Sack, to “get theSACK,” to be discharged by an employer. Varied in the North of England to “get theBAG.” In London it is sometimes spoken of as “getting theEMPTY.” It is common now to speak of “getting theBULLET,” an evident play on the word discharge.Sad dog, a merry fellow, a joker, a “gay” or “fast” man.Saddle, an additional charge made by the manager to a performer upon his benefit night.—Theatrical.Safe, trusty, worthy of confidence. ASAFEcard is a man who knows “what’s o’clock.” ASAFEman among betters is one who is sure to fulfil his engagements.Safe un, a horse which will not run, or will not try, in a race. The bookmakers in London have the information sent them by the touts in their pay, and lay against theSAFE UN, who is also called a “stiff un,” a “dead un,” or a “shtumer,” as often as they can, irrespective of the state of their books. Sometimes aSAFE UNwill win, owing to the owner or trainer having, for various reasons, altered his mind. Such a result then goes to prove the “glorious uncertainty of the turf,” a phrase in very common use among sporting writers whenever a favourite is beaten, or whenever a horse runs slow one day and loses, and very fast the next day and wins.Sails, nickname for the sail-maker on board ship.St. Martin’s lace, imitation gold lace; stage tinsel.Saint Monday, a holiday most religiously observed by journeymen shoemakers and other mechanics. An Irishman observed that this saint’s anniversary happened every week. In some parts of the country Monday is termed Cobblers’ Sunday.Sal, a salary.—Theatrical.Salaam, a compliment or salutation.—Anglo-Indian.Salamander, a street acrobat and juggler who eats fire.Saloop,SALEP, orSALOP, a greasy-looking beverage, formerly sold on stalls at early morning, prepared from a powder made of the root of theOrchis mascula, or Red-handed Orchis. Coffee-stands have supersededSALOOPstalls; but, in addition to other writers, Charles Lamb, in one of his papers, has left some account of this drinkable, which he says was of all preparations the most grateful to the stomachs of young chimney-sweeps. The present generation has no knowledge of this drink, except that derived from books. The word “slops”—as applied to weak, warm drink—is very likely derived from the Cockney pronunciation ofSALOOP.Salt, a sailor.Salt, “it’s rather tooSALT,” said of an extravagant hotel bill. Also, a sort of black mail or tribute levied on visitors or travellers by the Eton boys, at their triennial festival called the “Montem,” by ancient custom and privileges. It is now abolished. A periodical published at Eton many years ago for circulation amongst the boys was called “TheSalt-box.” When a person about to sell a business connexion makes fictitious entries in the books of accounts, to simulate that a much more profitable trade is carried on than there really is, he is said toSALTthe books—SALTINGandCOOKINGbeing somewhat similar operations. At the gold diggings of Australia, miners sometimesSALTan unproductive hole by sprinkling a few grains of gold-dust over it,and thus obtain a good price from a “green hand.” Unpromising speculations are frequently thusSALTEDto entrap the unwary, the wildest ideas being rendered palatablecum grano salis. And though old birds are not readily caught by chaff, the efficacy ofSALTin bird-catching, so far as the young are concerned, is proverbial.Salt-box, the condemned cell in Newgate.Salt junk, navy salt beef.SeeOLD HORSE.Saltee, a penny. Pence, &c., are thus reckoned:—Oney saltee,a penny, from theItalian,UNO SOLDO.Dooe saltee,twopenceDUE SOLDI.Tray saltee,threepenceTRE SOLDI.Quarterer saltee,fourpenceQUATTRO SOLDI.Chinker saltee,fivepenceCINQUE SOLDI.Say saltee,sixpenceSEI SOLDI.Say oney saltee,orSETTER SALTEE,sevenpenceSETTE SOLDI.Say dooe saltee,orOTTER SALTEE,eightpenceOTTO SOLDI.Say tray saltee,orNOBBA SALTEE,ninepenceNOVE SOLDI.Say quarterer saltee,orDACHASALTEE, tenpenceDIECI SOLDI.Say chinker saltee,orDACHAONEY SALTEE, elevenpenceDIECI UNO SOLDI, &c.Oney beong,one shilling.A beong say saltee,one shilling and sixpence.Dooe beong say saltee,orMADZA CAROON, half-a-crown, or two shillings and sixpence.⁂ This curious list of numerals in use among the London street folk is, strange as it may seem, derived from theLingua Franca, or bastardItalian, of the Mediterranean seaports, of which other examples may be found in the pages of this Dictionary.Saltee, the cant term used by the costermongers and others for a penny, is no other than theItalian,SOLDO(plural,SOLDI), and the numerals—as may be seen by theItalianequivalents—are a tolerably close imitation of the originals. After the number six, a curious variation occurs, which is peculiar to the London cant, seven being reckoned asSAY ONEY,six-one,SAY DOOE,six-two= 8, and so on.Dachais perhaps from theGreekδέκα, ten, which, in the ConstantinopolitanLingua Franca, is likely enough to have been substituted for theItalian.Madzais clearly theItalianMEZZA. The origin ofBEONGhas not yet been discovered, unless it be theFrenchBIEN, the application of which to a shilling is not so evident; but amongst costermongers and other street folk it is quite immaterial what foreign tongue contributes to their secret language. Providing the terms are unknown to the police and the public generally, they care not a rush whether the polite French, the gay Spaniards, or the cloudy Germans help to swell their vocabulary. The numbers of low foreigners, however, dragging out a miserable existence in our crowded neighbourhoods, organ grindersand image sellers, foreign seamen from the vessels in the river, and our own connexion with Malta and the Ionian Isles, may explain, to a certain extent, the phenomenon of these Southern phrases in the mouths of costers and tramps. Professor Ascoli, in hisStudj Critici, absurdly enough derives these words from the ancient commercial importance of Italian settlers in England, when they gave a name to Lombard Street!Salve, praise, flattery, chaff.Sam,i.e.,Dicky-Sam, a native of Liverpool.Sam, to “standSam,” to pay for refreshment or drink, to stand paymaster for anything. An Americanism, originating in the letters U.S. on the knapsacks of the United States’ soldiers, which letters were jocularly said to be the initials of Uncle Sam (the Government), who pays for all. In use in this country as early as 1827.Sammy, a stupid fellow.Sampan, a small boat.—Anglo-Chinese.Samshoo, a fiery, noxious spirit, distilled from rice. Spirits generally.—Anglo-Chinese.Samson and Abel, a group of wrestlers in the centre of Brasenose quadrangle. Some said it represented Samson killing a Philistine; others Cain killing Abel. So the matter was compromised as above.—Oxford University.Sandwich, a human advertising medium, placed between two boards strapped, one on his breast the other on his shoulders. A “toad in the hole” is the term applied to the same individual when his person is confined by a four-sided box. A gentleman with a lady on each arm is sometimes called aSANDWICH. The French phrase for this kind ofSANDWICH,l’âne à deux pannières, is expressive.Sanguinary James, a raw sheep’s-head.Seebloody Jemmy.Sank work, tailors’ phrase for soldiers’ clothes. Perhaps from theNormanSANC, blood,—in allusion either to the soldier’s calling, or the colour of his coat.Sap, orSAPSCULL, a poor green simpleton, with no heart for work.Sappy, soft, foolish, namby-pamby, milk-and-watery. “It’s such aSAPPYbook.”Satin, gin; “a yard ofSATIN,” a glass of gin. Term used by females on make-believe errands, when the real object of their departure from home is to replenish the private bottle. With servants the words “tape” and “ribbon” are more common, the purchase of these feminine requirements being the general excuse for asking to “run out for a little while.”SeeWHITE SATIN.Saucebox, a pert young person. In low life it also signifies the mouth.Save, to give part of one bet for part of another. A. and B. have backed different horses, and they agree that in the event of either one winning he shall give the other, say, £5. This is called “SAVINGa fiver,” and generally is done when scratchings and knockings-out have left the field so that one of the two speculators must be a winner. The practice also obtains much in competitions decided in heats or rounds, in thecourse of which backers and layers comparing their prospects often “SAVEa bit” with each other. Saving is, therefore, a form of hedging.Saveloy, a sausage of bread and chopped beef smoked, a minor kind ofPOLONY, whichsee.Savvey, to know; “do youSAVVEYthat?”Spanish,SABE. In the nigger andAnglo-Chinese patois, this isSABBY, “me noSABBY.” It is a general word among the lower classes all over the world. It also means acuteness or cleverness; as, “That fellow has plenty ofSAVVEY.”Saw, a term at whist. ASAWis established when two partners alternately trump a suit, played to each other for the express purpose.Saw your timber, “be off!” equivalent to “cut your stick.” Occasionally varied, with mock refinement, to “amputate your mahogany.”SeeCUT.Sawbones, a surgeon.Sawney, orSANDY, a Scotchman. Corruption of Alexander.Sawney, a simpleton; a gaping, awkward lout.Sawney, bacon.Sawney Hunter, one who steals bacon.Scab, a worthless person.—Old.Shakspeare uses “scald” in a similar sense.Scab-raiser, a drummer in the army, so called from one of the duties formerly pertaining to that office, viz., inflicting corporal punishment on the soldiers.—Military.Scabby neck, a native of Denmark.—Sea.Scabby-sheep, epithet applied by the vulgar to a person who has been in questionable society, or under unholy influence, and become tainted. Also a mean disreputable fellow.Scaldrum dodge, a dodge in use among begging impostors of burning the body with a mixture of acids and gunpowder, so as to suit the hues and complexions of any accident to be deplored by a confiding public.Scaly, shabby, or mean. Perhaps anything which betokens the presence of the “Old Serpent,” or it may be a variation of “fishy.”Scamander, to wander about without a settled purpose;—possibly in allusion to the winding course of the Homeric river of that name.Scammered, drunk.Scamp, a graceless fellow, a rascal; a wandering vagabond; scamping was formerly the cant term for plundering and thieving. AROYAL-SCAMPwas a highwayman, whilst aFOOT-SCAMPwas an ordinary thief with nothing but his legs to trust to in case of an attempt at capture. Some have derivedSCAMPfromqui ex campo exit, one who leaves the field, a deserter.Scamp, to give short measure or quantity; applied to dishonest contractors. Also to hurry through a task in a way which precludes the possibility of its being done well. Probably the same asSKIMPandSCRIMP.Scandal-water, tea; from old maids’ tea-parties being generally a focus for scandal.Scaramouch, properly a tumbler, orSALTIMBANCO. Also a disreputable fellow.Scarborough-warning, a warning given too late to be taken advantage of. When a person is driven over, and then told to keep out of the way, he receivesScarborough-warning. Fuller says the proverb alludes to an event which happened at that place in 1557, when Thomas Stafford seized upon Scarborough Castle before the townsmen had the least notice of his approach.Scarce,TO MAKE ONESELF; to be off; to decamp.Scarlet fever, the desire felt by young ladies to flirt with officers in preference to civilians.Scarlet-town, Reading, in Berkshire. As the name of this place is pronounced Redding,SCARLET-TOWNis probably a rude pun upon it.Scarper, to run away;Spanish,ESCAPAR, to escape, make off;Italian,SCAPPARE. “Scarperwith the feeley of the donna of the carzey,” to run away with the daughter of the landlady of the house; almost pureItalian, “SCAPPARE COLLA FIGLIA DELLA DONNA DELLA CASA.”—Seven Dials and Prison Cant, from theLingua Franca.Schism-shop, a Dissenters’ meeting-house.—University.Schofel, bad money.SeeSHOFUL.School, a knot of men or boys; generally a body of idlers or street gamblers. Also, two or more “patterers” working together in the streets.Schroff, a banker, treasurer, or confidential clerk.—Anglo-Indian.Schwassle box, the street arrangement for Punch and Judy.SeeSWATCHEL-COVE.Sconce, the head; judgment, sense.—Dutch.Sconce, to fine. Used by Dons as well as undergrads. The Dons fined orSCONCEDfor small offences;e.g., five shillings for wearing a coloured coat in hall at dinner-time. Among undergrads a pun, or an oath, or an indecent remark, wasSCONCEDby the head of the table. If the offender could, however, floor the tankard of beer which he wasSCONCED, he could retort on hisSCONCERto the extent of twice the amount he wasSCONCEDin.—Oxford University.Score, a reckoning, “to run up aSCOREat a public-house,” to obtain credit there until pay-day, or a fixed time, when the debt must be “wiped off.” From the old practice of scoring a tippler’s indebtedness on the inside of a public-house door.Scorf, to eat voraciously.Scot, a quantity of anything, a lot, a share.—Anglo-Saxon,SCEAT, pronouncedSHOT.Scot, temper, or passion,—from the irascible temperament of the Scotch; “Oh! what aSCOThe was in,”i.e., what temper he showed.Scotch coffee, biscuits toasted and boiled in water. A gross calumny on the much-enduring Scotians; a supposed joke on their parsimony.—Sea.Scotch fiddle, the itch; “to play theScotch fiddle,” to work the index finger of the right hand like a fiddlestick between the index and middle finger of the left. This provokes a Scotchman in the highestdegree, as it implies that he is afflicted with the itch. It is supposed that a continuous oatmeal diet is productive of cutaneous affection.Scotch greys, lice. Our northern neighbours were calumniously reported, in the “good old times” of ignorance and prejudice, to be peculiarly liable to cutaneous eruptions and parasites.Scotches, the legs; also synonymous with notches.Scout, a college valet, or waiter.—Oxford.SeeGYP.Scout, the male servant, who generally has a staircase under his charge, and waits on the men in each set of rooms. The female servant (not unfrequently his wife or daughter) is the bedmaker.—University.Scrag, the neck.—Old Cant.Scotch,CRAIG. Still used by butchers. Hence,SCRAG, to hang by the neck, andSCRAGGING, an execution,—alsoOld Cant.Scran, pieces of meat, broken victuals. Formerly the reckoning at a public-house.Scranning, or “out on theSCRAN,” begging for broken victuals. Also, an Irish malediction of a mild sort, “BadSCRANto yer!”i.e., bad food to you.Scran-bag, a soldier’s haversack.—Military Slang.Scrap, to fight. Also used as a substantive. Prize-fighters are often known asSCRAPPERS.Scrape, a difficulty;SCRAPE, low wit for a shave.Scrape, cheap butter; also butter laid on bread in the thinnest possible manner, as though it had been laid on and scraped off again. “Bread andSCRAPE,” the bread and butter issued to schoolboys,—so called from the manner in which the butter is laid on.Scratch, an imaginary meeting-point in a fight, or verbal contest; “coming up to theSCRATCH,” preparing to fight—literally approaching the line which used to be chalked on the ground to divide the ring. According to the rules of the prize ring, the toe should be placed at theSCRATCH, so the phrase often is “toeing theSCRATCH.”Scratch, “no greatSCRATCH,” of little worth.Scratch, to strike a horse’s name out of the list of runners in a particular race. “Tomboy wasSCRATCHEDfor the Derby at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, from which period all bets made in reference to him are void.”SeeP.P.—Turf.One of Boz’s characters asks whether horses are “really made more lively by beingSCRATCHED.”Scratch-race(on the turf), a race at which the horses run at catch weights, a race without restrictions. In boating, a race in which the crew are picked up anyhow. ASCRATCHcrew is a crew of all sorts.Screaming, first-rate, splendid. Believed to have been first used in the Adelphi play-bills; “aSCREAMINGfarce,” one calculated to make the audience scream with laughter. Now a general expression.Screed, an illogical or badly-written article or paper upon any subject.Screeve, a letter, a begging petition.Screeve, to write, or devise; “toSCREEVEa fakement,” to concoct, or write, a begging letter, or other impostor’s document. From theDutch,SCHRYVEN;German,SCHREIBEN, to write.Screever, a man who draws with coloured chalks on the pavement figures of our Saviour crowned with thorns, specimens of elaborate writing, thunderstorms, ships on fire, &c. The men who attend these pavement chalkings, and receive halfpence and sixpences from the admirers of street art, are not always the draughtsmen. The artist orSCREEVERdraws, perhaps, in half-a-dozen places in the course of a morning, and rents the spots out to as many cadaverous-looking men, who, when any one looks hard at them, will commence to dabble clumsily with the short pieces of chalks they always keep at hand. There are impostors of this kind in higher walks of art.Screw, an unsound or broken-down horse, that requires both whip and spur to get him along. So called from the screw-like manner in which his ribs generally show through the skin.Screw, a mean or stingy person.Screw, salary, or wages.Screw, “to put on theSCREW,” to limit one’s credit, to be more exact and precise; “to put under theSCREW;” to compel, to coerce, to influence by strong pressure.Screw, a small packet of tobacco. A “twist” of the “weed.”Screw, a key—skeleton, or otherwise.Screw, a turnkey.Screw loose.When friends become cold and distant towards each other, it is said there is aSCREW LOOSEbetwixt them; the same phrase is also used when anything goes wrong with a person’s credit or reputation.Screwed, intoxicated or drunk.Scrimmage, orSCRUMMAGE, a disturbance or row.—Ancient.Probably a corruption ofSKIRMISH.Scrimshaw.Anything made by sailors for themselves in their leisure hours at sea is termedSCRIMSHAW-WORK.Scrouge, to crowd or squeeze.—Wiltshire.Scruff, the back part of the neck seized by the adversary in an encounter. “I seized him by theSCRUFFof the neck, and chucked him out.” OriginallySCURF.Scrumptious, nice, particular, beautiful.Scufter, a policeman.—North Country.Scull, orSKULL, the head, or master of a college.—University, but nearly obsolete; the gallery, however, in St. Mary’s (the Oxford University church), where the “Heads of Houses” sit in solemn state, is still nicknamed the “Golgotha” by the undergraduates.Scurf, a mean fellow. Literally a scurvy fellow.Sea-connie, the steersman of an Indian ship. By the insurance laws he must be either aPYAHPortuguese, a European, or a Manilla man,—Lascars not being allowed to be helmsmen.Sea-cook, “son of aSEA-COOK,” an opprobrious phrase used on board ship, differing from “son of a gun,” which is generally used admiringly or approvingly.Seals, a religious slang term for converts. Also a Mormon term for wives.SeeOWNED.See.Like “go” and “do,” this useful verb has long been supplemented with a slang or unauthorized meaning. In street parlance, “toSEE” is to know or believe; “I don’tSEEthat,”i.e., “I don’t put faith in what you offer, or I know what you say to be untrue.”See it out, to stay out late or early, and see the gas put out. Also to complete an undertaking.See the king.SeeELEPHANT.Seedy, worn-out, poverty-stricken, used-up, shabby. Metaphorical expression from the appearance of flowers when off bloom and running toSEED; hence said of one who wears clothes until they crack and become shabby. “How seedy he looks,” said of any man whose clothes are worn threadbare, with greasy facings, and hat brightened up by perspiration and continual polishing and wetting. When a man’s coat begins to look worn-out and shabby he is said to lookSEEDYand ready for cutting. This term has been in common use for nearly two centuries, and latterly has found its way into most dictionaries. Formerly slang, it is now a recognised word, and one of the most expressive in the English language. The French are always amused with it, they having no similar term.“Oh, let my hat be e’er sae brown,My coat be e’er saeSEEDY, O!My whole turn-out scarce worth a crown,Like gents well-bred, but needy, O!”Fisher’s Garland for 1835.Seeley’s pigs, blocks of iron in Government dockyards. Mr. Seeley, M.P., was the first to call attention in the House of Commons to the scandalous waste of pig-iron in the dockyards. Some of the yards were found to be half paved with blocks of metal, which were thence called “Seeley’s pigs.”Sell, a deception, or disappointment; also a lying joke.Sell, to deceive, swindle, or play a practical joke upon a person. A sham is aSELLin street parlance. “Soldagain, and got the money,” a patterer cries after having successfully deceived somebody. Shakspeare usesSELLINGin a similar sense, viz., blinding or deceiving.Sensation, a quartern of gin.Serene, all right; “it’s allSERENE,” a street phrase of very modern adoption, the burden of a song.Serene, all serene! from theSpanishSERENO, equivalent to the English “all’s well;” a countersign of sentinels, supposed to have been acquired by some filibusters who were imprisoned in Cuba, and liberated by the intercession of the British ambassador. The Sereno, the Spanish night watchman, cries out, with the hour, the state of the atmosphere. He was called the Sereno (clear), from his announcing the usual fine (sereno) night—quite different from the work of our old “Charlies,” whose usual call was one of foul weather.Serve out, to punish, or be revenged on any one.Setter, sevenpence.Italian,SETTE.SeeSALTEE.—Lingua Franca.Setter, a person employed by the vendor at an auction to run the bidding up; to bid againstbona-fidebidders. Also the man who takes the box at hazard, and “sets a go.”Setting jewels, taking the best portions of a clever book not much known to the general public, and incorporating them quietly with a new work by a thoroughly original author. The credit of this term belongs to Mr. Charles Reade, who explained that the process is accountable for the presence of some writing by one Jonathan Swift, in a story published at Christmas, 1872, and calledThe Wandering Heir.Settle, to kill, ruin, or effectually quiet a person.Settled, transported, or sent to penal servitude for life; sometimes spoken of asWINDED-SETTLED.Set-to, a sparring match, a fight; “aDEAD SET” is a determined opposition in argument, or in movement.Sevendible, a very curious word, used only in the North of Ireland, to denote something particularly severe, strong, or sound. It is, no doubt, derived from sevendouble—that is, sevenfold—and is applied to linen cloth, a heavy beating, a harsh reprimand, &c.Seven-pennorth, transportation for seven years.Seven-sided animal, a one-eyed man, as he has an inside, outside, left side, right side, foreside, backside, and blind side.Seven-up, the game of all-fours, when played for seven chalks—that is, when seven points or chalks have to be made to win the game.Sewed-up, done up, used up, intoxicated.Dutch,SEEUWT, sick.Sewn-up, quite worn-out, or “dead beat.”Shack, a “chevalier d’industrie.” A scamp, a blackguard.—Nottingham.Shack-per-swaw, every one for himself,—a phrase in use amongst the lower orders at the East-end of London, derived apparently from theFrench,CHACUN POUR SOI.Shackly, loose, rickety.—Devonshire.Shady, an expression implying decadence. On “theSHADYside of forty” implies that a person is considerably older than forty.Shadyalso means inferiority in other senses. A “shady trick” is either a shabby one, mean or trumpery, or else it is one contemptible from the want of ability displayed. TheSHADYside of a question is, and fairly enough too, that which has no brightness to recommend it.Shake, a disreputable man or woman.—North.In London aSHAKEis a prostitute.Shake-down, an improvised bed.Shake-lurk, a false paper carried by an impostor, giving an account of a “dreadful shipwreck.”Shake the elbow,TO, a roundabout expression for dice-playing. To “crook theELBOW” is an Americanism for “to drink.”Shaker, a shirt.Shakers, a Puritanical sect, almost peculiar to America, and not similar to our Quakers, as is generally believed. They have very strangenotions on things in general, and especially on marriage and the connexion of the sexes.Shakes, a bad bargain is said to be “no greatSHAKES;” “pretty fairSHAKES” is anything good or favourable.—Byron.In America, a fairSHAKEis a fair trade or a good bargain.Shakes, “in a brace ofSHAKES,”i.e., in an instant.Shakester, orSHICKSTER, a female. Amongst costermongers this term is invariably applied to ladies, or the wives of tradesmen, and females generally, of the classes immediately above them. Amongst Jews the word signifies a woman of shady antecedents. Supposed to be derived from theHebrew,SHIKTZA. It is generally pronounced “shickser.”Shaky, said of a person of questionable health, integrity, or solvency; at the Universities, of one not likely to pass his examination.Shaler, a girl. Corrupt form ofGaelic,CAILLE, a young woman.Shalley-gonahey, a smock-frock.—Cornish.Shallow, the peculiar barrow used by costermongers.Shallow, a weak-minded country justice of the peace.—Shakspeare.Shallow-cove, a begging rascal, who goes about the country half naked, with the most limited amount of rags upon his person, wearing neither shoes, stockings, nor hat.Shallow-mot, a ragged woman,—the frequent companion of theSHALLOW-COVE.Shallows, “to go on theSHALLOWS,” to go half naked.Sham, contraction of champagne. In general use among the lower class of sporting men. Sometimes extended toSHAMMY.Sham Abraham, to feign sickness.SeeAbraham.Shandrydan, an old-fashioned or rickety conveyance of the “shay” order.Shandy-gaff, ale and gingerbeer. Origin unknown, but use very common.Shanks, legs.Shanks’s mare, “to rideSHANK’S MARE,” to go on foot.Shant, a pot or quart; “SHANTof bivvy,” a quart of beer.Shanty, a rude, temporary habitation. The word is principally employed to designate the huts inhabited by navigators, when constructing large lines of railway far distant from towns. It is derived from theFrenchCHANTIER, used by the Canadians for a log hut, and has travelled from thence, by way of the United States, to England.Shanty, a song. A term in use among sailors. FromCHANTER.Shapes, “to cut up” or “showSHAPES,” to exhibit pranks, or flightiness.Shark, a sharper, a swindler. Bow Street term in 1785, now in most dictionaries.—FriesicandDanish,SCHURK.SeeLAND-SHARK.Sharp, orSHARPER, a cunning cheat, a rogue,—the opposite ofFLAT.Sharp, a similar expression to “TWO PUN’ TEN” (whichsee), used by assistants in shops to signify that a customer of suspected honesty isamongst them. The shopman in this case would ask one of the assistants, in a voice loud enough to be generally heard, “Has Mr.Sharpcome in yet?” “No,” would probably be the reply; “but he is expected every minute.” The signal is at once understood, and a general look-out kept upon the suspected party.Sharp’s-alley blood-worms, beef sausages and black puddings. Sharp’s Alley was, until City improvements caused it to be destroyed, a noted slaughtering-place near Smithfield.Shave, a false alarm, a hoax, a sell. This term was much in vogue in the Crimea during the Russian campaign,—that is, though much used by the military before then, the term did not, until that period, become known to the general public.Shave, a narrow escape. At Cambridge, “justSHAVINGthrough,” or “making aSHAVE,” is just escaping a “pluck” by coming out at the bottom of the list.“My terms are anything but dear,Then read with me, and never fear;The examiners we’re sure to queer,And get through, if you make aSHAVEon’t.”The Private Tutor.Shave;“toSHAVEa customer,” charge him more for an article than the marked price. Used in the drapery trade. When the master sees an opportunity of doing this, he strokes his chin, as a signal to his assistant who is serving the customer.Shaver, a sharp fellow; there are young and oldSHAVERS.—Sea.Shebeen, an unlicensed place where spirituous liquors are illegally sold. A word almost peculiar to Ireland.Shed a tear, to take a dram, or glass of neat spirits; jocular phrase used, with a sort of grim earnestness, by old topers to each other. “Now then, old fellow, come andSHED A TEAR!” an invitation to take “summat short.” The origin may have been that ardent spirits, taken neat by younger persons, usually bring water to their eyes. With confirmed drinkers, however, the phrase is used with an air of mingled humour and regret at their own position. A still more pathetic phrase is—“putting aNAIL IN ONE’S COFFIN,” whichsee. The termSHED A TEARis probably derived from “eye-water.”Sheen, bad money.—Scotch.Sheeny, a Jew. This word is used by both Jew and Gentile at the East-end of London, and is not considered objectionable on either side.Sheep’s eyes, loving looks, “to makeSHEEP’S EYESat a person,” to cast amorous glances towards one on the sly.“But he, the beast, was castingSHEEP’S EYESat herOut of his bullock head.”Colman, Broad Grins.Shelf, “on theSHELF,” not yet disposed of; young ladies are said to be so situated when they cannot meet with husbands. “On theSHELF” also means pawned, or laid by in trust.Shell out, to pay or count out money. Also a game played on a billiard table, a variation of pool.Shepherd, to look after carefully, to place under police surveillance.Shice, nothing; “to do anything forSHICE,” to get no payment. The term was first used by the Jews in the last century. Grose gives the phraseCHICE-AM-A-TRICE, which has a synonymous meaning.Spanish,CHICO, little;Anglo-Saxon,CHICHE, niggardly; or perhaps connected with theGerman,SCHEISSEN.Shicer, a mean man, a humbug, a “duffer,”—a worthless person, one who will not work. This is the worst term one Jew can use to another. At the diggings it means a hole which yields nothing.Shickery, shabby, bad. FromSHAKY,SHAKERY.Shickster, a lady.SeeSHAKESTER.Shickster-crabs, ladies’ shoes.—Tramps’ term.Shigs, money, silver.—East London.Shikaree, a hunter, a sportsman.—Anglo-Indian.An English sportsman who has seen many ups and downs in jungles of the East styles himself “anOLD SHIKAREE.”—Anglo-Indian.Also speltSHEKARRY.Shilly-shally, to trifle or fritter away time; to be irresolute. Corruption of “Shall I, shall I?”Shin, an Americanism for walking. “I’m tired ofSHINNINGaround.”Shindy, a row, or noise. ASHINDYgenerally means a regular mêlée.Shine, a row, or disturbance.Shine, “to take theSHINEout of a person,” to surpass or excel him.Shiners, sovereigns, or money.Shiney rag, “to win theSHINEY RAG,” to be ruined,—said in gambling, when any one continues betting after “luck has set in against him.”Shin-plaster, a bank-note. Originally an Americanism.Shins.“To break one’sSHINS,” figurative expression meaning to borrow money.Ship-shape, proper, in good order; sometimes the phrase is varied to “SHIP-SHAPEand Bristol fashion.”—Sea.The latter portion of the expression went out with Bristol’s fame as a seaport.Shirty, ill-tempered, or cross. When one person makes another in an ill-humour he is said to have “got hisSHIRTout.”Shivering Jemmy, the name given by street-folk to any cadger who exposes himself, half naked, on a cold day, to obtain alms. The “game” is unpleasant, but was, before exposure of a different kind spoilt it, exceedingly lucrative.Shockhead, a head of long, unkempt, and rough hair.Shoddy, old cloth worked up into new; made from soldiers’ and policemen’s coats. The old cloth is pulled to pieces, the yarn unravelled and carded over again. This produces shoddy, which is very short in the fibre, and from it are produced, on again twisting and weaving, cloth fabrics used for ladies’ mantles, &c. Also, a term of derision applied to workmen in woollen factories.—Yorkshire.Shoddy, the plutocracy created out of bogus contracts during the civilwar in the United States. TheSHODDYITESenriched themselves at the expense of their country in the most shameless manner, having most likely studied under those contractors who should have supplied our soldiers with necessaries during the Crimean War.Shoe, to free or initiate a person,—a practice common in most trades to a new-comer. TheSHOEINGconsists in paying for beer, or other liquor, which is drunk by the older hands. The cans emptied, and the bill paid, the stranger is considered properlySHOD.Shoeingis a variation of “paying one’s footing.”Shoe leather!a thief’s warning cry when he hears footsteps. This exclamation is used in the spirit which animated the friend who, when he suspected treachery towards Bruce at King Edward’s court, in 1306, sent him a purse and a pair of spurs, as a sign that he should use them in making his escape.Shoes, “to die in one’sSHOES,” to be hanged. In the old hanging days a highwayman would often kick off his shoes when the rope was round his neck, so as—oh, vain and impotent attempt!—to defeat the prophecy that had foreshadowed his present position.
Sack, to “get theSACK,” to be discharged by an employer. Varied in the North of England to “get theBAG.” In London it is sometimes spoken of as “getting theEMPTY.” It is common now to speak of “getting theBULLET,” an evident play on the word discharge.
Sad dog, a merry fellow, a joker, a “gay” or “fast” man.
Saddle, an additional charge made by the manager to a performer upon his benefit night.—Theatrical.
Safe, trusty, worthy of confidence. ASAFEcard is a man who knows “what’s o’clock.” ASAFEman among betters is one who is sure to fulfil his engagements.
Safe un, a horse which will not run, or will not try, in a race. The bookmakers in London have the information sent them by the touts in their pay, and lay against theSAFE UN, who is also called a “stiff un,” a “dead un,” or a “shtumer,” as often as they can, irrespective of the state of their books. Sometimes aSAFE UNwill win, owing to the owner or trainer having, for various reasons, altered his mind. Such a result then goes to prove the “glorious uncertainty of the turf,” a phrase in very common use among sporting writers whenever a favourite is beaten, or whenever a horse runs slow one day and loses, and very fast the next day and wins.
Sails, nickname for the sail-maker on board ship.
St. Martin’s lace, imitation gold lace; stage tinsel.
Saint Monday, a holiday most religiously observed by journeymen shoemakers and other mechanics. An Irishman observed that this saint’s anniversary happened every week. In some parts of the country Monday is termed Cobblers’ Sunday.
Sal, a salary.—Theatrical.
Salaam, a compliment or salutation.—Anglo-Indian.
Salamander, a street acrobat and juggler who eats fire.
Saloop,SALEP, orSALOP, a greasy-looking beverage, formerly sold on stalls at early morning, prepared from a powder made of the root of theOrchis mascula, or Red-handed Orchis. Coffee-stands have supersededSALOOPstalls; but, in addition to other writers, Charles Lamb, in one of his papers, has left some account of this drinkable, which he says was of all preparations the most grateful to the stomachs of young chimney-sweeps. The present generation has no knowledge of this drink, except that derived from books. The word “slops”—as applied to weak, warm drink—is very likely derived from the Cockney pronunciation ofSALOOP.
Salt, a sailor.
Salt, “it’s rather tooSALT,” said of an extravagant hotel bill. Also, a sort of black mail or tribute levied on visitors or travellers by the Eton boys, at their triennial festival called the “Montem,” by ancient custom and privileges. It is now abolished. A periodical published at Eton many years ago for circulation amongst the boys was called “TheSalt-box.” When a person about to sell a business connexion makes fictitious entries in the books of accounts, to simulate that a much more profitable trade is carried on than there really is, he is said toSALTthe books—SALTINGandCOOKINGbeing somewhat similar operations. At the gold diggings of Australia, miners sometimesSALTan unproductive hole by sprinkling a few grains of gold-dust over it,and thus obtain a good price from a “green hand.” Unpromising speculations are frequently thusSALTEDto entrap the unwary, the wildest ideas being rendered palatablecum grano salis. And though old birds are not readily caught by chaff, the efficacy ofSALTin bird-catching, so far as the young are concerned, is proverbial.
Salt-box, the condemned cell in Newgate.
Salt junk, navy salt beef.SeeOLD HORSE.
Saltee, a penny. Pence, &c., are thus reckoned:—Oney saltee,a penny, from theItalian,UNO SOLDO.Dooe saltee,twopenceDUE SOLDI.Tray saltee,threepenceTRE SOLDI.Quarterer saltee,fourpenceQUATTRO SOLDI.Chinker saltee,fivepenceCINQUE SOLDI.Say saltee,sixpenceSEI SOLDI.Say oney saltee,orSETTER SALTEE,sevenpenceSETTE SOLDI.Say dooe saltee,orOTTER SALTEE,eightpenceOTTO SOLDI.Say tray saltee,orNOBBA SALTEE,ninepenceNOVE SOLDI.Say quarterer saltee,orDACHASALTEE, tenpenceDIECI SOLDI.Say chinker saltee,orDACHAONEY SALTEE, elevenpenceDIECI UNO SOLDI, &c.Oney beong,one shilling.A beong say saltee,one shilling and sixpence.Dooe beong say saltee,orMADZA CAROON, half-a-crown, or two shillings and sixpence.⁂ This curious list of numerals in use among the London street folk is, strange as it may seem, derived from theLingua Franca, or bastardItalian, of the Mediterranean seaports, of which other examples may be found in the pages of this Dictionary.Saltee, the cant term used by the costermongers and others for a penny, is no other than theItalian,SOLDO(plural,SOLDI), and the numerals—as may be seen by theItalianequivalents—are a tolerably close imitation of the originals. After the number six, a curious variation occurs, which is peculiar to the London cant, seven being reckoned asSAY ONEY,six-one,SAY DOOE,six-two= 8, and so on.Dachais perhaps from theGreekδέκα, ten, which, in the ConstantinopolitanLingua Franca, is likely enough to have been substituted for theItalian.Madzais clearly theItalianMEZZA. The origin ofBEONGhas not yet been discovered, unless it be theFrenchBIEN, the application of which to a shilling is not so evident; but amongst costermongers and other street folk it is quite immaterial what foreign tongue contributes to their secret language. Providing the terms are unknown to the police and the public generally, they care not a rush whether the polite French, the gay Spaniards, or the cloudy Germans help to swell their vocabulary. The numbers of low foreigners, however, dragging out a miserable existence in our crowded neighbourhoods, organ grindersand image sellers, foreign seamen from the vessels in the river, and our own connexion with Malta and the Ionian Isles, may explain, to a certain extent, the phenomenon of these Southern phrases in the mouths of costers and tramps. Professor Ascoli, in hisStudj Critici, absurdly enough derives these words from the ancient commercial importance of Italian settlers in England, when they gave a name to Lombard Street!
Saltee, a penny. Pence, &c., are thus reckoned:—
Oney saltee,a penny, from theItalian,UNO SOLDO.Dooe saltee,twopenceDUE SOLDI.Tray saltee,threepenceTRE SOLDI.Quarterer saltee,fourpenceQUATTRO SOLDI.Chinker saltee,fivepenceCINQUE SOLDI.Say saltee,sixpenceSEI SOLDI.Say oney saltee,orSETTER SALTEE,sevenpenceSETTE SOLDI.Say dooe saltee,orOTTER SALTEE,eightpenceOTTO SOLDI.Say tray saltee,orNOBBA SALTEE,ninepenceNOVE SOLDI.Say quarterer saltee,orDACHASALTEE, tenpenceDIECI SOLDI.Say chinker saltee,orDACHAONEY SALTEE, elevenpenceDIECI UNO SOLDI, &c.Oney beong,one shilling.A beong say saltee,one shilling and sixpence.Dooe beong say saltee,orMADZA CAROON, half-a-crown, or two shillings and sixpence.
⁂ This curious list of numerals in use among the London street folk is, strange as it may seem, derived from theLingua Franca, or bastardItalian, of the Mediterranean seaports, of which other examples may be found in the pages of this Dictionary.Saltee, the cant term used by the costermongers and others for a penny, is no other than theItalian,SOLDO(plural,SOLDI), and the numerals—as may be seen by theItalianequivalents—are a tolerably close imitation of the originals. After the number six, a curious variation occurs, which is peculiar to the London cant, seven being reckoned asSAY ONEY,six-one,SAY DOOE,six-two= 8, and so on.Dachais perhaps from theGreekδέκα, ten, which, in the ConstantinopolitanLingua Franca, is likely enough to have been substituted for theItalian.Madzais clearly theItalianMEZZA. The origin ofBEONGhas not yet been discovered, unless it be theFrenchBIEN, the application of which to a shilling is not so evident; but amongst costermongers and other street folk it is quite immaterial what foreign tongue contributes to their secret language. Providing the terms are unknown to the police and the public generally, they care not a rush whether the polite French, the gay Spaniards, or the cloudy Germans help to swell their vocabulary. The numbers of low foreigners, however, dragging out a miserable existence in our crowded neighbourhoods, organ grindersand image sellers, foreign seamen from the vessels in the river, and our own connexion with Malta and the Ionian Isles, may explain, to a certain extent, the phenomenon of these Southern phrases in the mouths of costers and tramps. Professor Ascoli, in hisStudj Critici, absurdly enough derives these words from the ancient commercial importance of Italian settlers in England, when they gave a name to Lombard Street!
Salve, praise, flattery, chaff.
Sam,i.e.,Dicky-Sam, a native of Liverpool.
Sam, to “standSam,” to pay for refreshment or drink, to stand paymaster for anything. An Americanism, originating in the letters U.S. on the knapsacks of the United States’ soldiers, which letters were jocularly said to be the initials of Uncle Sam (the Government), who pays for all. In use in this country as early as 1827.
Sammy, a stupid fellow.
Sampan, a small boat.—Anglo-Chinese.
Samshoo, a fiery, noxious spirit, distilled from rice. Spirits generally.—Anglo-Chinese.
Samson and Abel, a group of wrestlers in the centre of Brasenose quadrangle. Some said it represented Samson killing a Philistine; others Cain killing Abel. So the matter was compromised as above.—Oxford University.
Sandwich, a human advertising medium, placed between two boards strapped, one on his breast the other on his shoulders. A “toad in the hole” is the term applied to the same individual when his person is confined by a four-sided box. A gentleman with a lady on each arm is sometimes called aSANDWICH. The French phrase for this kind ofSANDWICH,l’âne à deux pannières, is expressive.
Sanguinary James, a raw sheep’s-head.Seebloody Jemmy.
Sank work, tailors’ phrase for soldiers’ clothes. Perhaps from theNormanSANC, blood,—in allusion either to the soldier’s calling, or the colour of his coat.
Sap, orSAPSCULL, a poor green simpleton, with no heart for work.
Sappy, soft, foolish, namby-pamby, milk-and-watery. “It’s such aSAPPYbook.”
Satin, gin; “a yard ofSATIN,” a glass of gin. Term used by females on make-believe errands, when the real object of their departure from home is to replenish the private bottle. With servants the words “tape” and “ribbon” are more common, the purchase of these feminine requirements being the general excuse for asking to “run out for a little while.”SeeWHITE SATIN.
Saucebox, a pert young person. In low life it also signifies the mouth.
Save, to give part of one bet for part of another. A. and B. have backed different horses, and they agree that in the event of either one winning he shall give the other, say, £5. This is called “SAVINGa fiver,” and generally is done when scratchings and knockings-out have left the field so that one of the two speculators must be a winner. The practice also obtains much in competitions decided in heats or rounds, in thecourse of which backers and layers comparing their prospects often “SAVEa bit” with each other. Saving is, therefore, a form of hedging.
Saveloy, a sausage of bread and chopped beef smoked, a minor kind ofPOLONY, whichsee.
Savvey, to know; “do youSAVVEYthat?”Spanish,SABE. In the nigger andAnglo-Chinese patois, this isSABBY, “me noSABBY.” It is a general word among the lower classes all over the world. It also means acuteness or cleverness; as, “That fellow has plenty ofSAVVEY.”
Saw, a term at whist. ASAWis established when two partners alternately trump a suit, played to each other for the express purpose.
Saw your timber, “be off!” equivalent to “cut your stick.” Occasionally varied, with mock refinement, to “amputate your mahogany.”SeeCUT.
Sawbones, a surgeon.
Sawney, orSANDY, a Scotchman. Corruption of Alexander.
Sawney, a simpleton; a gaping, awkward lout.
Sawney, bacon.Sawney Hunter, one who steals bacon.
Scab, a worthless person.—Old.Shakspeare uses “scald” in a similar sense.
Scab-raiser, a drummer in the army, so called from one of the duties formerly pertaining to that office, viz., inflicting corporal punishment on the soldiers.—Military.
Scabby neck, a native of Denmark.—Sea.
Scabby-sheep, epithet applied by the vulgar to a person who has been in questionable society, or under unholy influence, and become tainted. Also a mean disreputable fellow.
Scaldrum dodge, a dodge in use among begging impostors of burning the body with a mixture of acids and gunpowder, so as to suit the hues and complexions of any accident to be deplored by a confiding public.
Scaly, shabby, or mean. Perhaps anything which betokens the presence of the “Old Serpent,” or it may be a variation of “fishy.”
Scamander, to wander about without a settled purpose;—possibly in allusion to the winding course of the Homeric river of that name.
Scammered, drunk.
Scamp, a graceless fellow, a rascal; a wandering vagabond; scamping was formerly the cant term for plundering and thieving. AROYAL-SCAMPwas a highwayman, whilst aFOOT-SCAMPwas an ordinary thief with nothing but his legs to trust to in case of an attempt at capture. Some have derivedSCAMPfromqui ex campo exit, one who leaves the field, a deserter.
Scamp, to give short measure or quantity; applied to dishonest contractors. Also to hurry through a task in a way which precludes the possibility of its being done well. Probably the same asSKIMPandSCRIMP.
Scandal-water, tea; from old maids’ tea-parties being generally a focus for scandal.
Scaramouch, properly a tumbler, orSALTIMBANCO. Also a disreputable fellow.
Scarborough-warning, a warning given too late to be taken advantage of. When a person is driven over, and then told to keep out of the way, he receivesScarborough-warning. Fuller says the proverb alludes to an event which happened at that place in 1557, when Thomas Stafford seized upon Scarborough Castle before the townsmen had the least notice of his approach.
Scarce,TO MAKE ONESELF; to be off; to decamp.
Scarlet fever, the desire felt by young ladies to flirt with officers in preference to civilians.
Scarlet-town, Reading, in Berkshire. As the name of this place is pronounced Redding,SCARLET-TOWNis probably a rude pun upon it.
Scarper, to run away;Spanish,ESCAPAR, to escape, make off;Italian,SCAPPARE. “Scarperwith the feeley of the donna of the carzey,” to run away with the daughter of the landlady of the house; almost pureItalian, “SCAPPARE COLLA FIGLIA DELLA DONNA DELLA CASA.”—Seven Dials and Prison Cant, from theLingua Franca.
Schism-shop, a Dissenters’ meeting-house.—University.
Schofel, bad money.SeeSHOFUL.
School, a knot of men or boys; generally a body of idlers or street gamblers. Also, two or more “patterers” working together in the streets.
Schroff, a banker, treasurer, or confidential clerk.—Anglo-Indian.
Schwassle box, the street arrangement for Punch and Judy.SeeSWATCHEL-COVE.
Sconce, the head; judgment, sense.—Dutch.
Sconce, to fine. Used by Dons as well as undergrads. The Dons fined orSCONCEDfor small offences;e.g., five shillings for wearing a coloured coat in hall at dinner-time. Among undergrads a pun, or an oath, or an indecent remark, wasSCONCEDby the head of the table. If the offender could, however, floor the tankard of beer which he wasSCONCED, he could retort on hisSCONCERto the extent of twice the amount he wasSCONCEDin.—Oxford University.
Score, a reckoning, “to run up aSCOREat a public-house,” to obtain credit there until pay-day, or a fixed time, when the debt must be “wiped off.” From the old practice of scoring a tippler’s indebtedness on the inside of a public-house door.
Scorf, to eat voraciously.
Scot, a quantity of anything, a lot, a share.—Anglo-Saxon,SCEAT, pronouncedSHOT.
Scot, temper, or passion,—from the irascible temperament of the Scotch; “Oh! what aSCOThe was in,”i.e., what temper he showed.
Scotch coffee, biscuits toasted and boiled in water. A gross calumny on the much-enduring Scotians; a supposed joke on their parsimony.—Sea.
Scotch fiddle, the itch; “to play theScotch fiddle,” to work the index finger of the right hand like a fiddlestick between the index and middle finger of the left. This provokes a Scotchman in the highestdegree, as it implies that he is afflicted with the itch. It is supposed that a continuous oatmeal diet is productive of cutaneous affection.
Scotch greys, lice. Our northern neighbours were calumniously reported, in the “good old times” of ignorance and prejudice, to be peculiarly liable to cutaneous eruptions and parasites.
Scotches, the legs; also synonymous with notches.
Scout, a college valet, or waiter.—Oxford.SeeGYP.
Scout, the male servant, who generally has a staircase under his charge, and waits on the men in each set of rooms. The female servant (not unfrequently his wife or daughter) is the bedmaker.—University.
Scrag, the neck.—Old Cant.Scotch,CRAIG. Still used by butchers. Hence,SCRAG, to hang by the neck, andSCRAGGING, an execution,—alsoOld Cant.
Scran, pieces of meat, broken victuals. Formerly the reckoning at a public-house.Scranning, or “out on theSCRAN,” begging for broken victuals. Also, an Irish malediction of a mild sort, “BadSCRANto yer!”i.e., bad food to you.
Scran-bag, a soldier’s haversack.—Military Slang.
Scrap, to fight. Also used as a substantive. Prize-fighters are often known asSCRAPPERS.
Scrape, a difficulty;SCRAPE, low wit for a shave.
Scrape, cheap butter; also butter laid on bread in the thinnest possible manner, as though it had been laid on and scraped off again. “Bread andSCRAPE,” the bread and butter issued to schoolboys,—so called from the manner in which the butter is laid on.
Scratch, an imaginary meeting-point in a fight, or verbal contest; “coming up to theSCRATCH,” preparing to fight—literally approaching the line which used to be chalked on the ground to divide the ring. According to the rules of the prize ring, the toe should be placed at theSCRATCH, so the phrase often is “toeing theSCRATCH.”
Scratch, “no greatSCRATCH,” of little worth.
Scratch, to strike a horse’s name out of the list of runners in a particular race. “Tomboy wasSCRATCHEDfor the Derby at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, from which period all bets made in reference to him are void.”SeeP.P.—Turf.One of Boz’s characters asks whether horses are “really made more lively by beingSCRATCHED.”
Scratch-race(on the turf), a race at which the horses run at catch weights, a race without restrictions. In boating, a race in which the crew are picked up anyhow. ASCRATCHcrew is a crew of all sorts.
Screaming, first-rate, splendid. Believed to have been first used in the Adelphi play-bills; “aSCREAMINGfarce,” one calculated to make the audience scream with laughter. Now a general expression.
Screed, an illogical or badly-written article or paper upon any subject.
Screeve, a letter, a begging petition.
Screeve, to write, or devise; “toSCREEVEa fakement,” to concoct, or write, a begging letter, or other impostor’s document. From theDutch,SCHRYVEN;German,SCHREIBEN, to write.
Screever, a man who draws with coloured chalks on the pavement figures of our Saviour crowned with thorns, specimens of elaborate writing, thunderstorms, ships on fire, &c. The men who attend these pavement chalkings, and receive halfpence and sixpences from the admirers of street art, are not always the draughtsmen. The artist orSCREEVERdraws, perhaps, in half-a-dozen places in the course of a morning, and rents the spots out to as many cadaverous-looking men, who, when any one looks hard at them, will commence to dabble clumsily with the short pieces of chalks they always keep at hand. There are impostors of this kind in higher walks of art.
Screw, an unsound or broken-down horse, that requires both whip and spur to get him along. So called from the screw-like manner in which his ribs generally show through the skin.
Screw, a mean or stingy person.
Screw, salary, or wages.
Screw, “to put on theSCREW,” to limit one’s credit, to be more exact and precise; “to put under theSCREW;” to compel, to coerce, to influence by strong pressure.
Screw, a small packet of tobacco. A “twist” of the “weed.”
Screw, a key—skeleton, or otherwise.
Screw, a turnkey.
Screw loose.When friends become cold and distant towards each other, it is said there is aSCREW LOOSEbetwixt them; the same phrase is also used when anything goes wrong with a person’s credit or reputation.
Screwed, intoxicated or drunk.
Scrimmage, orSCRUMMAGE, a disturbance or row.—Ancient.Probably a corruption ofSKIRMISH.
Scrimshaw.Anything made by sailors for themselves in their leisure hours at sea is termedSCRIMSHAW-WORK.
Scrouge, to crowd or squeeze.—Wiltshire.
Scruff, the back part of the neck seized by the adversary in an encounter. “I seized him by theSCRUFFof the neck, and chucked him out.” OriginallySCURF.
Scrumptious, nice, particular, beautiful.
Scufter, a policeman.—North Country.
Scull, orSKULL, the head, or master of a college.—University, but nearly obsolete; the gallery, however, in St. Mary’s (the Oxford University church), where the “Heads of Houses” sit in solemn state, is still nicknamed the “Golgotha” by the undergraduates.
Scurf, a mean fellow. Literally a scurvy fellow.
Sea-connie, the steersman of an Indian ship. By the insurance laws he must be either aPYAHPortuguese, a European, or a Manilla man,—Lascars not being allowed to be helmsmen.
Sea-cook, “son of aSEA-COOK,” an opprobrious phrase used on board ship, differing from “son of a gun,” which is generally used admiringly or approvingly.
Seals, a religious slang term for converts. Also a Mormon term for wives.SeeOWNED.
See.Like “go” and “do,” this useful verb has long been supplemented with a slang or unauthorized meaning. In street parlance, “toSEE” is to know or believe; “I don’tSEEthat,”i.e., “I don’t put faith in what you offer, or I know what you say to be untrue.”
See it out, to stay out late or early, and see the gas put out. Also to complete an undertaking.
See the king.SeeELEPHANT.
Seedy, worn-out, poverty-stricken, used-up, shabby. Metaphorical expression from the appearance of flowers when off bloom and running toSEED; hence said of one who wears clothes until they crack and become shabby. “How seedy he looks,” said of any man whose clothes are worn threadbare, with greasy facings, and hat brightened up by perspiration and continual polishing and wetting. When a man’s coat begins to look worn-out and shabby he is said to lookSEEDYand ready for cutting. This term has been in common use for nearly two centuries, and latterly has found its way into most dictionaries. Formerly slang, it is now a recognised word, and one of the most expressive in the English language. The French are always amused with it, they having no similar term.“Oh, let my hat be e’er sae brown,My coat be e’er saeSEEDY, O!My whole turn-out scarce worth a crown,Like gents well-bred, but needy, O!”Fisher’s Garland for 1835.
Seedy, worn-out, poverty-stricken, used-up, shabby. Metaphorical expression from the appearance of flowers when off bloom and running toSEED; hence said of one who wears clothes until they crack and become shabby. “How seedy he looks,” said of any man whose clothes are worn threadbare, with greasy facings, and hat brightened up by perspiration and continual polishing and wetting. When a man’s coat begins to look worn-out and shabby he is said to lookSEEDYand ready for cutting. This term has been in common use for nearly two centuries, and latterly has found its way into most dictionaries. Formerly slang, it is now a recognised word, and one of the most expressive in the English language. The French are always amused with it, they having no similar term.
“Oh, let my hat be e’er sae brown,My coat be e’er saeSEEDY, O!My whole turn-out scarce worth a crown,Like gents well-bred, but needy, O!”Fisher’s Garland for 1835.
“Oh, let my hat be e’er sae brown,My coat be e’er saeSEEDY, O!My whole turn-out scarce worth a crown,Like gents well-bred, but needy, O!”
Seeley’s pigs, blocks of iron in Government dockyards. Mr. Seeley, M.P., was the first to call attention in the House of Commons to the scandalous waste of pig-iron in the dockyards. Some of the yards were found to be half paved with blocks of metal, which were thence called “Seeley’s pigs.”
Sell, a deception, or disappointment; also a lying joke.
Sell, to deceive, swindle, or play a practical joke upon a person. A sham is aSELLin street parlance. “Soldagain, and got the money,” a patterer cries after having successfully deceived somebody. Shakspeare usesSELLINGin a similar sense, viz., blinding or deceiving.
Sensation, a quartern of gin.
Serene, all right; “it’s allSERENE,” a street phrase of very modern adoption, the burden of a song.Serene, all serene! from theSpanishSERENO, equivalent to the English “all’s well;” a countersign of sentinels, supposed to have been acquired by some filibusters who were imprisoned in Cuba, and liberated by the intercession of the British ambassador. The Sereno, the Spanish night watchman, cries out, with the hour, the state of the atmosphere. He was called the Sereno (clear), from his announcing the usual fine (sereno) night—quite different from the work of our old “Charlies,” whose usual call was one of foul weather.
Serve out, to punish, or be revenged on any one.
Setter, sevenpence.Italian,SETTE.SeeSALTEE.—Lingua Franca.
Setter, a person employed by the vendor at an auction to run the bidding up; to bid againstbona-fidebidders. Also the man who takes the box at hazard, and “sets a go.”
Setting jewels, taking the best portions of a clever book not much known to the general public, and incorporating them quietly with a new work by a thoroughly original author. The credit of this term belongs to Mr. Charles Reade, who explained that the process is accountable for the presence of some writing by one Jonathan Swift, in a story published at Christmas, 1872, and calledThe Wandering Heir.
Settle, to kill, ruin, or effectually quiet a person.
Settled, transported, or sent to penal servitude for life; sometimes spoken of asWINDED-SETTLED.
Set-to, a sparring match, a fight; “aDEAD SET” is a determined opposition in argument, or in movement.
Sevendible, a very curious word, used only in the North of Ireland, to denote something particularly severe, strong, or sound. It is, no doubt, derived from sevendouble—that is, sevenfold—and is applied to linen cloth, a heavy beating, a harsh reprimand, &c.
Seven-pennorth, transportation for seven years.
Seven-sided animal, a one-eyed man, as he has an inside, outside, left side, right side, foreside, backside, and blind side.
Seven-up, the game of all-fours, when played for seven chalks—that is, when seven points or chalks have to be made to win the game.
Sewed-up, done up, used up, intoxicated.Dutch,SEEUWT, sick.
Sewn-up, quite worn-out, or “dead beat.”
Shack, a “chevalier d’industrie.” A scamp, a blackguard.—Nottingham.
Shack-per-swaw, every one for himself,—a phrase in use amongst the lower orders at the East-end of London, derived apparently from theFrench,CHACUN POUR SOI.
Shackly, loose, rickety.—Devonshire.
Shady, an expression implying decadence. On “theSHADYside of forty” implies that a person is considerably older than forty.Shadyalso means inferiority in other senses. A “shady trick” is either a shabby one, mean or trumpery, or else it is one contemptible from the want of ability displayed. TheSHADYside of a question is, and fairly enough too, that which has no brightness to recommend it.
Shake, a disreputable man or woman.—North.In London aSHAKEis a prostitute.
Shake-down, an improvised bed.
Shake-lurk, a false paper carried by an impostor, giving an account of a “dreadful shipwreck.”
Shake the elbow,TO, a roundabout expression for dice-playing. To “crook theELBOW” is an Americanism for “to drink.”
Shaker, a shirt.
Shakers, a Puritanical sect, almost peculiar to America, and not similar to our Quakers, as is generally believed. They have very strangenotions on things in general, and especially on marriage and the connexion of the sexes.
Shakes, a bad bargain is said to be “no greatSHAKES;” “pretty fairSHAKES” is anything good or favourable.—Byron.In America, a fairSHAKEis a fair trade or a good bargain.
Shakes, “in a brace ofSHAKES,”i.e., in an instant.
Shakester, orSHICKSTER, a female. Amongst costermongers this term is invariably applied to ladies, or the wives of tradesmen, and females generally, of the classes immediately above them. Amongst Jews the word signifies a woman of shady antecedents. Supposed to be derived from theHebrew,SHIKTZA. It is generally pronounced “shickser.”
Shaky, said of a person of questionable health, integrity, or solvency; at the Universities, of one not likely to pass his examination.
Shaler, a girl. Corrupt form ofGaelic,CAILLE, a young woman.
Shalley-gonahey, a smock-frock.—Cornish.
Shallow, the peculiar barrow used by costermongers.
Shallow, a weak-minded country justice of the peace.—Shakspeare.
Shallow-cove, a begging rascal, who goes about the country half naked, with the most limited amount of rags upon his person, wearing neither shoes, stockings, nor hat.
Shallow-mot, a ragged woman,—the frequent companion of theSHALLOW-COVE.
Shallows, “to go on theSHALLOWS,” to go half naked.
Sham, contraction of champagne. In general use among the lower class of sporting men. Sometimes extended toSHAMMY.
Sham Abraham, to feign sickness.SeeAbraham.
Shandrydan, an old-fashioned or rickety conveyance of the “shay” order.
Shandy-gaff, ale and gingerbeer. Origin unknown, but use very common.
Shanks, legs.
Shanks’s mare, “to rideSHANK’S MARE,” to go on foot.
Shant, a pot or quart; “SHANTof bivvy,” a quart of beer.
Shanty, a rude, temporary habitation. The word is principally employed to designate the huts inhabited by navigators, when constructing large lines of railway far distant from towns. It is derived from theFrenchCHANTIER, used by the Canadians for a log hut, and has travelled from thence, by way of the United States, to England.
Shanty, a song. A term in use among sailors. FromCHANTER.
Shapes, “to cut up” or “showSHAPES,” to exhibit pranks, or flightiness.
Shark, a sharper, a swindler. Bow Street term in 1785, now in most dictionaries.—FriesicandDanish,SCHURK.SeeLAND-SHARK.
Sharp, orSHARPER, a cunning cheat, a rogue,—the opposite ofFLAT.
Sharp, a similar expression to “TWO PUN’ TEN” (whichsee), used by assistants in shops to signify that a customer of suspected honesty isamongst them. The shopman in this case would ask one of the assistants, in a voice loud enough to be generally heard, “Has Mr.Sharpcome in yet?” “No,” would probably be the reply; “but he is expected every minute.” The signal is at once understood, and a general look-out kept upon the suspected party.
Sharp’s-alley blood-worms, beef sausages and black puddings. Sharp’s Alley was, until City improvements caused it to be destroyed, a noted slaughtering-place near Smithfield.
Shave, a false alarm, a hoax, a sell. This term was much in vogue in the Crimea during the Russian campaign,—that is, though much used by the military before then, the term did not, until that period, become known to the general public.
Shave, a narrow escape. At Cambridge, “justSHAVINGthrough,” or “making aSHAVE,” is just escaping a “pluck” by coming out at the bottom of the list.“My terms are anything but dear,Then read with me, and never fear;The examiners we’re sure to queer,And get through, if you make aSHAVEon’t.”The Private Tutor.
Shave, a narrow escape. At Cambridge, “justSHAVINGthrough,” or “making aSHAVE,” is just escaping a “pluck” by coming out at the bottom of the list.
“My terms are anything but dear,Then read with me, and never fear;The examiners we’re sure to queer,And get through, if you make aSHAVEon’t.”The Private Tutor.
“My terms are anything but dear,Then read with me, and never fear;The examiners we’re sure to queer,And get through, if you make aSHAVEon’t.”
Shave;“toSHAVEa customer,” charge him more for an article than the marked price. Used in the drapery trade. When the master sees an opportunity of doing this, he strokes his chin, as a signal to his assistant who is serving the customer.
Shaver, a sharp fellow; there are young and oldSHAVERS.—Sea.
Shebeen, an unlicensed place where spirituous liquors are illegally sold. A word almost peculiar to Ireland.
Shed a tear, to take a dram, or glass of neat spirits; jocular phrase used, with a sort of grim earnestness, by old topers to each other. “Now then, old fellow, come andSHED A TEAR!” an invitation to take “summat short.” The origin may have been that ardent spirits, taken neat by younger persons, usually bring water to their eyes. With confirmed drinkers, however, the phrase is used with an air of mingled humour and regret at their own position. A still more pathetic phrase is—“putting aNAIL IN ONE’S COFFIN,” whichsee. The termSHED A TEARis probably derived from “eye-water.”
Sheen, bad money.—Scotch.
Sheeny, a Jew. This word is used by both Jew and Gentile at the East-end of London, and is not considered objectionable on either side.
Sheep’s eyes, loving looks, “to makeSHEEP’S EYESat a person,” to cast amorous glances towards one on the sly.“But he, the beast, was castingSHEEP’S EYESat herOut of his bullock head.”Colman, Broad Grins.
Sheep’s eyes, loving looks, “to makeSHEEP’S EYESat a person,” to cast amorous glances towards one on the sly.
“But he, the beast, was castingSHEEP’S EYESat herOut of his bullock head.”Colman, Broad Grins.
“But he, the beast, was castingSHEEP’S EYESat herOut of his bullock head.”
Shelf, “on theSHELF,” not yet disposed of; young ladies are said to be so situated when they cannot meet with husbands. “On theSHELF” also means pawned, or laid by in trust.
Shell out, to pay or count out money. Also a game played on a billiard table, a variation of pool.
Shepherd, to look after carefully, to place under police surveillance.
Shice, nothing; “to do anything forSHICE,” to get no payment. The term was first used by the Jews in the last century. Grose gives the phraseCHICE-AM-A-TRICE, which has a synonymous meaning.Spanish,CHICO, little;Anglo-Saxon,CHICHE, niggardly; or perhaps connected with theGerman,SCHEISSEN.
Shicer, a mean man, a humbug, a “duffer,”—a worthless person, one who will not work. This is the worst term one Jew can use to another. At the diggings it means a hole which yields nothing.
Shickery, shabby, bad. FromSHAKY,SHAKERY.
Shickster, a lady.SeeSHAKESTER.
Shickster-crabs, ladies’ shoes.—Tramps’ term.
Shigs, money, silver.—East London.
Shikaree, a hunter, a sportsman.—Anglo-Indian.An English sportsman who has seen many ups and downs in jungles of the East styles himself “anOLD SHIKAREE.”—Anglo-Indian.Also speltSHEKARRY.
Shilly-shally, to trifle or fritter away time; to be irresolute. Corruption of “Shall I, shall I?”
Shin, an Americanism for walking. “I’m tired ofSHINNINGaround.”
Shindy, a row, or noise. ASHINDYgenerally means a regular mêlée.
Shine, a row, or disturbance.
Shine, “to take theSHINEout of a person,” to surpass or excel him.
Shiners, sovereigns, or money.
Shiney rag, “to win theSHINEY RAG,” to be ruined,—said in gambling, when any one continues betting after “luck has set in against him.”
Shin-plaster, a bank-note. Originally an Americanism.
Shins.“To break one’sSHINS,” figurative expression meaning to borrow money.
Ship-shape, proper, in good order; sometimes the phrase is varied to “SHIP-SHAPEand Bristol fashion.”—Sea.The latter portion of the expression went out with Bristol’s fame as a seaport.
Shirty, ill-tempered, or cross. When one person makes another in an ill-humour he is said to have “got hisSHIRTout.”
Shivering Jemmy, the name given by street-folk to any cadger who exposes himself, half naked, on a cold day, to obtain alms. The “game” is unpleasant, but was, before exposure of a different kind spoilt it, exceedingly lucrative.
Shockhead, a head of long, unkempt, and rough hair.
Shoddy, old cloth worked up into new; made from soldiers’ and policemen’s coats. The old cloth is pulled to pieces, the yarn unravelled and carded over again. This produces shoddy, which is very short in the fibre, and from it are produced, on again twisting and weaving, cloth fabrics used for ladies’ mantles, &c. Also, a term of derision applied to workmen in woollen factories.—Yorkshire.
Shoddy, the plutocracy created out of bogus contracts during the civilwar in the United States. TheSHODDYITESenriched themselves at the expense of their country in the most shameless manner, having most likely studied under those contractors who should have supplied our soldiers with necessaries during the Crimean War.
Shoe, to free or initiate a person,—a practice common in most trades to a new-comer. TheSHOEINGconsists in paying for beer, or other liquor, which is drunk by the older hands. The cans emptied, and the bill paid, the stranger is considered properlySHOD.Shoeingis a variation of “paying one’s footing.”
Shoe leather!a thief’s warning cry when he hears footsteps. This exclamation is used in the spirit which animated the friend who, when he suspected treachery towards Bruce at King Edward’s court, in 1306, sent him a purse and a pair of spurs, as a sign that he should use them in making his escape.
Shoes, “to die in one’sSHOES,” to be hanged. In the old hanging days a highwayman would often kick off his shoes when the rope was round his neck, so as—oh, vain and impotent attempt!—to defeat the prophecy that had foreshadowed his present position.