Act ii., Scene 3, describes and puts into the mouth of one of these

characters the following words:

... the basest and most poorest shape, That ever penury in contempt of man, Brought near to beast: my face I’ll grime with filth; Blanket my loins; elf all my hair in knots; And with presented nakedness outface The winds, and persecutions of the sky. The country gives me proof and precedent Of Bedlam beggars, who, with roaring voices, Strike in their numb’d and mortified bare arms Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary; And with this horrible object, from low farms, Poor pelting villages, sheep-cotes and mills, Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers, Enforce their charity.

The term is now obsolete, though Scott used it as late as 1824, and from the Quarterly Review (1813), IX., p. 167, it seems to have then been in pretty general use. The modern prototype is called a tramp or cadger. To sham Abraham, i.e., to feign sickness or distress is, however, still in vogue. The French equivalent is Fagotin (m).—See also Abraham sham and Abram.

1573. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 29. These Abraham men be those that fayn themselves to have bene mad, and have bene kept either in Bethlehem, or in some other pryson a good time, and not one amongst twenty that ever came in prison for any such cause.

1625. Massinger, New Way to Pay Old Debts, II., i. Are they padders or Abram-men that are your consorts?

1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Abram cove, naked or poor man.

1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxi. ‘There is a trick for you to find an Abram-man, and save sixpence out when he begs of you as a disbanded seaman.’

Abraham Grains, subs. (thieves’).—A publican who brews his own beer.

Abraham Newland, subs. (popular).—A bank note. Abraham Newland was chief cashier to the Bank of England, from 1778 to 1807.

1829. Sir W. Scott, letter to Croker in Croker Papers, vol. II., p. 36. A bank note seems to terrify everybody out of their wits, and they will rather give up their constitution to Hunt and Cobbett than part with an Abraham Newland to preserve it.

Abraham’s Balsam, subs. (old).—Death by hanging.—See To die in one’s boots.

Abraham Sham, subs. (old cant).—1.—Feigned sickness or distress. See Abraham-man. Usually spoken of as to sham Abraham, or Abram (q.v.). From this primary meaning, joined with an allusion to the name of a once well-known chief cashier of the Bank of England, was derived the secondary meaning of the term shamming Abraham, to forge bank-notes. Abraham Newland was in office in the years 1778–1807, and a popular song of the period ran as follows:

‘I have heard people say that sham Abraham you may, But you mustn’t sham Abraham Newland.’

Further point is added to this stanza by the fact that bank notes were themselves termed Abraham Newlands (q.v.), and that forgery was felony by statute.

1759. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, cxix. “He swore that I understood my business perfectly well, but that I shammed Abraham merely to be idle.”

1849. C. Bronté, Shirley, ch. xxxiii. Matthew, sceptic and scoffer, had already failed to subscribe a prompt belief in that pain about the heart; he had muttered some words, amongst which the phrase shamming Abraham had been very distinctly audible.

Abraham Suit, subs. phr. (thieves’).—False pretences; fraudulent representations to excite sympathy. The term is applied to any trick or artifice calculated to extract money from the charitable, whether by means of begging letter, a faked-up appearance, or other contrivance. Those who resort to such practices are said to go on the Abraham suit. Cf., Abraham sham.

Abraham’s Willing, subs. phr. (rhyming slang).—A shilling.

Abraham Work, subs. phr. (popular).—Shams of all kinds are so designated, from a bubble company down to the most trumpery ‘city pen’orth.’

Abram, subs. (old and also modern sea slang).—1. The same as Abraham-man (q.v.).—2. A malingerer; one who gets put on the sick list to shirk work.

Adj. (old cant).—1. Mad.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 36 (H. Club’s Repr., 1874). Abram madde. He maunds Abram, he begs as a madde man.

2. Naked, ‘she’s all Abram.’

1671. R. Head, English Rogue, part I., ch. v., p. 47 (1874). Abram, naked.

3. Abram or Abram coloured (old).—Derivation uncertain, but supposed to be a corruption of ‘auburn.’ In this connection it may be remarked that it is to be found in Coriolanus, Act II., scene 3; but where the original reads Abram the folio has ‘auburn.’ To sham Abram, verb (old).—Also see Abraham sham.—The original signification of this word, to feign sickness, led to its use to describe pretence of any kind; this is specially the case amongst sailors, workmen, etc., who describe malingering as doing Abram, the defaulter also being called by the same name.

Abregoyns, Abergoins, Abrogans, subs. (American).—Vulgarisms for ‘aborigines.’

Abridgments, subs. (nonce word).—Knee breeches. This term for small clothes appears in Bulwer Lytton’s comedy, Money.

1840. Bulwer Lytton, Money, iv. 4. Frantz (producing a pair of small clothes, which Toke examines). Your master is von beggar, etc. Toke. I accept the abridgements, but you’ve forgotten to line the pockets.

Abroad, adv. (old).—1. Confused; staggered; perplexed. More generally retained in this sense in America than in England.

2. (popular).—Generally all abroad; i.e., wide of the mark; wrong; uncertain in one’s estimate; or, ‘all at sea.’ In this figurative sense the expression is much older than is popularly supposed.—See Bedoozled.

1821. The Fancy, vol. I., p. 255. In the fourth round he came in all abroad, and got a doubler in the bread-basket, which spoiled him for the remainder of the fight.

1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop, ch. lxi. ‘My friend!’ repeated Kit, ‘You’re all abroad, seemingly,’ returned the other man. ‘There’s his letter, take hold.’

1846. Thackeray, V. Fair, ch. v. At the twelfth round the latter champion was all abroad, as the saying is, and had lost all presence of mind, and power of attack or defence.

3. To be transported. The French have a similar circumlution, aller en traverse, and the Italian Fourbesque has andar a traverso.

4. (Win. Coll.)—A boy returning to school work after being ill is said to come abroad. When on the sick list he is continent (q.v.) i.e., continens cameram, vel lectum, keeping his room or bed. When recovered he is allowed to go foris, out of doors, or more colloquially, abroad. Adams, in Wykehamica, remarks that the use of this term shows the antiquity of the school, dating as it does from the times of the ‘patrium sermonem fugito, Latinum exerceto, of the Tabula legum.’ To be furked abroad is a less complimentary term implying that a ‘man’ has been ‘shuffling’; it is specially applied to those who having ‘gone continent’ in the morning are sent back to school by the doctor at 9 a.m.

Abroaded (society).—See quotation, and compare with abroad.

1876. H. O. Manton, Slangiana, p. 11 (See Bibliography). Fashionable slang for a noble defaulter on the Continent (sic) to avoid creditors. It is the police official slang for convicts sent to a colonial or penal settlement, but it is applied by thieves to transportation either at home or in the Colonies.

Abs (Win. Coll.)—1. An abbreviation of ‘absent’ placed against the name of a boy when absent from the school.

2. v. tr., to take away. Formerly, circa, 1840, to abs a tolly (candle), meant to put it out; now it would mean to take it away whether lighted or unlighted, the modern ‘notion’ for putting it out being to ‘dump’ it.

3. v. n. To get away; generally used in the imperative, as, ‘abs!’ ‘Oh! do abs!’ Sometimes, however, a fellow is said to abs quickly, and mess things (q.v.) are absed (trans.), or put away.

4. To have one’s wind absed is to have it taken away by a violent blow in the stomach.

Abscotchalater, subs. (thieves’).—Quoted by H. O. Manton in Slangiana as ‘one who is hiding away from the police.’ Cf., Absquatulate.

Absence, subs. (Eton).—Names-calling, which takes place at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on half-holidays; and at 11.30 a.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. on whole holidays; at 6 p.m. only in summer half.

Absent Without Leave, adv. phr. (thieves’).—Said of one who has broken prison; or (popular) absconded.

Absit, subs. (Cambridge).—See quotation.

1886. Dickens’s Dictionary of the University of Cambridge, p. 3. Every undergraduate wishing to leave Cambridge for a whole day, not including a night, must obtain an ‘absit’ from his tutor. Permission to go away for a longer period, either at the end of the term or in the middle, is called an ‘exeat,’ and no undergraduate should go down without obtaining his ‘exeat.’

Abskize, Abschize, v. (American).—To depart; go away. Said to be of Western origin, and to have been in use about 1883. Of rare and probably local usage. It has been derived from the Dutch afscheyden; Ger. abscheiden of similar meaning; a not unlikely origin, bearing in mind the large Dutch and German element in the U.S.A.

Absquatulate, also Absquotilate, v. (American).—To run away; to decamp; with the more or less forcible idea of absconding in disgrace. A factitious word, of American origin and jocular use, simulating a Latin form, perhaps from Latin ab and squat, i.e., to settle on land, especially public or new lands, without any title or right whether of purchase or permission, though in Australia the term is employed in a more restricted sense for a sub-lessee of the government at a nominal rent. It was first used by Mr. Hackett, as Nimrod Wildfire, a Kentucky character, in a play called ‘The Kentuckian,’ by Bernard, produced in 1833. It is now less often heard than formerly, having been replaced in some degree by the word skedaddle (q.v.). For synonyms, see Amputate one’s mahogany.

1835–1840. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xiv. ‘What’s the use of legs but to absquotilate with ... when traps are sot for you.’

1879. Punch, Jan. 18, p. 23, col. 1. The Reward of Merit. Mrs. Lyon Hunter, ‘How do you do, Mr. Brown? Let me present you to the Duchess of Stilton! Your Grace, permit me to present to you Mr. Brown, the distinguished scholar!’ Her Grace (affably). ‘Charmed to make your acquaintance—er—Mr. Brown!’ Mr. Brown (with effusion). ‘Your Grace is really too kind. This is the ninth time I’ve enjoyed the distinction of being presented to your Grace within the last twelve months; but it’s a distinction I value so highly, that without trespassing too much on your Grace’s indulgence, I hope I may be occasionally permitted to enjoy it again.’ [Bows, and absquatulates.]

1884. Daily Telegraph, August 20, p. 6, col. 1. Yet who knows but that some day an accident may happen to the Aberdeenshire works of art ... the sense of the cartoons be totally subverted—in Rabelaisian phrase, ‘absquashed and absquatulated.’

Academician, subs. (old).—The inmate of a brothel.

Academy, subs. (old).—1. A disorderly house; a brothel; a bagnio. Grose remarks that these establishments were also called pushing schools. The old brothels have of late years rapidly disappeared, their places being taken by what are known as bed houses (q.v.). These vary in character as regards style, equipment, and cost, but of whatever grade, rooms may be had for longer or shorter periods as required. The French call them maisons de societé; maisons de passe; foutoirs, and gros numéros, the last from the fact, that these semi-private brothels bear a number of large dimensions over the entrance. The French have also a somewhat analogous term for the mistress of an académie in l’institutrice, the teacher. In the finishing academy (q.v.) the inmates are young prostitutes, the next stage in whose downward career is taken on the streets.

2. According to the N.Y. Slang Dictionary, a penitentiary or prison for minor offences.

3. A thieves’ school; also a band of thieves. There are establishments of similar character bearing more distinctive names, e.g.:

4. Buzzing Academy (thieves’).—A school for thieves, chiefly boys. Fagan, the old Jew in Oliver Twist, will occur to mind, as also the devices by which he taught his gang to pick pockets and pilfer adroitly.

5. Canting Academy (vagrants’).—A house of call or common lodging house, frequented by the fraternity; a cadger’s dossing ken. The term is also applied to any house where application for food or money is likely to be successful. At the regular ‘beggar’s house’—establishments which abound more or less in every town—information can be obtained so that the district can be thoroughly and systematically ‘worked.’

6. Character Academy.—At these places false characters are drawn up, to say nothing of the concoction of schemes of robbery.

7. Floating Academy (thieves’).—The hulks or prison ships were formerly so-called. When the regulations as regards transportation were relaxed, convicts condemned to hard labour were sent on board these vessels.

8. Gammoning Academy.—A reformatory.

Acause, conj. (vulgar).—A corruption of ‘because.’

Accommodation House, subs. (popular).—A brothel. Also frequently applied to what in police court phraseology are known as disorderly houses, i.e., houses where rooms can be hired for shorter or longer periods as desired.—See Bed house.

According to Cocker.—See Cocker.

According to the Revised Statutes.—See Revised statutes.

Account. To go on the account, verb. phr. (old nautical).—To join in a fillibustering or buccaneering expedition; to turn pirate. Ogilvie says, probably from the parties sharing, as in a commercial venture.

1812. Scott, Letter to a Friend. I hope it is no new thing for gentlemen of fortune who are going on the account to change a captain now and then.

To account for (sporting).—To kill; literally to be answerable for bringing down one’s share of the shooting; to make away with.

1846–48. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. xx. The persecuted animals [rats] bolted above ground: the terrier accounted for one, the keeper for another.

1858. Letter from Lahore, 28 September, in Times, 19 November. In the course of one week they were hunted up and accounted for; and you know that in Punjab phraseology accounting for means the extreme fate due to mutineers. [M.]

Accounts. To cast up one’s accounts, verb. phr. (old cant).—To vomit. Still common; quoted by Grose [1785]. The expression sometimes runs, amongst seafaring men, to audit one’s accounts at the Court of Neptune.

Eng. Synonyms. To shoot the cat; to cat.

French Synonyms. Semer des miettes (lit. to sow or scatter crumbs); piquer le renard (lit. to goad the fox). Cf. ‘to shoot the cat.’ The old French phrase was chasser or escorcher le renard, either because, says Cotgrave, ‘in spueing one makes a noise like a fox that barks, or because the flaying of so unsavory an animal will make any man spue’; renverser (lit. to overturn, to upset); faire restitution (lit. to make amends; to restore); revoir la carte (lit. to look at the bill of fare again).

(Thieves’).—To turn Queen’s evidence.

Accumulatives, subs. (American).—These journalistic sparring matches are essentially a ‘Yankee notion.’ In England they are called codicils (q.v.), under which see an amusing example which will illustrate their character, as also the length to which American editors sometimes go in heaping Ossa upon Pelion.

Accumulator, subs. (racing).—A bettor, who when successful with one horse, carries forward the stakes to another event.

Ace of Spades, subs. phr. (old).—A widow. Though obsolete in England, it is quoted by the New York Slang Dictionary (1881) as still current in America.

Ack, intj. (Christ’s Hospital).—No! refusal of a request, e.g., ‘Lend me your book.’ ‘Ack!’

Ackman, Ackpirate (old), Or Ackruff (American), subs.—A freshwater thief; a ruffian who in conjunction with watermen robs and sometimes murders on the water. [Ack (unknown derivation, unless a corrupted form of ark, a boat; or wherry) + man, etc.] Quoted by Grose [1785], and also by Clark Russell, in Sailor’s Language [1883].

Acknowledge the Corn, verb. phr. (American).—To make an admission of failure; to admit being outwitted. The various stories professing to account for derivation are discussed in detail in Americanisms, Old and New: the most circumstantial and certainly the best authenticated, runs as follows:—In 1828, the Hon. Andrew Stewart was in Congress discussing the principle of ‘Protection,’ and said in the course of his remarks, that Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky sent their haystacks, cornfields, and fodder to New York and Philadelphia for sale. The Hon. Charles A. Wickliffe, from Kentucky, jumped up and said, ‘Why that is absurd; Mr. Speaker, I call the gentleman to order. He is stating an absurdity. We never send haystacks or cornfields to New York or Philadelphia.’ ‘Well, what do you send?’ ‘Why, horses, mules, cattle, hogs.’ ‘Well, what makes your horses, mules, cattle, hogs? You feed a hundred dollars’ worth of hay to a horse, you just animate and get upon the top of your haystack and ride off to market. How is it with your cattle? You make one of them carry fifty dollars’ worth of hay and grass to the Eastern market. Mr. Wickliffe, you send a hog worth ten dollars to an Eastern market; how much corn does it take at thirty-three cents per bushel to fatten it?’ ‘Why, thirty bushels!’ ‘Then you put that thirty bushels of corn into the shape of a hog, and make it walk off to the Eastern market.’ Mr. Wickliffe jumped up and said: ‘Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge the corn.’ [De Vere’s Americanisms [1872] p. 47.] Latterly the expression has been used in England in the sense of simply to make an admission.

1860. Haliburton (Sam Slick), The Season Ticket, No. 9. ‘He had a beard that wouldn’t acknowledge the corn to no man’s.’

1865. Bacon, Handbook of America, p. 361. Acknowledge the corn, to confess a charge or imputation.

1883. G. A. Sala, Living London, p. 97. Mr. Porter acknowledges the corn as regards his fourteen days’ imprisonment, and is forgiven by his loving consort.

Acorn. A horse foaled of an acorn, subs. phr. (old).—The gallows. Euphemisms for hanging, the ‘tree’ itself, and the victim of the law’s majesty were, at the time when the death penalty was a common punishment, both many and curious. A horse foaled of an acorn, is obviously an allusion to the timber of which the triple tree (q.v.) was constructed. The widows of those who had suffered the extreme penalty of the law were termed hempen widows (q.v.); the children of such, or those likely to meet with death by hanging, hempseed (q.v.); and hempen fever (q.v.) represented the dread malady itself.

1760–61. Smollett, Sir L. Greaves, ch. viii. I believe as how ’tis no horse, but a devil incarnate; and yet I’ve been worse mounted, that I have—I’d like to have rid a horse that was foaled of an acorn (i.e., he had nearly met with the fate of Absalom).

1827. Lytton, Pelham, ch. lxxxii. ‘The cove ... is as pretty a Tyburn blossom as ever was brought up to ride a horse foaled by an acorn.’

1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 8. Tom Sheppard was always a close file, and would never tell whom he married. Of this I’m certain, however, she was much too good for him.... As to this little fellow ... he shall never mount a horse foaled by an acorn, if I can help it.

Acquaintance. To scrape acquaintance, verb. phr. (common).—To make acquaintance. Probably from ‘bowing and scraping’ to a person, in order to curry favor.

1698. Farquhar, Love and a Bottle [ed. 1711], p. 5, Lucinda. Pray good Cæsar, keep off your paws; no scraping acquaintance for Heaven’s sake.

This phrase has a classical origin, an account of which from the pen of Dr. Doran, F.S.A., appears in the Gentleman’s Magazine [N.S. xxxix. 230] in an article on ‘The Masters of the Roman World during the Happiest Years of the Human Race.’

There is an anecdote connected with Hadrian and the custom of bathing, from which is derived the proverbial saying of scraping an acquaintance. The Emperor, entering a bath, saw an old soldier scraping himself with a tile. He recognised the man as a former comrade—his memory on such points never failed him—and, pitying his condition that he had nothing better than a tile for a flesh-brush, he ordered the veteran to be presented with a considerable sum of money, and a costly set of bathing garments. Thereupon all the old soldiers of the Imperial Army became as anxious to claim fellowship with the Emperor as the Kirkpatricks of Great Britain and Ireland are proudly eager to establish kinship with the Empress of the French. As Hadrian entered the bath the day after that on which he had rewarded his former comrade, he observed dozens of old soldiers scraping themselves with tiles. He understood the intent, but wittily evaded it. ‘Scrape one another, gentlemen,’ said he, ‘you will not scrape acquaintance with me!’

Acquisitive, subs. (American).—Plunder; booty; pickings. A noun formed from the adjective.

Acreocracy, subs. (common).—The landed interest. Possibly of American coinage [of simulated Greek formation, from English acre + Greek κρατέω, to hold sway or to govern]. Compare with democracy, mobocracy, aristocracy, etc.

1878. Hallberger’s Illustrated Magazine, p. 622. The introduction of a plutocracy among the aristocracy and the acreocracy though it has tended somewhat to vulgarize our social institutions, etc.

Acres, subs. (theatrical).—A coward. From Bob Acres, in Sheridan’s Rivals [1775]; here the character part is of a blusterer, one who talks big, but when put to the push, to use his own words, ‘his courage always oozed out of his finger ends.’ Cf., Abigail for a waiting maid; Samson for a strong man; Job for a monument of patience, and others.

Across Lots. To go across lots, verb. phr.—To proceed by the shortest route; similarly to do anything in the most expeditious manner. The phrase had its rise in the natural tendency of settlers, in thinly-populated districts, to shorten the distance from point to point by leaving the road and striking across vacant lots. Brigham Young familiarized its idiomatic use in the now notoriously historic saying attributed to that ‘Saint,’—‘We’ll send them (the Gentiles) to hell across lots.’

1848. Lowell, Biglow Papers.

Past noontime they went trampin’ round An’ nary thing to pop at found, Till, fairly tired o’ their spree, They leaned their guns agin a tree, An’ jest ez they wuz settin’ down To take their noonin’, Joe looked roun’ And see (acrost lots in a pond That warn’t mor’n twenty rod beyond), A goose that on the water sot Ez ef awaitin’ to be shot.

1854. J. C. Neal, Charcoal Sketches, i., p. 35 [to a grumbler]:—‘You would cut across the lot, like a streak of lightning, if you had a chance.’

1887. Scribner’s Magazine. ‘I didn’t see Crossby go by, did you?’ ‘He’d have had to foot it by the path cross-lots, replied Ezra, gravely, from the doorstep.’

Acteon, subs. (old).—A cuckold; from the horns planted on the head of Acteon by Diana.

Acting the Deceitful, verb. phr. (old theatrical).—Performing; mumming; acting.—Duncombe.

Active Citizen, subs. (popular).—A louse. For synonyms, see Chates.

Act of Parliament, subs. (old).—A military term for small beer, five pints of which, by an Act of Parliament, a landlord was formerly obliged to give gratis to each soldier billetted upon him. For synonyms, see Cold blood.

Actual. The actual, subs. (popular).—Money, when spoken of collectively. The fact of the existence of innumerable synonyms for the ‘modern staff of life’ goes far to bear out the latter-day contention that it is not the ‘evil’ itself [‘money is the root of all evil’—Old Saw] but the lack of it that is to be deplored. The central idea enshrined in many of these terms will well repay comparative study, a vein of subtle, and sometimes grim humor and pathos running through not a few of them. This applies equally to English slang, and to the French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese argots. Compare for example the English ‘feathers’ with the Spanish amigos (friends), the Italian agresto (sour grapes), and the French du foin (hay), or de l’os (bone), and obviously many a new side-light upon national habits and modes of thought may be obtained therefrom. The English and French, the two nations whose slang vocabularies are by far the most copious extant, have respectively upwards of 130 and 50 synonymous terms for money. The generic names are as follows:—

Eng. Synonyms. Ballast; beans; blunt (i.e., specie,—not soft, or rags, i.e., bank-notes); brads; brass; bustle; coal; coppers (copper money, or mixed pence); chink; chinkers; chips; corks; dibs; dimmock; dinarly; dirt; dooteroomus (or doot); dumps; dust; dye stuffs; feathers; family plate (silver); dollars; gent (silver,—from argent); gilt; haddock (a purse of money); hard stuff (or hard); horse nails; huckster; John; John Davis; loaver; lour (the oldest cant term for money); mopusses; muck; needful; nothings (money collected in a hat by street-performers); ochre (gold); oof; ooftish; pewter; palm oil; pieces; posh; queen’s pictures; quids; rags (bank-notes); ready; ready gilt; ready John; redge (gold); rhino; rowdy; shadscales (or scales); shot; shekels; sinews of war; shiners (sovereigns); shin plasters (or plasters); skin (a purse of money); Spanish; spondulics; stamps; stiff (cheques, or bills of acceptance); stuff; stumpy; tin (silver); tow; wad; wedge (silver); wherewith; and yellow-boys (sovereigns). In the 17th century money was often called ‘shells’—is this the origin of ‘to shell out’?—and ‘Oil of Angels’ (q.v.).

French Argot. De l’artiche (thieves’: retirer de l’artiche, is to pick the pockets of a drunkard); du morningue; du foin (lit. hay); du plâtre (thieves’: lit. plaster); du poussier (thieves’: lit. coal-dust; Cf., English ‘coal’ and ‘dust’); des soldats (thieves’: Falstaff, in Merry Wives of Windsor, ii., 2, says ‘money is a good soldier’); de la mornifle (this thieves’ term for money, whether good or counterfeit, originally signified false money only; there is a grim suggestiveness between the orthodox meaning of the word, ‘a slap on the face,’ and its slang signification); de la sauvette (also a basket used by rag-pickers and collectors of street refuse); de l’huile (lit. oil); du beurre (pop.: lit. butter); de la braise (pop.: ma braise is a term of endearment among the Lyonnais, and is equivalent to mon trésor, my treasure); du bath (thieves’: the tip-top; the excellent. From a superior kind of Bath note paper, which, in 1848, was hawked about the streets of Paris, and sold at a low price. Thus papier bath became synonymous with excellent paper. In a short time the qualifying term alone remained, and received a general application.—Argot and Slang); du graissage (pop.: lit. grease, Cf., ‘palm oil,’ and ‘greasing the palm’ in English slang); de la thune (thieves’: in old French cant the Roi de la Thune was the king of the beggars, and the old prison of Bicêtre, where free board and lodging was provided for many of the fraternity, was called La Thune. It is easy to see why the name of a place, where beggars congregated in considerable numbers and received relief, should pass into use to signify pecuniary alms); de la miche de profonde (pop. and thieves’: this exactly corresponds to the English ‘loaver’); de l’oignon pèse (pop.: lit. heavy onion. Cf., Fourbesque argume); du sable (pop.: lit. sand); des pimpions (thieves’: Qy., from pimpant, fine, spruce, smart); de l’os (familiar: lit. bone); du nerf (lit. sinew. Cf., English ‘sinews of war’); des pepettes (pop.: pepette, a coin of the value of fifty centimes); des achetoires (pop.: from acheter, to buy); de la galette (pop.: lit. sea biscuit); des picaillons (pop.: probably a corruption of picaron, a Spanish coin); de ce qui se pousse (pop.: that which pushes itself forward. Cf., English proverb, ‘It’s money makes the mare to go’); de quoi (pop.: the wherewithal. Cf., English ‘the needful,’ the ‘ready’), de l’oignon (pop.: lit. onion. Fourbesque has also argume, lit. in Italian, an onion); de l’oseille (pop.: lit. sorrel); de la douille (thieves’ and pop.: from a kind of large fig much esteemed in Paris); des jaunets (lit. buttercups. Cf., English ‘yellow-boys’); des sous (lit. pence); de la graisse (pop. and thieves’: lit. ‘grease.’ Cf., palm oil); de l’affare (a thieves’ term, probably from the argotic verb affurer, to cheat, steal, or deceive); du metal (lit. metal); du zinc (lit. zinc); du pèze (from the Italian pezzo, a piece; Spanish peso, a silver coin, weighing an ounce); du pedzale; des noyaux (popular); des sonnettes plombes (plomb = lead); des sonnettes (lit. bells. Cf., English ‘chinkers’); du quantum (from the Latin); du gras (lit. fat); de l’atout (lit. trumps in cards); de l’huile de main (lit. hand oil, the English ‘palm grease’); des patards (obsolete copper coins, value ¼d.; now applied particularly to a two-sous piece, and to money generally); de la vaisselle de poche (lit. pocket plate: vaisselle = gold and silver plate); du carme (from the game of Trictrac); de la pécune (lit. cash); des ronds (lit. circles; from the shape of coins); de la bille (from billon); du “sine quâ non” (from the Latin; meaning obvious); du sit nomen (from the Latin); quibus (an abbreviation of quibus fiunt omnia).

Italian Fourbesque. Agresto (lit. sour grapes); albume (lit. white of egg), argume (lit. onions); asta, asti (from Ital. asta, a staff); contramaglia (silver money); brunotti (lit. brownish); penne (lit. feathers); smilzi (from Ital. smilzi = menu); squame (lit. chips or scales).

Spanish Germania. Amigos (lit. friends); florin (here can be traced the Spanish connection with the Netherlands); sangre (lit. blood).

Portuguese Calão.—Parne.

German Synonyms (Gaunersprache).—See Gilt.

Ad., Adver. subs. (printers’).—An abbreviated form of ‘advertisement.’

1854. Dickens, Household Words, xiii., 9. The really interesting ads are in the body of the paper.

1888. New York Times, Ap. 6.

[The country editor’s wife—] ... reads the ads with the editor, Just to find what each has paid. ‘But the column ad of the jeweller, there,’ So he says, ‘and the harness, and human hair, Must be taken out in trade!’ She wears the corsets he gets for ads, And rattles his sewing machine; She uses the butter, and cups, and things, The country subscriber so faithfully brings, With a cheerfulness seldom seen.

Adam, subs. (old).—A sergeant or bailiff; a master man or foreman. Now used by thieves in the sense of an accomplice. Explained by commentators as a reference to the fact that the buff worn by a bailiff resembled the native buff worn by our first parent, or from his keeping the garden.

1598. Shakspeare, Comedy of Errors, iv., 3. Ant. S.... What Adam dost thou mean? Dro. S. Not that Adam that kept the Paradise, but that Adam that keeps the prison: he that goes into the calf-skin that was killed for the prodigal.

1848. Sinks of London Laid Open, p. 96. Adam, a henchman, an accomplice.

Adam’s Ale, or sometimes simply Adam, and in Scotland Adam’s Wine.—A colloquialism of long standing for water, humorously suggesting that anything stronger was unknown to our first parents. Duncombe wittily adds a comment that our first father’s drink is best with brandy. This also would appear to be the view taken in most of the French and German equivalents.

Eng. Synonyms. Fish broth; aqua pompaginis.

French. Anisette de barbillon (a popular term); essence de parapluie (popular: lit. essence of umbrella); l’Adam’s ale (a literal translation of the English term); limonade (popular: a caustic comment surely upon the virtues of lemonade); lance (popular and thieves’: this term also does duty for ‘rain’; properly written l’ance, derived from the Spanish Germania ansia, itself an abbreviation of angustia, an allusion to the employment of water as a means of torture); sirop or ratafia de grenouilles (popular: lit. syrup of frogs); sirop de l’aiguière (popular: lit. pitcher syrup); sirop de baromètre (popular, barometer syrup).

German Gaunersprache. Gänsewein (lit. goose-wine).

Italian Fourbesque. Lenza (the remarks on French lance quoted above, apply equally here).

1643. Prynne, Sov. Power of Parl., II., 32. They have been shut up in prisons and dungeons ... allowed onely a poore pittance of Adam’s ale, and scarce a penny bread a day to support their lives. [M.]

1786–9. Wolcot [P. Pindar], Lousiad, c. ii., line 453.

Old Adam’s beverage flows with pride, From wide-mouth’d pitchers, in a plenteous tide.

1884. Daily Telegraph, April 1, p. 5, col. 2. The spectral banquet graced now only by Adam’s ale, or the sick-room toast and water.

1886. John Coleman, Elfie, pt. I., ch. ii. For my part, I stuck to Adam’s ale, which Elfie brought from the spring.

Adam Tiler, subs. (old slang).—A pickpocket’s associate; one who receives stolen goods, and then runs off with them. [From Adam, an accomplice + tiler, a watchman. Cf., Masonic term.] For synonyms, see Fence.

Added to the List (racing).—An abbreviation of ‘added to the list of geldings in training.’ Among French thieves, désatiller is the term employed to signify castration; or, where the operation is performed upon a man, abélardiser, i.e., to mutilate a man, as Chanoine Fulbert mutilated Abélard, the lover of his daughter or niece, Héloise.

Addition, subs. (old).—A term for various toilet requisites, used by women; such as paint, rouge, powder, etc.

1704. Centlivre, Platonick Love, Act iii., Scene 1. Milliner. Be pleased to put on the addition madam. Mrs. Dowdy. What does she mean now? to pull my skin off, mehap, next. Ha, Peeper, are these your London fashions? Peeper. No, no, addition is only paint, madam.

Addition, Division, and Silence! phr. (American).—A Philadelphia expression, which, for a time, had a vogue as a catch phrase. It is properly rendered multiplication, division, and silence! William M. Tweed, or as he is more familiarly known ‘Boss’ Tweed, is generally credited with this expression. Being asked what in his view was the proper qualification for a member of a ring or trust, in which all play into each other’s hands for mutual advantages, he replied multiplication, division, and silence!

Addle Cove, subs. (common).—A foolish man; an easy dupe; literally, a rank sucker (q.v.), and equivalent to addle-head, addle-pate, addle-plot, all of which are common dictionary words. Why Barrère and Hotten have followed the lead of Grose in classing these words as slang is hardly clear. Dialectical they may have been, but all English was similarly placed prior to the 15th century, and the first reference given by Murray, bears the date of A.D. 1250.

Adept, subs. (thieves’).—An expert amongst the light-fingered gentry. It is quite an open question whether adept, even in a thief’s sense, can fairly be classed as slang, the meaning being obviously identical with that commonly attached to the word.

Adjective Jerker, subs. phr. (literary).—A term of derision applied, like ink-slinger (q.v.), to those who write for the press. The special allusion in the present case is doubtless to the want of discrimination which young writers, and reporters on low-class papers, often exhibit in the use of a plethora of adjectives to qualify a simple statement of fact.

1888. St. Louis Globe Democrat, April 29. Genevieve spent four hours last night in constructing a three-line letter, which she sent to an adjective jerker on a society weekly, and in which she said she would spend the summer months in the Rocky Mountains.

Adjutant’s Gig, subs. phr. (military).—The barrack roller. Men under punishment are generally put to the task of drawing this machine.

Admiral. To tap the Admiral, verb phr. (nautical).—A practice otherwise known as ‘sucking the monkey.’ Explained in Peter Simple as having originally been used amongst sailors for drinking rum out of cocoa nuts from which the milk had been extracted and replaced by spirits, an evasion of the regulation prohibiting the purchase of ardent liquors when on shore in the tropics. The Germans have an analogous expression Den affen saugen, to ‘suck the monkey,’ with the same signification.

Nowadays it is applied to drinking on the sly from a cask by inserting a straw through a gimlet hole, and to drinking generally.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (the Black Mousquetaire).

What the vulgar call sucking the monkey, Has much less effect on a man when he’s funky.

Admiral of the Blue, subs. phr. (old).—A publican or tapster; from the colour of his apron; now obsolete. Cf., Admiral of the red.

1731. Poor Robin [Pseudonym of Robert Herrick] Almanac.

As soon as customers begin to stir, The admiral of the blue, cries, ‘Coming, sir!’ Or if grown fat, the mate his place supplies; And says, ’tis not my master’s time to rise. Of all our trades, the tapster is the best, He has more men at work than all the rest.

Admiral of the Narrow Seas, subs. phr. (nautical).—A man who, under drink, vomits into the lap of his neighbour or vis-à-vis.

Admiral of the Red, subs. phr. (popular).—A wine-bibber; one whose face by its redness bears evidence of a fondness for the bottle. Formerly the highest rank of naval officers was divided into three grades or classes denominated from the colours hoisted by them, Admirals of the Red, White, or Blue squadron. Now there are four grades; Admiral of the Fleet, Admiral, Vice-admiral, and Rear-admiral. The French call the bottle or copper-nose possessed by admirals of the red betterave (lit. a beetroot); also un piton passé à l’encaustique; and un piffard. Cf., Admiral of the blue.

Admiral of the White, subs. phr. (familiar).—Quoted as ‘a white-faced person; a coward; a woman in a faint.’ Rarely heard, and at best but an extremely weak imitation of kindred phrases, to wit, admiral of the blue, and admiral of the red.

Admirals of the Red, White, and Blue, subs. phr. (familiar).—Beadles; hall-porters; and such-like functionaries when sporting their gorgeous liveries of office.

Adonize, verb. (rare). [French adoniser; from adonis + ize].—To make beautiful or attractive; to adorn oneself with a view of attracting admiration; said only of men.

1818. S. E. Ferrier, Marriage, ch. ix. ‘Venus and the Graces, by Jove!’ exclaimed Sir Sampson, bowing with an air of gallantry; ‘and now I must go and adonize a little myself.’ The company then separated to perform the important offices of the toilette.

1850. F. E. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, ch. xl. ‘He positively refused to face the ladies till he had changed his shooting costume, so I left him up at the hall to adonize.’

Adsum, verb. (Charterhouse).—The response made in answering to names-calling.

1855. Thackeray, The Newcomes, p. 774. ‘At the usual evening hour the chapel bell began to toll, and Thomas Newcome’s hands outside the bed feebly beat time. And just as the last bell struck, a peculiar sweet smile shone over his face and he lifted up his head a little, and quickly said, ‘adsum,’ and fell back. It was the word we used at school when names were called; and lo, he whose heart was as that of a little child had answered to his name, and stood in the presence of the Master.’

Adullamites, subs. (parliamentary).—A nickname, in the first instance, for a party of seceding Liberals, namely, Messrs. Horsman, Lowe, Earl Grosvenor, Lord Elcho, etc., who in 1866 voted with the Tories, when Earl Russell and Mr. Gladstone introduced a measure for the extension of the Franchise. In the debate on the 30th March John Bright said they had agreed to draw back into a political cave of adullam. The reference is to those who, with King David, took refuge in the cave of adullam (1 Sam. xxii., 1). The political party in question were also known collectively as ‘The Cave.’

1878–80. Justin McCarthy, History of Our Own Times, p. 142. The little third party were at once christened the adullamites, and the name still survives and is likely long to survive its old political history. Ibid., p. 143. The wild cheers of the Conservatives and the adullamites showed on which ‘sword sat laurel victory.’ Ibid., p. 152. [Lord Derby] had at once invited the leading members of the adullamite party to accept places in his Administration.

The primary usage has been extended as explained in the following quotations.

1870. Notes and Queries, March 5, p. 241. The Scriptural ‘cave of adullam’ has become an adopted byword for a small clique who unite to obstruct the party with which they usually associate.

1884. New York Times, July 19. The Conservative party then presented a tolerably solid front against the extension of the franchise, and received besides a large reinforcement of adullamites from the Liberal side.

Advance Backward, verb. (American).—A rather odd way of expressing retrogression.

1888. Chicago Inter-Ocean, Jan. 23. The advice given to his company by a raw Yankee captain to advance backward, seems paralleled in the Chicago Tribune of the 18th inst.

Advantage (Californian).—See Pocket advantage.

Æger, subs. (Univ.). Lat. sick.—Same as Ægrotat (q.v.).

1870. Chambers’ Journal, June 18, p. 395. Dick laughed. ‘I’ll get the receipt from him. I often want a good thing for an Æger.’

1888. H. Smart, in Temple Bar, February, p. 213. ‘Instead of applying for leave to my tutor, I had resorted to the old device of pricking Æger.’

Ægrotat, subs. (Univ.).—[L. he is sick, 3rd pers. sing. pres. ind. of ægrotare, to be sick from ægrotus, sick, from æger, sick]. In English universities a medical certificate given to a student, showing that he has been prevented by sickness from attending to his duties, or his examination; also used for the degree taken by those so excused. Also called Æger (q.v.).

1794. Gent. Mag., p. 1085. They [at Cambridge] sported an Ægrotat, and they sported a new coat!

1864. Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher, 37. I sent my servant to the apothecary for a thing called an Ægrotat, which I understood ... meant a certificate that I was indisposed.

Reading ægrotat.—In some universities leave taken, commonly in December, in order to get time to read for one’s degree.

Affair of Honour, subs. (old).—Killing an innocent man in a duel. This euphemism was largely in vogue during the Regency days.

Affidavit Men, sub. phr. (old slang), or, as they also used to be called, Knights of the Post.—False witnesses who attended Westminster Hall and other Courts of Justice, ready to swear anything for hire; they were distinguished by having straws stuck in the heels of their shoes.—See Straw bail under Bail.

Affinity, subs. (American).—A cant term in frequent use amongst so-called free-lovers. One’s affinity is supposed to be a person of the opposite sex, for whom an attachment so strong is felt that even if already married, as more often than not is the case, the husband will abandon his legitimate wife, and vice versâ, in favour of the new attraction, or affinity as he or she is called. The argument is generally only an excuse for unbridled sexual license; indeed, it is inconceivable that it could be otherwise, except in a society of seraphs and archangels.

Afflicke, subs. (old).—See quotation.

1610. Rowland’s Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Chub’s Repr., 1874). Afflicke, a theefe.

Afflictions, subs. (drapers’).—Mourning goods, half-mourning being designated mitigated afflictions (q.v.).

Affygraphy, subs. (common).—‘It fits to an affygraphy,’ i.e., to a nicety—to a T; also of time—‘in an affygraphy.’

Afloat, adv. (common).—On the move; en évidence. This term is of nautical origin.

To have one’s back-teeth well afloat, is to be well-primed with liquor; in short, to be in one of the many degrees of intoxication.

1888. Missouri Republican, Jan. 25. When sober on the bench Judge Noonan is a model of all the virtues. On Friday night, however, in company with Dr. Munford, of Kansas City, ex-Speaker Wood, Mr. Charles Mead, and several other gentlemen, his honor once more drank until, as an onlooker put it, his back teeth were well afloat.

A-Fly, adv. (vulgar).—See Fly.

Afterclap, subs. (American).—An attempt to unjustly extort more in a bargain or agreement than at first settled upon. [Derived from after + clap, a blow or shock.] Current in England since the beginning of the fifteenth century, signifying an unexpected subsequent event; something happening after an affair is supposed to be at an end.

After-Dinner Man; Afternoon’s Man.—Generally read to mean a tippler; one given to long potations after the mid-day meal, formerly the most substantial taken during the twenty-four hours. Smythe Palmer, however, appears to throw a different gloss upon the term, for he says [N. and Q., 5 S., viii., 112], Afternoones men—equivalent to after-dinner men. It was the custom, formerly, to dine in the halls of our Inns of Court about noon, and those who returned after dinner to work must have been much devoted to business, or obliged to work at unusual hours by an excess of it.—See quot. from Earle.

1614. Overbury, A wife, etc. (1638), 196. Make him an afternoones man.

1621. Burton, Anat. Mel. Democr. to Reader (1657), 44. Bervaldus will have drunkards, afternoon men, and such as more than ordinarily delight in drink, to be mad.

1628. Earle, Microcosmography (A Player). Your Innes of Court men were undone but for him, hee is their chiefe guest and employment, and the sole businesse that makes them afternoones men.

1830. Dublin Sketch Book. The good Baronet (Sir Francis Burdett) was not only a foxhunter, but a celebrated after-dinner man. It must have been a good bout indeed in which he was worsted.

After Four, subs. phr. (Eton).—From 3 to 6 p.m. on half-holidays; 4 to 5 on whole schoolday.

Afternoon Farmer, subs. phr. (popular).—This expression for one who procrastinates, or who misses an opportunity is, in reality, a provincialism. It is quoted in more than one of the English Dialect Society’s Glossaries as a very common phrase for one who is always behind, i.e., late in preparing his land, in sowing or harvesting his crops. It is only slang when used figuratively apart from agricultural pursuits.

After Twelve, subs. phr. (Eton).—From noon till 2 p.m.

1861. Whyte Melville, Good for Nothing, p. 39. I used to visit him regularly in the dear old college from the after twelve.

Against Collar. To work against collar, verb. phr. (popular).—To battle or cope with difficulties; ‘to kick against the pricks’; ‘to pull against the tide.’

1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 114. ‘It is always thought to be a bad plan to let journeymen Cheap Johns get into debt with their employers. It is bad in two ways, for if they owe their governors a few pounds, they are working an uphill game, or against collar, and that don’t suit their book, and it destroys the independence which is, and always should be, between the master and the man.’

Against the Grain, adv. phr. (popular).—Against the fibres of the wood; hence, in opposition to the wish; unwillingly; unpleasantly; reluctantly. ‘It went against the grain to do it, but I knew I must,’ is a common expression.

1673. Dryden, Amboyna, Act i. Seizing their factories I like well enough, it has some savour in’t; but for this whoresome cutting of throats, it goes a little against the grain.

1693. Dryden, Juvenal, i., 202. Though much against the grain forc’d to retire.

1709. Steele, Tatler, No. 2. Nothing in nature is so ungrateful as story-telling against the grain, therefore take it as the author has given it you.

1868. Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone, 1st Period., ch. xi. As I had promised for them, the other servants followed my lead, sorely against the grain, of course, but all taking the view that I took.

1884. W. C. Russell, Jack’s Courtship, ch. xxiii. It went against my grain to leave the poor chap alone.

Agaze, adv. (American thieves’).—Astonished; open-eyed.

Aggerawator, subs. (common); also Haggerawator, both forms being corruptions of ‘aggravator.’—A lock of hair brought down from the forehead, well greased, and then twisted in spiral form upon the temple, either toward the ear, or conversely toward the outer corner of the eye. This style of dressing the hair was formerly much affected by costermongers, male and female, and other street folk, but the ‘ornament’ is now rarely seen. It appears to be known among certain classes in France, especially prostitutes’ bullies.

Eng. Synonyms. Kiss-curls; cobbler’s knots; cow-licks; Newgate knockers (from a supposed resemblance to the knocker on the prisoner’s door at Newgate); number sixes; bellropes (being wherewith to draw the belles); bow-catchers; spit-curls; lovelocks, etc.

French Argot. Des guiches; des rouflaquettes (from being sported by prostitutes’ bullies), des accroche-cœeurs (lit. heart-hooks).

1836. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 132. His hair carefully twisted into the outer corner of each eye, till it formed a variety of that description of semi-curls, usually known as ‘aggerawators.’

From the following they would appear at one time to have formed part of the personal adornment of women in Australia.

1859. Frank Fowler, Southern Lights and Shadows, p. 38. The ladies are addicted to ... straw-coloured gloves, and strained hair, embellished with two or three c’s—aggravators they call them—running over the temple.

Agility, subs. (low).—A woman who, in mounting a stile, or, when being swung, exposes more of her person than is usually counted decent, is said to show her agility. The story told is an absurdly vulgar play upon words.

Agitate the Communicator! verb. phr. (common).—Ring the bell!

Agitator, subs. (common).—A bell-rope, or knocker.

Agogare, intj. (American thieves’).—Be quick! a warning signal [from agog].—New York Slang Dictionary.

Agony. To pile up the agony. verbal phr. (popular).—To intensify a statement or relation by exaggerated or blood-curdling details. Newspapers pile on the agony when ‘writing up’ murder, divorce, and other sensations.

1857. C. Bronté, in Mrs. Gaskell’s Life, ch. xxv. What climax there is does not come on till near the conclusion; and even then, I doubt whether the regular novel-reader will consider the ‘agony piled sufficiently high’ (as the Americans say), or the colours dashed on to the canvas with the proper amount of daring.

1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, ch. vi. ‘Sooner or later that organ will shake the Cathedral to bits; the vibrations were fearful. I thought there was a great deal too much noise. You lose effect when you pile up the agony like that.’

Agony column, subs. phr. (popular).—The second column of the Times; originally so-called from the fact of its being devoted to advertisements for missing friends, and private communications, many of which are of a harrowing character. Most London newspapers, for the phrase is chiefly local, have now a similar column. Subjoined are a few examples of these advertisements:—

I am not sure of identity. Are you Juan of 1873? Longing to see you.—B.

My darling, how often do I say from my heart come and let us reason together that we may be happy here and live and love for ever. God bless and spare us to meet again.

Satisfied.—Meet Friday outside Farringdon Street Station, Three p.m. Have slip paper in coat button-hole.—J. T.

HERBERT WILLIAM BONNETT, who left Bristol on Thursday, Sept. 5, is REQUESTED to COMMUNICATE at once with his uncle at Keynsham. If any shipping agent is aware of his taking passage in any boat leaving England, either London, Liverpool, or elsewhere, please write at once to Mr. J. D. Coates, Keynsham, near Bristol. All expenses will be paid.

The earliest mention in Murray’s Dictionary is dated 1880, but from the following quotation it will be seen that the term has been in use for at least twenty years.

1870. L. Oliphant, Piccadilly, part II., p. 78. The advertisement of the committee, which appeared in the agony column of the Times, who wanted to know how I wished the money applied.

1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, ch. xxiii. There were anonymous appeals to the runaways in agony columns.

Agony Piler, subs. (theatrical).—An actor who performs blood-curdling parts in sensational plays.

Aground, adv. (common).—Stuck fast; stopped; at a loss; ruined; like a boat or vessel aground.

Ain’t, sometimes A’N’T, verb. phr. (vulgar).—A corruption for (1) ‘am not’; (2) ‘are not’; (3) ‘is not.’ This vulgarism appears to be of much older standing than set down in the New English Dictionary, where the earliest example is dated 1778.

1710. Swift, Journal to Stella, 24 Nov., Letter ix. I ain’t vexed at this puppy business of the bishops, although I was a little at first.

1800. Coleridge, Piccolomini, II., xiii. Ter. Where’s the hurry? Come, one other composing draught.... Goetz. Excuse me—ain’t able. Ter. A thimble-full! Goetz. Excuse me.

1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 275. ‘You are a clever fellow, Tottle, ain’t you?’

Air and Exercise, subs. phr. (old).—To have had air and exercise, signified that one had undergone a whipping at the cart’s tail. About the beginning of the present century the same operation was termed shoving the tumbler (q.v.). Among thieves at the present time, air and exercise means penal servitude; in America it is only applied to a short term of imprisonment.

Airing, subs. (racing).—When it is not intended that a horse shall win a race for which it is brought to the starting post, it is said to be out for an airing.

1889. Evening Standard, June 25 (Sir Chas. Russell’s speech in Durham-Chetwynd case).—What he (Sir C. Russell) meant was that Sir G. Chetwynd never did anything so gross and vulgar as that [tell the jockey to ‘pull’ horses], and that if horses were pulled, that was not the way in which in any class of turf society instructions were given. A wink was as good as a nod, and trainers and jockeys, from various trivial circumstances, very easily gathered whether a particular horse was only out for an airing, or whether it was on the job.

Air Line, or Air Line Road (American).—To take the air line; to go direct, and by the shortest route; idiomatically, to avoid circumlocution. The origin of this expression is to be found in the straight lines of railway, without expensive detours and grades, which in the New World are rendered possible by the vast expanses of unbroken level. These lines of railway are called air line roads, or straight shoots (q.v.). De Vere remarks that since the number of such roads has increased in the more thickly settled parts of the Union, the advantages of direct lines between two great centres over others which meander from town to town have become very manifest, and for a few years a tendency to build such air lines has agitated Legislatures, from whom and from financial circles in the States and abroad help is asked. These lines not unfrequently run for long distances by the side of older lines.

1888. St. Louis Globe Democrat, Jan. 24. The obese style once admired is now disliked. Many old English authors had too much rhetoric for our age. Of one thing we are profoundly convicted, that we have no time to spare for superfluities. An author must take the air line or we will not travel.

1888. Florida Times Union Advertisement, Feb. 11. Ask for tickets viâ Augusta or Atlanta and the Piedmont air line.

Air One’s Heels, verb. phr. (popular).—To loiter; to hang about.

Air One’s Vocabulary, verb. phr. (old).—To talk for talking’s sake; to show off by one’s talk; ‘to flash the gab.’ One of the wits of the time of George IV., when asked what was going on in the House of Commons answered that Lord Castlereagh was airing his vocabulary. The term is now rarely heard, but the practice is with us always.

Airy, subs. (vulgar).—A corruption of ‘area,’ e.g., ‘Down the airy steps.’

A-Jakes.—See Ajax.

Ajax, subs. (old). (Pronounced with both ‘a’s’ long).—The name of this hero furnished many unsavoury puns to our ancestors, from its similarity in sound to the two English words, a jakes. In some of the passages the allusion is rather obscure, as in this:

1609. Ben Jonson, Epicœne, or The Silent Woman, iv., 5. A stool were better, sir, of Sir Ajax, his invention.

It is plainer in Shakspeare:

1594. Love’s Labour Lost, v., 2. Your lion, that holds his poll-ax, sitting on a close stool, will be given to Ajax.

The cause of all this vein of low wit was, perhaps, Sir John Harrington, who in 1596 published his celebrated tract called The Metamorphosis of Ajax, by which he meant the improvement of a jakes, or necessary, by forming it into what we now call a water-closet, of which Sir John was clearly the inventor. For this offence to her delicacy, Queen Elizabeth kept him for some time in disgrace. Used directly for a necessary house.

1611. Cotgrave, Eng. Treasury, p. 16. Which (like the glorious Ajax of Lincoln’s Inne, I saw in London) laps up naught but filth and excrements.

1720. Hosp. of Incurab. Fooles, p. 6. Adoring Sterculio for a god, no lesse unworthily then shamfully constituting him a patron and protector of Ajax and his commodities.

To the above work of Sir J. Harrington, Ben Jonson seems to allude, as a masterpiece in its way, when, at the conclusion of a dirty poem, he says,

1574–1637. On the Famous Voyage, vol. VI., p. 290:

And I could wish for their eterniz’d sakes, My muse had plough’d with his that sung A-jax.

The rhyme here proves that the pronunciation of the time was suited to the English meaning. Even Camden condescends to play upon this word. Speaking of the French word pet, he says,

1605. Remains, p. 117. Inquire, if you understand it not, of Cloacina’s Chaplains, or such as are well read in Ajax.—See Jakes.

Akerman’s Hotel, subs. (obsolete).—Newgate prison was once so called. The governor’s name was Akerman.—See Cage.

Akeybo.—A slang phrase used in the following manner:—He beats akeybo, and akeybo beat the devil.—Hotten.

A-la-Mort.—See Amort.

Albany Beef, subs. phr. (American).—The popular name of the flesh of the sturgeon. This, in color and taste, has some resemblance to beef, especially when cut in steaks and grilled. Albany is a town on the Hudson River as high as which the fish in question is or was to be caught in large numbers, and as a matter of course, it consequently formed a not inconsiderable factor in the food supply of the inhabitants—hence the term Albany beef.

Albertopolis, subs. (popular).—A nickname formerly given by Londoners to the Kensington Gore district, out of compliment to the late Prince Consort. The Albert Hall and the Exhibition buildings of 1862, with which Prince Albert was so closely identified, are situated within the radius; and the Albert Memorial is hard by.

1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. xxxiii., p. 366 (1877). Mr. Cauthar tripped out of the house, and devoted the remainder of the evening to working out a composition for the nutriment of the hair, which, under the name of Cauthar’s Crinibus, has an enormous circulation over the infant heads of albertopolis.

Albonized, ppl. adj. (pugilistic).—Whitened. [From L. albus, white.]

Alderman, subs. (popular).—1. A half-crown. This term is explained by Brewer as containing an allusion to the fact that an alderman is a kind of half-king, whatever that may mean.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3 ed., p. 444. Two shillings and sixpence—alderman.

2. A long pipe; also called a churchwarden (q.v.); in both instances the name is probably an allusion to the penchant these personages had at one time for the long clay.

1859. Fairholt, Tobacco (1876), 173. Such long pipes were reverently termed alderman in the last age, and irreverently yards of clay in the present one.

3. A turkey; a variant is an alderman in chains; i.e., a roast turkey well stuffed and garnished with sausages. The latter are said to be emblematical of the gold chain worn by the civic dignitary—what then about the stuffing?

1782. George Parker, Humorous Sketches, p. 31. Nick often eat a roast fowl and sausage with me, which in cant is called an alderman, double slang’d.

4. (thieves’).—A jemmy (q.v.); sometimes alderman jemmy. A weightier tool is called a Lord Mayor, whereby it is clear that the criminal classes are not without some kind of respect for the city fathers. The tool is used for burglary purposes.

1883. Daily Telegraph, May 14, p. 3, col. 7. A complete set of safe-breaking tools had been used and left behind, including wedges, an alderman jemmy, a hammer weighing 14 lbs.

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.’

5. Blood and guts alderman, subs. phr. (popular).—A pompous man; one with a ‘corporation.’ The allusion is to the alleged or real over-eating and drinking of aldermen as a class.

Alderman Lushington, subs. (Australian).—Intoxicating beverages.

Alderman’s Pace.—A slow and stately gait, like that of a burly man as aldermen are generally represented. The French have an equivalent phrase, pas d’abbé.

Aldgate. A draught on the pump at Aldgate, subs. phr. (commercial).—A bad bill of exchange. A play on the word ‘draught.’

Alecampane.—See Allacompain.

Alecie, Alecy, subs. (old nonce words) [from ale + suffix cie or cy, as in ‘lunacy’].—The state of being under the influence of ale; drunkenness; also balmyness.

1594. J. Lyly, Mother Bombie, cc. 9. If he had arrested a mare instead of a horse, it had beene a slight oversight, but to arrest a man, that hath no likenesse of a horse, is flat lunasie, or alecie.

Ale-Draper, subs. (old) [from ale + draper as in linen-draper].—A humorous title for an alehouse keeper; probably from the ancient custom of measuring ale by the yard. It long survived dialectically, but is now obsolete. Synonyms were rum-cull, and squirt-quester (q.v.).

1593. Henry Chettle, Kinde-Harts Dreame. Two milch maydens that had set up a shoppe of ale-drapery.

1747. In Parish Register of Scotter, Linc. [Buried], July 8th, Thomas Broughton, Farmer and Ale Draper.

Ale-Knight, subs. phr. (old) [from ale + knight, used derisively].—A tippler; a boon companion.

1575. Eccl. Proc., Chester. [The Vicar of Whalley, Lanc., is charged with being a common dronker and ale knight.]

1654. Witt’s Recreations.

Come all you brave wights, That are dubbed ale-knights Now set out youselves in fight: And let them that crack In the praises of sack, Know malt is of mickle might.

1863–64. Chambers’ Bk. of Days, ii., 597. This man was a regularly dubbed ale-knight, loved barley wine to the full.

Ales, subs. (Stock Exchange).—The shares in the brewery business of S. Allsopp and Sons, Limited, are thus known.

Ale Spinner, subs. phr. (old) [from ale + spinner, a manufacturer or producer].—A brewer or publican.

Alexandra Limp, subs. (popular).—The name given to an erstwhile fit of semi-imbecility on the part of ‘Society.’ The Princess of Wales, through a slight infirmity, walks with a suspicion of lameness, and servile imitation of everything pertaining to royalty caused the sudden appearance (circa 1860–70) of a crowd of limping petticoated toadies. The craze passed away as suddenly as it came. Cf., Grecian bend.

1876. Chambers’ Journal, No. 629. Your own advocacy of the Grecian bend and the Alexandra limp—both positive and practical imitations of physical affliction. [h.]

Alfred David, subs. (common).—An affidavit—obviously a humorous corruption in pronunciation; also affidavy; and, by an extended process of curtailment, davy. All are common colloquialisms among the uneducated classes. After-davy is likewise occasionally heard, generally in connection with a person in extremis.

Algerine, subs. (theat.).—A member of a company who, when ‘the ghost’ cannot be induced to walk, i.e., when the exchequer is low, and salaries are not paid, ‘remonstrates’ with the manager. The term is also used to designate the hard-up borrower of petty sums.

Alive and Kicking, adv. phr. (popular).—An intensive form of ‘alive’ in its most colloquial sense of being alert and full of action. In the days of Pierce Egan’s Tom and Jerry, alive partook far more of the nature of slang than now. Sometimes all alive and kicking is varied by all alivo; knowing; all fly. The allusion is to a child in the womb after quickening.

1889. Globe, Oct. 4, p. 1, col. 3. Next day there appeared a letter from a Mr. Basil Watts Phillips, who proclaimed himself as a son of the playwright, and stated, moreover, that his mother, the playwright’s widow, as well as another son, named Gordon, were—to use a popular phrase—‘alive and kicking.’ Miss Emma, therefore, could hardly be recognised, with fairness, as the ‘only living representative of the late Watts Phillips.’

Allacompain, subs. (rhyming slang).—Forms: alacompain, alicumpane, elecampain, etc. 1. In the so-called rhyming slang this is the equivalent of rain.

2. (common).—Candy supposed to be made from the root of inula helenium or bellwort; it contains, however, little else than colored sugar.

All A-Float, subs. (rhyming slang).—A coat.

All Alive, adv. and adj. (tailors’).—Ill-made garments, and ‘misfits,’ are said to be all alive.

All Along Of (vulgarism).—On account of; by reason of, etc.

All-a-Mort.—See Amort.

All Around Sports, sub. (American).—Obviously a corruption of ‘all round sportsmen,’ i.e., men whose interest in sport is catholic, and all embracing.

All at Sea, adv. phr. (popular).—In an uncertain, vague condition. Of nautical origin, and perhaps more colloquial than slang; equivalent to all abroad (q.v.).

All Brandy, adv. phr. (common).—When it is desired to commend or speak well of anything it is said to be all brandy. The use of such a term suggests curious reflections upon the drinking habits of those who employ it.

Synonyms. A1; the pure quill; about east; about right; at par; the cheese.

All Dickey.—See Dickey.

Alleviator, subs. (common).—A drink; refreshment.

1846. Mark Lemon, Golden Fetters. If any of you feel thirsty after this exciting interview, I shall be happy to stand an alleviator.

Synonyms. Gargle; smile; Alderman Lushington; long sleeved ’un (Australian, when taken from a long glass); shout; etc.—See Gargle.

Alley, Ally, Alay, subs. (schoolboys’ term).—A superior kind of marble. Supposed to be a corrupted and abbreviated form of ‘alabaster,’ of which these superior kind of marbles are sometimes made. Alley is the name given to the medium sizes, smaller ones being called mivvies (q.v.), and the largest bonces (q.v.). The word sometimes appears as alley tor, or alley taw. De Foe, in ‘Duncan Campbell,’ as early as 1720, speaks of a large bag of marbles and alleys, and at that time the term was considered vulgar. It is interesting to note that the supposed derivation of alley from alabaster is borne out by the fact, that among school-boys stone marbles are called stoneys (q.v.), and clay ones commoneys (q.v.). Additional weight is also given to the accuracy of this derivation, when it is remembered that what are known as ‘Dutch alleys’ (q.v.), are only stoneys enamelled or glazed different colours. In old Berlin slang, alley tors were known as Kalbacher.

All-Fired, adj. All-Firedly, adv. (American).—Thought by most to be a Puritanical corruption of ‘hell-fired,’ and in that respect a profane euphemistic adjective. In this connection it carries with it the meaning of ‘immense,’ ‘excessive,’ or ‘inordinate’ in general; but, of course, the primary signification of this corruption is perfectly obvious. Some, however, think the word may be taken at its face value [all + fire + ed.], an intensitive of the merely rhetorical fire. Common now on both sides of the Atlantic.

1755. The World, No. 140. How arbitrary is language! and how does the custom of mankind join words, that reason has put asunder! Thus we often hear of hell-fire cold, of devilish handsome, and the like.

1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 1 S., ch. xxiv. ‘Look at that ’ere Dives,’ they say, ‘what an all-fired scrape he got into by his avarice with Lazarus.’

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xl. ‘I knows I be so all-fired jealous; I can’t abear to hear o’ her talkin’, let alone writin’ to——’

1883. James Payn, Thicker than Water, ch. xvii. ‘Well,’ he said ... ‘you’ve been an all-fired time you have in selling those jars.’

All Fly.—See Fly.

All Fours. To go or be on all fours, verb. phr. (popular).—From the four legs of a quadruped, or the two legs and two arms of a child or man. Hence to go on all fours is to go evenly, the figure of speech presented being the reverse of limping like a lame dog. Thence follows the metaphorical use of the phrase in the sense of exact analogy and similarity of relation. It is thus synonymous with ‘as like as two peas’ (the French say, comme deux gouttes d’eau, as like as two drops of water); ‘a chip of the old block’; a ‘Chinese copy,’ etc. At the same time, a show of probability must be conceded to those philologists who refer the phrase to the masonic symbol of the square, emblematic of harmony and completeness. Possibly masons gave its use a fresh impetus.

All Gammon! phr. (common).—All nonsense; rubbish!—See All my eye.

All Gay, adv. (thieves’).—All serene; all right; the coast is clear. The French voleur says, c’est franco!

All-Get-Out, phr. (American).—That beats all-get-out, is an old retort to any extravagant story or assertion. Barrère says, ‘oh, get out!’ appears to have suggested the phrase, which is, perhaps, not altogether obvious.

All Hands to the Pump, verb. phr. (old).—An expression borrowed from seafaring life, signifying concentration of energy in any one direction. Now-a-days we say, ‘a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether’; this also is a sailor’s phrase.

All Holiday at Peckham, proverbial phr. (popular).—No work to do; and, as a concomitant, nothing to eat. A play upon words.—See Peckish.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. All holiday at Peckham ... a saying signifying that it is all over with the business or person spoken of or alluded to.

1848. Forster, Oliver Goldsmith, bk. I., ch. vi., p. 55 (5ed.) ‘Oh, that is all a holiday at peckham,’ said an old friend very innocently one day, is a common proverbial phrase.

It seems that Goldsmith in the early part of his London life passed some miserable months as usher in a school at Peckham, and the memory of this doleful period was ever bitter to him. Years afterwards, a friend in conversation happened to speak facetiously of it being ‘all holiday at Peckham,’ and was surprised to find that this innocent reference to a recognised proverbial phrase was regarded by Goldsmith as an unkind allusion to his past misery, and, therefore, a personal insult.

All Hollow, adv. (popular).—To beat, or carry all hollow, i.e., utterly; completely.

All Hot! subs. (common).—A hot potato. A cry used by peripatetic street vendors.

All In, phr. (Stock Exchange).—When the market is depressed and a disposition to sell prevails, it is said to be all in. Conversely, all out signifies that the market is improving.

All in a Pucker.—See Pucker.

All in Fits, adv. phr. (tailors’).—Badly made clothes are said to be all in fits, or to have a paralytic stroke. Such garments are also said to fit where they touch, i.e., nowhere. Now common.

All jaw. All jaw like a sheep’s head, adv. phr. (common).—Said of one who is a great talker; or, who has the gift of the gab.

1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 41. ‘Look at the man! hear him; why, he’s all jaw like a sheep’s head. He was drummed out of the regiment he was in for eating his comrades’ knapsacks.’

A synonym is all mouth.—See Jaw.

All Lombard Street to a China Orange, phr. (old); sometimes all Lombard Street to ninepence.—One of many fanciful forms of betting once current among the sporting fraternity; others were ‘Chelsea College to a sentry box,’ ‘Pompey’s Pillar to a stick of sealing wax,’ etc.

1819. Thomas Moore, Tom Cribb’s Memorial to Congress, p. 38.

A pause ensued—’till crie of ‘Gregson,’ Brought Bob, the poet, on his legs soon,— My eyes, how prettily Bob writes! Talk of your camels, hogs and crabs, And twenty more such Pidcock frights— Bob’s worth a hundred of these dabs, All Lombard Street to ninepence on it.

All Moonshine, adverbial phr. (popular).—Moonshine is in old-fashioned and provincial English ‘an illusive shadow,’ ‘a mere pretence’ [Halliwell]. The expression it is all moonshine is now variously applied, whether as referring to empty professions, to vain boasts, to promises not trustworthy, to questionable statements, or to any kind of extravagant talk. There exist in several languages so many words of lunar connection, all implying variableness or inconstancy, that possibly this phrase also, it is all moonshine, may have been primarily employed to express some degree of fickleness, or caprice; in allusion to the inconstancy or changeableness of the moon, or rather moonlight. When anyone professes or promises great things, which we do not expect to see realized, we say it is all moonshine, for moonshine is very shifty; one week we have it, another we have it not; nay, it shifts from night to night. ‘Lunes’ in old English, are not only fits of insanity, but freaks. And the term ‘lunatic’ itself did not properly signify a person always insane, but one who was mad at intervals, dependent as was supposed on the phases of the moon. This distinction is still very accurately maintained in Spanish philology: ‘Lunatics, El loco, cuya demencia no est continua, sino por intervalos que proceden del estado en que se halla la Luna.’ Hence also in French, modern and old: ‘Il a des lunes,’ he is whimsical or fantastic. ‘Tenir de la lune,’ to be inconstant, mutable; ‘Avoir un quartier de la lune, en la teste,’ or ‘Il y a de la lune,’ he is changeable, giddy, capricious. In the ‘language of symbols’ the moon is the emblem of hypocrisy, as in the following device:

‘La lune avec ces mots, Mentiri didicit. (Elle trompe toujours.)

Pour l’hypocrisie, dont la lune est le symbole.’ Menestriar, Philosophie des Images, vol. I., p. 266.

Another emblem is the following:

‘La lune, Non vultus non color unus, Pour une personne qui n’est pas sincère.’

Ibid, I., p. 269.

Moonshine, in conformity with these ideas, was probably employed originally in characterising the talk of persons too mutable to be relied on from one time to another.—Notes and Queries.

1714. Spectator, No. 597. Several of my correspondents have been pleased to send me an account how they have been employed in sleep, and what notable adventure they have been engaged in during that moonshine in the brain.

1874. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, 1 S., No. xxii., p. 397. ‘They are all pig-headed together ... they are blinded by specious arguments that will turn out, I fear, to be all moonshine.’

All Mouth, adv. (common).—Applied to a loquacious talker. Cf., All jaw.

All My Eye, adv. phr. (common).—Variations in form are: all my eye and Betty Martin—my elbow—Tommy—and my grandmother. All nonsense; rubbish. The suggested derivations of this significant retort to a tedious narration containing neither rhyme nor reason are as various as the forms in which the phrase appears. Not so clear, however, is the evidence in support of any of them, although Barrère unwittingly stumbles upon what is probably the true origin. Had he studied the subject of slang historically, he would have been able to adduce adequate proof for what he merely puts forth as a ‘more probable’ derivation than those of his predecessors. After stating that some have suggested the origin of the phrase in the Welsh, al mi hivy, it is very tedious or all nonsense, he says, ‘It seems far more probable that it is a contraction of the phrase ‘there is as much of it as there is in all my eye,’ the words being made more forcible by closing one of the organs of vision. To express dissent from any statement, or a refusal to comply with a request. French slang has the corresponding term mon œil! which is usually accompanied by a knowing wink and a significant gesture as an invitation to inspect the organ.’ From a comparative study of the dates and examples which follow, it seems a fair deduction to assume that the original form of the phrase was simply all my eye, and that the additional tags given above are later importations.

1653. Archbishop Bramhall, Answer to the Epistle of M. de la Milletière [Works, vol. I., pp. 68–9. ed. Ox. 1842.] Fifthly, suppose (all this notwithstanding) such a conference should hold, what reason have you to promise to yourself such success as to obtain so easy a victory? You have had conferences and conferences again at Poissy and other places, and gained by them just as much as you might put in your eye and see never the worse.

1682. Preface to Julian the Apostate (London, printed for Langley Curtis). What benefit a Popish successor can reap from lives and fortunes spent in defence of the Protestant religion he may put in his eye; and what the Protestant religion gets by lives and fortunes spent in the service of a Popish successor will be over the left shoulder.

1768. Goldsmith, Good-natured Man, Act iii. Bailiff. That’s all my eye. The king only can pardon.

1811. Poole, Hamlet Travestied, i, 1. As for black clothes,—that’s all my eye and Tommy.

Hotten’s contention, that all my eye and Betty Martin was a vulgar phrase constructed from the commencement of a Roman Catholic prayer to St. Martin (the patron saint of drunkards), ‘Oh, mihi, beate Martine,’ which in common with many another fell into discredit and ridicule after the Reformation, is both fanciful and untrue. In the first place there is no prayer in the Breviary which answers to the description given; and in the second it has been shown that the essential part of the phrase is very much older than the Joe Millerism which first set the copy for every lexicographer of the ‘unwritten word,’ from Hotten down to Brewer and Barrère, the latter of whom, strangely enough, after pitching on the right track, stultifies himself by an admission that all my eye and Betty Martin seems to have been the original phrase. The earliest example of the ‘Betty Martin’ form, found after long search, occurs in Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress, published in 1819, where it appears simply as all my eye, Betty, but that the phrase was known long previously is proved by the extract from Poole quoted above.

Among English Synonyms of refusal or incredulity, are: Cock and bull story; a wild-goose chase; a mare’s nest; fiddle-de-dee; do you see any green in my eye? that’s a flam; over the left; go teach your grannie to suck eggs; Walker! you be blowed! You be hanged! Not for Joe! How’s your brother, Job? Don’t you wish you may get it? Yes, in a horn (American); That’s all round my hat.

Fr. Des fadeurs (lit. insipidity); C’est des vannes? (lit. floodgates or sluices); des nèfles (lit. medlars); des navets! (turnips); de l’anis! (lit. aniseed); du flan! (lit. custard); tu t’en ferais mourir! (lit. you will die after it); mon œil! (my eye); flûte! Zut! (go to the deuce!); et ta sœur? (phrase of the ‘who’s your hatter’ stamp); des plis! (don’t you wish you may get it); la peau! (blow it all!); de la mousse! (expression of ironical refusal); du vent! (go to pot!); des emblèmes!; des fouilles!; on t’en fricasse!

All Nations, subs. (old).—1. A mixture of the drainings of all kinds of spirits and malt liquors; it is of an extremely intoxicating character. Sometimes called alls, or all sorts.

2. A parti-colored dress or coat; a Joseph’s garment. Also one that is patched.

All-Night-Man, subs. (old).—A body snatcher. Now obsolete.

1861. Ramsay, Remin, ser. ii., 133. The body lifters, or all-night-men, as they were wont to be called.

All of a Heap.—See Heap.

All of a Hough, adv. phr. (tailors’).—Said of an unskilled workman. Equivalent to clumsy; bungling; unworkmanlike. Hotten quotes this as a Suffolk phrase (hough being spelt hugh, and pronounced with a grunt). Synonymous with ‘all on one side’; falling with a thump.

All of my Lone, adv. phr. (American).—A negro vulgarism for ‘alone.’

All on the Go (vulgarism).—See Go.

All Out, adv. phr. (vulgar).—1. Entirely; completely; by far, as in ‘all out the best.’ This vulgarism must now be classed among depraved words; but as far as written English is concerned, it can be traced back to the year 1300. It seems to have fallen out of use about the middle of the seventeenth century.

1830. Carleton, Traits and Stories, vol. II., p. 102. ‘He’s now in his grave, and, thank God, it’s he that had the dacent funeral all out.’

2. Another old English expression, now obsolete, is to drink all out, to empty a bumper; and hence,—

3. Used substantively, e.g., an all out being equivalent to what ’Arry would call now-a-days a big drunk. The connection between the ancient and modern usage is clear.

4. To be all out also signifies to be in error; quite wrong.

5. (turf).—A man is said to be all out when unsuccessful during the whole of a day’s racing.

6. (Stock Exchange).—See All in.

7. (athletic).—Exhausted; said of a man or crew who, having exerted him or themselves to the utmost, can do no more.

1886. Graphic, April 10, p. 392. Pitman the Cambridge stroke, after passing the ‘Queen’s Head,’ Mortlake, put on a grand spurt, to which his crew fairly responded, though pretty well all out.

All-Overish, adj. (colloquial). An indefinite feeling which pervades the body at critical periods, when sickening for an illness, or at a moment of supreme excitement, as when about to ‘pop the question’ which, says Hotten, ‘is sometimes called feeling all over alike, and touching nowhere.’ Synonyms are ‘to feel all round one’s hat,’ and ‘chippy.’

1851. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. III., p. 52. ‘When the mob began to gather round, I felt all-overish.’

All-Overishness, subs. (colloquial).—The state of being all-overish.—See foregoing.

1854. Ainsworth, Flitch of Bacon, pt. II., ch. v. ‘I feel a sort of shivering and all-overishness.’

1841. John Mills, Old English Gentleman, ch. xxiv., p. 186 (3 ed.). ‘Isn’t it natural for a body to feel a sort of a queer all-overishness on the eve of a wedding, I should like to know?’

All over Pattern, subs. phr. (common). Used in describing patterns that are intricate, or designs in which the pattern is not of a set character.

1881. F. E. Hulme. Suggestions in Floral Design. A term [all over pattern] used to denote a design in which the whole of a field is covered with ornament in contradistinction to such as have units only at intervals, leaving spaces of the ground between them. The ornament of the Moors as seen in the decorations of the Alhambra, and that of Eastern nations generally, is most commonly of this nature; the whole surface of the object is covered with decorative forms so as to present to the eye a mass of elaborate detail, the leading lines of which can often only be detected by careful scrutiny. When, as in some Persian surfaces, these lines are often quite lost, the result is unsatisfactory.

All Over the Shop, adv. phr. (common).—1. A phrase applied to any ubiquitous person, thing or deed.—See Shop.

1883. G. R. Sims, Lifeboat, etc. (Awful Character). He kills little babies all over the shop, each day in a river one thrown is.

2. Disconcerted.

1887. E. E. Money, Little Dutch Maiden, II., xi., 225. ‘Oh, please don’t blush; it makes me feel all over the shop.’

Allow, subs. (Harrow School).—A boy’s weekly allowance.

Allowances, subs. (tailors’).—The extra measure in cutting cloth for a garment to permit of turnings in for seams; also the trimmings, such as wadding, buttons, braid, etc. Rather technical than slang.

All Round, adj. (popular).—1. Able in all departments; adaptable in every respect to the purpose in view. Whether applied to sport, business, or indeed any department of life or thought, within a given circle, it carries with it, mutatis mutandis, the same meaning. Cf. All around sports.

1881. James Payn, Grape from a Thorn, ch. xl. ‘He’s a bad one all round.’

1883. Graphic, August 11, p. 138, col. 2. Foremost still as an ‘all-round’ cricketer among the gentlemen stands W. G. Grace.

2. Average; see quotation.

1869. Notes on N. W. Prov. India, p. 98. We find an all round rent of so much per acre charged on the cultivation.

All-Rounder, subs. (popular). [From all round + er] he who or that which is all round (q.v.); as an all round man; particularly applied, however, to a shirt collar the same height all round the neck and meeting in front. Once fashionable, but little worn now.

1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, ch. xxii. But he had bestowed, perhaps, the greatest amount of personal attention on his collar.... Some people may think that an all-rounder is an all-rounder, and that if one is careful to get an all-rounder one has done all that is necessary. But so thought not Macassar Jones.

1860. All the Year Round, No. 42, 369. That particularly demonstrative type of the [collar] species known as the all rounder. [M.]

1865. Lord Strangford, Selection (1869), II., 163. Dressed in full uniform, with high stand-up collar; the modern all rounder not having got so far into Asia. [M.]

1875. Chambers’ Journal, No. 586. To present himself in an all rounder hat and coat of formal cut on Sunday.

All Round my Hat, adv. phr. (popular).—1. To feel all round one’s hat is to feel queer; out of sorts; all overish.

2. That’s all round my hat is synonymous with gammon! Nonsense! See All my eye. A music hall song [1834] had this phrase as a refrain.

3. Spicy as all round my hat, i.e., sensational.

1882. Punch, vol. LXXXII, p. 177, col. 1. ’Arry on a jewry.

Fact is, I have bin on a Jury. New line for yours truly, dear boy, and I ’oped it might be a rare barney, a thing as a chap could enjoy. I am nuts upon Criminal Cases, Perlice News, you know, and all that, And, thinks I, this will be ‘tuppence coloured,’ and spicy as all round my hat.

Alls, subs.—1. See All nations.

1868. Brewer, Phrase and Fable, s.v. alls, tap-droppings. The refuse of all sorts of spirits drained from the glasses, or spilt in drawing. The mixture is sold in gin-houses at a cheap rate.

2. (artisans’).—See Bens.

All’s Blue.—See Blue.

All Serene! intj. (popular).—All right. All’s well! This phrase is thought to be of Spanish origin, and to be derived from the word serena a countersign used by sentinels in Cuba. The night watchmen in Spain likewise end their proclamation of the hour by ‘é sereno!’ It is also equivalent to O.K., and a few years since was the burden of one of the senseless street cries, which, every now and again, have a vogue in large cities. Most of these catches originate in music-hall songs. All serene, however, was vulgarly colloquial long before the period in question, as will be seen by the following example:

1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, ch. xlv. ‘You’re all serene, then, Mr. Snape,’ said Charley; ‘you’re in the right bon.’

All Smoke, Gammon and Pickles.—See Smoke.

All Sorts, subs. (common).—Explained by quotation.—See All nations.

1859. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, ch. vi. A counter perforated in elaborately-pricked patterns, like a convivial shroud, apparently for ornament, but really for the purpose of allowing the drainings, overflowings, and out-spillings of the gin-glasses to drop through, which, being collected with sundry washings, and a dash, perhaps, of fresh material, is, by the thrifty landlord, dispensed to his customers under the title Of all sorts.

All Sorts of, adj. (American).—First rate; excellent. A phrase very common in the South and West, and used in many different ways. It carries with it the idea of smartness and chic, as, e.g., when applied to a woman, a horse, or a building.

Allspice, subs. (popular).—A nickname for a grocer; the derivation is obvious.

All’s Quiet on the Potomac, phr. (American).—A period of undisturbed rest, quiet enjoyment, or peaceful possession; a phrase dating from the Civil War, when its frequent repetition in the bulletins of the War Secretary made it familiar to the public, who quickly appropriated it in a metaphorical sense. It has since formed the refrain of many a song.

1862. The Picket Guard.

All quiet along the Potomac, they say, Except now and then a stray picket Is shot on his beat as he walks to and fro, By a rifleman hid in a thicket.

All T. H., adv. phr. (tailors cutters’).—Said in praise or approval; a tailor’s equivalent of a 1; all right; all there—of which last it is possibly an abbreviated form.

All the Caboose, adv. phr.—See Caboose.

All the Go, adv. phr. (common).—One of the innumerable superlatives of work-a-day English; quite up to the mark; in full demand; ‘no deception, gents!’—See Go.

All There, adv. phr. (popular).—Up to the mark; first-rate; ready for any emergency; a phrase of general satisfaction and approval; also, in one’s element.

1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 220. ‘He stayed in a place doing the grand and sucking the flats till the folks began to smoke him as not all there.’

1880. Punch, Aug. 7, p. 59. All there! Clerk (who has called to see the gas-meter). ‘Is yours a wet, or a dry meter, madam?’ Young Wife (who does not like to show ignorance). ‘Well, it is rather damp, I’m afraid!’

1883. James Payn, Thicker than Water, ch. xx. It was his excusable boast, though expressed in somewhat vulgar language, that when anything was wanted he was ‘all there.’

All the Shoot.—Equivalent to ‘the whole boiling’ (q.v.).

All the Way Down, adv. phr. (popular).—Synonymous with complete adaptability to the end in view; sometimes varied by ‘up to the knocker,’ or ‘up to the nines.’

All to His Own Cheek.—See Cheek.

All to Pieces, adverbial phr. (common).—1. [Cf. Go to pieces.] A superlative of all work. To go all to pieces is to collapse utterly; to be altogether ruined; to be in a state of utter collapse.

1667. Pepys, Diary, Aug. 29. I find by all hands that the Court is at this day all to pieces, every man of a faction of one sort or other.

1811. Jane Austen, Sense and S., ch. xxx. ‘Fifty thousand pounds! and by all accounts it won’t come before its wanted; for they say he is all to pieces. No wonder! dashing about with his curricle and hunters!’

1882. Punch, LXXXII., 185, 2. ‘Ah Jerry, we might as well go back to the Shades as be among such a shady crowd.’ Young Bob Logic seemed rather nettled at this speech of the Corinthian’s, and said, ‘Well, don’t you know you can’t expect a fellow to look very bright till he’s had an S. and B., or two and a Kümmel? These pals will be all right after dinner.’ ‘Let us hope they will,’ said the Corinthian, ‘for they look all to pieces now.’

2. When a woman is confined she is said to go all to pieces; variants being to explode; to bust up.

3. (rowing).—Collapsed; exhausted; said of a crew when rowing wildly.

1884. Echo, April 7, p. 3, col. 1. The Oxford men were now all to pieces! their boat was full of water.

4. (sporting).—In racing and athletic circles equivalent to want of form.

All to Smash, adv. phr. (common).—Also ‘all to pieces,’ i.e., bankrupt; ruined; in a state of utter delapidation; or, complete discomfiture.—See Smash.

1861. Cuthbert Bede, Our New Rector, ch. x., p. 105. ‘There isn’t a fellow at school can match me, Miss Moore! I beat them all to smash!’

All Up, adv. phr. (common).—‘It’s all up’ with so-and-so, or with such and such a thing, or course of action; i.e., the endeavour is fruitless; utter ruin or collapse is the end of it all; there is nothing left for hope; sometimes also, death. This phrase, indicative of total failure, discomfiture, and destruction, does not appear to be of very ancient standing, and can only be traced back as far as Fielding (see quotation). The mock epitaph, which the late Mr. W. J. Conybeare inserted in his novel Perversion, fitly illustrates the popular usage of all up. It is supposed to be written in commemoration of a country squire cut off in the midst of festivities.

‘Quite well at ten, Had a few friends to sup with me; Taken ill at twelve, And at one it was all up with me.’

Also Up.

Among English Synonyms may be mentioned:—To have missed stays (nautical); to have gone to pot; to have gone to smash; to have gone to the devil.

1752. Fielding, Amelia, book XII., ch. vi. ‘All is up and undone!’ cries Murphy.

1838. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, ch. lx. A-double l, all, everything; a cobbler’s weapon; u-p, up, adjective, not down; s-q-u-double e-r-s, Squeers, noun substantive, a educator of youth. Total, all up with Squeers.

Allus, adv. (vulgar).—Always.

All Wag Blue, subs. phr. (American).—A frolicing, rollicking time; a spree; a kick-up.

Allybeg.—See Llybege.

Almighty, adj. (common).—Mighty; great; exceedingly—a superlative of all work. For example, in the ‘dialect’ of which this word is a component part, an over-officious man is put down as ‘almighty fast’; or a horse with good points as an ‘almighty fine beast’; and so on throughout the whole range of superlative merit. It ranks with ‘awful,’ ‘eternal,’ ‘everlasting,’ ‘lovely,’ and a multitude of other words, orthodox enough when properly handled, but which become the purest slang when used, as is frequently the case, of things finite, and even of trifles. So employed, almighty is generally regarded as an Americanism, and is credited to our kinsmen across the sea, a view supported by De Quincey’s use of the term. If this be so, there is, in truth, little at which to wonder. The ‘wild,’ the boundless West is no unlikely nursery for big, high-sounding words; and though one may justly condemn such depravation of our mother-tongue, the fact remains. Thus, amongst the untutored backwoodsmen and rough pioneers of the West a week is an ‘eternal’ time; a good officer is an almighty general; and a spell of rain is spoken of as an ‘everlasting’ deluge. The foregoing examples by no means exhaust the potentialities of the language; as, e.g., when people talk of a man playing almighty ‘smash’ with his prospects, meaning that he is hopelessly ruining his chances of success: or driving a fellow-citizen into a state of almighty ‘shivers’ through ill-treatment; or of a thing lasting till almighty ‘crack,’ i.e., for an interminable period.

1824. De Quincey, Works (1871), XVI., 261. Such rubbish, such almighty nonsense (to speak transatlantice) no eye has ever beheld.

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple (1863), 328. An almighty pretty French privateer lying in St. Pierre’s.

1888. New York Mercury, July 21. ‘This is a rum world,’ said the driver, with a chuckle, as he drove up the street. ‘And of all places in it New York is the rummest. And hack-drivin’ is the rummest business, leadin’ one into the rummest secrets. Another passenger to the “Rookery.” I wonder whether the other boys gits as many customers to that place as Luke Hyatt? If they do it must be almighty full sometimes.’

In another place De Quincey speaks of a man who cannot live and cannot die as being ‘in an almighty fix,’ and the expression is otherwise frequently used by him. Captain Marryat likewise constantly employs it; in fact, the phrase was well ‘acclimatised’ on this side of the Atlantic long prior to the publication of My Novel [1853], and Prof. Barrère, in attributing its popularisation ‘in a certain measure’ to Lord Lytton, failed to render due credit, if any, either to De Quincey or Marryat.

Almighty Dollar, subs. (American).—The power of money; Mammon regarded as an embodiment of the worship of, and the quest for gold. This phrase is, in reality, an old friend with a new face, for Ben Jonson used the term in its modern sense when speaking of the power of money. Its modern application to dollars is traceable to Washington Irving, who made use of it in a charming little sketch, entitled A Creole Village.

1574–1637. Ben Jonson, Epistle to Elizabeth, Countess of Rutland.

Whilst that for which all virtue now is sold, And almost every vice, almightie gold.

1839. Washington Irving, Wolfert’s Roost: A Creole Village, p. 40. The almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land, seems to have no genuine devotee in these peculiar villages.

1876. Besant and Rice, Golden Butterfly, ch. xxii. ‘Genius, gentlemen, is apt to be careless of the main chance. It don’t care for the almighty dollar; it lets fellows like me heap up the stamps.’

1886. G. Sutherland, Australia, p. 102. The travelling Yankee, with an overwearing confidence in the almighty dollar.

Aloft. To go aloft, verb. phr. (common).—To die; the figure of speech presented here is nautical in origin.

1790. C. Dibdin, Sea Songs: Tom Bowling.

Here a sheer hulk, lies poor Tom Bowling, The darling of our crew; No more he’ll hear the tempest howling, For death has broached him to. His form was of the manliest beauty, His heart was kind and soft; Faithful below, Tom did his duty, And now he’s gone aloft.

Few expressions synonymous with the act of dying equal this in force or pathos; and it is rarely, moreover, that slang climbs on the wings of hope into a purer atmosphere than that of the vices and follies of men with which it is mainly concerned. By no means few in number, nor wanting in sententiousness and dramatic meaning are the phrases employed in the vulgar tongue to signify the greatest of all human experiences.

English Synonyms. To kick the bucket; to hop the twig; to go to Davy Jones’ locker (nautical); to be put to bed with a shovel; to take an earth bath; to croak; to take a ground sweat; to go under (American: the visible disposal of the body furnishing a simile for the process of death); to go up (compare with foregoing: when the victim of lynch law is enquired after the questioner is told that he has ‘gone up,’ i.e., been hanged); to lose the number of one’s mess (a sailor’s phrase); to snuff it (from snuffing a candle); to lay down one’s knife and fork; to stick one’s spoon in the wall; to give in; to give up; to peg out; to slip one’s cable (this, like ‘to go to Davy Jones’ locker,’ is of nautical origin); to pass in one’s checks (a euphemism drawn from the game of poker, the simile being that of settling one’s earthly accounts and the paying in to the banker of the dues at the end of the game); Kickeraboo (West Indian: a corruption of ‘to kick the bucket’).

French. Passer l’arme à gauche (popular: ‘to lay down one’s arms’); casser sa pipe (lit. ‘to break one’s pipe’); dévisser or décoller son billard (lit. ‘to break one’s cue’); graisser ses bottes (lit. ‘to grease one’s boots’); avaler sa langue (lit. ‘to swallow one’s tongue’); avaler sa gaffe (‘to lower one’s boat-hook’); avaler sa cuiller (lit. ‘to lay down one’s spoon’); avaler ses baguettes (military: lit. ‘to lay aside one’s drum-sticks’); n’avoir plus mal aux dents (lit. ‘to have toothache no more.’ In Fr. Argot mal de dents is also synonymous with love); poser sa chique (popular: lit. ‘to lay down one’s finish, elegance, dash, spirit’—in short all that is distinctive in a man); claquer (familiar: lit. ‘to chatter with cold’ or ‘fear’); saluer le public (theat.: lit. ‘to make one’s bow’—to make one’s last appearance on this world’s stage, and one’s first in that land where ‘the dead are many, and the living few’); recevoir son décompte (military: lit. ‘to receive deferred pay’; décompte is also military slang for a ‘mortal wound’); cracher ses embouchures (an expression of musical origin: the figure is obviously that of losing the power to perform on wind instruments); déteindre (popular: lit. ‘to wash off the colour’ or ‘dye.’ Is this a play upon words, or an allusion to death as the great revealer of man as he is?); donner son dernier bon à tirer (familiar: equivalent to the American, ‘to pass in one’s checks.’ French printers understand by this phrase ‘to send the last proofs to press’); lâcher la perche (popular: lit. ‘to slip off one’s perch’); éteindre son gaz (popular: ‘to turn off the gas.’ Cf., ‘to snuff it’); épointer son foret (popular: lit. ‘to break off the point of the drill,’ as in boring); être exproprié (popular: lit. ‘to be dispossessed’; exproprier is a judicial term signifying ‘to take possession of the landed property of a debtor’); péter son lof (sailors’); fumer ses terres; fermer son parapluie (popular: ‘to close one’s umbrella’); perdre son bâton (popular: ‘to lose one’s walking stick’); descendre la garde (popular: ‘to come off guard’); défiler la parade (military: ‘to file off parade’; equivalent to the English ‘to lose the number of one’s mess’); tourner de l’œil (popular: is there not here an allusion to the phenomenon attendant on genuine sleep; feigned sleep can always be detected by turning up the eyelids of the sleeper, if sleep be genuine only the ‘whites’ of the eyes will be discoverable); perdre le goût du pain (popular: ‘to lose one’s taste for bread’); lâcher la rampe (theatrical: ‘to lose sight of the footlights’); faire ses petits paquets (popular: ‘to pack up one’s [small] traps’); casser son crachoir (popular: lit. ‘to break one’s spittoon’ or mouth); remercier son boulanger (thieves’: lit. ‘to thank the baker.’ It must be explained that boulanger baker is a French nickname for the devil); canner; dévider à l’estorgue (thieves’); baiser la camarde (popular: ‘to salute,’ or ‘kiss Death’; camarde is a popular euphemism for the ‘Messenger of Life’); camarder (popular: see previous example); fuir (thieves’: lit. ‘to fly’ or ‘escape’—from justice or capture); casser son câble (popular: ‘to slip the cable’—evidently a simile drawn from the sea); casser son fouet (popular: ‘to break’ or ‘lay aside one’s whip’); faire sa crevaison (popular: crever, ‘to kill’ or ‘die’ is usually only employed in speaking of animals); déralinguer (sailors’: properly ‘to detach from the bolt rope’); virer de bord (sailors’: lit. ‘to tack about’); déchirer son faux-col (popular: verbatim, ‘to burst open one’s collar’—the allusion is obvious); se dégeler (in good French, ‘to thaw’); couper sa mèche (coachman’s: ‘to throw down the whip’); piquer sa plaque (sailors’); mettre la table pour les asticots (popular: properly ‘to lay the table [become food] for worms’); aller manger les pissenlits par la racine (popular: ‘to go and feed off dandelion roots’—observe, by the way, that pissenlit is an exact equivalent for one of the English field names of the dandelion, viz., ‘piddle-the-bed’); laisser fuir son tonneau (familiar: lit. ‘to let fly’ or ‘kick away the cask.’ Cf., ‘to kick the bucket’); calancher (vagrants’); laisser ses bottes quelque part (familiar: lit. ‘to leave one’s boots somewhere’); déchirer son habit (popular: properly ‘to rend’ or ‘cast aside one’s coat’); déchirer son tablier (popular: in literary French this means, ‘to throw aside or destroy one’s apron’); souffler sa veilleuse (popular: meaning lit. ‘to blow out one’s nightlamp’ or ‘floating wick.’ Compare with ‘to snuff it’ or ‘to put out one’s light’ in English slang); pousser le boum de cygne (popular); avoir son coke (familiar); prendre sa secousse (popular: i.e., ‘to take one’s blow’ or ‘shock’); rendre sa buche (tailors’: the allusion is an obvious one); rendre sa canne au ministre (military: lit. ‘to resign one’s commission to the Minister [of War]’); rendre sa clef (gypsy: lit. ‘to give up the key’); rendre son livret (popular: lit. ‘to throw up one’s cards’).

German Synonyms. See Hop the twig.

Italian Fourbesque. Sbasire (lit. ‘to faint away’); sbasire su le funi (lit. ‘to faint away on the rope’).

Alone, adv. (old).—In the flash vocabulary of the time of Pierce Egan’s Tom and Jerry [circa 1800–1825], only an experienced man of the world could be allowed to go alone. Such a one was said to be fly; up to snuff (q.v.), etc.

Along Of, adv. (vulgar).—A dialectical form for on account of; owing to; pertaining, or belonging to. Formerly along on, and it so appeared as early as A.D. 880: along of was used by Chaucer, but it is now mainly confined to the illiterate or vulgar.

1369. Chaucer, Troylus ii., 1001. On me is not along thin evil fare.

1581. W. Stafford, Exam. of Complaints, p. 16 (New Shaks. Soc.: Ed.). Complaining of general poverty, he says: ‘Whereof it is longe, I cannot well tell.’

1601. Holland, Pliny, p. 25, quoted in Morris’ Elem. Hist. Eng. Gram., p. 198. And that is long of contrarie causes.

1858. Dickens, Xmas. Stories (going into Society), p. 65 (II. ed.). Would he object to say why he left it? Not at all; why should he? He left it along of a dwarf.

1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, ch. xviii. ‘Mayhap the concert didn’t come off, along of the snow.’

Alsatia, or Alsatia the Higher, subs. (old slang).—1. Whitefriars, once a place privileged from arrests for debt, as was also Alsatia the lower, or the Mint in Southwark. Both were suppressed, in 1697, on account of the notorious abuses committed there. A charter of liberties and privileges had been granted, in 1608, by King James I. to the inhabitants of this district, and it speedily became the haunt of insolvent debtors, cheats, and gamesters, who conferred upon it the jocular cant name of Alsatia, a Latinised form of Alsace, a province which had long enjoyed the reputation of a ‘debateable land.’

1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia I., in wks. (1720), IV., 25. Who are these? Some inhabitants of White-fryers; some bullies of Alsatia.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvi. Whitefriars, adjacent to the Temple, then well known by the cant name of Alsatia.

2. Hence any rendezvous or asylum for loose characters and criminals, where immunity from arrest is tolerably certain; a haunt of thieves, and the criminal classes; a low quarter.

1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary, etc. (1811), p. 82. A ’squire of Alsatia. A spendthrift or sharper, inhabiting places formerly privileged from arrests.

1861. Miss Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, bk. II., ch. i. So Blind Peter was the Alsatia of Slopperton, a refuge for crime and destitution.

1876. Lord Justice James, in ex parte Saffery re Cooke, Law Times, 35, p. 718. The Stock Exchange is not an Alsatia; the Queen’s laws are paramount there, and the Queen’s writ runs even into the sacred precincts of Capel-Court.

Alsatian, subs. (old).—A rogue, or debauchee, such as haunted Alsatia or Whitefriars.

1691. Luttrell, Brief Rel. (1857), II., 259. The benchers of the Inner Temple having given orders for bricking up their little gate leading into White-fryers ... the Alsatians came and pulled it down.

c. 1700. Gentleman Instructed, p. 491 [10 ed., 1732]. He spurr’d to London, and left a thousand curses behind him. Here he struck up with sharpers, scourers, and Alsatians.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. ‘You shall sink a nobleman in the Temple Gardens, and rise an Alsatian at Whitefriars.’

Adj.—Pertaining to Alsatia; roguish; debauched.

1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia I. in wks. (1720), IV., 27. He came out of White Fryers: he’s some Alsatian bully.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. An extravagantly long rapier and poinard marked the true Alsatian bully.

1882. Besant, All Sorts and Conditions of Men, ch. vii. The road has come to be regarded with admiration as one of those Alsatian retreats, growing every day rarer, which are beyond and above the law.

Alsatia Phrase, subs. (old).—A slang or cant term, such as was used by Alsatians; or, now-a-days, by thieves and vagrants.

1704. Swift, Tale of a Tub. Apology for author. The second instance to shew the author’s wit is not his own, is Peter’s banter (as he calls it in his Alsatia phrase) upon transubstantiation.

Synonymous terms were Pedler’s French, St. Giles’ Greek, etc.

Altamel, Altemal, subs., adj., adv., and intj. (American thieves’).—

Adv.—All together, as ‘Let’s anchor altemal,’ i.e., ‘Let us come to a stop altogether.’

Subs.—The sum total of a bill or story.

Intj.—An injunction to ‘cut it short.’

Altemal is said to be derived from the Dutch altemal, but Murray has it as ‘altumal’ with a different derivation. [From L. altum, the deep, i.e., the sea + al.] Grose leans to the former and quotes Dutch reckoning as synonymous; from a verbal account without particulars, such as was given in brothels and sponging houses—accounts which allowed of no sort of verification. Cf., Flemish account and remarks under Dutch.

1711. Medleys, 29 Jan. (1712), 186. His altumal cant, a mark of his poor Traffick and Tar-Education.

1758. Chambers, Cycl. Supp. Altumal, a term used to denote the mercantile style, or dialect. In this sense, we meet with altumal cant, to denote the language of petty traders and tars.

Altering the Jeff’s Click.—See Jeff’s click.

Altham, subs. (old cant).—A wife; mistress.—See quotation.

1560. John Awdeley, Fraternitye of Vacabondes (1869. English Dialect Society’s Reprint), p. 4. A curtall is much like to the Vpright man, but hys authority is not fully so great. He vseth commonly to go with a short cloke, like to grey Friers, and his woman with him in like liuery, which he calleth his altham if she be hys.

Altitudes. In his altitudes, phr. (old).—In an elevated mood, chiefly from liquor; putting on airs and graces; using lofty phrases; in a state of excitement; and, in a special slang sense, drunk. The phrase has been incorrectly given as ‘out of his altitudes.’ The first trace of it is to be found in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Laws of Candy, II. [1616].

1630. Jonson, New Inn, I. I have talked somewhat above my share, at large, and been in the altitudes, the extravagants.

1668. Dryden, An Evening’s Love, Act iii. If we men could but learn to value ourselves, we should soon take down our mistresses from all their altitudes, and make them dance after our pipes.

1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, Act v. Clar. ‘Who makes thee cry out thus, poor Brass?’ Brass. ‘Why, your husband, madam; he’s in his altitudes here.’

1785. Francis Grose, Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. The man is in his altitudes, i.e., he is drunk.

Altocad, subs. (Win. Coll.).—A somewhat venerable paid member of the choir who takes alto.

Alybbeg.—See Lybbege.

Alycompaine.—See Allacompain.

Ambassador, subs. (nautical).—A sailor’s practical joke upon ‘green’ hands, similar to the festivities formerly universally observed when ‘crossing the line.’ These tricks have been common to sailors of every nation. Ambassador was thus managed:—A large tub was filled with water, two stools being placed on either side of it; over the whole was thrown a tarpaulin or old sail, kept tight by two persons, who represented the king and queen of a foreign country, and who were seated on the stools. To the victim was allotted the part of ambassador, who, after repeating a ridiculous speech dictated to him, was led in great state up to the throne, and seated between the king and queen. They rising suddenly, as soon as the unsuspecting victim was seated, caused him to fall backward into the tub of water.

Ambassador of Commerce, subs. (familiar).—A commercial traveller; a bagman (q.v.).

Ambia, subs. (American).—A euphemism for the juice of tobacco, as expectorated after chewing. Most frequently heard in the Southern and Western States. Apparently a corruption of ‘amber’ (indeed it is commonly spelt and pronounced ambeer)—presumably from a similarity in colour between expectorated tobacco saliva and the mineralised resinous product.

Ambidexter, also in 17th century, Ambodexter, subs. and adj. (old slang).—[From ambo, both + dexter, the right hand, i.e., the faculty of using both hands as right hands, or equally well.] Applied first in a slang sense to a lawyer taking fees or bribes from both plaintiff and defendant, ambidexter gradually became identified with double-dealing of all kinds.

1532. Use of Dice Play (1850), 17. Any affinity with our men of law? Never with those that be honest. Marry! with such as be ambidexters, and used to play in both the hands. [M.]

1555. Ridley, Works, 27. They may be called neutrals, ambidexters, or rather such as can shift on both sides. [M.]

1691. Blount, Law Dictionary. Ambidexter.... That Juror or Embraceor who takes Money on both sides, for giving his Verdict.

1703. De Foe, Ref. Manners, 93. Those ambodexters in Religion, who Can any thing dispute, yet any thing can do.

1864. Sir F. Palgrave, Norman and Eng. III., 278. An ambidexter, owing fealty to both Counts, and not faithful to either.

Ambush, subs. (American thieves’).—Fraudulent weights and measures. A punning allusion to the accepted meaning of the word—to lie in wait (lying weight). In juxtaposition to this may be placed the Fourbesque (Italian thieves’ argot); giusta, a pair of scales, a balance, which in Italian literally means ‘correct.’ Cf., French thieves’ argot, juste (an abbreviation of justice), for the assizes; also the Spanish Germania justia, in a similar sense, the last-named being a shortened form of the Spanish justicia.

Amen Curler, subs. (old slang).—The name formerly given to a parish clerk. In the army the chaplain’s clerk is called an amen wallah (q.v.).

Amener, subs. (old).—A nickname given to one who agrees to everything said or done. [From that sense of amen = to ratify solemnly + er.]

Amen-Snorter, subs. (Australian).—A parson; from which it will be observed that the fifth continent is evolving words and phrases as peculiar to itself as America has already done. For synonyms, see Devil dodger.

1888. Bulletin, Nov. 24. In Maori-land it is impossible to swing any kind of cat without smiting some variety of amen-snorter. Still the saints are not happy. They have just held at Wellington a ‘United Ker-ristian Conference’ to ruminate on the sinfulness of things and the scarcity of the unsanctified threepenny. A Rev. vessel, one Potter, opined that the meagre quantity and inferior quality of family devotion accounted for the depleted condition of the ‘treasury of the Loard,’ and suggested that steps should be taken ‘to find out what families omit this important duty.’ Since which all the dead-beats and suspected hen-snatchers plead when before the Binch that they were ‘only mouching round to find out whether the family neglected its religious dooties, yer washup.’

Amen Wallah, subs. (military).—A chaplain’s clerk; the allusion is sufficiently obvious. ‘Wallah’ is Hindustani for ‘man’ or person. Cf., the old English slang, amen curler (q.v.).

Amerace, adv. (American thieves’).—Jargon signifying near at hand; within call.

American Shoulders, subs. (tailors’).—A particular ‘cut,’ in which the shoulders of a coat are so shaped as to give the wearer a broad and burly appearance. This is usually done where a man’s shoulders are of the champagne (q.v.) order, i.e., like the neck of a wine bottle, with nothing upon which the garment in question can be hung.

American Tweezers, subs. (thieves’).—An ingenious instrument of American invention, by means of which it is possible to turn a key in a door and unlock it from the outside.

Ames Ace, Ambs-Ace, or Ambes-Ace. Within ames ace, subs. phr. (old).—1. Nearly; very near; ambs-ace was the double ace, the lowest throw at dice. Hence also

2. Bad luck; misfortune. The expression, according to Murray, dates back to A.D. 1297.

Aminidab, subs. (old).—A jeering name for a Quaker.—Grose.

Ammunition, subs. (common).—Paper for use at the cabinet d’aisance. Also called curl papers (q.v.).

Ammunition Leg, subs. (military).—A wooden leg. From the attributive use of ‘ammunition’ as applied to stores supplied to soldiers for equipment or rations. To show the length to which this application of the word has been carried, it may be noted that Robertson, in 1693, speaks of ‘an ammunition whore.’—scortum castrense.

Amort, adv. and pred. adj. (old).—Usually all amort, an antithetical phrase to all alive (q.v.), and meaning half dead; in a state of stupor; without spirit; sometimes used as a synonym of balmy, cracked, dotty, all of which see. A-la-mort, from the French, is regarded as the original form, though it is doubtful which took precedence in literary English. At one time both forms were quite naturalised; they are now of interest as affording an instance of words, gradually lapsing into slang or vulgar usage, and then coming to be regarded as Anglo-French phrases. American thieves still retain them, to signify struck dumb, or confounded; in these senses they are given by Grose in his Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue [1787], which would seem to show they had already commenced their downward career.

Ampersand, subs. (familiar).—The breech; or posteriors. [From Eng. and + Latin per se, by itself, + Eng. and; literally, ‘and by itself and’ used to distinguish the character ‘&,’ which in old nursery books came at the end of the alphabet. Hence, employed to signify the hinder parts.] The word in its slang sense is quite a recent introduction, said to be of American origin. For synonyms, see Blind cheeks.

Amputate. To amputate one’s mahogany or timber (familiar).—To be off; to begone—the idea being that of quick or violent motion, often, though not always, the result of moral or physical force. [Probably from that sense of amputate equivalent to ‘cut off’ or ‘away.’ Cf., ‘cut,’ a slang synonym.] A welcher is called a timber-merchant, because he removes himself, or ‘cuts his stick’ with celerity as occasion requires. Both the English and French have many synonymous words and phrases to express the same idea. Among the more popular may be mentioned:—

English Synonyms. To skedaddle (an American term); to cut one’s lucky; to sling, or take one’s hook; to mizzle; to absquatulate; to pad the hoof; to give leg bail; to bolt; to cut and run; to chivey; to walk the trotters; to slip one’s cable; to step it; to leg it; to tip the double; to make, or take tracks; to hook it; to make beef (thieves’ term); to slope; to cut the cable and run before the wind (obviously a sailor’s phrase); to slip it; to abskize; to paddle; to guy (used by thieves); to evaporate; to vamoose (American, from the Spanish imperative vamos, let us go); to speele (used by thieves); to skip; to tip one’s rags a gallop; to walk one’s chalks; to pike; to hop the twig; to turn it up; to cap one’s lucky (a phrase mainly confined to American thieves); to crush; to cut dirt; to bunk; to pike it; to stir one’s stumps.

French. Faire or jouer la fille de l’air (lit. ‘to go like the wind,’ fille de l’air, daughter of air, being a poetical embodiment); faire le lézard (a thief’s term, and meaning properly ‘to imitate a lizard,’ an allusion to swiftness of motion); faire le jat-jat; faire la paire (lit. ‘to go double,’ Cf., ‘to tip the double’); faire gille (a very old French phrase; it means also to become bankrupt. The connection between bankruptcy and decamping is obvious); se déguiser en cerf (popular: lit. ‘to play the stag’); s’évanouir (popular: lit. ‘to vanish’ or ‘fade away’); se cramper or tirer sa crampe (cramper is a popular term for rapid flight, and contains an allusion to the cramp or nervous contraction sometimes caused by violent motion. Old French had the verb crampir in the sense of ‘to bend’ or ‘double up.’ Tirer sa crampe is lit. ‘to get cramped’); se lâcher du ballon (popular: ‘to let loose the balloon,’ an allusion to the rapidity with which a balloon shoots up into the air when set free); se la couler (exactly equivalent to the English slang ‘to slip it’); se donner de l’air (popular: Cf., faire la fille de l’air); se pousser du zeph (popular: properly ‘to push forward with the wind.’ Zeph is a contraction of zephir); se sylphider (popular: from sylphide, a sylph; a reference to what in English racing terminology would be termed the ‘light-weight’ character of such creatures enabling them to get over the ground quickly); se faire la débinette; jouer des fourchettes (popular: ‘to put one’s forks into play’); fourchettes (in French argot = legs or ‘pins’); se la donner (Michel says la here refers to ‘la clef des champs,’ an expression synonymous with ‘liberty’ or ‘freedom’); se la briser (popular); ramasser un bidon (thieves’); se la casser (popular); se la tirer; tirer ses granches; valser (lit. to dance); se tirer les pincettes (popular: lit. ‘to pull along’ or to extricate ‘one’s tongs’ or ‘nippers.’ Cf., English ‘nip along’); se tirer les baladoires; se tirer les pattes (lit. ‘to move one’s paws’); se tirer les trimoires (thieves’: trimoires is a cant term for legs, and trimer signifies painful progression, or doing most of a journey on foot); se tirer les flûtes (popular: les flûtes = ‘shanks’ or ‘pegs’); jouer des guibes (guibe is a popular term for the leg, chiefly employed in burlesque); jouer des quilles (this expression is very old. Quilles properly signifies ‘crutches,’ and is popularly employed for the legs); se carapater (lit. ‘to run on one’s paws.’ Cf., ‘to take to one’s heels’); se barrer (lit. ‘to dash over’); baudrouiller (thieves’: this has the signification of ‘to whip up’); se cavaler (thieves’: cavaler was once synonymous with chevaucher; therefore, se cavaler signifies in reality, ‘to go on horseback on oneself,’ in which connection it may be compared with ‘shanks’ mare,’ the ‘marrow-bone stage’ [the Marylebone stage], or the German Schuhster’s Rappen, the shoemaker’s black horses, i.e., the shoes. Se cavaler likewise has reference to running away with the tail between the legs when fright has seized hold of an animal, and as employed by thieves conveys the idea of cowardice as well as that of locomotion); faire une cavale or se payer une cavale (popular: Cf., se cavaler); jouer des or se tirer les paturons (popular and thieves’: this may be translated ‘to pad the hoof.’ Paturons is properly the ‘pasterns.’ The frequent use of se tirer in connection with the idea of moving from place to place with a celerity which is oftentimes accentuated by a fear of arrest or unwelcome obstruction is extremely fitting. Se tirer means literally to extricate oneself; to get through; to pull oneself forward—extra endeavour resulting in rapid progression); happer le taillis (thieves’: lit. ‘to catch, lay hold of’ or ‘gain the copse’; i.e., a place of concealment); flasquer du poivre à quelqu’un or la rousse (thieves’: Cf., Amuse; ‘to fly from the police’; lit. ‘to shake the pepper box in the eyes of the police’; rousse is a cant term for a guardian of the peace); décaniller (thieves’: this word, derived from canille, a French provincialism for chenille, a caterpillar, is an allusion to the metamorphosis of the grub into a butterfly when it takes unto itself wings); décarrer (thieves’: to leave prison; décarrer de belle, to be released from prison without having been tried); exhiber son prussien (popular: prussien is a common colloquialism for the posteriors, and the phrase literally means ‘to show one’s behind,’ or ‘turn tail.’ It may be worth while remarking that the term prussien as applied to the breech is no vulgar expression of contempt towards the Prussians. The word is derived, says Michel, from the gypsy prusiatiñi, which Borrow translates by pistol. Formerly the French called ‘the behind’ by the name of a Parisian church, Saint-Jean le Rond); démurger (thieves’: to leave a place; to be set at liberty); désarrer (thieves’: ‘to guy’; to make beef); gagner les gigoteaux (also gagner au trot, au pied, gagner le camp, la colline, le taillis, la guérite, etc.); se faire une paire de mains courantes à la mode (thieves’); fendre l’ergot (lit. ‘to split the spur,’ an allusion to the toes being pressed to the ground, and thus naturally parted); filer son nœud, or son cable (sailors’ and popular: lit. ‘to cut the ropes’ or ‘cable’); se défiler (popular, but derived from the military term, signifying to go off parade: might be translated ‘to leg it’); s’écar-bouiller (popular: properly ‘to crush’; compare with the English synonym ‘crush’); esballonner (popular); filer son cable par le bout (sailors’); faire chibis (thieves’: ‘to escape from prison’); déraper (common); fouiner (popular: this is, in reality, no more slang than the English ‘to sneak away’); se la fracturer (popular: properly a surgical term, meaning ‘to fracture’); jouer des gambettes (popular: may be translated ‘to leg it’; ‘to stir one’s stumps’; gambettes is from the old French gambe, a leg); s’esbigner (popular: properly ‘to give the slip’); ramoner ses tuyaux (popular: lit. ‘to sweep one’s chimney’; ramoner, in its primary cant signification of ‘to mutter’ or ‘to mumble,’ is an allusion to the rumbling noise produced by sweeping a chimney. Se faire ramoner is ‘to go to confession,’ or ‘to take a purgative’—the one a moral, and the other a physical cleansing. Hence ramoner ses tuyaux, ‘to run away,’ in reference to the speedy locomotion consequent upon the process of purging); foutre le camp (popular: equivalent to ‘hook it’; a coarse expression); tirer le chausson (popular); se vanner (thieves: Michel derives this from the Italian vannare, ‘to flap the wings,’ but another authority refers it to the motions of the body and arms of a winnower; the word in literary French signifying ‘to sift’ or ‘to winnow.’ Others trace it to the old French vanoyer, ‘to disappear.’ In all cases, however, it would seem to be equivalent to the English ‘come shake yourself! be off!’); ambier (thieves’); chier du poivre (popular: ‘to abscond,’ or ‘to fail to be at hand when needed’); se débiner, or se débiner des fumerons (popular: ‘to stir one’s stumps’); caleter (popular); attacher une gamelle (popular and thieves’); camper (low); affuter ses pincettes (thieves’: lit. ‘to sharpen the pins’ or ‘to leg it’); and many others.

German Synonyms. Abbaschen (from paschen, ‘to smuggle’); abbauen (literally ‘to remove, or finish’ [a building]); abfocken; abhalchen (from Hebrew holach, ‘to go’); schefften; abschnurren (a beggar-musicians’ term; also to beg through a lane, town, or district. [M.H.G., snurren, schnurren, schnurrant]); abtarchenen; abtippeln (to run away secretly); alchen (from Hebrew holach, ‘to go’); aschween (Hanoverian: according to Thiele hascheweine—probably corrupted from schuw; heschiw, ‘to turn round’); blättern (corrupted from plettern—Hebrew pleto); caball (from Latin caballus, ‘a horse’; hence, to fly quickly as if on horseback); dippeln (a Viennese thieves’ term) fucken or focken.

Italian Fourbesque. Sbignare or svignare (these words though given as cant by the author of the Nuovo Modo are now received words); comprare (lit. ‘to buy’); comprar viole; allungare il muro (lit. ‘to lengthen the wall’); balzare (lit. ‘to caper,’ ‘to skip,’ ‘to bounce’); batter la calcosa (lit. ‘to beat the earth.’ Cf., American ‘to cut dirt’); dare a lata; scoscare.

Spanish Germania. Piñarse (an old and now obsolete term); alar; alarse; alolargo (lit. ‘at large’); picar (lit. ‘to use the spurs’); safarse (lit. ‘to escape’ or ‘save oneself’ [from arrest]).

Amuse, verb. (old cant).—To fling dust or snuff in the eyes of a person intended to be robbed. Also, to invent some plausible tale, to delude shop-keepers and others, thereby to put them off their guard, and so to obtain an opportunity of robbing them.

Amusers, subs. (old cant and American thieves’).—A certain class of thieves’ accomplices who throw snuff, pepper, and other noxious substances in the eyes of the person they intend to rob, a confederate then, while apparently coming to the rescue, completing the operation. In this, as in much of the slang of the criminal classes, there runs a vein of brutal cynicism. Though obsolete in England the term survives in America amongst the criminal classes.

Anabaptist, subs. (old slang).—A pickpocket caught in the act, and punished with the discipline of the pump or horse-pond.—Grose.

Anchor. To come to an anchor, verb. phr. (nautical and common).—To stop; to sit down; to rest. [From the operation of bringing ships to a standstill by casting anchor.]

Anchorage, subs. (common).—An abode; where one dwells. Of nautical origin (see Anchor). For synonyms, see Diggings.

Ancient Mariners, subs. (Univ. Oxford).—A term applied to rowing dons.

And Don’t You Forget It, phr. (American).—A senseless string of words employed indiscriminately in season and out of season. Like ‘Who’s your hatter?’ ‘How’s your poor feet?’ ‘Not for Joe!’ ‘Does your mother know you’re out?’ ‘What! again! so soon?’ and many others, which every now and then have caught the ‘fancy’ of the streets of our large towns, the phrase under consideration has run an almost riotous course through the large centres of population in America. In most cases these strings of words convey no special idea, and can only be described as utterly vulgar, without the slightest scintillation of wit or humour of any kind.

1888. Boston Weekly Globe, Feb. 29. There can be no two opposing opinions in that respect. Great capital demands dividends. Dividends can be had only from a prosperous business. A prosperous business must recognise the law of supply and demand, and if the public demand dirt the newspapers will furnish dirt—and don’t you forget it.

1888. Detroit Free Press, Oct. 6. ‘Did you see any Quakers in Philadelphia?’ was asked of a Detroiter who lately returned from that city.

‘Only one that I was sure of.’

‘Did he ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ you?’

‘He did. He got down off his hack and said: ‘If thee don’t pay me 2 dols. I’ll knock thy blamed head off,’ and I paid, although I knew the regular fare was twelve shillings. You don’t want to fool with those Quakers any, and don’t you forget it.’

And He Didn’t, phr. (tailors’).—A phrase of the all my eye (q.v.) stamp, i.e., ‘You tell me you have not; but for all that I think you have’—the action referred to being generally of a discreditable character.

And No Mogue? phr. (tailors’).—Used in a variety of ways to signify doubt and uncertainty. It is equivalent to the street gamin’s ‘no kid?’ when used interrogatively, i.e., ‘there’s no mistake, is there?’ ‘Now, joking apart?’ Also used as a ‘set down’ to narrators claiming descent from Baron Munchausen, in which case it is equivalent to the ‘You don’t say so!’ of politer circles; in both cases the spokesman conveys the idea that one’s credulity has been somewhat taxed.

And No Whistle, phr. (tailors’).—A kind of tu quoque; usually applied to a man by a listener desiring to convey to the speaker the idea that no matter what others may think to the contrary, he [the listener] believes that what has been said refers to the person speaking.

Andrew Millar, subs. (nautical).—A curious cant name for a ship of war; sometimes simply Andrew. Its origin is quite unknown; but it has been pointed out that Antonio, in the Merchant of Venice, speaks of one of his vessels as his ‘wealthy Andrew’; and it has been conjectured that in this case the ship was named after the celebrated Admiral Andrea Doria, who died in 1560. But to trace any connection between this Andrew, however general the use of the name may have become, and the Andrew Millar of modern sailors’ slang, would be difficult.

1598. Shakspeare, Merchant of Venice, i., i., 27.

But I should think of shallows and of flats, And see my wealthy Andrew dock’d in sand.

Among Australian smugglers the term still survives for a revenue cutter.

Angel or Flying Angel, subs. (common).—Explained by quotation.

1880. James Greenwood, Seaside Insanity in Odd People in Odd Places, p. 45. It is at this point when the one day excursionist, who, as well as his wife, has an olive-branch or two with him, finds his fortitude suddenly collapse. With the youngest but one (his good lady, of course, carries the baby) bestriding his shoulder, he puts his best foot foremost from the beach to the town so as to be in good time at the station. He is hot and fagged, and his temper is not improved by the knowledge that the cherub to whom he is giving a ‘flying angel’ is smearing his Sunday hat with the seaweed with which its little fists are full.

Angelicas.—See Angelics.

Angelics, subs. (old).—Unmarried young ladies. Now Angelicas.

1821. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, p. 5. (Dicks’ ed., 1889.) Jerry. You think the cut of my clothes rather too rustic—eh? Tom. Exactly; dress is the order of the day. A man must have the look of a gentleman, if he has nothing else. We must assume a style if we have it not. This, what do you call it?—this cover-me-decently, was all very well at Hawthorn Hall, I daresay; but here, among the pinks in Rotten Row, the ladybirds in the Saloon, the angelics at Almack’s, the top-of-the-tree heroes, the legs and levanters at Tattersall’s, nay, even among the millers at the Fives, it would be taken for nothing less than the index of a complete flat.

Angeliferous, adj. (American).—Angelic; also super-excellent; a factitious word. It is interesting to note that ‘angelification,’ ‘angelify,’ and ‘angelified,’ were in use in the seventeenth century, but never to any great extent. [From angel + iferous, a spurious form based on the model of ‘auriferous.’] It is said to have been first used by Bird in his novel, entitled Nick of the Woods.

Angels Altogether, subs. phr. (West Indian).—A sobriquet applied to habitual drunkards. It originated about the year 1876, and was, in the first instance, a bon-mot of a well-known sugar planter on the East Coast Demerara. A negro hand, notorious for his hard drinking, applied for a holiday, and the manager having a suspicion that Quashie wanted it simply to go ‘on the drink,’ bantered him as follows:—‘John! you were drunk on Sunday?’ ‘Yes, massa!’ ‘Monday too?’ ‘Yes, massa!’ and on the question being repeated as regards Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, it elicited similar responses, whereupon the ‘boss’ quietly, but pointedly said, ‘But John, you can’t be an angel altogether, you know!’ The story got abroad, caught on, and in a short time the whole colony rang with the expression.

Angel’s Footstool, subs. phr. (nautical).—Yankee skippers, given to high falutin’, aver that their craft carry far more canvas than any vessel afloat of ‘foreign’ origin (the term ‘foreign’ including British bottoms, as well as those of nations other than Anglo-Saxon). Imaginary sails are crowded on their craft, among these being one which they jokingly call an angel’s footstool. It is pretended to be a square sail, and is supposed to top the skyscrapers, moon-sails, and cloud cleaners (q.v.).

Angel’s Gear, subs. phr. (nautical).—It is thus that ‘jolly tars’ sometimes speak of female attire. Jack is notoriously most susceptible where a petticoat is concerned.

Angel’s-Oil, subs. (old).—A seventeenth century colloquialism for money used for bribery; sometimes oil of angels. For synonyms, see Actual, and Boodle.

Angel’s Suit, subs. phr. (tailors’).—A ‘combination’ garment for males. The coat and waistcoat were made in one, and the ‘unmentionables’ buttoned on to it. Neither garment nor name was extensively adopted.

Angel’s Whisper, subs. phr. (military).—A name given to the call to defaulter’s drill. Needless to say it is, as Artemus Ward would express it, ‘wrote sarcastic.’

Anglers, Hookers, or Starrers, subs. (old).—Pilferers or petty thieves, who, with a stick having a hook at the end, steal goods from shop windows, etc. So far Grose; but Duncombe adds that starrers are an order of thieves who break show glasses in jewellers’ windows and, in the consequent confusion steal the goods. The term is a very ancient one. Dekker in English Villanies [1632], thus describes an ‘angler for duds’:—‘He carries a short staff in his hand, which is called a filch, having in the nab or head of it a ferme (that is to say a hole) into which, upon any piece of service, when he goes a filching, he putteth a hooke of iron, with which hook he angles at a window in the dead of night for shirts, smockes, or any other linen or woollen.’ It would appear from this that modern thieves are both much more daring and expert. It is not an uncommon thing for a crack thief, in the broad daylight, in the most crowded streets of London, to break a jeweller’s window, snatch some valuables, and make off with them. An iron instrument is used for the purpose which is concealed by the coat sleeve.—See Area sneak.

Angling Cove, subs. (thieves’).—A receiver of stolen goods.—See Fence.

Angling for Farthings, verb. phr. (old thieves’).—Begging out of a prison window with a cap or box, let down at the end of a long string.—Grose. Such a practice, it is needless to say, would be impossible nowadays.—See Hooker.

Anglomaniacs, subs. phr. (American).—A club in Boston is thus self-styled. Its members are opposed to anything British in every shape and form. The term is of course a contradiction, and should, to express the policy of its members, be Anglophobists.

Angry Boys.—See Bloods.

Angular Party, subs. phr. (common).—A term given to any gathering of people of which the number is odd; say three, seven, thirteen, etc.

Animal, subs. (American).—A new arrival at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Cf., Snooker.

To go the whole animal (American).—A variant of ‘to go the whole hog.’ In the West Indies it is varied by ‘to go the whole dog.’—See Hog.

1838. C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, p.... Opposing all half measures, and preferring to go the extreme animal.

1859. G. A. Sala, Twice Round the Clock, p. 62.... that they had much better pay first-class, and go the entire animal.

Animules, subs. (American).—This expression is very generally used in the South-western territories, and in California, as a substitute for ‘mules.’ A witty play upon ‘animals’ and ‘mules.’

1834(?) Centre-Pole Bill, in Overland Monthly. ‘Ten miles to town! Waal, stranger, I guess I’ll stake out here to-night. Them animules is too beat to do that. Where’s yer water?’ ‘It’s all around you to-night; but you can turn your mules into the corral.’

Ankle. To sprain one’s ankle, verb. phr. (old).—When a girl has been seduced she is said to have sprained her ankle. Both French and German slang have analogous expressions; in the former, elle a mal aux genoux is said of a woman who is pregnant, i.e., ‘she has a bad knee.’ In German, ladies so placed ‘lose a shoe’; but of synonyms there are plenty.—See Leg.

Ankle-Beaters, subs. phr. (old).—A class of boys who attended cattle markets for the purpose of driving to the slaughter-house the animals purchased by the butcher. They were called ankle-beaters from their driving the animals with long wattles, and beating them on the legs to avoid spoiling or bruising the flesh. Also called penny-boys (q.v.), because they received one penny per head as remuneration.

Anne’s Fan, properly Queen Anne’s Fan, subs. phr. (common).—Putting the tip of the thumb of either hand to the nose, and then spreading the fingers in the shape of a fan. A gesture of contempt often intensified either by twiddling the digits when in the position named, or by similarly placing the other hand in an extended line. It is also called taking a sight (q.v.), and biting the thumb (q.v.).

Annex, verb. (American).—To steal; in England the wise it call ‘convey.’—See Bone.

Anodyne, subs. (American thieves’).—A euphemism for death. From the figurative sense of the word—anything that soothes wounded or excited feelings, or that lessens the sense of misfortunes. Cf., Old English slang term for a halter, Anodyne necklace.

Verb. (American thieves’).—To kill. Cf., foregoing; also To cook one’s goose.

Anodyne Necklace, subs. phr. (old).—A halter. An anodyne is that which allays or extinguishes pain, and the hangman’s rope may indeed be regarded, from one point of view, as a cure for all pains. The expression is old, being traced back to 1639. During the period when the death penalty was inflicted for all kinds of comparatively trivial offences—for sheep stealing, and even highway robberies of not more than forty shillings value—synonyms equally grim and sententious were numerous. According to Wilyam Bullein, an anodyne necklace was that which ‘light fellows merrily will call ... neckweede, or Sir Tristam’s knot, or St. Andrew’s lace (q.v.).’ Other terms for the hangman’s noose were hempen cravat, horse’s nightcap, Tyburn tippet (q.v.).

1639. F. Beaumont, Bloody Brother, Act iii., Sc. 2. [Speaks of the hangman’s halter as a ‘necklace.’]

1766. Oliver Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield [works, Globe ed., chap. xx., p. 43.] [George Primrose’s cousin exclaims] ‘May I die by an anodyne necklace, but I’d rather be an under-turnkey in Newgate [than an usher in a boarding-school]’.

The water poet (John Taylor, a Thames waterman, 1580–1654), explaining the virtue of hemp, says:—

Some call it neck-weed, for it hath a tricke To cure the necke that’s troubled with the crick.

An anodyne necklace was also the name of a quack amulet, which, for a long period, was a household word. This famous remedy occupied as prominent a position in the advertising columns of the journals of the middle of the eighteenth as Holloway’s pills in the latter part of the nineteenth century. This necklace was of beads artificially prepared, small, like barleycorns, and cost five shillings. For foreign synonyms, see Horse’s nightcap.

Anoint, verb. (familiar).—To beat soundly; to thrash; humorously derived from the proper meaning of the word, ‘to smear’ or ‘rub over with oil or other unctuous substances.’ In the North of England the saying is somewhat more analogous—‘to anoint with the sap of a hazel rod.’

1175. Rom. of Partenay (Skeat), 5653.

Then thay put hym hout, the kyng away fly, Which so well was anoynted indede, That no slene ne pane had he hole of brede.

1703. Fuller’s Trip to Bridewell, quoted in Ashton’s The Fleet, p. 211. The whipper began to noint me with his instrument, that had, I believe, about a dozen strings notted at the end.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. v. ‘I’ll bring him to the gangway, and anoint him with a cat-and-nine-tails.’

1824. W. Irving, Tales of a Trav., II., 287. Seize a trusty staff and anoint the back of the aggressor.

There seems to be some connection, too, between this sense of to anoint, and the depraved use of anointed (q.v.) to signify great rascality. Cf., Strap oil.

Anoint or Grease the Palm, verb. phr. (common).—To bribe. The Scotch say ‘to creesh the luif.’ The expression is very old.

1584. Knox, Hist. of Reformation, works [1846] I., 102. Yea, the handis of our Lordis so liberallie were anoynted.

See Grease the palm.

Anointed, ppl. adj. (old).—1. Used in a depraved sense to signify eminence in rascality. The most probable derivation appears to be that suggested by Prof. Skeat [N. and Q., 3 S., ix., 422]. In a French MS., Romance of Melusine, is an account of a man who had received a thorough and severe beating, which is thus referred to:—Qui anoit este si bien oignt. The English version [Early English Text Society] translates this, ‘which so well was anoynted indeed.’ From this it is clear that to anoint a man was to give him a sound drubbing, and that the word was so used in the fifteenth century. Thus, an anointed rogue means either one who has been well thrashed or who has deserved to be. Cf., To anoint.

1769. Robertson, Hist. of Reign of Charles V. Many assumed the clerical character for no other reason than that it might screen them from the punishment which their actions deserved. The German nobles complained loudly that their anointed malefactors, as they called them, seldom suffered capitally even for the most enormous crimes.

1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxxvii. ‘But, not being Lord Etherington, and an anointed scoundrel into the bargain, I will content myself with cudgelling him to death.’

2. Knowing; ripe for mischief.—Duncombe.

Anonyma, subs. (popular).—A lady of the demi-monde; generally, though not invariably, applied to one of the better class. Women of this status were also called by the Times pretty horsebreakers, a notorious anonyma (circa 1868) having been a good horsewoman. Another and earlier name was Incognita; this as well as anonyma had reference to the unrecognised position these ladies hold in what is called ‘Society,’ which tries to shut its eyes to a product of its own vice. The French cocotte best corresponds to the English term. For synonyms generally, see Barrack hack.

1864. G. A. Sala, Quite Alone, ch. i. Is that anonyma driving twin ponies in a low phaeton, a parasol attached to her whip, and a groom with folded arms behind her? Bah! there are so many anonymas nowadays. If it isn’t the Nameless One herself, it is Synonyma.

1865. Ouida, Strathmore, ch. vi. ‘I’m getting tired of Mondes, one confounds so easily with Demi-monde, and aristocrats that are so near allied to anonyma.’

1881. Doran, In and about Drury Lane, vol. II., p. 159. Those anonymas, who dress with such exquisite propriety lest they should be mistaken for modest women.

1889. Modern Society, July 13, p. 852. ‘Christopher’s Honeymoon,’ by Mr. Malcolm Watson, produced at the Strand, on Wednesday, is not wholly bad, but it is too thin. The honeymooner is surprised at his wedding breakfast by the news that a former wife, whom he thought dead, is still alive. Matters are still further complicated when his mother-in-law mistakes his buxom laundress for a fair anonyma.

Another. You’re another, phr. (common).—A retort—in usage hardly courteous or suave. Generally spoken in anger or resentment. The quotations which follow specify clearly the manner of use. It is interesting to note how very old is this common rejoinder—nearly 350 years; it is, moreover, an example which fully illustrates the value of the historical method in dealing with slang words and phrases.

c. 1534. N. Udall, Roister Doister, III., v., p. 58 (Arber). R. Royster. If it were another but thou, it were a tenane. M. Mery. Ye are an other your selfe, sir. [M.]

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. IX., ch. vi. ‘You mistake me, friend,’ cries Partridge, ‘I did not mean to abuse the cloth; I only said your conclusion was a non-sequitur.’ ‘You are another,’ cries the Serjeant, ‘an’ you come to that. No more a sequitur than yourself.’

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xv., p. 123. ‘Sir,’ said Mr. Tupman, ‘you’re a fellow.’ ‘Sir,’ said Mr. Pickwick, ‘you’re another.’

1888. Sir W. Harcourt, Speech at Eighty Club, Feb. 21. You know the little urchins in the street have a conclusive argument. They say ‘you’re another.’

Another Acrobat, phr. (music-hall).—Another drink—acrobat being a play upon the word ‘tumbler,’ i.e., a glass.

Another Guess, adj., or Another Guess Sort of Man, phr. (old). A cute man; one who is, in modern lingo, up to snuff (q.v.). ‘Guess’ suggests an erroneous derivation; the word is really a corruption of ‘another-gates’ [according to Murray the original genitive case ‘of another-gate, i.e., of another way, manner, or fashion’].

Another Lie Nailed to the Counter, phr. (American).—A detected slander. The practice of nailing spurious coins to shop counters is, even yet, not an obsolete custom in country districts; and hence, probably, is derived this colloquialism.

1888. Texas Siftings, Oct. 20. ‘Who employed you last?’ ‘A Republican speaker, who had me back up his declaration that Cleveland was in the habit of beating his wife!’ ‘But that lie was nailed a good while ago.’ ‘I know it,’ chuckled the C.L., ‘but it’s easy enough to pull out the nail.’

Antagonise, verb. (sporting).—This, ‘to act as an opponent,’ sounds very like slang; but, as a matter of fact, so long as the antagonising forces are of the same kind the word is legitimate enough. It has been so used from 1634 downwards, by Herbert, Keats, John Stuart Mill, and others. Only when (as for example in America a person in political phraseology is said to antagonise a measure when it is meant that he opposes it) the word is used in connection with antagonistic forces not of a kind can it be regarded as partaking of slang. In the quotation by Barrère from the Saturday Review (no date given: refer, however, to Sat. R., Dec. 18, 1886, p. 799) the word is used in a perfectly correct manner.

1886. Saturday Review on Sporting Slang, 18 Dec, p. 799, col. 1. Dingley Dell sent Jones and Robinson to the wickets, where they were antagonised with the leather by Alf and the Young Phenomenon.

Anthony, or To Cuff Anthony, verb. (old).—To knock one’s knees together from an infirmity. Also called to cuff Jonas.

Antony, or Anthony Cuffin, subs.—A knock-kneed man.

Anthony, or Tantony Pig, subs. (old).—See Tantony pig.

1787. Grose, Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. The favourite or smallest pig in the litter; to follow like a tantony pig, i.e., St. Anthony’s pig, signified to follow close at one’s heels. St. Anthony, the hermit, was a swine herd, and is always represented with his bell and pig.

Antimony, subs. (printers’).—Type; so called from one of its component parts.

Anyhow. Anyhow you can fix it, phr. (American).—A slang expression of acquiescence as, e.g., ‘I don’t know if you’ll succeed, but anyhow you can fix it.’

Any Other Man! phr. (American).—A call to order addressed to prosy, discursive speakers when they give themselves over to the use of synonymous terms.

Any Racket, subs. (rhyming slang).—A penny faggot.

Anything. Like, or as anything, adv. phr. (common).—A vulgarism rather than slang. Used in the same manner, as are like one o’clock; like old boots (q.v.), when a person is at a loss for a simile.—See Winkey.

1542. Udall’s Erasmus Apoph., p. 32. The young maiden, where the lokers on quaked and trembled for feare, daunced without any feare at all emong sweardes and kniues, beyng as sharpe as anythyng.

1740. Richardson, Pamela, ii., 57. O my dear father and mother, I fear your girl will grow as proud as anything.

1840. Barham, I. L. (Misadv. at Margate).

The tear-drop in his little eye again began to spring, His bosom throbb’d with agony, he cried like anything.

1878. Carroll, Through a Looking Glass, iv., 73. They wept like anything to see such quantities of sand.

Anythingarian, subs. (common).—A contemptuous term for one who is apathetic as regards his political or religious creed, or other matters upon which mankind generally hold decided views. [From anything + arian, after trinit-arian, unit-arian.]

1717. Entertainer, Nov. 6 [quoted in N. & Q., 7 S., vi., 66]. Nor, which is ten times worse, Free-thinkers, Atheists, Anythingarians.

1738. Swift, Polite Conversation (conv. i.).

Lady Sm. What religion is he of?

Lady Sp. Why, he is an anythingarian.

Lady Ans. I believe he has his religion to chuse, my lord.

1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ch. xxii. They made puir Robbie Burns an anythingarian with their blethers.

Anythingarianism, subs. (popular).—The creed or doctrine of an Anythingarian.—[See preceding].

1851. C. Kingsley (Life, i., 215). Schiller’s ‘Gods of Greece’ expresses, I think, a tone of feeling very common, and which finds its vent in modern Neo-Platonism—Anythingarianism.

Anything Else.—See Not doing anything else.

Anywhere Down There! (tailors’).—If, in a workroom or elsewhere where tailors congregate, an article is dropped upon the floor, anywhere down there! is used as a kind of catch-phrase.

Apartments. To have apartments to let, verb. phr. (popular).—1. To take rank in the estimation of one’s fellows as an idiot; ‘a born fool’—one who is empty-headed, not furnished with brains.

English Synonyms. To be dotty; to have a screw loose; to be balmy; to have a bee in one’s bonnet (Scotch); to be off one’s chump; to have no milk in the cocoa-nut; to be touched; to be balmy in one’s crumpet; to be wrong in the upper storey; to have rats in the upper storey; to have a tile loose; to be half baked.

French Synonyms. Avoir une écrevisse dans la tourte, or dans le vol-au-vent (popular: that is ‘to have a crawfish in the pie,’ or ‘in the head.’ Cf., ‘to have rats in the upper storey’); avoir la boule détraquée (popular: lit. ‘to have one’s ball turned’); avoir le coco félé (popular: lit. ‘to have one’s cocoa nut cracked.’ In English slang the head is also called a ‘cocoa-nut’); avoir le trognon détraquée (popular: ‘to have a bee in one’s bonnet.’ Trognon is also a slang term for the head or ‘noddle’); avoir un asticot dans la noisette (popular: lit. ‘to have a maggot in one’s nut.’ In English slang the head is likewise ‘the nut.’ Cf., also the expression ‘a worm in the bud’); avoir un bœuf gras dans le char (popular); avoir un cancrelat dans la boule (popular: lit. ‘to have a cockroach in one’s ball’—‘ball’ here referring to the head or ‘nut.’ Cancrelat is properly kakerlac or American cockroach); avoir un hanneton dans le reservoir (popular: lit. ‘to have a May-bug’ or ‘cockchafer in one’s cistern’ or ‘well.’ This seems to be on all fours with ‘a bee in one’s bonnet.’ The phrase sometimes runs avoir un hanneton dans le plafond, i.e., to have a cockchafer in one’s ceiling, and here the analogy between the two phrases is more clearly marked); avoir un moustique dans la boite au sel (popular: lit. ‘to have a mosquito in the salt-box or cellar’); avoir un voyageur dans l’omnibus (popular); avoir une araignée dans le plafond (popular: lit. ‘to have a spider in the head’; plafond, ‘a ceiling,’ be it noted is a slang term for ‘the head’); avoir une grenouille dans l’aquarium (popular: lit: ‘to have a frog in one’s aquarium’); avoir une hirondelle dans le soliveau (popular: ‘to have a swallow in the head’); avoir une Marseillaise dans le Kiosque (popular); avoir une punaise dans le soufflet (popular: ‘to have a bug in one’s brain’); avoir une sardine dans l’armoire à glace (popular: ‘to have a sardine in the head or brain.’ Armoire à glace = the head); avoir une trichinne dans le jambonneau (popular: jambonneau, the head); avoir une sauterelle dans la guitare (popular: lit. ‘to have a grasshopper in the guitar’).

For other synonyms, see Tile loose.

2. A widow is said to have apartments to let.

Ape-leader, subs. (old).—An old maid. Leading apes in hell was the employment jocularly assigned to those who neglected to assume marital functions while living.

1581. Lyly, Euphucs (Arb.), 87. Rather thou shouldest leade a lyfe to thine owne lyking in earthe, than ... leade apes in hell. [M.]

1605. Lond. Prodigal, I., 2. ’Tes an old proverb, and you know it well, that women dying maids lead apes in hell.

1717. Mrs. Centlivre, Bold Stroke, II., 1. Poor girl; she must certainly lead apes, as the saying is.

1830. General P. Thompson, Exerc. (1842), I., 198. Joining with other old women, in leading their apes in Tartarus. [M.]

There are several proverbial sayings in which the ape plays an important part. To say an ape’s paternoster is to chatter with cold; this corresponds with the French, dire des patenôtres de singe. To put an ape into one’s hood or cap, to make a fool of one, etc.

Apes, subs. (Stock Exchange).—Atlantic and North-Western Railway first mortgage bonds.

Apostles, or The Twelve Apostles, subs. phr. (Cambridge Univ.).—Formerly, when the Poll, or ordinary B.A. degree list was arranged in order of merit, the last twelve were nicknamed The Twelve Apostles. They were also called The Chosen Twelve, and the last, St. Poll or St. Paul—a punning allusion to 1 Cor. xv., 9, ‘For I am the least of the Apostles, that am not meet to be called an Apostle.’ The list is now arranged alphabetically and in classes. Hotten suggests that Apostles is a corruption of post alios, i.e., ‘after the others.’ It may perhaps also be mentioned that in one American University at least, Columbia College, D.C., the last twelve on the B.A. list actually receive the personal names of the Apostles.

1795. Gentleman’s Magazine, Jan., p. 19. [The last twelve names on the Cambridge list are here called The Twelve Apostles.]

Manœuvering the Apostles, a variant of the familiar expression, ‘to rob Peter to pay Paul’; i.e., to borrow from one person to pay another.

Apostle’s Grove, subs. (common).—The London district known as St. John’s Wood. Also called grove of the evangelist. Both names are applied sarcastically in allusion to the large numbers of the demi-monde who live in that quarter of town.

Apothecary. To talk like an apothecary, verb phr. (old).—To talk nonsense; from the pseudo gravity and affectation of knowledge often assumed by these gentlemen at a time when their status was not legally held under examination and license of the Apothecaries’ Company.

Apothecaries’ bill, subs. (old).—A long bill.

Apothecaries’, or raw Latin, subs. (old).—Now called dog-Latin (q.v.).

Apple Cart, subs. (common). 1. The human body. A slang term similar to ‘potato trap,’ ‘bread-basket,’ ‘bellows,’ ‘blue plumb,’ ‘bacon,’ and ‘beer-barrel’ (all of which see). There are numerous variations in usage; e.g., if two men are quarrelling, and a friend of one interferes saying ‘I will upset his apple cart’ it means, ‘while you are parleying with the enemy I will knock him down.’ Again, if a child falls down, says W. W. Skeat (referring to his early Kentish remembrance of the word), you first enquire if he is much hurt. If he is merely a little frightened you say, ‘Well, never mind, then; you’ve only upset your apple cart and spilt the gooseberries.’ The child laughs and all is well again.

2. Also employed in a figurative sense. To upset an apple cart sometimes means, not so much to knock a man down, as to prevent him from doing what he wants to do by the upsetting as it were, of an imaginary apple cart; i.e., to thwart; to disarrange; to overthrow; to ruin an undertaking. Sometimes the expression is varied by to upset the old woman’s apple cart. Barrère’s reference of the genesis of the phrase to the costermonger’s imaginative powers is ‘all conjecture and fancy’; as also is his American derivation of the expression in its more figurative sense. In the first place apple carts are perfectly familiar objects in all country districts; and, in the second, the phrase is too old a provincialism to need deriving from the peripatetic vendors in question. Further, though to upset his apple cart and spill the peaches may be an American variation for the second sense, as it appears to have been so used, dialectically, throughout England, the weight of assumption must be given to its English origin, and subsequent transference to America.

English Synonyms. Beer-barrel; bacon.

French Synonyms. Acabit (literally, quality); cylindre (popular: lit. ‘a cylinder,’ or ‘barrel.’ Cf. with English ‘beer barrel’); grosse caisse (popular: lit. ‘a large case,’ or ‘box’); paillasse (popular: lit. ‘a straw mattress’); also place d’armes; casaquin.

Apple Dumpling Shop, subs. phr. (common).—A woman’s bosom. For synonyms, see Dairies.

Apple-Monger.—The same as apple-squire (q.v.).

Apple-Pie Bed, subs. phr. (common).—A practical joke, which consists in making up a bed with the sheets doubled half way up, so as to prevent a person from stretching out at full length, and filling the bag thus formed with brushes, soap-dishes, etc. So called, either from the apple-turnover, in which the ‘paste’ is turned over the apples, or from the French, à plis, folded.

1811. C. K. Sharpe, in Correspondence (1888), i., 466. After squeezing myself up, and making a sort of apple-pye bed with the beginning of my sheet.

1883. Saturday Review, Nov. 3, p. 566, col. 2. Some ‘evil-disposed persons’ have already visited his room, made his bed into an apple-pie, plentifully strewn with hair-brushes and razors.

The French have an analogous phrase, ‘mettre un lit en portefeuille.’

Apple-Pie Day, subs. phr. (Winchester Coll.)—The day on which Six-and-Six (q.v.) is played. It is the Thursday after the first Tuesday in December. So called because hot apple-pies were served on gomers (q.v.) in College for dinner.

Apple Pie Order, subs. phr. (familiar).—Exact or perfect order. Etymologists have long puzzled themselves concerning this expression, and many derivations have been put forward in explanation. Some have found in it an allusion to the regular order in which the component parts of some varieties of that toothsome delicacy, apple pie, were formerly laid one on the top of, or side by side with each other. Others, on the contrary, scout such a homely origin, and suggest that apple pie order is cap à pied order. The authorities who incline to this view point out that cap à pied in the sense of ‘perfectly appointed’ occurs in one of the scenes of Hamlet. Though orthographically the transition from one to the other, at first sight, would appear to be somewhat lame and halting, yet phonetically the difference is much less marked. It has further been suggested that apple pie order is a corruption of ‘Alpha-beta’ i.e., alphabetical order, but this would seem rather far-fetched, as also is the reference of it to the nursery rhyme of ‘A was an apple pie; B bit it; C cut it; D divided it,’ and so on, the allusion being to the regular order in which the letters of the alphabet occur. Probably the weight of evidence is on the side of the derivation from cap à pied, more especially as that phrase was once very familiar.

1813. Scott in Lochart, Life, IV. (1839), 131. The children’s garden is in apple pie order.

1835. Marryat, Jacob Faithful, viii., 29. Put the craft a little into apple pie order.

1837. Barham, I. L. (Old Woman in Grey).

I am just in the order which some folks—though why, I am sure I can’t tell you—would call apple pie.

Apples. How we apples swim! phr. (common).—i.e., ‘What a good time we are having.’ This expression, a very old one, is synonymous with pleasureable experience coupled with brisk action.

1697–1764. Hogarth (Works by J. Ireland and J. Nichols, London, 1873), III., p. 29. And even this, little as it is, gives him so much importance in his own eyes, that he assumes a consequential air, sets his arms akimbo, and strutting among the historical artists cries, ‘how we apples swim.’

1860. Cornhill Mag. (D. Mallett, Tyburn), Dec., p. 737. While tumbling down the turbid stream, Lord, love us, how we apples swim.

Apples and Pears, subs. phr. (rhyming slang).—A pair of stairs.

Apple-Squire, subs. (old).—A harlot’s attendant, or fancy man (q.v.); these gentry are now commonly called ‘bullies’ (q.v.). Nares gives ‘squire of the body’ as a synonymous term; also apron-squire.

1500. (circa) Way to Spyttel Hous, 832 in Hazl. E. P. P., iv., 60. [Here given as applesquyers.]

[1580–1654] Taylor, Discourse by Sea (works II., 21).

Are whoremasters decai’d, are bawds all dead, Are pandars, pimps, and apple-squires all fled? [N.]

1738. Poor Robin.... Little truth will be found amongst cut-purses, liars, bawds, whores, pimps, pandars, and apple-squires; only the pimp pretends to something more of truth than the other, for if he promise to help you to a whore, he will be sure that she shall not be an honest woman. [N.]

For synonyms, ancient and modern, and also foreign equivalents, see Fancy man.

Apron. Green apron, subs. (old).—A contemptuous term for a lay preacher.—See Bible-pounder.

1654. Warren, Unbelievers, 145. It more befits a green-apron preacher, than such a Gamaliel. [M.]

1705. Hickeringill, Priestcraft I. (1721). 21. Unbeneficed Noncons. (that live by Alms and no Paternoster, no Penny, say the green-aprons). [M.]

1765. Tucker, Lt. Nat., II., 451. The gifted priestess amongst the Quakers is known by her green apron. [M.]

Aproneer, subs. (old).—A shop-keeper; a tradesman. Murray states that the term was used contemptuously of the Parliamentary party during the Civil Wars.

1659. Gauden, Tears of Church, 238. Some prating sequestrator, or some surly aproneer.

1690. D’urfey, Collin’s Walk, c. iii., p. 107. But every sturdy aproneer, arm’d with battoon, did straight appear.

Apron-Rogue, subs. (old).—A labourer; a mechanic.

1663. Killegrew, Parson’s Wedding in Dodsley’s Old Plays (1780), XI., 382. Apron-rogues with horn hands. [M.]

Apron-Squire.—See Apple-squire.

Apron-String Hold or Tenure, subs. phr. (familiar).—An estate held by a man during his wife’s life; or by virtue of her right.

1647. Ward, Simp. Cobler, 67. Apron-string tenure is very weak. [M.]

1753. Richardson, Grandison, iv., 23. He cursed the apron-string tenure, by which he said he held his peace. [d.]

1804. Mrs. Barbauld, Richardson I., 160. All her fortune in her own power—a very apron-string tenure.

Apron-Strings. To be tied to or always at a woman’s apron-strings, verb. phr. (common).—Under petticoat government; to dangle after a woman. Formerly said only of children; later of all who follow a woman subserviently.

1712. Spectator, No. 506. The fair sex are so conscious to themselves, that they have nothing in them which can deserve entirely to ingross the whole man, that they heartily despise one, who, to use their own expression, is always hanging at their apron-strings.

1834. Miss Edgeworth, Helen, ch. viii. A homebred lordling, who, from the moment he slipped his mother’s apron-strings, had fallen into folly.

1849. Macaulay, History of England, II., 649. He could not submit to be tied to the apron-strings even of the best of wives.

Aqua, subs. (American thieves’).—Water. From the Latin.

Aqua Pompaginis, subs. phr. (old).—Pump water [Dog-Latin; from L., aqua, water + English, pump + simulated Latin termination, aginis].

1785. Grose, Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Aqua Pompaginis.... Apothecaries’ Latin.

1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 13. ‘Exactly my sentiments,’ rejoined Blueskin. ‘I wouldn’t force him for the world; but if he don’t tip the stivers, may I be cursed if he don’t get a taste of the aqua pompaginis. Let’s have a look at the kinchen that ought to have been throttled,’ added he, snatching the child from Wood. ‘My stars! here’s a pretty lullaby-cheat to make a fuss about—ho ho!’

1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 15. ‘He shall go through the whole course,’ replied Blueskin, with a ferocious grin, ‘unless he comes down to the last grig. We’ll lather him with mud, shave him with a rusty razor, and drench him with aqua pompaginis.’

For synonyms, see Adam’s ale.

Aquatics, subs. (Eton college).—The particular game of cricket in which men in the boats play.

Aqua-Vitæ, subs. (old).—Formerly an alchemic term; but, after a while, popularly received as a generic name for ardent spirits, such as brandy, whiskey, etc. [From L. = water of life. Cf., French eau-de-vie, and Irish usquebaugh.]

Arabs, subs. (common).—Nicknames for young street vagrants are numerous. They are ‘Bedouins,’ ‘Street Arabs,’ and ‘Juvenile Roughs’ in London; they are ‘Gamins’ in Paris; ‘Bowery Boys’ in New York; ‘Hoodlums’ in San Francisco; and ‘Larrikins’ in Melbourne. This last phrase is an Irish constable’s broad pronunciation of ‘larking,’ applied to the nightly street performances of these young scamps, there, as elsewhere, a real social pestilence.—See Street Arab.

1848. Guthrie, Plea for Ragged Schools. [In this work the homeless wanderers and children of the streets were spoken of as Arabs of the City, and City Arabs.]

Arbor Vitæ, subs. (old).—The penis. [Latin; = the Tree of Life]. For synonyms, see Creamstick.

Arch.—See Ark.

Arch-Cove or Arch-Rogue, subs. (thieves’).—The chief or leader of a gang of thieves. [From Greek, archo to be first, to command, to rule + cove, a slang term for a man.] Formerly also dimber damber, upright man.—See Cove and Area sneak.

Archdeacon, subs. (Oxford Univ.).—Merton strong ale.

Arch-Dell or Arch-Doxy, subs. (old).—The wife or female companion of an arch-cove.—See Dell.

Archduke, subs. (old slang).—A buffoon; an eccentric person.

Arch Gonnof.—See Dimber damber.

Ard, adj. (American thieves’).—Hot; a corrupted form of ‘ardent.’ Formerly ‘a foot.’—See Creepers.

Area-Sneak, subs. (common).—A thief who lurks about areas for the purposes of theft.

1838. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, ch. lix., p. 480. ‘Why wasn’t I a thief, swindler, housebreaker, area-sneak, robber of pence out of the trays of blind man’s dogs?’

1869. English Mechanic, 14 May, p. 181, col. 1. [They] would invariably become pickpockets or area-sneaks.

1883. Daily Telegraph, June 13, p. 7, col. 3. The area-sneak, too, may find his occupation partially gone through the strictness of the rules which encompass the trade of the second-hand dealer.

Among other names for thieves may be mentioned:—

English and American. Beak or beaker-hunter (a poultry thief); bug-hunter (speciality—breast pins, studs, etc.); buz-faker (a pickpocket); buttock and file (a shoplifter); bouncer (one who steals while bargaining with a tradesman; a shoplifter); bridle-cull (a highwayman); cracksman (a burglar); crossman (an old term. Literally a man ‘on the cross,’ or who gets his living surreptitiously); cross-cove (see foregoing); conveyancer (a pickpocket); dancer (a thief who gains entrance to houses from the roof); flash-cove (a sharper); flashman (a prostitute’s bully who pretends to catch the victim in flagrante delicto with his wife, and thus makes an excuse for robbery and extortion); finder (a thief who confines his depredations to meat-markets and butchers’ shops); gun (a contraction of gonnof, which see); gleaner, hooker, or angler (these are petty thieves, who work with hooks and rods); lob-sneak; lully-prigger (one who steals clothes when they are hanging out to dry); snakesman or sneaksman (a shoplifter; a petty thief); sneeze-lurker (this kind work by first blinding victims with pepper, etc.); moucher (a prowling thief); mill-ben (an old cant term, which see); prig; prop-nailer (a ‘prop’ is a scarf pin); palmer (a thief who ‘rings the changes’; but see under Palmer); pudding-snammer (an eating-house thief); drummer or drammer (these gentry stupify their victims prior to robbing them); stook-hauler (speciality—pocket-handkerchiefs); tooler (a pickpocket); toy-getter (a watch thief).

French Synonyms. Un droguiste (corresponds to the English ‘hawk’ or ‘rook’); un chêne affranchi (a ‘flash cove’); un careur, or voleur à la care (thief who robs money-changers while pretending to offer old coins for sale); un enfant de la matte (‘a child of folly.’—See Family man); un tiretaine (a country thief); un garçon de cambrouse (a highwayman); un garçon de campagne (same as example last quoted); un frère de la manicle; un philantrope (a peddlar’s term); un bonjourier or voleur au bonjour (an early morning thief, but see under Thieves); un philibert (of the sharper stamp); un philosophe (lit. ‘a philosopher’); un enfant de minuit (formerly, says Cotgrave, enfants de la messe de minuit, i.e., companions of the midnight mass, not for devotion, but for robbery and abuse); ramastiqueur (one who swindles by means of pocket-book dropping, etc.—a variety of the confidence trick); un jardinier, un Americain (‘confidence trick’ men); un tirebogue (a watch thief; in English slang a ‘toy-getter’); un friauche; un grinchisseur de bogues (a watch thief); un mion de boule (equivalent to the English ‘prig’); un fil de soie; un doubleur (= English ‘prig’; un doubleur de sorgue, ‘a night thief’); un voleur à la tire (a pickpocket); un tireur (a pickpocket; literally ‘one who draws out’); etc.

German Synonyms. Broschem-blatter; cochem (a thieves’ accomplice; from Hebrew chochem, wise, instructed); erntemackener (thieves who steal from houses while the owners are away harvesting. From erndte, harvest + machen, to make); anstiebler (one who plans robberies; an instigator to theft. A corrupted form of anstifter, an instigator); achbrosch (also achberosch, achperosch, achprosch, approsch, an infamous thief or robber, a rogue, a sharper. Not so much from the Chaldean achbero, a mouse + rosch, head, as from the passage Jer. Baba. Mez. 8., achberi reschii, i.e., ‘the mice are vile.’ Hence applied primarily to a notorious thief. Thiele says the expressions have not been so much in use since the suppression of the famous Rhenish robber gang; the words, however, particularly achbrosch, are not by any means obsolete, being very much in use by cattle and horsedealers, and sharpers generally); ganof (Hebrew, ‘a thief’; from gonaw, ‘to steal’); achelpeter (an inactive lazy old thief who sponges upon his confederates. From Hebrew ochal, to eat + putzen, from O.H.G., bizan, pizzan, ‘food’); golehopser (a thief who jumps on a loaded cart or other vehicle whilst in motion to steal boxes or small packages. In English slang this kind of thief is called a ‘dragsman’); goleschàchter (the same as preceding, but instead of making off bodily with the booty, the packages are cut open, and the contents thrown down for an accomplice to secure); bihengst (a thief who steals bees); baldower (a principal, or leader of a gang of thieves; one who advises and plans robberies. Balhoche is also a man who has an opportunity for theft; balspiess, the host of an inn, frequented by thieves and rogues); brenner (a thief who preys upon others of his kind, by demanding, under threats of exposure, a share of a successful robbery, without having taken part in it. From brennen, ‘to claim’; literally ‘to burn’; or it may be from berennen, ‘to run against or blockade’); chalfan (also chalfen, chalfener, chilfer, legitimately ‘a money changer,’ but amongst German thieves the name of the rogue who, in changing money, commits theft. Cf., English, ‘ringing the changes’); chawer (Hebrew: literally an associate; chaweress [fem.], a thief’s confederate; a comrade. Chawrusse, kabruse, a gang or confederation of thieves; chawrusse melochenen, to form a gang of thieves; chenneter, a thief who knows how to conduct himself with tact and address in good society. From the Hebrew chono, gentle, kind, affable); chessenspiess, fem., chessenspiesse (the landlord or mistress of an inn frequented by thieves—a place where they may find refuge without fear of discovery. From the Hebrew); chechom (also chochem, chochemer,—more frequently spelled with ‘K’—from the Hebrew, the wise one. A prudent, cunning thief. Chochem lehorre, a dangerous thief, one prepared for the worst; of a similar meaning is chochem mechutten, a dangerous companion, a rogue of the worst type); bahnherr (also bohnherr and Herr by itself: literally ‘a road-master’; a burglar—one who prepares a robbery); diffler (a thoroughly dexterous thief; from tupfel, ‘a point’); drängler (a thief, who, to divert the attention of people from his intention, causes a crowd to assemble); paddendrücker (a pickpocket—one whose speciality is purses: drücker is a corrupted form of trecken, ‘to draw’ or ‘steal’ quickly and adroitly. Drücker, like drücken, ‘to steal’ is never used by itself, but always with the object of the theft; hence paddendrücker, a purse thief; luppendrücker, a watch thief; torfdrücker, a generic name for a pickpocket); eintreiber (a confederate who entices a victim to play so that his comrade may swindle him); erefschieber (a thief who goes out at evening time to commit robberies. Also erefhalchener, erefgänger, erefhändler. Eref = evening); fichtegänger (a night thief or burglar); fiesel (supposed to be derived from faser, ‘a birch,’ ‘rod,’ or ‘fibre.’ In Vienna, the scum of society is meant by fiesel—the commonest thief, professional vagabond, a protector of brothels and whores of the most repulsive kind. These thieves are of great daring, utterly unscrupulous, and are consequently much dreaded. Some feign to carry on the business of a rag and bone-picker, what in the fiesellange or Viennese thieves’ lingo is termed, ‘going out for profit.’ In the sense of ‘a rod,’ fiesel is applied to the membrum genitale masculi; hence fiesel as synonymous with strength, i.e., pertaining to the stronger sex. It was formerly used in connection with many other words; e.g., mädchenfiesel, ‘one who habitually runs after women,’ ‘a molrower,’ a ‘loose fish.’ Fiesel-language means the language of the strong, of those belonging to the fellowship of thieves, burglars, and rowdies); freikäufer (a thief whose speciality it is to steal at fairs and markets); freischupper (a card sharper; a gambling cheat who carries on his business in crowded places of public resort); gacheler (also gachler, gackler, kachler, kakler, kegler: a pantry thief; one who steals eatables and plate from kitchens whilst servants are attending at table); gannew (from Hebrew gonaw, ‘to steal’); gaslan (from Hebrew gosal, ‘to rob’); glitscher (gypsy: glitschin, ‘the key’: a thief who works by means of skeleton keys); godler chochem (from Hebrew godol, great, strong, celebrated + Hebrew chochem, the wise one; hence, a clever rogue, a thief who thoroughly understands his business); goi gomur (an utterly unreliable confederate. Goi, plural gojim is applied to those not Jews, to Christians; in the plural, especially, in the sense of ignorant people, suspicious or two-faced characters; also used as a synonym for Philistine—a man of whom one has to be careful. Goje [fem.] is almost always used contemptuously for a female); götte (also götti, göde, göttling [O.H.G., gataling] a confederate, a relative—especially used to denote one who has been doing good business); gutenmorgenwünscher (literally ‘good morning wisher’: thieves who break into rooms early in the morning for purposes of robbery. The French have an analogous expression in bonjourier, or voleur au bon jour). For other synonyms, see Thieves.

Italian Synonyms (Fourbesque). Quadro (a cut-purse. In the Germania or Spanish argot, quadro is used in the sense of ‘a poignard,’ and quadrata in that of ‘purse.’ Possibly the Fourbesque quadro is derived from one of these words. In Italian it is literally ‘a square’ or ‘a rule’); granchetto (also ‘one who speaks gibberish’); lavorante di scarpe (a pickpocket or cut-purse: lit. ‘working shoes’); camuffo; fiadetto (also ‘a dolt,’ ‘a duffer’); carpione; truccante (also ‘a beggar’).

Spanish Synonyms (Germania). Aquila (a sharper: lit. ‘an eagle’); bolador (thought to be derived from the French voleur); comendadores de bola (thieves who work principally at fairs and markets); gerifalte (lit. ‘a gerfalcon’—one of the ‘hawk’ species); lince (lit. ‘a lynx.’ This class of thief varies robbery with begging); piloto (a thief who directs others to the place of rendezvous, i.e., where a robbery has been planned; lit. ‘a pilot’); trabajar (lit. ‘a traveller’).—See Thieves.

Portuguese Synonyms (Calão). Pai (a captain of thieves—an Aaron or arch-cove); maguino (a highwayman).

For exhaustive and comparative description of all classes of thieves, both English and foreign, see Thieves—their names and methods.

Arf, adj. (vulgarism).—Half; e.g., ‘’arf an ’our,’ i.e., half an hour.

’Arf and ’arf.—See Four-half.

Argal.—See Argol-bargol.

Argol-Bargol, subs. and verb. (old).—Argol, sometimes argal, is a corrupt pronunciation of Latin ergo, therefore; hence, from that word being frequently used in conversation, a clumsy, unsound piece of reasoning or cavilling; and verbally, to bandy words. Hotten says argol-bargol is Scotch, but argal is found in Hamlet, v. i., and the fuller form is probably onomatopoetic like ‘shilly-shally,’ ‘hocus-pocus,’ etc., unless it comes from the Hebrew through the Yiddish bar-len ‘to talk or speak’ [anyhow].

1596. Shakspear, Hamlet v. i., 21., 1st Clown. Here lies the water; good: here stands the man; good: If the man go to this water, it is, will he, nil he, he goes; mark you that: but if the water come to him, he drowns not himself: argal, he that is not guilty of his own death, shortens not his own life.

1823. J. Galt, The Entail, i., 53. ‘Weel, weel,’ said the laird, ‘dinna let us argol-bargol about it; entail your own property as ye will, mine shall be on the second son.’

1861. Times, 23 Aug. Mr. Buckle’s argument [is] as absurd an argal as ever was invented by philosopher or gravedigger. [M.]

Argol-Bargolous, adj. (old).—Quarrelsome.—See Argol-bargol.

1822. J. Galt, The Provost, p. 194. No doubt his argol-bargolous disposition was an inheritance accumulated with his other conquest of wealth from the mannerless Yankees.

Argufy, verb. (vulgar).—A corrupted form of ‘to argue,’ usually associated with cavilling or a bandying of words; also, ‘to signify’; e.g., ‘It doesn’t much argufy.’

1758. A. Murphy, The Upholsterer, Act i. Well, it does not signify argifying.

1837. Lytton, Ernest Maltravers, bk. IV., ch. vii. ‘Lord! how I should like to have you on the roadside instead of within these four gimcrack walls. Ha! ha! the argufying would be all in my favour then.’

Aristippus, subs. (old).—1. A diet drink or decoction of sarsaparilla and other drugs, sold at the coffee-houses, and drank as tea.—Grose.

2. Also a cant name for canary wine.

1627. (circa) Middleton, Wks. (Halliwell), II., 422. Rich aristippus, sparkling sherry.

Arkansas Toothpick, subs. (American).—A grimly facetious name for a folding bowie knife of large dimensions.

1854. Sir Theo. Martin (with Prof. Aytoun), Bon Gaultier Ballads.

‘Straightway leaped the valiant Slingby Into armor of Seville, With a strong Arkansas toothpick, Screwed in every joint of steel.’

1881. A. B. Greenleaf, Ten Years in Texas, p. 27. All these (men) irrespective of age, size, or condition in life, could be seen with a Navy six-shooter and an Arkansas toothpick suspended to a raw-hide belt tucked around their waists. Supplement the above equipment with a sore-backed mustang pony, an old army saddle-tree and rope bridle, and you have an exact picture and entire possession of the fifteenth constitutional amendment.

1888. Detroit Free Press, Aug. It is not good form to use a toothpick in Arkansas now. A big revolver is the thing in the best society.

For synonyms, see Chive.

Ark-Floater, subs. (theatrical).—An actor well advanced in years. [From an allusion to the proverbial saying concerning anything ancient, ‘He, or it, must have come out of Noah’s ark,’ + floats, the footlights.]

Arkman, subs. (old).—A Thames waterman. Cf., Ackman.

Ark-Ruff, or Ark-Ruffian.—The same as ack-man (q.v.).

Armour. To be in armour, verb. phr. (old).—To be pot-valiant; ‘primed’; full of Dutch courage.—See Screwed.

Armpits. To work under the armpits, verb. phr. (old).—To sail so far to the windward of the law in petty larceny, that, if caught and tried, the punishment would not amount to more than transportation. On the passing of Sir Samuel Romilly’s Act, capital punishment was abolished for highway robberies under 40s. in value. Hence, formerly, to work under the armpits was to avoid the halter or neck-squeezer (q.v.), which is applied above the armpits.

Arm-Props, subs. (common).—Crutches; otherwise wooden legs (q.v.).

1825. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, Act ii., Scene 6. Beggar: You did quite right; vell, vile I can get fifteen bob a day by gammoning a maim, the devil may vork for me. If any lady or gemman is inclined for a dance, I’ll nash my arm-props in a minute.

(Throws down his crutches.)

Arms and Legs, subs. phr. (common).—Poor, weak beer, because there is no body in it!—See Swipes.

Armstrong. To come Captain Armstrong.—See Captain Armstrong.

Arrow (vulgarism).—A corruption of ‘e’er, a,’ or ‘ever a.’

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. V., ch. viii. ‘I don’t believe there is arrow a servant in the house ever saw the colour of his money.’

1771. Smollett, Humphrey Clinker, i., 126. ‘I now carries my head higher than arrow private gentlewoman of Vales.’

’Arry, subs. (common).—The Christian name Harry without the aspirate. A popular embodiment of the vulgar, rollicking, yet on the whole good-tempered ‘rough’ of the great metropolis. His ‘get-up’ is, as he would himself put it, ‘immense’; he is seen to most advantage—his own—on Sundays and bank holidays; his ‘young woman’—generally ‘’Arriet’—is en suite; taken altogether he is a lively, jovial, but ill-bred ‘cuss.’ Mr. Punch in an inimitable series of sketches has ‘hit off’ his man ‘to a T.’

1880. Millikin, Punch’s Almanac.

January! Tailor’s bill comes in. Blow that blooming snip! I’m short of tin. Werry much enjoyed my autumn Caper, But three quid fifteen do look queer paper. Want another new rig out, wuss luck, Gurl at Boodle’s bar seems awful struck. Like to take her to pantermime; That and oysters after would be prime. Fan’s a screamer; this top coat would blue it, Yaller at the seams, black ink wont do it. Wonder if old snip would spring another? Boots, too, rayther seedy; beastly bother! Lots o’ larks that empty pockets ‘queer.’ Can’t do much on fifty quid a year.

Febrywary! High old time for sprees! Now’s yer chance the gals to please or tease. Dowds to guy and pooty ones’ to wheedle, And give all rival chaps the needle. Crab your enemies,—I’ve got a many, You can pot ’em proper for a penny. My! them walentines do ’it ’em ’ot. First-rate fun: I always buy a lot. Prigs complain they’re spiteful, lor’ wot stuff! I can’t ever get ’em strong enough. Safe too; no one twigs your little spree, If you do it on the strict Q.T. If you’re spoons, a flowery one’s your plan, Mem. I sent a proper one to Fan.

March! I’m nuts upon a windy day, Gurls do get in such a awful way. Petticoats yer know, and pooty feet; Hair all flying,—tell you it’s a treat. Pancake day. Don’t like ’em—flabby, tough, Rayther do a pennorth o’ plum-duff. Seediness shows up as Spring advances, Ah! the gurls do lead us pretty dances. Days a-lengthening, think I spotted Fan Casting sheep’s eyes at another man. Quarter-day, too, no more chance of tick, Fancy I shall ’ave to cut my stick. Got the doldrums dreadful, that is clear, Two d left!—must go and do a beer!

April! All Fools’ Day’s a proper time, Cop old gurls and guy old buffers prime. Scissors! don’t they goggle and look blue, When you land them with a regular ‘do?’ Lor! the world would not be worth a mivvey, If there warn’t no fools to cheek and chivy. Then comes Easter. Got some coin in ’and, Trot a bonnet out and do the grand. Fan all flounce and flower; fellows mad, Heye us henvious; nuts to me, my lad. ’Ampstead! ’Ampton! Which is it to be? Fan—no flat—prefers the Crystal P. Nobby togs, high jinks, and lots o’ lotion, That’s the style to go it, I’ve a notion!

May! The month o’ flowers. Spooney sell! ‘Rum ’ot with,’ is wot I likes to smell. Beats yer roses holler. A chice weed, Licks all flowers that ever run to seed. Nobby button ’oler very well, When one wants to do the ’eavy swell; Otherwise don’t care not one brass farden, For the best ever blowed in Covent Garden. Fan, though, likes ’em, costs a pretty pile, Rayther stiff, a tanner for a smile. Blued ten bob last time I took ’er out, Left my silver ticker up the spout. Women are sech sharks! If I don’t drop ’er, Guess that I shall come a hawful cropper!

June! A jolly month; sech stunning weather! Fan and I have lots of outs together: Rorty on the river, sech prime ’unts, Foul the racers, run into the punts. Prime to ’ear the anglers rave and cuss, When in quiet ‘swims’ we raise a muss. Snack on someone’s lawn upon the quiet, Won’t the owner raise a tidy riot When he twigs our scraps and broken bottles? Cheaper this than rusty-rongs or hottles. Whitsuntide ’ud be a lot more gay If it warn’t so near to Quarter-day. Snip turns sour, pulls ‘county-courting’ faces, Must try and land a little on the races.

At July! just nicked a handy fiver, (Twenty-five to one on old ‘Screw-driver’!) New rig-out. This mustard colour mixture Suits me nobly. Fan appears a fixture. Gurls like style, you know, and colour ketches ’em, But good show of ochre,—that’s what fetches ’em. Wimbledon! I’m not a wolunteer, Discipline don’t suit this child—no fear! But we ’ave fine capers at the camp, Proper, but for that confounded scamp: Punched my ’ead, because I guyed his shooting. Fan I fancied rather ’igh faluting; Ogled the big beggar as he propped me, Would ’a licked ’im if she ’adn’t stopped me.

August! Time to think about my outing. No dibs yet, though, so it’s no use shouting. Make the best of the Bank ’Oliday. Fan ‘engaged’! Don’t look too bloomin’ gay. Drop into the bar to do a beer. Twig her talking to that volunteer. Sling my ’ook instanter sharp and short, Took Jemimer down to ’Ampton Court, Not ’arf bad that gurl. Got rather screwed, Little toff complained as I was rude. ’It ’im in the wind, he went like death; Weak, consumptive cove and short o’ breath. Licked ’im proper, dropped ’im like a shot’— Only wish that Fan had seen that lot.

’Ere’s September! ’Oliday at last! Off to Margit—mean to go it fast. Mustard-coloured togs still fresh as paint, Like to know who’s natty, if I ain’t. Got three quid; have cried a go with Fan, Game to spend my money like a man. But stickin’ tight to one gal ain’t no fun,— Here’s no end of prime ’uns on the run Carn’t resist me somehow, togs and tile All A1—make even swell ones smile. Lor! if I’d the ochre, make no doubt I could cut no end of big pots out. Call me cad? When money’s in the game, Cad and swell are pooty much the same.

Now October! Back again to collar, Funds run low, reduced to last ’arf dollar. Snip on rampage, boots a getting thin, ’Ave to try the turf to raise some tin. Evenings getting gloomy; high old games; Music ’alls look up the taking names. Proper swells them pros! If I’d had my choice, There’s my mark. Just wish I’d got a voice; Cut the old den to-morrow, lots o’cham, Cabs and diamonds—ain’t that real jam? Got the straight tip for the Siezerwitch, If I honly land it, I’ll be rich. Guess next mornin’ wouldn’t find me sober— Allays get the blues about October.

Dull November! Didn’t land that lot. Fear my father’s son is going to pot. Fan jest passed me, turned away ’er eyes, Guess she ranked me with the other guys. Nobby larks upon the Ninth, my joker But it queers a chap to want the ochre. Nothing like a crowd for regular sprees, Ain’t it fine to do a rush, and squeeze? Twig the women fainting! oh, it’s proper! Bonnet buffers when the blooming copper Can’t get near yer nohow. Then the fogs! Rare old time for regular jolly dogs. If a chap’s a genuine ’ot member, He can keep the game up in November!

Dun December! Dismal, dingy, dirty. Still short commons—makes a chap feel shirty. Snip rampageous, drops a regular summons. Fan gets married; ah! them gurls is rum ’uns! After all the coin I squandered on ’er! Want it now. A ’eap too bad, ’pon honour. Snow! ah, that’s yer sort though, and no error, Treat to twig the women scud in terror. Hot ’un in the eye for that old feller; Cold ’un down ’is neck, burst his umbreller. Ha! ha! then Christmas,—’ave a jolly feast! The Boss will drop a tip,—’ope so, at least. If I don’t land some tin, my look-out’s queer. Well, let’s drink, boys—‘Better luck next year!’

Arse, subs. (low).—The posterior; the breech; the fundament. Once in polite use, but now considered very vulgar. As Grose in his Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue [1785] prints the word thus, ‘a—e,’ it is evident that it had then fallen into disfavour. Murray traces the word back to about A.D. 1000. [A.S., ears, œurs; Icelandic and Swedish, ars; Danish, arts, and German, arsch].

1000 (circa). Ælfric, Glossary in Wright, 44·2 [Nates, ears-lye]. [M.]

1480. Caxton, Chronicles of England, ccxxvi., 233. They lete hange fox tailles ... to hele and hyde her arses.

1663. Butler, Hudibras I., iii., 964. Then mounted both upon their Horses, But with their Faces to the arses. [M.]

1704. Swift, Battle of the Books (1711), 235. Do you think I have nothing else to do but to mend and repair after your arse [i.e., behind you, in your rear].

Heavy-arse, a hulking, lazy fellow; a sluggard.

1530. Palsgrave, 436, 2. What up, heavy-arse, cannest thou nat aryse? [M.]

To hang the arse, to hang or hold back; to be afraid to advance.

1633. Massinger, Guardian, V., v. Nay, no hanging an arse. [M.]

Arse-upwards in good luck.

1600 (circa). Timon I., 5 (1842), 20. This man this daye rose with his arse upwards: To daye a fidler, and at night a noble.

Also such forms as arse-board, the tail board of a cart—this is still dialectical; arse-gut, the rectum; arse-long; arse-push, a heavy backward fall; arse-ropes, the intestines.

Arse-Cooler, subs. (low).—A bustle or dress-improver. [From arse, see preceding + cooler; in reference to the manner in which this article of feminine attire extends the dress, and prevents it clinging to the part of the body referred to.]

For synonyms, see Bird-cage.

Ars-Musica, subs. (low).—The podex when used as a noisy vent.—A play upon words.

Arst (vulgarism).—A mispronunciation of ‘asked.’

Arsy-Varsy or Arsy-Versy, adv. and adj. (low).—Topsy-turvy; topside t’other way; heels over head; or ‘the cart before the horse.’ [From arse + Latin versus ‘to turn,’ following model onomatopoetic compounds like ‘hirdie-girdie,’ ‘higgledy-piggledy,’ etc.] Once in polite use, but now confined to the low and vulgar.

1539. Taverner, Erasm. Prov. (1552), 62. Ye set the cart before the horse ... cleane contrarily, and arsy-versy as they say.

1728. Bailey, Dictionary. Arsy-versey, topsy-turvy, preposterously, perversely, without order.

Still dialectical. See English Dialect Society’s Glossaries, e.g., West Somerset Word Book.

Arter (vulgarism).—An incorrect pronunciation of ‘after.’

Artesian, subs. (Australian).—In Gippsland, Victoria, a well-known and popular brew of beer is manufactured with water obtained from an artesian well at Sale—and hence artesian as a common nickname for all Colonial beer.—See also Cascade.

English synonyms for beer will be found under Swipes.

Artful Dodger, subs. (rhyming and thieves’ slang).—1. A lodger.

1881. New York Slang Dictionary. Artful dodgers, fellows who dare not sleep twice in the same place for fear of arrest.

2. An expert thief. The artful dodger in Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’ will occur to mind in this connection.

Arthur. King Arthur (old).—A sailor’s game, thus described, in effect, by Grose. When near the line, or in a hot latitude, a man who is to represent King Arthur, is ridiculously dressed, having a large wig made out of oakum, or some old swabs. He is seated on the side, or over a large vessel of water, and every person in turn is ceremoniously introduced to him, and has to pour a bucket of water over him, crying out, ‘Hail, King Arthur!’ If during the ceremony the person introduced laughs or smiles (to which his majesty endeavours to excite him by all sorts of ridiculous gesticulations), he changes places with, and then becomes King Arthur, till relieved by some brother tar who has as little command over his muscles as himself.—See also Ambassador.

Artichoke, subs. (American thieves’).—An aged prostitute of the lowest type. For general synonyms, see Barrack hack.

Article, subs. (popular).—1. A term of contempt for a worthless or insignificant person or animal—‘A pretty article he is.’

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. xxvi., p. 268. You’re a nice article, to turn sulky on first coming home!

2. A woman. In this sense generally current at the beginning of the century—‘a prime article,’ a handsome girl, or, as the Lexicon Balatronicum [1811] has it, ‘a hell of a goer.’

1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, ch. xxxi. ‘She’d never have done for you, you know; and she’s the very article for such a man as Peppermint.’

See also Sappy for English and foreign synonyms.

Articles, subs. (thieves’).—A suit of clothes. Formerly current in England [circa 1780–1825]; now surviving principally amongst American thieves.

Articles of Virtue, subs. phr. (popular).—Virgins. A play upon the word ‘virtue,’ in allusion to the absence of defloration; and also upon vertu in its special English usage.

Artist, subs. (American thieves’).—An adroit rogue; a skilful gamester.—N.Y.S.D.

As ... as They Make ’Em, phr. (common).—Generally employed with such adjectives as ‘hot,’ ‘drunk,’ ‘bad,’ etc.; e.g., as bad as they make ’em.

1889. Bird o’ Freedom, Aug. 17, p. 3. On reaching the party it was evident that one of the Frenchmen was, not to put too fine a point on it, about as drunk as they make ’em. He opened the campaign by asking us to have a drink with him. Of course, he spoke in French.

Asia Minor, subs. (popular).—The Kensington and Bayswater districts in London, on account of the many Anglo-Indians who, on their retirement, take refuge therein. The nickname, however, is a double-barrelled one, inasmuch as this quarter is also the headquarters of the Greek community in the metropolis. Sobriquets of the kind are not infrequent. The district between Maida Vale and St. Peter’s Park, Paddington, is called ‘the New Jerusalem,’ because of the large number of Jews who live there; and the same reason has given an exactly identical appellation to Brighton, while Cheltenham is nicknamed ‘the Black Hole’ from its numerous Anglo-Indian residents.

A sketch appeared under the title of ‘The Ladies in Parliament’ in Macmillan’s Magazine [Nov., 1866], wherein Tyburnia was described as ‘the pension’d Indian’s undisturbed retreat.’

1888. Daily News, 9 Feb., p. 2, col. 5. The Ladbroke Hall, Notting-hill ... is in the centre of a district where Indians in the British metropolis mostly congregate, a circumstance which has acquired for this part of London the nickname of Asia Minor, by which it is sometimes called.

Ask Bogy! phr. (old nautical slang).—An evasive reply.

Askew, subs. (old cant).—A cuppe.—Harman [1567].

Asquirm.—See Squirm.

1866. W. D. Howells, Venetian Life, ch. xviii. It is wet and slimy underfoot, and the innumerable gigantic eels, writhing everywhere, set the soul asquirm.

Ass, subs. (printers’).—A compositor, so nicknamed by pressmen, who, in turn, are called pigs (q.v.). Ass is sometimes varied by donkey. In French printing offices compositors are called mulets, i.e., ‘mules.’

Assay It! intj. (American thieves’).—Commence! try it! Obviously from the verb ‘to assay,’ and probably introduced by counterfeit coiners.

Assig., subs. (old).—An assignation.—Grose.

Aste, subs. (old cant).—Nares quotes this as an old cant term for money. For modern synonyms, see Actual.

1612. The Passenger of Benvenuto. These companions, who in the phisionomie of their forehead, eyes, and nose, carry the impression and marke of the pillerie galley, and of the halter, they call the purse a leafe, and a fleece; money, cuckoes, and aste, and crowns.

Astronomer, subs. (old).—A horse which carries its head high.

Athanasian Wench, subs. (old).—A forward, abandoned woman, of obliging disposition—one who practises prostitution from libidinous desire rather than for gain. Also Quicunque vult. For synonyms, see Barrack hack.

Atlantic-Ranger, subs. (common).—A herring. The derivation is too obvious to need particularization.

1883. Good Words, p. 378. Peas-pudding, and hard-boiled eggs, rubbing shoulders, as it were, with Atlantic rangers (i.e., red herrings).

Among other curious synonyms for this fish may be mentioned Billingsgate pheasant; two-eyed steak; Yarmouth capon; sea rover; and Glasgow magistrate, all of which see. A very common request at Lockhart’s coffee-houses in London is for ‘a door step and a sea rover,’ i.e., a halfpenny slice of bread and butter and a herring.

Atmosphere, subs. (American).—By the atmosphere of a thing, whether book, church, or individual, is meant its tone or influence. Atmosphere is one of the most recent introductions into the canting-slang phraseology of ‘Culchaw, don’t you know!’ It belongs to the same category as that which employs awfully and dreadfully for ‘very’; or lovely for anything pleasing, etc. The number of legitimate words perverted from their legitimate meanings and used in senses oftentimes ludicrous is much larger than most people would care to admit.

Atomy, subs. (familiar).—1. A diminutive, or deformed person. [From a jocular pronunciation of ‘anatomy.’] As will be seen from the historical examples which follow, this expression has been in the mouths of the English people for at least 300 years.

1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, iv., i., 57.

... I see, Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies’ midwife; and she comes In shape no bigger than an agate-stone On the forefinger of an alderman, Drawn with a team of little atomies, Athwart men’s noses as they fall asleep.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., v., 4, 33. Host. Thou atomy, thou!

Dot. Come, you thin thing, come, you rascal.

1822. Scott, The Fortunes of Nigel, ch. iii. ‘He was an atomy when he came up from the North, and I am sure he died ... at twenty stone weight.’

1866. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, ch. ix. A miserable little atomy, more deformed, more diminutive, more mutilated than any beggar in a bowl.

1884. Cornhill Magazine, May, p. 478. ‘And atomy scarecrow and atomy, what next will you call me? Yet you want to marry me!’

1886. Miss Braddon, Mohawks, ch. xxii. ‘How lovely his young wife looks to-night; lovely enough to keep that poor old atomy in perpetual torment.’

2. (American thieves’).—Amongst the fraternity atomy has the special meaning of an empty-headed person, and not necessarily one deformed or of small, mean stature.

For synonyms, in first sense, see Sappy.

Attack, verb. (common).—A jocular rendering of the legitimate word; to commence operations, not necessarily, however, with the idea of force, which is always associated with the proper usage. Also as a subs.

1812. Combe (Dr. Syntax), Pictur. xvii., 62. The Doctor then ... pronounced the grace ... The fierce attack was soon begun.

1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. i. It was a double letter, and the Major commenced perusing the envelope before he attacked the inner epistle.

At That, adv. phr. (American and Australian).—An intensitive phrase tacked on to the end of an assertion or statement already made. ‘He’s a slick ’cute rascal, and a pretty demon at that,’ i.e., he is a rascal of rascals, an adept at villainy. It is a purely cant phrase, and has achieved a degree of popularity quite out of proportion to its merits—if any. Proctor suggests that the expression is an abbreviation of ‘added to that,’ but others regard it as the German dazu, a theory which is not improbable, in view of the large German element in the States.

1882. Pinkerton’s Mollie Maguires and Detectives. A miner from Wadesville, was spoken of as an ancient Mollie—Cooney being actually what the detective assumed to be, and a sharp one at that.

1888. Forest and Stream, March 15. Worth a year’s subscription, and cheap at that.

1888. New York Herald, July 22. Who would have supposed that the self-contained Mr. French, the icily regular T. Henry French, with a disposition as undemonstrative as the Alpine edelweiss, would suffer his temper to go away because of the loss of a hat—aye, and of an old hat at that.

Attic or Attic-Storey, subs. (common).—The head, from its being the highest or crowning member, the body being figuratively regarded as a house. Sometimes upper-storey. For synonyms, see Crumpet.

1870. Alford, in Life (1873), 467. Tolerably well all day, but the noise in the attic unremoved.

Queer in the attic, etc. Drunk; also weak-minded, or ‘cracked.’

Attic-Salt, subs. (literary).—Well-turned phrases spiced with wit and humour. A reference to the peculiar style and idiom of the Greek language as used by the Athenians, and, says Hotten, ‘partly a sly hit at the well-known poverty of many writers.’ Whether so, or not, the phrase is one of long standing.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5 ed.) In Philology, we say attic-salt, for a delicate, poignant kind of wit and humour after the Athenian manner, who were particular in this way.

1779. Sheridan, The Critic, Act i., Sc. 2. I have the plot from the author, and only add—characters strongly drawn—highly coloured—hand of a master—fund of genuine humour—mine of invention—neat dialogue—attic-salt.

1848. Jas. Hannay, King Dobbs, ch. ix., p. 129 (1856). ‘If you joke in that style, we’ll lose the day,’ said Dobbs, who had some quiet homely superstitions. ‘What? is it unlucky to spill attic-salt, as well as the ordinary kind?’

Attleborough, subs. (American).—Sham jewelry; used in precisely the same manner as ‘Brummagem,’ and as widely applied to men and things. It has passed from the classics of thiefdom into general use, and is applied to anything of a sham, pinchbeck, insincere, or doubtful character. Attleborough is a town celebrated for its manufacture of trashy jewelry.

Attorney, subs. (popular).—A drumstick of goose, or turkey, grilled and devilled. [From devil = a lawyer who does routine work for another = attorney.]

1828. G. Griffin, Collegians, ch. xiii. ‘I love a plain beef steak before a grilled attorney.’

(Thieves’).—A shrewd, and often not over honest or scrupulous man who, possessing some knowledge of the law, acts in the capacity of legal adviser to those of the ‘crooked craft’ unfortunate enough to need assistance. Such men are generally solicitors and others whose names have been struck off the rolls, as also, occasionally, solicitors’ clerks who have otherwise failed in life. Their practices are shady, but their fees are low.

Attorney-General’s Devil.—See Devil.

Auctioneer. To tip or give the auctioneer.—A phrase borrowed from the sale room, and signifying ‘to knock a man down.’

1863. G. A. Sala, Breakfast in Bed, Essay I., p. 4 (1864). And who, in return for a craven blow, can deliver the auctioneer well over the face and eyes.

Audit-Ale, subs. (Cambridge Univ.).—A special brew of ale, peculiar to Trinity College, made in the first instance for draught on audit days, whence its name.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Lay of S. Dunstan).

To be sure the best beer Of all did not appear, For I’ve said ’twas in June, and so late in the year The ‘Trinity audit ale’ is not come-at-able, As I’ve found to my great grief when dining at that table.

1876. Trevelyan, Life of Macaulay (1884), ch. iv., p. 127. A glass of the audit ale, which reminded him that he was still a fellow of Trinity.

Audley.—See John Audley.

Aufe.—See Oaf.

Auger, subs. (American thieves’).—A person given to prosiness is so called; a bore.

Aught, subs. (vulgarism).—A common illiteracy for ‘naught’ when naming the cipher—‘o’.

Auld Hornie, subs. (common).—One of the numerous nicknames given to the devil. Others are, old nick; old scratch; old Harry; skipper; old gentleman; deuce; dickens; ruffian, etc.—See Skipper for synonyms.

Auld Reekie (popular).—A sobriquet for the old town of Edinburgh. It means ‘old smoky.’ Of late years it has been applied to the whole city.

1806. Miss Pitman, in C. K. Sharpe’s Correspondence (1888), i., 271. We are within two hours-and-a-half of Auld Reeky.

1816. Scott, Antiquary, ch. vi. ‘And what news do you bring us from Edinburgh, Monkbarns?’ said Sir Arthur; ‘how wags the world in Auld Reekie?’

1889. Colonies and India, July 24, p. 10, col. 1. The Australasian Colony in Auld Reekie is prospering apace, and it may soon be necessary to plant some gum trees along Princes Street to meet the growing demands of the population.

Auly-Auly, subs. (Win. Coll.).—A game formerly played in ‘Grass Court’ on Saturday afternoons after chapel. It consisted in throwing an india-rubber ball at one another, and everybody was obliged to go down and join in it. ‘Haul ye, call ye,’ is the supposed derivation; but, as the game, though in vogue in 1830, was not played as late as 1845, there is some difficulty in defining it in detail.

Aunt, subs. (old).—Applied, especially during the Elizabethan period, to either a procuress, a prostitute, or a concubine. It survived till the commencement of the present century and then gradually died out. For synonyms, see Mother.

1608. Middleton, Trick to Catch the Old One, II., i. Was it not then better bestowed upon his uncle than upon one of his aunts?—I need not say bawd, for everyone knows what aunt stands for in the last translation.

1623. Shakspear, Winter’s Tale, iv., 3.

Summer songs for me and my aunts, While we lie tumbling in the hay.

To go and see one’s aunt (common).—To go to the W.C.—See Mrs. Jones.

Aunt Sally, subs. (familiar).—A well-known game, common to race-courses and fairs, which consists in throwing short staves at a wooden head mounted on a stick, placed upright in the ground, and forming a kind of target. In the mouth of the image is placed a clay pipe, and the object of the player, who stands at say twenty or thirty yards distance, is to demolish this. The amusement is not unlike the more popular ‘three shies a penny.’ The origin of Aunt Sally is wrapped in mystery; nor is it known whether she is any relation to the black lady whose effigy some few years since was frequently to be met with suspended outside the shops of rag and ‘marine store’ dealers. A writer in Notes and Queries [2 S., x., 117] affirms that Aunt Sally is the heroine of a popular negro melody, in which the old lady meets with several ludicrous adventures, but evidence in support of this theory is at present wanting.

1866. G. A. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, ch. i., p. 11. They will go to Epsom by the rail, and create disturbances on the course, and among the ‘sticks’ and aunt sallies.

1883. Punch, June 2, p. 264, col. 1. The average number of ‘chucks’ at cocoa-nuts before achieving success is six, and of ‘shies’ at aunt sally, four.

Au Reservoir! intj. phr. (common).—Au revoir. A mere play upon sounds. Common in America, where it originated, and now often heard in England.

Australian Flag, subs. (Anglo-Australian).—The tail of a shirt, when, after exertion, it rucks up in folds between the trousers and the waistcoat—an ‘up-country’ phrase.—See Cornstalk.

Australian Grip, subs. (Australian).—A hearty shake of the hands.

Autem, Autum, Autom, subs. (old cant).—A church. The term first appears in Harman’s Caveat [1573]; again in Rowland’s Martin Mark-all [1610]; in Head’s English Rogue [1665]; in Cole’s English Dictionary [1724]; in Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue [1785], and in Duncombe’s Sinks of London Laid Open [1848].—See also Autem mort.

Adj.—Married. So quoted in Cole’s English Dictionary, whence autem mort, etc.

Autem-Bawler, subs. (old cant).—A parson. [From autem (q.v.), a church + bawler, a speaker.] For modern English and foreign synonyms, see Gospel shark. Other ancient expressions for a clergyman are autem-jet, autem-cackler, and autem-pricker; the last two named, however, apply, as a rule, only to Dissenters.

Autem-Cackler, subs. (old cant).—A Dissenter; sometimes specially applied to Dissenting ministers.

1876. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 260. ‘On one occasion a Jew was selling cocoa-nut, when the autem-cackler, i.e., Dissenting minister, came and wanted to impart to the Israelite the sin he committed in carrying on his vocation on such a day [Sunday]. The Jew half listened to what the other said, but kept on calling out “Cocoa-nut a half-penny a slice, a very nice cocoa-nut—cocoanut!”’

2. A married woman.—See Autem. In this sense it is used in a canting song in the New York Slang Dictionary, first published in 1881, and which, as a specimen of the verse affected by the light-fingered fraternity, it may not be out of place to give entire. It should be read in connection with the remarks On canting songs (q.v.).

‘A HUNDRED STRETCHES (1) HENCE.’

‘Oh! where will be the culls of the bing (2) A hundred stretches hence? The bene morts (3), who sweetly sing, A hundred stretches hence? The autumn-cacklers, autumn-coves (4), The jolly blade who wildly roves; And where the buffer (5), bruiser (6), blowen (7), And all the cops (8) and beaks (9) so knowin’ A hundred stretches hence?

‘And where the swag (10), so bleakly (11) pinched (12), A hundred stretches hence? The thimbles (13), slang (14), and danglers (15) filched, A hundred stretches hence? The chips (16), the fawneys (17), chatty-feeders (18), The bugs (19), the boungs (20), and well-filled readers (21); And where the fence (22) and snoozing-ken (23), With all the prigs (24) and lushing men (25), A hundred stretches hence?

‘Played out they lay, it will be said A hundred stretches hence; With shovels they were put to bed (26) A hundred stretches since! Some rubbed to wit had napped a winder (27), And some were scragged (28) and took a blinder (29), Planted the swag and lost to sight, We’ll bid them, one and all, good-night, A hundred stretches hence.’

1, Stretch, a year; 2, culls of the bing, innkeepers, publicans; 3, bene morts, pretty girls or women; 4, autumn cove, married men; 5, buffer, smuggler, rogue, or cheat; 6, bruiser, prostitute’s bully or prize-fighter; 7, blowen, a showy prostitute; 8, cop, policeman; 9, beak, a magistrate; 10, swag, plunder, proceeds of robbery; 11, bleakly, cleverly, also handsome; 12, pinched, stolen; 13, thimble, a watch; 14, slang, a watch chain; 15, danglers, a bunch of seals; 16, chips, money; 17, fawney, a ring; 18, chatty-feeder, a spoon; 19, bug, a breast pin; 20, boung, a purse; 21, reader, a pocket-book; 22, fence, a receiver of stolen goods; 23, snoozing-ken, a brothel; 24, prig, a thief; 25, lushing-men, drinking-men; 26, put to bed with a shovel, buried; 27, to nap a winder—to nap, to cheat, winder, a life sentence; 28, scragged, hanged; 29, to take a blinder, to drown oneself.

Autem Cackle Tub, subs. (old cant).—The meeting house of Dissenters of every description. Also a pulpit.

Autem-Cove, subs. (old cant).—A married man. [From autem (q.v.), a church + cove, a man.]

Autem-Dippers or Autem-Divers, subs. (old cant).—1. Formerly a nickname for Baptists, from their practice of immersing adult converts, as distinguished from infant sprinkling.

2. Pickpockets who practised in churches were called autem-divers; also churchwardens and overseers of the poor who defrauded, deceived, and imposed upon the parish.

Autem-Goglers, subs. (old cant).—Pretended French prophets—Grose. Conjurors, fortune-tellers—Duncombe.

Autem-Jet, subs. (old cant).—A parson. [From autem, a church + jet, black, in allusion to the black garments usually worn by ‘the cloth.’] For some curious synonyms, see Devil-dodger.

Autem, or Autem-Mort, subs. (old cant).—A married woman, i.e., one wedded in a church. [From autem, a church + mort, or mot, a woman.] The term belongs to the oldest cant, and is the subject of a long description in Harman’s Caveat. (See quotation.) The old fraternity of vagabonds (for a full description of which, see Cadgers—ancient and modern) was divided into well marked classes, as also were the women who accompanied them in their peregrinations. The men were not strict monogamists, either as regards lawful companions or those of another grade—

1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 49. These Autem Mortes be maried wemen, as there be but a fewe: For Autem in their language is a church, so shee is a wyfe maried at the church, and they be as chaste as a cowe I have, that goeth to bull eury moone, with what bull she careth not. These walke most times from their husbands companye a moneth and more to gether, being asociate with another as honest as her selfe. These wyll pylfar clothes of hedges; some of them go with children of ten or xii years of age; yf tyme and place serue for their purpose, they will send them into some house, at the window, to steale and robbe, which they call in their language, Milling of the ken; and wil go with wallets on their shoulders, and slates at their backes. There is one of these Autem Mortes, she is now a widow, of fyfty yeres old; her name is Alice Milson: she goeth about with a couple of great boyes, the youngest of them is fast Upon xx yeares of age....

1592. Greene, Quip, in works IX., 283. The pedler as bad or rather worse, walketh the country with his docksey at the least, if he have not two, his mortes dels, and Autem Mortis.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 7 (H. Club’s Reprint, 1874). Here another [complains] that they could not quietly take their rest in the night, nor keepe his autem, or doxie sole vnto himselfe.

1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. v. Morts, autem-morts, walking morts, dells, doxies with all the shades and grades of the canting crew, were assembled.

Toward the end of the eighteenth century autem-mort was used as synonymous with a female beggar alone; then another meaning crept into the word—a prostitute.—See Cadger.

Autem-Prickear.—The same as autem-cackler (q.v.).

Autem-Quaver, subs. (old cant).—A Quaker. [From autem, a church + quaver, referring to the shaking, peculiar to some of the religious exercises of the Society of Friends.]

Autem-Quaver-Tub, subs. (old cant).—A Quaker’s meeting-house; also a desk therein.

Author-Baiting, subs. (theatrical).—Calling the author of an unsuccessful play before the curtain, and then, wanting all sense of decency and feeling, to overwhelm him with every imaginable source of annoyance—yelling, hooting, bellowing, etc.

Avast! intj. (nautical).—Hold on! Stop! Shut up! Stow it! etc., etc. No word perhaps has more suggested derivations than avast! Webster writes it down as from the Italian basta, enough; literally, it suffices, from bastare, to suffice. He does not, however, seem to have been altogether certain, for he queries whether it is not a worn-down form of the Dutch houd vast, hou’ vast, hold fast! a derivation which Dr. Murray endorses as ‘probable’ in his New Dictionary of the English Language. Bearing in mind that avast, although used colloquially is first and foremost a sailor’s term, this derivation does not seem far-fetched; for, the Dutch having been themselves one of the great maritime nations of the past, it is not unlikely that the term should have come from them, especially when it is borne in mind that a large proportion of nautical terms are so derived.

Such are boom; sprit; reef; schooner; skate; sloop; stiver; taffrail; yacht (jaghten, ‘to chase’), etc.

On the other hand, as regards the Italian basta, it is only fair to point out that French workmen use basta, in the sense of enough! no more! The same term occurs also in the Spanish.

Hotten connects it with the old cant bynge a waste, get out of the way! go hence! but though one cannot speak with certainty, this is not, on the face of it, apparent. There seems no discoverable connection between the two; moreover, the comparative and historical method of dealing with slang shows us that avast in its present form and sense can be traced as far back as 1681, within about a hundred years of the publication of Harman’s Caveat where bynge a waste first occurs. The probability therefore is that the two terms are distinct, and that avast is derived from a different source to bynge a waste (q.v.) which, as Leland points out, has probably its origin in the Romany.

1681. Otway, Soldiers’ Fortune, iv., i. Hoa up, hoa up; so avast there, sir.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xli. ‘Avast there, friend: none of your tricks upon travellers.’

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. xcvii. ‘And upon this scrap of paper—no, avast—that’s my discharge from the parish.’

1884. W. C. Russell, Jack’s Courtship, ch. xiv. But avast now! we’ve had enough of philosopherising.

Avoirdupois-Lay, subs. (old thieves’ cant).—This is given by Grose as meaning the theft of brass weights off shop counters.

Avuncular-Relation, subs. (common).—A pawnbroker—a facetious variant of uncle (q.v.), another name for the same individual.

Awake, adv. (old, and modern American thieves’).—On the alert; vigilant. Cf., wide-awake, a certain kind of hat, so called, by-the-bye, from its never having a ‘nap.’ For synonyms, see Fly.

1821. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry (Dicks’ ed., 1889), p. 6.

Prime. From the cut of the gentleman’s clothes, I presume he’s lately come from the Esquimaux Islands.

Tom. Ha! ha! very good, Primefit; I say, Jerry—you see he’s down upon you.

Jerry. Yes, he’s up, he’s awake, he’s fly—Ha! ha!

1838. Dickens, Nich. Nickleby, ch. xxxix., p. 314. ‘If you hear the waiter coming, sir, shove it in your pocket and look out of the window, d’ye hear?’ ‘I’m awake, father,’ replied the dutiful Wackford.

Awful, subs. (common).—A sensational newspaper, tale, or narration; e.g., a penny awful. Sometimes called a dreadful; other names for this kind of mental pabulum are blood and thunder tales, and gutter literature.

Adj.—Generally colloquial as an intensitive, conveying no more awe-full meaning than ‘very,’ ‘exceedingly,’ etc. Strange as it may appear this familiar usage is very old, and was frequently heard north of the Tweed long prior to its use by Southrons. An intermediate stage was its appearance across the Atlantic, whence its re-introduction into the Mother Country may be traced.

1834. Lamb, Gent. Giantess, Misc. Wks. (1871), 363. She is indeed, as the Americans would express it, something awful.

b. 1789, d. 1880. Planché, Good Woman in the Wood.

‘A poor widow and her orphan chicks Left without fixtures, in an awful fix.’

1883. Hawley Smart, At Fault, III., v., 82. ‘I’m awful glad you two have made acquaintance.’

Awfully, the adverbial form, is subjected to the same ill-treatment, as the following examples will show.

1877. Punch’s Pocket Book for 1878, p. 165. You should have come with us. It’s too awfully nice, as I told you I thought it would be.

1878. M. E. Braddon, Cloven Foot, ch. vii. ‘Awfully,’ was Miss Clare’s chief laudatory adjective [sic]; her superlative form of praise was ‘quite too awfully,’ and when enthusiasm carried her beyond herself she called things ‘nice.’ ‘Quite too awfully nice,’ was her maximum of rapture.

1889. Illustrated Bits, July 13.

An Old Proverb Twisted.

‘The ham of the sandwich was awfully tough,’ He said, for, oh, it was dry, As at first he tried to bite into the stuff, All in vain, how hard he would try. But at last, when fairly bit into the thing, He found that it was all right, And he said, as happy as any king, ‘The bark was worse than the bite.’

French equivalents are, bigrement; jusqu’à la troisième capucine; and pommé.

Awkward-Squad, subs. (military and naval).—Recruits when commencing to learn their drill.

Ax, Axe, verb. (vulgar).—To ask. Though now looked upon as a vulgarism, ax is still largely dialectical, and is really the most correct form of the word. ‘Ask’ is the northern gloss which has gradually supplanted ax. The latter, down to nearly 1600, says Dr. Murray, was the regular literary form.

c. 1380. Chaucer, Tale of Melibeus. Seint Jame eck saith: If eny fellow have neede of sapiens, axe it of God.

1474. Caxton, Game of the Chesse, bk. III., ch. viii. He must nedes begge and axe his breed.

1758. A. Murphy, The Upholsterer, Act i. An old crazy fool—axing your pardon, ma’am, for calling your father so.

1763. Foote, Mayor of Garratt, Act ii., Sc. 2. Mrs. Sneak. Where is the puppy? Sneak. Yes, yes, she is axing for me.

1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. vi. ‘I axed her would she like to live in the great house, and she said no.’

1883. Echo, Jan. 25, p. 2, col. 3. To axe, considered but a vulgarism, for to ask, is good Saxon.

Axe. An axe to grind, phr. (American).—A much-used phrase of political origin. Men are said to have axes to grind when suspected of selfish or interested motives. From politics the expression has passed into use among all classes of society. The Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean (Feb. 1888) spoke of certain politicians as ‘men with axes to grind.’ What we believe is right is more often so because it grinds our axe than otherwise.

1871. (From Hoppe’s Conversations Lexicon). Miner. ‘Who’ll turn the grindstones?’ When I see a merchant over-polite to his customers, begging them to taste a little brandy, and throwing half his goods on the counter, thinks I, that man has an axe to grind.

1888. Detroit Free Press, Sept. 22. William Black, the novelist, says the only ax a novelist has to grind is the climax.

Axe-My-Eye! subs. (cheap jacks’).—One who is up to every trick; a cute fellow.

1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 232.

Stow your gab and gauffery, To every fakement I’m a fly; I never takes no fluffery, For I’m a regular axe-my-eye.

Ayrshires, subs. (Stock Exchange).—Glasgow and South-Western Railway Stock.

B

B Not to know b from a battledore, phr. (old).—To be entirely illiterate; very ignorant. This old cant phrase has several variants, all of them alliterative in character. For example, not to know b from a bull’s-foot—from a broomstick—chalk from cheese, etc. Each and all indicate inability to distinguish between familiar objects that differ. Battledore is an old name for the hornbook from which children used to learn the alphabet.

1401. Pol. Poems, II., 57. I know not an a from the wynd-mylne, ne a b from a bole foot. [M.]

1609. Dekker, Guls-Hornebooke, 3. You shall not neede to buy bookes; no, scorne to distinguish a b from a battledore; onely looke that your eares be long enough to reach our rudiments, and you are made for ever.

1846. Brackenridge, Modern Chivalry, 43. There were members who scarcely knew b from a bull’s-foot. [M.]

B (fenian).—Mr. H. J. Byron, the playwright, in his annotated copy of the Slang Dictionary, mentions this as the title of a captain in the ‘army of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.’

B’s.—See B flat.

Babe, subs. (parliamentary).—The last elected member of the House of Commons. The oldest representative of the chamber is called the father of the house (q.v.).

(American).—The youngest member of a class at the United States Military College at West Point. A term sans wit, sans point, sans almost everything.

Babe in the Wood, subs. phr. (old).—1. A victim of the law’s solicitude; in other words, a culprit sentenced to the stocks or the pillory. Obsolete.

2. Dice are also called babes in the wood.

Babes, subs. (auctioneers’).—A set of auction thieves, who attend sales for the express purpose of blackmail. Their modus operandi is as follows. In consideration of a small bribe of money or beer, or both, they agree not to oppose the bidding of the larger dealers, who thus dishonestly keep down the price of lots. The practice is generally worked in connection with knock-outs (q.v.).

(American).—A set of Baltimore rowdies are so-called; at various times they have also received the names of blood tubs and plug-uglies (q.v.).

Baboo-English, subs. (Anglo-Indian).—A species of ‘English as she is wrote’ (q.v.). Its main peculiarity is its grandiloquence, a feature born of an attempt to adapt Western speech to Eastern imagery and hyperbole.

Baby-Herder, subs. (American).—A nurse; a simile drawn from life on the plains, and worked out with true cowboy humour.

Babylonitish, subs. (Winchester College).—A dressing gown. An abbreviated form of ‘Babylonitish garment.’

Baby-Pap, subs. (thieves’).—A cap; part of the so-called rhyming slang (q.v.).

Bacca.—See Baccy.

Bacca-Pipes, subs. (common).—Whiskers when curled in ringlets, a now obsolete fashion.—See Mutton-chops.

Baccare! Backare! intj. (old cant).—Go back! [a humorous form of back + a simulated Latin termination]. In use from about 1553–1660.

1592. Lyly, Midas, V., 2. The masculine gender is more worthy than the feminine. Therefore, Licio. backare.

1593. Shakspeare, Taming of the Shrew, ii.;

Saving your tale, Petruchio, I pray Let us, that are poor petitioners, speak too; Baccare! you are marvellous forward.

[N.]

Baccy, also Bacca, subs. (common).—A corrupted form of ‘tobacco.’ Apparently of quite recent introduction. An equivalent term in French is perlot, from perle.

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. ii. ‘You must larn to chaw baccy.’

1861. Jas. Conway, Forays among Salmon and Deer, p. 228. I lay on an Affghan goat-rug spread over fresh heather, with a pipe filled with good baccy in my mouth.

Bach or Batch, verb. (American).—To live as a bachelor.

Bachelor’s Baby, subs. (old).—An illegitimate child. For synonyms, see Bye-blow.

Bachelors-Fare, subs. (familiar).—Bread and cheese and kisses—a humorous allusion to the real or alleged ‘short commons,’ generally assumed to be meted out to a man who is unattached. Like many other proverbial sayings there is more sound than truth in it.

1738. Swift, Polite Conversation, conv. i. Lady Ans. Colonel, some ladies of your acquaintance have promised to breakfast with you, and I am to wait on them; what will you give us? Col. Why, faith, madam, bachelor’s-fare, bread and cheese and kisses.

Back, verb. (popular).—To bet or wager; to support by means of money, kind, or influence, on the turf or elsewhere. From the earlier and more legitimate meaning to support, maintain, or strengthen. Possibly in the sense of to wager or support by betting, back can hardly nowadays be classed as slang; there seems too, to be long and constant usage to support its claim as a regular dictionary word.

(Uppingham School).—At football, to be ready for a chance.

To put or set up one’s back, phr. (familiar).—To rouse oneself to antipathy; to get angry; to resist. The figure presented is that of a cat, which, when irritated, arches or sets up its back. Also used negatively as an exhortation to keep one’s temper. Don’t get your back up! For synonymous phrases, see Hold your hair on!

1726. Vanbrugh and Cibber, Provoked Husband, V., iii., 112. O Lud! how her back will be up then when she meets me.

1771. Smollett, Humphry Clinker, ch. 66. My uncle’s back was up in a moment; and he desired him to explain his pretensions.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xvi. ‘I know she is flighty, and that; and Brian’s back is up a little. But he ain’t a bad fellow; and I wish I could see you and his wife better friends.’

1883. Greenwood, Grandmother Cooper, in Odd People in Odd Places, p 2. ‘You don’t know what you’re sayin’; therefore you don’t mean no harm. If so be you think what you just now said, keep it to yourself, don’t say it to me. It sets my back up, and when my back’s set up I’m sometimes orkard.’

To ride on one’s back, phr. (old).—To deceive successfully.

Back and Belly, phr. (vulgar).—1. Back and before; all over.

2. To keep one back and belly, phr. (old).—To feed and clothe. Cf., Belly-timber and Back-timber.

Back-Breaker, subs. (common).—One who sets, or that which is, an example of more than ordinary human powers of endurance; e.g., in pedestrianism or racing a man or horse whose pace is considerably over the average. In sporting phraseology he or it is called a scorcher (q.v.) and the pace of such is also eloquently called ‘killing.’ Back-breaking is therefore synonymous with excessive exertion or effort of all kinds.

Back-Cap. To give a back-cap, phr. (American).—To expose; to reveal what one knows of another, in a detrimental sense.

1883. Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, p. 462. [A pretended converted thief is made to say]:—i told him all about my being in prison and about you, and how i had almost done giving up looking for work and how the Lord got me the job when i asked him ... and then i felt better than ever i had done in my life, for i had given Mr. Brown a fair start with me and now i didn’t fear no one giving me a back-cap and running me off the job.

Back-Cheat, subs. (old cant).—A cloak. Also called a wrap-rascal (q.v.).

Back-Door. A gentleman of the back-door, subs. phr. (common).—A sodomist; formerly a backgammon player. The vice itself is called back-door work. For synonyms, see Usher.

Backdoor-Trot, subs. (provincial).—Diarrhœa. The allusion is obvious. A more common term is jerry-go-nimble (q.v.).

Back Down, verb, (common).—To yield; to retreat from a position; to abandon a line of argument; to eat one’s words. Originally an American turn of expression.—See Back track and Back out.

Subs.—Usually a square back down; a severe rebuff; sometimes, utter collapse.

Backed, ppl. adj. (old).—Dead—a figurative use of to ‘put on one’s back,’ i.e., to place hors de combat.

Back-End, subs. (racing).—The last two months of the racing season. More technical than slang.

1820. Blackw. Mag., Oct., p. 3. When you did me the honour to stop a day or two at last back-end.

1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines, ch. xxix. ‘Most of what I got over that steeplechase I dropped at the back-end over the October handicaps.’

Adj.—The meaning, mutatis mutandis, is the same as back-end.

1883. Daily Telegraph, April 30, p. 3, col. 6. And neither [horse] could beat Palermo on back-end form.

Back-Gammon Player.—See Back-door.

Backhand, verb. (common).—To detain the decanter when it is passed round, and thus to drink more than one’s share; a more recent phrase is ‘not drinking fair.’—See, however, Backhander.

1857. G. A. Lawrence, Guy Livingstone, ch. viii. ‘Livingstone, if you begin backhanding already, you’ll never be able to hold that great raking chestnut I saw your groom leading this evening.’

Back-Handed Turn (Stock Exchange).—An unprofitable bargain.

Backhander, subs. (common).—1. A drink out of turn; also detention of wine at table so as to get an extra share.

1855. Thackery, Newcomes, ch. xliii. ‘Thank you, Mr. Binnie, I will take a backhander, as Clive don’t seem to drink.’

1873. Saturday Review, p. 798. Long experience has shown us that to get small advantages over us gives the Scotch so much pleasure, that we should not think of grudging them the mild satisfaction, just as a kindly host affects not to notice a valued guest, who, he observes, always helps himself to an innocent backhander.

2. A blow on the face with the back of the hand.

1836. Marryat, Midshipman Easy, p. 11. ‘Go away, Sarah,’ said Johnny, with a backhander.

1862. Farrar, St. Winifred’s, ch. xxxiii. He administered a backhander to Elgood, as he spoke, and the next minute Charlie, roused beyond all bearing, had knocked him down.

1870. Mansfield, School-Life at Winchester College. The doctor comes suddenly round a corner, and finds Tibbs [a fag] mopping the rosy fluid from his nose with a rueful countenance, having just received a sharp backhander from one of his lords and masters.

3. Hence, figuratively, a rebuke; a ‘setting down.’

1850. Whyte Melville, Kate Coventry, ch. i. I knew this was what John calls a back hander at me, but I can be so good-natured when I have anything to gain, therefore I only said ——.

Backing and Filling, adj. (colloquial).—A backing and filling policy is one that is shifty; irresolute; trifling. A figurative usage derived from backing and filling a vessel, i.e., keeping it in the middle of the stream of a narrow river by advancing first to one shore, and then backing to the other, allowing the stream to make the way, the wind blowing in an opposite direction to the stream.

Backing-On.—See Turning-on.

Backings Up, subs. (Winchester College).—The unconsumed ends of half-burned fagots. They are collected and sometimes made into surreptitious fires by ‘Juniors.’

Back Jump, subs. (thieves’).—A back window.—See Jump.

Backmarked. To be backmarked, verb. (pedestrian).—In handicapping to receive less start from ‘scratch’ than previously given—even to being put back to ‘scratch.’

Back Out, verb. (colloquial).—To retreat cautiously and tacitly; from stable phraseology; e.g., the backing out of a horse. Very much the same as to back down (q.v.).

1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. viii. Jobson, however, was determined that Morris should not back out of the scrape so easily.

1855. A. Trollope, The Warden, ch. xii. How was he to back out of a matter in which his name was already so publicly concerned?

1870. L. Oliphant, Piccadilly, pt. IV., p. 152. I am sure that he had done his best to spread the report of my marriage with his sister for fear of my backing out.

Back Scuttle, verb. (thieves’).—The same as back-slang (q.v.).

Back-Seam. To be down on one’s back-seam, phr. (tailors’).—To be down on one’s luck; to be unfortunate.

Back Seat. To take a back seat, phr. (American).—Figuratively, to retire into obscurity; it also sometimes implies a silent confession of failure; an inability to accomplish what one has attempted. The colloquialism has gained a world-wide currency; it received an immense ‘send off,’ as the Americans say, from Andrew Johnson’s famous saying in 1868, that in the work of Reconstruction traitors should take back seats.

1885. Society, Feb. 7, p. 9. This great batting achievement must, however, take a back seat when compared with the enormous total recently scored by Shaw’s Eleven in Australia, against a powerful Colonial team.

1888. Daily News, Feb. 24, p. 5, col. 2. Any form of art which is barred by its very nature from perfection must take what the Americans call a back seat.

1888. Texas Siftings, p. 426. Who will say the Britishers are not a forbearing and forgiving race, and the inhabitants of Stratford-on-Avon don’t by any means take a back seat in that line? Ignatius Donnelly actually visited the birthplace of Shakespeare, and wasn’t lynched! Far from it, he was hospitably received and entertained.

Back-Slum, subs. (colloquial).—The lowest and most disreputable quarters of a town or city; generally applied to the dens and rookeries of the criminal and ‘outcast’ classes.

1821. W. T. Moncrieff’s Tom and Jerry, Act ii., Scene 5. Log. Well, don’t grumble—every one must pay for his learning—and you wouldn’t bilk the schoolmaster, would you? But, come, I’m getting merry; so if you wish for a bit of good truth, come with me, and let’s have a dive among the cadgers in the back slums, in the Holy Land. Jerry. Back slums—Holy Land!—I’m at fault again. Log. Why, among the beggars in Dyot Street, St. Giles’s. Tom. Beggars! ah, we shall be very good figures for the part.

(Turns out his pockets.)

1876. M. E. Braddon, Joshua Haggard’s Daughter, ch. xx. Not in fetid alleys and festering London back-slums only is man’s fight with difficulty a bitter and crushing battle.

(Australian thieves’.)—A back room or entrance.

Backstaircase, subs. (common).—A bustle, or ‘dress improver.’ For synonyms, see Birdcage.

Backstair Influence, subs. (familiar).—Underhand dealing or persuasion; a stab in the dark; intrigue. [From the use of the back or private stairs of a palace, etc., for other than state visitors; hence, a secret mode of approach; and, attributively, applied to indirect, oblique, and unfair intrigue.]

1697. Vanbrugh, Relapse, II. He is like a backstair minister at Court, who, while the reputed favourites are sauntering in the bed-chamber, is ruling the roast in the closet.

1877. Grenville Murray, Round about France, p. 77. These men are the most indefatigable retailers of backstairs small talk to the little fry of journalism.

Back-Stall, subs. (thieves’).—An accomplice who ‘covers’ the actual thief; especially used in relation to garrote-robberies, in which the back-stall has two functions, first to screen his companion, and then, if necessary, to ‘make off’ with the booty.

Back Talk. No back talk! phr. (common).— 1. A slang catch-phrase indicating that the matter in question is closed to discussion; ‘there’s nothing more to be said.’

2. Underhand insinuation.

Back Teeth. To have one’s back teeth well afloat, phr. (popular).—A facetiously brutal way of implying that the subject of such a remark is well primed with liquor—even to the verge of drunkenness.—See Screwed.

1888. Missouri Republican, Jan. 25. When sober on the bench, Judge Noonan is a model of all the virtues. On Friday night, however, in company with Dr. Munford, of Kansas City, ex-Speaker Wood, Mr. Charles Mead and several other gentlemen, his honour once more drank until, as an onlooker put it, his back teeth were well afloat.

Back-Timber, subs. (old).—Clothes. A humorous term which dates back to the middle of the seventeenth century. Other slang equivalents are togs and toggery; also war-paint in the sense of fine or showy garb. In French argot, alpague is used synonymously.

b. 1574, d. 1656. Bp. Hall, Works V., 543. Was there ever more riot and excess in diet and clothes, in belly-cheer and back-timber, than we see at this day? [d.]

Back Tommy, subs. (tailors’).—A piece of cloth used to cover the ‘stays’ at the waist.

Back-Track. To take the back-track, phr. (American).—To retreat from any assumed position; to back out (q.v.).

Back Up, verb. (Winchester College).—To call out. In ‘College’ various times are called out by Junior in ‘Chambers,’ such as ‘Three quarters!’ ‘Hour!’ ‘Bells go single!’ ‘Bells down!’

Back-Slang, subs. (street and costermonger).—A species of slang, in which every word, as far as possible, is pronounced backwards. See ‘A Comparative and Historical Study of Slang’ at the end of this work.

verb. 1. (thieves’).—To talk in the back-slang lingo.

2. (thieves’).—To go or come stealthily from a place; to sneak by a roundabout way; also, to go away quickly.

3. (Australian).—Up country in Australia, as in most parts a little out of the beaten tracks of civilization, a traveller is welcome at most of the homesteads in his way. Though unknown to the inmates, and bearing no letter of introduction, it is a common thing for a wayfarer to ride or drive up to a house, maybe call for help, and then take up his quarters for the night. This, in Australia, is called back-slanging it, though how the phrase is derived is not quite clear, for there is no suggestion of sneaking or proceeding stealthily in the question.

Backwardation, subs. (Stock Exchange).—A penalty paid for an extension of time, by sellers, when unable to deliver stock or shares which they have contracted to deliver by a certain date. Backwardation is the reverse of contango (q.v.). Obviously this sometimes permits the purchase of stock cheaper on credit than for cash.

1850. Keyser, Law of the Stock Exchange. The term backwardation is employed when stock is more in demand than money, and a premium is given to obtain the loan of stock against its value in money.

1886. Daily News, 14 Dec, p. 6, col. 1. The 1873 loan is, on balance, about ⅝ lower, at 94, after being 93½. The backwardation on the stock went off at the close.

Backy, subs. (tailors’).—A shop-mate who works behind another.

Bacon, subs. (popular).—The human body. A reference probably to the fact that the flesh of the pig forms the staple meat diet of the rural population, and lower classes generally. Formerly, no doubt, the term was applied, at first ironically or contemptuously, to a sleek, gross person; hence such compounds as ‘chaw-bacon,’ ‘bacon-brains,’ ‘bacon-face,’ ‘bacon-slicer,’ ‘bacon-picker,’ etc. A transference in sense, and a curtailment in form, in which bacon came to signify the human body was, from this point, easy enough. For synonyms, see Apple-cart.

To save one’s bacon, phr. (popular).—To escape narrowly from loss, danger, or damage; to just get off. The term is here an attributive usage of the slang sense, in which bacon signifies the human body. When it is said that a man has just saved his bacon, it refers to the individual himself. So also in the kindred phrase, ‘Oh, spare my bacon,’ the suppliant asks to be spared in his own person; and the same idea occurs in ‘to sell one’s bacon,’ i.e., one’s flesh or body, as in the case of women of the town. Falstaff, in. I. Henry IV., Act ii., Sc. 2. 93 [1596] thus applies bacon to human beings—‘On! Bacons, on!’ So far the general aspect of the question; in regard to particulars, Mr. Thomas Boys has some curious remarks upon the subject [N. and Q., 2 S., iv., 132] in effect as follows. In connecting the phrase to save one’s bacon with its original meaning, we are carried back to times when imputed heresy was expiated at the stake; and a man was said to have just saved his bacon (i.e., from frying), who had himself narrowly escaped the penalty of being burnt alive. This connection of the two ideas is thus shown. When a pig is killed, it is the custom in some of the southern countries of Europe, as well as in many parts of England, to remove the bristles from the dead pig’s hide, not by scalding but by singeing. This is an operation of some nicety; for too much singeing would spoil the bacon. But practice makes perfect; and by the aid of ignited stubble, straw, or paper, the object is effected. The bristles are all singed off, and the bacon remains intact. This operation of singeing is in Portugal called chamuscar, from chama or chamma, a flame or blaze. Chamuscar, to singe, as pigs, to takeoff the hair (Moraes). Hence the noun chamusco, which is the smell of anything that has been singed. Hence also the phrase cheira a chamusco (he smells of singeing). This last phrase, however, cheira a chamusco, was specially applied to any suspected heretic:—‘o que merece ser queimado, e faz per onde o seja, o que dizião por afronta aos Judeos encobertos.’ That is ‘he who deserved to be burnt, and acted in a way that was very likely to lead to it,’ was said to smell of singeing (‘cheirar a chamusco’), i.e., to smell of the fire. Consequently, the phrase was contumeliously addressed to anyone who was secretly a Jew (Moraes). Thus the persecuted Israelite, who steadfastly adhered to his forefathers’ creed, and lived in daily peril of the stake, was allusively but threateningly and insultingly compared to the abhorred carcass, which, though not yet roasted, boiled or fried, had already the smell of fire. If, after all, he was actually burnt alive, the same allusion was carried out to the end; for he was then said, ‘morrer frito,’ to be fried to death (literally, ‘to die fried’). But even if not burnt he still had the chamusco, or ‘smell of fire’; that is, he had only just saved his bacon.

1691. Weesils, I., 5. No, they’l conclude I do’t to save my bacon. [M.]

1705. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, vol. I., pt. II., p. 12.

For could their talent be forsaken, And they unite truth to save their bacon.

1721. Mrs. Centlivre, The Artifice, v., ii. That pretence shan’t save your bacon, you old villain you.

1836. M. Scott, Cringle’s Log, ch. v. ‘You know I saved your bacon in that awkward affair, when through drunkenness you plumped the Torch ashore.’

1866. C. Reade, Never Too Late, ch. lii. Jem drew a long breath and said brutally, yet with something of satisfaction, ‘You have saved your bacon this time.’

The French equivalent it may be noticed is somewhat analogous—sauver son lard, i.e., ‘to save one’s bacon.’

Possibly, however, most people will be inclined to take the phrase at its face value, without resort to complicated argumentative derivation. In such a case the figurative use of bacon as signifying the body will suffice to explain its origin.

To pull bacon, phr. (popular).—An operation described by the immortal Ingoldsby in the line—

He put his thumb unto his nose and spread his fingers out.

In other words to take a sight (q.v.), or to make Queen Anne’s fan (q.v.).

1886. Household Words, Oct. 2, p. 453. [This] peculiar action has, I believe, almost invariably been described as ‘taking a sight.’ A solicitor, however, in a recent police case at Manchester, described it as pulling bacon.

1887. Leeds Evening News, Sept. 15. ‘Pulling bacon’ at Leeds policemen.—Before Mr. Goodman and Mr. Farrar Smith, at the Leeds Police Court to-day, George Evans (50), coachman to the Earl of Mexborough, Mexborough Hall, near Methley, was summoned under the Hackney Carriage Bye-laws for having driven on the wrong side of the road. Police-constables Moody and Lockwood were on duty in Boar Lane on the 6th inst., when they saw the defendant driving a pair of horses attached to a carriage on the wrong side of the road for a distance of one hundred yards. The officers spoke to him, when he put his fingers to his nose and pulled bacon at them. He had been previously cautioned, but had not taken the slightest notice. Defendant said he had been a driver in London for eighteen years, and knew they had policemen in the road there, but he did not understand the law of driving in Yorkshire. He was fined 20s.

Bacon-Faced, adj. (colloquial).—With sleek, fat face; full faced. Otway in the Atheist [1684] speaks of one with a ‘bacon face like a cherubim.’

Bacon-Fed, adj. (colloquial).—Fat or greasy. The expression occurs in Shakspeare’s King Henry IV.—See Bacon.

Bacon-Slicer, subs. (old).—A rustic.—See Chawbacon.

1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, bk. I., ch. xv. (Bohn), I., 149. If he have not a better judgment, a better discourse, and that expressed in better terms than your son, with a complete carriage and civility to all manner of persons, account me for ever hereafter a very clounch, and bacon-slicer of Brene.

Bad, adj. (popular).—Hard; difficult. Used as in quotation.

1884. Hawley Smart, Post to Finish, ch. xi. ‘I have heard you say over and over again that, when they are in the mood, their very temper makes them bad to beat.’

To go to the bad, phr. (colloquial).—To be ruined; to become depraved. Virgil has a similar phrase in pejus ruere, ‘to go to the worse.’

1864. M. E. Braddon, Aurora Floyd, ch. xi. ‘A reckless man, ready to go to the bad by any road that can take me there; worthless alike to myself and to others.’

1880. G. R. Sims, Ballads of Babylon (Beauty and Beast). Let him go to the bad at his own mad pace.

To the bad, i.e., on the wrong side of the account; in deficit.

1816. ‘Quiz,’ Grand Master, viii., 25. I’ve really to the bad some thousand of rupees to add. [M.]

1884. Pall Mall G., 6 Feb., 4. He was between £70 and £80 to the bad. [M.]

Want ’em or him bad, phr. (American).—A humorous manner of expressing strong desire.

1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, March 9. Myers’ absence is seriously annoying to the defense, and does not appear quite as funny as it did when the prosecution called for him on Saturday last. It is not probable that the Court will very long suspend the trial if Myers does not appear. As the case now stands, the defense want Myers, and want him bad.

Bad ’Apenny.—See Bad halfpenny.

Bad-Bargain, subs. (old).—Formerly a worthless soldier; a malingerer. Nowadays the term is applied to any worthless person or scapegrace.

Bad-Break, subs. (American).—A corruption of ‘bad outbreak,’ i.e., riotous conduct, generally attributable to drink.

Bad Crowd Generally, phr. (American).—Of Western origin, and equivalent to the English no great shakes (q.v.). ‘Crowd,’ it may be remarked, in America, signifies either one or more individuals.

Bad-Egg, subs. (familiar).—A scoundrel; a blackguard; a ‘loose fish.’ In America the meaning attached to the term does not necessarily involve such an idea of depravity as on this side of the Atlantic. In the States the term is also applied to a worthless speculation.

1866. Sala, Trip to Barbary, p. 130. The man in black baize with the felt képi, and who had a hatchet face desperately scarred with the small-pox, looked from head to heel a bad egg.

1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. ii., p. 123. There is no doubt, but there are many of the officials of the convict prisons who are what the Yankees call bad eggs.

English Synonyms. Bad-lot; bad halfpenny; bad-hat. In Australia ‘ne’er-do-wells’ are termed sundowners; dry hash; or, a stringy bark.

French Synonyms. Malfrat (popular); mauvais gobet (popular: mauvais, bad; gobet, properly a mouthful, morsel, lump, or piece); ferlampier or ferlandier (thieves’: ferlampié formerly signified a dunce); clique (popular); mariasse (popular).

Bad Form, subs. (society).—He who, or that which fails to conform to the shifting fads and fancies of Society, with a big S; and, in a more general sense, anybody or anything vulgar or lacking polish.

1882. Punch. Eton boy. What an awful lot of energy you’ve got uncle! Uncle. Pretty well, my boy, for my time of life, I think! e. b. Yes! but energy’s such awful bad form, you know!

Badge, subs. (old).—Used in the canting sense, for one branded in the hand. ‘He has got his badge, and piked’; i.e., ‘he was burned in the hand, and is at liberty.’—Grose.

Badge-Cove, subs. (old).—A parish pensioner; also in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries a licensed beggar or almsman. The remarks under Abram man and Abram sham are to the point in this connection.

Badger, subs. (old).—1. A river thief. A good account of these gentry appears in Harrison Ainsworth’s Jack Sheppard.

2. (American thieves’).—In the cant language of the American criminal classes a badger or panel thief (q.v.) is one who robs a man after a woman accomplice has enticed the victim into her den.

3. (schoolboy).—A red haired individual.

4. (harlotry).—A common prostitute.—See Barrack-hack.

5. (nautical).—Sometimes badger-bag. The fictitious individual personating Neptune in the festivities incident to ‘crossing the line.’—See Ambassador and Arthur.

6. (Wellington School).—A fellow who has got his ‘badge’ for play in the 2nd XV. at football.

verb. (popular).—To tease; to annoy; to confound.

1798. O. Keefe, Wild Oats, I., i. At home, abroad, you will still badger me.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxxiv., p. 299. Tracy Tupman, and Augustus Snodgrass, were severally called into the box; both corroborated the testimony of their unhappy friend; and each was driven to the verge of desperation by excessive badgering.

1860. Dickens, Great Expectations, ch. xviii., p. 82. ‘Which I meantersay,’ cried Joe, ‘that if you come into my place bull-baiting and badgering me, come out!’

The popular French equivalent of to badger is aguigner.

To overdraw the badger, phr. (popular).—A figurative use of ‘drawing the badger’; to overdraw one’s banking account.

1843–4. Hood, Miss Kilmansegg.

His cheeks no longer drew the cash, Because, as his comrades explain’d in flash, He had overdrawn his badger.

Badger State, subs. (American).—A popular name for the State of Wisconsin, and so called because of the badgers which once abounded there.

Bad Give-Away.—See Give away.

Bad-Halfpenny, subs. (popular).—A ne’er-do-weel; an allusion to the frequency with which, like bad coins, they are always ‘turning up.’ Cf., Bad-egg.

(Australian).—A failing speculation; a risky venture.

Bad Hat, subs. (popular).—The same as bad egg (q.v.).

1883. Besant, They Were Married, p. II., ch. ix., in Captain’s Room, etc. There may be one or two bad hats among eldest sons; but there is not one, I am sure—there cannot be one—who would dare to take his wife’s salary and deprive her of her son.

Bad Lot.—A term derived from auctioneering slang, and now generally used to describe a man or woman of indifferent morals.

1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. lx. ‘He’s a bad’un, Mr. Lightfoot—a bad lot, sir, and that you know.’

1868. Miss Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, bk. I., ch. ii. ‘I am good for nothing,’ he said, ‘I am a bad lot. I wonder they don’t hang such men as me.’

1872. M. E. Braddon, Dead Sea Fruit, ch. i. ‘The impracticable Daniel has a certain kind of influence; and though he rarely cares to use it on his own account—being so bad a lot that he dare not give himself a decent character—he will employ it to the uttermost for a spotless nephew.’

Bad Man, subs. (American).—A bad man, in the West, is a somewhat mixed character. The term is generally understood to mean a professional fighter or man-killer, but who, despite this drawback, is said by Roosevelt, in Ranch Life in the Far West, to be sometimes, according to his light, perfectly honest. These are the men who do most of the killing in frontier communities; yet it is a noteworthy fact that the men who are killed generally deserve their fate. These men are, of course, used to brawling, and are not only sure shots, but, what is equally important, able to ‘draw’ their weapon with marvellous quickness. They think nothing whatever of murder, and are the dread and terror of their associates; yet they are very chary of taking the life of a man of good standing, and will often ‘weaken’ and ‘backdown’ at once if confronted fearlessly. With many of them their courage arises from confidence in their own powers and knowledge of the fear in which they are held; and men of this type often show the white feather when they get into a ‘tight place.’ Others, however, will face any odds without flinching, and when mortally wounded, have been known to fight with a cool ferocious despair that was terrible. During the last two or three years, stockmen have united to put down these dangerous characters, often by the most summary exercise of lynch law; and, as a consequence, many localities once infested by bad men are now perfectly law-abiding.

Bad Match Twist, subs. phr. (hairdressers’).—A man who has red, or carotty hair and black whiskers is said to have a bad match twist.

Badminton, subs. (common).—1. A cooling drink; a kind of claret-cup, so called because invented at the Duke of Beaufort’s seat of the same name. Composed of claret, sugar, spice, soda-water, and ice.

1845. Disraeli, Sybil, bk. I., ch. i. ‘Waiter, bring me a tumbler of Badminton.’

1853. Whyte Melville, Digby Grand, ch. ix. An enormous measure of Badminton, that grateful compound of mingled claret, sugar, and soda-water.

1868. Ouida, Under Two Flags, ch. ix. Looking up out of a great silver flagon of Badminton, with which he was ending his breakfast.

2. (pugilistic).—Blood; from the similarity in colour to the summer drink of the same name. Claret (q.v.), for a like reason, is also, in the language of the prize-ring, synonymous with blood.

Bad Record.—See Record.

Bad Shot, subs. (popular).—An abortive attempt; a woman’s guess.

1844. Kinglake, Eothen, viii., 137. I secretly smiled at this last prophecy as a bad shot.

1859. Rev. E. Bradley (‘Cuthbert Bede’) in Notes and Queries, 2 S., viii., p. 492. A bad shot is one of the worst exposures of his ignorance that a University man when up for examination can make.

See, however, Shot.

Bad Slang, subs. (circus and showmen’s).—Faked up monstrosities; spurious curiosities.

1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 206. Roderick Palsgrave was considered by all who knew him to be the best showman of a bad slang that ever travelled. He would get hold of any black girl or woman, dress her up, and then show her as one of the greatest novelties ever seen.

Bag, subs. (old slang).—1. A woman when enceinte was said ‘to have a bag.’ Cf., To bag. Sense 3.

2. (Westminster School).—Milk.

To empty the bag, phr. (old).—To tell, or disclose the whole truth; to wind up an argument or discussion.

To give the bag, phr. (old).—1. Formerly used in varying senses. In the following quotation it conveys, says Nares, the idea of chicanery and cheating. This, however, is doubtful, but compare ‘to give the bag to hold.’

1592. Greene, Quip, in works IX., 263. You shall be ... lighte witted upon every small occasion to geue your maister the bagge.

2. In another respect to give the bag was used in a sense analogous to that conveyed in to give the sack (q.v.), i.e., to dismiss a person from one’s employment, with this important difference that primarily the ‘bag’ or ‘sack’ was not given by the master or mistress to the servant, but vice versâ, and, therefore, the expression meant ‘to leave without warning.’ This was the earliest usage.

1592. Defence of Conny Catching, in Greene’s works XI., 86. If he meane to giue her the bagge, he selleth whatsoever he can, and so leaues hir spoild both of hir wealth and honestie.

1647. Speedy Hue and Crie, I.... He being sometime an Apprentice on London Bridge ... gave his master the bag. [M.]

Gradually the meaning of to give the bag changed to that which, even to-day, is dialectically current, i.e., ‘to dismiss a person from one’s employment,’ though in large centres of population to give or receive the sack is, at present, the more popular equivalent. While dealing with variations of this kind, it is noteworthy that ‘bag’ was, in the seventeenth century, varied by ‘canvas,’ as Shirley has it——

1652. Shirley, The Brothers, Act ii. I have promis’d him as much as marriage comes to, and I lose my honour, if my don receive the canvas.

Gifford and Dyce in a note say ‘the phrase is taken from the practice of journeymen mechanics who travel in quest of work, with the implements of their profession. When they are discharged by their masters, they are said to receive the canvas, or the bag; because in this their tools and necessaries are packed up, preparatory to their removal.’ This suggested derivation would possibly pass muster were it not that, treated historically, the phrase though identical in form is shown to have had an earlier usage, and one, moreover, of an entirely antagonistic character; unless indeed, in the first instance, it was customary for employers to find ‘bags’ of tools and working implements for their employees, in which case the workman or servant in leaving his work would naturally give the master the bag. The transition in sense which the phrase has undergone would then become perfectly clear, as far as the why and wherefore of the change is concerned. Cf., Sack.

To give one the bag to hold, phr. (old).—To leave in the lurch; to engage a person’s attention in order to deceive. Cf., To give the bag, sense 1.

1793. T. Jefferson, Writings (1859), iv., 7. She will leave Spain the bag to hold. [M.]

1823. Scott, Peveril of the Peak, vii. She gave me the bag to hold and was smuggling in a corner with a rich old Puritan.

In the bottom of the bag, phr. (old).—An expression equivalent to what, in modern slang, is termed ‘having a trump card in reserve’; something in hand as a last resource or expedient.

1659. Reynolds, in Burton Diary (1828), iv., 447. If this be done which is in the bottom of the bag, and must be done, we shall ... be able to buoy up our reputation, [M.]

To let the cat out of the bag, phr. (familiar).—To disclose a trick or secret.—See Cat.

To put one in a bag, phr. (old).—Usage and derivation explained, as far as known, in quotation.

1662. Fuller, Worthies, Cardigan (ii., 579). They (the Welsh) had a kind of play wherein the stronger who prevailed put the weaker into a sack; and hence we have borrowed our English by-word to express such, betwixt whom there is apparent odds of strength. ‘He is able to put him up in a bagge.’ [d.]

1676. Earl of Rochester, Hist. of Insipids, st. 14.

Had haughty Holms but call’d in Spragg, Hans had been put into a bag.

To put or get one’s head in a bag, phr. (printers’).—A ‘bag’ here signifies a pot of beer; hence, to drink. Also in use amongst seafaring men.

1887. Sat. Review, 14 May, p. 700. It is slang, and yet purely trade slang, when one printer says of another that he has got his head in the bag.

To turn to bag and wallet (old).—To become a beggar.

Verb. (popular).—1. To secure for oneself. Most probably a mere extension of the colloquial sporting usage of to bag (properly, to put or enclose in a bag), in the sense of to seize, capture, entrap, or otherwise bring within one’s reach.

1880. Mortimer Collins, Thoughts in my Garden, vol. I., p. 163. The word beggar itself is from bag—meaning a man who carries a bag; and modern commercial slang reproduces the phrase, saying of a clever man of business that he has bagged a good thing.

2. To steal; or to catch (a thief or man). Sometimes rendered by to collar (q.v.).

1818. Moore, Fudge Family in Paris, VI. Who can help to bag a few, When Sidmouth wants a death or two?

1862. Farrar, St. Winifred’s, ch. xxxv. They would not call it stealing but bagging a thing, or, at the worst, ‘cribbing it’—concealing the villainy under a new name.

3. (old).—To beget; to conceive; to breed. Also to be bagged. This usage dates from about A.D. 1400, and was colloquial until about the middle of the seventeenth century. Warner [in Alb. Eng. VI., 148] has the line

Well, Venus shortly bagged, and ere long was Cupid bred.

To get baggy, phr. (common).—Said of clothes when loosened by the stretching which arises from wear and tear. Trousers get baggy at the knees.

Bag and Baggage, phr. (common).—To clear one out bag and baggage is to get quit of one entirely. A deprecatory expression indicating complete riddance.

Bag and Bottle, subs. phr. (old).—Food and drink. The former from being carried in a bag as by beggars and vagrants; the latter also being of similar derivation.

1671. Eachard, Observations. An ill-contriving rascal that in his younger years should choose to lug the bag and the bottle a mile or two to school; and to bring home only a small bit of Greek or Latin most magisterially construed.

Baggage. Heavy baggage, subs. phr. (old).—1. Women and children.—Grose.

2. Baggage is also a familiar colloquialism for a pert, saucy, young woman; like ‘wench,’ ‘rogue,’ ‘gypsy,’ it is often used endearingly.

1693. Congreve, Old Batchelor, I., iii. I believe the baggage loves me.

1732. Fielding, The Miser, Act i., Sc. 9. Here’s a baggage of a daughter, who refuses the most advantageous match that ever was offered.

1863. Alex. Smith, Dreamthorpe, p. 12. And Beauty, who is something of a coquette ... goes off in a huff. Let the baggage go!

3. (old).—A whore or strumpet; a woman of loose morals.

4. (old).—Rubbish; ‘rot.’

1575. Touchstone of Complexions, p. 118. For throughe cruditye and lacke of perfect concoction in the stomacke is engendered great abundance of naughty baggage and hurtful phlegme.

1576. Gascoigne, The Steele Glas, p. 79. When brewers put no bagage in their beere.

Adj. (old).—Used contemptuously of individuals and things. Cf., Baggage—a worthless, good-for-nothing woman.

1593. G. Harvey, Pierees Superero, in works (Gresart) II., 273. Bibbing Nash, baggage Nash, swaddish Nash, rogish Nash, the bellweather of the scribling flocke.

1692. Hacket, Life of Williams, ii., 128. For four cellars of wine, syder, ale, beer, with wood, hay, corn, and the like, stored up for a year or two, he gave not account of sixpence, but spent it upon baggage, and loose franions. Ibid., p. 123. Booth himself confest, in the hearing of those witnesses, that Pregion had nothing to do with that baggage woman.

Baggage-Smasher, subs. (American).—1. A railway porter. The why and wherefore of this nickname is abundantly apparent from the following quotations.

1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 358. The baggage-smasher, as the porter is commonly called, handles his burdens with appalling recklessness, and responsibility there is none.

1880. New Virginians, i., 37. ‘Called baggage-smashers.’ [M.]

1888. Texas Siftings, Nov. 3. Fashionable people who have spent the summer at the watering places or at the seaside, but have now returned to the cities, assert that the baggage-smasher has become more destructive than ever. The baggage-smasher is indeed a terror. In fact there are two of them: the one who flits from station to station and dumps your poor dumb trunk with force enough to drive piles in a government breakwater, and the one who loiters around the depôt watching for his chance to shatter your baggage. The depôt baggageman is the most culpable of the two species. In his long and dark career of smashing trunks, he has, evidently, knocked the hoops off his conscience, and there is no remorse brave, foolhardy and reckless enough to tackle his heart-strings and play on them.

2. Also a thief who hangs about ‘depôts,’ with a view to robbery of luggage.

1861. New York Tribune, Nov. 23. Gamblers, ticket-swindlers, emigrant robbers, baggage-smashers, and all the worst classes of the city.

Bagged, ppl. adj. (American).—A term used to signify imprisonment and victimization—probably only an extension of the idea of capture as derived from sport, through the slang ‘to bag,’ i.e., to steal. Cf., To bag.

Bagging, subs. (provincial slang).—In the first instance, food taken between regular meals; now generally applied, especially in Lancashire, to what is known in the South of England as ‘high tea.’

1750. J. Collier, in Lancashire Glossary (E.D.S.). Hoo’l naw cum agen till baggin’ time. [M.]

1870. Chambers’ Journal, Oct., p. 661. Lancashire adopts the whole-board or partial-board system very extensively. The local term of bagging implies bread and cheese, or pies; and there are all the varieties of board and lodging, dinner of potatoes and bacon with buttermilk, bagging in the forenoon and afternoon, dinner and lunch, and rations allowed for women.

1879. In Temple Bar Mag., 4 Jan. Baggin’ is not only lunch, but any accidental meal coming between two regular ones.

Bagging the Over.—See Jockeying the over.

Bagman, subs. (popular).—1. A commercial traveller. Formerly of respectable usage; now only employed contemptuously.

1765. Goldsmith, Essays, I. The bagman was telling a better story. [M.]

1840. Thackeray, Paris Sketch Book, p. 20. When all the rest of mankind look hideous, dirty, peevish, wretched, after a forty hours’ coach-journey, a bagman appears as gay and spruce as when he started.

The term bagman took its rise in the saddle-bags in which the commercial traveller of the past century carried his patterns and goods. These saddle-bags being of larger dimensions than those usually carried by travellers on horseback, would designate the commercial traveller par excellence as the bagman.

2. In sporting slang, a ‘bag-fox.’

1875. Stonehenge, Brit. Sports, I., II., iv., § 5. If ... wild cubs cannot be found, a bagman or two must be obtained. [M.]

Bagnio, subs. (old).—A brothel. [From Italian bagno, a bath, properly a hot bath; whence an application as in the case of stew (q.v.), for a house of prostitution.]

1624. Massinger, Parliament of Love, II., ii. To be sold to a brothel or a common bagnio.

1851. Thackeray, English Humour, V. (1858), 243. How the prodigal drinks and sports at the bagnio.

1861. Wright, Domestic Manners in England during the Middle Ages, 491. They were soon used to such an extent for illicit intrigues, that the name of a hothouse or bagnio became equivalent to that of a brothel.

Bag of Bones, subs. phr. (familiar).—A lean, attenuated person; sometimes called a ‘walking skeleton.’ The French have un sac à os (often contracted into sacdos)—a literal translation. The term is quite modern, being traced by Murray no further back than 1838, when Dickens used it [in Oliver Twist, iv., 64].

Bag o’ Moonshine, subs. phr. (common).—Nonsense.—See All moonshine.

Bag of Nails, subs. phr. (American thieves’).—A state of confusion or topsy-turveydom. [Qy. from ‘bacchanals.’]

Bag of Tricks, phr. (common).—Generally, the whole bag of tricks; i.e., every expedient.

Bagpipe, subs. (common).—A windy talker; a senseless chatter-box. The derivation is obviously from the musical instrument of the same name.

Verb. (old).—A lascivious practice; too indecent for explanation.

Bags, subs. (popular).—An ironical nickname for trousers, thought by some to be of University origin, and borrowed from ‘the variegated bags’ of Euripides—τους θυλάκους τους ποικίλους (Cyclops., 182).

1853. Rev. E. Bradley (‘Cuthbert Bede’), Adventures of Verdant Green, p. 51. Just jump into a pair of bags and Wellingtons. Ibid., p. 5. His black go-to-meeting bags.

1870. Chambers’ Journal (Christmas Number). ‘But, holloa!’ he cried, as he caught sight of his legs. ‘Parsons don’t wear light tweed bags!’... Jack had to unpack his portmanteau and get out his evening inexpressibles.

1874. M. Collins, Frances, ch. xv. His well-shapen hip and calf were hidden in loose-fitting bags of corduroy.

1880. Punch, Jan. 10, p. 6. The spread of education and liberal ideas.—His Grace the Duke of Poplar and Bermondsey. ‘Just look at these bags you last built me, Snippe! J’ever see such beastly bags in your life? I shall always be glad to come and dine with you, old man; but I’ll be hanged if you shall ever measure me for another pair of bags!’ Mr. Snippe (of Snippe and Son, St. James’s Street). ‘You’ve always grumbled about your bags, as you call ’em, ever since you were my fag at Eton; and at Christchurch you were just as bad, even though my poor dear old governor used to come all the way down and measure you himself. It ain’t the fault of the bags, my dear Popsy—it’s the fault of the legs inside ’em! So, shut up, old Stick-in-the-mud, and let’s join the ladies—the duchess has promised to give us “Little Billee.”’

When made of startling material, or ‘cut’ in an exaggerated style of fashion they become howling bags.

English Synonyms. Dittoes; kicks; kicksies; bum-bags; sit-upons; unmentionables; continuations; hams; inexpressibles; abridgements; drumstick-cases; and ducks (when made of white material).

French Synonyms. Dalzar; falzar.

Intj. (schoolboy).—Bags! or bags I! is frequently used to assert a claim to some article or privilege. Analogous schoolboy slang is fains or fain it (q.v.) for demanding a truce during the progress of a game, and which is always granted by the opposing party. In other schools pike I or prior pike serve to lay claim to anything, or for asserting priority of claim. Also bar! e.g., ‘He wanted me to do so and so, but I barred not.’ Cf., Fain, Pike, and Bar.

To have the bags, phr. (popular).—This phrase is erroneously given by Hotten (and Barrère has followed suit), as to have the bags off. The meaning is to be of age, and thus to possess all the rights and privileges of adultship; also to have plenty of money. Obviously an allusion to the transition from child’s attire to the garments of manhood.

Bags of mystery, subs. phr. (common).—Sausages and saveloys are so called—from the often mysterious character of their compounds. Presumably composed of minced ‘meat,’ but so highly flavoured and seasoned that no man can tell whereof they are made.

To take the bags (athletic).—To act as ‘hare’ in ‘Hare and Hounds,’ a game too well known to need description in this place.

(Stock Exchange).—Buenos Ayres Great Southern Railway Bonds.—Formed from the initial letters, thus B-A-G-S.

Baijan.—See Bejan.

Bail. Straw-bail or straw-shoes, subs. (common).—A nickname for a person willing for a consideration, to give evidence, or act as bail. Formerly men were much more ostentatious in plying a vocation of perjury than is now happily possible. It was no uncommon thing for such openly to perambulate the entrances to the law-courts ready for any chance customer. They made known their occupation by wearing a piece of straw just sticking out of their shoes. The Quarterly Review (xxxiii., 344) points out that the practice is a very ancient one, Athens having abounded in straw-shoes. The modus operandi was much the same then as in later days. When it was ‘desirable’ to season Attic testimony with bribery and perjury, the scene outside a Greek court of justice might be thus described. An advocate or lawyer who wanted a convenient witness knew by these signs [the straws in the sandals] where to find one, and the colloquy between the parties was brief. ‘Don’t you remember’ said the advocate—(the party looked at the fee and gave no sign: but the fee increased and the powers of memory increased with it). ‘To be sure I do!’ ‘Then come into the court and swear it.’ And straw-shoes went into the court and swore it. As b.c., so A.D. 1754—before and after.

1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, book I., chap. ii. Charity took to husband an eminent gentleman whose name I cannot learn; but who was famous for so friendly a disposition, that he was bail for above a hundred persons in one year. He had likewise the remarkable honour of walking in Westminster Hall with a straw in his shoe.

At present lawyers use straw-bail to designate insufficient bail. Closely allied to this term, and used much in the same manner, is ‘a man of straw.’ The figure is the effigy of a man, stuffed with straw; hence, ‘a man of straw,’ the semblance of a man—a person of neither substance nor responsibility; or one put forward to screen a real delinquent. A curious usage, akin to the foregoing, is also sometimes heard among sailors. For example, a strike for wages having taken place amongst the crew of a ship, ‘blacklegs’ (q.v.), or ‘straw-yarders’ as they were called in nautical phraseology, took the place of the strikers. On the meaning of the expression being asked, it was explained that a ‘straw-yarder’ was a man about the docks who had never been to sea, and knew little or nothing of the duties of a seaman.

To give or take leg-bail, phr. (common).—To escape, either from arrest, or from prison; literally, to be indebted to one’s legs for flight. For exhaustive list of synonyms, see Amputate.

1775. Adair, American Indians, 277. I had concluded to use no chivalry, but give them leg-bail instead of it, by ... making for a deep swamp. [M.]

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. iii. ‘I e’en gae them leg-bail, for there’s nae ease in dealing wi’ quarrelsome fowk.’

1848. Marryat, Poacher, xxii. Given them leg-bail, I swear.

The phrase is sometimes amplified thus:—to take leg-bail and give land security.

Bail Up! also Bale Up! intj. (Australian).—A bushranger’s phrase for ‘stand and deliver’! ‘Shell out’!

1880. Blackwood’s Mag., July, p. 91. [Australian loq.] ‘Bail up! Bail up!’ shout the two red-veiled attackers, revolvers in hand.

1887. G. L. Apperson, All the Year Round, July 30, p. 68, col. 1. In times gone by, it was by no means an uncommon occurrence [in Australia] for a coach to be ‘stuck up’ by a band of bushrangers, whose shouts of bail up, an invitation equivalent to our ‘shell out,’ supported by revolver barrels, terrified the hearts of the passengers. But a coach is now seldom interfered with, and to ‘stick up’ is applied to less daring attempts to rob.

2. Hence, colloquially, a demand for instant payment. Equivalent to the English fork out! stump up! etc. For synonyms, see Shell out.

Bait, subs. (common).—Anger; rage; indignation. Derived from the figurative sense of ‘to bait,’ i.e., to worry; harass; or tease.

1882. F. Anstey, Vice-Versâ, ch. v. ‘I went calmly on, smoking my cigar as if nothing was the matter. That put the Proctor in a bait, I can tell you!’

Baitland, subs. (nautical).—Admiral Smyth in his Sailors’ Word Book quotes this as ‘an old word, formerly used to signify a port where refreshments could be procured.’

Bake, verb. (Winchester College).—To rest, or lie down.

Baked, ppl. adj. (common).—Collapsed; exhausted; done up; e.g., ‘toward the end of the course the crew were regularly baked.’ A common colloquialism at the beginning of the present century; but the punning idea involved is very ancient. To bake one’s bread in the sense of ‘to do for one’ occurs as early as 1380, as will be seen from the following quotation.

1380. Sir Ferumb, 577. For euere my bred had be bake; myn lyf dawes had be tynt.

Half-baked (common) is said of a dull-witted or imbecile person, i.e., one who is ‘soft’ or inexperienced, in contrast to one who is baked in the sense of ‘seasoned,’ quick-witted, etc.

1864. Notes and Queries, 3 S., vi., 494, 2. He is only half-baked—put in with the bread, and taken out with the cakes.

Baker, subs. (Winchester College).—A cushion. These were of two kinds; that used in ‘College’ was of large size, oblong in shape, and green in colour. The other used in ‘Commoners’ was thin, narrow, much smaller, and of red colour. The term baker is also applied to anything placed upon a form to sit upon, e.g., a blotting book or other article; in short, anything comfortable to sit upon.

(American).—A loafer. The word is generally attributed to Baron de Mandat Grancey, who, in his work Cowboys and Colonels, innocently translated the word ‘loafer’ as baker.

To spell baker (colloquial).—To attempt a difficult task. In the old spelling books ‘baker’ was frequently the first word of two syllables to which a child came when learning to spell.

Baker-Kneed, also Baker-legged, adj. (common).—1. Knock-kneed; disfigured by crooked legs. This deformity, incident to bakers, arising from the constrained position in which they knead bread, is said to be the almost certain penalty of habitually bearing any burden of bulk in the right hand, or of excessive force constantly exerted by the right side of the body. The knees gradually incline inwards until they closely resemble the right side of the letter K.

1607. Dekker, Westward Hoe, Act ii., Sc. 2. Will women’s tongues, like bakers’ legs, never go straight?

1692. L’Estrange, Life of Æsop. Æsop ... was ... flat-nos’d, hunch-back’d, blabber-lipp’d, a long misshapen head; his body crooked all over, big-belly’d, baker-legg’d, and his complexion so swarthy that he took his very name from ’t; for Æsop is the same with Æthiop.

1754. B. Martin, Eng. Dict., 2 ed. Bakes-legg’d, straddling, with the legs bowing outward.

1812. Colman, Poetical Vagaries, p. 13. His voice had broken to a gruffish squeak. He had grown blear-eyed, baker-kneed, and gummy.

2. Effeminate. Either an attributive usage of the foregoing, or an allusion to the popular belief that a woman’s legs are never straight. Compared physiologically with those of a man this is doubtless true; but otherwise most women would resent the imputation as a libel.

1652. Gaule, Hagastrom, 186. Baker-kneed signifies effeminate.

Baker Layer, subs. (Winchester College).—A Junior who used to take a prefect’s green baker (q.v.) in and out of ‘Hall’ at meal times. The term is now obsolete.

Baker’s Dozen, subs. (colloquial).—Thirteen reckoned as twelve. Formerly, so careful were ‘the powers that be’ regarding the supply of bread, that bakers were liable to heavy penalties for any deficiency in the weight of loaves. So hedged in, indeed, was the sale of bread, that the weight of loaves was fixed by law, for every price from eighteenpence down to twopence, but penny loaves or rolls were not specified in the statute. Bakers, therefore, when selling the latter, in order to be on the safe side, gave, for a dozen of bread, an additional loaf, known as ‘inbread.’ A similar custom of giving extra quantity was formerly observed with regard to coal, and publishers nowadays reckon thirteen copies of a book as twelve. That the term baker’s dozen was thoroughly colloquial at the latter end of the sixteenth century is apparent from the first of the following quotations:

1596. Nashe, Saffron Walden, in works III., ii. Conioyning with his aforesaid Doctor Brother in eightie eight browne baker’s dozen of Almanackes.

1639. Will of Francis Pynner, of Bury, Gent., dated April 26 [Camden Society’s ‘Bury Wills’]. The yerely sume of ffiue pounds p’cell of the said yerely rents to be bestowed in wheaten bread, to be made into penny loaves, and upon eu’y Lord’s day, called Sonday, throughout eu’y yere of the said terme [40 years or thereabouts], fowre and twenty loaves of the said bread, with the inbread allowed by the baker for those twoe dosens of bread, to be timely brought and sett vpon a forme towards the vpp’end of the chancell of the said p’ish church of St. Marie, and ... the same twoe dosens of bread to be giuen and distributed ... to and amongst fowre and twentie poore people.... And they, the said clarke, sexton, and bedell, shall alwaies haue the inbread of all the bread aforesaid ovr and besides their shares in the said twoe dosens of bread.

1733. Fielding, Don Quixote, III., vi. I could not number them. I dare swear there were a good round baker’s dozen, at least.

1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxviii. ‘As to your lawyer, you get just your guinea’s worth from him—not even so much as the baker’s bargain, thirteen to the dozen.’

Baker’s dozen is occasionally used in a somewhat more figurative sense, and is not confined to the technicalities of trade. It is employed to signify thirteen or fourteen. It is so quoted in Grose (1785), but the usage is apparently much older than that, for Hudson, the navigator, when he discovered the bay to which his name is given, designated a cluster of thirteen or fourteen islands on the east shore of it. The Baker’s Dozen, as may be seen on the charts; and even French atlases exhibit these islands as La Douzaine du boulanger.

To give one a baker’s dozen is to pummell a man well; to thrash him soundly—a humorous allusion to the good measure implied by the phrase.

Bakes, subs. (American thieves’).—A schoolboy.

Bakester, subs. (Winchester College).—One who bakes (see Bake); a sluggard. The term is now obsolete.

Baking Leave, subs. (Winchester College).—Permission to bake (q.v.) in a study in ‘Commoners,’ or in a ‘scob’ place in College. In this sense the term is obsolete; but it is now used of leave to sit in any other person’s ‘toys’ (q.v.)—a sort of bureau.

Baking Place, subs. (Winchester College).—A kind of sofa in ‘Studies’ of ‘Commoners.’

Balaam, subs. (journalistic).—A term applied to all kinds of miscellaneous matter, generally of a trumpery and indifferent character, used as ‘padding’ in periodical publications. Evidently from Numbers xxii., 30, in which the ass spoke ‘with man’s voice.’ Balaam hence denotes ‘the speech of an ass,’ and is well applied to the stupid jokes, and silly paragraphs with which odd corners and short columns are often lengthened out. Brewer claims an American origin, but Webster only calls it ‘a cant term.’ In any case the term has clearly reference to nonsense to be thrown in to fill space, or nonsense thrown out as refuse. The curious point in the story of Balaam is that the ass talks like a philosopher and the prophet behaves like a donkey. The term was popularised by its frequent use in Blackwood’s Magazine.

1826. Scott, Mal. Malagr. iii., 3. How much Balaam (speaking technically) I have edged out of your valuable paper.

1839. Lochart, Scott, lxx. (1842), 622. Balaam is the cant name for asinine paragraphs about monstrous productions of nature and the like, kept standing in type to be used whenever the real news of the day leave an awkward space that must be filled up somehow. [M.]

Balaam-Basket or Balaam-Box, subs. (journalistic).—1. The receptacle for Balaam (q.v.).

2. When articles or other contributions are rejected they are put in the Balaam-basket, which may either be a pigeon-hole (to await return to the author); the waste paper basket; or, as the readiest mode of extinction, the flames. In any case, the destination is said to be the Baalam-basket or box.

1827. Blackw. Mag., xxi., 340. Several dozen letters on the same subject now in our Balaam-box.

1873. Hall, Modern English, p. 17. An essay for the Edinburgh Review, in ‘the old unpolluted English language,’ would have been consigned by the editor to his Balaam-basket.

1877. Notes and Queries, 5 S., vii., 270, 2. At the risk of getting into your Balaam-box, I venture to record the whole contents of my bundle as they lie before me.

Balaclava-Day, subs. (military).—A soldier’s pay day. Balaclava, in the Crimean War [1854–6], was the base of supply for the English troops; and, as pay was drawn, the men went down to make their purchases.

Balance, subs. (American).—A balance properly is that which balances or produces equilibrium. It is the difference between two sides of an account—the amount of which is necessary to make the one equal to the other. It is not the rest or the remainder, yet we continually hear of the balance of this or that thing. In the sense of ‘rest,’ ‘residue,’ or ‘remainder,’ balance is the purest slang.

1846. Albany Journal, Jan. 7. The yawl returned to the wreck, took ten or eleven persons and landed them, and then went and got the balance from the floating cabin. [b.]

1861. Boston Transcript, Dec. 27. ‘We listened to Wendell Phillips for about half an hour, and having an engagement elsewhere, we were forced to leave, and so lost the balance of his oration.’ [de v.]

The word is thus used very much like the Scottish lave (what is left), employed by Burns in the line—

‘I’ll get a blessing with the lave, And never miss it.’

In some parts of Virginia the word ‘shank’ is quaintly used for the same purpose, and one friend will say to another, ‘Suppose you come in and spend the shank of the evening with me?’ The vulgarism is becoming common in England, as witness the following:—

1875. Blackwood’s Magazine, April, 443. Balance, long familiar to American ears, is becoming so to ours. In an account of a ship on fire we read ‘Those saved remained the balance of the night watching the burning wreck.’ [M.]

1883. P. Fitzgerald, Recreations of a Literary Man, 170. Everyone is away shooting or riding; a balance of the ladies is left. [M.]

Balbus, subs. (University).—A Latin prose composition. In Arnold’s well-known text book, Latin Prose Composition, balbus turns up at every corner; he is here, there, and everywhere; he appears to be willing and able to do anything, and go anywhere; in fact it is balbus this, and balbus that, until the wonder is whether balbus was not something of a prig or bore, or both. At all events those who used the text book in question, cannot fail to remember that doughty old fossil of a Roman to their dying day.

1870. Quarterly Review. Balbus was in constant use.

Balderdash, subs. (old).—1. Adulterated wine; a mixture of liquors such as wine and beer, milk and beer, etc.

2. (colloquial).—Frothy talk; nonsense; a jumble of words.

1885. Murray, New English Dictionary, Art. Balderdash, vol. I., p. 633, col. 3. From the evidence at present, the inference is that the current sense was transferred from 1 or 2 [i.e., Froth, frothy liquid, or a jumbled mixture of liquids] either with the notion of ‘frothy talk,’ or of ‘a senseless farrago,’ or ‘jumble of words.’ Most etymologists have, however, assumed 3 [nonsense; frothy talk, etc.] to be the original sense, and sought its explanation in the obvious similarity of balder to dialectical balder, ‘to use coarse language’; Dutch, balderen, ‘to roar, thunder’; Norwegian, baldra; Icelandic, baldrast, ballrast, ‘to make a clatter,’ and of -dash to the verb dash in various senses. The Welsh baldorddus, adj., f. baldordd, ‘idle, noisy talk, chatter,’ has also been adduced.... Other conjectures may be found in Wedgwood, Skeat, and E. Müller.

Bald-Face, subs. (American).—New whiskey; so villainous is the compound, that only by courtesy can it be recognised as at all approaching the Simon Pure. For synonyms, see Drinks.

Bald-Faced Shirt, subs. (American).—In cowboy lingo, a white shirt; from the fact of being white on the face or front. Ordinarily bald-face is used of animals, e.g., a bald-faced stag. Hereford cattle, too, have white faces, and as cowboys are brought into close contact with all kinds of cattle, the term as applied to a linen shirt is possibly a mere transference in sense. Cf., Boiled shirt.

Bald-Faced Stag, subs. (common).—A bald-headed man; [from bald-faced, having white on face + stag, a slang term for a man. Cf., Stag party.] For synonyms, see Bladder of lard.

Baldheaded.—To go it baldheaded, phr. (American).—With eager impetuosity, or great haste; to do a thing with all one’s might and main. A suggestion of action without stopping to cover one’s head, i.e., on the spur of the moment.

1848–62. J. R. Lowell, Biglow Papers, p. 6.

It ain’t by princerples nor men My preudunt course is steadied,— I scent which pays the best, an’ then Go into it baldheaded.

1869. Our Young Folks. Whenever he had made up his mind to do a thing he went at it baldheaded. [de v.]

1888. Pall Mall Gazette, June 22. The Chicago Republicans, to use an Americanism, have gone baldheaded for protection. If shouting could win a Presidential contest, Blaine and Protection would be certain.

To snatch baldheaded, phr. (American).—To defeat a person in a street fight.

1871. R. Grant White, Words and Their Uses.

The crowd than gave a specimen of calumny broke loose, And said I’d snatched him baldheaded, and likewise cooked his goose.

Bald-Headed Row, subs. phr. (American).—The first row of stalls at theatres, especially those which make a feature of ballets. The term is a cynical allusion to the fact that these seats are generally occupied by men of mature age; the innuendo is obvious.—See Frog-salad.

Balditude, subs. (American).—A state of baldness. Probably a nonce word.

1882. S. L. Clemens (‘Mark Twain’), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, p. 187. Trouble has done it, Bilgewater, trouble has done it; trouble has brung these gray hairs and this premature balditude.

Baldober or Baldower, subs. (thieves’).—A leader; a head man; a spokesman. This term has been imported into the lingo of English thieves from the German Gaunersprache, in which it has very much the same meaning.

Balductum, subs. (old).—Nonsense; rubbish. Cf., Balderdash.

Baldy, subs. (American).—A colloquial vulgarism for a bald-headed man. Cf., Balditude.

Balfour’s Maiden, subs. (Parliamentary).—A nickname given to a kind of covered battering-ram used by the Royal Irish Constabulary in carrying out evictions in Ireland in the years 1888–9. On many estates the tenants made most desperate resistance to all attempts on the part of the landlords to recover possession, upon which the latter appealed for, and obtained the assistance of the authorities. This but served to intensify the struggle, and the tenants, driven to extremities, in some cases resisted all endeavours, even to throwing boiling water over the soldiers and police employed against them. To protect the evictors, and also to render easier the demolition of the cabins of the wretched people, a kind of covered battering-ram was made, whereupon the Home Rule Party sarcastically gave it, amongst other nick-names, that of Balfour’s maiden. The term was first used by Sir Wm. Harcourt in a speech at a monster Home Rule meeting, held at St. James’s Hall, on Wednesday, April 10, 1889. An account of the incident runs as follows:—

1889. Daily News, April 11. Resolute government has not been absolutely extinguished. Now at Letterkenny, Mr. Balfour has introduced a new invention, the latest development of resolute government. The Government were questioned on the subject, and they accepted the responsibility for the facts. It stated that in view of the Olphert estate evictions, there reached there an iron-headed spiked battering-ram to be used in carrying out the evictions. Why, really, gentlemen, when you read of these things they are like the pictures one sees of the Siege of Jerusalem—(loud laughter)—of the implements, which the Latins called tormenta. We are familiar with them in old mediæval castles. You find instruments called ‘The Scavenger’s Daughter,’ and ‘The Maiden,’ and other implements of that character. I think this last pattern of ram of Mr. Balfour’s might be called ‘The Unionist’s Daughter’—(loud laughter)—or it might be christened ‘Balfour’s Maiden.’ (Cheers and laughter.) But not to deprive the Liberal Unionists of their share we might call it ‘Chamberlain’s Tenants’ Protector.’ (Renewed merriment.)

Ball, subs. (thieves’).—1. A prison ration. 2. A drink.

To open the ball, phr. (common).—To commence an undertaking; to start off.

1876. Eton Chronicle, July 20.

... Whatever may seem the mishaps of his team, Whatever their failings and sinnings, He who opened the ball and who saw them all fall, Scarce deserved that defeat in one innings.

Ballad-Basket, subs. (old).—A street singer.—See Street pitcher. A French equivalent is un braillard.

Ballambangjang, subs. (nautical).—The Straits of Ballambangjang, though unnoticed by geographers, are frequently mentioned in sailors’ yarns as being so narrow, and the rocks on each side so crowded with trees inhabited by monkeys, that the ship’s yards cannot be squared, on account of the monkey’s tails getting jammed into, and choking up, the brace blocks.—Hotten.

Ballast, subs. (common).—Money. For synonyms, see Actual.

Well-ballasted, adj. (common).—A rich man is said to be well-ballasted.

English Synonyms. ‘To be flush’; also ‘to have brass; brads,’ etc. See synonyms for money generally under Actual.

Among French equivalents for the solidity arising from the possession of wealth may be mentioned:—Être zingué (popular: literally ‘to be covered with zinc’); avoir des monacos (popular: monaco is an ironical term for a sou); daim huppé (popular: daim, a slang term for a swell, is properly a ‘buck,’ and huppé also signifies high in station, well-off); homme au sac (familiar: ‘a man with a bag,’—presumably of money); avoir des picaillons (popular: picaillons is thought to be a corruption of picarons, a Spanish coin); être de la fête (popular: i.e., ‘to be in luck’s way’); être sacqué (popular: meaning obvious); rupin (thieves’ term); avoir de ce qui sonne (popular: ‘to have that which chinks’); tailler en plein drap (popular).

In the Spanish Germania a rich or well-ballasted man is florido, i.e., ‘flowery’ or ‘agreeable.’

Ball Face, subs. (American).—A contemptuous epithet applied by negroes to white persons. Salem, Mass., 1810–1820.

Ball-Keeper, subs. (Winchester College).—In ‘Commoners’ an ‘Inferior’ appointed to look after cricket and footballs. In return for this service he was exempted from ‘kicking in’ and ‘watching out.’ ‘Junior in College’ has to bring through balls every evening.—See Balls.

Ball of Fire, subs. phr. (popular).—A glass of fiery and pungent brandy. For all synonyms, see Drinks.

Ballooning, subs. (Stock Exchange).—Inflating the price of stocks by fictitious means, such as newspaper articles, bogus sales, etc.

Balloon It, verb. (American).—To indulge in rhodomontade; to draw the long bow; to talk big. Obviously from ‘to puff or swell out’ as a balloon.

1878. T. Sinclair, Mount, 33. Gas-brained, ballooning wandering men. [M.]

Ball O’ Wax, subs. (common).—A snob, or shoe-maker.—See Snob.

Balls. To bring through balls, phr. (Winchester College).—‘Junior in College’ collects footballs from the lockers in school, and brings them through at six o’clock to be blown, or repaired, if necessary.

To make balls of, verb. phr. (popular).—To go wrong; to do what ‘lands’ one in trouble; generally, to make a mistake.

All balls, adv. (popular).—All rubbish; nonsense. For synonyms, see All my eye.

Ballum Rancum, subs. (old).—A hop or dance, where the women are all prostitutes; a dance at a brothel. These orgies sometimes take the form of ‘buff-balls,’ all present dancing in the nude.

Bally, adj. (popular).—A comparatively recent coinage, it is said, of the Sporting Times, from ‘bally-hooly.’ Generally, though not always, used as is ‘bloody,’ in the lower strata of the body politic. It also signifies intensity, and in cases where the vocabulary at command is limited, bally does yeoman’s service for such words as ‘fearful,’ ‘dreadful,’ ‘terrible,’ ‘outrageous,’ ‘confounded.’

1889. Sporting Times, July 6 (Answers to Correspondents). H. G. Steele.—Thanks. What a bally idiot you must be.

1889. Bird o’ Freedom, Aug. 7, p. 5. Newman Noggs, bringing small boy to carry master’s bag, and inculcating manners at the same time, ‘Now, what would you say if I was to give you sixpence for taking it?’ ‘I should say ’twasnt half enough, and you can bally well take it yourself,’ was the prompt reply. Boys are boys nowadays, and no error, thinks Newman.

Bally-Bounder.—See Bally and Bounder.

Bally-Fellow.—See Bounder and Bally.

Bally Flat.—See Bounder and Bally.

Bally Fool.—See Bounder and Bally.

Ballyrag.—See Bullyrag.

Balm, subs. (old).—A lie.—Duncombe.

Balmy, subs. and adj. (common).—Sleep; sleepy. [From the figurative sense of balmy, i.e., deliciously soft and soothing.]

To have a dose of the balmy; i.e., ‘to go to sleep.’

1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop, ch. viii., p. 42. ‘As it’s rather late, I’ll try and get a wink or two of the balmy.’

English Synonyms. To doss; to go to Bedfordshire (q.v.)—a play upon words.

French Synonyms. La pionce or pionçage (popular: subs., see pioncer); le somno (popular: an abbreviated form of somnolence); piquage de romance (a military term); casser une canne, or sa canne (popular: this also means ‘to die.’ In French as in other languages the analogy between Sleep and Death is fully recognised. Many of the French slang phrases for the former are also used to express the latter. Mors janua vitæ!); casser son pif (popular: pif in French argot = ‘the nose.’ Amongst the peasants of Normandy and Berry it signifies a ‘grog-blossom’); pioncer (popular: from piausser, a provincialism for ‘to sleep’); piquer un chien (popular: piquer a canting verb of action, ‘to do’; therefore ‘to do as a dog’); piquer une romance (popular); faire son lézard (popular: Cf., piquer un chien); faire son michaud (thieves’: i.e., ‘to rest one’s head or knowledge box’); roupiller (this term is in general colloquial use); se recueillir (popular: ‘to wrap oneself in meditation’); compter des pauses (musicians’: ‘to count the beats.’ Cf., various suggested remedies for overcoming insomnia; e.g., counting slowly up to a hundred, etc., etc.); taper de l’œil (popular: ‘to rub the eyes.’ Cf., English ‘to have sleepy dust in one’s eyes’); mettre le chien au cran de repos (popular: ‘to curl oneself up like a dog’); souffler ses clairs (popular: ‘to blow or put out one’s light,’ i.e., ‘to shut the eyes’); fermer maillard (popular: to close one’s shutters, i.e., eyelids. Maillard was the inventor of a particular kind of shutter. Other analogous expressions are être terrassé par maillard, i.e., ‘to be extremely sleepy.’ Sleep is expressed by fermeture); faire schloff or schloffer, from the German schlafen.

Spanish Synonym. In the Germania difunto, properly ‘defunct,’ is used for asleep.

A Portuguese Synonym for sound sleep is a bom sornar, i.e., ‘to sleep on both ears.’

2. Dull-witted; thick-skulled. In this sense balmy is used up and down the whole gamut of imbecility from mere stolidity to downright insanity. Popularly used, it signifies in most cases little more than shallow-brained or muddle-headed; or, to use slang equivalents in their most familiar sense, ‘to be touched,’ ‘to be wrong in the upper story,’ ‘dotty.’ Among thieves, however, it is usually applied to insanity, to put on the balmy stick being, among convicts, to feign madness.

1851. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. I., p. 231. List of patterers’ words. Balmy—Insane.

A large number of synonyms will be found under apartments to let, but in addition to those there mentioned may be instanced the following in the French slang:—Demenager (popular: ‘to remove one’s furniture.’ It also means ‘to die’); paumer la sorbonne (i.e., ‘to punch the head,’ sorbonne being a slang term for that part of the human body. The Sorbonne is a well-known university and seat of learning. Among thieves, too, sorbonner is used in the sense of ‘to think’); être un peu toc (i.e., slightly crazy; toc in slang = ridiculous); avoir une pomme de canne felée (popular: a rather opprobrious expression, meaning ‘to have a slate off.’ Cf., ‘to have a tile loose’); avoir une fissure (literally ‘to have a crack’); avoir un grain.

Balmy Cove, subs. (common).—A weak-minded individual; one who has ‘a tile loose.’ [From balmy (q.v.) + cove, a man.] Among French thieves such an individual is called un hurlubier (hurlublu is an obsolete term used jestingly for a giddy goose or hair-brained person); also biscayen from the Bicêtre prison which has a lunatic ward for demented convicts. The prison itself is called La Biscaye, but this name has no connection with the province of Biscay as might be supposed.

Balsam, subs. (thieves’ and popular).—One of the many generic names for money. A full list of synonyms will be found under Actual. The allusion of course is obvious, i.e., a healing soothing agent or agency; but, in its secondary signification of impertinence, ‘brass,’ ‘cheek,’ etc., the reverse of the shield is given. Such reversals in the legitimate meanings of words are not uncommon in slang.

Bam, subs. (old slang).—1. A cheat; an imposition; a story intended to hoax the credulous; what nowadays generally goes under the name of chaff or humbug [bam is thought to be an abbreviated form of bamboozle (q.v.)]. Murray has traced it back to 1762, but it appears nearly twenty years previous in Dyche’s dictionary, and also in Martin’s, the second edition of which was published in 1754.—See verb To bam.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5 ed.). Bam (s.), a sham or pretence, a lying excuse.

1762. Foote, Orators, Act ii. Why I know that man, he is all upon his fun; he lecture—why ’tis all but a bam.

1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. ix. ‘It’s all a bam, ma’am—all a bamboozle and a bite, that affair of his illness.’

Verb.—To hoax, to bamboozle; to wheedle; to cheat. [Of same formation as substantive, which see above, and Cf., Bamboozle.] The first trace of it appears in Cibber’s Double Gallant [1707], and is discussed by Swift in his introduction to Polite Conversation [1738], where he mentions among ‘the exquisite refinements’ then in vogue,—bam for bamboozle, and bamboozle for, God knows what. Whereupon a correspondent of Notes and Queries [2 S., Jan. 10, ’57, p. 31] alluding to the despair of etymologists in regard to these words remarked that if from was put in the place of for, it would describe the predicament in which philologists are placed.

1754. H. Martin, Eng. Dict., 2 ed. To bam, or to bamboozle, to fun, to fib, to sham.

1760. Colman, Polly Honeycombe, in wks. (1777) IV., 43. Lord, how well he behaves! We shall certainly bam the old gentleman.

1830. Marryat, King’s Own, ch. xlix. ‘Now, you’re bamming me—don’t attempt to put such stories off on your old granny.’

1874. E. L. Linton, Patricia Kemball, ch. xxxix. For a moment the thought flashed across him whether ‘that tale of Gordon Frere was all a bam, and had the girl taken a liking for himself?’

Bamblustercate, verb. (nonce-word).—A factitious creation signifying to embarrass; confuse; or hoax in a blustering manner. [From bam, to hoax, or confuse + bluster, noisy assertion + cate, a termination in imitation of ‘conglomerate’.]—See also Comflogisticate.

Bamboo, verb. (American).—A corruption of bamboozle. To cheat; to victimize; to hoax.—See, however, Bam and Bamboozle.

Bamboozle, verb. (familiar).—To hoax; deceive; or impose upon. Philologists are all confessedly at sea in regard to the derivation of bamboozle and its attributive forms, but the general tendency of evidence is to refer it to a gypsy origin. Johnson states it to be a cant word; and Bouchier, in his glossary says, ‘it has with great propriety long had a place in the gypsy or canting dictionaries,’ it being in his opinion ‘the sole invention of gypsies or vagrants.’ Leland thinks it ‘possibly’ the Hindu word bambhorna, to humbug, with the gypsy terminative āsel. Wedgwood suggests its origin in the Italian bamboccio, a young babe, and metaphorically an old dotard or babyish gull; imbambolare, to blear or dim one’s sight, also with flatteries and blandishments, to inveigle and make a fool of one. If a verb were made of bambocciolo in the same way as bambocciolare, it would have much the sense of bamboozle. A. E. Quekett (N. and Q., 5 S., xii., 488) throws a side-light upon this last theory by pointing out that in Shakspeare’s Taming of the Shrew, Katharina says, ‘Belike you mean to make a puppet of me,’ and Petruchio replies, ‘Why true; he means to make a puppet of thee.’ Comparing this passage with the rest of the scene it would seem that Petruchio’s answer is not a mere repetition of Katharina’s words, but contains a double entendre of some kind. He (Quekett) then hazards that perhaps she meant to say, ‘Perhaps you mean to treat me as a doll without a will of its own,’ while Petruchio appears to mean something very like, ‘He wishes to bamboozle you.’

Be all this as it may, bamboozle first came into vogue during the early part of the last century; for in the Tatler No. 230 [1710], we read, ‘The third refinement observable in the letter I send you consists in the choice of certain words invented by some pretty fellows, such as banter, bamboozle, country-put, and kidney, some of which are now struggling for the vogue, and others are in possession of it’!

So also with the derivatives; e.g., bamboozle (subs.); Bamboozled; bamboozlement; bamboozler; bamboozling.

1703. Cibber, She Would and She Would Not, II., i. (1736), 34. Sham proofs, that they propos’d to bamboozle me with. [M.]

1709. Steele, Tatler, No. 31. But, says I, sir, I perceive this is to you all bamboozling.

1712. Arbuthnot, History of John Bull, pt. III., ch. vi. There are a sort of fellows that they call banterers and bamboozlers, that play such tricks; but it seems these fellows were in earnest!

1731. Coffey, Devil to Pay, Act i., Sc. 3. You juggler, you cheating, bamboozling villain!

1754. Foote, Knights, Act ii. You are tricked, imposed on, bamboozled!

1779. R. Cumberland, Wheel of Fortune, Act ii., Sc. 1. You know I love you, Emily, ... and therefore you baffle and bamboozle and make a bumpkin of me.

1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. ix. ‘It’s all a bam, ma’am—all a bamboozle and a bite, that affair of his illness.’

1827. Lytton, Pelham, ch. xxxvi. ‘One does not like to be bamboozled out of one’s right of election, by a smooth-tongued fellow, who sends one to the devil the moment the election is over.’

1886. Sat. Review, No. 1587, p. 423. The public is a great bamboozable body.

(Nautical).—To decoy the enemy by hoisting false colours—merely an extension of the popular sense.

English Synonyms. ‘To throw dust in the eyes’; ‘to use the pepper-box’; ‘to gild the pill’; ‘to throw a tub to a whale’; ‘to make believe the moon is made of cream cheese’; ‘to jockey’; ‘to stick’; ‘to bilk’; ‘to do’; ‘to best’; ‘to do brown’; ‘to bounce’; ‘to take in’; ‘to kid’; ‘to gammon.’

French Synonyms. Une monteuse de coups (a woman who bamboozles her lovers); monter des couleurs (popular: ‘to deceive by false representations’; couleur signifies ‘pretence,’ ‘semblance’); faire la queue à quelqu’un (popular); tirer la carotte (thieves’); faire voir le tour (popular); canarder (popular: literally ‘to shoot at one from a sheltered position’; i.e., to have an advantage, and thus to be able to hoax or humbug); dindonner (popular: from dindon, a ‘goose’); faire le coup, or monter le coup à quelqu’un (popular: coup in French slang is ‘a secret process,’ ‘a knack’ or ‘dodge’—hence ‘to deal one an underhand blow,’ or ‘to serve one a trick’); empaler (popular: ‘to deceive by false representations’; literally ‘to empale’); passer des curettes (popular: ‘to make a fool of one’); monter une gaffe (popular: gaffe in French slang = ‘a joke’; a piece of deceit); monter le job or jobarder (popular: job is equivalent to ‘simpleton’ or ‘flat,’ and is the same as jobelin); mener en bateau un pante pour le refaire (thieves’: ‘to deceive a man in order to rob him’); monter un batteau (popular); donner un pont à faucher (thieves’: ‘to lay a trap or snare’); promener quelqu’un (popular: ‘to make a fool of one.’ Cf., ‘to rush’); compter des mistouffles (familiar: mistouffle = ‘a scurvy trick’; ‘a joke’); gourrer (popular: ‘to stick’; ‘to kid’; ‘to deceive’); affluer (from à flouer, ‘to cheat’; ‘to diddle out of’); roustir (popular and thieves’: ‘to cheat’); affûter (thieves’: ‘to make unlawful profits’); bouler (popular); juiffer (popular: literally ‘to Jew’ as in English); pigeonner (familiar: ‘to do,’ ‘to pluck.’ In English slang the victims of card and other sharpers are called ‘pigeons’); flancher (popular: ‘to laugh at’ or ‘ridicule’); faire la barbe (popular: Cf., faire la queue); hisser un gandin (thieves’: literally ‘to hoist a dandy’ or ‘swell’); mettre dedans (popular: to take a rise out of one; literally to ‘take in’); être l’autre (popular: Cf., ‘to get left.’ The phrase also signifies ‘to be the lover,’ the mistress); planter un chou (familiar).

German Synonyms.—See Jockey.

Italian Synonyms. Traversare (literally ‘to cross over’); dar la stolfa.

Spanish Synonym. Encantar (literally ‘to enchant,’ ‘to entertain with soft words’).

Bambosh, subs. (nonce word).—Apparently a variation of bamboozling, as follows. [Bam + bosh.] Humbug; deceit; hoaxing.

1865. Day of Rest, Oct., 585. I was deaf to all that bambosh. [M.]

Bambsquabbled.—This coined word, which is, however, rarely used except in humorous writings, first saw the light in The Legend of the American War. It signifies discomfiture and defeat, or stupefaction; sometimes written bumsquabbled.

1835–40. T. C. Haliburton (‘Sam Slick’), The Clockmaker, 2 S., ch. ii. The judge said, ‘He had got too much already, cut him off the other two-thirds, and make him pay all costs.’ If he didn’t look bumsquabbled it’s a pity.

Banaghan. He beats Banaghan, phr. (old).—An Irish saying of one who tells wonderful stories; Banaghan, thought Grose, was a minstrel famous for dealing in the marvellous—a kind of prototype of Baron Munchausen. Of this, deponent knowing nothing, says the same.

Banagher, verb. (old).—To bang.

Bananaland, Bananalander, subs. (Australian).—Queensland, and a native of Queensland respectively. Apparently from a large portion of that section of the fifth continent lying within the tropics, thus allowing of the cultivation of the banana tree (Musa sapientum).

1886. Chamb. Journal, Feb. 20, p. 124. Booted and spurred ‘Cornstalks’ and Banana-men (natives of New South Wales and Queensland respectively).

1887. Melbourne (Victoria) Sportsman, 23 March, p. 7, col. 2. Paddy Slavin came from Queensland with the reputation of having beaten all the Bananalanders.

1887. Sydney (N.S.W.) Bulletin, 26 Feb., p. 6. His friends rallied up to congratulate him, and see him through, after the custom of the simple Bananalander.

It may be interesting to note that a native of New South Wales is nicknamed a ‘cornstalk’ because built somewhat tall and thin. Those whose stature is shorter, with circumference of wider dimensions in proportion to their height are said to be ‘nuggety.’ The gum trees of Tasmania give the elegant nickname ‘gumsucker’ to its inhabitants. In this practice antipodean colonists follow suit with their cousins across the Atlantic.—See Nicknames.

Banco, subs. (Charterhouse School).—Evening preparation down at ‘house’ each day, superintended by a monitor. It answers to the Winchester toy-time.

Banco-Steerer.—See Bunco-steerer.

Bandanna, subs. (common).—Formerly a silk handkerchief with white, yellow, or other coloured spots on a dark ground. Now applied to handkerchiefs of all kinds. The name is thought to come from the Spanish bandano, a neckerchief.

1752. J. Long, Bengal (1870), 31. Plain taffaties, ordinary bandannoes, and chappas.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. iv. The Colonel was striding about the room in his loose garments, puffing his cigar fiercely anon, and then waving his yellow bandanna.

Banded, ppl. adj. (old).—Hungry. To mitigate the pangs of hunger, starving men tighten the belt round the ‘middle.’ Bamfylde Moore Carew, the king of the beggars, mentions the practice. Cf., Caffre’s tightener and bands.

Bandero, subs. (American).—Widows’ weeds; a corruption of the now obsolete ‘bandore,’ a widow’s head-dress. Bandore was itself a corruption of the French bandeau, given by Littré as anciennement, coiffure des veuves. The term was current about the beginning of the last century, but in 1785 we find it quoted as slang. It appears, however, to have survived in America whilst dropping entirely out of use in the Mother Country. In the English drapery trade mourning goods are sometimes called afflictions (q.v.).

Ban-Dog, subs. (old).—A bailiff, or his assistant. Originally, says Murray, a dog tied or chained up either to guard a house, or on account of its ferocity; hence generally a mastiff or bloodhound. The transition from this point to the slang sense is clear.

1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 12. ‘But where are the lurchers?’ ‘Who?’ asked Wood. ‘The traps!’ responded a bystander. ‘The shoulder-clappers!’ added a lady, who, in her anxiety to join the party, had unintentionally substituted her husband’s nether habiliments for her own petticoats. ‘The ban-dogs!’ thundered a tall man whose stature and former avocations had procured him the nickname of ‘The long drover of the Borough market.’ ‘Where are they?’ ‘Ay. where are they?’ chorused the mob, flourishing their various weapons, and flashing their torches in the air; ‘we’ll sarve ’em out.’

Bands, subs. To wear the bands (old cant).—To be hungry.—See Banded.

B. and S. (popular).—An everyday colloquialism, in the abbreviated form, for brandy and soda.

1868. Whyte Melville, White Rose, ch. xiii. Before the b. and s.—signifying a beaker of brandy and soda-water—could make its appearance.

1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, ch. v. ‘Come away, and I will get you some tea, though what would be better for you still, would be some b. and s.’

1882. Punch, vol. LXXXII., p. 69, col. 1.

I’ll sing you a fine new song, all about a fine young spark, Who’s a fine young London gentleman, quite up to any lark, Who takes supper very early, and breakfasts in the dark; Who’s a real ‘dear old chappie,’ as I needn’t perhaps remark.

* * * * *

He will say that port and sherry his nice palate always cloy; He’ll nothing drink but ‘b. and s.’ and big magnums of ‘the boy’; He’s the darling of the barmaid and the honest waiter’s joy, As he quaffs his Pommery, ‘Extra Sec,’ his ‘Giesler,’ or ‘Ivroy.’

Bandy, subs. (thieves’).—A sixpence; so called, in the first instance, from these coins being often thin, worn, and bent. Also called a cripple and bender, but, for synonyms, see the latter. The term appears in Grose [1785].

1819. T. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 25, n. A bandy or cripple, a sixpence.

1885. Household Words, June 20, p. 155. The sixpence is a coin more liable to bend than most others, so it is not surprising to find that several of its popular names have reference to this weakness. It is called a bandy, a ‘bender,’ a ‘cripple.’

Bang, subs. (colloquial).—1. A blow; Old Norse, bang, a hammering. Though a dictionary word, bang has not yet succeeded in passing from the limbo of vulgarism in many of its uses. For example, a ‘bang of the door’ sounds legitimate enough, and is an expression to which even the most pronounced stickler for linguistic purity would scarcely object; yet, a ‘bang on the nose’ or ‘jaw’ would, doubtless, be looked upon as low and vulgar. Only to illustrate such variations, can the word find a fitting entry into these pages. Amongst pugilists and the vulgar, bang is, without doubt, closely identified with personal castigation; and, in this connection.

English Synonyms are not rare. To bang one in the jaw; to spoil one’s picture; to give a wipe on the nose; to fetch one a stinger, etc. The blow itself is designated a whopper; wipe; clout; prop; cant; dig; corker; shooting stars (in allusion to the dazed condition of a person so struck, stars being seen dancing before one’s eyes).

French Synonyms. Un gnon (popular); un écopage (familiar); une dandine (popular); un cabochon (common); un estaffion (popular: may be rendered ‘a bang on the nut’); un coup de gilquin (popular); un renfoncement (colloquial: ‘a blow with the fist’; lit. ‘an indentation’); une beugne (common); une beigne (popular); une dariole (familiar: properly a kind of pastry); un coup de tampon (popular: ‘a hard shove’; tampon, ‘a buffer’); une balle de coton (popular); une baffre (popular: ‘a blow in the face with the fist’); un pétard (familiar: either ‘a box on the ear’ or ‘a cant on the gills’); une paraphe (popular: paraphe is properly the flourish added to one’s signature); dégrader le portrait à quelqu’un (popular: ‘to fetch one a bang in the mug.’ Cf., ‘to spoil one’s picture’); détacher un coup de pinceau sur la frimousse (popular: ‘to make pencil marks upon the face’; i.e., ‘to spoil one’s physiognomy,’—the allusion presumably being to the face as the work of the Divine Artist). For other synonyms, see Wipe.

2. A style adopted by women in dressing the hair upon the forehead, generally curled and frizzed, the process being thus described. To make the bang, one must begin by dividing the front hair at half-inch distances from ear to ear, combing the rest back. This is repeated until the whole front hair has been successfully banged. In England these fringes are also called toffs (q.v.).

1880. W. D. Howell, The Undiscovered Country, ch. viii. When one lifted his hat to wipe his forehead, he showed his hair cut in front like a young lady’s bang.

1883. Pall Mall Gazette, Dec. 19, p. 4, col. 1. It was no doubt unfortunate that when the Empress Eugenie cut her hair across her forehead from sorrow of heart, the women of five continents should imitate her until the bang became universal.

Verb.—1. To deliver a blow as described under bang (subs. 1); generally, to thump or strike violently; to thrash.

1588. Marprelate’s Epistle, p. 4 (ed. Arber). His grace will cary to his grave I warrant you the blowes which M. Cartwright gave him in this cause: and, therefore, no marvell though he was loth to have any other so banged as he himselfe was to his woe.

1592. John Day, Blind Beggar, Act ii., Sc. 2, p. 37. I am sure my cloak cannot go without hands; and I’ll have it again, or I’ll bang it out of the coxcombs of some of them.

b. 1719. H. Carey, Sally in our Alley, st. 3.

My master comes, like any Turk, And bangs me most severely.

1731. Fielding, The Lottery, Sc. 2. Ah, think, my lord! how I should grieve to see your lordship bang’d.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. II., p. 47. ‘It was good stuff and good make at first, and hasn’t been abused, and that’s the reason why it always bangs a slop, because it was good to begin with.’

1884. Cornhill Mag., April, p. 442. ‘Davis,’ said Toddy, ‘you haven’t had a banging this term, and you’re getting cocky.’

2. To dress the hair with a fringe on the forehead, cut squarely across, so that it ends abruptly.

1882. Century Mag., XXV., 192. He was bareheaded, his hair banged even with his eyebrows in front.

1888. Detroit Free Press.

Bang, Sister, bang with care; If your poker’s too hot you’ll lose your hair.

3. To surpass; to excel. So also banging, adj., great or thumping.

4. (Stock Exchange.)—To loudly offer stock with the intention of lowering the price.

To be banged up to the eyes, phr. (common).—To be drunk. For synonyms, see Screwed.

Bang-Beggar, subs. (old).—A constable or beadle. It is not quite clear whether this is not merely a dialecticism. In Lowland Scotch it signifies a strong staff.

Banger, subs. (common).—A lie. Generally, that’s a banger! This elegant phrase is sometimes varied by ‘that’s a whopper’ (q.v.); or the now classical ‘thumper’ (q.v.), an invention of the late Lord Iddesleigh.

(Yale College).—A club-like cane or stick; a bludgeon. This word is one of the Yale vocables.—Hall’s College Words and Customs.

Yale Lit. Mag., vol. XX., p. 75.

The Freshman reluctantly turned the key, Expecting a Sophomore gang to see, Who, with faces masked and bangers stout, Had come resolved to smoke him out.

Bang-Off, adv. (familiar).—Without stopping; right away; e.g., ‘I wrote as promised bang-off,’ i.e., without delay. [From bang, a loud, sudden sound + off, movement from a place or thing.]

Bang-Out. To bang-out, verbal phr. (common).—To depart hurriedly and with noise.

Adv. phr.—Completely, entirely, combined with suddenness; e.g., ‘the candle went bang-out.’

Bang-Pitcher, subs. (old).—A drunkard. Possibly only dialectical.

Bangster subs. (provincial).—According to Jamieson:—1. A violent and disorderly person, who regards no law but his own will. 2. A victor. 3. A braggart. 4. A loose woman.

1820. Scott, The Abbot, ch. xix. If the Pope’s champions are to be bangsters in our very change houses, we shall soon have the changelings back again, [h.]

1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxiii. If you are so certain of being the bangster—so very certain, I mean, of sweeping stakes, what harm will Miss Clara come to by your having the use of her siller.

Bang-Straw, subs. (old).—A nickname for a thresher of corn; a provincialism.

Bang-Tailed, adj. (popular).—Short tailed. Usually applied to horses.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. vi. ‘These bang-tailed little sinners any good?’ said Drysdale, throwing some cock-a-bondies across the table. ‘Yes, I never like to be without them and a governor or two.’

Bang-Up, adj. phr. (common).—First-rate; quite up to the mark; A 1; slap up; in the height of fashion. Also banged-up.

1812. H. and J. Smith, Rejected Addresses, p. 188. Dance a bang-up theatrical cotillion.

1842. Lever, Jack Hinton, ch. vii. His hat set jauntily on one side, his spotted neckcloth knotted in bang-up mode.

1844. Quarterly Review, XXIV., 368. We could not resist giving a specimen of John Thorpe ... altogether the best portrait of a species which, though almost extinct, cannot yet be quite classed among the Palæotheria, the bang-up Oxonian.

1846. Thackeray, V. Fair, vol. I., ch. xxxiv. There appeared on the cliff in a tax cart, drawn by a bang-up pony ... his friends, the Sutbury Pet and the Rottingdean Fibber.

Subs.—Also used substantively as in the following example; that which is quite right; the ‘thing’; the ‘go.’

1882. Punch, LXXXII., 185, 1. Modern Life in London, or Tom and Jerry back again. The trio turned into the Arcade, and saw a number of gay sparks and fair ones promenading. ’Twas a curious sight, a glimpse of Life in London, one of its primest features, and yet, as the Corinthian remarked to his Coz, these people seemed like the ‘ghosts of a former generation.’ ‘These then are the dandies, the fops, the goes and the bang-ups, these the Corinthians of to-day,’ was also Tom’s exclamation to young Bob, who said, ‘I don’t know about being Corinthians, but some of these fellows are very ‘good form,’ and as to being bang-up, a good many poor old chappies are deuced hard-up.’

Verb tr.—To make smart; produce in first-rate style.

1821. Coombe, Dr. Syntax, Tour iii., c. v.

Pat to his neckcloth gave an air In style, and á la militaire; His pocket too a kerchief bore With scented water sprinkled o’er; Thus banged-up, sweeten’d, and clean shav’d, The sage the dinner-table braved.

Bangy, subs. (Winchester College).—‘Brown’ sugar. From Bangalore, a once coarse-growing sugar country.

Adj.—Colour of brown sugar; e.g., bangy bags, brown trousers. These were also called bangies. So universally was the term bangy used to designate a brownish hue, that a gate of that colour at Winchester College, formerly leading from Grass Court into Sick House Meads, was called the Bangy Gate. The name is now often used for the gate by Racquet Court, into Kingsgate Street.

Banian-Days or Banyan-Days, subs. (nautical).—Those days in which sailors have no flesh meat. Probably derived from the practice of the Banians, a caste of Hindoos, traders or merchants, who entirely abstained from all animal food.

1690. Ovington, in Yules’ Anglo-Indian Glossary. Of kitcheney (butter, rice, and dai) the European sailors feed in these parts, and are forced at such times to a Pagan abstinence from flesh, which creates in them an utter detestation to those banian-days as they call them.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xxv. They told me that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the ship’s company had no allowance of meat, and that these meagre days were called banyan-days, the reason of which they did not know; but I have since learned they take their denomination from a sect of devotees in some parts of the East Indies, who never taste flesh.

1820. Lamb, Elia (Christ’s Hospital). We had three banyan to four meat days in the week.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. lxiii. If he might be so bold as to carry on the Eastern metaphor, he would say, knowing the excellence of the Colonel’s claret and the splendour of his hospitality, that he would prefer a cocoanut day at the Colonel’s to a banyan-day anywhere else.

1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack. [From Strolling Players’ bill.] Wooldridge’s Theatre. Wanted 700 men, to man that splendid first-class, Frigate, ‘The Theatre,’ commanded by A. J. Wooldridge, now lying at her moorings, in Cheapside. Mr. Wooldridge, with all due respects to his brother Tars, hopes they will lend a hand to man his Vessel. He cannot offer them a barrel of Ale, but he will make them a promise of his unfeigned thanks and gratitude for this and past favours, with his hearty good wishes for the prosperity of the Town and Trade of Brighton; that his Shipmates, wherever bound, may set sail with fair wind and good passage; that they may never have short allowance—banyan days; or a southerly wind in the Bread Basket.

Banjo, subs. (common).—A bed-pan; also called a fiddle or slipper (q.v.)—the latter from an improved shape which allows of its being slipped in without disturbing the patient.

Bank, subs. (common).—A lump sum of money; one’s fortune.

Verb (thieves’).—1. To secure; to obtain (in a pilfering sense).

2. To put in a place of safety.

3. To go shares; to divide fairly with confederates.

4. (prison.)—Millbank prison.

1889. Answers, May 25, p. 412. We approached our destination, Millbank—the bank in a convict’s parlance.

Bankers, subs. (old).—Clumsy boots and shoes; now called beetle-crushers. For synonyms generally, see Trotter-cases.

Bank Shaving, subs. phr. (American).—Before banks were regulated by Act of Congress, a practice prevailed among the least reputable of such institutions of purchasing notes of hand and similar documents at enormously usurious rates of discount. Many were the facilities for sharp practice of every kind. Such banks were called shaving banks, and the unfortunate wretch who thus ‘raised the wind’ was said to get his paper shaved. The origin of the phrase may be looked for in maritime nomenclature, a shaver from a sailor’s point of view being a man who is cute and unscrupulous—possibly from the unpleasant operation of shaving on board ship when crossing the line.

Bankside Ladies, subs. phr. (old).—Ladies of more complaisance than virtue. Bankside, Southwark, was once the fashionable theatrical quarter of London. There stood once the Globe, the Swan, the Rose, and the Hope theatres. On the boards of the first-named originally appeared most of Shakspeare’s plays. In Old London the neighbourhoods of the principal theatres appear to have been noted for anything but vestal virtue. Covent Garden and Drury Lane, like Bankside, have entered largely into the vicious slang of the past.

1638. Randolph, Muses’ Looking-Glass, O. Pl., 9., 206. Come, I will send for a whole coach or two of Bankside ladies, and we will be jovial.

Bank-Sneak, subs. (American).—A variety of the genus thief who confines his attention to bank robberies. Smart, clever, well-dressed, they usually work in gangs, two or three confederates being employed as cover whilst the leader does the work. In large towns considerable finesse is exhibited by these men in effecting their purpose; but in the more thinly populated districts polish and ruse are abandoned in favour of more drastic methods. The bank-sneak of the West pursues his depredations more as a bandit; his city confrère is more adroit, and therefore infinitely more dangerous. For synonyms, see Area-sneak.

1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, Feb. 16. Buffalo officers to-day picked out from a batch of Erie convicts Watt N. Jones, the notorious bank-sneak and burglar so widely known professionally in every city of the United States and Canada.

Banner, subs. (American news-boys’).—The money paid for board and lodging at the homes frequented by these flying mercuries. The origin of the term is unknown.

Bant, verb (common.)—To follow the dietary prescribed by Mr. Banting.—See Banting.

Banting, subs. (common).—A course of diet by which fat people seek to reduce their bulk. It consists in strictly discarding as food all articles known to favour the development of adipose tissue. It was introduced about the year 1864 by a Mr. W. Banting—hence the name. The dietary recommended was the use of butcher’s meat principally, and abstinence from beer, farinaceous food, and vegetables. Also figuratively, to reduce in any way.

1864. Times, 12 Aug., 4. The classics seemed to have undergone a successful course of banting.

1868. Miss Braddon, Only a Clod, p. 114. She was a rigid disciplinarian of the school formed by Mr. Banting. Ibid., p. 113. A parlour where all the furniture seemed to have undergone a prolonged course of banting.

1883. Knowledge, 27 July, p. 49, col. 2. Bantingism excludes beer, butter, and sugar.

Bantling, subs. (old).—A young, or small child. This word, once slang, is now a received dictionary word. It is stated in Bacchus and Venus [1737], and by Grose, to be a cant term. It was formerly synonymous with bastard. Appended are a few examples of its use when knocking for admittance at the doors of the dictionaries.

1593. Drayton, Eclog., vii., 102. Lovely Venus ... smiling to see her wanton bantlings game.

1635. Quarles, Emblems, II., viii. (1718), 93. See how the dancing bells turn round ... to please my bantling.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xlvii. ‘That he may at once deliver himself from the importunities of the mother and the suspense of her bantling.’

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. lxxx. ‘Let the bantlings,’ said she, ‘be sent to the hospital ... and a small collection be made for the present support of the mother.’

1758. Goldsmith, Essays, x. Who follow the camp, and keep up with the line of march, though loaded with bantlings and other baggage.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxi. ‘Sell me to a gipsy, to carry pots, pans, and beggars bantlings.’

Banty, adj. (American thieves’).—Saucy; impudent.

Baptised or Christened, ppl. adj. (old).—Mixed with water; spirits and wines are said to be baptised when diluted. The French equivalent is chrétien; also baptisé.

1636. Healey, Theophrastus, 46. He wil give his best friends his baptized wine.

Bar, verb and prep. (colloquial and racing).—1. Used as a verb bar signifies to exclude; to prohibit; also to object to a person or action. Its lineage is of undoubted respectability, but its usage is now but little removed from the vulgar. As a preposition it is synonymous with ‘except’—mainly used in racing; e.g., ‘Four to one bar one.’

c. 1598. Shakspeare, M. of Venice, ii., 2, 207. Nay, but I bar to-night: you shall not gauge me by what we do to-night.

1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, wks. III. (1712), 382. That were as hard as to bar a young parson in the pulpit, the fifth of November,—railing at the Church of Rome.

1697. Vanbrugh, Æsop, Act ii. What I have in my mind, out it comes: but bar that; I’se an honest lad as well as another.

1752. Foote, Taste, Act ii. I don’t suppose now, but, barring the nose, Roubiliac could cut as good a head every whit.

1818. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. iii. ‘I should like to try that daisy-cutter of yours upon a piece of level road (barring canter) for a quart of claret at the next inn.’

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. lv., p. 483. ‘I’ll bet you ten guineas to five, he cuts his throat,’ said Wilkins Flasher, Esquire. ‘Done,’ replied Mr. Simmery. ‘Stop! I bar,’ said Wilkins Flasher, Esquire, thoughtfully. ‘Perhaps he may hang himself.’

2. (American thieves’.)—To stop; to cease. Obviously an attributive meaning of the legitimate word.

3. (American colloquial.)—A spurious verb, the signification of which is derived from the drinking-bar. Thus a tippler is said to bar too much when given to inordinate drinking.

Baragan Tailor, subs. (tailors’).—A rough-working tailor.

Barb, verb (old cant).—To barb gold was heretofore a cant term for clipping or shaving it. The modern term is to sweat (q.v.). [Apparently from to barber, to shave or trim.]

1610. Ben Jonson, Alchemist, I., i. Ay, and perhaps thy neck within a noose, for laundring gold, and barbing it.

Barber, verb. (University).—When impositions are worked off by deputy they are said to be barberised. Tradition relates that a learned barber was at one time frequently employed as a scapegoat in working off this species of punishment inflicted on peccant students—hence the expression. A story ben trovato esd non e vero!

That’s the barber.—A street catch-phrase, says Grose, about the year 1760. There is nothing new under the sun; not even idiotic and wearisome street cries, which so many good philologists deplore as a sign of the depravity of the times. That’s the barber, like ‘Who’s your hatter?’ and ‘How’s your poor feet?’ meant nothing, save a general and indefinite comment on any action, measure, or thing. ‘All serene!’ (q.v.) is presumably its nearest modern street equivalent.

Barber’s-Cat, subs. (old).—A weak, sickly looking individual. In French such a person is called un faiblard and un astec, the latter an allusion to the Mexican dwarfs. According to Hotten, the term is also ‘used in connexion with an expression too coarse to print.’

Barber’s-Chair, subs. (old).—A prostitute; a drab; a strumpet. So called from a barber’s-chair being common to all comers. It will be remembered that Shakspeare in All’s Well [ii., 2.] likens an all-embracing answer to a question to ‘a barber’s-chair that fits all buttocks; the pin-buttock, the quatch-buttock, the brawn-buttock, or any buttock.’

1621. Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, III. iv., i, iii. (1651), 665. A notorious strumpet as common as a barber’s-chair. [M.]

1708. Motteux, Rabelais’ Pantagr., Prognost. v. Bonarobaes. Barber’s-chairs, hedge whores.

Barber’s-Clerk, subs. (common).—A term of reproach generally applied by mechanics and artisans to overdressed and vaunting clerks and shopmen. In a secondary sense it is used of anyone over-particular in his personal appearance. The phrases ‘oh, he’s just come from the barber’s,’ and ‘one of Truefitt’s young men’ are common enough.

1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 155. ‘Tailor!’ screamed a third. ‘Barber’s-clerk!’ shouted a fourth. ‘Throw him o-ver!’ roared a fifth, [d.]

Barber’s Music, subs. (old).—Harsh and roughly discordant music. Barber’s shops were formerly places of great resort, and the old plays are full of references to the means by which customers, while waiting their turn, wiled away the time. Amongst other things it was usual to provide a cittern, a musical instrument similar to a guitar, upon which any who chose could try their skill. Many of the old proverbs refer to this circumstance. Ben Jonson in The Silent Woman [iii., 5] makes Morose say of his wife whom his barber had recommended, ‘I have married his cittern that is common to all men’; and Matheo, in The Honest Whore, speaks of a barber’s citterne for every serving man to play upon. Therefore, it is little wonder that barber’s music should be synonymous with discord.

1660. Pepys, June 5. My lord called for the lieutenant’s cittern, and with two candlesticks with money in them for symbols (cymbals) we made barber’s music.

Barefooted on the Top of Ones Head, phr. (American).—Bald-headed. The application of the simile is obvious.

Bargain. Selling a bargain, phr. (old).—A species of low wit, much in vogue about the latter end of the reign of Queen Anne, but which is of much more ancient usage. It is frequently alluded to by Swift, who remarks that ‘the maids of honor often amused themselves with it.’ If so, it seems incredible; and one would say so much the worse for the ‘maids of honor.’ It is thus described: A person would come into a room full of company, apparently in a fright, crying out, ‘It is white, and follows me!’ On any of the company asking what? the bargain was sold by the first speaker naming a certain portion of the body. In another, and happily more decent form, this somewhat senseless ‘sell’ still has a vogue. This slang expression and practice was apparently well known to Shakspeare, who makes Costard use it in Love’s Labour Lost [Act iii., Sc. 1], ‘The boy hath sold him a bargain.’

Barge, subs. (printers’).—1. A ‘case’ in which there is an undue proportion of some letters, and a corresponding shortness of those which are most valuable.

2. The term is also applied among printers to a card or small box on or in which ‘spaces’ are put while correcting formes away from ‘case.’

Verb.—To abuse; to slang. Cf., Bullyrag. The allusion is, of course, to the rough mode of speaking peculiar to bargees or bargemen.

1861. Albert Smith, Medical Student, p. 102. ‘Whereupon they all began to barge the master at once; one saying “his coffee was all snuff and chick-weed.”’

(Uppingham School.)—To knock against a person; to come into collision with.

Barge-Arse, subs. (common).—A man or woman of rotund development at the back. [From barge, a clumsy vessel, + arse, O.E., posterior or buttock.] A low term of ridicule. Also used as an adjective, barge-arsed.

Barge-pole, subs. (Winchester College).—A large stick or thick bough, of which there was one in each fagot. Also generally used for any large piece of wood.

Bark, subs. (common).—1. An Irishman or Irishwoman. Cf., Barkshire.

1869. Notes and Queries, 4 S., iii., 406. In Lancashire an Irishman is vulgarly called a bark.

1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 191. Mike when asked by some of his countrymen why he called Fairbanks a ‘bark,’ i.e., an Irishman, said, ‘If I had not put the ‘bark’ on him he would have put it on me, so I had the first pull.’

2. The skin. This occurs also dialectically. In Alan Ramsay’s poems [1758] it is so used.

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. xx., p. 209. To the great detriment of what is called by fancy gentlemen the bark upon his shins, which were most unmercifully bumped against the hard leather and the iron buckles.

1876. Family Herald, 2 Dec., p. 80, col. 1. With the bark all off his shins from a blow with a hockey stick.

3. (colloquial.)—A cough. Cf., verb, To bark, sense 2.

Verb.—1. To scrape; or rub off the skin; to abraise.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brown’s School-days, p. 227. So, after getting up [the tree] three or four feet, down they came slithering to the ground, barking their arms and faces.

1859. Macmillan’s Magazine, Nov., p. 18. The knuckles of his right hand were barked.

1872. Mark Twain, Roughing It, p. 16 (Routledge’s ed.). Every time we avalanched from one end of the stage to the other, the ‘Unabridged Dictionary’ would come too; and, every time it came, it damaged somebody. One trip it barked the Secretary’s elbow; the next trip it hurt me in the stomach, and the third, it tilted Bemis’s nose up till he could look down his nostrils—he said.

2. To cough; generally applied when it is persistent and hacking.

The word with the bark on it, phr. (American).—Without mincing the matter; without circumlocution.

1872. Mark Twain, Roughing It, chap. xv. If ever another man gives a whistle to a child of mine, and I get my hands on him, I will hang him nigher than Haman! That is the word with the bark on it.

To take the bark off, phr. (popular).—To reduce in value, either deliberately, or by accident; a figurative usage of ‘to graze,’ ‘to take the skin off.’

1849. Dickens, David Copperfield, p. 310. I rode my gallant grey so close to the wheel, that I grazed his near foreleg against it and took the bark off, as his owner told me, to the tune of three pun’ sivin.

1853. Rev. Ed. Bradley (‘Cuthbert Bede’), Further Adventures of Verdant Green, p. 31. That’ll take the bark from your nozzle, and distil the Dutch pink for you, won’t it?

To bark at the moon (colloquial).—To clamour uselessly; to agitate to no effect; to labour in vain.

1630. Taylor’s Workes. And thus my booke and comparisons end together; for thus much I know, that I have but all this while bark’d at the moone, throwne feathers against the winde, built upon the sands, wash’d a blackmore, and laboured in vaine.

Barker, subs. (popular).—1. A pistol. [From barker, a noisy assailant, i.e., one who barks like a dog.] Sometimes called barking iron (q.v.). The latter, as far as is known, is the oldest term. An early use of barkers bears date of 1815, whilst barking iron occurs in Parker’s Life’s Painter, 1789.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xxxiii. ‘Had he no arms?’ asked the Justice. ‘Ay, ay, they are never without barkers and slashers.’

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. xxii. ‘Barkers for me, Barney,’ said Toby Crackit. ‘Here they are,’ replied Barney, producing a pair of pistols.

1857. C. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, ch. xxiv. I’ll give you five for those pistols ... being rather a knowing one about the pretty little barkers.

English Synonyms. ‘Meat in the pot.’ (A Texan term, alluding to the means by which meat is literally provided for the pot. Texan figures of speech are often startling enough in originality and sententiousness. Nor is the moral ingenuity revealed by this vernacular less striking; e.g., when revolvers are said ‘to make all men equal.’) Other synonyms for revolvers of similar character are ‘my unconverted friend’; ‘a one-eyed scribe’ (an argument always persuasive and sometimes unanswerable); ‘blue lightning’ (sometimes a tragedy in three acts: Act i., a word; Act ii., a flash of blue lightning; and Act iii., certain death); ‘whistler’ (from the sharp hissing sound of a bullet in its flight); ‘peace-maker’ (a sarcastic commentary on the proverb that ‘short reckonings make long friends’); dag; pop; etc.

French Synonyms. Un aboyeur (popular: a literal translation of ‘barker’; also ‘a tout’); un pitroux (thieves’: in the old Provencal, pitrou bore the sense of a piece of wood or stick, and it is possible that French thieves have here merely transferred the name from one weapon to another); un pétouze (a play upon words. In the old cant pétouze signified the ancient coin known as a pistole); un bayafe (thieves’: formerly baillaf, a term employed by the robbers who infested the highways of Southern France. It is thought to be derived from two words bailler, to give, and affe or rather affre, signifying fear); un mandolet (thieves’); pied de cochon (military: literally ‘a pig’s foot’; a variety of weapon of large size and calibre); un crucifix or un crucifix à ressort (thieves’: literally ‘a crucifix,’ or ‘a crucifix with a spring’); un soufflant (thieves’: soufflet = to whisper); les burettes (thieves’ and popular: literally ‘phials’).

2. (common.)—A man employed to stand in front of shops and shows to attract the attention of passers-by, and if possible to entice them inside, where he can safely leave them to the tender mercies of the salesmen. The origin of the term is obvious; and, it is interesting to note that barker has its exact equivalent in the French aboyeur. Amongst touting photographers, in low neighbourhoods, this individual is called a doorsman, and the term is likewise applied to auction-room touts.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5 ed.). Barker (s.), a salesman’s servant that walks before his door, to invite customers in to buy cloaths.

1785. Grose, Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Barker. The shopman of a dealer in second-hand clothes, particularly about Monmouth St., who walks before his shop and deafens every passenger with his cries of clothes, coats, or gowns, ‘what d’ye want gemmen, what d’ye buy?’

1828. Jon. Bee, Picture of London, p. 109. Mock-auctions and ‘selling-off’ shops are not the only pests where barkers are kept at the doors to invite unwary passengers to ‘walk in, walk in, sale just begun.’

1888. Texas Siftings, Oct. 13. I am a barker by profession. The pedestrian agility required to pace up and down before the ‘Half-dime Museum of Anatomy and Natural History,’ soliciting passers-by to enter, is of itself enormous; but where it gets in its base hit is when it increases the appetite. McGinty knows this. McGinty is my friend, but I wouldn’t serve a tenth of his unexpired terms for ten dollars. I have peddled clams with McGinty and have seen him eat three bushels of our stock. That is nothing. When the show isn’t paying, I have to go out and eat grass. This shows you what nickel-plated, back-action appetites we have.

3. A man with a troublesome cough; his complaint is otherwise known as a ‘churchyard cough,’ or a ‘notice to quit’ (q.v.).

4. (nautical.)—Besides being used as a designation for a pistol, barker is also employed for lower deck guns on board ship.

1842. Cooper, Jack O’ Lanthorne, I., 151. Four more carronades with two barkers for’ard.

5. See quotation, as follows:—

1879. Greenwood, Outcasts of London. But what was barking? I thought a great deal about the matter, and could arrive at no more feasible conclusion than that a barker was a boy that attended a drover, and helped him to drive his sheep by means of imitating the bark of a dog.

6. (University.)—A noisy assertive individual; and, in a complimentary sense, a great swell.

7. (American.)—A noisy coward; a blatant bully.

Barkey (nautical).—A term of endearment in use amongst seafaring men when speaking of a vessel to which they have got attached. ‘She’s a barkey—she is, my lads!’

Barking-Irons, subs. (thieves’).—Pistols. Cf., Barker, sense 1. Barking-iron is, historically, an older term than barker by about a quarter of a century. Formerly applied, in the navy, to large duelling pistols.

1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 173. Pistols, barking-irons.

1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. II., ch. vi. ‘And look you, prick the touch-hole, or your barking-iron will never bite for you.’

Barking through the Fence, phr. (American).—A taking advantage of some obstacle or shield for saying or doing something, which, but for such protection, would not be said or done; or which if done or said might entail unpleasant consequences upon the sayer or doer.

Barkshire, subs. (common).—Ireland.—See Bark.

Bark up the Wrong Tree, verbal phr. (American).—Of trapper and pioneer derivation, and idiomatically used to signify that a person is at fault as to his purpose, or the means by which he is endeavouring to attain his object. The expression arose in this way: the Western huntsman found that his prey gradually became more and more wily and cunning in eluding pursuit, and frequently he and his dogs were at fault, supposing they had ‘treed’ their game when in reality, especially in the case of opossums and squirrels and such-like animals, it had escaped by jumping from the boughs of one tree to another. The dogs consequently were left barking up the wrong tree.

1835. Richmond Enquirer, Sep. 8. ‘You didn’t really go to old Bullion,’ said a politician to an office-seeker, ‘Why, he has no influence there, I can tell you. You barked up the wrong tree there, my friend, and you deserve to fail.’

1888. Detroit Free Press, Oct. Professor Rose who ‘hit’ this town last spring is around calling us a fugitive from justice, and asking why the police don’t do something. Gently, Professor. When we left Xenia, O., the Sheriff patted us on the back and lent us half-a-dollar. We are the only man in this town who doesn’t turn pale when the stage comes in, and the only one who doesn’t break for the sage brush when it is announced that the United States Marshal is here. We ain’t rich or pretty, but we are good, and the Professor is barking up the wrong tree.

Barnaby. To dance barnaby, phr. (popular).—To move expeditiously; irregularly.

Barnacle, subs. (old cant).—1. A pickpocket. For synonyms, see Area sneak.

b. 1809, d. 1870. Mark Lemon, Leyton Hall. The man that stood beside thee is old Crookfinger, the most notorious setter, barnacle and foist in the city.

2. (old.)—A good job, or snack easily got.—Lexicon Balatronicum (1811).

3. (old.)—A gratuity given to grooms by the buyers and sellers of horses.—Lexicon Balatronicum (1811).

4. (old.)—A constant attendant; he who, or that which sticks to one like a barnacle to a ship’s bottom.

1607. Dekker, Northward Hoe! III., wks., 1873, III., 39. Ile cashiere all my yong barnicles. [M.]

1868. Miss Braddon, Trail of the Serpent, I., i., 7. Slopper found him a species of barnacle rather difficult to shake off.

5. (old cant.)—A decoy swindler; from the pertinacity with which such a one fastens on to a victim, and will not be shaken off until the purpose in view is effected. Cf., senses 1 and 4.

1591. Greene, Notable Discovery of Coosnage (1859), 23. Thus doth the Verser and the Setter feign a kind friendship to the Cony.... As thus they sit tippling, coms the barnackle and thrusts open the doore ... steps back again: and very mannerly saith I cry you mercy, Gentlemen. I thoght a frend of mine had bin heere.

1608. Dekker, Belman of London, wks. (1885) III., 131. He that ... before counterfeited the dronken Bernard is now sober and called the barnacle.

6. (old.)—An individual speaking with a nasal twang; one who speaks through his nose.

1591. Percivall, Sp. Dictionary. Gango, a barnacle, one that speaketh through the nose, Chenolopex. [Chenalopex in Pliny, a species of goose.] [M.]

Barnacles, subs. (popular).—1. Spectacles. Formerly applied only to spectacles with side pieces of coloured glass, and used more as protectors from wind, dust, and glaring light than as aids to the sight. Hence used popularly for all kinds of glasses. The derivation seems uncertain. The principal suggested origins are:—(1) a corruption of binoculis [from Latin bini, double, + oculus, an eye]; (2) an attributive usage of barnacles, which, with ‘horse-twitchers’ or ‘brakes,’ are tools put on the nostrils of horses when they will not stand still to be shooed; and in support of this it has been pointed out [N. and Q., 1 S., v., 13] the figure of the barnacle borne in heraldry sufficiently shows why the term has been transferred to spectacles, which were formerly only kept in position by the manner in which they clipped the nose; (3) that barnacles are so called from the similarity in shape to the black streak which proceeds from the upper part of the beak in a line to the corner of, and right round the eye of the bernicle, or barnacle goose (Anser bernicla). There is a strong resemblance in the mark to a pair of spectacles.

1571. Damon and Pythias (Dodsley’s Old Plays), Hazlett IV., 81. These spectacles put on. Grim. They be gay barnacles, yet I see never the better.

1653. Sir Thomas Urquhart, Translation of Rabelais, bk. V., ch.