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CIRCULATING
SLANG
DICTIONARY
820.41
H834
1874
Lond. 184
U. OF M

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SCIENTIA
VERITAS
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EXPLANATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS.
No good; too poor, and know too much.
Stop, if you have what they want, they will buy. They are pretty "fly"
(knowing).
-7
Go in this direction, it is better than the other road. Notlúng that way.
Bone (good). Safe for a "cold tatur," if for nothing else.
patter" (don't talk much) here.
Cooper'd (spoilt) by too many tramps calling there..
"Cheese Jour
Gammy (unfavourable), likely to have you taken up. Mind the dog.
Flummuxed (dangerous), sure of a month in "quod," prison.
Religious, but tidy on the whole.
HOLE
See p. 31.
THE
!
SLANG DICTIONARY,

ETYMOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL,
AND ANECDOTAL.
J.
Ba
Gotten.
À NEW EDITION,
GENERAL LIBRA

University
MICHIGAN
REVISED AND CORRECTED, WITH MANY ADDITIONS.

D}
THE "WEDGE" AND THE "WOODEN SPOON.”
London:
CHATTO AND WINDUS, PUBLISHERS,
(SUCCESSORS TO JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN.)
1874.
820.41
:
H824
LONDON:
SAVILL, EDWARDS AND CO., IRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET,
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transfer to
PREFACE.
A
Stacks
1-13-66
LANG, like everything else, changes much in the
SLA
course of time; and though but fifteen years
have elapsed since this Dictionary was first introduced
to the public, alterations have since then been many and
frequent in the subject of which it treats. The first issue
of a work of this kind is, too, ever beset with difficulties,
and the compiler was always aware that, though
under the circumstances of its production the book
was an undoubted success, it necessarily lacked many
of the elements which would make that success lasting,
and cause the "Slang Dictionary" to be regarded as an
authority and a work of reference not merely among
the uneducated, but among people of cultivated tastes
and inquiring minds. For though the vulgar use of
the word Slang applies to those words only which are
used by the dangerous classes and the lowest grades of
society, the term has in reality, (and 'should have-—as
every one who has ever studied the subject knows
a much wider significance. Bearing this in mind, the
original publisher of this Dictionary lost no opportunity
vi
PREFACE.
of obtaining information of a useful kind, which could
hardly find place in any other book of reference, with
the intention of eventually bringing out an entirely new
edition, in which all former errors should be corrected
and all fresh meanings and new words find a place.
His intention always was to give those words which.
are familiar to all conversant with our colloquialisms
and locutions, but which have hitherto been connected.
with an unwritten tongue, a local habitation, and to
produce a book which, in its way, would be as useful to
students of philology, as well as to lovers of human
nature in all its phases, as any standard work in the
English language. The squeamishness which tries to
ignore the existence of slang fails signally, for not only
in the streets and the prisons, but at the bar, on the
bench, in the pulpit, and in the Houses of Parliament,
does slang make itself heard, and, as the shortest and
safest means to an end, understood too.
My predecessor, the original compiler, did not live to
see his wish become an actual fact; and, failing him,
it devolved upon me to undertake the task of revision
and addition. How far this has been accomplished,
the curious reader who is possessed of a copy of each
edition can best judge for himself by comparing any
couple of pages he may select. Of my own share in
the work I wish to say nothing, as I have mainly
benefited by the labours of others; but I may say
PREFACE.
vii
that, when I undertook the position of editor of what,
with the smallest possible stretch of fancy, may now be
called a new book, I had no idea that the alteration
would be nearly so large or so manifest. However, as
the work is now done, it will best speak for itself,
and, as good wine needs no bush, I will leave it, in all
hope of their tenderness, to those readers who are best
qualified to say how the task has been consummated.
In conclusion, it is but fair for me to thank, as
strongly as weak words will permit, those gentlemen
who have in various ways assisted me. To two of
them, who are well known in the world of literature,
and who have not only aided me with advice, but have
placed many new words and etymologies at my service,
I am under particular obligation. With this I beg to
subscribe myself, the reader's most obedient servant,
THE EDITOR.
December 20, 1873.
NOTE. The reader will bear in mind that this is a Dictionary of modern
Slang,—a list of colloquial words and phrases in present use,—whether of
ancient or modern formation. Whenever Ancient is appended to a word,
it means that the expression was in respectable use in or previous to the
reign of Queen Elizabeth. Old or Old English, affixed to a 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,
The Publishers will be much 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 with thanks:
1
T
CONTENTS.
THE HISTORY OF CANT, OR THE
OR THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF
PAGE
VAGABONDS
I
ACCOUNT OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS USED BY VAGABONDS.
✔A SHORT HISTORY OF SLANG, OR THE VULGAR LANGUAGE
OF FAST LIFE
27
34
DICTIONARY OF MODERN SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR
WORDS
71
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE BACK SLANG
• 、347
GLOSSARY OF THE BACK SLANG.
353
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE RHYMING SLANG
358
GLOSSARY OF THE RHYMING SLANG
•
365
CENTRE SLANG
369
THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANG
371
&
..
"All ridiculous words make their first entry into a language by familiar phrases; I
dare not answer for these that they will not in time be looked upon as a part of our
tongue."-SPECTATOR.
"Rabble-charming words, which carry so much wild fire wrapt up in them."-
SOUTH.
"Slang derivations are generally indirect, turning upon metaphor and fanciful
allusions, and other than direct etymological connexion. Such allusions and fancies,
are essentially temporary or local; they rapidly pass out of the public mind: the word
remains, while the key to its origin is lost."
"Many of these [slang] words and phrases are but serving their apprenticeship, and
will eventually become the active strength of our language."-H. T. BUCKLE,
THE HISTORY OF CANT,
OR THE
SECRET LANGUAGE OF VAGABONDS.
CA
By their
ANT and SLANG are universal and world-wide.
means is often said in a sentence what would other-
wise take an hour to express. Nearly every nation on
the face of the globe, polite and barbarous, has its divi-
sions and subdivisions of various ranks of society. These
are necessarily of many kinds, stationary and wandering,
civilized and uncivilized, respectable and disreputable,—
those who have fixed abodes and avail themselves of the
refinements of civilization, 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. In
South Africa, the naked and miserable Hottentots are pestered
by the still more abject Sonquas; and it may be some satis-
faction for us to know that our old enemies at the Cape, the
Kaffirs, are troubled with a tribe of rascals called Fingoes,-
the former term, we are informed by travellers, signifying
beggars, and the latter wanderers and outcasts. In South
America, and among the islands of the Pacific, matters are
pretty much the same. Sleek rascals, without much inclination
towards honesty, fatten, or rather fasten, like the insects in the
famous epigram, upon other rascals, who would be equally
sleek and fat but for their vagabond dependents. Luckily
for respectable persons, however, vagabonds, both at home.
2
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
and abroad, generally show certain outward peculiarities which
distinguish them from the great mass of law-abiding people
on whom they subsist. Observation shows that the wandering
races are remarkable for an abnormal development of the
bones of the face, as the jaws, cheek-bones, &c., for high-
crowned, stubborn-shaped heads, quick, restless eyes,* and
hands nervously itching to be doing; for their love of gam-
bling; for sensuality of all kinds; and for their use of a CANT
language with which to conceal their designs and plunderings.
The secret jargon, or rude speech, of the vagabonds who
hang upon the Hottentots is termed Cuze-cat. In Finland, the
fellows who steal seal-skins, pick the pockets of bear-skin over-
coats, and talk cant, are termed Lappes. In France, the secret
language of highwaymen, housebreakers, and pickpockets, is
named Argot. The brigands and more romantic rascals of
Spain term their private tongue Germania,† or Robbers' Lan-
guage. Rothwälsch,‡ or foreign-beggar-talk, is synonymous with
cant and thieves' talk in Germany. The vulgar dialect of Malta,
and the Scala towns of the Levant-imported into this country
and incorporated with English cant-is known as the Lingua
Franca, or bastard Italian. And the crowds of lazy beggars
that infest the streets of Naples and Rome, as well as the bri-
gands of Pompeii, use a secret language termed Gergo. In Eng-
land, as we all know, it is called Cant-often improperly Slang.
Most nations, then, possess each a tongue, or series of tongues
maybe, each based on the national language, by which not only
thieves, beggars, and other outcasts communicate, but which is
used more or less by all classes. There is hardly any com-
munity in this country, hardly any profession, but has its slang,
* "Swarms of vagabonds, whose eyes were so sharp as Lynx.”—
Bullein's Simples and Surgery, 1562.
+ Probably from the Gipsies, who were supposed to come from Ger-
many into Spain.
+
From Roter, beggar, vagabond, and wälsch, foreign. See Dictionary
of Gipsy language in Pott's Zigeuner in Europa und Asien, vol. ii., Halle,
1844. The Italian cant is called Fourbesque, and the Portuguese Calao.
See Francisque-Michel, Dictionnaire d'Argot, Paris, 1856.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
3
art.
and proficiency in this is the greatest desideratum of an aspirant
to the pleasures of Society, or the honours of literature and
The formation of these secret tongues varies, 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 considerable interest to the
philologist and the philosopher. It affords a remarkable in-
stance of lingual contrivance, which, without the introduction of
much arbitrary matter, has developed a system of communi-
cating ideas, having all the advantages of a foreign language."
"The terms Cant and Canting were probably derived from
chaunt and chaunting,-the whining tone, or modulation of voice.
adopted by beggars, with intent to coax, wheedle, or cajole by
pretensions of wretchedness.”* For the origin of the other
application of the word Cant, pulpit hypocrisy, we are indebted
to the Spectator-" 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 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, though it is but fair to assume that the
preacher's name was taken from his practice, rather than that
the practice was called after the preacher. As far as we are
concerned, however, in the present inquiry, Cant was derived
from chaunt, a beggar's whine; "chaunting" being the recog-
nised term amongst beggars to this day for begging orations
and street whinings; and "chaunter," a street talker and
tramp, is still the term used by strollers and patterers. This
F
* Richardson's Dictionary.
4
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
i
: دو
race is, however, nearly obsolete. The use of the word Cant,
amongst beggars, must certainly have commenced at a very
early date, for we find "To cante, to speake," 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 Slang in its
modern application, although used by good writers and persons
of education as synonyms, are in reality quite distinct and
separate terms. Cant, apart from religious hypocrisy, refers to
the old secret language of Gipsies, thieves, tramps, and beggars.
Slang represents that evanescent language, ever changing with
fashion_and_taste, which has principally 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 modern and ever changing. To
illustrate the difference: a thief in Cant language would term a
horse a "prancer" or a prad;" while in Slang, a man of fashion
would speak of it as a "bit of blood," a "spanker," or a "neat
tit." A handkerchief, too, would be a "billy," a "fogle," or a
"Kent rag," in the secret language of low characters; whilst
amongst the modern folk who affect Slang, it would be called
a "stook," a "wipe," a "fogle," or a "clout." Cant was formed
for purposes of secrecy. Slang, though it has a tendency the
same way, is still often indulged in from a mild desire to appear
familiar with life, gaiety, town-humour, and the transient nick-
(6
* Description of England, prefixed to Holinshed's Chronicle.
+ The word Slang, as will be seen in the chapter upon that subject, is
purely a Gipsy term, although nowadays it refers to low or vulgar language
of any kind, other than cant. Slang and Gibberish in the Gipsy language
are synonymous; but, as English adoptions, have meanings very different
from that given to them in their original.
"The vulgar tongue consists of two parts; the first is the Cant
language; the second, those burlesque phrases, quaint allusions, and nick-
names for persons, things, and places, which, from long uninterrupted
usage, are made classical by prescription."-Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar
Tongue, 1st edition, 1785.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
5
names and street jokes of the day. Both Cant and Slang, we
have before said, are often huddled together as synonyms ;
but they are most certainly distinct, and as such should be
used.
To the Gipsies, beggars and thieves are in great measure
indebted for their Cant language. It is supposed that the
Gipsies originally 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 populace with as
much applause as a company of English performers usually
receives on arriving in a distant colony. They came here with
all their old Eastern arts of palmistry and second-sight, with
their factitious power of doubling money by incantation and
burial,-shreds of pagan idolatry; and they brought with them,
also, the dishonesty of the lower-caste Orientals, and the
nomadic tastes they had acquired through centuries of wander-
ing over nearly the whole of the then known globe. They
possessed also a language quite distinct from anything that had
been heard in England up till their advent; they claimed the
title of Egyptians, and as such, when their thievish propensities.
became a public nuisance, were cautioned and proscribed in a
royal proclamation by Henry VIII.* The Gipsies were not
long in the country before they found native imitators; and
indeed the imitation is much more frequently found nowadays,
in the ranks of the so-called Gipsies, than is the genuine article.
Vagabondism is peculiarly catching, and the idle, the vagrant,
and the criminal soon caught the idea from the Gipsies, and
learned from them to tramp, sleep under hedges and trees, tell
fortunes, and find lost property for a consideration-frequently,
as the saying runs, having found it themselves before it was
lost. They also learned the value and application of a secret
tongue; indeed, with the Gipsies came in all the accompani-
ments of maunding and imposture, except thieving and begging,
* "Outlandish people calling themselves Egyptians."—1530.
·
6
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
which were well known in this country, and perhaps in every
other, long before visitors had an opportunity of teaching
them.
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 mea-
sure 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 con-
sider them as of one family,—all rogues, and from Egypt. This
superstition must have been very firmly imbedded, for it is still
current. The secret language spoken by the Gipsies, principally
Hindoo, and extremely barbarous to English ears, was found.
incomprehensible and very difficult to learn. The Gipsies
naturally found a similar difficulty with the English language.
A rude, rough, and singular, but under the circumstances not
unnatural, compromise was made, and a mixture of Gipsy, old
English, newly-coined words, and cribbings from any foreign,
and therefore secret, language, mixed and jumbled together,
formed what has ever since been known as the Canting Lan-
guage, or Pedlar's French; or, during the past century, St.
Giles's Greek.
Such was the origin of Cant; and in illustration of its
blending with the Gipsy or Cingari tongue, we are enabled to
THE SLANG DICTIONARI.
7
give the accompanying list of Gipsy, and often Hindoo, words,
with, in many instances, their English representatives :-
Gipsy.
Bamboozle, to perplex or mis-
lead by hiding. Modern Gipsy.
Bosh, rubbish, nonsense, offal.
Gipsy and Persian.
Cheese, thing or article, "That's
the CHEESE," or thing. Gipsy and
Hindoo.
Chive, the tongue. Gipsy.
Cuta, a gold coin.
Gipsy.
Danubian
Dade, or DADI, a father. Gipsy.
Distarabin, a prison.
Gad, or GADSI, a wife.
Gipsy.
Gipsy.
Gibberish, the language of Gip-
sies, synonymous with SLANG.
Gipsy.
English.
Bamboozle, to delude, cheat, or
make a fool of any one.
Bosh, stupidity, foolishness.
Cheese, or CHEESY, a first-rate or
very good article.
Chive, or CHIVEY, a shout. To
CHIVEY, to hunt down with shouts.
Couter, a sovereign, twenty shil-
lings.
Daddy, nursery term for father. (*)
Sturabin, a prison.
Gad, a female scold; a woman who
tramps over the country with a
beggar or hawker.
Gibberish, rapid and unmeaning
speech.
Ischur, SCHUR, or CHUR, a thief. Cur, a mean or dishonest man. (*)
Gipsy and Hindoo.
Lab, a word.
Gipsy.
Lowe, or LowR, money. Gipsy
and Wallachian.
Mami, a grandmother. Gipsy.
Mang, or MAUNG, to beg. Gipsy
and Hindoo.
Mort, a free woman, one for
common use amongst the male
Gipsies, so appointed by Gipsy
custom. Gipsy.
Lobs, words.
Lowre, money. Ancient Cant.
Mammy, or MAMMA, a mother,
formerly sometimes used for
grandmother. (*)
Maund, to beg.
Mot, a prostitute.
Mu, the mouth. Gipsy and Hindoo. Moo, or MUN, the mouth.
* In those instances indicated by a (*), it is doubtful whether we 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. Objec-
tions may also be raised against Gad, Maund, and many other of these
parallels. We have, however, no wish to present them as infallible; our
idea is merely to call the reader's attention to the undoubted similarity
between both the sound and the sense in most examples.
C
8
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Gipsy.
Mull, to spoil or destroy. Gipsy.
Pal, a brother. Gipsy.
Pané, water.
PAWNEE.
English.
Mull, to spoil, or bungle.(*)
Pal, a partner, or relation.
Gipsy. Hindoo, Parney, rain.
Gipsy.
Rig, a performance.
Romany, speech or language.
Spanish Gipsy.
Rome, or ROMM, a man, Gipsy
and Coptic.
Romee, a woman.
وو
Rig, a frolic, or “spree.
Romany, the Gipsy language.
Rum, a good man, or thing. In the
Robbers' language of Spain (partly
Gipsy), RUM signifies a harlot.
Rumy, a good woman or girl.
Slang, the language spoken by Slang, low, vulgar, unauthorized
Gipsy.
Gipsies. Gipsy.
Tawno, little.
Gipsy.
language.
Tanny, TEENY, little.
Tschib, or JIBB, the tongue. Jibb, the tongue; JABBER, * quick-
Gipsy and Hindoo.
tongued, or fast talk.
Here, then, we have the remarkable fact of at least a few
words of pure Gipsy origin going the round of Europe, passing
into this country before the Reformation, and coming down to
us through numerous generations purely by the mouths of the
people. They have seldom been written or used in books,
and it is simply as vulgarisms that they have reached us. Only
a few 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. The
word, used as a verb, is an instance of modern slang grown
out of the ancient. Our standard dictionaries give, of course,
none but conjectural etymologies. Another word, bamboozle,
has been a sore difficulty with lexicographers. It is not in the
old dictionaries, although it is extensively used in familiar or
popular language for the last two centuries; and is, in fact, the
very kind of word that such writers as 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 we must state that it was Boucher who first drew attention
* Jabber may be, after all, only another form of GABBER, GAB, very
common in Old English, from the Anglo-Saxon, GÆBBAN.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
to the fact, although in his remarks on the dusky tongue he
has made an evident mistake by concluding it to be identical
with its offspring, Cant. Other parallel instances, with but
slight variations from the old Gipsy meanings, might be men-
tioned; but sufficient examples have been adduced to show
that Marsden, a great Oriental scholar in the last century,
when he declared before the Society of Antiquaries 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, having been adopted as our language has developed
towards its present shape through many varied paths. Instances
continually occur nowadays of street vulgarisms ascending to
the drawing-rooms of respectable society. Who, then, can
doubt that the Gipsy-vagabond alliance of three centuries ago
has contributed its quota of common words to popular
speech?
Thomas Moore, in a humorous little book, Tom Crib's
Memorial to Congress, 1819, says, "The Gipsy language, with
the exception of such terms as relate to their own peculiar
customs, differs but little from the regular Flash or Cant lan-
guage."
But this was magnifying the importance of the
alliance. Moore, we should think, 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
assertion. Still his remark bears much truth, and proof of this
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 speech. George Borrow, in his
C 2
IO
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Account of the Gipsies in Spain, thus eloquently concludes his
second volume; speaking of the connexion of the Gipsies with
Europeans, he says:- Yet from this temporary association
were produced two results; European fraud became sharpened
by coming into contact with Asiatic craft; whilst European
tongues, by imperceptible degrees, became recruited with various
words (some of them wonderfully expressive), many of which
have long been stumbling-blocks to the philologist, who, whilst
stigmatizing 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 Romaic, 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." These words might with very little alteration be
ascribed to the subject of which this volume is supposed-
indeed hoped-to be a handbook.
But the Gipsies, their speech, their character-bad enough,
as all the world testifies, but yet not devoid of redeeming
qualities-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 national
speech remains. On the Continent they received better atten-
tion at the hands of learned men. Their language was taken
down in writing and examined, their history was traced, and
their extraordinary customs and practice of living in the open
air, and eating raw, and often putrid meat, were explained.
They ate reptiles and told fortunes because they had learnt to
do so through their forefathers centuries back in Hindostan ;
and they devoured carrion because the Hindoo proverb-
"That which God kills is better than that killed by man
"*
-was
*This very proverb was mentioned by a young Gipsy to Crabb, some
years ago.-Gipsies' Advocate, p. 14.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
II
still in their remembrance. This is the sort of proverb, we
should imagine, that would hardly commend itself to any one
who had not an unnatural and ghoule-like tendency anxious for
full development. Grellman, a learned German, was their
principal historian, and to him, and those who have followed
him, we are almost entirely indebted for the little we know of
their language. The first European settlement of the Gipsies
was in the provinces adjoining 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 modern Cant and Slang terms are Wallachian
and Greek words, picked up by these wanderers from the East,
and added to their common stock.
Gipsy, then, started, and was partially merged into Cant;
and the old story told by Harrison and others, that the first in-
ventor of canting was hanged for his pains, would seem to be a
humorous invention, for jargon as it is, it was doubtless of
gradual formation, like all other languages or systems of speech.
Most of the modern Gipsies know the old Cant words as well
as their own tongue-or rather what remains of it. As Borrow
says, "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 Harman calls "the fraternity of vaga-
bonds." Indeed, the old Cant is a common language to
the vagrants of many descriptions and every possible origin
who are scattered over the British Isles.
English Cant has its mutabilities like every other system of
speech, and is considerably altered since the first dictionary was.
compiled by Harman in 1566. A great many words are un-
known in the present tramps' and thieves' vernacular. Some of
them, however, still bear their old definitions, while others
have adopted fresh meanings. "Abraham-man" is yet seen in
*
Gipsies in Spain, vol. i. p. 18.
12
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
:
وو
our modern "sham Abraham," or "play the old soldier”—¿.e.,
to feign sickness or distress. "Autum" is still a church or
chapel amongst Gipsies; and "beck," a constable, is our
modern Cant and Slang "beak," once a policeman, but now a
magistrate. "Bene," or "bone," stands for good in Seven Dials.
and the back streets of Westminster; and "bowse
is our
modern “booze,” to drink or fuddle. A "bowsing ken” was the
old Cant term for a public-house; and "boozing ken," in modern
Cant, has precisely the same meaning. There is little doubt,
though, that the pronunciations were always as they are now, so
far at least as these two instances are concerned. "Cassan"
66
is both old and modern Cant for cheese; the same may be said
of" chattes," or "chatts," the gallows. "Cofe," or "cove," is still
a vulgar synonym for a man. "Dudes" was Cant for clothes
we now say "duds." "Flag" is still a fourpenny-piece; and
fylche" means to rob. "Ken" is a house, and "lick"
means to thrash; "prancer" is yet known amongst rogues as
a horse; and to "prig," 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." There is, so far as the Slang goes, no actual difference in
the use of these phrases, the variation being in the pronouns-
in fact, in the direction. "Trine" is still to hang; "wyn"
yet stands for a penny. And many other words, as will be seen
in the Dictionary, still retain their ancient meaning.
As specimens of those words which have altered their original
Cant signification, may be instanced "chete," now written cheat.
"Chete" was in ancient Cant what chop is in the Canton-Chinese
-an almost inseparable adjunct. Everything was termed a
"chete," and qualified by a substantive-adjective, which showed
what kind of a "chete" was meant; for instance, "crashing-
chetes" were teeth; a "moffling-chete," was a napkin; a
"topping-chete," was the gallows, and a "grunting-chete," was
a pig. Cheat nowadays means to cozen or defraud, and lexi-
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
13
cographers 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 somewhat
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; and with the remembrance of a certain class of low
characters, a curious connexion between the two meanings is
discovered. "Make" was a halfpenny: we now say "mag,"
"make" being modern Cant for getting money by any possible
means, their apophthegm being-"Get money the best way you
can, but make it somehow." "Milling" stood for stealing; it ulti-
mately became a pugilistic term, and then faded into nothing-
ness, "the cove wot loves a mill," being a thing of the past.
"Nab" was a head,-low people now say "nob," the former
meaning, in modern Cant, to steal or seize.
"Pek" was meat,
--we still say "peckish," when hungry. "Peckish" is though
more likely to be derived from the action of birds when eating,
as all slang has its origin in metaphor. "Prygges, dronken
Tinkers or beastly people," as old Harman wrote, would scarcely
be understood now; a "prig," in the 19th century, is a pick-
pocket or thief. He is also a mean, contemptible little
"cuss," who is not, as a rule, found in low life, but who
could be very well spared from that of the middle and upper
classes. Quier," or "queer," like cheat, was a very common
prefix, and meant bad or wicked,—it now means odd, curious,
or strange; but to the ancient Cant we are possibly indebted
66
* Shaks. Henry IV., part ii. act ii. scene 4.
It is but fair to imagine that cheat ultimately became synonymous with
"fraud," when we remember that it was one of the most common words of
the greatest class of impostors in the country.
1
14
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
for the word, which etymologists should remember.*
(C
"Rome,"
or "rum," formerly 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,-" rummy old bloke,” 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.
>>
((
(6
Alybbeg" no longer
Several words are entirely obsolete.
means a bed, nor "askew" a cup. Booget," nowadays,
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 Moore
somewhere remarks, the present Greeks of St. Giles's them-
selves would be thoroughly puzzled by many of the ancient
canting songs,-taking, for example, the first verse of an old
favourite-
Bing out, bien Morts, 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 perhaps we cannot do better than present to the reader
* We are aware that more than one eminent philologist states that the
origin of "queer" is seen in the German quer, crooked, hence strange and
abnormal. While agreeing with this etymology, we have reason to believe
that the word was first used in this country in a Cant sense.
+ Booget properly signifies a leathern wallet, and is probably derived
from the low Latin, BULGA. A tinker's budget is from the same source.
Which, freely translated into modern Slang, might read-especially to
those who know the manners and customs of the Dialites-thus :
"Good girls, go out, and look about,
Good girls, go out and see;
For every clout is up the spout,
The bloke's gone on the spree."
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
15
at once an entire copy of the first Canting Dictionary ever
compiled. As before mentioned, it was the work of one
Thomas Harman, who lived in the days of Queen Elizabeth.
Some writers have remarked that Decker* was the first to
compile a dictionary of the vagabonds' tongue; whilst Borrow†
and Moore stated that Richard 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 phraseology are.
preserved, and the initiated will quickly recognise many vulgar
street words as old acquaintances dressed in antique garb.‡
Abraham-men be those that fayn themselves to have beene mad, and
have bene kept either in Bethelem, or in some other pryson a good
time.
Alybbeg, a bedde.
Askew, a cuppe.
Autem, a churche.
Autem mortes, married women as chaste as a cowe.
Baudye 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 [Beak, a magistrate], a constable.
Belly-chete, apron.
Bene, good. Benar, better.
Benship, very good.
Bleting chete, a calfe or sheepe.
Booget, a travelling tinker's baskete.
Borde, a shilling.
Boung, a purse. [Friesic, pong; Wallachian, punga.] The oldest
form of this word is in Ulphilas, puggs; it exists also in the Greck,
που γγή.
Bowse, drink.
* Who wrote about the year 1610.
Gipsies in Spain, vol. i. p. 18. Borrow further 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.
+
The modern meanings of a few of the old Cant words are given within
brackets.
16
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Bowsing ken, an alehouse.
Bufe [Buffer, a man], a dogge.
Bynge a waste [Avast, get out of the way], go you hence.
Cackling chete, a coke [cock], or capon.
Cassan [Cassam], cheese.
Casters [Castor, a hat], a cloake.
Cateth, "the vpright Cofe cateth to the Roge" [probably a shortening
or misprint of Canteth].
Chattes, the gallowes.
Chete [see what has been previously said about this word.]
Cly [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].
Crashing chetes, teeth.
Cuffen, a manne. [A cuif in Northumberland and Scotland signifies a
lout or awkward fellow.]
Darkemans, the night.
Dell, a yonge wench.
Dewse a vyle, the countrey.
Dock, to deflower.
Doxes, harlots.
Drawers, hosen.
Dudes [or duds], clothes.
Fambles, handes.
Fambling chete, a ring on one's hand.
Flagg, a groat.
Frater, a beggar wyth a false paper.
Freshe water mariners, these kind of caterpillers counterfet great
losses on the sea :-their shippes were drowned in the playne of
Salisbury.
Fylche, to robbe: Fylch-man, a robber.
Gage, a quart pot.
Gan, a mouth.
Gentry cofe, a noble or gentle man.
Gentry cofes ken, a noble or gentle man's house.
Gentry mort, a noble or gentle woman.
Gerry, excrement.
Glasyers, eyes.
Glymmar, fyer.
Grannam, corne.
Grunting chete, a pygge.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
17
$
Gyb, a writing.
Gyger [jigger], a dore.
Hearing chetes, eares.
Jarke, a seale.
Jarkeman, one who makes writings and sets seales for [counterfeit]
licences and passports.
Ken, a house.
Kynchen co [or cove], a young boye trained up like a "Kynching
Morte. [From the German diminutive, Kindschen.]
}}
Kynching morte, is a little gyrle, carried at their mother's backe in a
slate, or sheete, who brings them up sauagely.
Lag, water.
Lag of dudes, a bucke [or basket] of clothes.
Lage, to washe.
Lap, butter mylke, or whey.
Lightmans, the day.
Lowing chete, a cowe.
Lowre, money. [From the Wallachian Gipsy word LOWE, coined money
See M. Cogalniceano's Essai sur les Cigains de la Moldo-Valachie.]
Lubbares,-
degree.
Lyb-beg, a Led.
sturdy Lubbarcs," country bumpkins, or men of a low
Lycke [lick], to beate.
Lyp, to lie down.
Lypken, a house to lye in.
Make [mag], a halfpenny.
Margeri prater, a hen.
Milling, to steale [by sending a child in at a window].
Moffling chete, a napkin.
Mortes [mots], 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.
Patrico, a priest.
Patricos kinchen, a pygge. [A satirical hit at the church, PATRICO
meaning a parson or priest, and KINCHEN his little boy or girl.]
Pek, meat.
Poppelars, porrage.
18
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Prat, a buttocke. [This word has its equivalent in modern slang.]
Pratling chete, a toung.
Prauncer, a horse.
Prigger of prauncers 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."]
Prygges, dronken tinkers, or beastly people.
Quacking chete, a drake or duck.
Quaromes, a body.
Quier [queer], badde. [See ante.]
Quier cuffin, the justice of peace.
Quyer crampringes, boltes or fetters.
Quyer kyn, a pryson house.
Red shanke, a drake or ducke.
Roger, a goose.
Rome, goode [now curious, noted, or remarkable in any way.
the modern orthography].
Rum is
Rome bouse [rum booze], wyne: [A name probably applied by
canters coming on it for the first time, and tasting it suddenly.]
Rome mort, the Queene (Elizabeth].
Rome vyle [Rum-ville], London.
Ruff peck, baken [short bread, common in old times at farm-houses].
Ruffmans, the wood or bushes.
Salomon, an alter or masse.
Skypper, a barne.
Slate, a sheete or shetes.
Smelling chete, a nose.
Smelling chete, a garden or orchard.
Snowt fayre [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
thereof, he will spoyle him of his money, either of his best garment, if
it be worth any money, and haue him to the bowsing-ken: which is,
to some typling house 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, G. P., do stalle thee, W. T.,
to the Roge, and that from henceforth it shall be lawfull for thee to
cant, that is, to aske or begge for thi liuing in al places."]
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
}
Stampers, shoes.
Stampes, legges.
Stauling ken, a house that will receyue stollen wares.
Stawlinge kens, tippling-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 cly thee, the devil take thee.
Togemans [tog], cloake.
Togman, a coate.
To bowse, to drinke.
To cant, to speake.
To cly the gerke, to be whipped.
To couch a hogshead, to lie down and slepe.
To cut bene whyddes, to speake or give good words.
To cut benle, to speak gentle.
To cutte, to say.
To cutte quyer whyddes, to giue euil words or euil language.
To dup ye gyger [jigger], to open the dore.
To fylche, to robbe.
To heue a bough, to robbe or rifle a boweth [booth].
To maunde, to aske or require.
To mill a ken, to robbe a house.
Tonygle [coition].
To nyp a boung, [nip, to steal], to cut a purse.
To skower the crampringes, to weare boltes or fetters.
To stall, to make or ordain.
To the ruffian, to the Devil.
To towre, to see.
Tryning, hanging.
Tyb of the butery, a goose.
Walking morte, womene [who pass for widows].
Wapping [coition].
Whyddes, wordes.
19
Wyn, a penny. [A correspondent of Notes and Queries suggests the con-
nexion of this word with the Welsh, GWYN, white-i.., the white
See other examples under BLUNT, in the Dictionary ;
silver penny.
cf. also the Armorican, GWENNEK," a penny.]
Yannam, bread.
Turning attention more to the Cant of modern times, in con-
nexion with the old, it will be found that words have been
{
20
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
drawn into the thieves? vocabulary from every conceivable
source. Hard or infrequent words, vulgarly termed "crack-jaw,"
or "jaw-breakers," were very often used and considered as Cant
terms. And here it should be mentioned that at the present
day the most inconsistent and far-fetched terms are often used
for secret purposes, when they are known to be caviare to the
million. It is strange that such words as incongruous, insipid,
interloper, intriguing, indecorum, forestall, equip, hush, grapple,
&c., &c., were current Cant words a century and a half ago, if we
are to judge by the Dictionary of Canting Words at the end of
Bacchus and Venus,* 1737. It is but fair, however, to assume
that the compiler of the dictionary was but trading on the de-
mand for Cant phrases, and was humbugging his readers. The
terms are inserted not as jokes or squibs, but as selections from
the veritable pocket dictionaries of the Jack Sheppards and
Dick Turpins of the day. If they were safely used as unknown
and cabalistic terms amongst the commonalty, the fact would
form a very curious illustration of the ignorance of our poor an-
cestors; but it would be unfair and, indeed, idiotic to assume
this without much stronger proof than the book in question gives
of itself.
<<
Amongst those Cant words which have either altered their
meanings, or have become extinct, may be cited lady, formerly
the Cant for "a very crooked, deformed, and ill-shapen
woman;" and Harman, a pair of stocks, or a constable." The
former is a pleasant piece of sarcasm, whilst the latter indicates
a singular method of revenge, or else of satire.
Harman was
the first author who specially wrote against English vagabonds,
and for his trouble his name, we are told, became synonymous
with a pair of stocks, or a policeman of the olden time.
*This is a curious volume, and is worth from one to two guineas. The
Canting Dictionary was afterwards reprinted, word for word, with the title
of The Scoundrel's Dictionary, in 1751. It was originally published, with-
out date, about the year 1710, by B. E., under the title of A Dictionary of
the Canting Crew.
+ Bacchus and Venus.-1737.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
21
!
Apart from the Gipsy element, we find that Cant abounds
in terms from foreign languages, and that it exhibits signs of a
growth similar to that of most recognised and completely-formed
tongues, the gathering of words from foreign sources.
In
the reign of Elizabeth and of King James I., several Dutch,
Flemish, and Spanish words were introduced by soldiers who
had served in the Low Countries and sailors who had re-
turned from the Spanish Main, who, like "mine ancient
Pistol," were fond of garnishing their speech with out-
landish phrases. Many of these were soon picked up and
adopted by vagabonds and tramps in their Cant language.
The Anglo-Norman and the Anglo-Saxon, the Scotch, the
French, the Italian, and even the classic languages of ancient
Italy and Greece, besides the various provincial dialects of
England, have contributed to its list of words. Indeed, as has
been remarked, English Cant seems to be formed on the same
basis as the Argot of the French and the Roth-Sprach of the
Germans-partly metaphorical, and partly by the introduction
of such corrupted foreign terms as are likely to be unknown to
the society amid which the Cant speakers exist. Argot is the
London thieves' word for their secret language; it is, of course,
from the French, but that matters not, so long as it is incompre-
hensible to the police and the mob, Booze," or "bouse," is
supposed to come from the Dutch buysen, though the word has
been in use in England for some hundreds of years. "Domine,"
a parson, is from the Spanish. 'Donna and feeles," a woman
((
and children, is from the Latin; and "don," a clever fellow,
has been filched from the Lingua Franca, or bastard Italian,
although it sounds like an odd mixture of Spanish and French;
whilst "duds," the vulgar term for clothes, may have been pil-
fered either from the Gaelic or the Dutch. "Feele," a daughter,
from the French; and "frow," a girl or wife, from the German—
are common tramps' terms. So are "gent," silver, from the
French argent; and "vial," a country town, also from the
French. "Horrid-horn," a fool, is believed to be from the
ན
22
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Erse; and "gloak," a man, from the Scotch. As stated before,
the dictionary will supply numerous other instances.
The Celtic languages have contributed many Cant and
vulgar words to our popular vocabulary. These have come to
us through the Gaelic and Irish languages, so closely allied in
their material as to be merely dialects of a primitive common
tongue. This element may arise from the Celtic portion of our
population, which, from its position as slaves or servants to its
ancient conquerors, has contributed so largely to the lowest
class of the community, therefore to our Slang, provincial,
or colloquial words; or it may be an importation from Irish
immigrants, who have contributed their fair proportion to our
criminal stock.
There is one source, however, of secret street terms which in
the first edition of this work was entirely overlooked,—indeed,
it was unknown to the original compiler until pointed out by a
correspondent,—the Lingua Franca, or bastard Italian, spoken
at Genoa, Trieste, Malta, Constantinople, Smyrna, Alexandria,
and all Mediterranean seaport towns. The ingredients of this
imported Cant are, as its name denotes, many. Its foundation
is Italian, with a mixture of modern Greek, German (from the
Austrian ports), Spanish, Turkish, and French. It has been
introduced to the notice of the London wandering tribes by the
sailors, foreign and English, who trade to and from the Medi-
terranean seaports, but it must not be confounded with the
mixture of Irish, English, and Italian spoken in neighbourhoods
like Saffron Hill and Leather Lane, which are thronged with
swarms of organ-grinders from all parts of Italy, and makers of
images from Rome and Florence,-all of whom, in these dense
thoroughfares, mingle with our lower orders. It would occupy
too much space here to give a list of the words used in either
of these Babel-like tongues, especially as the principal of them
are noted in the dictionary.
"There are several Hebrew terms in our Cant language,
obtained, it would appear, from the intercourse of the thieves
$
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
23
with the Jew fences (receivers of stolen goods); many of the Cant
terms, again, are Sanscrit, got from the Gipsies; many Latin, got
by the beggars from the Catholic prayers before the Reformation;
and many again, Italian, got from the wandering musicians.
and others; indeed, the showmen have but lately introduced a
number of Italian phrases into their Cant language."* The
Hindostanee also contributes several words, and these have
been introduced by the Lascar sailors, who come over here in
the East Indiamen, and often lodge during their stay in the low
tramps' houses at the East-end of London. Speaking of the
learned tongues, it may be mentioned that, precarious and
abandoned as the vagabonds' existence is, many persons
of classical or refined education have from time to time joined
the nomadic ranks,-occasionally from inclination, as in the
popular instance of Bamfylde Moore Carew, but generally
through indiscretions, which involve pecuniary difficulty and loss
of character.† This will in some measure account for numerous
classical and learned words figuring as Cant terms in the vulgar
dictionary.
In the early part of the last century, when highwaymen and
footpads were plentiful, and when the dangerous classes were
in larger proportion to the bulk of the population than they are
now, a great many new words were added to the canting
vocabulary, whilst several old terms fell into disuse.
"Cant,"
for instance, as applied to thieves' talk, was supplanted by the
word "flash." In the North of England the Cant employed
by tramps and thieves is known as "Gammy." It is mainly
* London Labour and the London Poor.
>>
Mayhew (vol. i. p. 217) speaks of a low lodging-house "in which
there were at one time five university men, three surgeons, and several sorts
of broken-down clerks. But old Harman's saying, that "a wylde Roge is
he that is borne a roge," will perhaps explain this seeming anomaly. There
is, whatever may be the reason, no disputing the truth of this latter state-
ment, as there is not, we venture to say, a common lodging-house in
London without broken-down gentlemen, who have been gentlemen very
often far beyond the conventional application of the term to any one with a
good coat on his back and money in his pocket.
D
24
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
from the old Gipsy corrupted. In the large towns of Ireland
and Scotland this secret language is also spoken, with of
course additions peculiar to each locality. All those words
derived from " gammy" are inserted in the dictionary as from
the North country.
A singular feature, however, in vulgar language is the reten-
tion and the revival of sterling old English words, long since
laid up in ancient manuscripts. Disraeli somewhere says, "The
purest source of neology is in the revival of old words”-
"Words that wise Bacon or brave Rawleigh spake ;"
and Dr. Latham remarks that "the thieves of London are
the conservators of Anglo-Saxonisms." A young gentleman
from Belgravia, who had lost his watch or his pocket-handker-
chief, would scarcely remark to his mamma that it had been
"boned"-yet "bone," in old times, meant, amongst high
and low, to steal. And a young lady living in the precincts of
dingy but aristocratic Mayfair, although enraptured with a
Jenny Lind or a Ristori, would hardly think of turning back in
the box to inform papa that she (Ristori or Lind) "made no
'bones' of it"-yet the phrase was most respectable and well-
to-do before it met with a change of circumstances. Possibly
fashion, in its journey from east to west, left certain phrases
and metaphors behind, which being annexed by the newcomers,
sank gradually in the social scale until they ultimately passed
out of the written language altogether, and became "flash"
or Slang. "A crack' article," however first-rate, would have
greatly displeased Dr. Johnson and Mr. Walker-yet both
crack, in the sense of excellent, and crack up, to boast or
praise, were not considered vulgarisms in the time of Henry
VIII. The former term is used frequently nowadays, as a kind of
polite and modified Slang-as a "crack" regiment, a “crack”
shot, &c. "Dodge,” a cunning trick, is from the Anglo-Saxon ;
and ancient nobles used to "get each other's' dander' up"
before appealing to their swords,—quite "flabbergasting" (also
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
25
.
ic
a respectable old word) the half-score of lookers-on with the
thumps and cuts of their heavy weapons. "Gallivanting,"
waiting upon the ladies, was as polite in expression as in
action; whilst a clergyman at Paule's Crosse thought nothing
of bidding a noisy hearer "hold his 'gab,'" or "shut up his
'gob.'" But then the essence of preaching was to indulge in
idiomatic phrases and colloquialisms—a practice now almost
peculiar to itinerant "ranters." Gadding," roaming about in
an idle and vacant manner, was used in an old translation of
the Bible; and "to do anything 'gingerly" was to do it with
great care. Persons of modern affected tastes will be shocked
to know that the great Lord Bacon spoke of the lower part of a
man's face as his "gills," though the expression is not more.
objectionable than the generality of metaphor, and is consider-
ably more respectable than many words admitted to the
genteel we use the word advisedly-vocabulary.
" 27
> >>
Shakspeare also used many words which are now counted
dreadfully vulgar. "Clean' gone," in the sense of out of sight,
or entirely away; "you took me all 'a-mort, or confounded
me; "it wont 'fadge,' or suit, are phrases taken at random
from the great dramatist's works. These phrases are the natural
outcome of the poet's truth to life in the characters he por-
trayed. A London costermonger, or inhabitant of the streets,
instead of saying, "I'll make him yield," or "give in," in a
fight or contest, would say, "I'll make him 'buckle' under.”
Shakspeare in his Henry the Fourth (part ii. act i. scene 1),
has the word; and Mr. Halliwell, one of the greatest and most
industrious of living antiquaries, informs us that "the commen-
tators do not supply another example." If Shakspeare was not
a pugilist, he certainly anticipated the terms of the prize-ring
or they were respectable words before the prize-ring was
thought of—for he has "pay," to beat or thrash, and "pepper,”
with a similar meaning; also "fancy," in the sense of pets and
favourites, pugilists are often termed "the fancy.'" The
origin of the term, as applied to them, has, however, never been
D 2
26
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
satisfactorily decided, though Pierce Egan and others since hist
time have speculated ingeniously on the subject. The Cant
word "prig," from the Saxon priccan, to filch, is also Shak-
spearian; so, indeed, is "piece," a contemptuous term for a
young woman. Shakspeare was not the only vulgar dramatist
of his time. Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, Brome, and
other play-writers, occasionally, and very naturally, put Cant
words into the mouths of their low characters, or employed old
words which have since degenerated into vulgarisms. "Crusty,"
poor tempered; “two of a kidney," two of a sort; "lark,"
a piece of fun; "lug," to pull; "bung," to give or pass;
"pickle," a sad plight; "frump," to mock, are a few specimens
casually picked from the works of the old histrionic writers.
One old English mode of canting, simple enough, but
affected only by the most miserable impostors, was the inserting
a consonant betwixt each syllable; thus, taking g, "How do
you do?" would be "Howg dog youg dog?" The name very
properly given to this disagreeable nonsense, we are informed.
by Grose, was gibberish.
Another slang has been manufactured by transposing the
initial letters of words, so that a mutton chop becomes a
chutton mop, and a pint of stout a stint of pout; but it is satis-
factory to know that it has gained no ground, as it is remarkable
for nothing so much as poverty of resource on the part of its
inventors. This is called "Marrowskying," or "Medical Greek,"
from its use by medical students at the hospitals. Albert Smith
termed it the "Gower Street Dialect,” and referred to it occa-
sionally in his best-known works.
The "Language of Ziph," it may be noted, is another rude
mode of disguising English, in use among the students at
Winchester College. Some notices of this method of conveying
secret information, with an extensive Glossary of the Words,
Phrases, Customs, &c., peculiar to the College, may be found
in Mr. Mansfield's School Life at Winchester College. It is
certainly too puerile a specimen of work to find place here.
ACCOUNT
OF THE
HIEROGLYPHICS USED BY VAGABONDS.
ON
NE of the most singular chapters in a history of vaga-
bondism would certainly be "An Account of the
Hieroglyphic Signs used by Tramps and Thieves," and
it certainly would not be the least interesting. The reader
may be startled to know that, in addition to a secret language,
the wandering tribes of this country have private marks and
symbols with which to score their successes, failures, and advice
to succeeding beggars; in fact, there is no doubt that the
country is really dotted over with beggars' finger-posts and
guide-stones. The subject was not long since brought under
the attention of the Government by Mr. Rawlinson.*
"There
is," he says in his report, "a sort of blackguards' literature,
and the initiated understand each other by Slang [Cant] terms,
by pantomimic signs, and by hieroglyphics. The vagrant's
mark may be seen in Havant, on corners of streets, on door-
posts, on house-steps. Simple as these chalk-lines appear,
they inform the succeeding vagrants of all they require to
know; and a few white scratches may say, 'Be importunate,'
or 'Pass on.'”
Another very curious account was taken from a provincial
newspaper, published in 1849, and forwarded to Notes and
*Mr. Rawlinson's Report to the General Board of Health, Parish of
Havant, Hampshire.
28
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
((
Queries, under the head of Mendicant Freemasonry.
Persons," remarks the writer, "indiscreet enough to open
their purses to the relief of the beggar tribe, would do well to
take a readily-learned lesson as to the folly of that misguided
benevolence which encourages and perpetuates vagabondism.
Every door or passage is pregnant with instruction as to the
error committed by the patron of beggars; as the beggar-
marks show that a system of freemasonry is followed, by which
a beggar knows whether it will be worth his while to call into
a passage or knock at a door. Let any one examine the
entrances to the passages in any town, and there he will find
chalk marks, unintelligible to him, but significant enough to
beggars. If a thousand towns are examined, the same marks
will be found at every passage entrance. The passage mark is
a cypher with a twisted tail; in some cases the tail projects
into the passage, in others outwardly; thus seeming to indicate
whether the houses down the passage are worth calling at or
not. Almost every door has its marks; these are varied. In
some cases there is a cross on the brickwork, in others a
cypher; the figures 1, 2, 3 are also used. Every person may
for himself test the accuracy of these statements by the exami-
nation of the brickwork near his own doorway-thus demon-
strating that mendicity is a regular trade, carried out upon a
system calculated to save time, and realize the largest profits."
These remarks refer mainly to provincial towns, London
being looked upon as the tramps' home, and therefore too
"fly" or experienced to be duped by such means. The title it
obtains, that of "the Start," or first place in everything, is
significant of this.
Provincial residents, who are more likely to view the fore-
going extract with an eye of suspicion than are those who live
in a position to constantly watch for and profit by evidences
of the secret intercommunication indulged in by the dangerous.
* Vol. v. p. 210.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
20
classes, should note, in favour of the extract given, how signi-
ficant is the practice of tramps and beggars calling in unfre-
quented localities, and how obvious it is that they are directed
by a code of signals at once complete and imperious. It is bad
for a tramp who is discovered disobeying secret orders. He is
marked out and subjected to all kinds of annoyance by means
of decoy hieroglyphs, until his life becomes a burden to him,
and he is compelled to starve or-most horrible of alterna-
tives-go to work.
The only other notice of the hieroglyphs of vagabonds worth
remarking is in Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor.*
Mayhew obtained his information from two tramps, who stated
that hawkers employ these signs as well as beggars. One tramp
thus described the method of "working"† a small town. "Two
hawkers (pals' †) go together, but separate when they enter
a village, one taking one side of the road, and selling different
things; and so as to inform each other as to the character
of the people at whose houses they call, they chalk certain
marks on their door-posts." Another informant stated that "if
a 'patterer'† has been 'crabbed' " (that is, offended by refusal
or exposure) "at any of the 'cribs'" (houses), "he mostly
chalks a signal at or near the door." These hawkers
were not of the ordinary, but of the tramp, class, who carried
goods more as a blind to their real designs than for the pur
poses of sale. They, in fact, represented the worst kinds of the
two classes. The law has comparatively recently improved
these nondescript gentry off the face of the country, and the
hawker of the present day is generally a man more sinned
against than sinning.
**
Another use is also made of hieroglyphs. Charts of successful
begging neighbourhoods are rudely drawn, and symbolical
signs attached to each house to show whether benevolent or
adverse.‡ 'In many cases there is over the kitchen mantel-
* Vol. i. pp. 218 and 247.
See Dictionary.
Sometimes, as appears from the following, the names of persons and
30
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
piece" of a tramps' lodging-house "a map of the district,
dotted here and there with memorandums of failure or suc-
cess." A correct facsimile of one of these singular maps is
given in this book. It was obtained from the patterers and
tramps who supplied a great many words for this work, and
who were employed by the original publisher in collecting
Old Ballads, Christmas Carols, Dying Speeches, and Last
Lamentations, as materials for a History of Popular Literature.
The reader will, no doubt, be amused with the drawing. The
locality depicted is near Maidstone, in Kent; and it was
probably sketched by a wandering Screever* in payment for a
night's lodging. The English practice of marking everything,
and scratching names on public property, extends itself to
the tribe of vagabonds. On the map, as may be seen in the
left-hand corner, some Traveller* has drawn a favourite or
noted female, singularly nicknamed Three-quarter Sarah.
What were the peculiar accomplishments of this lady to
demand so uncommon a name, the reader will be at a loss to
discover; but a patterer says it probably refers to a shuffling
dance of that name, common in tramps' lodging-houses, and in
houses are written instead. "In almost every one of the padding-kens, or
low lodging-houses in the country, there is a list of walks pasted up over
the kitchen mantelpiece. Now at St. Albans, for instance, at the
and at other places, there is a paper stuck up in each of the kitchens. This
paper is headed, Walks out of this town' and underneath it is set
down the names of the villages in the neighbourhood at which a beggar may
call when out on his walk, and they are so arranged as to allow the cadger
to make a round of about six miles each day, and return the same night.
In many of these papers there are sometimes twenty walks set down. No
villages that are in any way 'gammy' [bad] are ever mentioned in these
papers, and the cadger, if he feels inclined to stop for a few days in the
town, will be told by the lodging-house keeper, or the other cadgers that
he may meet there, what gentlemen's seats or private houses are of any
account on the walk that he means to take. The names of the good houses
are not set down in the paper, for fear of the police."-Mayhew, vol. i.
p. 418. [This business is also much altered in consequence of the increase
in the surveillance of the kens, an increase which, though nominally for
sanitary purposes, has a strong moral effect. Besides this, Mr. Mayhew's
informants seem to have possessed a fair share of that romance which is
inherent among vagabonds.-Ed.]
*See Dictionary.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
31
which "Sarah" may have been a proficient. Above her, three
beggars or hawkers have reckoned their day's earnings,
amounting to 135., and on the right a tolerably correct sketch.
of a low hawker, or cadger, is drawn. "To Dover, the nigh
way," is the exact phraseology; and "hup here," a fair
specimen of the self-acquired education of the draughtsman.
No key or explanation to the hieroglyphs was given in the
original, because it would have been superfluous, when every
inmate of the lodging-house knew the marks from his cradle-
or rather his mother's back.
Should there be no map, in most lodging-houses there is an
old man who is guide to every "walk" in the vicinity, and
who can tell on every round each house that is "good for a
cold tatur." The hieroglyphs that are used are :—
X No good; too poor, and know too much.
tho
O
Stop,-If you have what they want, they will buy. They are
pretty "y" (knowing).
Go in this direction, it is better than the other road.
Nothing that way.
Bone (good). Safe for a "cold tatur," if for nothing else.
Cheese your patter" (don't talk much) here.
Cooper'd (spoilt), by too many tramps calling there.
Gammy (unfavourable), like to have you taken up. Mind the
dog.
Flummuxed (dangerous), sure of a month in "quod” (prison).
Religious, but tidy on the whole.
Where did these signs come from? and when were they first
used? are questions which have been asked again and again,
and the answers have been many and various. Knowing the
character of the Gipsies, and ascertaining from a tramp that
they are well acquainted with the hieroglyphs, "and have been
as long ago as ever he could remember," there is little fear of
being wrong in ascribing the invention to them. How strange
it would be if some modern Belzoni, or Champollion-say Mr.
32
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
George Smith, for instance-discovered in these beggars' marks.
traces of ancient Egyptian or Hindoo sign-writing!
That the Gipsies were in the habit of leaving memorials of
the road they had taken, and the successes that had befallen
them, is upon record. In an old book, The Triumph of Wit,
1724, there is a passage which appears to have been copied
from some older work, and it runs thus :-"The Gipsies set out
twice a year, and scatter all over England, each parcel having
their appointed stages, that they may not interfere, nor hinder
each other; and for that purpose, when they set forward in the
country, they stick up boughs in the way of divers kinds,
according as it is agreed among them, that one company may
know which way another is gone, and so take another road.”
The works of Hoyland and Borrow supply other instances.
It would be hardly fair to close this subject without drawing
attention to the extraordinary statement that, actually on the
threshold of the gibbet, the sign of the vagabond was to be
met with !
“The murderer's signal is even exhibited from the
gallows; as a red handkerchief held in the hand of the felon
about to be executed is a token that he dies without having
betrayed any professional secrets. Private executions have of
course rendered this custom obsolete, even if it ever existed.
*
*
*
*
*
*
Since the first editions of this work were published, the
publishers have received from various parts of England
numerous evidences of the still active use of beggars' maiks
and mendicant hieroglyphs. One gentleman writes from
Great Yarmouth to say that, whilst residing in Norwich, he used
frequently to see them on the houses and street corners in the
suburbs. Another gentleman, a clergyman, states that he has
so far made himself acquainted with the meanings of the signs.
employed, that by himself marking the characters □ (gamm7)
* Mr. Rawlinson's Report to the General Board of Health, Parish of
Havant, Hampshire.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
33
and (flummuxed) on the gate-posts of his parsonage, he
enjoys a singular immunity from alms-seekers and cadgers on
the tramp. This hint may not be lost on many other sufferers
from importunate beggars, yet its publication may lead to the
introduction of a new code.
*
*
*
*
*
*
In a popular constable's guide,* giving the practice of justices.
in petty sessions, the following interesting paragraph is found,
corroborating what has just been said on the hieroglyphs used.
by vagabonds:-
Gipsies follow their brethren by numerous marks, such as strewing
handfuls of grass in the daytime at a four lane or cross roads; the grass
being strewn down the road the gang have taken; also, by a cross being
made on the ground with a stick or knife-the longest end of the cross
denotes the route taken. In the night-time a cleft stick is placed in the
fence at the cross roads, with an arm pointing down the road their comrades
have taken. The marks are always placed on the left-hand side, so that
the stragglers can easily and readily find them.”
From the cleft stick here alluded to, we learn the origin and
use of, the third hieroglyph in the vagabond's private
list. And the extract also proves that the "rule of the road”
is the same with tramps as with that body which is morally less
but physically more dangerous, the London drivers.
*Snowden's Magistrate's Assistant, 1852, p. 444.
A SHORT HISTORY OF SLANG,
OR
THE VULGAR LANGUAGE OF FAST LIFE.
S
LANG is the language of street humour, of fast, high, and
low life. Cant, as was stated in the chapter upon that
subject, is the vulgar language of secrecy. It must be admitted,
however, that within the past few years they have become
almost indivisible. They are both universal and ancient, and
appear to have been, with certain exceptions, the offspring of
gay, vulgar, or worthless persons in every part of the world at
every period of time. Indeed, if we are to believe implicitly the
saying of the wise man, that "there is nothing new under the
sun," the "bloods" of buried Nineveh, with their knotty and
door-matty-looking beards, may have cracked Slang jokes on the
steps of Sennacherib's palace; while the stocks and stones of
ancient Egypt, and the bricks of venerable and used-up
Babylon, may be covered with Slang hieroglyphs, which,
being perfectly unknown to modern antiquaries, have long been
stumbling-blocks to the philologist; so impossible is it at this
day to say what was then authorized, or what vulgar, language.
The only objection that can be raised to this idea is, that Slang
was, so far as can be discovered, traditional, and unwritten,
until the appearance of this volume, a state of things which ac-
counts for its many changes, and the doubtful orthography of even
its best known and most permanent forms. Slang is almost as
old as speech, and must date from the congregating together of
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
35
people in cities. It is the result of crowding, and excitement,
and artificial life. We have traces of this as far as we can refer
back. Martial, the epigrammatist, is full of Slang. When an
uninvited guest accompanied his friend, the Slang of the day
styled him his "umbra;" when a man was trussed, neck and heels,
it called him jocosely "quadrupus." Slang is nowadays very
often the only vehicle by which rodomontade may be avoided.
It is often full of the most pungent satire, and is always to the
point. Without point Slang has no raison d'être.
Old English Slang was coarser, and depended more upon
downright vulgarity than our modern Slang. It was a jesting
speech, or humorous indulgence for the thoughtless moment
or the drunken hour, and it acted as a vent-peg for a fit of
temper or irritability; but it did not interlard and permeate
every description of conversation as now. It was confined to
nicknames and improper subjects, and encroached but to a very
small extent upon the domain of authorized speech. Indeed,
it was exceedingly limited when compared with the vast territory
of Slang in such general favour and complete circulation at the
present day. Still, although not an extensive institution, as in
our time, Slang certainly did exist in this country centuries ago,
as we may see if we look down the page of any respectable
History of England. Cromwell was familiarly called "Old
Noll,"-in much the same way as Bonaparte was termed
"Boney," and Wellington "Conkey" or "Nosey," only a few
years ago.* His Legislature, too, was spoken of in a high-
flavoured way as the "Barebones" or "Rump" Parliament,
and his followers were nicknamed "Roundheads," and the
peculiar religious sects of his protectorate were styled "Puri-
tans" and "Quakers." The Civil War pamphlets, and the
,
* An outgrowth of this latter peculiarity consisted in any one with a high
or prominent nose being, a few years back, called by the street boys
"Duke."
+ This term, with a singular literal downrightness, which would be
remarkable in any other people than the French, is translated by them as
the sect of Trembicurs,
36
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
satirical hits of the Cavaliers and the Commonwealth men, origi-
nated numerous Slang words and vulgar similes in full use
at the present moment. Here is a field of inquiry for the
Philological Society, indeed a territory, for there are thirty
thousand of these partisan tracts. Later still, in the court
of Charles II., the naughty ladies and the gay lords, with
Rochester at their head, talked Slang; and very naughty Slang
it was too. Fops in those days, when "over head and ears"
in debt, and in continual fear of arrest, termed their enemies,
the bailiffs, "Philistines"* or "Moabites." At a later period,
when collars were worn detached from shirts, in order to save
the expense of washing—an object, it would seem, with needy
"swells" in all ages-they obtained the name of "Jacobites."
One-half of the coarse wit in Butler's Hudibras lurks in the
vulgar words and phrases which he was so fond of employing.
These Slang phrases contained the marrow of his arguments
stripped of all superfluous matter, and they fell with ponderous
weight and terrible effect upon his opponents. They were
more homely and forcible than the mild and elegant sen-
tences of Cowley, and the people, therefore, hurrahed them,
and pronounced Butler one of themselves,-or, as we should
say, in a joyful moment, "a jolly good fellow." Orator Henley
preached and prayed in Slang, and first charmed and then
ruled the dirty mobs in Lincoln's Inn Fields by vulgarisms.
Burly Grose mentions Henley, with the remark that we owe a
great many Slang phrases to him, though even the worst Slang
was refinement itself compared with many of Henley's most
studied oratorical utterances, which proves that the most black-
guard parts of a blackguard speech may be perfectly free from
either Slang or Cant. Swift, and old Sir Roger L'Estrange, and
Arbuthnot, were all fond of vulgar or Slang language; indeed,
we may see from a Slang word used by the latter how curious
*Swift alludes to this term in his Art of Polite Conversation, p. 14,
1738.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
37
is the gradual adoption of vulgar terms in our standard dic-
tionaries. The worthy doctor, in order to annihilate (or, as we
should say, with a fitting respect to the subject under considera-
tion, to "smash") an opponent, thought proper on an occasion
to use the word "cabbage," not in the ancient sense of a flatulent
vegetable of the kitchen-garden, but in the at once Slang sense.
of purloining or cribbing. Johnson soon met with the word,
looked at it, examined it, weighed it, and shook his head, but
out of respect to a brother doctor inserted it in his dictionary,
labelling it, however, prominently "Cant;" whilst Walker and
Webster, years after, when all over England " to cabbage" was to
pilfer, placed the term in their dictionaries as an ancient and
very respectable word. Another Slang term, "gull," to cheat, or
delude, sometimes varied to "gully," is stated to be connected
with the Dean of St. Patrick's. "Gull," a dupe, or a fool, is often
used by our old dramatists, and is generally believed to have
given rise to the verb; but a curious little edition of Bamfylde
Moore Carew, published in 1827, says that "to gull," or "gully,”
is derived from the well-known Gulliver, the hero of the
famous Travels. It may be from the phrase, “You can't come
Gulliver over me," in use while the popularity of the book was
hot. How crammed with Slang are the dramatic works of the
last century! The writers of the comedies and farces in those
days must have lived in the streets, and written their plays in
the public-houses, so filled are they with vulgarisms and
unauthorized words. The popular phrases, "I owe you one,”
"That's one for his nob," and "Keep moving, dad," arose in
this way. The second of these sayings was, doubtless, taken
from the card-table, for at cribbage the player who holds the
knave of the suit turned up counts "one for his nob," and the
dealer who turns up a knave counts "two for his heels." From
a dramatic point of view, the use of these phrases is perfectly
correct, as they were in constant use among the people supposed
to be represented by the author's characters.
* See Notes and Queries, vol. i. p. 185. 1850.
38
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
In Mrs. Centlivre's admirable comedy of A Bold Stroke for
a Wife, we see the origin of that popular phrase, the real
Simon Pure. Simon Pure is the Quaker name adopted by
Colonel Feignwell as a trick to obtain the hand of Mistress
Anne Lovely in marriage. The veritable Quaker, the "real
Simon Pure," recommended by Aminadab Holdfast, of Bristol,
as a fit sojourner with Obadiah Prim, arrives at last, to the
discomfiture of the Colonel, who, to maintain his position and
gain time, concocts a letter in which the real Quaker is spoken
of as a housebreaker who had travelled in the "leather con-
veniency" from Bristol, and adopted the garb and name of the
western Quaker in order to pass off as the "Real Simon Pure,"
but only for the purpose of robbing the house and cutting the
throat of the perplexed Obadiah. The scene in which the two
Simon Pures, the real and the counterfeit, meet, is one of the
best, in the comedy.
Tom Brown, of "facetious memory," as his friends were wont
to say, and Ned Ward, who wrote humorous books, and when
tired drew beer for his customers at his alehouse in Long
Acre,* were both great producers of Slang in the last century,
and to them we owe many popular current phrases and house-
hold words.
Written Slang was checked, rather than advanced, by the
pens of Addison, Johnson, and Goldsmith; although Bee,
the bottle-holder and historiographer of the pugilistic band of
brothers in the youthful days of flat-nosed Tom Cribb, has
gravely stated that Johnson, when young and rakish, contributed
to an early volume of the Gentleman's Magazine a few pages, by
way of specimen, of a slang dictionary, the result, Mr. Bee says,
"of his midnight ramblings !" This statement is not only
improbable, but an investigation of the venerable magazine,
though strict and searching, produces no evidence in corrobora-
* He afterwards kept a tavern at Wapping, mentioned by Pope in the
Dunciad.
+ Sportsman's Dictionary, 1825, p. 15.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
39
tion of Mr. Bee. Goldsmith, even, certainly coined a few words,
as occasion required, although as a rule his pen was pure
and graceful, and adverse to neologisms. The word "fudge,"
it has been stated, was first used by him in literary composition,
although it probably originated with one Captain Fudge, a
notorious fibber, nearly a century before. Street phrases, nick-
names, and vulgar words were continually being added to the
great stock of popular Slang up to the commencement of the
pre-
sent century, when it received numerous additions from pugilism,
horse-racing, and "fast" life generally, which suddenly came
into great public favour, and was at its height in the latter part
of the reign of George III., and in the early days of the
Regency. Slang in those days was generally termed "flash"
language.
It will thus be noted that the term "flash" has in
turn represented both Cant and Slang; now the word Slang
has become perfectly generic. So popular was "flash" with
the "bloods" of high life, that it constituted the best paying
literary capital for certain authors and dramatists. Pierce Egan
issued Boxiana, and Life in London, six portly octavo volumes,
crammed with Slang; and Moncrieff wrote the most popular
farce of the day, Tom and Ferry (adapted from the latter
work), which, to use newspaper Slang, "took the town by
storm," and, with its then fashionable vulgarisms, made the
fortune of the old Adelphi Theatre, and was without exception
the most wonderful instance of a continuous theatrical run in
ancient or modern times. This also was brimful of Slang.
Other authors helped to popularize and extend Slang down to
our own time, and it has now taken a somewhat different turn,
dropping many of the Cant and old vulgar words, and assuming a
certain quaint and fashionable phraseology--familiar, utilitarian,
and jovial. There can be no doubt that common speech is
greatly influenced by fashion, fresh manners, and that general
change of ideas which steals over a people once in a generation.
But before proceeding further into the region of Slang, it will
be well to say something on the etymology of the word.
E
40
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
The word Slang is only mentioned by two lexicographers-
Webster and Ogilvie.* Johnson, Walker, and the older compilers
of dictionaries give "slang" as the preterite of "sling," but not
a word about Slang in the sense of low, vulgar, or unrecognised
language. The origin of the word has often been asked for in
literary journals and books, but only one man, until recently,
ever hazarded an etymology-Jonathan Bee. With a reck-
lessness peculiar to ignorance, Bee stated that Slang was de-
rived from "the slangs or fetters worn by prisoners, having
acquired that name from the manner in which they were worn,
as they required a sling of string to keep them off the ground."
Bee had just been nettled at Pierce Egan's producing a new
edition of Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, and was
determined to excel in a vulgar dictionary of his own, which
should be more racy, more pugilistic, and more original. How
far he succeeded in this latter particular, his ridiculous etymo-
logy of Slang will show. Slang is not an English word; it is
the Gipsy term for their secret language, and its synonym is
Gibberish-another word which was believed to have had no
distinct origin.‡ Grose-stout and burly Captain Grose-whom
we may characterize as the greatest antiquary, joker, and porter-
drinker of his day, was the first lexicographer to recognise the
word "Slang." It occurs in his Classical Dictionary of the
Vulgar Tongue, of 1785, with the statement that it implies
"Cant or vulgar language." Grose was a great favourite with
Burns, and so pleased him by his extensive powers of story-
telling and grog-imbibing, that the companionable and humour-
* This introduction was written in 1859, before the new edition of
Worcester, and Nuttall's recent work, were published.
+ Introduction to Bee's Sportsman's Dictionary, 1825.
The Gipsies use the word Slang as the Anglican synonym for Romany,
the Continental (or rather Spanish) term for the Cingari or Gipsy tongue.
Crabb, who wrote the Gipsies' Advocate in 1831, thus mentions the word :-
"This language [Gipsy] called by themselves Slang, or Gibberish, invented,
as they think, by their forefathers for secret purposes, is not merely the
language of one or a few of these wandering tribes, which are found in the
European nations, but is adopted by the vast numbers who inhabit the
earth."
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
4I
loving Scotch bard wrote for his fat friend-or, to use his own
words, "the fine, fat, fodgel wight"-the immortal poem of
Tam O'Shanter."
It is not worth while troubling the reader with a long account
of the transformation into an English term of the word Slang,
as it is easily seen how we obtained it. Hucksters and beggars
on tramp, or at fairs and races, associate and frequently join in
any rough enterprise with the Gipsies. The word would be
continually heard by them, and would in this manner soon be-
come part of their vocabulary, and, when carried by "fast" or
vulgar fashionables from the society of thieves and low characters
to their own drawing-rooms, would as quickly become Slang,
and the representative term for all vulgar language. Modern
philologists give the word Slang as derived from the French
langue. This is, at all events, as likely as any other derivative.
Any sudden excitement or peculiar circumstance is quite suffi-
cient to originate and set going a score of Slang words. Nearly
every election or public agitation throws out offshoots of excite-
ment, or scintillations of humour in the shape of Slang terms——
vulgar at first, but at length adopted, if possessing sufficient hold
on the public mind, as semi-respectable from sheer force of
habit. There is scarcely a condition or calling in life that does
not possess its own peculiar Slang. The professions, legal and
medical, have each familiar and unauthorized terms for peculiar
circumstances and things, and it is quite certain that the clerical
calling, or the cloth❞—in itself a Slang term given at a time
when the laity were more distinguished by their gay dress.
from the clergy than they are now-is not entirely free from
this peculiarity. Every workshop, warehouse, factory, and mill
throughout the country has its Slang, and so have the public
schools and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Sca
<<
* The word Slang assumed various meanings amongst costermongers,
beggars, and vagabonds of all orders. It was, and is still, used to express
cheating by false weights, a raree show," " retiring by a back door,"
a watch-chain," their "secret language," &c.
E 2
42
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Slang constitutes the principal charm of a sailor's "yarn ;" and
our soldiers have in turn their peculiar nicknames and terms for
things and subjects, proper and improper. A writer in Household
Words (No. 183) has gone so far as to remark, that a person
“shall not read one single parliamentary debate, as reported in
a first-class newspaper, without meeting scores of Slang words ;"
and "that from Mr. Speaker in his chair, to the Cabinet Minis-
ters whispering behind it—from mover to seconder, from true
blue Protectionist to extremest Radical-Mr. Barry's New
House echoes and re-echoes with Slang." This statement is
most worthy of notice, as showing how, with a very small sub-
stratum of fact, a plausible, though not the less gigantic, mis-
statement may be built up.
The universality of Slang is extraordinary. Let any person
for a short time narrowly examine the conversation of his
dearest and nearest friends, or even analyse his own supposed
correct talk, and he shall be amazed at the numerous unau-
thorized, and what we can only call vulgar, words in constant
use.
One peculiarity of the growth of Slang is the finding of
new meanings for old words. Take, for instance, the verbs "do,"
"cut," "go," and "take,” and see how they are used to express
fresh ideas, and then let us ask ourselves how is it possible
for a Frenchman or German, be he never so well educated, to
avoid continually blundering and floundering amongst our
little words when trying to make himself understood in an
ordinary conversation? He may have studied our language the
required time, and have gone through the usual amount of
"grinding," and practised the common allotment of patience,
but all to no purpose as far as accuracy is concerned. As, how-
ever, we do not make our language, nor for the matter of that
our Slang, for the convenience or inconvenience of foreigners,
we need not pursue this portion of the subject further. "Jabber"
and "hoax" were Slang and Cant terms in Swift's time; so, indeed,
were "mob" and "sham."* Words directly from the Latin and
* North, in his Examen, p. 574, says, "I may note that the rabble first
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
43
Greek, framed in accordance with the rules which govern the
construction of the language, are not Slang, but are good Eng-
lish, if not Saxon,- —a term, by the way, which is as much mis-
used as any unfortunate word that can be remembered just now.
Sound contributes many Slang words—a source that etymolo-
gists frequently overlook. Nothing pleases an ignorant person so
much as a high-sounding term, "full of fury." How melodious
and drum-like are those vulgar coruscations "rumbumptious,"
slantingdicular," "splendiferous," "rumbustious,” and “ferri-
cadouzer." What a "pull" the sharp-nosed lodging-house-
keeper thinks she has over her victims if she can but hurl such
testimonies of a liberal education at them when they are dis-
puting her charges, and threatening to "absquatulate!" In the
United States the vulgar-genteel even excel the poor
(C
stuck-
up" Cockneys in their formation of a native fashionable lan-
guage. How charming to a refined ear are "abskize," "catawam-
pously," "exflunctify," "obscute," "keslosh,” “kesouse,” “kes-
wollop," and "kewhollux !"* It must not be forgotten, however,
that a great many new "Americanisms" are perfectly unknown
in America, and in this respect they resemble the manners and
customs of our cousins as found in books, and in books only.
Vulgar words representing action and brisk movement often owe
their origin to sound, as has before been remarked. Mispro-
nunciation, too, is another great source of vulgar or Slang words,
and of this "ramshackle," "shackly," "nary-one" for neither
or neither one, “ottomy" or "atomy" for anatomy, "rench" for
rinse, are specimens. The commonalty dislike frequently-
occurring words difficult of pronunciation, and so we have the
street abridgments of "bimeby" for by-and-by, "caze" for be-
changed their title, and were called the "mob" in the assemblies of this
[Green Ribbon] club. It was their beasts of burden, and called first mobile
vulgus, but fell naturally into the contraction of one syllable, and ever since
is become proper English. In the same work, p. 231, the disgraceful
origin of SHAM is given.
>>
*I am afraid my predecessor was of a somewhat satirical turn of mind,
or else he had peculiar notions of melody.-Ed.
44
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
CC
ruma-
cause, "gin" for given, "hankercher" for handkerchief,
tiz" for rheumatism, "backer" for tobacco, and many others,
not perhaps Slang, but certainly, all vulgarisms. Whately, in
his Remains of Bishop Copleston, has inserted a leaf from the
bishop's note-book on the popular corruption of names, men-
tioning, among others, "kickshaws," as from the French quelques
choses; "beefeater," the grotesque guardian of royalty in a
procession, and the envied devourer of enormous beefsteaks,
as but a vulgar pronunciation of the French buffetier, and
"George and Cannon," the sign of a public-house, as nothing
but a corruption (although so soon!) of the popular premier of
the last generation, George Canning.* Literature has its Slang
terms; and the desire on the part of writers to say funny and
startling things in a novel and curious way contributes many
unauthorized words to the great stock of Slang.
66
Fashionable or Upper-class Slang is of several varieties.
There is the Belgravian, military and naval, parliamentary, dandy,
and the reunion and visiting Slang. English officers, civilians,
and their families, who have resided long in India, have con-
tributed many terms from the Hindostanee to our language.
Several of these, such as chit," a letter, and "tiffin," lunch, are
fast losing their Slang character, and becoming regularly-recog-
nised English words. "Jungle," as a term for a forest or
wilderness, is now an English phrase; a few years past, how-
ever, it was merely the Hindostanee "junkul." This, being a
perfectly legal transition, having no other recognised form, can
hardly be characterized as Slang. The extension of trade in
China, and the English settlement of Hong Kong, have intro-
duced among us several examples of Canton jargon, that
exceedingly curious Anglo-Chinese dialect spoken in the sea-
ports of the Celestial Empire. While these words have been
carried as it were into the families of the upper and middle
* This latter is, as I take it, an error, as the sign was originally in-
tended to represent the king's head and cross guns, and may still be seen
in parts of the country.-ED.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
45
classes, persons in a humbler rank of life, through the sailors
and soldiers and Lascar and Chinese beggars that haunt the
metropolis, have also adopted many Anglo-Indian and Anglo-
Chinese phrases. As this dictionary would have been incom-
plete without them, they are carefully recorded in its pages.
Concerning the Slang of the fashionable world, it has been
remarked that it is mostly imported from France; and that an
unmeaning gibberish of Gallicisms runs through English
fashionable conversation and fashionable novels, and accounts
of fashionable parties in the fashionable newspapers. Yet,
ludicrously enough, immediately the fashionable magnates of
England seize on any French idiom, the French themselves not
only universally abandon it to us, but positively repudiate it
altogether from their idiomatic vocabulary. If you were to
tell a well-bred Frenchman that such and such an aristocratic
marriage was on the tapis, he would stare with astonishment,
and look down on the carpet in the startled endeavour to find
a marriage in so unusual a place. If you were to talk to him
of the beau monde, he would imagine you meant the world
which God made, not half-a-dozen streets and squares between
Hyde Park Corner and Chelsea Bun House. The thé dansant
would be completely inexplicable to him. If you were to
point out to him the Dowager Lady Grimgriffin acting as
chaperon to Lady Amanda Creamville, he would imagine you
were referring to the petit Chaperon rouge—to little Red-Riding
Hood. He might just understand what was meant by vis-à-vis,
entremets, and some others of the flying horde of frivolous little
foreign slangisms hovering about fashionable cookery and
fashionable furniture; but three-fourths of them would seem to
him as barbarous French provincialisms, or, at best, but as
antiquated and obsolete expressions, picked out of the letters
of Mademoiselle Scuderi, or the tales of Crebillon "the younger."
Servants, too, appropriate the scraps of French conversation
which fall from their masters' guests at the dinner table, and
forthwith in the world of flunkeydom the word "know" is dis-
46
.
THE SLANG DICTIONARYDICT
:
used, and the lady's-maid, in doubt on a particular point, asks
John whether or no he "saveys" it ?* What, too, can be more
abominable than that heartless piece of fashionable newspaper
Slang, regularly employed when speaking of the successful
courtship of young people in the aristocratic world :-
MARRIAGE IN HIGH LIFE. We understand that a marriage is
ARRANGED (!) betwixt the Lady, &c. &c., and the Honourable, &c. &c.
((
Arranged" Is that cold-blooded Smithfield or Mark Lane
term for a sale or a purchase the proper word to express the
hopeful, joyous, golden union of young and trustful hearts?
Possibly, though, the word is often used with a due regard to
facts, for marriages, especially amongst our upper classes, are
not always "made in heaven.”
"made in heaven." Which is the proper way to
pronounce the names of great people, and what the correct
authority? Lord Cowper, we are often assured, is Lord Cooper
on this principle Lord Cowley would certainly be Lord
Cooley-and Mr. Carew, we are told, should be Mr. Carey,
Ponsonby should be Punsunby, Eyre should be Aire, Chol-
mondeley should be Chumley, St. John Sinjen, Beauchamp
should be Beachem, Majoribanks Marshbanks, and Powell
should always be Poel. The pronunciation of proper names.
has long been an anomaly in the conversation of the upper
classes of this country. Hodge and Podge, the clodhoppers of
Shakspeare's time, talked in their mug-houses of the great
Lords Darbie, Barkelie, and Bartie. In Pall Mall and May
Fair these personages are spoken of in exactly the same
manner at the present day, whilst in the City, and amongst the
middle classes, we only hear of Derby, Berkeley, &c.,-the cor-
rect pronunciations, if the spelling is worth aught. It must not
be forgotten, however, that the pronunciation of the upper
classes, as regards the names of places just mentioned, is a
relic of old times when the orthography was different.
The
Savez-vous cela ?—[I fancy this is from the Spanish sabe. The word is.
in great use in the Pacific States of America, and is obtained through con-
stant intercourse with the original settlers.-ED.]

THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
47
middle-class man is satisfied to take matters the modern way,
but even he, when he wishes to be thought a swell, alters his
style. In fact, the old rule as to proper names being pro-
nounced according to individual taste, is, and ever will be, of
absolute necessity, not only as regards the upper and middle,
but the lower classes. A costermonger is ignorant of such a
place as Birmingham, but understands you in a moment if you
talk of Brummagem. Why do not Pall Mall exquisites join
It is the
with the costermongers in this pronunciation ?
ancient one.
*
Parliamentary Slang, excepting a few peculiar terms con-
nected with "the House" (scarcely Slang), is mainly composed
of fashionable, literary, and learned Slang. When members
get excited, and wish to be forcible, they are now and again,
but not very often, found guilty of vulgarisms, and then may be
not particular which of the street terms they select, providing
it carries, as good old Dr. South said, plenty of "wildfire" in
it. Lord Cairns when Sir Hugh, and a member of the Lower
House, spoke of " that homely but expressive phrase, 'dodge.'"
Out of "the House," several Slang terms are used in connexion
with Parliament or members of Parliament. If Lord Palmer-
ston was familiar by name to the tribes of the Caucasus and
Asia Minor as a great foreign diplomatist, when the name of
our Queen was unknown to the inhabitants of those parts-as
was once stated in the Times-it is worthy of remark that,
amongst the costers and the wild inhabitants of the streets, he
was at that time better known as "Pam." The cabmen on
the “ranks” in Piccadilly have been often heard to call each
* At page 24 of a curious old Civil War tract, entitled, The Oxonian
Antippodes, by I. B., Gent., 1644, the town is called Brummidgham, and
this was the general rendering in the printed literature of the seventeenth
century.[This must have been the first known step towards the present
vulgar style of spelling, for properly the word is Bromwich-ham, which has
been corrupted into Brummagem, a term used to express worthless or
inferior goods, from the spurious jewellery, plate, &c., manufactured there
expressly for "duffers."-ED.]
48
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
other's attention to the great leader of the Opposition in the
following expressive manner-" Hollo, there! de yer see old
'Dizzy' doing a stump?" A "plumper" is a single vote at an
election—not a "split-ticket," and electors who had occupied
a house, no matter how small, and boiled a pot in it, thus
qualifying themselves for voting, used in the good old days to
be termed "potwallopers." A quiet "walk over” is a re-elec-
tion without opposition and much cost; and is obtained from
the sporting vocabulary, in which the term is not Slang. A
"caucus" meeting refers to the private assembling of politicians
before an election, when candidates are chosen, and measures
of action agreed upon. The term comes from America, where
caucus means a meeting simply. A "job," in political
phraseology, is a Government office or contract obtained by
secret influence or favouritism; and is not a whit more objec-
tionable in sound than is the nefarious proceeding offensive to
the sense of those who pay but do not participate. The Times
once spoke of "the patriotic member of Parliament 'potted
out' in a dusty little lodging somewhere about Bury Street."
But then the Times was not always the mildly respectable high-
class paper
it now is, as a reference to the columns devoted by
it to Macaulay's official career will alone determine. These,
which appeared during the present reign, would be far below
the lowest journalistic taste nowadays; yet they are in keeping
with the rest of the political references made at that time by the
now austere and high-principled "leading journal." The term
"quockerwodger," although referring to a wooden toy figure
which jerks its limbs about when pulled by a string, has been
supplemented with a political meaning. A pseudo-politician,
whose strings of action are pulled by somebody else, is often
termed a "quockerwodger." From an early period politics
and partyism have attracted unto themselves quaint Slang
terms. Horace Walpole quotes a party nickname of February,
1742, as a Slang word of the day :- "The Tories declare
against any further prosecution, if Tories there are, for now one

THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
49
hears of nothing but the broad-bottom;' it is the reigning
Cant word, and means the taking all parties and people,
indifferently, into the Ministry." Thus "broad-bottom" in
those days was Slang for "coalition." The term "rat," too, in
allusion to rats deserting vessels about to sink, has long been
employed towards those turncoat politicians who change their
party for interest. Who that occasionally passes near the
Houses of Parliament has not often noticed stout or careful
M.P.'s walk briskly through the Hall, and on the kerb-stone in
front, with umbrella or walking-cane uplifted, shout to the cab-
men on the rank, "Four-wheeler!" The term is both useful
and expressive; but it is none the less Slang, though of a
better kind than "growler," used to denominate the same kind
of vehicle, or shoful," the street term for a hansom cab.

66
(6
66
Military Slang is on a par, and of a character, with dandy
Slang. Inconvenient friends, or elderly and lecturing relatives,
are pronounced "dreadful bores." This affectionate term,
like most other Slang phrases which have their rise in a certain
section of society, has spread and become of general appli-
cation. Four-wheeled cabs are called "bounders ;" and a
member of the Four-in-hand Club, driving to Epsom on the
Derby Day, would, using fashionable phraseology, speak of it
as "tooling his drag down to the Derby." A vehicle, if not a
drag" (or dwag), is a "trap," or a "cask ;" and if the turn-
out" happens to be in other than a tiim condition, it is
pronounced at once as not "down the road," unless the critic
should prefer to characterize the equipage as "dickey." Your
City swell would say it is not "up to the mark;" whilst the
66
a
costermonger would call it wery snide affair." In the army
a barrack or military station is known as a lobster-box;" to
"cram" for an examination is to "mug-up" (this same term
is much in vogue among actors, who regard mugging-up as one
of the fine arts of the profession); to reject from the exami-
nation is to "spin ;" and that part of the barrack occupied by
subalterns is frequently spoken of as the "rookery." In dandy

50
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
L
or swell Slang, any celebrity, from the Poet-Laureate to the
Pope of Rome, is a "swell," "the old swell" now occupies
the place once held by the "guv'nor." Wrinkled-faced old
professors, who hold dress and fashionable tailors in abhor-
rence, are called "awful swells,"-if they happen to be very
learned or clever. In this upper-class Slang, a title is termed
a "handle;" trousers, "inexpressibles," and bags, or "howling
bags," when of a large pattern;—a superior appearance, or
anything above the common cut, is styled "extensive;" a four-
wheeled cab is called a "birdcage" a dance, a "hop" dining
at_another man's table, "sitting under his mahogany;" any-
thing flashy or showy, "loud;" the peculiar make or cut of a
coat, its "build;" full dress, "full fig;" wearing clothes which
represent the very extreme of fashion, "dressing to death;" a
dinner or supper party, a "spread;" a friend (or a
fellow"), a "trump" a difficulty, a screw loose;" and
everything that is unpleasant, "from bad sherry to a writ from
a tailor," "jeuced infernal." The phrase," to send a man
to Coventry," or permit no person "in the set" to speak to
him, although an ancient saying, must still be considered
Slang.
(C
66
good
The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and the great
public schools, are the hotbeds of fashionable Slang. Growing
boys and high-spirited young fellows detest restraint of all
kinds, and prefer making a dash at life in a Slang phraseology
of their own to all the set forms and syntactical rules of Alma
Mater. Many of the most expressive words in a common
chit-chat, or free-and-easy conversation, are old university vul-
garisms. "Cut," in the sense of dropping an acquaintance, was
originally a Cambridge form of speech; and "hoax," to deceive
or ridicule, we are informed by Grose, was many years since an
Oxford term. Among the words that fast society has borrowed
from our great scholastic-not establishments (they are sacred
to linendrapery and "gentlemanly assistants")-institutions, is
found "crib," a house or apartments; "dead men," empty wine

THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
(6
bottles; "drawing teeth,"* wrenching off knockers, -an obso
lete amusement; "fizzing," first-rate, or splendid; "governor,"
or "relieving-officer," the general term for a male parent;
plucked," defeated or turned back, now altered to "plough ;"
'quiz,” to scrutinize, or a prying old fellow; and "row," a noisy
disturbance. The Slang words in use at Oxford and Cambridge
would alone fill a volume. As examples let us take “scout,”
which at Oxford refers to an undergraduate's valet, whilst the
same menial at Cambridge is termed a "gyp,"-popularly de-
rived by the Cantabs from the Greek, yu, a vulture; "skull,”
the head, or master, of a college; "battles," the Oxford term
for rations, changed at Cambridge into "commons.” The term
"dickey," a half-shirt, it is said, originated with the students of
Trinity College, Dublin, who at first styled it a "tommy,"
from the Greek тоµn, a section,-the change from "tommy" to
dickey" requires no explanation. "Crib," a literal translation,
is now universal; "grind" refers to "working up" for an exami-
nation, also to a walk or
"Hivite" is a
“ constitutional;"
student of St. Begh's (St. Bee's) College, Cumberland; to
"japan," in this Slang speech, is to ordain; "mortar board" is
a square college cap; "sim," a student of a Methodistical turn
—in allusion to the Rev. Charles Simeon; "sloggers," at Cam-
bridge, refers to the second division of race-boats, known at
(6 trotter"
Oxford as "torpids;" "sport" is to show or exhibit;
is the jocose term for a tailor's man who goes round for orders ;
and "tufts" are privileged students who dine with the "dons,"
and are distinguished by golden tufts, or tassels, in their caps.
Hence we get the world-wide Slang term "tuft-hunter," one
whose pride it is to be acquainted with scions of the nobility—
a sycophantic race unfortunately not confined to any particular
There
place or climate, nor peculiar to any age or either sex.
66
* This was more especially an amusement with medical students, after
the modern Mohocks had discarded it. The students are now a compara-
tively mild and quiet race, with very little of the style of a generation ago
about them.


THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
are many terms in use at Oxford not known at Cambridge; and
such Slang names as "coach," "gulf," "harry-soph," "poker,"
or "post-mortem," common enough at Cambridge, are seldom
or never heard at the great sister University. For numerous
other examples of college Slang the reader is referred to the
Dictionary.
Religious Slang, strange as the compound may appear, exists
with other descriptions of vulgar speech at the present day.
Punch, in one of those half-humorous, half-serious articles,
once so characteristic of the wits engaged on that paper, who
were, as a rule, fond of lecturing any national abuse or
popular folly, remarked-" Slang has long since penetrated into
the Forum, and now we meet it in the Senate, and even the
pulpit itself is no longer free from its intrusion." There is no
wish here, for one moment, to infer that the practice is general.
On the contrary, and in justice to the clergy, it must be said
that the principal disseminators of pure English throughout the
country are the ministers of our Established Church. Yet it
cannot be denied that a great deal of Slang phraseology
and expressive vulgarism have gradually crept into the very
pulpits which should give forth as pure speech as doctrine.
This is an error which, however, has only to be noticed, to be
cured.
Dean Conybeare, in his able "Essay on Church Parties,"*
has noticed this addition of Slang to our pulpit speech. As
stated in his Essay, the practice appears to confine itself mainly
to the exaggerated forms of the High and Low Church-the
Tractarians and the "Recordites." By way of illustration, the
Dean cites the evening parties, or social meetings, common
amongst the wealthier lay members of the Recordite churches,
where the principal topics discussed-one or more favourite
clergymen being present in a quasi-official manner-are "the
*
Edinburgh Review, October, 1853.
A term derived from the Record newspaper, the exponent of this sin.
gular section of the Low, or so-called Evangelical Church.


THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
53
merits and demerits of different preachers, the approaching re-
storation of the Jews, the date of the Millennium, the pro-
gress of the 'Tractarian heresy,' and the anticipated' perversion'
of High Church neighbours." These subjects are canvassed in
a dialect differing considerably from English, as the word is
generally understood. The terms "faithful," " tainted," "accep-
table," "decided," "legal," and many others, are used in a sense
different from that given to any of them by the lexicographers.
We hear that Mr. A. has been more "owned" than Mr. B.; and
that Mr. C. has more "seals" than Mr. D.
66
Again, the word
"gracious" is invested with a meaning as extensive as that
attached by young ladies to nice. Thus, we hear of a "gracious.
sermon," a "gracious meeting," a "gracious child," and even a
gracious whipping." The word "dark" has also a new and
peculiar usage. It is applied to every person, book, or place.
not impregnated with Recordite principles. A ludicrous mis-
understanding resulting from this phraseology is on record (this)
is not a joke).
ing me that
"The gospel is not!
The conclusion of
"What did you mean," said A. to B., "by tell
was such a very 'dark' village? I rode over
there to-day, and found the street particularly broad and cheer-
ful, and there is not a tree in the place."
preached there," was B's. laconic reply.
one of these singular evening parties is generally marked by
an "exposition"-an unseasonable sermon of nearly one hour's
duration, circumscribed by no text, and delivered from the table
by one of the clerical visitors with a view to "improve the
occasion." This same term, "improve the occasion," is of
Slang slangy, and is so mouthed by Stigginses and Chadbands,
and their followers, that it has become peculiarly objectionable
to persons of broad views. In the Essay to which reference
has been made, the religious Slang terms for the two great
divisions of the Established Church receive some explanation.
* A preacher is said, in this phraseology, to be "owned" when he makes
many converts, and his converts are called his "seals." This is Cant in its
most objectionable form.


54
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
i
The old-fashioned High Church party-rich and "stagnant,"
noted for its "sluggish mediocrity, hatred of zeal, dread of inno-
vation, abuse of Dissent, blundering and languid utterance”—
is called the "high and dry;" whilst the opposing division,
known as the Low Church-equally stagnant with the former,
but poorer, and more lazily inclined (from absence of educa-
tion) towards Dissent-receives the nickname of the "low and
slow These terms are among persons learned in the distinc-
tions shortened, in ordinary conversation, to the "dry" and the
"slow." The Broad Church, or moderate division, is often
spoken of as the "broad and shallow."
>>
What can be more objectionable than the irreverent and
offensive manner in which many Dissenting ministers con-
tinually pronounce the names of the Deity-God and Lord?
God, instead of pronouncing in the plain and beautiful simple
old English way, "G-o-d," they drawl out into "Gorde" or
"Gaude;" and Lord, instead of speaking in the proper way,
they desecrate into "Loard" or "Loerd,”—lingering on the u,
or the r, as the case may be, until an honest hearer feels dis-
gusted, and almost inclined to run the gauntlet of beadles
and deacons, and pull the vulgar preacher from his pulpit. This
is, though a Christian impulse, hardly in accordance with
our modern times and tolerant habits. Many young preachers
strive hard to acquire this peculiar pronunciation, in imitation.
of the older ministers. What, then, can more properly be called
Slang, or, indeed, the most objectionable of Slang, than this
studious endeavour to pronounce the most sacred names in a
uniformly vulgar and unbecoming manner? If the old-fashioned
preacher whistled Cant through his nose, the modern vulgar
reverend whines Slang from the more natural organ. These
vagaries of speech will, perhaps, by an apologist, be termed
"pulpit peculiarities," and the writer may be impugned for
having dared to intermeddle with a subject that is or should.
be removed from his criticisms. Honesty of purpose and
evident truthfulness of remark will, however, overcome the



THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
55
most virulent opposition. The terms used by the mob towards
the Church, however illiberal and satirically vulgar, are fairly
within the province of an inquiry such as the present. A
clergyman, in vulgar language, is spoken of as a "choker," a
"cushion-thumper," a "dominie," an "earwig," a "gospel-
grinder," a "grey-coat parson ;" a "spouter," a "white-choker,"
or a "warming-pan rector," if he only holds the living pro
tempore. If he is a lessee of the great tithes, "one in
ten;" or if spoken of by an Anglo-Indian, a "rook."
"rook." If a
Tractarian, his outer garment is rudely spoken of as a
"pygostole," or "M. B. (mark of the beast) coat." His pro-
fession is termed "the cloth" (this item of Slang has been
already referred to), and his practice is called "tub-thump-
ing." This latter term has of late years been almost peculiarly
confined to itinerant preachers. Should he belong to the Dis
senting body, he is probably styled a "pantiler,” or a “psalm
smiter," or perhaps, a "swaddler."* His chapel, too, is spoken
schism shop." A Roman Catholic is coarsely named
a brisket-beater."
of as a

(6
Particular as lawyers generally are about the meanings of
words, they have not prevented an unauthorized phraseology
from arising, which may be termed legal Slang. So forcibly did
this truth impress a late writer, that he wrote in a popular
journal, “You may hear Slang every day in term from barristers
in their robes, at every mess-table, at every bar-mess, at every
college commons, and in every club dining-room." Swift, in his
Art of Polite Conversation (p. 15), published a century and a
half ago, states that "vardi" was the Slang in his time for
"Swaddler" is also a phrase by which the low Irish Roman Catholics
denominate those of their body who in winter become Protestants, pro tem.,
for the sake of the blankets, coals, &c., given by proselytizing Protestants.
It is hard to say which are the worse, those who refuse to give unless the
objects of their charity become converted, or those who sham conversion to
save themselves from starving, or the tender mercies of the relieving officer.
I am much afraid my sympathies are with the "swaddlers," who are also
called " soupers."-ED.
K

56
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
"verdict." A few of the most common and well-known terms
used out of doors, with reference to legal matters, are “cook,”
to hash or make up a balance-sheet; "dipped," mortgaged;
"dun" (from a famous writ or process-server named Dunn), to
solicit payment; "fullied," to be "fully committed for trial;"
"land shark," a sailor's definition of a lawyer; "limb of the
law," a milder term for the "me "professional;" "monkey with
a long tail," a mortgage; "mouthpiece," the thief's term for
his counsel; "to run through the ring," to take advantage of
the Insolvency Act; "smash," to become bankrupt; "snipe,"
an attorney with a long bill; and "whitewash," to take the
benefit of the Insolvent Act. Comparatively recent legislation
has rendered many of these terms obsolete, and "in liquida-
tion" is now the most ominous sound a creditor can hear.
Lawyers, from their connexion with the police courts, and trans-
actions with persons in every grade of society, have ample
opportunities for acquiring street Slang, of which, in cross-
questioning and wrangling, they frequently avail themselves.
It has been said there exists a literary Slang, or the Slang of
Criticism-dramatic, artistic, and scientific. This is composed
of such words as "esthetic," "transcendental," "the harmonies,"
"the unities," a "myth:" such phrases as "an exquisite morceau
on the big drum," a "scholarlike rendering of John the Baptist's
great toe,” “keeping harmony," "middle distance," "aërial per-
spective," "delicate handling," "nervous chiaroscuro," and the
like. It is easy to find fault with this system of doing work, whilst
it is not easy to discover another at once so easily understood by
educated readers, and so satisfactory to artists themselves. Dis-
cretion must, of course, always be used, in fact always is used
by the best writers, with regard to the quantity of technical
Slang an article will hold comfortably. Overdone mannerism
is always a mistake, and generally defeats its own end. Pro-
perly used, these technicalities are allowable as the generous in-
flections and bendings of a bountiful language, for the purpose
of expressing fresh phases of thought, and ideas not yet pro-


THIE SLANG DICTIONARY.
57
,

Punch often employs a
humour to a line of satire.
vided with representative words. *
Slang term to give point to a joke, or
In his best day he gave an original etymology of the schoolboy-
ism "slog." "Slog," said the classical and then clever Punch,
is derived from the Greek word "slogo," to baste, to wallop, to
slaughter. To show his partiality to the subject, he once amused
his readers with two columns on Sleng and Sanscrit, from which
the following is taken :—
"The allegory which pervades the conversation of all Eastern nations is
the foundation of Western Slang; and the increased number of students of
the Oriental languages, especially since Sanscrit and Arabic have been
made subjects for the Indian Civil Service examinations, may have contri-
buted to supply the English language with a large portion of its new dialect.
While, however, the spirit of allegory comes from the East, there is so great a
difference between the brevity of Western expression and the more cumbrous
diction of the Oriental, that the origin of a phrase becomes difficult to
trace. Thus, for instance, whilst the Turkish merchant might address his
friend somewhat as follows-'That which seems good to my father is to his
servant as the perfumed breath of the west wind in the calm night of the
Arabian summer;' the Western negotiator observes more briefly, 'all
serene !'"+
But the vulgar term, "brick," Funch remarks in illustration,
"must be allowed to be an exception, its Greek derivation being univer-
sally admitted, corresponding so exactly as it does in its rectangular form
and compactness to the perfection of manhood, according to the views of
Plato and Simonides; but any deviation from the simple expression, in
which locality is indicated-as, for instance, 'a genuine Bath'-decidedly
breathes the Oriental spirit."
*
It is singular that what Punch says unwittingly and in
* "All our newspapers contain more or less colloquial words; in fact,
there seems no other way of expressing certain ideas connected with passing
events of every-day life with the requisite force and piquancy. In the
English newspapers the same thing is observable, and certain of them con-
tain more of the class denominated Slang words than our own."-Bartlett's
Americanisms, p. 10, edit. 1859.
+ When this appeared, "all serene" was one of those street phrases
which periodically spring up, have their rage, and depart as suddenly as
they come into popularity. These sayings are generally of a most idiotic
nature, as their latest specimens, "I'll warm yer," All serene," and
"I'll 'ave your hi"-used without any premonitory notice or regard to
context, and screeched out at the top of the voice--will testify. I suppose
we shall soon have another of these "ebullitions of popular feeling."-ED.
+

F 2
58
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
humour respecting the Slang expression "bosh," should be
quite true. "Bosh," remarks Punch, after speaking of it as be-
longing to the stock of words pilfered from the Turks, "is one
whose innate force and beauty the slangographer is reluctantly
compelled to admit. It is the only word which seems a proper
appellation for a great deal which we are obliged to hear and to
read every day of our life." "Bosh," nonsense or stupidity,
is derived from the Gipsy and the Persian. The universality
of Slang is proved by its continual use in the pages of Punch.
Who ever thinks, unless belonging to a past generation, of asking
a friend to explain the stray vulgar words employed by the
London Charivari? Some of the jokes, though, might nowadays.
be accompanied by explanatory notes, in similar style to that
adopted by youthful artists who write "a man," "a horse," &c.,
when rather uncertain as to whether or not their efforts will
meet with due appreciation.
The Athenæum, the Saturday Review, and other kindred
"weeklies," often indulge in Slang words when force of expres-
sion or a little humour is desired, or when the various writers
wish to say something which is better said in Slang, or so-called
vulgar speech, than in the authorized language. Bartlett, the
compiler of the Dictionary of Americanisms, continually cites
the Athenæum as using Slang and vulgar expressions; but the
magazine the American refers to is not the literary journal of
the present day,—it was a smaller, and now defunct, "weekly."
The present possessor of the classic title is, though, by no means
behindhand in its devotion to colloquialisms. Many other
highly respectable journals often use Slang words and phrases.
The mes (or, in Slang, the "Thunderer") frequently employs
unauthorized terms; and, following a "leader" of the purest
and most eloquent composition, may sometimes be seen another
"article" on a totally different subject, containing, perhaps, a
The terms "leader" and "article" can scarcely be called Slang, yet it
would be desirable to know upon what authority they were first employed
in their present peculiar sense.

THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
59
score or more of exceedingly questionable words. Among the
words and phrases which may be included under the head of
Literary Slang are, "balaam," matter kept constantly in type
about monstrous productions of nature, to fill up spaces in
newspapers;
"balaam-box," the term given in Blackwood to
the repository for rejected articles; and "slate," to pelt with
abuse, or "cut up" in a review. "He's the fellow to slate a
piece" is often said of dramatic critics, especially of those who
through youth, inexperience, and the process of unnatural selec-
tion which causes them to be critics, imagine that to abuse all
that is above their comprehension is to properly exercise the
critical faculty. This is, however, dangerous ground. The
Slang names given to newspapers are curious ;-thus, the
Morning Advertiser is known as the "Tap-tub," the ""Tizer,"
and was until recently the "Gin and Gospel Gazette." The
Morning Post has obtained the suggestive sobriquet of "Jeames;"
whilst the Morning Herald was long caricatured as "Mrs.
Harris," and the Standard as "Mrs. Gamp.'
"'*
The Stage, of course, has its Slang-" both before and behind
the curtain," as a journalist remarks. The stage-manager is
familiarly termed "daddy;" and an actor by profession, or a
"professional," is called a "pro." It is amusing at times to
hear a young actor-who struts about padded with copies of all
newspapers that have mentioned his name-talking, in a mixed
company, of the stage as the profession. This is after all but
natural, for to him "all the world's a stage." A man who is occa-
sionally hired at a trifling remuneration to come upon the stage
as one of a crowd, or when a number of actors are wanted to
give effect, is named a "supe," an abbreviation of "super-
numerary." A A "surf" is a third-rate actor, who frequently
*The Morning Herald was called "Mrs. Harris," because it was said.
that no one ever saw it, a peculiarity which, in common with its general
disregard for veracity, made it uncommonly like "Mrs. Gamp's" invisible
friend as portrayed by Dickens. But the Herald has long since departed
this life, and with it has gone the title of "Mrs. Gamp," as applied to the
Standard, which is, though, as impulsive and Conservative as ever.-ED.
Co
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
I
pursues another calling; and the band, or orchestra between
the pit and the stage, is generally spoken of as the "menagerie."
A "ben" is a benefit; and "sal" is the Slang abbreviation of
'salary." Should no money be forthcoming on the Saturday
night, it is said that the "ghost doesn't walk;" or else the
statement goes abroad that there is "no treasury," as though
the coffers themselves had departed. The travelling or pro-
vincial theatricals, who perform in any large room that can be
rented in a country village, are called "barn-stormers." A
"length" is forty-two lines of any dramatic composition; and
a "run" is the continuous term of a piece's performance. A
“saddle” is the additional charge made by a manager to an
actor or actress upon his or her benefit night. To "mug up"
is to paint one's face, or arrange the person, to represent a parti-
cular character; to "corpse," or to "stick," is to balk, or put the
other actors out in their parts by forgetting yours. A perfor-
mance is spoken of as either a "gooser" or a "screamer," should
it be a failure or a great success;—if the latter, it is not infre-
quently termed a "hit." To "goose" a performance is to hiss
it; and continued "goosing" generally ends, or did end before
managers refused to accept the verdict of audiences, in the
play or the players being "damned." To "star it" is to per-
form as the centre of attraction, with your name in large type,
and none but subordinates and indifferent actors in the same
performance. The expressive term "clap-trap," high-sounding
nonsense, is nothing but an ancient theatrical term, and signified
a "trap" to catch a "clap" by way of applause. "Up amongst
the 'gods,'" refers to being among the spectators in the gallery,
-termed în French Slang" paradis."
There exists, too, in the great territory of vulgar speech what
may not inappropriately be termed Civic Slang. It consists of
mercantile and Stock Exchange terms, and the Slang of good
living and wealth. A turkey hung with sausages is facetiously
styled an alderman in chains,”—a term which has spread from
the City and become general; and a half-crown, perhaps from
66
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
61
its rotundity, is often termed an "alderman."
A "bear" is a
speculator on the Exchange; and a "bull," although of an
opposite order, follows a like profession. There is something
very humorous and applicable in the Slang term "lame duck,"
a defaulter in stock-jobbing speculations. The allusion to his
"waddling out of the Alley," as they say, is excellent. "Break-
ing shins," in City Slang, is borrowing money; a rotten or
unsound scheme is spoken of as "fishy;" "rigging the
market" means playing tricks with it; and "stag" was a
common term during the railway mania for a speculator without
capital, a seller of "scrip" in " Diddlesex Junction" and other
equally safe lines. At Tattersall's a "monkey" is 500l., and in
the City a "plum" is 100,000l., and a "marygold" is one mil-
lion sterling. But before proceeding further in a sketch of the
different kinds of Slang, it may be as well to speak here of the
extraordinary number of Cant and Slang terms in use to repre-
scnt money from farthings to bank-notes the value of fortunes.
Her Majesty's coin, collectively or in the piece, is known by
more than one hundred and thirty distinct Slang words, from
the humble "brown" (a halfpenny) to "flimsies," or "long-
tailed ones" (bank-notes).
"Money," it has been well remarked, "the bare, simple word
itself, has a sonorous, significant ring in its sound," and might
have sufficed, one would have imagined, for all ordinary pur-
poses, excepting, of course, those demanded by direct reference
to specific sums. But a vulgar or "fast" society has thought
differently; and so we have the Slang synonyms-" beans,"
"blunt" (i.e., specie,-not soft or rags, bank-notes), "brads,"
"brass," "bustle," "coppers" (copper money, or mixed pence),
"chink," "chinkers," "chips," "corks," "dibbs," "dinarly,"
"dimmock," "dust," "feathers," "gent" (silver,-from argent),
"haddock" (a purse of money), "horse nails," "huckster,"
"loaver," "lour" (the oldest Cant term for money), "mopusses,"
"needful," "nobbings" (money collected in a hat by street-
performers), "ochre" (gold), " pewter," "palm oil," "pieces,"
+
62
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
(6
"posh,"
queen's pictures," "quids," "rags" (bank-notes),
"ready," or "ready gilt," "redge" (gold), " rhino," " rowdy,"
"shiners" (sovereigns), "skin" (a purse of money), "stiff"
(checks, or bills of acceptance), "stuff," "stumpy," "tin"
(silver), "wedge" (silver), and "yellow-boys" (sovereigns);-
just forty-three vulgar equivalents for the simple word money.
So attentive is Slang speech to financial matters, that there are
seven terms for bad, or "bogus," coin (as our friends the
Americans call it): a "case" is a counterfeit five-shilling piece;
"half a case" represents half that sum; "grays" are halfpence
made specially for unfair gambling purposes; "queer-soft" is
counterfeit or lead coin; "schofel" refers to coated or spurious.
coin; "sheen" is bad money of any description; and "sinkers"
bears the same and not inappropriate meaning. "Snide" is
now the generic term for all bad money, whether coined or in
notes; and "snide-pitching" or "schoful-tossing" is the term
in use among the professors of that pursuit for what is more
generally known as "smashing." "Flying the kite," or obtain-
ing money on bills and promissory-notes, is closely connected
with the allegorical expression of "raising the wind," which is
a well-known phrase for procuring money by immediate sale,
pledging, or by a forced loan. In winter or in summer any
elderly gentleman who may have prospered in life is pronounced
"warm;" whilst an equivalent is immediately at hand in the
phrase "his pockets are well lined," or "he is well breeched.”
Each separate piece of money has its own Slang term, and
often half a score of synonyms. To begin with that extremely
humble coin, a farthing: first we have "fadge," then "fiddler;"
then "gig," and lastly "quartereen." A halfpenny is a "brown"
or a "madzer (pronounced 'medzer') saltee" (Cant), or a
"mag," or a "posh," or a "rap,"-whence the popular phrase,
((
I don't care a rap." The useful and universal penny has for
Slang equivalents a "copper," a "saltee" (Cant), and a "winn.”
Twopence is a "deuce," and threepence is either "thrums" or
"thrups." "Thrums" has a special peculiarity; for while
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
63
"thrums-buskin" represents threepence-halfpenny, the term
"buskin" is not used in connexion with any other number of
pence. Fourpence, or a groat, may in vulgar speech be termed
a "bit," a "flag," or a "joey." Sixpence is well represented in
street talk, and some of the slangisms are very comical-for
instance, "bandy," "bender," " cripple," and "downer;" then
we have "buck," "fye-b'ck," "half a hog," "kick" (thus "two
and a 'kick,'" or 2s. 6d.), "lord of the manor,
"*"pig," "pot"
(the price of a pot of ale-thus half-a-crown is a
"five 'pot'
piece"), "snid," "sprat," "sow's baby," "tanner," "tester,"
"tizzy," seventeen vulgar words to one coin. Sevenpence being
an uncommon amount has only one Slang synonym, "setter."
The same remark applies to eightpence and ninepence, the
former being only represented by "otter," and the latter by the
Cant phrase "nobba-saltee." Tenpence is "dacha-saltee,"
and elevenpence "dacha-one," both Cant expressions. It is
noticeable that coined pieces, and sums which from their small-
ness or otherwise are mostly in use, receive a commensurate
amount of attention from promoters of Slang. One shilling
boasts eleven Slang equivalents; thus we have "beong," "bob,"
"breaky-leg," "deener," "gen" (from the back Slang), "hog,"
"levy," "peg," "stag," "teviss," and "twelver." One shilling
and sixpence is a "kye," now and then an "eighteener." It is
noticeable that so far the florin has escaped, and only receives
the shilling titles with the required numeral adjective prefixed.
Half-a-crown is known as an "alderman,"
""half a bull," "half
a wheel," "half a tusheroon," and a
"madza (medzer)
caroon;" whilst a crown piece, or five shillings, may be called
either a "bull,” a "caroon," a "cartwheel," or a "coachwheel,"
wheel" or a
or, more generally than either, a
tusheroon."
The word "dollar" is in general use among costermongers and
(C
*This is rhyming slang, and is corrupted into "lord " only. "Touch-
me, a common term for a shilling, is also derived from the same source, it
being short for "touch-me-on-the-nob," which is rhyming slang for "bob"
or shilling,
64
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
66
66
66
2
their customers, and signifies exactly five shillings. Any term
representing this amount "takes in two," and represents the
half-crown by the addition of the usual prefix. The next advance
in Slang money is ten shillings, or half-a-sovereign, which may
be either pronounced as half a bean,” “half a couter,”
madza poona," half a quid,” or
66 half a thick 'un." A sove-
reign, or twenty shillings, is a "bean," "canary," "couter,"
"foont," "goldfinch," "James" (from Jacobus), "poona,"
portrait," "quid,”
quid," "thick-un," or "yellow-boy." Guineas
are nearly obsolete, yet the terms "neds" and "half neds" are
still in use. Bank-notes are "flimsies," "long-tailed ones," or
"soft." A "fin," or a "finnuf," is a five-pound note. Twenty-
five pounds is a "pony," and a hundred a "century." One
hundred pounds (or any other "round sum"), quietly handed.
over as payment for services performed, is curiously termed "a
'cool' hundred." Thus ends, with several necessary omissions,
this long list of Slang terms for the coins of the realm which,
for copiousness, it is not too much to say, is not equalled by
any other vulgar or unauthorized language in Europe.
The antiquity of many of these Slang names is remarkable.
"Winn" was the vulgar term for a penny in the days of Queen
Elizabeth; and "tester," a sixpence (formerly a shilling), was
the correct name in the days of Henry VIII. The reader, too,
will have remarked the frequency of animals' names as Slang
terms for money. Little, as a modern writer has remarked,
do the persons using these phrases know of their remote and
somewhat classical origin, which may, indeed, be traced to a
period anterior to that when monarchs monopolized the sur-
face of coined money with their own images and superscrip-
tions. They are identical with the very name of money among
the early Romans, which was pecunia, from pecus, a flock. The
collections of coin-dealers amply show that the figure of a "hog"
was anciently placed on a small silver coin; and that that of
a "bull" decorated larger ones of the same metal. These coins
were frequently deeply crossed on the reverse; this was for the
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
65
1
convenience of easily breaking them into two or more pieces,
should the bargain for which they were employed require it, and
the parties making it had no smaller change handy to com-
plete the transaction. Thus we find that the "half bull" of
the itinerant street-seller, or "traveller," so far from being
a phrase of modern invention, as is generally supposed, is in
point of fact referable to an era extremely remote. This remark
will safely apply to most descriptions of money; and it must
not be forgotten that farthing is but a corruption of fourthing,
or, literally, fourth part of a penny, The representative coin of
the realm was often in olden times made to break up,-but this
by the way. It is a reminder, however, that the word "smash,"
as used by the classes that speak Slang from motives other than
those of affectation, has nothing whatever to do with base coin,
as is generally supposed. It simply means to give change.
Thus "Can you smash a thick 'un for me?" means simply,
"Can you give me change for a sovereign?" We learn from
Erizzo, in his Discorso, a further illustration of the proverb
"that there is nothing new under the sun;" for he says that
the Roman boys at the time of Hadrian tossed up their coppers
and cried, “Head or ship;" of which tradition our
"heads or
tails," and " man or woman," or 66
a tanner I heads 'em," is
certainly a less refined version. We thence gather, however,
that the prow of a vessel would appear to have been the more
ordinary device of the reverse of the brass coin of that ancient
period. There are many other Cant words directly from a
classic source, as will be seen in the dictionary.
Shopkeepers' Slang is perhaps the most offensive of all Slang,
though this is not intended to imply that shopkeepers are per-
haps the most offensive of people. This kind of Slang is not a
casual eyesore, as newspaper Slang, neither is it an occasional
discomfort to the ear, as in the case of some vulgar byword of
the street; but it is a perpetual nuisance, and stares you in the
face on tradesmen's invoices, on labels in the shop-windows,
and placards on the hoardings, in posters against the house next.
66
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
(C
to your own-if it happen to be empty for a few weeks-and
in bills thrust into your hand, as you peaceably walk through
the streets. Under your door, and down your area, Slang hand-
bills are dropped by some "pushing" tradesman; and for the
thousandth time you are called upon to learn that an "alarming
sacrifice" is taking place in the next street; that prices are "down
again;" that, in consequence of some other tradesman not
driving a roaring trade," being in fact, "sold up,” and for
the time being a resident in "Burdon's Hotel" (Whitecross-
Street Prison), the "pushing" tradesman wishes to sell out at
"awfully low prices," to "the kind patrons, and numerous custo-
mers," &c. &c., "that have on every occasion," &c. &c. These
are, though, very venial offenders compared with those ghouls,
the advertising undertakers, who employ boys, loaded with
ghastly little books, to follow up the parish doctor, and leave
their horrible wares wherever he calls. But what can be expected
of ignorant undertakers when a London newspaper of large cir-
culation actually takes out the death records from the Times, and
sends a circular to each address therein, informing the bereaved
persons that the "
charges so much per line for similar
notices, and that its circulation is most extensive? Surely the
typical "death-hunter," hardened though he may be, is hardly
down to that level. In shopkeeping Slang any occupation.
or calling is termed a "line,"-thus, the "building line." A
tailor usurps to himself a good deal of Slang. Amongst opera-
tives he is called a "snip," a "steel-bar driver,” a cabbage
contractor," or a "goose persuader;" by the world, a
"ninth
part of a man ;" and by the young collegian, or "fast” man, a
"sufferer." If he takes army contracts, it is "sank work ;"
he is a "slop" tailor, he is a "springer up," and his garments
are "blown together." Perquisites with him are "spiffs," and
remnants of cloth "peaking, or cabbage." The per-centage he
allows to his assistants (or "counter jumpers") on the sale of old-
fashioned articles is termed " tinge." If he pays his workmen in
goods, or gives them tickets upon other tradesmen, with whom
>>
ઃઃ
if

THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
67
he shares the profit, he is soon known as a "tommy master." If
his business succeeds, it "takes;" if neglected, it becomes
"shaky," and "goes to pot" if he is deceived by a debtor (a
by no means unusual circumstance), he is "let in," or, as it is
sometimes varied, "taken in." It need scarcely be remarked
that any credit he may give is termed "tick."
66
Operatives' or workmen's Slang, in quality, is but slightly re-
moved from tradesmen's Slang. When belonging to the same
shop or factory, they "graft" there, and are "brother chips."
Among printers the favourite term is "comps,"-not compositors,
though the same contraction is used for that word,-but com-
panions, whether so in actual fact, or as members of the same
companionship." A companionship is the number of men
engaged on any one work, and this is in turn reduced to “ship :"
sometimes it is a "stab ship," i.e., paid by the week, therefore
on the establishment; sometimes it is on the piece,” and any-
how it is an extremely critical organization, so perhaps it would.
be better to broaden the subject. Workmen generally dine at
"slap-bang shops," and are often paid at "tommy shops." At
the nearest "pub," or public-house, they generally have a "score
chalked up" against them, which has to be "wiped off" regu-
larly on the Saturday night. This is often known as a "light."
When credit is bad the "light" is said to be out. When out
of work, they describe themselves as being "out of collar."
They term each other "flints" and "dungs," if they are "society"
or "non-society" men. Their salary is a "screw," and to be
discharged is to "get the sack," varied by the expression "get
the bullet," the connexion of which with discharge is obvious, as
the small lecturers--those at the Polytechnic for instance—say,
to the meanest capacity. When they quit work, they "knock
off;" and when out of employ, they ask if any
"hands" are,
or any assistance is, wanted. "Fat" is the vulgar synonym
for perquisites ;“" elbow grease" signifies labour; and “Saint
Monday" is the favourite day of the week. Names of animals
figure plentifully in the workman's vocabulary; thus we have
3333
68
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
،،
goose," a tailor's smoothing-iron; "sheep's-foot," an iron
hammer; "sow," a receptacle for molten iron, whilst the metal
poured from it is termed "pig." Many of the Slang terms for
money may have originally come from the workshop, thus—
"brads," from the ironmonger; "chips," from the carpenter;
"dust," from the goldsmith; "feathers," from the upholsterer;
"horse-nails," from the farrier; "haddock," from the fish-
monger; and "tanner and skin" from the leather-dresser.
If society, as has been remarked, is a sham, from the vulgar
foundation of commonalty to the crowning summit of royalty,
then do we perceive the justness of the remark in that most
peculiar of peculiarities, the Slang of makeshifts for oaths, and
sham exclamations for passion and temper. These apologies.
for feeling are an addition to our vernacular, and though some
argue that they are a disgrace, for the reason that no man
should pretend to swear or curse who does not do so, it is some
satisfaction to know that they serve the purpose of reducing
the stock of national profanity. You be blowed," or "I'll be
blowed if," &c., is an exclamation often heard in the streets.
"Blazes," or "like blazes," came probably from the army,
unless, indeed, it came from the original metaphor, afterwards
corrupted, to serve all turns, " to smoke like blazes." "Blast,"
too, although in general vulgar use, may have had an engineer-
ing or military origin, and the phrase, "I wish I may be
shot, if," smacks much of powder.
“Blow me tight” is a very
windy and common exclamation. The same may be said of
"strike me lucky," "never trust me," and "so help me Davy;"
the latter being evidently derived from the truer old phrase,
66
I'll take my Davy on't—i.e., my affidavit, "Davy," and some-
times "Alfred Davy," being a corruption of that word. "By
Golly," "Gol darn it," and "so help"-generally pronounced.
"selp" or "swelp"-" me Bob," are evident shams for profane
oaths. “Tarnation" is but a softening of damnation ; and "od,"
whether used in "od drat it," or "od's blood," is but an
apology for the name of the Deity. "Marry," a term of asse-
12324

THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
69
veration in common use, was originally, in Popish times, a mode
of swearing by the Virgin Mary ;-so also "marrow-bones," for
the knees. "I'll bring him down upon his marrow-bones,"-
i.e., I'll make him bend his knees as he does to the Virgin
Mary. The Irish phrase, “Bad scran to yer!" is equivalent to
wishing a person bad food. "I'm sniggered if you will,” and “I'm
jiggered," are other mild forms of swearing among men fearful
of committing an open profanity, yet slily nibbling at the sin.
Maybe, some day one of these adventurers will meet with the
object of his desires, and then when fairly "jiggered," whatever
it may ultimately turn out to be, it is to be hoped he will prove
a fearful example to all persons with the will, but not the pluck,
to swear fierce oaths. Both "deuce" and "dickens" are vulgar
old synonyms for the devil; and "zounds" is an abbreviation
of "God's wounds,"—a very ancient oath.
In a casual survey of the territory of Slang, it is curious to
observe how well represented are the familiar wants and failings
of life. First, there is money, with one hundred and odd
Slang terms and synonyms; then comes drink, from small
beer to champagne; and next as a very natural sequence, in-
toxication, and fuddlement generally, with some half a hundred
vulgar terms, graduating the scale of drunkenness, from a slight
inebriation to the soaky state which leads to the gutter, some-
times to the stretcher, the station-house, the fine, and, most
terrible of all, the "caution." The Slang synonyms for mild
intoxication are certainly very choice,-they are "beery,"
bemused," "boozy," "bosky," "buffy," "corned," "foggy,"
"fou," "fresh," "hazy,"
hazy," "elevated,”
"elevated," "kisky," "lushy,"
"moony," "muggy," "muzzy," on," screwed,” “stewed,"
tight," and "winey." A higher or more intense state of
beastliness is represented by the expressions, "podgy," "be-
argered," "blued," "cut," "primed," "lumpy," "ploughed,"
"muddled," "obfuscated," "swipey," "three sheets in the wind,"
and "top-heavy." But the climax of fuddlement is only obtained
when the "disguised" individual "can't see a hole in a ladder,"
((
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((
70
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
(6
or when he is all “ mops and brooms," or off his nut," or with
his “main-brace well spliced," or with the "sun in his eyes,”
or when he has "lapped the gutter," and got the "gravél rash,”
or is on the "ran-tan," or on the "ree-raw," or when "sewed
up," and regularly "scammered,"—then, and not till then, is he
entitled, in vulgar society, to the title of "lushington," or re-
commended to "put in the pin," i.e., the linch-pin, to keep his
legs steady.
THE
SLANG DICTIONARY.
A 1, first-rate, the very best; "she's a prime girl, she is; she is A 1.”-
Sam Slick. The highest classification of ships at Lloyd's; common
term in the United States; also at Liverpool and other English sea-
ports. Another, even more intensitive form is "first-class, letter A,
No. 1." Some people choose to say A I, for no reason, however,
beyond that of being different from others.
Abigail, a lady's-maid; perhaps obtained from old comedies. Used in
an uncomplimentary sense. Some think the term is derived from
Abigail Hill (Mrs. Masham), lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne, and a
typical ABIGAIL in the way of intrigue.
About Right, "to do the thing ABOUT RIGHT," i.e., to do it properly,
soundly, correctly; he guv it 'im ABOUT RIGHT," i.e., he beat him
severely.
Abraham-man, a vagabond, such as were driven to beg about the
country after the dissolution of the monasteries.-See BESS o' BEDLAM,
infra. They are well described under the title of Bedlam Beggars.—
Shakspeare's K. Lcar, ii. 3.
"And these, what name or title e'er they bear,
Jarkman, or Patrico, Cranke, or Clapper-dudgeon,
Frater, or ABRAM-MAN; I speak to all
That stand in fair election for the title
Of king of beggars."-Beaumont and Fletcher's Begg. Bush. ii. 1.
It appears to have been the practice in former days to allow certain
inmates of Bethlehem Hospital to have fixed days "to go begging:"
hence impostors were said to "SHAM ABRAHAM" (the Abraham Ward
in Bedlam having for its inmates. these mendicant lunatics) when they
pretended they were licensed beggars in behalf of the hospital.
Abraham-sham, or SHAM ABRAHAM, to feign sickness or distress.
From ABRAHAM-MAN, the ancient Cant term for a begging impostor,
or one who pretended to have been mad.-Burton's Anatomy of
Melancholy, vol. i. p. 360. When Abraham Newland was Cashier to
the Bank of England, and signed their notes, it was sung:-
"I have heard people say
That SHAM ABRAHAM you may,
But you mustn't SHAM ABRAHAM Newland."
E..
G
72
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Absquatulate, to run away, or abscond; a hybrid American expres-
sion, from the Latin ab, and " squat" to settle.
Acres, a coward. From Bob Acres, in Sheridan's Rivals.
>>
Adam's Ale, water.—English. The Scotch term is ADAM'S WINE.
Added to the List, a euphuism current among sporting writers
implying that a horse has been gelded. As, "Sabinus has been
ADDED TO THE LIST. Another form of expression in reference to
this matter is that "the knife has been brought into requisition.”
"ADDED TO THE LIST" is simply a contraction for "added to the list
of geldings in training.'
Addlepate, a foolish fellow, a dullard.
Admiral of the Red, a person whose very red face evinces a fondness
for strong potations.
Affygraphy. "It fits to an AFFYGRAPHY," ¿.c., to a nicety—to a T.
Afternoon Farmer, one who wastes his best opportunity, and drives
off the large end of his work to the little end of his time.
Against the Grain, in opposition to the wish. It went AGAINST
THE GRAIN to do it, but I knew I must," is a common expression.
Aggerawators (corruption of Aggravators), the greasy locks of hair in
vogue among costermongers and other street folk. worn twisted from
the temple back towards the ear. They are also, from a supposed
resemblance in form, termed NEWGATE KNOCKERS, and sometimes
NUMBER SIXES. This style of adorning the head is, however, fast
dying out, and the everyday costermonger or street thief has his hair
cut like any one else. The yearly militia drill may have had a good
deal to do with this alteration.
Akeybo, a slang phrase used in the following manner :-" He beats
AKEYBO, and AKEYBO beat the devil.'
Albertopolis, a facetious appellation given by the Londoners to the
Kensington Gore district.
Now obsolete.
Alderman, a half-crown-possibly from its rotundity.
Also a long
pipe.
Alderman, a turkey;
sausages.
ALDERMAN IN CHAINS," a turkey hung with
All of a Hugh! all on one side; falling with a thump; the word HUGH
being pronounced with a grunt.—Suffolk.
>>
All my Eye, a remark of incredulity made in reference to an improbable
story; condensation of "ALL MY EYE AND BETTY MARTIN, a vulgar
phrase constructed from the commencement of a Roman Catholic
prayer to St. Martin, "Oh, mihi, beate Martine," which in common
with many another fell into discredit and ridicule after the Reformation.
All out, by far; he was ALL OUT the best of the lot." Old-fre-
quently used by Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy.

THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
73
All-overish, neither sick nor well; the premonitory symptoms of illness.
Also the feeling which comes over a man at a critical moment, say
just when he is about to " pop the question." Sometimes this is
called, "feeling all over alike, and touching nowhere."
All-rounder, a shirt collar going all round the neck and meeting in
front. Once fashionable, but little worn now.
All Serene, an ejaculation of acquiescence. Some years back a popular
street cry.
With or without application to actual fact, the words ALL
SERENE were bawled from morning to night without any reference to
the serenity of the unfortunate hearers.-Sec SERENE.
Alls, tap-droppings, refuse spirits sold at a cheap rate in gin-palaces.
All There, in strict fashion, first-rate, "up to the mark;" a vulgar
person would speak of a handsome, well-dressed woman as being
ALL THERE. An artisan would use the same phrase to express the
capabilities of a skilful fellow-workman. Sometimes ALL THE WAY
"he
THERE. Always used as a term of encomium.
All to Pieces, utterly, excessively;
beat him ALL ΤΟ
PIECES," i.e., excelled or surpassed him exceedingly. Also a term
much in use among sporting men and expressing want of form, or
decadence. A boat's crew are said to "go ALL TO PIECES when
they through distress lose their regularity. A woman is vulgarly
said to 'fall to pieces," or "tumble to pieces," when she is con-
fined.
،،
All to Smash, or GONE ALL TO PIECES," bankrupt, ruined.
Almighty Dollar, an American expression representing the manner
in which money is worshipped. Modernly introduced by Washington
Irving in 1837. The idea of this phrase is, however, far older than
the time of Irving. Ben Jonson's Epistle to Elizabeth, Countess of
Rutland, commences thus-
"Whilst that for which all virtue now is sold,
And almost every vice, almightie gold."
It seems almost obvious that the term must have been applied, not to
dollars certainly, but to money, long before the time of Irving.
American Tweezers, an instrument used by an hotel-sneak which
nips the wards end of a key, and enables him to open a door from the
opposite side to that on which it has been locked.
Andrew Millar, a ship of war.—Sea.
29 66
are not," or "is not."
Ain't, the vulgar abbreviation of “ am not,
Anointed, i.e., eminent; used to express great rascality in any one;
"an ANOINTED scoundrel," king among scoundrels.-Irish.
Anointing, a good beating. A case for the application of salve.
Anonyma, a lady of the demi-monde, or worse; a pretty horse-
breaker." INCOGNITA was the term at first. Product of the
squeamishness of the age which tries to thrust away fact by the use of
fine words.
G 2
74
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Anything unfit for ordinary
Antiscriptural, oaths, foul language.
society conversation.
Apartments to Let, a term used in reference to one who has a some-
what empty head. As, "He's got APARTMENTS TO LET."
Apostle's Grove, the London district known as St. John's Wood.
Also called GROVE OF THE EVANGELIST.
Apostles, THE TWELVE, the last twelve names on the Poll, or "Ordinary
Degree" List at the Cambridge Examinations, when it was arranged
in order of merit, and not alphabetically, and in classes, as at present;
so called from their being post alios, after the others.-See POLL. The
last of all was called ST. PAUL (or Saint Poll), as being the least of
the apostles, and "not meet to be called an apostle" (see I Cor. xv.
9). As in the "Honour" list (see GULF), students who had failed
only slightly in one or more subjects were occasionally allowed their
degrees, and these were termed ELEGANT EXTRACTS.—Camb. Univ.
Slang.
Apple-pie Bed, a trick played at schools on new comers, or on any
boy disliked by the rest. One of the sheets is removed, and the
other is doubled in the middle, so that both edges are brought to the
top, and look as if both sheets were there; but the unhappy occupant
is prevented getting more than half-way down, and he has to remake
his bed as best he can. This trick is sometimes played by children of
a larger growth.
Apple-Cart, the human structure, so far as the phrases with which it is
connected are concerned. As "I'll upset your APPLE-CART,
"""down
with his APPLE-CART.
Apple-pie Order, in exact or very nice order.
Appro, contraction of approbation, a word much in use among jewellers.
Most of the extensive show of chains, watches, and trinkets in a shop
window is obtained "ON APPRO," i.e., on sale or return."
Area Sneak, a thief who commits depredations upon kitchens and
cellars.
Argol-bargol, to bandy words.-Scotch
Article, derisive term for a weak or insignificant specimen of humanity.
Atomy, a diminutive or deformed person.
From ANATOMY, or ATOM.
Attack, to carve, or commence operations ; ATTACK that beef, and
oblige !"
Attic, the head; "queer in the ATTIC," intoxicated or weak-minded.
Sometimes ATTIC is varied by "upper story."
Attic Salt, wit, humour, pleasantry. Partly a reference to a suggestive
portion of Grecian literature, and partly a sly hit at the well-known
poverty of many writers.
Auctioneer, to "tip him the AUCTIONEER," is to knock a man down. Tom
Sayers's right hand was known to pugilistic fame as the AUCTIONEER.
Audit Ale, extra strong ale supposed to be drunk when the accounts
are audited.-Camb. Univ.
Auld-Reekie, an affectionate term for the old town of Edinburgh.
Derived from its dingy appearance.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
75
Aunt Sally, a favourite figure on racecourses and at fairs, consisting of a
wooden head mounted on a stick, firmly fixed in the ground; in the
nose of which, or rather where the nose should be, a tobacco-pipe is
inserted. The fun consists in standing at a distance and demolishing
AUNT SALLY's pipe-clay projection with short bludgeons, very
similar to the halves of broom-handles. The Duke of Beaufort is a
“crack hand” at smashing pipe noses; and his performances some
years ago on Brighton racecourse, which brought the game into
notoriety, are yet fresh in remembrance. AUNT SALLY has, however,
had her day, and once again the inevitable "three shies a penny!" is
chief among our outdoor amusements.
Avast, a sailor's phrase for stop, shut up, go away, -apparently con-
nected with the old Cant, BYNGE A WASTE; or from the Italian,
BASTA, hold! enough.
Awake, or FLY, knowing, thoroughly understanding. "I'm awake,'
i.e., I know all. The phrase WIDE-AWAKE carries a similar
meaning in ordinary conversation, but has a more general reference.
Awful, a senseless expletive, used to intensify a description of anything
good or bad; "what an AWFUL fine woman!" ' awfully jolly,'
"awfully sorry," &c. The phrase is not confined to any section of
society.
Ax, to ask. Sometimes pronounced arks.
Babes, the lowest order of KNOCK-OUTS (which see), who are prevailed
upon not to give opposing biddings at auctions, in consideration of
their receiving a small sum (from one shilling to half-a-crown), and a
certain quantity of beer. They can, however, even after this agree-
ment, be secured on the other side for a little longer price. There is no
honour among thieves—at all events not among auction thieves-now-
adays.
Back, to support by means of money, on the turf or otherwise.-See LAY.
Back, "to get one's BACK UP," to annoy or enrage. Probably from the
action of a cat when preparing to give battle to an enemy.
Back-end, that portion of the year which commences with October.
This phrase is peculiar to the turf, and has its origin in the fact that
October was actually, and is now nearly, the finishing portion of the
racing season. Towards BACK-END the punters and "little men" gene-
rally begin to look forward with anxiety to their winter prospects, and
'going for the gloves" is not only a frequent phrase, but a frequently
recurring practice.
Back Out, to retreat from a difficulty; reverse of GO AHEAD. Metaphor
borrowed from the stables.
""
Sling your
Back Slang It, to go out the back way. Equivalent to
hook out of the back-door," ie., get away quickly.
Backslums, the byeways and disreputable portions of a town.
Back-Hander, a blow on the face with the back of the hand, a back-
handed tip. Also a drink out of turn, as when a greedy person delays
the decanter to get a second glass. Anything done slyly or secretly
is said to be done in a back-handed manner.
76
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Backer, one who places his money on a particular man or animal; a
supporter of one side in a contest. The great body of betting men is
divided into BOOKMAKERS and BACKERS.
Back Jump, a back window.—Prison term.
Bacon, the body, "to save one's BACON," to escape.
Bad, "to go to the BAD," to deteriorate in character, to be ruined. Virgil
has an almost similar phrase, in pejus ruere, which means, by the way,
to go to the worse.
Bad, hard, difficult. Word in use among sporting men who say, "He
will be BAD to beat," when they mean that the man or horse to whom
they refer will about win.
Bad Egg, a scoundrel or rascal.
Badger, to tease, to annoy by
badger.
chaffing." Suggestive of drawing a
Bad Lot, a term derived from auctioneering slang, and now generally
used to describe a man or woman of indifferent morals.
Badminton, blood,-properly a peculiar kind of claret-cup invented at
the Duke of Beaufort's seat of that name. BADMINTON proper is
made of claret, sugar, spice, cucumber peel, and ice, aud was some-
times used by the patrons of the Prize Ring as a synonym for blood.
Bad Words, words not always bad of themselves but unpleasant to
"ears polite," from their vulgar associations.
Baffaty, calico. Term used in the drapery trade.
Bag, to seize or steal, equivalent to "collar."
Bagman, a commercial traveller. This word is used more in reference to
the old style of commercial travellers than to the present.
"That's
Bags, trousers. Trousers of an extensive pattern, or exaggerated fashion,
have sometimes been termed HOWLING-BAGS, but only when the style
has been very "loud. The word is probably an abbreviation of
bumbags. To have the BAGS off," to be of age and one's own
master, to have plenty of money.
BAGS OF MYSTERY is another
phrase in frequent use, and refers to sausages and saveloys. BAG OF
TRICKS, refers to the whole of a means towards a result.
the whole bag of tricks."
Baked, seasoned, "he's only HALF-BAKED," i.e., soft, inexperienced.
Baker's Dozen, thirteen. Originally the London bakers supplied the
retailers, i.c., chandlers' shopkeepers and itinerants, with thirteen loaves
to the dozen, so as to make up what is known as the overweight, the
surplus number, called the inbread, being thrown in for fear of incurring
a penalty for short weight. To "give a man a BAKER'S DOZEN," in
a slang sense, sometimes means to give him an extra good beating or
pummelling.
Balaam, printers' slang for matter kept in type about monstrous produc-
tions of nature, &c., to fill up spaces in newspapers that would other-
wise be vacant. The term BALAAM-BOX has often been used as the
name of a depository for rejected articles. Evidently from Scripture,
and referring to the "speech of an ass.”
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
77
Bald-Faced Stag, a term of derision applied to a person with a bald
head. Also, still more coarsely, BLADDER-OF-LARD.”
Bale up, an Australian term equivalent to our "Shell out." A demand
for instantaneous payment.
Ballambangjang. The Straits of BALLAMBANGJANG, though unno-
ticed by geographers, are frequently mentioned in sailors' yarns as
being so narrow, and the rocks on each side so crowded with trees in-
habited by monkeys, that the ship's yards cannot be squared, on
account of the monkey's tails getting jammed into, and choking up,
the brace blocks.-Sea.
Ballast, money. A rich man is said to be well-ballasted. If not proud
and over-bearing he is said to carry his ballast well.
Balmy, weak-minded or idiotic (not insane).
Balmy, sleep; "have a dose of the BALMY."
Bamboozle, to deceive, make fun of, or cheat a person; abbreviated to
BAM, which is sometimes used also as a substantive-a deception, a
sham, a "sell." Swift says BAMBOOZLE was invented by a nobleman
in the reign of Charles II.; but this is very likely an error. The
probability is that a nobleman then first used it in polite society. The
term is derived from the Gipsies.
Bandannah, originally a peculiar kind of silk pocket-handkerchief, now
slang used to denote all sorts of " stooks,' wipes," and "fogles,"
and in fact the generic term for a kerchief, whether neck or pocket.
Banded, hungry. From the habit hungry folks have of tying themselves
tight round the middle.
Bandy, or CRIPPLE, a sixpence, so called from this coin being generally
bent or crooked; old term for flimsy or bad cloth, temp. Q. Eliza-
beth.
Bang, to excel or surpass; BANGING, great or thumping.
Bang-up, first-rate, in the best possible style.
66
Bank, to put in a place of safety. BANK the rag," i.e., secure the
note. Also "to bank" is to go shares.
"How's the BANK?"
Bank, the total amount possessed by any one.
"Not very strong; about one and a buck."
Bantling, a child; stated in Bacchus and Venus, 1737, and by Grose,
to be a cant term. This is hardly slang now-a-days, and modern
etymologists give its origin as that of bands or swaddling clothes.
Banyan-Day, a day on which no meat is served out for rations; pro-
bably derived from the BANIANS, a Hindoo caste, who abstain from
animal food. Quite as probably from the sanitary arrangements which
have in hot climates counselled the eating of BANYANS and other
fruits in preference to meat on certain days.-Sea.
Bar, or BARRING, excepting; in common use in the betting-ring; "Two to
one bar one," i.e., two to one against any horse with the exception of
78
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
one. The Irish use of BARRIN' is very similar, and the words BAR and
BARRING may now be regarded as general.
Barber's Cat, a half-starved sickly-looking person.
Term used in con-
nexion with an expression too coarse to print.
Barber's Clerk, an overdressed shopboy who apes the manners of, and
tries to pass himself off as, a gentleman; a term of reproach applied
not to an artisan but to one of those who, being below, assume airs of
superiority over, handicraftsmen.
Barge, a term used among printers (compositors) to denote a case in
which there is an undue proportion of some letters and a correspond-
ing shortness of those which are most valuable.
Bark, an Irish person of either sex. From this term, much in use among
the London lower orders, but for which no etymology can be found,
Ireland is now and then playfully called Barkshire.
Barker, a man employed to cry at the doors of "gaffs," shows, and
puffing shops, to entice people inside. Among touting photographers
he is called a doorsman.
Barking-Iron, or BARKER, a pistol. Term used by footpads and thieves
generally.
Barnacles, spectacles; possibly a corruption of BINOCULI; but derived
by some from the barnacle (Lepas Anatifera), a kind of conical shell
adhering to ships' bottoms. Hence a marine term for goggles,
which they resemble in shape, and for which they are used by sailors.
in case of ophthalmic derangement.
Barney, an unfair race of any kind: a sell or cross.
Also a lark, jollifi-
cation, or outing. The word BARNEY is sometimes applied to a
swindle unconnected with the sporting world.
Barn Stormers, theatrical performers who travel the country and act
in barns, selecting short and tragic pieces to suit the rustic taste.
Barrikin, jargon, speech, or discourse; "We can't tumble to that
BARRIKIN," i.e., we don't understand what he says.
Cheese your
BARRIKIN," shut up. Miege calls it “
shut up. Miege calls it "a sort of stuff;" Old French,
BARACAN.
Bash, to beat, thrash ;
BASHING a dona," beating a woman; originally
a provincial word, applied to the practice of beating walnut trees,
when in bud, with long poles, to increase their productiveness. Hence
the West country proverb-
"A woman, a whelp, and a walnut tree,
The more you BASH 'em, the better they be."
The word BASH, among thieves, signifies to flog with the cat or birch.
The worst that can happen to a brutal ruffian is to receive "a BASHING
in, and a BASHING out," flogging at the commencement and
"}
another at the close of his term of enforced virtue.
Baste, to beat, properly to pour gravy on roasting meat to keep it from
burning, and add to its flavour. Also a sewing term.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
79
Bastile, the workhouse. General name for "the Union" amongst the
lower orders of the North. Formerly used to denote a prison, or
"lock-up;" but its abbreviated form, STEEL, is now the favourite
expression with the dangerous classes, some of whom have never heard
of BASTILE, familiar as they are with "steel."
Bat,
on his own BAT," on his own account. Evident modification of
the cricket term, "off his own bat," though not connected therewith.—
See HOOK.
""
Bat, to take an innings at cricket. To "carry out one's BAT" is to be last
in, i.e., to be "not out. A man's individual score is said to be made
"off his own BAT."
Bat, pace at walking or running. As, "He went off at a good BAT.
Bats, a pair of bad boots.
Battells, the weekly bills at Oxford. Probably originally wooden tal-
lies, and so a diminutive of bâton.-University.
Batter, wear and tear; "can't stand the BATTER," i.e., not equal to the
on the BATTER, on the streets, on the town, or given
task;
up to roystering and debauchery.
""
Batty, wages, perquisites. Derived from BATTA, an extra pay given to
soldiers while serving in India.
Batty-Fang, to beat; BATTY-FANGING, a beating; also BATTER-FANG,
Used metaphorically as early as 1630.
"So batter-fanged and belabour'd with tongue mettle, that he was weary of his
life."-Taylor's Works.
Beach-Comber, a fellow who prowls about the sea-shore to plunder
wrecks, and pick up waifs and strays of any kind.—Sea.
Beak, originally a magistrate, judge, or policeman; now a magistrate
only;
"to baffle the BEAK," to get remanded. Ancient Cant, BECK.
Saxon, BEAG, a necklace or gold collar-emblem of authority. Sir
John Fielding was called the BLIND-BEAK in the last century. Maybe
connected with the Italian BECCO, which means a (bird's) beak, and
also a blockhead.—See WALKER.
Beaker-Hunter, or BEAK-HUNTER, a stealer of poultry.
Beans, money; "a haddock of BEANS," a purse of money; formerly,
BEAN meant a guinea; French, BIENS, property.
Bear, one who contracts to deliver or sell a certain quantity of stock in
the public funds on a forthcoming day at a stated place, but who does
not possess it, trusting to a decline in public securities to enable him
Both words
to fulfil the agreement and realize a profit.—See BULL.
are slang terms on the Stock Exchange, and are frequently used in the
business columns of newspapers.
"He who sells that of which he is not possessed is proverbially said to sell the
skin before he has caught the BEAR. It was the practice of stock-jobbers, in
the year 1720, to enter into a contract for transferring South Sea stock at a future
time for a certain price; but he who contracted to sell had frequently no stock to
transfer, nor did he who bought intend to receive any in consequence of his
bargain; the seller was, therefore, called a BEAR, in allusion to the proverb, and
330
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
the buyer a BULL, perhaps only as a similar distinction. The contract was
merely a wager, to be determined by the rise or fall of stock; if it rose, the
seller paid the difference to the buyer, proportioned to the sum determined by
the same computation to the seller."-Dr. Warton on Pope.
These arrangements are nowadays called "time bargains," and are as
fairly (or unfairly) gambling as any transactions at the Victoria Club or
Tattersall's, or any of the doings which call for the intervention of the
police and the protestations of pompous City magistrates, who, during
their terms of office, try to be virtuous and make their names immortal.
Certainly PULLING and BEARING are as productive of bankruptcy and
misery as are BACKING and LAYING.
Be-argered, drunk. (The word is divided here simply to convey the
pronunciation.)
Bear-Leader, a tutor in a private family. In the old days of the
grand tour" the term was much more in use and of course more sig-
nificant than it is now.
Bear-up and Bearer-up.-See BONNET.
Beat, the allotted range traversed by a policeman on duty.
Beat, or BEAT-HOLLOW, to surpass or excel; also "BEAT into fits,” and
BEAT badly.
""
Beat, "DEAD-BEAT," wholly worn out, done up.
Beater-Cases, boots. Nearly obsolete. TROTTER CASES is the term
nowadays.
Beaver, old street term for a hat; Goss is the modern word, BEAVER,
except in the country, having fallen into disuse.
Bebee, a lady.-Anglo-Indian.
"You
Be-Blowed, a derisive instruction never carried into effect, as,
BE-BLOWED. Used similarly to the old "Go to." See BLOW ME.
Bed-Fagot, a contemptuous term for a woman; generally applied to a
prostitute. See FAGOT.
Bed-Post, "in the twinkling of a BED-POST," in a moment, or very
quickly. Originally BED-STAFF, a stick placed vertically in the frame
of a bed to keep the bedding in its place, and used sometimes as a
defensive weapon.
Bee, "to have a BEE in one's bonnet," i.e., to be not exactly sane; to
have a craze in one particular direction. Several otherwise sensible
and excellent M.P.'s are distinguished by the "BEE in his bonnet"
each carries.
Beef-Headed, stupid, fat-headed, dull.
Beefy, unduly thick or fat, commonly said of women's ankles; also rich,
juicy, plenteous. To take the whole pool at loo, or to have any
particular run of luck at cards generally is said by players to be " very
BEEFY."
Beeline, the straightest possible line of route to a given point. When a
bee is well laden, it makes a straight flight for home. Originally an
Americanism, but now general.
Beery, intoxicated, or fuddled with beer.
1
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
81.
Beeswax, poor, soft cheese.
Sometimes called "sweaty-toe cheese."
Hence the term.
Beeswing, the film which forms on the sides of bottles which contain
good old port wine. This breaks up into small pieces in the process
of decanting, and looks like BEES' WINGS.
Beetle-Crusher, or SQUASHER, a large flat foot.
made popular by being once used by Leech.
Beetle-Sticker, an entomologist.
The expression was
Beggars' Velvet, downy particles which accumulate under furniture
from the negligence of housemaids. Otherwise called SLUTS'-wool.
Belcher, a blue bird's-eye handkerchief.-See BILLY.
Bell, a song. Tramps' term. Simply diminutive of BELLOW.
Bellows, the lungs. BELLOWSER, a blow in the "wind," or pit of the
stomach, taking one's breath away.
Bellowsed, or LAGGED, transported.
Bellows to Mend, a person out of breath; especially a pugilist is said
to be BELLOWS TO MEND" when winded. With the P. R., the word
has fallen into desuetude.
Belly-Timber, food, or "grub."
Belly-Vengeance, small sour beer, apt to cause gastralgia.
Bemuse, to fuddle one's self with drink,
beer," &c.
Ben, a benefit.-Theatrical.
BEMUSING himself with
Ben Cull, a friend, or "pal." Expression used by thieves.
Bend, "that's above my bend," i.e., beyond my power, too expensive or
too difficult for me to perform.
Bender, a sixpence. Probably from its liability to bend. In the days
when the term was most in use sixpences were not kept in the excellent
state of preservation peculiar to the currency of the present day.
Bender, the arm; over the BENDER," synonymous with
left."-See OVER.
over the
Bendigo, a rough fur cap worn in the midland counties, called after a
noted pugilist of that name. "Hard Punchers are caps worn by
London roughs and formerly by men in training. They are a modifi-
cation of the common Scotch cap, and have peaks.
Bene, good.—Ancient Cant; BENAR was the comparative.-See BONE.
Latin.
Benedick, a married man. Shakspeare.
Benjamin, coat. Formerly termed a JOSEPH, in allusion, perhaps, to
Joseph's coat of many colours.—See UPPER-BENJAMIN.
Ben Joltram, brown bread and skimmed milk; a Norfolk term for a
ploughboy's breakfast.
Benjy, a waistcoat, diminutive of BENJAMIN.
Beong, a shilling.-See SALTEE.—Lingua Franca.
Bess-o'-Bedlam, a lunatic vagrant.-Norfolk.
82
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
1
Best, to get the better or BEST of a man in any way-not necessarily to
cheat-to have the best of a bargain. BESTED, taken in, or defrauded,
in reality worsted. BESTER, a low betting cheat, a fraudulent book-
maker.
Better, more; "how far is it to town?" "Oh, BETTER 'n a mile.".
Saxon and Old English, now a vulgarism.
Betting Round, laying fairly and equally against nearly all the horses
in a race so that no great risk can be run. Commonly called getting
round. See BOOK, and BOOKMAKING.
Betty, a skeleton key, or picklock.-Old Prison Cant.
B Flats, bugs.-Compare F SHARPS.
Bible-Carrier, a person who sells songs without singing them.--Seven
Dials.
Biddy, a general name applied to Irish stallwomen and milkmaids, in
the same manner that Mike is given to the labouring men.
A big
red-faced Irish servant girl is known as a Bridget.
Big, "to look BIG," to assume an inflated air or manner; "to talk BIG,"
i.e., boastingly.
Big-Bird, TO GET THE, i.e., to be hissed, as actors occasionally are
by the "gods." BIG-BIRD is simply a metaphor for goose.—Theat.
Slang.
Big House, or LARGE HOUSE, the workhouse,—a phrase used by the
very poor.
Big-wig, a person in authority or office. Exchangeable with GREAT
GUN.
Bilbo, a sword; abbrev. of "BILBAO blade." Spanish swords were
anciently very celebrated, especially those of Toledo, Bilbao, &c.
Bilk, a cheat, or a swindler. Formerly in general use, now confined to
the streets, where it is common, and mostly used in reference to pros-
titutes. Gothic, BILAICAN.
Bilk, to defraud, or obtain goods, &c., without paying for them;
to
BILK the schoolmaster," to get information or experience without pay-
ing for it.
Billingsgate (when applied to speech), foul and coarse language.
Many years since people used to visit Thames Street to hear the
Billingsgate fishwomen abuse each other. The anecdote of Dr.
Johnson and the Billingsgate virago is well known.
Billingsgate Pheasant, a red herring or bloater. This is also called
two-eyed steak.
a
Billy, a silk pocket-handkerchief.—Scotch.—See WIPE.
** A list of slang terms descriptive of the various patterns of
handkerchiefs, pocket and neck, is here subjoined :--
BELCHER, darkish blue ground, large round white spots, with a
spot in the centre of darker blue than the ground. This
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
83
was adopted by Jem Belcher, the pugilist, as his "colours,”
and soon became popular amongst "the fancy."
BIRD'S-EYE WIPE, a handkerchief of any colour, containing
white spots. The blue bird's-eye is similar to the Belcher
except in the centre. Sometimes a BIRD'S-EYE WIPE has
a white ground and blue spots.
BLOOD-RED FANCY, red.
BLUE BILLY, blue ground, generally with white figures.
CREAM FANCY, any pattern on a white ground.
KING'S MAN, yellow pattern on a green ground.
RANDAL'S MAN, green, with white spots; named after the
favourite colours of Jack Randal, pugilist.
WATER'S MAN, sky coloured.
YELLOW FANCY, yellow, with white spots.
YELLOW MAN, all yellow.
Billy, a policeman's staff.
BILLY-
Also stolen metal of any kind.
HUNTING is buying old metal. A BILLY-FENCER is a marine-store
dealer.
Billy-Barlow, a street clown; sometimes termed a JIM CROW, or
SALTIMBANCO,-so called from the hero of a slang song. Billy was a
real person, semi-idiotic, and though in dirt and rags, fancied himself
a swell of the first water. Occasionally he came out with real wit-
ticisms. He was a well-known street character about the East-end of
London, and died in Whitechapel Workhouse.
Billy-Cock, a soft felt hat of the Jim Crow or "wide-awake" de-
scription.
Bingo, brandy.-Old Cant.
Bingy, a term largely used in the butter trade to denote bad, ropy butter;
nearly equivalent to VINNIED.
Bird-Cage, a four-wheeled cab.
Birthday Suit, the suit in which Adam and Eve first saw each other,
and "
were not ashamed.'
}}
Bishop, a warm drink composed of materials similar to those used in the
manufacture of "flip" and " purl."
Bit, fourpence; in America a 12 cent piece is called a BIT, and a defaced 20
cent piece is termed a LONG BIT. A BIT is the smallest coin in
Jamaica, equal to 6d. BIT usually means the smallest silver coin in
circulation; also a piece of money of any kind. Charles Bannister,
the witty singer and actor, one day meeting a Bow Street runner with
a man in custody, asked what the prisoner had done; and being told
that he had stolen a bridle, and had been detected in the act of selling
it, said, "Ah, then, he wanted to touch the BIT."
Bitch, tea; a BITCH party," a tea-drinking.
Probably because under-
raduates consider tea only fit for old women.-Oxford.
Bite, a cheat; a Yorkshire BITE," a cheating fellow from that county.
The term BITE is also applied to a hard bargainer.-North; also old
:
F
84
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
slang-used by Pope. Swift says it originated with a nobleman in his
day.
Bite, to cheat; "to be BITTEN," to be taken in or imposed upon.
Ori-
ginally a Gipsy term. CROSS-BITER, for a cheat, continually occurs in
writers of the sixteenth century. Bailey has CROSS-BITE, a disappoint-
ment, probably the primary sense; and BITE is very probably a con-
traction of this.
Bit-Faker, or TURNER OUT, a coiner of bad money.
Bit-of-Stuff, overdressed man; a man with full confidence in his
appearance and abilities; a young woman, who is also called a BIT OF
MUSLIN.
Bitter, diminutive of bitter beer; "to do a BITTER," to drink beer.-
Originally Oxford, but now general.
Bittock, a distance of very undecided length. If a North countryman be
asked the distance to a place, he will most probably reply, "a mile
and a BITTOCK." The latter may be considered any distance from one
hundred yards to ten miles.
Bivvy, or GATTER, beer; "shant of BIVVY,
shant of BIVVY," a pot or quart of beer. In
Suffolk the afternoon refreshment of reapers is called BEVER. It is
also an old English term.
"He is none of those same ordinary eaters, that will devour three breakfasts,
and as many dinners, without any prejudice to their BEVERS, drinkings, or
suppers."-Beaumont and Fletcher's Woman Hater, i. 3.
Both words are probably from the Italian, BEVERE, BERE. Latin,
BIBERE. English, BEVErage.
Biz, contraction of the word business; a phrase much used in America in
writing as well as in conversation.
B. K. S. Military officers in mufti, when out on a spree, and not
wishing their profession to be known, speak of their barracks as the
B. K. S.
Black and White, handwriting or print. "Let's have it in BLACK
AND WHITE," is often said with regard to an agreement when it is to
the advantage of one or both that it should be written.
Black-a-vised, having a very dark complexion.
Blackberry-Swagger, a person who hawks tapes, boot-laces, &c.
Blackbirding, slave-catching. Term most applied nowadays to the
Polynesian coolie traffic.
Black Diamonds, coals; talented persons of dingy or unpolished ex-
terior; rough jewels.
Blackguard, a low or dirty fellow; a rough or a hulking fellow, capable
of any meanness or cowardice.
"A cant word amongst the vulgar, by which is implied a dirty fellow of the
meanest kind, Dr. Johnson says, and he cites only the modern authority of
Swift. But the introduction of this word into our language belongs not to the
vulgar, and is more than a century prior to the time of Swift. Mr. Malone
agrees with me in exhibiting the two first of the following examples :-The
black-guard is evidently designed to imply a fit attendant on the devil. Mr.
·
A
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
85
(
Gifford, however, in his late edition of Ben Jonson's works, assigns an origin.
of the name different from what the old examples which I have cited seem to
countenance. It has been formed, he says, from those mean and dirty de-
pendants, in great houses, who were selected to carry coals to the kitchen,
halls, &c. To this smutty regiment, who attended the progresses, and rode in
the carts with the pots and kettles, which, with every other article of furniture,
were then moved from palace to palace, the people, in derision, gave the name
of black guards; a term since become sufficiently familiar, and never properly
explained.'"-Todd's Johnson's Dictionary.
Blackguard as an adjective is very powerful.
Blackleg, a rascal, swindler, or card cheat. The derivation of this term
was solemnly argued before the full Court of Queen's Bench upon a
motion for a new trial for libel, but was not decided by the learned
tribunal. Probably it is from the custom of sporting and turf men
wearing black top-boots. Hence BLACKLEG came to be the phrase for a
professional sporting man, and thence for a professional sporting cheat.
The word is now in its worst sense diminished to "leg.
Black Maria, the sombre van in which prisoners are conveyed from the
police court to prison.
Black Monday, the Monday on which boys return to school after the
holidays. Also a low term for the Monday on which an execution
took place.
Black Sheep, a "bad lot," "mauvais sujet;" sometimes "scabby
sheep;" also a workman who refuses to join in a strike.
Black Strap, port wine; especially that which is thick and sweet.
Blackwork, undertaking. The waiters met at public dinners are often
employed during the day as mutes, etc. Omnibus and cab drivers
regard BLACKWORK as a dernier ressort.
Bladder-of-Lard, a coarse, satirical nickname for a bald-headed
person. From similarity of appearance.
Blade, a man-in ancient times the term for a soldier; "knowing
BLADE," a wide-awake, sharp, or cunning man.
Blarney, flattery, powers of persuasion. A castle in the county of Cork.
It is said that whoever kisses a certain stone in this castle will be able
to persuade others of whatever he or she pleases. The name of the
castle is derived from BLADH, a blossom, i.c., the flowery or fertile
demesne. BLADH is also flattery; hence the connexion.
A more
than ordinarily persuasive Irishman is said to have "kissed the BLAR-
NEY stone.
Blast, to curse. Originally a Military expression.
Blaze, to leave trace purposely of one's way in a forest or unknown path
by marking trees or other objects.
Blazes, a low synonym for the infernal regions, and now almost for any-
thing. "Like BLAZES" is a phrase of intensification applied without
any reference to the original meaning. Also applied to the brilliant
habiliments of flunkeys, since the episode of Sam Weller and the
swarry."
Bleed, to victimize, or extract money from a person, to sponge on, to
make suffer vindictively.
86
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Blest, a vow; "BLEST if I'll do it," i.e., I am determined not to do it;
euphemism for CURST.
Blether, to bother, to annoy, to pester.
"A BLETHERING old nui-
sance is a common expression for a garrulous old person.
Blew, or BLOw, to inform, or peach, to lose or spend money.
Blewed, a man who has lost or spent all his money is said to have
BLEWED it. Also used in cases of robbery from the person, as,
"He's BLEWED his red 'un," i.e., he's been eased of his watch.
Blewed, got rid of, disposed of, spent.
Blind, a pretence, or make-believe.
Blind-Half-Hundred, the Fiftieth Regiment of Foot; so called
through their great sufferings from ophthalmia when serving in
Egypt.
Blind-Hookey, a game at cards which has no recommendation beyond
the rapidity with which money can be won and lost at it ; called also
WILFUL MURDER.
Sometimes applied to the
Blind-Man's-Holiday, night, darkness.
period "between the lights."
Blind Monkeys, an imaginary collection at the Zoological Gardens,
which are supposed to receive care and attention from persons fitted by
nature for such office and for little else. An idle and useless person
is often told that he is only fit to lead the BLIND MONKEYS to evacuate.
Another form this elegant conversation takes, is for one man to tell
another that he knows of a suitable situation for him. "How much
a week? and what to do?" are natural questions, and then comes
the scathing and sarcastic reply, Five bob a week at the doctor's
you're to stand behind the door and make the patients sick. They
wont want no physic when they sees your mug.
ور
Blinker, a blackened eye.-Norwich. Also a hard blow in the eye.
BLINKERS, spectacles.
Blink-Fencer, a person who sells spectacles.
Bloated Aristocrat, a street term for any decently dressed person.
From the persistent abuse lavished on a "bloated and parasitical
aristocracy" by Hyde Park demagogues and a certain unpleasant por-
tion of the weekly press.
Bloater.-See MILD.
Blob (from BLAB), to talk. Beggars are of two kinds-those who
SCREEVE (introducing themselves with a FAKEMENT, or false docu-
ment) and those who BLOB, or state their case in their own truly
"unvarnished" language.
Block, the head. "To BLOCK a hat," is to knock a man's hat down
over his eyes.-See BONNET. Also a street obstruction.
Block Ornaments, the small dark-coloured and sometimes stinking
pieces of meat which used to be exposed on the cheap butchers' blocks
or counters; matters of interest to all the sharp-visaged women in poor
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
87
neighbourhoods. Since the great rise in the price of meat there has
been little necessity for butchers to make block ornaments of their odds.
and ends. They are bespoke beforehand.
Bloke, a man; "the BLOKE with the jasey," the man with the wig, i.e.,
the Judge. Gipsy and Hindoo, LOKE. North, BLOACHER, any large
animal.
Blood, a fast or high-mettled man. Nearly obsolete, but much used in
George the Fourth's time.
Blood-money, the money that used to be paid to any one who by
information or evidence led to a conviction for a capital offence. Now
adays applied to all sums received by informers.
Blood-Red Fancy, a particular kind of handkerchief sometimes worn
by pugilists and frequenters of prize fights.—See BILLY and COLOUR.
Bloody, an expletive used, without reference to meaning, as an adjective
and an adverb, simply for intensification.
Bloody Jemmy, an uncooked sheep's head.-See SANGUINARY JAMES.
Also MOUNTAIN PECKER.
Blow, to expose, or inform; "BLOW the gaff," to inform against a
person.
"As for that,' says Will,' I could tell it well enough, if I had it, but I must not
be seen anywhere among my old acquaintances, for I am BLOWN, and they will
all betray me.""-History of Colonel Jack, 1723.
The expression would seem to have arisen from the belief that a flower
might be blighted if "BLOWN upon" by a foul wind or a corrupted
breath. See the condition of the flowers on a dinner-table by the time
the company rise. In America, "to BLOW" is slang for to lie in a
boasting manner, to brag or gas" unduly.
(C
Blow a Cloud, to smoke a cigar or pipe- a phrase used two centuries
ago. Most likely in use as long as tobacco here-an almost evident
conclusion.
Thomas
Blow Me, or BLOW ME TIGHT, a vow, a ridiculous and unmeaning ejacula-
tion, inferring an appeal to the ejaculator; "I'm BLOWED if you will"
is a common expression among the lower orders;
<< BLOW ME UP" was
the term a century ago.-See Parker's Adventures, 1781.-The expres-
sion BE-BLOWED is now more general.
Hood used to tell a
story :-
"I was once asked to contribute to a new journal, not exactly gratuitously, but
at a very small advance upon nothing-and avowedly because the work had
been planned according to that estimate. However, I accepted the terms
conditionally-that is to say, provided the principle could be properly carried
out. Accordingly, I wrote to my butcher, baker, and other tradesmen, in-
forming them that it was necessary, for the sake of cheap literature and
the interest of the reading public, that they should furnish me with their
several commodities at a very trifling per-centage above cost price. It will
be sufficient to quote the answer of the butcher:-'Sir,-Respectin' your
note, Cheap literater BE BLOWED! Butchers must live as well as other pepel
-and if so be you or the readin' publick wants to have meat at prime cost,
you must buy your own beastesses, and kill yourselves.-I remane, etc.
JOHN STOKES.'”
H
SS
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Blow Out, or TUCK IN, a feast. Sometimes the expression is, BLOW
OUT your bags." A BLOW OUT is often called a tightener.
Blow Up, to make a noise, or scold; formerly a cant expression used
among thieves, now a recognised and respectable phrase. BLOWING
UP, a jobation, a scolding.
Blowen, originally a showy or flaunting female, now a prostitute only.
In Wilts, a BLOWEN is a blossom. Germ. BLUHEN, to bloom.
German, also, BUHLEN is to court, and BUHLE, a sweetheart.
In
‘O du blühende Mädchen, viel schöne Willkomm !"—German Song.
Possibly, however, the street term BLOWEN may mean one whose
reputation has been BLOWN UPON or damaged.
Blower, a girl; a contemptuous name in opposition to JOMER. — Gipsy.
Blowsey, a word applied to a rough wench, or coarse woman.
Bludger, a low thief, who does not hesitate to use violence, literally one
who will use a bludgeon.
Blue, said of talk that is smutty or indecent. Probably from the French,
'Bibliothèque Bleu." When the conversation has assumed an entirely
opposite character, it is then said to be BROWN or Quakerish.
Blue, a policeman; otherwise BLUE BOTTLE. From the colour of his
uniform.
Blue, or BLEW, to pawn or pledge. Actually to get rid of.
Blue, confounded or surprised; "to look BLUE," to look astonished,
annoyed, or disappointed.
""
Blue Bellies, a term applied by the Confederate soldiers during the
civil war in America to the Federals, the name being suggested by the
skyblue gaberdines worn by the Northern soldiers. On the other
hand, the "filthy BLUE BELLIES, as the full title ran, dubbed the
Confederates "Greybacks," the epithet cutting both ways, as the Southern
soldiers not only wore grey uniforms, but "greyback" is American as
well as English for a louse.
Blue Billy, the handkerchief (blue ground
worn and used as a colour at prize-fights.
lime from gas factories.
with white spots) sometimes
Also, the refuse ammoniacal
Blue Blanket, a rough overcoat made of coarse pilot cloth.
""
Blue Bottle, a policeman. This well-known slang term for a London
constable is used by Shakspeare. In Part ii. of King Henry IV.,
act v. scene 4, Doll Tearsheet calls the beadle, who is dragging her
in, a "thin man in a censer, a BLUE-BOTTLE rogue.
This may at
first seem singular, but the reason is obvious. The beadles of Bride-
well whose duty it was to whip the women prisoners were clad in
blue.
Blue Butter, mercurial ointment used for the destruction of parasites.
Blued, or BLEWED, tipsy, or drunk. Now given way to SLEWED.
Blue Devils, the apparitions supposed to be seen by habitual drunkards.
Form of del. trem.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
89
¿
Blue Moon, an unlimited period.
"Once in a blue moon."
Blue Murders. Probably from desperate or alarming cries. A term
used more to describe cries of terror or alarm than for any other
purpose. As, "I heard her calling BLUE MURDERS."-MORbleu.
Blue-Pigeon-Flyer, sometimes a journeyman plumber, glazier, or
other workman, who, when repairing houses, strips off the lead, and
makes away with it. This performance is, though, by no means con-
fined to workmen. An empty house is often entered and the whole of
the roof in its vicinity stripped, the only notice given to the folks
below being received by them on the occasion of a heavy downfall of
rain. The term FLYER has, indeed, of late years been more peculiarly
applied to the man who steals the lead in pursuance of his vocation as
a thief, than to him who takes it because it comes in the way of his
work.
Blue Ruin, gin.
Blues, a fit of despondency.-See BLUE DEVILS.
Blues, the police. Sometimes called the Royal Regiment of Foot-guards
BLUE.
-Bluey, lead.-German, BLEI. Most likely, though, from the colour, as the
term is of the very lowest slang.
Bluff, an excuse; also the game at cards known as euchre in America.
Bluff, to turn aside, stop, or excuse.
Blunt, money.
It has been said that this term is from the French BLOND,
sandy or golden colour, and that a parallel may be found in BROWN or
BROWNS, the slang for half-pence. Far-fetched as this etymology
seems, it may be 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" (đơπρóv) of Constan-
tinople is called by the Turks AKCHEH, ¿.e., little white."
Blurt Out, to speak from impulse, and without reflection, to let out
suddenly.—Shakspeare.
B.N.C., for Brasenose, initials of Brazen Nose College. In spite of the
nose over the gate the probability is the real name was Brasinium. It
is still famous for its beer.-University.
Board-of-Green-Cloth, a facetious synonym for a card or billiard
table.
Boat, originally to transport; the term is now applied to penal servitude.
To get the BOAT," or to "be BOATED," is to be sentenced to a long
term of imprisonment equivalent to transportation under the old
system.
Bob, a shilling. Formerly BOBSTICK, which may have been the original.
BOB-A-NOB, a shilling a-head.
Bob, "s'help me BOB," a street oath, equivalent to "so help me God."
Óther words are used in street language for a similarly evasive purpose,
i.e., CAT, GREENS, TATUR, &c., all equally ridiculous. Ignorant
people have a singular habit of saying "so help my," instead of “me;"
H 2
90
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
whatever the following words may be. This shows how little they
think of the meanings of the phrases most in use among them. The
words "" so help" are almost invariably pronounced "swelp."
Bobbery, a squabble, tumult.-Anglo-Indian.
Bobbish, very well, clever, spruce. "How are you doing?" "Oh !
pretty BOBBISH. Old.
Bobby, a policeman: both BOBBY and PEELER were nicknames given to
the new police, in allusion to the Christian name and surname of the
late Sir Robert Peel, who was the prime mover in effecting their
introduction and improvement. The term BOBBY is, however, older
than the introduction of the new police. 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,
the beadle."
BODKIN.
BOBBY
Bodkin, any one sitting between two others in a carriage, is said “to ride
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; as, for instance, during a
race-week.
Body-Snatcher, a bailiff or runner: SNATCH, the trick by which the
bailiff captures the delinquent. These terms are now almost obsolete,
so far as the pursuits mentioned are concerned.
Bog, or BOG-HOUSE, a privy, as distinguished from a water-closet.
Originally printers' slang, but now very common, and not applied
to any particular form of cabinet d'aisance. "To BOG" is to ease
oneself by evacuation.
Bog-Oranges, potatoes. A phrase perhaps derived from the term
"Irish fruit," which, by some strange peculiarity has been applied to
potatoes; for even the most ignorant Cockney could hardly believe that
potatoes grow in a bog. As, however, the majority of the lower
classes of London do believe that potatoes were indigenous to, and
were first brought from the soil of Ireland, which is also in some parts
supposed to be capable of growing nothing else, they may even believe
that potatoes are actually BOG-ORANGES.
Bog-Trotter, satirical name for an Irishman.—Miege. Camden, how-
ever, speaking of the "debateable land" on the borders of England
and Scotland, says, "both these dales breed notable BOG-TROTTers.
Bogus, an American term for anything pretending to be that which it is
not-such as BOGUS degrees, BOGUS titles, &c.
Boilers, or BROMPTON BOILERS, a name originally given to the New
Kensington Museum and School of Art, in allusion to the peculiar
form of the buildings, and the fact of their being mainly composed of,
and covered with, sheet iron. This has been changed since the
extensive alterations in the building, or rather pile of buildings, and
the words are now the property of the Bethnal Green Museum.-See
PEPPER-BOXES.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
91
Boko, the nose. Originally pugilistic slang, but now general.
Bolt, to run away, decamp, or abscond. Also to swallow without
chewing. To eat greedily.
Bolus, an apothecary. Origin evident.
Bombay Ducks; in the East India Company's army the Bombay
regiments 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, good, excellent., the vagabonds' hieroglyphic for BONE, or
good, chalked by them on houses and street corners 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. The term was also applied to a resurrectionist. Cobbett
was therefore called "a BONE GRUBBER," because he brought the
remains of Tom Paine from America.
Bone-Picker, a footman.
Bones, to rattle the BONES, to play at dice: also called St. Hugh'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."-Ancient, vide Cotgrave.
Boniface, landlord of a tavern or inn.
"}
Bonnet, or BONNETER, a gambling cheat. Sometimes called a "bearer-
up. The BONNET plays as though he were a member of the
general public, and by his good luck, or by the force of his example,
induces others to venture their stakes. Bonneting is often done in
much better society than that to be found in the ordinary gaming-
rooms. A man who persuades another to buy an article on which he
receives commission or per-centage is said to BONNET or bear-up for
the seller. Also, a pretence, or make-believe, a sham bidder at
auctions, one who metaphorically blinds or BONNETS others.
Bonnet, to strike a man's cap or hat over his eyes. Also to
for another.
Booby-Trap, a favourite amusement of boys at school. It consists in
placing a pitcher of water on the top of a door set ajar for the purpose;
the person whom they wish to drench is then made to pass through
the door, and receives the pitcher and its contents on his unlucky head.
Books are sometimes used.
CC
Also to "bear-up"
Book, an arrangement of bets against certain horses marked in a
pocket-book made for that purpose. Making a BOOK upon it," is a
common phrase to denote that a man is prepared to lay the odds
against the horses in a race. "That does not suit my BOOK," i.e.,
does not accord with my other arrangements. The principle of
J2
1HE SLANG DICTIONARY.
making a BOOK, or betting round, as it is sometimes termed, is to lay
a previously-determined sum against every horse in the race, or as many
horses as possible; and should the bookmaker "get round," i.e., succeed
in laying against as many horses as will more than balance the odds
laid, he is certain to be a winner. The BOOKMAKER is distinguished
from the backer by its being his particular business to bet against
horses, or to lay, while the backer, who is also often a professional
gambler, stands by the chance of a horse, or the chances of a set of
horses about which he supposes himself to be possessed of special
information. A bookmaker rarely backs horses for his own particular
fancy-he may indeed put a sovereign or a fiver on an animal about
which he has been told something, but as a rule if he specially
fancies a horse, the bookmaker lets him "run for the BOOK," i.e.,
does not lay against him. When a bookmaker backs a horse in the
course of his regular business, it is because he has laid too much.
against him, and finds it convenient to share the danger with other
bookmakers.
Booked, caught, fixed, disposed of.—Term in Book-keeping.
Bookmaker's Pocket, a breast-pocket made inside the waistcoat, for
notes of large amount.
Books, a pack of cards. Term used by professional card-players.-See
DEVIL'S BOOKS.
Boom, "to top one's BOOM off," to be off or start in a certain direction.-
Sea.
Boom-Passenger, a sailor's slang term for a convict on board ship.
Derived from the circumstance that prisoners on board convict ships
were chained to, or were made to crawl along or stand on the booms
for exercise or punishment.
Boon-Companion, a comrade in a drinking bout. BOON evidently
corruption of BON.
Booze, drink. Ancient Cant, BOWSE. BOOZE, or SUCK-CASA, a public-
house.
Booze, to drink, or more properly, to use another slang term, to "lush,"
viz., to drink continually, until drunk, or nearly so. The term is an
old one. Harman, in Queen Elizabeth's days, speaks of "BOUSING
(or boozing) and belly-cheere." Massinger also speaks of BOUSE. The
term was good English in the fourteenth 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, perhaps so called from his
unvaried and pertinacious pushing; a nuisance; anything which wearies.
or annoys. The Gradus ad Cantabrigiam suggests the derivation of
BORE from the Greek Bápos, a burden. Shakspeare uses it, King Henry
VIII., i, I—
*
at this instant
HE BORES me with some trick."
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
93
Grose 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. That this was not so, the constant use of the word now-
adays will prove. The late Prince Consort spoke as follows on the
subject of BORES in his address to the British Association, at Aberdeen,
September 14, 1859—
"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 understood
wants of science before the public and the Government, who will even hand
round the begging-box, and expose themselves to refusals and rebuffs, to which
all beggars are liable, with the certainty besides of being considered great
BORES. Please to recollect that this species of BORE is a most useful animal,
well adapted for the ends for which nature intended him. He alone, by con-
stantly 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-protection, as the
minor evil compared to his importunity, but which is requisite to make his
cause understood."
Bore (Pugilistic), to press a man to the ropes of the ring by superior
weight. In the world of athletics to BORE is to push an opponent out
of his course.
This is a most heinous crime among rowers, as it very
often prevents a man having the full use of the tide, or compels him to
foul, in which case the decision of the race is left to individual judg-
ment, at times, of necessity, erroneous.
Bosh, nonsense, stupidity.-Gipsy and Persian. Also pure Turkish,
BOSH LAKERDI, empty talk. The term was used in this country as
early as 1760, and may be found in the Student, vol. ii. p. 217. It has
been suggested, with what reason the reader must judge for himself, that
this colloquial expression is from the German BOSH, or BOSSCH,
answering to our word "swipes."
Bosh, a fiddle. This is a Gipsy term, and so the exclamations "Bosh!"
and "Fiddle-de-dee ! may have some remote connexion.
Bosh-Faker, a violin player. Term principally used by itinerants.
Bos-Ken, a farmhouse. Ancient.-See KEN.
Bosky, inebriated. Not much in use now.
Bosman, a farmer: "faking a BOSMAN on the main toby," robbing a
farmer on the highway. Boss, a master.-American.
Both terms
from the Dutch, BOSCH-MAN, one who lives in the woods; otherwise
Boschjeman, or Bushman.
Boss-Eyed, said of a person with one eye, or rather with one eye injured,
a person with an obliquity of vision. In this sense sometimes varied
by the term "swivel-eyed."
Bostruchyzer, a small kind of comb for curling the whiskers.-Oxford
University.
Botany Bay, Worcester Coll. Oxon., so called from its remote situation.
Bother, trouble or annoyance. Any one oppressed with business cares is
said to be BOTHERED. "Don't BOTHER," is a common expression.
BLOTHER, an old word, signifying to chatter idly,
94
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Botheration! trouble, annoyance ;
C
BOTHERATION to it !" "confound
it!" or
deuce take it !"-an exclamation when irritated.
Bottle-Holder, originally a term in prize ring parlance for the second
who took charge of the water-bottle, which was an essential feature in
all pugilistic arrangements. This second used to hold the combatant
on his knee between the rounds, while the other or principal second
sponged, instructed, and advised; an abettor; also the bridegroom's man
at a wedding. Slang term for Lord Palmerston, derived from a speech
he made some years ago when foreign secretary, in which he described
himself as acting the part of a judicious BOTTLE-HOLDER among the
foreign powers.
Bottom, stamina in a horse or man.
Power to stand fatigue ; endurance
to receive a good beating and still fight on. "A fellow of pluck,
sound wind, and good BOTTOM is fit to fight anything. This was an
old axiom among prize fighters. Pierce Egan was very fond of the
word.
))
Bottom, spirit placed in a glass before aërated water is poured in. As,
"a soda and a BOTTOM of brandy, "soda and dark BOTTOM," is
American for soda and brown brandy.
"BOTTOMED well with brandy."-Bon Gaultier Ballads.
Botts, the colic or bellyache.—Stable Slang. Burns uses it. See Death
and Dr. Hornbook.
Botty, conceited, swaggering.—Stable. An infant's posteriors.—Nursery.
Bounce, impudence, cheek. A showy swindler, a bully.
Bounce, to boast, cheat, or bully.-Old Cant. Also to lie.
Bounceable, prone to bouncing or boasting.
Bouncer, a erson who steals whilst bargaining with a tradesman, a
swindler lie of more than ordinary dimensions.
Bounder, a four-wheeled cab.
In
Because of its jumping motion over the
stones. Also a University term for a TRAP, which generally has a
very rough time of it on the country roads.
Bow-Catcher, or KISS-CURL, a small curl which a few years back used
to be, and probably will be again some day, twisted on the cheeks or
temples of young-and often old-girls, adhering to the face as if
gummed or pasted. Evidently a corruption of BEAU-CATCHER.
old times this was called a lovelock, when it was the mark at which all
the Puritan and ranting preachers levelled their pulpit pop-guns,
loaded with sharp and virulent abuse. Hall and Prynne looked upon
all women as strumpets who dared to let the hair depart from a
straight line upon their cheeks. The French prettily termed these
adornments accroche-cœurs, whilst in the United States they were
Bartlett says:
plainly and unpleasantly called "spit-curls."
Spit-
curl," a detached lock of hair curled upon the temple; probably from
having been at first plastered into shape by the saliva.
It is now
understood that the mucilage of quince seed is used by the ladies for
this purpose.
When men twist the hair on each side of their faces into
ropes they are sometimes called "bell-ropes," as being wherewith to
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
95
draw the belles. Whether BELL-ROPES or BOW-CATCHERS, it is
singular they should form part of a prisoner's adornment, and that a
jaunty little kiss-curl should, of all things in the world, ornament a
jail dock; yet such was formerly the case. Hunt, "the accomplice
after the fact and King's evidence against " the murderer of Weare, on
his trial appeared at the bar with a highly pomatumed love-lock
sticking tight to his forehead. In the days of the Civil Wars, the very
last thing a Cavalier would part with was his love-lock.
Bowdlerization, a term used in literary circles to signify undue strictness
of treatment caused by over-modesty in editing a classic. TO BOWD-
LERIZE is to emasculate through squeamishness. From the name
(Bowdler) of one of Shakspeare's "purifiers."
Bowlas, round tarts made of sugar, apple, and bread, sold in the streets,
especially at the East-end of London.
Bowles, shoes.
Bowl Out, to put out of the game, to remove out of one's way, to
detect.-Originally a Cricketing term, but now general.
Box-Harry, a term with bagmen or commercial travellers, implying
dinner and tea at one meal; also dining with "Duke Humphrey," ie.,
going without-which see.
Box the Compass, to repeat the thirty-two points of the compass
either in succession or irregularly. The method used at sea to teach
boys the points of the mariner's compass.-Sea.
Boy, a hump on a man's back. In low circles it is usual to speak of a
humpbacked man as two persons-"him and his BOY," and from
this much coarse fun and personality are at times evolved.
Bracelets, handcuffs.
Brace up, to pawn stolen goods.
Brads, money. Properly a small kind of nails used by cobblers.-Com-
pare HORSE NAILS.
Brain-Pan, the skull, and BRAIN-CANISTER, the head. Both pugilistic
and exchangeable terms.
Bramble-Gelder, a derisive appellation for an agriculturist.-Suffolk.
Brandy Pawnee, brandy and water.—Anglo-Indian.
Brandy Smash, one of the 365 American drinks, made of brandy and
crushed ice.
Bran-New, quite new. Properly Brent, BRAND or Fire new, i.e., fresh
from the anvil, or fresh with the manufacturer's brand upon it.
Brass, money.
"Tin" is also used, and so are most forms of metal.
Brass, impudence. In 1803 some artillerymen 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 or 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.
Brass-Knocker, broken victuals.
"}
Used by tramps and cadgers.
Brat, a child of either sex. Generally used in an offensive sense.
96
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Brazen-Faced, impudent, shameless. From BRASS. Such a person
is sometimes said to have rubbed his face with a brass candlestick.
Brazil, a hard red wood; "HARD AS BRAZIL," a common expression.
Quarles 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
connected with the victualling department, as a purser or purveyor in
the Commissariat.
>>
Bread Basket, DUMPLING-DEPOT, VICTUALLING-OFFICE, &c., were
terms which in the old pugilistic days were given by the " Fancy to
the digestive organs. Blows in this region were called "porridge
disturbers," and other fancy names, which were supposed to rob them
of their hardness-to those who did not receive them.
Break-Down, a noisy dance, almost violent enough to break the floor
down; a jovial, social gathering, a "flare up;" in Ireland, a wedding-
American so far as the dance is concerned.
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 gentle-
man would like a cheap ton of coals; he was sorry for troubling him 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 neighbour-
hood. Five-and-twenty is the price, but yer shall have them for 20s. Our
author was not to be 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 quality of his coals-'Acterly givin' 'em
away, and the gent wont have 'em,' said he, addressing the neighbourhood in
a loud voice and the last that was heard of him was his anything but sweet
voice whistling through the keyhole, 'Will eighteen bob BREAK YER BACK?'"
Break Shins, to borrow money. Probably from an older slang phrase,
'kick," to ask for drink-money.
Break the Ice, to make a commencement, to plunge in medias res.
Break Up, the conclusion of a performance of any kind-originally a
school term.
Breaky-Leg, strong drink; "he's been to Bungay fair, and broke
both his legs," i.e., got drunk. In the ancient Egyptian language
the determinative character in the hieroglyphic verb

ABXD1
66
to be drunk," has the significant form of the leg of
a man being amputated. Tangle Leg" is the name
given to New England rum.
Breeched, or TO HAVE THE BAGS OFF, to have plenty of money; "to
be well BREECHED, to be in good circumstances.
Also among
11
schoolboys to be well flogged.
Breeches, "to wear the BREECHES," said of a wife who usurps the
husband's prerogative. Equivalent to the remark that "the grey mare
is the better horse."
Breeching, a flogging. Term in use among boys at several private
schools.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
97
Breef, probably identical with BRIEF, a shortened card used for cheating
purposes; thus described in an old book of games of about 1720-
"
•
•
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 alike, 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 as sideways."
Modern card-players of a certain kind have considerably improved on
this.
Breeks, breeches.—Scotch, now common.
Brick, a "jolly good fellow; "a regular BRICK," a staunch fellow.
About the highest compliment that in one word can be paid one
man. Said to be derived from an expression of Aristotle's—7ε7ρa-
γωνος άνηρ.
•
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 PONT.
Brief, a pawnbroker's duplicate; a raffle card, or a ticket of any kind.
Briefs, cards constructed on a cheating principle. See BRIDGE, CONCAVES
and CONVEXES, LONGS, and SHORTS, REFLECTORS, &c. From the Ger-
man, BRIEFE, which Baron Heinecken says was the name given to the
cards manufactured at Ulm. BRIEF is also the synonym for a card in the
German Rothwalsch dialect, and BRIEFEN to play at cards. "Item--
beware of the Joners, (gamblers,) who practice 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 Vagatorum, ed. by Martin
Luther, in 1529. English translation, by J. C. Hotten, 1860, p. 47.
See BREEF.
Brim, a violent irascible woman, as inflammable and unpleasant as brim-
stone, from which the word is contracted.
Briney, the sea. A "dip in the BRINEY" once a year is a great attraction
to Cockney excursionists. A story is told of one excursionist saying
to another, as they stripped in a double machine, “Why, 'Arry, what
dirty feet you've got! "Ave I; well yer see I wasn't down last
year."
Bring-up, or BRING-TO, to stop suddenly, as a team of horses or a
vessel. To BRING-UP also means to feed, clothe, and educate a child.
TO BRING-UP by hand is to bring up a newly-born child or animal
without assistance from the natural fount.
Brisket-Beater, a Roman Catholic.
Broad and Shallow, an epithet applied to the so-called "Broad
Church," in contradistinction to the "High" and "Low" Churches.
See HIGH and DRY.
Broad-Brim, originally applied to a Quaker only, but now used in
reference to all quiet, sedate, respectable old men.
98
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Broad-Cooper, a person employed by brewers to negotiate with
publicans.
Broad-Faking, playing at cards. Generally used to denote "work"
of the three-card and kindred descriptions.
Broad-Fencer, a "k'rect card" seller at races.
Broads, cards. BROADSMAN, a card-sharper. See BROAD-FAKING.
Broadway Swell, a New York term for a great dandy, Broadway
being the principal promenade in the "Empire City."
Broady, cloth. Evidently a corruption of broadcloth. BROADY workers
are men who go round selling vile shoddy stuff under the pretence
that it is excellent material, which has been "got on the cross," i.e.
stolen.
Brolly, an umbrella. Term used at both Oxford and Cambridge Univer-
sities.
Brosier, a bankrupt.-Cheshire. BROSIER-MY-DAME, school term, im-
plying a clearing of the housekeeper's larder of provisions, in revenge
for stinginess.-Eton.
Brother-Chip, originally fellow carpenter. Almost general now as
brother tradesman of any kind. Also, BROTHER-WHIP, a fellow coach-
man; and BROTHER-BLADE, of the same occupation or calling-
originally a fellow-soldier.
Brother-Smut, a term of familiarity. "Ditto, BROTHER SMUT," tu
quoque.
Broth of a Boy, an Irish term for a jolly good fellow.
Brown, a halfpenny.-See BLUNT.
Brown, "to do BROWN," to do well or completely, "doing it BROWN,'
"done BROWN,'
prolonging the frolic, or exceeding sober bounds;
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
It is
BESS may be from the German BUSCHE, or BOSCHE, a barrel.
much more likely, however, that the phrase is derived from the fact that
"the soldier is wedded to his weapon.'
Brown-papermen, low gamblers.
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-BRAUN, an eye-brow.-Ben
Fonson.
Brown Talk, conversation of an exceedingly proper character, Quaker-
ish. Compare BLUE.
Brown to, to understand, to comprehend.
Bruiser, a fighting man, a pugilist. Shakspeare uses the word BRUISING
in a similar sense.
Brum, a counterfeit coin. Nearly obsolete. Corruption of Brummagem,
for meaning of which see Introductory Chapter.
EHAL LIBRAR
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Brush, a fox's tail, a house-painter. Also a scrimmage.
Juiversity
99 CHIGAA
Brush, or BRUSH-OFF, to run away, or move on quickly.—Old Cant.
Bub, drink of any kind.—See GRUB. Middleton, the dramatist, mentions
BUBBER, a great drinker.
Bub, a teat, woman's breast, plural BUBBIES; no doubt from BIBE. See
ante.
Bubble, to over-reach, deceive, to tempt by means of false promises.—
Old. (Acta Regia, ii. 248, 1726.)
Bubble-and-Squeak, a dish composed of pieces of cold roast or boiled
meat and greens, afterwards fried, which have thus first BUBBLED in the
pot, and then SQUEAKED or hissed in the pan.
Bubble-Company, a swindling association.
Buckled, to be married. Also to be taken in custody.
Both uses of
the word common and exchangeable among the London lower classes.
Bubbley-Jock, a turkey, or silly boasting fellow; a prig.—Scottish.
In the north of England the bird is called a BOBBLE-COCK. Both
names, no doubt, from its cry, which is supposed by imaginative
persons to consist of the two words exactly.
Buck, a gay or smart man; an unlicensed cabman; also a large marble
used by schoolboys.
Buck, sixpence. The word is rarely used by itself, but generally denotes
the sixpence attached to shillings in reference to cost, as, "three and
a BUCK," three shillings and sixpence. Probably a corruption of
Fyebuck.
Buckhorse, a smart blow or box on the ear; derived from the name of
a celebrated "bruiser" of that name. Buckhorse was a man who
either possessed or professed insensibility to pain, and who would
for a small sum allow anyone to strike him with the utmost force on
the side of the face.
Buckle, to bend; "I can't BUCKLE to that." I don't understand it ; to
yield or give in to a person. Shakspeare uses the word in the latter
sense, Henry IV., i. 1 ; and Halliwell says that "the commentators do
not supply another example."
I
Buckle-Beggar, a COUPLE-BEGGAR, which see.
Buckle-to, to bend to one's work, to begin at once, and with great
energy-from buckling-to one's armour before a combat, or fastening
on a bundle.
Buckley, "Who struck BUCKLEY? a common phrase used to irritate
Irishmen. The story is that an Englishman having struck an Irish-
man named Buckley, the latter made a great outcry, and one of his
friends rushed forth screaming, "Who struck Buckley?" "I did,"
said the Englishman, preparing for the apparently inevitable combat.
"Then," said the ferocious Hibernian, after a careful investigation of
the other's thews and sinews, "then, sarve him right."
100
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
""
Buckra, a white man. The original of this term is a "flogging man,
from the Hebrew, and the application of it to the whites by the West
Indian negroes is, therefore, rather interesting. They probably first
learned it from a missionary.
Buckshish, BUCKSHEESH or BACKSHEESH, a present of money. Over
all India, and the East generally, the natives lose no opportunity of
asking for BUCKSHISH. The usage is such a complete nuisance that
the word is sometimes answered by a blow; this is termed BAMBOO
BUCKSHISH. BUCKSHISH has taken up a very firm residence in
Europe-may, in fact, on a much larger scale than that of Asia, be said
to have always had an existence here. BUCKSHISH is a very important
item in the revenues of officials who hold positions of considerable im-
portance, as well as in those of their humbler brethren. During the
recent visit of the Shah of Persia, that potentate discovered that
BUCKSHISH was by no means peculiar to the East.
Budge, to move, to "make tracks.'
Budge, strong drink; BUDGY, drunk; BUDGING-KEN, a public-house;
cove of the BUDGING-KEN," the landlord. Probably a corruption of
BOOZE. Probably also, on the lucus a non lucendo principle, because
its use made one incapable of budging.
Buff, the bare skin; "stripped to the BUFF."
Buff, to swear to, or accuse; generally used in reference to a wrongful
accusation, as, CC
'Oh, BUFF it on to him." Old word for boasting,
1582.
Buffer, a navy term for a boatswain's mate, one of whose duties it is—
or was to administer the cat."
CC
Buffer, a familiar expression for a jolly acquaintance, probably from
the French BOUFFARD, a fool or clown; a "jolly old BUFFER," 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."-Bacchus and Venus. The term
was once applied to those who took false oaths for a consideration;
but though the word has fallen into disuse there is no particular reason
for imagining that the practice has.
Buffer, a woman employed in a Sheffield warehouse to give the final
polish to goods previously to their being plated.
Buffer, a dog. Dogs' 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 naked, though the term BUFF, as ap-
plied to the skin, is most likely due to its resemblance to the leather
so called.
Stripped to the BUFF," cannot have any reference to
dóg skinning, though it may have originally referred to the BUFF
jerkins worn under defensive armour. 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.
Buffle-Head, a stupid or obtuse person.-Miege. German, BUFFEL-
HAUPT, buffalo-headed. Occurs in Plautus' Comedies made English,
1694.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
ΙΟΙ
Buffs, the Third Regiment of Foot in the British army. From their facings.
Buffy, intoxicated.
Buggy, a gig, or light chaise. Common term in America and in India,
as well as in England.
Bug-Hunter, a low wretch who plunders drunken men.
Bug-Walk, a coarse term for a bed.
Build, applied in fashionable slang to the make or style of dress, &c.
It's a tidy BUILD, who made it?" A tailor is sometimes called a
"trousers' BUILDER. ""
Bulger, large; synonymous with BUSTER.
Bulky, a constable.—North.
Bull, one who agrees to purchase stock at a future day, at a stated price,
but who simply speculates for 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 BEAR, who is the opposite of a
BULL, the former selling, the latter purchasing-the one operating for
a fall, the other for a rise.
Bull, a crown-piece, formerly BULL'S EYE. See WORK.
Bull, term amongst prisoners for the meat served to them in jail. Also
very frequently used instead of the word beef. The costermonger often
speaks of his dinner, when he has beef, as a "bit o' BULL, without
any reference to its being either tough or tender, but he never speaks of
sheep."
mutton as
Bull-Beef, a term of contempt; as ugly as BULL-BEEF," "go to the
billy-fencer, and sell yourself for BULL-BEEF. Sometimes used to
indicate full size of anything. "There was he, as big as BULL-BEEF."
Bulldogs, the runners who accompany the proctor in his perambula-
tions, and give chase to runaways.—University.
Bullet, to discharge from a situation. To shake the BULLET at anyone,
is to threaten him with "the sack," but not to give him actual notice
to leave. To get the BULLET is to get notice, while to get the instant
BULLET is to be discharged upon the spot. The use of the term is
most probably derived from a fancied connexion between it and the
word discharge.
Bullfinch, a hunting term for a large thick, quickset hedge, difficult
alike to "top" or burst through. Probably a corruption of BULL-
FENCE, a fence made to prevent cattle straying either in or out.
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 mixture is
drunk by sailors in default of something stronger.-Sea.
Bully, a braggart; in the language of the streets, a man of the most
degraded morals, who protects fallen females, and lives off their miser-
able earnings.-Shakspeare, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, uses the
word in its old form, as a term of endearment. This epithet is often ap-
102
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
plied in a commendable sense among the vulgar; thus-a good fellow or
a good horse will be termed "a BULLY fellow," "a BULLY horse;" and
a BULLY woman" signifies a right, good motherly old soul. Among
Americans, BULLY for you, is a commendatory phrase, and "that's
BULLY" is a highly eulogistic term.
>>
Bullyrag, to abuse or scold vehemently; to swindle one out of money
by intimidation and sheer abuse.
Bum, the part on which we sit.-Shakspeare. BUMBAGS, trousers; Gael.
BUN, a base or bottom; Welsh, BON, the lowest or worst part
of anything.
Bum-Bailiff, a sheriff's-officer-a term, some say, derived from the
proximity which this gentleman generally maintains to his victims.
Blackstone says it is a corruption of "bound bailiff." A BUM-BAILIFF
was generally called "bummy.'
Bumble, to muffle. BUMBLE-FOOTED, club-footed, or awkward in the
gait.
Bumble, a beadle. Adopted from Dickens's character in Oliver Twist.
This and BUMBLEDOM" are now common.
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 excavated,
and numbered like the holes in a bagatelle-table. The player rolls a
stone ball, or marble, 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.
Bumbles, coverings for the eyes of horses that shy in harness.
Bumbrusher, an usher at a school.
Bumclink, in the Midland counties the inferior beer brewed for hay-
makers and harvest labourers. Derivation obvious.
Bum-Curtain, an old name for academical gowns when they were
worn scant and short, especially those of the students of St. John's
College.-Camb. Univ. Any ragged or short academical gown.
Bummarees, a term 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-selling
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
MARÉE, good fresh fish! "Marée signifie toute sorte de poisson de
mer qui n'est pas sale; bonne marée-marée fraîche, vendeur de
marée."-Dict. de l'Acad. Franc. The BUMMAREES are accused of
many trade tricks. One of them is to blow up codfish 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.
Norwich, to BUMMAREE one is to run up a score at a public-house just
open, and is equivalent to "running into debt with one." One of
In
:
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
IC3
the advertisements issued by IIy. Robinson's "Office," over against
Threadneedle Street, was this :-
66
Touching Advice from the OFFICE, you are desired to give and take notice as
followeth :-
OF
"(
F Monics to be taken up, or delivered on Botto-maria, commonly called
Bomarie.
"OF F money to be put out or taken upon interest," &c.
-The Publick Intelligencer, numb. 17, 25th June, 1660.
Bummer, literally one who sits or idles about; a loafer; one who
sponges upon his acquaintances. In California, men who profess to
be journalists, and so obtain free dinners and drinks, are called
"literary BUMMERS. Although the term is not much in use in this
country, the profession of bumming, both literary and otherwise, is
freely practised.
"">
""
Bumper, according to Johnson from "bump," but probably from French
BON PÈRE, the fixed toast in monastic life of old, now used for "full
measure. A match at quoits, bowls, &c., may end in a "BUMPER
game," if the play and score be all on one side. BUMPER is used in
sporting and theatrical circles to denote a benefit which is one in
reality as well as in name.
One on very good terms with
Bumptious, arrogant, self-sufficient.
himself is said to be BUMPTIOUS.
Bunce, costermongers' perquisites; the money obtained by giving
light weight, &c.; costermongers' goods sold by boys on commission.
In fact anything which is clear profit or gain is said to be "all
BUNCE." Probably a corruption of bonus; BONE, or BONER, being the
slang for good. BUNCE, Grose gives as the cant word for money.
Bunch-of-Fives, the hand, or fist.
Bundle, "to BUNDLE a person off," i.e., to pack him off, send him
flying.
Bundling, men and women sleeping together, where the divisions of the
house will not permit of better or more decent accommodation, with
all their clothes on. BUNDLING was originally courting done in bed,
the lovers being tied or bundled up to prevent undue familiarities.
The practice still obtains in some parts of Wales.
Bung, the landlord of a public-house. Much in use among sporting
men.
Bung, to give, pass, hand over, drink, or to perform almost any action.
BUNG up, to close up, as the eyes.-Pugilistic. "BUNG Over the
rag," hand over the money.-Old, used by Beaumont and Fletcher,
and Shakspeare. Also, to deceive one by a lie, to CRAM, which see.
Bunk, to decamp.
Bunker, beer.
"BUNK it!" i.c., be off.
Bunkum, an American importation, denoting false sentiments in speaking,
pretended enthusiasm, &c. The expression arose from a speech made
by a North Carolina senator named Buncombe.
104
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Bunter, a rostitute, a street-walking female thief.
Burdon's Hotel, Whitecross Street Prison, of which the Governor was
a Mr. Burdon. Almost 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-SPIKE
PARK, &c.; and every Chief-Justice stands godfather to it.
Burerk, a lady, a showily-dressed woman.
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 and Williams
were their London imitators. The term BURKE is now usually applied
to any project that is quietly stopped or stifled-as "the question has
been BURKED. A book suppressed before publication is said to be
BURKED.
Burra, great; as BURRA SAIB, a great man; BURRA KHANAH, a
great dinner.-Anglo-Indian.
Bury a Moll, to run away from a mistress.
Bus, or BUSS, an abbreviation of "omnibus," a public carriage. Also, a
kiss, abbreviation of Fr. BAISER. A Mr. Shillibeer started the first
BUS in London. A shillibeer is now a hearse and mourning coach all
in one, used by the very poorest mourners and shabbiest undertakers.
Why is Temple Bar like a lady's veil? Because it wants to be removed to make
way for the BUSSES.
Bus, business (of which it is a contraction) or action on the stage, so
written, but pronounced BIZ.-Theatrical. See BIZ.
Business, the action which accompanies dialogue.
good." Generally applied to byplay.—Theatrical.
"His BUSINESS was
Busk, to sell obscene songs and books at the bars and in the tap-rooms of
public-houses. Sometimes it implies selling other articles. Also to
work" public-houses and certain spots as an itinerant musician or
vocalist.
66
وو
Busker, a man who sings or performs in a public-house; an itinerant.
Bust, or BURST, to tell tales, to SPLIT, to inform. BUSTING, informing
against accomplices when in custody.
Buster (BURSTER), a small new loaf; "twopenny BUSTER," a twopenny
loaf. "A penn'orth o' BEES-WAX (cheese) and a penny BUSTER,'
common snack at beershops. A halfpenny loaf is called a starver."
Buster, an extra size ; "what a BUSTER," i.e., what a large one; "in for
a BUSTER," determined on an extensive frolic or spree. Scotch, BUS-
TUOUS; Icelandic, BOSTRA.
Bustle, money; "to draw the BUSTLE."
Busy-Sack, a carpet-bag.
a
Butcha, a Hindoo word in use among Englishmen for the young of any
animal. In England we ask after the children; in India the health
of the BUTCHAS is tenderly inquired for.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
IC5
Butcher, the king in playing-cards. When card-playing in public
houses was common, the kings were called butchers, the queens
bitches, and the knaves jacks. The latter term is now in general use.
Butcher's Mourning, a white. hat with a black mourning hat-
band. Probably because, under any circumstances, a butcher would
rather not wear a black hat. White hats and black bands have, how-
ever, become genteel ever since the late Prince Consort patronized
them, though they retain a deal of the old sporting leaven,
Butter, or BATTER, praise or
To BUTTER, to flatter, cajole.
Same as "soft soap" and "soft sawder." Soft words generally.
"Fine words butter no parsneps.
Maybe from the old proverb,
Butter-Fingered, apt to let things fall; greasy or slippery-fingered.
Button, a decoy, sham purchaser, &c. At any mock or sham auction
seedy specimens may be seen. Probably from the connexion of but-
tons with Brummagem, which is often used as a synonym for a sham.—
See BONNET.
flattery.
Buttoner, a man who entices another to play.
""
""
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.
To "make BUTTONS means for some occult reason to look sorry and
sad. "He was making BUTTONS," i.c., he was looking sorrowful.
Perhaps because button-making is a sorry occupation.
Butty, a word used in the mining districts to denote a kind of overseer.
Also used by the Royal Marines in the sense of comrade ; a police-
man's assistant, one of the staff in a mêlée.
Buz, to share equally the last of a bottle of wine, when there is not
enough for a full glass to each of the party.
next
C6
''
Buz, a well-known public-house game, played as follows:-"The chair-
man commences saying one," the next on the left hand "two,
two," the
three," and so on to seven, when "BUZ" must be said. Every
seven and multiple of 7, as 14, 17, 21, 27, 28, &c., 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. These "parlour pastimes" are often not
only funny, but positively ingenious. But the Licensing Act and a
zealous police are fast clearing them all out.
>>
Buz, to pick pockets; BUZZING or BUZ-FAKING, robbing.
Buz-Bloke, a pickpocket who principally confines his attention to
purses and loose cash,
Grose gives BUZ-GLOAK, an ancient cant
word. GLOAK was old cant for a man. BUZ-NAPPER, a young pick-
pocket.
Buz-man, an informer; from BUZ, to whisper, but more generally a
thief.
Buz-napper's Academy, a school in which young thieves were
trained. Figures were dressed up, and experienced tutors stood in
various difficult attitudes for the boys to practise upon. When clever
1
I 2
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THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
enough they were sent on the streets.
Dickens gives full particulars
of this old style of business in Oliver Twist.
Buzzer, a pickpocket. Grose gives BUZ-COVE and, as above mentioned,
BUZ-GLOAK.
Byblow, an illegitimate child.
By George, an exclamation similar to BY JOVE.
The term is older than
is frequently imagined-vide Bacchus and Venus (p. 117), 1737.
"'Fore (or by) GEORGE, I'd knock him down." Originally in reference
to Saint George, the patron saint of England, or possibly to the House
of Hanover.
By
By Golly, an ejaculation, or oath; a compromise for "by God.”
GUM is another oblique oath. In the United States, small boys are
permitted by their guardians to say GOL DARN anything, but they are
on no account allowed to commit the profanity of G-d d--n any-
thing. A manner of "" sailing close to the wind" which is objection-
able to the honest mind. A specimen ejaculation and moral waste-pipe
for interior passion or wrath is seen in the exclamation-BY THE EVER-
LIVING JUMPING-MOSES-a harmless and ridiculous phrase, that from
its length is supposed to expend a considerable quantity of fiery anger.
By Jingo, an oath or exclamation having no particular meaning, and
no positive etymology, though it is believed by some that JINGO is
derived from the Basque jenco, the devil.
Cab, in statutory language, "a hackney carriage drawn by one horse."
Ábbreviated from the French CABRIOLET; originally meaning a light
low chaise." The wags of Paris playing upon the word (quasi cabri
au lait) used to call a superior turn-out of the kind a cabri au crême.
Our abbreviation, which certainly smacks of slang, has been stamped
with the authority of the Legislature, and has been honoured by
universal custom.
Cab, to stick together, to muck, or tumble up,-Devonshire.
Cabbage, pieces of cloth said to be purloined by tailors.
profits in the way of material.
Any small
"cant word,"
Said to
Cabbage, to pilfer or purloin. Termed by Johnson a
but adopted by later lexicographers as a respectable term.
have been first used in the above sense by Arbuthnot.
Cabbage-Head, a soft-headed person.
Cabby, popular name for the driver of a cab.
This title has almost sup-
planted the more ancient one of jarvey.
Caboose, the galley or cook-house of a ship; a term used by tramps to
indicate a kitchen.
Cackle-Tub, a pulpit.
Cackling-Cove, an actor. Also called a MUMMERY-COVE.-Theatrical.
Cad, or CADGER (from which it is shortened), a mean or vulgar fellow; a
beggar; one who would rather live on other people than work for
himself; a man who tries to worm something out of another, either
money or information. Johnson uses the word, and gives huckster as
the meaning, in which sense it was originally used. Apparently from
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
107
CAGER, or GAGER, the old Cant term for a man. The exclusives at the
English Universities apply the term CAD to all non-members. It has also
been suggested that the word may be a contruction of the French CADET.
Cad, an omnibus conductor. Of late years the term has been generically
applied to the objectionable class immortalized by Thackeray under
the title of snob. A great deal of caddism is, however, perpetrated by
those who profess to have the greatest horror of it-the upper classes-
a fact which goes far to prove that it is impossible to fairly ascribe a
distinctive feature to any grade of society.
Cadge, to beg in an artful, wheedling manner.-North.
CADGE is to wander, to go astray. See under CODGER.
In Scotland to
Cadging, begging, generally with an eye to pilfering when an oppor-
tunity occurs. To be "on the cadge" is almost synonymous with
the make."
Cag, to irritate, affront, anger.
Schoolboy slang.
on
Cage, a minor kind of prison. A country lock-up which contained no
offices.
Cagmag, bad food, scraps, odds and ends; or that which no one could
relish. Grose give CAGG MAGGS, old and tough Lincolnshire geese,
sent to London to feast the poor cockneys. Gael., French, and Welsh,
CAC, and MAGN. A correspondent at Trinity College, Dublin, con-
siders this as originally a University slang term for a bad cook, kaкds
μáyɛipos. There is also a Latin word used by Pliny, MAGMA, denoting
dregs or dross.
Cake, a "flat;" a soft or doughy person, a fool.
Cakey-Pannum-Fencer, or PANNUM-FENCER, a man who sells street
pastry.
Calaboose, a prison.-Sea slang, from the Spanish.
Calculate, a word much in use among the inhabitants of the Western
States U.S., as "I CALCULATE you are a stranger here." New
Englanders use the word " guess" instead of CALCULATE, while the
Virginians prefer to say "reckon."
Caleb Quotem, a parish clerk; a jack of all trades. From a character
in The Wags of Windsor.
California, or CALIFORNIANS, money. Term generally applied to gold
only. Derivation very obvious.
Call, a notice of rehearsal, or any other occasion requiring the company's
presence, posted up in a theatre. "We're CALLED for eleven to-morrow
morning."
Call-a-Go, in street "patter," is to leave off trying to sell anything and
to remove to another spot, to desist. Also to give in, yield, at any
game or business. Probably from the "Go" call in cribbage.
Cameronians, THE, the Twenty-sixth Regiment of Foot in the British
Army.
Camesa, shirt or chemise.-Span. See its abbreviated form, MISH, from the
ancient Cant, COMMISSION. Probably re-introduced by the remains of
E
IOS
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
De Lacy Evans's Spanish Legion on their return. See Somerville's
account of the Span. Leg., for the curious facility with which the
lower classes in England adopt foreign words as slang and cant
terms. Italian, CAMICIA. This latter is the more likely etymology,
as any one who visits the various quarters where Irish, Italians, and a
mongrel mixture of half-a-dozen races congregate and pig together,
will admit.
Camister, a preacher, clergyman, or master.
Canary, a sovereign. From the colour. Very old slang indeed.
Canister, the head.-Pugilistic.
Canister-Cap, a hat.
""
Cannibals, the training boats for the Cambridge freshmen, i.e., "CAN-
NOT-PULLS. The term is applied both to boats and rowers.-Sce
SLOGGERS. Torpids is the usual term for the races in which these men
and machines figure.
Cannikin, a small can, similar to PANNIKIN.
clink."
"And let the CANNIKIN
Cant, a blow or toss; "a CANT over the kisser," a blow on the mouth;
a CANT over the buttock," a throw or toss in wrestling.
:
Cantab, a student at Cambridge.
Cantankerous, litigious, bad-tempered. An American corruption pro-
bably of contentious. A reviewer of an early edition of this book
derives it from the Anglo-Norman CONTEK, litigation or strife.
Others have suggested cankerous" as the origin. Bailey has CONTEKE,
contention as a Spenserian word, and there is the O.E. CONTEKORS,
quarrelsome persons.
Cant of Togs, a gift of clothes.
Canvasseens, sailors' canvas trousers.
Cap, a false cover to a tossing coin.
both nearly obsolete.
Cap, "to set her CAP.
The term and the instrument are
See COVER-down.
A woman is said to set her CAP at a man when
she makes overt love to him.
Cap, to outdo or add to, as in capping jokes.
Cape Cod Turkey, salt fish.
Caper-Merchant, a dancing-master. Sometimes a hop-merchant.
Capers, dancing, frolicking; "to cut CAPER-SAUCE," i.e., to dance
upon nothing-be hanged. Old thieves' talk.
The word
Capper-Clawing, female encounter, where caps are torn and nails
freely used.
Sometimes it is pronounced CLAPPER-CLAW.
occurs in Shakspeare, Troilus and Cressida, act v. sc. 4.
Caravan, a railway train, especially a train expressly chartered to convey
people to a prize fight.
Caravansera, a railway station. In pugilistic phraseology a tip for
the starting point might have been given thus. "The SCRATCH must
be TOED at sharp five, so the CARAVAN will start at four from the
CARAVANSERA,"
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
109
Carboy, a general term in most parts of the world for a very large glass
or earthenware bottle.
Α
Card, a character. "A queer CARD," i.e., an odd fish.
Cardinal, a lady's red cloak. 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. Also mulled red wine.
Cardwell's Men, officers promoted in pursuance of the new system of
non-purchase.
Carney, soft hypocritical language. Also, to flatter, wheedle, or
insinuate oneself.-Prov.
Carnish, meat, from the Ital. CARNE, flesh; a Lingua Franca importa-
tion; CARNISH-KEN, a thieves' eating-house; cove of the CARNISH-
KEN," the keeper thereof.—North Country Cant.
Caroon, five shillings. French, COURONNE; Gipsy, COURNA; Spanish,
CORONA.
Carpet, "upon the CARPET," any subject or matter that is uppermost for
discussion or conversation. Frequently quoted as sur le tapis, or more
generally on the tapis," but it does not seem to be at all known in
France. 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 CARPETED. The corresponding term in commercial establishments is
a WIGGING.
""
Carpet-Knight, an habitué of drawing-rooms, a "ladies' man.
Carrier-Pigeon, a swindler, one who formerly used to cheat lottery-
office keepers. Now used among betting men to describe one who
runs from place to place with "commissions."
Carriwitchet, a hoaxing, puzzling question, not admitting of a satisfac-
tory answer, as--"How far is it from the first of July to London
Bridge?" "If a bushel of apples cost ten shillings, how long will it
take for an oyster to eat its way through a barrel of soap?"
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 Χάριται !
Of late years CARROTY hair in all its shades has been voted beautiful,
i.e., fashionable.
Carry Corn, to bear success well and equally. It is said of a man who
breaks down under a sudden access of wealth-as successful horse-
racing men and unexpected legatees often do-or who becomes affected
and intolerant, that he doesn't CARRY CORN well."
Carry me Out! an exclamation of pretended 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-
ΙΙΟ
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
fanely derived from the Nunc dimittis (Luke xi. 29). The Irish say,
CARRY 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.e., what fun we had. Nautical
term-from carrying on sail.
Carts, a pair of shoes. In Norfolk the carapace of a crab is called a crab
cart; hence CARTS would be synonymous with CRAB SHELLS, which
see.
رو
Cart-wheel, a five-shilling piece. Generally condensed to "WHEEL.'
Ca-sa, a writ of capias ad satisfaciendam.-Legal slang.
Casa, or CASE, a house, respectable or otherwise. Probably from the
Italian CASA.-Old Cant. The Dutch use the word KAST in a vulgar
sense for a house, i.e., MOTTEKAST, a brothel. CASE sometimes means
a water-closet, but is in general applied to a "house of accommodation."
CASA is generally pronounced carzey.
Cascade, to vomit.
""
Case. Some 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. This would seem to have
been originally a case" for the police-court; drunkenness, &c. Among
young ladies at boarding-schools a CASE means a love-affair. CASE
now means any unfortunate matter. "I'm afraid it's a CASE with him."
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 CASING pewter or iron
imitations with silver. Possibly from its being a CASE " with the
unfortunate owner.
Cask, fashionable slang for a brougham, or other private carriage. Not
very general.
"PILLBOX" is the more usual term.
Cassam, cheese-not CAFFAN, which Egan, in his edition of Grose, has
ridiculously inserted.-Ancient Cant. Latin, CASEUS. Gael, and
Irish, CAISE.
Cast, to assist by lightening labour. Men in small boats who want to be
towed behind steamers or sailing vessels, say "Give us a CAST. Also
used by waggoners and others, who sometimes vary the performance
by asking, when stuck on a hill, for a pound, possibly a pound of flesh,
horse or human.
Cast up Accounts, to vomit.-Old.
Castor, a hat. Mostly used in pugilistic circles. Indeed many hangers-
on of the P.R. have considered that the term arose from the custom of
casting the hat into the ring, before entering oneself. CASTOR was
the Latin name for the animal now known as the BEAVER ; and, strange
to add, BEAVER was the slang for CASTOR, or hat, many years ago,
before gossamer came into fashion.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
III
Cat, a lady's muff; "to free a CAT," i.e., steal a muff.
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. The "cat" is now a recognised term
for the punishmental whip.
Catamaran, a disagreeable old woman.-Thackeray.
Cat and Kitten Sneaking, stealing pint and quart pots and small
pewter spirit measures from public-houses.
Cataract, once a black satin scarf arranged for
the display of jewellery,
much in vogue among "commercial gents." Now quite out of date.
Catchbet, a bet made for the purpose of entrapping the unwary by
means of a paltry subterfuge. See CHERRY COLour.
Catch-'em-Alive, a humane trap; also a small-tooth comb.
A piece
of paper smeared with a sweet sticky substance which is spread about
where flies most abound, and in this sense not particularly humane.
The CATCH-'EM-ALIVE trap for rats and other such animals is humane.
compared with the gin trap.
Catch-penny,ny temporary contrivance to obtain money from the
public; penny shows, or cheap exhibitions. Also descriptions of
murders which have never taken place.
Catchy (similar formation to touchy), inclined to take an undue advantage.
Caterwauling, applied derisively to inharmonious singing; also love-
making, from the noise of cats similarly engaged.
Catever, a queer, or singular affair; anything poor, or very bad. From
the Lingua Franca, and Italian, CATTIVO, bad. Variously spelled by
the lower orders.-See KERTEVER.
Cat-faced, a vulgar and very common expression of contempt in the
North of England.
Catgut-Scraper, a fiddler.
Cat-in-the-Pan, a traitor, a turncoat-derived by some from the
Greek, karаrav, altogether; or-and more likely-from cake in pan,
a pan-cake, which is frequently turned from side to side.
Cat-lap, a contemptuous expression for weak drink. Anything a cat will
drink is very innocuous.
Cats and Dogs. It is said to rain cats and dogs when a shower is
exceptionally heavy. Probably in ridicule of the remarkable showers
which used to find their way into the papers during the "silly season.
Cat's-meat, a ccarse term for the lungs-the "lights" or lungs of
animals being usually sold to feed cats.
A sea
Cat's-paw, a dupe or tool. From the old story of the monkey who
used the cat's-paw to remove his roast chestnuts from the fire.
term, meaning light and occasional breezes occurring in calm weather.
Cat's-water, "old Tom," or gin.
Cattle, a term of contempt applied to the mob, or to a lot of lazy, help-
less servants.
112
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
1
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 oppo-
sition to England.-See Pickering's 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. The term "caulker" is usually applied to a stiff
glass of grog-preferably brandy-finishing the potations of the even-
ing. See WHITEWASH.
Caulker, a too marvellous story, a lie. CHOKER has the same sense.
Caution, anything out of the common way. 'He's a CAUTION," is
said of an obdurate or argumentative man. The phrase is also used
in many ways in reference to places and things.
Cavaulting, a vulgar phrase equivalent to "horsing. The Italian
CAVALLINO, signifies a rake or debauchee.-Lingua Franca, CAVOLTA.
From this comes the Americanism "cavorting," running or riding
round in a heedless or purposeless manner.
Cave, or CAVE IN, to submit, shut up.-American. Metaphor taken from
the sinking of an abandoned mining shaft.
Chaff, to gammon, joke, quiz, or praise ironically. Originally "to
queer" represented our modern word CHAFF. CHAFF-bone, the
jaw-bone.-Yorkshire. CHAFF, jesting. In Anglo-Saxon, CEAF is
chaff; and CEAFL, bill, beak, or jaw. In the Ancren Riwle, A.D.
1221, CEAFLE is used in the sense of idle discourse.
Chaffer, the mouth; "moisten your CHAFFER," i.e., take something to
drink.
Chal, old Romany term for a man; CHIE was the name for a woman.
Chalk out, or CHALK DOWN, to mark out a line of conduct or action ;
to make a rule or order. Phrase derived from the Workshop.
Chalk up, to credit, make entry in account books of indebtedness; “I
can't pay you now, but you can CHALK IT UP," 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.
""
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.
"Making CHALKS is a term connected with the punishment of boys
on board ship, and in the Naval School at Greenwich. Two chalk
lines are drawn wide apart on the deck or floor, and the boy to be
punished places a foot on each of these lines, and stoops, thereby
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
113
presenting a convenient portion of his person to the boatswain or
master.
""
Chance the Ducks, an expression signifying come what may. "I'll
do it, and CHANCE THE DUCKS.
Chancery, a pugilistic phrase for difficulties; "to get a man's head into
CHANCERY," i.e., to get an opponent's head firmly under one's arm,
where it can be pommelled with immense power, and without any
possibility of immediate extrication. From the helplessness of a suitor
in Chancery. This opportunity was of very rare occurrence when the
combatants were at all evenly matched.
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 of either a repartee or a blow---
"Take your CHANGE out of that!"
Chap, a fellow, a boy; a low CHAP," a low fellow-abbreviation of
CHAPMAN, a huckster. Used by Byron in his Critical Remarks.
Chapel, a printers' assembly, held for the purpose of discussing diffe-
rences between employer and workmen, trade regulations, or other
matters. The term is scarcely slang, but some "comps" ask its insertion.
in this work.
Chapel. An undergrad is expected to attend seven out of the fourteen
services in chapel each week, and to let four or five be morning
chapels. Occasionally a Don- the Dean as a rule-will “ CHAPEL
him, that is, order him to attend to worship his Creator twice daily.
The Bible clerk "pricks the list," i.c., marks down the names of all
present.-Univ.
Chapel-of-ease. French, CABINET D'AISANCE, a house of office.
Chariot-buzzing, picking pockets in an omnibus.
Charley, a watchman, a beadle. Almost obsolete now.
Charley-pitcher, a low, cheating gambler.
Charlies, a woman's breasts. Also called dairies and bubbies.
Chats, lice, or body vermin.
Prov., any small things of the same kind.
Chatter-basket, common term for a prattling child amongst nurses.
Chatter-box, an incessant talker or chatterer.
Chatty, a filthy person, one whose clothes are not free from vermin;
CHATTY DOSS, a lousy bed. A CHATTY
A CHATTY DOSSER or a CRUMMY
DOSSER is a filthy tramp or houseless wanderer.
Chaunt, to sing the contents of any paper in the streets.
CANT, as ap-
plied to vulgar language, may have been derived from CHAUNT.
Chaunt, "to CHAUNT the play," to explain the tricks and manoeuvres
of thieves.
Chaunter-culls, a singular 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
;
114
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Churchyard, or other public spot. 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 esta-
blishment of a fashionable tailor in Regent Street; and not long since
they were bawling their doggrel rhymes outside the mansion of a
Norfolk M.P., in Belgravia.
Chaunters, those street sellers of ballads, last copies of verses, and
other broadsheets, who sang or bawled the contents of their papers.
They often termed themselves PAPER WORKERS. Cheap evening
papers and private executions have together combined to improve these
folks' occupations off the face of the earth. See HORSE-CHAUNTERS.
Chaw, to chew; CHAW UP, to get the better of one, finish him up;
CHAWED UP, utterly done for.
Chaw-bacon, a rustic. Derived from the popular idea that a country-
man lives entirely on bread and fat bacon. A country clown, a joskin,
a yokel, a clodcrusher. These terms are all exchangeable.
Chaw over, to repeat one's words with a view to ridicule.
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,
who put an article up at a high price, and then cheapen it by degrees,
indulging all the time in volleys 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.
Checks, counters used in games at cards. In the Pacific States of
America a man who is dead is said to have handed (or passed) in his
checks. The gamblers there are responsible for many of the collo-
quialisms current.
It
Chee-Chee, this word is used in a rather offensive manner to denote
Eurasians, or children by an English father and native mother.
takes its origin in a very common expression of half-caste females,
"CHEE-CHEE," equivalent to our Oh, fie !—Nonsense!-For shame!
-Anglo-Indian.
Cheek, share or portion; "where's
"where's my CHEEK?" where is my allow-
ance? "All to his own CHEEK," all to himself.
and
* Since the first edition of this work a great alteration has taken place in this respect.
Though topical ballads are now often sung, the singers confine themselves to low neigh-
bourhoods, and as soon as a policeman approaches, if ever he does, they make themselves
scarce. The practice is singular. One man gets as far through a line as he can,
when his voice cracks his companion takes up. For this reason the business is as a
rule conducted by a man and woman, or sometimes by a woman and child. The writing
of these ditties is generally work of a character for which even 7s. 6d. would be a high
rate of pay.-ED.
† Eurasian is not a child of mixed race, but one born of European parents in an Asiatic
clime. A similar error exists with regard to the word creole, which is generally supposed
to mean a man or woman in whom white and black strains are mixed. I need not say
how wrong this is, but the vulgar error is none the less current.-ED.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
115
Cheek, impudence, assurance; CHEEKY, saucy or forward.
Cheek, to irritate by impudence, to accuse.
Cheek by Jowl, side by side-said often of persons in such close con-
fabulation that their faces almost touch.
into
Cheese, anything good, first-rate in quality, genuine, pleasant, or advan-
tageous, is termed the CHEESE. The London Guide, 1818, says it was
from some young fellows translating "c'est une autre CHOSE
"that is another CHEESE. But the expression CHEESE may be found
in the Gipsy vocabulary, and in the Hindostanee and Persian languages.
In the last CHIZ means a thing-that is the thing, i.e., the CHEESE.
Cheese, or CHEESE IT (evidently a corruption of cease), leave off, or have
done; CHEESE your barrikin," hold your noise. Term very common.
Cheesecutter, a prominent and aquiline nose.
Also a large square
peak to a cap. Caps fitted with square peaks are called cheese-
cutter caps.
Cheesemongers, once a popular name for the First Lifeguards. Until
the Peninsular War the First Lifeguards, from their almost exclusive
service at home, were nicknamed CHEESEMONGERS. This term then
fell into desuetude; but at Waterloo the commanding officer of the
regiment had not forgotten it, and when leading his men to the charge,
called out,
"Come on, you damned CHEESEMONGERS !" an invitation
complied with so readily, that the title was restored, with the difference
that it was no longer a word of reproach.
Cheesy, fine or showy. The opposite of "dusty."
Cherry-bums, or CHERUBIMS, a nickname given to the 11th Hussars,
from their crimson trousers.
Cherry-colour, either red or black, as you wish; a term used in a
cheating trick at cards. When the cards are being dealt, a knowing
one offers to bet that he will tell the colour of the turn-up card.
"Done!" says Mr. Green. The sum being named, Mr. Sharp affirms
that it will be CHERRY-COLOUR; and as cherries are either black or
red, he wins, leaving his victim a wiser man, it is to be hoped, and
not a better for the future. It may be as well for the habitually un-
fortunate to know that wagers of this kind are not recoverable even
according to the sporting code, which disacknowledges all kinds of
catch-bets.
Cherry-merry, a present of money.
beating.-Anglo-Indian.
CHERRY-MERRY-BAMBOO, a
Cherubs, or still more vulgarly, CHERUBIMS, the chorister boys who
chaunt in the services at the abbeys and cathedrals. Possibly because
in some places their heads alone are visible.
Cheshire Cat, to grin like a CHESHIRE CAT, to display the teeth and
gums when laughing. Formerly the phrase was "to grin like a
CHESHIRE CAT eating cheese." A hardly satisfactory explanation has
been given of this phrase-that Cheshire is a county palatine, and the
116
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
>
cats, when they think of it, are so tickled with the notion that they
can't help grinning.
*
Chicken, a term applied to anything young, small, or insignificant ;
CHICKEN STAKES, small paltry stakes; "she's no CHICKEN," said of
an old maid.
Chicken-hearted, cowardly, fearful. With about the amount of
pluck a chicken in a fright might be supposed to possess.
Chi-ike, to hail in a rough though friendly manner; to support by means
of vociferation.
Chi-ike, a hail; a good loud word of hearty praise; term used by the
costermongers, who assist the sale of each other's goods by a little
friendly, although noisy, commendation.
Children's Shoes (to make), to be made nought of.-See SHOES.
Chill, to warm, as beer. This at first seems like reversing the order of
things, but it is only a contraction of "take the CHILL off."
Chimney-Sweep, the aperient mixture commonly called a black
draught.
Chin-chin, a salutation, a compliment.-Anglo-Chinese.
Chink, or CHINKERS, money.-Ancient. Derivation obvious.
Chin-wag, officious impertinence.
Chip of the Old Block, a child which physically or morally resembles
its father. BROTHER CHIP, one of the same trade or profession.
Originally brother carpenter, now general.
Chips, money; also a nickname for a carpenter.-Sea.
Chirp, to give information, to "peach."
Chisel, to cheat, to take a slice off anything. Hence the old conundrum :
Why is a carpenter like a swindler ?-Because he chisels a deal.”
Chit, a letter; corruption of a Hindoo word.-Anglo-Indian.
Chitterlings, the shirt frills once fashionable and worn still by ancient
beaux; properly the entrails of a pig, to which they are supposed to
bear some resemblance. Belgian SCHYTERLINGH.
Chivalry, coition. Probably a corruption from the Lingua Franca.
Perhaps from CHEVAULCHER.
Chive, or CHIVEY, a shout, a halloo, or cheer; loud tongued. Probably
from CHEVY-CHASE, a boy's game, in which the word CHEVY is bawled
aloud. Dickens uses the word CHIVEY in Bleak House rather freely,
but there it is from the other phase of CHEVY-CHASE which follows.
Chive, a knife; also used as a verb, to knife. In all these cases the word
is pronounced as though written CHIV or CHIVVY.
Chive-Fencer, a street hawker of cutlery.
Chivey, to chase round, or hunt about. Apparently from CHEVY-
CHASE. See above.
*There is something so extremely humorous and far-fetched about this explanation,
that though it is utterly unworthy of its place in a dictionary, I, finding it there, have not
the heart to cut it out.-ED.
$
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
117
Choakee, or CHOKEY,. the black hole. - Military Anglo-Indian.
Chokey is also very vulgar slang for prison.
Chock-Full, full till the scale comes down with a shock. Originally
CHOKE-FULL, and used in reference to theatres and places of amuse-
ment.
""
Choke Off, to get rid of. Bulldogs can only be made to loose their
hold by choking them.* Suggestively to get rid of a man by saying
something to him which "sticks in his gizzard.'
Choker, a cravat, a neckerchief. WHITE-CHOKER, the white necker-
chief worn by mutes at a funeral, waiters at a tavern, and
gentlemen in evening costume. Clergymen and Exeter Hallites are
frequently termed WHITE-CHOKERS.
Choker, or WIND-STOPPER, a garotter.
Chonkeys, a kind of mincemeat, baked in a crust, and sold in the
streets.
Choops, a corruption of CHOOPRAHO, keep silence.-Anglo-Indian.
Chootah, small, insignificant.-Anglo-Indian.
Chop, in the Canton jargon of Anglo-Chinese, this word has several sig-
nifications. It means an official seal, a permit, a boat load of teas.
FIRST CHOP signifies first quality; and CHOP-CHOP, to make haste.
Chop, to exchange, to "swop." TO CHOP and change, to be as variable
as the wind.
"down in the CHOPS,"
Chops, properly CHAPS, the mouth, or cheeks;
or down in the mouth," i.e., sad or melancholy.
Chouse, to cheat out of one's share or portion. Hackluyt, CHAUS ;
Massinger, CHIAUS. From the Turkish, in which language it signifies
an interpreter. Gifford gives a curious story as to its origin
"In the year 1609 there was attached to the Turkish embassy in England an inter-
preter, or CHIAOUS, who, by cunning, aided by his official position, managed
to cheat the Turkish and Persian merchants, then in London, out of the large
sum of £4000, then deemed an enormous amount. From the notoriety which
attended the fraud, and the magnitude of the swindle, any one who cheated or
defrauded was said to chiaous, or chause, or CHOUSE; to do, that is, as this
Chiaous had done."-See Trench, Eng, Past and Present.
CHIAUS, according to Sandys (Travels, p. 48), is "one who goes on
embassies, executes commandments," &c. The particular Chiaus in
question is alluded to in Ben Jonson's Alchymist, 1610.
"D. What do you think of me?
Face.
That I am a CHIAUS?
D. The Turk [who] was here.
What's that?
As one would say, do you think I am a Turk ?”
Chout, an entertainment.-East-end of London.
Chovey, a shop.-Costermonger.
Chow-Chow, a mixture, food of any kind. Also chit-chat and gossip.-
Anglo-Chinese.
* Of course by those who don't know the scientific way used in "canine exhibitions"
and dog-fights—of biting their tails till they turn round to bite the biter.—ED.
118
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Chowdar, a fool.-Anglo-Chinese.
Christening, erasing the name of the maker, the number, or any
other mark, from a stolen watch, and inserting a fictitious one in its
place.
Chubby, round-faced, plump. Probably from the same derivative as
CHUB, which means literally a fish with a big head.
Chuck, bread or meat; in fact, anything to eat.
of beefsteak.
Chuck, a schoolboy's treat.- Westminster School.
entertainment. Hard CHUCK is sea biscuit.
Chuck, to throw or pitch.
Also a particular kind
Provision for an
Chuck a Jolly, to bear up or bonnet, as when a costermonger
praises the inferior article his mate or partner is trying to sell. See
CHI-IKE.
Chuck a Stall, to attract a person's attention while a confederate picks
his pockets, or otherwise robs him.
Chuck in, to challenge-from the pugilistic custom of throwing a hat
into the ring; a modern version of " throwing down the gauntlet."
This term seems to have gone out of fashion with the custom which
gave rise to it.
Chuckle-head, much the same as "buffle head,' cabbage head,
"chowder head," "cod's head,"-all signifying that large abnormal
form of skull generally supposed to accompany stupidity and weakness
of intellect; as the Scotch proverb, "muckle head and little wit.".
Originally Devonshire, but now general.
Chucks! Schoolboy's signal on the master's approach.
Chuck up, to surrender, give in-from the custom of throwing up the
sponge at a prize-fight in token of yielding. This is very often cor-
rupted into "jack up.'
>>
term
Chuff it, i.e., be off, or take it away, in answer to a street seller who is
importuning you to purchase. Halliwell mentions CHUFF as a
of reproach," surly, &c.
Chull, make haste. An abbreviation of the Hindostanee CHULLO, signi-
fying "go along." CHULL is very commonly used to accelerate the
motions of a servant, driver, or palanquin-bearer.
Chum, an intimate acquaintance.
A recognised term, but in such
frequent use with slangists that it almost demands a place here.
Stated to be from the Anglo-Saxon, CUMA, a guest.
Chum, to occupy a joint lodging with another person. Latin, CUM.
Chumming-up, an old custom amongst prisoners before the present
regulations were in vogue, and before imprisonment for debt was
abolished; when a fresh man was admitted to their number, rough
music was made with pokers, tongs, sticks, and saucepans. For this
ovation the initiated prisoner had to pay, or "fork over," half-a-crown
-or submit to a loss of coat and waistcoat.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
119
کھر
Chummy, a chimney-sweep-probably connected with chimney; also a
low-crowned felt hat. Sometimes, but rarely, a sweep is called a
clergyman-from his colour.
Chump, the head or face. Also one end of a loin of mutton. A half-
idiotic or daft person is said to be off his chump.
Chunk, a thick or dumpy piece of any substance, as a CHUNK of bread or
meat.-Kentish.
Church a yack (or watch), to take the works of a watch from its
original case, and put them into another one, to avoid detection.-See
CHRISTEN.
Churchwarden, a long pipe, a yard of clay;" probably so called
from the dignity which seems to hedge the smoker of a churchwarden,
and the responsibility attached to its use. Sometimes called an
Alderman.
Cinder, any liquor used in connexion with soda-water, as to "take a
soda with a CINDER in it." The cinder may be sherry, brandy, or any
other liquor.
Circumbendibus, a roundabout way, a long-winded story.
Clack-box, a garrulous person, so called from the rattle formerly used by
vagrants 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 the
beggars' CLAP or CLACK-DISH mentioned in Measure for Measure.
was a wooden dish with a movable cover.
Claggum, boiled treacle in a hardened state, hardbake.-See CLIGGY.
Clam, or clem, to starve.-North.
It
Clap, to place; "do you think you can CLAP your hand on him ?"
i.e., find him out. CLAP is also a well-known form of a contagious
disease.
Clapper, the tongue. Said of an over-talkative person, to be hung in the
middle and to sound with both ends.
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. Otherwise Badminton-which see.
Clashy, a low fellow, a labourer.-Anglo-Indian.
Class, the highest quality or combination of highest qualities among
athletes. He's not CLASS enough," i.e., not good enough. "There's
a deal of CLASS about him," i.e., a deal of quality. The term as used
this way obtains to a certain extent among turfites.
Clawhammer coat, an American term for a tail-coat used in evening
costume. Also known as a steel-pen coat.
Clean, quite, or entirely; CLEAN gone," entirely out of sight, or away.
-Old, see Cotgrave and Shakspeare. CLEAN CONTRARY, quite
different, opposite.
Clean out, to ruin, or make bankrupt any one; to take all he has got,
K
120
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
by purchase, chicane, 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." The term is very general.
Click, a knock or blow. CLICK-HANDED, left-handed.-Cornish.
A
term in Cumberland and Westmoreland wrestling for a peculiar kind
of throw, as an inside CLICK," or an outside CLICK.
Click, to snatch, to pull away something that belongs to another.
Clicker, a female touter at a bonnet shop. In Northamptonshire, the
cutter out in a shoemaking establishment. In the Dictionary of the
Terms, Ancient and Modern, of the Canting Crew, Lond. n. d. (but
prior to 1700), the CLICKER is described as the shoemaker's journey-
man or servant, that cutts out all the work, and stands at or walks
before the door, and saies-'What d'ye lack, sir? what d'ye buy,
madam?” In a printing-office, a man who makes up the pages, and
who takes work and receives money for himself and companions.
Clift, to steal.
66
Cliggy, or CLIDGY, sticky.-Anglo-Saxon, CLÆG, clay.-See CLAGGUM.
Clinch (to get the), to be locked up in jail.
Clincher, that which rivets or confirms an argument, an incontrover
tible position. Also a lie which cannot be surpassed, a stopper-up,
said to be derived as follows :-Two notorious liars were backed to
outlie 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.
Cling-rig, stealing tankards from public-houses, &c.
Clipper, a fine fast-sailing vessel. Applied also as a term of encomium
to a handsome woman.
Clipping, excellent, very good. CLIPPER, anything showy or first-rate.
Clock, a watch. Watches are also distinguished by the terms "red
clock," a gold watch, and "white clock," a silver watch. Generally
modified into "red'un" and "white'un."
Clock, "to know what's O'CLOCK," to be "up, down, fly and awake," to
know everything about everything-a definition of knowingness in
general.—See TIME O' DAY.
Clod-hopper, a country clown.
Cloud, TO BE UNDER A, to be in difficulties, disgrace or disrepute; in
fact, to be in shady circumstances.
Clout, or RAG, a cotton pocket-handkerchief.-Old Cant. Now “clouts”
means a woman's under-clothes, from the waist downwards, i.e., petti-
coats when they are on the person; but the term is extended to mean
the whole unworn wardrobe. Probably St. Giles's satire, having
reference to the fact that few women there possess a second gown.
Clout, an intentional heavy blow.
Clover, happiness, luck, a delightful position-from the supposed extra
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
121
enjoyment which attends cattle when they suddenly find their quarters
changed from a barren field to a meadow of clover. Among betting
men he who has arranged his wagerings so satisfactorily before an
event that he cannot possibly lose, and may win a good deal, is said to
be in clover, a phrase which is sometimes varied by the remark that
"he stands on velvet. Any one who is provided for, so that he can
look forward to a term of ease and enjoyment for the rest of his life, is
also said to be in clover.
Club, in manœuvring troops, so to blunder in giving the word of command
that the soldiers get into a position from which they cannot extricate
themselves by ordinary tactical means. Young officers frequently
CLUB their men, and get consequently "wigged" by the inspecting
general.
Clump, to strike, to beat.—Prov.
Cly, a pocket.—Old Cant for to steal. A correspondent derives this word
from the Old English, CLEYES, claws; Anglo-Saxon, CLEA.
This pro-
nunciation is still retained in Norfolk; thus, to CLY would mean to
pounce upon, to snatch.—See FRISK. Gael., CLIAH (pronounced CLEE),
a basket.
Cly-faker, a pickpocket.
Coach, a private tutor. Originally University, but now general.
Any
man who now trains or teaches another, or others, is called a coach.
To coach is to instruct as regards either physical or mental acquire-
ments. A private tutor is sometimes termed a RURAL COACH when he
is not connected with a college. At Rugby a flogging is termed a
"coaching."
Coach-wheel, or TUSHEROON, a crown-piece, or five shillings.
Coal, money; "post the COAL," put down the money. The phrase was
used by Mr. Buckstone 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." This term was used in the
sporting world long anterior to Mr. Buckstone's speech. See COAL.
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. To "take one's coals
in,” is a term used by sailors to express their having caught the venereal
disease. It means that they have gotten that which will keep them
hot for a good many months.
Cobbing, a punishment inflicted by sailors and soldiers among them-
selves. See Grose and Captain Marryat's 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 nowadays, COCK-E-E, a
vulgar street salutation-probably a corruption of COCK-EYE. The latter
is frequently heard as a shout or street cry after a man or boy.
Cock, a smoking term ; "COCKING a Broseley," i.e., smoking a pipe.
Broseley in Shropshire is famous for "churchwardens." A" COCK"
}
K 2
122
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
is an apocryphal story, generally, of a murder or elopement bawled
about the streets by the Seven Dials' "patterers.'
Cock, a pugilistic term for a man who is knocked out of time. "Knocked
him a reg'lar COCK. Sometimes used to signify knocked out of shape,
as, "Knocked him A-COCK," probably connected with "cocked-hat
shape. A horse who has been backed by the public, but who does
not run, or, running, does not persevere.
Cock, "to COCK your eye," to shut or wink one eye, to make "sheep's-
eyes."
Cock-a-hoop, in high spirits. Possibly the idea is from the fact that,
if a cock wins a fight, he will mount on anything near, and crow lustily
and jubilantly. It is noticeable that under these circumstances a cock
always gets off the ground-level if he can.
Cockalorum, or COCKYLORUM, amplification of cock or cocky.
Cock and bull story, a long, rambling anecdote.-See Peroration
to Tristram Shandy.
Cock-and-hen-club, a free and easy gathering, or "sing-song,"
where females are admitted as well as males.
Cock-and-pinch, the old-fashioned beaver hat, affected by "swells"
and "sporting gents" forty years ago-COCKED back and front, and
PINCHED up at the sides.
Cock-a-wax, an amplification of the simple term COCK, sometimes
Lad of WAX," originally applied to a cobbler, but now general.
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. There was another
cocked-hat club in London not many years back, which had nothing
peculiar about it beyond the fact that every member wore during club
sittings, a "fore-and-aft" cocked-hat. Otherwise the proceedings were
of the most ordinary kind.
Cocked-hat-shaped, shapeless: Anything which has been altered
beyond recognition, or any man who has been put completely hors de
combat, is said to have been knocked into a COCKED-HAT.
Cocker, "It is all right, according to Cocker," meaning that everything
has been done in accordance with the present system of figures. The
phrase refers to the celebrated writing-master of Charles II.'s time,
whose Arithmetic, Dictionary, &c., were long the standard authorities.
The Arithmetic was first published in 1677-8, and, though it reached
more than sixty editions, is considered a very scarce book. Professor
de Morgan 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. A
curious fact may here he mentioned in connexion with this saying. It has
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
123
been stated, and very well proved, that many words popular in Shak-
speare's time, and now obsolete in this country, are still in every-day
use in the older English settlements of North America. The original
compiler of this work was surprised, when travelling through Western
Canada, to find that, instead of the renowned Cocker, the people ap-
pealed to another and more learned authority. According to
Gunter," 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 dispute.
Cock-eye, a term of opprobrium often applied to one that squints.
Cockles, "to rejoice the COCKLES of one's heart," a vulgar phrase
implying great pleasure. Also, to "warm one's COCKLES," said of any
hot, well-spiced drink, taken in cold weather. COCKLES altogether
seem to be an imaginary portion-of great importance-in the in-
ternal economy of the human frame.
"
Cockney, a native of London. Originally, a spoilt or effeminate boy,
derived from COCKERING, or foolishly petting a person, rendering him
of soft and luxurious manners. Halliwell states, in his admirable essay
upon the word, that some writers trace the word with much proba-
bility 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! how that horse laughs!" A bystander informed
him that the noise was called neighing. The next morning when the
cock crowed, the citizen, to show that he had not forgotten what was
told him, cried out, "Do you hear how the COCK NEIGHS ?”—See
MARE'S NEST.
Cock of the walk, a master spirit, head of a party. Places where
poultry are fed are called WALKS, and the barn-door cocks invariably
fight for the supremacy till one has obtained it. At schools where this
phrase was originally much used, it has been diminished to COCK
only.
Cock one's toes, to die. Otherwise "turn-up one's toes."
Cock-robin shop, a small printing-office, where cheap and nasty
work is done and low wages are paid.
Cocks, fictitious narratives, in verse or prose, of murders, fires, and
terrible 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 maybe "the story of a cock
and a bull" may have had something to do with the term. Improve-
ments in newspapers, especially in those published in the evening,
and increased scepticism on the part of the public, have destroyed this
branch of a once-flourishing business.
124
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
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
ΟΙ 'shying" at live cocks. Any prominent person abused in the
newspapers is said to be a common COCKSHY.
Cocksure, certain.
Cocky, pert, saucy.
Cocoa-nut, the head. A pugilistic term. Also, when anything is
explained to a man for the first time, it is not unusual for him to say,
Ah, that accounts for the milk in the cocoa-nut". -a remark which
has its origin in a clever but not very moral story.
Cocum, shrewdness, ability, luck; "Jack's got cOCUM, he's safe to get
on, he is,"-viz., he starts under favourable circumstances; "to fight
COCUM" is to be wily and cautious. Allied perhaps to the Scottish KEEK.
German, GUCKEN, to peep or pry into.
Cod, to hoax, to take a rise" out of one. Used as a noun, a fool.
Coddam, a public-house game, much affected by medical students and
cabmen, generally three on each side. The game is "simplicity itself,"
but requires a great amount of low cunning and peculiar mental in-
genuity. It consists in guessing in which of the six hands displayed on
the table, a small piece of marked money lies hid.
If the guesser
'brings it home," his side takes the "piece," and the centre man
"works" it. If the guess is wrong, a chalk is taken to the holders, who
again secrete the coin. Great fun is to be obtained from this game
when it is properly played.
Codds, the "
poor brethren" of the Charter House. In The Newcomes,
Thackeray writes, "The Cistercian lads call these old gentlemen CODDS;
I know not wherefore." A probable abbreviation of CODGER.
Codger, or COGER, an old man ; a rum old CODGER," a curious old fel-
low. CODGER 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 Shoe
Lane, Fleet Street, and still in existence. The term is probably a
corruption of COGITATORS.
Coffee-shop, a watercloset, or house of office.
Cog, to cheat at dice.-Shakspeare. Also, to agree with, as one cog.
wheel does with another, to crib from another's book, as schoolboys
often do. This is called "cogging over.
Cogged, loaded like false dice. Any one who has
Any one who has been hocussed or
cheated is sometimes said to have been COGGED.
Coin, "to post the COIN"-sometimes "post the coal"- -a sporting
phrase meaning to make a deposit of money for a match of any kind.
Cold blood, a house licensed for the sale of beer "NOT to be drunk on
the premises.
Cold coffee, misfortune; sometimes varied to COLD GRUEL.
An un-
pleasant return for a proffered kindness is sometimes called COLD
COFFEE.Sea.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
125
Cold coffee, an Oxford synonym for a "sell," which see.
Cold cook, an undertaker. Cold cook's shop, an undertaker's.
COLD-MEAT BOX, a coffin.
Cold meat, a corpse.
"
3)
Cold meat train, the last train at night by which officers can reach
Aldershot per South Western Railway. So called because by this
train corpses are often conveyed on account of the Necropolis
Company to Woking.
Cold shoulder, "to show or give any one the COLD SHOULDER is to
"cut" in a modified form, to assume a distant manner towards any.
body, to evince a desire to cease acquaintanceship. Sometimes termed
"COLD SHOULDER of mutton.
Colfabias, a Latinized Irish phrase signifying the closet of decency,
applied as a slang term to a place of resort in Trinity College, 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 work is any very hard work, from the expression among drivers.
Any uphill journey is said to be all "COLLAR work" for the horses.
Collar, to seize, to lay hold of. Thieves' slang, i.e., to steal.
Collar and elbow, a term for a peculiar style of wrestling—the
Cornwall and Devon style.
Collections, the College examinations at the end of each term, when
undergraduates wear white ties and bands, and are trotted through
the subjects of the term's lecture. These are the occasions when the
dons administer reproof or advice on the conduct of each individual
undergrad. Oxford University.
Collogue, to conspire, talk mysteriously together in low tones, plot
mischief. Connected with "colloquy" or "colleague." Maybe mix-
ture of both.
Colly-wobbles, the stomach-ache, a person's bowels,-supposed by
many to be the seat of feeling and nutrition.-Devonshire.
Colour, complexion, tint; "I've not seen the COLOUR of his money," i.c.,
he has never paid me any. In fortune-telling by cards, a diamond
colour is the fairest; heart-colour, fair, but not so fair as the last; club
colour, rather dark; spade colour, an extremely swarthy complexion.
Colour, a handkerchief worn by each of the supporters of a professional
athlete on the day of a match, so as to distinguish them from the
partizans of the other side. The professional chooses his colours, and
his backers, and as many of the general public as can be persuaded to
do so, take one each to wear on the eventful day, the understanding
being that the man is to be paid, say, a guinea if he wins, and nothing
if he loses. Some of these handkerchiefs used to be, in the palmy days
of pugilism and professional rowing on the Thames, very fine
specimens of work; but as their purveyors expected to be paid whether
they won or lost, and as the price was generally about four times the
intrinsic value, colours are rather shyly dealt with now. The
custom is, however, a very ancient one, and such men as Tom
Sayers, Tom King, Harry Kelley, and Bob Chambers have, even
-
126
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
in these degenerate days, received very large sums for their winning
colours.
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 misnamed "life-
preserver.
Colt, a person who sits as juryman for the first time.
operative baker who does not belong to the union.
Colt, a professional cricketer during his first season.
In Cork an
From the best colts
wet-
in the annual match are selected new county players.
Colt, to fine a new juryman a sum to be spent in drink, by way of "
ting" his office; 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.
Colt's tooth, elderly persons of juvenile tastes are said to have a COLT's
TOOTH, i.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 ; "Aint 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 manœuvre. COMING IT STRONG, exag-
gerating, going ahead, the opposite of "drawing it mild." COMING IT
also means informing or disclosing. Also, in pugilistic phraseology,
to COME IT means to show fear; and in this respect, as well as in
that of giving information, the expression "COME IT" is best known to
the lower and most dangerous classes.
Come down, to pay down.
Commemoration, the end of Lent term at Oxford, when honorary
degrees are conferred and certain prizes given, and when men have
friends "up."
Commission, a shirt.—Ancient Cant. Italian, CAMICIA.
"As from our beds, we doe oft cast our eyes,
Cleane linnen yeelds a shirt before we rise,
Which is a garment shifting in condition;
And in the canting tongue is a COMMISSION.
In weale or woe, in joy or dangerous drifts,
A shirt will put a man unto his shifts."
For further particulars, see CAMESA.
-Taylor's Works, 1630.
Commister, a chaplain or clergyman.--Originally Old Cant.
Common sewer, a DRAIN,-vulgar equivalent for a drink.
Commons, the allowance of anything sent out of the buttery or
kitchen. "A COMMONS of bread, or "of cheese," for instance.-
"
University. SHORT COMMONS (derived from the University slang
term), a scanty meal, a scarcity.
Competition wallah, one who entered the Indian Civil Service by
passing a competitive examination.-Anglo-Indian.
Compo, a sailor's term for his monthly advance of wages.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
127
Comprador, a purveyor, an agent.-Originally Spanish, now Anglo-
Chinese.
Concaves and convexes, a pack of cards con-
trived for cheating, by cutting all the cards from the
two to the seven concave, and all from the eight to the king convex.
Then by cutting the pack breadthwise a convex card is cut, and by
cutting it lengthwise a concave is secured.-See LONGS AND SHORTS.
Conjee, a kind of gruel made of rice.-Anglo-Indian.
Conk, a nose. Possibly from the Latin, CONCHA, a shell. Greck, kóyxn
hence anything hollow. Somewhat of a parallel may be found in the
Latin, TESTA, an earthenware pot, a shell, and in later Latin, a
skull; from whence the French TESTE, or TÊTE, head. CONKY,
having a projecting or remarkable nose. The first Duke of
Wellington was frequently termed "Old CONKY" in satirical papers
and caricatures.
Connaught Rangers, the Eighty-eighth Regiment of Foot in the
British Army.
Conshun's price, fair terms, without extortion. Probably conscience
price.-Anglo-Chinese.
Constable, "to overrun the CONSTABLE," to exceed one's income, or get
deep in debt.
The origin of this phrase is unknown, but its use is
very general.
Constitutional, a walk, or other exercise taken for the benefit of the
health.
Consumah, a butler.-Anglo-Indian.
Contango, among stockbrokers 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.
Continuations, coverings for the legs, whether trousers or breeches. A
word belonging to the same squeamish, affected family as unmentionables,
inexpressibles, &c.
Convey, to steal;
CONVEY, the wise it call."
Conveyancer, a pickpocket. Shakspeare uses the cant expression CON-
VEYER, a thief. The same term is also French slang,
Cooey, the Australian bush-call, now not unfrequently heard in the
streets of London.
Cook, a term well known in the Bankruptcy Courts, in reference to
accounts that have been meddled with, or COOKED, by the bankrupt;
also to form 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. Any unfair statements of accounts or
reports are now said to be COOKED.
Cook, in artistic circles, to dodge up a picture. Artists say that a picture
will not COOK when it is excellent and unconventional, and beyond
specious imitation.
Cook one's goose, to kill or ruin a person.-North.
128
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
>>
Cooler, a glass of porter as a wind up, after drinking spirits and water.
This form of drinking is sometimes called "putting the beggar on the
gentleman.
Coolie, a soldier, in allusion to the Hindoo COOLIES, or day labourers.
Coon, abbreviation of racoon.-American.
-American. À GONE COON-ditto, one in
an awful fix, past praying for. This expression is said to have origi-
nated in the first 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'll 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 home. The phrase is
pretty general in England. [There is one difficulty about this story-
How big was the man who dressed himself in a racoon skin ?]
Cooper, "stout half-and-half," i.e., 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 take mixed.
Cooper, to destroy, spoil, settle, or finish. COOPERED, spoilt, "done up,'
synonymous with the Americanism caved in, fallen in, ruined. The
vagabonds' hieroglyph V, chalked by them on gate posts and houses,
signifies that the place has been spoilt by too many tramps calling
there.
Cooper, to forge, or imitate in writing; "COOPER a monniker," to forge
a signature.
Cooter, “a sovereign.
"a sovereign.”—See COUTER. Gipsy, 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,'
is to be taken by the police. Probable contraction of Lat. capere.
Cop, beware, take care. A contraction of COPRADOR.-Anglo-Indian.
Coper, properly HORSE-COUPER, a Scotch horse-dealer, -used to denote
a dishonest one. COPING, like jockeying, is suggestive of all kinds of
trickery.
Copper, a policeman, i.e., one who COPS, which see.
Copper, a halfpenny. COPPERS, mixed pence.
Coppernose, a nose which is supposed to show a partiality on its owner's
part for strong drink. Synonymous with "jolly nose." Grog-blossoms
are the jewels often set in a jolly nose.
Copus, a Cambridge drink, consisting of ale combined with spices, and
varied by spirits, wines, &c. Corruption of HIPPocras.
Corduroy roads, an American term for the rough roads made by
simply laying logs along a clearing.
Corinthianism, a term derived from the classics, much in vogue some
years ago, implying pugilism,
Shakspeare, 1 Hen. IV. ii. 4.
verbial in Greece. Kopivola
high life, "sprees," roystering, &c.—
The immorality of Corinth was pro-
eolai, to Corinthianize, indulge in the
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
129
company of courtezans, was a Greek slang expression. Hence the
proverb-
Οὐ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς εἰς Κόρινθον ἔσθ' ὁ πλοῦς :
and Horace, Epist. lib. 1, xvii. 36-
"Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum,"
in allusion to the spoliation practised by the "hetare" on those who
visited them. Pierce Egan, in his Life in London, is responsible for a
deal of the modern use of this word; and after him Bell's Life, as the
oracle of Corinthian sport, was not idle.
Cork, a broken man, a bankrupt. Probably intended to refer to his
lightness, as being without "ballast."
Cork, "to draw a CORK," to give a bloody nose.-Pugilistic.
Corkage, money charged when persons at an hotel provide their own wine
-sixpence being charged for each "cork" drawn.
Corked, said of wine which tastes of cork, from being badly decanted, or
which has lost flavour from various other obvious causes.
Corker, "that's a CORKER," i.e., that settles the question, or closes the
discussion.
Corks, a butler. Derivation very obvious.
Corks, money; "how are you off for CORKS?" a sailors' term of a very
expressive kind, denoting the means of "keeping afloat."
Corned, drunk or intoxicated. Possibly from soaking or pickling one-
self like CORNED beef.
Corner, "the CORNER," Tattersall's famous horse repository and betting
rooms, so called from the fact of its situation, which was at Hyde Park
Corner. Though Tattersall's has been removed some distance, to
Albert Gate, it is still known to the older habitués of the Subscription
Room as the CORNER.
Cornered, hemmed in a corner, placed in a position from which there
is no escape.
Corner-man, the end singer of a corps of Ethiopian or nigger minstrels.
There are two corner men, one generally plays the bones and the
other the tambourine. Corner-men are the grotesques of a minstrel
company.
Corn in Egypt, a popular expression which means a plentiful supply of
materials for a dinner, &c., or a good supply of money. Its origin is of
course Biblical.
Corporation, the protuberant front of an obese person. Probably from
the old announcements which used to be made, and are made now in
some towns where improvements are made by the municipal authori-
ties, "Widened at the expense of the CORPORATION."
Corpse, to stick fast in the dialogue; to confuse, or put out the actors by
making a mistake.--Theatrical.
Cosh, a neddy, a life-preserver; any short, loaded bludgeon.
Cossack, a policeman.
Costard, the head.
with "cracked.”
A very old word, generally used in connexion
130
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Coster, the short and slang rendering of " costermonger," or "costard-
monger," who was originally an apple-seller. COSTERING, ¿.e., coster-
mongering, acting as a costermonger would.
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 were at one time
cut off from the rest of metropolitan society by their low habits, general
improvidence, pugnacity, love of gambling, total want of education,
disregard for lawful marriage ceremonies, and their use of a peculiar
slang language. They have changed a good deal of this, though,
COSTERMONGER aliter COSTARDMONGER, i.e., an apple-seller.
In Nares's Glossary (Ed. H. & W.) they are said to have been fre-
quently Irish. So, Ben Jonson—
now.
"Her father was an Irish COSTAR-MONGER.' >>
Alchym., iv. I.
"In England, sir, troth I ever laugh when I think on 't,
Why, sir, there all the COSTER-MONGERS are Irish."
2 P. Hen. IV., O. Pl., iii. 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 COSTER-MONGER
That school-boys had couzened of his apples,
As loud and senseless."
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 him as cotton would. Vide Bartlett, who claims it as an American-
ism, and Halliwell, who terms it an archaism; also Bacchus and
Venus, 1737.
66
Her heart's as hard as taxes, and as bad;
She does not even COTTON to her dad."
Halliday and Lawrance, Kenilworth Burlesque.
Cotton Lord, a Manchester manufacturer.
Cottonopolis, Manchester. A term much in use among the reporters of
the sporting press engaged in that locality.
Council-of-ten, the toes of a man who turns his feet inward.
Counter, to hit back, to exchange blows. A cross COUNTER is a blow with
the right hand given in exchange for one with the left, the counterer
preferring to strike rather than to "stop" the blow.-Pugilistic.
Counter-jumper, a shopman, a draper's assistant.
Country-captain, a spatch-cocked fowl, sprinkled with curry-powder.
A favourite breakfast dish with the captains of country-ships.-Indian.
Country-ship, a ship belonging to the East Indies, and trading from
port to port in that country.
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. Since
short hair has become fashionable the expression has fallen somewhat
into disuse. In the times when long hair was worn, a man with his
hair cut as described was said to have had it done with a knife and
fork.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
131
Couple-beggar, a degraded person, who officiated as a clergyman in
performing marriages in the Fleet Prison.
Couter, a sovereign. HALF-A-COUTER, half-a-sovereign.
Danubian-gipsy word CUTA, a gold coin.
""
""
From the
rum
Cove, or COVEY, a boy or man of any age or station. A term generally
preceded by an expressive adjective, thus a "flash COVE, a
COVE, a "downy cOVE, &c. The feminine, COVESS, was once
popular, but it has fallen into disuse. Originally ancient cant (temp.
Henry VII.), COFE, or CUFFIN, altered in Decker's time to COVE. See
Witts' Recreations, 1654; "there's a gentry-COVE here," i.c., a gentle-
man. Probably connected with CUIF, which, in the North of England,
signifies a lout or awkward fellow. Amongst Negroes, CUffee.
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 countenance, and "to send a man to COVENTRY
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 off. The
cover is more generally called a CAP. This style of cheating is now
obsolete. A man who cannot manage to cheat at tossing without
machinery is a sorry rogue.
came to
κύων,
Cowan, a sneak, an inquisitive or prying person. Greek, kúwv, a dog.
Term given by Freemasons to all uninitiated persons. Used in
Anderson's Constitutions, edit. 1769, p. 97. If derived from κvwv,
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,
Cow-cow, to be very angry, to scold or reprimand violently.—Anglo-
Chinese.
Cow-hocked, clumsy about the ankles; with large or awkward feet.
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.
NUMBER SIXES, from their usual shape.
KNOCKER, which see.
Cow's grease, butter.
These locks are also called
The opposite of NEWGATE-
Coxy-loxy, good-tempered, drunk.—Norfolk.
Crab, a disagreeable old person. Name of a wild and sour fruit.
Crab, "to catch a CRAB," to fall backwards by missing a stroke in row-
ing. From the crab-like or sprawling appearance of the man when
in the bottom of the boat.
132
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
against.
Crab, to offend, or insult; to expose or defeat a robbery, to inform
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."
Packman's Paternoster.
Crabs, in dicing, a pair of aces.
Crabshells, or TROTTER-CASES, shoes.-See CARTS.
Crack, the favourite horse in a race. Steeplechase and hunting CRACKS
have been made the subjects of well-known pictures, and "the gallops
of the CRACKS is a prominent line in the sporting papers.
Crack, first-rate, excellent;
article," a good one.
Old.
a CRACK HAND," an adept; a CRACK
"A CRACK regiment," a fashionable one.-
Crack, dry firewood.-Modern Gipsy.
Crack, "in a CRACK (of the finger and thumb)," in a moment.
Crack, to break into a house; "CRACK A CRIB," to commit burglary.
Crack a bottle, to drink. Shakspeare uses CRUSH in the same slang
sense.
Cracked up, penniless or ruined.
Cracking a crust, rubbing along in the world.
CRACKING A TIDY
CRUST, means doing very well. This is a very common expression
among the lower orders.
Crackle, or CRACKLING, the scored rind on a roast leg or loin of pork;
hence applied to the velvet bars on the gowns of the students at St.
John's College, Cambridge, long called "Hogs," and the covered
bridge which connects one of the courts with the grounds, Isthmus of
Suez (SUES, Lat. SUS, a swine).
Cracksman, a burglar, i.e., the man who CRACKS.
Crack up, to boast or praise.—Ancient English.
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.
One in the habit of telling lies.
Crammer, a lie.
Cranky, foolish, idiotic, rickety, capricious (not confined to persons).
Ancient cant, CRANKE, simulated sickness. German, KRANK, sickly.
A CRANK OF CRANKY vessel is one which pitches very much.
Crap, to ease oneself by evacuation.
Crapping case, or KEN, the water-closet.
CASTLE.
Generally called CRAPPING-
Crawler, a mean, contemptible, sycophantic fellow. Also a cab which is
driven slowly along while its driver looks out for a fare. Crawling is
by recent statute a punishable offence.
Crawly mawly, in an ailing, weakly, or sickly state.
Craw thumper, a Roman Catholic. Compare BRISKET-BEATER.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
133
Cream of the valley, gin; as opposed to or distinguished from
"mountain dew," whisky.
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. Otherwise crumpet-face.
Crikey, profane exclamation of astonishment; "Oh, CRIKEY, you
don't say so!" corruption of "O Christ!" Sometimes varied by
"O crimes !"
Cripple, a bent sixpence.
Cripple, an awkward or clumsy person.
Also one of dull wits.
Croak, to die-from the gurgling sound a person makes when the breath
of life is departing.
Croaker, one who takes a desponding view of everything, a misanthrope;
an alarmist. From the croaking of a raven.-Ben Jonson.
Croaker, a beggar.
Croaker, a dying person beyond hope; a corpse.
rally called a stiff'un.
66
The latter is gene-
Croaks, last dying speeches, and murderers' confessions.
Crocodiles' tears, the tears of a hypocrite. An ancient phrase,
introduced into this country by Mandeville, or other early English
traveller, who believed that the crocodile made a weeping noise to
attract travellers, and then devoured them. See Shakspeare's use of the
term in Othello.
Crocus, or CROAKUS, a quack or travelling doctor; CROCUS-CHOVEY, a
chemist's shop.
Crone, a termagant or malicious old woman. CRONY, an intimate friend.
Crooked, a term used among dog-stealers and the " "fancy" generally,
to denote anything stolen. "Got on the CROOK is exchangeable
with "Got
on the cross, CROOK and cross generally being
synonymous.
>"
Crooky, to hang on to, to lead, to walk arm-in-arm; to court or pay
addresses to a girl.
Cropped, hanged. Sometimes topped. "May I be topped."
Cropper, a heavy fall, a decided failure.
Term originally used in the
hunting-field, but now general, and not at all confined to physical
matters.
Cropper, "to go a CROPPER,” or “to come a CROPPER,” i.e., to fail badly.
Croppie, a person who has had his hair cut, or CROPPED, in prison.
Formerly those who had been CROPPED (i.e., had their ears cut off and
their noses slit) by the public executioner were called CROPP¡ES, then
the Puritans received the reversion of the title.
134
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Crop up, to turn up in the course of conversation.
while we were speaking."
"It CROPPED UP
is
Cross, a deception-two persons pretending hostility or indifference to
each other, being all the while in concert for the purpose of deceiving
a third.
In the sporting world a CROss is an arrangement made be-
tween two men that one shall win without reference to relative merits.
This is sometimes done with the backer's consent for the public benefit,
at other times a backer is himself the sufferer, the men having "put
some one in to lay," according to instructions.-See DOUBLE CROSS.
Cross, a general term amongst thieves expressive of their plundering pro-
fession, the opposite of square. "To get anything on the CROSS
to obtain it surreptitiously. "CROSS-FANNING in a crowd," robbing
persons of their scarf-pins, so called from the peculiar position of the
arms. This style of thieving is not confined to the conveying of scarf-
pins. CROSSMAN, a thief, or one who lives by dishonest practices.
Cross. For not paying his term bills to the bursar (treasurer), or for
cutting chapels, or lectures, or other offences, the undergrad can be
CROSSED at the buttery, or kitchen, or both, i.e., a CROSS is put
against his name by the Don, who wishes to see him, or to punish him.
Of course it is easy to get one's buttery commons out in some one else's
name, and to order dinner in from the confectioner's. The porter is
supposed to allow no dinners to be sent in, but, between his winking
and a little disguise, it is possible. As another instance, a barrel of
beer will not be admitted; but if it is in a hamper it will pass !
Oxford University.
Cross-buttock, an unexpected fling down or repulse; from a peculiar
throw practised by wrestlers.
Cross cove and molisher, a man and woman who live by
thieving.
Cross-crib, a house frequented by thieves.
Crossed, prohibited from taking food from the buttery.—University.
Crow, or COCK-CROW, to exult over another's abasement, as a fighting-
cock does over his vanquished adversary.
Crow, a regular CROW," a success, a stroke of luck,-equivalent to a
FLUKE.
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.
Crow, “I have a CROW to pick with you," i.e., an explanation to demand,
a disagreeable matter to settle. Sometimes the article picked is sup-
posed to be a bone.
Crowsfeet, wrinkles which gather in the corners of the eyes of old or
dissipated people.
Crug, food. Christ's Hospital boys 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, plump.-North. In London street slang, lousy.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
135
Crummy-doss, a lousy or filthy bed.
Crumpet-face, a face pitted with small-pox marks.
Crunch, to crush. Perhaps from the sound of teeth grinding against
each other.
Crush, to run or 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 corruption of
the Anglo-Norman CORUSEUX.
Cub, a mannerless uncouth lout.-See UNLICKED.
Cubitopolis, an appellation, originally given by Londoners to the
Warwick and Eccleston Square districts. From the name of the
builders.
Cue, properly the last word spoken by one actor, it being the CUE for the
other to reply. Very often an actor knows nothing of a piece beyond
his own lines and the cUES. >>
Cull, a man or boy.-Old Cant.
RUM CULL, the manager of a theatre.
Cullet, broken glass. French, CUEILLETTE, a gathering or collection.
Culling, or cULING, stealing from the carriages at racecourses.
Cully gorger, a companion, a brother actor.-Theatrical. See GORGER.
Culver-headed, weak and stupid.
Cummer, a gossip or acquaintance.
Cumshaw, a present or bribe.-Anglo-Chinese.
Cupboard-headed, an expressive designation of one whose head is
both wooden and hollow.-Norfolk.
Cupboard-love, affection arising from interested motives.
A CUPBOARD LOVE is seldom true;
A love sincere is found in few.”—Poor Robin.
Cupboard is the fount-spring of the love supposed to exist among
policemen for the cooks upon their beats.
Cup-tosser, a person who professes to tell fortunes by examining the
grounds in tea or coffee cups. A cup or goblet, however, is the old
mystic symbol of a juggler. French, JOUEUR DE GOBELET.
Cure, an odd person; a contemptuous term, abridged from CURIOSITY,
which was formerly the favourite expression. The word cure, as
originally applied, was London street slang, and was, as just stated,
an abbreviation of curiosity, or, more correctly, of curious or queer
fellow. Of late years it has, however, been used to denote a funny,
humorous person, who can give and receive chaff,
Curios, a corruption of "curiosities ;" any articles of vertu brought
from abroad. Used by naval and military travellers and others.
Currency, persons born in Australia are there termed CURRENCY, while
natives of England are termed STERLING. The allusion is to the
L
135
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
difference between colonial and imperial moneys, which it may be as
well to remark have no difference so far as actual value is concerned.
Curse, anything worthless. Corruption of the Old English word KERSE,
a small sour wild cherry; French, CERISE; German, KIRSCH.
of Piers Ploughman:
"Wisdom and witt nowe is not worth a KERSE,
But if it be carded with cootis as clothers
Kembe their woole.
Vision
The expression "not worth a CURSE," used frequently nowadays, is
therefore not properly profane, though it is frequently intensified by a
profane expletive. Horne Tooke says from KERSE, or CRESS. The
expression "not worth a tinker's CURSE," may or may not have arisen
from misapplication of the word's origin, though as now used it
certainly means curse in its usual sense. Tinkers do curse, unfortunately,
and it will take a good deal of school-board work to educate them out
of it, as well as a fair amount of time. The phrase "not worth a
tinker's damn," is evidently a variation of this, unless indeed it should
be spelt "dam," and used as a reference to the general worthless-
ness of the wives and mothers of tinkers. This latter is merely offered
to those who are speculative in such matters, and is not advanced as
an opinion.
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. The first supposition is evidently erroneous, for in
Dr. Houston's Memoirs of his own Lifetime, 1747, p. 92, 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 were also the arms
of Colonel Packer, who attended Charles I. on the scaffold, and com-
manded in Scotland afterwards with great severity.-See Chatto on the
Origin and History of Playing Cards, p. 267. 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 Venus, 1737. Evidently derived from the French court tailler.
Cushion, to hide or conceal.
Cushion-smiter, polite rendering of tub-thumper, a clergyman, a
preacher.
Cushmawaunee, never mind. Sailors and soldiers who have been in
India frequently say-
"" CUSHMAWAUNEE,
If we cannot get arrack,
We must drink pawnee.'
Anglo-Indian.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
137
Customer, synonymous with CHAP, a fellow; "a rum CUSTOMER,” ¿.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 pill.
Cut, to run away, move off quickly; to cease doing anything; CUT AND
RUN, to quit work, or occupation, and start off at once-Sca phrase,
"CUT the cable and RUN before the wind;" to CUT DIDOES, synony-
mous with to CUT CAPERS; CUT A DASH, make a show; CUT A
CAPER, to dance or show off in a strange manner; CUT A FIGURE, to
make either a good or bad appearance; CUT IT, desist, be quiet, go
away, leave what you are doing and run; CUT IT SHORT, cease being
prolix, "make short work" of what you have in hand; CUT OUT, to
excel, thus in affairs of gallantry one Adonis is said to CUT the other
out in the affections of the wished-for lady-Sea phrase, from CUT-
TING out a ship from the enemy's port. CUT THAT! be quiet, or
stop; CUT OUT OF, done out of; CUT OF ONE'S JIB, the expression
or cast of his countenance [see JIB]; TO CUT ONE'S COMB, to take
down a conceited person, from the practice of cutting the combs of
capons [see COMB CUT]; CUT AND COME AGAIN, plenty, if one cut
does not suffice, plenty remains to come at again; CUT UP, to mortify,
to criticise severely, or expose; CUT UP SHINES, to play tricks; CUT
ONE'S STICK, to be off quickly, i.e., to be in readiness for a journey,
further elaborated into AMPUTATE YOUR MAHOGANY [see STICK]; CUT
IT FAT, to exaggerate or show off in an extensive manner; to CUT
UP FAT, or CUT UP WELL, to die, leaving a large property; CUT
UNDER, to undersell; CUT YOUR LUCKY, to run off; CUT ONE'S
CART, to expose unfair tricks
; CUT AN ACQUAINTANCE, to cease
friendly intercourse with him ; CUT UP ROUGH," to become obstre-
perous and dangerous; to have CUT ONE'S E-TEETH," i.e., to be
wide awake, knowing; to DRAW CUTS, to cast lots with papers of
unequal lengths.
Cut, to take cards from a pack, with a view to decide by comparison which
persons shall be partners, or which players shall deal. Not less than
four cards must be picked up by the cutter, and the bottom one is the
CUT. When cutting for a "turn-up," the residuum is called the CUT.
Cut, in theatrical language, means to strike out portions of a dramatic
piece, so as to render it shorter for representation. A late treasurer of
one of the so-called Patent Theatres when asked his opinion of a new
play, always gave utterance to the brief but safe piece of criticism,
"Wants cutting."
Cut, tipsy.-Old.
Cut, to compete in business; "a CUTTING trade," one conducted on
competitive principles, where the profits are very closely shaved.
Cut-throat, a butcher, a cattle-slaughterer; a ruffian.
Cute, sharp, cunning. Abbreviation of ACUTE.
L 2
138
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Cutter, a ruffian, a cut-purse. Of Robin Hood it was said
"So being outlaw'd (as 'tis told),
He with a crew went forth
Of lusty CUTTERS, bold and strong,
And robbed in the north."
CUTTER, a swashbuckler-balaffreux taillebras, fendeur de naseaux.—
Cotgrave.
"He's out of cash, and thou know'st by CUTTER's Law,
We are bound to relieve one another.
Match at Midn., O. Pl., vii. 553.
This ancient cant word now survives in the phrase, "to swear like a
CUTTER.
""
Cutting-shop, a place where cheap rough goods are sold.
Cutty-pipe, a short clay pipe. Scotch, CUTTY, short.
Cutty-sark, a short chemise.-Scotch.
called by Burns.
A scantily-draped lady is so
"Weel done, CUTTY-SARK!'
And in an instant all was dark."
Most probably derived from the
Dab, or DABSTER, an expert person.
Latin adeptus.
Dab, street term for small flat fish of any kind. - Old.
Dacha-saltee, tenpence. Probably from the Lingua Franca.
Modern
Greek, déкa; Italian, DIECI SOLDI, tenpence; Gipsy, DIK, ten. So also
DACHA-ONE (oney), i.e., dieci uno, elevenpence.—See SALTEE.
Daddle, the hand; "tip us your DADDLE," i.e., shake hands.
Daddy, a stage manager.-Theatrical. Also the person who gives away
the bride at a wedding.
Daddy; at mock raffles, lotteries, &c., the DADDY is an accomplice, most
commonly the getter-up of the swindle, and in all cases the person
that has been previously selected to win the prize.
Daddy, the old man in charge-generally an aged pauper-at casual
wards. Most people will remember "kind old DADDY.'
Daffy, gin. A term with monthly nurses, who are always extolling_the
virtues of Daffy's Elixir, and who occasionally comfort themselves
with a stronger medicine under Daffy's name. Of late years the term
has been altered to "soothing syrup.
Dags, feat or performance; "I'll do your DAGS," i.e., I will do some-
thing that you cannot do. Corruption of DARINGS.
Dairies, a woman's breasts, which are also called CHARLIES.
Daisy-cutter, a horse that trots or gallops without lifting its feet much
from the ground.
Daisy-kicker, the name ostlers at large inns used to give each other,
now nearly obsolete. DAISY-KICKER, or GROGHAM, was likewise the
cant term for a horse. The DAISY-KICKERS were sad rogues in the old
posting days; frequently the landlords rented the stables to them,
as the only plan to make them return a profit.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
139
Damage, in the sense of recompense;
"what's the DAMAGE?" i.e., what
is to pay? or actually, what is the DAMAGE to my pocket?
Damper, a shop till; to DRAW A DAMPER, i.e., rob a till. A till is
more modernly called a "lob," and stealing from tills is known as
"lob-sneaking."
Dancer, or dancing-master, a thief who prowls about the roofs of
houses, and effects an entrance by attic windows, &c. Called also a
garreter.'
Dance upon nothing, to be hanged.
Dander, passion or temper; "to get one's DANDER up," to rouse his
passion.-Old, but now much used in America.
Dando, a great eater, who cheats at hotels, eating shops, oyster-cellars,
&c., from a person of that name who lived many years ago, and who was
an enormous oyster-eater. According to the stories related of him,
Dando would visit an oyster-room, devour an almost fabulous quantity
of bivalves, with porter and bread and butter to match, and then
calmly state that he had no money.
Dandy, a fop, or fashionable nondescript. This word, in the sense of a
fop, is of modern origin. Egan says it was first used in 1820, and Bee
in 1816. Johnson does not mention it, although it is to be found in
all late dictionaries. DANDIES wore stays, studied a feminine style,
and tried to undo their manhood by all manner of affectations which
were not actually immoral. Lord Petersham headed them. At the
present day dandies of this stamp have almost entirely disappeared, but
the new school of muscular Christians is not altogether faultless. The
feminine of DANDY was DANDIZETTE, but the term only lived for a
short season.
Dandy, a small glass of whisky.-Irish.
"Dimidium cyathi vero apud
Metropolitanos Hibernicos dicitur DANDY."-Father Tom and the Pope,
in Blackwood's Magazine for May 1838.
Dandy, a boatman.—Anglo-Indian.
Dandypratt, a funny little fellow, a mannikin; originally a half-farthing
of the time of Henry VII.
Danna, human ordure; DANNA DRAG, a nightman's or dustman's cart;
hence DUNNA-KEN, which see.
Darbies, handcuffs.-Old Cant. See JOHNNY DARBIES. Sir Walter Scott
mentions these, in the sense of fetters, in his Peveril of the Peak—
"Hark ye! Jem Clink will fetch you the DARBIES.' 'Derby!' interrupted Julian
'has the Earl or Countess'".
Had Sir Walter known of any connexion between them and this family
he would undoubtedly have mentioned it. The mistake of Julian
is corrected in the next paragraph. It is said that handcuffs were, when
used to keep two prisoners together, called DARBIES and JOANS-a term
which would soon be shortened as a natural consequence.
Darble, the devil. French, DIABLE.
Dark, "keep it DARK," i.c., secret. A DARK horse is, in racing phraseology,
a horse of whom nothing positive is known, but who is generally
140
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
supposed to have claims to the consideration of all interested, whether
bookmakers or backers.
Darky, twilight; also a negro. DARKMANS, the night.
Darn, vulgar corruption of DAMN.-American.
Dash, to jot down suddenly. "Things I have DASHED off at a moment's
notice."
Dash, fire, vigour, manliness. Literary and artistic work is often said to
be full of DASH.
Dash, an ejaculation, as
DASH my wig!" " DASH my buttons!" A relic
of the attempts made, when cursing was fashionable, to be in the mode
without using "bad words."
Dashing, showy, fast.
Daub, in low language, an artist. Also a badly painted picture.
David's sow, "as drunk as DAVID'S sow,
as drunk as DAVID'S SOW," i.e., beastly drunk.
See
origin of the phrase in Grose's Dictionary.
Davy, on my DAVY," on my affidavit, of which it is a vulgar corruption,
Latterly DAVY has become synonymous in street language with the
name of the Deity; "so help me DAVY," generally rendered, “swelp
my DAVY.
Slang version of the conclusion of the oath usually
exacted of witnesses.
Davy's locker, or DAVY JONES'S LOCKER, the sea, the common recep-
tacle for all things thrown overboard ;-a nautical phrase for death, is
gone to DAVY JONES'S LOCKER," which there means the other world.
-Ste DUFFY.
Dawdle, to loiter, or fritter away time.
Dawk, the post.—Anglo-Indian.
Daylights, eyes; "to darken his DAYLIGHts,
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.
cases cries "no DAYLIGHTS or heeltaps!"
The toast-master in such
Daze, to confound or bewilder; an ancient form of dazzle used by Spenser,
Drayton, &c. This is more obsolete English than slang, though its
use nowadays might fairly bring it within the latter category.
Dead-against, decidedly opposed to.
Dead-alive, stupid, dull.
Dead-amiss, said of a horse that from illness is utterly unable to run for
a prize.
Dead-beat, utterly exhausted, utterly "done up."
Dead-heat, when two horses run home so exactly equal that the judge
cannot place one before the other; consequently, a DEAD-HEAT is a
heat which counts for nothing, so far as the even runners are concerned,
as it has to be run over again. When a race between dead-heaters
has been unusually severe, or when the stake is sufficiently good to bear
division, it is usual to let one of the animals walk over the course so as
to make a deciding heat, and to divide the money. In such case
all bets are divided. Sometimes, however, when no arrangement
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
14I
can be made, an owner will withdraw his horse, in which case the
animal that walks over wins the whole of the stake, and his backers
the whole of their money. Where the course is short and the money
of small amount, the DEAD-HEAT is run off, the second essay being
called the decider, though on certain occasions even the decider has
resulted in a DEAD-HEAT.-See NECK AND NECK.
Dead-horse, "to draw the DEAD-HORSE; DEAD-HORSE work
working for wages already paid; also any thankless or unassisted
service.
"
Dead-letter, an action of no value or weight; an article, owing to
some mistake in its production, rendered utterly valueless, often ap-
plied to any instrument in writing, which by some apparently trivial
omission, becomes useless. At the general and large district post-
offices, there is a department for letters which have been erroneously
addressed, or for which, from many and various causes, there are no
receivers. These are called DEAD-LETTERS, and the office in connexion
with them is known as the DEAD-LETTER office.
Dead-lock, a permanent standstill, an inextricable entanglement.
Dead-lurk, entering a dwelling-house during divine service.
Dead-man, a baker. Properly speaking, it is an extra loaf smuggled
into the basket by the man who carries it out, to the loss of the master.
Sometimes the DEAD-MAN is charged to a customer, though never de-
livered. Among London thieves and low people generally a "dead'un"
is a half-quartern loaf.
Dead-men, the term for wine bottles after they are emptied of their
contents.-Old.-See MARINES.
Dead-men's shoes, property which cannot be claimed until after
decease of present holder. "To wait for a pair of DEAD-MEN'S
SHOES," is considered a wearisome affair. It is used by Fletcher :-
"And 'tis a general shrift, that most men use,
But yet 'tis tedious waiting DEAD MEN'S SHOES."
Fletcher's Poems, p. 256.
Dead-set, a pointed and persistent attack on a person.
Dead'un, a horse which will not run or will not try in a race, and against
which money may be betted with safety.-See SAFE UN.
Deaner, a shilling. From DENIER.
SAfe
Death, "to dress to DEATH," i.e., to the very extreme of fashion,
perhaps so as to be killing.
Death-hunter, a running patterer, who vends last dying speeches and
confessions. More modernly the term is supposed to mean an under-
taker, or any one engaged in or concerned with burials.
Deck, a pack of cards. Used by Shakspeare, 3 K. Hen. VI., v. I.
Probably because of DECKING or arranging the table for a game
at cards. General in the United States.
Dee, a pocket-book; term used by tramps.-Gipsy. DEE (properly D), a
detective policeman. "The DEES are about, so look out.
142
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Delicate, a false subscription-book carried by a LURKER.
Demirep (or DEMIRIP), a courtezan. Contraction of DEMI-REPUTA-
TION, which is, in turn, a contraction for demi-monde reputation.
Derby-dog, a masterless animal, who is sure to appear as soon as the
Epsom course is cleared for the great race of the season. No year passes
without a dog running between the two dense lines of spectators and
searching in vain for an outlet, and he is almost as eagerly looked for
as are the "preliminary canters. It is said that when no DERBY-DOG
appears on the course between Tattenham Corner and the judge's box,
just before the start, a dead-heat will take place between all the placed
horses.
>>
Derrick, an apparatus for raising sunken ships, &c. The term is curi-
ously derived from a hangman of that name frequently mentioned in
Old Plays, as in the Bellman of London, 1616.
"He rides circuit with the devil, and DERRICK must be his host, and Tyborne the
inn at which he will light."
The term is now almost general for all cranes used in loading ships, or
doing similar work of a heavy nature.
Despatchers, false dice with two sets of numbers, and, of course,
no low pips. So called because they bring the matter to a speedy issue.
Great skill in palming is necessary for their successful use.
Deuce, the devil.-Old.
or ZEUS.
Stated by Junius and others to be from DEUS
Deuce, twopence; DEUCE at cards or dice, one with two pips or spots.
Devil, among barristers, to get up the facts of a case for a leader; to
arrange everything in the most comprehensive form, so that the Q. C. or
Serjeant can absorb the question without much trouble. DEVILLING
is juniors' work, but much depends on it, and on the ability with which
it is done.
Devil, a printer's youngest apprentice, an errand-boy in a printing-
office.
Devil dodger, a clergyman; also a person who goes sometimes to
church and sometimes to meeting.
Devil-may-care, reckless, rash.
Devil's bed-posts, the four of clubs. Otherwise Old Gentleman's
BED-POSTS.
Devil's books, a pack of playing-cards; a phrase of Presbyterian
origin. See FOUR KINGS.
Devil's delight, a noise or row of any description.
thus "They kicked up the DEVIL'S DELIGHT.
Devil's dung, the fetid drug assafoetida.
Generally used
Devil's dust, a term used in the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire
to denote shreds of old cloth torn up to re-manufacture; also called
SHODDY. Mr. Ferrand, in his speech in the House, March 4, 1842,
produced a piece of cloth made chiefly from DEVIL'S DUST, and tore
it into shreds to prove its worthlessness.--See Hansard's Parliamentary
Debates, third series, vol. lxi. p. 140.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
143
}
Devil-scolder, a clergyman.
Devil's livery, black and yellow.
tine uses of the colours.
From the mourning and quaran-
Devil's teeth, or DEVIL'S BONES, dice.
Devotional habits, horses weak in the knees, and apt to stumble and
fall, are said to have these. -Stable.
Dew-beaters, feet; "hold out your DEW-BEATERS till I take off the
darbies."-Peveril of the Peak. Forby says the word is used in 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.
Dibbs, money; so called from the huckle bones of sheep, which have
been used from the earliest times for gambling purposes when money
was not obtainable-in one particular game being thrown up five at a
time and caught on the back of the hand like halfpence.
Dick, a riding whip; gold-headed DICK, one so ornamented.
Dick, abbreviation of "Dictionary," but often euphemistically rendered
Richard,"-fine language, long words. A man who uses fine words
without much judgment is said to have "swallowed the DICK."
Dickens, synonymous with devil; "what the DICKENS are you after?"
what the devil are you doing? Used by Shakspeare in the Merry
Wives of Windsor. In many old stories his Satanic Majesty is called
the DICKENS, and by no other name, while in some others the word is
spelt "diconce."
Dickey, bad, sorry, or foolish; food or lodging is pronounced DICKEY
when of a poor description; very DICKEY," very inferior; "it's all
DICKEY with him," i.e., all over with him.
Dickey, formerly the cant for a worn-out shirt, but nowadays used for a
front or half-shirt. DICKEY was originally "tommy" (from the Greek,
Toμń, a section), a name which was formerly used in Trinity College,
Dublin. The students are said to have invented the term, and love
of change and circumlocution soon changed it to DICKEY, in which
dress it is supposed to have been imported into England.
Dickey, a donkey.--Norfolk.
Dickey Sam, a native of Liverpool.
Dicking; "look! the bulky is DICKING," i.e., the constable has his eye
on you.-North Country Cant.
Diddle, old cant word for geneva, or gin.
Diddle, to cheat, or defraud.―Old. In German, DUDELN is to play on
the bagpipe; and the ideas of piping and cheating seem to have been
much connected. "Do you think I am easier played on than a pipe?"
occurs in Hamlet.
Diddler, or JEREMY DIDDLER, an artful swindler.
A diddler is gene-
rally one who borrows money without any intention of ever repaying
it; the sort of man who, having asked for half-a-crown and received
144
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
only a shilling, would consider that eighteenpence was owing to him.—
From Raising the Wind.
Diddling, cheating or swindling. Borrowing money without any intention
of repaying it. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a very amusing article once on
DIDDLING, which he seemed to regard as a rather high art.
Didoes, pranks or capers; "to cut up DIDOES," to make pranks.
Dig, a hard blow. Generally in pugilistic circles applied to a straight
'left-hander," delivered under the guard on the
mark."
Diggers, spurs; also the spades on cards.
Diggings, lodgings, apartments, residence; an expression probably im-
ported from California, or Australia, with reference to the gold
diggings. It is very common nowadays for a man moving in very
decent society to call his abode or his office, or any place to which he
frequently resorts, his DIGGINGS."
Dilly, originally a coach, from diligence. Now a night-cart.
Dilly-dally, to trifle.
Dimber, neat or pretty.-Worcestershire, but old cant.
Dimber-damber, very pretty; a clever rogue who excels his fellows;
chief of a gang.
Old Cant in the latter sense.
Dimmock, money; "how are you off for DIMMOCK ?" diminutive of
DIME, a small foreign silver coin, in the United States 10 cents.
Dinarly, money; "NANTEE DINARLY," I have no money, corrupted
from the Lingua Franca, NIENTE DINARO," not a penny. Turkish,
DINARI; Spanish, DINERO; Latin, DENARIUS.
Dine out, to go without dinner.
"I DINED OUT to-day," would
express the same among the very lower classes that "dining with Duke
Humphrey" expresses among the middle and upper.
Ding, to strike; to throw away, or get rid of anything; to pass to a con-
federate by throwing. Old, used in old plays.
"The butcher's axe (like great Alcides' bat)
Dings deadly downe ten thousand thousand flat."
Taylor's Works, 1630.
Dingy, a small boat. Generally the smallest boat carried by a ship. The
g in this is pronounced hard.
Dipped, mortgaged.
Dirt, TO EAT, an expression derived from the East, nearly the same as
"to eat humble (Umble) pie," to put up with a mortification or insult.
Dirty Half-hundred, a nickname given to the 50th Regiment on
account of their tattered and soiled appearance during the Peninsular
War. A term to be proud of, as it implies much work and little
reward.
Disguised, intoxicated. A very old term is that of "DISGUISED in
drink."
"Some say drinking does DISGUISE men."-Old Song.
"The saylers and the shipmen all,
Through foul excesse of wine,
Were so DISGUISED that at the sea
They shew'd themselves like swine."
Thos. Deloney's Strange Histories, p. 14
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
145
Dish, to stop, to do away with, to suppress; DISHED, done for, floored,
beaten, or silenced. To "do brown" and to "DISH," both verbs.
with very similar meanings, have an evident connexion so far as origin
is concerned, and most likely were both first used in the kitchen as
synonymous with "done for." The late Lord Derby made the
word" DISII famous by his latest public act, that of "DISHING the
Whigs."
""
Dithers, nervous or cold shiverings; "it gave me the DITHERS.
Dittoes, A SUIT OF, coat, waistcoat, and trousers of the same material.—
Tailor's term.
Ditty-bag, the bag or huswife in which sailors keep needles, thread,
buttons, &c., for mending their clothes.
Diver, a pickpocket. Also applied to fingers, no doubt from a similar
reason. To DIVE is to pick pockets.
Do, this useful and industrious verb has for many years done service as a
slang term. TO DO a person is to cheat him. Sometimes another
tense is employed, such as "I DONE him," meaning, I cheated or "paid
him out;" this is only used in the lowest grades of society. DONE
BROWN, cheated thoroughly, befooled; DONE OVER, upset, cheated,
knocked down, ruined. Among thieves DONE OVER means that a
man's pockets have been all quietly searched; the term also means
among low people seduced; DONE UP, used up, finished, or quieted.
DONE also means convicted, or sentenced; so does DONE-FOR.
DO a person in pugilism is to beat him. Humphreys, who fought
Mendoza, a Jew, wrote this laconic note to his supporter-"I have
DONE the Jew, and am in good health.-Rich. Humphreys." Tourists
use the expression, "I have DONE France and Italy," meaning I have
been through those countries.
To
Dobie, an Indian washerman; and though women wash clothes in this
country, Anglo-Indians speak of a washerwoman as a DOBIE.
Doctor, to adulterate or drug liquor; to poison, to hocus; also to falsify
accounts. A publican who sells bad liquors is said to keep the DOCTOR
in his cellars. On board ship the cook is always termed "the
DOCTOR."-See COOK.
Doddy, a term applied in Norfolk to any person of low stature. Some-
times HODMANDOD and HODDY-DODDY, all head and no body."
DODMAN in the same dialect denotes a garden snail.
Dodge, a cunning trick. "DODGE, that homely but expressive phrase."
-Sir Hugh Cairns on the Reform Bill, 2nd March, 1859. Anglos
Saxon, DEOGIAN, to colour, to conceal. The TIDY DODGE, as it is
called by street-folk, consists in dressing up a family clean and tidy,
and parading in the streets to excite compassion and obtain alms.
Dodger, a dram. In Kent, a DODGER signifies a nightcap; which name
is often given to the last dram at night.
Dodger, a tricky person, or one who, to use the popular phrase, “knows
too much." Also one who knows all phases of London life, and
profits by such knowledge.
146
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Dogberry, a foolish constable.-Shakspeare.
Dog cheap, or DOG-FOOLISH, very or singularly cheap, or foolish,
Latham, in his English Language, says :--"This has nothing to do
with dogs. The first syllable is god=good, transposed, and the second,
the ch-p, is chapman, merchant: compare EASTCHEAP."-Old term.
Doggery, nonsense, transparent attempts to cheat.
Dog gone, a form of mild swearing used by boys.
Dog in a blanket, a kind of pudding, made of preserved fruit spread
on thin dough, and then rolled up and boiled. This pudding is also
called "rolly-polly" and " stocking."
Dog in the manger, a scurvy, ill-conditioned, selfish fellow. From
the fable of that title.
Dog Latin, barbarous Latin, such as was formerly used by lawyers in
their pleadings. Now applied to medical Latin.
Dogs, TO GO TO THE, to be commercially or socially ruined.
Originally
a stable term applied to old or worthless horses, sold to feed hounds.
Dog's body, a kind of pease pudding.-Sea.
Dog's ears, the curled corners of the leaves of books, which have been
carelessly treated. The use of this term is so common that it is hardly
to be considered slang.
Dog's nose, gin and beer, so called from the mixture being cold, like a
dog's nose.
Dog stealer, a DOG DEALER. There is sometimes less difference between
the two trades than between "d" and "st.”
Doing time, working out a sentence in prison. "He's done time," is
a slang phrase used in reference to a man who is known to have been
in gaol.
Doldrums, difficulties, low spirits, dumps.--Sea.
Dollop, a lump or portion.-Norfolk. Anglo-Saxon, DALE, dole.
Dollop, to dole up, to give up a share.—Ibid.
Dolly, a very mild gambling contrivance, generally used in sweetmeat
and other child's-ware shops, until stopped by the authorities a few
years back, and consisting of a round board and the figure of an old
man or "DOLLY," down which was a spiral hole. A marble dropped
"down the DOLLY," would stop in one of the small holes or pits.
(numbered) on the board. The bet was decided according as the
marble stopped on a high or low figure. See DOLLY-SHOP.
Dollymop, a tawdrily-dressed maid-servant, a semi-professional street-
walker.
Dolly shop, an illegal pawnshop, --where goods, or stolen property, not
good enough for the pawnbroker, are received, and charged at so much
per day. If not redeemed the third day the goods are forfeited.
Originally these shops were rag shops as well, and were represented
by the black doll, the usual sign of a rag shop. Twenty years ago, a
DOLLY SHOP was, among boys, a small sweetstuff and fruit shop where
a hollow wooden figure, of the kind described above, was kept. A
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
147
wager was made, and the customer got double quantity for his money,
or nothing. A paternal legislature, and a police system worthy of the
task, have long since wiped this blot from a nation's face. The
amount at stake was generally a halfpenny, sometimes less.
Dominie, a parson, or master at a grammar school.
Domino, a common ejaculation of soldiers and sailors when they receive
the last lash of a flogging. The allusion may be understood from the
game of dominoes.
A DOMINO means either a blow, or the last of a
series of things, whether pleasant or otherwise, so the ejaculation
savours somewhat of wit.
Dominoes, the teeth.
Don, a clever fellow, the opposite of a muff; a person of distinction in
his line or walk. At the English Universities, the Masters and Fellows
are the DONS. DON is also used as an adjective, "a DON hand at a
knife and fork," i.e., a first-rate feeder at a dinner-table.
Dona and feeles, a woman and children. Italian or Lingua Franca,
DONNE E FIGLIE. The word DONA is usually pronounced DONER.
Done! the expression used when a bet is accepted. To be DONE, is to be
considerably worsted.-See also DO.
Done up, an equivalent expression to "dead beat."
Donkey, "tuppence more and up goes the DONKEY," a vulgar street
phrase for extracting as much money as possible before performing any
task. The phrase had its origin with a travelling showman, the finale
of whose performance was the hoisting of a DONKEY on a pole or
ladder; but this consummation was never arrived at unless the required
amount was first paid up, and "tuppence more" was generally the
sur demanded.
Donkey, in printers' slang, means a compositor. In the days before
steam machinery was invented, the men who worked at press-the press-
men-were so dirty and drunken a body that they earned the name of
pigs. In revenge, and for no reason that can be discovered, they
christened the compositors DONKEYS.
Don Pedro, a game at cards. It is a compound of All Fours, and the
Irish game variously termed All Fives, Five and Ten, Fifteen, Forty-
five, &c. It was probably invented by the mixed English and Irish
rabble who fought in Portugal in 1832-3.
Dookin, fortune-telling. Gipsy, DUKKERIN.
Dose, three months' imprisonment with hard labour.
Doss, a bed. Probably from DOZE, though quite as likely from DORSE, the
back. Least likely of all, as any one who knows aught about the sur-
rounding circumstances of those who use the term will admit, is it from
the Norman, DOSSEL, a hanging or bed canopy, from which some have
professed to derive it.
Doss, to sleep, formerly spelt DORSE. Gael., DOSAL, slumber. In the
old pugilistic days a man knocked down, or out of time, was said to be
sent to DORSE," but whether because he was senseless, or because he
lay on his back, is not known, though most likely the latter.
66
148
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Dossing-ken, a lodging-house.
Dot and go one, a lame or limping man.
Do the high, to walk up and down High Street on Sunday evenings,
especially just after Church.-Oxford University.
Double, "to tip (or give) the DOUBLE," to run away from any person;
to double back, turn short round upon one's pursuers, and so escape,
as a hare does.-Sporting.
Double cross, a CROSS in which a man who has engaged to lose breaks
his engagement, and "goes straight" at the last moment.
This pro-
ceeding is called "doubling" or putting the double on," and is often
productive of much excitement in athletic circles.-See CRoss.
Double lines, ship casualties. So called at Lloyd's from the manner of
entering in books kept for the purpose.
Double-shuffle, a low, shuffling, noisy dance, common amongst cos-
termongers. Sometimes called "cellar flap," from its being danced
by the impecunious on the cellar-flaps of public-houses, outside which
they must perforce remain.
Doublet, a spurious diamond, made up of two smaller stones for pawning
or duffing purposes. These articles are cleverly manufactured and
excellently set, and a practised eye can alone detect the imposition.-
See MOSKENEER.
Double up, to pair off, or "chum" with another man; to beat severely,
so as to leave the sufferer "all of a heap."
Doughy, a sufficiently obvious nickname for a baker.
Douse, to put out; "DOUSE that glim," put out that candle. In Norfolk
this expression is DOUT, which is clearly for DO OUT. Sometimes
DOUSE means to rinse; and sometimes to throw water, clean or dirty,
over any one, is to "DOUSE it."
Dovercourt, a noisy assemblage; "all talkers and no hearers, like
DOVERCOUrt. At Dovercourt, in Essex, a court is annually held;
and as the members principally consist of rude fishermen, the irregu-
larity noticed in the proverbial saying frequently prevails. Bramston
in his Art of Politics says :--
"Those who would captivate the well-bred throng,
Should not too often speak, nor speak too long;
Church, nor church matters, ever turn to sport,
Nor make St. Stephen's Chapel DOVER COURT."
This would seem to be more properly applied to a Court of Dover
people, a DOVER COURT, not a DOVERCOUrt Court.
Dove-tart, a pigeon pie. A snake tart is an eel pie.
Dowd, a woman's nightcap.-Devonshire: also an American term; pos-
sibly from DOWDY, a slatternly woman.
Dowlas, a linendraper. DowLAS is a sort of towelling.
Down, to be aware of, or awake to, any move-in this meaning, ex-
changeable with UP; "DOWN upon one's luck," unfortunate ; DOWN
in the mouth," disconsolate; to be DOWN on one," to treat him
harshly or suspiciously, to pounce upon him, or detect his tricks.
"to
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
149
Downer, a sixpence; apparently the Gipsy word, TAWNO,
in course of metamorphosis into the more usual "tanner.
Downs, Tothill Fields' Prison.
Down the road, stylish, showy, after the fashion.
""
little one,"
Down to the ground, an American rendering of the word entirely;
as, "that suits me DOWN TO THE GROUND.
Downy, knowing or cunning; "a DOWNY COVE," a knowing or experi-
enced sharper. Literally, a DOWNY person is one who is “ DOWN to
every move on the board." In Norfolk, however, it means low-
spirited, i.e., DOWN in the mouth.
Dowry, a lot, a great deal; "DOWRY of parny," lot of rain or water.—
See PARNY. Probably from the Gipsy.
Dowsers, men who profess to tell fortunes, and who, by the use of the
divining rod, pretend to be able to discover treasure-trove.-Cornish.
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. Orthodoxy has been described as being a man's
own DOXY, and heterodoxy another man's DOXY.-Ancient Cant.
Drab, a vulgar or low woman.—Shakspeare.
Drab, poison.—Romany.
Draft on Aldgate Pump, an old mercantile phrase for a fictitious
banknote or fraudulent bill.
Drag, a cart of any kind, term generally used to denote any particularly
well-appointed turnout, drawn by a pair or four horses, especially at
race meetings.
Drag, feminine attire worn by men.
A recent notorious impersonation
case led to the publication of the word in that sense.
Drag, a street, or road; BACK-DRAG, back street.
Drag, or THREE MOON, three months in prison.
Drag, THE, a favourite pursuit with fast-hunting sets; as, THE DRAG can
be trailed over very stiff country.
Dragging, robbing carts, &c., by means of a light trap which follows
behind laden vehicles. Cabs are sometimes eased of trunks in this
way, though it is hard to say whether with or without the complicity
of the cabmen.
Dragging time, the evening of a country fair day, when the young
fellows begin pulling the wenches about.
Draggletail, a dirty, dissipated woman; a prostitute of the lowest class.
Drain, a drink;" to do a DRAIN," to take a friendly drink-" do a wet ;"
sometimes called common sewer.
،،
Draw, used in several senses :-I, 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,
99 66 DRAW his ticker."
In sporting parlance it is used with an ellipsis of "trigger,
"" I DREW
on it as it rose." In America to "DRAW on a man is to produce
knife or pistol, and to use it as well. Where lethal weapons are
150
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
used in the States, no man raises his weapon till he means to use it,
and a celebrated American writer has recently given a dissertation on
the relative advantages of cocking and firing a pistol by an almost
simultaneous action as it is raised, and of cocking as the instrument is
raised, and of then dropping the muzzle slightly as the trigger is pulled.
The former way is more speedy, the latter more effective.
DRAW it mild !" i.e., don't exaggerate; opposite of
Come,
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. These gentry have
fortunately found to their cost, on one or two occasions, by means of
magisterial decisions, that DRAW-BOYS have drawn for their owners
something other than profit.
Drawers, formerly the ancient cant name for very long stockings.
Drawing teeth, wrenching off knockers.-Medical 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."
Draw the long bow, to tell extravagant stories, to exaggerate over-
much; same as throw the hatchet.' From the extremely wonder-
ful stories which used to be told of the Norman archers, and more
subsequently of Indians' skill with the tomahawk.
Dress a hat, To, to rob in a manner very difficult of detection. The
business is managed by two or more servants or shopmen of different em-
ployers, exchanging their master's goods; as, for instance, a shoemaker's
shopman 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 filched 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 potboy, in full expectation of their visit, has the tap-room fire
bright and clear, and not only cooks the steak, but again, by means of
collusion, this time with the barman or barmaid, "stands a shant
of gatter as his share. So a capital luncheon is improvised for
the three, without the necessity of paying for it; and this practical
communistic operation is styled DRESSING A HAT. Most likely from
the fact that a hat receives the attention of three or four people before
it is properly fit for wear.
Dripping, a cook.
Drive, a term used by tradesmen in speaking of business; "he's DRIVING
a roaring trade," ie, 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. A man snoring hard is said to be
DRIVING his pigs to market."
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
151
Drive at, to aim at;
"what is he DRIVING AT?” "what does he
intend to imply ?" a phrase often used when a circuitous line of argu-
ment is adopted by a barrister, or a strange set of questions asked, the
purport of which is not very evident.
Driz, lace. In a low lodging-house this singular autograph inscription
appeared over the mantelpiece. "Scotch Mary, with DRIZ [lace],
bound to Dover and back, please God." It is a common thing for igno-
rant or superstitious people to make some mark or sign before going on
a journey, and then to wonder whether it will be there when they return.
Driz-fencer, a person who sells lace.
Drop, "to DROP an acquaintance," to relinquish a connexion, is very
polite slang. DROPPING is distinguished from cutting by being done
gradually and almost imperceptibly, whereas cutting has outward and
visible signs which may be unpleasantly resented. To "DROP money"
at any form of speculation or gambling, is to lose it.
Drop, to quit, go off, or turn aside; "DROP the main Toby," go off the
main road.
"To DROP on a man,
>>
Drop, "to DROP a man," to knock him down ; "to DROP into a person,"
to give him a thrashing. See SLIP and WALK.
to accuse or rebuke him suddenly.
Drop it, synonymous with "cut it" or "cheese it." Probably from
the signal given in the good old hanging days by the culprit, who
used generally to drop a handkerchief when he was ready for the cart
to be moved from under him.
Drum, a house, a lodging, a street; HAZARD-DRUM, a gambling-house;
FLASH-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, dpóμos.
Drum, old slang for a ball or rout; afterwards called a hop.
Drummer, a robber who first makes his victims insensible by drugs or
violence, and then plunders them.
Drumsticks, legs; DRUMSTICK CASES, trousers. The leg of a fowl is
generally called a DRUMSTICK.
Dryasdust, an antiquary. From Scott.
Dry lodging, sleeping and sitting accommodation only, without board.
This is lodging-house keepers' slang, and is generally used in reference
to rooms let to lodgers who take their meals at their clubs, or in the City,
according to their social positions.
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 unfrequently DRY-NURSE the colonels of their regiments in a
similar manner. The sergeant who coaches very young officers, is
called a "wet nurse." The abolition of purchase has, however,
considerably modified all this.
D.T., a popular abbreviation of delirium tremens; sometimes written and
pronounced del. trem. D.T. also often represents the Daily Telegraph.
M
152
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Dub, to pay or give;
"DUB UP," pay up.
mum your DUBBER," hold your tongue.
Dubash, a general agent.-Anglo-Indian.
Dubber, the mouth or tongue;
Dubsman, or SCREW, a turnkey.—Old Cant.
Ducats, money.—Theatrical Slang.
Duck, a bundle of bits of the "stickings" of beef sold for food to the
FAGGOT.
London poor.-See Faggot.
Ducket, a ticket of any kind.
Generally applied to pawnbroker's dupli-
cates and raffle cards. Probably from DOCKET.
Ducks, trousers.
Sea term.
66
The expression most in use on land is
رو
In
"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 DRAKES,
according to the number of skips they make.
Dudder, or DUDSMAN, a person who formerly travelled the country as a
pedlar, selling gown-pieces, silk waistcoats, &c., to countrymen.
selling a waistcoat-piece, which cost him perhaps five shillings,
for thirty shillings or two pounds, he would show great fear of the
revenue officer, and beg the purchasing clodhopper to kneel down in
a puddle of water, crook his arm, and swear that it might never become
straight if he told an exciseman, or even his own wife. The term
and practice are nearly obsolete. In Liverpool, however, and at the
East-end of London, men dressed up as sailors, with pretended silk
handkerchiefs and cigars "only just smuggled from the Indies," are
still to be plentifully found.
Dudeen, or DUDHEEN, a short tobacco-pipe. Common term in Ireland
and the Irish quarters of London.
Duds, clothes, or personal property.
Dutch.
Gaelic, DUD; Ancient Cant; also
Duff, to cheat, to sell spurious goods, often under pretence of their being
stolen or smuggled.
Duff, pudding; vulgar pronunciation of dough.—Sea.
Duffer, a hawker of "Brummagem" or sham jewellery, or of shams of any
kind, a fool, a worthless person. DUFFER was formerly synonymous
It is men-
with DUDDER, and was a general term given to pedlars.
tioned in the Frauds of London (1760) as a word in frequent use in the
last century to express cheats of all kinds.
Duffer, anything of no merit.
A term applied by artists to a picture
below mediocity, and by dealers in jewellery to any spurious article.
It is now general in its application to a worthless fellow.
Duffing, false, counterfeit, worthless.
Duffy, a term for a ghost or spirit among the West Indian negroes. In
all probability the DAVY JONES of sailors, and a contraction thereof
originally.
Duke, gin, a term amongst livery servants.
Duke Humphrey. "To dine with DUKE HUMPHREY " is a
1
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
153
euphuism for dining not at all. Many reasons have been given for the
saying, and the one most worthy of credence is this :-Some visitors
were inspecting the abbey where the remains of Humphrey Duke of
Gloucester lie, and one of them was unfortunately shut in, and remained
there solus while his companions were feasting at a neighbouring
hostelry. He was afterwards said to have dined with DUKE HUM-
PHREY, and the saying eventually passed into a proverb.
-
Dukes, or DOOKS, the hands, originally modification of the rhyming
slang, "Duke of Yorks," forks fingers, hands-a long way round,
but quite true. The word is in very common use among low folk.
"Put up your DOOKS " is a kind invitation to fight.
Dukey, or DOOKEY, a penny gaff, which see.
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, DUMBFounder.
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. Chandlers' shop keepers
and small general dealers use dummies largely, half-tubs of butter,
bladders of lard, hams, cheeses, &c., being specially manufactured for
them. Dummies in libraries generally take the form of "Hume and
Smollett's History of England" and other works not likely to tempt
the general reader.
Dummy, a deaf-and-dumb person; a clumsy, awkward fellow; any one
unusually thick-witted.
Dummy, in three-handed whist the person who holds two hands plays
DUMMY.
Dummy, a pocket-book.
In this word the derivation is obvious, being
connected with DUMB, i.e., that which makes no sound. As a thieves'
term for a pocket-book, it is peculiarly applicable, for the contents of
pocket-books, bank-notes and papers, make no noise, while the money
in a purse may betray its presence by chinking.
Dump fencer, a man who sells buttons.
Dumpish, sullen or gloomy.
Dumpy, short and stout.
Dun, to solicit payment.-Old Cant, from the French DONNEZ, give; or
from JOE DIN, or DUN, a famous bailiff; 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.
Dungaree, low, common, coarse, vulgar.-Anglo-Indian. DUNGAREE
is the name of a disreputable suburb of Bombay, and also of a coarse
blue cloth worn by sailors.
As smart a young fellow as ever you'd see,
In jacket and trousers of blue DUNGAREE.
M 2
154
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Dunkhorned, sneaking, shabby. DUNKHORN in Norfolk is the short,
blunt horn of a beast, and the adjective is applied to a cuckold who
has not spirit to resist his disgrace.
Dunnage, baggage, clothes. Also, a sea term for wood or loose faggots
laid at the bottom of ships, upon which is placed the cargo.
Dunnyken, originally DANNAKEN, a watercloset.-From DANNA and
KEN, which see.
Durrynacking, offering lace or any other article as an introduction to
fortune-telling; generally practised by women.
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
DUST.
>>
Dust, a disturbance, or noise, "to raise a DUST," to make a row.
Dust, to beat; "DUST one's jacket," i.e., give him a beating.
Dust-hole, Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge.-Univ. Slang.
Dust-hole, the Queen's Theatre, Tottenham Court Road, was so called
until comparatively recently, when it was entirely renovated and re-
named, and now, as the Prince of Wales's, it is one of the most
fortunate and fashionable theatres in London.
Dustoorie, commission, douceur, bribe.-Anglo-Indian.
Dusty, a phrase used in answering a question where one expects appro-
bation. "What do you think of this?" Well, it's not so DUSTY,"
i.e., not so bad; sometimes varied to none so DUSTY.”
Dutch, or DOUBLE DUTCH, gibberish, or any foreign tongue. "To talk
DOUBLE DUTCH backwards on a Sunday" is a humorous locution for
extraordinary linguistic facility.
1)
The
Dutch auction, a method of seHing goods, adopted by CHEAP
JOHNS, to evade the penalties for selling without a licence.
article is offered all round at a high price, which is then dropped until
it is taken. DUTCH AUCTIONS need not be illegitimate transactions,
and their economy (as likewise that of puffing) will be found minutely
explained in Sugden (Lord St. Leonards)"On Vendors and Purchasers.~
Dutch concert, where each performer plays a different tune.
""
Some-
times called a DUTCH MEDLEY when vocal efforts only are used.
Dutch consolation, "thank God it is no worse. "It might have
been worse," said a man whom the devil was carrying to hell.
"How?" asked a neighbour. "Well, he's carrying me-he might
have made me carry him.'
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'll talk to him like a DUTCH
UNCLE!" conveys the notion of anything but a desirable relation.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
155
Earl of Cork, the ace of diamonds.-Hibernicism.
"What do you mean by the Earl of Cork?' asked Mr. Squander. 'The ace of
diamonds, your honour. It's the worst ace, and the poorest card in the
pack, and is called the EARL OF CORK, because he's the poorest nobleman in
Ireland.'"-Carleton's Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry.
Early,
"to get up EARLY," to prepare for a difficult task. "You'll
have to get up very EARLY in the morning to beat that." Early
rising and ability seem also closely connected by certain modifications
of this expression. Possibly the belief is that a man who rises early
for early rising's sake deserves to be clever. Perhaps the greatest
enjoyment a day labourer-whose work commences at six in the winter
mornings, and who may have to rise at half-past four and trudge off-
can have, is a quiet snooze after the usual time of rising. The
early rising in "the steel" is the chief terror of that institution in the
minds of habitual criminals.
Earwig, a clergyman, also one who prompts another maliciously and
privately.
Earwigging, a private conversation; a rebuke in private; an attempt
to defame another unfairly, and without chance of appeal; a WIGGING
is more public.
>>
Ease, to rob; "EASING a bloke," robbing a man.
Eat his head off. A horse who is kept idle in the stable is said
to EAT HIS HEAD OFF. Of late the phrase has been applied to servants
who have little to do but constantly "dip their noses in the manger.
Eavesdropper, a listener. The name is derived from the punishment
which, according to Oliver, was directed in the Lectures, at the
revival of Masonry in 1717, to be inflicted on a detected Cowan [g. v.],
and which was
"To be placed under the eaves of the house in rainy weather, till the water runs in
at his shoulders and out at his heels."-Mackey's Lexicon of Freemasonry.
Efter, a thief who frequents theatres.
Egg, or EGG ON, to excite, stimulate, or provoke one person to quarrel
with another, &c. From the Anglo-Saxon eggian; or possibly a
corruption of EDGE, or EDGE ON, or even from agere, to drive.—Ancient.
Egg-flip, or EGG-HOT, a drink made after the manner of purl and bishop,
with beer, eggs, and spirits made hot and sweetened.
Elbow, "to shake one's ELBOW,
to shake one's ELBOW," to play with dice; "to crook one's
ELBOW," to drink.
Elbow grease, labour, or industry. Anything that is rusty, or in
household work dirty or dingy, is said to require ELBOW GRease.
Elegant extracts, a Cambridge University title for those students.
who having failed only slightly in some one subject, and being
"plucked" accordingly, were allowed their degrees. This applied 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 "down to the last new trick;" to be knowing, and not
green," &c. Possibly a metaphor taken from the travelling menage-
ries, where the ELEPHANT is the finale of the exhibition.-Originally an
156
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Bartlett gives conflicting examples.
General now,
When a
Americanism.
however. A modification of this is "having seen the king."
man becomes aware that he has been cheated or imposed on, and does
not mean to stand it any longer, he is said to have seen the king, i.c.,
to have seen his adversary's best card, and to be prepared for it.
Elevated, intoxicated. ELEVATION is the name of a drug-mixture
much used in the fen-counties for keeping up the spirits and preventing
ague. It consists mainly of opium.
Enemy, time, a clock, the ruthless enemy and tell-tale of idleness and of
mankind generally; "what says the ENEMY ?" i.e., how goes the time?
Essex lion, a calf. A calf is probably the only lively animal to be seen
in a journey through Essex.
Essex stile, a ditch. A jocular allusion to the peculiarities of the
"low county."
Evaporate, to go, or run away.
Everlasting shoes, the feet. The barefooted children about the
Seven Dials, and other low quarters of London, are said to wear
EVERLASTING SHOES and stockings. Another expression in connexion.
with this want is, "the shoes and stockings their mothers gave them.
Everlasting staircase, the treadmill. Sometimes, but very rarely
now called "Colonel Chesterton's EVERLASTING STAIRCASE,
"" from
the gallant inventor or improver. Also known as "the STEPPER.
Exasperate, to over-aspirate the letter H, or to aspirate it whenever it
commences a word, as is commonly done by under-educated people
who wish to show off their breeding. EXASPERATION does not refer
to an omission of the aspirate.
Exes, expenses. "Just enough to clear our exes.
"
Extensive, frequently applied in a slang sense to a person's appearance
or talk; rather EXTENSIVE that !" intimating that the person alluded
to is showing off, or cutting it fat."
CC
Extracted, placed on the list of “ELEGANT EXTRACTS.”—Camb. Univ.
Eye teeth, supposed evidences of sharpness. A man is said to have, or
have not, cut his EYE TEETH, according to possession or want of
shrewdness.
Eye water, gin. Term principally used by printers.
Face, credit at a
BRAZEN-FACE.
able manner.
impudence.
public-house, impudence, confidence, brass; thus a
To run one's FACE," is to obtain credit in a bounce-
"He's got some FACE," i.e., he has got lots of
Face entry, the entrée to a theatre. From the FACE being known,
as distinguished from free-list entry.
Facer, a blow on the face.
In Ireland, a dram.
Facer, a tumbler of whisky-punch. Possibly from the suffusion of blood
to the face caused by it.
Fad, a hobby, a favourite pursuit.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
157
Fadge, a farthing.
Fadge, a flat loaf.—North.
Fadge, to suit or fit; "it wont FADGE," it will not do.
speare, but now heard only in the streets.
Fadger, a glazier's frame. Otherwise called a
reference to the fragile nature of its contents.
Used by Shak-
"frail," perhaps in
Fag, a schoolboy who performs a servant's offices to a superior schoolmate.
From FAG, to become weary or tired out. Low German, FAKK,
wearied.
Fag, to beat.
In
Faggot, a bundle of bits of the "stickings" (hence probably its name)
sold for food to the London poor. It is sometimes called a duck.
appearance it resembles a Scotch "haggis," without, however, being
nearly so good as that fragrant article. Probably the FAG-END of a
thing, the inferior or remaining part, the refuse.
Faggot, a term of opprobrium used by low people to children and women;
you little FAGGOT, you!" FAGGOT was originally a term of contempt
for a dry shrivelled old woman, whose bones were like a bundle of
sticks, only fit to burn.-Compare the French expression for a heretic,
sentir le fagot.
Faggot briefs, bundles of worthless papers tied up with red tape,
carried by unemployed barristers in the back rows of the courts to
simulate briefs.
Faggot vote, a phrase which belongs to the slang of politics, and which
was applied to a class of votes, by no means extinct even now, though
not so common as in the days preceding the first Reform Bill, when
constituencies were smaller, and individual votes were consequently
more valuable. FAGGOT VOTES were thus created :-A large landowner
who was blessed with, say, seven sons and seven brothers, and had also
on his estate fourteen labourers' cottages worth about a shilling a week
each, would go through the form of sale of one cottage to each son
and each brother, it being perfectly understood that the title-deeds
would be returned when the occasion for their use was at an end. And
thus the squire would command fifteen votes instead of one.
In a
famous election for the West Riding of Yorkshire during the third
decade of the present century, which cost upwards of half a million
sterling, and ruined the successful candidate, it was said that six hundred
FAGGOT VOTES were created by three noble lords. The origin of the
term has been variously explained. One ingenious writer has suggested
that as a FAGGOT may be split into a bundle of sticks, so was one
estate thus split into a bundle of votes. It is, however, more reason-
able to suppose that it was derived from the old word "FAGGOT,'
which was used to describe a "nominal soldier," one, that is,
whose name appeared on the muster-roll, and for whom the colonel
drew pay, but who was never to be found in the ranks. The connexion
is evident enough.
>>
Fake, in the sporting world, means to hocus or poison. Fake is also a
mixture supposed to be used for purposes of "making safe."
158
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
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. From the Latin FACERE.
Fakement, a false begging petition, any act of robbery, swindling, or
deception. FAKEMENT is a word of most general application among
the lower classes. Any things strange, and most things not strange, are
called FAKEMENTS, particularly if there is anything peculiar or artistic
in their production.
Fakement Charley, the owner's private mark. FAKER, is one
who makes or FAKES anything.
To "fake a cly," is to pick a
pocket.
Fal-lals, trumpery ornaments, gewgaws. Forby suggests as a derivation
the Latin PHALERÆ, horse trappings.
Fambles, or FAMMS, the hands.-Ancient Cant. German, Fangen.
Family men, or PEOPLE, thieves, or burglars.
Fan, a waistcoat.-Houndsditch term.
Fancy, the favourite sports, pets, or pastime of a person, the ton of low
life. Pugilists are sometimes termed the FANCY. Shakspeare uses
the word in the sense of a favourite or pet; and the paramour of a
prostitute is still called her FANCY MAN.
Fancy bloak, a fancy or sporting man.
Fanning, a beating. FANNING is also stealing; CROSS-FANNING is
stealing with the arms crossed so as to distract attention, as in stealing
breast-pins, &c.
Fanqui, a European, literally foreign devil.-Anglo-Chinese.
Fantail, a dustman's or coalheaver's hat. So called from the shape.
Farm, to contract, after the manner of those who engage to feed and
lodge children belonging to the parish, at so much a head; a
fruitful cause of starvation and misery. See Oliver Twist. The
baby farmings, unconnected with the parishes in which they occurred,
which ultimately resulted in the trial and execution of Margaret
Waters, on the 11th October, 1870, have caused the word FARM as
applied to any dealings with children, parish or private, to be one of
obloquy and reproach,
Farmer. In Suffolk this term 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 or clodpole. Both senses are different from
the proper meaning.
Fast, gay, spreeish, unsteady, thoughtless, an Americanism that has of
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 synonym for FAST, but a QUICK MAN would not convey
the meaning of a FAST 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,-
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
159
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 once
said that "fast," when applied to a young man, was only another
word for loose, as he understood the term; and a fast girl has been
defined as a woman who has lost her respect for men, and for whom
men have lost their respect.
Fast, embarrassed, wanting money, tied up.
with "hard up.'
"-Yorkshire.
Sometimes synonymous
Fast and loose, to play FAST AND LOOSE with a man, is to treat
him as a fast friend in the days while he is useful, and to cast
him loose when he is no longer necessary; also, to equivocate or
vacillate. In old days it was the name of a vulgar pastime. See
PRICK THE GARTER.
Fat, a printer's term signifying the void spaces on a page, for which he is
paid at the same rate as for full or unbroken pages. Occasionally called
grease," and applied variously, but always as showing some undue or
uncommon amount of advantage.
Fat, rich, abundant, &c.; "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.
Father, or FENCE, a buyer of stolen property.
Favourite, the horse that has the lowest odds laid against it in the
betting list.
When the FAVOURITE wins, the public or backers of
horses generally are the gainers. When an outsider wins, the ring,
that is to say, the persons who make a business of laying against the
chances of horses, are the gainers.
Fawney, a finger ring. Irish, FAINEE, a ring.
Fawney bouncing, selling rings for a pretended wager. This
practice is founded upon the old tale of a gentleman laying a wager
that if he were to offer "real gold sovereigns" 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, thus winning the bet. This tale the FAWNEY BOUNCERS
tell the public, only offering brass, double-gilt rings, instead of
sovereigns.
Fawney rig, the ring-dropping trick. A few years ago this practice was
very common.
A fellow purposely dropped a ring, or a pocket-book
160
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
>>
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 sharper
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 swallower of the bait discovers the trick
too late. For another way of doing this trick, see RING-DROPPING.
Feathers, money, wealth; "in full FEATHER," rich. FEATHERS is also
a term applied to dress; "in full FEATHER," means very often in full
costume. It also means, at times, in high spirits.
Feed, a meal, generally a dinner. Originally stable slang, now pretty
general.
Feele, a daughter, or child.-Corrupted French.
Fellow-commoner, uncomplimentary epithet used at Cambridge for
an empty bottle.
Felt, a hat.-Old term, in use in the sixteenth century.
Fence, a purchaser or receiver of stolen goods; also, the shop or ware-
house of a FENCER.-Old Cant.
Fen-nightingales, toads and frogs, from their continued croaking at
night.
Feringee, a European-that is, a Frank.-Anglo-Indian.
Ferricadouzer, a knock-down blow, a good thrashing. Probably
derived, through the Lingua Franca, from the Italian, 'far' cader'
douser," to knock down, "Far' cader' morto," is to knock down dead.
Few, used to signify the reverse, thus :-"Don't you call this considerably
joll" "I believe you, my bo-o-oy, A FEW.' Sometimes the reply is,
"just a FEW." Another expression of the same kind is RATHER,
which see.
Fib, to beat or strike.—Old Cant.
Fib, to lie, to romance.
Fibbing, a series of blows delivered quickly, and at a short distance. —
Pugilistic.
"a street mugger." In America, a swindle or an
Fiddle, a sharper, "a street mugger.
imposture.
Fiddle, "to play second FIDDLE," to act subordinately, or follow the
lead of another. From the orchestral practice.
Fiddle-face, a person with a wizened countenance.
Fiddle-faddle, twaddle, or trifling discourse.-Old Cant.
Fiddler, a sharper, a cheat; also a careless, negligent, or dilatory person.
On board some ocean steamers the FIDDLER is the capstan-house, the
only place on board where passengers are permitted to smoke. The
term FIDDLER is easily traceable to the fact that, while the seamen are
working the capstan-bars, a man sometimes plays on the fiddle to cheer
them at their toil.
Fiddler, a sixpence. Fiddler's money is small money; generally from
the old custom of each couple at a dance paying the fiddler sixpence.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
161
Fiddler, or FADGE, a farthing.
Fiddlers' green, the place where sailors expect to go when they
die. It is a place of fiddling, dancing, rum, and tobacco, and is un-
doubtedly the "Land of Cocaigne," mentioned in medieval manu-
scripts. A story is told of a drunken sailor who heard a street
preacher threatening all listeners with eternal damnation, and who
went up and asked where he (the sailor) was going after death. "To
hell, of course," replied the preacher. "No, you lubberly son of a
sea-cook!" shouted the seaman, knocking the itinerant down; "I'm
going to FIDDLERS' GREEN; and if you say I'm not, I'll throttle you.'
Under compulsion, the preacher admitted the existence of FIDDLERS'
GREEN, pro tempore.
Fiddles, transverse pieces of wood used on shipboard to protect the
dishes at table during stormy weather. Swing tables obviate the
use of FIDDles.
Fiddle-sticks!
Sometimes
"Fiddle-de-dee."
Fiddling, doing any odd jobs in the streets, holding horses, carrying
parcels, &c., for a living. Among the middle classes, FIDDLING means
idling away time, or trifling, and amongst sharpers it means gambling.
Fid-fad, a game similar to chequers, or drafts, played in the West of
England.
an exclamation signifying nonsense.
"A FIELD O
Field, the whole of the runners in a race of any kind.
fourteen runners was placed in care of the starter." In betting
phraseology the FIELD represents the bulk of the horses, as opposed to
the favourite. "The FIELD for a pony," means that the offerer will
lay 257. against the favourite, preferring the chances of -inner
turning up amongst the others. "Ten to one on the FIELD," means
that the price named can be obtained about any horse in the race, that
being the lowest figure or favourite's price. Laying against favourites
is called FIELDING, and bookmakers are often known as FIELDERS.
Field, "to look out,
to look out," at cricket. In the outings of an eleven the
FIELDERS are those who stand away from the wickets with a view to
checking the progress of the ball. FIELDING is a great essential to
cricket, and to be "a good FIELD" is no slight honour. Also to lay
against favourites in the betting.
Field-lane duck, a baked sheep's head. Field Lane was a low
London thoroughfare leading from the foot of Holborn Hill to the
purlieus of Clerkenwell. It was formerly the market for stolen pocket-
handkerchiefs. Holborn Viaduct improved all but a small portion of
Field Lane off the face of the earth. There is but the smallest vestige
of this famous (or infamous) thoroughfare left. The neighbourhood
has received an upheaval within the past few years, and from one end
the pedestrian must descend to the remains of Field Lane by means
of a flight of steps.
Fieri-facias. A red-faced man is often jocularly said to have been served
with a writ of FIERI-FACIAS.
Fi-fa, a writ of Fieri-Facias.-Legal.
162
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Fi-fi, Thackeray's term for Paul de Kock's novels, and similar modern
French literature.
Fig, "in full FIG," i.c., full-dress costume,
i.e., full-dress costume, "extensively got up.
up." Pos-
sibly an allusion to the dress assumed by our first parents after they
were naked and not ashamed, or else an abbreviation of figure, in the
references to plates in books of fashions.
Fig, "to FIG a horse," to play improper tricks with one in order to make
him lively. The FIG is a piece of wet ginger placed under a horse's tail
for the purpose of making him appear lively, and enhance his price.
Figaro, a barber; from Le Nozze di Figaro.
Fig-leaf, a small apron worn by ladies.
Figure, "to cut a good or bad FIGURE," to make good or indifferent
appearance; what's the FIGURE?" how much is to pay? FIGURE-
HEAD, a person's face.--Sea term.
Filch, to steal, or purloin. Originally a cant word, derived from the
FILCHES, or hooks, thieves used to carry, to hook clothes, or any
Fortable articles from open windows.-Vide Decker. It was considered
a cant or gipsy term up to the beginning of the last century. Harman
has "FYLCHE, to robbe." Probably from "FILICHI," Romany for
a handkerchief.
File, a deep or artful man, a jocose name for a cunning person. Origi-
nally a term for a pickpocket, when to FILE was to cheat or rob.
FILE, an artful man, was used in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries. To deal with an artful man is sometimes said to be like
biting a FILE.
Filibuster, an American adventurer, who, if successful, helps to extend
the boundaries of the United States, becomes a General, and receives
high honours, but who remains a FILIBUSTER, and is despised as such,
if he fails. The Texan, Nicaraguan, and kindred expeditions were of
a FILIBUSTERING order.
Fillibrush, to flatter, praise ironically.
Fimble-famble, a lame, prevaricating excuse.- Scandinavian.
Fin, a hand; "come, tip us your FIN," viz., let us shake hands.—Sea.
Finder, one who FINDS bacon and meat at the market before they are
lost, i.e., steals them.
Finnuf, a five-pound note.
German, FUNF, five.
DOUBLE FINNUF, a ten-pound note.-
Fire-eater, a quarrelsome man, a braggadocio or turbulent person who
is always ready to fight.
Firkytoodle, to cuddle or fondle.
First flight, the first lot to finish in a foot or horse race, in a fox
hunt, &c.
""
Fish, a person; "a queer FISH,
a loose FISH.
except in doubtful cases, as those quoted.
Term never used
Fishfag, originally a Billingsgate fishwife; now any scolding, vixenish,
foul-mouthed woman.
Fishy, doubtful, unsound, rotten; used to denote a suspicion of a “
screw
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
163
being loose," or something rotten in the state of Denmark," in
referring to any proposed speculation.
A
Fit, an Americanism denoting the preterite of the verb to fight.
Yankee once came upon the words nihil fit, and he immediately wrote.
off to the editor of the paper to which he subscribed to know "Who
was Nihil, who he fit, what amount he fit for, and if he won."
Five fingers, the five of trumps, at the game of Five-cards, or Don.
Fives, "bunch of FIVES," the fist.
Fix, a predicament, or dilemma; "an awful Fix,
"an awful FIX," a terrible position;
"to FIX one's flint for him," i.e., to "settle his hash," to "put a
spoke in his wheel."
Fixings, an Americanism, equivalent to our word "trimmings," which
see.
Fiz, champagne; any sparkling wine.
Fizzing, first-rate, very good, excellent; synonymous with "stunning."
Flabbergast, or FLABBERGHAST, to astonish, or strike with wonder;
literally, to strike aghast.-Old.
Flag, a groat, or 4d.-Ancient Cant.
Flag, an apron. People who wear their aprons when not at work, are
called flag-flashers."
Flag of distress, any overt sign of poverty; the end of a person's
shirt when it protrudes through his trousers.
Flam, nonsense, blarney, a lie, humbug. "A regular FLAM," a tale
devoid of truth.
Flame, a sweetheart.
Flannel, or HOT FLANNEL, the old term for gin and beer, drunk hot,
with nutmeg, sugar, &c. ; a play on the old name "lambswool." Also
called "flip." There is an anecdote told of Goldsmith helping to drink
a quart of FLANNEL in a night-house, in company with George Parker,
Ned Shuter, and a demure, grave-looking gentleman, who continually
introduced the words "crap," "stretch," "scrag," and "swing." Upon
the Doctor asking who this strange person might be, and being told
his profession, he rushed from the place in a frenzy, exclaiming, "Good
God! and have I been sitting all this while with a hangman!"
Flap, lead used for the coverings of roofs.
Flapper, or FLIPPER, the hand.
Flare up, a jovial social gathering, a "breakdown,” a “row.”
Flash, showy, smart, knowing; a word with various meanings. A person
is said to be dressed FLASH when his garb is showy, and after a fashion,
but without taste. A person is said to be FLASH when he apes the
appearance or manners of his betters, or when he is trying to be
superior to his friends and relations. FLASH also means "fast,"
roguish, and sometimes infers counterfeit or deceptive--and this,
perhaps, is its general signification. As it is used by those who best.
understand it nowadays, the word means that which is not what it
appears to be anything spurious, as jewellery and shoddy clothes.
"FLASH, my young friend, or slang, as others call it, is the classical
164
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
language of the Holy Land; in other words, St. Giles's Greek.".
Tom and Jerry, by Moncreiff. Vulgar language was first termed
FLASH in the year 1718, by Hitchin, author of "The Regulator of
Thieves, &c., with account of flash words.
"" FLASH" is sometimes
exchangeable with "fancy."
""
My FLASH man's in quod,
And I'm the gal that's willin',
So I'll turn out to-night,
And earn an honest shillin'.
"Tooral, looral la,
What are wealth's possessions?
Bless the man we love,
And blow the b- Sessions."-Lyra Flagitiosa.
Flash it, show it-said when any bargain is offered.
Flash o' lightning, the gold band on an officer's cap.-Sea. Also in
street slang, a glass of gin.
Flat, a fool, a silly or "soft" person; the opposite of "sharp." The terms
appear to be shortenings for "sharp-witted" and "flat-witted." Or,
maybe, from musical notes.
Flat-feet, the battalion companies in the Foot Guards.
Flats, playing cards; sometimes called "broads." Also the storeys of
large houses, built on the "independent" principle, each flat having its
separate and peculiar offices, street-door, &c.
Flatty, a rustic, or uninitiated person.
Flatty-ken, a public-house the landlord of which is ignorant of the
practices of the thieves and tramps who frequent it.
Flay the fox, to vomit. Now replaced by the more popular "shoot
the cat."
Flemish account.-Old.
Still used by sailors for a tangled and un-
satisfactory account or reckoning.
Flesh and blood, brandy and port in equal quantities.
Flesh bag, a shirt.
>>
American humourists call a white shirt a clean
biled rag.
In the mining camps, and rough parts generally, a white
shirt is called a "biled shirt" to distinguish it from the usual woollen
garment, which cannot be boiled.
Flick, or OLD FLICK, a comical old chap or fellow. Term of endear-
ment among low people.
Flick, or FLIG, to whip by striking, and drawing the lash back at the
same time, which causes a stinging blow. A flicking is often adminis-
tered by schoolboys with a damp towel or pocket-handkerchief.
Flies, trickery, nonsense. "There are no FLIES about me, sir." Softening
of lies.
Flim-flamn
idle story.-Beaumont and Fletcher.
Flimp, to hustle, or rob.
Flimsy, a bank-note. Bank of Elegance notes are sometimes called soft
flimsies. In this particular case two good terms make a bad one, as
both "soft" and "flimsies" used separately refer to good notes.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
165
Flimsy, the thin prepared copying-paper used by newspaper reporters
and penny-a-liners" for making several copies at once, which enables
them to supply different papers with the same article without loss
of time.
Flint, an operative who works for a "society" master, i.c., for full wages.
Flip, corruption of FILLIP, a light blow. Also a hot drink. See FLANNEL.
Flip-flap, a peculiar rollicking dance indulged in by costermongers when
merry or excited-better described, perhaps, as the "double-shuffle"
danced with an air of extreme abandon. Also, a kind of somersault,
in which the performer throws himself over on his hands and feet
alternately.
Flipper, the hand; "give us your FLIPPER," give me your hand.-Sea.
Metaphor taken from the flipper or paddle of a turtle.
Floater, a small suet dumpling put into soup.-Whitechapel,
Floating academy, the hulks.
Flog, to whip. Cited both by Grose and the author of Bacchus and Venus
as a cant word. Many efforts have been made to ascertain the earliest
use; Richardson cites Lord Chesterfield. From Flagellum. Flawged,"
for whipped, occurs in "The Presbyterian Lash, or Nockhoff's Maid
Whipt," published in 1663. Nockhoff was the anagram for the name
of the Rev. Zachary Crofton, who had scandalized the town by subject-
ing his servant-maid to the discipline of the nursery. There is a good
story on the proper orthography of the convertible term for castigation
related in a newspaper of 1841. A county magistrate, who had sen-
tenced a boy to be birched, wrote in his warrant that the boy was to
be floged." The scrupulous gaoler hesitated to inflict the punish-
ment, and sent back the warrant to the justice for amendment, who
thereupon drew his pen through "floged," and ordered the boy to be
"wiped."
66
Flogger, a whip. -Almost obsolete.
FLOGGER is still the term applied to
a number of strips of cloth attached to a handle, and used in theatrical
painting rooms to beat off the dust of the charcoal used in sketching a
scene.
Flogster, one addicted to flogging. William IV., who was accused of
unduly and excessively punishing the sailors whom he commanded
when in the navy, was nicknamed in the newspapers "Prince William
Henry FLOGSter.
Floor, to knock down.-Pugilistic.
Floored, when a picture is hung on the lowest row at the Exhibition of
the Royal Academy, it is, in artistic slang, said to be FLOORED, in con-
tradistinction to "skyed," which see.
Floorer, a blow sufficiently strong to knock a man down, or bring him to
the floor. Often used in reference to sudden and unpleasant news.
Flop, to plump; "to go FLOP down," to fall suddenly, with vio'ence and
noise.
Flowery, lodging, or house entertainment; "square the omee for the
FLOWERY," pay the master for the lodging.-Lingua Franca.
166
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Flue-faker, a chimney-sweep.
Fluff it, a term of disapprobation, implying
want it."
"take it away, I don't
Fluff, railway ticket clerks' slang for short change given by them. The
profits thus accruing are called "fluffings," and the practice is known
as fluffing."
Fluke, at billiards, playing for one thing and getting another. Hence,
generally what one gets accidentally, as an unexpected advantage,
"more by luck than judgment."
Flummery, flattery, gammon, genteel nonsense. In American ships a
peculiar kind of light sweet pudding.
Flummux, to perplex or hinder.
Flummuxed, done up, sure of a month in quod, or prison. In men-
dicant freemasonry, the sign chalked by rogues and tramps upon a
gate-post or house corner, to express to succeeding vagabonds that it is
unsafe for them to call there, is known as O, or FLUMMUXED, which
signifies that the only thing they would be likely to get upon applying
for relief would be a month in quod."-See QUOD.
Flunkey, a footman or other man-servant.
Flunkeyism, blind worship of rank, birth, or riches, or of all three;
toadyism.
Flush, the opposite of "hard up," in possession of money, not poverty-
stricken.-Shakspeare.
Flush, to whip; "FLUSHED on the horse," to be privately whipped in
gaol; to deluge with water, as in "FLUSHING the sewers ;" to come
upon suddenly and completely,-"I came FLUSH upon him."
Flush, a term in cribbage, signifying a hand of cards composed entirely
of one suit.
"I'll have a
Also to toss for
Flutter, to try hard in defence or pursuit of an object.
FLUTTER for it," means I'll have a good try for it.
anything. Probably from the spinning of the coin.
Fly, knowing, wide-awake, fully understanding another's meaning.
Fly, TO BE ON THE, to be out for a day's drink or pleasure.
Fly, to lift, toss, or raise; "FLY the mags," i.e., toss up the halfpence;
"to FLY a window," i.e., to lift one for the purpose of stealing.
Fly-boys, men employed to clear the printed copies from the Hoe ma
chines, on which daily papers are "worked." So called to distinguish
them from the "machine boys," a superior grade of labourers who
"lay on "the sheets.
Flying mare, a throw in wrestling.
Flying mess, "to be in FLYING MESS" is a soldier's phrase for being
hungry and having to mess where he can.
Flying stationer, a paper-worker, hawker of penny ballads ; "Printed
for the Flying Stationers is the imprimatur on hundreds of penny
histories and sheet songs of the last and present centuries.
Flymy, knowing, cunning, roguish.-Seven Dials and Low Life.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
167
Fly the kite, or RAISE THE WIND, to obtain money on bills, whether
good or bad, probably in allusion to tossing paper about as children do
kites.
Fly the kite, to evacuate from a window,-term used in padding-kens,
or low lodging-houses.
Fobbed, old slang for robbed. From FOB, the ancient breeches-pocket
for the watch.
Fogey, or OLD FOGEY, a dullard, an old-fashioned or singular person.
Grose says it is a nickname for an invalid soldier, from the French
fougueux, fierce or fiery, but it has lost this signification now.
Fogger, old word for a huckster.
Fogger, a farm servant who feeds cattle. Probably a corruption of
fodderer.
Foggy, tipsy.
Fogle, a silk handkerchief,-not a clout, which is of cotton. It has been
hinted that this may have come from the German Vogel, a bird, from
the bird's-eye spots on some handkerchiefs, but a more probable deri-
vation is the Italian slang (Fourbesque), FOGLIA, a pocket, or purse;
or from the French Argot, FOUILLE, also a pocket.
Fogus, tobacco.-Ancient Cant. FoGo, old word for stench.
Follow-me-lads, curls hanging over a lady's shoulder.
See SHOE.
Foont, a sovereign, or 20s. Probably a corruption of vingt.
Footing, "to pay FOOTING."
Forakers, the closet of decency, or house of office. Term used by the
boys at Winchester School. Very likely from "four acres,
original necessary having been in all likelihood a field behind the
school.
the
Force the voucher, a term in use among sporting tricksters, who
advertise to send -certain winners, and on receipt of letters enclose
vouchers similar to those sent out by respectable commission agents,
but with double or treble the current odds marked thereon, in refe-
rence to the horse named. A plausible letter is sent with the voucher,
and the victim is informed that on account of early investments made
by the firm, which has of course a high-sounding title, the extra odds
can be laid by them, and a remittance to the amount named, or
part of it, is requested. Of course the firm "dries up" when claims
become heavy, and, with a new name and new address, appears in the
next week's advertising columns. FORCING THE VOUCHER was a fine
game when it was first started, but it was soon overdone, as it required
no particular ingenuity, and offered special immunities, theft of this
kind being rather favoured than otherwise by the authorities. Certainly
the law that punishes honest betting men seems powerless with regard
to these plunderers, otherwise we should hardly be treated as often as
we are to the spectacle of one man being fined for honest dealing, while
another escapes simply because he is not a betting man, but a welcher.
Fork out, to bring out one's money, to pay the bill, to "stand for or
treat a friend; to hand over what does not belong to you-old cant
N
168
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
term for picking pockets, and very curious in its origin. In the early
part of the last century, a little book was published on purloining, and
of course it had to give the latest modes. FORKING was the newest
mode, and it consisted in thrusting the fingers stiff and open into the
pocket, and then quickly closing them and extracting any article thus
caught.
Forks, or GRAPPLING-IRONS, fingers. Costermongers and other clumsy
feeders have a proverb which seems to justify their taking bones and
choice morsels in their hands during the progress of a meal.
It is,
"Fingers were the first FORKS;" sometimes varied to "Fingers were
made before FORKS."
Form, condition, training. "In good FORM” “ or in bad FORM" refers
to a man's or horse's state of being in the sporting world. FORM has
also had a moral significance of late years, and with the qualifying
adjectives attached as occasion requires, is extensively used in general
conversation. As, "It was bad FORM of Brown to do that.'
That
article was bad FORM." In the latter cases the word "in" rarely appears.
Forty foot, a derisive appellation for a very short person.
Forty guts, vulgar term for a fat man.
Forty-twa, the common place of retirement on a well-known French
plan at Edinburgh, so called from its accommodating that number of
persons at once.
Forty winks, a short sleep or nap.
Fou, rather more than slightly intoxicated.-Scotch.
"We are na' FOU, we are na' FOU.”
Foul, to jostle or bore unfairly in a race. See BORE. To touch any foreign
substance during a race-particularly a boat-race-is to FOUL it.
Foul, a touch, no matter how slight, of bodies or machinery in a race of
any kind.
FOULS in boat-racing are often inevitable, and are not
always the result of boring or any other malicious practice.
Foul riding, riding which after a horse-race is made the subject of
complaint, such as refusing to let a competitor pass, boring him against
the rails, &c. Some jockeys are great adepts at this work, and are
invaluable to a confederacy as a means, not so much of attaining
victory themselves, as of preventing its attainment in others. Of course
unless proof of jostling can be given, or evidence of malicious intent
shown, jockeyship of this kind is not considered foul riding.
Four-and-nine, or FOUR-AND-NINEPENNY GOSS, a cheap hat, so called
from 4s. 9d., the price at which a once noted advertising hat-maker
sold his hats-
"Whene'er to slumber you incline,
Take a short nap at 4 and 9.
")
Four-eyes, a man or woman who habitually wears spectacles.
Four kings, HISTORY OF THE, an old name for a pack of playing
cards. See Sir Thomas Urquhart's Translation of Rabelais. In Argot,
LIVRE DES QUATRE ROIS.
#2
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
169
Fourth, or FOURTH COURT, the court appropriated to the waterclosets
at Cambridge; from its really being No. 4 at Trinity College. A man
leaving his room to go to the FOURTH COURT, writes on his door, in
algebraic notation, GONE4, which expresses the Cambridge slang
phrase, gone to the FOURTH.
Fourth estate, the complete body of journalists of all descriptions.
This term is much in use among
"5
Fox, to cheat or rob.-Eton College.
narrowly.
liners."
In London to watch closely and
Foxed, a term used by print and book collectors to denote the brown
spotted appearance produced by damp on paper.
Foxing, when one actor criticises another's performance.-Theatrical.
Also in street slang FOXING means watching slyly.
Fox's sleep, or FOXING, a purposely assumed indifference to what is
going on. A fox, as well as a weasel, is said to sleep with one eye
open.
Foxy, rank, tainted, from the odour of the animal.-Lincolnshire.
Foxy, said also of a red-haired person.
FRAPPER.
Frapping, a beating. French, Frapper.
Free-and-easy, a club held at a low public-house, the members of
which meet in the tap-room or parlour for the purpose of drinking,
smoking, and hearing each other sing. These gatherings are generally
called harmonic meetings by the landlord, but FREE-AND-EASY best
indicates the character of the proceedings.
Free fight, a fight conducted on the Irishman's principle—“ Sure,
wherever you see a head, hit it." The term is, however, American,
so the practice may be considered fairly general.
Freeman's quay,
CC
drinking at FREEMAN'S QUAY," i.e., at another's
cost. This quay was formerly a celebrated wharf near London Bridge,
and the saying arose from the beer which was given gratis to porters
and carmen who went there on business.
French cream, brandy.
French gout, a certain disease, which is also known as "ladies' fever."
French leave, TO TAKE, to leave or depart slyly, without saying any-
thing, or obtaining permission.
Fresh, said of a person slightly intoxicated.
Freshman, a University man during his first year. The official appel-
lation for the students until they have passed the Previous or First
Cambridge Examination, otherwise called the Smalls or Little Go, is
Junior Sophs or Sophisters. After this they are Senior Sophs until
their last term, when they are Questionists, or preparing " ad respon-
dendum quæstioni." At Oxford the title FRESHMAN lasts for the first
term.
Friday-face, a gloomy-looking man.
Most likely from FRIDAY being
a day of meagre fare among Catholics and High Church Protestants.
Frisk, to search; FRISKED, searched by a constable or other officer.
3
N 2
170
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Frisk a cly, to empty a pocket.
Frog, a policeman. Because, by a popular delusion, he is supposed to
pounce suddenly on delinquents.
Frog's march, the manner in which four or more policemen carry a
drunken or turbulent man to the station-house. The victim is held face
downwards, one constable being at each shoulder, while the others hold
on above the knees. Often there is another active and intelligent
officer who beats time to the march on the recalcitrant hero's pos-
teriors.
Frontispiece, the face.
Frow, a girl, or wife. German, FRAU; Dutch, VROUW.
Frummagemmed, annihilated, strangled, garrotted, or spoilt.-Old
Cant.
Frump, a slatternly woman, a gossip.-Ancient. In modern slang it is
the feminine of FOGEY, and means a prim old lady, who is generally
termed " a regular old FRUMP.
Frump, to mock or insult.-Beaumont and Fletcher.
F sharps, fleas. Compare B FLATS.
Fudge, nonsense, stupidity. Todd and Richardson only trace the word
to Goldsmith. Disraeli, however, gives the origin to a Captain Fudge,
a great fibber, who told monstrous stories, which made his crew say in
answer to any improbability, "You FUDGE it !”—See Remarks on the
Navy, 1700. At page 87 of a collection of some papers of William
Crouch (8vo, 1712), the Quaker, we find a mention of this Captain.
Degory Marshall informed Crouch that-
"In the year 1664 we were sentenced for banishment to Jamaica by Judges Hyde
and Twisden, and our number was 55. We were put on board the ship Black.
Eagle; the master's name was FUDGE, by some called LYING FUDGE."
Some persons believe that the word comes from the Gaelic, ffug,
deception.
Fuggies, hot rolls.- School.
Full against, opposed to. As, “I'm FULL AGAINST him," I decidedly
object to, or dislike him, or I am opposed to him. The term ori-
ginated with the bookmakers; who, when they have laid all their
money against a certain horse, put a mark against his name, and reply
to all inquiries, "FULL AGAINST him." This grew to "FULL AGAINST
his winning," and was thus taken, when shortened, to express feeling
the reverse of friendly.
Fullams, false dice, which always turn up high.-Shakspeare.
Full blast, a term evidently borrowed from the technology of the
engine-room, and now frequently used to express the heyday or
apogee of anything. As, "By the middle of the day matters were in
FULL BLAST, and proceedings generally were very satisfactory."
Full feather, good condition, high spirits. Also any one gaily dressed
is said to be in FULL FEATHER.
Full fig, full costume, male or female, uniform or evening dress.
P
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
171
Full of beans, arrogant, purseproud. A person whom sudden pros-
perity has made offensive and conceited, is said to be too FULL OF
BEANS. Originally stable slang.
Fully, "to be FULLIED," to be committed for trial. Term in general
use among thieves. Possibly from the reports which, in the slang of
the penny-a-liner, say "the prisoner was FULLY committed for trial.
The magistrates often say FULLY committed also, whatever that may
mean.
Funk, trepidation, nervousness, cowardice.
nervous.
To FUNK, to be afraid or
The
Funk, to smoke out, or terrify.
Funking the cobbler, a bold schoolboy trick, performed with
assafoetida and cotton stuffed into a hollow tube or cow's horn.
cotton being lighted, the smoke is blown in through the keyhole of a
door, or the crannies of a cobbler's stall. A funny song, much in
vogue some years back, gave all the agonies of a drunken cobbler, who
believed the devil had come for him, with all sorts of accessories, till
"He was told by a shout
That 'twas only some boys who'd been FUNKING him out."
Funny, a rowing boat with both ends pointed and out of the water.
Funny-bone, the extremity of the elbow-or rather, the muscle which
passes round it between the two bones, a blow on which causes pain-
ful tingling in the fingers. Facetiously derived, from its being the
extremity of the humerus (humorous).
Fye-buck, a sixpence.-Nearly obsolete.
Gab, GABBER or GABBLE, talk; "gift of the GAB," loquacity, or natural
talent for speech-making.-Anglo-Norman; GAB is also found in the
Danish and Old Norse.
Gaby, a simpleton, a country bumpkin. Probably from gape.
Gad, a trapesing slatternly woman.-Gipsy.
Gadding the hoof, going without shoes.
Anglo-Saxon, GÆDELING.
GADDING, roaming about,
although used in an old translation of the Bible, is now only heard
amongst the lower orders.
Gaff, a penny play-house, in which talking is not permitted on the stage.
See PENNY GAFF.
Gaffer, a master, or employer; term used by "navvies," and general in
Lancashire and North of England. Early English for an old man.
See BLOW THE GAFF.
Gaffing, tossing halfpence, or counters.-North, where it means tossing
up three halfpennies. One man tosses, and another calls. Sometimes
the coins are tossed from a stick, and the tosser keeps those which fall
heads uppermost.
Gag, a lie; "a GAG he told to the beak."-Thieves' Cant.
Gag, language introduced by an actor into his part. In certain pieces
this is allowed by custom, and these are called GAG-PIECES. The Critic,
or a Tragedy Rehearsed, is chief among these. Many actors, how-
172
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
ever, take French leave in this respect with most pieces.-Theatrical
slang.
MR. ROBSON AT BELFAST.-We (Northern Whig) suspected a little bit of what is
professionally termed GAG in Mr. Robson's Daddy Hardacre last night.
He had occasion to say that one of the characters in the piece "understands
me well enough," to which he added-"I wish some other people did the
same," with an expressive glance at the pit; which we interpreted as having
special reference to those appreciative persons in the audience whom we have
already mentioned, who think it absolutely needful to roar with laughter at
every sentence Mr. Robson utters, without the least regard to whether it be
humorous or pathetic-only because Mr. Robson has fame as a comic actor.
When another Robson shall arise, no one will object to his GAGGING a
little. The public could afford that to such a man in these days of
creations.
رو
Gag, to hoax, "take a rise " out of one;
Gage, a small quantity of anything; as
pipeful; "a GAGE of gin," a glassful.
a chamber utensil.
to "cod."
a GAGE of tobacco," meaning
GAGE was, in the last century,
Galeny, old cant term for a fowl of any kind; now a respectable word
in the West of England, signifying a Guinea fowl.-Vide Grose. Latin,
GALLINA,
Gallanty show, an exhibition in which black figures are shown on a
white sheet to accompanying dialogue. Generally given at night by
"Punch and Judy" men.
Gallimaufry, a kind of stew, made up of scraps of various kinds. Sea
term, and probably meaning the galley scraps.
Gallipot, an apothecary.
Gallivant, to wait upon the ladies.—Old.
Gallows, or GALLUS, very, or exceedingly-an unpleasant exclamation;
GALLOWS poor," very poor. Term originally applied to anything
bad enough to deserve hanging.
Gallows bird, ‘an incorrigible thief; often applied to denote a ruffian-
like appearance.
Gallowses, in the North of England a pair of braces.
Gally-yarn, a sailor's term for a hoaxing story. He expresses disbelief
by saying only "G. Y."
Galoot.-See GEELOOT.
Galore, abundance. Irish, GO LEOR, in plenty.
Gamb, a leg. Still used as an heraldic term, as well as by thieves, who
probably get it from the Lingua Franca. Italian, GAMBA; French,
JAMBE, a leg.
Game, a term variously applied; "are you GAME?" have you courage
enough? " what's your little GAME?" what are you going to do?" come,
none of your GAMES," be quiet, don't annoy me ; on the GAME," out
thieving. To "play the GAME" is among sporting men to do a thing
thoroughly and properly.
Game leg, a lame or wounded leg.
Gameness, pluck, endurance, courage generally.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
173
?
Gammon, deceit, humbug, a false and ridiculous story. Anglo-Saxon,
GAMEN, game, sport.
Gammon, to hoax, to deceive merrily, to laugh at a person, to tell an
untrue but plausible story, to make game of, or, in the provincial dia-
lect, to make GAME on; who's thou makin' thy GAM' on ?" ¿.e., of
whom are you making a fool?— Yorkshire.
GAMMY-
Gammy, bad, unfavourable, poor tempered. Those householders who
are known enemies to the street folk and tramps are pronounced by
them to be GAMMY. GAMMY sometimes means forged, as
MONNIKER," a forged signature; GAMMY STUFF, spurious medicine;
GAMMY LOWR, counterfeit coin. Hants, GAMY, dirty. The hierogly-
phic used by beggars and cadgers to intimate to those of the tribe
coming after that things are not very favourable is known as, or
GAMMY. Gaelic, Welsh, and Irish, CAM (GAM), crooked.
Gammy-vial (Ville), a town where the police will not let persons
hawk.
Gander Month, the period when the monthly nurse is in the ascen-
dant, and the husband has to shift for himself. Probably from the open
choice he has during that period.
Ganger, the person who superintends the work of a gang, or a number
of navigators.
Gape, to stare about in an astonished manner.
"GAPING about like a
country bumpkin." Sometimes pronounced GARP. There is no
reference in the use of this phrase by Cockneys to GAPE in its correct
sense.
Gape-seed, something to look at, cause for astonishment; a lazy fellow,
unmindful of his work, is said to be "looking for GAPE-SEED.
Rustics are said to find plenty of "GAPE-SEED" in London streets.
Gar, euphuistic rendering of the title of the Deity; "be GAR, you don't
say so !"-Franco-English.
Garden, among tradesmen signifies Covent GARDEN Market; among
theatrical performers, Covent GARDEN Theatre.
Gardener, an awkward coachman; an insinuation that he is both coach-
man and gardener, and understands the latter branch of service better
than the first; "get on, GARDENER," is a most insulting expression
from a cabby to a real coachman. Men who in small families do the
coach, garden, and general work, are sometimes called "teakettle
grooms, ΟΙ "teakettle coachmen."
Gargle, medical-student slang for drinkables.
Garnish, the douceur or fee which, before the time of Howard the phi-
lanthropist, was openly exacted by the keepers of gaols from their unfor-
tunate prisoners for extra comforts. The practice of GARNISHING
by no means so defunct as some folk seem to think, and its influence
may often be traced by those who wish.
Garnish, footing money.-Yorkshire.
Garreter, a thief who crawls over the tops of houses, and enters garret-
174
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
>>
windows. Called also a dancer, or "dancing-master," from the
light and airy nature of his occupation.
Garrotte, a system of robbery with violence much practised on dark
winter nights by ruffians who during summer infest racecourses and
fairs. Their victims are generally weak men and delicate women.
From the Spanish GARROTTE, because the practice generally com-
mences with a throttling attack. Procedure is, however, various, these
gentleman being possessed of much ingenuity in the way of torture.
"The cat" has within the past year or so done much to modify this
offensive state of things, but the sympathetic appeals of certain tender-
hearted M.P.'s and other philanthropists, who are not themselves likely
to be garrotted, on behalf of the garrotters, will probably before
long result in a withdrawal of the lex talionis, and a natural resump-
tion of the garrotte system, with new adornments.
Garrotting, a mode of cheating practised amongst card-sharpers, by
concealing certain cards at the back of the neck.
Gas, to give off superfluous conceit, to bounce or brag; "his game is
GAS. "To give a person GAS," is to scold him or give him a good
beating. Synonymous with "to give him Jessie."
Gassy, or GASEOUS, liable to "flare up" at any offence.
Gate, THE, Billingsgate. Sometimes Newgate, according to the occupa-
tion and condition of the speaker. In the same way Paternoster Row
is by publishers known as "the Row."
Gate, to order an undergrad not to pass beyond the college GATE. As
a rule, the GATE begins after hall, but in extreme cases the offender
is GATED for the whole day.— University.
Gate-race, among pedestrians a mock race, got up not so much for the
best runner to win, as for the money taken from spectators, at the gate.
This sort of business is not peculiar to pedestrians; there are such things
as gate-money meetings at horse-racing.
Gatter, beer; "shant of GATTER,' a pot of beer. A curious slang
street melody, known in Seven Dials as Bet the Coaley's Daughter, thus
mentions the word in a favourite verse :—
But when I strove my flame to tell,
Says she, 'Come, stow that patter,
If you're a cove wot likes a gal,
Vy don't you stand some GATTER?'
In course I instantly complied—
Two brimming quarts of porter,
With sev'ral goes of gin beside,
Drain'd Bet the Coaley's daughter."
Gaudy, the annual dinner of the Fellows of a College, in memory of
founders and benefactors. From GAUDEAMUS.-Oxford University.
Gawfs, cheap red-skinned apples, a favourite fruit with costermongers,
who rub them well with a piece of cloth, and find ready purchasers.
Gawky, a lanky, or awkward person; a fool. Saxon, GEAK; Scotch,
GOWK.
Gay, loose, dissipated; "GAY woman," a kept mistress or prostitute.
Many people will remember Leech's celebrated caricature of two
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
175
wretched females on an equally wretched night, and the question asked
by one woman of the other, "How long have you been GAY?"
Gay tyke boy, a dog-fancier.
Gee, to agree with, or be congenial to a person.
Geeloot, or GALOOT, a recruit, or awkward soldier.
also a term of contempt in America.
Gen, a shilling. See back-slang article.
A clumsy person,
Gent, a contraction of "gentleman,"-in more senses than one. A dressy,
showy, foppish man, with a little mind, who vulgarizes the prevailing
fashion.
Gent, silver.
From the French, ARGENT.
Gentleman of four outs; in Ireland when a vulgar, blustering
fellow asserts that he is a gentleman, the retort generally is, “Yes, a
GENTLEMAN OF FOUR OUTS"—that is, without wit, without money,
without credit, and without manners.
Gentleman of three ins, that is, in debt, in danger, and in
poverty.
Geordie, general term in Northumberland and Durham for a pitman, or
coal-miner. From the Greek, GEORGE meaning one who works the
earth, originally a cultivator; the term has been in use more than a
century.
German Duck, a sheep's-head stewed with onions; a favourite dish
among the German sugar-bakers in the East-end of London.
German Ducks, bugs.— Yorkshire.
Get up, a person's appearance or general arrangements.
derived from the decorations of a play.
"There's so much GETTING UP to please the town,
It takes a precious deal of coming down."
Probably
Planche's Mr. Buckstone's Ascent of Parnassus.
Ghost, "the GHOST doesn't walk," a theatrical term which implies that
there is no money about, and that there will be no treasury.
Gibberish, unmeaning jargon; the language of the gipsies, synonymous
with SLANG, another Gipsy word.
Somner says, French, GABBER ;
Dutch, GABBEREN; and our own GAB, GABBER; hence also, I take it,
Our GIBBERISH, a kind of canting language used by a sort of rogues we
vulgarly call gipsies, a gibble-gabble understood only among them-
selves.' See Introduction. The GIBBERISH of schoolboys is formed
by placing a consonant between each syllable of a word, and is called
the GIBBERISH of the letter inserted. Thus, if F were the letter,
it would be termed the F GIBBERISH; if L, the L GIBBERISH-as in
the sentence, "How do you do?—Howl dol youl dol?” A GIBBERISH
is sometimes formed by adding vis to each word, in which the previous
sentence would be-"Howvis dovis youvis dovis ?" These things are
worthy of schoolboys, as they are in ability far below the rhyming, the
back, or the centre slang, each of which is constructed by people pos-
sessing no claim to literary excellence whatever. Schoolboys in France
176
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
form a GIBBERISH, in a somewhat similar manner, by elongating their
words two syllables, in the first of which an 7, in the second a g, predo-
minates. Thus the words vous êtes un fou are spoken, vousdregue
esdregue undregue foudregue. Fast persons in Paris, of both sexes,
frequently adopt terminations of this kind, from some popular song,
actor, exhibition, or political event. In 1830, the favourite termina-
tion was mar, saying épicemar for épicier, cafémar for café. In 1823,
when the diorama created a sensation in Paris, the people spoke in
rama (on parlait en rama.) In Balzac's beautiful tale, Le Père Goriot,
the young painter at the boarding-house dinner-table mystifies the
landlady by saying, "What a beautiful soupcaurama !” To which the
old woman replies, to the great laughter of the company, "I beg your
pardon, sir, it is une soupe à choux." These adaptations can hardly be
called slang, or we shall have everybody making a slang of his own,
and refusing to believe in any one's else-a sort of secondhand edition
of the Tower of Babel.
Gib-face, a heavy, ugly face; GIB is properly the lower lip of a horse;
"to hang one's GIB," to pout the lower lip, to be angry or sullen.
Gibus, an opera hat. From the inventor of the crush hat.
Giffle-gaffle, or GIBBLE-GABBLE, nonsense. See CHAFF. Icelandic, GAFLA.
Gig, a farthing. Formerly Grig.
Gig, fun, frolic, a spree. Old French, GIGUE, a jig, a romp.
In search of lark, or some delicious GIG,
The mind delights on, when 'tis in prime twig.'
686
""
Randall's Diary, 1820.
'No heirs have I,' said mournful Matt;
But Tom, still fond of GIG,
Cried out, 'No hairs? don't fret at that,
When you can buy a wig.""
Gig lamps, spectacles; also a person who wears spectacles is often
called GIG-LAMPS. Connexion obvious. This term has been in use
probably as long as GIG-LAMPS themselves--if GIG-LAMPS were in-
vented after spectacles.
Gill, or JILL, a homely woman; "Jack and GILL," &c.
Gills, the lower part of the face.-Bacon. "To grease one's GILLS,
"to have a good feed," or make a hearty meal. A man suffering from
the effects of a previous night's debauch, is said to "look queer about
the GILLS.
Gills, overlarge shirt collars.
Gilt, money. German, GELD; Dutch, GELT.
Gimcrack, a bijou, a slim piece of mechanism. Old slang for " a
spruce wench."-New Bailey. Any things which are gaudy and
easily breakable, are known now as GIMCRACKS.
Ginger, a showy, fast horse-as if he had been figged with GINGER
under his tail; a red-haired man. Term commonly used in deprecia-
tion of a person's appearance.
Ginger hackled, having flaxen, light yellow hair. Term originally
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
177
used to describe a certain colour or colours in game-cocks.-Sce
HACKLE.
Gingerly, to do anything with great care.-Cotgrave.
Gingham, an umbrella.
Term very common in London.
Gingumbob, a bauble.
Gin-spinner, a distiller, or rectifier of gin.
Give, to strike, to scold; "I'll GIVE it to you," i.e., I will thrash you.
To lead to, in the sense of directions. Thus, in one of the Christmas
numbers of All the Year Round we are told that "a side portal and a
passage, dark at noon, GAVE upon Paradise Alley." This usage of the
word, from the French idiomatic use of donner, is becoming by no
means uncommon.
Give in, to admit oneself defeated, to "throw up the sponge," or
one's flag."
"' strike
Give it mouth, a rude request to an actor or orator, which means,
speak up.
Low folk can fancy nothing higher in the way of encomium
on an actor than, "He's the cove to GIVE IT MOUTH-rather!"
Gladstone, cheap claret. GLADSTONE reduced the duty on French wines.
Glasgow magistrate, a salt herring. When George IV. visited
Scotland, a wag placed some salt herrings on the iron guard of the
carriage belonging to a well-known GLASGOW MAGISTRATE, who
made one of a deputation to receive his Majesty.
Glaze, glass; generally applied to windows. To "star the GLAZE" is to
break a window.
Glib, a tongue; "slacken your GLIB,” ¿.e.,
"slacken your GLIB," ie., "loosen your tongue."
Glim, a light, a lamp; "dowse the GLIM," put out the candle. Sea and
Old Cant. GLIMS, spectacles. Gaelic, GLINN, light. German (pro-
vincial), GLIMM, a spark.
Glim lurk, a begging paper, giving a circumstantial account of a dreadful
fire-which never happened.
Gloak, a man. Term much used in old thieves' cant.
Glum, sulky, stern; "to look GLUM,
"to look GLUM," to appear annoyed or discon-
certed.
Glump, to sulk.
Glumpish, of a stubborn, sulky temper.
Go, a Go of gin, a quartern of that liquor. (This word, as applied to a
measure of liquor, is stated to have arisen from the following circum-
stance :-Two well-known actors once met at the bar of a tavern to
have a wet" together. "One more glass and then we'll Go," was re-
peated so often on either hand, that in the end GO was out of the ques-
tion with both of them, and so the word passed into a saying.) Go
is also synonymous with circumstance or occurrence; a rummy GO,"
and a great GO," signify curious and remarkable occurrences; "all
the GO," when anything creates unusual interest, "no GO," no good;
"here's a pretty GO!" here's a trouble; Go, a term in the game of
66
infia
178
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
cribbage; “to Go the jump," to enter a house by the window.—See
LITTLE GO ; also CALL-A-GO.
;
"Gemmen (says he), you all well know
The joy there is whene'er we meet ;
It's what I call the primest GO,
And rightly named, 'tis-'quite a treat.
Jack Randall's Diary, 1820.
Go along, a fool, a cully, one of the most contemptuous terms in a
thieves' vocabulary.
Gob or GOBBET, a portion. Generally applied to meat by schoolboys
Gob, the mouth, as in pugilistic slang "a spank on the GOB, drawing the
gravy." Also mucus, or saliva. Sometimes used for GAB, talk-
"There was a man called Job,
Dwelt in the land of Uz;
He had a good gift of the GOB;
The same case happen us.'
ZACH. BOYD.
Gaelic-GAB and GOB, a mouth. See GAB.
God bless the Duke of Argyle! a Scottish insinuation made
when one shrugs his shoulders, of its being caused by parasites or
cutaneous affections.-See SCOTCH FIDDLE, SCOTCH GREYS. It is said to
have been originally the thankful exclamation of the Glasgow folk, at
finding a certain row of iron posts, erected by his grace in that city to
mark the division of his property, very convenient to rub against. Some
say the posts were put up purposely for the benefit of the good folk of
Glasgow, who were at the time suffering from the "Scotch fiddle.” This
is, however, but a Southern scandal.
Gods, the people in the upper gallery of a theatre; "up amongst the
GODS, a seat amongst the persons in the gallery-so named from the
high position of that part, and the blue sky generally painted on the
ceiling of the theatre; termed by the French, "paradis."'
Gods, the quadrats used by printers in throwing on the imposing stone,
similar to the movement in casting dice.-Printers' term.
Go due north, to become bankrupt, to go to Whitecross Street.-
Nearly obsolete.
Go for the gloves, to lay against a horse on the chance of its losing,
without having the wherewithal to pay if it wins. Probably from
the custom of ladies who bet GLOVES, and expect, as the racing men
say, to
"stand them to nothing," i.e., to be paid if they win, but not
to pay if they lose. This is a last resource of the bankrupt turfite;
and the big handicaps at the end of the year, the Cesarewitch and
Cambridgeshire, offer both temptation and opportunity to those who
can only hope to recoup themselves for their previous losses by
GLOVING it" successfully. When, in the sporting papers it is stated
that a settling at Tattersall's was more than usually unsatisfactory, it
may be fairly assumed that the GLOVES have not been won by those
who most desired them.
Go in, to enter for, to apply oneself in pursuit of. Men at the Universi-
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
179
ties are said to GO IN for honours, aquatics, or whatever their chief
desire or employment may be. The expression is now general.
Go it, a term of encouragement, implying, "keep it up !" Sometimes
amplified to "GO IT, ye cripples;" said to have been a facetious ren-
dering of the last line of Virgil's Eclogues—
Ite domum saturæ, venit Hesperus, ite capellæ;"
or, “GO IT, ye cripples, crutches are cheap."
Goldbacked uns, body lice. Sometimes called greybacked uns.
Goldfinches, sovereigns. Similar to Canaries.
Gold-mine, any profitable investment, from a fried-fish shop to a remu-
nerative speculation involving millions.
Golgotha, a hat, "place of a skull." Hence the "Don's gallery," at
St. Mary's, Cambridge, and that part of the theatre at Oxford where
the heads of houses sit.
Gol-mol, noise, commotion.-Anglo-Indian.
Golopshus, splendid, delicious, luscious.-Norwich.
Gonnof, an expert thief, a master of his craft; one of the greatest com-
pliments a London pickpocket can pay another is to say,
he's a reglar
GONNOF."-See GUN. The word GONNOF is very old. During Kett's
rebellion in Norfolk, in the reign of Edward VI., a song was sung by
the insurgents in which the term occurs-
"The country GNOFFES, Hob, Dick, and Hick,
With clubbes and clouted shoon,
Shall fill up Dussyn dale
With slaughter'd bodies soone."
Good people, the name given by country folk, evidently from fear of
offending by any less decided term, to fairies, brownies, pixies, &c.
Mothers often say to querulous children, "I wish the GOOD PEOPLE
would run away with you.
Goods, in the sporting world, men or horses. A horse or man of excep-
tionable quality is called "good GOODS," and a backer will speak of
either as being in his opinion "best GOODS," as compared with others
in the race.
Good time, an expressive phrase, which means all earthly bliss to the
American mind. The finest reminiscence a Yankee can have is that
of a GOOD TIME, wherever it may have been spent. No moderate
amount of happiness is ever recorded in the register which denotes
how often its possessor has "had a GOOD TIME.
Good woman, a not uncommon public-house sign, representing a
woman without a head, the ungallant allusion is that she cannot
scold. Maybe, the publican does not think that it means also that she
cannot drink. The Honest Lawyer, another sign, is depicted in the
same manner.
Goose, a tailor's pressing iron. Originally a slang term, but now in most
dictionaries.
Goose; "Paddy's GOOSE," i.e., the White Swan, a celebrated public-
house in Ratcliff Highway.
180
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Goose, "to cook his GOOSE," to kill him; the same as "to give him his
gruel," or "settle his hash."
Goose, "to get the GOOSE," "to be coOSED," signifies to be hissed while
on the stage. The big-bird, the terror of actors. See BIG BIRD.—
Theatrical.
Goose, to ruin, or spoil; to hiss a play.-Theatrical. To be "sound on
the GOOSE" is in America to be orthodox in one's political creed.
Gooseberry, to "play up old gooseberry” with any one, to defeat or
silence a person in a quick or summary manner.
Gooseberry-pickers, sharp children, who are ostensibly placed in
charge of their elder sisters, when the latter go out shopping, but who
are in reality a check on any chance of flirtation.
Goosecap, a simpleton, a booby, or noodle.-Devonshire.
Gooser, a settler, or finishing blow.
Go over, in clerical slang, signifies to join the Church of Rome.
Gorge, to eat in a ravenous manner. "Rotten GORGERS" are those hungry
lads who hang about Covent Garden Market, and devour the discarded
fruit.
Gorger, a swell, a well-dressed, or gorgeous man-probably derived from
the latter adjective. Sometimes used to denote an employer, or prin-
cipal, as the manager of a theatre.
Gormed, a Norfolk corruption of a profane oath. So used by Mr. Peg-.
gotty in David Copperfield.
Gospel grinder, a City missionary, or tract-distributor.
Gospel shop, an irreverent term for a church or chapel of any denomi-
nation, Mostly in use among sailors.
Goss, a hat-from the gossamer silk of which modern hats are made.
Goss, "to give a man GOSS," to requite an injury, to beat, or kill.
This is an Americanism, and is applied variously. A steamboat cap-
tain on the Mississippi, determined to pass his rival, called out, so the
story goes, to the fireman, "Give her Goss and let her rip, as I mean
to pass that boat, or bust."
Goth, an uncultivated person.
society.
One who is ignorant of the ways of
Go the whole pile, to put all one's bank on a solitary chance. An
Americanism which had its origin in the PILES of gold dust used as cir-
culating medium by gambling miners.
Gourock ham, a salt herring. GOUROCK, on the Clyde, about twenty-
five miles from Glasgow, was formerly a great fishing village.-Scotch.
Government sign-post, the gallows. This is necessarily almost
obsolete.
Governor, a father, a master or superior person, an elder; "which way,
GUV'NER, to Cheapside?"
Gowler, a dog.-North Country Cant. Query, GRowler.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
181
Gownsman, a student at one of the universities, as distinguished from a
TOWNSMAN.
Grab, to clutch, or seize; GRABBED, caught, apprehended.
Grace-card, the six of hearts, so termed in Ireland. A Kilkenny gen-
tleman, named GRACE, being solicited, with promises of royal favour,
to espouse the cause of William III., gave the following answer, written
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." This would have been a much better story had James II.
been a better King, and had he not earned for himself, even among
Catholic Irishmen, a disgraceful name, through his craven conduct at
the Battle of the Boyne.
Graft, work; "where are you GRAFTING?" i.e., where do you work?
"What GRAFT are you at?" what are you doing? Perhaps derived
from gardening phraseology; or a variation of craft.
Granny, a knot which will not hold, from its being wrongly and clumsily
d.-Sea.
Granny, to know, or recognise ; do ye GRANNY the bloke ?" do you
know the man?
Grappling irons, fingers.-Sea.
CC
Grass, gone to GRASS," dead,-
-a coarse allusion to burial; absconded,
or disappeared suddenly; also, gone to waste; it is said of wasted
limbs that they have " gone to GRASS;" "oh, go to GRASS," a common
answer to a troublesome or inquisitive person,—possibly a corruption
of "go to GRACE," meaning, of course, a directly opposite fate.
Grass, to knock down. Also to throw in a wrestling-match. "He
GRÁSSED his man with a heavy righthander," or "He brought his man
to GRASS by means of a swinging hipe."
Grass-comber, a country fellow, a haymaker.
Grasshopper, a waiter at a tea-garden.
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-
WIDOW) and his children to school during his absence. Also a married
woman, resident in England, whose husband is in India or the
colonies.
Gravel, to confound, to bother; "I'm GRAVELLED," i.e., perplexed or
confused.-Old. Also, to prostrate, to beat to the ground.
Gravel-rash, a scratched face, -telling its tale of a drunken fall. A
person subject to this is called a GRAVEL GRINDER.
Gravesend sweetmeats, shrimps. GRAVESEND TWINS are solid
particles of sewage.
Gray, a halfpenny, with either two "heads" or two "tails"-both sides
alike. They are used for cheating the unwary at "Tommy Dodd," or
pitch and toss. They are often "rung in" with a victim's own money,
182
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
so that the caller of "heads" or "tails" cannot lose. Thus if A
has to call, he or a confederate manages to mix the selected GRAYS
with B's tossing halfpence. There are various and almost obvious
uses for them.
Gray-coat parson, a lay impropriator, or lessee of great tithes.
Gray mare, a wife who "wears the breeches." From an old story in
which the point is to show that the "GRAY MARE," the wife's choice,
"is the better horse," and by parity of reasoning that the wife is
superior to the husband.
Grays, or ScoTCH GRAYS, lice. These pretty little things are called by
many names, among others by those of GRAY-BACKS, and GOLD-
BACKED UNS, which are popular among those who have most interest
in the matter.
Grease spot, a minute remnant, humorously the only distinguishable
remains of an antagonist after a terrific contest.
Greasing, bribing. Sometimes called "GREASING the palm" of a man's
hand.
Grecian bend, modern milliner slang for an exaggerated bustle, the
effect of which is generally assisted by unnaturally high-heeled boots.
Greek, a wide-awake fellow, a sharper.
Greek kalends, an expression signifying an indefinite period; never.
Term used in making promises never intended to be carried out. The
Greeks had no KALENDS.
Greeks, the low Irish. St. Giles's GREEK, slang or cant language.
Cotgrave gives merrie GREEK as a definition for a roystering fellow,
a drunkard. The GREEKS have always been regarded as a jolly,
luxurious race; so much so, that the Latins employed the verb
Græcari (lit. to play the GREEK) to designate fine living and free
potations, a sense in which Horace frequently uses it; while Shak-
speare often mentions the merry GREEKS; and "as merry as a grig"
(or GREEK) was long a favourite allusion in old English authors. It is
said by some that grig is in this sense intended to represent the small
eel of that name which from its lively movements is supposed to be
always merry; while others incline to the belief that the cricket,
which is also in some parts of the provinces known as a grig, is
meant. Readers may take their choice.
Green, ignorant, not wide-awake, inexperienced.-Shakspeare. "Do you
see any GREEN in my eye?" ironical question in a dispute.
Greenbacks, the paper money issued in the United States during the
war. The term was at first applied only to the notes for small
amounts, which were backed with green, but eventually the one word
represented all descriptions of what is now known in America as
currency."
Green-horn, a fresh, simple, or uninitiated person.
Greenlander, an inexperienced person, a spoon.
man.
Sometimes an Irish-
Greenwich goose, a pension r of the Naval Hospital.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
183
;
Griddler, a person who sings in the streets without a printed copy of the
words.-Seven Dials.
Gridiron, a County Court summons. Originally a summons to the
Court of Westminster only; from the GRIDIRON arms. The
Grafton Club is nearly always known as the GRID or GRIDIRON, that
instrument being brought into requisition whenever possible in the
cuisine.
Gridiron and dough boys, the flag of the United States, in allu-
sion to the stars and stripes.—Sea.
Grief, "to come to GRIEF," to meet with an accident, to be ruined.
Griffin, in India, a newly-arrived cadet; general for an inexperienced
youngster.
Grind, "to take a GRIND," i.e., a walk, or constitutional. The daily
GRIND is a term representing employment containing much routine.
At Oxford college sports are called sometimes the GRIND.
Grind, to work up for an examination, to cram by oneself, or with a
private tutor.
Grinder, private tutor, a coach.-University.
Grinder, a tooth.
Grindoff, a miller.
From The Miller and his Men.
Gripes, the stomach-ache. See TRIPES.
Grist to the mill, money to the pocket, food to the family; anything
which is supposed to add to a man's immediate prospects, to his income,
or to his benefit in any way, is said to "bring GRIST TO THE MILL.
Grizzle, to fret or cry continuously.
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 party.—Military.
Groggy, tipsy; when a prize-fighter becomes "weak on his pins,” and
nearly beaten, he is said to be GROGGY. The same term is applied
to horses that are overworked and unsteady. From similarity of
appearance to the peculiarity of gait consequent on imbibing too much
GROG.
Grove of the Evangelist, a facetious name for St. John's Wood.
Growler, a four-wheeled cab. It is generally supposed that drivers of
these vehicles take a less favourable view of life than do their Hansom
brethren.
Grub and bub, victuals and drink of any kind,-GRUB signifying
food, and BUB, drink.
Grubbing ken, or SPINIKIN, a workhouse; a cook-shop.
Grubby, musty, or old-fashioned.—Devonshire.
Gruel, "to give a person his GRUEL," to kill him. An expression in all
probability derived from the report of a trial for poisoning, or from
the easiest manner of administering a dose of poison. In the old days
O
184
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
a similar phrase was "to drug a posset.
to drug a posset." Compare "to settle his
hash," and "cook his goose.'
Guardevine, a cellaret.-Scotch.
Guinea pigs, habitual directors of public companies; special jurymen ;
and engineer officers doing civil duty at the War Office, and paid a
GUINEA per diem.
Guinea to a goose, a sporting phrase, meaning long odds in favour of,
or against, anything under notice. In the City this state of things
is represented by the phrase, Lombard Street to a China orange. There
are also other colloquialisms on this subject, but their power is, as a rule,
mainly dependent upon their indecency.
Gulfed, originally a Cambridge term, denoting that a man is unable to
enter for the classical examination from having failed in the mathe-
matical. These men's names appeared in the list of "Degrees
Allowed." The name GULF 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 captain of the poll."
Candidates for classical honours were compelled to go in for both
examinations. From the alteration of the arrangements, the term as
thus applied is now obsolete. The expression is common now in
Oxford as descriptive of a man who goes in for honours, and only gets
a pass.
An Honorary Fourth is when a candidate who only tries for
a pass does so well that he is raised to the honours' list.
Gull, to cheat, to deceive; also one easily cheated.
From the easy
manner in which the bird of that name is deceived.
Gullyfluff, the waste-coagulated dust, crumbs, and hair-which accu-
mulates imperceptibly in the pockets of schoolboys.
Gully rakers, cattle thieves in Australia, the cattle being stolen out of
almost inaccessible valleys, there termed GULLIES.
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 RUMGUMPTION, comprehension, capacity. From GAUM,
to comprehend; "I canna gauge it, and I canna GAUM it," as a
Yorkshire exciseman said of a hedgehog.
Gun, a magsman or street thief. Diminutive of gonnuf or gunnof. A
GUN's practice is known as GUNOVING.
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 is 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,
See SIMPKIN.-Anglo-Indian.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
185
Gusher, one overflowing with sentiment, a rhapsodizer. Romance-
reading young ladies are generally described as GUSHING, and of late
years the word GUSH has done duty as representing the newspaper
work necessary for a continuance of the "largest circulation."
Gut scraper, a fiddler.
Gutter blood, a low or vulgar man.-Scotch.
Gutter lane, the throat. Probably from GUttur.
Guttle, see GUZZLE.
Guy, a fright, a dowdy, an ill-dressed person. Derived from the effigy of
Guy Fawkes carried about by boys on Nov. 5. "Hollo, boys, another
GUY!"
Guy, to get away. Same as HEDGE in street phraseology, which see.
Guzzle, to eat or drink to excess; to eat loudly, hastily, and clumsily.
Gyp, an undergraduate's servant at Cambridge. Popularly derived by
Cantabs from the Greek, GYPS, (yú↓), a vulture, from the dishonest
rapacity peculiar to GYPS. At Oxford servants are called scouts.
Hackle, pluck; "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.-See BEANS.
Hair of the dog, a "modest quencher," taken the morning following
a debauch. Originally a HAIR OF THE DOG that bit you."
This is
very old, and seems to show that homoeopathy is by no means new, so
far as topers, at all events, are concerned.
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-GRUNTER.
Half-and-half, a mixture of ale and porter, much affected by medical
students; occasionally Latinized into "dimidium dimidiumque."
Cooper is HALF-AND-HALF, made of stout and porter. The term of
HALF-AND-HALF is also applied to the issue of marriages between
gipsies and "white people.
Half-a-stretch, six months in prison.
Half-a-tusheroon, half-a-crown.
Half-baked, soft, doughy, half-witted, silly.
similar meaning.
HALF-ROCKED has à
Half-foolish, ridiculous; means often wholly foolish.
Half Jack. See JACKS.
Half-mourning, to have a black eye from a blow. As distinguished
from "whole-mourning," two black eyes.
Half-rocked, silly, half-witted. Derived from a vulgar idea that in thë
Westcountry children are nursed in a peculiar manner, which in after-
life affects their wits. They are said to be nursed bottom upwards, so
02
186
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
as to sleep without much rocking. If this is inconsequent it is the
fault of the saying and not of the dictionary. Compare HALF-BAKED.
Half-seas-over, reeling drunk.—Sea. Used by Swift.
Hall, THE, Leadenhall Market, among folk who get their livings there,
in the same way as
The Garden" refers to Covent Garden.
Hand, a workman or helper, a person. "A cool HAND," explained by
Sir Thomas Overbury to be one who accounts bashfulness the
wickedest thing in the world, and therefore studies impudence."
Hander, a second, or assistant. At some schools blows on the hand
administered with a cane are so called.
Handicap, an arrangement by which, in any description of sport, every
competitor in a race is supposed to have a chance of winning equal to
the chances of his opponents. HANDICAPPING, in horse-racing signi-
fies the adjudgment of various weights to horses differing in age, power,
and speed, so as to place them as much as possible on an equality.
At other sports this equalization is managed by means of starts.
If
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
more valuable one. The three parties, A, B, and C, put down a
certain stake each, and then the HANDICAPPER makes his award.
A and B are both satisfied with the award, the exchange is made be-
tween the horse and watch, and the HANDICAPPER wins, and takes up
the stakes. Or if neither be satisfied with the award, the HANDI-
CAPPER takes the stakes; but if A be satisfied and B not, or vice verså,
the party who declares himself satisfied gets the stakes. It is conse-
quently the object of the HANDICAPPER to make such award as will
cause the challenger and challenged to be of the same mind; and con-
siderable ingenuity is required and exhibited on his part. The chal-
lenge 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
manner 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 thoroughbred
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 far-
things. Draw, gentlemen!" 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 off, and the stakes go as already stated.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
187
Very frequently, neither A nor B is sufficiently quick in his mental cal-
culation to follow the HANDICAPPER, and not knowing on the instant
the total of the various sums in the award, prefers being "off," and,
therefore, "draws no money.
As in this event the HANDICAPPER
gets the stakes, the reason for the complex nature of his award is
obvious.
""
The
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
joviality and stentorian laughter. This is the true HANDICAP.
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. So that the HANDICAP has ultimately come
to be regarded as an arrangement of a purely business-like nature, by
which means affairs, no matter how much they may differ in degree,
may be arranged satisfactorily by all parties. The use of the word
is spreading rapidly, and it has already a sense beyond that of mere
sporting.
Handicap, to make even, as a Roland for an Oliver. Not long since in
a pedestrian enclosure, a pugilist who had been specially retained on
one side struck a member of the other party, who not being a fighting-
man received the blow with apparent contentment. The injured person
had, however, determined on being revenged, and about an hour after-
wards he knocked the professional down with a big stick, using the
words at the same time, "that HANDICAPS us" (that makes us even).
The word is often used thus also: A man finding himself inferior to
another at fisticuffs will, seizing a weapon, exclaim, "I'll HANDICAP
you," i.e., I'll bring you to my level (or "level myself up") with this.
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.
Handling, a method of concealing certain cards in the palm of the
hand, or in fashionable long wristbands; one of the many modes of
cheating practised by sharpers.
Hand-me-downs, second-hand clothes. See REACH-ME-DOWNS.
Hand-saw, or CHIVE FENCER, a man who sells razors and knives in
the streets.
Handseller, or CHEAP TACK, a street or open-air seller, a man who
carries goods to his customers, instead of waiting for his customers to
visit him.
Hanging, in difficulties. A man who is in great straits, and who
is, therefore, prepared to do anything desperate to retrieve his fortunes,
is said, among sporting men, to be "a man HANGING," ie., a man to
whom any change must be for the better.
188
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Hangman's wages, thirteenpence halfpenny.-Old. 17th century.
"Sfoot, what a witty rogue was this to leave this fair thirteenpence halfpenny, and
this old halter," intimating aptly-
"Had the hangman met us there, by these presages
Here had been his work, and here his wages.
"J
Match at Midnight.
"
The clothes of the culprit were also the hangman's wages. See one of
Lord Bacon's aphorisms, beginning "A cursed page.
Hang out, to reside,—in allusion to the ancient custom of hanging out
signs.
Hang up, to rob with violence, to garrotte. Most likely from throttling
associations in connexion with the practice of garrotting.
Hannah, "that's the man as married HANNAH," a Salopian phrase to
express a matter begun or ended satisfactorily. Meaning actually,
"that's the thing."
Hansel, or HANDSEL, the lucky money, or first money taken in the
morning by a pedlar.-Cocker's Dictionary, 1724. Legs of mutton
(street term for sheep's trotters, or feet) two for a penny; who'll give
me a HANSEL? who'll give me a HANSEL?" Hence, earnest money,
first-fruits, &c. In Norfolk, HANSELLING a thing is using it for the
first time, as wearing a new coat, taking seisin of it, as it were.
Danish, HANDSEL; Anglo-Saxon, HANDSELEN.
Ha'porth o' coppers, Habeas Corpus.-Legal slang.
Ha'porth o' liveliness, the music at a low concert, or theatre.
Also a dilatory person.
Happy-go-lucky, careless, indifferent as to the favours or reverses of
fortune.
Haramzadeh, a very general Indian term of contempt, signifying base-
born.-Anglo-Indian.
Hard lines, hardship, difficulty. Soldiers' term for hard duty on the
LINES in front of the enemy. LINES was formerly synonymous with
Lot, see Ps. xvi. 6.-Bible version-" The LINES are fallen unto me in
pleasant places ;" Prayer-Book do.—“ The LOT is fallen unto me in a
fair ground.'
Hard mouthed un, any one difficult to deal with, a sharp bargainer,
an obstinate person. Derivation obvious.
Hard tack, ship biscuits. This is a term used by sailors to distinguish
their ordinary sea-bread from that obtained on shore, which is called
soft TACK, or soft tommy. HARD TACK is also a phrase used by the
London lower classes to signify coarse or insufficient food.
Hard-up, a cigar-end finder, who collects the refuse pieces of smoked
cigars from the gutter, and having dried them, smokes them, or sells
them as tobacco to the very poor. See TOPPER.
Hard-up, in distress, poverty-stricken.-Sea.
Hardy, a stone.—North.
Harebrained, reckless, unthinking.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
189
Harry, or OLD HARRY, (i.e., Old Hairy?) the Devil; "to play OLD
HARRY with one," i.c., ruin or annoy him.
Harry-soph (épíσopos, very wise indeed), a student of law or physic
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 a
Questionist.
Harum-scarum, wild, dissipated, reckless; four horses driven in a line.
This is also called SUICIDE. See TANDEM, RANDEM, UNICORN, &c.
Hash, a mess, confusion; a pretty HASH he made of it ;" to HASH UP,
to jumble together without order or regularity. The term also occurs
in the phrase to settle his HASH," which is equivalent to "give him
his gruel," or "cook his goose," i.e., to kill him.
Hatchet, "to throw the HATCHET," to tell lies.
the long bow."
Hatchet, "to sling the HATCHET,” to skulk. Sea.
Same as to draw
Hawbuck, a vulgar, ignorant, country fellow, but one remove from the
clodpole.
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, whose original
position in the vessel was forward-before the mast.-Navy.
Hay bag, a woman.
Haymarket Hectors, bullies who, in the interest of prostitutes,
affect the neighbourhood of Leicester Square and the Haymarket.
Haze, to confuse and annoy a subordinate by contradictory, unnecessary,
and perplexing orders.
Hazy, intoxicated, also dull and stupid.
Head-beetler, 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 posture
from accident. Nowadays a theatrical expression for any supposedly
daring jump of hero or heroine in sensational dramas.
Head or tail, "I can't make HEAD OR TAIL of it," i.e., cannot make
it out. Originally a gambling phrase.
Head-rails, the teeth.-Sea.
Head-serag, a master, overseer, or other important personage; from
SERANG, a boatswain.-Bengalee, and Sea.
Heap,
a HEAP of people," a crowd; "struck all of a HEAP," suddenly
astonished.
Heat, a bout, or turn, in horse or foot racing. By means of heats the
field is gradually reduced.
Heavy dragoons, bugs, in contradistinction from fleas, which are
light infantry."-Oxford University.
J
190
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Heavy wet, malt liquor-because the more a man drinks of it, the
heavier and more stupid he becomes.
"We saw the slop
Hedge, to get away from any dangerous spot.
coming, and HEDGED at once."
Hedge, to secure oneself from loss over one bet by making others.
HEDGING, as a system of betting, is entirely dependent upon what
happens in the market after a horse has been backed. From informa-
tion, or good judgment, a backer selects, say, three horses, A, B, and
C, whom he thinks likely to advance in the betting, and takes 50 to 1
say £1000 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
backer, who now becomes a HEDGER, succeeds in laying 5 to 1-say
£500 to £100-against B, and 2 to 1-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 HEDGER will receive £100 and pay£20;
balance in favour, £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 consider-
able; and he cannot lose, providing his information or judgment lead
to the required result. It must be borne in mind that very often a
man who feels inclined to go in for a HEDGING speculation, may back
half a dozen horses, not one of which sees a short price or goes to the
post; besides which it must never be forgotten, that, however well turf
speculations may look on paper, they are subject to the contingency
of the bets being honourably paid on settling-day-the Monday after a
race—when unfortunately there are often more "receivers" than
"payers" at the clubs. However, turf transactions are among profes
sionals conducted at least as honourably as are any other business
matters; and it is only the fledgling swell, to whom the Legislature
gives special opportunities of losing his money, who is generally
non est when paytime comes.
"The Druid" in Post and Paddock has
remarked :-
"The term HEDGING has been quite superseded by "laying off;" and we had, in
fact, quite forgotten it till we saw it stated in the papers lately, by a clergyman,
who did not answer a question on doctrine as the Bishop of Exeter exactly
liked, that his lordship addressed him to this effect: 'You are HEDGING, sir;
you are HEDGING !'"
Usually correct as "The Druid" was, he seems to have fallen into an
error here, as HEDGING, and "laying off," have been exchangeable
terms, as far as the oldest turfite can say. It should be remembered that
HEDGING is generally done with the man who has originally laid the
odds; for as a natural consequence, when the backer finds it convenient
to hedge, the layer finds it equally so to back the horse back,—the first
loss being considered always the best by bookmakers who are book-
makers. Besides which, the layer has generally a lot of "dead
money"-money to the good over horses he has laid against, which have
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
191
since been struck out-and this he profitably expends in backing cer-
tain horses back for the purpose of levelling up the book.
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 unsocial to the host and the company. See
DAY-LIGHT.
Heigh-ho! a cant term for stolen yarn, from the expression used to
apprize the dishonest shopkeeper that the speaker had stolen yarn to
sell.-Norwich Cant.
Hell, a fer hells." Reason obvious.
a fashionable gambling-house. Small places of this kind are called
silver
Hell and Tommy, utter destruction.
Helter-skelter, anyhow, without regard to order or precedence.
Hempen cravat, the hangman's noose.
Hen and chickens, large and small pewter pots.
Hen-pecked, said of one whose wife "wears the breeches." From
the action of the hen in paired cage-birds.
Herring-pond, the sea; to be sent across the HERRING-POND,” to
be transported.
Hiding, a thrashing. Webster gives this word, but not its root, HIDE,
to beat, to flay by whipping. Most likely from the part attacked. The
threat of thrashing is sometimes conveyed thus :-"I'll tan (or dress)
your HIDE.
>>
Higgledy-piggledy, confusedly, all together, -as pigs lie.
High and dry, an epithet applied to the soi-disant "orthodox" clergy
of the last century, for whom, while ill-paid curates did the work, the
comforts of the Establishment were its greatest charms.
"Wherein 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
modern High Church or Anglo-Catholic party, who now receive the
title at times; while their opponents receive the corresponding appel-
lation of "Low and Slow," and the so-called "Broad Church" is
defined with equal felicity as the "Broad and Shallow." Humourists
have divided these three portions of one Church into Attitudinarians,
Platitudinarians, and Latitudinarians.
High Church, term used in contradistinction from "Low Church."
Highfalutin', showy, affected, tinselled, affecting certain pompous or
fashionable airs, stuck up; come, none of yer HIGHFALUTIN' 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 generally now in the sense of fustian,
high-sounding, unmeaning eloquence, bombast.
High-flier, anything above the common order. Apt students, fast
192
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
coaches, and special trains are sufficient instances of the extreme open-
ness of the qualification.
High-fly, “ON THE HIGH-FLY," on the genteel or letter-bearing
begging system.
High-flyer, a genteel beggar or swindler. A begging-letter impostor.
High-flyer, a large swing, in frames, at fairs and races. The first fast
coaches were called high-flyers on account of their desperate speed.
66
High jinks, ON THE HIGH JINKS," taking up an arrogant position,
assuming an undue superiority. Scott explains this game in Guy
Mannering. Nowadays HIGH JINKS is often used to mean a jolli-
fication.
High-lows, laced boots reaching a trifle higher than ankle-jacks.
High-strikes, corruption of Hysterics.
Hipped, bored, offended, crossed, low-spirited, &c. This may have
been originally hypped, and have had some connexion with hypochon-
driacal affections.
Hitched, an Americanism for married. From the word HITCH, used in
America in the sense of to harness.
Hittite, a facetious sporting term for a prize-fighter. Derived from the
Bible.
Hivite, a student of St. Begh's College, Cumberland, which is pro-
nounced and generally written St. Bee's. Literally, Hive-ite.
Hoax, to deceive, or ridicule,-Grose says this was originally a Univer-
sity cant word. Corruption of HOCUS, to cheat.
Hob and nob, to act in concert with another; to lay "heads together;"
to touch glasses in drinking; to fraternize in a convivial meeting or
merry-making. Originally meaning "foot and head,"-the touching
of the top of one glass with the bottom of another, and then reversing
the order. Nowadays it means simply to clink glasses together as a
salutation before imbibing.
Hobbadehoy, a youth who has ceased to regard himself as a boy, and
is not yet regarded as a man.
Hobble, trouble of any kind.
A man is said to be in a HOBBLE when
he has offended the proprieties in any way, "from pitch and toss to
manslaughter."
Hobbled, committed for trial; properly said of animals fed by the way-
side, with their forelegs fastened together. Hence people who gather
burdens about them are said to get into HOBBLES.
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 the horse that stood in the
stall next the stable-door or none at all. He was a benefactor to
the town, and Hobson's Conduit still stands as a memorial of him.
Hock-dockies, shoes.
A
!
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
193
Hocks, the feet and ankles; CURBY HOCKS, round or clumsy feet and
ankles. Term originating with horsey men.
Hocus, to drug a person for purposes of robbery. The potion generally
consists of snuff and beer among rogues of the lowest class, and is by
them called " snuffing a bloke;" or sometimes, when the drug is
administered to a woman for purposes other than those of robbery,
“snuffing a blowen."
Hocus pocus, gipsy words of magic, similar to the modern " presto
fly." The gipsies pronounce "Habeas Corpus," HAWCUS PACCUS (see
Crabb's Gipsies' Advocate, p. 18); can this have anything to do with the
origin of HOCUS POCUS? Turner gives OCHUS BOCHUS, an old demon.
Pegge, however, states that it is a burlesque rendering of the words of
the Roman Catholic Church service at the delivery of the host, HOC
EST CORPUS, which the early Protestants considered as a species of
conjuring, and ridiculed accordingly.
Hodge, a countryman or provincial clown. Most country districts in
England have one or more families in the name of HODGE; indeed,
GILES and HODGE appear to be the favourite hobnail nomenclature.
HODGE is said to be simply an abbreviation of Roger.
Hog, a shilling.—Old Cant.
Hog,
"to go the whole HOG;" "the whole HOG or none," to do anything
with a person's entire strength, not “by halves;" realized 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 go the whole HOG" is frequently altered by those people
who believe there is wit in circumlocution, into "the entire animal,i
or the complete swine !"
Hoga, do. "That wont HOGA," i.e., that wont do, is one of the very
commonest of the Anglo-Indian slang phrases.
Hogmagundy, the process by which the population is increased.
"There's many a job that day begun
That ends in Hogmagundy."—Burns.
Hogmany night, New Year's Eve, when presents are solicited by the
young folk.-Scotch.
Hogo, a tremendous stench.
FOGO.
Hoisting, shoplifting.
From haut goût. Now often pronounced
Hold hard, an exclamation made when a sudden stoppage is desired.
Originally an expression used in riding or driving, now general.
(6
Hollow, to beat HOLLOW," to excel.
Holy Joe, a sea-term for a parson.
Holy Land, a very old term for the Seven Dials,-where St. Giles's
Greek is spoken.
Homo, a man. Lingua Franca; but see OMEE, the more usual Cockney
pronunciation.
Hondey, a Manchester name for an omnibus, and the abbreviation of
HONDEYBUSH, the original Lancashire pronunciation of the word.
A
194
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Honest shilling, a shilling earned by a process actually immoral, but
not positively illegal. The money earned by a prostitute is said to be
honest, as distinguished from that obtained by a thief. Probably from
the story of the converted burglar, who determined to sin no more
himself, and who lectured against dishonesty, but sent his wife out
regularly every evening with instructions to earn an HONEST SHILLING.
Honey blobs, a Scotch term for large ripe, yellow gooseberries.
Honour bright, an asseveration which means literally, "by my honour,
which is bright and unsullied." It is often still further curtailed to
HONOUR!" only.
Hook, an expression at Oxford, implying doubt, either connected with
Hookey Walker, or with a note of interrogation (?) "Yes, with a
HOOK at the end of it!" i.e., with some reservation, generally that of
doubt, by the speaker.
Hook, to steal or rob. See the following.
Hook or by crook, by fair means or foul-in allusion to the hook
with which footpads used to steal from open windows, &c., and from
which HOOK, to take or steal, has been derived. Mentioned in Hudibras
as a cant term.
>>
or
"be off about your business ;"
2)
Hook it, "get out of the way,'
generally varied by "take your HOOK." "To HOOK it," to run away,
to decamp; "on one's own HOOK, dependent upon one's own
exertions. Originally connected with the preceding, but now
perfectly on its own HOOK.
Hookey walker! ejaculation of incredulity, usually shortened to
WALKER!—which see.
Hooks. dropped off the HOOKS," said of a deceased person-possibly
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, which dropped off the hooks as they decayed.
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. Sometimes used as an irrelevant answer by street boys. As,
"who did that?"-" HOOK UM SNIVEY”—actually no one.
Hop, a dance.-Fashionable slang.
Hop merchant, a dancing master.
Hop o' my thumb, an undersized person. From the story of that
name. Portion of a set of phrases established for the benefit of the
small, in which Tomtit, Little Breeches, Daniel Lambert, Sixfoot,
Twentystun, &c., play a prominent part.
Hopping Giles, a cripple. St. Ægidius or Giles, himself similarly
afflicted, was the patron saint of lazars and cripples. The ancient lazar
houses were dedicated to him.
Hoppo, custom-house officer, or custom-house. Almost anything con-
nected with custom-house business.-Anglo-Chinese.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
195
"1
Hop the twig, to run away; also, a flippant expression meaning to die.
Many similar phrases are used by the thoughtless and jocose, as
"laying down one's knife and fork, pegging out," from the game
of cribbage, and "snuffing it." A new form of this phraseology is to
say that a man has "given up" or "given in."
Hornswoggle, nonsense, humbug.
Horrors, the low spirits, or "blue
Incipient del. trem.
Believed to be of American origin.
devils," which follow intoxication.
Horse, contraction of Horsemonger-Lane Gaol, also a slang term for a
five-pound note.
Horse, to flog. From the old wooden horse or flogging-stool.
Horsebreaker. See PRETTY HORSEBREAKER.
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, fill a beast with shot, plug him with
ginger, or in fact do anything so that he sells to advantage. See
COPER.
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 wont
believe it!" was a common rejoinder to a
"stiff yarn. A HORSE
MARINE (an impossibility) was used to denote one more awkward even
than an ordinary "jolly." Nowadays the MARINES are deservedly
appreciated as one of the finest regiments in the service.
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 sometimes said "to feed his opponent on
HORSE NAILS.
Horse nails, money.-Compare BRADS.
Horse's nightcap, a halter; "to die in a HORSE'S NIGHTCAP," to be
hanged.
Horsey, like a groom or jockey. Applied also to persons who affect the
turf in dress or conversation.
Hot coppers, the feverish sensations experienced in the 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 HOUSES," i.e., perfectly safe, apparently in allusion
to the paying character of house property as an investment. It is said
the phrase originated when the railway bubbles began to burst, and
when people began to turn their attention to the more ancient forms
of speculation, which though slow were sure.
Housewarming, the first friendly gathering in a new or freshly-occu-
pied house.
How-came-you-so ? intoxicated.
How much? A facetious way of asking for an explanation of any
196
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
difficult or pedantic expression. "Why don't you cook your potatoes
in an anhydrohepsaterion ?" A waggish listener might be excused for
asking, "An anhydro-HOW MUCH!"
How's your poor feet? an idiotic street cry with no meaning, much
in vogue a few years back.
Hoxter, an inside pocket.-Old English, OXTER.
slang word HUXTER, money, is derived from this.
the Irish, an armpit.
Probably the low
OXTER is, among
Hubble bubble, the Indian pipe termed a hookah is thus designated,
from the noise it makes when being smoked.
Huey, a town or village.- Tramps' term.
Huff, a dodge or trick; "don't try that HUFF on me," or
"that HUFF
wont do." Also a term in the game of draughts,—the penalty for
failing to take an opponent's piece when an opportunity occurs.
Huff, to vex, to offend; a poor temper. HUFFY, easily offended.
HUFFED, annoyed, offended. Some folk are tersely and truly described
as easily HUFfed.
Hugger-mugger, underhand, sneaking. Also, "in a state of HUGger-
MUGGER" means to be muddled.
Hulk, to hang about in hopes of an invitation. See MOOCH.
Hulky, extra-sized.—Shropshire. From this and from hulk we probably
get our adjective HULKING, as applied to the great lazy ruffians who
infest low neighbourhoods.
Hum and haw, to hesitate, or raise objections.—Old English.
Humble pie, to eat HUMBLE PIE," to knock under, to be submissive.
The UMBLES, or entrails, and other unprime parts of a deer, were
anciently made into a dish for servants, while their masters feasted off
the haunch.
Hum-box, a pulpit. This is a very old term.
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 for a long time objected to the adoption
of this term. Richardson uses it frequently to express the meaning of
other words, but, strange to say, omits it in the alphabetical arrange-
ment as unworthy 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 HUMBUG has been traced half a century
further 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 HUMBUGS," by Ferdinando Killigrew.
London, about 1735-40.
The notorious Orator Henley was known to the mob as ORATOR
HUMBUG. The fact may be learned from an illustration in that exceed-
ingly curious little collection of Caricatures, published in 1757, many
of which were sketched by Lord Bolingbroke-Horace Walpole filling
in the names and explanations. Halliwell describes HUMBUG as
'a
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
197
person who hums," and cites Dean Milles's MS., which was written about
1760. In the last century, the game now known as double-dummy was
termed HUMBUG. Lookup, à 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 bul-
letins and reports came during the war in the last century. Oh, that
is Hamburgh [or HUMBUG]," was the answer to any fresh piece of news
which smacked of improbability. Grose mentions it in his Dictionary,
1785; and in a little printed squib, published in 1808, entitled Bath
Characters, by T. Goosequill, HUMBUG is thus mentioned in a comical
couplet on the title-page:
"Wee Thre Bath Deities bee,
HUMBUG, Follie, and Varietee.'
""
66
Gradually from this time the word began to assume a place in perio-
dical literature, and in novels written by not over-precise authors. In
the preface to a flat, and most likely unprofitable poem, entitled, The
Reign of HUMBUG, a Satire, 8vo, 1836, the author thus apologizes for
the use of the word:-"I have used the term HUMBUG 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 correspondent, who in a number of Adversaria ingeniously
traced bombast to the inflated Doctor Paracelsus Bombast, considers
that HUMBUG may, in like manner, be derived from Homberg, the dis-
tinguished 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!
"§ 194. Of this there cannot be a better proof than the experiment of Mon-
sieur Homberg, who made gold of mercury by introducing light into its
pores, but at such trouble and expense that, I suppose, nobody will try the
experiment for profit. By this injunction of light and mercury, both bodies
became fixed, and produced a third different to either, to wit, real gold. For
the truth of which fact I refer to the memoirs of the French Academy of
Sciences."-Berkeley's Works, vol ii. p. 366 (Wright's edition).
Another derivation suggested is that of AMBAGE, 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 straight-
forward. Again, in the (burlesque) Loves of Hero and Leander
(date 1642), we find "MUM-BUG, quoth he, 'twas known of yore,'
cant expression, no doubt, commanding a person to
'shut up,
hold his tongue, and evidently derived from the game of mum-budget
or silence, upon which Halliwell (Dict. Arch.) has descanted.
a
or
AMBAGE is also used in the sense of "circumlocution." "Without any long studie
or tedious AMBAGE."-Puttenham, Art of Poesie.
Umh! y' are full of ambage."-Decker's Whore of Babylon, 1607.
"Thus from her cell Cumaan Sibyl sings
Ambiguous AMBAGES, the cloyster rings
With the shrill sound thereof, in most dark strains."
Vicar's Virgil, 1632.
198
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
&
De Quincey thus discourses upon the word :—
"The word HUMBUG, for instance, rests upon a rich and comprehensive basis; it
cannot be rendered adequately either by German or by Greek, the two richest
of human languages; and without this expressive word we should all be dis-
armed for one great case, continually recurrent, of social enormity. A vast
mass of villany, that cannot otherwise be reached by legal penalties, or brought
within the rhetoric of scorn, would go at large with absolute impunity were it
not through the stern Rhadamanthean aid of this virtuous and inexorable
word."-Article on "Language."
The original collater of these notes purchased the collection of essays
known as the Connoisseur at the sale of Thackeray's library. At the
end of vol. i. he found a memorandum in the great humourist's hand-
writing-"p. 108, 'HUMBUG,' a new-coined expression." On referring
to that page (in the 3rd edition, 1757) this paragraph was noted :-
"The same conduct of keeping close to their ranks was observed at table, where
the ladies seated themselves together. Their conversation was here also con-
fined wholly to themselves, and seemed like the mysteries of the Bona Dea, in
which men were forbidden to have any share. It was a continued laugh and
whisper from the 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, detestable, shocking, HUMBUG. This last new-coined expres-
sion, which is only to be found in the nonsensical vocabulary, sounds absurd
and disagreeable whenever it is pronounced; but from the mouth of a lady it
is 'shocking,'' detestable,' 'horrible,' and 'odious.'"
The use of this term is almost universal; in California there is a town.
called Humbug Flat-a name which gives a significant hint of the
acuteness of the first settler.
Humdrum, monotonous, 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 characterized by
less mystery and more pleasantry than the Freemasons."-Bacchus and
Venus, 1737. In the West the term applies to a low cart.
Humming, strong as applied to drink.
terized as HUMMING October."
not quite so strong.
Extra strong ale is often charac-
Maybe from its effect on heads
Hump, low spirits. A costermonger who was annoyed or distressed
about anything would describe himself as having "the HUMP."
Hump, to botch, or spoil.
Hump up, "to have one's HUMP UP," to be cross or ill-tempered-
like a cat with its back set up. See BACK and MONKEY.
Humpty-dumpty, short and thick; all of a heap; all together, like
an egg.
"HUMPTY-DUMPTY sat on a wall.”
Also a hunchback. HUMPTY is an abbreviated form of the expression.
Hunch, to shove, or jostle.
Hunks, a miserly fellow, a curmudgeon.
Hunky, an American term which means good, jolly, &c. As, "a HUNKY
boy," a good jovial fellow; and "everything went off HUNKY.”
Hunter pitching, the game of cockshies-three throws a penny.-
See COCKSHY.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
199
Hurdy-gurdy, a droning musical instrument shaped like a large fiddle,
and turned by a crank, used by Savoyards and other itinerant foreign
musicians in England, now nearly superseded by the hand-organ. From
the peculiar noise made by the instrument, which in Italy is called
"viola."
Hurkaru, a messenger.—Anglo-Indian.
Husbands' boat, the Saturday afternoon packet to Margate during
the summer season. So called for obvious reasons. The passengers
by this boat come in for an unusual share of attention from the cads
peculiar to this watering-place.
Husbands' tea, ery weak tea. See WATER BEWITCHED.
Hush-money, a sum given to quash a prosecution or stay evidence.
Money given to any one for the purpose of quieting him.
Hush-shop, or CRIB, a shop where beer and spirits are sold "on the
quiet"-no licence being paid.
Huxter, money. Term much in use among costermongers and low
sharpers. Probably from OXTER or HOXTER.
Hyps, or HYPO, the blue devils. From HYPOCHONDRIASIS.-Swift.
Hy-yaw! an interjectional exclamation of astonishment.-Angio-Chinese.
Ikey, a Jew "fence." Corruption of Isaac, a common Hebrew name.
Imperence, servant-girl currency for impudence or impertinence.
Now, then, Mr. IMPERENCE, leave off now, do," seems, however,
to have faded away with Greenwich, Bartlemy, and kindred fairs.
Improve the occasion, a slang term much in use among Chad-
bands and Stigginses, who never lose an opportunity of IMPROVING
the condition of either pockets or stomachs at the expense of the
credulous.
In,
to be IN with a person," to be even with, or up to him; also, to be
on intimate terms, or in partnership, with him.
Inexpressibles, UNUTTERABLES, UNMENTIONABLES,
UNWHISPER-
ABLES, or SIT UPONS, trousers, the nether garments. All affected terms,
having their origin in a most unpleasant squeamishness.
Infantry, nursery term for children; LIGHT INFANTRY, fleas.
In for it, in trouble or difficulty of any kind. As, "You're IN FOR IT,
I wouldn't stand in your shoes for a trifle."
In for patter, waiting for trial, referring to the speeches of counsel, the
statements of witnesses, the summing up of the judge, &c.,-the fuss
of which the prisoner sets down as "all so much PATTER.
Innings, earnings, good fortune; "he's had a long INNINGS," i.e., a
good run of luck, with plenty of cash flowing in. From the distinction
between INNINGS and outings at cricket and kindred games.
Inside lining, dinner, &c.
Interesting,
to be in an INTERESTING situation," applied to females
when enceinte.
Interview, to inspect privately with a
which shall be afterwards published.
view to obtaining information
Both the verb and its use have
P
200
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
their origin with our Transatlantic cousins, and "interviewing" by
means of special reporters, who question most minutely, is of frequent
occurrence, of occurrence whenever opportunity offers. Should a
man be found guilty of murder, or start as a candidate for the Presi-
dency, he will be INTERVIEWED by "our special correspondent," and
there are already signs of this objectionable form of newspaper work
finding its way here. Should a visitor of importance arrive in New
York, the conversation which passes, or is supposed to pass, between
him and the reporter will be found minutely described, with an elaborate
introduction. It is but fair to Americans, however, to say that the
gentleman to whom the credit, or discredit, of the invention of this
system belongs was a native of Great Britain, who invented many other
startling Americanisms during his residence in New York.
Into, "hold my hat, Jim, I'll 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. Often used, also, by people who know better, from their
desire for slang of any kind.
Ipsal dixal, Cockney corruption of ipse dixit—said of one's simple un-
corroborated assertion.
Irish American, an Irishman who has been for some time resident in
the States; sometimes a man born in America of Irish parents. The
Irish American body is a power in the United States, and is the fount-
spring as well as the maintaining power of all Fenianism.
Irish apricots, potatoes.
Irish Cockney, a child born of Irish parents in any part of the southern
counties of England. It is a singular fact that Irishmen born pro-
fess great abhorrence of IRISH COCKNEYS, while the latter despise all
Irish, and use the word as one of reproach. IRISH COCKNEYS were
originally only Cockneys born of an Irish strain, but the term has
proved very elastic, and threatens soon to mean any English-born person
whose descent is Hibernian. Liverpool will, however, always prove
an exception to the rule, as the name "Liverpool Irishmen" is given to
those who would in any southern part be called Cockneys.
Irish theatre, the temporary prison, guard-room, or lock-up in a bar-
racks. The fond fancy of the soldier supplies it with other figurative
appellations, as the mill, ""the jigger,
""" the house that Jack built."
In Edinburgh Castle it is termed "the dryroom."
Frons in the fire, a man is said to have too many IRONS IN THE FIRE
when he turns his attention to too many occupations or enterprises at
once.
Isthmus of 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 CRACKLE.
Ivories, teeth ; a box of IVORIES," a set of teeth, the mouth; "wash
The word is also used to denote dice.
your IVORIES," i.e., "drink.”
Jabber, to talk, or chatter. A cant word in Swift's time. Probably
from GIBBER.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
201
Jack, the knave of trumps, at the game of all-fours.
Jack-at-a-pinch, one whose assistance is only sought on an emergency.
Jack-in-the-water, an attendant at the watermen'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.
Jacked-up, ruined, done for. TO JACK-UP is to leave off doing any-
thing suddenly. See CHUCK-UP.
>>
Jacket, the skin of a potato which has not been pared before cooking.
In Ireland potatoes are generally served" with their JACKETS on.'
Jacketing, a thrashing. Similar term to leathering, cowhiding, &c.
Jackey, gin. Seven Dials originally. Nearly general now.
Jack-in-the-box, a small but powerful kind of screw, used by burglars
to break open safes.
Jack Ketch, the public hangman.-See KETCH.
Jack Nasty-face, a sailor.-Sea. NASTY-FACE is a term applied often
in London streets to an ugly or unpleasant-looking person.
Jacks, AND HALF-JACKS, card counters, resembling in size and appear-
ance sovereigns and half-sovereigns, for which they are occasionally
passed to simple persons. In large gambling establishments the "heaps
of gold" are frequently composed of JACKS. JACKS are not, as they are
sometimes supposed to be, counterfeit coins; they are simply little
medals, and so magsmen" and "street muggers" carry them with less
concern than they would feel were their pockets loaded with spurious
money.
tr
Jack Sprat, a diminutive boy or man.
Jack Tar, a sailor.
Jacob, a ladder.
Grose says, from Jacob's dream.-Old Cant.
Jacob's ladder, a longitudinal flaw in the leg of a ballet-girl's tights.
Jagger, a gentleman. German, JAGER, a sportsman.
Jail-bird, a prisoner, one who has been in jail.
James, a sovereign, or twenty shillings. From JACOBUS, the James II.
guinea.
Jannock, sociable, fair dealing.-Norfolk. Generally now JONNICK,
which see.
Japan, to ordain. Having evident reference to the black clothes which
follow ordination.-University.
Jark, a "safe-conduct" pass.-Oxford. Old cant for a seal.
Jarvey, the driver of a hackney-coach; "JARVEY'S upper Benjamin,” a
coachman's overcoat, with many capes. An ingenious etymology has
been found for JARVEY, thus :-JARVEY, vernacular for Geoffrey, which
was often written Geo. (gee-ho), hence JARVEY. This is open to con-
siderable objection, as George is shortened in similar manner to that
shown above. Still it is worthy of record, independently of its inge-
nuity, being as exact as many accepted derivations.
Jaw, speech, or talk; "hold your JAW," don't speak any more;
"what
are you JAWING about ?" i.e., what are you making a noise about?
P 2
202
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Jaw, to talk without cessation, to scold vehemently.
Jawbone, credit.
"We have a few persons whose pockets are to let-men who have more complaints
than dollars-individuals who, in digger's parlance, live on JAWBONE (credit),
and are always to be found at saloons; a class of men who, when they are here,
wish themselves yonder, and when yonder, wish themselves back."-Times
Correspondent, San Francisco, Oct. 21, 1862.
Jaw-breaker, a hard or excessively long word. Also, in pugilistic
sense, a hard blow on the side of the face.
Jaw-twister, a hard or many-syllabled word. Elaboration of preceding.
Jazey, a wig. A corruption of JERSEY, the name for flax prepared in a
peculiar manner, of which common wigs were formerly made;
Cove with the JAZEY," i.e., the judge.
"the
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.—Biblical.
Jeminy O! a vulgar expression of surprise.
Jemmy, a sheep's-head.-See SANGUINARY JAMES.
Jemmy, a short crowbar, which generally takes to pieces, for the conve-
nience of housebreakers.
Jemmy ducks, the man whose business it is to look after the poultry
on board a ship.-Sea.
Jemmy Jessamy, a dandy.
Jemmy-john, a jar for holding liquor; probably a corruption of demi-
gallon, by means of DEMI-JOHN.
Jeremiad, a lament; derived, of course, from the Book of Lamentations,
written by the Prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremy Diddler, an adept at raising the wind, i.e., at borrowing,
especially at borrowing with no intention of repaying. See the farce of
Raising the Wind.
Jericho, an improper quarter of Oxford. A lady visitor once writing her
name down in the visitors' book at the Bodleian or elsewhere, for a joke
put down her residence as "Jericho," to the no small disgust of her
undergraduate friend.-University.
Jerry, a chamber utensil; abbreviation of JEROBOAM.-Swift.
Jerry, a watch. "JERRY nicking" or 'JERRY sneaking" is watch-
stealing, which is a distinct form of street robbery, and requires both
courage and dexterity; for it is done, as the thieves say, right afore
a bloke's face.
Jerry, to jibe or chaff cruelly. Development of jeer.
Jerry-go-nimble, the diarrhoea. Derivation apparent.
((
Jerry Lynch, a pig's head pickled. Term usually applied to the long
Irish heads which are sent over here for sale in the poorer districts of
London, and which are vastly different from the heads of "dairy-fed"
porkers.
Jerry shop, a beer-house. Contraction of "Tom and Jerry."
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
203
Jerry Sneak, a hen-pecked husband,—a character in the Mayor of
Garret. Also, a stealer of watches.
Jerusalem pony, a donkey.
Jessie, "to give a person JESSIE," to beat him soundly. See GAS.
Jew fencer, a Jew street salesman.
Jew's eye, a popular simile for anything valuable. Probably a corrup-
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 JEWS' EYES, or equivalent sums of money. The Jews preferred
paying the ransom, although often very heavy. It is notorious that in
this country the order often went forth to draw Jews' teeth in the event
of their refusing to contribute so much to the Exchequer. A probable
idea is, that as a Jew's teeth brought in so much money, the value of a
JEW'S EYE must be something fabulous. Possibly, also, from the lex
talionis so strongly believed in by Jews,-an eye for an eye, and
nothing less. The term is used by Shakspeare.
Jezebel, a showily-dressed woman of suspected character; derived, of
course, from 2 Kings ix. 30, but applied in this sense from the time of
the Puritans. Also, a hot-tempered female.
Jib, a first-year man.— -Dublin University.
Jib, or JIBBER, a horse that starts or shrinks. Shakspeare uses it in the
sense of a worn-out horse.
Jib, the face, or a person's expression;
"the cut of his JIB," i.e., his pecu-
liar appearance. That sail of a ship, which in position and shape, cor-
responds to the nose on a person's face.-Sea. A vessel is often
known by the cut of the JIB sail; hence the popular phrase, "to know
a man by the cut of his JIB."
Jibb, the tongue.— Gipsy and Hindoo. (Tramps' term.) Thence extended
to mean language.
Jiffy, "in a JIFFY," in a moment.
Jigger, a door; "dub the JIGGER," shut the door. Ancient cant,
GYGER. In billiards, the bridge or rest is often termed the JIGGer.
Also, the curtain of a theatre. JIGGER has many meanings, the word
being applied to any small mechanical contrivance. Printers use the
word for a little machine which guides the eye when copy is minute.
Jigger, a secret still for the manufacture of illicit spirits.
Jigger, “I'm JIGGERED if you will," a common form of mild swearing.
See SNIGGER.
Jigger-dubber, a term applied to a gaoler or turnkey.
Jiggot o' mutton, a leg of mutton. From Fr. GIGOT.
Jilt, a crowbar or house-breaking implement.
Jingo, "by JINGO," a common form of oath, said to be a corruption of
ST. GINGOulph. Vide Halliwell.
Jo, Scotticism for a man or lover. As "John Anderson, my JO, John."
Job, “a a JOB lot," otherwise called a "sporting lot," any
"sporting lot," any miscellaneous
goods purchased at a cheap rate, or to be sold a bargain. Frequently
204
THE SLANG DICTIONARY
used to conceal the fact of their being stolen, or otherwise dishonestly
obtained.
Job, a short piece of work, a prospect of employment. Johnson describes
JOB as a low word, without etymology. It is, and was, 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 the
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-work, as opposed to time-work. A JOB in political
phraseology is a Government office or contract, obtained by secret
influence or favouritism. Any unfair arrangement is now called a JOB.
Job, a sudden blow, as "a jOв in the eye." Also used as a verb, "I'll
JOB this here knife in your ribs."
*
Jobation, a chiding, a reprimand, a trial of the hearer's patience.
Jobbery, the arrangement of jobs, or unfair business proceedings.
Job's comfort, reproof instead of consolation.
Job's comforter, one who brings news of additional misfortunes. Both
these words are of Biblical origin.
Job's turkey, as poor as JOB's TURKEY," as thin and as badly fed as
that ill-conditioned and imaginary bird.
Jocteleg, a shut-up knife. Corruption of Jacques de Liège, a famous
cutler.
Joe, a too marvellous tale, a lie, or a stale joke. Abbreviated from JOE
MILLER. The full name is occasionally used, as in the phrase "I don't
see the JOE MILLER of it," ie., I don't perceive the wit you intend, or
I don't see the fun of doing it,-whatever may have been the request.
Joey, a fourpenny piece. The term is derived (like BOBBY from Sir
Robert Peel) from Joseph Hume. The explanation is thus given in
Hawkins's 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 nickname of JOEYS. As
they were very convenient to pay short cab fares, the hon. M.P. was extremely
unpopular with the drivers, who frequently received only a groat where other-
wise they would have received a sixpence without any demand for change."
The term, therefore, was originated by the London cabmen, who have
invented many other popular phrases. Fancy offering a modern hansom
cabman a JOEY!
Jog-trot, a slow but regular trot, or pace.
Jogul, to play up, at cards or other game. Spanish, JUGAR.
John Blunt, a straightforward, honest, outspoken man.
Johnny, half-a-glass of whisky.—Irish.
Johnny_Darbies, a nickname for policemen, an evident corruption of
the French GENSDARMES. Also, a term applied to handcuffs. —See
DARBIES.
Johnny Raw, a newly-enlisted soldier.
-
John Orderly, the signal to shorten the performance at a show.
Whenever the master, who remains on the platform outside to take
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
205
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 spectators
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. This is like the old
story of the publican who used to call out to his waiter, "A pot of ale,
Robert," when he wished his customers to be served with the best
but "A pot of ale, Bob," when they had been drinking long enough
not to distinguish good stuff from the bad the latter order meant. One
day after calling for Bob many times, he reluctantly, at the request of a
visitor, tasted the ale, and found it was the best. Rushing out imme-
diately afterwards, and calling for Bob with all his voice, he was
answered by his wife, who said, "Why, Bob's been out these three
hours."
;
John Thomas, a generic for "flunkeys,'
flunkeys,"-more especially footmen
with large calves and fine bushy whiskers.
Jolly, a Royal Marine.-Sec HORSE MARINE.
Jolly, a word of praise, or favourable notice; "chuck Harry a JOLLY,
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 for laying out their money. This is called JOLLYING.
Chuck a JOLLY," lit. translated, is, throw " a shout" or "good word."
Jolly, to abuse or vituperate, sometimes to bear up" or "bonnet." To
JOLLY a man often means to give him a piece of one's mind. To
JOLLY "for" any one is another phase of the business mentioned in the
foregoing paragraph.
Jomer, a sweetheart, or favourite girl. See BLOWER,
Jonnick, right, correct, proper. Said of a person or thing.
Jordan, a chamberpot. To throw the contents of a chamberpot over
any one is to christen him.
Jorum, a capacious vessel from which food is eaten, as broth or stew.
Joskin, a countryman.
Jossop, the syrup or juice in a fruit pie or pudding. Also, sauce or gravy.
-School.
Jow, be off, be gone immediately. If the word Jehanum be added, it
forms a peremptory order to go to a place unmentionable to ears
polite.-Anglo-Indian. Our phrase, "Go to Jericho," is probably a
modification of the Jehanum business.
Judas, a deceitful person; JUDAS-HAIRED, red-haired, deceitful. It is
generally believed that JUDAS ISCARIOT was red-haired. Painters
seem to have accepted this idea, with modifications as to the exact
amount of colour.
Jug, a prison of any kind. Contraction of "stone jug."
Julep, one of a set of drinks peculiar to America. Generally prepared
with mint, and called a MINT-JULEP. Originally JULEP was a pleasant
206
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
liquid, in which nauseous medicines were taken. Its literal meaning
is rosewater, and it is derived from the Arabic.
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.
Jumped-up, conceited, arrogant, setting full value on oneself.
Jump-up-behind, to endorse an accommodation-bill.
Juniper, gin. Derivation obvious.
Junk, salt beef.-See OLD HORSE.
Juwaub, literally, in Hindostanee, an answer; but in Anglo-Indian
slang signifying a refusal. If an officer 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 JUWAUB.-Anglo-Indian.
Karibat, 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 offenders by throwing them overboard
with a rope attached, and hauling them up from under the ship's keel.
See full description of this barbarous practice in Marryat's Snarleyyow.
Keep a pig, an Oxford University phrase, which means to have a lodger.
A man whose rooms contain two bedchambers has sometimes, when
his college is full, to allow the use of one of them to a Freshman, who
is called under these circumstances a PIG. The original occupier is then
said to KEEP A PIG.
Keep it up, to prolong a debauch, or the occasion of a rejoicing,—a
metaphor drawn from the game of shuttlecock. People suffering from
the effects of drink are said to have been KEEPING IT UP.-Grose.
Kelter, coin, money. Probably from GELT.
Ken, a house.—Ancient cant. KHAN, Gipsy and Oriental.
*
** All slang and cant words which end in KEN, such as SPIELKEN,
SPINIKEN, or BOOZINGKEN, refer to houses, and are mainly of Gipsy
origin.
Kennedy, a poker; to "give KENNEDY" is to strike or kill with a
poker. A St. Giles's term, so given from a man of that name being
killed by a poker.
Kent rag, or CLOUT, a cotton handkerchief.
Kervorten, a Cockneyism for QUARTERN or quarter-pint measure.
"KERVORTEN and three houts," a quartern of liquor and glasses, each
holding a third of the quantity.
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 Macaulay's History of England.
kind. As,
As, "Here's a pretty
Kettle of fish, a mess or muddle of any kind.
KETTLE OF FISH !"
Key of the street, an imaginary instrument said to be possessed by
any one locked out of doors.
Kibosh, nonsense, stuff, humbug; "it's all KIBOSH," i.e., palaver or
nonsense; to "put on the KIBOSH," to run down, slander, degrade,
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
207
&c.
To put the KIBOSH on anything is, latterly, to put an effectual
end or stop to it.
Kick, a moment; "I'll be there in a KICK," i.e., in a moment.
Kick, a pocket; Gaelic, CUACH, a bowl, a nest; Scotch, QUAIGH.
Kick, a sixpence; "two and a KICK," two shillings and sixpence.
Kick the bucket, to die.-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 the following note from his MS. addi-
tions to the work of the East-Anglian lexicographer :--
"The allusion is to the way in which a slaughtered pig is hung up-viz., by passing
the ends of a bent piece of wood behind the tendons of the hind legs, and so
suspending it to a hook in a beam above. This piece of wood is locally termed
a BUCKET, and so by a coarse metaphor the phrase came to signify to die."
Another correspondent says the real signification of this phrase is to
commit suicide by hanging, from a method planned and carried out by
an ostler at an inn on the Great North Road. Standing on a bucket,
he tied himself up to a beam in the stable; he then KICKED THE
BUCKET away from under his feet, and in a few seconds was dead.
The natives of the West Indies have converted the expression into
"kickeraboo."
Kick over the traces, to be over-extravagant. Any one who has
come to grief by fast living is said to have KICKED OVER THE TRACES.
Kick up, a noise or disturbance.
Kick up,
to KICK UP a row," to create a tumult.
Kickeraboo, dead. A West Indian negro's phrase. See KICK THE
BUCKET, of which phrase it is a corruption.
Kickseys, or KICKSIES, trousers.
Kickshaws, trifles; made, or French dishes-not English or substan
tial. Anything of a fancy description now. Corruption of the French
QUELQUES CHOSES.
Kicksy, troublesome, disagreeable. German, KECK, bold.
Kid, an infant, or child. From the German kind; or possibly from the
name for the young of a goat. Also, a shallow dish in which sailors
receive their portions of food.
Kid, to joke, to quiz, to hoax anybody. "No KID, now?" is a question
often asked by a man who thinks he is being hoaxed.
Kidden, or KIDKEN, a low lodging-house for boys.
Kiddier, a pork-butcher.
Kiddily, fashionably or showily; "KIDDILY togg'd," showily dressed.
Kiddleywink, a small shop where are retailed the commodities of a
village store. Originally KIDDLE-A-WINK, from the offer made, with a
wink, to give you something out of the kettle or kiddle. In the west
country an alehouse. Also, a woman of unsteady habits.
Kiddy, a man, or boy. Formerly a low thief.
Kiddyish, frolicsome, jovial.
Think on the KIDDYISH spree we had on such a day.”
Randall's Diary', 1820.
208
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Now applied without
From "kid," a child, and
Kidment, humbug, coarse chaff or jocularity.
Kidnapper, originally one who stole children.
reference to the age or sex of those stolen.
"nab" (corrupted to "nap"), to steal, or seize.
Kidney, "of that KIDNEY," of such a stamp; "strange KIDNEY," odd
humour; “two of a KIDNEY,
"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."-Terræ Filius, 1763.
Kid-on, to entice or incite a person to the perpetration of an act.
Kidsman, one who trains boys to thieve and pick pockets successfully.
Kilkenny cat, a popular simile for a voracious 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.
66
Killing, bewitching, fascinating.
dressing to death."
The term is akin to the phrase
Kilt, an Irishism for badly beaten, but by no means equivalent with killed.
Kimbo, 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 SCHIMBO, bandy-legged, crooked, Italian; but more pro-
bably from KIMBAW, the old cant for beating or bullying. See Grose.
Celtic, CAM, crooked.
Kimmer, a gossip, an acquaintance, same as CUMMER.—
-Scotch.
"What's a' the steer, KIMMER?"
Kinchin, a child.—Old Cant. From the German diminutive, Kindchen,
KINDCHEN,
a baby.
Kinchin cove, a man who robs children; a little man.—Ancient Cant.
Kincob, uniform, fine clothes, richly embroidered dresses. Really, cloth
of gold or silver.-Anglo-Indian.
Kingsman, a handkerchief with yellow patterns upon a green ground,
the favourite coloured neckerchief of the costermongers. The women.
sometimes wear KINGSMAN kerchiefs thrown over their shoulders. A
coster will often imagine his caste, or position, is at stake, if his
KINGSMAN is not of the most approved pattern. When he fights, his
KINGSMAN is tied around his waist as a belt. This partiality for a
peculiar-coloured neckcloth is part of the fondness for gaudy colours
which at all times and in all countries has been shown by the unculti-
vated. A strange similarity of taste for, certain colours exists amongst
the Hindoos, Gipsies, and London lower classes. Red and yellow
(or orange) are the great favourites, and in these hues the Hindoo
selects his turban and his robe; the gipsy his breeches, and his wife
her shawl or gown; and the costermonger, his plush waistcoat and
favourite KINGSMAN. Among either class, when a fight takes place,
the greatest regard is paid to the favourite coloured article of dress.
The Hindoo lays aside his turban, the gipsy folds up his fancy
breeches or coat, whilst the pugilistic costermonger of Covent Garden
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
209
or Billingsgate removes his favourite neckerchief to a part of his body,
by the rules of the "ring," comparatively out of danger.
King's pictures (now, of course, QUEEN'S PICTURES), money.
Kisky, drunk, fuddled.
Kiss-curl, a small curl twisted on the temple. See BOWCATCHER.
Kisser, the mouth.-Pugilistic term.
Kissing-crust, the soft crust which marks where one loaf has been
broken from another.
Kiss-me-quick, the name given to the very small bonnets which have
of late years become fashionable.
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.
·
Kitna, how much?—Anglo-Indian.
Knacker, an old horse; a horse-slaughterer. Originally Gloucestershire.
but now general.
Knap, i.q., NAP, to break.-Old English, but nearly obsolete.
See Ps.
xlvi. 9 (Prayer-book version), "He breaketh the bow, and KNAPPETH
the spear in sunder;" probably sibilated into “ snap."
Knap, to receive, to take. Generally applied to the receipt of punish-
ments; "oh, my! wont he just KNAP it when he gets home!"
Knap, to steal.-Prison Cant.
Knapping-jigger, a turnpike gate; "to dub at the KNAPPING-JIGGER,”
to pay money at the turnpike.
Knark, a hard-hearted or savage person. The word is now usually
spelt NARK, and is applied to the lowest class of informers.
Knife, to KNIFE a person," to stab; an un-English custom, but a very
common expression.
Knife-board, the seat running along the roof of an omnibus.
"On 'busses' KNIFEBOARDS stretch'd,
The City clerks all tongue-protruded lay.
"
A Summer Idyll, by Arthur Smith.
Knife it, "cut it," cease, stop, don't proceed.
Knight, a common and ironical prefix to a man's calling-thus,
KNIGHT
of the whip," a coachman; "KNIGHT of the thimble," a tailor.
Knobstick, a non-society workman. One who takes work under price.
Knock about the bub, to hand or pass about the drink.
very old cant term for drink.
Knock-down, or KNOCK-ME-DOWN, strong ale.
Knocked-up, tired, jaded, used up, done for.
BUB is a
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.
1
210
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Knock-'em-downs, the game of skittles.
Knocker, "up to the KNOCKER, means finely or showily dressed, in
the height of fashion; proficient, equal to the task.
Knocker-face, an ugly face, i.e., like an old-fashioned door-knocker.
Knock-in, the game of loo.
:
Knocking-in, coming into college after time. A habit of KNOCKING-IN
late generally leads to some unpleasantness.-Oxford University.
Knocking-out. All visitors, on leaving a college after time, have to
state in whose rooms they have been, that his gate-bill may be scored
up for them.
When a rackety party takes place, the visitors, or
""out
college men,' are generally supplied with a list of the names of the
quietest men in college, so that the whereabouts of the party may not
be betrayed. Oxford University.
Knock-it-down, to show, in the "free and easy" style, approval of a
song or toast, by hammering with pot or glass on the table.
""
Knock off, to give over, or abandon. A saying used by workmen in
reference to dinner or other meal times, for upwards of two centuries.
Knock out, in racing parlance, to drive out of the quotations; as a
KNOCKED-OUT favourite. Also to make bankrupt; as a KNOCKED-
OUT backer or bookmaker. When a man cannot meet his engage-
ments on the turf, he is said to be KNOCKED OUT.
As
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 KNOCKED-OUT among
the confederates, and the difference between the first purchase and the
second-or tap-room KNOCK-OUT-is divided amongst the gang.
generally happens with 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. Within the past few years a few respectable auctioneers,
assisted much by one or two just and admirable magisterial decisions,
have succeeded in considerably limiting the efforts of the KNOCK-OUT
fraternity.
Knock-under, to submit.
Knowing, sharp, shrewd, artful; "a KNOWING codger," or "a KNOW-
ING blade," one who can take you in, or cheat you, in any transaction
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 KNOWING?"-Don Juan.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
211
>
KNOW, in this sense, enters into several slang phrases. "I KNOW
something," expresses that I am not to be taken in by any shallow
device. "He KNOWS a thing or two," i.e., he is a cunning fellow.
Knowledge-box, the head.-Pugilistic.
Knuckle, to fight with fists, to pommel.
Knuckle-duster, a large, heavy, or over-gaudy ring; a ring which
attracts attention from its size.
Knuckle-duster, an iron or brass instrument which covers the
knuckles so as to protect them from injury when striking a blow, add-
ing force to it at the same time. Sometimes a KNUCKLE-DUSTER has
knobs or points projecting, so as to mutilate and disfigure the person
struck. This brutal invention is American, but has been made familiar
here.
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.
Kotoo, to bow down before, to cringe, to flatter. From a Chinese ceremony.
Kubber, news.-Anglo-Indian.
Kudos, praise; KUDIZED, praised. Greek, kúdos.-University.
Kye, eighteenpence.
Kypsey, a basket. A term generally used by gipsies.
La! a euphuistic rendering of LORD! common amongst females and very
precise persons; imagined by many to be a corruption of LOOK! but
this is a mistake. Sometimes pronounced LAW, or LAWKS.
Lac, one hundred thousand.-Anglo-Indian.
Laced, strengthened with ardent spirits. Tea or coffee in which brandy
is poured is said to be LACED.
Lacing, a beating. From the phrase, "I'll LACE your jacket.
L'Estrange. Perhaps to give a beating with a lace or lash. Perhaps,
also, a figurative phrase for ornamenting the article in question with
stripes.
Ladder, "can't see a hole in a LADDER," said of any one who is intoxi-
cated. It was once said that a man was never properly drunk until he
could not lie down without holding, could not see a hole through a
LADDER, or went to the pump to light his pipe.
Ladies' mile, that part of Hyde Park where the feminine beauty, rank,
and fashion most do congregate during the airing hours of the London
season.
Lag, a returned transport, or ticket-of-leave convict.
Lag, to void urine.-Ancient Cant. In modern slang to transport, as
regards bearing witness, and not in reference to the action of judge or
jury.
212
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Lagged, imprisoned, apprehended, or transported for a crime. From the
Old Norse, LAGDA, "laid,"-laid by the leg.
Lagger, a sailor. Also, one who gives evidence; an informer.
Lagging gage, a chamber-pot.-Ancient Cant.
Lambasting, a beating. Perhaps LUMB-BASTING, from the lumbar-
regions.
Lamb's wool, spiced ale, of which the butler at Brasenose every Shrove
Tuesday supplies as much as is required at Hall, with a copy of verses
on the subject, generally written by a Brasenose man. One of these
poems began
Antiquum et vetus est
}dicere
Ale En Nas dicere laudes.
alienas
Oxford University.
LAMB'S WOOL is also a hot drink, well known to the community for
centuries. Supposed by some to be derived from Lammas, at which
time it was drunk, and by others to be derived from the similarity be-
tween the foam of the drink and the white wool obtained from lambs.
Lame duck, a stockjobber who speculates beyond his capital, and
cannot 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 Beaumont and
Fletcher. Not as Sir Walter Scott supposed, from one Dr. Lamb,
but from the Old Norse, LAM, the hand; also, Gaelic.
Lammy, a blanket.
Land-lubber, sea term for "a landsman."
Land-shark, a sailor's definition of a lawyer.
See LOAFER.
Lane, a familiar term for Drury Lane Theatre, just as Covent Garden
Theatre is constantly spoken of as "the Garden."
Lap, liquor, drink. LAP is the term invariably used in the ballet girls'
dressing-room for gin.
Lap, one circuit of a pedestrian enclosure. In running a race of any
distance one man is said to LAP another when he is
circuit in front.
one entire
LAP
Lap. LAP THE GUTTER, to get beastly and helplessly drunk.
means to drink.
LAP THE GATTER, to drink up the beer; a rare
LAPPER, a hard drinker.
Lark, a frolic, a joke; “let's have a jolly good LARK," let us have a
piece of fun.-Anglo-Saxon, LAC, sport; but more probably from the
nautical term SKYLARKING, i.e., mounting to the highest yards and
sliding down the ropes for amusement, which is allowed on certain
occasions.
Lark, to sport boisterously, to show a disposition for "going on the
spree."
Larrence, an imaginary being, supposed by the Scottish peasantry to
Hence laziness is often called
have power over indolent persons.
LARRENCE.
Larrup, to beat or thrash.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
213
Larruping, a good beating or hiding.—Irish.
Lashins, large quantities; as, "LASHINS of whisky." An Irishism in
common use.
Latchpan, the lower lip-properly a dripping-pan ; to hang one's
LATCHPAN," to pout, be sulky.—Norfolk.
Lavender, "to be laid up in LAVENDER;'
to be laid up in LAVENDER;" to be in pawn; to be
out of the way for an especial purpose. From the practice among
housewives of placing LAVENDER in drawers in which linen and clothes
are to be kept for any period.
Law, "to give LAW to an animal" is a sporting term signifying to give
the hare or stag a chance of escaping, by not setting on the hounds
till the quarry has run some distance. Also, used for giving any
one a chance of succeeding in a difficult undertaking by allowing him
so much grace or preliminary notice.
Lay, a pursuit or practice, a dodge.
thieves.
Term in this sense much used by
Lay, in wagering, to bet against a man or animal.
in racing slang into layers and takers; they are
bookmakers and backers.
Betters are divided
otherwise known as
Lay, some, a piece. "Tip me a LAY of pannum," ¿.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. Compare PEGGING-OUT,
HOPPING THE TWIG, and similar flippancies.
Lead, or FRIENDLY LEAD, a gathering at a low public-house, for the
purpose of assisting some one who is "in trouble" (in these cases
trouble always means imprisonment), who has just come out of
trouble," or who is in want of a "mouthpiece."
A LEAD is different
from a raffle, inasmuch as no article is put up or thrown for, but in the
course of the evening some friend of the troubled one LEADS OFF by
putting a certain sum in a plate, and the remainder of the party follow
the LEAD with whatever they can spare. Sometimes people pay as
they enter the room, but this does not alter the title or character of the
meeting. In every other respect a LEAD is similar to a raffle; songs,
dances, drinking, and a general desire to increase the bastardy averages
being the most conspicuous features of the entertainment. Irish LEADS
and raffles are characterized by less vice and more quarrelling than
those of the lower orders of English people.
Leary, flash, knowing, artful, sly.
Leary bloke, a clever or artful person.
Leather, to beat or thrash. Probably from allusion to the skin, which is
often called LEATHER. Some think the term is from the LEATHER
belts worn by soldiers, which are often used as weapons in street rows.
Most likely from there being "nothing like LEATHER "with which
to administer a thrashing.
Leathern conveniency, a carriage. A Quaker being reprimanded
by the Society of Friends for keeping a carriage, "contrary to the
1
;
214
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
1
ancient testimonies," said, "it is not a carriage I keep, but merely a
LEATHERN-CONVENIENCY." See under SIMON PURE, in the Introduc-
tion.
Leaving shop, or DOLLY SHOP, an unlicensed house where goods are
taken into pawn at exorbitant rates of interest.
Led captain, a fashionable spunger, a "swell" who by artifice ingra-
tiates himself into the favours of the master of the house, and lives at
his table. Probably from the fact that a real captain leads, but that
a sham one is led-to the dinner-table.
Leer, empty.—Oxfordshire. Pure German, as is nearly so the next word.
Leer, print, newspaper. German, LEHREN, to instruct; hence Old Eng-
lish, LERE, spelt in the LEER. See SPELL. Old Cant.
""
Leg, a part of a game. In some old games there are so many LEGS to the
chalk, and so many chalks to the game. Sometimes the LEGS are
called chalks, and the chalks LEGS-one word is as good as another,
provided an agreement is made beforehand.
Leg, or BLACKLEG, a disreputable sporting character and racecourse
habitué; that is, one who is disreputable among sporting men.
Leg-and-leg, the state of a game when each player has won a LEG. In
Ireland a LEG is termed a horse, LEG-AND-LEG being there termed
"horse-and-horse."
Leg bail, the bail or security given by absence. To give LEG BAIL is to
run away.
Leg it, to run; "to give a LEG," to assist, as when one mounts a horse
"making a LEG, a countryman's bow,-projecting the LEG from
behind as a balance to the head bent forward.-Shakspeare.
Leg-of-mutton, humorous street term for a sheep's trotter, or foot.
Leg of mutton fist, a large, muscular or bony hand.
Length, forty-two lines of a dramatic composition.-Theatrical.
Length, six months' imprisonment. See STRETCH.
Let alone, an expression which signifies "much less" as used in com-
parative statement or argument. "I cannot afford five shillings, LET
ALONE five pounds." Barham, in one of the Ingoldsby Legends, says :-
"I have not had, this livelong day, one drop to cheer my heart,
Nor brown to buy a bit of bread with-LET ALONE a tart.'
Let drive, to strike at, or attack with vigour.
Let in, to cheat or victimize. "He let me in heavily."
"
Common in
Let on, to give an intimation of having some knowledge of a subject.
Ramsay employs the phrase in the Gentle Shepherd.
Scotland.
Let the cat out, or LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG, a common phrase,
which implies that a secret is to be or has been let out.
Letty, a bed. Italian, LETTO.-Lingua Franca.
Levanter, a card-sharper, or defaulting gambler. It was formerly the
custom to give out to the creditors, when a person was in pecuniary
clifficulties, and it was convenient for him to keep away, that he was
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
215
gone to the East, or the LEVANT; hence, when one loses a bet, and
decamps without settling, he is said to LEVANT. The LEVANT was
also a notorious place for queer customers, who would do anything
rather than pay.
Its reputation is not particularly odorous even now.
Levy, a shilling.-Liverpool. Among labourers a LEVY is a sum obtained
before it is due, something to keep a man going till Saturday-night
comes, or his task is finished.
Liberty, ground let in parts of Yorkshire for shooting purposes.
Lick, a blow; LICKING, a beating; "to put in big LICKS,' a curious
and common phrase, meaning that great exertions are being made.—
Dryden; 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 but singularly expressive term for a parasite, who
puts up with indignities for the sake of advantages.
Lifer, a convict who is sentenced to imprisonment 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 Shakspeare. SHOPLIFTER is a recognised term. Old Gothic,
LLIFAN, to steal; Lower Rhenish, LÖFTEN.
Lig, a lie, a falsehood.—Lancashire. In old ballads the word "lie" is
often spelt "LIG." In old Saxon, LIG is to lie, but to lie as in a bed.
Light, credit, trust; "to get a LIGHT at a house” is to get credit. When
a man's credit is stopped, his LIGHT is said to be put out.
means life. "I'll put your LIGHT out" is a murderous threat.
Light Bob, a light infantry soldier.—Military.
Light Feeder, a silver spoon.
Lightning, gin; “flash o' LIGHTNING,” a glass of gin.
LIGHT also
Lights, a worthless piece of meat; applied metaphorically to a fool, a
soft or stupid person.
Lights, the eyes. Also, the lungs ; animals' lungs are always so called.
Lil, a book, generally a pocket-book.—Gipsy.
Lily Benjamin, a great white coat.
Limb, a troublesome or precocious child.
See BENJAMIN.
Limb of the law, a lawyer, or clerk articled to that profession.
Limbo, a prison, from LIMBUS or LIMBUS PATRUM, a mediæval theo-
logical term for purgatory. The Catholic Church teaches that LIMBO
was that part of hell where holy people who died before the Redemption
were kept.
Line, a hoax, a fool-trap; as, "to get him in a LINE," i.e., to get some
sport out of him.
Line, calling, trade, profession; "what LINE are you in ?" "the building
LINE.
>>
Q
A
216
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
.
Liner, a casual reporter, paid by the line. Diminutive of "
liner."
penny-a-
Lingo, talk, or language. Slang is termed LINGO amongst the lower
orders. Italian, LINGUA.-Lingua Franca.
""
Lint-scraper, a young surgeon. Thackeray, in Lovel the Widower,
uses the phrase, and gives, also, the words " Esculapius, 'Pestle-
grinder," and "Vaccinator," for the same character.
Lionesses, ladies visiting an Oxford man, especially at "Commemora-
tion," which is the chief time for receiving feminine visitors at the
University.
Lion-hunter, one who hunts up, and has a devout veneration for, small
celebrities. Mrs. Leo Hunter, in Pickwick, is a splendid specimen of
this unpleasant creature.
Lionize, to make much of any visitor with small or moderate claims to
distinction; to conduct a stranger round the principal objects of attrac-
tion in a place; to act as cicerone.
Lions, notabilities, either persons or sights worthy of inspection; an
expression dating from the times when the royal lions at the Towe
before the existence of Zoological Gardens and travelling menageries,
were a London wonder, to visit which country cousins and strangers
of eminence were constantly taken. Visitors taken round at Cambridge
to see the sights are, or were, called LIONS. The origin of the Tower
collection was the three leopards sent by the Emperor Frederic to
Henry III., as a living illustration of the royal arms of England. In
the roll of John de Cravebeadell, constable of the Tower (B. M. Top.
Collections, iii. p. 153), is a charge of 3d. per day "in support of the
leopard of our lord the king." Edward III., when Prince of Wales,
appears to have taken great interest in the animals; and after he
became king, there was not only the old leopard, but "
t : one lion, one
lioness, and two cat-lions," says Stowe, "in the said Tower, com-
mitted to the custody of Robert, son of John Bowre." The menagerie
was only abolished in 1834; and the practice was to allow any person
to enter gratis who brought with him a little dog to be thrown to the
lions -Dr. Doran's Princes of Wales.
Lip, talk, bounce, impudence; come, none o' yer LIP !"
Lip, to sing; "LIP us a chant," sing a song.
Liquor, or LIQUOR UP, to drink drams.-Americanism. In LIQUOR,
tipsy, or drunk.
Little go, the old term for the examination now called SMALLS.
Little snakes-man, a little thief, who is generally passed through a
small aperture to open a door and let in the rest of the gang.
Liverpool Irishman, any man born in Liverpool of Irish parents.
See IRISH COCKNEY.
Liverpudlian, a native of Liverpool.
Live-stock, vermin of the insect kind, especially of that more than
usually unpleasant kind found on tramps, &c.
t
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
217
Loafer, a lazy vagabond. Generally considered an Americanism. LOPER,
or LOAFER, however, was 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.
Loaver, money. See LOUR.-Lingua Franca.
Lob, a till, or money-drawer.
Lob-sneaking, stealing money from tills; occasionally stealing tills
and all.
Lobb, the head.-Pugilistic.
Loblolly, gruel.-Old: used by Markham as a sea-term for grit gruel,
or hasty pudding.
Loblolly boy, a derisive term for a surgeon's mate in the navy.
"LOB-LOLLY-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 seaman as
the author of this poem."-The Patent, a Poem, 4to, 1776.
Lobs! schoolboys' signal on the master's approach. Also, an assistant
watcher, an under gamekeeper.
Lobs, words, talk.-Gipsy.
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 LOGGERHEADS," to come to blows.
Logie, theatrical jewellery, made mostly of tin.
Loll, to lie about lazily. "He would LOLL upon the handle of the door,'
said of an incorrigibly lazy fellow.
Lolly, the head. See LOBB.-Pugilistic.
London ordinary, the beach at Brighton, where the "eight-hours-at
the-sea-side" excursionists dine in the open-air.
Long-bow. See DRAW THE LONG BOW.
Long firm, a gang of swindlers who obtain goods by false pretences.
They generally advertise or answer advertisements. The word LONG is
supposed to be from a playful allusion made by one of the firm to the
length of their credit.
Long-ghost, a tall, thin, awkward person.
post.
>>
Long-headed, far-seeing, clever, calculating.
Sometimes called "lamp-
Long-hundred, a Billingsgate expression for 120 fresh herrings, or other
small fish, the long-hundred being six score.
Long-odds, the odds which denote that the man or animal laid against
has, or is supposed to have, little or no chance.
Long-shore butcher, a coast-guardsman.-Sea. All people who get
their livings by the side of the Thames below bridge are called LONG.
SHORE folk.
Q 2
218
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Long-tailed beggar, a cat. The tale that hangs thereby runs thus :—
A boy, during his first very short voyage to sea, had become so
entirely a seaman, that on his return he had forgotten the name of the
cat, and was obliged, pointing to puss, to ask his mother "what she
called that 'ere LONG-TAILED BEGGAR?" Accordingly, sailors, when
they hear a freshwater tar discoursing too largely on nautical matters,
are very apt to say, "But how, mate, about that 'ere LONG-TAILED
BEGGAR ?"
Long-tailed-one, a bank-note or flimsy" for a large amount.
Long-tails, among shooters, are pheasants; among coursers and dog-
fanciers they are greyhounds.
Longs, the latrine at Brasenose, so called because built by LADY LONG.
-Oxford University.
Longs-and-shorts, cards made for cheating.
Looking-glass, a facetious synonym for a pot de chambre. This is
very old.
The term arose from the fact that in ancient times this
utensil was the object of very frequent examination by the medical
fraternity. There is an old story of a lady who called at an inn, and
called for a LOOKING-GLASS to arrange her hair, and who was pre-
sented with a chamber utensil.
Loony, a silly fellow, a natural. Corruption of LOONEY TICK (lunatic).
Sometimes corrupted to LOOBY.
Loose. See ON THE LOOSE.
Loose-box, a brougham or other vehicle kept for the use of a dame de
compagnie. A more vulgar appellation is "mot-cart," the con-
temptuous sobriquet applied by the envious mob to a one-horse
covered carriage.
Loose-box, a stable in which a horse is not tethered, but remains loose.
Loot, swag or plunder; also used as a verb. The word came much into
vogue during the latest Chinese campaign.
Lope, this old form of leap is often heard in the streets. To LOPE is also
to steal. German, LAUfen.
Lop-sided, uneven, one side larger than the other. See Jacob Faithful.
Lord, a humpbacked man. See MY LORD.
Lord, "drunk as a LORD," a common saying, probably referring to the
facilities a man of fortune has for such a gratification; perhaps a sly
sarcasm at the supposed habits of the aristocracy. This phrase had its
origin in the old hard drinking days, when it was almost compulsory
on a man of fashion to get drunk regularly after dinner.
Lord-mayor's-fool, an imaginary personage who likes everything that
is good, and plenty of it.
Lothario, a "gay" deceiver; generally a heartless, brainless villain.
Loud, flashy, showy, as applied to dress or manner. See BAGS.
Lour, or LOWR, money; "gammy LOWR," bad money. From the Walla-
chian Gipsy word, LOWE, coined money. Possibly connected with the
French, LOUER, to hire.-Ancient Cant and Gipsy.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
219
Louse-trap, a small-tooth comb.-Old Cant. See CATCH-'EM-ALIVE.
Love, at billiards, rackets, and many other games, nothing five points to
none would be "five LOVE,"-a LOVE game being when one player does
not score at all. The term is also used at whist, "six LOVE,
"""four
LOVE," when one side has marked up six, four, or any other number,
and the other none. A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for July,
1780, derives it either from LUFF, an old Scotch word for the hand, or
from the Dutch, LOEF, the LOOF, weather-gauge (Sewell's Dutch Dic-
tionary, 4to, 1754); but it more probably, from the sense of the
following, denotes something done without reciprocity.
Love, "to do a thing for LOVE," i.e., for nothing. A man is said to marry
for LOVE when he gets nothing with his wife; and an Irishman, with
the bitterest animosity against his antagonist, will fight him for LOVE,
i.e., for the mere satisfaction of beating him, and not for a stake.
Loveage, tap droppings, a mixture of stale spirits, sweetened and sold to
habitual dram-drinkers, principally females. Called also “alls."
Low-water, but little money in pocket, when the finances are at a low
ebb.
Lubber, a clown, or fool.-Ancient Cant, LUBBARE.
an awkward fellow, a landsman.
Among seamen
Lubber's hole, an aperture in the maintop of a ship, by which a timid
climber may avoid the difficulties of the "futtock shrouds ;" hence as
a sea-term the LUBBER'S HOLE represents any cowardly way of evading
duty.
Luck, "down on one's LUCK," wanting money, or in difficulty.
Lucky, "to cut one's LUCKY, to go away quickly. See STRIKE.
Ludlam's dog. An indolent, inactive person is often said to be as lazy
as LUDLAM'S DOG, which leaned its head against the wall to bark.
Sailors say "as lazy as Joe the Marine, who laid down his musket to
sneeze.
Lug,
>>
""
my togs are in LUG," i.e., in pawn.
Lug, to pull, or slake thirst.—Old.
Lug chovey, a pawnbroker's shop.
Luke, nothing.-North Country Cant.
Lully, a shirt.
،،
Lully prigger, a rogue who steals wet clothes hung on lines to dry.
Lumber, to pawn or pledge.
pawn or pledge. Probably from LOMBARD.
Lumbered, pawned; sometimes imprisoned.
Lummy, jolly, first-rate.
Lump, anything exceptionally large, “as a LUMP of a man, a great
LUMP of a fellow," &c.
Lump, the workhouse; also called the Pan.
Lump it, to dislike it; "if you don't like it, you may LUMP IT;" some-
times varied to, "if you don't like it, you may do the other thing."
220
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Probably from the fact that, in bulk or in lump, the good has to be
taken with the bad. What you don't like must be reckoned with the
LUMP. To LUMP IT is also to take off at a draught, as medicine or a
dram. "He LUMPED IT down at once."
Lump the lighter, to be transported.
Lump work, work contracted for, or taken by the LUMP.
Lumper, a contractor. On the river more especially a person who con.
tracts to deliver a ship laden with timber.
Lumper, a low thief who haunts wharves and docks, and robs vessels,
also a person who sells old goods as new.
Lumpy, intoxicated. Also used to signify enceinte.
Lunan, a girl.—Gipsy.
Lurch, a term at the game of cribbage. A is said to LURCH B when
the former attains the end, or sixty-first hole, of the board before the
latter has pegged his thirty-first hole; or, in more familiar words,
before B has turned the corner. A LURCH Sometimes, and then only
by agreement, counts as a double game or rub.
Lurk, a sham, swindle, or representation of feigned distress. An impo-
sition of any kind is a LURK.
It is
Lurker, an impostor who travels the country with false certificates of
fires, shipwrecks, &c. Also, termed a SILVER BEGGAR, which see.
Lush, intoxicating drinks of all kinds, but generally used for beer.
generally allowed, as has been stated, that LUSH and its derivatives
claim Lushington, the brewer, as sponsor.
Lush, to drink, or get drunk.
Lush-crib, a public-house.
Lushington, a drunkard, or one who continually soaks himself with
lush. Some years since there was a LUSHINGTON CLUB in Bow
Street, Covent Garden.
Lushy, intoxicated. Johnson says, "opposite to pale," so red with drink.
He must, however, have been wrong, as the foregoing derivation shows.
Lylo, come hither.-Anglo-Chinese.
Lynch-law, summary punishment. From an American judge famous
for hanging first and trying afterwards.
Mab, a cab, or hackney-coach.
""
Mace, to sponge, swindle, or beg, in a polite way: "give it him (a shop-
keeper) on the MACE," i.e., obtain goods on credit and never pay for
them; also termed ""
striking the MACE.
Mace, to welsh, to obtain money without any expectation of being able to
pay or intention of paying.
Maceman, or MACER, a welcher, magsman, or general swindler; a
street-mugger."
Madza, half. Italian, MEZZA.
This word enters into combination with
various cant phrases, mainly taken from the Lingua Franca, as MADZA
CAROON, half-a-crown, two-and-sixpence; MADZA SALTEE, a halfpenny
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
221
[see SALTEE]; MADZA POONA, half-a-sovereign; MADZA ROUND THE
BULL, half a pound of steak, &c. This word is, in street phraseology,
invariably pronounced MEDZER.
Mag, a halfpenny.-Ancient Cant, MAKE. MEGS were formerly guineas.
B. M. Carew. MAKE, the old form, is still used by schoolboys in
Scotland. "Not a blessed MAG!" would be the phrase of a cadger
down on his luck to express his penniless state.
Mag, literary and printers' slang for magazine.
Mag, to talk; hence MAGPIE. To MAG in thieves' slang is to talk well
and persuasively.
Maggoty, fanciful, fidgety. Whims and fancies were formerly termed
MAGGOTS, from the popular belief that a maggot in the brain was the
cause of any odd notion or caprice a person might exhibit. Deer are
sometimes found to have maggots in their brains, which, perhaps,
accounts for the origin of the term.
Magsman, a street swindler, who watches for countrymen and "gullible"
persons, and persuades them out of their possessions. MAGSMEN are
wonderful actors. Their work is done in broad daylight, without any
stage accessories; and often a wink, a look, or a slip of the tongue
would betray their confederacy. Their ability and perseverance are
truly worthy of a better cause. MAGSMEN are very often men of supe-
rior education. Those who "work" the tidal trains and boats are often
faultlessly dressed and highly accomplished.
Mahcheen, a merchant, Chinese pronunciation of the English word.-
Anglo-Chinese.
Mahogany, "to have one's feet under another man's MAHOGANY," to
sit at his table, be supported on other than one's own resources;
amputate your MAHOGANY," i.e., go away, elaboration of "
cut your
stick."
Mahogany flat, a bug.
Mail, to post a letter; "this screeve is mailed by a sure hand."
Main-toby, the highway, or the main road. See TOBY.
Make, any one is said to be " on the MAKE" who asks too high a price
for his goods, or endeavours in any way to overreach.
Make, to steal, a successful theft or swindle. A man on the look-out for
swindling opportunities is said to be "on the MAKE.
Make tracks, an Americanism synonymous with skedaddle; to make
oneself scarce.
Make-up, personal appearance.-Theatrical.
Makings, materials. A man is often said to have the MAKINGS of a good
politician (or whatever' he may aspire to be) in him, if they were but
properly applied.
Malapropism, an ignorant, vulgar misapplication of language, so
named from Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Sheridan's famous
comedy of the Rivals. Mrs. Partington afterwards succeeded to the
mantle of Mrs. Malaprop; but the phrase Partingtonism is as yet
222
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
uncoined, for the simple reason that Mrs. Malaprop was the original,
Mrs. Partington the imitation,
Malley, a gardener.-Anglo-Indian.
Manablins, broken victuals.
Man a-hanging, a man in difficulties. See HANGING:
Mandozy, a term of endearment among East-end Jews; probably from
the valiant fighter named Mendoza.
Mang, to talk.—Scotch.
Man-handle, to use a person roughly, as to take him prisoner, turn him
out of a room, or give him a beating.
Man in the moon, the gentleman who is supposed to find the
"pieces" to pay election expenditure and electors' expenses, so long
as the latter vote his way. See ELECTION INQUIRIES.
Marbles, furniture, movables; "money and MARBLES," cash and per-
sonal effects.
Marchioness, a little, dirty, old-fashioned maid-of-all-work; a title
now in regular use, but derived from the remarkable character in the
Old Curiosity Shop.
Mare's nest, a supposed discovery of marvels, which turn out no marvels
at all; from a story similar to that about the cock neighing. Three
Cockneys, out ruralizing, had determined to find out something about
nests. Accordingly, when they ultimately came upon a dungheap,
they judged by the signs therein that it must be a MARE'S NEST, espe-
cially as they could see the mare close handy. An old preacher in
Cornwall up to very lately employed a different simile, as, “It's like
a cow calving up in a tree.
Marine, or MARINE RECRUIT, an empty bottle. This expression having
once been used in the presence of an officer of marines, he was at first
inclined to take it as an insult, until some one adroitly appeased his
wrath by remarking that no offence could be meant, as all that it could
possibly imply was, one who had done his duty, and was ready to
do it again.
"}
Mark, to make one's MARK is to achieve a success literary, artistic, or
otherwise. Men of eminence are said to leave their MARKS on the
earth's surface. An American poet has described this ambitious,
albeit somewhat rare, proceeding as leaving "footprints on the sands
of time."
Marketeer, a betting man who devotes himself, by means of special
information, to the study of favourites, and the diseases incident to that
condition of equine life. The MARKETEER is the principal agent in all
milking and knocking-out arrangements.
Market-horse, a horse simply kept in the betting-lists for the purpose
of being betted against.
Marplot, an officious bungler, who spoils everything he interferes with.
Marriage lines, a marriage certificate.—Provincial.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
223
Marrow, a mate, a fellow-workman, a pitman who works in a "shift"
with another.—Northumberland and Durham.
Marrow-bones, the knees; "I'll bring him down upon his MARROW
BONES," i.c., I'll make him bend his knees as he does to the Virgin
Mary. Supposed to be from Mary Bones, an objectionable term used
by the first Protestants in reference to the supposed adoration of the
Virgin Mary by Catholics.
Marrowskying. See MEDICAL GREEK.
Marry, a very old term of asseveration, originally (in Popish times) a
mode of swearing by the Virgin Mary ; q.d., by Mary.
Martingale, a gambling term, which means the doubling of a stake
every time you lose; so that when you win once you win back all
that you have lost. So called from the fact that, as in all fair games
you must win once, you have a safe hold of fortune. The difficulty is
to obtain a bank large enough to do this effectively, or having the bank
to find any one who will follow you far enough, in a fair game.
Mary Ann, the title of the dea ex machinâ evolved from trades-unionism
at Sheffield, to the utter destruction of recalcitrant grinders. She is
supposed to do all the "blow-ups," steal all the bands, and otherwise
terrorize over victims of the union.
Marygold, one million sterling. See PLUM.
Maskee, never mind, no consequence.— Anglo-Chinese.
Massacre of the innocents, when the leader of the House of Com-
mons goes through the doleful operation of devoting to extinction a
number of useful measures at the end of the session, for want of time.
to pass them.
Vide Times, 20th July, 1859: Mr. C. Foster, on
altering the time of the legislative sessions.—Parliamentary Slang.
Master of the Mint, a gardener.
Master of the Rolls, a baker.
>>
Mate, the term a coster or low person applies to a friend, partner, or com
panion; "me and my MATE did so and so, is a common phrase with
a low Londoner. Originally a sea term.
Matey, a labourer in one of Her Majesty's dockyards. Common elabora-
tion of the word MATE.
Maudlin, Magdalen College, Oxford. This is the old English pronun-
ciation of the word.
Mauley, a fist, that with which one strikes as with a mall.-Pugilistic.
Mauley, a signature, from MAULEY, a fist; "put your fist to it," is
sometimes said by a tradesman when desiring a fellow-trader to put his
signature to a bill or note.
Maund, to beg; MAUNDERING on the fly," begging of people in the
streets.-Old Cant. MAUNG, to beg, is a term in use amongst the
gipsies, and may also be found in the Hindoo vocabulary. MAUNd,
however, is pure Anglo-Saxon, from MAND, a basket. Compare BEG,
which is derived from BAG-a curious parallel.
224
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Maw, the mouth; "hold your MAW," cease talking.
Mawworm, a hypocrite of the most unpleasant kind. From Bickerstaff's
play of The Hypocrite. Originally a MAWWORM was a worm in the
stomach, the thread worm.
Max, gin; MAX upon tick, gin obtained upon credit.
Mazarine, the platform beneath the stage in large theatres. Probably
corruption of Italian, MEZZANINO.
M. B. coat, (i.e., Mark of the Beast,) a name given to the long surtout
worn by some of the clergy,--a modern Puritan form of abuse, said to
have been accidentally disclosed to a High Church customer by a tailor's
orders to his foreman.
Mealy-mouthed, soft-spoken, plausible, deceitful.
A specious liar is
said to be MEALY-MOUTHED.
Mean white, a term of contempt among negroes, in the old slavery days,
for white men without landed property. A white man in the Southern
States had no locus standi unless he possessed property, and the blackest
of niggers would have felt insulted at any "poor white trash" claim-
ing to be " a man and brother.'
Measley, mean, miserable-looking, "seedy;" what a MEASLEY-looking
man!" i.e., what a wretched, unhappy fellow.
Medical Greek, the slang used by medical students at the hospitals.
At the London University they have a way of disguising English, de-
scribed by Albert Smith as the Gower Street Dialect, which consists
in transposing the initials of words, c.g., "poke a smipe"-smoke a
pipe; flutter-by"-butterfly, &c. This disagreeable nonsense, which
has not even the recommendation of a little ability in its composition,
is often termed Marrowskying. See GREEK, St. Giles's GREEK, or the
Egidiac" dialect, Language of ZIPH, &c.
::
Meisensang, a missionary, Chinese pronunciation of the English word.
-Anglo-Chinese.
Menagerie, the orchestra of a theatre.-Theatrical.
Menavelings, odd money remaining after the daily accounts are made
up at a railway booking-office,—usually divided among the clerks.
See OVERS and SHORTS.
Men of Kent, men born in that portion of the "garden of England
which lies east of the Medway, as distinguished from Kentish men
born the other side. The MEN OF KENT are entitled to the benefit of
the old laws of the county, that of gavelkind particularly.
Merkin, a term usually applied to a woman's privities. Originally false
hair for those parts.
Merry Dun of Dover, a large ship figuring in sailors' yarns. She
was so large that when passing through the Straits of Dover her flying
jib-boom knocked down Calais steeple; while, at the same time, the
fly of her ensign swept a flock of sheep off Dover cliffs. She was so
lofty that a boy who attempted to go to her mast-head found himself a
grey old man when he reached the deck again. This yarn is founded
on a story in the Scandinavian mythology. There is also a legend
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
225
among sailors of the gallant Thunderbomb, which had "ninety-nine
decks and no bottom.
Mesopotamia, a name given to Eaton Square and neighbourhood when
first built. This part was also called Cubitopolis.-Fashionable slang.
Mess, to interfere unduly. Costermongers refer to police supervision as
MESSING. Among sailors, a dead man is said to have lost the number
of his MESS.
Metallician, a racing bookmaker.
and pencils.
Bookmakers use metallic books
Middy, abbreviation of midshipman.-Naval.
Midge net, a lady's veil.
Mike, an Irish hodman, or general labourer.
Mike, to loiter; or "lazy about." The term probably originated in St.
Giles's, which is thronged with Irish labourers, who rarely or never
labour (MIKE being so common a term with them as to become a
generic appellation for Irishmen), and who loiter and lean against the
public-houses in the "Dials." It has been said that the term is Old
English, MICHE, to skulk, to loiter; Old Norse, MAK, leisure, idle-
ness.
"Shall the blessed sun of heaven prove a MICHER?"
Shakspeare's Hen. IV., ii. 4.
Whatever may have been its origin, there can be now no doubt that
the word is supposed to have particular reference to the habits of the
Irish MIKES, or labourers, though now and again it is borrowed in the
interests of others.
Mild, second-rate, inferior. See DRAW IT MILD. Also feeble, inefficient,
as a MILD attempt. Weak young men who keep bulldogs, and
dress in a "loud" stable style, from a belief that it is very becoming,
are sometimes called "MILD bloaters.
Milk, a term used in connexion with racing; when a horse is entered in
a race for which his owner does not intend him to run, or at all events
in which he does not intend him to win, and bets against him, the animal
is said to "be MILKED. MILKING, is keeping a horse a favourite, at
short odds, for a race in which he has no chance whatever, or in which
he will not be allowed to try, for the purpose of laying against him.
Milky ones, white linen rags.
Mill, a fight, or set to. Ancient Cant, MYLL, to rob. Probably from
the special opportunities afforded to pickpockets when the ring was
a "national institution."
Mill, to fight or beat.
Mill, the old Insolvent Debtors' Court. "To go through the MILL" was
equivalent to being "whitewashed."
Mill, the tread-MILL.
Miller. To drown the MILLER is to put too much water in anything.
The phrase was originally "to drown the MILLER'S thumb," or go over
the specified mark, i.e., the thumb-mark, in adding water to ardent
spirits.
226
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Miller.." To give the MILLER" is to engage a person in conversation of an
apparently friendly character, when all at once the bystanders surround
and pelt him with flour, grease, and filth of various kinds, flour pre-
dominating. This mode of punishing spies, informers, and other
obnoxious individuals, is used by cabmen, omnibus nductors, et hoc
genus omne. Eggs are useful missiles in an engagement of this
description. If rotten eggs are not obtainable, ordinary ones will do.
Miller. This word is frequently called out when a person relates a stale
joke. See JOE.
Milvader, to beat.
Mish, a shirt, or chemise. From COMMISSION, the ancient cant for a
shirt, afterwards shortened to K'MISH or SMISH, and then to MISH.
French, CHEMISE; Italian, CAMICIA.
"With his snowy CAMESE and his shaggy capote."-Byron.
Mitey, a cheesemonger.
Mitten. "To get the MITTEN" is, in Canadian slang, to be jilted.
Mittens, the boxing gloves.
Mizzle, a frequentative form of MIST in both senses; as applied to
weather, it is used by John Gadbury in his Ephemeris in 1695-
MISTY and MIZZLING-to come down as mist; while the other
sense may be expressed as to fade away like a mist.
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."-Hood.
Mizzler, or RUM-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 which was some few
years back fashionable among ladies, and ladylike swells of the other
sex. From the Scripture phrase, "MOAB is my washpot " (Ps. lx. 8),
which latter article the hat in question was 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 NOB is of
"nobility," 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 words, that in familiar writings and con-
versation they often lose all but their first syllables, as in MOB., red., pos.,
incog., and the like."-Addison's Spectator.
our own MOB;" MOBSMAN,
Mob, a thief's immediate companions, as,
a dressy swindler or pickpocket.
Mob, to hustle, crowd round, and annoy, necessarily the action of a large
party against a smaller one, or an individual. Mobbing is generally a
concomitant of street robbery.
Mobility, the populace; or, according to Burke, the "great unwashed.
Johnson calls it a cant term, although Swift notices it as a proper
expression.
་་
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
227
Mockered, holey, marked unpleasantly. A ragged handkerchief and a
blotched or pitted face are both said to be MOCKERED.
Modest quencher, a glass of spirits and water.
fond of a MODEST QUENCHER.
Moey, the mouth.-Gipsy and Hindoo.
mouths.
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'
Dick Swiveller was
Shakspeare has MOE, to make
"take some-
Mofussilite, an inhabitant of an up-country district.-Anglo-Indian.
Moisten your chaffer, a slang phrase equivalent to
thing to drink. Also ""
moisten your clay," originally applied to
smokers, now general, and supposed to have reference to the human
clay.
Moke, a donkey.-Gipsy, but now general to all the lower orders. A
"coster" and his "moke" are almost inseparable terms. Probably
derived originally from the Arabic al mocreve, a carrier.
Moko, a name given by sportsmen to pheasants killed by mistake
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 Cani.
Molled, followed, or accompanied by a woman.
When a costermonger
sees a friend walking with a woman he does not know, he says on the
first opportunity afterwards, "I see yer the other night when yer was
MOLLED up and too proud to speak.’
Mollisher, a low girl or woman; generally a female cohabiting with a
man who gets his living by thieving.
Mollsack, a reticule, or market basket.
“Take away this
See M. T.
Moll Thomson's mark, that is, M. T.-empty; as,
bottle, it has MOLL THOMSON'S MARK on it.
Moll-tooler, a female pickpocket.
Mollycoddle, an effeminate man; one who "coddles " amongst the
women, or does their work.
Mollygrubs, or MULLIGRUBS, 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. Costermongers are not alone,
even in the present day, in this belief.
Molrowing,
'out on the spree," in company with so-called "gay
women. In allusion to the amatory serenadings of the London cats.
Another form of this is, out on the tiles.
CC
>>
Mondayish, or Mondayfied, disinclined for work.
"St. Monday" is
a great institution among artizans and small tradesmen.
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; this is old, and was pro-
bably in allusion originally to the evil spirit which was supposed to be
always present with a man; also under similar circumstances a man is
said to have his back or hump up.
228
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Monkey, the instrument which drives a rocket.--Army.
Monkey, 500l.—Sporting Slang.
Monkey, the vessel in which a mess receives its full allowance of grog.–
Sea.
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.
Monniker, a person's name or signature.
Month of Sundays, an indefinite period, a long time.
Mooch, to sponge; to obtrude oneself upon friends just when they are
about to sit down to dinner, or other lucky time-of course quite ac-
cidentally. Compare HULK.
pay for the entertainment.
See the following.
To slink away, and allow your friend to
In Wiltshire, TO MOOCH is to shuffle.
Mooching, or ON THE MOOCH, on the look-out for any articles or cir-
cumstances which may be turned to a profitable account; watching in
the streets for odd jobs, horses to hold, &c. ; also scraps of food, drinks,
old clothes, &c.
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 of
four weeks. A calendar month is known as a "callingder" or long MOON.
A "lunar MOON," ridiculous as the phrase may seem, is of constant
use among those who affect slang of this description.
Mooney, intoxicated, a name for a silly fellow.
Mooning, loitering, wandering about in a purposeless manner.
Moonlight, or MOONSHINE, smuggled spirits. From the night-work of
smugglers.
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 often "about to be
taken" to put down these assemblies, which have been proved to be
greatly detrimental to the morality of the poor. They are supposed
to contribute largely to the bastardy percentages.
"To be on
Mop, an habitual drunkard. Also a period of intoxication.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
229
the MOP" is to be on the drink from day to day-to be perpetually
"stale drunk."
Mop up, to drink, or empty a glass.-Old Sea term.
Mops and brooms, intoxicated. Supposed by an imaginative person
to be the appearance presented by the world to a very drunkenman.
Possibly the term was first used to express sea-sickness.
Mopusses, money; MOPUSSES ran taper," money ran short.
Moral, a forthcoming result which appears certain-originally MORAL cer-
tainty. This is racing slang, as, "The race is a MORAL for Cremorne."
These MORALS are often, however, of very uncertain tenure.
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
MORE-ISH flavour."
Morris, to decamp, be off. Probably from the ancient MORESCO, or
MORRIS-DANCE. See Shakspeare.
Mortar-board, a square college cap.
Mortgage-deed, a pawnbroker's duplicate.
Moskeneer, to pawn with a view to obtaining more than the actual value
of an article. There are, in various parts of the country, men who make
MOSKENEERING a profession—that is, they buy jewellery which, though
fairly good, is not so good as it seems, and pawn it as opportunity
occurs. It is notorious that some men can obtain a much larger sum
on a given article than others can; though the smallest of these pro-
fessionals generally manage to get good livings, which does not say
much for the judgment of those constant inspectors of personal pro-
perty-pawnbrokers' assistants.
Mot, a girl of indifferent character.
KAST, a harlotry.
Mouchey, a Jew.
Formerly, Mort. Dutch, MOTT-
MOT-CART, see LOOSE-BOX.
Mouldy, grey-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 MOULDY-
GRUBBING.
Mount, a saddle-horse. According to quality, "a good MOUNT," or a
bad MOUNT.
Mount, in theatrical parlance, to prepare for production on the stage.
The piece was excellently MOUNTED.
Mounter, a false swearer. Derived from the borrowed clothes men used
to MOUNT, or dress in, when going to swear for a consideration.
Mountain-dew, whisky, advertised as from the Highlands.
Mountain-pecker, a sheep's head. See JEMMY.
Mourning, a full suit of MOURNING," two black eyes; HALF-
MOURNING, one black eye.
230
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Mouse, a black eye. By a façon de parler, any one with “ a MOUSE" is
supposed to have been to Blackwall.
Mouth-almighty, a noisy, talkative person.
Mouthpiece, a lawyer, or counsel. Thieves and their associates always
speak of a counsel as a MOUTHPIECE.
Move, a dodge," or cunning trick; "up to a MOVE or two," acquainted
with tricks. Probably derived from the game of chess.
M.P., member of the police, one of the slang titles of the Force.
Mrs. Grundy, the representative of the censorious world,
"What will
MRS. GRUNDY say?" Originally a character in the comedy of Speed
the Plough.
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
Charles Dickens's popular novel of Martin Chuzzlewit, who continually
quoted an imaginary MRS. HARRIS in attestation of the superiority of
her qualifications, and the infallibility of her opinions; and thus
afforded a parallel to the two newspapers, which appealed to each other
as independent authorities, being all the while the production of the
same editorial staff. See introductory article.
Mrs. Jones, the house of office, a water-closet.
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, his luck's dead in; he'd MUCK
a thousand; "he MUCKED me clean out," &c. To RUN A MUCK,
or GO A MUCKER, to rush headlong into certain ruin. From a certain
religious frenzy, or intoxication caused by bhang, which is common
among the Malays, and which now and again causes an enthusiast,
kreese in hand, to dash into a crowd and devote every one he meets to
death until he is himself killed, or falls from exhaustion.-Maïay,
AMOK, slaughter.
Muckender, or MUCKENGER, a pocket-handkerchief.-Old. Cf. SNOT-
TINGER. The original name of the "Neckinger" in Bermondsey
was "the Devil's Neck-handkerchief." There is still a Neckinger
Road and Messrs. Bevington and Sons' tannery in Bermondsey bears
the name of the Neckinger Mills.
Mucker, TO GO A, to go to grief, to ruin one's prospects.-Oxford Univ.
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.
Mud-crusher, a word of contempt, used by the cavalry in reference to
the infantry.
Mudfog, "The British Association for the Advancement of Science."
Term first used by Charles Dickens in Bentley's Miscellany, about
1836.
TIIE SLANG DICTIONARY.
231
Mud-lark, a man or woman who, with clothes tucked above the knee,
grovels through the mud on the banks of the Thames, when the tide
is low, for silver or pewter 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, and who wear 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, a duffer; MUFF has been defined to
be " a soft thing that holds a lady's hand without squeezing it."
Muffin-cap, a cap similar to that worn by a charity-boy.
Muffin-face, a white, soft, delicate, or whiskerless face.
Muffin-worry, an old lady's tea party.
Mufti, the civilian_dress of a naval or military officer when off duty.-
Anglo-Indian. From an Eastern word signifying a clergyman or priest.
Mug, the mouth, or face.-Old.
"GOBLET AND MUG.'-Topers should bear in mind that what they quaff from the
goblet afterwards appears in the MUG."
Mug, to strike in the face, or fight.
Also, to rob or swindle. Gaelic,
MUIG, to suffocate, oppress; Irish, MUGAIM, to kill, destroy.
Mug, "to MUG oneself," to get tipsy.
Mugging, a thrashing,-synonymous with " slogging," both terms of
the "ring," and frequently used by fighting men.
Muggy, drunk. Also, as applied to weather, stifling, oppressive.
Mug-up, to paint one's face, or dress specially with a view to imperso-
nation. Theatrical. To "cram" for an examination.-Army.
Mull, to make a MULL of it," to spoil anything, or make a fool of one-
self.
Mulligrubs. Vide MOLLYGRubs.
Mullingar heifer, a girl with thick ankles.-Irish.
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 next
one he met. 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 kertever, very bad. Italian, MOLTO CATTIVO.
Generally
used with the affix of bloke when referring to a man. Phrase much
used by circus riders.
Mum, "to keep MUM," to hold one's peace. Hence "MUM's the word,"
a phrase which implies to all hearers that the matter to which it refers
must remain secret.
Mummer, a performer at a travelling theatre.-Ancient. Rustic per-
formers at Christmas in the West of England.
R
232
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Mump, to beg. In Lincolnshire, Boxing-day is known as MUMPING
DAY.
Mumper, a beggar. A collector of holiday tribute.
Mumps, the miserables. To feel MUMPISH is to be heavy, dull, and
stupid.
Mundungus, trashy, coarse tobacco.
Sometimes used to represent the
half-soddened, half-calcined residuum at the bottom of an all-but-
smoked-out pipe, which, when knocked out, is vulgarly called the
TOPPER, 2.v. Spanish, MONDONGO, black pudding.
Mungarly, bread, food. MUNG is an old word for mixed food, but MUN-
GARLY is doubtless derived from the Lingua Franca, MANGIAR, to eat.
See the following.
Mungarly_casa, a baker's shop; evidently a corruption of a
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 mangiare," i.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, MANGIARE being Italian, and Nix (German, NICHTS), an
evident importation from Trieste, or other Austrian seaport.
Munging, or MOUNGING, whining, begging, muttering.-North.
Muns, the mouth. German, MUND.-Old Cant.
Murerk, the mistress of the house. See BURERK.
Murkarker, a monkey, vulgar Cockney pronunciation of MACAUCO,
a species of monkey. Jacko Macauco, or Maccacco, as he was mostly
called, was the name of a famous fighting monkey, who used nearly
fifty 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,
MURPHY being a surname common amongst the Irish. MURPHIES
(edible) are sometimes called DONOVANS.
Murphy, "in the arms of MURPHY," i.e., fast asleep. Corruption of
MORPHEUS.
Mush, an umbrella.
Contraction of MUSHROOM.
Mush (or MUSHROOM) faker, an itinerant mender of umbrellas.
Mushroom, a hat, shaped like the fungus from which it takes its name,
often worn by demure ladies.
Muslin, a woman or girl; "he picked up a bit of MUSLIN.”
Musta, or MUSTER, a pattern, one of a sort. Anglo-Indian term used in
describing the make or pattern of anything. A sample of any kind of
merchandize. This word is very generally used in commercial transac- -
tions all 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
employed by Ben Jonson in his masque of Neptune's Triumph, whch
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
233
was written for display at Court on Twelfth Night, 1623; "a fine
LACED MUTTON or two," are the words applied to wantons. Shakspeare
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," which, by the way, in this place does not mean the
woman so much as something else.
Mutton chops, a sheep's-head. A man who has dined off sheep's-head
dignifies his meal by calling it MUTTON CHOPS (chaps).
Mutton-fist, an uncomplimentary title for any one having a large aud
muscular, bony, or coarse 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
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 garrotte.
Muzzler, a blow in the mouth; a dram of spirits.
Muzzy, intoxicated.
My aunt, AUNT JONES, or MRS. JONES, the closet of decency, or house
of office.
My lord, a nickname given to a hunchback.
My tulip, a term of endearment used by the lower orders to persons and
animals; "Kim up, MY 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! only at MY UNCLE's" is
the reply.
'Up the 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 rust," to take offence.—Ancient, four-
teenth century. See NAP.
Nab the rust, to take offence.
Nabob, an Eastern prince, a retired Indian official,—hence a slang term
for a capitalist. From Nawaub.
Nabs, self; my NABS, myself; his NABS, himself.-North Country Cant.
Nag, to persistently talk in a scolding manner, after the manner of Mrs.
Caudle. NAGGING is supposed to be persistent, persevering, passion-
less scolding.
Nail, to steal, or capture; "paid on the NAIL," i.e., paid ready money;
NAILED, taken up, or caught,-probably in allusion to the practice of
NAILING bad money to the counter. We say, "as dead as a door-NAIL;"
most possibly because of "apt alliteration." Shakspear ehas the ex-
pression in Henry IV.—
Falstaff What! is the old king dead?
Pistol. As NAIL in door.'
"
Dickens, in that marvellous little book, A Christmas Carol, says :—
R 2
234
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
<:
Old Marley was as dead as a DOOR-NAIL.
'Mind! I don't mean to say that I know of my own knowledge what there is par-
ticularly dead about a DOOR-NAIL. I might have been inclined myself to
regard a COFFIN-NAIL as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But
the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall
not disturb it, or the country's done for. You will, therefore, permit me to
repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a DOOR-NAIL.
Nail in one's coffin, a dram, a drop o' summat' 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 NAIL IN MY COFFIN." This is probably in ridicule of
teetotal or temperance preachers, and the arguments adduced by them.
Another phrase with old topers is "shedding a tear," also "wiping an
eye."
Namby-pamby, particular, over-nice, effeminate. This was possibly of
Pope's invention, and first applied by him to the affected short-lined
verses addressed by Ambrose Phillips to Lord Carteret's infant children.
See Johnson's Life of Pope.
Nammus, or NAMOUS, to be off, to get away; "let's NAMMUS, some-
body's coming." See VAMOS.
Nanny-shop, a disreputable house.
Nantee, not any, or "I have none." NANTEE also means "shut up!"
or "leave off!" Italian, NIENTE, nothing. See DINARLY.—Lingua
Franca.
Nantee palaver, no conversation, i.e., hold your tongue. Very often
in this sense also shortened to NANTEE only. Originally Lingua
Franca, but now general.
Nap, or NAB, to take, steal, or receive;
catch a beating.--North; also Old Cant.
you'll NAP it," i.e., you will
Nap, to break, or rap with a hammer. See KNAP.—North.
Nap, or NAPPER, 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.
obvious. See NAP and NIX, i.e., NICHTS.
Nap one's bib, to cry, shed tears, or carry one's point.
Nap the regulars, to divide the booty.
Nap the teaze, to be privately whipped in prison.
The derivation is
Nark, a person in the pay of the police; a common informer; one who
gets his living by laying traps for publicans, &c.
nose.
"
66
Sometimes called a
Nark, to watch, or look after; NARK the titter," watch the girl.
Narp, a shirt.—Scotch.
Narrow, mean, sordid.-Scotch. In common slang, dull of comprehen-
sion, as distinguished from wide awake.
Nasty, ill-tempered, cross-grained.
ill-humoured.
'He was very NASTY," i.e., he was
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
235
Nation, or TARNATION, very, or exceedingly. Corruption of damna-
tion.
Natty, pretty, neat, tidy.-Old.
Natural, an idiot, a simpleton. Sometimes HALF-NATURAL.
Navvy, an excavator employed in making railways, canals, &c. Origi-
nally slang, but now a recognised term. Short for navigator, a term
humorously applied to excavators when their chief work was that of
cutting and banking canals, making dykes to rivers, &c.
N. C., "enough said," being the initials of NUF CED. A certain theatrical
manager spells, it is said, in this style.
Near, mean and stingy.
Neardy, a person in authority over another; master, parent, or foreman.
-North.
Neat, unmixed with water. "Two half goes of gin, one NEAT, the other
cold," meaning one as drawn, the other diluted with cold water. The
Americans use the word "straight" instead of NEAT: "I'll take mine
straight.'
>>
Neck, to swallow. Neck-oil, drink of any kind.
Neck and crop, entirely, completely; "he chuck'd him NECK AND
CROP out of window."
Neck and neck. Horses run NECK AND NECK in a race when they are
so perfectly equal that one cannot be said to be before the other.
Neck or nothing, desperate. Originally a steeplechase phrase.
Neck beef,a synonym for coarseness. "As coarse as neck ends of beef."
Neckinger, a cravat. See MUCKENGER.
Ned, a guinea. HALF-NED, half-a-guinea.
Neddy, a considerable quantity, as a NEDDY of fruit,'
fish," &c.-Irish slang.
>> a NEDDY of
Neddy, a donkey. On Sunday, when a costermonger, if at all well to do,
takes his family out for an airing in his "shallow," the donkey is called
"Eddard."
Neddy, a life preserver. Possibly contraction of Kennedy, the name
of the first man, it is said in St. Giles's, who had his head broken by a
poker.
Ned Stokes, the four of spades.-North Hants. See Gentleman's Maga-
zine for 1791, p. 141.
Needful, money, cash; the " one thing NEEDFUL " for the accomplish-
ment of most pet designs.
Needle, to annoy. To "cop the NEEDLE" is to become vexed or annoyed.
Needy mizzler, a shabby person; a tramp who runs away without
paying for his lodging.
Never trust me, an ordinary phrase with low Londoners, and common
in Shakspeare's time, vide Twelfth Night. It is generally used instead
of an oath, calling vengeance on the asseverator, if such-and-such does
not come to pass.
!
1
236
THE SLANG DİCTİÓNARY.
Newgate fringe, or FRILL, the collar of beard worn under the chin;
so called from its occupying the position of the rope when Jack Ketch
operates. Another name for it is a TYBURN COLLAR.
Newgate Knocker, the term given to the lock 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.
Newmarket, in tossing, when the game is "two out of three," that is,
when he who gains the first two tosses wins. When the first toss is
decisive, the game is termed "sudden death."
Nibble, to take, or steal.
Nib-cove, a gentleman.
-Beggar's Cant.
Nib-like, gentlemanly.
NIBBLER, a petty thief.
NIBSOMEST CRIBS, best or gentlemen's houses.
Nibs, self. His NIBS, means any one who may be referred to. As,
"I told his NIBS, or stag his NIBS. "Your NIBS," yourself."
Nick, or OLD NICK, the devil.-Scandinavian, KNICKAR, one of the
names of Odin, as the destroying or evil principle.
Nick, to hit the mark; "he's NICKED it," i.e., won his point. Also to
steal. To be "out on the NICK, " is to be out thieving. Sometimes
described as being on the pinch."
Nick-nack, a trifle.-Originally Cant.
Niggling, trifling, or idling; taking short steps in walking.-North.
Nightcap, a glass of "warm with" taken the last thing at night.
Night-hunter, a poacher.-North. Also a London prostitute. Some-
times in the latter capacity varied to night-hawk.
Nil, half; half profits, &c.
Nilly-willy, i.e., NILL YE, WILL YE, whether you will or no; a familiar
version of the Latin, NOLENS VOLENS. Generally written now, WILLY-
NILLY.
Nimming, stealing. Old English, NIM, to take. Motherwell, 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,
Cram NAM buckra man.'
Or, in the buckra man's language-
"White man eat [or steal] the crab,
And then crab eat the white man.'
"}
Shakspeare evidently had the word NIM in his head when he portrayed
Nym.
Nincompoop, a fool, a hen-pecked husband, a "Jerry Sneak.”—Cor-
ruption of non compos mentis.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
237
Nine corns, a pipeful of tobacco.
Ninepence, "nice as NINEPENCE," all right, right to a nicety. A cor-
respondent says :-"This most undoubtedly should be NINE-PINS. For
at the game of that name, in fairness to both parties, the nine pins
must always be set up with great accuracy. There is no nicety in
NINEPENCE!" Evidently this correspondent does not know how nice
it is to have ninepence, after being without money. At all events the
phrase is "nice as NINEPENCE.'
Nines, "dressed up to the NINES," in a showy or recherché manner. Up
to the NINES, up to the dodges and "wrinkles" of life.
Nine shillings, cool audacity; most probably derived from the French,
NONCHALANCE.
Ning-nang, horse-coupers' term for a worthless thoroughbred.
Ninnyhammer, a foolish, ignorant person. Generally shortened to
NINNY. NINNY is also short for nincompoop.
Nip, to steal, to take up quickly. See NAP and NIB.
Nipcheese, a purser.-Old Sea Slang.
Nipper, a sharp lad. Originally a superior grade among cut-purses.
Nix, nothing. German, NICHTS. See MUNGARLY.
Nix! the signal word of schoolboys and workpeople to each other that
the master, or other person in authority, is approaching.
Nix my dollyonce a very popular slang song, beginning-
In a box of a stone jug I was born,
Of a hempen widow all forlorn ;
And my old dad, as I've heard say,
Was a famous merchant in capers gay;
NIX MY DOLLY, pals, fake away!"
"Capers" of course here refers to the mode of the old gentleman's
decease.
Niz-priz, a writ of nisi-prius.—Legal.
Nizzie, a fool, a coxcomb.-Old Cant, vide Triumph of Wit.
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 Alinaunder (thirteenth century) for a head; originally, no
doubt, the same as knob.
Nob, a person of high position, a
swell,” a NOBleman,—of which word
See SNOB.
it may be an abbreviation, or of NOBILIS.
Nob. When the knave of trumps is held at the game of cribbage, the
holder counts one for his NOB."
Nobba, nine. Italian, NOVE; Spanish, NOVA,—the 6 and v being inter-
changeable, as in sabe and savvey. Slang introduced by the
grinders" from Italy.
Nobba saltee, ninepence. Lingua Franca, NOVE SOLDI.
Nobbing cheat, the gallows.-Old Cant.
organ-
Nobbing, collecting money; "what NOBBINGS?" .e., how much have

238
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
you got or collected from the crowd? This term is much used by
"buskers.'
Nobble, to cheat, to overreach; to discover. In the racing world, to
>>
NOBBLE a horse, is to “get at," and lame or poison him.
Nobbler, a blow on the NOB, a finishing stroke; "that's a NOBBLER for
him," i.e., a settler.-Pugilistic.
Nobbler, a confederate of thimble-riggers and card-sharpers, who plays
earnestly, as if a stranger to the "rig," and thus draws unsuspecting
persons into a game. The same as a "bonnet" or
the North of England, a low, cunning lawyer.
bearer-up." In
Nobby, or NOBBISH, fine or showy; NOBBILY, showily. See SNOB for
derivation.
No flies, an emphatic addition made to an assertion for the purpose of
giving it weight. It really means no error" or "no mistake.
of them popular; as,
Both
A jolly fine girl, and NO FLIES!"
No-fly, artful, designing. Term much used among printers, who shorten
it to "N.F."
Noli-me-tangere, the Scotch fiddle, or other contagious disease.
Non-com, a non-commissioned officer in the army.
No odds, no matter, of no consequence.-Latimer's Sermon before
Edward VI.
Nooning, an interval for rest and refreshment, taken at midday by
travellers in hot countries.
Norfolk-Howards, bugs; a person named Ephraim Bug some few
years back advertised, that for the future he would call himself by
the more aristocratic appellation of NORFOLK HOWARD.
North, cunning. The inhabitants of Yorkshire and the Northern counties
are supposed, like the canny Scots, to get the better of other people in
dealing; hence the phrase, "He's too far NORTH for me," i.e., too
cunning for me to deal with.
North country compliment, to give or offer anything that is not
wanted by either giver or receiver is to pass a NORTH COUNTRY
COMPLIMENT.
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 is not known. Most likely from the slanders which the inhabitants
of one town are always inventing about their neighbours.
Nose, a thief who turns informer; a paid spy; generally called a police-
man's NOSE; "on the NOSE," on the look-out.
Nose, to give information to the police, to turn approver,
Nose, "to
to pay through the NOSE," to pay an extravagant price.
Nose-bag, a visitor at a watering-place, or house of refreshment, who
Term applied by waiters.
carries his own victuals.
Nose 'em, or FOGUS, tobacco.
rhyming slang, which see.
NOSE 'EM is but a contraction of the

!
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
239
Nose-ender, a straight blow delivered full on the nasal promontory.
Nose in the manger, TO PUT ONE'S, to sit down to eat.
To "
put
on the nose-bag” is to eat hurriedly, or to eat while continuing at work.
Nose out of joint, TO PUT ONE'S; to supplant, supersede, or mortify
a person by excelling him,
Noser, a hard blow, leading to a bloody or contused nose.—Pugilistic.
Notional, imaginative, full of ideas Used in America to express a
wife's imaginations with regard to her husband's doings.
Nouse, comprehension, perception.-Old, apparently from the Greck,
νους. Gaelic and Irish, NOS, knowledge, perception.
Nowhere, horses not placed in a race-that are neither first, second, nor
third—are said to be NOWHERE, especially when this lack of position
happens to favourites.
Number of his mess, when a man dies in the army or navy, he is
said to "lose the NUMBER OF HIS MESS.'
Nurse, a curious term applied to competition in omnibuses.
Two omni-
buses are placed on the road to NURSE, or take care of, each opposi-
tion "bus, one before, the other behind. Of course the central or
NURSED bus has very little chance, unless it happens to be a favourite
with the public. Recent legislation and tramways have done much to
do away with NURSING. NURSE also means to cheat or swindle;
trustees are sometimes said to NURSE property, i.e., gradually eat it up
themselves.
Nut, the head, in pugilistic slang. Used as an exclamation at a fight, it
means to strike on the head. In tossing it is a direction to hide the
head; to be" off one's NUT," to be crazed or idiotic.
Nut-cut, roguish, mischievous. A good-natured term of reproach.-
Anglo-Indian.
Nuts, to be NUTS on anything or person is to be pleased with or fond of it
or him; a self-satisfied man is said to be NUTS on himself. NUTTted,
taken in by a man who professed to be NUTS on you.

Nux, the "plant," or object
in view. "Stoll up to the
NUX?" "Do you fully com-
prehend what is wanted ?"
-North Country Cant.
Oaf, a lumbering, awkward
fellow.
Oak, the outer door of college
rooms; to sport one's
OAK," to be "not at home"
to visitors. See SPORT.-
University.
Oar, "to put in an OAR," to interfere.
A "Sporting Door," or
"Oak."
"I put my OAR in no man's boat."-Thackeray.
240
THIE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Oat, an atom. Probable corruption of iota, or perhaps from the small
size of an oat. "I never got an OAT of it, I never received the
smallest portion.
Oat-stealer, an ostler.
Obfuscated, intoxicated.
Obliquitous, oblivious of distinction between right and wrong.-
American.
Obstropolous, Cockney corruption of obstreperous.
Ochre, money, generally applied to gold, for a very obvious reason.
O'clock, "like ONE O'CLOCK," a favourite comparison with the lower
orders, implying briskness; otherwise "like winkin'." "To know
what's O'CLOCK" is to be wide-awake, sharp, and experienced.
Odd man out, a street or public-house game at tossing. The number
of players is three or more. Each tosses up a coin, and if two come
down head, and one comes tail, or vice versa, the ODD MAN loses or
wins, as may have been agreed upon. Frequently used to victimize
a flat."
If all be alike, then the toss goes for nothing, and the
coppers are again "skied. It is easy for two men to arrange matters
beforehand at this game, and so swindle a third.
Odd man, a man who trains in company with a boat's crew, so that in
the event of any one falling ill the seat will be fairly occupied.
Odds, a phrase 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
differences of a bet. One bookmaker will lay ODDS of "six to one"
against such a horse winning; whilst another, more speculative, or in
the receipt of a first-rate "tip" (information about the horse in ques-
tion) will lay "eight," or even "ten to one.
>>
Od rot it (Colman's Broad Grins), DRAT IT, OD'S BLOOD, and all other
exclamations commencing with OD, are nothing but softened or sup-
pressed oaths.
OD is a corruption of GOD, and DRAT of ROT.
Off and on, vacillating;
is always undecided.
an OFF AND ON kind of a chap," one who
Off at the head, crazy.-Oxfordshire.
Off one's chump. To be crazy is to be OFF ONE'S CHUMP; this is varied
by the word CHUMPY. A mild kind of lunatic is also said to be "off
his head," which means of course exactly the same as the first phrase.
Off one's feed. To be unable to eat is to be OFF ONE'S FEED. Origi-
nally stable slang.
Off the horn, a term used in reference to very hard steak, which is
fancifully said to be OFF THE HORN.
Office, "to give the OFFICE," to give a hint dishonestly to a confede-
rate, thereby enabling him to win a game or bet, the profits being
shared. Also in sporting phraseology to give any information worth
having.
Offish, distant, not familiar. Corruption of STAND-OFFISH.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
241
Ogle, to look, or reconnoitre.
Ogles, eyes.—Old Cant. French, ŒIL.
Oil of palms, or PALM OIL, money.
Ointment, medical student slang for butter.
O. K., a matter to be o. K. (OLL KORRECT, i.e., all correct), must be on
the "square," and perfectly in order. This is an Americanism, and
is derived from the initials o. K., said to have been marked on a docu-
ment by an official to signify that all was right and proper.
"Like
Old boots, a simile as general in its application as it is irrelevant.
OLD BOOTS" means like anything. "As cheeky as OLD BOOTS ;""As
quick as OLD BOOTS, seem a little more reasonable, new boots being
somewhat unfavourable to speedy locomotion.
Old dog, a knowing blade, an experienced person. Butler uses the
phrase, Hudibras, part ii. canto iii. 208, where it was said of Sidro-
phel, "And was OLD DOG at physiology.'
An Irish proverb says,
"OLD DOG for hard road," meaning that it requires an experienced
person to execute a difficult undertaking.
دو
Old gentleman, the devil. Also a card almost imperceptibly longer
than the rest of the pack, used by sharpers for the purpose of cheating.
Old gooseberry (see GOOSEBERRY), OLD HARRY (Old Hairy), OLD
SCRATCH, all synonyms for the devil.
Old gown, smuggled tea.
Old horse, salt junk, or beef.-Sea.
Old hoss, a term of endearment, originally an Americanism, but now
in common use here among friends.
Old Lady in Threadneedle Street, the Bank of England.
Old man, in American merchant ships, the master. The phrase is becom-
ing common in English ships.
Old salt, a thorough sailor.
Old Tom, extra strong gin; sometimes termed CAT'S WATER.
Various
reasons are given for the use of the words OLD TOM. The distillers
have the sign of a tom cat on their illuminated placards. The origin
of the phrase is, however, in the fact that the managing clerk of a once
celebrated gin-spinning" firm, who was known as OLD TOм,
used to keep a special bottle of extra good stuff with which to regale
customers when they settled their accounts. To get a drink of ŎLD
TOM's was then a great favour. Gradually the title became popular
as representing very good strong gin.
Oliver, the moon; "OLIVER don't widdle,
"OLIVER don't widdle," i.e., the moon does not
shine. Nearly obsolete.
Ollapod, a country apothecary. From George Coleman's comedy of The
Poor Gentleman.
Omee, a master or landlord; "the OMEE of the carsey's a nark on the
pitch," the master of the house will not let us perform. Italian, UOMO,
a man; "UOMO DELLA CASA," the master of the house. Latin, HOMO.
-Lingua Franca.
B
242
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Omnium gatherum, an indiscriminate collection of articles; a nume-
rous and by no means select assemblage.
On, "to be ON," in public-house or vulgar parlance, is synonymous with
getting tight" or tipsy; "it's St. Monday with him, I see he's ON
again," i.e., drunk as usual, or on the road to it. "I'm ON" also ex-
presses a person's acceptance of an offered bet. TO GET ON a horse or
a man is to make bets on it or him. "Try it ON," a defiant challenge
to a person.
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 FLY also means on the drink.
On the loose, obtaining a living by prostitution; in reality, on the
streets. The term is applied to females only, excepting in the case of
'sprees," when men carousing are sometimes said to be ON THE LOOSE.
On the nose, on the watch or look-out. See NOSE.
On the shelf, transported. With old maids it has another and very
different meaning.
On the tiles, out all night "on the spree," or carousing, -in allusion
to the London cats on their amatory excursions. See CATERWAULING.
One-er, that which stands for ONE, a blow that requires no repeating. In
The Old Curiosity Shop, the "Marchioness" tells Dick Swiveller that
"her missus is a ONE-ER"-there a variation of ""
stunner."
One in ten, a parson. In allusion to the tithing system.
Onion, a watch-seal.
O. P. Publishers' reply to an inquiry for a book or paper that is OUT
OF PRINT.
Open the ball, to commence anything.
Oracle, "to work the ORACLE," to plan, manoeuvre, to succeed by a wily
stratagem.
Orate, an Americanism, which means, to speak in public, or make an
oration.
Organ-grinder, an itinerant who is supposed to "GRIND" music
out of a barrel-organ.
Originator, an inventor of plans for the formation of joint-stock com-
panies. The originator submits his schemes to the promoter, who
accepts or rejects them.
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. These glasses are two-OUT (half-quartern), three-OUT,
and four-OUT. An habitué of a gin-shop, desirous of treating a brace
of friends, calls for "a quartern of gin and three OUTS," by which he
means three glasses which will exactly contain the quartern. Really,
the word glasses is understood. The man actually means, and one
or more three-OUT glasses.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
243
Out, in round games, where several play, and there can be but one loser,
the winners in succession STAND OUT, while the others PLAY OFF.
Out and out, prime, excellent. of the first quality; beyond measure.
OUT-AND-OUTER, one who is of an OUT-AND-OUT description "up"
to anything.
An ancient MS. has this couplet, which shows the antiquity of the
phrase:
"The Kyng was good alle aboute,
And she was wycked OUTE AND OUTE."
Outcry, an auction -Anglo-Indian.
Outing, a day's holiday. The Oxford and Cambridge boatrace, the
Derby, and other events of a like character, are each said to be simply
excuses to the Cockneys for a day's OUTING.
Out of collar, out of place,—in allusion to servants. When in place,
the term is IN COLLAR. Most likely from "head in the COLLAR,
said of horses when hard at work.
Out on the loose, "on the spree," in search of adventures.
THE LOOSE.
See ON
Out on the pickaroon. PICARONE is Spanish for a thief, but this
phrase does not necessarily mean anything dishonest, but is often used
to mean readiness for anything in the way of excitement. It also means
to be in search of anything profitable, without much care as to honesty
or otherwise.
Outsider, a person who does not habitually bet, or is not admitted to the
"ring," a duffer or good-for-nothing fellow. 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,—sometimes implying that the
results of a proposed plan will be OVER THE LEFT, i.e., in the wrong
direction, loss instead of gain.
Over, generally used in connexion with come, as, "He 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. Also used
thus sometimes: "You mustn't come Shakspeare OVER me," ie., you
mustn't assume an air of immeasurable literary superiority OVER me.
"You mustn't come Rothschild OVER me, &c.
>>
Over, in cricket, four balls delivered from one end to another.
After an
OVER has been bowled, the fielders, wicket-keepers, &c., change ends,
and the bowling goes on from the recent batting wicket. A MAIDEN-
OVER is an OVER from which no runs are obtained. Four balls is the
regulation number to an OVER in all important matches; but little
clubs and practice elevens suit their own convenience.
Overs, the odd money remaining after the daily accounts are made up at
a banking-house,—usually divided amongst the clerks. See MENAVEL-
INGS and SHORTS.
244
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Owned, a slang expression used by the ultra-Evangelicals when a popular
preacher makes many converts. The converts themselves are called
his "seals."
P. P., an expression much in use among racing men, which means play or
pay, i.e., either go on with the arrangement or forfeit the money.
The following is a law of the turf on the subject :—
The following races shall be considered " play or pay"-The Derby and Oaks
at Epsom, the St. Leger at Doncaster, the Two Thousand Guineas, the
One Thousand Guineas, the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire, at Newmarket,
the Ascot, Goodwood, and Doncaster Cups, and all handicaps above 200 sovs.
value with two forfeits, the minor of which shall not be less than 5 sovs. ; and
the Committees of Tattersall's, and of the Subscription Room at Newmarket,
will take no cognisance of any disputes respecting "play or pay" bets on any
other races, or of any bets made upon handicap races before the weights are
published.
This is the exact law on the subject, but as a rule all bets on horse-
racing are considered P. P. unless otherwise arranged. In all matches,
though, whether turf, pedestrian, aquatic, or otherwise, a run is given
for the money in ordinary betting transactions.
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 simi-
larity 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 bowing.
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 awaie."
-Baret's Alvearie, 1580. Contraction of "PACK up and be off."
Sometimes the term "sent PACKING" is used to indicate a sudden dis-
charge, as of a servant or mistress.
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 am starving."
Pad, the highway; also a tramp or itinerant musician.
Pad the hoof, to walk; "PADDING THE HOOF, on the high toby,"
tramping or walking on the high road.
"Trudge, plod away o' the HOOF."-Merry Wives, i. 3.
Padding, the light articles in the monthly magazines, of which the serial
stories are the main attraction. Publishers of magazines seem to
think that if they get a serial story from a popular novelist they can
pack any amount of rubbish into the remaining pages. This is not
so in America, as magazines like the Atlantic Monthly and the Over-
land Monthly show.
Padding-ken, or CRIB, tramps' and boys' lodging-house.
Paddle, to go or run away.-American.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
245
Paddy, PAT, or PADDY WHACK, an Irishman. A nickname of PATRICK.
"I'm PADDY WHACK, from Ballyhack,
Not long ago turn'd soldier;
In storm and sack, in front attack,
None other can be boulder."—Irish Song.
Paddy's goose, the sign of the White Swan, a noted flash public-house
in the east of London, supposed to be Paddy's idea of a GOOSE.
Paddy's land, "ould Ireland."
Padre, a clergyman.
From the Portuguese.
Pal, a partner, acquaintance, friend, an accomplice. Gipsy, a brother.
Palampo, a quilt or bed-cover. Probably from PALANPORE, a town in
India, renowned for its manufacture of chintz counterpanes.—Anglo-
Indian.
Palaver, to ask, or talk-deceitfully or otherwise, as occasion requires;
PALAVER to his nibs for a shant of bivvy," ask the master for
a pot of beer. NANTEE PALAVER (pronounced PERLARVER),_cease
talking. In this sense used by tramps. Derived from the Portu-
guese.
Pall, to stop; "PALL that," spoken authoritatively, means, cease what
you are doing. From PALL, a small instrument which is used to stop
the windlass or capstan at sea. When a man says, "I am PALLED,
he means he cannot or dare not say any more. A sailor, on receiving
any extraordinary intelligence, will say, "You PALL me," i.e., you
confound me. Most likely from the order frequently given on board
ship, "Ease and PALL.
Palm, to impose upon. "You can't PALM that off upon me," is said
when an intending purchaser is suspicious of the quality of the article
offered.
Palm oil, or PALM SOAP, money; also, a bribe.
Palmer, a swindler who used to visit shops under the pretence of collecting
harp halfpence. To induce shopkeepers to search for them, he offered
thirteenpence for one shilling's-worth, when many persons were silly
enough to empty a large quantity of copper on their counters.
PALMER, a proficient with his fingers, generally contrived to conceal
some before he left the shop.
The
Palming, robbing shops by pairs-one thief bargaining with apparent
intent to purchase, whilst the other watches his opportunity to steal.
The following anecdote will give an idea of their modus operandi. A
man once entered a "ready-made" boot, and shoe shop, and desired to
be shown a pair of boots-his companion staying outside and amusing
himself by looking in at the window. The one who required to be
fresh shod was apparently of a humble and deferential turn, for he
placed his hat on the floor directly he stepped into the shop. Boot
after boot was tried on until at last a fit was obtained, when in
rushed a man, snatched up the customer's hat left near the door, and
ran down the street as fast as his legs could carry him. Away went
the customer after his hat, and Crispin, standing at the door, clapped
his hands, and shouted, "Go it, you'll catch him!"-little thinking that
246
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
it was a concerted trick, and that neither his boots nor the customer
would ever return. Instances of this kind of work frequently occur.
PALMING Sometimes refers to secreting money or rings in the hand,
as well as to bribing. PALMING is also the generic term for all
that kind of conjuring which depends on manual dexterity, and which
is totally distinct from the mechanical-contrivance department.
Pam, the knave of clubs at the game of loo; or, in street phraseology,
while the "Judicious Bottleholder" was alive, Lord Palmerston.
Pannikin, a small pan.
Pannum, food, bread. -Lingua Franca, PANNEN; Latin, PANIS;
Ancient Cant, YANNAM.
Pannum-bound, said of a pauper or prisoner when his food is stopped.
PANNUM-STRUCK, very hungry, starving.
Panny, a house-public or otherwise; "flash PANNY, a public-house
used by thieves; PANNY-MEN, housebreakers. PANNY, in thieves'
cant, also signifies a burglary.
Pantalettes, the drawers worn in America by little girls.
>>
Pantile, a hat. The term PANTILE is properly applied to the mould into
which the sugar is poured which is afterwards known as
"loaf sugar.'
Thus, PANTILE, from whence comes the phrase, a sugar-loaf hat,
originally signified a tall, conical hat, in shape similar to that usually
represented as the head-gear of a bandit. From PANTILE the more
modern slang term TILE has been derived. Halliwell gives PANTILE
SHOP, a meeting-house, from the steeple-crowned or PANTILE hats of
its frequenters. PANTILE also means a flat cake with jam on it, given
to boys at boarding-schools instead of pudding.
Pantiler, a Dissenting preacher. Probably from the practice of the
Dissenting_preacher.
Quakers, and many Dissenters, of not removing their hats in a place of
worship; or from the sugar-loaf hats originally worn by Puritans.
Another derivation is from the earthen tiles, technically PANTILES
(tiles hollowed in the middle, as distinguished from " pintiles," the
older sort, which are flat, smaller, and pinned or nailed to the rafters),
with which meeting-houses of Dissenters are usually covered; hence
the meeting-house came to be called a PANTILE, and its frequenters
PANTILERS.
Here used to represent the long
Pants, American term for trousers.
drawers worn underneath.
Panupetaston, a loose overcoat with wide sleeves, now out of fashion. -
Oxford University.
Paper-maker, a rag-gatherer, or gutter-raker-similar to the chiffonnier
of Paris. Also, a man who tramps through the country, and collects
rags on the pretence that he is an agent to a paper mill.
Paper-worker, a wandering vendor of street literature; one who sells
ballads, dying speeches, and confessions, sometimes termed a “running
stationer."
Parachute, a parasol.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
247
Paradise, French slang for the gallery of a theatre, "up amongst the
GODS," which see.
Parish lantern, the moon.
Parish prig, or PARISH BULL, a parson.-Thieves' cant.
Parney, rain; "dowry of PARNEY,
""
dowry of PARNEY," a quantity of rain. Anglo-Indian
slang from the Hindoo, PANI, water; Gipsy, PANE. Old Indian officers
always call brandy-and-water "brandy PAWNEE.
Parson, a signpost. Common term in the north, where they say that the
PARSON points, but does not lead. This is given, as the lawyers say,
"without prejudice.
Parson Trulliber, a rude, vulgar, country clergyman, devoted to agri-
cultural pursuits; the race is most probably now extinct. From the
pig-feeding and pig-headed parson in Joseph Andrews.
Parson's nose, the hind part of a goose-a savoury mouthful.
times called the POPE'S NOSE.
Some-
Part, to pay, restore, or give up; "he's a right un, he is; I know'd he'd
PART," i.e., he is a liberal (or punctual) person, and pays his debts, or
bestows gratuities. The term is in general use in sporting circles, and
is very commonly employed when speaking of the settlement of bets
after a race. It is probably derived from the very common reference to
stingy people, who are described as not liking to PART with their money.
Parter, a free, liberal person. Sometimes called a "good PARTER.
Any one who looks twice at his money, or who doesn't pay it at all, is
called a bad PARTER.”
Party, a person-term in very general use, similar in application to the
German pronoun, MAN, a person, people; "where's the PARTY as
'ad a' orter be lookin' after this 'ere 'oss ?" policeman's inquiry of the
wrong cabman ;
old PARTY," an elderly person. The term is said
to have arisen in our old justice courts, where, to save "his worship"
and the clerk of the court any trouble in exercising their memories with
the names of the different plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses, the
word PARTY was generally employed. Dean Alford remarked :—
"The word PARTY for a man is especially offensive. Strange to say, the use is
not altogether modern. It occurs in the English version of the Apocryphal
book of Tobit, vi. 7. 'If an evil spirit trouble any, one must make a smoke
thereof before the man cr the woman, and the PARTY shall be no more vexed.'"
In Shakspeare we find the term :-
Stephano. How now shall this be compassed? Canst thou bring me to the
PARTY?"-Tempest, iii. 2.
This is not the only instance of the word being used by the immortal
bard. "I once heard," said the Dean just quoted, a venerable dig-
nitary pointed out by a railway porter as an old PARTY in a shovel."
The last word is the vulgar term applied to the peculiar hat worn by
clerical dignitaries.
Pash, to strike; now corrupted to BASH, which see.-Shakspeare.
Paste, to beat, to thrash vigorously.
Pasteboard, a visiting card; “to PASTEBOARD a person," to drop a card
at an absent person's house.
S
248
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Paste-horn, the nose.
Shoemakers nickname any shopmate with a
large nose "old PASTE-HORN," from the shape of the horn in which
they keep their paste.
Pasty, a bookbinder.
CC
Patch. This old English term of reproach, long obsolete in polite lan-
guage, may yet occasionally be heard in sentences like these:- Why,
he's not a PATCH upon him," i.e., he is not to be compared with him;
"one's not a PATCH on the other," &c. Shakspeare uses the word in
the sense of a paltry fellow :-
"What a pied ninny's this? thou scurvy PATCH !"
In old English PATCH meant a fool, a wearer of patched clothes or
motley.
Patent coats, the first coat, with the pockets inside the skirt, were so
termed.
Patter, a speech or discourse, a pompous street oration, a judge's sum-
ming up, a trial. Ancient word for muttering. Probably from the
Latin, PATERNOSTER, or Lord's Prayer. This was said, before the
Reformation, in a "low voice" by the priest, until he came to and
lead us not into temptation," to which the choir responded, "but
deliver us from evil." In the reformed Prayer Book this was altered,
and the Lord's Prayer directed to be said "with a loud voice."
Dr. Pusey takes this view of the derivation in his Letter to the Bishop
of London, p. 78, 1851. Scott uses the word twice, in Ivanhoe and
the Bride of Lammermoor.
Patter, to talk. Patter flash, to speak the language of thieves, talk
cant.
Patteran, a gipsy trail, made by throwing down a handful of grass occa-
sionally, especially where they have turned off from the main road.
Patter-crib, a flash house.
66
Patterer, one of a race now nearly defunct, who cried last dying
speeches, &c., in the streets. The term is also applied to those who
help off their wares by long harangues in the public thoroughfares.
These men, to use their own term, are the aristocracy of the street
sellers," and despise the costermongers for their ignorance, boasting
that they live by their intellect, which, as they do not live wonderfully
well, is no particularly wise boast.
Pattern, a common vulgar phrase for "patent.”
Paul Pry, an inquisitive person.
From the well-known comedy.
Paw, the hand. PAW-CASES, gloves. Boots are in some parts of Ireland
called " gloves for the feet.
Pay, to beat a person, or
serve him out." Originally a nautical term,
meaning to stop the seams of a vessel with pitch (French, POIX);
"here's the d-1 to PAY, and no pitch hot, said when any cata-
strophe occurs which there is no means of averting; "to PAY over face
and eyes, as the cat did the monkey;" "to PAY through the nose," to
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
249
7
give a ridiculous price,-an expressive phrase of which no one seems
to know the origin. Shakspeare uses PAY in the sense of to beat or
thrash.
Pay, to deliver. "PAY that letter to Mr. So-and-so" is a very common
direction to a Chinese servant.-Anglo-Chinese.
Pay-away, "go
go on with your story, or discourse." From the nautical
phrase PAY-AWAY, meaning to allow a rope to run out of a vessel.
When the hearer considers the story quite long enough, he, carrying
out the same metaphor, exclaims "hold on."
Peach, an informer against omnibus conductors and drivers, one espe-
cially hired by the proprietors to count passengers and stoppages. The
term is in frequent use amongst omnibus-men. This is about the only
instance known of the verb being used as a substantive.
Peach, to inform against or betray. Webster states that the word “im-
peach" is now mostly used, and that PEACH is confined principally to
the conversation of thieves and the lower orders. The word was origin-
ally "impeach,
impeach," though it was never until lately used in the same way
as its abridgment.
Peacock horse, amongst undertakers, is one with a showy tail and
mane, which holds its head up well. PEACOCKY refers to an objection-
able high action among racehorses.
Peaking, remnants of cloth. Term amongst drapers and cloth ware-
housemen.
Peaky, sickly, delicate.
Pec, a term used by the Eton boys for money, an abbreviation, of course,
of the Latin PECUNIA.
Peck, food; "PECK and boose," meat and drink.-Lincolnshire. Ancient
Cant, PEK, meat.
Peck, to eat voraciously. A hearty eater is generally called " a rare
PECKER. Originally PECK was to eat delicately, "but we have
changed all that now.
Peck-alley, the throat.
"}
Pecker, "keep your PECKER up," ie., don't get down in the mouth,-
literally, keep your beak or head well up, never say die !"
Peckham, a facetious usage of the name of this district, implying a
dinner; "all holiday at PECKHAM," i.e., nothing to eat.
Peckish, hungry. Old Cant, PECKIDGE, meat.
Peel, to strip, or disrobe.-Sporting.
Peeler, a policeman; so called from Sir Robert Peel (see BOBBY); pro-
perly applied to the Irish Constabulary rather than the Metropolitan
Police, the former force having been established by Sir Robert Peel.
Peepers, eyes; "painted PEEPERS," eyes bruised or blackened from a
blow.-Pugilistic.
Peery, suspicious, or inquisitive.
Peg, brandy and soda-water. A PEG by which to pull oneself up again.
Also, a shilling.-Scotch.
1
}
S 2
250
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Peg, "to PEG away," to strike, run, or drive away;
""
PEG a hack," to
drive a cab; to take him down a PEG or two," to check an arrogant
or conceited person,-possibly derived from the use of PEG tankards.
See PIN.
Pes; S. and B."
to drink frequently; generally used in reference to devotees of
Peggers, people who constantly stimulate themselves by means of brandy
and soda-water.
Pegtops, the loose trousers in fashion some years back, small at the
ankle and swelling upwards, in imitation of the Zouave costume.
Penang-lawyer, a long cane, sometimes carried by a footman.
PENANG-LAWYERS are also bludgeons which are carried by all classes
in Singapore.
""
Pencil-fever, a supposititious disease among racehorses, the preliminary
symptoms of which show that an animal has been pretty considerably
"milked." PENCIL-FEVER sets in when, despite the efforts of the
"marketeers, a horse can no longer be kept at a short price in the
lists, through his actual condition being discovered, and when every
layer of odds is anxious to write his name down. This disorder is also
called "milk-fever, market-fever," and other suggestive names.
Penny-a-liner, a contributor of local news, accidents, fires, and scan-
dals to a newspaper; a man not regularly on the paper;" one who
>>
is popularly believed to be paid for each contribution at the rate of a
penny a line, and whose interest is, therefore, that his articles should
be stuffed with fine words and long sentences. This wonderful
person, to whom so much is daily attributed, is now generally called a
LINER.
Penny dreadfuls, an expressive term for those penny publications
which depend more upon sensationalism than upon merit, artistic or
literary, for success.
Penny gaff, a shop turned into a temporary theatre (admission one
penny), at which dancing and singing take place every night. Some-
times rude pictures of the performers are arranged outside to give the
front a gaudy and attractive look, and at night-time coloured lamps and
transparencies are displayed to draw an audience. Zest is given to these
entertainments by the fact that now and again the police make raids upon
the houses, and carry off both actors and spectators. These places are
also called "dukeys," for no reason that can be discovered. See GAFF.
Penny starver, a penny roll.
Pen'orth, value for money; as,
spective of the actual amount.
Pensioner, a man of the most degraded condition who lives off the
miserable earnings of a prostitute. There is an unmentionable prefix
to the word PENSIONER.
See BUSTER.
"I'll have my PEN'ORTH,"—given irre-
See PONCE.
Pepper, to thrash, or strike.-Pugilistic, but used by Shakspeare.-
Eastern Counties.
Pepper-boxes, the buildings of the Royal Academy and National
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
251
Gallery in Trafalgar Square. The name was first given by a wag, in
allusion to the cupolas erected by Wilkins, the architect, upon the roof,
which, from their form and awkward appearance, at a distance sug-
gest to the stranger the fact of their being enlarged PEPPER-BOXES.
See BOILERS.
Perch, or ROOST, a resting-place; "I'm off to PERCH," i.e., I am going
to bed.
"
To "PER-
Nor yet a single perch, for which my lucky stars to thank,
Except the perch I've taken on this damp rheumatic bank.'
Lay of the Unsuccessful Angler.
Perform, to carry out a design, generally a dishonest one.
FORM on a flat" is to cozen a fool.
Perkin, beer. Dandy or affected shortening of the widely-known firm,
Barclay and Perkins.
Perpendicular, a lunch taken standing-up at a tavern bar. It is usual
to call it lunch, often as the PERPENDICULAR may take the place of
dinner.
Persuaders, spurs.
Pesky, an intensitive expression, implying annoyance; as,
“A PESKY,
troublesome fellow." Corruption of PESTILENT; or, Irish, PEASGACH,
rough, rugged. PESKY has now become more American than English.
Pesky Ike is the name of a popular American drama.
Peter, a partridge.—Poacher's term.
Peter, a bundle, or valise. Also, a cash-box.
Peter, to run short, or give out.—American.
Peter Funk, an American term for a spurious auction or "knock-out.”
Peter Grievous, a miserable, melancholy fellow; a croaker.
Petticoat, a woman.
Pewter, money, like "tin," used generally to signify silver; also a
tankard. "Let me have my beer in the PEWTER,
" is a common
request to waiters, made by "City" men, and others who affect habits
of rude health. The pots for which rowing men contend are often
called PEWTERS.
Philadelphia-lawyer, a Transatlantic limb of the law considered to be
the very acme of acuteness. Sailors relate many stories of his artful
abilities, none, however, short enough to find a place here.
phrase, Enough to puzzle a PHILADELPHIA-LAWYER," means,
enough to puzzle the sharpest man in the world.
The
Philander, to ramble on incoherently; to write discursively and weakly.
Philip, a policeman. The word is loudly given as a signal that the police
are approaching.
Philiper, a thief's accomplice, one who stands by and looks out for the
police while the others commit a robbery, and who calls out Philip!"
when any one approaches.
Philistine, a policeman. The German students call all townspeople not
252
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
of their body "Philister," as ours say "cads." The departing student
says, mournfully, in one of the Burschenlieder-
"Muss selber nun PHILISTER Sein !"
Society
¿.e., “I must now myself PHILISTINE be!" Also, a man who is of a
set opposed to one's own. Society is supposed to regard all outside
its bounds as belonging to the PHILISTINE World. Bohemians regard
all cleanly, orderly people who conform to conventionality as PHI-
LISTINES.
Physog, or PHIZ, the face.
PHYSIOGNOMY.
Swift uses the latter word. Corruption of
Picaroon, a pirate or buccaneer originally; now an ordinary thief.
Piccadilly butchers, a satirical name applied by the crowd to the
regiment of Horse 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. See CHEESEMONGERS.
Piccadilly weepers, long carefully combed-out whiskers of the
Dundreary fashion.
""
"to
Pick, "to PICK oneself up," to recover after a beating or illness, some-
times varied to 66
PICK up one's crumbs ;" to PICK a man up,
do," or cheat him.
Pickaninny, a young child is thus styled by the West Indian negroes.
The word is now completely naturalized 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 PICKLE
herring," a comical fellow, a merry-andrew.-Old. Also, a mischie-
vous boy; "what a PICKLE he is, to be sure !" Derived from his
always getting into a PICKLE, or mess.
"nice
Pickles! gammon; also a jeering and insulting exclamation.
Pick-me-up, a revivifying drink taken after a debauch; a tonic.
Piece, a contemptuous term for a woman; a strumpet.-Shakspeare. Not
always objectionable nowadays. A "barber's clerk" does not object to
hear his sweetheart or wife called "a nice PIECE;" and gentlemen of
the counter-jumping fraternity describe their “ young ladies" as
PIECES of goods."
Pieman. In tossing, the man who cries is called the PIEMAN.
old days when the itinerant PIEMAN's duty was to toss or sell, and his
call was, "Hot pies, toss or buy, toss or buy," he was always supposed
to be entitled to the cry, the intending eater" skying the copper.'
An active and efficient police have, however, improved tossing-so far,
at all events, as PIEMEN and poor people are concerned-off the face
of the earth, and gaming of all descriptions is now a luxury confined
to the rich.
In the
Pig, a mass of metal,—so called from its being poured in a fluid state from
a sow, which see.-Workman's term.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
253
Pig, a policeman; an informer. The word is now almost exclusively
applied by London thieves to a plain-clothes man, or a "nose."
Pig, a pressman in a printing office.
Pig, or sow's BABY, a sixpence.
See DONKEY.
The lower orders of Irish are
Pig, to live in a crowded, filthy manner.
said to PIG together. A suggestive, if not elegant, expression.
Pig and Tinder-box, the vulgar rendering of the well-known tavern
sign, "Elephant and Castle.
Pigeon, a gullible or soft person. The French cant, or Argot, has the
word PIGEON, dupe-" PECHON, PESCHON DE RUBY, apprenti gueux,
enfant (sans doute dérobé"). The vagabonds and brigands of Spain
also used the word in their Germania, or robbers' language, PALOMO
(PIGEON), ignorant, simple. In the sporting world sharps and flats
are often called "rooks and PIGEONS" respectively-sometimes
'spiders and flies."
Pigeon, business, simply the Chinese pronunciation of the English word
-Anglo-Chinese.
Pigeon-English, the English spoken by the natives of Canton and
other parts of China.
Pigeon-flying, or BLUEY CRACKING, breaking into empty houses and
stealing lead.
Pigeon's milk, an imaginary fluid for which boys and simpletons are
frequently sent on the 1st of April.
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 "cockstride," i.e., cock's tread.
Pike, a turnpike; "to bilk a PIKE," to cheat the keeper of the toll-gate.
Mr. Tony Weller makes many amusing remarks on PIKES and PIKE-
keepers. Since the first edition of this work was published, PIKES
and PIKE-keepers have departed from amongst us, so far as London
and its immediate vicinity are concerned.
Pike, to run, to be off with speed.
Pike it, is said as a hasty and contemptuous, if not angry, dismissal,
"if you don't like it, take a short stick and PIKE it." This is but a
form of the attempts at rhyming smartness common in London.
፡፡
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.
""Twas not our fault, dear Jack; we saw the watch going into the house the
moment we came there, and we thought it proper to PIKE OFF."—The
Prison Breaker, a Farce.
Pikey, a tramp or gipsy. A PIKEY-cart is in various parts of the country
254
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
one of those habitable vehicles suggestive of a wandering life. Possibly
the term has reference to one who constantly uses the PIKE, or turnpike
road.
Pile, a sum of money; generally the whole of a man's private means. A
term originally peculiar to Californian miners, in reference to their
accumulated dust and nuggets. American gamblers speak of "putting
all the PILE on" when they fancy anything very much. "To go the
whole PILE" runs level with our sporting phrase, "To go a raker."
Pill, a doctor.-Military. PILL-DRIVER, a peddling apothecary.
Pill, to blackball a man at a club. Sometimes a man who is blackballed
is described as having received too much medicine.
Pill-box, a doctor's carriage.
Pin, "to
to put in the PIN," to refrain from drinking. From the ancient
peg tankard, which was furnished with a row of PINS, or pegs, to regu-
late the amount which each person was to drink.
Drunken people
are often requested to "put in the PIN," from some remote connexion
between their unsteadiness and that of a carriage wheel which has lost.
its linch-PIN. The popular cry, Put in the PIN, can have no con-
nexion with the drinking PIN or peg now, whatever it may originally
have had. A MERRY PIN, a roysterer.
See PEG.
Pinch, to steal or cheat; also, to catch, or apprehend.
Pinchbeck, inferior, deteriorated. Anything pretending to more than
its proper value is said to be PINCHBECK.
"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 trrdesman,
who manufactured watches, buckles, and other articles out of it,
PINCHBECK first obtained his notoriety by the invention of an inge-
nious candle-snuffers, which the author of The Heroic Epistle to Sir
William Chambers made the vehicle of a facetious Ode that went
through eight editions. The title of this jeu d'esprit ran thus :-
"Ode to Mr. Pinchbeck, upon his Newly-invented Candle-Snuffers, by MALCOLM
M'GREGOR, Esq., 1776.
"Illustrious PINCHBECK! condescend,
Thou well-beloved, and best king's friend,
These lyric lines to view;
Oh, may they prompt thee, ere too late,
To snuff the candle of the State,
That burns a little blue :"
PINCHBECK published a poetical reply, and the two pamphlets were
for a long time the talk of the town.
Pink, the acme of perfection. The scarlet garb worn in the hunting-field.
Pink, to stab, or pierce. In the days of rapier-wearing a professed
duellist was said to be "a regular PINKER and driller.'
Pinnel, or PENNEL,-corruption of penal servitude. As, "f four-year
PINNEL.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
255
Pinner-up, a seller of old songs, pinned against a wall or framed
canvas. Formerly many of these street salesmen carried on their little
paper trade" in London. There are but one or two now left.
Pins, legs.
Pipe, to follow or dog a person; to watch, to notice.
66
Pipe, to shed tears, or bewail; PIPE one's eye."--Sea term.
"He first began to eye his pipe,
And then to PIPE his eye."-Hood.
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. When any one meets with a rebuff or a sharp answer, he
is often told to "put that in his PIPE and smoke it," i.e., to digest it
carefully.
Piper, a person employed by an omnibus proprietor to act as a spy on
the conductor.
Piper, a broken-winded hack horse.
Pipkin, the stomach,-properly, an earthen round-bottomed pot
Norwich.
Pips, the marks, no matter of what suit, on playing cards.
often called "single PIP.
Pit, a breast-pocket.
The ace is
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 ir
An itinerant is said to "make a
the drag," to perform in the street.
PITCH" whenever he attempts to do any business.
Pitch, to utter base coin. Smashers are known to themselves and their
friends, the rest of the dangerous classes, as "snide PITCHERS.
confederacy is divided into makers, buyers, holders, and pitchers.
The maker probably never sees the actuai passers of base money, the
The holder
buyer being generally the intercommunicating medium.
The
is generally a man who carries the bulk of the "snides," and waits
about; while the pitcher, often a woman-indeed, more often than
not-runs the actual risk.
Pitch, to go to bed for less than the ordinary period. Journeymen
bakers, and others whose work is disjointed, call any short interval of
sleep a PITCH. Probably from the action.
Pitch into, to fight; "PITCH INTO him, Bill," i.e., give him a thrashing.
Pitch the fork, to tell a pitiful tale.
Pitch the nob, PRICK THE GARTER, which see.
Sometimes an
Place, to name the first three horses in a race. This is the duty of the
judge, who sees nothing of the race but the finish.
official will place more than the first three, but this in no way inter-
feres with the meaning of the word as generally received.
"nowhere" is to be unplaced.
Place, first, second, or third position in a race.
called a "situation" or a "shop."
To run
Sometimes a PLACE is
256
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Plant, a dodge, a preconcerted swindle; a position in the street to sell
from. All bearings-up, bonnetings, and such like arrangements, are
the results of preconcerted schemes or PLANTS,
Plant, to mark a person out for plunder or robbery; to conceal or hide
money, &c.-Old Cant. In the sense of conceal, there is a similar
word in Argot, PLANQUER.
Plant, a hidden store of money or valuables. To "
to unearth another person's hoard.
To "spring a PLANT" is
Platform, a standpoint in an argument, a statement of political or gene-
"Home rule's my PLATFORM!" Originally American,
ral opinion.
but now general.
Play, to strike for higher wages, to be out of work.—North.
Plebs, a term used to stigmatize a tradesman's son at Westminster
School. Latin, PLEBS, the vulgar.
Plough. To be PLOUGHED is to fail to pass an examination.
About
twenty years ago "pluck," the word then used, began to be superseded
by PLOUGH. It is said to have arisen from a man who could not
supply the examiner with any quotation from Scripture, until at last
he blurted out, "And the ploughers ploughed on my back, and made
long furrows."-University.
Ploughed, drunk.
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.
Pluck, to turn back at a University examination. The supposed origin
of PLUCK is, that when, on degree day, the proctor, after having read
the name of a candidate for a degree, walks down the hall and back,
it is to give any creditor the opportunity of plucking his sleeve, and
informing him of the candidate's being in debt.
Pluck, courage, valour, stoutness. See following.
Plucked un, a stout or brave fellow; "he's a rare PLUCKED UN," i.e.,
he dares face anything.
During the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny PLUCKY, signifying
courageous, became a favourite term even among ladies; and the term
British PLUCK will probably live-sla gy as is its origin-as long as
the language into which it has been adopted, for the history of the
deeds with which it is associated can never die, while, indeed, a history
remains to this country. The word met with great disfavour at first
from the "genteel," but of course they followed when aristocracy
deigned to use it.
Plum, £100,0000, usually applied to the dowry of a rich heiress, to a
legacy, or to a sum made in business or by a lucky speculation.
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. Also an
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
257
American term for baggage, luggage. In Lower Canada the French
packmen call luggage "butin."
Plunger, a heavy cavalry-man. -Military slang.
Plutocracy, the wealthy classes. The Manchester merchants are often
termed a millocracy, and words of a similar character are mobocracy
and moneyocracy.
Pocket, to put up with. A man who does not resent an affront is said to
POCKET it.
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 enthusiast of this name.
Poke, a bag, or sack; “to buy a pig in a POKE," to purchase anything
without seeing it. POKE was originally a pocket. Shakspeare says—
"And then he pulled a dial from his POKE."
Poke. "Come, none of your POKING fun at me," i.e., you must not laugh
at me.
Poker. "By the holy POKER and the tumbling Tom !" an Irish oath.
Pokers, or SILVER POKERS, the Bedels of the Vice-Chancellor, who carry
silver maces, and accompany him through the streets. They are also
officers of his court.-University.
Around, around, all, all around,
On seats with velvet lined,
Sat Heads of Houses in a row,
And Deans and College Dons below,
With a POKER or two behind."
Rime of the New-made Baccalere, 1841.
a POKY hole."
Poky, confined or cramped;
or cramped; "that corner is POKY and narrow."
Housewives describe a small uncomfortable room as
Saxon, POKE, a sack.
Policeman, a fly-more especially the kind known as
"blue bottle."
Also, among the dangerous classes, a man who is unworthy of con-
fidence, a sneak or mean fellow.
Polish off, to finish off anything quickly-a dinner, for instance; also
to finish off an adversary.-Pugilistic.
Poll, at Cambridge, the " ordinary degree" candidates for the B.A.
Examination, who do not aspire to the "Honours" list. From the
Greck, ol πÓXλoi, "the many.
Poll, to beat or distance, as in a race; to utterly vanquish in competition.
Term much used by printers.
Poll, a female of unsteady character; "POLLED up," means living with a
woman in a state of unmarried impropriety. Also, if a costermonger
sees one of his friends walking with a strange woman, he will say to him
on the earliest opportunity, "I saw yer when yer was POLLED up."
Poll, or POLLING, one thief robbing another of part of the booty. In use
in ancient times, vide Hall's Union, 1548.
Poll parrot, a talkative, gossiping woman.
Ratcliff Highway.
A term much used about
258
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Polony, Cockney shortening and vulgar pronunciation of Bologna
(sausage). The sausages which are sold under the name of POLONIES
have, however, no nearer connexion with Bologna sausages than that
of the word's derivation.
Pompadours, the Fifty-sixth Regiment of Foot in the British army.
Ponce, a degraded man who lives upon a woman's prostitution. Low-
class East-end thieves even will "draw the line" at PONCES, and object
to their presence in the boozing-kens.
Pond, or HERRING-POND, the sea; so called by those who were 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. Ginger-beer is also known as POP.
Pop the question, to make an offer of marriage.
Pope's-eye, a peculiar little part in a leg of mutton, much esteemed by
lovers of that joint.
Pope's nose, the extremity of the rump of a roast fowl, sometimes
devilled as a dainty for epicures. Also known as the parson's NOSE.
Pops,pocket-pistols.
Porterhouse steak, an American term for a steak which contains a
small bone. In the States, tender-loin steaks are much eaten.
are from what we call the undercut of the sirloin.
Portrait, a sovereign. Modification of "Queen's picture."
These
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;
for on the table.
POST the pony" signifies to place the stakes played
Post-horn, the nose. See PASTE-HORN.
Post-mortem, at Cambridge, the second examination which men who
have been "plucked" have to undergo.- University,
Posted up, well acquainted with the subject in question, "up to the
mark,"-metaphor drawn from the counting-house.
Pot, a favourite in the betting for a race. Probably so called because it is
usual to say that a heavily-backed horse carries "a POT of money."
When a favourite is beaten the POT is said to be upset.
Pot, a sixpence, i.e., the price of a POT or quart of half-and-half.
crown, in medical student slang, is a FIVE-POT picce.
A half-
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
259
-
Pot, TO GO TO POT, to die; from the classic custom of putting the
ashes of the dead in an urn; also, to be ruined or broken up,—often
applied to tradesmen who fail in business. "Go to POT!" i.e., go and
hang yourself, shut up and be quiet.---L'Estrange. "To put the POT
on, to overcharge or exaggerate. "To go to POT" most probably
means to go out of all shape, as metal in the melting-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 in reference to
shots from a hole or ambush. These were called POT-SHOTS. The
term is still used to denote a shot taken sitting or at ease.
Pot-boiler, a picture hurriedly painted for the purpose of "keeping the
POT BOILING."-Artistic slang.
Pot-faker, a hawker of crockery and general earthenware.
Pot-hat, a low-crowned hat, as distinguished from the soft wideawake
and the stove-pipe.
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. A man who fires at anything, regardless of the rules which
govern true sportsmen.
Pot-hunter, a man who gives his time up to rowing or punting, or any
sort of match in order to win the pewters" which are given as prizes.
-University. The term is now much used in aquatic and athletic
circles; and is applied, in a derogatory sense, to men of good quality
who enter themselves in small races they are almost sure to win, and
thus deprive the juniors of small trophies which should be above the
attention of champions, though valuable to beginners. Also an unwel-
come guest, who manages to be just in time for dinner.
Pot-luck, just as it comes; to take POT-LUCK, i.e., one's chance of a
dinner, or of what there is for dinner. A hearty term, used to signify
that whatever the pot contains the visitor is welcome to.
Pot-valiant, courageous through application to the bottle.
Possessed
of Dutch courage.
Pot-walloper, an elector in certain boroughs before the passing of the
first 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. Honiton, Tregoney, Ilchester, Old
Sarum, &c., had this privilege before the passing of the first Reform
Bill. Also, a scullion.
Potato-trap, the mouth. --Originally a Hibernicism.
Potheen, whisky made in an illicit still, once a favourite drink in Ire-
land, now almost unattainable. People resident in England who read
of the charms of POTHEEN would be rather astonished if they were to
taste it. It is real "fire-water" flavoured with peat-smoke.
Potted, or POTTED OUT, cabined, confined, figurative of crammed into a
garden-pot. Also applied to burial,--a horticultural allusion.
260
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
A
رو
Potter, to meddle without much judgment. Application various.
gentleman may describe himself as "POTTERING about in his garden,
and think the phrase pleasant. The gardener, who has to do the work
all over again, may, however, use the word in quite a different sense.
Power, a large quantity; a POWER of money."-Irish at first, but
now general.
Pow-wow, a conference. Originally an Indian term.
Prad, a horse. PRAD-NAPPING was horse-stealing. Both these terms
are old cant.
Prancer, a horse.-Ancient Cant. In modern slang an officer of
cavalry.
Praties, potatoes.- Irish.
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., i.e., an eminent one.
Pretty horsebreakers, a phrase adopted some years back, in deference
to common squeamishness, to denote the demi-monde, who dress so
well and ride so daintily. Really, pretty heartbreakers:
Prial, a corruption of PAIR-ROYAL, a term at the game of cribbage,
meaning three cards of a similar description. Often used metaphori-
cally for three persons or things of a kind. DOUBLE-PRIAL, a corrup-
tion of DOUBLE PAIR-ROYAL, means four cards, persons, or things of a
similar description.
Prick the garter, or PITCH THE NOB, 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 holds the ends tightly with one hand, and there is little
doubt that he can make the "flat" lose and the "bonnet" win at
pleasure. This was, doubtless, originally a gipsy game, and we are
informed by Brand that it was much practised by the gipsies in the
time of Shakspeare. In those days it was termed PRICKING AT THE
BELT, or FAST AND LOOSE.
Prig, a thief. Used by Addison in the sense of a coxcomb.—Ancient
Cant, probably from the Saxon, PRICC-AN, to filch, &c.-Shakspeare.
PRIG, to steal or rob. PRIGGING, thieving. In Scotland the term
PRIG is used in a different sense from what it is in England. In
Glasgow, or at Aberdeen, "to PRIG a salmon" would be to cheapen
it, or seek for an abatement in the price. A story is told of two
Scotchmen, visitors to London, 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, over-knowing person; one who appropriates
cr adopts a manner or costume not suited to him.
1
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
261
:
Priggish, conceited.
Primed, said of a person in that state of incipient intoxication that if he
took more drink it would become evident. Also, crammed for an
examination.
Pro, a professional.-Theatrical.
Pro, the proproctor, or second in command in the proctorial police. The
two proctors generally appoint a certain number of proproctors each.--
Oxford University.
Proctorized, TO BE, to be stopped by the Proctor, and told to call on
him.-University.
Prog, meat, food, &c. Johnson calls it "a low word." He was fond of
prog," however.
Proof, the best ale at Magdalen College, Oxford.
Prop, a blow. As, "a PROP on the nose,"-more street slang than
pugilistic.
Prop, a scarf pin.
Prop-nailer, a man who "sneaks," or rather snatches, pins from gen-
tlemen's scarves.
Proper, very, exceedingly, sometimes used ironically; "you are a PROPER
nice fellow," meaning a great scamp. A "PROPER man" generally
means a perfect man, as far as can be known.
Props, crutches.
Props, stage properties.-Theatrical.
πρός τινα τόπον.
Pros, a water-closet. Abbreviated form of πрòç тivα тóπоv. Some say,
πρὸς τον τόπον.-Oxford University.
Also, to
Pross, to break in or instruct a stage-infatuated youth.
spunge upon a comrade or stranger for drink. In this latter capacity
the word is in connexion with prostitute, a PROSSER being considered
a most degraded being, and the word being supposed by many to repre-
sent a man who lives on a woman's prostitution.
Psalm-smiter, a Ranter," one who sings at a conventicle.
BRISKET-BEATER.
See
Pub, or PUBLIC, a public-house; "what PUB do you use?" i.e., which
inn or public-house do you frequent?
Public patterers, swell mobsmen who pretend to be Dissenting
preachers, and harangue in the open air to attract a crowd for their
confederates to rob.
Pucker, poor or bad temper, difficulty, déshabillé. PUCKER UP, to get
in a bad temper.
Puckering, talking privately.
Puckerow, to seize, to take hold of. From the Hindostanee, PUCKERNA.
—Anglo-Indian.
Pudding-snammer, one who robs a cook-shop.
Puff, to blow up, or 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, &c.,
262
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
to increase the reputation and sale of a book, and is an excellent stratagem to
excite the curiosity of gentle readers."
Lord Bacon, however, used the word in a similar sense a century
before. Sheridan also seems to have remembered the use of the word,
vide Mr. PUFF.
Pug, a fighting man's idea of the contracted word to be produced from
pugilist.
Pull, an advantage, or hold upon another; "I've the PULL over (or of)
you," ie., you are in my power-perhaps an oblique allusion to the
judicial sense. See the following.
Pull, to have one apprehended; "to be PULLED up," or more recently
to be PULLED" only, to be taken before a magistrate. The police
are constantly "pulling" loitering, furiously driving, or drunken cab-
men.
Pull, to drink; " come, take a PULL at it," i.e., drink up.
Pull, to prevent a horse from winning, that is, so far as the rider's action is
concerned.
Pullet, a young girl. Filly is an exchangeable term.
Pummel, to thrash,-from POMMEL.
Pump, to extract information by roundabout questioning.
Pundit, a person who assumes to be very grave and learned.—Anglo-
Indian.
Punkah, a fan, usually a fan of very large size, worked with a string, and
used to ventilate rooms.-Anglo-Indian.
Punt, to gamble; PUNTING-SHOP, a gambling-house.
Common in
ancient writers, but now disused. The word seems confined to playing
for "chicken stakes." PUNT means now in the sporting world to back
horses for small stakes.
Punter, a small professional backer of horses.
Pup and ringer, i.e., the "Dog and Bell," the sign of a flash public.
house.
Purdah, a curtain.—Anglo-Indian.
Pure finders, street-collectors of dogs' dung.-Humorous.
Purl, to spill; PURLED is a hunting and steeplechasing term synonymous
with "foaled," or "spilt" (thrown); "he'll get PURLED at the rails."
Purl, a mixture of hot ale and sugar, with wormwood infused in it, a
favourite morning drink to produce an appetite; sometimes with gin
and spice added :—
"Two penn'orth o' PURL-
Good' early PURL,"
'Gin all the world
To put your hair into a curl,
When you feel yourself queer of a mornin'."
Purler, a heavy fall from a horse in the hunting or steeplechasing field.
Push, a robbery or swindle. "I'm in this PUSH," the notice given by one
magsman to another that he means to "stand in.'
Push, a crowd.—Old Cant.
1
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
263
:
Pussey-cats, corruption of Puseyites, a name constantly, but impro-
perly, given to the Tractarian party in the Church, from the
Oxford Regius Professor of Hebrew, who by no means approved of
the Romanizing tendencies of some of its leaders. The name still
sticks, however, to this day.
Put, a game at cards, once fashionable, but now played among thieves
and costermongers only.
Put, an obsolete slang term representing the modern "bloke" or
It was generally applied to elderly persons.
"cove."
Put on, to promise another money or valuables in the event of an antici-
pated success. "You're ON a quid if Kaiser wins," might often have
been heard before last St. Leger. Many hangers-on of the turf live
almost entirely by what they are PUT ON, by bookmakers and backers
for whom they do odd work.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it, said of a blow or repartee,
and equivalent to take that and think over it, or digest it, or let it be
a warning to you.
Put the pot on, to put too much money upon one horse.-Sporting.
Put up, to suggest, to incite, "he PUT me UP to it ;" he prompted me to
do it.
PUT UP, to stop at an hotel or a tavern for entertainment.
Put up, to inspect or plan out with a view of robbery. To obtain full
particulars with regard to a house and its occupants, so that danger
shall be reduced to a minimum, and the chances of success enlarged.
Put upon, cheated, victimized, oppressed.
Putter up, a man who travels about for the purpose of obtaining in-
formation useful to professional burglars. A man of this description
will assume many characters, sometimes ingratiating himself with the
master of a house, sometimes with the servants, but all to one end, that
of robbery. He rarely or never joins in the actual burglary, his work
being simply to obtain full particulars as to how, when, and where, for
which he receives his full share of the "swag.
""
Puttun, regiment.—Anglo-Indian.
Pyah, weak, useless, paltry. This word, much in use among sailors, is
evidently derived from the Indian term PARIAH, signifying the lowest
caste of Hindoos. Thus the Pariah dogs in India are termed PYAH
dogs; and the Pariah descendants of the old Portuguese settlers are
called PYAH Portuguese. Sailors term the natives of St. Helena-
a wretched-looking set of individuals—PYAH Englishmen.
Pygostole, the least irreverent of names for the peculiar M. B. coats
worn by Tractarian curates :—
See M.B.
"It is true that the wicked make sport
Of our PYGOSTULES, as we go by;
And one gownsman, in Trinity Court,
Went so far as to call me a 'Guy.'
Pyjands, a kind of drawers or loose pantaloons.—Anglo-Indian.
Quad. See QUOD.
Quaker, a lump of excrement.
T
264
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Quality, gentry, the upper classes.
Quandary, described in the dictionaries as a "low word," may fittingly
be given here. It illustrates, like "hocus-pocus," and other compound
colloquialisms, the singular origin of slang expressions. QUANDARY,
a dilemma, a doubt, a difficulty, is from the French, QU'EN DIRAI-JE?—
Skinner.
Quartereen, a farthing.-Gibraltar term. Italian, QUATTRINO.
Quaver, a musician.
Quean, a strumpet. In Scotland, a lower-class woman. Saxon, CWEAN,
a barren old cow.
Queen Bess, the Queen of Clubs,-perhaps because that queen, history
says, was of a swarthy complexion.-North Hants. See Gentleman's
Magazine for 1791, p. 141.
Queen's tobacco-pipe, the kiln in which all contraband tobacco
seized by the Custom-house officers is burned.
Queer, an old cant word, once in continual use as a prefix, signifying
base, roguish, or worthless, -the opposite of RUM, which signified
good and genuine. QUEER, in all probability, is immediately derived
from the cant language. It has been mooted that it came into use from
a quære (?) being set before a man's name; but it is more than probable
that it was brought into this country, by the gipsies, from Germany,
where QUER signifies cross" or "crooked. At all events it is
believed to have been first used in England as a cant word.
Queer, "to QUEER a flat," to puzzle or confound a "gull," or silly fellow.
"Who in a row like Tom could lead the van,
Booze in the ken, or at the spellken hustle?
Who QUEER a flat," &c.-Don Juan, xi. 19.
Queer bail, worthless persons who for a consideration formerly stood
bail for any one in court. Insolvent Jews generally performed this
office, which gave rise to the term JEW-BAIL, otherwise STRAW BAIL.
Queer-bit-makers, coiners.
Queer cuffen, a justice of the peace, or magistrate,-a very ancient
term, mentioned in the earliest slang dictionary. In this sense, as well
as in that of the verb just given, the term is evidently derived from
quæro, to inquire, to question. Quiz and quis? have also an
undoubted connexion.
Queer-soft, bad notes.
Queer-street, "in QUEER STREET," in difficulty or in want.
Querier, a chimney-sweep who calls from house to house soliciting
employment, formerly termed KNULLER, which see.
Qui-hi, an English resident at Calcutta.-Anglo-Indian..
Quick sticks, in a hurry, rapidly; "to cut QUICK STICKS," to start off
hurriedly, or without more ado. See CUT ONE'S STICK.
Quid, or THICK UN a sovereign;
"half a QUID," half a sovereign ;
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
265
QUIDS, money generally; "QUID for a QUOD," one good turn for
another. The word is used by old French writers :-
"Des testamens qu'on dit le maistre
De mon fait n'aura QUID ne QUOD."
Grand testament de Villon.
Quid, a small piece of tobacco-one mouthful. Quid est hoc? asked one,
tapping the swelled cheek of another; Hoc est quid, promptly replied
the other, exhibiting at the same time a "chaw" of the weed. CUD
is probably a corruption. Derivation, O. F., or Norman, QUIDER, to
ruminate.
Quid-nunc, an inquisitive person, always seeking for news. The words
translated simply signify,
What now?"
Quiet, on the QUIET,
"under the rose."
clandestinely, so as to avoid observation,
Quill-driver, a scrivener, a clerk,—satirical phrase similar to
bar driver," a tailor.
"steel
Quiller, a parasite, a person who sucks neatly through a quill. See
SUCK UP.
Quilt, to thrash, or beat.
Quisby, bankrupt, poverty-stricken. Amplification of QUEER.
Quisi, roguish, low, obscene.—Anglo-Chinese.
Qui-tam, a solicitor. He who, i.e., "he who, as much for himself as for
the King," seeks a conviction, the penalty for which goes half to the
informer and half to the Crown. The term would, therefore, with
greater propriety, be applied to a spy than to a solicitor.
Quiz, a prying person, an odd fellow. Originally Oxford slang, but now
general, and lately admitted into some dictionaries. See QUEER CUFFEN.
Quiz, to pry, or joke; to hoax.
Quizzical, jocose, humorous.
Quizzing-glass, an eyeglass. This was applied to the old single eye-
glass, which was not stuck in the eye, as now, but was held in the
hand.
Quockerwodger, a wooden toy figure which, when pulled by a string,
jerks its limbs about. The term is used in a slang sense, to signify a
pseudo-politician, one whose strings of action are pulled by somebody
else.
Quod, a prison, a lock-up; QUODDED, put in prison. QUOD is really a
shortening of quadrangle; so to be QUODDED is to be within four walls.
The expression is, however, seldom used now except to mean in prison.
At Oxford, where it is spelt QUAD, the word has its original signifi-
cation.
Quodger, a contraction, or corruption rather, of the Latin law phrase,
QUO JURE? hy what law?-Legal.
R. M. D., cash down, immediate payment. The initial letters of READY
MONEY DOWN. Another version of this is P. Y. C. (pay your cash),
often seen in the market quotations,—as,
'Meat fetched 6s. 4d. a
stone, P. Y. C., and 6s. 6d. for the account."
266
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Rabbit, when a person gets the worst of a bargain, he is said "to have
bought the RABBIT. From an old story about a man selling a cat to
a foreigner for a rabbit.
Racket, a dodge, manœuvre, exhibition; a disturbance.
Rackety, wild or noisy.
Racks, the bones of a dead horse. Term used by horse-slaughterers.
Raclan, a married woman.
English tramps.
Originally Gipsy, but now a term with
Rafe, or RALPH, a pawnbroker's duplicate.-Norwich.
Raff, a dirty, dissipated fellow; RAFFISH, looking like a RAFF.
Rag, to divide or share; "let's RAG IT," or "go RAGS," i.e., share it
equally between us.-Norwich.
Rag, a bank-note.
Rag and Famish, the Army and Navy Club. From Ensign RAG
and Captain FAMISH, imaginary characters, out of whom Leech some
years back obtained much amusement.
Rag-shop, a bank.
Rag-splawger, a rich man.
Ragamuffin, an ill-clad vagabond, a tatterdemalion.
Rain napper, an umbrella.
Raise the wind, to obtain credit, or money,- generally by pawning
or selling property, but not unusually by borrowing. Sometimes
varied to WHISTLE UP THE BREEZE.
Raker, TO GO A, is, in racing parlance, to put more money than usual
on a certain horse. Going a RAKER" often leads to coming a
cropper.
"}
Ramp, to hustle, to rob with violence, to levy blackmail in a ferocious
manner; to extort by means of threats. RAMPING is generally done
in gangs.
Rampage, TO BE ON THE, on the drink, on the loose. Dickens, in
Great Expectations, refers to Mrs. Jo as being on the RAMPAGE when
she is worse tempered than usual.
Ramper, a ruffian of the most brutal description, who infests racecourses
and similar places on welching expeditions during summer, and finds
pleasure and profit in garrotte robberies during winter.
Ramshackle, queer, rickety, knocked about, as standing corn is after a
high wind. Corrupted from RAM-SHATTER, or possibly from RANSACK.
Rancho, originally a Spanish-American word, signifying a hunting-
lodge, or cattle-station, in a wood or desert far from the haunts of
men. A hunting or fishing station in the Highlands or elsewhere. In
Washington, with their accustomed ingenuity in corrupting words and
meanings, the Americans use the appellation for a place of evil report.
The word is generally pronounced RANCH now.
Randals-man. See BILLY.
Randan, a boat impelled by three rowers, the midship man sculling, and
the bowman and strokesman rowing with oars.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
267
Random, three horses driven in line. See TANDEM, SUDDEN DEATH,
HARUM-SCARUM.
Randy, rampant, violent, warm.-North. RANDY-BEGGAR, a gipsy tinker.
Rank, to cheat. Modification of RAMP.
Ranker, a commissioned officer in the army who has risen from the
ranks. Usually employed in a disparaging sense. Purely military.
Also, among street folk, a corruption of RANK duffer.
Ran-tan, on the RAN-TAN," drunk.
Rantipoll, a noisy rude girl, a madcap.
Rap, a halfpenny; frequently used generically for money, thus :-"I
haven't a RAP," i.e., I have no money whatever; "I don't care a
RAP," &c. Originally a species of counterfeit coin used for small
change in Ireland, against the use of which a proclamation was issued,
5th May, 1737. Small copper or base metal coins are still called
RAPPEN in the Swiss cantons. Irish robbers were formerly termed
RAPPAREES.
Rap, to utter rapidly and vehemently; "he RAPPED out a volley of oaths."
Rapping, enormous; "a RAPPING big lie.
Rapscallion, a low tattered wretch-not worth a RAP.
Raree-show, a collection of curiosities.
Rat, a sneak, an informer, a turn-coat, one who changes his party for in-
terest. The late Sir Robert Peel was called the RAT, or the TAMWORTH
RATCATCHER, for altering his views on the Roman Catholic question.
From RATS deserting vessels about to sink. The term is often used
amongst printers to denote one who works under price. Old cant for
a clergyman.
Rat, TO SMELL A, to suspect something, to guess that there is something
amiss.
Rather! a ridiculous street exclamation synonymous with yes; "Do you
like fried chickens ?" "RATHER !" "Are you going out of town?"
"RATHER!" Very often pronounced "RAYTHER!"
Rattening, the punishment inflicted on non-unionists by Sheffield
grinders, through the instrumentality of " Mary Ann." See Parlia-
mentary Inquiry Report on the subject.
Rattlecap, an unsteady, volatile person. Generally applied to girls.
Rattler, a cab, coach, or cart.—Old Cant.
Rattletrap, the mouth. Anything shaky and mean, but pretentious and
vulgar, is said to belong to the RATTLETRAP order of things.
Rattling, jolly, pleasant, well-appointed. "A RATTLING good spread"
means an excellent repast, while a true friend is said to be a
good fellow.'
RATTLING
Raw, a tender point, or foible; "to touch a man upon the RAW," is to
irritate one by alluding to, or joking him on, anything on which he is
peculiarly susceptible or "thin-skinned." Originally stable slang.
"Liver and bacon, kidneys, ten pounds one!
He thinks me RAW. I think I'm rather DONE."
Phantom Barber.
268
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
+
Raw, uninitiated; a novice.-Old. Frequently JOHNNY Raw.
Reach me downs, or HAND ME DOWNS, clothes bought at second-
hand shops. From "REACH ME DOWN that, and let's see if it fits."
In Houndsditch and other celebrated old clothes' marts, the goods are
kept hanging on pegs so as to be well within view of intending buyers.
Reader, a pocket-book; "Touch him for his READER,” ¿.e., rob him of
his pocket-book.
Ready, or READY GILT (maybe GELT), money. Used by Arbuthnot-
Lord Strut was not very flush in READY.
Ready-reckoners, the Highland regiments of the British army.
Real jam, a sporting phrase, meaning anything exceptionally good. It
is said to be REAL JAM for those who back a horse at a long price,
when the animal wins, or comes to a short figure.
Recent incision, the busy thoroughfare on the Surrey side of the
Thames, known to sober people as the New Cut. Even this latter
name has now been changed-if indeed the place ever was so called
properly. Although to the general public the street which runs from
opposite Rowland Hill's Chapel to Westminster Bridge Road is known
as the New Cut, its name to the Board of Works is Lower Marsh.
Redge, gold.
Red herring, a soldier. The terms are exchangeable, the fish being
often called a "soldier."
Red lane, the throat.
Red liner, an officer of the Mendicity Society.
Red rag, the tongue.
Red un, a gold watch.
Redtape, official routine. A term which was much in vogue during the
Crimean campaign, so famous for War Office blunderings.
Regulars, a thief's fair share of plunder.
Reliever, a coat worn in turn by any party of poor devils whose ward-
robes are in pawn.
Relieving officer, a significant term for a father.- University.
Renage, to revoke, a word used in Ireland at the game of five-card.
Rench, vulgar pronunciation of RINSE. "(W)RENCH your mouth out,"
said a fashionable dentist one day.
Re-raw, "on the RE-RAW," tipsy or drunk.
Resurrection pie, once a school but now a common phrase, used in re-
ference to a pie supposed to be made of the scraps and leavings that
have appeared before.
Ret, an abbreviation of the word REITERATION, used to denote the
forme which, in a printing-office, backs or perfects paper already
printed on one side.
Rhino, ready money.-Old.
"Some as I know,
Have parted with their ready RINO.'
>>
The Seaman's Adicu, Old Ballad, 1670.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
269
Rhinoceral, rich, wealthy, abounding in RHINO.
At first sound it
would seem as though it meant a man abounding in rhinoceroses.
Rib, a wife. Derivation, of course, Biblical.
Ribbon, gin, or other spirits. Modification of white satin.
Ribbons, the reins. 'To handle the RIBBONS," to drive.
Ribroast, to beat till the ribs are sore.-Old; but still in use :-
"And he departs, not meanly boasting
Of his magnificent RIBROASTING."-Hudibras.
Rich, spicy; also used in the sense of "too much of a good thing;"
RICH idea," one too absurd or unreasonable to be adopted.
Richard, a dictionary. See DICK.
rr
Ride, "to RIDE the high horse," or RIDE roughshod over one, to be
overbearing or oppressive; "to RIDE the black donkey, to be in an
ill humour.
Rider, in a University examination, a problem or question appended to
another, as directly arising from or dependent on it ;-beginning to
be generally used for any corollary or position which naturally arises
from any previous statement or evidence.
Rider, a supplementary clause in a document.
Riff-raff, low, vulgar rabble.
Rig, or trick, "spree," or performance; " run a RIG," to play a trick.-
See JOHN GILPIN. "RIG the market," in reality to play tricks with it,
-a mercantile slang phrase often used in the newspapers.
Rigged, "well RIGGED," well dressed.-Old Slang, in use in 1736. See
Bailey's Dictionary.-Sea.
Rigging, a process well known in connexion with sales by auction, by
which articles are secured at prices considerably below their real value.
See KNOCK-OUTS. TO RIG the market is to do similar business on a
larger scale for the purpose of affecting the supplies, and thereby in-
creasing the profits on an original purchase of the goods thus made
scarce.
Right as ninepence, or NICE AS NINEPENCE (possible corruption of
NINE-PINS), quite right, exactly right, comfortable. See NINEPENCE.
Right you are, a phrase implying entire acquiescence in what has been
said or done. The expression is singularly frequent and general
amongst the lower and middle classes of the metropolis.
Rights, "to have one TO RIGHTS," to be even with him, to serve him
out properly. "TO RIGHTS" is also an ejaculation signifying satisfac-
tion of the highest order.
Rigmarole, a prolix story.
Rile, to offend, to render very cross, irritated, or vexed. Properly, to
render liquor turbid.
Ring, to change; RINGING castors," changing hats; "to RING the
changes," in low life means to change bad money for good; in respect.
270
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
able society the phrase is sometimes employed to denote that the
aggressor has been paid back in his own coin, as in practical joking,
when the laugh is turned against the jester. The expression origi
nally came from the belfry.
Ring, a generic term given to horse-racing and pugilism,-the latter was
sometimes termed the PRIZE-RING. From the rings used for betting
and fighting in, respectively.
Ring, formerly "to go through the RING," to take advantage of the In-
solvency Act, or be "whitewashed." Now obsolete.
Ring, the open space in front of a racecourse stand, which is used for
betting purposes. Betting men are nowadays known as members of
the ring, especially if they are in the habit of attending race-meetings.
RING, in America, is a combination of speculators whose object is to
force the market for their own especial benefit without any regard to
order or decency. We have similar arrangements here, but hitherto
no one word has fairly described them.
Ringdropping, is a pursuit to which London "magsmen" and "strect-
muggers" are prone. A ring or other spurious article is supposed to
be found just in front of a "soft-looking party," and he or she is tempted
to buy it at less than half its supposed value.
Rip, a rake, "an old RIP," an old libertine, or a debauchee. Corruption
of REPROBATE,
Rip, to go at a rare pace. This is an American term, and often means to
"Let her RIP, I'm insured."
burst up.
Ripper, a first-rate man or article.-Provincial.
Ripping, excellent, very good. Equivalent to "stunning."
Rise, "to take a RISE out of a person." A metaphor from fly-fishing,
the silly fish RISING to be caught by an artificial fly; to mortify, out-
wit, or cheat him, by superior cunning.
"There is only one thing, unfortunately, of which Oxford men are economical, and
that is, their University experience. They not only think it fair that Freshmen
should go through their ordeal unaided, but many have a sweet satisfaction.
in their distresses, and even busy themselves in obtaining elevations, or, as
it is vulgarly termed, in 'getting RISES out of them.""-Hints to Freshmen,
Oxford, 1843.
Rise, or raise, a Barney, to collect a mob; term used by patterers
and schwassle-box" (Punch and Judy) men.
66
Roarer, a broken-winded horse; or, in the more polite speech of the
stable, a high blower." ROARING, as applied to horses, is often
termed "talking" by turf-men. It is often said delicately by
sporting writers, when speaking of a broken-winded racehorse, that
"he makes a noise."
Roaring trade, a very successful business.-Shopkeepers' Slang.
Roast, to expose a person to a running fire of jokes for the amusement and
with the assistance of a whole company. A performance not in-
dulged in by gentlemen. QUIZZING is done by a single person only.
Robin redbreast, the ancient Bow Street runner. So called from the
colour of his waistcoat.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
271
Rock-a-low, an overcoat. Corruption of the French, ROQUELAURE.
Rocked, "he's only HALF-ROCKED," i.e., half-witted. See HALF-
ROCKED.
Rogue's yarn, a thread of red or blue worsted, worked into the ropes.
manufactured in the Government dockyards, to identify them if stolen.
Also a blue thread worked into canvas, for the same purpose.
Roll of snow, a piece of linen, or bundle of underclothing.
Romany, a gipsy, or the gipsy language; the speech of the Roma or
Zincali.-Spanish Gipsy. "Can you patter ROMANY?" i.e., can you
talk "black," or gipsy lingo?
Rook, a cheat, or tricky gambler; the opposite of "pigeon."
Rook, to cheat, to play "rook" to another's "pigeon.
"
Rook, a clergyman, not only from his black attire, but also, perhaps,
from the old nursery favourite, the History of Cock Robin.
"I, says the ROOK,
With my little book,
I'll be the parson.
"}
Rookery, a low neighbourhood inhabited by dirty Irish and thieves-
as St. Giles's ROOKERY.-Old. In military slang that part of the
barracks occupied by subalterns, often by no means a pattern of good
order.
Rooky, rascally, rakish, scampish.
Roost, synonymous with PERCH, which see.
Rooster, a cock, whether bantam, game, barndoor, or of any other kind.
This is an Americanism which obtains full currency on the other side
of the Atlantic, though its use would infer that hens do not roost. As
the outcome of transpontine delicacy it must, however, be respected.
Rooter, anything good, or of a prime quality; "that is a ROOTER," ie.,
a first-rate one of the sort.
Rope, to lose a race of any kind purposely, to swindle one's backers of
the public by means of a cross" or pre-arranged race, in which the best
man or best horse is made to ROPE, or run behind.
Roper, MISTRESS, "to marry MRS. ROPER " is to enlist in the Royal
Marines.
Ropes, the ways of London lower life.
"To know the ROPES," is to be
conversant with the minutiae of metropolitan dodges, as regards both
the streets and the sporting world.
Roping, the act of pulling or restraining a horse, by its rider, to prevent
its winning a race- a trick not unfrequently practised on the turf. Also
when a pedestrian or other athlete loses where he should have won,
according to his backer's calculations, he is accused of roping.
Rose, "under the ROSE" (frequently used in its Latin form, sub rosû),
i.e., under the obligation of silence and secrecy, of which the rose was
anciently an emblem, perhaps, as Sir Thomas Browne remarks, from
the closeness with which its petals are enfolded in the bud. The Rose
of Venus was given, says the classic legend, to Harpocrates, the God
of Silence, by Cupid, as a bribe to keep silent about the goddess's
}
272
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
amours. It was commonly sculptured on the ceilings of banqueting
rooms, as a sign that what was said in free conversation there was not
afterwards to be divulged; and about 1526 was placed over the Roman
confessionals as an emblem of secrecy. The White Rose was also an
emblem of the Pretender, whose health, as king, his secret adherents
used to drink "under the ROSE.
Rosin, beer or other drink given to musicians at a dancing party.
Rosin-the-bow, a fiddler. From a famous old song of that name.
Rot, nonsense, anything bad, disagreeable, or useless.
Rot-gut, bad, small beer. See BUMCLINK. In America, cheap whisky.
Rough, bad; "ROUGH fish," bad or stinking fish.-Billingsgate.
Rough-it, to put up with chance entertainment, to take pot-luck and
what accommodation "turns up," without sighing for better.
Roughs, coarse, or vulgar men. By many thought to be RUFF, corruption
of RUFFIAN.
Rouleau, a packet of sovereigns.—Gaming.
Round, to tell tales, to SPLIT, which see;
swear to him as being the person, &c.
which see. Also to turn round upon and
has ROUNDING, whispering.
Round, ROUND dealing," honest trading;
to
"to ROUND on a man,"
Synonymous with BUFF,
abuse or rate. Shakspeare
ROUND sum," a large sum.
Synonymous also, in a slang sense, with SQUARE, which see.
Round (in the language of the street), the beat or usual walk of a cos-
termonger to sell his stock.
A term used by street folk generally.
"Watchmen, sometimes they made their sallies,
And walk'd their ROUNDS through streets and allies."
Ned Ward's Vulgus Britannicus, 1710.
The word "beat" has, so far as our modern guardians are concerned,
deposed "round."
Round robin, a petition, or paper of remonstrance, with the signatures
written in a circle,-to prevent the first signer, or ringleader, from
being discovered.
Round un, an unblushingly given and well-proportioned lie. Some-
times known as a
whacker."
Roundabout, a large swing with four compartments, each the size, and
very much the shape, of the body of a cart, capable of seating six or
eight boys and girls, erected in a high frame, and turned round by
men at a windlass. Fairs and merry-makings generally abound with
these swings. The frames take to pieces, and are carried in vans from
fair to fair by miserable horses.
Roundem, a button.
Row, "the Row," i.e., Paternoster Row. The notorious Holywell Street
is now called by its denizens "Bookseller's Row."
Row, a noisy disturbance, tumult, or trouble. Originally Cambridge, now
universal. Seventy years ago it was written ROUE, which would al-
most indicate a French origin, from roué, a profligate or disturber of the
TIIE SLANG DICTIONARY.
273
This is,
peace. Vide George Parker's Life's Painter, 1789, p. 122.
however, very unlikely, as the derivation of the French word shows.
Rowdy, money. In America, a ruffian, a brawler, a "rough." Rowdyism
is the state of being of New York roughs and loafers.
Rowdy-dow, low, vulgar "not the CHEESE, or thing.
Rub, a quarrel or impediment; "there's the RUB," i.e., that is the diffi-
culty.-Shakspeare and L'Estrange.
Rubbed out, dead,—a melancholy expression, of late frequently used in
fashionable novels. RUBBED OUT is synonymous with WIPED OUT,
which see.
Rubber, a term at whist, &c., the best of three games.
>>
Ruck, the undistinguished crowd; "to come in with the RUCK, to
arrive at the winning-post among the thick of the unplaced horses.-
Racing term.
Ruction, an Irish row. A faction fight.
Ruggy, fusty, frowsy.
Rule. "To run the RULE over," is, among thieves, to try all a person's
pockets quietly, as done by themselves, or to search any one thoroughly,
as at the police-station,
Rule the roast, to be at the head of affairs, to be "cock of the walk."
Rum, like its opposite, QUEER, was formerly a much-used prefix, signify-
ing fine, good, gallant, or valuable; perhaps in some way connected
with ROME. Nowadays it means indifferent, bad, or questionable,
and we often hear even persons in polite society use such a phrase as,
"What a RUM fellow he is, to be sure," in speaking of a man of sin-
gular habits or appearance. The term, from its frequent use, long
since claimed a place in our dictionaries; but, with the exception of
Johnson, who says RUM, a cant word for a clergyman (!), no lexico-
grapher has deigned to notice it.
"Thus RUMLY floor'd, the kind Acestes ran,
And pitying, raised from earth the game old man."
Virgil's Eneid, book v., Translation by Thomas Moore.
Rum cull, the manager of a theatre, generally the master of a travelling
troop.
Rumbler, a four-wheeled cab. Not so common as BOUNDER. See
GROWLER.
Rumbowling, anything inferior or adulterated.-Sea.
Rumbumptious, haughty, pugilistic.
Rumbustious, or RUMBUSTICAL, pompous, haughty, boisterous, careless
of the comfort of others.
Rumgumption, or GUMPTION, knowledge, capacity, capability,-
hence, RUMGUMPTIOUS, knowing, wide-awake, forward, positive, pert,
blunt.
Rum-mizzler, Seven Dials cant for a person who is clever at making his
escape, or getting out of a difficulty.
Rump, to turn the back upon any one. A still more decided "cut direct"
than the "cold shoulder."
274
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Rumpus, a noise, disturbance, a “row.”
Rum-slim, or RUM SLING, rum punch.
Rumy, a good woman or girl.-Gipsy Cant. In the Continental Gipsy,
ROMI, a woman, a wife, is the feminine of RO, a man.
Run (good or bad), the success or duration of a piece's performance.—
Theatrical.
Run, to comprehend, &c.; "I don't RUN to it," i.e., I can't do it, I don't
understand; also not money enough, as, "I should like to, but it wont
RUN to it."
Run, "to get the RUN upon any person," to have the upper hand, or be
able to laugh at him. RUN down, to abuse or backbite any one; to
"lord it, or drive over" him. Originally stable slang.
Run for the money, TO HAVE A, to have a start given in with a bet.
As 20 to 1 against Doncaster, with a RUN given. See P. P. To have a
RUN FOR ONE'S MONEY is also to have a good determined struggle
for anything.
Run-in, to lock up in the station-house. The police are very fond of
threatening to RUN-IN any person to whom they may take exception,
and, as recent revelations have shown, are by no means averse from
putting their threats into execution.
Running patterer, a street seller who runs or moves briskly along,
calling aloud his wares.
Running stationer, a hawker of books, ballads, dying speeches, and
newspapers. Persons of this class formerly used to run with news-
papers, blowing a horn, when they were sometimes termed FLYING
STATIONERS. Nowadays, in the event of any political or social dis-
turbance, the miserable relics of these peripatetic newsmen bawl the
heads of the telegram or information in quiet London thoroughfares, to
the disturbance of the residents. The race is very nearly extinct, the
evening-paper boys having run them to earth.
Rush, to come upon suddenly, generally for the purpose of borrowing.
To "give a man the RUSH, is to spunge upon him all day, and then
borrow money at the finish, or pursue some such similar mode of
procedure.
Rush, "doing it on the RUSH," running away, or making off.
Rust, "to nab the RUST," to take offence. RUSTY, cross, ill-tempered,
morose; not able to go through life like a person of easy and "polished"
manners.
Rustication, the sending of an offender from the University for one
term or more, thus hindering his qualifying for a degree.
Rusty guts, a blunt, rough, old fellow. Corruption of RUSTICUS.
Rye. Gipsy term for a young man. In the same parlance "rawnie " is a
young woman.
Sack, to "get the SACK," to be discharged by an employer. Varied in
the North of England to "get the BAG. In London it is sometimes
spoken of as getting the EMPTY. It is common now to speak of
getting the Bullet, an evident play on the word discharge.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
275
Sad dog, a merry fellow, a joker, a “gay” or "fast" man.
Saddle, an additional charge made by the manager to a performer upon
his benefit night.—Theatrical.
Safe, trusty, worthy of confidence.
"what's o'clock."
""
A SAFE card is a man who knows
A SAFE man among betters is one who is sure to
>>
fulfil his engagements.
Safe un, a horse which will not run, or will not try, in a race. The book-
makers in London have the information sent them by the touts in their
pay, and lay against the SAFE UN, who is also called a
"stiff un," a
dead un,
or a "shtumer," as often as they can, irrespective of the state
of their books. Sometimes a SAFE UN will win, owing to the owner or
trainer having, for various reasons, altered his mind. Such a result then
goes to prove the "glorious uncertainty of the turf, a phrase in very
common use among sporting writers whenever a favourite is beaten, or
whenever a horse runs slow one day and loses, and very fast the next
day and wins.
Sails, nickname for the sail-maker on board ship.
St. Martin's lace, imitation gold lace; stage tinsel.
Saint Monday, a holiday most religiously observed by journeymen
shoemakers and other mechanics. An Irishman observed that this
saint's anniversary happened every week. In some parts of the country
Monday is termed Cobblers' Sunday.
Sal, a salary.—Theatrical.
Salaam, a compliment or salutation.-Anglo-Indian.
Salamander, a street acrobat and juggler who eats fire.
Saloop, SALEP, or SALOP, a greasy-looking beverage, formerly sold on
stalls at early morning, prepared from a powder made of the root of
the Orchis mascula, or Red-handed Orchis. Coffee-stands have super.
seded SALOOP stalls; but, in addition to other writers, Charles Lamb,
in one of his papers, has left some account of this drinkable, which he
says was of all preparations the most grateful to the stomachs of young
chimney-sweeps. The present generation has no knowledge of this
drink, except that derived from books. The word "slops" as applied
to weak, warm drink-is very likely derived from the Cockney pro-
nunciation of SALOOP.
Salt, a sailor.
Salt, "it's rather too SALT," said of an extravagant hotel bill. Also, a
sort of black mail or tribute levied on visitors or travellers by the Eton
boys, at their triennial festival called the "Montem," by ancient
custom and privileges. It is now abolished. A periodical published
at Eton many years ago for circulation amongst the boys was called
"The SALT-box." When a person about to sell a business connexion
makes fictitious entries in the books of accounts, to simulate that a
much more profitable trade is carried on than there really is, he is
said to SALT the books-SALTING and COOKING being somewhat similar
operations. At the gold diggings of Australia, miners sometimes SALT
in unproductive hole by sprinkling a few grains of gold-dust over it,
275
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
and thus obtain a good price from a green hand." Unpromising
speculations are frequently thus SALTED to entrap the unwary, the
wildest ideas being rendered palatable cum grano salis. And though
old birds are not readily caught by chaff, the efficacy of SALT in bird-
catching, so far as the young are concerned, is proverbial.
Salt-box, the condemned cell in Newgate.
Salt junk, navy salt beef. See OLD HORSE.
Saltee, a penny. Pence, &c., are thus reckoned :-
ONEY SALTEE, a penny, from the Italian, UNO SOLDO.
DOOE SALTEE, twopence
TRAY SALTEE, threepence
QUARTERER SALTEE, fourpence
CHINKER SALTEE, fivepence
SAY SALTEE, sixpence
SAY ONEY SALTEE, or SETTER SALTEE,
sevenpence
SAY DOOE SALTEE, or OTTER SALTEE,
eightpence
SAY TRAY SALTEE, or NOBBA SALTEE,
DUE SOLDI.
TRE SOLDI.
QUATTRO SOLDI.
CINQUE SOLDI.
SEI SOLDI.
SETTE SOLDI.
OTTO SOLDI.
NOVE SOLDI.
DACHA
DIECI SOLDI.
DACHA
SAY QUARTERER SALTEE, or DACHA
ninepence
SALTEE, tenpence
•
SAY CHINKER SALTEE, or DACHA
ONEY SALTEE, elevenpence.
ONEY BEONG, one shilling.
DIECI UNO SOLDI, &c.
A BEONG SAY SALTEE, one shilling and sixpence.
DOOE BEONG SAY SALTEE, or MADZA CAROON, half-a-crown, or two
shillings and sixpence.
**This curious list of numerals in use among the London street
folk is, strange as it may seem, derived from the Lingua Franca, or
bastard Italian, of the Mediterranean seaports, of which other ex-
amples may be found in the pages of this Dictionary. SALTEE, the
cant term used by the costermongers and others for a penny, is no
other than the Italian, SOLDO (plural, SOLDI), and the numerals-as
may be seen by the Italian equivalents-are a tolerably close imita-
tion of the originals. After the number six, a curious variation occurs,
which is peculiar to the London cant, seven being reckoned as SAY
ONEY, six-one, SAY DOOE, six-two 8, and so on. DACHA is per-
haps from the Greek déka, ten, which, in the Constantinopolitan
Lingua Franca, is likely enough to have been substituted for the Italian.
MADZA is clearly the Italian MEZZA. The origin of BEONG has not
yet been discovered, unless it be the French BIEN, the application of
which to a shilling is not so evident; but amongst costermongers and
other street folk it is quite immaterial what foreign tongue contributes
to their secret language. Providing the terms are unknown to the
police and the public generally, they care not a rush whether the polite
French, the gay Spaniards, or the cloudy Germans help to swell their
vocabulary. The numbers of low foreigners, however, dragging out a
miserable existence in our crowded neighbourhoods, organ grinders
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
277
I
..
and image sellers, foreign seamen from the vessels in the river, and our
own connexion with Malta and the Ionian Isles, may explain, to a
certain extent, the phenomenon of these Southern phrases in the
mouths of costers and tramps. Professor Ascoli, in his Studj Critici,
absurdly enough derives these words from the ancient commercial
importance of Italian settlers in England, when they gave a name to
Lombard Street!
Salve, praise, flattery, chaff.
Sam, i.e., DICKY-SAM, a native of Liverpool.
Sam, to
stand SAM," to pay for refreshment or drink, to stand paymaster
for anything. An Americanism, originating in the letters U.S. on the
knapsacks of the United States' soldiers, which letters were jocularly
said to be the initials of Uncle Sam (the Government), who pays for
all. In use in this country as early as 1827.
Sammy, a stupid fellow.
Sampan, a small boat.-Anglo-Chinese.
Samshoo, a fiery, noxious spirit, distilled from rice. Spirits generally.—
Anglo-Chinese.
Samson and Abel, a group of wrestlers in the centre of Brasenose quad-
rangle. Some said it represented Samson killing a Philistine; others
Cain killing Abel. So the matter was compromised as above.-Oxford
University.
Sandwich, a human advertising medium, placed between two boards
strapped, one on his breast the other on his shoulders. A "toad in
the hole" is the term applied to the same individual when his person
is confined by a four-sided box. A gentleman with a lady on each arm
is sometimes called a SANDWICH. The French phrase for this kind of
SANDWICH, l'âne à deux pannières, is expressive.
Sanguinary James, a raw sheep's-head. See BLOODY JEMMY.
Sank work, tailors' phrase for soldiers' clothes. Perhaps from the Norman
SANC, blood,-in allusion either to the soldier's calling, or the colour of
his coat.
Sap, or SAPSCULL, a poor green simpleton, with no heart for work.
Sappy, soft, foolish, namby-pamby, milk-and-watery. "It's such a
SAPPY book."
Satin, gin; "a yard of SATIN," a glass of gin. Term used by females
on make-believe errands, when the real object of their departure from
home is to replenish the private bottle. With servants the words
"tape" and "ribbon" are more common, the purchase of these feminine
requirements being the general excuse for asking to run out for a
little while." See WHITE SATIN.
Saucebox, a pert young person. In low life it also signifies the mouth.
Save, to give part of one bet for part of another. A. and B. have backed
different horses, and they agree that in the event of either one winning
he shall give the other, say, £5. This is called " SAVING a fiver," and
generally is done when scratchings and knockings-out have left the
field so that one of the two speculators must be a winner. The practice
also obtains much in competitions decided in heats or rounds, in the
278
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
course of which backers and layers comparing their prospects often
SAVE a bit" with each other. Saving is, therefore, a form of hedging.
Saveloy, a sausage of bread and chopped beef smoked, a minor kind of
POLONY, which see.
Savvey, to know ; "do you SAVVEY that?" Spanish, SABE.
In the
nigger and Anglo-Chinese patois, this is SABBY, me no SABBY." It is
a general word among the lower classes all over the world. It also
means acuteness or cleverness ; as, "That fellow has plenty of SAVVEY.”
Saw, a term at whist. A SAW is established when two partners alter-
nately trump a suit, played to each other for the express purpose.
Saw your timber, "be off !" equivalent to "cut your stick." Occasion-
ally varied, with mock refinement, to "ampulate your mahogany."
See CUT.
Sawbones, a surgeon.
Sawney, or SANDY, a Scotchman. Corruption of Alexander.
Sawney, a simpleton; a gaping, awkward lout.
Sawney, bacon. SAWNEY HUNTER, one who steals bacon.
Scab, a worthless'person.-Old. Shakspeare uses "scald" in a similar sense.
Scab-raiser, a drummer in the army, so called from one of the duties
formerly pertaining to that office, viz., inflicting corporal punishment
on the soldiers.-Military.
Scabby neck, a native of Denmark.-Sea.
Scabby-sheep, epithet applied by the vulgar to a person who has been
in questionable society, or under unholy influence, and become tainted.
Also a mean disreputable fellow.
Scaldrum dodge, a dodge in use among begging impostors of burning
the body with a mixture of acids and gunpowder, so as to suit the hues
and complexions of any accident to be deplored by a confiding public.
Scaly, shabby, or mean. Perhaps anything which betokens the presence
of the "Old Serpent," or it may be a variation of "fishy."
Scamander, to wander about without a settled purpose ;-possibly in
allusion to the winding course of the Homeric river of that name.
Scammered, drunk.
Scamp, a graceless fellow, a rascal; a wandering vagabond; scamping
was formerly the cant term for plundering and thieving. A ROYAL-
SCAMP was a highwayman, whilst a FOOT-SCAMP was an ordinary thief
with nothing but his legs to trust to in case of an attempt at capture.
Some have derived SCAMP from qui ex campo exit, one who leaves the
field, a deserter.
Scamp, to give short measure or quantity; applied to dishonest con-
tractors. Also to hurry through a task in a way which precludes the
possibility of its being done well. Probably the same as SKIMP and
SCRIMP.
Scandal-water, tea; from old maids' tea-parties being generally a
focus for scandal.
Scaramouch, properly a tumbler, or SALTIMBANCO,
putable fellow.
Also a disre
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
279
Scarborough-warning, a warning given too late to be taken ad-
vantage of. When a person is driven over, and then told to keep out
of the way, he receives SCARBOROUGH-WARNING. Fuller says the
proverb alludes to an event which happened at that place in 1557,
when Thomas Stafford seized upon Scarborough Castle before the
townsmen had the least notice of his approach.
Scarce, TO MAKE ONESELF; to be off; to decamp.
Scarlet fever, the desire felt by young ladies to flirt with officers in
preference to civilians.
"}
to
Scarlet-town, Reading, in Berkshire. As the name of this place is
pronounced Redding, SCARLET-TOWN is probably a rude pun upon it.
Scarper, to run away; Spanish, ESCAPAR, to escape, make off; Italian,
SCAPPARE. "SCARPER with the feeley of the donna of the carzey,
run away with the daughter of the landlady of the house; almost
pure Italian, "SCAPPARE COLLA FIGLIA DELLA DONNA DELLA CASA.'
-Seven Dials and Prison Cant, from the Lingua Franca.
Schism-shop, a Dissenters' meeting-house.—University.
Schofel, bad money. See SHOFUL.
School, a knot of men or boys; generally a body of idlers or street gam-
blers. Also, two or more patterers" working together in the streets.
Schroff, a banker, treasurer, or confidential clerk.-Anglo-Indian.
Schwassle box, the street arrangement for Punch and Judy. See
SWATCHEL COVE.
Sconce, the head; judgment, sense. - Dutch.
Sconce, to fine. Used by Dons as well as undergrads. The Dons fined
or SCONCED for small offences; e.g., five shillings for wearing a coloured
coat in hall at dinner-time. Among undergrads a pun, or an oath, or
an indecent remark, was SCONCED by the head of the table. If the
offender could, however, floor the tankard of beer which he was
SCONCED, he could retort on his SCONCER to the extent of twice the
amount he was SCONCED in.-Oxford University.
Score, a reckoning, "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 the Scotch ;
"Oh! what a scor he was in," i.e., what temper he showed.
Scotch coffee, biscuits toasted and boiled in water. A gross calumny
on the much-enduring Scotians; a supposed joke on their parsimony.—
Sea.
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
U
280
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
degree, as it implies that he is afflicted with the itch. It is supposed
that a continuous oatmeal diet is productive of cutaneous affection.
Scotch greys, lice. Our northern neighbours were calumniously re-
ported, in the "good old times" of ignorance and prejudice, to be
peculiarly liable to cutaneous eruptions and parasites.
Scotches, the legs; also synonymous with notches.
Scout, a college valet, or waiter.-Oxford. See GYP.
Scout, the male servant, who generally has a staircase under his charge,
and waits on the men in each set of rooms. The female servant (not
unfrequently his wife or daughter) is the bedmaker.-University.
Scrag, the neck.-Old Cant. Scotch, CRAIG. Still used by butchers.
Hence, SCRAG, to hang by the neck, and SCRAGGING, an execution,—
also Old Cant.
Scran, pieces of meat, broken victuals. Formerly the reckoning at a
public-house. SCRANNING, or "out on the SCRAN," begging for broken
victuals. Also, an Irish malediction of a mild sort, "Bad SCRAN to
yer!" i.e., bad food to you.
Scran-bag, a soldier's haversack.-Military Slang.
Scrap, to fight. Also used as a substantive. Prize-fighters are often
known as SCRAPPERS.
Scrape, a difficulty; SCRAPE, low wit for a shave.
Scrape, cheap butter; also butter laid on bread in the thinnest possible
manner, as though it had been laid on and scraped off again.
"Bread
and SCRAPE," the bread and butter issued to schoolboys,-so called
from the manner in which the butter is laid on.
Scratch, an imaginary meeting-point in a fight, or verbal contest;
"coming up to the SCRATCH," preparing to fight-literally approach-
ing the line which used to be chalked on the ground to divide the ring.
According to the rules of the prize ring, the toe should be placed at
the SCRATCH, so the phrase often is “ toeing the SCRATCH.
Scratch, "no great SCRATCH," of little 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
are void." See P.P.- -Turf. One of Boz's characters asks whether
horses are really made more lively by being SCRATCHED."
Scratch-race (on the turf), a race at which the horses run at catch
weights, a race without restrictions. In boating, a race in which the
crew are picked up anyhow. A SCRATCH crew is a crew of all sorts.
Screaming, first-rate, splendid. Believed to have been first used in the
Adelphi play-bills; a SCREAMING farce," one calculated to make
the audience scream with laughter. Now a general expression.
Screed, an illogical or badly-written article or paper upon any subject.
Screeve, a letter, a begging petition.
From the
Screeve, to write, or devise; "to SCREEVE a fakement," to concoct, or
write, a begging letter, or other impostor's document.
Dutch, SCHRYVEN; German, SCHREIBEN, to write.

THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
281
Screever, 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 a morning, and
rents the spots out to as many cadaverous-looking men, who, when
any one looks hard at them, will commence to dabble clumsily with
There are
the short pieces of chalks they always keep at hand.
impostors of this kind in higher walks of art.
Screw, an unsound or broken-down horse, that requires both whip and
spur to get him along. So called from the screw-like manner in which
his ribs generally show through the skin.
Screw, a mean or stingy person.
Screw, salary, or wages.
Screw, "to put on the SCrew,
to limit one's credit, to be more exact
and precise; to put under the SCREW;" to compel, to coerce, to in-
fluence by strong pressure.
Screw, a small packet of tobacco.
A "twist" of the "weed."
Screw, a key-skeleton, or otherwise.
Screw, a turnkey.
Screw loose. When friends become cold and distant towards each other,
it is said there is a SCREW LOOSE betwixt them; the same phrase is
also used when anything goes wrong with a person's credit or reputa-
tion.
Screwed, intoxicated or drunk.
Scrimmage, or SCRUMMAGE, a disturbance or row.-Ancient. Probably
a corruption of SKIRMISH.
Scrimshaw. Anything made by sailors for themselves in their leisure
hours at sea is termed SCRIMSHAW-WORK.
Scrouge, to crowd or squeeze.-Wiltshire.
Scruff, the back part of the neck seized by the adversary in an encounter.
I seized him by the SCRUFF of the neck, and chucked him out.'
Originally SCURf.
Scrumptious, nice, particular, beautiful.
Scufter, a policeman.-North Country.
Scull, or SKULL, the head, or master of a college.-University, but nearly
obsolete; the gallery, however, in St. Mary's (the Oxford University
church), where the "Heads of Houses" sit in solemn state, is still
nicknamed the " Golgotha" by the undergraduates.
Scurf, a mean fellow. Literally a scurvy fellow.
Sea-connie, the steersman of an Indian ship. By the insurance laws
he must be either a PYAH Portuguese, a European, or a Manilla man,
Lascars not being allowed to be helmsmen.
Sea-cook, son of a SEA-COOK," an opprobrious phrase used on board
ship, differing from " son of a gun," which is generally used ad-
miringly or approvingly.
U 2

282
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Seals, a religious slang term for converts.
Also a Mormon term for
wives. See OWNED.
See. Like "go" and "do," this useful verb has long been supplemented
with a slang or unauthorized meaning. In street parlance, "to SEE"
is to know or believe; "I don't SEE that," i.e., "I don't put faith in
what you offer, or I know what you say to be untrue.
See it out, to stay out late or early, and see the gas put out. Also to
complete an undertaking.
See the king. See ELEPHANT.
Seedy, worn-out, poverty-stricken, used-up, shabby. Metaphorical ex-
pression from the appearance of flowers when off bloom and running
to SEED; hence said of one who wears clothes until they crack and
become shabby. "How SEEDY he looks," said of any man whose clothes
are worn threadbare, with greasy facings, and hat brightened up by
perspiration and continual polishing and wetting. When a man's
coat begins to look worn-out and shabby he is said to look SEEDY and
ready for cutting. This term has been in common use for nearly two
centuries, and latterly has found its way into most dictionaries. For-
merly slang, it is now a recognised word, and one of the most expres-
sive in the English language. The French are always amused with it,
they having no similar term.
1
"Oh, let my hat be e'er sae brown,
My coat be e'er sae SEEDY, O!
My whole turn-out scarce worth a crown,
Like gents well-bred, but needy, O!"
Fisher's Garland for 1835.
Seeley's pigs, blocks of iron in Government dockyards. Mr. Seeley,
M.P., was the first to call attention in the House of Commons to the
scandalous waste of pig-iron in the dockyards. Some of the yards
were found to be half paved with blocks of metal, which were thence
called "SEELEY'S PIGS."
Sell, a deception, or disappointment; also a lying joke.
Sell, to deceive, swindle, or play a practical joke upon a person. A sham
is a SELL in street parlance. "SOLD again, and got the money," a
patterer cries after having successfully deceived somebody. Shakspeare
uses SELLING in a similar sense, viz., blinding or deceiving.
Sensation, a quartern of gin.
Serene, all right; "it's all SERENE, a street phrase of very modern
adoption, the burden of a song. SERENE, ALL SERENE! from the
Spanish SERENO, equivalent to the English "all's well;" a counter-
sign of sentinels, supposed to have been acquired by some filibusters
who were imprisoned in Cuba, and liberated by the intercession of the
British ambassador. The Sereno, the Spanish night watchman, cries
out, with the hour, the state of the atmosphere. He was called the
Sereno (clear), from his announcing the usual fine (sereno) night-quite
different from the work of our old " Charlies," whose usual call was
one of foul weather.
Serve out, to punish, or be revenged on any one.
Setter, sevenpence. Italian, SETTE. See SALTEE.-Lingua Franca.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
2S3
"
Setter, a person employed by the vendor at an auction to run the bid-
dings up; to bid against bona-fide bidders. Also the man who takes
the box at hazard, and "sets a go.'
Setting jewels, taking the best portions of a clever book not much
known to the general public, and incorporating them quietly with
a new work by a thoroughly original author. The credit of this term
belongs to Mr. Charles Reade, who explained that the process is ac-
countable for the presence of some writing by one Jonathan Swift, in a
story published at Christmas, 1872, and called The Wandering Heir.
Settle, to kill, ruin, or effectually quiet a person.
Settled, transported, or sent to penal servitude for life; sometimes spoken
of as WINDED-SETTLED.
Set-to, a sparring match, a fight; "a DEAD SET" is a determined oppo-
sition in argument, or in movement.
Sevendible, a very curious word, used only in the North of Ireland, to
denote something particularly severe, strong, or sound. It is, no doubt,
derived from sevendouble-that is, sevenfold-and is applied to linen
cloth, a heavy beating, a harsh reprimand, &c.
Seven-pennorth, transportation for seven years.
Seven-sided animal, a one-eyed man, as he has an inside, outside,
left side, right side, foreside, backside, and blind side.
Seven-up, the game of all-fours, when played for seven chalks-that is,
when seven points or chalks have to be made to win the game.
Sewed-up, done up, used up, intoxicated. Dutch, SEEUWT, sick.
Sewn-up, quite worn-out, or "dead beat."
Shack, a
chevalier d'industrie." A scamp, a blackguard.—Nottingham.
Shack-per-swaw, every one for himself,-a phrase in use amongst
the lower orders at the East-end of London, derived apparently from
the French, CHACUN POUR SOI.
Shackly, loose, rickety.—Devonshire.
Shady, an expression implying decadence. On the SHADY side of
forty" implies that a person is considerably older than forty. SHADY
also means inferiority in other senses. A shady trick" is either a
shabby one, mean or trumpery, or else it is one contemptible from the
want of ability displayed. The SHADY side of a question is, and fairly
enough too, that which has no brightness to recommend it.
Shake, a disreputable man or woman.—North. In London a SHAKE is
a prostitute.
Shake-down, an improvised bed.
Shake-lurk, a false paper carried by an impostor, giving an account of
dreadful shipwreck.
a
>>
Shake the elbow, To, a roundabout expression for dice-playing. To
'crook the ELBOW" is an Americanism for to drink."
Shaker, a shirt.
Shakers, a Puritanical sect, almost peculiar to America, and not similar
to our Quakers, as is generally believed. They have very strange
284
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
notions on things in general, and especially on marriage and the con-
nexion of the sexes.
Shakes, a bad bargain is said to be "no great SHAKES;" "pretty fair
SHAKES" is anything good or favourable.-Byron. In America, a fair
SHAKE is a fair trade or a good bargain.
Shakes, "in a brace of SHAKES," i.e., in an instant.
Shakester, or SHICKSTER, a female. Amongst costermongers this term
is invariably applied to ladies, or the wives of tradesmen, and females
generally, of the classes immediately above them. Amongst Jews the
word signifies a woman of shady antecedents. Supposed to be derived
from the Hebrew, SHIKTZA. It is generally pronounced “shickser.”
Shaky, said of a person of questionable health, integrity, or solvency; at
the Universities, of one not likely to pass his examination.
Shaler, a girl. Corrupt form of Gaelic, CAILLE, a young woman.
Shalley-gonahey, a smock-frock.-Cornish.
Shallow, the peculiar barrow used by costermongers.
Shallow, a weak-minded country justice of the peace.-Shakspeare.
Shallow-cove, a begging rascal, who goes about the country half
naked, with the most limited amount of rags upon his person, wearing
neither shoes, stockings, nor hat.
Shallow-mot, a ragged woman, -the frequent companion of the
SHALLOW-COVE. ·
"to
Shallows," to go on the SHALLOWS," to go half naked.
Sham, contraction of champagne. In general use among the lower
class of sporting men. Sometimes extended to SHAMMY.
Sham Abraham, to feign sickness. See ABRAHAM.
Shandrydan, an old-fashioned or rickety conveyance of the "shay"
order.
Shandy-gaff, ale and gingerbeer. Origin unknown, but use very
common.
Shanks, legs.
Shanks's mare, "to ride SHANKS'S MARE," to go on foot.
Shant, a pot or quart; SHANT of bivvy," a quart of beer.
Shanty, a rude, temporary habitation. The word is principally em-
ployed to designate the huts inhabited by navigators, when constructing
large lines of railway far distant from towns. It is derived from the
French CHANTIER, used by the Canadians for a log hut, and has
travelled from thence, by way of the United States, to England.
Shanty, a song. A term in use among sailors. From CHANTER.
Shapes, "to cut up" or "show SHAPES," to exhibit pranks, or flightiness.
Shark, a sharper, a swindler. Bow Street term in 1785, now in most
dictionaries.-Friesic and Danish, SCHURK. See LAND-SHARK.
Sharp, or SHARPER, a cunning cheat, a rogue,-the opposite of FLAT.
Sharp, a similar expression to "TWO PUN' TEN" (which see), used by
assistants in shops to signify that a customer of suspected honesty is
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
285
amongst them. The shopman in this case would ask one of the assis-
tants, in a voice loud enough to be generally heard, "Has Mr. SHARP
come in yet ?" 'No," would probably be the reply; "but he is
expected every minute." The signal is at once understood, and a
general look-out kept upon the suspected party.
Sharp's-alley blood-worms, beef sausages and black puddings.
Sharp's Alley was, until City improvemennts caused it to be destroyed,
a noted slaughtering-place near Smithfield.
Shave, a false alarm, a hoax, a sell. This term was much in vogue in
the Crimea during the Russian campaign,-that is, though much used
by the military before then, the term did not, until that period, become
known to the general public.
Shave, a narrow escape. At Cambridge, "just SHAVING through," or
making a SHAVE," is just escaping a "pluck" by coming out at the
bottom of the list.
"My terms are anything but dear,
Then read with me, and never fear;
The examiners we're sure to queer,
And get through, if you make a SHAVE on't.'
The Private Tutor.
"
Shave; "to SHAVE a customer," charge him more for an article than the
marked price. Used in the drapery trade. When the master sees an
opportunity of doing this, he strokes his chin, as a signal to his assistant
who is serving the customer.
Shaver, a sharp fellow; there are young and old SHAVERS.—Sea.
Shebeen, an unlicensed place where spirituous liquors are illegally sold.
A word almost peculiar to Ireland.
Shed a tear, to take a dram, or glass of neat spirits; jocular phrase
used, with a sort of grim earnestness, by old topers to each other.
"Now then, old fellow, come and SHED A TEAR!" an invitation to
take "summat short." The origin may have been that ardent spirits,
taken neat by younger persons, usually bring water to their eyes.
With confirmed drinkers, however, the phrase is used with an air of
mingled humour and regret at their own position. A still more pathetic
phrase is "putting a NAIL IN ONE'S COFFIN," which see. The term
SHED A TEAR is probably derived from "eye-water."
Sheen, bad money.-Scotch.
Sheeny, a Jew. This word is used by both Jew and Gentile at the East-
end of London, and is not considered objectionable on either side.
Sheep's eyes, loving looks, "to make SHEEP'S EYES at a person,” to
cast amorous glances towards one on the sly.
Shelf,
But he, the beast, was casting SHEEP'S EYES at her
Out of his bullock head."
Colman, Broad Grins.
"on
on the SHELF," not yet disposed of; young ladies are said to be
so situated when they cannot meet with husbands. "On the SHELF"
also means pawned, or laid by in trust.
Shell out, to pay or count out money. Also a game played on a billiard
table, a variation of pool.
الله
286
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Shepherd, to look after carefully, to place under police surveillance.
Shice, nothing; "to do anything for SHICE," to get no payment.
The
term was first used by the Jews in the last century. Grose gives the
phrase CHICE-AM-A-TRICE, which has a synonymous meaning. Spanish,
CHICO, little; Anglo-Saxon, CHICHE, niggardly; or perhaps con-
nected with the German, SCHEISSEN.
Shicer, a mean man, a humbug, a
duffer, "—a worthless person, one
who will not work. This is the worst term one Jew can use to another.
At the diggings it means a hole which yields nothing.
Shickery, shabby, bad. From SHAKY, SHAKERY.
Shickster, a lady. See SHAKESTER.
Shickster-crabs, ladies' shoes.—Tramps' term.
Shigs, money, silver.-East London.
""
Shikaree, a hunter, a sportsman.-Anglo-Indian. An English sportsman
who has seen many ups and downs in jungles of the East styles himself
an OLD SHIKAREE. -Anglo-Indian. Also spelt SHEKARRY.
Shilly-shally, to trifle or fritter away time; to be irresolute. Corrup-
tion of "Shall I, shall I ?"
Shin, an Americanism for walking.
"I'm tired of SHINNING around."
Shindy, a row, or noise. A SHINDY generally means a regular mêlée.
Shine, a row, or disturbance.
Shine, "to take the SHINE out of a person," to surpass or excel him.
Shiners, sovereigns, or money.
Shiney rag, "to win the SHINEY RAG," to be ruined,―said in gambling,
when any one continues betting after "luck has set in against him."
Shin-plaster, a bank-note. Originally an Americanism.
Shins. "To break one's SHINS," figurative expression meaning to borrow
money.
Ship-shape, proper, in good order; sometimes the phrase is varied to
SHIP-SHAPE and Bristol fashion."-Sea.
Sea. The latter portion of the
expression went out with Bristol's fame as a seaport.
Shirty, ill-tempered, or cross. When one person makes another in an
ill-humour he is said to have "got his SHIRT out.
Shivering Jemmy, the name given by street-folk to any cadger who
exposes himself, half naked, on a cold day, to obtain alms.
The
game" is unpleasant, but was, before exposure of a different kind
spoilt it, exceedingly lucrative.
Shockhead, a head of long, unkempt, and rough hair.
Shoddy, old cloth worked up into new; made from soldiers' and police-
men's coats. The old cloth is pulled to pieces, the yarn unravelled
and carded over again. This produces shoddy, which is very short in
the fibre, and from it are produced, on again twisting and weaving,
cloth fabrics used for ladies' mantles, &c. Also, a term of derision
applied to workmen in woollen factories.-Yorkshire.
Shoddy, the plutocracy created out of bogus contracts during the civil
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
287
war in the United States. The SHODDYITES enriched themselves at
the expense of their country in the most shameless manner, having most
likely studied under those contractors who should have supplied our
soldiers with necessaries during the Crimean War.
Shoe, to free or initiate a person, -a practice common in most trades to
a new-comer. The SHOEING consists in paying for beer, or other
liquor, which is drunk by the older hands. The cans emptied, and the
bill paid, the stranger is considered properly SHOD. SHOEING is a
variation of "paying one's footing."
Shoe leather! a thief's warning cry when he hears footsteps. This
exclamation is used in the spirit which animated the friend who, when
he suspected treachery towards Bruce at King Edward's court, in
1306, sent him a purse and a pair of spurs, as a sign that he should use
them in making his escape.
Shoes, to die in one's SHOES," to be hanged. In the old hanging days
a highwayman would often kick off his shoes when the rope was round
his neck, so as-ob, vain and impotent attempt!-to defeat the pro-
phecy that had foreshadowed his present position.
Shoes, children's, to make, to suffer oneself to be made sport of,
or depreciated. Commonly used in Norfolk.—Cf. Mrs. Behn's comedy,
The Roundheads.
Hews. "Who, pox! shall we stand MAKING CHILDREN'S SHOES all the year? No;
let's begin to settle the nation, I say, and go through-stitch with our work."
Shoful, a Hansom cab. This favourite carriage was the invention of a
Mr. Hansom, afterwards connected with the Builder newspaper.
It
has been asserted that the term SHOFUL was derived from "shovel,"
the earliest slang term applied to Hansoms by other cab-drivers, who
conceived their shape to be after the fashion of a scoop or shovel. A
logical friend of the present Editor's argues thus :-SHOFUL, full of
show, ergo, beautiful handsome-Hansom. This is clever, but it
certainly never entered into the heads of those who gave the name of
SHOFUL to the Hansom cabs.
A corre-
Shoful, bad or counterfeit money. Perhaps, as some think, from the
Danish, SKUFFE, to shove, to deceive, cheat; Saxon, SCUFAN,
whence the English, SHOVE. The term, however, is possibly one of
the many street words from the Hebrew (through the low Jews);
SHEPHEL, in that language, signifying a low or debased estate. Chaldee,
SHAPHAL.-See Psalm cxxxvi. 23, "in our low estate."
spondent suggests a very probable derivation, from the German, SCHofel,
trash, rubbish,—the German adjective, SCHOFELIG, being the nearest
possible translation of our shabby. SHOFUL means anything mock, as
SHOFUL jewellery. A SHOFUL is also a humbug, an impostor.
Shoful-pitcher, a passer of bad money. SHOFUL-PITCHING, passing
bad money. Snide-pitcher" and "Snide-pitching" are terms ex-
changeable with the preceding.
Shoful pullet, a gay" or unsteady woman, especially a young woman,
Sholl, to bonnet one, or crush a person's hat over his eyes.-North.
288
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Shool, to saunter idly, to become a vagabond, to beg rather than work.-
Smollett's Roderick Random, vol. i., p. 262.
Shool, Jews' term for their synagogue.
Shoot the cat, to vomit. From a story of a man being sick in the back-
yard, and suffocating a cat and all her kittens.
Shoot the moon, to remove furniture from a house in the night with-
out paying the landlord.
Shop. In racing slang, to secure first, second, or third position in a race, is
to get a SHOP. This is also known as a place, and as a situation.
See PLACE.
Shop, a house.
"How are they all at your SHOP ?" is a common question
among small tradesmen.
Shop, the House of Commons. The only instance we have met with of
the use of this word in literature occurs in Mr. Trollope's Framley
Parsonage :-
"If we are merely to do as we are bid, and have no voice of our own, I don't see
what's the good of our going to the SHOP at all,' said Mr. Sowerby."
Shop, to discharge a shopman. In military slang, to SHOP an officer is
to put him under arrest in the guard-room. In pugilistic slang, to
punish a man severely is "to knock him all over the SHOP," i.e., the
ring, the place in which the work is done.
Shop-bouncer, or SHOP-LIFTER, a person generally respectably attired,
who, while being served with a small article at a shop, steals one of
more value. Shakspeare has the word LIFTER, a thief.
Shop-walker, a person employed to walk up and down a shop, to hand
seats to customers, and see that they are properly served. Contracted
also to WALKER.
Shopping, purchasing at shops. Termed by Todd a slang word, but
used by Cowper and Byron.
Shoppy, to be full of nothing but one's own calling or profession; "to
talk SHOP," to converse of nothing but professional subjects.
Short, when spirit is drunk without any admixture of water, it is said to
be taken "SHORT;" "summat SHORT," a dram. A similar phrase is
used at the counters of banks; upon presenting a cheque, the clerk asks,
"How will you take it ?" i.e., in gold, or notes. If in notes, long or
short? Should it be desired to receive it in notes for the largest
possible amount, the answer is, SHORT. A conductor of an omnibus,
or any other servant, is said to be SHORT when he does not give all the
money he receives to his master.
Short, hard-up; a polite term for impecuniosity used in clubs and among
military men.
Short commons, short allowance of food. See COMMONS.
Shorter, one who makes a dishonest profit by reducing the coin of the
realm by clipping and filing. From a crown-piece a SHORTER could
gain 5d. Another way was by chemical means: a guinea laid in aqua-
fortis would, in twelve hours, precipitate 9d.-worth of sediment; in
twenty-four, Is. 6d.-worth.-Rommany Rye.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
289
Shot, from the modern sense of the word to SHOOT,- a guess, a random
conjecture; to make a bad SHOT," to expose one's ignorance by
making a wrong guess, or random answer, without knowing whether it
is right or wrong.
Shot, from the once general, but now provincial word, to SHOOT, to sub-
scribe, contribute in fair proportion;-a share, from the Anglo-Saxon
word, SCEAT; “to pay one's SHOT," i.e., share of the reckoning, &c.
"Yet still while I have got
Enough to pay the SHOT
Of Boniface, both gruff and greedy O!"
Fisher's Garland for 1835.
Shot, "I wish I may be SHOT, if," &c., a common form of mild swearing.
Shot, a term used among horse chaunters. To SHOT a horse, is to give
him a lot of small shot, which will for a short time effectually "open
his pipes," and make him appear sound in wind.
Shot in the locker, money in pocket, resource of any kind in store.—
Navy.
Shoulder, when a servant embezzles his master's money, he is said to
SHOULDER his employer.
Shout, to pay for drink round.
""
"It's my SHOUT, says he who pays.
Possibly because the payer originally SHOUTED to the bar-keeper of an
hotel to score the drink to him.-Australian, but now general.
Shove-halfpenny, a gambling pot-house pastime, played on a table.
A very old game, originally called push-penny.
Shove in the mouth, a glass of spirits, which is taken off quickly and
at once.
Shovel, a term applied by the vulgar crowd to the inelegant twisted hats
worn by the dignitaries of the Church. Dean Alford says, "I once
heard a venerable dignitary pointed out by a railway porter as
party in a SHOVEL."-Queen's English.
Shrimp, a diminutive person.—Chaucer.
66
an old
Shtumer, a horse against which money may be laid without risk. See
SAFE UN.
Shunt, to avoid, to turn aside from. From the railway term.
Shut of, or SHOT OF, i.e., rid of. A very common expression amongst
the London lower orders. One costermonger will say to another
"Well, Ike, did yer get SHUT o' them there gawfs [apples]?" ¿.e., did
you sell them all?
stop short, to cease in a
The following is from a
heard of a preacher who,
Shut up! be quiet, don't make a noise; to
summary manner, to silence effectually.
literary paper :- 'Only the other day we
speaking of the scene with the doctors in the Temple, remarked that
the Divine disputant completely SHUT THEM UP!" SHUT UP, utterly
exhausted, done for.
Shy, a throw. See the following:
Shy, to fling; COCK-SHY, a game at fairs, consisting of throwing short
290
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
sticks at trinkets or cocoanuts set upon other sticks,-both name and
practice derived from the old game of throwing or SHYING at live
cocks. This game is best known to the London public as
a penny.'
three shies
Shy. "To fight SHY of a person," to avoid his society either from dislike,
fear, or other reason. SHY has also the sense of flighty, unsteady, un-
trustworthy.
Shy, to stop suddenly, or turn off, as a horse does when frightened.
Shyster, a duffer, a vagabond. Variation of "shicer.'
Sices, or SIZES, a throw of sixes at dice.
Sick as a horse, a popular simile,-curious, because a horse never vomits
Sickener, a dose too much of anything. Too much of even a good thing
will make a man sick.
Side, an affirmative expression in the cant language of the northern towns.
Do you stoll the gammy?" (Do you understand cant?) "SIDE,
cove" (yes, mate).
Side-boards, or STICK-UPS, shirt collars. Name applied some years
ago, before the present style of collars came into fashion.
Sift, to embezzle small coins, those which might pass through a sieve-as
threepennies and fourpennies-and which are, therefore, not likely to
be missed.
Sight,
to take a SIGHT at a person, a vulgar action employed by boys
and others to denote incredulity, or contempt for authority, by placing
the thumb against the nose and extending the fingers, which are agitated
in token of derision.
The sacristan he says no word that indicates a doubt,
But he puts his finger to his nose, and spreads his fingers out.
Nell Cook.
All
Silly season, the period when nobody is supposed to be in London,
when there are no parliamentary debates to publish, and when editors
are at their wits'-ends to fill their papers with readable matter.
kinds of crazes on political and social subjects are then ventilated,
gigantic gooseberries, monstrous births, and strange showers then be-
come plentiful, columns are devoted to matters which would not at any
other time receive consideration, and, so far as the newspapers are con-
cerned, silliness is at a premium.
Silver beggar, or LURKER, a vagabond who travels through the country
with "briefs" containing false statements of losses by fire, shipwrecks,
accidents, &c. Forged documents are exhibited with signatures of
magistrates and clergymen. Accompanying these are sham sub-
scription-books. The former, in beggar parlance, is termed "a sham,"
whilst the latter is denominated "a delicate."
Sim, one of a Methodistical turn in religion; a Low Churchman; origi
nally a follower of the late Rev. Charles Simeon.-Cambridge.
Simon, a sixpenny-piece.
Simon, or SIMPLE SIMON, a credulous, gullible person. A character in a
song, but now common.
.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
291
Simon Pure, "the real SIMON PURE," the genuine article. Those who
have witnessed Mr. Charles Mathews's performance in Mrs. Centlivre's
admirable comedy of A Bold Stroke for a Wife, and the laughable
coolness with which he, the false SIMON PURE, assuming the Quaker
dress and character of the real one, elbows that worthy out of his ex-
pected entertainment, will at once perceive the origin of this phrase.
·See act v. scene i.
Simpkin, or SIMKIN, champagne.—Anglo-Indian. Derived from the
manner in which native servants pronounce champagne.
Simpson, water used in the dilution of milk. Term in use among cow-
keepers. From this the parish pump has been called Mrs. SIMPSON.
Sing out, to call aloud.-Sea.
Sing small, to lessen one's boasting, and turn arrogance into humility.
Sing-song, a harmonic meeting at a pot-house, a free-and-easy.
Sinkers, bad money,-affording a man but little assistance in "keeping
afloat."
Sinks, a throw of fives at dice. French, CINQ.
Si quis, a candidate for "orders." From the notification commencing
SI QUIS-if any one.
Sir Harry, a close stool.
Sir Reverence, a corruption of the old phrase, SAVE YOUR REVERENCE,
a sort of apology for alluding to anything likely to shock one's sense of
decency. Latin, SALVA REVERENTIA. See Shakspeare's Romeo and
Juliet, act i. scene iv. From this it came to mean the thing itself—
human ordure generally, but sometimes other indecencies.
Siserara, a hard blow.-Suffolk. Many derive this term from the story
of Sisera in the Old Testament, but it is probably a corruption of
CERTIORARI, a Chancery writ reciting a complaint of hard usage.
Sit under, a term employed in Dissenters' meeting-houses, to denote
attendance on the ministry of any particular preacher.
SEVENS.
"}
Sit upon, to overcome or rebuke, to express contempt for a man in a
marked manner. Also, to chaff or roast" a man consumedly.
Sit-upons, trousers. See INEXPRESSIBLES.
Sivvy, "'pon my SIVVY," i.e., upon my soul or honour. Corruption of
"asseveration," like DAVY, which is an abridgment of "affidavit.'
Sixes and sevens, articles in confusion are said to be all SIXES AND
The Deity is mentioned in the Towneley Mysteries as He
that "set all on seven," i.c., set or appointed everything in seven.
days. A similar phrase at this early date implied confusion and dis-
order, and from these, Halliwell thinks, has been derived the phrase
"to be at SIXES AND SEVENS. A Scotch correspondent, however,
states that the phrase probably came from the workshop, and that
amongst needle-makers, when the points and eyes are "heads and
tails" ("heeds and thraws"), or in confusion, they are said to be
SIXES AND SEVENS, because those numbers are the sizes most gene-
rally used, and in the course of manufacture have frequently to be
distinguished.
292
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Sixty, "to go along like SIXTY," i.e., at a good rate, briskly.
Sixty-per-cent, a bill-discounter. From the rate of interest generally
charged. If bill-discounters profess to do the business for less, they
generally make up the level sixty by extras.
possible-six portions
swear by."
>>
Six-water grog, a sea-term for the weakest grog
of water to one of rum-hardly enough spirit to
Size, to order extras over and above the usual commons at the dinner in
college halls. Soup, pastry, &c., are SIZINGS, and are paid for at a
certain specified rate per SIZE, or portion, to the college cook. Peculiar
to Cambridge. Minsheu says, "SIZE, a farthing which schollers in
Cambridge have at the buttery, noted with the letter s.
Sizers, or SIZARS, certain poor scholars at Cambridge, annually elected,
who got their dinners (including "sizings") from what was left at the
upper, or Fellows' table, free, or nearly so. They paid rent of rooms,
and some other fees, on a lower scale than the "Pensioners" or ordinary
students, and were equal with the "battlers" and "servitors" at Oxford.
Sizings. See SIZE.
Skedaddle, to go off in a hurry. The American war introduced this
new and amusing word. A Northerner who retreated "retired upon
his supports," but a Southerner was said to SKEDADDLE. The
Times remarked on the word, and Lord Hill wrote to prove that it was
excellent Scotch. The Americans only misapply the word, which
means, in Dumfries, "to spill"-milkmaids, for example, saying,
"You are SKEDADDLING all that milk." The Yankees therefore
adopted the term, and altered the application.
Skid, a sovereign. Fashionable slang. Occasionally SKIV.
Skid, or SKIDPAN, an instrument for locking the wheel of a coach when
going down hill. It is often said that a talkative person might put the
SKID on, with advantage to his listeners, if not to himself.
Skied, or SKYED, thrown upwards, as "coppers" in tossing.
Skied. Artists say that a picture is SKIED when it is hung on the upper
line at the Exhibition of the Royal Academy. See FLOORed.
Skilligolee, prison gruel. Also sailors' soup of many ingredients. The
term is occasionally used in London workhouses.
Skilly, abbreviation of SKILLIGOLEE.
Skimmery, St. Mary Hall, Oxford.— University.
Skin, a purse. This term is mostly in use among thieves.
Skin, to abate, or lower the value of anything; "thin-SKINNED," sensitive,
touchy, liable to be "raw" on certain subjects.
Skin-the-lamb, a game at cards, a very expressive corruption of the
term "lansquenet," also a racing term. When a non-favourite wins a
race, bookmakers are said to SKIN THE LAMB, under the supposition
that they win all their bets, no person having backed the winner. This
has been corrupted into SKINNER.
((
Skinflint, an old and popular simile for a close-fisted," stingy person.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
293
Sternberg, in his Northamptonshire Glossary, says the Eastern lan-
guages have the same expression. Abdul-Malek, one of the Ommeyade
Khaliphs, noted for his extreme avarice, was surnamed Raschal-
Hegiarah, literally, "the SKINNER of a FLINT.
>>
Skinner, a term among bookmakers. "May we have a SKINNER,'
i.e., may we SKIN THE LAMB, which see.
Skipper, the master of a vessel. Germ., SCHIFFER, from SCHIFF, a ship;
sometimes used as synonymous with " governor."
£
Skipper, a barn.—Ancient Cant. From the Welsh, YSGUBOR, pronounced
SCYBOR, or SCIBOR, the proper word in that language for a barn.
Skipper-birds, or KEYHOLE-WHISTLERS, persons who sleep in barns
or outhouses from necessity or in preference to sleeping in lodging-
houses.
Skipper-it, to sleep in the open air, or in a rough way.
Skit, a joke, a squib. Term generally used in reference to any pungent
or pointed political allusion.
Skittles, a game similar to that of Ten Pins, which, when interdicted.
by the Government, was altered to Nine Pins, or SKITTLES. The pins
are set up in an alley, and thrown (not bowled) at with a round piece
of hard wood, shaped like a small flat cheese. The costers used to
consider themselves the best players in London, but they have been
frequently undeceived. SKITTLES has within the past few years received
an awful blow-quite a floorer-from "the powers that be."
Skow-banker, a fellow who loiters about the premises of any one
willing to support him, and who objects to the necessity of working
for his living; a rogue, a rascal. Common in Melbourne, Australia.
Skrouge, to push or squeeze.-North.
Skull-thatcher, a straw-bonnet-maker, -sometimes called " a bonnet-
BUILDER.
Skunk, a mean or paltry fellow, one whose name stinks.
Sky, a disagreeable person, an enemy.-Vestminster School. The word
derived its origin from a corruption of the last syllable of the word
"VOLSCI :" Westminster boys being of course understood to be the
Romans.
Sky, to toss up towards the SKY. Term used in tossing with halfpence;
"It's all right, Jim SKIED the browns," i.e., threw them up, a proof
that there could have been no collusion or cheating.
Sky-blue, London milk much diluted with water, or from which the
cream has been too closely skimmed.
"Hence, Suffolk dairy wives run mad for cream,
And leave their milk with nothing but the name;
Its name derision and reproach pursue,
And strangers tell of three-times-skimm'd-SKY-BLUE.
Bloomfield's Farmer's Boy.
The recent Adulteration Act has done away with SKY-BLUE, and made
Simpson a relic of the past.
Sky-lark. See under LARK.
SKY-BLUE formerly meant gin.
}
294
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Sky-parlour, the garret.
Sky-scraper, a tall man ;
Are you cold up there, old SKY-SCRAPER ?”
Properly a sea-term. The light sails, which some adventurous skippers
set above the royals in calm latitudes, are termed SKY-SCRAPERS and
MOON-RAKERS.
Sky-wannocking, unsteady frolicking.-Norfolk.
Slab, thick, as gruel, porridge, &c.
Slack, "to hold on the SLACK," to skulk; a slack rope not requiring to
be held.-Sea.
Slam, a term at the game of whist.
When two partners gain the whole
thirteen tricks, they win a SLAM, which is considered equal to a rubber.
Slam, to talk fluently. "He's the bloke to SLAM. From a term in use
among birdsingers at the East-end, by which they denote a certain style
of note in chaffinches.
Slammock, a slattern or awkward person.—West, and Norfolk.
Slang, low, vulgar, unwritten, or unauthorized language. Gipsy, Slang,
the secret language of the gipsies, synonymous with GIBBERISH,
another gipsy word. The word is only to be found in the diction-
aries of Webster and Ogilvie. It is given, however, by Grose, in his
Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1785. SLANG, since it has been
adopted as an English word, generally implies vulgar language not
known or recognised as CANT; and latterly, when applied to speech,
it has superseded the word FLASH. Latterly, however, SLANG has
become the generic term for all unauthorized language. The earliest
instance of the use of the word that can be found, is the following:
"
-
Let proper nurses be assigned, to take care of these babes of grace, [young
thieves].
The master who teaches them should be a man well versed in
the cant language commonly called the SLANG patter, in which they should
by all means excel."-Jonathan Wild's Advice to his Successor. LONDON,
F. Scott, 1758.
Slang, a travelling show.
Slang, to cheat, to abuse in foul language.
Slang, counterfeit or short weights and measures. A SLANG quart is a
pint and a half. SLANG measures are lent out at 2d. per day to street
salesmen. The term is used principally by costermongers.
CC
Slang, a watch-chain. SUPER and SLANG, a watch and chain.
Slang, out on the SLANG," i.e., to travel with a hawker's licence.
Slang-whanger, a long-winded speaker.-Parliamentary.
Slangy, flashy, vulgar; loud in dress, manner, and conversation.
Slantingdicular, oblique, awry, - as opposed to PERPENDICULAR.
Originally an Americanism, now a part of the vocabulary of London
"high life below stairs."
Slap, paint for the face, rouge.
Slap, exactly, precisely; "SLAP in the wind's eye," i.e., exactly to wind-
ward.
Slap-bang, suddenly, violently. From the strike of a ball being felt
before the report reaches the ear,-the SLAP first, the BANG afterwards.
!

Jniversity
GENERAL
LIBRAR
WICHIGAN
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
295
Slap-bang-shops, originally low eating-houses where the ready-money
was paid down with a SLAP-BANG.— -Grose. A SLAP-BANG-SHOP is
now a very pretentious eating-house.
Slap-dash, immediately, or quickly; at a great rate.
Slap-up, first-rate, excellent, very good.
Slasher, a powerful roysterer, a game and clever pugilist.
Slashers, the Twenty-eighth Regiment of Foot in the British army.
Slate, "he has a SLATE loose," i.c., he is slightly crazy.
Slate, to pelt with abuse, to beat, to "lick;" or, in the language of the
reviewers, to cut up." Also, among bettors, to lay heavily against a
particular man or animal in a race.
Slate, to knock the hat over one's eyes, to bonnet. —North.
Slavey, a maid-servant.
Slawmineyeux, a Dutchman. Probably a corruption of the Dutch,
ja, mynheer; or German, ja, mein Herr.-Sca.
Sleepless-hats, those of a napless character, better known as WIDE-
AWAKES.
Slender, a simple country gentleman. -Shakspeare.
Slewed, drunk, or intoxicated. — Sea term. When a vessel changes the
tack, she, as it were, staggers, the sails flap, she gradually heels over,
and the wind catching the waiting canvas, she glides off at another
angle. The course pursued by an intoxicated, or SLEWED, man, is
supposed to be analogous to that of the ship.
Slick, an Americanism, very prevalent in England since the publication
of Judge Haliburton's facetious stories, which means rapidly, effec-
tually, utterly.
Slick, smooth, unctuous; abbreviation of sleek.
Sling, a drink peculiar to Americans, generally composed of gin, soda-
water, ice, and slices of lemon. At some houses in London GIN-SLINGS
may be obtained.
Sling, to pass from one person to another. To blow the nose with the
naked fingers.
Sling your hook, a polite invitation to move-on.
has the same meaning. The pronouns may be
context.
altered to suit the
Sling your Daniel"
Slip, "to give the SLIP,' to run away, or elude pursuit. Shakspeare
has, "You gave me the counterfeit," in Romeo and Juliet. Giving
the SLIP, however, is a sea phrase, and refers to fastening an anchor
and chain cable to a floating buoy, or water-cask, until a time arrives
when it is convenient to return and take them on board.
the cable, the home end is SLIPPED through the hawse-pipe. Weigh-
In fastening
ing anchor is a noisy task, so that giving the SLIP infers leaving quietly.
Slip, or let SLIP; "to SLIP into a man,
to SLIP into a man," to give him a sound beating;
to let SLIP at a cove," to rush violently upon him, and assault with
vigour.
Slipping, a trick of card-sharpers, in the performance of which, by dex-
X
296
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
terous manipulation, they place the cut card on the top, instead of at
the bottom of the pack. It is the faire sauter la coupe of the French.
In pugilistic parlance, "to SLIP a man," is to “duck and get away"
with great dexterity.
Slips, the sides of the gallery in a theatre are generally so called.
Slog, to beat or baste, to fight. German, SCHLACHTEN; or perhaps from
some connexion with the Gaelic SLOGAN. The pretended Greck
derivation from oλoyw is humbug, there being no such word in the
language.
Slogdollager, an Americanism, meaning the same as our STOCKDOL-
LAGER, which see.
Sloggers, i.e., SLOW-GOERS, the second division of race-boats at Cam-
bridge. At Oxford they are called TORPIDS.—University.
University. A hard
hitter at cricket is termed a SLOGGER; so is a pugilist.
Slogging, a good beating,
Slop, a policeman. At first back slang, but now modified for general use.
Slop, cheap, or ready-made, as applied to clothing, is generally supposed
to be a modern appropriation; but it was used in this sense in 1691,
by Maydman, in his Naval Speculations; and by Chaucer two centuries
before that. SLOPS properly signify sailors' working clothes, which
are of a very cheap and inexpensive character.
Slope, to decamp, to run, or rather slip away. Some persons think it
came originally from LOPE, to make off; and that the s probably became
affixed as a portion of the preceding word, as in the case of "Let's lope,
let us run. It is purely an Americanism, and is possibly but an emen-
dation of our own word elope. Lope, leap, and elope are kindred.
A humorous correspondent says that Tennyson is decidedly partial to
slang, and instances amongst other proofs a passage from the laureate's
famous Locksley Hall :-
Many a night, from yonder ivied casement, ere I went to rest,
Did I look on great Orion SLOPING slowly to the west.
"
Though this correspondent may not have intended it, his joke has
given the key to the situation, and has shown how our cousins most
"The sun is
probably came to use the word in its present sense.
SLOPING fast."
Slops, any weak, wet, and warm mixture. Hard drinkers regard all
effeminate beverages as SLOps.
Slops, chests or packages of tea; "he shook a slum of SLOPS," i.e., stole
a chest of tea. Also ready-made clothes-the substantive of SLOP.
Slops, liquid house-refuse.
Slopshop, a tailor's shop where inferior work is done, and where cheap
goods are sold.
Slour, to lock, or fasten.-Prison Cant.
Sloured, buttoned up; SLOURED HOXTER, an inside pocket buttoned up.
Slowcoach, a lumbering, dull person; one slow of comprehension.
Slowed, to be locked up (in prison).
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
297
:
Slubberdegullion, a paltry, dirty, sorry wretch.
Quoth she, although thou hast deserved,
Base SLUBBERDEGULLION, to be served
As thou didst vow to deal with me,
If thou hadst got the victory".
Sluicery, a gin-shop or public-house.
Sluicing one's bolt, drinking.
Slum, a chest, or package. See SLOPS.
Slum, a letter.-Prison Cant.
Slum, an insinuation, a discreditable innuendo.
Hudibras.
Slum, gammon, "up to SLUM,” wide awake, knowing.
"And this, without more SLUM began,
Over a flowing pot-house can,
To settle, without botheration,
The rigs of this here tip-top nation.
Jack Randall's Diary, 1820.
Slum, or BACK SLUM, a dark retreat, a low neighbourhood; as Westminster
and East-end SLUMS, favourite haunts for thieves.
Slum, to hide, to pass to a confederate.
Slum, to saunter about, with a suspicion, perhaps, of immoral pursuits.—
Cambridge University Slang.
Slum the gorger, to cheat on the sly, to be an eye-servant. SLUM in
this sense is old cant.
Slumgullion, any cheap, nasty, washy beverage. An American'sm
best known in the Pacific States.
Slumming, passing bad money.
Slush, the grease obtained from boiling the salt pork eaten by seamen,
and generally the cook's perquisite.
Slushy, a ship's cook.
Sluter, butter.-North.
Smack smooth, even, level with the surface, quickly.
Small-beer; "he doesn't think SMALL-BEER of himself," i.e., he has a
great opinion of his own importance. SMALL COALS is also used in
the same sense.
Small hours, the early hours after midnight.
Small potatoes, a term of contempt. "He's very SMALL POTATOES,"
he's a nobody. Yet no one thinks of calling an important personage
large POTATOES.
>>
Smalls, a University term for the first general examination of the
student. It is used at Cambridge, but properly belongs to Oxford. The
Cambridge term is "little go.
Smash, to become bankrupt, or worthless; "to go all to SMASH, to
break, "go to the dogs," or fall in pieces.
Smash, to pass counterfeit money.
Smasher, one who passes bad coin, or forged notes.
X 2
298
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Smashfeeder, a Britannia-metal spoon,-the best imitation shillings
are made from this metal.
Smash-man-Geordie, a pitman's oath.-Durham and Northumber-
land. See GEORDIE.
Smeller, the nose;
a blow on the SMELLER" is often to be found in
pugilistic records. Otherwise a NOSE-ENDER.
Smish, a shirt, or chemise.
Smithers, or SMITHEREENS; "all to SMITHEREENS," all to smash.
SMITHER is a Lincolnshire word for a fragment.
Smock-face, a white delicate face, -a face without whiskers.
Smoke, London. From the peculiar dense cloud which overhangs
London. The metropolis is by no means so smoky as Sheffield, Bir-
mingham, &c.; yet country-people, when going to London, frequently
say they are on their way to the SMOKE; and Londoners, when
leaving for the country, say they are going out of the SMOKE.
Smoke, to detect, or penetrate an artifice.
Originally used by London
detectives, probably on account of their clouded intellects.
Smudge, to smear, obliterate, daub. Corruption of SMUTCH.
Smug, smuggling.—Anglo-Chinese.
Smug, extremely neat, after the fashion, in order.
Smug, sleek, comfortable. Term often applied to a seemingly pious
humbug, more of the Chadband than the Stiggins.
Smuggings, snatchings, or purloinings,-shouted out by boys, when
snatching the tops, or small play property, of other lads, and then
running off at full speed.
"Tops are in; spin 'em agin.
Tops are out; SMUGGING'S about."
Smut, a copper boiler. Also, the "blacks" from a furnace.
Smutty, obscene,―vulgar as applied to conversation. Variation of dirty.
Snack, a share or division of plunder. To "go SNACKS," to divide
equally. Also, a light repast.—Old Cant and Gipsy term.
Snack, to quiz or chaff with regard to a particular weakness or recent
transaction. As a substantive in this sense SNACK means an innuendo.
Snaffle, conversation on professional or private subjects which the rest
of the company cannot appreciate. In East Anglia, to SNAFFLE is to
talk foolishly.
Snaffled, arrested, "pulled up,”—so termed from a kind of horse's bit
called a SNAFFLE.
Snaggle teeth, those that are uneven, and unpleasant looking.—West.
Snaggling, angling after geese with a hook and line, the bait being a
worm or snail. The goose swallows the bait, and is quietly landed and
bagged. See Seymour's Sketches.
Snaggy, cross, crotchety, malicious.
Snam, to snatch, or rob from the person. Mostly used to describe that
kind of theft which consists in picking up anything lying about, and
making off with it rapidly.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
299
Snaps, share, portion; any articles or circumstances out of which money
may be made; "looking out for SNAPS," waiting for windfalls, or odd
jobs.-Old. Scotch, CHITS, term also used for “ coppers," or halfpence.
The word, as originally pro-
nounced, is used by East-end Jews to describe any kind of spirits, and
the Gentiles get as near as they can.
Snapps, spirits. Dutch, SCHNAPPS.
Sneaksman, a shoplifter; a petty, cowardly thief.
Sneeze-lurker, a thief who throws snuff in a person's face, and then
robs him.
Sneezer, a snuff-box; a pocket-handkerchief.
Snell-fencer, a street salesman of needles.
Snick-ersnee, a knife. - Sea.
humorous ballad of Little Billee.
SNELLS are needles.
Thackeray uses the term in his
Snicker, a drinking-cup. A HORN-SNICKER, a drinking-horn.
Snid, a sixpence.—Scotch.
"" 66 SNIDE
Snide, bad, spurious, contemptible. As, "a SNIDE fellow,
coin," &c.
Also used as a substantive, as, "He's a SNIDE," though
this seems but a contraction of SNIDE 'UN."
Snigger, to laugh in a covert manner.
"I'm SNIGGERED if you will."
JIGGERED.
Also a mild form of swearing,—
Another form of this latter is
Sniggering, laughing to oneself.—East.
Snip, a tailor,-apparently from SNIPES, a pair of scissors, or from the
snipping sound made by scissors in cutting up anything.
Snipe, a long bill or account; also a term for attorneys,—a race with a
remarkable propensity for long bills.
Snipes, a pair of SNIPES," a pair of scissors. They are occasionally
made in the form of a snipe.
>>
Snitch, to give information to the police, to turn approver. SNITCHING
is synonymous in thieves' slang with "nosing" and "peaching.
Snitchers, persons who turn Queen's evidence, or who tell tales. In
Scotland, SNITCHERS signify handcuffs.
Snob, a low, vulgar, or affected person. Supposed to be from the nick-
name usually applied to a cobbler or maker of shoes; but believed by
many in its later sense to be a contraction of the Latin, SINE OBOLO.
Others go to work for an etymology thus :-They assume that NOBS,
i.e., nobiles, was appended in lists to the names of persons of gentle
birth, whilst those who had not that distinction were marked down as
S NOB, i.e., sine nobilitate, without marks of gentility,—thus, by a
simple transposition, quite reversing the meaning. Others, again,
remark that, as at college sons of noblemen wrote after their names in
the admission lists, fil. nob., son of a lord, and hence all young noble-
men were called NOBS, and what they did NOBBY, so those who imi-
tated them would be called quasi-nobs, "like a nob," which by a
process of contraction would be shortened to si-nob, and then SNOB,
300
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
The
one who pretends to be what he is not, and apes his betters.
short and expressive terms which many think fitly represent the three
great estates of the realm-NOB, SNOB, and MOB-were all originally
slang words. The last has safely passed through the vulgar ordeal of
the streets, and found respectable quarters in the standard dictionaries.
For fuller particulars of the genus SNOB, in all its ramifications, the
reader cannot do better than apply to the general works of that great
master of the subject, William Makepeace Thackeray, though it may
be as well to remark that the SNOB for whom the novelist had such an
aversion is now very widely known as
"cad."
Snobbish, stuck up, proud, make-believe.
Snob-stick, a workman who refuses to join in strikes, or trade-unions.
Amplification of KNOB-STICK.
Snooks, an imaginary personage 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.
Snooze, or SNOODGE (vulgar pronunciation), to sleep or doze.
Snooze-case, a pillow-slip.
Snorter, a blow on the nose. A hurry is sometimes called a "reg'lar
SNORTER."
Snot, a term of reproach applied to persons by the vulgar when vexed or
annoyed, meaning really a person of the vilest description and meanest
capacity. In a Westminster school vocabulary for boys, published
in the last century, the term is curiously applied. Its proper meaning
is the glandular mucus discharged through the nose.
Snot, a small bream, a slimy kind of flat fish.—Norwich.
Snotter, or WIPE-HAULER, a pickpocket whose chief fancy is for gentle-
men's pocket-handkerchiefs.-North.
}
Snottinger, a coarse word for a pocket-handkerchief. The German
Schnupftuch is, however, nearly as plain. A handkerchief was also
anciently called a muckinger" or "muckender," and from that a
neckerchief was called a neckinger.
""
Snow, wet linen, or linen hung out to dry.-Old Cant.
Snow-gatherer, or SNOW-DROPPER, a rogue who steals linen from
hedges and drying-grounds.
Snuff, “up to SNUFF," knowing and sharp; " to take SNUFF," to be
offended. Shakspeare uses SNUFF in the sense of anger, or passion.
Snuff it, to die. Term very common among the lower orders of London.
A fanciful variation of "putting one's light out," and used simply in
reference to the action of the person dying. Thus any one threatening
to murder another says, "I'll put your light out," or any one commit-
ting suicide is said to "put his own light out;" but to "SNUFF IT" is
always to die from disease or accident. To "lay down one's knife
and fork," to "peg out," or "give up," are variations of this form of
euphemism,
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
301
Snuffy, tipsy, drunk.
Snuggle, to lie closely and cosily.
Snyder, a tailor. German, SCHNEIDER.
Soaker, an habitual drunkard.
Soap, flattery. See SOFT SOAP.
Sober-water, a jocular allusion to the uses of soda-water.
Social evil, a name for some years applied to our street-walking system,
in consequence of the articles in the newspapers which treat on the evils
of prostitution being so headed. A good story has been often told on
this subject, which will bear repeating 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, implored her to reform, and tendered her a tract with
fervent entreaties to go home and read it. The girl stared at him for
a moment or two in sheer bewilderment; at last it dawned on her
what he meant, and for what he took her, and looking up in his face
with simple amazement, she exclaimed, Lor' bless you, sir, I ain't a
SOCIAL EVIL; I'm waitin' for the 'bus !' The enthusiasm which was
felt in this direction a few years back has received considerable modifica-
tion, as it has been proved that the efforts of the promoters of midnight
meetings and other arrangements of a similar nature, praiseworthy
though they are, have little or no effect; and that the early-closing
movement in the Haymarket has done more to stamp out the SOCIAL
EVIL than years of preaching, even when accompanied by tea and
buns, could ever have done.
Sock, the Eton College term for a treat, 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 that he fasted. 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, suck, SUCRE, &C.
Sock, credit. As, "He gets his goods on sock, while I pay ready.”
Sock into him, i.e., give him a good drubbing; "give him soCK,” ¿.e.,
thrash him well.
Sockdolager. See STOCKDOLlager.
Socket-money, money extorted by threats of exposure. To be applied
to for SOCKET-MONEY is perhaps one of the most terrible inflictions
that can befall a respectable man. SOCKETERS, as the applicants are
called, should be punished with the utmost possible severity.
Sodom, a nickname for Wadham, due to the similarity of the sounds.—
Oxford University.
Soft, foolish, inexperienced. A term for bank-notes.
Soft-horn, a simpleton; literally a donkey, whose ears, the substitutes
of horns, are soft.
Soft-sawder, flattery easily laid on, or received. Probably introduced
by Sam Slick.
302
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Soft-soap, or SOFT-SAWDER, flattery, ironical praise.
Soft-tack, bread.-Sea.
Soft-tommy, loaf-bread, in contradistinction to hard biscuit.
Soiled doves, the "Midnight Meeting" term for prostitutes and "gay"
ladies generally.
Sold, SOLD again! and got the money," gulled, deceived. Vide SELL.
Sold up, or OUT, broken down, bankrupt.
Soldier, a red herring. Common term in seaport towns, where exchange
is made, a soldier being called by the fishy title.
Something damp, a dram, a drink.
Son of a gun, a familiar term for a man.
Sometimes applied eulogis-
tically, never contemptuously. Generally said of an artful person,
and perhaps, originally, son of a gun," (or "gonnof "). In the army
it is sometimes applied to an artilleryman.
Sonkey, a clumsy, awkward fellow.
Soor, an abusive term. Hindostanee, a pig.-Anglo-Indian.
Soot-bag, a reticule.
Sop, a soft or foolish man. Abbreviation of MILKSOP.
Soph (abbreviation of "sophister"), a title peculiar to the University of
Cambridge. Undergraduates are junior SOPHS before passing their
"Little Go," or first University examination,-senior SOPHS after that.
Sort, used in a slang sense thus-"That's your SORT," as a term of appro-
bation. "Pitch it into him, that's your SORT," i.c., that is the proper
kind of plan to adopt.
So-so, not particularly reputable. "A very so-so sort of a person,
a
person whom it is no advantage to know. It was very so-so" (said
of a piece of work or an entertainment), it was neither good nor bad.
Sound, to pump, or draw information from a person in an artful manner.
Souper, an Irish Roman Catholic who pretends conversion-or perver-
sion-so as to obtain a share of the soup and blankets provided for
Protestants only by Christian missionaries. These recalcitrants are
also called "swaddlers."
Sou'-wester, a hat with a projection behind.
Much worn at sea in
dirty" weather. A hat similar to that of a dustman or coalheaver,
which is called a "fantail."
Sov, contraction of sovereign; much used in sporting parlance to denote
the amount of entrance money, forfeit, and added coin in connexion
with a race. In the published conditions of a race the word sovs is
almost invariably used in preference to pounds, though in reckoning
the net value of a big stake, after its decision, the common £ is used.
Sow, the receptacle into which the liquid iron is poured in a gun-foundry.
The melted metal poured from it is termed PIG.
Sow's baby, a pig; sixpence.
Spanish, money. Probably a relic of buccaneering days.
"Save its synonyms SPANISH, blunt, stumpy, and rowdy."-Barham.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
303
Spank, a smack, or hard slap.
Spank, to move along quickly; hence a fast horse or vessel is said to be
a SPANKER to go.
""
Spanking, large, fine, or strong; e.g., a SPANKING pace, a SPANKING
breeze, a SPANKING fellow.
Sparks, diamonds. Term much in use among the lower orders, and
generally applied to stones in rings and pins.
Specklebellies, Dissenters. A term used in Worcester and the North,
though the etymology seems unknown in either place.
Specks, damaged oranges.-Costermonger's term.
دو
Speech, a tip or wrinkle on any subject. On the turf a man will wait
before investing on a horse until he "gets the SPEECH, as to whether
it is going to try, or whether it has a good chance. To "give the
SPEECH, is to communicate any special information of a private
nature.
Speel, to run away, make off; "SPEEL the drum," to go off with stolen
property.-North.
Spell, a turn of work, an interval of time. "Take a SPELL at the cap-
"He took a long SPELL at that tankard."
stern."-Sea.
long SPELL.
"After a
Spell, "to SPELL for a thing," to hanker after it, to desire possession.
Spell, to advertise, to put into print.
tised in the newspaper.
Spell, contracted from SPELLKEN.
"SPELT in the leer," i.e., adver-
"Precious rum squeeze at the SPELL,"
i.e., a good evening's work at the theatre, might be the remark of a
successful pickpocket.
Spellken, or SPEELKEN, a playhouse. German, SPIELEN. See KEN.-
Don Juan.
Spick and span, applied to anything that is quite new and fresh.—
Hudibras.
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." See MERRY DUN OF DOVER.
Spierized, to have your hair cut and shampooed, from the shop of Spiers
in High Street.-Oxford University.
Spiff, a well-dressed man, a "swell."
Spiffed, slightly intoxicated.-Scotch Slang.
Spiffs, the per-centages allowed by drapers to their young men when they
effect a sale of old-fashioned or undesirable stock.
Spiffy, spruce, well-dressed, tout à la mode.
Spifflicate, to confound, silence, annihilate, or stifle. A corruption of
the last word, or of "suffocate.
Spike Park, the Queen's Bench Prison.
Spill, to throw from a horse or chaise.
See BURDON'S IIOTEL.
See PURI..
!
304
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
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 placed on the tin lids of their pie-cans,
and the bets were ostensibly for pies, but were frequently for "cop-
pers, or for beer when two or three apprentices or porters happened
An active and efficient police have, however, changed all that
22
to meet.
now.
Spiniken, St. Giles's Workhouse. "Lump," Marylebone Workhouse.
"Pan," St. Pancras. “Pan” and “Lump" are now terms applied to
all workhouses by tramps and costers.
Spinning-house, the place in Cambridge where street-walkers are
locked up, if found out after a certain time at night.
Spirt, or SPURT, "to put on a SPIRT," to make an increased exertion for
a brief space, to attain one's end; a nervous effort. Abbreviation or
shortening of SPIRIT, or allusion to a SPIRT of water, which dies away
as suddenly as it rises.
"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 than if he had never set foot into the good waies of God."-Gataker's
Spirituall Watch, 4to. 1619, p. 10.
Spitalfields' breakfast. At the East-end of London this is under-
stood as consisting of a tight necktie and a short pipe. Amongst work-
men it is usual to tighten the apron string when no dinner is at hand.
Hunters and trappers always take in their belts when supplies are short.
"An Irishman's dinner" is a low East-end term, and means a smoke
and a visit to the urinal. Sometimes the phrase is, "I'll go out and
count the railings," i.e., the park or area railings, mental instead of
maxillary exercise.
Spitfire, a passionate person.
Splash, complexion powder used by ladies to whiten their necks and
faces. The finest rice flour, termed in France poudre 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 one flesh."
a wife,
-Sea. Also,
Splice the main brace, to take a drink.-Sea.
Split, to inform against one's companions, to tell tales. "To SPLIT with
a person, to cease acquaintanceship; to quarrel. Also to divide a bottle
of aërated wafer; as, two brandies and a soda SPLIT;" in which
case "to SPLIT with a person has a very different meaning from that
just given.
Split up, long in the legs.
limb is said to be "well
""
Among athletes, a man with good length of
SPLIT UP."
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
305
Splodger, a lout, an awkward countryman.
Spoffy, a bustling busybody is said to be SPOFfy.
Sponge, "to throw up
to throw up the SPONGE," to submit, to give over the struggle,
-from the practice of throwing up the SPONGE used to cleanse a com-
batant's face at a prize-fight, as a signal that the side on which that
particular SPONGE has been used has had enough-that the SPONGE is
no longer required.
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 ;
SPOONEY on a girl," to be foolishly attached to one.
to be
Spoons, the condition of two persons who SPOON on each other, who are
deeply in love. "I see, it's a case of SPOONS with them," is a common
phrase when lovers are mentioned,
>>
Spoons, a method of designating large sums of money, disclosed at the
Bankruptcy Court during the examination of the great leather failures
of Streatfield and 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 £5000,-"Oh, you are feeding me with a TEA-
SPOON. Hence, £5000 came to be known in the firm as a TEA-SPOON,
£10,000, a DESSERT-SPOON; £15,000, a TABLE-SPOON; and £20,000,
as a GRAVY-SPOON. The public were amused at this TEA-SPOON
phraseology, 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 impro-
bably become so. To "take it with a SPOON," is to take anything in
small quantities. The counsel for the defence in the Tichborne
perjury case was reminded a short time back by one of the judges that
he was using a TEA-SPOON instead of a shovel, to clear through the
evidence.
Sport, to exhibit, to wear, &c., a word which is made to do duty in a
variety of senses, especially at the Universities.-See the Gradus ad
Cantabrigiam. "To SPORT a new tile ;" "to SPORT an Ægrotat" (i.e.,
a permission from the Dons to abstain from lectures, &c., on ac-
count of illness); "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, 2nd series,
vol. viii. p. 492, and Gentleman's Magazine, December, 1794.
Sport, an American term for a gambler or turfite-more akin to our
sporting man than to our sportsman.
Sporting door, the outer door of chambers, also called the OAK. See
under SPORT.— -University.
Spot, to mark, to recognise. Originally an Americanism, but now
general. "I SPOTTED him (or it) at once.
""
Spotted, to be known or marked by the police.
Spout, "up the SPOUT," at the pawnbroker's; SPOUTING, pawning. See
POP for origin.
Spout, to preach, or make speeches; SPOUTER, a preacher or lecturer.
306
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Sprat, sixpence.
Spread, butter. Term with workmen and schoolboys. See SCRAPE.
Spread, a lady's shawl, an entertainment, a display of good things.
Spread, a meal. Sporting term for a dinner. A sporting man often
challenges another to compete with him at any athletic pursuit or
pastime, for so much wine and a SPREAD of large or small proportions.
Spree, a boisterous piece of merriment; "going on the SPREE," starting
out with intent to have a frolic. French, ESPRIT. In the Dutch
language, SPREEUW 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 SPRUNG-UP, or "blown together."
Sprint race, a short-distance race, run at the topmost speed throughout.
SPRINT is in the North synonymous with SPURT, and hence the name.
Sprung, inebriated sufficiently to become boisterous.
Spry, active, strong, manly. Much used in America, but originally
English.
Spuddy, a seller of bad potatoes. In lower life, a SPUD is a raw potato;
and roasted SPUDS are those cooked in the cinders with their skins 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" or
"ploughed."
Spunge, a mean, paltry fellow, sometimes called a spunger.
Spunge, to live at another's expense in a mean and paltry manner.
Spunging-house, the sheriff's officer's house, where prisoners, when,
arrested for debt, used to be taken. As extortionate charges were
made there for accommodation, the name was far from inappropriate.
Spunk, spirit, fire, courage, mettle, good humour.
"In that snug room, where any man of SPUNK
Would find it a hard matter to get drunk."
Peter Pindar, i. 245.
Common in America, and much used in some parts of Scotland.
Spunk-fencer, a lucifer-match seller.
Spunks, lucifer-matches.-Herefordshire; Scotland. SPUNK, says Urry,
in his MS. notes to Ray, is the excrescency of some tree, of which
they make a sort of tinder to light their pipes with."
Spurt.-Old. See SPIRT.
Squabby, flat, short and thick. From SQUAB, a sofa.
>>
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 mankind,
for your masonry is but a dead letter if you do not habitually perform its reite-
rated injunctions."--Oliver's Lectures on Signs and Symbols, p. 190.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
307
Square, "to
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. Shak-
speare uses SQUARE in the sense of to quarrel.
Square cove, an honest man, as distinguished from " cross cove."
Square moll, an honest woman, one who does not "batter."
Squaring his nibs, giving a policeman, or any official, money for an
immoral or unlawful purpose. The term HIS NIBS has no reference to
any functionary, as the words mean simply "him," and may be applied
to any one.
Square rigged, well dressed.—Sea.
Square up, to settle, to pay a debt.
Squarum, a cobbler's lapstone.
Squash, to crush; "to go SQUASH," to collapse.
Squeak, an escape. Generally used with regard to the avoidance of
casualties. Among thieves, too, a prisoner acquitted after a hard trial
is said to have had "a narrow SQUEAK for it.'
Squeak on a person, to inform against, to peach.
Squeal, to inform, to peach. A North country variation of squeak;
SQUEALER, an informer, also an illegitimate baby.
Squeeze, silk; also, by a very significant figure, a thief's term for the neck.
Squib, a jeu d'esprit, which, like the firework of that denomination,
sparkles, bounces, stinks, and vanishes.-Grose. Generally used in
reference to political and electioneering attacks of a smart kind, which
sting for a moment and are then forgotten.
Squibs,paint-brushes.
Squiffy, slightly inebriated.
Squinny-eyed, said of one given to squinting.—Shakspeare.
Squirt, a doctor, or chemist.
Squish, common term among University men for marmalade.
Stab, “STAB yourself and pass the dagger,” help yourself and pass the
bottle.-Theatrical Slang.
Stab, on the STAB," i.e., paid by regular weekly wages on the
establishment," of which word STAB is an abridgment.—Printer's term.
Stab-rag a regimental tailor.-Military Slang.
Stag, a shilling.
Stag, a term applied during the railway mania to a speculator without
capital, who took "scrip" in proposed lines, got the shares up to a
premium, and then sold out. Caricaturists 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; to beg.
Stage-whisper, one loud enough to be heard. From the stage" asides.
Stagger, to surprise. 'He quite STAGGERED me with the information."
Stagger, one who looks out, or watches.
308
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
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. Also a newly-born calf.
Stale drunk, unevaporated fumes of liquor.
A man is said to be
STALE DRUNK when he has been drunk overnight, and has doctored
himself with stimulants a little too much in the morning when he has
tried too many of the "hairs of the dog that bit him." If this state of
things is long continued, it is often called "same OLD DRUNK," from
a well-known nigger story. The nigger was cautioned by his master
for being too often drunk within a given period, when the "cullud
pusson" replied, "Same old drunk, massa-same old drunk."
Stalking-horse, originally a horse covered with loose trappings, under
which the mediæval sportsman concealed himself with his bow, so as
to approach his game unobserved. Subsequently a canvas figure, made
light, so as to be easily moved with one hand. Now used to represent
any bugbear persistently paraded; any constant and unpleasant refe-
rence to the possible consequences of an act.
Stall, to lodge, or put up at a public-house. Also, to act a part.--
Theatrical.
Stall, to frighten or discourage. In the days of dog-fighting and pugilism,
a dog or man who had originally shown great pluck would, after a hard
battle or two, show signs of cowardice. In such case he was said to
have been STALLED by his previous encounters. A STALL is a spurious
excuse or an imposition, a dodge, &c.
Stall-off, to put off by means of a device, to misdirect purposely.
Stall off, to blind, excuse, hide, to screen a robbery during the perpet:a-
tion of it by an accomplice.
Stall your mug, go away; spoken sharply by any one who wishes
to get rid of a troublesome or inconvenient person.
Stallsman, sometimes STALL, an accomplice.
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, as, "Will you STAND
that?" a question often asked when a man has been struck or insulted.
Also in the sense of aggregate cost, as, "This house STOOD me in
£1000;" i.e., cost that sum; "to STAND pad," to beg on the kerb with
a small piece of paper pinned on the breast, inscribed, "I am 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 corner, or on the kerb of a market
street, regularly occupied by a costermonger, or street seller.
Standing patterers, men who take a stand on the kerb of a public
thoroughfare, and deliver prepared speeches to effect a sale of any
articles they have to vend. See PATTERER.
Stangey, a tailor, a person under petticoat government,-derived from
the custom of "riding the STANG," mentioned in Hudibras :-
It is a custom used of course
Where the grey mare is the better horse."
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
309
Star, a common abbreviation of the name of the well-known STAR AND
GARTER Inn at Richmond. Clever people, who delight in altering
names, call this hostelry the "Gar and Starter."
Star it, to perform as the centre of attraction, with inferior subordinates
to set off one's abilities.-Theatrical.
the sash.
Star the glaze, to break a window. Among thieves it means to break
the window or show-glass of a jeweller or other tradesman, 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
Starchy, stuck-up, high-notioned, showily dressed, stiff and unbending
in demeanour.
Stark-naked, originally STRIP-ME-NAKED, vide Randall's Diary, 1820,
raw gin.
Start, "the START," London,-the great starting-point for beggars and
tramps. This is a term also used by many of superior station to those
mentioned.
Start, a proceeding of any kind ; a rum START," an odd circumstance;
"to get the START of a person," to anticipate or overreach him.
Starvation, though now a recognised word, was originally slang. Its
derivation is composite, and it was first introduced into the English
language by Mr. Dundas, in a debate in the House of Commons on
American affairs, in 1775. "I shall not, " he said, "wait for the
advent of STARVATION from Edinburgh to settle my judgment." From
this he was always afterwards called STARVATION Dundas.-Horace
Walpole's Letters.
Starve 'em, Rob 'em, and Cheat 'em, the adjoining towns of Stroud,
Rochester, and Chatham are so designated by soldiers and sailors;
from some fancied peculiarities of the inhabitants.
Stash, to cease doing anything, to refrain, be quiet, leave off;
STASH it,
there, you sir!" .e., be quiet, sir; to give over a lewd or intemperate
course of life is to STASH-it.
Stay, to exhibit powers of endurance at walking, running, rowing, &c.
Stayer, one likely to persevere, one not easily discouraged. It is usual
for laudatores temporis acti connected with the turf to deplore the want
of staying power which, according to their statements, characterizes
the modern British racehorse; while others, connected and discon-
nected with sport, make similar remarks with reference to the modern
British man. So far, however, both descriptions of old gentlemen
have failed signally in endeavouring to make out a good case.
Steam-engine, potato-pie at Manchester is so termed.
Steel, the House of Correction in London, formerly named the Bastile, but
since shortened to STEEL.
See BASTILE.
Steel-bar drivers, or FLINGERS, journeymen tailors.
Stems, the legs.
Step it, to run away, or make off.
Stepper, the treadmill; the " everlasting staircase."
310
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Stick, a derogatory expression for a person;
a curious man.
a rum, or odd, STICK,"
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 corn by cuts in a
STICK, reckoning by the score. Cut your STICK" in this sense may
mean to make your mark and pass on-and so realize the meaning of
the phrase, "in the nick (or notch) of time." Sir J. Emerson Tennent
considers the phrase equivalent to "cutting the connexion," and sug-
gests a possible origin in the prophet'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 me," i.e., give me credit for it; STICK on, to over-
charge or defraud; STICK up for, to defend a person, especially when
slandered in his absence; STICK up to, to persevere in courting
or attacking, whether in fisticuffs or argument; "to STICK in one's
gizzard," to rankle in one's heart; "to STICK to a person,
" to adhere
to one, to be his friend through adverse circumstances,-to "cotton"
to him; "to STICK one's spoon in the wall," to die.
Stick-up, to keep any one waiting at an appointed place or time. To
leave a friend or acquaintance to pay the whole or an undue share of a
tavern bill.
Stick-ups, or GILLS, shirt collars.
Sticker, one not likely to be easily shaken off, a stayer.
Stickings, coarse, bruised, or damaged meat sold to sausage-makers and
penny pie-shops.
Sticks, furniture, or household chattels; "pick up your STICKS and cut!”
summary advice to a person to take himself and furniture away.
Sticky, wax.
Stiff, paper, a bill of acceptance, &c.; "how did you get it, STIFF or
hard?" i.e., did he pay you cash or give a bill?"To do a bit of STIFF,'
to accept a bill. See KITE.
Stiff-fencer, a street-seller of writing paper.
Stiff un, a corpse. Term used by undertakers.
Stills, undertakers' slang term for STILL-BORN children. The fee paid
by nurses and others for their disposal is usually 2s. 6d. A separate
coffin is never given; the STILLS are quietly introduced into one con-
taining an adult about to be buried. STILLS are allowed to accumulate
at an undertaker's until they sometimes number as many as a dozen.
Some little time back a very bulky coffin was opened, and found to con-
tain a large quantity of small corpses packed carefully round a large corpse.
This caused a little excitement, but nothing was done in the matter.
Stilton, "that's the STILTON," or "it's not the STILTON," i.e., that is
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
311
quite the thing, or that is not quite the thing ;-affected rendering of
"that is not the CHEESE," which see.
Stingo, strong liquor.— Yorkshire.
Stink, a disagreeable exposure. "To stir up a STINK" is to make a dis-
closure which is generally unpleasant in its effect.
Stinkomalee, a name given to the then New London University by
Theodore Hook. Probably because some cow-houses and dunghills.
stood on the original site. Some question about Trincomalee was
agitated at the same time. It is still applied by the students of the
old Universities, who regard it with disfavour from its admitting all
denominations.
Stipe, a stipendiary magistrate.—Provincial.
Stir, a prison, a lock-up; "in STIR," in gaol. Anglo-Saxon, STYR, cor-
rection, punishment.
Stir-up Sunday, the Sunday next before Advent, the collect for that
day commencing with the words, "Stir up." Schoolboys, growing
excited at the prospect of the vacation, irreverently commemorate it
by stirring up-pushing and poking each other. "Crib-crust Monday"
and "tug-button Tuesday" are distinguished by similar tricks ; while
on "pay-off Wednesday" they retaliate small grudges in a playful
facetious way. Forby says good housewives in Norfolk consider them-
selves reminded by the name to mix the ingredients for their Christmas
rince-pies.
Stock. "To STOCK cards" is to arrange cards in a certain manner for
cheating purposes.
Stock, "to
to take STOCK of one," to scrutinize narrowly one whom you
have reason to suspect, or one with whom you are likely to have busi-
ness transactions; taken from the tradesmen's term for the annual
examination and valuation of their stock of goods.
Stockdollager, a heavy blow, a "finisher." Italian, STOCCADO, a
fencing term. Also (in a general sense), a disastrous event.-Ameri
canism.
Stodge, to surfeit, gorge, or clog with food. STODGE is in some places
bread and milk.
Stoll, to understand.-North Country Cant.
Stomach, to bear with, to be partial to. Mostly used in a negative
character,―as, "I can't STOMACH that."
Stone-jug, a prison.
"In a box of the stone-jug I was born."
Stook, a pocket-handkerchief. A STOOK-HAULER, or "buzzer," is a thief
who takes pocket-handkerchiefs.
Story, a falsehood,—the soft synonym 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.
312
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Stot, a young bullock. In Northumberland the term STOT means to
rebound.
Stotor, a heavy blow, a settler.—Old Cant.
Stow, to leave off, or have done; "STOW it, the gorger's leary." Leave
off, the person is looking. See STASH, with which it is synonymous.-
Ancient Cant.
Stow, to put away, to hide.
A hungry man is said to STOW his food
rapidly. He is also said to hide it.
Stow faking! leave off there, be quiet! FAKING means anything that
may be going on.
Straight, an American phrase peculiar to dram-drinkers; similar to our
word NEAT, which see.
Strap, a barber.
From Roderick Random.
Straw. Married ladies are said to be "in the STRAW" at their accouche-
ments. The phrase is a coarse metaphor, and has reference to farm-
yard animals in a similar condition. It may have originally been
suggested to the inquiring mind by the Nativity.
Strawing, "selling" straws in the streets (generally for a penny), and
giving" the purchaser a paper (indecent or political) or a gold (!)
ring,-neither of which, the patterer states, he is allowed by Act of
Parliament to sell.
Streak, to decamp, run away.-Saxon. In America the phrase is "to
make STREAKS, or "make TRACKS.
""
Streaky, irritated, ill-tempered. Said of a short-tempered man who has
his good and bad times in STREAK.
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 persons who make a stand-i.e., a pitch-in the streets,
and sell articles or contribute entertainments for a living.
Stretch, a walk.—University.
Stretch, abbreviation of "STRETCH one's neck," to hang, to be executed
as a malefactor. As, "The night before Larry was STRETCHED.'
Stretch, twelve months,-generally used to intimate the time any one
has been sentenced by the judge or magistrate. One STRETCH is twelve
months' imprisonment, two STRETCH is two years, three STRETCH is
three years, and so on.
Stretcher, a falsehood; one that requires a STRETCH of imagination or
comprehension.
Stretcher, a contrivance with handles, used by the police to carry off
persons who are violent or drunk.
Stretcher-fencer, one who sells braces.
Stretching match, an execution. Often called a "hanging match."
Strike a jigger, to pick a lock, or break open a door.
Strike me lucky! an expression used by the lower orders when
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
313
making a bargain, derived from the old custom of striking hands toge-
ther, leaving in that of the seller a LUCK 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.-Hudibras. Anciently this was called a
God's penny.
"With that he cast him a God's penny."-Heir of Linne.
The origin of the phrase being lost sight of, like that of many others,
it is often used as a modification of "Strike me blind!" and is now and
again corrupted into "Strike me silly!" A foolish variation of this is
"Strike me up a gum-tree !"
Strills, cheating lies.-North Country Cant.
String, to hoax, to "get in a line."
Stroke, the captain of a crew, the man who sets the pace, and is gene-
rally the leading spirit in the boat. The coxswain usually looks after
University men when they are in training, so that they may not fall
into excesses, the STROKE having quite enough to do to attend to his
own training. Of late years University crews have placed themselves
under the guidance and tuition of "coaches," generally ex-University
men of great ability and experience.
Strommel, straw.-Ancient Cant. Halliwell says that in Norfolk
STRUMMEL 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, especially among those who have risen.
rather suddenly. Albert Smith wrote some amusing papers on the
Natural History of STUCK-UP People.
Stuff, money.
Stuff, to make false but plausible statements, to praise ironically, to make
game of a person,-literally, to STUFF or cram him with gammon or
falsehood.
Stump, to go on foot.
Stump, to go about speechmaking on politics or other subjects. Origi
nally an Americanism applied to the lowest class of candidates for
legislatorial honours, probably because they stood on a STUMP to ad-
dress their audiences. Maybe, also, because their utterances were short
and pithy. This latter reason would, however, hardly apply to our
representatives of the STUMP class, "the Leaguers," who are, as a
rule, as long-winded as they are illogical.
Stump up, to give one's share, to pay the reckoning, to bring forth the
money reluctantly.
Stumped, bowled out, done for, bankrupt, poverty-stricken. From the
cricketing term.
Stumps, legs, or feet.
Stumpy, money.
Stun, to astonish.
314
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Stunner, a first-rate person or article.
Stunners, feelings of great astonishment; "it put the STUNNERS on
me," i.e., it confounded me.
Stunning, first-rate, very good, really, astonishing. Costermongers call
anything extra good, STUNNING. Sometimes amplified to STUNNING
JOE BANKS! when the expression is supposed to be in its most intense
form. Joe Banks was a noted character in the last generation. He
was the proprietor of a public-house in Dyott Street, Seven Dials, and
afterwards, on the demolition of the Rookery, of another in Cran-
bourn Alley. His houses became well-known from their being the
resort of the worst characters, while at the same time the strictest de-
corum 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 payment to Joe, a watch or a snuff-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 showy pin and a remark-
ably STUNNING neck-tie. It was this peculiarity in the costume of
Mr. Banks, coupled with those true and tried qualities as a friend for
which he was famous, that led his customers to proclaim him as
STUNNING 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 admittance to the clubs
or more aristocratic establishments.
Sub, a subaltern officer in the army.
Sub, all.-Anglo-Indian.
Sub, to draw money in advance; a term in use among workmen generally,
and those with casual employment in particular. Most likely from
subsidize.
Sublime rascal, a lawyer.
Suck, a parasite, a flatterer of the "nobs."-University.
Suck, to pump, or draw information from a person.
Suck-casa, a public-house.-Lingua Franca.
Suck the mop, to be the victim of an omnibus nursing exploit. When
an omnibus is being nursed, the driver of the hindmost vehicle keeps
so close to his opponent that the horses get their heads almost into the
doorway.
The nursed omnibus is then said to SUCK THE MOP.
Nursing is, thanks to tramways and the Metropolis Streets Act, almost
a thing of the past. At the East-end, however, it still goes merrily on.
Suck the monkey, to rob a cask of liquor by inserting a straw through
a gimlet-hole, and sucking a portion of the contents. Originally, as
Captain Marryatt states, to SUCK THE MONKEY, was to suck rum from
cocoa-nuts, which spirit had been inserted in place of the milk, for the
private use of the sailors. See TAP THE ADMIRAL.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
315
Suck up,
graces.
Sudden death. In tossing, to be decided by the first call is to "GO
SUDDEN DEATH," as distinguished from the longer forms of “best
two out of three," and "first three." At the Universities a crumpet,
or Sally Lunn, is so called.
"to SUCK UP to a person," to insinuate oneself into his good
Sufferer, a tailor; the loser at any game.
Sugar, money.
Suicide, four horses driven in a line. See HARUM-SCARUM.
Sulky, a one-horse chaise, having only room for one person. Used now-
adays only in trotting matches.
Sumsy, an action of assumpsit.—Legal Slang.
Sun in the eyes, too much drink. A person who is tipsy is said to
have the SUN IN HIS EYES. He is also said to have been standing
too long in the SUN."
Supe, or super, abbreviation of SUPERNUMERARY.-Theatrical.
Super, a watch; SUPER-SCREWING, stealing watches.
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, some few years back,
it was stated that, since the American civil war, it has been not un-
usual 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 words :- All in want of beerhouses must beware of Beaumont
and White, the SURAT brewers.'"
Surf, an actor who frequently pursues another calling.-Theatrical.
SURF, or SERF, is also a term much in use among the lower orders to
denote a crawling or sycophantic wretch.
Suspicion, a scarcely perceptible flavour; as, "There was just a sus-
PICION of oil in the mixture." French, SOUPÇON.
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 SWADDLER !" as
if the whole story were the preacher's invention.-Southey's Life of
Wesley, vol. ii. p. 109. See introductory article.
Swaddler, see SOUPER.
Swaddy, or COOLIE, a soldier. The former was originally applied to a
discharged soldier, and perhaps came from SHODDY, which is made
316
THIE SLANG DICTIONARY.
from soldiers' and policemen's worn-out coats. The term was one of
opprobrium, and was probably the result of a long peace, for it became
obsolete as soon as the Crimean War commenced.
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,
SWEG, or SWACK; German, SWEIG, a flock. Old cant for a shop.
Swag-shop, a warehouse where "Brummagem" and general wares,
fancy trinkets, plated goods, &c., are sold. Jews are the general pro-
prietors; and the goods are very low-priced, trashy, and showy.
SWAG-SHOPS were formerly plunder depôts.-Old Cant.
Swagsman, one who carries the booty after a burglary.
Swank, to boast or "gas" unduly.
Swankey, cheap or small beer. Any weak fermented beverage.
Swap, to exchange. Grose says it is Irish cant, but the term is now in-
cluded in most dictionaries as an allowed vulgarism.
Swarry, a boiled leg of mutton and trimmings. Sam Weller's adventure
with the Bath footmen originated the term. See TRIMMINGS.
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.
Sweat, to violently shake up a lot of guineas or sovereigns in a leathern
bag for the purpose of benefiting by the perspiration.
Sweater, common term for a cutting" or
grinding" employer, — one
who SWEATS his workpeople. A cheap tailor, who pays starvation wages.
Sweep, a contemptuous term for a low or shabby man.
Sweet, loving or fond; "how SWEET he was upon the moll," i.c., 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,
а
rank SWELL," a very flashily dressed person, a man who by excessive
dress apes a higher position than he actually occupies. Any one occu-
pying a superior position in society is by the mob called a SWELL.
Anything is said to be sWELL or SWELLISH that looks showy, or is
many coloured, or is of a desirable quality. Dickens and Thackeray
were termed great SWELLS in literature, and so are the first persons in
the learned professions SWELLS in their way.
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, SWIGAN.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
!
317
Swill, to drink inordinately. SWILL, hog-wash. From which the verb
has possibly been derived.-Norfolk.
tt
t t
Swim, a good SWIM," a good run of luck, a long time out of the police-
man's clutches.-Thieves' term.
Thieves' term. Among anglers a good SWIM" is a
good pitch for a part where fish are plentiful—that is, because a lot of
fish keeping together are called a SWIM. Thus one who is in luck, is well
connected, or is doing a good business, is said to be in a good SWIM.
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.
SCHWINDELN, in German, signifies to cheat.
Swing. To have one's SWING is to have a full turn at anything.
Swing, to be hanged; "if you don't do what's right, I'll SWING for
you," ie., take your life,- —a common threat in low neighbourhoods.
Swingeing, large, huge, powerful. As a SWINGEING blow, SWINGEING
damages, &c.
Swipe, at cricket, to hit hard with a full swing of the bat. Most pro-
bably a condensation of "wipe swingeing" or swinging wipe."
Swipes, sour or small beer. SWIPE, to drink. -Sea.
Swipey (from SWIPES), intoxicated.
Swish, to flog, derived perhaps from the sound. Maybe, a corruption of
SWITCH.
Swished, or SWITCHED, married.
Swivel-eye, a squinting eye.
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 by Dr. Wallace, one of the Professors, of the word sweat.
has since become fashionable at the Universities.
Syce, a groom.—Anglo-Indian.
It
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.
Tabby party, a party consisting entirely of women, a tea and tattle gather-
In America, a gathering of men only' is called a "stag
ing.
party."
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.
Tacked, tied down. When a man has another vanquished, or for certain
reasons bound to his service, he is said to have " got him TACKED."
Tackle, clothes.-Sea. Also to encounter a person in argument.
Taffy (corruption of David), a Welshman. Compare Sawney (from
318
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Alexander), a Scotchman; Paddy (from Patrick), an Irishman; and
Johnny (from John Bull), an Englishman.
Tag-rag-and-bobtail, a mixed crowd of low people, the lower orders
generally.
Tail-block, a watch.-Sea.
Tail-buzzer, a thief who picks coat-pockets.
Tail-down, "to get the TAIL DOWN," generally means to lose courage.
When a professional at any game loses heart in a match he is said to
get his TAIL DOWN. "His TAIL was quite DOWN, and it was all over."
The origin is obvious.
Take, to succeed, or be patronized.
'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
TAKE up for any one," to protect
tr
""
word TAKING in this sense. To
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, probably from the lower class lodging-house-
keepers' advertisements, Single men TAKEN in and done for,' an
engagement which is as frequently performed in a bad as a good sense;
in reference to this performance, Scripture is often quoted: "I was a
stranger and ye TOOK me in." TO TAKE the field," when said of a
general, to commence operations against the enemy. When a racing
man TAKES the field he stakes his money against the favourite, that is,
he takes the chances of the field against the chance of one horse.
Take beef, to run away.
Take in, a cheating or swindling transaction, --sometimes termed “a
dead TAKE IN. ""
Shakspeare 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.
-
A
Take it out, to obtain value for money, labour, &c. A rich man is said
to “TAKE IT (¿.e., his money) OUT in fine footmen, fine feeding," &c.
poor man "TAKES IT (i.e., his trouble) OUT in drink.”
Talking, a stable term, of a milder kind, applied to those horses which
are addicted to ROARING. See the latter expression.
Talk shop, to intrude oneself or one's private business too freely into
conversation. Any one who does this is said to be shoppy.
Tall, extensive, exaggerated,-generally applied to conversation, as "loud"
is to dress, or personal appearance; "TALL talk that," i.e., conversa-
tion too boastful or high-flown to be true. Among pedestrians a great
rate of speed is spoken of as TALL.
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.
Tallyman, an accommodating salesman who takes payment by instal-
ments to suit the convenience of the purchaser, but who is anything but
accommodating when payments are irregular. TALLYMEN are the
cause of much misfortune to the working classes, from their high and
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
319
exorbitant rates, and the temptations they offer to weak-minded.
women, who purchase in haste and repent at leisure.
Tan, to beat or thrash; "I'll TAN your hide," i.e., I'll give you a good
beating.
Tan, an order to pull.-Anglo-Indian.
Tanner, a sixpence. Perhaps Gipsy, TAWNO, little, or Latin, TENER,
slender.
Tanny, or TEENY, little. Gipsy, 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 Cyclopædia.
Tantrums, ill-tempers. "He's in his TANTRUMS this morning," is often
said of a peevish, querulous man. They are not peculiar to the one
sex, however.
Tap the Admiral, to suck liquor from a cask by means of a straw,
said to have been 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 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 Gin and Gospel Gazette,
though this title is fast fading out since the paper has been in the hands
of its present editor.
Tape, gin,-term with female servants. Also, a military term used in
barracks when no spirits are allowed. See RIBBON.
Taper, to give over gradually, to run short.
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. Sometimes a
man of this description is said to have been dipped in the black-pot,
and he is often reminded that "another dip would have done it," i.e.,
another dip would have made a negro of him.
Tar-out, to punish, to serve out.
Tarpaulin, a sailor.
Tartar, a savage fellow, an "ugly customer."
To "catch a TARTAR,
is to discover somewhat unpleasantly that a person is by no means so
mild or good-tempered as he or she at first appeared.
Tat-box, a dice-box.
Tater, "s'elp my TATER," an evasion of a profane oath, sometimes varied
by "s'elp my greens.
Tatler, a watch; "nimming a TATLER," stealing a watch.
Tats, dice.
Tats, old rags; milky TATS, white rags.
Tatterdemalion, a ragged fellow.
Tatting, gathering old rags.
Tattoo, a pony.—Anglo-Indian.
320
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
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.
Tea-fight, an evening party, alias a "muffin-worry."
Tea-spoon, five thousand pounds. See SPOons.
Teagueland, Ireland. From the national character of the name
TEAGUE.
Teeth, “he has cut his eye TEETH," i.e., is old and 'cute enough.
Teeth-drawing, wrenching off knockers. Medical students' term.
Teddy Hall, St. Edmund Hall.-Oxford University.
Teetotaller, a total abstainer from alcoholic drinks.
term is not known.
The origin of this
It is said to be from the expression of a fanatical
and stuttering enthusiast in the cause of total abstinence. It has nothing
to do with tea.
Teetotally, amplification of TOTALLY.
Te-he, to titter, "Upon this I TE-HE'D."-Madame d'Arblay. As an
interjection it is as old as Chaucer. See Miller's Tale :
"TE-HE, quod she, and clapt the window to."
Tell on, to tell about, to talk of, to inform against. (This is formed
by a simple misuse of the preposition.)
Ten commandments, a virago's fingers, or nails. Often heard in a
female street disturbance. I'll leave the TEN COMMANDMENTS
marked on his chump," shows that the term may be applied to either
the fingers or the scratchings. It would be a strange hand, however,
that, with the best opportunity, could made five marks simultaneously.
Tench, the Penitentiary, of which it is a contraction.
See STEEL.
Tenpence to the shilling, a vulgar phrase denoting a deficiency in
intellect.
Testamur, the slip of paper on which the examiners testify (testari)
to the fact that the candidate has satisfied their requirements.-
University.
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 TÊTE, the head of the monarch on the coin.
Teviss, a shilling. Costermongers' and tramps' term.
Thatch, the human hair. "He's well THATCHED," is said of a man
with a good head of hair.
The Tavern, New Inn Hall.-Oxford University.
The thing, the style, the proper proportion. Application varied.
A
good appearance, a decent dinner, or a fair bottle of wine, is said to be
"the THING," sometimes "the correct THING.
""
Thick, intimate, familiar. The Scotch use the word "chief" in this
sense, as, "the two are very chief now.
""
Thick; "to lay it on THICK," to flatter unduly, to surfeit with praise or
adulation.
Thick un, a sovereign; originally a crown piece, or five shillings,
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
321
Thimble, or YACK, a watch.-Prison Cant.
Thimble-rig, a noted cheating game some years back, played at fairs
and places of great public thronging, consisting of two or three thimbles
rapidly and dexterously placed over a pea. The THIMBLE-RIGGER,
suddenly ceasing, asks under which thimble the pea is to be found.
Any one not a practised hand would lose nine times out of ten any bet
he might happen to make with him. The pea is generally concealed
under his nail. THIMBLE-RIGGING has of late years given way to
"broad-working."
Thimble-twisters, thieves who rob persons of their watches.
Thingumy, THING UMBOB, expressions used for the name of a thing
which cannot be recollected at the instant.
Thin-skinned, over-nice, petulant, apt to get a 'raw." See that term
Three-cornered scraper, a cocked hat.-Sea.
CC
Three sheets in the wind, unsteady from drink.-Sea.
Three-up, a gambling game played by costers and others of like grade.
Three halfpennies are thrown up by one man to the call of another.
If they do not come all alike, the cry is void, and the calling and toss-
ing are resumed. When the three coins are all alike they are said to
come off," and then all bets are decided according to the success or
failure of the caller. When two men toss, they play "up for up," i.t.,
they toss and cry alternately. When three or more join in, the gather-
ing is named a school, and one man, who is called a pieman, cries to
the halfpence of the others until he loses, when the winner of the toss
becomes pieman in turn.
Through, finished. In America, where this word is most used in the
sense now given, a guest who has had enough will, when asked to take
more, say, "I'm THROUGH," which is certainly preferable to the other
Americanism, "crammed."
Thrummer, a threepenny bit.
Thrums, threepence. Also, in Coventry, remnants and waste pieces of
silk.
Thrups, threepence: See the preceding, which is more general.
Thud, the dull, dead sound made by the fall of a heavy body, or the
striking of a bullet against any soft, fleshy substance.
Thumper, a magnificently constructed lie, a lie about which there is no
stint of imaginative power.
Thumping, large, fine, or strong.
Thunderbomb, an imaginary ship of vast size.
DOVER.
See MERRY DUN OF
Thunderer, the Times newspaper, sometimes termed "the THUNDERER
of Printing House Square," from the locality where it is printed.
Thundering, large, extra-sized.
Tibbing out, going out of bounds.-Charterhouse.
Tibby, the head. Street slang, with no known etymology. To drop on
one's TIBBY is to frighten or startle any one, to take one unav a ‘es.
;
322
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Tib's eve, "neither before Christmas nor after," an indefinite period;
like the Greek Kalends, TIB'S EVE has a future application; an inde-
finite period of past time is sometimes said to be "when Adam was an
oakum-boy in Chatham Dockyard." "The reign of Queen Dick" is
another form of this kind of expression, and is used to indicate either
past time or future.
Tick, credit, trust. Johnson says it is a corruption of "ticket,”—trades-
men's bills being formerly written on tickets or cards.
On TICK,
therefore, is equivalent to on TICKET, or on trust. In use in 1668, and
before, as follows:-
"No matter upon landing whether you have money or no-you may swim in
twentie of their boats over the river upon TICKET.-Decker's Gulls' Hornbook,
1609.
Ticker, a watch. Formerly cant, now street slang.
Ticket, "that's the TICKET," i.e., that's what is wanted, or what is best.
Probable corruption of "that's etiquette," or, perhaps, from TICKET, a
bill or invoice. This phrase is sometimes extended into "that's the
TICKET for soup, in allusion to the card given to beggars for imme-
diate relief at soup kitchens. See TICK.
Tickle, to puzzle; a reg'lar TICKLER" is a poser.
Tiddlywink, slim, puny; sometimes TILLYWINK.
Tidy, tolerably, or pretty well; "How did you get on to-day?"—" Oh,
TIDY."-Saxon.
Tie, a dead heat. A game of any kind, in which the possibility exists, is
said to end in a tie, if the markings are level on each side at the finish.
In racing parlance, all level finishes are called dead-heats.
Tied up, given over, finished; also married, in allusion to the hymeneal
knot, unless a jocose allusion be intended to the "halter" (altar). See
BUCKLED, term in use among costermongers and street folk generally.
Tiff, a pet, a fit of ill humour.
Tiffin, a breakfast, déjeuner à la fourchette.-Anglo-Indian Slang.
Tiffy, easily offended, apt to be annoyed.
""
Tiger, a parasite; also a term for a ferocious woman; a boy employed to
wait on gentlemen-one who waits on ladies is a page.
Tiger, a superlative yell. 'Three cheers, and the last in TIGERS.
American. To "fight the TIGER" is also American, and refers to
gambling with professionals-dangerous pastime.
Tight, close, stingy; hard up, short of cash; TIGHT, spruce, strong, active;
a TIGHT lad,” a smart, active young fellow; TIGHT, drunk, or nearly
so, generally the result of "going on the loose ;"" 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.
Tightener, a dinner, or hearty meal. See SPITALFIELDS' BREAKFAST.
Tike-, or BUFFER-LURKING, dog-stealing.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
323
i
Tile, a hat; a covering for the head.
"I'm a gent, I'm a gent,
In the Regent-Street style,-
Examine my costume,
And look at my TILE."-Popular Song.
Sometimes used in another sense, "having a TILE loose," i.e., being
slightly crazy. See PANTILE.
Timber merchant, or SPUNK FENCER, a lucifer-match seller,
Timber-toes, a wooden-legged man. Also at the East-end one who
wears clogs, i.e., wooden soled boots.
Time, cabman's slang for money. If they wish to express 9s. 9d. they
say that "it is a quarter to ten ;" if 3s. 6d., half-past three; if Is. 9d.
a quarter to twelve. Cab-drivers can hardly have originated a system
which has been in existence as long as the adage,
Time is money.'
They have, however, the full use of the arrangement, which is perhaps
the simplest on record.
Time, TO DO, to work out a sentence of imprisonment. Time is the
generic term for all quantities of incarceration, whether short or long.
Sometimes stir-time (imprisonment in the House of Correction) is dis-
tinguished from the more extended system of punishment which is
called "pinnel (penal) time."
Time o' day, a dodge, the latest aspect of affairs; "that's your TIME
O' DAY," i.e., that's well done; to put a person up to the TIME O' DAY,
or let him know "what's o'clock," is to instruct him in the knowledge
needful for him.
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.
Tinkler, a bell. "Jerk the TINKLER," ring the bell. Refined or
affected slangists sometimes say, Agitate the communicator," which,
though it represents "ring the bell," should more properly mean "pull
the cord."
Tin-pot, "he plays a TIN-POT game," i.e., a low, mean, or shabby game.
In the Contes d'Eutrapel, a French officer at the siege of Chatillon is
ridiculously spoken of as Captain TIN-POT-Capitaine du Pot d'Etain.
TIN-POT, as generally used, means worthless. As applied to billiards
and kindred games, it means pretentious and inferior play.
Tip, advice or information respecting anything, but mostly used in
reference to horse-racing, so that the person TIPPED may know how to
bet to the best advantage. The straight TIP" is the TIP which
comes direct from the owner or trainer of a horse.
Of late years a
straight TIP" means a direct hint on any subject.
Tip, a douceur; "that's the TIP," ie., that's the proper thing to do.
"To miss one's TIP," to fail in a scheme.-Old Cant.
come, TIP
to inform by
Tip, to give, lend, or hand over anything to another person;
up the tin," i.e., hand up the money; "TIP the wink,
winking; "TIP us your fin," i.e., give me your hand; "TIP one's
boom off," to make off, or depart. From the seafaring phrase.
324
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Tip the double, to "bolt," or run away from any one.
Tip-top, first-rate, of the best kind.
CC
Tip-topper, a swell," or dressy man, a 66
Gorger."
Tipper, a kind of ale brewed at Brighton. Mrs. Gamp preferred the
Brighton TIPPER."
Tipster, a "turf" agent who collects early and generally special informa-
tion 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
Geoffry Greenhorn" laid a trap for them, and published the tips he received
in The Life. 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 consisting of a
man and a boy, at work in the back room of a London public-house, and send-
ing different winners for every race to their subscribers.”—Post and Paddock,
by the "Druid."
C
<
There are, however, whatever non-racing men may think, many "touts”
whose information is valuable to even the "best informed" writers.
Tit, a favourite name for a horse.
"They scorned the coach, they scorned the rails,
Two spanking tits with streaming tails,
Them swiftly onward drew."-End of All Things.
Tit for tat, an equivalent.
Titivate, to put in order, or dress up. Originally TIDY-VATE.
Titley, drink, generally applied to intoxicating beverages.
Titter, a girl; "nark the TITTER," i.e., look at the girl.—Tramps' term.
Tizzy, a sixpence. Corruption of TESTER.
Toad-in-the-hole, a kind of pudding, consisting of small pieces of meat
immersed in batter, and baked. Also, a term applied to perambulating
advertising mediums. See SANDWICH.
Toasting-fork, a regulation sword, indicative of the general uselessness
of that weapon.
Toby, the road. The highwayman or swell robber was in old days said
to be on the high TOBY, from the high or main road, while those
meaner fellows, the footpad and the cutpurse, were but "low TOBY-
MEN," from their frequenting the by-ways.
To-do (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, AFFAIRE (à faire).—See Forby's Vocabulary of
East Anglia.
19
To the nines, to the dodges of the day.
He's up to the NINES,
means he's up to everything.
"Dressed to the NINES," means dressed
loudly, or, as it is more generally known now, "dressed to death.”
Toddle, to walk as a child.
Toe, to kick. "I'll TOE your backside." Common in London.
Toff, a dandy, a swell of rank. Corruption probably of TUFT.
See TOFT.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
325
Toffer, a well-dressed "gay" woman. One who deals with TOFFS.
Tofficky, dressy, showy.
Toft, a showy individual, a swell, a person who, in a Yorkshireman's
vocabulary, would be termed "uppish." See TUFT.
Tog, a coat. Latin, TOGA.-Ancient Cant.
Tog, to dress, or equip with an outfit; TOGGED out to the nines,"
dressed in the first style.
Toggery, clothes, 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 CANT.
Toke, dry bread. Sometimes used to denote a lump of anything.
Toko for yam, a Roland for an Oliver. Possibly from a system of
barter carried on between sailors and aborigines.
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
66
'But if ivver he get out agean,
And can but raise a frind,
Oh! the divel may tak' TOLL-SHOP,
At Beverley town-end !"
This is but a variation of the Scottish TOLBOOTH.
To
Tom, e.g., "after TOM," after the hour at which Big TOM of Christchurch
rings. At its last stroke the gates are closed, and undergrads entering
after have to pay an increasing sum for each hour up to twelve.
be out after that involves an interview with the Master.-Oxford
University.
Tom and Jerry shop, a low drinking shop. Probably some allusion
to Pierce Egan's famous characters in his Life in London. Generally
contracted to JERRY SHOP.
Tom Toppers, a waterman, from a popular song, entitled, Overboard he
vent.
Tom Tug, a waterman. From the small stage-play. Also rhyming
slang for a flat, or rather a "mug.'
Tomboy, a hoyden, a rude romping girl.
Tombstone, a pawn-ticket-"In memory of" whatever has been
pawned, a well-known slang expression with those Londoners who
are in the habit of following "my uncle.
Tomfoolery, nonsense; trashy, mild, and innocuous literature.
Tom-fool's colours, scarlet and yellow, the ancient motley. Occa-
sionally, as a rhyme of quality suitable to the subject,
"Red and yellow,
TOM FOOL'S colour."
A proposition is said to be TOM FOOL when it is too ridiculous to be
entertained or discussed.
Tom-tom, a street instrument, a kind of small drum beaten wir in
!
326
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
fingers, somewhat like the ancient tabor; a performer on this instru-
ment. "Hark! 'tis the Indian drum.
Tommy. See DICKEY.
Tommy, bread,-food generally. Sometimes applied by workmen to
the supply of food which they carry in a bag or handkerchief as their
daily allowance. TOMMY-BAG is the term for the bag or handkerchief
in which the "daily bread" is carried.
Tommy, truck, barter, the exchange of labour for goods, not money.
Both term and practice, general among English operatives for half-a-
century, are by a current fiction supposed to have been abolished by
Act of Parliament.
Tommy Dodd, in tossing when the odd man either wins or loses, as per
agreement. A phrase in frequent use in London. A music-hall song
has been given with this title and on this subject.
Tommy-master, one who pays his workmen in goods, or gives them
tickets upon tradesmen, with whom he shares the profit.
Tommy-shop, a shop where wages are paid to mechanics or others,
who are expected to "take out" a portion of the money in goods.
Also, a baker's shop.
Tongue,
talkative.
to TONGUE a person," i.e., to talk him down. TONGUED,
Tony Lumpkin, a young, clownish country fellow. From She Stoops
to Conquer.
Tool, as a poor TOOL," a bad hand at anything.
Tool, to drive a coach, or any other vehicle. To "handle the ribbons"
in fine style.
Tool, a very little boy employed by burglars to enter at small apertures,
and open doors for the larger thieves outside.
Tooler, a pickpocket. MOLL-TOOLER, a female pickpocket.
Tooley Street tailor, a self-conceited, vainglorious man.
The
“three tailors of Tooley Street" are said to have immortalized them-
selves by preparing a petition for Parliament—and some say, present-
ing it-with only their own signatures thereto, which commenced,
"We, the people of England.'
Tooth, "he has cut his eye TOOTH," ie., he is sharp enough, or old
enough, to do so;
"old in the TOOTH, "far advanced in age,-said
often of old maids. From the stable term for aged horses which have
lost the distinguishing marks in their teeth.
Tootsies, feet, those of ladies and children in particular. In married
life is said the husband uses this expression for the first six months;
after that he terms them "hoofs."
Top, the signal among tailors and sempstresses for snuffing the candle;
one cries TOP, and all the others follow; he who last pronounces the
word has to snuff the candle.
Top-dressing, in journalism, is the large-type introduction to a report,
generally written by a man of higher literary attainments than the
dinary reporter who follows with the details.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
327
Top-heavy, drunk.
Top-sawyer, the principal of a party, or profession. "A TOP-SAWYER
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."-Randall's Diary, 1820.
Top up, a finishing drink. "He drank two bottles of claret and one of
port, which he TOPPED UP with half a bottle of brandy."
Topped, hanged, or executed.
Topper, anything or person above the ordinary ; a blow on the head. “Give
him a TOPPER and chance it," "Let him have a TOPPER for luck."
Topper, the tobacco which is left in the bottom of a pipe-bowl-lucus a
non lucendo; or the stump of a smoked cigar. TOPPER-HUNTERS are
men who pick up cigar ends and odd pieces of stale tobacco, which
they mix and chop up for home consumption or sale.
Topsy-turvy, the bottom upwards. Grose gives an ingenious etymology
of this once cant term, viz., "top-side turf-ways,"-turf being always
laid the wrong side upwards. This is so far ingenious that it creates a
fact for the purpose of arguing from it. Turfs are laid with the grass
part together during carriage; so, anyhow, the definition could be only
half right. In fact, TOPSY-TURVY is but short for "top-side t'other way.'
To-rights, excellent, very well, or good.-Low London slang.
Tormentors, the large iron flesh-forks used by cooks at sea.
Torpids, the second-class race-boats at Oxford, answering to the Cam-
bridge "sloggers."
Toshers, men who steal copper from ships' bottoms in the Thames.
Toss, a measure of sprats.-Billingsgate.
Tot, a small glass; a “TOT o' whisky" is the smallest quantity sold.
Tot-up, to add together, -as columns of figures, £ s. d. From TOTAL-
UP, through the vulgarism TOTTLE.
Totting, bone-picking, either peripatetically or at the dust-heaps.
"Tor" is a bone, but chiffoniers and cinder-hunters generally are
called TOT-PICKERS nowadays. TOTTING also has its votaries on the
banks of the Thames, where all kinds of flotsam and jetsam, from
coals to carrion, are known as TOTS.
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., a thing costing fourpence. See an example in Mr., after-
wards Sir Erasmus, Philipps's Diary, at Oxford, in 1720. “Sept. 22.—
At night went to the ball at the Angel, a guinea TOUCH. It is
also used at Eton the sense of a "tip," or present of money; and is
sometimes said of a woman to imply her worthlessness, as, Only a
half-crowr TOUCH.
in
Touch-and-go, an expression often applied to men with whom busi-
ness arrangements should be of the lightest possible character. Thus,
"He's a TOUCH-AND-GO Sort of fellow. Be careful of him.
Toucher, “as near as a TOUCHER," as near as possible without actually
"}
2
328
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
i
7
touching.-Coaching term. The old Jarveys, to show their skill, used
to drive against things so closely 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 capa-
bilities of those horses entering for a coming race. TOUTS often get
into trouble through entering private training-grounds. They, how-
ever, are very highly paid, some making 407. or 50l. a week during
the season, Now frequently called horse-watchers.
Tout, to look out, or watch.
Touter, a looker out, one who waits at railway stations and steamboat
piers, and touts for customers; a hotel runner. Term in general use.
Touzle, to romp with or rumple.—Scotch.
Towel, to beat or whip. In old English phraseology a cudgel was termed
an oaken TOWEL—whence, perhaps, the verb.
Towelling, a rubbing down with an oaken TOWEL, a beating.
Town and Gown. The fight which used to come off every 5th of Novem-
ber between the undergrads and the "cads." The sides used to shout
respectively "Town!" and "GoWN!" as war-cries.—Oxford University.
Town-lout, a derogatory title at Rugby School for those pupils who
reside with their parents in the town, in contradistinction from those
who live in the boarding-houses.
Tow-pows, grenadiers. From the bearskins, most likely, unless it was ori-
ginally TALL-POWs, the grenadiers being the tallest men in the company.
Towzery gang, swindlers who hire sale-rooms, usually in the suburbs,
for mock auction sales of cheap and worthless goods, and who adver-
tise their ventures as "Alarming Sacrifices," Important Sales of
Bankrupts' Stock," &c. The American name for a mock auctioneer
is a "Peter Funk."
66
Tracks, to make TRACKS," to run away. See STREAK.
Tradesman, one who thoroughly understands his business, whatever
it may be. No better compliment can be passed on an individual,
whether his profession be housebreaking, prizefighting, or that of a
handicraftsman, than the significant "He's a regular TRADESMAN.”
Translator, a man who deals in old shoes or clothes, and refits them for
cheap wear. These people generally live in or about Dudley Street,
Seven Dials.
Translators, second-hand boots mended and polished, and sold at a
low price.
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, "
swag.'
Trapesing, gadding or gossiping about in a slatternly way. Generally
applied to girls and women in low neighbourhoods, who wander from
THIE SLANG DICTIONARY.
329
८८
public-house to public-house, and whose clothes are carelessly fastened,
causing them to trail on the ground.
Traveller, name given by one tramp to another. A TRAVELLER at
her Majesty's expense," i.c., a transported felon, a convict.
Tree, "up a TREE," in temporary difficulties,-out of the way. American
expression, derived from racoon or bear-hunting. 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., up a passage with no
outlet, a cul-de-sac, therefore suggestive of an unpleasant predicament.
Triangles, a slang term for delirium tremens, during a fit of which every-
thing appears out of the square.
Trimmings, the necessary adjuncts to anything cooked, but specially
applied to a boiled leg of mutton, as turnips, potatoes, bread, beer,
salt, &c. Bets are frequently made for a leg of mutton and TRIMMINGS.
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 TRIMMINGS everything,
except the mutton, placed on the table previous to the removal of the
cloth. A boiled leg o' mutton and TRIMMINGS will be always known
as a "swarry" to admirers of Sam Weller.
Tripes, the bowels.
"Next morning Miss Dolly complained of her TRIPES,
Drinking cold water had given her gripes."
Trollies, or TROLLY-CARTS, term given by costermongers to a species of
narrow carts, which can either be drawn by a donkey or driven by hand.
Trolling, sauntering or idling, hence TROLL and TROLLOCKS, an idle
slut, a "moll," which see.
Trollop, a slatternly woman, a prostitute.
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 habitués 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.
Trot out, to draw out or exploit, to show off the abilities of a compa-
nion; sometimes to roast for the amusement and with the assistance
of an assembled company.
Trotter, a tailor's man who goes round for orders.— University.
Trotter cases, shoes.
Trotters, feet. Sheep's TROTTERS, 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.
Trucks, trousers.
Z 2
330
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
""
Trull, corruption of "troll" or trollop," a dirty, slatternly woman, a
prostitute of the lowest class.
Trump, a good fellow; "a regular TRUMP,' a jolly or good-natured
person-in allusion to a TRUMP card; "TRUMPS may turn up," i.c.,
fortune may yet favour me.
Trunks, short trousers worn above hose or tights.-Theatrical.
Try it on, to make attempt, generally applied to an effort at imposition.
An extortionate charge or a begging-letter is frequently described as
"a regular TRY-ON.
Tub, the morning bath. To TUB has now become a regular verb, so far
as colloquialism is concerned, though no one uses a TUB as the word
was originally understood.
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.
Tubs, nickname for a butterman.
Tuck, a schoolboy's term for fruit, pastry, &c. TUCK IN, or TUCK OUT,
a good meal.
Tuft-hunter, a hanger on to persons of quality or wealth-one who
seeks the society of wealthy people. Originally University slang, but
now general.
Tufts, at the University, noblemen, who pay high fees and are distin-
guished by golden TUFTS, or tassels, in their caps.
Tumble, to comprehend or understand. A coster was asked what he
thought of Macbeth, and he replied, "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.
Tumble to pieces, to be safely delivered, as in childbirth.
Tune the old cow died of, an epithet for any ill-played or discor-
dant piece of music. Originally the name of an old ballad, referred to
by dramatists of Shakspeare's time.
Tuns, a name at Pembroke College, Oxford, for small silver cups, each
containing half a pint. Sometimes a TUN had a handle with a whistle,
which could not be blown till the cup was empty.
Turf, horse-racing, and betting thereon; "on the TURF
on the TURF," one who occu-
pies himself with race-horse business; said also of a street-walker,
or nymph of the pavé.
Turkey merchants, dealers in plundered or contraband silk. Poul-
terers are sometimes termed TURKEY MERCHANTS in remembrance of
Horne Tooke's answer to the boys at Eton, who wished in an aristo-
cratic way to know what his father was: "A TURKEY 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 general appearance, if
of silver. Also called " a frying-pan." Old-fashioned gold watches
are called "warming-pans."
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
331
1
Turn it up, to quit, change, abscond, or abandon; "Ned has TURNED
IT UP," i.e., run away; "I intend TURNING IT UP," i.e., leaving my
present abode or employment, or altering my course of life.
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 another, who has died or become bankrupt.
Turn up, a street fight; a sudden leaving, or making off.
An unex-
pected slice of luck. Among sporting men bookmakers are said to
have a TURN UP when an unbacked horse wins.
Turn up, to appear unexpectedly. Also to happen; "Let's wait, and
see what will TURN UP.
Turn up, to make sick. People are said to be TURNED UP by sea-sick-
ness, or when they are made ill by excessive smoking or drinking.
Turned over, remanded by the magistrate or judge for want of evidence.
Turned up, to be stopped and searched by the police. To be dis-
charged from a police-court or sessions-house; to be acquitted.
Turnpike sailors, beggars who go about dressed as sailors.
castic reference to the scene of their chief voyages.
Tusheroon, a crown piece, five shillings.
wheel.
Tussle, a row, struggle, fight, or argument.
Tussle, to struggle, or argue.
A sar-
Otherwise a bull or cart-
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 misdemeanor. Consequently it is a vulgar taunt
You will be christened by TWELVE GODFATHERS some day
to say,
"
before long.
Twelver, a shilling.
Twice-laid, a dish made out of cold fish and potatoes.-Sea.
BUBBLE AND SQUEAK, and RESURRECTION PIE.
Twig, style. Prime TWIG, in good order and high spirits.
Compare
Twig, to comprehend, as, "Do you TWIG ?" Also, "Hop the TWIG,'
to decamp.
Twist, brandy and gin mixed,
Twist, capacity for eating, appetite; "He's got a capital TWIST.
Twitchety, nervous, fidgety.
Twitter, "all in a TWITTER," in a fright or fidgety state.
Two eighteener, an Americanism for a man or woman of the fastest
kind-two minutes eighteen seconds, or close thereabouts, being the
fastest time for a mile recorded in connexion with the Transatlantic na-
tional sport, trotting. "Two forty on a plank road," a once favourite
expression with a similar meaning, derived from a feat of the famous
trotting mare Flora Temple, has died out since trotting has become
faster, and courses have been prepared on a different principle.
332
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Two-eyed-steak, a red-herring or bloater. Otherwise "Billingsgate
pheasant."
Two-handed, expert at fisticuffs. Ambidextrous generally.
"} <<
Two-handed game, a game or proposal in which the chances are
fairly even; as, "I'll punch your head; Ah, that's a TWO-HANDED
GAME-you'll get no good at that.”
Two to one, the pawnbroker's sign of three balls. So called because it
is supposed by calculating humourists to be TWO TO ONE against the
redemption of a pledged article.
Two upon ten, or TWO PUN' 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," short-
ened 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 con-
venient to speak, a piece of paper is handed to the same assistant,
bearing the, to him, very significant amount of

£2: 10:0
Compare SHARP, JOHN ORDERLY.
Twopenny, the head; "tuck in your TWOPENNY," bend down your head.
Twopenny-halfpenny, paltry, insignificant. A TWOPENNY-HALF-
PENNY fellow, a not uncommon expression of contempt.
Twopenny-hops, low dancing rooms, the price of admission to which
was formerly twopence. The clog hornpipe, the pipe dance, flash
jigs, and hornpipes in fetters, à la Jack Sheppard, were the favourite
movements, all entered into with great spirit.
"
Twopenny rope, a lodging-house of the lowest kind, where tramps
and cadgers sleep on sacking stretched by means of ropes. Sleeping
at these places is called having "twopenn'orth of rope.
Tyburnia, the Portman and Grosvenor Square district. It is facetiously
divided by the Londoners into "Tyburnia Felix," "Tyburnia Deserta,'
and "Tyburnia Snobbica." The old gallows at Tyburn stood near
the N.E. corner of Hyde Park, at the angle formed by the Edgware
Road and the top of Oxford Street. In 1778 this was two miles out
of London.
Tyburn tippet, in the old hanging days, Jack Ketch's rope.
Tye, or TIE, a neckerchief. Proper hosiers' term now, but slang thirty
years ago, and as early as 1718.
Tyke, a Yorkshireman. Term used by themselves, as well as by
Southerners, in reference to them.
Typo, a printer.
Ugly, wicked, malicious, resentful.-American.
Ullages, the wine of all sorts left in the bottoms of glasses at a public
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
333
dinner. This is emptied into a measure, and drunk behind the screen
or in any convenient place by the waiters, which accounts for their
stony glare and fishy appearance late in the evening. Maybe from
Lat. ULLUS, any.
Unbleached American, Yankee term, since the war, for coloured
natives of the United States.
Uncle, the pawnbroker. See MY UNCLE.
Under a cloud, in difficulties.
stances.
Under the rose. See ROSE.
An evident reference to shady circum-
Understandings, the feet or boots.
Men who wear exceptionally
large or thick boots, are said to possess good UNDERSTANDINGS.
Understudy, to STUDY a part for the stage, not with the view of playing
it at once, but so as to be ready in the event of anything happening to
its present representative. Some actors of position, who suffer from
delicate health, or mental weakness, have always other and inferior, but
more robust, artists UNDERSTUDYING their parts.
Unfortunate, a modern euphuism for a prostitute, derived from Thomas
Hood's beautiful poem of The Bridge of Sighs :-
"One more UNFORTUNATE,
Weary of breath,
Rashly importunate,
Gone to her death.'
It is almost needless to remark that the poet had no intention of using
the word in any but its widest and most general sense.
"Man-
Unicorn, a style of driving with two wheelers abreast and one leader—
termed in the United States a "spike team." "Tandem" is one
wheeler and one leader. "Random," three horses in line.
chester" means three horses abreast. 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. Possibly said
of a boy who has been petted, i.e., who has been insufficiently thrashed
or licked. Case of spared rod and spoilt child.
Unparliamentary, or UNSCRIPTURAL, language, words unfit for use in
ordinary conversation.
Unutterables, or UNWHISPERABLES, trousers. See INEXPRESSIBLES.
Up, "to be UP to a thing or two," to be knowing, or understanding ;
"to put a man UP to a move," to teach him a trick; "it's all UP with
him," ¿.e., it is all over with him; when pronounced U.P., naming the
two letters separately, means settled, or done UP.
'UP a tree," see
TREE. "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 com-
mitting a theft successfully; "what's UP?" what is the matter? what
is the news?
U.P., United Presbyterian Church of Scotland.
334
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
•
Upper Benjamin, or BENJY, a great coat; originally "Joseph," but,
because of the preponderance of tailors named BENJAMIN, altered in
deference to them.
Upper storey, or UPPER LOFT, a person's head; "his UPPER STOREY is
unfurnished," i.e., he does not know very much. "Wrong in his
UPPER STOREY," crazy. See CHUMP.
Uppish, proud, arrogant.
Used up, broken-hearted, bankrupt, fatigued, vanquished.
Vakeel, a barrister.-Anglo-Indian.
Vamos, VAMOUS, or VAMOOSH, to go, or be off. Spanish, VAMOS, "Let
us go!" Probably NAMUS, or NAMOUS, the costermonger's word, was
from this.
Vamp, to spout, to leave in pawn.
Also to cobble, as, "a VAMPED
play," and "a VAMPED accompaniment," both terms reflecting dis-
credit on the work, but not necessarily upon the musician.
Vamps, old, or refooted stockings. From VAMP, to piece.
Vardo, to look ;
VARDO the carsey," look at the house. VARDO for.
This is by low Cockneys generally
merly was old cant for a waggon.
pronounced VARDY.
Vardy, verdict, vulgarly used as opinion, thus, "My VARDY on the
matter is the same as yourn.
Varmint. "You young VARMINT, you !" you bad, or naughty boy. Cor-
ruption of VERMIN.
Varnisher, an utterer of false sovereigns. Generally "snide-pitcher."
'Varsity, either UNIVERSITY-more rarely University College, Oxford.
Velvet, the tongue; especially the tongue of a magsman. Also, men who
have succeeded in their speculations, especially on the turf, are said to
stand on VELVET.
Veneer, the artificiality of society, conventionality. Dickens expressed
his dislike for certain forms of VENEER repeatedly, and especially by
means of his Veneerings in Our Mutual Friend.
Vet, colloquial term for VETERINARIAN.
Vic, the Victoria Theatre, London. Also the street abbreviation of the
Christian name of her Majesty the Queen.
Village, or THE VILLAGE, i.e., London. Birmingham is called "the
hardware VILLAGE." Also a Cambridge term for a disreputable
suburb of that town, viz., Barnwell, generally styled "the VILLAGE,"
Ville, or VILE, a town or village-pronounced PHIAL, or VIAL.- French.
Vinnied, mildewed, or sour.-Devonshire.
Voker, to talk; can you VOKER Romany !" can you speak the canting
language?-Latin, VOCARE; Spanish, VOCEAR.
Vowel.
"To VOWEL a debt" is to acknowledge with an I O U.
Vulpecide, one who shoots or traps foxes, or destroys them in any way
other than that of hunting. A foxhunter regards a VULPECIDE as
rather worse than an ordinary murderer.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
•
335
Wabble, or WOBBLE, to move from side to side, to roll about. Johnson
terms it "a low, barbarous word."
Walk into, to overcome, to demolish; "I'll WALK INTO his affections,"
i.e., I will scold or thrash him. "He WALKED INTO the grub," i.e.,
he demolished it. WALK INTO also means to get into the debt of any
one, as "He WALKED INTO the affections 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 WALKS OVER
the course. See DEAD HEAT.
Walk your chalks, be off, or run away,-spoken sharply by any onè
who wishes to get rid of a troublesome person. See CHALKS.
Walker, a letter-carrier or postman. From an old song, called, "Walker,
the twopenny postman.
Walker! or HOOKEY WALKER! an ejaculation of incredulity, used when
a person is telling a story which you know to be all gammon, or worse.
One explanation of the phrase is this "Years ago there was a person
named Walker, an aquiline-nosed Jew, who exhibited an orrery,
which he called by the erudite name of 'Eidouranion.' He was also
a popular lecturer on astronomy, and often, telescope in hand, invited
his pupils to 'take a sight' at the moon and stars. The lecturer's phrase
struck his schoolboy 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.' This has been denied, however, and a statement made that
HOOKEY WALKER was a magistrate of dreaded acuteness and incredu-
lity, whose hooked nose gave the title of "beak" to all his successors;
it is also said, 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 first story would
seem to indicate. There are many and various explanations of the
term, given according to the development of fancy.-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.
Wallflower, a person who goes to a ball and looks on without dancing,
either from choice or through not being able to obtain a partner.
From the position.
Wallflowers, left-off and "regenerated" clothes exposed for sale on
the bunks and shop-boards of Seven Dials. See REACH-ME-DOWNS.
Wallabee-track, Colonial slang for the tramp. When a man in Aus-
tralia is "on the road" looking for employment, he is said to be on
the WALLABEE-TRACK.
Wallop, to beat, or thrash. John Gough Nichols derives this word from
an ancestor of the Earl of Portsmouth, one Sir John Wallop, Knight
336
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
of the Garter, who in King Henry VIII.'s time distinguished himself
by WALLOPING the French; but it is more probably connected with
wheal, a livid swelling in the skin after a blow. See POT-WALLOPER.
Walloping, a beating or thrashing; sometimes used in an adjective
sense, as big, or very large.
Wapping, or WHOPPING, of a large size, great.
Warm, rich, or well off.
Warm, to thrash or beat; "I'll WARM your jacket.
"" To WARM the wax
of one's ear is to give a severe blow on the side of the head. To WARM
is also to rate or abuse roundly. Also varied, as, "to make it hot" for
any one.
Warming-pan, a large old-fashioned gold watch. A person placed in
an office to hold it for another. See W.P.
War-paint, evening dress. When people go out in full costume they
are often said to have their WAR-PAINT on. Also, military "full-fig.'
Wash, "It wont WASH," i.e., will not stand investigation, will not "bear
the rub," is not genuine, can't be believed.
Waster, a useless, clumsy, or ill-made person.
Watch and seals, a sheep's head and pluck.
Watchmaker, a pickpocket or stealer of watches.
Often called "
a
WATCHMAKER in a crowd."
Water-bewitched, very weak tea, the third brew (or the first at some
houses). Sometimes very weak tea, is called "husband's tea," in
allusion to the wife taking the first brew, and leaving the rest for her
husband. Also grog much diluted.
Water-dogs, Norfolk dumplings.
Water gunner, a marine artilleryman.
Water the dragon, or WATER ONE'S NAG, a hint for retiring.
Waterman, a blue silk handkerchief.
The friends of the Oxford and
Cambridge boats' crews always wear these-light blue for Cambridge,
and a darker shade for Oxford.
Wattles, ears.
Wax, a rage. "Let's get him in a WAX. WAXY, cross, ill-tempered.
Wayz-goose, a printers' annual dinner, the funds for which are collected
by stewards regularly appointed by "the chapel."
Weather eye, the cautious eye. Any one who is supposed to have an
extra good knowledge of things in general, or to be hard to impose
on or cheat, is said to have his WEATHER EYE well open.
Weather-headed, so written by Sir Walter Scott in his Peveril of the
Peak, but it is more probably WETHER-HEADED, as applied to a person
having a sheepish" look.
Weaving, a notorious card-sharping trick, done by keeping certain cards
on the knee, or between the knee and the under side of the table, and
using them when required by changing them for the cards held in the
hand.
Weaving leather aprons. When a knowing blade is asked what
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
337
he has been doing lately, and does not choose to tell, his reply is, that
he has been very busy WEAVING LEATHER APRONS. (From the
reports of a celebrated trial for gold robbery on the South-Western
Railway.) Other similar replies are, "I have been making a trundle
for a goose's eye," or a
whim-wham to bridle a goose."
a man will describe himself as a doll's-eye WEAVER.
Wedge, silver.-Old Cant.
Wedge-feeder, a silver spoon.
Weed, a cigar; the WEED, tobacco generally.
Weed, a hatband.
Sometimes
Weight-for-age, a sporting phrase which, applied to a race, distin-
guishes it from a handicap or catch-weight event, and informs all
interested that the animals which run carry according to their ages, and
not their abilities. Winners of certain great races generally carry
penalties in addition to WEIGHT-FOR-AGE, for the purpose of equalizing
matters somewhat; but as a rule the results are fairly foreshadowed
as soon as in these races the horses are at the post, or as soon as the
starters are positively known.
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 WELCHER is often very severely handled upon his
swindling practices being discovered. The Catterick "Clerk of the
Course" once provided some stout labourers and a tar-barrel for the
special benefit of the WELCHERS who might visit that neighbourhood.
The word is modern, but the practice is ancient.
C
"One Moore, the 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.”—Post`and Paddock.
CC
One writer says the term arose from a fellow who took deposits on
account of Welsh ponies, which he said he was importing, and never
delivered them." It is not unfrequently suggested by irreverent persons
that the word was suggested by the dislike his gracious Majesty George
the Fourth had, when a young man, for settling. Others derive it from
the nursery rhyme,
"Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief.”
There can be no doubt that, from the days when the stout Earl of
Chester and others were constantly employed in checking and cutting
off the expeditions of their neighbours till comparatively recently, the
term "Welshman" has been hardly one of kindness. It is not hard,
therefore, to imagine its use on the Roodee, and its subsequent corrup、
tion into WELCHER. The spelling of the word, WELCHER or WELSHER,
is optional.
Well, to pocket, to save money.
habits is said to "WELL it.”
Any one of fair income and miserly
Welt, to thrash with a strap or stick. Probably meaning to raise wheals.
338
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
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.c. 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
Wet, to drink. Low people generally ask an acquaintance to WET any
recently purchased article, i.e., to stand treat on the occasion.
(originally WHET, to sharpen,) your whistle," i.e., take a drink;
the other eye," i.e., take another glass. See SHED A TEAR.
WET
Wet Quaker, a man who pretends to be religious, 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.
Scotch, SWEG, or SWACK.
"Give me my WHACK," give me my share.—
Whack, or WHACKING, a blow, or a thrashing.
Whack, to beat.
Whacker, a lie of unusual dimensions, sometimes called a "round un.
Whacking, large, fine, or strong.
""
Whacks, to go WHACKS, to divide equally; to enter into partnership.
Whale, very like a WHALE," said of anything that is very improbable.
A speech of Polonius's in Hamlet.
What d'yecall 'em, a similar expression to "thingumy."
Wheeze, a joke, an anecdote, or dialogue, not strictly connected with a
piece that is being played, but introduced by an actor, sometimes with
the assistance and for the benefit of others. The dialogues which
take place between the songs at nigger entertainments are also known
as WHEEZES. The word actually means a new notion as applied to
dialogue.
Wherret, WORRIT, ro to scold, trouble, or annoy.-Old English.
Whid, a word. Sometimes, a fib, a falsehood, a word too much.-
Modern 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 fiddle-faddle, 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
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
339
further supply. WHIP-ROUND is now a common term for a subscrip-
tion of a similar kind to that described.
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 used to express anything dis-
honestly taken.
Whip, 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 WHIP holds, or is supposed to hold, the minor
patronage of the Treasury.
Whipjack, 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-snapper, a waspish, diminutive person.
Whisper, a tip given in secret, a rumour which is spread under the pre-
tence of its being a secret. To "give the WHISPER," is to give a quick
tip to any one. An owner's final instruction to his jockey is called
"the WHISPER at the post.
Whisper, to borrow money-generally small sums-as, "He wHISPERED
me for a tanner.
})
Whisperer, a constant borrower.
Whistle, "as clean as a WHISTLE," neatly, or "slickly done," as an
American would say; To whet (or more vulgarly wet) one's
WHISTLE," to take a drink. This last is a very old expression. Chaucer
says of the Miller of Trumpington's wife (Canterbury Tales, 4153)—
"So was hir joly WHISTAL Well y-wet."
"TO WHISTLE for anything," to stand small chance of getting it, from
the nautical custom of WHISTLING for a wind in a calm, which of course
comes none the sooner for it. "To pay for one's WHISTLE," to pay
extravagantly for any fancy.
Whistling-Billy, or PUFFING-BILLY, a locomotive engine.
Whistling-shop, a place in which spirits are sold without a licence.
Whitechapel or WESTMINSTER BROUGHAM, a costermonger's donkey-
barrow.
Whitechapel, anything mean or paltry. Potting one's opponent at
billiards is often known as "WHITECHAPEL play.
Whitechapel, in tossing, when "two out of three wins." See SUDDEN
DEATH.
Whitechapel fortune, a clean gown and a pair of pattens.
White eye, military slang for a very strong and deleterious kind of
whisky, so called because its potency is believed to turn the eyes
round in the sockets, leaving the whites only visible.
White feather, to show 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 cross-breeding.
340
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
White horses, the foam on the crests of waves, seen before or after a
storm,
"Now the wild white horses play,
Champ and chafe and toss in the spray.
Children, dear, let us away,
This way, this way."-Matthew Arnold.
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 LIVER-FACED, 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 halt.
White tape, gin,-term used principally by female servants.
RIBBON.
White un, a silver watch.
White wine, the fashionable term for gin.
"Jack Randall then impatient rose,
And said, 'Tom's speech were just as fine
If he would call that first of GOES
By that genteeler name-WHITE WINE."
Randall's Diary, 1820.
See
Whitewash, to rehabilitate. A person who took the benefit of the Insol-
vent Act was said to have been WHITEWASHED. Now said of a
person who compromises with his creditors.
Whitewash, a glass of sherry as a finale, after drinking port and claret.
Whittle, to nose or peach.-Old Cant. To cut and hack as with a
pocket-knife.—American.
Whop, to beat, or hide. Corruption of WHIP; sometimes spelt WAP.
Whop-straw, cant name for a countryman; Johnny WHOP-STRAW, in
allusion to threshing.
Whopper, a big one, a lie. A lie not easily swallowed.
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.
Wife, a fetter fixed to one leg.—Prison:
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 EARWIGGING; if done
before the other clerks, it is a WIGGING.
See VILE.
Wild, a village. — Tramps' term.
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
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
341
Atlantic is to vex him, or "rile" his temper-not to render him a
raving maniac, or a fit subject for Bedlam.
Wild Irishman, the train between Euston and Holyhead, in connec-
tion with the Kingstown mail-boats.
Wild oats, youthful pranks. A fast young man is said to be "sowing
his WILD OATS."
William, a bill.
The derivation is obvious.
Willow, a cricket-bat. From the material of which it is made. The great
batsman, W. G. Grace, is often called " champion of the WILLOW.'
Wind, "to raise the WIND," to procure money; "to slip one's WIND,”
a coarse expression, meaning to die. See RAISE.
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 a thread that they shall not be able to unravel.”
Windows, the eyes, or "peepers."
Winey, intoxicated.
Winged, hurt, but not clangerously, by a bullet. Originally to be shot in
the arm or shoulder. To slightly wound birds is to WING them.
Winkin, "he went off like WINKIN," i.e., very quickly. From WINK,
to shut the eye quickly.
Winks, periwinkles.
Winn, a penny.—Ancient Cant. See introductory chapter.
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; hence to obtain an advantage by superior
activity. With old topers "WIPING one's eye," is equivalent to giving
or taking another drink.
Wipe-out, to kill or utterly destroy. This is an Americanism, but is
in pretty general use here.
The
Wire-in, a London street phrase in general use, which means to go in
with a will. In its original form of "WIRE-IN, and get your name
up," it was very popular among London professional athletes.
phrase is now general, and any one who has a hard task before him,
knows he must WIRE-IN to bring matters to a successful issue.
Wire-pullers, powerful political partisans, who do their work from
"behind the scenes.
>>
With and without, words by themselves, supposed to denote the ex-
istence or non-existence of sugar in grog. Generally warm WITH"
and "cold WITHOUT."
Wobble-shop, a shop where beer is sold without a licence.
Wobbler, a foot soldier, a term of contempt used by cavalrymen.
Wobbly, rickety, unsteady, ill-fitting.
7
·
342
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Wolf, to eat greedily.
Wooden spoon, the last junior 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, and is applied
to the member of the ministry whose name appears in the division
lists least frequently. At the ministerial dinner annually held at Green-
wich, such member sometimes has a wooden spoon presented to him.
Wooden surtout, a coffin, generally spoken of as a WOODEN SURTOUT
with nails for buttons.
Wooden wedge, the last name in the clas-
sical honours' list at Cambridge. 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 undergraduates
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).
Wool, courage, pluck; "you are not half-wOOLED," term of reproach

from one thief to another,
Hence the title.
Wool, bravery, pluck. Term much in use among pugilists and their ad-
mirers. The highest praise that can be bestowed on a man of courage
in lower-class circles is that which characterizes him as being "a reg'lar
WOOLED UN," or
">
a rare wOOL-TOPPED un. Derived from the
great pluck and perseverance shown by many pugilists of whole or
partial colour, from Molyneux down to Bob Travers.
Woolbird, a lamb; "wing of a WOOLBIRD," a shoulder of lamb.
Wool-gathering, said of any person's wits when they are wandering,
or in a reverie.
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 victimize,—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," to try at each
house to sell all one can, or to bawl so that every housewife may know
what is to be sold. The general plan is to drive a donkey-barrow
a short distance, and then stop and cry. The term implies thorough-
ness; to WORK a street well" is a common saying with a coster.
'TO WORK a benefit" is to canvass among one's friends and acquain-
tances.
Worm. See PUMP.
Worm, a policeman.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
343
і
Worming, removing the beard of an oyster or mussel.
W. P., or WARMING-PAN. A clergyman who holds a living pro tempore,
under a bond of resignation, is styled a W. P., or WARMING-PAN rector,
because he keeps the place warm for his successor. WARMING-PAN
was a term first popularly applied to a substitute in the reign of
James II.
Wrinkle, an idea, or a fancy; an additional piece of knowledge.
Write, as "to WRITE one's name on a joint," to leave the impression of
one's handiwork thereon, to have the first cut at anything; to leave
visible traces of one's presence anywhere.
Wylo, be off.-Anglo-Chinese.
X., or LETTER X, a method of arrest used by policemen with desperate
ruffians,-by getting a firm grasp on the collar, and drawing the cap-
tive'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.
Yack, a watch; to "church a YACK," to take it out of its case to avoid
detection, otherwise to "christen a YACK.
Yaffle, to eat.-Old English.
Yahoo, a person of coarse or degraded habits. Derived from the use of
the word by Swift.
When
Yam, to eat. This word is used by the lowest class all over the world;
by the Wapping sailor, West Indian negro, or Chinese coolie.
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 YAM gun?" The Dutch were surprised and massacred
the same night.
Yappy, soft, foolish; mostly applied to an over-generous person, from the
fact that it originally meant one who paid for everything. YAP is
back slang for pay, and often when a man is asked to pay more than he
considers correct, he says, "Do you think I'm YAPPY?" do you think
I'm paying mad? Thus slang begets slang.
Yard of clay, a long, old-fashioned tobacco pipe; also called a
churchwarden.
Yarmouth capon, a bloater, or red herring.
Yarmouth mittens, bruised hands.-Sea.
Yarn, a long story, or tale; "a tough YARN," a tale hard to be believed;
spin a YARN," to tell a tale.-Sea.
CC
Yay-nay, "a poor YAY-NAY
fellow, one who has no conversational
power, and can only answer YEA or NAY to a question.
Yellow-belly, a native of the fens of Lincolnshire, or the Isle of Ely,
-in allusion to the frogs and yellow-bellied eels caught there.
Yellow-boy, a sovereign, or any gold coin.
Yellow-gloak, a jealous man.
A A
344
TIIE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Yellow-Jack, the yellow fever prevalent in the West Indies.
Yellow-man, a yellow silk handkerchief.
Yellows, a term of reproach applied to Bluecoat and other charity school
boys.
Yid, or YIT, a Jew. YIDDEN, the Jewish people. The Jews use these
terms very frequently.
Yokel, a countryman. Probably from yoke, representative of his occu-
pation. Some fancy, however, that the word was originally YOWKEL,
in imitation of the broad tones of country labourers.
Yokuff, a chest, or large box.
Yorkshire, "to YORKSHIRE,
""
or come YORKSHIRE over any person,
to cheat or cozen him. The proverbial over-reaching of the rustics
of this county has given rise to the phrase, which is sometimes pro-
nounced Yorshar. To put Yorshar to a man, is to trick or deceive
him. This latter is from a work in the Lancashire dialect, 1757.
Yorkshire compliment, a gift of something useless to the giver.
Sometimes called a North-country compliment.
Yorkshire estates; "I will do it when I come into my YORKSHIRE
ESTATES,”—meaning if I ever have the money or the means.
Yorkshire reckoning, a reckoning in which every one pays his own
share.
Younker, in street language, a lad or a boy. Term in general use
amongst costermongers, cabmen, and old-fashioned people. Barne-
field's Affectionate Shepherd, 1594, has the phrase, "a seemelie
YOUNKER." Danish and Friesic, JONker. In the navy, a naval
cadet is usually termed a YOUNKER.
Your nibs, yourself. See NIBS.
Yoxter, a convict returned from transportation before his time.
Ziff, a juvenile thief.
Ziph, LANGUAGE OF, a way of disguising English in use among the students
De Quincey, in
at Winchester College. Compare MEDICAL GREEK.
his Autobiographic Sketches, says that he acquired this language as a
boy, from a Dr. Mapleton, who had three sons at Winchester who
had imported it from thence as their sole accomplishment, and that
after the lapse of fifty years he could, and did with Lord Westport, con-
verse in it with ease and rapidity. It was communicated at Winchester
to new-comers for a fixed fee of half a guinea. The secret is this,—
repeat the vowel or diphthong of every syllable, prefixing to the vowel
so repeated the letter G, and placing the accent on the intercalated
syllable. Thus, for example, "Shall we go away in an hour?"
"Three hours we
"Shagall wege gogo agawagay igin hougour ?"
have already stayed," "Threegee hougours wege hagave agalreageadygy
stagayed." De Quincey could hardly have been considered complimen-
tary to his own memory if he supposed that he, or for the matter of that
any one possessed of brains, could forget anything so simple; or that,
if forgotten until suddenly recalled, it could not be mastered by any
sensible person in a minute. The language of ZIPH is far inferior to
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
345
any of the slangs manufactured by the lower classes. Evidently any
consonant will answer the purpose; F or L would be softer, and so far
better. This ZIPH system is not confined to Winchester College, as it
is recorded and described amongst many other modes of cryptical com-
munication, oral and visual, spoken, written, and symbolic, in an Essay
towards a Real Character and a Philosophic Language (founded on or
suggested by a treatise published just before, by Geo. Dalgarne), by
John Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, published by order of the Royal
Society, fol. 1668, and as the bishop does not speak of it as a recent
invention, it may probably at that time have been regarded as an
antique device for conducting a conversation in secrecy amongst
bystanders-which says very little for either the designers or the
bystanders.
Zounds! a sudden exclamation-abbreviation of "God's wounds!"
:
SOME ACCOUNT
T¹
OF
THE BACK SLANG.
HE costermongers of London number between thirty
and forty thousand. Like other low tribes, they boast a
language, or secret tongue, by which they hide their designs,
movements, and other private affairs. This costers' speech
offers no new fact, or approach to a fact, for philologists; it is
not very remarkable for originality of construction, neither is it
spiced with low humour, as other cant. But the costermongers
boast that it is known only to themselves; that it is far beyond
the Irish, and puzzles the Jews. This is, however, but a poor
fiction; for, as will be seen, the slang current among them is
of the crudest conception, and only difficult to the most igno-
rant. Any one of the smallest pretensions to ability could
learn back slang-could, in fact, create it for himself-as far as
the costers' vocabulary extends, in a couple of hours. Since
the early editions of this work were published back slang has
become very common; and is now mostly spoken, mixed how-
ever, with various other kinds of slang, in the public markets-
the new dead-meat market being, perhaps, strongest in the way
of pure-if the term may be used-back slang.
The main principle of this language is spelling the words back-
wards—or rather, pronouncing them rudely backwards. Some-
times, for the sake of harmony, an extra syllable is prefixed or
annexed; and occasionally the word receives quite a different
turn, in rendering it backwards, from what an uninitiated person
would have expected. One coster told Mayhew that he often
348
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
gave the end of a word " a new turn, just as if he chorused it
with a tol-de-rol." But then costermongers, and more especially
those who confided their joys and sorrows to the gentleman just
named, are not to be relied on. The coster has, of course, his
own idea of the proper way of spelling words, and is not to be
convinced but by an overwhelming show of learning,—and
frequently not then, for he is a very headstrong fellow. By the
time a coster has spelt an ordinary word of two or three
syllables in the proper way, and then spelt it backwards, it has
become a tangled knot that no etymologist could unravel. The
word "generalize," for instance, is considered to be "shilling"
spelt backwards, while "genitraf" is supposed to represent far-
thing. Sometimes slang and cant words are introduced, and
even these, when imagined to be tolerably well known, are pro-
nounced backwards. Very often, instead of a word being spelt
backwards right through, the syllables retain their original
order; the initial h is pronounced as though were before
it, "tatch" being back slang for hat, and "flatch” the word
supposed to represent half. Again, the full words are shortened,
as "gen" for "generalize," a shilling; and various other
artifices are resorted to, in the hope of adding to the natural
difficulties of back slang.
This back language, back slang, or "kacab genals," as it
is called by the costermongers themselves, is supposed to be
regarded by the rising generation of street-sellers as a distinct.
and regular mode of intercommunication. People who hear this
slang for the first time never refer words, by inverting them, to
their originals; and the "yanneps," "esclops," and "nam-
mows," are looked upon as secret terms. Those who practise
the slang soon obtain a considerable stock vocabulary, so that
they converse rather from the memory than the understanding.
Amongst the senior costermongers, and those who pride them-
selves on their proficiency in back slang, a conversation is
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
349
often sustained for a whole evening-that is, the chief words
are in the back slang-especially if any "flats" are present
whom they wish to astonish or confuse.
The addition of an s invariably forms the plural, so that this
is another source of complication. For instance, woman in the
back slang is "nammow," and "nammows" is
“ women."
The explorer, then, in undoing the back slang, and turning
the word once more into English, would have a novel and very
extraordinary rendering of women. Where a word is refractory
in submitting to a back rendering, as in the case of "pound,"
letters are made to change positions for the sake of harmony;
thus we have "dunop," a pound, instead of "dnuop," which
nobody could pleasantly pronounce. Also all words of one.
syllable which end with two vowels-such, for instance, as cold,
drunk-become dissyllables when read backwards, the vowel
e being imagined between the then first and second consonants,
as "deloc," "kennurd." Others take the vowel as an initial,
girl being pronounced "elrig." This arrangement, as a modi-
fication to suit circumstances, may remind the reader of the
Jews' "Old clo' old clo'!" instead of "Old clothes! old
clothes!" which it is supposed would tire the patience of even
a Jew to repeat all day.
It is,
The back slang has been in vogue for many years.
as before stated, very easily acquired, and is principally used by
the costermongers and others who practise it (as the specimen
Glossary will show) for communicating the secrets of their
street tradings, the cost of and profit on goods, and for keeping
their natural enemies, the police, in the dark. "Cool the
esclop" (look at the police) is often said among them, when
one of the constabulary makes his appearance. It is only fair
to assume, however, that the police know as much or more
about the back slang than do the costers; and every child in
a "shy" neighbourhood knows the meaning of the phrase just
350
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
;
quoted. Those who regard the London costermonger as a
fearful being are very much mistaken,―he is singularly simple-
minded and innocent, and has, indeed, very little to conceal
but he certainly does like to wrap himself up as in a garment of
mystery, and sometimes believes that the few words of slang he
knows, mixed as they are, and troublesome as they have been
to him, form an impenetrable barrier between him and the rest
of the world. He is fond of exhibiting what knowledge he
possesses, and so talks slang in public much more than in
private; but at most the slang words used bear not forty per
cent. proportion to the rest of his conversational structure,
even when he exerts himself to the uttermost limits of his
ability and education, and even when he is a leader in his walk
of life.
Perhaps on no subject is the costermonger so silent as on
his money affairs. All costs and profits, he thinks, should be
kept profoundly secret. The back slang, therefore, gives the
various small amounts very minutely, but, as has been before
remarked, these words are known wherever common folk most
do congregate, and are peculiar only for their variations from
the original in the way of pronunciation:-
Flatch, halfpenny.
Yannep, penny.
Owt-yanneps, twopence.
Erth-yanneps, threepence.
Roaf-yanneps, fourpence.
Evif, or ewif-yanneps, fivepence.
Exis-yanneps, sixpence.
Nevis-yanneps, sevenpence.
Teaich, or theg-yanneps, eightpence.
Enin-yanneps, ninepence.
Net-yanneps, tenpence.
Nevele-yanneps, elevenpence.
Evlenet-yanneps, twelvepence.
Generalize, one shilling.
Yannep-flatch, three-halfpence.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
351
Owt-yannep-flatch, twopence-halfpenny. The word "flatch" repre-
sents the odd halfpenny when added to any number of "yanneps."
Gen, or eno-gen, one shilling. "Gen" is a contraction of "generalize."
Owt-gens, two shillings.
Erth-gens, three shillings.
The "gens" continue in the same sequence as the "yanneps"
above; but, as a rule, the s is left out, and "owt" or
(6 erth
gen" represents the quantity. This is, however, matter of
individual taste; and any reader who is anxious to become pro-
ficient need not be afraid of committing a solecism—that's a
good word for back slanging-by giving vent to any pecu-
liarity that may strike him. Variety is the charm of nature,
we are told; and in this particular, if in no other, back slang
and nature approach each other. So do extremes meet.
Yenork, a crown piece, or five shillings.
Flatch-yenork, half-a-crown. This is generally slurred into "flatch-
a-nock." The crown in full rarely receives the title "yenork"
nowadays, it is usually a "wheel" or "evif gen."
Flatch a dunop, ten shillings, i.e., half a pound.
Beyond this amount the slangist reckons after an intricate
and complicated mode. Fifteen shillings would be "erth-evif-
gen," or, literally, three times 5s.; seventeen and sixpence
would be "erth-yenork-flatch," or three crowns and a half; or,
by another mode of reckoning, "erth-evif-gen flatch-yenork,"
i.e., three times 5s., and half-a-crown.
Dunop, a pound. Varied by "Dick," back slang for “
"quid."
Further than which the costermonger seldom goes in money
reckoning.
In the following Glossary only those words are given which
are continually used, the terms connected with street traffic,
the names of the different coins, vegetables, fruit, and fish,
technicalities of police courts, &c. The reader might naturally
think that a system of speech so simple as the back slang
would require no Glossary; but he will quickly perceive, from
352
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
the specimens given, that a great many words in frequent use
in a "back" sense, have become so twisted as to require a
little glossarial explanation.
This kind of slang, formed by reversing and transposing the
letters of a word, is not peculiar to the London costermongers.
Instances of an exactly similar secret dialect are found in the
Spanish "Germania" and French "Argot." Thus :—
Spanish.
PLATO.
DEMIA,
French.
F'OL.
LORCEFE.
Germania.
TAPLO.
MEDIA.
Argot.
LOFFE.
LA FORCE.
English.
PLATE.
STOCKINGS.
English.
FOOLISH.
LA FORCE, the prison
of that name.
The Bazeegars, a wandering tribe of jugglers in India, form a
back slang, on the basis of the Hindustanee, in the following
manner :—
Hindustanee.
Bazeegar.
AG.
LAMBA.
GA.
English.
FIRE.
BALUM.
LONG.
DUM.
MUDU.
BREATH.
2
GLOSSARY OF THE BACK SLANG.
Birk, a
crib,". —a house.
Cool, to look.
Cool him, look at him. A phrase frequently used when one coster-
monger warns another of the approach of a policeman, or when any
person worthy of notice passes by. When any old lady has been
bargaining with a costermonger, and leaves his barrow without
purchasing, the proprietor of the barrow will call out to the rest, "COOL
the delo nammow," which, though it means literally nothing beyond
"Look at the old woman," conveys to them an intimation that she is,
from their point of view, a nuisance, and should be treated as such.
Dab, bad.
Dab tros, a bad sort.
Dabheno, a bad one, sometimes a bad market. See DOOGIIENO.
Da-erb, bread.
Deb, or DAB, a bed; "I'm off to the DEB," I'm going to bed.
Delo nammow, an old woman.
Delog, gold.
Doog, good.
Doogheno, literally "good-one," but implying generally a good market,
a good man, &c.
Doogheno hit, one good hit. A coster remarks to a mate, "Jack
made a DOOGHENO HIT this morning," implying that he did well at
market, or sold out with good profit. Actually a good hit only is in-
tended, but redundancy has its charms in the back slang as well as in
more pretentious literary efforts.
Dunop, a pound.
Edgabac, cabbage.
Edgenaro, an orange.
E-fink, a knife.
Ekame, a "make," or swindle.
Ekom, a "moke," or donkey.
Elrig, a girl.
Emag, game, "I know your little EMAG."
Fnif, fine.
Enin gen, nine shillings.
Enin yanneps, ninepence.
Eno, one.
:
354
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Erif, fire.
Erth, three.
Erth gen, three shillings.
Erth-pu, three-up, a street game, played with three halfpence.
Erth sith-noms, three months,- -a term of imprisonment unfortunately
very familiar to the lower orders. Generally known as a drag."
Erth yanneps, threepence.
Esclop, police, now used to signify a constable only. ESCLOP is pro-
nounced "slop " simply, but the c was never sounded. A policeman is
now and then called, by some purist or stickler for etiquette, an
esclopnam."
Es-roch, a horse.
Esuch, a house.
Evif-gen, a crown, or five shillings.
Evif-yanneps, fivepence.
Evlenet-gen, twelve shillings.
Evlenet sith-noms, twelve months. Generally known as a "stretch."
Exis-evif-gen, six times five shillings, i.e., 30s. All moneys may be
reckoned in this manner, either with YANNEPS or GENS. It is, how-
ever, rarely or never done.
=
>>
Exis-evif-yanneps, elevenpence,-literally, "sixpence and fivepence
elevenpence.' This mode of reckoning, distinct from the preced-
ing, is only made by special arrangement amongst slangites, who wish
to confound their intimates.
Exis gen, six shillings.
Exis sith-noms, six months.
Exis yannepsxpence.
Fi-heath, a thief.
Flatch, half, or a halfpenny.
Flatch kennurd, half drunk.
Flatch-yenork, half-a-crown. See preceding remarks.
Flatchyannep, a halfpenny.
Cen, twelvepence, or one shilling. Formerly imagined to be an abbrevia -
tion of argent, cant term for silver.
Generalize, a shilling, almost invariably shortened to GEN.
Genitraf, a farthing.
Gen-net, or NET GEN, ten shillings.
Genol, long.
Hel-bat, a table. The aspirate is matter of taste.
Helpa, an apple
Kanitseeno, a stinking one. KANITS is a stink.
Kennurd, drunk.
Kew (or more properly KEEU), a week.
Kews, SKEW, or SKEEU, weeks.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
355
Kirb, a brick.
Kool, to look.
Lawt, tall.
Ler-ac-am, mackerel.
Mottob, bottom.
Mur, rum.
Nair, rain.
Nam, a man.
A "nettock o' MUR" is a quartern of rum.
Nam esclop, a policeman. See ESCLOP.
Nammow, a woman; DELO NAMMOW, an old woman.
Neel, lean.
Neergs, greens.
Net enin gen, nineteen shillings.
Net evif gen, fifteen shillings.
Net exis gen, sixteen shillings.
Net gen, ten shillings, or half a sovereign.
Net nevis gen, seventeen shillings.
Net rith gen, thirteen shillings.
Net roaf gen, fourteen shillings. It will be seen by the foregoing
that the reckoning is more by tens than by "teens." This is, however,
matter of choice, and any one wishing to be considered accomplished
in this description of slang, must do as he thinks best-must lead and
not be led.
Net theg gen, eighteen shillings.
Net yanneps, tenpence.
Nevele gen, eleven shillings.
Nevele yanneps, elevenpence.
Nevis gen, seven shillings.
Nevis stretch, seven years' penal servitude.
Nevis yanneps, sevenpence.
Nig, gin.
Noom, the moon.
Nos-rap, a parson.
Occabot, tobacco; "tib fo OCCABOT," bit of tobacco.
Ogging ot tekram, going to market.
On, no.
On doog, no good.
Owt gen, two shillings. Owr is pronounced OAT.
Owt yanneps, twopence.
Pac, a cap.
Pinnurt pots, turnip tops.
Pot, top.
Rape, a pear.
356
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Reeb, beer. "Top o' REEB," a pot of beer.
Rev-lis, silver.
Rof-eñl, for life-sentence of punishment.
Roaf-gen, four shillings.
Roaf-yanneps, fourpence.
Rutat, or RATTAT, a "tatur," or potato.
See-otches, shoes.
Sey, yes. Pronounced SEE.
Shif, fish.
Sirretch, cherries. Very often SIRRETCHES.
Sith-nom, a month. This is because the slang was made from months,
not month. Perhaps because the latter was not easy; perhaps because
terms of imprisonment run longer than a month, and are often enume-
rated in the "kacab genals." However it may be, "months" in this
mode of speaking has a double plural as it stands now.
Slaoc, coals.
Slop, a policeman. See ESClop.
Sneerg, greens.
Spinsrap, parsnips.
Sret-sio, oysters.
Sres-wort, trousers.
Starps, sprats.
Stoobs, boots.
Storrac, carrots.
Stun, nuts.
Stunlaw, walnuts.
Tach, a hat.
Taf, fat.
ESCLOP.
All these will take the s, which is now initial,
after them, if desired, and, as may be seen, some
take it doubly.
A TAF ENO is a fat man or woman, literally A FAT ONE.
Taoc, a coat. "Cool the DELO TAOC" means, "Look at the old coat,"
but is really intended to apply to the wearer as well, as professors of
mixed slangs might say, "Vardy his nibs in the snide bucket."
Taoc-tisaw, a waistcoat.
Teaich-gir, right, otherwise TADGER.
Tenip, a pint.
Theg (or TEAICH) gen, eight shillings.
Theg (or TEAITCH) yanneps, eightpence.
Tib, a bit, or piece.
Tol, lot, stock, or share.
Top-yob, a potboy.
Torrac, a carrot.
"Ekat a TORRAC."
Trork, a quart.
Trosseno, literally,
anything that is bad.
one sort," but professional slangists use it to imply
TROSS, among costermongers, means anything
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
357
bad. It is probably a corruption of trash. Possibly, however, the
constant use of the words "dab-tros" may have led them in their un-
thinking way to imagine that the latter word will do by itself.
Wedge, a Jew. This may look strange, but it is exact back slang.
Wor-rab, a barrow.
Yad, a day; YADS, days.
Yadnarb, brandy.
Yannep, a penny.
Yannep a time, a penny each. Costermongers say
a time" for many
things. They say a "bob a time," meaning a shilling each for admis-
sion to a theatre, or any other place, or that certain articles are charged
a shilling each. The context is the only clue to the exact meaning.
Yannep-flatch, three halfpence,—all the halfpence and pennies continue
in the same sequence, as for instance, OWT-YANNEP FLATCH, twopence-
halfpenny.
Yap pu, pay up.
Yeknod, or JERK-NOD, a donkey.
Yenork, a crown.
Yob, a boy.
Zeb, best.
From these examples the apt student may fairly judge how to form his
own back slang to his own liking and that of his friends.
SOME ACCOUNT
OF
THE RHYMING SLANG.
THE
HERE exists in London a singular tribe of men, known
amongst the "fraternity of vagabonds" as chaunters and
patterers. Both classes are great talkers. The first sing or
chaunt through the public thoroughfares ballads-political and.
humorous-carols, dying speeches, and the various other kinds
of gallows and street literature. The second deliver street
orations on grease-removing compounds, plating powders, high-
polishing blacking, and the thousand-and-one wonderful penny-
worths that are retailed to gaping mobs from a London kerb-
stone.
They are quite a distinct tribe from the costermongers; in-
deed, amongst tramps, they term themselves the "harristocrats
of the streets," and boast that they live by their intellects.
Like the costermongers, however, they have a secret tongue or
cant speech known only to each other. This cant, which has
nothing to do with that spoken by the costermongers, is known
in Seven Dials and elsewhere as the "rhyming slang," or the
substitution of words and sentences which rhyme with other
words intended to be kept secret. The chaunter's cant, there-
fore, partakes of his calling, and he transforms and uses up into
a rough speech the various odds and ends of old songs, ballads,
and street nicknames, which are found suitable to his purpose.
Unlike nearly all other systems of cant, the rhyming slang
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
359
is not founded upon allegory; unless we except a few rude
similes, thus—“I'm afloat" is the rhyming cant for "boat,"
"sorrowful tale" is equivalent to "three months in jail," "artful
dodger" signifies a "lodger," and a "snake in the grass" stands
for a "looking-glass"-a meaning that would delight a fat
Chinaman, or a collector of Oriental proverbs. But, as in the
case of the costers' speech and the old gipsy-vagabond cant,
the chaunters and patterers so interlard this rhyming slang
with their general remarks, while their ordinary language is so
smothered and subdued, that, unless when they are profession-
ally engaged, and talking of their wares, they might almost pass
for foreigners.
From the inquiries I have made of various patterers and
"paper-workers," I learn that the rhyming slang was intro-
duced about twelve or fifteen years ago. * Numbering this
class of oratorical and bawling wanderers at twenty thousand,
scattered over Great Britain, including London and the large
provincial towns, we thus see the number of English vagabonds
who converse in rhyme and talk poetry, although their habita-
tions and mode of life constitute a very unpleasant Arcadia.
These nomadic poets, like the other talkers of cant or secret
languages, are stamped with the vagabond's mark, and are con-
tinually on the move. The married men mostly have lodgings
in London, and come and go as occasion may require. A few
never quit London streets, but the greater number tramp to all
the large provincial fairs, and prefer the "monkery" (country)
to town life. Some transact their business in a systematic way,
sending a post-office order to the Seven Dials' printer for a
fresh supply of ballads or penny books, or to the "swag shop,"
as the case may be, for trinkets and gewgaws, to be sent on by
rail to a given town by the time they shall arrive there.
!
When any dreadful murder, colliery explosion, or frightful
* This was written in 1858.
BB
360
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
railway accident has happened in a country district, three or
four chaunters are generally on the spot in a day or two after
the occurrence, vending and bawling "A True and Faithful
Account," &c., which "true and faithful account" was con-
cocted purely in the imaginations of the successors of Catnach.
and Tommy Pitts,* behind the counters of their printing-shops
in Seven Dials. And but few fairs are held in any part of
England without the patterer being punctually at his post, with
his nostrums, or real gold rings (with the story of the wager laid
by the gentleman-see FAWNEY-DOUNCING, in the Dictionary),
or savealls for candlesticks, or paste which, when applied to
the strop, makes the dullest razor keen enough to hack broom
handles and sticks, and after that to have quite enough sharp-
ness left for splitting hairs, or shaving them off the back of one
of the hands of a clodhopper, looking on in amazement.
Cheap John, too, with his coarse jokes, and no end of six-
bladed knives, and pocket-books, containing information for
everybody, with pockets to hold money, and a pencil to write
with into the bargain, and a van stuffed with the cheap produc-
tions of Sheffield and "Brummagem,"-he, too, is a patterer of
the highest order, and visits fairs, and can hold a conversation
in the rhyming slang.
And
Such is a rough description of the men who speak this jargon;
and simple and ridiculous as the vulgar scheme of a rhyming
slang may appear, it must always be regarded as a curious fact.
in linguistic history. In order that the reader's patience may
not be too much taxed, only a selection of rhyming words has
been given in the Glossary,—and these for the most part, as in
the case of the back slang, are the terms of every-day life, as
used by this order of tramps and hucksters.
It must not be supposed, however, that the chaunter or pat-
*The famous printers and publishers of sheet songs and last dying
speeches thirty years ago.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
361
terer confines himself entirely to this slang when conveying
secret intelligence. On the contrary, although he speaks not a
"leash of languages," yet is he master of the beggar's cant, and
is thoroughly "up" in street slang. The following letter, written
by a chaunter to a gentleman who took an interest in his welfare,
will show his capabilities in this line-
Dear Friend,*
Excuse the liberty, since i saw you last i have not
earned a thick un, we have had such a Dowry of Parny that it
completely Stumped Drory the Bossman's Patter therefore i am
broke up and not having another friend but you i wish to know
if you would lend me the price of 2 Gross of Tops, Dies, or
Croaks, which is 7 shillings, of the above-mentioned worthy
and Sarah Chesham the Essex Burick for the Poisoning job,
they are both to be topped at Springfield Sturaban on Tuesday
next. i hope you will oblige me if you can, for it will be the
means of putting a James in my Clye. i will call at your
Carser on Sunday Evening next for an answer, for i want a
* The writer, a street chaunter of ballads and last dying speeches,
alludes in his letter to two celebrated criminals-Thos. Drory, the mur-
derer of Jael Denny, and Sarah Chesham, who poisoned her husband,
accounts of whose trials and "horrid deeds" he had been selling. Here is
a Glossary of the cant words :-
Thick un, a sovereign.
Dowry of Parny, a lot of rain.
Stumped, bankrupt.
Bossman, a farmer.
*** Drory was a farmer.
Patter, trial.
Tops, last dying speeches.
Dies,
ib.
Croaks, ib.
Burick, a woman.
Topped, hung.
Sturaban, a prison.
James, a sovereign.
Clye, a pocket.
Carser, a house or residence.
Speel on the Drum, to be off to
the country.
All Square, all right, or quite
well.
BB 2
362
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
hoping you and the
Speel on the Drum as soon as possible.
family are All Square,
I remain Your obedient Servant,
The numerous allusions in the Glossary to well-known places
in London show that this rude speech was mainly concocted in
the metropolis. The police have made themselves partially
acquainted with the back slang, but they are still profoundly
ignorant of the rhyming slang.
NOTE.
Since the foregoing was written, matters have changed con-
siderably, even, which I much doubt, if they ever were as is
stated; for, as I have already remarked, wherever opportunity
has occurred, the costermonger, the patterer, the chaunter, and
the various other itinerants who "work" London and the pro-
vinces, delight in making themselves appear a most mysterious
body; and this, when added to their natural disinclination to
commit themselves to anything like fact so far as their natural
enemies-inquirers, and well-dressed inquirers in particular-
are concerned, has caused all sorts of extraordinary stories to
be set afloat, which have ultimately led to an opinion becoming
prevalent, that the costermonger and his friends form a race of
beings differing entirely from those who mix in the ordinary
humdrum routine of respectable life. Nothing could really be
much further from fact. Any one who has ever been driven
by stress of circumstances or curiosity to take up a permanent
or temporary residence in any of the lodging-houses which
abound in St. Giles's, Saffron Hill, Turnmill Street, and in all
parts of the eastern district of the metropolis, will bear me out
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
363
when I say that a more commonplace individual, so far as his
inner life is concerned, than the London itinerant cannot pos-
sibly exist. Certainly he is ignorant, and takes a very limited
view of things in general, and religion and politics in particular ;
but these peculiarities are held in common with his betters,
and so cannot be regarded as the special prerogative of any
class. If you ask him a question he will attempt to mislead
you, because, by your asking the question, he knows you are
ignorant of his way of life; and when he does not mystify from
love of mischief, as it appears he does from all published
books I have seen about him, he does so as a duty he owes
his natural enemies, the parish authorities and the tract
distributors, the latter of whom he holds in special abhor-
rence.
If the rhyming slang was ever, during its existence, regarded
as a secret language, its secrecy has long since departed
from it. Far easier of construction than even the back
siang, it has been common, especially in several printing-offices
I could name, for many years, while street-boys are great pro-
ficients in its small mysteries. The Glossary which follows.
here will explain a good deal of its mechanism; but it must be
borne in mind that the rhymes are all matters of individual
opinion, and that if one man says Allacompain means rain,
another is quite justified in preferring Mary Blane, if his indi-
vidual fancy lies in that direction. And now, if there is any
secret about the rhyming slang, it is this-the rhyme is left out.
This may at first seem extraordinary; but on reflection it will be
seen that there is no other way of making the proceedings of its
exponents puzzling to ordinarily sharp ears which have received
the slightest clue. Thus, when the first word of a series only
is used, and others in the sentence are made up from the back,
the centre and various slangs, there is some hope of fogging an
intruding listener to a private conversation. When a man is
354
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
66
drunk, the rhyming slang would illustrate that fact by the words
Elephant's trunk;" but the practised hand confines himself
to the statement that "Bill's Elephants." "Bullock's horn"
represents to pawn, but an article is said to be "Bullocked”
only; and so on through the list, providing always that the
curtailment represents two syllables; if it does not, then the
entire rhyme is given.
I think that this will be sufficient to guide those readers
anxious to become proficient themselves, or to understand
others who are themselves proficient at this item in the world
of slang; and so I have nothing more to say except to call
attention to the fact that, in all the other introductions, I have
made my corrections, which have been neither few nor un-
important, in the text; but that I could see no way of working
on the subject of the rhyming slang fairly and explicitly other
than by means of this note.-EDITOR.
4
:
GLOSSARY OF THE RHYMING SLANG.
Abraham's willing, a shilling.
Allacompain, rain.
Any racket, a penny faggot.
Apples and pears, stairs.
Artful dodger, a lodger.
Baby's pap, a cap.
Barnet fair, hair.
Battle of the Nile, a tile-vulgar term for a hat.
Bill."
Ben flake, a steak.
Billy Button, mutton.
Birch-broom, a room.
Bird-lime, time.
Bob, my pal, a gal,-vulgar pronunciation of girl.
Bonnets so blue, Irish stew.
Bottle of spruce, a deuce,-slang for twopence.
Bowl the hoop, soup.
Brian o'Linn, gin.
Brown Bess, yes-the affirmative.
Brown Joe, no-the negative.
Bull and cow, a row.
Bucket afloat, a coat.
generally contracted to
"Cool his BATTLE,
This is also called I'm AFLOAT, and is
cool his Imer," or "nark his bucket." There
With the key already
is no necessity to particularize all contractions.
given they will be evident.
Bullock's horn, in pawn.
Bushy-park, a lark.
Butter flap, a trap, a light cart.
Cain and Abel, a table.
Camden-town, a brown,-vulgar term for a halfpenny.
Castle rag, a flag,-cant term for fourpence.
Cat and mouse, a house.
Chalk farm, the arm.
Charing Cross, a horse.
Charley Lancaster, a handkercher,—vulgar pronunciation of hand-
kerchief.
Charley Prescott, a waistcoat.
366
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Cherry ripe, a pipe.
Chevy chase, the face.
Chump (OR CHUNK) of wood, no good.
Covent Garden, a farden,—Cockney pronunciation of farthing.
Cow and calf, to laugh.
Cows and kisses, mistress or missus-referring to the ladies.
Currants and plums, thrums,-slang for threepence.
Daisy roots, a pair of boots.
Dan Tucker, butter.
Ding-dong, a song.
Dry land, you understand.
Duke of York, walk, or talk, according to context.
East and south, the mouth.
Eat a fig, to "crack a crib," to break into a house, or commit a bur-
glary.
Egyptian hall, a ball.
Elephant's trunk, drunk.
Epsom races, a pair of braces.
Everton toffee, coffee.
Field of wheat, a street.
Fillet of veal, the treadwheel in the house of correction.
Finger and thumb, rum.
Flag unfurled, a man of the world.
Flea and louse, a house.
Flounder and dab (two kinds of flat fish), a cab.
Fly my kite, a light.
Frog and toad, the main road.
Garden gate, a magistrate.
German fiutes, a pair of boots.
Girl and boy, a saveloy,—a penny sausage.
Glorious sinner, a dinner.
Gooseberry pudding (vulgo PUDDEN), a woman.
Harry Bluff, snuff.
Hod of mortar, a pot of porter.
Hounslow Heath, teeth.
I desire, a fire.
I'm afloat, a boat. This is also used for coat.
See ante.
Isabeller (vulgar pronunciation of ISABELLA), an umbrella.
Isle of France, a dance.
I suppose, the nose.
Jack-a-dandy, brandy.
Jack Randall (a noted pugilist), a candle.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
367
Jenny Linder, a winder,-vulgar pronunciation of window.
Joe Savage, a cabbage.
Lath and plaster, a master.
Lean and lurch, a church.
j
Lean and fat, a hat.
Linendraper, paper.
Live eels, fields.
Load of hay, a day.
Long acre, a baker.
Lord John Russell, a bustle.
Lord Lovel, a shovel.
Lump of coke, a bloke-vulgar term for a man.
Lump of lead, the head.
Macaroni, a pony.
Maids adorning, the morning.
Maidstone jailer, a tailor.
Mince pies, the eyes.
Mother and daughter, water.
Muffin baker, a Quaker (slang term for excrement).
Navigators, taturs,―vulgar pronunciation of potatoes.
Navigator Scot, baked potatoes all hot.
Needle and thread, bread.
Never fear, beer.
Night and day, the play.
Nose and chin, a winn,―ancient cant for a penny.
Noser my knacker, tobacco.
Oats and barley, Charley.
Oats and chaff, a footpath.
Orinoko (pronounced ORINOKER), a poker.
Over the stile, sent for trial.
Paddy Quick, thick, or a stick.
Pen and ink, a stink.
Pitch and fill, Bill,-vulgar shortening for William.
Plates of meat, the feet.
Plough the deep, to go to sleep.
Pope o' Rome, home.
Read and write, to fight.
River Lea, tea.
Rogue and villain, a shillin,—common pronunciation of shilling.
Roll me in the dirt, a shirt.
Rory O'More, the floor. Also used to signify a whore.
Round the houses, trousies,—vulgar pronunciation of trousers.
368
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Salmon and trout, the mouth.
Scotch Peg, a leg.
Ship in full sail, a pot of ale.
Sir Walter Scott, a pot,-generally of beer.
Snake in the grass, a looking-glass.
Sorrowful tale, three months in jail.
Split asunder, a costermonger.
Steam-packet, a jacket.
St. Martin's-le-Grand, the hand.
Stop thief, beef.
Sugar and honey, money.
Sugar-candy, brandy.
Take a fright, night.
Three-quarters of a peck, the neck,-in writing, among experts,
expressed by the simple "," as it is pronounced.
Tom Tug, a mug (a fool).
Tommy o' Rann, scran,-vulgar term for food.
Tommy Tripe, to pipe; that is, to observe.
plates of meat."
"Tommy Tripe his
Top Jint (vulgar pronunciation of joint), a pint of beer
Turtle doves, a pair of gloves.
Two-foot rule, a fool.
And so on as occasion requires.
R
A
WITH
CENTRE SLAN G.
ITHIN the past few years the desire to possess a mode
of intercommunication which shall be incomprehen-
sible to those who have not taken their degrees in vice, has led
the dangerous classes-particularly street-muggers, welchers,
skittle-sharps, jerry-hunters, and the various other gentlemen
who turn out every morning, when not in charge of the powers
that be, to look for their livings-to give their attention to
another twist in the English language, and so centre slang
has of late been heard with some degree of frequency by
those who penetrate to places where there is a likelihood
of finding anything new, and take with them sufficient know-
ledge to comprehend it when, or if, it is found. As this
knowledge can never be acquired in any other way than by
actual observation, and is not to be obtained by hearsay, or
second-hand information, or from books, it is rarely brought to
bear upon any subject of this kind as treated in the newspapers,
and the articles on real low and criminal life which now and
again appear, though extremely amusing, amuse those about
whom they are written as much as they do those for whose infor-
mation they are produced. So, perhaps, those writers who have
heard centre slang, and have had opportunity of referring to it,
did not know what it was, or certainly, as an institution unique
in its way, it would have received some little attention. There
is not much in it, of course, as its origin shows, the key
being everything towards success in experimentalizing with it.
centre slang, then, is formed by making the central vowel of a
word its initial letter, and adding vowels and consonants suffi-
cient to make the sound imposing, or, as cooks say, to flavour
370
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
!
?
palatably. An occasional infusion of back slang is now and
again considered advisable, but the taste of the speaker must
decide how much is requisite. Mug is a common word to sig-
nify a fool or flat; this, in centre slang, becomes Ugmer, or
Hugmer, as the speaker likes, while fool and flat themselves
become Oolerfer and Atfler respectively. The aspirate can be
added, if relished, to any centre slang word. A welcher, by
means of the new slang, becomes an Elcherwer or Elchwer, a
thief is an Evethee, and a sticker-up of skittles is an Ickitser-pu.
As the inventors of this slang are not particular about spelling,
phonography is used extensively in its composition—that is, it
would be, if it were possible to write centre slang to any extent.
However, as it is a spoken language only, and no patent has
been taken out for its use, boldness is the chief essential for
any one possessed of a mobile tongue and a desire to become
expert. There is no Glossary of this slang necessary, as it is
only made up of small parcels, as occasion requires, and does
not keep well without guiding sentences attached.
THE BIBLIOGRAPHY
OF
SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR LANGUAGE:
A LIST OF THE
BOOKS CONSULTED IN COMPILING THIS WORK.
LANG has a literary history, the same as authorized lan-
SLANG
guage. More than one hundred works have treated upon
the subject in one form or other, a few devoting but a chapter,
whilst many have given up their entire pages to expounding its
history and use. Old Harman, a worthy man, who interested
himself in suppressing and exposing vagabondism in the days.
of good Queen Bess, was the first to write upon the subject.
Decker followed fifty years afterwards, but helped himself,
evidently, to his predecessor's labours. Shakspeare, Beaumont
and Fletcher, Ben Jonson, and Brome, each employed beggars'
cant as part of the machinery of their plays. Then came Head
(who wrote The English Rogue in 1680) with a Glossary of cant.
words "used by the Gipsies." But it was only a reprint of
what Decker had given sixty years before. About this time
authorized dictionaries began to insert vulgar words, labelling
them "cant." The Jack Sheppards and Dick Turpins of the
early and middle part of the last century made cant popular,
and many small works were published upon the subject. But
it was Grose, burly, facetious Grose, who, in the year 1785,
collected the scattered Glossaries of cant and secret words, and
formed one large work, adding to it all the vulgar words and
:
372
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
1
slang terms used in his own day. The indelicacy and extreme
vulgarity of the work renders it unfit for ordinary use, still it
must be admitted that it is by far the most important work
which has ever appeared on street or popular language; indeed,
from its pages every succeeding work has, up to the present
time, drawn its contents. The great fault of Grose's book con-
sists in the author not contenting himself with slang and cant
terms, but inserting every "smutty" and offensive word that
could be discovered. However, Harman and Grose are, after
all, the only authors who have as yet treated the subject in an
original manner, or who have written on it from personal
inquiry.
Ainsworth's (William Harrison) Novels and Ballads.
London, V. D.
Some of this author's novels, such as Rookwood and fack Sheppard, abound
in Cant words, placed in the mouths of the highwaymen. The author's
ballads (especially "Nix my dolly, pals, fake away") have long been
popular favourites.
Amorous Gallants' Tongue tipp'd with Golden Expres-
sions; or the Art of Courtship refined, being the best and Newest
ACADEMY; containing Select Sentences, forms of Courtship; Choice
Letters; Interpretation of Dreams: to which is added Bills, Bonds,
Releases, Letters of Attorney, &c. ; together with A Canting Academy,
or the PEDLAR'S FRENCH DICTIONARY, 13th edition. London, for
C. Hitch and L. Hawes, n. d. [1740], 12mo.
A New Dictionary of the Jaunting Crew, 12mo.
N. D.
Mentioned by John Bee in the Introduction to his Sportsman's Slang Dic-
tionary.
Andrews' (George) Dictionary of the Slang and Cant Languages,
Ancient and Modern, 12mo.
London, 1809.
A sixpenny pamphlet, with a coloured frontispiece representing a beggar's
carnival.
Ash's (John, LL.D.) New and Complete Dictionary of the English
Language, 2 vols. 8vo.
1775.
Contains a great number of Cant words and phrases.
Bacchus and Venus; or, A Select Collection of near Two Hundred
of the most Witty and Diverting Songs and Catches in Love and
Gallantry, with Songs in the Canting Dialect, with a DICTIONARY
explaining all Burlesque and Canting Terms, 12mo.
1738.
Prefixed is a curious woodcut frontispiece of a Boozing-Ken. This work is
scarce, and much prized by collectors. The Canting Dictionary appeared
before, about 1710, with the initials B. E. on the title. It also came out
afterwards, in the year 1751, under the title of the Scoundrel's Dictionary,
- a mere reprint of the two former impressions.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
373
Bailey's (Nath.) Etymological English Dictionary, 2 vols. 8vo.
1737.
Contains a great many Cant and Vulgar Words ;-indeed, Bailey does not
appear to have been very particular what words he inserted, so long as
they were actually in use. A Collection of Ancient and Modern Cant Words
appears as an appendix to vol. ii. of this edition (third).
Bang-up Dictionary; or, the Lounger and Sportsman's Vade-Mecum,
containing a copious and correct Glossary of the Language of the
Whips, illustrated by a great variety of original and curious Anec-
dotes, Svo.
ISI2.
A vulgar performance, consisting of pilferings from Grose, and made up with
meanings of a degraded character.
Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms; a Glossary of Words and
Phrases colloquially used in the United States, 8vo. New York, 1859.
It is a curious fact connected with slang that a great number of vulgar words
common in England are equally common in the United States; and when
we remember that America began to be peopled two centuries ago, and that
these colloquialisms must have crossed the sea with the first emigrants, we
can form some idea of the antiquity of popular or street language. Many
words, owing to the caprices of fashion or society, have wholly disappeared
in the parent country, whilst in the colonies they are yet heard.
The
C
CC
words skink," to serve drink in company, and the old term "miching" or
meeching," skulking or playing truant, for instance, are still in use in the
United States, although nearly obsolete here.
Beaumont and Fletcher's Comedy of The Beggar's Bush, 4to,
1661.
Contains numerous Cant words.
Bee's (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], Editor of the
Fancy, Fancy Gazette, Living Picture of London, and the like of that,
1823.
I2mo.
This author published books on Stable Economy under the name of Hinds.
He was the sporting rival of Pierce Egan. Professor Wilson, in an amusing
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; showing the Frauds, the Arts,
Snares, and Wiles of all descriptions of Rogues that everywhere
abound, 12mo.
1828.
Professes to be a guide to society, high and low, in London, and to give an
insight into the language 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, &c., 12mo, PLATE.
For the Author, 1825.
Both wretched perform-
The same as the preceding, only with an altered title.
ances, filled with miserable attempts at wit.
Blackguardiana; or, Dictionary of Rogues, Bawds, &c., 8vo, WITH
PORTRAITS [by James Caulfield].
1795.
This work, with a long and very vulgar title, is nothing but a reprint of Grose,
with a few anecdotes of pirates, odd persons, &c., and some curious portraits
inserted. It was concocted by Caulfield as a speculation, and published at
374
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
one guinea per copy; and, owing to the remarkable title, and the notifica-
tion at the bottom that only a few copies were printed," soon became
scarce. For philological purposes it is not worth so much as any edition of
Grose.
Book of Vagabonds. See under LIBER Vagatorum.
Boxiana; or, Sketches of Modern Pugilism, by Pierce Egan (an account
of the prize-ring), 3 vols. 8vo.
1820.
Gives more particularly the Cant terms of pugilism, but contains numerous (what
were then styled) "flash" words.
Brandon. Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime; or, The Facts, Examina-
tions, &c., upon which the Report was founded, presented to the
House of Lords by W. A. Miles, Esq., to which is added a Dictionary
of the Flash or Cant Language, known to every Thief and Beggar,
edited by H. Brandon, Esq., 8vo.
1839.
A very wretched performance.
Brome's (Rich.) Joviall Crew; or, The Merry Beggars. Presented in a
Comedie at the Cockpit, in Drury Lane, in the Year (4to)
1652.
Contains many Cant words similar to those given by Decker,-from whose works
they were doubtless obtained.
Brown's (Rev. Hugh Stowell) Lecture on Manliness, 12mo.
Contains a few modern Slang words.
Brydges' (Sir Egerton) British Bibliographer, 4 vols. 8vo.
Vol. ii. p. 521, gives a list of Cant words.
Bulwer's (Sir Edward Lytton) Paul Clifford.
Contains numerous Cant words.
Bulwer's (Sir Edward Lytton) Pelham.
Contains a few Cant terms.
Butler's Hudibras, with Dr. Grey's Annotations, 3 vols. 8vo.
Abounding in colloquial terms and phrases.
1857.
1810-14.
V. D.
V. D.
1819.
Cambridge. Gradus ad Cantabrigiam; or, a Dictionary of Terms,
Academical and Colloquial, or Cant, which are used at the University,
with Illustrations, 12mo.
Camb., 1803.
Canting: A Poem, interspersed with Tales and Additional Scraps, post
8vo.
1814.
A few street words may be gleaned from this rather dull poem.
Canting Academy; or, Villanies Discovered, wherein are shown the
Mysterious and Villanous Practices of that Wicked Crew-Hectors,
Trapanners, Gilts, &c., with several new Catches and Songs; also
Compleat Canting Dictionary, 12mo, frontispiece.
1674.
Compiled by Richard Head.
Canting Dictionary; comprehending all the Terms, Antient and
Modern, used in the several Tribes of Gypsies, Beggars, Shoplifters,
Highwaymen, Foot-Pads, and all other Clans of Cheats and Villains,
with Proverbs, Phrases, Figurative Speeches, &c., to which is added a
complete Collection of Songs in the Canting Dialect, 12mo. 1725.
The title is by far the most interesting part of the work. A mere make-up of
earlier attemp
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
375
• V
•
Carew. Life and Adventures of Bamfylde Moore Carew, the King of
the Beggars, with Canting Dictionary, portrait, 8vo.
1791.
There are numerous editions of this singular biography. The Canting Dic-
tionary is nothing more than a filch from earlier books.
Characterisms, or the Modern Age Displayed; being an Attempt to
Expose the Pretended Virtues of Both Sexes, 12mo (part i., Ladies;
part ii., Gentlemen), E. Owen.
1750.
An anonymous work, from which some curious matter may be obtained.
Conybeare's (Dean) Essay on Church Parties, reprinted from the
Edinburgh Review, No. CC., October, 1853, 12mo.
1858
Several curious instances of religious or pulpit Slang are given in this exceed-
ingly interesting little volume.
Corcoron (Peter.) The Fancy, a Poem, 12mo.
182-.
Abounding in Slang words and the terms of the prize-ring. Written in imitation
of Moore's Tom Crib's Memorial, by one of the authors of The Rejected
Addresses.
Cotton's (Charles) Genuine Poetical Works, 12mo.
1771.
Scarronides, or Virgil Travestie, being the first and fourth Books of Virgil's
Æneis, in English burlesque," 8vo, 1672, and other works by this author,
contain numerous vulgar words now known as Slang.
Decker's (Thomas) The Bellman of London; bringing to light the most
notorious villanies that are now practised in the Kingdom; 4to, black
letter.
London, 1608.
Watt says this is the first book which professes to give an account of the
Canting language of thieves and vagabonds. But this is wrong, as will have
been seen from the remarks on Harman, who collected the words of the
vagabond crew half a century before.
Decker's (Thomas) Lanthorne and Candle-light, or the Bellman's Second
Night's Walke, in which he brings to light a brood of more strange
villanies than ever were to this year discovered, 4to. London, 1608-9.
This is a continuation of the former work, and contains the Canter's Dictionary,
and has a frontispiece of the London Watchman with his staff broken.
Decker's (Thomas) Gull's Hornbook, 4to.
"}
1609.
"This work affords a greater insight into the fashionable follies and vulgar
habits of Queen Elizabeth's day than perhaps any other extant.'
Decker's (Thomas) O per se O, or a new Cryer of Lanthorne and
Candle-light, an Addition of the Bellman's Second Night's Walke, 4to,
black letter.
1612.
A lively description of London. Contains a Canter's Dictionary, every word in
which appears to have been taken from Harman without acknowledgment.
This is the first work that gives the Canting song, a verse of which is inserted
at page 14 of the Introduction. This Canting song has since been inserted in
nearly all dictionaries of Cant.
Decker's (Thomas) Villanies discovered by Lanthorne and Candle-light,
and the Helpe of a new Cryer called O per se O, 4to.
1616.
"With canting songs never before printed."
Decker's (Thomas) English Villanies, eight several times prest to Death
by the Printers, but still reviving again, are now the eighth time (as
at the first) discovered by Lanthorne and Candle-light, &c., 4to. 1648.
The eighth edition of the Lanthorne and Candle-light.
CC
376
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Dictionary of all the Cant and Flash Languages, both Ancient and
Modern, 18mo.
Bailey, 1790.
Dictionary of all the Cant and Flash Languages, 12mo. London, 1797
Dictionary of the Canting Crew (Ancient and Modern), of Gypsies,
Beggars, Thieves, &c., 12mo.
N. D. [1700.]
Bruxelles, 1696.
Dictionnaire des Halle, 12mo.
This curious Slang dictionary sold in the Stanley sale for £4 16s.
Ducange Anglicus.-The Vulgar Tongue: comprising Two Glos-
saries of Slang, Cant, and Flash Words and Phrases used in London
at the present day, 12mo.
1857.
A silly and childish performance, full of blunders and contradictions.
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.
Contains a few Cant and vulgar words.
London, 1694.
Egan. Grose's Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, with the
addition of numerous Slang Phrases, edited by Pierce Egan, 8vo. 1823.
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 Svo, with coloured plates by
Geo. Cruikshank, representing high and low life.
18-.
Contains numerous Cant, Slang, sporting, and vulgar words, supposed by the
author to form the basis of conversation in life, high and low, in London.
Elwyn's (Alfred L.) Glossary of supposed Americanisms—Vulgar and
Slang Words used in the United States, small 8vo.
Gentleman's Magazine, Svo.
1859.
N. D.
"In a very early volume of this parent magazine were given a few pages, by
way of sample, of a Slang vocabulary, then termed Cant. If, as we suspect,
this part of the magazine fell to the share of Dr. Johnson, who was then its
editor, we have to lament that he did not proceed with the design."-John
Bee, in the Introduction to his Slang Dictionary, 1825.
Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xcii., p. 520.
Mention made of Slang.
Glossaries of County Dialects.
V. D.
Many of these will repay examination, as they contain Cant and Slang words,
wrongly 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
a Canting Dictionary, by Dr. Surman, 12mo.
Contains some curious woodcuts.
Country Jester;" with
London, N. D. (1730.)
!
Greene's (Robert) Notable Discovery of Coosnage, now daily practised
by sundry lewd persons called Conie-catchers and Crosse-biters.
Plainly laying open those 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.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
377
With a delightful discourse of the coosnage of Colliers, 4to, with wood-
Printed by John Wolfe, 1591.
The first edition. A copy of another edition, supposed to be unique, is dated
1592. It was sold at the Heber sale.
cuts.
Greene's (Robert) Groundworke of Conny-catching, the manner of their
pedlers' French, and the meanes to understand the same, with the cun-
ning sleights of the Counterfeit Cranke. Done by a Justice of the
Peace of great Authoritie, 4to, with woodcuts.
1592.
Usually enumerated among Greene's works, but it is only a reprint, with
variations, of Harman's Cavcat, and of which Rowland complains in his
Martin Markall. The second and third parts of this curious work were
published in the same year. Two other very rare volumes by Greene were
published-The Defence of Cony-Catching, 4to, in 1592, and THE BLACK
BOOKES MESSENGER, in 1595. They both treat on the same subjects.
Grose's (Francis, generally styled Captain) Classical Dictionary of the
Vulgar Tongue, 8vo.
178-.
The much-sought-after FIRST EDITION, but containing nothing, as far as I have
examined, which is not to be found in the second and third editions. As
respects indecency, I find all the editions equally disgraceful. The Museum
copy of the first edition is, I suspect, Grose's own copy, as it contains
numerous manuscript additions which afterwards went to form the second
edition. Excepting the obscenities, it is really an extraordinary book,
and displays great industry, if we cannot speak much of its morality. It is
the well from which all the other authors-Duncombe, Caulfield, Clarke,
Egan, &c. &c.-drew their vulgar outpourings, without in the least purify-
ing what they had stolen.
Haggart. Life of David Haggart, alias John Wilson, alias Barney
M'Coul, written by himself while under sentence of death, curious
frontispiece of the prisoner in irons, intermixed with all the Slang and
Cant words of the day, to which is added a Glossary of the same,
1821.
I2mo.
Hall's (B.H.) Collection of College Words and Customs, 12mo.
Cambridge (U.S.), 1856.
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
naturall countrey, augmented and inlarged by the first author thereof;
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 so 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 Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was to the authors of the
earlier part of the present century, Harman's was to the Deckers, and
Bromes, and Heads of the seventeenth.
378
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
Harrison's (William) Description of the Island of Britain (prefixed to
Holinshed's Chronicle), 2 vols. folio.
Contains an account of English vagabonds.
1577.
Hazlitt's (William) Table Talk, 12mo, (vol. ii. contains a chapter on
Familiar Style, with a notice on Slang terms.)
Head's (Richard) English Rogue, described in the Life of Meriton
Latroon, a Witty Extravagant, 4 vols. 12mo.
Frans. Kirkman, 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 Colledge, otherwise vulgarly called Newgate, 12mo.
1703.
Henley's (John, better known as ORATOR HENLEY) Various Sermons and
Orations.
1719-53.
Contains numerous vulgarisms and Slang phrases.
[Hitching's (Charles, formerly City Marshal, now a prisoner in New-
gate)] 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, &c., 8vo, very rare, with a curious woodcut.
A violent attack upon Jonathan Wild.
Household Words, No. 183, September 24.
Gives an interesting article on Slang, with many examples.
Johnson's (Dr. Samuel) Dictionary (the earlier editions).
Contains a great number of words italicized as Cant, low, or barbarous.
Jonson's (Ben.) Bartholomew Fair, ii. 6.
Several Cant words are placed in the mouths of the characters.
Jonson's (Ben.) Masque of the Gipsies Metamorphosed, 4to.
Contains numerous Cant words.
1718.
V. D.
16-.
Kent's (E.) Modern Flash Dictionary, containing all the Cant words,
Slang Terms, and Flash Phrases now in Vogue, 18mo, coloured frontis-
piece.
L'Estrange's (Sir Roger) Works (principally translations).
Abound in vulgar and Slang phrases.
1825.
V. D.
Lexicon Balatronicum; a Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit,
and Pickpocket Eloquence, by a Member of the Whip Club, assisted
by Hell-fire Dick, 8vo.
1811.
One of the many reprints of Grose's second edition, put forth under a fresh, and
what was then considered a more attractive title. It was given out in adver-
tisements, &c., as a piece of puff, that it was edited by a Dr H. Clarke, but
contains scarcely a line more than Grose.
Liber Vagatorum: Der Betler Orden, 4to. Translated into English,
with Notes, by John Camden Hotten, as The Book of Vagabonds and
Beggars, with a vocabulary of their Language (Rotwelsche Sprach);
edited, with preface, by Martin Luther, in the year 1528. 4to, with
woodcuts.
1859.
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
379
The first edition of this book appears to have been printed at Augsburg, by
Erhard Öglin, or Ocellus, about 1514,-a small quarto of twelve leaves. It
was frequently reprinted at other places in Germany: and in 1528 there
appeared an edition at Wirtemberg, with a preface by Martin Luther,
who says that the "Rotwelsche Sprach," the Cant language of the beggars,
comes from the Jews, as it contains many Hebrew words, as any one who
understands that language may perceive. This book is divided into three
parts, or sections; the first gives a special account of the several orders of
the Fraternity of Vagabonds;" the second, sundry notabilia” relating
to the different classes of beggars previously described; and the third consists-
of a "Rotwelsche Vocabulary," or Canting Dictionary." There is a long
notice of the "Liber Vagatorum" in the "Wiemarisches Jahrbuch," 1ote
Band, 1856. Mayhew, in his London Labour, states that many of our Cant
words are derived from the Jew fences. It is singular that a similar state-
ment should have been made by Martin Luther more than three centuries
before.
Life in St. George's Fields; or, The Rambles and Adventures of
Disconsolate William, Esq., and his Surrey Friend, Flash Dick, with
Songs and a FLASH DICTIONary, 8vo.
Maginn (Dr.) wrote Slang songs in Blackwood's Magazine.
Mayhew's (Henry) London Labour and the London Poor, 4 vols.
An invaluable work to the inquirer into popular or street language.
Mayhew's (Henry) Great World of London, Svo.
1821
1827.
1851-61.
1857.
An unfinished work, but containing several examples of the use and application
of Cant and Slang words.
Middleton (Thomas) and Decker's (Thomas) Roaring Girl; or Moll
Cut Purse, 4to.
1611.
The conversation in one scene is entirely in the so-called pedlar's French. It
is given in Dodsley's Old Plays.
Modern Flash Dictionary, 48mo.
1825.
The smallest Slang dictionary ever printed; intended for the waistcoat-
pockets of the BLOODS" of the Prince Regent's time.
Moncrieff's Tom and Jerry, or Life in London, a Farce in Three Acts,
IS20.
12mo.
An excellent exponent of the false and forced "high life" which was so popular
during the minority of George IV. The farce had a run of a hundred-
nights, or more, and was a general favourite for years. It abounds in Cant,
and the language of " gig," as it was then often termed.
Mornings at Bow Street, by T. Wright, 12mo, with Illustrations
by George Cruikshank.
In this work a few etymologies of Slang words are attempted.
New Canting Dictionary, 12m0.
Tegg, 1838.
N. D.
A copy of this work is described in Rodd's Catalogue of Elegant Literature,
1845, part iv., No. 2128, with manuscript notes and additions in the
autograph of Isaac Reed, price £1. 8s.
New Dictionary of the Terms, Ancient and Modern, of the Canting
Crew in its several tribes of Gypsies, Beggars, Thieves, Cheats, &c.,
with an addition of some Proverbs, Phrases, Figurative Speeches, &c.,
by B. E., GENT., 12mo.
N. D. [1710.]
Afterwards issued under the title of Bacchus and Venus, 1737, and in 1754 as-
the Scoundrel's Dictionary.
380
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
New Dictionary of all the Cant and Flash Languages used by every
class of offenders, from a Lully Prigger to a High Tober Gloak, small
Svo, pp. 62.
Mentioned by John Bee.
179-.
Notes and Queries. The invaluable Index to this most useful
periodical may be consulted with advantage by the seeker after ety-
mologies of Slang and Cant words.
Parker. High and Low Life, A View of Society in, being the Adven-
tures in England, Ireland, &c., of Mr. G. Parker, A Stage Itinerant,
2 vols. in 1, thick 12mo.
Printed for the Author, 1781.
1 A curious work, containing many Cant words, with 100 orders of rogues and
swindlers.
Parker's (Geo.) Life's Painter of Variegated Characters, with a Dictionary
of Cant Language and Flash Songs, to which is added a Dissertation
on Freemasonry, portrait, 8vo.
1789.
Pegge's (Samuel) Anecdotes of the English Language, chiefly regarding
the Local Dialect of London and Environs, 8vo.
1803-41.
Perry's (William) London Guide and Stranger's Safeguard against
Cheats, Swindlers, and Pickpockets, by a Gentleman who has made
the Police of the Metropolis an object of inquiry twenty-two years (no
wonder when the author was in prison a good portion of that time!)
Contains a dictionary of Slang and Cant words.
1818.
1696.
Phillip's New World of Words, folio.
Pickering's (F.) Vocabulary, or Collection of Words and Phrases which
have been supposed to be peculiar to the United States of America,
to which is prefixed an Essay on the present state of the English
Language in the United States, Svo.
Boston, 1816.
The remark made upon Bartlett's Americanisms applies equally to this work.
Picture of the Fancy, 12m0.
Contains numerous Slang terms.
18-.
Potter's (H. T., of Clay, Worcestershire) New Dictionary of all the Cant
and Flash Languages, both ancient and modern, 8vo, pp. 62. 1790.
Poulter. The Discoveries of John Poulter, alias Baxter, 8vo, 48 pages.
(1770?)
At pages 42, 43, there is an explanation of the "Language of Thieves, commonly
called Cant.'
>>
Prison-breaker, The, or the Adventures of John Sheppard, a Farce,
8vo.
London, 1725.
Contains a Canting song, &c.
Punch, or the London Charivari.
Often points out Slang, vulgar, or abused words. It also occasionally employs
them in jokes or sketches of character.
Quarterly Review, vol. x. p. 528.
Gives a paper on Americanisms and Slang phrases.
Randall's (Jack, the Pugilist, formerly of the "Hole in the Wall,"
Chancery Lane) Diary of Proceedings at the House of Call for Genius,
1
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
381
edited by Mr. Breakwindow, to which are added several of Mr. B.'s
minor pieces, 12mo.
1820.
Believed to have been written by Thomas Moore. The verses are mostly paro-
dies of popular authors, and abound in the Slang of pugilism, and the
phraseology of the fast life of the period.
Randall (Jack), a Few Selections from his Scrap-book; to which are
added Poems on the late Fight for the Championship, 12mo. 1822.
Scoundrel's Dictionary; or, an Explanation of the Cant Words
used by Thieves, Housebreakers, Street-robbers, and Pickpockets
about Town, with some curious Dissertations on the Art of Wheedling,
&c., the whole printed from a copy taken on one of their gang, in the
late scuffle between the watchman and a party of them on Clerkenwell
Green, 8vo.
Frequently quoted by Moore in Tom Crib's Memorial.
A reprint of Bacchus and Venus, 1737-
Sharp (Jeremy), The Life of an English Rogue, 12mo.
Includes a "Vocabulary of the Gypsies' Cant."
Sherwood's Gazetteer of Georgia, U.S., 8vo.
1754.
1740.
Contains a glossary of words, Slang and vulgar, peculiar to the Southern States.
Smith (Capt. Alexander), The Thieves' Grammar, 12mo, p. 28.
17-.
A copy of this work is in the collection formed by Prince Lucien Bonaparte.
Smith's (Capt.) Compleat History of the Lives and Robberies of the
most Notorious Highwaymen, Footpads, Shoplifters, and Cheats, of
both Sexes, in and about London and Westminster, 12mo, vol. i. 1719.
This volume contains "The Thieves' New Canting Dictionary of the Words,
Proverbs, &c., used by Thieves."
1724.
Smith's (Capt.) Thieves' Dictionary, 12mo.
Snowden's Magistrate's Assistant, and Constable's Guide, thick small
Svo.
1852.
Gives a description of the various orders of cadgers, beggars, and swindlers,
together with a Glossary of the Flash Language.
Sportsman's Dictionary, 4to.
17-.
By an anonymous author. Contains some low sporting terms.
Stanley's Remedy, or the Way how to Reform Wandring Beggars,
Thieves, &c., wherein is shewed that Sodomes Sin of Idleness is the
Poverty and the Misery of this Kingdome, 4to.
1646.
This work has an engraving on wood which is said to be the veritable original of
Jim Crow.
Swift's coarser pieces abound in vulgarities and Slang expressions.
The Triumph of Wit, or Ingenuity displayed in its Perfection, being
the Newest and most Useful Academy, Songs, Art of Love, and the
Mystery and Art of Canting, with Poems, Songs, &c., in the Canting
Language, 16mo.
F. Clarke, 1735.
What is generally termed a shilling Chap Book.
The Triumph of Wit, or the Canting Dictionary, being the Newest
and most Useful Academy, containing the Mystery and art of Cant-
ing, with the original and present management thereof, and the ends
to which it serves and is employed, illustrated with Poems, Songs, and
382
THE SLANG DICTIONARY.
12mo.
A Chap Book of 32 pages, circa 1760.
various Intrigues in the Canting Language, with the Explanations, &c.,
Dublin, N. D.
The Whole Art of Thieving and Defrauding Discovered: being
a Caution to all Housekeepers, Shopkeepers, Salesmen, and others,
to guard against Robbers of both Sexes, and the best Methods to pre-
vent their Villanies; to which is added an Explanation of most of the
Cant terms in the Thieving Language, 8vo, pp. 46.
Thomas (I.), My Thought Book, 8vo.
Contains a chapter on Slang.
1786.
1825.
Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress, with a Preface, Notes, and Appendix
by one of the Fancy [Tom Moore, the Poet], 12mo.
1819.
A humorous poem, abounding in Slang and pugilistic term, with a burlesque
essay on the classic origin of Slang.
Vacabondes, the Fraternatye of, as well as of ruflyng Vacabones, as of
beggerly, of Women as of Men, of Gyrles as of Boyes, with their proper
Names and Qualities, with a Description of the Crafty Company of
Cousoners and Shifters, also the XXV. Orders of Knaves; other-
wyse called a Quartern of Knaves, confirmed by Cocke Lorell, 8vo.
Imprinted at London by John Awdeley, dwellyng in little Britayne
strete, without Aldersgate.
1575.
It is stated in Ames' Typog. Antiq., vol. ii. p. 885, that an edition bearing the
date 1565 is in existence, and that the compiler was no other than old John
Audley, the printer, himself. This conjecture, however, is very doubtful.
As stated by Watt, it is more than probable that it was written by Harman,
or was taken from his works, in MS. or print.
Vaux's (Count de, a swindler and pickpocket) Life, written by himself,
2 vols., 12mo, to which is added a Canting Dictionary.
1819.
These Memoirs were suppressed on account of the scandalous passages contained
in them.
Webster's (Noah) Letter to the Hon. John Pickering, on the Subject
of his Vocabulary, or Collection of Words and Phrases supposed to be
peculiar to the United States, 8vo, pp. 69.
Boston, 1817.
Wild (Jonathan), History of the Lives and Actions of Jonathan Wild,
Thieftaker, Joseph Blake, alias Blueskin, Footpad, and John Shep-
pard, Housebreaker; together with a Canting Dictionary by Jonathan
Wild, woodcuts, 12mo.
1750.
Wilson (Professor), contributed various Slang pieces to Blackwood's
Magazine; including a Review of Bee's Dictionary.
Witherspoon's (Dr., of America,) Essays on Americanisms, Perversions
of Language in the United States, Cant phrases, &c., 8vo, in the 4th
vol. of his works.
Philadelphia, 1801.
The earliest work on American vulgarisms. Originally published as a series of
Essays, entitled the Druid, which appeared in a periodical in 1761.
FINIS.
Post Office Orders payable
[MAY, 1874.
at Piccadilly Circus.]

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densed. Fcap. 8vo, illustrated cover, Is. 6d.
A most enjoyable book, only surpassed, in its special class, by Thackeray's
Burlesque Novels.
Bret Harte's Lothaw; or, The Adventures
of a Young Gentleman in Search of a Religion. By Mr. BEN-
JAMINS (Bret Harte). Price 6d. Curiously Illustrated.
Bret Harte's East and West. Fcap.
8vo, illustrated cover, Is.
Bret Harte's Stories of the Sierras, and
other Sketches. With a Wild Story of Western Life by JOAQUIN
MILLER, Author of "Songs of the Sierras.' Illustrated cover, Is.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
о
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
Book of Hall-Marks;
or, Manual of
Reference for the Goldsmith and Silversmith. By ALFRED´ Lut-
SCHAUNIG, Manager of the Liverpool Assay Office. Crown 8vo, with
46 Plates of the Hall-Marks of the different Assay Towns of the
United Kingdom, as now stamped on Plate and Jewellery, 7s. 6d.
*** This work gives practical methods for testing the quality of gold and silver.
It was compiled by the author for his own use, and as a Supplement to "Chaffers."
NEW BOOK FOR BOYS.
the_Sea:
The Conquest of the Sea: A History
of Divers and Diving, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day.
By HENRY SIEBE. Profusely Illustrated with fine Wood Engravings.
Small crown 8vo, cloth extra, 4s. 6d.

腻
​"We have perused this volume, full of quaint information, with delight. Mr.
Siebe has bestowed much pains on his work; he writes with enthusiasm and fulness
of knowledge."-Echo.
"Really interesting alike to youths and to grown-up people."-Scotsman.
"Equally interesting to the general and to the scientific reader."-Morning
Advertiser.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
9
Brewster's (Sir David) More Worlds
than One, the Creed of the Philosopher and the Hope
of the Christian. A NEW EDITION, in small crown 8vo, cloth,
extra gilt, with full-page Astronomical Plates, uniform with Faraday's
"Chemical History of a Candle."
4s. 6d.
Brewster's (Sir D.) Martyrs of Science.
NEW EDITION, Small cr. 8vo, cloth, extra gilt, with full-page Por-
traits, uniform with Faraday's "Various Forces of Nature.
"
4s. 6d.
Bright's (Rt. Hon. J., M.P.) Speeches
on Public Affairs of the last Twenty Years. Collated with the
best Public Reports. Royal 16m0, 370 pages, cloth extra, Is.
COLMAN'S HUMOROUS WORKS.
Broad Grins. My Nightgown and Slippers,
and other Humorous Works, Prose and Poetical, of GEORGE COL-
MAN the Younger. Now first collected, with Life and Anecdotes of
the Author, by GEORGE B. BUCKSTONE. With Frontispiece by
HOGARTH. Crown 8vo, 500 pp., 7s. 6d.
* Admirers of genuine English wit and humour will be delighted with this
edition of George Colman's humorous works. As a wit, he has had no equal in
our time; and a man with a tithe of his ability could, at the present day, make
the fortune of any of our comic journals.
Byron's (Lord) Letters and Journals,
with Notices of his Life. By THOMAS MOOre. A Reprint of the
Original Edition, newly revised, Complete in one very thick volume
of nearly 1,000 pages. Illustrated by Portraits and fine full-page
Plates. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, 7s. 6d.
"We have read this book with the greatest pleasure. Considered merely as a
composition, it deserves to be classed among the best specimens of English prose
which our age has produced. It contains, indeed, no single passage equal to two
or three which we could select from the Life of Sheridan; but, as a whole, it is
immeasurably superior to that work. The style is agreeable, clear, and manly,
and, when it rises into eloquence, rises without effort or ostentation. Nor is the
matter inferior to the manner. It would be difficult to name a book which exhibits
more kindness, fairness, and modesty. It has evidently been written, not for the
purpose of showing-what, however, it often shows-how well its author can write,
but for the purpose of vindicating, as far as truth will permit, the memory of a cele-
brated man who can no longer vindicate himself. Mr. Moore never thrusts himself
between Lord Byron and the public. With the strongest temptations to egotism,
he has said no more about himself than the subject absolutely required. A great
part, indeed the greater part, of these volumes consists of extracts from the Letters
and Journals of Lord Byron; and it is difficult to speak too highly of the skill which
has been shown in the selection and arrangement.
It is impossible, on a
general survey, to deny that the task has been executed with great judgment and
great humanity. When we consider the life which Lord Byron had led, his petu-
lance, his irritability, and his communicativeness, we cannot but admire the dex-
terity with which Mr. Moore has contrived to exhibit so much of the character and
opinions of his friend, with so little pain to the feelings of the living.". LORD
MACAULAY, in the Edinburgh Review.
•
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, IV.
ΙΟ BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
0
Booth's Epigrams: Ancient and Modern,
Humorous, Witty, Satirical, Moral, and Panegyrical.
Edited by
the Rev. JOHN BOOTH, B. A. A New Edition. Pott 8vo, cloth gilt,6s.
Carlyle (T.) on the Choice of Books,
With New Life and Anecdotes. Brown cloth, UNIFORM WITH THE
25. EDITION OF HIS WORKS, IS. 6d. ; paper cover, Is.
Christmas Carols and Ballads. Selected
and Edited by JOSHUA SYLVESTER. A New Edition, beautifully
printed and bound in cloth, extra gilt, gilt edges, 3s. 6d.
Clerical Anecdotes and Pulpit Eccen-
tricities. Square 16mo, illustrated wrapper, Is. 4d.; cloth neat,
Is. Iod.

//////
Celebrated
Claim-
ants, Ancient and Modern. Being
the Histories of all the most cele-
brated Pretenders and Claimants
during the last 600 years. Fcap.
8vo, 300 pages, illustrated boards,
price 25.
** This book is
presented to the pub-
lic at a time when
popular attention is
attracted to the sub-
ject of which it
treats: but it is in-
tended much less to
gratify a temporary
curiosity than to fill
an empty page in
our literature.
our own and in other
countries Claimants
have been by no
means rare, and the
author has spared
no research to render
his work as perfect
as possible, and to
supply a reliable
In
history of those cases which are entitled to rank as causes célèbres. The book
is put forward in the hope that, while it may serve to amuse the hasty reader in
a leisure hour, it may also be deemed worthy of a modest resting-place in the
libraries of those who like to watch the march of events, and who have the prudent
habit, when information is found, of preserving a note of it.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS. II
NEW AND IMPORTANT WORK.
The Cyclopædia of Costume; or, A
Dictionary of Dress, Regal, Ecclesiastical, Civil, and Military, from
the Earliest Period in England to the reign of George the Third.
Including Notices of Contemporaneous Fashions on the Continent,
and preceded by a General History of the Costume of the Principal
Countries of Europe. By J. R. PLANCHÉ, F.S.A., Somerset Herald.
This work will be published in Twenty-four Monthly Parts, quarto, at Five
Shillings, profusely illustrated by Plates and Wood Engravings; with each Part
will also be issued a splendid Coloured Plate, from an original Painting or Iilu-
mination, of Royal and Noble Personages, and National Costume, both foreign and
domestic. The First Part is just ready.
N collecting materials for a History of Costume of
more importance than the little handbook which has
met with so much favour as an elementary work, I was
not only made aware of my own deficiencies, but sur-
prised to find how much more vague are the explana-
tions, and contradictory the statements, of our best
authorities, than they appeared to me, when, in the
plenitude of my ignorance, I rushed upon almost un-
trodden ground, and felt bewildered by the mass of
unsifted evidence and unhesitating assertion which met
my eyes at every turn.
During the forty years which have elapsed since the
publication of the first edition of my "History of British
Costume" in the "Library of Entertaining Know-
ledge," archæological investigation has received such
an impetus by the establishment of metropolitan and
provincial peripatetic antiquarian societies, that a flood
of light has been poured upon us, by which we are
enabled to re-examine our opinions and discover reasons
to doubt, if we cannot find facts to authenticate.
That the former greatly preponderate is a grievous
acknowledgment to make after assiduously devoting
the leisure of half my life to the pursuit of information
on this, to me, most fascinating subject. It is some
consolation, however, to feel that where I cannot in-
struct, I shall certainly not mislead, and that the reader
will find, under each head, all that is known to, or
suggested by, the most competent writers I am ac-
quainted with, either here or on the Continent.
That this work appears in a glossarial form arises from the desire of many artists,
who have expressed to me the difficulty they constantly meet with in their en-
deavours to ascertain the complete form of a garment, or the exact mode of fastening
a piece of armour, or buckling of a belt, from their study of a sepulchral effigy or
a figure in an illumination, the attitude of the personages represented, or the dispo-
sition of other portions of their attire, effectually preventing the requisite examination.
The books supplying any such information are very few, and the best confined to
armour or ecclesiastical costume. The only English publication of the kind required,
that I am aware of, is the late Mr. Fairholt's "Costume in England" (8vo, London,
1846), the last two hundred pages of which contain a glossary, the most valuable
portion whereof are the quotations from old plays, medieval romances, and satirical
ballads, containing allusions to various articles of attire in fashion at the time of
their composition. Twenty-eight years have expired since that book appeared, and
it has been thought that a more comprehensive work on the subject than has yet
issued from the English press, combining the pith of the information of many costly
foreign publications, and, in its illustrations, keeping in view the special require-
ment of the artist, to which I have alluded, would be, in these days of educational
progress and critical inquiry, a welcome addition to the library of an English
gentleman,
J. R. PLANCHÉ.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.

12 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
Cruikshank's Comic Almanack.
Complete in Two SERIES: the FIRST from 1835 to 1843; the
SECOND from 1844 to 1853. A Gathering of the BEST HUMOUR
of THACKERAY, HOOD, MAYHEW, ALBERT SMITH, A’BECKETT,
ROBERT BROUGH, &c. With 2,000 Woodcuts and Steel Engravings
by CRUIKSHANK, HINE, Landells, &c. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt,
two very thick volumes, 15s.; or, separately, 7s. 6d. per volume.

APPROACH OF BLUCHER: INTREPID ADVANCE OF THE FIRST FOOT.
*The "Comic Almanacks" of George Cruikshank have long been regarded by
admirers of this inimitable artist as among his finest, most characteristic pro-
ductions. Extending over a period of nineteen years, from 1835 to 1853, inclusive,
they embrace the best period of his artistic career, and show the varied excellences
of his marvellous power. The late Mr. Tilt, of Fleet Street, first conceived the
idea of the "Comic Almanack," and at various times there were engaged upon it
such writers as THACKERAY, ALBERT SMITH, the Brothers MAYHEW, the late
ROBERT BROUGH, GILBERT A'BECKETT, and, it has been asserted, TOM HOOD the
elder. THACKERAY'S stories of “Stubbs' Calendar; or, The Fatal Boots,' which
subsequently appeared as "Stubbs' Diary;" and Barber Cox; or, The Cutting
of his Comb," formed the leading attractions in the numbers for 1839 and 1840.
"
The Danbury Newsman. A Brief but
Comprehensive Record of the Doings of a Remarkable People, under
more Remarkable Circumstances, and Chronicled in a most Re-
markable Manner. By JAMES M. BAILEY. Uniform with Twain's
"Screamers." Fcap. 8vo, illustrated cover, Is.,
"A real American humourist."-Figaro.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
13

THE BEST GUIDE TO HERALDRY.
Cussans' Handbook of
**
Heraldry; with Instructions for Tracing
Pedigrees and Deciphering Ancient MSS.;
also, Rules for the Appointment of Liveries,
&c., &c. By JOHN E. CUSSANS. Illus-
trated with 360 Plates and Woodcuts.
Crown Svo, cloth extra, gilt and emblazoned,
7s. 6d.
* This volume, beautifully printed on toned paper,
contains not only the ordinary matter to be found
in the best books on the science of Armory, but seve-
ral other subjects hitherto unnoticed. Amongst
these may be mentioned:-1. DIRECTIONS FOR
TRACING PEDIGREES. 2. DECIPHERING ANCIENT
MSS., ILLUSTRATED BY ALPHABETS AND FAC-
SIMILES. 3. THE APPOINTMENT OF LIVERIES.
4. CONTINENTAL AND AMERICAN HERALDRY, &c.
لس
VERY IMPORTANT COUNTY HISTORY.
Cussans' History of Hertfordshire.
Illus-
A County History, got up in a very superior manner, and ranging
with the finest works of its class. By JOHN E. CUSSANS.
trated with full-page Plates on Copper and Stone, and a profusion
of small Woodcuts. Parts I. to VI. are now ready, price 21S.
each.
*** An entirely new History of this important County, great attention being
given to all matters pertaining to Family History.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON; W.
ka

14
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
(6
UNIFORM WITH THE
"CHARLES DICKENS EDITION."
Dickens: The Story
of his Life. By THEODORE TAY-
LOR, Author of the "Life of
Thackeray.' Uniform with the
"Charles Dickens Edition" of his
Works, and forming a Supple-
mentary Volume to that Issue. Crown
8vo, crimson cloth, 3s. 6d.

•
•
"Anecdotes seem to have poured in upon
the author from all quarters. Turn where
we will through these 370 pleasant pages,
something worth reading is sure to meet the
eye." The Standard.
Also Published:
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graphic Frontispiece of "Dickens as Captain Bobadil," Portraits,
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and Vignette, 2s.
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Dickens' Speeches, Social and Literary,
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tary Volume to, the "CHARLES DICKENS EDITION." Crown 8vo,
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"His speeches are as good as any of his printed writings."-The Times.
Also Published:
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D'ORSAY, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.
THE "CHEAP EDITION," in 16mo, paper wrapper, 2s.
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"DON QUIXOTE" IN THE ORIGINAL SPANISH.
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de
la Mancha. Nueva Edicion, corregida y revisada. Por MIGUEL
DE CERVANTES SAAVEdra. Complete in one volume, post 8vo,
nearly 700 pages, cloth extra, price 4s. 6d.
The Earthward Pilgrimage, from the
Next World to that which now is. By MONCURE D. CONWAY.
Crown 8vo, beautifully printed and bound, 7s. 6d.
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BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS. 15
D'Urfey's ("Tom") Wit and Mirth;
or, PILLS TO PURGE MELANCHOLY: Being a Collection of the
best Merry Ballads and Songs, Old and New. Fitted to all Hu-
mours, having each their proper Tune for either Voice or Instrument :
most of the Songs being new set. London: Printed by W.
Pearson, for J. Tonson, at Shakespeare's Head, over-against Cathe-
rine Street in the Strand, 1719.
An exact and beautiful reprint of this much-prized work, with the
Music to the Songs, just as in the rare original. In 6 vols., large
fcap. 8vo, antique boards, edges uncut, beautifully printed on laid
paper, made expressly for the work, price £3 35.
The PILLS TO PURGE MELANCHOLY have now retained their celebrity for a
century and a half. The difficulty of obtaining a copy has of late years raised sets
to a fabulous price, and has made even odd volumes costly. Considering the clas-
sical reputation which the book has thus obtained, and its very high interest as
illustrative of the manners, customs, and amusements of English life during the
half century following the Restoration, no apology is needed for placing such a work
more within the reach of general readers and students by re-issuing it for the first
time since its original appearance, and at about a tithe of the price for which
the old edition could now be obtained.
For drinking-songs and love-songs, sprightly ballads, merry stories, and political
squibs, there are none to surpass these in the language. In improvising such
pieces, and in singing them, D'URFEY was perhaps never equalled, except in our
own century by THEODORE HOOK. The sallies of his wit amused and delighted
three successive English sovereigns; and while his plays are forgotten, his songs
and ballads still retain the light abandon and joyous freshness that recommended
them to the wits and beaux of Queen Anne's days. Nor can the warm and affec-
tionate eulogy of Steele and Addison be forgotten, and D'URFEY may now take his
place on the bookshelves of the curious, side by side with the other worthies of
his age.
Mrs. Ellis's Mothers of Great Men.
A New Edition of this well-known Work, with Illustrations by
VALENTINE W. BROMLEY. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, over 500
pages, 6s.
"Mrs. Ellis believes, as most of us do, that the character of the mother goes a
long way; and, in illustration of this doctrine, she has given us several lives written
in her charming, yet earnest, style. We especially commend the life of Byron's
and Napoleon's mothers. . . The volume has some solid merits."-Echo.
"This is a book which ought to be in the libraries of all who interest themselves
in the education of women."-Victoria Magazine.
·
and its value is not a little
"An extremely agreeable and readable book,
enhanced by Mr. Bromley's illustrations."-Illustrated Dramatic News.
Emanuel on Diamonds and Precious
Stones; Their History, Value, and Properties; with Simple
Tests for ascertaining their Reality. By HARRY EMANUEL, F.R.G.S.
With numerous Illustrations, Tinted and Plain. A New Edition,
Crown 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, 6s.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
일
​16 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
་
Edgar Allan Poe's Prose and Poetical
Works; including Additional Tales and the fine Essays by this

HANCE
POE'S COTTAGE AT FORDHAM.
great Genius. With a Translation of CHARLES BAUDELAIRE'S
Essay on Poe." 750 pages, crown 8vo, fine Portrait and Illus-
trations, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.
The English Rogue, described in the
Life of MERITON LATROON, and other Extravagants, comprehending
the most Eminent Cheats of both Sexes. By RICHARD HEAD and
FRANCIS KIRKMAN. A facsimile reprint of the rare Original
Edition (1665-1672), with a Frontispiece and Portraits of the
Authors. In 4 Volumes, large foolscap 8vo, beautifully printed
on antique laid paper, made expressly, and bound in antique
boards, 32s.; or LARGE-PAPER COPIES, 52s.
[Nearly ready.
This singularly entertaining work may be described as the first English
novel, properly so called. The same air of reality pervades it as that which gives
such a charm to the stories written by Defoe half a century later. The interest
never flags for a moment, from the first chapter to the last.
As a picture of the manners of the period, two hundred years ago, in England,
among the various grades of society through which the hero passes in the course of
his extraordinary adventures, and among gipsies, beggars, thieves, &c., the book is
invaluable to students.
The earlier portion of the book was considerably altered in later editions by
Francis Kirkman. While preserving all the additions made by that writer, most of
the omitted passages (sometimes among the most characteristic in the book) have been
restored from the earliest edition, which is of the very greatest rarity, most of the
copies having been destroyed, the year after its publication, in the Great Fire of
London.
The later edition and the Second Part are of almost equal rarity. Owing to its
wonderful run of popularity, the book has been so well read and well thumbed, that
perfect copies are very seldom to be met with, and are then only to be obtained at an
extravagantly high price. The present reprint may therefore be useful and accept-
able to students of Early English Literature.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
A
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
17
Our English Surnames: Their Sources
*
and Significations. By CHARLES WAREING BARDSLEY, M.A.
Crown 8vo, about 600 pages, cloth extra, 9s.
**
The chapters are arranged under the following heads:-1. BAPTISMAL OR
PERSONAL NAMES; 2. LOCAL SURNAMES; 3. OFFICIAL SURNAMES; 4. OCCUPATIVE
SURNAMES; 5. SOBRIQUET SURNAMES, OR NICKNAMES.
"Mr. Bardsley has faithfully consulted the original mediæval documents and works
from which the origin and development of surnames can alone be satisfactorily traced
He has furnished a valuable contribution to the literature of surnames, and we hope
to hear more of him in this field."-Times.
EARLY NEWS SHEET.
The Russian Invasion of Poland in
1563. (Memorabilis et perinde stupenda de crudeli Moscovitarum
Expeditione Narratio, e Ĝermanico in Latinum conversa.) An exact
facsimile of a contemporary account in Latin, published at Douay,
together with an Introduction and Historical Notes and a full Trans-
lation. Only 100 copies printed. Large fcap. 8vo, an exact fac-
simile on antique paper, hardly distinguishable from the original,
half-Roxburghe, price 7s. 6d.
The Englishman's House, from a Cot-
tage to a Mansion. A Practical Guide to Members of Building
Societies, and all interested in Selecting or Building a House. By
C. J. RICHARDSON, Architect, Author of "Old English Mansions,"
&c. Second Edi-

tion, Corrected and
Enlarged, with
nearly 600 Illus-
trations. Crown
Svo, 550 pages,
cloth, 7s. 6d.
of
This Work might
not inappropriately be
termed A Book
Houses." It gives every
variety of house, from a
workman's cottage to a
nobleman's palace. The
book is intended to supply
a want long felt, viz., a
plain, non-technical ac-
count of every style of
house, with the cost and
manner of building.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
C
18
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
of a
Faraday's Chemical History of
Candle. Lectures delivered to a Juvenile Audience. A New
Edition, edited by W. CROOKES, Esq., F.C.S., &c. Crown 8vo,
cloth extra, with all the Original Illustrations, price 4s. 6d.
Faraday's Various Forces of Nature.
A New Edition, edited by W. CROOKES, Esq., F.C.S., &c. Crown
Svo, cloth extra, with all the Original Illustrations, price 4s. 6d.
FLAGELLATION AND THE FLAGELLANTS.
A History of the Rod in all Countries,
from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. By the Rev. W.
COOPER, B.A. Second Edition, revised and corrected, with numerous
Illustrations. Thick crown 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, 12s. 6d.
(C
Fun for the Million:
A Gathering of Choice
Wit and Humour, Good
Things, and Sublime Non-
sense, by DICKENS, JER-
ROLD, SAM SLICK, CHAS.
H. Ross, HOOD, THEO-
DORE HOOK, MARKTWAIN,
BROUGH, COLMAN, TITUS
A. BRICK, and a Host of
other Humourists. With
Pictures by MATT MOR-
GAN, GILBERT, NAST,
THOMPSON, CRUIKSHANK,
Jun., BRUNTON, &c.
fcap. 4to, profusely illus-
trated, with picture wrap-
per, Is.

THE OLD SHEKARRY.
In
The Forest and the Field: Life and
Adventure in Wild Africa. By the OLD SHEKARRY.
With Eight
Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, 6s.
** The Author has endeavoured to record his impressions of some of the
grandest scenery in the world, as well as of the dreary swamps of the Eastern
coast of Equatorial Africa. It is a book of intense interest, especially for boys.
Wrinkles; or, Hints to Sportsmen and
Travellers upon Dress, Equipment, Armament, and Camp Life.
By the OLD SHEKARRY. A New Edition, with Illustrations. Small
crown 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, 6s.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS. 19
The Finish to Life in and out of
London; or, The Final Adventures of Tom, Jerry, and Logic.
By PIERCE EGAN. Royal 8vo, cloth extra, with Spirited Coloured
Illustrations by CRUIKSHANK, 215.
Fools' Paradise; with the Many Wonder-
ful Adventures there, as seen in the strange, surprising Peep-Show of
Professor Wolley Cobble. Crown 4to, with nearly 200 very funny
Coloured Pictures, cloth extra, gilt, 7s. 6d.

//
THE PROFESSOR'S LEETLE MUSIC LESSON,
Further Adventures in Fools' Paradise,
with the Many Wonderful Doings, as seen in the Peep-Show of
Professor Wolley Cobble. Crown 4to, uniform with the FIRST
SERIES, cloth extra, gilt, 7s. 6d.
The Genial Showman;
or, Show Life
in the New World. Adventures with Artemus Ward, and the Story
of his Life. By E. P. HINGSTON. Third Edition. Crown 8vo, Illus-
trated by BRUNTON, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.
Gesta
Romanorum;
or, Entertaining
Stories, invented by the Monks as a Fireside Recreation, and com-
monly applied in their Discourses from the Pulpit. A New Edition,
with Introduction by THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq., M. A., F.S.A. Two
vols. large fcap. 8vo, printed on fine ribbed paper, 18s.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
20
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
RUSKIN AND CRUIKSHANK.
German Popular Sto-
ries. Collected by the Brothers GRIMM,
and Translated by EDGAR TAYLOR.
Edited by JOHN RUSKIN. With 22
Illustrations after the inimitable designs
of GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. Both Series
complete. Square crown 8vo, 6s. 6d.;
gilt leaves, 75. 6ď.

*
These are the designs which Mr. Ruskin
has praised so highly, placing them far above all
Cruikshank's other works of a similar cha-
racter.
GIL BLAS IN SPANISH.
Historia de Gil Blas de Santillana.
Por LE SAGE. Traducida al Castellano por el PADRE ISLA. Nueva
Edicion, corregida y revisada. Complete in One Volume. Post
8vo, cloth extra, nearly 600 pages, price 4s. 6d.
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">
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CC The
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1-
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COMPANION TO "CUSSANS' HERALDRY."
The Pursuivant of Arms;
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By J. R. PLANCHÉ, Esq., F. S. A.,
Somerset Herald. To which are added,
Essays on the BADGES OF THE HOUSES OF
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cloth, with Emblematic Design, extra gilt,
78. 6a.

SEVENTH EDITION OF
Puck on Pegasus.
ஞ்
By H. CHOLMONDELEY.
PENNELL. Profusely illus-
trated by the late JOHN
LEECH, H. K. BROWNE,
Sir NOEL PATON, JOHN
MILLAIS, JOHN TENNIEL,
RICHARD DOYLE, Miss
ELLEN EDWARDS, and
other artists. A New
Edition (the SEVENth),
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price 5s.; or gilt edges, 6s.
This most amusing work
has received everywhere the highest
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C
"The epigrammatic drollery of
Mr. Cholmondeley-Pennell's Puck
on Pegasus' is well known to many
of our readers. . . . The present
(the sixth) is a superb and hand-
somely printed and illustrated edi-
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'Specially fit for reading in the
family circle."—Observer.
By the same Author.
Modern Babylon, and other
Small crown 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, 4s. 6d.
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IMPORTANT TO ALL INTERESTED IN MINES.
The Practical Assayer: A Guide to
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By OLIVER NORTH, of "The Field,"
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Private Book of Useful Alloys and
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COLLINS, C.E. Royal 16mo, 3s. 6d. Invaluable to the Trade.
"AN AWFULLY JOLLY BOOK FOR PARTIES."
Puniana: Thoughts

By the
Wise and Otherwise.
Hon. HUGH ROWLEY. Best
Book of Riddles and Puns
ever formed. With nearly 100
exquisitely Fanciful Drawings.
Contains nearly 3000 of the
best Riddles, and 10,000 most
outrageous Puns, and is one of
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"Bab Ballads." Price 6s.
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proachable and pre-eminent. We
think this very queer volume will be
a favourite. We should suggest that,
to a dull person desirous to get
не
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and dole it out by instalments."-Saturday Review.
By the same Author.
A Second Series of Puniana: Containing
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36
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www....
GUSTAVE DORÉ'S DESIGNS.

CTAM
LPECALIEVO!
MANCER
TRAITE
DISSECTI
ATT
EPIDOPTE
:
The Works of Rabelais. Faithfully trans-
lated from the French, with variorum Notes, and numerous charac-
teristic Illustrations by GUSTAVE DORÉ. Crown 8vo, cloth extra,
700 pages. Price 7s. 6d.
""
UNIFORM WITH "WONDERFUL CHARACTERS.
Remarkable Trials and Notorious
Characters. From "Half-Hanged Smith," 1700, to Oxford, who
shot at the Queen, 1840. By Captain L. BENSON.
With spirited
full-page Engravings by PHIZ. 8vo, 550 pages, 7s. 6d.
A Complete Library of Sensation Literature! There are plots enough here
to produce a hundred" exciting" Novels, and at least five hundred "powerful"
Magazine Stories. The book will be appreciated by all readers whose taste lies in
this direction.
UNIFORM WITH "THE TURF, CHASE, AND ROAD."
Reminiscences of the late Thomas
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Roll of Battle Abbey; or, A List of the Prin-
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drawn, and printed on fine plate paper, nearly three feet by two
feet, with the Arms of the principal Barons elaborately emblazoned
in Gold and Colours. Price 5s. ; or, handsomely framed in carved
oak of an antique pattern, 22s. 6d.
Roll of Caerlaverock: the Oldest Heraldic
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Translation of the MS. in the British Museum. BY THOMAS
WRIGHT, M. A. The Arms emblazoned in Gold and Colours.
4to, very handsomely printed, extra gold cloth, 12s.
Rochefoucauld's
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In
and
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Roman Catholics in the County of
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Genealogists and Antiquaries will find much new and curious matter in
this work. An elaborate Index refers to every name in the volume, among which
will be found many of the highest local interest.

Ross's (Chas. H.) Unlikely Tales and
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THE RUMP PARLIAMENT.
The Rump; or, An Exact Collection of
the choicest POEMS and SONGS relating to the late Times, and
continued by the most eminent Wits; from Anno 1639 to 1661. A
Facsimile Reprint of the rare Original Edition (London, 1662), with
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or, LARGE-PAPER COPIES, 30s.
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* A very rare and extraordinary collection of some two hundred Popular
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The Secret
Out; or, One Thousand
Tricks with Cards, and
other Recreations; with
Entertaining Experiments
in Drawing Room or
"White Magic." By the
Author of the Magi-
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by W. H. CREMER, Jun.,
of Regent Street. With
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executed Portraits and Scenes from his Plays, 7s. 6d. [Nearly ready.
Shelley's Early Life.
From Original
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THE POCKET SHELLEY.
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containing "Queen Mab" and the
Early Poems; the SECOND, "Laon
and Cythna,' "The Cenci,
and Later Poems. Price of
each Series, royal 16mo, Is. 8d.
illustrated cover, 2s. 2d. cloth

extra.
"This edition will contain everything
that Shelley published in his lifetime, as he
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with and everything of any value pub-
lished after his death, which he would have
wished to have had preserved. An appen-
dix will contain some prose pamphlets
never before printed with Shelley's works."
-Extract from Introduction.
---
SHELLEY, FROM THE GODWIN SKETCH.
The Third Series, completing the Work, will shortly be ready.
CHARLES DICKENS' EARLY SKETCHES.
Sketches of Young Couples, Young
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40
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS.
Signboards: Their History. With Anec-
dotes of Famous Taverns and Remarkable Characters. By JACOB
HELP ME THROUGH THIS WORLD!
LARWOOD and JOHN CAMDEN
HOTTEN. SEVENTII EDITION.
Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 580 pp.,
7s. 6d.
It is not fair on the part of a reviewer
to pick out the plums of an author's book,
thus filching away his cream, and leaving
little but skim-milk remaining; but, even
if we were ever so maliciously inclined,
we could not in the present instance pick
out all Messrs. Larwood and Hotten's
plums, because the good things are so
numerous as to defy the most wholesale
depredation."-The Times.
Nearly 100 most curious illustra-
tions on wood are given, showing the
various signs which were formerly hung
from taverns and other houses.

The Slang Dictionary:
Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal.
An ENTIRELY NEW EDITION, revised
throughout, and considerably Enlarged,
containing upwards of a thousand more
words than the last edition. Crown 8vo,
with Curious Illustrations, cloth extra,
6s. 6d.

"Peculiarly a book which 'no gentleman's library
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SPOON.
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The Smoker's Text-Book. By J. HAMER,
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41
WEST-END LIFE AND DOINGS.
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CHARMING NEW
TRAVEL-BOOK.

"It may be we shall touch the happy isles."
Summer Cruising in the South Seas.
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MR. SWINBURNE'S WORKS.
Bothwell : A Tragedy.
By ALGERNON
CHARLES SWINBURNE.
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Chastelard: A Tragedy.
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Poems and Ballads. Foolscap 8vo, 95.
Notes on "Poems and
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William Blake: A Critical Essay. With
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Dr. Syntax's Three Tours. WITH THE
WHOLE OF ROWLANDSON'S VERY DROLL FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRA-
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THE THACKERAY SKETCH-BOOK,
Thackerayana.
Notes
and Anecdotes, illustrated by about
Six Hundred Sketches by WILLIAM
MAKEPEACE THACKERAY, depicting
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characters, and liable only to those incidents which are of ordinary occurrence. He
will have no faultless characters, no demi-gods,-nothing but men and brethren."
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Theseus: A Greek Fairy Legend.
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SMITH. With descriptive text. Oblong folio, price 7s. 6d.
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Valery::
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&c.
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and Hoaxes. With a new Life of the
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Crown 8vo, 600 pages, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.
"As a wit and humourist of the highest order his name will be preserved. His
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cover, Is.
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THE SUBSCRIPTION ROOM AT BROOKES'S.
Timbs' Clubs and Club Life in Lon-
don. With ANECDOTES of its FAMOUS COFFEE HOUSES, HOSTEL-
RIES, and TAVERNS. By JOHN TIMBS, F.S.A. New Edition,
with NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS, drawn expressly. Crown 8vo,
cloth extra, 600 pages, 7s. 6d.
A Companion to "The History of Sign-Boards." It abounds in quaint
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One o'clock, the Civil, and hundreds of other Clubs; together with Tom's, Dick's,
Button's, Ned's, Will's, and the famous Coffee Houses of the last century.
"The book supplies a much-felt want. The club is the avenue to general society
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the value of which only increases with the lapse of time.”—Morning Post.
Timbs' English Eccentrics and Ec-
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TIMBS, F.S. A. An entirely New Edition, with numerous Illustra-
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Vagabondiana; or, Anecdotes of Mendi-
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(late) Keeper of the Prints in the British Museum. With Introduc-
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original, with the Woodcuts, and the whole 33 Plates, from the
original Coppers, in crown 4to, half Roxburghe, price 12s. 6d.
[Nearly ready.
"LES MISÉRABLES.
Victor Hugo's Fantine.
"}
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exception of a few advisable omissions. Post 8vo, illust. boards, 2s.
"This work has something more than the beauties of an exquisite style or the
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to make up our common humanity, M. Victor Hugo has stamped upon every page
the Hall-mark of genius and the loving patience and conscientious labour of a true
artist. But the merits of 'Les Misérables' do not merely consist in the conception
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Victor Hugo's Cosette and Marius.
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Vyner's Notitia Venatica: A Treatise
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Diseases of Dogs; Distemper and Rabies; Kennel Lameness, &c.
Sixth Edition, Enlarged. By ROBERT C. VYNER. WITH SPIRITED
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"Whitman is a poet who bears and needs to be read as a whole, and then the
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Warrant to Execute Charles I.
An
exact Facsimile of this important Document, with the Fifty-nine
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BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDUS. 47
Warrant to Execute Mary Queen of
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THE WATERFORD ROLL.
Illuminated Charter-Roll of Water-
ford, Temp. Richard II.
Amongst the Corporation Muniments of the City of Waterford is preserved
an ancient Illuminated Roll, of great interest and beauty, comprising all the early
Charters and Grants to the City of Waterford, from the time of Henry II. to
Richard II. A full-length Portrait of each King, whose Charter is given-including
Edward III., when young, and again at an aavanced age-adorns the margin.
These Portraits, with the exception of four which are smaller, and on one sheet of
vellum, vary from eight to nine inches in length-some in armour, and some in
robes of state. In addition to these are Portraits of an Archbishop in full canonicals,
of a Chancellor, and of many of the chief Burgesses of the City of Waterford, as
well as singularly curious Portraits of the Mayors of Dublin, Waterford, Limerick,
and Cork, figured for the most part in the quaint bipartite costume of the Second
Richard's reign, though partaking of many of the peculiarities of that of
Edward III. Altogether this ancient work of art is unique of its kind in Ireland,
and deserves to be rescued from oblivion, by the publication of the unedited Charters,
and of fac-similes of all the Illuminations. The production of such a work would
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settlers in Ireland at the close of the fourteenth century. The Charters are, many
of them, highly important from an historic point of view.
The Illuminations have been accurately traced and coloured for the work from a
copy carefully made, by permission of the Mayor and Corporation of Waterford, by
the late George V. Du Ñoyer, Esq., M.R.I.A.; and those Charters which have not
already appeared in print will be edited by the Rev. James Graves, A.B.,
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obtained. The price, in imperial 4to, is 20s. to subscribers, or 30s. to non-subscribers.
Wonderful Characters: Memoirs and
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Nation. From the text of HENRY WILSON and JAMES CAULFIELD.
Crown 8vo, cloth extra, with Sixty-one full-page Engravings of
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*There are so many curious matters discussed in this volume, that any per-
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The Introduction is almost entirely devoted to a consideration of Pig-Faced
Ladies, and the various stories concerning them.
Wright's (Andrew) Court-Hand Re-
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** The best guide to the reading of old Records, &c.
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
48 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHATTO & WINDus.
:
ķ
Wright's History of Caricature and
the Grotesque in Art, in Literature, Sculpture, and Painting, from
the Earliest Times to the Present Day. By THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq.,
M. A., F.S.A. Profusely illustrated by FAIRHOLT. Small 4to, cloth,
extra gilt, red edges, 215.
Wright's Caricature History of the
Georges (House of Hanover). With 400 Pictures, Caricatures,
Squibs, Broadsides, Window Pictures, &c. By THOMAS WRIGHT,
Esq., M. A., F.S. A. Crown Svo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.

A set of caricatures such as we have in Mr. Wright's volume brings the surface
of the age before us with a vividness that no prose writer, even of the highest power,
could emulate. Macaulay's most brilliant sentence is weak by the side of the little
woodcut from Gillray, which gives us Burke and Fox."-Saturday Review.
Yankee Drolleries. Edited by G. A. SALA.
Containing ARTEMUS WARD'S BOOK; BIGLOW PAPERS; ORPHEUS
C. KERR; JACK DOWNING; and NASBY PAPERS. 700 pp., 3s. 6d.
More Yankee
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Containing
ARTEMUS WARD'S TRAVELS; HANS BREITMANN; PROFESSOR AT
BREAKFAST TABLE; BIGLOW PAIERS, Part II.; and JOSH BIL-
LINGS; with Introduction by G. A. SALA. 700 pp., cloth, 3s. 6d.
A Third Supply of Yankee Drolleries.
Containing ARTEMUS WARD'S FENIANS; AUTOCRAT OF BREAK-
FAST TABLE; BRET HARTE'S STORIES; INNOCENTS ABROAD; and
NEW PILGRIM'S PROGRESS; with an Introduction by G. A. SALA.
700 pp., cloth, 3s. 6d
74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.
2517 4

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
ཀྭ་
1
3 9015 06396 6041

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