“You may prate of your lips, and your teeth of pearl,And your eyes so brightly flashing;My song shall be of thatSALIVA CURLWhich threatens my heart to smash in.”Boston Transcript, October 30, 1858.When men twist the hair on each side of their faces into ropes they are sometimes calledBELL-ROPES, as being wherewith todraw the belles. WhetherBELL-ROPESorBOW-CATCHERS, it is singular they should form part of the prisoner’s paraphernalia, and that a jaunty little kiss-me quick curl should, of all things in the world, ornament a gaol dock; yet such was formerly the case. Hunt, the murderer of Weare, on his trial, we are informed by the Athenæum, appeared at the bar with a highly pomatumed love-lock sticking tight to his forehead. Young ladies, think of this!BOWL-OUT, to put out of the game, to remove out of one’s way, to detect.—Cricketing term.BOWLAS, round tarts made of sugar, apple, and bread, sold in the streets.BOWLES, shoes.BOX-HARRY, a term with bagmen or commercial travellers, implying dinner and tea at one meal; also dining with Humphrey,i.e., going without.—Lincolnshire.BRACE UP, to pawn stolen goods.BRACELETS, handcuffs.BRADS, money. Properly, a small kind of nails used by cobblers.—CompareHORSE NAILS.BRAD-FAKING, playing at cards.BRAGGADOCIO, three months’ imprisonment as a reputed thief or old offender,—sometimes termed aDOSE, or aDOLLOP.—Household Words, vol. i., p. 579.BRAN-NEW, quite new. Properly,Brent,BRAND, orFire-new,i.e., fresh from the anvil.BRASS, money.BREAD-BASKET,DUMPLING DEPOT,VICTUALLING OFFICE, &c., are terms given by the “Fancy” to the digestive organ.BREAK-DOWN, a jovial, social gathering, aFLARE UP; in Ireland, a wedding.BREAKING SHINS, borrowing money.BREAKY-LEG, a shilling.[Egyptian hieroglyphs]BREAKY-LEG, strong drink; “he’s been to Bungay fair, andBROKE BOTH HIS LEGS,”i.e., got drunk. In the ancient Egyptian language the determinative character in the hieroglyphic verb “to be drunk,” has the significant form of the leg of a man being amputated.BREECHED, orTO HAVE THE BAGS OFF, to have plenty of money; “to be wellBREECHED,” to be in good circumstances.BREECHES, “to wear theBREECHES,” said of a wife who usurps the husband’s prerogative.BREEKS, breeches.—Scotch, now common.BRICK, a “jolly good fellow;” “a regularBRICK,” a staunch fellow.“I bonnetted Whewell, when we gave the Rads their gruel,And taught them to eschew all their addresses to the Queen.If again they try it on, why to floor them I’ll make one,Spite of Peeler or of Don, like aBRICKand aBean.”The Jolly Bachelors, Cambridge, 1840.Said to be derived from an expression of Aristotle, τετραγωνος ἀνηρ.BRIEF, a pawnbroker’s duplicate.BRISKET BEATER, a Roman Catholic.BROADS, cards.Broadsman, a card sharper.BROAD AND SHALLOW, an epithet applied to the so-called “Broad Church,” in contradistinction to the “High” and “Low” Church.—SeeHIGH AND DRY.BROAD-FENCER, card seller at races.BROSIER, a bankrupt.—Cheshire.Brosier-my-dame, school term, implying a clearing of the housekeeper’s larder of provisions, in revenge for stinginess.—Eton.BROTHER-CHIP, fellow carpenter. Also,BROTHER-WHIP, a fellow coachman; andBROTHER-BLADE, of the same occupation or calling—originally a fellow soldier.BROWN, a halfpenny.—SeeBLUNT.BROWN, “to doBROWN,” to do well or completely (in allusion to roasting); “doing itBROWN,” prolonging the frolic, or exceeding sober bounds; “DONE BROWN,” taken in, deceived, or surprised.BROWN BESS, the old Government regulation musket.BROWN PAPERMEN, low gamblers.BROWN SALVE, a token of surprise at what is heard, and at the same time means “I understand you.”BROWN-STUDY, a reverie. Very common even in educated society, but hardly admissible in writing, and therefore must be considered a vulgarism. It is derived, by a writer inNotes and Queries, fromBROWstudy, from the old GermanBRAUN, orAUG-BRAUN, an eye-brow.—Ben Jonson.BROWN-TO, to understand, to comprehend.—American.BRUISER, a fighting man, a pugilist.—Pugilistic.Shakespereuses the wordBRUISINGin a similar sense.BRUMS, counterfeit coins.Nearly obsolete.Corruption ofBrummagem(Bromwicham), the ancient name ofBirmingham, the great emporium of plated goods and imitation jewellery.BRUSH, orBRUSH-OFF, to run away, or move on.—Old cant.BUB, drink of any kind.—SeeGRUB.Middleton, the dramatist, mentionsBUBBER, a great drinker.BUB, a teat, woman’s breast.BUCK, a gay or smart man, a cuckold.BUCKHORSE, a smart blow or box on the ear; derived from the name of a celebrated “bruiser” of that name.BUCKLE, to bend; “I can’tBUCKLEto that,” I don’t understand it; to yield or give in to a person.Shakespereuses the word in the latter sense, Henry IV., i. 1; andHalliwellsays that “the commentators do not supply another example.” How strange that in our own streets the term should be used every day! Stop the first costermonger, and he will soon inform you the various meanings ofBUCKLE.—See Notes and Queries, vols. vii., viii., and ix.BUCKLE-TO, to bend to one’s work, to begin at once, and with great energy.BUDGE, to move, to inform, toSPLIT, or tell tales.BUFF, to swear to, or accuse; toSPLIT, or peach upon.Oldword for boasting, 1582.BUFF, the bare skin; “stripped to theBUFF.”BUFFER, a dog. Their skins were formerly in great request—hence the term,BUFFmeaning in old Englishto skin. It is still used in the ring,BUFFEDmeaning stripped to the skin. In Irish cant,BUFFERis aboxer. TheBUFFERof a railway carriage doubtless received its very appropriate name from the old pugilistic application of this term.BUFFER, a familiar expression for a jolly acquaintance, probably from theFrench,BOUFFARD, a fool or clown; a “jolly oldBUFFER,” said of a good humoured or liberal old man. In 1737, aBUFFERwas 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.BUFFLE HEAD, a stupid or obtuse person.—Miege.German,BUFFEL-HAUPT, buffalo-headed.BUFFY, intoxicated.—Household Words, No. 183.BUGGY, a gig, or light chaise. Common term in America and in Ireland.BUG-HUNTERS, low wretches who plunder drunken men.BUILD, applied in fashionable slang to the make or style of dress, &c.; “it’s a tidyBUILD, who made it?”BULGER, large; synonymous withBUSTER.BULL, term amongst prisoners for the meat served to them in jail.BULL, one who agrees to purchase stock at a future day, at astated price, but who does not possess money to pay for it, trusting to a rise in public securities to render the transaction a profitable one. Should stocks fall, the bull is then called upon to pay the difference.—SeeBEAR, who is the opposite of aBULL, the former selling, the latter purchasing—the one operating for afallor apull down, whilst the other operates for ariseortoss up.BULL, a crown piece; formerly,BULL’S EYE.BULL-THE-CASK, to pour hot water into an empty rum puncheon, and let it stand until it extracts the spirit from the wood. The result is drunk by sailors in default of something stronger.—Sea.BULLY, a braggart; but in the language of the streets, a man of the most degraded morals, who protects prostitutes, and lives off their miserable earnings.—Shakespere, Midsummer Night’s Dream, iii. 1; iv. 2.BUM, the part on which we sit.—Shakespere.Bumbags, trowsers.BUM-BAILIFF, a sheriff’s officer,—a term, some say, derived from the proximity which this gentleman generally maintains to his victims.Blackstonesays it is a corruption of “bound bailiff.”BUM-BOATS, shore boats which supply ships with provisions, and serve as means of communication between the sailors and the shore.BUM-BRUSHER, a schoolmaster.BUMMAREE. This term is given to a class of speculating salesmen at Billingsgate market, not recognised as such by the trade, but who get a living by buying large quantities of fish of the salesmen and re-selling it to smaller buyers. The word has been used in the statutes and bye-laws of the markets for upwards of 100 years. It has been variously derived, but is most probably from theFrench,BONNE MAREE, good fresh fish! “Marée signifie toute sorte de poisson de mer qûi n’est pas salé; bonne marée—marée fraiche, vendeur de marée.”—Dict. de l’Acad. Franc.TheBUMMAREESare accused of many trade tricks. One of them is to blow up cod-fish with a pipe until they look double their actual size. Of course when the fish come to table they are flabby, sunken, and half dwindled away. In Norwich,TO BUMMAREE ONEis to run up a score at a public house just open, and is equivalent to “running into debt with one.”BUNCH OF FIVES, the hand, or fist.BUNDLE, “toBUNDLEa person off,”i.e., to pack him off, send him flying.BUNG, the landlord of a public-house.BUNG, to give, pass, hand over, drink, or indeed to perform any action;BUNG UP, to close up—Pugilistic; “BUNGover the rag,” hand over the money—Old, used byBeaumont and Fletcher, andShakespere. Also, to deceive one by a lie, toCRAM, which see.BUNKER, beer.BUNTS, costermonger’s perquisites; the money obtained by giving light weight, &c.; costermongers’ goods sold by boys on commission. Probably a corruption ofbonus,BONEbeing the slang for good.Bunce,Grosegives as the cant word for money.BURDON’S HOTEL, Whitecross-street prison, of which the Governor is or was a Mr. Burdon.BURERK, a lady.GrosegivesBURICK, a prostitute.BURKE, to kill, to murder, by pitch plaster or other foul means. From Burke, the notorious Whitechapel murderer, who with others used to waylay people, kill them, and sell their bodies for dissection at the hospitals.BURYING A MOLL, running away from a mistress.BUSKER, a man who sings or performs in a public house.—Scotch.BUSK (orBUSKING), to sell obscene songs and books at the bars and in the tap rooms of public houses. Sometimes implies selling any articles.BUSS, an abbreviation of “omnibus,” a public carriage. Also, a kiss.BUST, orBURST, to tell tales, toSPLIT, to inform.Busting, informing against accomplices when in custody.BUSTER (BURSTER), a small new loaf; “twopennyBUSTER,” a twopenny loaf. “A pennorth o’BEES WAX(cheese) and a pennyBUSTER,” a common snack at beershops.BUSTER, an extra size; “what aBUSTER,” what a large one; “in for aBUSTER,” determined on an extensive frolic or spree.Scotch,BUSTUOUS;Icelandic,BOSTRA.BUSTLE, money; “to draw theBUSTLE.”BUTTER, orBATTER, praise or flattery. ToBUTTER, to flatter, cajole.BUTTER-FINGERED, apt to let things fall.BUTTON, a decoy, sham purchaser, &c. At any mock or sham auction seedy specimens may be seen. Probably from the connection ofbuttonswithBrummagem, which is often used as a synonyme for a sham.BUTTONER, a man who entices another to play.—SeeBONNETTER.BUTTONS, a page,—from the rows of gilt buttons which adorn his jacket.BUTTONS, “not to have all one’sBUTTONS,” to be deficient in intellect.BUZ, to pick pockets;BUZ-FAKING, robbing.BUZ, to share equally the last of a bottle of wine, when there is not enough for a full glass for each of the party.BUZZERS, pickpockets.GrosegivesBUZ COVEandBUZ GLOAK, the latter is very ancient cant.BUZ-BLOAK, a pickpocket, who principally confines his attention to purses and loose cash.GrosegivesBUZ-GLOAK(orCLOAK?), an ancient cant word.Buz-napper, a young pickpocket.BUZ-NAPPER’S ACADEMY, a school in which young thieves are trained. Figures are dressed up, and experienced tutors stand in various difficult attitudes for the boys to practice upon. When clever enough they are sent on the streets. It is reported that a house of this nature is situated in a court near Hatton Garden. The system is well explained inDickens’ Oliver Twist.BYE-BLOW, a bastard child.BY GEORGE, an exclamation similar toBY JOVE. The term is older than is frequently imagined, videBacchus and Venus(p. 117), 1737. “Fore (or by)GEORGE, I’d knock him down.” A street compliment to Saint George, the patron Saint of England, or possibly to the House of Hanover.BY GOLLY, an ejaculation, or oath; a compromise for “by God.” In the United States, small boys are permitted by their guardians to sayGOL DARNanything, but they are on no account allowed to commit the profanity of G—d d——g anything. An effective ejaculation and moral waste pipe for interior passion or wrath is seen in the exclamation—BY THE-EVER-LIVING-JUMPING-MOSES—a harmless phrase, that from its length expends a considerable quantity of fiery anger.CAB, in statutory language, “a hackney carriage drawn by one horse.” Abbreviated fromCABRIOLET,French; originally meaning “a light low chaise.” The wags of Paris playing upon the word (quasicabriau lait) used to call a superior turn-out of the kind acabri au crême. Our abbreviation, which certainly smacks of slang, has been stamped with the authority of “George,Ranger.” See the notices affixed to the carriage entrances of St. James’s Park.CAB, to stick together, to muck, or tumble up.—Devonshire.CABBAGE, pieces of cloth said to be purloined by tailors.CABBAGE, to pilfer or purloin. Termed by Johnson a cant word, but adopted by later lexicographers as a respectable term. Said to have been first used in this sense byArbuthnot.CABBY, the driver of a cab.CAD, orCADGER(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 trying to worm something out of another, either money or information.Johnsonuses the word, and giveshucksteras the meaning, but I never heard it used in this sense.Cager, orGAGER, theold cantterm for a man. The exclusives in the Universities apply the termCADto all non-members.CAD, an omnibus conductor.CADGE, to beg in an artful or wheedling manner.—North.CADGING, begging of the lowest degree.CAG-MAG, bad food, scraps, odds and ends; or that which no one could relish.GrosegivesCAGG MAGGS, old and tough Lincolnshire geese, sent to London to feast the poor cockneys.CAGE, a minor kind of prison.—Shakespere, part ii. of Henry IV., iv. 2.CAKE, a flat, a soft or doughy person, a fool.CAKEY-PANNUM-FENCER, a man who sells street pastry.CALL-A-GO, in street “patter,” is to remove to another spot, or address the public in different vein.CAMESA, shirt or chemise.—Span.Ancient cant,COMMISSION.CAMISTER, a preacher, clergyman, or master.CANARY, a sovereign. This is stated by a correspondent to be a Norwich term, that city being famous for its breed of those birds.CANISTER, the head.—Pugilistic.CANISTER-CAP, a hat.—Pugilistic.CANNIKEN, a small can, similar toPANNIKIN.—Shakespere.CANT, a blow or toss; “a cant over the kisser,” a blow on the mouth.—Kentish.CANT OF TOGS, a gift of clothes.CARDINAL, a lady’s cloak. This, I am assured, is theSeven Dialscant term for a lady’s garment, but curiously enough the same name is given to the most fashionable patterns of the article by Regent-street drapers. A cloak with this name was in fashion in the year 1760. It received its title from its similarity in shape to one of the vestments of a cardinal.CARNEY, soft talk, nonsense, gammon.—Hibernicism.CAROON, five shillings.French,COURONNE; Gipsey,COURNA,—PANSH COURNA, half-a-crown.CARPET, “upon theCARPET,” any subject or matter that is uppermost for discussion or conversation. Frequently quoted assur le tapis, but it does not seem to be a correct Parisian phrase.CARRIER PIGEONS, swindlers, who formerly used to cheat Lottery Office Keepers.Nearly obsolete.CARROTS, the coarse and satirical term for red hair.CARRY-ON, to joke a person to excess, to carry on a “spree” too far; “how weCARRIED ON, to be sure!”i.e., what fun we had.CART, a race-course.CARTS, a pair of shoes. In Norfolk the carapace of a crab is called acrab cart, henceCARTSwould be synonymous withCRAB SHELLS, which see.CART WHEEL, a five shilling piece.CASA, orCASE, a house, respectable or otherwise. Probably from theItalian,CASA.—Old cant.TheDutchuse the wordKASTin a vulgar sense for a house,i.e.,MOTTEKAST, a brothel.Casesometimes means a water-closet.CASCADING, vomiting.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.Caseris the Hebrew word for a crown; and silver coin is frequently counterfeited by coating orCASINGpewter or iron imitations with silver.CASE. A few years ago the termCASEwas applied to persons and things; “what aCASEhe is,”i.e., what a curious person; “a rumCASEthat,” or “you are aCASE,” both synonymous with the phrase “odd fish,” common half-a-century ago. Among young ladies at boarding schools aCASEmeans a love affair.CASK, fashionable slang for a brougham, or other private carriage.—Household Words, No. 183.CASSAM, cheese—notCAFFAN, which Egan, in his edition ofGrose, has ridiculously inserted.—Ancient cant.Latin,CASEUS.CASTING UP ONE’S ACCOUNTS, vomiting.—Old.CASTOR, a hat.Castorwas once the ancient word for aBEAVER; and strange to add,BEAVERwas the slang forCASTOR, or hat, thirty years ago, before gossamer came into fashion.CAT, to vomit like a cat.—SeeSHOOT THE CAT.CAT, a lady’s muff; “to free aCAT,”i.e., steal a muff.CATARACT, a black satin scarf arranged for the display of jewellery, much in vogue among “commercial gents.”CATCH ’EM ALIVE, a trap, also a small-tooth comb.CATCHY (similar formation totouchy), inclined to take an undue advantage.CATEVER, a queer, or singular affair; anything poor, or very bad. From theLingua Franca, andItalian,CATTIVO, bad. Variously spelled by the lower orders.—SeeKERTEVER.CATGUT-SCRAPER, a fiddler.CAT-LAP, a contemptuous expression for weak drink.CAT’S WATER, old Tom, or Gin.CAT AND KITTEN SNEAKING, stealing pint and quart pots from public-houses.CATCH-PENNY, any temporary contrivance to obtain money from the public, penny shows, or cheap exhibitions.CAT-IN-THE-PAN, a traitor, a turn-coat—derived by some from theGreek, καταπαν, altogether; or fromcake in pan, a pan cake, which is frequently turned from side to side.CAUCUS, a private meeting held for the purpose of concerting measures, agreeing upon candidates for office before an election, &c.—See Pickering’s Vocabulary.CAVAULTING, coition.Lingua Franca,CAVOLTA.CAVE, orCAVE IN, to submit, shut up.—American.Metaphor taken from the sinking of an abandoned mining shaft.CHAFF, to gammon, joke, quiz, or praise ironically.Chaff-bone, the jaw-bone.—Yorkshire.Chaff, jesting. InAnglo Saxon,CEAFis chaff; andCEAFL, bill, beak, or jaw. In the “Ancien Riwle,”A.D.1221,ceafleis used in the sense of idle discourse.CHALK-OUT, orCHALK DOWN, to mark out a line of conduct or action; to make a rule, order. Phrase derived from theWorkshop.CHALK UP, to credit, make entry in account books of indebtedness; “I can’t pay you now, but you canCHALK 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’sCHALKS,” 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.CHAP, a fellow, a boy; “a lowCHAP,” a low fellow—abbreviation ofCHAP-MAN, a huckster. Used by Byron in hisCritical Remarks.CHARIOT-BUZZING, picking pockets in an omnibus.CHARLEY, a watchman, a beadle.CHARLEY-PITCHERS, low, cheating gamblers.CHATTER BASKET, common term for a prattling child amongst nurses.CHATTER-BOX, an incessant talker or chatterer.CHATTRY-FEEDER, a spoon.CHATTS, dice,—formerly the gallows; a bunch of seals.CHATTS, lice, or body vermin.CHATTY, a filthy person, one whose clothes are not free from vermin;CHATTY DOSS, a lousy bed.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 Churchyard, or other public spot. There are two men in London at the present day who gain their living in this way.CHAUNTERS, those street sellers of ballads, last copies of verses, and other broadsheets, who sing or bawl the contents of their papers. They often term themselvesPAPER WORKERS.A. N.—SeeHORSE CHAUNTERS.CHAUNT, to sing the contents of any paper in the streets.Cant, as applied to vulgar language, was derived fromCHAUNT.—See Introduction.CHEAP, “doing it on theCHEAP,” living economically, or keeping up a showy appearance with very little means.CHEAP JACKS, orJOHNS, oratorical hucksters and patterers of hardware, &c., at fairs and races. They put an article up at a high price, and then cheapen it by degrees, indulging 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 license.CHEEK, share or portion; “where’s myCHEEK?” where is my allowance?CHEEK, impudence, assurance;CHEEKY, saucy or forward.Lincolnshire,CHEEK, to accuse.CHEEK, to irritate by impudence.CHEEK BY JOWL, side by side,—said often of persons in such close confabulation as almost to have their faces touch.CHEESE, anything good, first-rate in quality, genuine, pleasant, or advantageous, is termedTHE CHEESE.MayhewthinksCHEESE, in this sense, is from theSaxon,CEOSAN, to choose, and quotesChaucer, who usesCHESEin the sense of choice. TheLondon Guide, 1818, says it was from some young fellows translating “c’est une autreCHOSE” into “that is anotherCHEESE.”CHEESEis alsoGipseyandHindoo(see Introduction); andPersian,CHIZ, a thing.—SeeSTILTON.CHEESE, orCHEESE IT(evidently a corruption ofcease), leave off, or have done; “CHEESEyour barrikin,” hold your noise.CHEESY, fine or showy.CHERUBS, orCHERUBIMS, the chorister boys who chaunt in the services at the abbeys.CHESHIRE CAT, “to grin like aCHESHIRE CAT,” to display the teeth and gums when laughing. Formerly the phrase was “to grin like aCHESHIRE CATeatingCHEESE.” Ahardly satisfactoryexplanation has been given of this phrase—that Cheshire is a county palatine, and the cats,when they think of it, are so tickled with the notion that they can’t help grinning.CHICKEN, a young girl.CHICKEN-HEARTED, cowardly, fearful.CHI-IKE, a hurrah, a good word, or hearty praise.CHINK, money.—Ancient.—SeeFLORIO.CHINKERS, money.CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK, a child who resembles its father.Brother chip, one of the same trade or profession.CHIPS, money.CHISEL, to cheat.CHITTERLINGS, the shirt frills worn still by ancient beaux; properly, theentrails of a pig, to which they are supposed to bear some resemblance.Belgian,SCHYTERLINGH.CHIVARLY, coition. Probably a corruption from theLingua Franca.CHIVE, a knife; a sharp tool of any kind.—Old cant.This term is particularly applied to the tin knives used in gaols.CHIVE, to cut, saw, or file.CHIVE, orCHIVEY, a shout; a halloo, or cheer, loud tongued. FromCHEVY-CHASE, a boy’s game, in which the wordCHEVYis bawled aloud; or from theGipsey?—See Introduction.CHIVE-FENCER, a street hawker of cutlery.CHIVEY, to chase round, or hunt about.CHOCK-FULL, full till the scale comes down with a shock.French,CHOC. A correspondent suggestsCHOKED-FULL.CHOKE OFF, to get rid of. Bull dogs can only be made to loose their hold by choking them.CHOKER, a cravat, a neckerchief.White-choker, the white neckerchief worn by mutes at a funeral, and waiters at a tavern. Clergymen are frequently termedWHITE-CHOKERS.CHOKER, orWIND-STOPPER, a garrotter.CHONKEYS, a kind of mince meat baked in a crust, and sold in the streets.CHOP, to change.—Old.CHOPS, properlyCHAPS, the mouth, or cheeks; “down in theCHOPS,” 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 whichlanguage 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 interpreter, orCHIAOUS, 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 £1,000, 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 tochiaous, orchause, orCHOUSE; to do, that is, as thisChiaoushad done.—See Trench, Eng. Past and Present, p. 87.CHOUT, an entertainment.CHOVEY, a shop.CHRISTENING, erasing the name of the maker from a stolen watch, and inserting a fictitious one in its place.CHUBBY, round-faced, plump.CHUCK, a schoolboy’s treat.—Westminster school.Food, provision for an entertainment.—Norwich.CHUCK, to throw or pitch.CHUCKING A JOLLY, when a costermonger praises the inferior article his mate or partner is trying to sell.CHUCKING A STALL, where one rogue walks in front of a person while another picks his pockets.CHUCKLE-HEAD, a fool.—Devonshire.CHUFF IT,i.e., be off, or take it away, in answer to a street seller who is importuning you to purchase.HalliwellmentionsCHUFFas a “term of reproach,” surly, &c.CHUM, an acquaintance. A recognised term, but in such frequent use with the lower orders that it demanded a place in this glossary.CHUM, to occupy a joint lodging with another person.CHUMMING-UP, an old custom amongst prisoners when a fresh culprit is admitted to their number, consisting of a noisy welcome—rough music made with pokers, tongs, sticks, and saucepans. For this ovation the initiated prisoner has to pay, orFORK OVER, half a crown—or submit to a loss of coat and waistcoat. The practice is ancient.CHUMMY, a chimney sweep; also a low-crowned felt hat.CHUNK, a thick or dumpy piece of any substance.—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.—SeeCHRISTEN.CHURCHWARDEN, a long pipe, “A YARD OF CLAY.”CLAGGUM, boiled treacle in a hardened state,Hardbake.—SeeCLIGGY.CLAP, to place; “do you think you canCLAPyour hand on him?”i.e., find him out.CLAPPER, the tongue.CLAP-TRAP, high-sounding nonsense. An ancientTheatricalterm for a “TRAPto catch aCLAPby way of applause from the spectators at a play.”—Bailey’s Dictionary.CLARET, blood.—Pugilistic.CLEAN, quite, or entirely; “CLEANgone,” entirely out of sight, or away.—Old, see Cotgrave.—Shakespere.CLEAN OUT, to thrash, or beat; to ruin, or bankrupt any one; to take all they have got, by purchase, or force.De Quincey, in his article on “Richard Bentley,” speaking of the lawsuit between that great scholar and Dr. Colbatch, remarks that the latter “must have been pretty wellCLEANED OUT.”CLICK, knock, or blow.Click-handed, left-handed.—Cornish.CLICK, to snatch.CLIFT, to steal.CLIGGY, orCLIDGY, sticky.—Anglo Saxon,CLÆG, clay.—SeeCLAGGUM.CLINCHER, that which rivets or confirms an argument, an incontrovertible position. Metaphor from the workshop.CLINK-RIG, stealing tankards from public-houses, taverns, &c.CLIPPING, excellent, very good.CLOCK, “to know what’sO’CLOCK,” a definition of knowingness in general.—SeeTIME O’DAY.CLOD-HOPPER, a country clown.CLOUT, orRAG, a cotton pocket handkerchief.—Old cant.CLOUT, a blow, or intentional strike.—Ancient.CLOVER, happiness, or luck.CLUMP, to strike.CLY, a pocket.—Old cantfor to steal. A correspondent derives this word from theOld English,CLEYES, claws;Anglo Saxon,CLEA. This pronunciation is still retained in Norfolk; thus, toCLYwould mean to pounce upon, snatch.—SeeFRISK.CLY-FAKER, a pickpocket.COACH, a Cambridge term for a private tutor.COACH WHEEL, orTUSHEROON, a crown piece, or five shillings.COALS, “to call (or pull) over theCOALS,” to take to task, to scold.COCK, or more frequently now a days,COCK-E-E, a vulgar street salutation—corruption ofCOCK-EYE. The latter is frequently heard as a shout or street cry after a man or boy.COCK AND A BULL STORY, a long, rambling anecdote.—See Notes and Queries, vol. iv., p. 313.COCKCHAFER, the treadmill.COCK-EYE, one that squints.COCKLES, “to rejoice theCOCKLESof one’s heart,” a vulgar phrase implying great pleasure.—SeePLUCK.COCKNEY, a native of London. Originally, a spoilt or effeminate boy, derived fromCOCKERING, or foolishly petting a person, rendering them of soft or luxurious manners. Halliwell states, in his admirable essay upon the word, that “some writers trace the word with much probability to the imaginary land ofCOCKAYGNE, the lubber land of the olden times.”Grosegives 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 that 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 theCOCK NEIGHS?”COCK OF THE WALK, a master spirit, head of a party. Places where poultry are fed are calledWALKS, and the barn-door cocks invariably fight for the supremacy till one has obtained it.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 ofcook, a cooked statement, or, as a correspondent suggests, theCOCK LANEGhost may have given rise to the term. This had a great run, and was a rich harvest to the running stationers.COCK ONE’S TOES, to die.COCK ROBIN SHOP, a small printer’s office, where low wages are paid to journeymen who have never served a regular apprenticeship.COCKSHY, a game at fairs and races, where trinkets are set upon sticks, and for one penny three throws at them are accorded, the thrower keeping whatever he knocks off. From the ancient game of throwing or “shying” at live cocks.COCKSURE, certain.COCKY, pert, saucy.COCKYOLY BIRDS, little birds, frequently called “dickey birds.”—Kingsley’s Two Years Ago.COCK, “toCOCKyour eye,” to shut or wink one eye.COCUM, advantage, luck, cunning, or sly, “to fightCOCUM,” to be wily and cautious.CODDS, the “poor brethren” of the Charter house. At p. 133 of theNewcomes, Mr. Thackeray writes, “The Cistercian lads call these old gentlemenCODDS, I know not wherefore.” An abbreviation ofCODGER.CODGER, an old man; “a rum oldCODGER,” a curious old fellow.Codgeris sometimes used synonymous withCADGER, and then signifies a person who gets his living in a questionable manner.Cager, orGAGER, was the old cant term for a man.COFFEE-SHOP, a water-closet, or house of office.COG, to cheat at dice.—Shakespere.Also, to agree with, as one cog-wheel does with another.COLD BLOOD, a house licensed for the sale of beer “NOTto be drunk on the premises.”COLD COOK, an undertaker.COLD MEAT, a corpse.COLD SHOULDER, “to show or give any one theCOLD SHOULDER,” to assume a distant manner towards them, to evince a desire to cease acquaintanceship. Sometimes it is termed “cold shoulder ofmutton.”COLLAR, “out ofCOLLAR,”i.e., out of place, no work.COLLAR, to seize, to lay hold of.COLLY-WOBBLES, a stomach ache, a person’s bowels,—supposed by many of the lower orders to be the seat of feeling and nutrition; an idea either borrowed from, or transmitted by, the ancients.—Devonshire.COLT’S TOOTH, elderly persons of juvenile tastes are said to have a colt’s tooth.COMB-CUT, mortified, disgraced, “down on one’s luck.”—SeeCUT.COME, a slang verb used in many phrases; “A’nt heCOMING IT?”i.e., is he not proceeding at a great rate? “Don’tCOME TRICKShere,” “don’tCOME THE OLD SOLDIERover me,”i.e., we are aware of your practices, and “twig” your manœuvre.Coming it strong, exaggerating, going a-head, the opposite of “drawing it mild.”Coming italso means informing or disclosing.COME DOWN, to pay down.COMMISSION, a shirt.—Ancient cant.Italian,CAMICIA.COMMISTER, a chaplain or clergyman.COMMON SEWER, aDRAIN, or drink.COMMONS, rations, because eatenin common.—University.Short commons(derived from the University slang term), a scanty meal, a scarcity.CONK, a nose;CONKY, having a projecting or remarkable nose. The Duke of Wellington was frequently termed “OldCONKY” in satirical papers and caricatures.CONSTABLE, “to overrun theCONSTABLE,” to exceed one’s income, get deep in debt.CONVEY, to steal; “CONVEY, the wise it call.”CONVEYANCER, a pick-pocket.Shakespereuses the cant expression,CONVEYER, a thief. The same term is alsoFrench slang.COOK, a term well known in the Bankruptcy Courts, referring to accounts that have been meddled with, orCOOKED, by the bankrupt; also the forming a balance sheet from general trade inferences; stated by a correspondent to have been first used in reference to the celebrated alteration of the accounts of the Eastern Counties Railway, by George Hudson, the Railway King.COOK ONE’S GOOSE, to kill or ruin any person.—North.COOLIE, a soldier, in allusion to theHindooCOOLIES, or day labourers.COON, abbreviation of Racoon.—American.AGONE COON—ditto, one in an awful fix, past praying for. This expression is said to have originated in the American war with a spy, who dressed himself in a racoon skin, and ensconced himself in a tree. An English rifleman taking him for a veritable coon levelled his piece at him, upon which he exclaimed, “Don’t shoot, I’ll come down of myself, I know I’m aGONE COON.” The Yankees say the Britisher was so flummuxed, that he flung down his rifle and “made tracks” for home. The phrase is pretty usual in England.COOPER, stout half-and-half,i.e., half stout and half porter.COOPER, to destroy, spoil, settle, or finish.Cooper’d, spoilt, “done up,” synonymous with the Americanism,CAVED IN, fallen in and ruined. The vagabonds’ hieroglyphic▽ [Downward pointing triangle], 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; “COOPERa moneker,” to forge a signature.COP, to seize or lay hold of anything unpleasant; used in a similar sense tocatchin the phrase “toCOP(or catch) a beating,” “to getCOPT.”COPER, properlyHORSE-COUPER, a Scotch horse-dealer,—used to denote a dishonest one.COPPER, a policeman,i.e., one whoCOPS, which see.COPPER, a penny.Coppers, mixed pence.COPUS, a Cambridge drink, consisting of ale combined with spices, and varied by spirits, wines, &c. Corruption ofHIPPOCRAS.CORINTHIANISM, a term derived from the classics, much in vogue some years ago, implying pugilism, high life, “sprees,” roistering, &c.—Shakespere. The immorality ofCorinthwas proverbial in Greece. Κορινθίαζ εσθαι, toCorinthianise, indulge in the company of courtesans, was aGreekslang expression. Hence the proverb—Οὐ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς εἰς Κόρινθον ἔσθ' ὁ πλοῦς,andHorace, Epist. lib. 1, xvii. 36—Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum,in allusion to the spoliation practised by the “hetæræ” on those who visited them.CORK, “to draw aCORK,” to give a bloody nose.—Pugilistic.CORKS, money; “how are you off for corks?” a soldier’s term of a very expressive kind, denoting the means of “keeping afloat.”CORNED, drunk or intoxicated. Possibly from soaking or pickling oneself likeCORNEDbeef.CORNERED, hemmed in a corner, placed in a position from which there is no escape.—American.CORPORATION, the protuberant front of an obese person.CORPSE, to confuse or put out the actors by making a mistake.—Theatrical.COSSACK, a policeman.COSTERMONGERS, street sellers of fish, fruit, vegetables, poultry, &c. The London costermongers number more than 30,000. They form a distinct class, occupying whole neighbourhoods, and are cut off from the rest of metropolitan society by their low habits, general improvidence, pugnacity, love of gambling, total want of education, disregard for lawful marriage ceremonies,and their use of a cant(or so-calledback slang)language.COSTER, the short and slang term for a costermonger, or costard-monger, who was originally an apple seller.Costering,i.e., costermongering.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 Americanism; andHalliwell, who terms it an Archaism; alsoBacchus and Venus, 1737.COUNCIL OF TEN, the toes of a man who turns his feet inward.COUNTER JUMPER, a shopman, a draper’s assistant.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.COUTER, a sovereign.Half-a-couter, half-a-sovereign.COVE, orCOVEY, a boy or man of any age or station. A term generally preceded by an expressive adjective, thus a “flashCOVE,” a “rumCOVE,” a “downyCOVE,” &c. The feminine,COVESS, was once popular, but it has fallen into disuse.Ancient cant, originally (temp. Henry VIII.)COFE, orCUFFIN, altered inDecker’stime toCOVE. Probably connected withCUIF, which, in the North of England, signifies a lout or awkward fellow. AmongstNegroes,CUFFEE.COVENTRY, “to send a man toCOVENTRY,” 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 toCOVENTRY,” came to be equivalent to putting him out of the pale of society.COVER-DOWN, a tossing coin with a false cover, enabling either head or tail to be shown, according as the cover is left on or taken off.COWAN, a sneak, an inquisitive or prying person.—Masonic term.Greek, κύων, a dog.COW’S GREASE, butter.COW-LICK, the term given to the lock of hair which costermongers and thieves usually twist forward from the ear; a large greasy curl upon the cheek, seemingly licked into shape. The opposite ofNEWGATE-KNOCKER, which see.COXY-LOXY, good-tempered, drunk.—Norfolk.CRAB, orGRAB, a disagreeable old person.Name of a wild and sour fruit.“To catch aCRAB,” to fall backwards by missing a stroke in rowing.CRAB, to offend, or insult; to expose or defeat a robbery, to inform against.CRABSHELLS, orTROTTING CASES, shoes.—SeeCARTS.CRACK, first-rate, excellent; “aCRACK HAND,” an adept; a “CRACKarticle,” a good one.—Old.CRACK, dry firewood.—Modern Gipsey.CRACK, “in aCRACK(of the finger and thumb),” in a moment.CRACK A BOTTLE, to drink.ShakespereusesCRUSHin the same slang sense.CRACK A KIRK, to break into a church or chapel.CRACK-FENCER, a man who sells nuts.CRACK-UP, to boast or praise.—Ancient English.CRACKED-UP, penniless, or ruined.CRACKSMAN, a burglar.CRAM, to lie or deceive, implying to fill up orCRAMa person with false stories; to acquire learning quickly, to “grind,” or prepare for an examination.CRAMMER, a lie; or a person who commits a falsehood.CRANKY, foolish, idiotic, ricketty, capricious, not confined to persons.Ancient cant,CRANKE, simulated sickness.German,KRANK, sickly.CRAP, to ease oneself, to evacuate.Old wordfor refuse; alsoold cant,CROP.CRAPPING CASE, orKEN, a privy, or water-closet.CRAPPED, hanged.CREAM OF THE VALLEY, gin.CRIB, house, public or otherwise; lodgings, apartments.CRIB, a situation.CRIB, to steal or purloin.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 cribbage board.CRIKEY, profane exclamation of astonishment; “Oh,CRIKEY, you don’t say so!” corruption of “Oh, Christ.”CRIMPS, men who trepan others into the clutches of the recruiting sergeant. They generally pretend to give employment in the colonies, and in that manner cheat those mechanics who are half famished.Nearly obsolete.CRIPPLE, a bent sixpence.CROAK, to die—from the gurgling sound a person makes when the breath of life is departing.—Oxon.CROAKER, one who takes a desponding view of everything; an alarmist.From the croaking of a raven.—Ben Jonson.CROAKER, a beggar.CROAKER, a corpse, or dying person beyond hope.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.—Othello, iv., 1.CROCUS, orCROAKUS, a quack or travelling doctor;CROCUS-CHOVEY, a chemist’s shop.CRONY, a termagant or malicious old woman; an intimate friend.Johnsoncalls it cant.CROOKY, to hang on to, to lead, walk arm-in-arm; to court or pay addresses to a girl.CROPPIE, a person who has had his hair cut, orCROPPED, in prison.CROPPED, hanged.CROSS, a general term amongst thieves expressive of their plundering profession, the opposite ofSQUARE. “To get anything on the CROSS” is to obtain it surreptitiously. “Cross-fanningin a crowd,” robbing persons of their scarf pins.CROSS COVE and MOLLISHER, a man and woman who live by thieving.CROSS-CRIB, a house frequented by thieves.CROW, one who watches whilst another commits a theft, a confederate in a robbery. TheCROWlooks to see that the wayis clear, whilst theSNEAK, his partner, commits the depredation.CROW, “a regular crow,” a success, a stroke of luck,—equivalent to aFLUKE.CROW, “I have a CROW to pick with you,”i.e., an explanation to demand, a disagreeable matter to settle; “toCOCK-CROWover a person,” to exalt over his abasement or misfortune.CRUG, food.—Household Words, No. 183.CRUMBS, “to pick up one’sCRUMBS,” to begin to have an appetite after an illness; to improve in health, circumstances, &c., after a loss thereof.CRUMMY, fat, plump.—North.CRUMMY-DOSS, a lousy or filthy bed.CRUNCH, to crush.Corruption; or, perhaps from the sound of teeth grinding against each other.CRUSHER, a policeman.CRUSHING, excellent, first rate.CRUSTY, ill tempered, petulant, morose.—Old.CULL, a man or boy.—Old cant.CULLING, orCULING, stealing from the carriages on race-courses.CUPBOARD HEADED, an expressive designation of one whose head is both wooden and hollow.—Norfolk.CURE, an odd person; a contemptuous term, abridged fromCURIOSITY—which was formerly the favourite expression.—CompareSTIPE.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 ofCross of Scotland, the nine diamonds being arranged somewhat after the fashion of a St. Andrew’s Cross; but the most probable explanation is, that in the game of Pope Joan the nine of diamonds is thePOPE, of whom the Scotch have an especial horror.CURTAIL, to cut off.Originally a cant word, vide Hudibras, and Bacchus and Venus, 1737.CUSHION THUMPER, polite rendering ofTUB THUMPER, a clergyman, a preacher.CUSTOMER, synonymous withCHAP, a fellow; “a rumCUSTOMER,”i.e., an odd fish, or curious person.—Shakespere.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; toCUT DIDOES, synonymous with toCUT 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 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;CUT THAT!be quiet, or stop;CUT OUT OF, done out of;CUT OF ONE’S GIB, the expression or cast of his countenance [seeGIB];TO CUT ONE’S COMB, to take down a conceited person, from the practice of cutting the combs of capons [seeCOMB-CUT];CUT AND COME AGAIN, plenty, if one cut does not suffice, plenty remains to “come again;”CUT UP, mortified, to criticise severely, or expose;CUT UP SHINES, to play tricks;CUT ONE’S STICK, to be off quickly,i.e., be in readiness for a journey, further elaborated intoAMPUTATE YOUR MAHOGANY[seeSTICK];CUT IT FAT, to exaggerate or show off in an extensive manner; toCUT UP FAT, to die, leaving a large property;CUT UNDER, to undersell;CUT YOUR LUCKY, to run off;CUT ONE’S CART, to expose their tricks;CUT AN ACQUAINTANCE, to cease friendly intercourse with them—Cambridge.Old;CUTTE, to say.
“You may prate of your lips, and your teeth of pearl,And your eyes so brightly flashing;My song shall be of thatSALIVA CURLWhich threatens my heart to smash in.”Boston Transcript, October 30, 1858.
“You may prate of your lips, and your teeth of pearl,And your eyes so brightly flashing;My song shall be of thatSALIVA CURLWhich threatens my heart to smash in.”Boston Transcript, October 30, 1858.
“You may prate of your lips, and your teeth of pearl,
And your eyes so brightly flashing;
My song shall be of thatSALIVA CURL
Which threatens my heart to smash in.”
Boston Transcript, October 30, 1858.
When men twist the hair on each side of their faces into ropes they are sometimes calledBELL-ROPES, as being wherewith todraw the belles. WhetherBELL-ROPESorBOW-CATCHERS, it is singular they should form part of the prisoner’s paraphernalia, and that a jaunty little kiss-me quick curl should, of all things in the world, ornament a gaol dock; yet such was formerly the case. Hunt, the murderer of Weare, on his trial, we are informed by the Athenæum, appeared at the bar with a highly pomatumed love-lock sticking tight to his forehead. Young ladies, think of this!
BOWL-OUT, to put out of the game, to remove out of one’s way, to detect.—Cricketing term.
BOWLAS, round tarts made of sugar, apple, and bread, sold in the streets.
BOWLES, shoes.
BOX-HARRY, a term with bagmen or commercial travellers, implying dinner and tea at one meal; also dining with Humphrey,i.e., going without.—Lincolnshire.
BRACE UP, to pawn stolen goods.
BRACELETS, handcuffs.
BRADS, money. Properly, a small kind of nails used by cobblers.—CompareHORSE NAILS.
BRAD-FAKING, playing at cards.
BRAGGADOCIO, three months’ imprisonment as a reputed thief or old offender,—sometimes termed aDOSE, or aDOLLOP.—Household Words, vol. i., p. 579.
BRAN-NEW, quite new. Properly,Brent,BRAND, orFire-new,i.e., fresh from the anvil.
BRASS, money.
BREAD-BASKET,DUMPLING DEPOT,VICTUALLING OFFICE, &c., are terms given by the “Fancy” to the digestive organ.
BREAK-DOWN, a jovial, social gathering, aFLARE UP; in Ireland, a wedding.
BREAKING SHINS, borrowing money.
BREAKY-LEG, a shilling.
[Egyptian hieroglyphs]BREAKY-LEG, strong drink; “he’s been to Bungay fair, andBROKE BOTH HIS LEGS,”i.e., got drunk. In the ancient Egyptian language the determinative character in the hieroglyphic verb “to be drunk,” has the significant form of the leg of a man being amputated.
BREECHED, orTO HAVE THE BAGS OFF, to have plenty of money; “to be wellBREECHED,” to be in good circumstances.
BREECHES, “to wear theBREECHES,” said of a wife who usurps the husband’s prerogative.
BREEKS, breeches.—Scotch, now common.
BRICK, a “jolly good fellow;” “a regularBRICK,” a staunch fellow.
“I bonnetted Whewell, when we gave the Rads their gruel,And taught them to eschew all their addresses to the Queen.If again they try it on, why to floor them I’ll make one,Spite of Peeler or of Don, like aBRICKand aBean.”The Jolly Bachelors, Cambridge, 1840.
“I bonnetted Whewell, when we gave the Rads their gruel,And taught them to eschew all their addresses to the Queen.If again they try it on, why to floor them I’ll make one,Spite of Peeler or of Don, like aBRICKand aBean.”The Jolly Bachelors, Cambridge, 1840.
“I bonnetted Whewell, when we gave the Rads their gruel,
And taught them to eschew all their addresses to the Queen.
If again they try it on, why to floor them I’ll make one,
Spite of Peeler or of Don, like aBRICKand aBean.”
The Jolly Bachelors, Cambridge, 1840.
Said to be derived from an expression of Aristotle, τετραγωνος ἀνηρ.
BRIEF, a pawnbroker’s duplicate.
BRISKET BEATER, a Roman Catholic.
BROADS, cards.Broadsman, a card sharper.
BROAD AND SHALLOW, an epithet applied to the so-called “Broad Church,” in contradistinction to the “High” and “Low” Church.—SeeHIGH AND DRY.
BROAD-FENCER, card seller at races.
BROSIER, a bankrupt.—Cheshire.Brosier-my-dame, school term, implying a clearing of the housekeeper’s larder of provisions, in revenge for stinginess.—Eton.
BROTHER-CHIP, fellow carpenter. Also,BROTHER-WHIP, a fellow coachman; andBROTHER-BLADE, of the same occupation or calling—originally a fellow soldier.
BROWN, a halfpenny.—SeeBLUNT.
BROWN, “to doBROWN,” to do well or completely (in allusion to roasting); “doing itBROWN,” prolonging the frolic, or exceeding sober bounds; “DONE BROWN,” taken in, deceived, or surprised.
BROWN BESS, the old Government regulation musket.
BROWN PAPERMEN, low gamblers.
BROWN SALVE, a token of surprise at what is heard, and at the same time means “I understand you.”
BROWN-STUDY, a reverie. Very common even in educated society, but hardly admissible in writing, and therefore must be considered a vulgarism. It is derived, by a writer inNotes and Queries, fromBROWstudy, from the old GermanBRAUN, orAUG-BRAUN, an eye-brow.—Ben Jonson.
BROWN-TO, to understand, to comprehend.—American.
BRUISER, a fighting man, a pugilist.—Pugilistic.Shakespereuses the wordBRUISINGin a similar sense.
BRUMS, counterfeit coins.Nearly obsolete.Corruption ofBrummagem(Bromwicham), the ancient name ofBirmingham, the great emporium of plated goods and imitation jewellery.
BRUSH, orBRUSH-OFF, to run away, or move on.—Old cant.
BUB, drink of any kind.—SeeGRUB.Middleton, the dramatist, mentionsBUBBER, a great drinker.
BUB, a teat, woman’s breast.
BUCK, a gay or smart man, a cuckold.
BUCKHORSE, a smart blow or box on the ear; derived from the name of a celebrated “bruiser” of that name.
BUCKLE, to bend; “I can’tBUCKLEto that,” I don’t understand it; to yield or give in to a person.Shakespereuses the word in the latter sense, Henry IV., i. 1; andHalliwellsays that “the commentators do not supply another example.” How strange that in our own streets the term should be used every day! Stop the first costermonger, and he will soon inform you the various meanings ofBUCKLE.—See Notes and Queries, vols. vii., viii., and ix.
BUCKLE-TO, to bend to one’s work, to begin at once, and with great energy.
BUDGE, to move, to inform, toSPLIT, or tell tales.
BUFF, to swear to, or accuse; toSPLIT, or peach upon.Oldword for boasting, 1582.
BUFF, the bare skin; “stripped to theBUFF.”
BUFFER, a dog. Their skins were formerly in great request—hence the term,BUFFmeaning in old Englishto skin. It is still used in the ring,BUFFEDmeaning stripped to the skin. In Irish cant,BUFFERis aboxer. TheBUFFERof a railway carriage doubtless received its very appropriate name from the old pugilistic application of this term.
BUFFER, a familiar expression for a jolly acquaintance, probably from theFrench,BOUFFARD, a fool or clown; a “jolly oldBUFFER,” said of a good humoured or liberal old man. In 1737, aBUFFERwas 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.
BUFFLE HEAD, a stupid or obtuse person.—Miege.German,BUFFEL-HAUPT, buffalo-headed.
BUFFY, intoxicated.—Household Words, No. 183.
BUGGY, a gig, or light chaise. Common term in America and in Ireland.
BUG-HUNTERS, low wretches who plunder drunken men.
BUILD, applied in fashionable slang to the make or style of dress, &c.; “it’s a tidyBUILD, who made it?”
BULGER, large; synonymous withBUSTER.
BULL, term amongst prisoners for the meat served to them in jail.
BULL, one who agrees to purchase stock at a future day, at astated price, but who does not possess money to pay for it, trusting to a rise in public securities to render the transaction a profitable one. Should stocks fall, the bull is then called upon to pay the difference.—SeeBEAR, who is the opposite of aBULL, the former selling, the latter purchasing—the one operating for afallor apull down, whilst the other operates for ariseortoss up.
BULL, a crown piece; formerly,BULL’S EYE.
BULL-THE-CASK, to pour hot water into an empty rum puncheon, and let it stand until it extracts the spirit from the wood. The result is drunk by sailors in default of something stronger.—Sea.
BULLY, a braggart; but in the language of the streets, a man of the most degraded morals, who protects prostitutes, and lives off their miserable earnings.—Shakespere, Midsummer Night’s Dream, iii. 1; iv. 2.
BUM, the part on which we sit.—Shakespere.Bumbags, trowsers.
BUM-BAILIFF, a sheriff’s officer,—a term, some say, derived from the proximity which this gentleman generally maintains to his victims.Blackstonesays it is a corruption of “bound bailiff.”
BUM-BOATS, shore boats which supply ships with provisions, and serve as means of communication between the sailors and the shore.
BUM-BRUSHER, a schoolmaster.
BUMMAREE. This term is given to a class of speculating salesmen at Billingsgate market, not recognised as such by the trade, but who get a living by buying large quantities of fish of the salesmen and re-selling it to smaller buyers. The word has been used in the statutes and bye-laws of the markets for upwards of 100 years. It has been variously derived, but is most probably from theFrench,BONNE MAREE, good fresh fish! “Marée signifie toute sorte de poisson de mer qûi n’est pas salé; bonne marée—marée fraiche, vendeur de marée.”—Dict. de l’Acad. Franc.TheBUMMAREESare accused of many trade tricks. One of them is to blow up cod-fish with a pipe until they look double their actual size. Of course when the fish come to table they are flabby, sunken, and half dwindled away. In Norwich,TO BUMMAREE ONEis to run up a score at a public house just open, and is equivalent to “running into debt with one.”
BUNCH OF FIVES, the hand, or fist.
BUNDLE, “toBUNDLEa person off,”i.e., to pack him off, send him flying.
BUNG, the landlord of a public-house.
BUNG, to give, pass, hand over, drink, or indeed to perform any action;BUNG UP, to close up—Pugilistic; “BUNGover the rag,” hand over the money—Old, used byBeaumont and Fletcher, andShakespere. Also, to deceive one by a lie, toCRAM, which see.
BUNKER, beer.
BUNTS, costermonger’s perquisites; the money obtained by giving light weight, &c.; costermongers’ goods sold by boys on commission. Probably a corruption ofbonus,BONEbeing the slang for good.Bunce,Grosegives as the cant word for money.
BURDON’S HOTEL, Whitecross-street prison, of which the Governor is or was a Mr. Burdon.
BURERK, a lady.GrosegivesBURICK, a prostitute.
BURKE, to kill, to murder, by pitch plaster or other foul means. From Burke, the notorious Whitechapel murderer, who with others used to waylay people, kill them, and sell their bodies for dissection at the hospitals.
BURYING A MOLL, running away from a mistress.
BUSKER, a man who sings or performs in a public house.—Scotch.
BUSK (orBUSKING), to sell obscene songs and books at the bars and in the tap rooms of public houses. Sometimes implies selling any articles.
BUSS, an abbreviation of “omnibus,” a public carriage. Also, a kiss.
BUST, orBURST, to tell tales, toSPLIT, to inform.Busting, informing against accomplices when in custody.
BUSTER (BURSTER), a small new loaf; “twopennyBUSTER,” a twopenny loaf. “A pennorth o’BEES WAX(cheese) and a pennyBUSTER,” a common snack at beershops.
BUSTER, an extra size; “what aBUSTER,” what a large one; “in for aBUSTER,” determined on an extensive frolic or spree.Scotch,BUSTUOUS;Icelandic,BOSTRA.
BUSTLE, money; “to draw theBUSTLE.”
BUTTER, orBATTER, praise or flattery. ToBUTTER, to flatter, cajole.
BUTTER-FINGERED, apt to let things fall.
BUTTON, a decoy, sham purchaser, &c. At any mock or sham auction seedy specimens may be seen. Probably from the connection ofbuttonswithBrummagem, which is often used as a synonyme for a sham.
BUTTONER, a man who entices another to play.—SeeBONNETTER.
BUTTONS, a page,—from the rows of gilt buttons which adorn his jacket.
BUTTONS, “not to have all one’sBUTTONS,” to be deficient in intellect.
BUZ, to pick pockets;BUZ-FAKING, robbing.
BUZ, to share equally the last of a bottle of wine, when there is not enough for a full glass for each of the party.
BUZZERS, pickpockets.GrosegivesBUZ COVEandBUZ GLOAK, the latter is very ancient cant.
BUZ-BLOAK, a pickpocket, who principally confines his attention to purses and loose cash.GrosegivesBUZ-GLOAK(orCLOAK?), an ancient cant word.Buz-napper, a young pickpocket.
BUZ-NAPPER’S ACADEMY, a school in which young thieves are trained. Figures are dressed up, and experienced tutors stand in various difficult attitudes for the boys to practice upon. When clever enough they are sent on the streets. It is reported that a house of this nature is situated in a court near Hatton Garden. The system is well explained inDickens’ Oliver Twist.
BYE-BLOW, a bastard child.
BY GEORGE, an exclamation similar toBY JOVE. The term is older than is frequently imagined, videBacchus and Venus(p. 117), 1737. “Fore (or by)GEORGE, I’d knock him down.” A street compliment to Saint George, the patron Saint of England, or possibly to the House of Hanover.
BY GOLLY, an ejaculation, or oath; a compromise for “by God.” In the United States, small boys are permitted by their guardians to sayGOL DARNanything, but they are on no account allowed to commit the profanity of G—d d——g anything. An effective ejaculation and moral waste pipe for interior passion or wrath is seen in the exclamation—BY THE-EVER-LIVING-JUMPING-MOSES—a harmless phrase, that from its length expends a considerable quantity of fiery anger.
CAB, in statutory language, “a hackney carriage drawn by one horse.” Abbreviated fromCABRIOLET,French; originally meaning “a light low chaise.” The wags of Paris playing upon the word (quasicabriau lait) used to call a superior turn-out of the kind acabri au crême. Our abbreviation, which certainly smacks of slang, has been stamped with the authority of “George,Ranger.” See the notices affixed to the carriage entrances of St. James’s Park.
CAB, to stick together, to muck, or tumble up.—Devonshire.
CABBAGE, pieces of cloth said to be purloined by tailors.
CABBAGE, to pilfer or purloin. Termed by Johnson a cant word, but adopted by later lexicographers as a respectable term. Said to have been first used in this sense byArbuthnot.
CABBY, the driver of a cab.
CAD, orCADGER(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 trying to worm something out of another, either money or information.Johnsonuses the word, and giveshucksteras the meaning, but I never heard it used in this sense.Cager, orGAGER, theold cantterm for a man. The exclusives in the Universities apply the termCADto all non-members.
CAD, an omnibus conductor.
CADGE, to beg in an artful or wheedling manner.—North.
CADGING, begging of the lowest degree.
CAG-MAG, bad food, scraps, odds and ends; or that which no one could relish.GrosegivesCAGG MAGGS, old and tough Lincolnshire geese, sent to London to feast the poor cockneys.
CAGE, a minor kind of prison.—Shakespere, part ii. of Henry IV., iv. 2.
CAKE, a flat, a soft or doughy person, a fool.
CAKEY-PANNUM-FENCER, a man who sells street pastry.
CALL-A-GO, in street “patter,” is to remove to another spot, or address the public in different vein.
CAMESA, shirt or chemise.—Span.Ancient cant,COMMISSION.
CAMISTER, a preacher, clergyman, or master.
CANARY, a sovereign. This is stated by a correspondent to be a Norwich term, that city being famous for its breed of those birds.
CANISTER, the head.—Pugilistic.
CANISTER-CAP, a hat.—Pugilistic.
CANNIKEN, a small can, similar toPANNIKIN.—Shakespere.
CANT, a blow or toss; “a cant over the kisser,” a blow on the mouth.—Kentish.
CANT OF TOGS, a gift of clothes.
CARDINAL, a lady’s cloak. This, I am assured, is theSeven Dialscant term for a lady’s garment, but curiously enough the same name is given to the most fashionable patterns of the article by Regent-street drapers. A cloak with this name was in fashion in the year 1760. It received its title from its similarity in shape to one of the vestments of a cardinal.
CARNEY, soft talk, nonsense, gammon.—Hibernicism.
CAROON, five shillings.French,COURONNE; Gipsey,COURNA,—PANSH COURNA, half-a-crown.
CARPET, “upon theCARPET,” any subject or matter that is uppermost for discussion or conversation. Frequently quoted assur le tapis, but it does not seem to be a correct Parisian phrase.
CARRIER PIGEONS, swindlers, who formerly used to cheat Lottery Office Keepers.Nearly obsolete.
CARROTS, the coarse and satirical term for red hair.
CARRY-ON, to joke a person to excess, to carry on a “spree” too far; “how weCARRIED ON, to be sure!”i.e., what fun we had.
CART, a race-course.
CARTS, a pair of shoes. In Norfolk the carapace of a crab is called acrab cart, henceCARTSwould be synonymous withCRAB SHELLS, which see.
CART WHEEL, a five shilling piece.
CASA, orCASE, a house, respectable or otherwise. Probably from theItalian,CASA.—Old cant.TheDutchuse the wordKASTin a vulgar sense for a house,i.e.,MOTTEKAST, a brothel.Casesometimes means a water-closet.
CASCADING, vomiting.
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.Caseris the Hebrew word for a crown; and silver coin is frequently counterfeited by coating orCASINGpewter or iron imitations with silver.
CASE. A few years ago the termCASEwas applied to persons and things; “what aCASEhe is,”i.e., what a curious person; “a rumCASEthat,” or “you are aCASE,” both synonymous with the phrase “odd fish,” common half-a-century ago. Among young ladies at boarding schools aCASEmeans a love affair.
CASK, fashionable slang for a brougham, or other private carriage.—Household Words, No. 183.
CASSAM, cheese—notCAFFAN, which Egan, in his edition ofGrose, has ridiculously inserted.—Ancient cant.Latin,CASEUS.
CASTING UP ONE’S ACCOUNTS, vomiting.—Old.
CASTOR, a hat.Castorwas once the ancient word for aBEAVER; and strange to add,BEAVERwas the slang forCASTOR, or hat, thirty years ago, before gossamer came into fashion.
CAT, to vomit like a cat.—SeeSHOOT THE CAT.
CAT, a lady’s muff; “to free aCAT,”i.e., steal a muff.
CATARACT, a black satin scarf arranged for the display of jewellery, much in vogue among “commercial gents.”
CATCH ’EM ALIVE, a trap, also a small-tooth comb.
CATCHY (similar formation totouchy), inclined to take an undue advantage.
CATEVER, a queer, or singular affair; anything poor, or very bad. From theLingua Franca, andItalian,CATTIVO, bad. Variously spelled by the lower orders.—SeeKERTEVER.
CATGUT-SCRAPER, a fiddler.
CAT-LAP, a contemptuous expression for weak drink.
CAT’S WATER, old Tom, or Gin.
CAT AND KITTEN SNEAKING, stealing pint and quart pots from public-houses.
CATCH-PENNY, any temporary contrivance to obtain money from the public, penny shows, or cheap exhibitions.
CAT-IN-THE-PAN, a traitor, a turn-coat—derived by some from theGreek, καταπαν, altogether; or fromcake in pan, a pan cake, which is frequently turned from side to side.
CAUCUS, a private meeting held for the purpose of concerting measures, agreeing upon candidates for office before an election, &c.—See Pickering’s Vocabulary.
CAVAULTING, coition.Lingua Franca,CAVOLTA.
CAVE, orCAVE IN, to submit, shut up.—American.Metaphor taken from the sinking of an abandoned mining shaft.
CHAFF, to gammon, joke, quiz, or praise ironically.Chaff-bone, the jaw-bone.—Yorkshire.Chaff, jesting. InAnglo Saxon,CEAFis chaff; andCEAFL, bill, beak, or jaw. In the “Ancien Riwle,”A.D.1221,ceafleis used in the sense of idle discourse.
CHALK-OUT, orCHALK DOWN, to mark out a line of conduct or action; to make a rule, order. Phrase derived from theWorkshop.
CHALK UP, to credit, make entry in account books of indebtedness; “I can’t pay you now, but you canCHALK 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’sCHALKS,” 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.
CHAP, a fellow, a boy; “a lowCHAP,” a low fellow—abbreviation ofCHAP-MAN, a huckster. Used by Byron in hisCritical Remarks.
CHARIOT-BUZZING, picking pockets in an omnibus.
CHARLEY, a watchman, a beadle.
CHARLEY-PITCHERS, low, cheating gamblers.
CHATTER BASKET, common term for a prattling child amongst nurses.
CHATTER-BOX, an incessant talker or chatterer.
CHATTRY-FEEDER, a spoon.
CHATTS, dice,—formerly the gallows; a bunch of seals.
CHATTS, lice, or body vermin.
CHATTY, a filthy person, one whose clothes are not free from vermin;CHATTY DOSS, a lousy bed.
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 Churchyard, or other public spot. There are two men in London at the present day who gain their living in this way.
CHAUNTERS, those street sellers of ballads, last copies of verses, and other broadsheets, who sing or bawl the contents of their papers. They often term themselvesPAPER WORKERS.A. N.—SeeHORSE CHAUNTERS.
CHAUNT, to sing the contents of any paper in the streets.Cant, as applied to vulgar language, was derived fromCHAUNT.—See Introduction.
CHEAP, “doing it on theCHEAP,” living economically, or keeping up a showy appearance with very little means.
CHEAP JACKS, orJOHNS, oratorical hucksters and patterers of hardware, &c., at fairs and races. They put an article up at a high price, and then cheapen it by degrees, indulging 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 license.
CHEEK, share or portion; “where’s myCHEEK?” where is my allowance?
CHEEK, impudence, assurance;CHEEKY, saucy or forward.Lincolnshire,CHEEK, to accuse.
CHEEK, to irritate by impudence.
CHEEK BY JOWL, side by side,—said often of persons in such close confabulation as almost to have their faces touch.
CHEESE, anything good, first-rate in quality, genuine, pleasant, or advantageous, is termedTHE CHEESE.MayhewthinksCHEESE, in this sense, is from theSaxon,CEOSAN, to choose, and quotesChaucer, who usesCHESEin the sense of choice. TheLondon Guide, 1818, says it was from some young fellows translating “c’est une autreCHOSE” into “that is anotherCHEESE.”CHEESEis alsoGipseyandHindoo(see Introduction); andPersian,CHIZ, a thing.—SeeSTILTON.
CHEESE, orCHEESE IT(evidently a corruption ofcease), leave off, or have done; “CHEESEyour barrikin,” hold your noise.
CHEESY, fine or showy.
CHERUBS, orCHERUBIMS, the chorister boys who chaunt in the services at the abbeys.
CHESHIRE CAT, “to grin like aCHESHIRE CAT,” to display the teeth and gums when laughing. Formerly the phrase was “to grin like aCHESHIRE CATeatingCHEESE.” Ahardly satisfactoryexplanation has been given of this phrase—that Cheshire is a county palatine, and the cats,when they think of it, are so tickled with the notion that they can’t help grinning.
CHICKEN, a young girl.
CHICKEN-HEARTED, cowardly, fearful.
CHI-IKE, a hurrah, a good word, or hearty praise.
CHINK, money.—Ancient.—SeeFLORIO.
CHINKERS, money.
CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK, a child who resembles its father.Brother chip, one of the same trade or profession.
CHIPS, money.
CHISEL, to cheat.
CHITTERLINGS, the shirt frills worn still by ancient beaux; properly, theentrails of a pig, to which they are supposed to bear some resemblance.Belgian,SCHYTERLINGH.
CHIVARLY, coition. Probably a corruption from theLingua Franca.
CHIVE, a knife; a sharp tool of any kind.—Old cant.This term is particularly applied to the tin knives used in gaols.
CHIVE, to cut, saw, or file.
CHIVE, orCHIVEY, a shout; a halloo, or cheer, loud tongued. FromCHEVY-CHASE, a boy’s game, in which the wordCHEVYis bawled aloud; or from theGipsey?—See Introduction.
CHIVE-FENCER, a street hawker of cutlery.
CHIVEY, to chase round, or hunt about.
CHOCK-FULL, full till the scale comes down with a shock.French,CHOC. A correspondent suggestsCHOKED-FULL.
CHOKE OFF, to get rid of. Bull dogs can only be made to loose their hold by choking them.
CHOKER, a cravat, a neckerchief.White-choker, the white neckerchief worn by mutes at a funeral, and waiters at a tavern. Clergymen are frequently termedWHITE-CHOKERS.
CHOKER, orWIND-STOPPER, a garrotter.
CHONKEYS, a kind of mince meat baked in a crust, and sold in the streets.
CHOP, to change.—Old.
CHOPS, properlyCHAPS, the mouth, or cheeks; “down in theCHOPS,” 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 whichlanguage 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 interpreter, orCHIAOUS, 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 £1,000, 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 tochiaous, orchause, orCHOUSE; to do, that is, as thisChiaoushad done.—See Trench, Eng. Past and Present, p. 87.
In the year 1609 there was attached to the Turkish embassy in England an interpreter, orCHIAOUS, 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 £1,000, 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 tochiaous, orchause, orCHOUSE; to do, that is, as thisChiaoushad done.—See Trench, Eng. Past and Present, p. 87.
CHOUT, an entertainment.
CHOVEY, a shop.
CHRISTENING, erasing the name of the maker from a stolen watch, and inserting a fictitious one in its place.
CHUBBY, round-faced, plump.
CHUCK, a schoolboy’s treat.—Westminster school.Food, provision for an entertainment.—Norwich.
CHUCK, to throw or pitch.
CHUCKING A JOLLY, when a costermonger praises the inferior article his mate or partner is trying to sell.
CHUCKING A STALL, where one rogue walks in front of a person while another picks his pockets.
CHUCKLE-HEAD, a fool.—Devonshire.
CHUFF IT,i.e., be off, or take it away, in answer to a street seller who is importuning you to purchase.HalliwellmentionsCHUFFas a “term of reproach,” surly, &c.
CHUM, an acquaintance. A recognised term, but in such frequent use with the lower orders that it demanded a place in this glossary.
CHUM, to occupy a joint lodging with another person.
CHUMMING-UP, an old custom amongst prisoners when a fresh culprit is admitted to their number, consisting of a noisy welcome—rough music made with pokers, tongs, sticks, and saucepans. For this ovation the initiated prisoner has to pay, orFORK OVER, half a crown—or submit to a loss of coat and waistcoat. The practice is ancient.
CHUMMY, a chimney sweep; also a low-crowned felt hat.
CHUNK, a thick or dumpy piece of any substance.—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.—SeeCHRISTEN.
CHURCHWARDEN, a long pipe, “A YARD OF CLAY.”
CLAGGUM, boiled treacle in a hardened state,Hardbake.—SeeCLIGGY.
CLAP, to place; “do you think you canCLAPyour hand on him?”i.e., find him out.
CLAPPER, the tongue.
CLAP-TRAP, high-sounding nonsense. An ancientTheatricalterm for a “TRAPto catch aCLAPby way of applause from the spectators at a play.”—Bailey’s Dictionary.
CLARET, blood.—Pugilistic.
CLEAN, quite, or entirely; “CLEANgone,” entirely out of sight, or away.—Old, see Cotgrave.—Shakespere.
CLEAN OUT, to thrash, or beat; to ruin, or bankrupt any one; to take all they have got, by purchase, or force.De Quincey, in his article on “Richard Bentley,” speaking of the lawsuit between that great scholar and Dr. Colbatch, remarks that the latter “must have been pretty wellCLEANED OUT.”
CLICK, knock, or blow.Click-handed, left-handed.—Cornish.
CLICK, to snatch.
CLIFT, to steal.
CLIGGY, orCLIDGY, sticky.—Anglo Saxon,CLÆG, clay.—SeeCLAGGUM.
CLINCHER, that which rivets or confirms an argument, an incontrovertible position. Metaphor from the workshop.
CLINK-RIG, stealing tankards from public-houses, taverns, &c.
CLIPPING, excellent, very good.
CLOCK, “to know what’sO’CLOCK,” a definition of knowingness in general.—SeeTIME O’DAY.
CLOD-HOPPER, a country clown.
CLOUT, orRAG, a cotton pocket handkerchief.—Old cant.
CLOUT, a blow, or intentional strike.—Ancient.
CLOVER, happiness, or luck.
CLUMP, to strike.
CLY, a pocket.—Old cantfor to steal. A correspondent derives this word from theOld English,CLEYES, claws;Anglo Saxon,CLEA. This pronunciation is still retained in Norfolk; thus, toCLYwould mean to pounce upon, snatch.—SeeFRISK.
CLY-FAKER, a pickpocket.
COACH, a Cambridge term for a private tutor.
COACH WHEEL, orTUSHEROON, a crown piece, or five shillings.
COALS, “to call (or pull) over theCOALS,” to take to task, to scold.
COCK, or more frequently now a days,COCK-E-E, a vulgar street salutation—corruption ofCOCK-EYE. The latter is frequently heard as a shout or street cry after a man or boy.
COCK AND A BULL STORY, a long, rambling anecdote.—See Notes and Queries, vol. iv., p. 313.
COCKCHAFER, the treadmill.
COCK-EYE, one that squints.
COCKLES, “to rejoice theCOCKLESof one’s heart,” a vulgar phrase implying great pleasure.—SeePLUCK.
COCKNEY, a native of London. Originally, a spoilt or effeminate boy, derived fromCOCKERING, or foolishly petting a person, rendering them of soft or luxurious manners. Halliwell states, in his admirable essay upon the word, that “some writers trace the word with much probability to the imaginary land ofCOCKAYGNE, the lubber land of the olden times.”Grosegives 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 that 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 theCOCK NEIGHS?”
COCK OF THE WALK, a master spirit, head of a party. Places where poultry are fed are calledWALKS, and the barn-door cocks invariably fight for the supremacy till one has obtained it.
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 ofcook, a cooked statement, or, as a correspondent suggests, theCOCK LANEGhost may have given rise to the term. This had a great run, and was a rich harvest to the running stationers.
COCK ONE’S TOES, to die.
COCK ROBIN SHOP, a small printer’s office, where low wages are paid to journeymen who have never served a regular apprenticeship.
COCKSHY, a game at fairs and races, where trinkets are set upon sticks, and for one penny three throws at them are accorded, the thrower keeping whatever he knocks off. From the ancient game of throwing or “shying” at live cocks.
COCKSURE, certain.
COCKY, pert, saucy.
COCKYOLY BIRDS, little birds, frequently called “dickey birds.”—Kingsley’s Two Years Ago.
COCK, “toCOCKyour eye,” to shut or wink one eye.
COCUM, advantage, luck, cunning, or sly, “to fightCOCUM,” to be wily and cautious.
CODDS, the “poor brethren” of the Charter house. At p. 133 of theNewcomes, Mr. Thackeray writes, “The Cistercian lads call these old gentlemenCODDS, I know not wherefore.” An abbreviation ofCODGER.
CODGER, an old man; “a rum oldCODGER,” a curious old fellow.Codgeris sometimes used synonymous withCADGER, and then signifies a person who gets his living in a questionable manner.Cager, orGAGER, was the old cant term for a man.
COFFEE-SHOP, a water-closet, or house of office.
COG, to cheat at dice.—Shakespere.Also, to agree with, as one cog-wheel does with another.
COLD BLOOD, a house licensed for the sale of beer “NOTto be drunk on the premises.”
COLD COOK, an undertaker.
COLD MEAT, a corpse.
COLD SHOULDER, “to show or give any one theCOLD SHOULDER,” to assume a distant manner towards them, to evince a desire to cease acquaintanceship. Sometimes it is termed “cold shoulder ofmutton.”
COLLAR, “out ofCOLLAR,”i.e., out of place, no work.
COLLAR, to seize, to lay hold of.
COLLY-WOBBLES, a stomach ache, a person’s bowels,—supposed by many of the lower orders to be the seat of feeling and nutrition; an idea either borrowed from, or transmitted by, the ancients.—Devonshire.
COLT’S TOOTH, elderly persons of juvenile tastes are said to have a colt’s tooth.
COMB-CUT, mortified, disgraced, “down on one’s luck.”—SeeCUT.
COME, a slang verb used in many phrases; “A’nt heCOMING IT?”i.e., is he not proceeding at a great rate? “Don’tCOME TRICKShere,” “don’tCOME THE OLD SOLDIERover me,”i.e., we are aware of your practices, and “twig” your manœuvre.Coming it strong, exaggerating, going a-head, the opposite of “drawing it mild.”Coming italso means informing or disclosing.
COME DOWN, to pay down.
COMMISSION, a shirt.—Ancient cant.Italian,CAMICIA.
COMMISTER, a chaplain or clergyman.
COMMON SEWER, aDRAIN, or drink.
COMMONS, rations, because eatenin common.—University.Short commons(derived from the University slang term), a scanty meal, a scarcity.
CONK, a nose;CONKY, having a projecting or remarkable nose. The Duke of Wellington was frequently termed “OldCONKY” in satirical papers and caricatures.
CONSTABLE, “to overrun theCONSTABLE,” to exceed one’s income, get deep in debt.
CONVEY, to steal; “CONVEY, the wise it call.”
CONVEYANCER, a pick-pocket.Shakespereuses the cant expression,CONVEYER, a thief. The same term is alsoFrench slang.
COOK, a term well known in the Bankruptcy Courts, referring to accounts that have been meddled with, orCOOKED, by the bankrupt; also the forming a balance sheet from general trade inferences; stated by a correspondent to have been first used in reference to the celebrated alteration of the accounts of the Eastern Counties Railway, by George Hudson, the Railway King.
COOK ONE’S GOOSE, to kill or ruin any person.—North.
COOLIE, a soldier, in allusion to theHindooCOOLIES, or day labourers.
COON, abbreviation of Racoon.—American.AGONE COON—ditto, one in an awful fix, past praying for. This expression is said to have originated in the American war with a spy, who dressed himself in a racoon skin, and ensconced himself in a tree. An English rifleman taking him for a veritable coon levelled his piece at him, upon which he exclaimed, “Don’t shoot, I’ll come down of myself, I know I’m aGONE COON.” The Yankees say the Britisher was so flummuxed, that he flung down his rifle and “made tracks” for home. The phrase is pretty usual in England.
COOPER, stout half-and-half,i.e., half stout and half porter.
COOPER, to destroy, spoil, settle, or finish.Cooper’d, spoilt, “done up,” synonymous with the Americanism,CAVED IN, fallen in and ruined. The vagabonds’ hieroglyphic▽ [Downward pointing triangle], 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; “COOPERa moneker,” to forge a signature.
COP, to seize or lay hold of anything unpleasant; used in a similar sense tocatchin the phrase “toCOP(or catch) a beating,” “to getCOPT.”
COPER, properlyHORSE-COUPER, a Scotch horse-dealer,—used to denote a dishonest one.
COPPER, a policeman,i.e., one whoCOPS, which see.
COPPER, a penny.Coppers, mixed pence.
COPUS, a Cambridge drink, consisting of ale combined with spices, and varied by spirits, wines, &c. Corruption ofHIPPOCRAS.
CORINTHIANISM, a term derived from the classics, much in vogue some years ago, implying pugilism, high life, “sprees,” roistering, &c.—Shakespere. The immorality ofCorinthwas proverbial in Greece. Κορινθίαζ εσθαι, toCorinthianise, indulge in the company of courtesans, was aGreekslang expression. Hence the proverb—
Οὐ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς εἰς Κόρινθον ἔσθ' ὁ πλοῦς,
Οὐ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς εἰς Κόρινθον ἔσθ' ὁ πλοῦς,
andHorace, Epist. lib. 1, xvii. 36—
Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum,
Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum,
in allusion to the spoliation practised by the “hetæræ” on those who visited them.
CORK, “to draw aCORK,” to give a bloody nose.—Pugilistic.
CORKS, money; “how are you off for corks?” a soldier’s term of a very expressive kind, denoting the means of “keeping afloat.”
CORNED, drunk or intoxicated. Possibly from soaking or pickling oneself likeCORNEDbeef.
CORNERED, hemmed in a corner, placed in a position from which there is no escape.—American.
CORPORATION, the protuberant front of an obese person.
CORPSE, to confuse or put out the actors by making a mistake.—Theatrical.
COSSACK, a policeman.
COSTERMONGERS, street sellers of fish, fruit, vegetables, poultry, &c. The London costermongers number more than 30,000. They form a distinct class, occupying whole neighbourhoods, and are cut off from the rest of metropolitan society by their low habits, general improvidence, pugnacity, love of gambling, total want of education, disregard for lawful marriage ceremonies,and their use of a cant(or so-calledback slang)language.
COSTER, the short and slang term for a costermonger, or costard-monger, who was originally an apple seller.Costering,i.e., costermongering.
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 Americanism; andHalliwell, who terms it an Archaism; alsoBacchus and Venus, 1737.
COUNCIL OF TEN, the toes of a man who turns his feet inward.
COUNTER JUMPER, a shopman, a draper’s assistant.
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.
COUTER, a sovereign.Half-a-couter, half-a-sovereign.
COVE, orCOVEY, a boy or man of any age or station. A term generally preceded by an expressive adjective, thus a “flashCOVE,” a “rumCOVE,” a “downyCOVE,” &c. The feminine,COVESS, was once popular, but it has fallen into disuse.Ancient cant, originally (temp. Henry VIII.)COFE, orCUFFIN, altered inDecker’stime toCOVE. Probably connected withCUIF, which, in the North of England, signifies a lout or awkward fellow. AmongstNegroes,CUFFEE.
COVENTRY, “to send a man toCOVENTRY,” 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 toCOVENTRY,” came to be equivalent to putting him out of the pale of society.
COVER-DOWN, a tossing coin with a false cover, enabling either head or tail to be shown, according as the cover is left on or taken off.
COWAN, a sneak, an inquisitive or prying person.—Masonic term.Greek, κύων, a dog.
COW’S GREASE, butter.
COW-LICK, the term given to the lock of hair which costermongers and thieves usually twist forward from the ear; a large greasy curl upon the cheek, seemingly licked into shape. The opposite ofNEWGATE-KNOCKER, which see.
COXY-LOXY, good-tempered, drunk.—Norfolk.
CRAB, orGRAB, a disagreeable old person.Name of a wild and sour fruit.“To catch aCRAB,” to fall backwards by missing a stroke in rowing.
CRAB, to offend, or insult; to expose or defeat a robbery, to inform against.
CRABSHELLS, orTROTTING CASES, shoes.—SeeCARTS.
CRACK, first-rate, excellent; “aCRACK HAND,” an adept; a “CRACKarticle,” a good one.—Old.
CRACK, dry firewood.—Modern Gipsey.
CRACK, “in aCRACK(of the finger and thumb),” in a moment.
CRACK A BOTTLE, to drink.ShakespereusesCRUSHin the same slang sense.
CRACK A KIRK, to break into a church or chapel.
CRACK-FENCER, a man who sells nuts.
CRACK-UP, to boast or praise.—Ancient English.
CRACKED-UP, penniless, or ruined.
CRACKSMAN, a burglar.
CRAM, to lie or deceive, implying to fill up orCRAMa person with false stories; to acquire learning quickly, to “grind,” or prepare for an examination.
CRAMMER, a lie; or a person who commits a falsehood.
CRANKY, foolish, idiotic, ricketty, capricious, not confined to persons.Ancient cant,CRANKE, simulated sickness.German,KRANK, sickly.
CRAP, to ease oneself, to evacuate.Old wordfor refuse; alsoold cant,CROP.
CRAPPING CASE, orKEN, a privy, or water-closet.
CRAPPED, hanged.
CREAM OF THE VALLEY, gin.
CRIB, house, public or otherwise; lodgings, apartments.
CRIB, a situation.
CRIB, to steal or purloin.
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 cribbage board.
CRIKEY, profane exclamation of astonishment; “Oh,CRIKEY, you don’t say so!” corruption of “Oh, Christ.”
CRIMPS, men who trepan others into the clutches of the recruiting sergeant. They generally pretend to give employment in the colonies, and in that manner cheat those mechanics who are half famished.Nearly obsolete.
CRIPPLE, a bent sixpence.
CROAK, to die—from the gurgling sound a person makes when the breath of life is departing.—Oxon.
CROAKER, one who takes a desponding view of everything; an alarmist.From the croaking of a raven.—Ben Jonson.
CROAKER, a beggar.
CROAKER, a corpse, or dying person beyond hope.
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.—Othello, iv., 1.
CROCUS, orCROAKUS, a quack or travelling doctor;CROCUS-CHOVEY, a chemist’s shop.
CRONY, a termagant or malicious old woman; an intimate friend.Johnsoncalls it cant.
CROOKY, to hang on to, to lead, walk arm-in-arm; to court or pay addresses to a girl.
CROPPIE, a person who has had his hair cut, orCROPPED, in prison.
CROPPED, hanged.
CROSS, a general term amongst thieves expressive of their plundering profession, the opposite ofSQUARE. “To get anything on the CROSS” is to obtain it surreptitiously. “Cross-fanningin a crowd,” robbing persons of their scarf pins.
CROSS COVE and MOLLISHER, a man and woman who live by thieving.
CROSS-CRIB, a house frequented by thieves.
CROW, one who watches whilst another commits a theft, a confederate in a robbery. TheCROWlooks to see that the wayis clear, whilst theSNEAK, his partner, commits the depredation.
CROW, “a regular crow,” a success, a stroke of luck,—equivalent to aFLUKE.
CROW, “I have a CROW to pick with you,”i.e., an explanation to demand, a disagreeable matter to settle; “toCOCK-CROWover a person,” to exalt over his abasement or misfortune.
CRUG, food.—Household Words, No. 183.
CRUMBS, “to pick up one’sCRUMBS,” to begin to have an appetite after an illness; to improve in health, circumstances, &c., after a loss thereof.
CRUMMY, fat, plump.—North.
CRUMMY-DOSS, a lousy or filthy bed.
CRUNCH, to crush.Corruption; or, perhaps from the sound of teeth grinding against each other.
CRUSHER, a policeman.
CRUSHING, excellent, first rate.
CRUSTY, ill tempered, petulant, morose.—Old.
CULL, a man or boy.—Old cant.
CULLING, orCULING, stealing from the carriages on race-courses.
CUPBOARD HEADED, an expressive designation of one whose head is both wooden and hollow.—Norfolk.
CURE, an odd person; a contemptuous term, abridged fromCURIOSITY—which was formerly the favourite expression.—CompareSTIPE.
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 ofCross of Scotland, the nine diamonds being arranged somewhat after the fashion of a St. Andrew’s Cross; but the most probable explanation is, that in the game of Pope Joan the nine of diamonds is thePOPE, of whom the Scotch have an especial horror.
CURTAIL, to cut off.Originally a cant word, vide Hudibras, and Bacchus and Venus, 1737.
CUSHION THUMPER, polite rendering ofTUB THUMPER, a clergyman, a preacher.
CUSTOMER, synonymous withCHAP, a fellow; “a rumCUSTOMER,”i.e., an odd fish, or curious person.—Shakespere.
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; toCUT DIDOES, synonymous with toCUT 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 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;CUT THAT!be quiet, or stop;CUT OUT OF, done out of;CUT OF ONE’S GIB, the expression or cast of his countenance [seeGIB];TO CUT ONE’S COMB, to take down a conceited person, from the practice of cutting the combs of capons [seeCOMB-CUT];CUT AND COME AGAIN, plenty, if one cut does not suffice, plenty remains to “come again;”CUT UP, mortified, to criticise severely, or expose;CUT UP SHINES, to play tricks;CUT ONE’S STICK, to be off quickly,i.e., be in readiness for a journey, further elaborated intoAMPUTATE YOUR MAHOGANY[seeSTICK];CUT IT FAT, to exaggerate or show off in an extensive manner; toCUT UP FAT, to die, leaving a large property;CUT UNDER, to undersell;CUT YOUR LUCKY, to run off;CUT ONE’S CART, to expose their tricks;CUT AN ACQUAINTANCE, to cease friendly intercourse with them—Cambridge.Old;CUTTE, to say.