2. (colloquial).—A mistress; amash(q.v.).3.In. pl.(venery).—The sex—or that part of it which is given to unchastity—in general; hencethe girls= lechery.After the girls.He’s been after the girls,verb. phr.(common).—Said of one with clap or pox.Girl and Boy,subs. phr.(rhyming). A saveloy.Girlery,subs.(colloquial).—A brothel. Also a theatre for burlesque and comic opera.Girl-getter,subs.(colloquial).—A mincing, womanish male.Girling.To go Girling,verb. phr.(venery).—To quest for women; to go on theloose(q.v.).Girlometer,subs.(venery).—Thepenis. Also,Girl-catcher. For synonyms,seeCreamstickandPrick.Girl-shop,subs. phr.(common).—A brothel.Girl-show,subs. phr.(common).—A ballet, a burlesque, aleg-piece(q.v.).Girl Street.InHair Court,Girl Street,subs. phr.(common).—Generic for fornication. Also the femalepudendum.Girl-trap,subs. phr.(common).—A seducer; amutton-monger(q.v.).Git!(orYou Git!),intj.(American).—Be off with you! An injunction to immediate departure;walker!(q.v.). Sometimes a contraction ofget out!Alsoget out and dust!1851.Seaworthy,Bertie, p. 78. Thrue as the tin commandhers!Git aout!To have no git up and git,phr.(American).—To be weak, vain, mean, or slow—generally deprecatory.Give,verb.(vulgar).—1. To lead to; to conduct; to open upon:e.g., ‘The doorgaveupon the street.’Cf.the idiomatic use, in French, ofdonner.2. (American).—An all-round auxiliary to active verbs:e.g.,to give on praying= to excel at prayer;to give on the make= to be clever at making money, etc.To give it to,verb. phr.(old).—1. To rob; to defraud.—Grose.2. (common).—To scold; to thrash. Alsoto give what for;to give it hot;to give something for oneself;to give one in the eye, etc.[150]Fr.,aller en donner. For synonyms,seeWigandTanrespectively.1612.Chapman,Widow’s Tears, Act i., p. 312 (Plays, 1874). This braving wooer hath the success expected; the favour I obtained made me witness to the sport, and let his confidence be sure, I’llgive it himhome.1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, p. 134. ‘Take that,’ exclaimed Mr. Samuel Wilkins.… ‘Give it him,’ said the waistcoat.… Miss J’mima Ivins’s beau and the friend’s young man lay gasping on the gravel, and the waistcoat and whiskers were seen no more.1889.J. M. BarrieinTime, Aug. p. 148. When he said he would tell everybody in the street about there being a baby, Igave him one in the eye.Ibid.If it’s true what Symons Tertius says, that Cocky has gone and stolen my reminiscences about Albert’s curls, putting it into his reminiscences like as if it was his own, I’llgive him it hot.To give in(orout),verb. phr.(colloquial).—To admit defeat; to yield; to be exhausted;to throw up the sponge.SeeFlooredandCave in.1748.Smollett,Rod. Random, ch. xviii. Strap, after having received three falls on the hard stones,gave out, and allowed the blacksmith to be the better man.1760–1.Smollett,L. Greaves, vol. II., ch. viii. By this time the doctor hadgiven out, and allowed the brewer to be the better man.1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 25. Poor Georgygave in.1837.Lytton,Ernest Maltravers, bk. IV., ch. ix. Your time is up … you have had your swing, and a long one it seems to have been—you must nowgive in.1847.Robb,Squatter Life, p. 99. Jest about then both on our pussesgin out.1850.Buffum,Six Months in the Gold Mines, p. 73. After working three days with the machine, the earth we had been washing began togive out.1852.Dickens,Bleak House, ch. xxiv., p. 217. I am surprised to hear a man of your energy talk ofgiving in.To give away,verb. phr.(American).—To betray or expose inadvertently;to blow upon(q.v.):to peach(q.v.for synonyms). Alsoto give dead away. Largely used in combination:e.g.,give-away= an exposure;give-away cue= an underhand revelation of secrets.1883.F. M. Crawford,Doctor Claudius, ch. vi., p. 100. It always amused him toseesanguine people angry. They looked so uncomfortable, andgave themselves awayso recklessly.1886.A. Lang,Longman’s Mag., VII., 321. I know not whether the American phrase, togive a person away, togive yourself away, meaning to reveal your own or another’s secret, is of provincial English origin. Did it cross over with the Pilgrim Fathers in theMay Flower, or is it a recent bit of slang? ‘Whogiveth this woman away?’ asked the rural American parson in the wedding service. ‘Icould,’came the voice of a young man from the gallery, ‘but I’d never be so mean.’1888.Detroit Free Press, Aug. Careful what we say, for it willgive us dead away.1889.Answers, 20 Apr., p. 326. My closely cropped hair, however,gave me away.1892.R. L. StevensonandL. Osbourne,The Wrecker, p. 195. For the sake of the joke I’llgive myself away.To give one best,verb. phr.(schoolboys’).—1. To acknowledge one’s inferiority, a defeat. Also (thieves’) to leave,to cut(q.v.).1887.Horsley,Jottings from Jail. But after a time Igave him best(left him), because he used to want to bite my ear (borrow) too often.To give the collar,verb. phr.(American).—To seize; to arrest;to collar(q.v.). For synonyms,seeNab.To give the bullet(sack,bag,kick-out,pike,road, etc.),verb. phr.(common).—To discharge from an employ.[151]Give us a rest!phr.(American).—Cease talking! An injunction upon a bore.To give nature a fillip,verb. phr.(old).—To indulge in wine or women.—B. E.(1690).To give way,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To permit the sexual embrace: by women only.1870.Weekly Times, 1 May. She was sorry to say, shegave wayto him. (Laughter.) Mr. Maude remarked she was a foolish woman, and, being a widow, ought to have known whatgiving waywould come to.—Complainant said of course she did, but she thought he meant to marry her.[Other combinations will be found under the following:auctioneer;back cap;bag;bail;baste;beans;beef;biff;black eye;bone;bucket;bullet;bull’s feather;clinch;double;fig;gas;go by;gravy;hoist;hot beef;jesse;kennedy;key of the street;land;leg up;lip;miller;mitten;mouth;needle;office;points;pussy;rub of the thumb;sack;sky-high;slip;tail;taste of cream;turnips;weight;white alley;word.]Giver,subs.(pugilistic).—A good boxer; an artist inpunishment(q.v.).1824.Reynolds, (‘Peter Corcoran’),The Fancy, p. 73. She knew a smart blow from a handsomegiverWould darken lights.Gixie,subs.(obsolete).—A wanton wench; a strumpet; an affected mincing woman.1598.Florio,Worlde of Wordes.Faina, a mincing, coie, nice, puling, squeamish woman, an idle huswife, a flurt, agixgi. Also asFoina[i.e., ‘a pole-cat’; whileFoirare= ‘to lust for beastly leacherie, to be salt as a bitch.’]1611.Cotgrave,Dictionarie, s.v.Gadrouillette, a minx, gigle, flirt, calletgixie: (a fained word applyable to any such cattell). [Seefurther,gadriller(a wench) = ‘to rump or play the rig’].Gizzard,to fret one’s gizzard,verb. phr.(common).—To worry oneself.SeeFret.To stick in one’s gizzard,verb.phr.(common).—To remain as something unpleasant, distasteful or offensive; to be hard of digestion; to be disagreeable or unpalatable.c.1830.Finish of Tom and Jerry, p. 241. It had alwaysstuck in his gizzardto think as how he had been werry cruelly used.To grumble in the gizzard,verb. phr.(common).—To be secretly displeased. Hence,grumble-gizzard(q.v.).Gladstone,subs.(common)—1. Cheap claret. [Mr. Gladstone, when in office in 1869, reduced the duty on French wines.]SeeDrinks.1876.BesantandRice,Golden Butterfly, ch. ix. Claret certainly good, too—none of yourGladstonetap; sherry probably rather coarse.1885.A. Birrell,Obiter Dicta, p. 86. To make him unbosom himself over a bottle ofGladstoneclaret in a tavern in Leicester Square.2.(colloquial).—A travelling bag. [So named in honour of Mr. Gladstone.]Gladstonize,verb.(colloquial).—To talk about and round; to evade or prevaricate; to speak much and mean nothing.Glanthorne,subs.(old).—Money. For synonyms,seeActualandGilt.1789.Parker,Life’s Painter, p. 42. Drop theglanthorne= part with money.[152]Glasgow Greys,subs. phr.(military).—The 70th Foot. [Which in the beginning was largely recruited in Glasgow.]1886.Tinsley’s Mag., Apr., p. 321. The 70th were long known as theGlasgow Greys.Glasgow Magistrate,subs. phr.(common).—A herring, fresh or salted, of the finest. [From the practice of sending samples to the Baillie of the River for approval.] AlsoGlasgow Baillie.1855.Strang,Glasgow and its City Clubs.This club … better known by the title of the Tinkler’s club, particularly when the brotherhood changed the hour of meeting … and when the steak was exchanged for a ‘Welsh rabbit’ orGlasgow magistrate.English Synonyms.(for herrings generally).—Atlantic ranger; Californian; Cornish duck; Digby chicken; Dunbar wether; gendarme; Gourock ham; magistrate; pheasant (or Billingsgate pheasant); reds; sea-rover; soldier; Taunton turkey; two-eye’d steak; Yarmouth capon. Fr.:gendarme.Glass,subs.(American thieves’).—An hour. [An abbreviation of ‘hour-glass.’]1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v. The badger piped his Moll about aglassand a half before she cribbed the flat.There’s a deal of glass about,phr.(common).—1. Applied to vulgar display = ‘It’s the thing’ (q.v.).2. (common).—Said in answer to an achievement in assertion. A memory of the proverb, ‘People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.’Who’s to pay for the broken glass?verb. phr.(colloquial).—SeeStand the Racket.Been looking through a glass,adv. phr.(common).—Drunk. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.Glass-eyes,subs.(old).—A man wearing spectacles;four-eyes(q.v.);gig-lamps(q.v.).1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Glass-house.To live in a glass house,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To lay oneself open to attack or adverse criticism.Glass-work,subs.(card-sharpers’).—An obsolete method of cheating at cards. A convex mirror the size of a small coin was fastened with shellac to the lower corner of the left palm opposite the thumb, enabling the dealer to ascertain by reflection the value of the cards he dealt.Glaze,subs.(old),—A window.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Glaze, a Window.1754.Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 43. Undub the Jeger and jump theglaze.1857.Snowden,Mag. Assistant(3rd ed.), p. 445. A window,glaze.c.1830.Finish to Tom and Jerry[1872], p. 82. A random shot milling theglaze.Verb(old).—To cheat at cards.Seequot. andGlass-work.1821.P. Egan,Real Life, I., 297. If you take the broads in hand in their company, you are sure to be work’d, either byglazing, that is, putting you in front of a looking glass, by which means your hand is discovered by your antagonist, or by private signals from the pal.[153]To mill(orstar a glaze),verb. phr.(old).—To break a window.1823.Moncrieff,Tom and Jerry, iii., 2.Jerry.What are you about, Tom?Tom.I’m going tomill the glaze—I’ll——(Is about to break the glass, when Kate and Sue appear as the Miss Trifles.).1823.Jon Bee,Dict. of the Turf.Glaze, s.v.,to mill the glaze, the miller may adopt a stick or otherwise, as seems most convenient.On the glaze,adv. phr.(thieves’).—Robbing jewellers’ shops by smashing the windows.SeeGlazier.1724–34.C. Johnson,Highwaymen and Pyrates, q.v.1889.Ally Sloper, 4 May. Getting a reprieve he went to Dublinon the glaze.Glazier,subs.,in. pl.(old).—1. The eyes. For synonyms,seeGlims.Fr.:les ardents.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 64.Glasyers, eyes.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Glasiers, eyes.1611.MiddletonandDekker,Roaring Girl, v., 1. Theseglasiersof mine, mine eyes.1656.Brome,Jovial Crew, ii. You’re out with yourglaziers.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. The cove has rumglaziers,c.that Rogue has excellent Eyes, or an Eye like a Cat.1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict.Glaziers,c.eyes.1725.New Canting Dict.‘Song.’ Herglaziers, too, are quite benighted.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongues.v.2. (old).—A window thief.Cf.,Glaze.1725.New Cant. Dict.Song‘The Twenty Craftsmen.’… Aglazierwho when he creeps in, To pinch all the lurry he thinks it no sin.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gleaner,subs.(old).—A thief.Cf.,Hooker,Angler, etc. For synonyms,seeThieves.Glib,subs.(common).—1. The tongue.Slacken your glib= loose your tongue. For synonyms,seeClack.2. (old).—A ribbon.1754.Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 42. A lobb full ofglibbs, a box full of ribbons.Adj.(old, now recognised).—Smooth; slippery; voluble;glib-tonguedorglib-gabbit(cf.,Gab) = talkative; ready of speech.1605.Shakspeare,Lear, Act i., Sc. 1. I want thatgliband oily art, To speak and purpose not.1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Smooth, without a Rub.Glib-tongued.Voluble or Nimble-tongued.1890.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 31 Jan. The rest who were soglibwith their promises.Glibe,subs.(American thieves’).—Writing; specifically, a written statement.Glim(orGlym),subs.(old).—1. A candle, or dark lanthorn; a fire or light of any kind.To douse the glim= to put out the light. Fr.:estourbir la cabande. Also short forGlimmerorGlymmar(q.v.).1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. A Dark Lanthorn used in Robbing Houses; also to burn in the Hand.1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Glim, a Candle.1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict.Glim, s.v. A candle or light.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue. Bring bess andglym;i.e., bring the instrument to force the door, and the dark lanthorn.1823.Moncrieff,Tom and Jerry, ii., 2.Tom.Then catch—here’s the gentlemen’s tooth-picker, and here’s hisglim.(Throws stick and lanthorn to Jerry.)[154]1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. III., ch. 5. Every star itsglimat hiding.1837.Dickens,Oliver Twist, ch. 16. Let’s have aglim… or we shall go breaking our necks.1837.Lytton,Ernest Maltravers, Bk. I., ch. 10. ‘Hush, Jack!’ whispered one; ‘hang out theglimand let’s look about us.’1852.Judson,Myst., etc., of New York, ch. iv. Old Jack bade Harriet trim theglim.1883.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 89. Sure enough, they left theirglimhere.1884.HenleyandStevenson,Admiral Guinea, ii., 6. Now here is my littleglim; it aint for me because I’m blind.2. (old).—A sham account of a fire as sold byflying stationers(q.v.).1851–61.Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 233. His papers certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to’.… Loss by fire is aglim.3.in. pl.(common).—The eyes.EnglishSynonyms.—Blinkers; daylights; deadlights; glaziers; lights; lamps; ogles; optics;orbs; peepers; sees; squinters; toplights; windows; winkers.FrenchSynonyms.—Les quinquets(popular = bright eyes, Vidocq);les mirettes(popular and thieves’; Italian:mira= sight);les reluits(thieves’: alsodaymans—orlightmans[q.v.]);les calots(thieves’ = marbles);les châssesorles châssis(popular = hunters’);les lampions(thieves’ =lamps(q.v.); Italian:lanternaandlampante);les apics(thieves’);les ardents(thieves’ = piercers);les œillets(popular = eyelets);les lanternes de cabriolet(popular = giglamps);les clignots(popular = winkers);les carreaux(thieves’ = windows);les clairs(thieves’ = shiners);les coquards(thieves’).Italian Synonyms.—Lanterna(= a lamp);calchi;balchi;brunotti(= brownies);lampante.Spanish Synonyms.—Fanal(= lantern);lanterna(=idem);visantes(vulgar);vistosos(vulgar).German Synonyms.—Dierling(fromstieren= to stare);Linzer;Scheinling(fromSchein=daylights(q.v.)).1824.P. Egan,Boxiana, iv., 417. HisglimsI’ve made look like a couple of rainbows.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, p. 47 [ed. 1854]. Queer myglims, if that ben’t little Paul!1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, II., 339. Harold escaped with the loss of aglim.1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 56. A pooty gal, gentle, or simple, as carn’t use herglimsis a flat.4.in. pl.(common).—A pair of spectacles. For synonyms,seeBarnacles.5. (common).—Gonorrhœa orclap(q.v.). [From sense 1 = fire.]Verb(old).—To brand or burn in the hand.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. As the cull wasGlimm’d, he gangs to the Nubb,c., if the Fellow has been Burnt in the Hand, he’ll be Hang’d now.1714.Memoirs of John Hall, p. 15. Profligate women areglimm’dfor that villany, for which, rather than leave it, they could freely die martyrs.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.To puff the glims,verb. phr.(veterinary).—To fill the hollow over the eyes of old[155]horses by pricking the skin and blowing air into the loose tissues underneath, thus giving the full effect of youth.Glim-fenders,subs.(old).—1. Andirons, or fire-dogs.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimfenders, c. Andirons.Rum Glimfenders, Silver Andirons.1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict.s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.2. (old).—Handcuffs. [A pun on sense 1.]1823.Jon Bee,Dict. of the Turf,s.v.1848.Duncombe,Sinks of London, s.v.Glimflashly(orGlim-flashey),adj.(old).—Angry.SeeNab the RustandHair.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimflashly,c., Angry, or in a Passion. The Cull isGlimflashly,c.the Fellow is in a Heat.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. xxxi. No, Captain, don’t beglim-flashey! You have not heard all yet.Glim-jack,subs.(old).—A link boy; amoon-curser(q.v.); but, in any sense, a thief.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glim-lurk,subs.(tramps’).—A beggars’ petition, based on a fictitious fire orglim(sense 2).1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 233. The patterer becomes a ‘lurker,’—that is, an imposter; his papers certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to.’ Shipwreck is called ashake-lurk; loss by fire is aglim.Glimmer(orGlymmar),subs.(old).—Fire.Seequot.1567.Harman,Caveat. TheseDemaunders for Glymmarbe for the moste parte wemen.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38. (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Glymmer, Fire.1671.R. Head,English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 49 (1874).Glymmer, Fire.1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict., s.v.1725.New Canting Dict., Song, ‘The Maunder’s Praise of his Strowling Mort.’ Doxy, Oh! thy Glaziers shine, AsGlymmarby the Solomon.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glimmerer,subs.(old).—A beggar working with a petition giving out that he is ruined by fire. Alsoglimmering mort= a femaleglimmerer.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant.Crew, s.v.Glimmerer,c., the Twenty-second Rank of the Canting Tribe, begging with Sham Licences, pretending to Losses by Fire, etc.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glimstick,subs.(old).—A candlestick. [Fromglim= a light + stick.] Fr.:une occasion.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimstick,c., a Candlestick.Rum Glimsticks,c., Silver Candlesticks.Queer Glimsticks,c., Brass, Pewter, or Iron Candlesticks.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glister,subs. phr.(thieves’).—Seequot.,glister of fish-hooks.1889.ClarksonandRichardson,Police, p. 321. A glass of Irish whiskey … aglister of fish-hooks.Glistner,subs.(old).—A sovereign. For synonyms,seeCanary.[156]Gloak(orGloach),subs.(old).—A man. For synonyms,seeChumandCove.1821.D. Haggart,Life, Glossary, pp. 48 and 172.Gloach, a man; cove.Globe,subs.(old).—1. A pewter pot; pewter.1714.Memoirs of John Hall, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.2.in. pl.(common).—The paps. For synonyms,seeDairy.Globe-rangers,subs.(nautical).—The Royal Marines.Globe-trotter,subs.(colloquial).—A traveller; primarily one who races from place to place, with the object of covering ground or making a record. Fr.:un pacquelineur.1886.Graphic, 7 Aug., 147/1. Your mere idle gapingglobetrotterwill spin endless pages of unobservant twaddle, and will record his tedious wanderings with most painful minuteness.1888.Academy, 17 Mar. The inevitable steamboat, the world, and the omnivorousglobe-trotter.1889.Echo, 9 Feb. The Britishglobe-trotterknows Japan as he knows England, and English books about Japan are turned out by the ton.1890.Pall Mall Gaz., 27 Jan., p. 5, c. 2. This popular definition of a quick-mover has now become effete. Miss Bly is aglobe-galloperor she is nothing.Globe-trotting,subs.(colloquial).—Travelling after the manner ofglobe-trotters(q.v.).1888.Academy, 22 Sept. In fact,globe-trotting, as the Americans somewhat irreverently term it, is now frequently undertaken as a mere holiday trip.Glope,verb.(Winchester College).—To spit. (Obsolete).Glorious,adj.(common).—Excited with drink; ‘in one’s altitudes’;boozed. For synonyms,seedrinksandscrewed.1791.Burns,Tam o’ Shanter. Kings may be blessed, but Tam wasglorious, O’er a’ the ills of life victorious.1853.Thackeray,Barry Lyndon, ch. xviii., p. 252. I knew nothing of the vow, or indeed of the tipsy frolic which was the occasion of it; I was taken upglorious, as the phrase is, by my servants, and put to bed.1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 9 Feb. But as they all began to getglorious, personalities became more frequent and very much stronger.Glorious Sinner,subs. phr.(rhyming).—A dinner.Glory,subs.(common).—The after life;kingdom come(q.v.). Usually,the coming glory.1841.Punch, 17 July, p. 2. Clara pines in secret—Hops the twig, and goes togloryin white muslin.In one’s glory,adv. phr.(colloquial).—In the full flush of vanity, pride, taste, notion, or idiosyncracy.Gloves,to go for the gloves,verb. phr.(racing).—To bet recklessly; to bet against a horse without having the wherewithal to pay if one loses—the last resource of the plunging turfite. The term is derived from the well-known habit of ladies to bet in pairs of gloves, expecting to be paid if they win, but not to be called upon to pay if they lose.1877.Hawley Smart,Play or Pay, ch. xi. One of the boldest plungers of the day, who had begun badly, wasgoing for the glovesupon this match.[157]1886.Badminton Library, ‘Racing,’ p. 255. Hardly worth mentioning are the backers who come in for a hit-or-miss dash at the ring—to go for the gloves, as it is called in ring parlance.1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 3 Apr. Although we frequently read in stories of the hero backing the right horse at a long price, and so getting out of sundry monetary difficulties, we rarely find the idea realised in practice. Many a bookmaker hasgone for the gloves.Glow,adj.(tailors’).—Ashamed.Glue,subs.(common).—1. Thick soup. (Because it sticks to the ribs.)English Synonyms.—Deferred stock; belly-gum; giblets-twist; gut-concrete; rib-tickler; stick-in-the-ribs.French Synonyms.—La menêtre(thieves’);la lavasse(= a mess of pot liquor);la laffe(thieves’);la jaffe(popular);l’ordinaire(popular: soup and boiled beef at an ordinary);le fond d’estomac(= thick soup);la mousse;la mouillante(= the moistener).German Synonyms.—Jauche; Polifke.2. (common).—Gonorrhœa.Glue-pot,subs.(common).—A parson. [Because he joins in wedlock.] For synonyms,seeDevil-dodgerandSky-pilot.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glum,adj.(old: now recognised).—Sullen; down in the mouth; stern. Fr.:faire son nez= to look glum; also,n’en pas mener large.1712.Arbuthnot,Hist. of John Bull, pt. IV., ch. vii. Nic. looked sour andglum, and would not open his mouth.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.17(?).Broadside Ballad, ‘Sam Hall, The parson he will come, And he’ll look so bloodyglum.’1816.Johnson,Dict. of the English Language.Glum, s.v., a low cant word formed by corrupting ‘gloom.’1847.Thackeray,Vanity Fair, ii., ch. vi. ‘I wonder whether Lady Southdown will go away; she looked veryglumupon Mrs. Rawdon,’ the other said.1888.Referee, 21 Oct. Who found him lookingglumand gray, And thought his accent gruff and foreign.1892.A. W. Pinero,The Times, v., i. What are you soglumabout.Glump,verb.(provincial).—To sulk. Henceglumpy,glumping, andglumpish= sullen or stubborn.1787.Grose,Prov. Glossary.Glumping, sullen, or sour looking. Exm.1835.Th. Hook,Gilbert Gurney. He wasglumpyenough when I called.1860.G. Eliot,Mill on the Floss, Bk. VI., ch. iv. ‘An’it worrets me as Mr. Tom ’ull sit by himself soglumpish, a-knittin’ his brow, an’ a lookin’ at the fire of a night.’Glutman,subs.(old).—See quot.1797.Police of the Metropolis, p. 64. An inferior officer of the Customs, and particularly one of that class of supernumerary tide waiters, who are employed temporarily when there is a press or hurry of business. Theseglutmenare generally composed of persons who are without employment, and, being also without character, recommend themselves principally from the circumstance of being able to write.Glutton,subs.(common).—1. A horse which lasts well; astayer(q.v.).2. (pugilists’).—A pugilist who can take a lot ofpunishment(q.v.).1819.Moore,Tom Crib, xvi. Thus Theocritus, in hisMilling Match, calls Amycus aglutton, which is well known to be the classical phrase at Moulsey-Hurst for one who, like Amycus, takes a deal of punishment before he is satisfied.[158]1891.Licensed Vict. Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 6, c. 3. He was known to be an awfully heavy hitter with both hands, a perfectgluttonat taking punishment.Gnarler,subs.(thieves’).—A watch dog. For synonyms,seeTike.Gnasp,verb.(old).—To vex. For synonyms,seeRile.1728.Bailey,English Dict.s.v.Gnoff.—SeeGonnof.Gnostic,subs.(colloquial).—A knowing one; adowny cove(q.v.); awhipster(q.v.). [From the Gr.,gnosis= knowledge.]1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 27. Many of the words used by the Canting Beggars in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Masque are still to be heard among thegnosticsof Dyot Street and Tothill Fields.adj.(colloquial).—Knowing,artful(q.v.).Gnostically,adv.(colloquial).—Knowingly.1825.Scott,St. Ronan’s Well, ch. iv. He was tog’dgnosticallyenough.Go,subs.(common).—1. A drink; specifically a quartern of gin. (Formerly ago-down, butCf., quot. 1811.)[For other combinationsseeabroad—all fours—aloft—aunt—baby—back on—bad—bail—baldheaded—bath—batter—bedfordshire—beggar’s bush—better—blazes—blind—board—bodkin—bulge—bungay—bury—bust—by-by—call—camp—chump—college—cracked—dead broke—devil—ding—ding-dong—dock—doss—drag—flouch—flue—gamble—glaze—glory—gloves—grain—grass—ground—hairyfordshire—hall—halves—hang—hell—high fly—high toby—hooks—hoop—jericho—jump—kitchen—man—majority—mill—murphy—pace—pieces—pile—pot—queen—raker—range—rope-walk—salt river—shallow—shop—slow—smash—snacks—snooks—spout—star-gazing—sweet violets—top—walker’s bus—west—whole animal—woodbine—woolgathering—wrong.]English Synonyms.—Bender; caulker; coffin nail; common-sewer; cooler; crack; cry; damp; dandy; dash; dew-hank; dewdrop; dodger; drain; dram; facer; falsh; gargle; gasp; go-down; hair of the dog, etc.; Johnny; lip; liquor up; livener; lotion; lounce; modest quencher; muzzler; nail from one’s coffin; night-cap; nip or nipper; nobbler; old crow; a one, a two, or a three; out; peg; pick-me-up; pony; quencher; reviver; rince; sensation; settler; shift; shove in the mouth; slug; small cheque; smile; snifter; something damp; something short; swig; thimbleful; tiddly; top up; tot; warmer; waxer; wet; whitewash; yard.French Synonyms.—Un bourgeron(popular = a nip of brandy);un asticot de cercueil(= a coffin-worm, a play onverreandbière);un coup d’arrosoir(popular: a touch of the watering pot);un gargarisme(popular: = agargle[q.v.]);un galopin(= apony[q.v.] of beer);un larme(= a tear);un mistiche(thieves’);un misérable(popular: a glass of spirits costing one sou;une demoiselle= two sous;un monsieur= four sous;un poisson= five sous);un mince de chic(popular: in contempt);une coquille de noix(popular = a thimbleful; a very smallgo; a drain);un jeune homme(familiar = in capacity four litres);un Kolback(popular = a small glass of brandy, or large glass of wine);une flûte(familiar);un extravagant(popular = a long drink);un fil(= a drain);un[159]distingué(popular);une douleur(popular = a comforter orpick-me-up);un ballon(popular).Italian Synonym.—Schioppa(= a long drink: also a large beer glass).Spanish Synonyms.—Chisguete(colloquial);enjuagadientes(also = a mouthful of water or wine for rinsing the mouth after eating);espolada(= a long drink).Portuguese Synonym.—Quebrado(= broken: a small glass).1690.D’Urfey,Collin’s Walk, canto 4. And many more whose quality Forbids their toping openly, Will privately, on good occasion, Take sixgo-downson reputation.1793.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Go-shop.… The Queen’s Head in Duke’s Court.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum.Go-shop, s.v. The Queen’s Head, in Duke’s Court, Bow Street, Covent Garden, frequented by the under players, where gin and water was sold in three-halfpenny bowls, calledgoes; the gin was called Arrack.1823.Jon. Bee,Dict. of the Turf, s.v.1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, The Streets: Night. Chops, kidneys, rabbits, oysters, stout, cigars, andgoesinnumerable, are served up amidst a noise and confusion of smoking, running, knife-clattering, and waiter-chattering, perfectly indescribable.1841.Punch, Vol. I., p. 11, c. 1. Waiter, agoof Brett’s best alcohol.1849.Thackeray,Hoggarty Diamond, ch. ii. Two more chairs, Mary, two more tumblers, two more hot waters, and two moregoesof gin!1850.Smedley,Frank Fairleigh, p. 54. Drinking alternategoesof gin and water with a dustman for the purpose of insinuating myself into the affections of Miss Cinderella Smut, his interesting sister.1853.Diogenes, Vol. II., p. 271. Shall I spend it in theatres? shows? In numerous alcoholgoes?1870.Figaro, 28 May. Their musical performances are evidently inspired bygoesof gin.1883.Echo, 7 Feb., p. 4, c. 3. Witness asked him what he had been drinking. He replied, ‘Two half-goesof rum hot and a half-pint of beer.’2. (colloquial).—An incident; an occurrence:e.g., arum go= a strange affair, or queer start; apretty go= a startling business; acapital go= a pleasant business.1803.Kenney,Raising the Wind, i., 3. Ha! ha! ha! Capitalgo, isn’t it?1820.Jack Randall’s Diary.Gemmen (says he), you all well know The joy there is whene’er we meet; It’s what I call the primestgo, And rightly named, ’tis—quite a treat.1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, p. 251. A considerable bustle and shuffling of feet was then heard upon the stage, accompanied by whispers of ‘Here’s apretty go!—what’s to be done?’1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Misadventures at Margate.’ ‘O, Mrs. Jones,’ says I, ‘look here! Ain’t this apretty go!’1841.Punch, vol. I., p. 162. Stating his conviction that this was rayther arummy go.1849.Thackeray,Pendennis, ch. lxxiii. Master Frank Clavering … had only time to ejaculate the words, ‘Here’s ajolly go!’ and to disappear sniggering.1869.Mrs. H. Wood,Roland Yorke, ch. xli. ‘I am about to try what a month or two’s absence will do for me.’ ‘And leave us to old Brown?—thatwillbe anice go!’1876.George Eliot,Daniel Deronda, ch. vii. Arum goas ever I saw.1880.G. R. Sims,Three Brass Balls, pledge xvi. He … exclaimed, ‘Well, I’m dashed if this isn’t arum go!’1883.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 55. A prettyrum goif squire aint to talk for Doctor Livesey.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 305. ‘It was anear go,’ said Jack.3. (common).—The fashion;the cheese(q.v.); the correct thing. Generally in the phraseall the go.[160]1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. He is quite thego, he is quite varment, he is prime, he is bang up.1821.Egan,Tom and Jerry[ed. 1891], p. 35. Tom was thegoamong thegoes.1835.Haliburton(‘Sam Slick’),The Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xiv. Whatever is thegoin Europe will soon be the cheese here.1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, I., 251. It was rather thegoWith Pilgrims and Saints in the Second Crusade.1846.Punch, vol. X., p. 163. From lowly Queen’s quadrangle, Where muffins are thego.1880.G. R. Sims,Ballads of Babylon(Beauty and Beast). And all day long there’s a big crowd stops To look at the lady who’sall the go.4. (colloquial).—Life; spirit; energy; enterprise; impetus:e.g.,plenty of go= full of spirit and dash. Fr.:avoir du chien.1825.The English Spy, i., 178. She’s only fit to carry a dean or a bishop. Nogoin her.1865.Macdonald,Alec Forbes of How-glen, II., 269. All night Tibbie Dyster had lain awake in her lonely cottage, listening to the quiet heavygoof the water.1882.Daily Telegraph, 9 Oct. Mr. Grossmith’s music is bright and tripping, full of humour andgo, as, under such circumstances, music should be!1883.Illustrated London News, 10 March, p. 242, c. 3. There was any amount of dash andgoin their rowing.1887.Paton,Down the Islands. Barbadian may therefore be said to mean a man withgoand grit, energy andvim.1889.Sportsman, 19 Jan. It all lent a certain zest andgoto the proceedings.1890.Pall Mall Gaz., 21 Feb., p. 7, c. 1. There was so much heartiness andgo(so to speak) in the work that it reminded me of what I had read about peasant proprietors labouring in Switzerland and elsewhere under a Home Rule Government.5. (colloquial).—A turn; an attempt; a chance.Cf.,No go.To have a go at,verb. phr.= to make essay of anything: as a man in a fight, a shot at billiards, and (specifically) a woman.1836.C. Dickens,Pickwick Papers(about 1827), p. 377 (ed. 1857). Wot do you think o’ that for ago?1877.Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. III., p. 221. I’ve twelve thisgo. I did a lagging of seven, and was at the Gib. three out of it.1878.Jas. Payn,By Proxy, ch. iii. ‘I would practise that in the seclusion of my own apartments,’ observed Pennicuick; ‘and after a fewgoesat it, I’ll bet a guinea I’d shake the right stick out first.’1888.Haggard,Mr. Meeson’s Will, ch. x. You have had sevengoesand I have only had six.6. (American).—A success.To make a go of it= to bring things to a satisfactory termination.1888.Harper’s Mag., vol. LXXVII., p. 689. Determination to make the venture ago.7. (gaming). The last card at cribbage, or the last piece at dominoes. When a player is unable to follow the lead, he calls ago!8. (old.)—Adandy(q.v.for synonyms); a very heavy swell indeed, one in the extreme of fashion.1821.Egan,Tom and Jerry[people’s ed.], p. 35. In the parks, Tom wasthe goamong thegoes.Verb(American political).—1. To vote; to be in favour of.Cf.,Go for.2. (colloquial).—To succeed; to achieve.Cf.,Go down.1866.Public Opinion, 13 Jan., p. 51, c. 1. His London-street railway scheme didn’tgo.[161]1870.H. D. Traill, ‘On the Watch.’Sat. Songs, p. 22. Eh, waddyer say? Don’t itgo? Ho, yes! my right honnerble friend. It’sgoandgoover the left, it’sgowith a hook at the end.3. (colloquial).—To wager; to risk. Hence to stand treat; to afford.1768.Goldsmith,Good Natured Man, Act iii. Men that wouldgoforty guineas on a game of cribbage.1876.Besant and Rice,Golden Butterfly, Prologue ii. The very dice on the counter with which the bar-keeper used togothe miners for drinks.1877.S. L. Clemens(M. Twain),Life on the Mississippi, ch. xliii., p. 390. There’s one thing in this world which a person won’t take in pine if he cangowalnut; and won’t take in walnut if he cangomahogany.… That’s a coffin.c.1882.Comic Song, ‘The West End Boys,’ verse 3. Another bitter I really can’tgo.1887.World, 20 Apr., p. 8. While making up his mind, apparently whether he wouldgo‘three’ or ‘Nap.’4. (racing).—To ride to hounds.1884.Hawley Smart,From Post to Finish, p. 219. There would be far too many there who had seen Gerald Rockinghamgowith the York and Ainstey not to at once know that he and Jim Forrest were identical.5. (colloquial).—To be pregnant.1561–1626.Bacon, (quoted by Dr. Johnson). Womengocommonly nine months, the cow and ewe about six months.1601.Shakspeare,Henry VIII., iv., 1. Great bellied women that had not half a week togo.Go down,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To be accepted, received, or swallowed; towash(q.v.).1609.Dekker,Lanthorne and Candle-Light, in wks. (Grosart), III., 272. For the woorst hors-flesh (so it be cheape) does bestgoe downewith him.1659.Massinger,City Madam, i., 1. But now I fear it will be spent in poultry; Butcher’s-meat will notgo down.1663.Pepys,Diary, 9 Nov. The present clergy will never heartilygo downwith the generality of the commons of England.1742.Fielding,Joseph Andrews, bk. II., ch. xvii. ‘O ho! you are a pretty traveller,’ cries the host, ‘and not know the Levant! … you must not talk of these things with me, you must not tip us the traveller—it won’tgohere.’1748.Smollett,Rod. Random, ch. xxi. He … shook his head, and beginning with his usual exclamation said, ‘That won’tgo downwith me.’1885.W. E. Norris,Adrian Vidal, ch. vii. In fashion or out of fashion, they always pay and alwaysgo downwith the public.2. (University).—To be under discipline; to be rusticated.1863.H. Kingsley,Austin Elliot, i., 179. How dare you say ‘deuce’in my presence? You cango down, my Lord.3. (common).—To become bankrupt. Also,to go under.1892.R. L. StevensonandL. Osbourne,The Wrecker, p. 19. Some one had certainlygone down.To go due north,verb. phr.(obsolete).—To go bankrupt. [That is, to go to White-cross Street Prison, once situate in north London].SeeQuisby.To go on the dub,verb. phr.(old).—To go house-breaking; to pick locks.SeeDub.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew. Going upon thedub,c.Breaking a House with picklocks.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.To go to the dogs,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To go to ruin. [Cf., the Dutch proverb ‘Toe goê, toe de dogs’ = money gone, credit gone too.]SeeDemnition bow-wows.1857.A. Trollope,Three Clerks, ch. i. The service, he said, wouldgo to the dogs, and might do for anything he cared and he did not mindhowsoon.[162]1863.H. Kingsley,Austin Elliot, 1, 179. ‘Got a second!—bah! The University is going to the ‘——’ Deuce!’ suggested Lord Charles, who was afraid of something worse. ‘Dogs, Sir,dogs!’c.1879.Broadside Ballad, ‘Old Clo’.’ My line of business is played out, it’sgoing to the dogs.To go off on the ear,verb. phr.(American).—To get angry; to fly into a tantrum.SeeNab the rust.To go for,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To attempt; to tackle; to resolve upon; tomake for(q.v.).1871.John Hay,Jim Bludso. He see’d his duty, a dead-sure thing—And hewent forit thar and then.1890.Athenæum, 22 Mar., p. 366, c. 1. The authors have spared neither their creatures nor the reader one iota; whenever an unpleasant effect was obtainable, they straightway seem to havegone forit with unflinching zest.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 221. Some men hadgone forhalf a dozen, others for two or three, and very few for a single.1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 118. We are strong, my boy, strong now, and aregoing in forthe slugging of books also, as well as the immorality of trade.2. (colloquial).—To attack with violence and directness, whether manually or with the tongue.
2. (colloquial).—A mistress; amash(q.v.).3.In. pl.(venery).—The sex—or that part of it which is given to unchastity—in general; hencethe girls= lechery.After the girls.He’s been after the girls,verb. phr.(common).—Said of one with clap or pox.Girl and Boy,subs. phr.(rhyming). A saveloy.Girlery,subs.(colloquial).—A brothel. Also a theatre for burlesque and comic opera.Girl-getter,subs.(colloquial).—A mincing, womanish male.Girling.To go Girling,verb. phr.(venery).—To quest for women; to go on theloose(q.v.).Girlometer,subs.(venery).—Thepenis. Also,Girl-catcher. For synonyms,seeCreamstickandPrick.Girl-shop,subs. phr.(common).—A brothel.Girl-show,subs. phr.(common).—A ballet, a burlesque, aleg-piece(q.v.).Girl Street.InHair Court,Girl Street,subs. phr.(common).—Generic for fornication. Also the femalepudendum.Girl-trap,subs. phr.(common).—A seducer; amutton-monger(q.v.).Git!(orYou Git!),intj.(American).—Be off with you! An injunction to immediate departure;walker!(q.v.). Sometimes a contraction ofget out!Alsoget out and dust!1851.Seaworthy,Bertie, p. 78. Thrue as the tin commandhers!Git aout!To have no git up and git,phr.(American).—To be weak, vain, mean, or slow—generally deprecatory.Give,verb.(vulgar).—1. To lead to; to conduct; to open upon:e.g., ‘The doorgaveupon the street.’Cf.the idiomatic use, in French, ofdonner.2. (American).—An all-round auxiliary to active verbs:e.g.,to give on praying= to excel at prayer;to give on the make= to be clever at making money, etc.To give it to,verb. phr.(old).—1. To rob; to defraud.—Grose.2. (common).—To scold; to thrash. Alsoto give what for;to give it hot;to give something for oneself;to give one in the eye, etc.[150]Fr.,aller en donner. For synonyms,seeWigandTanrespectively.1612.Chapman,Widow’s Tears, Act i., p. 312 (Plays, 1874). This braving wooer hath the success expected; the favour I obtained made me witness to the sport, and let his confidence be sure, I’llgive it himhome.1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, p. 134. ‘Take that,’ exclaimed Mr. Samuel Wilkins.… ‘Give it him,’ said the waistcoat.… Miss J’mima Ivins’s beau and the friend’s young man lay gasping on the gravel, and the waistcoat and whiskers were seen no more.1889.J. M. BarrieinTime, Aug. p. 148. When he said he would tell everybody in the street about there being a baby, Igave him one in the eye.Ibid.If it’s true what Symons Tertius says, that Cocky has gone and stolen my reminiscences about Albert’s curls, putting it into his reminiscences like as if it was his own, I’llgive him it hot.To give in(orout),verb. phr.(colloquial).—To admit defeat; to yield; to be exhausted;to throw up the sponge.SeeFlooredandCave in.1748.Smollett,Rod. Random, ch. xviii. Strap, after having received three falls on the hard stones,gave out, and allowed the blacksmith to be the better man.1760–1.Smollett,L. Greaves, vol. II., ch. viii. By this time the doctor hadgiven out, and allowed the brewer to be the better man.1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 25. Poor Georgygave in.1837.Lytton,Ernest Maltravers, bk. IV., ch. ix. Your time is up … you have had your swing, and a long one it seems to have been—you must nowgive in.1847.Robb,Squatter Life, p. 99. Jest about then both on our pussesgin out.1850.Buffum,Six Months in the Gold Mines, p. 73. After working three days with the machine, the earth we had been washing began togive out.1852.Dickens,Bleak House, ch. xxiv., p. 217. I am surprised to hear a man of your energy talk ofgiving in.To give away,verb. phr.(American).—To betray or expose inadvertently;to blow upon(q.v.):to peach(q.v.for synonyms). Alsoto give dead away. Largely used in combination:e.g.,give-away= an exposure;give-away cue= an underhand revelation of secrets.1883.F. M. Crawford,Doctor Claudius, ch. vi., p. 100. It always amused him toseesanguine people angry. They looked so uncomfortable, andgave themselves awayso recklessly.1886.A. Lang,Longman’s Mag., VII., 321. I know not whether the American phrase, togive a person away, togive yourself away, meaning to reveal your own or another’s secret, is of provincial English origin. Did it cross over with the Pilgrim Fathers in theMay Flower, or is it a recent bit of slang? ‘Whogiveth this woman away?’ asked the rural American parson in the wedding service. ‘Icould,’came the voice of a young man from the gallery, ‘but I’d never be so mean.’1888.Detroit Free Press, Aug. Careful what we say, for it willgive us dead away.1889.Answers, 20 Apr., p. 326. My closely cropped hair, however,gave me away.1892.R. L. StevensonandL. Osbourne,The Wrecker, p. 195. For the sake of the joke I’llgive myself away.To give one best,verb. phr.(schoolboys’).—1. To acknowledge one’s inferiority, a defeat. Also (thieves’) to leave,to cut(q.v.).1887.Horsley,Jottings from Jail. But after a time Igave him best(left him), because he used to want to bite my ear (borrow) too often.To give the collar,verb. phr.(American).—To seize; to arrest;to collar(q.v.). For synonyms,seeNab.To give the bullet(sack,bag,kick-out,pike,road, etc.),verb. phr.(common).—To discharge from an employ.[151]Give us a rest!phr.(American).—Cease talking! An injunction upon a bore.To give nature a fillip,verb. phr.(old).—To indulge in wine or women.—B. E.(1690).To give way,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To permit the sexual embrace: by women only.1870.Weekly Times, 1 May. She was sorry to say, shegave wayto him. (Laughter.) Mr. Maude remarked she was a foolish woman, and, being a widow, ought to have known whatgiving waywould come to.—Complainant said of course she did, but she thought he meant to marry her.[Other combinations will be found under the following:auctioneer;back cap;bag;bail;baste;beans;beef;biff;black eye;bone;bucket;bullet;bull’s feather;clinch;double;fig;gas;go by;gravy;hoist;hot beef;jesse;kennedy;key of the street;land;leg up;lip;miller;mitten;mouth;needle;office;points;pussy;rub of the thumb;sack;sky-high;slip;tail;taste of cream;turnips;weight;white alley;word.]Giver,subs.(pugilistic).—A good boxer; an artist inpunishment(q.v.).1824.Reynolds, (‘Peter Corcoran’),The Fancy, p. 73. She knew a smart blow from a handsomegiverWould darken lights.Gixie,subs.(obsolete).—A wanton wench; a strumpet; an affected mincing woman.1598.Florio,Worlde of Wordes.Faina, a mincing, coie, nice, puling, squeamish woman, an idle huswife, a flurt, agixgi. Also asFoina[i.e., ‘a pole-cat’; whileFoirare= ‘to lust for beastly leacherie, to be salt as a bitch.’]1611.Cotgrave,Dictionarie, s.v.Gadrouillette, a minx, gigle, flirt, calletgixie: (a fained word applyable to any such cattell). [Seefurther,gadriller(a wench) = ‘to rump or play the rig’].Gizzard,to fret one’s gizzard,verb. phr.(common).—To worry oneself.SeeFret.To stick in one’s gizzard,verb.phr.(common).—To remain as something unpleasant, distasteful or offensive; to be hard of digestion; to be disagreeable or unpalatable.c.1830.Finish of Tom and Jerry, p. 241. It had alwaysstuck in his gizzardto think as how he had been werry cruelly used.To grumble in the gizzard,verb. phr.(common).—To be secretly displeased. Hence,grumble-gizzard(q.v.).Gladstone,subs.(common)—1. Cheap claret. [Mr. Gladstone, when in office in 1869, reduced the duty on French wines.]SeeDrinks.1876.BesantandRice,Golden Butterfly, ch. ix. Claret certainly good, too—none of yourGladstonetap; sherry probably rather coarse.1885.A. Birrell,Obiter Dicta, p. 86. To make him unbosom himself over a bottle ofGladstoneclaret in a tavern in Leicester Square.2.(colloquial).—A travelling bag. [So named in honour of Mr. Gladstone.]Gladstonize,verb.(colloquial).—To talk about and round; to evade or prevaricate; to speak much and mean nothing.Glanthorne,subs.(old).—Money. For synonyms,seeActualandGilt.1789.Parker,Life’s Painter, p. 42. Drop theglanthorne= part with money.[152]Glasgow Greys,subs. phr.(military).—The 70th Foot. [Which in the beginning was largely recruited in Glasgow.]1886.Tinsley’s Mag., Apr., p. 321. The 70th were long known as theGlasgow Greys.Glasgow Magistrate,subs. phr.(common).—A herring, fresh or salted, of the finest. [From the practice of sending samples to the Baillie of the River for approval.] AlsoGlasgow Baillie.1855.Strang,Glasgow and its City Clubs.This club … better known by the title of the Tinkler’s club, particularly when the brotherhood changed the hour of meeting … and when the steak was exchanged for a ‘Welsh rabbit’ orGlasgow magistrate.English Synonyms.(for herrings generally).—Atlantic ranger; Californian; Cornish duck; Digby chicken; Dunbar wether; gendarme; Gourock ham; magistrate; pheasant (or Billingsgate pheasant); reds; sea-rover; soldier; Taunton turkey; two-eye’d steak; Yarmouth capon. Fr.:gendarme.Glass,subs.(American thieves’).—An hour. [An abbreviation of ‘hour-glass.’]1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v. The badger piped his Moll about aglassand a half before she cribbed the flat.There’s a deal of glass about,phr.(common).—1. Applied to vulgar display = ‘It’s the thing’ (q.v.).2. (common).—Said in answer to an achievement in assertion. A memory of the proverb, ‘People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.’Who’s to pay for the broken glass?verb. phr.(colloquial).—SeeStand the Racket.Been looking through a glass,adv. phr.(common).—Drunk. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.Glass-eyes,subs.(old).—A man wearing spectacles;four-eyes(q.v.);gig-lamps(q.v.).1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Glass-house.To live in a glass house,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To lay oneself open to attack or adverse criticism.Glass-work,subs.(card-sharpers’).—An obsolete method of cheating at cards. A convex mirror the size of a small coin was fastened with shellac to the lower corner of the left palm opposite the thumb, enabling the dealer to ascertain by reflection the value of the cards he dealt.Glaze,subs.(old),—A window.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Glaze, a Window.1754.Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 43. Undub the Jeger and jump theglaze.1857.Snowden,Mag. Assistant(3rd ed.), p. 445. A window,glaze.c.1830.Finish to Tom and Jerry[1872], p. 82. A random shot milling theglaze.Verb(old).—To cheat at cards.Seequot. andGlass-work.1821.P. Egan,Real Life, I., 297. If you take the broads in hand in their company, you are sure to be work’d, either byglazing, that is, putting you in front of a looking glass, by which means your hand is discovered by your antagonist, or by private signals from the pal.[153]To mill(orstar a glaze),verb. phr.(old).—To break a window.1823.Moncrieff,Tom and Jerry, iii., 2.Jerry.What are you about, Tom?Tom.I’m going tomill the glaze—I’ll——(Is about to break the glass, when Kate and Sue appear as the Miss Trifles.).1823.Jon Bee,Dict. of the Turf.Glaze, s.v.,to mill the glaze, the miller may adopt a stick or otherwise, as seems most convenient.On the glaze,adv. phr.(thieves’).—Robbing jewellers’ shops by smashing the windows.SeeGlazier.1724–34.C. Johnson,Highwaymen and Pyrates, q.v.1889.Ally Sloper, 4 May. Getting a reprieve he went to Dublinon the glaze.Glazier,subs.,in. pl.(old).—1. The eyes. For synonyms,seeGlims.Fr.:les ardents.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 64.Glasyers, eyes.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Glasiers, eyes.1611.MiddletonandDekker,Roaring Girl, v., 1. Theseglasiersof mine, mine eyes.1656.Brome,Jovial Crew, ii. You’re out with yourglaziers.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. The cove has rumglaziers,c.that Rogue has excellent Eyes, or an Eye like a Cat.1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict.Glaziers,c.eyes.1725.New Canting Dict.‘Song.’ Herglaziers, too, are quite benighted.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongues.v.2. (old).—A window thief.Cf.,Glaze.1725.New Cant. Dict.Song‘The Twenty Craftsmen.’… Aglazierwho when he creeps in, To pinch all the lurry he thinks it no sin.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gleaner,subs.(old).—A thief.Cf.,Hooker,Angler, etc. For synonyms,seeThieves.Glib,subs.(common).—1. The tongue.Slacken your glib= loose your tongue. For synonyms,seeClack.2. (old).—A ribbon.1754.Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 42. A lobb full ofglibbs, a box full of ribbons.Adj.(old, now recognised).—Smooth; slippery; voluble;glib-tonguedorglib-gabbit(cf.,Gab) = talkative; ready of speech.1605.Shakspeare,Lear, Act i., Sc. 1. I want thatgliband oily art, To speak and purpose not.1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Smooth, without a Rub.Glib-tongued.Voluble or Nimble-tongued.1890.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 31 Jan. The rest who were soglibwith their promises.Glibe,subs.(American thieves’).—Writing; specifically, a written statement.Glim(orGlym),subs.(old).—1. A candle, or dark lanthorn; a fire or light of any kind.To douse the glim= to put out the light. Fr.:estourbir la cabande. Also short forGlimmerorGlymmar(q.v.).1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. A Dark Lanthorn used in Robbing Houses; also to burn in the Hand.1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Glim, a Candle.1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict.Glim, s.v. A candle or light.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue. Bring bess andglym;i.e., bring the instrument to force the door, and the dark lanthorn.1823.Moncrieff,Tom and Jerry, ii., 2.Tom.Then catch—here’s the gentlemen’s tooth-picker, and here’s hisglim.(Throws stick and lanthorn to Jerry.)[154]1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. III., ch. 5. Every star itsglimat hiding.1837.Dickens,Oliver Twist, ch. 16. Let’s have aglim… or we shall go breaking our necks.1837.Lytton,Ernest Maltravers, Bk. I., ch. 10. ‘Hush, Jack!’ whispered one; ‘hang out theglimand let’s look about us.’1852.Judson,Myst., etc., of New York, ch. iv. Old Jack bade Harriet trim theglim.1883.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 89. Sure enough, they left theirglimhere.1884.HenleyandStevenson,Admiral Guinea, ii., 6. Now here is my littleglim; it aint for me because I’m blind.2. (old).—A sham account of a fire as sold byflying stationers(q.v.).1851–61.Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 233. His papers certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to’.… Loss by fire is aglim.3.in. pl.(common).—The eyes.EnglishSynonyms.—Blinkers; daylights; deadlights; glaziers; lights; lamps; ogles; optics;orbs; peepers; sees; squinters; toplights; windows; winkers.FrenchSynonyms.—Les quinquets(popular = bright eyes, Vidocq);les mirettes(popular and thieves’; Italian:mira= sight);les reluits(thieves’: alsodaymans—orlightmans[q.v.]);les calots(thieves’ = marbles);les châssesorles châssis(popular = hunters’);les lampions(thieves’ =lamps(q.v.); Italian:lanternaandlampante);les apics(thieves’);les ardents(thieves’ = piercers);les œillets(popular = eyelets);les lanternes de cabriolet(popular = giglamps);les clignots(popular = winkers);les carreaux(thieves’ = windows);les clairs(thieves’ = shiners);les coquards(thieves’).Italian Synonyms.—Lanterna(= a lamp);calchi;balchi;brunotti(= brownies);lampante.Spanish Synonyms.—Fanal(= lantern);lanterna(=idem);visantes(vulgar);vistosos(vulgar).German Synonyms.—Dierling(fromstieren= to stare);Linzer;Scheinling(fromSchein=daylights(q.v.)).1824.P. Egan,Boxiana, iv., 417. HisglimsI’ve made look like a couple of rainbows.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, p. 47 [ed. 1854]. Queer myglims, if that ben’t little Paul!1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, II., 339. Harold escaped with the loss of aglim.1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 56. A pooty gal, gentle, or simple, as carn’t use herglimsis a flat.4.in. pl.(common).—A pair of spectacles. For synonyms,seeBarnacles.5. (common).—Gonorrhœa orclap(q.v.). [From sense 1 = fire.]Verb(old).—To brand or burn in the hand.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. As the cull wasGlimm’d, he gangs to the Nubb,c., if the Fellow has been Burnt in the Hand, he’ll be Hang’d now.1714.Memoirs of John Hall, p. 15. Profligate women areglimm’dfor that villany, for which, rather than leave it, they could freely die martyrs.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.To puff the glims,verb. phr.(veterinary).—To fill the hollow over the eyes of old[155]horses by pricking the skin and blowing air into the loose tissues underneath, thus giving the full effect of youth.Glim-fenders,subs.(old).—1. Andirons, or fire-dogs.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimfenders, c. Andirons.Rum Glimfenders, Silver Andirons.1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict.s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.2. (old).—Handcuffs. [A pun on sense 1.]1823.Jon Bee,Dict. of the Turf,s.v.1848.Duncombe,Sinks of London, s.v.Glimflashly(orGlim-flashey),adj.(old).—Angry.SeeNab the RustandHair.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimflashly,c., Angry, or in a Passion. The Cull isGlimflashly,c.the Fellow is in a Heat.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. xxxi. No, Captain, don’t beglim-flashey! You have not heard all yet.Glim-jack,subs.(old).—A link boy; amoon-curser(q.v.); but, in any sense, a thief.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glim-lurk,subs.(tramps’).—A beggars’ petition, based on a fictitious fire orglim(sense 2).1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 233. The patterer becomes a ‘lurker,’—that is, an imposter; his papers certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to.’ Shipwreck is called ashake-lurk; loss by fire is aglim.Glimmer(orGlymmar),subs.(old).—Fire.Seequot.1567.Harman,Caveat. TheseDemaunders for Glymmarbe for the moste parte wemen.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38. (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Glymmer, Fire.1671.R. Head,English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 49 (1874).Glymmer, Fire.1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict., s.v.1725.New Canting Dict., Song, ‘The Maunder’s Praise of his Strowling Mort.’ Doxy, Oh! thy Glaziers shine, AsGlymmarby the Solomon.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glimmerer,subs.(old).—A beggar working with a petition giving out that he is ruined by fire. Alsoglimmering mort= a femaleglimmerer.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant.Crew, s.v.Glimmerer,c., the Twenty-second Rank of the Canting Tribe, begging with Sham Licences, pretending to Losses by Fire, etc.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glimstick,subs.(old).—A candlestick. [Fromglim= a light + stick.] Fr.:une occasion.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimstick,c., a Candlestick.Rum Glimsticks,c., Silver Candlesticks.Queer Glimsticks,c., Brass, Pewter, or Iron Candlesticks.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glister,subs. phr.(thieves’).—Seequot.,glister of fish-hooks.1889.ClarksonandRichardson,Police, p. 321. A glass of Irish whiskey … aglister of fish-hooks.Glistner,subs.(old).—A sovereign. For synonyms,seeCanary.[156]Gloak(orGloach),subs.(old).—A man. For synonyms,seeChumandCove.1821.D. Haggart,Life, Glossary, pp. 48 and 172.Gloach, a man; cove.Globe,subs.(old).—1. A pewter pot; pewter.1714.Memoirs of John Hall, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.2.in. pl.(common).—The paps. For synonyms,seeDairy.Globe-rangers,subs.(nautical).—The Royal Marines.Globe-trotter,subs.(colloquial).—A traveller; primarily one who races from place to place, with the object of covering ground or making a record. Fr.:un pacquelineur.1886.Graphic, 7 Aug., 147/1. Your mere idle gapingglobetrotterwill spin endless pages of unobservant twaddle, and will record his tedious wanderings with most painful minuteness.1888.Academy, 17 Mar. The inevitable steamboat, the world, and the omnivorousglobe-trotter.1889.Echo, 9 Feb. The Britishglobe-trotterknows Japan as he knows England, and English books about Japan are turned out by the ton.1890.Pall Mall Gaz., 27 Jan., p. 5, c. 2. This popular definition of a quick-mover has now become effete. Miss Bly is aglobe-galloperor she is nothing.Globe-trotting,subs.(colloquial).—Travelling after the manner ofglobe-trotters(q.v.).1888.Academy, 22 Sept. In fact,globe-trotting, as the Americans somewhat irreverently term it, is now frequently undertaken as a mere holiday trip.Glope,verb.(Winchester College).—To spit. (Obsolete).Glorious,adj.(common).—Excited with drink; ‘in one’s altitudes’;boozed. For synonyms,seedrinksandscrewed.1791.Burns,Tam o’ Shanter. Kings may be blessed, but Tam wasglorious, O’er a’ the ills of life victorious.1853.Thackeray,Barry Lyndon, ch. xviii., p. 252. I knew nothing of the vow, or indeed of the tipsy frolic which was the occasion of it; I was taken upglorious, as the phrase is, by my servants, and put to bed.1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 9 Feb. But as they all began to getglorious, personalities became more frequent and very much stronger.Glorious Sinner,subs. phr.(rhyming).—A dinner.Glory,subs.(common).—The after life;kingdom come(q.v.). Usually,the coming glory.1841.Punch, 17 July, p. 2. Clara pines in secret—Hops the twig, and goes togloryin white muslin.In one’s glory,adv. phr.(colloquial).—In the full flush of vanity, pride, taste, notion, or idiosyncracy.Gloves,to go for the gloves,verb. phr.(racing).—To bet recklessly; to bet against a horse without having the wherewithal to pay if one loses—the last resource of the plunging turfite. The term is derived from the well-known habit of ladies to bet in pairs of gloves, expecting to be paid if they win, but not to be called upon to pay if they lose.1877.Hawley Smart,Play or Pay, ch. xi. One of the boldest plungers of the day, who had begun badly, wasgoing for the glovesupon this match.[157]1886.Badminton Library, ‘Racing,’ p. 255. Hardly worth mentioning are the backers who come in for a hit-or-miss dash at the ring—to go for the gloves, as it is called in ring parlance.1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 3 Apr. Although we frequently read in stories of the hero backing the right horse at a long price, and so getting out of sundry monetary difficulties, we rarely find the idea realised in practice. Many a bookmaker hasgone for the gloves.Glow,adj.(tailors’).—Ashamed.Glue,subs.(common).—1. Thick soup. (Because it sticks to the ribs.)English Synonyms.—Deferred stock; belly-gum; giblets-twist; gut-concrete; rib-tickler; stick-in-the-ribs.French Synonyms.—La menêtre(thieves’);la lavasse(= a mess of pot liquor);la laffe(thieves’);la jaffe(popular);l’ordinaire(popular: soup and boiled beef at an ordinary);le fond d’estomac(= thick soup);la mousse;la mouillante(= the moistener).German Synonyms.—Jauche; Polifke.2. (common).—Gonorrhœa.Glue-pot,subs.(common).—A parson. [Because he joins in wedlock.] For synonyms,seeDevil-dodgerandSky-pilot.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glum,adj.(old: now recognised).—Sullen; down in the mouth; stern. Fr.:faire son nez= to look glum; also,n’en pas mener large.1712.Arbuthnot,Hist. of John Bull, pt. IV., ch. vii. Nic. looked sour andglum, and would not open his mouth.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.17(?).Broadside Ballad, ‘Sam Hall, The parson he will come, And he’ll look so bloodyglum.’1816.Johnson,Dict. of the English Language.Glum, s.v., a low cant word formed by corrupting ‘gloom.’1847.Thackeray,Vanity Fair, ii., ch. vi. ‘I wonder whether Lady Southdown will go away; she looked veryglumupon Mrs. Rawdon,’ the other said.1888.Referee, 21 Oct. Who found him lookingglumand gray, And thought his accent gruff and foreign.1892.A. W. Pinero,The Times, v., i. What are you soglumabout.Glump,verb.(provincial).—To sulk. Henceglumpy,glumping, andglumpish= sullen or stubborn.1787.Grose,Prov. Glossary.Glumping, sullen, or sour looking. Exm.1835.Th. Hook,Gilbert Gurney. He wasglumpyenough when I called.1860.G. Eliot,Mill on the Floss, Bk. VI., ch. iv. ‘An’it worrets me as Mr. Tom ’ull sit by himself soglumpish, a-knittin’ his brow, an’ a lookin’ at the fire of a night.’Glutman,subs.(old).—See quot.1797.Police of the Metropolis, p. 64. An inferior officer of the Customs, and particularly one of that class of supernumerary tide waiters, who are employed temporarily when there is a press or hurry of business. Theseglutmenare generally composed of persons who are without employment, and, being also without character, recommend themselves principally from the circumstance of being able to write.Glutton,subs.(common).—1. A horse which lasts well; astayer(q.v.).2. (pugilists’).—A pugilist who can take a lot ofpunishment(q.v.).1819.Moore,Tom Crib, xvi. Thus Theocritus, in hisMilling Match, calls Amycus aglutton, which is well known to be the classical phrase at Moulsey-Hurst for one who, like Amycus, takes a deal of punishment before he is satisfied.[158]1891.Licensed Vict. Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 6, c. 3. He was known to be an awfully heavy hitter with both hands, a perfectgluttonat taking punishment.Gnarler,subs.(thieves’).—A watch dog. For synonyms,seeTike.Gnasp,verb.(old).—To vex. For synonyms,seeRile.1728.Bailey,English Dict.s.v.Gnoff.—SeeGonnof.Gnostic,subs.(colloquial).—A knowing one; adowny cove(q.v.); awhipster(q.v.). [From the Gr.,gnosis= knowledge.]1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 27. Many of the words used by the Canting Beggars in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Masque are still to be heard among thegnosticsof Dyot Street and Tothill Fields.adj.(colloquial).—Knowing,artful(q.v.).Gnostically,adv.(colloquial).—Knowingly.1825.Scott,St. Ronan’s Well, ch. iv. He was tog’dgnosticallyenough.Go,subs.(common).—1. A drink; specifically a quartern of gin. (Formerly ago-down, butCf., quot. 1811.)[For other combinationsseeabroad—all fours—aloft—aunt—baby—back on—bad—bail—baldheaded—bath—batter—bedfordshire—beggar’s bush—better—blazes—blind—board—bodkin—bulge—bungay—bury—bust—by-by—call—camp—chump—college—cracked—dead broke—devil—ding—ding-dong—dock—doss—drag—flouch—flue—gamble—glaze—glory—gloves—grain—grass—ground—hairyfordshire—hall—halves—hang—hell—high fly—high toby—hooks—hoop—jericho—jump—kitchen—man—majority—mill—murphy—pace—pieces—pile—pot—queen—raker—range—rope-walk—salt river—shallow—shop—slow—smash—snacks—snooks—spout—star-gazing—sweet violets—top—walker’s bus—west—whole animal—woodbine—woolgathering—wrong.]English Synonyms.—Bender; caulker; coffin nail; common-sewer; cooler; crack; cry; damp; dandy; dash; dew-hank; dewdrop; dodger; drain; dram; facer; falsh; gargle; gasp; go-down; hair of the dog, etc.; Johnny; lip; liquor up; livener; lotion; lounce; modest quencher; muzzler; nail from one’s coffin; night-cap; nip or nipper; nobbler; old crow; a one, a two, or a three; out; peg; pick-me-up; pony; quencher; reviver; rince; sensation; settler; shift; shove in the mouth; slug; small cheque; smile; snifter; something damp; something short; swig; thimbleful; tiddly; top up; tot; warmer; waxer; wet; whitewash; yard.French Synonyms.—Un bourgeron(popular = a nip of brandy);un asticot de cercueil(= a coffin-worm, a play onverreandbière);un coup d’arrosoir(popular: a touch of the watering pot);un gargarisme(popular: = agargle[q.v.]);un galopin(= apony[q.v.] of beer);un larme(= a tear);un mistiche(thieves’);un misérable(popular: a glass of spirits costing one sou;une demoiselle= two sous;un monsieur= four sous;un poisson= five sous);un mince de chic(popular: in contempt);une coquille de noix(popular = a thimbleful; a very smallgo; a drain);un jeune homme(familiar = in capacity four litres);un Kolback(popular = a small glass of brandy, or large glass of wine);une flûte(familiar);un extravagant(popular = a long drink);un fil(= a drain);un[159]distingué(popular);une douleur(popular = a comforter orpick-me-up);un ballon(popular).Italian Synonym.—Schioppa(= a long drink: also a large beer glass).Spanish Synonyms.—Chisguete(colloquial);enjuagadientes(also = a mouthful of water or wine for rinsing the mouth after eating);espolada(= a long drink).Portuguese Synonym.—Quebrado(= broken: a small glass).1690.D’Urfey,Collin’s Walk, canto 4. And many more whose quality Forbids their toping openly, Will privately, on good occasion, Take sixgo-downson reputation.1793.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Go-shop.… The Queen’s Head in Duke’s Court.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum.Go-shop, s.v. The Queen’s Head, in Duke’s Court, Bow Street, Covent Garden, frequented by the under players, where gin and water was sold in three-halfpenny bowls, calledgoes; the gin was called Arrack.1823.Jon. Bee,Dict. of the Turf, s.v.1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, The Streets: Night. Chops, kidneys, rabbits, oysters, stout, cigars, andgoesinnumerable, are served up amidst a noise and confusion of smoking, running, knife-clattering, and waiter-chattering, perfectly indescribable.1841.Punch, Vol. I., p. 11, c. 1. Waiter, agoof Brett’s best alcohol.1849.Thackeray,Hoggarty Diamond, ch. ii. Two more chairs, Mary, two more tumblers, two more hot waters, and two moregoesof gin!1850.Smedley,Frank Fairleigh, p. 54. Drinking alternategoesof gin and water with a dustman for the purpose of insinuating myself into the affections of Miss Cinderella Smut, his interesting sister.1853.Diogenes, Vol. II., p. 271. Shall I spend it in theatres? shows? In numerous alcoholgoes?1870.Figaro, 28 May. Their musical performances are evidently inspired bygoesof gin.1883.Echo, 7 Feb., p. 4, c. 3. Witness asked him what he had been drinking. He replied, ‘Two half-goesof rum hot and a half-pint of beer.’2. (colloquial).—An incident; an occurrence:e.g., arum go= a strange affair, or queer start; apretty go= a startling business; acapital go= a pleasant business.1803.Kenney,Raising the Wind, i., 3. Ha! ha! ha! Capitalgo, isn’t it?1820.Jack Randall’s Diary.Gemmen (says he), you all well know The joy there is whene’er we meet; It’s what I call the primestgo, And rightly named, ’tis—quite a treat.1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, p. 251. A considerable bustle and shuffling of feet was then heard upon the stage, accompanied by whispers of ‘Here’s apretty go!—what’s to be done?’1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Misadventures at Margate.’ ‘O, Mrs. Jones,’ says I, ‘look here! Ain’t this apretty go!’1841.Punch, vol. I., p. 162. Stating his conviction that this was rayther arummy go.1849.Thackeray,Pendennis, ch. lxxiii. Master Frank Clavering … had only time to ejaculate the words, ‘Here’s ajolly go!’ and to disappear sniggering.1869.Mrs. H. Wood,Roland Yorke, ch. xli. ‘I am about to try what a month or two’s absence will do for me.’ ‘And leave us to old Brown?—thatwillbe anice go!’1876.George Eliot,Daniel Deronda, ch. vii. Arum goas ever I saw.1880.G. R. Sims,Three Brass Balls, pledge xvi. He … exclaimed, ‘Well, I’m dashed if this isn’t arum go!’1883.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 55. A prettyrum goif squire aint to talk for Doctor Livesey.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 305. ‘It was anear go,’ said Jack.3. (common).—The fashion;the cheese(q.v.); the correct thing. Generally in the phraseall the go.[160]1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. He is quite thego, he is quite varment, he is prime, he is bang up.1821.Egan,Tom and Jerry[ed. 1891], p. 35. Tom was thegoamong thegoes.1835.Haliburton(‘Sam Slick’),The Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xiv. Whatever is thegoin Europe will soon be the cheese here.1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, I., 251. It was rather thegoWith Pilgrims and Saints in the Second Crusade.1846.Punch, vol. X., p. 163. From lowly Queen’s quadrangle, Where muffins are thego.1880.G. R. Sims,Ballads of Babylon(Beauty and Beast). And all day long there’s a big crowd stops To look at the lady who’sall the go.4. (colloquial).—Life; spirit; energy; enterprise; impetus:e.g.,plenty of go= full of spirit and dash. Fr.:avoir du chien.1825.The English Spy, i., 178. She’s only fit to carry a dean or a bishop. Nogoin her.1865.Macdonald,Alec Forbes of How-glen, II., 269. All night Tibbie Dyster had lain awake in her lonely cottage, listening to the quiet heavygoof the water.1882.Daily Telegraph, 9 Oct. Mr. Grossmith’s music is bright and tripping, full of humour andgo, as, under such circumstances, music should be!1883.Illustrated London News, 10 March, p. 242, c. 3. There was any amount of dash andgoin their rowing.1887.Paton,Down the Islands. Barbadian may therefore be said to mean a man withgoand grit, energy andvim.1889.Sportsman, 19 Jan. It all lent a certain zest andgoto the proceedings.1890.Pall Mall Gaz., 21 Feb., p. 7, c. 1. There was so much heartiness andgo(so to speak) in the work that it reminded me of what I had read about peasant proprietors labouring in Switzerland and elsewhere under a Home Rule Government.5. (colloquial).—A turn; an attempt; a chance.Cf.,No go.To have a go at,verb. phr.= to make essay of anything: as a man in a fight, a shot at billiards, and (specifically) a woman.1836.C. Dickens,Pickwick Papers(about 1827), p. 377 (ed. 1857). Wot do you think o’ that for ago?1877.Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. III., p. 221. I’ve twelve thisgo. I did a lagging of seven, and was at the Gib. three out of it.1878.Jas. Payn,By Proxy, ch. iii. ‘I would practise that in the seclusion of my own apartments,’ observed Pennicuick; ‘and after a fewgoesat it, I’ll bet a guinea I’d shake the right stick out first.’1888.Haggard,Mr. Meeson’s Will, ch. x. You have had sevengoesand I have only had six.6. (American).—A success.To make a go of it= to bring things to a satisfactory termination.1888.Harper’s Mag., vol. LXXVII., p. 689. Determination to make the venture ago.7. (gaming). The last card at cribbage, or the last piece at dominoes. When a player is unable to follow the lead, he calls ago!8. (old.)—Adandy(q.v.for synonyms); a very heavy swell indeed, one in the extreme of fashion.1821.Egan,Tom and Jerry[people’s ed.], p. 35. In the parks, Tom wasthe goamong thegoes.Verb(American political).—1. To vote; to be in favour of.Cf.,Go for.2. (colloquial).—To succeed; to achieve.Cf.,Go down.1866.Public Opinion, 13 Jan., p. 51, c. 1. His London-street railway scheme didn’tgo.[161]1870.H. D. Traill, ‘On the Watch.’Sat. Songs, p. 22. Eh, waddyer say? Don’t itgo? Ho, yes! my right honnerble friend. It’sgoandgoover the left, it’sgowith a hook at the end.3. (colloquial).—To wager; to risk. Hence to stand treat; to afford.1768.Goldsmith,Good Natured Man, Act iii. Men that wouldgoforty guineas on a game of cribbage.1876.Besant and Rice,Golden Butterfly, Prologue ii. The very dice on the counter with which the bar-keeper used togothe miners for drinks.1877.S. L. Clemens(M. Twain),Life on the Mississippi, ch. xliii., p. 390. There’s one thing in this world which a person won’t take in pine if he cangowalnut; and won’t take in walnut if he cangomahogany.… That’s a coffin.c.1882.Comic Song, ‘The West End Boys,’ verse 3. Another bitter I really can’tgo.1887.World, 20 Apr., p. 8. While making up his mind, apparently whether he wouldgo‘three’ or ‘Nap.’4. (racing).—To ride to hounds.1884.Hawley Smart,From Post to Finish, p. 219. There would be far too many there who had seen Gerald Rockinghamgowith the York and Ainstey not to at once know that he and Jim Forrest were identical.5. (colloquial).—To be pregnant.1561–1626.Bacon, (quoted by Dr. Johnson). Womengocommonly nine months, the cow and ewe about six months.1601.Shakspeare,Henry VIII., iv., 1. Great bellied women that had not half a week togo.Go down,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To be accepted, received, or swallowed; towash(q.v.).1609.Dekker,Lanthorne and Candle-Light, in wks. (Grosart), III., 272. For the woorst hors-flesh (so it be cheape) does bestgoe downewith him.1659.Massinger,City Madam, i., 1. But now I fear it will be spent in poultry; Butcher’s-meat will notgo down.1663.Pepys,Diary, 9 Nov. The present clergy will never heartilygo downwith the generality of the commons of England.1742.Fielding,Joseph Andrews, bk. II., ch. xvii. ‘O ho! you are a pretty traveller,’ cries the host, ‘and not know the Levant! … you must not talk of these things with me, you must not tip us the traveller—it won’tgohere.’1748.Smollett,Rod. Random, ch. xxi. He … shook his head, and beginning with his usual exclamation said, ‘That won’tgo downwith me.’1885.W. E. Norris,Adrian Vidal, ch. vii. In fashion or out of fashion, they always pay and alwaysgo downwith the public.2. (University).—To be under discipline; to be rusticated.1863.H. Kingsley,Austin Elliot, i., 179. How dare you say ‘deuce’in my presence? You cango down, my Lord.3. (common).—To become bankrupt. Also,to go under.1892.R. L. StevensonandL. Osbourne,The Wrecker, p. 19. Some one had certainlygone down.To go due north,verb. phr.(obsolete).—To go bankrupt. [That is, to go to White-cross Street Prison, once situate in north London].SeeQuisby.To go on the dub,verb. phr.(old).—To go house-breaking; to pick locks.SeeDub.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew. Going upon thedub,c.Breaking a House with picklocks.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.To go to the dogs,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To go to ruin. [Cf., the Dutch proverb ‘Toe goê, toe de dogs’ = money gone, credit gone too.]SeeDemnition bow-wows.1857.A. Trollope,Three Clerks, ch. i. The service, he said, wouldgo to the dogs, and might do for anything he cared and he did not mindhowsoon.[162]1863.H. Kingsley,Austin Elliot, 1, 179. ‘Got a second!—bah! The University is going to the ‘——’ Deuce!’ suggested Lord Charles, who was afraid of something worse. ‘Dogs, Sir,dogs!’c.1879.Broadside Ballad, ‘Old Clo’.’ My line of business is played out, it’sgoing to the dogs.To go off on the ear,verb. phr.(American).—To get angry; to fly into a tantrum.SeeNab the rust.To go for,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To attempt; to tackle; to resolve upon; tomake for(q.v.).1871.John Hay,Jim Bludso. He see’d his duty, a dead-sure thing—And hewent forit thar and then.1890.Athenæum, 22 Mar., p. 366, c. 1. The authors have spared neither their creatures nor the reader one iota; whenever an unpleasant effect was obtainable, they straightway seem to havegone forit with unflinching zest.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 221. Some men hadgone forhalf a dozen, others for two or three, and very few for a single.1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 118. We are strong, my boy, strong now, and aregoing in forthe slugging of books also, as well as the immorality of trade.2. (colloquial).—To attack with violence and directness, whether manually or with the tongue.
2. (colloquial).—A mistress; amash(q.v.).3.In. pl.(venery).—The sex—or that part of it which is given to unchastity—in general; hencethe girls= lechery.After the girls.He’s been after the girls,verb. phr.(common).—Said of one with clap or pox.Girl and Boy,subs. phr.(rhyming). A saveloy.Girlery,subs.(colloquial).—A brothel. Also a theatre for burlesque and comic opera.Girl-getter,subs.(colloquial).—A mincing, womanish male.Girling.To go Girling,verb. phr.(venery).—To quest for women; to go on theloose(q.v.).Girlometer,subs.(venery).—Thepenis. Also,Girl-catcher. For synonyms,seeCreamstickandPrick.Girl-shop,subs. phr.(common).—A brothel.Girl-show,subs. phr.(common).—A ballet, a burlesque, aleg-piece(q.v.).Girl Street.InHair Court,Girl Street,subs. phr.(common).—Generic for fornication. Also the femalepudendum.Girl-trap,subs. phr.(common).—A seducer; amutton-monger(q.v.).Git!(orYou Git!),intj.(American).—Be off with you! An injunction to immediate departure;walker!(q.v.). Sometimes a contraction ofget out!Alsoget out and dust!1851.Seaworthy,Bertie, p. 78. Thrue as the tin commandhers!Git aout!To have no git up and git,phr.(American).—To be weak, vain, mean, or slow—generally deprecatory.Give,verb.(vulgar).—1. To lead to; to conduct; to open upon:e.g., ‘The doorgaveupon the street.’Cf.the idiomatic use, in French, ofdonner.2. (American).—An all-round auxiliary to active verbs:e.g.,to give on praying= to excel at prayer;to give on the make= to be clever at making money, etc.To give it to,verb. phr.(old).—1. To rob; to defraud.—Grose.2. (common).—To scold; to thrash. Alsoto give what for;to give it hot;to give something for oneself;to give one in the eye, etc.[150]Fr.,aller en donner. For synonyms,seeWigandTanrespectively.1612.Chapman,Widow’s Tears, Act i., p. 312 (Plays, 1874). This braving wooer hath the success expected; the favour I obtained made me witness to the sport, and let his confidence be sure, I’llgive it himhome.1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, p. 134. ‘Take that,’ exclaimed Mr. Samuel Wilkins.… ‘Give it him,’ said the waistcoat.… Miss J’mima Ivins’s beau and the friend’s young man lay gasping on the gravel, and the waistcoat and whiskers were seen no more.1889.J. M. BarrieinTime, Aug. p. 148. When he said he would tell everybody in the street about there being a baby, Igave him one in the eye.Ibid.If it’s true what Symons Tertius says, that Cocky has gone and stolen my reminiscences about Albert’s curls, putting it into his reminiscences like as if it was his own, I’llgive him it hot.To give in(orout),verb. phr.(colloquial).—To admit defeat; to yield; to be exhausted;to throw up the sponge.SeeFlooredandCave in.1748.Smollett,Rod. Random, ch. xviii. Strap, after having received three falls on the hard stones,gave out, and allowed the blacksmith to be the better man.1760–1.Smollett,L. Greaves, vol. II., ch. viii. By this time the doctor hadgiven out, and allowed the brewer to be the better man.1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 25. Poor Georgygave in.1837.Lytton,Ernest Maltravers, bk. IV., ch. ix. Your time is up … you have had your swing, and a long one it seems to have been—you must nowgive in.1847.Robb,Squatter Life, p. 99. Jest about then both on our pussesgin out.1850.Buffum,Six Months in the Gold Mines, p. 73. After working three days with the machine, the earth we had been washing began togive out.1852.Dickens,Bleak House, ch. xxiv., p. 217. I am surprised to hear a man of your energy talk ofgiving in.To give away,verb. phr.(American).—To betray or expose inadvertently;to blow upon(q.v.):to peach(q.v.for synonyms). Alsoto give dead away. Largely used in combination:e.g.,give-away= an exposure;give-away cue= an underhand revelation of secrets.1883.F. M. Crawford,Doctor Claudius, ch. vi., p. 100. It always amused him toseesanguine people angry. They looked so uncomfortable, andgave themselves awayso recklessly.1886.A. Lang,Longman’s Mag., VII., 321. I know not whether the American phrase, togive a person away, togive yourself away, meaning to reveal your own or another’s secret, is of provincial English origin. Did it cross over with the Pilgrim Fathers in theMay Flower, or is it a recent bit of slang? ‘Whogiveth this woman away?’ asked the rural American parson in the wedding service. ‘Icould,’came the voice of a young man from the gallery, ‘but I’d never be so mean.’1888.Detroit Free Press, Aug. Careful what we say, for it willgive us dead away.1889.Answers, 20 Apr., p. 326. My closely cropped hair, however,gave me away.1892.R. L. StevensonandL. Osbourne,The Wrecker, p. 195. For the sake of the joke I’llgive myself away.To give one best,verb. phr.(schoolboys’).—1. To acknowledge one’s inferiority, a defeat. Also (thieves’) to leave,to cut(q.v.).1887.Horsley,Jottings from Jail. But after a time Igave him best(left him), because he used to want to bite my ear (borrow) too often.To give the collar,verb. phr.(American).—To seize; to arrest;to collar(q.v.). For synonyms,seeNab.To give the bullet(sack,bag,kick-out,pike,road, etc.),verb. phr.(common).—To discharge from an employ.[151]Give us a rest!phr.(American).—Cease talking! An injunction upon a bore.To give nature a fillip,verb. phr.(old).—To indulge in wine or women.—B. E.(1690).To give way,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To permit the sexual embrace: by women only.1870.Weekly Times, 1 May. She was sorry to say, shegave wayto him. (Laughter.) Mr. Maude remarked she was a foolish woman, and, being a widow, ought to have known whatgiving waywould come to.—Complainant said of course she did, but she thought he meant to marry her.[Other combinations will be found under the following:auctioneer;back cap;bag;bail;baste;beans;beef;biff;black eye;bone;bucket;bullet;bull’s feather;clinch;double;fig;gas;go by;gravy;hoist;hot beef;jesse;kennedy;key of the street;land;leg up;lip;miller;mitten;mouth;needle;office;points;pussy;rub of the thumb;sack;sky-high;slip;tail;taste of cream;turnips;weight;white alley;word.]Giver,subs.(pugilistic).—A good boxer; an artist inpunishment(q.v.).1824.Reynolds, (‘Peter Corcoran’),The Fancy, p. 73. She knew a smart blow from a handsomegiverWould darken lights.Gixie,subs.(obsolete).—A wanton wench; a strumpet; an affected mincing woman.1598.Florio,Worlde of Wordes.Faina, a mincing, coie, nice, puling, squeamish woman, an idle huswife, a flurt, agixgi. Also asFoina[i.e., ‘a pole-cat’; whileFoirare= ‘to lust for beastly leacherie, to be salt as a bitch.’]1611.Cotgrave,Dictionarie, s.v.Gadrouillette, a minx, gigle, flirt, calletgixie: (a fained word applyable to any such cattell). [Seefurther,gadriller(a wench) = ‘to rump or play the rig’].Gizzard,to fret one’s gizzard,verb. phr.(common).—To worry oneself.SeeFret.To stick in one’s gizzard,verb.phr.(common).—To remain as something unpleasant, distasteful or offensive; to be hard of digestion; to be disagreeable or unpalatable.c.1830.Finish of Tom and Jerry, p. 241. It had alwaysstuck in his gizzardto think as how he had been werry cruelly used.To grumble in the gizzard,verb. phr.(common).—To be secretly displeased. Hence,grumble-gizzard(q.v.).Gladstone,subs.(common)—1. Cheap claret. [Mr. Gladstone, when in office in 1869, reduced the duty on French wines.]SeeDrinks.1876.BesantandRice,Golden Butterfly, ch. ix. Claret certainly good, too—none of yourGladstonetap; sherry probably rather coarse.1885.A. Birrell,Obiter Dicta, p. 86. To make him unbosom himself over a bottle ofGladstoneclaret in a tavern in Leicester Square.2.(colloquial).—A travelling bag. [So named in honour of Mr. Gladstone.]Gladstonize,verb.(colloquial).—To talk about and round; to evade or prevaricate; to speak much and mean nothing.Glanthorne,subs.(old).—Money. For synonyms,seeActualandGilt.1789.Parker,Life’s Painter, p. 42. Drop theglanthorne= part with money.[152]Glasgow Greys,subs. phr.(military).—The 70th Foot. [Which in the beginning was largely recruited in Glasgow.]1886.Tinsley’s Mag., Apr., p. 321. The 70th were long known as theGlasgow Greys.Glasgow Magistrate,subs. phr.(common).—A herring, fresh or salted, of the finest. [From the practice of sending samples to the Baillie of the River for approval.] AlsoGlasgow Baillie.1855.Strang,Glasgow and its City Clubs.This club … better known by the title of the Tinkler’s club, particularly when the brotherhood changed the hour of meeting … and when the steak was exchanged for a ‘Welsh rabbit’ orGlasgow magistrate.English Synonyms.(for herrings generally).—Atlantic ranger; Californian; Cornish duck; Digby chicken; Dunbar wether; gendarme; Gourock ham; magistrate; pheasant (or Billingsgate pheasant); reds; sea-rover; soldier; Taunton turkey; two-eye’d steak; Yarmouth capon. Fr.:gendarme.Glass,subs.(American thieves’).—An hour. [An abbreviation of ‘hour-glass.’]1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v. The badger piped his Moll about aglassand a half before she cribbed the flat.There’s a deal of glass about,phr.(common).—1. Applied to vulgar display = ‘It’s the thing’ (q.v.).2. (common).—Said in answer to an achievement in assertion. A memory of the proverb, ‘People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.’Who’s to pay for the broken glass?verb. phr.(colloquial).—SeeStand the Racket.Been looking through a glass,adv. phr.(common).—Drunk. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.Glass-eyes,subs.(old).—A man wearing spectacles;four-eyes(q.v.);gig-lamps(q.v.).1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Glass-house.To live in a glass house,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To lay oneself open to attack or adverse criticism.Glass-work,subs.(card-sharpers’).—An obsolete method of cheating at cards. A convex mirror the size of a small coin was fastened with shellac to the lower corner of the left palm opposite the thumb, enabling the dealer to ascertain by reflection the value of the cards he dealt.Glaze,subs.(old),—A window.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Glaze, a Window.1754.Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 43. Undub the Jeger and jump theglaze.1857.Snowden,Mag. Assistant(3rd ed.), p. 445. A window,glaze.c.1830.Finish to Tom and Jerry[1872], p. 82. A random shot milling theglaze.Verb(old).—To cheat at cards.Seequot. andGlass-work.1821.P. Egan,Real Life, I., 297. If you take the broads in hand in their company, you are sure to be work’d, either byglazing, that is, putting you in front of a looking glass, by which means your hand is discovered by your antagonist, or by private signals from the pal.[153]To mill(orstar a glaze),verb. phr.(old).—To break a window.1823.Moncrieff,Tom and Jerry, iii., 2.Jerry.What are you about, Tom?Tom.I’m going tomill the glaze—I’ll——(Is about to break the glass, when Kate and Sue appear as the Miss Trifles.).1823.Jon Bee,Dict. of the Turf.Glaze, s.v.,to mill the glaze, the miller may adopt a stick or otherwise, as seems most convenient.On the glaze,adv. phr.(thieves’).—Robbing jewellers’ shops by smashing the windows.SeeGlazier.1724–34.C. Johnson,Highwaymen and Pyrates, q.v.1889.Ally Sloper, 4 May. Getting a reprieve he went to Dublinon the glaze.Glazier,subs.,in. pl.(old).—1. The eyes. For synonyms,seeGlims.Fr.:les ardents.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 64.Glasyers, eyes.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Glasiers, eyes.1611.MiddletonandDekker,Roaring Girl, v., 1. Theseglasiersof mine, mine eyes.1656.Brome,Jovial Crew, ii. You’re out with yourglaziers.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. The cove has rumglaziers,c.that Rogue has excellent Eyes, or an Eye like a Cat.1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict.Glaziers,c.eyes.1725.New Canting Dict.‘Song.’ Herglaziers, too, are quite benighted.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongues.v.2. (old).—A window thief.Cf.,Glaze.1725.New Cant. Dict.Song‘The Twenty Craftsmen.’… Aglazierwho when he creeps in, To pinch all the lurry he thinks it no sin.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Gleaner,subs.(old).—A thief.Cf.,Hooker,Angler, etc. For synonyms,seeThieves.Glib,subs.(common).—1. The tongue.Slacken your glib= loose your tongue. For synonyms,seeClack.2. (old).—A ribbon.1754.Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 42. A lobb full ofglibbs, a box full of ribbons.Adj.(old, now recognised).—Smooth; slippery; voluble;glib-tonguedorglib-gabbit(cf.,Gab) = talkative; ready of speech.1605.Shakspeare,Lear, Act i., Sc. 1. I want thatgliband oily art, To speak and purpose not.1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Smooth, without a Rub.Glib-tongued.Voluble or Nimble-tongued.1890.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 31 Jan. The rest who were soglibwith their promises.Glibe,subs.(American thieves’).—Writing; specifically, a written statement.Glim(orGlym),subs.(old).—1. A candle, or dark lanthorn; a fire or light of any kind.To douse the glim= to put out the light. Fr.:estourbir la cabande. Also short forGlimmerorGlymmar(q.v.).1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. A Dark Lanthorn used in Robbing Houses; also to burn in the Hand.1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Glim, a Candle.1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict.Glim, s.v. A candle or light.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue. Bring bess andglym;i.e., bring the instrument to force the door, and the dark lanthorn.1823.Moncrieff,Tom and Jerry, ii., 2.Tom.Then catch—here’s the gentlemen’s tooth-picker, and here’s hisglim.(Throws stick and lanthorn to Jerry.)[154]1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. III., ch. 5. Every star itsglimat hiding.1837.Dickens,Oliver Twist, ch. 16. Let’s have aglim… or we shall go breaking our necks.1837.Lytton,Ernest Maltravers, Bk. I., ch. 10. ‘Hush, Jack!’ whispered one; ‘hang out theglimand let’s look about us.’1852.Judson,Myst., etc., of New York, ch. iv. Old Jack bade Harriet trim theglim.1883.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 89. Sure enough, they left theirglimhere.1884.HenleyandStevenson,Admiral Guinea, ii., 6. Now here is my littleglim; it aint for me because I’m blind.2. (old).—A sham account of a fire as sold byflying stationers(q.v.).1851–61.Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 233. His papers certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to’.… Loss by fire is aglim.3.in. pl.(common).—The eyes.EnglishSynonyms.—Blinkers; daylights; deadlights; glaziers; lights; lamps; ogles; optics;orbs; peepers; sees; squinters; toplights; windows; winkers.FrenchSynonyms.—Les quinquets(popular = bright eyes, Vidocq);les mirettes(popular and thieves’; Italian:mira= sight);les reluits(thieves’: alsodaymans—orlightmans[q.v.]);les calots(thieves’ = marbles);les châssesorles châssis(popular = hunters’);les lampions(thieves’ =lamps(q.v.); Italian:lanternaandlampante);les apics(thieves’);les ardents(thieves’ = piercers);les œillets(popular = eyelets);les lanternes de cabriolet(popular = giglamps);les clignots(popular = winkers);les carreaux(thieves’ = windows);les clairs(thieves’ = shiners);les coquards(thieves’).Italian Synonyms.—Lanterna(= a lamp);calchi;balchi;brunotti(= brownies);lampante.Spanish Synonyms.—Fanal(= lantern);lanterna(=idem);visantes(vulgar);vistosos(vulgar).German Synonyms.—Dierling(fromstieren= to stare);Linzer;Scheinling(fromSchein=daylights(q.v.)).1824.P. Egan,Boxiana, iv., 417. HisglimsI’ve made look like a couple of rainbows.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, p. 47 [ed. 1854]. Queer myglims, if that ben’t little Paul!1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, II., 339. Harold escaped with the loss of aglim.1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 56. A pooty gal, gentle, or simple, as carn’t use herglimsis a flat.4.in. pl.(common).—A pair of spectacles. For synonyms,seeBarnacles.5. (common).—Gonorrhœa orclap(q.v.). [From sense 1 = fire.]Verb(old).—To brand or burn in the hand.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. As the cull wasGlimm’d, he gangs to the Nubb,c., if the Fellow has been Burnt in the Hand, he’ll be Hang’d now.1714.Memoirs of John Hall, p. 15. Profligate women areglimm’dfor that villany, for which, rather than leave it, they could freely die martyrs.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.To puff the glims,verb. phr.(veterinary).—To fill the hollow over the eyes of old[155]horses by pricking the skin and blowing air into the loose tissues underneath, thus giving the full effect of youth.Glim-fenders,subs.(old).—1. Andirons, or fire-dogs.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimfenders, c. Andirons.Rum Glimfenders, Silver Andirons.1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict.s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.2. (old).—Handcuffs. [A pun on sense 1.]1823.Jon Bee,Dict. of the Turf,s.v.1848.Duncombe,Sinks of London, s.v.Glimflashly(orGlim-flashey),adj.(old).—Angry.SeeNab the RustandHair.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimflashly,c., Angry, or in a Passion. The Cull isGlimflashly,c.the Fellow is in a Heat.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. xxxi. No, Captain, don’t beglim-flashey! You have not heard all yet.Glim-jack,subs.(old).—A link boy; amoon-curser(q.v.); but, in any sense, a thief.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glim-lurk,subs.(tramps’).—A beggars’ petition, based on a fictitious fire orglim(sense 2).1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 233. The patterer becomes a ‘lurker,’—that is, an imposter; his papers certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to.’ Shipwreck is called ashake-lurk; loss by fire is aglim.Glimmer(orGlymmar),subs.(old).—Fire.Seequot.1567.Harman,Caveat. TheseDemaunders for Glymmarbe for the moste parte wemen.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38. (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Glymmer, Fire.1671.R. Head,English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 49 (1874).Glymmer, Fire.1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict., s.v.1725.New Canting Dict., Song, ‘The Maunder’s Praise of his Strowling Mort.’ Doxy, Oh! thy Glaziers shine, AsGlymmarby the Solomon.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glimmerer,subs.(old).—A beggar working with a petition giving out that he is ruined by fire. Alsoglimmering mort= a femaleglimmerer.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant.Crew, s.v.Glimmerer,c., the Twenty-second Rank of the Canting Tribe, begging with Sham Licences, pretending to Losses by Fire, etc.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glimstick,subs.(old).—A candlestick. [Fromglim= a light + stick.] Fr.:une occasion.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimstick,c., a Candlestick.Rum Glimsticks,c., Silver Candlesticks.Queer Glimsticks,c., Brass, Pewter, or Iron Candlesticks.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glister,subs. phr.(thieves’).—Seequot.,glister of fish-hooks.1889.ClarksonandRichardson,Police, p. 321. A glass of Irish whiskey … aglister of fish-hooks.Glistner,subs.(old).—A sovereign. For synonyms,seeCanary.[156]Gloak(orGloach),subs.(old).—A man. For synonyms,seeChumandCove.1821.D. Haggart,Life, Glossary, pp. 48 and 172.Gloach, a man; cove.Globe,subs.(old).—1. A pewter pot; pewter.1714.Memoirs of John Hall, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.2.in. pl.(common).—The paps. For synonyms,seeDairy.Globe-rangers,subs.(nautical).—The Royal Marines.Globe-trotter,subs.(colloquial).—A traveller; primarily one who races from place to place, with the object of covering ground or making a record. Fr.:un pacquelineur.1886.Graphic, 7 Aug., 147/1. Your mere idle gapingglobetrotterwill spin endless pages of unobservant twaddle, and will record his tedious wanderings with most painful minuteness.1888.Academy, 17 Mar. The inevitable steamboat, the world, and the omnivorousglobe-trotter.1889.Echo, 9 Feb. The Britishglobe-trotterknows Japan as he knows England, and English books about Japan are turned out by the ton.1890.Pall Mall Gaz., 27 Jan., p. 5, c. 2. This popular definition of a quick-mover has now become effete. Miss Bly is aglobe-galloperor she is nothing.Globe-trotting,subs.(colloquial).—Travelling after the manner ofglobe-trotters(q.v.).1888.Academy, 22 Sept. In fact,globe-trotting, as the Americans somewhat irreverently term it, is now frequently undertaken as a mere holiday trip.Glope,verb.(Winchester College).—To spit. (Obsolete).Glorious,adj.(common).—Excited with drink; ‘in one’s altitudes’;boozed. For synonyms,seedrinksandscrewed.1791.Burns,Tam o’ Shanter. Kings may be blessed, but Tam wasglorious, O’er a’ the ills of life victorious.1853.Thackeray,Barry Lyndon, ch. xviii., p. 252. I knew nothing of the vow, or indeed of the tipsy frolic which was the occasion of it; I was taken upglorious, as the phrase is, by my servants, and put to bed.1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 9 Feb. But as they all began to getglorious, personalities became more frequent and very much stronger.Glorious Sinner,subs. phr.(rhyming).—A dinner.Glory,subs.(common).—The after life;kingdom come(q.v.). Usually,the coming glory.1841.Punch, 17 July, p. 2. Clara pines in secret—Hops the twig, and goes togloryin white muslin.In one’s glory,adv. phr.(colloquial).—In the full flush of vanity, pride, taste, notion, or idiosyncracy.Gloves,to go for the gloves,verb. phr.(racing).—To bet recklessly; to bet against a horse without having the wherewithal to pay if one loses—the last resource of the plunging turfite. The term is derived from the well-known habit of ladies to bet in pairs of gloves, expecting to be paid if they win, but not to be called upon to pay if they lose.1877.Hawley Smart,Play or Pay, ch. xi. One of the boldest plungers of the day, who had begun badly, wasgoing for the glovesupon this match.[157]1886.Badminton Library, ‘Racing,’ p. 255. Hardly worth mentioning are the backers who come in for a hit-or-miss dash at the ring—to go for the gloves, as it is called in ring parlance.1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 3 Apr. Although we frequently read in stories of the hero backing the right horse at a long price, and so getting out of sundry monetary difficulties, we rarely find the idea realised in practice. Many a bookmaker hasgone for the gloves.Glow,adj.(tailors’).—Ashamed.Glue,subs.(common).—1. Thick soup. (Because it sticks to the ribs.)English Synonyms.—Deferred stock; belly-gum; giblets-twist; gut-concrete; rib-tickler; stick-in-the-ribs.French Synonyms.—La menêtre(thieves’);la lavasse(= a mess of pot liquor);la laffe(thieves’);la jaffe(popular);l’ordinaire(popular: soup and boiled beef at an ordinary);le fond d’estomac(= thick soup);la mousse;la mouillante(= the moistener).German Synonyms.—Jauche; Polifke.2. (common).—Gonorrhœa.Glue-pot,subs.(common).—A parson. [Because he joins in wedlock.] For synonyms,seeDevil-dodgerandSky-pilot.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Glum,adj.(old: now recognised).—Sullen; down in the mouth; stern. Fr.:faire son nez= to look glum; also,n’en pas mener large.1712.Arbuthnot,Hist. of John Bull, pt. IV., ch. vii. Nic. looked sour andglum, and would not open his mouth.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.17(?).Broadside Ballad, ‘Sam Hall, The parson he will come, And he’ll look so bloodyglum.’1816.Johnson,Dict. of the English Language.Glum, s.v., a low cant word formed by corrupting ‘gloom.’1847.Thackeray,Vanity Fair, ii., ch. vi. ‘I wonder whether Lady Southdown will go away; she looked veryglumupon Mrs. Rawdon,’ the other said.1888.Referee, 21 Oct. Who found him lookingglumand gray, And thought his accent gruff and foreign.1892.A. W. Pinero,The Times, v., i. What are you soglumabout.Glump,verb.(provincial).—To sulk. Henceglumpy,glumping, andglumpish= sullen or stubborn.1787.Grose,Prov. Glossary.Glumping, sullen, or sour looking. Exm.1835.Th. Hook,Gilbert Gurney. He wasglumpyenough when I called.1860.G. Eliot,Mill on the Floss, Bk. VI., ch. iv. ‘An’it worrets me as Mr. Tom ’ull sit by himself soglumpish, a-knittin’ his brow, an’ a lookin’ at the fire of a night.’Glutman,subs.(old).—See quot.1797.Police of the Metropolis, p. 64. An inferior officer of the Customs, and particularly one of that class of supernumerary tide waiters, who are employed temporarily when there is a press or hurry of business. Theseglutmenare generally composed of persons who are without employment, and, being also without character, recommend themselves principally from the circumstance of being able to write.Glutton,subs.(common).—1. A horse which lasts well; astayer(q.v.).2. (pugilists’).—A pugilist who can take a lot ofpunishment(q.v.).1819.Moore,Tom Crib, xvi. Thus Theocritus, in hisMilling Match, calls Amycus aglutton, which is well known to be the classical phrase at Moulsey-Hurst for one who, like Amycus, takes a deal of punishment before he is satisfied.[158]1891.Licensed Vict. Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 6, c. 3. He was known to be an awfully heavy hitter with both hands, a perfectgluttonat taking punishment.Gnarler,subs.(thieves’).—A watch dog. For synonyms,seeTike.Gnasp,verb.(old).—To vex. For synonyms,seeRile.1728.Bailey,English Dict.s.v.Gnoff.—SeeGonnof.Gnostic,subs.(colloquial).—A knowing one; adowny cove(q.v.); awhipster(q.v.). [From the Gr.,gnosis= knowledge.]1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 27. Many of the words used by the Canting Beggars in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Masque are still to be heard among thegnosticsof Dyot Street and Tothill Fields.adj.(colloquial).—Knowing,artful(q.v.).Gnostically,adv.(colloquial).—Knowingly.1825.Scott,St. Ronan’s Well, ch. iv. He was tog’dgnosticallyenough.Go,subs.(common).—1. A drink; specifically a quartern of gin. (Formerly ago-down, butCf., quot. 1811.)[For other combinationsseeabroad—all fours—aloft—aunt—baby—back on—bad—bail—baldheaded—bath—batter—bedfordshire—beggar’s bush—better—blazes—blind—board—bodkin—bulge—bungay—bury—bust—by-by—call—camp—chump—college—cracked—dead broke—devil—ding—ding-dong—dock—doss—drag—flouch—flue—gamble—glaze—glory—gloves—grain—grass—ground—hairyfordshire—hall—halves—hang—hell—high fly—high toby—hooks—hoop—jericho—jump—kitchen—man—majority—mill—murphy—pace—pieces—pile—pot—queen—raker—range—rope-walk—salt river—shallow—shop—slow—smash—snacks—snooks—spout—star-gazing—sweet violets—top—walker’s bus—west—whole animal—woodbine—woolgathering—wrong.]English Synonyms.—Bender; caulker; coffin nail; common-sewer; cooler; crack; cry; damp; dandy; dash; dew-hank; dewdrop; dodger; drain; dram; facer; falsh; gargle; gasp; go-down; hair of the dog, etc.; Johnny; lip; liquor up; livener; lotion; lounce; modest quencher; muzzler; nail from one’s coffin; night-cap; nip or nipper; nobbler; old crow; a one, a two, or a three; out; peg; pick-me-up; pony; quencher; reviver; rince; sensation; settler; shift; shove in the mouth; slug; small cheque; smile; snifter; something damp; something short; swig; thimbleful; tiddly; top up; tot; warmer; waxer; wet; whitewash; yard.French Synonyms.—Un bourgeron(popular = a nip of brandy);un asticot de cercueil(= a coffin-worm, a play onverreandbière);un coup d’arrosoir(popular: a touch of the watering pot);un gargarisme(popular: = agargle[q.v.]);un galopin(= apony[q.v.] of beer);un larme(= a tear);un mistiche(thieves’);un misérable(popular: a glass of spirits costing one sou;une demoiselle= two sous;un monsieur= four sous;un poisson= five sous);un mince de chic(popular: in contempt);une coquille de noix(popular = a thimbleful; a very smallgo; a drain);un jeune homme(familiar = in capacity four litres);un Kolback(popular = a small glass of brandy, or large glass of wine);une flûte(familiar);un extravagant(popular = a long drink);un fil(= a drain);un[159]distingué(popular);une douleur(popular = a comforter orpick-me-up);un ballon(popular).Italian Synonym.—Schioppa(= a long drink: also a large beer glass).Spanish Synonyms.—Chisguete(colloquial);enjuagadientes(also = a mouthful of water or wine for rinsing the mouth after eating);espolada(= a long drink).Portuguese Synonym.—Quebrado(= broken: a small glass).1690.D’Urfey,Collin’s Walk, canto 4. And many more whose quality Forbids their toping openly, Will privately, on good occasion, Take sixgo-downson reputation.1793.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Go-shop.… The Queen’s Head in Duke’s Court.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum.Go-shop, s.v. The Queen’s Head, in Duke’s Court, Bow Street, Covent Garden, frequented by the under players, where gin and water was sold in three-halfpenny bowls, calledgoes; the gin was called Arrack.1823.Jon. Bee,Dict. of the Turf, s.v.1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, The Streets: Night. Chops, kidneys, rabbits, oysters, stout, cigars, andgoesinnumerable, are served up amidst a noise and confusion of smoking, running, knife-clattering, and waiter-chattering, perfectly indescribable.1841.Punch, Vol. I., p. 11, c. 1. Waiter, agoof Brett’s best alcohol.1849.Thackeray,Hoggarty Diamond, ch. ii. Two more chairs, Mary, two more tumblers, two more hot waters, and two moregoesof gin!1850.Smedley,Frank Fairleigh, p. 54. Drinking alternategoesof gin and water with a dustman for the purpose of insinuating myself into the affections of Miss Cinderella Smut, his interesting sister.1853.Diogenes, Vol. II., p. 271. Shall I spend it in theatres? shows? In numerous alcoholgoes?1870.Figaro, 28 May. Their musical performances are evidently inspired bygoesof gin.1883.Echo, 7 Feb., p. 4, c. 3. Witness asked him what he had been drinking. He replied, ‘Two half-goesof rum hot and a half-pint of beer.’2. (colloquial).—An incident; an occurrence:e.g., arum go= a strange affair, or queer start; apretty go= a startling business; acapital go= a pleasant business.1803.Kenney,Raising the Wind, i., 3. Ha! ha! ha! Capitalgo, isn’t it?1820.Jack Randall’s Diary.Gemmen (says he), you all well know The joy there is whene’er we meet; It’s what I call the primestgo, And rightly named, ’tis—quite a treat.1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, p. 251. A considerable bustle and shuffling of feet was then heard upon the stage, accompanied by whispers of ‘Here’s apretty go!—what’s to be done?’1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Misadventures at Margate.’ ‘O, Mrs. Jones,’ says I, ‘look here! Ain’t this apretty go!’1841.Punch, vol. I., p. 162. Stating his conviction that this was rayther arummy go.1849.Thackeray,Pendennis, ch. lxxiii. Master Frank Clavering … had only time to ejaculate the words, ‘Here’s ajolly go!’ and to disappear sniggering.1869.Mrs. H. Wood,Roland Yorke, ch. xli. ‘I am about to try what a month or two’s absence will do for me.’ ‘And leave us to old Brown?—thatwillbe anice go!’1876.George Eliot,Daniel Deronda, ch. vii. Arum goas ever I saw.1880.G. R. Sims,Three Brass Balls, pledge xvi. He … exclaimed, ‘Well, I’m dashed if this isn’t arum go!’1883.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 55. A prettyrum goif squire aint to talk for Doctor Livesey.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 305. ‘It was anear go,’ said Jack.3. (common).—The fashion;the cheese(q.v.); the correct thing. Generally in the phraseall the go.[160]1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. He is quite thego, he is quite varment, he is prime, he is bang up.1821.Egan,Tom and Jerry[ed. 1891], p. 35. Tom was thegoamong thegoes.1835.Haliburton(‘Sam Slick’),The Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xiv. Whatever is thegoin Europe will soon be the cheese here.1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, I., 251. It was rather thegoWith Pilgrims and Saints in the Second Crusade.1846.Punch, vol. X., p. 163. From lowly Queen’s quadrangle, Where muffins are thego.1880.G. R. Sims,Ballads of Babylon(Beauty and Beast). And all day long there’s a big crowd stops To look at the lady who’sall the go.4. (colloquial).—Life; spirit; energy; enterprise; impetus:e.g.,plenty of go= full of spirit and dash. Fr.:avoir du chien.1825.The English Spy, i., 178. She’s only fit to carry a dean or a bishop. Nogoin her.1865.Macdonald,Alec Forbes of How-glen, II., 269. All night Tibbie Dyster had lain awake in her lonely cottage, listening to the quiet heavygoof the water.1882.Daily Telegraph, 9 Oct. Mr. Grossmith’s music is bright and tripping, full of humour andgo, as, under such circumstances, music should be!1883.Illustrated London News, 10 March, p. 242, c. 3. There was any amount of dash andgoin their rowing.1887.Paton,Down the Islands. Barbadian may therefore be said to mean a man withgoand grit, energy andvim.1889.Sportsman, 19 Jan. It all lent a certain zest andgoto the proceedings.1890.Pall Mall Gaz., 21 Feb., p. 7, c. 1. There was so much heartiness andgo(so to speak) in the work that it reminded me of what I had read about peasant proprietors labouring in Switzerland and elsewhere under a Home Rule Government.5. (colloquial).—A turn; an attempt; a chance.Cf.,No go.To have a go at,verb. phr.= to make essay of anything: as a man in a fight, a shot at billiards, and (specifically) a woman.1836.C. Dickens,Pickwick Papers(about 1827), p. 377 (ed. 1857). Wot do you think o’ that for ago?1877.Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. III., p. 221. I’ve twelve thisgo. I did a lagging of seven, and was at the Gib. three out of it.1878.Jas. Payn,By Proxy, ch. iii. ‘I would practise that in the seclusion of my own apartments,’ observed Pennicuick; ‘and after a fewgoesat it, I’ll bet a guinea I’d shake the right stick out first.’1888.Haggard,Mr. Meeson’s Will, ch. x. You have had sevengoesand I have only had six.6. (American).—A success.To make a go of it= to bring things to a satisfactory termination.1888.Harper’s Mag., vol. LXXVII., p. 689. Determination to make the venture ago.7. (gaming). The last card at cribbage, or the last piece at dominoes. When a player is unable to follow the lead, he calls ago!8. (old.)—Adandy(q.v.for synonyms); a very heavy swell indeed, one in the extreme of fashion.1821.Egan,Tom and Jerry[people’s ed.], p. 35. In the parks, Tom wasthe goamong thegoes.Verb(American political).—1. To vote; to be in favour of.Cf.,Go for.2. (colloquial).—To succeed; to achieve.Cf.,Go down.1866.Public Opinion, 13 Jan., p. 51, c. 1. His London-street railway scheme didn’tgo.[161]1870.H. D. Traill, ‘On the Watch.’Sat. Songs, p. 22. Eh, waddyer say? Don’t itgo? Ho, yes! my right honnerble friend. It’sgoandgoover the left, it’sgowith a hook at the end.3. (colloquial).—To wager; to risk. Hence to stand treat; to afford.1768.Goldsmith,Good Natured Man, Act iii. Men that wouldgoforty guineas on a game of cribbage.1876.Besant and Rice,Golden Butterfly, Prologue ii. The very dice on the counter with which the bar-keeper used togothe miners for drinks.1877.S. L. Clemens(M. Twain),Life on the Mississippi, ch. xliii., p. 390. There’s one thing in this world which a person won’t take in pine if he cangowalnut; and won’t take in walnut if he cangomahogany.… That’s a coffin.c.1882.Comic Song, ‘The West End Boys,’ verse 3. Another bitter I really can’tgo.1887.World, 20 Apr., p. 8. While making up his mind, apparently whether he wouldgo‘three’ or ‘Nap.’4. (racing).—To ride to hounds.1884.Hawley Smart,From Post to Finish, p. 219. There would be far too many there who had seen Gerald Rockinghamgowith the York and Ainstey not to at once know that he and Jim Forrest were identical.5. (colloquial).—To be pregnant.1561–1626.Bacon, (quoted by Dr. Johnson). Womengocommonly nine months, the cow and ewe about six months.1601.Shakspeare,Henry VIII., iv., 1. Great bellied women that had not half a week togo.Go down,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To be accepted, received, or swallowed; towash(q.v.).1609.Dekker,Lanthorne and Candle-Light, in wks. (Grosart), III., 272. For the woorst hors-flesh (so it be cheape) does bestgoe downewith him.1659.Massinger,City Madam, i., 1. But now I fear it will be spent in poultry; Butcher’s-meat will notgo down.1663.Pepys,Diary, 9 Nov. The present clergy will never heartilygo downwith the generality of the commons of England.1742.Fielding,Joseph Andrews, bk. II., ch. xvii. ‘O ho! you are a pretty traveller,’ cries the host, ‘and not know the Levant! … you must not talk of these things with me, you must not tip us the traveller—it won’tgohere.’1748.Smollett,Rod. Random, ch. xxi. He … shook his head, and beginning with his usual exclamation said, ‘That won’tgo downwith me.’1885.W. E. Norris,Adrian Vidal, ch. vii. In fashion or out of fashion, they always pay and alwaysgo downwith the public.2. (University).—To be under discipline; to be rusticated.1863.H. Kingsley,Austin Elliot, i., 179. How dare you say ‘deuce’in my presence? You cango down, my Lord.3. (common).—To become bankrupt. Also,to go under.1892.R. L. StevensonandL. Osbourne,The Wrecker, p. 19. Some one had certainlygone down.To go due north,verb. phr.(obsolete).—To go bankrupt. [That is, to go to White-cross Street Prison, once situate in north London].SeeQuisby.To go on the dub,verb. phr.(old).—To go house-breaking; to pick locks.SeeDub.1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew. Going upon thedub,c.Breaking a House with picklocks.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.To go to the dogs,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To go to ruin. [Cf., the Dutch proverb ‘Toe goê, toe de dogs’ = money gone, credit gone too.]SeeDemnition bow-wows.1857.A. Trollope,Three Clerks, ch. i. The service, he said, wouldgo to the dogs, and might do for anything he cared and he did not mindhowsoon.[162]1863.H. Kingsley,Austin Elliot, 1, 179. ‘Got a second!—bah! The University is going to the ‘——’ Deuce!’ suggested Lord Charles, who was afraid of something worse. ‘Dogs, Sir,dogs!’c.1879.Broadside Ballad, ‘Old Clo’.’ My line of business is played out, it’sgoing to the dogs.To go off on the ear,verb. phr.(American).—To get angry; to fly into a tantrum.SeeNab the rust.To go for,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To attempt; to tackle; to resolve upon; tomake for(q.v.).1871.John Hay,Jim Bludso. He see’d his duty, a dead-sure thing—And hewent forit thar and then.1890.Athenæum, 22 Mar., p. 366, c. 1. The authors have spared neither their creatures nor the reader one iota; whenever an unpleasant effect was obtainable, they straightway seem to havegone forit with unflinching zest.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 221. Some men hadgone forhalf a dozen, others for two or three, and very few for a single.1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 118. We are strong, my boy, strong now, and aregoing in forthe slugging of books also, as well as the immorality of trade.2. (colloquial).—To attack with violence and directness, whether manually or with the tongue.
2. (colloquial).—A mistress; amash(q.v.).
3.In. pl.(venery).—The sex—or that part of it which is given to unchastity—in general; hencethe girls= lechery.
After the girls.He’s been after the girls,verb. phr.(common).—Said of one with clap or pox.
Girl and Boy,subs. phr.(rhyming). A saveloy.
Girlery,subs.(colloquial).—A brothel. Also a theatre for burlesque and comic opera.
Girl-getter,subs.(colloquial).—A mincing, womanish male.
Girling.To go Girling,verb. phr.(venery).—To quest for women; to go on theloose(q.v.).
Girlometer,subs.(venery).—Thepenis. Also,Girl-catcher. For synonyms,seeCreamstickandPrick.
Girl-shop,subs. phr.(common).—A brothel.
Girl-show,subs. phr.(common).—A ballet, a burlesque, aleg-piece(q.v.).
Girl Street.InHair Court,Girl Street,subs. phr.(common).—Generic for fornication. Also the femalepudendum.
Girl-trap,subs. phr.(common).—A seducer; amutton-monger(q.v.).
Git!(orYou Git!),intj.(American).—Be off with you! An injunction to immediate departure;walker!(q.v.). Sometimes a contraction ofget out!Alsoget out and dust!
1851.Seaworthy,Bertie, p. 78. Thrue as the tin commandhers!Git aout!
To have no git up and git,phr.(American).—To be weak, vain, mean, or slow—generally deprecatory.
Give,verb.(vulgar).—1. To lead to; to conduct; to open upon:e.g., ‘The doorgaveupon the street.’Cf.the idiomatic use, in French, ofdonner.
2. (American).—An all-round auxiliary to active verbs:e.g.,to give on praying= to excel at prayer;to give on the make= to be clever at making money, etc.
To give it to,verb. phr.(old).—1. To rob; to defraud.—Grose.
2. (common).—To scold; to thrash. Alsoto give what for;to give it hot;to give something for oneself;to give one in the eye, etc.[150]Fr.,aller en donner. For synonyms,seeWigandTanrespectively.
1612.Chapman,Widow’s Tears, Act i., p. 312 (Plays, 1874). This braving wooer hath the success expected; the favour I obtained made me witness to the sport, and let his confidence be sure, I’llgive it himhome.
1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, p. 134. ‘Take that,’ exclaimed Mr. Samuel Wilkins.… ‘Give it him,’ said the waistcoat.… Miss J’mima Ivins’s beau and the friend’s young man lay gasping on the gravel, and the waistcoat and whiskers were seen no more.
1889.J. M. BarrieinTime, Aug. p. 148. When he said he would tell everybody in the street about there being a baby, Igave him one in the eye.Ibid.If it’s true what Symons Tertius says, that Cocky has gone and stolen my reminiscences about Albert’s curls, putting it into his reminiscences like as if it was his own, I’llgive him it hot.
To give in(orout),verb. phr.(colloquial).—To admit defeat; to yield; to be exhausted;to throw up the sponge.SeeFlooredandCave in.
1748.Smollett,Rod. Random, ch. xviii. Strap, after having received three falls on the hard stones,gave out, and allowed the blacksmith to be the better man.
1760–1.Smollett,L. Greaves, vol. II., ch. viii. By this time the doctor hadgiven out, and allowed the brewer to be the better man.
1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 25. Poor Georgygave in.
1837.Lytton,Ernest Maltravers, bk. IV., ch. ix. Your time is up … you have had your swing, and a long one it seems to have been—you must nowgive in.
1847.Robb,Squatter Life, p. 99. Jest about then both on our pussesgin out.
1850.Buffum,Six Months in the Gold Mines, p. 73. After working three days with the machine, the earth we had been washing began togive out.
1852.Dickens,Bleak House, ch. xxiv., p. 217. I am surprised to hear a man of your energy talk ofgiving in.
To give away,verb. phr.(American).—To betray or expose inadvertently;to blow upon(q.v.):to peach(q.v.for synonyms). Alsoto give dead away. Largely used in combination:e.g.,give-away= an exposure;give-away cue= an underhand revelation of secrets.
1883.F. M. Crawford,Doctor Claudius, ch. vi., p. 100. It always amused him toseesanguine people angry. They looked so uncomfortable, andgave themselves awayso recklessly.
1886.A. Lang,Longman’s Mag., VII., 321. I know not whether the American phrase, togive a person away, togive yourself away, meaning to reveal your own or another’s secret, is of provincial English origin. Did it cross over with the Pilgrim Fathers in theMay Flower, or is it a recent bit of slang? ‘Whogiveth this woman away?’ asked the rural American parson in the wedding service. ‘Icould,’came the voice of a young man from the gallery, ‘but I’d never be so mean.’
1888.Detroit Free Press, Aug. Careful what we say, for it willgive us dead away.
1889.Answers, 20 Apr., p. 326. My closely cropped hair, however,gave me away.
1892.R. L. StevensonandL. Osbourne,The Wrecker, p. 195. For the sake of the joke I’llgive myself away.
To give one best,verb. phr.(schoolboys’).—1. To acknowledge one’s inferiority, a defeat. Also (thieves’) to leave,to cut(q.v.).
1887.Horsley,Jottings from Jail. But after a time Igave him best(left him), because he used to want to bite my ear (borrow) too often.
To give the collar,verb. phr.(American).—To seize; to arrest;to collar(q.v.). For synonyms,seeNab.
To give the bullet(sack,bag,kick-out,pike,road, etc.),verb. phr.(common).—To discharge from an employ.[151]
Give us a rest!phr.(American).—Cease talking! An injunction upon a bore.
To give nature a fillip,verb. phr.(old).—To indulge in wine or women.—B. E.(1690).
To give way,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To permit the sexual embrace: by women only.
1870.Weekly Times, 1 May. She was sorry to say, shegave wayto him. (Laughter.) Mr. Maude remarked she was a foolish woman, and, being a widow, ought to have known whatgiving waywould come to.—Complainant said of course she did, but she thought he meant to marry her.
[Other combinations will be found under the following:auctioneer;back cap;bag;bail;baste;beans;beef;biff;black eye;bone;bucket;bullet;bull’s feather;clinch;double;fig;gas;go by;gravy;hoist;hot beef;jesse;kennedy;key of the street;land;leg up;lip;miller;mitten;mouth;needle;office;points;pussy;rub of the thumb;sack;sky-high;slip;tail;taste of cream;turnips;weight;white alley;word.]
Giver,subs.(pugilistic).—A good boxer; an artist inpunishment(q.v.).
1824.Reynolds, (‘Peter Corcoran’),The Fancy, p. 73. She knew a smart blow from a handsomegiverWould darken lights.
Gixie,subs.(obsolete).—A wanton wench; a strumpet; an affected mincing woman.
1598.Florio,Worlde of Wordes.Faina, a mincing, coie, nice, puling, squeamish woman, an idle huswife, a flurt, agixgi. Also asFoina[i.e., ‘a pole-cat’; whileFoirare= ‘to lust for beastly leacherie, to be salt as a bitch.’]
1611.Cotgrave,Dictionarie, s.v.Gadrouillette, a minx, gigle, flirt, calletgixie: (a fained word applyable to any such cattell). [Seefurther,gadriller(a wench) = ‘to rump or play the rig’].
Gizzard,to fret one’s gizzard,verb. phr.(common).—To worry oneself.SeeFret.
To stick in one’s gizzard,verb.phr.(common).—To remain as something unpleasant, distasteful or offensive; to be hard of digestion; to be disagreeable or unpalatable.
c.1830.Finish of Tom and Jerry, p. 241. It had alwaysstuck in his gizzardto think as how he had been werry cruelly used.
To grumble in the gizzard,verb. phr.(common).—To be secretly displeased. Hence,grumble-gizzard(q.v.).
Gladstone,subs.(common)—1. Cheap claret. [Mr. Gladstone, when in office in 1869, reduced the duty on French wines.]SeeDrinks.
1876.BesantandRice,Golden Butterfly, ch. ix. Claret certainly good, too—none of yourGladstonetap; sherry probably rather coarse.
1885.A. Birrell,Obiter Dicta, p. 86. To make him unbosom himself over a bottle ofGladstoneclaret in a tavern in Leicester Square.
2.(colloquial).—A travelling bag. [So named in honour of Mr. Gladstone.]
Gladstonize,verb.(colloquial).—To talk about and round; to evade or prevaricate; to speak much and mean nothing.
Glanthorne,subs.(old).—Money. For synonyms,seeActualandGilt.
1789.Parker,Life’s Painter, p. 42. Drop theglanthorne= part with money.[152]
Glasgow Greys,subs. phr.(military).—The 70th Foot. [Which in the beginning was largely recruited in Glasgow.]
1886.Tinsley’s Mag., Apr., p. 321. The 70th were long known as theGlasgow Greys.
Glasgow Magistrate,subs. phr.(common).—A herring, fresh or salted, of the finest. [From the practice of sending samples to the Baillie of the River for approval.] AlsoGlasgow Baillie.
1855.Strang,Glasgow and its City Clubs.This club … better known by the title of the Tinkler’s club, particularly when the brotherhood changed the hour of meeting … and when the steak was exchanged for a ‘Welsh rabbit’ orGlasgow magistrate.
English Synonyms.(for herrings generally).—Atlantic ranger; Californian; Cornish duck; Digby chicken; Dunbar wether; gendarme; Gourock ham; magistrate; pheasant (or Billingsgate pheasant); reds; sea-rover; soldier; Taunton turkey; two-eye’d steak; Yarmouth capon. Fr.:gendarme.
Glass,subs.(American thieves’).—An hour. [An abbreviation of ‘hour-glass.’]
1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v. The badger piped his Moll about aglassand a half before she cribbed the flat.
There’s a deal of glass about,phr.(common).—1. Applied to vulgar display = ‘It’s the thing’ (q.v.).
2. (common).—Said in answer to an achievement in assertion. A memory of the proverb, ‘People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.’
Who’s to pay for the broken glass?verb. phr.(colloquial).—SeeStand the Racket.
Been looking through a glass,adv. phr.(common).—Drunk. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.
Glass-eyes,subs.(old).—A man wearing spectacles;four-eyes(q.v.);gig-lamps(q.v.).
1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Glass-house.To live in a glass house,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To lay oneself open to attack or adverse criticism.
Glass-work,subs.(card-sharpers’).—An obsolete method of cheating at cards. A convex mirror the size of a small coin was fastened with shellac to the lower corner of the left palm opposite the thumb, enabling the dealer to ascertain by reflection the value of the cards he dealt.
Glaze,subs.(old),—A window.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Glaze, a Window.
1754.Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 43. Undub the Jeger and jump theglaze.
1857.Snowden,Mag. Assistant(3rd ed.), p. 445. A window,glaze.
c.1830.Finish to Tom and Jerry[1872], p. 82. A random shot milling theglaze.
Verb(old).—To cheat at cards.Seequot. andGlass-work.
1821.P. Egan,Real Life, I., 297. If you take the broads in hand in their company, you are sure to be work’d, either byglazing, that is, putting you in front of a looking glass, by which means your hand is discovered by your antagonist, or by private signals from the pal.[153]
To mill(orstar a glaze),verb. phr.(old).—To break a window.
1823.Moncrieff,Tom and Jerry, iii., 2.Jerry.What are you about, Tom?Tom.I’m going tomill the glaze—I’ll——(Is about to break the glass, when Kate and Sue appear as the Miss Trifles.).
1823.Jon Bee,Dict. of the Turf.Glaze, s.v.,to mill the glaze, the miller may adopt a stick or otherwise, as seems most convenient.
On the glaze,adv. phr.(thieves’).—Robbing jewellers’ shops by smashing the windows.SeeGlazier.
1724–34.C. Johnson,Highwaymen and Pyrates, q.v.
1889.Ally Sloper, 4 May. Getting a reprieve he went to Dublinon the glaze.
Glazier,subs.,in. pl.(old).—1. The eyes. For synonyms,seeGlims.Fr.:les ardents.
1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 64.Glasyers, eyes.
1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Glasiers, eyes.
1611.MiddletonandDekker,Roaring Girl, v., 1. Theseglasiersof mine, mine eyes.
1656.Brome,Jovial Crew, ii. You’re out with yourglaziers.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. The cove has rumglaziers,c.that Rogue has excellent Eyes, or an Eye like a Cat.
1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict.Glaziers,c.eyes.
1725.New Canting Dict.‘Song.’ Herglaziers, too, are quite benighted.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongues.v.
2. (old).—A window thief.Cf.,Glaze.
1725.New Cant. Dict.Song‘The Twenty Craftsmen.’… Aglazierwho when he creeps in, To pinch all the lurry he thinks it no sin.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Gleaner,subs.(old).—A thief.Cf.,Hooker,Angler, etc. For synonyms,seeThieves.
Glib,subs.(common).—1. The tongue.Slacken your glib= loose your tongue. For synonyms,seeClack.
2. (old).—A ribbon.
1754.Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 42. A lobb full ofglibbs, a box full of ribbons.
Adj.(old, now recognised).—Smooth; slippery; voluble;glib-tonguedorglib-gabbit(cf.,Gab) = talkative; ready of speech.
1605.Shakspeare,Lear, Act i., Sc. 1. I want thatgliband oily art, To speak and purpose not.
1659.Torriano,Vocabolario, s.v.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. Smooth, without a Rub.Glib-tongued.Voluble or Nimble-tongued.
1890.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 31 Jan. The rest who were soglibwith their promises.
Glibe,subs.(American thieves’).—Writing; specifically, a written statement.
Glim(orGlym),subs.(old).—1. A candle, or dark lanthorn; a fire or light of any kind.To douse the glim= to put out the light. Fr.:estourbir la cabande. Also short forGlimmerorGlymmar(q.v.).
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. A Dark Lanthorn used in Robbing Houses; also to burn in the Hand.
1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Glim, a Candle.
1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict.Glim, s.v. A candle or light.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue. Bring bess andglym;i.e., bring the instrument to force the door, and the dark lanthorn.
1823.Moncrieff,Tom and Jerry, ii., 2.Tom.Then catch—here’s the gentlemen’s tooth-picker, and here’s hisglim.(Throws stick and lanthorn to Jerry.)[154]
1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. III., ch. 5. Every star itsglimat hiding.
1837.Dickens,Oliver Twist, ch. 16. Let’s have aglim… or we shall go breaking our necks.
1837.Lytton,Ernest Maltravers, Bk. I., ch. 10. ‘Hush, Jack!’ whispered one; ‘hang out theglimand let’s look about us.’
1852.Judson,Myst., etc., of New York, ch. iv. Old Jack bade Harriet trim theglim.
1883.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 89. Sure enough, they left theirglimhere.
1884.HenleyandStevenson,Admiral Guinea, ii., 6. Now here is my littleglim; it aint for me because I’m blind.
2. (old).—A sham account of a fire as sold byflying stationers(q.v.).
1851–61.Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 233. His papers certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to’.… Loss by fire is aglim.
3.in. pl.(common).—The eyes.
EnglishSynonyms.—Blinkers; daylights; deadlights; glaziers; lights; lamps; ogles; optics;orbs; peepers; sees; squinters; toplights; windows; winkers.
FrenchSynonyms.—Les quinquets(popular = bright eyes, Vidocq);les mirettes(popular and thieves’; Italian:mira= sight);les reluits(thieves’: alsodaymans—orlightmans[q.v.]);les calots(thieves’ = marbles);les châssesorles châssis(popular = hunters’);les lampions(thieves’ =lamps(q.v.); Italian:lanternaandlampante);les apics(thieves’);les ardents(thieves’ = piercers);les œillets(popular = eyelets);les lanternes de cabriolet(popular = giglamps);les clignots(popular = winkers);les carreaux(thieves’ = windows);les clairs(thieves’ = shiners);les coquards(thieves’).
Italian Synonyms.—Lanterna(= a lamp);calchi;balchi;brunotti(= brownies);lampante.
Spanish Synonyms.—Fanal(= lantern);lanterna(=idem);visantes(vulgar);vistosos(vulgar).
German Synonyms.—Dierling(fromstieren= to stare);Linzer;Scheinling(fromSchein=daylights(q.v.)).
1824.P. Egan,Boxiana, iv., 417. HisglimsI’ve made look like a couple of rainbows.
1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, p. 47 [ed. 1854]. Queer myglims, if that ben’t little Paul!
1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, II., 339. Harold escaped with the loss of aglim.
1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 56. A pooty gal, gentle, or simple, as carn’t use herglimsis a flat.
4.in. pl.(common).—A pair of spectacles. For synonyms,seeBarnacles.
5. (common).—Gonorrhœa orclap(q.v.). [From sense 1 = fire.]
Verb(old).—To brand or burn in the hand.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v. As the cull wasGlimm’d, he gangs to the Nubb,c., if the Fellow has been Burnt in the Hand, he’ll be Hang’d now.
1714.Memoirs of John Hall, p. 15. Profligate women areglimm’dfor that villany, for which, rather than leave it, they could freely die martyrs.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
To puff the glims,verb. phr.(veterinary).—To fill the hollow over the eyes of old[155]horses by pricking the skin and blowing air into the loose tissues underneath, thus giving the full effect of youth.
Glim-fenders,subs.(old).—1. Andirons, or fire-dogs.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimfenders, c. Andirons.Rum Glimfenders, Silver Andirons.
1728.Bailey,Eng. Dict.s.v.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (old).—Handcuffs. [A pun on sense 1.]
1823.Jon Bee,Dict. of the Turf,s.v.
1848.Duncombe,Sinks of London, s.v.
Glimflashly(orGlim-flashey),adj.(old).—Angry.SeeNab the RustandHair.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimflashly,c., Angry, or in a Passion. The Cull isGlimflashly,c.the Fellow is in a Heat.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. xxxi. No, Captain, don’t beglim-flashey! You have not heard all yet.
Glim-jack,subs.(old).—A link boy; amoon-curser(q.v.); but, in any sense, a thief.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glim-lurk,subs.(tramps’).—A beggars’ petition, based on a fictitious fire orglim(sense 2).
1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 233. The patterer becomes a ‘lurker,’—that is, an imposter; his papers certify any and every ‘ill that flesh is heir to.’ Shipwreck is called ashake-lurk; loss by fire is aglim.
Glimmer(orGlymmar),subs.(old).—Fire.Seequot.
1567.Harman,Caveat. TheseDemaunders for Glymmarbe for the moste parte wemen.
1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-all, p. 38. (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Glymmer, Fire.
1671.R. Head,English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 49 (1874).Glymmer, Fire.
1724.E. Coles,Eng. Dict., s.v.
1725.New Canting Dict., Song, ‘The Maunder’s Praise of his Strowling Mort.’ Doxy, Oh! thy Glaziers shine, AsGlymmarby the Solomon.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glimmerer,subs.(old).—A beggar working with a petition giving out that he is ruined by fire. Alsoglimmering mort= a femaleglimmerer.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant.Crew, s.v.Glimmerer,c., the Twenty-second Rank of the Canting Tribe, begging with Sham Licences, pretending to Losses by Fire, etc.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glimstick,subs.(old).—A candlestick. [Fromglim= a light + stick.] Fr.:une occasion.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew, s.v.Glimstick,c., a Candlestick.Rum Glimsticks,c., Silver Candlesticks.Queer Glimsticks,c., Brass, Pewter, or Iron Candlesticks.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glister,subs. phr.(thieves’).—Seequot.,glister of fish-hooks.
1889.ClarksonandRichardson,Police, p. 321. A glass of Irish whiskey … aglister of fish-hooks.
Glistner,subs.(old).—A sovereign. For synonyms,seeCanary.[156]
Gloak(orGloach),subs.(old).—A man. For synonyms,seeChumandCove.
1821.D. Haggart,Life, Glossary, pp. 48 and 172.Gloach, a man; cove.
Globe,subs.(old).—1. A pewter pot; pewter.
1714.Memoirs of John Hall, s.v.
1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
2.in. pl.(common).—The paps. For synonyms,seeDairy.
Globe-rangers,subs.(nautical).—The Royal Marines.
Globe-trotter,subs.(colloquial).—A traveller; primarily one who races from place to place, with the object of covering ground or making a record. Fr.:un pacquelineur.
1886.Graphic, 7 Aug., 147/1. Your mere idle gapingglobetrotterwill spin endless pages of unobservant twaddle, and will record his tedious wanderings with most painful minuteness.
1888.Academy, 17 Mar. The inevitable steamboat, the world, and the omnivorousglobe-trotter.
1889.Echo, 9 Feb. The Britishglobe-trotterknows Japan as he knows England, and English books about Japan are turned out by the ton.
1890.Pall Mall Gaz., 27 Jan., p. 5, c. 2. This popular definition of a quick-mover has now become effete. Miss Bly is aglobe-galloperor she is nothing.
Globe-trotting,subs.(colloquial).—Travelling after the manner ofglobe-trotters(q.v.).
1888.Academy, 22 Sept. In fact,globe-trotting, as the Americans somewhat irreverently term it, is now frequently undertaken as a mere holiday trip.
Glope,verb.(Winchester College).—To spit. (Obsolete).
Glorious,adj.(common).—Excited with drink; ‘in one’s altitudes’;boozed. For synonyms,seedrinksandscrewed.
1791.Burns,Tam o’ Shanter. Kings may be blessed, but Tam wasglorious, O’er a’ the ills of life victorious.
1853.Thackeray,Barry Lyndon, ch. xviii., p. 252. I knew nothing of the vow, or indeed of the tipsy frolic which was the occasion of it; I was taken upglorious, as the phrase is, by my servants, and put to bed.
1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 9 Feb. But as they all began to getglorious, personalities became more frequent and very much stronger.
Glorious Sinner,subs. phr.(rhyming).—A dinner.
Glory,subs.(common).—The after life;kingdom come(q.v.). Usually,the coming glory.
1841.Punch, 17 July, p. 2. Clara pines in secret—Hops the twig, and goes togloryin white muslin.
In one’s glory,adv. phr.(colloquial).—In the full flush of vanity, pride, taste, notion, or idiosyncracy.
Gloves,to go for the gloves,verb. phr.(racing).—To bet recklessly; to bet against a horse without having the wherewithal to pay if one loses—the last resource of the plunging turfite. The term is derived from the well-known habit of ladies to bet in pairs of gloves, expecting to be paid if they win, but not to be called upon to pay if they lose.
1877.Hawley Smart,Play or Pay, ch. xi. One of the boldest plungers of the day, who had begun badly, wasgoing for the glovesupon this match.[157]
1886.Badminton Library, ‘Racing,’ p. 255. Hardly worth mentioning are the backers who come in for a hit-or-miss dash at the ring—to go for the gloves, as it is called in ring parlance.
1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 3 Apr. Although we frequently read in stories of the hero backing the right horse at a long price, and so getting out of sundry monetary difficulties, we rarely find the idea realised in practice. Many a bookmaker hasgone for the gloves.
Glow,adj.(tailors’).—Ashamed.
Glue,subs.(common).—1. Thick soup. (Because it sticks to the ribs.)
English Synonyms.—Deferred stock; belly-gum; giblets-twist; gut-concrete; rib-tickler; stick-in-the-ribs.
French Synonyms.—La menêtre(thieves’);la lavasse(= a mess of pot liquor);la laffe(thieves’);la jaffe(popular);l’ordinaire(popular: soup and boiled beef at an ordinary);le fond d’estomac(= thick soup);la mousse;la mouillante(= the moistener).
German Synonyms.—Jauche; Polifke.
2. (common).—Gonorrhœa.
Glue-pot,subs.(common).—A parson. [Because he joins in wedlock.] For synonyms,seeDevil-dodgerandSky-pilot.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Glum,adj.(old: now recognised).—Sullen; down in the mouth; stern. Fr.:faire son nez= to look glum; also,n’en pas mener large.
1712.Arbuthnot,Hist. of John Bull, pt. IV., ch. vii. Nic. looked sour andglum, and would not open his mouth.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
17(?).Broadside Ballad, ‘Sam Hall, The parson he will come, And he’ll look so bloodyglum.’
1816.Johnson,Dict. of the English Language.Glum, s.v., a low cant word formed by corrupting ‘gloom.’
1847.Thackeray,Vanity Fair, ii., ch. vi. ‘I wonder whether Lady Southdown will go away; she looked veryglumupon Mrs. Rawdon,’ the other said.
1888.Referee, 21 Oct. Who found him lookingglumand gray, And thought his accent gruff and foreign.
1892.A. W. Pinero,The Times, v., i. What are you soglumabout.
Glump,verb.(provincial).—To sulk. Henceglumpy,glumping, andglumpish= sullen or stubborn.
1787.Grose,Prov. Glossary.Glumping, sullen, or sour looking. Exm.
1835.Th. Hook,Gilbert Gurney. He wasglumpyenough when I called.
1860.G. Eliot,Mill on the Floss, Bk. VI., ch. iv. ‘An’it worrets me as Mr. Tom ’ull sit by himself soglumpish, a-knittin’ his brow, an’ a lookin’ at the fire of a night.’
Glutman,subs.(old).—See quot.
1797.Police of the Metropolis, p. 64. An inferior officer of the Customs, and particularly one of that class of supernumerary tide waiters, who are employed temporarily when there is a press or hurry of business. Theseglutmenare generally composed of persons who are without employment, and, being also without character, recommend themselves principally from the circumstance of being able to write.
Glutton,subs.(common).—1. A horse which lasts well; astayer(q.v.).
2. (pugilists’).—A pugilist who can take a lot ofpunishment(q.v.).
1819.Moore,Tom Crib, xvi. Thus Theocritus, in hisMilling Match, calls Amycus aglutton, which is well known to be the classical phrase at Moulsey-Hurst for one who, like Amycus, takes a deal of punishment before he is satisfied.[158]
1891.Licensed Vict. Mirror, 30 Jan., p. 6, c. 3. He was known to be an awfully heavy hitter with both hands, a perfectgluttonat taking punishment.
Gnarler,subs.(thieves’).—A watch dog. For synonyms,seeTike.
Gnasp,verb.(old).—To vex. For synonyms,seeRile.
1728.Bailey,English Dict.s.v.
Gnoff.—SeeGonnof.
Gnostic,subs.(colloquial).—A knowing one; adowny cove(q.v.); awhipster(q.v.). [From the Gr.,gnosis= knowledge.]
1819.Moore,Tom Crib, p. 27. Many of the words used by the Canting Beggars in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Masque are still to be heard among thegnosticsof Dyot Street and Tothill Fields.
adj.(colloquial).—Knowing,artful(q.v.).
Gnostically,adv.(colloquial).—Knowingly.
1825.Scott,St. Ronan’s Well, ch. iv. He was tog’dgnosticallyenough.
Go,subs.(common).—1. A drink; specifically a quartern of gin. (Formerly ago-down, butCf., quot. 1811.)
[For other combinationsseeabroad—all fours—aloft—aunt—baby—back on—bad—bail—baldheaded—bath—batter—bedfordshire—beggar’s bush—better—blazes—blind—board—bodkin—bulge—bungay—bury—bust—by-by—call—camp—chump—college—cracked—dead broke—devil—ding—ding-dong—dock—doss—drag—flouch—flue—gamble—glaze—glory—gloves—grain—grass—ground—hairyfordshire—hall—halves—hang—hell—high fly—high toby—hooks—hoop—jericho—jump—kitchen—man—majority—mill—murphy—pace—pieces—pile—pot—queen—raker—range—rope-walk—salt river—shallow—shop—slow—smash—snacks—snooks—spout—star-gazing—sweet violets—top—walker’s bus—west—whole animal—woodbine—woolgathering—wrong.]
English Synonyms.—Bender; caulker; coffin nail; common-sewer; cooler; crack; cry; damp; dandy; dash; dew-hank; dewdrop; dodger; drain; dram; facer; falsh; gargle; gasp; go-down; hair of the dog, etc.; Johnny; lip; liquor up; livener; lotion; lounce; modest quencher; muzzler; nail from one’s coffin; night-cap; nip or nipper; nobbler; old crow; a one, a two, or a three; out; peg; pick-me-up; pony; quencher; reviver; rince; sensation; settler; shift; shove in the mouth; slug; small cheque; smile; snifter; something damp; something short; swig; thimbleful; tiddly; top up; tot; warmer; waxer; wet; whitewash; yard.
French Synonyms.—Un bourgeron(popular = a nip of brandy);un asticot de cercueil(= a coffin-worm, a play onverreandbière);un coup d’arrosoir(popular: a touch of the watering pot);un gargarisme(popular: = agargle[q.v.]);un galopin(= apony[q.v.] of beer);un larme(= a tear);un mistiche(thieves’);un misérable(popular: a glass of spirits costing one sou;une demoiselle= two sous;un monsieur= four sous;un poisson= five sous);un mince de chic(popular: in contempt);une coquille de noix(popular = a thimbleful; a very smallgo; a drain);un jeune homme(familiar = in capacity four litres);un Kolback(popular = a small glass of brandy, or large glass of wine);une flûte(familiar);un extravagant(popular = a long drink);un fil(= a drain);un[159]distingué(popular);une douleur(popular = a comforter orpick-me-up);un ballon(popular).
Italian Synonym.—Schioppa(= a long drink: also a large beer glass).
Spanish Synonyms.—Chisguete(colloquial);enjuagadientes(also = a mouthful of water or wine for rinsing the mouth after eating);espolada(= a long drink).
Portuguese Synonym.—Quebrado(= broken: a small glass).
1690.D’Urfey,Collin’s Walk, canto 4. And many more whose quality Forbids their toping openly, Will privately, on good occasion, Take sixgo-downson reputation.
1793.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Go-shop.… The Queen’s Head in Duke’s Court.
1811.Lexicon Balatronicum.Go-shop, s.v. The Queen’s Head, in Duke’s Court, Bow Street, Covent Garden, frequented by the under players, where gin and water was sold in three-halfpenny bowls, calledgoes; the gin was called Arrack.
1823.Jon. Bee,Dict. of the Turf, s.v.
1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, The Streets: Night. Chops, kidneys, rabbits, oysters, stout, cigars, andgoesinnumerable, are served up amidst a noise and confusion of smoking, running, knife-clattering, and waiter-chattering, perfectly indescribable.
1841.Punch, Vol. I., p. 11, c. 1. Waiter, agoof Brett’s best alcohol.
1849.Thackeray,Hoggarty Diamond, ch. ii. Two more chairs, Mary, two more tumblers, two more hot waters, and two moregoesof gin!
1850.Smedley,Frank Fairleigh, p. 54. Drinking alternategoesof gin and water with a dustman for the purpose of insinuating myself into the affections of Miss Cinderella Smut, his interesting sister.
1853.Diogenes, Vol. II., p. 271. Shall I spend it in theatres? shows? In numerous alcoholgoes?
1870.Figaro, 28 May. Their musical performances are evidently inspired bygoesof gin.
1883.Echo, 7 Feb., p. 4, c. 3. Witness asked him what he had been drinking. He replied, ‘Two half-goesof rum hot and a half-pint of beer.’
2. (colloquial).—An incident; an occurrence:e.g., arum go= a strange affair, or queer start; apretty go= a startling business; acapital go= a pleasant business.
1803.Kenney,Raising the Wind, i., 3. Ha! ha! ha! Capitalgo, isn’t it?
1820.Jack Randall’s Diary.Gemmen (says he), you all well know The joy there is whene’er we meet; It’s what I call the primestgo, And rightly named, ’tis—quite a treat.
1835.Dickens,Sketches by Boz, p. 251. A considerable bustle and shuffling of feet was then heard upon the stage, accompanied by whispers of ‘Here’s apretty go!—what’s to be done?’
1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Misadventures at Margate.’ ‘O, Mrs. Jones,’ says I, ‘look here! Ain’t this apretty go!’
1841.Punch, vol. I., p. 162. Stating his conviction that this was rayther arummy go.
1849.Thackeray,Pendennis, ch. lxxiii. Master Frank Clavering … had only time to ejaculate the words, ‘Here’s ajolly go!’ and to disappear sniggering.
1869.Mrs. H. Wood,Roland Yorke, ch. xli. ‘I am about to try what a month or two’s absence will do for me.’ ‘And leave us to old Brown?—thatwillbe anice go!’
1876.George Eliot,Daniel Deronda, ch. vii. Arum goas ever I saw.
1880.G. R. Sims,Three Brass Balls, pledge xvi. He … exclaimed, ‘Well, I’m dashed if this isn’t arum go!’
1883.R. L. Stevenson,Treasure Island, p. 55. A prettyrum goif squire aint to talk for Doctor Livesey.
1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 305. ‘It was anear go,’ said Jack.
3. (common).—The fashion;the cheese(q.v.); the correct thing. Generally in the phraseall the go.[160]
1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. He is quite thego, he is quite varment, he is prime, he is bang up.
1821.Egan,Tom and Jerry[ed. 1891], p. 35. Tom was thegoamong thegoes.
1835.Haliburton(‘Sam Slick’),The Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xiv. Whatever is thegoin Europe will soon be the cheese here.
1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, I., 251. It was rather thegoWith Pilgrims and Saints in the Second Crusade.
1846.Punch, vol. X., p. 163. From lowly Queen’s quadrangle, Where muffins are thego.
1880.G. R. Sims,Ballads of Babylon(Beauty and Beast). And all day long there’s a big crowd stops To look at the lady who’sall the go.
4. (colloquial).—Life; spirit; energy; enterprise; impetus:e.g.,plenty of go= full of spirit and dash. Fr.:avoir du chien.
1825.The English Spy, i., 178. She’s only fit to carry a dean or a bishop. Nogoin her.
1865.Macdonald,Alec Forbes of How-glen, II., 269. All night Tibbie Dyster had lain awake in her lonely cottage, listening to the quiet heavygoof the water.
1882.Daily Telegraph, 9 Oct. Mr. Grossmith’s music is bright and tripping, full of humour andgo, as, under such circumstances, music should be!
1883.Illustrated London News, 10 March, p. 242, c. 3. There was any amount of dash andgoin their rowing.
1887.Paton,Down the Islands. Barbadian may therefore be said to mean a man withgoand grit, energy andvim.
1889.Sportsman, 19 Jan. It all lent a certain zest andgoto the proceedings.
1890.Pall Mall Gaz., 21 Feb., p. 7, c. 1. There was so much heartiness andgo(so to speak) in the work that it reminded me of what I had read about peasant proprietors labouring in Switzerland and elsewhere under a Home Rule Government.
5. (colloquial).—A turn; an attempt; a chance.Cf.,No go.
To have a go at,verb. phr.= to make essay of anything: as a man in a fight, a shot at billiards, and (specifically) a woman.
1836.C. Dickens,Pickwick Papers(about 1827), p. 377 (ed. 1857). Wot do you think o’ that for ago?
1877.Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. III., p. 221. I’ve twelve thisgo. I did a lagging of seven, and was at the Gib. three out of it.
1878.Jas. Payn,By Proxy, ch. iii. ‘I would practise that in the seclusion of my own apartments,’ observed Pennicuick; ‘and after a fewgoesat it, I’ll bet a guinea I’d shake the right stick out first.’
1888.Haggard,Mr. Meeson’s Will, ch. x. You have had sevengoesand I have only had six.
6. (American).—A success.To make a go of it= to bring things to a satisfactory termination.
1888.Harper’s Mag., vol. LXXVII., p. 689. Determination to make the venture ago.
7. (gaming). The last card at cribbage, or the last piece at dominoes. When a player is unable to follow the lead, he calls ago!
8. (old.)—Adandy(q.v.for synonyms); a very heavy swell indeed, one in the extreme of fashion.
1821.Egan,Tom and Jerry[people’s ed.], p. 35. In the parks, Tom wasthe goamong thegoes.
Verb(American political).—1. To vote; to be in favour of.Cf.,Go for.
2. (colloquial).—To succeed; to achieve.Cf.,Go down.
1866.Public Opinion, 13 Jan., p. 51, c. 1. His London-street railway scheme didn’tgo.[161]
1870.H. D. Traill, ‘On the Watch.’Sat. Songs, p. 22. Eh, waddyer say? Don’t itgo? Ho, yes! my right honnerble friend. It’sgoandgoover the left, it’sgowith a hook at the end.
3. (colloquial).—To wager; to risk. Hence to stand treat; to afford.
1768.Goldsmith,Good Natured Man, Act iii. Men that wouldgoforty guineas on a game of cribbage.
1876.Besant and Rice,Golden Butterfly, Prologue ii. The very dice on the counter with which the bar-keeper used togothe miners for drinks.
1877.S. L. Clemens(M. Twain),Life on the Mississippi, ch. xliii., p. 390. There’s one thing in this world which a person won’t take in pine if he cangowalnut; and won’t take in walnut if he cangomahogany.… That’s a coffin.
c.1882.Comic Song, ‘The West End Boys,’ verse 3. Another bitter I really can’tgo.
1887.World, 20 Apr., p. 8. While making up his mind, apparently whether he wouldgo‘three’ or ‘Nap.’
4. (racing).—To ride to hounds.
1884.Hawley Smart,From Post to Finish, p. 219. There would be far too many there who had seen Gerald Rockinghamgowith the York and Ainstey not to at once know that he and Jim Forrest were identical.
5. (colloquial).—To be pregnant.
1561–1626.Bacon, (quoted by Dr. Johnson). Womengocommonly nine months, the cow and ewe about six months.
1601.Shakspeare,Henry VIII., iv., 1. Great bellied women that had not half a week togo.
Go down,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To be accepted, received, or swallowed; towash(q.v.).
1609.Dekker,Lanthorne and Candle-Light, in wks. (Grosart), III., 272. For the woorst hors-flesh (so it be cheape) does bestgoe downewith him.
1659.Massinger,City Madam, i., 1. But now I fear it will be spent in poultry; Butcher’s-meat will notgo down.
1663.Pepys,Diary, 9 Nov. The present clergy will never heartilygo downwith the generality of the commons of England.
1742.Fielding,Joseph Andrews, bk. II., ch. xvii. ‘O ho! you are a pretty traveller,’ cries the host, ‘and not know the Levant! … you must not talk of these things with me, you must not tip us the traveller—it won’tgohere.’
1748.Smollett,Rod. Random, ch. xxi. He … shook his head, and beginning with his usual exclamation said, ‘That won’tgo downwith me.’
1885.W. E. Norris,Adrian Vidal, ch. vii. In fashion or out of fashion, they always pay and alwaysgo downwith the public.
2. (University).—To be under discipline; to be rusticated.
1863.H. Kingsley,Austin Elliot, i., 179. How dare you say ‘deuce’in my presence? You cango down, my Lord.
3. (common).—To become bankrupt. Also,to go under.
1892.R. L. StevensonandL. Osbourne,The Wrecker, p. 19. Some one had certainlygone down.
To go due north,verb. phr.(obsolete).—To go bankrupt. [That is, to go to White-cross Street Prison, once situate in north London].SeeQuisby.
To go on the dub,verb. phr.(old).—To go house-breaking; to pick locks.SeeDub.
1690. B. E.,Dict. of the Cant. Crew. Going upon thedub,c.Breaking a House with picklocks.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
To go to the dogs,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To go to ruin. [Cf., the Dutch proverb ‘Toe goê, toe de dogs’ = money gone, credit gone too.]SeeDemnition bow-wows.
1857.A. Trollope,Three Clerks, ch. i. The service, he said, wouldgo to the dogs, and might do for anything he cared and he did not mindhowsoon.[162]
1863.H. Kingsley,Austin Elliot, 1, 179. ‘Got a second!—bah! The University is going to the ‘——’ Deuce!’ suggested Lord Charles, who was afraid of something worse. ‘Dogs, Sir,dogs!’
c.1879.Broadside Ballad, ‘Old Clo’.’ My line of business is played out, it’sgoing to the dogs.
To go off on the ear,verb. phr.(American).—To get angry; to fly into a tantrum.SeeNab the rust.
To go for,verb. phr.(colloquial).—1. To attempt; to tackle; to resolve upon; tomake for(q.v.).
1871.John Hay,Jim Bludso. He see’d his duty, a dead-sure thing—And hewent forit thar and then.
1890.Athenæum, 22 Mar., p. 366, c. 1. The authors have spared neither their creatures nor the reader one iota; whenever an unpleasant effect was obtainable, they straightway seem to havegone forit with unflinching zest.
1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 221. Some men hadgone forhalf a dozen, others for two or three, and very few for a single.
1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 118. We are strong, my boy, strong now, and aregoing in forthe slugging of books also, as well as the immorality of trade.
2. (colloquial).—To attack with violence and directness, whether manually or with the tongue.