To get over the Garter,verb. phr.(venery).—To take liberties with a woman.To FlyorPrick the Garter.SeePrick the Garter.Garvies,subs.(Scots’).—1. Sprats. SometimesGarvie-Herring.1845.P. Alloa,Statis. Acc., viii., 597. They are often very successful in taking the smaller fish, such as herrings,garviesor sprats, sparlings or smelts.2. (military).—The Ninety-fourth Foot. [From the small stature of the earlier recruits.]1869.Notes and Queries, 4 S. iii., p. 349.Garvie.The soubriquet points to the low average height of the recruits in the Fifeshire regiments, which, however, may not now be the case, since recruiting has become less local.Gas,subs.(common).—Empty talk; bounce; bombast.1847.Porter,Quarter Race, etc., p. 120. The boys said that was allgasto scare them off.1867.Chambers’ Jour., 29 June. I’ve piped off Sabbathgasin my time I don’t deny, but under the woods we mostly tell the truth.1868.Chambers’ Jour., 15 Feb., p. 110. I don’t, an’ never could splice ends with them as blow offgasabout gold-digging—saying it’s plunder easy come an’ easy gone, seeking the root of evil, an’ other granny talk which hasn’t no meaning.[122]a.1871.Emerson(quoted in De Vere’sAmer.). ’Tis odd that our people should have not water on the brain, but a littlegasthere.1889.Globe, 31 Oct., p. 4, c. 4. It went on to state that the petitioner’s talk about a divorce was allgas, and made a further appointment.Verb.(common).—1. To talk idly; to brag; to bounce; to talk for talking’s sake. Fr.,faire son cheval de corbillard(in American ‘to be on the tall grass.’)SeeLong Bow.1872.Lond. Figaro, 14 Dec. There is no good to be got out ofgassingaboutrallyingaround standards, uniting as one man to resist, etc.1875. ‘American English’ inChambers’ Jour., 25 Sept., p. 610. Togasis to talk only for the purpose of prolonging a debate.1885.Society, 7 Feb., p. 7. Agitators and place-seekers maygasas much as they please, but they cannot make black appear white.2. (common).—To impose on by ‘gas’;to pill(q.v.);to splash(q.v.). For synonyms,seeGammon.To take the gas out of one,verb. phr.(common).—To take the conceit out of; to take down a peg.To turn on the gas,verb. phr.(common).—To begin bouncing; also toGas(q.v.).To turn off the gas,verb. phr.(common).—To cease, or cause to cease, from bouncing, vapouring, orGas(q.v.).To gas round,verb. phr.(common).—To seek information on the sly; also toGas(q.v.).Gas-Bag,subs.(common).—A man of words orgas(q.v.); a gasconader. Alsogasometer. For synonyms,seeMouth Almighty.1889.Referee, 6 Jan. That greatgas-bagof modern days.Gash,subs.(American).—1. The mouth. For synonyms,seepotato-trap.1878.H. B. Stowe,Poganuc People, ch. xiv., p. 122. Ef Zeph Higgins would jest shet up hisgashin town-meetin’, that air school-house could be moved fast enough.2. (venery).—The femalepudendum. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Gashly,adj.(common).—A vulgarism forghastly.Gaskins,subs.(old).—Wide hose; wide breeches. [FromGalligaskins. Johnson says, ‘an old ludicrous word.’]Gasp,subs.(common).—A dram of spirits. For synonyms,seeGo.Verb.(common).—To drink a dram,e.g., ‘Will yougasp?’ = Will you take something neat.Gaspipe,subs.(nautical).—1. An iron steamer, whose length is nine or ten times her beam. [At one time a ship’s length but rarely exceeded four and a half to five times the beam.]2. (printers’).—Bad rollers.3. (common).—A rifle; specifically the Snider.1883.Daily Telegraph, 9 July, p. 5, col. 7. The old Snider—the despair-breedinggas-pipeof our Volunteers—continues to be used in many of the competitions.Gaspipe-crawler,subs. phr.(common).—A thin man.Cf.,Lamp-post.[123]Gasser,subs.(common).—A braggart. For synonyms,seeMouth Almighty.Gassy(orGaseous),adj.(common).—1. Likely to take umbrage or to flare-up.1863.North American Review, cxliii., p. 220.Gassypoliticians in Congress.2. (colloquial).—Full of empty talk orgas(q.v.).1872.Whitney,Life and Growth of Lang., p. 17. As when we call an empty and sophistical but ready talkergassy.Gaster,subs.(nonce-word).—A fine and curious eater (Thackeray). In Rabelais = the belly and the needs thereof: a coinage adopted by Urquhart.Gat,subs.(schoolboys’).—A quantity;e.g., agatof grub = plenty to eat. Alsogats.1803.Every-day Life in our Public Schools.They are called up ingatsof three at a time.Gate,subs.(colloquial).—1. The attendance at a race or athletic meeting, held in enclosed grounds; the number of persons who pass the gate.1883.Sportsman, 20 Dec. The Birmingham man, on account of the largegatethat would be secured, wanted the affair to be brought off in that town, whereas Regan favoured Wolverhampton.2. Money paid for admission to athletic sports, race course, etc.; the same asgate-money(q.v.).1891.Telegraph, 21 Mar. The leading clubs are now commercial corporations, dependent for revenue on thegatesat the matches.3.in. pl.(University).—The being forbidden to pass outside the gate of a college. Seeverb, sense 1.18(?).Bradley,Tales of College Life, p. 19. That’s the ticket; that will just land me in time forgates.1881.Lang,xxxiiBallades, ‘Of Midsummer Term.’ When freshmen are careless ofgates.Verb.(University).—To confine wholly or during certain hours within the college gate for some infraction of discipline.1835.The Snobiad(Whibley,Cap and Gown, p. 141). Two proctors kindly holding either arm Staunch the dark blood andgatehim for the term.1853.Bradley,Verd. Green, I., ch. xii. He won’t hurt you much, Giglamps!Gateand chapel you!1861.Hughes,Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xii. Now you’ll both begatedprobably, and the whole crew will be thrown out of gear.1865.Cornhill Mag., p. 227. He is requested to confine himself to college after a specified hour, which is familiarly termed beinggated.1870.Morning Advertiser, 23 May. The two least culpable of the party have beengated.The gate,subs. phr.(various).—Among fishmongers, Billingsgate; among thieves, Newgate.Cf.,Lane,Row,Garden, etc.1877.Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. i., p. 5. The ‘steel,’ a slang name of the large metropolitan prisons, as thegateis for Newgate.To break gates,verb. phr.—(University).—To stay out of college after hours.To be at Gates,verb. phr.(Winchester College).—To assemble in Seventh Chamber passage, preparatory to goingtoHills or Cathedral.1870.Mansfield,School Life, p. 149. Soon after morning chapel on a holiday or a remedy all the boys assembled atgates.On the gate,adv. phr.(thieves’).—On remand.[124]Gate-Bill,subs.(University).—The record of an undergraduate’s failure to be within the precincts of his college at, or before, a specified time at night.1803.Gradus ad Cant., p. 128. To avoidgate-billshe will be out at night as late as he pleases … climb over the college wall, and fee his gyp well.Gate-money,subs.(colloquial).—The charge for admission to a race-meeting.SeeGate,subs., sense 1.1885.Daily News, 25 May, p. 3, c. 2. The truth of the matter is, that so far as sport goes, open meetings like those at Bath and Salisbury cannot stand up againstgate-moneymeetings such as Manchester.1888.Sporting Life, 10 Dec. The comfort that is brought home at our greatgate-moneymeetings gatherings to every visitor.Gate-of-Horn,subs. phr.(venery). The femalepudendum.Cf.,Horn, and for synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Gate-of-Life,subs.(venery).—The femalepudendum. AlsoGate-of-Horn. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Gater,subs.(Winchester College).—A plunge head foremost into apot(q.v.).Gate-race(or-meeting),subs.(sporting).—Formerly, a contest not got up for sport but entrance money; now a race or athletic meeting to which admission is by payment.1881.Daily News, 14 July. Few of these athletics care to compete atgate-meetings.Gath,subs.(colloquial).—A city or district inPhilistia(q.v.); often used, likeAskelon(q.v.) forPhilistiaitself. Hence,to be mighty in gath= to be aPhilistine(q.v.) of the first magnitude;to prevail against gath= to smite the Philistines hip and thigh, as becomes a valiant companion of theDavidsbund; and so forth.Tell it not in Gath,verb. phr.(colloquial).—An interjection of derision, signifying that the person exclaimed against has done something the knowledge of which would bring on him the wrath, or the amazement, of his friends.Gather.To gather up,verb. phr.(American).—To lead away.1847.Chronicles of Pineville, p. 182. ‘Gatherhimup, boys,’ said the judge, ‘the sentence of the law must be executed.’To gather the taxes,verb. phr.(tailor’s).—To go from workshop to workshop seeking employment. Hence,Tax-gatherer= a man out of work and looking for a job.Cf.,Inspector of public buildings.Out of gathers,adv. phr.(colloquial).—In distress.Cf.,Out at elbows.Gatherings.SeeGags.Gatter,subs.(common).—Beer; also liquor generally.Shant of gatter= a pot of beer. Fr.,la moussante. For synonyms,seeDrinks.1818.Maginn,Vidocq Versified. Lots ofgatter, says she, is flowing. Lend me a lift in the family way.1841.Punch, I., p. 243,Gatteris but threepence a pot, and that’s the price of a reasonable ’pike ticket.1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. i., p. 232. They have a ‘shant ofgatter’ (pot of beer) at the nearest ‘boozing-ken’ (alehouse).[125]Gaudeamus,subs.(colloquial).—A feast; a drinking bout; any sort of merry-making. [German students’, but now general and popular.] From the first word of the mediæval (students’) ditty. For synonyms,seeJamboree.Gaudy(orGaudy-day),subs.(common).—A feast or entertainment: specifically the annual dinner of the fellows of a college in memory of founders or benefactors; or a festival of the Inns of Court. (Lat.gaudere= to rejoice.)1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict.Gaudy days, college or Inns of Court festivals.1754.B. Martin,Eng. Dict., 2nd ed.Gaudies, double commons, such as they have ongaudyor granddaysin colleges.1760.Foote,Minor, Act i. Dine at twelve, and regale, upon agaudy day, with buns and beer at Islington.1803.Gradus ad Cantab., p. 122. Cut lectures … givegaudiesand spreads.1820.Lamb,Elia(Oxford in the Vacation). Methought I a little grudged at the coalition of thebetter Judewith Simon—clubbing (as it were) their sanctities together, to make up one poorgaudy-daybetween them.1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxiii. We had a carouse to your honour … we fought, too, to finish off thegaudy.1878.Besant and Rice,By Celia’s Arbour, ch. xxxiii. Champagne … goes equally well with a simple luncheon of cold chicken, and with the most elaborategaudy.Adj.(colloquial).—Good; frolicsome; festive.Cf., Shakspeare’s ‘Let’s have one othergaudynight.’—Ant. and Cleo., iii, 13.1884.Hawley Smart,From Post to Finish, p. 176. ‘Yes,’ answered the trainer, slowly, ‘he’s right enough; but a Leger’s a Leger, and I don’t think they are likely to give him a verygaudychance.’Neat but not gaudy, as the devil said when he painted his bottom pink, and tied up his tail with pea-green,phr.(common).—A locution used to ancient ladies dressed in flaming colours.Gauge.SeeGage.To get the gauge of,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To divine an intention; to read a character; tosize, (orreckon)up(q.v.). Hence, That’s about thegaugeof it = That’s a fair description.Gauley.Seeby golly.Gawf,subs.(costers’).—A red-skinned apple.1851–61.Mayhew,Lond. Lab., i., 63. A cheap red-skinned fruit, known to costers asgawfs, is rubbed hard, to look bright and feel soft, and is mixed with apples of a superior description.Gawfsare sweet and sour at once, I was told, and fit for nothing but mixing.Gawk,subs.(colloquial).—A simpleton, especially an awkward one, whether male or female. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head. [ScotsGowk= a cuckoo; a fool; whence,to gowk= to, play the fool. As in the ‘Derision of Wanton Women’ (Bannatyne,MS., 1567), ‘To gar them ga ingucking’ = to make them play the fool.]1837.H. Martineau,Soc. in America, i., 299. They proved suchgawksthat they were unable to learn.1882.McCabe,New York, p. 217. I wasn’t half as awkward as some of thegawksabout me.1887.H. Frederic,Seth’s Brother’s Wife, ch. iv. Girls brought up to be awkwardgawks, without a chance in life.Verb.(colloquial).—To loiter round; toplay the goat. [The same verb is used byJonson[126](Magnetic Lady, iii., 4, 1632) in the sense of amazed, or bamboozled,i.e., absolutely befooled: Nay, look how the man stands, as he weregowked!]1888.F. R. Stockton,Rudder Grange, ch. xvi. That afternoon wegawkedaround, a-lookin’ at all the outside shows, for Jone said he’d have to be pretty careful of his money now.Gawkiness,subs.(colloquial).—Awkwardness; silliness;greenness(q.v.).1873.Miss Broughton,Nancy, ch. xxxvii. The crudegawkinessof the raw girl he has drifted into marrying.Gawking,subs.(colloquial).—Loitering and staring;gathering hayseed(q.v.).Gawky,subs.(colloquial).—An awkward booby; a fool. ‘Nowsquire gawky’ = a challenge to a clumsy lout. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head.1686–1758.Ramsay,Poems, ii., 299. Or, gentle born ye be; but youths in love you’re but agawky.1777.Sheridan,School for Scandal, Act ii., Sc. 2.Crab.Yes, and she is a curious being to pretend to be censorious—an awkwardgawky, without any one good point under heaven.1825.Neal,Bro. Jonathan, ii., ch. 18. Great, long, slab-sidedgawkysfrom the country.1878.C. H. Wall, tr.Molière, ii., 197. Our biggawkyof a viscount.Adj.(colloquial).—Lanky; awkward; stupid.1759.Townley,High Life Below Stairs,i., 1. Under the form of agawkycountry boy I will be an eye-witness of my servants’ behaviour.1855.Thackeray,Newcomes, ch. xlviii. Even for his cousin Samuel Newcome, agawkyyouth with an eruptive countenance, Barnes had appropriate words of conversation.Gawney(orGoney),subs.(common).—A fool. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head.Gay,adj.(colloquial).—1. Dissipated; specifically, given to venery: As in the French,avoir la cuisse gaie= to be addicted to the use of men. Hencegay woman, orgirl, orbit= a strumpet;gay house= a brothel;to be gay= to be incontinent;gay in the legs,in the groin,in the arse=short-heeled(q.v.);gaying instrument= thepenis[Lexicon Balatronicum, 1811, s.v.];gay man= a wencher;gay ladie(old) = a mistress;gaying it= copulating.1383.Chaucer,Canterbury Tales, 3767. What eyeleth you? Somegaygirl, God it wot, Hath brough you thus upon the very trot.1754.Adventurer, No. 124. The old gentleman, whose character I cannot better express than in the fashionable phrase which has been contrived to palliate false principles and dissolute manners, had been agayman, and was well acquainted with the town.1854.Leech,Pictures of Life and Character. How long have you beengay?1857.J. E. Ritchie,Night Side of London, p. 40. Here in Catherine-street vice is a monster of a hideous mien. Thegaywomen, as they are termed, are worse off than American slaves.1868.Sunday Times, 19 July. As soon as ever a woman has ostensibly lost her reputation, we, with a grim inappositeness, call hergay.2. (common).—In drink. For synonyms,seeScrewed.All Gay(orAll so Gay).adv. phr.(common).—All right; first-rate;all serene(q.v.).To feel gay.verb. phr.(colloquial).—Inclined for sport, venereal or other;To feel naughty(q.v.).Gay Tyke Boy,subs. phr.(old).—A dog fancier.1848.Duncombe,Sinks of London, s.v.[127]Gazebo,subs.(old).—A summer-house commanding an extensive view. [Dog-Latin,gazebo= I will gaze.]1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Geach,subs.(thieves’).—A thief. For synonyms,seeThieves.1821.Haggart,Life, p. 56. He was a tolerablegeach.Verb.(thieves’).—To steal. For synonyms,seePrig.1821.Haggart,Life, p. 73. A small dross scout … which I knew had beengeached.Gear,subs.(venery).—1. The private parts, both male and female. [‘Geere,besognes;aussi les parties honteuses’ (Robert Sherwood’sDictionarie, English and French, appended toCotgrave, 1660). ‘Besongner… also to do or leacher with’ (Cotgrave). Anglo-Saxon:gearwe(strong feminine plural) ornaments.Skeatsays original sense of gear was ‘preparation.’]1598.Florio,Worlde of Wordes,Mozza, a wench, a lasse, a girle. Also a woman’sgeareor cunnie.1620.Percy,Folio MSS.‘Ffryar and Boye.’ I sweare, by night nor day thygeareis not to borrow.1659.Torriano,Vocabulario, s.v.2. (obsolete).—Work,business(q.v.). Thus: Here’s goodlygear= Here’s fine doings; Here’s a pretty kettle of fish. As inRomeo and Juliet(ii., 2, 106).Gee,subs.(colloquial).—SeeGee-gee.Verb.(colloquial).—1. To go or turn to the off-side; used as a direction to horses.Cf.: It.:gio= Get on!1480.Dialogus Creaturum.Et cum sic gloriaretur, et cogitaret cum quanta gloria duceretur ad illum virum super equum, dicendo, ‘Gio! Gio!’ cepit pede percutere terram quasi pungeret equum calcaribus.2. (colloquial).—To move faster: as a teemster to his horses, ‘Gee up!’1824.Blackwood’s Mag., Oct. Mr. Babbge-huppedin vain, and strove to jerk the rein, Nobbs felt he had his option to work or play.3. (colloquial).—To stop: as ‘Gee whoa!’To gee with,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To agree with; to fit; to be congenial; to go on all fours with; to do.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew,Gears, s.v. … It won’tgee, it won’t hit or go.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue.gee, it won’tgee, it won’t hit or do, it does not suit or fit.1850.Seaworthy,Nag’s Head, ch. v., p. 35. It don’t seem toGee! said Isaac, as he was trying to adjust the stove.1888.Missouri Repub., 8 April. He and Mrs. Barnay did notgee.Gee-gee(orGee).—subs.(common).—1. A horse.SeeGee,verb.in all senses. For synonyms,seePrad.1888.Referee, 15 April, 1/2. In nearly all other races theyseemost of thegeesdo a canter on their way up the course.1889.Pall Mall Gaz., 14 April. He knows as much aboutgee-gee’sas a professional trainer.1890.Licensed Vict. Gaz.,8 Feb. Thegeeswere all broken to the stable.2. (colloquial).—The nickname among journalists (of the interviewer, type) of Mr. G(eorge) G(rossmith), better known, perhaps, as the Society Clown.[128]Gee-gee Dodge,subs. phr.(trade).—Selling horseflesh for beef.1884.Greenwood,Veiled Mysteries. Thegee-gee dodge… was seldom or ever practised … it was impossible … to bargain for a regular supply.Geekie,subs.(Scots thieves’).—A police-station.Geeloot.SeeGaloot.Geese,All his geese are swans,phr.(colloquial).—He habitually exaggerates, orembroiders(q.v.); or, He is always wrong in his estimates of persons and things.The old woman’s picking her geese(proverbial).—Said of a snowstorm. [The other leg of the couplet (schoolboys’) runs: ‘And selling the feathers a penny a piece.’]Like geese on a common(colloquial).—Wandering in a body, aggressive and at large:e.g., asfaddists(q.v.) in pursuit of afad; or members of Parliament in recess, when both sides go about to say the thing which is in them.Geewhilikens!intj.(Western American).—An exclamation of surprise; alsojeewhilikens.1888.Detroit Free Press.It is on time? No? Three hours late?Geewhilikens!Geezer,subs.(popular).—An appellation, sometimes, but not necessarily, of derision and contempt; applied to both sexes, but generally to women. Usually,old geezer. For synonyms,seeWitch.1885.Truth about the Stage, p. 16. If we wake up the oldgeezerswe shall get notice to quit without compensation.1886.Broadside Ballad, ‘Her Mother’s Got the Hump.’ This frizzle-headed oldgeezerhad a chin on her as rough—well, as rough as her family, and they’re rough ’uns.1890.A. Chevalier, ‘Knocked ’Em in the Old Kent Road.’ Nice oldgeezerwith a nasty cough.1892.Anstey,Voces Populi, p. 82. Our oldgeeser’sperdoocin’ the custimary amount o’ sensation.Gelding,subs.(old).—A eunuch.1380.Wycliffe,Trans. of the Bible, Acts viii. 39. … the spirit of the Lord ravysched Filip, and thegeldyngesay him no more.1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.to enter for the geldings’ stakes,verb. phr.(old).—To castrate a man; also used to describe a eunuch.Gelt,subs.(old).—Money;gilt(q.v.). Alsogelter.—(Duncombe, 1848).1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. There is nogeltto be got, Trading is very dull.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Gemini!(orGeminy!orJiminy!)intj.(common).—An exclamation of surprise; a mild oath. [Generally referred to the Lat.: Gemini = the Twins (i.e., Castor and Pollux, the objects of an old Roman oath); but Palmer (Folk Etymology), traces the interjection to the German,O Gemine!; Dutch,Jemy Jemini!; both abbreviated from the Latin,O Jesu Domine!; or merely fromJesu meus!; Italian,Giesu mio!It seems to have come in at the Restoration.] AlsoO Jimminy!;[129]O Jimminy Figs!;O Jimminy Gig!etc.: for the phrase has pleased the cockney mind, and been vulgarised accordingly.1672.Dryden,The Assignation, Act ii., Sc. 3.Ben.Ogemini! is it you, sir?1704.Steele,Lying Lover, Act iv., Sc. 3.Sim.I stay with you? Ohgemini! Indeed, I can’t.1731.Fielding,The Lottery, Sc. 2. Lord Lace! Ohgemini! who’s that?1780.Mrs. Cowley,The Belle’s Stratagem, iv., 2. Ohgemini! beg the petticoat’s pardon.1797.M. G. Lewis,Castle Spectre, iii., 3. Ohgemini! what would he use with me, lady?1798.Morton,Secrets Worth Knowing, i., 1. A parcel of lazy chaps, I dare say—but I’ll make them stir their stumps. Well, here we are at last.—Ohgemini gighow my poor bones do ache!1836.M. Scott,Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. i. ‘Gemini!what is that now?’ quoth Tip again.1863.Reade,Hard Cash, I., 125. O,jiminy! This polite ejaculation was drawn out by the speaker’s sudden recognition of Alfred.Gemman,subs.(vulgar).—A contraction of gentleman.1550.Docteur Double-All(the word occurs in this play).c.1551.L. Shepherd,John Bonin Arber’sGarner, iv., 107. Ye be the jolliestgemmanthat I ever saw in my life.1767.Colman,Oxonian in Town, I., i. I am glad to see your honour’s well. I hope you left all thegemminwell at Oxford.1818.Byron,Beppo, st. 86. At home our Bow-streetgemmenkeep the laws.1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. iii., ch. v. … but knock down agemman.1851.Borrow,Lavengro, ch. 26. Here the gipsygemmansee.Gen,subs.(costers’).—A shilling. Back slang, butcf.Fr.,argent. For synonyms,seeBlow.1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. i., p. 19. I’ll try you agen(shilling) said a coster.1887.Saturday Review, 14 May, p. 700. The difficulty of inverting the word shilling accounts for ‘generalize.’ from which the abbreviation togenis natural as well as affectionate.Gender,verb.(old).—To copulate. [An abbreviation ofEngender.] For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.1602.Shakspeare,Othello, iv., 2. A cistern for foul toads To knot andgenderin.1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.1778.Bailey,Eng. Dict., s.v.1816.Johnson,Eng. Dict., s.v.1892.Bible, Lev. xix., 19. Thou shalt not let thy cattlegenderwith a diverse kind.Feminine Gender,subs. phr.(schoolboys’).—The femalepudendum. [As in the old (schoolboys’) rhyme:Amo, amas, I loved a lass, And she was tall and slender,Amas, amat, I laid her flat, And tickled herfeminine gender. Quoted (with modifications) by Marryat inJacob Faithful, 1835.]Generalize,subs.(costers’). A shilling.SeeGen.Generating Place,subs. phr.(venery).—The femalepudendum.Generation Tool,subs. phr.(venery).—Thepenis. For synonyms,seeCreamstickandPrick.Geneva Print,subs. phr.(old).—Gin. For synonyms,seeDrinksandSatin.1584–1640.Massinger(quoted inSlang, Jargon, and Cant). And if you meet an Officer preaching of sobriety, Unless he read it inGeneva Print, Lay him by the heels.[130]Gen-net,subs. phr.(back slang).—Ten shillings.Gennitraf,subs.(back slang).—A farthing.Genol,adj.(back slang).—Long.Gent,subs.(once literary: now vulgar).—1. A showily-dressed vulgarian. [A contraction of ‘gentleman.’]1635. [Glapthorne],Lady Mother, in Bullen’sOld Plays, ii., 114. Hees not agentthat cannot parlee. I must invent some new and polite phrases.1785.Burns,Epistle to J. Lapraite, st. 11. Do ye envy the citygent, Behint a kist to lie and sklent?1843.Thackeray,Irish Sketch Book, ch. viii. The crowd of swaggeringgents(I don’t know the corresponding phrase in the Anglo-Irish vocabulary to express a shabby dandy), awaiting the Cork mail.1844.Disraeli,Coningsby, bk. IV., ch. ii. ‘Ah, not in business! Hem! professional?’ ‘No,’ said Coningsby, ‘I am nothing.’—‘Ah! an independentgent; hem! and a very pleasant thing too.’1846.Sunday Paper, 24 May.Mr. Rawlinson(Magistrate at Marylebone Police Court). What do you mean bygent? There is no such word in our language. I hold a man who is called agentto be the greatest blackguard there is.1848.Punch, vol. XIV., p. 226. His aversion for agentis softened by pity.1869.Blue Budget. Thegentindicates a being who apes the gentility without the faintest shadow of a claim to it.2. (Old Cant).—Money. [From Fr.,argent.] For synonyms,seeActualandGilt.1864.Revue des Deux Mondes, 15 Sept., p. 470.Les voleurs anglais disentgentpour ‘argent.’3. (colloquial).—A sweetheart, a mistress:e.g., Mygent= my particular friend.Adj.(old literary).—Elegant;comely; genteel.1383.Chaucer,Canterbury Tales. ‘Miller’s Tale.’ [Skeat, 1878, i., 194]. As any wesil her bodygentand small.1553–99.Spenser. He loved as was his lot, a ladygent.Idem.A knight had wrought against a ladygent.1704.Mad. Knight’s Jour., p. 44. Law you, sais she, it’s rightgent, do you take it—’tis dreadfull pretty.Gentile,subs.(colloquial). Any sort of stranger, native or foreign; among the Mormons, any person not professing the Gospel according to Joe Smith. Hence,In the Land of the Gentiles= (1) in foreign parts; and (2) in strange neighbourhoods or alien society.Gentle,subs.(anglers’).—A maggot; vulgarly,Gentile.1811.Songs of the Chase.‘The Jolly Anglers.’ We havegentlesin our horns.Gentle Craft,subs.(old).—1. The trade of shoemaking. [From the romance of Prince Crispin, who is said to have made shoes.]1662.Rump Songs.‘A Hymn to the Gentle Craft,’ etc., ii. 152. Crispin and he were nere akin: Thegentle crafthath a noble kin.2. (anglers’).—Angling.1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 65. Sez I,gentle craft, said I.Gentleman,subs.(thieves’).—A crowbar. For synonyms,seejemmy.To put a churl(orbeggar)upon a gentleman,verb. phr.(old).—To drink malt liquor immediately after wine.—Grose.Gentleman of the(Three, orFour, orFive) Outs (orIns),subs. phr.(old).—A[131]varying and ancient wheeze, of which the following are representative:—Out of money, and out of clothes; Out at the heels, and out at the toes; Out of credit, and in debt.A man in debt, in danger, and in poverty; or in gaol, indicted, and in danger of being hanged.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. iv. Paul becamea gentleman of three outs—out of pocket, out of elbows, and out of credit.1834.H. Ainsworth,Rookwood, Bk. III., ch. v. Jerry Juniper was what the classical CaptainGrosewould designatea gentleman with three outs, and, although he was not entirely without wit, nor his associates avouched, without money, nor certainly, in his own opinion, had that been asked, without manners.Gentleman of the Back(orBackdoor),subs.(old).—A sodomist. For synonyms,seeUsher.Gentleman of fortune,subs. phr.(common).—An adventurer.1890.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 149. ‘Why, in a place like this, where nobody puts in butgentlemen of fortune, Silver would fly the jolly roger, you don’t make no doubt of that.’Gentleman of Observation,subs. phr.(turf).—A tout.Gentleman of the Round,subs. phr.(old).—An invalided or disabled soldier, making his living by begging.1596.Jonson,Every Man in, etc., 2. Your decaied, ruinous, worme-eatengentlemen of the round.Gentleman of the Short Staff,subs. phr.(old).—A constable.1839.Ainsworth,Jack Sheppard(1889), p. 12. In the language of thegentleman of the short staffan important caption could be effected.Gentleman of the Fist,subs. phr.(pugilists’).—A prize-fighter.1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 44. Furnishsuch gentlemen of the fist.Gentleman in Brown,subs. phr.(common).—A bed bug. For synonyms,seeNorfolk Howard.1885.G. A. SalainDaily Telegraph, 14 Aug., 5/3. Bed bugs, the convertible term for which is ‘chintzes,’ are the disagreeable insects known in modern polite English as ‘Norfolk Howards,’ orgentlemen in brown.The Little Gentleman in Brown Velvet,subs. phr.(obsolete).—A mole. [The Tory toast after the death of William III., whose horse was said to have stumbled over a mole-hill.]Gentleman of the Green Baize Road,subs. phr.(gamesters’).—A card sharper.Gentleman Commoner,subs. phr.(University).—1. A privileged class of commoners at Oxford, wearing a special cut of gown and a velvet cap.2. (common).—An empty bottle. Alsofellow-commoner(q.v.). [A sarcastic allusion to the mental capacity of this class of student.] For synonyms,seeDead-man.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gentleman-ranker,subs.(military).—A broken gentleman serving in the ranks.1892.Kipling,Barrack Room Ballads. ‘Gentlemen Rankers.’Gentleman-rankersout on the spree, Damned from here to eternity, God ha’ mercy on such as we, Baa! Yah! Bah![132]Gentleman’s Companion,subs. phr.(common).—A louse. For synonyms,seeChates.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gentleman’s Master,subs. phr.(old).—A highwayman.—Grose.Gentleman’s(orLadies’)Piece,subs. phr.(colloquial).—A small or delicate portion; atit-bit.Gentleman’s Pleasure-garden,subs. phr.(venery).—The femalepudendum. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable. [Hence,Gentleman’s Pleasure-Garden Padlock= menstrual cloth.]Gentlemen’s Sons,subs. phr.(common).—The three regiments of Guards.Gently!intj.(stables’ and colloquial).—An interjection =stand still(q.v.); hence, colloquially, = don’t get into a passion,go slow(q.v.).Gentry Cove(orCofe),subs.(old cant).—A gentleman; anib-cove(q.v.). Fr.,un messire de la haute.1567.Harman,Caveat, s.v.1656.Brome,Joviall Crew, Act ii. For all this bene Cribbing and Peck let us then, Bowse a health to thegentry cofeof the Ken.1654.Witts’ Recreations.As priest of the game, And prelate of the same. There’s agentry covehere.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. Tour the bien mort twiring thegentry cove.1837.Disraeli,Venetia, p. 71. Thegentry covewill be ramboyled by his dam.Gentry Cove’s Ken(orGentry-Ken),subs. phr.(Old Cant).—A gentleman’s house.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 65. Agentry cofe’s ken, a noble or gentleman’s house. Agentry cofe, a noble or gentle man.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Gentry cove’s ken, a gentleman’s house.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gentry Mort,subs. phr.(old cant).—A lady.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 65. Agentry mort, a noble or gentle woman.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Gentry mort, a gentlewoman.1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict., s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Genuine,subs.(Winchester College).—Praise.Adj.(colloquial).—Trustworthy; not false nor double-faced.Verb.(Winchester College).—To praise. ‘He was awfully quilled andgenuinedmy task.’ [Probably from calling a thing genuine.Cf., to blackguard, to lord, etc. But fifty years ago it was asubs.only.—Notions.]Geordie,subs.(North Country).—1. A pitman; also, a Northumbrian in general.2. (nautical).—A North Country collier.3.SeeGeorge.George(or Scots’ diminutiveGeordie),subs.(old). 1.—A half crown. Also (obsolete), the noble = 6s.8d.,temp., Henry VIII.[133]1688.Shadwell,Sq. of Alsatia, List of cant words.george, half-a-crown.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew. He tipt me FortyGeorgesfor my earnest, He paid me Five Pounds for my Share or Snack.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.2. (old).—A guinea; also more frequentlyYellow George.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1787.Burns,The Twa Dogs. Theyellow-letteredGeordiekeeks.3. (old).—A penny.1820.Reynolds,The Fancy, Glossary. A Penny-piece—ageorgy.Brown George.—SeeAnte.By Fore, orBy George.—SeeBy George.George Horne,intj.(printers’).—A derisive retort on a piece of stale news. Also G. H.! [From a romancing compositor of the name.]Georgy-Porgy,verb(colloquial).—To pet; to fondle; to beslobber.1883.R. L. Stevenson,The Treasure of Franchard, ch. iii., inLongman’s Magazine, April, p. 685. He must be spoken to with more respect, I tell you; he must not be kissed andgeorgy-porgy’dlike an ordinary child.German.The German,subs. phr.(New York).—A round dance.German Duck,subs. phr.(obsolete).—1. Half a sheep’s head, stewed with onions.—Grose.2. (common).—A bed bug. For synonyms,seeNorfolk Howard.German Flutes,subs. phr.(rhyming).—A pair of boots.Germantowner,subs.(American billiards’).—A pushing shot—when the balls played with, and at, are jarred together.Cf.,Whitechapeller.Gerry,subs.(Old Cant).—Excrement.1567.Harman,Caveat, s.v.Gerry Gan,intj.(Old Cant).—A retort forcible.Stow it!(q.v.). [FromGerry= excrement +Gan= mouth,i.e., literally, Shit in your mouth.] The common form is: Shit (or a turd) in your teeth; as inBen Jonson,Bartholomew Fair, 1614. Fr.,Tais ta gueule ou j’te chie dedans.1567.Harman,Caveat.Gerry gan, the ruffian cly thee.Gerrymander(pronounced with the ‘g’ hard, as in ‘get’),verb.(political American).—To arrange the electoral subdivisions of a State to the profit and advantage of a particular party.[The term, says Norton, is derived from the name of Governor Gerry, of Massachusetts, who, in 1811, signed a Bill readjusting the representative districts so as to favour the Democrats and weaken the Federalists, although the last-named party polled nearly two-thirds of the votes cast. A fancied resemblance of a map of the districts thus treated led Stuart, the painter, to add a few lines with his pencil, and say to Mr. Russell, editor of theBoston Sentinel. ‘That will do for a Salamander.’ Russell glanced at it: ‘Salamander,’ said he, ‘call it aGerrymander!’ The epithet took at once, and became a Federalist war-cry, the caricature being published as a campaign document.]1871.Boston Daily Advertiser, 6 Dec.Gerrimanderwas the name printed under a picture of a pretended monster, whose shape was modified from the distorted geography which Mr. Gerry’s friends inflicted on part of the State for the sake of economizing, majorities.[134]Gerrymandering,subs.(political American).SeeGerrymander.1872.New York Sunday Mercury, 31 March. The Legislature of Ohio intends to prove itself a veritable master in thegerrymanderingbusiness.1890.Athenæum, 22 Feb. p.238, c. 1. Whatever faults can be found with Sir John’s administration, it has been good and successful enough to afford excuse for all thegerrymanderingwith which he is charged by his critics.1891.Belfort’s Mag., Aug., p. 439. The Democrats of Michigan have carried the art ofgerrymanderingto such an extent that they have thoroughly disgusted their opponents.Gerund-Grinder,subs.(common).—A schoolmaster, especially a pedant. AlsoGerund-Grinding.1759–67.Sterne,TristramShandy, iv., 112. Tutors, governors,gerund-grinders, and bear-leaders.1788.Knox,Winter Evenings, 59. A pedant, a mere plodder, a petty tyrant, agerund-grinder.1825–7.Hone,Every Day Book, II., p. 33.Gerund-Grindingand parsing are usually prepared for at the last moment.Get,subs.(old).—1. A cheating contrivance; aHave(q.v.).2. (old).—A child; the result, that is, of an act of procreation or begetting. Thus,one of his gets= one of his making;whose get is that?= Who’s the father? It’s hisget, anyhow = At all events hegotit.1570.Scottish Text Society,Satirical Poems, I., 171, ‘Treason of Dumbarton’ (1891). Ganelon’sgets, relicts of Sinon’s seed.d.1798.Burns,Merry Muses. ‘For a’ that.’ O’ bastardgettssome had a score, An’ some had mair than a’ that.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 41. This, again, is unusual for a Chester, as hisgetare generally quiet and docile, but a bit lazy.Get!(orYou Get!)intj.(American).—Short forGet out!Usually,Git!(q.v.).1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 176. None of your damned impertinence.Get!To get at,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To quiz; to banter; to aggravate; to take a rise out of. AlsoTo get back at.1891.Sloper’s Half Holiday, 3 Jan. ‘Your family don’t seem to get on, missie.’ ‘On!’ replied the child, with dignity flashing from her great blue eyes; ‘on!I’ve got a fatheronthe booze, a sisteronthe music ’all, an’ a brotheronthe treadmill.On!who’re yegettin’ at?’2. (racing and colloquial).—To influence; to bribe; to nobble (of horses), and to corrupt (of persons); applied to horse, owner, trainer, jockey, and vet. alike.1870.Spectator, 23 April. That, of course, makes it profitable for owners to withdraw horses they have secretly betted against, and for scoundrels toget athorses.1871.Saturday Review, 9 Sept. It is quite clear that some of the foreign working men have beengot at.1883.Graphic, 17 March, p. 262, c. 2. The House of Commons … can also be trusted to decide in local questions without any suspicion of beinggot at, as is sometimes the case elsewhere.1883.Badminton Library,Steeplechasing, p. 404. Suspicions that the mare had beengot at, that is to say, drugged, were afterwards noised abroad.1888.Daily Telegraph, 17 Nov. It was strongly suspected that he had beengot at.1890.Globe, 11 Aug., p. 1, c. 1. Fancy the professional agitator trying toget atsuch men as these—men who gloried in being soldiers and nothing else!1892.Pall Mall Gazette, May 10, p. 3, c. 3. The scoundrels (verily of the lowest form) who have tried toget atOrme.1892.National Observer, vii. 630. If the horse weregot at, then a bookie who stood heavily to lose is probably assumed.[135]To get about,verb. phr.(venery).—To do the act of intromission. For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.To get back at,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To satirise; to call to account.1888.Daily Inter-Ocean.The newspapers aregetting backat Sam.Get back into your box!phr.(American).—An injunction to silence;stow it!(q.v.for synonyms).To get encored,verb. phr.(tailors’).—To have a job returned for alterations.To get even with,verb. phr.(common).—To take one’s revenge; to give tit for tat.To get it,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To be punished (morally or physically); to be called over the coals. Also (venery) to catch a clap.To get off,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To (1) escape punishment, to be let off; (2) to utter, to deliver oneself of, to perpetrate—as to get off a joke; and (3) to get married.To get on,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To back a horse; to put abit on(q.v.).2. (colloquial).—To succeed; or, simply, to fare. Thus,How are you getting on?may signify (1) To what extent are you prospering? or (2) How are you doing?1871.Pall Mall Gaz., 29 Dec. That great Anglo-Saxon passion of rising in the world, orgetting on—that is, rising into the class above him.1892.A. W. Pinero,The Times: a Comedy, v. 1. We used to go very early to such places and stay right through, now that papa hasgot on, we arrive late everywhere and murmur an apology!To get one in the cold,verb. phr.(American).—To have at an advantage; to be on thewindward side(q.v.);to have on toast(q.v.).To get one on,verb. phr.(pugilists’).—To land a blow.To get down fine(orclose),verb. phr.(American).—To know all about one’s antecedents; and (police) to know where to find one’s man.To get into,verb. phr.(venery).—To occupy(q.v.). AlsoTo get inandTo get up. For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.1620.Percy,Folio MSS., p. 197.Gettvp againe, Billy, if that thou louest me.To get over,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To seduce, to fascinate, to dupe. AlsoTo come overandTo get round.To get outside of,verb.phr.(colloquial).—1. To eat or drink; also to accomplish one’s purpose.1892.S. Watson,Wops the Waif, p. 9. Tickle urged Wops again and again to drink, but Wops’s only reply was, ‘Yer go on, Tickle; gitoutsidethe lot, if yer can; it’ll do yer good, Cully.’
To get over the Garter,verb. phr.(venery).—To take liberties with a woman.To FlyorPrick the Garter.SeePrick the Garter.Garvies,subs.(Scots’).—1. Sprats. SometimesGarvie-Herring.1845.P. Alloa,Statis. Acc., viii., 597. They are often very successful in taking the smaller fish, such as herrings,garviesor sprats, sparlings or smelts.2. (military).—The Ninety-fourth Foot. [From the small stature of the earlier recruits.]1869.Notes and Queries, 4 S. iii., p. 349.Garvie.The soubriquet points to the low average height of the recruits in the Fifeshire regiments, which, however, may not now be the case, since recruiting has become less local.Gas,subs.(common).—Empty talk; bounce; bombast.1847.Porter,Quarter Race, etc., p. 120. The boys said that was allgasto scare them off.1867.Chambers’ Jour., 29 June. I’ve piped off Sabbathgasin my time I don’t deny, but under the woods we mostly tell the truth.1868.Chambers’ Jour., 15 Feb., p. 110. I don’t, an’ never could splice ends with them as blow offgasabout gold-digging—saying it’s plunder easy come an’ easy gone, seeking the root of evil, an’ other granny talk which hasn’t no meaning.[122]a.1871.Emerson(quoted in De Vere’sAmer.). ’Tis odd that our people should have not water on the brain, but a littlegasthere.1889.Globe, 31 Oct., p. 4, c. 4. It went on to state that the petitioner’s talk about a divorce was allgas, and made a further appointment.Verb.(common).—1. To talk idly; to brag; to bounce; to talk for talking’s sake. Fr.,faire son cheval de corbillard(in American ‘to be on the tall grass.’)SeeLong Bow.1872.Lond. Figaro, 14 Dec. There is no good to be got out ofgassingaboutrallyingaround standards, uniting as one man to resist, etc.1875. ‘American English’ inChambers’ Jour., 25 Sept., p. 610. Togasis to talk only for the purpose of prolonging a debate.1885.Society, 7 Feb., p. 7. Agitators and place-seekers maygasas much as they please, but they cannot make black appear white.2. (common).—To impose on by ‘gas’;to pill(q.v.);to splash(q.v.). For synonyms,seeGammon.To take the gas out of one,verb. phr.(common).—To take the conceit out of; to take down a peg.To turn on the gas,verb. phr.(common).—To begin bouncing; also toGas(q.v.).To turn off the gas,verb. phr.(common).—To cease, or cause to cease, from bouncing, vapouring, orGas(q.v.).To gas round,verb. phr.(common).—To seek information on the sly; also toGas(q.v.).Gas-Bag,subs.(common).—A man of words orgas(q.v.); a gasconader. Alsogasometer. For synonyms,seeMouth Almighty.1889.Referee, 6 Jan. That greatgas-bagof modern days.Gash,subs.(American).—1. The mouth. For synonyms,seepotato-trap.1878.H. B. Stowe,Poganuc People, ch. xiv., p. 122. Ef Zeph Higgins would jest shet up hisgashin town-meetin’, that air school-house could be moved fast enough.2. (venery).—The femalepudendum. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Gashly,adj.(common).—A vulgarism forghastly.Gaskins,subs.(old).—Wide hose; wide breeches. [FromGalligaskins. Johnson says, ‘an old ludicrous word.’]Gasp,subs.(common).—A dram of spirits. For synonyms,seeGo.Verb.(common).—To drink a dram,e.g., ‘Will yougasp?’ = Will you take something neat.Gaspipe,subs.(nautical).—1. An iron steamer, whose length is nine or ten times her beam. [At one time a ship’s length but rarely exceeded four and a half to five times the beam.]2. (printers’).—Bad rollers.3. (common).—A rifle; specifically the Snider.1883.Daily Telegraph, 9 July, p. 5, col. 7. The old Snider—the despair-breedinggas-pipeof our Volunteers—continues to be used in many of the competitions.Gaspipe-crawler,subs. phr.(common).—A thin man.Cf.,Lamp-post.[123]Gasser,subs.(common).—A braggart. For synonyms,seeMouth Almighty.Gassy(orGaseous),adj.(common).—1. Likely to take umbrage or to flare-up.1863.North American Review, cxliii., p. 220.Gassypoliticians in Congress.2. (colloquial).—Full of empty talk orgas(q.v.).1872.Whitney,Life and Growth of Lang., p. 17. As when we call an empty and sophistical but ready talkergassy.Gaster,subs.(nonce-word).—A fine and curious eater (Thackeray). In Rabelais = the belly and the needs thereof: a coinage adopted by Urquhart.Gat,subs.(schoolboys’).—A quantity;e.g., agatof grub = plenty to eat. Alsogats.1803.Every-day Life in our Public Schools.They are called up ingatsof three at a time.Gate,subs.(colloquial).—1. The attendance at a race or athletic meeting, held in enclosed grounds; the number of persons who pass the gate.1883.Sportsman, 20 Dec. The Birmingham man, on account of the largegatethat would be secured, wanted the affair to be brought off in that town, whereas Regan favoured Wolverhampton.2. Money paid for admission to athletic sports, race course, etc.; the same asgate-money(q.v.).1891.Telegraph, 21 Mar. The leading clubs are now commercial corporations, dependent for revenue on thegatesat the matches.3.in. pl.(University).—The being forbidden to pass outside the gate of a college. Seeverb, sense 1.18(?).Bradley,Tales of College Life, p. 19. That’s the ticket; that will just land me in time forgates.1881.Lang,xxxiiBallades, ‘Of Midsummer Term.’ When freshmen are careless ofgates.Verb.(University).—To confine wholly or during certain hours within the college gate for some infraction of discipline.1835.The Snobiad(Whibley,Cap and Gown, p. 141). Two proctors kindly holding either arm Staunch the dark blood andgatehim for the term.1853.Bradley,Verd. Green, I., ch. xii. He won’t hurt you much, Giglamps!Gateand chapel you!1861.Hughes,Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xii. Now you’ll both begatedprobably, and the whole crew will be thrown out of gear.1865.Cornhill Mag., p. 227. He is requested to confine himself to college after a specified hour, which is familiarly termed beinggated.1870.Morning Advertiser, 23 May. The two least culpable of the party have beengated.The gate,subs. phr.(various).—Among fishmongers, Billingsgate; among thieves, Newgate.Cf.,Lane,Row,Garden, etc.1877.Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. i., p. 5. The ‘steel,’ a slang name of the large metropolitan prisons, as thegateis for Newgate.To break gates,verb. phr.—(University).—To stay out of college after hours.To be at Gates,verb. phr.(Winchester College).—To assemble in Seventh Chamber passage, preparatory to goingtoHills or Cathedral.1870.Mansfield,School Life, p. 149. Soon after morning chapel on a holiday or a remedy all the boys assembled atgates.On the gate,adv. phr.(thieves’).—On remand.[124]Gate-Bill,subs.(University).—The record of an undergraduate’s failure to be within the precincts of his college at, or before, a specified time at night.1803.Gradus ad Cant., p. 128. To avoidgate-billshe will be out at night as late as he pleases … climb over the college wall, and fee his gyp well.Gate-money,subs.(colloquial).—The charge for admission to a race-meeting.SeeGate,subs., sense 1.1885.Daily News, 25 May, p. 3, c. 2. The truth of the matter is, that so far as sport goes, open meetings like those at Bath and Salisbury cannot stand up againstgate-moneymeetings such as Manchester.1888.Sporting Life, 10 Dec. The comfort that is brought home at our greatgate-moneymeetings gatherings to every visitor.Gate-of-Horn,subs. phr.(venery). The femalepudendum.Cf.,Horn, and for synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Gate-of-Life,subs.(venery).—The femalepudendum. AlsoGate-of-Horn. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Gater,subs.(Winchester College).—A plunge head foremost into apot(q.v.).Gate-race(or-meeting),subs.(sporting).—Formerly, a contest not got up for sport but entrance money; now a race or athletic meeting to which admission is by payment.1881.Daily News, 14 July. Few of these athletics care to compete atgate-meetings.Gath,subs.(colloquial).—A city or district inPhilistia(q.v.); often used, likeAskelon(q.v.) forPhilistiaitself. Hence,to be mighty in gath= to be aPhilistine(q.v.) of the first magnitude;to prevail against gath= to smite the Philistines hip and thigh, as becomes a valiant companion of theDavidsbund; and so forth.Tell it not in Gath,verb. phr.(colloquial).—An interjection of derision, signifying that the person exclaimed against has done something the knowledge of which would bring on him the wrath, or the amazement, of his friends.Gather.To gather up,verb. phr.(American).—To lead away.1847.Chronicles of Pineville, p. 182. ‘Gatherhimup, boys,’ said the judge, ‘the sentence of the law must be executed.’To gather the taxes,verb. phr.(tailor’s).—To go from workshop to workshop seeking employment. Hence,Tax-gatherer= a man out of work and looking for a job.Cf.,Inspector of public buildings.Out of gathers,adv. phr.(colloquial).—In distress.Cf.,Out at elbows.Gatherings.SeeGags.Gatter,subs.(common).—Beer; also liquor generally.Shant of gatter= a pot of beer. Fr.,la moussante. For synonyms,seeDrinks.1818.Maginn,Vidocq Versified. Lots ofgatter, says she, is flowing. Lend me a lift in the family way.1841.Punch, I., p. 243,Gatteris but threepence a pot, and that’s the price of a reasonable ’pike ticket.1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. i., p. 232. They have a ‘shant ofgatter’ (pot of beer) at the nearest ‘boozing-ken’ (alehouse).[125]Gaudeamus,subs.(colloquial).—A feast; a drinking bout; any sort of merry-making. [German students’, but now general and popular.] From the first word of the mediæval (students’) ditty. For synonyms,seeJamboree.Gaudy(orGaudy-day),subs.(common).—A feast or entertainment: specifically the annual dinner of the fellows of a college in memory of founders or benefactors; or a festival of the Inns of Court. (Lat.gaudere= to rejoice.)1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict.Gaudy days, college or Inns of Court festivals.1754.B. Martin,Eng. Dict., 2nd ed.Gaudies, double commons, such as they have ongaudyor granddaysin colleges.1760.Foote,Minor, Act i. Dine at twelve, and regale, upon agaudy day, with buns and beer at Islington.1803.Gradus ad Cantab., p. 122. Cut lectures … givegaudiesand spreads.1820.Lamb,Elia(Oxford in the Vacation). Methought I a little grudged at the coalition of thebetter Judewith Simon—clubbing (as it were) their sanctities together, to make up one poorgaudy-daybetween them.1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxiii. We had a carouse to your honour … we fought, too, to finish off thegaudy.1878.Besant and Rice,By Celia’s Arbour, ch. xxxiii. Champagne … goes equally well with a simple luncheon of cold chicken, and with the most elaborategaudy.Adj.(colloquial).—Good; frolicsome; festive.Cf., Shakspeare’s ‘Let’s have one othergaudynight.’—Ant. and Cleo., iii, 13.1884.Hawley Smart,From Post to Finish, p. 176. ‘Yes,’ answered the trainer, slowly, ‘he’s right enough; but a Leger’s a Leger, and I don’t think they are likely to give him a verygaudychance.’Neat but not gaudy, as the devil said when he painted his bottom pink, and tied up his tail with pea-green,phr.(common).—A locution used to ancient ladies dressed in flaming colours.Gauge.SeeGage.To get the gauge of,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To divine an intention; to read a character; tosize, (orreckon)up(q.v.). Hence, That’s about thegaugeof it = That’s a fair description.Gauley.Seeby golly.Gawf,subs.(costers’).—A red-skinned apple.1851–61.Mayhew,Lond. Lab., i., 63. A cheap red-skinned fruit, known to costers asgawfs, is rubbed hard, to look bright and feel soft, and is mixed with apples of a superior description.Gawfsare sweet and sour at once, I was told, and fit for nothing but mixing.Gawk,subs.(colloquial).—A simpleton, especially an awkward one, whether male or female. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head. [ScotsGowk= a cuckoo; a fool; whence,to gowk= to, play the fool. As in the ‘Derision of Wanton Women’ (Bannatyne,MS., 1567), ‘To gar them ga ingucking’ = to make them play the fool.]1837.H. Martineau,Soc. in America, i., 299. They proved suchgawksthat they were unable to learn.1882.McCabe,New York, p. 217. I wasn’t half as awkward as some of thegawksabout me.1887.H. Frederic,Seth’s Brother’s Wife, ch. iv. Girls brought up to be awkwardgawks, without a chance in life.Verb.(colloquial).—To loiter round; toplay the goat. [The same verb is used byJonson[126](Magnetic Lady, iii., 4, 1632) in the sense of amazed, or bamboozled,i.e., absolutely befooled: Nay, look how the man stands, as he weregowked!]1888.F. R. Stockton,Rudder Grange, ch. xvi. That afternoon wegawkedaround, a-lookin’ at all the outside shows, for Jone said he’d have to be pretty careful of his money now.Gawkiness,subs.(colloquial).—Awkwardness; silliness;greenness(q.v.).1873.Miss Broughton,Nancy, ch. xxxvii. The crudegawkinessof the raw girl he has drifted into marrying.Gawking,subs.(colloquial).—Loitering and staring;gathering hayseed(q.v.).Gawky,subs.(colloquial).—An awkward booby; a fool. ‘Nowsquire gawky’ = a challenge to a clumsy lout. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head.1686–1758.Ramsay,Poems, ii., 299. Or, gentle born ye be; but youths in love you’re but agawky.1777.Sheridan,School for Scandal, Act ii., Sc. 2.Crab.Yes, and she is a curious being to pretend to be censorious—an awkwardgawky, without any one good point under heaven.1825.Neal,Bro. Jonathan, ii., ch. 18. Great, long, slab-sidedgawkysfrom the country.1878.C. H. Wall, tr.Molière, ii., 197. Our biggawkyof a viscount.Adj.(colloquial).—Lanky; awkward; stupid.1759.Townley,High Life Below Stairs,i., 1. Under the form of agawkycountry boy I will be an eye-witness of my servants’ behaviour.1855.Thackeray,Newcomes, ch. xlviii. Even for his cousin Samuel Newcome, agawkyyouth with an eruptive countenance, Barnes had appropriate words of conversation.Gawney(orGoney),subs.(common).—A fool. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head.Gay,adj.(colloquial).—1. Dissipated; specifically, given to venery: As in the French,avoir la cuisse gaie= to be addicted to the use of men. Hencegay woman, orgirl, orbit= a strumpet;gay house= a brothel;to be gay= to be incontinent;gay in the legs,in the groin,in the arse=short-heeled(q.v.);gaying instrument= thepenis[Lexicon Balatronicum, 1811, s.v.];gay man= a wencher;gay ladie(old) = a mistress;gaying it= copulating.1383.Chaucer,Canterbury Tales, 3767. What eyeleth you? Somegaygirl, God it wot, Hath brough you thus upon the very trot.1754.Adventurer, No. 124. The old gentleman, whose character I cannot better express than in the fashionable phrase which has been contrived to palliate false principles and dissolute manners, had been agayman, and was well acquainted with the town.1854.Leech,Pictures of Life and Character. How long have you beengay?1857.J. E. Ritchie,Night Side of London, p. 40. Here in Catherine-street vice is a monster of a hideous mien. Thegaywomen, as they are termed, are worse off than American slaves.1868.Sunday Times, 19 July. As soon as ever a woman has ostensibly lost her reputation, we, with a grim inappositeness, call hergay.2. (common).—In drink. For synonyms,seeScrewed.All Gay(orAll so Gay).adv. phr.(common).—All right; first-rate;all serene(q.v.).To feel gay.verb. phr.(colloquial).—Inclined for sport, venereal or other;To feel naughty(q.v.).Gay Tyke Boy,subs. phr.(old).—A dog fancier.1848.Duncombe,Sinks of London, s.v.[127]Gazebo,subs.(old).—A summer-house commanding an extensive view. [Dog-Latin,gazebo= I will gaze.]1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Geach,subs.(thieves’).—A thief. For synonyms,seeThieves.1821.Haggart,Life, p. 56. He was a tolerablegeach.Verb.(thieves’).—To steal. For synonyms,seePrig.1821.Haggart,Life, p. 73. A small dross scout … which I knew had beengeached.Gear,subs.(venery).—1. The private parts, both male and female. [‘Geere,besognes;aussi les parties honteuses’ (Robert Sherwood’sDictionarie, English and French, appended toCotgrave, 1660). ‘Besongner… also to do or leacher with’ (Cotgrave). Anglo-Saxon:gearwe(strong feminine plural) ornaments.Skeatsays original sense of gear was ‘preparation.’]1598.Florio,Worlde of Wordes,Mozza, a wench, a lasse, a girle. Also a woman’sgeareor cunnie.1620.Percy,Folio MSS.‘Ffryar and Boye.’ I sweare, by night nor day thygeareis not to borrow.1659.Torriano,Vocabulario, s.v.2. (obsolete).—Work,business(q.v.). Thus: Here’s goodlygear= Here’s fine doings; Here’s a pretty kettle of fish. As inRomeo and Juliet(ii., 2, 106).Gee,subs.(colloquial).—SeeGee-gee.Verb.(colloquial).—1. To go or turn to the off-side; used as a direction to horses.Cf.: It.:gio= Get on!1480.Dialogus Creaturum.Et cum sic gloriaretur, et cogitaret cum quanta gloria duceretur ad illum virum super equum, dicendo, ‘Gio! Gio!’ cepit pede percutere terram quasi pungeret equum calcaribus.2. (colloquial).—To move faster: as a teemster to his horses, ‘Gee up!’1824.Blackwood’s Mag., Oct. Mr. Babbge-huppedin vain, and strove to jerk the rein, Nobbs felt he had his option to work or play.3. (colloquial).—To stop: as ‘Gee whoa!’To gee with,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To agree with; to fit; to be congenial; to go on all fours with; to do.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew,Gears, s.v. … It won’tgee, it won’t hit or go.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue.gee, it won’tgee, it won’t hit or do, it does not suit or fit.1850.Seaworthy,Nag’s Head, ch. v., p. 35. It don’t seem toGee! said Isaac, as he was trying to adjust the stove.1888.Missouri Repub., 8 April. He and Mrs. Barnay did notgee.Gee-gee(orGee).—subs.(common).—1. A horse.SeeGee,verb.in all senses. For synonyms,seePrad.1888.Referee, 15 April, 1/2. In nearly all other races theyseemost of thegeesdo a canter on their way up the course.1889.Pall Mall Gaz., 14 April. He knows as much aboutgee-gee’sas a professional trainer.1890.Licensed Vict. Gaz.,8 Feb. Thegeeswere all broken to the stable.2. (colloquial).—The nickname among journalists (of the interviewer, type) of Mr. G(eorge) G(rossmith), better known, perhaps, as the Society Clown.[128]Gee-gee Dodge,subs. phr.(trade).—Selling horseflesh for beef.1884.Greenwood,Veiled Mysteries. Thegee-gee dodge… was seldom or ever practised … it was impossible … to bargain for a regular supply.Geekie,subs.(Scots thieves’).—A police-station.Geeloot.SeeGaloot.Geese,All his geese are swans,phr.(colloquial).—He habitually exaggerates, orembroiders(q.v.); or, He is always wrong in his estimates of persons and things.The old woman’s picking her geese(proverbial).—Said of a snowstorm. [The other leg of the couplet (schoolboys’) runs: ‘And selling the feathers a penny a piece.’]Like geese on a common(colloquial).—Wandering in a body, aggressive and at large:e.g., asfaddists(q.v.) in pursuit of afad; or members of Parliament in recess, when both sides go about to say the thing which is in them.Geewhilikens!intj.(Western American).—An exclamation of surprise; alsojeewhilikens.1888.Detroit Free Press.It is on time? No? Three hours late?Geewhilikens!Geezer,subs.(popular).—An appellation, sometimes, but not necessarily, of derision and contempt; applied to both sexes, but generally to women. Usually,old geezer. For synonyms,seeWitch.1885.Truth about the Stage, p. 16. If we wake up the oldgeezerswe shall get notice to quit without compensation.1886.Broadside Ballad, ‘Her Mother’s Got the Hump.’ This frizzle-headed oldgeezerhad a chin on her as rough—well, as rough as her family, and they’re rough ’uns.1890.A. Chevalier, ‘Knocked ’Em in the Old Kent Road.’ Nice oldgeezerwith a nasty cough.1892.Anstey,Voces Populi, p. 82. Our oldgeeser’sperdoocin’ the custimary amount o’ sensation.Gelding,subs.(old).—A eunuch.1380.Wycliffe,Trans. of the Bible, Acts viii. 39. … the spirit of the Lord ravysched Filip, and thegeldyngesay him no more.1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.to enter for the geldings’ stakes,verb. phr.(old).—To castrate a man; also used to describe a eunuch.Gelt,subs.(old).—Money;gilt(q.v.). Alsogelter.—(Duncombe, 1848).1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. There is nogeltto be got, Trading is very dull.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Gemini!(orGeminy!orJiminy!)intj.(common).—An exclamation of surprise; a mild oath. [Generally referred to the Lat.: Gemini = the Twins (i.e., Castor and Pollux, the objects of an old Roman oath); but Palmer (Folk Etymology), traces the interjection to the German,O Gemine!; Dutch,Jemy Jemini!; both abbreviated from the Latin,O Jesu Domine!; or merely fromJesu meus!; Italian,Giesu mio!It seems to have come in at the Restoration.] AlsoO Jimminy!;[129]O Jimminy Figs!;O Jimminy Gig!etc.: for the phrase has pleased the cockney mind, and been vulgarised accordingly.1672.Dryden,The Assignation, Act ii., Sc. 3.Ben.Ogemini! is it you, sir?1704.Steele,Lying Lover, Act iv., Sc. 3.Sim.I stay with you? Ohgemini! Indeed, I can’t.1731.Fielding,The Lottery, Sc. 2. Lord Lace! Ohgemini! who’s that?1780.Mrs. Cowley,The Belle’s Stratagem, iv., 2. Ohgemini! beg the petticoat’s pardon.1797.M. G. Lewis,Castle Spectre, iii., 3. Ohgemini! what would he use with me, lady?1798.Morton,Secrets Worth Knowing, i., 1. A parcel of lazy chaps, I dare say—but I’ll make them stir their stumps. Well, here we are at last.—Ohgemini gighow my poor bones do ache!1836.M. Scott,Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. i. ‘Gemini!what is that now?’ quoth Tip again.1863.Reade,Hard Cash, I., 125. O,jiminy! This polite ejaculation was drawn out by the speaker’s sudden recognition of Alfred.Gemman,subs.(vulgar).—A contraction of gentleman.1550.Docteur Double-All(the word occurs in this play).c.1551.L. Shepherd,John Bonin Arber’sGarner, iv., 107. Ye be the jolliestgemmanthat I ever saw in my life.1767.Colman,Oxonian in Town, I., i. I am glad to see your honour’s well. I hope you left all thegemminwell at Oxford.1818.Byron,Beppo, st. 86. At home our Bow-streetgemmenkeep the laws.1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. iii., ch. v. … but knock down agemman.1851.Borrow,Lavengro, ch. 26. Here the gipsygemmansee.Gen,subs.(costers’).—A shilling. Back slang, butcf.Fr.,argent. For synonyms,seeBlow.1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. i., p. 19. I’ll try you agen(shilling) said a coster.1887.Saturday Review, 14 May, p. 700. The difficulty of inverting the word shilling accounts for ‘generalize.’ from which the abbreviation togenis natural as well as affectionate.Gender,verb.(old).—To copulate. [An abbreviation ofEngender.] For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.1602.Shakspeare,Othello, iv., 2. A cistern for foul toads To knot andgenderin.1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.1778.Bailey,Eng. Dict., s.v.1816.Johnson,Eng. Dict., s.v.1892.Bible, Lev. xix., 19. Thou shalt not let thy cattlegenderwith a diverse kind.Feminine Gender,subs. phr.(schoolboys’).—The femalepudendum. [As in the old (schoolboys’) rhyme:Amo, amas, I loved a lass, And she was tall and slender,Amas, amat, I laid her flat, And tickled herfeminine gender. Quoted (with modifications) by Marryat inJacob Faithful, 1835.]Generalize,subs.(costers’). A shilling.SeeGen.Generating Place,subs. phr.(venery).—The femalepudendum.Generation Tool,subs. phr.(venery).—Thepenis. For synonyms,seeCreamstickandPrick.Geneva Print,subs. phr.(old).—Gin. For synonyms,seeDrinksandSatin.1584–1640.Massinger(quoted inSlang, Jargon, and Cant). And if you meet an Officer preaching of sobriety, Unless he read it inGeneva Print, Lay him by the heels.[130]Gen-net,subs. phr.(back slang).—Ten shillings.Gennitraf,subs.(back slang).—A farthing.Genol,adj.(back slang).—Long.Gent,subs.(once literary: now vulgar).—1. A showily-dressed vulgarian. [A contraction of ‘gentleman.’]1635. [Glapthorne],Lady Mother, in Bullen’sOld Plays, ii., 114. Hees not agentthat cannot parlee. I must invent some new and polite phrases.1785.Burns,Epistle to J. Lapraite, st. 11. Do ye envy the citygent, Behint a kist to lie and sklent?1843.Thackeray,Irish Sketch Book, ch. viii. The crowd of swaggeringgents(I don’t know the corresponding phrase in the Anglo-Irish vocabulary to express a shabby dandy), awaiting the Cork mail.1844.Disraeli,Coningsby, bk. IV., ch. ii. ‘Ah, not in business! Hem! professional?’ ‘No,’ said Coningsby, ‘I am nothing.’—‘Ah! an independentgent; hem! and a very pleasant thing too.’1846.Sunday Paper, 24 May.Mr. Rawlinson(Magistrate at Marylebone Police Court). What do you mean bygent? There is no such word in our language. I hold a man who is called agentto be the greatest blackguard there is.1848.Punch, vol. XIV., p. 226. His aversion for agentis softened by pity.1869.Blue Budget. Thegentindicates a being who apes the gentility without the faintest shadow of a claim to it.2. (Old Cant).—Money. [From Fr.,argent.] For synonyms,seeActualandGilt.1864.Revue des Deux Mondes, 15 Sept., p. 470.Les voleurs anglais disentgentpour ‘argent.’3. (colloquial).—A sweetheart, a mistress:e.g., Mygent= my particular friend.Adj.(old literary).—Elegant;comely; genteel.1383.Chaucer,Canterbury Tales. ‘Miller’s Tale.’ [Skeat, 1878, i., 194]. As any wesil her bodygentand small.1553–99.Spenser. He loved as was his lot, a ladygent.Idem.A knight had wrought against a ladygent.1704.Mad. Knight’s Jour., p. 44. Law you, sais she, it’s rightgent, do you take it—’tis dreadfull pretty.Gentile,subs.(colloquial). Any sort of stranger, native or foreign; among the Mormons, any person not professing the Gospel according to Joe Smith. Hence,In the Land of the Gentiles= (1) in foreign parts; and (2) in strange neighbourhoods or alien society.Gentle,subs.(anglers’).—A maggot; vulgarly,Gentile.1811.Songs of the Chase.‘The Jolly Anglers.’ We havegentlesin our horns.Gentle Craft,subs.(old).—1. The trade of shoemaking. [From the romance of Prince Crispin, who is said to have made shoes.]1662.Rump Songs.‘A Hymn to the Gentle Craft,’ etc., ii. 152. Crispin and he were nere akin: Thegentle crafthath a noble kin.2. (anglers’).—Angling.1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 65. Sez I,gentle craft, said I.Gentleman,subs.(thieves’).—A crowbar. For synonyms,seejemmy.To put a churl(orbeggar)upon a gentleman,verb. phr.(old).—To drink malt liquor immediately after wine.—Grose.Gentleman of the(Three, orFour, orFive) Outs (orIns),subs. phr.(old).—A[131]varying and ancient wheeze, of which the following are representative:—Out of money, and out of clothes; Out at the heels, and out at the toes; Out of credit, and in debt.A man in debt, in danger, and in poverty; or in gaol, indicted, and in danger of being hanged.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. iv. Paul becamea gentleman of three outs—out of pocket, out of elbows, and out of credit.1834.H. Ainsworth,Rookwood, Bk. III., ch. v. Jerry Juniper was what the classical CaptainGrosewould designatea gentleman with three outs, and, although he was not entirely without wit, nor his associates avouched, without money, nor certainly, in his own opinion, had that been asked, without manners.Gentleman of the Back(orBackdoor),subs.(old).—A sodomist. For synonyms,seeUsher.Gentleman of fortune,subs. phr.(common).—An adventurer.1890.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 149. ‘Why, in a place like this, where nobody puts in butgentlemen of fortune, Silver would fly the jolly roger, you don’t make no doubt of that.’Gentleman of Observation,subs. phr.(turf).—A tout.Gentleman of the Round,subs. phr.(old).—An invalided or disabled soldier, making his living by begging.1596.Jonson,Every Man in, etc., 2. Your decaied, ruinous, worme-eatengentlemen of the round.Gentleman of the Short Staff,subs. phr.(old).—A constable.1839.Ainsworth,Jack Sheppard(1889), p. 12. In the language of thegentleman of the short staffan important caption could be effected.Gentleman of the Fist,subs. phr.(pugilists’).—A prize-fighter.1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 44. Furnishsuch gentlemen of the fist.Gentleman in Brown,subs. phr.(common).—A bed bug. For synonyms,seeNorfolk Howard.1885.G. A. SalainDaily Telegraph, 14 Aug., 5/3. Bed bugs, the convertible term for which is ‘chintzes,’ are the disagreeable insects known in modern polite English as ‘Norfolk Howards,’ orgentlemen in brown.The Little Gentleman in Brown Velvet,subs. phr.(obsolete).—A mole. [The Tory toast after the death of William III., whose horse was said to have stumbled over a mole-hill.]Gentleman of the Green Baize Road,subs. phr.(gamesters’).—A card sharper.Gentleman Commoner,subs. phr.(University).—1. A privileged class of commoners at Oxford, wearing a special cut of gown and a velvet cap.2. (common).—An empty bottle. Alsofellow-commoner(q.v.). [A sarcastic allusion to the mental capacity of this class of student.] For synonyms,seeDead-man.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gentleman-ranker,subs.(military).—A broken gentleman serving in the ranks.1892.Kipling,Barrack Room Ballads. ‘Gentlemen Rankers.’Gentleman-rankersout on the spree, Damned from here to eternity, God ha’ mercy on such as we, Baa! Yah! Bah![132]Gentleman’s Companion,subs. phr.(common).—A louse. For synonyms,seeChates.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gentleman’s Master,subs. phr.(old).—A highwayman.—Grose.Gentleman’s(orLadies’)Piece,subs. phr.(colloquial).—A small or delicate portion; atit-bit.Gentleman’s Pleasure-garden,subs. phr.(venery).—The femalepudendum. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable. [Hence,Gentleman’s Pleasure-Garden Padlock= menstrual cloth.]Gentlemen’s Sons,subs. phr.(common).—The three regiments of Guards.Gently!intj.(stables’ and colloquial).—An interjection =stand still(q.v.); hence, colloquially, = don’t get into a passion,go slow(q.v.).Gentry Cove(orCofe),subs.(old cant).—A gentleman; anib-cove(q.v.). Fr.,un messire de la haute.1567.Harman,Caveat, s.v.1656.Brome,Joviall Crew, Act ii. For all this bene Cribbing and Peck let us then, Bowse a health to thegentry cofeof the Ken.1654.Witts’ Recreations.As priest of the game, And prelate of the same. There’s agentry covehere.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. Tour the bien mort twiring thegentry cove.1837.Disraeli,Venetia, p. 71. Thegentry covewill be ramboyled by his dam.Gentry Cove’s Ken(orGentry-Ken),subs. phr.(Old Cant).—A gentleman’s house.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 65. Agentry cofe’s ken, a noble or gentleman’s house. Agentry cofe, a noble or gentle man.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Gentry cove’s ken, a gentleman’s house.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gentry Mort,subs. phr.(old cant).—A lady.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 65. Agentry mort, a noble or gentle woman.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Gentry mort, a gentlewoman.1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict., s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Genuine,subs.(Winchester College).—Praise.Adj.(colloquial).—Trustworthy; not false nor double-faced.Verb.(Winchester College).—To praise. ‘He was awfully quilled andgenuinedmy task.’ [Probably from calling a thing genuine.Cf., to blackguard, to lord, etc. But fifty years ago it was asubs.only.—Notions.]Geordie,subs.(North Country).—1. A pitman; also, a Northumbrian in general.2. (nautical).—A North Country collier.3.SeeGeorge.George(or Scots’ diminutiveGeordie),subs.(old). 1.—A half crown. Also (obsolete), the noble = 6s.8d.,temp., Henry VIII.[133]1688.Shadwell,Sq. of Alsatia, List of cant words.george, half-a-crown.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew. He tipt me FortyGeorgesfor my earnest, He paid me Five Pounds for my Share or Snack.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.2. (old).—A guinea; also more frequentlyYellow George.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1787.Burns,The Twa Dogs. Theyellow-letteredGeordiekeeks.3. (old).—A penny.1820.Reynolds,The Fancy, Glossary. A Penny-piece—ageorgy.Brown George.—SeeAnte.By Fore, orBy George.—SeeBy George.George Horne,intj.(printers’).—A derisive retort on a piece of stale news. Also G. H.! [From a romancing compositor of the name.]Georgy-Porgy,verb(colloquial).—To pet; to fondle; to beslobber.1883.R. L. Stevenson,The Treasure of Franchard, ch. iii., inLongman’s Magazine, April, p. 685. He must be spoken to with more respect, I tell you; he must not be kissed andgeorgy-porgy’dlike an ordinary child.German.The German,subs. phr.(New York).—A round dance.German Duck,subs. phr.(obsolete).—1. Half a sheep’s head, stewed with onions.—Grose.2. (common).—A bed bug. For synonyms,seeNorfolk Howard.German Flutes,subs. phr.(rhyming).—A pair of boots.Germantowner,subs.(American billiards’).—A pushing shot—when the balls played with, and at, are jarred together.Cf.,Whitechapeller.Gerry,subs.(Old Cant).—Excrement.1567.Harman,Caveat, s.v.Gerry Gan,intj.(Old Cant).—A retort forcible.Stow it!(q.v.). [FromGerry= excrement +Gan= mouth,i.e., literally, Shit in your mouth.] The common form is: Shit (or a turd) in your teeth; as inBen Jonson,Bartholomew Fair, 1614. Fr.,Tais ta gueule ou j’te chie dedans.1567.Harman,Caveat.Gerry gan, the ruffian cly thee.Gerrymander(pronounced with the ‘g’ hard, as in ‘get’),verb.(political American).—To arrange the electoral subdivisions of a State to the profit and advantage of a particular party.[The term, says Norton, is derived from the name of Governor Gerry, of Massachusetts, who, in 1811, signed a Bill readjusting the representative districts so as to favour the Democrats and weaken the Federalists, although the last-named party polled nearly two-thirds of the votes cast. A fancied resemblance of a map of the districts thus treated led Stuart, the painter, to add a few lines with his pencil, and say to Mr. Russell, editor of theBoston Sentinel. ‘That will do for a Salamander.’ Russell glanced at it: ‘Salamander,’ said he, ‘call it aGerrymander!’ The epithet took at once, and became a Federalist war-cry, the caricature being published as a campaign document.]1871.Boston Daily Advertiser, 6 Dec.Gerrimanderwas the name printed under a picture of a pretended monster, whose shape was modified from the distorted geography which Mr. Gerry’s friends inflicted on part of the State for the sake of economizing, majorities.[134]Gerrymandering,subs.(political American).SeeGerrymander.1872.New York Sunday Mercury, 31 March. The Legislature of Ohio intends to prove itself a veritable master in thegerrymanderingbusiness.1890.Athenæum, 22 Feb. p.238, c. 1. Whatever faults can be found with Sir John’s administration, it has been good and successful enough to afford excuse for all thegerrymanderingwith which he is charged by his critics.1891.Belfort’s Mag., Aug., p. 439. The Democrats of Michigan have carried the art ofgerrymanderingto such an extent that they have thoroughly disgusted their opponents.Gerund-Grinder,subs.(common).—A schoolmaster, especially a pedant. AlsoGerund-Grinding.1759–67.Sterne,TristramShandy, iv., 112. Tutors, governors,gerund-grinders, and bear-leaders.1788.Knox,Winter Evenings, 59. A pedant, a mere plodder, a petty tyrant, agerund-grinder.1825–7.Hone,Every Day Book, II., p. 33.Gerund-Grindingand parsing are usually prepared for at the last moment.Get,subs.(old).—1. A cheating contrivance; aHave(q.v.).2. (old).—A child; the result, that is, of an act of procreation or begetting. Thus,one of his gets= one of his making;whose get is that?= Who’s the father? It’s hisget, anyhow = At all events hegotit.1570.Scottish Text Society,Satirical Poems, I., 171, ‘Treason of Dumbarton’ (1891). Ganelon’sgets, relicts of Sinon’s seed.d.1798.Burns,Merry Muses. ‘For a’ that.’ O’ bastardgettssome had a score, An’ some had mair than a’ that.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 41. This, again, is unusual for a Chester, as hisgetare generally quiet and docile, but a bit lazy.Get!(orYou Get!)intj.(American).—Short forGet out!Usually,Git!(q.v.).1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 176. None of your damned impertinence.Get!To get at,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To quiz; to banter; to aggravate; to take a rise out of. AlsoTo get back at.1891.Sloper’s Half Holiday, 3 Jan. ‘Your family don’t seem to get on, missie.’ ‘On!’ replied the child, with dignity flashing from her great blue eyes; ‘on!I’ve got a fatheronthe booze, a sisteronthe music ’all, an’ a brotheronthe treadmill.On!who’re yegettin’ at?’2. (racing and colloquial).—To influence; to bribe; to nobble (of horses), and to corrupt (of persons); applied to horse, owner, trainer, jockey, and vet. alike.1870.Spectator, 23 April. That, of course, makes it profitable for owners to withdraw horses they have secretly betted against, and for scoundrels toget athorses.1871.Saturday Review, 9 Sept. It is quite clear that some of the foreign working men have beengot at.1883.Graphic, 17 March, p. 262, c. 2. The House of Commons … can also be trusted to decide in local questions without any suspicion of beinggot at, as is sometimes the case elsewhere.1883.Badminton Library,Steeplechasing, p. 404. Suspicions that the mare had beengot at, that is to say, drugged, were afterwards noised abroad.1888.Daily Telegraph, 17 Nov. It was strongly suspected that he had beengot at.1890.Globe, 11 Aug., p. 1, c. 1. Fancy the professional agitator trying toget atsuch men as these—men who gloried in being soldiers and nothing else!1892.Pall Mall Gazette, May 10, p. 3, c. 3. The scoundrels (verily of the lowest form) who have tried toget atOrme.1892.National Observer, vii. 630. If the horse weregot at, then a bookie who stood heavily to lose is probably assumed.[135]To get about,verb. phr.(venery).—To do the act of intromission. For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.To get back at,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To satirise; to call to account.1888.Daily Inter-Ocean.The newspapers aregetting backat Sam.Get back into your box!phr.(American).—An injunction to silence;stow it!(q.v.for synonyms).To get encored,verb. phr.(tailors’).—To have a job returned for alterations.To get even with,verb. phr.(common).—To take one’s revenge; to give tit for tat.To get it,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To be punished (morally or physically); to be called over the coals. Also (venery) to catch a clap.To get off,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To (1) escape punishment, to be let off; (2) to utter, to deliver oneself of, to perpetrate—as to get off a joke; and (3) to get married.To get on,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To back a horse; to put abit on(q.v.).2. (colloquial).—To succeed; or, simply, to fare. Thus,How are you getting on?may signify (1) To what extent are you prospering? or (2) How are you doing?1871.Pall Mall Gaz., 29 Dec. That great Anglo-Saxon passion of rising in the world, orgetting on—that is, rising into the class above him.1892.A. W. Pinero,The Times: a Comedy, v. 1. We used to go very early to such places and stay right through, now that papa hasgot on, we arrive late everywhere and murmur an apology!To get one in the cold,verb. phr.(American).—To have at an advantage; to be on thewindward side(q.v.);to have on toast(q.v.).To get one on,verb. phr.(pugilists’).—To land a blow.To get down fine(orclose),verb. phr.(American).—To know all about one’s antecedents; and (police) to know where to find one’s man.To get into,verb. phr.(venery).—To occupy(q.v.). AlsoTo get inandTo get up. For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.1620.Percy,Folio MSS., p. 197.Gettvp againe, Billy, if that thou louest me.To get over,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To seduce, to fascinate, to dupe. AlsoTo come overandTo get round.To get outside of,verb.phr.(colloquial).—1. To eat or drink; also to accomplish one’s purpose.1892.S. Watson,Wops the Waif, p. 9. Tickle urged Wops again and again to drink, but Wops’s only reply was, ‘Yer go on, Tickle; gitoutsidethe lot, if yer can; it’ll do yer good, Cully.’
To get over the Garter,verb. phr.(venery).—To take liberties with a woman.To FlyorPrick the Garter.SeePrick the Garter.Garvies,subs.(Scots’).—1. Sprats. SometimesGarvie-Herring.1845.P. Alloa,Statis. Acc., viii., 597. They are often very successful in taking the smaller fish, such as herrings,garviesor sprats, sparlings or smelts.2. (military).—The Ninety-fourth Foot. [From the small stature of the earlier recruits.]1869.Notes and Queries, 4 S. iii., p. 349.Garvie.The soubriquet points to the low average height of the recruits in the Fifeshire regiments, which, however, may not now be the case, since recruiting has become less local.Gas,subs.(common).—Empty talk; bounce; bombast.1847.Porter,Quarter Race, etc., p. 120. The boys said that was allgasto scare them off.1867.Chambers’ Jour., 29 June. I’ve piped off Sabbathgasin my time I don’t deny, but under the woods we mostly tell the truth.1868.Chambers’ Jour., 15 Feb., p. 110. I don’t, an’ never could splice ends with them as blow offgasabout gold-digging—saying it’s plunder easy come an’ easy gone, seeking the root of evil, an’ other granny talk which hasn’t no meaning.[122]a.1871.Emerson(quoted in De Vere’sAmer.). ’Tis odd that our people should have not water on the brain, but a littlegasthere.1889.Globe, 31 Oct., p. 4, c. 4. It went on to state that the petitioner’s talk about a divorce was allgas, and made a further appointment.Verb.(common).—1. To talk idly; to brag; to bounce; to talk for talking’s sake. Fr.,faire son cheval de corbillard(in American ‘to be on the tall grass.’)SeeLong Bow.1872.Lond. Figaro, 14 Dec. There is no good to be got out ofgassingaboutrallyingaround standards, uniting as one man to resist, etc.1875. ‘American English’ inChambers’ Jour., 25 Sept., p. 610. Togasis to talk only for the purpose of prolonging a debate.1885.Society, 7 Feb., p. 7. Agitators and place-seekers maygasas much as they please, but they cannot make black appear white.2. (common).—To impose on by ‘gas’;to pill(q.v.);to splash(q.v.). For synonyms,seeGammon.To take the gas out of one,verb. phr.(common).—To take the conceit out of; to take down a peg.To turn on the gas,verb. phr.(common).—To begin bouncing; also toGas(q.v.).To turn off the gas,verb. phr.(common).—To cease, or cause to cease, from bouncing, vapouring, orGas(q.v.).To gas round,verb. phr.(common).—To seek information on the sly; also toGas(q.v.).Gas-Bag,subs.(common).—A man of words orgas(q.v.); a gasconader. Alsogasometer. For synonyms,seeMouth Almighty.1889.Referee, 6 Jan. That greatgas-bagof modern days.Gash,subs.(American).—1. The mouth. For synonyms,seepotato-trap.1878.H. B. Stowe,Poganuc People, ch. xiv., p. 122. Ef Zeph Higgins would jest shet up hisgashin town-meetin’, that air school-house could be moved fast enough.2. (venery).—The femalepudendum. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Gashly,adj.(common).—A vulgarism forghastly.Gaskins,subs.(old).—Wide hose; wide breeches. [FromGalligaskins. Johnson says, ‘an old ludicrous word.’]Gasp,subs.(common).—A dram of spirits. For synonyms,seeGo.Verb.(common).—To drink a dram,e.g., ‘Will yougasp?’ = Will you take something neat.Gaspipe,subs.(nautical).—1. An iron steamer, whose length is nine or ten times her beam. [At one time a ship’s length but rarely exceeded four and a half to five times the beam.]2. (printers’).—Bad rollers.3. (common).—A rifle; specifically the Snider.1883.Daily Telegraph, 9 July, p. 5, col. 7. The old Snider—the despair-breedinggas-pipeof our Volunteers—continues to be used in many of the competitions.Gaspipe-crawler,subs. phr.(common).—A thin man.Cf.,Lamp-post.[123]Gasser,subs.(common).—A braggart. For synonyms,seeMouth Almighty.Gassy(orGaseous),adj.(common).—1. Likely to take umbrage or to flare-up.1863.North American Review, cxliii., p. 220.Gassypoliticians in Congress.2. (colloquial).—Full of empty talk orgas(q.v.).1872.Whitney,Life and Growth of Lang., p. 17. As when we call an empty and sophistical but ready talkergassy.Gaster,subs.(nonce-word).—A fine and curious eater (Thackeray). In Rabelais = the belly and the needs thereof: a coinage adopted by Urquhart.Gat,subs.(schoolboys’).—A quantity;e.g., agatof grub = plenty to eat. Alsogats.1803.Every-day Life in our Public Schools.They are called up ingatsof three at a time.Gate,subs.(colloquial).—1. The attendance at a race or athletic meeting, held in enclosed grounds; the number of persons who pass the gate.1883.Sportsman, 20 Dec. The Birmingham man, on account of the largegatethat would be secured, wanted the affair to be brought off in that town, whereas Regan favoured Wolverhampton.2. Money paid for admission to athletic sports, race course, etc.; the same asgate-money(q.v.).1891.Telegraph, 21 Mar. The leading clubs are now commercial corporations, dependent for revenue on thegatesat the matches.3.in. pl.(University).—The being forbidden to pass outside the gate of a college. Seeverb, sense 1.18(?).Bradley,Tales of College Life, p. 19. That’s the ticket; that will just land me in time forgates.1881.Lang,xxxiiBallades, ‘Of Midsummer Term.’ When freshmen are careless ofgates.Verb.(University).—To confine wholly or during certain hours within the college gate for some infraction of discipline.1835.The Snobiad(Whibley,Cap and Gown, p. 141). Two proctors kindly holding either arm Staunch the dark blood andgatehim for the term.1853.Bradley,Verd. Green, I., ch. xii. He won’t hurt you much, Giglamps!Gateand chapel you!1861.Hughes,Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xii. Now you’ll both begatedprobably, and the whole crew will be thrown out of gear.1865.Cornhill Mag., p. 227. He is requested to confine himself to college after a specified hour, which is familiarly termed beinggated.1870.Morning Advertiser, 23 May. The two least culpable of the party have beengated.The gate,subs. phr.(various).—Among fishmongers, Billingsgate; among thieves, Newgate.Cf.,Lane,Row,Garden, etc.1877.Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. i., p. 5. The ‘steel,’ a slang name of the large metropolitan prisons, as thegateis for Newgate.To break gates,verb. phr.—(University).—To stay out of college after hours.To be at Gates,verb. phr.(Winchester College).—To assemble in Seventh Chamber passage, preparatory to goingtoHills or Cathedral.1870.Mansfield,School Life, p. 149. Soon after morning chapel on a holiday or a remedy all the boys assembled atgates.On the gate,adv. phr.(thieves’).—On remand.[124]Gate-Bill,subs.(University).—The record of an undergraduate’s failure to be within the precincts of his college at, or before, a specified time at night.1803.Gradus ad Cant., p. 128. To avoidgate-billshe will be out at night as late as he pleases … climb over the college wall, and fee his gyp well.Gate-money,subs.(colloquial).—The charge for admission to a race-meeting.SeeGate,subs., sense 1.1885.Daily News, 25 May, p. 3, c. 2. The truth of the matter is, that so far as sport goes, open meetings like those at Bath and Salisbury cannot stand up againstgate-moneymeetings such as Manchester.1888.Sporting Life, 10 Dec. The comfort that is brought home at our greatgate-moneymeetings gatherings to every visitor.Gate-of-Horn,subs. phr.(venery). The femalepudendum.Cf.,Horn, and for synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Gate-of-Life,subs.(venery).—The femalepudendum. AlsoGate-of-Horn. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Gater,subs.(Winchester College).—A plunge head foremost into apot(q.v.).Gate-race(or-meeting),subs.(sporting).—Formerly, a contest not got up for sport but entrance money; now a race or athletic meeting to which admission is by payment.1881.Daily News, 14 July. Few of these athletics care to compete atgate-meetings.Gath,subs.(colloquial).—A city or district inPhilistia(q.v.); often used, likeAskelon(q.v.) forPhilistiaitself. Hence,to be mighty in gath= to be aPhilistine(q.v.) of the first magnitude;to prevail against gath= to smite the Philistines hip and thigh, as becomes a valiant companion of theDavidsbund; and so forth.Tell it not in Gath,verb. phr.(colloquial).—An interjection of derision, signifying that the person exclaimed against has done something the knowledge of which would bring on him the wrath, or the amazement, of his friends.Gather.To gather up,verb. phr.(American).—To lead away.1847.Chronicles of Pineville, p. 182. ‘Gatherhimup, boys,’ said the judge, ‘the sentence of the law must be executed.’To gather the taxes,verb. phr.(tailor’s).—To go from workshop to workshop seeking employment. Hence,Tax-gatherer= a man out of work and looking for a job.Cf.,Inspector of public buildings.Out of gathers,adv. phr.(colloquial).—In distress.Cf.,Out at elbows.Gatherings.SeeGags.Gatter,subs.(common).—Beer; also liquor generally.Shant of gatter= a pot of beer. Fr.,la moussante. For synonyms,seeDrinks.1818.Maginn,Vidocq Versified. Lots ofgatter, says she, is flowing. Lend me a lift in the family way.1841.Punch, I., p. 243,Gatteris but threepence a pot, and that’s the price of a reasonable ’pike ticket.1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. i., p. 232. They have a ‘shant ofgatter’ (pot of beer) at the nearest ‘boozing-ken’ (alehouse).[125]Gaudeamus,subs.(colloquial).—A feast; a drinking bout; any sort of merry-making. [German students’, but now general and popular.] From the first word of the mediæval (students’) ditty. For synonyms,seeJamboree.Gaudy(orGaudy-day),subs.(common).—A feast or entertainment: specifically the annual dinner of the fellows of a college in memory of founders or benefactors; or a festival of the Inns of Court. (Lat.gaudere= to rejoice.)1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict.Gaudy days, college or Inns of Court festivals.1754.B. Martin,Eng. Dict., 2nd ed.Gaudies, double commons, such as they have ongaudyor granddaysin colleges.1760.Foote,Minor, Act i. Dine at twelve, and regale, upon agaudy day, with buns and beer at Islington.1803.Gradus ad Cantab., p. 122. Cut lectures … givegaudiesand spreads.1820.Lamb,Elia(Oxford in the Vacation). Methought I a little grudged at the coalition of thebetter Judewith Simon—clubbing (as it were) their sanctities together, to make up one poorgaudy-daybetween them.1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxiii. We had a carouse to your honour … we fought, too, to finish off thegaudy.1878.Besant and Rice,By Celia’s Arbour, ch. xxxiii. Champagne … goes equally well with a simple luncheon of cold chicken, and with the most elaborategaudy.Adj.(colloquial).—Good; frolicsome; festive.Cf., Shakspeare’s ‘Let’s have one othergaudynight.’—Ant. and Cleo., iii, 13.1884.Hawley Smart,From Post to Finish, p. 176. ‘Yes,’ answered the trainer, slowly, ‘he’s right enough; but a Leger’s a Leger, and I don’t think they are likely to give him a verygaudychance.’Neat but not gaudy, as the devil said when he painted his bottom pink, and tied up his tail with pea-green,phr.(common).—A locution used to ancient ladies dressed in flaming colours.Gauge.SeeGage.To get the gauge of,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To divine an intention; to read a character; tosize, (orreckon)up(q.v.). Hence, That’s about thegaugeof it = That’s a fair description.Gauley.Seeby golly.Gawf,subs.(costers’).—A red-skinned apple.1851–61.Mayhew,Lond. Lab., i., 63. A cheap red-skinned fruit, known to costers asgawfs, is rubbed hard, to look bright and feel soft, and is mixed with apples of a superior description.Gawfsare sweet and sour at once, I was told, and fit for nothing but mixing.Gawk,subs.(colloquial).—A simpleton, especially an awkward one, whether male or female. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head. [ScotsGowk= a cuckoo; a fool; whence,to gowk= to, play the fool. As in the ‘Derision of Wanton Women’ (Bannatyne,MS., 1567), ‘To gar them ga ingucking’ = to make them play the fool.]1837.H. Martineau,Soc. in America, i., 299. They proved suchgawksthat they were unable to learn.1882.McCabe,New York, p. 217. I wasn’t half as awkward as some of thegawksabout me.1887.H. Frederic,Seth’s Brother’s Wife, ch. iv. Girls brought up to be awkwardgawks, without a chance in life.Verb.(colloquial).—To loiter round; toplay the goat. [The same verb is used byJonson[126](Magnetic Lady, iii., 4, 1632) in the sense of amazed, or bamboozled,i.e., absolutely befooled: Nay, look how the man stands, as he weregowked!]1888.F. R. Stockton,Rudder Grange, ch. xvi. That afternoon wegawkedaround, a-lookin’ at all the outside shows, for Jone said he’d have to be pretty careful of his money now.Gawkiness,subs.(colloquial).—Awkwardness; silliness;greenness(q.v.).1873.Miss Broughton,Nancy, ch. xxxvii. The crudegawkinessof the raw girl he has drifted into marrying.Gawking,subs.(colloquial).—Loitering and staring;gathering hayseed(q.v.).Gawky,subs.(colloquial).—An awkward booby; a fool. ‘Nowsquire gawky’ = a challenge to a clumsy lout. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head.1686–1758.Ramsay,Poems, ii., 299. Or, gentle born ye be; but youths in love you’re but agawky.1777.Sheridan,School for Scandal, Act ii., Sc. 2.Crab.Yes, and she is a curious being to pretend to be censorious—an awkwardgawky, without any one good point under heaven.1825.Neal,Bro. Jonathan, ii., ch. 18. Great, long, slab-sidedgawkysfrom the country.1878.C. H. Wall, tr.Molière, ii., 197. Our biggawkyof a viscount.Adj.(colloquial).—Lanky; awkward; stupid.1759.Townley,High Life Below Stairs,i., 1. Under the form of agawkycountry boy I will be an eye-witness of my servants’ behaviour.1855.Thackeray,Newcomes, ch. xlviii. Even for his cousin Samuel Newcome, agawkyyouth with an eruptive countenance, Barnes had appropriate words of conversation.Gawney(orGoney),subs.(common).—A fool. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head.Gay,adj.(colloquial).—1. Dissipated; specifically, given to venery: As in the French,avoir la cuisse gaie= to be addicted to the use of men. Hencegay woman, orgirl, orbit= a strumpet;gay house= a brothel;to be gay= to be incontinent;gay in the legs,in the groin,in the arse=short-heeled(q.v.);gaying instrument= thepenis[Lexicon Balatronicum, 1811, s.v.];gay man= a wencher;gay ladie(old) = a mistress;gaying it= copulating.1383.Chaucer,Canterbury Tales, 3767. What eyeleth you? Somegaygirl, God it wot, Hath brough you thus upon the very trot.1754.Adventurer, No. 124. The old gentleman, whose character I cannot better express than in the fashionable phrase which has been contrived to palliate false principles and dissolute manners, had been agayman, and was well acquainted with the town.1854.Leech,Pictures of Life and Character. How long have you beengay?1857.J. E. Ritchie,Night Side of London, p. 40. Here in Catherine-street vice is a monster of a hideous mien. Thegaywomen, as they are termed, are worse off than American slaves.1868.Sunday Times, 19 July. As soon as ever a woman has ostensibly lost her reputation, we, with a grim inappositeness, call hergay.2. (common).—In drink. For synonyms,seeScrewed.All Gay(orAll so Gay).adv. phr.(common).—All right; first-rate;all serene(q.v.).To feel gay.verb. phr.(colloquial).—Inclined for sport, venereal or other;To feel naughty(q.v.).Gay Tyke Boy,subs. phr.(old).—A dog fancier.1848.Duncombe,Sinks of London, s.v.[127]Gazebo,subs.(old).—A summer-house commanding an extensive view. [Dog-Latin,gazebo= I will gaze.]1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Geach,subs.(thieves’).—A thief. For synonyms,seeThieves.1821.Haggart,Life, p. 56. He was a tolerablegeach.Verb.(thieves’).—To steal. For synonyms,seePrig.1821.Haggart,Life, p. 73. A small dross scout … which I knew had beengeached.Gear,subs.(venery).—1. The private parts, both male and female. [‘Geere,besognes;aussi les parties honteuses’ (Robert Sherwood’sDictionarie, English and French, appended toCotgrave, 1660). ‘Besongner… also to do or leacher with’ (Cotgrave). Anglo-Saxon:gearwe(strong feminine plural) ornaments.Skeatsays original sense of gear was ‘preparation.’]1598.Florio,Worlde of Wordes,Mozza, a wench, a lasse, a girle. Also a woman’sgeareor cunnie.1620.Percy,Folio MSS.‘Ffryar and Boye.’ I sweare, by night nor day thygeareis not to borrow.1659.Torriano,Vocabulario, s.v.2. (obsolete).—Work,business(q.v.). Thus: Here’s goodlygear= Here’s fine doings; Here’s a pretty kettle of fish. As inRomeo and Juliet(ii., 2, 106).Gee,subs.(colloquial).—SeeGee-gee.Verb.(colloquial).—1. To go or turn to the off-side; used as a direction to horses.Cf.: It.:gio= Get on!1480.Dialogus Creaturum.Et cum sic gloriaretur, et cogitaret cum quanta gloria duceretur ad illum virum super equum, dicendo, ‘Gio! Gio!’ cepit pede percutere terram quasi pungeret equum calcaribus.2. (colloquial).—To move faster: as a teemster to his horses, ‘Gee up!’1824.Blackwood’s Mag., Oct. Mr. Babbge-huppedin vain, and strove to jerk the rein, Nobbs felt he had his option to work or play.3. (colloquial).—To stop: as ‘Gee whoa!’To gee with,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To agree with; to fit; to be congenial; to go on all fours with; to do.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew,Gears, s.v. … It won’tgee, it won’t hit or go.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue.gee, it won’tgee, it won’t hit or do, it does not suit or fit.1850.Seaworthy,Nag’s Head, ch. v., p. 35. It don’t seem toGee! said Isaac, as he was trying to adjust the stove.1888.Missouri Repub., 8 April. He and Mrs. Barnay did notgee.Gee-gee(orGee).—subs.(common).—1. A horse.SeeGee,verb.in all senses. For synonyms,seePrad.1888.Referee, 15 April, 1/2. In nearly all other races theyseemost of thegeesdo a canter on their way up the course.1889.Pall Mall Gaz., 14 April. He knows as much aboutgee-gee’sas a professional trainer.1890.Licensed Vict. Gaz.,8 Feb. Thegeeswere all broken to the stable.2. (colloquial).—The nickname among journalists (of the interviewer, type) of Mr. G(eorge) G(rossmith), better known, perhaps, as the Society Clown.[128]Gee-gee Dodge,subs. phr.(trade).—Selling horseflesh for beef.1884.Greenwood,Veiled Mysteries. Thegee-gee dodge… was seldom or ever practised … it was impossible … to bargain for a regular supply.Geekie,subs.(Scots thieves’).—A police-station.Geeloot.SeeGaloot.Geese,All his geese are swans,phr.(colloquial).—He habitually exaggerates, orembroiders(q.v.); or, He is always wrong in his estimates of persons and things.The old woman’s picking her geese(proverbial).—Said of a snowstorm. [The other leg of the couplet (schoolboys’) runs: ‘And selling the feathers a penny a piece.’]Like geese on a common(colloquial).—Wandering in a body, aggressive and at large:e.g., asfaddists(q.v.) in pursuit of afad; or members of Parliament in recess, when both sides go about to say the thing which is in them.Geewhilikens!intj.(Western American).—An exclamation of surprise; alsojeewhilikens.1888.Detroit Free Press.It is on time? No? Three hours late?Geewhilikens!Geezer,subs.(popular).—An appellation, sometimes, but not necessarily, of derision and contempt; applied to both sexes, but generally to women. Usually,old geezer. For synonyms,seeWitch.1885.Truth about the Stage, p. 16. If we wake up the oldgeezerswe shall get notice to quit without compensation.1886.Broadside Ballad, ‘Her Mother’s Got the Hump.’ This frizzle-headed oldgeezerhad a chin on her as rough—well, as rough as her family, and they’re rough ’uns.1890.A. Chevalier, ‘Knocked ’Em in the Old Kent Road.’ Nice oldgeezerwith a nasty cough.1892.Anstey,Voces Populi, p. 82. Our oldgeeser’sperdoocin’ the custimary amount o’ sensation.Gelding,subs.(old).—A eunuch.1380.Wycliffe,Trans. of the Bible, Acts viii. 39. … the spirit of the Lord ravysched Filip, and thegeldyngesay him no more.1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.to enter for the geldings’ stakes,verb. phr.(old).—To castrate a man; also used to describe a eunuch.Gelt,subs.(old).—Money;gilt(q.v.). Alsogelter.—(Duncombe, 1848).1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. There is nogeltto be got, Trading is very dull.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Gemini!(orGeminy!orJiminy!)intj.(common).—An exclamation of surprise; a mild oath. [Generally referred to the Lat.: Gemini = the Twins (i.e., Castor and Pollux, the objects of an old Roman oath); but Palmer (Folk Etymology), traces the interjection to the German,O Gemine!; Dutch,Jemy Jemini!; both abbreviated from the Latin,O Jesu Domine!; or merely fromJesu meus!; Italian,Giesu mio!It seems to have come in at the Restoration.] AlsoO Jimminy!;[129]O Jimminy Figs!;O Jimminy Gig!etc.: for the phrase has pleased the cockney mind, and been vulgarised accordingly.1672.Dryden,The Assignation, Act ii., Sc. 3.Ben.Ogemini! is it you, sir?1704.Steele,Lying Lover, Act iv., Sc. 3.Sim.I stay with you? Ohgemini! Indeed, I can’t.1731.Fielding,The Lottery, Sc. 2. Lord Lace! Ohgemini! who’s that?1780.Mrs. Cowley,The Belle’s Stratagem, iv., 2. Ohgemini! beg the petticoat’s pardon.1797.M. G. Lewis,Castle Spectre, iii., 3. Ohgemini! what would he use with me, lady?1798.Morton,Secrets Worth Knowing, i., 1. A parcel of lazy chaps, I dare say—but I’ll make them stir their stumps. Well, here we are at last.—Ohgemini gighow my poor bones do ache!1836.M. Scott,Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. i. ‘Gemini!what is that now?’ quoth Tip again.1863.Reade,Hard Cash, I., 125. O,jiminy! This polite ejaculation was drawn out by the speaker’s sudden recognition of Alfred.Gemman,subs.(vulgar).—A contraction of gentleman.1550.Docteur Double-All(the word occurs in this play).c.1551.L. Shepherd,John Bonin Arber’sGarner, iv., 107. Ye be the jolliestgemmanthat I ever saw in my life.1767.Colman,Oxonian in Town, I., i. I am glad to see your honour’s well. I hope you left all thegemminwell at Oxford.1818.Byron,Beppo, st. 86. At home our Bow-streetgemmenkeep the laws.1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. iii., ch. v. … but knock down agemman.1851.Borrow,Lavengro, ch. 26. Here the gipsygemmansee.Gen,subs.(costers’).—A shilling. Back slang, butcf.Fr.,argent. For synonyms,seeBlow.1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. i., p. 19. I’ll try you agen(shilling) said a coster.1887.Saturday Review, 14 May, p. 700. The difficulty of inverting the word shilling accounts for ‘generalize.’ from which the abbreviation togenis natural as well as affectionate.Gender,verb.(old).—To copulate. [An abbreviation ofEngender.] For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.1602.Shakspeare,Othello, iv., 2. A cistern for foul toads To knot andgenderin.1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.1778.Bailey,Eng. Dict., s.v.1816.Johnson,Eng. Dict., s.v.1892.Bible, Lev. xix., 19. Thou shalt not let thy cattlegenderwith a diverse kind.Feminine Gender,subs. phr.(schoolboys’).—The femalepudendum. [As in the old (schoolboys’) rhyme:Amo, amas, I loved a lass, And she was tall and slender,Amas, amat, I laid her flat, And tickled herfeminine gender. Quoted (with modifications) by Marryat inJacob Faithful, 1835.]Generalize,subs.(costers’). A shilling.SeeGen.Generating Place,subs. phr.(venery).—The femalepudendum.Generation Tool,subs. phr.(venery).—Thepenis. For synonyms,seeCreamstickandPrick.Geneva Print,subs. phr.(old).—Gin. For synonyms,seeDrinksandSatin.1584–1640.Massinger(quoted inSlang, Jargon, and Cant). And if you meet an Officer preaching of sobriety, Unless he read it inGeneva Print, Lay him by the heels.[130]Gen-net,subs. phr.(back slang).—Ten shillings.Gennitraf,subs.(back slang).—A farthing.Genol,adj.(back slang).—Long.Gent,subs.(once literary: now vulgar).—1. A showily-dressed vulgarian. [A contraction of ‘gentleman.’]1635. [Glapthorne],Lady Mother, in Bullen’sOld Plays, ii., 114. Hees not agentthat cannot parlee. I must invent some new and polite phrases.1785.Burns,Epistle to J. Lapraite, st. 11. Do ye envy the citygent, Behint a kist to lie and sklent?1843.Thackeray,Irish Sketch Book, ch. viii. The crowd of swaggeringgents(I don’t know the corresponding phrase in the Anglo-Irish vocabulary to express a shabby dandy), awaiting the Cork mail.1844.Disraeli,Coningsby, bk. IV., ch. ii. ‘Ah, not in business! Hem! professional?’ ‘No,’ said Coningsby, ‘I am nothing.’—‘Ah! an independentgent; hem! and a very pleasant thing too.’1846.Sunday Paper, 24 May.Mr. Rawlinson(Magistrate at Marylebone Police Court). What do you mean bygent? There is no such word in our language. I hold a man who is called agentto be the greatest blackguard there is.1848.Punch, vol. XIV., p. 226. His aversion for agentis softened by pity.1869.Blue Budget. Thegentindicates a being who apes the gentility without the faintest shadow of a claim to it.2. (Old Cant).—Money. [From Fr.,argent.] For synonyms,seeActualandGilt.1864.Revue des Deux Mondes, 15 Sept., p. 470.Les voleurs anglais disentgentpour ‘argent.’3. (colloquial).—A sweetheart, a mistress:e.g., Mygent= my particular friend.Adj.(old literary).—Elegant;comely; genteel.1383.Chaucer,Canterbury Tales. ‘Miller’s Tale.’ [Skeat, 1878, i., 194]. As any wesil her bodygentand small.1553–99.Spenser. He loved as was his lot, a ladygent.Idem.A knight had wrought against a ladygent.1704.Mad. Knight’s Jour., p. 44. Law you, sais she, it’s rightgent, do you take it—’tis dreadfull pretty.Gentile,subs.(colloquial). Any sort of stranger, native or foreign; among the Mormons, any person not professing the Gospel according to Joe Smith. Hence,In the Land of the Gentiles= (1) in foreign parts; and (2) in strange neighbourhoods or alien society.Gentle,subs.(anglers’).—A maggot; vulgarly,Gentile.1811.Songs of the Chase.‘The Jolly Anglers.’ We havegentlesin our horns.Gentle Craft,subs.(old).—1. The trade of shoemaking. [From the romance of Prince Crispin, who is said to have made shoes.]1662.Rump Songs.‘A Hymn to the Gentle Craft,’ etc., ii. 152. Crispin and he were nere akin: Thegentle crafthath a noble kin.2. (anglers’).—Angling.1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 65. Sez I,gentle craft, said I.Gentleman,subs.(thieves’).—A crowbar. For synonyms,seejemmy.To put a churl(orbeggar)upon a gentleman,verb. phr.(old).—To drink malt liquor immediately after wine.—Grose.Gentleman of the(Three, orFour, orFive) Outs (orIns),subs. phr.(old).—A[131]varying and ancient wheeze, of which the following are representative:—Out of money, and out of clothes; Out at the heels, and out at the toes; Out of credit, and in debt.A man in debt, in danger, and in poverty; or in gaol, indicted, and in danger of being hanged.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. iv. Paul becamea gentleman of three outs—out of pocket, out of elbows, and out of credit.1834.H. Ainsworth,Rookwood, Bk. III., ch. v. Jerry Juniper was what the classical CaptainGrosewould designatea gentleman with three outs, and, although he was not entirely without wit, nor his associates avouched, without money, nor certainly, in his own opinion, had that been asked, without manners.Gentleman of the Back(orBackdoor),subs.(old).—A sodomist. For synonyms,seeUsher.Gentleman of fortune,subs. phr.(common).—An adventurer.1890.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 149. ‘Why, in a place like this, where nobody puts in butgentlemen of fortune, Silver would fly the jolly roger, you don’t make no doubt of that.’Gentleman of Observation,subs. phr.(turf).—A tout.Gentleman of the Round,subs. phr.(old).—An invalided or disabled soldier, making his living by begging.1596.Jonson,Every Man in, etc., 2. Your decaied, ruinous, worme-eatengentlemen of the round.Gentleman of the Short Staff,subs. phr.(old).—A constable.1839.Ainsworth,Jack Sheppard(1889), p. 12. In the language of thegentleman of the short staffan important caption could be effected.Gentleman of the Fist,subs. phr.(pugilists’).—A prize-fighter.1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 44. Furnishsuch gentlemen of the fist.Gentleman in Brown,subs. phr.(common).—A bed bug. For synonyms,seeNorfolk Howard.1885.G. A. SalainDaily Telegraph, 14 Aug., 5/3. Bed bugs, the convertible term for which is ‘chintzes,’ are the disagreeable insects known in modern polite English as ‘Norfolk Howards,’ orgentlemen in brown.The Little Gentleman in Brown Velvet,subs. phr.(obsolete).—A mole. [The Tory toast after the death of William III., whose horse was said to have stumbled over a mole-hill.]Gentleman of the Green Baize Road,subs. phr.(gamesters’).—A card sharper.Gentleman Commoner,subs. phr.(University).—1. A privileged class of commoners at Oxford, wearing a special cut of gown and a velvet cap.2. (common).—An empty bottle. Alsofellow-commoner(q.v.). [A sarcastic allusion to the mental capacity of this class of student.] For synonyms,seeDead-man.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gentleman-ranker,subs.(military).—A broken gentleman serving in the ranks.1892.Kipling,Barrack Room Ballads. ‘Gentlemen Rankers.’Gentleman-rankersout on the spree, Damned from here to eternity, God ha’ mercy on such as we, Baa! Yah! Bah![132]Gentleman’s Companion,subs. phr.(common).—A louse. For synonyms,seeChates.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gentleman’s Master,subs. phr.(old).—A highwayman.—Grose.Gentleman’s(orLadies’)Piece,subs. phr.(colloquial).—A small or delicate portion; atit-bit.Gentleman’s Pleasure-garden,subs. phr.(venery).—The femalepudendum. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable. [Hence,Gentleman’s Pleasure-Garden Padlock= menstrual cloth.]Gentlemen’s Sons,subs. phr.(common).—The three regiments of Guards.Gently!intj.(stables’ and colloquial).—An interjection =stand still(q.v.); hence, colloquially, = don’t get into a passion,go slow(q.v.).Gentry Cove(orCofe),subs.(old cant).—A gentleman; anib-cove(q.v.). Fr.,un messire de la haute.1567.Harman,Caveat, s.v.1656.Brome,Joviall Crew, Act ii. For all this bene Cribbing and Peck let us then, Bowse a health to thegentry cofeof the Ken.1654.Witts’ Recreations.As priest of the game, And prelate of the same. There’s agentry covehere.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. Tour the bien mort twiring thegentry cove.1837.Disraeli,Venetia, p. 71. Thegentry covewill be ramboyled by his dam.Gentry Cove’s Ken(orGentry-Ken),subs. phr.(Old Cant).—A gentleman’s house.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 65. Agentry cofe’s ken, a noble or gentleman’s house. Agentry cofe, a noble or gentle man.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Gentry cove’s ken, a gentleman’s house.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gentry Mort,subs. phr.(old cant).—A lady.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 65. Agentry mort, a noble or gentle woman.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Gentry mort, a gentlewoman.1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict., s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Genuine,subs.(Winchester College).—Praise.Adj.(colloquial).—Trustworthy; not false nor double-faced.Verb.(Winchester College).—To praise. ‘He was awfully quilled andgenuinedmy task.’ [Probably from calling a thing genuine.Cf., to blackguard, to lord, etc. But fifty years ago it was asubs.only.—Notions.]Geordie,subs.(North Country).—1. A pitman; also, a Northumbrian in general.2. (nautical).—A North Country collier.3.SeeGeorge.George(or Scots’ diminutiveGeordie),subs.(old). 1.—A half crown. Also (obsolete), the noble = 6s.8d.,temp., Henry VIII.[133]1688.Shadwell,Sq. of Alsatia, List of cant words.george, half-a-crown.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew. He tipt me FortyGeorgesfor my earnest, He paid me Five Pounds for my Share or Snack.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.2. (old).—A guinea; also more frequentlyYellow George.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1787.Burns,The Twa Dogs. Theyellow-letteredGeordiekeeks.3. (old).—A penny.1820.Reynolds,The Fancy, Glossary. A Penny-piece—ageorgy.Brown George.—SeeAnte.By Fore, orBy George.—SeeBy George.George Horne,intj.(printers’).—A derisive retort on a piece of stale news. Also G. H.! [From a romancing compositor of the name.]Georgy-Porgy,verb(colloquial).—To pet; to fondle; to beslobber.1883.R. L. Stevenson,The Treasure of Franchard, ch. iii., inLongman’s Magazine, April, p. 685. He must be spoken to with more respect, I tell you; he must not be kissed andgeorgy-porgy’dlike an ordinary child.German.The German,subs. phr.(New York).—A round dance.German Duck,subs. phr.(obsolete).—1. Half a sheep’s head, stewed with onions.—Grose.2. (common).—A bed bug. For synonyms,seeNorfolk Howard.German Flutes,subs. phr.(rhyming).—A pair of boots.Germantowner,subs.(American billiards’).—A pushing shot—when the balls played with, and at, are jarred together.Cf.,Whitechapeller.Gerry,subs.(Old Cant).—Excrement.1567.Harman,Caveat, s.v.Gerry Gan,intj.(Old Cant).—A retort forcible.Stow it!(q.v.). [FromGerry= excrement +Gan= mouth,i.e., literally, Shit in your mouth.] The common form is: Shit (or a turd) in your teeth; as inBen Jonson,Bartholomew Fair, 1614. Fr.,Tais ta gueule ou j’te chie dedans.1567.Harman,Caveat.Gerry gan, the ruffian cly thee.Gerrymander(pronounced with the ‘g’ hard, as in ‘get’),verb.(political American).—To arrange the electoral subdivisions of a State to the profit and advantage of a particular party.[The term, says Norton, is derived from the name of Governor Gerry, of Massachusetts, who, in 1811, signed a Bill readjusting the representative districts so as to favour the Democrats and weaken the Federalists, although the last-named party polled nearly two-thirds of the votes cast. A fancied resemblance of a map of the districts thus treated led Stuart, the painter, to add a few lines with his pencil, and say to Mr. Russell, editor of theBoston Sentinel. ‘That will do for a Salamander.’ Russell glanced at it: ‘Salamander,’ said he, ‘call it aGerrymander!’ The epithet took at once, and became a Federalist war-cry, the caricature being published as a campaign document.]1871.Boston Daily Advertiser, 6 Dec.Gerrimanderwas the name printed under a picture of a pretended monster, whose shape was modified from the distorted geography which Mr. Gerry’s friends inflicted on part of the State for the sake of economizing, majorities.[134]Gerrymandering,subs.(political American).SeeGerrymander.1872.New York Sunday Mercury, 31 March. The Legislature of Ohio intends to prove itself a veritable master in thegerrymanderingbusiness.1890.Athenæum, 22 Feb. p.238, c. 1. Whatever faults can be found with Sir John’s administration, it has been good and successful enough to afford excuse for all thegerrymanderingwith which he is charged by his critics.1891.Belfort’s Mag., Aug., p. 439. The Democrats of Michigan have carried the art ofgerrymanderingto such an extent that they have thoroughly disgusted their opponents.Gerund-Grinder,subs.(common).—A schoolmaster, especially a pedant. AlsoGerund-Grinding.1759–67.Sterne,TristramShandy, iv., 112. Tutors, governors,gerund-grinders, and bear-leaders.1788.Knox,Winter Evenings, 59. A pedant, a mere plodder, a petty tyrant, agerund-grinder.1825–7.Hone,Every Day Book, II., p. 33.Gerund-Grindingand parsing are usually prepared for at the last moment.Get,subs.(old).—1. A cheating contrivance; aHave(q.v.).2. (old).—A child; the result, that is, of an act of procreation or begetting. Thus,one of his gets= one of his making;whose get is that?= Who’s the father? It’s hisget, anyhow = At all events hegotit.1570.Scottish Text Society,Satirical Poems, I., 171, ‘Treason of Dumbarton’ (1891). Ganelon’sgets, relicts of Sinon’s seed.d.1798.Burns,Merry Muses. ‘For a’ that.’ O’ bastardgettssome had a score, An’ some had mair than a’ that.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 41. This, again, is unusual for a Chester, as hisgetare generally quiet and docile, but a bit lazy.Get!(orYou Get!)intj.(American).—Short forGet out!Usually,Git!(q.v.).1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 176. None of your damned impertinence.Get!To get at,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To quiz; to banter; to aggravate; to take a rise out of. AlsoTo get back at.1891.Sloper’s Half Holiday, 3 Jan. ‘Your family don’t seem to get on, missie.’ ‘On!’ replied the child, with dignity flashing from her great blue eyes; ‘on!I’ve got a fatheronthe booze, a sisteronthe music ’all, an’ a brotheronthe treadmill.On!who’re yegettin’ at?’2. (racing and colloquial).—To influence; to bribe; to nobble (of horses), and to corrupt (of persons); applied to horse, owner, trainer, jockey, and vet. alike.1870.Spectator, 23 April. That, of course, makes it profitable for owners to withdraw horses they have secretly betted against, and for scoundrels toget athorses.1871.Saturday Review, 9 Sept. It is quite clear that some of the foreign working men have beengot at.1883.Graphic, 17 March, p. 262, c. 2. The House of Commons … can also be trusted to decide in local questions without any suspicion of beinggot at, as is sometimes the case elsewhere.1883.Badminton Library,Steeplechasing, p. 404. Suspicions that the mare had beengot at, that is to say, drugged, were afterwards noised abroad.1888.Daily Telegraph, 17 Nov. It was strongly suspected that he had beengot at.1890.Globe, 11 Aug., p. 1, c. 1. Fancy the professional agitator trying toget atsuch men as these—men who gloried in being soldiers and nothing else!1892.Pall Mall Gazette, May 10, p. 3, c. 3. The scoundrels (verily of the lowest form) who have tried toget atOrme.1892.National Observer, vii. 630. If the horse weregot at, then a bookie who stood heavily to lose is probably assumed.[135]To get about,verb. phr.(venery).—To do the act of intromission. For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.To get back at,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To satirise; to call to account.1888.Daily Inter-Ocean.The newspapers aregetting backat Sam.Get back into your box!phr.(American).—An injunction to silence;stow it!(q.v.for synonyms).To get encored,verb. phr.(tailors’).—To have a job returned for alterations.To get even with,verb. phr.(common).—To take one’s revenge; to give tit for tat.To get it,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To be punished (morally or physically); to be called over the coals. Also (venery) to catch a clap.To get off,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To (1) escape punishment, to be let off; (2) to utter, to deliver oneself of, to perpetrate—as to get off a joke; and (3) to get married.To get on,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To back a horse; to put abit on(q.v.).2. (colloquial).—To succeed; or, simply, to fare. Thus,How are you getting on?may signify (1) To what extent are you prospering? or (2) How are you doing?1871.Pall Mall Gaz., 29 Dec. That great Anglo-Saxon passion of rising in the world, orgetting on—that is, rising into the class above him.1892.A. W. Pinero,The Times: a Comedy, v. 1. We used to go very early to such places and stay right through, now that papa hasgot on, we arrive late everywhere and murmur an apology!To get one in the cold,verb. phr.(American).—To have at an advantage; to be on thewindward side(q.v.);to have on toast(q.v.).To get one on,verb. phr.(pugilists’).—To land a blow.To get down fine(orclose),verb. phr.(American).—To know all about one’s antecedents; and (police) to know where to find one’s man.To get into,verb. phr.(venery).—To occupy(q.v.). AlsoTo get inandTo get up. For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.1620.Percy,Folio MSS., p. 197.Gettvp againe, Billy, if that thou louest me.To get over,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To seduce, to fascinate, to dupe. AlsoTo come overandTo get round.To get outside of,verb.phr.(colloquial).—1. To eat or drink; also to accomplish one’s purpose.1892.S. Watson,Wops the Waif, p. 9. Tickle urged Wops again and again to drink, but Wops’s only reply was, ‘Yer go on, Tickle; gitoutsidethe lot, if yer can; it’ll do yer good, Cully.’
To get over the Garter,verb. phr.(venery).—To take liberties with a woman.
To FlyorPrick the Garter.SeePrick the Garter.
Garvies,subs.(Scots’).—1. Sprats. SometimesGarvie-Herring.
1845.P. Alloa,Statis. Acc., viii., 597. They are often very successful in taking the smaller fish, such as herrings,garviesor sprats, sparlings or smelts.
2. (military).—The Ninety-fourth Foot. [From the small stature of the earlier recruits.]
1869.Notes and Queries, 4 S. iii., p. 349.Garvie.The soubriquet points to the low average height of the recruits in the Fifeshire regiments, which, however, may not now be the case, since recruiting has become less local.
Gas,subs.(common).—Empty talk; bounce; bombast.
1847.Porter,Quarter Race, etc., p. 120. The boys said that was allgasto scare them off.
1867.Chambers’ Jour., 29 June. I’ve piped off Sabbathgasin my time I don’t deny, but under the woods we mostly tell the truth.
1868.Chambers’ Jour., 15 Feb., p. 110. I don’t, an’ never could splice ends with them as blow offgasabout gold-digging—saying it’s plunder easy come an’ easy gone, seeking the root of evil, an’ other granny talk which hasn’t no meaning.[122]
a.1871.Emerson(quoted in De Vere’sAmer.). ’Tis odd that our people should have not water on the brain, but a littlegasthere.
1889.Globe, 31 Oct., p. 4, c. 4. It went on to state that the petitioner’s talk about a divorce was allgas, and made a further appointment.
Verb.(common).—1. To talk idly; to brag; to bounce; to talk for talking’s sake. Fr.,faire son cheval de corbillard(in American ‘to be on the tall grass.’)SeeLong Bow.
1872.Lond. Figaro, 14 Dec. There is no good to be got out ofgassingaboutrallyingaround standards, uniting as one man to resist, etc.
1875. ‘American English’ inChambers’ Jour., 25 Sept., p. 610. Togasis to talk only for the purpose of prolonging a debate.
1885.Society, 7 Feb., p. 7. Agitators and place-seekers maygasas much as they please, but they cannot make black appear white.
2. (common).—To impose on by ‘gas’;to pill(q.v.);to splash(q.v.). For synonyms,seeGammon.
To take the gas out of one,verb. phr.(common).—To take the conceit out of; to take down a peg.
To turn on the gas,verb. phr.(common).—To begin bouncing; also toGas(q.v.).
To turn off the gas,verb. phr.(common).—To cease, or cause to cease, from bouncing, vapouring, orGas(q.v.).
To gas round,verb. phr.(common).—To seek information on the sly; also toGas(q.v.).
Gas-Bag,subs.(common).—A man of words orgas(q.v.); a gasconader. Alsogasometer. For synonyms,seeMouth Almighty.
1889.Referee, 6 Jan. That greatgas-bagof modern days.
Gash,subs.(American).—1. The mouth. For synonyms,seepotato-trap.
1878.H. B. Stowe,Poganuc People, ch. xiv., p. 122. Ef Zeph Higgins would jest shet up hisgashin town-meetin’, that air school-house could be moved fast enough.
2. (venery).—The femalepudendum. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.
Gashly,adj.(common).—A vulgarism forghastly.
Gaskins,subs.(old).—Wide hose; wide breeches. [FromGalligaskins. Johnson says, ‘an old ludicrous word.’]
Gasp,subs.(common).—A dram of spirits. For synonyms,seeGo.
Verb.(common).—To drink a dram,e.g., ‘Will yougasp?’ = Will you take something neat.
Gaspipe,subs.(nautical).—1. An iron steamer, whose length is nine or ten times her beam. [At one time a ship’s length but rarely exceeded four and a half to five times the beam.]
2. (printers’).—Bad rollers.
3. (common).—A rifle; specifically the Snider.
1883.Daily Telegraph, 9 July, p. 5, col. 7. The old Snider—the despair-breedinggas-pipeof our Volunteers—continues to be used in many of the competitions.
Gaspipe-crawler,subs. phr.(common).—A thin man.Cf.,Lamp-post.[123]
Gasser,subs.(common).—A braggart. For synonyms,seeMouth Almighty.
Gassy(orGaseous),adj.(common).—1. Likely to take umbrage or to flare-up.
1863.North American Review, cxliii., p. 220.Gassypoliticians in Congress.
2. (colloquial).—Full of empty talk orgas(q.v.).
1872.Whitney,Life and Growth of Lang., p. 17. As when we call an empty and sophistical but ready talkergassy.
Gaster,subs.(nonce-word).—A fine and curious eater (Thackeray). In Rabelais = the belly and the needs thereof: a coinage adopted by Urquhart.
Gat,subs.(schoolboys’).—A quantity;e.g., agatof grub = plenty to eat. Alsogats.
1803.Every-day Life in our Public Schools.They are called up ingatsof three at a time.
Gate,subs.(colloquial).—1. The attendance at a race or athletic meeting, held in enclosed grounds; the number of persons who pass the gate.
1883.Sportsman, 20 Dec. The Birmingham man, on account of the largegatethat would be secured, wanted the affair to be brought off in that town, whereas Regan favoured Wolverhampton.
2. Money paid for admission to athletic sports, race course, etc.; the same asgate-money(q.v.).
1891.Telegraph, 21 Mar. The leading clubs are now commercial corporations, dependent for revenue on thegatesat the matches.
3.in. pl.(University).—The being forbidden to pass outside the gate of a college. Seeverb, sense 1.
18(?).Bradley,Tales of College Life, p. 19. That’s the ticket; that will just land me in time forgates.
1881.Lang,xxxiiBallades, ‘Of Midsummer Term.’ When freshmen are careless ofgates.
Verb.(University).—To confine wholly or during certain hours within the college gate for some infraction of discipline.
1835.The Snobiad(Whibley,Cap and Gown, p. 141). Two proctors kindly holding either arm Staunch the dark blood andgatehim for the term.
1853.Bradley,Verd. Green, I., ch. xii. He won’t hurt you much, Giglamps!Gateand chapel you!
1861.Hughes,Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xii. Now you’ll both begatedprobably, and the whole crew will be thrown out of gear.
1865.Cornhill Mag., p. 227. He is requested to confine himself to college after a specified hour, which is familiarly termed beinggated.
1870.Morning Advertiser, 23 May. The two least culpable of the party have beengated.
The gate,subs. phr.(various).—Among fishmongers, Billingsgate; among thieves, Newgate.Cf.,Lane,Row,Garden, etc.
1877.Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. i., p. 5. The ‘steel,’ a slang name of the large metropolitan prisons, as thegateis for Newgate.
To break gates,verb. phr.—(University).—To stay out of college after hours.
To be at Gates,verb. phr.(Winchester College).—To assemble in Seventh Chamber passage, preparatory to goingtoHills or Cathedral.
1870.Mansfield,School Life, p. 149. Soon after morning chapel on a holiday or a remedy all the boys assembled atgates.
On the gate,adv. phr.(thieves’).—On remand.[124]
Gate-Bill,subs.(University).—The record of an undergraduate’s failure to be within the precincts of his college at, or before, a specified time at night.
1803.Gradus ad Cant., p. 128. To avoidgate-billshe will be out at night as late as he pleases … climb over the college wall, and fee his gyp well.
Gate-money,subs.(colloquial).—The charge for admission to a race-meeting.SeeGate,subs., sense 1.
1885.Daily News, 25 May, p. 3, c. 2. The truth of the matter is, that so far as sport goes, open meetings like those at Bath and Salisbury cannot stand up againstgate-moneymeetings such as Manchester.
1888.Sporting Life, 10 Dec. The comfort that is brought home at our greatgate-moneymeetings gatherings to every visitor.
Gate-of-Horn,subs. phr.(venery). The femalepudendum.Cf.,Horn, and for synonyms,seeMonosyllable.
Gate-of-Life,subs.(venery).—The femalepudendum. AlsoGate-of-Horn. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.
Gater,subs.(Winchester College).—A plunge head foremost into apot(q.v.).
Gate-race(or-meeting),subs.(sporting).—Formerly, a contest not got up for sport but entrance money; now a race or athletic meeting to which admission is by payment.
1881.Daily News, 14 July. Few of these athletics care to compete atgate-meetings.
Gath,subs.(colloquial).—A city or district inPhilistia(q.v.); often used, likeAskelon(q.v.) forPhilistiaitself. Hence,to be mighty in gath= to be aPhilistine(q.v.) of the first magnitude;to prevail against gath= to smite the Philistines hip and thigh, as becomes a valiant companion of theDavidsbund; and so forth.
Tell it not in Gath,verb. phr.(colloquial).—An interjection of derision, signifying that the person exclaimed against has done something the knowledge of which would bring on him the wrath, or the amazement, of his friends.
Gather.To gather up,verb. phr.(American).—To lead away.
1847.Chronicles of Pineville, p. 182. ‘Gatherhimup, boys,’ said the judge, ‘the sentence of the law must be executed.’
To gather the taxes,verb. phr.(tailor’s).—To go from workshop to workshop seeking employment. Hence,Tax-gatherer= a man out of work and looking for a job.Cf.,Inspector of public buildings.
Out of gathers,adv. phr.(colloquial).—In distress.Cf.,Out at elbows.
Gatherings.SeeGags.
Gatter,subs.(common).—Beer; also liquor generally.Shant of gatter= a pot of beer. Fr.,la moussante. For synonyms,seeDrinks.
1818.Maginn,Vidocq Versified. Lots ofgatter, says she, is flowing. Lend me a lift in the family way.
1841.Punch, I., p. 243,Gatteris but threepence a pot, and that’s the price of a reasonable ’pike ticket.
1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, Vol. i., p. 232. They have a ‘shant ofgatter’ (pot of beer) at the nearest ‘boozing-ken’ (alehouse).[125]
Gaudeamus,subs.(colloquial).—A feast; a drinking bout; any sort of merry-making. [German students’, but now general and popular.] From the first word of the mediæval (students’) ditty. For synonyms,seeJamboree.
Gaudy(orGaudy-day),subs.(common).—A feast or entertainment: specifically the annual dinner of the fellows of a college in memory of founders or benefactors; or a festival of the Inns of Court. (Lat.gaudere= to rejoice.)
1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict.Gaudy days, college or Inns of Court festivals.
1754.B. Martin,Eng. Dict., 2nd ed.Gaudies, double commons, such as they have ongaudyor granddaysin colleges.
1760.Foote,Minor, Act i. Dine at twelve, and regale, upon agaudy day, with buns and beer at Islington.
1803.Gradus ad Cantab., p. 122. Cut lectures … givegaudiesand spreads.
1820.Lamb,Elia(Oxford in the Vacation). Methought I a little grudged at the coalition of thebetter Judewith Simon—clubbing (as it were) their sanctities together, to make up one poorgaudy-daybetween them.
1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxiii. We had a carouse to your honour … we fought, too, to finish off thegaudy.
1878.Besant and Rice,By Celia’s Arbour, ch. xxxiii. Champagne … goes equally well with a simple luncheon of cold chicken, and with the most elaborategaudy.
Adj.(colloquial).—Good; frolicsome; festive.Cf., Shakspeare’s ‘Let’s have one othergaudynight.’—Ant. and Cleo., iii, 13.
1884.Hawley Smart,From Post to Finish, p. 176. ‘Yes,’ answered the trainer, slowly, ‘he’s right enough; but a Leger’s a Leger, and I don’t think they are likely to give him a verygaudychance.’
Neat but not gaudy, as the devil said when he painted his bottom pink, and tied up his tail with pea-green,phr.(common).—A locution used to ancient ladies dressed in flaming colours.
Gauge.SeeGage.
To get the gauge of,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To divine an intention; to read a character; tosize, (orreckon)up(q.v.). Hence, That’s about thegaugeof it = That’s a fair description.
Gauley.Seeby golly.
Gawf,subs.(costers’).—A red-skinned apple.
1851–61.Mayhew,Lond. Lab., i., 63. A cheap red-skinned fruit, known to costers asgawfs, is rubbed hard, to look bright and feel soft, and is mixed with apples of a superior description.Gawfsare sweet and sour at once, I was told, and fit for nothing but mixing.
Gawk,subs.(colloquial).—A simpleton, especially an awkward one, whether male or female. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head. [ScotsGowk= a cuckoo; a fool; whence,to gowk= to, play the fool. As in the ‘Derision of Wanton Women’ (Bannatyne,MS., 1567), ‘To gar them ga ingucking’ = to make them play the fool.]
1837.H. Martineau,Soc. in America, i., 299. They proved suchgawksthat they were unable to learn.
1882.McCabe,New York, p. 217. I wasn’t half as awkward as some of thegawksabout me.
1887.H. Frederic,Seth’s Brother’s Wife, ch. iv. Girls brought up to be awkwardgawks, without a chance in life.
Verb.(colloquial).—To loiter round; toplay the goat. [The same verb is used byJonson[126](Magnetic Lady, iii., 4, 1632) in the sense of amazed, or bamboozled,i.e., absolutely befooled: Nay, look how the man stands, as he weregowked!]
1888.F. R. Stockton,Rudder Grange, ch. xvi. That afternoon wegawkedaround, a-lookin’ at all the outside shows, for Jone said he’d have to be pretty careful of his money now.
Gawkiness,subs.(colloquial).—Awkwardness; silliness;greenness(q.v.).
1873.Miss Broughton,Nancy, ch. xxxvii. The crudegawkinessof the raw girl he has drifted into marrying.
Gawking,subs.(colloquial).—Loitering and staring;gathering hayseed(q.v.).
Gawky,subs.(colloquial).—An awkward booby; a fool. ‘Nowsquire gawky’ = a challenge to a clumsy lout. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head.
1686–1758.Ramsay,Poems, ii., 299. Or, gentle born ye be; but youths in love you’re but agawky.
1777.Sheridan,School for Scandal, Act ii., Sc. 2.Crab.Yes, and she is a curious being to pretend to be censorious—an awkwardgawky, without any one good point under heaven.
1825.Neal,Bro. Jonathan, ii., ch. 18. Great, long, slab-sidedgawkysfrom the country.
1878.C. H. Wall, tr.Molière, ii., 197. Our biggawkyof a viscount.
Adj.(colloquial).—Lanky; awkward; stupid.
1759.Townley,High Life Below Stairs,i., 1. Under the form of agawkycountry boy I will be an eye-witness of my servants’ behaviour.
1855.Thackeray,Newcomes, ch. xlviii. Even for his cousin Samuel Newcome, agawkyyouth with an eruptive countenance, Barnes had appropriate words of conversation.
Gawney(orGoney),subs.(common).—A fool. For synonyms,seeBuffleandCabbage-head.
Gay,adj.(colloquial).—1. Dissipated; specifically, given to venery: As in the French,avoir la cuisse gaie= to be addicted to the use of men. Hencegay woman, orgirl, orbit= a strumpet;gay house= a brothel;to be gay= to be incontinent;gay in the legs,in the groin,in the arse=short-heeled(q.v.);gaying instrument= thepenis[Lexicon Balatronicum, 1811, s.v.];gay man= a wencher;gay ladie(old) = a mistress;gaying it= copulating.
1383.Chaucer,Canterbury Tales, 3767. What eyeleth you? Somegaygirl, God it wot, Hath brough you thus upon the very trot.
1754.Adventurer, No. 124. The old gentleman, whose character I cannot better express than in the fashionable phrase which has been contrived to palliate false principles and dissolute manners, had been agayman, and was well acquainted with the town.
1854.Leech,Pictures of Life and Character. How long have you beengay?
1857.J. E. Ritchie,Night Side of London, p. 40. Here in Catherine-street vice is a monster of a hideous mien. Thegaywomen, as they are termed, are worse off than American slaves.
1868.Sunday Times, 19 July. As soon as ever a woman has ostensibly lost her reputation, we, with a grim inappositeness, call hergay.
2. (common).—In drink. For synonyms,seeScrewed.
All Gay(orAll so Gay).adv. phr.(common).—All right; first-rate;all serene(q.v.).
To feel gay.verb. phr.(colloquial).—Inclined for sport, venereal or other;To feel naughty(q.v.).
Gay Tyke Boy,subs. phr.(old).—A dog fancier.
1848.Duncombe,Sinks of London, s.v.[127]
Gazebo,subs.(old).—A summer-house commanding an extensive view. [Dog-Latin,gazebo= I will gaze.]
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Geach,subs.(thieves’).—A thief. For synonyms,seeThieves.
1821.Haggart,Life, p. 56. He was a tolerablegeach.
Verb.(thieves’).—To steal. For synonyms,seePrig.
1821.Haggart,Life, p. 73. A small dross scout … which I knew had beengeached.
Gear,subs.(venery).—1. The private parts, both male and female. [‘Geere,besognes;aussi les parties honteuses’ (Robert Sherwood’sDictionarie, English and French, appended toCotgrave, 1660). ‘Besongner… also to do or leacher with’ (Cotgrave). Anglo-Saxon:gearwe(strong feminine plural) ornaments.Skeatsays original sense of gear was ‘preparation.’]
1598.Florio,Worlde of Wordes,Mozza, a wench, a lasse, a girle. Also a woman’sgeareor cunnie.
1620.Percy,Folio MSS.‘Ffryar and Boye.’ I sweare, by night nor day thygeareis not to borrow.
1659.Torriano,Vocabulario, s.v.
2. (obsolete).—Work,business(q.v.). Thus: Here’s goodlygear= Here’s fine doings; Here’s a pretty kettle of fish. As inRomeo and Juliet(ii., 2, 106).
Gee,subs.(colloquial).—SeeGee-gee.
Verb.(colloquial).—1. To go or turn to the off-side; used as a direction to horses.Cf.: It.:gio= Get on!
1480.Dialogus Creaturum.Et cum sic gloriaretur, et cogitaret cum quanta gloria duceretur ad illum virum super equum, dicendo, ‘Gio! Gio!’ cepit pede percutere terram quasi pungeret equum calcaribus.
2. (colloquial).—To move faster: as a teemster to his horses, ‘Gee up!’
1824.Blackwood’s Mag., Oct. Mr. Babbge-huppedin vain, and strove to jerk the rein, Nobbs felt he had his option to work or play.
3. (colloquial).—To stop: as ‘Gee whoa!’
To gee with,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To agree with; to fit; to be congenial; to go on all fours with; to do.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew,Gears, s.v. … It won’tgee, it won’t hit or go.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue.gee, it won’tgee, it won’t hit or do, it does not suit or fit.
1850.Seaworthy,Nag’s Head, ch. v., p. 35. It don’t seem toGee! said Isaac, as he was trying to adjust the stove.
1888.Missouri Repub., 8 April. He and Mrs. Barnay did notgee.
Gee-gee(orGee).—subs.(common).—1. A horse.SeeGee,verb.in all senses. For synonyms,seePrad.
1888.Referee, 15 April, 1/2. In nearly all other races theyseemost of thegeesdo a canter on their way up the course.
1889.Pall Mall Gaz., 14 April. He knows as much aboutgee-gee’sas a professional trainer.
1890.Licensed Vict. Gaz.,8 Feb. Thegeeswere all broken to the stable.
2. (colloquial).—The nickname among journalists (of the interviewer, type) of Mr. G(eorge) G(rossmith), better known, perhaps, as the Society Clown.[128]
Gee-gee Dodge,subs. phr.(trade).—Selling horseflesh for beef.
1884.Greenwood,Veiled Mysteries. Thegee-gee dodge… was seldom or ever practised … it was impossible … to bargain for a regular supply.
Geekie,subs.(Scots thieves’).—A police-station.
Geeloot.SeeGaloot.
Geese,All his geese are swans,phr.(colloquial).—He habitually exaggerates, orembroiders(q.v.); or, He is always wrong in his estimates of persons and things.
The old woman’s picking her geese(proverbial).—Said of a snowstorm. [The other leg of the couplet (schoolboys’) runs: ‘And selling the feathers a penny a piece.’]
Like geese on a common(colloquial).—Wandering in a body, aggressive and at large:e.g., asfaddists(q.v.) in pursuit of afad; or members of Parliament in recess, when both sides go about to say the thing which is in them.
Geewhilikens!intj.(Western American).—An exclamation of surprise; alsojeewhilikens.
1888.Detroit Free Press.It is on time? No? Three hours late?Geewhilikens!
Geezer,subs.(popular).—An appellation, sometimes, but not necessarily, of derision and contempt; applied to both sexes, but generally to women. Usually,old geezer. For synonyms,seeWitch.
1885.Truth about the Stage, p. 16. If we wake up the oldgeezerswe shall get notice to quit without compensation.
1886.Broadside Ballad, ‘Her Mother’s Got the Hump.’ This frizzle-headed oldgeezerhad a chin on her as rough—well, as rough as her family, and they’re rough ’uns.
1890.A. Chevalier, ‘Knocked ’Em in the Old Kent Road.’ Nice oldgeezerwith a nasty cough.
1892.Anstey,Voces Populi, p. 82. Our oldgeeser’sperdoocin’ the custimary amount o’ sensation.
Gelding,subs.(old).—A eunuch.
1380.Wycliffe,Trans. of the Bible, Acts viii. 39. … the spirit of the Lord ravysched Filip, and thegeldyngesay him no more.
1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
to enter for the geldings’ stakes,verb. phr.(old).—To castrate a man; also used to describe a eunuch.
Gelt,subs.(old).—Money;gilt(q.v.). Alsogelter.—(Duncombe, 1848).
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. There is nogeltto be got, Trading is very dull.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Gemini!(orGeminy!orJiminy!)intj.(common).—An exclamation of surprise; a mild oath. [Generally referred to the Lat.: Gemini = the Twins (i.e., Castor and Pollux, the objects of an old Roman oath); but Palmer (Folk Etymology), traces the interjection to the German,O Gemine!; Dutch,Jemy Jemini!; both abbreviated from the Latin,O Jesu Domine!; or merely fromJesu meus!; Italian,Giesu mio!It seems to have come in at the Restoration.] AlsoO Jimminy!;[129]O Jimminy Figs!;O Jimminy Gig!etc.: for the phrase has pleased the cockney mind, and been vulgarised accordingly.
1672.Dryden,The Assignation, Act ii., Sc. 3.Ben.Ogemini! is it you, sir?
1704.Steele,Lying Lover, Act iv., Sc. 3.Sim.I stay with you? Ohgemini! Indeed, I can’t.
1731.Fielding,The Lottery, Sc. 2. Lord Lace! Ohgemini! who’s that?
1780.Mrs. Cowley,The Belle’s Stratagem, iv., 2. Ohgemini! beg the petticoat’s pardon.
1797.M. G. Lewis,Castle Spectre, iii., 3. Ohgemini! what would he use with me, lady?
1798.Morton,Secrets Worth Knowing, i., 1. A parcel of lazy chaps, I dare say—but I’ll make them stir their stumps. Well, here we are at last.—Ohgemini gighow my poor bones do ache!
1836.M. Scott,Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. i. ‘Gemini!what is that now?’ quoth Tip again.
1863.Reade,Hard Cash, I., 125. O,jiminy! This polite ejaculation was drawn out by the speaker’s sudden recognition of Alfred.
Gemman,subs.(vulgar).—A contraction of gentleman.
1550.Docteur Double-All(the word occurs in this play).
c.1551.L. Shepherd,John Bonin Arber’sGarner, iv., 107. Ye be the jolliestgemmanthat I ever saw in my life.
1767.Colman,Oxonian in Town, I., i. I am glad to see your honour’s well. I hope you left all thegemminwell at Oxford.
1818.Byron,Beppo, st. 86. At home our Bow-streetgemmenkeep the laws.
1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. iii., ch. v. … but knock down agemman.
1851.Borrow,Lavengro, ch. 26. Here the gipsygemmansee.
Gen,subs.(costers’).—A shilling. Back slang, butcf.Fr.,argent. For synonyms,seeBlow.
1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. i., p. 19. I’ll try you agen(shilling) said a coster.
1887.Saturday Review, 14 May, p. 700. The difficulty of inverting the word shilling accounts for ‘generalize.’ from which the abbreviation togenis natural as well as affectionate.
Gender,verb.(old).—To copulate. [An abbreviation ofEngender.] For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.
1602.Shakspeare,Othello, iv., 2. A cistern for foul toads To knot andgenderin.
1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.
1778.Bailey,Eng. Dict., s.v.
1816.Johnson,Eng. Dict., s.v.
1892.Bible, Lev. xix., 19. Thou shalt not let thy cattlegenderwith a diverse kind.
Feminine Gender,subs. phr.(schoolboys’).—The femalepudendum. [As in the old (schoolboys’) rhyme:Amo, amas, I loved a lass, And she was tall and slender,Amas, amat, I laid her flat, And tickled herfeminine gender. Quoted (with modifications) by Marryat inJacob Faithful, 1835.]
Generalize,subs.(costers’). A shilling.SeeGen.
Generating Place,subs. phr.(venery).—The femalepudendum.
Generation Tool,subs. phr.(venery).—Thepenis. For synonyms,seeCreamstickandPrick.
Geneva Print,subs. phr.(old).—Gin. For synonyms,seeDrinksandSatin.
1584–1640.Massinger(quoted inSlang, Jargon, and Cant). And if you meet an Officer preaching of sobriety, Unless he read it inGeneva Print, Lay him by the heels.[130]
Gen-net,subs. phr.(back slang).—Ten shillings.
Gennitraf,subs.(back slang).—A farthing.
Genol,adj.(back slang).—Long.
Gent,subs.(once literary: now vulgar).—1. A showily-dressed vulgarian. [A contraction of ‘gentleman.’]
1635. [Glapthorne],Lady Mother, in Bullen’sOld Plays, ii., 114. Hees not agentthat cannot parlee. I must invent some new and polite phrases.
1785.Burns,Epistle to J. Lapraite, st. 11. Do ye envy the citygent, Behint a kist to lie and sklent?
1843.Thackeray,Irish Sketch Book, ch. viii. The crowd of swaggeringgents(I don’t know the corresponding phrase in the Anglo-Irish vocabulary to express a shabby dandy), awaiting the Cork mail.
1844.Disraeli,Coningsby, bk. IV., ch. ii. ‘Ah, not in business! Hem! professional?’ ‘No,’ said Coningsby, ‘I am nothing.’—‘Ah! an independentgent; hem! and a very pleasant thing too.’
1846.Sunday Paper, 24 May.Mr. Rawlinson(Magistrate at Marylebone Police Court). What do you mean bygent? There is no such word in our language. I hold a man who is called agentto be the greatest blackguard there is.
1848.Punch, vol. XIV., p. 226. His aversion for agentis softened by pity.
1869.Blue Budget. Thegentindicates a being who apes the gentility without the faintest shadow of a claim to it.
2. (Old Cant).—Money. [From Fr.,argent.] For synonyms,seeActualandGilt.
1864.Revue des Deux Mondes, 15 Sept., p. 470.Les voleurs anglais disentgentpour ‘argent.’
3. (colloquial).—A sweetheart, a mistress:e.g., Mygent= my particular friend.
Adj.(old literary).—Elegant;comely; genteel.
1383.Chaucer,Canterbury Tales. ‘Miller’s Tale.’ [Skeat, 1878, i., 194]. As any wesil her bodygentand small.
1553–99.Spenser. He loved as was his lot, a ladygent.Idem.A knight had wrought against a ladygent.
1704.Mad. Knight’s Jour., p. 44. Law you, sais she, it’s rightgent, do you take it—’tis dreadfull pretty.
Gentile,subs.(colloquial). Any sort of stranger, native or foreign; among the Mormons, any person not professing the Gospel according to Joe Smith. Hence,In the Land of the Gentiles= (1) in foreign parts; and (2) in strange neighbourhoods or alien society.
Gentle,subs.(anglers’).—A maggot; vulgarly,Gentile.
1811.Songs of the Chase.‘The Jolly Anglers.’ We havegentlesin our horns.
Gentle Craft,subs.(old).—1. The trade of shoemaking. [From the romance of Prince Crispin, who is said to have made shoes.]
1662.Rump Songs.‘A Hymn to the Gentle Craft,’ etc., ii. 152. Crispin and he were nere akin: Thegentle crafthath a noble kin.
2. (anglers’).—Angling.
1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 65. Sez I,gentle craft, said I.
Gentleman,subs.(thieves’).—A crowbar. For synonyms,seejemmy.
To put a churl(orbeggar)upon a gentleman,verb. phr.(old).—To drink malt liquor immediately after wine.—Grose.
Gentleman of the(Three, orFour, orFive) Outs (orIns),subs. phr.(old).—A[131]varying and ancient wheeze, of which the following are representative:—
Out of money, and out of clothes; Out at the heels, and out at the toes; Out of credit, and in debt.
A man in debt, in danger, and in poverty; or in gaol, indicted, and in danger of being hanged.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. iv. Paul becamea gentleman of three outs—out of pocket, out of elbows, and out of credit.
1834.H. Ainsworth,Rookwood, Bk. III., ch. v. Jerry Juniper was what the classical CaptainGrosewould designatea gentleman with three outs, and, although he was not entirely without wit, nor his associates avouched, without money, nor certainly, in his own opinion, had that been asked, without manners.
Gentleman of the Back(orBackdoor),subs.(old).—A sodomist. For synonyms,seeUsher.
Gentleman of fortune,subs. phr.(common).—An adventurer.
1890.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 149. ‘Why, in a place like this, where nobody puts in butgentlemen of fortune, Silver would fly the jolly roger, you don’t make no doubt of that.’
Gentleman of Observation,subs. phr.(turf).—A tout.
Gentleman of the Round,subs. phr.(old).—An invalided or disabled soldier, making his living by begging.
1596.Jonson,Every Man in, etc., 2. Your decaied, ruinous, worme-eatengentlemen of the round.
Gentleman of the Short Staff,subs. phr.(old).—A constable.
1839.Ainsworth,Jack Sheppard(1889), p. 12. In the language of thegentleman of the short staffan important caption could be effected.
Gentleman of the Fist,subs. phr.(pugilists’).—A prize-fighter.
1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 44. Furnishsuch gentlemen of the fist.
Gentleman in Brown,subs. phr.(common).—A bed bug. For synonyms,seeNorfolk Howard.
1885.G. A. SalainDaily Telegraph, 14 Aug., 5/3. Bed bugs, the convertible term for which is ‘chintzes,’ are the disagreeable insects known in modern polite English as ‘Norfolk Howards,’ orgentlemen in brown.
The Little Gentleman in Brown Velvet,subs. phr.(obsolete).—A mole. [The Tory toast after the death of William III., whose horse was said to have stumbled over a mole-hill.]
Gentleman of the Green Baize Road,subs. phr.(gamesters’).—A card sharper.
Gentleman Commoner,subs. phr.(University).—1. A privileged class of commoners at Oxford, wearing a special cut of gown and a velvet cap.
2. (common).—An empty bottle. Alsofellow-commoner(q.v.). [A sarcastic allusion to the mental capacity of this class of student.] For synonyms,seeDead-man.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gentleman-ranker,subs.(military).—A broken gentleman serving in the ranks.
1892.Kipling,Barrack Room Ballads. ‘Gentlemen Rankers.’Gentleman-rankersout on the spree, Damned from here to eternity, God ha’ mercy on such as we, Baa! Yah! Bah![132]
Gentleman’s Companion,subs. phr.(common).—A louse. For synonyms,seeChates.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gentleman’s Master,subs. phr.(old).—A highwayman.—Grose.
Gentleman’s(orLadies’)Piece,subs. phr.(colloquial).—A small or delicate portion; atit-bit.
Gentleman’s Pleasure-garden,subs. phr.(venery).—The femalepudendum. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable. [Hence,Gentleman’s Pleasure-Garden Padlock= menstrual cloth.]
Gentlemen’s Sons,subs. phr.(common).—The three regiments of Guards.
Gently!intj.(stables’ and colloquial).—An interjection =stand still(q.v.); hence, colloquially, = don’t get into a passion,go slow(q.v.).
Gentry Cove(orCofe),subs.(old cant).—A gentleman; anib-cove(q.v.). Fr.,un messire de la haute.
1567.Harman,Caveat, s.v.
1656.Brome,Joviall Crew, Act ii. For all this bene Cribbing and Peck let us then, Bowse a health to thegentry cofeof the Ken.
1654.Witts’ Recreations.As priest of the game, And prelate of the same. There’s agentry covehere.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. Tour the bien mort twiring thegentry cove.
1837.Disraeli,Venetia, p. 71. Thegentry covewill be ramboyled by his dam.
Gentry Cove’s Ken(orGentry-Ken),subs. phr.(Old Cant).—A gentleman’s house.
1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 65. Agentry cofe’s ken, a noble or gentleman’s house. Agentry cofe, a noble or gentle man.
1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Gentry cove’s ken, a gentleman’s house.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gentry Mort,subs. phr.(old cant).—A lady.
1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 65. Agentry mort, a noble or gentle woman.
1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Gentry mort, a gentlewoman.
1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Genuine,subs.(Winchester College).—Praise.
Adj.(colloquial).—Trustworthy; not false nor double-faced.
Verb.(Winchester College).—To praise. ‘He was awfully quilled andgenuinedmy task.’ [Probably from calling a thing genuine.Cf., to blackguard, to lord, etc. But fifty years ago it was asubs.only.—Notions.]
Geordie,subs.(North Country).—1. A pitman; also, a Northumbrian in general.
2. (nautical).—A North Country collier.
3.SeeGeorge.
George(or Scots’ diminutiveGeordie),subs.(old). 1.—A half crown. Also (obsolete), the noble = 6s.8d.,temp., Henry VIII.[133]
1688.Shadwell,Sq. of Alsatia, List of cant words.george, half-a-crown.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew. He tipt me FortyGeorgesfor my earnest, He paid me Five Pounds for my Share or Snack.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (old).—A guinea; also more frequentlyYellow George.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1787.Burns,The Twa Dogs. Theyellow-letteredGeordiekeeks.
3. (old).—A penny.
1820.Reynolds,The Fancy, Glossary. A Penny-piece—ageorgy.
Brown George.—SeeAnte.
By Fore, orBy George.—SeeBy George.
George Horne,intj.(printers’).—A derisive retort on a piece of stale news. Also G. H.! [From a romancing compositor of the name.]
Georgy-Porgy,verb(colloquial).—To pet; to fondle; to beslobber.
1883.R. L. Stevenson,The Treasure of Franchard, ch. iii., inLongman’s Magazine, April, p. 685. He must be spoken to with more respect, I tell you; he must not be kissed andgeorgy-porgy’dlike an ordinary child.
German.The German,subs. phr.(New York).—A round dance.
German Duck,subs. phr.(obsolete).—1. Half a sheep’s head, stewed with onions.—Grose.
2. (common).—A bed bug. For synonyms,seeNorfolk Howard.
German Flutes,subs. phr.(rhyming).—A pair of boots.
Germantowner,subs.(American billiards’).—A pushing shot—when the balls played with, and at, are jarred together.Cf.,Whitechapeller.
Gerry,subs.(Old Cant).—Excrement.
1567.Harman,Caveat, s.v.
Gerry Gan,intj.(Old Cant).—A retort forcible.Stow it!(q.v.). [FromGerry= excrement +Gan= mouth,i.e., literally, Shit in your mouth.] The common form is: Shit (or a turd) in your teeth; as inBen Jonson,Bartholomew Fair, 1614. Fr.,Tais ta gueule ou j’te chie dedans.
1567.Harman,Caveat.Gerry gan, the ruffian cly thee.
Gerrymander(pronounced with the ‘g’ hard, as in ‘get’),verb.(political American).—To arrange the electoral subdivisions of a State to the profit and advantage of a particular party.
[The term, says Norton, is derived from the name of Governor Gerry, of Massachusetts, who, in 1811, signed a Bill readjusting the representative districts so as to favour the Democrats and weaken the Federalists, although the last-named party polled nearly two-thirds of the votes cast. A fancied resemblance of a map of the districts thus treated led Stuart, the painter, to add a few lines with his pencil, and say to Mr. Russell, editor of theBoston Sentinel. ‘That will do for a Salamander.’ Russell glanced at it: ‘Salamander,’ said he, ‘call it aGerrymander!’ The epithet took at once, and became a Federalist war-cry, the caricature being published as a campaign document.]
1871.Boston Daily Advertiser, 6 Dec.Gerrimanderwas the name printed under a picture of a pretended monster, whose shape was modified from the distorted geography which Mr. Gerry’s friends inflicted on part of the State for the sake of economizing, majorities.[134]
Gerrymandering,subs.(political American).SeeGerrymander.
1872.New York Sunday Mercury, 31 March. The Legislature of Ohio intends to prove itself a veritable master in thegerrymanderingbusiness.
1890.Athenæum, 22 Feb. p.238, c. 1. Whatever faults can be found with Sir John’s administration, it has been good and successful enough to afford excuse for all thegerrymanderingwith which he is charged by his critics.
1891.Belfort’s Mag., Aug., p. 439. The Democrats of Michigan have carried the art ofgerrymanderingto such an extent that they have thoroughly disgusted their opponents.
Gerund-Grinder,subs.(common).—A schoolmaster, especially a pedant. AlsoGerund-Grinding.
1759–67.Sterne,TristramShandy, iv., 112. Tutors, governors,gerund-grinders, and bear-leaders.
1788.Knox,Winter Evenings, 59. A pedant, a mere plodder, a petty tyrant, agerund-grinder.
1825–7.Hone,Every Day Book, II., p. 33.Gerund-Grindingand parsing are usually prepared for at the last moment.
Get,subs.(old).—1. A cheating contrivance; aHave(q.v.).
2. (old).—A child; the result, that is, of an act of procreation or begetting. Thus,one of his gets= one of his making;whose get is that?= Who’s the father? It’s hisget, anyhow = At all events hegotit.
1570.Scottish Text Society,Satirical Poems, I., 171, ‘Treason of Dumbarton’ (1891). Ganelon’sgets, relicts of Sinon’s seed.
d.1798.Burns,Merry Muses. ‘For a’ that.’ O’ bastardgettssome had a score, An’ some had mair than a’ that.
1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 41. This, again, is unusual for a Chester, as hisgetare generally quiet and docile, but a bit lazy.
Get!(orYou Get!)intj.(American).—Short forGet out!Usually,Git!(q.v.).
1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 176. None of your damned impertinence.Get!
To get at,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To quiz; to banter; to aggravate; to take a rise out of. AlsoTo get back at.
1891.Sloper’s Half Holiday, 3 Jan. ‘Your family don’t seem to get on, missie.’ ‘On!’ replied the child, with dignity flashing from her great blue eyes; ‘on!I’ve got a fatheronthe booze, a sisteronthe music ’all, an’ a brotheronthe treadmill.On!who’re yegettin’ at?’
2. (racing and colloquial).—To influence; to bribe; to nobble (of horses), and to corrupt (of persons); applied to horse, owner, trainer, jockey, and vet. alike.
1870.Spectator, 23 April. That, of course, makes it profitable for owners to withdraw horses they have secretly betted against, and for scoundrels toget athorses.
1871.Saturday Review, 9 Sept. It is quite clear that some of the foreign working men have beengot at.
1883.Graphic, 17 March, p. 262, c. 2. The House of Commons … can also be trusted to decide in local questions without any suspicion of beinggot at, as is sometimes the case elsewhere.
1883.Badminton Library,Steeplechasing, p. 404. Suspicions that the mare had beengot at, that is to say, drugged, were afterwards noised abroad.
1888.Daily Telegraph, 17 Nov. It was strongly suspected that he had beengot at.
1890.Globe, 11 Aug., p. 1, c. 1. Fancy the professional agitator trying toget atsuch men as these—men who gloried in being soldiers and nothing else!
1892.Pall Mall Gazette, May 10, p. 3, c. 3. The scoundrels (verily of the lowest form) who have tried toget atOrme.
1892.National Observer, vii. 630. If the horse weregot at, then a bookie who stood heavily to lose is probably assumed.[135]
To get about,verb. phr.(venery).—To do the act of intromission. For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.
To get back at,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To satirise; to call to account.
1888.Daily Inter-Ocean.The newspapers aregetting backat Sam.
Get back into your box!phr.(American).—An injunction to silence;stow it!(q.v.for synonyms).
To get encored,verb. phr.(tailors’).—To have a job returned for alterations.
To get even with,verb. phr.(common).—To take one’s revenge; to give tit for tat.
To get it,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To be punished (morally or physically); to be called over the coals. Also (venery) to catch a clap.
To get off,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To (1) escape punishment, to be let off; (2) to utter, to deliver oneself of, to perpetrate—as to get off a joke; and (3) to get married.
To get on,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To back a horse; to put abit on(q.v.).
2. (colloquial).—To succeed; or, simply, to fare. Thus,How are you getting on?may signify (1) To what extent are you prospering? or (2) How are you doing?
1871.Pall Mall Gaz., 29 Dec. That great Anglo-Saxon passion of rising in the world, orgetting on—that is, rising into the class above him.
1892.A. W. Pinero,The Times: a Comedy, v. 1. We used to go very early to such places and stay right through, now that papa hasgot on, we arrive late everywhere and murmur an apology!
To get one in the cold,verb. phr.(American).—To have at an advantage; to be on thewindward side(q.v.);to have on toast(q.v.).
To get one on,verb. phr.(pugilists’).—To land a blow.
To get down fine(orclose),verb. phr.(American).—To know all about one’s antecedents; and (police) to know where to find one’s man.
To get into,verb. phr.(venery).—To occupy(q.v.). AlsoTo get inandTo get up. For synonyms,seeGreensandRide.
1620.Percy,Folio MSS., p. 197.Gettvp againe, Billy, if that thou louest me.
To get over,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To seduce, to fascinate, to dupe. AlsoTo come overandTo get round.
To get outside of,verb.phr.(colloquial).—1. To eat or drink; also to accomplish one’s purpose.
1892.S. Watson,Wops the Waif, p. 9. Tickle urged Wops again and again to drink, but Wops’s only reply was, ‘Yer go on, Tickle; gitoutsidethe lot, if yer can; it’ll do yer good, Cully.’