. = (1) a whore, and (2) a romp (q.v.), a gallant hussy ; as verb. = to run about wildly ; and as adj. = 'wild, rakish, jovial' (B. E., r.1696); to ride rantipole(j« Ride); rantumscantum = copulation : see Ride ; rantankerous = quarrelsome; rantallion = (Grose) ' One whose scrotum is so relaxed as to be longer than his penis.'

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, ii. i. [Oliphant, New. Eng., ii. 25. There is the new Dutch verb. rant]. Look where my ranting host of the Garter comes.

1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe [Harl. Misc., vi. 153]. i would not . . . have it cast in my dishe that therefore I prayse Yarmouth so rantantingly, because I never elsewhere bayted my horse.

1601. Jonson, Poetaster, iii. 1. He was born to fill thy mouth ... he will teach thee to tear and rand.

163a Taylor, Workes, no. There is rantan Tom Tinker and his Tib, And there's a jugler with his fingers glib.

16*52. Wilson, Cheats, i. I was t'other night upon the randan, and who should i meet with but our old gang, some of St. Nicholas' clerks.

1697. Praise of Yorkshire Ale, 5. Mistake me not, Custom, i mean not tho, Of excessive drinking, as great ranters do.

1699. Congreve, Way of tJie World, iv. to. What, at years of discretion, and comport yourself at this rantipole rate.

1717. Arhuthnot, Hist. John Bull, 11. iii. She used to rantipole about the house. Ibid. in. viii. She threw away her money upon roaring swearing bullies and randy beggars that went about the streets.

1730. Jas. Miller, Humours of Oxford, v. But couldsl thou not learn, Timothy, who it is that the rantipole is going to marry?

Rap. 373 Rap.

17 [?j. P. Kirkden, Statts. Ac, ii. 515. Many randies infest this country from the neighbouring towns and the Highlands.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 57. Juno and he have had their quantum, And h lay no more at rantum-scantum.

/£. 1706. Burns, Jolly Beggars. Ae night, at e'en, a merry cove O' randie gangrel bodies. Ibid. Wi' quaffing and laughing, They ranted and they sang. Ibid., To James Tennant. Yours, Saint or Sinner, Rob the Ranter.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, m. 304. I was the mad randy gypsey, that had been scourged, and banished and branded. Ibid. (1816), Black Dwarf, ii. I hae a good conscience, unless it be about a rant among the lasses, or a splore at a fair.

1822. Steamboat, 179. ' You are one of the protectors of innocence, I can see that ! ' cried a randy-like woman.

183 [?]. Carlyle [Froude, Life in London, xviii.]. That scandalous randy of a girl.

c. 1852. Traits of Amer. Humour, 49. He was the darndest, rantankerous hossfly that ever clum a tree.

1871. Figaro, 15 Ap. We put him down near Sloane Square—There was a ranters' chapel there.

1885. Punch, 27 June, 303. The Oracle, he Talks rantipole rubbish and fiddle-de-dee !

1887. Stevenson, John Nicolson, vii. [Yule Tide, 9]. John had been (as he was pleased to call it) visibly on the randan the night before.

2. (streets').—See quot.

1887. Watford's Antiquarian, Ap. 253. To Rant is to appropriate anything in a forcible manner. " Lets go and rant their marleys," says one urchin to another, and straightway the pair annex the possessions of a more respectable party. But it is also used to denote undue freedom with females, and springs, no doubt, from

rantipole.

Rap, sues, and verb. (old).— Quick, forcible, explosive action : generic : e.g. ( 1 ) a blow ; ' a Polt on the pate, and a hard knocking at a Door' (B. E., t.1696) ; (2) a fart (q.v.) ; (3) an oath or ex

clamation (also rafter) ; and (4) a severe reprimand : as a rap on (or over) the fingers, knuckles, &c. Hence, as verb. = (1) to strike smartly or to speak forcibly (espec. to reprimand) : usually with off or out ; (2) to break wind ; (3) to swear ; (4) to perjure oneself: to deal a blow at one's honor or another's reputation (Grose, 1785). Also

on the rap = on the spree

(q.v.) ; ina rap = in a moment ; rapfully = violently ; rapped = (1) ruined ; (2) knocked out of time ; and (3) killed.

1572-3. Douglas, Virgil, 74, 13. The broken skyis rappis furth thunderis leuin.

rf.1549. ['? Borde], Mylner of Abington [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poet., iii. 115]. His wife lent him suche a rappe, That stil on grounde he laie.

^•tSSSUdall, Roister Doister, iv. iii. To speede we are not like, Except ye rafpe out a ragge of your Rhetorike.

rf.1577. Gascoigne [Chalmers, Wks., ii. 486, ' In Praise of Lady Sandes']. He . . . sodainly with mighty mace gan rap hir on the pate.

1582. Stanyhurst, AZneid, iii. 566. And a sea-belch grounting on rough rocks rapfully fretting.

1591. Greene, Second Part Connycatching [ Works, x. 99]. He began to chafe, and to sweare, and to rap out gogges Nownes.

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of Shrew, i. 2, 12. Villain, I say, knock me at this gate, And rap me well. Ibid. And rap him soundly, sir.

1610. Percy Folio MS., ' Fryar and Boye,' 104. I would shee might a kapp let goe that might ring through the place.

1612. Shelton, Don Quixote, iv. 18. He rapped out an oath or two.

1712. Arbuthnot, John Bull [Oliphant, New Eng., ii. 155. The new substantives are . . . yellow-boy . . ,

rap over the finger ends . . . ].

1743. Fielding, Jon. Wild, 1. xiii. It was his constant maxim, that he was a pitiful fellow who would stick at a little rapping for his friend.

Rap.

374 Rapscallion.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias [Routledge], 216. The sheepish acquiescence of a man who stood in awe of an ecclesiastical rap on the knuckles.

1751. Fielding, Amelia, 1. _ x. Though I never saw the lady in my life, she need not he shy of us : d—n me ! I scorn to rap* against any lady. [* A cant word meaning to swear, or rather perjure yourself. ]

1768. Ross, Helenore, 116. Honest Jean brings forth in a rap The green-horn cutties rattling in her lap.

1818. Scott, Midlothian, xx. When three words of your mouth would give the girl the chance . . . you make such scruple about rapping [swearing] to them.

1839. Thackeray, Fatal Boots (August). I rapped out a good number of oaths.

1861. Eliot, Silas Marner, iv. Dunstan . . . was always rapping his whip somewhere.

1879. Auto, of Thief [Macm. Mag., xl. 501]. I said, "All right," but he rapped " It is not all right."

1888. Sims, Plank Bed Ballad [Referee, 12 Feb.]. And he rapped, I shall just turn you over.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxiii. If he tries todrawa weapon, or move ever so little, he's rapped at that second.

1893. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 51. The way the passengers stared at me showed I was fair on the rap.

1897. Mary Kingsley, W. Africa, 390. A severe rap on my moral knuckles from my conscience.

5. (old).—A counterfeit Irish coin nominally worth a halfpenny, but intrinsically less than half a farthing : proclaimed May 5th, 1737. Hence (6) the smallest unit of value : see Care and Worth ; and (7) a cheat (Scots') ; whence rapless = penniless, stony (q.v.).—Grose (1785).

1724. Swift, Drapiers Letters [Faulkner (1735), iv. 66]. Many counterfeits passed about under the name of raps.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i. 7. I could have betted every rap—six quid to four

1834. Ainsworth, Game of High Toby [Rookwood]. For the mare-withthree-legs, boys, I care not a rap.

1900. White, West End, 283. ' I always thought Delane had settled a handsome sum on her.' Delane never offered her a rap. She wouldn't accept it if he did.

1902. Sp. Times, 1 Feb., 1, 4. But for my point of view Susie cared not a rap.

Verb. (old).—i. See subs. I.

2. (old).—To barter ; to swop (q.v.).—B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785).

Rape, subs, (back slang).—A pear.

Rapparee, szibs. (old).—i. An Irish robber or outlaw ; whence (2) a vagabond. [Malone : They armed themselves with a rapparee or half-pike.]—B. E. (f.1696); Grose (1785).

Rapper, subs, (common).—1. A lie; a whopper (q.v.).—B. E. (f.1696); Grose (1785). Also (2), see rap, sense 1. Whence rapping — very.

rf.1688. Parker, Rep. of Rehers. Transp., 200. Though this is no flower of the sun, yet I am sure it is something that deserves to be called a rapper.

Rapscallion (Rascallion, Rab

scallion, ramscallion, or

Rascabilian), subs. (old).—A worthless wretch. Hence rapscallion ry, &c. = the world of rascaldom. Also as adj.

1622. Breton, Strange Newes, 6. Makes no little gaine of rascabilians.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, 1. iii. 327. Used him so like a base rascallion.

1703. Ward, London Spy, v. no. And there we saw a parcel of Ragged Rapscallions, mounted upon Scrubbed Tits.

Raree-show. 375

1733. Fielding, Don Quixote, i. i. The Don is just such another lean ramscallion as his . . . Rozinante. Ibid. (1742), Joseph Andrews, iv. iii. A profession [the legal] . . . which owes to such kind of RAscALLiONS the ill-will which weak persons bear towards it.

1749. Smollett, Gil Bias (1812), iii. iv. Let us take an oath never to serve such rapscallions, and swear to it by the river Styx.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 216. As to that copper-nosed rapscallion, Venus's bully-back and stallion.

<f. 1824. Byron, Letter to Mr. Murray [Ency. Diet,]. The pompous rascallion.

1847. Lytton, Lucretia, 1. x. But the poor rapscallion had a heart larger than many honest painstaking men.

1885. Daily News, 19 Sept. To give no goods to those rapscallion servants.

Raree-show, subs. phr. (old).—A

peep-show : specifically one carried in a box. Hence, rareeSHOWman = ' a pool Savoyard trotting up and down with portable Boxes of Tuppet-shews at their backs . . . Pedlars of Puppets.'— B. E. (c. 1696); Grose (1785).

1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, ii. i. Your language is a suitable trumpet to draw people's eyes upon the rareeshew.

1707. Ward, Hud. Rediv., 11. vi. 3. The Rabble-Rout, Who move, in Tumults, to and fro, To wonder at the Raree-Show.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, xiv. At last Pickle, being tired of exhibiting this raree-show . . . handed her into the coach.

1837. Lytton, Maltravers, v. xii. He expressed a dislike to be visited merely as a raree-show.

1885. Field, 4 Ap. As though a Catholic Church were a theatre or rareeshow.

Rascal, subs, (colloquial).—1. A term of (a) affection, and (b) contempt : cf. ' rogue,' ' scamp,' &c. (B. E., r. 1696, and Grose, 1785).

Also (2) ' a man without genitals ' (Grose, 1785). Whence raskabilia = the rascal people. See Rapscallion.

1557. Tusser, Husbandrie, 25. Beware raskabilia, slothful to worke.

rasher-of-wind, subs.phr. (common).— I. A thin person ; a

lamp-post (q.V.), Or yard of pump-water (q.V.).

2. (common). — Anything of little or no account.

1899. D. Telegraph, 7 Ap., 8, 2. Lets 'em howl, an' sweat, an' die, an' goes on all the time, as if they was jest rashers o' wind.

Rasp, stibs. (venery).—The female ptidendum : see Monosyllable. To rasp (or do a rasp) = to copulate : see Greens and Ride.

Raspberry, subs, (stable). — See quot.

tf.1880. Sporting Times [S. J. & C.]. One gentleman I came across had a way of finding out the cussedness of this or that animal by a method that I found to be not entirely his own. The tongue is inserted in the left cheek and forced through the lips, producing a peculiarly squashy noise that is extremely irritating. It is termed, I believe, a raspberry, and when not employed for the purpose of testing horseflesh, is regarded rather as an expression of contempt than of admiration.

Raspberry-tart, subs. phr. (American).—A dainty girl.

2. (rhyming).—The heart ; and (3) a fart (q.v.).

1892. Marshall, Rhyme of the Rusher [Sporting 'Times, 29 Oct.], Then I sallied forth with a careless air, And contented raspberry-tart.

Rasper, subs, (various).—Anything especial : as (hunting) a bad leap ; (common) a punishing blow, rank tradesman, or flat falsehood ;

Raspin. 376

Rat.

(Stock Exchange) a big turn or large profit ; and so forth. Hence rasping-shorter (cricketers') = a ball which, blocked by the bat, glides swiftly along the ground instead of rebounding.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, iv. viii. A stiff fence, captain—a reg'lar

rasper.

1841. John Mills, Old Eng. Gentleman, xiv. 114 (3rd Ed.). A fence of little less than six feet in height was before their horses' heads. Straight as winged arrows they flew at the leap, and cleared the rasper without touching a shoe.

1858. Dr. j. Brown, Spare Hours, 3 S. 60. You cannot . . . make him keep his seat over a rasping fence.

1881. Century Mag., xxxii. 336. Three-fourths of our fences . . . average somewhat better than four feet in height, with an occasional rasper that will Come well up to five.

1885. Field, 26 Dec. Away over some rasping, big fences.

1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. Denny . . . occasionally got home a rasper.

Raspin (The), subs. (Old Cant).— Bridewell.

Rat, subs, (common).—1. A renegade : espec. through self-interest. Whence (political), a deserter ; or (trades-unionists') a workman accepting lower than the Union rate, or working when his mates have ' struck ' : also ratter ; as verb., or to do a rat, in all these senses, whence (loosely) to change one's views or tactics. Hence ratting (rattening, or rattery) = apostacy ; rat-shop (house, or office) — a workshop where full rates are not paid ; to ratten = to destroy tools and appliances, to intimidate fellow workmen, or (masters') to lock out employees or engage non-Union (or 'free') labour.— Grose (1785) ; Bee (1823).

1822. Sidney Smith, Letters [Ency. Diet.]. The rattery and scoundrelism of public life.

1830. Croker [Croker Papers, ii. 76]. He talked of resigning with his colleagues as a matter of course, but the knowing ones suspect that he will rat.

1838. Lytton, Alice, v. ii. Political faction loves converts better even than consistent adherents. A man's rise in life generally dates from a well-timed rat.

1840. Barham, Ingolds. Leg. {Lay of St. Aloys). Don't give too much credit to people who rat !

1847. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, n. v. He might have been a Peer if he had played his cards better. Mr. Pitt had very nearly made him ; but he ratted always at the wrong time.

d. 1859. Macau lay [Trevelyan, i. 275. ] I am fully resolved to oppose several of the clauses. But to declare my intention publicly . . . would have the appearance

Of ratting.

1863. Notes and Queries, 3rd S., iv. 430. We should not now call a man a rat for accepting office under a government of which he had spoken with disapprobation at the circuit table.

1870. Stanhope, Hist. England, vii. 315. The word rat (both the noun and the verb) was just . . . levelled at the converts to the Government of George the First, but has by degrees obtained a wider meaning, and come to be applied to any sudden and mercenary change in politics,

1870. English Gilds [E. E. T. S.], Int. exxvii. For enforcing payment of entrance-fees ... as well as of fines the Craft Gilds made use of the very means of much talked of in the case of the Sheffield Trade-Unions, namely rattening : that is, they took away the tools of their debtors.

1878. George Howell, Conflicts of Capital and Labour, viii. 13. Rattening, as defined by the Report of the Royal Commission, is " the abstraction of the workman's tools, so as to prevent him from earning his livelihood until he has obeyed the arbitrary orders of the union.'

1885. Evening News, 21 Sept., 1/6. A master baker can always get rid of an obnoxious or too outspoken unionist journeyman baker, and replace him with one of the numerous rats ever on the look-out for a job.

Rat.

377

Rat.

1888. Puck's Library, Jan. 13. When the Chinaman becomes a compositor, he will most likely prefer a rat-office.

1892. Globe, 2 Ap., 2,4. He would rather like to see him brought down to this House," he said, " where he would find plenty of occupation, as on this (the Opposition) side there were a good many rats.

2. (Old Cant).—A clergyman : see Sky-pilot.—Grose (1785).

1628. Earle, Microcos. [Bliss (i8n), 195]. A profane man is one that . . . nick-names clergymen with all the terms of reproach as rat, black-coat, and the like.

3. (old).—'A drunken person when in custody.'—B. E. (r.1696) ; Grose (1785). Whence (in pi.)

= d.t.'s (q.V.)\ drunk as a

rat = hopelessly drunk : see Screwed.

1553. T. Wilson, R/iet. (1580), 128.

AS dronke as a ratte.

1661. Merry Drollery, 28. He walks about the country . . . Drunk as a rat, you'd hardly wot That drinking so he could trudge it.

c. 1685. Roxburghe Ballads [Brit. Mus. ii. 101]. His master one night got

drunk rs a rat.

4. (nautical). — An infernal machine : espec. one used to founder insured bottoms.

c.1880. Times [S. J. & C.]. Thereare two species of rats. One species is intended to operate upon iron ships, the other upon wooden ones.

5. (back slang).—In pl. = a star.

6. (thieves').—A police spy : see Nark ; hence (general) a term of contempt.

7. (obsolete). — A hairpad, somewhat resembling a rat in shape, circa 1860-70. Also as verb.

Phrases.—To smell a rat = to suspect a trick or roguery (Florio ; B. E. ; Grose) ; to give green rats = to malign or backbite ; to have (or see)

rats = (1) to be eccentric, (2) out of sorts, (3) drunk, and (4) crazy : also rats in the garret (loft, or upper story); like a drowned rat = sopping wet ; rat me = a varient of rot me : an objurgation ; Rats ! = a contemptuous retort : see Water.

c. 1508. Colyn Blowbots Test [Hazlitt, Early Pop. Poetry, i. 93, 31.]. He lokyd furyous as a wyld catt, And pale 01

hew like a drowned ratt.

c. 1529. Image of Ipocrysy, 51. For yf they smell a ratt, They grisely chide and chatt.

1630. Wadsworth, Pilgr. viii., 84. I got on shore as wet as a drowned rat.

1633. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, iv. 3. Do you not smell a rat? I tell you truth, I think all's knavery.

1664. . Cotton, Virgil Travestie, 23. He straight began to smell a rat, And soon perceiv'd what they'd be at.

1708-10. Swift, Pol. Conv., 17. Take Pity on poor Miss ; don't throw Water on a drownded rat.

1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 204. Tydides' heart went pit-a-pat, For he began to smell a rat.

1830. Barrington, Personal Sketches. Sir Boyle Roche : ' Mr. Speaker, I smell a rat ; I see him forming in the air and darkening the sky ; but I'll nip him in the bud.'

1840. Lytton, Paul Clifford, xxxiv. "Whew!" said he, lifting up his forefinger, "whew! I smell a rat; this stolen child, then, was no other than Paul.'.

1865. Yates, Land at Last, v. " Well, and now, old boy, how are you ? " " Well, not very brilliant this morning,

Algy. I-" " Ah, like me, got rats,

haven't you ? "

1880. Nem Virginians, ii. 229. Looking like the drowndest of drowned rats.

188696 Marshall, His Bit of Trouble [' Pomes,' 122]. One word, and that was Rats !

1892. Ally Sloper, 27 Feb., 66, 3. " I had 'em again last night, old man," . . . "The usual thing?" asked Boozer. . . . " No," said Lushington, " it was a regular mixture—rats and skeletons . . . all sorts."

Rat-hole. 378

Rattle.

1901. Troddles, 46. ' What is it ? ' . . . ' Foot sugar, my boy.' ' What do you do with it—make it into a poultice, or use it as you do mustard, for colds ? ' ' Rats ! . . . didn't you ever have a toffee scramble ? '

1902. D. Telegraph, 11 Feb., 7, 2. I did not issue my writ in anticipation of one being issued by the other party. They

smelt a rat.

Rather ! intj. (common).—A strong affirmative ; ' yes ' ; 'I should think so ' : sometimes

rayther. Also ratherish

(American) = in some degree ; slightly.

1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, 240. " Do you know the mayor's house ? " inquired Mr. Trott. " Rather," replied the boots, significantly, as if he had some good reason to remember it.

1862. New York Trib., 22 April [Century]. Lavalette is ratherish against Popish temporality : Gen. Guyon is rather favourable to it.

Rather of the ratherest. phr. (colloquial).—Said of anything slightly in excess or defect ; in Norfolk of underdone meat.

Rat-hole, subs. phr. (printers').— i. An overwide space between printed words ; a pigeon-hole (q.v.). See also rat, subs. 1.

Rations, subs, (military and naval). —A flogging.

Rat's-tail, subs. phr. (legal).—A writ ; a capias.

Rattle, subs. (old).—1. A dice-box (B. E., r.1696; Grose, 1785). Also (2 and 3) see verb. 1, and Rattler. 2. Also (4) in = (a) the croup, and (b) the throat rattle preceding death.

Verb, (colloquial). — Generic for rapid movement or noisy loquacity : hence (1) to talk or move quickly or noisily (B. E.

and Grose) ; (2) to censure, confuse, or irritate. Whence, as subs. — (1) a clamour of words ;

(2) a scolding ; (3) a lively talker : also (senses 1 and 2) rattling. Derivatives are numerous : Rattle-baby = a chattering child ;

rattle-bag (-bladder, -brain, -cap, -head, -pate, -scull, or

rattler) = a flighty blab, a chatterbox (see Rattle-trap) : cf. Scott, Redgauntlet. xi.. "The Bishop's summoner that they called ' The Deil's Rattlebag"' : also as adjs. — chattering, whimsical, giddy ; rattled = confused or flurried ; with a rattle = with a rush or spurt ; to rattle up = to gather noisily ; to rattle down = to disperse with a clatter ; rattler = (i) a rattle-bag, supra ; (2) a smart blow or sound scolding ;

(3) an out-and-out lie ; (4) a coach, cab, or train ; (5) a rattle-snake (Amer.) ; (6) in pl., the teeth, or grinders (q.v.); and (7) anything extra fine in size, value, &c. ; rattling = (i) brisk ; and (2) lively and conspicuous in pace, habit, manners, &.C. ; rattling-cove = a coachman ; rattling-mumper = a carriage beggar (B. E. ; Hall ; Grose; Vaux). Also see Shake, Tats.

1502. Shakspeare, Mid. Nighfs Dream, v. t, 102. The rattling tongue of saucy and audacious eloquence.

1596. Nashe, Saffron Waiden [Grosart, Works, iii. 147]. They ratled him vp soundly, and told him if he would be conformable to the order of the prison so it was, otherwise hee should bee forc't.

1611. Cotgrave, Diet. [Halliwell]. Extreamely reviled, cruelly ratled, horribly railed on.

1613. Beaumont and Fletcher, Honest Man's Fortune, v. 3. If my time were not more precious ... I would rattle thee, it may be beat thee.

Rattle 379 Rattle.

1630. Taylor, Works [Nares]. If our hackney ratlers were so drawne, With cords, or ropes, or baiters.

1633. Cottington, To Strafford [Hallam, Const. Hist., 11. 89]. The King hath so rattled my lord-keeper that he is the most pliable man in England.

1633. Prynne, / His trio-Matrix, i. v. Our lascivious, impudent, rattlepated gadding females.

1636. Heywood, Levés Mistress, 9. Boys without beards get boys, and girls bear girls ; Fine little rattle-babies, scarce thus high, Are now called wives.

1644. Heyi.in, Life of Laud, 257. Receiving such a rattle for his former contempt.

rf.1649. Hakewell, Apology. All this ado about the golden age, is but an empty rattle and frivolous conceit.

1669. Pepys, Diary, 25 March. I did lay the law open to them, and rattle the master-attendants out of their wits almost.

1693. Hacket, Williams, i. 130. Many rattleheads as well as they, did bestir them to gain-stand this match.

1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, ii. 4. Pray your ladyship, give me leave to be angry—I'll rattle him up, I warrant you.

1701. Farquhar, Sir Henry Witdair, v. 3. I rather fancy that the rattle-headed fellow, her husband, has broken the poor lady's heart.

1708. Swift, Agst. Abolishing Xtnty. [Ency. Diet.]. He rattles it out against Popery. Ibid., Jour. Stella, lx. I chid the servants and made a rattle.

1709. Steele, Tatler, No. 2. My Lady with her tongue was still prepar'd, She rattled loud, and he impatient heard.

1715. Hearne, Reliquice, 1715 Townshend, one of the secretaries of state, hath sent rattling letters to Dr. Charlett.

1749. Fielding, Tom Jones, iv. v. Tom, though an idle, thoughtless, rattling rascal, was nobody's enemy but his own.

1754. Disc. John Pout ter, 37. Go three or four miles out of Town to meet the rattlers.

1764. Murphy, No One's Enemy, ii. This rattle seems to please you : but let me tell you, the man who prevails with me must have extraordinary merit.

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, iii. At the Ladies' Club in town I'm called their agreeable rattle.

1781. Messink, Choice of Harlequin, Song. Rattling up your darbies, come hither at my call.

1788. Stevens, Adv. of a Speculist, ii. 151. He was such a rattle-head, so inconstant and so unthinking.

1790. Shirref, Poems, 49. Gin Geordy be the rattle-scull I'm taul', I may expect to find him stiff and haul'.

1818. Austen, Nort/utnger Abbey, ix. She had not been brought up to understand the propensities of a rattle, nor to know to how many idle assertions and impudent falsehoods the excess ot vanity will lead.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 8. And long before daylight, gigs, rattlers, and prads were in motion for Moulsey.

1820. Lamb, Elia {South-sea House). A little less facetious, and a great deal more obstreperous, was fine, rattling, RATTLe-headed Plumer.

1821. Egan, Life in London, 11. v. At length a move was made, but not a rattler was to be had.

1844. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, i. 21. He danced prettily, to be sure, and was a pleasant rattle of a man.

1S48. Ruxton, Far West, 12. Crawled like rattlers along this bottom.

1854. Whyte Melville, General Bounce, xiii. Who would have suspected the rattling, agreeable, off-hand Mount Helicon of deep-laid schemes and daring ambition ?

1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, xi. " Rattle-pate as I am, I forgot all about it."

1862. Cornhill, Nov., 648. We have just touched for a rattling stake of sugar at Brum.

1865. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend. I should have given him a rattler for himself, if Mrs. Boffin had not thrown herself betwixt us.

1878. James, Europeans, iv. Robert Acton would put his hand into his pocket every day in the week if that rattlepated little sister of his should bid him.

Rattle-bullocks.

380

Raiv.

1870. Macmillan's Mag., xl., 501. I'll go to London Bridge rattler, and take a dearer ride.

1885. Meredith, Diana of the Crosnvays, iii. 367. " I rattled at her ; and oh ! dear me, she perks on her hind heels and defies me to prove."

1888. Daily Chronicle, 10 Dec. Bachelor came on with a rattle and won by a length and a half.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xii. They've fetched a rattling price. Ibid, xxviii. A rattling good magistrate.

1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 19 Mar., 7, 1. Mr. Labouchere made a rattling speech against the Reuter contract.

1898. Pink 'Un and Pelican, 58. Far be it from me to suggest . . . the painful and vulgar expedient of macing the rattler, but the name of the person, if any, who produced . . . twice the necessary 15s. 8d. for the tickets is not forthcoming.

Rattle-ballocks, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum: see Monosyllable.

Rattletrap, subs, (common).—1. The mouth ; hence (2) a chatterbox : see Rattle.

1880, Life in a Debtors' Prison, 180. You're as great a ratttetrap as ever.

3. (colloquial). —Anything old and tumble-down : spec, a broken-down rattling conveyance; also (4) personal belongings: in jocular disparagement, and (Grose) ' any curious, portable piece of machinery or philosophical apparatus.' As adj. = worn-out ; crazy.

1830. Lytton, Clifford, xxxiv. 299. Where poor Judy kept her deeds and

rattletraps.

1857. Trollope, Barchester Towers, xxxv. " He'd destroy himself and me too, if I attempted to ride him at such a

rattletrap as that." A rattletrap I

The quintain that she had put up with so much anxious care ... It cut her to the heart to hear it so denominated by her own brother.

rf.1861. Mrs. Gore, Castles in the Air, xxxiv. Hang me if I'd ha' been at the trouble of conveying her and her rattle-traps last year across the channel.

Rat-trap, subs. phr. (obsolete).— A bustle ; a bird-cage (q.v.).

Raughty. See Rorty.

Rave, subs, (colloquial).—A strong liking ; a craze : as ' X has a rave on Miss Z.'

ravilliac, subs. (Old Cant).—'Any Assasin.'—B. E. (c.1696).

Raw, subs, (colloquial).—(1) A novice : also Johnny Raw ; (2) anything uncooked, as oysters, sugar, &c.

1820. Corcoran, The Fancy Glossary. Raw. An Innocent.

1868. Chamb. Journal, 15 Feb., no. Soft-going raws an' delicate boys with romantic heads.

1886. U.S. Cons. Rep., Ix. 96. The stock of raws on hand amounted . . .

1889. Century Diet., s.v. Raw, i, ii. i. An oyster of a kind preferred for eating raw : as a plate of raws.

2. (colloquial).—Atender point; a foible : as ' to touch on the raws ' = to irritate by allusion or joke ; to rub up the wrong way.

1837. M a r r y at, Snarley-Vow. This was touching up Vanslyperken on the raw.

1839. Comic Almanack, Sept. [Hotten], 188. Now they're gettin' out of natur, for their raws is all a healing.

1868. Collins, Moonstone, 1. xxii. Sergeant Cuff had hit me on the raw, and, though I did look down upon him with contempt, the tender place still tingled for all that.

r382. Stevenson, New Arab. Nights, 248 (1884). The pleasantry touched him on the raw.

1900. Kipling, Stalky âr> Co., 65. The ' honour of the house ' was Prout's weak point, and they knew well how to flick him on the raw.

Raw-head.

381 Razzle-dazzle.

Adj. (colloquial). — 1. See subs. I.

2. (common). — Undiluted ; neat (q.v.) ; a raw recruit = a nip of" unwatered spirits.

Raw-head (or Raw-flesh),subs, phr. (old).—A spectre ; ' a scarechild ' (B. E., Grose): usually Raw-head and Bloody-bones.

1550. Jyl of Brentford's Test. [Oliphant, New Eng., i. 524. The Devil's secretary bears the name of Blooddybone . . . whom we now couple with raw-head.]

____ Wyll of the Devyll [Halliwell]. Written by our faithful secretaires, hobgoblen, rawhed, and bloodybone, in the spitefull audience of all the Court of hell.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, Caccianemico, a bragging craking boaster, a bugbeare, a rawe-flesh and bloodie bone.

1622. Fletcher, Prophetess, iv. 4. I was told before My face was bad enough : but now I look Like Bloodybones and Raw-head to fright children.

1693. Locke, Education, 138. Servants . . . awe children, and keep them in subjection, by telling them of rawhead

and bloody bones.

1870. Figaro, 19 Oct. We have sometimes heard of a school of literature called " The Raw-Head and BloodyBones School."

Raw-lobster, subs. phr. (obsolete). —A policeman : cf. lobster = a soldier.

Raw-M eat, subs. phr. (venery).— i. The penis : see Prick ; and (2) a nude performer : see Meat.

1766. Old Song, ' The Butcher ' [ The Eattle, 13]. All women in love never like to be stinted, Take care that her mag with raw meat is well fed, Lest the horns of an ox should adorn your calves' head.

Raw-'uns (The), subs. phr. (pugilistic).—The naked fists.

1887. Daily News, 15 Sept., 4, S. This encounter was without gloves, or, in the elegant language of the ring, with the raw uns.

1891. Sporting Life, 26 Mar. I will stake ,£1000 to ,£800, and fight you with the raw-'uns. Ibid. Even Jem Carney . . . has been obliged to abandon the raw-un's for gloves pure and simple.

Ray, subs, (thieves').—See quot.

1862. Mayhew, Lon. Lab., iv. 319. "Joe said to him, 'There is Dick's first trial, and you must give him a ray for it,' i.e., 1/6.

Raymonder. See Ramrod, 2.

Razor, subs. (American University).—See quot.

18 [?]. Yale Univ. Mag. [S. J. & C.]. A pun in the elegant college dialect is called a razor, while an attempt at a pun is styled a sick razor. The sick ones are by far the most numerous ; however, once in a while you meet with one in quite respectable health.

2. (common).—In//. = aerated waters; sober-water (q.v.).

Parlour-full of Razors. See Parlour.

Razor-strop, subs. phr. (legal).— A copy of a writ.

Razzle-dazzle, subs.phr. (American).—A frolic.

1890. Gunter, Miss Nobody, xiv. I'm going to razzle-dazzle the boys . . . with my great lightning change act. Ibid., XV. ' Little Gussie's Razzle Dazzle [Title of chapter].

1901. Binstead, More Gats Gossip, 54. Bank-holidayites on the razzledazzle.