i;^""; f^ \, l«r \^-^ . . r "f^ n o^■ THK An^' JVo. Division Range ^ , Shelf y^Uf Received (fi^4^ /^yl87/ ■ yj u J THE SLANG DICTIONAKY. ran hah v UNIVKHSITY OF|i CALIFOKNIA. i A OADQER'8 MAP OF A BEGQINQ DISTRICT. / EXPUNATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS. X V n O NO GOOD ; too poor, and know too tauch. BTOP,— if you have what they want» they will buy. They are pretty *'Xv," (knovriug.) GO IN THIS DIKECTION, it is better than the other road. Nothing that way. SONS, (good.) Safe for a "cold tatur/' if for nothing else. **C7uae jfour patter" (don't talk much) hero. COOPER'Dt (spoilt,) by too many tramps calling there. QAMMT, (unfavourable,) likely to have you taken up. Hind the dog. FLUMMUXSD^ (dangeroua,) sure of a month in "d^iod," (prison.) RBLIGIOUS, but tidy on the whole. St paye yy THE SLANG DICTIONAEY, OB, THE VULGAR WORDS, STREET PHRASES, AND "FAST" EXPRESSIONS OP HIGH AND LOW * SOCIETY. MANY WITH THKIR ETYMOLOGY, AND A FKMV WITH THEIR HISTORY TRACED. *Babblti charminc words* which catry M much wUd-fln wrapt up In them." — HuOTK s LIBRA n UNIVKRSITV OF CALIFOIfMA. '^- Ikj "Wcmb" «td Lba " Wooben Smun. —Smp. m LONDON: JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN, PICCADILLT. 1869. [100 copies printed on Lfirge Paper.^ Oopia of this vxrrh, interleaved with finely-ruled paper, for the UH of Oum who desire to collect such Slang and colloquial words as may start into exist- tnce from time to lime, can b'. obtained from the pvHishtr, price 9«. 6d. /J' OS renmcD by johh cakdci hottes. picoadillt, lonxm. CAUFuuMa. PREFACE. With this work is incorporated The Dictionary of Modem Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words, issued by "a London Antiquary" in 1859. The first edition of that work con- tained about 3000 words ; the second, issued twelve months later, gave upwards of 5000. Both editions were reviewed by the critical press with an approval seldom accorded to smaU works of the kind. During the four years that have elapsed, the compiler has gone over the field of unrecog- nised English once more. The entire subject has been re- surveyed, out-lying terms and phrases have been brought in, new street-words have been added, and better illustra- tions of old colloquial expressions given. The result is the volume before the reader, which offers, for his amuse- ment or instruction, nearly 10,000 words and phrases com- monly deemed " vulgar," but which are used by the highest and lowest, the best, the wisest, as well as the worst and most ignorant of society. Any apology for an inquiry like the present is believed to be unnecessary. The philologist and the historian usually find in such material the best evidences of a people's progress or decline It may not be out of place to say here — and I am sure he would not have objected — vi PREFACE. that the late Mr Buckle took the greatest interest in the subject, and that in a few instances I am indebted to that gentleman for the probable etymologies of some of the terms given in the Dictionary. "Many of these words and phrases," he used to say, "are but serving their apprenticeship, and wUl eventually become the active strength of our language." The widespread interest taken in the subject of Eng- lish vulgar speech has surprised me. From almost every capital in Europe I have received communications asking further particulars, or informing me that scraps of their lan- guage have become mixed with our street-talk ; and from India, China, the Cape, Australia, and North and South America I have received letters of advice or inquiry upon the subject. In German magazines numerous articles have appeared upon my former book ; and, at Turin, Professor Ascoli has published a lengthy work upon the Lingua Franca words in the speech of our lower orders, which the Dictionary of Modern Slang was the first to detect and make known. The Professor looks to the Lombard mer- chants, who flocked to London in the days of Elizabeth and James I., as the source from whence we derive this curious element in our vulgar speech. I am sorry to inform him that we have to thank the less dignified organ-grinders, I as they are termed, for the introduction of this Italian peculiarity in our street-language. PREFACE. Vll The short history of Cant and Slang, which precedes the Dictionary, was first published in 1859, and has not since been re-written, although the Dictionary, which follows, has been more than trebled in size, and consequently con- tains many more illustrations of the different classes of colloquial speech than are given in the introduction. For the general style and aim of this preliminary performance, the compiler feels it necessary to offer some apology. The more vulgar and less known Cant or secret terms of the London thieves are given in the Dictionary at the foot of each page. The compiler scarcely knew what to do with some of the more repulsive of these words — those explana- tory of thieving, &c., and which continually occur in the language of low life. Their very existence is a lamentable fact ; and the dry, unpoetic way they explain criminal in- tentions and actions is miserable in the extreme. Crime is an awkward thing to deal with, and, as in the case of our own Legislature, when trying successfully to regulate the punishment, and at the same time provide for the reformation of criminal offenders, he found the matter a singularly difficult one to manage. Slang is generally pithy and amusing, whereas Cant, like our lower orders in their thoughts and actions, is unrelieved by any feeUng approaching to the poetic or the refined. A few Slang and Cant words wUl be observed in the plural. The compiler endeavoured, as far as possible, to Vlll PREFAGS. give the singular number ; but in the case of some of the terms he found this impossible, as he never heard them used in any other form than the plural The reader will please bear in mind that this is a Dic- tionary of modem Slang, — a list of colloquial words and phrases in present use, — whether of ancient or modem formation. Whenever Ancient or Ancient English is ap- pended to a Slang or Cant word, it is meant to signify- that the expression was in respectable use in or previous to the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Ancient Cant indicates that the term was used as a Cant word in or previous to the same reign. Old or Old English, affixed to a vulgar word, signifies that it was in general use as a proper expression in or previous to the reign of Charles II. Old Cant indicates that the term was in use as a Cant word during or before the same reign. Obsolete Slang terms are not given ; no notice, therefore, has been taken of the numerous expressions that occur in the play-books and other popular literature of the past three hundred years, which have served their day, and now form no part of our tongue. Only the living language of the time has been dealt with. Not long since the compiler purchased The History of a Manchester Cadger: Narrated in his own Language, price id. He was certainly somewhat surprised on open- ing the pamphlet to find that it consisted of eight pages PREFACE. IX of his own little book, reprinted with a few errors, and without any acknowledgment of the source from whence it was taken. He could from his heart recommend the Manchester Cadger to reprint the Ten Commandments, and study one of them, now that he has sonjewhat im- proved his fortime by the first pilfer. It is said that 40,000 copies have been sold of tho History. H.I.ll. the Prince Lucien Bonaparte very recently discovered one of his privately-printed little books. The Song of Solomon, in the Lancashire Dialect, being hawked around the same city in the form of a twopenny edition. The compiler will be thankful for any corrections, additional examples, or words omitted. He has occupied many spare hours in the formation of this Dictionary of unrecognised English, and he wishes in future editions to make it as perfect as possible. Based upon the present performance, a work of a similar but more extended character is in progress. It will give an appropriate extract from books, serials, broadsheets, or any other source which may afford material illustrative of the actual employment of the several Slang, Cant, and Vulgar terms in English printed literature. It is believed that the work will be of con- siderable value to the philologist. Further particulars may be obtained of the publisher, who wiU also receive subscribers' names. X PREFACE. In conclusion, the compiler begs to express his obliga- tions to those correspondents who have from time to time assisted him with their valuable suggestions. J. C. H, FICOADILLT, I«(vUae 1864. %• The Prefaces to the compiler's previous work are added, as it is believed that they mil not prove iminterest- ing to tlie reader. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION DICTIONAEY OF MODERN SLANG, ETC. If any gentleman of a studious turn of mind, who may have acquired the hahit of carrying pencils and note- books, would for one year reside in Monmouth Court, Seven Dials ; six months in Orchard Street, Westmiaster ; three months in Mint Street, Borough; and consent to undergo another three months on the extremely popular but very much disliked treadmill, (mlgo the " Everlasting Staircase,") finishing, I will propose, by a six months' tramp, in the character of a cadger and beggar, over Eng- land, I have not the least doubt but that he would be able t.0 write an interesting work on the languages, secret and vulgar, of the lower orders. In the matter of Slang, our studious friend would have to divide his time betwixt observation and research. Con- versations on the outsides of omnibuses, on steamboat piers, or at railway termini, would demand his most atten- tive hearing ; so would the knots of semi-decayed cabmen, standing about in bundles of worn-out great coats and haybands, betwixt wateriag-paUs, and conversiug in a xil PREFACE. dialect every third word of which is without home or respectable relations. He would also have to station him- seK for hours near gatherings of ragged boys playing or fighting, but ever and anon contributing to the note-book a pure street-term. He would have to "hang about" lobbies, mark the refined word-droppings of magniloquent flunkeys, " run after " all the popular preachers, go to the Inns of Court, be up aU night and about all day — in fact, be a ubiquitarian, with a note-book and pencil in hand. As for research, he would have to turn over each page of our popular literature, wander through all the weekly serials, wade through the newspapers, fashionable and unfashionable, and subscribe to Mudie's, and scour the novels. This done, and if he has been an observant man, I wUl engage to say that he has made a choice gathering, and that we may reasonably expect an interesting little book. I give this outline of preparatory study to shew the reason the task has never been undertaken before. People in the present chase after respectability don't care to turn blackguards, and exchange cards with the Whitechapel Pecker, or the Sharp's-alley Chicken, for the sake of a few vulgar, although curious words ; and we may rest assured that it is quite impossible to write any account of vulgar or low language, and remain seated on damask in one's own drawing-room. But a fortunate circumstance attended PREFACE. xm the compiler of the present work, and he has neither been required to reside in Seven Dials, visit the treadmill, nor wander over the country in the character of a vagabond or a cadger. In collecting old ballads, penny mstories, and other printed street narratives, as materials for a History of Cheap or Popular Literature, he frequently had occasion to purchase in Seven Dials and the Borough a few old songs or dying speeches, from the chaimters and patterers who abound in those neighbourhoods. With some of these men (their names would not in the least interest the reader, and would only serve the purpose of making this Preface look like a vulgar page from the London Directory) an arrangement was made that they should collect the Cant and Slang words used by the different wandering tribes of London and the country. Some of these chaunters are men of respectable education, (although filling a vaga- bond's calling,) and can write good hands, and express themselves fluently, if not with orthographical correctness. To prevent deception and mistakes, the words and phrases sent in were checked off by other chaunters and tramps. ' Assistance was also sought and obtained, through an in- telligent printer in Seven Dials, from the costermongers in London, and the pedlars and hucksters who traverse the country. In this manner the greater number of Cant words were procured, very valuable help being continually XIV PREFACE. derived from Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, a work which had gone over much of the same' groimd. The Slang and vulgar expressions were gleaned from every source which appeared to offer any materials ; indeed the references attached to words in the Dictionary frequently indicate the channels which afforded them. Although in the Introduction I have divided Cant from Slang, and treated the subjects separately, yet in the Dictionary I have only, in a few instances, pointed out which are Slang, or which are Cant terms. The task would have been a difficult one. Many words which were once Cant are Slang now. The words peig and cove are in- stances in point. Once Cant and secret terms, they are now only street vulgarisms. The etymologies attempted are only given as contribu- tions to the subject, and the derivation of no vidgax term is guaranteed. The origin of many street-words will, per- haps, never be discovered, having commenced with a knot of illiterate persons, and spread amongst a public that cared not a iig for the history of the word, so long as it came to their tongues to give a vulgar piquancy to a joke, or relish to an exceedingly familiar conversation. The references and authorities given in italics frequently shew only the direction or probable source of the etymology. The author, to avoid tedious verbiage, was obliged, in so small a work, to be curt in his notes and suggestions. PREFACE. XV He has to explain also that a few words will probably be noticed ia the Slang and Cant Dictionary that are ques- tionable as coming under either of those designations* These have been admitted because they were originally either vulgar terms, or the compiler had something novel to say concerning them. The makers of our large diction- aries have been exceedingly crotchety in their choice of what they considered respectable words. It is amusiag to know that Eichardson used the word HUMBUG to explain the sense of other words, but omitted it in the alphabetical arrangement as not sufficiently respectable and ancient. The word Slang, too, he served in the same way. Filthy and obscene words have been carefully excluded, although street-talk, unlicensed and un\\Titten, abounds in tliese. " Immodest words admit of no defence. For want of decency is want of sense." It appears from the calculations of philologists, that there are 38,000 words in the English language, including deri- vations. I believe I have, for the first time, ia consecutive order, added at least 3000 words to the previous stock, — vulgar and often very objectionable, but stiU terms in every- day use, and employed by thousands. It is not generally known, that the polite Lord Chesterfield once desired Dr Johnson to compile a Slang Dictionary; indeed, it was Chesterfield, some say, who first used the word humbug. XVI PREFACE. Words, like pectiliar styles of dress, get into public favour, and come and go in fashion. When great favourites and universal they truly become " household words," although generally considered Slang, when their origin or ante- cedents are inquired into. A few errors of the press, I am sorry to say, may be noticed ; but, considering the novelty of the subject, and the fact that no fixed orthography of vulgar speech exists, it will, I hope, be deemed a not uninteresting essay on a new and very singular branch of human inquiry ; for, as Mayhew remarks, " the whole subject of Cant and Slang is, to the philologist, replete with interest of the most pro- found character." The compiler wnii be mitch obliged by the receipt of ANY CANT, SLANG, OR VULGAR WORDS NOT MENTIONED IN THE DICTIONARY. ThE PROBABLE ORIGIN, OR ETYMOLOGY, OF ANY FASHIONABLE OR UNFASHIONABLE VULGARISM, WILL ALSO BE RECEIVED BY HIM WITH THANKS. PIOCADILLT, June 30, 1859. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION DICTIONAEY OF MODERN SLANG, ETC. The First Edition of this work had a rapid sale, and within a few weeks after it was published, the entire issue passed from the publisher's shelves into the hands of the public. A Second Edition, although urgently called for, was not immediately attempted. The First had been foimd incom- plete, and faulty in many respects, and the author deter- mined thoroughly to revise and recast before again going to press. The present Edition, therefore, will be found much more complete than the First; indeed, I may say that it has been entirely re-written, and that, whereas the First contained but 3000 words, this gives nearly 5000, with a mass of fresh illustrations, and extended articles on the more important Slang terms — humbug, for instance. The notices of a Lingua Franca element in the language of London vagabonds are peculiar to this Edition. My best thanks are due to several correspondents for valuable hints and suggestions as to the probable etymo- logies of various colloquial expressions. b XVIU PREFACE. One Kterary journal of high repute recommended a division of Cant from Slang; but the annoyance of two indices in a small work appeared to me to more than coun- terbalance the benefit of a stricter pliilological classification, so I have for the present adhered to the old arrangement ; indeed, to separate Cant from Slang would be almost im- possible. PlocADiLLV, Marclt 15, l86a CONTENTS. THK HISTORY OF CANT, OR THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF VAGABONDS. PAOX Black and Coloured Vagabonds — Vagabonds all over Europe — Vaga- bonds Universal, . . . . . -1-3 Etymology of Cant — Cant used in old times — Difference between Cant and Slang, ...... 3-5 The Gipsies — Gipsies taught English Vagabonds — The Gipsy- Vagabond alliance — The Origin of Cant — Vulgar words from the Gipsy — Gipsy element in the English language — The poet Moore on the origin of Cant — Borrow on the Gipsy lan- guage — The inventor of Canting not hanged, . . 5 -I I Old Cant words still used— Old Cant words with modem meanings — The words " Rum " and " Queer " explained — Old Cant words entirely obsolete, . . . . . .11-14 The Oldest " Rogue's Dictionakt," . . . . 14-20 "Jaw-breakers," or hard words, used as Cant — Were Highwaymen educated men? — Vagabonds used Foreign words as Cant — The Lingua Franca, or Bastard Italian — Cant derived from Jews and Showmen — Classic words used as English Cant — Old English words used as Cant — Old English words not fashionable now — Our old Authors very vulgar persons — Was Shakspeare a pugi- list? — Old Dramatists used Cant words — Curious systems of Cant, ........ 20-26 ACCOUNT OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS USED BY VAGABONDS. Mendicant Fbeemasonbt — Hieroglyphics of Vagabonds — Maps used by Beggars — Account of a Cadger's Map — Explanation of the Hieroglyphics — Did the Gipsies invent them? — The Mur- derer's Signal on the Gallows, . . . . 1 7-32 XX CONTENTS. A SHORT HISTORY OF SLANG, OR THE VULGAR LAN- GUAGE OF FAST LII'F. Slang at Babylon and Nineveh— Old English Slang— Slang in the time of Cromwell, and in the Court of Charles II. — Swift and Arbuthnot fond of Slang— The origin of " Cabbage"— "The Real Simon Pure" — Tom Brown and Ned Ward — Did Dr Johnson compile a Slang Dictionary ? — John Bee's absurd ety- mology of Slang — The true origin of the term — Derived from the Gipsies — Burns and his fat friend, Grose — Slang used by all classes. High and Low— Slang in Parliament, and amongst our friends — New words not so reprehensible as old words bur- dened with strange meanings — The poor Foreigner's perplexity — Long and windy Slang words — Vulgar corruptions, . 33-42 Fashionable Slanq, ...... 42 Parliamentary Slang, ...... 45 Military and Dandy Slang, ..... 47 University Slano, ...... 48 Religiods Slanq, ....... 49 Legal Slang, or Slang amongst the Lawyers, ... 52 LiTERABY Slanq — Punch on " Slang and Sanscrit," . . S3 Theatrical Slang, or Slang both before and behind the curtain, 56 Civio Slako, ....... 57 Slang Terms fob Money — Her Majesty's coin is insulted by one hundred and thirty distinct Slang terms — Old Slang terms for money — The classical origin of Slang money-terms — The terms used by the Ancient Romans vulgarisms in the Nineteenth Century, ... .... .«S-6i Shopkeepers' Slang, . . . . . . f)i Workmen's Slang, or Slang in the workshop— Many Slang terms for money derived from operatives, .... 62 Slang Apologies for Oaths, or sham exclamations for passion and temper — Slang swearing, ..... 63 Slang Terms fob DRnKKENNtss, and the graduated scale of fuddle- ment and 'ntoxicatior, . ... 64 CONTENTS. XXi pias DIOTIONAUY OF MODERN SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS; many with their etymologies traced, together mth Uluslrations, and references to authorities, . . . 65-274 Some Account of tAb Back Slano, the secret language of Coster- mongers — The principle of the Back Slang — Boys and girls soon acquire it — The Back Slang unknown to the Police — Costermongers' terms for money — Arithmetic amongst the Costermongers, ...... 275-279 Glossary op the Back Slanq, ..... 280-284 Some Account op the Rhtmino Slang, the secret language of Chaunters and Patterera — The origin of the Rhyming Slang — Spoken principally by Vagabond Poets, Patterers, and Cheap Jacks — Patterers " well up " in Street Slang — Curious Slang Letter from a Chaunter, .... 285-288 Glossary of the Rhyming Slang, .... 289-292 The Bibliography op Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Language, or a list of the books which have been consulted in the com- pilation of this work, comprising nearly every known treatise upon the subject, • • . . . 203 -305 THE SLANG DICTIONARY. r t^i 15 u A N I UNIVKIJ.sn V OF OAl.lKOiiMA. THE HISTORY OF CANT OB THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF VAGABONDS. Cant and Slang are universal and world-wide. Nearly every nation on the face of the globe, polite and bar- barous, may be divided into two portions, the stationary and the wandering, the civilised and the uncivilised, the respectable and the scoundrel, — those who have fixed abodes and avaU themselves of the refinements of civilisation, and those who go from place to place picking up a precarious livelihood by petty sales, begging, or theft. This peculiarity is to be observed amongst the heathen tribes of the southern hemisphere, as well as in the oldest and most refined countries of Europe. As Mayhew very pertinently ' remarks, " It would appear, that not only are all races divisible into wanderers and settlers, but that each civilised or settled tribe has generally some wandering horde intermingled with and in a measure preying upon it." In South Africa, the naked and miserable Hottentots are pestered by the still more abject Son- quas; and it may be some satisfaction for us to know that our old enemies at the Cape, the Kafiirs, are troubled with a tribe of rascals called Fingoes, — the former term, we are informed by travellers, signifying beggars, and the latter wanderers and out- casts. In South America, and among the islands of the Pacific, matters are pretty much the same. Sleek and fat rascals, with not much inclination towards honesty, fatten, or rather fasten, like body insects, upon other rascals, who would be equally sleek and fat but for their vagabond dependents. Luckily for respect- able persons, however, vagabonds, both at home and abroad, shew certain outward peculiarities which distinguish them from 2 VA a A BONDS ALL OVER EUROPE. the great mass of lawful people off whom they feed and fatten. Personal observation, and a little research into books, enable me to mark these external traits. The wandering races are remark- able for the development of the bones of the face, as the jaws, cheek-bones, py lan)7uage in Pott't Ziffeuner in Europa und Asien, voL il, Halle, 1844. The Italian cant i« called Fmnrbesqvt, and the Portuguese. OaJao. See Franeitgut-MKhtl, Iheiionnaire fTArgot, Paris, 1856. ETYMOLOGY OF CANT. 3 secret language is termed Gergo. In England, as we all know, it is called Cant — often improperly Slang. Most nations, then, may boast, or rather lament, a vulgar tongue — formed principally from the national language — the hereditary property of thieves, tramps, and beggars, — the pests of civilised communities. The formation of these secret tongues vary, of course, with the circumstances surrounding the speakers. A writer in Notes and Queries * has well remarked, that " the investigation of the origin and principles of Cant and Slang language opens a curious field of inquiry, replete with consider- able interest to the pliilologist and the philosopher. It affords a remarkable instance of hng-ual contrivance, which, without the introduction of much arbitrary matter, has developed a system of communicating ideas, having all the advantages of a foreign language." An inquiry into the etymology of foreign vulgar secret tongues, and their analogy with that spoken in England, would be curious and interesting in the extreme ; but neither present space nor personal acquirements permit of the task, and therefore the writer confines himself to a short account of the origin of English Cant. The terms Cant and Canting were doubtless derived from chaunt or chaunting, — ^the " whining tone, or modulation of voice adopted by beggars, with intent to coax, wheedle, or cajole by pretensions of wretchedness." t For the origin of the other application of the word Cant, pulpit hypocrisy, we are indebted to a pleasant page in the Spectator, (No. 147 :) — "Cant is by some people derived from one Andrew Cant, who, they say, was a Presbyterian minister in some illiterate part of Scotland, who, by exercise and use, had obtained the faculty, alias gift, of talking in the pulpit in such a dialect that 'tis said he was • Vr Thos. Lawrence, woo promised nn Elt/mological Cant and Slang Dictionary Where IS till) book 1 t Richardson' t Diclionary. DIFFESENCB BETWEEN CANT AND SLANG. 4 understood by none but his own congregation,— and not by all of them. Since Master Cant's time it has been understood in a larger sense, and signifies all exclamations, -whinings, unusual tones, and, in fine, all praying and preaching like the unlearned of the Presbyterians." This anecdote is curious, if it is not cor- rect. It was the custom in Addison's time to have a fling at the true-blue Presbyterians, and the mention made by Whitelocke of Andrew Cant, a fanatical Scotch preacher, and the squib upon the same worthy, in Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence Displayed, may probably have started the whimsical etymology. As far as we are concerned, however, in the present inquiry. Cant was derived from chaunt, a beggar's whine ; chaunting being the recognised term amongst beggars to this day for begging orations and street whinings ; and chauntee, a street talker and tramp, the very term still used by strollers and patterers. The use of the word Cant, amongst beggars, must certainly have commenced at a very early date, for we find "to cante, to speake," in Harman's list of Rogues' Words in the year 1566 ; and Harrison about the same time,* in speaking of beggars and Gipsies, says, "they have devised a language among themselves which they name Canting, but others Pedlars' Frenche." Now the word Cant in its old sense, and Si-ANGt in its modem application, although used by good writers and persons of educa- tion as synonymes, are in reality quite distinct and separate terms. Cant, apart from religious hypocrisy, refers to the old secret language, by allegory or distinct terms, of Gipsies, thieves, tramps, and beggars. Slang represents that evanescent, vulgar language, ever changing with fashion and taste, which has princi- * Dacripiion of England^ prefixed to IhlinxhtiTs ChronieU. t The word Slano, as will be seen in the chapter upon that siibject, is purely a Gipsy terra, although now-o-daya it refers to low or vulgar language of any kind, other than cant Sijino and Gibbekish in the Gipsy language are synonymous; but, M English adoptions, have meanings very diffennt from that given to tnom in their TEE GIPSIES. 5 pally come into vogue during the last seventy or eighty years, spoken by persons in every grade of life, rich and poor, honest and dishonest* Cant is old ^ Slang is always modem and changing. To illustrate the difference : a thief in Cant language would term a horse a prancek or a prad ; while in Slang, a man of fashion would speak of it as a bit of blood, or a spanker, or a neat tit. a handkerchief, too, would be a billy, a fogle, or a KENT KAG, in the secret language of low characters ; whilst amongst vulgar persons, or those who aped their speech, it would be called a bag, a wipe, or a clout. Cant was formed for purposes of secrecy. Slang is indulged in from a desire to appear familiar with life, gaiety, town-humour, and with the transient nicknames and street jokes of the day. Both Cant and Slang, I am aware, are often huddled together as synonymes ; but they are distinct terms, and as such should be used. To the Gipsies beggars and thieves are undoubtedly indebted for their Cant language. The Gipsies landed in this country early in the reign of Henry VIII. They were at first treated as conjurors and magicians, — indeed, they were hailed by the popu- * lace with as much applause as a company of English theatricals usually receive on arriving in a distant colony. They came here with aU their old Eastern arts of palmistry, fortune - telling, doubling money by incantation and burial, — shreds of pagan idolatry; and they brought with them, also, the dishonesty of the lower caste of Asiatics, and the vagabondism they had acquired since leaving their ancient dwelling-places in the East many centuries before. They possessed, also, a language quite distinct from anything that had been heard in England, and they claimed the title of Egyptians, and as such, when their thievish wandering propensities became a public nuisance, were cautioned • " The vulgar tongue consiata of two parts : the first is the Cant Lanjifuage; the laecond, those burlesque phrases, quaint allusions, and nicknames for persons, things, and places, which, from long uninterrupted usage, are made classical by presciiptiou." — t»Vose"» IH'iiionary OJ' Oit Vulgar Tongue, ist edition, 178^. 6 THE GIPSY VAGABOND ALLIANCE. and proscribed in a royal proclamation by Henry VIII.* The Gipsies were not long in the country before they found native imitators. Vagabondism is peculiarly catching. The idle, the vagrant, and the criminal outcasts of society, caught an idea fi-om the so-called Egyptians — soon corrupted to Gipsies. They learned from them how to tramp, sleep under hedges and trees, to tell fortunes, and find stolen property for a consideration — frequently, as the saying runs, before it was lost They also learned the value and application of a secret tongue; indeed, aU the accompaniments of maunding and imposture, except thieving and begging, which were well known in this country long before the Gipsies paid it a visit, — perhaps the only negative good that can be said in their favour. Harman, in 1566, wrote a singular, not to say droll, book, entitled, A Caveat for commen Cvrsetors, vulgarly called Vaga- bones, newly augmented and inlarged, wherein the history and various descriptions of rogues and vagabonds are given, together with their canting tongue. This book, the earliest of the kind, gives the singular fact that within a dozen years after the landing of the Gipsies, companies of English vagrants were formed, places of meeting appointed, districts for plunder and begging operations marked out, and rules agreed to for their common management In some cases Gipsies joined the English gangs ; in others, English vagrants joined the Gipsies. The fellowship was found convenient and profitable, as both parties were aliens to the laws and customs of the country, living in a great measure in the open air, apart from the lawful public, and often meeting each other on the same by-path, or in the same retired valley ; — ^but seldom intermarrying, or entirely adopting each other's habits. The common people, too, soon began to consider them as of one family, — all rogues, and from Egjrpt. The secret language spoken by the Gipsies, principally Hindoo, and extremely bar- * "Outlandish people calling themselves ^^^fta?i«." 1530. THE ORIGIN OF CANT. barous to English ears, was found incomprehensible and very difficult to learn. The Gipsies, also, found the same difficulty with the English language. A rude, rough, and most singular compromise was made, and a mixture of Gipsy, Old English, newly-coined words, and cribbings from any foreign, and there- fcwe secret language, mixed and jumbled together, formed what has ever since been known as the canting language, or ped- LAEs' FRENCH ; or, during the past century, st Giles's geeek. Such was the origin of Cant ; and in illustration of its blend- ing with the Gipsy or Cingari tongue, dusky and Oriental from the sunny plains of Central Asia, I am enabled to give the accompanying list of Gipsy, and often Hindoo, words, with, in many instances, their English adoptions : — Gipty. BAMBOOZLE, to perplex or mis- lead by hiding. Modem Qipsy. BOSH, rubbish, nonsense, offal. Gipsy and Persian. CHEESE, thing or article, "That's the CHEESE," or thing. Qipsy and Hindoo. CHIVE, the tongxie. Gipiy. CUTA, a gold coin. Danvhian Gipsy. DADE, or Dadi, a father. Gipsy. DISTARABIN, a prison. Gipsy. GAD, or Gadsi, a wife. Gip^. English. BAMBOOZLE, to delude, cheat, or make a fool of any one. BOSH, stupidity, fooUshness. CHEESE, or cheesy, a first-rate or very good article. CHIVE, or CHIVET, a shout, orloud- tongued. COUTEB, a sovereign, twenty shil- lings. DADDY, nursery term for father.* STUEABIN, a prison. GAD, a female scold ; a woman wh« tramps over the country with a beggar or hawker. GIBBERISH, rapid and unmeaning GIBBERISH, the language of Gip- sies, synonymous with Slanq. Gipsy. • In those instances, indicated by a *, it is impossible to say whether or not wo are Indebted to the Gipsies for the terms. Dad, in Welsh, also signifies a father. Cur is stated to be a mere term of reproach, like ** Dog," which in all European languages has been applied in an abusive sense. Objections may also be raised against Gad and 8 VULGAR WORDS FROM THE OIPST. Gipsy. ISCHUR, SoHUR, or Chdh, a thief. CHpsy and Hindoo. LAB, a word. Gipsy. LOWE, or LowR, money. Gipsy and Wallachian. MAM I, a grandmother. Gipsy. MANQ, or Mauno, to beg. Gipsy and Hindoo. MORT, a fee woman, — one for common use amongst the male Gipsies, so appointed by Gipsy custom. Gipsy, MU, the mouth. Gipsy and Hindoo. MULL, to spoil or destroy. Gipsy. PAL, a brother. Gipsy. PANE, water. Gipsy. Hindoo, PAWNEE. RIG, a performance. Gipsy. ROMANY, speech or language. Spanish Gipsy. ROME, or RoMH, a man. Gipsy and Coptic. ROMEE, a woman. Gipsy. SLANG, the language spoken by Gipsies. Gipsy. TAWNO, little. Gipsy. TSCHIB, or JiBB, the tongue. Gipsy and Hindoo. English. CUR, a mean or dishonest man. LOBS, words. LOWRE, money. Ancient Cant. MAMMY, or Mamma, a mother, formerly sometimes used for grandmother. MAUND, to beg. MORT, or MoTT, a prostitute. MOO, or Mtjn, the mouth. MULL, to spoil, or bungle. PAL, a partner, or relation. PARNEY, rain. RIG, a frolic, or " spree." ROMANY, the Gipsy language. RUM, a good man, or thing. In the Robbers' language of Spain, (partly Gipsy,) BUM signifies a harlot. RUMY, a good woman or girl. SLANG, low, vulgar, unauthorised language. TANNY, Teent, Uttle. JIBB, the tongue ; Jabber,* quick- tongued, or fast talk. Here, then, we have the remarkable fact of several words of pure Gipsy and Asiatic origin going the round of Europe, passing into this country before the Reformation, and coming down to ua through numerous generations purely in the mouths of the people. They have seldom been written or used in books, and simply as vulgarisms have they reached our time. Only a few • jABBEa, I am reminded, may be only another form of gabber, gab, very common In Old English, from the Anglo-S-'xon, o.ebban. rULOAR WORDS FROM FHE GIPSY. g are now Cant, and some are household words. The word jockey, as applied to a dealer or rider of horses, came from the Gipsy, and means in that language a whip. Our standard dictionaries give, of course, none but conjectural etymologies. Another word, BAMBOOZLE, has been a sore diflSculty with lexicographers. It is not in the old dictionaries, although extensively used in familiar or popular language for the last two centuries ; in fact, the very word that Swift, Butler, L'Estrange, and Arbuthnot would pick out at once as a telling and most serviceable term. It is, as we have seen, from the Gipsy ; and here I must state that it was Boucher who first drew attention to the fact, although in his remarks on the dusky tongue he has made a ridiculous mistake by concluding it to be identical with its offspring, Cant. Other parallel instances, with but slight variations from the old Gipsy meanings, could be mentioned ; but sufficient examples have been adduced to shew that Marsden, the great Oriental scholar in the last century, when he declared before the Society of Anti- quaries that the Cant of English thieves and beggars had nothing to do with the language spoken by the despised Gipsies, was in error. Had the Gipsy tongue been analysed and committed to writing three centuries ago, there is every probability that many scores of words now in common use could be at once traced to its source. Instances continually occur now-a-days of street vulgar- isms ascending to the drawing-rooms of respectable society. Why, then, may not the Gipsy-vagabond alliance three centuries ago ha^e contributed its quota of common words to popular speech 1 I feel confident there is a Gipsy element in the English lan- guage hitherto unrecognised ; slender it may be, but not, there- fore, unimportant. " Indeed," says Moore the poet, in a humorous little book, Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress, 1819, "the Gipsy language, with the exception of such terms as relate to their own pecuHar customs, differs but little from the regular Flash or Cant ian- lO BORROW ON THE OIPST LANOUAGB. guage." But this was magnifying the importance of the alliance. Moore knew nothing of the Gipsy tongue other than the few Cant words put into the mouths of the beggars in Beaumont and Fletcher's Comedy of the Beggar's Bush, and Ben Jonson's Masque of the Gipsies Metamorphosed, — ^hence his confounding Cant with Gipsy speech, and appealing to the Glossary of Cant for so-called " Gipsy" words at the end of the Life of Bamfylde Moore Carew, to bear him out in his assertioa Still his remark bears much truth, and proof would have been found long ago if any scholar had taken the trouble to examine the " barbarous jargon of Cant," and to have compared it with Gipsy speecL As George Borrow, in his Account of the Gipsies in Spain, eloquently concludes his second volume, speaking of the connexion of the Gipsies with Europeans : — " Yet from this temporary association were pro- duced two results : European fraud became sharpened by coming into contact with Asiatic craft ; whilst European tongues, by im- perceptible degrees, became recruited vnth various words, (some of them wonderfully expressive ) many of which have long been stumbling-blocks to the philologist, who, whilst stigmatising them as words of mere vulgar invention, or of unknown origin, has been far from dreaming that a little more research or reflection would have proved their affinity to the Sclavonic, Persian, or Eomaic, or perhaps to the mysterious object of his veneration, the Sanscrit, the sacred tongue of the palm-covered regions of Ind; words originally introduced into Europe by objects too miserable to occupy for a moment his lettered attention, — the despised denizens of the tents of Roma." But the Gipsies, their speech, their character — bad enough, as all the world testifies — their history, and their religious belief, have been totally disregarded, and their poor persons buffeted and jostled about until it is a wonder that any trace of origin or na- tional speech exists in them. On the Continent they received better attention at the hands of learned men. Their language THE INVENTOR OF CANTING NOT HANGED. 1 1 was taken down, their history traced, and their extraordinary customs and practice of living in the open air, and eating raw or putrid meat, explained. They ate reptiles and told fortunes because they had learnt to do so through their forefathers centu- ries back in Hindostan ; and they devoured carrion because the Hindoo proverb — " That which God kills is better than that hilled hy man"* — was still in their remembrance. Grellman, a learned German, was their principal historian, and to him we are almost entirely indebted for the little we know of their language.t The first European settlement of the Gipsies was in the provinces ad- joining the Danube, Moldau and Theiss, where M. Cogalniceano, in his Essai sur les Cigains de la Moldo- Valachie, estimates them at 200,000. Not a few of our ancient and modem Cant and Slang terms are WaUachian and Greek words, brought in by these wanderers from the East. See Cotjtek, Deum, Boung, (Harman,) hOWR, &c. Gipsy, then, started, and partially merged into Cant ; and the old story told by Harrison and others, that the first inventor of canting was hanged for his pains, would seem to be a fable, for jargon as it is, it was, doubtless, of gradual formation, like all other languages or systems of speech. The Gipsies at the pres- ent day all know the old Cant words, as well as their own tongue, — or rather what remains of it. As Borrow states, " The dialect of the English Gipsies is mixed with English words." { Those of the tribe who frequent fairs, and mix with English tramps, readily learn the new words, as they are adopted by what Har- man calls " the fraternity of vagabonds." Indeed, the old Cant is a common language to vagrants of all descriptions and origin scattered over the British Isles. * This very proverb was mentioned by a young Gipsy to Crabb, a few years ago. — Qipsie!^ Advocate, p. 14. + I except, of course, the numerous writers who have followed Grellman, and based their researches upon his labours. t Gipsies in Sptmi, vol. i., p. 18. 12 OLD OANT WORDS STILL USED. Ancient English cant has considerably altered since the first dictionary was compiled by Harman in 1566. A great many words are unknown in the present tramps' and thieves' vernacular. Some of them, however, bear stiU their old definitions, while others have adopted fresh meanings, — to escape detection, I sup- pose. " Abraham-mak" is yet seen in our modem sham abka- HAM, or PLAY THE OLD SOLDIEE — i. «., to feign sickness or dis- tress. " Autum" is still a church or chapel amongst Gipsies; and " BECK," a constable, is our modem Cant and Slang beek, a pohce- man or magistrate. " Bene," or bone, stands for good in Seven Dials and the back streets of Westminster; and "bowse" is our modem booze, to drink or fuddle. A " bowsing ken " was the old Cant term for a public-house ; and boozing ken, in modem Cant, has precisely the same meaning. " Bufe " was then the term for a dog, now it is buffer, — frequently applied to men. " Cassan " is both old and modern Cant for cheese ; the same may be said of " chattes " or chatts, the gallows. " Cofe," or cove, is still the vulgar synonyme for a man. " Drawees " was hose, or " hosen," — now applied to the lining for trousers. " Dudes" was Cant for clothes ; we now say dudds. " Flag" is stUl a fourpenny-piece ; and " fylche" means to rob. " Ken" is a house, and " lick" means to thrash ; " peancer " is yet known amongst rogues as a horse ; and " to peig," amongst high and low, is to steal. Three centuries ago, if one beggar said anything disagreeable to another, the person annoyed would say, " STOW you," or hold your peace ; low people now say, stow IT, equivalent to " be quiet" " Teine" is still to hang; " wyx" yet stands for a penny. And many other words, as wiU be seen in the Dictionary, still retain their ancient meaning. As specimens of those words which have altered their original Cant signification, I may instance " chete," now written cheat, Chete was in ancient cant what chop is in the Canton-Chinese, — an almost inseparable adjunct Everything was termed a CHANGES IN MEANINGS OF OLD CANT WORDS. 1 3 CHETE, and qualified by a substantive-adjective, which shewed ■what kind of a chete was meant ; for instance, " ceashino- CHETEs" were teeth ; a " moffling-chete," a napkin ; a " grunt- INGS-CHETE," a pig, &c., (fec. Cheat now-a-days means to defraud or swindle, and lexicographers have tortured etymology for an original — but without success. Escheats and escheatours have been named, but with great doubts; indeed, Stevens, the learned commentator on Shakspeare, acknowledged that he " did not recollect to have met with the word cheat in our ancient writers."* Cheat, to defraud, then, is no other than an old Cant term some- what altered in its meaning,+ and as such it should be described in the next etymological dictionary. Another instance of a change in the meaning of the old Cant, but the retention of the word, is seen in " cly," formerly to take or steal, now a pocket ; — ^remembering a certain class of low characters, a curious con- nexion between the two meanings will be discovered. " Make " was a halfpenny ; we now say mag, — make being modern Cant for appropriating, — " convey the wise it call." " Milling" stood for stealing, it is now a pugilistic term for fighting or beating. " Nab" was a head, — low people now say nob, the former mean- ing, in modern Cant, to steal or seize. " Pek" was meat, — we still say peckish, when hungry. " Peygges, dronken Tinkers or beastly people," as old Harman wrote, would scarcely be under- stood now ; a PEIG, in the 19th century, is a pickpocket or thief " Quiee," or QUEEE, like cheat, was a very common prefix, and meant bad or wicked, — it now means odd, curious, or strangfe ; but to the ancient Cant we are indebted for the word, which etymologists should remember.J " Eome," or eum, formerly *Shakfl. HentylV., part ii., act ii., 8cene4. t It is easy to see how cheat became synonymous with **fraud," when we rememhor that it was one of the most common words of the greatest class of cheats in the country. } I am 1-eminded by an eminent philologist that the origin of queer is seen in the fft7?ian QUER, cro'iked, — hence "odd." I agree with this etymology, but still have reason to believe that tlie word was first used in this country in a Cant sense. Is it 14 OJ^D CANT WORDS ENTIRELY OBSOLETE. meant good, or of the first quality, and was extensively used like cheat and queer, — indeed as an adjective it was the opposite of the latter. Rum now means curious, and is synonymous with queer; thus, — a " EUMMY old fellow," or a " queer old man." Here again we see the origin of an every-day word, scouted by lexicographers and snubbed by respectable persons, but still a word of frequent and popular use. " Yannam" meant bread ; PANNUM is the word now. Other instances could be pointed out. but they will be observed in the Dictionary. Several words are entirely obsolete. " Alybbeg " no longer means a bed, nor " askew " a cup. " Booget,"* now-a-days, would not be understood for a basket ; neither would " gan " pass current for mouth. " Fullams" was the old Cant term for false or loaded dice, and although used by Shakspeare in this sense, is now unknown and obsolete. Indeed, as Tom Moore somewhere remarks, the present Greeks of St Giles's, themselves, would be thoroughly puzzled by many of the ancient canting songs, — taking, for example, the first verse of an old favourite — " Bing out, bien Morta, and toure and toure, Bing out, bien Morts, and toure ; For all your duds are bing'd awast ; The bien cove hath the loure." + But I think I cannot do better than present to the reader at once an entire copy of the first Canting Dictionary ever compOed. As before mentioned, it was the work of one Thomas Harman, a gentleman who lived in the days of Queen Elizabeth. Some noentioned anywhere as a respectable term before 1500? If not, it had a vulgar or Cant introduction into this country. * lioooET properly signifies a leathern wallet, and is probably derived from the loi* Latin BU1.OA, A tinker's budget is from the same source. t Which, litenilly translated, means — " Go out, good girls, and look and see. Go out, good girls, and see ; For all your clothes are carried away. And the srood man has the money." THE ' OLDEST "SOO UES" DICTION A RY." 15 writers have remarked that Decker "■ was the first to compile a Dictionary of the vagabonds' tongue; whilst Borrow, f and Thomas Moore, the poet, stated that Eichard Head performed that service in his Life of an English Rogue, published in the year 1680. All these statements are equally incorrect, for the first attempt was made more than a century before the latter work was issued. The quaint spelling and old-fashioned phrase- ology are preserved, and the reader will quickly detect many vulgar street words, old acquaintances, dressed in antique garb. J ABRAHAM-MEN be those that fayn themselves to have beene mad, and have bene kept either in Bethelem, or in some other piyson a good time. ALYBBEG,a.heAA.e. ASKEW, a cuppe. AVTEM,&chmc\ia. A UTEM MORTES, married women as chaste as a cowe. BAUDTE BASKETS bee women who goe with baskets and capcases on their armes, wherein they have laces, pinnes, nedles, whyte inkel, and round sylke gyrdels of all colours. BECK, [Beek,] a constable. BELLY-CHETE, apron. BENE, good. Benar, better. BENSHIP, very good. BLETINO CHETE, a calfe or sheepe. BOOGET, a travelling tinker's baskete. BORDE, a shilUng. £0 WW, a purse. [Fncstc, pong ; Wallachian, 'pxva^; see note, page 11 .] The oldest form of this word is in Ulphilas, FUQQS ; it exists also in the Greek, Trovyyfj, BOWSE, drink. BOWSING-KEN, an alehouse. BUFE, [buffer, a man,] a dogge. , BYNGE A WASTE, go you hence. * Who wrote about the year 1610. t Qipgiei in Spain, vol. i., p. i8. Borrow ftirther commits himself by remarking that " Head's Vocabulary has always been accepted as the speech of the English Gipsies." Nothing of the kind. Head professed to have lived with the Gipsies, but in reality filched his words from Decker and Brome. t Tile modem meanings of a few of the old Cai.t words are Eiven within br.inket«. l6 THE OLDEST "SOOUEir DICTIONARY^ CACKLINGCHETE, a coke, [cock,] or capon. CASS AN, [cassam,] cheese. CASTERS, a cloake. CATETH, " the vpright Cofe cateth to the Eoge," [probably a shortenuig or misprint of Canteth.^ CHATTES, the gallowes. CHETE, [see what has been previously said about this word.] CL Y, [a pocket,] to take, receive, or have. COFE, [cove,] a person. COMMISSION, [mish,] a shirt. COUNTERFET CRANKE, these that do counterfet the Cranke be yong knaves and yonge harlots, that deeply dissemble the falling sickness. CRANKE, [cranky, foolish,] falling evil, [or wasting sickness.] CRASHINO-CHETES, teeth. CUPFEN, a manne. [A cuif in Northumberland and Scotland signifies a lout or awkward fellow.] DARKEMANS, the night. DELL, a yonge wench. DEWSEA-VYLE, the countrey. DOCK, to deflower. BOXES, harlots. DRA WERS, hosen. DUDES, [or dudds,] clothes. FAMBLES, handes. FA MBLING-CHETE, a ring on one's hand. FLAGG, a groat. F RATER, a beggar wyth a false paper. FRESHE-WATERMARINERS, these kind of caterpillers counterfet great losses on the sea : — their shippes were drowned in the piayne of Salisbury. FYLCHE, to robbe ; Fylchman, [a robber.] GAGE, a quart pot. CAN, a mouth. OtSNTRY COFE, a noble or gentle man. GENTRY-COFES-KEN, a noble or gentle man's honse. GENTRY MORT, a, nohleOT gentle woman.. GERRY, excrement. GLASYERS, eyes. GLYMMAR, fyer. QRANNAM, come. THE OLDEST "ROGUES' DICTION ARY." 1 7 GRUNTINO-CIIETE, a pygge. 6YB, a writing. GYGER, [jigger,] a dore. HEARING-CUETES, eares. JARKE, a seale. JARKEMAN, one who make writings and set sealea for [counterfeit] licences and passports. KEN, a house. KYNCHEN CO, [or cove,'] a young boye trained up like a " Synching Morte." [From the German diminutive Kindschen.l KYNCHING MORTE, is a little gyrle, carried at their mothers' backe in a slate, or sheete, who brings them up sauagely. LAG, water. LAG OF DUDES a bucke [or basket] of clothe*. LAGE, to washe. LAP, butter, mylke, or whej. LIGHTMANS, the day. LOWING-CHETE, a cowe. LOWRE, money. [From the WallacMan Gipsy word LOWE, coined money. See M. Cogalnioeano's Essai sur les Cigains de la Moldo- Valachie,] LTJBBARES, — " sturdy LMarea," country bumpkins, or men of a low degree. L YB-BEG, a bed. L YOKE, [lick,] to beate. LYP, to lie down. LYPKEN, a house to lye in. MAKE, [mag,] a halfpenny. MAROERI PRATER, a hen. MILLING, to steale, [by sending a child in at a window.] MOFFLING-CHETE, a napkin. MORTES, [motts,] harlots. MYLL, to robbe. MYNT, gold. NAB, [nob,] a heade. NABCHET, a hat or cap. NASE, dronken. NOSEGENT, a nunne. PALLYARD, a borne beggar, [who counterfeits sickness, or incurable sores. They are mostly Welshmen, Harman says.] PARAM, mylke. t8 THE OLDEST "ROGUES' DICTIONARY.' PAT RICO, a priest. PATRICOS KINCHEN, a pygge, [a satirical hit at the church, Patrico meaning a parson or priest, and Einchen his little boy or girl.] PEK, [peckish,] meat POPPELARS, porrage. PRAT, a buttocke. PRATLINOCHETE, a toung. PRA UNCER, a horse. PRIGGER OP PRA UNCERS be horse-stealers, for to prigge signifieth in their language to steale, and a Prauncer is a horse, so being put together, the matter was playn. [Thus writes old Thomas Harman, who concludes his description of this order of " pryggers," by very quietly saying, " I had the best gelding stolen out of my pasture, that I had amongst others, whyle this book was first a printing."] PR YGGES, dronken Tinkers, or beastly people. Q.UACKING-CUETE, a drake or duck. QUAROMES, a body. QUIER, [queer,] badde. [See what has been previously said about this word.] Q UTER CRA MPRINGES, boltes or fetters. QUIER CUE FIN, the iustice of peace. QUYER-KYN, a pryson house. RED SHANKE, a drake or ducke. ROGER, a goose. ROME, goode, [now curious, noted, or remarkable in any way. Rum is the modem orthography.] ROME BOUSE, [rum booze,] wyne. ROME MORT, the Queene, [Elizabeth.] ROME VYLE, [or Rum-viUe,] London. RUFF PECK, baken, [short bread, common in old times at farm-houses.] RUFFMANS, the woods or bushes. SALOMON, an alter or masse. SKYPPER, a bame. SLATE, a sheete or shetes. SMELLING-OEETE, a nose. SMELLINGCHETE, a garden or orchard. SNOWT FA YRE, [said of a woman who has a pretty face or is comely.] STALL, [to initiate a beggar or rogue into the rights and privileges of the canting order. Harman relates that when an upright man, or initiated first-class rogue, " mete any beggar, whether he be sturdy or impotent, he will demand of him whether ever he was 'stalled to the roge' or no. If he say he was, he will know of whom, and his name yt stalled him. And if he be not learnedly able to shew him the whole circumstance X THE OLDEST "ROO UES" DICTION A RT." 1 9 thereof, he will spoyle him of his money, either of his best garment, if it be worth any money, and haue him to the bowsingken : which is, to some typplinghouse next adjoyninge, and layth there to gage the best thing that he hath for twenty pence or two shillings : this man obeyeth for feare of beatinge. Then dooth this upright man call for a gage of bowse, which is a quarte potte of drink, and powres the same vpon his peld pate, adding these words, — I, 0. P., do stalle thee, W. T., to the Roge, and that from henceforth it shall be lawf ull ioj thee to cant, that is, to aske or begge for thi lining in al places." Something like this treatment is the popular idea of freemasonry, and what schoolboys term "freeing."] ST AM PES, leggea. STAMPERS, shoes. STA VLINO-KEN, a house that will receyue stollen waretk STAWLINGE-KENS, tipplmg-houses. STOW YOU, [stow it,] hold your peace. STRIKE, to steale. STROMMELL, strawe. SWADDER, or Pedler, [a man who hawks goods.] THE HIGH PAD, the highway. THE RUFFIAN CLT THEE, the devil take thee. TOOEMANS, [togg,] a cloake. TOQMAN, a, coate. TO BOWSE, to Aiiaiie. TO CANTE, to speake. - TO CLT THE GERKE, to be whipped. TO COUCH A HOGSHEAD, to lie down and slepe. TO CUTTE, to say. \Cut it, cut it short, &c., are modem slang phrases.] TO CUT BENE WHYDDES, to speake or give good words. TO CUTTE QUYER WHYDDES, to giue euil words or euil language. TO CUT BENLE, to speak gentle. TO DUP YE OJGER, [jigger,] to open the dore. TO FYLCHE, to robbe. TO HEVE A BOUGH, to robbe or rifle a boweth, [booth.] TO MA UNDE, to aske or require. TO MILL A KEN, to robbe a house. TO NYQLE, [coition.] TO NYP A BOUNG, [nip, to steal,] to cut a purse. TO SKOWER THE CRAMPRINOES, to weare boltes or fettew. ' TO STALL, to make or ordam. TO THE RUFFIAN, to the Devih 20 "JAWBREAKERS" USED IN CANT. TO TOWRE, to see. TRYNINO, [trine,] hansing. TYB OP THE BUTERY, a goose. WALKING MORTE, womene, [who pac SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 79 BLUNT, money. It has been said that this terin is from the French blowd, sandy or golden colour, and that a parallel may be found in brown or BROWNS, the slang for halfpence. Far-fetched as this etymology may be, it is doubtless correct, as it is borne out by the analogy of similar expressions. Cf. blanquillo, a word used in Morocco and Southern Spain for a small Moorish coin. The "asper" (asTTpav) of Constan- tinople is called by the Turks akcueh, i.e., " little white." See also Winn, (Harman,) above, p. 20. BLURT OUT, to speak from impulse, and without reflection. — SKdkspeare, j~B.OARD-OF-GREEN-CLOTH, a facetious synonyme for a card-table. BOB, a shilling. Formerly bobstick, which may have been the original. BoB-A-NOB, a shilling ahead. Query, if qonnected with Sir Eob. Walpole, as Joet is with Joseph Hume ? BOB, " s' help my bob," a street oath, equivalent to "so help me God." Other words are used in street language for a similarly evasive purpose, ».«., OAT, GREENS, TATUR, &c., all equally profane and disgusting. BOB IT, drop it, give it up. BOBBERY, a squabble, tumult. — Anglo-Indian. BOBBISH, very well, clever, spruce. " How are you doing ? " "Oh I pretty BOBBISH." — Old, BOBBY, a policeman. Both BOBBT and peeler were nicknames given to the new police, in allusion to the Christian and surnames of the late Sir Robert Peel, who was the prime mover in effecting their introduction and improvement. The term bobbt is, however, older than the Saturday Reviewer imagines. The official square-keeper, who is always armed with a cane to drive away idle and disorderly urchins, has, time out of mind, been called by the said urchins, bobbt t/ie Beadle. Bobby is also, I may remark, an old English word for striking or hitting, a quality not unknown to policemen. — See ffalliwell's Dictionary. BODKIN, a small, or young person, sitting in the centre, between two others, in a carriage, is said "to ride bodkin." Amongst sporting men, applied to a person who takes his turn between the sheets on alternate nights, when the hotel has twice as many visitors as it can comfortably lodge. BODY-SNATCHER, a bailiff or runner : snatch, the trick by which the bailiff captures the delinquent. BODY-SNATCHEK, a cat-stealer. BOG-ORANGES, potatoes. BOG, or Boa-HOUSE, a privy as distinguished from a water-closet. — School term. In the Inns of Court, I am informed, the term is very common. BOG-TROTTER, satirical name for an Irishman.— ilfie^e. Camden, how- ever, speaking of the "debateable land" on the borders of England and Scotland, says, " both these dales breed notable boo-trotters." BOLUS, an apothecary. BOILERS, or Brompton boilers, the Slang name given to the New Ken- sington Museum and School of Art, in allusion to the peculiar form ^uJehicfUC- 80 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN of the buildings, and therfact of their being mainly composed of, and covered with, sheet iron. — See peppek-boxes. BOLT, to run away, decamp, or abscond. BOLT, to swallow without chewing. BOMBAY DUCKS ; in the East India Company's army the Bombay regi- menta were so designated. The name is now given to a dried fish, (bummelow,) much eaten by natives and Europeans in Western India. —Anglo-Indian. BONE, to steal or appropriate what does not belong to you. Boned, seized apprehended. — Old. BONE-PICKER, a footman. BONES, TO BATTLE THE BONES, to play at dice ; also called ST mjan's bones. BONES, " he made no bones of it," he did not hesitate, i.e., undertook and finished the work without difficulty, " found no bones in the jelly." — Ancietit, vide Cotgrave. BONIFACE, landlord of a tavern or inn. BONNET, a gambling cheat. " A man who sits at a gaming-table, and appears to be playing against the table ; when a stranger enters, the BONNET generally wins." — Times, Nov. 17, 1856. Also, a pretence, or make-believe, a sham bidder at auctions, one who metaphorically blinds or BONNETS others. — See the following. BONNET, to strike a man's cap or hat over his eyes. BONNETER, one who induces another to gamble. BOOBY-TRAP, a favourite amusement of boys at school. It oonsiBts in placing a pitcher, of water on the top of a door set ajar for the pur- pose ; the person whom they wish to drench is then enticed to pass through the door, and receives the pitcher tmd its contents on his un- lucky head. Books are sometimes used. BOOK, an arrangement of bets for and against, chronicled in a pocket-book made for that purpose; " making a book upon it," a commim phrase to denote the general arrangement of a person's bets on a race. " That does not suit my book," i.e., does not accord with my other arrange- ments. The principle of making a book, or bettino round, as it is sometimes termed, is to lay out a previously-determined sum against every horse in the race, or as many as possible ; and should the book- maker GET bound, i.e., succeed in laying against as many horses as will more than balance the odds laid, he is certain to be a winner. — See Hedge. BOOKED, caught, fixed, disposed of. — Term in Book-keeping. Bone, good, excellent <[>, the vagabond's hieroglyphic for bone, or good, chalked by them on houses aud street comers, as a hint to succeeding beggars. French, BON. Bone-grubber, a person who hunts dust-holes, gutters, and all likely spots for refuse bones, which he sells at the rag-shops, or to the bone- grinders. SLANG, CANT, AND VULQAR WORDS. 8 1 BOOKS, a pack of cards. Term iised by professional card-players. — iS«e Devil's Books. BOOK-HOLDER, a prompter.— rAcaii-ica?. BOOM, " to top one's BoOH off," to be off, or start in a certain direction. — Sea. BOOM-PASSENQER, a sailor's Slang term for a convict on board ship. — Sea. BOO^E r-dia^ Ancient Cant, bowse. Booze, or suoe-casa, a public-house. BQOiiii, to^rink, or more properly, to use another Slang term, to "lush," vifc, to drink continually, untU drunk, or nearly so. The term is an old one. Hanman, in Queen Elizabeth's days, speaks of " bousinq (or boozing) and belly-oheere." The term was good English in the four- teenth century, and came from the Dutch, BUYZEN, to tipple. BOOZING-KEN, a beer-shop, a low public-house. — Ancient. BOOZY, intoxicated or fuddled. BORE, a troublesome friend or acquaintance, a nuisance, anything which wearies or annoys, so called from his unvaried and pertinacious push- ing. The Gradus ad Cantdbrigiam suggests the derivation of bore from the Greek Bdpos, a burden. Shahpeare uses it, King Henry VIII. 1.1— " at this inBtant Ho BORES me with some trick." Orose speaks of this word as being much in fashion about the year 1780-81, and states that it vanished of a sudden, without leaving a trace behind. Not so, burly Grose, the term is still in favour, and is as piquant and expressive as ever. Of the modern sense of the word BORE, the Prince Consort made an amusing and effective use in his masterly address to the British Association, at Aberdeen, Septembei 14, 1869. He said, (as reported by the Times :) — "I will not weary you by further examples, with which most of you are better acquainted than I am myself, but merely express my satisfaction that there should exist bodies of men who will bring the well-considered and under- stood wants of science before the public and the Government, who will even hand round the becrging-box, and expose themselves to refusals and rebuffs, to which all beggars all liable, with the certainty besides of being considered great bobes. Please to recollect that this species of " bore *' is a most useful animal, well adapted for the ends f jr which nature intended him. He alone, by constantly returning to the charge, and repeating the same truths and the same requests, succeeds in awakening attention to the cause which he advocates, and obtains that hearing which is granted him at last for self- protectiou, as the minor evil compared to his importunity, but which is requisite to make his cause imderstood." BORE, {Pugiliatic,) to press a man to the ropes of the ring by superior weight. BOSH, nonsense, stupidity. — Oipsy and Persian. Also pure Turkish, bosh LAKKRDi, empty talk. A person, in the Saturday Review, has stated that bosh is coeval with Morier's novel, Hadji Babi, which was pub- lished in 1828; but this is a blunder. The term was used in this country as early as 1760, and may be found in the Student, vol. ii., p. 21 7. A correspondent asserts that this colloquial expression is from the Qerman bosh, or bossch, answering to our word " swipes." 82 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN BOSKY, inebriated.— £roMScAo?-^ BRAIN-CANISTER, the h.eaA.—Pngaiaic. BRAMBLE-GELDER, a derisive appellation for an agriculturist — Suffolk. ^f-wt- 1 )hjKu-<) Brace up, to pawn stolen goods. Bracelets, handcuffs. Brad-fakikq, playing at cards. Probably from broads. Bbaggadooio, three months' imprisonment as a reputed thief or old offen- der, — sometimes termed a DOSE, or a dollop. — Household Words, voL i-,p.579- 84 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN BRANDY PAWNEE, brandy and via.tet.— Anglo-Indian. BBAJf-NEW quite new. Properly, Bnvt, beajjd, or Fire-new, i.e., fresh from the anvil, BRASS, money. BRASS, impudence. In 1803 some artillery-men stationed at Norwich were directed to prove some brass ordnance belonging to the city. To the report delivered to the corporation was appended this note : — " N.B. — It is customary for the corporal to have the old metal when any of the pieces burst." Answer. — " The corporation is of opinion that the corporal does not want brass." BRAZEN-FACED, impudent, shameless. See BRASS. Such a person is said " to have rubbed his face with a brass candlestick." BRAZIL, a hard red wood ; " hard as Brazil," a common expression. Q,iMrU» in his Emblems says : — " Thou know'st my brittle temper's prone to break. Are my bones brazil or my flesh of oak ? " BREAD-BAGS, a nickname given in the army and navy to any one con- nected with the victualling department, as a purser, or purveyor in the Commissariat. BREAD-BASKET, dumpling-depot, viotuallino-office, &o., are terms given by the " Fancy" to the digestive organ. BREAK-DOWN, a noisy dance, and violent enough to break the floor down ; a jovial, social gathering, a flare up; in Ireland, a wedding — (Qy. American ?) "BREAK ONE'S BACK," a figurative expression, implying bankruptcy, or the crippling of a person's means. " A story is current of a fashionable author answering a late and rather violent knock at his door one evening. A coal-heaver wanted to know if the genllo- man would like a cheap ton of coals ; he was sorry for troubling liim so late, but ' the party as had a-ordered the two ton and a-half couldn't be found,' although he had driven his * waggon for six blessed hours up and down the neighbourhood. Five-and-twenty is the price, but yer shall have them for 20s.' Our author was not to bo tempted, he had heard of the trick before ; so bidding the man go away from his house, he shut the door. The man, however, lingered there, expatiating on the quidity of his coala — • Acterly givin 'em away, and the gent won't have 'em,' said he, addressing the neighbourhood in a loud voice; and tlie last that waa heard of him w:is his anything but sweet voice whistling through the key-hole, * WiU eighteen bob BREAK YER BACK?' " BREAK SHINS, to borrow money. BREAK UP, the conclusion of a performance of any kind — originally a school term. BREAKY-LEG, a shilling. BREAKY-LEG, strong drink ; " he 'a been to Bungay fair, and BROKE BOTH HIS LEQ8," i.e., got drunk. In the ancient Egyptian language the _-^. , determinative character in the hieroglyphic veib ) ra'^^Pv^d " ^ ^® drunk," has the significant form of the {'~_^____^ leg of a man being amputated. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 85 BBEECHED, on to have the bags off, to have plenty of money ; " to be well BREECHED," to be in good circumstances. BREECHES, "to wear the bbbkoheb," said of a wife who usurps the husband's prerogative. BREEF, probably identical with brief, q. v., a plan of cheating at cards ; thus described in an old book of games of about 1 720 : — " Take a pack of cards and open them, then take out all the honours . . . and cut a little from the edges of the rest all aUke, so as to make the honours broader than the rest, so that when your adversary cuts to you, you are certain of an honour. When you cut to your adversary cut at the ends, and then it is a chance if you cut him an honour, because the cards at the ends are all of a length. Thus you may make breefs end-ways, as well aa side- . ways." BREEKS, breeches. — Scotch, now common. BRICK, a "jolly good fellow ;" " a regular BRICK," a staunch fellow. YK'^ *' I bonneted Whewell when we gave the Rads their gruel. And taught them to eschew all their aiidresses to the Queen. If again they try it on, why to floor them I'll make one. Spite of Peeler or of Don, like a brick and a Bean." \^ _ — The Jolly Bachelors, Cambridge, 184a. Said to be derived from an expression of Aristotle's — TeTpayavos avrfp. A recently current story informs us that Lillywhite, the cricketer, was originally a brickmaker, and that from him a " stumping bowl " acquired the name of a "regular brick." BRIDGE, a cheating trick at cards, by which any particular card is cut by previously curving it by the pressure of the hand. Used in France as well as in England, and termed in the Parisian Argot faire le font. BRIEF, a pawnbroker's duplicate. Derived from the following : — BRIEFS, cards constructed on a cheating principle. See bridge, concaves and CONVEXES, longs and shorts, reflectors, &;c. From the German, briefe, which Baron Heinecken says was the name given to the cards manufactured at Ulm. Brief is also the synonyme for a card in the German Rothwahch dialect, and briefen to play at cards. " Item — beware of the Joners, (gamblers,) who practise Beseflery with the BRIEF, (cheating at cards,) who deal falsely and cut one for the other, cheat with Boglein and spies, pick one brief from the ground, and another from a cupboard," &c. — Liber Yagatorum, ed. by Martin Luther, in 1529. English translation, by J. C. Hotten, i860, p. 47. See BREBF. BRIM, a violent irascible woman, as inflammable and unpleasant as brim- stone, from which the word is contracted. BRINEY, the sea. BRITT, the street shortening for the Britannia Theatre. BRISKET-BEATER, a Roman Catholic. BROAD - COOPER, a person employed by brewers to negotiate with pubUcans. BROADS, cards. Broadsman, a card-sharper. 86 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN 'BROAD AND SHALLOW," an epithet applied to the so-caUed "Broad Church," in contradistinction to the " High " and " Low " Churches. See HIOH AND DRY. BROAD-FENCER, card-seUer at races. BROSIER, a bankrupt. — Cheshire. Bkosier-mt-DAME, Bchool term, imply- ing a clearing of the housekeeper's larder of provisions, in revenge for stinginess. — Eton. BROTHER-CHIP, fellow carpenter. Also, brother- whip, a fellow coach- man : and buoiuer-blade, of the same occupation or calling— originally a fellow-soldier. BROWN, a halfpenny.— Sec blunt. BROWN, "to do BROWN," to do well or completely, (in allusion to roasting;) " doing it BROWN," prolonging the frolic, or exceeding sober bounds ; "done BROWN," taken in, deceived, or surprised. BROWN BESS, the old Government regulation musket; a musket with a browned barrel ; also black Bess. A suggestion has been made that BESS may be from the German buschb, or bosohe, a barrel. BROWN SALVE ! an exclamation of surprise at what is heard, and at the same time means, " I understand you." BROWN-STUDY, a reverie. Very common even in educated society, but hardly admissible in writing, and therefore considered a vulgarism. It is derived, by a writer in Notes and Queries, from brow study, and he cites the old German braun, or aug-bkaun, an eye-brow. — Hen Jonson. BROWN TALK, conversation of an exceedingly proper character, Quaker- ish. Compare blue. BROWN-TO, to understand, to comprehend. — American. BRUISER, a fighting man, a pugilist. — Pugilistic. Shakspeare uses the word bruising in a similar sense. BRUSH, a fox's tail, a house-painter. BRUSH, or bbush-ofp, to run away, or move on. — Old Cant. BUB, drink of any kind. — See orub. Middleton, the dramatist, mentions BUBBER, a great drinker. BUB, a teat, woman's breast, plural BUBBLES; no doubt from bibb. Also the preceding. BUBBLE, to over-reach, deceive. — Old. (Acta Segia, ii. 248, 1726.) BUBBLE-AND-SQUEAK, a dish composed of pieces of cold boiled meat and greens, and afterwards fried, which have thus first bubbled in the pot, and then squeaked or hissed in the pan. BUBBLE-COMPANY, a swindling association. Brown papebmen, low gamblers. Brum, a counterfeit coin. Nearly obsolete. Corruption of Brummagem, (Bromwicham,) the ancient name of Birmingham, me great emporium for plated goods and imitation jewellery. 8LAN0, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 8/ BTTCK, a gay or smart man ; also an unlicensed cabman. BUCKHORSE, a smart blow or box on the ear; derived from the name ol a celebrated " bruiser " of that name. BUCKLE, to bend; "I can't buckle to that," I don't understand it; to yield or give in to a person. Shalspeare uses the word in the latter sense, Henry IV.,i.l\ and HalUwell says that "the commentators do not supply another example." How strange that in our own streets the term should be used every day ! Stop the first costermonger, and he will soon inform you of the various meanings of buckle. — See Notes and Queries, vols, vii., viii., ix. BUCKLE-BEGGAR, a couple-beggab, which see. BUCKLEY, " Who struck buoklet ? " a common phrase used to irritate Irishmen. BUCKLE-TO, to bend to one's work, to begin at once, and with great energy — from buckling on one's armour before a combat. BUCKRA, a white man. — West Indian Negro. BUCKSHISH, a present of money. Over all India, and the East generally, the natives lose no opportunity of asking for buokshish. The usage is such a complete nuisance, that the word is sometimes answered with a blow ; this is termed bamboo buckshish. BUDGE, to move, to inform, to split, or tell tales. BUFF, the bare skin ; " stripped to the BUFF." BUFF, to swear to, or accuse; to split, or peach upon. — Old word foi boasting, 1582. BUFFER, a navy term for a boatswain's mate, part of whose duties is to administer the " cat." BUFFER, a familiar expression for a joUy acquaintance, probably from the French bouffaed, a fool or clown; a "jolly old bdpfek," said of a good-humoured or liberal old man. In 1737, a buffer was a "rogue that killed good sound horses for the sake of their skins, by running a long wire into them." — Bacchm and Venus. The term was once applied to those who took false oaths for a consideration. BUFFLE-HEAD, a stupid or obtuse person. — Miege. German, buftel- HAUPT, buffalo-headed. Occurs in Plautui Comedies made English, "^^JJ"''"^ I^BUFFS, the third regiment of foot in the British army. BUFFY, intoxicated.— .ffouse/toZd Words, No. 183. BUGGY, a gig, or light chaise. Common term in America and in India. BUG- WALK, a coarse term for a bed. Bubblet-jock, a turkey, or sUIy boasting fellow ; a prig. — Scottish. In the north of England the bird is called a bobble-cock. Both names no doubt from its cry. Budge, strong drink; budgt, drunk; budging-ken, a public-house; " cove of the budgino-ken," the landlord. Probably a corruption of boozb. — North. 88 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN BUILD, applied in fashionable Slang to the make or style of dices, &c. ; " it 's a tidy build, who made it ? " BULGER, large ; synonymous with bdsteb. BULL, one who agrees to purchase stock at a future day, at a stated price, but who does not possess money to pay for it, trusting to a rise in public securities to render the transaction a profitable one. Should stocks fall, the bull is then called upon to pay the difference. See BEAB, who is the opposite of a bull, the former selling, the latter pur- chasing — the one operating for a fall or a pall down, whilst the other operates for a rise or toss up. BULL, a crown-piece, formerly bull's etk. See " WOKK THE BULLS." BULL-BEEF, a term of contempt; "as ugly as bull-beep," "go to the billy-fencer and sell yourself for bull-beef." " BULL THE CASK," to pour hot water into an empty rum puncheon, and let it stand until it extracts the spirit from the wood. The result is drunk by sailors in default of something stronger.— Sea. BULLFINCH, a hunting term for a large, thick, quickset hedge, diflScult alike to " top " or burst through. Query, corruption of bolefence ? BULLY, a braggart; but in the language of the streets, a man of the most degraded morals, who protects fallen females, and lives off their miser- able earnings. — Skakspeare, Midsummer Night's Dream, iiL I : iv. 2. This epithet is often applied in a commendable sense among the vul- gar ; thus — a good fellow or a good horse will be termed " a bullt fellow," " a BULLT horse ; " and " a bullt woman " signifies a rightj good, motherly old soul. ISULLYRAG, to abuse or scold vehemently ; to swindle one out of money by intimidation and sheer abuse, as alleged in a late cab case, {Evans V. Robinson.) J J f5'<>t%i ^^ BUM, the part on which we sit. — Shahspeare. Bumbags, trousers; Gael. •vCf/TS OJ^Tf\l«TLt »X^ and Fr., bun, a base or bottom ; Welsh, BON, the lowest or worst part *! IAj -C. '^ ^ °* anything. ' BUM-BAILIFF, a sheriff's-officer, — a term, some say, derived from the proximity which this gentleman generally maintains to his victims. Blaehstone says it is a corruption of " bound baihff." BUMBLE, to muffle. Bumble-footed, club-footed. BUMBLES, coverings for the eyes of horses apt to shy in harness. BUMBLE, a beadle. Adopted from Dickens's character in Oliver Twist. This and "bumbledom " are now common. Buffer, a dog. Their skins were formerly in great request — hence the term buff meaning in old English to skin. It is still used in the ring, BUFFED meaning stripped to the skin. In Irish Cant, buffer is a boxer. The buffer of a railway carriage doubtless received its very appropriate name from the old pugilistic application of this term. Buo-HUNTEK, a low wretch who plunders drunken men. Bull, term amongst prisoners for the meat served to them in jail. Bulkt, b constable. — North. tXor SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 89 BUMBLE-PUPPY, a game played in public-houses on a large stone, placed in a slanting direction, on the lower end of which holes are ex- cayated, and numbered like the holes in a bagatelle-table. The player rolls a stone ball from the higher end, and according to the number of the hole it falls into the game is counted. It is undoubtedly the very ancient game of Troule-in-madame. BUM-BOAT, a shore boat which supplies ships with provisions, and serves as means of communication between the sailors and the shore. BUM-CURTAIN, an old name for an academical gown when they were worn scant and short, especially those of the students of St John's College. — Camb. Univ. BUMMAREE. This term is given to a class of speculating salesmen at Billingsgate market, not recognised as such by the trade, but who get a living by buying large quantities of fish from the salesmen and re-sell- ing them to smaller buyers. The word has been used in the statutes and bye-laws of the market for upwards of 200 years. It has been variously derived. Some persons think it may be from the French BONNE iiAREE, good fresh fish ! " Mar^e signifie toute sorte de poisson de mer que n'est pas sale; bonne mar^e— mar^e fraiche, vendeur de mar^e." — Diet, de I'Acad. Franc. The bummakkes are accused of many trade tricks. One of them is to blow up cod-fish with a pipe until they look double their actual size. Of course when the fish come to table they are flabby, sunken, and half dwindled away. In Norwich, to bum- MABEE ONE is to run up a score at a public-house just open, and is equivalent to " running into debt with one." One of the advertise- ments issued by Hy. Robinson's " Ofpioe," over against Threadneedle Street, was this : — "Touching Advice from the OFFICE, you are desired to give and take notice as followeth ; — F Monies to be taken up, or delivered on £otto-maria, commonly called Bomarie. F money to be put out or taken upon interest," &c. — The Publick Inteliigeneer, numb. 17, asth June i66a BUMPER, according to Johnson from "bump," but probably fromFreMh BON-PEBE, the fixed toast in monastic life of old, now used for " full measure." A match at quoits, bowls, &c., may end iu a "bumpee game," if the play and score be all on one side. BUMPTIOUS, arrogant, self-sufficient. BUNCH-OF-FIVES, the hand, or fist. BUNDLE, " to BUNDLE a person off," i.e., to pack him off, send him flying. BUNDLING, a custom in Wales, and now frequently in America, of men and women sleeping, where the divisions of the house will not permit of better or more decent accommodation, with all their clothes on. BUNO, the landlord of a public-house. BUNG, to give, pass, hand over, drink, or indeed to perform any action. Bung up, to close up. — Pugilisiie. " Bung over the rag," hand over the money. — Old, used by Beaumont and Fletcher, and Shahipeare. Also, to deceive one by a lie, to cbam, which see. "0 "0 90 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN BUNKER, beer. BUNKUM, American importation, denoting false sentiments in speaking) pretended enthusiasm, &c. The expression arose from a speech made by a North Carolina Senator. BUNTS, costermongers' perquisites ; the money obtained by giving light weight, &o. ; costermongers' goods sold by boys on commission. Prob- ably a corruption of boniis, bone, being the Slang for good. Bunoe, Orose gives as the Cant word for money. BUKDON'S HOTEL, Whitecross Street Prison, of which the Governor is or was a Mr Burdon. Every prison has a nickname of this kind, either from the name of the Governor, or from some local circumstance. The Queen's Bench has also an immense number of names — SFIKE FABK, &c. ; and every Chief-Justice stands godfather to it. BURKE, to kill, to murder, secretly and without noise, by means of strangulation. From Burke, the notorious Edinburgh murderer, who, with an accomplice named Hare, used to decoy people into the den he inhabited, kill them, and sell their bodies for dissection. The wretches having been apprehended and tried, Burke was executed, while Hare, having turned king's evidence, was released. Bishop was their London imitator. The term burke is now usually applied to any project that is quietly stopped or stifled — as " the question has been bukked." A book suppressed before publication is said to be burked. BURRAH, great; as burba saib, a great man; bukea. khanah, a great dinner. — Anglo-Indian. BUS or BUSS, abbrevation of " omnibus," a public carriage. Also, a kiss^ abbrev. of Fr. baiser. A Mr Shillibeer started the first BUS in London. Why is Temple Bar like a lady's veil? Because it wants to be removed to make way for tiie bosses. BUS, business (of which it is a contraction) or action, on the stage. — Theatrical. BUST, or BURST, to tell tales, to split, to inform. BuSTlNa, informing against accomplices when in custody. BUSTER, (burster,) a small new loaf; "twopenny BUSTER," a twopenny loaf. " A pennorth o' BEES-WAX (cheese) and a penny buster," a com- mon snack at beershops. BUSTER, an extra size ; " what a BUSTEK," i.e., what a large one ; "in for a BUSTER," determined on an extensive frolic or spree. Scotch, BUS- Tuous ; Icelandic, bostra. BUSY-SACK, a carpet-bag. BUTCHA, a Hindoo word in use among Englishmen for the young of any Bunk, to decamp. " Bunk it I " t.e., be off. BuRERK, a lady, a showily-dressed woman. " Burt a Moll," to run away from a mistress. Busker, a man who sings or performs in a public-house. — Scotch. Busk, (or buseinq,) to sell obscene songs and books at the bars and in the tap-rooms of public-houses. Sometimes implies selling any articles. Bustle, (money ;) " to draw the bustle." 'WlJr SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 9 1 animal. In England we ask after the children ; in India the health of the BUTCHAS is tenderly inquired for. BUTCHER, the king in playing-cards. BUTCHER'S MOURNING, a white hat with a Mack mourning hat-hand. This meaning is given on the authority of Mr George Cruikshank. BUTTER, or batter, praise or flattery. To butter, to flatter, cajole. Punch defines flattery as " the milk of human kiudness.chumed into BDTTER." BUTTER-FINGERED, apt to let things fall BUTTON, a decoy, sham purchaser, &;c. At any mock or sham auction seedy specimens may be seen. Probably from the connexion of but- torn with Srvmmagem, which is often used as a synonyme for a sham. — See BONNET. BUTTONER, a man who entices another to play. See bonketeb. BUTTONS, a page, — from the rows of gilt buttons which adorn his jacket. BUTTONS, " not to have all one's BUTTONS ;" to be deficient in intellect. BUTTY, a word used in the mining districts to denote a kind of overseer. (2.) Also used by the Royal Marines in the sense of oonarade ; a police- man's assistant, one of the staff in a miUe. BUZ, to share jequally the last of a bottle of wine, when there is not enough for a full glass to each of the party. BUZ, a well-known flash game, played as follows : — The chairman com- mences saying "one," the next on the left hand "two," the next " three," and so on to semen, when " buz " must be said. Every seven and multiple of 7, as 14, 17, 21, 27, 28, &o., must not be mentioned, but "buz" instead. Whoever breaks the rule pays a fine, which is thrown on the table, and the accumulation expended in drink for the company. See " SNOOKS and walker " for more complicated varieties of a similar game. BY GEORGE, an exclamation similar to BT jove. The term is older than is frequently imagined — vide Bacchm and Venus, (p. 1 1 7,) 1 737' " 'Fore (or by) georqe, I 'd knock him down." A street compliment to Saint Buz, to pick pockets ; buz-eaking, robbing. Buz-MAN, an informer. Buzzer, a pickpocket. Orose gives buz-cove and buz-qloak; the latter is very ancient Cant. Buz-Bloak, a pickpocket, who principally confines his attention to purses and loose cash. Grose gives buz-qloak, (or CLOAK ?) an ancient Cant word. Buz-NAPPEB, a young pickpocket. Buz-napper's Academy, a school in which young thieves are trained. Figures are dressed up, and experienced tutors stand in various diffi- cult attitudes for the boys to practise upon. When clever enough they are sent on the streets. It is reported that a house of this nature is situated in a court near Hatton Garden. The system is well ex- plained in Dickens's Oliver Twist. Also buz-knackeb. ga A DICTIONARY OF MODERN George, the patron Saint of England, or possibly to the House of Hanover. BY GOLLY, an ejaculation, or oath; a compromise for "by God." Bt GUM, is another oblique oath. In the United States, small boys are permitted by their guardians to say OOL darn anything, but they are on no account allowed to commit the profanity of G— -. CANNIBALS, the training boats for the Cambridge freshmen, i.e., " Can- NOT-PULLS." The term is applied both to boats sad rowers. — See SLOOGEBS. CANNIKEN, a small can, similar to pannikin. — Shakspeare. ^^ CANT, a blow or toss ; " a cant over the kisser," a blow on the mouth. — Kentish. CANTAB, a student at Cambridge. "CANT OF TOGS," a gift of clothes. CANTANKEROUS, litigious, bad-tempered. An American corruption pro- bably of contentious. A reviewer, however, of this book in the Book- seller of May 26 derives it from the Anglo-Norman contek,* litigation or strife. Another correspondent suggests " cankerous " as the origin. CANVASSEENS, sailors' canvas trousers. CAP, a false cover to a tossing coin. — See COVEK-down. CAPER-MERCHANT, a dancing-master. CAPERS, dancing, frolicking ; "to cut caper-sauce," i.e., to dance upon nothing — be hanged, very coarse. CAPPER-CLAWING, female encounter, where caps are torn, and nails freely used. Sometimes it is pronounced clapperclaw. The word occurs in Shakspeare. — Troilus and Cressida, v., 4. •Bailey has conteke, contention, as a Spenserian word, and the O.B., cohtkkobs, quarrelsome persons. Caket-pann0m-fenceb, a man who sells street pastry. v^ 94 ^ DICTIONARY OF MODERN CARAVAN, a raUway train. CARAVANSERA, a railway station. A "tip" for the late pugilistic con- test between King and Heenan was given in these words : — " The SCRATCH must be toed at sharp five. The caravan starting at that hour from the cabavansera," i.e., London Bridge. CARBOY, a general term in most parts of the world for a very large glass or earthenware bottle. CARD, a character. " A queer card," t.c., an odd fish. CARDINAL, a lady's cloak. This, I am assured, is the Seven DiaU Cant term for a lady's garment ; but, curiously enough, the same name is given to the most fashionable patterns of the article by Regent Street drapers. A cloak with this name was in fashion in the year 1760. It received its title from its similarity in shape to one of the vestments of a cardinal. CARPET, " upon the carpet," any subject or matter that is uppermost for discussion or conversation. Frequently quoted as sur le tapisy but it does not seem to be a correct Parisian phrase. Also servants Slang, When a domestic is summoned by the master or mistress to receive a warning or reprimand, he or she is said to be OAr.PETF:D. The corre- sponding term in commercial establishments is a wigoino, which see. CARNEY, 8., soft hypocritical language. Also, v., to flatter, wheedle, or insinuate one's-self. — Prmt. CARNISH, meat, from the Hal. cabne, flesh ; a Lingua Franca importa- tion; CARNISH-KEN, a thieves' eating-house; "cove of the oarnish-ken," the keeper thereof. — North Country Cant. CAROON, five shillings. French, conBONNE; Cfipsy coubna; Spanish COURNA, half-a-crown. CARROT. " Take a carrot ! " a vulgar insulting phrase. CARROTS, the coarse and satirical term for red hair. An epigram gives an illustration of the use of this term : — •• Why scorn red hair? The Greeks, we know, (I note it here in charity) Had taste in beauty, and with them The graces were all Xapirat I " CARRIER-PIGEON, a swindler, one who formerly used to cheat lottery office keepers. Nearly obsolete, " CARRY ME OUT ! " a pretended exclamation of astonishment on hearing news too good to be true, or a story too marvellous to be believed. Sometimes varied by " Let me die," i.e., I can't survive that. Pro- fanely derived from the Nunc dimittis, (Luke xi. 29.) The Irish say, " oarrt me out, and bury me decently." CARRY-ON, to joke a person to excess, to "carry on" a "spree" too far; " how we CARRIED ON, to be sure I " i.e., what fun we had. Nautical term — from carrying on sail. CARRIWITCHET, a hoaxing, puzzling question, not admitting of a satis- factory answer, as — " How far is it from the first of July to London 8LAN0, CANT, AND VULOAR WORDS. 95 Bridge ? " " K a bushel of apples cost ten shillings, how long will it take for an oyster to eat its way through a barrel of soap ? " CA.RT, a racecourse. Query, if a corruption of, or connected with, the well-knowu "correct card" of Dorling, and other clerks of the racing course ? CAETS, a pair of shoes. In Norfolk the carapace of a crab is called a erdb cart ; hence carts would be synonymous with crab shells, which »ee. CART-WHEEL, a fiveshilUng piece. (JA-SA, a writ of capias ad satisfaoikndam. — Legal Slang. CASA, or case, a house, respectable or otherwise. Probably from the Italian CASA. — Old Cant. The Dutch use the word east in a vulgar sense for a house, i.e., motiekast, a brothel Case sometimes means a water-closet. CASCADE, to vomit. CASE. A few years ago the term case was applied generally to persons or things; " what a case he is," i.e., what a curious person ; " a rum case that," or, " you are a case," both synonymous with the phrase " odd fish," common half-a-century ago. Tiiis would seem to have been originaUy a " case " for the police-court ; drunkenness, &c. Among young ladies at boarding-schools a case means a love affair. CASK, fashionable Slang for a brougham, or other private carriage. — Eousehold Words, No. 183. CASSAM, cheese — not oapean, which Egan, in his edition of Qroae, has ridiculously inserted. — Ancient Cant. Zatin, oabeus. Gael, and Irish caise. , « CAST UP ONE'S ACCOUNTS," to voviit.—Old. CASTOR, a hat. Castor was once the ancient word for the animal com- monly known as the beaver ; and, strange to add, beaver waa the Slang for castor, or hat, thirty years ago, before gossamer came into fashion. CAT, to vomit like a cat. Perhaps from cataract ; but see shoot the cat. CAT — cat o' nine tails, a whip with that number of lashes used to punish refractory sailors. — Sea. CAT-FACED, a vulgar and very common expression of contempt in the North of England. CATAMARAN, a disagreeable old woman. — Thackeray. I CATARACT, a black satin scarf arranged for the display of jewellery, much in vogue among " commercial gents." CATCH-'EM- ALIVE, a trap ; also a small-tooth comb. Case, a bad crown-piece. Half-a-case, a counterfeit half-crown. There are two sources, either of which may have contributed this Slang term. Caser is the Hebrew word for a crown ; and silver coin is frequently counterfeited by coating or casino pewter or iron imitation* with silver. Cat, a lady's muff; " to free a cat," i.e., steal a muffi 96 A DIGTIONART OF MODERN CATCHY, (similar formation to touchy,) inclined to take an undue advantagei CATERWAULING, applied derisively to inharmonious singing; ako love- making, from the noise of cats similarly engaged — in both cases. CATEVER, a queer, or singular affair ; anything poor, or very bad. From the Lingua Franca, and Italian, OATTivo, bad. Variously spelled by the lower orders. — See kertever. CATGUT-SCRAPER, a fiddler. CAT-LAP, a contemptuous expression for weak drink. CAT'S-MEAT, a coarse term for the lungs — the "lights" or lungs of animals being usually sold to feed cats. CATS-WATER, " old Tom," or Gin. CATCH-PENNY, any temporary contrivance to obtain money from the public ; penny shows, or cheap exhibitions. CAT -IX -THE -PAN, a traitor, a turn-coat — derived by some from the Greek, Karawav, altogether ; or from cake in pan, a pan-cake, which is frequently turned from side to side. CAUCUS, a private meeting held for the purpose of concerting measures, agreeing upon candidates for office before an election, &c. This is an American term, and a corruption of caulker's meeting, being derived from an association of the shipping interest at Boston, previous to the War of Independence, who were very active in getting up opposition to England. — See Pickering'i Vocabulary. CAULK, to take a surreptitious nap, sleep generally from the ordinary meaning of the term ; stopping leaks, repairing damages, so as to come out as good as new. — Sea term. CAULKER, a dram. — Noctes Ambrodana. CAULKER, a too marvellous story, a lie. Choker has the same sense. CA VAULTING, a vulgar phrase equivalent to "horsing." The Italian OAVALLINO, signifies a rake or debauchee. — Lingua Franca, c A volt A. CAVE, or CAVE IN, to submit, shut up. — American. Metaphor taken from the sinking of an abandoned mining shaft. CA-VE ! Latin, beware ! used by school-boys to give warning of the ap- proach of the master. — See nix. CAVE - OP - HARMONY, the cider cellars, or Evans's singing saloon. — Thackeray. CHAFF, to gammon, joke, quiz, or praise ironically. CHAFF-bone, the jaw- bone. — Yorkshire. Chaff, jesting. In Anglo-Saxon, ceaf is chaff; and oeapl, bill, beak, or jaw. In the Ancren Biwle, aJ). 1221, ceaflb is used in the sense of idle discourse. CHAFFER, the mouth ; " moisten your chaffer," ».«., take something to drink. " Cat and Kitten Sneaxinq," stealing pint and quart pots bom public- houses. SLANO, CANT. AND VULOAR WORDS. 97 CHALK OUT, or chalk down, to mark out a line of conduct or action ; to make a rule or order. Phrase derived from the Worlcshop. CHALK UP, to credit, make entry in account books of indebtedness ; " I can't pay you now, but you can chalk it cp," i.e., charge me with the article in your day-book. From the old practice of chalking one's score for drink behind the bar doors of public-houses. CHALKS, " to walk one's chalks," to move off, or run away. • An ordeal for drunkenness used on board ship, to see whether the suspected person can walk on a chalked line without overstepping it on either side. — See the following. CHALKS, degrees, marks ; so called from being made by a piece of chalk ; " to beat by long chalks," i.e, to be superior by many degrees. CHANCERY, " to get a man's head into chancery," i.e., to get an op- ponent's head firmly under one's arm, where it can be pummelled with immense power, and without any possibility of immediate extrication. — Pugilistic term. CHANGE, small money. The overplus returned after paying for a thing in a round sum. Hence a Slang expression used when a person receives a " settler " in the shape either of a repartee or a blow — " Take your change out of that ! " CHAP, a fellow, a boy ; " a low CHAP," a low fellow — abbreviation of CHAP man, a huckster. Used by Byron in his Critical Remarks. CHAPEL, a printer's assembly, held for the purpose of discussing differ- ences between employer and workmen, trade regulations, &c. The term is scarcely Slang, but some compos, ask its insertion in this work. CHAPEL-OF-EASE. French, cabinet d'aisance, a house of office. CHARLEY, a watchman, a beadle. CHATTER-BASKET, common term for a prattling child amongst nurses. CHATTER-BOX, an incessant talker or chatterer. CHATTS, lice, or body vermin. Prov., any small things of the same kind. CHATTY, a filthy person, one whose clothes are not free from vermin ; chatty doss, a lousy bed. CHAUNTER-CULLS, a siugiilar body of men who used to haunt certain well-known public-houses, and write satirical or libellous ballads on any person, or body of persons, for a consideration. 7s. 6d. was the usual fee, and in three hours the ballad might be heard in St Paul's Churchyard, or other public spot. As strange as it may appear, there are actually two men in London at the present day who gain their living in this way. Very recently they were singing before the establishment of a fashionable tailor in Regent Street ; and not long since they were bawling their doggerel rhymes outside the mansion of a Norfolk M.P. in Belgravia. Chakiot-buzzino, picking pockets in an omnibus. Chakley-pitcher, a low, cheating gambler. Chattry-feeder, a spoon.— Millbank Prison. Chatts, dice, — formerly the gallows ; a hunch of seals. U 98 -4 DICTIONARY OF MODERN CHAUNTERS, those street selleni of ballads, last copies of verses, and . other broadsheets, who sing or bawl the contents of their papers. They often term themselves papeb workers. — See horsechaukters. CHAUNT, to sing the contents of any paper in the streets. Cant, as ap- plied to Tulgar language, was, in all probability, derived from chaunt. — See Introduction, for origin of the term. CHAW, to chew; chaw up, to get the better of one, finish him up; chawed up, utterly done for. CHAW OVER, to repeat one's words with a view to ridicule ; chaw-bacon a rustic. CHEAP, "doing it on the cheap," living economically, or keeping up a showy appearance with very little means. CHEAP JACKS, or Johns, oratorical hucksters and patterers of hardware, &o., at fairs and races. They put an article up at a high price, and then cheapen it by degrees, indulging all the time in vollies of coarse wit, until it becomes to all appearance a bargain, and as such it is bought by one of the crowd. The popular idea is that the inverse method of auctioneering saves them paying for the auction licence. — See dutch auction. CHEECHEE, this word is used in a rather offensive manner to denote Eurasians, or children by an English father and native mother. It takes its origin in a very common expression of these half-caste females, "Chee-chee," equivalent to our Oh, fie ! — Nonsense ! — For shame ! — Anglo-Indian. CHEEK, share or portion; " where 's my cheek?" where is my allowanceJ CHEEK, impudence, assurance ; cheeky, saucy or forward. CHEEK, to irritate by impudence, to accuse. — Lincolnshire. " CHEEK BY JOWL," side by side — said often of persons in such close confabulation as almost to have their faces touch. CHEEKS ! a jeering and insulting exclamation, believed to be of Scotch origin. CHEESE, anything good, first-rate in quality, genuine, pleasant, or ad- vantageous, is termed the cheesk Mayhew thinks cheese, in this sense, is from the Scixon ceosan, to choose, and quotes Chaucer, who uses chese in the sense of choice. The London Guide, 1818, says it was from some young fellows translating " c'est une autre chose " into " that is another cheese." But the expression cheese may be found in the (ripsy vocabulary, and in the Hindostanee and Persian languages. In the last OHiz means a thing. — See under Stilton ; also p. 7 Introd. jj! CHEESE, or cheese it, (evidently a corruption of cease,) leave off, or have done ; " cheese your barrikin," hold your nope. ^ .. CHEESY, fine or showy. Chaunt, " to chaunt the play," to explain the tricks and manoeuvres of thieves. (J^OA^ ^ a. ^'>ctc ^ ^fc^^<^' -* t^i-J- : ^ ^^jUc^^i^inv ■zH>Ac'(iZ -rfi-euj i-, i/ryLe e,^-*-*''-^ houses with their company, (^^ T) C h ~~' ''■^^*' ^■'*^ CINDER, any liquor used in connexion with soda water, as to " take a -^r*?''''*^' soda with a CINDER in it." The cinder may be sherry, brandy, or any V pf-re. other liquor. " Chuck a Stall," where one rogue walks in front of a person while another picks his pockets. " Church a Yack," (or watch,) to take the works of a watch from its ori- ginal case and put them into another one, to avoid detection. — See CHRISTEN. I02 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN CIRCUMBENDIBUS, a round-about way, or atory. CLACK-BOX, a garrulous person, so called from the rattle formerly used by Tagranta to make a rattling noise and attract attention. — Norfolk. *,* A common proverb in this county is, " your tongue goes like A baker's clap-dish," which is evidently a modern corruption of beggars' CLAP or CLACK DISH mentioned in Shakspeare's Meamrefor Measure, iii. 2. It was a wooden dish with a movable cover. CLAGGUM, boiled treacle in a hardened state, Hardbake. — See cliqot. CLAP, to place ; " do you think you can clap your hand on him ? " it, iind him out. CLAPPER, the tongue. CLAP-TRAP, high-sounding nonsense. An ancient Theatrical term for a " TRAP to catch a clap by way of applause from the spectators at a play." — Bailey's Dictionary. CLARET, blood — Pugilistic. Said to have originated at Badminton. CLASHT, a low fellow, a labourer. — Anglo-Indian. CLEAN, quite, or entirely ; " clean gone," entirely out of sight, or away. — Old, see Cotgrave. — Shakespeare. Clkah oohtbaet, quite different opposite. CLEAN OUT, to thrash, or beat ; to ruin, or bankrupt, any one ; to take all they have got, by purchase or force. De Quincey, in his article on Richard Bentley, speaking of the lawsuit between that great scholar and Dr Colbatch, remarks that the latter " must have been pretty well cleaned out." CLICK, a knock, or blow. Click-handed, left-handed. — Cornish. CLICK, to snatch, to puU away something that belongs to another. CLICKER, a female touter at the bonnet shops in Cranbourn Alley. In Northamptonshire, the cutter out in a shoemaking establishment. * CLIGGY, or CLIDQT, sticky. — Anglo-Saxon, cl^g, clay. — See clagqdm. CLINCHER, that which rivets or confirms an argument, an incontrovert- ible position. Also a lie which cannot be surpassed, a stopper-up, said to be derived as follows : — Two notorious liars were backed to out- lie each other. " I drove a nail through the moon once," said the first. " Right," said the other ; " I recollect the circumstance well, for I went round to the back part of the moon and clinched it" — hence clincher. CLIPPING, excellent, very good. Clipper, anything showy or first-rate. * In the Dictionary of the Terms, Ancitnt and Modem, of the Canting Creui, Land. XL d. (but prior to 1700,) the cltckeb is described as '* the shoemaker's journeyman or servant, that cutta out all the work, and stands at or walks before the door, and sales — ' What d'ye lack, sir? what d'ye buy, madam? ' " Clipt, to steal. Clinch, to get the, to be locked up in jail. Cling-rio, stealing tankards from public-bouses, &o. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 103 CLOCK. " to know what's o'clock," a definition of knowingnesa in general — See TIME o' DAY. CLOD-HOPPER, a country clown. " CLOUD, TO BE UNDER A," to be in disgrace, or disrepute. CLOUD, TO BLOW A, to smoke a pipe. CLOUT, or RAO, a cotton pocket-handkerchief. — Old Cant, CLOUT, a blow, or intentional strike. — Ancient. CLOVER, happiness, luck, a delightful position — from the supposed hap- piness which attends cattle when they suddenly find their quartern changed from a barren field to a meadow of clover. CLUMP, to strike, to beat.— Pro». CLY, a pocket. — Old Cant for to steal. A correspondent derives this word from the Old English cletes, claws ; Anglo-Saxon clea. This pro- nunciation is still retained in Norfolk ; thus, to clt would mean to pounce upon, snatch. — See frisk. Gael, cliah, (pronounced olee,) a basket. COACH, a Cambridge term for a private tutor, termed a rural coaob when he is not connected with a college. COACH-WHEEL, or tusheroon, a crown-piece, or five shillings. COALS, " to haul (or pull) over the coals," to take to task, to scold. Sup- posed by Jamieson to refer to the ordeal by fire, COAL, money ; " post the coal," put down the money. The phrase was used by Mr Buokstone at the Theatrical Fund Dinner of 1863. From this is derived the theatrical term coaling, profitable, very good, which an actor will use if his part is full of good and telling speeches — thus, " my part is full of coaling lines." COBBING, a punishment inflicted by sailors and soldiers among them- selves. See Grose, and Captain Marryat't novels. A hand-saw is the general instrument of punishment. COCK, a familiar term of address ; "jolly old cock," a jovial fellow, "how are you, old cock ? " Frequently rendered now-a-days, cock-e-e, a vul- gar street salutation — corruption of cock-ete. The latter is frequently heard as a shout or street cry after a man or boy. COCK, a smoking term ; " cocking a Brosely," i.e., smoking a pipe. Broseley in Staffordshire is famous for " churchwardens." COCK-A-HOP, in high spirits. COCK-A-WAX, an amplification of the simple term cock, sometimes " Lad of wax" in S. S. " COCK AND A BULL STORY," a long, rambling anecdote.— /See Nota and Queries, vol. iv., p. 313. COCK-AND-HEN-CLUB, a free and easy gathering, where females are admitted as well as men. Cly-faker, a pickpocket. I04 ^ DICTIONARY OF MODERN COCK-AND-PINCH, the old-faahioned beaver hat, affected by "gwells" and "sporting gents" forty years ago — COCKED back and front, and PINCHED up at the sides. COCKER, "it is all right, according to Cocker," meaning that everythinghag been done en riyle. The phrase refers to the celebrated writing-master of Charles II.'s time, whose Arithmetic, Dictionary, &c., were long the standard authorities. The Arithmetic, probably the work referred to, was first published in 1677-8, and though it reached more than sixty editions, is considered a very scarce book.* A curious fact may here be mentioned in connexion with this saying. It has been stated, and very well proved, that many words popular in Shak.9peare's time, and now obsolete in this country, are still in every-day use in the older English settlements of North America. The editor of this work waa surprised, when travelling through Western Canada, to find that in- stead of the renowned Cocker the people appealed to another and more learned authority. " According to Gdnter," is a phrase in continual Transatlantic use. This scientific worthy invented the sector in 1606; and in 1623, about the time of the great Puritan exodus to North America, he brought out his famous Rule of Proportion. This was popularly known as Gunter's Proportion, or " Gunter's Line," and the term soon became a vulgar standard of appeal in cases of doubt or dis- pute. COCK-EYE, one that squints. COCKED-HAT-CLUB, the principal clique amongst the members of the Society of Antiquaries, who virtually decide whether any person pro- posed shall be admitted or not. The term comes from the " cocked- hat" placed before the president at the sittings. COCKLES, " to rejoice the cockles of one's heart," a vulgar phrase imply- ing great pleasure. — iSee Pldck. COCKNEY, a native of London. Originally, a spoilt or effeminate boy, derived from cockering, or foolishly petting a person, rendering them of soft or luxurious manners. Halliwdl states, in his admirable essay upon the word, that " some writers trace the word with much probabi- lity to the imaginary land of cockaygne, the lubber land of the olden times." Grose gives Minsheu's absurd but comical derivation : — A citizen of London being in the country, and hearing a horse neigh, exclaimed, " Lord I hmc that horse laughs!" A bystander informed him that that noise was called neighing. The next morning, when the cock crowed, the citizen, to shew that he had not forgotten what wag told him, cried out, " do you hear how the cock neighs ? " • CocKKR. Professor de Morgan (Notes and Queries, Jan. 27, 1855) says that the main goodness of Cocker's Tutor consists in his adopting the abbreviated system of division ; and suggests that it became a proverbial representative of arithmetic from Murphy's farce of The Apprentice, 1756, in which the strong point of the old merchant, Wingate, is his extreme reverence for Cocker and his arithmetic. CocKCHArsB, the treadmill. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 105 "COCK OP THE WALK," a master spirit, liead of a party. Places where poultry are fed are called walks, and the barn-door cocks in- Tariably fight for the supremacy till one has obtained it. COCKS, fictitious narratives, in verse or prose, of murders, fires, and ter- rible accidents, sold in the streets as true accounts. The man who hawks them, a patterer, often changes the scene of the awful event to suit the taste of the neighbourhood he is trying to delude. Possibly a corruption of cook, a cooked statement, or, as a correspondent sug- gests, the COCK LANE ghost may have given rise to the term. This had a great run, and was a rich harvest to the running stationers. "COCK ONE'S TOES," to die. COCK-ROBIN SHOP, a small printer's office, where low wages are paid to journeymen who have never served a regular apprenticeship. COCKSHY, a game at fairs and races, where trinkets are set upon sticks, and for one penny three throws at them are accorded, the thrower keeping whatever he knocks off. From the ancient game of throwing or " shying" at live cocks. COCKSURE, certain. COCKY, pert, saucy. COCKYOLY BIRD, a Uttle bird, frequently called "a dickey bird."— Kingslq/'s Two Years Ago. j, /^ ■, COCK, "to COCK your eye," to shut or wink one eye. ^^^i'^^A) (1 ) COCUM, advantage, luck, resources ; " Jack 's got COCUM, he 's safe to get on, he is," — viz., he starts under favourable circumstances. See the fol- lowing. COCUM, cunning, sly, "to fight cooOTt," to be wily and cautious. Allied perhaps to the Scottish keek. Qerman, QUOKEN, to peep or pry into. COD, to hoax, take a " rise " out of one. CODDS, the "poor brethren" of the Charter House. At p. 133 of the Newcomes, Mr Thackeray writes, " The Cistercian lads call these old gentlemen oodds, I know not wherefore." An abbreviation of CODGER. CODDAM, a low public-house game, much affected by medical students and cabmen, three on each side. The game is " simplicity itself," but requires a great amount of low cunning, and peculiar mental ingenuity. CODGER, or cooer, an old man ; " a rum old codger," a curious old fel- low. CoDQER is sometimes used as synonymous with cadger, and then signifies a person who gets his living in a questionable manner. " CoGERS," the name of a debating society, formerly held in Bride Court, Fleet Street, and still in existence. The term is probably a corruption of coqitatorb. COFFEE-SHOP, a water-closet, or house of office. COG, to cheat at dice. — Shakipeare. Also, to agree with, u one cog-wheel does with another. COLD BLOOD, a house licensed for the sale of beer " mot to be drunk on the premises." io6 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN COLD COFFEE, misfortune ; sometimea varied to cold qhuel. — Seo. COLD COFFEE, an Oxford synonyme for a " SeU," which sea. ^OLD COOK, an undertaker. Ml!OLD MEAT, a corpse. Cold meat box, a cofBn. COLD SHOULDER, "to shew or give anyone the COLD SHOULDER," to assume a distant manner towards them, to evince a desire to cease acquaintanceship. Sometimes it is termed "cold shocldek of mutton." COLFABIAS, a Latinised Irith phrase signifying the closet of decency, applied as a Slang term to a place of resort in Trinity CoUege, Dublin. COLLAR, "out of collar," i.e., out of place, no work. Probably a varia- tion of the metaphorical expressions " in, or out of harness," i.e., in or out of work — the horse being in collar when harnessed for his work. COLLAR, to seize, to lay hold of. Thieves' Slang, i.e., to steal. " COLLAR AND ELBOW," a term for a peculiar throw in wrestling. COLLOGUE, to conspire, talk mysteriously together in low tones, plot mischief. More connected with " colloquy " than " colleague." — East coast. COLLY-WOBBLES, the stomach ache, a person's bowels, — supposed by many of the lower orders to be the seat of feeling and nutrition ; an idea either borrowed from, or transmitted by, the ancients. — Devonshire. COLOUR, complexion, tint ; " I 've not seen the colour of his money," i.e., he has never paid me any. In fortune-telling by cards, a diarmmd colour is the fairest ; heart-colour, fair, but not so fair as the last ; clvi colour, rather swarthy ; spade colour, an extremely dark complexion. COLT, a murderous weapon, formed by slinging a small shot to the end of a rather stiff piece of rope. It is the original of the mis-named "life- preserver." COLT, a person who sits as juryman for the first time. COLT, to fine a new juryman a sum to be spent in drink, by way of "wet- ting " his ofiice. COLT, to make a person free of a new place, which is done by his standing treat, and submitting to be struck on the sole of the foot with a piece of board. — Prov. COLT'S TOOTH, elderly persons of juvenile tastes are said to have a colt's tooth, t.e., a desire to shed their teeth once more, to see life over again. COMB-CUT, mortified, disgraced, "down on one's luck." — See cut. COME, a Slang verb used in many phrases ; " an't he coming it ? " i.e., is he not proceeding at a great rate ? " Don't come tricks here," " don't come the old soldier over me," i.e. , we are aware of your practices, and "twig" your manoeuvre. Coming it strong, exaggerating, going a-bead, the opposite of " drawing it miid." COMINO II also means in- forming or disclosing. COME DOWN, to pay down. (T'K/JIj f SLANO, CANT, AND- VULGAR WORDS. IQ-J COMMISSION, a shirt. — Ancient Cant. Italian, oamicu •* As from our beds, we doe oft cast our eyes, Cleaiie linnen yeelds a shirt before we rise, Which is a garment shifting in condition ; And in the canting tongue, is a commission. In wealo or woe, in joy or dangerous drifts, A shirt will put a man unto his shifts.'* — Taylor's Works, 1630. COMMISTER, a chaplain or clergyman. — Originally Old Cant. COMMON SEWER, a drain, — vulgar equivalent for a drink. COMMONS, rations, because eaten in common. — University. Short coh MONS, (derived from the University Slang term,) a scanty meal, a scarcity. COMPRADOR, a purveyor. — Anglo-Chinese. CONCAVES AND CONVEXES, a pack of cards con- HT^ r~rn trived for cheating, by cutting all the cards from the I i I — ^-J two to the seven concave, and all from the eight to the king convex. Then by cutting the pack breadth-wise a convex card is cut, and by cutting it length-wise a concave is secured. — See Longs and Shorti. CONJEE, a kind of gruel made of rice. — Anglo-Indian. CONK, a nose. Possibly, from the Latin concha, a shell. Qreek, Koyyri hence anything hollow. Somewhat of a parallel may be found in the Latin TESTA, an earthenware pot, a shell, (Cicero,) and in later Latin, a scull, (Anson ;) from whence the French teste, or tete, head. CoNKT, having a projecting or remarkable nose. The Duke of Welling- ton was frequently termed " Old conky " in satirical papers and carica- tures. CONNAUGHT RANGERS, the Eighty-eighth Regiment of Foot in the British Army. CONSHUN'S PRICE, fair terms, without extortion.— Ajiglo-Chinese. CONSUMAH, a hutlei.— Anglo-Indian. CONSTABLE, " to overrun the constable," to exceed one's income, get deep in debt. CONTANGO, among stock-brokers and jobbers, is a certain sum paid for accommodating a buyer or seller, by carrying the engagement to pay money or deliver shares over to the next account day. COOEY, the Australian bush-call, now not unfrequently heard in the streets of London. COOK, a term well known in the Bankruptcy Courts, referring to accounts that have been meddled with, or cooked, by the bankrupt ; also the forming a balance-sheet from general trade inferences; stated by a correspondent to have been first used in reference to the celebrated alteration of the accounts of the Eastern Counties Railway, by George Hudson, the Railway King. Convey, to steal ; " convey, the wise it call." Conveyanckb, a pickpocket. Shakspeare uses the Cant expression con- veyer, a thief. The same term is also French Slang, X08 A DWTIONAUT OF MODERN "COOK ONE'S GOOSE," to kill or ruin a person.— iVoriA. COOLER, a glass of porter as a wind up, after drinking spirits and water, COOLIE, a soldier, in allusion to the Hindoo coolies, or day labourers. COON, abbreviation of racoon. — American. A gone coon — ditto, one ia an awful fix, past praying for. This expression is said to have origi- nated in the American war with a spy, who dressed himself in a racoon skin, and ensconced himself in a tree. An English rifleman taking him for a veritable coon, levelled his piece at him, upon which he exclaimed, " Don't shoot, I '11 come down of myself, I know I 'm a GONE COON." The Yankees say the Britisher was so flummuxed, that he flung down his rifle and " made tracks" for homr The phrase is pretty usual in England. COOPER, stout "HALF-AND-HALF," 1.6., half stout and half porter. De- rived from the coopers at breweries being allowed so much stout and so much porter a day, which they have mixed sooner than drink the porter after the stout. COOPER, to destroy, spoil, settle or finish. Coopered, spoilt, " done up," synonymous with the Americanism caved in, fallen in, ruined. The vagabonds' hieroglyphic V> chalked by them on gate posts and houses, signifies that the place has been spoilt by too many tramps calling there. COOTER, " a sovereign." — See couteb. Oipiy, cuta. COP, to seize or lay hold of anything unpleasant ; used in a similar sense to catch in the phrase " to COP (or catch) a beating," " to get coPT," &c. COP, beware, take care. A contraction of copbador. — Anglo-Indian. COPER, properly hobse-oouper, a Scotch horse-dealer, — used to denote a dishonest one. COPPER, a policeman, i.e., one who coPS, which see. COPPER, a halfpenny. Coppers, mixed pence. COPUS, a Cambridge drink, consisting of ale combined with spices, and varied by spirits, wines, &c. Corruption of hippocras. CORINTHIANISM, a term derived from the classics, much in vogue some years ago, implying pugilism, high life, " sprees," roistering, &c. — Shakspeare, I Men. IV., ii. 4. The immorality of Corinth was proverbial in Greece. KopivOia^ faOai, to Corinthianise, indulge in the company of courtesans, was a Greek Slang expression. Hence the proverb— Ov TravTos dvdpiis fls Koptpdov eaff 6 nXoiif : and Horace, Epist. lib. i, xviL 36 — *',Non cuivls homini contlngit adire Corinth urn,** in allusion to the spoliation practised by the " hetserse " on those who visited them. CORK, " to draw a CORK," to give a bloody nose — Pugilistic. CORKED, said of wine which tastes of cork, from being badly decanted. Cooper, to forge, or imitate in writing ; " coo pes a moneker," to forge a signature. / SLAy-G, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 109 CORKER, " that'B a cobker," i.e., that settles the question, or closes the discussion. CORKS, a butler. CORKS, money ; "how are you off for corks?" a soldier's term of a very expressive kind, denoting the means of " keeping afloat." Cork is also used in connexion with money when persons at a hotel provide their own wine — sixpence being charged for each '^ cork " drawn. CORNED, drunk or intoxicated. Possibly from soaking or pickling one'a- self like corned beef. CORNER, "the corner," Tattersall's famous hoise repository and betting rooms, so called from the fact of its situation, which is at Hyde-Park Comer. CORNERED, hemmed in a comer, placed in a position from which there is no escape. — American. CORNER-MAN, the end singer of a corps of Ethiopian or nigger minstrels. In a theatrical advertisement in the Era there was, " Wanted a good corner-man Tambo, who can dance." A particularly clever man is required for the corner station, and in this case he w as required to play on the tambourine as well. We insert it as a specimen of Theat. Slang. CORPORATION, the protuberant front of an obese person. CORPSE, to confuse, or pui out the actors by making a mistake. — Theat. COSSACK, a policeman. COSTERMONGER, a street seller of fish, fruit, vegetables, poultry, &c. The London costermongers number more than 30,000. They form a distinct class, occupying whole neighbourhoods, and are cut off from the rest of metropolitan society by their low habits, general improvi- dence, pugnacity, love of gambling, total want of education, disregard for lawful marriage ceremonies, and their use of a Cant (or so-called bach Slang) language. Costermongeb aliter costardmonger, i.e., an apple-seller. In Nam's Glossary (Ed. H. & W.) they are said to have been frequently Irish. So, Ben Jonson — '* Her father was an Irish cosTAirMONOER." — Alchym.t iv. 1. " In England, Sir, troth I ever laugh whwi I think on 't. Why, sir, there all the coster-monoers are Irish." —2 P. Ben. IY.,0. PI. ML 375. Their noisy manners are alluded to in Beaumont and Fletcher's Scorn- ful Lady, iv. I. *' And then he'll rail like a rude costeb-mongeb That school-boys had couponed of his apples. As loud and senseless." COSTER, the short and Slang rendering of " costermonger," or " costard- monger," who was originally an apple-seller. Costerino, i.e., coster- mongering, acting as a costermonger would. COTTON, to like, adhere to, or agree with any person ; " to cotton on to a man," to attach yourself to him, or fancy him. literally, to stick to no A DICTIONARY OF MODERN him as cotton would. Tide BartUtt, who claims it as an Americanism , and HaUiwell, who terms it an Archaism; also Bacchm and Veniis, 1 737. *' Her heart 's as hard as taxes, and as bad ; She does not even cotton to her dad." — Haliiday and Lawranctt Kenilworth Burlague, COTTON LORD, a Manchester manufacturer. COUNCIL-OF-TEN, the toes of a man who turns his feet inward. COUNTER, to hit back, exchange blows. — Pugilistic term. COUNTER-JUMPER, a shopman, a draper's assistant. COUNTRY-SHIP, a ship belonging to the East Indies, and trading from port to port in that country. COUNTRY-CAPTAIN, a epatch-cocked fowl, sprinkled with curry-powder. A favourite breakfast dish with the captains of oountkyships. COUPLE-BEGGAR, a degraded person, who ofBciated as a clergyman in performing marriages in the Fleet Prison. COUTER, a sovereign. HALF-A-conxER, half-a-sovereigu. From the Danu- hian-gip»y word cuta, a gold coin. COTE, or COVET, a boy or man of any age or station. A term generally preceded by an expressive adjective, thus a "flash cove," a "rum COVE," a " downy cove," &o. The feminine, COVESS, was once popular, but it has fallen into disuse. Ancient Cant, originally (temp. Henrti VII.) COFE, or CUFFIX, altered in Decker's time to cove. See Witts' Recreations, 1654; "there's a gentry-coYE here," i.e., a gentlemaa Probably connected with cniF, which, in the North of England, signi- fies a lout or awkward fellow. Amongst Negroes, cnFFEE. COVENTRY, " to send a man to Coventry," not to speak to or notice him. Coventry was one of those towns in which the privilege of practising most trades was anciently confined to certain privileged persons, as the freemen, &c. Hence a stranger stood little chance of custom, or coun- tenance, and " to send a man to Coventry " came to be equivalent to putting him out of the pale of society. COVER-DOWN, a tossing coin with a false cover, enabling either head or tail to be shown, according as the cover is left on or taken ofif. The cover is more generally called a cap. COW-COW, to be very angry, to scold or reprimand violently. — Anglo- Chinese. COWAN, a sneak, an inquisitive or prying person. Greek, kvu>v, a dog. Term given by Freemasons to all uninitiated persons. Used in Anderson's ConMitutions, edit. 1769, p. 97. If derived from Kvav, its use was probably suggested by such passages in the N. T. as Matt, vii. 6, and Phil. iii. 2. The Moslems apply dog in a similar manner. It is probably Oriental. Other authorities say it is from cowan, or KIRWAN, a Scottish word signifying a man who builds rough stone walls without mortar — a man who, though he builds, is not a practical mason. County-crop, (i.e., county-prison crop,) hair cut close and round, as if guided by a basin — an indication of having been in prison. iTl^ V- •^ SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 1 1 1 COWS GREASE, butter. COW-LICK, the term given to the lock of hair which costermongers and tramps usually twist forward from the ear ; a large greasy curl upon the cheek, seemingly licked into shape. The opposite of kewgaxe- KNOCKER, which see. COXY-LOXY, good-tempered, drunk.— iVbr/ott. CRAB, or GRAB, a disagreeable old person. Name of a wUd and sour fruit. CRAB, " to catch a okab," to fall backwards by missing a stroke in rowing. An allusion, of course, to fishing for crabs. CRAB, to offend, or insult; to expose or defeat a robbery, to inform against. Crab, in the sense of " to offend," is Old English, *' If I think one thing and speak another, I will both CRAB Christ and our Ladie His mother." — Pachnan't Patemotttr. CRABSHELLS, or tbottinq cases, shoes. — See carts. CRACK, the favourite horse in a race. CRACK, first-rate, excellent; "a CRACK HAND," an adept; a "crack article," a good one. — Old. CRACK, dry firewood. — Modem Gipsy. CRACK, " in a crack (of the finger and thumb)," in a moment. " CRACK A BOTTLE," to drink. Shahspeare uses crush in the same Slang sense. CRACK UP, to boast or praise. — Ancient English. CRACKED-UP, penniless, or ruined. CRACKLE, the scored rind on a roast leg of pork ; hence applied to the velvet bars on the gowns of the students at St John's College, Cam- bridge, long called " Hogs," and the covered bridge which connects one of the courts with the grounds. Isthmus of Suez, (scis, Lat. sns, a swine.) CRAM, to lie or deceive, implying to fill up or CRAM a person with false stories ; to impart or acquire learning quickly, to "grind " or prepare for an examination. CRAMMER, one skilled in rapidly preparing others for an examination. (CRAMMER, a lie; or a person who commits a falsehood. CRANKY, foolish, idiotic, rickety, capricious, not confined to persons. Ancient Cant, okanke, simulated sickness. German, krank, sickly. CRAPPING CASE, or ken, the closet of decency. CRAWLY-MA WLY, in an ailing, weakly, or sickly state. CRAW-THUMPER, a Roman Catholic. Compare brisket-beater. Crack, to break into a house ; " crack a crib," to commit burglary. Crack-fencer, a man who sells nuts. Cracksman, a burglar. Crapped, hanged. (UNIVEESITl 112 A DICTION ART OF MODERN •• CREAM OF THE VALLEY," gin. CRIB, house, public or otherwise; lodgings, apartments; a situation. Very general in, the latter sense. CRIB, to steal or purloin; to appropriate small things. CRIB, a literal translation of a classic author. — University. CRIB-BITER, an inveterate grumbler ; properly said of a horse which has this habit, a sign of its bad digestion. CRIBBAGE-FACED, marked with the small-pox, full of holes like a crib- bage board. CRIKEY, profane exclamation of astonishment ; " Oh, CBIKET, you don't say so !" corruption of " Christ." CRIPPLE, a bent sixpence. CROAK, to die — from the gurgling sound a person makes when the breath of life is departing. — Oxon. CROAKER, one who takes a desponding view of everything ; an alarmist. From the croaking of a raven. — £en, Jonson. CROAKER, a beggar. CROAKER, a dying person beyond hope ; a corpse. CROAKS, last dying speeches, and murderers' confessions. CROCODILES' TEARS, the tears of a hypocrite. An ancient phrase, introduced into this country by MandevUle, or other early English tra- veller.— 0(Aeiio, iv., I. CRONY, a termagant or malicious old woman ; an intimate friend. John- son calls it Cant. CROOKY, to hang on to, to lead, to walk arm-in-arm ; to court or pay addresses to a girl. CROPPER, " to go a ceopper," ».e., fail or fall. CROSS, a deception — two persona pretending hostility or indifference to each other, being all the while in concert for the purpose of deceiving a third. CROSS-BUTTOCK, an unexpected fling down or repulse ; from a peculiar throw practised by wrestlers. Crocus, or CEOAKUa, a quack or travelling doctor; CEOons-CHOVBT, a chemist's shop. CiiooKED, a term used among dog-stealers, and the " fancy " generally, to denote anything stolen. Cboppie, a person who has had his hair cut, or okopped, in prison. Cropped, hanged. Cross, a general term amongst thieves expressive of their plundering pro- fession, the opposite of square. " To get anything on the cross " is to obtain it surreptitiously. " Ceoss-fanninq in a crowd," robbing persons of their scarf-pins. Obossman, a thief, or one who lives by dishonest practictas. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 1 13 CROSSED, prohibited from taking food from the " Buttery." — University. CROW, or COOK-CKOW, to exult over another's abasement, as a fighting-cock does over his vanquished adversary. CROW, "a regular OROW," a success, a stroke of luck, — equivalent to a FLUKE. CROW, " I have a crow to pick with you," i.e., an explanation to demand, a disagreeable matter to settle. > ' CRUG, food. — Household Words, No. 183. Peculiar to the Christ's Hos- pital boys, who apply it only to bread. CRUMBS, " to pick up one's crumbs," to begin to have an appetite after an illness; to improve in health, circumstances, &c., after a loss thereof. CRUMMY, fat, -pl-am^.— North. CRUMMY-DOSSTa lousy or filthy bed. CRUNCH, to crush. Corruption; or, perhaps from the sound of teeth grinding against each other. CRUSH, to run, decamp rapidly. Crush down sides, run to a place of safety, or the appointed rendezvous. — North Country Cant. CRUSHER, a policeman. CRUSHING, excellent, first-rate. CRUSTY, ill-tempered, petulant, morose. — Old, said to be a coriuption of the AngloNorman coruseux. CUB, a mannerless, uncouth lout. — See UHLIOKED. CUBITOPOLIS, an appellation given by Londoners to the Warwick and Eccleston Square districts. Another name for it is Mesopotamia. CUE, properly the last word spoken by one actor, it being the CUB for tha other to reply. CULL, a man or boy. — Old Cant. Rum cull, the manager of a theatre. CULLET, broken glass. French, cueillette, a gathering or collection. CULLY GORGER, a companion, a brother actor. Theatrical. See gohobr. CULVER-HEADED, weak and stupid. CUMSHAW, a present or bribe. — Anglo-Chinese. CUPBOARD-HEADED, an expressive designation of one whose head ia both wooden and hollow. — Norfolk. CUPBOARD-LOVE, affection arising from interested motives. " A CUPBOARD LOVE ifi Seldom true ; A love sincere is found in few." — Poor Robin, Cross Cove and Mollisher, a man and woman who live by thieving. Cross-Crib, a house frequented by thieves. Crow, one who watches whilst another commits a theft, a confederate in a robbery. The crow looks to see that the way is clear, whilst the SNEAK, his partner, commits the depredation. Cule, thieves' term. Abbreviation of Reticule. CuLLlNO, or CUIJNO, stealing from the carriages on race-conrscB. H 114 ^ DICTIONARY OF MODERN CUP-TOSSER, a person who professes to tell fortunes by examining tha grounds in tea or coffee cups. A cup or goblet, howeyer, is the old mystic symbol of a juggler. French, jouEUR DE oobelbt. CURE, an odd person; a contemptuous term, abridged from curiosity, which was formerly the favourite expression. — Compare btipe. A correspondent objects to this definition as insufficient and erroneous. A CURE, according to him, is an exceedingly cunning, clever chaffer, who does not vulgarly insult like the old chaffers, but keeps the person he is chaffing in an alternate state of anger and complaisance. The CURE is impertinent, but by his submissive manners, and the turns he gives the conversation, cures the wounds as soon as he inflicts them. CURIOS, a corruption of "curiosities;" any articles of virtu brought from abroad. Used by naval and military travellers and others. — See CURE. CURRENCY, a person bom in Australia is there termed currency, while natives of England are termed sterling. The allusion is to the differ- ence between colonial and imperial money. CURSE, anything worthless. Corruption of the Old English word kerse, a small sour wild cherry ; French, CERISE ; Oerman, KlRSOH. Vision of Piers Ploughman: — " Wisdom and witt nowe is not worth a REftss, But if it be carded with cootis aa clothers Kembe their woole." The expression *'not worth a curse," used frequently now-a-days, is therefore not properly profane, though it is frequently intensified by a still more profane expletive. Home Tooke says from kehse, or cress. CURSE-OF-SCOTLAND, the Nine of Diamonds. Various hypotheses have been set up as to this appellation — that it was the card on which the "Butcher Duke" wrote a cruel order with respect to the rebels after the battle of Culloden ; * that the diamonds are the nine lozenges in the arms of Dalrymple, Earl of Stair, detested for his share in the Massacre of Glencoe; that it is a corruption of Cross of Scotland, the nine diamonds being arranged somewhat after the fashion of a St Andrew's Cross; but the most probable explanation is, that in the game of Pope Joan the nine of diamonds is the POPE, of whom the Scotch have an especial horror. CURTAIL, to cut off. Originally a Cant word — vide Hudibras, and Bacchus and Venvs, 1737- CUSHION, to hide or conceal CUSHION - SMITER, polite rendering of tub-thumper, a clergyman, a preacher. • The first supposition is evidently erroreous, for in Dr ffoufioun'g ifemoir.t o/hi» ovm Lifetime, 1747, p. 9s, the Jacobite ladies are stated to have nicknamed the Nine of Diamonds " the Justice-Clerk," after the rebellion of 1715, in allusion to the Lord Justice-Clerk Ormistone, who, for his severity in suppressing it, was called the Curse of Scotland. Gules a cross of lozenges are also the arms of Colonel Packer, who at- tended Charles L on the scaffold, and commanded in Scotland afier^r.ards witti gro:it severity. — See Cltatio on the Origin and Biitory of Plavinp Cantt. n- 2f>7 ^/...i.^yi^'^ J.^^A.-^:^^ SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 1 1 5 CUSHMAWAUNEE, never mind. Sailors and soldiers who have been in India frequently say — •* Cdshmawadnee, If we cannot get arrack, We must drink pawnee." — Anglo-Indian. CUSTOMER, synonymous with chap, a fellow ; " a rum otrsTOMEK," i.e., a man likely to turn the tables on any one who attacked him, and therefore better be let alone, or very warily proceeded with; an "odd fish," or curious person. — Shakspeare. CUSTOMHOUSE-OFFICER, an aperient piU. CUT, to run away, move off quickly; to cease doing anything; cut and BUN, to quit work, or occupation, and start off at once— .Seo phrase, " CUT the cable, and run before the wind ; " to cut didoes, synony- mous with to CUT CAPEBS ; cut a dash, make a show ; cut a capeb, to dance or shew off in a strange manner ; CUT A FIOUKE, 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 af- fections of the wished for lady — Sea phrase, from cuttino out a ship from the enemy's port. Cut that ! be quiet, or stop ; cut out op, done out of ; cut of one's jib, the expression or cast of his counte- nance, [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 comb again, plenty, if one cut does not suffice, plenty remains to " come again ; " cut up, to mortify, to criticise severely, or expose ; cut UP shines, to play tricks ; cut one's stick, to be off quickly, t.e., to be in readiness for a journey, further elaborated into amputate toue maho- GANT, [see STICK ;] CUT IT pat, to exaggerate or shew off in an extensive manner; to cut up fat, to die, leaving a large property; cut under, to undersell; CUT YOUB lucky, to run off; cut one's cart, to expose their tricks; cut ah acquaintance, to cease friendly intercourse with them; "out up rough," to become obstreperous and dangerous; to have cut one's eye-teeth, «.e., to be wide awake, knowing ; to draw cuts, to cast lots with papers of unequal lengths — See Comedy of Errors, act v. scene l. — Cambridge. Old; cutte, to say. 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 criti- cism, " wants cutting." CUT, tiysy. — Household Words, No. 183. CUT, to compete in business ; " a cuttino trade," one conducted on com- petitive principles, where the profits are very closely shaved. CUT-THROAT, a butcher, a cattle-slaughterer; a ruffian. > CUTE, sharp, cunning. . Abbreviation of acute. 1 16 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN- CUTTER, a rufiBan, a cut-purse. Of Robin Hood it was said — *' So being outlaw'd. (as 'tis told,) He with a crew went forth Of lusty (UTTERS, bold and strong, And robbed in the north." Cutter, a swashbuckler — balaffreux, taiUebras fendeur de naieaux.— Colgrave. " He's out of cash, and thou know'st by cutter's law. We are bound to relieve one another." (N. H. W.) —Match at Midn. 0. PL, Vtl 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. CUTTT-SARK, a short chemise. — ScotcK A scantily-draped lady is so called by Bums. DAB, or DABSTER, an expert person. Most probably derived from tha Latin adeptas. DAB, a bed. Probably Back-Slang. DAB, street term for a flat fish of any kind. — Old. DACHA-SALTEE, tenpence. Probably from the Linf/ua Franca. Modem Greet, texa; Italian, dieci soldi, tenpence; Gipsy, dik, ten. So also DACHA-ONE, i.e., dieci uno, elevenpence. — See Saltee. D ADDLE, the han*; "tip us your daddle," ie., shake hands. DADDY, the staRe ms.ns.geT.-^theatrical. Also the person who gives away the bride at a wedding. 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. DAGS, feat or performance; "I'll do your daqs," i.e., I will do something that you cannot do. DAISY-CUTTER, a horse that trots or gallops without lifting its feet much from the ground. DAISY-KICKER, the name hostlers at large inns used to give each other, now nearly obsolete. Daisy-kicker, or grooham, was likewise the Cant term for a horse. The DAI.SY-KICKERS were sad rogues in the old posting days ; fre- quently 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 sauaqe?" i,e., what is to pay ? Daddt; 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 arranged to win the prize. Damper, a shop till ; to draw a damper, i.e., rob a tilL SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. II7 "DANCE UPON NOTHING," to be hanged. DANDO, a great eater, who cheats hotels, eating shops, oyster-cellars, &c.; from a person of that name. DANDER, passion, or temper; "to get one's dandbb up," to rruse his passion. — Old. DANDY, a fop, or fashionable nondescript. Tliis word, in the sense of a fop, is of modern origin. Egan says it was first used in 1820, and Bee in 1 81 6. Johnson does not mention it, although it is to be found in all late dictionaries. Dandies wore stays, studied feminity, and tried to undo their manhood. Lord Petersham headed them. At the pres- ent day dandies of this stamp are fast disappearing. The feminine of DANBT was DANDIZETTE, but the term only lived for a short season. DANDY, a small glass of whisky. — Irish. "Dimidium, cyathi vero apud Metropolitanos Hibemicos dicitur dandy." — Father Tom and the Pope, Blackwood's Magazine for May 1838. DANDY, a boatman. — Anglo-Indian. DANDYPRAT, a funny little fellow, a mannikin; originally a half- farthing. DANNA, human ordure ; BANNA dbaq, a nightman's or dustman's cart ; hence dunnt-ken, which see. DARBLE, the devil. — French, diable. DARK, " keep it dark," i.e., secret. Dabk horse, in racing phraseology, a horse whose chance of success is unknown, and whose capabilities have not been made the subject of comment. DARKEY, twilight ; also a negro. Darkmans, the night DARN, vulgar corruption of d n. — American. DASHING, showy, fast. DAUB, in low language, an artist. 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 aS&davit, 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," Slang rendering of the con- clusion of the oath usually exacted of witnesses. Dancers, stairs. — Old Cant. 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. Darbies, handcuffs. — Old Cant. — ^ee johny 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 I' interrupted Julian, ' has the Earl or Countesa ' " Had Sir Walter known of any connexion between them and this family he would undoubtedly have mentioned it The mistake of the speaker is corrected in the next paragraph. iSL: As-C r*-^-^-^ ll8 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN DAVY'S LOCKER, or davt jones'-locker, the sea, the common recep- tacle for all things thrown overboard ; —a nautical phrase for death, the other world. — Sie 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 datlights or heeltaps ! " DAZE, to confound or bewilder; an ancient form of dazzle used by iS!peM»er, Drayton, &c. DEAD-ALIVE, stupid, dull DEAD-AMISS, said of a horse that from illness is utterly unable to win a race. DEAD-BEAT, utterly exhausted. DEAD-HEAT, when two horses run in so exactly equal th.it the judge cannot place one before the other ; consequently a dead-heat has to be run over again. — See neck and neck. DEAD HORSE, "to draw the dead horse;" dead-horse work — workingf 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 ap- plied to any instrument in writing which, by some apparently trivial omission, becomes useless. Term derived from the Post-Office. 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, but never de- livered. DEAD-MEN, the term for wine bottles after they are emptied of their contents. — Old.— See marines. DEAD-MEN'S SHOES, expectation of property after decease. "To wait for a pair of dead man's bhoes," is considered a wearisome affair. It ia used by Fletcher : — *' And 'tis a general shrift, that most men use. But yet 'tis tedious waiting dead uen's shoes." — Fletcher** Poems, p. 256. DEAD-SET, a pointed attack on a person. DEANER, a shilling. Provincial Gipsy, deanee, a pound. Probably an- other form of dinarly, or it may be the Turkiah word introduced by s^ the Wallachian Gipsies. ^^EATH, " 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. Dsao-lurk, entering a dwelling-house during divine service. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. II9 DECK,* a pack of cards. — Old. Used by Bulwer as a Cant term. General in the United States. DECOMPOSITION ROW, Rotten Row, the equestrian promenade in Hyde Park. — West-end Slang. — Lit. Gaz. April 13, 1862. DEMIREP, (or bip,) a courtesan. Contraction of demireputation. — Grose. DERRICK, an apparatus for raising sunken ships, &c. The term is curi- ously derived from a hangman of that name frequently mentioned in Old Plays, as in the Bellman of London, 16 16. " He rides circuit with the devil, and Derrick must be hU host, and Tybome the inn at which he will light." DESPATCHERS, false " dice with two sides, double four, double five, and double six." — Times, 27th November 1856. DEUCE, the devil. — Old. Stated by Junius and others to be from DEUS. DEUCE, twopence ; deuce at cards or dice, one with two pips or holes. DEVIL, a printer's youngest apprentice, an errand-boy. DEVIL-DODGER, a clergyman; also a person who goes sometimes to church and sometimes to meeting. DEVIL'S-BED-POST, the four of clubs.— See Capt. Chamier'i novel of The Arethusa. DEVIL'S BOOKS, a pack of playing-cards; a phrase of Presbyterian origin, used in contradistinction to kings' books. — See FOUB KiNoa DEVIL'S DUNG, the fetid drug, asafoetida. 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. DEVIL'S LIVERY, black and yellow. DEVIL-MAY-CARE, reckless, rash. DEVIL-SCOLDER, a clergyman. DEVIL'S TEETH, dice. DEVOTIONAL HABITS, horses weak in the knees and apt to Btumble and fall are said to have these. — Stable. DEW-BEATERS, feet; "hold out your dew-beateeb till I take off the darbies." — Peveril of the Peak. Forby says the word is used in Nor- folk 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. • Used by ShaJapeare, 3 K. Hm. 71. v. 1. t Mr Ferrand, in his speech in the House, Uarch 4, 184a, produced a piece of cloth made chiefly from devil's dust, and tore it into shreds to prove its worthlessnesa.— Ste HajuarcPg Parliamentary Debates, third series, vol. Ixi. p. 140. Dee, a pocket-book, term used by tramps. — Gipsy. Delicate, a false subscription book carried by a lubkbb. I20 A DICTIONART OF MODERN DIBBS, money; so called from the buckle bones of sbeep, wbich have been used from the earliest times for gambling purposes, being thrown up five at a time and caught on the back of the hand like halfpence. DICKEY, bad, sorry, or foolish; food or lodging is pronounced dioket when of a poor description; "it's all DIOEET with him," i.e., all over with him. DICKEY, formerly the Cant for a worn-out shirt, but means, now-a-days, a front or half-shirt. Dickey was originally tommy, (from the Greek, Tofxr;, a section,) a name which I understand was formerly used in Trinity College, Dublin. The students are said to have invented the term, and the Gyps changed it to dickey, in which dress it is supposed to have been imported into England. DICKEY, a donkey.— iVor/o?;ir. DICKEY SAM, a native of Liverpool. DICK, a riding whip ; gold-headed DICK, one so ornamented. DICK, abbreviation of " Dictionary," but often euphemistically rendered " Richard," — fine language, long words. — School. DICKENS, synonymous with devil ; "what the dickens are you after?" what the d 1 are you doing? Used by Shakapeare in the Merry Wives of Windsor. DIDOES, pranks or capers; "to cut up didoes," to make pranks DIG, a hard blow. /• 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. DILLY DALLY, to trifle. DIMBER, neat or pretty. — Worcestershire, but old Cant. DIMBER D AMBER, very pretty; a clever rogue who excels his fellows; chief of a gang. Old Cant in the latter sense. — English Rogue. DIMMOCK, money; "how are you off for dim mock?" diminutive of dime, a small foreign silver coin, in the United States 10 cents. DINARLY, money ; " nantee dikaely," I have no money, corrupted from the Lingua Franca, " niente ddjabo," not a penny. Turkish, ddjam ; Spanish, den'bro ; Latin, denarius. Dick ; " look ! the bulky is diokinq," t.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. DiDDLEB, or JEREMY DIDDLEB, an artful swindler. Dies, last dying speeches, and criminal trials. jU-^U^^^^^^ - 'i^t^xJ- ^ J„^u,^ ^c^ '^7)^ J^ey-,^ eak, nor speak too long ; Church, nor church matters, ever turn to siwrt, Nor make St Stephen's Chapel Dover ConBT." DOWD, a woman's nightcap. — Devonshire; also an .4mcrtcon term; pos- sibly from DOWDT, a slatternly woman. DOWLAS, a linen-draper. DOWN, to be aware of, or awake to, any move — in this meaning, synony- mous with up; "down upon one's luck," unfortjjoate ; " down in the mouth," disconsolate ; " to be down on one," to treat him harshly or suspiciously, to pounce upon him, or detect his tricks. DOWNER, a sixpence ; apparently the Gipsy word tawno, " little one," in course of metamorphosis into the more usual " tanner." DOWNY, knowing or cunning ; " a downy govk," a knowing or experienced sharper. In Norfolk, however, it means low-spirited. " DOWN THE DOLLY," a favourite gambling contrivance, ofteii seen in the tap-rooms of public-houses, at race courses, and fairs, consisting of a round board and the figure of an old man or " doll," down which is a spiral hole. A marble is dropped " down the dolly," and stops in one of the small holes or pits (numbered) on the board. The bet is decided according as the marble stops on a high or low figure. DOWN-THE-ROAD, stylish, showy, after the fashion. DOWRY, a lot, a great deal ; " dowry of pamy," lot of rain or water. — See PARNY. Probably from the Gipsy. DOXY, the female companion of a tramp or beggar. In the West of Eng- land, the women frequently call their little girls doxies, in a familiar or endearing sense. A learned divine once described orthodoxy as being a man's own DOXY, and heterodoxy another man's dozy. — Ancient Cant. DRAB, a vulgar, or low woman. — Shakspeare. DRAG, a cart of any kind, a coach ; gentlemen drive to the races in DRAGS. DRAG, a street, or road ; back-draq, back street. DRAGGING-TIME, the evening of a country fair day, when the young fellows begin pulling the wenches about. Downs, Tothill Fields' Prison. Draq, or THREE moon, three months In prison. Draogino, robbing carts, &c. Dragbmen, fellows who cut trunks from the backs of carriages. They sometimes have a light cart, and " drop " behind the plundered vehicle. 8LAN0, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. I 25 DRAIN, a drink ; " to do a drain," to take a friendly drink—" do a wet; " sometimes called a common seweb. DRAW, used in several senses : — 1, of a theatre, new piece or exhibition, when it attracts the public and succeeds ; 2, to induce — as " draw him on;" 3, of pocket-picking — as "draw his wipe," " draw his ticker." In sporting parlance it is used with an ellipsis of " trigger," " I drew on it as it rose before me." " Come, draw it mild ! ',' i.e., don't exag- gerate ; opposite of " come it strong," from the phraseology of the bar (of a PUBLIC,) where customers desire the beer to be drawn mild. DRAW-BOY, a cunning device used by puffing tradesmen. A really good article is advertised or ticketed and exposed for sale in the shop win- dow at a very low price, with a view of drawing in customers to pur- chase other and inferior articles at high prices. DRAWERS, formerly the ancient Cant name for very long stockings, now a hosier's term. DRAWING TEETH, wrenching off knockers.— ifedtcaZ Student Slang. DRAWLATCH, a loiterer. DRAW-OFF, to throw back the body to give impetus to a blow; "he DREW off, and delivered on the left drum." — Pugilistic. A sailor would say, " he hauled off and slipped in." DRIPPING, a cook. DRIVE, a term used by tradesmen in speaking of business ; " he's drivino a roaring trade," i.e., a very good one ; hence, to succeed in a bargain, " I DROVE a good bargain," i.e., got the best end of it. To let drive at one, to strike out. DRIVE AT, to aim at ; " what is he drivino at ?" " what does he intend to imply ? " a phrase often used when a circuitous line of argument is adopted by a barrister, or a strange set of questions asked, the purpose of which is not very evident. DRIZ, lace. In a low lodging house this singular autograph inscription and then drive off in an opposite direction with the booty. — Old Cant. The Slang meaning is the drivers of drags. Dress a Hat, to — a system of robbery very difficult of detection. It is managed by two or more servants or shopmen of different employers, exchanging their master's goods — as, for instance, a shoemaker's shop- man receives shirts or other articles from a hosier's, in return for a pair of boots. Another very ingenious method may be witnessed about eleven o'clock in the forenoon in any of the suburban districts of London. A butcher's boy, with a bit of steak filclied from his master's shop, or from a customer, falls in with a neighbouring baker's man, who has a loaf obtained in a similar manner. Their mutual friend, the pot-boy, in full expectation of their visit, has the tap-room fire bright and clear, and not only cooks the steak but " stands a shant of oatter " as his share. So a capital luncheon is improvised for the three, without the necessity of paying for it ; and this practical com< munistic operation is styled DRESSINQ A hat. 126 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN appeared over the mantelpiece, "Scotch Mary, with DKiz, (lace,) bound to Dover and back, please God." DRIZ FENCER, a person who sells lace. DROP, to quit, go off, or turn aside ; " Drop the main Toby," go off the main road. DROP, " to DROP a man," to knock him down ; " to drop nrao a person," to give him a thrashing. See 8LIP and walk. " To drop on to a man," to accuse or rebuke him suddenly. DRUM, a house, a lodging, a street; hazard-drum, a gambling -house; PLASH-DRUM, a house of ill-fame. DRUM, the ear. — Pugilistic. An example of Slang synecdoche. DRUM, as applied to the road, is doubtless from the Wallachian Gipsy word " DRUMRI," derived from the Greek, Spofxoi. — See note on this source of words, p. II. DRUMSTICKS, legs ; drumstick cases, trousers. DRYASDUST, an antiquary. DRY-NURSE, when an inferior officer on board ship carries on the duty, on account of the captain's ignorance of seamanship, the junior officer is said to dry-nurse his captain. Majors and adjutants in the army also not unfrequentiy dht-nurse the colonels of their regiments in a similar manner. DUB, to pay or give ; " DUB UP," pay up. DUBASH, a general agent. — Anglo-Indian. DUBBER, the moiith ; " mum your dubber," hold your tongue. DUBLIN PACKET, to turn a corner; to '' take the DUBLIN packet," viz., run round the comer, — probably a pun on doubling a corner. DUCATS, money.— Theatrical Slang. DUCK, a bundle of bits of the " stickings " of beef gold for food to the London poor. — See fagot. DUCKS, trousers. — Sea • term. The expression most in use on land is " white ducks," i.e., white pantaloons or trousers. " DUCKS AND DRAKES, " to make ducks and drakes of one's money," to throw it away childishly, — derived from children "shying" flat stones on the surface of a pool, which they call DUCKS and dbaees, according to the number of skips they make. DUDDER, or dcdsman, a person who formerly travelled the country as a pedlar, selling gown-pieces, silk waistcoats, Ac, to countrymen. In selling a waistcoat-piece for thirty shillings or two pounds, which cost him perhaps five shillings, he would shew great fear of the revenue officer, and beg of the purchasing clodhopper to kneel down in a puddle Drummer, a robber who first makes his victims insensible by drugs or violence, and tlien plunders them. Dubs, a bunch of keys. Nearly obsolete. UuBSMAN, or screw, a turnkey. SLANQ, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. I 27 of water, erooh his arm, and twear that it might never become ttraight ij he told an exciseman, or even hi» own wife. The term and practice are nearly obsolete. In Liverpool, however, and at the east end of Lon- don, men dressed up as sailors, with pretended silk handkerchiefs and cigars " only just smuggled from the Indies," are still to be plentifully DUDDS, clothes, or personal property. Oaehc, dud; Ancient Cant; also r^ ^1,4**-'^ Duuh. y _ ^ ''^ DUFF, pudding; vulgar pronunciation of DOUQH. — Sea. DUFFER, a hawker of "Brummagem" or sham jewellery; a sham of any kind; a fool, a worthless person. So Arthur Smith, in his Summer Idyll.— '• But Robinson, a thorough DnwER he, TroU'd out Bome feeble song about King Cole.** DuFFEB was formerly synonymous with duddek, and was a general term given to pedlars. It is mentioned in the Frauds of London (1760) as a word in frequent use in the last century to express cheats of all kinds. From the Qerman, ddbfen, to want f DUFFING, false, counterfeit, worthless. DUFFY, a term for a ghost or spirit among the West India negroes. In all probability the davt jones of sailors. DUKE, gin, a term amongst livery servants. — Household Words, No. 183. DUMBFOUND, to perplex, to beat soundly till not able to speak. Ori- ginally a Cant word. Johnson cites the Spectator for the earliest use. Scotch, DUMFOUNDER. DUMMACKER, a knowing or acute person. DUMMIES, empty bottles, and drawers in an apothecary's shop, labelled so as to give the idea of an extensive stock. DUMMY, in three-handed whist the person who holds two hands plays DUMMY. DUMPY, short and stout. DUMPISH, sullen, or glummy. DUN, to solicit payment. — Old Cant, from the French DONNEZ, give; or from JOE DIN, the famous bailiff of Lincoln ; or simply a corruption of DIN, from the Anglo-Saxon dunan, to clamour? DUNDERHEAD, a blockhead. DUNDREARY, an empty swell DUNG, an operative who works for an employer who does not give full or " society " wages. Dummy, a pocket-book. In this word, as in the two preceding, {see dummy and dummies,) the idea is connected with dumb, i.e., that which gives no sign. As a thieves' term for a pocket-book, it is peculiarly ap- plicable, for the contents of pocket-books, bank-notes, and papers make no noise, while the money in a purse betrays its presen^-e by chinking. Dump-Fencer, a man who sells buttons. DuNAKEU, a stealer of cows or calves. Nearly obsolete. ?P^*i^C5*lW "WIUiyiT^HK 128 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN DUNGAREE, low, common, viilgar.— Anglo-Indian. DmoAREB is ths name of a disreputable suburb of iiombay, and also of a coanse, blue cloth, worn by sailors. *' As smart a y^ i\mg fellow as ever you 'd see, lu jacket and truusera of blue DuNOikREfc:." DUNKHORNED, sneaking, shabby. Dunkhorn in Norfolk is the short, blunt horn of a beast, and the adjective is applied to a cuckold w!«> has not spirit to resist his disgrace. DUNNAGE, baggage, clothes. Also, a Sea term for wood or loose fagota laid at the bottom of ships, upon which is placed the cargo. DUNNY-KEN, a water-closet. — From dahna and ken, which see. DUST, money; "down with the dust," put down the money. — Ancient. Dean Swift once took for his text, " He who giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord." His sermon was short. " Now, my brethren," said he, " if you are satisfied with the security, down with the ddst." DUST, a disturbance, or noise, " to raise a dust," to make a row. DUST, to beat; " ddst one's jacket," i.e., give him a beating. DUSTY, a phrase used in answering a question where one expects appro- bation. " What do you think of this 1" " Well, it 's not so DU8TT," i.e., not so bad; sometimes varied to " none so dusty." DUST-HOLE, Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge. — Univ. Slung. DUST-HOLE, the Queen's Theatre, Tottenham Court Road.— Theat. Siang^ DUSTOORIE, commission, doceur, bribe. — Anglo-Indian. DUTCH AUCTION, a method of selling goods, adopted by " cheap Johns," to evade the penalties for selling without a licence. The article is offered all round at a high price, which is then dropped till it is taken. DUTCH CONSOLATION, "thank God it is no worse." DUTCH CONCERT, where each performer plays a different tune. DUTCH COURAGE, false courage, generally excited by drink,-^pot- valour. DUTCH FEAST, where the host gets drunk before his guest. DUTCH UNCLE, a personage often introduced in conversation, but exceedingly difficult to describe ; " I '11 talk to him like a dutch UNCLE ! " conveys the notion of anything but a desirable relation.— Afn^ricanisin. DUTCH, or double dutch, gibberish, or any foreign tongue. EARL-OFCORK, the ace of diamonds. — Hibemicism. •' 'What do you mean by the E:irl of Cork?' asked Mr Squander. "The aoe of diamonds, your honour. It's the worst ace, and the poorest ctird in the pacK. and is Killed the earl of cork, because he 's the poorest uoblemau in Ireland.'" — CarUton's Traits andSloru* ofthi Irish Ptaianiry. EARWIG, a clergyman, also one who prompts another maliciously. EAR WIGGING, a i ebuke in private ; a wigoinq is more public. DurbtinaCKINg, ofTerinj, laco or any other article as an introduction to fortune-telling ; generally pursued by women. SLA NO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 1 29 EAVES-DROPPER, a listener. The name is derived from the punish- ment which, according to Olirer, was directed in the Lectures, at the revival of Masonry in 1 71 7, to be inflicted on a detected Cowan, [g. v.,] and which was "To be i>l:iced under the eaves of the house in rainy weather, till the water runs in at bia shoulders and out at his heels." — Uackejfi Lexicon 0/ Freemtuonry. EFF, the vulgar abbreviation of KTrraoHAM saloon, a favourite music hall at the east end of London. EGG, or EGO on, to excite, stimulate, or provoke one person to quarrel with another, &c. Corruptiun of edge, or edge on. — Ancient. ELBOW, " to shake one's elbow," to play at cards. ELBOW GREASE, labour, or industry. — See palm oil. ELEGANT EXTRACTS, a Cambridge University title for those students who, having unfortunately failed only slightly in some one subject, and being "plucked" accordingly, were allowed their degrees. This ap- plied to the "Poll" List, as the "Gulf" did to the "Honours." ELEPHANT, "to have seen the elephant," to be "up to the latest _^ move," or " rfniim to the last new trick ; " to be knowing, and not (O'' "green," &c. Possibly a metaphor taken from the travelling menap"- < — ^ ries, where the elephant is the finale of the exhibition. — Originally ' an Americanwm. Bartlett gives conflicting examples. General now, however. ENEMY, time, a'clock, the ruthless enemy and telltale of idleness; "what says the enemy ? " i.e., how goes the time ? ENTIRE ANIMAL.— See Hoo. ESSEX STILE, a ditch. ESSEX LION, a calf. EVAPORATE, to go, or run away. EXES, expenses ; written thus — E X s. EXTENSIVE, frequently applied in a Slang sense to a person's appear- ance or talk; "rather extensive that ! " intimating that the person alluded to is shewing off, or " CUTTINO it pat." EXTRACTED, placed on the list of " bleqant extbacts." — Camh. Univ. EYE- WATER, gin. FACE, credit at a public-house, impudence, confidence, brass; thus a BBAZEN FACE. " To run one's pace," is to obtain credit in a bounceable manner. Ease, to rob ; " easing a bloak," robbing a man. Efteb, a thief who frequents theatres. BvjtBLASTLNO STAIRCASE, the treadmill. Sometimes called "Colonel Chesterton's bvkklastino staikcase," from the gallant inventor or improver. I 130 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN FACER, a tumbler of whisky punch. " Cyathi dicti sunt faceras." — Pathir Tom mid y«e Pop*. FACER, a blow on the face. In Ireland, a dram. FAD, a hobby, a favourite pursuit. FADGE, a farthing. FADGE, a flat \oa.l— North,. FADGE, to suit or fit ; "it won't padge," it will not do. Used by Skaht • peare, but now heard only in the streets. FADGER, a glazier's frame. FAG, a schoolboy who performs a servant's ofiBcea to a superior school- mate. Probably from F. a g., the fifth problem of Euclid. Grose thinks FAQQED OUT is derived from this. FAG, to beat. FAGGOT, a bundle of bits of the "atickings" (hence probably its name) sold for food to the London poor. It is sometimes called a duck. In appearance it resembles a Scotch " haggis." Fag-end of a thing, the inferior or remaining part, the refuse. FAGOT, a term of opprobrium used by low people to children and women ; " you little pagot, you ! " Fagot was originally a term of contempt for a dry, shrivelled old woman, whose bones were like a bundle of sticks, only fit to bum. — Compare the French expression for a heretic, tentir le fagot. FAKE ; " pake the rubber," i.e., stand treat. FAL-LALS, trumpery ornaments, gewgaws. Farby suggests aa a deriva- tion the Latin, phalee^, horse trappings. FAMBLES, or paums, the hands. — Aticient Cant. German, fanqeit. FAN, a waistcoat. — Houndsditch term. FANCY, the favovu-ite sports, pets, or pastime of a person, the ton of low life. Pugilists are sometimes termed the fancy. Shahpeare uses the word in the sense of a favourite, or pet ; and the paramour of a prostitute is still called her panot-man. PANCY-BLOAK, a fancy or sporting man. ■ Fake, to cheat, or swindle; to do anything; to go on, or continue; to make or construct ; to steal, or rob, — a verb variously used. Faked, done, or done for ; " fake away, there 's no down ; " go on, there is nobody looking. Alayhew says it is from the Latin, pacimentom. Gaelic, paioh, to get, acquire, reach. Fakement, a false begging petition, any act of rubbery, swindling, or d» ception. Fakement chablet, the owner's private marV Fakeb, one who makes or fakes anything. " Fake a cly," to pick a pocket. Family men, or people, thieves, or burglars." ^ -v^^JJ-c^^ SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 131 FANNING, a beating. FAN-QUI, a European ; literally, foreign devil. — Anglo- Chinese. FANTADLINS, pastry. FAN-TAIL, a dustman's hat. FARMER In Suffolk this terra is applied to the eldest son of the occupier of the farm. In London it is used derisively of a countryman, and denotes a farm-labourer, clodpole. Both senses are different from the general acceptation. , .~V^fc5s>' FAST, gay, spreeish, unsteady, thoughtless, — an Americanism that haa of - C\\ o>iA^V\ ' 1\ late ascended from the streets to the drawing-room. The word has -— * certainly now a distinct meaning, which it had not thirty years ago. Quick is the synonyme for past, but a quick man would not convey the meaning of a past man, — a person who, by late hours, gaiety, and continual rounds of pleasure, lives too fast, and wears himself out. In polite society a fast young lady is one who affects mannish habits, or makes herself conspicuous by some unfeminine accomplishment, — talks Slang, drives about in London, smokes cigarettes, is knowing in dogs, horses, &c. An amusing anecdote is told of a fast young lady, the daughter of a right reverend prelate, who was an adept in horse- flesh. Being desirous of ascertaining the opinion of a candidate for ordination, who had the look of a bird of the same feather, as to the merits of some cattle just brought to her father's palace for her to select from, she was assured by him they were utterly unfit for a lady's use. With a knowing look at the horses' points, she gave her decision in these choice words, " Well, I agree with you ; they are a rum lot, as the devil said of the ten commandments." Charles Dickens, in the Christmas number of All the Year Sound for 1859, says that "fast," when applied to a young man, is only another word for loose, as he understands the term; and the Saturday Review for July 18, i860, defines a fast girl as a woman who has lost her respect for men, and for whom men have lost their respect also. FAST, embarrassed, wanting money, tied up. Synonymous with HARD UP. — Yorkshire. FAT, a printer's term signifying the void spaces on a page, for which he is paid at the same rate as full or unbroken pages. This work afforded much FAT for the printers. FAT, rich, abundant, &o. ; "a FAT lot;" "to cut it fat," to exaggerate, to show off in an extensive or grand manner, to assume undue importance ; " cut up FAT," see under cut. As a Theatrical term, a part with plenty of FAT in it is one which affords the actor an opportunity of effective display. FAVOUBITE, the horse that has the lowest odds laid against it in the betting Ust. When the favourite wins, the public generally are the gainers When an outsider wins, the bino, that is to say, the persons who make a business of betting, are generally the gainers. Father, or fence, a buyer of stolen property. Fawnet, a finger ring. Irish, faiker, a ring 132 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN FEATHERS, money, wealth; "in full feather," rich. FEED, a meal, generally a dinner. — Stable Slang. FEEDER, a spoon.— OW Cant. FEELE, a daughter, or child. — Corrupted French. FELLOW-COMMONER, uncomplimentary epithet used at Cambridge for an empty bottle. FELT, a hat. — Old term, in me in the tixteenth century. FEN-NIGHTINGALES, toads and frogs, from their contmued croaking at night. FERINGEE, a European. — Anglo-Indian. FERRICADOUZER, a knock-down blow, a good thrashing. Probably derived, through the Lingua Franca, from the Italian, fak' cadeb' MORTO, to knock down dead. FEW, used in a Slang sense thus : — " Don't you call this considerably jolly ?" " I believe you, my bo-ooy, a few." Another expression of the same kind is rather, which see. FIB, to beat, or strike. — Old Cant. FIBBING, a series of blows delivered quickly, and at a short distance. — j^'ugiliistic. FIDDLE, a whip. FIDDLE, "to play second FmDtB," to act aubordinately, or succumb to another. FIDDLE-FACE, a person with a wizened countenance. FIDDLE-FADDLE, twaddle, or trifling discourse. — Old Cant. FIDDLER, or fadoe, a farthing. Fawney boon ino, selling rings for a wager. This practice is founded upon the old tale of a gentleman laying a wager that if he were to otter " real gold soverf igns " at a penny a-piece at the foot of London Bridge, the English public would be too incredulous to buy. The story states that the gentleman stationed himself with sovereigns on a tea tray, and sold only two within the hour, — winning the bet. This tale the fawney bouncers tell the public, only offering brass, double gilt-rings, instead of sovereigns. Fawney, or fawney rio, ring-dropping. A few years ago, this practice, or RIO, was very common. A fellow purposely dropped a ring, or a pocket-book with some little articles of jewellery, &c., in it, and when he saw any person pick it up, ran to claim half. The ring found, the question of how the booty was to be divided had then to be decided. The fawney says, " If you will give me eight or nine shillings for my share, the things are yours." This the flat thinks very fair- The ring of course is valueless, and the swaUower of the bait discovers the trick too late. Fence, or fencer, a purchaser or receiver of stolen goods; fence, the shop or warehouse of a fencer. — Old Cant. Kence, to sell or pawn stolen property to a FENCKE. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. I33 FIDDLER, a sixpence. — Household Words, No. 183. FIDDLER, a sharper, a cheat; also one who dawdles over little matters, and neglects great ones. FIDDLERS' GREEN', the place where sailors go to when they die. It is a place of fid£-< t GOSS, a hat — from the gossamer silk with which modern hats are made. y 1 \ GOSS, " to give a man Goss," to requite for an injury, to beat, or kill him '0^'*^ GOUROCK HAM, salt herrings. Gourock, on the Clyde, about twenty- ^>-< -''AULa.iv/CJ fi'® miles from Glasgow, was formerly a great fishing village. — Scotch. GOVERNMENT SIGN-POST, the gaUows. GOVERNOR, a father, a master or superior person, an elder; "which way, guv'ner, to Cheapside 1 " GOWLER, a dog. — North Country Cant. Query, growler. GOWNSMAN, a student at one of the universities. A person of the town, not connected with the college, would be termed a snob. " GOWN AND TOWN ROW," a fight between the students and townsmen at Cambridge. GRAB, to clutch, or seize ; gbabbed, caught, apprehended. GRABBER, the hand. GRACE-CARD, the six of hearts, so termed in Ireland. A Kilkenny gentleman, named Grace, being solicited, with promises of royal favour, to espouse the cause of William III., gave the following answer, writ- ten on the back of the six of hearts, to an emissary of Marshal Schom- berg's, who had been commissioned to make the proposal to him : — " Tell your master I despise his offer ; and that honour and conscience are dearer to a gentleman than all the wealth and titles a prince can bestow." GRAFT, to work; "where are you qbaftino?" ».e., where do you live, or workf GRANNT, importance, knowledge, pride; "take the granny off them as has white hands," viz., remove their self-conceit. — JfayA«o, vol. i., p. 364. GRANNY, a knot which will not hold, from its being wrongly and clumsily tied. — Sea. GRANNY, to know, or recognise; "do ye ORANin Hie bloke?" do you know the man 1 GRAPPLING IRONS, fingers.— 5ca. GRASS, "gone to grass," dead, — a coarse allusion to burial; absconded, or disappeared suddenly ; " oh, go to grass," a common answer to a troublesome or inquisitive person, — possibly a corruption of "go to GRACE," meaning, of coiu-se, a directly opposite fate. GRASS-COMBER, a country fellow, a haymaker. GRASS- WIDOW, an unmarried mother; a deserted mistress. In the United States, during the gold fever in California, it was common for an adventurer to put both his wife (termed in his absence a grass- WIBOW) and his children to school during his absence. GRAVEL, to confound, to bother ; " I 'm gravelled," i.e., perplexed or confused. — Old. Also, to prostrate, beat to the ground. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. I47 GRAVEL-RASH, a scratched face,— telling its tale of a drunken fall. A person subject to this is called a geatel-qbindeb. GRAVESEND SWEETMEATS, shrimps. GRAY-COAT PARSON, a lay impropriator, or lessee of great tithes. GRAYS, or scotch qeats, lice. — Scotch. GRAY, a halfpenny, with either two " heads " or two " tails " — both sides alike. Low gamblers use grays. They cost from 2d. to 6d. each. GREASE-SPOT, a minute remnant, the only distinguishable remains of an antagonist after a terrific contest. GREASING a man is bribing ; soaping is flattering him. GREEKS, the low Irish. St Giles's greek, Slang or Cant language. Cot- grave gives MERRIE OBEEK aa a definition for a roistering fellow, a drunkard. The Greeks have always been regarded as a jolly, luxurious race ; so much so, that the Latins employed the verb Orwcari (lit. to play the qreek) to designate fine living and free potations, a sense in which Horace frequently uses it ; while Shakspeare often mentions the UERBT GREEKS; and "as merry as a onio" (or gbeek) was long a favourite allusion in old English authors.— .Sec medical oeeek. GREENWICH GOOSE, a pensioner of the Naval Hospital. GREEN, ignorant, not wide-awake, inexperienced. — Shakspeare. " Do you see any GBEEN in my eye ? " ironical question in a dispute. GREEN-HORN, a fresh, simple, or uninitiated person. GREENLANDER, an inexperienced person, a spoon. GRIDDLER, a person who sings in the streets without a printed copy of the words. — Seven Dials. GRIDIRON, a County Court summons. "GRIDIRON AND DOUGH-BOYS," the flag of the United States, in allusion to the stars and stripes. — Sea. GRIEF, " to come to gbiep," to meet with an accident, be ruined. GRIFFIN, in India, a newly-arrived cadet ; general for an inexperienced youngster. " Fast " young men in London frequently term an um- brella a GBIPFIN. GRIND, "to take a geind," i.e., a walk, or constitutional — Vnicersity. GRIND, to work up for an examination, to cram with a gexkdeb, or pri- vate tutor. — Medical, but commencing to be generaL GRINDER, a tooth. GRINDOFF, a miller. GRIPES, the stomach-ache. — See tbipes. GROGGY, tipsy ; when a prize-fighter becomes " weak on his pins," and nearly beaten, he is said to be groggy. — Pugilistic. The same term is applied to horses in a similar condition. Old English, aoqboggyij weighed down, oppressed — Prompt. Parvulorum. Or it may only mean that uuBteadines& of gait consequent on imbibing too much 148 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN GROG-BLOSSOMS, pimples on the face, caused by hard drinking. ' Of such a person it is often said, " He bears his blushing honours thick upon him." GROG-FIGHT, a drinking -paitj.— Military. GRUB, meat or victuals of any kind, — grub signifying food, and BUBj drink. GRUBBING-KEIT, or SPiuiKrn, a workhouse ; a cook-shop. GRUBBY, musty, or old-fashioned. — Devonshire. GRUEL, " to give a person his qruel," to kill him. An expression in all probability derived from the report of a trial for poisoning. Compare "to settle his hash," and "cook his GOOSE." GULFED, a University term, denoting that a man is unable to enter for the classical examination from having failed in the mathematical.* Candidates for classical honours were compelled to go in for both exa- minations. From the alteration of the arrangements, the term is now obsolete. — Cambridge. GULL, to cheat, deceive ; also, one easily cheated. GULPIN, a weak, credulous fellow, who will gulp down anything. GUMMY, thick, fat — generally applied to a woman's ankles, or to a man whose flabby person betokens him a drunkard. GUMPTION, or rumoumption, comprehension, capacity. From gaum, to comprehend ; " I canna oadqe it, and I canna gauu it," as a Yorkshire exciseman said of a hedgehog. GUNNER'S DAUGHTER, a term facetiously applied to the method of punishing boys in the Royal Navy by tying them securely to the breech of a cannon, so as to present the proper part convenient for the cat, and flogging them. This ia called " marrying " or " kissing the gunner's daughter." GUP, gossip. — Anglo-Indian. GURRAWAUN, a coachman, a native Indian corruption of the English word coachman. For another curious corruption of a similar kind, tee eiUKVi.— Anglo-Indian. GUT-SCRAPER, a fiddler. GUTTER BLOOD, a low or vulgar mm.— Scotch. GUTTER LANE, the throat. GUY, a fright, a dowdy, an ill-dressed person. Derived from the effigy of Guy Fawkes carried about by boys on Nov. 5. ♦ These men's names appeared in the list of *' Degrees Allowed." The name " GuLT " for this list is said to have arisen from the boast of a former " wooden spoon." ** I would have you to know there is a great gulf between me and the cap- tain of the poll." QuLLT-RAKERS, Cattle thieves in Australia, the cattle being stolen out of almost inaccessible valleys, there termed oullles. QuBBELL, a fob. — Wettminiter Slums. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 149 GYP, an undergraduate's valet at Cambridge. Corruption of gtpst joe, (Saturday Review ;) popularly derived by Cantaba from the Oreek, GYPS, {yi'^,) a vulture, from their dishonest rapacity. At Oxford they are called scouts. HACKLE, " to show hackle," to be willing to fight. Hackles are the long feathers on the back of a cock's neck, which he erects when angry, — hence the metaphor. HACKSLAVER, to stammer in one's speech, like a dunce at his lesson. HADDOCK, a purse.— 5ee BEANS. HAKIM, a medical man. — Anglo-Indian. HALF-A-BEAN, half-a sovereign. HALF-A-BULL, two shillings and sixpence. HALF-A-COUTER, half-a-sovereign. HALF-A-HOG, sixpence ; sometimes termed HALF-A-QBUNTEB. HALF-A-TUSHEROON, half-a-crown. HALF-AND-HALF, a mixture of ale and porter, much affected by medical students ; occasionally Latinised into squdium DiMioiaMCiDE. — See cooPEB. HALF-BAKED, soft, doughy, haJf-witted, silly. Half-eocked has a simi- lar meaning. HALF-FOOLISH, ridiculous ; means often wholly foolish. HALF-JACK.— See jacks. HALF-MOURNING, to have a black eye from a blow. HALF-ROCKED, silly, half-witted. — Compare halp-baked. HALF-SEAS-OVER, reeling drunk.— Sea. Used by Swift. HALL, the Leadenhall Market; the same as "the gabden" refers to Covent Garden. HAND, a workman, or helper, a person. " A cool hand," explained by Sii Thomas Overbury to be "one who accounts bashfulnesa the wickedest thing in the world, and therefore studies impudence." HANDER, a second, or assistant, in a prize fight. HANDICAP. Handicapping, in racing affairs, now signifies the adjudg- ment of various weights to horses differing in age, power, and speed, to place them as much as possible on an equality, and thereby enable one or all to have a fair chance of winning the race. The old game of handicap (hand i' the cap) is a very different affair ; and as it is now almost obsolete, being only played by gen- tlemen in Ireland, after hunting and racing dinners, when the wine has circulated pretty freely, merits a description here. It is played by three persons, in the following manner : — A wishes to obtain some article belonging to B, say a horse ; and offers to " challenge" his watch against it. B agrees ; and C is chosen as handicapper to " make the award" — that is, to name the sum of money that the owner of the article of lesser value shall give with it, in exchange for the mora Halfa-STBetch, six months in prison. ISO A DICTIONARY OF MODERN valuable one. The three parties, A, B, and C, put down a certain stake each, and then the handicapper makes his award. If A and B are both satisfied with the award, the exchange is made between the horse and watch, and the handicapper wins, and takes up the stakes. Or if neither be satisfied with the award, the handicapper takes the stakes ; but if A be satisfied and B not, or vice vena, the party who declares himself satisfied gets the stakes. It is consequently the ob- ject of the handicapper to make such award as will cause the chal- lenger and challenged to be of the same mind ; and considerable in- genuity is required and exhibited on his part. The challenge having been made, as stated, between A's watch and B's horse, each party puts his HAND into a cap or hat [or into his pocket] while C makes the award, which he purposely does in as rapid and complex a man- ner as possible. Thus, after humorously exaggerating the various excellences of the articles, he may say—" The owner of the superior gold lever watch shall give to the owner of the beautiful thorough- bred bay horse, called Flyaway, the watch and fifteen half-crowns, seven crowns, eighteen half-guineas, one hundred and forty groats, thirteen sovereigns, fifty-nine pence, seventeen shillings and sixty- three farthings. Draw, gentlemen I " A and B must instantly then draw out and open their hands. If money appears in both, they are agreed, and the award stands good ; if money be in neither hand, they are also agreed, but the award is rejected. If money be only in one hand, they are not agreed, the award is ofif, and the stakes go as already stated. Very frequently, neither A nor B are sufficiently quick in their mental calculations to follow the handicapper, and not knowing on the instant the total of the various sums in the award, prefer being "ofif," and "draw" no money. As in this event the handicapper gets the stakes, the reason for the complex nature of his award is obvious. When handicapping has once commenced in a convivial party, it is considered unsportsmanlike to refuse a challenge. So when the small hours draw on, and the fun becomes fast and furious, coats, boots, waistcoats, even shirts are challenged, handicapped, and exchanged, amidst an almost indescribable scene of good-humoured jovialty and stentorian laughter. This is the true handicap. The application of the term to horse -racing has arisen from one or more persons being chosen to make the award between persons, who put down equal sums of money, on entering horses unequal in power and speed for the same race. HANDLE, a nose ; the title appended to a person's name ; also a term in boxing, " to HANDLE one's fists," to use them against an adversary. BLAlfDLING, a method of concealing certain cards in the. palm of the hand, one of the many modes of cheating practised by sharpers. HAND-SAW, or " chive-fencee," a man who sells razors and knives in the streets. HANDSELLER, or cheap jack, a street or open-air seller, a man who carries goods to hia customers, instead of waiting for his customers to visit bin). SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 15 1 HANO OUT, to reside, — in allusion to the ancient custom of hanging out HANGMAN'S WAGES, thirteenpence halfpenny.— OW- iph century. " 'Sfoot, what a witty ro^e waa this to leave this fair thirteenpence lialfpenny, and this old halter," intimating aptly — '* Had the hangman met us tliere, by these presages Here had been his worlt, and here hig wages." — Match at Midnijjht. Old Plays, viL 357, HANNAH, " that's the man as married Hannah," a Salopian phrase to express a matter begun. HANSEL, or handsale, the lucky money, or first money taVen in the morning by a pedlar. — Cocher'a Dictwnary, 1724. " Legs of mutton (street term for sheep's trotters, or feet) two for a penny ; who '11 give me a hansel ? who '11 give me a hansel ? " — Cry at Cloth Fair at the present day. Hence, earnest money, first fruits, &.O. In Norfolk, han- selling a thing is using it for the first time, as wearing a new coat, taking seizin of it, as it were. — Anglo-Saxon. Nich. Bailey. " HA'PURTH 0' COPPERS," Habeas Corpus.— Legal Slang. " HA'PURTH 0' LIVELINESS," the music at a low concert, or theatre. HARAMZADEH, a very general Indian term of contempt, signifying base- bom. — A nglo-Indian. HARD LINES, hardship, difficulty. — Soldier's tern for hard duty on tha lines in front of the enemy. The editor of Notes and Queries proves Lines to have been formerly synonymous with Lots, from Ps. xvi. 6. — Jiible version — "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;" Prayer- Book do. — " The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground," — Vol. xii., p. 287. HARDY, a stone.— iVbrtA. HARD-UP, in distress, poverty stricken. — Sea. HARD-UP, a cigar-end finder, who collects the refuse pieces of smoked cigars from the gutter, and having dried them, sells them as tobacco to the very poor. HARRY, or old harry, (»'.«., Old Hairy!) the Devil; "to play old HARRY with one," i.e., ruin or annoy him. HARRY-SOPH, (ipl(ro(pos, very wise indeed,) a student of law or physio at Cambridge, who being of the same standing as the students in arts in his year, is allowed to wear a full-sleeved gown when they assume their B.A. gowns, though he does not obtain his actual degree so soon. An undergraduate in his last year is a Senior Soph, in his last term, & Questionist. Vide Cambridge University Calendar for 18^2, p. 38. — Cambridge. HARUM-SCARUM, wild, dissipated, reckless ; four horses driven in a line. This is also called stnciDE. See tandem, randem, unicorn, &c. HASH, a mess, confusion ; " a pretty hash he made of it ; " to hash trp, to jumble together without order or regularity. The term also occurs in the phi'ase " to settle his hash," which is equivalent to " give him his GRUEL," or " cook his goose," i.e., kill him. HATCHET, " to throw the hatohkt," to tell lies. 152 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN HATCHET, "to sling the hatchet," to skulk.— &a. HAWBUCK, a vulgar, ignorant, country fellow. HAWSE HOLES, the apertures in a ship's bows through which the cables pass ; "he has crept in through the hawse-holes," said of an officer who has risen from the grade of an ordinary seaman. — Navy. HAY BAG, a woman. HAZE, to confuse and annoy a subordinate by contradictory, unnecessary, and perplexing orders. HAZY, intoxicated. — Household Wards, No. 183. HEADBEETLER, the bully of the workshop, who lords it over his fellow- workmen by reason of superior strength, skill in fighting, &c. Some- times applied to the foreman. HEADER, a plunge head foremost into water, or a fall in the same pos- ture from accident. Also a recently-adopted theatrical expression for the daring jump of the hero or heroine in sensational dramas. See newspaper reviews of the " Colleen Bawn." " HEAD OR TAIL," " I can't make head oe tail of it," i.e,, cannot make it out. Originally a betting phrase. HEAD-RAILS, the teeth.— 5ca. HEAD-SERAG, a master; from seranq, a boatswain. — Bengalee, andS'co. HEAP, "a HEAP of people," a crowd; "struck all of a heap," suddenly astonished. HEAT, a bout, or turn, in horse-racing ; the gainer of two heats winning the race. HEAVY DRAGOONS, bugs, in contradistinction to fleat, which are light INFANTRY. — Owfurd University, HEAVY WET, porter and beer, — because the more a man drinks of it, the heavier and more stupid he becomes. HEDGE, to secure a doubtful bet by making others. — Turf. Hedging, as a system of betting, is quite different from BOOKilAKiNa, and may be explained as follows : — The bedgek, from information or good judg- ment, selects, say, three horses. A, B, and C, likely to advance in the betting, and takes 50 to I — say £iooo to £20 — against each of them. As the race-day approaches the horse A may fall out of the betting, from accident or other cause, and have to be written off as a dead loss of £20. But the other two horses, as anticipated, improve in public favour, and the hedgee succeeds in laying 5 to i — say £500 to £100 —against B, and 2 to I — say £500 to £250— against C. The account then stands thus — A is a certain loss of £20; but if B wins, the HEDGER will receive £1000 and pay £500 ; balance in favour, £500. If B loses, the hedoer will receive £100 and pay £20; balance in fa- vour, £80. If C wins, the hedger will receive £1000 and pay £500 ; balance in favour, £500. If C loses, the hedger will receive £250 and pay £20 ; balance in favour, £230. Deducting, then, the loss of £20 on A, the hedger's winnings will be considerable ; and he cannot lose, providing his information or judgment lead to the required result, which, in two cases out of three, may be conBidere4 a certainty. But it SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 1 53 must never be forgotten that however well Turf speculations may look on paper, they are subject to the contingency of the bets being honour- ably paid on settlinq-dat. " The Druid " in Post and Paddock remarks : — •' The term hedgino has been quite superseded by " laving off ; " and we bad, in fact, quite forgotten it till we saw it stated in the papers lately, by a cler^mau, who did not answer a question on docti-ine as the Bishop of Exeter exactly liked, that his lordship addressed him to this effect : * You are HEDQiNO, sir ; you are HEoaiNQ I * " See BOOK and bookuaeino. HEDGE-POPPING, shooting small birds about the hedges, as boys do; unsportsmanlike kind of shooting. HEEL-TAP, the small quantity of wine or other beverage left in the bottom of a glass, considered as a sign that the liquor is not liked, and therefore unfriendly and vmsocial to the host and the company. See BAY-UQHT. HEIGH-HO ! a Cant term for stolen yam, from the expression used to apprise the dishonest manufacturer that the speaker had stolen yam to sell. — Norwich Cant. HELL, a fashionable gambling-house. In printing-offices, the term is generally applied to the old tin box in which is thrown the broken or spoilt type, purchased by the founders for re-casting. Nearly obaoleie. " HELL AND TOMMY," utter destruction. HEN- PECKED, said of one whose wife "wears the breeches." HERRING-POND, the sea; " to be sent across the hebrino-pond," to be transported. HIDING, a thrashing. Webster gives this word, but not its rootj bidjs, to beat, flay by whipping. HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY, all together,— as hogs and pigs lie. HIGH CHURCH, in contradistinction to low choech. See the following. " HIGH AND DRY," an epithet applied to the soi-duant " orthodox " clergy of the last century, for whom, while ill-paid curates did the work, the comforts of the establishment were its greatest charms. ** Wlierein are various ranks, and due degrees. The Bench for honour, and the Stall for ease.* Though often confounded with, they are utterly dissimilar to, the modem High Church or Anglo-Catholic party. Their equally unin- teresting opponents deserved the corresponding appellation of " low AND SLOW;" while the so-called " Broad Church" is defined with equal felicity as the " broad and shallow." HIGH-FLY, " ON THE HiaH-FLT," on the begging or cadging system. HIGH JINKS, " ON THE HIGH JINKS," taking up an arrogant position, as- suming an undue superiority. Scott explains this game in his Guy ifannering. " Hen and chickens," large and small pewter pots. HioH-FLTEE, a genteel beggar or swindler. 154 ^ DICTIONARY OF MODERN HIGH-FLYER, a large swing, in frames, at fairs and races. HIGH-LOWS, laced boats reaching a trifle higher than ankle-jacts. HIGHFALUTEN, showy, affected, tinselled, affecting certain pompous or fashionable airs, stuck up ; " come, none of yer hiqhpaluten games," i.e., you must not show off or Imitate the swell here. — American Slang, now common in Liverpool and the East End of London, from the Dutch, VERLOOTEN. Used recently by the Timet in the sense of fustian, high- sounding, unmeaning eloquence, bombast. HIGH-STRIKES, corruption of Hysterica. HIP INSIDE, inside coat pocket. HIP OUTSIDE, outside coat pocket. HIPPED, piqued, offended, crossed, Ac. HITTITE, a facetious Sporting term for a prize-fighter. HIVITE, a student of St Begh's College, Cumberland; pronounced St bee's. — University. HOAX, to deceive, or ridicule, — OroH says was originally a University Cant word. Corruption of hocus, to cheat. HOBBLED, committed for trial ; properly said of animals fed by the way- side, with their forelegs fastened together. HOB COLLINGWOOD, according to Brockett, a North Country term for the four of hearts, considered an unlucky card. HOBSON'S CHOICE, "this or none." Hobson was a carrier at Cam- bridge, and also a letter out of horses for hire, and is said to have always compelled his customers to take either the horse that stood in the stall next the stable door or none at alL He was a benefactor to the town, and Hohson's Conduit still stands as a memorial of him. "HOB AND NOB," to act in concert with another; to "lay heads to- gether;" to touch glasses in drinking; to fraternise in a convivial meeting or merry-making. HOCKS, the feet ; cdrbt hooks, round or clumsy feet HOCK-DOCKIES, shoes. HOCUS, to drug a person, and then rob him. The HOCUS generally con» sists of snuff and beer. HOCUS POCUS, Gipsy words of magic, similar to the modem "presto fly." The Gipsies pronounce " Rabeat Corpus," hawcus paocob, {tee Crabb's Gipsies' Advocate, p. l8 ;) can this have anything to do with the origin of HOOtrs pocns ? Turner gives oonns bochus, an old demon. Pegge, however, states that it is a burlesque rendering of the words of the unreformed church service at the delivery of the host, HOC EST CORPUS, which the early Protestants considered as a species of conjur- ing, and ridiculed accordingly. HODGE, a countryman or provincial clown. I don't know that it has been elsewhere remarked, but most country districts in England have one or more families of the name of hodge ; indeed, GILES and hodge appear to be the favourite hobnail nomenclature. Hodoe is said to be simply an abbreviation of Roger. '^trtfCUu^ - .^^?Ux)^^^«Vaj ^4^- 8LAN0, CANT, £ND VVLOAR WORDS. 1 55 HOG, a shilling.— OW Cant. HOG, " to go the whole hoo ;" " the whole Hoo or none," to do anything with a person's entire strength, not " by halves j " realised by the phrase " in for a penny in for a pound." Bartlett claims this to be a pure American phrase; whilst Ker, of course, gives it a Dutch origin. — Old. " To 00 THE WHOLE HOo" is frequently altered into going the ehtikk animal, or THK COMPLETE SWINE ! HOGA, do. " That won't hooa," i.e., that won't do, is one of the very commonest of the Anglo-Indian Slang phrases. — Anglo-Indian. HOLLOW, " to beat hollow," to excel. HOLY LAND, Seven Dials, — where the St Giles's Greek is spoken. HOMO, a man. Lingua Franca ; but «ee Omez, the more usual Cockney pronunciation. HONDEY, a Manchester name for an omnibus, and the abbreviation of HONDEYBUSH, the Lancashire pronunciation of the word. HOOK, an expression at Oxford, implying doubt, either connected with Hookey Walker or with a note of interrogation (?) " Yes, with a book at the end of it ! " i.e., with some reservation. HOOK, to steal or rob. — See the following. " HOOK OR BY CROOK," by fair means or foul— in allusion to the hook which footpads used to carry to steal from open windows, Ac, and from which HOOK, to take or steal, haa been derived. Mentioned in Sudi- hras as a Cant term. HOOK IT, "get out of the way," or "be off about your business;" "to HOOK IT," to run away, to decamp ; "on one's own hook," dependant upon one's own exertions. — See the preceding for derivation. HOOKS, " dropped off the HOOKS," said of a deceased person — derived from the ancient practice of suspending on hooks the quarters of a traitor or felon sentenced by the old law to be hung, drawn, and quartered, and which dropped off the hooks as they decayed. HOOKEY WALKER! ejaculation of incredulity, usually shortened to WALKER ! — which see. A correspondent thinks HOOKET walker may have been a certain Hugh K. Walker. "HOOK UM SNIVEY," (formerly "hook and snivey,") a low expression, meaning to cheat by feigning sickness or other means. Also a piece of thick iron wire crooked at one end, and fastened into a wooden handle, for the purpose of undoing from the outside the wooden bolt of a door. HOP, a dance. — Fashtonahle Slang. "HOP THE TWIG," to run away; also a flippant expression for to die. Many similar phrases are used by the thoughtless and jocose, as to " LAY DOWN one's KNIFE AND FORK," " PIQQIHO OUT," " SNUFFING IT." —Old. HOP-MERCHANT, a dancing-master. HoiSTiNQ, shoplifting. f56 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN HOPPINO GILES, a cripple. St ^Egidius or Giles, himself Bimilarly afflicted, was their patron saint. The ancient lazar houses were dedi- cated to him. HOPPO, custom-house officer, or custom-house. Almost anything connected with custom-house business. — Anglo-Chinese. HORRID HORN, term of reproach amongst the street Irish, meaning a fool, or half-witted fellow. From the Erse, omadhacn, a brainless fellow. A correspondent suggests HERRIDAn, a miserable old woman. HORNSWQGGLE, nonsense, humbug. Believed to be of American origin. HORRORS, the low spirits, or "blue devils," which follow intoxication. HORSE, contraction of Horsemonger-Lane Gaol. HORSE, a Slang term for a five-pound note. HORSE-CHAUNTER, a dealer who takes worthless horses to country fairs and disposes of them by artifice. He is generally an unprincipled fellow, and will put in a glass eye, or perform other tricks. — See COPER. HORSE-NAILS, money. — Compare brads. HORSE-NAILS. At the game of cribbage, when a player finds it his policy to keep his antagonist back, rather than push himself forward, and plays accordingly, he is said " to feed his opponent on hobse-nails." HORSE MARINE, an awkward person. In ancient times the " jollies," or Royal Marines, were the butts of the sailors, from their ignorance of seamanship. "Tell that to the marines, the blue jackets won't believe it!" was a common rejoinder to a "stifif yam." Now-a- days they are deservedly appreciated as the finest regiment in the ser- vice. A horse marine (an impossibility) was used to denote one more awkward still. HOT COPPERS, the feverish sensations experienced next morning by those who have been drunk over night. HOT TIGER, an Oxford mixture of hot-spiced ale and sherry. "HOUSE OF COMMONS," a humorous term for the closet of decency. HOUSES ; " safe as houses," an expression to satisfy a doubting person ; " Oh ! it 's as safe as hodses," i.e., perfectly safe, apparently in allu- sion to the paying character of house property as an investment. HOW MUCH ? A facetious way of asking for an explanation of any pedantic expression. " Why don't you cook your potatoes in an anhy- drohepsaterion ? " A waggish listener might be excused for asking. An anhydro — how much ? " HOW CAME YOU SO ?" intoxicated. HOXTER, an inside pocket. — Old English, oxter. HUBBLE-BUBBLE, the Indian pipe termed a hookah is thus designated by sailors. — Sea, HUEY, a town or village. — Trampi' term. Horse's Nightcap, a halter ; "to die in a horse's nightcap," to be hanged. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 157 HUFF, a dodge or trick ; " don't try that huff on me," or " that hxtff won't do." — Nonmch. HUFF, to vex, or oflfend ; a poor temper. Horrr, easily offended. HUGGER-MUGGER, underhand, sneaking. HULK, to hang about in hopes of an invitation. — See mooch. HULKY, extra-sized. — Shropshire. HUM-BOX, a pulpit. " HUM AND HAW," to hesitate, raise objections. — Old English. HUMBLE PIE, to " eat humble pie," to knock under, be submissive. The UMBLES, or entrails of a deer, were anciently made into a dish for servants, while their masters feasted off the haunch. HUMBUG, an imposition, or a person who imposes upon others. A very expressive but Slang word, synonymous at one time with HUM AND HAW. Lexicographers have fought shy at adopting this term. Richardson uses it frequently to express the meaning of other words, but, strange to say, omits it in the alphabetical arrangement as un- worthy of recognition! In the first edition of this work, 1785 was given as the earliest date at which the word could be found in a printed book. Since then I have traced humbug half a century farther back, on the title-page of a singular old jest-book — "The Universal Jester ; or a pocket companion for the Wits : being a choice collection of merry conceits, facetious drolleries, &c., clenchers, closers, closures, bon-mots, and humbuqs," by Ferdinando KUligrew, London, about J 735-40- 1 have also ascertained that the famous Orator Henley was known to the mob as Oeator Humbuo. The fact may be learned from an illustration in that excedingly curious little collection of Caricatures, published in 1 75 7, many of which were sketched by Lord Bolingbroke — Horace Walpole filling in the names and explanations. Malliwell describes humbug as " a person who hums," and cites Dean MUles's MS., which was written about 1760. In the last century, the game now known as double-dummy was termed humbug. Lookup, a notorious gambler, was struck down by apoplexy when playing at this game. On the circumstance being reported to Foote, the wit said — "Ah, I always thought he would be humbugged out of the world at last ! " It has been stated that the word is a corruption of Hamburgh, from which town so many false bulletins and reports came during the war in the last century. " Oh, that is Hamburgh [or hum- bug,"] was the answer to any fresh piece of news which smacked of improbability. Qroie mentions it in his Dictionary, 1 785 ; and in a little printed squib, pubUshed in 1808, entitled Bath Characters, by T. GoosequUl, humbug is thus mentioned in a comical couplet on the title- page:— " Wee Thre Bath Deities bee, HCTMBCO, rollie, and Varietee." Gradually from this time the word began to assume a place in periodi- cal literature, and in novels not written by over-precise authors. In the preface to a Cat, and, I fear, unprofitable poem, entitled. The Reign 158 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN of HITMBUO, o Satire, 8vo., 1836, the author thtis apologises for the use of the word — " I have used the term hcmbuo to designate this principle, [wretched sophistry of life generally,] considering that it is now adopted into our language as much as the words dunce, jockey, cheat, swindler, &,c., which were formerly only colloquial terms." A corre- spondent, who in a late number of Adersaria ingeniously traced bom- bast to the inflated Doctor Paracelsus Bombast, considers that humbuo may, in like manner, be derived iTom.Jfomberg, the distinguished chemist of the court of the Duke of Orleans, who, according to the following passage from Bishop Berkeley's Siris, was an ardent and successful seeker after the philosopher's stone ! " I 194. — Of this there cannot be a hotter proof than the experiment of Mon- sieur Homberg, who uadb gold of mercury by introducino light into ITU PORES, but at such trouble and expense, that, I suppose, nobody will try the experiment for profit. By tliis injunction of light and mercury, both bodies became fixed, and produced a tliird different to either, to wit, real gold. For the truth of wliich fact I refer to the memoirs of the French Academy of Sciences." — Bertdey') Work), vol ii., p. 366, (Wright's edition.) Another derivation suggested {see The Bookseller for May 26, i860) is AMBAQE, a Latin word adopted into the English language temp. Charles I., {see May's translation of Lucan's Pharsalia,) and meaning conduct the reverse of straightforwardness. Again, in the (burlesque) Lcom, would go at largo with absolute impunity were it not through the steru Hhadamanlhean aid of this virtuous and inexorable word." — Article on " Language." Since these notes were penned, I purchased the coBection of essays known as the Connoisseur, from the late Mr Thackeray's Ubrary. At the end of vol. i. I found a memorandum in the great humorist's handwriting — " p. 108, ' humbug,' a new-coined expression." On re- ferring to that page, I note this paragraph : — '* The same conduct of keeping close to their ranks was observed at table, where the ladies seated themselves together. Their conversation was here also confined wholly to themselves, and seemed like the mysteries of the Bona Deo, in which men wera forbidden to have any share. It was a con- ^ ilj^ ! '- ^ J-^^ -n^^ ^CU^ , ^^ SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 159 tinned laugh and wbisper from tbe beginning to the end of dinner. A whole sentence was scarce ever spoken aloud. Single words, indeed, now and then broke forth ; such as odious, horrible, deteftabte, shocking, humuuo. This last new-coined expression, which is only to be found in the nonsen- Bicol vocabulary, sounds absurd and disagreeable whenever it is pro- nounced ; but from the mouth of a lady it is * shocking,' * detestable,' * hor- rible,' and * odious.' " — Front, the third edition, 1757. The universal use of this term is remarkable ; in California there is a town called Humbug Flat — a name which gives a significant hint of the acuteness of the first settler. HUM-DRUM, tedious, tiresome, boring; "a society of gentlemen who used to meet near the Charter House, and at the King's Head, St John's Street, Clerkenwell. They were characterised by less mystery and more pleasantry than the Freemasona" — Bacchuiand Fcnits, 1737- In the West the term applies to a low cart HUMP, to botch, or spoil HUMP UP, " to have one's hump up," to be crofp or ill-tempered — like a cat with its back set up. — See monkey, HUMPTY-DUMPTY, short and thick. HUNCH, to shove, or jostle. HURKARU, a messenger. — Anglo-Indian. HUNTER PITCHING, the game of cookshies— three throws a penny. — See COCK8HT. "HUNT THE SQUIRREL," when hackney and stage coachmen try to upset each other's vehicles on the public roads. — Nearly obsolete. HURDY-GURDY, a droning musical instrument shaped like a large fiddle, and turned by a crank, used by Savoyards and itinerant foreign musi- cians in England, now nearly superseded by the hand-organ. A corre- spondent suggests that the name is derived from being girded on the HURDiES, loins, or buttocks. — Scotch j Tarn 0' Shanter. In Italy the instrument is called viola. HUSH-MONEY, a sum given to quash a prosecution or evidence. HUSH-SHOP, or chib, a shop where beer or spirits is sold " on the quiet " — no licence being paid. HYPS, or HYPO, the blue devils. From Hypochondriasis. — Swift. HY-YAW I an interjectional exclamation of astonishment. — Anglo-Chinese. INFANTRY, children ; light lnfantbt, fleas. IN, "to be IN with a person," to be even with, or UP to him; also, to bo on intimate terms with him. "IN FOR IT," in trouble or difficulty of any kind. NEXPRESSIBLES, unutterables, dnwhispebables, or sit-upohs, trousers, the nether garments. Iket, a Jew " fence." Corruption of Isaac, a common Hebrew name. " Ik fob patter," waiting for trial, referring to the speeches of counsel, the statements of witnesses, the summing up of the judge. &c. The fuss of all which the prisoner sets down as " so much patteb." l6o A DICTIONARY OF MODERN INNINGS, earnings, money coming in ; " he 'b had long inningb," t.e., & good run of luck, plenty of cash flowing in, INSIDE LINING, dinner, &c. INTERESTING, " to be in an interestino situation," applied to females when enceinte. INTO, "hold my hat, Jim, I '11 be into him," i.e., I will fight him. In this sense equivalent to pitch into, or slip into. INVITE, an invitation — a corruption used by stuck-up people of mush- room origin. IPSAL DIXAL, Cockney corruption of ipse dixit — said of one's simple un- corroborated assertion. IRISH APRICOTS, potatoes. IRISH THEATRE, the temporary prison, guard-room, or lock-up in a barracks. The fond fancy of the soldier supplies it with other figura- tive appellations, as " the mill," " the jigger," " the HOUSE that jack BUILT." In Edinburgh Castle it is termed " the dryboom." " ISTHMUS OP SUEZ," the covered bridge at St John's College, Cam- bridge, which connects the college with its grounds on the other side of the river. — See okackle. IVORIES, teeth; "a box" or "cage of ivoEiEa," a set of teeth, the mouth ; " wash your itories," i.e., " drink." The word is also used to denote dice. JABBER, to talk, or chatter. A Cant word in Smffi time. JACKED-UP, ruined, done for. JACK KETCH, the public hangman. — See KETOH. JACK NASTY-FACE, a sailor.— &a. JACK SPRAT, a diminutive boy or man. JACK TAR, a sailor. JACK-AT-A-PINCH, one whose assistance is only sought on an emer- gency; JACK IN-THB-WATEB, an attendant at the waterman's stairs on the river and sea-port towns, who does not mind wetting his feet for a customer's convenience, in consideration of a douceur. JACK, HALF JACK, a card counter, resembling in size and appearance a sovereign and a half-sovereign, for which it is occasionally passed to simple persons. In large gambling establishments the " heaps of gold" are frequently composed of jacks. JACK, the knave of trumps, at the game of all-fours. JACKETING, a thrashing. Similar term to leathering, cowhitino, &c. JACKEY, gin. — Seven Dials originally. JACOB, a ladder. Grose says from Jacob's dream.— OZ(i Cant. ■' It 's GOOD ON THE STAR," it 's easy to open. ■JlCK-iN-A-Box, a small but powerful kind of screw, used by burglars to break open safes. ^ -vt'v^ , SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 16I JAGGER, a gentleman. German, jaoer, a sportsman. JAIL-BIRD, a prisoner, one who has been in jail, JAMES, a sovereign, or twenty sliilUngs. JANNOCK, sociable, fair dealing. — Norfotk. JAPAN, to ordain. — University. JABK, a " safe-conduct " pass. — Oxford. Old Cant for a seal. JARVEY, the driver of a hackney-coach; jabvey's uppkb BENjAMnr, a coachman's over-coat. JAW, speech, or talk ; " hold your jaw," don't speak any more ; " what are you jawing about i " i.e., what are you making a noise about ? JAWBONE, credit. '* We have a few persons whose pockets are to let — men who have more com- plainU than dollars — individuals who, in diner's parlance, live on jawbone, (credit,) and are always to be found at saloons ; a clasH of men who, when they are here, wish themselves yonder, and when yonder, wish themselves back " — Tinus' Cm-rtipondent, San Francisco, Oct. 31, 1863. JAW-BREAKER, a hard or many-syUabled word. JAZEY, a wig. A corruption of jersey, the name for flax prepared in a peculiar manner, and of which common wigs were formerly made; " the cove with the jazey," i.e., the judge. JEAMES, (a generic for " flunkeys,") the Morning Post newspaper — the organ of Belgravia and the " Haristocracy." JEHU, old Slang term for a coachman, or one fond of driving. JEMINY-0 1 a vulgar expression of surprise. JEMMY, a sheep's-head.— See sanquinakt james. JEMMY-DUCKS, the man whose business it is to look after the poultry _ on board a ship. — Sea. Pj'' JEMMY JESSAMY, a dandy. ^ JEMMY- JOHN, a jar for holding liquor; probably a corruption of demi- S^, C^ gallon. JEREMIAD, a lament; derived, of course, from the Book of Lamentations, written by the prophet Jeremiah. JEREMY DIDDLER, an adept at raising the wind. JERRY, a beer-house. JERRY, a chamber utensil ; abbreviation of jeroboam. — Swift. JERRY, a fog. JERRY-GONIMBLE, the diarrhoea. JERRY SNEAK, a hen-pecked husband, — a character in the Mayor of Garret. JERUSALEM PONY, a donkey. JESSIE, " to give a person jessie," to beat him soundly. — See OAS. Jeuhy, a crowbar. — Prison term. Jabk, a seal, or watch ornament. — Ancient Cavt. L 1 62 A DICTIONARY OP MODERN JEW'S EYE, a popular simile for anything valuable. Probably a cormp- tion of the Italian, GIOJE ; French, joaille, a jewel. In ancient times, when a king was short of cash, he generally issued orders for so many Jew'i eyes, or equivalent sums of money. The Jews preferred paying the ransom, although often very heavy. This explanation ha; been given of the origin of Jew's eye. Used by Shakspeare. JEW-FENCER, a Jew street salesman. JEZEBEL, a showily-dressed woman of suspected respectability ; de- rived, of course, from 2 Kings ix. 30, but applied in this sense from the time of the Puritans. JIB, a firet-year man. — Dublin University. JIB, the face, or a person's expression ; "the cut of his JIB," i.e., his pecu- liar appearance. The sail of a ship, which in position and shape cor- responds to the nose on a person's face. — Sea, A vessel is known by the cut of the jib sail ; hence the popular phrase, " to know a man by THE CUT OP HIS JIB." JIB, or JIBBER, a horse that starts or shrinks. Shaktpeart iisea it in the sense of a worn-out horse. JIBB, the tongue. — Gipsy and Hindoo. (Tramps* term.) JIFFY, " in a jipft," in a moment JIGGER, a secret still, illicit spirits. — Scotch. JIGGER, a door; "dub the jigger," shut the door. Ancient Cant, gtobr. In billiards, the bridge on the table is often termed the jigger. Also, the curtaitt of a theatre. JIGGER, " I 'm jiggered if you will," a common form of mild swearing. — See snigger. JINGO, " by JINGO," a common form of oath, said to be a corruption of St Gingoulph. — Vide Halliwell. JOB, a short piece of work, a prospect of employment. Johnson describes JOB as a low word, without etymology. It is, and waa, however, a Cant word, and a job, two centuries ago, was an arranged robbery. Even at the present day it is mainly confined to the streets, in tlie sense of employment for a short time. Amongst undertakers a job signifies a funeral ; " to do a job," conduct any one's funeral ; " by the JOB," i.e., piece-v/ork, as opposed to (fmc-work. A job in political phraseology is a Government office or contract, obtaini,d by secret in- fluence or favouritism. JOB, " a JOB lot," otherwise called a " sporting lot," any miscellaneous goods purchased at a cheap rate, or to be sold a bargain. Frequently used to conceal the fact of their being stolen, or otherwise dishonestly obtained. JOB'S COMFORT, reproof instead of consolation. JOB'S COMFORTER, one who brings news of additional misfortunes. Jioger-ddbber, a term applied to a jailor or turnkey. Jilt, a crowbar or house-breaking implement. SLAJiO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 163 JOB'S TURKEY, " as poor as job's tubket," as thin and as badly fed as that ill-conditioned bird. JOE, a too marvellous tale, a lie, or a stale joke. Abbreviated from " Joe Miller." The full name ia occasionally used, as in the phrase " I don't Bee the jOE milleb of it," i.e., I don't perceive the wit you intend. JOEY, a fourpenuy piece. The term is derived (like bobby from Sir Robert Peel) from Joseph Hume, the late respected M.P. The expla- nation is thus given in Maickim'i History of the Silver Coinage of England : — ** These pieces are said to have owed their existence to the pressing instance of Mr Hume, from whence they, for some time, bore the niclcname of joeys. As tbey were very convenient to pay sliort cab fares, the Hon. M.P. was extremely unpopular with the drivers, who frequently received only a groat where otherwise they would have received a sixpence without any demand for change." The term originated with the London cabmen, who have invented many others. JOG-TROT, a slow but regular trot, or pace. JOGUL, to play up, at cards or other game. Spanish, jdoab. JOHNNY, half-a-glass of whisky. — Irish. JOHN-THOMAS, a generic for " flunkeys," — more especially footmen with large calves and fine bushy whiskers. JOHNNY-DARBIES, a nickname for policemen, an evident corruption of the French oekssabues. Also, a term applied to handcuffs. — See DABBIES. JOHN ORDERLY, the signal to shorten the performance at a show. Whenever the master, who remains on the platform outside to take the money and regulate the performance, desires to refill the booth, he pokes his head inside and shouts, " Is JOHN orderly there ?" The actors instantly cut the piece short, the curtain falls, and the specta- tors are bundled out at the back, to make room for the fresh audience. According to tradition, John Orderly was a noted showman, who taught this move to the no less noted Richardson. JOLLY, a word of praise, or favourable notice ; " chuck Harry a jollt- Bill," i.e., go and praise up his goods, or buy of him, and speak well of the article, that the crowd standing around his stall may think it a good opportunity to lay out their money. This is also called jollying. " Chuck a JOLLY," lit. translated, is " throw a shout" or "good word." JOLLY, a Royal Marine. — See HORSE marine. JOMER, a sweetheart, or favourite girl. — See blowee. JOSKIN, a countryman. JOW, be off, be gone immediately. K the word jehantjm be added, it forms a peremptory order to go to the place unmentionable to ears polite. Our word " Jericho," to go to, is probably derived from jeha- vvu.—A nglo-Indian. JUDAS, a deceitful person ; judas-haibed, red-haired, deceitful. " Joe BLAKE THE BARTLEMY," to visit a low womsn. 1 64 -A DICTIONARY OF MODERN JUNIPER, spa.—H(ymAold Wordt, No. 183. JUNK, salt beef. — See old hoesk JUWAUB, literally, in Hindoatanee, an answer; but in Anglo-Indian Slang signifying a refusal. If an oiBcer asks for leave and is refused, he is said to be juwaubed ; if a gentleman unsuccessfully proposes for the hand of a lady, he is said to have got the jdwatjb. — Anglo-Indian. KLAJIIBAT, food, literally rice and curry ; the staple dish of both natives and Europeans in India. — Anglo-Indian. KEEL-HAULING, a good thrashing or mauling, rough treatment, — from the old nautical custom of punishing ofteuders by throwing them over- board with a rope attached, and hauling them up from under the ship's keel. " KEEP IT UP," to prolong a debauch, or the occasion of a rejoicing — a metaphor drawn from the game of shuttle-cook. — Grose. KELTER, coin, money, KEN, a house. — Ancient Cant. Khan, Gipsy and Oriental. %* All Slang and Cant words which end in ken, such as spielken, SPINIKBN, or BooziNGKEN, refer to houses, and are mainly of Gipsy origin. KENNEDY, a poker, also to strike or kill with a poker. A St Giles's term, BO given from a man of that name being killed by a poker. Frequently shortened to neddt. KENT RAG, or clout, a cotton handkerchief. KERTEVER CARTZO, the disease known as the morlo gaUico. From the Lingua Franca, cattivo, bad, and CAZZO. KETCH, or JACK KETCH, the popular name for a public hangman ; derived from a person of that name who officiated in the reign of Charles II. — See Macaiday's History of England, p. 626. KIBOSH, nonsense, stuff, humbug ; " it 's all kibosh," i.e., palaver or non- sense ; " to put on the kibosh," to run down, slander, degrade, &o. — See BOSH. Kibosh also means one shilling and sixpence. KICK, a moment; "I'll be there in a kick," i.e., in a minute. KICK, a sixpence ; "two and a kick," two shillings and sixpence. KICK, a pocket ; Gaelic, cuach, a bowl, a nest ; Scotch, quaigh. KICKERABOO, dead. A West Indian negro's phrase. — See kick thb BUCKET, of which phrase it is a corruption. KICK THE BUCKET, to Am.— Norfolk. According to Forby, a metaphor taken from the descent of a well or mine, which is of course absurd. The Rev. E. S. Taylor supplies me with the following note from hia MS. additions to the work of the East- Anglian lexicographer : — JUQ, a prison, or jail. Jump, to seize, or rob ; "to jump a man," to pounce upon him, and either rob or maltreat him ; " to jump a house," to rob it. — See go. KeN'Cbackeb, a housebreaker. SLANG, CANT, AND VULOAR W0SD8. 105 "The allusion Is to the way in which a slaughtered pigf is hun^ up, — tIz., by passing the ends of a bent piece of wood behind the tendons of the bind legs, and po suspending it to a hook in a beam atxjve. This piece of wood is locally termed a bucket, and so by a coarse metaphor the phrase came to signify to die. Compare the Norfolk phrase, * as wrong as a bdcket.' " Another correspondent says the real signification of this phraae is to commit suicide by hanging, from a method planned and carried out by an ostler at an inu on the Great North Road. Standing on a bucket, he tied himself up to a beam in the stable ; he then kicked THE BUCKET away from under his feet, and in a few seconds was dead. The natives of the West Indies have converted the expression into KICEEBASOO. KICK UP, a noise or disturbance, KICK UP, "to KICK UP a row" to create a tumult. KICKSHAWS, trifles ; made, or French dishes — not English, or substan- tial. Corruption of the French, quelques ohoses. KICKSIES, trousers. KICKSY, troublesome, disagreeable. Genaan, keck, bold. KID, an infant, or chUd. KID, to joke, to quiz, to hoax anybody. KIDON, to entice or incite a person to the perpetration of an act. KIDDIER, a pork-butcher. KIDDILY, fashionably or showily ; " kiddilt togg'd," showily dressed. KIDDLEYWINK, a small shop where they retail the commodities of a village store. Also, a woman of unsteady habits. KIDDY, a man or boy. Formerly a low thief. KIDDYISH, frolicsome, jovial. ** Think on the kiddtish spree we had on such a day.** — KdndaU't Diary, i8ao. KIDNA, how much? — Anglo-Indian. KIDNAPPER, one who steals children or adults. From kid, a child, and NAB, (corrupted to nap,) to steal, or seize. KIDNEY, "of that kidney," of such a stamp: "strange ktdnet," odd humour; "two of a kidney," two persons of a sort, or as like as two peas, i.e., resembling each other like two kidneys in a bunch. — Old. " Attempt to put their hair out of kidney." — Terrce Pilim, 1763. KiDDEN, or KIDKEN, a low lodging-house for boys. KiD-KiG, cheating children in the streets sent on errands, or intrusted with packages. — Nearly obsolete. KlDMENT, a pocket-handkerchief fastened to the pocket, and partially hung out, to entrap thieves ; hence any inducement to dishonesty or crime. Also, a fictitious story or written statement got up to deceive the un- wary. A begging letter ; long rigmarole of any kind. KlDSMAN, one who trains boys to thieve and pick pockets successfully. 1 66 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN I'^^X-K^^Wv-i^ ivi KILKENNY CAT, a popular simile for a yoracious or desperate animal or person, from the story of the two cats in that county, who are said to have fought and bitten each other until a small portion of the tail of one of them alone remained. KILLING, bewitching, fascinating. The term is akin to the phrase " dressing to death." JCIMBO, or A-KIMBO, holding the arms in a bent position from the body, and resting the hands upon the hips, in a bullying attitude. Said to be from A scHEMBO, Italian ; but more probably from kimbaw, the old Cant for beating, or bullying. — See Grose. Celtic, cam, crooked. KINCHIN, a child. — Old Cant. From the German diminutive, kdjdchen, a baby KINCOB, uniform, fine clothes, rich embroidered dresses. — Anglo-Indian. KINGSMAN, the favourite coloured neckerchief of the costerniongers. The women wear them thrown over their shoulders. With both sexes they are more valued than any other article of clothing- A coster's caste, or position, is at stake, he imagines, if his kingsman is not of the most approved pattern. When he fights, his kikqsuan is tied either around his waist as a belt, or aa a garter around his leg. This very singular partiality for a peculiar-coloured neckcloth was doubtless derived from the Gipsies, and probably refers to an Oriental taste or custom long forgotten by these vagabonds. A strange similarity of taste for certain colours exists amongst the Hin- doos, Gipsies, and London costermongers. Red and yellow (or orange) are the great favourites, and in these hues the Hindoo selects his tur- ban and his robe ; the Gipsy his breeches, and his wife her shawl or gown ; and the costermonger. his plush waistcoat and favourite KiNoa- MAN. Among either class, when a fight takes place, the greatest re- gard is paid to the favourite coloured article of dress. The Hindoo lays aside his turban, the Gipsy folds up his scarlet breeches or coat, whilst the pugilistic costermonger of Covent Garden or Billingsgate, as we have just seen, removes his favourite neckerchief to a part of his body, by the rules of the "ring," comparatively out of danger. Amongst the various patterns of kerchiefs worn by the wandering tribes of London, red and yellow are the oldest and most in fashion. Blue, intermixed with spots, is a late importation, probably from the Navy, through sporting characters. KING'S PICTURES, (now, of course, queen's pictitrbs,) money. KISKY, drunk, fuddled. KISSER, the uiovXh.— PugUiatic term. KISS-CURL, a small curl twisted on the temple. — See bowcatcheb. KISS-ME-QUICK, the name given to the very small bonnets worn by females since 1850. KiNCHra COVE, a man who robs children ; a little man. — Ancient Cant. KiBK, a church or chapel; "crack a KIBK," «.e., to break into a church.— Priion Cant. 8LAN0, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 1 67 KIT, a person's baggage. Also, a collection of anything, " the whole KIT of 'em," the entire lot. Anglo-Saxon, KYTH. — North. KITE, see fly the kite. KITMEGUR, an under-butler, a footman. — Anglo-Indian. KNACKER, an old horse ; a horse-slaughterer. — Gloucestershire. KNAP, to receive, to take ; " oh, my ! won't he just knap it when he can !" i.e., won't he take anything if he gets a chance. KNAP, i.q., NAP, to break. — Old English, hit nearly obsolete. See Ps. xlvL 9, (Prayer-book versioH,) " He breaketh the bow, and kbappeth the spear in sunder ; " probably sibilated into snap. KNAPPING-JIGGER, a turnpike gate; "to dub at the KNAPPma-JiGGER," to pay money at the turnpike. KNARK, a hardhearted or savage person. KNIFE, " to KNiPE a person," to stab ; an un-English, but now-a-days a very common expression. KNIFE IT, " cut it," cease, stop, don't proceed. KNIFE-BOARD, the seat running along the roof of an omnibus. . . . . " On 'busses' knifeboards stretch'd. The City clerks all tougue-protruded lay." — A Summer Idyll, by Arthur Smith. KNIGHT, a common and ironical prefix to a man's calling, — thus " knight of the whip," a coachman ; " knight of the thimble," a tailor. " KNOCK ABOUT THE BUB," to hand or paas about the drink. KNOCK-DOWN, or knock-me down, strong ale. KNOCK-'EM-DOWNS, a pubHc-house game. KNOCK OFF, to give over, or abandon. A saying used by workmen about dinner, or other meal times, for upwards of two centuries. KNOCKED UP, tired, jaded, used up, done for. In the United States, amongst females, the phrase is equivalent to being enceinte, so that Englishmen often unconsciously commit themselves when amongst our Yankee cousins. KNOCKER, " up to the knockek," finely or showily dressed, the height of fashion ; proficient, equal to the task. KNOCK- IN, the game of loo. KNOCK-OUTS, or knock-ins, disreputable persons who visit auction rooms and unite to purchase the articles at their own prices. One of their number is instructed to buy for the rest, and after a few small bids as blinds to the auctioneer and bystanders, the lot is knocked down to the knock-out bidders, at a nominal price — the competition to result from an auction being thus frustrated and set aside. At the conclusion of the sale the goods are paid for, and carried to a neigh- bouring public-house, where they are re-sold or knookkd-out, and the difference between the first purchase and the second — or tap-room knockout — is divided amongst the gang. As generally happens with Knap, to steal — Frison CanL 1 68 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN ill-gotten gains, the money soon finds its way to the landlord's pocket, and the knock-out is rewarded with a red nose and a bloated face. Cunning tradesmen join the knock-outs when an opportunity for money-making presents itself. The lowest description of knock-outs, fellows with more tongue than capital, are termed babes, — which see. KNOWING, a Slang term for sharpness; "knowing codger," or "a KNOWING blade," one who can take you in, or cheat you, in any trans- action you may have with him. It implies also deep cunning and foresight, and generally signifies dishonesty. " Who, on a spree with black-eyed Sal, his blowen, So swell, so prime, so nutty and so kkowino." — Don Juan. Know, in this sense, enters into several Slang phrases. " I KNOW a trick worth two of that," expresses that I am not to be taken in by such a shallow device. " He knows a thing or two," t.e., a cunning fellow. KNOWLEDGE-BOX, the heaA.—Pugaistic. KNUCKLE-DUSTER, an iron instrument contrived to cover the knuckles BO as to protect them from injury when striking a blow, adding force to it at the same time, and with nobs or points projecting, so as to mutilate and disfigure the person struck. This brutal invention is American, but has been made too familiar here in the police cases between the officers and sailors of American vessels. KNUCKLE TO, or knuckle under, to yield or submit. KNULLER, old term for a chimney-sweep, who solicited jobs by ringing a bell. From the Saxon, cnyllan, to knell, or sound a bell. — See QUERIER. KOOTEE, a house.— Anglo-Indian. KOTOOING, misapplied flattery. — Illustrated London News, 7th January i860. From a Chinese ceremony. KUBBER, news. — Anglo-Indian. KUDOS, praise ; kudized, praised. Greek, kvHos. — University. KYPSEY, a basket. LA ! a euphuistic rendering of lord, common amongst females and very precise persons ; imagined by many to be a corruption of look I but this is a mistake. Sometimes pronounced LAW, or lawks. LAC, one hundred thousand. — Anglo-Indian. LACING, a beating. From the phrase " I '11 lace your jacket." — V Estrange. Perhaps to give a beating with a lace or Uuh. LADDER, " can't see a hole in a ladder," said of any one who is intoxi- cated. LADDLE, a lady. Term with chimney-sweeps on the 1st of May. A correspondent suggests that the term may come from the brass ladles for collecting money, always carried by the sweeps' ladies. Knuckle, to pick pockets after the most approved method. Knucklee, a pickpocket. Lag, a returned transport, or ticket-of-leave convict. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WOBDS. 1 69 LAG, to void urine. — Ancitnt Cant. LAGGER, a sailor. LAMBASTING, a beating.— See LAjmnia. LAME DUCK, a stockjobber who speculates beyond his capital, and can- not pay his losses. Upon retiring from the Exchange he is said to " waddle out of the Alley." LAMMING, a beating. — Old English, lam ; used by Seawmont and Fletcher. Not, as Sir W. Scott supposed, from one Dr Lamb, but the Old None, LAH, the hand ; also, Qaelic. LAMMY, a blanket. LAND-LUBBER, sea term for « a landsman."— &« U)APKR. LAND- SHARK, a sailor's definition of a lawyer. LANE, a familiar term for Drury Lane Theatre, just aa Coveat Garden Theatre is constantly spoken of aa " the gakdbn." LAP, liquor, drink. " LAP THE GUTTER," to get drunk. LARK, fun, a joke ; " let 's have a jolly good labk," let UB have a piece of fua Mayhem calls it " a convenient word covering much mischief." — Anglo-Saxon, LAO, sport; but more probably from the nautical term SKYLARKINO, i.e., mounting to the highest yards and sliding down the ropes for amusement, which is allowed on certain occasions. LARRUP, to beat, or thrash. LARRUPING, a good beating or hiding.— /risA. LATCHPAN, the lower lip— properly a dripping-pan; "to hang one's LATOHPAN," to pout, be sulky.- — Norfolk. LAVENDER, " to be laid up in lavender," in pawn ; or, when a person is out of the way for an especial purpose. — Old. LAW, " to give LAW to an animal " is a sporting term signifying to give the bare or stag a chance of escaping, by not setting on the hounds till it has run some distance. Also, figuratively used for giving any one a chance of succeeding in a difficult undertaking. LAY, some, a piece. " Tip me a lat of pannum," t.e., give me a slice of bread. — North. LAY, to watch; "on the LAY," on the look-out. — Shakspeare. " LAY DOWN THE KNIFE AND FORK," to die.— See " piooimq-oot," and " HOPPINO THE TWio," for similar flippancies. " LAY THEM DOWN," to play at cards. LEAF, the drop on which executions take place, which are defined aa the " FALL OF THE LEAF" by the ribald spectators. — See autumn. Laqged, imprisoned, apprehended, or transported for a crime. From tha Old Norte, laqda, " laid," laid by the leg. Leary, flash, or knowing. Leary, to look, or be watchful ; shy. — Old Cant. 170 A DICTIONARY OF MODERK LEATHER, to beat or thrash. From the leather belt worn by soldiers and policemen, often used as a weapon in street rows. LEATHERN-CONVENIENCT, a carriage. A Quaker being reprimanded by the Society of Friends for keeping a carriage, "contrary to the ancient testimonies," said, " it is not a carriage I keep, but merely a LEATHERN-CONVENIENOT." — See under SIMON PUKE, in the Introduction. LEAVING SHOP, an unlicensed house where goods are taken into pawn at exorbitant rates of interest — Daily Telegraph, Ist August 1859. LED CAPTAIN, a fashionable spunger, a " swell " who by artifice ingra- tiates himself into the good graces of the master of the house, and lives at his table. LEEF, " I 'd as leep do it as not," i.e., I have no objection to do it. — Co:^ ruption of lief, or leave. Old EnglUh, liep, inclined to. LEER, empty. — Oxfordihire. Pure German, as is nearly so the next word. LEER, print, newspaper. Oerman, lehken, to instruct ; hence Old Eng- lish, LEEE, " spelt in the leeb." — See spell. — Old Cant. LEG, a part of a game. He who gains two leos, wins the game or rub. LEG, or blaokleo, a disreputable sporting character, and racecourse habitv4. LEGANDLEG, the state of a game when each player has won a leo. In Ireland a LEO is termed a HORSE, leq-and-LEO being there termed HOBSE-AHD-EOBSE. LEG IT, to run ; " to give a lbo," to assist, as when one mounts a horse ; "making a LEO," a countryman's bow, — projecting the leg from be- hind as a balance to the head bent forward. — Shakapeare. LEG-OF-MUTTON, inflated street term for a sheep's trotter, or foot LENGTH, forty-two lines of a dramatic composition. — Theatrical, LET DRIVE, to strike or attack with vigour. LET IN, to cheat or victimise. LET ON, to give an intimation of having some knowledge of a subject. Ramsay employs the phrase in the Qentle Shepherd. Common in Scotland. y'^LETTY, a bed. Italian, letto. — Lingua Franca. LEVANTER, a card-sharper, or defaulting gambler. A correspondent states that it was formerly the custom to give out to the creditors, when a person was in pecuniary difficulties, and it was convenient for him to keep away, that he was gone to the East, or the levant; hence, when one loses a bet, and decamps without settling, he is said to LEVANT. LEVY, a shilling. — Liverpool Leart bloak, a person who dresses showily. Leg bail, (to give,) to escape from prison or arrest. Leoqed, a prisoner in irons. Length, six months' imprisonment. — iStee stretch. ieX ^ - /to -t^y ^ '"'^ SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 171 LICK, a blow; lickhto, a beating; " to put in big licks," a curious and common phrase meaning that great exertions are being wsde.-^Dni- den ; North. LICK, to excel, or overcome ; "if you ain't sharp he'll lick you," i,e., be finished first. Signifies, also, to whip, chastise, or conquer. Ancient Cant. LYCKE. Welsh, llachio, to strike. LICKSPITTLE, a coarse term for a parasite, who puts up with indigni- ties for the sake of advantages. LIG, a lie, a falsehood. — Lancashire. In old ballads the word " lie" is often spelt " LIG." LIGHT, " to be able to get a light at a house " is to get credit. LIGHTS, a worthless piece of meat, applied metaphorically to a fool, % soft or stupid person. LIGHTS, the eyes. Also, the lungs ; animals' lungs are always so called. LIGHT BOB, a light infantry ioXAieT.— Military. LIGHT FEEDER, a silver spoon. LIGHTNING, gin ; " flash o' liohtnino," a glass of gin. LIL, a book, a pocket-book. — Gipsy. LILY-BENJAMIN, a white great-coat. — See benjamin. LIMBO, a prison, from limbus or liubus fatbum, a mediseval theological term for purgatory. LIMB-OF-THE-LAW, a lawyer, or clerk articled to that profession. LINE, calling, trade, profession , " what line are you in ? " " the building LINE." LINGO, talk, or language. Slang is termed LINGO, amongst the lower orders. Italian, linqija. — Lingua Franca, LINT-SCRAPER, a young surgeon. Thackeray, in Lovel the Widower, uses the phrase, and gives, also, the words .Mteviapius, Pestle-grinder, and Vaccinator, for the same character. LIONS, notabilities, either persons or sights worthy of inspection ; an ex- pression dating from the times when the royal lions at the Tower,* be- fore the existence of Zoological Gardens and travelling menageries, were a London wonder, to visit which country cousins and strangers of eminence were constantly taken. * Tho origin of the Tower collection was the three leopards sent by the Emperor Frederic to Henry III., as a living illusti-ation of the royal arms of England. In the roll of John ile Cravebeadell, constable of the Tower, B. M. Top. Collocticms, iii. p. 153, is a charge of 3d. per day " in support of the leopard of our lord the king." Edwai-d III, when Prince of Wales, appears to have taken great interest in the animals ; and LiFEB, a convict who is sentenced to transportation for life. Lift, to steal, pick pockets ; " there 's a clock been lifted," said when a watch has been stolen. The word is as old as the Border forays, and is used by jSAai-»p«a«. Shoplifter is a recognised term. Old Gothic, LLIFAN, to steal; Lower Shenish, loften. 172 A DICTIONARY OF MODESN LIONISE, to conduct a stranger round the principal objects of attraction in a place ; to act as cicerone. LIP, bounce, impudence ; " come, none o' yer lip I " LIP, to sing ; " up us a chant," sing a song. LIQUOR, or liquok xjp, to diink drams. — Americanism. In uquob, tipsy, or drunk. LITTLE GO, the " Previous Examination," at Cambridge the first Uni- versity examination for undergraduates in their second year of matricii lation. At Oxford, the corresponding term is THB bmalls. LIVE-STOCK, vermin of the insect kind. LIVERPUDLIN, a native of LiverpooL LOAFER, a lazy vagabond. Generally considered an Am/ericanism. Loper, or LOAFER, however, wag in general use as a Cant term in the early part of the last century. Landloper was a vagabond who begged in the attire of a sailor ; and the sea phrase, land-lubber was doubtless synonymous. — See tht Times, 3d November 1859, for a reference to LOATER. LOAVER, money. — See lour. — Lingua Franca. LOB, a till, or money-drawer. LOBB, the head. — PugUistic. LOBLOLLY, gruel. — Old ; used by Marhham as a sea term for grit gruel, or hasty pudding. LOBLOLLY BOY, a derisive term for a surgeon's mate in the navy. ** Lob-lolty-boy is a person, who on board of a man-of-war attends the surgeon and his mates, and one who knows just as much of the business of a sea* man as the author of tliis poem." — The Patent, a Poem, 4to, 1776. LOBS I schoolboys' signal on the master's approach. Compare cave ! CHUCKS I Also, an assistant watcher, an under gamekeeper. LOBS, words, talk. — Oipsy. LOBSCOUSE, a dish made of potatoes, meat, and biscuits, boiled together. LOBSTER, a soldier. A policeman, from the colour of his coat, is styled an unboiled, or raw lobster. LOBSTER-BOX, a barrack, or military station. LOGGERHEADS, " to come to loqqerheads," to come to blows. LOGIE, theatrical jewellery, made mostly of zinc. LOLLY, the head. — i>erait in auras." MIZZLE, to run away, or decamp ; to disappear as in a mist. From mizzle, a drizzling rain ; a Scotch mist. ** And then one mizzling Michaelmas night, The Count he mizzled too." — Bood. MIZZLER, or edm-mizzler, a person who is clever at effecting an escape, or getting out of a difficulty. MOAB, a name applied to the turban-shaped hat fashionable among ladies, and ladylike swells of the other sex, in 1 858 9. From the Scripture phrase, " Moab is my washpot," (Ps. Ix. 8,) which article the hat in question is supposed to resemble. — University. MOB. Swift informs us, in his Art of Polite Conversation, that MOB was, in his time, the Slang abbreviation of Mobility, just as KOB is of No- bility at the present day. — See school. " It is perhaps this humour of speaking no more words than we needs must which has so miserably curtailed some of our w()rds, that in familiar writ- ings and conversation they often lose all but their first syllables, as in UOB., red., poa., incog., and the like." — Addison's Spectator. M (LL, the tread -MILL, prison MiU/-Toa, a shirt ; most likely the orison garment. l8o A DICTIONARY OF MODERN MOBILITY, the populace ; or, according to Bwrkt, the " great unwashed." Johnson calls it a Cant term, although Swift notices it as a proper ex- pression. MODEST QUENCHER, a glass of gin and water. "MOISTEN TOUR CHAFFER," a Slang phrase equivalent to "take some- thing to drink." MOKE, a donkey. — Gipsy. M OKO, a name given by sportsmen to pheasants killed by mistake in par- tridge-shooting during September, before the pheasant-shooting comes in. They pull out their tails, and roundly assert that they are no pheasants at all, but mokos. MOLL, a girl ; nickname for Mary. — Old Cant. MOLL'D, followed, or accompanied by a woman. MOLLISHER, a low girl or woman ; generally a female cohabiting with a man, who jointly get their living by thieving. MOLLSACK, a reticule, or market basket. " MOLL THOMSON'S MARK, that is, M. T.— empty ; as " take away this bottle, it has mom. Thomson's makk on it." — See M. T. MOLLYCODDLE, an eifeminate man; one who caudles amongst the women, or does their work. MOLLYGRUBS, or molliqrubs, stomach-ache, or sorrow — which to the costermonger is much the same, as he believes, like the ancients, that the viscera is the seat of all feeling. MOLROWING, "out on the sprer" in company with so-called "gay women." In allusion to the amatory serenadiuga of the London cats. MONK, a term of contempt ; probably an abbreviation of monkey. MONKEY, spirit, or ill temper; "to get one's monkey up," to rouse his passion. A man is said to have his monkey up, or the monkey on his back, when he is " riled," or out of temper ; also to have his back or HUMP up. MONKEY, the instrument which drives a rocket. — Army. MONKEY, £iOO.— Civic Slang. MONKEY-BOARD, the place or step attached to an omnibus, on which the conductor stands. MONKEY-BOAT, a peculiar, long, narrow, canal boat. "MONKEY "WITH A LONG TAIL," a mortgage. —Legal. MONKEY'S ALLOWANCE, to get blows instead of alms, more kicks than halfpence. MONKERY, the country, or rural districts. Originally an old word for a quiet or monastic life. — Hall. Mob, a companion ; mobsman, a dressy swindler. MoLL-TOOLEB, a female pickpocket. MoNEKEER, a person's name or signature. — Tramp)' Cant. Monkey, a padlock. — Pruon Cant, SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. l8l MOOCH, to spunge ; to obtrude one's-self upon friends just when they are about to sit down to dinner, or other lucky time — of course quite ac- cidentally. — Compare HULK. To slink away, and allow your friend to pay for the entertainment. In Wiltshire, ON THE MOUTCH is to shuffle. — See the following. MOOCHING, or on the mooch, on the look-out for any articles or circum- stances which may be turned to a profitable account; watching in the streets for odd jobs, horses to hold, &o. ; also, scraps of food, old clothes, &o. MOOE, the mouth. — Gipny and Hindoo. Shahspeare has llOE, to make mouths. ^WOliEX, intoxicated.— .SrouseAo?^ Wm-ds, No. 183. MOONLIGHT, or moonshine, smuggled gin. MOON-RAKER, a native of Wiltshire ; because it is said that some men of that county, seeing the reflection of the moon in a pond, took it to be a cheese, and endeavoured to pull it out with a rake. MOONSHEE, a learned man, professor, or teacher. — Anglo-Indian. MOONSHINE, palaver, deception, humbug. MOP, a hiring place (or fair) for servants. Steps are being taken to put down these assemblies, which have been proved to be greatly detri- mental to the morality of the poor. MOP UP, to drink, or empty a glass. — Old Sea term. "MOPS AND BROOMS," intoxicated.— Household Words, No. 183. MOPUSSES, money ; " MOPnssES ran taper," money ran short. MORE-ISH, when there is scarcely enough of an eatable or drinkable it is said to taste more-ish ; as " this wine is very good, but it has a slight MORS-ISH flavour." MORRIS, to decamp, be oflT. Probably from the ancient mobesco, or morris dance. MORTAR-BOARD, the term given by the vulgar to the square college caps. LGE- DEED, a pawnbroker's duplicate. MOTT.j girt of indifferent character. Formerly Mart. Dutch, MOTT-KAST, a harlotry. Mott-oabt, see loose-box. MOUCHEY, a Jew. MOULDY, gray-headed. Servants wearing hair-powder are usually termed mouldy-pates by street boys. MOULDY-GRUBS, travelling showmen, mountebanks who perform in the open air without tent or covering. Doing this is called "mouldi- GRUBBINO." Moon, a month— generally used to express the length of time a person has been sentenced by the magistrate ; thus " one moon " is one month. —See DBAO. It is a curious fact that the Indians of America and the roaming vagabonds of England should both calculate time by the UOON. 182 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN MOUNTAIN-DEW, whisky, adrertised as from the Highlands. MOUNTAIN-PECKER, a sheep's-head.— See jemmy. MOURNING, "a full suit of moubninq," too black eyes; halfmouuninq, one black eye. MOUSE, a black eye. MOUTH, a common expression of contempt, equivalent to mttfp ; " you are a mouth, and you will die a Up," is a vulgar form of abuse. MOUTH-ALMIGHTY, a superlative form of the former expression, ap- plied to a noisy, talkative person. j^ - ^ - MOUTHPIECE, a lawyer, or counsel. ly^ OtCCt*.' »■<»-&- MOVE, a " dodge," or cunning trick ; " up to a MOVE or two," acquainted j^ with tricks. Probably derived from the game of chess. M.P., member of the police, one of the Slang titles of the force. MRS JONES, the house of office, a water-closet. MRS HARRIS and MRS GAMP, nicknames of the Morning Herald and Standard newspapers, while united under the proprietorship of Mr Baldwin. Mrs Gamp, a monthly nurse, was a character in Mr Charles Dichens'e popular novel of Martin Chuzdemt, who continually quoted an imaginary Mrs Harris in attestation of the superiority of her quali- fications, and tho infallibility of her opinions; and thus afforded a parallel to the two newspapers, which appealed to each other as inde- pendent authorities, being all the while the production of the same editorial staff. M. T., railway Slang used by porters and pointsmen for empties, or empty carriages. — -See MOLL Thomson's mark. "MUCH OF A MUCHNESS," alike, very much the same thing. MUCK, to beat, or excel ; " it 's no use, luck 's set in him ; he 'd muck a thousand." — Mayhem, vol. i., p. i8. To RUN A muck, or go a mucker, to rush headlong into certain ruin. From a certain religious phrenzy, which is common among the Malays, causing one of them, kreese in hand, to dash into a crowd and devote every one to death he meets with, until he is himself killed, or falls from exhaustion. — Malay, AMOK, slaughter. MUCK-OUT, to clean out ; often applied to one utterly ruining an adver- sary in gambling. MUCK-SNIPE, one who has been "mucked out," or beggared, at gambling. — See MUCK. MUCKENDER, or muckengeb, a pocket-handkerchief.— OW. Cf. snot- TINGEB. The original name of the " neokinqeu " in Bermondsey was the "devil's neck-handkei chief." See a review of this work in The Boohseller, May 26, i860. This is the name of a locality. There is still a " NECKINGER road ; " and Messrs Bevington & Sons' tannery in Bermondsey bears the name of the " neckinger mills." Mounter, a false swearer. Derived from the borrowed clothes men used to MOUNT, or dress in, when going to swear for a consideration. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 1 83 MUDFOO, "The British Association for the Promotion of Science."— University. MTJD-LARK, a man or woman who, with clothes tucked above knee, grovels through the mud on the banks of the Thames, when the tide is low, for silver spoons, old bottles, pieces of iron, coal, or any articles of the least value, deposited by the retiring tide, either from passing ships or the sewers. Occasionally applied to those men who cleanse the sewers, with great boots and sou' wester hats. Those who are employed in banks and counting-houses, in collecting and other out- door duties, have also this appellation. MUD-STUDENT, a farming pupil. The name given to the students at the Agricultural College, Cirencester. MUFF, a silly, or weak-minded person ; MCPP has been defined to be " a soft thing that holds a lady's hand without squeezing it." MUFFIN-WORRY, an old ladies' tea party. MUFTI, the civilian dress of a naval or military officer when off duty. — Anglo-Indian. From an Eastern word signifying a clei^gyman or priest. MUG, the mouth, or face. — Old. ** ' Goblet and muo.' — Topers should bear in mind that what they quaff from the goblet afterwards appears in the muo." MUG, to strike in the face, or fight. Also, to rob by the garrote. Gaelic, liVio, to suffocate, oppress ; Irish, mcqaim, to kUl, destroy. MUG, "to MTiQ one's-self," to get tipsy. MUGGING, a thrashing, — synonymous with slogginq, both terms of the " ring," and frequently used by fighting men. MUGGY, drunk. MUG-UP, to paint one's face. — Theatrical. To " cram " for an examina- tion. — Army. MULL, " to make a mull of it," to spoil anything, or make a fool of one's- self. — Gipsy. MULLIGRUBS.— Fide molltordbs. MULLINGAR HEIFER, a girl with thick ankles.— 7raA. The story goes that a traveller, passing through Mullingar, was so struck with this local peculiarity in the women, that he determined to accost the first he met next. " May I ask," said he, " if you wear hay in your shoes ! " "Faith an' I do," said the girl, "and what then ?" "Because," says the traveller, " that accounts for the calves of your legs coming down to feed on it." MULTEE KEUTEVER, very bad. Italian, molto oattivo.— Ztn^aa Franca. MUMMER, a performer at a travelling theatre. — Ancient. Rustic per- formers at Christmas in the West of England. MUMPER, a beggar. — Gipfg. Possibly a corruption of MDmfER. MUNDUNGUS, trashy tobacco. Spanish, mondgnoo, black pudding. — See the Gentleman's Magazine for 1821, vol. xxv. p. 137. MUNGARLY, bread, food. MnKO is an old wont' for mixed food, but x84 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN MUNOARLY is doubtless derived from the Lingua Franca, majtqiab, to eat. — See the following. MUNOARLY CASA, a baker's shop; evidently a corruption of some Lingua Franca phrase for an eating-house. The well-known "Nix mangiare " stairs at Malta derive their name from the endless beggars who lie there and shout nix manqiare, f.e., " nothing to eat," to excite the compassion of the English who land there, — an expression which exhibits remarkably the mongrel composition of the Lingua Franca, MANQIARE being Italian, and Nix an evident importation from Trieste, or other Austrian seaport. MDNGING, or "mounginq," whining, begging, muttering. — North. MUNS, the mouth. German, MCND. — Old Cant. MURERK, the mistress of the house. — See BURERE. MURKARKER, a monkey, — vulgar Cockney pronunciation of macauco, a species of monkey. Jachey Macauco was the name of a famous fight- ing monkey, which used about thirty years ago to display his prowess at the Westminster pit, where, after having killed many dogs, he was at last " chawed up " by a bull terrier. MURPHY, a potato. Probably from the Irish national liking for potatoes, MUBPHT being a common surname amongst the Irish. See mike. Mur- phies (edible) are sometimes called Donovans. MURPHY, " in the arms of mubphy," t.e., fast saleep. Corruption of uoB- PHEUS. MUSH, an umbrella. Contraction of mushroom. MUSH— (or mushroom)— FAKER, an itinerant mender of umbrellaa. MUSHROOM, an inelegant round hat worn by demure ladies. MUSLIN, a woman or girl; "he picked up a bit of muslin." MUST A, or MUSTER, a pattern, one of a sort. Anglo-Indian term used in describing the make or pattern of anything, from the cut of a coat to the plan of a palace. A sample of any kind of merchandise. This word is very generally used in commercial transactions aU over the world. MUTTON, a contemptuous term for a woman of bad character, sometimes varied to laced mutton. The expression was used as a Cant term for a " wild duck " in the reign of James I. As a Slang term it was em- ployed by Fen Jonson in his masque of Neptune's Triumph, which was written for disjilay at Court on Twelfth Night, 1623; "a fine laced MUTTON or two," are the words applied to two wantons. Shalspeare has the term. In that class of English society which does not lay any claim to refinement, a fond lover is often spoken of as being " fond of his MUTTON." MUTTON-CHOPS, a sheep's-head. MUTTON-FIST, an uncomplimentary title for any one having a large coarse red hand. MUTTON-WALK, the saloon at Drury Lane Theatre. A vulgar appella- tion applied to this place early in the last century, still in use in the 8LANQ, CANT, AND VULOAR WORDS. 185 neighbourhood of Covent Garden, which was formerly the great resort for the gay and giddy of both sexes. MUZZLE, the mouth. MUZZLE, to fight or thrash ; to throttle or garrota, MUZZY, intoxicated.— 5o!McAoM Wwd», No. 183. MY AUNT, the closet of decency, or house of office. MY LORD, a nickname given to a hunchback.' MY NABS, myself; in contradistinction to youb kibs, which tu. MY TULIP, a term of endearment used by the lower orders to persons and animals ; " kim up, MT TULIP," as the coster said to his donkey when thrashing him with an ash stick. MY UNCLE, the pawnbroker, — generally used when any person questions the whereabouts of a domestic article. " Oh I only at MT dhole's " is the reply. Up ihb spout has the same meaning. It is worthy of remark that the French call this useful relative ma tante, " my aunt." NAB, to catch, to seize ; " nab the rugti" to take offence. — Ancient, four- teenth century. — See nap. NABS, self; mt nabs, myself ; his nabs, himself. — North Country Cant. NAB THE RUST, to take offence. NABOB, an Eastern prince, a retired Indian official, — hence a Slang term for a capitalist. NAIL, to steal, or capture ; " paid on the nail," i.e., ready money ; nailed, taken up, or caught — probably in allusion to the practice of nailinq bad money to the counter. We say " as dead as a doob-nail ;" — why ? Shakspeare has the expression in Henry I Y.— " FaUtaff. What I is the old king dead f Putol. As NAIL in door." A correspondent thinks the expression is only alliterative humour, and compares as " flat as a flounder," " straight as a soldier," &c. " NAIL IN ONE'S COFFIN," a dram, "a drop o' sumat' short," a jocular, but disrespectful phrase, used by the lower orders to each other at the moment of lifting a glass of spirits to their lips. " Well, good luck ! here's another kail in mt coffin." Another phrase with old topers is " SHEDDINO A TEAR," also " WIPINQ AN ETE." NAM, a policeman. Evidently Bach Slang. NAMBY PAMBY, particular, over-nice, effeminate. This, I think, was of Pope's invention, and first applied by him to the affected, short-lined verses addressed by Ambrose Phillips to Lord Carteret's infant chilJ- ren. — Su Johnson's Life of Pope. NAMUS, or namous, some one, i.e., "be off, somebody is coming." — Bach Slang, but general — See vamos. NANNY-SHOP, a disreputable house. NANTEE, not any, or "I have none." Italian, mibmtb, nothing. — Set DINAELT. — Lingua Franca. 1 86 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN NANTEE PALAVER, no conversation, i.e., hold your tongue. — Lingua Franca. — See palaveb. NAP, or NAB, to take, steal, or receive; " you '11 nap it," t.e., you will catch a beating. — North ; also Old Cant. Btdwer'a Paul Clifford. NAP, to break, or rap with a hammer. — See knap. — North. NAP, or NAPPEB, a hat From nab, a hat, cap, or head. — Old Cant. NAP NIX, a person who works at his trade, and occasionally goes on the stage to act minor parts without receiving any pay. The derivation is obvious. — X NIBS, the master, or chief person ; a man nith no means but high pre- / tensions, — a " shabby genteel." NICK, or OLD NICK, the evil spftit. — Scandinavian, KNioaui^ one of the names of Odin, as the destroying or evil principle. NICK, to hit the mark ; " he 's nicked it,"t .e., won his point. NICK-KNACK, a trifle.— Originally Cant. NIGGLING, trifling, or idling; taking short steps in walking. — North. NIL, half ; half profits, &c. NILLY-WILLT, i.e, Nill ye, wUl ye, whether you will or no, a familiar version of the Latin, nolens volens. NIMMING, stealing. Immediately from the German, nehmbn. Mother- well, the Scotch poet, thought the old word nim (to snatch or pick up) was derived from nam, nam, the tiny words or cries of an infant, when eating anything which pleases its little palate. A negro proverb has the word : — *' Buckra man nam. crab, Cnib nam buckra man." Or, in the buckra man's language — ** White man eat [or steal] the crab. And the crab eats the white man." Needy, a nightly lodger, or tramp. Needy Mizzleb, a shabby person ; a tramp who runs away without paying for his lodging. Newoate Fbinoe, or rsiLL, the collar of beard worn under the chin ; bo called from its occupying the position of the rope when Jack Ketch operates. Another name for it is a tybukn collar. Newgate Knocker, the term given to the look of hair which coster- mongers and thieves usually twist back towards the ear. The shape is supposed to resemble the knocker on the prisoners' door at Newgate — a resemblance that carries a rather unpleasant suggestion to the wearer. Sometimes termed a cobbler's knot, or COW-LICK, which see Nibble, to take, or steal NrsBLER, a petty thief. l88 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN NINCOMPOOP, a fool, a hen-pecked husband, a "Jerry Sneak."— Coi^ ruptiou of non compos mentis. NINE CORNS, a pipeful of tobacco. NINES, " dressed up to the nines," in a showy or recherche manner. NINEPENCE, " right as ninepenoe," all right, right to a nicety. A cor- respondent says : — " This most undoubtedly should be NiNE-PiNa. For at the game of that name, in fairness to both parties, the nine pins must always be set up, with great accuracy, in this form ,•*•, There is no nicety in kinepence !" *•* NINE SHILLINGS, cool audacity ; most probably derived from the French NONCHALANCE. NING-NANQ, horse-coupers' term for a worthless thorough-bred. NINNYHAMMER, a foolish ignorant person. — Yorkshire. NIPPER, a small boy. Old Cant for a boy cut-purse. NIX, nothing ; " Nix my doU," synonymous with Hix. Qerraan, nights* /< . " nothing. — See mdnqablt. . KA/\jitX- fyO^ /tL-fiuc*- ^ NIX ! the signal word of school-boys to each other that the master, or . „ other person in authority, is approachmg. 4*U. *' .-^V^-ItU, o^ « jf jx. MY DOLLY," once a very popular Slang song, beginning— — ^ i I i- * " .Ul. ' *' In the box of a stone jug I Wiis bom, •S>< oi-J*J'««' .t^C* < Of a hempen widow and a kid forlorn ; And my noble father, as 1 have heard say. Was a famous merchant of capers gay ; Nix MT DOLLY, pals, fake away 1 " NIZ-PRIZ, a writ of nisi-prius. — Legal. NIZZIE, a fool, a coxcomb. — Old Cant,vtde Triumph of Wit. NOAH'S ARK, a long closely-buttoned overcoat, recently in fashion. So named by Punch from the similarity which it exhibits to the figure of Noah and his sons in children's toy arks. NOB, the head — Pugilistic; "bob a nob," a shilling a head. Ancient Cant, NEB. Nob is an early English word, and is used in the romance of Kynge Alisaunder (thirteenth century) for a head; originally, no doubt, the same as knob. NOB, a person of high position, a " swell," a noWeman, — of which word it may be an abbreviation. — See snob. NOB, the knave of trumps, when turned up at the game of cribbage. NOBBA, nine. Italian, NOVE ; Spanish, nova, — the 6 and v being inter- changeable, as Se6a8t<5pol and SerastdpoL Slang introduced by the " organ-grinders " from Italy. NOBBA SALTEE, ninepence. Lingua Franca, novk soldi. NOBBING, collecting money; "what NOBBINGS?" ic, how much have you got or collected from the crowd ? NOBBLE, to cheat, to overreach ; to discover. NOBBLER, a blow on the nob, a finishing stroke ; " that 'a a nobbleb for him," i.e. , a settler. — Pugilistic. Nip, to steal, take up quickly. — See hap and nir SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 1 89 NOBBLEB, a confederate of thimble-rigs, who plays earnestly as if a stranger to the " Bia," and thus draws unsuspecting persons into a game. — In NORTH of England, a low, cunning lawyer. NOBBY, or nobbish, fine or showy; nobbily, showily. — Set snob for derivation. NOLI-ME-TANGERE, the Scotch fiddle, or ojther contagious disease. NOMMUS, be oS.—Su namus. Probably Back Slang. NON-COM, a non-commissioned officer in the army. NO ODDS, no matter, of no consequence. — Latimer's Sermon before Ed- vxird VI. NORFOLK-HOWARDS, bugs ; a person named Bug having lately adopted the more aristocratic appellation of nobfolk Howard. NORTH, cunning. The inhabitants of Yorkshire and the northern coun- ties are supposed, like the canny Scots, to get the better of other peo- ple in dealing ; hence the phrase " he 's too far NORTH for me," i.e., too cunning for me to deal with. NORWICHER, more than one's share; said of a person who leaves less than half the contents of a tankard for his companion. In what way the term originated, or why Norwich was selected before any other city, I have not been able to discover. ^ NOSE, " to pay through the nose," to pay an extravagant price. NOSEBAG, a visitor at a watering-place, or house of refreshment, who carries his own victuals. — Term applied by waiters. " NOSE OUT OF JOINT, to put one's " ; to supplant, supersede, or mortify a person by excelling him. NOSE EM, or Foaus, tobacco. NOSER, a bloody or contused nose. — Pugilistic. NOT MEANT, said of a horse the owner of which, for interested reasons, does not intend that it shall win the race. NOUSE, comprehension, perception. — Old, apparently from the Greek, vovs. Gaelic and Irish, NOS ; knowledge, perception. NO WHERE, the horses not placed in a race, that are neither first, second, nor third, are said to be nowhere. NUB, a husband. NUDDIKIN, the head. "NUMBER OF HIS MESS," when a man dies in tie army or navy, he ia said to " lose the number of his mess." FOR CANT NUMERALS, SEE UNDER saltee. NURSE, a curious term lately applied to competition in omnibuses. Two omnibuses are placed on the road to nurse, or oppose, each opposition " buss," one before, the other behind. Of course the central or Nose, a thief who turns informer, or Queen's evidence ; a spy or watch ; " on the NOSE," on the look-out I go A DICTIONARY OF MODERN KtJRSED buss has very little chance, unless it happens to be a favourite with the pubUc. NtniSE, to cheat, or swindle; trustees are said to KURSE property, i.e., gradually eat it up themselres. NUT, the head, in Pugilistic Slang. Used as an exclamation at a fight, it means strike him on the head. In tossing it is a direction to hide the head; to be " oS one's nut," to be in liquor, or "all mops and BROOMS." NUTS, to be nuts upon anything or person is to be pleased with or fond of it ; a self-satisfied man is said to be nttts upon himself. NuTTKD, taken in by a man who professed to be nuts upon you. NUT-CUT, roguish, mischievous. A good-natured term of reproach. — Anglo-Indian. " OH, BE JOYFUL," a bottle of rum.— Sea. OAK, the outer door of college rooms; to " sport one's oak," to be " not at home" to visi- toi-s. — See SPORT. — University. OAR, " to put in an oar," to in- terfere. •* I put my OAR in no man's boat." — Thackeray. OAT-STEALER, an ostler. OBFUSCATED, intoxicated. OBSTEOPOLOUS, Cockney cor- ruption of obstreperous. OCHRE, money, generally applied to gold, for a very obvious reason. O'CLOCK, or a'clook, "like one o'clock," a favourite comparison with the lower orders, implying briskness; "to know what o'clock it is," to be wide-awake, sharp, and experienced. ODDS, a phrase used equivalent to "consequence;" "what's the ODDS," i.e., what is the expected result? " It's no odds," i.e., of no conse- quence. Odds, in sporting phraseology, refers to the proportions or dififerences of a bet. Thus, a " bookmaker " will lay " six to one " against such a horse getting " a place," whilst another " turfite," more speculative, or in the receipt of a first-rate " tip," (information about the horse in question,) will lay " eight," or even "ten to one." This latter would be termed the " LONO odds." ODD MAN, a street or public-house game at tossing. The number of players is three. Each tosses up a coin, and if two come down head, and one tail, or vice verm, the last is odd man, and loses or wins, as may have been agreed upon. Frequently used to victimise a " flat." If all three be alike, then the toss goes for nothing, and the coppers are again " skied." Nux, the "plant," or object in view; "stollup to the NUX?" Do you fully comprehend what is wanted ? — North Country Cant. " Sporting Door, 7i SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 191 "OD DRAT IT," or babbit, (Colman's Broad Orins,) od's blood, and all other exclamations commencing with OD, are nothing but softened or suppressed oaths. Od is a corruption of QOD, and dbat of EOT — — Shakspeare. " OFF AND ON," vacillating; " an off ahd on kind of a chap," one who is always undecided. " OFF AT THE HEAD," crazy .—Oxfordshire: "OFF ONE'S FEED," real or pretended want of appetite. — Originally Stal)le Slang. OFFISH, distant, not familiar. OFFICE, " to give the office," to give a hint dishonestly to a confederate, thereby enabling him to win a game or bet> the profits being shared. 1 OGLE, to look, or reconnoitre. M h •' 9 /n^S^^^" ■'(' OGLES, eyes.— 0?d Con*. frcncA, (Kil. "'^ i C/ ^ , " OIL OF PALMS," or palm oil, money. OINTMENT, medical student Slang for butter. 0. K, a matter to be o. K., (oll korrect, t.c., all correct,) must be on the " square," and all things done in order. OLDBUCK, an antiquary, from Scold amusing noveL OLD DOG, a knowing blade, an experienced person. Sutler uses the phrase, Hudibras, part ii., canto iii., 208, where it was said of Sidrophel, "And was old doq at physiology." The Irish proverb says, "old DOO for hard road," meaning that it requires an experienced person to execute a difficult undertaking. OLD GENTLEMAN, the d — 1. Also, a card almost imperceptibly longer than the rest of the pack, used by sharpers for the purpose of cheating. OLD GOOSEBERRY (see ooosebeert), old hakkt (query. Old Hairey t), old scratch, all synonymes for the devil. OLD GOWN, smuggled tea. OLD HORSE, salt junk, or beef.— Sea. OLD MAN, in American merchant ships signifies the master. The phrase is becoming common in English ships. OLD SALT, a thorough sailor. OLD TOM, gin; sometimes termed OAT'S wateb. OLIVER, the moon ; " Oliver don't widdle," i.e., the moon does not shine. Nearly obsolete. — Bxdwer's Paul Clifford. OLLAPOD, a country apothecary. OMEE, a master or landlord; " the OMEE of the cassey 's a nark on the pitch," the master of the house will not let us perform. Italian, 00110, a man ; " UOMO della casa," the master of the house. Latin, homo. — Lingua Franca. ON, " to be on," in public-house or vulgar parlance, is synonymous with getting '• tight," or tipsy ; " it's Saint Monday with him, I see lie 's otr again,' i.e., drunk as usual, or on the road to it. "I 'm on " also ex- 192 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN presses a person's acceptance of an offered bet. To qet on a horse or a man is to make bets on him. " Tbt it on," a defiant challenge to a person to dare to attempt anything. " ON THE LOOSE," obtaining a living by prostitution, in reality on the str3et8. The term is applied to females only, excepting in the case of 8PBEES, when men carousing are sometimes said to be on the loose. "Christmas Day is a veiy specific sort of festival. The man wlio does not spend it at home, or at the house of his nearest of Icin, is in a very poor plight He can hardly go OK the loose if he would : he seems to have no choice between innocent pleasure and the misery of hopeless solitude." — ifaming Star, 29th March 1864. " ON THE NOSE," on the watch or look-out.— See nose. " ON THE TILES," out all night " on the spree," or carousing, — in allu- sion to the London cats on their amatory excursions. " ONE IN TEN," a parson. In allusion to the tithing system. ONE-ER, that which stands for one, a blow that requires no more. In Dickens's amusing work, the " Marchioness " teUs Dick Swiveller that "her missus is a ONE-EB at cai'ds," ONION, a watch-seal. "OPEN THE BALL," to lead oS a. tacb.— Sporting. •* Borneo opened the ball by getting away in advance, Thoma'^town lying se- cond, followed by Medora, Arbury," &c — Times, Nov. so, 1863. ORACLE, " to work the oeacle," to plan, manoeuvre, to succeed by a wily stratagem. O'TRIQGER, an Irish duellist, from a character in the Rivals. OTTER, eightpence. — Italian, otto, eight. — Lingua Franca. OTTOMY, a thin man, a skeleton, a dwarf. Vulgar pronunciation of " Anatomy." Shakspeare has 'atomy. OUT, a dram glass. A hahitul of a gin-shop, desirous of treating a brace of friends, calls for a quartern of gin and three onis, by which he means three glasses which will exactly contain the quartern. OUT, in round games, where several play, and there can be but one loser, the winners in succession stand out, while the others plat orF. "OUT AND OUT," prime, excellent, of the first quality. OnT-AND- OUTEE, " one who is of an out-and-out description," up to anything. An ancient MS. has this couplet, which shews the antiquity of the phrase — "The Kyng was good alle aboute. And she was wyoked oute and oute." OUTCRY, an auction. — Anglo-Indian. " OUT OF COLLAR," out of place, — in allusion to servants. When in place, the term is collaked up. — Theatrical and general. " On the fly," getting one's living by thieving or other illegitimate means; the phrase is applied to men the same as ON the loose is to women. " On the shelf," to be transported. With old maids it has another and very different meaning. lA^ a^ CV-^c.^^A^uZt , SLANG, CANT, AND VULOAR WORDS. 1 93 "OUT ON THE LOOSE," "on the spree," in search of adventures.— &« ON THE LOOSE. "OUT ON THE PICKAROON." Picarone is Spanish for a thief, but this phrase does not necessarily mean anything dishonest, but ready for anything in the way of excitement to turn up ; also, to be in search of anything profitable. OUTSIDER, a person who does not habitually bet, or is not admitted to the "Ring." Also, a horse whose name does not appear among the " favourites." — Sporting. OVER ! or over the left, i.e., the left shoulder — a common exclamation of disbelief in what is being narrated,— implying that the results of a proposed plan will be " OT£B THE LEFT," ».«., in the wrong direction, less instead of gain. OVER, generally used in connexion with COMB, as "be came it rather strong over me," i.e., tried to intimidate or compel me. The same phrase would also be used to imply that an excess of flattery or praise was being employed for a similar purpose, but that the adulation was being " laid on a little too thick " to be considered genuine. The term is also used in connexion with a proper noun, as " he came Tom Sayers over me," i.e., pummelled me into submission or acquiescence. " Is it in Nature," writes a visitor to Cliarlecote Hall, near 8tratford-oil-Avon, ** to walk among open book-shelves covered with some of the rarest old works of the highest importance in art and English social history, and not feel inclined (not to steal, oh no !) to come the Shakspeare oveb one or two of the dear books?" — Morning Star, April 28, 1864. OVERS, the odd money remaining after the daily accounts are made up at a banking-house, — usually divided amongst the clerks. — See mbnavel- INQS and SHORTS. OWNED, a Slang expression used by the ultra-Evangelicals when a popu- lar preacher makes many converts. The converts themselves are called his " SEALS." P's AND Q's, particular points, precise behaviour ; " mind your p's AND q's," be very careful. Originating, according to some, from the simil- arity of p's and q's in the hornbook alphabet, and therefore the warn- ing of an old dame to her pupils ; or, according to others, of a French dancing master to his pupils, to mind their pieds (feet) and queues (wigs) when making a bow. PACK, to go away ; " now, then, pack off there," i.e., be off, don't stop here any longer. Old, " Make speede to flee, be packing and awaie." — Buret's Alvearie, 1580. PACKETS, hoaxing lies. Sometimes used as an exclamation of incredulity. — North. PAD, "to stand pad," to beg with a small piece of paper pinned on the breast, inscribed, " I 'm starving." "PAD THE HOOF," to walk, not ride; "paddinq the hoof on the high toby," tramping or walking on the high road. ** Trudge, plod away 0' the hoof." — Merry Wiva, i. 3. Fad, the bixhway ; a tramp. — Lincolnshire. N 194 ^ DICTIONARY OF MODERN PADDING, the light articles in the monthly magazines, of which the serial stories are the main attraction. — See an article on this in the Saturday Review, Jan. 19, 1861. PADDLE, to go or run away. — Bousehold Wordt, No. 183. PADDY, PAT, or paddy whack, an Irishman. "I'm PADDY WHACK, from Ballyhack, Not long ago turn'd soldier ; In storm and sack, in front attack. None other can be boulder." Iriih Song. PADDrS GOOSE, the sign of the White Swan, a noted flash public-hoiist in the east of London. PADDY'S LAND, "ould" Ireland. PADRE, a clergyman. — Anglo-Indian, PAL, a partner, acquaintance, friend, an accomplice. Gipsy, a brother. PALAMPO, a quilt or bedcover. Probably from palanpore, a town in India, renowned for its manufacture of chintz counterpanes. — Anglo- Indian. PALAVER, to ask, or talk, — not deceitfully, as the term usually signifies ; " PALAVER to the nibs for a shant of bivvy," ask the master for a quart of beer. In this sense used by 2CX) ^ DICTIONARY OF MODFMN PIC, the Piccadilly Saloon. The earlier abbreviation was dillt. Fcryfast men were wont (it is now " used up ") to call it " the SANoniNART DOUBLES, from the fact of its being situated at No. 222 in Piccadilly. PICCADILLY BUTCHERS, a satirical name applied by the crowd to the regiment of Life Guards, known as the " Royal Blues," from their savage onslaught upon the crowd on the occasion of the arrest of Sir Francis Burdett at his house in Piccadilly, by order of the Speaker of the House of Commons. PICK, " to PICK one'sself up," to recover after a beating or illness, some- times varied to " PICK up one's crumbs; " " to PICK a man up," " to do," or cheat him. PICKANINNY, a young child is thus styled by the West Indian negroes. The word is now completely naturalised among sailors and water-side people in England. PICKERS, the hands. — Shakspeare. PICKLE, a miserable or comical position ; "he is in a sad pickle," said of any one who has fallen into the gutter, or got besmeared. " A picklb herring," a comical fellow, a merry-andrew. — Old. Also, a mischie- vous boy ; " what a pickle he is to be sure ! " PICKLES I gammon ; also a jeering and insulting exclamation. PIDGEON, business, simply the Chinese pronunciation of the English word. — Anglo-Chinese. PIECE, a contemptuous term for a woman ; a strumpet.— SAaforpcare. PIG, or sow's BABY, a sixpence. PIG, a mass of metal, — so called from its being poured in a fluid state from a sow, which lee. — Workmen's term. "PIG AND TINDER-BOX," the vulgar rendering of the well-known tavern sign, " Elephant and Cattle." PIGEON, a gullible or soft person. The French Cant, or Argot, has the word PIGEON, dupe — "pechon, peschon de bubt, apprenti gueux, enfant, (sans doute d^rob^.)" The vagabonds and brigands of Spain also used the word in their Qermania, or Robbers' Language, PAXOUO, (pigeon,) ignorant, simple. PIGEON'S MILK, boys are frequently sent, on the 1st of April, to "buy a pennyworth of pigeon's milk." PIG-HEADED, obstinate. PIG'S EYE, the ace of diamonds in cards. PIG'S WHISPER, a low or inaudible whisper ; also a short space of time, synonymous with cockstkide, i.e., cock's tread. PIKE, a turnpike ; " to bilk a pike," to cheat the keeper of the toll-gate. *' No PIKE I *ve seen, the only one was that unpleasant wicket, Where threepence I was forced to pay, and now I have lost the ticket I" The Lay of tlu Unsuccetsful Angler, by Arthur Smith. FiOKOK, or BLUBY CBACKINO, breaking into empty houses and stealing lead. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WOIiDS. 20I PIKE, to nm, to be off with speed ; " PIKE it " is said as a hasty aud con- temptuous, if not angry dismissal ; " if you don't like it, take a short stick and pike it." " Joe quickly his sand had sold, sir. And Bess got a basket of rags ; Then up to St Giles's they roll'd, sir ; To every bunter Bess brags. Then unto the gin-shop they pike it. And Bess was admitted, we hear ; For none of the crew dare but like it. As Joey, her kiddy, was there." The Sand-man's Wedding, a Cantata. "*Twaa not our fault, dear Jack; we saw the watch going into the house the moment we came there, aud we thought it proper to pike off." — The Prison Breaker, a Farce. PILL, a doctor. — Military. PiLL-DRlTEB, a peddling apothecary. PILL-BOX, a doctor's carriage. PIN, " to put in the TVS," to refrain from drinking. From the ancient peg tankard, which was furnished with a row of pcjs, or pegs, to regu- late the amount which each person was to drink. A correspondent gives a different explanation. " When an Irishman makes a vow or promise to abstain from drinking for a time, he puts a PIN in the right- hand cuff of his coat. So that, in case he shoijd ever forget his pro- mise, he will see the pin, like an accusing angel, when lifting the glass to his mouth." A MEBRY pin, a roisterer. — See peg. PINCHBECK, inferior, deteriorated. "Where, in these pinchbeck days, can we hope to find the old agricultural virtue in all its purity ? " — Framley Parsonage. Pinchbeck was an inferior metal, compounded of copper and zinc, to resemble gold. It was very fashionable in the last century, and derived its name from a Mr Pinchbeck, a well-known London tradesman, who manufactured watches, buckles, and other articles out of it. Pinch- beck first obtained his notoriety by the invention of an ingenious candle-snuffers, which the author of The Beroic Epistle to Sir William Chambers made the vehicle of a facetious Ode that went through eight editions. The title of this jeu cC esprit ran thus : — ** Ode to Mr Pinchbeck, upon his Newly-invented CandU-Snv^ers, by Halooijc M'GBiiaoR, Esq., 1776. *' Illustrious PINCHBECK 1 condescend, Thou well-beloved, and best king's friend. These lyric lines to view ; Oh may they prompt thee, e'er too late. To snuff the candle of the State, That bums a little blue I " Pinchbeck published a poetical reply, and the two pamphlets were for a long time the talk of town. PINDAKIC HEIGHTS, studying the odes of Pindar.— Ox/ord. PINK, the acme of perfection. — Shaispeare. PINK, to stab, or pierce. Pin, to catch, apprehend. Also, to steal rapidly. Pinch, to sieal, or cheat ; also, to catch, or apprehend. 202 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN PINNER-UP, a Beller of old songs, pinned against a wall or framed can- vass. Formerly many of these street salesmen carried on their little " paper trade " in London ; now they are rarely seen. PINS, legs. PIPE, to follow or dog a person. Term used by detectiva. PIPE, to shed tears, or bewail; " pipe one's eye." — Sea term. " He first began to eye his pipe. And tlien to pipe his eve. '— Oid Song. Metaphor from the boatswain's pipe, which calls to duty, PIPE, " to put one's PIPE out," to traverse his plans, " to take a rise " out of him. PIPER, a person employed by an omnibus proprietor to act as a spy on the conductor. PIPKIN, the stomach, — properly, an earthen round-bottomed pot. — Norwich. PIT, a breast pocket. PITCH, a fixed locality where a patterer can hold forth to a gaping multi- tude for at least some few minutes continuously ; " to do a pitch in the drag," to perform in the street. PITCH INTO, to fight ; " pitch into him, Bill," i.e., give him a thrashing. " PITCH THE FORK," to teU a pitiful tale. " PITCH THE NOB," pkick the qabteb, which He. PLANT, a dodge, a preconcerted swindle; a position in the street to sell from. Plant, a swindle, may be thus described : a coster will join a party of gambling costers that he never saw before, and commence tossing. When sufficient time has elapsed to remove all suspicions of companionship, his mate will come up and commence betting on each of his pal's throws with those standing around. By a curious quick- ness of hand, a coster can make the toss tell favourably for his wager- ing friend, who meets him in the evening after the play is over and shares the spoil. PLANT, to mark a person out for plunder or robbery, to conceal, or place. — Old Cant. In the sense of conceal, there is aBimilar word in Argot, PLANQUER. .11 ^ PLEBS, a term used to stigmatise a tradesman's son at Westminster ^ ■^rv-»*>ywv>^ — School. Latin, plebs, the vulgar. ^ PLOUGHED, drunk.— //oiweAoW H^ord», No. 183. Also a Cnt»erm«3> term equivalent to pldoked. PLUCK, the heart, liver, and lungs of an animal,— all that is plucked away in connexion with the windpipe, from the chest of a sheep or hog ; among low persons, covu^ge, valour, and a stout heart. — See MOLLTGBUBS. PLUCK'D-'UN, a stout or brave fellow ; " he 's a rare pldck'd-'un," i.e., dares face anything. During the Crimean war, plucky, signifying courageous, seemed likely to become a favourite term in May-Fair, even among the ladiea SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 203 An eminent critic, however, who had heen bred a butcher, having in- formed the fashionable world that in his native town the theep's head always went with the PLUCK, the tenu has been gradually falling into discredit at the West End. It has been said that a brave soldier is flucet in attack, and gaub when wounded. Women are more oaue than PLUCKY. PLUCKED, turned back at an examination. — University. A correspondent says that " in ancient times it was the University practice of pulling (or plucking) the sleeve — by the proctor, if I recollect aright — of those whose degrees were refused." PLUM, £100,000, usually appUed to the dowry of a rich heiress, or a legacy. — Civic Slang. PLUM-CASH, prime cost. — Anglo-Chinese. PLUMMY, round, sleek, jolly, or fat ; excellent, very good, first rate. PLUMPER, a single vote at an election, not a " split ticket." PLUNDER, a common word in the horse trade to express profit. AIbo an American term for baggage, luggage. PLUNGER, a cavalry-man. — Military Slang, POCKET-PISTOL, a dram-flask. PODGY, drunk ; dumpy, short, and fat. POGRAM, a Dissenter, a fanatic, formalist, or humbug. So called from a well-known dissenting minister of this name. POKE, a bag, or sack ; " to buy a pig in a POKE," to purchase anything without seeing it. — Saxon. POKE, a Slang word for booty or plunder. — Times, Nov. 29, i860. POKE, "come, none of your pokino fun at me," i.e., you must not laugh at me. POKER, "by the holy POKEB and the tumbling Tom I " an Irish oath. POKERS, the Cambridge Slang term for the Esquire Bedels, who carry the silver maces (also called pokees) before the Vice-Chancellor. " Around, around, all, all around. On seats with velvet lined, fiat Heads of Houses in a row. And Deans, and College Dons below, With a POKEB or two behind." Rimt 0/ tht NmMaie Baecaltre, 1841. POKY, confined or cramped ; " that comer is poky and narrow." — Times article, 21st July 1859. Saxon, poke, a sack. POLE-AXE, vulgar rendering of the word "police." POLICEMAN, a fly — more especially the earlier kind known as "blue bottles." POLISH OFF, to finish off anything quickly — a dinner for instance ; also to finish off an adversary. — Pugilistic. Poll, or polijnq, one thief robbing another of part of the booty. In use in ancient times, vide HaWt Union, 1548. 204 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN POLL, the " ordinary degree " candidates for the B. A. Examination, who do not aspire to the " Honours " list. From the Greek, ot ttoXXoi, "the many." Some years ago, at Cambridge, Mr Hopkins being the most celebrated " honour coach," or private tutor for the wranglers, and Mr Potta the principal " crammer " of the non-honour men, the latter was facetiously termed the " POLLY Hopkins " by the under- graduates. POLL, a female of unsteady character ; " polled tJP," living with a woman in a state of unmarried impropriety. ' POLONY, Cockney shortening and vulgar pronunciation of a Bologna sausage. POMPADOURS, the Fifty-sixth Regiment of Foot in the British army. POND, or HERRING-POND, the sea; so called by those who are sent across it at the national expense. PONGE, or PONGELOW, beer, half-and-half ; the term is also used as a verb, as in the Cockney phrase, " let 's pongelow, shall we ? " PONY, twenty-five pounds. — Sporting. POONA, a sovereign. — Corruption of " pound ; " or from the Lingua Franca. POP, to pawn or pledge ; "to pop up the spout," to pledge at the pawn- broker's, — an allusion to the spout up which the brokers send the ticketed articles until such times as they shall be redeemed. The spout runs from the ground-floor to the wareroom at the top of the house. POPE'S NOSE, the extremity of the rump of a roast fowl, devilled as a dainty for epicures. POPS, pocket-pistols. PORTRAIT, a sovereign, or twenty shillings. POSA, a treasurer. A corruption of " purser," the name given to the treasurer in the large Anglo-Chinese mercantile establishments. — Anglo-Chinese. POSH, a halfpenny, or trifling coin. Also a generic term for money. POST, to pay down ; " POST the post " signifies to place thfl stakes played for on the table. POST-HORN, the nose.— See paste-horn. POST-MORTEM, at Cambridge, the second examination which men who have been " plucked " have to undergo. — University. POSTBOYS, THREE JOLLY, a method of tossing. POSTERIORS, a correspondent insists that the vulgar sense of this word is undoubtedly Slang ; (Swift, I believe, first applied it as such,) and remarks that it is curious the word anterior has not been so abused. POSTED UP, well acquainted with the subject in question, " up to the mark," — metaphor drawn from the counting-house. POT, a sixpence, i.e., the price of a pot or quart of half-and-halt. A Ualf- crown, in medical student Slang, is a fite-fot piece. SLANO, CANT. AND VULGAR WORDS. 205 POT, " to 00 TO POT," to die ; from the classic custom of putting the ashes of the dead in an um ; also, to be ruined, or broken up, — often applied to tradesmen who fail In business. Go TO POT ! i.e., go and hang your- self, shut up and be quiet. V Estrange, to put the pot on, to over- charge, or exaggerate. A correspondent, however, prefers looking to the refiner's shop for the origin of the expression, where refuse metal and worn-out plate are daily condemned " to go to pot." POT, to finish ; " don't POT me," term used at billiards, when a player holes his adversary's ball — generally considered shabby play. This word was much used by our soldiers in the Crimea, for firing at the enemy from a hole or ambush. These were called pot-shots. POT-HUNTER, a sportsman who shoots anything he comes across, having more regard to filling his bag than to the rules which regulate the sport. POT LUCK, just as it comes; to take pot luck, i.e., one's chance of a dinner,^a hearty term used to signify whatever the pot contains the visitor is welcome to. POT-WALLOPER, an elector in certain boroughs before the passing of the Reform Bill, whose qualification consisted in being a housekeeper, — to establish which it was only necessary to boil a pot within the limits of the borough, by the aid of any temporary erection. This implied that he was able to provide for himself, and not necessitated to apply for parochial relief. Koniton, Tregoney, Ilchester, Old Sarum, &c., had this privilege before the passing of the Reform Bill. — See Gentle- man's Magazine for June 1852. Wallop, a word of Anglo-Saxon derivation, from the same root as well. POTATO-TRAP, the mouth.— Originally a ffibemicism. POTEEN, whisky made in an illicit still, once a favourite drink in Ireland, now almost unattainable. POTTED, or potted out, cabined, confined; "the patriotic member of Parliament potted out in a dusty little lodging somewhere about Bury Street." — Times article, 21st July 1859. Also applied to burial, — a gardening allusion. POTTY, indifferent, bad looking, — said of a rotten or unsound scheme. POWER, a large quantity ; " a power of money." — Especially Irish, but now general. Deriv. poeb. Old French or Norman, large resources; also an army. P. P., in Turf Slang a contraction of "plat OR pay;" that is, the money must be paid whether the horse runs or not. PEANCER, a horse. — Ancient Cant. PRECIOUS, used in a Slang sense like very or exceeding; "a PRECIOUS little of that," i.e., a very little indeed ; a precious humbug, rascal &c., t «., an eminent one. Prad, a horse. Pkad-nafping, horse-stealing. 206 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN PRETTY HORSE-BEEAKEB, a phrase of recent adoption, applied to tlie ladies of the demi-monde by the Times and other newspapers. It is said that the livery stable-keepers of the West End find it to their advantage to provide horses and "traps" for these pbettt horsk- BBEAK£R8 to display. PRIAL, a corruption of paih-rotai, a term at the game of cribbage, jnean- ing three cards of a similar description. Often used metaphorically for three persons or things of a kind. DonBLE-PRiAL, a corruption of DOUBLE PAIR-ROYAL, means four persons or things of a similar descrip- tion. " PRICK THE GARTER," or " pitch the kob," a gambling and cheating game common at fairs, and generally practised by thimble-riggers. It consists of a " garter " or a piece of list doubled, and then folded up tight. The bet is made upon your asserting that you can, with a pin, " prick " the point at which the garter is doubled. The garter is then unfolded, and nine times out of ten you will find that you have been deceived, and that one of the false folds has been pricked. The owner of the garter, I should state, holds the ends tightly with one hand. This was, doubtless, originally a Gipsy game, and we are in- formed by Brand that it was much practised by the Gipsies in the time of Shakspeare, In those days it was termed prickino at ths BELT, or fast and LOOSE. PRIG, a thief. Used by .4 dfiison in the sense of a coxcomb. Ancient Cant, probably from the Saxon, prico-an, to filch, &c. — Shalcspeare. Prio, to steal, or rob. Priqqing, thieving. In Scotland the term prig is used in a diflferent sense from what it is in England. In Glasgow, or at Aberdeen, " to prio a salmon " would be to cheapen it, or seek for an abatement in the price. A story is told of two Scotchmen, visitors to Loudon, who got into sad trouble a few years ago by announcing their intention of " prigging a hat " which they had espied in a fashionable manufacturer's window, and which one of them thought he would like to possess. PRIG, a conceited, stuck up person, and contemptible withal ; one who ap propriates or adopts a manner or costume not suited to him. PRIGGISH, conceited. PRIMED, said of a person in that state of incipient intoxication that if ha takes more drink it will become evident. PRO, a professional. — Theatrical. PROG, meat, food, &c. Johnson calls it " a low word." PROP, a blow, the upper cct. PROPS, crutches. PROPS, stage properties. — Theatrical. Prime Plant, a good subject for plunder. — See plant. Prop, a gold scarf pin. Pbop-nailer, a man who steals, or rather snatches, pins from gentlemen's scarfs. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 207 PBOPER, very, exceedingly, sometimes ironically; "you are a pkopeb nice fellow," meaning a great scamp. PROS, a water-closet. Abbreviated form of TrpAr Ttva roTrov. — Oxford University. PROSS, to break in or instruct a stage-infatuated youth. Also, to " sponge " upon a comrade or stranger for drink. PSALM-SMITER, a " Ranter," one who sings at a conventicle.— See bbiskkt- BEATER. PUB, or PUBLIC, a public-house ; "what pub do you use ?" t.e., which inn or public-house do you frequent ? PUCKER, poor temper, difficulty, diHuMUi. Pookeb up, to get in a poor temper. PUCKERING, talking privately. PUCKEROW, to seize, to take hold of. From the Hindostanee, puckekna. — Anglo-Indian, PUFF, to blow up, swell with praise ; declared by a writer in the Weekly Register, as far back as 1732, to be illegitimate. •* Puff has become a Cant word, signifying the applause set forth by writers, Ac., to increase the reputation and sale of a book, and is an excellent sti-ata- gem to excite the curiosity of gentle readers.** Lord Bacon, however, used the word in a similar sense a century be- fore. PUG, abbreviation of " pugilist." Sayers and Heenan would speak fami- liarly of themselves as " brother puos." PULL, an advantage, or hold upon another ; " I 've the pull over you," t.e., you are in my power — perhaps an oblique allusion to the judicial sense. — sided box. SANGUINARY JAMES, a raw sheep's-head. — Set bloody jemmt. SANK WORK, making soldiers' clothes. Mayhew says from the Norman, BANC, blood, — in allusion either to the soldier's calling, or the colour of his coat. 220 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN SAP, or SAPSCULL, a poor green simpleton, with no heart for work. 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. SAVELOY, a sausage of bread and chopped beef smoked, a minor kind of POLONY, which see. SAVEY, to know ; " do you savet that ? "—French, savez-vous Cela ? In the nigger and Anglo-Chinese patois, this is sabbt, " me no sabbt." It is a general word among the lower classes all over the world. It also means aouteness or cleverness ; aa " that feUow has plenty of BAVEY." SAW, a term at whist. A saw is established when two partners alter- nately trump a suit, played to each other for the express purpose. " SAW YOUR TIMBER," " be off ! " equivalent to cut your stick. Occa- sionally varied with mock refinement, to amputate youb mahoqany. — See CUT. SAWBONES, a surgeon. SAWNEY, or sandy, a Scotchman, Corruption of Alexander. SAWNEY, a simpleton; a gaping, awkward lout. SCAB, a worthless person. — Old. Shakspeare uses scald in a similar sensei SCABBY-NECK, a native of Denmark.— &a. SCAB-RAISER, a drummer in the army, so called from one of the duties pertaining to that office, viz., inflicting corporal punishment on the soldiers. — Militury. SCABBY-SHEEP, epithet applied by the vulgar to a person who has been in questionable society, or under unholy influence, and become tainted. SCALY, shabby, or mean. Perhaps anything which betokens the presence of the " Old Serpent," or it may be a variation on " fishy." Shaka- peare uses scald, an old word of reproach. 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 ; formerly the Cant term for plunder- ing 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 jut ex campo exit, viz., one who leaves the field, a deserter. Sawney, bacon. Sawney hunter, one who steals bacon. ScAIiDBUM DoDQB, burning the body with a mixture of acids and gun- powder, so as to suit the hues and complexions of the accident to be deplored. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 221 SCAMP, to give short measure or quantity ; applied to dishonest contrao- tors. 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. SCARCE, TO MAKE one's-self; to be off; decamp. SCARLET-TOWN, Reading, in Berkshire. As the name of this place is pronounced Redding, scaBLET-town is probably a rude pun upon it. SCARBOROUGH-WARNINa, a warning too shortly given to be taken advantage of. When a person is driven over, and then told to keep out of the way, he receives scABBOBOuan-WARNiNo. 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. SCARPER, to run away. — Spanish, escafar, to escape, make off ; Italian, BCAFPARE. " Scarper with the feele of the donna of the cassey," to run away with the daughter of the landlady of the house ; almost pure Italian, " scappabe colla piqlia Bella donna della casa." — Seven Dials and Prison Cant, from the Lingua Franca. SCHISM-SHOP, a Dissenters' meeting-house. — University. SCHROFF, a banker, treasurer, or confidential clerk. — Anglo-Indian. SCHWASSLE BOX, the street performance of Punch and Judy. — Home- hold Wm-ds, No. 183. — See swatchel-cove. SCONCE, the head; judgment, sense. — Dutch. SCORE, " to run up a score at a public-house," to obtain credit there until pay-day, or a fixed time, when the debt must be wiped off. From the old practice of scoring a tippler's indebtedness on the inside of a public-house door. SCORF, to eat voraciously. SCOT, a quantity of anything, a lot, a share. — Anglo-Saxon, sceat, pro- nounced SHOT. SCOT, temper, or passion, — from the irascible temperament of that nation ; " oh ! what a SCOT he was in," i.e., what temper he shewed, — especi- ally if you allude to the following : — SCOTCH-FIDDLE, the itch; "to play the scotch fiddle," to work the index finger of the right hand like a fiddlestick between the index and middle finger of the left. This provokes a Scotchman in the highest degree, it implying that he is afflicted with the itch. SCOTCH GRAYS, lice. Our northern neighbours are calumniously re- ported, from their living on oatmeal, to be peculiarly liable to cutane- ous eruptions and parasites. SCOTCH-COFFEE, biscuits toasted and boiled in water.— &a. ScHOFEL, bad money. — See show-full. School, or mob, two or more " patterers " working together in the streets. ScHOOLiNO, a low gambling party. 222 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN SCOTCHES, the legs ; also synonymous with notohbs. SCOUT, a college valet, or waiter. — Oxford. — See gtp. SCRAG, the neck.— OW Cant. Scotch, craio. Still used by butchera. Hence, scrag, to hang by the neck, and scbagqino, an execution,— also Old Cant. SCRAN, pieces of meat, broken victuals. Formerly the reckoning at a public-house. Sorannino, or " out on the scran," begging for broken victuals. Also, an /m& malediction of a mild sort, " Bad scbah to yer!" SCRANBAG, a soldier's haversack. — Military Slang, SCRAPE, a difficulty ; scrape, low wit for a shave. SCRAPE, cheap butter ; " bread and scrape," the bread and butter issued to schoolboys — so called from the butter being laid on, and then scraped off again, for economy's sake. SCRAPING CASTLE, a water-closet. SCRATCH, a fight, contest, point in dispute ; " coming up to the SCRATCH," going or preparing to fight — in reality, approaching the line usually chalked on the ground to divide the ring. According to the rules of the prize ring, the toe must be placed at the scratch, so the phrase often is TOEINO. SCRATCH, " no great scratch," of Httle worth. SCRATCH, to strike a horse's name out of the list of runners in a par- ticular race. " Tomboy was scratched for the Derby, at 10 a.m., on Wednesday," from which period all bets made in reference to him (with one exception) are void. — See P.P. — Turf. One of Jioz'a characters asks whether horses are "really made more lively by being scratched." SCRATCH-RACE, (on the Turf) a race where any horse, aged, winner, or loser, can run with any weights ; in fact, a race without restrictions. At Cambridge a boat-race, where the crews are drawn by lot. SCREAMING, first-rate, splendid. Believed to have been first used in the Adelphi play -bills ; " a screamiko farce," one calculated to make the audience scream with laughter. Now a general expression. Screen, a bank-note; queer screen, a forged bank-note. Screbve, a letter, a begging petition. ScEEEVE, to write, or devise; "to SCBEEVE a fakement," to concoct, or write, a begging letter, or other impostor's documents. From the Dutch, SOHKTVEN ; German, scheeiben ; French, eceitakt, (old form,) to write. Soreever, a man who draws with coloured chalks on the pavement figures of our Saviour crowned with thorns, specimens of elaborate writing, thunderstorms, ships on fire, &c. The men who attend these pave- ment chalkings, and receive halfpence and sixpences from the admirers of street art, are not always the draughtsmen. The artist or screever draws, perhaps, in half-a-dozen places in the course of the morning, and rents the spots out to as many cadaverous-looking men. d^ ,& Cyi-c^'-t-i'' ' I (?■■ I : '> •vtnr^'f a^ '3'\j£ / y -r SHAKE, a disreputable man or woman.— A^wtA. ^^ ,a^,n4..J-^-^^— ^- ^--'^^^^ SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 239 SNOBBISH, stuck up, proud, make believe. SNOB-STICK, a workman who refuses to join in strikes, or trade unions. Query, properly nobstick. I3N00KS, an imaginary pensonage often brought forward as the answer to an idle question, or as the perpetrator of a senseless joke. Said to be simply a shortening or abbreviation of " Sevenoaks," the Kentish village. SNOOKS -AND -WALKER, a game resembling buz, but more compli- cated. Every three and multiple of three must be termed snooks, and every five and multiple of five, walkek; thus — One, two, SNOOKS ; four, walker-snooks ; seven, eight, snooks-walkek ; eleven, SNOOKS-SNOOKS ; fourteen, bnqoks-walkeb, the last being a multiple of both three and five. — See buz. SNOOZE, or snoodge, (vulgar pronunciation,) to deep or doze. SNOOZE-CASE, a piUow-sUp. SNOT, a term of reproach applied to persons by the vulgar when vexed or annoyed. In a Westminster school vocabulary for boys, published in the last century, the term is curiously applied. Its proper mean- ing is the glandular mucus discharged through the nose. SNOT, a small bream, a slimy kind of flat fish. — Noncich. SNOTTINGER, a coarse word for a pocket-handkerchief. The German schnupftuch is, however, nearly as plain. A handkerchief was also anciently called a MUCKiNaEE, or mdokendee. SNOW, wet linen. — Prison, term and Old Cant. SNUFF, " up to SNUFF," knowing and sharp ; " to take BNtrrF," to be offended. Shakspeare uses snuff in the sense of anger, or passion. SNUFF OUT, to die ; a flippant expression, similar to " LAYlHa DOWN one's KNIPB and fork," " HOPPINQ THB TWIO," &0. SNUFFY, tipsy, drunk. SNYDER, a tailor. German, schneidee. SOAP, flattery. — See soft soap. SOCIAL EVIL, a name beginning to be applied to street-walkers in con- sequence of the articles in the newspapers being so headed, which treat on the evils of prostitution. A good story is told in the Saturday Review ioT July 28, i860. "A well-known divine and philanthropist was walking in a crowded street at night in order to distribute tracts to promising subjects. A young woman was walking up and down, and he accosted her. He pointed out to her the error of her ways, emplored her to reform, and tendered her a tract with fervent en- treaties to go home and read it. The girl stared at him for a moment or two in sheer bewOderment ; at last it dawned on her what he meant, and for what he took her, and looking up with simple amazement in his face, she exclaimed, " Lor' bless you, sir, I ain't a social evil ; I *m waitin' for the 'bus ! '* Snotteb, or wipe-hauleb, a pickpocket who commits great depredations upon gentlemen's pocket-handkerchiefa — North. Snow-gatheeeb, or snow-dboppeb, a rogue who steals linen from hedges and drying-grounds. 240 A DICTION ART OF MODERN SOCK, the Eton-College term for a +reat, synonymous with chuck used at Westminster and other schools. Believed to be derived from the monkish word soke. An old writer speaks of a pious man " who did not SOKE for three days," meaning he fasted. A correspondent informs me that the word is still used by the boys of Heriot's Hospital School at Edinburgh, and signifies a sweetmeat; being derived from the same source as sugar, such, Sucre, &c. " SOCK INTO HIM," i.e., give him a good drubbing; " give him sock," i.e., thrash him well. SOCKET-MONEY, money extorted by threats of exposure. SOFT, foolish, inexperienced. An old term for bank-notes. SOFT-HORN, a simpleton, a donkey, whose ears, the substitutes of horns, are soft. SOFT-SAWDER, flattery easily laid on, or received. Probably intro- duced by Sam Slick. SOFT-SOAP, or soft-sawdeb, flattery, ironical praise. SOFT-TACK, bread.— Sea. SOFT-TOMMY, loaf-bread, in contradistinction to hard biscuit. SOLD, " SOLD again I and the money taken," guUed, deceived. — Vide BELL, SOLD UP, or OUT, broken down, bankrupt. SOLDIER, a red herring. Common term in seaport towns. SOMETHING DAMP, a dram, a drink. " SON OF A GUN," a contemptuous title for a man. In the army it is sometimes applied to an artilleryman. SOOR, an abusive term. Sindostanee, a pig. — Anglo-Indian. SOOT-BAG, a reticule. ^ , SOP, a soft or foolish man. Abbreviation of milksop. rt£_X ' ' SOPH, (abbreviation of sophisteb,) a title peculiar to the University of ^,,0^ ^ ^-/T3^ Gambridije. Undergraduates are junior sophs before passing their /': ^ xy"^ " Little Go" or first University examination, — senior sophs after that. iS-SL/^Y^ SORT, used in a Slang sense thus — " That 'a your sort," as a term of ap- '.' -^ / probation. Pitch it into him, that 's your SOBT, i.e., that is the proper '^ ' kind of plan to adopt. SOUND, to pump, or draw information from a person in an artful manner. SOW, the receptacle into which the liquid iron is poured in a gun-foundry. The melted metal poured from it ia termed PIG. — Workmen's terms. SOW'S BABY, a pig ; sixpence. v^PANK, a smack, or hard slap. 1 . -iy L I A n ^oPANK, to move along quickly; hence a fast horse or vessel is aaid to be oWOAvv 5 AJ-VT ^o^V (f "a spanker to go." IT SPANKING, large, fine, or strong; e.g., a spankinq pace, a spanking (fj^ OJuTVyW juiliAjti.. t!tt. breeze, a 8PAKKIN0 fellow. SPECKS, damaged oranges. — Costermonger's term. t\\i J>xo. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 24 1 SPECIALTY, any one's peculiar forte or weakness. From the French, SFicuuTft. SPELL, a turn of. work, an interval of time. " Take a SPELt at the cap- stem." — Sea. " He took a long SPELL at that tankard" "After a long SPELL." SPELL, " to SPELL for a thing," hanker after it, intimate a desire to po» seas it. SPELL, to advertise, to put into print. " Spelt in the leer," i.e., adver- tised in the newspaper. SPELLKEN, or speelken, a playhouse. German, spielen. — See ken. — Don Juan. SPICK AND SPAN, applied to anything that is quite new and fresh.— Hudibrat. SPIDIREEN, the name of an imaginary ship, sometimes mentioned by sailors. If a sailor be asked what ship he belongs to, and does not wish to tell, he will most probably reply — " The spidireen frigate, with nine decks, and ne'er a bottom." SPIFFED, slightly intoxicated.— &o«cA Slang. SPIFFS, the percentage allowed by drapers to their young men when they eS'ect a sale of old-fashioned or undesirable stock. SPIFFY, spruce, well-dressed, tout d, la mode. SPIFLICATE, to confound, silence, annihilate, or stifle. A corruption of the last word, or of " suffocate." SPILL, to throw from a horse or chase. — See publ. SPIN, to reject from an examination. — Army. SPINDLESHANKS, a nickname for any one who has thin legs. SPIN-'EM ROUNDS, a street game consisting of a piece of brass, wood, or iron, balanced on a pin, and turned quickly round on a board, when the point, arrow-shaped, stops at a number, and decides the bet one way or the other. 'The contrivance very much resembles a sea com- pass, and was formerly the gambling accompaniment of London pie- men. The apparatus then was erected on the tin lids of their pie-cans, and the bets were ostensibly for pies, but more frequently for " cop- pers," when no policemen frowned upon the scene, and when two or three apprentices or porters happened to meet. SPINIKEN, St Giles's Workhouse. Lump, Marylebone do. Pan, St Pancras. SPIRT, or SPURT, " to put on a spirt," to make an increased exertion for Speel, to run away, make off; " speel the drum," to go off with stolen property. — North. Spell, contracted from spellken. " Precious rum squeeze at the spell," i.e, a good evening's work at the theatre, would be the remark of a successful pickpocket I Spike Park, the Queen's-Bench prison. — See bdbdon's hotel. 242 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN a brief space, to attain one's end ; a nervous effort. Abbreviation or Bhortening of spiRrr.— OW. "So here for a man to run well for a spurt, and then to give over, is enough to annul all his former proceedings, and to make him in no better estate then if he had never set foot into the good waies of God." — QataJcei't BpirUuaU Weirh, 4to, 1619. p. 10. SPITALFIELDS' BREAKFAST. At the East end of London this is understood as consisting of a tight necktie and a short pipe. Amongst workmen it is usual, I understand, to tighten the apron string when no dinner is at hand. SPITFIRE, a passionate person. SPLASH, complexion powder used by ladies to whiten their necks and faces. The finest rice flour, termed in France, pmuhre de riz, is gene- rally employed. — See slap. SPLENDIFEROUS, sumptuous, first-rate. Splendacious, sometimes used with similar meanings. SPLICE, to marry; "and the two shall become oneflesh." — Sea. AlBo,awiFE. '' SPLICE THE MAIN BRACE," to take a drink.— Sea. SPLIT, to inform against one's companions, to tell tales. " To BFUT with a person," to cease acquaintanceship, to quarreL SPLODGER, a lout, an awkward countryman. SPOFFY, a bustling busybody is said to be SPOPPT. SPONGE, " to throw up the sponge," to submit, give over the struggle, — from the practice of throwing up the sponge used to cleanse the com- batants' faces at a prize fight, as a signal that the " mill " is concluded. SPOON, synonymous with spooney. A spoon has been defined to be " a thing that touches a lady's lips without kissing them." SPOONEY, a weak-minded and foolish person, effeminate or fond ; "to be spooney on a girl," to be foolishly attached to one. SPOONS, " when I was spoons with you," i.e., when young, and in our courting days before marriage. — Charles Mathews, in the farce of Everybody's Friend. SPOONS, a method of designating large sums of money, disclosed at the Bankruptcy Court during the examination of the gre^t leather failures of Streatfield & Laurence in 1860-61. The origin of the phrase was stated to be the reply of the bankrupt Laurence to an offer of accom- modating him with .j£^500o, — " Oh, you are feeding me with a tea- spoon." Hence ;^5ooo came to be known in the firm, as a tea-spoon, ;£'io,ooo, a DESSERTSPOON ; ;f 15,000, a table-spoon ; and ;f 20,000, as a GBAVY-SPOON. The public were amused at this tea-spoon phrase- ology, but were disgusted that such levity should cover a gigantic swindle of the kind. It came out in evidence, however, that it was not the ordinary Slang of the discount world, but it may not improb- ably become so. SPORT, to exhibit, to wear, &c, — a word which is made to do duty in a variety of senses, especially at the University. — See the Oradits ad Cantubriqiam. " To sport a new tile ; " "to sport an jEgrotat," (i.e., a permission from the "Dons" to abstain from lectures &c., on ac- 'iklxt-toLxX -»,w<»Tna-n. ¥ A'Vee'X SLANQ, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 243 count of illneBS ;) " to sport one's oak," to shut the outer door and exclude the public, — especially duns, and boring acquaintances. Common also, in the Inns of Court. — See Notes and Queries, 2d series, vol. viii., p. 492, and Gentleman's Magazine, December 1794. SPORTING DOOR, the outer door of chambers, also called the oak. — Sa under SPOBT. — University. SPOUT, " up the spout," at the pawnbroker's ; spouting, pawning. — See pop for origin. Spout, to preach, or make speeches ; SPOUTEE, a preacher or lecturer. SPRAT, sixpence. SPREIA.D, butter. Term with workmen and schoolboys. SPREAD, a lady's shawl. Spread, at the East end of London, a feast, or a tightener; at the West end a fashionable re-union, an entertain- ment, display of good things. SPREE, a boisterous piece of merriment ; " going on the spree," starting out with intent to have a frolic. French, esprit. In the Dutch language, spheeuw is a jester. SPRINGER-UP, a tailor who sells low-priced ready-made clothing, and gives starvation wages to the poor men and women who " make up" for him. The clothes are said to be spruno-up, or " blown together." SPRY, active, strong, manly. — OriginaZly an Americanism. SPUDDY, a seller of bad potatoes. In Scotland, a spud is a raw potato; and roasted SPUDS are those cooked in the cinders with their jackets on. SPUN, when a man has failed in his examination at Woolwich, he is said to be SPUN ; as at the Universities he is said to be plucked. SPUNGING-HOUSE, the sheriffs officer's house, where prisoners, when arrested for debt, are sometimes taken. As extortionate charges are made there for accommodation, the name is far from inappropriate. SPUNK, spirit, fire, courage, mettle. *' In that snug room, where any man of spunk Would find it a hard mattt^r to get dnmk." — Peter Pindar, L, 245. Common in America. For derivation see the following : — SPUNKS, lucifer-matches. — Herefordshire; Scotland. Spunk, says Urry, in his MS. notes to Ray, " is the excresceney of some tree, of which they make a sort of tinder to light their pipes with." SPUNK-FENCER, a lucifer-match seller. SPURT.— 0M.—5ce spirt. SQUABBY, flat, short and thick. SQUARE, honest; "on the square," i.e., fair and strictly honest; "to turn SQUARE," to reform, and get one's living in an honest manner, — the opposite of cross. The expression is, in all probability, derived from the well-known masonic emblem the "square," the symbol of evenness and rectitude. "You must keep within the compass, and act upon the square with all man- Spotted, to be known or marked by the police. 244 ^ DICTIONARY OF MODERN kind ; for your masonry is but a dead letter if you do not habitually per- form its reiterated injunctions." — Olivet's Lectures on Signs and Symbols^ p. 190. SQUARE, " to be square with a man," to be even with him, or to be revenged; "to square up to a man," to offer to fight him. ShaJc- speare uses square in the sense of to quarreL SQUARE RIGGED, well dressed.— Sea. SQUARUM, a cobbler's lapstone. SQUASH, to crush ; " to go squash," to collapse. SQUEAL, to inform, peach. A north country variation of sqtuaJc; s. t. squealer, an informer, also an illegitimate baby. SQUIB, a temporary j'e« desprit, which, like the firework of that denomi- nation, sparkles, bounces, stinks, and vanishes. — Grose. SQUIBS, paint-brushes. SQUINNY-EYED, said of one given to squinting. — Shakgpeare. SQUIRT, a doctor, or chemist. "STAB YOURSELF AND PASS THK DAOQEB," help yourself and pasg the bottle. — Theatrical Slang. STAB, " on the stab," ».«., on the establishment, of which word it ia an abridgment. — Printer't term. STAB-RAG, a regimental tailor. — Military Slang. STAFF-NAKED, gin. STAG, a shUling. STAG, a term applied during the railway mania to a speculator without capital, who took "scrip" in " Diddlesex Junction," and other lines, ejus et sui generis, got the shares up to a premium, and then sold out. Punch represented the house of Hudson, "the Railway King," at Albert Gate, with a stag on it, in allusion to this term. STAG, to see, discover, or watch, — like a stag at gaze; "stag the push," look at the crowd. Also, to dun, or demand payment. STAGE-WHISPER, one loud enough to bo heard. STAGGERING-BOB, an animal to whom the knife only just anticipates death from natural disease or accident, — said of meat on that account unfit for human food. STALL, to lodge, or put up at a public house. Also, to act a part.— Theatrical. Square Cove, an honest man. Square Moll, an honest woman. " Squaring his Nms," giving a policeman money. " Squeak on a person," to inform against, peach. Squeeze, silk ; also, by a very significant figure, a thief s term for the ntek. Stag, to demand money, to " cadge." Stagger, one who looks out, or watches. Stall, or stall off, a dodge, a blind, an excuse. Stall is ancient Cant SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 245 "STALL YOUR MUG," go away; epoken sharply by any one who wishes to get rid of a troublesome or inconvenient person. STALKING-HORSE, originally a horse covered with loose trappings, under which the mediaeval sportsman concealed himself with his bow, BO as to approach his game unobserved. Subsequently a canvas figure, made light, so as to be easily moved with one hand. STAMPERS, shoes.— Ancient Cant. STAND, " to STAND treat," to pay for a friend's entertainment ; to bear expense ; to put up with treatment, good or ill ; " this house stood me in ^1000," i.e., cost that sum, (a correspondent queries the Latin CONSTAT, it cost me ;) " to stand pad," to beg on the curb with a small piece of paper pinned on the breast, inscribed, "I'm starving." STAND IN, to make one of a party in a bet or other speculation ; to take a side in a dispute. STANDING, the position at a street comer, or on the curb of a market street, regularly occupied by a costermonger, or street seller. STANDING PATTERERS, men who take a stand on the curb of a public thoroughfare, and deliver prepared speeches to effect a sale of any articles they have to vend. — See pattbreb. STANGEY, a tailor ; a person under petticoat government, — derived from the custom of " riding the stanq," mentioned in Hvdtbras : — "It is a custom used of course Where the gray mare is the better horse." STAR, a common abbreviation of the name of the well-known " Star and Garter" Inn at Richmond. STARCHY, stuck-up, high-notioned, showily dressed, stiff and unbending in demeanour. STARK-NAKED, (originally stbip-me-naked, vide RandaU'i Diary, 1820,) raw gin. — Bulwer'a Paul Clifford. STAR IT, to perform as the centre of attraction, with inferior subordinates to set off one's abilities. — Theatrical. START, " the stabt," London, — the great starting point for beggars and tramps. START, a proceeding of any kind; a "rum stabt," an odd circumstance; " to get the STABT of a person," to anticipate him, overreach him. STARVE 'EM, ROB 'EM, and CHEAT 'EM, the adjoining towns of Stroud, Rochester, and Chatham are so designated by soldiers and sailors ; prob- ably not without reason. Stall off, to blind, exovise, hide, to screen a robbery during the perpetra- tion of it by an accomplice. Stallsman, an accomplice. " Stab the qlaze," to break the window or show-glass of a jeweller or other tradesman, and take any valuable articles, and run away. Sometimes the glass is cut with a diamond, and a strip of leather fastened to the piece of glass cut out to keep it from falling in and making a noise. Another plan is to cut the sash. 246 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN STASH, to cease doing anything, to refrain, be quiet, leave off; " stash it, there, you sir !" i.e., be quiet, sir; to give over a lewd or intemperate course of life is termed stashing it. STEAM-EKGINE, potato-pie at Manchester is so termed. STEEL-BAR-DRIVERS, or flingers, journeymen tailors. STEMS, the legs. STEP IT, to run away, or make ofE STICK, a derogatory expression for a person ; " a rum " or "odd STICK," a curious man. More generally a " poor STICK." — Provincial. STICK, " cut your stick," be off, or go away ; either simply equivalent to a recommendation to prepare a walking staff in readiness for a journey ■ — in allusion to the Eastern custom of cutting a stick before setting out — or from the ancient mode of reckoning by notches or tallies on a stick. In Cornwall the peasantry tally sheaves of com by cuts in a stick, reckoning by the score. Cut toue stick in this sense may mean to make your mark and pass on — and so realise the meaning of the phrase "IN THE NICK (or notch) OF TIME." Sir J. Emerson Tennent, in Notes and Queries, (December 1859,) considers the phrase equivalent to " cutting the connexion," and suggests a possible origin in the pro- phet's breaking the staves of " Beauty " and " Bands," — vide Zech. xi. 10, 14. STICK, to cheat ; "he got stuck," he was taken in ; I 'm stuck, a common phrase to express that the speaker has spent or lost all his money, and can neither play nor pay any longer ; stick, to forget one's part in a performance — Theatrical; stick up, to place in an account ; " stick it UP to MB," i.e , give me credit for it; stick on, to overcharge or de- fraud; stick up for, to defend a person, especially when slandered in his absence ; stick up to, to persevere in courting or attacking, whe- ther in fisty-cuffs or argument; "to STICK in one's gizzard," to rankle in one's heart ; " to stick to a person," to adhere to one, be his friend through adverse circumstances, — to cotton to him. STICKS, furniture, or household chattels; " pick up your sticks and cut! " summary advice to a person to take himself and furniture away. — Cumberland. STICK-UPS, or gills, shirt collars. STICKINGS, bruised or damaged meat sold to sausage-makers and penny pie shops. — North. STICKY, wax. STIFF, paper, a bill of acceptance, &o.; "how did you get it, STIFF or hard?" i.e., did he pay you cash or give a bill? Stiff, "to do a bit of STIFF," to accept a biU.— &c kite. STIFF-FENCER, a street-seUer of writing paper. STIFF 'UN, a corpse. — Term used by undertakers. Steel, the house of correction in London, formerly named the Bastile, but since shortened to steel. — Sec bastile. Sticks, \Aaio\a.— Nearly obsolete. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 247 STILLS, the undertaker's Slang term for STILL-BORN children. The fee paid by nurses and others is usually 2s. 6d. A separate coffin is neyer given ; the stills are quietly introduced into one containing an adult about to be buried. Stills are allowed to accumulate at the under- taker's until they sometimes number as many as a dozen. STILTON, "that's the stilton," or "it is not the stiltok," t.«., that is quite the thing, or that is not quite the thing ; — polite rendering of " that is not the cheese," which see. STINGO, strong liquor. — Yorkshire. STINK, a disagreeable exposure. STINKOMALEB, a name given to the then New London University by Theodore Hook. Some question about Trincomalee was agitated at , the same time. It is still applied by the students of the old Universi- ties, who regard it with disfavour from its admitting all denominations. STIPE, a stipendiary magistrate. — Provincial. STIR-UP SUNDAY, the Sunday next before Advent, the collect for that day commencing with the words " Stir up." School-boys, growing excited at the prospect of the vacation, irreverently commemorate it by stirring up — p>ishing and poking each other. Crib-crust mondat and tug-button Tuesday are distinguished by similar tricks ; while oij PAT-OFF WEDNESDAY they retaliate small gnidges in a playful facetious way. Forby says good housewives in Norfolk consider themselves reminded by the name to mix the ingredients for their Christmas mince-pies. STOCK; "to STOCK cards" is to arrange cards in a certain manner for cheating purposes. STOCK, " to take stock of one," to scrutinise narrowly one whom you have reason to suspect; taken from the tradesmen's term for the annual examination and valuation of their stock of goods. STOCKDOLAGER, a heavy blow, a " finisher." Italian, btocoado, a fen- cing term. Also (in a general sense) a disastrous event. — Americanism, STODGE, to surfeit, gorge, or clog with food. STOLL, to understand. — North Country Cant. STORY, a falsehood, — the soft synonyme for a lie, allowed in family circles and boarding-schools. A Puritanism that came into fashion with the tirade against romances, all novels and stories being considered as dangerous and false. STOT, a young bullock. In Northumherland the term stot means to re- bound. Stir, a prison, a lock-up; "in stie," in jaiL Anglo-Saxon, styb, correc- tion, punishment. Stone-JUO, a prison. Stook, a pocket-handkerchief. Stook-hauler, or buzzer, a thief who takes pocket-handkerchiefs. Stop, a detective policeman. 248 A DICTION AST OF MODERN STOTOR, a heavy blow, a settler.— OW Cant. STOW, to leave off, or have done; "stow it, the gorger's leary," leave o£f, the person is looking. — See stash, with which it is Bynonymous. — Ancient Cant. STOW FAKING ! leave off there, be quiet ! FAKINQ implying anything that may be going on. STRAP, a barber. STRAW. Married ladies are said to be "nf THE stuaw" at their accouche- merits. The phrase is a coarse allusion to farm-yard animals in a similar condition. STRAWING, selling straws in the streets, (generally for a penny,) and gii'ing the purchaser a p.iper (indecent or political) or a gold (!) ring, — neither of which, the patterer states, he is allowed by Act of Parlia- ment to sell. STREAK, to decamp, run away. — Saxon, In America the phrase is "to make streaks," or " make tracks." STREAKY, irritated, ill-tempered. STREET-PITCHERS, negro minstrels, ballad singers, long-song men, men "working a board" on which have been painted various exciting scenes in some terrible drama, the details of which the street-pitcher is bawling out, and selling in a little book or broadsheet (price one penny;) or any persona who make a stand in the streets, and sell articles for their living. STRETCH, a waXTi.— University. STRETCHER, a falsehood. STRETCHER, a contrivance with handles, used by the police to carry off persons who are violent or drunk. STRETCHER-FENCER, one who sells braces. " STRIKE ME LUCKY ! " an expression used by the lower orders when making a bargain, derived from the old custom of striking hands to- gether, leaving in that of the seller a LtrcK PENNY as an earnest that the bargain is concluded. In Ireland, at cattle markets, &c., a penny, or other small coin, is always given by the buyer to the seller to ratify the bargain. — Uudibras. Anciently this was called a ood's penny. "With that he cast him a God's penny." — Eeir of Linne. The origin of the phrase being lost sight of, like that of many others, it is often corrupted now-a-days into strike me silly. Stretch, abbreviation of " stretch one's neck," to hang, be executed as a malefactor. — Bulwer's Paul Clifford. Stretch, twelve months, — generally used to intimate the time any one has been sentenced by the judge or magistrate. One stretch is to be imprisoned twelve months, TWO stretch is two years, THREE stretch is three years, and so on. Strbtchinq match, an execution. — See stretch. " Strike a jigger," to pick a lock, or break open a door. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 249 STRILLS, cheating lies. — North Country Cant. STROKE, a companion in a rowing boat who times his oar with yovirs. — University. ** He [the man who rows] looks round at a wine-party to see if his * stroke ' be present, and, descrymg him not, cannot see how a few glasses of wine, and a plate or so of ice, can possibly interfere with his training." — HinU to Frethmen, 1847. STROMMEL, straw. —A ncient Cant. Halliwell says that in Norfolk stbum- MKL is a name for hair. STRONG, " to come it strong."— See come. STUCK, moneyless. — See stick. STUCK-UP, "purse-proud" — a form of snobbishness very common in those who have risen in the world. Mr Albert Smith has written some amusing papers on the Natural Eiatory of stuck-up People. STUFF, money. STUFF, to make false but plausible statements, to praise ironically, to make game of a person, — literally, to STurJC or CRAM him with gam- mon or falsehood. STUMP, to go on foot. STUMPED, bowled out, done for, bankrupt, poverty-stricken.— CHcJetinjr term. STUMPS, legs, or feet. STUMPY, money. STUMP UP, to give one's share, to pay the reckoning, to bring forth the money reluctantly. STUN, to astonish. STUNNER, a first-rate person or article. STUNNERS, feelings of great astonishment; "It put the siumkbbs on me," i.e., it confounded me. STUNNING, first-rate, very good. "SiUNurao pears," shouts the coster, "only eight a penny. — Vide Athenaum, 26th March 1859. Some- times amplified to stunning joe banks ! when the expression is sup- posed to be in its most intense form. Job Banks was a noted character in the last generation. He was the proprietor of a public- house iu Dyott Street, Seven Dials, and afterwards, on the demolition of the Rookery, of another in Cranboume Alley. His houses became well-known from their being the resort of the worst characters, at the same time that the strictest decorum was always maintained in them. Joe Banks also acquired a remarkable notoriety by acting as a medium betwixt thieves and their victims. Upon the proper pay- ment to Joe, a watch or a snufT-box would at any time be restored to its lawful owner — "no questions in any case being asked." The most daring depredators in London placed the fullest confidence in Joe, and it is believed (although the Biographie Universelle is quiet upon this point) that he never, in any instance, "sold" them. He was of the middle height, stout, and strongly made, and was always noted for a SxBiP-BrSH, a fellow who steals clothes put out to dry after washing. 250 A DICTIONARY OF MODERK showy pin, and a remarkably stunning necTc-tie. It was this peculi- arity in the costume of Mr Banks, coupled with those true and tried qualities as a friend, for which, as I have just remarked, he was famous, that led his customers to proclaim him as stonnino joe BANKS ! The Marquis of Douro, Colonel Chatterley, and men of their stamp, were accustomed to resort to a private room at his house, when too late or too early to gain adnaittance to the clubs or more aristo- cratic establishments. SUB, a subaltern officer in the army. SUB, all — Anglo-Indian. SUBLIME RASCAL, a lawyer. SUCK, a parasite, flatterer of the "nobs." — Univemty. SUCK, to pump, or draw information from a person. SUCK-CASA, a public-house. — Lingua Franca. " SUCK THE MONKEY," to rob a cask of liquor by inserting a straw through a gimlet hole, and sucking a portion of the contents. Captain Marryatt, however, describes this as rum inserted into cocoa nuts, in place of the milk, for the private use of the sailors. — See tap -the- ADMIBAL. SUCK UP, "to SUOK UP to a person," to insinuate one's-self into his good graces. SUDDEN DEATH, the first toss in a bet, to be decided by SKTmo a copper. SUFFERER, a tailor; the loser at any game. SUGAR, money. SUICIDE, four horses driven in a line. — See harum-scarum. SUIT, a watch and seals. SULKY, a one-horse chaise, having only room for one person. SUMSY, an action of assumpsit. — Legal Slang. "SUN IN THE EYES," to have too much drink.— Dtcjfec?!*. SUP, abbreviation of " supernumerary." — Theatrical. SURAT, an adulterated article of inferior quality. This word affords a remarkable instance of the manner in which Slang phrases are coined. In the report of an action for libel in the Times, May 8, 1863, it is stated " that, since the American civil war, it has been not unusual for manufacturers to mix American cotton with Surat, and, the latter being an inferior article, the people in Lancashire have begun to apply the term surat to any article of inferior or adulterated quality. The plaintiffs were brewers, and the action was brought to recover special damages resulting from the publication of an advertisement in these "Stunned on Skilly," to be sent to prison and compelled to eat sbullt, or skillioolee. Sturaban, a prison. Oipsy, bistarabin. Super, a watchi supeb-scbewino, stealing watches. 8LAN0, CANT, AND VULQAR WORDS. 25 1 words : — ' All in want of beerhouses must beware of Beaumont & White, the subat brewers.' " SURF, an actor who frequently pursues another calling. — Theatrical. SWAB, an epaulet. — Sea. SWACK-UP, a falsehood. SWADDLER, a Wesleyan Methodist ; a name originally given to members of that body by the Irish mob; said to have originated with an ignorant Romanist, to whom the words of the English Bible were a novelty, and who, hearing one of John Wesley's preachers mention the swaddling clothes of the Holy Infant, in a sermon on Christmas-day at Dublin, shouted out in derision, " A swaddler ! a swaddlbr ! " as if the whole story were the preacher's invention. — Southey't Life of Wesley, vol. ii., p. 109. SWADDY, or coolib, a soldier. The former was originally applied to a discharged soldier, and perhaps came from shoddt, which is made from soldiers' and worn-out policemen's coats. — See that term. SWAG, a lot or plenty of anything, a portion or division of property. In Australia the term is used for the luggage carried by diggers. Scotch, swEO, or swaok; Qtmum, sweiq, a flock. Old Cant for a shop. SWAG-SHOP, a warehouse where "Brummagem" and general wares are sold, fancy trinkets, plated goods, &c. Jews are the general pro- prietors, and the goods are very low-priced, trashy, and showy. SwAO- SHOPS were formerly plunder depots. — Old Cant. SWANKEY, cheap heer.—West. SWAP, to exchange. Grose says it is Irish Cant, but the term is now in- cluded in most dictionaries as an allowed vulgarisn^ SWATCHEL-COVE, the master of a Punch-and-Judy exhibition who " fakes the slum," and does the necessary squeak for the amusement of the bystanders. — See Schwassle box. The orthography of many of these colloquial expressions differs. It was thought best to give the various renderings as collected. SWEAT, to extract money from a person, to " bleed." Also, to squander riches. — Bulwer. SWEATER, common term for a "cutting" or "grinding" employer, — one who SWEATS his work-people. SWEEP, a contemptuous term for a low or shabby man. SWEET, loving or fond ; " how sweet he was upon the moll," i.e., what marked attention he paid the girL SWEETENER, a person who runs up the prices of articles at an auction. — See JOLLYING, BONNET, &C. SWELL, a man of importance ; a person with a showy, jaunty exterior , "a rank SWELL," a very "flashy" dressed person, a man who by excessive dress apes a higher position than he actually occupies. Swag, booty, or plundered property ; " coUar the swao," seize the booty. SwAGSMAN, one who carries the booty after a burglary. 252 A DICTIONARY OF MOBERIT Anything is said to be swell or bwellish that looks showy, or ig many coloured, or is of a desirable quality. Dickens and Wilkie Collins are termed great swells in literature ; so indeed are the first persons in the learned professions. SWELL-FENCEE, a street salesman of needles. "SWELL HUNG IN CHAINS," said of a showy man in the habit of wearing much jewellery. SWELL STREET, the West end of London. SWIG, a hearty drink. SWIG, to drink. Saxon, swiOAN. SWILL, to drink. Swill, hog-wash. — NorfoVc. SWINDLER, although a recognised word in standard dictionaries, com- menced service as a Slang term. It was used as such by the poor Londoners against the German Jews who set up in London about the year 1762, also by our soldiers in the German war about that time. ScHWiNDEL, in German, signifies to cheat. SWING, to be hanged ; " if you don't accede to my desires, I'll swing for you," i.e., take your life — a common threat in low neighbourhoods. SWINGING, large, huge. SWIPES, sour or small beer. Swipe, to drink. — Sta. SWIPEY, (from swipes,) intoxicated. SWISH, to flog, derived no doubt from the sound. SWISHED, or Switohed, married. SWIVEL-EYE, a squint. SWIZZLE, small beer, drink. SWOT, mathematics; also a mathematician ; as a verb, to work hard for an examination, to be diligent in one's studies. — Army. This word originated at the great Slang manufactory for the army, the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in the broad Scotch pronuncia- tion of Dr Wallace, one of the Professors, of the word sweat. — Su Notes and Queries, voL i., p. 369. SYCE, a groom. — Anglo-Indian. T, " to suit to a T," to fit to a nicety. — Old. Perhaps from the T-square of carpenters, by which the accuracy of work is tested. TABOOED, forbidden. This word, now very common, is derived from a custom of the South-Sea Islanders, first noticed in " Cook's Voyages." TACK, a taste foreign to what was intended ; a barrel may get a tack upon it, either permanently mouldy, sour, or otherwise. TACKLE, clothes. — Sea. Also to encounter a person in argument. Swim, " a good swim," a good run of luck, a long time out of the police" man's clutches. — Thieves' term. A correspondent says this is really a piscatorial term— "a good swim" is a good pitch for a part where fish are plentiful. Thus one who is in luck, or doing a good business, is said to be in a good swim. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 253 TAFFY, (corruption of David,) a Wekhman. Compare sawnet, (from A hxander,) a Scotchman. ^ TAG, an actor. TAG-RAG-AND-BOBTAIL, a mixed crowd of low people, mobility. TAIL-BCOCK, a watch.— &a. TAKE, to succeed, or be patronised ; " do (you think the new opera will TAKE?" "No, because the same company took so badly under the old management;" "to take on," to grieve; Shakspeare uses the word taking in this sense. To " take up for any one," to protect or defend a person ; " to take off," to mimic ; " to take heart," to have courage ; "to take down a peg or two," to humiliate, or tame ; " to TAKE UP," to reprove; "to take after," to resemble; "to take in," to cheat or defraud, from the lodging house-keepers' advertisements, " single men taken in and done fob," — an engagement which is as frequently performed in a bad as a good sense ; "to take the field," when said cf a General, to commence operations against the enemy ; when a racing man takes the field he stakes his money against the favourite. TAKE BEEF, to run away. TAKE IN, a cheating or swindling transaction, — sometimes termed "a DEAD take in," Shahtpeare has take in in the sense of conquering. To BE HAD, or to be spoken to, were formerly synonymous phrases with to be taken in. TALKING, a stable term, of a milder kind, applied to those horses which are addicted to hoabino. — See the latter expremon. TALL, extensive, exaggerated, — generally appUed to conversation, as LOUD is to dress, or personal appearance ; " tall talk that," i.e., conversation too boastful or high-flown to be true. TALLY, five dozen bunches of turnips. — Costermongers' term, TALLY, "to live tally," to live in a state of unmarried impropriety; " tally- WIFE," a woman who cohabits with a man to whom she is not married; a "tallyman" is an accommodating salesman who takes payment by instalments to suit the convenience of the purchaser. TAN, to beat or thrash; " I '11 tan your hide," t.e., give you a good beating. TAN, an order to puU. — Anglo-Indian. TANNER, a sixpence. Gipsy, tawno, little, or Latin, teneb, slender! TANNY, or teeny, little. Oipsy, tawno, little. TANTREMS, pranks, capers, frolicking; "from the Tarantula dance. — See account of the involuntary frenzy and motions caused by the bite of the tarantula in Italy. — Penny Cyclopccdia. TAPE, gin, — term with female servants. Also, a military term used ia barracks when no spirits are allowed. — See ribbon. TAPER, to give over gradually, to run short. "TAP THE ADMIRAL," to suck liquor from a cask by means of a straw, Tailbuzzeb, a thief who picks coat pockets. 254 ^ DICTIONARY OF MODERN said to have teen first done with the rum-cask in which Lord Nelson's body was brought to England, to such an extent as to leave the gallant Admiral high and dry. TAP-TUB, the Morning Advertiser, — so called by vulgar people from the fact that this daily newspaper is the principal organ of the London brewers and publicans. Sometimes termed the gim and gospel GAZETTE. TARADIDDLE, a falsehood. TAR-BRUSH, a person, whose complexion indicates a mixture of Negro blood, is said to have had a lick of the tar-brush. TAR OUT, to punish, to serve out. TARPAULIN, a sailor. TART. My old servant, " Jim the Patterer," (one of the collectors of Seven Dials' terms for the first edition of this work,) whose unfor- tunate habit for contracting small loans induced me at length to lend him a whole half-crown at once, in the hope that he might not pay, and thus not trouble me again, has recently sent me some words from Birmingham, where he says he is doing well with " a sohwassle box, having learnt the squeak." Amongst them is the following, given in Mr Jim's own words : — "Tart, a term of approval applied by the London lower orders to a young ■woman for whom some affection is felt. The expression is not generally employed by the young men, unless the female is in * lier best,' with a coloured gown, red or blue shawl, and plenty of ribbons in her bonnet — in fact, made pretty all over, like the jam tarta in the swell bakei-s' shops."* TARTAR, a savage feUow, an " ugly customer." CATCnma a tartau. TAT-BOX, a dice-box. TATER, "s'elp my tateb," another street eTasion of a profane oath, soma times varied by " s'elp my greens." TATS, dice. TATS, old rags; MILKY tats, white rags. TATTING, gathering old rags. TATTOO, a ^ony .—Anglo-Indian. TAW, a large or principal marble; "I'll be one on your taw," I will pay you out, or be even with you, — a simile taken from boys aiming always at winning the taw when playing at marbles. TEAGUELAND, Ireland. TEA-FIGHT, an evening party, alms a MtjPFlN-woEBT. TEA-SPOON, five thousand pounds. — See spoons. TEETH, " he has cut his eye teeth," i.e., is old and 'cute enough. TEETH-DRAWING, wrenching off Ts.Xioc]s.eva.— Medical Students' term. * The Language used by Mr Jim la certainly far above his position in life. This evidence of education existing amonijst certain persona of the tramping fraternity has been alluded to at page 23. TaTI/ER, a watch; "nimmiiig a TATLER," stealing a watch. SLANO, CANT, AND VULOAS WORDS. 255 TEETOTALLER, a total abstainer from alcoholic drinks. TEETOTALLY, amplification of totally. TE-HE, to titter, " Upon this I te-he'd;" Madame (TArUatj. As an inter- jection it is as old aa Chaitcer. — See Miller' i Tale " — " ib-he, quod she, and clapt the window to." Tell on, to tell about, to talk of. TEN COMMANDMENTS, a virago's fingers, <5r nails. Often heard in a female street disturbance. " TENPENCE TO THE SHILLING," a vulgar phrase denoting a defi- ciency in intellect. TESTER, sixpence. From testone, a shilling in the reign of Henry VIII., but a sixpence in the time of Queen Elizabeth. — Shakspeare. French, teste, or TfeiE, the head of the monarch on the coin. TEVISS, a shilling. — Cmtermonger and Tramps' term, THICK, intimate, familiar. Scotch, cbt&f ; " the two are very chief now," t.e., friendly. THICK ; " to lay it on thick," to flatter unduly, to surfeit with praise or adulation. THICK-UN, a sovereign ; a crown piece, or five shillings. THIMBLE-RIG, a noted cheating game played at fairs and places of great public thronging, consisting of two or three thimbles rapidly and dex- terously placed over a pea, when the thimblb-biqoer, suddenly ceas- ing, asks you under which thimble the pea is to be found. If you are not a practised hand you will lose nine times out of ten any bet you may happen to make with him. The pea is sometimes concealed under his nail. THINGUMY, THINGUMBOB, expressions used for the name of a thing which cannot be recollected at the instant. THINSKINNED, over nice, petulant, apt to get a raw. — See that term. THREE-CORNERED-SCRAPER, a cocked hat.— Sea. " THREE SHEETS IN THE WIND," unsteady from drink.— &o. THREE-UP, a gambling game played by costers. Three halfpennies are thrown up, and when they fall all " heads," or all " tails," it is a mark ; and the man who gets the greatest number of marks out of a given amount — three, five, or more — wins. The costers are very quick and skilful at this game, and play fairly at it amongst themselves ; but should a stranger join in they invariably unite to cheat him. THRUMMER, a threepenny bit. Tench, the Penitentiary, of which it is a contraction. — See steel. Theatre, a police court ; a place for acting, or assuming a part which ia not natural to the performer. Thimble, or tack, a watch. — Prison Cant. Thimble-twisters, thieves who rob persons of their watches. 256 A DICTIONARY OF MODKRif THRUMS, threepence. THRUPS, threepence. — See the preceding. THUMPING, large, fine, or strong. THUNDERER, the Times newspaper, Bometimes termed " the thunbebeb of Printing-House Square," from the locality where it is printed, THUNDERING, large, extra sized. TIB'S EVE, " neither before Christmas nor after," an indefinite period ; like the Greek Kalends, tie's evb has a future application ; an indefi- nite period of past time is sometimes said to be " when Adam was an oakum-boy in Chatham dockyard." TIBBING OUT, going out of bounds.— CAartcrAorac. TICK, credit, trust. Johnson says it Is a corruption of ticket, — tradesmen's bills being formerly written on tickets or cards. On tick, therefore, is equivalent to on ticket, or on trust. In use in 1668. Cuthbert Bede, in Notes and Queries, supplies me with an earlier date, from the ffra- dit« ad Cantabrigiam. " No matter upon landing whether you have money or no— yon may swim In twentie of their boats over the river upon ticket." — Decker's CfiUU' Hornbook, 1609. TICKER, a watch. Formerly Cant, now street Slang. TICKET, "that's the ticket," i,e., what was wanted, or what is best. Corruption of " that is not etiquette," by adding, in vulgar pronuncia- tion, th to the first e of " etiquette ; " or, perhaps, from ticket, a bill or invoice. This phrase is sometimes extended into " that 's the ticket roE SOUP," in allusion to the card given to beggars for imme- diate relief at soup kitchens. — See tick. TIDY, tolerably, or pretty well ; " how did you gel on to-day ? " — " Oh, tidy." — Saxon. TIDDLYWINK, slim, puny; sometimes tilltwink. TIED UP, given over, finished ; also married, in allusion to the hymeneal knot, unless a jocose allusion be intended to the halter, (altar. ) TIFF, a pet, a fit of ill humour. TIFFIN, a breakfast, dijeHner & la fourchette. — Anglo-Indian Slang. TIFFY, easily offended, apt to be annoyed. TIGER, a parasite ; also a term for a ferocious woman. TIGER, a boy employed to wait on gentlemen ; one who waits on ladies L a page. TIGHT, close, stingy ; hard up, short of cash ; TIOHT, spruce, strong, active; " a TIGHT lad," a smart, active young fellow ; tight, drunk, or nearly BO ; " TiGHT-laced," puritanical, over-precise. Money is said to be tight, when the public, from want of confidence in the aspect of affairs, are not inclined to speculate. TIGHTNER, a dinner, or hearty meal.— See spitalpields' breakfast. Tike, or bupfeb-luhkinq, dog-stealing. — See gat tikebot. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 257 TILE, a hat; a covering for the head. " I 'm a gent, I 'm a gent. In the Regent-Street style, — Examine my vest. And look at my tile." — Popular Song. Sometimes used in another sense, " having a tile loose," ».«., being slightly crazy. — See paktile. TIMBER MERCHANT, or spunk fencer, a lucifer-match seller. TIME 0' DAY, a dodge, the latest aspect of affairs ; " that 's your TIMB o' DAY," i.e., Euge, well done ; to put a person up to the time o' day, let him know what is o' clock, — to instruct him in the knowledge needful for him. TIME, cabman's Slang for money. If they wish to express 93. gd. they say that " it is a quarter to ten ; " if 33. 6d., half -past three ; if lis. gd, a quarter to twelve. Cab drivers exultingly say the police cannot com- prehend the system, TIN, money,^ — generally applied to silver. TINGE, the per-centage allowed by drapers and clothiers to their assistants, upon the sale of old-fashioned articles. — See spiffs. TIN-POT, " he plays a tin-pot game," i.e., a low or shabby one. In the Contea d' Eutrapel, a French officer at the siege of ChatUlon is ridicu- lously spoken of as Captain tin-pot — Capitaine du, Pot d'Etain. — Billiards. TIP, advice or information respecting a horse-race, so that the person tip- ped may know how to bet to the best advantage. Notice when and where a prize-fight is to come off. Private information of any kind — See tipster. TIP, a douceur ; " a good tip," a piece likely to be set in an Addisoombe or Sandhurst examination, hence, "that's the tip," i.e., that's the proper thing to do. " To miss one's tip," to fail in a scheme. — Old Cant. TIP, to give, lend, or hand over anything to another person ; " come, tip up the tin," i.e., hand up the money; "tip the wink," to inform by winking ; " TIP us your fin," i.e., give me your hand; " TIP one's boom off," to make off, depart. — Sea. TIPPER, a kind of ale brewed at Brighton. TIPSTER, a " tout," or " turf " agent who collects early information of the condition and racing capabilities of horses in the training districts, and posts the same to his subscribers to guide their betting. "The racing tipsters have much less patronage than formerly, before "Geof- frey Greentioni " laid a trap for them, and pablished the tips he received in The L\fe. Professor Ingledue, M.A., the mesmerist, is silent; and if their subscribers, ' for whose interests I have collected my old and able staff, with many additional ones, who are already at work in the training districts,' could only get a sight of the * old and able staff,' they would find it consist- ing of a man and a boy, ' at work ' in the back room of a London public- house, and scndiiig dincient winners for every race to their subscribers."— Poti and Paddock, by the Druid. TiLL-BOY, an apprentice or shopman who makes free with the cash in his master's till 258 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN " TIP THE DOUBLE," to " bolt," or run away from a creditor or o£Scer. Sometimes tip the double to shebbt, i.e., to the sheriff. TIP-TOP, first-rate, o£ the best kind. TIP-TOPPER, a " swell," or dressy man, a " Oorger." IT, a favourite name for a horse. TIT FOR TAT, an equivalent. f> . j2 TITIVATE, to put in order, or dress up. JV^^.OiAy^^.oJ>Jflf"'^ — TITLEY, drink, generally applied to intoxicating beverages. -, I, 1 . I 1 TITTER, a girl ;" nark the TITTER," i.e., look at the girl. — Trampt' term, U/*^ . I J TIZZY, a sixpence. Corruption of tester. -'JlXjt^ ~ ^ TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE, a kind of pudding, consisting of a piece of meat surrounded with batter, and baked. Also, a term applied to advertis- (X\-*'i}J^yJUj^ ing mediums. — See sandwich. TOASTING-FORK, a regulation sword, indicative of the general useless- ness of that weapon. TODDLE, to walk as a child. TODO, (pronounced quickly, and as one word,) a disturbance, trouble ; " here's a pretty to-do," here is an unpleasant difficulty. This exactly tallies with the French word AFP aire (d faire). — See Forby's Vocabu- lary of Eait Anglia. TOFF, a dandy, a swell of rank. Corruption probably of lurx. — iSee Torx. TOFFER, a well-dressed " gay " woman. TOFFICKY, dressy, showy. TOFT, a showy individual, a SWELL, a person who, in a Yorkshireman's vocabulary, would be termed uppish. — See TUPT. TOG, a coat. Zatin, toga. — Ancient Cant. TOG, to dress, or equip with an outfit ; " togoed out to the nines," dressed in the first style. TOGGERY, clothBs, harness, domestic paraphernalia of any kind. TOGS, clothes ; " Sunday togs," best clothes. One of the oldest Cant words — in use in the time of Henry VIII. — See cakt. TOKE, dry bread. TOL-LOL, or tol-lollish, tolerable, or tolerably. TOLL-SHOP, a Yorkshire correspondent gives this word as denoting in that county a prison, and also the following verse of a song, popular at fairs in the East Riding : — •* But if ivver he get out agean. And can but raise a frind. Oh 1 the divel may tak' toll shop. At Beverley town-end !" Toby Consarn, a highway expedition. Toby is Old Cant. Toby, a road; "highiOBT,' the turnpike road. " High toby spice," rob- bery on horseback. — Don Juan, canto xi., 19. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 259 TOM AND JERRY, a low drinking shop. Probably Bome allusion to Pierce Egan's famous characters in his Life in London. TOMBSTONE, a pawnticket — "In memory of," &c., a well known Slang expression with those Londoners who are in the habit of following " My Uncle." TOM-FOOL'S COLOURS, scarlet and yellow, the ancient motley. Occa- sionally as a rhyme, *' Bed and yellow, Tom pool's colour." A proposition is said to be tom fool when it is too ridiculous to be entertained or discussed. TOMMY.— See dickey. TOMMY, bread, — generally a penny rolL Sometimes applied by workmen to the supply of food which they cany in a handkerchief as their daily allowance. TOMMY, a truck, barter, the exchange of labour for goods, not money. Both term and practice general among English operatives for half-a- century. TOMMY DODD, in tossing when the odd man g:oes out. A phrase in frequent use at the London Music Halls. Origin not known. TOMMY-MASTER, one who pays his workmen in goods, or gives them tickets upon tradesmen, with whom he shares the profit. TOMMY-SHOP, where wages are generally paid to mechanics or others, who are expected to " take out " a portion of the money in goods. TOM-TOM, a street instrument, a kind of small drum beaten with the fingers, somewhat like the ancient tabor ; a performer on this instru- ment. It was imported, doubtless, with the Nigger melodies, tom- toms being a favourite instrument with the " darkies." TOM TOPPER, a waterman, from a popular song, entitled, " Overboard lie vent." TOM TUO, a waterman. TONGUE, " to tongue a person," i.e., talk him down. Tonqued, talkative. TONY LUMPKIN, a young, clownish country fellow. TOOL, " a poor tool," a bad hand at anything. TOOL, to drive a mail coach, or any other vehicle. TOOTH, " he has cut his eye tooth," i.e., he is sharp enough, or old enough, to do so ; " up in the tooth," far advanced in age,— said often of old maids. Staile term for aged horses which have lost the distinguishing mark in their teeth. TOOTSIES, feet, those of ladies and children in particular. In married Tool, to pick pockets. Tool, a very little boy employed by burglars to put in at small apertures, so as to open a door for the larger thieves outside. TooLER, a pickpocket. Moll-tooleb, a female pickpocket. 26o A DICTIONARY OF MODEBy life it is said the husband uses this expression for the first six montha, after that he terms them hoofs. TOOZLE, to Tom^.— Scotch. TOP, the signal among tailors and seamstresses for snuffing the candle ; one cries top, and all the others follow, he who last pronounces th» word has to snuff the candle. TOP-HEAVY, drunk. TOPPER, anything or person above the ordinary. TOPPER, a blow on the head; " give him a topper and chance it," "let him have a topper for \nc\ii."^PugUietic Slang. TOP-SAWYER, the principal of a party, or profession. " A top-sawtkr signifies a man that is a master genius in any profession. It is a piece of Norfolk Slang, and took its rise from Norfolk being a great timber county, where the top sawyers get double the wages of those beneath them." — Sandal's IHary, 1820. TOPSY-TURVY, the bottom upwards. Orose gives an ingenious ety- mology of this once Cant term, viz., " top-aide turf-waya," — turf being always laid the wrong side upwards. TO-RIGHTS, exceUent, very well, or good. TORMENTORS, the large iron flesh-forks used by cooks at sen.— Sea. TORPIDS, the second-class race-boats at Oxford, answering to the Cam- bridge SLOGGEUS. TOSS, a measure of sprats. — Billingsgate and Costermonger. TOT, a small glass; a "tot o' whiskt" is the smallest quantity sold. TOUCH, a slang expression in common use in phrases which express the extent to which a person is interested or affected as "a fourpenny TOUCH," i.e., costing that amount.— 5ee an example in Mr, afterwards Sir Erasmus, Philipp's Diary, at Oxford, in 1 720. (Notes and Queries, 2d series, p. 365.) Sept. 22. " At night went to the ball at the Angel, A Guinea Touch." It is also used at Eton in the sense of a " tip," or present of money. TOUCHED, slightly intoxicated ; also said of a consumptive person. TOUCHER, " as near as a todcher," as near as possible without actually touching. — Coaching term. The old jarveys, to shew their skill, used to drive against things so close as absolutely to touch, yet without injury. This they called a toucher, or, touch and go, which was hence applied to anything which was within an ace of ruin. TOUCHY, peevish, irritable. Johnson terms it a low word. TOUT, in sporting phraseology a tout signifies an agent in the training districts, on the look-out for information as to the condition and capabilities of those horses entered for a coming race. — See tipster. TOUT, to look out, or watch.— OW Cant. Topped, hanged, or executed. Tops, dying speeches and gallows' broadsides. T08HEB8, men who steal copper from ships' bottoms in the Thames. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 26 1 TOtJTER, a looker out, one who watches for customers, a hotel runner. A term in general use, derived from the old Cant word. TOWEL, to beat or whip. In Warwichshire an oaken stick is termed a TOWEL — whence, perhaps, the yulgar verb. TOWELLING, a rubbing down with' an oaken towel, a beating. TOWN-LOUT, a derogatory title at Rugby School for those pupils who reside with their parents in the town, in' contradistinction to those who live in the boarding-houses. TOW-POWS, grenadiers. TRACKS, " to make tkacks," to run away. — See streak. TRANSLATOR, a man who deals in old shoes or clothes, and refits them for cheap wear. TRANSLATORS, second-hand boots mended and polished, and sold at a low price. Monmouth Street, Seven Dials, is a great market for TRAK8LAT0BS. TRANSMOGRIPHY, to alter or change. TRAP, a "fast" term for a carriage of any kind. Traps, goods and chattels of any kind, but especially luggage and personal effects ; in Australia, SWAO. TRAP, " up to TRAP," knowing, wide awake, — synonymous with " up to SNUFF." TRAP, a sheriff's officer. TRAPESING, gadding or gossiping about in a slatternly way. — Nor(h. Generally applied to girls and women in low neighbourhoods whose clothes are carelessly fastened, causing them to trail on the ground. TREE, " up a tree," in temporary difficulties, — out of the way. American expression, derived from raccoon or bear-huntino. When Bruin is TREED, or is forced UP A tree by the dogs, it means that then the tug of war begins. — See 'cooN. Hence when an opponent is fairly run to bay, and can by no evasion get off, he is said to be treed. These expressions originated with Colonel Crockett, of Backwoods' celebrity. In Scotland the phrase is " up a close," i.e., a passage out of the usual track, or removed from observation. TRIANGLES, a Slang term for delirium tremens, during a fit of which everything appears out of the square. TRIMMINGS, the necessary adjuncts to a cooked leg of mutton, as turnips' bread, beer, salt, &c. Bets are frequently made for a leg of mutton and TRiMMiNas. Or one person will forfeit the mutton if another will "stand the trimmings." It is generally a supper feast, held In a public house, and the rule is for the landlord to charge as trimminqs everything, except the mutton, placed on the table previous to the removal of the cloth. Traveller, name given by one tramp to another. " A travellke at her Majesty's expense," i.e., a transported felon, a convict. Trihje, to hang. — Ancient Cant. 262 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN TRIPES, the bowels. " Next mominff Mlaa Dolly complained of her trifes, Drinking cold water had given her the gripes." TROLLING, sauntering or idling, hence teoll and tbollooks, an idia slut, a MOLL, which see. TROLLY, or trollt-carts, term given by costennongers to a species of narrow cart, which can either be drawn by a donkey, or driven by hand. TROT, to "run up," to oppose, to bid against at an auction. Private buyers at auctions know from experience how general is the opposition against them from dealers, " knock-outs," and other habitues of sales, who regard the rooms as their own peculiar domain ; " we trotted him up nicely, didn't we?" i.e., we made him (the private buyer) pay dearly for what he bought. TROTTER, a tailor's man who goes round for orders. — University. TROTTER CASES, shoes. TROTTERS, feet. Sheep's teottebs, boiled sheep's feet, a favourite street delicacy. TRUCK, a hat — from the cap on the extremity of a mast. — Sea, TRUCK, to exchange or barter. TRUCK- GUTTED, pot-beUied, corpulent.— 5^ea. TRUCKS, trousers. TRUMP, a good fellow; "a regular trump," a jolly or good-natured person, — in allusion to a tkump card ; " tbdmps may turn up," i.e., fortime may yet favour me. TRUNKS, trousers— rtetricoi. TUBS, a butterman. TUB-THUMPING, preaching or speech-making, from the old Puritan fashion of " holding forth " from a tub, or beer barrel, as a mark of their contempt for decorated pulpits. TUCK, a schoolboy's term for fruit, pastry, &c. TuCK IN, or TUCK OUT, a good meal. TUFTS, fellow-commoners, i.e., students at the University, generally the sons of noblemen, who pay higher fees, dine with the Dons, and are distinguished by golden tufts, or tassels, in their caps. TUFT-HUNTER, a hanger on to persons of quality or wealth — one who seeks the society of wealthy students. Originally University Slang, but now general. — 5ee preceding. TUMBLE, to comprehend or understand. A coster was asked what he thought of Macbeth, — " the witches and the fighting was all very well, but the other moves I couldn't tumble to exactly ; few on us can TUMBLE to the jaw-breakers ; they licks us, they do." Teuff, to steal. — North Country Cant. TuOK-up-FAiR, the gallows. The notion of tucking up in connexion with hanging is derived from tucking up the bedclothes before going to aleep — the last preparation. SLANO, CANT, AND VULOAR WORDS. 263 "TUNE THE OLD COW DIED OF," an epithet for any ill-played or dis- cordant piece of music. Originally the name of an old ballad, alluded to in the dramatists of Shakspeare's time. TUP, a young bullock. Smithfield, and drovers' term. TURF, horse-racing, and betting thereon j " on the turf," one who occu- pies himself with race-course business; said also of a street-walker, nymph of the pav^. TURKEY MERCHANTS, dealers in plundered or contraband silk. Poiil- terers are sometimes termed torkbt merchants in remembrance of Home Tooke's answer to the boys at Eton, who wished in an aristo- cratic way to know who Aw father was : a turket merchant, replied Tooke — his father was a poulterer. Turkey merchant, also, was formerly Slang for a driver of turkeys or geese to market. TURNIP, an old-fashioned watch, so called from its thickness. TURN OUT, personal show or appearance ; a man with a showy carriage and horses is said to have a good TURN OUT. TURN-OVER, an apprentice who finishes with a second master the inden- tures he commenced with the first. TURNPIKE SAILORS, beggars who go about dressed as sailors. TURN UP, a street fight; a sudden leaving, or making o£E TURN UP, to appear unexpectedly. TURN UP, to quit, change, abscond, or abandon; "Ned has turned up," i.e., run away; "I intend turning it dp," i.e., leaving my present abode, or altering my course of life. Also to happen ; " let 's wait, and see what will turn up." TUSHEROON, a crown piece, five shillings. TUSSLE, a pull, struggle, fight, or argument. Johiuon and Welster call it - ^ /. ^ a vulgar word. Oh' .. j/, .. rL U^ ~ ^ VT^ ' TUSSLE, to struggle, or argue. ■> i/4^>«'*<*' ^'^ /-p Iv 'Vv TWELVER, a shilling. ^''^ . ^^tf-**- T TWICE-LAID, a dish made out of cold fish and potatoes. — Sta. Compare " C/ BUBBLE AND SQUEAK and RESURRECTION PIE. '^ TWIG, style, d la mode; "get your strummel faked in twig," i.e., have your hair dressed in style; FRBIB TWIG, in good order and high spudts. — Pugilistic. TWIG, " to hop the twig," to decamp, "cut one's stick," to die. Turned up, to be stopped and searched by the police. Turned over, remanded by the magistrate or judge for want of evidence. Turner out, a coiner of bad money. Twelve Godfathers, a jury, because they give a name to the crime the prisoner before them has been guilty of ; whether murder or man- slaughter, felony or misdemeanour. Consequently it is a vulgar taunt to say, " You will be christened by twelve godfathebs some day before long." 264 ^ DICTIONARY OF MODERN TWIG, to understand, detect, or observe. TWIST, brandy and gin mixed. TWIST, capacity for eating, appetite; "Will's got a capital twist. " TWITCHETY, nervous, fidgety. TWITTER, " all in a twitter," in a fright or fidgety state. TWO-FISTED, expert at fisticuffs. TWO-HANDED, awkward, a singular reversing of meaning. TWOPENNY, the head; "tuck in your twopenny," bend down yoar head. TWOPENNY-HALFPENNY, paltry, insignificant. A twopenkt-ham'- PENNT fellow, a not uncommon expression of contempt. TWOPENNY-HOPS, low dancing rooms, the price of admission to which was formerly — and not infrequently now — twopence. The clog horn- pipe, the pipe dance, flash jigs, and hornpipes in fetters, a la Jack Sheppard, are the favourite movements, all entered into with great spirit and "joyous, laborious capering." — Mayhew. " TWO UPON TEN," or " two pon* ten," an expression used by assistants to each other, in shops, when a customer of suspected honesty makes his appearance. The phrase refers to "two eyes upon ten fingers," shortened as a money term to " two pun' ten." When a supposed thief is present, one shopman asks the other if that TWO pun' (pound) TEN matter was ever settled. The man knows at once what is meant, and keeps a careful watch upon the person being served. If it is not convenient to speak, a piece of paper is handed to the same assistant, bearing the to him very significant amoimt of .^ .- /a .■ a — Compare Sharp, John Orderly. TYBURNIA, the Portman and Grosvenor Square districts. It is facetiously divided by the Londoners into tyburnia pelix, tyburnia desebta, and tyburnia snobbica. The old gallows at Tyburn stood near the N.E. comer of Hyde Park, at the angle formed by the Edgware Road and the top of Oxford Street, In 1 778 this was two miles out of London. TYE, or TIB, a neckerchief. Proper hosier's term now, but Slang thirty yeara ago, and as early as 1 7 18. Called also squeeze. TYKE, a clownish Yorkshireman. TYPO, a printer. UNBLEACHED AMERICAN, the new Yankee term for coloured natives of the United States, the word nigger being now voted low. ■[TNCLE, the pawnbroker. — See my uncle. Tybukn collar, the fringe of beard worn under the chin. — Ste kewoatb COLLAR. Unbsity, to unlock. — See bettt. SLANG, CANT, AND VDLOAS WORDS. 265 "UNDER THE ROSE."— &e rose. UNICORN, a style of driving with two wheelers abreast and one leader — termed in the United States s'spike team. Tandem is one wheeler and one leader. Random, three horses in line. — See harum-scarum. UNLICKED, ill-trained, uncouth, rude, and rough; an unlicked cub is a loutish youth who has never been taught manners ; from the tradition that a bear's cub, when brought into the world, has no shape or sym- metry until its dam licks it into form with her tongue. UNUTTEKABLES, or UNWHISPERABLES, trousers.— 5ee inexpres- sibles. UP, " to be UP to a thing or two," to be knowing, or understanding ; " to put a man dp to a move," to teach him a trick ; " it 's all up with him," t.e., it is all over with him, often pronounced U.P., naming the two letters separately ; "upatree," — s«eTREE; "UPtoTRAP," "up to snuff," wide awake, acquainted with the last new move ; " up to one's gossip," to be a match for one who is trying to take you in ; " UP to slum," proficient in roguery, capable of committing a theft successfully ; so also, "what's UP?" i.e., what is the matter? what is the news? U. P., United Presbyterian. — Scotch clerical Slang, UPPER BENJAMIN, or bbnjy, a great coat. UPPER STORY, or upper loft, a person's head; "his upper story is unfurnished," i.e., he does not know very much. UPPISH, proud, arrogant. — Yorkshire. USED UP, broken-hearted, bankrupt, fatigued, vanquished. VAKEEL, a barrister. — Anglo-Indian. VAMOS, VAMOOS, or vamoosh, to go, or be off. Spanish, vamos, " let us go ! " Probably namus, or namous, the costermonger's word, was from this, although it is generally considered back Slang. VAMP, to spout, to leave in pawn. VAMPS, old stockings. From vamp, to piece. VARDO, to look ; " vardo the cassey," look at the house. Vardo formerly was Old Cant for a waggon. VARDY, verdict, vulgarly used as opinion, thus, " My vabdt on the matter is the same as youm." VARMENT, " you young varment, you I " you bad, or naughty boy. Cor- ruption of vermin. VELVET, the tongue. VERTICAL CARE-GRINDER, a Slang term for the treadmiU. Vampers, fellows who frequent public-houses and pick quarrels with the wearers of rings and watches, in hopes of getting up a fight, and so enabling their " pals" to steal the articles. " Under the screw," to be in prison. Uptucker, the hangman, Jack Ketch. — See tuck-u». Varnisueb. an utterer of false sovereif^us. 266 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN VIC, the Victoria Theatre, London, — patronised principally by coster- mongers and low people ; also the street abbreviation of the Christian name of her Majesty the Queen. VILLAGE, or the villaoe, i.e., London. — Sporting. Also a Cambridge term for a disreputable subvu-b of that town, viz., Barnwell, generally styled " the village." VILLE, or TILE, a town or village — pronounced phial, or vial. — French. VINNIED, mildewed, or sour. — Devonshire. VOKER, to talk ; " can you vokeb Romany ? " can you speak the canting language ! — Latin, vocake ; Spanish, voceab. VOWEL, "to VOWEL a debt" Is to pay with an I U. WABBLE, to move from side to side, to roll about. Johmon terms it a " low, barbarous word." — See the following. WABLER, a foot soldier, a term of contempt used by a cavalryman. WALKER, a letter-carrier or postman. WALKER ! or hookey walker ! an ejaculation of incredulity, Baid when a person is telling a story which you know to be all gammon, or false. The Saturday Reviewer's explanation of the phrase is this : — " Years ago there was a person named WaXker, an aquiline-nosed Jew, who exhibited an orrery, which he called by the erudite name of Eidoura- niwi. He was also a popular lectiu-er on astronomy, and often invited his pupils, telescope in hand, to take a sight at the moon and stars. The lecturer's phrase struck his school-boy auditory, who frequently ' took a sight ' with that gesture of outstretched arm and adjustment to nose and eye which was the first garnish of the popular saying. The next step was to assume phrase and gesture as the outward and visible mode of knowingness in general." A correspondent, however, denies this, and states that hooket walker was a magistrate of dreaded acuteness and incredulity, whose hooked nose gave the title of beak to all his successors; and, moreover, that the gesture of applying the thumb to the nose and agitating the little finger, as an expression of " Don't you wish you may get it ?" is considerably older than the story in the Saturday Review would seem to indicate. There is a third ex- planation of hooket walker in Notes and Queries, iv., 425. "WALKING THE PEGS," a method of cheating at the game of cribbage, by a species of legerdemain, the sharper either moving his own pegs forward, or those of his antagonist backward, according to the state of the game. WALK INTO, to overcome, to demolish ; "I'll walk into his affections," i.e., I will scold or thrash him. The word drive (which see) is used in an equally curious sense in Slang speech. Walk into also means to get into the debt of any one, as, " he walked into the afeeotions of all the tradesmen in the neighbourhood." WALK OVER, a re-election without opposition. — Parliamentary, but de- rived from the Turf, where a horse which has no rivals entered walks over the course, and wins without exertion. " Walk the barbeb," to lead a sirl astray. ^ a^^^^ , Dm.^ y ^^', -^ ^ ^^^^ ~ L..._ SLANG, CANT. AND VULGAR WORDS. 267 " WALK YOUR CHALKS," be off, or run away,— spoken sharply by any one who wishes to get rid of a troublesome person. — See chalks. WALL-FLOWER, a person who goes to a ball, and looks on without dan- cing, either from choice or not being able to obtain a partner. WALL-FLOWERS, left-off and " regenerated " clothes exposed for sale on the bunks and ghop-boards of Monmouth Street. WALLOP, to beat, or thrash. Mr John Gough Nichols derives this word from an ancestor of the Earl of Portsmouth's, one Sir John Wallop, Knight of the Garter, who in King Henry VIII.'s time distinguished himself by wallopinq the French ; but it is more probably connected with WBAL, a livid swelling in the skin after a blow. — See poi-wallopkb. WALLOPING, a beating or thrashing; sometimes used in an adjective sense, as big, or very large. WAPPING, or WHOPpnio, of a large size, great. WARM, rich, or well off. WARM, to thrash, or beat; "I'll WARM your jacket." To wakm the wax v, . of one's ear is to give a severe blow on the side of the head. — C—n-C^ -t-/^,..-!,^- WABMINQ-PAN, a large old-fashioned watch. A person placed in an /y oflSce to hold it for another.— See W. P. ^^^ ■ WAR PAINT, military uniform. WASH, " it won't wash," i.e., will not stand investigation, will not " bear the rub," is not genuine, can't be believed. WATCH AND SEALS, a sheep's head and pluck. WATER-BEWITCHED, very weak tea, the third brew, (or the first at soma houses ; ) grog much diluted. WATER-DOGS, Norfolk dumplings. WATER OF LIFE, gin. Apparently from eau de vie. WATERMAN, a light blue silk handkerchief. The Oxford and Cambridge boats' crews always wear these — light blue for Cambridge, and a darker shade for Oxford. " WATER THE DRAGON," " watkb ONB'b kaq," hints for retiring. WATTLES, ears. WAXY, cross, ill-tempered. WEATHER-HEADED, so written by Sir WcUter Scott in his Peveril of the Peat, but it is more probably wetheb-headed, as applied to a person having a "sheepish" look. WEAVING, a notorious card-sharping trick, done by keeping certain cards on the kuee, or between the knee and the underside of the table, and using them when required by changing them for the cards held in the hand. "WEAVING LEATHERN APRONS." When a knowing blade is asked what he has been doing lately, and does not choose to tell, his reply is, that he has been very busy weaving leathern aprons.— (.Sec news- WAlciUUKEB, a pickpocket or stealer of watches. 268 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN paper reports of the trial for the gold robberies on the South-Western Eailway.) Other similar replies, " I have been making a trundle fob A goose's eye," or "a whim-wham to bridle a goose." WEDGE, silver.— OW Cant. WEDGE-FEEDER, a silver spoon. WEED, a cigar ; the weed, tobacco generally. WEED, a hatband WEJEE, a chimney-pot. Often applied to any clever invention, as "that's a regular wejee." WELCHER, a person who makes a bet without the remotest chance of being able to pay, and, losing it, absconds, or " makes himself scarce." In the betting ring a weloher is often very severely handled upon his swindUng practices being discovered. The Catterick " Clerk of the Course," once provided some stout labourers and a tar-barrel for the special benefit of the welohers who might visit that neighbourhood. The word is modem, but the practice is ancient. "One Moore, tbe unworthy incumbent of the 'Suffolk Curacy,' dedicated a book to 'Duke Humphrey,' and was then entirely lost sight of by his old college friends, till one of them espied him slung up in 'the basket,* for not paying his bets at a cock-pit." — Fott and Paddock, WELL, to pocket, or place as in a welL WEST CENTRAL, a water-closet, the initials being the same as those of the London Postal District. It is said that for this reason very delicate people refuse to obey Rowland Hill's instructions in this particular. An old maid, who lived in this district, was particularly shocked at having w.o. marked on all her letters, and informed the letter-carrier that she could not think of submitting to such an indecent fashion. On being informed that the letters would not be forwarded without the obnoxious initials, she remarked that she would have them left at the Post-Office. " Then, marm,' ' said the fellow, with a grin, " they will put P.O. on them, which will be more ' ondacenter than the tother.' " WET, a drink, a "drain." WET, to drink. Low people generally ask an acquaintance to WET any recently-purchased article, i.e., to stand treat on the occasion ; "wet your whistle," i.e., take a drink; " WET the other eye," i.e., take another glass. — See shed a tear. WET QUAKER, a drunkard of that sect; a man who pretends to be re- ligious, and is a dram-drinker on the sly. WET 'UN, a diseased cow, unfit for human food, but nevertheless sold to make into sausages. — Compare staggering-bob. WHACK, a share or lot ; " give me my whack," give me my share. — Scotch, SWEG, or SWACK. WHACK, or whacking, a blow, or a thrashing. WHACK, to beat. WHACKING, large, fine, or strong. WHALE, " very like a whale in a teacup," said of anything that is very improbable ; taken from a speech of Polonius's in Hamlet. SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 269 "WHAT D'YE CALL 'EM, a similar expression to thkoumt. WHEEDLE, to entice by soft words. " This word cannot be found to derive itself from any other, and is therefore looked upon as wholly invented by the oantebs." — Triumph of Wit, 1 705. WHERRET, or worrit, to scold, trouble, or annoy. — Old English. WHID, a word.— OM Gipsy Cant. WHID, a fib, a falsehood, a word too much. — Modem Slang from the Ancient Cant. WHIDDLE, to enter into a parley, or hesitate with many words, &c. ; to inform, or discover. — See wheedle. WHIM-WHAM, an alliterative term, synonymous with fiddlk-faddlb, RIFF-RAFF, &c., denoting nonsense, rubbish, &c. WHIP, after the usual allowance of wine is drunk at mess, those who wish for more put a shilling each into a glass handed round to procure a further supply. — Naval and Military. WHIP, to "whip anything up," to take it up quickly; from the method of hoisting heavy goods or horses on board ship by a whip, or running tackle, from the yard-arm. Generally \ised to express anything dis- honestly taken. — L'Estrange and Johnson. WHIP JACK, a sham shipwrecked sailor, called also a turnpike sailor. "WHIP THE CAT," when an operative works at a private house by the day. Term used amongst tailors and carpenters. WHIPPER-IN, the member of the House of Commons whose duty it is to collect and keep together his party to vote at divisions. To give him greater influence, the ministerial whipper-in holds, or is supposed to hold, the minor patronage of the Treasury. — See wooden spoon. WHIPPER-SNAPPER, a waspish, diminutive person. WHISKER. There is a curious Slang phrase cotmected with this word. When an improbable story is told, the remark is, " the mother of that was a whisker," meaning it is a lie. WHISTLE, "as clean as a whistle," neatly, or "slickly done," as an American would say ; " to wet one's whistle," to take a drink. This last is a very old expression. Chaucer says of the Miller of Trumping ton's wife {Canterbury Tales, 41 53) — " So washir joly whistal well y-wet ;" " to WHISTLE FOR ANYTHING," to stand small chance of getting it, from the nautical custom of whistlinq for a wind in a calm, which of course comes none the sooner for it. WHITECHAPEL, or westminsteb brougham, a costermonger's donkey- barrow. WHITECHAPEL, the "upper-cut," or strike.— PM^aweic. WHITECHAPEL, in tossing, two out of three wins. — See sudden death. WHITECHAPEL FORTUNE, a clean gown and a pair of pattens. V 270 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN WHITE FEATHER, " to shew the white feather," to evince cowardice. In times when great attention was paid to the breeding of game-cocks, a white feather in the tail was considered a proof of orosa-breeding. WHITE LIE, a harmless lie, one told to reconcile people at variance; " mistress is not at home, sir," is a WHITE lie often told by servants WHITE-LIVERED, or liveh-faoed, cowardly, much afraid, very mean. WHITE PROP, a diamond pin. — East London. WHITE SATIN, gin,— term amongst women. — See satin. WHITE SERJEANT, a man's superior officer in the person of his better- half. WHITE TAPE, gin, — term used principally by female servants. — See BIBBON. WHITEWASH, when a person has taken the benefit of the Insolvent Act he is said to have been whitewashed. WHITEWASH, a glass of sherry as a finale, after drinking port and claret. WHITE WINE, the fashionable terra for gin. ** Jack Randall then impatient rose. And said, *Tom'a speech were just as fine If he would call that fii-at of go's By that genteeler name — white wwe." RandaU'g Diary, 1820. WHOP, to beat, or hide. Corruption of whip; sometimes spelled wap. WHOP-STRAW, Cant name for a countryman ; Johnny whop-straw, in allusion to threshing WHOPPER, a big one, a lie. WIDDLE, to shine. —See OLIVER. WIDE-AWAKE, a broad brimmed felt, or stuff hat,— so called because it never had a nap, and never wants one. WIDO, wide awake, no fool. WIFFLE-WOFFLES, in the dumps, sorrow, stomach ache. WIG, move off, go away. — North Country Cant. WIGGING, a rebuke before comrades. If the head of a firm calls a clerk into the parlour, and rebukes him, it is an eabwivJQIMO; if done before the other clerks, it is a wigging. WILD, a village. — Tramps' term. — See vile. WILD, vexed, cross, passionate, — said to be from willed (self-willed) in opposition to " tamed " or " subdued." In the United States the word mad is supplemented with a vulgar meaning similar to our Cockneyism wild ; and to make a man mad on the other side of the Atlantic is to vex him, or "rile" his temper — not to render him a raving maniac, or a fit subject for Bedlam. WILD OATS, youthful pranks. WILLIAM, a bill. The derivation is obvious. WuTE, a fetter fixed to one leg. — Prison. SLANO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 2/1 WIKD, "to raise the wind," to procure money; "to slip one's wind," coarse expression meaning to die. — Ste HAI8E. WIND, " I'll WIND your cotton," i.e., I will give you some trouble. The Byzantine General, Narses, used the same kind of threat to the Greek Empress, — " I will spin such a thread that they shall not be able to unraveL" WINDOWS, the eyes, or " peepers." WINEY, intoxicated. WINKIN, " he went off like WINKIN," i.t., very quickly. Probably con- nected with WINK, to shut the eye quickly. WINKS, periwinkles. WINN, a penny. — Ancient Cant. — See ante, page 20. WIPE, a pocket-handkerchief. — Old Cant. WIPE, a blow. Frequently sibilated to SWIPE, a cricket term. WIPE, to strike ; " he fetcht me a wipe over the knuckles," he struck me on the knuckles ; " to WIPE a person down," to flatter or pacify ; to WIPE off a score, to pay one's debts, in allusion to the slate or chalk methods of account-keeping ; " to wipe a person's eye," to shoot game which he has missed — Sporting term; hence to obtain an advantage by superior activity. With old topers " WIPINO one's eye," is equi- valent to giving or taking another drink. WIRE-IN, a London street phrase in general use at the present time, the meaning of which I have not been able to discover. WOBBLE-SHOP, where beer is sold without a licence. WOODEN SPOON, the last jvmior optime who takes a University degree ; denoting one who is only fit to stay at home, and stir porridge. — Cambridge. The expression is also Parliamentary Slang. — See the following : — " Wooden Spoon. — We have said that a rigorous account is kept of all the divi- sions, and that every vote of every member of the Government is posted. We will now tell our readers what is done with this Ust. Every year at the close of the session, as our readers know, the Ministers dine together at the Trafalgar. Well, after dinner, the chief whip produces his account and reads It aloud ; and it is said that the man whose name appears in the division-list the smallest number of times has a wooden spoon presented to him. When the Derbyites were in power last. Sir John Pukington, it is asserted, was the successful candidate for the spoon, Mr Whiteside presenting it to the right honourable Baronet witli infinite humour and fun. Why a wooden spoon is used we cannot tell. Perhaps in ancient times the poor man got that and nothing else. If :iny of our readers should be curious to know what is really symbolised by this ceremony, let them understand that we cannot help them. We refer them to the editor of Notu and Queries." —lUuttraUd Timet. WOODEN SURTOUT, a cofBn, generally spoken of aa a wooden surtout with nails for buttons. WiNDED-SETTLED, transported for life. Wire, a thief with long fingers, expert at picking ladies' pockets 272 A DICTIONARY OF MODERN WOODEN' WEDGE, the last name in the classical honours list at Cam- bridge. The last in mathematical honours had long been known as the wooden spoon ; but when the classical Tripos was instituted, in 1824, it was debated among the under- graduates what sobriquet should be given to the last on the examination list. Curiously enough, the name that year which happened to be last was wedgewood (a distinguished Wrangler.) Hence the title. WOOLBIRD, a lamb; "wing of a woolbibd," '"'•"W'^'m""'^ th."Spoon." a shoulder of lamb. WOOLGATHERING, said of any person's wits when they are wandering, or in a reverie. — Florio. WOOL- HOLE, the workhouse. WOOLLY, out of temper. WOOLLY, a blanket. WORK, to plan, or lay down and execute any course of action, to perform anything ; " to work the BULLS," i.e., to get rid of false crown pieces ; " to WORK the ORACLE," to succeed by manoeuvring, to concert a wily plan, to victimise, — a possible reference to the stratagems and bribes used to corrupt the Delphic oracle, and cause it to deliver a favourable response. " To WORK a street or neighbourhood," trying at each house to sell all one can, or so bawling that every housewife may know what you have to sell. The general plan is to drive a donkey barrow a short distance, and then stop and cry. The term implies thoroughness ; to " WORK a street well " is a common saying with a coster. WORM.— See pump. WORM, the latest Slang term for a policeman. WORMING, removing the beard of an oyster or muscle. W. P., or WARMINQ-PAN, a clergyman who holds a living pro tempore, under a bond of resignation, is styled a w. P., or warmino-pan rector, because he keeps the place warm for his successor. — Clerical Slang. WRINKLE, an idea, or fancy ; an additional piece of knowledge which is supposed to be made by a wrinkle d posteriori. WRITE, " to WRITE one's name on a joint," to have the first out at any- thing; leaving sensible traces of one's presence on it. WYLO, be off. — Anglo-Chinese. Wool, courage, pluck; "you are not half-wooLED," term of reproach from one thief to another. X, LETTER X, a method of arrest used by policemen with desperate ruffians, — by getting a firm grasp on the collar, and drawing the captive's hand over the holding arm, and pressing the fingers down in a peculiar way — the captured person's arm in this way can be more easily broken than extricated SLA2iO, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 273 YAFFLE, to eat.— Old EnglitK. YAM, to eat. This word is used by the lowest class all over the world ; by the Wapping sailor, West India negro, or Chinese coolie. When the fort, called the Dutch Folly, near Canton, was in course of erection by the Hollanders, under the pretence of being intended for an hospital, the Chinese observed a box containing muskets among the alleged hospital stores. " Hy-aw ! " exclaimed John Chinaman, " how can sick man tah gun !" The Dutch were surprised and massacred the same night. "YARD OF CLAY," a long, old-fashioned tobacco pipe, also called a CHURCH-WARDEN. YARMOUTH CAPON, a bloater, or red herring.— 0W.—i2ay'» Proverbs. YARMOUTH MITTENS, bruised hands.— ^r(l« common in England are equally common in the United States ; and who- we remember that America began to people two centuries ago, and that thest; colloquialisms must have crossed the sea with the fi.rst emigrants, we can form some idea of tlie antiquity of popular or street langunge. Many words, owing to the caprices of fashion or society, have whoUy disappeared in the parent country, whilst in the colonies they are yet heard. The words skink, to serve drink in comjiany, and the old teim MiCHiNQ or MKECHiso, skuIklng or playing truant, for instjince, are still in use in the United States, although nearly, if not quite, obsolete here. BEAUMONT and FLETCHER'S Comedy of The Beggar't Bush, 4to, 1661, or any edition. Contains numerous Cant worda BEES (Jon.) Dictionary of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, the Pit, the Bon Ton, and the Varieties of Life, forming the completest and most authentic Lexicon Balatronicum hitherto offered to the notice of the Sporting World, by John Bee, [i.e., John Badcock,] Esq., Editor of the Fancyj Fancy OazetUf Living Picture of London, and the like of that, i2mo. 1823. This author published books on Stable Economy under the name of Hinds. He was the sporting rival of Pierce Egan. Professor Wilson, in an amus- ing article in Blackwood's Magazine, reviewed this work. BEE'S (Jon.) Living Picture of London for 1828, and Stranger's Guide through the Streets of the Metropolis ; shewing the Frauds, the Arts, Snares, and Wiles of all descriptions of Rogues that everywhere abound, i2mo. 1828, Professes to be a guide to society, high and low, in London, and to give an insight into the langua^'e of the streets. BEE'S (Jon.) Sportsman's Slang; a New Dictionary of Terms used in the Affairs of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, and the Cockpit; with those of Bon Ton and the Varieties of Life, forming a Lexicon Balatronicum et Macaronicum, cfcc, iimo, plate. For the Author, 1825. The same as the prece-^ling, only with an altered title. Both wretched per- formances, filled with miserable attempts at wit. BLACKGUARDIANA ; or, Dictionary of Rogues, Bawds, &c., Svo, with K)ETBAiTs, [by James Caulfield.] I795- This work, with a long and very vulgar title, is nothing but a reprint of Orosty with a few anecdotes of pirates, odd persons, &c., and some curious por- traits inserted. It was concocted by Caulfield as a speculation, and pub- lished at on« guinea per copy; and, owing to the remarkable title, an! the notification at the bottom tliat *'only a few copies wore printed," soon became scarce. For philological purposes it is not worth bo much as any t^tiou pcars to have been taken from Hiuinan without acknowledg- ment. This is the first work that gives the Canting Song, a verse of which is insetted at page 20 of the Introduction. This Canting Song has since been inserted in nearly ali Dictionaries of Cant. DECKER'S (Thomas) Villanies discovered by Lanthome and Candle-light, and the Helpo of a new Cryer called per se 0, 4to. 1616. '* With Canting Songs never before printed." 298 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANG AND CANT. DECKER'S (Thomas) English Tillanies, eight several times prest to Death by the Printers, but still reviving again, are now the eighth time (as at the first) discovered by Lanthome and Candle-light, &c., 4to. 1648. The eighth edition of the '* Lanthome and Candle-light^ DICTIONARY of all the Cant and Flash Languages, both Ancient and Modern, l8mo. Bailey, 1790. DICTIONARY of all the Cant and Flash Languages, i2mo. London, 1 797. DICTIONARY of the Canting Crew, (Ancient eind Modem,) of Gypsies, Beggars, Thieves, &c., I2mo. N. D. [1700.] DICTIONNAIRE des Halle, i2mo. Bmxelles, 1696. This curious Slang Dictionary sold in the Stanley sale for jC^, i6s. DUCANGE ANGLICUS.— The Vulgar Tongue: comprising Two Glos- saries of Slang, Cant, and Flash Words and Phrases used in London at the present day, 1 2 mo. 1 85 7. A silly and childish preformance, fUll of blunders and contradictions A second edition appeared during the past year. DUNCOMBE'S Flash Dictionary of the Cant Words, Queer Sayings, and Crack Terms now in use in Flash Cribb Society, 32mo, coloured print. 1820. DUNTON'S Ladies' Dictionary, 8vo. London, 1694. Contains a few Cant and vulgar words. EGAN. Grose's Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, with the addition of numerous Slang Phrases, edited by Pierce Egan, 8vo. 1 823. The best edition of Grose, with many additions, including a Life of this cele- brated antiquary. EGAN'S (Pierce) Life in London, 2 vols, thick 8vo, vdth coloured plates hy Geo. Cruiksliank, represetiting high and low life. 18 — . Contains numerous Cant, Slang, sportintr, and vulgar words, supposed by the author to form the basis of conversation in lite, high and low, in London. ELWYN'S (Alfred L.) Glossary of supposed Americanisnu — Vulgar and Slang Words used in the United States, small Svo. 1859. GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, Svo. N. d. *' In a very early volume of this parent magazine were given a few pages, by way of sample, of a SUmg Vocabulary, then termed Cant. If, as we suspect, this port of the Magazine fell to the share of Dr Johnson, who was tiien its editor, we have to lament that he did not proceed with the design " — John See, in the Introduction to hU Slang JHctionary, 1825. GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, vol. xcii., p. 520. Mention made of Siaug. GLOSSARIES of County Dialects. v. D. Many of these will rcpny examination, as they contain Cant and Slang words, v;rciiigly inserted as provincial or old terms. GOLDEN CABINET (The) of Secrets opened for Youth's delightful Pas- time, in 7 parts, the last being the " City and Country Jester;" with a Canting Dictionary, by Dr Surman, l2mo. London, N. u. (1 730.) Contains some curious woodcuts. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANO AND CANT. 299 GREENE'S (Robert) Notable Discovery of Coosn^e, now daily {practised by sundry lewd persona called Conie-catchers and Crosse - biters. Plainly laying open tliose pernitious sleights that hath brought many ignorant men to confusion. Written for the general benefit of all Gentlemen, Citizens, Apprentices, Country Farmers, and Yeomen, that may hap to fall into the company of such coosening companions. With a delightful discourse of the coosnage of Colliers, 4to, with wood- cuts. Printed by John Wolfe, l^gi, ThefirH edition. A copy of another edition, supposed to be uniqtu, is dated 1593. It was Boid at the Heber sale. GREENE'S (Robert) Groundworke of Conny-Catching, the manner of their PEDLEBS' FRENCH, and the meanes to understand the same, with the cunning sleights of the Conterfeit Cranke. Done by a Justice of the Peace of great Authoritie, 4to, with woodcutt. I593- Usually enumerated among Greene's works, but it is only a reprint^ with Tariations, of Harman'i Cavtat, and of which Rowland complains in hi» Martin Harlcall. The second and third parts of this curious work w( ro published in the same year. Two other very rare volumes by Greene were published — The .Defence of Cony-Catching, 4to, in 1592, and Turt Black Booices Mkssekoer, in 1595. They both treat on the same sub- jects. GROSE'S (Francis, generally styled Ca^ptain) Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 8vo. 1 78-. The tnuch-souffht-aftcr First Edition, but containing nothing, as far as I have examined, wliich is not to be found in the second and third editions. As respects indecency, I find all the editions equally disgniceful. The Museum copy of the First Edition is, 1 suspect, (Jrose's own copy, as it contains num'erous manuscript additions which afterwards went to form the second edition. Excepting the obscenities, it is really an extra- ordinary book, and displays great industry, if we cannot speak much of its morality. It is the well from wiiich all the other authors — Duncoinbe, Cautiield, Clarke, Egan, &c. Ac— drew tiieir vulgar outpourings, witliuut in the least purifying what they had stolen. HAGGART. Life of Dayid Haggart, alias John Wilson, alias Barney M'Coul, written by himself while under sentence of Death, curum» frontispiece of the Prisoner in Irons, intermixed with all tlie Slang and Cant Words of the Day, to which is added a Glossary of the same, l2mo. 1821. HALL'S (B. H.) Collection of College Words and Customs, i2mo. Cambridge, (U. S.,) 1 856. Very complete. The illustrative examples are excellent. HALLIWELL'S Archaic Dictionary, 2 vols. 8vo. 1855. An invaluable work, giving the Cant words used by Decker, Brome, and a few of those mentioned by Grose. HARLEQUIN Jack Shepherd, with a Night Scene in Grotesque Charac- ters, 8vo. (About 1736.) Contains Songs in the Canting dialect HARMAN'S (Thomas, Esq.) Caveat or Warening for Common Cursetors, vulgarly called Vagabones, set forth for the utilitie and profit of his aaturall countrey , augmented and iniargcd by the first author thereof ; 300 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANG AND CANT. whereunto is added the tale of the second taking of the counterfeit Crank, with the true report of his behaviour and also his punishment for his 80 dissembling, most marvellous to the hearer or reader thereof, newly imprinted, 4to. Imprinted at London, by H. Middleton, 1573. Contains the earliest Dictionary of the Cant language. Four editions were printed— William Griffith, 1566 1567 1567 Henry Middleton, 1573 What Qrot^s Dietioruiry of tht Vulgar Tungut was to the authors of the earlier part of the present century, Harman's was to the Deckers, and Bromea, and Heads of the seventeenth. HARRISON'S (William) Description of the Island of Britain, (prefixed to Molin»hed'i Chronicle,) 2 vols, folio. 1S77- Contains an account of English vagabonds. HAZLITT'S (William) Table Talk, i2mo, (vol. ii. contains a chapter on Familiar Style, with a notice on Slang Terms.) v. D. HEAD'S (Richard) English Rogue, described in the Life of Meriton Latroon, a Witty Extravagant, 4 vols. I2mo. Frant. Kirhman, 1671-80. Contains a list of Cant words, evidently copied from Decker. HELL UPON EARTH, or the most pleasant and delectable History of Whittington's CoUedge, otherwise vulgarly called Newgate, l2mo. 1703- HENLEY'S (John, letter known as oeatoe henlet) Various Sermons and Orations. 1 719-53- Contains numerous vulgarisms and Slang phrases. [HITCHING'S (Charles, formerly City Marshal, now a Prisoner in Netvgaie)] Regulator ; or, a Discovery of the Thieves, Thief-Takers, and Locks, alias Receivers of Stolen Goods in and about the City of London, also an Account of all the flash words now in vogue amongst the Thieves, opu- lar during the minority of George IV. The fiirce had a i-un of a hundred XLights, or more, and was a general favourite for years. It abounds in Cult, and the language of " gig/' as it was then often termed. 302 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANO AND CANT. MORNINGS AT BOW STREET, by T. Wright, lamo, mth Ittuttra- turns hy George Cruikshunh. Tegg, 1838. In this work a few etymologies of Slang words are attempted. NEW CANTING DICTIONARY, l2mo. ». D. A copy of this work is described in Rodd't Catalogue 0/ Elegant Literature, 1845, part iv.. No. 2128, with manuscript notes and additions in the autograph of Isaac Reed, price jCh ^^^ NEW DICTIONARY of the Terms, Ancient and Modem, of the Canting Crew in its several tribes of Gypsies, Beggars, Thieves, Cheats, &c., with an addition of some Proverhs, Phrases, Pigurative /Speeches, «-^>-j / THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO 50 CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.00 ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. NOV 20 !w,k DEC 9 2007 APR 11*^9315* AUG 3 1943 WAR ?p t'^"'^^ FEB 2 1948 REC CIR. JUL 2 CS 5Jan'5GTf JAN7 1956 iU 180ct'56W/ REC'D LD OCT 4 1956 27yai'57ES SEP 2 RECEIVED $EP12'66-4PM LOAN^titW 8,-32 U C BERKELEY LIBRARIES CDMEflMBim ^ ^ j/^ -> /so^ e&Qyi HQ3 /eeo THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY t) "# - - . - ^ > . * J < > ,. 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