Part 30

~Rock-a-low~, an overcoat. Corruption of the _French_, ROQUELAURE.

~Rocked~, “he’s only HALF-ROCKED,” _i.e._, half-witted. _See_ HALF-ROCKED.

~Rogue’s yarn~, a thread of red or blue worsted, worked into the ropes manufactured in the Government dockyards, to identify them if stolen. Also a blue thread worked into canvas, for the same purpose.

~Roll of snow~, a piece of linen, or bundle of underclothing.

~Romany~, a gipsy, or the gipsy language; the speech of the Roma or Zincali.—_Spanish Gipsy._ “Can you patter ROMANY?” _i.e._, can you talk “black,” or gipsy lingo?

~Rook~, a cheat, or tricky gambler; the opposite of “pigeon.”

~Rook~, to cheat, to play “rook” to another’s “pigeon.”

~Rook~, a clergyman, not only from his black attire, but also, perhaps, from the old nursery favourite, the _History of Cock Robin_.

“I, says the ROOK, With my little book, I’ll be the parson.”

~Rookery~, a low neighbourhood inhabited by dirty Irish and thieves—as St. Giles’s ROOKERY.—_Old._ In military slang that part of the barracks occupied by subalterns, often by no means a pattern of good order.

~Rooky~, rascally, rakish, scampish.

~Roost~, synonymous with PERCH, which _see_.

~Rooster~, a cock, whether bantam, game, barndoor, or of any other kind. This is an Americanism which obtains full currency on the other side of the Atlantic, though its use would infer that hens do not roost. As the outcome of transpontine delicacy it must, however, be respected.

~Rooter~, anything good, or of a prime quality; “that is a ROOTER,” _i.e._, a first-rate one of the sort.

~Rope~, to lose a race of any kind purposely, to swindle one’s backers or the public by means of a “cross” or pre-arranged race, in which the best man or best horse is made to ROPE, or run behind.

~Roper~, MISTRESS, “to marry MRS. ROPER” is to enlist in the Royal Marines.

~Ropes~, the ways of London lower life. “To know the ROPES,” is to be conversant with the minutiæ of metropolitan dodges, as regards both the streets and the sporting world.

~Roping~, the act of pulling or restraining a horse, by its rider, to prevent its winning a race—a trick not unfrequently practised on the turf. Also when a pedestrian or other athlete loses where he should have won, according to his backer’s calculations, he is accused of ROPING.

~Rose~, “under the rose” (frequently used in its _Latin_ form, _sub rosâ_), _i.e._, under the obligation of silence and secrecy, of which the rose was anciently an emblem, perhaps, as Sir Thomas Browne remarks, from the closeness with which its petals are enfolded in the bud. The Rose of Venus was given, says the classic legend, to Harpocrates, the God of Silence, by Cupid, as a bribe to keep silent about the goddess’s amours. It was commonly sculptured on the ceilings of banqueting rooms, as a sign that what was said in free conversation there was not afterwards to be divulged; and about 1526 was placed over the Roman confessionals as an emblem of secrecy. The White Rose was also an emblem of the Pretender, whose health, as king, his secret adherents used to drink “under the ROSE.”

~Rosin~, beer or other drink given to musicians at a dancing party.

~Rosin-the-bow~, a fiddler. From a famous old song of that name.

~Rot~, nonsense, anything bad, disagreeable, or useless.

~Rot-gut~, bad, small beer. _See_ BUMCLINK. In America, cheap whisky.

~Rough~, bad; “ROUGH fish,” bad or stinking fish.—_Billingsgate._

~Rough-it~, to put up with chance entertainment, to take pot-luck and what accommodation “turns up,” without sighing for better.

~Roughs~, coarse, or vulgar men. By many thought to be RUFF, corruption of RUFFIAN.

~Rouleau~, a packet of sovereigns.—_Gaming._

~Round~, to tell tales, to SPLIT, which _see_; “to ROUND on a man,” to swear to him as being the person, &c. Synonymous with BUFF, which _see_. Also to turn round upon and abuse or rate. Shakspeare has ROUNDING, whispering.

~Round~, “ROUND dealing,” honest trading; “ROUND sum,” a large sum. Synonymous also, in a slang sense, with SQUARE, which _see_.

~Round~ (in the language of the street), the beat or usual walk of a costermonger to sell his stock. A term used by street folk generally.

“Watchmen, sometimes they made their sallies, And walk’d their ROUNDS through streets and allies.”

_Ned Ward’s Vulgus Britannicus_, 1710.

The word “beat” has, so far as our modern guardians are concerned, deposed “round.”

~Round robin~, a petition, or paper of remonstrance, with the signatures written in a circle,—to prevent the first signer, or ringleader, from being discovered.

~Round un~, an unblushingly given and well-proportioned lie. Sometimes known as a “whacker.”

~Roundabout~, a large swing with four compartments, each the size, and very much the shape, of the body of a cart, capable of seating six or eight boys and girls, erected in a high frame, and turned round by men at a windlass. Fairs and merry-makings generally abound with these swings. The frames take to pieces, and are carried in vans from fair to fair by miserable horses.

~Roundem~, a button.

~Row~, “the ROW,” _i.e._, Paternoster Row. The notorious Holywell Street is now called by its denizens “Bookseller’s Row.”

~Row~, a noisy disturbance, tumult, or trouble. Originally Cambridge, now universal. Seventy years ago it was written ROUE, which would almost indicate a French origin, from _roué_, a profligate or disturber of the peace.—_Vide_ George Parker’s _Life’s Painter_, 1789, p. 122. This is, however, very unlikely, as the derivation of the French word shows.

~Rowdy~, money. In America, a ruffian, a brawler, a “rough.” Rowdyism is the state of being of New York roughs and loafers.

~Rowdy-dow~, low, vulgar “not the CHEESE,” or thing.

~Rub~, a quarrel or impediment; “there’s the RUB,” _i.e._, that is the difficulty.—_Shakspeare and L’Estrange._

~Rubbed out~, dead,—a melancholy expression, of late frequently used in fashionable novels. RUBBED OUT is synonymous with WIPED OUT, which _see_.

~Rubber~, a term at whist, &c., the best of three games.

~Ruck~, the undistinguished crowd; “to come in with the RUCK,” to arrive at the winning-post among the thick of the unplaced horses.—_Racing term._

~Ruction~, an Irish row. A faction fight.

~Ruggy~, fusty, frowsy.

~Rule.~ “To run the RULE over,” is, among thieves, to try all a person’s pockets quietly, as done by themselves, or to search any one thoroughly, as at the police-station.

~Rule the roast~, to be at the head of affairs, to be “cock of the walk.”

~Rum~, like its opposite, QUEER, was formerly a much-used prefix, signifying fine, good, gallant, or valuable; perhaps in some way connected with ROME. Nowadays it means indifferent, bad, or questionable, and we often hear even persons in polite society use such a phrase as, “What a RUM fellow he is, to be sure,” in speaking of a man of singular habits or appearance. The term, from its frequent use, long since claimed a place in our dictionaries; but, with the exception of Johnson, who says RUM, a cant word for a clergyman(!), no lexicographer has deigned to notice it.

“Thus RUMLY floor’d, the kind Acestes ran, And pitying, raised from earth the game old man.”

_Virgil’s Æneid_, book v., Translation _by Thomas Moore_.

~Rum cull~, the manager of a theatre, generally the master of a travelling troop.

~Rumbler~, a four-wheeled cab. Not so common as BOUNDER. _See_ GROWLER.

~Rumbowling~, anything inferior or adulterated.—_Sea._

~Rumbumptious~, haughty, pugilistic.

~Rumbustious~, or RUMBUSTICAL, pompous, haughty, boisterous, careless of the comfort of others.

~Rumgumption~, or GUMPTION, knowledge, capacity, capability,—hence, RUMGUMPTIOUS, knowing, wide-awake, forward, positive, pert, blunt.

~Rum-mizzler~, Seven Dials cant for a person who is clever at making his escape, or getting out of a difficulty.

~Rump~, to turn the back upon any one. A still more decided “cut direct” than the “cold shoulder.”

~Rumpus~, a noise, disturbance, a “row.”

~Rum-slim~, or RUM SLING, rum punch.

~Rumy~, a good woman or girl.—_Gipsy Cant._ In the Continental _Gipsy_, ROMI, a woman, a wife, is the feminine of RO, a man.

~Run~ (good or bad), the success or duration of a piece’s performance.—_Theatrical._

~Run~, to comprehend, &c.; “I don’t RUN to it,” _i.e._, I can’t do it, I don’t understand; also not money enough, as, “I should like to, but it wont RUN to it.”

~Run~, “to get the RUN upon any person,” to have the upper hand, or be able to laugh at him. RUN down, to abuse or backbite any one; to “lord it,” or “drive over” him. Originally stable slang.

~Run for the money~, TO HAVE A, to have a start given in with a bet. As 20 to 1 against Doncaster, with a RUN given. _See_ P.P. To have a RUN FOR ONE’S MONEY is also to have a good determined struggle for anything.

~Run-in~, to lock up in the station-house. The police are very fond of threatening to RUN-IN any person to whom they may take exception, and, as recent revelations have shown, are by no means averse from putting their threats into execution.

~Running patterer~, a street seller who runs or moves briskly along, calling aloud his wares.

~Running stationer~, a hawker of books, ballads, dying speeches, and newspapers. Persons of this class formerly used to run with newspapers, blowing a horn, when they were sometimes termed FLYING STATIONERS. Nowadays, in the event of any political or social disturbance, the miserable relics of these peripatetic newsmen bawl the heads of the telegram or information in quiet London thoroughfares, to the disturbance of the residents. The race is very nearly extinct, the evening-paper boys having run them to earth.

~Rush~, to come upon suddenly, generally for the purpose of borrowing. To “give a man the RUSH,” is to spunge upon him all day, and then borrow money at the finish, or pursue some such similar mode of procedure.

~Rush~, “doing it on the RUSH,” running away, or making off.

~Rust~, “to nab the RUST,” to take offence. RUSTY, cross, ill-tempered, morose; not able to go through life like a person of easy and “polished” manners.

~Rustication~, the sending of an offender from the University for one term or more, thus hindering his qualifying for a degree.

~Rusty guts~, a blunt, rough, old fellow. Corruption of RUSTICUS.

~Rye.~ Gipsy term for a young man. In the same parlance “rawnie” is a young woman.

~Sack~, to “get the SACK,” to be discharged by an employer. Varied in the North of England to “get the BAG.” In London it is sometimes spoken of as “getting the EMPTY.” It is common now to speak of “getting the BULLET,” an evident play on the word discharge.

~Sad dog~, a merry fellow, a joker, a “gay” or “fast” man.

~Saddle~, an additional charge made by the manager to a performer upon his benefit night.—_Theatrical._

~Safe~, trusty, worthy of confidence. A SAFE card is a man who knows “what’s o’clock.” A SAFE man among betters is one who is sure to fulfil his engagements.

~Safe un~, a horse which will not run, or will not try, in a race. The bookmakers in London have the information sent them by the touts in their pay, and lay against the SAFE UN, who is also called a “stiff un,” a “dead un,” or a “shtumer,” as often as they can, irrespective of the state of their books. Sometimes a SAFE UN will win, owing to the owner or trainer having, for various reasons, altered his mind. Such a result then goes to prove the “glorious uncertainty of the turf,” a phrase in very common use among sporting writers whenever a favourite is beaten, or whenever a horse runs slow one day and loses, and very fast the next day and wins.

~Sails~, nickname for the sail-maker on board ship.

~St. Martin’s lace~, imitation gold lace; stage tinsel.

~Saint Monday~, a holiday most religiously observed by journeymen shoemakers and other mechanics. An Irishman observed that this saint’s anniversary happened every week. In some parts of the country Monday is termed Cobblers’ Sunday.

~Sal~, a salary.—_Theatrical._

~Salaam~, a compliment or salutation.—_Anglo-Indian._

~Salamander~, a street acrobat and juggler who eats fire.

~Saloop~, SALEP, or SALOP, a greasy-looking beverage, formerly sold on stalls at early morning, prepared from a powder made of the root of the _Orchis mascula_, or Red-handed Orchis. Coffee-stands have superseded SALOOP stalls; but, in addition to other writers, Charles Lamb, in one of his papers, has left some account of this drinkable, which he says was of all preparations the most grateful to the stomachs of young chimney-sweeps. The present generation has no knowledge of this drink, except that derived from books. The word “slops”—as applied to weak, warm drink—is very likely derived from the Cockney pronunciation of SALOOP.

~Salt~, a sailor.

~Salt~, “it’s rather too SALT,” said of an extravagant hotel bill. Also, a sort of black mail or tribute levied on visitors or travellers by the Eton boys, at their triennial festival called the “Montem,” by ancient custom and privileges. It is now abolished. A periodical published at Eton many years ago for circulation amongst the boys was called “_The SALT-box_.” When a person about to sell a business connexion makes fictitious entries in the books of accounts, to simulate that a much more profitable trade is carried on than there really is, he is said to SALT the books—SALTING and COOKING being somewhat similar operations. At the gold diggings of Australia, miners sometimes SALT an unproductive hole by sprinkling a few grains of gold-dust over it, and thus obtain a good price from a “green hand.” Unpromising speculations are frequently thus SALTED to entrap the unwary, the wildest ideas being rendered palatable _cum grano salis_. And though old birds are not readily caught by chaff, the efficacy of SALT in bird-catching, so far as the young are concerned, is proverbial.

~Salt-box~, the condemned cell in Newgate.

~Salt junk~, navy salt beef. _See_ OLD HORSE.

~Saltee~, a penny. Pence, &c., are thus reckoned:—

ONEY SALTEE, a penny, from the _Italian_, UNO SOLDO. DOOE SALTEE, twopence DUE SOLDI. TRAY SALTEE, threepence TRE SOLDI. QUARTERER SALTEE, fourpence QUATTRO SOLDI. CHINKER SALTEE, fivepence CINQUE SOLDI. SAY SALTEE, sixpence SEI SOLDI. SAY ONEY SALTEE, or SETTER SALTEE, sevenpence SETTE SOLDI. SAY DOOE SALTEE, or OTTER SALTEE, eightpence OTTO SOLDI. SAY TRAY SALTEE, or NOBBA SALTEE, ninepence NOVE SOLDI. SAY QUARTERER SALTEE, or DACHA SALTEE, tenpence DIECI SOLDI. SAY CHINKER SALTEE, or DACHA ONEY SALTEE, elevenpence DIECI UNO SOLDI, &c. ONEY BEONG, one shilling. A BEONG SAY SALTEE, one shilling and sixpence. DOOE BEONG SAY SALTEE, or MADZA CAROON, half-a-crown, or two shillings and sixpence.

⁂ This curious list of numerals in use among the London street folk is, strange as it may seem, derived from the _Lingua Franca_, or bastard _Italian_, of the Mediterranean seaports, of which other examples may be found in the pages of this Dictionary. SALTEE, the cant term used by the costermongers and others for a penny, is no other than the _Italian_, SOLDO (plural, SOLDI), and the numerals—as may be seen by the _Italian_ equivalents—are a tolerably close imitation of the originals. After the number six, a curious variation occurs, which is peculiar to the London cant, seven being reckoned as SAY ONEY, _six-one_, SAY DOOE, _six-two_ = 8, and so on. DACHA is perhaps from the _Greek_ δέκα, ten, which, in the Constantinopolitan _Lingua Franca_, is likely enough to have been substituted for the _Italian_. MADZA is clearly the _Italian_ MEZZA. The origin of BEONG has not yet been discovered, unless it be the _French_ BIEN, the application of which to a shilling is not so evident; but amongst costermongers and other street folk it is quite immaterial what foreign tongue contributes to their secret language. Providing the terms are unknown to the police and the public generally, they care not a rush whether the polite French, the gay Spaniards, or the cloudy Germans help to swell their vocabulary. The numbers of low foreigners, however, dragging out a miserable existence in our crowded neighbourhoods, organ grinders and image sellers, foreign seamen from the vessels in the river, and our own connexion with Malta and the Ionian Isles, may explain, to a certain extent, the phenomenon of these Southern phrases in the mouths of costers and tramps. Professor Ascoli, in his _Studj Critici_, absurdly enough derives these words from the ancient commercial importance of Italian settlers in England, when they gave a name to Lombard Street!

~Salve~, praise, flattery, chaff.

~Sam~, _i.e._, DICKY-SAM, a native of Liverpool.

~Sam~, to “stand SAM,” to pay for refreshment or drink, to stand paymaster for anything. An Americanism, originating in the letters U.S. on the knapsacks of the United States’ soldiers, which letters were jocularly said to be the initials of Uncle Sam (the Government), who pays for all. In use in this country as early as 1827.

~Sammy~, a stupid fellow.

~Sampan~, a small boat.—_Anglo-Chinese._

~Samshoo~, a fiery, noxious spirit, distilled from rice. Spirits generally.—_Anglo-Chinese._

~Samson and Abel~, a group of wrestlers in the centre of Brasenose quadrangle. Some said it represented Samson killing a Philistine; others Cain killing Abel. So the matter was compromised as above.—_Oxford University._

~Sandwich~, a human advertising medium, placed between two boards strapped, one on his breast the other on his shoulders. A “toad in the hole” is the term applied to the same individual when his person is confined by a four-sided box. A gentleman with a lady on each arm is sometimes called a SANDWICH. The French phrase for this kind of SANDWICH, _l’âne à deux pannières_, is expressive.

~Sanguinary James~, a raw sheep’s-head. _See_ BLOODY JEMMY.

~Sank work~, tailors’ phrase for soldiers’ clothes. Perhaps from the _Norman_ SANC, blood,—in allusion either to the soldier’s calling, or the colour of his coat.

~Sap~, or SAPSCULL, a poor green simpleton, with no heart for work.

~Sappy~, soft, foolish, namby-pamby, milk-and-watery. “It’s such a SAPPY book.”

~Satin~, gin; “a yard of SATIN,” a glass of gin. Term used by females on make-believe errands, when the real object of their departure from home is to replenish the private bottle. With servants the words “tape” and “ribbon” are more common, the purchase of these feminine requirements being the general excuse for asking to “run out for a little while.” _See_ WHITE SATIN.

~Saucebox~, a pert young person. In low life it also signifies the mouth.

~Save~, to give part of one bet for part of another. A. and B. have backed different horses, and they agree that in the event of either one winning he shall give the other, say, £5. This is called “SAVING a fiver,” and generally is done when scratchings and knockings-out have left the field so that one of the two speculators must be a winner. The practice also obtains much in competitions decided in heats or rounds, in the course of which backers and layers comparing their prospects often “SAVE a bit” with each other. Saving is, therefore, a form of hedging.

~Saveloy~, a sausage of bread and chopped beef smoked, a minor kind of POLONY, which _see_.

~Savvey~, to know; “do you SAVVEY that?” _Spanish_, SABE. In the nigger and _Anglo-Chinese patois_, this is SABBY, “me no SABBY.” It is a general word among the lower classes all over the world. It also means acuteness or cleverness; as, “That fellow has plenty of SAVVEY.”

~Saw~, a term at whist. A SAW is established when two partners alternately trump a suit, played to each other for the express purpose.

~Saw your timber~, “be off!” equivalent to “cut your stick.” Occasionally varied, with mock refinement, to “amputate your mahogany.” _See_ CUT.

~Sawbones~, a surgeon.

~Sawney~, or SANDY, a Scotchman. Corruption of Alexander.

~Sawney~, a simpleton; a gaping, awkward lout.

~Sawney~, bacon. SAWNEY HUNTER, one who steals bacon.

~Scab~, a worthless person.—_Old._ Shakspeare uses “scald” in a similar sense.

~Scab-raiser~, a drummer in the army, so called from one of the duties formerly pertaining to that office, viz., inflicting corporal punishment on the soldiers.—_Military._

~Scabby neck~, a native of Denmark.—_Sea._

~Scabby-sheep~, epithet applied by the vulgar to a person who has been in questionable society, or under unholy influence, and become tainted. Also a mean disreputable fellow.

~Scaldrum dodge~, a dodge in use among begging impostors of burning the body with a mixture of acids and gunpowder, so as to suit the hues and complexions of any accident to be deplored by a confiding public.

~Scaly~, shabby, or mean. Perhaps anything which betokens the presence of the “Old Serpent,” or it may be a variation of “fishy.”

~Scamander~, to wander about without a settled purpose;—possibly in allusion to the winding course of the Homeric river of that name.

~Scammered~, drunk.

~Scamp~, a graceless fellow, a rascal; a wandering vagabond; scamping was formerly the cant term for plundering and thieving. A ROYAL-SCAMP was a highwayman, whilst a FOOT-SCAMP was an ordinary thief with nothing but his legs to trust to in case of an attempt at capture. Some have derived SCAMP from _qui ex campo exit_, one who leaves the field, a deserter.

~Scamp~, to give short measure or quantity; applied to dishonest contractors. Also to hurry through a task in a way which precludes the possibility of its being done well. Probably the same as SKIMP and SCRIMP.

~Scandal-water~, tea; from old maids’ tea-parties being generally a focus for scandal.

~Scaramouch~, properly a tumbler, or SALTIMBANCO. Also a disreputable fellow.

~Scarborough-warning~, a warning given too late to be taken advantage of. When a person is driven over, and then told to keep out of the way, he receives SCARBOROUGH-WARNING. Fuller says the proverb alludes to an event which happened at that place in 1557, when Thomas Stafford seized upon Scarborough Castle before the townsmen had the least notice of his approach.

~Scarce~, TO MAKE ONESELF; to be off; to decamp.

~Scarlet fever~, the desire felt by young ladies to flirt with officers in preference to civilians.

~Scarlet-town~, Reading, in Berkshire. As the name of this place is pronounced Redding, SCARLET-TOWN is probably a rude pun upon it.

~Scarper~, to run away; _Spanish_, ESCAPAR, to escape, make off; _Italian_, SCAPPARE. “SCARPER with the feeley of the donna of the carzey,” to run away with the daughter of the landlady of the house; almost pure _Italian_, “SCAPPARE COLLA FIGLIA DELLA DONNA DELLA CASA.”—_Seven Dials and Prison Cant_, from the _Lingua Franca_.

~Schism-shop~, a Dissenters’ meeting-house.—_University._

~Schofel~, bad money. _See_ SHOFUL.

~School~, a knot of men or boys; generally a body of idlers or street gamblers. Also, two or more “patterers” working together in the streets.

~Schroff~, a banker, treasurer, or confidential clerk.—_Anglo-Indian._

~Schwassle box~, the street arrangement for Punch and Judy. _See_ SWATCHEL-COVE.

~Sconce~, the head; judgment, sense.—_Dutch._

~Sconce~, to fine. Used by Dons as well as undergrads. The Dons fined or SCONCED for small offences; _e.g._, five shillings for wearing a coloured coat in hall at dinner-time. Among undergrads a pun, or an oath, or an indecent remark, was SCONCED by the head of the table. If the offender could, however, floor the tankard of beer which he was SCONCED, he could retort on his SCONCER to the extent of twice the amount he was SCONCED in.—_Oxford University._