Chapter 14

“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 aSHAVEon’t.”The Private Tutor.SHAVER, a sharp fellow; “a young” or “oldSHAVER,” a boy or man.—Sea.SHEEN, bad money.—Scotch.SHEEP’S EYES, “to makeSHEEP’S EYESat a person,” to cast amorous glances towards one on the sly:—“But he, the beast, was castingSHEEP’S EYESat her,Out of his bullock head.”Colman, Broad Grins, p. 57.SHEEP’S FOOT, an iron hammer used in a printing office, the end of the handle being made like a sheep’s foot.SHELF, “on theSHELF,” not yet disposed of; young ladies are said to be so situated when they cannot meet with a husband; “on theSHELF,” pawned.SHELL OUT, to pay or count out money.SHICE, nothing; “to do anything forSHICE,” to get no payment. The term was first used by the Jews in the lastcentury.Grosegives the phraseCHICE-AM-A-TRICE, which has a synonymous meaning.Spanish,CHICO, little;Anglo Saxon,CHICHE, niggardly.SHICER, a mean man, a humbug, a “duffer,”—a person who is either worthless or will not work.SHICKERY, shabby, bad.SHICKSTER; a prostitute, a lady.—SeeSHAKESTER.SHILLY SHALLY, to trifle or fritter away time; irresolute. Corruption ofShall I, shall I?SHINDY, a row, or noise.SHINE, a row, or disturbance.SHINE, “to take theSHINEout of a person,” to surpass or excel him.SHINER, a looking-glass.SHINERS, sovereigns, or money.SHINEY RAG, “to win theSHINEY RAG,” to be ruined,—said in gambling, when any one continues betting after “luck has set in against him.”SHIP-SHAPE, proper, in good order; sometimes the phrase is varied to “SHIP-SHAPEandBristolfashion.”—Sea.SHIRTY, ill-tempered, or cross. When one person makes another in an ill humour he is said to have “got hisSHIRTout.”SHITTEN-SATURDAY (corruption ofSHUT-IN-SATURDAY), the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, when our Lord’s body was enclosed in the tomb.SHIVERING JEMMY, the name given by street folk to any cadger who exposes himself, half naked, on a cold day, to excite pity and procure alms. The “game” is unpleasant, but exceedingly lucrative.SHODDY, old cloth worked up into new; also, a term of derision applied to workmen in woollen factories.—Yorkshire.SHOE, to free, or initiate a person,—a practice common in most trades to a new comer. TheSHOEINGconsists in paying for beer, or other drink, which is drunk by the older hands. The cans emptied, and the bill paid, the stranger is considered properlySHOD.SHOE LEATHER! a thief’s warning cry, when he hears footsteps. This exclamation is used in the same spirit as Bruce’s friend, who, when he suspected treachery towards him at King Edward’s court, in 1306, sent him a purse and a pairof spurs, as a sign that he should use them in making his escape.SHOES, “to die in one’sSHOES,” to be hung.SHOOL, to saunter idly, become a vagabond, beg rather than work.—Smollett’s Roderick Random, vol. i., p. 262.SHOOT THE CAT, to vomit.SHOOT THE MOON, to remove furniture from a house in the night, without paying the landlord.SHOOT WITH THE LONG BOW, to tell lies, to exaggerate. Synonymous withTHROWING THE HATCHET.SHOP BOUNCER, orSHOP LIFTER, a person generally respectably attired, who, while being served with a small article at a shop, steals one of more value.Shakesperehas the wordLIFTER, a thief.SHOPPING, purchasing at shops. Termed byTodda slang word, but used byCowperandByron.SHORT, when spirit is drunk without any admixture of water, it is said to be taken “short;” “summatSHORT,” 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 in notes? Should it be desired to receive it in as small a compass as possible, the answer is, “SHORT.”SHORT COMMONS, short allowance of food.—SeeCOMMONS.SHOT, from the modern sense of the word toSHOOT,—a guess, a random conjecture; “to make a badSHOT,” to expose one’s ignorance by making a wrong guess, or random answer without knowing whether it is right or wrong.SHOT, from the onceEnglish, but now provincial word, toSHOOT, to subscribe, contribute in fair proportion;—a share, the same asSCOT, both being from theAnglo Saxonword,SCEAT; “to pay one’sSHOT,”i.e., share of the reckoning, &c.SHOT, “I wish I may beSHOT, if,” &c., a common form of mild swearing.SHOVE-HALFPENNY, a gambling street game.SHOWFULL, orSCHOFELL, a Hansom cab,—said to have been from the name of the inventor.—Led de hor qu.SHOW-FULL, orSCHOFUL, bad money.Mayhewthinks this word is from theDanish,SKUFFE, to shove, to deceive, cheat;Saxon,SCUFAN,—whence theEnglish,SHOVE. The term, however, is possibly one of the many street words from theHebrew(through the low Jews);SHEPHEL, in that language,signifying alowor debased estate.Chaldee,SHAPHAL.—SeePsalm cxxxvi. 23, “in ourlow estate.” A correspondent suggests another very probable derivation, from theGerman,SCHOFEL, trash, rubbish,—theGermanadjective,SCHOFELIG, being the nearest possible translation of ourshabby.SHOWFULL-PITCHER, a passer of counterfeit money.SHOWFULL PITCHING, passing bad money.SHOWFULL PULLET, a “gay” woman.SHRIMP, a diminutive person.—Chaucer.SHUNT, to throw or turn aside.—Railway term.SHUT OF, orSHOT OF, rid of.SHUT UP! be quiet, don’t make a noise; to stop short, to make cease in a summary manner, to silence effectually. “Only the other day we heard of a preacher who, speaking of the scene with the doctors in the Temple, remarked that the Divine disputant completelySHUT THEM UP!”—Athen.30th July, 1859.Shut up, utterly exhausted, done for.SHY, a throw.SHY, “to fightSHYof a person,” to avoid his society either from dislike, fear, or any other reason.SHYhas also the sense of flighty, unsteady, untrustworthy.SHY, to fling;COCK-SHY, a game at fairs, consisting of throwing short sticks at trinkets set upon other sticks,—both name and practice derived from the old game of throwing orSHYINGat live cocks.SICES, orSIZES, a throw ofsixesat dice.SICK AS A HORSE, popular simile,—curious, because a horse never vomits.SICKNER, orSICKENER, a dose too much of anything.SIDE BOARDS, orSTICK-UPS, shirt collars.SIGHT, “to take aSIGHTat a person,” a vulgar action employed by street boys to denote incredulity, or contempt for authority, by placing the thumb against the nose and closing all the fingers except the little one, which is agitated in token of derision.—SeeWALKER.SIM, one of a Methodistical turn in religion; a low-church-man; originally a follower of the late Rev. Charles Simeon.—Cambridge.SIMON, a sixpenny piece.SIMON PURE, “the realSIMON PURE,” the genuine article.Those who have witnessed Mr. C. Mathews’ performance in Mrs. Centlivre’s admirable comedy ofA Bold Stroke for a Wife, and the laughable coolness with which he, thefalseSIMON PURE, assuming the quaker dress and character of theREAL ONE, elbowed that worthy out of his expected entertainment, will at once perceive the origin of this phrase.—Seeact v., scene 1.SING OUT, to call aloud.—Sea.SING SMALL, to lessen one’s boasting, and turn arrogance into humility.SINKERS, bad money.SINKS, a throw of fives at dice.French,CINQS.SIR HARRY, a close stool.SISERARA, a hard blow.—Suffolk.Moor derives it from the story of Sisera in the Old Testament, but it is more probably a corruption ofCERTIORARI, 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.SITTING PAD, sitting on the pavement in a begging position.SIT-UPONS, trousers.—SeeINEXPRESSIBLES.SIVVY, “’pon mySIVVY,”i.e., upon my soul or honour. Corruption ofasseveration, likeDAVY, which is an abridgment ofaffidavit.SIXES AND SEVENS, articles in confusion are said to be allSIXESandSEVENS. The Deity is mentioned in the Towneley Mysteries as He that “sett all on seven,”i.e., set or appointed everything in seven days. A similar phrase at this early date implied confusion and disorder, and from these,Halliwellthinks, has been derived the phrase “to be atSIXES 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 beSIXES AND SEVENS, because those numbers are the sizes most generally used, and in the course of manufacture have frequently to be distinguished.SIXTY, “to go along likeSIXTY,”i.e., at a good rate, briskly.SIZE, to order extras over and above the usual commons at the dinner in college halls. Soup, pastry, &c., areSIZINGS, and arepaid for at a certain specified rateperSIZE, or portion, to the college cook.—Peculiar to Cambridge.Minsheusays, “SIZE, a farthing which schollers in Cambridge have at the buttery, noted with the letters.”SIZERS, orSIZARS, are certain poor scholars at Cambridge, annually elected, who get their dinners (includingsizings) from what is left at the upper, or Fellows’ table, free, or nearly so. They pay rent of rooms, and some other fees, on a lower scale than the “Pensioners” or ordinary students, and answer to the “battlers” and “servitors” at Oxford.SIZINGS,seeSIZE.SKATES LURK, a begging impostor dressed as a sailor.SKID, a sovereign. Fashionable slang.SKIE, to throw upwards, to toss “coppers.”—SeeODD MAN.SKILLY, broth served on board the hulks to convicts.—Linc.SKILLIGOLEE, prison gruel, also sailors’ soup of many ingredients.SKIN, a purse.SKIN, to abate, or lower the value of anything; “thinSKINNED,” sensitive, touchy.SKIN-FLINT, an old popular simile for a “close-fisted,” stingy person.SKIPPER, the master of a vessel.Dutch,SCHIFFER, fromschiffa ship; sometimes used synonymous with “Governor.”SKIPPER, a barn.—Ancient cant.SKIPPER IT, to sleep in the open air, or in a rough way.SKIPPER-BIRDS, orKEYHOLE WHISTLERS, persons who sleep in barns or outhouses in preference to lodging-houses.SKIT, a joke, a squib.SKITTLES, a game similar to Ten Pins, which, when interdicted by the Government was altered to Nine Pins, orSKITTLES. They are set up in an alley and arethrown at(not bowled) with a round piece of hard wood, shaped like a small flat cheese. The costers consider themselves the best players in London.SKROUGE, to push or squeeze.—North.SKULL-THATCHERS, straw bonnet makers,—sometimes called “bonnet-BUILDERS.”SKY, a disagreeable person, an enemy.—Westminster School.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 skimmed—SKY-BLUE.”Bloomfield’s Farmer’s Boy.Sky-blueformerly meant gin.SKY-LARK.—SeeLARK.SKY PARLOUR, the garret.SKY SCRAPER, a tall man; “are you cold up there, oldSKY SCRAPER?” Properly a sea term; the light sails which some adventurous skippers set above the royals in calm latitudes are termedSKY-SCRAPERSandMOON-RAKERS.SKY WANNOCKING, unsteady, frolicking.—Norfolk.SLAMMOCK, a slattern or awkward person.—West; andNorf.SLANG, low, vulgar, unwritten, or unauthorised language.Gipsey,SLANG, the secret language of the Gipseys, synonymous withGIBBERISH, another Gipsey word. This word is only to be found in the Dictionaries ofWebsterandOgilvie. It was, perhaps, first recorded byGrose, in hisDictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1785.Slang, since it has been adopted as an English word, generally implies vulgar language not known or recognised asCANT; and latterly, when applied to speech, has superseded the wordFLASH.SLANG, counterfeit or short weights and measures. ASLANGquart is a pint and a half.Slangmeasures are lent out at 2d. per day. The term is used principally by costermongers.SLANG, to cheat, to abuse in foul language.SLANG, a travelling show.SLANG, a watch chain.SLANGY, flashy, vulgar; loud in dress, manner, and conversation.SLANTINGDICULAR, oblique, awry,—as opposed toPERPENDICULAR.SLAP, paint for the face, rouge.SLAP, exactly, precisely; “SLAPin the wind’s eye,”i.e., exactly to windward.SLAP-UP, first-rate, excellent, very good.SLAP-BANG, suddenly, violently.SLAP-BANG SHOPS, low eating houses, where you have to pay down the ready money with aSLAP-BANG.—Grose.SLAP-DASH, immediately, or quickly.SLASH, a pocket in an overcoat.SLASHER, a powerful roisterer, a pugilist; “theTIPTON SLASHER.”SLATE, to pelt with abuse, to beat, to “LICK;” or, in the language of the reviewers, to “cut up.”SLATE, “he has aSLATEloose,”i.e., he is slightly crazy.SLAVEY, a maid servant.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, orSLEWEDman, is supposed to be analogousto that of the ship.SLICK, anAmericanism, very prevalent in England since the publication of Judge Haliburton’s facetious stories. As anadjective,SLICKmeans rapidly, effectually, utterly; as averb, it has the force of “to despatch rapidly,” turn off, get done with a thing.SLICK A DEE, a pocket book.SLING, to pass from one person to another.SLIP, “to give theSLIP,” to run away, or elude pursuit.Shakesperehas “yougave me the counterfeit,” in Romeo and Juliet.Giving the slip, however, is aSea phrase, and refers to fastening an anchor and chain cable to a floating buoy, or water cask, until such a time arrives that is convenient to return and take them on board. In fastening the cable, the home end isslippedthrough the hawse pipe. Weighing anchor is a noisy task, so that giving it theSLIPinfers to leave it in quietness.SLIP, orLET SLIP; “toSLIPinto a man,” to give him a sound beating; “toLET SLIPat a cove,” to rush violently upon him, and assault with vigour.SLOG, orSLOGGER(its original form), to beat, baste, or wallop.German,SCHLAGEN; or, perhaps a vulgar corruption ofSLAUGHTER. The pretendedGreekderivation from σλογω, whichPunchputs in the mouth of the schoolboy, in his impression of 4th May, 1859, is of course only intended to mystify grandmamma, there being no such word in the language.SLOGGERS,i.e.,SLOW-GOERS, the second division of race-boats atCambridge. AtOxfordthey are calledTORPIDS.—Univ.SLOGGING, a good beating.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, byMaydman, in hisNaval Speculations; and byChaucertwo centuries before that. Slops properly signify sailors’ working clothes.SLOP, a policeman. Probably at firstback slang, but now general.SLOPE, to decamp, to run, or ratherslipaway. Originally fromLOPE, to make off; thesprobably became affixed as a portion of the preceding word, as in the case of “let’s lope,” let us run.—Americanism.SLOPS, chests or packages of tea; “he shook a slum ofSLOPS,”i.e., stole a chest of tea.SLOUR, to lock, or fasten.SLOUR’D, buttoned up;SLOUR’D HOXTER, an inside pocket buttoned up.SLOWED, to be locked up—in prison.SLUICERY, a gin shop or public house.SLUM, a letter.SLUM, a chest, or package.—SeeSLOPS.SLUM, gammon; “up toSLUM,” wide awake, knowing,“And this, without moreSLUM, 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 THE GORGER, to cheat on the sly, to be an eye servant.Slumin this sense isold cant.SLUMMING, passing bad money.SLUMS, orBACK SLUMS, dark retreats, low neighbourhoods; “the WestminsterSLUMS,” favourite haunts for thieves.SLUSHY, a ship’s cook.SMACK SMOOTH, even, level with the surface, quickly.SMALL BEER, “he does’t thinkSMALL BEERof himself,”i.e., he has a great opinion of his own importance.Small coalsis also used in the same sense.SMASH, to become bankrupt, or worthless; “to go all toSMASH;” to break, or “go to the dogs.”SMASH, to pass counterfeit money.SMASHER, one who passes bad coin.SMASHFEEDER, a Britannia metal spoon,—the best imitation shillings are made from this metal.SMELLER, a blow on the nose, or aNOSER.SMIGGINS, soup served to convicts on board the hulks.SMISH, a shirt, or chemise. Corruption of theSpan.—SeeMISH.SMITHERS, orSMITHEREENS, “all toSMITHEREENS,” all to smash.Smither, is aLincolnshireword for a fragment.SMOKE, to detect, or penetrate an artifice.SMUDGE, to smear, obliterate, daub. Corruption ofSMUTCH.—Times, 10th August, 1859.SMUG, extremely neat, after the fashion, in order.SMUG, to snatch another’s property and run.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;SMUGGINGabout.”SMUT, a copper boiler. Also, the “blacks” from a furnace.SMUTTY, obscene,—vulgar as applied to conversation.SNACK, booty, or share. Also, a light repast.—Old cant and Gipsey term.SNAFFLED, arrested, “pulled up,”—so termed from a kind of horse’s bit, called aSNAFFLE. InEast Anglia, toSNAFFLEis to talk foolishly.SNAGGLE TEETH, uneven, and unpleasant looking dental operators.—West.Snags(Americanism), ends of sunken drift-wood sticking out of the water, on which river steamers are often wrecked.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.SNAGGY, cross, crotchetty, malicious.SNAM, to snatch, or rob from the person.SNAPPS, share, portion; any articles or circumstances out of which money may be made; “looking out forSNAPPS,” waiting for windfalls, or odd jobs.—Old.Scotch,CHITS,—term also used for “coppers,” or halfpence.SNEAKSMAN, a shoplifter; a petty, cowardly thief.SNEEZER, a snuff box; a pocket-handkerchief.SNEEZE LURKER, a thief who throws snuff in a person’s face and then robs him.SNID, a sixpence.—Scotch.SNIGGER, “I’mSNIGGEREDif you will,” a mild form of swearing. Another form of this isJIGGERED.SNIGGERING, laughing to oneself.—East.SNIP, a tailor.SNIPE, a long bill; also a term for attorneys,—a race remarkable for their propensity to long bills.SNIPES, “a pair ofSNIPES,” a pair of scissors. They are occasionally made in the form of that bird.SNITCHERS, persons who turn queen’s evidence, or who tell tales. InScotland,SNITCHERSsignify handcuffs.SNOB, a low, vulgar, or affected person. Supposed to be from the nickname usually applied to a Crispin, or a maker of shoes; but believed by a writer inNotes and Queriesto be a contraction of theLatin,SINE OBOLO. A more probable derivation, however, has just been forwarded by an ingenious correspondent. He supposes thatNOBS,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 asS. NOB.,i.e.,sine nobilitate, without marks of gentility,—thus reversing its meaning. Another “word-twister” remarks that, as at college sons of nobleman wrote after their names in the admission lists,fil nob., son of a lord, and hence all young noblemen were calledNOBS, and what they didNOBBY, so those who imitated them would be calledquasi-nobs, “like a nob,” which by a process of contraction would be shortened tosi-nob, and thenSNOB, one who pretends to be what he is not, and apes his betters. The short and expressive terms which many think fitly represent the three great estates of the realm,NOB,SNOB, andMOB, 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.SNOBBISH, stuck up, proud, make believe.SNOB-STICK, a workman who refuses to join in strikes, or trade unions. Query, properlyKNOB-STICK.SNOOKS, an imaginary personage often brought forward as the answer to an idle question, or as the perpetrator of a senseless joke.SNOOZE, orSNOODGE(vulgar pronunciation), to sleep or doze.SNOT, a term of reproach applied to persons by the vulgar when vexed or annoyed. In a Westminster school vocabulary for boys, published in the last century, the term iscuriously applied. Its proper meaning is the glandular mucus discharged through the nose.SNOTTER, orWIPE-HAULER, a pickpocket who commits great depredations upon gentlemen’s pocket-handkerchiefs.—North.SNOTTINGER, a coarse word for a pocket-handkerchief. The Germanschnupftuchis, however, nearly as plain. A handkerchief was also anciently called aMUCKINGER, orMUCKENDER.SNOTS, small bream, a slimy kind of flat fish.—Norwich.SNOW, wet linen.SNOW GATHERERS, orSNOW-DROPPERS, rogues who steal linen from hedges and drying grounds.SNUFF, “up toSNUFF,” knowing and sharp; “to takeSNUFF,” to be offended.ShakespereusesSNUFFin the sense of anger, or passion.Snuffy, tipsy.SNYDER, a tailor.German,SCHNEIDER.SOAP, flattery.—SeeSOFT SOAP.SOFT, foolish, inexperienced. An old term for bank notes.SOFT-SOAP, orSOFT-SAWDER, flattery, ironical praise.SOFT TACK, bread.—Sea.SOLD, “SOLDagain! and the money taken,” gulled, deceived.—VideSELL.SOLD UP, orOUT, broken down, bankrupt.SOLDIER, a red herring.SON OF A GUN, a contemptuous title for a man. In the army it is sometimes applied to an artilleryman.SOOT BAG, a reticule.SOP, a soft or foolish man. Abbreviation ofMILKSOP.SOPH (abbreviation ofSOPHISTER), a title peculiar to the University ofCambridge. Undergraduates arejuniorSOPHSbefore passing their “Little Go,” or first University examination,—seniorSOPHSafter that.SOUND, to pump, or draw information from a person in an artful manner.SOW, the receptacle into which the liquid iron is poured in a gun-foundry. The melted metal poured from it is termedPIG.—Workmen’s terms.SOW’S BABY, a pig; sixpence.SPANK, a smack, or hard slap.SPANK, to move along quickly; hence a fast horse or vessel is said to be “aSPANKERto go.”SPANKING, large, fine, or strong;e.g., aSPANKINGpace, aSPANKINGbreeze, aSPANKINGfellow.SPECKS, damaged oranges.SPEEL, to run away, make off; “SPEELthe drum,” to go off with stolen property.—North.SPELL, “toSPELLfor a thing,” hanker after it, intimate a desire to possess it.SPELLKEN, orSPEELKEN, a playhouse.German,SPIELEN.—SeeKEN.—Don Juan.SPICK AND SPAN, applied to anything that is quite new and fresh.—Hudibras.SPIFFED, slightly intoxicated.—Scotch slang.SPIFFS, the percentage 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.SPIFLICATE, to confound, silence, or thrash.SPILT, thrown from a horse or chaise.—SeePURL.SPIN, to reject from an examination.—Army.SPIN-EM-ROUNDS, a street game consisting of a piece of brass, wood, or iron, balanced on a pin, and turned quickly around 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 compass, and was formerly the gambling accompaniment of London piemen. The apparatus then was erected on the tin lids of their pie cans, and the bets were ostensibly for pies, but more frequently for “coppers,” when no policeman frowned upon the scene, and when two or three apprentices or porters happened to meet.SPINIKEN, a workhouse.SPIRT, orSPURT, “to put on aSPIRT,” to make an increased exertion for a brief space, to attain one’s end; a nervous effort.SPITFIRE, a passionate person.SPLENDIFEROUS, sumptuous, first-rate.SPLICE, to marry; “and the two shall become one flesh.”—Sea.SPLICE THE MAIN BRACE, to take a drink.—Sea.SPLIT, to inform against one’s companions, to tell tales. “ToSPLITwith a person,” to cease acquaintanceship, to quarrel.SPLODGER, a lout, an awkward countryman.SPOFFY, a bustling busy-body is said to beSPOFFY.SPONGE, “to throw up theSPONGE,” to submit, give over the struggle,—from the practice of throwing up theSPONGEused to cleanse the combatants’ faces, at a prize fight, as a signal that the “mill” is concluded.SPOON, synonymous withSPOONEY. ASPOONhas been defined to be “a thing that touches a lady’s lips without kissing them.”SPOONEY, a weak-minded and foolish person, effeminate or fond; “to beSPOONEYon a girl,” to be foolishly attached to one.SPOONS, “when I wasSPOONSwith you,”i.e., when young, and in our courting days before marriage.—Charles Mathews, in the farce ofEverybody’s Friend.SPORT, to exhibit, to wear, &c.,—a word which is made to do duty in a variety of senses, especially at the University.See the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam.“ToSPORTa new tile;” “toSPORTanÆgrotat” (i.e., a permission from the “Dons” to abstain from lectures, &c., on account of illness); “toSPORT ONE’S OAK,” to shut the outer door and exclude the public,—especiallyduns, and boring acquaintances. Common also in the Inns of Court.—See Notes and Queries, 2nd series, vol. viii., p. 492, andGentleman’s Magazine, December, 1794.SPORTING DOOR, the outer door of chambers, also called theOAK.—SeeunderSPORT.—University.SPOTTED, to be known or marked by the police.SPOUT, “up theSPOUT,” at the pawnbroker’s;SPOUTING, pawning.—SeePOPfor origin.SPOUT, to preach, or make speeches;SPOUTER, a preacher or lecturer.SPRAT, sixpence.SPREAD, butter.SPREAD, a lady’s shawl.Spread, at theEastend of London, a feast, or aTIGHTENER; at theWestend a fashionable reunion, an entertainment, display of good things.SPREE, a boisterous piece of merriment; “going on theSPREE,” starting out with intent to have a frolic.French,ESPRIT. In theDutchlanguage,SPREEUWis 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 beSPRUNG-UP, or “blown together.”SPRY, active, strong, manly.—Americanism.SPUDDY, a seller of bad potatoes. InScotland, aSPUDis a raw potato; and roastedSPUDSare those cooked in the cinders with their jackets on.SPUNGING-HOUSE, the sheriff’s officer’s house, where prisoners, when arrested for debt, are sometimes taken. As extortionate charges are made there for accommodation, the name is far from inappropriate.SPUNK, spirit,fire, courage, mettle.“In that snug room, where any man ofSPUNKWould find it a hard matter to get drunk.”Peter Pindar, i., 245.Common inAmerica. For derivation see the following.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.”SPUNK-FENCER, a lucifer match seller.SQUABBY, flat, short and thick.SQUARE, honest; “on theSQUARE,”i.e., fair and strictly honest; “to turnSQUARE,” to reform, and get one’s living in an honest manner,—the opposite ofCROSS.SQUARE, “to beSQUAREwith a man,” to beevenwith him, or to be revenged; “toSQUAREup to a man,” to offer to fight him.ShakespereusesSQUAREin the sense of to quarrel.SQUARE COVE, an honest man.SQUARE MOLL, an honest woman.SQUARE RIGGED, well dressed.—Sea.SQUARING HIS NIBS, giving a policeman money.SQUEEZE, silk.SQUIB, a temporaryjeu d’esprit, which, like the firework of that denomination, sparkles, bounces, stinks, and vanishes.—Grose.SQUINNY-EYED, squinting.—Shakespere.SQUIRT, a doctor, or chemist.STAFF NAKED, gin.STAG, a shilling.STAG, a term applied during the railway mania to a speculator without capital, who took “scrip” in “Diddlesex Junction,” and other lines,ejus et sui generis, got the shares up to a premium, and then sold out.Punchrepresented the house of Hudson, “the Railway King,” at Albert Gate, with aSTAGon it, in allusion to this term.STAG, to demand money, to “cadge.”STAG, to see, discover, or watch,—like aSTAGat gaze; “STAGthe push,” look at the crowd. Also, to dun, or demand payment.STAGGER, one who looks out, or watches.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.STALE, to evacuate urine.—Stable term.STALL, to lodge, or put up at a public house. Also, to act a part.—Theatrical.STALL, orSTALL OFF, a dodge, a blind, or an excuse.Stallisancient cant.STALL OFF, to blind, excuse, hide, to screen a robbery during the perpetration 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, an accomplice.STAMPERS, shoes.—Ancient cant.STAND, “toSTANDtreat,” to pay for a friend’s entertainment; to bear expense; to put up with treatment, good or ill; “this houseSTOODme in £1,000,”i.e., cost that sum; “toSTAND PAD,” to beg on the curb with a small piece of paper pinned on the breast, inscribed “I’m starving.”STANDING, the position at a street corner, or on the curb of a market street, regularly occupied by a costermonger, or street seller.STANDING PATTERERS, men who take a stand on the curb of a public thoroughfare, and deliver prepared speeches to effect a sale of any articles they have to vend.—SeePATTERER.STANGEY, a tailor; a person under petticoat government,—derived from the custom of “riding theSTANG,” mentioned in Hudibras:—

“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 aSHAVEon’t.”The Private Tutor.

“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 aSHAVEon’t.”The Private Tutor.

“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 aSHAVEon’t.”

The Private Tutor.

SHAVER, a sharp fellow; “a young” or “oldSHAVER,” a boy or man.—Sea.

SHEEN, bad money.—Scotch.

SHEEP’S EYES, “to makeSHEEP’S EYESat a person,” to cast amorous glances towards one on the sly:—

“But he, the beast, was castingSHEEP’S EYESat her,Out of his bullock head.”Colman, Broad Grins, p. 57.

“But he, the beast, was castingSHEEP’S EYESat her,Out of his bullock head.”Colman, Broad Grins, p. 57.

“But he, the beast, was castingSHEEP’S EYESat her,

Out of his bullock head.”

Colman, Broad Grins, p. 57.

SHEEP’S FOOT, an iron hammer used in a printing office, the end of the handle being made like a sheep’s foot.

SHELF, “on theSHELF,” not yet disposed of; young ladies are said to be so situated when they cannot meet with a husband; “on theSHELF,” pawned.

SHELL OUT, to pay or count out money.

SHICE, nothing; “to do anything forSHICE,” to get no payment. The term was first used by the Jews in the lastcentury.Grosegives the phraseCHICE-AM-A-TRICE, which has a synonymous meaning.Spanish,CHICO, little;Anglo Saxon,CHICHE, niggardly.

SHICER, a mean man, a humbug, a “duffer,”—a person who is either worthless or will not work.

SHICKERY, shabby, bad.

SHICKSTER; a prostitute, a lady.—SeeSHAKESTER.

SHILLY SHALLY, to trifle or fritter away time; irresolute. Corruption ofShall I, shall I?

SHINDY, a row, or noise.

SHINE, a row, or disturbance.

SHINE, “to take theSHINEout of a person,” to surpass or excel him.

SHINER, a looking-glass.

SHINERS, sovereigns, or money.

SHINEY RAG, “to win theSHINEY RAG,” to be ruined,—said in gambling, when any one continues betting after “luck has set in against him.”

SHIP-SHAPE, proper, in good order; sometimes the phrase is varied to “SHIP-SHAPEandBristolfashion.”—Sea.

SHIRTY, ill-tempered, or cross. When one person makes another in an ill humour he is said to have “got hisSHIRTout.”

SHITTEN-SATURDAY (corruption ofSHUT-IN-SATURDAY), the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, when our Lord’s body was enclosed in the tomb.

SHIVERING JEMMY, the name given by street folk to any cadger who exposes himself, half naked, on a cold day, to excite pity and procure alms. The “game” is unpleasant, but exceedingly lucrative.

SHODDY, old cloth worked up into new; also, a term of derision applied to workmen in woollen factories.—Yorkshire.

SHOE, to free, or initiate a person,—a practice common in most trades to a new comer. TheSHOEINGconsists in paying for beer, or other drink, which is drunk by the older hands. The cans emptied, and the bill paid, the stranger is considered properlySHOD.

SHOE LEATHER! a thief’s warning cry, when he hears footsteps. This exclamation is used in the same spirit as Bruce’s friend, who, when he suspected treachery towards him at King Edward’s court, in 1306, sent him a purse and a pairof spurs, as a sign that he should use them in making his escape.

SHOES, “to die in one’sSHOES,” to be hung.

SHOOL, to saunter idly, become a vagabond, beg rather than work.—Smollett’s Roderick Random, vol. i., p. 262.

SHOOT THE CAT, to vomit.

SHOOT THE MOON, to remove furniture from a house in the night, without paying the landlord.

SHOOT WITH THE LONG BOW, to tell lies, to exaggerate. Synonymous withTHROWING THE HATCHET.

SHOP BOUNCER, orSHOP LIFTER, a person generally respectably attired, who, while being served with a small article at a shop, steals one of more value.Shakesperehas the wordLIFTER, a thief.

SHOPPING, purchasing at shops. Termed byTodda slang word, but used byCowperandByron.

SHORT, when spirit is drunk without any admixture of water, it is said to be taken “short;” “summatSHORT,” 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 in notes? Should it be desired to receive it in as small a compass as possible, the answer is, “SHORT.”

SHORT COMMONS, short allowance of food.—SeeCOMMONS.

SHOT, from the modern sense of the word toSHOOT,—a guess, a random conjecture; “to make a badSHOT,” to expose one’s ignorance by making a wrong guess, or random answer without knowing whether it is right or wrong.

SHOT, from the onceEnglish, but now provincial word, toSHOOT, to subscribe, contribute in fair proportion;—a share, the same asSCOT, both being from theAnglo Saxonword,SCEAT; “to pay one’sSHOT,”i.e., share of the reckoning, &c.

SHOT, “I wish I may beSHOT, if,” &c., a common form of mild swearing.

SHOVE-HALFPENNY, a gambling street game.

SHOWFULL, orSCHOFELL, a Hansom cab,—said to have been from the name of the inventor.—Led de hor qu.

SHOW-FULL, orSCHOFUL, bad money.Mayhewthinks this word is from theDanish,SKUFFE, to shove, to deceive, cheat;Saxon,SCUFAN,—whence theEnglish,SHOVE. The term, however, is possibly one of the many street words from theHebrew(through the low Jews);SHEPHEL, in that language,signifying alowor debased estate.Chaldee,SHAPHAL.—SeePsalm cxxxvi. 23, “in ourlow estate.” A correspondent suggests another very probable derivation, from theGerman,SCHOFEL, trash, rubbish,—theGermanadjective,SCHOFELIG, being the nearest possible translation of ourshabby.

SHOWFULL-PITCHER, a passer of counterfeit money.

SHOWFULL PITCHING, passing bad money.

SHOWFULL PULLET, a “gay” woman.

SHRIMP, a diminutive person.—Chaucer.

SHUNT, to throw or turn aside.—Railway term.

SHUT OF, orSHOT OF, rid of.

SHUT UP! be quiet, don’t make a noise; to stop short, to make cease in a summary manner, to silence effectually. “Only the other day we heard of a preacher who, speaking of the scene with the doctors in the Temple, remarked that the Divine disputant completelySHUT THEM UP!”—Athen.30th July, 1859.Shut up, utterly exhausted, done for.

SHY, a throw.

SHY, “to fightSHYof a person,” to avoid his society either from dislike, fear, or any other reason.SHYhas also the sense of flighty, unsteady, untrustworthy.

SHY, to fling;COCK-SHY, a game at fairs, consisting of throwing short sticks at trinkets set upon other sticks,—both name and practice derived from the old game of throwing orSHYINGat live cocks.

SICES, orSIZES, a throw ofsixesat dice.

SICK AS A HORSE, popular simile,—curious, because a horse never vomits.

SICKNER, orSICKENER, a dose too much of anything.

SIDE BOARDS, orSTICK-UPS, shirt collars.

SIGHT, “to take aSIGHTat a person,” a vulgar action employed by street boys to denote incredulity, or contempt for authority, by placing the thumb against the nose and closing all the fingers except the little one, which is agitated in token of derision.—SeeWALKER.

SIM, one of a Methodistical turn in religion; a low-church-man; originally a follower of the late Rev. Charles Simeon.—Cambridge.

SIMON, a sixpenny piece.

SIMON PURE, “the realSIMON PURE,” the genuine article.Those who have witnessed Mr. C. Mathews’ performance in Mrs. Centlivre’s admirable comedy ofA Bold Stroke for a Wife, and the laughable coolness with which he, thefalseSIMON PURE, assuming the quaker dress and character of theREAL ONE, elbowed that worthy out of his expected entertainment, will at once perceive the origin of this phrase.—Seeact v., scene 1.

SING OUT, to call aloud.—Sea.

SING SMALL, to lessen one’s boasting, and turn arrogance into humility.

SINKERS, bad money.

SINKS, a throw of fives at dice.French,CINQS.

SIR HARRY, a close stool.

SISERARA, a hard blow.—Suffolk.Moor derives it from the story of Sisera in the Old Testament, but it is more probably a corruption ofCERTIORARI, 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.

SITTING PAD, sitting on the pavement in a begging position.

SIT-UPONS, trousers.—SeeINEXPRESSIBLES.

SIVVY, “’pon mySIVVY,”i.e., upon my soul or honour. Corruption ofasseveration, likeDAVY, which is an abridgment ofaffidavit.

SIXES AND SEVENS, articles in confusion are said to be allSIXESandSEVENS. The Deity is mentioned in the Towneley Mysteries as He that “sett all on seven,”i.e., set or appointed everything in seven days. A similar phrase at this early date implied confusion and disorder, and from these,Halliwellthinks, has been derived the phrase “to be atSIXES 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 beSIXES AND SEVENS, because those numbers are the sizes most generally used, and in the course of manufacture have frequently to be distinguished.

SIXTY, “to go along likeSIXTY,”i.e., at a good rate, briskly.

SIZE, to order extras over and above the usual commons at the dinner in college halls. Soup, pastry, &c., areSIZINGS, and arepaid for at a certain specified rateperSIZE, or portion, to the college cook.—Peculiar to Cambridge.Minsheusays, “SIZE, a farthing which schollers in Cambridge have at the buttery, noted with the letters.”

SIZERS, orSIZARS, are certain poor scholars at Cambridge, annually elected, who get their dinners (includingsizings) from what is left at the upper, or Fellows’ table, free, or nearly so. They pay rent of rooms, and some other fees, on a lower scale than the “Pensioners” or ordinary students, and answer to the “battlers” and “servitors” at Oxford.

SIZINGS,seeSIZE.

SKATES LURK, a begging impostor dressed as a sailor.

SKID, a sovereign. Fashionable slang.

SKIE, to throw upwards, to toss “coppers.”—SeeODD MAN.

SKILLY, broth served on board the hulks to convicts.—Linc.

SKILLIGOLEE, prison gruel, also sailors’ soup of many ingredients.

SKIN, a purse.

SKIN, to abate, or lower the value of anything; “thinSKINNED,” sensitive, touchy.

SKIN-FLINT, an old popular simile for a “close-fisted,” stingy person.

SKIPPER, the master of a vessel.Dutch,SCHIFFER, fromschiffa ship; sometimes used synonymous with “Governor.”

SKIPPER, a barn.—Ancient cant.

SKIPPER IT, to sleep in the open air, or in a rough way.

SKIPPER-BIRDS, orKEYHOLE WHISTLERS, persons who sleep in barns or outhouses in preference to lodging-houses.

SKIT, a joke, a squib.

SKITTLES, a game similar to Ten Pins, which, when interdicted by the Government was altered to Nine Pins, orSKITTLES. They are set up in an alley and arethrown at(not bowled) with a round piece of hard wood, shaped like a small flat cheese. The costers consider themselves the best players in London.

SKROUGE, to push or squeeze.—North.

SKULL-THATCHERS, straw bonnet makers,—sometimes called “bonnet-BUILDERS.”

SKY, a disagreeable person, an enemy.—Westminster School.

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 skimmed—SKY-BLUE.”Bloomfield’s Farmer’s Boy.

“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 skimmed—SKY-BLUE.”Bloomfield’s Farmer’s Boy.

“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 skimmed—SKY-BLUE.”

Bloomfield’s Farmer’s Boy.

Sky-blueformerly meant gin.

SKY-LARK.—SeeLARK.

SKY PARLOUR, the garret.

SKY SCRAPER, a tall man; “are you cold up there, oldSKY SCRAPER?” Properly a sea term; the light sails which some adventurous skippers set above the royals in calm latitudes are termedSKY-SCRAPERSandMOON-RAKERS.

SKY WANNOCKING, unsteady, frolicking.—Norfolk.

SLAMMOCK, a slattern or awkward person.—West; andNorf.

SLANG, low, vulgar, unwritten, or unauthorised language.Gipsey,SLANG, the secret language of the Gipseys, synonymous withGIBBERISH, another Gipsey word. This word is only to be found in the Dictionaries ofWebsterandOgilvie. It was, perhaps, first recorded byGrose, in hisDictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1785.Slang, since it has been adopted as an English word, generally implies vulgar language not known or recognised asCANT; and latterly, when applied to speech, has superseded the wordFLASH.

SLANG, counterfeit or short weights and measures. ASLANGquart is a pint and a half.Slangmeasures are lent out at 2d. per day. The term is used principally by costermongers.

SLANG, to cheat, to abuse in foul language.

SLANG, a travelling show.

SLANG, a watch chain.

SLANGY, flashy, vulgar; loud in dress, manner, and conversation.

SLANTINGDICULAR, oblique, awry,—as opposed toPERPENDICULAR.

SLAP, paint for the face, rouge.

SLAP, exactly, precisely; “SLAPin the wind’s eye,”i.e., exactly to windward.

SLAP-UP, first-rate, excellent, very good.

SLAP-BANG, suddenly, violently.

SLAP-BANG SHOPS, low eating houses, where you have to pay down the ready money with aSLAP-BANG.—Grose.

SLAP-DASH, immediately, or quickly.

SLASH, a pocket in an overcoat.

SLASHER, a powerful roisterer, a pugilist; “theTIPTON SLASHER.”

SLATE, to pelt with abuse, to beat, to “LICK;” or, in the language of the reviewers, to “cut up.”

SLATE, “he has aSLATEloose,”i.e., he is slightly crazy.

SLAVEY, a maid servant.

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, orSLEWEDman, is supposed to be analogousto that of the ship.

SLICK, anAmericanism, very prevalent in England since the publication of Judge Haliburton’s facetious stories. As anadjective,SLICKmeans rapidly, effectually, utterly; as averb, it has the force of “to despatch rapidly,” turn off, get done with a thing.

SLICK A DEE, a pocket book.

SLING, to pass from one person to another.

SLIP, “to give theSLIP,” to run away, or elude pursuit.Shakesperehas “yougave me the counterfeit,” in Romeo and Juliet.Giving the slip, however, is aSea phrase, and refers to fastening an anchor and chain cable to a floating buoy, or water cask, until such a time arrives that is convenient to return and take them on board. In fastening the cable, the home end isslippedthrough the hawse pipe. Weighing anchor is a noisy task, so that giving it theSLIPinfers to leave it in quietness.

SLIP, orLET SLIP; “toSLIPinto a man,” to give him a sound beating; “toLET SLIPat a cove,” to rush violently upon him, and assault with vigour.

SLOG, orSLOGGER(its original form), to beat, baste, or wallop.German,SCHLAGEN; or, perhaps a vulgar corruption ofSLAUGHTER. The pretendedGreekderivation from σλογω, whichPunchputs in the mouth of the schoolboy, in his impression of 4th May, 1859, is of course only intended to mystify grandmamma, there being no such word in the language.

SLOGGERS,i.e.,SLOW-GOERS, the second division of race-boats atCambridge. AtOxfordthey are calledTORPIDS.—Univ.

SLOGGING, a good beating.

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, byMaydman, in hisNaval Speculations; and byChaucertwo centuries before that. Slops properly signify sailors’ working clothes.

SLOP, a policeman. Probably at firstback slang, but now general.

SLOPE, to decamp, to run, or ratherslipaway. Originally fromLOPE, to make off; thesprobably became affixed as a portion of the preceding word, as in the case of “let’s lope,” let us run.—Americanism.

SLOPS, chests or packages of tea; “he shook a slum ofSLOPS,”i.e., stole a chest of tea.

SLOUR, to lock, or fasten.

SLOUR’D, buttoned up;SLOUR’D HOXTER, an inside pocket buttoned up.

SLOWED, to be locked up—in prison.

SLUICERY, a gin shop or public house.

SLUM, a letter.

SLUM, a chest, or package.—SeeSLOPS.

SLUM, gammon; “up toSLUM,” wide awake, knowing,

“And this, without moreSLUM, began,Over a flowing Pot-house can,To settle, without botheration,The rigs of this here tip-top nation.”Jack Randall’s Diary, 1820.

“And this, without moreSLUM, began,Over a flowing Pot-house can,To settle, without botheration,The rigs of this here tip-top nation.”Jack Randall’s Diary, 1820.

“And this, without moreSLUM, 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 THE GORGER, to cheat on the sly, to be an eye servant.Slumin this sense isold cant.

SLUMMING, passing bad money.

SLUMS, orBACK SLUMS, dark retreats, low neighbourhoods; “the WestminsterSLUMS,” favourite haunts for thieves.

SLUSHY, a ship’s cook.

SMACK SMOOTH, even, level with the surface, quickly.

SMALL BEER, “he does’t thinkSMALL BEERof himself,”i.e., he has a great opinion of his own importance.Small coalsis also used in the same sense.

SMASH, to become bankrupt, or worthless; “to go all toSMASH;” to break, or “go to the dogs.”

SMASH, to pass counterfeit money.

SMASHER, one who passes bad coin.

SMASHFEEDER, a Britannia metal spoon,—the best imitation shillings are made from this metal.

SMELLER, a blow on the nose, or aNOSER.

SMIGGINS, soup served to convicts on board the hulks.

SMISH, a shirt, or chemise. Corruption of theSpan.—SeeMISH.

SMITHERS, orSMITHEREENS, “all toSMITHEREENS,” all to smash.Smither, is aLincolnshireword for a fragment.

SMOKE, to detect, or penetrate an artifice.

SMUDGE, to smear, obliterate, daub. Corruption ofSMUTCH.—Times, 10th August, 1859.

SMUG, extremely neat, after the fashion, in order.

SMUG, to snatch another’s property and run.

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;SMUGGINGabout.”

“Tops are in; spin ’em agin.Tops are out;SMUGGINGabout.”

“Tops are in; spin ’em agin.

Tops are out;SMUGGINGabout.”

SMUT, a copper boiler. Also, the “blacks” from a furnace.

SMUTTY, obscene,—vulgar as applied to conversation.

SNACK, booty, or share. Also, a light repast.—Old cant and Gipsey term.

SNAFFLED, arrested, “pulled up,”—so termed from a kind of horse’s bit, called aSNAFFLE. InEast Anglia, toSNAFFLEis to talk foolishly.

SNAGGLE TEETH, uneven, and unpleasant looking dental operators.—West.Snags(Americanism), ends of sunken drift-wood sticking out of the water, on which river steamers are often wrecked.

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.

SNAGGY, cross, crotchetty, malicious.

SNAM, to snatch, or rob from the person.

SNAPPS, share, portion; any articles or circumstances out of which money may be made; “looking out forSNAPPS,” waiting for windfalls, or odd jobs.—Old.Scotch,CHITS,—term also used for “coppers,” or halfpence.

SNEAKSMAN, a shoplifter; a petty, cowardly thief.

SNEEZER, a snuff box; a pocket-handkerchief.

SNEEZE LURKER, a thief who throws snuff in a person’s face and then robs him.

SNID, a sixpence.—Scotch.

SNIGGER, “I’mSNIGGEREDif you will,” a mild form of swearing. Another form of this isJIGGERED.

SNIGGERING, laughing to oneself.—East.

SNIP, a tailor.

SNIPE, a long bill; also a term for attorneys,—a race remarkable for their propensity to long bills.

SNIPES, “a pair ofSNIPES,” a pair of scissors. They are occasionally made in the form of that bird.

SNITCHERS, persons who turn queen’s evidence, or who tell tales. InScotland,SNITCHERSsignify handcuffs.

SNOB, a low, vulgar, or affected person. Supposed to be from the nickname usually applied to a Crispin, or a maker of shoes; but believed by a writer inNotes and Queriesto be a contraction of theLatin,SINE OBOLO. A more probable derivation, however, has just been forwarded by an ingenious correspondent. He supposes thatNOBS,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 asS. NOB.,i.e.,sine nobilitate, without marks of gentility,—thus reversing its meaning. Another “word-twister” remarks that, as at college sons of nobleman wrote after their names in the admission lists,fil nob., son of a lord, and hence all young noblemen were calledNOBS, and what they didNOBBY, so those who imitated them would be calledquasi-nobs, “like a nob,” which by a process of contraction would be shortened tosi-nob, and thenSNOB, one who pretends to be what he is not, and apes his betters. The short and expressive terms which many think fitly represent the three great estates of the realm,NOB,SNOB, andMOB, 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.

SNOBBISH, stuck up, proud, make believe.

SNOB-STICK, a workman who refuses to join in strikes, or trade unions. Query, properlyKNOB-STICK.

SNOOKS, an imaginary personage often brought forward as the answer to an idle question, or as the perpetrator of a senseless joke.

SNOOZE, orSNOODGE(vulgar pronunciation), to sleep or doze.

SNOT, a term of reproach applied to persons by the vulgar when vexed or annoyed. In a Westminster school vocabulary for boys, published in the last century, the term iscuriously applied. Its proper meaning is the glandular mucus discharged through the nose.

SNOTTER, orWIPE-HAULER, a pickpocket who commits great depredations upon gentlemen’s pocket-handkerchiefs.—North.

SNOTTINGER, a coarse word for a pocket-handkerchief. The Germanschnupftuchis, however, nearly as plain. A handkerchief was also anciently called aMUCKINGER, orMUCKENDER.

SNOTS, small bream, a slimy kind of flat fish.—Norwich.

SNOW, wet linen.

SNOW GATHERERS, orSNOW-DROPPERS, rogues who steal linen from hedges and drying grounds.

SNUFF, “up toSNUFF,” knowing and sharp; “to takeSNUFF,” to be offended.ShakespereusesSNUFFin the sense of anger, or passion.Snuffy, tipsy.

SNYDER, a tailor.German,SCHNEIDER.

SOAP, flattery.—SeeSOFT SOAP.

SOFT, foolish, inexperienced. An old term for bank notes.

SOFT-SOAP, orSOFT-SAWDER, flattery, ironical praise.

SOFT TACK, bread.—Sea.

SOLD, “SOLDagain! and the money taken,” gulled, deceived.—VideSELL.

SOLD UP, orOUT, broken down, bankrupt.

SOLDIER, a red herring.

SON OF A GUN, a contemptuous title for a man. In the army it is sometimes applied to an artilleryman.

SOOT BAG, a reticule.

SOP, a soft or foolish man. Abbreviation ofMILKSOP.

SOPH (abbreviation ofSOPHISTER), a title peculiar to the University ofCambridge. Undergraduates arejuniorSOPHSbefore passing their “Little Go,” or first University examination,—seniorSOPHSafter that.

SOUND, to pump, or draw information from a person in an artful manner.

SOW, the receptacle into which the liquid iron is poured in a gun-foundry. The melted metal poured from it is termedPIG.—Workmen’s terms.

SOW’S BABY, a pig; sixpence.

SPANK, a smack, or hard slap.

SPANK, to move along quickly; hence a fast horse or vessel is said to be “aSPANKERto go.”

SPANKING, large, fine, or strong;e.g., aSPANKINGpace, aSPANKINGbreeze, aSPANKINGfellow.

SPECKS, damaged oranges.

SPEEL, to run away, make off; “SPEELthe drum,” to go off with stolen property.—North.

SPELL, “toSPELLfor a thing,” hanker after it, intimate a desire to possess it.

SPELLKEN, orSPEELKEN, a playhouse.German,SPIELEN.—SeeKEN.—Don Juan.

SPICK AND SPAN, applied to anything that is quite new and fresh.—Hudibras.

SPIFFED, slightly intoxicated.—Scotch slang.

SPIFFS, the percentage 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.

SPIFLICATE, to confound, silence, or thrash.

SPILT, thrown from a horse or chaise.—SeePURL.

SPIN, to reject from an examination.—Army.

SPIN-EM-ROUNDS, a street game consisting of a piece of brass, wood, or iron, balanced on a pin, and turned quickly around 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 compass, and was formerly the gambling accompaniment of London piemen. The apparatus then was erected on the tin lids of their pie cans, and the bets were ostensibly for pies, but more frequently for “coppers,” when no policeman frowned upon the scene, and when two or three apprentices or porters happened to meet.

SPINIKEN, a workhouse.

SPIRT, orSPURT, “to put on aSPIRT,” to make an increased exertion for a brief space, to attain one’s end; a nervous effort.

SPITFIRE, a passionate person.

SPLENDIFEROUS, sumptuous, first-rate.

SPLICE, to marry; “and the two shall become one flesh.”—Sea.

SPLICE THE MAIN BRACE, to take a drink.—Sea.

SPLIT, to inform against one’s companions, to tell tales. “ToSPLITwith a person,” to cease acquaintanceship, to quarrel.

SPLODGER, a lout, an awkward countryman.

SPOFFY, a bustling busy-body is said to beSPOFFY.

SPONGE, “to throw up theSPONGE,” to submit, give over the struggle,—from the practice of throwing up theSPONGEused to cleanse the combatants’ faces, at a prize fight, as a signal that the “mill” is concluded.

SPOON, synonymous withSPOONEY. ASPOONhas been defined to be “a thing that touches a lady’s lips without kissing them.”

SPOONEY, a weak-minded and foolish person, effeminate or fond; “to beSPOONEYon a girl,” to be foolishly attached to one.

SPOONS, “when I wasSPOONSwith you,”i.e., when young, and in our courting days before marriage.—Charles Mathews, in the farce ofEverybody’s Friend.

SPORT, to exhibit, to wear, &c.,—a word which is made to do duty in a variety of senses, especially at the University.See the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam.“ToSPORTa new tile;” “toSPORTanÆgrotat” (i.e., a permission from the “Dons” to abstain from lectures, &c., on account of illness); “toSPORT ONE’S OAK,” to shut the outer door and exclude the public,—especiallyduns, and boring acquaintances. Common also in the Inns of Court.—See Notes and Queries, 2nd series, vol. viii., p. 492, andGentleman’s Magazine, December, 1794.

SPORTING DOOR, the outer door of chambers, also called theOAK.—SeeunderSPORT.—University.

SPOTTED, to be known or marked by the police.

SPOUT, “up theSPOUT,” at the pawnbroker’s;SPOUTING, pawning.—SeePOPfor origin.

SPOUT, to preach, or make speeches;SPOUTER, a preacher or lecturer.

SPRAT, sixpence.

SPREAD, butter.

SPREAD, a lady’s shawl.Spread, at theEastend of London, a feast, or aTIGHTENER; at theWestend a fashionable reunion, an entertainment, display of good things.

SPREE, a boisterous piece of merriment; “going on theSPREE,” starting out with intent to have a frolic.French,ESPRIT. In theDutchlanguage,SPREEUWis 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 beSPRUNG-UP, or “blown together.”

SPRY, active, strong, manly.—Americanism.

SPUDDY, a seller of bad potatoes. InScotland, aSPUDis a raw potato; and roastedSPUDSare those cooked in the cinders with their jackets on.

SPUNGING-HOUSE, the sheriff’s officer’s house, where prisoners, when arrested for debt, are sometimes taken. As extortionate charges are made there for accommodation, the name is far from inappropriate.

SPUNK, spirit,fire, courage, mettle.

“In that snug room, where any man ofSPUNKWould find it a hard matter to get drunk.”Peter Pindar, i., 245.

“In that snug room, where any man ofSPUNKWould find it a hard matter to get drunk.”Peter Pindar, i., 245.

“In that snug room, where any man ofSPUNK

Would find it a hard matter to get drunk.”

Peter Pindar, i., 245.

Common inAmerica. For derivation see the following.

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.”

SPUNK-FENCER, a lucifer match seller.

SQUABBY, flat, short and thick.

SQUARE, honest; “on theSQUARE,”i.e., fair and strictly honest; “to turnSQUARE,” to reform, and get one’s living in an honest manner,—the opposite ofCROSS.

SQUARE, “to beSQUAREwith a man,” to beevenwith him, or to be revenged; “toSQUAREup to a man,” to offer to fight him.ShakespereusesSQUAREin the sense of to quarrel.

SQUARE COVE, an honest man.

SQUARE MOLL, an honest woman.

SQUARE RIGGED, well dressed.—Sea.

SQUARING HIS NIBS, giving a policeman money.

SQUEEZE, silk.

SQUIB, a temporaryjeu d’esprit, which, like the firework of that denomination, sparkles, bounces, stinks, and vanishes.—Grose.

SQUINNY-EYED, squinting.—Shakespere.

SQUIRT, a doctor, or chemist.

STAFF NAKED, gin.

STAG, a shilling.

STAG, a term applied during the railway mania to a speculator without capital, who took “scrip” in “Diddlesex Junction,” and other lines,ejus et sui generis, got the shares up to a premium, and then sold out.Punchrepresented the house of Hudson, “the Railway King,” at Albert Gate, with aSTAGon it, in allusion to this term.

STAG, to demand money, to “cadge.”

STAG, to see, discover, or watch,—like aSTAGat gaze; “STAGthe push,” look at the crowd. Also, to dun, or demand payment.

STAGGER, one who looks out, or watches.

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.

STALE, to evacuate urine.—Stable term.

STALL, to lodge, or put up at a public house. Also, to act a part.—Theatrical.

STALL, orSTALL OFF, a dodge, a blind, or an excuse.Stallisancient cant.

STALL OFF, to blind, excuse, hide, to screen a robbery during the perpetration 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, an accomplice.

STAMPERS, shoes.—Ancient cant.

STAND, “toSTANDtreat,” to pay for a friend’s entertainment; to bear expense; to put up with treatment, good or ill; “this houseSTOODme in £1,000,”i.e., cost that sum; “toSTAND PAD,” to beg on the curb with a small piece of paper pinned on the breast, inscribed “I’m starving.”

STANDING, the position at a street corner, or on the curb of a market street, regularly occupied by a costermonger, or street seller.

STANDING PATTERERS, men who take a stand on the curb of a public thoroughfare, and deliver prepared speeches to effect a sale of any articles they have to vend.—SeePATTERER.

STANGEY, a tailor; a person under petticoat government,—derived from the custom of “riding theSTANG,” mentioned in Hudibras:—

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