Chapter 24

Hard-mouthed,adj.(colloquial).—Difficult to deal with; wilful; obstinate. Also coarse in speech. [From the stable.]1686.Durfey,Commonw. of Wordes, i., 1. [Speaking of a girl.] I hate your young Wechees, Skitish Colts—they are sohard mouth’d, there’s no dealing with em.1704.Swift,Tale of a Tub, Sect. ix. I myself, the author of these momentous truths, am a person, whose imaginations arehard-mouthed, and exceedingly disposed to run away with his reason.1704.Swift,Operation of the Spirit, Sect. ii., par. 9. The flesh … when it comes to the turn of being bearer, is wonderfully headstrong andhard-mouthed.Hard-neck,subs.(tailors’).—Brazen impudence,monumental cheek(q.v.).[270]Hard-on,adj. phr.(venery).—Prick-proud. For synonyms,seeHorn.Hard-pan,subs. phr.(American).—The lowest point;bed-rock(q.v.).1882.Besant,All Sorts and Conditions of Men, ch. xxi. And as for business, it’s got down to thehard pan, and dollars are skurce.1861.Holmes,Elsie Venner, ch. viii. Mr. Silas Peckham had gone a little deeper than he meant, and came upon thehard pan, as the well-diggers call it, of the Colonel’s character, before he thought of it.1888.Missouri Republican, 2 Mar. Prices were athard pan.To get down to hard-pan,verb. phr.(American).—To buckle to; to get to business.Hard-puncher,subs.(common).—The fur cap of the London rough; formerly worn by men in training; a modification of the Scotch cap with a peak. [From the nickname of a noted pugilist.]Hard-pushed,adv.(colloquial).—In difficulties;hard-up(q.v.).a.1871.Perils of Pearl Street, p. 123. As I said, at the end of six months we began to behard-pushed. Our credit, however, was still fair.Hard Put To,adj. phr.(colloquial).—In a difficulty, monetary or other;e.g., He’d behard put to itto find a sovereign (or a word, or an excuse) = It would take him all his time, etc.Hard-row.SeeRow.Hard-run,adj.(colloquial).—In want of money;hard-up(q.v.)Hard-shell,subs.(American).—A member of an extreme section of Baptists holding very strict and rigid views. [Thesoft-shellsare of more liberal mind.] AlsoHardsandSofts.1848.Jones,Sketches of Travel, p. 30. The oldhard-shelllaid about him likerath.1888.Baltimore Sun.Mr. E., a regular member of thehard-shellBaptist Church.1893.Stevenson,Island Night’s Entertainments, p. 35. He’s ahard-shellBaptist is Papa.2. (political American).—A division of the Democratic Party in 1846–48, when theHunkers(q.v.) received the name ofHards, and their opponents, theBarn-burners(q.v.) that ofSofts.1847.Robb,Squatter Life, p. 91.Hards, softs, whigs and Tylerites were represented.Adj.(American).—Extremely orthodox; unyielding; hidebound.Hard-stuff,subs.(American).—1. Money.2. (Australian).—Intoxicating liquors;seeHard(adj.sense 2). For synonymsseeDrinks.Hard-tack,subs.(nautical).—1. Ship’s biscuits; specifically, ordinary sea-fare asdistinguishedfrom food ashore, orSoft-Tommy(q.v.).1841.Lever,Charles O’Malley, ch. lxxxviii. No morehard-tack, thought I, no salt butter, but a genuine land breakfast.1889.Lippincott, Oct., p. 476. They have feasted on salt horse andhard-tackmany a day; but they know a good thing when they find it.2.(common).—Coarse or insufficient fare.[271]Hard-up,subs.(common).—1. A collector of cigar ends, atopper-hunter. [Which refuse, untwisted and chopped up, is sold to the very poor.] SometimesHard-cut. Fr.,un mégottier.1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 5. The cigar-end finders, orhard-ups, as they are called, who collect the refuse pieces of smoked cigars from the gutters, and having dried them, sell them as tobacco to the very poor.1888.Tit Bits, 24 March, 373. Smokinghard-upis picking up the stumps of cigars thrown away in the streets, cutting them up, and smoking them in the pipe.1891.Morning Advertiser, 26 Mar. A constable on duty on the Embankment early in the morning saw the accused prowling about, and on asking what he was doing, received the reply that he was looking forhard cut.—Mr. Vaughan: Looking for what?—The Prisoner:Hard-cut; dropped cigar-ends.2. (common).—A poor man; astony-broke(q.v.).1857.Ducange Anglicus,Vulg. Tongue.Hard-up, a poor person.Adv. phr.(colloquial).—1. Very badly in want of money; in urgent need of anything. AlsoHard-runandHard-pushed.1809–41.Th. Hook,The Sutherlands. He returned, and beinghard up, as we say, took it into his head to break a shop-window at Liverpool, and take out some trumpery trinket stuff.1821.Haggart,Life, p. 104. There I met in with two Edinburgh snibs, who werehard up.1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Merchant of Venice.’ Who by showing at Operas, Balls, Plays, and Court, … Had shrunk his ‘weak means,’ and was ‘stump’d’ andhard up.1852.Dickens,Bleak House, ch. xi. He … was, not to put too fine a point upon ithard-up.1865.New York Herald.This anxiety … shows conclusively that they arehard-upfor political capital.1871.Lond. Figaro, 25 Jan. For years, England has been a refuge forhard-upGerman princelings.1887.Manville Fenn,This Man’s Wife, i., 13. I don’t lookhard updo I? No, because you’ve spent my money on your wretched dress.1891.Fun, 25 Mar. You’rehard up, ain’t you? Stumped? Well, it’s Threadneedle Street to a frying-pan, that if Popsy knew your real name, he’d lend you a thousand or two like a shot.English Synonyms.—Many underflooredapply equally tohard-up; others are:—At low water mark; cracked up; dead-broke; down on one’s luck; fast; in Queer Street; in the last of pea time; in the last run of shad; low down; low in the lay; oofless; out of favor with the oof-bird; pebble-beached; seedy; short; sold-up; stony-broke; strapped; stuck; stumped; suffering from an attack of the week’s (or month’s) end; tight; on one’s uppers; under a cloud; on one’s beam ends.French Synonyms.—Se mettre dans le bœuf(common = to go in forblock ornaments(q.v.));être en brindezingue(mountebanks = gone to smash);être brouillé avec la monnaie(familiar = to have had a row with one’s banker);être coupé(printers’);être à la côte(familiar = on the shelf);être fauché(thieves’ = cut down);être dans la purée(thieves’);être molle(thieves’);être à la faridon(popular);être en dèche(popular);être désargenté(thieves’ = oofless);être bref(popular = short);être à fond de cale(popular = down to bed-rock);être à la manque(popular = on short commons);manger de la misère(popular = to sup sorrow);être dans le lac(popular = a hole);être pané(general);panné comme la Hollande(general = very hard up).[272]Spanish Synonyms.—Estar peladoorser un pelado(= skinned);tiñoso(= scabby).Italian Synonym.—Calcare a ventun ’ora.2. (common).—Intoxicated. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.3. (Winchester College).—Out of countenance; exhausted (in swimming).Hard-upnessorHard-uppishness,subs.(colloquial).—Poverty; a condition of impoverishment.1876.Hindley,Adventures of a Cheap Jack. There were frequent … collapses from death orhard-upness.1883.Illust. London News, 26 May, p. 519, c. 3. These I O U’s … do not imply, as might be supposed, commonhardupness.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 28. Ike’s knowledge of some of the bookmakers he had met in the old land led him to believe thathard-uppishnesswould scare any knight of the pencil away.Hardware(orHard),subs.(American).—Counterfeit coin.1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.Hardware-bloke,subs.(thieves’).—A native of Birmingham; aBrum(q.v.).Hardy-annual,subs.(Parliamentary).—A bill that is brought in every year, but never passed into law. Hence (journalistic), any stock subject.1892.Pall Mall Gaz., 16 Aug., p. 4, c. 2. Signs of the so called ‘silly season’ which has been somewhat delayed this year owing to the political crisis, are now beginning to appear. The readers of theDaily Telegraphare once more filling the columns of that journal with ‘Is Marriage a Failure?’ Thehardy annualis called ‘English Wives’ this time.Hare,verb.(old).—To dodge; to double; to bewilder.1719.Durfey,Pills, etc., i., 92. Running,haring, gaping, staring.1672.Marvell,Rehearsal,Tr.(Grosart), iii, 372. They amaze, shatter andharetheir people.To hare it,verb. phr.(American thieves’).—To retrace one’s steps; to double back. [From the way of a hare with the hounds.]To make a hare of,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To make ridiculous; to expose the ignorance of any person.1830–32.Carleton,Traits and Stories, ‘The Hedge-School.’ Whata harethatmade ofhim … and did not leave him a leg to stand on!1844.Lever,Tom Burke of Ours, ii., 393. It was Mister Curranmade a hare ofyour Honor that day.To swallow a hare,verb. phr.(old).—To get very drunk. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.1725.New Cant. Dict.Hare, s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.He has swallowed a hare, he is drunk, more probably a hair which requires washing down.1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.To hold with the hare and hunt with the hounds,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To play a double game; to keep on good terms with two conflicting parties.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.To kiss the hare’s foot,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To be late; to be a day after the fair; to kiss the post.[273]Hare-brained(orHair-brained),adj.(old colloquial: now recognised).—Reckless; flighty; impudent; skittish. Also, substantively,hare-brain= a hare-brained person.1534.N. Udal,Roister Doister, I., iv., p. 27 (Arber). Ah foolishhare-braine, This is not she.1592.Nashe,Pierce Penilesse, inWks., ii., 53. Aharebraindlittle Dwarfe it is.1621.Burton,Anat. of Mel., I., III., I., ii., 259 (1836). Yet again, many of them, desperatehare-brains.1622.Bacon,Henry VII.That samehaire-brainewild fellow, my subject.1751.Smollett,Peregrine Pickle, ch. xliii. When the government of a nation depends upon the caprice of the ignorant,hair-brainedvulgar.1870.Chambers’ Miscellany, No. 53, p. 28. The Slater girls are ashare-brainedas herself.Hared,adj.(old).—Hurried.Hare-sleep,subs.(old).—Sham slumber;foxes’ sleep(q.v.).1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hare-sleep, with Eies a’most open.Harking,subs.(old).—Seequots.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Harking, whispering on one side to borrow Money.1725.NewCant. Dict., s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Hark-ye-ing, whispering on one side to borrow money.Harlequin,subs.(theatrical).—1. A sovereign. For synonyms,seeCanary.2. (Winchester College).—The wooden nucleus of a red india-rubber ball.3. (old).—A patchwork quilt.Harlequin China,adj. phr.(old).—Sets composed of several patterns and makes.Harlotry,subs.(old).—A wanton.d.1529.Skelton,Bowge of Courte. He had no pleasure but inharlotrye.1672.Wycherley,Love in a Wood, iv.,i.But O theharlotry, did she make that use of it then.1695.Congreve,Love for Love, iii.,i.O you youngharlotry.1893.T. E. Brown,Old John, p. 205. That speciousharlotryfrom hell’s black bosom spewed.Adj.(old).—Disreputable.1598.Shakspeare,1 Henry IV., ii., 4. Oh rare! he doth it as like one of theseharlotryplayers, as ever I see.Harman-beck(orHarman),subs.(old).—An officer of justice. For synonyms,seeBeakandCopper.1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 66. Theharman-beck, the constable.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-All. With theharman-beakeout and alas to Whittington we goe.1656.Broome,Jovial Crew, ii. Here safe in our skipper let’s cly off our peck, And bowse in defiance o’ th’harman-beck.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Harman-beck, a Beadle.1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Harminbeck, a Constable.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Harman Beck, a beadle (cant).1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. From the watchmen who skip On theHarman Beck’serrand.1828.Lytton,The Disowned. The worst have an awe of theharman’sclaw.1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.Harman Beak.The Sheriff.Harmans,subs.(Old Cant).—The stocks. [The suffix ‘mans’ is common;Cf.,lightmans,darkmans,roughmans, etc.]1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 66. Theharmans, the stockes.1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-All, p. 39 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Harmonsthe stockes.[274]1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12, s.v.1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Harness.In Harness,adj. phr.(colloquial).—In business; at work: as,to die in harness= to die at one’s post;to get back into harness= to resume work after a holiday. [Harnessalso = armour.]1872.Fun, 10 Aug. ‘Over.’ Aye! But the sting of it’s here, Just as I’m backinto harness, Others are off to sea, mountain, and mere.1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 2. My father diedin harness.Harp,interject.(Irish).—Seequot.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Harp…harpis also the Irish expression for ‘woman’ or ‘tail,’ used in tossing up in Ireland, from Hibernia being represented with a harp, on the reverse of the copper coins of that country, for which reason it isin hoisting the copper,i.e., tossing up, sometimes likewise called music.To harp on,verb. phr.(old, now recognised).—To dwell persistently and at any cost upon a subject.1596.Nashe,Have with you to Saffron Walden. As if I had continuallyharped uponit in every tenth line of my book.1596.Shakspeare,Hamlet, ii., 2. Stillharping onmy daughter.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Harp-upona business, to insist on it.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1886.R. L. Stevenson,Kidnapped, p. 291. He was backharping onmy proposal.Harper,subs.(old).—A brass coin current in Ireland,temp.Elizabeth, value one penny. [From the Irish Harp figured upon it.]1574–1637.Ben Jonson,The Gipsies Metamorphosed. A two-pence I had to spend ever and above; besides theharperthat was gathered amongst us to pay the piper.Have among you my blind harpers,phr.(old).—Seequot.1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.Harpers.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Have among you my blind harpers, an expression used in throwing or shooting at random among a crowd.Harridan,subs.(old, now recognised).—Seequots. Also (colloquial) a disagreeable old woman. [A corruption of O. Fr.haridelle= a worn out horse, a jade.]1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Harridan, one that is half Whore, half Bawd.1705–7.Ward,Hudibras Redivivus, vol. II., pt. ii., p. 27. Old Leachers,Harridans, and Cracks.1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Harridan, a hagged old woman, a miserable scraggy worn out harlot, fit to take her bawd’s degree.1815.Scott,Guy Mannering, ch., xxxix. ‘Now what could drive it into the noddle of that oldharridan,’ said Pleydell.1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.Harrington,subs.(old).—A brass farthing. [Lord Harrington obtained a patent of manufacture under James I.]1616.B. Jonson,Devil is an Ass, ii., 1. Yes, sir, it’s cast to penny half-penny farthing, O’ the back side there you may see it, read; I will not bate aHarringtono’ the sum.1632.B. Jonson,Magn. Lady, ii., 6. His wit he cannot so dispose by legacy As they shall be aHarringtonthe better for’t.Harry,subs.(old).—1. A countryman; a clown. For synonyms,seeJoskin.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Harry.A country fellow.2. (colloquial).—See’Arry.[275]Old Harry,subs.(common).—The devil. For synonyms,seeSkipper.1693.Congreve,Old Bachelor, ii., 1. By theLord HarryI’ll stay no longer.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. iv. MayOld Harryfly off with him.1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends(1865), p. 406. Shall I summonOld Harryhimself to this spot?Harry of the West,subs. phr.(political American).—Henry Clay.To play old Harry,verb. phr.(common).—To annoy; to ruin; to play the devil.1889.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 18 Jan. Otherwiseplayed old Harrywith the guardians of the peace.Tom, Dick, and Harry,phr.(common).—Generic for any and everybody; the mob.1886.R. L.Stevenson,Kidnapped, p. 287. He rode from public house to public house and shouted his sorrows intothe lugofTom, Dick, and Harry.What Harry gave Doll,verb. phr.(old venery).—Thepenis: also generic for fornication.Harry-bluff,subs.(rhyming).—Snuff.Harry-common,subs. phr.(old).—A general wencher.1675.Wycherley,Country Wife, v., 4. Well,Harry Common, I hope you can be true to three.Harry-soph,subs.(Cambridge Univ.: obsolete).—Seequots.1795.Gent. Mag., p. 20. AHarry, orerrant Soph, I understand to be either a person, four-and-twenty years of age, and of an infirm state of health, who is permitted to dine with the fellows, and to wear a plain, black, full-sleeved gown: or, else, he is one who, having kept all the terms, by statute required previous to his law-act, ishoc ipso factoentitled to wear the same garment, and, thenceforth, ranks as bachelor, by courtesy.1803.Gradus ad Cantabrigiam.Harry Soph; orHenry Sophister; students who have kept all the terms required for a law act, and hence are ranked as Bachelors of Law by courtesy. They wear a plain, black, full-sleeved gown.Harum-scarum,adj.andsubs.(old colloquial).—1. Giddy; careless; wild; a thoughtless or reckless fellow.1740.Round about our Coal Fire, c. i. Peg would scuttle about to make a toast for John, while Tom runharum scarumto draw a jug of ale for Margery.1780Mad. D’Arblay,Diary, i., 358 [ed. 1842]. He seemed a mighty rattlingharem-scaremgentleman.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Harum Scarum, he was runningharum scarum, said of any one running or walking carelessly and in a hurry, after they know not what.1836.Marryat,Japhet, ch. xcii. I’m not one of thoseharum-scarumsort, who would make up a fight when there’s no occasion for it.1855.Thackeray,Newcomes, ch. v. They had a quarrel with Thomas Newcome’s own son, aharum-scarumlad, who ran away, and then was sent to India.1870.London Figaro, 19 Oct. ‘Within an inch.’ Tom—that’s my son—has worked with me in the mine ever since he was quite a little chap; and aharum-scarumyoung dog he was, when a boy.2. (sporting).—Four horses driven in a line;suicide(q.v.).Has-been,subs.(colloquial Scots’).—Anything antiquated; specifically in commendation: as ‘the good oldhas-beens’;cf.,never was.1891.Sportsman, 1 Apr. Big Joe M’Auliffe proved conclusively that he is one of thehas beensor else one of thenever wasers, as Dan Rice, the circus man, always called ambitious counterfeits.[276]Hash,subs.(colloquial).—1. A mess; specifically in the phrase ‘to make ahashof.’ For synonyms,seeSixes and Sevens.1747.Walpole,Lett. to Mann, 23 Feb.(1833) Vol. II., p. 274. About as like it, as my Lady Pomfret’shashof plural persons and singular verbs or infinitive moods was to Italian.1836.Michael Scott,Cruise of the Midge, p. 115 [Ry. ed.]. Listado never could compass Spanish, because, as he said, he had previously learnt French, and thus spoke ahashof both.1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends. ‘M. of Venice.’ Don’t suppose my affairs are at allin a hash, But the fact is, at present I’m quite out of cash.1843.Punch’s Almanack, July (q.v.).1845.Punch’s Guide to Servants, ‘The Cook,’ Vol. IX., p. 45. He who gives a receipt for making a stew, may himself make a sadhashof it.1886.R. L. Stevenson,Kidnapped, p. 97. Ye’ve made a sorehashof my brig.1889.Sporting Life, 30 Jan. Successfully negotiated the tricky entrance to the stable-yard of the hotel, at which jobIhave been in a mortal funk many a time with poor old Jim beside me, for fear of making ahashof it.1890.Grant Allen,Tents of Shem, ch. xvi. She made ahashof the proper names, to be sure.2. (American cadets’).—Clandestine preparation for supper after hours.3. (colloquial).—A sloven; a blockhead.1785.Burns,Epistle to J. Lapraik. A set o’ dull, conceitedhashes.Verb(colloquial).—1. To spoil; to jumble; to cook up and serve again.1891.Notes and Queries, 7 S. xii., 22 Aug., p. 144. I do not think that Earle, a scholar of a high order and a man of the most keen wit and judgment, would have spoken thus of a thinghashed upby a hard-headed pedant, however able, such as Gauden.2. (American).—To vomit. Also toflash the hash(q.v.). For synonyms,seeAccountsandCat.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.3. (Cheltenham School).—To study hard; toswat(q.v.).To settle one’s hash,verb. phr.(common).—To defeat one’s object; to kill. For synonyms,seeCook one’s Goose.1864.Browning,Dramatis Personæ. ‘Youth and Art.’ You’ve to settle yet Gibson’shash.c.1871.Butler,Nothing to Wear. To use an expression More striking than classic, itsettled my hash.1883.Punch, Nov. 3, p. 208, c. 1. That one stab, with a clasp-knife, whichsettled theyoung Squire’shashin less than two seconds.1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 123. We’ll keep the cops off till yousettle his hash, the rest replied, getting round us.To go back on one’s hash,verb. phr.(American).—To turn; to succumb; toweaken(q.v.).Hash-house,subs.(American).—A cheap eating-house; agrubbingcrib (q.v.).1883.Daily Telegraph, 10 Jan., p. 5, c. 4. There are [in New York] lunch counters, cookshops, ‘penny’ restaurants, fifteen-cent restaurants, commonly calledhash-housesand foreign cafés.Haslar-hag,subs.(nautical).—A nurse at the Haslar Hospital.Cf.,Hag.Hastings.To be none of the Hastings sort,verb. phr.(old colloquial).—To be slow, deliberate, or slothful.1690.b. e.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. You arenone of the Hastings, of him that loses an Opportunity or a Business for want of Dispatch.[277]1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.He is none of the Hastings sort; a saying of a slow, loitering fellow: an allusion to the Hastings pea, which is the first in season.Hasty,adj.(old: now recognised).—Rash; passionate; quick to move.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hasty, very Hot on a sudden.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Hasty G.,subs.(Cambridge Univ.).—Seequot.1883.Daily News, 24 Mar., p. 5, c. 2. Mr. Weller’s ownhasty g.(as Cambridge men say when they mean a ‘hasty generalisation’).Hasty Pudding,subs.(common).—1. A bastard. For synonyms,seeBloody Escape.2. (old).—A muddy road; a quag.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. The way through Wandsworth is quite ahasty pudding.Hat,subs.(Cambridge Univ.).—1. A gentleman commoner. [Who is permitted to wear a hat instead of the regulation mortar-board.] AlsoGold Hatband.1628.Earle,Microcosmographie. ‘Young Gentleman of the Universitie’ (ed.,Arber, 1868). His companion is ordinarily some stale fellow that has beene notorious for an ingle togold hatbands, whom hee admires at first, afterwards scornes.1803.Gradus ad Cantabrigiam.Hat Commoner; the son of a Nobleman, who wears the gown of a Fellow Commoner with ahat.1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. xxxii. I knew intimately all thehatsin the University.1841.Lytton,Night and Morning, bk. I., ch. i. He had certainly nourished the belief that some one of thehatsor tinsel gowns—i.e., young lords or fellow-commoners, with whom he was on such excellent terms … would do something for him in the way of a living.2. (venery).—The femalepudendum. GenerallyOld Hat. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.1754.Fielding,Jonathan Wild, i., 6 (note). I shall conclude this learned note with remarking that the termold hatis used by the vulgar in no very honourable sense.1760.Sterne,TristramShandy, ch. cxxvi. A chapter of chambermaids, green gowns, andold hats.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v. [‘Because oftenfelt.’]SeealsoTop Diver.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.3. (Scots’).—A prostitute of long standing. For synonyms,seeBarrack-HackandTart.To eat one’s hat(orhead),verb. phr.(common).—Generally,I’ll eat my hat. Used in strong emphasis.SeeEat.1836.Dickens,Pickwick, xlii., 367. ‘If I knew as little of life as that, I’deat my hatand swallow the buckle whole,’ said the clerical gentleman.1837.Dickens,Oliver Twist, ch. xiv. Even admitting the possibility of scientific improvements being ever brought to that pass which will enable a man toeat his own head, Mr. Grimwig’s head was such a particularly large one that the most sanguine man alive could hardly entertain a hope of being able to get through it at a sitting.1844.J. B. Buckstone,The Maid with the Milking Pail. If you are not as astonished as I was, I’lleat old Rowley’s hat.1876.Hindley,Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 216. I’lleat my hat.1887.E. E. Money,Little Dutch Maiden, II., viii., 148. And if you don’t run up against him next day in Bond Street, you mayeat your hat!1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 38. If some of the swells didn’t ditto, I’lleat my old hat, which it’s tough.To get a hat,verb. phr.(cricketers’).—SeeHat-trick.[278]To get into the hat,verb. phr.(common).—To get into trouble.To have a brick in one’s hat,verb. phr.(American).—To be top-heavy with drink. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.To hang up one’s hat.—SeeHang.To pass(orsend)round the hat,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To make a collection.To talk through one’s hat,verb. phr.(American).—To rag; to huff; to bluster.1888.New York World, 13 May. Dis is only a bluff dey’re makin’—see! Dey’retalkin’ tru deir hats.All round my hat, phr. (streets).—A derisive retort. [From aBroadside Ballad, popularc.1830: ‘All round my hat I wears a green willow, All round my hat for a twelvemonth and a day, And if any one should ask you the reason why I wear it, Tell them my true love is gone far away’; sung to a tune adapted from a number inZampa.] Also, as in quot. = all over; completely; generally.1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 54. I’m a ’ot un, mate,all round my ’at.Shoot that hat!phr.(streets).—A derisive retort. AlsoI’ll have your hat!Bothcirca1860–72.Well, you can take my hat!phr.(American) = ‘Well, that beats me,’i.e., ‘that is past belief.’1873.A Yankee in a Planter’s House.‘What’s yer name?’ ‘Name Grief, manssa.’ ‘Namewhat?’ ‘Name Grief.’ ‘Get out! Yew’re jokin’! What’s yer name, anyhow?’ ‘Name Grief manssa.’ ‘Wal, yew kin take my hat.’What a shocking bad hat,phr.(streets).—[Said to have originated with a candidate for parliamentary honours, who made the remark to his poorer constituents, and promised them new head-gear.]1892.Anstey,Model Music Hall, 140.Lord B.Regular bounder!Shocking bad hat!Ver.Not so bad as his boots, and they are not so bad as his face.Hatch,verb.(common).—To be brought to bed with child; tobust up(q.v.).To be under hatches,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To be in a state of trouble, poverty or depression. Also dead.1606.Marston,The Fawne, iv. Remember hee got his elder brother’s wife with child … that will stow himunder hatches, I warrant you.1632–1704.Locke[quoted inEncy. Dict.]. He assures us how this fatherhood continued its course, till the captivity in Egypt, and then the poor fatherhoodwas under hatches.1639–1661.Rump Songs, i. [1662], 260. And all her orphans bestowedunder hatches.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Under the Hatches, in Trouble, or Prison.1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.Under the Hatches, in Trouble, or Prison.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Under the hatches, in trouble, distress, or debt.1789.Dibdin,Tom Bowling, For though his body’sunder hatcheshis soul has gone aloft.1835.Buckstone,Dream at Sea.iii., 3. Good-bye, dame, cheer up; you may not always beunder hatches.1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.Hatchet,subs.(tailors’).—1. An ill-favoured woman. For general synonyms,seeUgly Mug.[279]2. (American).—A bribe received by Customs officers in New York for permitting imported dutiable goods to remain on the wharf when they ought to go to the general store-house.To bury(ordig up)the hatchet.—SeeBury.To throw(orsling)the hatchet,verb. phr.(common).—1. To tell lies, to yarn; todraw the long bow(q.v.). Hencehatchet flinging(orthrowing) = lying or yarning.1789.Geo. Parker,Life’s Painter, p. 94. This is a fault, which many of good understanding may fall into, who, from giving way too much to the desire of telling anecdotes, adventures, and the like, habituate themselves by degrees to a mode of thehatchet-flingingextreme.1821.P. Egan,Life in London, p. 217. There is nothing creeping orthrowing the hatchetabout this description.1893.Emerson,Signor Lippo, ch. xx. We had to call her mother, and, if anyone stopped, she’dsling the hatchetto them, and tell them she was a poor lone widow left with five children.2. (nautical).—To sulk.Hatchet-faced,adj.(old colloquial: now recognised).—Seequots. For synonyms,seeUgly-mug.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hatchet-fac’d, Hard favor’d, Homely.1725.NewCant. Dict., s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Hatchet Face, a long thin face.1865.Sala,Trip to Barbary, p. 130. The man in black baize with the felt képi, and who had ahatchet facedesperately scarred with the small-pox, looked from head to heel a bad egg.1888.J. Runciman,The Chequers, p. 7. Hishatchet facewith its piggish eyes, his thin cruel lips, his square jaw, are all murderous.Hatch, Match, and Dispatch Column,subs. phr.(journalistic).—The births, marriages, and deaths announcements. AlsoCradle, Altar and Tomb Column.Hatchway,subs.(common).—1. The mouth. For synonyms,seePotato-trap.2. (venery).—The femalepudendum. AlsoFore-hatch. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.Hate-out,verb. (American).—To boycott; to send to Coventry.18(?).S. Kercheval,History of Virginia. The punishment for idleness, lying, dishonesty, and ill-fame generally, was that ofhatingthe offenderout, as they expressed it. It commonly resulted in the reformation or banishment of the person against whom it was directed. If a man did not do his share of the public service, he washated-outas a coward.Hatfield,subs.(common).—A drink, whose chief ingredients are gin and ginger-beer.1883.Daily News, 5 July, p. 5, c. 1.There are, we believe, all sorts of strong waters in the mild-looking and seductivehatfield, while the majority of ‘cups’ are distinctly ‘mixed.’Hatful,subs.(colloquial).—A large quantity; a heap.1859.Punch, lxxx., vi., 236. If they had trusted their own judgment they would have won ahatful.1864.M. E. Braddon,Henry Dunbar, ch. xxii. He was in a very good temper however, for he had won what his companions called ahatfulof money on the steeple-chase.Hatpeg,subs.(common).—The head. For synonyms,seeCrumpet.Hatter,subs.(Australian).—A gold-digger working alone.1881.A. Bathgate,Waitaruna, p. 88. He is what they call ahatter, that is he works alone.1885.Chambers’ Journal, 2 May, p. 286. Some prefer to travel, and even to work, when they can get it, alone, and these are known to the rest ashatters.[280]1890.Illustrations, p. 158. The former occupant was what is known as ahatter,i.e., a digger living by himself.1890.Marriott Watson,Broken Billy. He was looked upon as ahatter, that is to say, a man who has lived by himself until his brain has been turned.Who’s your hatter?phr.(streets).—A catch-cry long out of vogue.Mad as a hatter,phr.(colloquial).—Very mad.1863.Marshall[Title, of a farce].Mad as a Hatter.Hat-trick,subs.(cricket).—Taking three wickets with three consecutive balls: which feat is held to entitle the bowler to a new hat at the cost of the club.1888.Sportsman, 28 Nov. Mr. Absolom has performed thehat tricktwice, and at Tufnell Park he took four wickets with four balls.1892.Cassell’s Sat. Jour.21 Sept., p. 13, c. 2. On one occasion I succeeded in doing thehat trick.1892.Woolwich Polytechnic Mag., 20 May. Three of these wickets were taken in succession, thus accomplishing thehat-trick.Hat-work,subs.(journalists’).—Hack work; such stuff as may be turned out by the yard without reference to quality.1888.H. Rider Haggard,Mr. Meeson’s Will, c. 1. And five-and-twenty tame authors (who were illustrated by thirteen tame artists) sat—at salaries ranging from one to five hundred a year—in vault-like hutches in the basement, and week by week poured out thathat-workfor which Meeson’s was justly famous.Haulable,adj.(University).—Used of a girl whose society authorities deem undesirable for the men:e.g., she’shaulable= a man caught with her will be proctorised.Haul-bowline,subs.(nautical).—A seaman. For synonyms,seeStrawyarder.Haul-devil,subs.(common).—A clergyman. For synonyms,seeDevil-dodgerandSky-pilot.Haul Devil,Pull Baker.SeeDevil.Haut-boy(orHo-boy),subs.(American).—A night scavenger; a jakesman orgold-finder(q.v.).Have,subs.(common).—1. A swindle; atake-in(q.v.); ado(q.v.). For synonyms,seeSell.2.in. pl.(common).—The moneyed classes; as opposed to theHave-nots, their antipodes.1893.National Observer, Feb. 25, ix., 357. A body whose policy is to make theHave-notsas comfortable and objectionable as possible at the cost in coin and comfort of theHaves.3. (in. pl.)subs.(Winchester College).—Half-boots. Pronounced Hāves.Is that a Catch or a Have?verb. phr.(vulgar).—A formula of acknowledgment that the speaker has been ‘had.’ [If the person addressed be unwise enough to answer with a definition, the instant retort is ‘Then youcatch(orhave, as the case may be) your nose up my arse.’]Verb(colloquial).—1. To cheat;to take-in;to do.SeeBe.1805.G. Harrington,New London Spy(4th Ed.) p. 26. Ten to one but you arehad, a cant word they make use of, instead of saying, as the truth is, we have cheated him.[281]1825.Egan,Life of an Actor, ch. iv. ‘He’s not to behad,’ said Gag, in an audible whisper.1878.Hatton,Cruel London, bk. II., ch. v. ‘They havehadme, bless you,’ said Brayford, ‘the men who have “limbed” you.’1889.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 8 Feb. Not to behadso easily, my good man.1889.Answers, 23 Feb., p. 196, c. 2. But even these fellows, sharp as they are, have been caught napping lately in a humorous way. Those who havehadthem have been young fellows with friendsinside the Stock Exchange.1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 161.Hadme nicely once at cards.1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 23 Jan. I never felt so wild in my life. I’m no fool, you know, and I began to think I was beinghada bit.1891.J. Newman,Scamping Tricks, p. 58. I was nearlyhad.1892.Illus. Bits, 22 Oct., p. 14. c. 2. Oh, mebboy, Oi wasn’t t’ behadthat way. Oi always kape resates—spishully Gov’ment wans. Oi got it safe and cosy in me pocket-book.2. (venery).—To possess carnally. [Said indifferently of, and by, both sexes.] For synonyms,seeGreens.To have had it,verb. phr.(venery).—To have been seduced.To have(ortake)it out of one,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To punish; to retaliate; to extort aquid pro quo; to give tit for tat.To have it out with one,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To speak freely in reproof; to complete an explanation; to settle a dispute with either words or blows.1886.J. S. Winter,Army Society, ch. xix. Instead of going down to St. Eve’s andhaving it out, he fretted, and worried, and fumed the six days away.1888.Daily News, 8 Dec. There was a question as to who struck the first blow, but it seemed to him certain that a man who crossed the road tohave it outwith another was the most likely to have commenced hostilities.To have on,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To secure a person’s interest, attention, sympathy: generally with a view to deceiving him (or her).To have towards(orwith, orat),verb. phr.(old).—1. To pledge in drinking; to toast.SeeHere.1637.Cartwright,Royal Slave. Here’s to thee, Leocrates.Leoc.Have towards thee, Philotas.Phil.To thee, Archippus.Arch.Here, Molops.Mol.Have at you, fidlers.1836.M. Scott,Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. ii. ‘Have with you, boy—have with you,’ shouted half-a-dozen other voices, while each stuck his oaken twig through the handkerchief that held his bundle, and shouldered it, clapping his straw or tarpaulin hat, with a slap on the crown, on one side of his head, and staggering and swaying about under the influence of the poteen.2. (common).—To agree with.To have on toast,verb. phr.(common).—1. To take in.2. (common).—To worst in argument.To have on the raws,verb. phr.(common).—To teaze; to touch to the quick.To let one have it,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To punish severely.1848.Ruxton,Life in the Far West, p. 8. ‘Hurraw, Dick, mind your hair,’ and I ups old Greaser and let one Injunhave it, as was going plum into the boy with his lance.Have up,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To bring before the authorities; tosummons(q.v.).Havercake-lads,subs. phr.(Military).—The Thirty-third Foot. [From the circumstance that its recruiting sergeants always preceded their party with an oatcake on their swords.][282]Havey-cavey,adj.(old).—Uncertain; doubtful; shilly-shally.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.Havil,subs.(old).—A sheep. For synonyms,seeWool-bird.1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.Havock,subs.(old: now recognised).—Devastation; waste.1607.Shakspeare,Julius Cæsar, iii., 1. Cryhavock, and let slip the dogs of war.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. They made sadHavock, they Destroy’d all before ’em.1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.Hawcubite,subs.(old).—A roysterer; a street bully. [After the Restoration there was a succession of these disturbers of the peace: first came the Muns, then followed the Tityre Tus, the Hectors, the Scourers, the Nickers, the Hawcubites, and after them theMohawks(q.v.).]Hawk,subs.(common).—1. A card-sharper; arook(q.v.).1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hawk,c., a Sharper.1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.Hawk, a Sharper.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Hawkalso signifies a sharper, in opposition to pigeon.1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.Hawk. A Confidence Man; a swindler.1891.New York Herald[London ed.], 31 May. These werehawksand pigeons, and those who are no longer pigeons, and never had, or will have, an inclination to behawks.2. (common).—A bailiff; a constable. For synonyms,seeBeak.1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. I., ch. iii. ‘The game’s spoiled this time, Rob Rust, anyhow,’ growled one, in an angry tone; ‘thehawksare upon us, and we must leave this brave buck to take care of himself.’Verb(old).—Seequots.1589.Nashe,Anatomie, Whereas, by their humming andhawking… they have leisure to gesture the mislike of his rudeness.1600.Shakspeare,As You Like It, v., 3. Shall we clap into ’t roundly, withouthawking, or spitting, or saying we are hoarse?1604.Marston,Malcontent, ii., 2. Is he troubled with the cough of the lungs still? Does hehawkea night’s?1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant.Crew, s.v. … Also spitting difficulty.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v. …Hawking, an effort to spit up the thick phlegm, calledoysters, whence it is wit upon record, to ask the person so doing, whether he has a license, a punning allusion to the act ofhawkersand pedlars.1815.Scott,Guy Mannering, ch. xlvi. This tremendous volley of superlatives which Sampsonhawkedup from the pit of his stomach.1822.Byron,Vision of Judgment, xc. To cough andhawk, and hem, and pitch His voice into that awful note of woe.Ware Hawk!phr.(old).—A warning; look sharp!Seesubs.sense 2.d.1529.Skelton,Ware Hawk(Title).1625.Jonson,Staple of News, v. 2. See! the whole covey is scattered;ware, ware the hawks!1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hawk,ware hawk, the word to look sharp, a bye-word when a bailiff passes.1815.Scott,Guy Mannering, ch. iii.Ware hawk!Douse the Glim.To hawk one’s meat,verb. phr.(common).—To peddle one’s charms,i.e., to show a great deal of neck and breasts. Fr.,montrer sa viande.Hawk-a-mouthed,adj. phr.(old).—Seequot.[283]c.1750.Dialogue in the Devonshire Dialect(Palmer, 1839) s.v. One that is perpetuallyhawkingand spitting; also foul-mouthed.Hawker,subs.(old: now recognized).—A pedlar.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hawkers. Retail News-Sellers.1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Hawkers, licensed itinerant retailers of different commodities, called also pedlars; likewise the sellers of newspapers.Hawking,verb. subs.(old: now recognised).—Peddling; offering small wares for sale from door to door. Also see quot. 1690.1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hawking, going about Town and Country with Scotch-Cloth, etc., or News-Papers: also Spitting difficultly.

Hard-mouthed,adj.(colloquial).—Difficult to deal with; wilful; obstinate. Also coarse in speech. [From the stable.]

1686.Durfey,Commonw. of Wordes, i., 1. [Speaking of a girl.] I hate your young Wechees, Skitish Colts—they are sohard mouth’d, there’s no dealing with em.

1704.Swift,Tale of a Tub, Sect. ix. I myself, the author of these momentous truths, am a person, whose imaginations arehard-mouthed, and exceedingly disposed to run away with his reason.

1704.Swift,Operation of the Spirit, Sect. ii., par. 9. The flesh … when it comes to the turn of being bearer, is wonderfully headstrong andhard-mouthed.

Hard-neck,subs.(tailors’).—Brazen impudence,monumental cheek(q.v.).[270]

Hard-on,adj. phr.(venery).—Prick-proud. For synonyms,seeHorn.

Hard-pan,subs. phr.(American).—The lowest point;bed-rock(q.v.).

1882.Besant,All Sorts and Conditions of Men, ch. xxi. And as for business, it’s got down to thehard pan, and dollars are skurce.

1861.Holmes,Elsie Venner, ch. viii. Mr. Silas Peckham had gone a little deeper than he meant, and came upon thehard pan, as the well-diggers call it, of the Colonel’s character, before he thought of it.

1888.Missouri Republican, 2 Mar. Prices were athard pan.

To get down to hard-pan,verb. phr.(American).—To buckle to; to get to business.

Hard-puncher,subs.(common).—The fur cap of the London rough; formerly worn by men in training; a modification of the Scotch cap with a peak. [From the nickname of a noted pugilist.]

Hard-pushed,adv.(colloquial).—In difficulties;hard-up(q.v.).

a.1871.Perils of Pearl Street, p. 123. As I said, at the end of six months we began to behard-pushed. Our credit, however, was still fair.

Hard Put To,adj. phr.(colloquial).—In a difficulty, monetary or other;e.g., He’d behard put to itto find a sovereign (or a word, or an excuse) = It would take him all his time, etc.

Hard-row.SeeRow.

Hard-run,adj.(colloquial).—In want of money;hard-up(q.v.)

Hard-shell,subs.(American).—A member of an extreme section of Baptists holding very strict and rigid views. [Thesoft-shellsare of more liberal mind.] AlsoHardsandSofts.

1848.Jones,Sketches of Travel, p. 30. The oldhard-shelllaid about him likerath.

1888.Baltimore Sun.Mr. E., a regular member of thehard-shellBaptist Church.

1893.Stevenson,Island Night’s Entertainments, p. 35. He’s ahard-shellBaptist is Papa.

2. (political American).—A division of the Democratic Party in 1846–48, when theHunkers(q.v.) received the name ofHards, and their opponents, theBarn-burners(q.v.) that ofSofts.

1847.Robb,Squatter Life, p. 91.Hards, softs, whigs and Tylerites were represented.

Adj.(American).—Extremely orthodox; unyielding; hidebound.

Hard-stuff,subs.(American).—1. Money.

2. (Australian).—Intoxicating liquors;seeHard(adj.sense 2). For synonymsseeDrinks.

Hard-tack,subs.(nautical).—1. Ship’s biscuits; specifically, ordinary sea-fare asdistinguishedfrom food ashore, orSoft-Tommy(q.v.).

1841.Lever,Charles O’Malley, ch. lxxxviii. No morehard-tack, thought I, no salt butter, but a genuine land breakfast.

1889.Lippincott, Oct., p. 476. They have feasted on salt horse andhard-tackmany a day; but they know a good thing when they find it.

2.(common).—Coarse or insufficient fare.[271]

Hard-up,subs.(common).—1. A collector of cigar ends, atopper-hunter. [Which refuse, untwisted and chopped up, is sold to the very poor.] SometimesHard-cut. Fr.,un mégottier.

1851–61.H. Mayhew,Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 5. The cigar-end finders, orhard-ups, as they are called, who collect the refuse pieces of smoked cigars from the gutters, and having dried them, sell them as tobacco to the very poor.

1888.Tit Bits, 24 March, 373. Smokinghard-upis picking up the stumps of cigars thrown away in the streets, cutting them up, and smoking them in the pipe.

1891.Morning Advertiser, 26 Mar. A constable on duty on the Embankment early in the morning saw the accused prowling about, and on asking what he was doing, received the reply that he was looking forhard cut.—Mr. Vaughan: Looking for what?—The Prisoner:Hard-cut; dropped cigar-ends.

2. (common).—A poor man; astony-broke(q.v.).

1857.Ducange Anglicus,Vulg. Tongue.Hard-up, a poor person.

Adv. phr.(colloquial).—1. Very badly in want of money; in urgent need of anything. AlsoHard-runandHard-pushed.

1809–41.Th. Hook,The Sutherlands. He returned, and beinghard up, as we say, took it into his head to break a shop-window at Liverpool, and take out some trumpery trinket stuff.

1821.Haggart,Life, p. 104. There I met in with two Edinburgh snibs, who werehard up.

1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Merchant of Venice.’ Who by showing at Operas, Balls, Plays, and Court, … Had shrunk his ‘weak means,’ and was ‘stump’d’ andhard up.

1852.Dickens,Bleak House, ch. xi. He … was, not to put too fine a point upon ithard-up.

1865.New York Herald.This anxiety … shows conclusively that they arehard-upfor political capital.

1871.Lond. Figaro, 25 Jan. For years, England has been a refuge forhard-upGerman princelings.

1887.Manville Fenn,This Man’s Wife, i., 13. I don’t lookhard updo I? No, because you’ve spent my money on your wretched dress.

1891.Fun, 25 Mar. You’rehard up, ain’t you? Stumped? Well, it’s Threadneedle Street to a frying-pan, that if Popsy knew your real name, he’d lend you a thousand or two like a shot.

English Synonyms.—Many underflooredapply equally tohard-up; others are:—At low water mark; cracked up; dead-broke; down on one’s luck; fast; in Queer Street; in the last of pea time; in the last run of shad; low down; low in the lay; oofless; out of favor with the oof-bird; pebble-beached; seedy; short; sold-up; stony-broke; strapped; stuck; stumped; suffering from an attack of the week’s (or month’s) end; tight; on one’s uppers; under a cloud; on one’s beam ends.

French Synonyms.—Se mettre dans le bœuf(common = to go in forblock ornaments(q.v.));être en brindezingue(mountebanks = gone to smash);être brouillé avec la monnaie(familiar = to have had a row with one’s banker);être coupé(printers’);être à la côte(familiar = on the shelf);être fauché(thieves’ = cut down);être dans la purée(thieves’);être molle(thieves’);être à la faridon(popular);être en dèche(popular);être désargenté(thieves’ = oofless);être bref(popular = short);être à fond de cale(popular = down to bed-rock);être à la manque(popular = on short commons);manger de la misère(popular = to sup sorrow);être dans le lac(popular = a hole);être pané(general);panné comme la Hollande(general = very hard up).[272]

Spanish Synonyms.—Estar peladoorser un pelado(= skinned);tiñoso(= scabby).

Italian Synonym.—Calcare a ventun ’ora.

2. (common).—Intoxicated. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.

3. (Winchester College).—Out of countenance; exhausted (in swimming).

Hard-upnessorHard-uppishness,subs.(colloquial).—Poverty; a condition of impoverishment.

1876.Hindley,Adventures of a Cheap Jack. There were frequent … collapses from death orhard-upness.

1883.Illust. London News, 26 May, p. 519, c. 3. These I O U’s … do not imply, as might be supposed, commonhardupness.

1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 28. Ike’s knowledge of some of the bookmakers he had met in the old land led him to believe thathard-uppishnesswould scare any knight of the pencil away.

Hardware(orHard),subs.(American).—Counterfeit coin.

1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.

Hardware-bloke,subs.(thieves’).—A native of Birmingham; aBrum(q.v.).

Hardy-annual,subs.(Parliamentary).—A bill that is brought in every year, but never passed into law. Hence (journalistic), any stock subject.

1892.Pall Mall Gaz., 16 Aug., p. 4, c. 2. Signs of the so called ‘silly season’ which has been somewhat delayed this year owing to the political crisis, are now beginning to appear. The readers of theDaily Telegraphare once more filling the columns of that journal with ‘Is Marriage a Failure?’ Thehardy annualis called ‘English Wives’ this time.

Hare,verb.(old).—To dodge; to double; to bewilder.

1719.Durfey,Pills, etc., i., 92. Running,haring, gaping, staring.

1672.Marvell,Rehearsal,Tr.(Grosart), iii, 372. They amaze, shatter andharetheir people.

To hare it,verb. phr.(American thieves’).—To retrace one’s steps; to double back. [From the way of a hare with the hounds.]

To make a hare of,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To make ridiculous; to expose the ignorance of any person.

1830–32.Carleton,Traits and Stories, ‘The Hedge-School.’ Whata harethatmade ofhim … and did not leave him a leg to stand on!

1844.Lever,Tom Burke of Ours, ii., 393. It was Mister Curranmade a hare ofyour Honor that day.

To swallow a hare,verb. phr.(old).—To get very drunk. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.

1725.New Cant. Dict.Hare, s.v.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.He has swallowed a hare, he is drunk, more probably a hair which requires washing down.

1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.

To hold with the hare and hunt with the hounds,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To play a double game; to keep on good terms with two conflicting parties.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.

To kiss the hare’s foot,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To be late; to be a day after the fair; to kiss the post.[273]

Hare-brained(orHair-brained),adj.(old colloquial: now recognised).—Reckless; flighty; impudent; skittish. Also, substantively,hare-brain= a hare-brained person.

1534.N. Udal,Roister Doister, I., iv., p. 27 (Arber). Ah foolishhare-braine, This is not she.

1592.Nashe,Pierce Penilesse, inWks., ii., 53. Aharebraindlittle Dwarfe it is.

1621.Burton,Anat. of Mel., I., III., I., ii., 259 (1836). Yet again, many of them, desperatehare-brains.

1622.Bacon,Henry VII.That samehaire-brainewild fellow, my subject.

1751.Smollett,Peregrine Pickle, ch. xliii. When the government of a nation depends upon the caprice of the ignorant,hair-brainedvulgar.

1870.Chambers’ Miscellany, No. 53, p. 28. The Slater girls are ashare-brainedas herself.

Hared,adj.(old).—Hurried.

Hare-sleep,subs.(old).—Sham slumber;foxes’ sleep(q.v.).

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hare-sleep, with Eies a’most open.

Harking,subs.(old).—Seequots.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Harking, whispering on one side to borrow Money.

1725.NewCant. Dict., s.v.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Hark-ye-ing, whispering on one side to borrow money.

Harlequin,subs.(theatrical).—1. A sovereign. For synonyms,seeCanary.

2. (Winchester College).—The wooden nucleus of a red india-rubber ball.

3. (old).—A patchwork quilt.

Harlequin China,adj. phr.(old).—Sets composed of several patterns and makes.

Harlotry,subs.(old).—A wanton.

d.1529.Skelton,Bowge of Courte. He had no pleasure but inharlotrye.

1672.Wycherley,Love in a Wood, iv.,i.But O theharlotry, did she make that use of it then.

1695.Congreve,Love for Love, iii.,i.O you youngharlotry.

1893.T. E. Brown,Old John, p. 205. That speciousharlotryfrom hell’s black bosom spewed.

Adj.(old).—Disreputable.

1598.Shakspeare,1 Henry IV., ii., 4. Oh rare! he doth it as like one of theseharlotryplayers, as ever I see.

Harman-beck(orHarman),subs.(old).—An officer of justice. For synonyms,seeBeakandCopper.

1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 66. Theharman-beck, the constable.

1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-All. With theharman-beakeout and alas to Whittington we goe.

1656.Broome,Jovial Crew, ii. Here safe in our skipper let’s cly off our peck, And bowse in defiance o’ th’harman-beck.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Harman-beck, a Beadle.

1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12.Harminbeck, a Constable.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Harman Beck, a beadle (cant).

1822.Scott,Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. From the watchmen who skip On theHarman Beck’serrand.

1828.Lytton,The Disowned. The worst have an awe of theharman’sclaw.

1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.Harman Beak.The Sheriff.

Harmans,subs.(Old Cant).—The stocks. [The suffix ‘mans’ is common;Cf.,lightmans,darkmans,roughmans, etc.]

1567.Harman,Caveat(1814), p. 66. Theharmans, the stockes.

1610.Rowlands,Martin Mark-All, p. 39 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).Harmonsthe stockes.[274]

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.

1714.Memoirs of John Hall(4th ed.), p. 12, s.v.

1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

Harness.In Harness,adj. phr.(colloquial).—In business; at work: as,to die in harness= to die at one’s post;to get back into harness= to resume work after a holiday. [Harnessalso = armour.]

1872.Fun, 10 Aug. ‘Over.’ Aye! But the sting of it’s here, Just as I’m backinto harness, Others are off to sea, mountain, and mere.

1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 2. My father diedin harness.

Harp,interject.(Irish).—Seequot.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Harp…harpis also the Irish expression for ‘woman’ or ‘tail,’ used in tossing up in Ireland, from Hibernia being represented with a harp, on the reverse of the copper coins of that country, for which reason it isin hoisting the copper,i.e., tossing up, sometimes likewise called music.

To harp on,verb. phr.(old, now recognised).—To dwell persistently and at any cost upon a subject.

1596.Nashe,Have with you to Saffron Walden. As if I had continuallyharped uponit in every tenth line of my book.

1596.Shakspeare,Hamlet, ii., 2. Stillharping onmy daughter.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Harp-upona business, to insist on it.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1886.R. L. Stevenson,Kidnapped, p. 291. He was backharping onmy proposal.

Harper,subs.(old).—A brass coin current in Ireland,temp.Elizabeth, value one penny. [From the Irish Harp figured upon it.]

1574–1637.Ben Jonson,The Gipsies Metamorphosed. A two-pence I had to spend ever and above; besides theharperthat was gathered amongst us to pay the piper.

Have among you my blind harpers,phr.(old).—Seequot.

1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.Harpers.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Have among you my blind harpers, an expression used in throwing or shooting at random among a crowd.

Harridan,subs.(old, now recognised).—Seequots. Also (colloquial) a disagreeable old woman. [A corruption of O. Fr.haridelle= a worn out horse, a jade.]

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Harridan, one that is half Whore, half Bawd.

1705–7.Ward,Hudibras Redivivus, vol. II., pt. ii., p. 27. Old Leachers,Harridans, and Cracks.

1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Harridan, a hagged old woman, a miserable scraggy worn out harlot, fit to take her bawd’s degree.

1815.Scott,Guy Mannering, ch., xxxix. ‘Now what could drive it into the noddle of that oldharridan,’ said Pleydell.

1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.

Harrington,subs.(old).—A brass farthing. [Lord Harrington obtained a patent of manufacture under James I.]

1616.B. Jonson,Devil is an Ass, ii., 1. Yes, sir, it’s cast to penny half-penny farthing, O’ the back side there you may see it, read; I will not bate aHarringtono’ the sum.

1632.B. Jonson,Magn. Lady, ii., 6. His wit he cannot so dispose by legacy As they shall be aHarringtonthe better for’t.

Harry,subs.(old).—1. A countryman; a clown. For synonyms,seeJoskin.

1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.Harry.A country fellow.

2. (colloquial).—See’Arry.[275]

Old Harry,subs.(common).—The devil. For synonyms,seeSkipper.

1693.Congreve,Old Bachelor, ii., 1. By theLord HarryI’ll stay no longer.

1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.

1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. iv. MayOld Harryfly off with him.

1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends(1865), p. 406. Shall I summonOld Harryhimself to this spot?

Harry of the West,subs. phr.(political American).—Henry Clay.

To play old Harry,verb. phr.(common).—To annoy; to ruin; to play the devil.

1889.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 18 Jan. Otherwiseplayed old Harrywith the guardians of the peace.

Tom, Dick, and Harry,phr.(common).—Generic for any and everybody; the mob.

1886.R. L.Stevenson,Kidnapped, p. 287. He rode from public house to public house and shouted his sorrows intothe lugofTom, Dick, and Harry.

What Harry gave Doll,verb. phr.(old venery).—Thepenis: also generic for fornication.

Harry-bluff,subs.(rhyming).—Snuff.

Harry-common,subs. phr.(old).—A general wencher.

1675.Wycherley,Country Wife, v., 4. Well,Harry Common, I hope you can be true to three.

Harry-soph,subs.(Cambridge Univ.: obsolete).—Seequots.

1795.Gent. Mag., p. 20. AHarry, orerrant Soph, I understand to be either a person, four-and-twenty years of age, and of an infirm state of health, who is permitted to dine with the fellows, and to wear a plain, black, full-sleeved gown: or, else, he is one who, having kept all the terms, by statute required previous to his law-act, ishoc ipso factoentitled to wear the same garment, and, thenceforth, ranks as bachelor, by courtesy.

1803.Gradus ad Cantabrigiam.Harry Soph; orHenry Sophister; students who have kept all the terms required for a law act, and hence are ranked as Bachelors of Law by courtesy. They wear a plain, black, full-sleeved gown.

Harum-scarum,adj.andsubs.(old colloquial).—1. Giddy; careless; wild; a thoughtless or reckless fellow.

1740.Round about our Coal Fire, c. i. Peg would scuttle about to make a toast for John, while Tom runharum scarumto draw a jug of ale for Margery.

1780Mad. D’Arblay,Diary, i., 358 [ed. 1842]. He seemed a mighty rattlingharem-scaremgentleman.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Harum Scarum, he was runningharum scarum, said of any one running or walking carelessly and in a hurry, after they know not what.

1836.Marryat,Japhet, ch. xcii. I’m not one of thoseharum-scarumsort, who would make up a fight when there’s no occasion for it.

1855.Thackeray,Newcomes, ch. v. They had a quarrel with Thomas Newcome’s own son, aharum-scarumlad, who ran away, and then was sent to India.

1870.London Figaro, 19 Oct. ‘Within an inch.’ Tom—that’s my son—has worked with me in the mine ever since he was quite a little chap; and aharum-scarumyoung dog he was, when a boy.

2. (sporting).—Four horses driven in a line;suicide(q.v.).

Has-been,subs.(colloquial Scots’).—Anything antiquated; specifically in commendation: as ‘the good oldhas-beens’;cf.,never was.

1891.Sportsman, 1 Apr. Big Joe M’Auliffe proved conclusively that he is one of thehas beensor else one of thenever wasers, as Dan Rice, the circus man, always called ambitious counterfeits.[276]

Hash,subs.(colloquial).—1. A mess; specifically in the phrase ‘to make ahashof.’ For synonyms,seeSixes and Sevens.

1747.Walpole,Lett. to Mann, 23 Feb.(1833) Vol. II., p. 274. About as like it, as my Lady Pomfret’shashof plural persons and singular verbs or infinitive moods was to Italian.

1836.Michael Scott,Cruise of the Midge, p. 115 [Ry. ed.]. Listado never could compass Spanish, because, as he said, he had previously learnt French, and thus spoke ahashof both.

1837.Barham,Ingoldsby Legends. ‘M. of Venice.’ Don’t suppose my affairs are at allin a hash, But the fact is, at present I’m quite out of cash.

1843.Punch’s Almanack, July (q.v.).

1845.Punch’s Guide to Servants, ‘The Cook,’ Vol. IX., p. 45. He who gives a receipt for making a stew, may himself make a sadhashof it.

1886.R. L. Stevenson,Kidnapped, p. 97. Ye’ve made a sorehashof my brig.

1889.Sporting Life, 30 Jan. Successfully negotiated the tricky entrance to the stable-yard of the hotel, at which jobIhave been in a mortal funk many a time with poor old Jim beside me, for fear of making ahashof it.

1890.Grant Allen,Tents of Shem, ch. xvi. She made ahashof the proper names, to be sure.

2. (American cadets’).—Clandestine preparation for supper after hours.

3. (colloquial).—A sloven; a blockhead.

1785.Burns,Epistle to J. Lapraik. A set o’ dull, conceitedhashes.

Verb(colloquial).—1. To spoil; to jumble; to cook up and serve again.

1891.Notes and Queries, 7 S. xii., 22 Aug., p. 144. I do not think that Earle, a scholar of a high order and a man of the most keen wit and judgment, would have spoken thus of a thinghashed upby a hard-headed pedant, however able, such as Gauden.

2. (American).—To vomit. Also toflash the hash(q.v.). For synonyms,seeAccountsandCat.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.

3. (Cheltenham School).—To study hard; toswat(q.v.).

To settle one’s hash,verb. phr.(common).—To defeat one’s object; to kill. For synonyms,seeCook one’s Goose.

1864.Browning,Dramatis Personæ. ‘Youth and Art.’ You’ve to settle yet Gibson’shash.

c.1871.Butler,Nothing to Wear. To use an expression More striking than classic, itsettled my hash.

1883.Punch, Nov. 3, p. 208, c. 1. That one stab, with a clasp-knife, whichsettled theyoung Squire’shashin less than two seconds.

1892.Hume Nisbet,Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 123. We’ll keep the cops off till yousettle his hash, the rest replied, getting round us.

To go back on one’s hash,verb. phr.(American).—To turn; to succumb; toweaken(q.v.).

Hash-house,subs.(American).—A cheap eating-house; agrubbingcrib (q.v.).

1883.Daily Telegraph, 10 Jan., p. 5, c. 4. There are [in New York] lunch counters, cookshops, ‘penny’ restaurants, fifteen-cent restaurants, commonly calledhash-housesand foreign cafés.

Haslar-hag,subs.(nautical).—A nurse at the Haslar Hospital.Cf.,Hag.

Hastings.To be none of the Hastings sort,verb. phr.(old colloquial).—To be slow, deliberate, or slothful.

1690.b. e.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. You arenone of the Hastings, of him that loses an Opportunity or a Business for want of Dispatch.[277]

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.He is none of the Hastings sort; a saying of a slow, loitering fellow: an allusion to the Hastings pea, which is the first in season.

Hasty,adj.(old: now recognised).—Rash; passionate; quick to move.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hasty, very Hot on a sudden.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

Hasty G.,subs.(Cambridge Univ.).—Seequot.

1883.Daily News, 24 Mar., p. 5, c. 2. Mr. Weller’s ownhasty g.(as Cambridge men say when they mean a ‘hasty generalisation’).

Hasty Pudding,subs.(common).—1. A bastard. For synonyms,seeBloody Escape.

2. (old).—A muddy road; a quag.

1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. The way through Wandsworth is quite ahasty pudding.

Hat,subs.(Cambridge Univ.).—1. A gentleman commoner. [Who is permitted to wear a hat instead of the regulation mortar-board.] AlsoGold Hatband.

1628.Earle,Microcosmographie. ‘Young Gentleman of the Universitie’ (ed.,Arber, 1868). His companion is ordinarily some stale fellow that has beene notorious for an ingle togold hatbands, whom hee admires at first, afterwards scornes.

1803.Gradus ad Cantabrigiam.Hat Commoner; the son of a Nobleman, who wears the gown of a Fellow Commoner with ahat.

1830.Lytton,Paul Clifford, ch. xxxii. I knew intimately all thehatsin the University.

1841.Lytton,Night and Morning, bk. I., ch. i. He had certainly nourished the belief that some one of thehatsor tinsel gowns—i.e., young lords or fellow-commoners, with whom he was on such excellent terms … would do something for him in the way of a living.

2. (venery).—The femalepudendum. GenerallyOld Hat. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.

1754.Fielding,Jonathan Wild, i., 6 (note). I shall conclude this learned note with remarking that the termold hatis used by the vulgar in no very honourable sense.

1760.Sterne,TristramShandy, ch. cxxvi. A chapter of chambermaids, green gowns, andold hats.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v. [‘Because oftenfelt.’]SeealsoTop Diver.

1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.

3. (Scots’).—A prostitute of long standing. For synonyms,seeBarrack-HackandTart.

To eat one’s hat(orhead),verb. phr.(common).—Generally,I’ll eat my hat. Used in strong emphasis.SeeEat.

1836.Dickens,Pickwick, xlii., 367. ‘If I knew as little of life as that, I’deat my hatand swallow the buckle whole,’ said the clerical gentleman.

1837.Dickens,Oliver Twist, ch. xiv. Even admitting the possibility of scientific improvements being ever brought to that pass which will enable a man toeat his own head, Mr. Grimwig’s head was such a particularly large one that the most sanguine man alive could hardly entertain a hope of being able to get through it at a sitting.

1844.J. B. Buckstone,The Maid with the Milking Pail. If you are not as astonished as I was, I’lleat old Rowley’s hat.

1876.Hindley,Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 216. I’lleat my hat.

1887.E. E. Money,Little Dutch Maiden, II., viii., 148. And if you don’t run up against him next day in Bond Street, you mayeat your hat!

1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 38. If some of the swells didn’t ditto, I’lleat my old hat, which it’s tough.

To get a hat,verb. phr.(cricketers’).—SeeHat-trick.[278]

To get into the hat,verb. phr.(common).—To get into trouble.

To have a brick in one’s hat,verb. phr.(American).—To be top-heavy with drink. For synonyms,seeDrinksandScrewed.

To hang up one’s hat.—SeeHang.

To pass(orsend)round the hat,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To make a collection.

To talk through one’s hat,verb. phr.(American).—To rag; to huff; to bluster.

1888.New York World, 13 May. Dis is only a bluff dey’re makin’—see! Dey’retalkin’ tru deir hats.

All round my hat, phr. (streets).—A derisive retort. [From aBroadside Ballad, popularc.1830: ‘All round my hat I wears a green willow, All round my hat for a twelvemonth and a day, And if any one should ask you the reason why I wear it, Tell them my true love is gone far away’; sung to a tune adapted from a number inZampa.] Also, as in quot. = all over; completely; generally.

1892.Milliken,’Arry Ballads, p. 54. I’m a ’ot un, mate,all round my ’at.

Shoot that hat!phr.(streets).—A derisive retort. AlsoI’ll have your hat!Bothcirca1860–72.

Well, you can take my hat!phr.(American) = ‘Well, that beats me,’i.e., ‘that is past belief.’

1873.A Yankee in a Planter’s House.‘What’s yer name?’ ‘Name Grief, manssa.’ ‘Namewhat?’ ‘Name Grief.’ ‘Get out! Yew’re jokin’! What’s yer name, anyhow?’ ‘Name Grief manssa.’ ‘Wal, yew kin take my hat.’

What a shocking bad hat,phr.(streets).—[Said to have originated with a candidate for parliamentary honours, who made the remark to his poorer constituents, and promised them new head-gear.]

1892.Anstey,Model Music Hall, 140.Lord B.Regular bounder!Shocking bad hat!Ver.Not so bad as his boots, and they are not so bad as his face.

Hatch,verb.(common).—To be brought to bed with child; tobust up(q.v.).

To be under hatches,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To be in a state of trouble, poverty or depression. Also dead.

1606.Marston,The Fawne, iv. Remember hee got his elder brother’s wife with child … that will stow himunder hatches, I warrant you.

1632–1704.Locke[quoted inEncy. Dict.]. He assures us how this fatherhood continued its course, till the captivity in Egypt, and then the poor fatherhoodwas under hatches.

1639–1661.Rump Songs, i. [1662], 260. And all her orphans bestowedunder hatches.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Under the Hatches, in Trouble, or Prison.

1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.Under the Hatches, in Trouble, or Prison.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Under the hatches, in trouble, distress, or debt.

1789.Dibdin,Tom Bowling, For though his body’sunder hatcheshis soul has gone aloft.

1835.Buckstone,Dream at Sea.iii., 3. Good-bye, dame, cheer up; you may not always beunder hatches.

1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.

Hatchet,subs.(tailors’).—1. An ill-favoured woman. For general synonyms,seeUgly Mug.[279]

2. (American).—A bribe received by Customs officers in New York for permitting imported dutiable goods to remain on the wharf when they ought to go to the general store-house.

To bury(ordig up)the hatchet.—SeeBury.

To throw(orsling)the hatchet,verb. phr.(common).—1. To tell lies, to yarn; todraw the long bow(q.v.). Hencehatchet flinging(orthrowing) = lying or yarning.

1789.Geo. Parker,Life’s Painter, p. 94. This is a fault, which many of good understanding may fall into, who, from giving way too much to the desire of telling anecdotes, adventures, and the like, habituate themselves by degrees to a mode of thehatchet-flingingextreme.

1821.P. Egan,Life in London, p. 217. There is nothing creeping orthrowing the hatchetabout this description.

1893.Emerson,Signor Lippo, ch. xx. We had to call her mother, and, if anyone stopped, she’dsling the hatchetto them, and tell them she was a poor lone widow left with five children.

2. (nautical).—To sulk.

Hatchet-faced,adj.(old colloquial: now recognised).—Seequots. For synonyms,seeUgly-mug.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hatchet-fac’d, Hard favor’d, Homely.

1725.NewCant. Dict., s.v.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Hatchet Face, a long thin face.

1865.Sala,Trip to Barbary, p. 130. The man in black baize with the felt képi, and who had ahatchet facedesperately scarred with the small-pox, looked from head to heel a bad egg.

1888.J. Runciman,The Chequers, p. 7. Hishatchet facewith its piggish eyes, his thin cruel lips, his square jaw, are all murderous.

Hatch, Match, and Dispatch Column,subs. phr.(journalistic).—The births, marriages, and deaths announcements. AlsoCradle, Altar and Tomb Column.

Hatchway,subs.(common).—1. The mouth. For synonyms,seePotato-trap.

2. (venery).—The femalepudendum. AlsoFore-hatch. For synonyms,seeMonosyllable.

Hate-out,verb. (American).—To boycott; to send to Coventry.

18(?).S. Kercheval,History of Virginia. The punishment for idleness, lying, dishonesty, and ill-fame generally, was that ofhatingthe offenderout, as they expressed it. It commonly resulted in the reformation or banishment of the person against whom it was directed. If a man did not do his share of the public service, he washated-outas a coward.

Hatfield,subs.(common).—A drink, whose chief ingredients are gin and ginger-beer.

1883.Daily News, 5 July, p. 5, c. 1.There are, we believe, all sorts of strong waters in the mild-looking and seductivehatfield, while the majority of ‘cups’ are distinctly ‘mixed.’

Hatful,subs.(colloquial).—A large quantity; a heap.

1859.Punch, lxxx., vi., 236. If they had trusted their own judgment they would have won ahatful.

1864.M. E. Braddon,Henry Dunbar, ch. xxii. He was in a very good temper however, for he had won what his companions called ahatfulof money on the steeple-chase.

Hatpeg,subs.(common).—The head. For synonyms,seeCrumpet.

Hatter,subs.(Australian).—A gold-digger working alone.

1881.A. Bathgate,Waitaruna, p. 88. He is what they call ahatter, that is he works alone.

1885.Chambers’ Journal, 2 May, p. 286. Some prefer to travel, and even to work, when they can get it, alone, and these are known to the rest ashatters.[280]

1890.Illustrations, p. 158. The former occupant was what is known as ahatter,i.e., a digger living by himself.

1890.Marriott Watson,Broken Billy. He was looked upon as ahatter, that is to say, a man who has lived by himself until his brain has been turned.

Who’s your hatter?phr.(streets).—A catch-cry long out of vogue.

Mad as a hatter,phr.(colloquial).—Very mad.

1863.Marshall[Title, of a farce].Mad as a Hatter.

Hat-trick,subs.(cricket).—Taking three wickets with three consecutive balls: which feat is held to entitle the bowler to a new hat at the cost of the club.

1888.Sportsman, 28 Nov. Mr. Absolom has performed thehat tricktwice, and at Tufnell Park he took four wickets with four balls.

1892.Cassell’s Sat. Jour.21 Sept., p. 13, c. 2. On one occasion I succeeded in doing thehat trick.

1892.Woolwich Polytechnic Mag., 20 May. Three of these wickets were taken in succession, thus accomplishing thehat-trick.

Hat-work,subs.(journalists’).—Hack work; such stuff as may be turned out by the yard without reference to quality.

1888.H. Rider Haggard,Mr. Meeson’s Will, c. 1. And five-and-twenty tame authors (who were illustrated by thirteen tame artists) sat—at salaries ranging from one to five hundred a year—in vault-like hutches in the basement, and week by week poured out thathat-workfor which Meeson’s was justly famous.

Haulable,adj.(University).—Used of a girl whose society authorities deem undesirable for the men:e.g., she’shaulable= a man caught with her will be proctorised.

Haul-bowline,subs.(nautical).—A seaman. For synonyms,seeStrawyarder.

Haul-devil,subs.(common).—A clergyman. For synonyms,seeDevil-dodgerandSky-pilot.

Haul Devil,Pull Baker.SeeDevil.

Haut-boy(orHo-boy),subs.(American).—A night scavenger; a jakesman orgold-finder(q.v.).

Have,subs.(common).—1. A swindle; atake-in(q.v.); ado(q.v.). For synonyms,seeSell.

2.in. pl.(common).—The moneyed classes; as opposed to theHave-nots, their antipodes.

1893.National Observer, Feb. 25, ix., 357. A body whose policy is to make theHave-notsas comfortable and objectionable as possible at the cost in coin and comfort of theHaves.

3. (in. pl.)subs.(Winchester College).—Half-boots. Pronounced Hāves.

Is that a Catch or a Have?verb. phr.(vulgar).—A formula of acknowledgment that the speaker has been ‘had.’ [If the person addressed be unwise enough to answer with a definition, the instant retort is ‘Then youcatch(orhave, as the case may be) your nose up my arse.’]

Verb(colloquial).—1. To cheat;to take-in;to do.SeeBe.

1805.G. Harrington,New London Spy(4th Ed.) p. 26. Ten to one but you arehad, a cant word they make use of, instead of saying, as the truth is, we have cheated him.[281]

1825.Egan,Life of an Actor, ch. iv. ‘He’s not to behad,’ said Gag, in an audible whisper.

1878.Hatton,Cruel London, bk. II., ch. v. ‘They havehadme, bless you,’ said Brayford, ‘the men who have “limbed” you.’

1889.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 8 Feb. Not to behadso easily, my good man.

1889.Answers, 23 Feb., p. 196, c. 2. But even these fellows, sharp as they are, have been caught napping lately in a humorous way. Those who havehadthem have been young fellows with friendsinside the Stock Exchange.

1891.N. Gould,Double Event, p. 161.Hadme nicely once at cards.

1891.Licensed Vict. Gaz., 23 Jan. I never felt so wild in my life. I’m no fool, you know, and I began to think I was beinghada bit.

1891.J. Newman,Scamping Tricks, p. 58. I was nearlyhad.

1892.Illus. Bits, 22 Oct., p. 14. c. 2. Oh, mebboy, Oi wasn’t t’ behadthat way. Oi always kape resates—spishully Gov’ment wans. Oi got it safe and cosy in me pocket-book.

2. (venery).—To possess carnally. [Said indifferently of, and by, both sexes.] For synonyms,seeGreens.

To have had it,verb. phr.(venery).—To have been seduced.

To have(ortake)it out of one,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To punish; to retaliate; to extort aquid pro quo; to give tit for tat.

To have it out with one,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To speak freely in reproof; to complete an explanation; to settle a dispute with either words or blows.

1886.J. S. Winter,Army Society, ch. xix. Instead of going down to St. Eve’s andhaving it out, he fretted, and worried, and fumed the six days away.

1888.Daily News, 8 Dec. There was a question as to who struck the first blow, but it seemed to him certain that a man who crossed the road tohave it outwith another was the most likely to have commenced hostilities.

To have on,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To secure a person’s interest, attention, sympathy: generally with a view to deceiving him (or her).

To have towards(orwith, orat),verb. phr.(old).—1. To pledge in drinking; to toast.SeeHere.

1637.Cartwright,Royal Slave. Here’s to thee, Leocrates.Leoc.Have towards thee, Philotas.Phil.To thee, Archippus.Arch.Here, Molops.Mol.Have at you, fidlers.

1836.M. Scott,Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. ii. ‘Have with you, boy—have with you,’ shouted half-a-dozen other voices, while each stuck his oaken twig through the handkerchief that held his bundle, and shouldered it, clapping his straw or tarpaulin hat, with a slap on the crown, on one side of his head, and staggering and swaying about under the influence of the poteen.

2. (common).—To agree with.

To have on toast,verb. phr.(common).—1. To take in.

2. (common).—To worst in argument.

To have on the raws,verb. phr.(common).—To teaze; to touch to the quick.

To let one have it,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To punish severely.

1848.Ruxton,Life in the Far West, p. 8. ‘Hurraw, Dick, mind your hair,’ and I ups old Greaser and let one Injunhave it, as was going plum into the boy with his lance.

Have up,verb. phr.(colloquial).—To bring before the authorities; tosummons(q.v.).

Havercake-lads,subs. phr.(Military).—The Thirty-third Foot. [From the circumstance that its recruiting sergeants always preceded their party with an oatcake on their swords.][282]

Havey-cavey,adj.(old).—Uncertain; doubtful; shilly-shally.

1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.

1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.

Havil,subs.(old).—A sheep. For synonyms,seeWool-bird.

1811.Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.

1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.

Havock,subs.(old: now recognised).—Devastation; waste.

1607.Shakspeare,Julius Cæsar, iii., 1. Cryhavock, and let slip the dogs of war.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. They made sadHavock, they Destroy’d all before ’em.

1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.

Hawcubite,subs.(old).—A roysterer; a street bully. [After the Restoration there was a succession of these disturbers of the peace: first came the Muns, then followed the Tityre Tus, the Hectors, the Scourers, the Nickers, the Hawcubites, and after them theMohawks(q.v.).]

Hawk,subs.(common).—1. A card-sharper; arook(q.v.).

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hawk,c., a Sharper.

1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.Hawk, a Sharper.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Hawkalso signifies a sharper, in opposition to pigeon.

1859.Matsell,Vocabulum, s.v.Hawk. A Confidence Man; a swindler.

1891.New York Herald[London ed.], 31 May. These werehawksand pigeons, and those who are no longer pigeons, and never had, or will have, an inclination to behawks.

2. (common).—A bailiff; a constable. For synonyms,seeBeak.

1834.Ainsworth,Rookwood, bk. I., ch. iii. ‘The game’s spoiled this time, Rob Rust, anyhow,’ growled one, in an angry tone; ‘thehawksare upon us, and we must leave this brave buck to take care of himself.’

Verb(old).—Seequots.

1589.Nashe,Anatomie, Whereas, by their humming andhawking… they have leisure to gesture the mislike of his rudeness.

1600.Shakspeare,As You Like It, v., 3. Shall we clap into ’t roundly, withouthawking, or spitting, or saying we are hoarse?

1604.Marston,Malcontent, ii., 2. Is he troubled with the cough of the lungs still? Does hehawkea night’s?

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant.Crew, s.v. … Also spitting difficulty.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v. …Hawking, an effort to spit up the thick phlegm, calledoysters, whence it is wit upon record, to ask the person so doing, whether he has a license, a punning allusion to the act ofhawkersand pedlars.

1815.Scott,Guy Mannering, ch. xlvi. This tremendous volley of superlatives which Sampsonhawkedup from the pit of his stomach.

1822.Byron,Vision of Judgment, xc. To cough andhawk, and hem, and pitch His voice into that awful note of woe.

Ware Hawk!phr.(old).—A warning; look sharp!Seesubs.sense 2.

d.1529.Skelton,Ware Hawk(Title).

1625.Jonson,Staple of News, v. 2. See! the whole covey is scattered;ware, ware the hawks!

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hawk,ware hawk, the word to look sharp, a bye-word when a bailiff passes.

1815.Scott,Guy Mannering, ch. iii.Ware hawk!Douse the Glim.

To hawk one’s meat,verb. phr.(common).—To peddle one’s charms,i.e., to show a great deal of neck and breasts. Fr.,montrer sa viande.

Hawk-a-mouthed,adj. phr.(old).—Seequot.[283]

c.1750.Dialogue in the Devonshire Dialect(Palmer, 1839) s.v. One that is perpetuallyhawkingand spitting; also foul-mouthed.

Hawker,subs.(old: now recognized).—A pedlar.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hawkers. Retail News-Sellers.

1725.New Cant. Dict., s.v.

1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Hawkers, licensed itinerant retailers of different commodities, called also pedlars; likewise the sellers of newspapers.

Hawking,verb. subs.(old: now recognised).—Peddling; offering small wares for sale from door to door. Also see quot. 1690.

1690. B. E.,Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.Hawking, going about Town and Country with Scotch-Cloth, etc., or News-Papers: also Spitting difficultly.

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