Slang & Its Analogues Vol. 4 (1896)

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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. IV.

PRINTED

FOR

SUBSCRIBERS

ONL Y

1896

CE. A big thing

on Ice, subs. phr. (American). — A profitable venture; a good thing; also B.T.I.

1890. Gunter, Miss Nobody, xx. In the hall, prominently posted up by a wag, under new memberships, is a notice : For Election. Gussie de P. Van Beekman, vice Baron Bassington, of Harrowby Castle, England. On ice.

Icken, adj. (American thieves').— Oak. Icken-Baum = Oak-tree. [From the German].—Matsell (1859Ï.

Ictus, szibs. (legal).—A lawyer. For synonyms see Green-bag [A corruption of juris consultas^.

Idea-Pot (or -Box), subs. (old).— The head. For synonyms see Crumpet.—Grose (1785); Matsell (1859).

Identical, subs. (colloquial).— Generally the identical = the self-same; the person, point, argument, or action in question. vol. iv.

1664. Butler, Hudibras, pt. ii, c. i, I. 149. The beard's th' identique beard you knew.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 283. 'I'm the identical ' said Jack.

I Desire, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A fire.

IG N o r a m u s, .mfo. (old : now literary). —A stupid and unlettered person, male or female : first applied to ignorant lawyers. [From Latin = we ignore (it), the endorsement by which a grand jury threw out a bill].

1569. Erasmus, Praise of Folly. Tr. [Reeves & Turner] p. 64. The lawyer who is so silly. . . as to be ignoramus to a proverb.

1621. Burton, Anal. Mel. Pt. 2. Sec. 2, Mem. 4, Vol. i, p. 425 (1827). Let them go as they are in the catalogue of ignoramus.

1670. Shadwell, Sullen Lovers, iv, p. 58. The greatest Owl. . . . Rascal, Oaf, ignoramus.

1690. B.E. Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v.

3.1733. R. North, Exa?7ien, I, ii. 82. If he had declared otherwise he would have been an ignoramus.

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

1811. Lex. Bai. s.v.

Ignoramus-Jury. ² Immense.

1883. Braddon, Golden Calf, II, ch. iv, p. 140. Brian is a tremendous botanist, and Mr. Jardine is not an ignoramus in that line.

Ignoramus-Jury, subs. phr. (old). —A Grand Jury.

1690. B.E., Did. Cant. Crew. s.v. Ignoramus. . . . also, We are Ignorant, written by the Grand Jury on Bills, when the Evidence is not Home, and the Party (thereupon) Discharged.

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

I key, suhs. (thieves').—A Jew: specifically a Jew fence {q.v.). [A corruption of Isaac]. For synonyms see Yid. Also Ikey Mo.

Adj. (common).—Smart; fly {q.v.); knowing {q.v.).

1870. Leybourne , Song. My name it is ikey Bill, A Whitechapel Covey am I.

1892. Chevalier, ' The Little Nipper¹. But artful little ikey little ways, As makes the people sit up where we stays.

I le. See Oil.

Ill, adv. (American).—Vicious; unpleasant; ill-tempered. Cf. Religious. Also ill for = having a vicious propensity for anything (jamieson). Cf., 'Neither is it ill air only that makes an ill seat, but ill ways, ill markets, and ill neighbours' (Bacon).

1887. Trans. Am. Philol. Ass., xvii. 39. I heard a man in the Smoky Mountains say, ' Some rattlesnakes are iLLER'n others ; ' and another that ' black rattlesnakes are the illest'.

1887. Scriôner's Mag. In course the baby mus' come in the thick er it ! An't make me mad, seein' him so ill with her.

To do ill to, verb.phr. (Scots' colloquial).—To have sexual commerce with: generally in negative, and of women alone.

Illegitimate, stibs. (old).— 1. A counterfeit sovereign : young illegitimate = a half sovereign. —Bee (1823).

2. (common).—A low grade costermonger.

Adj. (racing).—Applied to

steeple-chasing or hurdle-racing, as

distinguished from work on the flat.

1888. Daily Chronicle, 31 October. A much smarter performer at the illegitimate game than she was on the flat.

Ill-fortune, stibs. (Old Cant.).— Ninepence : also the picture of ill-luck.—B.E. (1690); Grose (1785).

Illuminate, verb. (American).—To

interline with a translation.

1856. Hall, College Words, p. 261. s.v. Illuminated books are preferred by good judges to ponies or hobbies, as the text and translation in them are brought nearer to one another.

Illustrated Clothes. See Historical shirt.

I'M-Afloat, stibs. fihr. (rhyming).— i. A boat.

2. (rhyming).—A coat. For synonyms see Capella.

Image, sîibs. (colloquial).—An affectionate reproof : e.g. ' Come out, you little image ! ' See Little Devil.

Immense, adj. (colloquial).—A general superlative: cf. Awful, Bloody &c.

1771. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic ôr> Sa lyrical, p. 216. Dear Bragg, Hazard, Loo, and Quadrille, Delightful ! extatic ! immense !

1884. W. C. Russell, Jack's Courtship, xxv. 'What do you think of this, Florence darling?' I whispered. 'Is it not immense? '

1888. Florida Tunes Union, 8 Feb. The afterpiece is said to be immense.

Imrnensikoff. 3 Improvement.

1889. Bird <9' Freedom, 7 Aug.s p. i. If you say of a man he is immense, you pay him a compliment.

1891. Tales from Town Topics, «Minri & Bébé', p. 65. The love of twins is phenomenal. It is immense, pure, and heavenly.

Im m ensikoff, subs, (common).—A fur-lined overcoat. [From the burden of a song, 'The Shoreditch Toff', sung(c. 1868) by the late Arthur Lloyd, who described himself as Imrnensikoff, and wore an upper garment heavily trimmed with fur].

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 25 Sept., p. 6., col. i. Heavy swells clad in Immensikoffs, which is the slang term, I believe, for those very fine and large fur robes affected by men about town.

Immortals, subs, (military).—The Seventy-Sixth Foot. [Most of its men were wounded, but escaped being killed, in India in 1806]. Also The Pigs and The Old Seven and Sixpennies.

Imp, subs, (colloquial).—A mischievous brat ; a small or minor devil: originally, a child. [Trench : there are epitaphs extant commencing ⁴ Here lies that noble imp ; and Lord Cromwell writing to Henry VIII speaks of 'that noble imp, your son'].

1771. Beattie, Minstrel, 1. Nor cared to mingle in the clamorous fray Of squabbling imps.

2. (legal).—A man who gets up cases for a devil {q.v.).

Impale, verb, (venery).—To possess a woman: specifically to effect intromission. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Imperance, subs, (vulgar).—Impertinence ; impudence; cheek {q.v.). Also, inferentially, an impudent

person; e.g., 'What's your imperence about'?

1766. Colman, Cland. Marriage, v. in Works, (1777) i. 274. I wonder at your impurence, Mr. Brush, to use me in this manner.

1821. Egan, Life in London, ii. 2. She is blowing up the fellow for his imperance.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xiv. ' Don't go away, Mary,' said the blackeyed man. 'Let me alone, imperence,' said the young lady.

Imperial, subs, (colloquial).—A tuft of hair worn on the lower lip. [From being introduced by the Emperor Napoleon III]. See Goatee.

1892. Tit Bits, 19 Mar., p. 421, col. 2. An imperial, or carefully cultivated small tuft tapered down to a point from the lower lip to the chin.

Implement, subs. (old).—See quot.

1690. B.E. Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v., Implement, a Tool, a Property or Fool easily engag'd in any (tho* difficult or Dangerous) Enterprise.

Importance, subs, (common).—A wife; a comfortable importance (q.v.).

1647-80. Rochester, Works (1718), ii. 29. Importance, thinks too, tho' she'd been no sinner To wash away some dregs he had spewed in her.

Impost-Taker, subs. (old).—A gambler's and black-leg's moneylender; a sixty-per-cent {q.V.).

1690. B.E. Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v. 1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

Improvement, subs. (American).— That part of a sermon which enforces and applies to every-day life the doctrine previously set forth; the application.

Impure.

In.

1869. Putnam"¹ s Magazine, August [quoted by De Vere]. Long sermons running on to a tenthly, with a goodly number of improvements appended.

Impure, subs, (common).—A harlot. For synonyms see Barrack-hack and Tart.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s. v.

1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd ed., Egan) s. v.

In, subs, (colloquial).—A person in, or holding an office ; specifically, (in politics) a member of the party in office. Cf. Out.

1768. Goldsmith, Good Natured Man, v. Was it for this I have been dreaded both by ins and outs? Have I been libelled in the Gazetteer, and praised 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, ch. ii. The ins rubbed their hands ; the outs shook their heads.

1857. Lawrence, Guy Livingstone (5th Ed.) p. 216. If he had backed the in instead of the Out.

1884. Pall Mall Gazette, 2oMarch. p. i, col. 2. When there shall be no distinction in principle between Radicals and Tories, but a mere scramble for office between ins and 'outs'.

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.

Adv. (colloquial).—Various : (cricketers') = at the wickets; (general) = in season ; also, on an equality with, sharing, or intimate with, or fashionable; (political) = in office ; (thieves'^ = in prison, or quodded (q.v.)

1851-61. H.Mayhew, London Lab. Lon. Poor, i, p. 85. During July cherries are in as well as raspberries

1877. Five Years Penal Servitude, iii, p. 147. It is the etiquette among prisoners never to ask a man what he is in for. The badge upon his left arm gives his sentence.

1883. Punch, 28 July, p. 38, col. 1. I was in it, old man, and no kid.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 180. You are all in with me at this.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger's Sweetheart, p. 311. Jenkins has been on a visit to us for the past two months, so that we are all in it.

1894. George Moore, Esther Walters, xxx. Are the ' orses he backs what you 'd call well in?

TO be in (or in it) with one, verb. phr. (common).— i. To be ' even with' ; to be on guard against.

2. (colloquial).—To be on

intimate terms, or in partnership

with; to be in the swim (q.v.)

Cf., in, prep.

1845. Surtees, Hillingdon Hall, v. p. 22 (1888). He was in with the players too, and had the entrée of most of the minor theatres.

1879. Justin McCarthy, Donna Quixote, xxxii. You have gone a great deal too far to turn back now, let me tell you. You have been in with me from the very first.

1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell Praed, The Ladies Gallery, xxii. The love of woman, the thirst for gold, the desire for drink, the ambition of high command, are not in it with the love of speech-making when once that has got its hold.

1892. Ally Sloper's Half-holiday, 27 Feb., p. 71, col. 3. Peter was fascinated all the time. Hypnotism was not in it as compared with the effect of that .... umbrella.

To be in for it, verb. phr. (common).— 1. To be in trouble ; generally to be certain to receive, suffer, or do (something).

1668. Dryden, An Evening's Love, ii. I fear that I am in for a week longer than I proposed.

In-and-in. 5

Incog.

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conqtier, iv. I was in for a list of blunders.

2. (colloquial).—To be with child.

In for the plate, phr. (old). —Venereally infected.

For all there's in it, phr. (common).—To the utmost capacity (of persons and things).

TO play one's hand for all

there's in it = to use fanmeans or foul to attain an object.

1888. Roosevf.lt, Ranch Life. Cowboys must ride for all there is in them, and spare neither their own nor their horses' necks.

TO get it in for one, verb.

phr. (common).—To remember to

one's disadvantage.

1864. Derby Day, p. 121. 'Brentford]:' cried the tout. 'That was a bad job for you, guv'nor, I've got it in for you. I don't forget if I do look a fool.'

[For combinations see Altitudes ; Arms of Morpheus ; Bad way ; Blues ; Bottom of the Bag ; Buff ; Bunch ; Cart ; Click ; Clover ; Crack ; Crook ; Cups ; Dead Ernest ; Difficulty ; Hole ; Jiffy ; Jug ; Kish ; Know ; Lavender ; Limbo ; Liquor ; Lurch ; Patter ; Pound ; Print ; Queer Street ; Rags ; Running ; Shape ; Shell ; Skiffle ; Slash ; State of Nature ; Straw ; String ; Suds ; Sun ; Swim ; Tin-pot way ; Town ; Twinkling ; Water ; Wind ; Wrong Box, etc.]

In-and-in. To play at in-andin, verb. phr. (old).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride. Also In-and-out (q.v.).

1635. Glapthorne, The Hollander, in Whs. (1874), i. 127. They are sure fair gamesters.... especially at in-and-in.

1653. Brome, Five Ne7v Plays, 239. The Physitian thought to have cured his patient (who has bin a notable gamester at In-and-in) between my Lady's legs.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft, in Works (1725), p. 192. What with some

Goddess he'd have bin. Playing, belike, at In-and-in. . . . For so thy words seem to import.

1719. Durfey, (quoted) Pills etc., iv. 78. Their wives may play at inand-in, Cuckolds all-a-row.

In-and-out, subs, (colloquial).—The detail or intricacies of a matter; generally in pl., e.g., To know all the ins-and-outs of a matter.

Adv. (racing).— 1. Unequal; variable : applied to the performances of a horse which runs well one day, and on another not.

1885. Referee, 26 April, p. 1, col. 2. Now and again in-and-out running on the part of a horse subjects his owner to considerable annoyance.

1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. It is best if possible to overlook in-and-out running, or variation of form.

to play at in-and-out, verb.

phr. (venery).—To copixlate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1620. Percy, Folio M.S., p. 93. 'Walking in a Meadow Green'. Then stifly thrust .... and play about at in-and-out.

Inch, verb. (old).—To encroach; to move slowly.

1690. B. E. Diet. Cant. Crew. s. v. Inching in, Encroaching upon.

1694-6. Dryden, <&nid, ix. With slow paces measures back the field, And inches to the wall.

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

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

1868. Browning, Ring &■ Book, i. 118. Like so much cold steel inched through the breast blade.

Incog, adv. (colloquial).— 1. Unknown ; in disguise. Also as subs. [An abbreviation of incognito],

1690. B. E. Diet. Cant. Crew, s. v. Incog, for Incognito, a Man of Character or Quality concealed or in disguise.

Incognita. 6

Indies.

1711. Spectator, No. 41, 17 April, p. 69 (Morley). So many Ladies, when they first lay it (painting) down, incog in their own faces.

1739. Gray, Letters, No. xxiv, Vol. i, p. 49 (1819). He passes incog without the walls.

1777. Sheridan, School for Scandal, iv. 3. What ! turn inquisitor, and sake evidence incog.

1795. Burns, Poems. ' Address to the De'il.' Then you, ye auld sneckdrawing dog, Ye cam to Paradise incog.

1812. Edinburgh Reviezv, xx. p. 113. He travels incog to his father's two estates.

1819. Moore, From the Diary of a Politician. Incog he (the king) was travelling about.

1826. Disraeli, Vivian Grey, Bk. v, ch. v, p. 187 (1881). Whose wellcurled black hair, diamond pin, and frogged coat hinted at the magnifico incog.

1S28-45. Hood, Poems, (1846) i. 215. A Foreign Count who came incog, Not under a cloud, but under a fog.

1836. Mahoney, Father Prout, i. 319. O the vile wretch ! the naughty dog! He's surely Lucifer incog.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ii. 183. 'Don't call me by my name here, please Florae, I am here incog.'

2. (common).—Drunk : i.e.,

'disguised' in liquor.

1823. Bee, Diet. Turf. s. v. Incog. A man drunk is incog. Ibid, s. v. Cog : cogue, a glass of gin or rum with sugar in it ... . Cogey = drunk.

Incognita, subs, (obsolete).—A high-class harlot ; Anonyma, (q.v.). For synonyms see Barrack-hack and Tart.

Incumbrance, subs., in pi. (common).—Children. For synonyms see Kid.

Indentures, To make indentures, verb.phr. (old).—To stagger with drink.

1622. Rowlands, Good Newes and Bad Newes, p. 43. [Hunterian Club's

Rep.]. A fellow that had beene excessive trading, In taking liquor in beyond his lading, Of Claret and the Spanish Malligo, That's legs vnable were vpright to goe ; But sometimes wall, and sometimes kennell taking, And as the phrase is vs'd, Indentures making.

Indescribables, subs, (common).— Trousers. For synonyms see Bags and Kicks.

1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, (C. D. Ed.) p. 67. A pair of indescribables of most capacious dimensions.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xvi. Mr. Trotter .... gave four distinct slaps on the pocket of his mulberry indescribables.

Index, subs, (common).—The face. For synonyms see Dial and Phiz.

1818-24. Egan, Boxiana, ii. 438. The index of Church was rather transmogrified.

1828. Egan, Finish to Tom &* Jerry, p. 48. Kind-hearted Sue ! Bless her pretty index.

India, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

1613. Donne, Elegy, xvm. [Chalmers, English Poets, vi. 151]. And sailing towards her India in that way Shall at her fair Atlantic navel stay.

Indian, verb. (American colloquial).

—To prowl about, or live like

an Indian.

1869. H. B. Stowe, Old Town Folks, 189. Jake Marshall and me has been Indianing round these 'ere woods more times 'n you could count.

Indian-gift, subs. (American).—An inadequate return or exchange ; ' a sprat for a whale '. Indian giver = one who takes back a gift.

India-Wipe, subs. (old).—A silk handkerchief.—Grose, (3rd Ed. Egan. 1823).

Indies. See Black Indies.— (Grose 1785).

Indispensables. 7 Infantry.

Indispensables, subs.(common).— Trousers. See Bags and Kicks.

1842. Comic Almanack, June. He slapped his hand against his yellow leather indispensables.

1843. Selby, Anthony &> Cleopatra Married &* Settled. But my love, consider, the gentleman is waiting for his indispensables.

Indorse, verb. (old).— i. To cudgel; to * lay cane on Abel '—Grose

(i7»5).

2. (venery).—To practise sodomy.

Indorser, subs, (venery).—A sodomite; a chuffer (Grose, 1785). For synomyns see Usher.

Ineffable, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

2. in pi. (common).—Trousers. For synonyms see Bags and Kicks.

1850. L. Hunt, Autobiography, ch. iii. It was said, also, that during the blissful era of the blue velvet, we had roast mutton for supper ; but that the small clothes not being then in existence, and the mutton suppers too luxurious, the eatables were given up for the ineffables.

Inexplicables, subs, (common).— Trousers. For synonyms see Bags and Kicks.

1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, ch. ii. (C.D.Ed.) p. 182. He usually wore a brown frock-coat without a wrinkle,light inexplicables without aspot.

Inexpressibles, subs, (common).— Trousers. For synonyms see Bags and Kicks.

1790. Wolcot, (P. Pindar) Rowland for an Oliver, in Wks [Dublin 1795] Vol. ii. p. 154. I've heard, that breeches, petticoats, & smock, Give to thy modest mind a grievous shock, And that thy brain (so lucky its device) Christ'neth them inexpressibles, so nice.

1820. Reynolds, (Peter Corcoran), The Fancy ' King Tim ', i. 1. That single breasted coat, that sweet snub nose, Those inexpressibles : I know the clothes.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, vi. While thus musing, he was suddenly accosted by a gentleman in boots and spurs, having a riding whip in one hand, and the other hand stuck in the pocket of his inexpressibles.

1835. Buckstone, Dream at Sea, ii. 2. Tom. Body & breeches. Bid. Hush : you should say inexpressibles— that's the way genteel people talk.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick Papers, ch. Iv, p. 483.Symmetrical inexpressibles, and scented pocket-handkerchiefs.

183 Michael Scott, Tom Cringle's Log, xii. Whenever I get my inexpressibles on, I will come to you there.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, i. 39. Condescend to don at the same time an Elizabethan doublet and Bond-St. inexpressibles.

1842. Dickens, American Notes, ch. xxi., p. 100. He .... had grown recently, for it had been found necessary to make an addition to the legs of his inexpressibles.

1871. City Press, 21 Jan. 'Curiosities of Street Literature'. The sale of a wife, and full particulars of ' Taking off Prince Albert's inexpressibles,'done by a scamp.

Infant. See Woolwich Infant.

Infantry, subs, (common).—Children. In French, entrer dans l'infanterie = to fall with child. For synonyms see KlD.

1623. Jonson, Time Vindicated. Hangs all his school with sharp sentences, And o'er the execution place hath painted, Time whipt, as terror to the infantry.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scoffed [4th ed. 1725, p. 181]. Others a spirit that doth lie In wait to catch up infantry.

Light Infantry, subs. phr. (common).—Fleas. Cf. Heavy Dragoons.

1894. Westminster Gazette, 15th Nov. p. 2, col. i. An Irish lady of good family was remonstrated with by a guest on account of the noctural assaults

Infare.

Ingle.

of heavy cavalry, as well as light infantry issuing after dark from the cracks of an old wood bedstead.

Infare (or In fair), subs. (Old Scots & American colloquial).— An installation with ceremony and rejoicing; a house-warming; more particularly an entertainment tnven by a newly married coitple cV their return from the honeymoon.

1375. Barbour, The Bruce, xvi. 340 (MSS.) For he thoucht to mak an infar, And to mak gud cher till his men.

1847. Porter, Big Bear, etc. p. 162. I hurried home to put up three shotes and some turkies to fatten for the infare.

1878. E. Eggleston, Roxy, xxix. There could be no wedding in a Hoosier village thirty or forty years ago without an infare on the following day.

Inferior, subs. (Winchester College).—Any member of the School not a Pr/ffect {q.v.).

1870. Mansfield, School Life, p. 28. The Praefect of hall .... was looked upon by the inferiors with something more than a becoming awe and reverence.

Infernal, adj. (colloquial).—An intensitive: detestable; fit only for Hell. Cf. Awful, Bloody. Also adv.

1602. Cooke, Horv a Man may Choose a Good Wife etc. [Dodsley : Old Plays (1874), ix. 50]. Not these drugs Do send me to the infernal bugs, But thy unkindness.

1646. Lady Mary Verney [in Seventh Report Hist. MSS. Com. 454]. Besides coaches which are most infe(r)nell dear.

1775. Sheridan, The Duenna, iii. i. There is certainly some infernal mystery in it I can't comprehend !

1846. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, xi. Besides, he's such an infernal character—a profligate in every way.

1854. Whyte Melville, General Botince, xi. The nights are infernally dark, though, in this beastly country.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, lxxv. What an infernal tartar and catamaran !

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, ix. It had broken her infernal neck.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, 114. ' Never is any news in this infernal hole,' growled Smirk.

Infra-Dig, adj. (Winchester College).—Scornful ; proud. E.g. ' He sported infra-dig duck,' or 'I am infra-dig to it.'

Ingle, subs. (old).— 1. A pathic.

1593. Nashe, Strange Newes, in Works [Gkosart, ii. 277]. I am afraid thou wilt make me thy ingle.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s. v. Cinedo .... a bardarsh a buggring boy, a wanton boy, an ingle.

1617. Minshew, Guide into Tongues, s. v. Ingle, or a boy kept for sodomie.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scoffed, 4th ed., 1725, p. 186. Both at thy ingles and thy jades.

2. (old).—An intimate; a dear friend.

1601. B. Jonson, Poetaster, i. 1. What ! shall I have my son a stager now ? an enghle for players.

1602. Dekker, Honest Whore, [Dodsley, Old Plays, iii. 260]. Call me your love, your ingle, your cousin, or so ; but sister at no hand.

1609. Ben Jonson, Silent Woman, i. i. Wks. (i860), p. 208. col. i. His ingle at home.

1659. Massinger, City Madam, iv. i. Coming, as we do, from his quondam patrons, his dear ingles now.

1773. T.Hawkins, Origin of Dr. iii. p. 118. I never saw mine ingle so dashed in my life before.

1821. Scott, Kenilworth, iii. Ha! my dear friend and ingle, Tony Foster.

Verb.(o\ix).— i .To practise sodomy ; to indorse (q.v.) ; to chuff (q.v.).

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Cinedulare, to bugger, to bardarsh, to ingle.

Inglenook. 9 Inlaid.

2. (old).—To caress; to make much of.

1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, in Works [Grosart, v. 194]. Hug it, ingle it, kiss it.

Inglenook, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Ingler, subs, (old.)—i. A sodomist. For synonyms see Usher.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Pedicone, a buggrer, an ingler of boyes.

2. (thieves').—A fraudulent

horse-dealer.

1825. Modem Flash Diet., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Inglers. Horse-dealers who cheat those that deal with them.

Ingotted, adj. (common).—Rich;

warm (q.v.). For synonyms see

well-ballasted.

1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, xvii. p. 168. (1873). They are a tremendously well-timed set at Schröders ; and he's safe to ask no women who are not enormously ingotted.

Iniquity Office, subs. (American). —A registry office. [A play upon 'inquiry' office].

ingun. TO get UP ONE's InGUN, verb. phr. (American).—To get angry ; to turn savage.

Ink. To sling ink, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make a business of writing. See Ink-slinger.

Inkhorn (or Ink-pot) adj. (obsolete).—Pedantic ; dry ; smelling of the lamp.

1579. Churchyard, Choice, sig. Ee i. As Ynkehorne termes smell of the schoole sometyme.

1592. Nashe, Summer's Last Will, [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), viii, 70].

Men that, removed from their ink-horn terms, Bring forth no action worthy of their bread.

Inkle, verb. (American thieves').— To warn ; to give notice ; to hint at; to disclose.

1340-50. Alesaunder of Macédoine [E.E.T.S.] i. 615. A brem brasen bordc bringes he soone, Imped in iuory, too iNCLE the truthe, With good siluer & golde gailich atired.

inkl e-W eaver, Stlbs. (old).—A

close companion; a chum (q.v.).

1725. New Cant. Diet. s.v. Inkle .... As great as two inkle-weavers, or As great as Cup and Can.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue.

Ink-Slinger, (Inkspiller or Inkwaster), subs, (common).— 1. A journalist or author : a brother of the quill : generally in contempt of a raw hand. Fr. tin marchand de lignes. See Ink.

1888. Texas Sif tings, Oct. 13. 'Who's a big gun? You don't consider that insignificant ink-slinger across the way a big gun, do you?'

1888. Illustrated Bits, 14 April. But, helas ! I am but a poor inkslinger.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, p. 69. The Ink-spiller's slate.

1894. Tit Bits, 7 April, p. 7, col. 3. You insulting ink-waster !

Ink-Slinging, subs, (common). Writing for the press. Fr. scribouillage.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, p. 91. Wot with ink-slinging, hart, and all that.

Inky, adj. (tailors'). Used evasively: e.g. of a question to which a direct answer is undesirable or inconvenient.

Inlaid (or Well-Inlaid), adv. (old). —In easy circumstances; with well-lined pockets; warm (q.v.).

Innards. io

Innocent.

1690. B.E. Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. 1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Innards, stibs. (vulgar).—The stomach; the guts [q.v.). Also Inwards.

1602. Shakspeare, Othello, ii. 1. The thought whereof Doth like a poisonous mineral gnaw my inwards.

1653. Brome, Five New Plays, 347. Bestow steeping thy skin in perfumes to kill the stink of thy paintings and rotten inwards.

^.1674. Milton [quoted in Johnson, Ed. 1755]. There sacrificing laid, The inwards and their fat. ... on the cleft wood.

1870. White, Words and their Uses, 387. The simple English word (guts) for which some New England females elegantly substitute in'ards, would shock many.

1871. London Figaro, 17 March. The usual answer given to W^Tilliam's enquiry as to what was found in the shark is, ' his innards' .

To fill one's innards, verb, phr. (common).—To eat.

Inner-man, subs, (common).—The appetite.

1889. Sporting Life, 30 Jan. Having satisfied the inner-man.

Innings, subs, (colloquial).—A turn;

a spell ; a chance : from the game

of cricket

1836. Dickens, Pick7vick Papers, (ed. 1857) P* ^I03The friends of Horatio Fizkin Esq., having had their innings, a little choleric pink-faced man stood forward to propose another fit and proper person to represent the electors of Eatanswill in Parliament.

1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, xx. The opposition wag is furious that he cannot get an innings.

1883. James Payn, Naturalness, in Longman's Mag., May, p. 67. And others consent to listen to him upon the understanding that they are presently o have their innings.

TO have a good innings, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be fortunate, especially in money matters.

TO have a long innings, verb. phr. (colloquial). To die in the fulness of years.

Innocent, subs. (old).— 1. A simpleton; an idiot.

1598. Shakespeare, All's well, etc. iv. 3. A dumb innocent that could not say him nay.

1605. Jonson, Chapman, &c, East7vard Hoe (Dodsley, Old Plays, iv. 209). Again, if you be a cuckold, and know it not, you are an innocent ; if you know it and endure it, a true martyr.

1609. Jonson, Epicosne, iii. 4. Do you think you had married some innocent out of the hospital, that would stand with her hands thus, and a playse mouth, and look upon you.

1634. Beaumont & Fletcher, T7V0 Noble Kinsmen, iv. 1. She answered me So far from what she was, so childishly, So sillily, as if she were a fool, an innocent.

1639. Beaumont & Fletcher, Wit 7.vithout Money, ii. There be three kinds of fools, mark this note, gentlemen, Mark it, and understand it. . . . An innocent, a knave fool, a fool politic.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Innocents, one of the innocents, a weak or simple person, man or woman.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

2. (American).—A corpse; a stiff (q.v.).

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

3. (American). A convict. 1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

The murder (slaughter, or massacre) of the Innocents, subs. phr. (parliamentary). The abandonment, towards the end of a session, of measures whether introduced by the Government or by private members, when they would have no chance of passing.

Innommables. 11

Inside.

1859. Times, 20 July, p. 7, co. .3I The Leader of the House would have to go through that doleful operation

Called the massacre of the innocents,

devoting to extinction a number of useful measures which there was not time to pass.

1860. Punch, xxxviii. 255. Ibrooded o'er my discontent, saying—The Noticepaper thins : Now that with early June begins the massacre of innocents.

1870. London Figaro, 6 August. So vigorously has the slaughter of the innocents been proceeding that the Appropriation Bill was read a first time in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

1871. Times, ' Leader ' 9 May. The massacre of the innocents has begun.

1872. Sahirday Review, 20th July. When the proposals of a member will stand the test of being expressed in a Bill, they are often of great value, and have an effect on legislation, and on the conduct of the Government, although they are massacred with hundreds of other innocents at the end of the Session.

1879. Graphic, 9th July, p. 50. Formerly . . . the massacre of the innocents was chiefly confined to measures which owed their existence rather to individual and sectional enthusiasm than to the deliberate wishes of the nation.

Innominables, subs, (obsolete).— Breeches ; trousers ; inexpressibles. For synonyms see Bags and Kicks.

1834. Southey, The Doctor, p. 688. The lower part of his dress represented innominables and hose in one.

Inside, subs, (common).—A passenger riding inside a vehicle. See

outside.

1816. Scott, Old Mortality, ii. A wheel carriage bearing eight insides and six outsides.

</.1820. G. Canning, Loves of the Triangles, i. 178. So down thy hill, romantic Ashbourn, glides The Derby dilly, carrying six insides.

1889. Daily Telegraph, 5 Jan. The insides were terrified.

Adj. and adv. (colloquial).— Trustworthy ; pertinent ; in touch with ; bottom (q.v.). To know

the inside of everything =

to be well informed.

1888. Daily Inter-Ocean. A secret service officer, who has just arrived from Washington on important business, claims to have inside information as to the facts in the case.

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 12 Nov., p. 6, col. 2. He saw everything and missed not the smallest incident or accident. The latter were few enough, but such as they were he was, so to speak, inside of them without a falter.

Inside of, subs, and adv. (colloquial).—Within the limit; in less time than.

1888. MissouriRepublican, 22 Feb. He is very desperate, and inside of thirty days shot at four men.

1887. Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. Both animals had been killed inside of five minutes.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, chap. xi. He knocked the seven senses out of him inside of three rounds.

1890. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, 74. Tain't to be done in the inside of a month.

to do an inside worry,

verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

to take the inside out of (a glass, a book &c), verb. phr. (colloquial).—To empty; to gut (q.v.).

1843. W. T. Moncrieff, The Scamps of London, iii. 1. Haven't you taken the inside out of that quart of gatter yet ?

to be on (or to have) the

inside track, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be on the safe side ; to be at a point of vantage ; or (of a subject) to understand thoroughly.

Insider.

12 Intercourse.

Inside and Outside ! phr. (old).—A toast: 'the inside of a cunt and the outside of a gaol'.— Grose (1823).

Insider, subs. (American thieves'). — i. One in the know [q.v.).

2. (general).—One who has some special advantage, as in a business enterprise.

Inside-Lining, subs, (common).—

Food : specifically in quot. See

lining. For synonyms see Grub.

1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. 6» Lond. Poor, i. 20. He was ' going to get an inside-lining ' (dinner).

Inside-Squatter, .yzzfa.(Australian). A settler within the bounds of civilization: see Outside-Squatter.

Inspector of Pavements, subs, phr. (old).— i. A man in the pillory.

1821. Egan, Life in London, ii. 97. Having once been made inspector of the pavement, or in other words 'kidnapped on the stoop.'

2. (common).—A man out of work. Also inspector of public buildings. Fr. Inspectettr de monuments publiques.

Inspire, verb, (journalistic).—To

impart a tone, possibly official, to

the subject matter of a newspaper

or magazine article.

1884 Daily Telegraph, 11 Sept. A paragraph obviously inspired appears in a local journal this evening.

1889. Daily Telegraph, 14 Feb. All the inspired papers keep laying stress upon this fact, which is significant.

Inspired, adj. (common).— 1. Drunk. For synonyms see Drinks and Screwed.

2. (journalistic).—See Inspire.

Institution, subs, (colloquial).— A

practice; an idea; an invention;

an established custom or usage.

1851. Thackeray, English Humorists, p. 207. The pillory was a flourishing and popular institution in those days.

1858. Times, April. The camels form an institution of India.

Instrument, subs. (old).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

1606. Return from Parnassus [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 165]. Her viol-de-gamba is her best content ; For ' twixt her legs she holds her instrument.

I nt, subs. (old).—A sharper.

1621. Brathwayte, Clitus'sWhimzies, p. 12. His nipps, ints, bungs and prinados.

1658. Brathwayte, Honest Ghost, p. 231. Nips, and ints, prinados etc.

Intense, adj.(colloquial).—Serious; soulful ; esthetic {q.v.); yearnest {q.v.)

1879. W. D. Howells, Lady of the Aroostook, xiv. ' Why Miss Blood you are intense.' 'I dont know what you mean by that ' said Lydia. ' You like to take thing seriously. You can't bear to think that people are not the least in earnest, even when they least seem so.'

1889. Du Maurier, English Society at Home, plate 49. Fair ^Esthetic to Smith who has just been introduced ' Are you intense ' ?

Intimate, subs. (American thieves'). —A shirt.

To be improperly intimate with, verb. phr. (colloquial).— To copulate outside marriage. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Intercourse, To have improper intercourse with, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To possess a woman outside marriage. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Interesting. 13

Irish.

Interesting condition (or Situation), To be in a, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be with child.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, lxix. So that I cannot leave her in such an interesting situation, which I hope will produce something to crown my felicity.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, lxxxi. I found myself in a fair way of being a mother ; and that I might be near my own relations in such an interesting situation, etc.

1838. Dickens, NicholasNickleby, xxix. Mrs. Leuville was in an interesting state.

Interfere, verb. (Western American).—To maltreat.

Interloper, subs, (old: now recognised).—An unlicensed trader ; a smuggler ; one who interferes, or intercepts unwarrantably. Also as in quot. 1690.

1627. Minshew, Diet., Interlopers in trade.

1675. Sir W. Temple, Letter, (To the Gov. and Compt. of Merchant Adventurers) 26 March. Whatever privileges are allowed your Company at Dort will be given at the other towns, either openly or covertly, to all those interlopers who may bring their manufactures directly thither.

1690. B.E. Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Interlopers, Hangers on, retainers to, or dependers upon other folks ; also Medlers and Busybodies, intruders into other Men's Professions, and those that intercept the Trade of a Company, being not legally authorised.

1725. New Canting Diet., s.v.

Intercrural Trench, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. —Urquhart. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Into. To beinto aman, verb.phr. (common).—To pitch into him; to fight him.

Prep. (American).—'Short of; wanting: e.g. 'I thought I did pretty well delivering all the load into one box {i.e., all but one box).

To be (or get) into a woman, verb. -phr. (venery).—To possess a woman carnally. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Invade, verb, (venery).—To effect intromission; also, to lay hands on; to grope (q.v.).

1684. Dryden, The Disappointment (Prologue). Invade and grubble one another's punk.

Invite, stibs. (vulgar: once literary). —An invitation.

1615. Sandys, Relation of a Journey, 305. The Lamprey swims to his Lord's invites.

1778. D'Arblay, Diary, (1876) i. 73. Everybody bowed and accepted the invite but me.

1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, ' Steam Excursion.' Guest after guest arrived, the invites had been excellently arranged.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 'Merchant of Venice.' To give all his old friends that farewell invite.

Inward, subs. (old).— 1. An intimate.

1603. Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, iii. 2. Sir, I was an inward of his : a shy fellow was the Duke.

1607. Middleton, Michaelmas Term, ii. 3. He is a kind gentleman, a very inward of mine.

2. in pi. See Innards.

Irish, subs, (colloquial).—Irish whiskey; fenian (q.v.).

1893. H. Crackenthorpe, Wreckage, 125. 'Mary, ... a large Irish for Mr. Hays here.'

TO get one's irish up, verb, phr. (common).—To get angry. Also to get one's dutch (or, in America, Indian) up.

Irish-Apricot. '4

Iron.

Adj. (common).—(An epithet expressive of contempt and derogation: as, the irish-arms (or -legs) = thick legs. See mullingar heifer.

no irish need apply, phr.

(American).—'You're not wanted'; git! (q.v.).

You're Irish, phr. (common). —Said of any one talking unintelligibly.

Irish-Apricot, (Apple or Lemon),

subs. (old). A potato. For synonyms see Murphy.

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1825. Modern Flash Diet., s.v.

Irish-Assurance, subs.(old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Irish Apricots .... Irish AsstRASxe, a bold forward behaviour; it is said a dipping in the Shannon annihilates bashfulness.

Irish-Beauty, subs. (old).—A woman with two black eyes.— Grose.

Irishman's-Dinner, subs, (common).—A fast. Cf. Dine out.

Irish-Evidence, subs, (old.)—A false witness. Grose (1785).

Irish-Fortune, subs. (old).—A cunt and pattens.

Irishman's-Harvest, subs. (London costers').—The orange season.

Irishman's-Hurricane, subs.(nautical).—A dead calm.

Irish-Pennants, subs, (nautical).— Fag ends of rope, rope-yarns etc.

Irishman'S-Reef, subs, (nautical). —The head of a sail tied up.— Clark Russell.

Irish-Rifle, subs, (common).—A small tooth-comb.

Irish-Rise (or Promotion), subs. (common).—A reduction in position or pay.

Irish-Root, subs, (venery).—The penis. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

Irish-Theatre, subs, (military).—A guard room or lock-up in barracks. For synonyms see Cage. Fr. maison de campagne.

Irish-Toothache, subs, (venery).— An erection of the penis. For synonyms see Horn.

Irish-Toyle, subs.(o\d).—.S^quots.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Irish Toyles, c, the Twelfth Order of Canters : also Rogues carrying Pinns, Points, Laces, and such like Wares, and under pretence of selling them, commit Thefts and Robberies.

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

Irish-Wedding, subs. (old).—The emptying of a cesspool. See Goldfinder.—Bee (1823).

To have danced at an irish wedding, verb. phr. (common).— To have got two black eyes.

Irish-Whist, (where the Jack

takes the ACE), subs. phr.

(venery).—Copulation. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Iron, subs. (old).— 1. Money. For synonyms see Actual and Gilt. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. 1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. 1825. Mod. Flash Diet., s.v.

Iron. *5 Iron-horse.

2. (American thieves').—Courage. For synonyms see Spunk.

3. in pL (thieves').—Fetters. For synonyms see Darbies.— Bee (1823).

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxxvii. I was kept in Irons night and day for a month.

Verb, (old).—To natter.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Ironing, i.e. Irony e.g. 'Bill Noon, you are one of the best in all England, for nollidge and for laming.' Noon. * Nay, my Coney, now you're ironing me. ... all down the back'.

Bad iron, subs. phr. (workmen's).—Failure; misadventure; bad luck.

Shooting-iron. See post.

TfflEvrxG-iRONS. See post.

To polish the king's iron WITH ONE'S eyebrow, verb. phr. (old).—To look out of grated or prison windows.—Grose (1785).

TO HAVE MANY IRONS IN THE

FIRE (or OX THE anvll), verb.phr.

(colloquial).—To carry out many

projects at the same time, especially

schemes for making money.

1593. G. Harvey, Pierces Supererog. in Works ii. 330. It is some men's fortune to have their handes mil of vnneedefull basin esse attonce : and for miselfe, I should make no great matter of two, or three such glowing

irons in the fire.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, i. Aye, quickly, good mistress, I pray you ; for I have both eggs on the spit, and

iron in the fire.

1622. Chapman, Widows Tears, ii. i. And you know, brother, I have other irons on the anvil.

1640. Howell, Do dona's Grove, p. 38. Flaiatia. . . . hath divers nurseiies to supplie, many irons perpetually

in the fire.

1668. Drydeh, An Evening s Love, it. i. I hare more iross in the fire:

When I have done with yon, I have another assignation.

1760-1. Smollett, Sir L. Greaves, iii. Anthony Darnel had begun to canvass, and was putting every iron in

the fire.

1849. Lytton, Caxtons, pt. V II. ii. He had other irons in the fire besides the 'Literary Times' and the 'Confederate Authors' Society'.

Ironbark, adj. (Australian). See Ironclad.

Iron-bound, adj. (old).— 1. Laced with metal. Iron-bound hat = A silver laced hat.—Grose(i 785).

2. (common).—A hard-baked pie.

Ironclad, subs. (American).—1. A paragon : as a severely chaste girl, popular play, song, horse, etc.

2. (common).—An iron-cased watch.

Adj. (common).—Strong; hard;

unpelding. Also ironbark (q.v.).

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, chap. vi. I always thought he was ironbark outside and in.

Iron-cow. See Cow.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.t. 1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

I RON-doublet, subs. phr. (old).— I. A prison. For synonyms see Cage. 1779. Bamfylde-Moore Carew, s.v. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. 2. (American thieves').—Innocence.

Iron-horse, subs, (common).—1. A locomotive.

2. (cyclists'). A tricycle or bicycle.

1875. Echo, 29 Oct. Mr. S. started on his third day's journey of the 650 miles ride on his iron-horsk.

Iroïimojiger* s-shop. ¹⁶ //.

ironmonger's-shop. to keep an ironmonger's shop by the side of a common, where the sheriff sets one up, verb. phr. (old).—To be hanged in chains. For synonyms see Ladder.— Grose (1785).

Iron-rations, subs, (nautical).— Tinned meat: specifically boiled salt-beef. See Bully-beef.

Iron-toothpick, subs, (military).— A sword. For synonyms see Poker.

Irrigate, verb, (common).—To take a drink ; to liquor up. For synonyms see Drinks. Also to irrigate one's canal.

1708. Philips, Cyder, ii. Their frying blood compels to irrigate their dry-furred tongues.

1892. John Hill, Treason Felony, ii. 106. They went into the Hotel de Florence in Rupert Street and ate a seconda collazione or dejeuner à la fourchette, irrigated with Barolo.

Isabella, subs, (rhyming).—An umbrella. For synonyms see Mushroom.

Island. To drink out of the

island, subs. (old).—See quot.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Island. He drank out of the bottle till he saw the island : the island is the rising bottom of a wine bottle, which appears like an island in the centre, before the bottle is quite empty.

Island of Bermuda.—See Bermudas.

Isle-of-Fling, subs. (East End). A coat. For synonyms see Capella.

Issues. To pool one's issues, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To work in unison; to come to an understanding for mutual advantage.

Isthmus-of-Suez, subs. (Cambridge university).—The bridge at St. John's College Cambridge, leading from the grounds to one of the Courts, familiarly known as the 'Bridge of Sighs'. Also the bridge of grunts. [From its slight similiarity to the Venetian example Sues = swine, in punning reference to the Johnian Hogs {q.v.). See crackle and Hog.

1857. Punch, June 20. A resident Fellowe he was, I wis, He had no cure of Soules ; And across ye bridge of sues he'd come From playinge ye game of bowles.

1885. Cuthbert Bede, in N. & Q., 6, S. xi. 414. Another word is Sues, for swine. This is applied to the bridge leading from the old courts to the new, familiarly known as the bridge of sighs from its slight similiarity to the Venetian example, but also known as the isthmus of suez. This word Suez was then transformed to Suez, swine, to adapt it to its Johnian frequenters.

I subscribe, phr. (common).—A response to an invitation to drink. For synonyms see Drinks.

I suppose, subs, (rhyming).—The nose.

1859. Du Cange Anglicus, Vulgar Tongue, s.v. I gave him a blow with this neddy on the i-suppose.

It, stibs. (common).— 1. A chamberpot.

English synonyms. Bishop; chantie (Scots') ; jerry ; Jordan ; jerker ; jockum-gage ; lagging-gage ; looking-glass; member-mug; mingo; piss-pot ; po ; smoker ; smokeshell ; tea-voider; thunder-mug; twiss.

French synonyms. Un Thomas (popular: also la mère or la veuve Thomas = nightstool); la cassolette (popular = perfuming-pan) ; un dépotoir

Itch. ^î7 Ivories.

(thieves' : also a confessional or brothel) ; un gare l'eau (thieves' : cf. Gardy-loo); un Jules (popular: also aller chez Jules = to ease oneself : prendre, pincer, or tirer les oreilles à Jules — to carry away the privy tub : passer la jambe à Jules = to assist at an irish wedding {q.v.): travailler pour Jules = to eat).

2. (venery). The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Itch. To have an itch in the

belly, verb. phr. (venery).—To

be sexually excited; to have a

must (q.v.). Also to itch.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer, Scoffed, 4th ed. 1725, p. 173. Why then to cure thy itching, Jove, thou art now going a bitching.

1720. Durfey, Pills to Pttrge etc., vi, 324. Each has an itch in her belly. To play with the scarlet hue.

Itch er (or Itching Jenny), subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms ^Monosyllable.

Itch-Buttocks. To play at ItchButtocks, verb. phr. (venery). —To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Giocar''aleua culo, to play at leuell coile or itch buttockes.

Itch land (or Scratch land), subs. (old).—i. Wales (B.E. 1690); 2. Scotland (New Cant. Diet, and Grose 1785). Itchlander =a Scot.

Itching-palm. See Palm.

Item, subs, (common).—A hint; a piece of news : (in gaming) a signal from a confederate ; (Amervol. iv.

ican journalist) a paragraph of

news; (thieves') a warning.

^.1680. Glanvil, (quoted in Enc. Diet.). If this discourse have not concluded our weakness, I have one more item of mine.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf,s.v. Item. It was I that gave the item that the traps were a coming.

1893. Russell, Current Americanisms, s.v. Item. 'To give an item', is to signal information to a confederate unfairly.

1864. Kimball, Was He Successful ? 129. Otis is iTEM-man and reporter for the Clarion.

£.1877. New York Spirit of the Times, (quoted in Bartlett). Keep 3'our eyes skinned and your rifles clean, and the minit yer get item that I'm back, set off for the cross roads.

Ivories, subs, (common).— 1. The teeth. For synonyms see Grinders.

1782. Mrs. Cowley, Bold Stroke for a Husband, ii. 2 Gas. What, Don Sancho, who, with two-thirds of a century in his face, affects .... to make you believe that the two rows of ivory he carries in his head grew there.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Ivories. How the swell flashed his ivories : how the gentleman shewed his teeth.

1818-24. Egan, Boxiana, iii. 253. So severe a blow on his mouth as to dislodge some of his ivory.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 22. The Adonis would ne'er flash his ivory again.

1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, lxvii. Chatter your old ivories at me, do you, you grinning old baboon.

1868. Orchestra, 20 Oct. Mr. Buckstone might let us off with what Bell's Life would designate a rattling on the ivories.

1882. Punch, lxxxii, 185, 2. I never heard of him sluicing his ivories with what you call S. & B.

1889. Notes and Queries, 7, S. vii. 13 April, p. 292. I sometimes think that the attrition in which we so joyously indulge when we ' sharpen ' our ivories may be easily overdone.

Ivories.

Ivy-Bush.

2. (gaming).—Dice: also (cards') checks and counters.

English synonyms, (for both genuine and false pieces). Bones ; cogs; fulhams; devil's teeth; devil's bones; gourds; rattlers; tats ; high men ; low men ; uphills.

French synonyms. Les mathtirins (thieves'); les maturbes (thieves').

Spanish synonym. Hormiga.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, 23, (ed. 1854). Suppose we adjourn to Fish Lane, and Rattle the ivories. What say you, Mr. Lobkins ?

1864. G. A. Sala, Quite Alone, vii. Yes, I will promise you I will keep my head cool, and won't touch ivory to-night.

3. (billiards').—The balls.

1888. Sporting Life, 28 Nov. On new premises .... where erstwhile the click of ivories was heard.

TO flash the ivories, verb, phr. (common).— 1. To show the teeth.—Grose (1785).

2. (medical).—To be dissected or 'anatomised' after execution, the skeleton being taken to the College of Surgeons; hence, to be hanged.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ii. « I want to make him an honour to his

country and an ixciption to my family " 'Who all flashed their Ivories at Surgeon's Hall ', added the metaphorical Dummie.

TO sluice (wash or rince)

one's ivories, verb. phr. (common).—To drink.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom &Jerry, ii. 6. Mr. J. Sluice your dominos vill you ? Green. Vot ! I never plays at dominos—it's too wulgar. Mr. J. Vy then, vash j-our ivories ? Green. I've got no hiveries to vash. Mr. J. Drink vill you ? dont you understand Hinglish ?

Ivory-box, subs, (pugilists').—The mouth. For synonyms see Po

tato-trap.

1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. Harris countered heavily on Joseph's ivory box, a compliment which he at once returned, and with considerable interest.

Ivory-carpenter, stibs. (common). —A dentist. For synonyms see Snag-catcher.

Ivory-gate, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Ivory-thumper, (or Spanker), subs. (common).—A pianist.

Ivy-bush, subs. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Ivy-Bush. Like an owl in an ivy bush, a simile for a meagre, or weazle-faced man, with a large wig, or very bushy hair.

AB (or JOB), subs. (colloquial American).—A prod; a poke; a stab.

1872. C. D. Warner, Backlog Stu

dies, 279. ' Oh yes, I have,' I cried, starting up and giving the fire a jab with the poker.

1884. Detroit Free Press, 3 May, p. 5, col. 4. He gave each of the Epistles a vicious jab with the cancelling stamp, and then tossed it into the mail-bag.

Verb, (colloquial American).—

To handle harshly; to hustle;

to prod or poke; to stab (with

a pointed weapon).

1868. Putnam's Magazine, Sept. (quoted by De Vere). 'The Missouri stoker pulls and jabs his plutonic monster as an irate driver would regulate his mule.'

1885. F. R. Stockton, Rudder Grange, iv. ' Shall we run on deck and shoot him as he swims?' I cried. 'No,' said the boarder, ' we'll get the boathook, and jab him if he tries "to climb up.'

1888. Denver Republican, 6 May. When it [hair] don't twist easily she's as like to jab at it with her scissors and shorten it herself as trust it to anybody as knows how.

1889. Detroit Free Press, 5 Jan. Moses jabbed at him and ran the umbrella clean through him.

1890. Tit Bits, 26 April, p. 55, col. 3. If you jab that umbrella in my eye again, you'll get a broken head !

Jabber, subs, (old colloquial).— Chatter ; incoherent or inarticulate

and unintelligible speech (as a foreign language heard by one ignorant of it). See verb.

1706. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, I, v. 5. And stopp'd their bold presumptuous labour, By unintelligible jabber.

1726. Swift, Gulliver''s Travels, ' Gulliver, to his cousin Sympson.' They use a sort of jabber and do not go naked.

1827. Johnson, Eng. Diet. [Todd] s.v. Jabber, garrulity. . . . Bishop Fleetwood somewhere uses the word in his works ; and it is still a colloquial term.

1854. Our Cruise in the Undine, p. 35. The jabber began. . . . and almost distracted us.

1879. Jas. Payn, High Spirits (Aunt by Marriage). When one considers the packing, and the crossing the Channel, and the jabber upon the other side of it, which not one in ten of us understands and the tenth only imperfectly.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, viii. Is it French or Queensland blacks' jabber?

Verb, (old: now recognised). See quots.

1543. Bale, Yet a Course, fol. 43, b. Censynge, Latyne, jabberinge.

1690. B. E. Diet. Cant, Crew, s.v. Jabber, to Talk thick and fast, as great Praters do, or to Chatter, like a Magpye.

1716. Addison, Tory Foxhunter, [in Freeholder, No. 22, Mar. 5]. He did not know what travelling was good for but to teach a man to ride the great horse, to jabber French &c.

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

Jabberer.

Jack.

1728. Pope, Dunciad, ii. 237. 'Twas chatt'ring, grinning-, mouthing, jabb'ring all.

</.1745. Swift, [quoted by Johnson]. We scorn, for want of talk, to jabber Of parties.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jabber .... also to speak a foreign language ; he jabbered to me in his damned outlandish parlez-vous.

1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, vi. p. 82. A couple more of the same nation were jabbering oaths and chattering incessantly.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Jabber. To talk in an unknown language.

1884. W. C. Russell, Jack's Courtship, xvii. We sallied forth arm in arm, he jabbering incessantly.

1888. Daily Chronicle, 19 Oct. The woman said that he was a perfect stranger to her, and .... jabbered something she did not understand.

Jabberer, subs, (old: now colloquial).—One who jabbers (q.v.).

1678. Butler, Hudibras, III, c.2. T'out-cant the Babylonian labourers, At all their dialects of jabberers.

Jabbering, subs, (old: now colloquial).—Nonsense; indistinct and rapid speech; Patter (q.v.).

1690. Durfey, Collin's Walk, C. IV, p. 183. With which, and wild Egyptian jabbering, She got her Living without Labouring.

1720. Defoe, Capt. Singleton, I, xi. Pray what are we the wiser for all their jabbering ?

Jabberingly, adv. (old: now colloquial).—Indistinctly; nonsensically.

Jabberment, stcbs. (old: now colloquial).—Nonsense ; gibberish; Jabber (q.v.).

1645. Milton, Colasteriou [quoted in Enc. Diet.]. At last, and in good hour, we are come to his farewel, which is to be a concluding taste of his jabberment in law.

Jabber no wl. See Jobbernowl.

Jabers (or Jabez). Be (or by)jabers (or jabez), intj. (common).—An oath.

1821. Haggart, Life, 118. By jappers ! we were tould he was the boy.

1890. Hume Nisbet, Bail up, p. 265. A head wind, be jabbers!

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger's Sweetheart, p. 152. Arrah, be jabbers! but that's the foinest song I have listened to since I left Ould Oirland.

jack, subs. (old).— i. A farthing; also (American thieves'), a small coin.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crezv. s.v. Jack.

1714. Memoirs of John Hall, p. 12, s.v.

1725. New Cant. Diet. s.v. Jack. He wou'd not tip me a jack, Not a farthing wou'd he give me.

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

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

2. (old).—The small bowl

aimed at in the game of bowls.

1605. Shakspeare, Cy?nbeline, ii. 1,2. Was there ever man had such luck ! when I kissed the jack upon on upcast to be hit away !

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Cre?v. s.v. Jack.

1726. Butler, Human Learning, Pt. 2. Like bowlers strive to beat away the jack.

</.1742. Bentley, [quoted by Johnson, ^J75S\But if it, [a bowl] be made with a byass .... it may .... run spontaneously to the Jack.

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

1811. Lex. Bai. s.v. jack.

3. (old : now recognised).— A contrivance to assist a person in taking off his boots ; a bootjack.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v. Jack.

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

4. (old: now colloquial).— The Knave in any of the four

Jack. ²¹ Jack.

suits in a pack of cards. Fr.

le galuchet, or le larbin savonne' or le mistigris.

1662. Rump Songs, 'Rump Carbonadoed'. No admiral like an old Puritan Jack. A craftier knave you can't find in the pack.

1754. Martin, Eng. Diet. 2nd Ed. Knave, .... or a jack at cards.

1860. Dickens, Great Expectations, viii. He calls the Knaves Jacks.

5. (old).—A post-chaise (Grose 3rd ed. 1823).

6. (old: now recognised).—A pitcher varying in capacity : generally made of leather; a BLACKJACK {q.v.).

1592. Nashe, Summer's Last Will [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), viii. 59]. Rise up Sir Robert Toss-pot. [Here he dubs Will Summer with the black-jack.]

1606. Return from Parnassus [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 207]. A black-jack of beer and a Christmas pie.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v. Jack.

7. (old).—A Jacobite. [In the quot. there is a punning reference to the flag, sense 13].

1723. Swift, Elegy, on Judge Boat, [Works, Aldine ed. iii. 96]. With every wind he sailed, And well could tack ; Had many pendents, but abhorred a Jack.

8. (old).—A term of contempt. [The usage is common in most modern languages : e.g. Fr. Jeangtcêtre' = peasant, Jean-bête — ⁴ cabbage-head ', Jean-fesse or Jean-foutre =. scamp; It. Gianni, whence Zany; Sp. Juan, as bobo Juan = foolish John, &c.].

[See also many of the combinations following. To play the jack — to act the fool (or goat {q.v.) ; cheap jack :rz a peddling tradesman ; jack-fool (Chaucer) — a thundering idiot ; jack-friar

— a hedge-priest [q.v.) ; jack-slave

— a vulgarian ; jack-brag =r a boaster ;

jack-snip = a botching tailor ; jackstraw — a low-born rebel ; jack-sprat ~ a mannikin ; skip-jack — an upstart ; jack-at-warts — a little conceited fellow ; jack-in-the-box — the sacrament; jack-upaland (Chaucer) — a peasant].

1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales [Skeat (1894), p. 106]. ' Go fro the window, Jakke fool,' she said.

1580. H. Gifford, Posie of Gilleflowers (Grosart 1875), 'A delectable dream', p. 113. I know some peppernosed dame Will term me fool and saucy Jack.

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shrew, ii. A mad-cap ruffian, and a swearing Jack, That thinks with oaths to face the matter out.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, ii. 4. Nurse. An a' speak any thing against me, I'll take him down, an a' were lustier than he is, and twenty such Jacks, and if I cannot, I'll find those that shall.

1596. Nashe, Have with You, Wks. [Grosart]. Teaching it to do tricks, Hey come aloft, Jacke, like an ape over the chain.

1597-8. Haughton, A Woman will have her Will [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), x. 496]. Some scoffing Jack had sent thee. . . . To tell a feigned tale of happy luck.

1600. Nashe, Stimmer's Last Will, in Works (Grosart, vi. 107). This sawcic upstart Jacke That now doth rule the chariot of the sun.

1606. Return from Parnassus [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 101]. Scurvy in thy face, thou scurvy Jack.

1607. Wilkins, Enforced Marriage [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 488]. Shall I be crossed by such a Jack.

1611. Davies, Scourge of Folly, Wks. (Grosart, p. 39, Epig. 282). Such jocund Jacks as mock thee.

1621. Burton, Anat. of Mel., 291. A company of scoffers and proud Jacks are commonly conversant and attendant in such places.

1636. T. Heywood, Love's Mistress, i. They call her Queen of Love, will know no other, And swear my Son shall kneel and call her mother. Cup. But Cupid swears to make the jacks forsworn.

Jack. ²2 Jack.

1647. Beaumont & Fletcher, Faithful Friend, i. 2. A company of quarrelling Jacks. . . . They say they have been soldiers, and fall out About their valours.

1653. Brome, Five New Plays, 403. The frumping Jacks are gone.

1677. Wycherlev, Plain Dealer, ii. Wid. Marry come up, you saucy familiar Jack !

1738. Swift, Polite Convers. Dial, i. But, I swear, you are a saucy Jack to use such expressions.

9. (gaming).—A counter resembling in size and appearance a sovereign. Also half-jacks. See quot.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. etc. i. 387. They are all made in Birmingham, and are of the size and colour of the genuine sovereigns and half sovereigns.... Each presents a profile of the Queen ; but instead of the superscription ' Victoria Dei Gratia ' of the true sovereign, the jack has 'Victoria Regina'. On the reverse, in the place of the ' Britanniarum Regina Fid. Def. ' surrounding the royal arms and crown, is a device (intended for an imitation of St. George and the Dragon) representing a soldier on horseback—the horse having three legs elevated from the ground, while a drawn sword fills the right hand of the equestrian, and a crown adorns his head. The superscription is, ' to Hanover,' and the rider seems to be sociably accompanied by a dragon. Round the Queen's head on the half jack is 'Victoria, Queen of Great Britain,' and on the reverse the Prince of Wales's feather, with the legend, 'The Prince of Wales's Model Half Sovereign.'

10. (common).—(a) A sailor:

also jACK-tar, English-JACK, and

Spanish-jACK. (b) An attendant

at a boat-house. Also Jack-in

THE-WATER (q.V.).

1788. C. DiBDiN, Poor Jack, 'Song'. There's a sweet little Cherub that sits up aloft, To keep watch for the life of poor Jack.

1867. CasselV s Family Paper, 23 Feb. The old brigadier ordered the Jacks to storm.

11. (American schools').—A stranger.

12. (old).—A male sweetheart ; cf. Gill.

c.1500. Babees Book, [E.E.T.S.], 22. And aryse up soft and stylle, And iangylle nether Iak ne Iylle.

1592. Shakspeare, Midsummer Nights Dream, iii. 2. Jack shall have Jill.

1620. Percy, Folio MSS., p. 104. Yet there is neuer a Iacke for Gill.

13. (nautical).—The Union Jack; the rag (q.v.).

1652. In Preble, Hist, of the Flag, p. 151. In a paper dated Jan. 14, 1652 .... it is ordered, ' all the ships to wear Jacks as formerly'.

1892. Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads, ' The Rhyme of the Three Captains'. Now he floated the Gridiron, and now he floated the Jack.

14. (Old Cant.).—A seal. See Jark.

15. (thieves').—A policeman. For synonyms see Beak and Copper.

1889. Richardson, Police, p. 320,

s.v.

16. (Scots').—See Jakes.

17.(venery).—An erectio penis. For synonyms see Horn.

18. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

19. (colloquial).—A male: as in the compounds Jack-hare, Jack-crow, Jack-ass, Jackrabbit, etc.

1563. Appius &* Virginius [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), iv. 151]. A gentleman ?—nay, a Jack-herring.

1894. De Somerville & Ross, The Real Charlotte, i. 210. And I don't care a Jack-rat what he thought, or what you think either.

20. (old).—An ape.

Jack. 23 Jack.

21. (old).—A peasant.

1513. Dunbar, Poems (1883-4), 106. Jok that was wont to keep the stinks.

1589. Nashe, Anatomie of Absurdity, in Works [Grosart, i. 9]. They distinguish a gentleman from a . . . . Jacke.

c.1636. London Chanticleers, Sc. i. Thou believ'st that more may be gotten with a Good your "worship to every Jack than a Sirrah, deliver your purse to the best lord i' th' land.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie, in Wks. (1725), Bk. iv. p. 122. Shall I invite . . . Some saucy, proud Numidian Jack, and humbly beg of him to take Eneas' leavings.

Verb. (American).— 1. To brand an unmarked yearling or maverick {q.v.).

1871. De Verb, Americanisms, 211. Any owner of a large herd considers himself authorised to brand a maverick which he finds on or near his ranche, and this operation is called to jack a maverick.

2. (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

3. (thieves'). To rim away quickly. For synonyms see Amputate.

To lay on the jack, verb, phr. (old).—To thrash soundly; to scold in good round terms. For synonyms see Baste and Tan.

1557-8. Jacob Esau [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 253]. If I wrought one stroke to-day, lay me on the jack.

1579. North, Noble Grecians, p. 127. And that they should make no reckoning of all that bravery and bragges, but should stick to it like men, and lay it on the jacks of them.

to make one's jack, Verb.

phr. (American).—To succeed ; to gain one's point. [From the game of faro].

TO be coppered on the jack,

verb. phr. (American).—To fail; to lose one's point. [From the game of faro].

1878. J. H. Beadle, Western Wilds, 46. He. . . . staked a pile of ' chips ' and won ; then made and lost, and made and lost alternately, selling his stock, when 'broke', and scarcely ate or drank till the tail of his last mule was coppered on the jack.

To play the jack, verb. phr. (old).—To play the rogue.

1609. Shakspeare, Tempest, iv. 1. Your fairy .... has done little better than play the jack with us.

1612. Rowlands, Knave of Hearts, p. 20. [Hunterian Club Rept.]. Boy y'are a villaine, didst thou fill this Sacke ? Tis flat, you Rascall, thou hast

tlaid the jacke.

1668. Pepys, Diary, Feb. 23. Who played the Jacke with us all, and is a fellow that I must trust no more.

TO be upon their jacks,

verb. phr. (old).—To have an advantage.

TO get jack in the orchard,

verb. phr. (venery).—To achieve intromission. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Every man jack (or every jack-rag), phr. (common).— Every one without exception.

1845. Disraeli, Sybil, vi, vi. There is none: my missus says that not a man John of them is to be seen.

1846. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, viii. Sir Pitt had numbered Everyman jack of them.

1852. C. Reade, Peg Woffington, viii. Send them (the children) to bed ; every man jack of them.

1861. Miss Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, iv, i. I knows every man jack of 'em, sir; and a fine staff they is.

1892. Anstey, Voces Populi, ' Free Speech', p. 103. Traitors, h every man jack of 'em.

Jack. ²4 Jack.

Jack-at-a-Pinch, subs. (old). —A person employed in an emergency; a stop-gap: specifially, a clergyman who his no cure, but on occasion officiates for a fee: cf. guinea-pig.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v.

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

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

1883. Whitcher, Widow Bedott Papers, p. 27. The fact is, Miss Coon feels wonderfully cut up, because she knows that her husband took her jack

at-a-pinch.

jACK-in-A(or-the)-BOX, Subs.

(old).— i. See quots.

1632. Dekker, English Villanies, [quoted by Nares]. This jacke-in-aboxe, or this divell in mans shape, wearing (like a player on a stage) good cloathes on his backe, comes to a goldsmiths stall, to a drapers, a habberdashers, or into any other shoppe, where he knowes good store of silver faces are to be seene.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v. Jack-in-a-box, c. a Sharper or Cheat.

1725. New. Cant. Diet. s.v. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. 1811. Lex. Bai. s.v.

2. (old).—A child's toy, consisting of a box out of which, on raising the lid, a figure springs.

1570. Satirical Poems of Reformation [S.T.S.], 1889-90, I, p. 163, 1. 78. Jak-in-the-bokkis, for all thy mokkis.

1600. Nashe, Works [Grosart, 1885, vi. 149). Close under a hedge, or under a house wall, playing jack-in-abox.

1702. The Infernal Wanderer [quoted by narks]. As I was thus walking my rounds, up comes a brother of the quill, belonging to the office, who no sooner made his entiance amongst the equitable fraternity, but up started every one in his seat, like a jack in a box, crying out Legit aut non Legit ; To which they answer'd themselves, Non legit, my lord.

1878. Grenville Murray, Round about France, p. 268. "With the suddenness Of a jack-in-the-box.

3. (common).—A game in which some article, of more or less value, is placed on the top of a stick standing in a hole, and thrown at with sticks. If the article be hit so as to fall clear of the hole, the thrower takes it.

4. (thieves').—A small but powerful kind of screw, used by burglars to open safes.

1848. Albert Smith, Christopher Tadpole, ch. xiii. Take care of the jack-in-the-box : there never was but two made.

5. (venery). The pern's. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

6. (old). See Jack-IN-THECellar.

7. (old.). A street-pedler.

1698-1700. Ward, London Spy [quoted in Century], Here and there a jack-in-the-box .... Selling Cures for your Corns, Glass-eyes for the Blind &c.

8. (old).—The sacrament.

Jack-in-office, subs, (common).—An over-bearing petty official ; an upstart ; a jack-inthe-pulpit (q.v.).

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v. Jack in an Office .... one that behaves himself imperiously in it.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jack-in-an-Office, an insolent fellow in authority.

1894. St. James's Gazette, 27 Aug. p. 13. Radical Governments and their jacks-in-office seem to have a happy knack of making enemies.

Jack-in-the-cellar (or box), subs. (old).—A child in the womb ; a Hans-en-kelder (q.v.).

Jack. 25 Jack.

1765. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, i. 65. When his companions drank to Hans in Kelder, or Jack in the Low Cellar.

Jack-in-the-dust, subs, (nautical).—A steward's mate.

Jack-in-the-green, subs. (common).—A chimney-sweep enclosed in a portable framework of boughs for the processions on the first of May: now mainly a thing of the past.

Jack-in-the-pulpit, subs. A pretender ; an upstart ; a Jackin-office {q.v.).

Jack-in-the-water, subs. (common).—An odd or handy man at a boat-house or landing stage: also jack (q.v. sense 10).

Jack-of-all-trades, subs. (common).—One who can (or pretends to be able to) turn his hand to any business: now usually in contempt, as 'Jack-ofall-trades and master of none'.

c 1633. Lady Alimony, iv. 2. What else, you Jack-of-all-trades?

c. 1636. London Chanticleers, Sc. ii. Any old pots or kettles to mend ? Will you buy my ballads ? Or have you any corns on your feet-toes ? Nay, I am Jack-of-all-trades now.

1662. Rump Songs, i. 193. For where Sir John with jack-of-all-trades joyns His finger's thicker than the prelates' loyns.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft, in Wks. (1725), p. 229. An then, thy son, that hopeful piece, Apollo, Jack-of-alltrades is.

1698-1700. Ward, London Spy, III, 59. He is by his Profession a Labourer to a Physician, but has made himself, by a curious inspection into Mysteries of Universallity a jack of all Trades.

1857. Hood, Pen and Pencil Pictures, 138. A jack-of-all-trades and master of none was Panurgus Pebbles .... his shallow versatility was his bane.

1860. Dickens, Great Expectations, xxv. ' I am my own engineer, and my own carpenter, and my own plumber, and my own gardener, and my own jack of all trades.'

Jack-of-legs, subs. (old).—1. An extra tall man; a lamp-post (q.v.).

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

1811. Lex. Bai. s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

2. (old).—A large clasp knife. See jocteleg.

Jack-on-both-sides, subs. (old).—A neutral: also one who ' hunts with the hounds and runs with the hare ' ; a fence-rider (q.v.).

1594. Nashe, Terrors of the Night, in Works [Grosart, 1885, iii. 252]. Like a craftie jacke a both sides.

1654. Witts Recreations [quoted by Nares] . Reader, John Newter, who erst plaid, The jack on both sides, here is laid.

1662. Rump Songs, i. 140. Did I a factious covenant, subscribe, Or turn a jack-on-both-Sides for a tribe?

Jack-out-of-doors , subs.

(old).—A vagrant.

1634. Withal, Diet., p. 569. Neque pessimus neque primus : not altogether jack out of doores, and yet no gentleman.

Jack-out-of-office, subs.

(old).—A discharged official: in

derision.

1592. Shakspeare, / Henry VI, i. i. But long I will not be jack-out-of

office.

1606. Rich, Farewell to Militarie Profession [quoted by nares]. For liberalise, who was wont to be a principall officer .... is tourned Jacke out of office, and others appointed to have the custodie.

1611. Davies (of Hereford), Scourge of Folly, in Works [Grosart, 1878, ii. 41]. He's iacke out of office that John was in it.

Jack Adams. 26 Jackanapes.

Jack-THE-PAINTER, subs. (Australian). A much adulterated green tea used in the bush.

1852. Munday, Our Antipodes, [quoted in 'Slang, Jargon, & Cant.']. Another notorious ration tea of the bush is called jack-the-painter.

Jack-the-slipper, subs. (thieves'). The treadmill. For synonyms see Wheel of life.

To jack the interim, verb. (thieves').—To be remanded.

To jack up, verb, (common).— To clinch; to abandon; to chuck; {q.v.); jacked-up = ruined; done for.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xix. Not but what I'd had a lot to bear, and took a deal of punishment before he jacked up.

1889. Ansivers, 23 March, p. 265, col. 2. When a man jacks up his work—will not do his tasks that is to say.

Jack Adams, subs. (old).—A fool. For synonyms see Buffle and Cabbage-head.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v. Jack Adams, a fool. Jack Adams' Parish, Clerkenwell.

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

1812. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1883. Clark Russell, Sailor's Language, s.v.

Jack-a-dandy, subs. (old).— i. A

little fop ; a coxcomb ; a dandi

prat [q.V.) : also jack dandy.

For synonyms see Dandy.

1632. Brome, Northern Lass, iii. 2. I'll throw him into the dock rather than that he shall succeed jack-o-dandy.

1864. Etherege, Comical Revenge, ii. 3, [in Works (1704)28]. Leave her, she's only worth the care Of some spruce

jack-a-dandy.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v. Jack-a-dandy, a little impertinent insignificant Fellow.

1795. R. Cumberland, The Jew, i. ' And when my monies is all gone, what shall I be then ? An ass, a fool,

a jack-a-dandy ! '

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf., s.v. Jack-o'-dandy. . . . of Dandy manners, foolish, proud, and choleric as a turkey or dindon,

1839. AiNSWORTH, Jack Sheppard, [ed. 1840], p. 141. ' Because they're in the next room, and the door's shut ; that's vy, my jack-a-dandy ! ' replied Abraham, unsuspiciously.

1881. J. B. Harwood, in Cassell's Mag., Feb. 164. ' I take it very unkind o' you, Sir, to have gone tempting and luring my hands away to your own three mills, and be hanged to you for a jack-a-dandy, there ! '

2. (rhyming). Brandy.

Jack-a-green. See Jack-in-thegreen under Jack.

Jack-a-lent, subs. (old).—1. A dapperling ; a dwarf ; and (2) a simpleton : also Jack-o'-lent.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, iii. 3. You little jack-a-lent, have you been true to us ?

1596. Nashe, Have with You etc. in Works [Grosart, 1882-3, 78J. For his stature he is such another pretie jack-a-lent.

1602. Cooke, Horu to Choose a Good Wife [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 41]. That jack-a-lent, that ghost, that shadow, that moon in the wane.

Jackanapes, subs, (old colloquial). —An absurd fop; a whippersnapper: a general term of reproach. Jackanapes-coat = a dandy-coat (Pepys). [Originally, no doubt, a gaudy-suited and performing ape (the word is still good Scots for a monkey; cf. Scott, Redgauntlet); and, hence, by implication anybody at once ugly (or diminutive), showy, and impudent. Also a Jack-of-apes

Jackanapes.

27 Jack Drum.

was a man who exhibited performing apes].

</.1529. Skelton, Poems, p. 160. He grins and he gapes, As it were Jack Napes.

1543. Bale, Romish Foxe, fol. 92. He played jack-a-napes swearynge by his tenne bones.

1567. Edwards, Damon andPtthias [Dodsley,OldPlays (1874),iv. 60]. Away, jackanapes, else I will col'phise you by and by.

<r.l590-1600. Alex Montgomerie, Sonnets [ed. Irving, 1821] p. 97. Blind brutal Boy, that with thy bou abuses Leill leisome Love by Lechery and Lust, Judge, Jakanapis and Jougler maist unjust &c.

1596. Nashe, Have with You etc. in Works [Grosart, iii. 156]. Common marks for every jackanapes preacher to kick, spit, or throw dirt at.

1598. Shakspeare, All's Well&>c, iii. 5. That jackanapes with scarfs.

£.1602. Lingua [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 390]. This Invention is the proudest jackanapes. . . . that ever breathed.

1604. Marston & Webster, Malcontent, i. 3. Sir Tristam Tristam come aloft, jacke-a-napes, with a whim-wham.

1612-13. Tailor, Hog hath Lost his Pearl, ii. Malapert, my father's butler, being a witty jackanapes, told me why it was.

1639. Glapthorne, Argalus and Parthenia, in Whs. (1874), i. 38. Ladies shall beat thee to death .... thou jackanapes.

1653. Brome, Five New Plays, 200. Thou art a jackanapes of the basest tricks that ever I saw for a halfpenny.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft, in Whs. (1725), p. 180. Transformed myself (my pretty knave) Into these Man and Eagle's shapes, To snap my little jacka-napes.

1690. B. E. Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v. Jackanapes, a Term of Reproach, a little sorry Whipper-snapper.

1712. Spectator, No. 311. I have myself caught a young jackanapes, with a pair of silver-fringed gloves, in the very fact.

1752. Foote, Taste (5th ed.) 33. Saucy jackanapes.

1775. Sheridan, Rivals, ii. 1. Nome of your sneering, puppy! no grinning, jackanapes !

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jackanapes. ... a pert ugly little fellow.

Jackaroo, subs. (Australian).—A fresh arrival from England: a new chum {q.v.).

1887. Chamber's Journal, 23 April, 262. The Jackaroo .... is the invariable local name, or rather nickname, given to those young men who are sent out to the Australian colonies from almost every part of the United Kingdom in order to learn sheep or cattle-faming—generally the former— as carried on at the Antipodes.

1881. A. C. Grant, Bush Life, i. 53. The young jackaroo woke early next morning, and went to look around him.

1889. E. W. Hornung, in London Society Holiday No 'Bushed'. I had been in the colony but a few months, and was engaged as jackeroo—that is, apprentice to 'colonial experience'.

Jackass, subs, (colloquial). — A stupid ignoramus. For synonyms see Buffle, and Cabbage-head. Also jackassism = stupidity. 1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II, 268. Calling names, whether done to attack or to tack a schism, Is, Miss, believe nie, a great piece of jack-ass-ism.

Jackass-frigate, subs, (nautical).— A small slow-sailing frigate.

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, xiii. He recommended me to the Captain of a jackass-frigate. ... so called because there is as much difference between them and a real frigate. ... as there is between a donkey and a race-horse.

Jack-Cove, subs. fihr. (American thieves').—A mean low fellow ; a snide (ç.v.).—Matsell (1859).

Jack (or Tom) Drum's Entertainment, subs. fihr. (old).—Illtreatment ; ignominious dismissal : cf. Stafford Law.

Jacked.

Jacket.

1579. Gosson, Schoole of Abuse, 22 (Arber's ed.). Plato when he sawe the doctrine of these Teachers, neither for profite, necessary, nor to be wished for pleasure, gave them all Drummes entertainment, not suffering them once to shew their faces in a reformed common wealth.

1587. Holinshead, Hist, of Ireland. B. ii. col. i. cit. cap. His porter or other officer durst not for both his ears give the simplest man that resorted to his house, Tom Drum's entertainment, which is, to hale a man in by the head, and thrust him out by both the shoulders.

1592. Greene, Groatsworth of Wit, in Works, xii, 129. And so giving him Jacke Drums entertainment, shut him out of doores.

1594. Nashe, Unf. Traveller, in Wks. v. 26. I would give him Jackb Drummes entertainment, and send him packing.

1598. Shakespeare, AW s Well, iii, 6. 41. If you give him not John Drum's entertainment, your inclining cannot be removed.

1611. CoTGRAVE, Dictionarie, s.v. Festin. Il a esté au festin de Martin Bast on. He hath had a tryall in Stafford Court, or hath received Jacke Drum's entert ainement.

1611. T. Coryat, Extracts &c. [1776] iii. C. c. 3. Not like the entertainment of Jacke Drum, Who was best welcome when he went away.

1626. Apollo Shroving [quoted by Nares]. It shall have Tom Drum's entertainment, a flap with a fox-tail.

1649. John Taylor, Wandering to see the Wonders of the West. Where the hostess being very willing to give me the courteous entertainment of Jack Drum, commanded me very civilly to get out of doors, for there was no room for me to lodge in.

Jacked, adj. (old). —Spavined; lamed.

Jackeen (or Dublin Jackeen), subs. (Irish).—A Dublin 'Arry (q.v.). [From Jack -feen, a suffix expressive of contempt or inferiority ; a diminutive].

1894. De Somerville & Ross, The Real Charlotte, iii. 246. Don't you remember what Mr. Baker said about me, 'that you couldn't expect any manners from a Dublin Jackeen.'

Jacken-closer, subs. (old).—A seal.

1825. Modern Flash Diet., s.v.

Jackeries, subs. (Australian).— See quot.

1890. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up, p. 123. The jackeries, i.e., favored station hands, cursed him.

Jacket, subs, (colloquial).— 1. The skin of an unpared potato : generally in phrase 'boiled in their jackets '.

1878. R. L. Stevenson, Inland Voyage, p. 58. Some potatoes in their jackets.

2. (American).—A pinafore;

a roundabout (q.V.).

3. (American).—A folded paper, or open envelope containing documents, endorsed without as to the contents; a docket.

Verb. (old).— 1. To cheat;

to swindle; to betray.

1819. De Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Jacket .... This term is . . . properly applied to removing a man by underhand and vile means from any berth or situation he enjoys, commonly with a view to supplant him.

1823. Grose (3rd ed.), Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

2. (common).—To thrash; to beat. Also to trim (or dust or lace) one's jacket. For synonyms see Baste and Tan. See Jacketting.

</.1704. Lestrangf. [quoted by Johnson 1755]. She fell upon the jacket of the parson, who stood gaping at her.

1845. Buckstone, Green Bushes, i., i. I'll dust your jacket if you do that again.

Jacketing. 29 Jack Ketch.

3. (American).—To enclose

(a document) after scheduling

within it other papers relating to

the same subject; to docket.

1888. The American, 16 May. Another record was made in the book of the office of letters received and

jacketted.

4. (American thieves'). To denote; to point out.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Jacket. The fly cops pulled him, and allowed the flat cops to jacket him.

TO give a red-laced jacket, verb. fihr. (old military).—To flog.

1871. Temple Bar, XXXI, 311. When soldiers used to be flogged more commonly than now, their commanders used to facetiously call it, giving them a red-laced jacket.

TO line one's jacket, verb.

fihr. (old).—To eat or drink; to

fill one's stomach. For synonyms

. see Grub.

1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie, II s''accoustre bien. He stuffes himselfe soundly, hee lines his jacket throughly with liquor.

Pull down your jacket (or vest), fihr. (American).—Keep cool! don't get excited! hold your hair on (q.v.)\

To send in one's jacket,

verb. fihr. (jockies').—To resign ;

to deliver up one's badge of office.

1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 222. 'I presume you know the consequences of refusing ? ' 'I shall have to send in my jacket, I suppose.' The baronet nodded.

Jacketing, subs, (common).—A thrashing; a reprimand.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. 6Lond. Poor, i. 92. I don't work on Sundays. If I did, I'd get a jacketing.

1862. Mrs. H. Wood, Channings, lvii. 'You may look Mr. Tod but I'll be after giving ye a jacketing for ye're pains.'

1871. Durham County Advertiser, 10 Nov. The quiet man told him about having found it, and got a jacketing for not having come direct and reported it at once.

1883. Graphic, May 26, 531, 3. Who the moment before had been administering a vigorous jacketing to him anent her neglected wardrobe.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xvi. I eased up, and he gave me a jacketing.

Jacket-reverser, subs, (common). —A turncoat.

Jackey, szibs. (old).—Gin. For

synonyms see Drinks and Satin.

1811. Lex. Bai. s.v. Jackey, Gin.

1821. Egan, Life in London, p. 179. Taking her drops of jackey with old Mother Brimstone.

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

1827. Lytton, Pelham, [ed. 1864] p. 302. Well, you parish bull prig, are you for lushing jacky, or pattering in the hum-box.

1859. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, xxiii. The stuff itself, which in the western gin-shops goes generally by the name of 'blue ruin' or 'short,' is here called .... jacky.

1878. W. S. Gilbert, Pinafore, i. I've snuff, and tobacky, And excellent jacky.

Jack-frost, subs, (colloquial).—A popular personification of frost; cf. John Fog and Tommy Snow.

1888. Notes & Queries, 7, S. v. 109. This jubilee year of 1887 has not commenced very well with us sporting folk. Jack Frost, John Fog, and Tommy Snow, having formed themselves into a syndicate, spoilt all our Christmas steeplechasing and hurdle-racing.

Jack-gagger, subs. (American thieves').—A man living on his wife's prostitution ; a married ponce {q.v.).—Matsell (1859).

Jack Ketch (or Kitchj, subs. (old). —A hangman or executioner; a

Jack Ketch. 3° Jackman.

dancing-master {q.V.) ; a topsman {q.v.). [From a famous practitioner of that name {circa 166386). Before his time the office had been filled by men whose names each and all became popular colloquialisms: e.g. Derrick {q.v-); Gregory Brandon (Gregorian Tree q.v.); Dun (q.v.).

French synonyms. L'adjoint (thieves' : the assistant) ; I'aricoteur (thieves'); le be'quillard (thieves') ; le béquilleur (thieves') ; le bourreau {= the hangman) ; le btiteur (thieves'); le Chariot (popular: les soubrettes de Charlot = Charley's maids : cf. Monsieur de Paris : le panier à Chariot = Charley's basket); le faucheur (popular: = the reaper) ; le mec des gerbiers (thieves') ; /'Haricoteur (thieves') ; le marlon de Charlotte (thieves' : = Lottie's ponce) ; le 7ne'canicien (pop. : = engine-driver) ; Monsieur de Paris (pop. : an official title) ; le père Rasibus (pop. : a play on raser = to shave); le tolle or tollart (thieves'); le rouastre (thieves' :=('sawbones') ; le marieux ; le lambotireiir.

Italian synonyms. Cattaron; cattarone.

Spanish synonyms. Caffler ; malvechino.

1676. Darkmans Budge, verse 5. And we come to the Nubbing-Cheat, For running on the Budge, There stands Jack Kitch, that son of a Bitch.

1678. Broadside, 'The Plotters' Ballad, being Jack Ketch's incomparahle Receipt for the cure uf Traytorous Recusants &c.

1682. Durfey, Butler''s Ghost, p.54. Till Ketch observing he was chous'd, &c.

1G82. Dryden, Epil. to Duke of

Guise, 30. 'Jack Ketch,' says I, ''s an excellent physician.'

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v. Jack Kitch, c, the Hargman of that Name, but now all his Successors.

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

1849-61. Macaulay, Hist. Eng. v, Note. He (Monmonth) then encountered Jack Ketch, the executioner. . . . whose name has, during a century and a half, been vulgarly given to all who have succeeded him in his odious office.

1856. C. Readk, Never Too Late, lxx. ' He will come back without fear, and we will nail him with the fifty pound uote upon him : and then — Jack Ketch.'

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1870. Mansfield, School-Life at Winchester College, p. 109. The culprit had to ' order his name to the Bible-clerk,' and that individual, with the help of Ostiarius, performed the office of Jack Ketch.

Verb. (old).—To hang.

1694. Gentlemen's Journal, June, p. 147. Jack-Ketch thyself or cut thy throat.

Jack Ketch's kitchen, subs.

phr. (old). See quots.

1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 17. Over them is Jack Ketch his kitchen, where, in Pitch, Tar and Oil, he boils the Quarters of ... . Traitors.

1882. Fortnightly Review, xxxi, 798. 'Jack Ketch's kitchen' : A room in Newgate, where that honest fellow, the hangman, boiled the quarters of those executed and dismembered for high treason.

Jack Ketch's Pippin, subs, phr. (old).—A candidate for the gallows; a gallows-apple: cf. Hempseed.

Jack-leg, subs, and adj. (American) .—Blackleg.

1888. Florida Times Union, 11 Feb. It seems that the State Bar Association is disposed to draw the line between attornies and jack-leg lawyers.

Jackman. See Jarkman.

Jack-Nasty. 3¹ Jack Robinson.

Jack-Nasty, subs, (common).—A sneak ; a sloven : cf. Jack-nastyface.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brown's School-Days, I. iii. Tom and his younger brothers, as they grew up, went on playing with the village boys, without the idea of equality or inequality (except in wrestling, running, and climbing) ever entering their heads, as it doesn't till it's put there by jack nastys or fine ladies' maids.

Jack-nasty-face, subs. (old).—i. A sailor; specifically a cook.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1884. G. A. Sala, in ///. Lond. News April 12, p. 339, col. 3. I should be glad to learn .... why the cook's mate is called 'Jack-nasty-face.'

2. (common).—A filthy or unpleasant-looking person : cf. Jack-nasty.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Jack-nasty-face — a dirty fellow.

Jack-pudding, subs. (old).—A serving merry-andrew ; a lowclass buffoon. Fr. jean-pottage (=jack-soup) ; Germ. Hans-wurst (= jack-sausage); Dutch, pickelherringc ; It. macaroni. Hence jack-puddinghood (Walpole) = buffoonery.

1650-51. Milton, Defence of People of England, i. The extempore rhymes of some antic jack-pudding may deserve printing better.

1653. Aston Cockaine. 'On Mr. Richard Brome's Playes.' Our theatres of lower note in those More happy daies Shall scorn the rustic prose Of a jackpudding.

1664. Etherege, Comical Revenge, iii. 4, in Wks (1704), 35. He was jackpudding to a Mountebank, and turned off for want of wit.

1670. J. Eachard, Contempt of the Clergy, in Arber's Garner, vii, p. 265. Those usually that have been Rope Dancers in the Schools, oft times prove jack-puddings in the Pulpit.

1672. W. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, i. 2. He is a mere buffoon, a Jack-pudding.

1691-2. Gentlemen's Journal, Jan., p. 35. All its inhabitants are jack-puddings born.

1757. Foote, The Author [1782], 46. A Jack-pudding ! that takes fillips on the nose for sixpence a piece.

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, p. 50. So Jack-puddings joke, with distorted grimace, Benetting their gudgeons, the croud.

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

1795. R. Cumberland, The Jew, iv. 2: .. You are a saucy knave

to make a joke of your master. Do you think I will keep a jack-pudding in my house like you, to listen at my keyhole and betray my conversation.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1825. Scott, St. Ronan's Well, iii. The jack-pudding to the company, whose business it was to crack the best joke, and sing the best song, he could.

1849. Macaulay./zYsj'. of England, vi. Booth had bitterly complained to the Commons that the dearest of his constituents were entrusted to a drunken jackpudding.

1881. Besant & Rice. Chap, of Fleet, pt. i. They were again jocund, light-hearted, the oracle of the tavern, the jester and jack pudding of the Feast.

Jack Randall, subs.phr. (rhyming). —A candle. [The name of a famous pugilist].

Jack Robinson, subs, (venery).— The pern's. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

Before one can say 'Jack Robinson ', phr. (common).— Instantly ; in the shortest possible time; in two-two's {q.v.).

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jack Robinson .... a saying to express a very short time, originating from a very volatile gentleman of that appellation, who would call on his neighbours, and be gone before his name could be announced.

Jackmm. 3 ² Jack-Straw.

1811. Lex. Bal., s.v.

1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge [ed. 18.] p. 295. Before you could say Jack Robinson, the pursuer's starboard leg was whipped out of Jack Lennox's clutches.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends [ed. 1842] p. 256. I have not a doubt, I shall rout every tout, Erb you'll whisper Jack Robinson.

1846. Punch, xi. 9. Here it was he married my mother whose name was Robinson, whose ancestor was the famous Jack Robinson of whom is still retained a popular proverb relating to rapidity of expression.

Jackrum, subs. (old).—A marriage license.—Modern Flash Diet. (1825).

Jack-Sauce, subs. (old).—An impudent fellow ; a sauce-box {q.v.).

1571. Edwards, Damon and Pitheas (Dodsley, O. PL, i. 271). Heere is a gay world ! boyes now set old men to scoole : I sayd wel inough ; what, jacksawce, think'st cham a fool?

1593. G. Harvey, Pierce's Super. in Whs. (grosart) ii. 328. A jacksauce, or vnmannerly puppy.

1597-8. Haughton, A Woman will have her Will [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), x. 537]. Well, Jack-sauce, The rogue is waking yet to spoil your sport.

1599. Shakespeare, Henry V, iv. 7. If he be perjured, see you now, his reputation is as arrant a villain, and a jack sauce, as ever. . . . trod upon God's ground and his earth, in my conscience la.

1602. Cooke, How a Man may Choose a Good Wife etc. [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 78]. Why, you Jack-sauce ! You cuckold ! you what-not!

1612. Field, Woman is a Weathercock, ii. i. What say ye, Jack Sauce.

1620. Hall, Honour of the Maried Clergie, ii § 12. Every jack-sauce ot Rome shall thus odiously dare to controll and disgrace it.

1633. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, iii. x. Dame 7. Come up, jack sauce.

1638. Randolph, Muses' Looking Glass, iv. 4. Such a jack-sauce.

1659. Massinger, City Madam,\v. 2. Do you so, jack sauce ! I'll keep them further off.

1702. Vaxbrugh, False Friend, iii. 2. Why how now, jack-sauce? why how now, Presumption?

1719. Durfey, Pills &*c. v. 287. A sword and buckler good and strong, To give Jack-sauce a rap.

Jack's Delight, subs. phr. (common).—A sea-port strumpet. For synonyms sec Barrack-hack and Tart.

Jack-Shay, subs. (Australian).—A tin quart used for boiling tea, and contrived to hold a tin pint.

1881. Grant, Bush Life [quoted in Slang, Jargon &r Cant.~\. Hobbles and jack-shays hang from the Saddledees.

Jack-Sprat, subs. (old).—An undersized man or boy.—Grose (1785).

1570. Wit and Science [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 39]. But what, no force, ye are but Jack Sprat to me.

Jack-Straw, subs. (old).—. i. A nobody ; and (2) a dwarf. For synonyms see Hop-o'-my-thumb.

1596. Nashe, Have With You etc. in Works [Grosart] iii. 158. These worthless whippets and Iacke-Strawes.

1629. Flyting of Polwarth and Montgomerie (Edin. Montgomeric's Poems, 1885-6, i. 64]. Iacstro, be better anes ingined.

1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, i. 2. You are a saucy Jack-straw to question me.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v.

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

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jack Straw's castle, subs, phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Jacksy-pardy. 33 Jade.

Jacksy-pardy, subs, (common).— The posteriors: also jacksy pardo. For synonyms see Monocular eyeglass.

Jack Tar, subs. phr. {old).—i. A sailor ; and (2) a hornpipe.

1781. G. Parker, View of Society, i. 53. Our house in this place was chiefly supported by jack tars.

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

1811. Lex. Bai,, s.v.

1822. Lamb, Elia (Some old Actors). Displays before our eyes a downrignt concretion of a Wapping sailor—a jolly warm-hearted jack tar.

Jack Weight, subs. phr. (old).— A fat man ; a forty-guts {q.v).

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jack-Whore, subs. phr. (old).— A large, masculine, overgrown wench.—Grose (1785).

Jacob, subs. (old).— 1. See quot.

1753. The Thief-Catcher, p. 25. There are another sort of Rogues called jacobs ; these go with ladders in the Dead of the Night, and get in at the windows, one, two or three pair, of stairs and sometimes down the area.

2. (Old Cant.)—A ladder.

1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 12, s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. longue, s.v.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Jacob .... to prig the jacob from the dunckin-drag.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

3. (old).—A soft fellow; a spooney; a fool.—Grose (1785); De Vaux (1819).

4. (venery).—The penis : cf. Jacob's Ladder sense 2.

Jacobite, subs. (old).—A sham shirt ; a dickey {q.v.) ; a shirtcollar.—B. E. (1690), Grose (1785), Matsell (1859).

Jacob's Ladder, subs. phr. (originally theatrical : now general).— i. A longitudinal flaw in the leg of a pair of tights; now applied to any rent of which only the woof threads are left.

1859. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, xxx. Here he [a tramp] sat down on a milestone ; and producing a remarkably neat housewife case, proceeded to overhaul all parts of his apparel with as much care and circumspection as if they had been of purple and fine linen, catching up any strong rents and Jacob's ladders with a grave and deliberate countenance.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

jade, S7cbs. (old).— 1. An epithet applied to women : in contempt. [Originally a horse or man (Chaucer) : especially (1) one overridden or foundered; and (2) unsafe and full of tricks. Hence, by implication, a knavish, battered, or worn-out whore]. Jadish, adj. (Nashe) = malicious ; tricky ; untrustworthy.

1560. Nice Wanton [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 172]. Iniquity. Gup, whore ; do ye hear this jade ?

1592. Breton, Pilgrimage toParadise, p. 10. Earthly joys will make him prove a jade.

1607. WiLKiNS, Enforced Marriage [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 550]. Whore, ay, and jade.

1611. Barry, Ram Alley, iv. Does the filthy jade send to me for money?

1614. Cook, City Gallant [Dodsley, OldPlays(i8j4), xi. 226]. She's good for nothing then, no more than a jade.

Jag. 34 Jague.

1635. Brome, Antipodes, iv. 2. Some cowardly jade That dare not strike a woman.

1647-80. Rochester, Ramble in St. James's Park, in Wks. (1728), 82. But to turn damned abandoned jade, Whom neither head nor tail persuade.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie, in Wks (1725), Bk. iv. p. 103. And (like a simple hair-brain'd jade) This Youth hail Fellow with me made. Ibid. p. 105. At last a crew of strapping jades, That were or should have been her Maids.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v. Jade a Term of Reproach given to Women, as Idle jade, Lazy jade, Silly jade &c.

1712. Steele, Spectator, No. 479. There are perverse jades .... with whom it requires more than common proficiency in philosophy to ... . live.

1714. Allan Ramsay, Elegy on John Coivper, in Works (1848), i. 294. And she, poor jade, withouten din Is sent to Leith-Wynd—fit to spin.

d.YiVè. Addison, [quoted in Century}. You now and then see some handsome young jades.

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

1770. Foote, Lame Lover, i. t. Why, you pert jade, do you play on my

words ?

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic etc., 'Chastity'. Turn your face to that table, at once you will see What faces jades wear.

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

1791. Burns, Tarn O'Shanter. A souple jaud she was, an' Strang.

1807. Crabbe, Parish Register. To let an artful jade, The close recesses of thine heart invade.

1863. Longfellow, The Musician's Tale. A faded old woman, a heathenish jade.

2. (Americanthieves').—Along term of imprisonment ; a stretch {q.v.).

Jag, subs. (American). —A scrap; a load, parcel, or lot: e.g., a fare, a catch of fish &c.

1692. Hackett, Life of Archbishop Williams, 136. The latter of these two

letters is come abroad ; whereof, because it is in many hands, some jags will suffice to be recited.

1834. C. A. Davis, Major Downing' s Letters, p. 168. As there was very little money in the country, the bank bought a good jag on't in Europe.

1839. Ure, Diet., iv. 376. The flint is sold by the one-horse load, called a jag (in Suffolk, Eng.) and carted to the Knapper's Shops.

1866. Trowbridge, Coupon Bonds, p. 393. The wagon stood in the road, with the last jag of rails still on it.

1888. Missouri Republican. One broker buying on a heavy order. . . . occasionally caught a jag of 2000 or 3000 shares.

2. (American).—A whim; a fancy.

3. (American).—Intoxication: e.g. To have a jag on = to be drunk.

4. (American).—A drunkard ; a i.ushington {q.v.).

Jagged, adj. (American).—Drunk. For synonyms see Drinks and Screwed.

Jagger, subs. (American thieves').

— I. A gentleman.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1859. Du Cange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

2. (common).—A hawker.

1888. Cassell's Sat. Journal, 8 Dec, p. 261. He had a strong suspicion that the old coal jagger was an aider and abettor.

Jague, subs. (Old Cant).—A ditch.

1622. Head & Kikman, English Rogue, ' Canting Song '. Let Cove bing then, Thro' Ruffmans, jague or Laund. »

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

1754. Scoundrel's Diet., s.v.

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

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jail-bird.

Jam.

Jail-bird, subs. (Old Cant: now recognised).—A prisoner; a crackhalter (q.v.).—\Cf. Cage and Canary].

1603. Davies (of Hereford), Microcosmus, in Works [Grosart], i. 991. 'To the Lady Rich.' But such a iailebirde heavenly nightingale.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Jayl-birds.

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

1819. Moore, Tom Crib's Memorial, 77. A new set of darbies, when first they are worn, Makes the jail-bird uneasy.

1849. Mahony, Reliques of Father Front (Bohn) p. 233. The fellow must be what Terry calls 'a bad mimber intirely,' what we English call a jail-bird ; what the French denominate a ' vrai gibier de grève;' termed in Latin ' corvus patibularius' ; and by the Greeks,

kcchov hoqccuoç %a%ov œov.

Jakes, subs, (old colloquial).—A privy; a house of office.\Centtiry: The occurrence of dial, johnny, a jakes—'also called Mrs. Jones by country people ' (Halliwell), with dial. Tom, a close-stool, suggests that Jakes was originally Jake's or Jack's, a humorous euphemism]. Also (Scots) Jack. See AjAX.

£".1550. Inglelend, Disobedient Child [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 276]. To. ... do as poor knaves, which jakes do scour.

1596. Nashe, Have With You, etc., in Works [Grosart], iii. 196. I worse scorne it than to have so foul a jakes as his mouth for my groning stool.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, s.v. Condotto. . . . Also a conduite, a priuie, a iakes, a sinke.

1605. Camden, Remains, p. 307. Soloman, a Jew, fell into a jaxe at Tewkesbury on a Saturday.

1605. Shakspeare, Lear, ii. 2. I will tread this unbolted villain into mortar, and daub the walls of a jakes with him.

1641. Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus. Christe himself, speaking of unsavory traditions scruples not to name the Dunghill and the jakes.

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie, in Whs (1725), Bk. iv. p. 91. Thou here thyself most busie makes In building for the Queen a jakes.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v. Jakes.

1728. Pope, Dunciad, i. 144. And 'scape the martyrdom of jakes and fire.

1737. The Mobiad [quoted in N.&Q. 2 S. xi. 125]. Now Chiefs of haughty bosom supple stoop Ev'n to the jakes to angle for a dupe.

1751-54. Jortin, Remarks on Eccl. Hist., an. 379. Their tenets were an horrible confusion of all sorts of impieties, which flowed into this sect as into a jakes.

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

Jakes-farmer, subs. (old).—An emptier of cesspools; a goldfinder {q.v.). Also Jakesraker (Skelton) and Jakesbarreller.

1596. Nashe, Have With You, in Works [Grosart], iii. 196. Like a jakes-bareller.

1606. Marston, Fawne, ii. 1. Nay, I will embrace a jakes-farmer, after eleven o'clock at night.

1613. Chapman, Jonson & Marston, Insatiate Countess, ii. 2. Well, what time goes the jakes-farmer?

1615. Sylvester, Tobacco Battered &c, Wks, p. 575. Not scorning scullions, coblers, colliers, jakes-farmers, fidlers, ostlers, oysterers.

1647. Beaumont & Fletcher, Love's Cure, ii. 1. Nay we are all signiors here in Spain, from the jakes farmer to the grandee, or adelantado.

Jam, subs, (common).— 1. A sweetheart ; a mistress : also bit of jam. Lawful-jam = a wife.

c.1880. Broadside Ballad. 'Just the Identical Man.' And he made this young girl feel queer When he called me his jam, His pet and his lamb.

Jaw.

James.

c.1886. Broadside Ballad. 'Up they Go.' There were three bits of jam stepping out of the tram, So we tipped them a wink in a trice.

1889. Henley, Villon''s Good Night. Gay grass-widows and lawful-jam.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum : whence To have a bit of jam = to copulate : cf. Tart. Fr. sucre.

3. (racing). —A certainty of winning ; clear profit : also real jam.

4.(common).—Excellence; good luck; happiness. Jam-up {adj. and adv.) = the pink of perfection ; slap-up {q.v.) ; bang-up {q.V.). Also real jam.

1855. Haliburton, Nature &r Human Nature, p. 273. Connubial bliss, I allot, was real jam up.

1882. F. Anstey, ViceVersa, xiv. ' Ah ! ' observed Dick. ' I thought you wouldn't find it all jam ! And yet you seemed to be enjoying yourself, too,' he said with a grin, ' from that letter you wrote.'

1889. The Mirror, 26 Aug., p. 6, col. 2. He'll marvel at the rod you have in pickle For him who now considers you real jam.

1892. MiLLiKiN, ' Arry Ballads, p. 56. Society's lions' wag their tails on the cheap, and that's jam.

1892. Kipling, Barrack-Room Ballads. ' Oonts.' It aint no jam for Tommy.

5. (colloquial).—A crush; a crowd.

1812. J. & H. Smith, Rejected Addresses. All is bustle, squeeze. . . . and jam.

1864. Lowell, Fireside Travels, p. in. The surest eye for .... the weak point of a jam.

1889. Illustrated Bits, 13 July. ' I knew that there would be such a jam that I couldn't get inside the door.'

6. (American thieves').—A ring.—Matsell (1859).

7. (gaming).—The pool at Nap, into which each dealer pays, the winner of the next nap taking the lot.

Adj. (common).—Neat; smart; spruce: cf. subs, sense 5.

Verb. (old).—To hang.—Grose (1785).

Jamboree (or Jimboree), subs. (American).—A frolic; a spree {q.v.). For synonyms see Flareup.

1872. Serien er' s Mag., iv. 363. There have not been so many dollars spent on any jamboree.

James, subs, (thieves').— 1. A crowbar. For synonyms see jemmy. Fr. un jacqties.

1819. De Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. James.

1879. Macmillan' s Magazine, 'Autobiography of a Thief,' xl. 503. I had the james and screws on me.

2. (thieves').—A sovereign or

twenty shillings.

1858. A. Mayhew, Paved zvitk Gold, III, xvii, 365. The firm that received most of his ' favours ' was in the habit of pricing its 'half-jAMEs' and james {i.e., half and whole sovereigns) at 2/10 and 7/

1887. Horsley, Jottings from Jail. I put a half james in the hand and said • Guy ! '

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xxi. He gives him the half-jAMES, and told him never to bother him more.

3. (common).—A sheep's head : more frequently, when uncooked, bloody jemmy {q.V.).

1827. Belcher's Every Night Book, p. 38. Hear us, great james, thou poetry of mutton ; Delicious profile of the beast that bleats.

1870. London Figaro, 2 July. Club your pence, and you ma}' attain to the glories of Osmazome and james—that is, of baked sheep's head.

Jamie Moore.

Jap.

Jamie Moore. To have been talking to Jamie Moore, verb, phr. (Scots').—To be drunk. For synonyms see Drinks and Screwed.

Jammed. To be jammed, verb, phr. (old).—To meet with a violent death, by accident, murder, or hanging. See Jam, verb.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jam my.—See Jam, subs, sense 4 and Jam-up.

Jampot, subs. (Australian).— 1. A high collar.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Jam-tart, subs. (Stock exchange). — i. Exactly the market ; buyers and sellers at the same.

2. (common).—A wife or mistress ; a tart (q.v.).

Jams, subs, (common).—An abbreviation of jim-jams {q.v.).

Jan, sttbs. (Old Cant.).—A purse. For synonyms see Poge.

1610. Rowlands, Marlin Markall, p. 39 (H. Club's Repr. 1874) s.v.

Jane, stibs. (thieves').—A sovereign. For synonyms see Canary.

1864. Times, 14 April, 'LawReport.' He had told me before I went out, that I could keep half a jane. A jane is a sovereign.

Jane-of-apes, subs. (old).—A pert forward girl; the counterpart of jackanapes {q.V.).

1624. Massinger, Bondman, iii, 3. Here's Jane-of-apes shall serve.

Jango, subs, (obsolete).—Liquor.

1721. ~RAus\y,LuskySpe>ice's Last Advice, in Wks. (1848), ii. 302. Drive at the jango till he spew.

Janizary, subs. (old). See quots.

1684. Head, Proteus Redivivus, 238. At door is received by some halfa-dozen janizaries more, of the same brotherhood.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Janizaries .... also the Mob sometimes so called, and Bailives, Sergeants, Followers, Yeomen, Setters, and any lewd gang depending upon others.

1691-2. Gentlemen's Journal, March, p. 13. The aunt spied them in deep consult with all their janizaries.

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

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Janizaries, a mob of pickpockets.

1895. H. B. Marriott-Watson, The Lady's Chamber in New Review. lxxii, 489. And was out and away upon the turnpike to Uxbridge ere ever a janizary were in sight.

Jan nock (or Jon nock), adj. (provincial).—Sociable ; fair ; just ; straightforward ; conclusive.

1843. Moncrieff, Scamps of London, ii. 2. You'll act jannock surely.

1871. Times, 4 Nov. When a gentleman, began by blowing his own trumpet, it was not altogether jannock.

1S78. Hatton, CrueILondon,,VIII, ii. ' Honour bright, no kid, as we say in London, janak, as we say in the North ?

To die jannock, verb. phr. (old).—To die with bravado.

1882. Fennell, Antic. Chronicle, ' Collection of Old Words,'July, p. 25, s.v.

Janusmug, subs. (Americanthieves'). —A go-between ; an intermediary between a thief and a receiver. 1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jap, subs, (colloquial).—A Japanner (Purchas) or Japanese.

Japan.

Jape.

Japan, verb, (common).—1. To

ordain: To be japanned = to

take orders.

1756. Connoisseur, 29 Jan. Jack .... sent me a very hearty letter, informing me that he had been double japanned (as he called it) ... . and was the present incumbent of . . . .

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. japanned . ... to put on the black cloth, from the color of the Japan ware which is black.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 5. Lobsters will lie such a drug upon hand, That our do-nothing Captains must all get japanned.

1852. Bristed, Five Years in an English University, 344. Many .... step .... into the Church without any pretence of other change than in the attire of their outward man, on being japanned, as assuming the black dress and white tie is called in University slang.

1879. James Payn, High Spirits (Change of Views). He .... was to be japanned in a fortnight. That was the expression which, I am grieved to say, he used, in those unregeneratc days, for the ceremony of ordination.

2. (American thieves').—To convert : to be japanned = to be converted.—Matsell (1859).

3. (common).—To black one's boots. Fr. sabouler. Also to japan one's trotter-cases.

1712. Gay, Trivia, [quoted by Johnson]. And aids with soot the new japanning art.

1734. Pope, Satire, iii, 156. Prefer a new japanner to their shoes.

1755. Johnson, Eng. Diet., s.v. Japan. To black and gloss shoes. A low phrase.

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, 171. With Courtier-like bowing the shoe-cleaners call, And offer their Brush, Stool and shining Blackball : 'Japanning, your Honour', these Colourists plan ; And, really, some Honours may want a japan.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xviii. He applied himself to a process which Mr. Dawkins designated as

japanning his trotter-cases. The phrase, rendered into plain English, signifieth cleaning his boots.

Japanese Knife-trick, subs. phr. (common).—Eating with one's knife.

Jappers. See Jabers.

Jape, verb. (old).—To copulate. Formerly (Chaucer)= to trifle ; to scoff. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1510. Hycke Scorner [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), i. 171]. Nay, brother, lay hand on him soon ; For he japed my wife, and made me cuckold.

1530. Palsgrave. I iAPEawench, i.e. fout and ie bistocque, it is better to iape a wench than to do worse.

1540. Lyndsay, Thrie Estaitis, in Works (1879), ii. 23. line 324. There is ane hundred heir sittand by That luiffis geaping als weill as I.

c.1550. A. Scott, Poems (1821), p. 26. Sum gois so gymp in gyis Or sehe war kissit plane, Sehe leir be japit thryis.

1568. Bannatyne MSS. [Hunterian Club Rept. vi. 764]. ' The Vse of Court.' His wyfe jaippit, his siller spendit.

1572. Gascoigne, Counccll . . . to Master. . . . Withipoll (Chalmers, ii. 533). First, in thy journey jape not overmuch.

1589. Puttenham. Art of Eng. Poesie, B. iii, ch. 22. Such wordes as may be drawen to a foule and unshamefast sense, as one that should say to a young woman, I pray you let me jape with you, which is indeed no more than let me sport with you. . . . For it may be taken in another perverser sense.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, Fottere, to jaipe, etc.

£.1600. Grim the Collier etc. [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), viii. 389]. Heard you not never how an actor's wife, Whom he (fond fool) lov'd dearly as his life, Coming in's way did chance to get a jape.

1602. Speght, in Wks. of Chaucer. 'Hard Words of Chaucer Explained', s.v.

Jargonelle. 39 Jarvey.

Jargonelle, subs, (venery).—The penis. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

Jargoozle, verb, (common).—To mislead; to lead astray; to

bamboozle (u.V.).

Jark, subs.(Old Cant.).— i.-SV^quot. It. tirella. Also jack.

1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65. A jarke, a seal.

1608. Dekker, Belman of London, in Wks (Grosart, iii, 102). Which license they (beggars) call a gybe, and the Seales to it, jarkes.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew,%.v.

1724. E. Coles, Eng. Diet., s.v.

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

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.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

2. (common).—A watch. For synonyms see Ticker.

3. (Oxford University and general).—A safe-conduct pass; a jasker {q.v.),

1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, xxix. Stay, gentlemen, .... this is a jark from Jim Radcliffe.

To jark it, verb. phr. (old). —To run away. For synonyms see Amputate and Skedaddle. —Bee (1823).

Jarkman, subs. (Old Cant).—A begging-letter writer: a fabricator of false characters, counterfeitpasses, and certificates.

1567. Harman, Caveat, p. 60. For as much as these two names, a Iarkeman and a Patrico, bée in the old briefe of vacabonds, and set forth as two kyndes of euil doers, you shall vnderstande that a Iarkeman hathe his name of a larke, which is a seale in

their Language, as one should make writinges and set seales for lycences and pasporte.

1608. Dekker, Belman of London, sig. C. 3, (ed. 1608). There [are] some in this Schoole of Beggers that practise writing and reading, and those are called jarkmen [old ed. jackmen] : yea, the jarkman is so cunning sometimes that he can speake Latine ; which learning of his lifts him vp to aduancement for by that means he becomes Clarke of their Hall, and his office is to make counterfeit licenses, which are called gybes, and to which he puts Seales, and those are termed jarkes.

1622. Beaumont & Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, ii, i. And then, what name or title e'er they bear, jarkman or Patrico.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew,s.v.

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

1834. Ainsworth, Bookwood, iii, 5. No jarkman, be he high or low.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jarrehoe, subs. (Wellington College).—A man-servant. Cf. Gyp and Scout.

Jarvel, subs. (old).—A jacket.

Jarvey (or JarviS), subs, (old: now recognised).— 1. A hackney coachman.

1811. Lex. Bal., Jarvis, s.v.

1819. De Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Jervis.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Jarvy.

1835. Beuler, The Devil and the Hackney Coachmatt. 'Jarvie ! jarvie ! ' 'Here I am your honor'.

1837. Carlyle, French Revolution, II, iv. 3. The glass coachman waits, and in what mood ! A brother jarvie drives up ; enters into conversation ; is answered cheerfully in jarvie dialect etc.

1845. Disraeli, Sybil, V, vii. I pity them ere jarvies a sitting on their boxes all the night and waiting for the nobs what is dancing.

Jasey. 4°

1851-61. Mayhew, Loudon Lab. andLond. Poor, iii, 360. He didn't take the corners or the crossings careful enough for a regular jarvey.

1882. Serj. Ballantine, Experiences, ch. ii, p. 19 (6th ed.). The driver [of a hackney-coach] was called a jarvey, a compliment paid to the class in consequence of one of them named Jarvis having been hanged.

1883. Daily Telegraph, 16 Dec. The assembled Londoners placed more faith in the real four-wheeler, the grey horse, and the loquacious jarvey.

2. (old).—A hackney coach.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, 11. 4. A rattler .... is a nimbler, otherwise a jarvey .... better known perhaps by the name of a hack.

1835. T. Hook, Gilbert Gurney, iii. i. I stepped into the litter, . ... at the bottom of the jarvy.

1838. Glascock, Land Sharks & Sea Gulls, i, 203. And now .... was Waddy seen to enter a jarvey, and to drive from the Temple Court.

1865. G. F. Berkeley, My Life, i. 275. Dan McKinnon slipped through the windows of the first, and so on out of the others till the whole string of jarvies were bumping in procession to the destination, having no one in them.

Jasey (or Jazey), subs. (old).— i. A worsted wig. Cove with a jazey = judge.

1789. Parker, Life's Painter, 172. Wig, jasey.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1837. Barham, Ingo Idsby Legends, 'Jerry Jarvis's Wig '. With an infrenzied grasp he tore the jasey from his head. Ibid. 'The Coronation'. All jools from his jasey to his di'mond boots.

1841. Punch, i. 208. If you only see his big cock'd hat, Stuck up on the top of his jazy.

1842. Lever, Jack Hinton, iii. The head would have been bald but for a scanty wig, technically called a jasy, which shrunk by time, merely occupied the apex of the scalp.

1869. Thackeray, Lyra Hibernica, ' Molony's Lament.' When spring

with its buds and its dasies, Comes out in her beauty and bloom, Them tu'll never think of new jasies.

1895. Sporting Tunes, No. 1653, p. 9. There is nothing to he ashamed of in wearing a jasey.

2. (American thieves').—A man with an enormous quantity of hair upon his head and face. —Matsell (1859).

Jasker, subs. (American thieves'). A seal.—Matsell (1859). Cf. Jark.

Jason's Fleece, subs. phr. (Old Cant.).—A citizen cheated of his gold.—B. E. (1690); Grose

(1785).

Jauni, verb, (thieves').—To discover.

1821. Haggart, Life, 57. McBcan . . . . jaum'd a scout on the chimneypiece.

Jaw, fa.(vulgar).—Abuse ; chatter; impudence; any sort of talk. Hold (or stow) your jaw = hold your tongue. All jaw, like a sheep's head = nothing but talk.

English synonyms. Chinmusic ; gab (or gob) ; lingo ; lip lobs; patter; snaffle.

French synonyms. Le debérage (popular) ; une coup de gaffe (general) ; la jactance (thieves') ; la jappe (popular) ; le jas pin (thieves').

Italian synonyms. Canzona?ne?ito ; contrapunto (= counterpoint).

Spanish synonyms. Champar r ado ; chaptirrado ; dichido.

1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, iii. 'None of your jaw, you swab'. . . . replied my uncle.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, xxxii. Desiring him to do his duty without farther jaw.

Jaw.

4¹ Jawbreaker.

1753. Foote, Englishman in Paris (1783), 15. Hold your jaw, and despatch !

1771. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, p. 47. O my love, though I cannot well jaw.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jaw, speech, discourse.

1825. Todd, Eng. Diet., s.v. Jaw. In low language, gross abuse.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, xvi. Hand me the brandy and cease your jaw.

1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge, 256. Bring the felt, you spalpeen, and no jaw.

1852. H. B. Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, viii. ' Stop that ar jaw o' yourn, there ' said Tom gruffly.

1859. H. Kingsley, Geoffrey Hamlyn, xxvi. Stop your jaw about him!

1874. E. Lynn Linton, Patricia Kemball, xxi. ' Dora, I and my father have had a jaw', Sydney began.

1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, 41. He's all jaw like a sheep's head.

1883. Daily Telegraph, 5 Jan. 2. 2. He had audibly expressed his disgust that some fellows should have all the jaw to themselves.

1883. Clark Russell, Sailor's Language, s.v. Jaw.

1892. S. Watson, Wops the Waif, i. I'll hev yer run in ... . if yer don't hold yer jaw.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 68. These stuckuppy snipsters as jaw about quiet and peace.

Verb, (vulgar).—To chatter; to abuse ; to use violent language. Fr. faire péter son grelot or jouer du ?nirliton.

1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, xxiv. They jawed together fore-and-aft a good spell.

1760-61. Smollett, Sir L. Graves, Bk. II. i. You might give good words, however : an we once fall a-jAwiNG, d'ye see, I can heave out as much bilgewater as another.

1825. Todd (Johnson, Eng. Diet. s.v. Jaw. In low language, to abuse grossly.

1843. Thackeray, Irish Sketch Book, ii. Why should four waiters s tand and jaw, and gesticulate among themselves, instead of waiting on the guests ?

1862. Lowell, Biglow Papers, ii. p. 61. But, neighbour, ef they prove their claim at law, The best way is to settle, an' not jaw.

1883. Daily Telegraph, 8 Feb., p. 3, col. i. If I was to jaw till a blue moon, I couldn't tell you more about her.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 8 Dec. She'll lick both of us and jaw father all the evening.

TO jaw on the TOBY (or drum) verb. phr. (tramps').— To go on the road.

Jawbation, stibs. (old).—i. A general confab {q.v.) ; a jawingmatch. See Jobation.

2. (colloquial).—A scolding. Jawbone, stibs.(American).—Credit;

day (q.V.). TO call one's jawbone = to live on credit, or run one's face (q.V.).

English synonyms. To run one's face ; to get a light ; to give (or strike) on the mace ; to mace it; to get on sock (or, on the nod), to go tick.

French synonyms. Avoir l'arche; avoir l'ardoise (= to chalk it up) ; le crôme or croume (tramps') ; grésillonner (— to ask credit); avoir l'œil (general); la symbole.

1862. Times, 21 Oct. (San Francisco correspondent). Individuals, who, in digger's parlance, live on jawbone.

Jawbreaker (or Jawtwisterj subs. (common).— 1. A hard or manysyllabled word. Jawbreaking = difficult.

Jaw-cove.

Jeames.

1839. Lever, Harry Lorrequer, xx. I'd rather hear the Cruiskeen Lawn. ... as my old friend. . . . could sing [it] than a score of your high Dutch jawbreakers.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., i. 27. 'I can't tumble to that barrikin', said a young fellow ; ' it's a jawbreaker.'

1872. Chambers' Miscellany, No. 152, p. 2. The most jawbreaking polysyllables were cleared in a flying gallop.

1883. Illustrated London News, 8 Dec, p. 551, col. i. Such tedious talk, such sledge-hammer humour, and jaw-cracking jokes.

2. (pugilists').—A hard punch on the whisker.

Jaw-cove, subs. (Americanthieves'). — i. An auctioneer; and (2) a lawyer.—Matsell (1859).

Jawhawk, verb. (American).—To abuse; to vilify; to jaw {q.v.).

1890. Scribner's Magazine,'-ç. 242. ' He'd ev shot him, if he hadn't skedaddled.' 'Well, sir! What fur?' ' Oh, jest jawhawkin' a Yank and burnin' his heouse down.'

Jawing(or Jaw-) tackle, subs. (nautical).—The organs of speech. To have one's jawing tacks

aboard (or to cast-off one's

jaw-tackle) = to talk fluently. —Clark Russell, jawingmatch = wordy warfare.

1859. C. Reade, Love me Little, xxii. Ah! Eve, my girl, your jawingtackle is too well hung.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, xviii. Chap 6 proves from the jawing-match and set-to etc.

Jaw-smith, subs, (colloquial).—An orator; also a loud-mouthed demagogue. [Originally an official 'orator' or 'instructor' of the Knights of Labor—St. Louis Globe Democrat, 1886].

Jay (or J), subs, (common).— 1. A simpleton. For synonyms see Buffle and Cabbage-head.

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 21 Sept., p. 3, col. i. The amateur gamblers— youths of sixteen or seventeen, and flats or jays—are the chief patrons of faro.

1890. Punch, 22 Feb. She must be a fair j as a mater.

TO play (or scalp) one for (or to flap) A jay, verb. phr. (common).—To dupe ; to swindle. See Flap. Fr. rotder dans la farine.

1890. Gunter, Miss Nobody, p. 25. Telling in broken English how he scalped the Eastern jay.

2. (old).—A wanton. It. putta.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, iii, 3. Go to, then ;—we'll use this unwholesome humidity, this gross watry pumpion ;—we'll teach him to know turtles from jays !

1605. Shakspeare, Cymbeline, iii, 4. Some jay of Italy, Whose mother was her painting, hath betray'd him.

3. (theatrical).—An amateur; a poor actor.

Jayhawker, subs, (political American).—A freebooter; a guerilla: specifically a marauder during the Kansas troubles and since extended to all bandits.

1887. G. W. Cable, Century, xxxiii, 360. He and his father are catching the horses of the dead and dying jay-hawkers.

Jeames, subs, (common).— 1. A footman; a flunkey.

1845-6. Thackeray, Jeames' Diary. [Title].

1857. Thackeray, Virginians, xxxvi. That noble old race of footmen is well nigh gone .... and Uncas with his tomahawk and eagle's plume, and jeames with his cocked hat and long cane, are passing out of the world where they once walked in glory.

Jeff, 43 Jelly-bag.

1876. J. Grant, One of the Six Hundred, xv. Where, doubtless, she and her family would be on a Sunday, in their luxuriously-cushioned pew, attended by a tall jeames in plush, carrying a great Bible, a nosegay, and gold headed cane.

1891. Licensed Victuallers' Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 6, col. 3. The Jeameses and Allplushes who frequent that part of the town.

1892. Tit Bits, 19 Mar, p. 421, col. i. Mutton-chop whiskers . . . . are now little seen, save on the physiognomy of jeames Yellowplush.

2. (obsolete).— The Morning Post newspaper.

Jeff, subs, (circus).—A rope.

1854. Dickens, Hard Times, vi. Tight-jeff or Slack-jeff, it don't much signify ; it's only tight-rope and slack-rope.

Verb. (American printers').— To gamble with ' quads', as with dice.

1888. American Humorist. He never set any type except in the rush of the last day, and then he would smouch all the poetry, and leave the rest to jeff for the solid takes.

Jeffy, subs. (American thieves').— Lightning.—Matsell (1859).

In a jeffey. See Jiffey. Jegger.—See Jigger.

Jehu, subs, (common).—A coachman; a driver. [From 2 Kings ix, 20].

1660. J. Crouch, Return ofChas. II, p. 9. Now the restored Rump, jehulike, drives on.

1681. Dryden, The Medal, 119. But this new jehu spurs the hot mouthed horse.

1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, iii. 10. Our jehu was a hackny coachman, when my Lord took him.

1759. Goldsmith, The Bee, No. 5, p. 388 (Globe ed.). Our figure now began to expostulate: he assured the

coachman, that though his baggage seemed so bulky, it was perfectly light .... But jehu was inflexible.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Jehu.

1841. Macaulay, Comic Dramatists of the Reformation [quoted in Century], A pious man .... may call a keen foxhunter a Nimrod .... and Cowper's friend, Newton, would speak of a neighbour who was given to driving as jehu.

1846-8. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, vii. The worthy Baronet whom he drove to the city did not give him one single penny more than his fare. It was in vain that Jehu appealed and stormed.

1855. Lady Holland, Sidney Smith, vi. She soon .... raised my wages, and considered me an excellent jehu.

1860. Punch, iii. 177. The jehus who drive.

1889. Daily Telegraph, 5 Jan. For some time past the jehus of Paris have betrayed a lamentable ignorance of metropolitan topography.

Jelly, stibs. (common).— 1. A buxom, good-looking girl: also all jelly. Cf. Scots jelly, = excellent or worthy.—'A jelly man well worthy of a crown '.— Shirrefs, Poems, (1790) p. 33.

d.1158. Ramsay, To Lieutenant Hamilton, in Whs., iii. 47. A jelly sum to carry on A fishery's designed.

2. (venery).—The seminal fluid. For synonyms see Cream.

1622. Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, iii. i. Give her cold jelly To take up her belly, And once a day swinge her again.

d.l&31. Donne, Progress of the Soul, st. xxiii. A female fish's sandy roe With the male's jelly newly leaven'd was.

Jelly-bag, subs, (venery).— 1. The scrotum. For synonyms^purse.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable,

Jelly-belly. 44 Jemmy.

Jelly-belly, subs, (common).—A fat man or woman ; a fortyguts {q.v.).

Jem, subs. (Old Cant.).—A gold ring : rum-gem = a diamond ring.

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

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jemima, jz^j.(common).—A chamber-pot; a urinal {q.v.). For synonyms see It.

Jeminy! (or O Jeminy»), intj. (common).—See Gemini.

1686. Durfey, Commonwealth of Women, Epil. On jemminy ! what is the cause of that ?

1880. Besant and Rice, Seamy Side, xxii. 'Oh, jeminy!' says the judge— crafty old man, that!—'here's artfulness ! '

Jemminess. See Jemmy.

Jemmy (or Jimmy), subs, (common). — i. A short crowbar, usually made in sections screwing together, used by housebreakers. Also James {q.v.).

English synonyms. Bess ; betty ; crow ; dog; Jack-in-the-box; James ; jilt ; lord-mayor ; persuading plate; pig's-foot; the stick; screw (also a skeleton key) ; tivvill; twist; twirl.

French synonyms. Les agobilles (thieves' = house-breaking tools) ; les alênes (pop : = shoemakers' awls) ; I'avant-courier (thieves'); le bataclan {= the kit) ; le cadet (thieves') ; P enfant ; Jacques {= jemmy); sucre de J>om?ne (thieves'); le biribi; le rigolo ; les halènes (see alênes, ante) ;

le monseigneur {Cf. Lord Mayor); les outils {— tools).

Spanish synonyms. Culebra (= adder).

1752. Adventurer, No. 100. And when I went out, carried in my hand a little switch, which, as it has been long appendent to the character that I had just assumed, has taken the same name, and is called a jemmy.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Jemmy. A crow. This instrument is much used by housebreakers. Sometimes called jemmy rook.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Tzvist, xx. She presently returned with a pot of porter and a dish of shecps' heads : which gave occasion to several pleasant witticisms on the part of Mr. Sikes, founded upon the singular coincidence of jemmies, being a cant name, common to them, and also to an ingenious implement much used in his profession.

1837. Barham, lugoldsby Legends (Nell Cook), They call for crowbars— jemmies is the modern name they bear.

1851. H. Mayhew, Loti. Lab. and Lon. Poor, iv, 339. Expert burglars are generally equipped with good tools. They have a jemmy, a cutter, a dozen of betties, better known as picklocks.

1888. Saturday Review, 15 Dec, p. 719. One side of slang was illustrated by the burglar Casey in a well-known case of robbery in the City some years ago, who explained in Court that the big jemmy with which iron shutters were prised open was called the ' Alderman,' adding, ' it would never do to be talking about crowbars in the street.'

1890. Daily Graphic, 7 Jan., p. 14, col. 4. He saw the prisoner leaving, and he detained him until a constable arrived. A jemmy was found in the back yard.

1890. Standard, 7 Ap., p. 6, col. 3. During the chase the Prisoner threw away a jemmy, a lantern, and a key.

1892. Globe, 10 May, p. 2, col. 1. Opening a front door with. . . . a jemmy.

1894. Westminster Gazette, 31 March, 5, 2. Police constable Skeggs said there were marks of a jemmy on the window and the front door.

Jemmy. 45 Jemmy Jessamy.

2. (common).—See quots; cf. Sanguinary James and Bloody jemmy.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Jemmy (bloody)—a sheep's head ; so called from a great dealer in these delicious morceaux.

1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 41. The man in the shop, perhaps, is in the baked jemmy line.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Tzvist, xx. [See ante, sense i, quot. 1837].

1843. Moncrieff, Scamps of London, ii. I shall stand a jemmy and sauce at Mother White's.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. &c. ii, 48. They clubbed together for a good supper of tripe, or had a ' prime hot jemmy ' apiece.

1884. Henley & Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, iv, 1. You're all jaw like a sheep's jimmy.

3. (common).—A shooting coat; also a great coat.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick ch. ii. Your friend in the green jemmy.

4. (common).—A term of contempt. All jimmy = all rot.

Adj. (common).— 1. Spruce; dandified. Jemminess = spruceness; neatness.

1754. Connoisseur, No. 19. The jemmy attorney's clerk, — the prim curate.

1767. Gentleman's Mag., Sept. A cute man is an abbreviation of acute .... and signifies a person that is sharp, clever, neat, or, to use a more modern term, jemmy.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jemmy-fellow

1800. Whiter, Etym. Magn., p. 359. To this race of words I must refer our vulgar term jemmy.

1788. G. A. Stevens, Adv. of a Speculist, vol. i. p. 11. He .... once was as smart a fellow as ever stood toast-master, dressed as jemmy .... as e'er a commoner in all England.

</.1800. Pegge [quoted by Todd]. Perhaps the new word jemmy should be

GlMMY.

1825. Todd, Eng. Diet. s.v. Jemmy, spruce. A low word.

1840. Chambers, Land of Burns, Div. N. I must tell you that Burns had got a pair of jemmy boots for the journey.

2. (common).—A term of contempt. See subs., sense 4.

Jemmy Ducks, subs. phr. (nautical). —The ship's poulterer ; also Billy Ducks.

1880. Harwood, [U. S. N.] Mess Table Chat. As to chanticleer, the keeper of the live-stock, Jemmy Ducks, had long ceased to regard him as worthy of his solicitude.

1883. Clark Russell, Sailors' Language, s.v.

Jemmy Jessamy, subs. phr. (old). —A dandy. For synonyms see Dandy. Also as adj.

1753. Adventurer, No. 100. The scale, however, consists of eight degrees ; Greenhorn, jemmy, jessamy, Smart, Honest Fellow, Joyous Spirit, Buck, and Blood.

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, 139. Macaronies so neat, Pert jemmies so sweet, With all their effeminate brood.

1788. G. A. Stevens, Adv. of a Speculist, i. 24. With ladies when jemmys and jessamys mix.

1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, xiii, 180. This was very different language to that she had been in the habit of hearing from her jemmy jessamy adorers.

1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, i. 19. My dear young lady readers may know .... what a courage and undaunted passion he had. I question whether any of the jemmy-jessamines of the present day would do half as much in the face of danger.

Jemmy and Jessamy; subs, phr. (American).—A pair of lovers.—Maitland.

Jemmy-john. 4⁶

Jericho.

Jemmy-john, suds, (common).—A demijohn.

1861. Marsh, Lectures on the English Language, (q. v. for Etymology from Damaghan a town in Khorassan, once famons for its glass works).

1873. T. B. Aldrich, Marjorie Daw Sic. p. 76 (Tauchnitz). 'A gill o' wather out of a jimmy-john 'd fuddle him, mum.'

Jemmy O'GOBlin, subs. phr. (theatrical).—A sovereign. For synonyms see Canary.

Jenkins' Hen. To die like

Jenkins' hen, verb.phr. (Scots').

— To die unmarried.

1805. A. Scott, Poems, 'The Old Maid', p. 87. I ance had sweethearts nine or ten, And dearly dawted wi' the

men.....But Oh ! the death of

Jenkins' hen, I shudder at it.

Jenny, subs, (colloquial).— 1. A she-ass.

2. (thieves').—A small crowbar; formerly betty or bess (q.v.): also a hook on the end of a stick.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Jenny, an instrument to lift up a grate, and whip anything out of a shop window.

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

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

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

3. (billiards').—A losing hazard into the middle pocket off a ball an inch or two from the side cushion.

4. (popular).—A hot water bottle.

Jennylinda, subs, (rhyming).—A window.

Jeremy Diddler, subs.phr. (common).—A shark {q.v.) ; a shabby swindling borrower.

1803. Kenney, Raising the Wind. [Among the Dramatis Personoe, is

jeremy diddler].

1840. Lytton, Money, iv. 5. Blount. And he borrowed £joo of me ! Gloss. And £600 of me! Sir John. And £500 of me! Stout. Oh! a regular

jeremy diddler !

1843. Thackeray, Irish Sketch Booh, xiii. As for trade, there seemed to be none : a great jeremy-diddler kind of hotel stood hard by, swaggering and out-at-elbows.

1857. Thackeray, Virginians, xxxi. Poor jeremy diddler calls about eleven o'clock for another half-sovereign.

1895. St. James's Gazette, 15 June, p. 13. Your deeply obliged, jeremydiddler.

Jericho, subs. (old).— i. A place of concealment or banishment ; latterly and specifically, a prison : e.g. as in phr. GO TOjERlCHO = Go to the devil. [Generically, a place of retirement, cf. 2 Sam. x : 4 and 5].

1635. Heywood, Hierarchie, iv. p. 208. Bid such young boyes to stay in Jericho Untill their beards were growne, their wits more staid.

1648. Mercurius Aulicus quoted in Athenœum. Nov. 14. 1874, p. 645. Let them all goe to Jericho, And n'ere be seen againe.

1758. A.Murphy, The Upholsterer, ii. He may go to Jericho for what I cares.

1775. D'Arblay, Diary (1876), Vol. i. p. 167. I should wish all my new friends at Jericho.

1857. Thackeray, Virginians,n\n. ' She may go to Tunbridge, or she may go to Bath, or she may go to Jericho for me.'

2. (common).—A watercloset. . For synonyms see Mrs. Jones.

3. (Oxforduniversity).—Alow quarter of Oxlbrd.

Jerk. 47 Jerker.

1853. Rev. E. Bradley, [' Cuthbert Bede'], Verdant Green, p. II. ch. iii. It was darkly whispered that the purlieus of Jericho would send forth champions to the fight.

From Jericho to June, phr. (common).—A long distance.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. His kick was, tremendous .... he would send a man from Jericho to June.

Jerk, subs, (common).—i. In pi. = delirium tremens. For synonyms see Gallon-distemper.

2. in pi. (American).—Religious paroxysm.

1874. E. Eggleston, Circuit Rider, xii. These Methodis' sets people crazy with the jerks.

3. (old).—A retort; a jest; a quirk.

1653. Brome, Mad Couple well matched [in Five Newe Playes], p. 13. I charge }'ou meddle not with my wife : you have had two or three jerks at her.

4. (old).—A stripe ; a lash with a whip. Hence jerking (or yerking), adj. = lashing; stinging ; jerk, verb., = to lash ; and to cly the jerk (Old Cant) = to be whipped at the post.

1557-8. Jacob and Esau [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874). ii. 194]. Come on, ye must have three jerks for the nonce.

1597. Hall, Satires, ii. 6. He must ask his mother to define, How many jerkes she would his breech should line.

1598. Marston, Satyres, iii. Ne'er yerking him with my satyric whip.

1609. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candlelight (Grosart, Whs.), iii. 203, If we heave a Booth we straight cly the jerk.

1653. Brome, The Damoiselle, in Wks (1872), ii. 448. I' faith she jerked that humour out of me.

5. (various).— A common verb of action, especially if rapid.

[Some conbinations are : To jerk the cat = to vomit; to jerk the tinkler = to ring the bell; to jerk one's juice or jelly (also to jerk off) = to masturbate ; to jerk chinmusic = to talk ; to jerk a poem, article or book = to write ; to jerk a gybe = to counterfeit a license ; jerked, or jerked to Jesus (American) = hanged ; in a jerk — instantly; Dr. Jerk — flogging schoolmaster.

1622. Head & Kirkman, English Rogue. A Jybe well jerked.

1651. On Dr. Gill, Master of St. Paul's School. In Paul's Churchyard in London, There dwells a noble Ferker. Take heed, you that passe, Lest you taste of his Lash, For I have found him a jerker.

1752. Foot e, Taste (ij%i). The child has been two years and three quarters at school with Dr. Jerk near Doncaster.

1755. Johnson, Eng. Diet., s.v. Jerk. To strike up ; to accost eagerly. . . . is mere cant.

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, 161. Put wine into wounds You'll be cured in a jerk.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist. Jerk the tinkler .... These words in plain English conveyed an injunction to ring the bell.

1872. S. L. Clemens ('Mark Twain'), Roughing It, p. 332. The thing I'm now on is to roust out somebody to jerk a little chin-music for us.

Jerker, subs, (common).— i. A tippler. For synonyms see Lushington.

2. (common).—A chamberpot. For synonyms see It.

3. (nautical).—A steward.

4. (streets').—A prostitute. For synonyms see Barrack-hack and Tart. [See quot., but possibly, also, from jerk off = to masturbate].

1887. Walford, Antiquarian, p. 252. A jerker is a loose woman of the streets, and possibly comes from 'jerk' to accost eagerly.

Jerkey. 4⁸ Jerry cummumble.

J er key, subs. (American).—A roughly-made vehicle; a boneshaker {q.v.).

Jeroboam, subs, (common).— i.A four-fold measure of wine; a doublemagnum {q.v.); one especially apt to 'cause Israel to sin' \_See i Kings, xi. 28]. Also a large bowl or goblet.

1880. H. S. Cumings, (quoted in Century). The corporation of Ludlow formerly possessed a jeroboam which was used as a. . . . loving cup.

2. See Jerry sense 1.

Jerran, adv. (Australian).—Concerned.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, chap. 41. When I saw the mob there was I didn't see so much to be jerran about.

Jerry, subs, (common).—1. A chamber-pot ; a jéroboam. For synonyms see It.

2. (old).—A hat: formerly Tom & Jerry hat {q.v.)-, a hard, round hat; a pot-hat.

1841. Punch, i. 98. 2. Displaying to the greatest advantage those unassuming castors designated Jerrys.

1864. Le Fanu, Uncle Silas, viii. A rather fat and flashily equipped young man, with large, light whiskers, a jerry hat, green cutaway coat.

3. (printers').—A celebration of the completion of indentures. Fr. un roulance.

4. (thieves').—A watch. For synonyms see Ticker. Fr. une babillarde.

1889. Richardson, Police, p. 321.

.v.

5. (thieves').—A fog, or mist. —De Vaux (1819).

Adj. (common).—As an adjectival prefix Jerry is frequently used in contempt: e.g. jerry

go-nimble, jerry-shop, jerrybuilder (all which and others see). [An abbreviation of Jeremiah: perhaps a Restoration jibe upon the Puritan use of Old Testament names ; but see Jerrybuilder].

Verb, (common).—To jibe; to chaff with malice.

Jerry-builder, subs, (common).— A rascally speculating builder. Jerry-built, adj. — run up in the worst materials. [The use of the term arose in Liverpool circa 1830].

1883. Daily Telegraph, 23 Mar., p. 6 .col. i. But the jerry builder is a man of enterprise and energy, and promptly showed himself equal to the occasion. Ibid, Ap. 5, p. 2, col. 1. ' Houses, of the jerry-built sort especially, when the builders have a difficulty in raising money to finish 'em, are singularly liable to catch fire.'

1884. Pall Mall Gazette, 15 Feb., Two lumps of plaster, fall from the roof of the jerry-built palace ; then the curse begins to work.

1889. Ally Sloped s Half-Holiday, 3 Aug., p. 242, col. 3. 'Well, sir,'said a jerry builder, 'I don't think as 'ow it's right on you to be a-runnin ' the house down as you do.'

1889. Daily Chronicle, is. Feb. The vestries and district local boards, in fact, have been dominated too much by jerry-builders and house-jobbers.

1891. Sportsman, 21 April, p. 2, col. i. She lives in a jerry-built house.

1891. J. Newman, ScampingTricks, 119. It was in the days when every jerry-builder thought he was a railway and dock contractor.

1893. St. James's Gazette, 2 Nov., p. 4, col. 2. All this loss of life and all this fearful suffering are to be laid at the door of scamping jerry-builders or of careless employers.

Jerrycummumble, verb.(old).—To shake ; to tumble about ; to towzle. —Grose (1785).

Jerry-getting. 49 Jerusalem.

Jerry-getting (or nicking, or stealing).—Stealing watches.

1883. Tit-Bits, 17 Nov. Watch stealing, or jerry getting, as the thieving fraternity designate the operation, is carried on to a considerable extent all the year round.

Jerry-go-nimble, subs. (old).—I. The diarrhoea; the back-doortrot (q.v.)\ the collywobbles (q.v.). Formerly thorough-GOnimble (q.v. for synonyms).

1734. Carey, Chrononhotonthologos, sc. 3. Now. . . . for a swingeing lye.... Say she has got the thorough-go-nimble.

2. (old.)—An antic; a jackpudding (q.v.).

1884. Henley & Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, iii, 3. You're a man of parts, you are, you're solid, you're a true-born Englishman ; you ain't a jerry-GOnimble like him.

Jerry Lynch, subs, (common)— A pickled pig's-head.

Jerrymander, subs, (political).— See Gerrymander and add following quots.

1871. Pall Mall Gazette, 4 Mar. Wonderful adepts in the art of jerrymandering.

1872. Globe, 19 July. Jerrymandering is not to be numbered with the other novelties imported into our political system from America.

1883. Echo, 7 Dec, p. 1, col. 5. The Marquis of Salisbury, in a recent speech, attributed the origin of what he called jerrymandering to an individual called Jeremiah Manders. This is a fair example of the Marquis's accuracy, neither one nor the other of these names being correct.

1883. H. Fawcett, in Daily News, Nov. 9, p. 3, col. 2. If equal electoral districts were introduced, the success of political parties would mainly depend on skilfully manipulating, from time to time, the boundaries of boroughs. This is so well known in the United States that VOL. IV.

this manipulation has been elevated into a fine art, and is known there as jerrymandering.

Jerry-shop, subs. (old).—A beerhouse. Also Jerry.

1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. &* Lon. Poor, ii. p. 255. An advance of 5/made to him by the keeper of a beer-shop, or, as he called it, a jerry.

Jerry-sneak, subs. (old).—i. See quot. 1763, the origin of the phrase.

1763. Foote, Mayor of Garrett, Dramatis Personae. Jerry sneak, a henpecked husband.

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, 177. He is always at home Sir John Brute to his wife, Abroad, Jerry-sneak to his drab.

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

1821. Combe, Syntax, Wife, C. I. I know, my friend, that you inherit A portion large of manly spirit. That you would ne'er be brought to speak In humble tone of Jerry sneak.

1845. Surtees, Hillingdon Hall, ii. 6 (1888). A poor, little, henpecked, Terry sneak of a husband.

1830. John Toole, Turning The Tables, sc. iii. A poor jerry sneak, as they took me to be.

2. (thieves').—A watch thief. Cf. Jerry.

Jerry-wag, subs. (old).—A spreester (q.v.) especially one half drunk.—Bee (1823). Jerry-wagshop = coffee shop.

Jersey-Lightning, subs. (American).—Cider brandy.

1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 415. Known .... in the pretentious form of Apple-john in New England it has the terrible name of Jersey lightning farther south.

Jerusalem! intj. (common).—An exclamation of surprise. Go to Jerusalem ! = go to Jericho (q.v.).

Jerusalem-pony. 5° Jet.

Jerusalem the golden, subs, phr. (common).—Brighton; Cf. Holy of Holies.

J eruSalem-pony, stibs. (common).

— i. An ass.

1842. Punch, iii, p. i68, col. 2. We saw a Jerusalem pony in Clare market yesterday.

1846. Thackeray, Cornhill to Cairo, xv. Here we alighted upon donkeys .... We had a Jerusalem pony* race into Cairo.

If51. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., i. 28. Sometimes a party of two or three will be seen closely examining one of these Jerusalem ponies.

1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, p. 215. The proper thing is to have a real Jerusalem pony, i.e. donkey.

2. (clerical).—A needy clergyman helping for hire. Cf.Guineapig.

Jessamy. See Jemmy Jessamy.

1684. R. Head, Proteus Redivivus, 279. That they may not poison their Jissamy barbers.

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, 190. By terror of parents, or tempted by gain, The lady resigns to some Jessamy swain.

Jesse (or Jessie or Jessy). To

give (or raise) jesse, verb. phr. (American). To rate with vigor; to thrash. For synonyms see Baste and Tan.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 33. Well, hoss, you've slashed the hide off 'er that feller, touched his raw, and rumpled his feathers,—that's the way

tO give him jessy.

1854. Haliburton (Sam Slick), in Bartlett. Allen was giving him particular jesse.

1857. St. Louis Republican (quoted by Bartlett). They all say that the Mormons are going to give us Jessie.

1867. Campaign with General Price, p. 27. Well, gentlemen, I think we have given them very particular Jessie on this field.

Jester, subs. (colloquial).—A general term of banter for a man; a joker (q.v.); a 'nice UN ' {q.v.).

2. (American).—See Joker, sense 2.

Jesuit, .»^.(Cambridge University).

— I. A graduate or undergraduate

of Jesus College. 1771. Smollett, Humphrey Clinker-, To Sir W. Phillips, April 20. 'Direct your next to me at Bath ; and remember me to all our fellow Jesuits.'

1856. Hall, College Words and Phrases, p. 270, s.v.

2. (venery).—A sodomite :

jesuit's fraternity=theWorld

of Sodomy. For synonyms see Usher.

1647-80. Rochester, A Ramble in St.James's Park, in Wks. (1728), 84. The Jesuits' fraternity Shall leave the use of buggery.

To box THE JESUIT, verb, phr. (old). See quot. For synonyms see Frig. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Box the Jesuit .... for masturbation .... A crime it is said much practised by the reverend fathers of that society.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

Jet, subs. (old).—A lawyer. For synonyms see Greenbag. Autemjet = a parson. 1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. 1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. 1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Verb. (old).—To strut ; to walk

pompously. See jetter.

1537. Thersites [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), i. 430]. The Knave that here crewhile did jet.

1562-3. Jack Juggler [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 117]. She simpereth, she pranketh, and jetteth without fail, As a peacock that hath spread and showeth her gay tail.

Jetter. 5¹ Jeivlark.

1594. Look About You [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), vii. 436]. Thus jets my noble Skink along the streets To whom each bonnet vails, and all knees bend.

1602. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, ii. 5. How he jets under his advanced plumes.

1640. Rawlins, The Rebellion, ii. The proudest creatures ; you shall have them jet it with an undaunted boldness.

To jet one's juice, verb. phr. (venery).—To come (q.v.); to experience the sexual spasm.

Jetter, sttbs. (old).—A pompous man ; a strut-noddy (q.v.). See jet, verb.

1510. Hycke Scorner, [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), i. 164]. Brawlers, liars, jetters, and chiders.

1540. Heywood, Four P's[Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), i. 384]. What, should a beggar be a jetter ?

Jew, subs, (colloquial).—1. A cheat ; a hard bargainer ; a sharking usurer.

1659. Brome, The English Moor, in Wks (1873), ii. 45 (Act iii. 1). The best, Sir, I can tell is, the old Jew, Quicksands, hath lost his wife.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v. Jew. . . . He treated me like a Jew, he used me very barbarously.

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

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

Verb, (colloquial).—To drive a hard bargain ; to beat down. Also to cheat.

£".1871. California Flush Ti?nes, [quoted in De Vere] . To Jew, colloquially known in England as meaning to cheat, is here often used in the sense of haggling, bargaining. 'Don't you think the old hunks wanted to jew me down to three thousand dollars?'

1883. M. Twain, Life on the Mississippi, xliii, p. 390. There's one thing in this world which isn't ever cheap. That's a coffin. There's one thing in this world which a person don't ever try to jew you down on. That's a coffin.

Worth a Jew's eye, phr. (colloquial).—Extremely valuable ; 'worth its weight in gold'. [In the Middle Ages the Jews were subject to great extortions, and many stories are related of eyes put out, or teeth drawn, to enforce payment].

1593. G. Harvey, Pierces Super., in Works, ii. 146. Let it euerlastingly be recorded for a souerain Rule, as deare as a Jewes eye.

1598. Shakspeahe, Merchant of Venice, ii. 5. There will come a Christian by W^Till be worth a Jewes eye.

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1838. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 2 S. xxi. • Tho' they are no good to you they are worth a Jew's eye to us, and have 'em we will.'

Jew-bail, subs.(old).—Straw-bail

(q.v.).

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

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

Jew-butter, subs. (American).— Goose-grease.

Jew-fencer, subs, (common).—A Jew street buyer or salesman, generally of stolen goods.

Jewhillikens ! z'tt^'. (American).— A general exclamation of surprise.

£.1872. Country Merchant, p. 221, (quoted by De Vere]. Now they are coming to the rich licks ! jewhillikin !

Jewlark, verb. (American).—To ' fool around ': a' portmanteau' verb of action. [See jew = to delude -flark = irresponsible action].

1851. Hooper, Widow Rugby's Husband, p. 59. Wonder if I'll ketch that rascal Jim Sparks jewlarkin' round Betsy.

Jew's-poker. 5 ² Jibe.

J ews-poker, subs, (common).—

See quot.

1891. Lloyd's Weekly, 17 May, p. 11, col. 4. Deceased used to get her living lighting the Jews' fires on Saturdays. She was what is known as a Jews' poker.

Jezebel, subs, (colloquial).— 1. An objectionable woman ; a termagant or shrew. [From the wife of Ahab.]

1553. Bradford, Writings &c. p. 36 (1853). The papists .... are cast into Jezebel's bed of security.

1601. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, ii. 5. Fie on him, Jezebel.

1677. Butler, Hudibras III, iii, 194. To win the Jezebel.

1711. Spectator, No. 175. My lodgings are directly opposite those of a Jezebel.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, xlvii. 'Lord curse that chattering Jezebel of a landlady, who advised such a preposterous disguise ! '

1771. Smollett, Humphry Clinker, L. 52. They hissed and hooted all the way; and Mrs. Jenkins was all bespattered with dirt, as well as insulted with the opprobrious name of painted Jezebel.

1857. A. Trollope, Barchester Towers, xi.'Mr. Slope,' said Mrs.Proudie, catching the delinquent at the door, ' I am surprised that you should leave my company to attend on such a painted Jkzebel as that.'

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

Jib, subs, (colloquial).—1. The face : the cut of one's jib = the peculiar or characteristic appearance of a person.

1825. Scott, 5"/. Ronan's Well,

i. 22. If she disliked what sailors call the cut of their jib .... none so likely as they to give them what in her country is called a sloan.

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple,

ii. I axes you because I see you're a sailor by the CUT OF YOUR JIB.

1838-40. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 3, S. iv. For I seed by the cut of the feller's jib that he was a preacher.

1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge. A good seaman evidently, by the cut of his jib.

1881. Buchanan, God & the Man, xvi. By the voice of you, by the rigs of you, and by the cut of y'Our precious jib.

1884. Clark Russell, Jack's Courtship, iii. ' My democratic wideawake, and the republican cut of my jib,' said he, looking down at his clothes.

2. (Dublin university).—A

first-year's man.

1841. Lever, Charles O'Malley, xiv. ' There [referring to Trinity College Freshmen] .... are Jibs, whose names are neither known to the proctor nor the police-office.'

3. (vet's.).—A horse given to shying; a jibber.

1851. H. Mayhew, London Lab. &* Lon. Poor, vol. i. p. 189. Frequently young horses that will not work in cabs— such as jibs—are sold to the horseslaughterers as useless.

Verb.(colloquial).— I. To shirk; to funk {q.v.) ; to cut {q.v.).— Lex. Bal. (1811).

2. (common).—To depart; to be off. For synonyms see Amputate and Skedaddle.

To be jibbed, verb. phr. (Christ's Hospital).—To be called over the coals; to get into trouble; to be twigged {q.v.).

Jib-of-jibs, subs, (nautical).— An impossible sail—a star-gazer {q.v.) or sky-scraper {q.v.).

Jibb, subs. (Old Cant).—1. The tongue : hence (2) language ; speech.

Jibber the Kibber. See Kibber.

Jibe, verb. (American).—To agree; to live in harmony ; to jump {q.v.).

Jickajog. 53

ßg

1871. S. Clemens, Screamers, p. 60. The piece you happened to be playing was a little rough on the proprietors, so to speak—didn't seem to jibe with the general gait of the picture that was passing at the time, as it were.

Jickajog, subs. (old).—A commotion; a push.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fayre, Induct. He would ha' made you such a jickajog i' the booths, you should ha' thought an earthquake had been i' the Fair.

1825. Todd, Eng. Did. s.v. Jickajog. ... a cant word.

Jiffy (or Jeffey), subs, (colloquial). —The shortest possible time. Also

JIFF.

1793. T. Scott, Poems, p. 365. Wad aften in a jiffie to auld Nick Sen' ane anither.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Jeffey. It will be done in a jeffey ; it will be done in a short space of time, in an instant.

1812. H. & J. Smith, Rejected Addresses [quoted by Todd], And then shall each Paddy. . . . dispense in a jiffy.

1818. E. Picken, Poems, ii. 47. An' in a jiffin Row'd his fecket like a clew.

1825. Todd, Eng. Diet., s.v. Jiffey. . . . Now a colloquial word in several parts of England ; and sometimes used in ludicrous writing.

1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 257. It is as clear as mud that we shall be minus your own beautiful self and the boat's crew in a jiffey, not forgetting Benjie there.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Aunt Fanny). It is stain'd, to be sure; but ' grassbleaching ' will bring it To rights in a jiffy.

1842. Mrs. Gore, Fascination, p. 33. The old lady in the brown hood told me that she was going to return here in a jiffy.

1855. Thackeray, Rose the Ring, p. 109. The fact is, that when Captain Hedzoff entered into the court of Snapdragon Castle, and was dicoursing with King Padella, the Lions made

a dash at the open gate, gobbled up the six beef-eaters in a jiffy, and away they went with Rosalba on the back of one of them.

1856. C. Brontë, Professor, iii. ' I see such a fine girl sitting in the corner of the sofa there by her mamma ; see if I don't get her for a partner in a jiffy ! '

1866. Reade, Griffith Gaunt, ch. v. She said one of the gentlemen was strange to her; but the other was Doctor Islip from Stanhope town. She knew him well : he had taken off her own brother's leg in a jiffey.

1870. Orchestra. 15 July. His approach cleared in a jiffey a washerwoman's barge and the Austerlitz bathing establishment.

1888. Rolf Bolderwood, Robbery Under Arms, xxxiv. Out of sight in a jiffy.

1890. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up, p. 178. Come along, mate ; we'll have that five hundred pounds out in a Jiffey.

1892. MiLLiKEN, ' Arry Ballads, 49. Put me at ' ome in a Jiff.

1892. G. Manville Fenn, Witness to the Deed, ii . . . . Back for you in a Jiffy.

Jiffess, subs, (tailors').—An employer's wife.

Jig, subs, (old: now recognised).— I. A dance; gig {q.v.). B. E. (1690).

2. (old).—An antic ; nonsense ;

a game, or lay {q.v.).

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, ii. 2. He's for a JiGG, or a tale of bawdry.

1614. Cook, City Gallant[Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), xi. 268]. But what jig is this ?

1640. Shirley, Coronation, v. 1. Wha* dost think of this innovation ? Is't not a fine jigg.

1641. Brome, Jovial Crew, in Whs (1873), iii. 415. Such tricks and jiGGS you would admire.

1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Fair Maid of the Inn, Prol. A jig shall be clapp'd at, and every rhyme prais'd.

Jig. 54 Jigger.

1690. B. E. Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v.

Jig, a trick.....A pleasant jig = a

witty, arch trick.

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

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

1838. Comic Almanack. And now I'm equipped for my jig, I'll finish my begging petition.

1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 14. I know'd the jig was up.

1857-8. Child, Ballads. They will play thee anither JiGG, For they will out at the big rig.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 29 Dec. He knew the jig was up.

3. (old).—See Jigger.

4. (old).—Short for giglot (q.v.).

1887. Lipp in co It, July, p. 141. Shame on thee to say't, thou bold-faced jig.

5. (Winchester College).—A clever man: fifty years ago it meant a swindler. The word has now the meanings (i) a low joke, (ii) a swindle, (iii) an object of sport. —Notions.

1600. Heywood, 2 EdwardIV. i. 1. There domineering with his drunken crew Makes jigs of us.

1652. Stapylton, Herodion (quoted in Notions). Devising with his mates to find a JiGG, That he thereby might make himself a king.

Verb. (old).— 1. To cheat; to

delude; to impose upon.

1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 268. The animal was jigged, digged and figged.

2. (old). To dance.

1719. Dvrfey, Pills etc, iv. 124.0h! how they do frig it, Jump itandjiGGit, Under the greenwood tree.

Feather-bed (also Buttockand Moll Peatley's) jig, subs, phr. (venery).—Copulation. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Jig by jowl, adv. phr. (old).—

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, v. 293. He with his master, jig by jowl, Unto old Gillian hy'd.

JiG-A-JiG, verb. (American).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Jigamaree, subs. (American).—A bit of chaff ; nonsense or any triviality; a thingumbob (q.v.).

Jigga-joggy, subs. (old).—A jolting motion. Also jig-jog.

1605. Marston, Dutch Courtezan, v. i. I bid myselfe most hartily welcome to your merry nuptials, and wanton JIGGAjoggies.

Jigger, subs. (Old Cant).—1. A door: also Jig, Jegger, and Gyger. Fr. une fendante ; une guimbarde ; une lourde. It. diorta ; introibo ; turlante.

1567. Harman, Caveat[E. E.T.Soc, 1869], p. 85. Dup the gygger, and maund that is bene shyp.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club's Rept. 1874) s.v. gigger, a door.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v.

1724. E. Coles, Eng. Diet., s.v.

1754. Discoveries of John Poulter, 34. Nap my kelp whilst I stall at the jegger.

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

1821. Haggart, Life, p. 83. The outer jigger which opens from the yard.

1839. Ainsworth, J. Sheppard, p. 20. ' Help ! ' ejaculated Wood, renewing his cries. ' Arrest ! ' 'Jigger closed ! ' shouted a hoarse voice in reply.

1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London Laid Open, p. 106. Dub thejiGGER, fasten the door.

1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lond. Poor, i. 342. 'Such men are always left outside the jigger (door) of the houses.'

Jigger.

J&ger.

2. (old).—A doorkeeper; a screw {q.v.) ; a jailor or turnkey : also Jigger-dubber. Fr. duc de guiche. [In Hants = a policeman].

1749. Humours of the Fleet [quoted in Ashton's The Fleet, p. 281.] The Door-keeper, and he who opens shuts the Jigg, is call'd the Jigger.

1781. Parker, View of Society, ii. 69. Jigger-dubber is a term applied to jailors or Turnkeys, Jigger being flash or cant for door.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Jigger-dubber — a jigger is a key, and with the adjunct dubber, means turnkey to a prison.

1828. Smeeton, Doings in London. 'Humours of the Fleet.' Near Fleet's commodious market's miry verge, This celebrated prison stands compact and large, Where, by the jigger's more than magic charm Kept from the power of doing good or harm.

1888. Runciman, The Chequers, 183. One of the jiggers says one thing, and one of them says another thing.

3. (old).—See quot.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Jigger-dubber—a jigger is a key.

4. (old).—A whipping-post. 1708. Hall, Memoirs etc., s.v. 1811. Lex. Bai. s.v.

5. (old).—A secret still. Jiggerstuff = illicitly distilled spirits ; jigger-worker = a vendor of the same. Hence, also, a drink of whiskey.

1823. Bee, Did. of the Turf, s.v. Jigger-dubber .... The jigger is a private still.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond Lab. etc. i. 429. Two, and sometimes three, female lace-sellers are also ' jigger-workers.' They carry about their persons pint bladders of 'stuff,' or 'jigger-stuff' (spirit made at an illicit still). ' I used to supply them with ituntil lately,' one street-trader told me, 'fiom a friend that kept a 'jigger,' anda tidy sale some of them had.

1853. Diogenes, ii. 199. Jigger-gin will kill body and brain faster than arrack punch or Sangaree.

1886. Judy, 4 August, p. 58. He imbibed stupendous quantities of jiggered gin, dog's nose, and Paddy's eye-water.

6. (billiards).—The ⁴ bridge ' or ' rest ' for the cue when a ball is beyond arm's length.

7. (theatrical).—The curtain or rag (q.v.).

8. (military).—A guard-room. Fr. la boite. Also, specifically as in quot.

1882. Fortnightly Review, xxxi. 798. Communicating with the gigger, an interviewing chamber (in Newgate) where felons, on payment, saw their friends.

9. (old).—A fiddlestick. [jigger (or Jig) is also applied to many small mechanical contrivances or handy tools].

10. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

11. (venery).—The pern's. For

synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

12. (old.)—A shifty fellow; a

trickster.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft, in Wks (1725), p. 268. And (Paris) when thou com'st to bedding, Oh how I'll trip it at thy wedding. Nay you're a Jigger we all know ; But if you should deceive me now !

Verb, (common).— 1. A* quot.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 22 Dec. I'll jigger (bet) you 'un knows roots from tree-tops.

2. (colloquial).—To shake; to jerk.

1869. Quarterly Rev.,exxvi. 350. Many is the fish who has jiggered himself free by this method.

Not worth a jigger, phr. (common). —Valueless.

1861. Punch, xl. 145. Thechurcbes here ain't worth a jigger—nor, not half-a-jiGGER.

Jigger-dubber. 5⁶

jut.

Jigger-dubber. See Jigger, sense 2.

Jiggered. To be jiggered! verb, phr. (common).—Used as a mild imprecation ; as Blow it ! (q.v), Bust me ! (q.v.) : also in astonishment.

1860. Dickens, Great Expectations, xvii. 76. 'Well, then', said he, 'I'm jiggered if I don't see you home ! '

1883. Clark Russell, Sailor's Language, s.v.

1884. Daily Telegraph, Feb. 2. p. 3. col. 2. ' We ain't seen the p'liceman since, and jiggered if we want to.'

1886. Burnett, Little LordFauntleroy, ii. 'Well,' said Mr. Hobbs, 'I'll be jiggered ! '

1888. Notes and Queries, 7 S. vi. 322. Lately, I read an article beginning with 'I'm jiggered if I don't love Jane.'

1892. Milliken, ' Arry Ballads, 73. Kerrectness be folly, well jiggered.

Jiggered up, adv.(nautical).—Used up; Exhausted.

1867. Smyth, Sailor's Word Book.

s.v.

1883. Clark Russell, Sailor's Language, s.v. Jiggered.

Jiggery-pokery, subs, (tailors').— Humbug; nonsense.

Jiglets. His Jiglets ! phr. (American).—A contemptuous form of address; his nibs (q.v.).

1888. Boston Globe, 4 March, Ain't his jiglets pretty near ready to see de rat, Jummy.

Jig-water, subs. (American).—Bad whisky ; rot-gut (q.v.). For synonyms see Drinks and Old Man's Milk.

1888. Boston Globe, March 4. A middle-aged countryman had just tottered away from the counter over which jigwater is dispensed.

jiggle, verb, (venery).—To copulate. Hence jiggling-bone = penis. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

Jiggumbob (or Jiggambob), subs. (common).— 1. A knick-knack; a trinket: anything particular,strange, or unknown. Cf. Thingambob.

1640. Brome, Antipodes, iii. 5. Kills Monster after Monster, takes the Puppets Prisoners, knocks downe the Cyclops, tumbles all Our jigumbobs and trinckets to the wall.

1647. Beaumont & Fletcher, Knight of Malta, iv. 1. More jiggambobs : is not this the fellow that sworn like a duck to the shore.

1657. MiDDLETON, Women Beware Women, ii. 2. On with her chain of pearls, her ruby bracelets, lay ready all her tricks and jiggembobs.

1678. Butler, Hudibras, III. i. 108. He rifled all his pokes and fobs Of jimcracks, whims, and jiggumbobs.

2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

1675. Cotton, Scarronides, in Wks (1725), Bk. iv.p. 65. Were I not with my first Honey Half tyr'd as t'were with Matrimony ; I could with this same Youngster tall, Find in my heart to try a fall . . . This only . . . has made my Jiggambob to water.

3. in pi. (venery).—The testicles : for synonyms see Cods.— Grose (1785).

Jill. See gill.

j ill-flirt. See gill-flirt.

Jilt, subs, (old: now recognised).— Specifically, a woman who encourages, or solicits, advances to^ which she designs there shall be no practical end. But see quots. passim. Hence jilted and jilt, verb.

Jilt. 57 Jimjams.

1648-80. Rochester,Bath Intrigues, in Wks. (1728), 87. Thither two beldams and a jilting wife came. Id. The cheating jilt. ... a dry-bob whore.

1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, i. 2. How has he got his jilt here ?

1681. Blount, Glossographia, s.v. Jilt is a new canting word, signifying to deceive and defeat one's expectations, more especially in the point of amours.

1684. R. Head, Proteus Redivivus, 278. I only aimed at the lascivious jilt.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v. Jilt, a tricking whore. Jilted, abused by such a one ; also deceived or defeated in one's expectation, especially in Amours.

1691-2. Gentlemen's Journal, Jan., p. 20. You all know, or have heard at least, what a jilt this same fortune is. Ibid. Feb., p. 11. The lewd conversation of the town-jiLTS.

1691-2. T. Brown, in Gentlemen''s Journal, Mar. p. 10. There dwells not another such jilt in the city.

1696. Congreve, Oroonoko, Epil. She might have learn'd to cuckold, jilt and sham Had Covent Garden been at Surinam.

1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 214. One, Mary Wadsworth, a jilt of the town.

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

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, 129. So here's to the girl who will give one a share ; But as to those jilts who deny, So cursedly coy though they've so much to spare.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Jilt, a tricking woman, who encourages the addresses of a man whom she means to deceive and abandon. Jilted, rejected by a woman who has encouraged one's advances.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Jilt—a she-deceiver.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Jilt, a prostitute who hugs and kisses a countryman while her accomplice robs him.

2. (thieves').—A crowbar; a jemmy (q.v.). In pi. = housebreaking tools generally.

Verb, (thieves'). See quot.

1868. Temple Bar,xxlv. 537. Jilting is getting in on the sly or false pretences at the door, and sneaking what you can find.

Jilter, subs, (thieves').—Thieves who work as described under Jilt (verb.).

1863. Cornhill Magazine, vii. 91. Another notable class of criminals called jiLTERS or Noteblankers : they go in pairs.

Jim-Brown, subs.phr. (rhyming).— Town.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, v. 'When did you come into.... Jim Brown ? ' ' Oh, yesterday morning', says I, tumbling.

JlMCRACK. See gimcrack.

Jimdugg, subs. (Australian squatters').—A sheep ; a woolly-bird (q.v.).

1854. Ridley, Phil. Soc. Trans (1855), p. 73. Jimbugg, a slang name for sheep.

Jim Crow. See Billy Barlow.

Jimjams, subs, (common).— 1. Delirium tremens ; the horrors (q.v.). Also, the jams. For synonyms see Gallon-distemper.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 4 Aug. He was a character noted for going on frequent benders until he came very near having the jimjams and then sobering up.

1888. St. Louis Globe Democrat., 16. Febr. He had the jim-jams yesterday evening.

1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, 43. Our landlord of the Chequers was very funny about the jim-jams.

1891. Gentleman's Mag., Aug., p. 119. I thought as 'ow 'twas only the jimjams he'd got; but the doctor 'e says it's a bad job, an' 'is ribs is broke.

1891. Punch, 4 April. ' Look, Polly ! —shee that creature long and lean, Crawling towardsh us ! Jim-Jamsh are not in it With thish 'ere Bri's'h Museum ! Wai' a minute ! '

2. (American). Distorted views;

kinks (q.v.).

1888. Cincinnatti Commercial Gazette, 22 July. We are glad to see Harper's

Jim-dandy. 5⁸ Jingo.

Weekly suffering the jim-jams of distortion on the envenomed pencil of an extraordinary artist.

Jim-dandy, adj. (American).—Superfine.

1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, 14 Feb. George C. Ball came upon the floor yesterday arrayed in a jim-dandy suit of clothes.

Jimmy, subs, (common).— i. See Jemmy.

2. (colonial). A new chum (q.v.). Specifically (Australian convicts), a free emigrant.

1859. H. Kisgsuly,Geoffry Hanilyn, xxvi. 'Why, one,' said Lee, ' is a young jimmy (I beg your pardon, sir, an emigrant), the other two are old prisoners.'

3.(showmen's).—A contrivance; a concealed confederate ; a fake (q.v.).

4. (American).—A coal waggon.

1887. N. Y. Semi-weekly Tribune, 18 Mar. Two jimmies loaded with coal.

All jimmy, adv. phr. (Cambridge university). 1. All nonsense.

2. (American).—Exactly; fit; suitable: cf. jemmy.

Jimmy Skinner, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A dinner.

Jimplecute (or Jimpsecute), subs. (American).—See quot.

1870. Figaro, 1 Dec. The Jimplecute of Texas changed her name, which was a good thing to do—jimplecute being Texas vernacular for sweetheart.

Jing-bang, subs. (Scots').—A lot

complete ; boiling (q.v.).

1891. Stevenson, Kidnapped, 61. The men had a great respect for the chief mate, who was, as they said, ' the only seaman of the whole jing-bang, and none such a bad man when he was sober.'

Jingle, subs. (Irish).—A hackney carriage (Dublin).

i860. Trollope Castle Richmond, vi. An elderly man was driven up to the door of the hotel on a one horse car— a jingle as such conveniences were called in the South of Ireland.

Jingle-box, subs. (old).—See quot.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew., s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jingle Boxes, leathern jacks tipped with silver, and hungwith bells formerly in use among fuddlecaps (Cant).

Jingleboy. See Gingle boy.

1658. Brome, The Weeding of Coven I-Garden, p. 16. But Mistress, here is a Gallant now below, A gingleboy indeed.

JiNGLER, subs. (old).—See quot. 1690. B. E.Dict. Cant. Crew., s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jinglers, horse cosers frequenting country fairs.

Jinglebrains, subs, (colloquial).— A wild, harum-scarum fellow.— B. E. (1690); Grose (1785).

Jingo, intj. (common).—Used in mild oaths : as By Jingo ! or By Jings. [Halliwell : a corruption of St. Gingoulph or Gingulphus ; by others from Basque Jinkoa — God. Cf. Notes and Queries, 2 S. xii. 272, 336; 5 S. ix. 263, 400, x. 7, 96, 456; 6 S. i. 284, ii. 95,157, 176, 335» ^ 78, iv. 114, 179]. Also By the Living Jingo.

1691-2. Gentlemen''s Journal, Feb., p. 24. Hye, jingo what a deel's the matter ; Do mermaids swim in Dartford water ?

1764. O'Hara, Midas, ii. yi. By jingo ! well performed for one of his age.

1766. Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, ix. She observed, that, ' by the living jingo, she was all of a muck of sweat.'

Jingo.

Joan.

1773. O. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, v. 2. By jingo, there's not a pond or a slough within five miles of the place, but they can tell the taste of.

1824. Atlanta Monthly, i. 141. He swore by George, by Jingo and by Gemini.

1834. M. G. Dowling, Othello Travestie, i. 6. It is the way, by jingo, you are right.

1836. Michael Scott, Tom Cringle's Log, v. Dem sell a me Peter, by jingo.

1848. Punch, xiv. 172. If I kill you it's nothing ; but if you kill me, by jingo it's murder.

1850. F. E. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, xxvi. There's the coach, by^-jingo!

1860. Chambers' Jour., xiii. 233. ' Uncle Bob, by jingo ! ' said the boy.

1864. Press, November 12. Jenco is Basque for the Devil and in the Basque Provinces there wereofoldManicbaeans, who worshipped the evil spirit and natuially swore by him, hence we think the phrase [By jingo] may find a much more likely explanation [than St. Gingoulph].

1871. A. H. Clough, Poems. ' With the Lassie ? with her ?' the piper exclaimed undoubtedly ! ' by great jingo ! '

1878. C. H. Wall, tr. Molière, ii. 114. Gently if you please ; by jingo, how skilful you are in giving clean plates !

18S9. Drage, Cyril, ii. 'Inez de Ribera, by the living jingo ! ' said he, half out aloud.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, Tab. ii, sc. 2. By jingo ! I'll show them how we do it down South.

Subs, (political).—One of that party which advocated the Turkish cause against Russia, in the war of 1877-8. Hence, one clamorous for war ; one who advocates a warlike policy. [In this sense taken directly from the refrain of a popular music-hall song (c. 1874), ' We don't want to fight, but by Jingo if we do, We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too ! ']. Hence Jingoism = the theory and practice of the Jingoes,

1884. Graphic, 22 Nov. He is a more pernicious kind of Jingo than his predecessors.

1884. Pall Mall Gazette, 12 June> In the days when Jingoism had to ba combatted and overcome.

1895. John Morley, in 77/«? Times, 17th June, p. 7, col. 5. But then the hight honourable gentleman will ask, Have you proposed a statue to Cromwell from the point of view of Jingoism ?

JlNIPER-LECTURE, subs. (old).—A

scolding.—B.E.(1690). Cf. Curtain lecture.

Jink, subs. (old).— i. Coin; money; chink {q.v.).

2. (in pl.). See High Jinks.

Verb, (old Scots').—To copulate ; also to sport. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1715. Allan Ramsay, Christ's Kirk, etc. ii. Wks. (1848), i. 324. Was n'er in Scotland heard or seen Sic banquetting and drinkin'—Sic revelling and battles keen, Sic dancing and sic jinkin'.

^.1750. Robertson (of Struan), Poems, 86. Let pass, let pass, The naughty Glass, And wisely fall a-jinking.

To jink one's tin, verb. phr. (common).—To pay money; to 'shell out'; to rattle or flash (q.v.) one's cash.

J inker, subs, (venery).—A performer (q.v.).

1724-27. Ramsay, Clout the Caudron, in Wks. (at sup.), ii, 275. Yet to yourself I'm bauld to tell, I am a gentle

jinker.

Jinny, subs, (thieves').—A geneva watch.

Jipper, subs, (nautical).—Gravy. Jo, See joe.

Joan, subs. (old).—A fetter: specifically Darby and Joan = fetters coupling two persons. See Darbies.

Job. 60 job.

Homely Joan, subs.phr. (old). —A coarse, ordinary looking woman.—B. E. (1690).

Joan in the Dark is as good as my lady, phr. (old).—A variant of ' When you cannot kiss the mistress kiss the maid ', or ' When candles are out all cats are grey '.— B. E. (1690); New Cant. Diet. (I725).

1678. Cotton, Virgil Travestie, in Works (1725), Bk iv. p. 81. The Cave so darksome was that I do Think Joan had been as good as Dido.

Job, subs. (Old Cant: now colloquial).— i. Specifically, robbery ; generally, any unfair arrangement, or effect of nepotism: e.g. the obtaining of an office, or a contract, by secret influence, or the undertaking of a piece of business ostensibly for public but really for private ends.

1667. Pepys, Diary, April 10. And for aught I see likely only to be used as a jobb to do a kindness to some lord, or he that can get to be governor. Ibid. 1665, Aug. 31. My late gettings have been very great to my great content, and am likely to have yet a few more profitable jobbs in a little while.

1711. Pope, Essays on Criticism, i. 104. No cheek is known to blush or heart to throb, Save when they lose a question or a job.

1712. Arbuthnot, Hist, of John Bull, Pt. m. App. ch. iii. Like an old favourite of a cunning Minister after the job is over.

1730. Jas. Miller, Humours of Oxford, iv. i. p. 54 (2nd ed.). But I have another job for you ; and if my stratagem takes there, my fortune's made.

1788. G. A. Stevens, Adv. of a Speculist, i. 67. In our august House of Parliament, the word Job is never made use of but to express an action thoroughly base.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xxxiii. ' But, Hatteraick, this,—that is, if it be true, which I do not believe,—this will

ruin us both, for he cannot but remember your neat job.'

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 10. C—nn—g Came in ajOB, and then canter'd about On a showy, but hot and unsound, bit of blood.

1827. Todd, Johnson's Diet., s.v. Job. A low word now much in use, of which I cannot tell the etymology.

1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, iii. Who shall hold the first rank, have the first prizes and chances in all government jobs and patronages.

1859. Political Portraits, p. 219. His (Mr. Disraeli's) representation of the Reform Bill of 1832 as a Whig job is a silliness.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Job. To do a job, to commit a robbery.

1864. Thomas Hughes [in Spectator, 26 Nov.]. The present job (and a very stiff one it is, though not in the Standard's sense) was offered to and accepted by me as a mere piece of conveyancing.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, ii. 135. The third day after his discharge he got drunk, joined some old associates, entered with them into a job, and was captured ' redhanded.'

1889. Star, 3 Dec, 1. 5. The whole thing was probably a put-up job.

1889. Daily Telegraph, 25 Jan. Jobs abounded and contracts were corrupt.

2. (colloquial).—A piece of work; an occurrence, fortunate or otherwise ; a situation or place of employment. A bad job = an unlucky occurrence, a misfortune, an unsuccessful attempt. Hence Jobber = one who does piece or occasional work.

1658. Brome, New Academy, in Wks. 1873), ii. 97 (Act v. 2). He confest receipt of fifty pounds my wife has lent him (false woman that she is !) for horn-making, job journey-work.

1661. T. Middleton, Mayor of Quinborough, iv. 1. And yet not I myself, I cannot read, I keep a clerk to do those jobs for need.

1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary. Job, a piece of labour, undertaken at a stated price. Norf.

Job. 61 Job.

1857. Lord Dufferin, Letters from High Latitudes, vii. Giving it up as a bad job.

1895. Henley & Stevenson,Macaire (New Review, June, 701) iii. 1. Blinding dark, and a good job.

3. (old).—A guinea : also Jobe. —B. E. (1690); New Cant. Diet. (1725); Grose (1785) ; Lex. Bal. (1811).

4. (American thieves').— As sttbs. = patience ; as intj. = take time; 'don't be in a hurry!'— Matsell (1859).

5. (colloquial).—See Jab. 1827. Todd, Johnson's Diet., s.v.

Job.

1885. Eng. III. Mag., April, 505. Some say that if a fish takes fairly, he will and must hook himself. Others that it requires a good job to drive the point of a large hook in beyond the baib.

6. (venery).—See By-job.

Verb, (colloquial).— 1. To do

work, or perform duties, ostensibly

pro bono publico but in reality for

one's private ends or advantage.

1731-35. Pope, Moral Essays, iii. 141. And judges job and bishops bite the town.

1833. MacaulAY, Let. to Sister [in Life by Trevelyan, v. 241 (1884)]. We shall be suspected of jobbing if we proceed to extremities on behalf of one of ourselves.

1838. Lytton, Alice, in. i. No jobbing was too gross for him. He was shamefully corrupt in the disposition of his patronage.

1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, iii. A man becomes enormously rich, or he jobs successfully in the aid of a Minister, or he wins a great battle .... and the country rewards him for ever with a gold coronet.

2. (colloquial).—To thrust violently and suddenly; to prod; to jab (q.v.).

1557. Tusser, Husbandrie, ch-37,st. 12, p. 89 (E. D. S.). Stick plentie of

bows among runcinall pease to climber thereon, and to branch at their ease. So dooing, more tender and greater they wex, If peacock and turkey leaue iobbing their bex [See also note in E. D. Soc.'s ed. of Tusser's Husbandrie, p. 263].

1560. Sleidane Commentaries, Bookx. fol. exxx. Then caught he a boore speare out of a young mans hande that stode next him and as he laie jobbed him in with the staffe heade.

1692. L'Estrange, Esop [quoted in E. D. Soc.'s ed. of Tusser's Husbandrie s.v. Job]. As an ass with a galled back was feeding in a meadow, a raven pitched upon him, and there sate jobbing of the sore.

1843. Dickens, Martin Chizzlewit, xxxiii. p. 326. He . . . was greatly beloved for the gallant manner in which he had jobbed out the eye of one gentleman.

1852. Dickens, Our Bore, [in Reprinted Pieces, p. 298]. As if he were being stabbed—or, rather, jobbed—that expresses it more correctly—jobbed—with a blunt knife.

1883. Daily Telegraph, Jan. 11, p. 3. col. 7. There was a disturbance at his door early on Christmas morning, and on going out to see what was wrong the prisoner jobbed a lantern into his eye.

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 17 Ap., 247. i. Following up his advantages, Jem jobbed his adversary terrifically in the face with the left till Giles was bathed in blood.

1892. Anstey, Voces Populi, 60. I'll job the 'helliphants ribs, and make 'im gallop, I will.

3. (colloquial).—To chide; to reprimand: also Jobe.

1685. Autobiography of Sir J. Bramston. The king had talked earnestly to the duke and jobed him soe that the teares stood in his eyes.

1754. B. Martin, Eng.Diet., 2nd ed.

s.v.

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

1794. Gent. Mag., p. 1085. I heard a lively young man assert that, in consequence of an intimation from the tutor relative to his irregularities, his own father came from the country to jobe him.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1837-40. Haliburton, The Clockmaker [ed. 1862] p. 471. I am as weak as a child, and can't stand Jobbing.

Jobation.

Jobbernowl.

4. (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1537. Thersites, [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), i. 422]. Jenkinjacon, that jobbed jolly Joan.

1786. Burns, 'What Ails Ye?' (Bohn, 1842, p. 253), Cry'd three times, ⁴ Robin, Come hither, lad, and answer for't, Ye're blamed for jonBiN'.

To be on the job, verb. phr. (general).— To mean honestly ; to be genuine; to 'run straight'; to work quickly and steadily ; to achieve complete success ; to be bent on.

1891. Licensed Victuallers Gaz., 23 Jan. Of course, there was a long wrangle over the choice of referee, for no one cared to occupy that thankless post when the Lambs were on the job.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 3. 'Arry is fair on the job.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger''s, Sweetheart, p. 64. I was on the job.

1893. Emerson, SignaiLtppo, ch. v. Being on the job we hoped to improve.

TO have got the job, verb, phr. (racing).—To have a commission to back a horse.

TO do the job for one, Verb.

phr. (common).—To 'finish' or kill.

To do a woman's job for her, verb. phr. (venery).—To do smock-service.

Jobation (or JAWBATioN), subs. (old).

—A tedious rebuke ; a prolonged

scolding ; a dreary homily.

1746. Sir W.Maynard [in G.Selwyn ây his Contetnp. by Jesse i. p. 106 (ed. 1882)]. You would not commend yourself for having sent me a jobation for not punctually answering your obliging letters.

1767. Colman, Oxonian in Town, ii. 3. And now I find you as dull and melancholy as a fresh-man at college after a jobation.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jobation, a reproof.

1803. Gradus ad Cantab. He recounts this jobation to his friends.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1820. Combe, Syntax,Consolation, canto 5. For Patrick, fearing a jobation, Said nought to forward conversation.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, xlii. 410. But here I am at the end of my paper. Don't be angry at my jobation ; but write me a long answer of your own free will, and believe me ever affectionately yours.

1863. H. Kingsley, Austin Elliot, xiv. Away he went, after getting a most fearful jobation from the Dean for daring to appear in his presence without his cap and gown.

1883. Clark Russell, Sailor''sLanguage, s.v.

1884. G. A. Sala,///. London News, Sept. 6, p. 219, col. 2. 'Why,' writes « R.R.R.' (Holloway), 'do you write the word jobation, and thereby upset all my preconceived notions that ' jawbation ' is a mock solemnity for the vulgar 'jaw'?' My good sir, I wrote, jobation because the word means a long dreary homily or reprimand, and has reference to the tedious rebukes inflicted on the Patriarch Job by his too obliging friends.

Jobbernowl, subs. (old).—i. A fool's head. For general synonyms see Crumpet.

1562. Grim [Dodsley, Old Plays, xi. 241]. Now, miller, miller, dustipoll, I'll clapper-claw thy jobbernoul.

1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe in Works, v. 293. Onely to set their wittes a nibbling, and their iobbernowles a working.

1609. Dekker, Güls Horne-Booke, iii. If all the wise men of Gotham should lay their heades together, their jobbernowles should not bee able to compare with thine.

1638. Ford, Lady's Trial, iv. 2. Took a thousand Spanish jobbernowls by surprise, And beat a sconce about their ears.

Jobber. ⁶ 3 Job's-comfort.

1678. Butler, Hudibras, III. ii. 1007. And powder'd th' inside of his skull, Instead of th' outward jobbernol.

1716. Df.yden, Counterscuffle, [in Misc. i2mo, iii. 340]. No remedy in courts of Pauls, In common pleas, or in the rolls, For Jolling of your jobbernouls together.

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

1791. G. Huddesford, Salmagundi, p. 93. Crack'd ev'n the Sexton's jobberknowl, And spoil'd him for saying Amen.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1834. Aissworth, Rookwood, Book iv. ch. i. ' What we now call a ' belcher ' bound his throat ; a spotted /ogle bandaged his jobbernowl, and shaded his light peeper.'

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, (Lord of Thoulouse). So find me out something new Under the sun, Or I'll knock your three jobbernowls all into one!

2. (old).—See quot. 1690. For synonyms see Buffle and Cabbage-head.

1598. Marston, Satires, II, vi. 200. His guts are in his brains, huge jobbernoule, Right gurnet's head, the rest without all soule.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Jobbernoll, a very silly fellow.

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

1768. Gayton, Festiv. Notes, iv. 17, p. 260. Thou simple animal, thou jobbernole, Thy basons, when that once they hang on pole, Are helmets strait.

Jobber, subs, (old: now recognised). — i. One who purchases goods in bulk and is the medium oftheir distribution ; a middleman.

1662. Rump Songs, i. 79. Weavers, Dyers, Tinkers, Cobblers, And many other such like jobbers.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Badgers, Matchmakers, Salesmen, Stockjobbers.

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

2. (colloquial).—See job, subs. sense 2.

Jobber-knot (or Jobber nut),subs. (old).—A tall ungainly fellow. 1823. Modern Flash Diet., s.v. 1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jobbery, subs, (colloquial).—The

practice of political corruption ; the

employment of unfair means to

public or private advantage.

1857. Dickens, Dornt, II. xii. 351. Mr. Merdle had decided to cast the weight of his great probity and great riches into the Barnacle scale. Jobbery was suspected by the malicious.

Jobbing, subs, (venery).—Copulation. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1720. Ramsay, 'Epistle to Lord Ramsay', in Wks. (1848), ii. 326. And compliment them with a clap Which by oft jobbing grows a pox.

Jobe. See Job, verb, sense 3.

Job's-comfort, subs, (old: now colloquial).—Reproof instead of consolation. Hence Job's-comforter = a sharp-tongued friend : also = a boil (in allusion to Job ii, 7.). Job's-news = bad news; Job's-post = a messenger of bad news ; As poor as Job's turkey = (see quot. 1871). Job's-WIFE = a whoring scold. Job's-dock = a hospital ; Job's-WARD = a ward for the treatment of venereal diseases.

1738, Swift, Polite Convers., Dial. 3. Lady Smart. ... I think your ladyship looks thinner than when I saw you last. Miss. Indeed, madam, I think not ; but your ladyship is one of Job's comforters.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Job's Comfort and Job's Comforter and Job's Dock.

1837. Carlyle, French Revolution, iii. 3. ch. 4. From home there can nothing come except Job's-news. Ibid. This Job's post from Dumouriez. . . . reached the National Convention.

Jock. ⁶4 Jockey.

1838. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 2. S. ch. ii. 'Well, I'm e'en a'most starved, and Captain Jack does look as poor as Job's turkey ; that's a fact. '

1854. F. E. Smedley, Harry Coverdate, xxiv. The amiable and timid London butler, who had played the character of Job's comforter to Alice's Didone abandonata on the memorable evening of the first of September.

1857. Notes and Queries, 1, S. vii. 180. s.v.

1871. Once a Week. May (quoted by De Verb). Intensified, in American fashion, by some energetic addition ; for instance, ' As poor as Job's turkey, that had but one feather in its tail, ' or, ' As poor as job's turkey, that had to lean against a fence to gobble.'

jock, subs, (venery).—1. See quot.

For synonyms see Creamstick,

Prick, and Monosyllable.

Jock-hunting = seeking the

sexual favor ; and Jock-HUN

ter = Mutton-monger {q.v.).

[Probably an abbreviation of

(Old Cant) jockum (q.v.). For

synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1790. Potter, Diet, of Cant b* Flash, s.v. Jock, private parts of a man or woman.

2. (colloquial).—See jockey.

Verb, (venery).— 1. See quot. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, S.v. Jock, to copulate with a woman.

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

1785. Grose, Vulg: Tongue, s.v. Jock, to enjoy a woman.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. 2. (American).—To enjoy oneself.

Jockey, subs, (old: now recognised in most senses).— i. A professional rider; also a horse-dealer. Hence (see quot. 1690) a sharper. Also (colloquially) jock and gentlemen-jock and jocker.

1638. Brome, Antipodes, i. 5. Let my fine lords talk o' their horse-tricks, and their jockies that can out-talkethem.

1684. R. Head, Proteus Rcdivivus, 306. There are such plenty of jockeys in this bungalow, they swarm everywhere.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Creiv, s.v. Jockeys, rank Horse-Coursers, Race Riders ; also Hucksters or Sellers of Horses, very slippery Fellow to deal with.

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

1725. Bailey, Colloq. Erasmus, i. 412. You know what cheating tricks are play'd by our jockeys, who sell and let out Horses.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, vii. The tribes of gipsies, jockeys, or cairds, —for by all these denominations such banditti were known,—became few in number.

1828-45. T. Hood, Poems, vi. p. 252 [ed. 1846]. And what with keeping a hunting box Following fox .... Shooting blue rocks, Trainers and Jocks ....

</.1881. G. Borrow (in Annandale). —The word jockey is neither more nor less than the term (chukni) slightly modified, by which they (the gypsies) designate the formidable whips which they usually carry, and which are at present in general use amongst horse-traffickers, under the title of jockey-whips.

2. in pi. (commercial).—Topboots.

1851. Lond. Lab. Lond. Poor, V. II. p. 43. Top boots (they're called jockeys in the trade and sold in the streets).

3. (old).—A Scot.

</.1529. Skelton, Against the Scots, line 92. King Jamy, Jemmy, jockey, my jo.

Verb, (colloquial).— i. To cheat ; to ride foul. Generally, to use dishonest means to a profitable end. For synonyms see Bamboozle.

1748. Thompson. Letter to Mr. Pater son, May. ' Coriolanus has not yet appeared on the stage, from the little dirty jealousy of Julius (Quin) towards him (Garrick) who alone can act Co

Jock-Blunt. ⁶ 5

Joe.

riolanus. Indeed the first has entirely jockeyed the last off the stage for this season.

1833. Neal, Doivn Easters, vi. p. 84. Fair traders terrible scase—most every body jocktes for themselves now.

1839. Lever, Harry Loweguer, II. He seemed to think that probably he . . . might be merely jockeyed by some bold-faced poacher.

1840. Thackeray, Paris Sketch Book, p. 173. Have we penniless directors issuing El Dorado prospectuses, and jockeying their shares through the market ?

1865. Dunsar, Social Life in Former Days. They did not see it necessary to be jockeying one another.

1890. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 3. To suffer your passion to jockey your reason.

2. (Winchester College).—(i) to supplant; (ii) to appropriate; (iii) to engage : e.g. ' He jockeyed me up to books' ; 'Who has jockeyed my baker'; 'This court is jockeyed Probably an extended use of the word borrowed from turf slang. Jockey not = the Commoner cry claiming exemption, answering to ' feign ' at other schools : of which the college ' finge ' seems a translation. The opposite of jockey up = to lose down.—Notions.

TO jockey (or bag) the over, verb. phr. (cricketter's).—To manage the running in such a manner as to get all the bowling to oneself.

Jock Blunt. To look like Jock Blunt, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.

1723. Ramsay, ' Epistle to Lord Ramsay', in Wks, ii. 325. Footnote. Said of a person who is out of countenance at a disappointment.

Jock-te-leear, subs. (Scots').—A small almanack, z>.Jock (or John) Vol. iv.

the liar [From its loose weather forecastsl.

Jocteleg (or Jackyleg), subs. (Scots').—A large pocket-knife. [From Jacques de Liège, a famous cutler]. For synonyms see Chive.

1730. Ramsay, Fables and Tales, in Wks. (1849), iii. 172. And lay out ony ora-bodles On sma' gimcracks that pleased their noddles, Sic as a joctkleg, or sheers.

1787. Grose, Provincial Glossary, s.v. Jocteleg, Liege formerly supplied Scotland with cutlery.

1791. Burns, 'To Captain Grose'. The knife that nicket Abel's craig He'll prove ye fully, It was a faulding jocteleg Or lang-kail gully.

1874. E. L. Linton, Patricia Kemball, xxv. A huge buckhorn-handled knife of the kind called in the north

jackylegs, Or joctelegs.

Jockum (or Jockam), subs. (Old Cant).—The penis. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick. Hence jockum-cloy = copulation, and jockum-gage = (literally) member-mug (q.v.).

1567. Harman, Caveat, 87. He took his iockam in his famble.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew. s.v. Jockum-gage. Rum Jockum-gage, a silver chamberpot.

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

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jockum-gagger, subs. (old).—See Jack-gagger.—Potter ( 1790) ; Mod. Flash Diet. (1825).

Joe (or joey), subs, (common).— 1.

A fourpenny piece [For derivation

see quot. 1841 and cf. Bob].

1841. Haw^tkins, Hist. Silver Coinage of England. These pieces are said to have owed their existence to the pressing instance of Mr. Hume, from whence they, for some time, bore the nickname of Joeys.

Joe.

Joe Miller.

1842. Punch's Almanack, Aug. Each baited with a joey.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., ii. 218. The chance hands are sometimes engaged for half a day, and, I was told, jump at a bob and a toey (is. qd.), or at a bob.

1865. H. Kingsley, The H illy ar s and the Burtons, xlii. A young man as has owed me a joey ever since the last blessed Greenwich fair.

1869. Whyte-Mei.ville, M. or N., p. 66. ' Done for another joey,' replied Buster, with the premature acuteness of youth foraging for itself in the streets of London.

1883. Antiquary, April, p. 168, col. 2. The fourpenny piece was coined for the first time, after a lapse of two centuries, in the reign of William iv., and it owed its existence to the pressing instance of joey Hume, after whom it obtained the name of joey.

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 9 Oct., p. 5, col. 3. The docker's wife was worth her joey, which it may be explained is ' Eastend ' for fourpence.

1892. S. Watson, Wops the Waif, p. 13. A bob, a tanner, a joey, and a brown.

2. (common).—ä?<?Joe Miller.

3. (American university).—A watercloset. For synonyms see Mr. Jones.

4. (nautical).—A marine : see Joseph.

5. (American).—A lobster too small for sale ; i.e. one under ten inches long.

6. (old).—A gold coin. (Portu. and Braz.) = 8 to 9 dollars. Also Double-joe.

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, 11. xxiii. Joes to coppers that she speaks to me.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, Preface v. The old house is full of shootingjackets, shot belts, and double-joes.

7. (old).—A companion; a sweetheart.

</.1529. Skelton, Against theScottes, in Wks (Dyce), i. 185. Kyngejamy, .. . my jo.

1659. Brome, The English Moor, in Wks. (1873), i. 3. Clap him, and stroke him : Ha, my joe.

1635. Glapthorne, The Hollander, in Wks. (1874), i. 151. The Twibil Knights (confusion to them, my Jo !) had made me drunk.

1727. Ramsay, Bonny Tweed-side, in Wks. (1848), ii. 244. I'll make it my care To secure myself a jo.

</.1796. Burns, ' John Anderson, my Jo ' [Title].

Verb, (theatrical).—To deride ; to get at (q.v.) ; to take liberties with the text, ' business ', or audience.

1865. Kingsley, The Hillyards and the Burtons, liii. Gertie adduced the fate of the children who had called after —or, as she expressed, joed—the prophet Elisha.

1866. Pall Mall Gazette, 23 Jan., p. 244. There they was joeying away in style, making the people laugh until the house shook again.

Not for Joe.—See Joseph.

Joe manton, subs. (old).—A name given to fowling-pieces made by Joseph Manton, a celebrated London gunsmith. Also Manton.

Joe Miller, subs. phr. (common). —A stale joke ; a dull tale ; a chesnut (q.v.). [From a collection entitled Joe Miller's Jest book published circa 1750, the term having been used to pass off not only the original stock but thousands of jokes manufactured long after]. Hence Joe-Millerism (subs.) and j0e-m1llerize (verb.).

1789. Geo. Parker, Life's Painter, 96. The Narrator should not laugh immoderately, and what he delivers, should not be found in every common jest book, or a Joe Miller, page 14.

Joe Savage. ⁶ 7

Jog-trot.

1850. F. E. Smedley, Frank Fai'rlegh, liv. 'Well, of all the vile puns I ever heard, that, which I believe to be an old joe miller, is the worst.'

1859. Times, ' Rev. of Ramsay's Reminiscences', 25 Oct. There is more 'wit', more mere word-flashing in one page of our familiar joe, than in the whole of Dean Ramsay's book.

1883. Notes and Queries, 6 S. viii. 489. All classes are given to such repetitions, and the only differences arc that every set has its own peculiar style or class of joe millers and old tales.

1885. Punch, August 1, p. 54. What? A weir yonder? Oh! I'm a-weir of it. There ! Better old joe millers than old saws.

1890. Speaker, 22 Feb., p. 211, col. 2. We must not spoil any of Mr. Montagu Williams's endless laughable stories, though here and there one looks very like an old joe with a new face.

Joe Savage, subs. phr.(rhyming).— A cabbage.

Joey, subs. (American thieves').— 1. A hypocrite.—Matsell (1859).

2. (common).—See Joe, subs. sense 1.

3. (Australian).—See quot.1887.

1865. H. Kingsley, Hillyars and Burtons, lvii. He had met a grey doe kangaroo with her little ones . . . Then the little one, the joey, had opened its mother's pouch and got in.

1887. Australian Colloquialisms in All the Year Round, 30 July, p. 67. Joey is a familiar name for anything young or small, and is applied indifferently to a puppy, or a kitten, or a child, while a wood-and-water-joey is a hanger about hotels, and a doer of odd jobs.

4. (nautical).—A marine.

5. (theatrical).—A clown. [From Joey Grimaldi].

Intj. (Australian).—See quot. Also Jo !

1867. The Victorian Song-book, ' Where's your License,' p. 6. Diggers ain't often caught on the hop, The little word Joe ! which all of you know, Is a signal the traps are quite near.

Jog, verb, (old venery).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1608. R. MiDDLETON, Epigrams, p. 18. Glabreus of late lay with a common whore, But now he swears he'll jogge with her no more.

1736. The Cupid, 20. He shou'll ken I'se nae afraid When he gangs to bed me, A' night long I'se ne'er complain, Tho' he jog'd me sprightly.

Jogger, verb, (theatrical).—To play and sing; to perform.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, v. I could vardy that when I heard them

joggering.

JOGGERiNG Omey, subs. phr. (theatrical).—A musician. [It. giocar = to play -fuomo — a man].

Jog-trot (or Job-trot), subs, (old: now recognised).—A slow trot: hence a dull round ; an unvarying and uninteresting method. As adj. monotonous ; easy-going. Hence, adv. jog-trotty.

1709. M. Bruce, Sermon, p. 15. You that keeps only your old job-troot, and does not mend your pace, you will not wone at soul confirmation. There is a whine old job-troot ministers among us, a whine old job-troot professors : they have their own pace, and faster they will not go.

1756. The World, No. 193. They contented themselves indeed with going on a jog-trot in the common road of application and patience.

1766. Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, xx. All honest jog-trot men, who go on smoothly and dully.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Jogg-trot.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, xvii, p. 142. ' It's rather jog-trotty and humdrum. But it'll do as well as anything else ! '

1872. M. E. Braddon, Dead Sea Fruit, i. There is a jog-trot prosperity in the place, a comfortable air, which is soothing to the world-worn spirit.

Jogue. ⁶⁸ John-Audley.

1885. Jas. Payn, Talk of the Town, vii. They. . . . settled their wigs upon their foreheads and started off again at a jog trot in search of another mare's nest.

1890. St. James' Gazette, 9 Ap. p. 4, col. i. Yet the yoke is meekly borne by the jog-trot undergraduates of Oxford and Cambridge.

jogue, subs. (old).—A shilling.— Grose. For synonyms see Bob.

Jogul, verb, (gaming).—To play up at cards, or other game.—Hotten.

John, subs. (Sandhurst).—A first year's cadet. For synonyms see Snooker.

2. (old).—A priest. Also Sir John and Mess(or Mass-) John {q.v.). For synonyms see Devil-dodger.

1383. Chaucer, Cant Tales (Skeat) iv. 270. 4000. Com neer, thou preest, com hider, thou Sir Iohn.

<r.l554. Youth [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 25]. What! Sir John, what say ye! Would you be fettered now?

1559. Porter, Two Angry Women [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), vu. 320]. Leave these considerations to Sir John ; they become a black-coat better than a blue.

1611. Barry, Ram Alley, iv. Speak, answer we, Sir Jack : stole you my daughter?

1772. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical (1788), 169. The next a Mess John ofrankMethodist taint, Who thought like a sinner, but looked like a saint.

3. See Poor John.

john's silver pin, Subs. phr.

(old).—A piece of finery amongst sluttery and dirt.

John-a-nokes (orJohn-at-theOaks), subs. (old).—Anyhody ; Mr. Thingumbob (q.v.). Also John-a-stiles or John-at-thestyles.

â?.1529. Skelton, Colyn Cloute, line 323. What care they though Gil sweate, Or Jacke of the Noke.

1635. Glapthorne, Hollander, in Wks. (1874), 94. 'I know not how you style him.' ' Not John-a-Stiles, the Knight of the Post is it ? '

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic &* Satyrical, 246. From John-a-Nokes to Tom-a-Styles What is it all but fooling?

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering (ed. 1829), ii. 13, 167. Adventures who are as willing to plead for John-aNotks as for the first noble of the land.

John-a-dreams, subs. (old).—A dreamer ; a man of sentiment and fancy as opposed to action ; a futile person.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, ii. 2. While I a dull, and noddy-mettled rascal, peak Like John-a-dreams, imprégnant of my Cause And can say nothing.

1876. Henley, A Book of Verse, p. 91. Kate-a-Whimsies, John-a-dreams, Still debating, Still delay, And the world's a ghost that gleams, Hovers—vanishes away.

1878. Julian Sturgis, JOHN-ADREAMS (Title].

1894. Haddon Chambers, JOHNA-DREAMS [Title].

John-among-the-Maids, subs. phr. (old).—A lady's man ; a CarpetKnight (q.v.).

John-AND-joan, subs.phr. (old).— An hermaphrodite.

John-Audley, subs, (theatrical).— A signal to abridge the performance. [When another 'house', (q.v.) is waiting the word ' JohnAudley' is passed round]. Also John Orderly.

1875. Athenaeum, 24 April, p. 545, col. 2. When that wary son of wandering Thespis (Richardson) used to step inside from the front, and ask 'IsJohn Audley here?' the stage-manager dropped the curtain wherever the tragedy might be, and a new audience took the places of the old. Even at this day, in

John-Barleycorn. ⁶9 Johnnie.

dramatic slang, to John Audley a play means to cut it down to a comfortable brevity.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, v. One said, 'John Audley', that means leave off !

John-Barleycorn, subs, (common). —Beer. For synonyms see Drinks and Swipes.

1791. Burns, Tarn CPS hanter. Inspiring, bold John Barleycorn.

John Blunt, subs. phr. (common). —A plain-spoken man. See also Jock Blunt.

John-Cheese, subs, (common).—A clown. Also John Trot.

John Collins, subs. phr. (Australian).—See quot.

1865. The Australasian, 24 Feb. p. 8 . . . . That most angelic of drinks for a hot climate—a John Collins (a mixture of soda water, gin, sugar, lemon and ice).

John Chinaman, subs.phr. (old).— A Chinaman ; the Chinese collectively.

John Company, subs. phr. (old).—

The Hon. East India Company.

1808. Lord AI into in India, 184. Preparations to save Johnny Company's cash.

1852. Mem. Col. Maintain, 293. John Company whatever may be his faults is infinitely better than Downing street.

1880. Sat. Review, Feb. 14, p. 220. Doubt as to whether there were any such person as John Company.

John Davis, subs. (American).— Money: otherwise Ready John. For synonyms see actual and Gilt.

johnian, subs. (Cambridge university).—A student of St. John's College : also Johnian Pig or

Hog—see Hog, subs, sense 3. Also as adj. : e.g. Johnian blazer, Johnian melody etc.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hog . . . Jonian hogs an appellation given to the members of St. John's College Cambridge.

1829. Praed, Poems, 'The Vicar'. Sit in the Vicar's seat : you'll hear The doctrine of a gentle Johnian.

1841. Westminster Rev., xxxv. 236. The johnians are always known as pigs. They put up a new organ the other day which was immediately christened 'Baconi Novum Organum.'

John Long the Carrier. To Stay for (or send by) John Long the Carrier, -verb. phr. (old). —To wait a long time ; to postpone for an indefinite time.

Johnnie (or Johnny), subs, (common).— i. A policeman: also Johnny Darby.

1851. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. arc. ii. 154. The Johnnys on the water are always on the look-out, and if they sees any on us about we has to cut our lucky.

1878. Besant and Rice, By Celia's Arbour, vi. We might run up and down the slopes or on the ramparts .... without rebuke from the johnnies, the official guardians of the walls.

1886. Graphic, Jan. 30, p. 130, col. 1. Constables used to be known as johnny Darbies, said to be a corruption of the French gensdarmes, and they are still occasionally called Johnnies.

2. (general).—An acquaintance ; a young man about town. Also = a sweetheart, male or female : e.g. My Johnny.

1724-27. Ramsay, Bonny Tweedside, in Wks. ii. 245. And let us to Edinburgh go Where she that is bonny, May catch her a johnny, And never lead apes below.

1883. Punch, August 18, p. 84, col. 2. Ah ! who is more brave than your johnny

Johnnie.

7° John Roberts.

of note, With his snowy shirt-front and his dainty dust-coat.

1889. SportingUnies, 3 Aug. p. 1. col. i. Well, I'll put it practically to you. A straight line is the way you johnnies will go to the canteen when I've done with you.

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 23 Sept. p. 2, col. 3. Now to the johnny in the stalls, now to the ''Arry' in the amphitheatre flew the honeyed tokens, until the air was overcast with them.

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 29 Oct. p. 7, col. i. Mr. Blake said he was very fond of her and did not intend to leave her, as many a johnny would have done.

1890. Tit Bits, 3 Aug. p. 332, col. 3. A microcephalous youth, whose chief intellectual relaxation consists in sucking the head of a stick, thinks that his conversational style is brilliant when he calls a man a johnnie, a hero ' a game sort of a chappie,' and so on.

1890. Daily Telegraph, 4 Feb. The committee seriously discussed the feasibility of conferring with a high-class

johnnie.

1892. Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads, 'The Widow's Party', 57. Where have you been this wli'le away, . . . Johnnie, my johnnie, aha !

1894. Percy White, Mr. Bailey Martin, p. 49. What snap your sister has got, and how she must mash all your local johnnies.

3. (Irish). — A half-glass of whisky.

4. (American).—See Johnny Reb.

Johnny-Bum, subs. (old).—A jack-ass.—Grose (1785); Lex. Bal. (1811).

Johnny-Cake, subs. (American).—A New-Englander.

Johnny-Haultant, subs. (nautical).—A merchants' sailor's name for a man-o'-war's-man— Clark Russell.

Johnny-Bates'-Farm.— See Bates' Farm.

Johnny-Bono, subs. (East-end). —Generic for an Englishman.

Johnny-Darby, szebs. (old).— (1). A policeman, (2) in pi. handcuffs.

Johnny Newcome, subs.

(common).—A new-born child.

Also (nautical) an inexperienced

youngster ; landsman in general.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, [ed. 1862] p. 201. Now to young Johnny Newcome he seems to confine hers, Neglecting the poor little dear out at dry-nurse.

Johnny Raw, subs, (common).

— i. A recruit ; a novice.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 18. A prettier treat Between two Johnny Raws 'tis not easy to meet.

1825. Scott, St. Roman's Well, xxv. Well, I can snuff a candle and strike out the ace of hearts ; and so, should things go wrong, he has no Jack Raw to deal with, but Jack Mowbray.

1828. Jon Bee, Picture of London, p. 2. The designations of Johnny Raw, Greenhorn or Youkel, whereby they hope to lessen his pretensions to equality with themselves on the score of townknowledge.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, p. 258 [ed. 1862]. Antonio, like most of those sage Johnny Raws.

1891. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 39. You took me for a country Johnnie Raw ? with no more mother-wit or courage than a porridge-stick.

1887. Sydney (N. S. W.) Bulletin, 26 Feb. p. 12. He was a new-chum—a regular Johnny-raw.

2. (provincial).—A morning draught.

Johnny Reb (or Johnny), subs. (American).—A soldier in the Confederate ranks during the civil war 1861-5. See Blue-bellies.

John Roberts, subs.phr. (Welsh). —See quot.

John the Baptist. I¹ Joker.

1886. J. C. Sikes in N. and Q. 7.

S. i. 306. A new measure of drink, enough to keep a man tipsy from Saturday to Sunday night, is universally known throughout Wales as a John Roberts. It derives its name from the author of the Sunday Closing Act. See Standard, March 11.

John the Bwxxst,subs.phr.(American).—See quot.

1888. Arkansas Traveller, Oct. Mebbe he gwine ter gimme a John de Baptist—dat's one cent—but mos likely he gwineter jis' give thanks.

John Thomas, subs, (common).—1.

Generic for a flunkey.

1883. Echo, April 18, p. 1, col. 5. Pity the sorrows of a poor flunkey ! . . . Who would have thought, to see John Thomas. . . . sunning himself on the forms provided for his use outside the shops in Regent Street, that he was a sufferer from many hours of confinement in doors.

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

John (or Joan) Thomson's Man,

subs. phr. (Old Scot's).—An uxorious, or faithful, husband.

</.1513. Dunbar, 'To the King', in Poems (S.T.S. Edinburgh, 1884-5, ii. 318-19. God gif ye war John Thomsouns man.

John Trot, subs, (common).—A clown: also John Cream.

</.1774. Goldsmith, Poe??is. John Trot was desired by two witty pens To tell them the reason why asses had ears.

Join, verb, (colloquial).—To marry. To join giblets (venery) = to copulate.

1892. Tit Bits, 17 Sept. 419, 1. We've come to be jined.

Joint, subs. (American).—1. An opium den; a gambling saloon; a low class drinking house of any kind.

2. (thieves').—See quot.

1885. Daily Telegraph, August 18, p. 3, col. 2. This class of thieves, when they agree on a partnership or joint, as the slang phrase is, work one for the other as they best can.

To work the joint, verb. phr. (thieves').—To swindle by means of a 'faked' lottery table.

Joker, subs, (common).— i.Ageneral term of banter ; a ' nice un ' ; as Cove, Codger, Tulip.

1665. Pepys, Diary, Feb. 15. At noon, with Creed to the Trinity-house where a very good dinner among the old jokers.

1833. Marry at, P.Simple,ü. 'That's what you'll learn to do, my joker, before you've been two cruises to sea'.

1882. Daily News, Oct. 4, p. 2, col. 4. Her screams brought her husband downstairs, when the prisoner said, 'My joker, I want you.'

1892. Anstey, Voces Populi,-g. 121. No 'urry, old man—this joker 'aint arf finished with me yet.

2. (American).—An extra card used in certain games. It is blank or bears some special device. It is always a trump and generally the highest. Often called jollyjoker.

1894. St. James's Gazette, 19 July [quoted in Saturday Review, July 26]. 'The game of poker is played with a pack of fifty-three cards, the fifty-third card being called the joker.—Ibid., 'It is true that American manufacturers of playing cards are wont to include a blank card at the top of the pack ; and it is, alas ! true that some thrifty person suggested that the card should not be wasted. This was the origin of the joker.'

1885. J. B. Greenough, Queen of Hearts, iii. The White Knight, called the joker, otherwise the Best Bower.

3. (American political).—See quot.

1895. Review of Reviews, 15 Jan., p. 70. The little jokers were used. (We have one of these jokers in our possession.) These little jokers were

Jo I lock. 72 Jolly.

attached to the left thumbs of certain judges of election as the ballots were being coented. These jokers are made of rubber and have a cross on them. They are really rubber stamps. As these judges picked up the ballots they took hold of them in such a way that their left thumbs, with the jokers attached thereto, pressed upon the squares opposite the name of the candidate whom they wished to aid. By thus pressing upon said squares crosses were left in them.

JOLLOCK,^fe.(common).—A parson. For synonyms see Devil-dodger and Sky-pilot.

Jolly, subs. (old).— 1. The head: also Jolly Nob.

1785. Grose, Vulg. langue, s.v. 1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

2. (nautical).—A Royal Marine : cf. Tame Jolly. Fr. un bigorneau.

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, v. iii. ch. i, p. 313. I ran down to Plymouth, hoisted my pennant, drew my jollies from the dock yard, etc.

1883. Graphic, 12 May, p. 487, col. 3. The Marine. . . . not being either a soldier or a sailor, was generally described as a joey, a jolly, a shellback, etc.

1884. G. A. Sala, in Illustr. L. News, 12 April, p. 339, col. 3. I should be glad to learn. . . . why a militiaman should be a tame jolly (Admiral Smythe, in ' The Sailor's Word-Book ' is my authority) ; and a marine a ' Royal jolly. '

3. (thieves').—See quots.

1856. H. Mayhew, Gt. World of London, p. 46. The dependents of cheats; as jollies and 'magsmen,' or the confederates of other cheats.

1867. Jas. Greenwood, Unsent. Journeys, xxiv. igo.The 'wheel of fortune' keepers, man and woman, attended by their jollies .... those wonderfully lucky persons who, coming up quite promiscuously, win and carry away the sets of china and diamond earrings.

4. (thieves').—A pretence; an excuse.

1859. Matsell, Vocaèulum, s.v.

1879. J. W. Horsleyin Jt/acm.A/ag. xl. 504.1 see a reeler giving me a roasting (watching me), so I began to count my pieces for a jolly (pretence).

5. (general).—Praise; recommendation chaff ; abuse. To chuck a jolly = to set off an address to one or other of these ends. See Chuck.

<r.l869. Vance. The Chick-a-leary Cove. Now join in a chyike, the jolly we all like.

1871. Daily Telegraph, 7 March. ' Winner of the Waterloo Cup.' The boys all turned out to see ' the illustrious stranger;' and, on a suggestion to give him a jolly, which appears to be the local phrase, they cheered the hero loud and long.

1891. Licensed Victuallers Gazette, 9 Feb. The spank, spank, couldbe heard distinctly all round the ring of spectators, who cheered and jollied both lads vociferously.

Adj. and adv. (colloquial).— 1. Fine ; excellent ; very good : very ; exceedingly. Cf. Awfully, Bloody etc.

1369. Chaucer, Troilus (Skeat), ii. 223, line 1105. Tel us your 10LY wo and your penaunce.

d.\529. Skelton, Elynour Rumtnyng, line 51. And yet she will iet, Lyke a iolly fet.

1562-3. Jack Juggler [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 141]. I would he were now before your gate, For you would pummel him jollily about the pate.

1579. Spenser, Shepheardes Calender, Sept. Indeede thy bull is a bold bigge cur, And could make a jolly hole in their fur.

1590-6. Spenser, Fairy Queen. Full jolly knight he seemed, and fair did sit.

1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilessc [Grosart ii. 77]. It will make them iolly long-winded, to trot vp and downe the Dorter staires.

Jolly. 73 Jolly-Roger.

1594. Lodge, Wounds of Civil War [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), vii. 145]. Aristion is a jOLLY-timbered man.

1597-8. A Woman will Have her Will [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), x. 519]. 'To bed? and what hath God sent you'. ' A jolly girl, sir'.

1607. Marston, What You Will. With what a jolly presence would he pace Round the Rialto.

1694. Gentlemen''s Journal, Mar., p. 57. Wine alone can make us jolly. —Ibid. Among my cups I sing and roar Like jolly topers till I snore.

1747-8. J. Trapp, Notes upon the Gospels, [ed. 1865] p. 25. All was jolly quiet at Ephesus before St. Paul came thither.

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, 11. iii. What they call a jolly brisk young man.

1836. H. M. Milner, Turpin'sRide to York, ii. 4. That's a jolly lie.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. ix. ' He is so jolly green,' said Charlej⁷.

1854. Punch, Nov. The Russian Liprandi charged John, Pat, and Sandy, And a jolly good licking he got.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days, ii. 1. What a jolly desk !

1869. Daily Telegraph. He is annoyed when young ladies use slang phrases, such as awfully jolly ! Their fresh lips should drop pearls and diamonds—not snakes and toads.

1891. Licensed Victuallers' Gaz., 9 Jan. I was jolly glad he didn't die before.

1894. S. R. Crockett, The Playactress, p. 98. My governor 'ud he jolly well left if I did not turn up bright and early.

2. (common).—Slightly drunk. For synonyms see Drinks and Screwed.

1883. Daily News, 9 Feb., p. 3, col. 7. The prosecutor came in on Friday night with Mr. S., and had several glasses of lager beer, and all got jolly !

3. (racing).—Fat; with too much flesh.

1888. Daily Chronicle, 10 Dec. Mr. Fennick's mare stripped in jolly condition.

Verb, (common).—To joke; to rally ; to vituperate.

1610. G. Fletcher, Christ's Triumph, They jolly at his grief.

1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 69. I can't jolly him down, so you must settle and do away with him, or I must ' dry up, ' for the fellow's bested me.

1879. Notes and Queries, 5, S. xi. 406. JOLLEYiNG is a common teim among workmen in London, and is used to express nearly every description of verbal ridicule and abuse.

1889. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 8 Feb. Amidst yells, shouts, hisses, and jollyings.

1892. Gunter, Miss Dividends, ch. xv. You've left her alone all day—you ain't been near to jolly her up.

Jolly-boys, subs, (common).—A group of small drinking vessels connected by a tube, or by openings one from another.

Jolly-dog,^5^.(common).—A boon companion.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jolly-dog, a merry or facetious fellow ; a bon vivant, who never flinches from his glass, nor cries to go home to bed.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

c.1867. Broadside Ballad, ' Slap Bang'. There is a set of jolly dogs I've lately come across.

1880. Punch's Almanack, 13.

Jolly-jumper, subs, (nautical).—A light sail set above a sky-scraper (q.v.).—Clark Russell (1883).

Jolly-nob.—See Jolly, subs, sense i.

Jolly-roger, subs, (nautical).—A

pirate's flag; a death's head

and cross bones (q.V.).

1885. Stevenson, Treasure Island, xix, p. 151 (1886). There was the jolly roger—the black flag of piracy—flying from her peak.

Jolt-head.

74 Jonnick.

1892. Hume Nisbet, 1HE JOLLY ROGER [Title].

Jolt-head (or Jolter-head), subs. (old).—A blockhead: for synonyms see Buffle and Cabbagehead.

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shrew, iv. i. You heedless joltheads, and unmannered slaves !

1595. Shakspeare, Two Gentlemen, iii. i. Launce, Fie on thee, jolt-head ! thou canst not read.

1605. B. Jonson, Volpone, v. 5. And your red saucy cap, that seems to me Nailed to your jolt-head.

1658. Brome, Covent Garden Weeded, p. 23. Sir jolthead, I do not. I'll teach you to chop logic with me.

1690. Durfey, Collin's Walk, C. 11, p. 79. And shall I not, with reverence low, Presume to ask who's the jolthead now ?

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Jolter-head, a vast large Head ; also Heavy and Dull. To jolt or Shake, jolting or shaking of a Coach.

1691-2. Gentlemeii's Journal,,Mar., p. 14. The blows he had received on his jolt-head made him fall into convulsions.

1707. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, 11, pt. i, p. 6. Then looking very stern and dread, He bridles up hisjOLTER head.

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

1748. T. Dyche,Dictionary,($th ed.). Jolt or Jolter-Head (S.) a large head ; also a dull, stupid fellow, or blockhead.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jolter Head, a long head ; metaphorically, a stupid fellow.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, viii. I should like to know whether her little conceited noddle, or her father's old crazy, calculating jolter-pate, breeds most whimsies.

1825. Mod. Flash Diet., s.v. Jolterheads—a heavy, dull fellow ; a blustering landlord.

1843 Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, li. p. 490. It isn't hanging yet for a man to keep a penn'orth of poison for his own purposes, and have it taken from him by

two old crazy jolterheads who go and act a play about it.

Jolt-headed (or Jolter-headed),

adj. (old).—Stupid; dull; chowder-headed {q.v.).

1690. Durfey, Collin's Walk, C. 11. p. 56. Insensible jolt-headed Fool.

1754. II. MARTiN^tt^-.Z/Yc/.^nd ed.) s.v. Chub, chub .... a jolt-headed fellow.

1849. Lytton, Caxtons, in. iv. A worthless, obscure, jolter-headed booby in mail, whose only record to men is a brass plate in a church in a village !

1877. Greenwood, Dick lemple, ch. xxiv. It might be also that in his joltheaded way he really was a ⁴ faithful dependent.'

Jolt, verb, (venery).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Jomer, subs, (theatrical).—See quot., Flame, Blowen, Barrackhack, and Tart.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3rd ed. p. 445. A fancy girl—Jomer.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Jonah, subs, (common).—A person whose presence brings bad luck ; specifically a clergyman. [Of Biblical origin]. Jonah-trip = an unlucky undertaking.

1594. Greene, Looking Glasse, Wks 134. 2. (1861). We heav'd the hapless jonas overboard.

1612. T. Lavender, Travels etc., Sig. C i. Thought it best to make a jonas of him, and to cast both him and his books into the sea.

1644. Merc. Brit., xxii. 172. Iam ashamed that these Jonahs should be sleeping thus under the deck in a storme.

Jonnick (or Jonnuk), adj. (showmen's).—Right ; correct; proper— Hotten. To be jonnuk = to be fair ; to share equally.

Jordan. 75 Jorum.

Jordan, subs. (old).— i. A chambermug. For synonyms see It. [Short for Jordan bottle ; a menmory of the Crusades]. Hence

jordan-headed (dunbar) an

opprobrious epithet.

1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 12. 240. I pray to God to sauc thy gentil corps, And eke thyn urinals, and thy

jordanes.

1545. Lindsay, Thrie Estatis, 1. 2478. Your mouth war meit to drinke an wesche jurden.

1592. Greene, Blacke Bookes Messenger, in Works, xi. 33. And so pluckt goodman Iurdaine with all his contents down pat on the curbers pate.

1598. Shakspeare, i Henry IV, ii.

i. They will allow us ne'er a jorden.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair,

ii. i. Good Jordan, I know what you'll take to a very drop.

1622. Jonson, Alasçue of Augurs, in Wks. (Cunningham), iii. 165. My lady will come With a bowl and a broom, And her handmaid with a Jordan.

1658. Brome, Covent Garden Weeded, p. Carry up a Jordan for the Maidenhead, and a quart of white muscadine for the Blue Boar.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Jordain.

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

1728. Pope, Dunciad, ii. 190. Crown'd with the jordan walks contented home.

1765. Goldsmith, Essays, 1. Instead of a crown, our performer covered his brows with an inverted Jordan.

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

£.1794. Wolcot [P. Pindar], Peter's Prophecy. Who knows not jordans, fool ! from Roman vases ?

1887. Dr. Brewer, in N. and Q., S. iii. 79. We always called the Matula the jordan, and into this receptacle all the bedroom slops were emptied.

2. (old).—A stroke with a staff.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Jordain. I'll tip him a jordain if I transnear, I will give a blow with my staff if I get up to him.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

3. (journalistic).—The Atlantic;

the ditch {q.v.) ; the herringpond {q.v.).

1875. Daily Telegraph, 10 May. No sooner does a great want of any kind make itself felt, than the means of supplying that want are discovered by our ingenuous cousins on the other side of jordan.

Adj. (American thieves').—Disagreeable; hard of accomplishment. 1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

jorum, subs. (old).—A drinkingbowl ; also a portion of liquor ; a neddy {q.v.). Sp. granizo (= hail).

öU796. Burns, O May, thy Morn ! And here's to them that like oursels Can push about the jorum.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jorum, a jug or large pitcher.

1800. C. Lamb, Letter to Coleridge, Wks. [ed. 1852], ch. v. p. 46. You, for instance, when you are over your fourth or fifth jorum.

1804. John Collins, Scripscrapologia, p. 59. And drown care in a jorum of grog.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xxxviii. p. 333. After dinner, Mr. Bob Sawyer ordered in the largest mortar in the shop, and proceeded to brew a reeking jorum of rum-punch therein.

</.1842. Cunningham, ' Newcastle Beer.' Apply for a jorum of Newcastle beer.

1854. Martin and Aytoun, Bon Gaultier Ballads. ' The Lay of the Lovelorn', Hark my merry comrades call me, bawling for another jorum.

1858. Trollope, Dr. Thome, xi. He contrived to swallow a jorum of scalding tea.

1867. Latham, Eng. Diet., s.v. Jorum. . . . slang, perhaps connected with yarrum.

1870. Mansfield, School-Life at Winchester College, p. 85. Each end and Praefect's mess had their beer served up in a large white jug, or 'bob.' The

Joseph.

76 Joskin.

vessel used for the same purpose in Commoners' was called a joram.

Joseph, szibs. (old).— 1. See quots : specifically a lady's riding habit with buttons to the skirts. In American (thieves') a patched coat. Cf. Benjamin, and for synonyms see Capella.

1671. R. Head, English Rogue, iv. 48 (1874). Joseph, a cloak.

1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia, ii. in Wks. (1720), 4. Who's here? my father ? Lolpoop, Lolpoop, hide me ; give me my Joseph.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Joseph, a Cloak or Coat. A Rum Joseph, a good Cloak or Coat. A Queer Joseph, a coarse ord'nary Cloak or Coat ; also an old or tattered one.

1714. Memoirs of John Hall, (4th ed.) p. 12. Joseph, a close coat.

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

1766. Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, xvi. Olivia would be drawn as an Amazon. . . . dressed in a green Joseph.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Joseph, a woman's great coat.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1818. S. E. Ferrier, Marriage, viii. Another held up a tartan cloak, with a hood ; and a third thrust forward a dark cloth Joseph, lined with flannel.

1823. Modern Flash Diet., s.v.

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, m. xxvii. So as to betray, with every swing of her body, the rich dress, underneath her Joseph.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 62. 'Well, by gunflints,' says he ' efyou ain't makin' a josey.'

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Joseph, a coat that's patched.

2. (colloquial). — A womanproof male. To wear Joseph's coat = to defy temptation, as Joseph with Potiphar's wife.

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Joseph's coat. It's of no use trying, he wears a Joseph's coat.

1870. Reynolds' s Newspaper, 6 Feb. You appear to have been a regular Joseph .

Not for Joseph, phr. (common).—A contemptuous refusal ; a sarcastic dissent : cf. All my eye.

1844. C. Selby, London by Night, ii. i. Jack. Who's to pay? Ned. Whichever you please. Jack. Oh ! in that case you may as well settle it. Ned. Not for Joseph ! You asked me to tea.

c.1867. Broadside Ballad, 'Not for Joe'. Not for joe . . . Not for Joseph, if he knows it.

Joseph's-COAT, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A coat of many colours ; a dress of honour.

1892. Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads, ' The Rhyme of the Three Captains'. They ha' rigged him a Joseph's Jury-coat to keep his honour warm.

josey, verb. (American).—To go; to hasten. For synonyms see Amputate and Skedaddle.

Josh, .wfa.(colloquial).— i.A sleepyhead ; a dolt.

2. (American).—An Arkansas man.

Verb. (American).—To chaff ; to quiz ; to make fun of.

Intj. (American).—A word shouted at the New-York Stock Exchange to wake up a slumbering member.—Bartlett.

Joskin, subs, (common).—A bumpkin : also a dolt. For synonyms see Buffle and Cabbage-head.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Joskin. The drop-cove maced the joskin of twenty quid, the ringdropper cheated the countryman of twenty guineas.

1819. Chas. Lamb, Letter to Mr. Manning. I hate the joskins a name for Hertfordshire bumpkins.

1828. Bee, Living Picture of London, p. 15. The very sight of a countryman, either yokel or joskin.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Josser.

Jowl.

1865. Dickens, Christmas Stories (Doctor Marigold), p. 172 (H. ed.). They all set up a laugh when they see us, and one chuckle-headed joskin (that I hated for it) made the bidding, ' Tuppence for her ! '

1876. Hindley, Adv. of a Cheap Jack, p. 14. An old joskin of a countryman foi an ostler.

1885. Henley, Ballads and Rondeaux, p. . Dull Sir Joskin sleeps his fill ; Hard Sir ^Eger dints his mail.

1889. Sporting Life, 3 Jan. Your true joskin, if an observer at all, can pretty accurately guage the weather prospects.

1892. MiLLiKiN, 'Arry Ballads. Old joskins a-sucking long churchwarden pipes.

Josser, subs, (common).— i. A simpleton ; a fiat ; a sponge (q.v.) ; an old roue. Also as adj.

1886. Broadside Ballad, 'I took it On'. I took it on, Of course I was a

JOSSER.

1889. Ally Sloped s Half Holiday, 6 July, 'Jury Box Jossers' [Title].

c.1890. Music Hall Song, 'I don't like London.' Whenever I'm near them —they always cry Ain't he a josser? Ain't he a guy ?

c.1890. Music Hall Song, ' I'm living with Mother Now.' As a josser I think you will do.

1890. Punch, 22 Feb. These quality jossers would spile it, if 'arf their reforms they can carry.

1892. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, p. 58. I'd keep all sech jossers in mug.

1893. Standard, 29 Jan. p. 2. Now suppose we are on the road . . . and we meet a josser policeman ? Is it fair that the josser should stop us ?

2. (Australian).—A parson. For synonyms see Devil-dodger and Sky-pilot.

Jossop, ^^.(schoolboys').—Syrup ; juice; gravy; sauce—Hotten.

Jostle, verb. (Old Cant).—To cheat.

jottling. TO go jottling, verb, phr. (venery).—To copulate. Also

to jottle, and to do a jottle.

For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Jounce, subs. (American).—A jolt;

a shake.

1876. Mrs. Whitney, Sights and Insights, 11. xvii. Here she. . . . sat herself down. . . . with a jounce.

Verb. (American).—To jolt or

shake by rough riding ; to handle

carelessly ; to deal severely with.

1833. Neal, Down Easters, ii. p. 14. Mind how ye jounce that air chist about !

To be jounced, verb. phr. (American).—To be enamoured of.

Journey, subs, (colloquial).—Occasion; juncture; time.

1884. Longman's Mag., v. 179. ' Well, ' said the policeman, when he understood, and ceased to suspect ; ' as for him, he's got safe enough off, this journey !'

Journeyman Soul-saver, subs, ph r. (common).—A scrip ture-reader; a 'bib le-woman'. Also journeyman-parson (London) = a curate.

Jove.—See By Jove.

j o w l (or j o le), (old : now recognised). —The cheek : cheek by jowl = close together : jowl-sucking = kissing.

1592. Shakspeare, Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 2. Follow ! nay, I'll go with you cheek by jole.

1682. dryden,Prol.to Loyal Brother. Sits cheek-by-jowl, in black, to cheer his heart.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1830. Tennyson, Vision of Sin, 84. Cheek by jowl, and knee by knee.

Joyful. 78 Judy.

Joyful. To be addicted to the 'O be joyful', verb.phr. (common).—See quot.

1865. London Jour, 8 April. Like a great many other clever fellows, he was too much addicted to the ' O be joyful ! ' In fact he had done so much at the business, that a red nose, somewhat swollen, was the consequence.

Juba, stibs. (American).—A negro. See Snowball.

Jubilee, stibs. (WinchesterCollege).

—A pleasant time : e.g. The town

was all in a jubilee of feasts—

Dry den.

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, p. 192. Day by day, and night by night, Joyful jubilees we keep.

J u DAS,.?«fo.(colloquial).— 1 .A traitor. Judas-colored = red. [From the tradition that Judas had red hair].

r.1384. Wyclif, Of Prelates, (in F. D. Mathew's, Unprinted Wks. of W. ch. v.) And thus the lord or the lady hireth costly a fais judas to his confessour.

1597-8. Munday, Downfall of Robert etc. [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), viii. 131]. Warman himself, That creeping Judas, joy'd, and told it me.

1599. Jonson, Ev. Man out of his Humour, iv. 1. Fal. Now, out upon thee, Judas ! canst thou not be content to backbite thy friend, but thou must betray him.

1600. Shakspeare, As You Like It, iii. 4. Ros. His very hair is of the dissembling colour. Cel. Something browner than Judas's.

1604. Decker, Honest Wh., Pt. 11, in Wks. (1873), ii. 116. Thou villaine, curb thy tongue, thou art a Judas, to sell thy master's name to slander thus.

1673. Dryden, Amboyna, [in Wks. i. 561 (1701)]. I do not like his oath, there's treachery in that judas-colour'd beard.

1860. Thackeray, Four Georges (George I). We think within ourselves, O you unfathomable schemer ! O you warrior invincible ! O you beautiful smil

ing Judas ! What master would you not kiss or betray ?

2. See Judas-hole.

Judas-hole, subs, (common).—A spy-hole in a door(^quot. 1893) ; also Judas.

1856. C. Reade, Never too Late etc. \ Century]. He knew the world as he had seen it through judas-holes, chiefly in its foulness and impurity.

1883. Century, xxvii. 75. A judas is a square iron lattice ... all have an iron flap inside to keep inquisitive eyes from prying into the house and yard.— Ibid. xxxv. 522. This contrivance which is known to the political prisoners as the judas enables the guard to look into the cell at any time without attracting the attention of the occupant.

Jude, subs. Common.—(A harlot).

18S6. W. E. Henley, Villon's GoodNight. You judes that clobber for the stramm.

Judische (or Jews) compliment, subs, (venery).—Lots of prick (q.v.) but no money: c.f. Yorkshire compliment.

Judge, subs. (American cadets').— The man most popular with his fellows.

Judge and Jury, subs. phr. (tailors').—A mock trial, the fines being paid in beer.

Judy (or Jude), subs, (common).— i. A girl : a woman, especially one of loose morals : also, a sweetheart. In Anglo-Chinese circles a native courtezan.

1886. Daily Nen's, 26 July, p. 6, col. i. One man saying 'Them ere Romans was them coves as goes about with a horgan an' a judy' (girl).

1888. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 80. I done the best as I knew for you, and there ain't a bloke around as has a judy.

Juff. 79 Jug.

2. (common).—A simpleton; a

fool : to make a judy of oneself = to play the fool ; to act the giddy goat {q.v.) or saucy kipper {q.v.).

1824. Atlantic Magazine, i, 346. Not are ye laughin' at, ye judies.

1854. Punch, i, p. 208, col. 2. Making a judy of herself.

3.1877. Boston Chronotype, (quoted by bartlett). It is thought that a set of men never did make greater judies of themselves.

Juff, subs. (old).—i. The cheek; 2. The posteriors.

jug, subs. (old).—i. A prison : also more frequently stone-jug (q.v.). For synonyms see Cage. Fr. la boite aux cailloux ; Sp. tristura. [Skeat : Yx.joug = a yoke. The Eng. jug, a cant term for a prison (also called jocosely a stone-jug) is the same word].

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, iii. v. And thus was I bowled out at last And into the jug for a lag was cast.

1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 157. That's better than the stone-jug anyhow ; the mill's a deal better than the Sessions.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xlii. He shall be kept in the stone-jug, Charlie, like a gentleman.

1839. Thackeray, Catherine, i. "We intend to take a few more pages from the Old Bailey Calendar to bless the public with one more draught from the

stone jug.

1842. Punch, ii, 188. 'Cut like bricks, and bilk the jug,'he cried in one of those speeches which bother the French authors so much when they try to translate our works.

1852. Judson, Mysteries of NewYork, x. 'What is that place?''It's the jug sir,' responded Frank—'the Tombs, I meant, sir.'

1867. Punch, xxxii, 49. This stone jug at which flats dare to rail.

1870. All the Year Round, 5 Mar. 'Bygone Cant'. In a box of the stonejug I was born, aye, And by a tightened jugular I shall die.

1871. Chambers' Journal, 9 Dec. p. 771. They are no worse than the swells in the City who rob right and left, and never get in the jug for it.

1884. R. E. Francillon, Ropes of Sand, xxi. I've not been under a roof but the jug's since somewhere in old Horneds's time.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxii. It was no use sending it to you, old man, while you was in the jug.

1889. Modern Society, 16 Feb., p. 305. I got three months in the jug for fortune-telling.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 58. As for O'Brien and his britches, I'd keep all sech jossers in jug.

1895. C. Whibley, in New Review, May, p. 570. For thirty years his squat, stout figure was amiably familiar to all such as enjoyed the Liberties of the jug.

2. (American thieves').-Abank:

a broken jugged one = a note

from a broken bank. Hence,

also, Jug-breaking = burglary

at a bank.

1862. Cornhill Mag., vi. 648. It's all in single pennifs on the England jug.

3. (old).—A mistress. Hence (as in quot. 1632) a term of endearment.

1569. T. Preston, Cambyses. Dost thou think I am a sixpenny jug ?

3.1600. Grim the Collier [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), viii. 409]. The collier chooseth well ; . . . . Jug shall be his. [Aside]. But hear'st thou, Grim, I have that in my head, To plot that how thou shall the maiden wed.

1632. W. Rowley, Woman Never Vext, i. i. Bring him away, Jug.

1707. Centlivre, Platonic Lady. Haste ye ! don't you marry that ill tempered jug.

4. (old).—A term of contempt applied indifferently to both the sexes : see juggins.

Jug-bitten. ⁸⁰ Jukruni.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 63. Bell's a bloomer, and, Jack thought, a bit of a jug.

î^^.(coramon).— I. To imprison ; to lock up ; to ' run in ' ; hence to hide.

1852. Judson, Mysteries of NewYork, iv. When I was jugged the last time, didn't you bring me all I wanted.

1861. Albert Smith, Medical Student, p. 33. Poor Jones got jugg'd by mistake, but eventually got off the next morning with a five-shilling fine.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 15 Dec. The police came in and jugged him.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxx. Jim and I will be jugged.

1889. CasseU's Sat. Jour., 9 Feb. That good-looking limb of the law who went wild. . . . and got himself jugged.

1892. Gunter, Miss Dividends, vi. Buck Powers told me I'd be jugged if I shot at 'em.

2. (common).—To take in ; to do {q.v.).

Jug-bitten, sztbs. (old).—Drunk. For synonyms see Drinks and Screwed.

1630. Taylor, Works. For when any of them are wounded, pot-shot, jugbitten, or cup-shaken, so that they have lost all reasonable faculties ot the minde, and in a manner are so mad, that they dare speake felony, whistle treason, and call any magnifico a mungrell.

Jug-full. Not by a jug full,phr.

(common).—Not by a good deal,

by long chalks, by no means.

1834. Downing, Mayday in NewYork (quoted by Bartlett.) Downingville is as sweet as a rose. But 'tain't so in New-York, not by a jug-full.

1838-40. Haliburton ('Sam Slick'), Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xviii. The last mile, he said, tho' the shortest one of the whole bilin ', took the longest [time] to do it by a jug full.

Juggins (or jug), subs, (common).— A fool. For synonyms see Buffle and Cabbage-head.

1886. Punch, 17 July, p. 25. Yah ! Wot a old juggins he is !

1888. Runciman, The Chequers, 116. Only a juggins or a horse ever works, and I don't intend to do any.

1888. Sporting Life, 29 Dec. The jugginses who pull down but never build up are clamouring just a little bit for the abolition of Christmas.

1890. Globe, 15 Feb., p. 2, col. 1. Among the witnesses called to speak to the character of the prisoner was the Marquis of Ailcsbury, who said he did not think Benzon would do any wrong intentionally, but he was a regular

jubilee juggins.

1892. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, p. 5. Darned Sosherlist jugginses 'owl till all's blue agin Wealth.

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xii. He was a juggins though he could write songs.

Juggler'S-box, subs. (Old Cant).— The branding-iron.

Juice, subs, (venery).—Spendings,

(q.v.). to give juice for jelly

= to achieve the sexual spasm.

to stew in one's own juice

(or Grease).—See Stew.

juicy, a^'. (common).— 1. Piquant;

racy; bawdy.

1880. Greenwood, Odd People, p. 59. ' Let me play you a tune, then,' said the frightened lad. ' All right, then. Play us something juicy,' exclaimed the ruffian.

2. (venery).—Amorous: Of women only.

1691-2. Gentlemen's Journal, Jan., p. 43. She by self-denial, . . . rich, juicy, full of love, debarr'd herself from the man she doated on.—Ibid, Aug. p. 5. A juicy young amorous creature.

1719. Durfey, Pills 6rc, ii. 312. Snug, rich, and fantastick, no tumbler was known, That wedded a juicy brisk girl of the town.

Jukrum, subs. (Old Cant).—A license.—B.E. (1690); New Cant. Diet. (1725); Grose (1785).

Jtilius Cœsar.

Jump.

Julius C/esar, subs.phr. (venery). The penis. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

Dead as Julius C/esar, phr. (old).—Dead past doubting.

Jumbaree, subs, (theatrical).—Jewellery.

Jumbo, stibs. (old).—A clumsy, unwieldly fellow.—Bee (1823).

Jumble, verb. (old).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride. Also to do a jumblegiblets, or a jumble-up.

1582. Stanyhurst, Virgil his Aeneis (Arber, 1880), iv. 100. Dick and thee Troian captayns doe jumble in one den.

1595. Barnfield, Poems (Arber, 1882), 40. Both they jumble in one bed.

1G18. Field, Amends for Ladies, iv. 2. I would have so jumbled her honesty.

1651. Randolph, Hey for Honesty, iii. 3. The wenches will tumble and merrily jumble.

16S7. Brome, The Queen's Exchange, in Wks. (1875), iii. 535. The dairy maid and he were jumbling of A posset together.

1719. Durfey, Pills &>c, iv. 100. We jumble our lasses upon the grass.

Jumble-gut-lane, subs. phr. (old). —A bad or rough road.—B.E. (1690); Grose (1785).

jumbler, subs. (old). A fuckster

or fuckstress (q.v.)

1618. Field, Amends for Ladies, ii. i. She has been as sound a jumbler as ever paid for it.

jumbuck, subs. (Australian).—A sheep. For synonymst Woollybird.

1851. Chambers¹ Journal, xv. 317. Mind you look out well after the men as well as the jumbucks.

vol. iv.

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, Feb. The process by which the jumbucks are shorn.

Jumm, verb, (venery).—To copulate.—(Urquhart). For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Jummix, verb. (American).—To jumble up ; to mix together : a portmanteau word (q.v.)

Jump, subs. (old).— 1. A form of robbery. See Jilt, verb.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Jump. Robbery effected by ascending a ladder placed by a sham lamplighter against the house intended to be robbed. It is so called because, should the lamplighter be put to flight, the thief who ascended the ladder has no means of escaping but that of jumping down.

2. (thieves').—A window: cf. Back jump.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

3. (in pl.).—(1) the fidgets; (2) delirium tremens.

1879. Payn, High Spirits (Capt. Cole's Passenger). I though he had been drinking, and in fact was on the verge of the jumps.

1889. Daily Telegraph, 7 Sep., 5, 3. Only suffering from an attack of the jumps.

4. (old).—Loose raiment. See Jumper, sense 4.

1752. Foote, Taste (ed. 1781), p. v. Don't mind my shape this bout, for I'm only in jumps.

Verb.(o\à).—1. To seize upon, whether forcibly or by stealth ; to cheat; to supplant: e.g. to jump a man = to pounce upon and rob or maltreat ; to jump a house ~ to rob it ; to jump a claim = to take possession of a mining right in the absence of an owner. Fr. farguer à la dure.

Jump.

1789. Geo. Parker, Life's Painter, 160. They . . . pick him up and take him to the above alehouse to jump him, or do him upon the broads, which means cards.

1855. F. Marryat, Mountains and Molehills, 217. If a man jumped my claim. .... 1 appealed to the crowd.

1857. Westgarth, Victoria and the Australian Goldmines. There was for that day at any rate to be no jumping of claims.

1870. Bret Harte, Luck of Roaring Camp, 134. The old proprietor .... was green, and let the boys about here jump him.

1879. J. W. Horsley, in Macm. Mag., xl. 500. Who used to take me a parlour-jumping (robbing rooms), putting me in where the window was open.

1888. Chicago Herald. He arose at early dawn and jumped his bill.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxxviii. We lying down and our horses hung up not far off for fear we might be jumped by the police at any time.

1890. Athrna>u7ii, 8 Feb. p. 176, col. 2. 'How a Claim was nearly jumped ' is the most natural and the best of the five stories.

2. (venery).—To copulate. For

synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1638. Randolph, Muses' LookingGlass, iv. 3. Then there is jumping Jude . . . with bouncing Nan.

3. (medical).—To try a medicine.

From the jump, adv. phr. (colloquial).—From the start.

1848. New York Tribune, 11 Nov. Here is a whole string of Democrats, all of whom had been going the whole hog for Cass from the jump.

3.1871. Wild Bill [quoted by De Vere]. I knew how it would come from the jump, for in the man's face was written rascal.

1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, 3 Feb. He can depend on a big crowd and fair play from the jump.

To jump at, verb. phr. (colloquial).— i. To accept eagerly. 1848. Longstreet, Georgia Scenes

[quoted by De Vere]. When I offered him that, his whole face brightened wonderfully, and he jumped at the offer.

1861. Hughes, 71??« Brown at Oxford, iii. i. Mary was getting on badly with her drawing, andji'mped at the idea of a ramble in the woods.

1882. James Payn, Thicker than Wafer, vii. His circumstances were such that, to use a homely but very significant expression, he might well have jumped at such an offer.

2. (colloquial).—To guess.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger's SweetJicart, 250. I shall only give you a little of our conversation the Sunday night before we parted, and leave you to jump at what had been said before.

TO jump (or be jump) with, verb.phr. (colloquial).—To agree ; to coincide; to tally.

1567. Harman, Caveat [E. E. I. S.], 44. They mete iompe at night.

1584. Lyly, Alexander and Campaspe. And thou to be jump with Alexander.

1598. Shakspeare, I Henry IV, i. 2. In short, it jumps with my humour.

1606. Return from P arnassus [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 113]. As in the first, so in the last, my censure may jump with thine.

1633. Match at Midnight, iii. 1. How all things jump in a just equivalency.

1660. Andromana, iii. 6. This story jump'd Just with my dream to-night.

1838. Neal, Charcoal Sketches, [quoted by De Vere]. On the whole it jumped with his desires, and the matter was clinched.

1841. Peake, Court and City, iv. Hum. What a happiness it is, when people's inclinations jump !

TO jump one's horse over a BAR,verb.phr. (colonial). .SW'quot.

1886. Daily Telegraph, 20 Mar. Then the unhappy man would, in bush parlance, jump his horse over the bar, that is to say, he would, for a paltry sum, sell his horse, saddle, bridle, and all, to the lambing-down landlord.

Jump.

Jumper.

To GO a jump, verb. phr. (American thieves').—To enter a house oythe window.—Matsell (1859).

To jump a bill, verb. phr. (common).—To dishonour an acceptance.

1892. Pall Mall Gazette, 17 Oct., p. 2, col. 3. Painting the town red . . . jumping bills . . . evading writters etc.

TO see how the cat will jump, verb. phr. (common).—To watch the course of events ; to sit

on the fence (q.v.).

1825. Universal Songster, i. ('The Dog's-Meat Man'). He soon saw which way the cat did jump, And his company he offered plump.

1827. Scott, in Croker Pap. (1884), i. xi. 319. Had I time, I believe I would come to London merely to see how the cat jumped.

1853. Bulwer Lytton, My Novel, iv. p. 228. ' But I rely equally on your friendly promise.' 'Promise! No—I don't promise. I must first see how the cat jumps.'

1859. Lever, Davenport Dunn, in. 229. You'll see with half an eye how

the cat jumps.

1874. Sat. Rev., p. 139. This dismays the humble Liberal of the faint Southern type, who thinks that there are subjects as to which the heads of his party need not

wait to sek how the cat jumps.

18S7. ' Pol. Slang,' in ComhillMag., June, p. 626. Those who sit on the fence —men with impartial minds, who wait to she, as another pretty phrase has it, how

the cat will jump.

TO jump upon, verb.phr. (co-loquial).—To maltreat, physically or otherwise ; to criticise severely ; to take it out of (q.v.) ; to sit upon (q.v.).

1872. M. E. Braddon, Dead Sea Fruit, v. When a wretched scribbler was, in vulgar phraseology, to be jumped upon, honest Daniel put on his hobnailed boots, and went at the savage operation with a will.

To jUMr bail, verb. phr. (common).—To abscond.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

To jump the Broomstick.— See Broomstick.

To jump up (tailors').—To get the best of one, or the reverse.— Slang, Jargon cV Cant.

To jump the game, verb.phr. (American police).—To raid a gambling den.

To jump up behind, verb.phr.

(general).—See quot.

1865. Daily Telegraph, 9 Mar. 'Has he no friend,' he asks him, 'who will jump up behind, that is endorse the acceptance.'

TO jump out of one's skin.—

See Skin.

On the keen jump, adv. phr.

(U. S. colloquial).—On the ' go ' ;

violently at work.

3.1884. T. Winthrop, Saccharissa Mellasys [in Century]. De tar-kittle's a-bilin' on de keen jump.

Jump-down, subs, (colonial).—See

quot. Also jumping off place ;

a destination.

1885. Staveley Hill, From Home to Home. Colonially known as the jumpdown, that is the last place that is in course of erection on the outskirts of what is called civilized life.

1887. Scribner's Magazine. It is a sort of jumping-off-flace.

Jumped-up, adj. phr. (common).— Conceited ; arrogant : also perturbed; upset.

Jumper, subs. (old).—1. See quot.

1821. D. Haggart, Life, Glossary, p. 172. Jumper, a tenpenny-piece.—Ibid. p. 114. IgotthreejUMPERsandakid's-eye.

2. (thieves').—A thief who enters houses by the windows : cf. Jilter.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1825. Mod. Flash Diet., s.v.

Jumping-Jack. ⁸4 Junk.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

3. (colonial).—One who illegally appropriates a claim : but see Jump, verb, sense 1. Cf. Bounty-jumper.

1890. Gunter, Miss Nobody, p. 86. Bob, the hero who saved the Bab}' mine from the jumpers got us.

4. (common).—A short slop

of coarse woollen or canvas.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, iii. p. 222. 'We weren't dressed in such togs as these 'ere, but had white canvas jumpers and trousers.'

1883. Clark Russell, Sailor's Language, s.v.

1884. A. Forbes, in Eng. III. Mag., i. 698. He wore the long boots and the woollen jumper of a miner [in N.-Zealand].

1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 156. His huge chest is set off by a coarse white jumper.

Jumping-Jack, subs. (American).— An antic; a gull.

1884. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, ii. 3. He was my ape, my tool, my jumping-jack.

1892. Gunter, Miss Dividends, x. Some day, my jumping-jack, your wit may cost you the little brains you have.

1895. Henley and Stevenson, Macaire (A^Te7t< Review, June, p. 688), i. 3. With the courage of a hare . . . and the manners of a jumping-jack.

Jumping Jehosophat (Jupiter or Moses).—See By.

Jumping Cat. The cult of the jumping cat, subs. phr. (colloquial).—The practice of waiting to see the course of events before acting. See Cat.

Jumping-powder, subs, (common).

—A stimulant administered to give

spirit and 'go' to a person or animal.

1840. Blaine, Encyc. Rural Sports, 385. ' Had he been fortified into pursuing the ' varmint ' by a certain quantum of jumping powder.'

June, verb. (Western American).— To go [Germ, gehen"].

Junesey, subs. (American).—A

sweetheart.

1889. Atlantic Monthly, Oct., p. 502. De young nigger men on de plantation wuz atter Dilsey, but it did n' do no good, en none un 'em could n' git Dilsey fer dey junesey, 'tel Dave ' mence fer ter go roun' Aun' Mahaly's cabin.

Junior, adj. (Winchester College).— Applied to all comparable objects. Of two neighbouring trees, the bigger is the ' senior ' : there are a 'senior' and a 'junior' end to a table, a room etc. Tight junior =lowest of all.

Juniper, sitbs. (colloquial).—Gin. For synonyms see Drinks etc. Also Juniper-brandy.

1857. J. E. Ritchie, Night Side of London, p. 195. The pots of heavy and the quarterns ofjUNiPERare freely quaffed.

Juniper-lecture, subs. (old).—A round scolding bout.—Lex. Bal. (1811).

Junk, subs, (nautical).— 1. Salt beef:

also old (or salt) horse. [From

being tough as old rope].

1700-01. Smollett, SirL.Greaves,u. 1. ' Whom I value no more than old junk, pork-slush, or stinking stock fish.'

1830. Moncrieff, 'OldBooty'. May the swabs live upon salt junk.

1830. M. Scott, Cringle's Log. viii. I thought I could eat a bit, so I attacked the salt junk and made a hearty meal.

1837. Marryat, Snarleyo7v, C. xi. So while they cut their raw salt-jUNKS, With dainties You'll be crammed.

1840. Harwood, Mess Table Chat. A dry, mahogany looking lump of salt beef, aquatic junk, Gallice 'resistance.'

1891. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 69. The meals were either of oatmeal porridge or salt junk.

Junket.

85 Jutland.

Junket! intj. (Winchester College). —An exclamation of self-congratulation: e.g. 'Junket' I've got a ' remi '.

Verb. (Winchester College).— To exult over.—Notions.

Junt, subs. (old).—A wanton. For synonyms see Barrack-hack and Tart.

1608. Middleton, Trick to Catch, v. i. Daintily abused! you've put a junt upon me ;—a common strumpet.

Jupiter, subs. (Fleet St.).— The Times newspaper ; also Jupiter Tonans, or the thunderer. Jupiter junior = The Daily Telegraph.

Jurk, subs. (American thieves').— A seal ; a jark (q.v.).—matsell (1859).

Jury, subs, (costermongers').—An assertion ; a profession.

Just, adv. (colloquial).—In truth;

really ; ' rather'.

1892. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 13. Wouldn't i just !

Justum, subs, (venery).—The penis. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.—Urquhart.

Jybe.—See Gybe.

Jutland, subs. (old).—The posteriors. For synonyms see Bum.

1695. Congreve, Love for Love, i. 5. Pretty round, heaving breasts, and a jut with her bum, would stir an anchorite.

AFFIR, subs, (common).—i. A prostitute's bully ; a ponce(y.z'.). Hence a general term of contempt.

2. in pi. (Stock Exchange).— See quot. 1895.

1889. The Rialto, 23 March. Tintos climbed to i2^f/4, and even Kaffirs raised their sickly heads.

1895. Daily Telegraph, 1 April, p. i, col. 6. Advt. Kaffirs, as South African Mining shares are euphemistically called by dealers in the London Stock Exchange have been the leading market for the past few months.

Kail. Kail through the reek, phr. (Scots').—Bitter language or hard usage. [In allusion to the unpalateableness of smoky broth. To

give one his kail through the

reek = to reprove violently ; to punish with severity.]

1817. Scott, Rob. Roy, iii. 75. If he brings in the Glengyle folk, and the Glenfinlas and Balquhidder lads, he may come to gie vou your kail through the reek.

1827-30. Scott, Tales of my Landlord, iii. 12. They set till the sodgers, and I think they gae them their kail through the reek.

Ka me, kathee,/Är.(oldScots':now general).—'One good turn deserves another ' ; ' scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.' Also Ka and Kob.

1547. Heywood, Poems on Proverbs, E. i b. Ka me, ka thee, one good tourne asketh another.

1605. Jonson, etc., Eastward Hoe [Dodsley, Old Plays, iv. 221]. Thou art pandar to me for my wench, and I to thee for thy cousenage. K me, k thee, runs through court and country.

1608. Armyn, Nest of Ninnies. But kay me, He kay thee ; give me an inch to day, He give thee an ell to morrow.

1611. Barry, Ram Alley [Dodsley, Old Plays, v. 494]. You know the law has tricks ; Ka me, ka thee.

</.1625. Lodge, Satire, i. To keepe this rule—kawe me, and I kavve thee ; To play the saints whereas we divels be.

1630. Taylor, Works, Ep. 6.Ka mee, ka thee. My muse hath vow'd, revenge shall have her swindge To catch a parret in the woodcocks sprindge, etc.

1634. Withal, Diet., p. 565. Manus manum fricat ; ka me, ka thee, one good turne requireth another.

1653. Brome, The City Wit, in Wks. (1873), i. 444. Ka me, ka thee : an old kind of court service.

1658. Rowley, Witch of Edmonton, ii. i. II you'll be so kind as to ka me one good turn, I'll be so courteous to kob you another.

1659. Massinger, City Madam, ii. i. We cash-keepers Hold correspondence, supply one another On all occasions. I can borrow for a week Two hundred pounds of one, as much of a second, A third lays down the rest ; and when they want, As my master's money comes in, I do repay it. Ka me, ka thee.

1672. Ray, Proverbs, p. 126, s.v. Lend me an oath or testimony ; swear for me, and I'll do as much for you ; or claw me, and i'll claw you ; commend me, and I'll commend you.

Kangaroo.

Keelhaul.

1721. Kelly, Scottish Proverbs, Lett. K. 21, s.v.

Kangaroo. Kangaroo droop, subs. phr. (common).—A feminine affectation (cf. Grecian Bend and Roman fall) : the hands are brought close to the breast and set to droop palm downward, as if muscular action were lost.

Kangaroo voting, sicbs.phr. (American political).—The Australian ballot system adopted, with sundry modifications, in many of the States.—Norton.

Kanits, stcbs. (backslang).—A stink. Kanitseno = a stinking one.

Kant, subs, (common).—See Cant, subs., sense 3.

Kanuck.—See Canack.

Karimption, subs. (American).—A gang ; a mob ; a party.

Karplunk, intj. (American).—See Cachunk.

Kate (or Katey), subs. (Old Cant).— i. A picklock: cf. Betty and Jenny.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kate. 'Tis a Rum Kate, that is a Clever Picklock.

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

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

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Katey.

2. (old).—A wanton. Dutch, Kat.—Matsell (1859). See Kitty.

1721. Ramsay, Lucky Spence's Last Advice, in Wks. (ut sup.), ii. 304. Roun'd in his lug that there was a Poor country Kate, As halesum as the well of Spa, But unco blate.

Kaze, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum.—Burton (Thousand Nights, passim). For synonyms see Monosyllable.

1882. Payne, Book 0/ the Thousand Nights etc. ' The Porter of the Three Ladies of Baghdad'. Thy caze, thy tout, thy catso, thy coney.

Keck-handed, adj. (school).—Lefthanded. [Prov. Eng. Keck = wrongly.]

Kedger, subs, (nautical).—A mean fellow; cadger (q.v.): 'one in everybody's mess but in no one's watch—an old term for a fisherman.'—Ad. Smyth.

Keek-cloy.—See Kicks.

Keeker, subs. (Scots').—In pi. = the eyes. For synonyms see Peepers. From keek = to look; to peer. Cf. Pintle-keek.

Keel, stibs. (Scots').—The posteriors. For synonyms see Bum.

To keel over, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To come to grief.

Keelbully, subs. (Old Cant).—See quot.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Keelbullies, Lightermen that carry Coals to and from the Ships, so called in Derision.

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

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

Keelhaul (or Keelrakej, verb. (Old nautical : now recognised or colloquial).—To punish offenders by dragging them under water on one side of the ship, and up again on the other, by ropes attached to the yard-arms on either side ; or in small vessels, under the craft from stem to stern. Hence, figuratively, to treat roughly; to chastise.

Keelhauling.

Keep.

1626. Capt. J. Smith, Accidence, in Wks. (Arbkr) p. 790. The Marshall is to punish offcndors, and to see Justice executed according to directions, as ducking at yards arme, hawling vnder

the keele.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crerv, s.v. Keel-hale, to draw by a Rope tied to the Neck, and fastned to a Tackle (with a jerk) quite under the Keel or bottom of" the Ship.

1710. C. Shadwell, Fair Quaker of Deal, i. May I be keel-hawled, if any man in the universe has more reformed the navy than myself.

1734. C. Johnson, History of Highwaymen etc., 349. He was often whipp'd at the cap stern, put in the Bilboes, and once keelhauled.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, iii. Whoever told him so was a lying, lubberly rascal, and deserved to be keelhauled.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v., keel-hawling.

1836. M. Scott, Cringle's Log, xii. While the old woman keelhauled me with a poker on one side, he jerked at me on the other, until at length he gave me a regular cross-buttock.

1837. Marryat, Snarley Yow, x. The unfortunate Smallbones was to be keel-hauled.

Keelhauling, subs, (old: now recognised).—See Keelhaul : hence a good rating ; rough treatment. 1785. Grose, Vulg. longue, s.v.

1838. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 2. S. xxiii. ' There's a keel-hauling in store for some of you that shall be nameless, as sure as you are born.'

Keen, subs. (American cadets').—A funny story ; a joke : to get off a keen = to make a witty remark.

Keep, subs, (colloquial).— 1. Board and lodging.

1861. T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, i. viii. I performed some services to the College in return for my keep.

1869. Blackmore, Lorna Doonc, xlvi. Moreover, we could not bear the idea that she should labor for her keep.

2. (colloquial).—A salaried mistress. See verb, sense 3.

Verb, (old and American).— 1. To abide.

1593. Shakspeare, Titus Andr.,v. 2, 5. Knock at his study where, they say, he keeps.

1613. Browne, Brit. Past., 1. iv. p. 87. The high top'd firres which on that mountain keepe, Have ever since that time becne scene to weepe.

1626. C. More, Life c~ Death of SirThomas M ore.better to Dean Colet'. Yff the discommodities of the cittie doe, as they may very well, displease you, yet may the countrie about your parish of Stepney afforde you the like delights which that affordes you wherein now you keepe .

1633. Fletcher, Purple Island, v. 25. Here stands the palace of the noblest sense,Here Visus keeps, whose court than crystal smoother, And clearer seems.

</.1656. Hall, Satires, v. p. 86. Would it not vex thee, where thy sires did keep, To see the dunged folds of dag-tail'd sheep ?

1742-3. Pope, Duuciad, iv. 307. But chief her shrine where naked Venus keeps, And Cupids ride the Lion of the deeps.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Keep, to inhabit ; Lord, where do you keep, i.e. where are your rooms (academical phrase).

1790. Winthrop, Hist. New England, i. 72. The Tarcntines . . . rifled a wigwam where Mr.Cradock's men kept.

1795. Gentleman'¹ s Magazine, p. 118. He said I ought to have asked for his rooms, or inquired where he kept.

1866. M. Arnold, lliyrsis. But yet he could not keep Here with the shepherds and the silly sheep.

2. (old).—See quot. Cf. Scots' haud.

1724-27. Ramsay, « O Mither Dear, I Gin to Fear,' in Wks. (at sup.), 11. 281. ' I 'gin to fear, Tho' I'm baith good and bonny, I wina keep ; for in my sleep I start and dream of Johny.

Keep. 89 Keep.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Keep .... Mother, your tit won't keep ; your daughter will not preserve her virginity.

3. (colloquial).—To maintain a woman for bedservice. Hence keeper = a man who salaries a standing mistress ; to go into keeping = to take service as a bed-fellow ; to take into keeping = to keep ; kept-woman = a salaried smock-servant; house

keeper[orHOUSE-bit](<7.7>.^keeping-cully {q.v.)', etc. [See also Brome (The City Wit),Dramatis Persona; for 'two keeping women', where it seems to stand for lodging-house keeping.]

1579. North, Noble Grecians and Romanes, 'Fabius Maximus' (in Tudor Translations, 1895, ii. 78). My good sister, there was a great speache in the Romaines campe that thou wert kept by one of the chiefest captaines of the garrison.

164 0. Randolph, Poems etc., in Wks. [Hazlitt, (1875), ii, 539]. I wonder what should Madam Lesbia mean To keep young Histrio ?

1663. KiLLiGREW, Parson's Wedding [Dodsley, Old Plays (1875), xiv. 379]. 'Will you keep me then?' ' keep thee ! I'd marry thee as soon ' . . . 'no, no keeping, I.' Ibid. 438. Rather than marry, keep a wench.

1678. Dryden, All for Love, Prol. The keeping tonies of the pit.

1679. Dryden, Limberham 01 The Kind Keeper [Title],

1721. Ramsay, Morning Interview (note), in Wks., i. 281. A kind keeper.

1732. Fielding, Covent Garden Tragedy. And I will let the sooty rascals see A Christian keeps a whore as well as they.

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, i. 2. It was a saying in the place that he kept the best horses, dogs, and girls in the whole county.

1895. Tunes, 19 June, p. 5, col. 6. They allow their daughter, Alma, to be kept by Herr Mühlink's son.

TO keep one's eyes skinned

(polished, or peeled, or one's

weather eye lifted, nose

open, or end up, etc.) verb. phr. (common).—To take care; to maintain a position ; to be wideawake, or fly (q.v.).

1847. Porter, Big Bear etc., p. 134. Keep your eye skinned for sign, and listen for my horn.

1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 14. ' Yep, old gal ! and keep your nose open ; thar's brown-skin about.

1887. Francis, Saddle & Mocassin, 138. If3'ouhave business to attend to,you'd best go right along and do it. Keep your eyes skinned of course, but don't stay home.

1888. Froude, The English in the West Indies. Americans keep their eyes skinned as they call it, to look out for other openings.

1890. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 88. I bade my friend Jack keep his eye polished.

1891. Herald, 19 July. ' Old fellow,' he said, ' we must go with them and keep our eyes peeled, for they don't none of 'em mean to be square any more'n I do.'

1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 21. ' Do you think,' Loudon, 'he replied,'that a man who can paint a thousand-dollar picture has not grit enough to keep his end up in the stock market ?

1892. Ally Sloper's Half Holiday, 19 Mar. p. 94, col. 3. ' Don't forget it's Leap Year 'Hity ; keep your weather eye peeled.'

To keep company, verb. phr. (old).— i. To go into society; to entertain often and be often entertained.

1658. Brome, Covent Garden Weeded, p. 24. Why, Sir, did not I keep company, think you, when I was young?

2. (colloquial).—To sweetheart: said of both sexes.

1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 140. Mr. Wilkins kept company with Jemima Evans.

Keep. 90 Keep.

To keep a pig, verb. phr. (Oxford University).—To have a lodger. [The pig (q.v.) is usually a freshman who, the college being full, is quartered on a student whose rooms include two bedchambers.]

To keep a stiff upper lip (or one's pecker up), verb. phr. (general).—To stand firm ; to keep up a heart; to chuck out one's chest.

To keep the doctor, verb, phr. (common).—To retail adulterated drinks: Cf. Doctor.

To keep chapel, verb. phr. (University).—See quot. 1852.

1850. Household Words, ii. p. 161. ' As you have failed to make up your number of chapels the last two weeks,' such were the very words of the Dean, 'you will, if you please, keep every chapel till the end of the term.'

1852. Bristed, Five Years etc., 32. The undergraduate is expected to go to Chapel eight times, or, in academic parlance, to keep eight chapels a week.

To keep cave, verb. phr. (Eton College).—To watch and give warning on a tutor's approach.

1883. Brinsley Richards, Seven Years at Eton, ch. iv. Another had to mount guard in the passage, or on the staircase, to keep cave.

TO keep down the census, verb. phr. (common.)—To procure abortion ; to masturbate. Fr. taper un môme.

TO keep dark (or it dark),

verb. phr. (colloquial).—To keep secret.

1868. Reade and Boucicault, Foul Play, vii. I always thought it was a pity she kept it so dark.

1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 120. I'll keep dark.

1S88. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xii. It'll give us all we know to keep dark when this thing gets into the papers.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger's Sweetheart, p. 33. 'Never mind, Moll, I'll keep the next time dark, you bet.'

To keep sloom, verb. phr. (tailors').—To keep quiet.

To keep it up, verb. phr. (common).—To continue anything vigorously ; specifically to prolong a debauch.

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, iii. 1. 'He mistook you for the barmaid, Madam ! ' 'Did he? Then, as I live, I am resolved to keep up the delusion ?'

1775. Sheridan, Rivals, i. 1. Theu regular hours stupefy me—not a fiddle nor a card after eleven ! However Mr. Faulkland's gentleman and I keep it up a little in private parties.

1788. G. A. Stuvess, Adv.of a Speculist, ii. 52. Yet they were keeping it up, as they called it; singing, though they wanted spirits.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. We kept it up finely last night : metaphor drawn from the game of shuttlecock.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick [ed. 1857] p. 443. We were keeping it up pretty tolerably at the stump last night.

1857-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Loud. Poor, in. 57. We keeps it up for half an hour, or an hour .... if the browns tumble in well.

1879. Athenœum, July 5, p. 13, col. 2. He puts some excellent remarks on the question of keeping it up into a conversation among some of his Roman artists.

To keep dry, verb. phr. (American).—To hold one's tongue; to keep dark (q.v.).

1887. FR.\xcis,Saddle and Mocassin, p. 295. Never let them get a chance at your sentiment; keep that dry.

TO keep one back and belly,

verb. phr. (common).—To feed and clothe.

For keeps, phr. (schoolboys'). —To keep for good.

Keeping-cully. 91

Kelter.

1880. The Advance, 9 Dec. We, the undersigned, promise not to play marbles for keeps, nor bet nor gamble in any way.

To keep THE door, verb. phr. (old).—To play the bawd.

TO KEEP THE POT boiling, (colloquial).—To go on with anything; to 'keep the game alive'.

TO KEEP (or HOLD) ONE'S HAIR

on. See Hair.

To keep open house, verb, phr. (tramps').—To sleep in the open air ; to do a star pitch. For synonyms see Hedge-SQUARE.

To keep up to the collar,

verb. phr. (common).—To keep

hard at work.

1861. J. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, 11. ii. Hardy kept him pretty well up to the collar.

TO KEEP SHEEP by MOONlight, verb. phr.(old).—To hang in chains.

AS LONG AS i CAN BUY MILK I SHALL NOT KEEP A COW, phr.

(venery).—.SV^keep, verb.sense 3.

1680. Bunyan, Life and Death of Air. Badman [ed. 1696], p. 208. When . . . asked the reason he would make this answer. ' Who would keep a cow of their own that can have a quart of milk for a penny? ' Meaning, who would be at the charge to have a wife that can have a whore when he listeth ?

He can't keep a hotel, phr. (American).—A phrase intimating lack of administrative capacity.

Keeping-cully, subs\o\&).—A man who keeps (q.v.verb. sense3).—B. E. (\o<^o);New Cant. Diet.(17 25); Grose (1785); Lex. Bal.(\%\\).

Keffel, subs. (old).—A horse. For synonyms .j^Prad.—B.E. ( 1690); New Cant. Diet. (1725); GROSE (1785); Matsell (1859).

Keg, subs. (American).—The stomach. For synonyms see Victualling Office.

1887.Fkancis, Saddle andMocassin, p. 270. We'd been having a time and my keg was pretty full too.

Keg m eg,stebs.(common).— See quot.

1883. Payn, Thicker than Water, xii. It was not unusual for Mrs. Beckett to seek half an hour's intimate talk with her young companion, which she playfully termed a keg-meg.

Keifer, subs, (venery).—Generic for Mutton (q.v.). For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Ke-keya, subs. (American thieves'). —The devil.—Matsell (1859). For synonyms see Skipper.

Kelder, subs. (old).—The belly. See Hans-in-kelder and Jackin-the-cellar.

1658. Brome, New Academy, y. 29. By this good tongue, no more than the unbegotten Hans I mean to clap into thy kelder.

Kelp, subs. (old).—A hat. For synonyms see Golgotha. To kelp = to raise one's hat in salutation.

1754. Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 30. We jostle him, and one knocks his kelp off.

1819. Vaux, Alemoirs, s.v. Kelp.

Kelso-boots, subs. (Old Scots').— Heavy shackles put on the legs of prisoners ; by some supposed to be a sort of stocks.—Jamieson.

Kelter (or Kilter), subs. (old).— i. Order; condition; form (q.v.).

1630-50. Bradford,Plymouth Plantation, 235. Ye very sight of one (a gun) though out of kilter, was a terrour unto them.

Keltie.

Ken.

1687. Barrow, Sermons, i. Ser. 6. If the organs of prayer are out of keltkr, or out of time, how can we pray.

1690. B. E.,Dicl. Cant. Crete, s.v. Out of Keltkr, out of sorts.

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

1754. Martin, Eng. Diet., 2nd ed., s.v.

1785. Grose. Vulg. longue., s.v.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1889. C.F.W00LSON, Jupiter Lights, xviii. I'm a failure because I always see double, like a stereoscope out of kilter.

2. (old).—Money. For synonyms see Actual and Gilt. [Also provincial Yorkshire(HALLiwell); and Scots' (Jamieson)].

1789. Geo. Parker, Life's Painter, p. 143, s.v.

Keltie (or Kelty), subs. (Scots').— A bumper, imposed as a fine, on those who do not drink fair. [Said to be so called from a famous champion drinker in Kinrosshire.]

K em esa. See Camesa.

Ken, subs. (Old Cant).— 1. A house; a place : generally in combination ; e.g. Boozing-Ken = drinking house; a bob-ken or bowmanken = a well-furnished house ; etc. TO bite, or crack, a ken = to

rob a house.

English synonyms. Carsey (or case) ; castle ; cat-and-mouse ; crack ; diggings ; hang-out ; rootee ; roost; shop; panny.

Italian synonyms. Canucha; tugurio.

1567. Harman, Caveat Man, p. 86. Stowe your bene, cofe, and cut benat whydds, and byng we to rome vylc, to nyp a bong ; so shall we haue lowre for

the bousing ken, and when we byng back to the deuseauyel, we wyll fylche some duddes of the Ruffemans, or myll the ken for a bagge of dudes.

1609. Dekker, Lanthome and Candlelight. If we niggle or mill a bousing

kf.n.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 39 (H. Club's Repr. 1874). Ken, an house. Stawling ken, a house to receive stolnc goods, or a dwelling house.

1671. R. Head, English Rogue, pt. i., ch. vi., p. 54 (1874). We straight betook ourselves to the boozing ken ; and having bubb'd rumly, we concluded an everlasting friendship.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Ken. A rob ken, or a bowman-ken, a good or well Furnished House, full of booty, worth robbing ; also a House that Harbours Rogues and Thieves. Biting the ken, Robbing the House.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v. Ken. When we entered the ken we leapt up the Dancers and fagotted all there. . . . 'tis a bob-ken, Brush upon the sneak.

1748. Dyciie,Dictionary, (5th ed.). Ken (S.) a cant name for a dwelling house of any sort, but more particularly cottages.

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

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, iv. Out of my ken, you cur of the mange.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, p. 260. The bar of the ken is filled with traps.

1851. Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, 1., p. 336. The old woman (who kept the ken), when any female, old or young, who had no tin, came into the kitchen, made up a match for her with some men.

1856. C. Reade, Never Too Late, xlvii. We won't all go together. . . . you two meet me at Jonathan's ken in an hour.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1889. Answers, 27 July, p. 136, col. i. My associations in the fourpenny lodging ken were such as would have degenerated a stronger character than mine.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, Tab. ii, Sc. 1, p. 24. I had to look into a ken to-night about the captain.

Ken-cracker. 93

Kerflop.

Ken-cracker (or Miller), subs. (old).—A housebreaker. B. E. (1690); New Cant. Diet. (1725); Grose (1785); Matsell (1859).

Ken-crack-lay, subs, (thieves').— Housebreaking.See Ken, Crack, and Lay.

Kennedy, subs, (common). See quot. To give Kennedy = to lay in with a poker.

1864. Athenäum, 29 Oct., p. 559. St. Giles's perpetuates the memory of a.... man. . . . who was killed by a poker by calling that instrument a Kennedy.

1887. Henley, Villon's Good Night. Paste 'em, and larrup 'em, and lam ; Give Kennedy and make 'em crawl.

Kennel, subs. (old).—The female

pudendum. For synonyms see

Monosyllable. [Cf. Kennel, O.

¥.canal=o. gutter or watercourse].

1647-80. Roc h ester, Ba th Intrigues. Twelve times I scouted the kennel 'tvvixt her thighs.

Kennel-raker,(old).—A scavenger; one fit only for low, dirty jobs.

1647. Fletcher, Prophetess, iii. 1. Give your petitions in seemly sort, and keep your hat off decently, a fine periphrasis of a kennel-raker.

1655. Comicall History of Francion [quoted by Nares]. They heard behind them so great a hooping and hallowing of men and boys, and an outcry of women, that they were inforced to look back, and presently they discovered a young man, who had nothing but his shirt on his back, and not so much as shoes on his feet, who was followed by a number of the kennelrakers, who made a perpetual shout.

</.1735. Arbuthnot, Wks. 751). I. 49. You did not love cruelty, you kennel-raker, you gibbet-carrier.

Kennurd,^'. (back slang).—Drunk. For synonyms see Drinks and Screwed,

kent(or Kent-rag, Kent-clout^.)

subs. (common).—A colored cotton handkerchief.

Kentish-fire, subs, (colloquial).—A prolonged and ordered salvo of applause. [From the cheers bestowed in Kent upon the No-Popery orators in 1828-9].

1865. J. H. Buckstone in letter to Morning Post, 22 March. During the overture that peculiar beating of the feet known to a Dublin audience as the Kentish eire was heard.

Kent-street ejectment,subs.p/ir. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. To take away the street door, a method practised by the landlords in Kent-st., Southwark, when their tenants are above a fortnight's rent in arrear.

Kerbstone-broker, subs, (common).—A stock-broker doing business outside the Stock-Exchange; a guttersnipe {q.v.). Fr. un cotirtier marron, and (collectively) les cou lissiers.

Kerflop, i?itj. (American).—Onomatopoeic: in imitation of the sound of a body falling fiat or into water.

Variants: Cachunk (q.v.); Kerslap ; Kesouse ; Keslosh ; Keswosh ; Kcwosh ; Keswollop ; Kerchunk ; Kerplunk ; Kerthump ; Kershaw ; Kerslash ; Kerslosh ; Kerswosh, etc.

1843. Major Jones's Courtship, i. Kerslash ! I went rite over Miss Stallinscs spinnin' wheel onto the floor.

1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 64. Kerslosh went the water all over my feet.

3.1852. Traits of American Hamour, p. 59. The first thing I knowed, I went kerswash into the drink.

d.1861. Brown ('Artemus Ward'). The Shakers. Shakers were all goin' kerslap to the Promist Land.

Kerry-security. 94

Kew.

1887. Francis, Saddle &• Mocassin. He at last brought the whole tautological string down kerflop, full and fairly, upon the devoted crown of his auditor.

1888. Fostorio Democrat, 8 March. The fence broke down, and kerchunk! I went right through the ice all over.

1888. Century Mag. [quoted in Americanisms']. Kerthump! head over heels.

Kerry-security, subs. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Kerry-security, bond, pledge, oath, and keep the money.

Ketch, subs. (old).—A hangman; Jack Ketch (q.v.).

Verb. (American thieves').—To hang.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Ketch, I'll ketch you ; I'll hang you.

Kettle, subs, (thieves').— i. A watch: red-kettle = gold watch.

2. (nautical).—An iron-built vessel ; an ironclad.

3. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge etc., iii. 221. The tinker too with Mettle, Said he would mend her Kettle, And stop up every Leak. Ibid. iv. 62. He never clencheth home a Nail, But his Trull holds up the Kettle.

Pot calling the kettle

black, phr. (common).—On 'all

fours'; 'Six of one and half a dozen

of the other.'

1890. Tit Bits, 30 Aug. p. 332, col. i. It was almost a case of the pot

CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK, Certainly ;

but the rebuke lost none of its point, nevertheless.

A pretty (or fine) kettle

(or kiddle = basket) of fish, subs. phr. (common).—A mess or confusion of any kind ; a muddle.

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, vi. x. 'There is a fine kettle of fish made o't up at our house ! ' ' What can be the matter, Mr. Western?' said Allworthy.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Kettle-offish. When a person has perplexed his affairs in general, or any particular business, he is said to have made a fine

kettle of fish of it.

1835. C. Selby, Catching an Heiress, ii. La, miss, you must be joking r you can't be what 5-ou ayn't, you'd be sure to be found out, and then there'd be a pretty kettle of fish.

1849. Dickens, David Copperfield, xix. I intend, Trotwood, to get that done immediately . . . and then—there'll be a

pretty kettle of fish !

1864. Tangled Talk, p. 337. It is an easy thing ... to make a kettle of fish of one's whole existence.

Kettledrum, subs. (old).— i. In plural = a woman's breasts. Also Cupid's kettledrum.

1785. Grose, Vulgar Tongue, s.v.

2. (common).—An afternoon tea-party.

1867. Latham, Diet., s.v. Kettledrum. Either recent or revived, this word is about two years old.

1869. Mrs. H. Wood, Roland Yorke, ch. xiii. Mrs. Bede Greatorex had cards out for that afternoon, bidding the great world to a kettle-drum ; and she was calculating what quantities of ices and strawberries to order in.

1878. Hatton, Cruel London, 1. iii. Men are as frivolous and as full of gossip and scandal as the tabbies at a West End

kettle-drum.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 8 Dec. ' Won't it be rather hard at first to give up all the pink suppers and kettledrums and afternoon what-do-you-call-'ems ? ' with a suspicion of a grin on his face.

1890. Daily Telegraph, 28 Jan. The ladies' kettledrum is not to be shut against male sympathisers, and gentlemen duly provided with tickets are to be suffered to join in the festivities.

Kew, subs, (back slang).—A week.

Key.

Kick.

Key, subs, (venery).— i. The penis: i.e. The key that lets a man in and the maid out. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic Satyrical [1788]. Here's . . . the

lock of all locks and unlocking-the same...

That lock has the casket of Cupid within

it, So-here's to the key, lads,—the

critical minute.

2. (common).—A translation ; a crib {q.v.).

To have the key of the street, verb. phr. (common).— To be locked out of doors ; to have no home.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xlvii. ' There, ' said Lowten, ' it's too late now. You can't get in to-night, you've got the key of the street, my friend.' 'Never mind me,' replied Job. ' I can sleep anywhere.'

184-3. W. T. Moncrieff, The Scamps of London, i.i.Char. Left your lodgings— and why, sir? Bob. Why?—why because the chimney smoked, my adorable ; and then the paper of my rooms wasn't fashionable enough—(aside)—and the landlady gave me the key of the street.

1888. Daily Telegraph, 28 Dec. Society would, perhaps, be startled and saddened to know how numerous those were upon the great holiday who had the key of the street for home, and a crust of bread by way of Christmas banquet.

Keyhole, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum. See Key. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

To be all keyhole (or keyholed), verb. phr. (common).— To be drunk. For synonyms sec Drinks and Screwed.

Keyhole-whistler, subs, (tramps'). —A night's lodger in a barn or outhouse; a skipperbtrd (q.v.).

1851-61. Mayhew, Loud. Lab. etc. i. 339. Keyhole whistlers, the skipperbirds are sometimes called, but they're regular travellers.

Keystone of Love, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Keystone State, subs.phr. (American). — Pennsylvania. [When the names of the original Thirteen States were arranged archwise in their natural geographical order, Pennsylvania occupied the central position].

Kibosh, subs, (common).— I. Nonsense; anything worthless. Also Kiboshery.

1885. Punch, Jan. 3, p. 4. Still I wish you a ' Appy New Year, if you care for the kibosh, old chappie.

2. (East End).—Snot (q.v.).

3. (common).—Style; fashion; form ; ' the thing' : e.g., that's the proper Kibosh.

Verb, (common).—To spoil; to

flummox (q.v.), to queer (q.v.);

to bewilder or knock out of time.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, p. 5. They kiisoshed the power of the quid. Ibid. p. 50. A dig in the ribs and a 'owl, Seemed to kibosh the Frenchmen completely.

TO put the kibosh on, verb.

phr. (common).— 1. To stop; to

silence. (2) To wheedle or talk

over. (3) To run down.

1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 40. 'What do you mean by hussies? ' interrupts a champion of the other party ....(' Hooroar,' ejaculates a pot-boy in parenthesis, ' put the kye-bosh on her, Mary ! ')

1856 Punch, vol. 31. p. 139. I ope the Assistans of your powrful Penn to put the cibosh upon the Siety for the Perwention of wot they calls crulety to Hanimals.

Kibsy. See Kypsy.

Kick, subs. (old).— i. The fashion.

Kick.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kick, a High kick, the top of the Fashion ; also singularity therein.

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

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Kick. It is all the kick, it is the present mode.

d.\%\\. DiBDiN [quoted in Century}. 'Tis the kick, I say, old 'un, so I brought it down.

1833. Neal, Down Rasters, v. p. 64. What do ye pay for sech a pair o' boots as thenl in Eurup ? Newest fashion out here—all the kick, I spose, hey ?

rf.1836. Geo. Colman the Younger [quoted by Brewer]. I cocked my hat, and twirled my stick, And the girls they called me quite the kick.

2. (old).—A sixpence: of compound sums only, e.g. ' three and a kick' = 3s. 6d. For synonyms see Bender.

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

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

1823. Moncrieff, Tom cVJerry, iii, 3. 'What's to pay landlord ? ' . . . . ' Fourteen bob and a kick your honor.'

1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, in. xiii. 'Two coach-wheels [crowns], half a bull [half a crown],three hogs [shillings], and a kick.'

1860. Punch, xxxix, p. 97. Moshesh is a brick; This cost but ten and a kick.

1864. Soiled Dove, p. 263. ' Six bob and a kick, if so be as the holes are mended.'

1871. Echo, 15 May. ' What do you mean by telling me that you will take it away for a kick ? ' ' Wot do I mean ? why wot I say ; I'll do the job for sixpence, and me and my mate 'nil sweep up an}mess we makes ?„s well.'

1871. Figaro, March. Let persons addicted to the use of slang, in whose dialect two-and-a-KicK means half-acrown, remark, if they please, that they would twelve times rather have a kick than a half-penny.

3. (common).—A moment; a JIFFY (q.v.)

4. (thieves').—See quoi. 1859. For synonyms see Poge.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Kick. The Moll stubbled her skin in her kick, the woman held her purse in her pocket.

1869. Greenwood, Night in a Workhouse. I rifled his kick of his shiners so fine.

5. (American).—A grudge.

1887. Francis, Saddle and Mocassin, p. 308. I haven't got any kick against Don Juan.

6. (trade).—The hollow in the

butt ol a bottle.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. etc., 11. 511. Some bottles has great kicks at their bottoms.

1864. Scotsman, 29 June, . . . . fraudulently manufactured bottles, which by reason of an oblong cavity in the bottom (called in London a kick) contain from 10 to 20 per cent less than the due quantity.

1864. Left Her Home, p. 65. The bottle fell on the kick, and being made of strong glass. . . . did not break.

7. in pi. (old).—Breeches; trousers. Also kicksters and kicksies: cf. Hams.

English synonyms. Arse-rug; bum-bags; bell-bottoms; bum-curtain ; bags ; calf-clingers; canvasseens, (q.v.) ; continuations ; don't-name-'ems ; ducks; gamcases ; hams ; inexpressibles; ineffables; inimitables; kicks; kickseys; moles ; mustn't-mention-'ems ; peg-tops (q.v.); pants ; rice-bags ; sit-upons; skilts (q.v.); slacks (q.v.); strides ; trolly-wags; trucks; trunks(<7.7'.); unhintables; unmentionables ; unutterables ; unwhisperables; whistling breeches (q.v.).

French synonyms. Unbenard (popular); la braillande or braillarde (thieves') ; les calinettes (common); la cot te (= blue canvass working trousers) ; la culbute or le culbtitant (thieves'); un four

Kick.

reati (thieves' = sheath) ; le fusil à deux coups (popular = the double-barrel); les grimpants (popular); les inexpressibles (from the English); les naut-de-tire(thieves')', le montant.

Portuguese synonym. Os trôzes.

1690. B. E., Did. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kicks, breeches.

1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.) p. 12. Kicksey, Breeches.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v. Tip us your kicks, we'll have them as well as your Lour.

1785. Grose, Vulgar Tongue, s.v.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 13. That bedizen'd old Georgy's bang-up togs and kicks.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, p. 6. Reg. Stick it into him for a new pair of kickses, by-and-by.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, iii. 5. Jist twig his swell kickseys and pipes ; if they ain't the thing, I'm done.

1859. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, xxx. 'There's togs, too,' he pursued, looking with proper pride at his own attire, ' the sooner you peels off them cloth kicksies the better. '

1859. G. W. Matsell, Vocabulum, or the Rogue's Lexicon. Kersey-mere kicksies, any colour, built very slap with the artful dodge, from three caroon.

c.1867. Broadside Ballad, ' The Chickaleary Bloke '. Now kool my downy kicksies. . . . Built upon a plan very naughty.

1883. Daily Telegraph, August 7, p. 6, col. i. What he termed ' the saucy cut of his kicksies, ' and which, rendered into intelligible English, signified the smart style of his trousers.

1885. The Stage, p. 129. Whitechapel costers who wore slap-up kicksies, with a double fakement down each side, and artful buttons at bottom.

1892. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 76. He'd a apron, Charlie, and kicksies as must ha' been cut by his wife.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger's Sweetheart, p. 31. ' A good thing Cinderella's grand ball was a little before your time, Stringy, or she'd been out of it with these kickseys,' remarked Tony Peters gravely.

8. (common).—A sudden and strong objection; unexpected resistance.

Verb.(common).— 1. To borrow or beg; to break shins (q.v.). For synonyms see Shins. Specifically to ask for drink money.

1858. A. Mayhew,Paved with Gold, p. 254. Ned Purchase suggested that they might as well try and kick him for some coppers.

2. (colloquial).—To protest; to resist; to resent.

1611. Bible, Authorised Version. 1 Sam. 11. 29. Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice ?

1847. Tennyson, Princess, iv. 393. You hold that woman is the better man : A rampant heresy, such as, if it spread, Would make all women kick against their Lords.

1871. Daily News, 29 Dec. The love of pleasure he's been encouraged in won't make him kick against useful information.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 13 Oct. There are 10,000 baby carriages in Chicago. They obstruct the travel of 200,000 people. I kick.

1839. Nation, xlviii. 137. In a late number you maintain strongly that it is the duty of persons suffering from overcharges, insolence and other forms of oppression, to kick.

1889. Bird O'Freedom, 7 Aug., p. 6. When it comes to editors waking up and tackling hard-worked foremen by the neck, then I kick.

1891. Morning Advertiser, 6 April. The men certainly kicked against this increase.

1892. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, p. 25. Kick at my lingo.

3. (common).—To recoil: of fire-arms generally.

VOL. rv.

Kick.

1871. Observer, 24 Dec. Much calculated, when fired, to develop a quality known as kicking.

4. (American).—To jilt ; to

give the mitten (q.v.).

5. (American).—To die: an abbreviation Of to kick the bucket (q.v.).

6. (old).—See quot. For synonyms see Amputate and Skedaddle. Also Kick it.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v. Kick'd. The Rum Cull kick'd away, i.e., The Rogue made his escape.

Kick in the guts, subs. phr. (old).—A dram of spirits.—grose (1785).

TO get more kicks than

ha' pence, verb. phr. (colloquial).

—See monkey's allowance.

1861. Trollope, Framley Parsonage, xix. In all this matter I have harassed myself greatly to oblige you, and in return I have got more kicks than halfpence.

1824. Scott, St. Rouan's, xxxiv. ¹ "Which is like monkey's allowance, I suppose,' said the traveller, ' more kicks

than halfpence.'

1856. C. Kingsley, Letter, May [3rd abridged ed. 1579]. You fellows worked like bricks, spent money, and got midshipman's half-pay (nothing a day, and find yourself) and monkey's allowance (more kicks than half-pence).

TO kick over the traces, verb. phr. (colloquial).—(1) To go the pace (q.v.)', and (2) to

resist authority.

1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenskoe, xlii. ' I'll go about with the rogue. He is inclined to kick over the traces, but I'll whip him in a little.'

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, p. 10. It's a sort of kick-over-the-traces, a thing as all females enjoy.

TO kick up a breeze (or dust, row, diversion, lark, shindy, etc.) verb. phr. (com

mon).—To create a disturbance; to raise Cain (q.v.) ; to paint

the town red (q.v.).

1759. Smollett, Letter to Wilkes, quoted in D. Hannay's Smollett (1887), p. 132. If the affair cannot be compromised we intend to kick up a dust, and die hard.

1764. O'Hara, Midas, 1. ii. Nor doubt I, with my voice, guitar, and person, Among the nymphs to kick up some diversion.

1770. Colman, Oxonian in Town, i. ii. Ten to one but there's a riot—we'll kick up a dust, I warrant you.

1771. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, 144. The patron of voices said 'twould go for the wench Unless that a dust he could kick up.

cU796. Burns, The Rights of Women. Would swagger, swear, get drunk, kick up a riot.

1812. Coombe, Syntax, Picturesque, C. xxii. I wish to know, Sir, what you mean, By kicking up, Sir, such a scene !

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 5. Something may happen to kick up a breeze.

1844. Puck, p. 14. The rows that they might kick up.

1871. Louisville Courier, 19 Mar. The ill-treatment of Mr. Sumner will not be borne patiently by his friends and the New England States ; it is sure to kick up a row in the Republican party.

1878. Jas. Payn, By Proxy, ii. He means that you are much too excited to be sane ; that you are apt to kick up a row about nothing at all.

To kick the wind, verb. phr. (old).—See quot. For synonyms sec Aloft.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, Dar de' calci a Rouaio, to be hang'd, to kicke the winde.

TO get the kick out (or

dirty kick out).— To be summarily dismissed, discharged, or 'kicked out'.

to kick the bucket, verb.

phr. (common).—To die. For synonyms see Aloft. Also kick and

Kick.

to kick stiff.—[Taylor : The allusion is to the way in which a slaughtered pig is hung up— viz., by passing the ends of a bent piece of wood behind the tendons of the hind legs, and so suspending it to a hook in a beam above. This piece of wood is locally termed a bucket, and so by a coarse metaphor the phrase came to signify to die. Another says : To commit suicide by hanging ; from a method planned and carried out by an ostler at an inn on the Great North Road. Standing on a bucket, he tied himself up to a beam in the stable, he then kicked the bucket.] In West Indies Kickeraboo : see also Kick the

wind.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Kicks. He kicked the bucket one day, he died one day.

1796. Wolcot (' Peter Pindar'), Tristia (in Wks. 1812), v. 242. Pitt kicked the bucket.

1797. M. G. Lewis, Castle Spectre, Epilogue. I drew my knife, and in his bosom stuck it ; He fell, you clapped— and then he kicked the bucket !

1812. Colman, Poetical Vagaries, p. 55. Near thee doth a bucket dangle. Chieftain, leave me not to drown ; Save a maid without a smicket. If the bucket come not down, Soon shall I be doom'd

to kick it.

1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle's Log, xvi. Dat I believe him will eat till him KiCKERiBOO of sorefat (surfeit, I presumed).

1838. Selby, Jacques Strop, i. 1. A narrow escape of kicking the bucket, was it not—eh, you rascal ?

1849. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ii. Fine him a pot roared one, for talking about kicking the bucket.

1853. Diogenes, ii. It is inferrible (on account of her great dislike to the detective officer) that she, as well as Lady Dedlock, kicked the bucket.

1858. Notes and Queries, 1 S. ix. 107. (q.v.).

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1867. Jas. Greenwood, Purgatory of Peter the Cruel, i. Tony Warren, with tears in his honest eyes, endeavouring to pour rum down the body's throat, while in kindliest tones he begged of it to look up, or at least make some sign that he had not quite kicked the bucket.

1871. London Figaro, 28 Jan. Yes ! I'm going to kick the bucket.

1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, 48. The Ramper fawned on me, and asked me if I had heard of ' that pore bloke wot kicked the bucket upstairs.'

1890. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, x. I've very little doubt Sir Arthur, selfish pig though he is, will do the right thing in the end before he kicks the

bucket.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up, p. 105. Four on them sickened all at once in the camp we had struck, and after they had kicked it, my two mates went with me.

1892. Ally Sloper, 27 Feb., p. 67, col 2. But a miserly aunt kicks the bucket at last And leaves you the fortune which she has amassed.

TO kick down the ladder,

verb. phr. (colloquial).—To treat with contumely one's means of advancement. 1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, viii. She has struggled, so violently for polite reputation that she has won it ; pitilessly kicking down the ladder, as she advanced, degree by degree.

TO kick the clouds(or wind), verb. phr. (thieves').—See quot. For synonyms see Ladder.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Kick the bucket. To kick the clouds before the hotel door, i.e. to be hanged.

To kick at waist, verb.phr. (tailors').—To misfit at the waist.

TO kick for the boot, verb, phr. (tailors').—To ask for money.

TO kick for trade, verb, phr. (tailors').—To ask work.

To have the kick, verb.phr. (Athletic).—To be lucky; to have cocum (q.v).—[From football].

Kicker. ioo Kickshaw.

TO kick the stuffing out

of one, verb. phr. (American).— To maltreat ; to take a rise, or the wind out of; to get the better of.

To kick (or cool) one's heels. —i. ^Heels.

2. verb. phr. (old).—.S^quot. For synonyms see Aloft.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, Fare il pa;ie, to dye, to kick vp ones heeles.

TO kick the eye out of a

mosquito, verb.phr. (Australian).

—A superlative expression of

capacity.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xi. He could kick the

eye out of a mosquito.

A kick in one's gallop, subs, phr. (old).—A whim ; a strange fancy.

Kicker, subs. (American).—i. An

obstructionist; a protestant.

1888. Rochester Herald.The chronic kicker is always on hand when any improvement is proposed.

1888. Detroit Free Press, 20 Oct. I really and truly believe that the day will come when the kicker will be classed where he belongs and be entitled to the reverence due him.

.... Eclectic Review (Amer.),xiii. 6. There is, of course, a class of chronic kickers who are always finding fault.

2. in pi. (common).—The feet. For synonyms see Creepers.

3. (old).—A dancing master.

1838. Selby, Dancing Master, sc. 11. It is the kicker, sure enough : what am I to do ? If I go out, I shall nap it.

Ki c k e r a bo 0. See Kick the Bucket.

Kicking-in, subs. (Winchester College).—See quot.

1870. Mansfield, School-Life at Winchester College, p. 138. But football wasn't all beer and skittles to the Fags.

There was an institution called kicking in, which, while it lasted, was much worse than 'watching out' at cricket, although it had the very great merit of not continuing so long ; for, even on a whole holiday, we seldom had more than two hours of it.

KiCKiNG-strap, stibs. (tailors').—An elastic strap inside a habit.

Kickseys, subs. (old).—i. See Kick, subs, sense 7.

2. (old).—Shoes or ⁴ highlows'. Also klcksies.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Kicksees.

Kickshaw, subs, (old: now recognised).—A trifle ; anything fanciful or unsubstantial ; something fantastical or with no particular name. [Skeat : a curious corruption of Fr. quelqiie-chose (pronounced kick-chose) literally, something; hence a trifle or small delicacy].

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV, v. i. 29. A joint of mutton, and any pretty little [tiny kickshaws, tell William, cook.

1G01. Shakspeare, Twelfth Night, i. 3. Sir And. . . . I delight in masques and revels sometimes altogether. Sir 7o. Art thou good at these kickshawes, knight ?

I6H.C0TGR ave,Dictionarie,s.v.Fricandeaux, short, skinlesse, and dainty puddings, or quelkchoses, made of good flesh and herbs chopped together,etc.

3.1625. Fletcher, Elder Brother, iii. 2. New kickshaws and delicate made things.

1630. John Taylor, The Great Eater of Kent, p. 12. All is welcome; whether it be sawsedge, mackeroone, kickshaw, or tantadlin.

1646. Featley, Dippers Dipt, p. 199. I made bold to set on the board kickchoses, and variety of strange fruits.

1753. Adventurer, No. 25. She has no taste for nicknacks, and kickshaws, and whim-whams.

Kick-shoe. ioi Kid.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, xxi. I have given up. . . . roastbeef and pudding for woodcocks and kickshaws.

1830. Marryat, King's Own, xxxiv. I seldom touch anything but the joint. I hate your kickshaws.

1881. Besant and Rice, Sweet Nelly, in Ten Years'¹ Tenant etc., vol. i. p. 188. Falbalas for your frocks, quilted petticoats, gold kickshaws, china, pet negro boys.

Kick-shoe, subs. (old).—A dancer; a caperer; a buffoon.

Kicksies. See Kicks.

Kicksy, adj. (old).—Troublesome; disagreeable.

Kicksy-wicksy, subs. (old).—A term of contempt for a woman.

1598. Shakspeare, All's Well etc. ii. 3. He wears his honour in a box, unseen, That hugs his kicksy-wicksey here at home.

1658. Brome, Covent Garden Weeded, p. 17. This kicksy-winsy giddibrain will spoil all.

Adj. (old).—Fantastic ; restless.

Kick-up, subs, (common).—A row. Also Rowdiness.

3.1794. Wolcot ('Peter Pindar'), Odes of Condolence, m Wks. (1794), iii. 259. There'd be a pretty kick-up—what a squall.

1850. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, p. 132. 'I tell you what,' said Lawless, ' the row and bother, and the whole kick-up altogether, has made me alarmingly hungry.'

1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, ni. xiii. Not at all caring for. . . . the precious kick-up and row that will come off.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, p. 69. As to colour, and kick-up, our party was well to the front.

KiD.^öj'.(old).— i. A child. Hence, to kid = to He in : also = to get with child; kidded or with kid

= pregnant; kid-leather and kid-stretcher {q.v.). Also Kiddy.

English synonyms. Brat ; encumbrance ; get ; imp ; infantry (collectively) ; kinchin; limb ; lullaby cheat ; monkey ; papoose ; youngster.

French synonyms. Un or une gosse (general: also gossemar) ; un gluant (thieves' : a sticker); un loupiau or loupiot (popular) ; un marmousin (popular = little monkey); un mignard (an endearment) ; un mion (thieves'); un momaqîie (thieves') ; un momard or momignard (popular); un ?nôme (popular); un morbaque (pop. a disagreeable child) ; un moucheron (popular); un moufflet (popular); un mounin (thieves').

Italian synonyms. Fantasima ; fiacco (— weak) ; cifo ; cifon; pivastro ; pivo ; smerlo.

1599. Middleton etc., Old Law, iii. 2. I am old, you say; Yes, parlous old, kids, and you mark me well !

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

1690. D'Urfey, Collin's Walk, iv. And at her back a kid that cry'd Still as she pinch'd it, fast was ty'd.

1694. Dryden, Love Triumphant, Epilogue, 19. What if he taught our sex more cautious carriage, And not to be too coming before marriage ; For fear of my misfortune in the play, A kid brought home upon the wedding-day?

1714. Memoirsofjohn Hall^th. ed.) p. 12. kid, A child.

1719. Durfey, Pills to Purge, i. 321. And thus he to an old Midwife hied, To bring the poor kid to light, Sir.

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

1748.T. Dyche, Dictionary,(5th ed.) Kid (S.). . . . also a nickname for a child or young person.

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

Kid.

I02

Kid.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Kid. The blowen has napped the kid, the girl is with child.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 5. That kid, Master Nap.

1840. Thackeray, Comic Almanack, p. 237. 'Cox's Diary'. Carry you, and your kids, and your traps etc.

1856. Reade, Never too Late to Mend, xxiii. A fig for being drowned, if the kid is drowned.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1865. Kingsley, The Hillyars and the Burtons, xxx. Why, that six shillings as you men are asking for, is six shillings off the kids' victuals.

1868. CasselVs Mag., 4 Jan., p. 213. If you'd have been as full of her when she was a kid, and not have left her to us so much, it might have been sumfink to brag about.

1870. London Figaro, 19 Oct. 'After the Fire.' In this room, sir, said my gallant conductor, lived a bricklayer with his wife and two kids. He made that hole in the wall, and got 'em safe through —the whole caboose on 'em; and a jolly good job he did.

1871. London Figaro, 13 May, p. 4, col. 2. 'Yer see I knowed'er, sir, right from a kid, Loved 'er right from a boy.

1882. Jas. Payn, Thicker than Water, i. He thinks how his Missis and the kids would enjoy the spectacle, and is half-inclined to fetch them.

1883. Daily Telegraph, March 27, p. 2, col i. They were afraid of being ridiculed and laughed at by their companions for sinking their manhood and going as kids to a dame school.

1889. Time, Aug., p. 151. A reminiscence of my father, the which, now I'm not a kid, I see the value of.

1892. Kipling, Barrack-room Ballads, 'Fuzzy-Wuzzy'. Then'ere's to you Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and the Missus and the kid.

2. (common).—A man.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1830. Sir E. B. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 28. ed. 1854. ' Vy, Paul, my kid, you looks down in the chops ; cheer up, care killed a cat.'

1834. W. H. AiNswoRTH, Rookwood. Two milling coves, each vide avake, Vere backed to fight for heavy stake ; But in the

mean time, so it vos, Both kids agreed to play a cross.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger's Sweetheart, p. 118. He is like all colonial kids, don't know when he is well off.

3. (thieves').—See quot.

1879. Thor Fredur, Sketches from Shady Places. Their ancient terror, the bobby, Copper, kid, a policeman.

4. (old).—A thief: specifically a young thief. Also Kiddy.— Matsell (1859). See quot. 1823.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Kid, kiddy, and kidling—implies youth ; but an old evergreen chap may be dressed kiddly (q.v.). People who imagine that all kids are thieves, carry the joke too far.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Kidsman. The kidsman accompanies the

KID.

5. (American).—A kidnapper.

6. (common).—See quots. Cf. verb, sense 1.

1876. Hindley, Cheap Jack, p. 64. One of these brother boys was well-known for his kid, that is gammon and devilry. Ibid. p. 3. The rarest chaps at kid.

1883. Punch, 28 July, p. 38, col. 1. I was in it, old man, and no kid, As a chap of my form can be in it, if ready to blue 'arf a quid.

1883 .Greenwood, Tag, Rag and Co. [quoted in Slang, Jargon, and Cant]. In his opinion it was all kid.

1885. Punch, 31 Jan. p. 60. The world's coming round to my views,Charlie, fast, there's no kid about that.

7. in pi. (common).—Kid gloves: e.g., ' Kids cleaned for 2d. a pair. '

1889. Illustrated Bits, 13 July, p. i. 'I want to see some gloves.' 'Certainly, miss. Can I show you some undressed kids?' 'Young man! I only require gloves.'

Verb, (common).—1. To quiz ; to wheedle ; to cheat.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Kid, to coax or wheedle. To amuse a man or divert his attention while another robs him.

Kidden. 103 Kiddleywink.

1872. Daily News, 5 Jan., p. 2, col. i. A stern man and a strong, he was not to be blinded, by emphatic expostulators against kidding, to the fact that the clamourers against that species of throwing dust in a fellow mortal's eyes were in fact themselves kidding with the greatest activity. Comfort is a relative term.

1879. Macmillan''s Mag., xl. 505. I thought they were only kidding at first.

1880. Jas. Greenwood, Fly Faker's Hotel, in ' Odd People in odd Places, ' p. 55. ' Why, you don't mean to say that you've been kidded to expect a bed for your fourpence,' said he ; ' a regier turn-in, I mean, with sheets and that ? '

1884. R. Jefferies, in Longm. Mag., iv. 255. While the fisherman was telling me this woeful story, I fancied I heard voices from a crowd of the bigger boys collected under a smack, voices that said, ' Ho ! ho ! Go on ! you're kidding the man ! '

1889. Answers, 2 March, p. 218, col. i. ' One and tuppence a day,' said the bootblack, sarcastically ; ' 'E's on'y a kiddin' on yer. Arsk that there copper whether he don't take 'is four or five bob a day.'

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 33. He wos kidding me.

To kid on, verb. phr. (common).—To lead on by gammon or deceit.

1851. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lond. Poor, i. p. 473. ' At the same time he kids them on by promising three times more than the things are worth.'

1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 186. I was kiddin' him on.

1889.Licensed Victuallers' Gazette, 4 Jan. He kidded—who had just come in for his father's brass—to let him have the lot.

To kid oneself, verb. phr. (common).—To be conceited.

Hard Kid, subs. phr. (common).—Hard lines ; bad luck ; hard cheese (q.v.).

Kidden (or Kid-ken or Kiddy-ken),

subs, (thieves').—A lodging house frequented by young thieves.

1839. Brandon, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, pp. 74 and 90, s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Kidder, subs. (old).— 1. See quot. 1785.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

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

1785. Grose, Vulgar Tongue, s.v. kidder, a forestalled

2.(common).—A glib and taking

speaker ; a master of chaff.

1888. Sporting Life, 15 Dec. Ask Mr. Baldock .... to whom I allude, and he will probably reply the champion

kidder.

1891. J. Newman, Scamping Tricks, p. 88. He was a beautiful kidder and could patter sweet and pretty.

Kiddier, subs, (common).—A porkbutcher.

Kiddily,] adj. (common).—Fashionably; showily; flashily. Cf. kid subs, sense 2.—Also kiddy, adj.

1828. Jon Bee, Picture of London, p. 304 note. He and his brother . . . . dressed kiddily, kept late hours, and pilfered to support it, as usual.

Kid-lay (or rig), subs. (old).—See

quot. 1690.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kidlay, one who meeting a Prentice with a Bundle or Parcel of goods,wheedles him by fair words, and whipping Sixpence into his Hand, to step on a short and sham Errand for him, in the mean time runs away with the goods.

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

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

Kiddleywink, subs, (common).—1.

A raffle.

1884. Daily Telegraph, 6 August, p. 3, col. i. When it is intended to 'pull off'. ... a kidliwink, or raffle.

2. (common).—A small village shop ; and, (3) specifically (in the West country), an ale-house.

Kiddy.

Kidmen t.

4. (common).—A woman of unsteady habits.

Kiddy, subs, (common).—1. A man; a boy ; a young fellow : a diminutive of Kid {q.v.). Also Kidlet = a boy or girl.

I860. Funny Fellow, 7 May, p. 1. Hollo, my kiddy, stir your stumps, .... Make haste, young chip, my boots to shine.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xx. Heard all kinds of rough talk ever since they were little kiddies.

2.(thieves').—A flash thief: rolling kiddy = a dandy thief. See Kid, senses 2 and 4.

1780. Tomlinson, Slang Pastoral, i. My time, O ye kiddies, was happily spent. Idem. x. What kiddy's so rum as to get himself scragg'd ?

1787. Geo. Parker. Humorous Sketches, p. 34. No more like a kiddy, he'll roll the flash song.

1828. Bee, Living Picture of London, 255. Jockies, owners, and wagering kiddies.

1830. S. Warren, Diary of a Late Physician, xi. 'Come, my kiddy—caged at last, eh ? ... . Here's your passport,' said one of the officers, pointing to the warrant.

1840. Lytton, Paul Clifford, iii. He merely observed, by way of compliment, that Mr. Augustus and his companion seemed to be rolling kiddies. A little displeased with this metaphorical remark—for it may be observed that rolling kiddy is, among the learned in such lore, the customary expression for ' a smart thief.'

3. (common).—A dandy.

1823. Byron, Don Juan, xi. 17. Poor Tom was once a kiddy upon town, A thorough varmint and a real swell.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Kid, Kiddy, and Kidling. . . . hat on one side, short collar upon high, coat cut away. . . . Belcher fogle. . . . and chitterling shirt. . . . these compounded compose the kiddy.

1832. Brummelliana, p. 180. Let the garçon who is about to set up as kiddy on his own account take the advice of one who was no mean kiddy in his day.

4. (venery).—A prostitute's bully; a ponce (q.v.).

5. (old).—A stage-coach driver.

1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, 153. It was his ambition to do something in the celebrated kiddy or stage-coach way.

Adj. (common).—Fashionable ; smart (q.v.). See Kiddily.

1823. Moncrieff, lorn and Jerry, p. 5. I'll tell you ; before we start on our sprees and rambles, I'll send for that kiddy artist, Dicky Primefit, the dandy habit-maker, of Regent Street.

1848. Punch, x. 19. A youth there was of changefulle lotte, Now bryght, now seedie broune. Hee called hymselfe a kiddie swelle And lived upon ye toune.

3.1876. C. Hindley, Life and Times of James Catnach. So kiddy is my famble.

KiDDYiSH, adj. (old).—Stylish; up

to date (q.v.).

1820. Jack Randall's Diary. Think of the KiDDYiSH spree we had on such a day.

Kiddy Nipper, subs. phr. (old).— See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Kiddy nippers, thieves who cut off the waistcoat pockets of taylors, when cross legged on the board, thereby grabbling their bit.

Kid-leather, subs, (venery).—Generic for harlotry of tender years.

Kidlet. See Kiddy, sense i.

Ki dley benders, subs. (American). —Ice which undulates under the feet of a skater.

k\dmeut,stibs. (common).— 1. Humbug; gammon (q.v.). Also (cheap Jack's) = professional patter.

1836. Brandon, Poverty, Mendacity, and Crime, p. 106.

Kidnap.

105 Kidney.

1884. Daily Telegraph, 8 August, p. 3, col. 2. That depended on what a man's talents were, and how he purposed employing them. 'Employing them for KiDMENT, of course,' returned the elderly mumper. ' That's what talents is give a man for, hain't it ? '

2. (thieves').—See quot.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3rd ed., p. 445. A pocket handkerchief pinned to the pocket for a trap—kidment.

Adj. (American thieves').—Comical.—Matsell (1859).

Kidnap, verb, (old: now recognised). —To steal children. [Skeat: compounded of kid, (a child in thieves' slang) nap, more commonly nab, to steal]. See kidnapper.

Kidnapper, subs, (old: now recognised).—A child-stealer. See quots. Cf. Sheep-napper.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kidnapper, one that Decoys or Spirits (as it is commonly called) Children away and Sells them for the Plantations.

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

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Kidnapper, originally one who stole, or decoyed children, or apprentices from their parents or masters, to send them to the colonies. Called also spiriting, but now used for all recruiting crimps, for the king's troops, or those of the East India company, and agents for indenting servants for the plantations.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xxxiv. The devil can scarce save Dirk Hatteraick from being hanged for a murderer and kidnapper, if the younker of Ellangowan should settle in this country.

Kidney, subs, (colloquial).—Kind; disposition ; fashion : as, ' Two of a kidney ' = two of a mind ; 'of a strange kidney' = of an odd humour ; ' of a different kidney ' = of different habit or turn. Fr. le bouchon.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, iii. 5. Think of that, a man of my kidney.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kidney, of that Kidney, of such a stamp.

1710. Jailer, No. 230. Other ofthat kidney are very uppish, and alert upon't.

1719. Durfey, Pills etc., ii. 332. Accosting one of his own crew, Whom he of the right kidney knew.

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

1742. Fielding, Joseph Andrews, 11. viii. I am heartily glad to meet with a man of your kidney.

1755. Johnson, Dicty, s.v. Kidney. Sort ; kind ; in ludicrous language.

1763. Terras Filius [Nares]. Attempt to put their hair out of kidney.

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

1830. W. T. Moncrieff, Van Dieman's Land, i. 2. I must curry favour with them, as we're going to be of a

kidney.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ' Witches Frolic. ' As men of his kidney are wont to snore.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. 1871. Disraeli, Lothair, i. 741. Men of their own kidney.

1888. Runciman, The Chequers, 223. At times, like Robert Burns, George Morland, and men of that kidney, he would give way to a passionate burst of repentance.

1889. Globe, 23 July, p. 6, col. 1. Lord Justice Lopes showed himself a paragon of patience, but it is sincerely to be hoped that there will be no more suitors in person of this kidney.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger''s Sweetheart, 153. I fancy the second King of Israel must have been of the same kidney, if that account is quite accurate about his merry-making on one occasion.

1894. K. Grahame, Pagan Papers, p. 129. These great Beasts [hornets] . . . were of a different kidney.

2. (old).—A waiter; a grasshopper {q.v.).

1710. Tatler, No. 268. It is our custom, upon the first coming of the news, to order a youth, who officiates as the kidney of the coffee-house, to get into the pulpit and read every paper with a loud and distinct voice.

Kidney-hit. ¹⁰⁶ Killing.

(Stock Exchange).—A fractional part of a shilling. [A corruption of Cadney, the name of the first dealer known to deal under -A/).

Kidney-h it, subs, (pugilistic).—A punch in the short ribs.

Kid's-eye, subs. (old).— A fip

penny piece.

1821. Haggart, Life, p. 114. I got three junipers and a kid's-eye.

K1 dsm AN, subs, (thieves').—.SV^quot. 1859.

1836. Brandon, Poverty, Mendacity and Crime, p. 149, s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum. A fellow that boards and lodges boys for the purpose of teaching them how to steal, putting them through a course of training, as a dog trainer will train dogs for the hunt. The kidsman accompanies the kid, and though committing no depredations himself, he controls and directs the motions of the others.

Kid-stretcher, subs, (venery).— A man addicted to the use of kid-leather [q.v.).

KlLKENNY,.yz*fa. (old).—A frieze coat. —Grose (1785).

Kill subs, (tailors').—A garment utterly spoiled.

Dressed to kill. See Dressed and Death.

Kill-calf (or -cow), szibs. (old).—

A butcher: also a murderous

ruffian. Also Kill-buck.

.... Old Ballad [quoted by Nares]. Of all occupations that nowadays are used I would not be a butcher, for that's to be refused ; For whatever is gotten, or whatever is gained, He shall be call'd kill-cow, and so shall be named.

1628. Clavell, Recantation of an Ill-bred Life [quoted by Nares]. But in the night, yet then take heed of those Base padding rascalls, for their killcalfe law.

1630. Taylor, Wks. [Nares]. They make private [shambles with kil-calfe cruelty, and sheepe-slaughteringmurther, to the abuse of Lent, the deceiving of the informers, and the great griefe of every zealous fishmonger.

c.1636. London Chanticleers, Sc. iv. I know there's never a kill-cow i' th' city becomes a woollen apron better than I do.

Kill-devil, subs, (old and American).—Rum : specifically new spirit.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg: Tongue, s.v. Kill-devil, new still-burnt rum.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

KiLLERS,j«^.(common).—The eyes.

For synonyms see Peepers.

1780. Marsell, in Whibley, Cap and Gozvn, p. 85. Oer the poor country curate that's near How their eyes (in fine language called killers).

Killing, adj. and adv. (common).— i. Fascinating; bewitching; irresistible. Also Killingly.

1619. Fletcher, Wild Goose Chase,

iii. As killing eyes as yours, a wit as poignant.

1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, ii. Nov. Ay, ay, madam, with you ladies too, martial men must needs be very

killing.

1700. Congreve, Way of the World,

iv. i. L. Wish. And—well—and how do I look, Foible? Foi. Most killing well, Madam.

1712. Pope, Rape of the Lock, v. 64. Those eyes were made so killing.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, lxxx. The killing edge of her charms was a little blunted by the accidents of time and fortune.

1765. Goldsmith, Essays, v. Your modern Briton cuts his hair on the crown, and plasters it with hog's lard and flour ; and this to make him look killing.

1828-45. T. Hood, Poems, i. 231 (ed. 1846). The crowd including two butchers in blue (The regular killing Whitechapel hue).

KilUpriest. 107

Kinchin.

1847. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, iv. Mr. Joseph Sedley .... was actually seated tête-à-tête with a young lady, looking at her with a most killing expression.

1883. Saturday Review, 21 April, p. 502, col. 2. Mr. Toole is as killingly funny in this as he is in the still and constantly popular farce of Mr. Guffin's Elopement.

Kill-pr i est, subs, (provincial).— Port wine.

Kill-the-beggar, subs, (common). —Whiskey. For synonyms see Drinks and Old Man's Milk.

Kill-time, subs, (colloquial).—A pastime.

KlLMARNOCK-COWL,j«^.(oldScots').

— I. A knitted nightcap ; and (2)

by inplication the wretch that

wore one.

1830. Scott, Bonnie Dundee. These Cowls of Kilmarnock had spits and had spears And long-hafted gullies to kill Cavaliers.

Kilmarnock-whittle,«^. (Scots'). A person of either sex, already engaged or betrothed.—Jamieson.

Kilter. See Kelter.

Kilt, adv. (Irish).—Killed.

1836. Marryat, Japhet, iii. Sure enough, it cured me, but wasn't I quite kilt before I was cured.

KlMBAW, verb. (Old Cant).—1. To

trick ; to cheat; to cozen. Also (2),

to beat ; to bully.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kimbaw. Let's kimbow the Cull, Let's beat that Fellow and get his money.

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

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

1839. Ainsworth, J. Sheppard, p. 23 [ed. 1840]. 'Ay! ay!' cried several of the bystanders, 'letJonathan kimbaw the cove. He's got the gift of the gab.'

Kim bo (or Kimbaw). To set the

arms akimbo, verb. phr. (old: now colloquial).—To set hands on hips with the elbows cocked.

1606. John Day, He of Güls, ii. 4, p. 52. Set mine armes a kimbo thus, Wrethe my necke and my bodie thus.

1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, ii. Nov. But he has no use of his arms but to set 'em on kimbow.

YI\2.A.kbvtkiïOT ,Hist .of John Bull, hi. x. He observed Frog and old Lewis edging towards one another to whisper ; so that John was forced to sit with his arms akimbo to keep them asunder.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.) [s.v.] Kembo (v.) to set or put one's hand upon one's hip, to strut or look big.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Kimbaw. To set one's arms a kimbaw, vulgarly pronounced 'a kimbo,' is to rest one's hands on the hips, keeping the elbows square, and sticking out from the body, an insolent bullying attitude.

1837. Marryat, Snarleyozu, i.ch. xii. Poll put her arms akimbo ; At the Admiral's house looked she.

1857. A. Trollope, Bare/tester Towers, xxxiii. She tossed her head, and put her arms a-kimbo, with an air of confident defiance.

Kinchin (or Kinchen), subs. (old).— i. A child; a boy ; a young man. Also Kinchen Cove (q.v.).

1567. Harman, Caveat, p. 76. A kynchen co is a young boye, traden vp to suche peuishe purposes as you haue harde of other young ympes before, that when he groweth vnto yeres, he is better to hang then to drawe.

1607. Dekker, Jests to Make You Merie, in W^5.(Grosart),ii.329.Kinchen the coue towres, which is as much as, Fellow the man smokes or suspects you.

1608. Dekker,Belman of London,in Wks. (Grosart), in. ios.Thesekinchins, the first thing they doe is to learne how

Kinchin-cove.

108

Kinchin-mort.

to cant, and the onely thing they practise is to creepe in at windowes, or celler doores.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kinchin, a little child.

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

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

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xxxiv. We did the kinchin no harm.

1836. W. H. Smith, The Individual, 13 Nov. ' The Thieves' Chaunt.' Her duds are bob—she's a kinchin crack, And I hopes as how she'll never back.

1837. Disraeli, Venetia, Bk. i. xiv. He is no lanspresado, or I am a kinchin.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xlii. 'The kinchins,' said the Jew, 'is the young children that's sent on errands by their mothers with sixpences and shillings.

1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 13. ' Let's have a look at the kinchen that ought to have been throttled,' added he, snatching the child from Wood.

1841. Leman Rede, Sixteen String Jack, i. 3. Kit. Peter, don't patter; you're werry good in the fancy line—in the light part of our business,—such as robbing a kinchen of it's coral, filching an old lady's redicule, or getting up small talk vith a nursery maid, vhile you takes a vax impression of the key.

1859. H. Kingsley, Geoffrey Hamlyn, xxiii. 'So doss,' began the ruffian, not looking at him ; ' we ain't fit company for the likes ofthat kinchin, etc.?'

1876. Hindley, Adventures of A Cheap Jack, p. 2. Nor is his crying pal the kinchin any more faithfully drawn.

Kinchin-cove, suds. (Old Cant).— i. A child : see Kinchin.

1567. Harman, Caveat, p. 76. [See quot. under Kinchin].

1608. Dekker, Belman of London, in Wks. (Grosart), iii. 105. The last Ranke of those Runnagatcs is fild vp with kinchyn coes ; and they are little boyes whose parents (hauing beene beggers) are dead, or else such as haue run away from their maisters, and in stead of a trade to liue by, follow this kinde of life to be lowsie by.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kinchin-coes, the Sixteenth Rank of the

Canting Tribe, being little Children whose Parents are dead, having been Beggers ; as also young Ladds running from their Masters, who are first taught Canting, then thieving.

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

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Kinchin. Kinchin coes, orphan beggar boys, educated in thieving.

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 25. [ed. 1854]. Look you my kinchin cove.

1870. All the Year Round, ' Byegone Cant ', 5 March. Suppose a kinchin cove should hear the twittle-twattle of cobble colter, or the sagacious cackle of tie of the buttery, and the said kinchin cove should think a dinner off these big birds would be delicious and should steal them for that purpose, short work would have been made of it, and kinchin cove would simply have been hanged.

2. (Old Cant).—A little man.

1671. R. Head, English Rogue, 1. v. 50. (1874). Kinchin cove, a little man.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

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

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

3. (Old Cant).—A man who robs or kidnaps children : cf. Kinchin Lay.

Kinchin-lay, subs. (old).—See quot. 1838. [Kinchin (q.v.) -fLay

(*•*■)]•

1836. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xlii. The kinchin is the young children that's sent on errands by their mothers, with sixpences and shillings; and the lay is just to take their money away—they've always got it ready in their hands.

1871. Standard, 13 Sept. The prisoner, it appeared, is an adept at the kinchin-lay, a term known to the initiated for robbing children.

Kinchin-mort, subs. (Old Cant).— See quots.

1567. Harman, Caveat, p. 76. A kynching morte is a lytle Gyrle ; the Mortes their mothers carries them at their backes in their slates, whiche is their shetes, and bryngs them vp sauagely, tyll they growe to be rype, and soone rype, soone rotten.

Kinder.

109 King's Books.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. KiNCHiN-morts, the Twenty-seventh and last Order of the Canting Crew, being girls of a year or two old whom the Morts (their Mothers) carry at their Backs in Slates (Sheets) and if they have no children of their own they borrow or Steal them from others.

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

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Kinchin. Kinchin morts in slates, beggars children carried at their mothers backs in sheets.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xxviii. The times are sair altered since I was a kinchin mort.

Kinder, adv. (American colloquial). As it were. Also Kinder sorter.

1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, 80. ' You're short, kinder ? ' ' Wal ; you '11 find me long enough prehaps.'

1848. Burton, Waggeries etc., p. 18. I'm not goin' to say that I didn't feel kinder skeered.

Kind-Heart, subs. (old).—A toothdrawer: in j est. [Halliwell: From an itinerant dentist so-named, or nick-named, in the time of Elizabeth].

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fayre, Induction. For kind-heart the toothdrawer. . . a fine oily pig-woman.

1632. Rowley, New Wonder, iii. 1. Mistake me not kindheart ; he calls you tooth-drawer.

Kindness, subs, (common).—The

sexual favour ; benevolence

{q.v.). Fr. des bontés.

c.1728. Ramsay, Address0/Thanhs, in Whs. (at sup.), ii. 345. The fair one frighted for her fame Shall for her kindness bear nae blame, Nor with kirk censure grapple.

King Cotton, subs.phr. (American). —Cotton, the staple of the Southern States of America, and the chief manufacture in England. Cotton-lord = a man enriched by cotton.

Kingdom Come, subs. phr. (common).—The next life : to go to Kingdom Come = to die. Fr. la paradouze or part-à-douze (a play on paradis) ; la parabole. It. soprano = higher; Sp. claro = light.

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

1794. Wolcot [P. Pindar],Br.Peter to Br. Tom, in Wks., i. p. 422. Did gentlemen of fortune die, And leave the church a good round sum ; Lo ! in the twinkling of an eye, The Parson frank'd their souls to kingdom-come.

1836. Marryat, Midshipman Easy, xxxi. ' They will not have much mercy from the waves,' replied Gascoigne ; ' they will all be in kingdom come to-morrow morning,if the breeze comes more on land.'

1863. Mr. Norton, Lost and Saved, p. 334. Treherne Icq. ' Well, my child, I don't mean a great dangerous storm that's to wreck the yacht and send us all to KiKGDOM come—but a nasty tossing sea, bad for women you know; men don't mind it.'

King John's Man, subs. phr. (old).

—See quots.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. He is one of King John's men, eight score to the hundred, a saying of a little undersized man.

1867. Smyth, Sailors' Word Book, s.v. King John's Men, the Adullamites of the navy.

King's (or Queen's) Bad Bargain, subs. phr. (old).—A malingering soldier ; a deserter.—Grose (1785).

king's-bencher, subs, (nautical).— The busiest of the galley orators; a galley-skulker.—smyth.

king's Books, subs. phr. (old).—A

pack of cards ; the history (or

books) of the four kings;

devil's books (q.v.).

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, i. 22. After supper were brought in the books of the four Kings.

King's Cushion. no Kink.

1760. Foote, The Minor (ed. x, 1789), 31. Come, shall we have a dip in the history of the four kings this morning?

King's Cushion, subs. phr. (common).—A seat fonned by two persons holding each other's hands crossed. Also Queen's cushion (or chair), Cats-carriage (or cradle) etc.

1818. Scott, Heart of Midlothian, i. 168. He was now mounted on the hands of two of the rioters clasped together so as to form what, in Scotland is called the King's cushion.

King's (or Queen's) Head \nn,subs.

phr. (old).—Newgate. For synonyms see Cage.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crezv. s.v. King's Head Inn, or the Chequer Inn in Newgate street, the prison, or Newgate.

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

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

1836. W. H. Smith, The Individual. 'The Thieves'Chaunt'. Because she lately nimmed some tin, They have sent her to lodge at the King's Head Inn.

King's Keys, subs. phr. (old legal). —The crow-bars and hammers used by sheriffs' officers to force doors and locks. [Roquefort : faire la clef du Roy, ouvrir les clefs et les coffres avec des instruments de serrurier].

1816. Scott, Black Dwarf, 173, 4. 'And what will ye do, if I carena to thraw the keys ? ' . . . . ' Force our way wi' the kings keys, and break the neck of every soul we find in the house.

Kingsman, subs. (Coster).—Ahandkerchief with yellow patterns upon a green ground; the favourite coloured neckerchief of the costermongers. Sometimes worn by women thrown over their shoulders: cf. Billy.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. etc., i. 53. The man who does not wear his silk neckerchief—his 'King's-man' as it is called—is known to be in desperate circumstances ; the inference being that it has gone to supply the morning's stockmoney. A yellow flower on a green ground, or a red and blue pattern, is at present greatly in vogue.

2. (Cambridge university).—A

member of King's College.

1852. Bristed, Five Years, 127. He came out the winner, with the kingsman, and one of our three.

3. in pi. (military).—The Seventy-eighth Foot. [Their motto is Cuidich'r Rhi= Help the King].

King's (or Queen's) Pictures, subs.

phr. (common).—Money. For

synonyms ^Actual andGiLT.—

B.E. (1690); New Cant. Diet.

(1725); Grose (1785). To draw

the King's (or Queen's) picture

= to counterfeit money.

1632. Brome, The Court Beggar, in Wks. (1873), Vol. I, (v. 2) p. 258. This picture drawer drew it, and has drawn more of the King's Pictures than all the limners in the town.

King's Plate, subs. phr. (old).— Fetters.—Lex. Bal. ( 1811 ). For synonyms see Darbies.

Kingswood Lion,subs.phr. (old).— An ass ; a Jerusalem-pony {q.v.). For synonyms see Moke.

Kink, subs, (colloquial).—A crotchet;

a whim.

1846. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. xx. Look at your shoulders above your ears, and your back with a bow like the kinking of a cable.

1850. H. B. Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, ch. xii. 'Buy me too, Mas'r, for de dear Lord's sake !—buy me—I shall die if you don't ! ' ' You'll die if I do, that's the kink of it, said Haley,—'no!' And he turned on his heel.

Kinky.

1869. H. B. Stowe, Oldtown, 33. The fact is, when a woman gets a kink in her head agin a man, the best on us don't do jest the right thing.

1883. James Payn, Thicker than Water, ch. xxiv. The wheel of life was turning smoothly enough for Mary when there suddenly came a kink in it.

Kinky, adj. (colloquial).—Eccentric; short tempered; twisty {q.v.).

1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 146. The kinky-headed eus looked at me sidways and rolled the whites of his eyes at me like he was gwine to have a fit.

1889. Sportsman, 2 Jan. At the former the kinky ones and the worthy souls who play hole-and-corner with society are made to partake of the toke of contrition and the skilly of repentance.

Kip, subs. (old).—A brothel. For

synonyms see Nanny Shop. To

tatter a kip = to wreck a house

of ill-fame.

1766. Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, xx. My business was to attend him at auctions, to put him in spirits when he sat for his picture, to take the left hand in his chariot when not filled by another, and to assist at tattering A kip, as the phrase was, when we had a mind for a frolic.

2. (common).—A bed.

English synonyms. Breedingcage ; bugwalk ; bunk ; cage ; clothmarket ; dab ; doss ; dossing crib ; downy; Feathers Inn; flea-pasture; latty ; letty ; libb ; lypken ; perch ; ruggins ; shake-down ; snooze.

French synonyms. D autel de plume (popular : = Feather's Inn); la bâche (thieves' = awning) ; le flac (thieves') ; le flacul (thieves') ; le fournil (popular = bakehouse); la halle aux draps (common = clothmarket) ; le pagne (thieves' from panier = basket); le panier aux ordures (popular).

1879. J. W. HoRSLEY,in Macm. Mag. xi. 501. So I went home, turned into kip (bed).

1891. Answers, 31 Jan. ' Oh yes, ' said the doctor, ' this is a very decent kip ; I have tried a good many, but this is the best of the lot.

1892. Morning Post, 25 Oct., p. 2, col. 4. White said, 'I went in there to have a kep' (slang term for cheap lodging).

3. (American).—A fool; a silly fellow : he's a kip = he's dullwitted—Matsell (1859).

Verb. (old).— I. To play truant ; to do dolly : Cf. Charley Wag.

1821. Haggart, Life, p. 3. I was sometimes turned down for kipping.

2. (thieves').— To sleep ; to lodge.

Kip-house, subs, (tramps'). — A tramps' lodging house.

Kipper, verb, (common).—See quot.

1885. W. H. Stevenson, in Notes and Queries, 6th. S. xi. 131. On the Trent a salmon is said to be kipper when it is seriously out of condition and has lost about half its weight. The fish are mostly found in this condition after the spawning season, but I have not hitherto been able to learn satisfactorily whether or not there is any connexion between the spawning and kippering. From this has arisen the slang kipper — to die.

KiPSY. See Kypsey.

Kirjalis, phr. (American thieves'); —'Who fears? I fear not; come on!'—Matsell (1859).

Kirkbuzzer, subs. (Amer, thieves'). —A thief whose speciality is to ply in churches.—Matsell (1859).

Kirkling, subs, (thieves').—Breaking into a house while the occupants are at church.

Kirk's Lambs. ¹¹² Kiss.

Kirk's Lambs, stibs.phr. (military). —The Second Regiment of Foot. [From the name of its first colonel and the Paschal Lamb, the badge of Portugal, on its colours].

1891. Globe, 10 Mar. Kirke's Lambs were engaged at Sedgemoor.

KlSKY, adj. (common).—Drunk; fuddled. For synonyms see Drinks and Screwed.

Kiss, subs, (venery).— i.The sexual favor. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

2. (common).—See quot.

1S56.Dickens, 7'he Detective Police, in Reprinted Pieces, p. 242. \_Qtly Review xcix. 177]. I observed that on the back of the letter there was what we call a kiss—a drop of wan by the side of the seal.

3. in pi. (Stock Exchange).— Hotchkiss Ordnance Co. shares.

Vcrb.(o\à. colloquial).—To touch

gently ; to brush. In billiards and

other games the balls are said to

kiss when they barely touch.

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shrew, i. 1. When with his knees he kissed the Cretan strand.

2. (venery).—See Kiss, subs.

sense 1.

1730. Ramsay, Fables Tales, in Wks. [1800], ii. 515. Ah me ! your reverence's sister, Ten times I carnally have—kist her.

1786. Capt. Morris. 'The Plenipotentiary'. The next to be kissed on the Plenipo's list, was a delicate Maiden of Honor.

to kiss the claws (or hands),

verb. phr. (old).—To salute.

1630. Taylor, Wks. [quoted by NAREs].Thesemencan kisse their claws, with, Jack, how is't? And take and shake me kindely by the fist, And put me off with dilatory cogges.

1630. Taylor, Wks. [quoted by Nares]. I'm glad to see thee well with all my heart. Long have I long'd to drinke

with thee a quart, I have beleev'd this drosse had beene pure gold, When presently I have beene bought and sold Behind my backe (for no desert and cause), By those that kindly cap'd and

kist their clawes.

1650. Howell, Familiar Letters [quoted by Nares]. This letter comes to kisse your hands from fair Florence, a citie so beutifull.

To kiss the Counter, verb.

phr. (old).—To be confined in

the Counter prison. Also Clink.

1618. Rowlands, Night Raven, p. 11. (Hunterian Club Repr. 1872). Constable :—Tell me of supper, tut a puddings end, You kisse the Counter, sirra, that is flat, He teach you know my place deserves a hat.

1626. Letter dated idem [quoted by Nares]. Some constables, for refusing to distrain, have kissed the Counter ; ana some have taken up their lodgings in Newgate, but have been since released.

To kiss the dust, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To die. For synonyms see Aloft.

To kiss the Hare's foot, verb. phr. (old).—To be too late for meals ; to dine with Duke Humphrey (q.v.).

.... Serving Man's Comfort, Sign. C. The hall summons this consort of companions (upon payne to dyne with duke Humphfrie, 01 to kisse the hare's foot) to appeare at the first call.

1616. Brown, Brit. Past, ii. 2, p. 67. 'Tis supper time with all, and we had need Make haste away, unless we meane to speed With those that kisse the hare's foot ; rhumes are bred, Some say, by going supperlesse to bed.

1672. Ray, Proverbs, p. 195. To kiss the hare's foot,/;-0z>. Spoken to one that comes so late that he hath lost his dinner or supper.

1677. Cole, Diet. You must kiss the hare's foot, post festnm venisti.

1851. Notes and Queries, 1 S. 4. p. 21. Kiss the Hare's Foot.—This locution is commonly used in some parts of the United Kingdom, to describe, what is expressed by the Latin proverb : ' Sero venientibus ossa.'

Kiss-curl.

113 Kissing-strings.

TO kiss the master, verb.

phr. (old).—To hit the jack (q.v.) at bowls.

1579. Gosson, Schoole of Muse, p. 60 (Arber's ed.). At Diceplay, euery one wisheth to caste well ; at Bowles euery one craues to kisse the maister ; at running euery one starteth to win the goale.

To kiss the post, verb. phr.

(old).—To be shut out.

1600. Heywood, King Edward, iv. [Nares]. Dost thou hear me, Ned? If I shall be thy host. Make haste thou art best, for fear thou kiss the post.

1612. Pasquils' Nightcap [Nares]. Men of al countries travels through the same, And, if they money want, may kisse the post.

1630. Taylor, Wks. [Nares]. Mars yeelds to Venus, gown-men rule the rost now, And men of war may fast, or kisse the post now.

Kiss my arse. See Arse.

To kiss the maid, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Kissing the maid, an Engine in Scotland, and at Halifax in England, in which the Head of a Malefactor is Laid to be Cut off, and which this way is done to a Hair, said to be invented by Earl Morton who had the ill Fate to Handsel it. [Also New Cant. Diet. (1725)].

Kiss-curl, subs, (common).—A small curl twisted on the cheek or temple; a beau-catcher (q.v.)-. cf. Aggrawator and Lovelock. Also Kiss-me-quick.

1856. Punch, xxxi. 219. I declare when I read that letter in print, with a picture in the corner not the least bit in the world like me (tho' I admit rather pretty in its way) I coloured up to the tip-top of my forehead and I am sure that if I had worn those pastry-cook's girl's ornaments called kiss-curls the gum would have been melted off in a minute.

Kisser, subs, (pugilistic).—i. The mouth ; the drippingor latch

vol. rv.

pan (q.v.). For synonyms see Po

tato-trap.

1860. Chambers' Journal, xiii. 348. His mouth is his ' potatoe trap'—more shortly, ' tatur trap '—or Kisser.

2. in pi. (pugilistic).—The lips ; lispers (q.v.); mums (q.s.). Fr. les balots.

Kissing, szebs. (venery).—1. Copulation. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

2. (billiards).—See KlSS, verb. sense 1. Fr. l'oculaire astronomique.

Kissing-Crust, subs, (colloquial).— The soft-baked surface between two loaves ; also the under-crust in a pudding or pie.

1708. King, Art of Cookery. These baked him kissing-crusts and those Brought him small beer.

1714. Spectator, No. 608. A quarrel about the kissing-crust ; spoiling of dinners, and coming in late at nights.

1822. Lamb, Elia (Praise of Chimney-sweepers). How he would recommend this slice of white bread, or that piece of KissiNG-crust.to a tender juvenile.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, 'Nell Cook.' And a mouldy piece of kissing-crust as from a warden pie.

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

Kissing-strings, subs. (old).—Ribands hanging over the shoulders ; FOLLOW-me-lads (q.v.). Fr. Suivezm 0 i-jeu ne-homme.

1705. London Ladies Dressing Room [Nares]. Behind her back the streamers fly, And kissing-strings hang dangling by.

1768. A. Ross, Helenore, 34. The first time I to town or market gang A pair of kissing-strings and gloves.. .. shall be your due.

Kissing-trap. "4

Kit.

Kissing-trap, subs, (common).— The mouth; the whisker-bed {q.v.). For synomyms see potato

trap.

1853. C. Bede, Verdant Green, pt. i. p. 106. His kissing trap countered, his ribs roasted.

1887. Atkin, House Scraps. The offside of his kissing-trap Displays an ugly mark !

Kiss-me-quick, subs, (common).—

I. A kiss-curl (q.v.).

2. (popular).—The name of a very small, once fashionable bonnet.

1855. Haliuurton, ('Sam Slick'), Human Nature, p. 131. She holds out with each hand a portion of her silk dress, as if she was walking a minuet, and it discloses a snow white petticoat. Her step is short and mincing, and she wears a new bonnet called a kiss-mequick.

1885. S. Baring Gould, Court Royal, ii. Or this Dolly Varden with panniers, a little passed in style, and a kiss-me-quick bonnet.

3. (American).—See quot.

1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. . . . . But of all the rare compounds known to Eastern bar-rooms, few ever reach his secluded home. Nor would he appreciate the bewitching softness of ' Long Linked Sweetness,' or the ecstacy produced by a ' kiss-me-quick '—he likes to take it strong and hot.

KlST-O'-WHUSTLES, Subs. (Scots').

An organ.

1640. Lesly's March [Minst. Scot. Border (1812), ii. 11]. And the kist-fou of whistles, That mak sic a cleiro.

1864. Letter in Glasgow Herald, 10 Dec. We have had, especially in our city churches, highly trained choirs, and we have now at our doors, clamouring for admission, the kist o' whistles, the horror of former generations of Scotchmen.

1870. Orchestra, May. By a majority of seventy-two the English Presbyterian Synod has vindicated the right of congregations to adopt the kist fu' o' whistles in their church services if they be so minded. The fight fought in Regent Square Church recently was hotly contested.

Kit, subs. (old).—I. A dancing master.—New Catit. Diet. (1725); Grose (1785); Lex. Bal. (1811); [From Kit = a small violin].

2. (popular).—A person's baggage or impediments ; an outfit ; a collection of anything. The whole kit = the lot ; the whole gridiron or the whole boiling. In American, the kit and boodle.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Kit. . . . likewise the whole of a soldier's necessaries, the content of his knapsack, and is used also to express the whole of different commodities ; here take the whole kit, i.e., take all.

1811. Lex. Dal., s.v.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xxxiv. 'Hush !—hush !—I tell you it shall be a joint business.' 'Why, will ye give me half the kitt ? ' ' What, half the estate ?— d'ye mean we should set up house together at Ellangowan.'

1820. Shelley, Œdipus Tyrannus, I. Now, Soloman, I'd sell you in a lump The whole kit of them.

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, i. ch. xiv. I need hardly say that my lord's kit was valuable, but what was better they exactly fitted me.

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, xxv. ' Ah ! I see 'em,' said Mrs. Gamp ; 'all the whole kit of 'em numbered like hackney-coaches, ain't they?'

1846. Punch, ii. p. 44. 'I've got a wife—more fool I—and a kit o' children wuss luck !'

1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, x. He has since devoted his time to billiards, steeple-chasing, and the turf. His headquarters are Rummer's, in Conduit Street, where he keeps his kit, but he is ever on the move in the exercise of his vocation as a gentleman jockey and gentleman leg.

Kitchen.

Kite.

I860. Dickens, Great Expectations, xl. 'Blast you every one, from the judge in his wig, to the colonist a stirring up the dust. I'll show you a better gentleman than the whole kit on you put together ! '

3. (venery).—The penis and testes.

Kitchen, subs, (venery).—1. The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

2. (common).—The stomach; the victualling office (q.v.).

Kitchener, «^.(thieves').—A thief frequenting a thieves' kitchen (q.v.).

Kitchenite, subs, (printers').—A loafing compositor frequenting the kitchen of the Compositors' Society house: in contempt.

Kitchen-latin, subs, (common).— Barbarous or sham Latin; doglatin (q.V.).

Kitchen-physic, subs. (old).—1.

Pot-herbs ; and (2) victuals.

1592. Greene, Quip for Upstart Courtier [Harl. Misc. v. 406]. For my selfe, if I be ill at ease, I take kitchyn physicke ; I make my wife my doctor, and my garden my apothecaries shop.

1641. Milton, Def. Humb. Remonst., § 2. Nothing will cure this man's understanding but some familiar and kitchen physick. . . . Call hither your cook!

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. A little kitchen-physic will set him up ; he has more need of a cook than a doctor.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

Kitchen-stuff, subs. (old).— A female servant.

1658. Brome, New Academy, p. 44. What a bold piece of kitchen-stuff is this that you have married !

Kite, subs, (popular).—1. A fool; a sharper; a cruel and rapacious

wretch. Fr. un btise. For synonyms see Buffle and Cabbagehead.

1534. Udall, Roister Doister, v. 5. Roister Doister, that doughtie kite.

1605. Shakspeare, King Lear, i. 4. Detested kite ! thou liest.

1639. Fletcher, Wit without Money, i. i. Cramming of serving-men, mustering of beggars, Maintaining hospitals for kites and Curs.

1812. From an old Dublin Jester. [The story, however, with slight variations is told of other judges. See A. and Q., 6 S., ix. 326, 394]. In a case before the Lord Chancellor of Ireland Mr. Curran, on behalf of the suitor, prayed to be relieved from the payment of some bills for which he had not received consideration, but only lent his name as an accommodation. Mr.Curran.in the course of his pleadings, mentioned the terms kite and raising the wind several times, when his lordship requested to know the meaning of the words. 'My lord', Mr. Curran replied, ' in your country (meaning England) the wind generally raises the kite, but with us,' significantly looking at the gentlemen of the bar, ' the kite raises the wind.'

2. (commercial).—An accommodation bill; fictitious commercial paper; (in Scotland) a WiNDmill-bill^.z;.).^ Kite-flying. To fly a kite = to raise money or keep up credit by the aforesaid means.

1817. Edgeworth, Love and Law, i. 2. Here's bills plenty—long bills and short bills—but even the kites, which I can fly as well as any man, won't raise the money for me now.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Kite-flying. In Ireland flying the kite is employed to describe raising the wind.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (M. of Venice). In English Exchequerbills full half a million, Not kites, manufactured to cheat and inveigle, But the right sort of ' flimsy.'

1848. Punch, xiv. 226. He never does a little discounting, nor lends his hand to flying A kite.

Kite.

116 Kittle-pitchering.

1849. Perils of Pearl Street, 82. Flying the kite is rather a perilous adventure.

1880. Sims, Ballads of Babylon, 'Little Worries.' You have a kite you cannot fly, and creditors are pressing.

1883. Grenville-Murray, People I Have Met, p. 158. His wife, one of the better of the best society, had flown kites to the height of twenty-five thousand pounds.

1891. Licensed Victuallers' Gazette,

23 Jan.....has been, flying kites

and getting into trouble thereby.

3. (American).—Fancy stocks. Matsell (1859).

4. (American thieves').—A letter.—Matsell (1859).

5. (American thieves').—The chief of a gang of thieves.

6. (old).—A recruiting sergeant.

[From Farquhar's Sergeant Kite

in The Recrtiiting Officer].

1827. Reynolds, The Fancy, 'The Field of Tothill.' She was ador'd by . . . sober sergeants ; privates too in drink, While pampered by those red kites their recruiters.

7. (Old Scots').—The belly.

</.1554. Lindsay, Kitteis Confessioun, Wks. (1879), i. 138, line 140. Thocht Codrus kyte suld cleve and birst.

d.lQOl. Montgomerie, Flyting, Wks. (1886-7), ⁸5> ^line 754Misly kyt ! And thou flyt, I'll dryt in thy gob.

1722-30. Ramsay, Fables &* Tales, in Wks. (1851), iii. 165. Whose kytes can Streek out like raw plaider.

Verb, (commercial).— 1. To keep up one's credit by means of accommodation bills ; to obtain money by bills. See subs, sense 2.

2. (American).—To speculate wildly.

3. (American).—To be restless, going from place to place; to skite (q.v.).—Matsell (1859).

To fly a kite.—i. see Kite, sttbs. sense 2.

2. (general).—To put out a feeler before a definite announcement.

Kite-flyer, sttbs. (commercial).— One who raises money or sustains his credit by the use of accommodation bills.

Kite-flying, subs, (commercial).— i. The fabrication or negotiation of bills of accommodation, or bills for which no value has been received, in order to raise money.

2. (old).—Whoremongering.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Kite-flying—said of a truant husband.

Kitten, subs, (thieves').—A pint or half-pint pewter pot. Sec Cat subs, sense 5.

verb. (colloquial).—To be brought to bed; to bust up; to explode.

Kittie (also Kittock), sttbs. (Old

Scots'), i. Generic foragiil;(2)

a romping wench; (3) a harlot.

*/.1513. Dunbar, Devoritwiih Dreme, in Poems fut supra), I, 83. So many ane kitty dressed up with golden chenye.

c.1538. Lyndsay, Against Syde Jaillis, Wks. (1879), i. 131. I ken ane man, quchilk sevoir greit aithir. How he did lift ane kittokis claithis. Idem, i. 135. Kittei's Confessioun. The Curate kittie wold have kissed.

aM542. James V, Christ's Kirk on the Green. There cam our kiteies weschin clene In thair nowkirtillisofgray.

KlTTLE-breeks, Subs. (Scots').—All

irritable person.

Kittle-pitchering, subs. (old).—

See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. A jocular method of hobbling or bothering a troublesome teller of long stories ; this is done by contradicting some very immaterial circumstance at the beginning of the narration, the objections to which

Kittler. ^ll7 Knack.

being settled, others are immediately started to some new particular of like consequence, thus impeding, or rather not suffering him to enter into the main story. Kittle-pitchering is often practised in confederacy.

Kittler, subs. (American thieves'). —One who tickles or pleases.

Kitty, subs. (old).—The Bridewell

or prison at Durham : hence a

prison or gaol generally. [From

Kidcote {q.v.)].

1827-8. Hone, Table Book. He would put him in the kitty for an impostor.

2. in pi. (old).—Effects; furniture ; stock-in-trade ; marbles (q.v.). TO seize one's kittys = to take one's effects.—Lex. Bal. (1811).

3. (cards').—See quot.

1892. Daily Chronicle, 5 Mar. p. 9. col. 2. Two officers going into the bar parlour on Feb. 20 found five or six men playing ' Nap,' with a kitty for drinks, kitty being the pool and the payment to it of a half-penny.

4. in pi. (military).—The Scots' Guards.

Kivey, subs, (common).—A man; a fellow : a diminutive of cove (q.v.).

1854. Bradley, Verdant Green, ii. ch. 4. That '11 stop your dancing my

kivey.

K. Legged, ^'.(printers').—Knockkneed ; shaky on the pins.

Kloop ! intj. (common).—An imitation of the sound of a drawing cork.

1872. Sunday Times, Aug. 25, p. 2. col. 5. 'The Deserted Village.' When the sudden kloop of a cork has startled me.

Klem, verb. (American thieves').— See quot.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Klem the bloke, hit the man.

Klep, subs, (popular).—A thief. For synonyms see Thieves. [Short for kleptomaniac].

Verb. To steal. For synonyms see Prig.

Knab the Rust. See Rust.

Knack, sttbs. (venery).— i. The penis. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

1656. Fletcher, Mart tail, vii. 30. Why, being a Roman lasse, dost do this ? tell, Is't cause no Roman knack can please so well ?

2. (old: now recognised).— i. A trick; and (2) a trinket. [Tyrwhitt : The word seems to have been formed by the knacking or snapping of the fingers made by jugglers].

1383. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, 4099. The more queinte knakkes that they make (= the cleverer tricks they practise).

1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie, Matassiner des mains, to move, knack, or waggle the fingers, like a jugler.

1653. Brome, Novella, i. 2. Such rings, such things, such knacks, such knots and bobs.

1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scofft, in Wks. (1725)^.163. And if they Women meet do rout 'urn, For the fine knacks they wear about 'urn.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Knack, or Slight in any Art, the Craft or Mystery in any Trade, a petty artifice, or Trick like those upon the Cards. Knacks, or Toies.

1731-35. Pope, Moral Essays, ii. 155. For how could equal colours do the knack ?

1781. Cowper, Table Talk, 666. While servile tricks and imitative knacks.

1892. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, p. 5. Lots of good temper and nack,

Knacker. ¹¹⁸ Knap.

Knacker, subs. (old).—1. An old horse.

1869. W. Bradwood, The O. V., H. xii. Thoroughbred weeds, and a few thoroughbred weight-carriers ; half-bred knackers, and half-bred hunters cheap at three figures.

2. (old: now recognised).—A

horse-slaughterer.

1839. Comic Almanack, Sept. Soon they'll be senseless brutes, without a bit of feeling, Or else they'll pine away so fast, the knackers scarce will skin 'em.

1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lond.Poor, i.189. The cat and dogsmeat dealers. . . . generally purchase the meat at the knackers' (horseslaughterers') yards.

3. in pi. (venery).—The testicles. For synonyms see Cods.

4. in pi. (Stock Exchange).— Harrison, Barber,&Co.U^d. shares. [An amalgamation of horse-slaughterers].

Knacker's brandy,subs.phr. (common).—A beating.

Knack-shop, subs.(o\d).—£Vé?quots.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Knack. ... a Knack-shop or Toy-shop, freighted with pretty Devises to Pick Pockets.

1785. Grose, Vulg: Tongue, s.v. Knick-shop, a toy shop, a nick-nackatory.

Knap, verb. (old).—i. To steal, receive, accept, endure, etc. Thus, to knap a clout = to steal a handkerchief; to knap the swag = to grab the booty; to knap

seven or fourteen penn' orth

= to get seven or fourteen years' ; to knap the glim = to catch a clap. In making a bargain to knap the sum offered is to accept it. Mr. Knap's been there, is said of a pregnant

woman. To knap the rust = to fall into a rage. Originally (as in quots 1537 and 1566) knap = to strike : whence knap (theatrical) = a manual retort rehearsed and arranged; to take (or give) the knap = to receive (or administer) a sham blow; and knapper = the head or receiver general [q.v.).

1537. Thersites [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), i. 428]. She knappeth me in the nose.

1566. Knox, Reformation in Scotland I. i. 47 (Wodrow Society, 1846). And then begane no little fray, but yitt a meary game ; for rockattes were rent; typpets were torn, crownes were knapped.

1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 27. He was not ignorant in knapping, which is, striking one die dead, and let the other run a milstone.

1820. London Magazine, i. 26. It was their husband's object to knap their thimbles.

1821. Haggart, Life, p. 51.

1839. Reynolds, Pickwick Abroad, p. 223. We'll knap a fogle with fingers fly.

2. (pugilists').—To be in punishment (q.v.); to catch it (q.v.). TO knap a hot 'un ==

to receive a hard blow.

3. (American thieves').—To arrest.—Matsell (1859).

To knap the stoop, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.

1822. Egan, Real Life, ii, 97. ' Having once been made inspector of the pavement, or in other words knapp'd the stoop.'

TO knap a jacob from a danna-drag, verb. phr. (old).— To steal the ladder from a nightman's cart, while the men are absent, in order to effect an ascent to a one-pair-of-stairs window, to scale a garden-wall, etc. — De Vaux. See Knap.

Knapper's-Poll "9

Knife.

Knapper'S-poll, subs. (old).—A sheep's head. For synonyms see Sanguinary James.

Knapping-jigger,j^. (thieves').— A turn-pike gate; i.e., a gate for the receipt of tolls. See Knap, sense i.

1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookzvood, iv. Turpin treated him as he had done the dub [pikeman] at the knapping-JIGGEr, and cleared the driver and his little wain with ease.

Knark, subs. (old).—A churl; a flintheart; a nark {q.v).

1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab. etc., i. 343. He couldn't refuse a dog, much more a Christian : but he had a butler, a regular nark.

Knat, subs, (tailors').—i. A difficult task ; (2) a tyrant; and (3) one not easily hoodwinked.

Knave, subs. (Christ's Hospital).—A dunce : at Hertford, a knack.

Knee. To break one's knee, verb. phr. (venery).—To be deflowered, or got with child. For synonyms see Dock, verb, sense 1.

To offer (or give) the knee, verb. phr. (old).—To play the second in a fight.

1856. Hughes, Tom Browris Schooldays, 11. v. Martin, to give him A knee, steps out on the turf.

Knee high to a mosquito (a toad, a chaw of tobacco etc.), phr. (American).—Insignificant; of scant account.

To sit on one's knees, verb, phr. (colloquial).—To kneel down.

Knee-trembler, s?tbs. (venery).— A standing embrace ; a fastfuck {q.v.) ; a perpendicular.

For general synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Knee-trick, subs. (old).—Kneeling.

1632. Brome, Novella, iv. 2. No, if I worship any of 'hem more. Than in the knee-trick, that is necessary In their true use, let me be eunuchiz'd.

Knick-knack, subs, (venery).—1. The female piidendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

2. (old).—A trinket ; a toy. See Nicknacks.

Knife, subs, (once literary : now military).— A sword.

c.1270. Robert of Gloucester, p. 104. He drow 'ys knyf, and slow the kyng.

Verb, (colloquial).—1. To stab.

1851. F. Wai.poi.e, The Ansayrii, ii. 8. A brute who in cold blood knived and tortured them with his own hand.

1862.Dickens, Xmas Stories (Soi?iebody's Luggage), p. 132 (H. ed.). If you should even get into trouble through knifeing—or say, garotting—a brother artist.

1870. Globe, 17 Nov., i. 3. Already a too refractory sufferer has been threatened by his torturer with the not very pleasant alternative of being knifed if he does not submit with a better grace.

2. (American electioneering).— To plot against the candidate of one's own party. 1870. Globe, 17 Nov. [Leader].

TO lay down one's knife

and fork, verb. phr. (common). —To die; to peg out (q.v.); to snuff it (q.v.). For synonyms see Aloft and Hop the Twig.

To knife it, verb. phr. (old). —To decamp ; to cut it (q.v.).

Knife it! intj. (old).—Separate ! leave off! go away !

Knife-board. 120

Knight.

TO play a good knife and

fork, verb. phr. (common).—To eat with appetite.

1837. Knowles, Love Chase, i. 3. Why shouldn't I marry ? Knife and fork i play Better than many a boy of twentyfive.

1846-8. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ii. viii. The Colonel plays a good knife and fork at tiffin, and resumes those weapons with great success at dinner.

Before one can say * knife ' ! phr. (common).—Instanter ; in the twinkling of an eye (q.V.).

Cf. Jack Robinson.

1892. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxiv. She'd be off and out

to sea before any one could say ' knife.'

Knife-board, subs, (common).—A seat for passengers running lengthwise on the roof of an omnibus: now mostly superseded by 'garden seats' Fr. l'impératrice.

1853. Diogenes, ii. 21. A 'Correspondent ' calls the top of an omnibus ' the eyrie of the knife-hoard.'

1856. Punch, xxxi. 203. And then the knifeboard cramps you so.

1859. Punch, xxxvi. 51, 2. Perhaps Mum'll ride on the knifeboard.

1860. Arthur Smith, Thames Angler, ii. 'On 'busses' knifeboards, stretch'd, The City clerks all tongue-protruded lay.'

1882. Daily Nervs, 7 Oct., p. 5, col. 7. The box, or still better the knifeboard, of an omnibus facing the docks is the real shifting point from which to view the most superb range of docks in existence on any river but the Thames.

1889. Daily lelegi-aph, 5 Jan. The 'insides' were terrified, and clamoured loudly, so the driver left his seat, staggered up on the knifeboard, and fell asleep.

Knifer, subs, (common).—A sharking sponge.

Km fish, adj. (tailors').—Spiteful.

Knight, subs, (common).—An ironical prefix of profession or calling: generic.

[Combinations are Knight of the Blade = a bully (B. E. 1690) ; Knight of the Brush — an artist or painter ; Knight of the Collar — a gallows-bird; Knight of the Cleaver = a butcher; Knight of the Cue — a billiardmarker ; Knight of the Green Cloth rr a gamester ; Knight of Hornsey (or of the Forked Order) — a cuckold ; Knight of Industry n= a thief; Knight of the Knife — a cut-purse ; Knight of Labor — (in America) a workingman ; Knight of the Lapstone — a cobbler ; Knight of the Napkin — a waiter ; Knight of the Needle = a tailor ; Knight of the Quill ~ an author 01 journalist; Knight of the Pencil ~ a book-maker ; Knight of the Pestle — an apothecary; Knight of the Pit — a cocker; Knight of the Petticoats a bawdy-house bully ; Knight of the Pisspot — a physician, an apothecary; Knight of the Post — a knight dubbed at the whipping post or pillory, also a rogue who got his living by giving false witness or false bail ; Knight of the Rainbow = a footman( Grose,1785); Knight of the Road — a footpad or highwayman : also Knight of the Rumpad ; Knight of the Shears or Thimble — a tailor (Grose, 1785); Knight of the Spigot — a tapster, a publican ; Knight of the Sun — an adventurer, a knight-errant ; Knight of the Wheel — a cyclist ; Knight of the Whip — a coachman ; Knight of the Yard — a shopman or counter-jumper].

r.1554. Youth [Dodsley, Old Plays (1847), ii. 15]. God's fate! thou didst enough there For to be made knight of the collar.

1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, in Works, ii. 19. A knight of the post, quoth he, for so I am tearmed ; a fellowe that will sweare you anything for twelue pence.

1606. Sir Gyles Goosecappe, i, iii. [in Bullen's Old Plays, iii. 19]. O good Knight a' the post, heele sweare.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fayre, ii. i. 'Is this goodly person before us here. . . . a knight of the knife?' 'What mean you by that?' 'I mean a child of the horn thumb. ... a cut purse.'

Knight

i2i Knight.

1620. Ford, Line of Life. But is his resolution any way infracted, for that some refractaries are (like knights of the post) hired to witnesse against him?

1621. Burton, Anat. of Mel., in. xi. 187 (1836). Perjur'd knaves, knights of the post, lyers.

c.1633. Lady Alimony, i. 3. That knight of the sun who employed me should have done his errand himself. Ibid. iii. 7. Doubt nothing, my fellow knights of hornsev.

1635. Glapthorne, The Hollander, in Wks. (1874), i. 94. Not John-a-Stiles, the knight of the post, is it ?

1653. Brome, The Damoiselle, in Wks. (1873), Act i. i. He takes me for

a knight of the post.

1662. Rump Songs, ii. 47. Then the knight of the pestle, King Lambert, and Vane, With a sceptre of iron did over it reign. Ibid., ii. 185. A knight of the post, and a cobbling lord.

1662. Wilson, The Cheats, v. 2. How? Stick a bull's feather in my cap Î Make me a knight of the Forked Order! Ibid. iv. 1.

1671. R. Head, English Rogue, 1, ch. xxx. p. 246 (Repr. 1874). His investation into the honour of one of the knights of the road.

1691-2. Gentlemen''s Journal, Mar. p. 2. I know some of your sturdy, stuff knights of the quill. Ibid. Feb. p. 5. knights of the post, Alsatian braves.

1694. Echard, Plautus, p. 151. Whene'er we meet with fellows who hire knights of the post in law-sutes, and rascals who forswear themselves.

1709. Mrs. Centlivre, Gamester (1872), i. 162. It is a kind of knight of the post.—That will swear on either side for interest.

1711. Spectator, No. 172. A couple of courtiers making professions of esteem, would make the same figure after breach of promise, as two knights of the post convicted of perjury.

^.1721. Prior, Poems (1892), i. 156. There the Squires of the Pad, and the knights of the post.

1777. Foote, Trip to Calais (1795), i. p. 23. That may be the case, Master Minnikin, with those of the trade who live in the city ; but I would have you

to know, the knights of the needle are another sort of people at our end of the town.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, 76. Whose kiss to my lip is as sweet As the brandy and tea, rather thinnish, That knights of the rumpad so rurally sip.

1821.Scott,R~enilworth,\\\\. 'When an old song comes across us merry old knights of the spigot, it runs away with our discretion.'

1828. Jon Bee, Picture of London, p. 27. To the practices and necessities of the coachmen and guard's private trade, we owe the increasing number and fresh supply of hangers-on, whose first business has been the performing fetch-and-carry services for those knights of the whip.

1838. Jas. Grant, Sketches in London, iii. 119. ' You'll do what, Sir?' observed the ' man with the Macintosh,' eyeing the knight of the thimble steadily. 'Just call me a tailor agin, Sir.'

1840. Thackeray, Catherine, v. We did not go into the Park, but turned off and cantered smartly up towards Kilburn ; and, when we got into the country, galloped as if the devil were at our heels. Bless you, my love, it was all done in a minute ; and the Ensign and I found ourselves regular knights of the road, before we knew where we were almost.

1843. W. T. Moncrieff, The Scamps of Londoit, ii. 2. Our hells are full of Greeks—they are the Corinthians of the order, the top sawyers—knights of the post, whom you will find in Regentstreet, in the clubs, at Epsom, Ascot, Newmarket, and Doncaster.

1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, in, iii. p. 267. 'It's scarcely wages for a knight of the rainbow (footman).'

1864. Reader, 22 Oct., p. 505. i. The best guard against any such spirit, [that of only regarding books by the light of ' will they pay '] is that the publisher should be a knight of the pen himself.

1881. New York Slang Dictionary. Gamblers are called knights of the green cloth, and their lieutenants, who are sent out after greenhorns, are called decoys, cappers, and steerers.

1885. John Coleman, m^Longm. Mag., vu. 78. Occasionally however, the author has his nose put out of joint by the scene-painter. I once heard a distinguished knight of the brush exclaim,

Knitting Needle. ¹²² Knobstick.

'D-n the author and the actors! the public come to see my scenery ! '

1885. Punch, 7 March, p. 109. The knights of the pencil, Sir, hold that backers, like pike, are more ravenous in keen weather, and consequently easier to land.

1890. Daily Telegraph, 25 Feb. p. iv. col. 7. Meanwhile, every temptation is offered to the felonious tendencies of these knights of industry. Women parade the rooms with thousands of pounds' value of jewellery on their persons.

TO be the guest OF the cross-legged knights, verb, phr. (old).—To go dinnerless;

to dine with duke humphrey

{q.v.); to dine (or sup) with Sir Thomas Gresham (q.v.). [In allusion to the stone effigies in the Round Church (Temple) at one time the rendez-vous of lawyers and their clients, who attracted a host of dinnerless vagabonds in the hope of picking up a job]. For synonyms see Peckham.

TO be knighted in bridewell, verb. phr. (old).—To be whipped in prison.

1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse [Grosart, ii. 57]. I knewe an odde foulemouthde knaue . . . that had. . . a backe so often knighted in Bridewell that it was impossible ... to terrifie him from ill-speaking.

Knitting Needle, subs.phr.(military).—A sword. For synonyms see Cheese-toaster.

Knob, subs, (common).— 1. The head ; the nob (q.v.). For synonyms see Crumpet. One on the knob = a blow on the head.— Grose (1785).

2. (workmen's).—A knobstick (q.v.).

Knobby, adj. (common).—See Nobby.

Knob-of-Suck, subs. phr. (provincial).—A piece of sweetmeat.

1865. Good Words, Feb., p. 125. These children get an hour for dinner, and when they are ' very good ' and work hard they sometimes get a knobo'-suck on Saturday.

Knobstick (or Nobstick), sttbs. (workmen's).—1. A non-society hand; dung (q.v.); a rat (q.v.). Also, one who takes work under price, or continues at work while his fellows are on strike. (2) A master who does not pay his men at market rates.

1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. &* Loud. Poor, iii. 220. I next went to work at a under-priced hatter's, termed a knobstick's.

1855. Mrs. Gaskell, North and South, ch. xxv. 'They would try and get speech o' th' knobsticks, and coax 'em, and reason wi 'em, and m'appen warn'em off ; but whatever came, the Committee charged all members o' th' Union to lie down and die, if need were, without striking a blow ; and then they reckoned they were sure o' carrying th'public with them.'

1858. Notes and Queries, 1 S. ix. 373. In these days of strikes, turn-outs, and lock-outs we hear. . . . much of knobsticks.

1860. Sir J. K. Shuttleworth, Scarsdale, ii. ch. ii. By picketing the mills, by assaults on knobsticks.

1S87. Contetnporary Rev., Ii. 238. The knobstick takes away the striker's hope of bringing his employer to terms.

1887. Daily Telegraph, 1 July, 5. 8. Hundreds of windows at Dobson and Barlow's foundry, in which are knobsticks, or 'importations', were broken.

1891. Pall Mall Gaz., 25 July, p. 2, col. 2. The fact must be borne in mind that this advocate of physical force as an argument with knobsticks is repudiated by the organization of his fellowworkers.

Knock. !23 Knock.

Knock, subs, (horse-dealers').—i. A

lame horse ; an incurable screw

{q.v.). [The horse-dealer inJON

son's Bartholemew Fair (1614),

is called Knockem].

1864. London Review, 18 June, p. 643. The knock, afflicted with disease of the navicular joint, or shoulder lameness, neither of which make any outward show, is a great favourite for horse-coping purposes, as he is often a fine-looking animal.

2.—See verb.

Verb, (venery).— 1. To copulate. Hence, knock, stcbs., (i)an act of coition, and (2) the pejtz's (see knack); knocking-shop (or -house) = a brothel ; knockingjACKET=a bed-gown ; and knocker, (1) = the penis, and (2) a performer (q.v.) male or female. [For possible derivation see nock, S7ibs., and quot. (FLORIO), 1598]. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1560. Nice Wanton [Dodsley, Old Play (1874), ii]. 170. Goldlocks She must have knocks, Or else I do her wrong.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wördes, Cunmita, a woman nocked.

1611. Barry, Ram Alley, iii. 1. Comfort her tears, and say her daughters match'd With one that has a knocker to his father.

1612. Field, Woman is a Weathercock, i. 2. You should be a knocker, then, by the mother's side.

1719. Durfey, Pills etc., iii. 48. Ladies, make room, behold I come, Have at your knocking jackets.

1722. Ramsay, Fables & Tales, in Wks. (1851), iii. 170. For nought delights him mair than knocking.

1823. Egan, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

2. (popular). To make an impression; to be irresistible; to FETCH (q.v.); TO FLOOR (q.v.).

1883. Referee, May 6, p. 3, col. 3. ' It's Never too Late to Mend,' with J. H. Clynds as Tom Robinson, is knocking 'em at the Pavilion.

1892. Chevalier, ' Knocked Vm in the Old Kent Rd' [Title of Song.]

To knock acock, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To 'floor' ; to flabbergast (q.v.) ; to double up. See Cocked Hat.

to knock about (or round),

verb. phr. (colloquial).—To wander here and there; to lounge. Also 'to see life' ; 'to go the pace' (q.v.).

1851. Mayhew, Lo?id. Lab. etc., ii. 87. I've been knocking about on the streets.

1855. W. Irving, Life of Washington, i. 423. A long course of solicitation, haunting public offices, and knocking about town, had taught him [General Gates], it was said, how to wheedle, and flatter, and accommodate himself to the humors of others.

1888. Harper's Mag., lxxvi. 349. I have been knocking about Europe long enough to learn there are certain ways of doing things.

1891. Sporting Life, 28 Mar. He was a truant of the first water, and after knocking round till sixteen years of age etc.

TO knock about the bub,

verb. phr. (common).—To pass

round the drink. See Bub.

1781. G.Parker, View of Society, I. 212. They went away seemingly very well satisfied, leaving master and man knocking about the bub.

TO knock (or let) daylight

into one. See Daylight.

To knock all of a heap. See Heap.

To knock at the Cobbler's door. See Cobbler's Knock.

To knock down, verb. phr. (American).— 1. To appropriate; to embezzle.

1882. McCabe, New York, p. 158. In former days the driver of a stage was furnished with a cash-box, which was

Knock. ^I24 Knock.

securely fastened to the roof of the coach, at his left hand, All the money received passed through his hands, and he had frequent opportunities of knocking down or appropriating a modest sum to his own use.

2. (colloquial).—To call upon ;

to select.

1758-65. Goldsmith, Essays, i. While the president vainly knocked down Mr. Leathersides for a song.

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, i. 2. i. Now, gentlemen, silence for a song. The 'squire is going to knock himself down for a song.

1789. G. Parker, Variegated Characters. He was knocked down for the crap the last sessions. He went off at the fall of the leaf at Tuck'em Fair.

1866. C. Reade, Griffith Gaunt, x. They knocked him down for a song ; and he sang a rather Anacreontic one very melodiously.

to knock down for a song

etc., verb. phr. (colloquial).—To sell under intrinsic value.

to knock down a cheque

(or pile), verb. phr. (colonical).

—To spend one's savings lavishly ;

to blew (q.v.).

1885. Finch Hatton, Advance Australia. A man with a cheque or sum of money in his possession, hands it over to the publican, and calls for drinks for himself and his friends, until the publican tells him he has drunk out his cheque.

to knock down fares, Verb.

phr. (American).—To pilfer fares : of conductors and guards. See knock down, sense i.

To knock it down, verb.phr. (common).—To applaud by hammering or stamping.

to knock one down to, verb.

phr. (American).—To introduce (to a person).

To knock in, verb. phr. (OxfordUniversity).—i. Toreturn to college after gate is closed.

1825. English Spy, i. 155. 'Close the oak Jem,' said Horace Eglantine, ' and take care no one knocks in before we have knocked down the contents of your master's musical mélange.'

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, p. 463 [ed. 1862]. That same afternoon Father Dick, who as soon Would knock in, or 'cut chapel', as jump o'er the moon Was missing at vespers—at complines— all night! And his monks were of course in a deuce of a fright.

1853. Cut h bert Bede, Verdant Green, 1. xi. At first, too, he was on such occasions greatly alarmed at finding the gates of Brazenface closed, obliging him thereby to knock in.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, p. 458 [ed. 1864]. There's twelve striking. I must knock in. Good night. You'll be round to breakfast at nine ?

2. (gaming).—To take a hand at cards ; to chip in (q.v.).

TO knock into fits (a cocked hat, the middle of next

w^reek etc.), verb.phr. (common).— To confound; to floor (q.v.) ; to punish severely. See Cocked hat, Beat and Fits.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 42. Knocks recit-ateeves into fits.

To knock (or take) it out

of one, verb.phr. (colloquial).—

To exhaust ; to empty ; to punish

severely.

1841. Punch, i. p. 265, col. 2. The uphill struggles. . . . soon knock it all out of him.

To knock off, verb. phr. (colloquial).— 1. To leave off work; to abandon. Fr. pe'ter stir le viastic.

1662. Fuller, Worthies, x [ed. Nichols, 1811]. In noting of their nativities, I have wholly observed the instructions of Pitceus, where I knock off with his death, my light ending with his life on that subject.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Knock off, to give over Trading ; also to Abandon or Quit one's Post or Pretensions.

Knock. 125 Knock.

1725. New Cant. Diet., s.v. Knock-off, to give over Thieving.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v., knock-off, to conclude.

1860. Dickens, Uncommercial Traveller, v. p. 25. Jack had knocked off work in the docks some hours.

1865. Pall Mall Gaz., 4Üar. Iron ship builders and other employers will have to knock off.

1883. Daily Telegraph, 10 Aug., p. 6, col. i. Another half-pint when he knocks off in the evening, and before he starts for home to his late tea.

1883. Greenwood, Odd People etc., ' Genteel Slang "... With your leave or without, he must knock off at midday.

1884. W. C. Russell, Jack's Courtship, xvii. 'Why, I heard that you had knocked off the sea some years ago—come into an estate.'

2. (colloquial).—To dispatch with ease ; to put out of hand.

1886. Westminster Rev., cxxv. 292. He could knock off a parody, a drinking song.

1891. Pall Mall Gazette, 29 Nov. p. 6, col. 2. Here is a specimen of the ' consumptive manner ' as knocked off by Mr. Lang.

3. (colloquial).—To deduct; to ' knock so much off the price '.

4. (colloquial).—To die.

d.llOl. Tom Brown, Works, iv. 183. Perverse people. . . . that would not knock off in any reasonable time but lived long on purpose to spite their relation.

To knock one bandy, verb, phr. (tailors').—To astound; to

flabbergast (q.v.).

to knock on the head, verb.

phr. (colloquial).—To frustrate; to spoil; to settle.

To knock out, verb. phr. (auctioneers').— 1 .See knock-out.

2. (racing).—To bet so persistently against a horse that from a short price he retires to an

outside place : to drive out of the

quotations.

1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 203. The concern would either remain for a time in shares or would be knocked out at once.

1883. Pall Mall Gazette, 16 April, p. 4, col. i. Foxhall. . . . was second favourite for some time, but he has now been knocked out to comparatively long odds.

3. (common).—To make bankrupt : Knocked out = unable to meet engagements.

4. (pugilistic).—See subs, sense 4 and Knock out of time.

1891. Daily Telegraph, 21 Mar. For the third time this year, they managed, after a drawn game, to knock out the much fancied Sunderland team.

5. (Oxford University).—To leave college after hours: of out of college men only. See Knock in and Knocking out.

1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, vii. Five out-college men had knocked out at a quarter to three, refusing to give any name but the dean's.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, xlv. p. 503 [ed. 1864]. 'Hullo!' he said, getting up ; ' time for me to knock out, or old Copas will be in bed.'

TO knock OUT OF TIME, verb, phr. (pugilistic).—So to punish an opponent that he is not able to answer the call of¹ Time '.

1884. Saturday Review, 16 Jan., p. 108, col. i. A man of weak physique is apt to bo knocked out of time by a more robust though less skilful adversary.

1891. Licensed Vict. Minor, 30Jan., p. 7, col. 2. He had, in fact, almost played with Tom with the gloves, and once, at Jem Ward's benefit, when both were a little bit pricked, had knocked the Redditch man bang off his legs, and very nearly out of time.

TO knock the spots off (or

out of), verb.phr. (American).— To surpass ; to confound ; to thrash; to excel.

Knock. 126 Knock.

1887. Francis, Saddle & Mocassin, 152. She can knock the spots out of these boys at that game.

1888. Pall Mall Budget, 26 Ap., p. 5. An American gentleman has just sailed for Sydney to knock spots out of the rabbits.

TO knock the bottom (stuffing, wadding, lining, filling, Or inside) out of, verb.

phr. (common).—To confound; to surpass ; to floor (q.v.) ; to thrash; to finish off.

1889. Sporting Tunes, 3 Aug., p. 3, col. i. 'Hold hard—here he is. Good ev'ning, sir 'aven't the pleasure of knowing you, but saw you knock the stuffing out of the ring to-day. Done well ? '

1891. Bellamy, Dr. Heidenhojf's Process, p. 52. This cool ignoring of all that had happened that day in modifying their relations at one blow knocked the bottom out of all his thinking for the past week.

TO knock smoke out OF, Verb.

phr. (colonial).—To try; to vanquish utterly.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xi. You ought to have sense enough not to knock smoke out of fresh horses before we begin. Ibid. xxxix. A regiment or a man-of-war's crew like him would knock smoke out of any other thousand men the world could put up.

TO knock saucepans out of,

verb. phr. (colloquial).—To run amuck.

18S8. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxvi. 'He'll begin to knock saucepans out of all the boys between here and Weddin Mountain.

TO knock out the wedges, verb.phr.(American).—To desert; to leave in a difficulty.

To knock round. See To

knock about.

To knock under, verb. phr. (old: now colloquial).—To yield; to give out; to confess defeat.

1668. Dryden, An Evening''s Love, v. Knock under, you rogue, and confess me conqueror.

1691-2. Gentlemen's Journal, Mar., p. 10. He that flinches his glass, and to drink is not able, Let him quarrel no more, but knock under the table.

1703. The Levellers, in Harl. Misc. (ed. Park), v. 447. Now, my dear, though I must acknowledge our sex to be extraordinary vicious, we will not knock under-board to the men.

1719. Durfey, Pills etc., i. 27. Who with Water and Cannon Mahon did take, And make the Pope knock under.

r.1730. A. Ramsay, Address of Thanks, in Wks. (1851), ii. 347. They will be forced to thumb your belt, At last and a' knock under.

1782. Geo. Parker, Humorous Sketches, p. 164. When fame from ministers is flown, ' Tis time they should knock under.

1844. Puck, p. 82. Says mighty Dan to the Sassenach chain, I never will knock under.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. etc., iii. 71. Several had tried it, but they had to knock under very soon.

1852. Thackeray, Esmond, iii. 4. Colonel Esmond knocked under to his fate.

1866. Argosy, No. 2, p. 191. So the Emperor of Austria has knocked under, and the Hungarian Diet has met for the first time for sixteen years. They have conquered by the force of passive resistance. It is the grandest thing since our Long Parliament.

1871. Five Years' Penal Servitude, iii. 223. The men are drove into being reg'lar devils by being constantly down upon by the blooming officers. Them as 'as any pluck in 'cm turns savage, and them as 'asn't they knocks under, as I did, and gets ill, and lots on 'em dies.

1872. Daily Telegraph, 29 Aug. Finally, he knocked under with an abjectness which made every true American blush from the tips of his hair to the soles of his boots.

To knock up, verb. phr. (Christ's Hospital).— 1. To gain a place in class : e.g. I knocked up and ' I knocked Jones up.' -The Hertford equivalent is ox UP (q.v.).

Knock. ^I27 Knock-about man.

2. (colloquial).—To achieve; to accomplish.

1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. With only 29 to win, White at his next attempt knocked up the necessary item.

3. (colloquial).—To put together hastily, as by nailing.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, xx. Knocking up apologies for shelves.

4. (colloquial).—1. To exhaust or tire.

1771. Smollett, Humphry Clinker, L. 62. In passing the sands without a guide, his horse had knocked up ; and he himself must have perished, if he had not been providentially relieved by a return post-chaise.

1814. Miss Austen, Mansfield Park, vii. If Fanny would be more regular in her exercise, she would not be knocked up so soon.

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzleivit, xvii. p. 187. 'I am quite knocked up. Dead beat, Mark.'

1867. All the Year Round, 13 July, 59. You had better go by train, and not run the risk of knocking yourself up again.

Knocked uv,phr. (American). —Pregnant.

To get the knock, verb. phr. (colloquial).— 1. To drink; to get screwed (q.V.).

2. (colloquial).—To be discharged ; to get the sack or bag (q.v).

TO take the knock, verb, phr. (turf). To lose more to the bookmakers than one can pay ; to be dead broke (q.V.).

1890. Globe, 21 April, p. 6, col. 1. Many a broken backer of horses who has taken, what is known in the language of the turf, as the knock over the many fiascoes associated with this particular horse, etc.

TO be knocked off one's pins, verb. phr. (common).—To be flabbergasted (q.V.).

1880. A. Trollope, The Duke's Children, ch. xlvii. He confessed to himself that he was completely bowled

Over,—knocked off his pins !

That knocks me, phr. (common).—That confounds, or is too much for me.

To be knocked into the

middle of next week, Verb.

phr. (common).—To be astounded ; to get badly beaten ; ' to be knocked into a Cocked hat' (q.v.).

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii. 4. Up comes these young sparks, and gave me such a maulagaran, that they knock'd me into the middle of next week—beside tipping me this here black eye—only see how red it is !

1837. Dickens, p. 334 [ed. 1857]. If Mr. Namby would have the goodness to put his hat on again, he would knock

it into the later end of next week.

1847. Porter, Quarter Race etc., p. 105. The next moment he was knocked into the middle of the next three weeks !

£.1852. Traits of Amer. Humour, p. 50. Arch would fetch him er side wipe on the head, and knock him into the middle of next week.

Knockabout, subs, (theatrical).—

An actor of violent and noisy

pantomime : a special genre.

1891. Sportsman, Ap. 1. The Armstrongs maintain their position as two of the best knockabout artistes.

Knock-about man, subs. (Australian).—A jack-of-all trades (q.v.); a handy man.

1881. A. C. Grant, Bush Life, i. 80. Knockabout men : that is men who are willing to undertake any work.

Knocker.

Knock-down (or knock-me-down),

subs. (old).—Strong ale : stingo (q.v.). Also = gin.

1515. De Generibus Ebriosorum ect. [J. E. Hodgkin in Notes 6r Queries, 3 S. vii. 163]. In this treatise occurs a chapter on the various kinds of beer then in use in Germany .... The catalogue which follows shows that even the names of fancy drinks are not new under the sun ; and that the ' Eyeopeners ' and ' Cocktails ' of the Yankee bars had their prototypes in the mediaeval taprooms. I select a few of the most presentable : Cow's-tail, Calves-neck, Buffalo, Slip-slop, Stamp-in-the-Ashes, Knock'em-down,Crowing-Cock,Wild-oats,Redhead, Raise-head,Swell-nose, and Gnat'smustard.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

1698. Sokbière, Journey to London in the Year 1698, p. 35 [quoted in Notes and Queries, 6 S. xii. 167]. He answer'd me that had a thousand such sort of liquors, as Humtie Dumtie, Three Threads, Four Threads, old Pharaoh, knockdown . . .

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

1811. Lex. Dal., s.v. Knock-medown.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1885. Notes and Queries, 6th S. xii. 232. A very strong ale or beer.

Adj. (old).—Rowdy.

1760. Foote, Minor, i. No knockme-down doings in my house. ... no rioters.

Knock-down and Drag-out, sttbs. phr. (pugilistic).—A free fight.

1848. New York Spirit of the Times, 30 Sept. There are good, quiet, easy people in the world who scarcely open their lips or raise their fingers, lest Dogberry Soand-so across the way might take it in high dudgeon, and forthwith demand an explanation or a knock-down and dragout.

1852. TuDSONju/ysr^-. etc.of New York, xii. p. 83. ' We must have a fight !'said Butcher Bill. < What shall it be ? ' asked Mr. Shorter—' a genteel knock down, or a KNOCK DOWN AND DRAG OUT ? '

£.1852. Traits of American Humour, p. 48. Mike ... in a regular

knock-DOWN and DRAG-OUT TOW Washard

to beat.

Knock-'em-down Business, subs, phr. (common).—Auctioneering.

Knock-'em-downs, sttbs.(common). —Skittles.

1828. Jon Bee, Picture of London, 263. The charms of nine-pins—whether this be of skittles, knock-'em-downs, bowl-and-tip, dutch-pins, or the more sturdy four-corners.

1872. Fun, Sept. A man, the proud possessor of knock-me-downs,was brought up at Wandsworth police-court the other day for plying his trade on Putney Common.

Knocker, subs, (venery).— 1. The penis (Urquhart) : see knock, verb, sense i. For synonyms see Creamstick and Prick.

2. (venery).—See knock, verb. sense 1.

3. (common).—In pl., small flat curls worn on the temples; sixes (q.v.).

UP to the knocker, phr.

(common).— 1. Completely equal to; also, perfect in appearance, condition, fitness. Also see quot. 1870.

1844. Selby, London by Night, i. 2. Jack. How do you feel? Ned. Not quite up to the knocker.

1864. Derby Day, p. no. It's a splendid turn out. Right up to the knocker, as they say. I don't do things by halves when I go out.

1870. Hazlewood & Williams, Leave it to Me, 1. Joe. If ever there was anybody else first, you're afore 'em. I 'dores you, to the werry knocker

and half-WAY up the passage.

1889. Sporting Times, 6 July. 'Isee here's a house to let in Toboggan Terrace, jest up by Sloane Street—how 'ud that suit us ? ' ' Up to the bloomin' knocker, Joey,' replied Mrs. M.

Knocker-face.

^I29 Knock-out.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 23. I'm up to the knocker, I tell you.

2. (common).—In the height of fashion.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, iii. p. 243. She were a fine woman, and togged like a lady right up to the knocker.

1885. D. C. Murray, Rainbow Gold, Bk. ii. ch. ii. ' He's dressed too,' he added after a pause, during which the figure drew nearer—'dressed up to the knocker.'

Knocker-face (or Head), subs. (common).—An ugly-faced person; ugly-mug [q.v.).

1887. A. Barrère, Argot and Slang, p. 272. Monstrico, m. (familiar), ugly person, one with a knocker face.

Knocker-out, subs, (pugilistic).— See Knock-out, subs, sense 4.

Knock-in, i^fe.(common).— i.The game of loo.

2. (common).—A hand at cards.

3. (trade).—The same as knock-out, subs, sense 1.

Knocking-out, subs, (common).— See knock-out, subs, sense 1.

2. (Oxford University).—See knock-out, subs, sense 5 s.v. knock.

Knock-out, subs, (common).—1. A man frequenting auction rooms and joining with others to buy at a nominal price. One of the gang is told off to buy for the rest, and after a few small bids as blinds, the lot is knocked down to the knock-out bidders, so that competition is made impossible. At the end of the sale the goods are taken to a near hand pub lie-house, where they are re-sold or knocked-out among the confederates, the differ

VOL. IV.

ence between the first purchase

and the second—or tap-room

knock-out—being divided. The

lowest sort of knock-outs, with

more tongue than capital, are called

babes. Hence (2) an auction at

which knocking-out is practised.

Also verbally, as an adj., and in

combination.

1823. Bee, Diet, of the Turf, s.v. Knock out, an illegal auction.

1856. C. Reade, Never Too Late, xlii. This was a knock-out transaction ; twelve buyers had agreed not to bid against one another in the auction room, a conspiracy illegal but customary.

1872. Athena-utn, 4 May. Book knock-out. . . . buying a rare Shakspeare for £20, and afterwards selling it at a knock-out for £525.

1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack. The concern would either remain for a time in shares, or would be knocked out at once, that is, resold by auction among themselves, and the profit divided.

1883. A. Lang, A Bookman's Purgatory, in Longman's Mag., September, p. 522. The auctioneer put up lot after lot, and Blinton plainly saw that the whole affair was a knock-out. His most treasured spoils were parted with at the price of waste paper.

1S91. PallMaJl Gaz., 29 Nov., p. 4, c. 3. He condemned the market 'rings,' and maintained that by the process of knocking out the price of food was kept up.

2. in pi. (gaming).—Dice : when in the box = babes in the wood or rogues in the stocks. See

fulhams.

3. (common).—A man or woman : used either in eulogy or in outraged propriety : also a warm member {q.v.) ; one who does outrageous things.

4. (pugilistic).— i. A hit out of the guard on the point of the chin, which puts the recipient to sleep, and so ends the fight. Hence, 2

Knocksoftly. ¹3° Know.

(common), a champion of any sort and in any walk of life. Knockerout = a pugilist who is an adept at putting to sleep {q.v.).

1891. Sporting Life, 25 Mar. The Barrier man was nearly helpless, and Choynski tried frantically to pull himself together for one good knock-out.

1892. Chevalier, Idler, June, p. 549. Oh ! 'e's a little champion, Do me proud, well 'e's a knock out.

1894. Illustrated Bits, 7 April, 4,

2. They all called her Miss Tricky, except some of the lads who preferred to describe her with fervour as ' A fair

knock-out.'

1894. Arthur Morrison, Tales of Mean Streets, 134. It was a hard fight and both the lads were swinging the right again and again for a knock-out.

1895. E. B. Osborn, in Nezv Review, April, 450. The hit out of the guard to the point of the chin, which is the prettiest application of the theory of the lever—is equally dangerous when it comes from a gloved hand. Accordingly, modern boxers (so-called) will give up everything for an opportunity of striking this particular blow ; and a contest with or without the gloves degenerates into a struggle of waving hands and woven paces for the one position in which 'tis possible to deliver it with a fair chance of knocking

out.

Knocksoftly, subs. (old).—A fool; a soft (q.v.).

1864. Derby Day, p. 69. 'I say,' cried Mr. Dobson. 'What's the row now? Ain't you going to let us in?' 'What! to be larruped? Not if I know it. You must think me a jolly knocksoftly.'

Knot, sttbs. (old : now recognised). —A crew, gang, or fraternity.

1597. Shakspeare, Rich. Ill, iii.

3. A knot you are of damned bloodsuckers.

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

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

Verb. (old).—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

1602. Shakspeare, Othello, iv. 2. Keep it as a cistern for foul toads To knot and gender in.

To knot it, verb. phr. (common).—To abscond. For synonyms See absquatulate.

To tie with St. Mary's knot, verb. phr. (common).— To hamstring.

to tie a knot with the tongue that cannot be untied with the teeth, verb.

phr. (colloquial).—To get married.

Know, verb. (conventional).— To copulate: applied to women.

Also tO know carnally and to have carnal knowledge.

For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

to know, one's way about, round, a thing or two, a trick worth two, the ropes, the time of day, what's o'clock, what's what, one's book, life, how many blue

beans make five, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be well-informed, experienced, wide-awake; to be equal to any emergency; fly (q.v.).

1534. N. Udall, Roister Doister, i. 2, p. 17 (Arber). Have ye spied out that ? Ah sir, mary nowe I see you

know what is what.

1598. Shakspeare, i Henry IV, ii. i. Soft, I pray thee : I know a trick worth two of that.

1609. Jonson, Silent Woman, v. Daw. O, it pleases him to say so, sir ; but Sir Amorous knows what's what as well.

1679. W. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, Act iii. Sc. i. But you, gossip,

know what's what.

1711. Spectator, No. 132. This sly saint, who, I will warrant, understands what is what as well as you or I, widow, shall give the bride as father.

Know. 13¹ Know.

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, v. ' Come, boy, I'm an old fellow, and know what's what as well as you that are younger.'

1792. Holcroft, Road to Ruin. You know a thing or two, Mr. Selby.

1825. Scott, St. Ronan's Well. I am a raw Scotchman, Captain Jekyll, it is true, but yet I know a thing or two.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood. A man of discernment who knew a thing or two.

1836. Dickens, Pickivick, p. 364 (ed. 1857). 'Never mind, Sir,' said Mr. Weiler with dignity, ' I know wot's o'clock.'

1841. Lever, Charles O'Malley. I thought I knew a thing or two when I landed in Portugal ; but, Lord love you, I was a babe. . . . compared to the Portuguese.

1849. Lytton, Caxtons, p. iv. iii. ' I am no genius, but I am a practical man. I know what's what.'

1849-50. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. x. I know what's o'clock tolerably well.

1854. Whyte-Melville, General Bounce. The old Norman bon-vivant evidently knew a thing or two.

1867. All the Year Round, 13 July, p. 56. The tramp who knows his way about knows what to do.

1887. Baumann, Londinismen,Slang u. Cant, pref., vi. So from hartful young dodgers From vaxy old codgers, From the blowens we got Soon to know vor is vot.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Ar?ns, xxiv. We knew a trick worth two of that. Ibid. xliv. He knew the ropes.

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 9 Nov., p. 7, col. 2. Tell him frankly that you are a new reader, and would be glad of his assistance until you know the ropes, as the sailors say.

1891. Newman, Scamping Tricks, 120. Now it is only fair to say the assistant knew his book, and was up to snuff.

1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 12 Oct., p. 5, col. 2. Mr. Asquith knows, if I may use the phrase, the time of day.

1892. Milliken, 'Arry Ballads, 13. He did know a thing or two. Ibid.

36. Knows her way about well, I can tell yer. Ibid. 44. Alfongs knows the kopes.

Not to know B from a

battledore. See B.

In the know, adv. phr. (common). — Having special and intimate knowledge; in the swim; on the ground floor {q.v.).

1883. Referee, 29 April, p. 3, col. 2. As they are being shown about, and as everybody immediately interested knows all about them, perhaps Refereaders would like to be in the know likewise.

1884. Cornhill Mag., June, p. 617. The half-dozen young Arabs who are in the know as to these eating-houses, and have marked them for their own.

1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. That greatly desired summit of every embryo racing man's aspirations. . . . being in the know.

1889. Sporting Times, 3 Aug., p. 1, col. 2. There is somebody I wot of who is fairly in the know.

1889. Star, 9 Sept., p. 4, col. 3. If he were in the know he would be more correct in his facts.

1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 31 Oct., 3, i. Racing on the Flat. By one in the know [ Title].

1892. Leisure Hour, Jan., p. 192. It is evident to the reader who is in the know that the miserable author will have to go round by Cape Horn to get from Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs.

1894. Illustrated Bits, 7 Ap., p. 4, col. 2. Harry Summers, whose father did the commissions for the stable, and whose main ambition was to be in the know, so that he might back winners.

1894. George Moore, Esther Waters, xxx. 'If one was -"ally in the know, then I don't say nothing about it ; but who of us is ever really in the know? '

All one knows, phr. (common).—The utmost.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxiii. A good many men tried all they knew to be prepared and have a show for it.

Knowing. ¹3² Knowledgebox.

I want to know, phr. (American colloquial).—'Is it possible?' 'You surprise me.'

Knowing, adj. (common).— i. Artful; fly (q.v.).

1712. Spectator, No. 314. If this gentleman be really no more than eighteen, I must do him the justice to say he is the most knowing infant I have yet met with.

1752. Fielding, Amelia, Bk. x. v. ' We have so much the advantage, that if the knowing ones were here, they would lay odds of our side.'

1819-24. Byron, Don Juan. . . . 'Who, on a spree with black-eyed Sal, his blowen, So swell, so prime, so nutty, and so knowing?'

1821. Haggart, Life, p. 11. Our first business of the day, was. . . . not very unusual among knowing ones.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, p. 6. Flash, my young friend, or slang, as others call it, is a species of cant in which the knowing ones conceal their roguery from the flats.

1830. Sir E. B. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 29 (ed. 1854). 'Paul, my ben cull,' said he with a knowing wink.

1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. m. v. Until at last there was none so knowing.

1835. Selby, Catching an Heiress, sc. i. Ho, ho ! he's a knowing one.

1841. Punch, i. 29, 2. Why is a cunning man like a man in debt ? — Because he's a knowing one (an owing one).

1843. Dickens, Christmas Carol in Prose. 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.

1845. The late fight between the Premier (Peel) and young Ben (D'Israeli), v. 9, p. 163. The knowing ones suspect that if he comes up to the scratch again—which is doubtful—he will come off second best.

1856. Wiiyte-Melville, Kate Coventry, xviii. There was a slight bustle among the knowing ones.

1863. Reade, Hard Cash, i. 214. He had a very pleasant way of conveying appreciation of an officer's zeal, by a knowing nod with a kindly smile on the heels of it.

1863. Frazer's Mag., Dec. 'The English Spy'. Much which is unfair in ordinary life is very clever and knowing on the race-course.

1883. Broadside Ballad, 'Happy Thoughts,' st. 4. My Uncle Dovvle has lots of money ; He's a very knowing looking blade.

2. (common).—Stylish.

1811. Jame Austen, Sense and S., xix. Many young men, who had chambers in the Temple, made a very good appearance in the first circles, and drove about town in very knowing gigs.

1844. Puck, p. 14. With his weed in his cheek and his glass on his eye, His cut-away neat, and knowing tie, The milliner's hearts he did trepan My spicy swell small-college man.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, i. 5. Tom thought his cap a very knowing affair.

Knowing bloke, subs. phr. (military).—A sponger on new recruits.

c.1887. Brunlees Patterson, Life in the Ranks. Some of the knowing blokes, prominent among whom will be the ' grousers,' will, in all probability, be chewing the rag or fat.

Knowledge, subs, (colloquial).— Sexual intercourse. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Knowledge-box, subs, (common). —The head ; the nous-box, (q.v.). For synonyms see Crumpet.

1798. Poetry of Anti-jacobin, xxii. 116 [ed. 1801]. Coal-black is my knowledge-box.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 17. Found his knowledge box always the first thing.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom arid Jerry, iii. i. Jerry. Doctor! I touch'd your knowledge box there, I think.

Knub.

^J33 Knuckle-bone.

1840. C. Bronte, in Mrs. Gaskell's Life, ch. ix. The wind. . . . has produced the same effects on the contents of my knowledge-box that a quaigh of usquebaugh does upon those of most other bipeds.

1868. Miss Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, Bk. vi. iii. The gentlemen of the Prize ring were prepared to fight as long as they had a bunch of fives to rattle upon the knowledge-box of the foe.

Knub, verb. (old).—To rub against;

to tickle.

1653. Brome, The City Wit, in Wks. (1874), 1.444. As you have beheld two horses knubbing one another. Ka me, ka the, an old kind of court service.

Knuck, subs, (old and American). —A thief. Short for knuckle {q.v.).

1834. Harrison Ainsworth, Rookwood. The knucks in quod did my schoolmen play.

1851. Judson, Mysteries etc. of New-York, ch. iv. For many a year it has been known the ' crossmen ' and knucks of the town, as 'Jack Circle's watering place.' Ibid. You're as good a knuck as ever frisked a swell.

Verb. (American).—To steal.

For synonyms see Prig.

1851. Judson, Myst. etc. of NewYork, iv. It's enough to break my heart to see a man of your talent forced to prig prancers, knuck trikers, and go on the low sneaks !

Knuckle, subs. (old).—See quot.

1781. Parker, View of Society. ' Knuckle in the flash language signifies those who hang about the lobbies of both Houses of Parliament, the OperaHouse, and both Play-Houses, and in general wherever a great crowd assemble. They steal watches, snuff-boxes etc'

Verb, (thieves').—i. To fight with fists; to pummel.

2. (thieves').—To pick pockets : applied especially to the more refined or artistic branch of the art, i.e.

extracting notes or money from the waistcoat, or breeches pockets, whereas ' buzzing ' is used in a more general sense.—De Vaux (1819). Also to go on the knuckle.

1754. Parker, Life's Painter, p. 43» ^s-v.

To knuckle (knuckle down

to or knuckle under), Verb.

phr. (colloquial).— i. See quots.

1748. T. T)yche,Dictionary (5th ed.). Knuckle-down (v.) to stoop, bend, yield, comply with, or submit to.

£.1794. Wolcot [P. Pindar], Ode to Tyrants, in Works (Dublin), v. ii. p. 526. To knuckle down to Jove, And pray the gods to send an Emp'ror down. Ibid. Rights of Kings. Poor gentlemen ! how hard, alas ! their fate, To knuckle to such nuisances of State !

1846. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 11. vii. So he knuckled down, again to use his own phrase, and sent old Hulker with peaceable overtures to Osborne.

1860. Chamber-''s Journal, xm. p. 289. Considering how he has talked scoffingly of Benedict's knuckling under and being second best and of some one having always the whiphand of him and so on.

1869. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, liv. When the upperhand is taken upon the faith of one's patience by a man of even smaller wits. . . . why it naturally happens that we knuckle under with an ounce of indignation.

1888. Daily Chronicle, 31 Dec. He knuckled under to the last-namedat the second time of asking.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxxvii. I wouldn't knuckle down to you like some of them.

2. (colloquial).—To apply oneself earnestly; to engage vigorously.

Knuckle-bone. Down on the

knuckle-bone, phr. (thieves').

—Hard-up.; stoney (q.v.).

1883. Daily Telegraph, 4 August, p. 2, col. i. I once had the honour of being present at a ' select harmonic '

Kmickled.

134

Kool.

held in the shady neighbourhood of Foxcourt, in Grays Inn-lane, which, according to the card pertaining thereto, was for the benefit of someone who was

down on the knuckle bone in COnSC

quence of having been put away since the previous October (it was then the month of March), and only just now released.

Knuckled, adj. (tailors').—Handsome.

Knuckledabs (or knuckle-confounders), subs. (old).—Handcuffs.—Grose (1785). For synonyms see Darbies.

Knuckle-duster, subs, (common).

—A knuckle-guard of iron or

brass which, in striking, protects

the hand from injury and adds

force to a blow.

1858. Times, 15 Feb. Knuckleduster. ... a formidable American instrument, made of brass, which slips easily on to the four fingers of the hand, and having a projecting surface, across the knuckles, is calculated, in a pugilistic encounter to inflict serious injury on the person against whom it is directed.

1861. Sala, Tie ice roundthe Clock, Noon Par. 12. A bunch of skeleton keys, a knuckle-duster, and a piece of wax candle, all articles sufficiently indicative of the housebreaker's stockin-trade.

1866. Era, 18 June. Without a moment's hesitation—except to load a six-barrelled revolver with ball cartridge and to arm himself with a pair of Yankee knuckle-dusters—the intrepid African opened the door of the den.

1872. Standard, ' Middlesex Sessions Report'. In another box he found a life-preserver, the end of it being loaded with lead, knuckle-dusters, and other things of the same description.

1877. E. L. Linton, World Well Lost, xii. A kind of panic went through the place, and the demand for revolvers and knuckledusters, iron shutters and bells. . . . surprised the tradesmen.

1883. Daily News, 20 March, p. 6, col. 3. He struck at him in the face with a knuckle-duster he had in his hand.

1887. Daily Chronicle, 8 Dec. Hayzeman stepped from the other side of the road, and struck prosecutoi on the nose, the blow, as believed, being given with a knuckle-duster.

1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, 84. We were a jovial company : four of us were wondering how they could rob the fifth, and that fifth resolved, quite early in this seance, to use his knuckleduster promptly, and to prevent either of the male warblers from getting behind him, at any risk.

1890. Standard, 30 July, p. 3, col. 6. The Prisoner made no reply, but struck him with a knuckle-duster, which he took out of his pocket.

2. (common).—A large, heavy, or over-gaudy ring.

Knuckler, subs. (old).—A pickpocket.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, p. 184. A universal knocking of knuckles by the knucklers was followed by profound silence.

1843. Punch iv. 129. A rush,—a hustle,—merrily then Begins the knucklers' war.

Knuller, subs. (old).—1. See quot. :

also kneller.

1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lond. Poor, ii.p.405. TheKNULLERS 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.

2. (common).—A clergyman. [Cf. sense 1 and Clergyman].

Kokum, subs. (Australian prison).— Sham kindness. See Cocum.

Kone, subs. (American thieves').— Counterfeit coin. — Matsell

(i»S9).

Koniacker (or Cogniac-er), subs. (American thieves').—A counterfeiter.—Matsell (1859).

Kool, verb, (back-slang).—To look.

Ko too. ^x35 Kypsey.

c.1865. Broadside Ballad, 'The Chickaleary Cove'. Now kool my downy kicksies.

1892. National Observer, 27 Feb., p. 378. Me a Plantadgenick ? Who are you a-gctting at ? Look at my pearlies, kool my 'ed of 'air.

Kotoo (or Kotow), w^.(common).

—To bow down to ; to scrape to ;

to lickspittle.

1874. E. Lynn Linton, Patricia Kemball, xlii. He had never concealed his contempt for him nor kowtowed to him rest had done.

1890. Traill, Saturday Songs, ' A Manly Protest', p. 70. But never for Chawles ! To the traitors and plotters Whom once he denounced he would scorn to ko-too.

Kosh (or Kosher), subs, (thieves'). — i. A short iron bar used for purpose of assault.

2. A blow.

Adj. (common).—Fair; square. [From the Hebrew = lawful].

Krop, subs, (back-slang).—Pork.

Kudos, subs, (now recognised).—■ Glory and honor. To kudos = to praise ; to glorify. [From Gr.] Kudos = praised.

1793. Southey, Nondescripts, i. Bepraised in prose it was, bepraised in verse, Lauded in pious Latin to the skies, Kudos'd egregiously in heathen Greek.

1857. Cuthbert Bede, Verdant Green, Pt. m. ch. xi. Mr. Smalls gained kudos by offering to give the luncheon at his rooms.

1860. Punch, xxxviii. 186. Nought would serve the little man [Lord John] But his private little plan, Whereby he hoped much ytvdoç he should get.

1889. Drage, Cyril, vii. I gained no small kudos by spotting a vintage of Léoville at dinner.

1889. Standard, 30 Jan. Should he, then, endeavour to gain the kudos of his removal by associating himself conspicuously with the decree of dismissal ?

1894. The Yellovu Bk., 1. p. 195. I return to my pearl that is to bring me kudos.

Kye, subs, (costers').—Eighteen pence. [Short for Heb. Kyebosh (or Kibosh q.v.) ; Kye = 18 -fbosh = pence, originally stivers (q.v.)].

Kynchen. See Kinchen. Kypsey, subs. (old).—See quots.

Also kipsey.

1754. Martin, Eng. Diet., 2nd ed. Kibsy, a sort of wicker basket.

1879. Horsley, in Macm. Mag., xl. 501. I was coming home with my kipsy (basket).

1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xiv. After tea Blower said, 'Now you must lay in your kipsey.'

, The three L's, subs. phr. (nautical). —Lead, latitude, and look-out.— Clark Russell.

Lab el, subs.( American).—A postage stamp: cf. TOADSKIN.

Labour, verb. (old).—To beat.

Labourer, subs, (common).—An accoucheur; a midwife. For synonyms ^Finger-Smith. [From labour = child-birth].

Labour-lea, verb. (Scots').—To copulate. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Lace, subs, (common).—Strong waters added to coffee or tea. Also (by inference, see verb.) sugar.

1712. Spectator, No. 488. He is forced every morning to drink his dish of coffee by itself, without the addition of the Spectator, that used to be better than lace to it.

Verb, (common).— 1. To intermix with spirits. Fr. consoler son cafe'=. to brandy one's coffee. Also (see quot. 1690) = sugar.

1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iii. Aid. No, faith ; prithee, captain, let's go drink a dish of laced coffee, and talk of the times.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Lac'd coffee, Sugar'd.

1712. Spectator, No. 317. Mr. Nisby of opinion that laced coffee is bad for the head.

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

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xi. He had his pipe and his tea-cup, the latter being laced with a little spirits.

1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab. etc., iii. 359. Breakfast is., good tea and good bread-and-butter, as mucli as you liked always-, with a glass of rum in the last cup for the lacing of it. Tea the same as breakfast, and laced ditto.

1852.Thackeray, Esmond, ix. 'D—n it, Polly loves a mug of ale, too, and laced with brandy, by Jove ! '

1872. Athenœum, 2 Nov., p. 556, col. 2. Schiller refreshed himself at the small hours of the morning with coffee laced with old cognac.

1892. MiLLiKEN, 'Arry Ballads, 35. Talk is like tea ; it wants lacing with something a little bit stronger.

2. (common).—To flog. Also to lace one's coat (or jacket).

1599. Porter, Two Angry Women [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), vii. 359]. I do not love to be lac'd in when I go to lace a rascal.

1665. R. Head, English Rogue, Pt. 1. ch. iii. p. 27 (1874). It was not long after that I was so laced for it, that comparatively to my punishment Bridewell whipping is but a pastime.

1673. Cotton, Virgil Travestie, in Wks. (1725), Bk. iv. p. 126. Then if they have a mind to lace us, Let Carthage, if they can, come trace us.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Lacing. . .. I'll lace your coat, Sirrah, I will beat you soundly.

Lacedemonians. ^T37

Lack-latin.

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

1754. Martin, Eng. Diet., s.v.

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1830. Moncrieff, Heart of London, ii. i. You'll make me lace you presently, if you don't mind—go on, Sir.

1847. C. Bronte, Jane Eyre, xxi. Lace my quivering palm or shaking neck.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

3. (colloquial).—To wear tight stays.

Lacedemonians, subs, (military).— The Forty-sixth Foot. [From its Colonel making it a long speech under a heavy fire about the Lacedemonians and their discipline]. Also Murrays bucks, and the

surpr1sers.

Laced Mutton, subs. phr. (old).— A woman ; especially a wanton : cf. Mutton. For synonyms see Barrack-hack and Tart.

1578. WH^TsrosB,Promos and Cas., 6, pl. i. p. 14. And I smealt he loved

LÄSE MUTTON well.

1595. Shakspeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, i. 1. Ay, sir : I, a lost mutton, gave your letter to her, a lac'd mutton ; and she, a lac'd mutton, gave me, a lost mutton, nothing for my labour.

1596. Nashe, Have with You [Grosart (1885), iii. 61]. He that wold not stick so to extoll stale rotten lac'd mutton, will . . . sucke figges out of an asses fundament.

1599. Breton, Wil of Wit [GroSART (1879), ii. c. 62/1. 18]. If your stomache stände to flesh, eate of a little warme mutton, but take heede it be not LACED.

1602. MiDDLETON, Blurt Master Constable, sign. B. Laz. Pilcher, Cupid hath got me a stomacke, and I long for lac'd mutton. Pil. Plaine mutton without a lace would serve.

1602. Dekker,Honest Whore[Doosley, Old Plays, iii. 466]. The sturdy beggar, and the lazy lown, Gets here hard hands, or lac'd correction.

1624. Jonson, Masque of Nep. Triumph [Cunningham, iii]. Cook. O whom for mutton, or kid? Child. A fine lac'd mutton Or two ; and either has her frisking husband.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v.

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

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

1811. Lex. Bal.,s.v. Laced Mutton, a prostitute.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Laced Mutton, a common woman.

Lacing, subs, (common).— 1. See Lace, verb, sense 2.

2. (common).—See quot. 1690; flogging; a lashing.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Lacing, Beating, Drubbing.

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

1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 1. S. ch. xiv. ' He would. . . . throw all the blame on him and order him to have an everlastin' lacin' with the cowskin.'

Lach, verb. (American thieves').— To let in.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Lach. 'The cove is bene, shall we lach him ? ' ' The man is good, shall we let him in.'

Lack-latin, subs. (old).—An ignoramus : specifically an unlettered priest.

^.1555. Latimer, Sermon, p. 304. Some will say our curate is naught, an ass-head, a dodipole, a lack-latin.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Arlotto, the name of a merie priest, a lack latine or hedge-priest.

1598. Serving?nan's Comfort [Hazlitt : Roxburgh Library (1868), Tracts, p. 103]. Hoe, syr John lacklattin, you are out of the text.

1626. Breton, Pasquil's Madcappe [Grosart (1879), i. e 6/2. 24]. Sir John Lack latine with a face of brass.

1762. Foote, The Orators, i. I'll step to the Bull and Gate, and call upon Jerry Lack-latin.

Ladder. *3⁸ Ladder.

Ladder, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

To mount a ladder (to bed or to rest), verb. phr. (common).—To be hanged.

1560. Nice Wanton [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ii. 172]. Thou boy, by the mass, ye will climb the ladder.

1573. Harman, Caveat[E. E. T. S., 1869, p. 31]. Repentance is never thought upon till they clyme three trees with a ladder.

1757. Rae, Proverbs (3rd. ed.), p. 199, s.v.

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

1811. Lex. Dal., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. He mounted the ladder, he was hung.

English synonyms. To cut a caper upon nothing, or one's last fling; to catch, or nab, or be copped with, the stifles; to climb the stalk ; to climb, or leap from the leafless, or the triple tree; to be cramped, crapped, or cropped ; to cry cockles ; to dance upon nothing, the Paddington frisk, in a hempen cravat, or a Newgate hornpipe without music ; to fetch a Tyburn stretch ; to die in one's boots or shoes, or with cotton in one's ears; to die of hempen fever or squinsy ; to have a hearty choke with caper sauce for breakfast; to take a vegetable breakfast; to marry the widow; to morris (Old Cant); to trine; to tuck up; to swing; to trust; to be nubbed ; to kick the wind ; to kick the wind with one's heels ; to kick the wind before the Hotel door; to kick away the prop; to preach at Tyburn cross; to make (or have) a Tyburn show ; to wag hemp in the wind; to wear hemp, an anodyne necklace, a hempen collar,

a caudle, circle, cravat, croak, garter, necktie or habeas ; to wear neckweed, or St. Andrew's lace; to tie Sir Tristram's Knot; to wear a horse's nightcap or a Tyburn tippet; to come to scratch in a hanging or stretching match or bee; to ride the horse foaled of an acorn, or the three-legged mare; to be stretched, topped, scragged, or down for one's scrag.

French synonyms (i.e. to suffer the death penalty, formerly by hanging, now by the guillotine). Basculer (popular = to tip-off; to see-saw) ; bénir des pieds (thieves' =to bless with the feet, a gibbetted man being un évêque des champs) ; être béquille (thieves') ; monter à la bute, butte, or bute à regret (thieves'); tirer sa crampe avec la veuve (popular) ; épouser la veuve (thieves' : to wed the widow : veuve = guillotine); être fauché (thieves' = to be scythed) ; être raccourci (popular : raccourci = shortened) ; être buté (thieves' = earthed up); mettre la tête à la fenêtre (thieves' : in allusion to passing the head through the lunette or aperture); éternuer dans le son or dans le sac (thieves' = to sneeze into the sawdust); jouer à la main-chaude (popular : in allusion to the hands tied behind the back ; literally : to play hot cockles) ; embrasser Chariot (thieves' : Chariot = executioner) : moufionner son mufle dans le son (thieves' = to snotter in the sawdust) ; passer sa bille au glaive [common : bille = nut (q.v.); glaive — knife]; aller à l'Abbaye de Monte-à-regret (common: to go to Mount Sorrowful Church); passer à la

Ladder.

^x39 Ladies' Fever.

voyante (thieves'); être me'canisé (common = to be passed through the machine : mécanicien — executioner) ; être glaive (common = to be knifed); passer sous le rasoir national (popular = to be passed under the national razor); être mis à la aise (old = to be set in the wind) ; vendanger à l'éschelle (old = to go vintaging on a ladder); avoir le collet rouge (old = to wear the red neck-band); croître d'un demi-pied (old = to grow half a foot taller) ; faire la longue lettre (old = to make the long letter, i.e. 'I'—from the Latin); tomber du haut mât (old) ; servir de bouchon (common = to act as a cork) ; faire le saut (common = to take the leap); faire un saut sur rien (old = to jump upon nothing) ; danser où il n'y a pas de plancher (common = to dance where there isn't a floor); donner un soufflet à une potence (common = to cuff the gallows) ; donner le moine par le cou (common) ; approcher du ciel à reculons (common == to go to heaven backwards); danser un branle en l'air (old = to cut capers in the air); avoir la chanterelle au cou (old : chanterelle — first string of a violin); faire le guet à Montfaucon (old to do sentry go at Mont-faucon, i.e., the public gibbet) ; faire le guet au clair de la lune à la cour des Monnoyes (old = to stand sentinel by moonlight) ; monter à la jambe en l'air (old = to mount the leg-in-air) ; tirer la langue d'un demi-pied (old = to stick out one's tongue).

Italian synonyms. Agguinzare (= to swing) ; allungar la vita (= to lengthen life) ; andar

or mandar in piccardia (florio = to go, or be sent to Picardy; also andare a Longone or Fuligno) ; dar de' calci al vento, or a Rouiao (Florio == to kick the wind) ; bal lare in campo azzuro (= to dance upon nothing) ; sperlungare (perlunga=\engthened); aver la f une alguindo (=to wear a hempen collar).

TO be unable to see a hole in a ladder, verb. phr. (common).—To be hopelessly drunk. For synonyms see Drinks and Screwed.

Laddle, subs, (chimney-sweeps').— A lady.

Ladies' Cage, subs. phr. (parliamentary).—That portion of the gallery in the Commons which is set apart for ladies. See Cage, subs., sense 4.

1870. Times, 27 May, 'Leader'. The female opponents of the Contagious Diseases Act. . . . filled the Ladies' Cage on Tuesday night.

Ladies' Fever, subs. phr. (common).—Syphilis; French Gout [q.v.).

English synonyms. Bad (or foul) disease (or disorder); Barnwell ague; the clap (sometimes but erroneously) : coals (or winter coals) ; Covent Garden ague ; the crinkums ; fire ; the Frenchman or French gout ; the glim ; the Glue {q.v.); the Garden gout ; goodyears (Shakspeare) ; grandgore (Old Scots'); knock with a French faggot (q.v.) ; malady of France (Shakspeare); the marbles; the stick; the Scotch fiddle; Venus' curse.

Ladies' Finger. ^T4°

French synonyms. La baude (thieves') ; un coup de pied de jument or de Venus (common = a mare's kick or a kick from Venus) ; la goutte militaire (military = soldiers' gout) ; un gros lot (common = a prize); le lazzi-lof (thieves') ; le mal de Naples or le mal f ranees ; le naze (thieves').

Italian synonyms. Galicar; galicodo ; picado ; potro.

German synonyms. Der Kleiner Franzose (= the little French girl); Laufer (= running); Türkische-musik (= Turkishdelight).

Ladies' Finger (or Wish), stibs. phr. (common).—A tapering glass of spirits, especially gin.

Ladies' Grog, subs. phr. (common).—Grog : hot, strong, sweet, and plenty of it.—Dickens.

Ladies' Mile, subs. phr. (general).

—Rotten Row in Hyde Park—

the principal airing ground during

the London season.

1871. Daily News, 10 May. Why should not a handsome young Englishwoman, he may ask himself, as she canters along the Ladies' Mile, be as good to look at as a cow ?

1885.J.Coleman, in Longtnan's Afag., v. 494. The fashionable mob in the Ladies' Mile.

Ladies' Tailoring, subs.phr. (venery).—Copulation. Cf. Stitch. For synonyms see Greens and Ride.

Ladies' Treasure (Delight, or Plaything), subs. phr.(venery).— The penis.

Ladle, verb, (theatrical).—To enun

ciate pretentiously ; to mouth (q.v.).

Lad of (or on) the Cross, subs.phr. See Cross.

Lado' Wax, subs. phr. (old).— 1. A cobbler ; a Cock o' wax (q.v.).Yox synonyms see Snob.

2. (old).—A boy; a doll of a man ; a man of wax = a 'proper' man.

Ladron, subs. (old).—A thief. [From the Spanish].

1652. Shirley, The Brothers [Nares]. Fed. I am become the talk Of every picaro and ladron.

Lad's leavings (A), subs. phr. (old).—A girl. For synonyms see Titter.

1737. Ray, Proverbs (3rd ed.), 58. Lasses are lad's leavings.

Lady, subs. (old).— 1. See quot. 1690: cf. Lord.

1690. B. E._r Diet. Cant. Crew, a very crooked, deformed, and ill-shapen Woman.

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

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

2. (common).—The reverse or tail (q.v.) of a coin : see Head, subs., sense 2.

3. (common).—A quart or pint pitcher wrong side uppermost.

4. (nautical).—The keeper of the gunner's small stores : lady's hole = the place where such stores are kept.

5. (American).—A woman of any station; usually in combination, as Fore-lady, Sales-lady, Cook-lady.

Ladybird. 14¹ Lady Green.

1888. Philadelphia Times. (Scene up stairs.) Servant—Missus ! missus ! the beggar lady is down stairs, and I hare the ash gintleman knockin' at the gate.

6. in pi. (gaming).—Cards. For synonyms see Devils' Books.

1890. Standard, 15 March, p. 3, col. 5. At Stepney Fairman entered the compartment, and stated he had been to Croydon races, and had been playing with the ladies (cards), and oftered to show them how it was done.

7. (American).—A sweetheart.

Old Lady, subs. phr. (common).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Perfect lady, subs. phr. (common).—A harlot. For synonyms see Barrack-hack and Tart.

Lady of the Lake, subs, phr. (old).—A kept mistress.

£.1660. Davenant, The Siege, v. Thou lady of the lake : a pox a whispering !

1678. Butler, Hudibras, in. i. 868. All women would be of one piece But for the difference marriage makes 'Twixt wives and ladies of the lakes.

Lady of Easy Virtue, subs, phr. (common). — A harlot ; a

woman of accommodating morals Or of more complaisance than virtue. For synonyms see Barrack-hack and Tart.—Grose (1785); Lex. Bal. (1811), and

1890. Standard, 21 March, p.3, col. 7. Some lady of easy virtue, about whom they knew nothing, lived in another flat, aad some one proved that she was an immoral woman.

Ladybird, subs, (common).—i. A whore; and (2) a term of endearment. For synonyms see Barrack-hack and Tart.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, i. 33. What lamb ! what, ladybird ! God forbid !

1600. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, ii. i. Is that your new ruff, sweet ladybird?

1653. Brome, Court Begger, i. 1. A very lime bush to catch lady-birds.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew,s.v. Ladybirds, Light or Lewd Women.

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

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1821. Egan, Life in London, p. 173. Others of these lady-birds were offering their congratulations to him.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom &> Jerry, p. 5. Here, among the pinks in Rotten Row, the ladybirds in the Saloon etc.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Lady-chair, subs, (common).—See King's cushion.

1869. Beecher-Stowe, Old Town Folks, 436. She insisted on being carried in a lady-chair over to our woodland study.

Lady Dacre's Wine, subs. phr. (old).—Gin.—Lex. Bal. (1811). For synonyms see Drinks and White Satin.

Lady-feast, subs. (old).—A bout of venery.

1653. Brome, Mad Couple, iii. At. This kisse and name your time . . . Bel. To morrow night. Al. Shall you be ready so soone thinke you after your plentifull lady-feast.

Lady Fender, subs, (servants').— A woman who spends her time nursing the fire.

Lady-flower, subs, (venery).—The female pudendum.—Whitman. For synonyms ^Monosyllable.

Lady Green, subs, (thieves').—A clergyman ; specifically the prison chaplain. F or synonyms see Devildodger.

Lady Jane. H²

Lag.

Lady Jane, subs. phr. (venery).— The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

Lady-Killer, subs, (colloquial).— A male flirt; a general lover. Lady-killing = assiduous gallantry.

1839. Lever, Harry Lorreguer, xxii. I believe your regular ladykiller—yourself for instance—becomes a very quiet animal for being occasionally jilted.

1846-8. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, xiii. I don't set up to be a lady-killer.

1880. G. R.Sims, Three Brass Balls, Pledge iii. He called himself an old fool for being frightened of a dandy—a vain, empty-headed lady-killer.

Lady of Pleasure, subs.phr. (old).

—A prostitute. Fr. fille de joie.

For synonyms see Barrack-hack

and Tart.

1750. Robertson (of Struan), Poems, 203. ' On a lady of pleasure ' [Title].

1767. Ray, Proverbs (ed. 1893), 64. A whore ... a lady of pleasure.

Lady's Hole. See Lady, subs. sense 4.

Lady's Ladder, subs, (nautical).— Rattlins set too close.

Lady's Low Toupée, subs. phr.

(venery).—The female pubic hair.

For synonyms see Merkin.

1721. Durfey, Pills to Purge, etc. . . . With my curling tongs so hot, sir, So well as you may see, And so well I can dress up, A lady's low toppie.

Lady-star, subs. phr. (venery).— The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable.

1598. Hall, Satires, iv. 1 (Chalmers, English Poets, 1810, v. 273). And with her cruel lady'star uproze She seeks her third roust on her silent toes.

Lady-ware, subs. (old).—i. The

penis and testes.

1599. Soliman & Perseda [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), v. 345]. The ladies of Rhodes, hearing that you have lost a capital part of your lady-ware have made their petition to Cupid to plague you above all other, as one prejudicial to their muliebrity.

2. (old). — Trinkets ; knickknacks, ribands.

Lag, subs. (old).— i. Sentence of transportation or penal servitude ; transportation.

1821. Haggart, Life, p. 18. Under sentence of lag for spunk.

2. (thieves').—1. A returned transport; (2) a convict; and (3) a ticket-of-leave man. For synonyms see Wrong 'Un.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Lag, a man transported.

1828. bef.,Living Picture of London, p. 39. A few are returned lags.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookzuood, iii. 5. And thus was I bowled out at last, And into the jug for a lag was cast.

1856. Reade, Never too Late to Mend, ix. ' He fell in with two old lags who had a deadly grudge against the chaplain.'

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Lag, a convicted felon.

1864. Daily Telegraph, 19 Oct. The country is so wild and unexplored, that the lag who has traversed it, or could traverse it, might re-enter society as a hero if he would impart his adventures.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, i. 59. The prisoner who had acted as barber, and was an old lag, passing the door, told me, ' Never mind cleaning your cell, we are all off to-day.'

1889. Anszvers, 23 Mar., p. 265, col. 3. In the old days many escapes were made from Chatham by expert swimmers. An old lag (the slang term for prisoner) told me that twice in his recollection had men got clean away in this manner.

1890. Hume Nisbet, Bail Up, 248. 'Are the police coming'. 'I tinkynot. Only that sundowny lun away like ol' LAG. '

Lag.

H3 Lag.

1890. Answers, 27 Dec. He ' skedaddled out of the dock as quickly as he could,' fearing that he might be recognised as an old lag if he tarried unnecessarily.

1891. Times, 14 Sept. ' Capital Punishment'. 'Jack, my dear fellow,' they top a lag out here (\V. Aust.) for slogging a screw. That piece of rope is a rare check. A ' screw ' means a ' policeman ' as well as a ' warder '.

1892. lit Bits, 19 Mar., 417, 1. Broadmoor for all lags as go off their chump.

3. (Old Cant). Also Lage.

-See quots.

1573. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65. Lag, water.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Markall, p. 39 (H. Club's Repr. 1874). Lagge water or p—se.

1641. Brome, Jovial Crew, ii. I bowse no läge, But a whole gage Of this I bowse to you.

1665. R. Head, English Rogue, Pt. i. ch. v. p. 50 (1874). Lage, Water.

1690. B.E., Diet. Cant. Crew,s.v.

1724. New Cant. Diet., s.v.

1724. E. Coles, Eng. Diet., s.v. Lage.

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

4. (Old Also Lage.

Cant).—See quots.

1567. Harman, Caveat,or Warening for Commen Cursetors, p. 86. Man. We wyll fylche some duddesof the Ruffemans, or myll the ken for a lagge of dudes.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Markall, p. 39 (H. Club's Repr. 1874). Lagge of dudes, a bucke of clothes.

1661. Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, v. i. Tell us If it be milling of a lag of duds, The fetching-off a buck of clothes, or so?

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Lag-a-dudds. We cloy the Lag of Duds, Come let us steal that Buck of Cloths.

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

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

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

5. (old).—See quots.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Lag-a-dudds, Lagg of the Flock, the hindmost.

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

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Lag. Lag last, the last of a company.

6. (Westminster School).—A fag.

1881. Pascoe, Everyday Life in our Public Schools. Every morning the lag junior prepares and brings to hall the list.

7. (American theatrical).— 1. A

dialogue or scene of extra length ;

also (2) a wait.

1847. Darley, Drama in Pokerville, 112. A lag on the stage was immediately made up for by the pop of a cork.

Verb, (thieves').— 1. To transport; to send to penal servitude. Lagged = ( i ) sentenced ; and (2) imprisoned. Fr. aller à la grotto

= to lump the lighter (q.v.) \

also se laver les haricots.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 78. A relative of poor Crockey, who was lagged some time since.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Lag, The cove was lagged for a drag.

1824. Scott, St. Ronan's Well, ch. xxxi. ' I should not much like to have him lagged for forgery.'

1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 13. Ranting Rob, poor fellow, was lagged for doing a panny.

1838. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. XLiii. 'What do you mean by lagging and a lifer,' demanded Mr. Bolter. . . . Being interpreted, Mr. Bolter would have been informed that they represented that combination of words, 'Transportation for life.'

1843. Moncrieff,Scamps of London, ii. 3. He was three times lagged.

1843. Punch, iv. p. 129. They say that a lord and a reverend were lagged the other day.

Lag.

¹44 Laggingdues.

1853. Diogenes, ii. 54. Sad work when at last I was lagged.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

1869. Daily News, 29 July. He should then be lagged for another job.

1872. Times, 2 Oct. 'Report of Middlesex Sessions.' He had expected to be lagged for a pocket handkerchief.

1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, iii. 93. A Welshman convicted or lagged for passing ' shise coin '—bad money.

1879. Macmillan's Mag., xl. 503. I should have got lagged and my pal too.

1887. Baumann, A Slang Ditty. Rum coves that relieve us of ' chinkers ' and pieces, Is gin'rally lagged, Or, wuss luck, they gits scragged.

1880. Sims, How the Poor Live, p. 18. A day or two after Bill returns alone ; the girl asks him where her sweetheart is. 'He's lagged,' says Bill. But the girl has a bit of newspaper, and in it she reads that ' the body of a man has been found in some woods near London ; ' and she has an idea it may be John.

2. (Old Cant).—To steal. For

synonyms see Prig.

1580. Tusser, Husbandrie, ch. 20, st. 15, p. 54 (E. D. S.). Some corne away lag in bottle and bag. Some steales for a iest, egges out of the nest.

3. (old).—To catch.

1580. Tusser, Husbandrie, ch. 36, st. 25, p. 86 (E. D. S.). Poore cunnie, so bagged, is soone over lagged.

1858. A. Mayhew, Paved with Gold, Bk. Ill, ch. i. p. 252. They tell him adventures of how they were nearly lagged by the constables.

1891. Nat. Gould, Double Event, 263. You'll never lag me alive, you cur.

4. (old).—To piss {q.v.).

5. (old: now recognised).—See quots.

1596. Spenser, Fairy Queen, vi. ii. 10. Whenso she lagged, as she needs mote so, He with his spcare. . . . would thumpe her forward.

1690. B. E., Diet. Cant. Crew, s.v. Lag-a-dudds. To lagg behind, or come after with Salt and Spoons.

1725. New Cant. Diet., q.v.

1725. Pope, Odyssey, xiv. 245. My valour. . . . never lagg'd behind.

1785. Grose, Vulgar Tongue, s.v. Lag. ... to drop behind, to keep back.

1811. Lex. Bal., q.v.

Lage, ^Lag, subs., senses 3 and 4.

Verb. (Old Cant).—To wash down; to drink.

1567. Harman, Caveat (1869), p. 85. The vpright cofe canteth to the Roge : ' I saye by the Salomon I will läge it of with a gage of Benebouse ; then cut to my nose watch.'

Lager Beer, To think no lager beer of one self, verb. phr. (American).—See. s mall-beer.

1888. Texas Liftings, 23 June. John Ruskin thinks no lager beer of himself. He knows something about pictures and Venice stones. He is boss on these points ; but when he breaks out in bursts of opinion on railroads and other modern inventions, his knowledge of the spirit of the present age turns out to be mighty small pumpkins.

Lag-fever, subs. (old).—See quot.

1811. Lex. Bai., s.v. Lag-fever. A term of ridicule applied to men who being under sentence of transportation, pretend illness, to avoid being sent from gaol to the hulks.

lagger,^z^^.(nautical).— 1. A sailor.

2. (thieves').—An informer; a witness. \_Cf. Lag, verb.].

Lagging, subs, (thieves').—A term of imprisonment : also Lag [q.v. subs, sense 1). Hence, laggingmatter = a crime rendering persons liable to transportation (Grose, 1823).

Lagging-du es, sttbs. (old).—See quot.

1823. Egan, Grose's Diet. Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Lagging-dues. When a person is likely to be transported, the flash people observe, lagging-dues will be concerned.

Lagging-gage. H5

Lamb.

LAGGiNG-GAGE,^^.(oldK—Achamber-pot : for synonyms see It.

1891. Referee, 8 March. All this storm in a lagging-gage is very absurd.

Lagniapfe (or Lagnappe), subs. (American).—See quot.

1877. Clemens (' Mark Twain'), Life on the Mississippi, p. 404-5. We picked up one excellent word—lagniappe .... It is the equivalent of the thirteenth roll in a baker's dozen. It is something thrown in, gratis, for good measure. The custom originated in the Spanish quarter of the city. When a child or a servant buys something .... he finishes the operation by saying, ' Give me something for lagniappe.' The shopman always responds... When you are invited to drink, and you say, I've had enough,' the other says, ' But just this one time more—this is for lagniappe.'

1884. G. W. Cable, Creoles of Louisiana, xvi. The pleasant institution of napa—the petty gratuity added by the retailer to anything bought—grew the pleasanter, drawn out into gallicized lagnappe.

Lagranged, adj. (American).— Vexed.

Lag-ship, subs. (old).—A convict transDort.

Laid. See Lavender and Shelf.

Laker-lady, subs.(old).—An actor's harlot. [Saxonlaker = an actor].

Lala, subs. (American).—A swell.

Lally, subs. (old).—Linen; lull y [q.v.).

1800. Parker, Life's Painter, p. 157. Dabble your lally, wash your shirt.

Lallycodler, stibs. (American).— One eminently successful in any particular line.

Lam. See Lamb, verb. vol. iv.

Lamb, subs, (common).— 1. A quiet easy-going person; a simpleton; a juggins (q.v.).

1069. The Nicker Nicked (Harl. Misc., ii. 109) [ed. 1808-12]. When a young gentleman or apprentice comes into this school of virtue unskilled in the quibbles and devices there practised, they call him a lamb ; then a rook (who is properly the wolf) follows him close and .... gets all his money, and then they smile and say, ' The lamb is bitten.'

1672. Lacy, Old Troop, i. Sisted. Why, then, it seems we ieligious lambs may play with one another without sinning.

1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab.,\\\. 216. Made him come three times like

a lamb.

2. (common).—Ironically used ol a rough, cruel, or merciless person; specifically applied to Nottingham roughs, and hence to bludgeon men at elections. The • head-money ' given is called mint-sauce (q.v.).

English synonyms. Barker ; basher ; blood-tub ; bouncer ; bounder; boy of the Holy Ground ; bruiser ; dead duck ; hoodlum ; larrikin : mug ; plug-ugly ; rabbit (or dead rabbit) ; ramper ; roarer (or roaring-boy) ; rough ; roustabout ; rouster ; rowdy ; rustler ; short-ear. See also generally Furioso and Loafer.

French synonyms. Un krou?;z/r(popuiar); un lascar (common); un mangeur de nez (thieves') ; un matador ; 7in ostrogoth.

German synonyms. Troll (or Taller watsch).

1849. Macaulay, Hist, of England, ch. v. 'As they had been levied for the purpose of waging war on an infidel nation, they bore on their flag a Christian

Lamb. H⁶ Lamb.

emblem, the Paschal Lamb. In allusion to this device, and with a bitterly ironical meaning, these men, the rudest and most ferocious in the English army, were called Kirke's lambs.'

1891. Lie. Vict. Gaz., 23 Jan. Merryman had pitched on a nice level bit of turf. It was a noisy crowd—that goes without saying—for where the Nottingnam lambs are you can hardly expect much peace and quietness.

3. (colloquial).—A term of endearment.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, i. 3. What, lamb ! what, ladybird !

1621. Burton, Anat. (ed. 1893), iii. 183. Pleasant names may be invented, bird, mouse, lamb, puss.

1690. Davenant, Love &> Honour, v. i. We must make haste ! Farewell, lamb !

4. (common).—An elderly person dressed or got-up young.