Packing-up,intj.(Winchester).—SeePeals.
Pad,subs.(King Edward’s, Birm.).—Writing-paper:e.g.“a sheet ofPAD”; “lend me somePAD.” [The paper for exercises is generally in the form of writing-pads, from which a sheet may be separated as wanted.]
Pageites(Charterhouse).—SeeOut-houses.
Palmer,subs.(Durham: obsolete).—A sly fellow.
Pancake.Tossing the pancake,verb. phr.(Westminster).—Seequot.
1867.Collins,The Public Schools, 171. The old Shrove-Tuesday custom ofTOSSING THE PANCAKE, though now peculiar to Westminster, is said to have been also formerly in use at Eton. The ceremony as at present performed is this. The cook, preceded by the verger, enters the large school, in full official costume, with the hot cake in the pan. He tosses it—or tries to toss it, for it is no easy feat—over the iron bar, which has been already mentioned as having once held a curtain screening off the upper school from the lower. If he succeeds he claims a fee of two guineas. There is a scramble among the boys, who stand on the other side of the bar, for thePANCAKE, and if any boy can secure it whole, which seldom happens, he carries it up to the dean, who presents him with a sovereign. They also claim a right to “book” the performer (i.e.hurl a shower of books at him) if he fails more than once. This right was liberally exercised in 1865, when the wrath of the school had culminated owing to repeated failures in that and the previous year. The exasperated cook replied to the attack with his only available missile—the frying-pan—and a serious row was the consequence. The battle is celebrated in a clever mock-heroic poem, in Greek Homeric verse, attributed to a high Westminster authority.
Pandie,subs.(Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—A stroke from the leather strap known as theTAWSE(q.v.), used in Scotland instead of the cane; aPAUMIE(q.v.). [From the order given in Latin,Pande manum.SeeRedgauntlet.]
Pantile,subs.(general).—A flat cake covered with jam.
Panupetaston,subs.(University: obsolete).—A loose overcoat with wide sleeves.
Paradise,subs.1. (Oxford).—A grove of trees outside St. John’s College.
2. (Rugby).—A room in the old school (built in 1755) on the site of which the school-house hall now stands. [From its pleasant look-out.]
Part.SeeBooks.
Party Roll,subs.(Winchester).—A list of boys going home together.SeePeals.
Passy,adj.(Christ’s Hospital).—Severe: of a master. [That is, “passionate.”—Blanch.]SeeAppendix.
1844.Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital[The Blue, Aug. 1874]. Rightly or wrongly, it was the general opinion in our time that punishment in school depended less upon the correctness with which the lessons were said, than upon the temper of the particular master. Frequently and anxiously the question was asked, “Is hePASSYthis morning?” and the arrival of a new master created immense excitement. Our first queries were invariably of his manners and temper—matters of far more importance to us than any question as to his ability.
Patrol,subs.(Dulwich).—Keeping order in Form rooms between morning and afternoon school: a duty of school Præfects.
Paul’s-pigeons,subs.(common).—The scholars of St. Paul’s School.
Pawmie,subs.(Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—A stroke on the hand from the leather strap known as theTAWSE(q.v.), used in Scotland instead of the cane: alsoPANDIE(q.v.). [Paum= palm of the hand.]
Pavvy, The(Harrow).—The pavilion on the cricket-ground.
Pax,subs.(Winchester).—A chum; an intimate friend. [Cf.Scotspack= intimate, familiar.]
1891.Wrench,Word-Book, 30. Possibly the plural of “pack,” which word has an extended use in reference to friendship ... asadj.,subs., andverb. This seems a more likely origin than thePAXof the Church.
Intj.An injunction to desist or to silence—“Be quiet!” “Hands off!” AlsoHAVE PAX! [Almost the pure Latin use of the word.]
P. D.,subs.(Dulwich).—Punishment drill: in Junior School.
Peal,subs.(Winchester: obsolete).—A custom in Commoners of singing out comments on Præfects at the beginning ofCLOISTER-TIME(q.v.). Also cheers given on the last three Sundays of the Half for articles of dress, &c., connected with going home, such as “Gomer Hats,” “Party Rolls,” &c.... “The ringing of Chapel bells is also divided intoPEALS.” [Halliwell.—Peals= a noise or uproar.Cf.Mid. Eng.apel= an old term in hunting music, consisting of three long moots.]
c.1840.Mansfield,School-Life at Winchester College, p. 62. The junior in chamber had a hard time of it; ... while endeavouring to get through his multifarious duties, he had to keep a sharp ear on the performance of the chapel bell, and to call out accordingly, “firstPEAL!” “secondPEAL!” “bells down!”
1867.Collins,The Public Schools, p. 22. The scholars at this time were expected to rise at the sound of “firstPEAL” at five o’clock, and were recommended to say privately a short Latin selection from the Psalms as soon as they were dressed.Ibid.They then swept out their chambers and made their beds (consisting in those days of nothing better than bundles of straw with a coverlet), andSECOND PEALat half-past five summoned them to chapel.
1881.Felstedian, Nov., p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” At 6.30, I had to get back to call everybody again; and again at 6.40 (five minutes to secondPEAL); at 6.45 (“secondPEAL”) when the chapel bell started and kept on till seven. When the bell stops I wait at the door and call out “præfect of chapel going in”—i.e.the præfect of the week who calls names; then “præfect of chapel in” when he reaches the door.
1900.St. James’s Gazette, Mar. 15, “Arnoldiana.”—He [Matthew Arnold] was the victim of public expression of disapproval—in connection, Mr. Arnold thinks, with the lively ceremony known asCLOISTER PEALINGS, when he was placed at the end of the great school, and, amid howls and jeers, pelted with a rain of “pontos” for some time. [Cloisterpealings is here incorrectly used:seeSticking-up.]
Pec,subs.(Eton: obsolete).—Money. [Lat.pecunia.]
Pempe,subs.(Winchester).—An imaginary object in search of which a new-comer is sent: the equivalent of “pigeon’s milk,” or the “squad-umbrella.” [From πεμπε μω̂ρον προτερον = “Send the fool farther.”]
Penance-table,subs.(Stonyhurst).—A table in the refectory at which a boy is condemned to sit alone for bad behaviour during meals. Tradition says, with some authority, that the presentPENANCE-TABLEis the one on which Cromwell slept when he spent a night at Stonyhurst. It is hence also called “Cromwell’s Table.”
Penance-walk,subs.(Stonyhurst).—A path in the playground where malefactors are condemned to tramp in silence during recreation time. The form of the order given is: “Take an hour’sPENANCE,” or “Go onPENANCE.”
Pensioner,subs.(Cambridge).—One who pays a “pensio” or rent for rooms in College. At Oxford aCOMMONER(q.v.).
1780.Mansel[Whibley,Cap and Gown]. A Cambridge Commencement’s the time When gentlemen come for degrees And with wild-looking cousins and wives Through a smart mob ofPENSIONERSsqueeze.
Pepper,verb(University).—To mark the accents of a Greek exercise.
Pepper-box,subs.(Eton).—SeeAppendix.
Percher,subs.(Winchester).—A Latin cross marked horizontally against the name of an absentee.
c.1840.Mansfield,School-Life at Winchester(1866), 225.Percher—A mark (────┼──) put after a boy’s name on a Roll, which showed that he had been absent from Chapel or Hills without leave; or that he had not done his Verse or Prose Task, or Vulgus. It was also often put by a Master in the margin of gags, or a Verse or Prose Task, to indicate gross errors.
Pets,subs.(Charterhouse).—A set (saysTod) of young ruffians in Under Long Room whom the editor ofThe Verite Chronicle(seeVerite) was constrained from self-interest to place on the free list. Only eight numbers appeared.
Petties,subs.(Harrow).—According to the Founder’s regulations, the lowest class—“which have not learned their accidence, or entered into the English rules of grammar.”
Phædras(Harrow).—SeeUpper School.
Phil,subs.(Harrow).—The Philathletic Club. It consists of members of the school elected for merit in athletics, the first ten monitors beingex officio.
Philosophers,subs.(Stonyhurst).—The body of students above the ordinary forms. AlsoPhils.
Pi,adj.(Winchester).—Virtuous; sanctimonious.Ex.“His pitch-up are veryPI.”SeeAppendix.
1891.Wrench,Winchester Word-Book, s.v.Pi.... Abbreviation of “pious.”Ex.“He’s veryPInow, he mugs all day. HePI-jawed me for thoking.”
Pie-match,subs.(Rugby).—A match arranged between teams in one house, or in one form, followed by a supper, subscribed for by the players, or provided by the masters.
Pig.SeeHog.
The old pig,subs. phr.(Rugby).—Seequot.
1856.Hughes,Tom Brown’s School-days, vii. “TheOLD PIGcame by.” “The what?” said the doctor. “The Oxford coach, sir,” explained Hall. “Hah! yes, the Regulator,” said the doctor.
Pigeon-hole,subs.(Winchester).—A small study.
Piggin,subs.(Christ’s Hospital).—Seequot.
1798. “Christ’s Hospital Three Quarters of a Century Ago” [Chelmsford Chronicle(1875), Ap. 16]. Beer we had certainly served out in wooden vessels of an extraordinary shape, calledPIGGINS; about six of them for four boys to drink out of, but such beer! ThePIGGINSwere seldom replenished, for we could not drink it.
Pig-market(The),subs.(Oxford).—A corridor leading to the Divinity School: properly the Proscholium. [Said to have been so used in the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII.]
1837.Ingram,Memorials of Oxford.... The schools built by Abbot Hokenorton being inadequate to the increasing wants of the University, they applied to the Abbot of Reading for stone to rebuild them; and in the year 1532 it appears that considerable sums of money were expended on them; but they went to decay in the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII. and during the whole reign of Edward VI. The change of religion having occasioned a suspension of the usual exercises and scholastic acts in the University, in the year 1540 only two of these schools were used by determiners, and within two years after none at all. The whole area between these schools and the divinity school was subsequently converted into a garden andPIG-MARKET; and the schools themselves, being completely abandoned by the masters and scholars, were used by glovers and laundresses.
1853.Bradley,Verdant Green, iv. Our hero proceeded with his father along the High Street, and turned round by St. Mary’s, and so up Cat Street to the Schools, where they made their way to the classicPIG-MARKET, to wait the arrival of the Vice-Chancellor.
Pill,verb(University).—To talk twaddle or platitudes.
Pin,verb(Stonyhurst: obsolete).—To enjoy:e.g.“IPINNEDmy innings”; “this is aPINNINGbook.”
1887.Stonyhurst Mag., iii. 89. A downright enjoyablePINNABLEgame.
To pin a lozen,verb. phr.(Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—To break a window. [Lozen= a pane of glass.]
Pinch.To pinch in,verb. phr.(Harrow).—Seequot.
1867.Collins,The Public Schools, p. 315. Dr. Butler ... abolished, amongst other old customs, certain rites and ceremonies which were used in celebrating a boy’s remove from one form to the other in the lower part of the school. No such promotion was considered complete, so far as the boys were concerned, until the new member had been duly “PINCHED IN”—remaining a certain fixed time in the play-room, during which all the fraternity exercised a right of pinching him, limited only by the tenderness of their dispositions or the strength of their fingers. There were generally some adepts in this torture, who knew, and taught others, the tenderest places and the most artistic mode of taking hold, and who carried this evil knowledge with them from form to form, to be practised on a succession of victims. The rites of initiation were completed by tossing in a blanket in the dormitory, and a certain number of bumps against the ceiling were required to make the ceremony valid.
Pintle,subs.(Lancing).—(1) A form of cricket played with a bat narrowed at both sides, a soft ball, and a stone wicket in a pit. Also (2) = the bat used in the game. HencePINTLE-SLINGER= a fast bowler.
Pitch-up,subs.(Winchester).—One’s home circle; a group; a crowd; a set of chums. HenceTO PITCH UP WITH= to associate with.
Place,subs.(Stonyhurst).—A room: generic: as study-PLACE, shoe-PLACE, tailor’sPLACE, washing-PLACE, Dick’sPLACE, stranger’sPLACE( = parlour).
1891.John Gerard, S.J.,Stonyhurst College. This evidently comes from St. Omers, in which district, we are told, the word is still employed in the same promiscuous way.
To run for a place,verb. phr.(Winchester).—Seequot.
1881.Felstedian, Nov., p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” My next duty is what is called “running for aPLACE.” There are (or were) six cricket pitches on “turf,” and any præfect has a right to one of these all day (a bad arrangement, which I hope is altered now, as fellows with no idea of cricket could thus keep much better players off all day) provided he can get a stick with his name on, stuck in the ground by his fag—the half-dozen out of the fifteen or twenty fags running, who get their præfect’s sticks stuck in first, claiming the place for him. It was the same sort of thing, as if the door from the “underground” was opened about 6.30, and some twenty fellows rushed out early in the morning to try and get pitches.
Plain-ruled,subs.(Harrow).—The paper usually used for exercises, sixteen lines to a page.
Planks(The),subs.(Rugby).—Seequot.
1856.Hughes,Tom Brown’s School-days, viii. The river Avon at Rugby is ... a capital river for bathing, as it has many nice small pools and several good reaches for swimming, all within about a mile of one another, and at an easy twenty minutes’ walk from the School. This mile of water is rented, or used to be rented, for bathing purposes by the Trustees of the School, for the boys. The footpath to Brownsover crosses the river byTHE PLANKS, a curious old single-plank bridge running for fifty or sixty yards into the flat meadows on each side of the river—for in the winter there are frequent floods. AboveTHE PLANKSwere the bathing-places for the smaller boys;Sleath’s, the first bathing-place, where all new boys had to begin, until they had proved to the bathing men (three steady individuals, who were paid to attend daily through the summer to prevent accidents) that they could swim pretty decently, when they were allowed to go on toAnstey’s, about one hundred and fifty yards below. Here there was a hole about six feet deep and twelve feet across, over which the puffing urchins struggled to the opposite side, and thought no small beer of themselves for having been out of their depths. BelowTHE PLANKScame larger and deeper holes, the first of which wasWratislaw’s, and the lastSwift’s, a famous hole, ten or twelve feet deep in parts, and thirty yards across, from which there was a fine swimming reach right down to the Mill.Swift’swas reserved for the sixth and fifth forms, and had a spring-board and two sets of steps; the others had one set of steps each, and were used indifferently by all the lower boys, though each house addicted itself more to one hole than to another. The School-house at this time affectedWratislaw’shole, and Tom and East, who had learnt to swim like fishes, were to be found there as regular as the clock through the summer, always twice, and often three times a day.
Plant,subs.(Winchester).—A blow with a football. Also asverb.
Play,subs.(Sherborne: obsolete—otherwise general).—A holiday, half or whole.
1865.Etoniana, 115. Eton versification was very good indeed ... exercises ... from their excellence, were laid before the provost, by a time-honoured custom, as a claim for the weekly half-holiday called “PLAY”—a ceremony which some other public schools have borrowed.
To beg a play(Westminster).—SeeEarly PlayandWestminster Play.
Playing-fields,subs.(Eton).—There are seven separate grounds—Upper Club, Lower Club, Upper Sixpenny, Sixpenny, Jordan, Mesopotamia, and the new ground in “Agars Plough.”
1890.Great Public Schools, 59. Every one knows thePlaying-fields. They are the crowning glory, the eye of Eton ... they are always beautiful.
Pleb,subs.(Westminster).—A tradesman’s son.
Pledge,verb(Winchester).—To give away:e.g.“PLEDGEme” = “after you”; “PLEDGEyou” = “give, pass, or lend me;” “I’llPLEDGEit you when I’ve done with it.”
1882.Skeat[Wrench].Skeatsays it comes from a Latinpræbium, connected with præbere, in which casePLEDGEsimply means “give.”
Plodge,verb(Durham).—To paddle.
Plough(orPluck),verb(common).—To reject: as in an examination.
1785.Grose,Vulg. Tongue, s.v.Pluck.... Signifies to deny a degree to a candidate at one of the universities, on account of insufficiency. The three first books of Euclid, and as far as Quadratic Equations in Algebra, will save a man from beingPLUCKED. These unfortunate fellows are designated by many opprobrious appellations, such as the Twelve Apostles, the Legion of Honour, Wise Men of the East, &c.
1847.C. Brontë,Jane Eyre, x. He went to college and he gotPLUCKED, as I think they call it.
1853.Bradley,Verdant Green, iii. Verdant read up most desperately for his matriculation, associating that initiatory examination with the most dismal visions ofPLUCKING, and other college tortures.Ibid., xi. Note. When the degrees are conferred, the name of each person is read out before he is presented to the Vice-Chancellor. The proctor then walks once up and down the room, so that any person who objects to the degree being granted may signify the same by pulling orPLUCKINGthe proctor’s robes. This has been occasionally done by tradesmen, in order to obtain payment of their “little bills,” but such a proceeding is very rare, and the proctor’s promenade is usually undisturbed.
1855.Bristed,Eng. Univ., 258. If a man isPLUCKED—that is, does not get marks enough to pass—his chance of a Fellowship is done for.
1863.Reade,Hard Cash, Prol. Gooseberry pie ... adds to my chance of beingPLOUGHEDforSMALLS.
1886.Stubbs,Mediæval and Mod. Hist., 386. I trust that I have neverPLUCKEDa candidate ... without giving him every opportunity of setting himself right.
1895.Pocock,Rules of the Game, i. I knew one of that lot at Corpus; in fact, we were crammed by the same tutor for “smalls,” and both gotPLOUGHED.
Pluck.SeePlough.
Plug,subs.(common).—A translation; aCRIB(q.v.).
1853.Bradley(“Cuthbert Bede”),Verdant Green.... Getting up his subjects by the aid of those royal roads to knowledge, variously known as cribs, crams,PLUGS, abstracts, analyses, or epitomes.
Poacher,subs.(Stonyhurst).—At football a player stationed near an enemy’s goals to trouble hisSECOND-GUARDERS(q.v.). They are not allowed to go within the “Second-guarder’s” orPOACHINGline.
Pœna,subs.(general).—An imposition.
Poet,subs.(Stonyhurst).—SeePoetry.
Poetry,subs.(Stonyhurst).—The Fifth Form. [From the former chief study of the Form: originallyThe Humanities.Cf.Regulæ Professoris Humanitatisin theRatio Studiorum Societatis Jesu.]
Poet’s-walk,subs.(Eton).—A river-walk in the playing-fields.Poet’s-walk= the tea those playing in Upper Club have on half-holidays by the river.
Pog,subs.(Felsted).—The face.SeeAppendix.
1895.Felstedian, April, p. 44. We won the game by one goal, three rouges—points to its origin. “Pog” may have meant a “melancholy” face originally, and in time come to denote any Felstedian’s visage, grave or gay.
1897.Felstedian, May, p. 87. I ... prayed that he wasn’t going to drag in “Cheese” or “POG,” or any similar atrocities.
Pojam,subs.(Harrow).—A poem: set as an exercise.
Poker,subs.(Oxford).—ABEDEL(q.v.) carrying a silver mace before the Vice-Chancellor.
1841.Rime of the New-Made Baccalere.Around, around, all, all around, On seats with velvet lined, Sat Heads of Houses in a row, And Deans and College Dons below, With aPOKERor two behind.
1853.Bradley(“Cuthbert Bede”),Verdant Green, vii. A sort of young procession—the Vice-Chancellor, with his and Yeoman-bedels. The silver maces carried by the latter gentlemen, made them by far the most showy part of the procession....Ibid.Tom is the bell that you hear at nine each night; the Vice has to see that he is in proper condition, and, as you have seen, goes out with hisPOKERSfor that purpose.
1865.Cornhill Mag., Feb., 225. The heads of houses and university officers attend [St. Mary’s, Oxford] in their robes, and form a stately procession to and from the church. The Vice-Chancellor is escorted by his mace-bearers, familiarly calledPOKERS, to and from his residence.
Poll,subs.(Cambridge).—The ordinary examination for the B.A. degree, as distinguished from the “Honours” examination. Also a student who takes the “Pass” degree without “Honours.” HencePOLL-DEGREEandPOLL-MAN.To go out in the poll= to take an ordinary degree.
1855.Bristed,Eng. Univ., 62. Several declared that they wouldGO OUT IN THE POLL.
1884.Jas. Payn, inCornhill, April, 370. I took my degree, however—a first-classPOLL; which my good folks at home believed to be an honourable distinction.
1889.Academy, Mar. 2. It is related of some CambridgePOLL-MANthat he was once so ill-advised as to desert a private tutor.
Verb(Christ’s Hospital).—To maltreat; to make impure. [That is, “pollute.”]
Ponto,subs.(general).—New bread kneaded into a ball.
1900.St. James’s Gazette, Mar. 15, “Arnoldiana.” He [Matthew Arnold] was placed at the end of the great school, and, amid howls and jeers, pelted with a rain ofPONTOSfor some time. ThePONTO, though a soft missile, being but the inside of a new roll, was probably sufficient in quantity.
Pony,subs.(general).—A translation; aCRIB(q.v.)—any adventitious aid to study. Also asverb.
1832.Tour through College, 30. Their lexicons,PONIES, and textbooks were strewed round their lamps on the table.
1856.Hall,College Words, s.v.Pony. So called, it may be, from the fleetness and ease with which a skilful rider is enabled to pass over places which to a common plodder may present obstacles.
Poon,verb(Winchester).—To prop up a piece of furniture with a wedge under the leg.—Wrench.
Pop,subs.(Eton).—A club at Eton. Chiefly confined toOppidans(q.v.), thoughCollegers(q.v.) are sometimes elected.
1865.Etoniana, 207. “The Eton Society,” for reading and debates, has had a longer and more successful existence than the magazines. It is better known by its sobriquet of “POP,” supposed to be a contraction of Popina, the rooms where it was held for many years having been over a cookshop or confectioner’s. It was first instituted in 1811, when Charles Fox Townshend (who was the elder brother of the late Marquess, and died young) was the first president, and it has gone on ever since with considerable popularity and success. The preparation of the speeches leads to a certain amount of historical reading for the purpose; but the chief attraction of “POP” lies in its being a sort of social club, where papers and reviews are taken in; and, as the numbers are strictly limited (originally twenty-two, since increased to twenty-eight), to be elected into the society gives a boy a certain degree of prestige in the school. In summer the debates are almost nominal, out-door attractions being too strong; but in winter they sometimes last for several hours, and are kept up with great spirit. The members are almost exclusively oppidans, this being one of the points where the jealousy between them and the collegers comes out very distinctly. A few of the latter are admitted, but only when they have some special claim to popularity.
Portionist.SeePostmaster.
Poser,subs.(Winchester and Eton).—An examiner: formerly a bishop’s examining chaplain—at Eton for King’s College, and at Winchester for New College Scholarships and Exhibitions. AlsoAPPOSER,OPPOSER, andOPPOSITOR. [Posen= to examine.—Prompt. Parv., 144.]
1574.Queen Elizabeth,Endorsement on Recommendation of Candidates for College Election, May 8. To our trustie and welbeloved the wardens of the new Colledges in Oxford and nere Winchester and other of them and to theOPPOSITORSand others having interest in the election of Scollers.
1603.Bacon,Discourse[1887]. Let his questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for aPOSER.
1662.Fuller,Worthies,Norfolk, ii. 462. The University [Cambridge] ... appointed Doctor Cranmer ... to bePOSER-GENERALof all Candidates in Divinity.
1867.Collins,The Public Schools, p. 61. The election-day, both for Winchester and New College, is on the Tuesday next after the 7th of July (St. Thomas Beckett), when the warden of New College, Oxford, with two of his fellows, called thePOSERS(or at one time supervisors), arrive at the college, where they are received with a Latin oration “ad portas” by the senior scholar.
Post,subs.(University).—Seequot.
1855.Bristed,Eng. Univ., 74. Fifty marks will prevent one from beingPOSTED, but there are always two or three too stupid as well as idle to save theirPOST. These drones arePOSTEDseparately, as “not worthy to be classed,” and privately slanged afterwards by the master and seniors. Should a man bePOSTEDtwice in succession, he is generally recommended to try the air of some small college, or devote his energies to some other walk of life.
Verb.1. (University).—To reject: as in an examination; toPLUCK(q.v.);TO PLOUGH(q.v.).
2. (Eton).—To put down for doing badly inCOLLECTIONS(q.v.), the penalty being either a holiday-PŒNA(q.v.), or aSWISHING(q.v.).
3. (University).—To put up a man’s name as not having paid for food supplied by the College: supplies are then stopped until the account is settled.
Postmaster,subs.(Oxford).—An Exhibitioner of Merton College. AlsoPORTIONIST(q.v.).
1853.Bradley(“Cuthbert Bede”),Verdant Green, vii. Each college does its own postal department; and at Merton there are fourteenPOSTMASTERS, for they get no end of letters there. “Oh, yes! I remember Mr. Larkyns ... telling us that the son of one of his old friends had been aPOSTMASTERof Merton; but I fancied that he had said it had something to do with a scholarship.” “Ah, you see, it’s a long while since the governor was here, and his memory fails him,” remarked Mr. Charles Larkyns, very unfilially.
1886.Oxford Guide[S. J. & C.]. ThePOSTMASTERSanciently performed the duties of choristers, and their payment for this duty was six shillings and fourpence per annum.
Post-mortem,subs.(Cambridge).—The examination after failure.
1844.Puck, 13. And now tho’ I’ve passed thePOST-MORTEMat last.
Post-past,subs.(Stonyhurst: obsolete).—Dessert: at St. Omers.
1882.Stonyhurst Mag., i. 112. The dessert calledPOST-PASTwas always the best sort of apples or pears, and biscuits, or else walnuts.
Post te,phr.(Charterhouse).—The most useful (saysTod) of all the old Charterhouse expressions. For example,POST TE MATH. EX.= “Will you have the kindness to permit me to glance over your mathematical exercise?” Or one can give aPOST TEof anything;e.g.to give a friend aPOST TEof a book is to give him the right of its perusal when you have done with it. The word is also used in a subtle and sarcastic sense;e.g.POST TEhat orPOST TEchum signifies disapproval of the hat or friend of which or whom the remark was made.
Pot,subs.(Winchester).—A canal lock. WhencePOT-CAD= a workman at the saw-mills;POT-GATES= lock-gates;POT-HOUSER= a jump into the canal from the roof of a house calledPOT-HOUSE.
c.1840.Mansfield,School-Life at Winchester(1866), 226.POT—A canal lock; the one just under Hills was generally meant when the word was used.
Pot-house(The),subs.(Cambridge).—St. Peter’s College: formerly Peterhouse.
1891.Harry Fludyer at Cambridge, 85. He asked me what it was.... I hadn’t a notion, so I made a shot and said “POT-HOUSE.” He said, “I suppose you mean St. Peter’s College.”
Potted-fug,subs.(Rugby).—Potted-meat.
Præfect.SeePrefect.
Præpositor,subs.(Sherborne: obsolete).—A SchoolPræfect(q.v.): seventeenth century.
Præpostor,subs.(Rugby).—APræfect(q.v.).
1856.Hughes,Tom Brown’s School-days, v. The master mounted into the high desk by the door, and one of thePRÆPOSTORSof the week stood by him on the steps, the other three marching up and down the middle of the school with their canes, calling out “Silence, silence!”... Then thePRÆPOSTORwho stands by the master calls out the names, beginning with the sixth form; and as he calls, each boy answers “here” to his name, and walks out.
Prayer-book(Harrow).—SeeUpper School.
Precipice.SeeFresh-herring.
Prefect,subs.(general).—A superior or senior member of a school superintending in or out of school hours according to office and school: as in studies, preparation, games, &c.Seequots.,Præpositor,Præpostor, &c.
c.1840.Mansfield,School-Life at Winchester(1866), 226.Præfects—The eighteen Senior boys in College, and the twelve senior in Commoners. The ten senior of those in College were said to be in “Full power,” and took the office of Bible-Clerk in rotation; they all had the power of fagging the Juniors, but those not in full power were supposed not to have the right of fagging on the School side of Seventh Chamber Passage; practically, however, they always did. One of the SeniorPRÆFECTSwas calledPRÆFECTof Hall, and was responsible in a great measure for the conduct of the boys out of school. His duties and privileges were numerous. There was also a “PRÆFECTof Tub,” who was supposed to see that the dinner was properly distributed; a “PRÆFECTof School,” who had the care of that building; and two “PRÆFECTSof Chapel,” who during alternate weeks called names in Chapel. There were fees attached to all these offices; and all thePRÆFECTShad a certain number of boys allotted to them as Pupils, each of whom paid one guinea each half.
1881.Felstedian, Nov., p. 75. Here let me observe that only thePRÆFECTShave separate basins to wash in; the juniors use the two stone conduits.
1891.Wrench,Winchester Word-Book, s.v.Præfects.... The number of Præfects was eighteen in College, three to each Chamber ... in Commoners first eight, with four senior-inferiors, who were like Præfects in half-power, and later twelve.... The wordPræpostorwas also used concurrently, it would appear, till the last century, when it disappeared, except in the formula demanding a remedy, in which it survives. What the relations of the two words were to each other it is not easy to determine.... Præpostor occurs in the College Register, and is still used in asking for Remedies. Both seem, therefore, to be official words. At Eton Præpostor survives, though they are stated to have begun with officers bearing other titles. They have also retainedmajor,minor,minimus, which we have discarded forsenior,secundus,junior. The “Præfect of Tub”—“qui nomen ducit ab olla”—who presided over meals, and whose perquisites are said to have been most lucrative—amounting to the value of £80 per annum—and the “Præfectof Cloisters” are obsolete offices.
1900.MS. Notes(Rev. A.Goodier, Stonyhurst).Præfects... These are four in number.
Prep,subs.1. (Dulwich).—Evening preparation.Cf.Banco,Toy-time, &c.
2. (Felsted).—A place of preparation.
1890.Felstedian, Feb., p. 2. Johnsonmahappened to be inPREPin good time, so he managed to get in a moment’s conversation with Jones.
Preparatory,subs.(Stonyhurst).—The preparatory Form at Hodder: originallyAbecedarii.
Pricking Æger.SeeÆger.
Private-business,subs.(Eton).—Extra work with the tutor.
Privee,subs.(Charterhouse).—A private conversation.SeeBoule.
Privs,subs.(Harrow).—Special privileges in the House: granted to either Sixth Form orThree-yearers(q.v.). These take different forms in different houses.To FIND(q.v.) and toTOLLY-UParePRIVS: so is the right to wear a coat that is not regulation school dress afterLOCK-UP(q.v.).
Pro,subs.(Oxford).—A proproctor, or second in command in the proctorial police. The two proctors appoint a certain number of proproctors each.
1823.Hints for Oxford, 10. They (Freshmen) cap thePRO’Stoo in the street, speak to people without being introduced, and are guilty of a thousandgaucheries.
1869.W. Bradwood,The O.V.H., x. The proctor (more strictly aPRO) backed out of the room with wholesale apologies.
Proctorized,adj.andadv.(University).—Stopped by a proctor and told to call on him.
1861.Hughes,Tom Brown at Oxford, i. 12. So getsPROCTORIZEDin his old age.
1885.Punch, May 16, p. 233.Proctorisedagain last night! Coming home from jolly wine-party at John’s.
Progger,subs.(University).—A proctor.
1898.Stonyhurst Mag., Dec., p. 149, “Life at Oxford.” But a Proctor, or—by the common practice—“PROGGER,” soon teaches the unwary that the wisest course is to wear it at the stated times, however objectionable it may be.
Progging,subs.(University).—SeeProctorized.
1898.Stonyhurst Mag., Dec., p. 149, “Life at Oxford.” A “PROGGING” may form part of another article. At present I have passed all due bounds.
Proggins,subs.(University).—A proctor.
Promo,subs.(Charterhouse).—Promotion.
Prompter,subs.(Merchant Taylors’).—A member of the Second Form.
Proof,subs.(Oxford).—The best ale at Magdalen College.
Pros,subs.(Cambridge).—A W.C.
Prose,subs.(Winchester).—A lecture. Also asverb.
Prose-task,subs.(Winchester).—A piece of Latin prose composition, which all the boys had to do once a week.—Mansfield(c.1840).
Provincial’s-day.SeeDay.
Pruff,adj.(Winchester).—Sturdy; insensible to pain.
1610.Shakspeare,Cor., i. 4. Now put your shields before your hearts, and fight With hearts morePROOFthan shields.
1881.Pascoe,Public Schools.... But deprive a Wykehamist of words in constant use, such as “quill,” meaning to curry favour with;PRUFF, signifying sturdy, or proof against pain; “spree,” upstart, impudent; “cud,” pretty, and many more, and his vocabulary becomes limited.
Public-supping,subs.(Christ’s Hospital).—Seequots.
1870.The Blue, Mar. It is, we believe, certain that T.R.H. the Prince and Princess Teck will grace one of the LentPUBLIC SUPPERSwith their distinguished presence.
1900.Daily Telegraph, Mar. 16, “London Day by Day.” That quaint and historic old custom known as the “public supping” of the children was celebrated last evening at Christ’s Hospital, Newgate Street, in the presence of the Lord Mayor, Alderman Vaughan Morgan (treasurer of the school), and other civic and educational dignitaries.
1900.Pall Mall Gazette, 20th Mar., 3. 2, “A Lenten Supper.” Attention is directed to this festival this year for two reasons—one, that it is a very ancient custom; the other, that this is nearly the last year in which it will be held; for it is clear that when the school has changed its site, its dress, and certain of its officers and masters, it will not care to carry on this quaint old ceremony. And indeed, were the Hospital to hold such revelry at Horsham there would be few to come as guests, if the name of guest can be assigned to one who plays a part so passive as that of seeing other people eat.... The scene of the supping is the Great Hall.... Six hundred boys and more appear as nothing; they are all seated.... At each table sits a matron, according to their wards (of which there are fifteen), and attached to each ward is a matron, who used to be called nurse. Beside the tables are the monitors, responsible for order—biggish boys—not “Grecians,” for Grecians do not appear at the Lent suppers, except to read or pray or sing, having already eaten in their wards. The first performance, probably, is to light the candles on the tables; each ward has four candles, and all are lighted at almost the same moment. The hall is lighted from the roof by gas, so the candlesticks are little more than ornaments. They are of oak, old, and well-weighted at the base, and can count their age by centuries.... Their quaintness is concealed by artificial flowers, which the boys pay for and the matrons arrange, the result more suggestive of suburban bonnets than antiquity and quaintness. Ask a boy Why? he will probably reply that “it always has been done.” Change has come; it used to be held on Sundays during Lent instead of Thursday as to-day, and up to absolutely recent years there were six suppers instead of four. These festivals interfere somewhat with school work, and those who are officially compelled to attend find sameness, even in a public supper, in the course of thirty years or so. As the clock strikes seven there is a rap, the boys stand up, the organ bursts into “God save the Queen,” and up the hall marches the Lord Mayor, preceded by the chief beadle of the Hospital, clad in gorgeous raiment and a mace suggestive of a fish-slice. Behind comes the treasurer of the Hospital, another alderman, and various governors, each bearing a green stick to mark his office. These sit in reserved seats at the far end of the hall, the Lord Mayor inthechair, while on his right hand by the wall are masters and on his left some “officers.” The ceremony—a strange mixture of a religious service, a meal, and a feudal relic—begun with the reading of a passage from the Sermon on the Mount by a Grecian standing in a pulpit, whence he proceeded to read special prayers written for the school by Bishop Compton, ending with the Lord’s Prayer, after which a hymn and “grace” and then the supper, during which the Lord Mayor, with a select few, made the grand tour of the hall. Such a supper was soon over, and it was not long before the boys had gathered up the plates and bowls and cloths and knives, and then came grace and an anthem well sung by a well-trained choir. This was followed by the feudal feature in the evening: the whole school, with the exception of the Grecians, “bows round,” i.e. the boys walk up two and two, marshalled by two beadles, who stand near, and drawing near the chair, then bow the head in reverence to an Authority. Most boys have a “trade,” and in this procession each one carries a symbol of that “trade.” The matron’s special boy carries a bonnet-candle in each hand, the knife-boy carries his knife-basket, and the cloth-boy takes his cloth neatly rolled beneath his wing, while, last of all, the bread-boy hoists the tall bread-basket shoulder-high and “bows round” with it, never failing to raise a laugh as well as a basket. When all have bowed, the boy-marshalling beadles bow also, and the revels are ended. It is believed that the original purpose of these suppers was to rouse interest in the outside public and possibly raise money from their pockets; at all events, collection boxes used to be placed about the hall on those occasions.
Puddex.SeeDex.
Puke,verb(Winchester).—To vomit. [A survival.]
Puker,subs.(Shrewsbury).—A good-for-nothing.
Pulling-out,subs.(Charterhouse: obsolete).—Pulling-outtook place on Good Fridays. A line was marked from a corner of green to cloisters. On one side of this line stood the first and second forms,i.e.the Uppers, on the other side of it the Unders. The Unders had the right of calling on any unpopular Upper to run the gauntlet between two rows of Unders from cloister doors to a point near the chapel. They armed themselves with implements of all kinds, such as sticks, or stones fastened into stockings, with which to inflict punishment upon the Uppers. The latter naturally resisted; hence there were fierce fights and dangerous rushes. During thePULLING-OUTof 1824, a little fellow called Howard, a younger son of the Earl of Suffolk, was entangled in one of these rushes, dragged along the ground for some distance, with a mass of boys upon him, and received injuries from which he died soon after. This was the end ofPULLING-OUT, but the custom was as old as the school.—Mozley.AlsoCalling-out.
Pulpiteers,subs.(Winchester).—Seequot.
1891.Wrench,Word-Book, s.v.Pulpiteers. An arrangement during Cloister-time of Sixth Book and Senior Part V. going up to books together.... Middle and Junior Part taken together were called Cloisters.
Pun,subs.(Harrow).—Punishment. Also asverb. HencePUN-PAPER= specially ruled paper forPUNSand impositions.
To pun out,verb. phr.(Christ’s Hospital).—To inform against.Ex.“I’llPUN OUT”; “I’llPUNyouOUT.” Exclusively a London term: at Hertford the word is simplyTO PUN, orTO PUNOF.
Punny,subs.(Manchester Grammar).—Punishment School or Drill: also known as P.S. and P.D.: both cause detention for three-quarters of an hour after school.
Punt,verb(Rugby).—To kick the ball (at football) before it touches the ground.
Punt-about,subs.(Rugby).—The practice-ball: at football. Also a practice game.
1856.Hughes,Tom Brown’s School-days,I.v. He hadn’t long to wonder, however, for next minute East cried out, “Hurra! here’s thePUNT-ABOUT,—come along and try your hand at a kick.” ThePUNT-ABOUTis the practice-ball, which is just brought out and kicked about anyhow from one boy to another before callings-over and dinner, and at other odd times.
Puny,subs.(old Oxford).—A Freshman: also a student at the Inns of Court.
15 [?].Christmas Prince at St. John’s College, i. Others to make sporte withall, of this last sorte were they whom they call freshmenn,PUNIESof the first yeare.
15 [?].Ulysses upon Ajax, B. 8. A very worme of wit, aPUNEYof Oxford, shall make you more hatefull than Battalus the hungrye fidler.
1593.Nashe,Christ’s Teares[Works(Grosart), iv. 228]. Sharing halfe with the Baudes their Hostesses, and laughing at thePUNIESthey have lurched [robbed].
1634.Marston, inLectores, &c. [Nares]. Shall each oddPUISNEof the lawyer’s inne, Each barmy-froth, that last day did beginne, To read his little, or his nere a whit.
c.1640 [Shirley],Captain Underwit[Bullen,Old Plays, ii. 340]. Preach to thePUISNESof the Inne sobrietie. [Puisne(i.e.PUNY) was the term applied to students at the Inns of Court; also to Freshmen at Oxford.—Bullen.]
1847.Halliwell,Arch. and Prov. Words, s.v.Punies. Freshmen at Oxford were calledPUNIESfor the first year.
Pupe,subs.(Harrow).—A pupil-room. [Room= class or form: each tutor is assigned aRoom, for the members of which he is generally responsible, and for whom he signs orders.]
Puseum(The),subs.(Oxford).—The Pusey House in St. Giles’s Street.
Put.To be put on,verb. phr.(Dulwich).—To be told to construe.
Pux,verb(Royal High School, Edin.).—To punish with the tawse:e.g.“Did you getPUXED?”