Part 15

~Cut~, to run away, move off quickly; to cease doing anything; CUT AND RUN, to quit work, or occupation, and start off at once—_Sea_ phrase, “CUT the cable and RUN before the wind;” to CUT DIDOES, synonymous with to CUT CAPERS; CUT A DASH, make a show; CUT A CAPER, to dance or show off in a strange manner; CUT A FIGURE, to make either a good or bad appearance; CUT IT, desist, be quiet, go away, leave what you are doing and run; CUT IT SHORT, cease being prolix, “make short work” of what you have in hand; CUT OUT, to excel, thus in affairs of gallantry one Adonis is said to CUT the other out in the affections of the wished-for lady—_Sea_ phrase, from CUTTING out a ship from the enemy’s port. CUT THAT! be quiet, or stop; CUT OUT OF, done out of; CUT OF ONE’S JIB, the expression or cast of his countenance [_see_ JIB]; TO CUT ONE’S COMB, to take down a conceited person, from the practice of cutting the combs of capons [_see_ COMB CUT]; CUT AND COME AGAIN, plenty, if one cut does not suffice, plenty remains to come at again; CUT UP, to mortify, to criticise severely, or expose; CUT UP SHINES, to play tricks; CUT ONE’S STICK, to be off quickly, _i.e._, to be in readiness for a journey, further elaborated into AMPUTATE YOUR MAHOGANY [_see_ STICK]; CUT IT FAT, to exaggerate or show off in an extensive manner; to CUT UP FAT, or CUT UP WELL, to die, leaving a large property; CUT UNDER, to undersell; CUT YOUR LUCKY, to run off; CUT ONE’S CART, to expose unfair tricks; CUT AN ACQUAINTANCE, to cease friendly intercourse with him; “CUT UP ROUGH,” to become obstreperous and dangerous; to have “CUT ONE’S EYE-TEETH,” _i.e._, to be wide awake, knowing; to DRAW CUTS, to cast lots with papers of unequal lengths.

~Cut~, to take cards from a pack, with a view to decide by comparison which persons shall be partners, or which players shall deal. Not less than four cards must be picked up by the cutter, and the bottom one is the CUT. When cutting for a “turn-up,” the residuum is called the CUT.

~Cut~, in theatrical language, means to strike out portions of a dramatic piece, so as to render it shorter for representation. A late treasurer of one of the so-called Patent Theatres when asked his opinion of a new play, always gave utterance to the brief but safe piece of criticism, “Wants cutting.”

~Cut~, tipsy.—_Old._

~Cut~, to compete in business; “a CUTTING trade,” one conducted on competitive principles, where the profits are very closely shaved.

~Cut-throat~, a butcher, a cattle-slaughterer; a ruffian.

~Cute~, sharp, cunning. Abbreviation of ACUTE.

~Cutter~, a ruffian, a cut-purse. Of Robin Hood it was said—

“So being outlaw’d (as ’tis told), He with a crew went forth Of lusty CUTTERS, bold and strong, And robbed in the north.”

CUTTER, a swashbuckler—_balaffreux taillebras, fendeur de naseaux._—_Cotgrave._

“He’s out of cash, and thou know’st by CUTTER’S LAW, We are bound to relieve one another.”

_Match at Midn._, O. Pl., vii. 553.

This ancient cant word now survives in the phrase, “to swear like a CUTTER.”

~Cutting-shop~, a place where cheap rough goods are sold.

~Cutty-pipe~, a short clay pipe. _Scotch_, CUTTY, short.

~Cutty-sark~, a short chemise.—_Scotch._ A scantily-draped lady is so called by Burns.

“‘Weel done, CUTTY-SARK!’ And in an instant all was dark.”

~Dab~, or DABSTER, an expert person. Most probably derived from the Latin _adeptus_.

~Dab~, street term for small flat fish of any kind.—_Old._

~Dacha-saltee~, tenpence. Probably from the _Lingua Franca_. _Modern Greek_, δέκα; _Italian_, DIECI SOLDI, tenpence; _Gipsy_, DIK, ten. So also DACHA-ONE (oney), _i.e._, _dieci uno_, elevenpence.—_See_ SALTEE.

~Daddle~, the hand; “tip us your DADDLE,” _i.e._, shake hands.

~Daddy~, a stage manager.—_Theatrical._ Also the person who gives away the bride at a wedding.

~Daddy;~ at mock raffles, lotteries, &c., the DADDY is an accomplice, most commonly the getter-up of the swindle, and in all cases the person that has been previously selected to win the prize.

~Daddy~, the old man in charge—generally an aged pauper—at casual wards. Most people will remember “kind old DADDY.”

~Daffy~, gin. A term with monthly nurses, who are always extolling the virtues of Daffy’s Elixir, and who occasionally comfort themselves with a stronger medicine under Daffy’s name. Of late years the term has been altered to “soothing syrup.”

~Dags~, feat or performance; “I’ll do your DAGS,” _i.e._, I will do something that you cannot do. Corruption of DARINGS.

~Dairies~, a woman’s breasts, which are also called CHARLIES.

~Daisy-cutter~, a horse that trots or gallops without lifting its feet much from the ground.

~Daisy-kicker~, the name ostlers at large inns used to give each other, now nearly obsolete. DAISY-KICKER, or GROGHAM, was likewise the cant term for a horse. The DAISY-KICKERS were sad rogues in the old posting days; frequently the landlords rented the stables to them, as the only plan to make them return a profit.

~Damage~, in the sense of recompense; “what’s the DAMAGE?” _i.e._, what is to pay? or actually, what is the DAMAGE to my pocket?

~Damper~, a shop till; to DRAW A DAMPER, _i.e._, rob a till. A till is more modernly called a “lob,” and stealing from tills is known as “lob-sneaking.”

~Dancer, or dancing-master~, a thief who prowls about the roofs of houses, and effects an entrance by attic windows, &c. Called also a “garreter.”

~Dance upon nothing~, to be hanged.

~Dander~, passion or temper; “to get one’s DANDER up,” to rouse his passion.—_Old_, but now much used in America.

~Dando~, a great eater, who cheats at hotels, eating shops, oyster-cellars, &c., from a person of that name who lived many years ago, and who was an enormous oyster-eater. According to the stories related of him, Dando would visit an oyster-room, devour an almost fabulous quantity of bivalves, with porter and bread and butter to match, and then calmly state that he had no money.

~Dandy~, a fop, or fashionable nondescript. This word, in the sense of a fop, is of modern origin. Egan says it was first used in 1820, and Bee in 1816. Johnson does not mention it, although it is to be found in all late dictionaries. DANDIES wore stays, studied a feminine style, and tried to undo their manhood by all manner of affectations which were not actually immoral. Lord Petersham headed them. At the present day dandies of this stamp have almost entirely disappeared, but the new school of muscular Christians is not altogether faultless. The feminine of DANDY was DANDIZETTE, but the term only lived for a short season.

~Dandy~, a small glass of whisky.—_Irish._ “Dimidium cyathi vero apud Metropolitanos Hibernicos dicitur DANDY.”—_Father Tom and the Pope_, in _Blackwood’s Magazine_ for May 1838.

~Dandy~, a boatman.—_Anglo-Indian._

~Dandypratt~, a funny little fellow, a mannikin; originally a half-farthing of the time of Henry VII.

~Danna~, human ordure; DANNA DRAG, a nightman’s or dustman’s cart; hence DUNNA-KEN, which _see_.

~Darbies~, handcuffs.—_Old Cant._—_See_ JOHNNY DARBIES. Sir Walter Scott mentions these, in the sense of fetters, in his _Peveril of the Peak_—

“‘Hark ye! Jem Clink will fetch you the DARBIES.’ ‘Derby!’ interrupted Julian, ‘has the Earl or Countess’”----

Had Sir Walter known of any connexion between them and this family he would undoubtedly have mentioned it. The mistake of Julian is corrected in the next paragraph. It is said that handcuffs were, when used to keep two prisoners together, called DARBIES and JOANS—a term which would soon be shortened as a natural consequence.

~Darble~, the devil. _French_, DIABLE.

~Dark~, “keep it DARK,” _i.e._, secret. A DARK horse is, in racing phraseology, a horse of whom nothing positive is known, but who is generally supposed to have claims to the consideration of all interested, whether bookmakers or backers.

~Darky~, twilight; also a negro. DARKMANS, the night.

~Darn~, vulgar corruption of DAMN.—_American._

~Dash~, to jot down suddenly. “Things I have DASHED off at a moment’s notice.”

~Dash~, fire, vigour, manliness. Literary and artistic work is often said to be full of DASH.

~Dash~, an ejaculation, as “DASH my wig!” “DASH my buttons!” A relic of the attempts made, when cursing was fashionable, to be in the mode without using “bad words.”

~Dashing~, showy, fast.

~Daub~, in low language, an artist. Also a badly painted picture.

~David’s sow~, “as drunk as DAVID’S sow,” _i.e._, beastly drunk. _See_ origin of the phrase in Grose’s _Dictionary_.

~Davy~, “on my DAVY,” on my affidavit, of which it is a vulgar corruption. Latterly DAVY has become synonymous in street language with the name of the Deity; “so help me DAVY,” generally rendered, “swelp my DAVY.” Slang version of the conclusion of the oath usually exacted of witnesses.

~Davy’s locker~, or DAVY JONES’S LOCKER, the sea, the common receptacle for all things thrown overboard;—a nautical phrase for death, is “gone to DAVY JONES’S LOCKER,” which there means the other world.—_See_ DUFFY.

~Dawdle~, to loiter, or fritter away time.

~Dawk~, the post.—_Anglo-Indian._

~Daylights~, eyes; “to darken his DAYLIGHTS,” to give a person black eyes. Also the spaces left in glasses between the liquor and the brim,—not allowed when bumpers are drunk. The toast-master in such cases cries “no DAYLIGHTS or heeltaps!”

~Daze~, to confound or bewilder; an ancient form of dazzle used by Spenser, Drayton, &c. This is more obsolete English than slang, though its use nowadays might fairly bring it within the latter category.

~Dead-against~, decidedly opposed to.

~Dead-alive~, stupid, dull.

~Dead-amiss~, said of a horse that from illness is utterly unable to run for a prize.

~Dead-beat~, utterly exhausted, utterly “done up.”

~Dead-heat~, when two horses run home so exactly equal that the judge cannot place one before the other; consequently, a DEAD-HEAT is a heat which counts for nothing, so far as the even runners are concerned, as it has to be run over again. When a race between dead-heaters has been unusually severe, or when the stake is sufficiently good to bear division, it is usual to let one of the animals walk over the course so as to make a deciding heat, and to divide the money. In such case all bets are divided. Sometimes, however, when no arrangement can be made, an owner will withdraw his horse, in which case the animal that walks over wins the whole of the stake, and his backers the whole of their money. Where the course is short and the money of small amount, the DEAD-HEAT is run off, the second essay being called the decider, though on certain occasions even the decider has resulted in a DEAD-HEAT.—_See_ NECK AND NECK.

~Dead-horse~, “to draw the DEAD-HORSE;” DEAD-HORSE work—working for wages already paid; also any thankless or unassisted service.

~Dead-letter~, an action of no value or weight; an article, owing to some mistake in its production, rendered utterly valueless,—often applied to any instrument in writing, which by some apparently trivial omission, becomes useless. At the general and large district post-offices, there is a department for letters which have been erroneously addressed, or for which, from many and various causes, there are no receivers. These are called DEAD-LETTERS, and the office in connexion with them is known as the DEAD-LETTER office.

~Dead-lock~, a permanent standstill, an inextricable entanglement.

~Dead-lurk~, entering a dwelling-house during divine service.

~Dead-man~, a baker. Properly speaking, it is an extra loaf smuggled into the basket by the man who carries it out, to the loss of the master. Sometimes the DEAD-MAN is charged to a customer, though never delivered. Among London thieves and low people generally a “dead’un” is a half-quartern loaf.

~Dead-men~, the term for wine bottles after they are emptied of their contents.—_Old._—_See_ MARINES.

~Dead-men’s shoes~, property which cannot be claimed until after decease of present holder. “To wait for a pair of DEAD-MEN’S SHOES,” is considered a wearisome affair. It is used by Fletcher:—

“And ’tis a general shrift, that most men use, But yet ’tis tedious waiting DEAD MEN’S SHOES.”

_Fletcher’s Poems_, p. 256.

~Dead-set~, a pointed and persistent attack on a person.

~Dead’un~, a horse which will not run or will not try in a race, and against which money may be betted with safety.—_See_ SAFE UN.

~Deaner~, a shilling. From DENIER.

~Death~, “to dress to DEATH,” _i.e._, to the very extreme of fashion, perhaps so as to be killing.

~Death-hunter~, a running patterer, who vends last dying speeches and confessions. More modernly the term is supposed to mean an undertaker, or any one engaged in or concerned with burials.

~Deck~, a pack of cards. Used by Shakspeare, 3 _K. Hen. VI._, v. 1. Probably because of DECKING or arranging the table for a game at cards. General in the United States.

~Dee~, a pocket-book; term used by tramps.—_Gipsy._ DEE (properly D), a detective policeman. “The DEES are about, so look out.”

~Delicate~, a false subscription-book carried by a LURKER.

~Demirep~ (or DEMIRIP), a courtezan. Contraction of DEMI-REPUTATION, which is, in turn, a contraction for _demi-monde_ reputation.

~Derby-dog~, a masterless animal, who is sure to appear as soon as the Epsom course is cleared for the great race of the season. No year passes without a dog running between the two dense lines of spectators and searching in vain for an outlet, and he is almost as eagerly looked for as are the “preliminary canters.” It is said that when no DERBY-DOG appears on the course between Tattenham Corner and the judge’s box, just before the start, a dead-heat will take place between all the placed horses.

~Derrick~, an apparatus for raising sunken ships, &c. The term is curiously derived from a hangman of that name frequently mentioned in Old Plays, as in the _Bellman of London_, 1616.

“He rides circuit with the devil, and DERRICK must be his host, and Tyborne the inn at which he will light.”

The term is now almost general for all cranes used in loading ships, or doing similar work of a heavy nature.

~Despatchers~, false dice with two sets of numbers, and, of course, no low pips. So called because they bring the matter to a speedy issue. Great skill in palming is necessary for their successful use.

~Deuce~, the devil.—_Old._ Stated by _Junius_ and others to be from DEUS or ZEUS.

~Deuce~, twopence; DEUCE at cards or dice, one with two pips or spots.

~Devil~, among barristers, to get up the facts of a case for a leader; to arrange everything in the most comprehensive form, so that the Q.C. or Serjeant can absorb the question without much trouble. DEVILLING is juniors’ work, but much depends on it, and on the ability with which it is done.

~Devil~, a printer’s youngest apprentice, an errand-boy in a printing-office.

~Devil dodger~, a clergyman; also a person who goes sometimes to church and sometimes to meeting.

~Devil-may-care~, reckless, rash.

~Devil’s bed-posts~, the four of clubs. Otherwise Old Gentleman’s BED-POSTS.

~Devil’s books~, a pack of playing-cards; a phrase of Presbyterian origin.—_See_ FOUR KINGS.

~Devil’s delight~, a noise or row of any description. Generally used thus:—“They kicked up the DEVIL’S DELIGHT.”

~Devil’s dung~, the fetid drug assafœtida.

~Devil’s dust~, a term used in the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire to denote shreds of old cloth torn up to re-manufacture; also called SHODDY. Mr. Ferrand, in his speech in the House, March 4, 1842, produced a piece of cloth made chiefly from DEVIL’S DUST, and tore it into shreds to prove its worthlessness.—_See Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates_, third series, vol. lxi. p. 140.

~Devil-scolder~, a clergyman.

~Devil’s livery~, black and yellow. From the mourning and quarantine uses of the colours.

~Devil’s teeth~, or DEVIL’S BONES, dice.

~Devotional habits~, horses weak in the knees, and apt to stumble and fall, are said to have these.—_Stable._

~Dew-beaters~, feet; “hold out your DEW-BEATERS till I take off the darbies.”—_Peveril of the Peak._ Forby says the word is used in Norfolk for heavy shoes to resist wet.

~Dew-drink~, a morning draught, such as is served out to labourers in harvest time before commencing work.

~Dewskitch~, a good thrashing, perhaps from catching one’s due.

~Dibbs~, money; so called from the huckle bones of sheep, which have been used from the earliest times for gambling purposes when money was not obtainable—in one particular game being thrown up five at a time and caught on the back of the hand like halfpence.

~Dick~, a riding whip; gold-headed DICK, one so ornamented.

~Dick~, abbreviation of “Dictionary,” but often euphemistically rendered “Richard,”—fine language, long words. A man who uses fine words without much judgment is said to have “swallowed the DICK.”

~Dickens~, synonymous with devil; “what the DICKENS are you after?” what the devil are you doing? Used by Shakspeare in the _Merry Wives of Windsor_. In many old stories his Satanic Majesty is called the DICKENS, and by no other name, while in some others the word is spelt “diconce.”

~Dickey~, bad, sorry, or foolish; food or lodging is pronounced DICKEY when of a poor description; “very DICKEY”, very inferior; “it’s all DICKEY with him,” _i.e._, all over with him.

~Dickey~, formerly the cant for a worn-out shirt, but nowadays used for a front or half-shirt. DICKEY was originally “tommy” (from the Greek, τομή, a section), a name which was formerly used in Trinity College, Dublin. The students are said to have invented the term, and love of change and circumlocution soon changed it to DICKEY, in which dress it is supposed to have been imported into England.

~Dickey~, a donkey.—_Norfolk._

~Dickey Sam~, a native of Liverpool.

~Dicking;~ “look! the bulky is DICKING,” _i.e._, the constable has his eye on you.—_North Country Cant._

~Diddle~, old cant word for geneva, or gin.

~Diddle~, to cheat, or defraud.—_Old._ In _German_, DUDELN is to play on the bagpipe; and the ideas of piping and cheating seem to have been much connected. “Do you think I am easier played on than a pipe?” occurs in _Hamlet_.

~Diddler~, or JEREMY DIDDLER, an artful swindler. A diddler is generally one who borrows money without any intention of ever repaying it; the sort of man who, having asked for half-a-crown and received only a shilling, would consider that eighteenpence was owing to him.—From _Raising the Wind_.

~Diddling~, cheating or swindling. Borrowing money without any intention of repaying it. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a very amusing article once on DIDDLING, which he seemed to regard as a rather high art.

~Didoes~, pranks or capers; “to cut up DIDOES,” to make pranks.

~Dig~, a hard blow. Generally in pugilistic circles applied to a straight “left-hander,” delivered under the guard on the “mark.”

~Diggers~, spurs; also the spades on cards.

~Diggings~, lodgings, apartments, residence; an expression probably imported from California, or Australia, with reference to the gold diggings. It is very common nowadays for a man moving in very decent society to call his abode or his office, or anyplace to which he frequently resorts, his “DIGGINGS.”

~Dilly~, originally a coach, from _diligence_. Now a night-cart.

~Dilly-dally~, to trifle.

~Dimber~, neat or pretty.—_Worcestershire_, but old cant.

~Dimber-damber~, very pretty; a clever rogue who excels his fellows; chief of a gang. _Old Cant_ in the latter sense.

~Dimmock~, money; “how are you off for DIMMOCK?” diminutive of DIME, a small foreign silver coin, in the United States 10 cents.

~Dinarly~, money; “NANTEE DINARLY,” I have no money, corrupted from the _Lingua Franca_, “NIENTE DINARO,” not a penny. _Turkish_, DINARI; _Spanish_, DINERO; _Latin_, DENARIUS.

~Dine out~, to go without dinner. “I DINED OUT to-day,” would express the same among the very lower classes that “dining with Duke Humphrey” expresses among the middle and upper.

~Ding~, to strike; to throw away, or get rid of anything; to pass to a confederate by throwing. _Old_, used in old plays.

“The butcher’s axe (like great Alcides’ bat) _Dings_ deadly downe ten thousand thousand flat.”

_Taylor’s Works_, 1630.

~Dingy~, a small boat. Generally the smallest boat carried by a ship. The _g_ in this is pronounced hard.

~Dipped~, mortgaged.

~Dirt~, TO EAT, an expression derived from the East, nearly the same as “to eat humble (_Umble_) pie,” to put up with a mortification or insult.

~Dirty Half-hundred~, a nickname given to the 50th Regiment on account of their tattered and soiled appearance during the Peninsular War. A term to be proud of, as it implies much work and little reward.

~Disguised~, intoxicated. A very old term is that of “DISGUISED in drink.”

“Some say drinking does DISGUISE men.”—_Old Song._

“The saylers and the shipmen all, Through foul excesse of wine, Were so DISGUISED that at the sea They shew’d themselves like swine.”

_Thos. Deloney’s Strange Histories_, p. 14.

~Dish~, to stop, to do away with, to suppress; DISHED, done for, floored, beaten, or silenced. To “do brown” and to “DISH,” both verbs with very similar meanings, have an evident connexion so far as origin is concerned, and most likely were both first used in the kitchen as synonymous with “done for.” The late Lord Derby made the word “DISH” famous by his latest public act, that of “DISHING the Whigs.”

~Dithers~, nervous or cold shiverings; “it gave me the DITHERS.”

~Dittoes~, A SUIT OF, coat, waistcoat, and trousers of the same material.—_Tailor’s term._

~Ditty-bag~, the bag or huswife in which sailors keep needles, thread, buttons, &c., for mending their clothes.

~Diver~, a pickpocket. Also applied to fingers, no doubt from a similar reason. To DIVE is to pick pockets.

~Do~, this useful and industrious verb has for many years done service as a slang term. To DO a person is to cheat him. Sometimes another tense is employed, such as “I DONE him,” meaning, I cheated or “paid him out;” this is only used in the lowest grades of society. DONE BROWN, cheated thoroughly, befooled; DONE OVER, upset, cheated, knocked down, ruined. Among thieves DONE OVER means that a man’s pockets have been all quietly searched; the term also means among low people seduced; DONE UP, used up, finished, or quieted. DONE also means convicted, or sentenced; so does DONE-FOR. To DO a person in pugilism is to beat him. Humphreys, who fought Mendoza, a Jew, wrote this laconic note to his supporter—“I have DONE the Jew, and am in good health.—Rich. Humphreys.” Tourists use the expression, “I have DONE France and Italy,” meaning I have been through those countries.

~Dobie~, an Indian washerman; and though women wash clothes in this country, Anglo-Indians speak of a washerwoman as a DOBIE.

~Doctor~, to adulterate or drug liquor; to poison, to hocus; also to falsify accounts. A publican who sells bad liquors is said to keep the DOCTOR in his cellars. On board ship the cook is always termed “the DOCTOR.”—_See_ COOK.

~Doddy~, a term applied in Norfolk to any person of low stature. Sometimes HODMANDOD and “HODDY-DODDY, all head and no body.” DODMAN in the same dialect denotes a garden snail.

~Dodge~, a cunning trick. “DODGE, that homely but expressive phrase.”—Sir Hugh Cairns on the Reform Bill, 2nd March, 1859. _Anglo-Saxon_, DEOGIAN, to colour, to conceal. The TIDY DODGE, as it is called by street-folk, consists in dressing up a family clean and tidy, and parading in the streets to excite compassion and obtain alms.

~Dodger~, a dram. In Kent, a DODGER signifies a nightcap; which name is often given to the last dram at night.

~Dodger~, a tricky person, or one who, to use the popular phrase, “knows too much.” Also one who knows all phases of London life, and profits by such knowledge.

~Dogberry~, a foolish constable.—_Shakspeare._