C. B. U. (Commercial, 1897). Legal
initials of Court of Bankruptcy, Undischarged.
Arose from the process
of one H. H. who obtained goods
while an undischarged bankrupt by
letter headed with these initials which
he held, freed him from a charge of
fraud.
The superintendent of police stated
that there were hundreds of cases against
the accused, who pleaded that the letters
'C. B. U.' which appeared on his notepaper
informed his creditors that he was
an undischarged bankrupt, the exact
interpretation of the letters being
' Court
of Bankruptcy, undischarged'. D. T.,
23rd March 1897.
C. H. (Popular from Nov. 1882-83).
Conquering Hero. The term took its
rise consequent upon the incessant
reception of the soldiers engaged in
the Egyptian War (1882), by the
playing of ' See the Conquering Hero
Comes.'
It will soon be a military distinction
not to be a C. H. Ref., 19th November
1882.
C. O. (Military). Soldiers' Greek
for ' the Colonel '.
C. S. (American Civil War}.
Abbreviation of Confederate soldiers.
U. S. and C. S. slept together on
blankets. Newsp. Cutting.
Cabbage, The (1883). A familiar
name given to the Savoy Theatre,
opened in 1881, and named after the
Cabbage Garden Patriots Calico Hop
old '
Savoy
'
liberties, within which it
was built.
When I saw the Cabbage Theatre
full I thought to myself, etc. (1883).
Cabbage Garden Patriots (PoliL,
1848 on). Cowards.
The phrase
' cabbage garden patriots
'
refers to the way in which Smith O'Brien,
the uncrowned king of forty years ago
or so, was discovered hiding in a bed of
cabbages after his followers had fled in
all directions, when they were informed
as to the coming of the horrid Saxon's
minions. Ref., 20th October 1889.
Cackle (Theatrical). To cackle is
neither to gag, nor to pong it is
both, with cackle added. A ceaseless
unpunctuated flow of words and
phrases more or less unconnected and
meaningless.
'Cackle' is a convertible substantive
or verb which carries a meaning for
which it would be most difficult to substitute
any other word nearly so effective,
and there is a world of satire in its
application to a human goose. Stage,
21st August 1885.
Cackle-tub (Thieves'). A pulpit.
The dangerous classes evolved this
term in prison, where they probably
see a pulpit for the first time.
Cackling Cove (Cadgers'). An
actor the cadger seeing no difference
between observing Shakespeare, and
whining floridly for pence.
Cadaver (Anglo-Amer.). A financially
* dead 'un.'
Three fresh Cadavers. Last week the
Crawford Mutual Belief Association, of
Ohio, notified the Insurance Commissioner
of that State that it was in the
throes of dissolution. The day following
the Northern Ohio Mutual Relief
Association and the Eureka Life surrendered
their hungry ghosts. Newtp.
Cutting.
See Dead 'un.
Cad-mad (Oxford, 1880). The vain
glory and superciliousness which overcome,
and permanently, the better
sense of nouveaux riches, parvenues,
mushroomers (see), 'Poor devil forgive
him he's a cad mad emancipated
haberdasher.'
Cads on Castors (1880). Bicylists.
It will come as a severe blow to
fastidious people, who, adopting and
freely using the rather stupid phrase
that stigmatised all bicyclists as 'cads
on castors', fondly thought that they
could kill by ridicule a pastime to which
they took exception. D. JV., 10th
September 1885.
Cady or Kadi (Whitechapel). A
hat probably from the Hebrew. It
has the distinction of offering one of
the rare rhymes to lady. In 1886 a
song-chorus began
Met a lady !
Raised my cady !
The lady probably being of insufficient
virtue the context borne
in mind.
Ca.esa.r&tion(American). A remarkable
shape of evasive swearing really
damnation.
' Ow ! ow ! Caesaration ! I'll kick the
head off you !
' he roared, catching hold
of a fence and glaring at the boy.
Neivsp. Cutting.
Cake (London, 1882). A foolish
stupid fellow. Used in good society,
Borrowed by Mr Emanual Duperre for
a comedy of English manners called
Rotten Row, produced at the Odeon
(Paris, 1882).
Cake-walk (Music Hall, 19 cent.).
Negro step-dancing.
The science of ' cake-walking
' does not
appear to be a particularly abstruse
one. Indeed, it may be said to have
been anticipated by the English minuet.
Cake - walking is, in fact, a graceful
motion, conducted upon the toes and
ball of the foot. Yet there must be an
unsuspected amount of merit in it, for
we are informed that the Farrells won
first prize at the Madison Square Gardens
in New York before 10,000 interested
spectators. ... As the reward to the
dancers generally consists of an elaborate
cake we are at once enlightened as to
the genesis of a colloquialism, which has
become quite acclimatised in our own
land. D. T., 14th March 1898.
Calf Round (Amer. Agricultural,
1870). To dawdle about, asking for
some kind of help suggested by a
calf worrying its mother.
' No, sir ; I'll die first. Integrity in
business transactions is the rule of my
life. When I set a time to pay you,
calf 'round.' Kentucky State Journal,
1882.
Calico Hop\(Amer.-Eng.). A free
and easy calico ball. This function
was invented to evade expenditure by
providing that all the dresses, ordinary
or fancy, should be strictly of cotton.
However cunning people held cotton
velvet to be within the bounds of a
60
Calicot Canaries
calico ball, and so contrived to make
rare displays of themselves.
The Pleasure League gave a calico hop
to their numerous friends on Wednesday
evening, at Gerstner's Hall, which was
largely attended. N. Y. Mercury, April
1883.
Calicot (French). Originally a
trade phrase for a linen-draperman
both in France and England used to
describe a ' snob ' or cad. ' What a
calicot he is !
' E. Zola in Au
Bonheur des Dames (1883) uses the
word in its original acceptation
' Hein des calicots qui vendent des
fourrures !
' Derived from linen -
drapers' young men dressing expensively,
but not purchasing good
manners.
Call it 8 Bells (Nautical). Early
drink. It is not etiquette in good
nautical circles to have a drink before
high noon ; 8 Bells. So the apology
for alcoholics before that hour takes
this form :
' Come along I fancy
the bar is this way. Call it 8 Bells.'
And they do.
Call-money (Police). Money paid
to policemen for calling artisans early
in the morning at a given hour.
Attention to '
call-money
'
appeared to
receive more favourable consideration,
and sixpences per week for rousing
sleepy shopkeepers were matters not to
be lightly estimated, even though it is
written in the rules, we believe, that no
fees are to be received from the citizen
who requires to be roused. Papers on
Metrop. Police.
Calloh (Hebrew- Yiddish). A bride.
Proper spelling of the ordinary term,
kollah (q.v.).
Camberwell Death-trap (Camberwell,
19 cent.). Surrey Canal.
Mr Powell, whose little nephew was
recently drowned in the Surrey Canal,
has called attention in a contemporary
to the dangerous condition of that waterway.
He regards it as a pitfall for little
boys who walk on or play about its
banks, and he tells us that it is locally
known as ' the Camberwell Death-trap '.
D. ^.,.27th September 1883.
Cambric (Soc., 18 cent.). A shirt
of fine linen ; later a handkerchief of
cambric. Derived from name of place of
manufacture of fine linen. ' Cambray '
or Cambrick, after the fashion of calico.
(AtoLully.)
Cambridge lot (Oxford Univ.).
General term of scorn for men of the
more eastern of the two universities.
The distinction of this ' Cambridge lot
'
is of a kind which is not merely official
but individual, and of an individuality
specially suitable for recognition by a
University. Newsp. Cutting, 1883.
Camera Obscura (Amer. - Eng.).
Le queu.
The Arkansan walked behind the
stooping darkey, swung his right boot
into the air three or four times, and then
sent the sole whizzing against the darkey's
camera-obscura. Neivsp. Gutting.
Came up (Street, 1890). Come up.
Amongst the masses it is a common
shape of small wit to replace the
present by the past tense. 'Came'
for ' come '
is very common and used
by most drivers who invariably say
* Came up '.
Camp (Street). Actions and gestures
of exaggerated emphasis. Probably
from the French. Used chiefly by
persons of exceptional want of character.
* How very camp he is.'
Can (Navy). A. B.'s familiar abbreviation
of Canopus. Why classic
when you can be colloquial, and ' can '
is still very colloquial in the Navy.
Can I help you with that ? (Peoples',
1895 on). Said generally to a man
with money, or eating, or more
especially drinking. Drolly begging,
in fact mean invention. When said
to the fairer sex the import is different.
Can you say uncle to that ? (Dustmen's).
To which the usual answer
appears to be (in a dust-yard)
' Yes
I can.' Uncle in this relationship
appears to equal
'
reply '.
Can you smash a thick 'un?
(Peoples'). Can you change a sovereign.
A grim sign of woe suggesting the
common experience that the moment
a sovereign is changed, it is ' smashed '
or gone.
Canader ( Oxford
' er '). A Canadian
canoe this word being canoer. Accent
on the second in Canader.
Canaries (London, 1882). Charity
subscription papers. This term took
its rise from the use of the word by
Booth, the General of the Salvation
Army. The colours of the Army were
red and yellow, probably in close
imitation of the scarlet and gold of the
officers of the Guards. The idea of
lil
Canary Cant
using yellow paper for subscription
lists probably arose from the combined
facts that yellow paper is cheap and
that yellow was one of the Army
colours. On the other hand, red
paper is very expensive. General
Booth, who had a marked tendency
to very simple forms of humour,
named these papers
* Canaries '. The
word ' took ' at once.
Canary (Music Hall, 1870). Chorus -
singer amongst the public generally
in gallery. Invented by Leybourne,
a comic singer, probably to give him
rest between his verses, he being
pulmonary.
' Go it, canaries ', he
flatteringly would say, meaning that
they sang like canaries.
Chorus-singing by the canaries has
long been a South London Institution.
Ref., March 1886.
Canary (Costermonger, 1876). An
ideal hip adornment.
Upper Benjamin built on a downy
plan, velveteen taoc, kerseymere kicksies,
built very slap up, with the artful dodge,
a canary, very hanky panky, with a
double fakement down the side. Gutting.
Very difficult of explanation, and in
true descent from the cod-piece, though
not so glaring in its declaration. It
has also some association with ' II Ruossignuole
', as spoken of in the sprightly
pages of Boccacio.
Canary Bird (Peoples'). A sovereign.
Canary, as something charming,
is often associated with pleasant things
that are yellow.
'
Yes, it's a canary
bird, but it will soon fly away to my
landlord. He gets them all !
'
Candid Friend (Soc., 1860). Equivalent
of the damned kind friend of
Sir Peter Teazle's. One who says
what a mere acquaintance would studiously
avoid. Man who urges what
he should only admit with reluctance.
Mr Foster has for a long while taken
upon himself the unpleasant r61e of
' candid friend ' with regard to the
Government, and every now and again
considers it his bounden duty to chide
the members of it when even those who
are in open Opposition would remain
silent. Ref., 8th March 1885.
Candle, To (Peoples', 18 cent.). To
investigate or examine minutely.
Figure of speech derived from the use
of candles to test eggs, and to ascertain
if a second sheet or other enclosure was
included in a letter. In the last
62
century the candle was practically the
only mode of illumination a common
object. Now, except in the ' wax '
division of society, a candle is frequently
not seen from year's beginning
to end.
It requires a stretch of fancy to picture
forth an old-fashioned post-office, with
clerks '
candling
' the letters as if they
were doubtful eggs. The conditions of
a single letter were that it should be
written ' on one sheet.' The letters were
held up to the light to show whether they
required a surcharge for an enclosure.
D. N., 1st August 1883.
Candle-shop (Broad Church). A
Roman Catholic chapel, or Ritualistic
church from the plenitude of lights.
Canister (Street). A preacher.
Evidently a corruption of a street
preacher whose name was something
like, for instance,
'
Kynaster ', and
popularly Anglicised. (See Sky Pilot.)
Cant. Sneaking, mean, lying, faced
with assertion of religion. Probably
first used opprobriously after the Reformation,
when Canterbury fell out of
grace for the time being, as the metropolis
of the English Church. Long
after the destruction of the monasteries
Kent was the headquarters of English
beggars. It is so perhaps to this day.
Dickens, who died in 1870, was always
accompanied in his walks from Gad's
Hill House by several mastiffs, which
he declared were for his protection
from beggars. The author certainly
cleared the roads about Gad's Hill
from beggars and the lieges as well
for that matter, for the dogs were as
fierce as Bismarck's. The abbeyloupers
always begged with canticles
in their noses and mouths, especially
with the prayer to S. Martin, patron
saint of beggars. Cant may be from
Kent, Canterbury, or canticle, or all
three, but it certainly means, as it
meant, whining imposture on a basis
of religion, as ' He doesn't preach he
cants.' * Don't cant, Bert, or I won't
pay a doit of your debts.' All the
great writers of the eighteenth century
use this word Swift, Addison, Dryden,
and many others. Dr Johnson,
of course, gives the word a Latin origin
' Cantus ' but does not say how
the journey was made. In Scotland
they believe the word came from two
Andrew Cants, father and son, time of
Charles II., and both very violent
Cant of Togs Carachtwankterous
Presbyterian preachers. But the word
went north to them, the Cants did not
send it south,
' I write not always in
the proper terms of navigation, land
service, or in the cant of any profession.'
Dryden. ' A few general rules,
with a certain cant of words, has sometimes
set up an illiterate heavy writer
for a most judicious critic.' The word
in Ireland is still used for selling by
bids. * Numbers of these tenants or
their descendants are now offering to
sell their leases by cant.' Swift.
Terra del Fue*go is, as the cant phrase
goes, beyond the sphere of British influence
for either ambition or greed, but
it has not been forgotten by the British
missionary societies. D. N., 14th May
1889.
Cant of togs (Beggars'). A gift of
clothes. Here the mode of begging
for clothes affords a word to describe
the present or benefit gained by canting.
Good example of low satire
satirising itself.
Can't see a hole in a forty-foot
ladder (Colloquial). Drunk in the
extreme degree, for such a ladder offers
quite forty opportunities.
Every night does my husband come
home blue, blind, stiff, stark, staring
drunk, till he can't see a hole in a forty
foot ladder, sure. Comic Song, 1882.
Can't see it (Peoples'). Reply in the
way of objection, such as ' Do lend me
five pounds ?
' ' Can't see it.'
Can't show yourself to (Peoples',
1880). Not equal to ; as thus :
' You
can't show yourself to Jack Spicer
'
or of a play
' It can't show itself to
The Golden Prince.'
Can't you feel the shrimps?
(Cockney, 1877). I.e., Smell the sea.
Heard on a Thames steamboat when
approaching Gravesend, the metropolis
of shrimps. (See Speak the Brown
To-morrow, Taste the Sun, See the
Breeze.)
Cantillory Realism (Soc. t 1897).
Onomatope applied to singing. The
linguistic
' find' of 1897. Means singing
in which the sounds suggest the
words sung. Very open to ridicule,
but intended quite gravely. At once
burlesqued where ' kiss
' was used
the lips were smacked. If 'thunder'
came in the words, the singer used all
his bass voice, etc. , etc.
Owing to his powers as a vocalist, Mr
Louis James, of Walthamstow, may be
on the high road to fortune ; but unless
he promptly ceases to follow what the
new-fashioned jargon calls cantillatory
realism his rosy prospects may become
overshadowed. D. T., 1st February
1898.
Cap (Eng.-Amer.). Equivalent to
' Sir ' but really abbreviation of
'
Captain '. Common in America
gaining ground in England.
'Fact, Cap,' asserted a bystander.
Cape Smoke (Cape Town, S. A.).
Indigenous whiskey of the colony,
which is very cloudy in tone.
Mr Cecil Ashley strongly insists on the
terrible effects of the ' Cape Smoke '. At
present this evil vapour may be bought
at sevenpence a bottle, and traders
wander about the country with waggon
loads of it, which they almost force on
the natives. Newsp, Cutting, 1878.
Captain Bates (Been to see)?
(Thieves' and Street). A satirical
enquiry of the * How d'ye do ?
'
character applied to a gentleman
once more restored to ungrateful
society after a term in jail. Captain
Bates was a well-known metropolitan
prison-governor.
Captain Macfluffer (Theatr.).
Sudden loss of memory on the stage ;
e.g., 'He took Captain Macfluffer
awfully bad.' Its origin is beyond the
hope of discovery. Cut down to Fluff
and fluffy.
The prompter's voice is dumb in
America. Actors and actresses there
are alert and ready for their work ; they
don't ' fluff '. Clement Scott, October
1900.
Captain Swosser (Peoples'). Naval
cousin of the military Captain Jinks,
both blustering specimens of the
services. Derived from a character of
Marryat's.
The inducements of Captain Swosser,
of the Royal Navy, to have his portrait
taken are far less than they were.
(1882).
Carachtevankterous (Amer.).
Desperately wanting in self-possession.
Perhaps an intensification of cantankerous,
which in its turn is a term
beyond investigation. Both probably
wild onomatopes.
I have seen folks upon this river
quiet-looking chaps, too, as ever you
see who were so teetotally carachtevankterous
that they'd shoot the doctor
who'd tell them they couldn't live when
Caramlo Carrots
ailing, and make a die of it, jist out
spite, when told they must get well.
Newsp. Cutting.
Carambo, Caramba (Span. -Amer.,
going north, and passing to Eng.).
Heartygoodwishes butmore honoured
in the breach than the observance. In
fact honestly translated, and loudly
expressed to a departing friend might
lead to the interference of any policeman
with salvationary or even merely
denominational tendencies. Meaning
elegantly evaded in Spanish-English
dictionaries. Much used in the
extreme south - west of France
especially at Tarbes. Implacable
etymologists may apply at any Spanish
embassy perhaps the Spanish doorkeeper,
if there be one, is the safest
professor of Spanish to trust to,
during this lingual search after useful
knowledge.
Carara (European passing, 1898).
A murderer who cremates his victim.
As she was conveyed to prison the
Mantes people shouted 'A mort la
Carara,' giving her the name of the
Italian mushroom merchant now awaiting
trial in Paris for the murder of the
bank messenger at Bicetre. D. T., 4th
April 1898.
Carding (Irish Fenian, 1867-82).
A local torture.
Cardings have very likely been rare
in county Wicklow. A carding is a
highly - spirited operation. About
twenty persons, more or less well armed
and disguised, break into a cottage, and
subject persons who have basely paid
rent to a more or less severe form of
torture. According to the old Parliamentary
reports, carders 'tool' with a
board stuck full of nails, but perhaps
modern science has provided, or modern
spirit suggested, some less severe instrument
of correction. D. N., 1881.
Carlylese (Liter., 19 cent.). Benevolent
despotism, Tory democracy
(1880-85).
To him '
(Bismarck) says Mr Lowe in
the middle -class Carlylese which he
affects,
' to him the ballot-box was only
a dice-box.' D. N., December 1885.
Carnival (Amer., 1882). A fashion
or sudden practice.
It not unfrequently happens that such
prominent events are followed by an
epidemic or ' carnival 'to use a muchabused
word of suicides and murder.
(1882).
Caroon (Peoples'). A five-shilling
or crown piece. From Corona, and
nearer the mark than the modern
word. (See Cart-wheel.)
Carpenter Scene (Theatr.). Cloth
or flats, well down the stage, to allow
of some comic dialogue while the next
scene is setting.
The old, feeble device of ' forward ', or,
as they were sometimes derisively called,
'carpenter' scenes because notoriously
written only to give time for the building
of more elaborate sets behind them
have now almost entirely disappeared
from the stage. Newsp. Cutting, 6th
April 1885.
Carpet-bagger (Amer. coming to
England). A general term for a poor
person who arrives with a carpet-bag,
and becomes prosperous by audacity or
unfair trading. Originated by the
Confederates, as against the Federals,
when after the civil war hungry and
place-seeking political adventurers
from the north were appointed to
places in the conquered south, and,
arriving in a poverty-stricken condition,
soon showed signs of wealth and general
prosperity.
Carpet Dance (Soc., 1877). A
familiar dance for a few unfortunates
in a drawing-room, as distinct from a
large dance to which everybody is
invited. It was voted bad taste to
offer champagne at a carpet dance
or indeed to drink any wine whatever,
except claret. White soup was often
served, and became as fashionable as
rational, e.g., 'Do come and christen
our new carpet with a valse or two.'
Carried (Rhyming). Married; e.g.,
1 He was carried yesterday, poor bloke '
very ominous, and searchingly
graphic. The word is obtained merely
by supplanting the * m '
by a ' c ' but
what a suggestion there is of harrying
and rallying on the part of the bride !
Carriwitchet (Peoples'). A puzzling
question. Probably an invented word,
in itself suggestive of bewilderment.
Or it may be from the name of a
woman notorious for asking difficult
questions say Carrie Witchet !
Carrots (L. Class). Red hair.
This is an interesting instance of
aggressive Anglicization. It has not in
origin anything to do with ' carrots ',
the colour of which has never yet been
seen in association with human, or
perhaps any other hair, except,
possibly, that of one of the ' lemurs '.
64
Carry me Out Cast-iron and Double-bolted
It is a corruption from Catholic times
in England when a red man or woman
was called ' Iscariot ', the '
betrayer
'
in the Roman Church, and especially
in Rome where red hair amongst the
people has always been a rarity
because Judas Iscariot was historically
supposed to have had red hair. The
Protestant religion in England more
or less parting with Iscariot, the
historical name became associated with
the vegetable, which, by the way, may
have gained its name, seeing its colour,
from the same source as did red hair.
' Hello carrots what cheer now,
my lad !
'
*
Deceptive what can you expect of
her ? Isn't she carroty?
' Indeed to this
day there is a firm belief that red-haired
women are faithless and deceptive
probably from their frankness, possible
rudeness, yet general desire to please.
In Scotland ' carrots ' has degenerated
into 'sandy', invariably applied to
red-haired men, but never to women.
Supposed by correctly thinking people
to be a nickname for Alexander ; but
really a substitute for Iscariot, and a
good one, for there is plenty of ' sand ',
or '
grit ', or '
go
' in most men or
women with hair more or less auburn.
Carry me out (Peoples', 18 cent.). A satirical expression, pretending
defeat, humiliation, and pardon.
Sometimes 'carry me out and bury
me decent.' The latter portion is
possibly an Irish addition. Derived
from the prize ring, when the senseless,
defeated hero was, when quite
vanquished, as scrappers once were,
ignominiously carried out. Or it may
be from cock-fighting, or both. The
dead birds were certainly carried out.
Carry on proper (Common Lond*,
19 cent.). To behave well.
Carsey (L. London). A house ;
corruption of casa from the Italian
organ-grinders in Saffron Hill district.
If you're a bank director and broken
up a thousand carsers of poor honest
people, that's the time to do a guy.
Neiosp. Gutting.
Cart (Peoples', 18 cent.). A metaphor
for the gallows to which
terminal its victims were jolted in a
cart. Still heard in provincial places
' You be on'y fit for the cart '
doubtless now used without the least
idea of its original meaning. In
London the cart travelled, only too
Go
often, several miles from Newgate to
Tyburn Tree, whose site was that of
the Marble Arch in Hyde Park. Used
by all the dramatists in the last
century.
'I care not welcome pillory or cart.'
Garrick, Abel Drugget'.
Now would I sooner take a cart in
company with the hangman than a week
with that woman. Farquhar, The Inconstant.
Cartocracy (Soc. t 19 cent.). People
distinguished enough to keep carts
especially dog-carts. (See Gigmanity. )
Carts (L. London). A pair of
boots generally those of noble size.
Onomatopoetic reference to the noise
a young navvy can make with his
understandings as equal to that of the
passing waggon.
Cartwheel (Peoples'). A five-shilling
piece. From its noble weight and
thickness. (See Crown.)
Carve up (Amer.). To annihilate
completely.
That dear grave holds a disappointed
chap who cum out here from Reno to
carve me up. Neivsp. Gutting.
Case (Fast Life, 1850 on). Abbreviated
form of Casino, and referring to
the rowdy cafes for which the Haymarket
was once celebrated. The
word has survived the abolition of late
houses and the closing of publichouses
at 12.30. The word is applied
to any common public-house or confectioner's
where the business carried
on is not wholly one of stomachic refreshments.
* He kept a case for years
in Panton Street ' may be from Casa.
' Case '
is also thieves' English for a
counterfeit five-shilling piece.
Though Neal kept what is vulgarly
known as a case, and was assisted in his
unholy work by Mrs Neal, and though
both of them at different times were
concerned in the management or direction
of other cases, he seems to have considered
it his wife's duty to remain,' etc.
Ref., 16th March 1890.
Casket (Amer.). Evasion of
' coffin '. First mentioned in Webster,
in edition of 1879. Coming to England
slowly.
When he got to the house the child
was laid out in a handsome white casket
that must have cost at least twenty
dollars.^. Y. Mercury, 1884.
Cast - iron and double - bolted
(Amer., 1880). Samsonly strong.
Cast an Optic Oat-meat Pusher
Striking outcome of the spread of
engineering work.
'
Stranger, onless yer made of cast-iron
and double-bolted, ye hadn't better go
in till the row is over ! '1883.
Cast an Optic (Sporting). A paraphrase
of ' look '.
Cast skin, To (Soc.). To rejuvenate
from the serpent throwing off
its skin annually, and coming forth
radiant. Still used.
'Why, sir, you've cast your skin.'
Farquhar, The Inconstant.
Castor (Street). A hat. Of course
from the first hats being made of the
fur of the castor, or beaver; passed
down to the streets, where any hat is
called a castor. Superseded by Gossamer.
Casuals (Hotel). One-day stayers in
luxurious hotels at marine and mineral
water stations. From the casual, or
night pauper, as distinct from the
superior settled unionist.
Another day the ' casuals ' at the hotel
were mystified exceedingly by a carefully
printed programme announcing that
a performance of wax-work would be
given in the drawing-room. Newsp.
Cutting.
Casualty (Peoples'). A black eye.
From the first Soudan war, when
slight injuries were cabled under this
head.
In one of these contests, in the affair
of the Cross Causeway, indeed, Scott
became what is now called a '
casualty '.
He suffered a contusion. D. N.. 21st
March 1885.
Cat (Thieves'). Woman in general,
and a bad one in particular. Suggested
probably by her smoothness,
the uncertainty of her temper, and the
certainty of her claws.
Cat and Fiddle (Hist.). A very
common sign for a tavern until words
supplanted rebuses, which were for the
ignorant. The country arrival who
could neither pronounce 'The Bacchanals',
nor understand these three
dancing graces, could nevertheless know
he ' was there ' when he saw as a painted
sign the * Bag o' Nails '. The use of
the house-sign was its power to paint
the sound of a word or words by
objects which had a relation of sound
only to the actual meaning of the sign.
Hence a goat and a pair of compasses,
one of the Cromwellian signs after the
Restoration, represented
' God encompasses
us.' Probably all the old
Catholic signs, especially those on the
road to Canterbury, are still in existence.
For instance, the rendezvous
for the Blackfriars as distinct from the
Southwark pilgrims was 'The Hand
and Flower,' which lent itself readily
to the painter's art. It refers to the
Virgin and her emblem, the lily. This
house was at the corner of Gravel Lane
and Union Street, about half a mile
from the Tabard, and it only lost this
sign some thirty years since. The
Cat and Fiddle is the ' Catherine
fidele', probably broiTght over with
the Conqueror, for 'a la Catherine
fidele
'
is still a common sign in Normandy.
Obviously the Anglo-Saxon
knew nothing of the great saint of
Alexandria but a painted Cat and
Fiddle was quite within his means.
Necessarily these signs were in the old
parts of London, which in time became
all the low parts of London. For a
hundred years or more ' Cat and Fiddle'
has meant a doubtful house, where
thieves and loose women abound.
He's come down in the world, has
Jim. He keeps a Cat and Fiddle.
Cat and Mutton Lancers (E.
London, 1870). Name given to the
militia in the district of Dalston when
drilling in Cat and Mutton Fields.
When time, elegance, and the wave of
progress have swept these ' fields ' far
away from their present elysium the
term will remain an enigma. Probably
from a chapel or chantrey (llth to
15th century) dedicated to Catherine
Martyr (of Alexandria). It is a good
instance of human stupidity in accepting
sheer ignorance as gospel truth
that within the precincts of these fields
a publican had for sign a cat running
away with a leg of mutton ; his rebus
perpetuated the absurdity.
Cat-lap (L. tioc.). Tea and coffee ;
terms used scornfully by drinkers of
beer and strong waters. Cat-lap in clublife
is one of the more ignominious
names given to champagne by men
who prefer stronger liquors.
Bejl rings, and enter Emperor and
Empress ; and then there takes place
the general presentation. A vast crowd,
but not much animation ; plenty of card
tables, but few players ; no supper, but
plenty of soup ; also '
catlap
' in abundance.
Empress retires very soon ; Kaiser
stays. News%). Cutting.
Cat-meat pusher (Street}. A merchant
of cooked horse-flesh, the final
66
Cat o' Mountain Caterwauling
term being derived from his truck
albeit pusher means generally a maker
or doer of something. Linendrapers'
young men are calico-pushers, while
the trimmers up of old clothes are
called faker-pushers.
Cat o' Mountain (Peoples'). A
shrew. A very common example of
confused origin, for whether this
term comes from catamaran, a wild,
over- sailed S. American craft, or from
catamount (a panther) it would be
difficult to say. Very common still
in London street feminine statements.
Yer catter mountin', go 'ome an'
wash yer pore childring an' don't dare
ter haddress me, mum !
Cat on testy dodge (Soc. 1870 on).
A ladylike beggar worrying ladies at
their houses for money if only a sixpence
(tester), and bringing testimonials
in favour of some charitable
institution. These 'cats', generally
strong-minded ones, take commission
on the sums they get.
Catafalque (Fashion, 1897). The
high plumed hat especially black
feathered, which rose to its greatest
height in 1897, towards the end of
which year they were sometimes
removed to laps by their wearers when
in theatres and a good temper.
The ladies with the huge hats have
capitulated, and George Alexander has
added another to his many conquests.
At the last Saturday matine'e there was
not a catafalque to be seen on any head,
but towers of plumes in many laps.
D. T., 25th November 1897.
Cataract (Soc., '40's). Voluminous
and many folded falling cravat, which
swarmed over the length and breadth
of the fashionable masculine chest.
Cat-sneaking (Thieves'). Stealing
public-house pots. Probably an easy
disguise for '
pot '. Creatures of a
felonious turn so fallen as to take to
this trade would have little invention.
Catch Cocks, To (Low Military).
To obtain money by false pretences.
Catch-cocks are contrived by characterless
soldiers who address gentlemen,
invent tales of distress, and often
thereby obtain money.
'
Joe, let's go
cock-catching.'
In the Kensington Gardens a soldier
told a gentleman that he lost his railway
ticket, which was to take him to Windsor
to join his battalion, and he would be
punished if not at his quarters at a certain
time. The gentleman gave him the
money for his fare, but saw the man go
in a contrary direction to that of the
railway station. He followed him, but
he ran into a public-house and got out
by the back-door, and the gentleman
saw no more of him. He ascertained
that he was a Grenadier Guardsman,
and that his battalion could not be at
Windsor, as the Fusilier Guards were
there. There is not a day but soldiers
are guilty of such disgraceful acts of
'
loafing ', and they glory in it. They
call it, in the Guards, 'catching cocks'
and 'throwing the hammer'. These
terms may have a far more cogent or
obscure meaning. Neivsp. Cutting.
Catch on, To (Amer. probably
from New Eng.). To make a hit;
to succeed beyond question.
'Come down to The Bric-a-brac and
I'll show you some of the gentlemen
thieves ; the fellows who have discovered
a way by which they can
commit highway robbery by daylight
and in the presence of witnesses, and
not to be amenable to the law', said
Old Sport to the reporter. 'I don't
catch on,' replied the reporter.
' I don't catch on worth a cent ', sadly
murmured the managing editor ;
' but
as you have worked on the great dailies,
I suppose it's all right.' Newsp. Cutting^.
I hear that Miss Helen Dauvray is
coming to the Prince's to play 'One
of Our Girls ', the comedy which Bronson
Howard wrote expressly for her. The
piece seems to have caught on in the
States. Newsp. Cutting.
Catch-penny (Street}. Gutter
Ballads.
The origin of the phrase 'catchpenny'
is that after the execution in
London of Thurtell for the murder of
Weare (1824), a publisher named
Catchpin printed a penny ballad
entitled: We are Alive Again. When
cried on the streets it sold to the
extent of 2,500,000 copies, the persons
buying supposing from the sound that
the ballad had reference to Weare.
It came, therefore, to be spoken of
as a '
Catch-penny affair '.
Catechism (Bankruptcy Court).
Interrogatories.
Caterpillar (Soc., 1848 on). A
ladies' school. (See Crocodile.)
Caterwauling (Peoples'). Catmusic.
Johnson gives up the attempt
to derive this word. 'What a caterwauling
do you keep here. 'Shakespeare
(Twelfth Night). Used now
only by the vulgar.
67
Cats' Party Cawfin
'So I cannot stay here to be entertained
with your caterwauling.' Gay,
Beggars' Opera.
Cats' Party (Sporting}. Chiefly
women. Probably from the high
tone of women's voices.
Upon one occasion she was at a party
given at 88 Adelaide Road. It was termed
a 'cats' party', owing to the number
of ladies who were present. (Laughter.)
Mr Justice Butt: Descriptive of the
music, I suppose. (Laughter.) Divorce
Court, Dunn v. Dunn & Wall, 1st
February 1888.
Caucus (Amer.-Eng.). Vehmgericht,
or council of many tens, who secretly
combine on a given line of action.
The word came from U.S.A. about
1870. Primarily 'caucus' like 'gueux'
in Flanders (16th century), and
'frondeur' in France (17th century)
was a term of reproach, which was
adopted by the party attacked with
this word ; and used by themselves to
distinguish themselves. Very wide
in its application. Mr Joseph
Chamberlain has done much
to popularise this very important
word not yet admitted into
dictionaries.
Gordon, in his history of the American
Revolutions, says,
' About the year 1738,
the father of Samuel Adams, and twenty
others who lived in the north or shipping
part of Boston, used to meet to make a
caucus and lay their plan for introducing
certain persons into places of trust.
Each distributed the ballots in his own
circle, and they generally carried the
election. As this practice originated in
the shipping part of Boston, caucus
may have probably been a corruption
of caulker's meeting.' (1830).
'The House of Lords', says Mr
Chamberlain very truly, 'has become,
so far as its majority are concerned, a
mere branch of the Tory caucus a mere
instrument of the Tory organisation.'
D.N., 9th October 1884.
'Then the noble lord says I am the
Birmingham caucus. This description
is flattering as to my influence and
ability, but it is a total mistake.' Mr J.
Chamberlain, House of Commons, 30th
October 1884.
Caucus-monger (Political, 1883).
A political agitator. Introduced by
Lord Randolph Churchill (1883), and
accepted by the Conservative party as
representing the average radical.
They now knew beyond all manner
of doubt, that on the 4th of May last
the Government of Ireland was handed
over to Mr Chamberlain, the caucusmonger
of Birmingham and to Mr
Sheridan, the outrage-monger of Tubbercurry
Lord Randolph Churchill.
Dinner at Woodstock, 27th February
1883.
Caulk, Calk (Naval). Go to bed
and to sleep, probably from tucking
in the clothes under you in the
hammock or bunk, and so suggesting
the action of caulking a seam in the
vessel's side ; also used for a short
sleep forty winks: '
I'll caulk it out.'
From this word grows out ' caulker'.
Four of Irish hot; i.e., four pennyworth
of Irish whiskey. Quite uaval,
and equal to the mere landsmen's '
nightcap
' caulk meaning to make all tight
and weather safe.
Cave (Cave of Adullam) (Polit.,
1866-97 on). A secret political combination
distinct from illegal conspiracy.
You recollect a new institution brought
into the House of Commons at that time
(1886). It is called the 'Cave'. Into
the ' Cave '
entered, as was historically
correct, all the discontented those who
did not like the Bill on the opposite side
of the House, and some on our side who
did not like it ; and the result was that
the Bill was destroyed, and the destruction
of the Government followed it. We
supposed the ' Cave ' would come into
office. They came into office, not all the
' Cave ', but some of them. J. Bright :
Bright Celebrations, Birmingham, June
1883.
Many of you will no doubt remember
that a strenuous effort was made by the
Opposition in which they were joined by
some ' Cave ' men from our side to frustrate
the Government Bill, which was
rejected, and the Government itself overthrown.
John Bright, Leeds, 18th
October 1883.
Cave Dwellers (Soc., 1890 on).
Atavists people whose habits are on a
par with those of the pre-historic
races.
A certain mining camp of cave-dwellers
was wont to beguile its Sabbaths by
tying up in the same bag a cat, a terrier,
a monkey, and a parrot, and speculating
on the issue. Newsp. Cutting.
Caved out (Amer.-Eng., 19 cent.}.
Come to an end finished. From the
metal ceasing in a tunnel. The end of
the vein.
Cawfin (Marine). A badly found
ship. Corruption of 'coffin' name
given as suggestive of a sailor being as
68
Celestials Chamber of Horrors
bad as dead who sailed in her. Became
popular when Mr Plimsoll forced his
Bill.
Celestials (Theatrical). Gallery
occupants, a synonym of '
gods
'
from their superior position to pit and
even boxes.
One of the ' celestials
'
visiting Toole's
Theatre (pulled down in 1897) recently
complains that, although he was elevated,
his seat wasn't sufficiently high to enable
him, with Tarn o' Shanters and Gainsboroughs
on the heads of the ladies in
the upper boxes, to see more than the top
of the scenery.^/., 5th October 1884.
Cellars (Street). Boots. Probably
because these apartments are the lowest
necessities in connection with ordinary
sumptuary arrangements. (See Garret. )
Centipedes, The (Military). 100th
Foot. From the insect of that name.
One of the punning regimental cognomens.
(See^~ and XL's.)
Cess. See Bad cess to ye !
Chain lightning (L. Class, Lond.).
Potato spirit, imported from Germany.
Filthy mess poisonous to a degree.
Smuggled chiefly.
On telling him the charge he exclaimed,
1 It's all nonsense ; I only gave her
some chain-lightning,' which he understood
to be some foreign spirit. D. N.,
22nd December 1885.
Chair Days (Soc.). Old age.
Why should a cruel and humiliating
malady torture the kindly, upright, conscientious
spirit, and rack the strong,
temperate bodily force spent in the service
of his age, deserving, if any ever did,
easy
' chair days
' and the supreme
blessing of the natural euthanasia of old
age ? Sir E. Arnold, writing of Gladstone's
death, June 1898.
Chair Warmer (Theatrical Anglo-
Artier.). A beautiful or pretty woman
who does nothing on the stage beyond
he1 ping to fill it.
Kichard Whalen fired a pistol shot at
Carrie Howard, a ' chair-warmer ' at
Esher's Alhambra, St Louis, at the close
of the performance on Friday night. A
' chair-warmer '
is a lady whose talent
is comprised in her physical charms, and
who can neither sing, dance, nor act.
Newsp. Cutting.
Chairmarking (L. Industrial, 19
cent.). Secret markings of licences
and employes' characters by masters,
foremen, and others. Probably marking
by the chairman or master.
On 4th August 1894 (see D. T.) a
complainant, whose name did not
transpire, by a solicitor, summoned a
cab-proprietor for (through his foreman)
marking a licence with secret signs.
What two witnesses for the complainant
regarded as ' chairmarking
'
was some additional writing in the date
column.
Mr Hopkins (the magistrate at Westminster)
said it is possible that the
licence is marked in a manner to be
understood in the trade, but if cabmen
are able to combine to make their terms
they have a powerful union of their
own why should not the proprietors also
combine and by marking a licence in a
particular way, let it be understood that
the holder of it is not a desirable person
to be employed ? They are entitled to do
it. D. T., 4th August 1891.
Chalk against (Peoples'). Resentment
or desire for explanation. In the
last century when very few of the
smaller shopkeepers could write, a
score was kept in chalk on a square of
wood. (See Hogarth's Distressed Poet. )
It is most figuratively used to designate
an unsettled misunderstanding
or grudge. (See Score,)
Chalk marquis (Peoples'). A false
marquis. Never applied to any other
title than this. Probably the result
of some forgotten pun or play upon a
name.
Chalk out (Peoples'). Distinct
directions. Nothing so vivid as this
in any well-known modern language.
' If you miss it now you are a
juggins. I've clean chalked it out.'
Challik it oop (Theatrical). A
grotesque request to obtain credit
the primitive way of marking up a
credit in public-houses before education
was extended.
Chamber of Horrors (Soc.). The
name of the corridor or repository in
which Messrs Christie (King Street,
St James's) locate the valueless
pictures that are sent to them from all
parts of the world as supposed genuine
old masters ; sent, as a rule, with
directions to sell at certain prices
most preposterously fixed very high.
Phrase borrowed from Madame Tussaud's
wax-work, where this chamber
is coloured black, and filled with the
effigies of murderers.
Chamber of Horrors (City). Room
at Lloyd's (Royal Exchange) where
are ' walled ' notices of shipwrecks and
casualties at sea.
69
Champagner Chappie
Champagner (Mus. Hall, 1880).
Lorette. Within the last twenty years
the marvellous increase in the consumption
of champagne or what
seems like it to the unlearned in wines
has been most marked. Directly
the tap - stopper was invented and
c
fizzing
' Yvine came to be sold by
the glass, the ladies who chiefly frequent
the better parts of music-halls
at once showed their elegance by deserting
gin, rum, and other horrors for
this less damaging, however adulterated,
drink. Hence the poor souls
who could not command the '
sparkling'
and its adjuncts, either from want of
good looks, good breeding, or good
clothes, assimilated the new popular
drink and its female consumers.
' Oh, bless you, she won't speak
now she's quite the champagner.' (See
Tip-topper.)
Champagne Shoulders (Soc., 1860).
Sloping shoulders. From the likeness
to the drooping shoulder of the champagne
bottle as distinct from the
squarish ditto of the sherry or port
bottle.
Champagne Weather (Soc., 1860
on). Bad weather said satirically.
Champion Slump of 1897 (London,
1897). Motor car. On and after
Lord Mayor's Day of 1896 the motor
car claimed English highways for their
own. On the 10th there was a procession
from Westminster to Brighton,
with such a lamentable result that
the ' slump
' or catastrophe prefaced
1897 for some time.
Has the great motor car demonstration,
which was to revolutionize British
humanity, fizzled off into this? D. T.,
15th February 1897.
As this year wore on a dozen or so
of pale yellow motor-cabs, which came
to be satirically styled
' The Buttercoloured
Beauties,' made their appearance.
But they had not plied for hire
three months before one of them killed
a hanger-on boy with its back wheel
gear, while in November a driver went
drunk and amok with his motor-cab ;
the two in combination doing considerable
damage.
By the end of November they were
called the '
Margarine Messes ', which
grew out of their first satiric name
'The Butter Beauties ' from their
colour.
Towards Christmas the motor once
more took to its initial behaviour
and ran away.
The Champion Slump of 1897 was not
appreciably modified by the natural
history of the motor car in 1898.
Chancellor's Eggs (Legal). Dayold
barristers.
Every term a new batch of what were
once humorously called ' Chancellor's
eggs 'is incubated.. D. T.
Change breath (Amer. tavern).
Take a '
go
' of whiskey this certainly
does change the smell of the breath.
The other day as three or four of the
old boys were sitting around the stove
in Schneider's sample room stirring in
the grated nutmeg, Bill Matson came in
to change his breath. 1882.
Chant (Sporting, 1886 on). To
swear the last satirical popular verb
to describe '
language '.
Chanting -ken (L. London). A
music-hall.
Chapel (Printers'). Secret meeting
and decision. The congregation of
unionists in a *
shop ', to confer upon
any given matter of trade, or even
personal importance. Little notes are
sent about, a chapel never being called
at a moment's notice. They generally
take place at tea-time, when the
assembly sit in some quiet corner,
drink their tea quietly, and as quietly
discuss the question. Probably from
'
chapter 'especially as printing in
England dates from the chapter-house,
Westminster Abbey. (See Garret.)
Chapper (L. London). Mouth
from associations with chaps, chops,
and cheeks.
Chapper, To (L. London). To
drink.
Chappie (Soc., about 1880). Replaced
chum, which had become vulgar.
There was quite a friendly meaning in
the word ; it was by no means contemptuous,
and thereby varied from
the meaning put upon *
Johnny ',
which appeared about this same time.
Dropped rapidly in the world, and
vanished from society in the '90's.
The hue of vine and mulberry just now
is delicious, and makes us regret somewhat
that the Mulberry Gardens liked
by Pepys when the '
chappies
' and
' Johnnies ' of his day did not carry him
off to ' Fox Hall,' have made way for the
peculiar ugliness of Buckingham Palace.
D. N., 1882.
70
Charity Bob CJieshire, TJie
Charity Bob. The quick, jerky
curtsey made by charity school-girls,
now (1883) rapidly passing away. A little mite about eighteen inches
high on the O.P. side wins loud applause
for her correct rendering of the charity
bob. Newsp. Cutting.
Charley (Street, 1662-1829). London
street watchmen.
In New Boswell Court might be seen
until recently (1868) a relic of the light
of other days in the shape of an ancient
box (which used to be drawn up from
the pavement during the day), fitted
for the protection of those slow, antiquated,
muffled -up guardians of the
night, covered with their many-caped
dark coats, called watchmen. ... At
length the Charley found himself one
fine morning superseded by that admirably
constituted and well organized
body, the new police, as modelled by
Sir Robert Peel, who appeared in the
London streets for the first time,
20th September 1829. Diprose's Clement
Danes, vol. i. p. 101.
Between the bellmen and the London
watchmen there was always a close
alliance, and in the reign of the Merry
Monarch, from whom the Charlies took
their name, their identities were more or
less merged. D. T., 17th January 1894.
This same word is used by ' the
general' to describe women's breasts
when well developed. It is said this
term also comes down from Charles II.,
and refers to his many mistresses, who
certainly displayed their charms as
never women did before. Wilder
etymologists assume the word to come
from Carolian French 'cher lis'
referring to the painted whiteness of
the attribute in question.
Charlie Freer (Rhyming, Sporting}.
Beer ; e.g., 'He can put down Charlie
Freer by the gallon, he can.'
Chateau Dif (S. Exchange). A
grotesque play upon Chateau d'If.
Here the exchange is the castle of diff,
or diffs i.e.,
' differences ' on settling
Chatham and Dover (London publicrhyming).
l Over. ' This phrase
is generally used as a pacificating one
in a tavern quarrel, a friend will
say,
' Come Chatham and Dover it'
meaning give it over.
Cheap beer (Police). Beer given
by publicans at night-time to officers.
71
' There are innumerable publicans who
make a practice of allowing this "cheap
beer ", and it is tacitly understood that
all cases will be treated leniently in
which those houses may choose to form
the scene of future action. The first
enquiry of a constable whose beat is
changed to his brother officer, who
shows him ' ' his new relief ", is, which
are the houses where "cheap beer" may
be relied upon to be ready when punctually
called for.' Newsp. Cutting.
Cheat (Thieves', 18 cent.}. Gallows.
Fielding's Jonathan Wild.
Check up (Gallery, Theatrical).
To 'check up' is to obtain entry to
the gallery, not by the ordinary mode
of payment, but by waiting at the
bottom of the gallery stairs and asking
passers out,
' Have yer done with yer
check, sir?' the pass-out check, by
production of which the holder
obtains re-admission to the theatre.
When the applicant gets the check,
he 'ups' at once the gallery stairs.
Theatrical managers hold that these
transfers are not legal, but magistrates,
certainly in London, will not
convict checkers-up if brought before
them upon charges of fraud. ' I've
checked up three times this blessed
week !
' said the youth.
' I checked
it up I wasn't goin' to pay no bloomin'
shillin'.
'
Cheek-ache (Artisans'). Blushing
or turning red in the face rather for
the meanness of another than your own.
' I got the cheek-ache over him.'
Cheeky (Peoples'). Adjective form
of cheek smart sauciness.
Cheese and Crust (Low Classes).
Exclamation perversion of Jesus
Christ. Frightful at first sight, this
phrase suggests a slight sense of
respect by its veiling of the oath.
Also a little touching as being a
phrase associated with comfort to
those amongst whom comfort is little
known. (See Corkscrew.)
Chen (Soc., 1840-55 and on). A
charming woman. Derived from
Madame Montigny, of the Gymnase,
Paris. Her stage name remained Rose
Cheri. She was a singularly pure
woman, and an angelic actress. Word
used by upper class men in society,
in the ' forties ', to describe the nature
of their mistresses. Word now forgotten.
Cheshire, The (Peoples' 19 cent.).
Perfection. Figure of speech, a metaCheshire
Cats Chi-ike
phor wherein the perfection of Cheshire
cheese is made to stand for perfection
itself. Good example of homely coining
of words, e.g.,
' She's the Cheshire
I can tell you.' A variant is
' That's
the Stilton.' Charles Steyne was very
funny as the ratcatcher, who calls
everything
' the Cheshire '.
Cheshire Cats (Provincial). Amiable
result of adjacent county criticism,
that of Lancashire. Chiefly used in
association with the comparison to
'grin like a Cheshire cat'. Cat may
have been derived from kit
Christopher.
Chest Plaster (Theatrical, 1883).
Satirical description of the young actor
of the day by his much older and more
'
legitimate
' brother actor. From the
heart-shaped shirt-front worn with a
very open dress waistcoat, and starched
almost into a cuirass. ' Bah he is
but a chest plaster humbug.' (See
Shape and Shirt.)
Chesterfield (Soc.). A long, white
coat originally made with capes
now applied to white coats generally,
but sometimes to blue (1840-50). Good
example of qualifying name being used
for the object qualified.
Chestnut (Amer.-Eng.). An old
joke offered as new. Brought to England
officially in 1886 by A. Daly's
Company at the Strand Theatre in ' A
Night Off', where the heroine tells the
hero the play was found in an 'old
chest ' to which he replies,
* Very old
chestnut !
'
Chevalier Atkins. See Tommy
Atkins.
Chevaux de frise (Lit.}. Friesland
Horse, or cavalry a tangle of spikes
set at right angles as a rule. The Dutch
had no cavalry in the 17th century.
Invention of the Frieslanders ; named by
the French (17th century) in scorn of
Dutch enemies. Good example of a
phrase by its construction suggesting
an apparently more obvious meaning,
for the frise suggesting 'friser', the
temptation to write Cheveux-de-frise,
as describing the tangle, has in many
instances been fatal.
Chevy-chase (Rhyming}. Face in
common use.
After listening for a while her
chevy - chase gets serious looks.
Ncivsp. Gutting.
72
Chew into dish-cloths (Amer.,
1882). To annihilate.
The wolf came down with his ears
working with delight, and had only
reached the earth when the goose sprang
upon him and chewed him into dishcloths.
New American Fables.
Chic (Franco-English, 1865 on)
Dash, smartness.
' Chic ' in its original acceptation
meant simply ' trick ' or ' knack ', and
was applied to dexterity of performance
before it acquired its application to
elegance of result. A painter, for instance,
was said to have 'du chic'
that is, the knack or dodge of using
his brush with effect. It was only later
that a 'stylish' toilette was described
as displaying the same quality. The
phrase came in, if we remember rightly,
in the early sixties, and with the vogue
of Offenbachian opera-bouffe. G. A.
SALA.
Chicago Reform Lawyer (Amer.-
Eng., 1890 on). A lawyer of lawyers
from the fact that Chicago is supposed
to be the most alert spot on the mere
earth. 'No he's not an American
advocate he's a Chicago reform
lawyer.'
She devotes herself to finance, looks
after railway interests and her bonds,
assisted therein by her son and daughter,
who lives with her, and she defies even
a 'Chicago reform lawyer' to get the
better of her. Z>. T., 10th February 1897.
Chickaleary - cove ( Costermongers',
1860). A perfect personage. Introduced
into society above the gutter by
Vance, a comic singer, who used the
word in a song-chorus.
' I'm the
chickaleary cove, with my one, two,
three' the numbers probably referring
to the mere trinity of blows
required to floor the enemy.
The barrowman's one aim and ambition
is to be chickaleary. D. T., 6th April
1893.
Enterprising clothiers at the East End
make the construction of 'chickaleary'
attire a leading feature of their business.
Newsp. Cutting.
Chi-ike (Anglo-Amer. 19 cent.). A
distance call used by American
trappers, and borrowed by them from
the Red Indians. ' Hullo don't chiike
me like that over there you'll
wake Westminster Abbey.'
Mr G. A. Sala (D. T. , 28th August
1894) says of this phrase.
' Chi-ike !
'
I have not the remotest idea when this
slang cry was first heard or what it
CJdnwag Choke off, To
means. Emitted, however, from a
powerful pair of lungs,
* Chi-ike ' could
be made almost as far-reaching as the
Australian cry, 'Coo-ee'. Often sent
in unfriendly salute by street arabs
along the street. ' Whoa-chi-ike '
addressed to a 'toff'.
And then a crowd got round and
began to chi-ike the couple. Gutting.
Chinwag (Hist.). Talk.
I have not been out of my pyjamas all
day and no further from the tent than to
the next one for a 'chinwag'. People.
August 1898, Letter from near Klondyke.
Chin-music (Costers' defiant talk}.
One of the toughest fights Geoghegan
had ever was with Jim M'Govern. The
two had indulged in a lot of 'chin
music' on various occasions, and finally
met in a saloon on the Bowery and
Hester street one winter's night, when
it was snowin' hard. Newsp. Cutting.
Chin-chin (Naval passed into club
society). 'Hail!' 'Good health!'
' Here's to you !
' '
Chin-chin, old chap.
'
The answer is *
Pa-pa '. Origin obscure,
probably
' Same to you !
' Dates
from the Chinese of Singapore. '"We
went into the temples, and our pockets
were not rifled; we went into the
prisons, and we were not brained by
manacled villains ; we mixed in crowds
and were never hustled ; and the only
cries we heard were ' Chin, chin !
' or
'
Pa, Pa !
' which means welcome or
good fellows. Clement Scott, D. T.,
1st August 1893.
Chip in (Anglo-Amer.). To join in
discussion ; to subscribe money.
' Gentlemen, let's chip in enough more
to buy her a new dress. I'm a poor man,
but here's a quarter for the old lady.'
Neivsp. Cutting.
Chirrup, To (Music-hall, 1886 on).
Applaud, cheer. The word was made
classical on 5th March 1888, when a
m&n was 'sent' for a month as the
alternative of being hissed if they did
not '
stump up '. This case killed the
process.
Pike, the stage-doorkeeper at the
Canterbury, proved seeing the prisoner
for some time carrying on the system of
obtaining money for what in the slang of
the gang is called '
chirruping '. He had
seen the prisoner receive money, and had
cautioned him. Police Court Report.
6th March 1888.
73
Chiv(e) (Historical}. A knife.
Said to be Romany, but it may be a
curtailment of Shevvie, as the metropolis
of knife manufacture, Sheffield,
is called to this day. If so, on all
fours with '
jocteleg
'
Jacques de Liege
who manufactured in the 14th
century a splendid knife, long before
Sheffield rose to glory.
Chiv is used on the stage.
' I've
had to be chivved.' Mr H. Marston
(1870) meaning stabbed in the course
of the piece.
Presently Selby pulls out a chivy
(knife), and gives Big Tim a dig or two
one on his arm and one at his face, and
another at his leg. Big Tim says to me,
'
Costy, I've got it a bit thick ; suppose
I give him a bit of chivy, and see how he
likes it.' Then we all laughed, and Big
Tim pulls out the chivy, and makes a dig
or two at him. People. 6th January
1898.
Chiv(e) - fencer (Criminal). One
who harbours, fences, wards off from
arrest murderers.
' He's a chive fencer, the director of a
railway, or a swell.
'
Newsp. Cutting.
A chive-fencer is also a purveyor in
the streets of cheap razors and knives.
Chivy (Criminal). Relating to the
use of the knife.
Chivy Duel (Thieves'). A fight
with knives.
A 'Chivy' Duel Described by a
c
Costy.' At Southwark evidence was
given in the charge of 'intentionally
and maliciously wounding and inflicting
grievous bodily harm on each other by
stabbing each other', preferred against
two men, etc. People, 6th January 1895.
Chivy, To (Hist.). To hunt down,
worry. A corruption of Cheviot
(Hills), whence this kind of attention
was much practised by the early English
of the north when swinging into
the Cheviots after the cattle stolen, or
to use the more northern term
' lifted '
by the Scotch more or less
all along the border.
'Which a pore cove were never
chivied as I'm chivied by the cops.'
Choice Riot (Street, 1870). A
horrid noise, such as the festive marrow
bones and cleavers. Mildly
satirical. * That there baby's making
a choice riot.'
Choke off, To (Peoples', 18 cent.
on). To get rid of. From the necessity
of twisting a towel or other fabric
about the neck of a bull-dog to make
Choker Chronic Rot
this tenacious hanger-on let go his
biting hold. Used against persons of
pertinacious application.
' Choke off' in the U.S.A. means to
reduce a pleading man to silence.
Choker (Peoples'). A lie, in its
most direct form. ' What a choker !
'
such a bare-faced lie that the hearer
is nearly choked. Also applied to very
large neckties and for similar reasons
the huge adornment appearing to
choke the wearer. The masculine
choker was at its greatest in England
in the time of George IV., and the
fashionable lead of Beau Brummel,
when it was over a yard in length.
Now and again a choker breaks out
about the masculine neck, but in the
'80's and '90's it was steadily replaced
by the * ties '. The feminine choker
is always with us, and assumes a new
shape once a month.
Chokey (Sailors'). Imprisonment
derived from the narrow confines of
the ship's lock-up and the absence of
ventilation chokey generally being
fixed as near the keel as conveniently
it can be managed. However, some
authorities maintain that this word is
an Anglicising of the Hong-Kong
Chinese ' Chow Key ' a prison.
Been run in ? Been locked up ? Been
in chokey ? What ! what do you take
me for? Who are you blooming well
getting at? Who're you kidding?
Cutting.
In a very short time the whole of them
were safely in the chowkey. The parties
implicated have been brought up at the
Fort Police Court, and committed for
trial. Bombay Times.
Chonkey (Land. Street). A meat
pie derivation beyond the bounds of
mere discovery. Probably from the
name of a once historic pieman, whose
fame remains a name alone.
Chop up (L. Class ; last cry of the
19th century). To annihilate ; a
variant of cut up.
Chopping (Nursery). Big, lusty,
handsome. Johnson says :
' A child which would bring money in
the market '
suggested by chopping
and changing.
'
Perhaps,' he says, after
admitting all the etymologies to be
doubtful ' a greedy, hungry child,
likely to live.'
< Both Jack Freeman and Ned Wild
Would own the fair and chopping
child.' Fenton.
Chortle, To (Peoples'). To sing.
Probably an onomatope. Chortled
like the nightingale, and smiled like
anything.
Many present on Boxing Night fully
expected that when he appeared he
would chortle a chansonnette or two.
Ref., 29th December 1889.
Mr Wilford Morgan has been engaged
to chortle the famous song,
' Here's to
the maiden of bashful fifteen ! 'lief.,
18th August 1886.
Chortle also means to praise excessively.
' Joe chortles about his kid
pretty loudly it's 'is fust !
'
It seems a curious time for an American
critic to chortle over the recent
success of Miss Minnie Maddern Fiske.
D. T., 31st March 1897.
Chouse (Peoples', 17 cent. ). A cheat,
to cheat. Henshaw derives it from
the Turkish word chiaus, an interpreter,
and referring to an interpreter
at the Turkish embassy in London in
1609. He robbed the embassy right
and left. In 1610 Ben Johnson in
The Alchymist made the word classic.
' What do you think of me
That I am a chiaus ?
'
Johnson has this word, but his
modern fine brethren have rejected it,
though Johnson gives Swift and Dryden
as his authorities. ' Freedom and zeal
have choused you o'er and o'er '
(Dryden).
' From London they came, silly
people, to chouse' (Swift). Butler
also uses it in Hudibras.
Chow-chow (Anglo-Ind. ). A hash,
or resurrection pie, from Hindustanee
word for mixed confectionery.
Christ-killers (Peoples', 19 cent.).
Jews. Passing away chiefly used by
old army men. ' What can you expect?
he's a Christ-killer. Pay up
your sixty per cent. , and try and look
pleasant !
'
Christen a jack ( Thieves'). A grim
use of baptismal ceremony to replace
the name on a stolen watch by another,
to defeat detection. (See Church a
Jack.)
Christmas (Oh) (M. Class). Evasive
swearing. Used by Rudyard Kipling
in The Day's Work. Of course it is
' Christ's Mass '.
Chronic (M. Class, 1896). Ceaseless,
persistent.
* Oh ! Joe's chronic.'
*
Charley's Aunt's chronic ' said of a
piece that ran perpetually.
Chronic Rot (Peoples'). Despairingly
bad. Rot may or may not be
74
Chuck Chuck up the Sponge
from erotic ; it is more likely an application
of the original meaning of the
word ; but it is now quite understood.
Chronic is used in its original application
; feutmore widely as ' Oh, that
theatre's chronic' means that never
is a good piece seen there. These two
words intensify each other. * Jack's
swears to swear off '
(drink)
'
is chronic
rot.'
Chuck (Naval}. A biscuit hard
tack (see). Probably an onomatope
from the noise made in chewing, or
perhaps from the hand - broken
biscuit (for to snap it with the teeth
were out of the question), being thrown
or chucked carelessly into the mouth,
which is the tar's mode of coaling up.
Chuck, To (Old Eng.). To fling.
Johnson gives half a dozen meanings
to this word, but not fling, which is its
most forcible meaning. Everything is
chucked amongst the common folk,
from a farthing or a chunk of bread, to
a wife or a mistress. Now applied to
the process of divorce.
She had three children by him and
two by some other fellow, which is the
habit of some great ladies, so Sir John
chucked her. Newsp. Cutting.
Jones and Dimsdale were arrested in
court, as they were heard to say, referring
to the evidence against the prisoner
Foster,
' He's sure to get chucked ' a
slang expression for discharged. Police
Report, November 1890.
So I takes the knives away and chucks
them over a bridge. Selby then picks
up an iron bar, and makes a drive at Big
Tim, but T catches hold of it, and stops
him. Cldvey DueL People, 6th January
1895.
They would blush a maidenly pink if
certain words were uttered in their
presence, and then shake off with relentless
severity and austerity any erring
sister who has, in modern parlance,
'chucked everything'. D. T., John
Strange Winter, 5th August 1899.
Chuck a Chest (Street). Generally
said of a soldier who has a full bust.
To throw forward the chest, as though
prepared to meet the world.
Chuck a Dummy (Tailors'). To
faint. Very interesting as illustrating
the influence familiar objects have in
framing new ideas from the similarity
of a falling fainting man to an overthrown
or chucked tailor's dummy a
ligure upon which eoats are fitted to
show them off
1
for sale. ' I chucked a
75
dummy this mornin', an' 'ad to be
brought to with o-der-wee !'
' Chuck it out, Creswick ' then
manager of Surrey.
'Yes, and chuck it out quick, cully,'
observed Sir John Adamant. Cutting.
Chuck a Shoulder (Costers'). To
turn away said chiefly by the male
coster of the female; e.g., 'Which
she chucked me a shoulder, an' not the
one I want an' 'av been on hice ever
the mortal since.'
Chuck a yannep (Back Slang). To
throw a penny.
' The Lord loveth a cheerful giver
'
;
but there's no use chucking a yannep
into the collection plate loud enough to
make the people in the back seats think
the Communion service has tumbled off
the altar. Cutting.
Chuck his weight about, To
(Milit.). To demonstrate his physical
magnificence generally said of any
soldier who is showing off, but more
particularly one of the household
brigades.
' So 'e turned up, and
chucked 'is weight about all over
the blooming place he did.'
Chuck out ink (Press Reporters').
To write articles.
Suddenly it came across my mind that
the boss might be waiting about for me
somewhere with a big boot and genteel
language, and that it might be better
for my health if I chucked out ink.
Cutting.
Chuck over the lug (Peoples'). To
thwack over the ear lug being high
Scotch for the auricular. (See Poultice
over the peeper, One over the gash.)
Chuck up, To (L. London). To
abandon.
Did she mean, we says, to chuck us
up ? Of course she did, says she, flaring
up like a mill on fire. Cutting.
1 But after all, cullies, being mashed on
a dona is nothing ; it's when the bit of
jam chucks you up that is the stinger.'
Cutting.
Chuck up the bunch of fives
(Pugilistic). To die. The one poetic
figure of speech engendered by the
prize ring. The fives are the two sets
of four fingers and a thumb the fists
the ' bunches ' flaccid in death.
* Pore Ben 'e's been an' gorne an'
chucked up 'is bunches o' fives.'
Chuck up the sponge (Prize Ring).
To admit defeat by way of a pugilist's
attendant, at his chiefs failure,
throwing up the sponge with which he
Chuck your Money about Chump.
has been refreshing his principal. This
custom was, and is, applied to death.
All trades yield these figurative modes
of referring to birth, marriage, death,
and money.
'Bill chucked up the sponge this
morning.'
Chuck your money about (Street,
1894 on). A satirical but good -
tempered reproach cast at meanness,
or insufficient reward. ' Jack you've
done me a real good turn yere's the
price of a pint.' To which Jack may
reply,
' "Well you do just chuck your
money about you do !
'
Chuck-barge (Naval). Cask in
which the biscuit of a mess is kept.
Also equivalent to bread-basket. (See
Bread-barge.)
Chuck-bread (Beggars'). Wastebread,
that which would be thrown
away but for mendicants. ' No chuckbread
for me.'
Chuck-out (L. Theatrical, 1880 on).
This verb has the force of '
vigorous'.
1 Can't he chuck it out ?
' would mean
that a singer or actor has a powerful
delivery. Therefore the recommendation
'Chuck it out' is equal to
' Louder if you please
' of the public
dinner.
Chuckaboo (Peoples'). A name
given familiarly to a favourite chum.
No meaning ; but probably the 'chuck'
is a conversion of ' duck '.
Chuckaways (London). Lucifer
matches graphic description of the
act of rejection after the match is done
with. Bill' I want a light got
any chuckaways?' (See Bryant and
May.)
Chucked all of a heap (Street).
Fascinated, ravishingly overcome,
mashed, enthralled.
When he gazed upon her soft and
gentle beauty, and heard the gurgling
sound which smote his ear like the
rushing of many waters he was chucked
all of a heap. Gutting.
Chucker - in - Chief (Public-house).
A prince amongst mere chuckers-out.
The magnificent figure of the gentleman,
who was late literary adviser to
Gussy (Sir A. Harris, of Drury Lane
Theatre) and chucker-in-chief , is now to
be seen nightly at the Princess's, where
its owner finds his services appreciated.
Chucker-out (Public-house, 1880).
The name given to a barman who turns
out noisy tavern customers. Chuckers-
76
out are simple and compound. The
first argues the case, he being generally
not a giant of strength. The
' compound ', who gets his name probably
from his size large enough for a
' compound
' of men ' bounces ' without
a word which he seldom has.
Chuckers-out are of two blooming sorts
generally simple and compound. The
simple chucker-out is sometimes a bit
barmy in the crumpet, and is only kept
for the sake of show, and to prevent the
sweet tarts behind the bar hollering out.
. . . He's a warm 'un, is the compound
chucker-out. You generally find him at
music-halls and about the bars of pubs,
which blokes use that aren't afraid of a
couple of black peepers. Gutting.
Chucking-out Time (Lond. Publichouse).
Half-past twelve, the closing
hour for metropolitan taverns, when
those who do not go willingly are
' chucked out '.
Chuffy (Peoples' ; rare). Surly ; e.g. ,
' Don't be chuffy
'
probably from the
behaviour of one ' Ohuffs ' who may
have once been powerful in the cadger
world.
Chum (Universal). A familiar
friend. This term is probably the
only one that has steadily remained
patronised by all classes. Dr Johnson,
who always sought the unexpected,
says this word is
c Armorick '. He
adds,
' a chamber fellow '
; a term used
in the universities.
' The princes were quite chums.'
' I had a chum, etc.' Fielding, Tom
Jones, book viii. , ch. 2.
'The two actors were very, very friendly
indeed. We dressed in the same dressing
room, and were very friendly. In fact,
Mr Crozier bought some colours from Mr
Franks on Saturday, I believe.' The
Coroner :
' They were what is called in
vulgar parlance "chums".' Witness:
' Yes. I never knew them to have any
quarrel or speak any angry words to
each other.' Evidence of Mr C. Lillford
at an inquest upon Crozier, an actor
accidentally killed at the Novelty
Theatre, London (10th August 1896).
D. T., 14th August 1896.
Chump (Peoples'). The head.
Chump initially is a fine onomatope,
being the sound made by horses in
grinding oats. Hence the use of the
word to represent head, of which the
dentition is only part. Then extended
to the human head. (See
' Orf Chump',
C 0rf his Chump'.)
Chump Cinderella
Spain had her flirtations, and Marie
Antoinette was frivolous and fond of
pleasure until she lost her chump.
Cutting.
Take off yer blooming 'at ; take off
yer blooming chump as well. Said in a
theatre.
Chump (Ang.-Amer., 1895). Equivalent
to Juggins. A youth (as a rule)
who is in any way cheated of his
money especially by the so-called
gentler sex.
What's a chump ?
'
Say, pa, what's a
chump ?
' asked young Tommy as his
father was taking him out walking.
'See that young man in there?' (they
were just passing an ice cream saloon)
said the father, pointing in. ' Yes, I see
him ; the one with the girl in the red
dress ?
' ' Yes ; well, he's buying ice
cream for his girl with money he ought
to save to buy his lunch with till next
pay day. He's a chump.' Gutting.
Chumps Elizas (London, Five
Pounder Tourists', 1854 on). A
grotesque pronunciation of Champs
Elyses still in Paris.
Church a Jack, To (Thieves'}. To
remove the works of a watch from its
case, and put them in another, of
course with the view of destroying the
identity of the article. (See Christen
a Jack.)
Church-bell (Rural). A talkative
woman. ' Ah ca'as ma wife choorch
bell, cas 'er's yeard arl over t' village/
Church parade (Soc., 1885 on).
The display of dress after morning
church. Quite the thing to carry
prayer books. Began in Hyde Park ;
imitated now all over the country.
Mr Button asked, with respect to some
wearing apparel which prosecutrix paid
4c for on delivery for Mrs Gardiner,
whether she did not part with the money
to enable ' the countess ' on the following
Sunday to accompany her to the Church
parade in the Park. Prosecutrix :
'Church parade was never mentioned.'
D. T., 17th March 1893.
Church-piece (Soc.). A threepenny
piece the smallest silver the genteel
mean can put in the absurdly-named
offertory.
Churched (Com. Lond.). Married
amongst the common ; attendance
at prayers after childbirth amongst
higher-class women. The commonest
possible term amongst lower classes for
marriage, and singularly expressive as
marking the distinction between ordinary
come-together marriage, and the
real ceremony.
He did grand before we was churched,
and used to blarney and call me goodlooking,
and squeeze my blooming waist.
Cutting.
Churchyard Cough (Peoples'). A
fatal cold sometimes in these later
times synonymised by 'cemetery
catarrh '.
Churchyard Luck (Peoples'). The
'
good fortune ' which the mother of a
large family experiences by the death
of one or more of her children: e.g.,
1 Yes, mum, I hev brought 'em all up
ten boys, and no churchyard luck
with it.' Said by a Liverpool woman
to a district-visitor.
Cigareticide (Soc., 1883). A word
invented to meet the theory that the
cigarette is the most dangerous form of
smoking. More common in America
than in Great Britain.
That young man's grit is indeed remarkable
in this age of dudisrn and
cigareticide. Cutting.
Cinder (Peoples', 19 cent.). Hotespecially
alcoholic heat, e.g., 'That's
a cinder for him.'
He had been a teetotaller himself for
seven years, and really left his last
lodgings because the landlady was too
fond of putting 'a cinder in her tea',
that is to say, flavouring her Mazawattee
with a plentiful supply of rum. D. T..
12th May 1896.
Cinder-knotter (Navy). A stoker
very descriptive, and necessarily
modern, phrase ; for he does knot the
living coals into heaps.
Cinder-sifter (Fashion, 1878). A
hat with open-work brim, the edge of
which was turned up perpendicularly.
On all fours with the poke bonnet,
called 'coal-scuttle', or the high
collars introduced by George III., and
styled gills.
Cinderella (Society, 1880). A dance
which ends at twelve the name
fancifully suggested, it is not known
by whom, in reference to that successful
young professional beauty who, at
midnight, was by force major compelled
to give up dancing. Adopted
in France 1880.
N'ayez pas peur, ma chere, ce n'est
qu'une Cendrillon ; a minuit finis et
silence.
The hours at which balls begin grow
later and later. The stroke which sends
the last guest hurrying away from the
Cinderella dance scarcely ushers the first
arrival to a season ball. D. N., 27th
March 1884.
77
Girders Clare Market Cleavers
Circlers (Theatr.). Occupants of
dress - circle. Applied with envious
derision by the pit.
Circs (City, 1860). Abbreviation
of ' circumstances '.
The Duke and Duchess of Teck patronized
the performance of Jolanthe at the
Savoy Theatre on Monday last. Under
the circs I am disposed to exclaim,
' What extravagance !
'
Gutting, August
1883.
The royal couple at this date were
about economising by leaving England
and going to ^umpenheim.
Circuit Rider (Amer., provincial).
A peripatetic preacher.
There was no ' circuit rider ' or other
evangelical authority to be relied upon.
Cutting.
Circumbendibus ( Peoples'). Evasion
adopted probably from some author
playing with Latin formation based
upon circumlocution. ' He allowed
the accusation by a circumbendibus.'
Circus (Amer.) Excitement, adventurefrom
the pother created when
a wandering circus heaves in sight.
A circus is the most favourite form
of American provincial amusement.
Lafayette got the check cashed and
spent the money, and then Coghill found
out that he had paid Lafayette just three
times too much for the Louisiana lands.
Then there was a circus. N. Y. Mercury,
23rd May 1885.
The next day old Hays and young
Hays started out in search of Reed's
companion Stephens. The pair found
Stephens in his room. He made a
desperate fight, but there was no ' circus '
this time, the two Hays bein' too many
for the one Stephens. Cutting.
City Road Africans (Street, 1882).
Hetairse of that quarter. Origin
not known.
City sherry (Peoples', E. London,
1880). Four ale, which in colour may
be said to resemble the worst description
of sherry or the highest quality of
rectified varnish. The East London
people have a modified mistrust of
those living amongst them, who get
their living in the city, especially of
the great body of exclusive clerks,
whose general poverty they satirise in
many ways, of which this is one.
'
City sherry
' used to be the basis of
a great perennial practical joke at the
'European,' once a prosperous tavern
in the Poultry (E.G.), where this
liquid was set out in imperial half
pints and royal array on the counter
78
awaiting the 'ready' pennies of the
passing public. The humble little
joke took its rise from this opportunity
of helping oneself to these drinks without
calling for a barman, and then
planking the money down.
Country cousins were told that
tumblers of city sherry were given
away at this particular house all day
long. The victim was taken in, was
handed a glass of fourpenny from the
counter, while the operator gave a wellknown
wink to the attendant barman
who instantly comprehended this joke.
When the wondering eye of the country
cousin was off the counter the
town relative paid for the drinks.
This 'sherry house/ the European,
fell before the improver at the end of
1884, and the jocular
' halves ' ceased
to be drawn for ever. However, city
sherry, in the City, is still cloaked
satire for a pretended
' free drink'.
Clackbox (Hist. ). Male or masculine
of chatterbox generally applied
to a woman, and especially a girl.
This word rarely comes to town.
Claim (Ang.-Amer.). To recognise
in travelling. In a railway carriage
one may frequently hear the enquiry
'
Surely I claim you we met at Suez ?
'
Clamp (N. Eng.). A kick, from
the name given to the heavy boots
clamped or tipped with iron. Very
formidable weapons.
Clap-trap (Theatrical). Commonplace.
Trap to catch a clap from the
audience, as :
' The man who lays his hands upon
a woman, except in the way of kindness,
ought to be yard-armed.'
Clare Market Cleavers (Strand).
They were the butchers in this once
densely populated place now a sixty
yard street. The rival community was
Seven Dials half a mile away with
which country there were frequent
wars. The glory of Clare Market
began to pitch in 70, rocked in the
early '90's, and was practically gone
in '98. The Cleavers were great
fighters, Princes in Clare, and heavy
blackmailers of newly-married couples
of that ilk who were always obliged
with a concert of marrow-bones and
cleavers. These cleaver serenades
had to be paid for. 'Oh he's a
cleaver bloke I can tell you.' As
it has been said, the glories of Clare
Market and her cleavers began to
Clare Market Duclc Clinger
fade in 70. Her commercial and
butcherly bravery, beginning in the
west at Drury Lane, and swinging
south-east down to Temple Bar, with
a dash over into Strand Lane (see
Diprose's St Clement Danes), fell
before the demands of the new Law
Courts. Two-thirds of the parish were
swept away ; and with the old crowded
houses the Clare Market customers.
The butchers shared in the fall but
they still remained a combined power
in the old slaughter-houses, until in
the '80's their ' cleavin '
propensities
ended in a steel fight, which finished
one of the later cleavers. Resulting
precaution, and two School Board
schools slowly suppressed the cleavers ,
who vanished, while the market faded
into a mere street.
Clare Market Duck (19 cent.}.
Baked bullock's heart stuffed with sage
and onions which gave a faint resemblance
to the bird. The term is one
of those satirical associations of cheap
food with luxurious dishes, of which
there are several specimens. (See
'Billingsgate Pheasant,' 'Two -Eyed
Steak,' etc.)
Clarkenco (Polit. ). A new political
party. When the Gladstone Government
went out (June, 1885) and that of Lord
Salisbury came in, Mr Ed. Clarke, Q.C.,
who was expected to get office was left
out in the cold. He was supposed to
lead a new party which took the place
of that led previously by Lord R.
Churchill.
'Mr Edward Clarke and Co.', as the
new Fourth Party is called in the House,
will let the Churchill lot 'have it' at
every convenient, and at several inconvenient,
opportunities Ref., 19th July
1885.
Claw-hammer (Amer.-Eng.). Tailcoat,
accepted in England about 1880.
Description of the divided tail, like in
shape and lines to the claw of a
hammer. (See Bobtail. )
Clean Time (Amer.). A figurative
expression for honesty ; derived from
the old phrase,
' clean hands '.
' He
never would do the clean thing.
'
Clean tuckered out (New Eng.).
Utterly exhausted probably from the
name ' Tucker '.
He was clean tuckered out all but his
eyes (and he could just barely turn them
in his head) and his bill. Newsp.
Cutting.
Cleavin (Glare Market). Boastful
from the Clare Market Cleavers
(1750-1860) the king-butchers of that
once popular market who were the
equal pride and terror of that place,
terror because of their readiness to
fight, pride, because of the warfare,
continual and unflagging, they carried
on over the border amongst the Pictpockets
and maurauding Scots of the
adjacent Drury Lane. They made
much coin by marriage in the neighbourhood,
and far around by their
rough marrow -bone and cleaver
orchestras.
Clicker (Printers'). The sub-foreman
in printing office. Gives out
copy and conveys orders from foreman
to men. Probably contemptuous, and
from the French Claqueur. The
clicker also puts the type into pages.
Most obscure phrases or words in printing
come from France.
Climb in on, To (U.S.). To overcome
easily, to get the better of
another by cunning.
* I climbed in on him proper.'
Dr Hall says it is very unhealthy to
live on the ground floor of a house.
Doctor's right. A fellow's creditors can
climb in on him with so little trouble.
Newsp. Cutting.
To lower pride.
Climb the Golden Staircase, To
(Amer.). One of the U.S.A. equivalents
to the Latin 'join the majority'.
Edward's Folly Dramatic Company is
reported as having climbed the golden
stairs. The cash assets are alleged to have
been carefully secured in a pill box.
(1883.)
D'Arcy and his company, with Josie
Batchelder as star, climbed the golden
staircase last Monday. They are said to
have been kindly assisted on their tour
homeward by sympathizing citizens.
Gutting.
Climb the Mountain of Piety,
To. To pawn ; from the first governmental
pawnshop being situated on a
height in Rome called Monte di Pieta,
so named, of course, from a group of
the dead Christ and the Virgin called
in art a Pieta.
Mr Candy : On one occasion, I think,
you had to resort to what is called
'
climbing the mountain of piety
'
?
Evelyn v. Hulbert, D. N. t 15th April
1896.
Clinger (Sail-room). A lady who
holds on in waltzing; e.g., 'She's a
bad 'un to go, but she's a real clinger.'
79
Clobber Cock and Bull Story
Clobber (Jewish, E. London).
Superior, or rather startling clothing.
In Hebrew KLBR '.
' My high look at Beck.'
Clobbered (N. Eng. Prov.). Well
nourished and dressed. Common in
Yorkshire.
1 Eh, he looks well clobbered.'
Clock (London). A dynamite bomb,
when carried in a small square Gladstone
bag. Took its rise in the 'SO's,
during the dynamite scare, when a
dynamiter, being stopped by a policeman
and asked what he had in his
bag, replied
' A clock '.
Clock stopped (London, Peoples').
No credit. 'No tick* hence the
clock has stopped.
' No tick ' means
1 no ticket' given by master or other
to obtain credit.
Cloddy (Dog Market). Aristocratic
in appearance. Applied to human
beings by some divisions of the lower
classes.
"E's a cloddy bloke don't yer
make no mistake about it !
'
A bull-dog should be low to the ground,
short in the back, and thickset. An
animal that possesses these qualifications
is known as one of the ' cloddy ', the
correct expression among dog-fanciers.
D. T., 13th November 1895.
Close out, To (Amer., 1883). To
finish. Quite local until recently.
Now sometimes heard in England.
Do not close out the last of your soup
by taking the plate in your mouth and
pouring the liquid down. Cutting.
Clou (Theatr.). From the French.
Equal to ' heart ' or central idea of a
tale or drama. Of course, literally
' nail '
upon which the piece or book
hangs.
Whatever may be the decision arrived
at, the case will be memorable as fairly
placing before the world entirely opposite
views as to the degree of copyright
in the central idea, or c clou ', as
it is called in France, of a drama or
romance. D. N., 4th August 1883.
' The field of the French writer is almost
unlimited. He writes for men and married
women. His first thought when
hammering out the clou or mainspring
of his play is " What shall I do with my
adulteress?"' G. W. Gilbert, D. N.,
21st January 1885.
Clouded over (American). Overwhelmed
by misfortune. (See Bound
to shine.)
Clove-hunters (Amer.-Eng.} Frequent
nip-drinkers, especially between
the acts of a play, when the nibbled
clove vainly sought to hide the higher
perfume of the alcohol. Came to be
used (1884) for the refreshment itself.
Pleasing example of modern metaphor.
A belief prevails among Union
Square Theatre patrons that the trick
chairs which adorn the auditorium were
designed to trap and hold in place between
the acts clove-hunters. N. Y.
Mercury, December 1884.
Coal-oil Johnny (Amer. coal oil
fields). The derivation of this word
is interesting. Many of the uneducated
and more wasteful men who
struck oil squandered their money,
while Johnny in American is the
equivalent of English Sammy, Sappy,
or Softy hence a coal-oil Johnny was
at first a suddenly enriched coal-oil
miner, who wasted his easily-gained
wealth. The term soon spread, and
stood for a description of a stupid,
extravagant, vulgar person.
He played a ' coal-oil Johnny ' career ;
treated to champagne by the basket,
had the handsomest carriage and pair in
the city, and paid cabmen five dollars to
drive him a few blocks. Newsp. Gutting.
Coal Sack (People?). Cul de sacone
of the most egregious Anglicisations
in the language.
' Which we bolted up a blind alley,
and found ourselves in a coal sack.'
Coal up, To ( Trade. Stokers'). To
feed. ' Let's coal up on bread and
cheese nothing better, sonny.'
Cock (Printers', 1874). In throwing
types to decide who shall pay
for drinks or other matters, by the
number of nicks which turn up, the
types used sometimes catch together,
and do not fall flat on the imposing
stone, the general arena for these
adventures. ' That's a cock '
is said
abbreviation of ' cock and hen '. The
question is once more tried.
Cock and Bull Story (Peoples').
Every etymologist has had an attack
of analysis of this phrase, which Sterne
uses as his abrupt and unintended
termination of ' The Sentimental
Journey'. No one has solved this
difficulty. Possibly a phrase on all
fours with ' By hook or by crook,
' ' A
miss is as good as a mile,' etc., and
meaning ' A. Cock, and D. Bull, story'
and may refer to two witnesses of
these names in some once notorious
case.
80
Cock and Hen Club Cock-linnet
Dr Brewer of course goes off at score
upon this phrase. He says :
' A corruption
of " a concocted and bully story ".
The catch-pennies hawked about the
streets are still called cocks, i.e., concocted
things. Bully is the Danish
bullen (exaggerated), our bull-rush (an
exaggerated rush), bull-frog, etc., etc.'
All this is confused, contradictory,
wanting in relation of parts. Probably
corruption of perchance Cockaigne
Bill a forgotten teller of inconsequent
tales like the more modern Mrs
Partington.
Sir Francis Jeune said the petitioner
had shown a great deal of carelessness.
His wife told him a cock-and-bull story
about having been married before, and
he took no steps to verify it until some
years afterwards. Sir F. Jeune, Div.
Court, 29th October 1896.
Cock and Hen Club (Soc., 1880).
One of mixed sexes then spoken of
contemptuously probably because they
had not at that date quite succeeded.
He takes advantage of his wife's
absence from home to ' make a night of
it', and take supper with a strange
young lady at a club which, I believe,
would be called of the cock-and-hen
order. Carados.
What are described as working men's
clubs (often enough falsely described
thus), very early breakfast clubs, cockand-
hen clubs, with one or two other
clubs whose names and descriptions will
to the initiated suggest themselves, are
all flagrant and distinct violations of the
Licensing Acts. Ref., 19th May 1889.
Cock of theWalk (London, Sporting,
18 cent.). Leader derived from cockfighting,
or from farmyard, where
one cock alone holds the central
ground.
Directly you get up one or two steps
in the ladder, you want to be cock of
the walk Cutting.
Cock one's chest (Navy}. To throw
the chest out, after the manner of vain
creatures. Generally used with the
addition 'like a half-pay Admiral'
not a full-pay, mark you.
Cockatoo (Austral., 1880). A small
farmer. The name is given by the
squatters or sheep breeders to the
agriculturists, from the cockatoos
following the movements of the farmer
over his land, especially at sowing
time. The word is offensively used,
for there is, or perhaps it is better
to say was, bitter war between the
settled farmer and the unsettled
squatter, whose sheep often ruinously
injured the unenclosed agricultural
stretches, while too frequently, it is
to be feared, the squatter made a path
for his sheep, even where an enclosure
had been made. The squatter still
knows the cockatoo has the sympathy
of the legislature, and he c hates him
accordingly '.
Cocked Hat, To knock into a (18
cent.). To conquer, tumble about in
all directions. Perhaps no phrase is
more obscure than this. It is probably
one of the expressions which result out
of a change in dress, especially where
the change is associated with political
movement. The hat which preceded
the cocked was the cavalier, which
possessed a flat flopping brim, above
which showed the white feather,
which swung round and trailed
between the shoulders. Hence arose
the Puritan term for cowardice
showing the white feather this
dancing adornment displaying itself
very ineffectively when the cavaliers
took to flight, which they did upon
occasion. The cocked hat might
figuratively be described as a cavalier
hat, whose brim had been knocked
up and in by three spaced blows
round the circumference. Now as the
cocked hat came in with the Guelphs
and the Whigs, it can readily be understood
that the Jacobites accepted the
new cocked hat as a head-gear that
had been assaulted by cavaliers hence
probably a Jacobite term,
*
I'll knock
the Whig into one of his own cocked
hats ' an idea so practical that it was
accepted by the people. It has lasted
to this day, when the three-cornered
cocked, or up-turned hat has absolutely
vanished in England except amongst
mayors and aldermen, and by way of
the black cap worn by judges while
uttering the death sentence. The
tricorne is still worn in Germany, and
even in France and Italy.
I thought that was the worst play I
had ever seen, but Nadine knocked it
into several cocked-hats. Newsp. Cutting,
8th March 1885.
Wilson Barrett licka everything else
into a cocked hat. Newsp. Cutting.
Cock-linnet (East London). A
dapper boy, a tiny buck from the
East End of London, where bird fairs
are held every Sunday morning. It
is also rhyming slang for ' minute '.
81 F
CocJcs Cod-bangers
1 Hold on for a cock linnet now
barney.' Newsp. Cutting.
Cocks (Dispensing chemist). Concoctions.
Cock-sure (Sporting, 1 8 cent. ). Absolutely
certain. In the good old days
of cock-fighting the vanquishing bird
always crowed but never until he
was quite sure, by various modes of
proof, that his enemy was either
dead or insensible. Then he gave
gullet.
Used disparagingly in these later
days.
In the identification of prisoners police
constables sometimes blunder, and rarely,
if ever, hesitate. They are very 'cock
sure' in their evidence. D.N., 8th
December 1884.
Cocker up, To (Chaunters'). To
make a horse look young for sale.
Evidently from the French '
coquet
'
;
the more likely that Chaunter is certainly
from Chanteur an unscrupulous
and daring cheat.
Cockowax (Peoples', 18 cent.).
Obscure used satirically.
' Hullo
my cock'owax.' Probably corruption
of cock of wax, which may have been
said in cock-fighting days of a bird
which had no mettle in him a poor
soft, waxy, creature, opposite of cock
of the walk.
Cock-pit (Political). A convenient
place for settling a sanguinary quarrel.
From the pit or enclosure in which the
cocks fought, and which would become
much blood-stained hence the name
was given to that portion of a warship
to which the wounded were taken for
treatment.
England cannot consent to make Egypt
the cock-pit in which the diplomatic
intrigues of Europe are to find a new
arena. D. N., 21st January 1885.
Cocoa (Nautical). Comic shape of
Toko (sec). Schoolboy expression,
probably from Negronia. When a
word has become time-weary, it is
often newly editioned by being exchanged
for a well-known word which
rhymes with it.
Charlie Wyndham and W. H. Vernon
must mind their eye, or Onesimus will
give 'em 'cocoa' before long. Newsp.
Cutting.
Cocotte ; Cocodette(Franco-English
1860-70). Non-virtuous French, or
other young woman of large income.
The second is to the first as a first
officer is to the captain.
In the circle of cocottes, and cocodettes,
by which the French Court has during
the last fifteen years managed to surround
itself, fast American women have
furnished no inconsiderable contribution.
(1867.)
Cod (Printers'). A fool; e.g., 'the
fellow's a cod.'
Cod (Peoples'). Humbug, swindle,
more generally coddem, cod em, cod
them.
Cod, To (Thieves', 18 cent.). To cod
is to cheat meanly by way of familiarity
in relation to eccentric erotics. To
comprehend this term an intimate
acquaintance with Balzac's Vautrin is
required.
Cod, To ( Theatr. ). To flatter ; e.g.,
' Don't try to cod me ' from Coddem
a game of deception.
Cod (Trade. Tailors'). A drunkard.
The word is suggested by the fallen
cheeks and lips' corners which are some
of the facial evidences of a drunkard,
and which certainly suggest the
countenance of a cod, which fish,
furthermore from its size, is typical
of huge drinking.
' He's a bigger cod
every day.'
Cod, Coddem (Mid. Class). To
ridicule by appealing to the sanity of
one codded.
' Cod '
is peculiar as a word signifying
ironical chaff, and perhaps it has not
much to recommend itself beyond its
brevity. Stage, 21st August 1885.
I don't know all the perfessionals.
Irving don't play coddem in our taproom.
Cutting.
I hear that at the end of Adelphi
Terrace there is a theatrical club where
coddem is now the favourite pastime.
(1882.)
Shoreditch isn't what it was ; but
there's some fun in the old village still.
You can show off your Sunday togs in the
Aquarium. You can play coddem.
(1883.)
Cod-bangers (Great Grimsby and
Billingsgate). Gorgeously arrayed
sailors. Good example of an obscure
phrase or word having a solid foundation.
The cod are brought in alive
from the North Sea to Great Grimsby,
and are knocked or banged on the
head as wanted for market. The
fishermen in this trade make, and
waste, considerable money. They
keep to the blue worsted jersey, but
it is complicated with rich silk squares
hauled round the neck, and by frequent
rings. This gorgeousness has
82
Coddem Cold Coffee
begotten the half-contemptuous, halfenvious
name. It has spread to
Billingsgate and beyond the cod-trade.
'Whoa yere comes a cod-banger.'
The word may also have another
meaning, easily sought and found.
Coddem (L. Class). A tavern game
for from two to say ten, and the equivalent
of the American bluff or brag.
All the shapes of this word come from
Coddem, which is played by the
operators dividing into two sets each
set seated opposite the other a table
between them. One side have a bean, or
other small object the hands belonging
to this side are lowered under the
table, the bean is placed in one of the
hands, and all the fists are brought up
in a row on the table. The other side
now have to guess where the bean is.
He must not touch the fists, but he
points to one, and says either '
tip it
'
or ' take it away '. If he says
'
tip it ',
the hand pointed at is opened, and if it
is empty, the other side has lost one,
and the holders of the bean score one.
Then they begin again, and again
bring up their fists. Now as to the
other term ' take it away
'
; upon this
direction, the owner of the hand
pointed at takes it off the table if it
is empty. On the contrary shows
the bean if it is in his hand then
the other side loses another point.
This hand being lowered, the guesser
begins again with the remaining hands,
until he either guesses right, or again
loses a point all of which may appear
to the reader very simple. On the
contrary, it is one of the most psychological
games ever invented. It calls
for immense intelligence, and there is
not probably a village in England
without its champion codder a man
who invariably wins at this game.
When a guess is right, the bean passes
to .the other side that has guessed
rightly. Money is won or lost at
this game but the process is too complicated
for clear explanation.
Codger (Peoples'). Roystering,
ageing, boon companion. The
earlier dictionaries will have nothing
to say to this word, which does not
appear to have come from the Persian
or other equally next-door language. A modern dictionary describes him as
a stingy, clownish fellow, whereas he
is rarely stingy, and never clownish.
There was, until perhaps 1880, a
Codger's Hall for political discussion
and drinks, under the shadow of
S. Bride's, Blackfriars. Word probably
invented itself, in the gutter, or
near about. Byron first gave it houseroom
in an occasional address to
'Thomas Moore', 'Oh you who are
all, etc.
5 Learned etymologists assume
this wrord to come from cogito, but do
not suggest the itinerary. Nor indeed
do codgers ever think. They have no
time for cogitation.
Codocity (Printers', 1874). Stupidity
capacity for being codded.
Coffee- and -B. (Night Tavern,
1880). Coffee and brandy.
On being served the barmaid asked
him to treat her. He inquired what she
would have, and she said coffee and 'b .'
He asked what she meant by ' b ', and
she said brandy, or as they called it
' coffee and cold water'. Newsp. Gutting.
Coffee-sisters (Germany, 19 cent.).
Malignant gossipers. From the
women drinking in coffee and scandal
at the same eager moment. Much
after the use of the word tea-talker in
England. What is she a mere
coffee-sister.
'
A well-known society lady in Germany
is credited with the statement that coffee
not only keeps those who indulge in it
wakeful and gay, but is likewise endowed
with the mysterious
' virtue ' of bringing
to light all the vices of a not too-populous
city. And it is well understood that
herein lies the attraction it has for the
critical sisterhood of mature German
ladies known as ' coffee-sisters ', or, as we
should say, gossips. -#. T., 26th September
1895.
Coigne (Printers'). A clever trade
term for money. A play upon coin
and coigne, or coin, or quoin, a wedge,
generally named thus in printing
offices. Pun suggested by the force of
coin as a wedge, and a wedge as a
coign.
Gascoigne, I am willing to believe, has
little ' gas
' about him, and not more
coigne than he knows what to do with.
Newsp. Cutting.
Coker-nuts (Low London). Welldeveloped
feminine breasts. (See Prize
Faggot.)
Cold (London Tavern). The antithesis
of ' warm with ' and ' hot with '
(sugar). Cold is short for cold water.
Hence, the usual order in times of
heat is
' Three of cold 'say gin.
Cold Coffee (Artisans' Secret, 1874).
Beer. In some offices, especially in
Cold Cook Cold Snap
some printing houses, beer is only
allowed at certain hours, while coffee
is admissible at all times. Coffeehouse
mugs are therefore kept, and the
errand boys go for * cold coffee '. The
coffee-hoiise keeper has the beer ready,
and to such an extent was the effort at
deception carried that in some cases
milk was mixed with the beer to complete
the deception many young
printers being very moderate drinkers.
Cold Cook (London). An undertaker
for dead humanity being by the
lower classes called ' dead meat', clearly
the undertaker who looks after the
dead is a cold cook.
Cold -creams (Military}. Linesman's
name for the ' Coldstreams ', to
designate their assumption of superior
manners and distinction. * Look out,
mate yere comes a cold cream.' (See
Porridge Pots, Grinning Dears, Muck,
Gee-gees.)
Cold Day (U.S.). Bad luck good
instance of climatic influence in producing
phrases.
It's a cold day when I get left anywhere
that I can't find my way back.
Well, good-bye, old potatoes.' Newsp.
Gutting.
This essentially American phrase
(now common in England) intimates
that he is very clever, adroit, and rarely
bested. A cold day in America is
indeed cold, the phrase therefore
means only a very dreadful state of
weather would result in his discomfiture.
' It's a cold day when the trottinghorse
reporter gets left,' said the law
reporter to the managing editor. Newsp.
Cutting.
Cold Deck of Cards (Californian,
1849-80). Cards marked for the purpose
of cheating.
During the early days of California, a
witness giving evidence in court referred
to the operation technically known as
<
ringing in a cold deck ' at poker. For
the information of the judge, the witness
explained that, at the game of poker, it
was not uncommon to introduce a pack,
or as the American phrase goes,
' deck '
of cards, which was said by professional
cardsharpers to be 'cold' when duly
marked and arranged for the purpose of
fraud. The judge asked if any person was
present who could give an explanation of
the modus operandi. To his amazement
the audience rose like one man. Newsp.
Cutting.
He denied the alleged 'cold deck'
business in toto, and made some vigorous
remarks about the moral weakness of a
man who puts up all he can raise on four
aces, with a view to scooping in the
parties of the other part, and then turns
round and 'squeals' when another fellow
takes the pot with a straight flush.
Newsp. Cutting.
Cold Four (Public-house). One of
the more opprobrious terms for the
cheapest description of beer. The
cold does not refer to the low temperature
of four-ale, or four 'arf-an-
'arf, but to its fatal want of warmthful
generosity.
Cold Meat (L. London). Dead
humanity.
The wicked Scorcher says a dead wife
is the best bit of cold meat in the house.
Cutting.
Cold Shake (of the hand) (Amer.).
A new form of cold shoulder, or dismissal.
' Leave you,' he cried ' do
you give me the cold shake ?
' * No,
no,' she said,
'
only for a minute.' He
watched it was her false back hair.
She fixed it and returned radiant.
Matsada S. Ingomar, a Japanese
athlete, who had married a rich
Quakeress one Miss Lodge of Philadelphia
for a month or so forsook the arena,
and gave his former companions the
' cold shake '.
Cold Shoulder (English, comingfrom
the Italian of Dante's time). To turn
the shoulder upon an applicant. It
is interesting, as illustrating how personal
wit will deflect a meaning, or add
to it, that Douglas Jerrold totally
changed the aspect of this phrase. He
made it refer to cold shoulder of mutton,
and 'cold shoulder' became
synonymous with inhospitality, as it
remains to this day. The climax was
reached by the comicality (attributed
also to Douglas Jerrold) of Paterfamilias
(at dinner table).
* For what we
are about to receive may we be truly
thankful cold shoulder again !
'
Shakespeare used the phrase as turning
the human shoulder from a suppliant.
If you are too clever, people are sure
to find you out, and call you red-hot
treats, and will give you the shoulder of
mutton for ever. Cutting.
Cold Snap (Amer. -Eng. ). The first
premonitory frost figurativelya quick,
markedly cool reception.
84
Cold Tub Colour
When the first 'cold snap', as the
Americans call it, arrives, then many of
us must wish to be hibernating animals.
D. N., 20th November 1884.
Young Blunt had his overcoat in pawn
during the cold snap and wanted to get
it out, so he called on Mr Moses to see
about it. Newsp. Cutting.
Cold Tub (Soc., 19 cent.}. A cold
morning bath. Good example of
homely metaphor. Here the water
gets dubbed by its containant.
The speech of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, so far from encouraging
illusions in the mind of clever youth, was
as bracing as cold tub. D. T., llth
November 1899.
Colder'n a wedge ( Western Amer. ).
Dead colder than a wedge, the iron
quoin used for splitting timber, and
which in American winters is cold
enough to take the skin off upon
touch.
Colinderies (Soc., 1886). The
Colonial and Indian Exhibition, South
Kensington. The last of the droll
names given to the series of four industrial
exhibitions at South Kensington
(1883-86).
The Colinderies was patronized by no
fewer than 81,516 people, making a total
since the opening of 2,240,536. Ref.,
8th August 1886.
Even the authorities accepted this
droll titling, which began with
Fisheries, followed by Healtheries,
continued with Inventories, and ended
with Colinderies. Even the attendants
bore upon their caps the legend
' Colindia '.
The epilogue was called ' Colindia ',
and was a very pleasant entertainment.
It was a sort of ten minutes' pantomime.
Rcf., 8th August 1886.
At a Royal Commission of Inquiryinto
the Metropolitan Board of Works (7th
August 1888) Mr Emil Loibl, a'witness,
added the last invention in '
lies' .
A song mentioned was Ten to One on
the Lodger, and the songs were said to
have put to the blush two Chinese
mandarins. Witness replied: That was
another trick of the briberies. Public
Press, 8th August 1888.
Collah Carriage (Street Negro Minstrels).
A railway carriage filled with
women Collah being Yiddish for
young girls. 'Git into a collah carriage.
' Said while waiting on a railway
platform by one negro minstrel to
another, both with their musical instruments
of torture, their banjos, ready.
Until stopped by the police, these
tiresome persons found it pay to take
shilling third-class return tickets some
way down a line, and change their
carriage at every station making a
collection before every change. The
victims fixed, and many of them
nervous, it was a poor collection that did
notproducethreepence. Granted twenty
stations there and back, five shillings
was the result a profit of three shillingswhile
they had their ride to
some fair or festive occasion and back
for nothing. Probably derived from
Hebrew negro minstrels in the first
place practically all Jews singing
from birth, while most acquire some
aptitude on some musical instrument.
Collar (London). In work. Said
of a horse when he gets into swing, or
perhaps when he begins to get wet with
work. Applied to human beings when
in work, and therefore making money.
'Joe's in collar.'
College (Poor Peoples'}. The workhouse.
Term by no means satirical,
and used to avoid the true expression.
' The old gent is gorne inter the college
at last.'
' Mother ain't 'ome now she's at the
college.' (See
' Lump', 'In there'.)
Colleggers (Oxford
'
er'). Academical
collections.
A ceremony at which the whole host
of Dons, sitting in solemn boredom,
frankly say what they think of you are
'
colleggers.
' D. T., 14th August 1899.
Collie shangles (Soc., 1884). Quarrels.
Brought in by Queen Victoria,
in More Leaves (1884).
'At five minutes to eleven rode off
with Beatrice, good Sharp going with
us, and having occasional collie shangles
(a Scotch word for quarrels or rows, but
taken from fights between dogs) with
collies when we came near cottages.'
Colloquials (Soc. , 1890 on). Familiar
conversation good example of adjective
passing into abstract noun.
Well well let us give up the higher
culture now the teapot's here, and have
some colloquials.
Colour (Amer. Soc., 1860 on). Applied
to negroes in American as more
delicate than black or even negro.
This euphemism commenced with the
popularity of ' Uncle Tom's Cabin '.
Why there should be an objection to
the word ' negro
'
is strange. It defines
85
Colour Sail Come off, To
a person of a certain African origin and
complexion, and it is gratifying to know
that sensible black men are beginning to
see it, and despise the studied overpoliteness
of some white people who talk
and write of ' color ' without knowing
what it really means. N. Y. Mercury.
1883.
' Color ' at a Discount. Attorney-
General Brewster has bounced all the
Africans in the Department of Justice.
He found that the ' color ' of money was
a little too much for the ' man and
brother.'^. Y. Mercury, 1883.
Colour Ball (Amer.-JSng., 1880 on).
In England a vulgar black Sal and
Dusty Bob kick-up. In U. S. A. a negro
or '
dignity
' dance.
Colour the meerschaum, To.
Drinking to the extent of reddening
the nose. ' Aint 'e colourin' 'is meerschaum
?
' The phrase arises from an
association of ideas those in the first
place of darkening the colour of a meerschaum
pipe by steady smoking, and
in the second, intensifying the hue of
the nose by steady drinking. The
colour harmony between the pipe and
the nose above it is very droll, the
hintful phrase itself a singularly good
example of the keenness of the common
people masking itself in a mock
politeness which is worse than the
plain truth.
Coloured grave (Amer. Puritanism,
1882). That of a negro striking
instance of class prejudice creating
phrases of its own.
Presently the undertaker came up,
and I asked him. He said he didn't
know ; that he had told them to dig a
coloured grave. Newsp. Gutting.
Colt (Anglo-Amer.}. A revolver.
Good example of the name of the
manufacturer being given to the manufacture.
Colonel Colt was the inventor
of the commercial as distinct
from the historical revolver. ' I put
down five pounds for my ' colt.' ' This
is the colt that is bound to win.'
Supplanted by one *
Derringer', a
small pocket revolver, sometimes called
a ' saloon ' from its possible conveyance
by way of the waistcoat pocket into
polite society.
Colt Party (Anglo-Amer.}. A soiree
of all young people no elders. Much
more in vogue in United States than in
England.
'
I'll never give another all young
party again,' said her grace 'it was
too, too stupid.' 'Dear duchess,' replied
Lord Claud,
' the colt party is
impossible. The charm of maturity,
to say nothing of age, dares everything.'
Com (Business). A commercial
traveller.
I loved the good old ' com.' I have
spent many a pleasant evening in commercial
rooms with the shrewd men of
the world who used to be bagmen, and
who had strange tales of the road to tell.
G. R. Sims,^/., 28th December 1884.
Comb and Brush (Rhyming]. Lush.
At one time this word signified
' drink ', and drink only.
' Won't yer
lush us ?
' meant Will you not pay for
some drink for us ? Now the word
has been extended in its meaning,
and includes all shapes of liberality.
' Jack lushed us all three to the Surrey
Theayter/'
Comb -cut (Sporting}. Trimmed,
manipulated ; applied to a man who
has been completely vanquished.
From the comb of fighting cocks being
removed to prevent the opponent
from seizing it ; may be suggested by
the vanquished bird having had his
comb torn across by the victor.
Come and have one (Peoples', 1880).
Drink is understood. A jocular application
of the phrase
' One of those'.
Come and have a pickle (Soc.,
1878). An invitation to a quick unceremonious
meal.
Come and wash your neck (Navy,
1860). Take a drink from the liquor
flushing the throat.
Come-day, go-day (Military). An
extravagance, e.g. ,
' It's come - day,
go - day with him '
meaning that
he receives on ' come '-day money or
pay that is spent or goes the same day.
Come-down (Common Life). Disaster,
ruin, degradation, humiliation,
e.g., 'What, no bonnet! What a
come-down ; an' I knoo 'er mum when
she 'ad six of everything.'
Come down (Theat.). The act of
moving towards the audience from up
the stage.
Come off, To (Amer.-Eng., 1892).
To cease, refrain, desist, etc. Very
graphic probably from the American
call to fighting dogs, or men.
' How much does yez ax for this book ?
'
(Six dollars,' replied the smiling clerk.
86
Come in, To Coming Bye-and-bye
'Six dollars! Oh, come off !
' N. Y.
Mercury, February 1892.
Come in, To (Society, 1880). To
become fashionable; e.g., 'You mark
my words, the horrid old Victorian
furniture, especially from 1840 to 1851,
will come in. Already spindley Chippendale
is a pill.' (1883.)
Come on (Theat.). No invitation
to fight, but a direction to appear upon
or ' come on ', the stage. (See
' Go off'
and ' Go up '. )
Come over on a Welk (or Wilk)
Stall (Coster satire). Kg., 'Where
did yer dad come from ? Come over
on a whilk-stall ?
' This may be a
folk-satire upon * Coming over with the
Conqueror,' or the 'whelk' may have
that broad reference which was applicable
to ' He's got 'em on ' when
first this satirically eulogistic phrase
came out.
Come out, To (Soc., 19 cent.). To
appear in society applied to young
women in society. The crown which
finishes the work of coming out is presentation
at Court.
Mr Francis Knowles called, and examined
by Mr Clarke, said : I have known
Lady Durham ever since she ' came out '.
General Reilly, examined byMr Clarke,
said : I have known Lady Durham ever
since she came out in society. Evidence
in Lord Durham's Nullity Suit, March
1885.
Come the old soldier over, To
(Peoples'). Cajolery, pretended poverty,
specious lying statement.
' Don't come the old soldier over me '
from fraudulent uniformed beggars
after Waterloo.
A great amount of imposture was
practised by means of the ' old soldier '
dodge upon the Duke of Wellington
during the latter part of his life. To
' come the old soldier '
is in some quarters
still a familiar expression signifying
the practice of an artful trick, and the
'old soldiers' after Waterloo were so
numerous and so pestered the Duke of
Wellington that he was fain to hand
over all applications for alms to the Old
Mendicity Society. I). N., 3rd March
1885.
Come to grief, To (Sporting, 1880).
A riding man's term for a smash or
spill ; gradually accepted on all sides
to depict failure.
' He tried Hamlet, but to the surprise
of his family, though not of his
friends, he came to distinct grief.'
87
Come to stay (Amer.-Eng.}. Come
to remain.
What he had to say about the origin
and development of that remarkable
institution, which, as the Americans
put it, 'has come to stay', was very
interesting. D. T., 20th May 1899.
Come up with (Amer.-Eng.). To
be on equality ; e.g.,
' I came up with
him instanter and he took a back
seat.'
Come up to the rack, or jump the
fence (Amer.). To decide to do a
thing or take departure. Rack is
short for ' racket ', this word representing
noise. Racket gives a capital idea
of the bustle of American life, while
'jump the fence' is singularly suggestive
of new settlements, and enclosed
homesteads.
'Well, I want to bring this young
man to time. Fact is, he's either got
to come up to the rack or jump the
fence.' Newsp. Cutting.
Comfy (Soc., 1880 on). An endearing
diminutive of comfortable. Probable
origin a royal nursery.
Felice is lonely, homesick. These dear
girls are very nice and kind ; but the
simple tastes and simple conversation of
the truly rural is apt to pall on your
llase old Diogenes. She feels as if half
only of her were here, and the sensation
is not 'comfy'. D. N., 4th July
1895 (Craigie v. Craigie).
Comic-song faker (Music Hall,
1880). Music-hall way [of describing
music-hall song-writers.
Mr Joseph Tarbar tells me he is the
boss author of this or any other country
as far as comic song-faking is concerned.
Cutting.
Coming bye-and-bye (Amer.-Eng.,
1876 on.) Eternity. The evangelical
nature of the ballads, and other
musical compositions for the voice,
became very marked after 1870, and even
preachers thought it elegant to refer
to the second personage of the Trinity
as 'our mutual friend J.C.' evidently
without any thought of offence ; indeed
with true sincerity. A ballad entitled
'In the coming bye-and-bye', very
namby-pamby, and referring of course
to the after life brought (about 1880),
this style of composition into sudden
contempt more especially when Mr
W. S. Gilbert imported it into a ballad
for the Lady Jane (Patience), wherein,
lamenting the lapse of her charms, she
Commandeer, To Commonsensible
fears that in the coming bye-and-bye
meaning a few years her charms
will be gone.
It seems to me that there will be
plenty of calls on that ' Actors' Benevolent
Fund' in the coming by-and-by.
(1883).
Commandeer, To (Transvaal War,
1899). Required in Dutch; but in
England held to be robbery. To commandeer
was to press unwilling men
into the Dutch army, or ' take ' whaterer
the Dutch came across, and with
no concurrent effort to pay for the
property annexed.
Some of the recruits from the inland
districts were wild and uncouth beings,
arrayed in rags and patches, and without
boots or shoes. With these attractions
were combined the external polish of
uncombed bushy hair and beard, and
skins rarely washed. Mausers and
ammunition were all they possessed in
many cases. One of them commandeered
otherwise stole a native's horse,
borrowing a saddle from one Britisher
and stirrup leathers from another.
D. T. , 24th October 1899.
Mr Labouchere suggested that Sir
Michael Hicks-Beach should make a
commando among the melodramatic
millionaires of Park Lane. D. T.,
24th October 1899.
The 'last cry' of this term, and
practically closing it and the war, was
in the D. T. for 2nd March 1900 the
day of the relief of Ladysmith.
Scores of them had commandeered the
contents bills of the morning and evening
papers announcing the 'Relief of
Ladysmith ', and, sticking them on their
chests, they marched on, blowing trumpets
and waving flags.
President Kruger, before leaving the
capital, commandeered a quantity of
gold. D. T., 7th June 1890.
Commander of the Swiss Fleet
(Polit., 19 cent.). An impossible title ;
satirical attack upon titles and positions
which exist only for the money
they produce. This is the best of
them, Switzerland being not only in
the centre of Europe, but generally
two miles above the sea-level.
It sounds quaint enough to talk of an
Admiral ' winning his spurs ', articles not
generally associated with seamanship,
except in the case of the legendary
Commander of the Swiss Fleet. D. N.,
6th July 1883.
Commando (Transvaal War, 1899).
A regiment. Name found by Dutch. In
a few days it was in London differentiated
from commandeering which was
found to be sheer pressing of men,
and annexation of property.
I believe that the first attack will be
made on the large Free State commando.
D. M., 25th October 1899.
Commercial Drama (Theat., Nov.
1900). Drama that pays without
relation to literature, art, wit, poetry,
or any other comfortable quality.
Generally depends upon surprise^scenery
and machinery, or the reproduction of
well-known places, or common objects
of street life. Used satirically, but
started quite seriously in a lecture,
with this title ; given before the O. P.
club, a society of patrons of the drama.
The lecturer warmly applauded the
commercial drama, of which he declared
himself a successful producer (at Drury
Lane), while he intensified his position
by an attack upon Shakespeare, of
whose plays he declared that some were
so pervaded by horrors that they were
thereby objectionable, while he maintained
that some half dozen could not
be produced on the modern stage.
' Oh, yes, quite a commercial drama
thousands of pounds in it, and not
one sentence worth hearing.
'
Commercial legs (Recruiting sergeants').
Bad ones unfitted to drill.
A slender, awkward, shambling youth,
with the ' confounded commercial legs ',
which show that he has never taken the
Queen's shilling, etc. Newsp. Cutting.
Common-roomed (Varsity). Had
up before the head of the college the
common room being the principal's
chamber of state. Good example of
substitution of place for person.
The descendants of Mr Dickenson may
not mind a story as to how he climbed the
college gates, and was being 'common
roomed ', when cries were heard of
' Dickenson for ever !
' from the Quad,
and it was found that he had won the
Latin verse prize. D. N., 7th October
1886.
Commonsensible (Soc., 1890 on).
The condition of common sense.
English jurisprudence has had a blunt
and downright way of presuming a man's
motives from the results of his conduct
a somewhat rough and ready method no
doubt, but still eminently ' Commonsensible
'. Z. T., 21st January 1898.
88
Compos, Non Considerable Action
Compos, Non (19 cent.}. Abbreviation
of non compos mentis and a very
lame one too.
The churchwardens proved that he
raised the disturbance before the
collection had commenced. It was
stated that this was not the prisoner's
first appearance on a similar charge,
and a doctor had certified that he was
not altogether compos. D. T., 23rd
February 1897.
Comstockism (Amer.-Eng.,^
1885
on). Opposition to the nude in art.
Comstock was quite a public man in
America. He for some years had a
formidable following in his attacks
upon ' naked art '.
Comstock on Nudity. He admits that
it is not necessarily obscene the proprieties
observed. Anthony Comstock
(in heated bath-room) :
' Hello ! Hello !
I say, porter ! Bring me a match. I
can't see to fix my necktie.' Servant
(hastening to the door) :
' Did the gas go
out, sah?' 'No; I put it out. I've
been taking a bath '
(1889.) (See
Horsleyism.)
Con (Polit., 1883). An abbreviation
of Constitutionals, a designation
fugitively borne by the Conservatives
in this year. This rather contemptuous
word was bestowed by the Radicals in
return for the discovery of Rad (q.v.).
Mr Wilson Croker in The Quarterly
Review more than forty years ago recommended
the Tory party to abandon
that designation and call themselves
instead the Conservative party. The
Quarterly Review of the present day
seems disposed to think that the title
of Conservative should be quietly
dropped, and that of ' Constitutional '
adopted instead.!). N.. 20th October
1883.
Con (Thieves'}. Simply disguised
convict.
Concertize (Musical}. From
America to assist musically in concerts.
M. Ovide Musin, the great Belgian
violinist, has returned to this city to
concertize under Mr L. M. Eubens'
management. Neivsp. Cutting. November
1885.
Concrete Impression (Art., 1890
on) Conviction. One of the most
absurd of the art critical 'finds' of
the '90's.
Thus, Mr Peppercorn's 'Bosham, Early
Morning', is all breeze and grey light,
but not much else; the study is not
distinctive enough to call up a definite
and concrete impression. D. T., 4th
January 1896.
Condemned; Condemnation
(Sporting, 1870). Damned ; a damn.
A sort of jocular avoidance of even
mild swearing.
David out-gagged even himself, and
caused great laughter. Nobody else was
worth a condemnation. Ref., llth
December 1884.
' Ducks !
' I says ;
' you condemned
lunatic, them ain't ducks ; them's mud
hens !
'
Cutting.
Confidence - queen (Ang. - Amer. ,
1883). A female detective outcome
of American state of society.
The confidence queen of Miss Caroline
Hill revealed that lady's stage qualities
to great advantage, especially in the
scene of the third act. N. Y. Mercury,
June 1884.
Confidence man (Thieves'}. He is
a specious gentleman who asks his way
of one who appears to be a promising
victim, and whom he never meets,
but overtakes, after allowing him to
pass, and so take stock of him. He
then enters into conversation, asks
the victim to have a drink as they
approach the tavern where the confederate
awaits results. If the victim
accepts, the confederate, who appears
to be a stranger, begins showing what
appears to be gold, and making
foolishly weak bets. The confidence
man then whispers confidentially to
victim that they may as well have
the fool's money as another. If the
victim is as much rogue as fool, he
consents, and by some one of twenty
dodges (see 365 Straightforward Ways
of Cheating), he is robbed. If he is
honest, however, his honesty saves his
pocket.
Congo patois (Amer., 1884).
Slang. Term heard at Liverpool.
The professor bad, probably, been
reading those shockingly poor books, the
Grandissimes, Dr Sevier and the Creoles,
in which Congo patois, as it is called, is
ascribed to educated white people.
Newsp. Cutting.
Considerable amount of united
action (Parliamentary, 1888). Conspiracy.
Early in this year Mr
Herbert Gladstone charged the Conservative
opposition with ' malicious conspiracy'
to oppose the government.
Called to account, he modified the
statement into this phrase, which
Conspiracy of Silence Coo-ey
henceforth remained a satirical
euphemism amongst the younger Conservatives
for '
conspiracy
' in general.
Mr Herbert Gladstone, however, is
mildly of opinion that his words were
'
stronger than the occasion justified ',
and that he would more accurately have
expressed whatever amount of meaning
was present in his mind by substituting
for ' malicious conspiracy
' the phrase
' a
considerable amount of united action '.
Globe, 16th March 1883.
Conspiracy of silence (Soc., 1885).
Evasion of comment. Created by the
silence of general press in relation to
certain terrible articles in The Pall
Mall Gazette. (1885.)
Some of the clergy and some of the
judges have at last been aroused to the
danger of the situation, and many
journals are now breaking through the
'
conspiracy of silence ', and boldly
denouncing the shameless creatures, etc.
Me/., 31st August 1885.
Constant - screamer (Peoples', 1860
on). Concertina A satirical onomatope
of the musical instrument in
question which is a machine played
by an upward pull, and a downward
pressure of the construction, which has
much the appearance of a tubular
Japanese lantern.
Tommy of the Artillery and Army
Service is brimful of music hall talent,
and nightly upon the foredeck to the
melody of a ' Constant-Screamer ' he
warbles, solo or chorus, 'Off to Ashantee'.
I). T., 20th December 1895.
Constructive Assault (Sporting,
1880). Attendance at a prize-fight.
Some time ago the whole of the
common law Judges met to decide the
question, what is an assault? The point
arose out of a decision of a Chairman at
Quarter Sessions, who had ruled that any
one '
assisting
' at a prize-fight was guilty
of a 'constructive assault'. The Lord
Chief Justice of England agreed with
the Chairman, and carried a majority
of the Court with him. D. N., 14th
October 1884.
Consume salt (Theat.). English
equivalent of cum grano salis.
A recent Modjeska poisoning item in
the country papers suggests that some
stars must consume a great deal of salt
if they read about their reported doings.
-(1883.)
Contango (Stock Exchange). Practically,
suspense or renewal of a transaction.
(See Bull, Bear, and especially
Backwardation.) These entries read
and furthermore understood contango
may possibly be comprehended. No
gain being made on a transaction, and
the backwardation being paid, the
contract is renewed, in the same terms,
upon the price at the commencement
of the transaction, and without reference
to the price of the day when the
contango is arranged. This process is
more generally indulged in when there
has been no, or very little, variation in
the price of a given security between
purchase-day and settling-day.
Context, To (Printers' and Typewriters'}.
To try to ascertain, or to
discover a badly written word in
'
copy ', by its context, by studying
the words on both sides of it; e.g.,
* Oh, context it, and do the best you
can.'
Continent (Artier., 1880). The
latest shape of oath in the States; e.g.,
' What the continent do you mean by
it ?
' It refers of course to the continent
of America. Origin obscure.
Not in any way the transmutation of
a word like it.
Not one of them even looked up. Not
one of them seemed to care a continental
whether his old ore assayed 15 or 95 per
cent. They had all ' been there '. Wall
Street News (1883).
Conversation, A little. Violent
swearing.
Coo-ey (1860 on). Shout of goodfellowship.
This cry, with a long
accent on the '
ey
'
is an imitation of
the Australian aborigines' friendly
call to another from long distances in
the bush. It is therefore naturally a
friendly call here in the home coimtry,
and is never used in an inimical spirit.
It is generally used to find a friend
lost in a crowd, or far ahead by night
in the street. Probably introduced by
sailors, the starters of so much hearty,
vigorous, popular passing English
probably miners who have tried their
luck at the gold fields, and found it
only trying. The gold diggers were
the first to adopt the '
coo-ey
'
which,
properly pitched, appears to travel with
exceptional vigour. The e-e-e-y is
always half a tone below the ' coo ',
which is generally pitched as high as
the individual voice will allow. The
Australian starts upon the C' in alt,
or that ut de poitrine which is the
ambition of every operatic tenor in
the world.
90
Cooking Day Copper
Cooking Day (Navy). Twentyfour
hours devoted to Bacchus.
Cool (Sack - phrase). Means look,
' c' being used in place of* k', probably
because being a true word it is more
misleading.
Cool her on Sunday in a black velvet
costoom, with boots, gloves, and gamp
to match. Cutting.
Cooper (Nautical). One who sells
liquors on the sly ; also one who buys
illicit spirits. Applied (1884) to the
vessels, generally Dutch, which follow
English fishing smacks into the North
Sea. Also applied to the cooper's
vessel.
Another matter in which he took deep
interest was the suppression of those
floating grog-shops in the North Sea
which have done so much injury, and
no inconsiderable step was taken in that
direction when he made arrangements
by which duty-free tobacco is now
supplied from the mission smacks in the
North Sea to the fishermen, who have
not now the inducement to board the
'Coopers' which before existed. Prince
of Wales, Birkbeck Testimonial Fishmongers'
Hall, 31st October 1885.
There is a queer craft always hanging
about. She is called a ' cooper ', and no
man cares whence she comes. She flies
sometimes an English, sometimes a
foreign flag, and is in fact denned by the
Duke of Edinburgh as a floating grogshop
of the worst kind. D. N., 20th
June 1883.
Cooper (Peoples'). The name of a
beer-mixture of common beer (3d. per
quart) and stout (6d. to 8d. per quart).
Named from the coopers who invented
the mixture.
Cooper up, To (Boer War, 1899-
1900). To surround, fix, render immovablefrom
the fixing of the staves
of a tub by its hoops.
The pursuit of De Wet failed, and the
swoop in a semi-circle from Pretoria to
Pinnaar's Poort, miscarried in so far as
'
coopering up
' De la Key, Theron, or
any of the lesser Boer leaders and raiders
was concerned. D. T., 20th October
1900.
Cop (Thieves'). Complex rhyming.
Taken, seized, thrashed, struck, caiight
by disease, well-scolded, discovered in
cheating a universal verb suggesting
defeat or damage of some kind. There
has been more discussion over this
widely applied word than any other
in the kingdom of phrase. It is a very
obscure, complicated, abbreviated,
back - phrasing example. It is to
'
pocket
'
(in the shape of receiving)
the tek being elided when poc being
spelt backwards '
cop
'
appears. When
the police cop a man he is practically
'pocketed'. So with all the many
applications of this word with a little
indulgence its vigour will be seen.
Its common use is ' cop the yenneps ',
penny backworded, with an ' e ' added
for the sake of euphony, the plural
being made in the ordinary way.
' I've copped the yenneps, and I'm
off to the carse and the burick' that
is, home and wife. Cop has another
meaning to take too much to drink.
In universal use.
Cop a mouse (Artisans'). Get a
black eye. Cop in this sense is to
catch or suffer, while the colour of the
obligation at its worst suggests the
colour aad size of the innocent animal
named.
Cop on the cross, To (Thieves').
To discover guilt, by cunning.
A good way of copping her on the
cross is to pretend to go off into the
country for a day or two, and come
down on her in the middle of the night.
Gutting.
Cop the brewery, To (L. Class,
19 cent.). To get drunk.
Cop the curtain (Music Hall, passing
into the theatres, 1880). To gain
so much applause that the curtain is
raised for the performer to appear and
bow. * The Basher copped the curtain
twice, and was a great go.'
Copper (Street, 1868 on). A policeman.
The term superseded Peeler,
Robert, Bob, Bobby. From the common
street verb '
cop '.
' There's a
copper round the corner will (1884)
scurry a covey of toddlers wrangling
in the gutter more rapidly than a
four-horse waggon.' Copper is perhaps
the first word the infantile street arab
thoroughly comprehends.
This word is also used as an exclamation
amongst work-people when
any one of their number is blustering.
It means giving himself the airs of
police authority.
'
Copper ! copper ! we shall soon be a
sergeant !
'
The incident of the trial which will
probably pass on and become history
when the rest is forgotten was the en-
91
Copper Captain Cork
quiry of Mr Justice Hawkins as to the
meaning of the word ' copper '. The
witness kindly explained to the innocent
judge that a copper is a policeman one
who 'cops'. Re/., 15th August 1888.
' A Lady' writes to a fashionable rag
that the low-necked dress is an abomination,
' into which it is the duty of the
press to look.' Look ! No, old gal. If
any of 'em come near me I shall cry
'
copper !
'
' I cry copper
' was the refrain of a
popular song (1882) in which the policemen
'
got it '.
Copper Captain (Queen's Bench
Prison, Southwark). A captain found
in neither Army nor Navy List. An
officer of self-promotion.
' The Affable Hawks and other varieties
of copper captains have taken flight from
the Borough Road. Flash songs are no
longer heard behind the high walls,
on the inner side of which the racquet
courts are still marked out, and a ghastly
stillness has fallen upon the once thickly
peopled spot.' Article upon Queen's
Bench Prison (1881), then about to be
pulled down. 'But the modern practitioner
has shown a notable advance in
method from the copper captains, table
knights, and Dandos of yore.' I). If.,
February 1882.
'The company contains many copper
captains, brazen adventurers, and women
whose character is advertised in their
countenances.' D. N.t 26th August 1883.
Copper-clawing (Street.) A fight
between women. Probably a corruption
of '
cap-a-clawing
' a pulling of
caps a phrase which ceased to be
applicable when lower - class women
ceased to wear caps. (1820.)
Copper-rattle (Navy) . Irish, generally
Irish, or other stew from the
hubble-bubble of this boiling delicacy
called in London city restaurants,
* French Pie '.
Copper's Nark ( Thieves'). A policeman's
civilian spy.
Upon this the prisoner, who was standing
by, accused witness of being a
'copper's nark' (i.e., a police spy), and
dealt him several severe blows. I). T.,
18th October 1897.
Copper's Shanty ( C. L. ). A police
station. Shanty is from the backwoods
of America a small, cosy
house.
' Do you think I've arrived at my time
of life 'without seeing the inside of a
copper's shanty ?
'
Cutting.
Copper -slosher. An individual
with the mania of '
going for '
policemen.
Miss Selina Gripp, the well-known
copper-slosher, returned to the buzzim of
her family on Tuesday from Tothill, where
she had been staying for some months.
Mock Fashionable Intelligence, 1882.
Copy (Printers'). The matter to be
set up in type, and which must be one
of two kinds, the ever legitimate MS.
or manuscript, and the frequently
stolen reprint.
The copy's bad, as though with skewer
the author wrote, and watery ink.
' What word is this ?
'
quoth one. ' Elephant,
elegant, or telephone?' 'Oh, I
don't know, at this time of night ; put it
what you like, and let the reader find it
out. '
Cutting.
Coqcigrues (European). Utopias,
impossibilities. The word evidently
refers to something that will never
happen. It is on all fours with the
French folksaying :
' That will happen
in the week of the four Thursdays.'
May it be Coqs aux Grues cock fowls
that are half storks or cranes more
especially referring to the differences
between the gallinaceous claw and the
long leg and web-foot of the stork.
The anticipation of arrival is also consistent
with the migratory habits of
storks, and also of the coqs de Brayere.
'
Coqcigrues
' may have originally been
booth clowns professional jesters ;
applied afterwards generally to foolish
people. They were dressed as cocks,
with feathers and cocks' heads, and
danced upon stilts, hence the reference
to storks '
grues
'
; or cocks on storks'
legs.
If reform can only come from within,
the teaching of history warns us that we
cannot expect reform till the coming of
the Coqcigrues. D. N., June 1885.
The king sent John de Shoreditch to
ask the Dean and Chapter for a loan of
the hundred marks left by Bishop William
de Marcia, and kept at Wells usque
ad generate passagium ad Terrain Sanctum
'
till the general passage to the Holy
Land ;
' that is to say, till the coming
of the Coqcigrues, or usque ad adventum
Coqcigruorum. Newsp. Cutting.
Corfee-'ouse cut (Cheesemongers').
The back of bacon, without bones, and
exceptionally used by coffee- house
keepers.
Cork (Workshop). The cork (probably
from the American caucas) is the
92
Corkscrew Cosh
complainant who brings a charge before
the shop-constable and the garret.
He may bring a complaint against a
fellow-workman of a technical character,
or of some social nature or even
crime. The restraint upon the cork
takes the shape of the rule which compels
him to pay five shillings if he lose
the case, while the defendant, when losing,
is mulcted in but half-a-crown. Of
these tines half is generally spent in
drink in the shop, the other forwarded
to the secretary of the Union, who
applies it to the General Purposes
Fund.
Corkscrew (L. Lond.). An evasive
pronunciation of God's Truth used
satirically. (See Cheese and Crust.)
Corn-crackers (Amer. ). The people
of Kentucky ; probably from the immensities
of corn grown there.
Corner Boys (Ihiblin). Loafers,
who generally affect street corners, as
presenting more scope (1) for seeing,
and (2) for bolting.
Kilmainham was reached a few minutes
before five o'clock. There were
only a few corner boys present in the
neighbourhood of the prison, and there
was no demonstration of any kind.
Report of Arrest of Mr Dillon, M.P.,
1881.
The term comes from America.
Cornichon (Soc., 1880). A muff.
Direct from French gherkin.
Yet are not all French sportsmen good
shots ; indeed, for every decent gun you
must reckon twenty highly developed
cornichons French for muffs. Newsp.
Cutting.
Cornstalks (Austral.). The people
of New South Wales ; from this province
growing quantities of corn.
Given by the people of Victoria.
Being usually of good height, but
wanting in depth and breadth, they have
gained for themselves the epithet of cornstalks,
which is saying a great deal for
the value of their heads. Baden Powell,
New Homes for the Old Country. (See
Gum-suckers. )
Cornucopia (Amer.). A rich individual.
We who dine at noon, live in onestory
cottages with mortgages on them,
and have wet blankets thrown over us as
we slowly elbow our way through life,
sometimes envy the old cornucopias as
we see them go down to the bank to
draw their dividends. Cutting.
Correctitude (Soc., 1900). Correctness.
Latinised word first seen and
heard in England in 1900. Probably
from U.S.A.
M. Delcasse, it is true, has all along
been a pattern of ' correctitude '
; but
the Waldeck - Rousseau Cabinet had a
difficult people to deal with. D. T.,
29th December 1900.
Corroboree (Nautical). A drunken
spree, in which there is much yelling.
Supposed to be derived from a term
used by some unknown South Sea
Islanders to describe a wordy and
excited interview. Every sailor knows
the word, sometimes used disparagingly
as * It just was a corroboree.'
Gould (Handbook of the Birds of
Australia} says it is the Australian
native word for a discussion, or powwow.
' The males '
(of an Australian
bird)
'
congregate and form corroboree
places.'
Corpse (Theat.). To balk a fellowactor
on the stage while he is acting,
by some by-play or facial action which
attracts attention. Very emphatic.
' Look here, Joe, if you corpse me
again to-night in the second act, while
you are up, I'll pull your long nose !
'
Corpse-worship (Club, 1880 on).
The extreme use of flowers at funerals.
This custom, set by the Queen at the
mausoleum (Frogmore) immediately
after the death of the Prince Consort,
grew rapidly, until the custom had
extended to quite the lower classes,
amongst whom neighbours vied in forwarding
expensive floral tributes.
Finally, in the '90's, many death
notices in the press were followed by
the legend,
' No flowers '.
Corsey (Sporting). Stiff betting
or play not from race-course, as it
might well be supposed, but from
French corse.
Baccarat may be played for any sums,
from the petit baccarat desante, the family
baccarat, up to the sport which is usually
described as corse, or in stronger language
reckless. D. N., 18th January
1884.
Cosey (Slums). A small, hilarious
public-house, where singing, dancing,
drinking, etc. , goes on at all hours.
Cosh (Amer.). One of the veiled
ways of naming the Deity.
The word ' Oshkosh '
is the name of a
town, and not a form of profanity in use
by the Scandinavians, from whom the
93
Coss Counting-house
Americans have obtained it in the modified
form of ' Cosh ! Good-morning
'
said satirically, of course, as to Scandinavia.
Coss (Natters'). A blow. Origin
obscure probably the name of a
pugilist.
Coster (Low Life). Short for costermonger,
a great being in low life,
generally a sort of prince, and often a
king o' the costers. To be really royal
he must make money, but save nothing,
dress beautifully (see Pearlies), be handsome
in a rough way, be always flush
of cash and liberal with it, possess a
handsome girl or wife (generally the
latter), and above all, fight well, and
always be ready to fight. Reign generally
extends to five years (nineteen to
twenty-four), when he either takes a
shop and does well, takes to drink and
does worse, or growing ancient, grizzly,
or broken with disease, loses a fight,
abdicates, and sinks into the ranks.
Said to be derived from ' Quatre
saisons' the 'Marchand des quatre
saisons ' that is fruit and vegetables
of spring, summer, autumn, and
winter.
Costermonger Joe (Com. London).
Common title for a favourite coster.
Costermongering (Musical, 1850).
Altering orchestral or choral music,
especially that of great composers.
From the habit Sir Michael Costa
sometimes showed of modifying the
score of Handel. Happy hit, as contrasting
the guerilla business of the
coster with the proper professional and
established tradesman.
But the costermongering was worse
than ever this time, and, in mingled
sorrow and anger, amateurs cried, 'Et
tu, Brute !
' Better things were expected
of Mr Manns, but it was found that
Caesar and Pompey are very much alike
specially Pompey. Ref. y 28th June
Costume Play (Theat.). A drama
in which the dresses are any before
those of the 19th century, but not
before say the tenth; e.g., 'Thank
God,' she observed,
' I've got a costume
play at last. I shall klobber in
crimson and gold for the first act, blue
and amber for the second, and pure
white and silver for my death in the
third. I shall make a great success.
Redfern will make.'
A new play by Eobert Buchanan is,
however, being rehearsed at the Vaudeville.
Like Sophia, it is a ' costume '
piece. Re/., 5th February 1888.
Costume plays are, to the thinking of
some folk, handicapped because they are
costume plays. It is sneeringly said
that the modern young actor cannot be
at ease unless he can dive his hands into
his pockets. D. T., 18th July 1899.
Cot so (18 cent.}. An evasion of
God's oath the Redemption. Common
in Richardson.
Cottages (Fast youtJis'). Vespasians
; retiring points for half a
minute. Said to be derived from the
published particulars of an eccentrically
worded will in which the testator
left a large fortune to be laid out in
building
'
cottages of convenience '.
Passing away in favour of the underground
palaces dedicated to Cloacina
palaces generally termed 'Fountain
Temples
' or ' Palaces '.
Cough Drop (Peoples', 1860 on).
Poison, or even anything disagreeable.
'
Lor', what a cough drop she are !
'
From the ominous motto used many
years since with a cough lozenge
' Cough no more '. The gruesome
double entendre here was first seen
by W. Brough, who incorporated it
in a burlesque for when you are dead
you cough no more !
' Honest John Burns,
' who has been
returned for Battersea by the skin of his
teeth, and who would have benefited
considerably had his constituents given
him a holiday, objects to being called ' a
cough drop \-Ref., 27th July 1895.
'Oh, he's awful leary a very cough
drop a genuine red hot treat, make no
blooming error.' 'Oh, she's a cough
drop, a red hot treat, and no mistake. '
Cutting.
Couldn't speak a threepenny bit
(Street, 1890 on). Utter temporary
incapacity for speech.
' I couldn't
speak a threepenny bit, but I made
myself a luvverley cup o' tea, an' I
were soon better.' The lady had probably
been drinking indeed the phrase
may be an elegant evasion of the admission
of, at least, partial intoxication.
Counting-house (Street, 1870). A
stupid perversion of countenance
supposed to be comic. ' Just take a
squint at his counting-house.' We get into the shop and see a really
fine-looking dona smiling all over her
counting-house. Gutting.
Country Cousin Cowlick
Country Cousin (Rhyming). A
dozen, e.g.,
''
They put away about
three country cousins o' Bass.'
County-crop (1856). A closelycropped
head of hair, such as is imposed
upon prisoners sent to the county
jails. In 1856 when the Crimean
soldiers returned with long heavy
beards, which for many years remained
a national fashion, it was found that
longish hair, such as had been worn
all the century, gave with the heavy
beard too top-heavy an appearance.
The hair was therefore cut down, and
the result was dubbed a county crop,
while the beard was called a doormat,
shortened to mat. ' He's got a
crop and mat '
quite described the
swell of 1856-1857. The door -mat
has vanished the 'crop' (1897) remains.
Couple of Flats (Theat.). Double
meaning. In the old time, before the
advent of elaborate set scenery, two
scene screens run on from opposite
sides and joining in the centre were
called a 'couple of flats'. Applied
to two bad actors. (See
' Camp at
Olympia ', by Planche.)
Course-keeper ( Winchester School}.
A bully's bully. The Wykehamist
strong enough to compel fagging
officeredthe 'course-keeper' a medium
between the oldest and youngest of the
scholars. He deputed his work to one
of the smallest boys.
The '
offices which the Eton fag performs
are amongst the lightest of the
duties of the Winchester fag. Besides
these he had to clean dirty boots, clean
frying-pans, cook breakfasts, and fetch
water. The infliction of some of the
most offensive of these duties, as e.g.,
cleaning frying-pans, was often deputed
to a middle boy, or '
course-keeper
' as
he was called, who gratified any personal
grudge he might have against any particular
small boy by selecting him for the
odious task. Letter to Daily News.
The term remains, but fagging at
Winchester is a thing of the wretched
past,
Couscousou (A Igerian French, 1 840).
The native rendering of qu'est-ce que
c'est, the enquiry a French soldier
always puts upon every possible
occasion, and which the Algerian has
supposed to be the name of a stew.
Hence in imitating this dish they
apply the enquiry it would elicit
from a French onlooker equivalent to
our * kickshaw '. Used to be used in
London eating-houses derived undoubtedly
from the same French origin.
Cover to Cover, From (Soc. t
18 eent. on). Through and through.
Good example of the spread of education
and reading yielding new phrases,
for of course this figure of speech is
obtained from reading a book from
first page to last.
I can vouch that Sir William White,
who knew him 'from cover to cover',
never entertained this view of his
character. Z>. T., 12th June 1897.
Covered Brougham (Peoples' , 1870).
A waggon with tarpaulin over the top.
Given to the vehicles which once plied
from the Bank to the East of London,
taking up customers too late for even
the last 'bus. They were in especial
force on Saturday night, and were
generally very convivial. The increase
in the number of 'buses swept away
the covered brougham. (See Virgins'
'Bus.)
Cow-boy (Local Amer.). A Texas
fanner, from his cattle-raising boy
being a common term for men of all
ages. 'The graziers of Colorado have
come to the title of '
cow-boys '.
Cow with the iron tail (Peoples').
Pump. A way of attacking milkmen
who until about 1865 sold extensively
watered milk. This phrase was very
familiar until certain municipal acts
were passed which by penalties put
down the watering of milk. (See
* Simpson', 'Hard Simpson',
'
Liquor',
'Dill').
Cow-juice (Amer.). Milk used
by Buckstone, the actor, in Our American
Cousin.
Cowlick (Peoples'). A wisp of
growing hair, of different colour from
the general tone. ' Lick '
is evidently
a corruption of * lock ', and cow has
nothing whatever to do with kine.
Good example how the Anglicizing of
one word modifies another in association
with it. The first word having
been turned into ' cow ', and lock
having no meaning in connection with
* cow ', it became lick, and the double
error suggested a cow-lick which had
turned the colour of the wisp of hair.
Probably in the first place from a lock
common to the head of a clan, the
95
Coxey Cracker
Gow or Gough, Irish or Scotch. This
wisp of hair in all probability frequently
became a birth-mark, and was
probably often imitated by art when
nature arrested the inheritance.
^
A
very powerful French drama, in which
Fechter was famous in Paris was built
up on a cow-lick (Les Fils de la Nuit).
A superstition of luck or ill-luck
attaches to the cow-lick.
' Ha ! he
always had a lucky cow-lick.' The
' widow's lick ' or ' lock '
is a tuft of
unmanageable hair which grows lower
than the rest of the forehead hair, and
is always at or near the centre of the
top of the forehead. The belief that a
woman possessed of this lock, generally
of a greyish tone, must lose her husband
has, in past generations, prevented
many a good woman from
getting even a worse husband. Johnson
has nothing to say to this word.
Coxey (Aug. -Amer. , 1894). A wild
political leader. From an American
politician of this name who pioneered
a number of out-of-work mechanics,
who seized trains and invaded Washington.
The march of the ' tramps
' in America
is a very live thing. The 'Coxeyites'
are having a tremendous amount of fun,
and the eyes of the world are upon them.
Ref., 29th April 1894.
Coxies (Low Glass). Corruption of
cock's eyes. A term at dominoes for
double I. A good example of rebus
phrasing. Probably a translation from
the French ceil de cog especially as a
single one is called 'udder cock' ceil
de coq, although rarely,
' Cock's eye
' is
the general term. The other names for
dominoes are evidently French 2,
tray ; 3, duce ; 4, quarters ; 5, sinks.
The whites are called ' blanks ', while
the sixes have become quite English.
Interesting to mark that '
tray
' and
' duce ' are used still by old-fashioned
people for 2 and 3 at cards, while even
the French * valet '
is still
' varlet '.
Coy-gutted (Devonshire). Difficult
in the matter of eating. Generally
used with an addition more emphatic
than elegant.
Crabby (W. Eng.). A carpentersaid
despitefully. Origin vague.
Crack (Jovial, 18 cent.}. A
royster-^
ing meeting, derived from '
cracking
'
and finishing a bottle of wine.
'My poor old mother', he wrote,
1 comes in with her sincere, anxious old
face. "Send my love to Jane, and tell
her" (this with a woeish face) "I would
like right weel to have a crack "
(conversation)
" wi' her once more." '
FKOUDE,
Carlyle's Life in London, vol. ii., p. 96.
Crack (London). A narrow passage
of houses ; e.g.,
' 'Ave yer seen the
grand duchess of our crack this blessed
mornin' gorne to the Cristial Pallis
in 'lectric blue she 'av.'
Crack a case (Thieves'). To break
into a house. ' Case ' from casa
(Italian) anglicized.
Crack a wheeze (Theatrical). To
utter the last thing out ' wheeze '
probably from the alcholic guffaw
which follows the tale, especially if it
is erotic.
* Cracking a wheeze '
is a phrase which
has always struck us as extraordinary,
especially as it has not the recommendation
of brevity. It is synonymous with
the sailor - slang phrase,
'
spinning a
yarn '.
Crack the bell (Peoples'). To produce
failure by speech ; or even act, to
reveal a secret unintentionally ; to
muddle the phrase in fact has many
meanings. Derived from the necessity
of being silent while casting a bell, the
belief, coming down from monastic
times, that a mere word spoken during
casting may produce a flaw in the bell ;
e.g., 'What? told Tom Jack's going
to marry Jill ? Then you have cracked
the bell.' 'She dropped in the mud
with all her new togs on, and cracked
the bell in a jiffy.' (See Let the Cat
out of the Bag. )
Crack the monica (Music-halls).
The chairman, who once ruled in these
places he vanished in the '80's had
before him a table - bell, which he
sounded after certain ways, one of
which informed the audience applauding
a singer who had retired that he
or she would appear again.
' He
cracked the monica, an' on she came
smilin' like "jam"' the monica is
the bell.
Cracker (American). A biscuit.
The English word, evidently meaning
' twice cooked ', or baked, is a misnomer,
while the States'-wide synonym
is at least a good specimen of oriomatope.
I, a lone bachelor, a lone fisherman,
with infinite pains and great pleasure,
first dipped these ink-pots in the freshest
96
Cracker Credit Draper
of eggs beaten up ; after that into the
finest and crisped cracker dust. Newsp.
Cutting.
This ink-pot is cuttle-fish, named
after a protective secretion it throws
out when pursued. Its more fishmongerly
title is squid. It abounds in
New York waters. They are capital
eating when ' dusted ' and fried.
Cracker (S. Carolina). Native
origin unknown.
Imagine a tall, gaunt, loose-jointed
man, with long grizzled hair, deep-set
eyes that glow like coals of living fire,
high, square shoulders, a stooping,
slouching gait ; skin wrinkled and dirty
beyond pen description ; hands and feet
immense, the former grimy and with
protruding knuckles, the latter incased
in cowhide boots with soles an inch thick
and of astonishing width ; clothes beside
which Joseph's coat would sink into insignificance,
so covered are they with patches
of divers colours this is a South Carolina
'cracker'. Newsp. Cutting, 1883.
Crackpot (Stock Exchange, 1880).
A doubtful company promoter, a man
who has the appearance of prosperity
and who is but an impostor. This
word may come from New York. ' A
crackpot in the city' is a term so
familiar that it was taken for the
chorus in a comic song. It appears
even in France where a commercial
crash of a swindling nature or a political
breakdown is called a ' krach '
(pronounced crack;, which may represent
either crack or ' crash ' more
probably the latter bearing in mind
French spelling of most English words.
'
Crackpot
'
replaced the phrase
' Lame
Duck '.
They take the honours, and they should
do some of the work. Besides, they
might improve their minds by listening
occasionally to 'The Crackpot in the
City' and '
Tiddy-fol-lol'. Ref., 28th
January 1883.
1 We do a tremendous business in our
bank,' said one crackpot to another.
' Why, through buying ink at a new
place we save 200 a year. Fancy the
amount of writing we do.' Cutting.
Cracksman (Thieves', 18 cent.). A
man who cracks buildings a burglar,
as distinct from a high toby man or a
low toby fellow. (See High Toby.)
Craft (Youths', 1870). A bicycle,
from liking the machine to a ship.
(See Beast, Bone-Shaker, Craft, Crock.)
Crambo Song (Peoples'). Still
heard in the remoter parts of England.
Roystering ballad, of a cavalier, wine,
and women swing. From the eternal
Spanish carambo orcaramba, shortened
by the omission of the first vowel.
Probably brought over by Philip of
Spain ; or a countess in the suite of
Catherine of Braganza, or Charles II.
may be answerable. This cry would
be a beloved one in the mouth of a man
who did not object to be called ' Old
Rowley
' Charles II. indeed was rather
proud of the distinction. Rowley himself
was an etalon in the royal stables.
' The secret flew outof the right pocketof
his coat in a whole swarm of your carambo
songs, short-footed odes, and long-legged
pindarics.' Farquhar, The Inconstant.
Cranky gawk (Chicago). Equal to
Scotch ' dazed gowk
' said of a stupid,
awkward lad.
Crazy quilt (Awier. Mid. CL). A
quilt of patchwork, made at random.
The old woman's dress looked like a
crazy quilt, and two of the boys had only
one trousers-leg apiece. Texas Si/tings,
Craythur, Craytur, or Craychur
(Irish). Whiskey; e.g., 'Oh, for the
love o' God giv me now a taste o' the
craythur.' The origin of the word may
be of singular significance in considering
the history of Ireland and the
Irish if it is really
' creator ' and not
* creature ', as it is generally supposed.
In the latter case 'creature' means
Satan. This is certain, that for years
after the middle of the 18th century
whiskey was not known in Ireland,
while during the period of Home Rule
(1782-1800) Grattan himself in the
Dublin House of Commons declared
every seventh house in Ireland was a
whiskey shop.
Cream Ice Jacks (London Streets).
Street - sellers of d. ices. Jacks
probably from Giacomo and Giacopo.
'They've a bad time of it, 'ave the
cream ice Jacks, for whenever a kid
gits ill the mother goes for the jack an'
'as it out with 'im.'
Creams (London Street). Abbreviation
of cold-creams, in its turn a
droll mode of describing the Coldstream
Guards. Intimates that they are
dandies, and know how to get themselves
up.
' Now then, my creamsgods
of the essences,' he observed.
' Then there was a shindy !
'
Credit Draper (Peoples'). A smoothspoken
seeming cheat from the tallyman
system, whose practitioners have
97 G
Cremorne Crocus
bestowed upon themselves this evasive
and hypocritically benignant name.
' Don't believe a word 'e 'ave to say
Vs on'y a credit draper.'
Cremorne (Society, 1884). An openair
place of amusement frequented by
doubtful women. From public London
gardens of that name, long since
built over. Applied in 1884 to the
' Inventories '
(see) when that entertainment
was so frequented by
' tarts '
that it became in the evening scarcely
a place to which a girl could take her
mother. Now applied generally.
But as it is certain that no porter with
a flaming sword can possibly stand at the
gate to decline the shillings of persons not
immaculately virtuous, so it is probable
that some day a cry will be raised about
a ' Cremorne '. When once that ominous
word is whispered people begin to be shy
of their natural pastime of letting the
evening pass in the open air. D. N.,
10th November 1886.
Creoles (Amer.). People of Louisianaprobably
a satire by the north
upon the illegitimate mingling of slaveowners'
and slaves' blood previous to
1862.
Crib (Street, 1800-40). To conquer
with the fists fairly. From Tom Crib,
a celebrated pugilist early in the 19th
century. To crib, meaning to thrash, is
still heard in the slums of London and
other great cities. In the nautical
novel, 'Rattlin the Reefer' (chap. Ixii.),
is this paragraph :
Apt quotation ! you are cabined
you are cribbed you are confined
cribbed look at your countenance as I
said before, 'tis the hand of Providence.
Gutting.
Crime (Army}. Small fault. Often
intentional. '
Squinting on parade
'
is
a crime. ' What will a sergeant not
go for to say ain't you got a crime ?
'
that is to say, confinement to barracks
or extra drill scored against a
soldier.
Crimea (1856). The full-beard
given to the first long beards worn in
England from the time of Elizabeth to
that of Victoria. The fashion of shaving,
which passed from France (Louis
XIII.) to England, prevailed here long
after Frenchmen had begun to grow
hair. The severity of the winter
1854-55 (in the Crimea) caused the
issue of an order to wear beards, and
these were retained. Upon the return
of the few survivors, their strange and
fierce beards were thus dubbed, and
amongst the people the term has remained.
'My eye, what a Crimeer
Bill have got along o' the doctor for
'is bronkikkis (bronchitis).'
Before the invasion of the Crimea no
man, ' unless an officer in Her Majesty's
cavalry, ever ventured to wear a beard or
moustache'. Sir A. West, Memoirs, 1897.
Criss-cross (Peoples'). A corruption
of Christ's Cross one of the few religious
exclamations which have not
become vulgarized since the Reformation.
Generally refers to right
angles in textile fabrics, wood, and
metal work. Sometimes used exclamatively.
'
S'help me criss-cross '
(or
crass),
' I didn't !
'
Not many who use this word appear
to have any idea of its meaning, yet it
is one of the few old Catholic oaths
which have retained muck of the
original sound.
Croak (Society, 19 cent.). To be
hypocritical, suggested by the lamentable
declaration of a frog when he
tunes up.
John Hollingshead for some time past
has been telling his patrons how they
croaked in 1807. Newsp. Gutting. March
1883.
Crock (Youths', 1870). A bicycle,
One of the more obscure names for this
apparatus. Perhaps from part of the
name of a builder. (See Beast, Boneshaker,
Craft.)
Crocks (Art jargon, 1880). Ornamental
china. This term came in
when, from 1870 to 1880, the porcelain
mania raged, and huge sums were given
for even poor specimens of china. This
word of meek uuobtrusiveness is an
abbreviation of crockery-ware. (See
Rags and Timbers. )
Crocodile (Society, 1850). A lady's
school out walking. A ballad in the
forties went :
' I'd rather meet a crocodile
Than meet a lady's school.'
Crocodiles' Tears (Peoples', 19 cent.).
Imitation sorrow.
Many visitors have probably passed by
the alligator in the somewhat out-ofthe-
way corner where he at present
sojourns ; but others know him well,
and love to stir him up until he swells
out with anger, and emits from the
corners of his eyes the queer little
bubbles which pass for crocodiles' tears.
D. N., 21st March 1883.
Crocus (Thieves'). A mock doctor
a cheap-jack gentleman with a
98
Crony Crowbar Brigade
wonderful cure. Simple derivation :
' croak ', to kill, or cause to croak, and
'us'.
Crony (Peoples'). A friend, or rather
trusted and loved companion. Johnson
says of this word: 'An old
acquaintance, a companion of long
standing.' Generally used with the
qualifying adjective
' old '. Swift has
this word :
'
Strange an astrologer should die
Without one warder in the sky !
Not one of all his crony stars
To pay their duty at his herse !
'
Pepys (30th May 1665) says :
'Died Jack Cole, who was a great
crony of mine.'
Probably one of the few words came
from one of the universities. If so, it
is possibly derived from Chronos.
Crooked 'un( Peoples'). Crook. The
reverse of a straight 'un. Generally
said of a husband who turns out bad.
' He was about as crooked as they
make 'em.' (See By Hook or by
Crook.)
Crop up (Society, 1850). To suddenly
appear, or introduced. 'Then
Jack cropped up' from geological
term referring to a sudden stratum.
Accepted when geology became modish.
Croppie (Scottish). Equivalent of
Roundhead, and used precisely in the
same way. Strangely enough, in the
1798 Irish rebellion, the rebel Irish
were called croppies, equally from the
shortness of their hair. A Hanoverian
song was popular, called *
Croppies, lie
down,' which suggestion of treating
them as dogs made the rebels very
wild. In one historical instance a
servant of thirty years' standing shot
at the family after hearing one of
them singing this song.
Cross-bench mind (Society, IS cent. ).
Undecided, hesitating ; from the cross
benches in both Houses of Parliament,
upon which those peers or members
seat themselves who have not made up
their minds to which party they belong.
' Poor man, with his mother to
the right of him, and his wife to the
left of him, he has but a cross-bench
mind.'
Lord Glenaveril is brought up partly
in Germany, is born to great estates, and
takes his seat on the cross-benches of the
House of Lords. But poor Lord Glenaveril
with his title, and his land, and his
patronising Disposition, and his ' crossbench
mind '. is merely a puppet through
whom, about whom, and starting from
whom, Lord Lytton may expound his
social and political philosophy. D. N..
30th March 1885.
Crosses (Peoples'). Woes, miseries,
sorrows. This may be derived from
'across', or more probably from Catholic
times, and a reference to carrying the
cross.
Cross-grained (Peoples'). Ill-tempered,
hard to manage. A trade
metaphor, from the carpenter's shop,
where cross-grained wood is hard to
deal with.
Cross -life men (Thieves', 1878).
Men who get their living by felony.
Used amongst themselves rather
plaintively it would seem, and in remarkable
contrast with the 18th century
term, '
gentlemen of the road ',
'
high toby men ', and others.
Sir H. James What do you mean by
men of your class ? Witness Men of the
world (laughter) men like myself. I
did not tell him that I had seen gentlemen's
servants there I am certain of
that. I did not use the term that the
room was the resort of cross-life men
(thieves). Bignell v. Iforsley, 1880.
Cross the Ruby (Fast World, early
Id cent.). A grotesque abbreviation of
'cross the Rubicon', with the same
meaning. Ruby was then the name for
port wine.
Crocheteer (Society, 1880). A patron
of crotchets.
Within later years the ladies and
gentlemen who feel so strongly on the
subjects of vivisection, compulsory vaccination,
teetotalism, Sunday closing, and
other cognate topics, have been called
crotcheteers. G. A. Sala, /. L. N., 12th
May 1883.
Crotchetty (Society, 1 9 cent. ). Eccentric,
unexpected. Trade metaphor;
from music. Probably from the time
when solemn, slow church music was
enlivened by the comparatively quick
crotchet ; or it may be from a man
named Crotchet.
Crowbar Brigade (Irish, 1848).
The Irish Constabulary. From the
crowbar used in throwing down cottages
to complete eviction of tenants.
After a while the whole posse sheriff,
sub-sheriff, agent, bailiffs, and attendant
policemen came to be designated the
'Crowbar Brigade '.- A. M. Sullivan,
1878.
Still used to deride policemen in
Ireland.
99
Crowbar Landlord Culver-head
Crowbar Landlord (Ireland, 19
cent.). Outcome of Crowbar Brigade.
I recommend my countrymen to shoot
the crowbar landlord as we shoot robbers
or rats, at night, or in the day, on the
roadside or in the market - place !
T. Mooney, California, 1865.
Crowd ( Theatrical, 1870 on). Simply
the audience; e.g., 'What sort of a
crowd is it to-night ?
' Also a theatrical
company; e.g., 'Who's in the
crowd ?
' ' Lai Brought and Arthur
Roberts.' 'Oh, then, there will be at
least half-a-dozen laughs.' Also said
of the mass of supers, whose numbers
increase yearly ; e.g., 'I? What do /
do ? Oh, I go on with the crowd.'
Crows' feet (Soc.). Diverging Delta
wrinkles at the outer angles of the
eyelids.
Crow's nest (Soc., 1850 on). Small
bedroom for bachelors high up in
country houses, and on a level with
the tree tops ; e.g., 'Give me a crow's
nest, and pray save me from the state
bed-chamber.'
Cruel classes (Soc., 1893). Used
by the Duke of York, 6th February
1893, on the occasion of his first public
speech, as chairman of a dinner in aid
of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty
to Children. At once took, as distinguishing
the savages of the lowest
classes from the lowest classes generally.
Until this Society came into existence
the lives of young children belonging to
the cruel classes of the community could
not be considered secure. Their very
helplessness made them an easy prey.
Crumb. See Bit o' Crumb.
Crumpet. See Barmy.
Crush the stur ( Thieves'). To break
from prison stur being abbreviation
of sturaban.
A short time after I ascertained from
the jailor who payed me a visit, that my
two '
fly
' friends had ' crushed the stir ',
and were at large, ready to prey on the
community again.
Crushed (Soc., 1895). Spoony, in
love with.
Quite new is the slang
' crushed '. It
is used in place of the expression,
'mashed', 'struck', etc., and is quite
au fait with the summer resort girls.
One hears everywhere murmurs of Charlie
Binks being utterly 'crushed' on Mabel
Banks, and so on with regard to various
things. Dora tells Flora that she is
* crushed ' on Jim's new sailor, when she
really isn't damaging his headgear at all,
100
and so it goes. The English language is
getting awfully queer ! American Paper.
Crusher (Peoples'). A policeman
evidently a word suggesting respect for
the force. Mr W. 8. Gilbert used this
word in the Bab Ballads.
' One day that crusher lost his way,
In Poland Street, Soho !
'
Crushers (Namj). Ships' corporals,
who are the rank and file of the masterat-
arms. Descriptive term, borrowed
from ashore, where this term is still
applied satirically to policemen.
Crusoe (Iron Trade). A good example
of anglicising ; name given by
English ironmasters and workmen to
the great French ironworks at Creuzot
a reminiscence of Robinson Crusoe.
Cry! (Peoples'). Shape of Carai
probably introduced by English gipsies
passing from Spain. One of the libidinous
good-wishes at nightfall, similar
to Carambo. Both words more or less
known to the oi polloi. Now applied
indiscriminately to express surprise of
a satiric character.
Cry haro (Jersey). A synonym of
justice. Word used by people calling
upon their lords for interference. One
of the first railway engines run out of
St Helier's was named ' Haro '. Now
used as a 'jollying'.
It is characteristic of the satirists of
the hour that they make their victims'
very sobriety a reproach. If he is perfectly
well dressed, an excellent thing in
youth, is exceptionally quiet and well
bred, and goes frequently to the theatre,
they dub him a ' masher ', and '
cry haro '
upon him. Newsp. Cutting, 1883.
Cuff-shooter (Street, 1875 on). A
clerk. Name invented after the introduction
of shirt-cuffs wide enough to
come down well over the hands ; a
movement of the arm to throw forward
the cuffs was called cuff-shooting ; said
scornfully or enviously of young clerks
popularly supposed to consider themselves
leading gentlemen; e.g., 'Well,
what if I am a coster? I earns a
dollar (5s.), where a blooming cuffshooter
don't make a 'og
'
(Is.).
This wide cuff was introduced by the
late Duke of Clarence. He also invented
the high collar. Indeed the
prince's designation was familiarly
' cuffs and collars '
finally
' cuffs '.
Culver -head (Lower Classes). A
fool ; practically calf-head. Probably
from Dutch fishermen (chiefly with
eels) frequenting Billingsgate, once the
Cum Grano Curtains
matrix of so many vigorous phrases.
If from Holland of course the word is
a corruption of Kalver, which gives a
name to one of the chief streets of
Amsterdam.
When the culver-headed yeknods are
down in the dumps, strike us pink if
they're not as humble as a blackberry
swagger. Cutting.
Cum grano (Anglo-Amer.). Abbreviation
of ' cum grano salis ' with
the same meaning. To listen with
allowances.
Managers as a rule agree with Talleyrand
that words were made to conceal
thoughts, hence theatrical announcements
are always received cum grano by
the public. Newsp. Cutting, 1883.
Cummifo (Peoples'}. Cockney for
com/me ilfaut.
Were it not that she is a lady, and
possesses the cachet of foreign and not
home production, there are folk who
might begin to have a dawning suspicion
that she is within a couple of miles or so
of being not quite as cummifo as she
might be.Ref., 28th April 1889.
Cup o' tea (Colloquial, 1870). Consolation
probably suggested by a cup
of tea being
' so very refreshing
' to
persons who do not drink any shape of
alcohol. Used satirically of a troublesome
person.
'Oh, don't yer though. You are a
nice strong cup o' tea.' Cutting.
Cupboard (Lower Classes). Hungry.
Hunger suggested by mentioning a food
receptacle. A pleasant hour or so was spent here,
and then we turned our faces back
towards Valletta, full ready for the lunch
on which in my mind's eye, Horatio, I
had been feasting for some while before
my internal economy set up its cry of
' Cupboard
'
\-Ref., 6th June 1886.
Cupboardy (Com. Land.). Close
and stuffy.
I ain't one of them fellers as thinks
that you can't keep healthy without yer
drinks rose water and eats cream cheese,
but, surely me, if the air of the alley
ain't a-gettin' rayther too cupboardy for
my stomach. D. T. (Greenwood).
Curled Darlings (Soc., 1856). A
name given to military officers immediately
after the Crimean War, which
once more brought soldiers into fashion.
Referred to the waving of the long
beard and sweeping moustache.
But it is needless to cite instances to
be found by the score in warlike annals,
from the ' Gentlemen of the French
Guard fire first' at Fontenoy to the wellfought
field at Inkerman, when the
'curled darlings' approved themselves
metal of the right temper. Newsp.
Cutting, May 1883.
Curmudgeon (Anglicized French,
17 cent.). Coeur mediant. Probably
from court of Charles II. The phrase
is colloquial in France.
But he would be a curmudgeon, indeed,
who grudged the warmest praise
for an entertainment light, lively, and
melodious, appealing to the eye and
grateful to the ear. D. T., 9th May
1899. (See Quandary.)
Coeur mediant is much objected to
as the origin of this word. It is fully
accepted here on the principle that the
more obvious derivation is preferred to
the more erudite, on the ground that
corrupters of phrases are generally
uneducated.
Curse o' Cromwell (Irish). One of
the more vigorous civilities exercised
by the lower Irish to their equals. No
one seems to know what the 'curse'
Was probably his presence in his lifetime
possibly tertian fever after the
death of the Protector.
Curtain (Theatrical, 1860 on). A
tableau at finish of act or play, to
obtain applause.
It matters little for the purpose of
romance whether or not Nelson saw Miss
Emma Hart in Romney's studio before he
met her a married woman at Naples.
These things have to be done for stagecraft,
for theatrical tricks, for what are
vulgarly called 'curtains'. P. T., 12th
February 1897.
It is singular, considering how excellently
French dramatists write, that they
so frequently fail in getting a good
< curtain '.Ref., 15th March 1885.
Also a 'call before the curtain' at
the end of an act or a piece.
Edward Russell plays well as Peggotty.
His acting, if a little too hurried, was
full of power, and he revealed considerable
pathos. He was rewarded with
several ' curtains '.
(See Take a curtain Quick curtain.)
Curtain-taker (Theatrical, 1882).
An actor more eager even than his
brethren to appear before the curtain
after its fall. (See Take a Curtain,
Lightning Curtain-taker, Fake a curtain.)
Curtains (Regimental.) A name
given to one of the first modes of
wearing the hair low on the military
forehead (1870). The locks were
divided in the centre, and the front
101
Cut a Finger D. V.
hair was brought down in two loops,
each rounding away towards the temple.
The hair was glossed and flattened.
Quiver. (See Sixes, To put on the,
Scoop, etc.).
Cut a finger (Lower Classes'). To
cause a disagreeable odour; e.g., 'My
hi ! some cove's cut 'is finger.'
Cut and run (Peoples'). Make off
rapidly, retire without permission.
Trade metaphor. From sailoring, and
act of cutting a vessel in the nighttime
from her moorings and then running
before the wind. Very general :
probably accepted from T. P. Cook in
Black-Eyed Susan.
Cut one's stick (Old Eng.) To
travel for work the stick being cut or
obtained for helpful and probably
defensive purposes.
Cut the line (Printers'). To knock
off work for a time ; origin obscure,
but may refer to the line of type.
Cut the record (Peoples' sporting).
Victory. Here cut is used as surpassing.
People are saying that the Inventions
Exhibition is not so much talked of as
previous displays at South Kensington
have been ; but I think that as soon as
we get hot weather, the admission returns
will cut all previous records. Entr'acte.
30th May 1885.
Cut-throat (W. Amer.J. Destructive,
reckless applied to card-playing.
It is not uncommon, therefore, to see
merchants (especially American) having
a social game of ' cut - throat monte ',
' eucre ', or ' poker ', with piles of gold
before them. All the Year Round, 31st
October 1868.
Cycling fringes (Cycling, 1897).
Especially prepared forehead - hair to
be worn by such women bikers as had
not abjured all feminine vanities.
It may be, of course, both libellous and
ungallant to suggest that there could be
any possible connection with those wonderful
'
cycling fringes, warranted never
to come out of curl,' at present filling the
barbers' windows. 10th March 1897.
Cyclophobist (Literary, 1880). An
invented word to describe haters of
tradesmen's circulars.
The word '
cyclophobist
'
is still comparatively
new to the English language,
and perhaps it is not a very scholarly
compound to express
' a man who hates
and dreads tradesmen's circulars'.
D. N.. 6th January 1882.
Naturally came to be applied to the
opponent of the bicycle, as this vehicle
became ubiquitous.
The chairman, on whose suggestion the
communication was laid on the table in
the first instance, explained that he was
not a 'cyclophobist', but he did most
emphatically object to scorchers, and
racers, and pacemakers, and also to careless
riders, of whom he and many other
people went in daily terror. D. T., 9th
December 1897.
Cyrano (Soc., 1900). A huge nose.
Due to the popularity of Rostand's
play, Cyrano de Bergerac, whose hero
had a phenomenal nose, imitated in
pasteboard by French and English
actors who played the part. Pronounced
See-ra-no, with the accent on
the first. A dactyl.
Miss Annie Hughes was as unlike Sam
Weller as it is possible to conceive. The
immortal ' man ' was not a dandy '
tiger
'
with a Whitechapel accent and a Cyrano
nose. D. T., 16th April 1900.
(See Boko, Duke.)
102
D. B. (Theatrical). A masked mode
of condemnation.
Although Miss Deby was d. b. which
being interpreted means deucedly bad
some of those about her were deucedly
good. Newsp. Cutting.
D. D. (Naval). Discharged dead.
The usual way on board a man-of-war
of writing a man's epitaph ; as : 'Bill ?
Oh! he's D. D. this year agone.'
Captain Chamier, 1820.
D. T. Centres (Lit., 1880 on).
Minor Bohemian, literary, artistic, and
musical clubs from the jollity, or
supposed jollity, of a Bacchic character
which continually proceeds within their
walls. D. T. is a reduction to the
absurd of delirium tremens or 'tremenses,'
as some comic folk style that
self-imposed disease.
D. V. (Atheistic). A satiric and
not very adroit application of the
initials of ' Deo Volente ', to ' Doubtful
very '.
Fred Hughes says that the letters
' D. V. ' in his advertisement referring
to his appearance at the Jumbo Theatre,
mean ' doubtful very '. I thought so. \
D. V. (Soc.). Divorce. Another
shape of satire upon Deo Volente
Heaven, of course, having certainly
Daddies Damper
nothing to do with the performance, if
papal authority is of any value.
Daddies (Pugilistic). Hands.
All was in readiness, and the men
having shaken daddies, the seconds retired
to their corners, and at 12.56 commenced
the fight. Newsp. Cutting, 1862.
Daisy (Amer., passing to England,
1870). A charming, fresh, delightful
person or thing.
An enthusiastic admirer of ' The Silver
King
'
lately, in the upper circle of the
Grand Opera House audibly proclaimed
Wilfrid Denver to be 'a daisy '. Newsp.
Cutting, October 1883.
This morning a young man walked into
the office with a huge watermelon in his
arms. Placing his burden on the counter
he addressed the agent :
' Now, isn't that
melon a daisy ?
'
Newsp. Cutting.
Specially used (and abused) as a
sentimental basis ; hence '
Daisy
' came
to he synonymous with humhug.
He took me by the ear and said I
couldn't come no '
daisy
' business on
him. Detroit Free Press, 1883.
Also a satirical term for a drunken
man.
Detective Lanthier had hardly approached
the platform where the ' Female
Dudes ' were on exhibition when a piping
voice exclaimed familiarly : 'Vote for me,
mister ; I am a daisy !
' N. Y. Mercury,
8th October 1883.
Daisy Crown of Cricket (Sporting,
1883 on). Poets have their imaginary
bays, warriors their imagined laurels
the field daisy, therefore, is the appropriate
floral emblem given to the champion
bowler, batter, fielder, et hoc.
Oxford, so far, is retaining her maritime
supremacy, though the daisy crown
of cricket is decorating other brows.
D.N., 6th July 1883.
Daisy-five-o'docker (Amer.-Eng.}.
A charming five o'clock tea. An extreme
application of daisy, as a term
of approbation.
Dam (University}. Abbreviation of
* damage
' in relation to payment for
entertainment or entry to place of
amusement; e.g., 'What's the dam?'
' A sov. per fellow.'
Damager (Theatrical, 1880). A
nonsense name for manager. Perhaps
some covert reference to his autocratic
power of sweeping out a comedian.
The green room became so crowded
that at last the damager was compelled
to put up a notice. Neiosp. Cutting.
Then a damager took him in hand and
engaged him to come on first. Newsp.
Cutting.
Dame (Eton). A master who confines
his attention to mathematics. To
some extent a supercilious term.
' Badger
' Hale went to this school as
a mathematical teacher, and though for
the last twenty years he took the classes
in natural science, he remained, to use
the Eton term, a ' dame ' that is to say,
a house-master who did not teach the
classics, and whose boys consequently
always had a ' tutor ' as well outside.
D. T., 26th July 1894.
Damfino (Anglo-Amer.} The last
instance of abbreviation and obscure
swearing.
' I am damned if I know '
is its origin. A vicious college student being asked
what he intended doing after graduating,
replied: 'Damfino; preach, I s'pose.'
Damfoolishness (Amer., passing to
Eng.}. Intensification of foolishness,
and abbreviation of damned foolishness.
' Now, Hennery, I am going to break
you of this damfoolishness, or I will break
your neck.' Newsp. Cutting.
Damned (Theatrical, 18 and 19
cent.}. Condemned utterly ; e.g., 'The
piece was damned from the gods to the
groundlings.'
Damned good swine up (Peoples',
1880). A loud quarrel. Suspected to
be of American origin. In the States
the ' swine ' are more demonstrative
than at home. Here even the common
pig is quarrelsome ; e.g., 'Tell Cecil to
tone himself down a bit, or we shall
have a damned good swine up.'
Damirish (Amer., 1883). A disguised
euphemism for ' damned Irish '.
When I read the story in the papers
about the explosion in the British Parliament
pa was hot. He said the damirish
was ruining the whole world. A
Bad Boy's Diary, 1883.
Damp bourbon poultice (Amer.
Saloon}. A '
go
' of whiskey.
'
Postage stamps ', replied the country
merchant, as he slammed the door and
went out to soothe his feelings with a
damp bourbon poultice. Newsp. Cutting.
Dampen (Amer., Theatrical}. A
euphemism for ' to damn '.
Most interesting, but the ' heroine '
dying so soon, rather dampens the piece
in her opinion. Newsp. Cutting.
Damper (Soc., 1886 on). A dinnerbill
a document which has steadily
increased in importance through many
years. Term recognised in the lines
attributed to Theodore Hook.
Men laugh and talk until the feast is o'er ;
Then comes the reckoning, and they
laugh no more !
103
Dance Dash my Wig
Curiously enough the French found
a correlative title to Damper, viz.,
La Douloureuse.
La Douloureuse ! Few know that in
modern French slang it means the bill
that is offered to a generous host after
the dinner is over and the reckoning is at
hand. D. T., 29th June 1897.
Dance (Fashion, 1890). A ball
this latter word being only used for
solemn state and aristocratic functions.
The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire
gave a large dinner party last evening at
Devonshire House, followed by a dance
reaching the dimensions of a ball, only
that the word has fallen out of favour
save for public functions. D. T., 6th
July 1899.
Dance upon nothing (Peoples', 18
cent.}. To be hanged the convulsive
motions of the legs in the air suggesting
the phrase. Probably took the
place of * Mount the cart' (q.v.), when
the place of hanging was in the prison,
or its shadow, and a cart was no longer
in vogue. Passing away in appositeness,
now that the hangman uses a long rope,
so that the neck is broken, and the
victim does not struggle. (See Hemp
is grown for you.)
Dancing dogs (circa, 1880). A
satirical title applied to '
dancing men '
when dancing began to go out.
Then drop in those supercilious masters
of the situation, the dancing young men,
the 'dancing dogs', as they have been
called. D. N. Leader, 27th March 1884.
Dander riz (Amer.). Classic in
Sam Slide. * Dander '
is indignation ;
' riz ', a diminutive of ' raised '. Dander
is probably from the old Dutch of
the early American settlers the
source of so much American droll
I don't for a moment say that she
would ; but, quoting from one of the
Claimant's own letters,
' Anna Maria has
got a timper of her own ', and there is no
knowing what she might say if her
'dander were riz'. Entr'acte, 1st November
1884.
Darbey ( Thieves'). A haul (of course
of stolen goods).
< Ben You ought to be in London on
the 10th of this month. The Prince of
Wales will be married, every place will
be Juminated, and all the " lads
"
expect
to make a good
"
darbey
"
(good haul, or
robbery). Old Bill Clark expects about
24 reddings (gold watches), and old Tom
and Joe expect twice as many.' Thief's
Intercepted Letter, March 1863.
In the plural this word represents
the common name for handcuffs. It
were curious to trace the first of these
bracelets to Derby, which * on the spot
'
is, or at all events was, pronounced
'
Darby.'
Dark as a pocket (Merchant Seamens').
Very expressive.
Darkies (Lower Lond. Soc., 1860
on). A synonym for the coal-hole,
the shades, and the cider cellar
places of midnight entertainment in or
near the Strand, all famous in the midnineteenth
century.
The days of The Cider Cellars, and
The Shades, called in slang terms ' The
Darkies ' and? ' The Coal Holes '. and the
low music-halls with their abominable
songs, and the Haymarket orgies and the
dancing saloons disappeared. D. T.,
20th November 1896.
Darn(Eng.-Amer.). AUnited States
evasion of damn, and very suggestive
of household occupation and equally
innocent swearing. ( See Dern. )
When Sacramento was being destroyed
by fire some of the merchants managed
to save some champagne, and, going
outside the town, drank ' Better luck
next time. This is a great country.'
Next day a tavern-keeper had a space
cleared among the ruins, and over a little
board shanty hastily run up was this
inscription :
'
Lafayette House. Drinks
two bits. Who cares a darn for a fire !
'
All the Year Round, 31st October 1868.
Some writers maintain that this term
went to U.S.A. from England, upon
the argument of the phrase,
' Darn my
old wig,' which cannot be American.
Here a kind of pun was intended, for
wigs were economically darned. Wigs
have passed away, as a fashion, over a
hundred years, yet this phrase is still
heard at and about Plymouth, which
suggests that the word may have
crossed the ditch in due course, sailing
long after the Mayflower.
Vance thinks that the management of
Her Majesty's Theatre are a darned sight
too particular. Newsp. Gutting, March
1883. (V. was a very clever comic singer,
and most comic in petticoats).
Dash my wig (Peoples'). Another
version of ' darn ' in the time of wigs.
Still heard, though wigs are seldom
referred to, if worn ; rarely worn
amongst men. Some wild etymologists
hold this to be a perversion of ' Dish the
Whigs', but they do not give the clue.
Dishing the Whigs, by the way, may
mean '
douching' them, though, on the
104
Daverdy Dead-lock
other hand, there is a common expression,
' Well, I'm dished !
' but this is
supposed to be a corruption of dashed,
in its previous turn a corruption of
d dash d, the printer's moral evasion
of 'damn' when the printing of this
word was in bad taste, and was bad in
law!
Daverdy (Devon). Careless. Probably
from an individual notoriously
untidy possibly David Day.
Day-bugs (Essex schools). Day
scholars ; e.g.,
' Don't row with that
fellow, he's only a day-bug
' said by a
night-flea or boarder. This phrase is
interesting as showing that the U.S.A.
habit of using
' bug
' for beetle went
from England.
Dead as a door-nail (Peoples' ; from
Ireland). Dead as O'Donnel ; on all
fours with '
I'll smash you into
smithereens ' that is to say, Smithers'
Ruins S. having had his house pulled
about his ears. O'Donnel being dead
and Smithers no longer alive, the two
folk -phrases become, the one anglicized
into ' door-nail ', the other into a
powerful word representing complete
destruction, one which is heard to this
day amongst the Irish lower classes
wherever found. Probably many
phrases, such as ' The Twinkling of a
Bed-post', etc., are built upon proper
names which have faded from memory,
while the phrases relating to them
remain. Dickens begins his Christmas
Carol with this phrase :
* Morley was
dead as a door-nail to begin with !
'
Falsta/: What ! is the old king dead ?
Pistol: As nail in door : the things I
speak are just. Shakspeare.
Dead-beat (Amer. ~Eng. ). A pauper
lost his last copper.
' Hang me ef I savvy ! He didn't
pungle, he ain't got no kit ; and nobody
don't know him ! Now it's my opinion
he's a dead beat that's how I put him
up !
'
Newsp. Cutting.
Dead broke (A mer. -Eng.). Another
reading of dead beat.
' Cheap enough dog cheap for the fun
I had, but I'm dead broke. Had 60 dollars
yesterday morning, but she's gone
all gone not a red left.' Newsp. Cutting.
Dead give away (Amer.). A
swindle, deception.
He would seem to argue with her that
a brood of chickens would be a dead give
away on them both. Newsp. Cutting.
Dead-eye (Sailors', 19 cent.).
Generally
' A bit o' dead-eye '. Figurative
reference to esoteric effort. ID
ordinary nautical language
'
dead-eyes
'
are the small clean-cut holes worked in
rigging blocks, and in ships' woodwork
generally. They certainly have an
appearance of shadowed sight, which
is very startling at times. Mr W. S.
Gilbert gave this term to his hero,
Dick Dead-eye, in the opera-bouffe
E.M.S. Pinafore (1878).
Deadhead ( Theatrical, from Amer. ).
One who does not pay his or her entrance
fee. Critics are professional deadheads.
Hebrews are the great sinners in this
connection, they getting their free
passes, they themselves only knowing
where. All 'theatrical people' are
deadheads, for they never pay to enter
a theatre. ' The female deadhead was
in a red opera cloak she always is.'
This vermilion stain, however, has now
vanished.
I have not paid a cent for a seat at the
theatre in twenty years. I boast of this
sometimes. Why is this? I am supposed
to have ' influence '. I am one of
the old ' men about town '. Really I am
without influence. But no matter. Let
me live out the remainder of my theatrical
days in peace. I shall be a real deadhead
soon. Soliloquy by
' Old Deadhead'.
Mr B. V. Page has written a good song
for Miss Tilley on the ' deadhead '
lay.
After this, how can I expect him to pass
me into the Cambridge stalls ? Entr'acte,
30th May 1885. (See Order deadhead.)
He wished also to add that there
were quite
' Deadheads '
enough visiting
theatres. Mr Chance asked what that
meant. Mr Parkes said it meant a class
of persons who under various excuses
obtained or attempted to obtain admission
to theatres and places of public
entertainment without paying. Newsp.
Cutting, 1882.
The experienced eye can always
divide the deadheads from the '
plankdowners
' in a theatre. The deadheads
are always dressed badly, and
give themselves airs when looking at
the inferior parts of the house. The
plank-downers never give themselves
airs, mean business, and only look at
the stage. Deadheads are very emphatically
thus described by a theatrical
official : 'Here come two more deadheads
; look at their boots.'
Dead-lock (Street, 1887 on). A
Lock Hospital. Very significant;
e.g.,
' Don't muck about always go to
the dead-lock.' Applied from the
105
Dead Number Delo Diam
habit of stags clinching their horns,
and fighting thus to the death.
Dead number (Com. Lond.). The
last number in a row or street ; perhaps
the end of the street.
Dead 'un (City). A bankrupt company
; e.g., 'The All Round Blessing
Assurance is a dead 'un.' (Set
Cadaver. )
Dead wood (Amer. forest}. Advantage.
Origin very obscure. In clearing
trees a skilful axeman so acts as to
take every advantage from the hang of
the tree that it may heel over and save
him as much cutting as possible. The
gain is ' dead wood'.
She extracted a twenty dollar bill, and
remarked :
' I reckon I've got the dead
wood on that new bonnet I've been
sufferin' for.' Texas Siftings.
Deal of weather about (Nautical).
Bad meteorological times. For sailors
fine weather is no weather at all. On
the sea the word always means discomfort
and struggle, as may be seen
in its use,
' weather the storm '.
Deaner, The (Oxford 'er). The
Dean.
The dean of a college is the ' deaner'
or the ' dagger ', while even this is reduced
by some to ' the dag'. D. T., 14th
August 1899.
Dear me (Soc., passed to people).
Exclamation used by the best people ;
may be a corruption of Dio mio.
Possibly introduced by Maria Beatrice
of Modena, second wife of James II.
As a matter of fact, women do appeal
a good deal, and often when they do not
know it. What is the meaning of ' Dear
me '
? As English it is absolutely meaningless.
It is a mere phase, an expletive,
until we understand it as a corruption of
' Dio mio '.
Or it may be ' Dieu mais ', an exclamation
which came into use immediately
after the Restoration introduced
by one of the French Court
beauties.
Death on (Amer.). Determined,
even at the risk of life.
Birmingham, to use the Yankee vernacular,
which is well understood in that
locality, is 'death on ' Woman Suffrage.
Newsp. Cutting.
Death - promoter (Amer., about
1880). An ominous synonym for
alcoholic drink. This phrase is a very
fine instance of the etymological landmarks
sometimes perhaps often
afforded by passing English. Here is
seen subterfugal conviction of the
danger of alcoholic indulgence, even
taking possession of the intelligence of
the very patron of whiskey himself.
Throughout history there is no period
before the end of the 19th century
where alcohol is associated with death
if we except L'assommoir, a cudgel,
and used in France to describe a
drinking-bar. (See
' Pisen'. )
Decadent (Soc., 1885 - 90). A
synonym for degenerate (noun and
adjective), and the antithesis of
atavism, atavistic (q.v.).
The most extravagant guesses were
made as to its authorship the writer
having for obvious reasons cloaked himself
with anonymity and it was even
whispered that the book came from the
hand of a famous decadent, who ' dropped
out ' some time back. Sun. 7th November
1899.
Decencies ( Theatrical). Pads used
by actors, as distinct from actresses, to
ameliorate outline.
Deck (Gaming). A pack of cards.
John Kernell tells of an actor who
spouted his trunk for his board, claiming
that it contained fifty-three pieces. When
the landlady opened it she found a paper
collar and a deck of cards. Newsp.
Cutting.
Deck (Costers' ; local). The Seven
Dials (W. London). ' He's a decker '
means he lives in the classic dials.
(See Seven Dials' Raker.)
Degenerate (Soc., 1899). A libertine
(male), a woman of gallantry
(female). Its antithesis was regenerate,
which probably meant a return to a
reasonable life, and church at least once
on Sunday. A play styled The Degenerates,
by Sydney Grundy, with
Mrs Langtry for lead, was set before
the public in the autumn.
To-night you receive and receive most
hospitably and graciously a member of
the theatrical profession. Whether your
taste in this respect is better or worse
than your father's, whether you are degenerates
or regenerates I must ask
others to decide. Charles Wyndham (at
Argonaut Club), 13th November 1899.
Degrugfger (Oxford
' er '). A degree.
When you passed an examination you
obtained a testamur or certificate, which
was labelled a '
testugger ', and thanks
to it you could proceed to take a ' degrugger
', which is Oxford for Degree.
D. T., 14th August 1899.
Delo diam (Back slang}. An old
maid ; in common use.
106
Delo Nammow Deuce o' Denas
When a bloke's hard up it's the delo
diam who is his friend. When a poor
girl goes wrong it is the delo diam who
gives her shelter until the kid is born.
Delo diams are angels on this muddy
earth, and if there is a heaven delo diams
will take a front seat there. Newsp.
Cutting, 1883.
Delo nammow (Back slang). Old
woman.
' If he doesn't pay that delo nammow
eighteenpence for washing there will be
a bankruptcy at his door.' Newsp.
Cutting.
Delo nam o' the Barrack (Thieves').
4 Old man ', which is back spelling, and
' Master of the house '
barrack, used
for house ; probably being obtained
from soldiers on furlough.
'Delphi (Theatr.). Mass pronoun-
ciation of '
Adelphi ', the great house,
through the Victorian era of melodrama
in the Strand. (See 'Lane. )
Demijohn (Peoples'). Large measure,
swingeing draught. Probably
from a measure of the time of King
John ; e.g.,
' All gome well, that was
a demijohn, that was.' Johnson has
nothing to say about it.
Demons (Austral.). Old hands at
bushranging ; derived from men who
arrive from Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania),
some of whom are popularly
supposed to have inaugurated bushranging
in Australia.
Den (Public-house). A name generally
given to a public-house frequented
night after night by the same set, and
bestowed by them half-raefully, halfsatirically.
Dennis (Sailors'). Nothing except
below contempt ; e.g.,
'
Hullo, Dennis !'
' Oh, I'm Dennis, am I ?
' Sailors always
call the '
pig
' Dennis. This may have
reference to a certain sister isle and it
may not. (See Mud. )
Derby (Sporting). To pawn. At a
time when men still were foolish
enough to take their watches to races,
and especially the crowded Derby,
they were frequently
' rushed' (that is,
*
pushed at ', but passing language is
always industriously inclined to be
lazy enough to save a word) for their
watches. This became so common
that men who pawned their watches
would say they had been stolen on
the Derby or other course. Satirical
friends saw the point, and hence a new
verb for ' to pawn ' was added to the
countless stores of changing English.
Dern (Amer.). Another of the
evasive stages of ' damn '.
' Never held such derned hands in my
life. Beat the game, though. 'Newsp.
Cutting. (SeeD&rn.)
The study of evaded swearing in
English may be interestingly compared
with the same process in French. In
the former the evasion is always a
concession to religious thought, in the
latter it is always an attack. For
instance, 'Sacre nom de Dieu' has
fallen to ' Ore nom de Chou '. Any
one can mark the sound similarity of
the final words the pronounciation of
' chou '
being something like the mode
in which ' dieu '
is uttered by Alsacians
and Auvergnats. But how needless
is the offence of calling the Almighty
a cabbage.
Desert (Soc., 1892 on). Ladies'
Club from the absence of members.
Deuce. Dusius the erotic God of
Nightmare, passing (15th century in
England) into Robin Goodfellow. Also
applied to the four two's of a pack of
cards here from the French ' deux ',
playing cards having arrived from
Paris, precisely as the three is called
'
tray
' from trois. There is no
association between dusius and the
deuce of clubs say, or any other card
deuce.
' It's true, I admit, that women have
babies, but who the dooce has to keep
t a *
em ?
The most familiar shape of Deuce is
Robin Goodfellow, whose pictorial representation
has long since been turned
out of good society. If any carious
reader is desirous of seeing him in his
habit as he lived, he must be prepared
to pay him five pounds for a copy of
Mr Thomas Wright's remarkable little
book upon Phallic worship. Its study
will enable him to comprehend Shakespeare's
allusions to this alarming personage
probably Robin Goodfiller.
Deucid or Deuced ( Peoples'). Either
corruption of decided, or meaning
devilish in the more daily use of that
word, as in * He's a devilish good
fellow '. In the latter case it is derived
from deuce. George Eliot, in ' Felix
Holt,' ch. 17, makes it 'deuced'.
' He has inherited a deuced faculty for
business.'
Deuce o' denas (Thieves'). From
deux, two, and dena, shilling.
If you ask them to lend you a deuce o'
107
Deuce take You Dip
denas, very likely you won't get it.
Newsp Cutting.
Deuce take you (National). Ejaculation
desiring that Satan may fly
away with you. Sometimes impersonal
' Deuce take it.' From Dusius
Dusii.
* They were in fact the fauns and
satyrs of antiquity, haunting, as they
did, the wild woods. As incubi they
visited houses at night. They made
their presence known as nightmare.
They were known at an early period in
Gaul by the name of dusii, from which,
as the church taught that all these
mythic personages were devils, we
derive our modern word deuce used in
auch phrases as " Deuce take you !
" '
R. Payne Knight, Worship of Priapus.
Devil doubt you, The (Peoples').
Very commonly used in this form, but
in full, 'I don't' is added. Used to
concede a violent assertion on the other
side. ' I'm a scorcher, I am,' to which
the reply would be,
' The devil doubt
you / don't ;
'
probably from the time
when compliments were still passed to
Satan on the Persian plan. Means
'
I am not clever enough to dispute
your theory ; it requires one as clever
as Satan to question your assertion.'
Probably the most familiar oath, if it
is an oath, in the English language.
Devil's dinner hour (Artisani).
Midnight, the hour for all Satanic
revels. Said in reference to working
late.
Devil's luck and my own (Peoples').
No luck whatever. The demon having
been lamed early in life, and frequently
cheated of his prey, even of the Fausts
of this world, his luck is not extensive ;
e.g., 'Getting on? Bless me no; I've
the devil's luck, and my own too.
When I pay my way I fancy I'm somebody
else.'
Devonshire compliment ( W.
Country', except Devonshire). Doubtful
politeness ; e.g., 'Do 'ee 'ave this cup
o' tea in the pot ; 'full on'y be thrawed
away !
'
Dew o' Ben Nevis (Lond. and
Edin. Taverns). A fortunate name
discovered by a Scotch distiller to distinguish
his whiskey.
' Dew ' was
poetic, and ' Ben Nevis ' was already
in thf heart of the Scotch customer.
The name is now used in place of the
word whiskey, much like 'Guinness'
for stout,
' Alsopp
' and ' Burton ' for
ale, and ' Kinahan ' for Irish whiskey.
' Twa o' bennevis '
(the
' e '
pronounced
short) is a common request, always
complied with in the hard-working
land o' cakes.
Dick's hat -band (Peoples', provincial).
A makeshift. The hat-band
in general use, even in Mr Weller's
time of widowhood, was a portentous
sweep of crape, draped and bowed
behind. It slipped into a band of
cloth on the hat, and has now passed
to the arm as a strip, in imitation of
the mourning worn by the late Queen's
servants for the Prince Consort. Who
was Dick? 'Tis all that remains of
him. ' What be that, gammer that
bean't a bonnet?' 'No, bless thee,
'tis a Dick's hat-band. '
Dicky, Dickey (Peoples'). Very
doubtful ; e.g.,
' It's Dickey, ain't it ?
'
Origin obscure. May refer to Richard
III. as conquered. A courtier of
Henry VII. may have started the
phrase as a flattery to the Conqueror.
The columbine was less fortunate in his
opinion.
' She's werry dicky ; ain't got
what I call " move" about her.' Greenwood's
Night in a Workhouse.
Die in a horse's night -cap
(Thieves'). To die in a halter. Supposed
to be very brilliant satire.
Die Dunghill (Sporting, 18 cent.).
Said of a cock that would not fight
and applied to human curs ; e.g.,
'I never die dunghill always p;ame.'
In our days the term has changed to
' die on a dunghill ', meaning the person
spoken of will have no home in
which to die.
Diff (Soc.). Abbreviation of 'differences',
e.g., 'No it is not I love
her she loves me. That's the diff.'
Probably came from the Stock Exchange,
the birthplace of so much
passing English.
There is a great diff between a dona
and a mush. You can shut up a mush
(umbrella) sometimes. Newsp. Cutting.
Diffs (Theatr.). A euphemistic abbreviation
of '
difficulties', cruelly common
with lessees until the prince,
about 1870, completely brought the
theatre into fashion.
Diffs (Vulgar). Abbreviation of
' difficulties '.
' For gentlemen in difficulties
arrested in the county of Surrey
there was a single spunging-house in
a street somewhere off the Blackfriars
108
Dig Dish
Road. I remember visiting a friend
there once, who told me that the
apartments were extremely comfortable.
The sheriffs officer was an accomplished
whist player, and he had a
musical daughter who used to play and
sing to the gentleman in "diffs".'
G. A. Sala, Fifa and Ca Sa, in T. D. }
15th August 1893.
Dig (Mid. Class, Elegant). Abbreviation
of 'dignity'; e.g., 'So I stood upon
my dig, and told him his room was
nicer than his company.' Sometimes
1 otium dig
'
(from
' otium cum dignitate
'
; e.g. ,
* Come and see me in my
summer-house ; there I am in my
otium dig.'
Dig me out (Soc. t 1860). I.e., call
for me ; tear me from lazy loafing in
the house.
Digger (Milit.). The guard-room.
Short for ' Damned guard-room'.
Digs. Short for 'diggings'. Australian
for lodgings, from the time when
gold miners lived on their claims, or
diggings. In co tnrnon use by theatrical
touring companies.
The strolling 'mummers ' have alighted
from a cheap excursion train, and are
imbibing hot whisky and water before
commencing their chilly exploration of
the quiet little country town in search of
'digs'. D. T., 23rd March 1898.
Dill (Chemists'). A disguised title
for water no such simple liquor as
mere water being named before the
public.
' Dill ' sounds more medicinal
than dill water. The word is a
liquidising of 'distilled water'.
Dilly-dally (Peoples'). Hesitative.
An equivalent of shilly-shally, both
generally used as an attack upon the
spoonery of lovers. Probably rhymed
from the latter.
Dimber-damber (Street). Smart,
active, adroit. One of the alliterative
phrases with no absolute meaning a
false onomatope. Namby-pamby and
nimmeny-pimmeny are on similar lines.
He is a bit dimber-damber, and up to
everything on the carpet. Newsp.
Cutting.
Dime Museum ( Freak Show, applied
to theatres, 1884). A common show
poor piece. From New York, which
has a passion for monstrosity displays,
called Dime Museums the dime being
the eighth of a dollar.
Dimensions, To take (Police). To
obtain information.
I said,
' Are you sure ?
' and he said,
' Yes ; she's been murdered in a railway
carriage.' At eleven that same night
Sergeant Cox came to the house and
took 'dimensions'. Newsp. Cutting.
Dinah (Com. London). A favourite
woman; e.g., 'Id Mary your Dinah?'
Corruption of ' dona '.
Dipping ( Thieves'). Picking pockets
literally dipping.
Mr Selfe : What is meant by 'dipping'?
The policeman : It's the last new word
it means picking pockets. Newsp.
Cutting.
Dirt Road (Amer.). The highway,
as distinct from the railroad, which is
gravelled. Probably railway official
satire.
His Honour talked to him in a fatherly
way, and told him to start for home by the
dirt road, and David went out. Newsp.
Cutting.
Dirty Half-Hundred (Milit. O.S.).
50th Regiment.
The gallant
'
Fiftieth,
' otherwise known
as the ' Dirty Half-Hundred,
' a regiment
with a splendid record, retains its title as
'The Queen's Own', with a local habitation
in West Kent. D. N., July 1881.
Disagreeable Bore (Soc.). The
antithesis of Agreeable Rattle.
Discommons ( University). To boycott,
send to Coventry, exclude.
A man is supposed, on leaving school
and going to college, to be learning to
take care of himself. Except by ' discominonsing
' dishonest tradesmen, a
form of permitted Boycotting which
might be more widely exerted, we fail to
see how the Heads of Houses are to make
extravagant young fellows careful.
D. N., 20th March 1885.
Disguised (Soc.). One of the
numerous evasive synonyms for
* drunk '.
Most of Bob Prudhpe's customers are
noblemen disguised in liquor. Newsp.
Cutting.
Bob was a very handsome and dashing
licensed victualler in the ' neck of the
Strand', between St Mary's and St
Clement Danes long since demolished.
Disguised Public-House (Polit.,
1886). Workmen's political clubs.
First used in the House of Commons ;
e.g.,
' Call it a club if you like this is
a free country but it's an after 12.30
p.m. public, and nothing else.'
Dish (Parliamentary). To overcome,
to distance figuratively, to present
the enemy trussed in a dish, displayed
before the conquerors and the
nation.
109
Dismember for Great Britain Do
It is alleged that Liberals have stolen
a march upon the Conservatives, that
non-political candidates have turned out
to be Radicals in disguise, and, in short,
that the Tories have been dished.
D. T.
The Whigs had been dished, to use
the historic phrase of the great Lord
Derby. D. T., 20th May 1899. (See
Dash my Wig.)
Dismember for Great Britain (Soc.
1886). The last political nickname
given to Gladstone. About the time
of the Home Rule Bill.
They used to call him the Member for
Midlothian. Now they call him 'the
Dismember for Great Britain.' Ref.,
18th April 1886.
Distinct(ly) (Society, 1880). Thorough(
ly). The use of this word in this
sense in many cases became a mania.
'He is a distinct fool.' ' She is a distinct
fraud.' * They are distinctly in
the wrong.'
Ditch, the (Local Lond., 1850). Abbreviation
of Shoreditch, one of the
chief eastern thoroughfares of London.
The Ditch is the oldest village in
London. A bloke named Shore hung
out there once. His missus went wrong
with a King. When the King snuffed it
the dona had to walk through the streets
in her nightgown. She died in a ditch
did Jane. Hence the name Shoreditch.
Gutting, 1883.
A. frequenter of the Ditch is a
Ditcher.
Ditch (Anglo-Amer.). The Atlantic.
A playful allusion toitsimmense width
(See Herring Pond.)
Ditch and Chapel (E.London, street).
An abbreviation of Shoreditch and of
Whitechapel
You only know me, maties, in Ditch
parlours and Chapel bagatelle rooms.
Cutting, 1883.
Ditched (Anglo-Amer,}. Off the
highway ; halted. Accepted by the
States from old coaching days.
A portion of Doris's Inter - oceanic
circus was ditched on Friday on the
Missouri Pacific Railroad, near Booneville,
Mo. Newsp. Gutting.
Now figuratively used ; e.g.,
1 1 was
ditched completely, and did not know
what to say.'
Ditto, Brother Smut (Peoples').
Your tongue is as coarse as you say
mine is. Probably from chimneysweeps.
Dive (Amer. Eng.). An underground
drinkingbar. Reached England through
Liverpool from 'diving under to reach
it'. Equivalent to the lost London
word ' Shades' from the underground
darkness of these resorts. The last
' shades ' were in Leicester Square.
The first dive is scarcely more than a
gun-shot away in Piccadilly.
In many places (U.S.A.), especially in
the cities, the existence of the law makes
no real difference ; in some few, by fits
and starts, it is rigidly enforced, and
the consequence is that the drinking is
driven underground, into what they
variously call ' dives ',
'
speak easies ', and
' kitchen bar room ' in the North ; and
' blind pigs
' and ' blind tigers
' in the
South. The liquor sold deteriorates at
the same time. Little but spirits is dealt
in, and much of it is of the vilest quality.
G. A. Sala, D. T., 25th October 1893.
A grand entrance takes the place of
the tavern, which is relegated to ' down
below,' and is called a 'dive'. Ref., 10th
May 1885.
Diver (Thieves'). A pickpocket
obviously from diving the hand down
into others' pockets.
Divine punishment (Naval). Divine
service.
Jack has little faith, and does not
know, perhaps cares little, what to
believe ; and as to worship, it has long
been known in the forecastle as ' divine
punishment '. Newsp. Gutting, 1869.
Diviners, or Dimers(0xfprd Univ.).
Reduction in Oxford ' er ' of the Divinity
Examination, which replaced the
Rudiments of Faith and Religion.
Dixie (Polit. Amer.). The pet name
given to the South, or Dixie-land. A
popular negro song went,
* I wish I was
in Dixie', that is to say,
' In heaven'.
Dizzy Age (Soc. of a kind, 19 cent.).
Elderly. Makes the spectator giddy
to think of the victim's years generally
those of a maiden or other woman
canvassed by other maiden ladies or
others, e.g.,
' Poor dear ; but though
she is really very well, especially at a
distance, on a dull day, she must be,
the dove, quite a dizzy age.'
Dizzy flat (Chicago). A fool whose
foolery makes the hearer giddy.
Do (Peoples'). In one capacity, as a
neuter verb, praiseful, as ' He'll do'.
Convert it into an active verb,
' He'll
do you', and it becomes the most emphatic
possible warning against a cheat.
Rare instance of one word serving two
distinctly opposite purposes. To 'do',
as meaning to fight and conquer, has
110
Do Do Oneself Well
quite passed into common English life.
'
I got done in three rounds ', simply
means that the speaker cried V(K metis
after he had been grounded for the
third time. A serio-comic singer, Bessie
Bellwood, turned this word to great
account while singing a song as a girl
who boasts of her prowess, saying
' Yoho, you come down our court. If
I can't do yer, me and my sister
Jemima 'ull do yer proper,' proper in
this case meaning completely.
Finally, this (the emphatic auxiliary
verb of the eight auxiliary verbs) is
used to describe murder.
Her ladyship replied :
' The two men
have been trying to do for me.' Lady
Florence Dixie, concerning an armed
attack upon her, 1883.
Quite classic in the criminal division
of Irish society, and is even used to express
hanging by law.
' What sort of a do did Walsh get?'
Asked by Patrick Joyce, the principal
assassin in an agrarian outrage, when
almost a whole family were swept away
(Nov. 1882). He asked this question
of a jailer immediately after he had
been condemned to death. Walsh had
some time previously been hanged at
Galway.
Arthur Chewster, of Boston, U.S., was
committed for trial from the West Ham
Police Court on Saturday for severely
wounding a labourer at Walthamstow
with a bowie-knife. The prisoner informed
the police that he was an Irish-
American, and meant 'to do ' for all
Englishmen. Globe, 5th October 1885.
In Lancashire is used to express suffering
; e.g.,
' I've had a severe do this
time bronchitis, three weeks in bed.'
Amongst thieves to * do '
is to serve
a term of imprisonment.
In middle-class life 'do' represents
a joke, as,
' What a do !
'
Chiefly applied to cheating, as ' I
was done Brown' that is, completely
cooked.
Carlyle's favourite Cockney, who
affirmed that every lottery had ' a do at
the bottom of it', would find his rather
cynical view of the gambling world
strengthened by a case heard at the
Guildhall Police Court. Z>. JV., 25th
May 1885.
Judge : Will you speak to what you
know of the morality of Mr Doulton ?
Well, I will only say that he has ' done '
me out of my money. (The word 'done'
aroused the curiosity of the C ourt, and
111
the witness said, emphatically, 'Well,
then, robbed me of my money.' Newsp.
Cutting.
Do again (Navy). Contemptuous
reference to some one who never
achieved much. Generally applied to
marines, who, being neither enrolled
sailors nor soldiers, are the ' buffers of
both, and get pressed hard'.
' Pick him up and pipeclay him and
he'll do again.' Newsp. Gutting.
Do a bunk (Public School). To retire
with precaution.
Do a bust (Thieves'). To burst a
house open ; burglary.
Eedfern and his mate told him they
were 'going to do a bust', meaning a
robbery. D. T., 14th December 1897.
Do a Dutch (prob. Amer. Knickerbocker).
To remove one's furniture
without the preliminary of paying the
rent due.
The Spitkinses did a Dutch with all
their stock just before quarter-day.
Newsp. Cutting.
Do a moan (Navy). To growl.
Moans are of frequent occurrence.
Do a smile (Amer., 1860 on). To
take a drink. Now rarely heard.
Do a stamp (Amer., passing to England).
To go for a walk.
Do him a treat (Pugilistic). To give
him a thrashing.
' He's a gee-gee of another colour.
Whoa, my rorty pals, he's a hot 'un,
though some of you can do him a treat
when he gets a trifle cheeky/ Cutting.
Do in (Sport, 1886 on). To adventure,
bet, plank down, etc.
I am utterly unable to understand the
unhealthy state of mind of a young
fellow of one or two and twenty who in
little more than a twelvemonth loses
between three and four hundred
thousand pounds, and who now rushes
to 'do in '
every spare fiver or tenner
that comes into his possession. Ref.,
19th May 1889.
Do one's bit ( Thieves'). To carry out
one's enforced contract as a felon with
the Government.
It is not easy to persuade a wealthy
employer who can buy what labour he
requires in the cheapest and best market
to take a man who has ' done his bit' in a
correctional institution. Neicsp. Cutting.
Do oneself well (Colloquial, 1881).
To make an effort to succeed in life.
He was heard to remark to the lady of
the house, in confidence, that this was
what he appreciated, that he adored
Do over for Dr Jim
domesticity and 46, and that he intended
to do himself well. Newsp. Cutting,
3rd February 1883.
Do over for (Low London). To extract
money by flattery or threats.
When they comes back, Selby says to
me, ' All J could do him over for was a
couple of bob.' People, 6th January 1895.
Do the aqua (Public-house}. To put
in the water, as '
Jo, do the aqua ', and
Joe pours the water into the held-out
glass, observing
'
Say when !'
' When',
says the other at the point he considers
the dilution absolute.
Do the graceful (Peoples'). A paraphrase:
to fascinate, to charm by
elegance of attention or behaviour.
On Saturday last, on the occasion of
the 300th performance of lolanthe, D'Oyly
Carte did the graceful by presenting
every lady visitor with a choice bouquet.
Newsp. Cutting.
Do to rights (Lower Classes). To
effect perfectly ; achieve quite satisfactorily.
Has shades of meaning.
' Did me to rights.' May be said eulogistically
of a meal. '
I'll do you to
rights
' may be a promise of high delight,
but it may mean, when addressed
to a man, that the addressee will be
thrashed awfully by the speaker.
Do ut Des (Soc., 1883). Selfish
people whose philosophy is
' I give
'
that thou ' mayest give '.
THE ' Do UT DBS ' AT HOME : Since the
time of Bismarck's famous 'do ut des'
policy, we have known that the statesmen
of the Fatherland are not inclined to
give favours for nothing. D. T., 29th
December 1900. (See Doddies.)
Do yer feel like that? (Lower
Classes). Addressed to a person generally
lazy who is being industrious, or
who is doing some unusual work. Used
satirically.
Do you know? (Peoples'). The
history of this initial phrase is very
odd. 'it was first heard in the East of
London, used by a popular preacher
who often preached colloquially in the
streets, and whose voice had very droll
chan ges in it. The phrase spread (1883)
over the East district, and reached
the West towards the end of the year.
It became public early in 1884 through
its adoption by Mr Beerbohm Tree, in
The Private Secretary. The piece was
soon removed to the Globe when Mr
Tree's part was taken by Mr Penley,
who made the phrase more marked
still throughout the year. It helped
to make the piece popular. The oddity
of the phrase was got out of its strange
musical character..
The ' Do ' was used short, as a grace
note. Then followed the '
you
' a third
higher, and held about an ordinary
crotchet's length. The 'know' was
then taken a sixth below the 'you'.
The whole had a most droll effect. Mr
Penley began on the middle A, rose to
C, and fell to E. The phrase was in
common use in all stages of society.
It went to America.
The Secretary has little more to say
than ' Do you know', which is delivered
in amazingly sepulchral tones, and which
is likely to become a ' gag
'
expression on
the street.^. Y. Mercury, 1884.
Do you savey ? (Naif-society, 1840).
Mongrel French Savez-vous?
' All right I shall savey in a minute. '
' I couldn't savey that in a month.'
Do you to Wain -rights (Lower
classes, c. 1874). Intensification of
' Do you to rights,' by introduction of
the name of a more than usually notorious
murderer, one Wainwright. (See
Wainwright you.) The phrase was
used by men to women, meaning a
threat of murder, sometimes used quite
earnestly. Wainwright had killed a
mistress who troubled him very much.
Phrase still heard in East London,
where the crime was committed.
Doc (Amer. ). Short for doctor.
1 Now, doc, I want you to tell me the
worst. Is she dangerous?' The doc
said it was not his nature unnecessarily to
frighten any one, but he said doctors
often had a duty to perform that they
would prefer to transfer to other
shoulders. Newsp. Cutting.
Doctor Brighton (Soc., 19 cent.).
Brighton : said to be the invention of
George IV. ; one of his few small
witticisms.
'Doctor Brighton' is the prince of
fashionable physicians, and does not dose
his patients with nasty physic. The
'Doctor' has a pleasant face and an
agreeable manner at all times. D. T.,
13th August 1885.
Dr Jim (Peoples', 1896). A soft felt
hat, with wide brim. When soft felt hats
began (1895) to overcome the eternal
hard black or brown 'uu bowler, they
obtained several names of little account,
the quotation of which was more honoured
in the breach than the observance.
112
Do Without Doing the Bear
Upon the arrival, late in 1896, of Dr
Jameson from the Transvaal, the wide
rim of his soft Africander felt was at
once accepted. For some weeks these
models were called Jemmysons, but
the hero in question becoming more
popular as Dr Jim, the wide soft felter
became a Dr Jim very soon reduced to
Jimmunt, sometimes a Jimkwim the
outcome of a coalescing between the
earlier and later titles.
Do without (Yorkshire). To dislike.
A Yorkshire man is generally
too cautious to say he hates a man.
He circumambulates, and says, 'Eh,
ah could do wi'out him.' (See Nice
place to live out of. )
Dod rabbit it (Amer.). In Charles
II. 's time it was God rebate (assuage)
it. This passed finally in England
into 'Od rabbit it'. Going over to
America the phrase was there further
changed.
Doddies (Peoples') Corruption of
Do ut des ; reduction of Doddies-man ;
e.g., 'E's a doddies give a sprat to
catch a herring any day in the week,
and any hour.'
Dodo (Amer., beginning to be
known in England). A human fossil,
a man who clings to the past, and condemns
future days and present a
ganache, to use a French term.
Dodo (Press, 1885). Scotland Yard
figuratively to express that the metropolitan
police were fossil in their
organisations.
The old dodo at Scotland Yard, roused
into a state of feverish activity by the
comments of the press and the public on
the failure of Monday, yesterday converted
itself by a tremendous effort into
a gigantic turkey-cock, or, to use the
much more expressive Scotch word, a
great bubbly-jock which strutted and
rattled and stamped and made its
guttural gobble all over the metropolis
yesterday, with the most alarming result.
Pall Mall Gaz., llth February 1886.
Dodrottedest (Amer., 1883). An
example of evasive swearing.
The Apaches war well mounted, and I
recko'nized the leader as a feller they
called Chief Billy, the dodrottedest thief
and cut-throat that ever pestered a community.
Newsp. Gutting.
Doesn't give much away (Peoples',
80). Yields few or no advantages
seizes all chances. Very cogent, and
full of folk-keenness.
113
Edgar, who doesn't give much away,
arranges to have Rayne drugged with a
wonderful potion, two drops of which will
make a man silly for the time being.
Newsp. Cutting.
Dog (Peoples'). Clever, cheery,
hearty fellow age not considered.
Derived from the active, cheerful
nature of dogs in general.
An Irishman has always been ' a dog
at a ballad', as a Shakespearian character
(oddly anticipating modern slang) calls
himself 'a dog at a catch'. D. N.
Dog-cheap (Peoples'). Very cheap.
Who or what was the dog ? Certainly
not canine, for the word would not be
apposite cat-cheap would be nearer
the mark. Probably a pedlar, whose
name might be Diggory, abbreviation
to dig, and thence dog
' I bought it
dog-cheap'. Johnson, who was cruelly
puzzled by some of the compounds in
'dog', says, 'dog and cheap cheap
as dog's meat; cheap as the offal
bought for dogs.' Dryden uses the
word 'Good store of harlots, say
you ? and dog-cheap ?
'
Dog-gone (Peoples'). Devoted ;
from the pertinacious devotion of the
doggie. In U.S.A. it is an evasion of
' God damn '.
Dog my cats (Amer.). An example
of concealed swearing God damn my
eyes.
Dog my cats if she didn't make a nest
of it and set three weeks on the buttons !
Newsp. Gutting.
Dog's legs (Soldiers'). The chevron,
designating non - commissioned rank,
worn on the arm, and not unlike in
outline to the canine hindleg.
Doggie (Milit., 1850). Officer's
servant, especially cavalry. The increase
of education amongst the men
has swept the term away. Men were
proud of it iu times when officers and
their servants were more familiar than
at present.
Doggie (London Youths'). All-round
upright collar. (See Sepulchres,
Poultice, Shakespeare navels. )
Doing (Peoples'). A thrashing ; e.g. ,
'
I'll give 'im a doin' which 'e won't
see out of 'i* eyes for a fair week after
I've done 'im over.'
' I've had a bad doing this week
lost thirty quid.'
Doing the bear (Span.-Amer., passing
over U.S.). Courting which involves
hugging.
Dol Don't Seem
Courtship is carried on in a most extraordinary
manner in Mexico. The part a
man plays in a courtship is called ' doing
the bear', which is a translation of
'hacer el oso'. It is quite a common
expression in Mexico to say : 'I am doing
the bear to Miss So-and-so '
; or for the
girl to say :
' That young man is doing
the bear to me.' Newsp. Cutting.
Dol (Peoples'). Abbreviation of
dollar.
Dollars to buttons (Anglo-Amer.).
A sure bet.
' She has got to put those clothes on,
and she feels that it is dollars to buttons
that when she picks up an under-garment
from the floor by the table leg, that she
will be blown through the roof.' Newsp.
Cutting.
(See Million to a bit of dirt.)
Dolly mop (Peoples'). An overdressed
servant girl. Probably a form
of Dollabella and Mopsa, both names
used in 18th century for weak, overdre*
sed, slovenly women.
Dolly worship (Nonconformist). The
Roman Catholic religion. From the
use of statues, etc.
Dominoes (Tavern). The teeth,
when bad and yellow. When white,
they are ivories.
Don Caesar spouting (Soc., 1850
on). Haughty public elocution
espesially after dinner. Probably a
satirical combination of ' the Don ' a
memory of Mary Tudor's husband, and
Julius.
Dona Highland Flingers (Rhyming
Music Hall Singers). One of the
names of the serio-comic generally
one who sings or flings high notes
hence the term. ' Many a dona Highland
Flinger gets nailed when she
thinks .she marries a toff, and finds
out that he's a bad egg.
Dona Jack (Lower Glasses). Lowest
description of Jack man who lives on
the dona, a man who preys upon men
of all designations.
Done (Texas). Completely. Done
is the commonest of adjectives ; e.g.,
1 We are done tired '
;
' The kitchen is done swept
'
;
' The baby is done woke up.'
Done Fairly (Sporting, 1860). Completely
cheated.
Fairlie has taken the Novelty Theatre.
Let's hope that nobody will be able to
say he's done Fairlie. Cutting.
Donkey's breakfast (London, 1893
on). A man's straw hat. Satiric
reference a protest against the then
new fashion, with suggestion as to the
wearer. Died out as the century wore
to an end. ' Which when a gent puts
a donkey's breakfast a-top of his nut
he wants jollying.' It took several
years for the streets to accept the
straw hat. Even now it is far from
universal.
Donnybrook (Anglo-Irish). Riot,
disturbance, down to a shrew's
squabble. Applied in a thousand
ways. On 19th February 1900 the
Daily Telegraph had a paragraph about
a number of torpedo-boat destroyers,
one of which broke away in harbour
from her moorings, and did much mischief.
This par was headed ' The
Destroyers' Donnybrook '.
From the historical conviction that
Donnybrook Fair (Ireland) is all noise.
Don't be a chump (E. London,
1889). Do not lose your temper.
Derived probably from the act of
fixing the teeth in passion as though
chumping that is, biting hard.
Don't care a Pall Mall (Club, 1885).
A synonym for a damn. In July 1885
the Pall Mall Gazette gained wide
notoriety by the publication of articles
entitled The Maiden Tribute'. Hence
the phrase,
' He may say what he likes ;
I don't care a Pall Mall.'
Don't dynamite (Peoples', 1883).
Avoid anger. Result of the Irish
pranks in Great Bdtain with this explosive.
Their chief result was to add
a word to the army of phrases.
Don't know who's which from
when's what! (Street, 1897). Total
sentence of stupidity. Speaks for
itself.
Don't lose your hair (Peoples', 19
cent.). Don't lose your temper. Came
in when wigs went out, and replaced
'dash my wig'. From the tendency
to tear the hair in a rage, or, at all
events, to seize it. (See Keep your
hair on. )
Don't mention that (Common London,
1882). A catch word which prevailed
for some time in consequence of
Mr Baron Huddleston's frequent use
of the phrase during the endless hearing
(for over forty days) of a libel case
between sculptors Belt v. Lawes.
Don't seem ( Colloquial). Equivalent
to 'incapable of '
; e.g., 'I don't seem
to see it, my dear fellow ; where does
the advantage come in ?
'
114
Don't sell me a Dog Doping
Don't sell me a dog (Soc., 1860).
Do not deceive me. Derived from the
experience that the purchase of a dog,
most fanciers being thieves, was ever a
deception. Very popular until 1870.
Don't think, I (Mid. Class, 1880).
Emphatically meaning cfo think ; e.g.,
' So you've nailed my young womanwell
that's a nice thin job, I don't think '
simply because he's quite sure of it.
Don't turn that side to London
(Peoples'). Condemnation of any kind
of a patched coat or boots, the worst
side of a joint of meat, some injury to
the body, etc., etc. From the supposition
that everything of the best is
required in the metropolis. (See Turn
the best side to London.)
Doogheno (London, Back, lucent.}.
This is a remarkably complicated specimen.
It is composed of '
good
' backwards,
the letter ' h ' to prevent the
softening of the '
g' when brought next
an ' e '.
' Eno '
is of course ' one '.
It can't be denied that Booth has
made a doogheno hit, and you ought to
nark his bucket. (1882.)
Edwin Booth was an American actor
who (1881-82) obtained considerable
success in London in Shakespearian
characters.
If a chap happens to be a dab tros he
gets on better than a doogheno who
keeps himself quiet and never lets anybody
Tommy Tripe know how clever he
is. Cutting.
Dook (Peoples'}. A huge nose. Corruption
of ' duke,' and referring to the
1 Duke ' time of Wellington, who
during the first half of the 19th century
was, with intervals of unpopularity,
styled 'the duke'. His Grace's
high nose was hereditary. The title
became shortened to this one word, and
his nose beiug so exceptional, the title
of the owner came by metaphor to
represent a huge nose. To this day it
ia u*ed. (See Boko.)
Dookin ( Thieves'). Fortune-telling.
Sixpenny horoscopes in by-ways and
cast upon the lines of the palm of the
baud, the left, that being nearest the
heart. Hence the word dook, dookes,
being ancient slang for hand ; generally
used in plural. 'Put up yer dooks.'
' Dookin ' has new become fashionable,
and is called palmistry. Where all the
hand is concerned (this in telling character),
the term is chiromancy.
Door and hinge (Lond., Peoples').
Neck and breast of mutton, a joint
which bends readily amongst the cervical
vertebrae. Very graphic and
humorsome. (See Stickings, Hyde
Park Railings.)
Door-knocker (Peoples', 1854). A
ring-shaped beard formed by the cheeks
and chin being shaved leaving a chain
of hair under the chin, and upon each
side of mouth forming with moustache
something like a door-knocker.
Charles Dickens had a moustache and
a door-knocker beard. E. Yates, Recollections,
vol. i., p. 256.
Door-mat (Colloquial, 1856). The
name given by the people to the heavy
and unaccustomed beards which the
Crimean heroes brought home from
Russia in 1855-56, and which started
the beard movement, much to the
astonishment of French excursionists.
By 1882 the term came to be applied
to the moustache only, probably because
about this time the tendency to
shave the beard and wear only a very
heavy moustache became prevalent.
While writing, a pal comes in and tells
me that the City peelers are to be
allowed to grow doormats. Cutting.
The Corporation of London, always
very conservative, only allowed the
City police to wear moustaches in 1882.
He was a little joker with a red
smeller and a small red doormat over
his kisser. Cutting.
Doormat (Common Lond., 1880).
Victory (see Grease - spot), meaning
that the enemy was overcome, and so
fallen that the victor wiped his feet
upon the conquered Vae Victis !
I guess that chucker-out won't hit me
any more. I made a doormat of him.
Cutting (1883).
Doping (Hoeing, 1900). Hocussing
rather than poisoning racehorses when
about to run. In 1899-1900 large sums
of money had been made by American
betting-men at English race meetings.
Gradually the conviction gained groun d
that runner were being tampered, with
in new and dangerous ways, resulting
in more than temporary injury to the
horses. Especially in the U.S.A. it
was remarkable how frequently racers
either died at or shortly after a race,
or that they so went back that they
were never raced again. In the U.S.A.
the term used for the exercise of this
115
Dorothy Down the Road
nefarious usage of horses was called
'
doping' said to be derived from a
proper name. The term came to be
heard in England in the summer of
1900. In November of this year the
Animals' Aid Society held a weakly
organised meeting to devise means to
meet these fraudulent practices. But
it turned out that nobody present knew
anything at all about the matter.
Dorothy (Soc., 1888). Rustic lovemaking.
From the mode of an operacomique
of this name (1887-88).
Those (letters) of the defendant were
of the most amatory character, containing
repeated promises, in Dorothy style,
to be true to the plaintiff. D. N. t 7th
July 1888.
Dorsay (Soc., 1830-45). Perfect.
Count d'Orsay, of an old French family,
led the fashion generally during these
years ; so much so that it was the
highest praise to say he was a dorsay.
Dose of Locust (N. fork Policemen's).
A beating with fists.
Mullaley, smarting under the pain of
the wound, gave Mr Supple a dose of
locust, which induced him to accompany
the officer to court. Newsp. Cutting.
Dossy (Street). Elegant. Probably
from Count d'Orsay (q.v.).
Dot and carry one (Street). Person
with a wooden leg.
The 'dot 'is the pegged impression
made by all wooden legs before the
invention of the modelled foot and
calf. The ' one '
is the widowed leg.
Dotted (Tavern, 19 cent.). Blackeyed.
To 'dot' a gentleman is to
punctuate him emphatically with a
black -eye.
The chucker-out he dotted,
He got so blooming tight.
Cutting.
Dotties Man (Peoples'). Greedy,
grasping giving a sprat to catch a
herring.
Double-breasted water-butt
smasher (Street). A man of fine bust
an athlete.
The Bobby said that Joey Fanatty
(aged), described on the charge-sheet as
the double-breasted water-butt smasher,
was charged with a salt. Newsp. Cutting.
Double intenders (Peoples'). Knockdown
blows labial or fistful.
Double-plated blow-hard (A mer.).
A loud aud contemptible boaster.
They went away believing I was an old
liar and a double-plated blow-hard, and
in a week no one would stop here.
Newsp. Cutting.
Double Scoop (Military, 1890).
Hair parted in centre, and worn low
gave way to the quitf.
Dough-nut (Amer. passing to England).
A baker, especially the German
variety.
' Shut up, thou dough nut, or thy last
moment may be thy next.' Cutting.
Probably from the too frequent pale,
flabby, doughy face of this sickly
operative.
Dover Castle boarder (Prison;
Debtors'}. A circumscribed district
around the Quen's Bench prison
(Southwark Bridge Road), pulled down
in 1881, was called the ' rules of the
Bench'. Certain debtors, not imprisoned
in the Bench itself, were compelled
to sleep in this district, and they
were thus called because the most
prominent tavern in the neighbourhood
was styled 'The Dover Castle' much
frequented by these poor debtors, who
were therefore called ' boarders '. The
house still exists. It was not a stone'sthrow
from the prison.
Down the banks (Irish colloquial).
Failed; e.g., 'I got down the banks
for my pains' meaning I failed only
as a result. Probably the outcome of
life amongst the bogs, which are scored
with deep ditches, as the peat is cut
perpendicularly. The water at the
foot of the banks is frequently quite
deep, often enough to go over a man's
head.
Down the Lane and into the Mo
(Central London, Low). Here the
Lane is that called Drury ; the 'Mo'
is abbreviated '
Mogul Music Hall '
(established 1850), and afterwards
baptized The Middlesex. But the
Lane clung to ' Mo '
probably a name
given to the place generations since,
when a public garden there was kept
by some wonderful Indian.
What was the good, thought we, of
saving your rhino, if you've got no girl
to take for trots down the Lane or into
the Mo. Cutting, 1883.
Down the Road (E. London Streets).
Showy, flashy. The road is the Mile End
Road, which to frequent on a Sunday,
in a good cart or '
shay', is the ambition
of every costermonger and small trader
in that district.
116
Down to the Ground Drilling
Down to the ground (Peoples').
Completely from head to heels.
The character suits Rignold
' down to
the ground '. Newsp. Gutting.
Drag (Theat.) Petticoat or skirt
used by actors when playing female
parts. Derived from the drag of the
dress, as distinct from the non-dragginess
of the trouser.
Mrs Sheppard is now played by a man
Mr Charles Steyne, to wit. I don't
like to see low corns, in drag parts, but
must confess that Mr Steyne is really
droll, without being at all vulgar. Ref.,
24th July 1887.
Also given to feminine clothing by
eccentric youths when dressing up in
skirts.
Drag-on (Cornish}. Opprobrious
distinction conferred on the men of
Helston by their Cornish neighbours
especially the nearest.
A neighbourly legend of Helston
formerly Hellstone in Cornwall, says
that the borough was dropped from the
clouds by the Evil One in the course of a
provincial tour over the western county.
To this moment, 1 understand, it is a
deadly affront to call a Helston man a
4 dragon '.D. T., 20th August 1896.
Drapery Miss (Com. Class). A girl
of doubtful character, who dresses in a
striking manner. Libellous generally.
Degenerated from the time of Byron,
who says in a note to st. 49 ca. xi. of
Don Juan:
' Drapery Misses '
: This term is probably
anything now but a mystery. It
was, however, almost so to me, when I
first returned from the East, in 1811-12.
It means a pretty, a high-born, a fashionable
young female, well instructed by her
friends, and furnished by her milliner
with a wardrobe upon credit, to be
repaid, when married, by her husband.
Drasacking (Devon.) Draw-sacking
idle, slow, dragging.
'
Drasacking
'
is a common and cheap
pastime, consisting of an aimless, pointless,
shambling sauntering. The ' drasacking
'
householder, while an absolute
tortoise himself, believes that a wise and
just dispensation intended his servantgirl
or hired man to be a hare. D. T.,
19th October 1895.
Draw iron (Amer.}. To present a
pistol.
If every person who fancied himself
aggrieved by his cabman were to ' draw
iron ', the nature of the cabman's shelter
would have to be altered and made to
correspond with the iron huts familiar to
Irish police. Newsp. Gutting.
117
Draw the Badger. (See Badger.)
Draw the dibs (Bootmakers
1
}. To
take wages dibs being a trade term
for money. Dibs are small nails, hence
coins.
Draw the line at tick (Senacomics').
A euphemism for declaration
of virtue on the part of a serio-comic
lady singer.
' I may sing a hot line
or two, or take a present here or there,
but I draw the line at tick,' the material
in question being not a scheme of
credit or ' tick ', but a covered allusion
to the textile fabric used for the covering
of beds and mattresses.
Dree his weird (Lanes.). To bear
trouble sadly.
Little do the unthinking youths who
nowadays assemble at a wedding to
* guy
' the ' best man '
suspect that a
generation ago a victim of this description
would not have had to 'dree his
weird ' alone. His weird would have
been dreed conjointly with him by a
second best ', a third best, down sometimes
in a descending scale of excellence
to an eighth best man. D. T., 3rd
September 1895.
Dress for the part (Society drawn
from Theatre, 1870). To act hypocritically.
The only two authors of real celebrity
whom I can remember as having looked
' like themselves ' I mean their books
were Douglas Jerrold and Alexandre
Dumas the Elder. Sham celebrities, on
the other hand, ' dress for the part ', and
contrive to look that which they are,
really, not. G. A. Sala, in III. Lond.
News, 16th December 1882.
Dressed up to the nines (Com.
London). A eulogistic or sarcastic expression
of opinion as to another's
dress according as the accent and
manner of the speaker go. Corruption
of 'Dressed to the eyen '. When 'eyen'
(pi. of '
eye ') was departing English,
an 's' was added to give 'eye' a
modern plural while the knowledge of
'
eyen' remained. After a time '
eyen
'
lost its meaning, and the old plural was
colloqualized into a comprehensive expression,
and 'nines' followed. Concurrently,
the expression 'dressed to
the nines' took form, and is still used.
Drilling ( Workpeoples'}. Punishment
by way of waiting, applied to needlewomen
who make errors in their work.
There is a common punishment in
these sweating warehouses when work is
wrongly done. It is termed '
drilling '.
Dririkitite Drunk as a Polony
The woman could not, it seems, be sufficiently
' drilled '
by merely being sent
home to undo the work and do it again.
She must be taught to be more careful
by punishment a little more drastic than
that, and accordingly she was told her
bundle would be sent down to her, and
till it came she must wait. ' The woman
stood there expecting the parcel every
minute for three days.' D. N., 26th
February 1885. (See Sweater. )
Drinkitite (Peoples': East London).
Thirst. The struggling populace, who
chiefly joke (when they joke apart from
abuse) over their struggles, having discovered
' bite-etite ' as a jocose conversion
of appetite came naturally to give
it a correlative in ' drinkitke '. There
is also grim satire in the application of
the last syllable, which is the common
word for 'drunk', hence 'drinkitite'
as a pendent to ' bite-etite '
is positively
perfect. An East London gentleman
gently referring to his continued libations
would evasively but emphatically
observe :
' I've been on the drinkitite
right through the week.'
Driving1 at (Peoples'). Energetic
acti< >n. Good example of phrase coming
out of general characteristic vigour of
the race. ' He must be driving at
something.' Even the word drive,
without the progressive 'ing' or the
emphatic 'at', is a perfect English
word.
Drop (Amer.-Eng.). To cause to
drop.
About two minutes after he had the
revolver his body was swung a little on
one side, when I pointed my revolver
and fired where I thought I could drop
him. D. N., 5th September 1884.
Self-defence of a burglar named
Wright. Also, to understand.
' Ah ?
' sobbed the girl,
' you do not
drop.' Newsp. Cutting.
Drop (Society and Sporting, 1850).
To lose (money). A racing man or
society man who fails to win money on
a race never loses it he always drops
it; e.g.,
'
I dropped awfully on the
Leger.'
Drop (Thieves'). The modern gallows.
A very significant word to
describe modern capital punishment.
At Tyburn tree the man stood in the
cart, which was drawn from under
him. Afterwards, at Newgate, the sufferer
was pulled up. But when some
genius invented the falling flap, which
dropped from under the feet of the
victim, the significance of the word
became evident.
Drop the cue (Billiard - players').
To die.
Drouthy (Scotch). Wavering person
; one of no settled will.
Leading citizens were occupied the
greater part of the night before the
polling-day watching doubtfuls, known
locally as ' drouthies '
; every voter was
pledged ; not a few were ' nursed '
; the
halt, the blind, and the deaf were
escorted to the polling-booth. D. N.,
27th October 1884.
Drum ( Thieves', 1 860). A house.
Close to the gardens the prisoner said
'What do you think of those ''drums"
there ?
' and witness said,
' I don't think
much of them.' felon's Queen's JUvidence.
Drum is not usually applied to a
respectable quaker-like house, but to
any one frequented by, say, soldiers.
Fielding uses this word in Tom Jones,
Bk. xvii., ch. 6.
Drum (Thieves'). A cell precisely
because a drum is an enclosure.
Drunk as a lord (Streets). Very
intoxicated. Descent from 18th century
middle-class when drunkenness
was honourable.
' Drunk as a lord ' and ' Sober as a
judge
' have ceased to have any recognisable
application to the nobility and the
Judicial Bench. Judges, in these later
days, are as sober as other folk, take
them as a class, no more and no less,
and the same applies to the Peerage.
D. T., 27th May 1888.
Drunk as Floey (Peoples'). Who it
appears was dead drunk may be a corruption
of Flora, but probably a confusion
between that comparatively
familiar name and 'Chloe'. If the
latter, good instance of the power Swift
had to popularize. In the dean's poems
Chloe is always more or less under the
influence of drink.
Drunk as a polony (Lond.). At
first sight this expression might be
accepted as very literal, seeing that a
sausage cannot stand, and that a
polony (corruption of Bologna celebrated
for its sausages) exists under
the same conditions. But it is more
probably one of frequent but obscure
expressions derived from the French,
who to this day say :
' Soul comme un
Pol-nnais' this probably took its
origin in reference to Maurice Mai echal
de Saxe, who, in his drinks, was more
118
Druriolanus Duffing
Polish than French. On the other
hand, the Pole, for drinking comparisons,
has long held in France the
position maintained in England by the
cobbler ' drunk as a cobbler'.
Druriolanus (Theat., 1885).
Drury Lane Theatre. Playful outcome
of calling Mr Augustus Harris, afterwards
Sir Augustus Harris, the
Emperor Augustus. The word also
suggests that other directorial personage,
Coriolanus.
The vast stage of Her Majesty's is not
a whit less advantageous for the display
of its spectacular effects than that of the
house which gives to Mr Harris's telegraphic
address of ' Druriolanus '
its
special fitness and significance. D. N.,
12th October 1886.
Augustus Druriolanus is their president,
and they are going to bring off a
four-oared race from Barnes to Hammersmith
on October 31. Ref., October 1886.
Dry Bobs (Eton). A cricketer.
(See Wet Bobs.)
Dry canteen (Milit.). (See Wet
canteen. )
Dry guillotine (Franco English).
Severe imprisonment. From the penal
French colony at Cayenne, a fearful
place.
Cayenne is so malarious that transportation
thither used to be styled the
dry guillotine. Graphic, 1st November
1884.
Dry land (Rhyming}. To understand.
Whenever you see a chap after your
judy, the best thing to do is to go up to
her and tell her that you don't mean to
stand her blooming kid, that you dry
land her emag. Cutting.
Dry up (Anglo-Amer.). To cease
because effete from mining districts
of W. America, where, when the mountain
torrents dry up in summer, mining
operations necessarily cease.
Duca di Somevera (Peoples'). Liberal
Italian translation of Duke of Somewhere.
On a par with the Earl le Bird,
Sir Tinly Someone, and Swift's Lord
Nozoo.
The unhappy purchaser of a supposed
masterpiece must be prepared to hear
that his picture is a replica of one in the
Isle of Wight, or at Madrid, or in Lord
Blank's gallery, or in the Palazzo of the
Duca di Somevera D. N.. 16th June
1883.
Duchess (Silk trade). The shapely
girl upon whom mantles and jackets
are tried to enable ladies to judge of
the effect.
The Duchess living lay figures receive
that title, in addition to a whole pound
a week. Besant & Rice, The Golden
Butterfly, vol. i. , ch. 11.
Duchess (Peoples'). Mother invariable
title given between familiar
friends when the mother of either is
being asked after. ' How's the Duchess,
Bob?'
The wife, under similar conditions,
would be asked after as ' The Old
Clock' a title whose derivation a
sharp-witted man may find in the first
chapter of Sterne's Tristram Shandy.
Duck-pond (Navy). The shallow
bathing - place on the lower deck,
effected by a rig -up of sail-cloth,
made watertight, fixed to the deck,
and in which the cadets wash and
roll themselves, in batches, under the
watchful eyes of a warrant officer.
Ducks (Soc., 1840). White
trousers of a peculiarly woven cotton
fabric mentioned here because it has
been said to be a corruption of '
dux',
the name given to the material by the
Scotch manufacturer who discovered it.
Dux was, if not is, used much by the
Scotch. (See Lindley Murray's English
Grammar).
Duffer-fare ( Lond. Cabmen's). In the
neighbourhood of the theatres, as closing
time approaches, the police will not
allow cabmen to drive empty cabs
through the Strand highway. In order
to get past the police, and so obtain a
chance of a fare when the theatres vomit
then-thousands, cabmen will ask a pedestrian
to be ' chummy '
enough to jump
in, and be driven into the Strand.
Here arrived the '
duffing-fare', quits
the cab, the driver is in the Strand
and keeps there till 11 P.M. , when the
theatres disgorging, he gets a fare that
is no duffer, and who pays more or less
nobly.
Duffing (Soc. and Peoples', 1880 on).
The outcoming adjective of 'duffer' and
' duff'. By 1897 this word became one
of the most active qualitatives in the
language. As a verb it had by this time
come to be thoroughly conjugated ;
e.g., 'He duffs everything he touches.'
' He is the most duffing duffer that
ever duffed.' 'He has duffed, he does
duff, and he will duff for ever.'
119
Duke Dutch
Dvk* (Street). Nose. (SeeVook.)
Duke o' Seven Dials (Low Class,
1875). Satirical peerage bestowed upon
any male party dressing or behaving
above or beyond his immediate surroundings.
There is no corresponding
duchess. A young person of airs and
graces is generally spoken of as about
to marry the peer in question; e.g.,
f I'm going to be the duchess of the
Dook o' Seven Dials.' Parody Song,
Drury Lane Pantomime, 1884.
Duke's (The) (Lond., 19 cent.). A
nickname of the ArgyllKooms in Windmill
Street, Haymarket, W., now replaced
by the Trocadero. In allusion
to the Duke of Argyll.
Why should the Argyll be suppressed
and the Pavilion be tolerated ? Of the
two ' the Pav. '
is far worse than ' the
Duke's'. Newsp. Cutting.
Dukey (Street, Boys'). A penny
gaff. The four-farthing theatre obtained
this title from a Jewish proprietor of
one of these temples of art. His nose
was very prominent (1840-50). In
these days such a feature begot its
owner the title of duker, from the hero
of Waterloo, emphatically
' the duke '
from 1815 to 1850. The 'y' here is
an instance of endearing addition.
Dumbed (Amer. Puritanic). Evasion
of ' damned '.
The man who believes that the Jews
are such a pack of dumbed fools, as to
seriously entertain any such plan, should
be shut up in an asylum for the feebleminded.
Newsp. Cutting.
Dummy ( Thieves'). Loaf probably
from th softness of the crumb.
Dumplin' on (L. Classes). Enceinte.
Dun (Peoples'). To worry for money.
One of the forcible words gleaned from
proper names. Of course lexicographers
trace it to Early English,
Anglo-Saxon, or some other remote
source. Webster says it is taken from
the Saxon dynan, to claim. But the
Saxons did not dun they recovered
their debts by more forcible means.
Here is its true origin : It owes its
birth to one John Dun, a famous
bailiff of the town of Lincoln ; so extremely
active, and so dexterous was
this man at the management of his
rough business, that it became a proverb
when a man refused to pay his
debts,
* Why don't you dun him ?
' It
originated in the reign of Henry VII.
Durn(Amer.~JEng.). Another evasion
of ' damned '. (See Darn. )
Worms that rise early are caught
gobbled up by birds every time. The
worm's a durn fool to get up so early.
Newsp. Cutting.
Dust (American Teamsters). A mere
light touch of anything.
The visiting, the music, the marching,
the cheering and the excitement of the
reunion, with a little dust of liquor, had
made him feel quite excited. Newsp.
Cutting.
Dust (Amer., 1880). To walk
quickly suggested by the dust thrown
up in the act. Indirect proof of the
dry nature of American weather.
One grabbed a rope that was on the
sidewalk where they was moving a
building, and pa got up and dusted.
You'd a died to see pa run. Newsp.
Cutting.
Dusting (Boer War, 1899-1900).
Finishing the war complement of
'
Sweeping up '.
North of Pretoria there is still a good
deal of dusting to be done. D. T., 2nd
November 1900.
Dustman's bell (Nursery). Time
for bed. Origin obscure. Is it Dowse
man's bell curfew bell time to put
out ('dowse') the lights? Has it any
association with ' dowse the glim
'
?
Johnson gives :
' To fall suddenly into
the water' which would certainly put
out the light.
Dust out (Amer. -Eng. ). To retreat
quickly,
' levant '. Suggested by dust
thrown up by rapid walking.
I quickly got inside, locked the door,
and dusted out the back way. Newsp.
Cutting.
Dust up (Milit., 19 cent.). An
engagement from the dust made by
the movements.
A member of the Royal Army Medical
Corps, who, in his own words,
'
got
through the Graspan dust-up nicely ',
was sent, etc. Z>. T., Boer War, 16th
January 1900.
Dusty (Navy). A ship'g steward's
assistant probably because this hardworked
official looks it.
Dutch (Peoples'). Retreat especially
from a creditor, and still more
especially when accompanied by furniture
removed from a tenancy, the rent
of which has not been handed over.
1 We did a dutch with everything
even down to the coal-hammer.'
120
Dutch Cheese Early Riser
1 Yere comes 'Anner's young bloke
I think I'll do a quick dutch/
I make myself agreeable, and then
say,
' I must do a Dutch'. Cutting.
Dutch cheese (Low London, 1882).
A bald-head ; derived from the fact
that Dutch cheeses are generally made
globular.
Dutch daubs (Amer., 1883). Common
paintings of still-life, imported
into America by the ten thousands.
Introduced by the New York Herald
(April 1883) in reference to a political
measure which placed a 35 per cent, ad
valorem duty upon imported pictures.
The term soon came to mean a bad
picture of any kind.
The term 'Dutch Daub' has fetched
me a little. I call to mind that in almost
every refreshment buffet and miner
hotel bar in the Southern and Western
States you come across oil-paintings of
still-life. G. A. Sala, 111. London News,
28th April 1883.
Dutch row (Street}. A got-up unreal
wrangle. Rarely heard. On all
fours with ' une querelle d'Allemand'.
Dutchman (Soc. of a sort, 1870 on).
Name for champagne of Deutz and
Gelderman. Here the first name is
pronounced Dutch, and the last syllable
of the second name is added.
Duty (Lower Class, Respectable).
Interest on pawnbrokers' pledges.
Evasive synonym for interest.
Dying duck in a thunderstorm
(Peoples'). Lackadaisical.
* Whoa, call her good-looking ? That
dona with a mug like a dying duck in a
thunderstorm, and smiling as if she'd
had a dose of castor oil and didn't like
it.' Cutting.
Dynamite (Afid.-class, 1888). Tea.
Early in February two men, Americans,
were tried in connection with Irish-
American attempts to do injury in this
country with dynamite. In the course
of the trial (D.N., 4th Feb. 1888)
it came out that dynamite was always
called ' tea' for the purposes of concealment.
The word took at once.
Dynamite Racket (Amer. Eng.,
1885). Invented contemptuously to
describe this sort of explosion.
New York loves a show, whether a
parade, a big funeral, a blazing fire, or a
dynamite racket. Newsp. Cutting.
Dynamiter ( 1 882). A user of dynamite
for illegal purposes. It soon came
to be a synonym for any violent man
or woman, especially the latter; e.g.,
1 My eye, ain't she jest a dynamiter ?
'
When ' tart ' came to be common passing
English, it was applied to this
word; e.g., 'Well, she may be tasty,
but to my mind she's a dynamitart.'
(See Petroleuse.)
Dyspepsia (Milit. Hospital). Drink
delirium. D.T.s.
E.G. Women (Snob Soc., 1881).
Wives of city people, so named from
the city forming the East Central
postal district of the metropolis.
E.P. (Theat.). Experienced Playgoer.
The experienced playgoer will readily
guess that Branson compasses the
(apparent) destruction of Gerald, and
anon returns to Ballyvogan to personate
the heir and the e.p. will be right.
Newsp. Cutting.
E. R. ( Oxford 'er'). Suffix applied
in every conceivable way to every sort
of word. Began early in the Queen's
reign and has never lapsed. A new
woid in 'er' is generally started by
some quite distinguished Oxonian
generally a boating man, sometimes
a debater.
There has been a furore at Oxford in
recent years for word-coining of this
character, and some surprising effects
have been achieved. A freshman
became a 'fresher' in the earlier
Victorian era, and promises to remain
so for all time and existence. D. T.,
14th August 1899.
Ear-mark (Parliam., 19 cent.).
? Note of interrogation, or enquiry.
Used by M.P.'s when reading Bills
and other papers to draw their future
attention. A sort of rebus, from this
character being something like an 'ear'.
Word often heard in Parliament.
Nervous reference is made to the
assertion of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer that certain items of
Transvaal revenue would be ear- marked
for the purpose of the war contribution.
Newsp. Cutting.
Early riser (Anglo-Amer. returning
emphasized to England). A sharp,
business-like person. Probably from
'
Early to bed and early to rise, Makes
121
Early Purl Eel-skin
a man healthy, and wealthy, and wise,'
or again "Tis the early bird catches
the worm' (who unfortunately is for
himself, too early a riser). In U.S.A.
this phrase takes several shapes the
best being
* You'd have to get up early
to be before me !
'
The general idea is that anybody who
is going to over-reach Hetty Green (New
York), or do her out of a fraction of those
millions, will have to be a very early riser
indeed. She gives no costume dances,
and never will ; she would be better liked
if she did. D. T., 10th February 1897.
Early purl (Street, 19 cent.). A
drink made of hot beer and gin, so
named because taken early on a cold
morning. A song ran
' I'm damned if I think
There's another such drink
As good early purl.'
When princes and princesses are
born there is a lavish distribution of
' caudle ', a mysterious beverage of the
nature whereof we confess ourselves as
ignorant as of that of '
early purl '.
Early-turners (Music-hall). Scornful
reference to an inferior artist who
takes his ' turns '
early in the evening,
before the audience is thrang, or
fashionable, or both. From 8.0 to
8,30. (See Enders.)
Earth-hunger (Political, 1880).
Greed to possess land. Supposed to
have come from Ireland, and in that
relation to refer to the desires of
peasants to obtain a bit of land. In
England used to define the passion of
landed proprietors to add to their land
at any cost.
East of the Griffin ( W. London).
East London. Replaced
' East of
Temple Bar'. Outcome of the city
Griffin on his wonderful pedestal
replacing Temple Bar.
At the Pavilion Theatre, you ought to
know by this time, even if you never go
east of the Griffin, they do things in a
way that is not excelled at many West
End theatres that I am acquainted with.
Ref., llth October 1885.
Eat strange meat (Soc., 19 cent.).
A delicate evasion of cannibalism.
We feel much less horror than in face
of the naked fact of cannibalism practised
by civilized men for the sake of dear life.
Life is not worth the imputation of
having 'eaten strange meat'. D. N.,
14th August 1884.
Eat the leek. To apologize. From
Shakespeare.
Eat vinegar with a fork (Peoples').
The extreme of acid sharpness in
conversation. The vinegar alone \v ould
set teeth on edge, the fork intensifies
the condiment.
Eatings (Peoples'; old). An ancient
word now represented by board ; e.g.,
' The room 'ull be 'arf-a-crown a week,
without eatin's' for there are lodgers
who would expect banquets thrown in
with a sixpenny bed for the night.
Eautybeau (Music-hall transposition).
Beauty.
Do I know him? Do I rumble the
eautybeau? What do you think?
Cutting.
Ebenezar (Puritanic). An exclamation
of rejoicing from the Hebrew.
George Eliot often uses this word in
her diary.
Eccer (Oxford 'er'). Exerciseboth
c's hard.
Every man after lunch devotes himself
to 'eccer', which is, in ordinary parlance,
exercise. This may take the shape of
' footer ', or a mild constitutional known
as a 'constitutor', while if any one
lounges idly about he is, of course, a
'slacker'./). T., 14th August 1899.
Edgarism (Club, 1882). This was
the new satirical name given to
agnosticism, or rather atheism upon
the production of Tennyson's prose
play The Promise of May. The villainhero,
Edgar, is an educated man of
position, who bases his arguments
for free love and free will upon a denial
of the deity. This bit of historical
passing English died with the play,
which, while never successful, was
most unfairly damned by critics and
public. The former appear to have
resented the poet's despotic associations
of free thought with immorality
as a necessary outcome of atheism.
Edge (Criminal). To bolt, escape.
Probably from 'dodge' and retire.
One of the other two called out 'Edge'
(a slang term to be off), and they ran
away. D. N.> November 1886.
Eekcher (Peoples', 1882). Inversion
of cheek audacity.
Well, modesty is not marketable
nowadays, and perhaps Tippy is right
to pin his faith to the doctrine that
there's nothing like ' eekcher '. Newsp.
Cutting.
Eel-skin (Soc. t 1881). A name
given to the tight skirt worn at this
date; e.g., 'She wore an eel-skin of
London smoke.' (See One leg.)
122
Eenque Ell&rsby
Eenque (Streets ; transposition).
Queen. A very popular example of
this queer mode of word-making.
So shout, you beggars, shout ; God
save the Eenque. Cutting.
Eetswe (Transposition). Sweet a
very commoH word in low life ; e.g.,
'Lord, I am eetswe on that udyju'
(Judy).
Eff., Effy. (Theatr.) Abbreviation
of Effingham, a small theatre once in
E. London.
Efficient effrontery (Soc., 1885).
Clever audacity brought in by J. W.
M'N. Whistler in February by a lecture
at Prince's Hall, called ' Ten o'clock ',
from the hour at which it began
P.M. It was an attack upon art -critics
in general, and Ruskin in particular.
The lecturer used this term, which at
once became familiar in society in a
hundred ways.
Mr Whistler's lecture is distinctly a
surprise. He deprecates the tone in
which such subjects are too frequently
handled. The commonplace world
endowed with ' efficient effrontery
' no
longer reverently approaches Art as a
dainty goddess, but 'chucks her under
the chin 1
. D. N., 21st February 1885.
Eicespie (Transposition). Pieces.
An interesting example of the rough
logic used in phrase-making.
' Pieces'
is a figure of speech for money, and
there is the ordinary transposition.
But that is not all. The i being left
as the initial would destroy the ordinary
vowel sound of *
piece
'
; therefore the
e is placed before the t.
Does the artful, and he draws the
eicespie. Cutting.
Eighteen-carat lie (Amer., 1883),
A good, sound lie, 18-carat gold being
good, thorough metal.
Eighty Club (Soc.). A club formed
in the year
4 '80 ', shortly before the
general election, with the object of
promoting political education, and
stimulating Liberal organization by
supplying Liberal meetings in London
and the country with speakers and
lecturers.
Eiley Mavourneen (Commercial).
A non-paying debtor. Refers to the
line in Moore's song,
' It may be for
months, and it may be for never.'
Elaborate the truth (Soc.). To
lie.
Elderly Jam (Peoples, 1880 on).
Aging woman. Qualified jam ; e.g.,
'Elderly jam is elderly jam, and
heaven preserve it, for man turns from
it.'
Electrate (1890 on). To describe
locomotion by electricity.
They go by train to Bourne End, where
they take to the river and 'electrate'
to Medmenham Abbey and Henley.
Electrate is one of the recently-invented
verbs to express the new mode of locomotion,
to which the words sail and
steam are inapplicable. Newsp. Cutting.
Applied more recently to violent
and eccentric meetings; e.g., 'They
electrated from 8 to 1 1 . 1 5 p. M. Everything
was amended, and then they
amended the amendments.'
Electrocution (Amer.-Eng., 1890).
Execution by electricity. Built upon
execute.
Elephant's Trunk (Street; rhyming}.
Drunk. The phrase became
incomprehensible by the dropping of
the rhyming.
' Oh, he's elephants
'
(i.e., intoxicated) will, in time to come,
exercise many an etymologist.
(Daddy) And what am I to be?
(Mother G.) Get out you're drunk.
(P. Char.) You shall be let's see Baron
Elephant's Trunk.
A capital example of a common bit
of slang phrase locally applied, for
this line is found in an Elephant and
Castle Theatre Pantomime. It should
be added that 'daddy' was a satire
upon the Blue Ribbon movement
he belonging to it, and yet always
being
'
elephant's trunk '.
Elevator (Soc., 1882 on). The
crinolette. For some years the dress
below the back of the waist was almost
flat, when in this year bows were seen
there, and then followed the crinolette,
which, throwing up the dress, obtained
this satiric name amongst young men,
and was afterwards accepted literally.
Elijah Two (Amer.-Eng.). A
false prophet. From one Dr Dowie,
an American peripatetic preacher who
first gained this title. His son was
dubbed Elijah Three.
Ellersby (Peoples', 1870 on). The
initials of the London School Board.
No particular point beyond brevity
said to be the soul of wit.
L.S.B. Extravagance : The extraordinary
extravagance of the London School
Board is strikingly shown by the constant
increase in the amount paid by the
Strand Board of Works. People, 20th
September 1896.
123
Ellessea Establish a Funk
Ellessea (L. Compositors}. The
initials of London Society of Compositors.
Elongated kisser. A wide mouth.
' Yer looks like a lady,
'
I says ;
' then
why do yer wipe yer elongated kisser
with a whopping great red stook?'
Cutting.
Empress Pidgeon (Naval, 1876 on).
Pigeon is discussion, and Empress
Pigeon was a palaver with Queen
Victoria for a basis. Now Emperor
Pidgeon.
Endacotted (Socialist, 1887).
Illegally arrested. Attributed to Mrs
Annie Besant. Derived evidently, by
partial similarity in sound, from Boycott,
and referring to a policeman of
the name who was tried and acquitted
(1887) upon an indictment for illegal
arrest of a young dressmaker, whom he
swore was a well-known woman of the
town. After a time the term was
reduced to 'cotted' following the
common tendency to shorten phrases
and even words.
Ender (Music-hall). A performer
of inferior quality, even inferior to an
'early-turner,' (q.v.) who only 'goes on'
after the great hours. Enders perform
from 11 to 11.80 when most musichalls
are emptying except on ' bens '.
End -men (Negro Minstrels). The
two comic black souls who enliven
with small wit a negro entertainment,
and sit at either end of the line of
seated performers. Now passed to
black comics who even sit in the
midst.
On the stage there are sixty of these
dark coloured minstrels, whose voices are
interposed with striking effect in many
of the choruses. The ' end men ' are
numerous, and amply endowed with a
boisterous humour. Newsp. Cutting.
Engineer (Amer.-Eng., 1880). To
manage, manipulate, direct. Outgrowth
of railway and steam era
generally.
Afterwards you may look out for Daly's
Company from New York, engineered by
Terriss. Rtf., 8th June 1884.
English pluck (Peoples'). Money,
figuratively ; e.g.,
' Got any English
pluck to-day ?
'
(Have you any money
with which to gamble by means of
tossing ?)
Enobs (Back slang). Bone, in
ordinary plural. A very favourite
specimen because by chance the
124
inversion is a sort of rebus, bones
showing affording a study of ' knobs '.
But he swallowed a box of matches
one day which burnt away all the fat
and left the mere enoba you see now.
Cutting.
Enthuse (Amer.). Abbreviation of
'create enthusiasm'. Not yet accepted
in England.
An entirely new play, called Uncle
Tom's Cabin, with muzzled bloodhounds
in their stellar r61e, did not enthuse the
manager nor his patrons of the past
week. Newsp. Cutting.
Enthuzimuzzy (Soc., 19 cent.).
Satirical reference to enthusiasm.
Attributed to Braham the terror.
Entire Squat (Amer., reaching
Eng. 1883). A household, including
wife, children, servants, and furniture.
Espysay (Stable, 1880 on). A word
composed of the letters S.P.C.A.
initials of the Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals. Secretive
in its nature, being created by people
about horses and cattle, many of whom
go about in savage fear of this valuable
society.
Essex calves (Provincial). A
contemptuous designation of Essexmen,
always looked down upon by
more prosperous Suffolk.
Essex lion. Lion is a variant of
calf. Not used in Essex, but against
it ; especially by superior Kent, over
the way, on the south side of the
Thames. Interesting as showing intercounty
hostilities, now passing away.
The men of Kent or Keniish men
(between whom there would appear to
be great differences) have always
belonged to an advanced part of
England, and have escaped satire by
reason of their superiority. Probably
they gave their county neighbours
their well-known sobriquets Hampshire
Hogs, Sussex Sows, Surrey
Swine. Middlesex they avoided, but
Essex, separated from them by the
Thames, and inferior, as a county, to
Kent, as indeed it remains to this
day, was specially honoured with a
title.
Establish a funk (Oxford). To
create a panic invented by a great
bowler, at cricket, who enlivened this
distinction with some cannon - ball
bowling which was equivalent amongst
the enemy to going into action. Funk
for panic, dismay, alarm is superior
Euro! Eye in a Sling
to origin. Probably from establish a
suit in whist.
Euro ! (Navy). Seamen's name for
the Europa a happy example of the
sailor's love of getting in a final 0,
as in ' what oh ! ',
' what cheer oh ! ',
etc.
Europe on the chest (Army).
Home - sickness. Used chiefly by
soldiers in India, who commit offences
sometimes in order to be sent home.
Sir, they are not all bad at the bottom
of them, but they have had at times
the fever, and ague and their heart grows
faint for England, and then they get
what the driver terms Europe on the
chest, and at the same time he is not
particular what he does as long as he has
a chance of coming to England. Letter
by Convict, D. N., 3rd November 1885.
Even with, To get. A vigorous
use of this word, to procure equality
with one who has bested the speaker,
e.g., 'Never fear, I'll get even with
him yet.'
Evening wheezes (Peoples').
False news, spread in evening halfpenny
papers in order to sell them.
Eventuate. To result. A direct
importation from America, and not
at all wanted.
' It appeared as though we were committed
to a conflict with the House of
Lords of a nature so strenuous and so
exciting that it might possibly have
eventuated in something like a revolution.'
H. Richard, M.P., Speech, 1st
January 1885.
Everlasting knock (Amer.-Eng.).
The stroke of death.
And so he closes his career. He may
be far happier as a man than he has ever
been, but as a ruling prince he has taken
the everlasting knock. Ref., 10th March
1889.
Everything is nice in your garden
(Soc., passing to People, 1896 on). A
gentle protest against self-laudation ;
e.g., 'I don't wish to praise myself,
but I believe I'm the greatest living
tenor, in this world at all events !
'
Reply: 'Yes, yes, everything is nice
in your garden !
' This is said to be
derived from one of the young
princesses (probably a daughter of
the Princess Beatrice) who made this
reply when something in her garden
at Osborne was praised by Her
Majesty. If this is a true statement,
it forms one of the very rare phrases
that have come down from the precincts
of the throne.
125
Ewigkeit (Soc., 1880). This
German word for '
eternity
' came to
be used not so much in adulation of
Carlyle as in order to fall in with the
bantering spirit of treating religious
speculation, which began to grow
rapidly in this year. It spread slowly,
and by 1883 was found in popular
journals.
All these things have vanished
temporarily into the '
ewigkeit ', to
yield the field to beer and spirits the
people's drink, the birthright of every
free-born Briton. Ref., 17th May 1885.
Exceedings (Oxford). Expenditure
beyond income. A delicate evasion.
Extra (Theatrical). An individual
of the great brigades who '
go on ', but
do not speak, sing, or dance. An
extra does but fill the eye. Generally
a pretty girl, of no talent, perhaps
with a passion for the stage perhaps
with ulterior intentions.
Extra pull (Operatives'). Ad'
vantage, or disadvantage, as the case
may be. As an advantage, it is a
figure of speech from the extra pull
of the handle of the beer engine in
public-houses (See Long Pull) a pull
which flushes a spirt of beer into
' their own jugs
' after the proper
measure, in the publican's pewter, has
been shot in. As a disadvantage
refers to the extremely troublesome
tooth in the dentist s grip. All
depends on the context.
Extradition Court (Polit.). The
second justice-room at Bow Street
(London). Name given jocularly by
officials. Good example of the mode
in which passing English grows out
of the history of the day.
The case was taken in the second court,
which is commonly called the Extradition
Court, because nearly all the extradition
cases are heard in it. D. N., 10th
April 1883.
Extreme Rockite (Clerical). One
who believes in the Rock newspaper,
and preaches on its basis.
In a recent issue of a contemporary,
for instance, we find a 'liberal' rector
asking for a fellow labourer, who among
other qualifications must be ' an extreme
Rockite'. Newsp. Gutting.
Eye in a sling (Peoples'). Crushed,
defeated. From the doleful appearance
presented by a sufferer with a
bandage over the suffering eye.
Eye Peeled Fake a Picture
Eye peeled (W. Amer.).
well opened ; peeled away from drooping
lids ; on the watch.
The Librarian was instructed to keep
his eye peeled for a stray copy of a
Chinese hymn book which might be
bought cheap. Newsp. Cutting.
F.C.'s (Theat.). False Calves (i.e.
paddings used by actors in heroic
parts to improve the shape of the legs).
F.F.V. (Anglo-Amer. Soc.). Distinguished.
Initials of First Families
(of) Virginia. Used quite seriously in
the South of the U.S.A. and satirically
in the North. The origin of the use
of the letters may be traced to Massinger's
City Madam) Act V. , sc. 1 (acted
in 1622).
Face the music. To fearlessly
meet difficulties.
Before sailing Mr Cecil Rhodes gave a
brief interview to some reporters. He
stated that he would not resign his seat
in the Cape Parliament. ' I shall meet
my detractors. I will face the music.'
D. T., 18th January 1896.
Face ticket (British Museum). A
ticket is required for the Reading
Room. It is never asked for when a
constant reader passes the janitors.
Nothing is said the passer-by has a
face ticket.
Fade (Pure Amer.). Antithesis of
masher and dude. Either of these
ornamental beings gone shabby.
A young lady employed at one of the
Exposition displays rather took the shine
off of a fade the other day. The fade,
recently a dude, walked up to the place
where she was stationed, etc. Newsp.
Cutting.
Fair cop (Thieves'). Undoubted
arrest ;
' fair' here means '
thorough ',
while '
cop
'
is from Early English for
' catch '.
Fair herd (Oxf. Univer.). Good
attendance of strangers.
Foreigners are sometimes busy, or indifferent,
or afraid of the Channel, and
many promising schemes for a ' fair herd '
on Commemoration Day have broken
down owing to this cause. D. N., 13th
Tune 1883.
Fair itch (Street). Utter imitation.
Equally vulgar and vigorous.
Fair trod on (Street, 1887 on).
Most ill-used.
' Oh, the yeroines o' them penny novelettes
yer 'good old penny ones none
o' yer 'apenny ones for me o' them
yeroines arn't they fair trod on ?
'
Bessie Bellwood (serio-comic, Jan. 1891).
Fair warning (Street). Manly and
frank intimation.
Faire Charlemagne (17 cent.,
Court). To know when to leave off
especially at cards. A corruption of
' faire chut la main ' to make quiet
the hand ; that is, do not go on manipulating
the cards,
' chut '
being the
equivalent of the English
' hush'. Said
to be used by Louise de Querouilles,
known as Mother Carwell, and afterward
as the Duchess of Portsmouth
a very economic and long-headed
Bretonne.
That feat which the French describe
by the mysterious expression,
' faire
Charlemagne
' the feat of leaving off a
winner is one of the most difficult in the
world to perform. D. T., 22nd April
1896.
_
Fairy (Lower Peoples). A debauched,
hideous old woman, especially
when drunk.
Fairy, To go a (Theat.). To toss
for a penn'orth of gin, meaning that a
fairy takes very little. In use amongst
the minor literary men.
Fairy tales (Mid. Class, 1899 on).
Untruths.
Mr Kruger, for the information of his
sympathisers in America, has told a
Chicago journalist one of his pretty little
fairy tales, the only truth in which is
that some burghers are again taking up
arms. D. T., 4th July 1900.
Fake a curtain (Theat., 1884).
Reference to ' Take a curtain ',
' Curtaintaker
', and '
Lightning curtain-taker',
will alone enable the student to comprehend
this term. To fake a curtain
is to agitate the act-drop after it has
fallen, and so perhaps thereby induce
a torpid audience to applaud a little,
and justify the waiting actor to ' take
a curtain'. The manager himself may
direct this operation, but it is generally
the stage-manager who manipulates the
maiKEUvre.
Fake a picture (Artistic, 1860 on).
To obtain an effect by some adroit,
unorthodox means. In this sense it
is difficult to say where swindling ends
and genius begins. It is much used
by inferior artists.
126
Fake a Poke Farthing-taster
Fake a poke (Thieves'). To pick,
or manipulate, a pocket. This phrase
is a singular revival. Johnson has
' Fake amongst seamen a pile of rope,'
and as to poke
' a pocket or small
bag'.
' I will not buy a pig in a
poke !' Camden.
He denied that when entering the
music hall he was accused by a larty of
picking her pocket, and further said that
when called out he did not say he had
never ' faked a poke
' in his life. People,
6th September 1896.
Fake pie (Straitened Soc., 1880).
A towards -the-end-of-the-week effort
at pastry, into which go all the ' orts ',
' overs ', and ' ends ' of the week. See
Resurrection pie a term which this
has superseded.
Fakement Chorley (Dangerous
Classes). A private mark, especially
on the outside of houses and in thieves'
kitchens.
Fal (Rhyming, 1868). Represents
'gal '(girl).
Fall in the thick (Street). To become
dead drunk. Full of metaphor.
Black beer is called thick, so is mud ;
the phrase suggests equal misery
whether the patient plunged in the
mud, or rambled into drunkenness.
Fall-downs (Street, 19 cent.). The
fragments of cookshop puddings which
fall down while rapidly slicing up the
puddings for sale ; fragments which
are finally collected on a plate, and
sold for a halfpenny. A boy will rush
in, and, with the air of a general at
least, say: "A'porth o' fall-downs'.
Conquered when the reply comes,
'Hall sold!'
Fancy oneself (Mid. Classes). On
good terms with oneself.
They had never known a Government
which, if he might use the language of
the street, 'fancied itself
' to the extent
to which the present Government did.
D. T., 14th December 1897.
Fanned with a slipper (Amer.-
Eng., 1880 on). Simply spanked, the
vibratory action suggesting the fanning.
Miss Lulu Valli made a hit at once
as the demon child, Birdikins, who is
threatened to be 'fanned with the
slipper' of her devoted but erratic
mother. D. T., 2nd February 1897.
Fanning the hammer ( W. Amer.,
1886). Brilliantly unscrupulous. Instantaneously
active, equal to energetic
in the highest. Example of
application of one term to varying
meanings. Derived from West American
gamblers wiring back the trigger
of their revolvers, so that its stopaction
is arrested. The six barrels of
the revolver are discharged by rapidly
striking back the hammer with the
outer edge of the right hand, while
the revolver is held in the left. This
vibratory action of the right hand is
the fanning. No aim can be taken,
and fanning is only successful in a
crowd. Six bullets will generally
clear a crowd. So rapid is word adaptation
in the States that already the
term 'fanner' is used to describe an
unscrupulously brave man.
Far away (Lower Classes, 1884).
Pawned. From a song, a parody upon
'
Far, far away '. One line ran,
' Where are my Sunday clothes?' To
which the singer answered, '
Far, far
away '. The ' far away '
is mine
uncle's. Passed into a verb; e.g., 'I
far-awayed my tools this blessed day
-I did!'
Far gone (Theat., 1882). Exhausted,
or worn out, figuratively.
Miss Gilchrist, who has now matured
into a well-formed young woman, is
what I should call a vocal defaulter, her
singing being ' far gone '. Entr'acte,
April 1883.
Farcidrama (Theat., 1885). A
failure comedy of a farcical character,
tied with a thread of serious
interest. Discovered by Mr Ashley
Sterry to describe a posthumous halffinished
comedy by H. J. Byron, and
named The Shuttlecock one which Mr
Sterry quite finished. It failed, and
this word at once came to be used to
describe a failure of any light piece.
'It was a farcidrama' meaning a
'frost'.
To begin with, the description of The
Shuttlecock as a ' farcidrama in three
acts and a song
' may be set down to the
living rather than to the dead dramatist.
Re/. , 17th May 1885.
Farthing-faced chit (Peoples').
Small, mean-faced, as insignificant as
a farthing. Chit also means small and
contemptible.
Farthing-taster (Street Children's,
1870 on). Lowest quantity of commonest
ice - cream sold by London
street itinerant ice-cream vendors.
In other shops may be seen hundreds
of the thick, small glasses in which the
127
Fastened Feel like accepting It
'
farthing-taster
' will be dealt out to
their juvenile consumers. Newsp. Cutting,
27th June 1898.
Fastened (Lanes.}. Pawned.
Fastidious cove (London, 1882).
A droll phrase for a fashionable
swindler, who pretends to be of the
upper ten.
You can always tell the ' fastidious
cove '
by his sending twenty-seven cuffs
and collars to the laundry accompanied
by a single shirt. Cutting.
Fat ale (Peoples', early 19 cent.}.
Strong ale as distinct from weak ale,
which is 'thin'.
4 1 was stupefied as much as if I had
committed a debauch upon fat ale.'
Marryatt, Rattlin the Reefer, ch. 58.
Fat will burn itself out of the fire
(Peoples'}. Antithesis of ' All the fat's
in the fire '.
After a while, however, the fat burnt
itself out of the fire, and the happy
couple seemed to get on very comfortably.
Cutting.
Favourite vice (Jovial, 1880).
General habitual strong drink.
'I have watched the Prince's progress,'
says His Worship, 'and I am
glad to say there has been progress ;
for at one time I did not entertain a
particularly high opinion of him. I
rather thought that the Prince cared
more for his pleasures and, I may as
well say, for his vices, than for the
duties of his high position.' Of course,
the word 'vices' is here used in a
harmless sense : for example, when the
bottles and the cigar-case are to the fore,
even a bishop may enquire of you, with
a jovial smile of boon companionship,
What is your favourite vice? D. N.,
6th October 1885.
Fearful frights (Peoples'}. Kicks,
in the most humiliating quarters.
I shouldn't like to be in James Carey's
boots his trousers either, if all I hear is
true. He's had some fearful frights, you
bet. Cutting.
Fearful wild fowl (Soc.}. From
Shakespeare's line, any extraordinary
creature not often seen ; even applied
to men making antic fools of
themselves.
A full programme of the Show is a
formidable study, but a patient plodding
through it shows that the fearful wild
fowl mentioned are really to take a part
in the pageant. D. N., 10th November
1884.
Feather in her mouth (Marine).
Capable of showing temper, but holding
it in. Poetical description of the
merest idea of foam at the point where
a ship's cut- water touches the wave,
and which shows there either has been,
or will be, dirty weather.
So to Elba the Foam was now directing
her course, dancing lightly along upon a
sparkling and nearly smooth surface,
with only just enough movement during
the later portion of the day to keep
a very small ' feather in her mouth '.
Sir E. Arnold, in D. T., 31st March
1897.
Feather in the cap (Hist. }. Probably
from Scotland, where only he who
had shot an eagle dared to wear a
feather in his cap.
Features. Practically no features
worth talking about. Satirical-like
expression, e.g., 'Hullo, Features!'
' Face '
is used similarly.
Fed (Amer., 1860-65). Abbreviation
of federal, given to themselves
by the Northerners, whereupon the
Southerners cut themselves down to
Confeds, and met the Northerners at
that.
Fed up with (Boer War, 1899-
1900). Overdone, oppressed, filled
with.
' Oh, I'm about fed up with it
'
is the
current slang of the camps when officers
and men speak of the war. D. T., 20th
October 1900.
Feeder (Theat., 1880). Actor or
actress whose part simply feeds that
of a more important comedian. Took
the place of the ' confidante ' in opera.
Feeding birk (Thieves'}. Cookshop
' birk '
being possibly a corruption
of ' barrack '.
You have to be a bit cheeky to go into
a feeding birk to order pannum good
enough for a prince without a D in your
clye. Cutting.
Feel cheap (Peoples', 1890).
Humiliated, e.g., 'Every other girl was
in white, and I felt quite cheap.'
Feel like (Amer.-Eng., 1884).
Inclined towards.
' Do you feel like brandy and water ?
'
is certainly an incorrect question (even
grammatically) in England. Across the
sea we believe the observation means,
' Do you feel inclined to partake, at my
charge, of the refreshment of cognac and
water?'/). N., 16th April 1885.
Feel like accepting it (Amer.). To
repent, be humble.
In his death we has lost a good man,
but we has at de same time gained some
128
Feel One's Oats Field-running
waluable experience, in case we feel like
accepting it. Lime-kiln Club, 1883.
Feel one's oats (Amer. - Eng. ).
Certain to be active. Figure of speech
from the work got out of a well oat- fed
horse, e.g., 'You needn't be afraid
he's a man that feels his oats.'
Feel the collar (Stable). To
perspire in walking.
Feel very cheap (Mid. -class Eng.,
1885 on). Antithesis of self-sufficiency.
Generally refers to condition when
recovering from dissipation.
Does some brother officer adjacent
'feel very cheap' after some midnight
revelry ; or how comes it that my host
is not in the way ? Clement Scott, in
D. T., 21st January 1893.
Female personator (Music - hall).
Another misnomer (see Male impersonator),
for the performer is a
male who impersonates female appearance,
singing, and dancing. A man
who dresses and acts like a woman,
while the male impersonator is a
woman who dresses and acts like a
man. These interchanges of sexual
appearance are still much relished on
the music-hall stage.
Fenian (Peoples', 1882 on). Three
cold Irish, i.e., threepence worth of
Irish whisky and cold water. Brevity
is the soul of cruel as of brilliant wit.
In this instance the wit is very cruel,
for it refers to the hanging and therefore
coldening of the three Fenians
who were hanged for the murder of
Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr
Burke, Under-Secretary for Ireland,
in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, on 6th
May 1882. Other authorities say that
the three Irish, here referred to with
such grim humour, were the Fenians
Allen, Larkin and O'Brien, hanged at
Manchester for the murder of Police
Sergeant Brett. They are called by
the Irish national party
' the Manchester
martyrs '. In Manchester itself
the ' 3 cold Irish ' became at publichouse
bars ' Give me a Fenian '.
The term spread all over England.
(See Got a clock.)
Fewer of him (Amer. -Eng., 1880).
Expression of congratulation at absence
of numbers in the given case.
An English judge is a much more conspicuous
personage than a judge in any
foreign country. His salary is higher,
his social position is better, and there
are, to use an expressive Americanism,
' fewer of him '. Newsp. Gutting.
Fiddle-face (Peoples^. A doleful
face, widening abnormally at the
temples and jaws, and sinking at the
cheek bones.
Put on a fiddle-face and jaw to him
about his future, and it's most likely he
and his mates will slosh your mug for
you and sneak your yack. Cutting.
Fiddler (Racing). Fille de I'air a
French horse. The Anglicization of the
names of foreign horses is a positive
study in itself. English racing men
who speak French always accept the
English baptism.
Another stud horse, Peut-Etre, always
called in the English betting ring
'Potater' was, as well as a few other
lots, bought in. Newsp. Cutting.
In the case of Volodyovski (Derby
winner, 1901) no Anglicization was
possible, so the pencillers tried an
assonance, and styled him Bottle o'
Whisky, and it is interesting in this
connection to observe that in all
professions and trades uncommon
proper names are always Anglicized
roughly, absurdly, no doubt ; but this
process clears away all doubt as to
pronunciation. For instance, in the
Navy sailors always simplify a hardnamed
ship. A person had a vessel
named the Spero, which was corrupted
into Sparrow. As for Psyche, what
they called her can scarcely be mentioned
in decent company. Another
person bought a vessel called the
Daedalus, which was called the Deadloss.
Field Lane duck (Holborn, Lond.\
Baked bullock's heart. A good
example of lower peoples' habit of
satirising their own poverty. This
bake is made savoury, and is the
nearest approach to duck possible,
exactly as baked liver with sage and
onions is called '
poor man's goose '.
Field Lane was a near neighbour of
Saffron Hill, where Dickens's Fagin
reigned ; London improvements have
nearly swept it away. Field Lane is
great in the annals of charity as the
locality where first a night refuge was
opened.
Field-running (Builders', 1860).
Building rickety houses rapidly over
suburban fields. Introduced when the
district railways brought small suburban
houses into fashion.
129
Fiery Cross Fin de Siecle
Fiery cross (Liter., 19 cent).
Warning of dagger. Probably from
Scott who introduces this naming
mode of carrying news of clan-risings.
The Police send round the Fiery
Cross: 'Idle Panic' was the headline
by which we described in our later
editions of yesterday the extraordinary
alarm which seized upon the metropolis,
and nothing which occurred during the
evening calls for any modification of
that description. P. M. 6?., llth
February 1886.
Fifteen puzzle (Mid. -class Eng.).
Complete confusion. The fifteen
puzzle was an arrangement of moveable
cubes bearing numbers which
were to be arranged in a square, so
that every line counted fifteen. It
was very difficult and became a rage
(1879). It soon came to represent
confusion, incomprehensibility.
The syrup cup was, for a while, a
fifteen-puzzle for the bear. American
Bear Story, 1883.
Fight space with a hair-pin
(Oxford Univ., 1882). A figurative
way of describing the impossible.
Fighting Fours (Milit.). The
44th Regiment.
The 44th East Essex loses nothing of
its identity in being called ' The Essex
Regiment' except, perhaps, that the
signification of The Fighting Fours is
hardly so clear as it was. D. N., July,
1881.
Fighting the tiger (San Francisco).
Gaming, with all its consequences ;
some of which are desperate. Practically
applied desperate game.
He asked me if I had ever heard of
Faro, and if I knew the meaning of
'
fighting the tiger '. Soon afterwards I
learned that I was conversing with the
keeper of one of the most notable among
the gaming hells of San Francisco.
Cutting.
Figure-head (Nautical). The head
simple, and suggested of course by the
prow-terminal of most English ships. A cove can, too, if he likes, spend the
half of his bob in pongelow and the
other tanner in bread and cheese, but
we think he's likely to stop out of collar
longer than a cove who doesn't cloud his
blooming figure-head with booze.
We have onoe or twice landed our
blooming figure-head on the kerb.
Filbert (Street). Head variety of
1 nut ' to describe the same. Probably
applied to a long-shaped head.
Derived from prize ring.
' Yere come and look at the bloke
standin' on his filbert,' said the boy.
Filibuster (Amer.). To obstruct,
impede business.
The Senate had an all-night sitting,
the Republicans filibustered from six
P.M. till early morning. To ' filibuster
'
means in its Parliamentary sense to
obstruct. Newsp. Cutting, 1882.
Filing -lay (Thieves', 18 cent.).
Pocket-picking. Fielding's Jonathan
Wild. Probably from the French fil
'
thread from threading the fingers
in the pocket.
Fill the bill (Amer.) To suit.
I have a tree claim and homestead,
am a good cook and not afraid to work,
and willing to do my part. If any man
with a like amount of land, and decent
face and carcass, wants a good wife, I
can fill the bill. Newsp. Cutting.
Fill, To give a (Thieves'). To
deceive, e.g., 'I gave the blue belly a
fill' would mean that you sent the
policeman on a wrong scent.
Fills a gentleman's eye (Sporting).
Shapely possessed of thoroughly good
points.
What do we not suffer from other
people's dogs ? Our own, of course, is a
treasure of love and loyalty, he has a
splendid nose, is perfectly purely bred,
and, in short, as doggy people say,
' he
fills a gentleman's eye'. D. N., 1875.
Filly (Ball-room). A lady who
goes racing pace in round dances, e.g.,
' She's the quickest filly in the barn. '
Either from French 'fille', or in reference
to the use of the word in stables.
' Colt '
is often applied to an active
boy.
Filly and foal (Peoples'). A young
couple of lovers sauntering apart from
the world.
Fin de siecle (Soc., 1897 on). Extreme
in literature, art, and music.
From Paris adopted here in a condemnatory
spirit. Within a year in
London was introduced the phrase
'New Century' first applied in a
public manner to the 'New Century
Theatre Society' whose plays were
based upon the Ibsen theories of life.
The authors appear to have thought
these words typical of the 20th century,
whereas Ibsen towards the close
of the 19th century had been writing
for more than fifty years, and had long
been a classic in Scandinavia and, in a
lees degree, throughout Germania.
130
Find Cold Weather Fitz
Find cold weather (Public-house).
To be bounced, or expelled ; e.g.,
' Yere
you if you ain't quiet you'll soon find
cold weather / can tell yer '.
Finger and thumb (Rhyming).
Rum.
Finger in the pie (Peoples'). Obvious
and based upon the philosophy
of too many cooks spoiling the broth.
Finish (Soc., 1830). A house where
the night (which was next morning
about 4 A.M.) was finished by the
exhaustion of the debauche".
' We are writing of the days when
the Elysium, Mother H.'s, The Finish,
Jessop's, etc., were in their zenith and
glory.' Diprose's Clement Danes, vol.
i., p. 98.
' Let us go to a finish say Jessop's '.
Jessop's finally expired about 1885. It
was the building afterwards occupied
by the Echo newspaper. Opposite was
the celebrated place of accommodation,
' The Fountain '
significant title,
which had then/ been established hundreds
of years.
In 1896, King William Street,
Strand, saw the opening of a brilliantlyappointed
lounge entitled ' The Finale',
assuredly good Italian for finish ; a
sign the proprietor had brought with
him from South Africa.
Fire (out) (0. Eng. ; now Amer.
reaching Eng. 1896). To eject. Probably
from 14th century, the phrase
being invented from the summary process
of the first cannon. ' Let us fire
him '
is equivalent to ' bounce him '.
Then they thought his objection to the
spending of 20 on a lecture and its
necessary or needful accompaniments
on the interesting and entertaining subject
of '
Bacteriology
' too much of a
good thing, so they had him ' fired
' from
the meeting. E. N., 10th Feb. 1899.
The Americanism ' to fire out '
is seen
in a sonnet of Shakespeare's :
' Yet this shall I not know, nor live in doubt,
Till my bad angels fire my good one out.'
This instance shows that in the matter of
the mother - tongue common to both
countries, Yankees are even more conservative
of the ' well of English
' than
Britishers themselves. Rees, U.S.A.
Fire-box (Passionate Pilgrims'). A
man of unceasing passion.
Fire-new*(Prov. Potteries').
' Brandnew',
absolutely new from drawing
pottery from the oven or furnace.
It seems an incongruity, an impossibility,
for the sculptor and painter of
such forms as those we owe to Watt's
genius to become suddenly a ' fire-new '
baronet. D. N., 1st July 1885, referring
to offer of baronetcy to Mr Watts.
Fire-proof coffin (Amer.). A last
house which will resist the action of
the nethermost region. Said of a bad
man that he will need one.
' My pa says that if your pa would stay
at home from prayer meetin' to mix a
little more sugar with the sand he sells
for fourteen cents a pound, p'raps he
might not need a fire-proof coffin when
he dies '. Newsp. Cutting.
Fire the question (Amer.). To
propose marriage.
First on the top-sail and last in
the beef-skid (Navy). Truly perfect
able-bodied seaman. More in praise
could not be said of him.
Fish-bagger (Suburban). Suburban
resident who working in the city, or in
town, generally takes home food, especially
cheap fish, in that respectable
black bag which looks so very legal.
The tradesman shook his head, and
explained that '
fish-bagger
' was a contumelious
term applied to those who live
in good suburbs without spending a penny
there beyond rent. Graphic, 27th September
1884.
Fishy about the gills (Street).
Appearance of recent drunkenness.
Derived from very acute observation.
Drink produces a pull-down of the
corners of the mouth, and a consequent
squareness of the lower cheeks or gills,
suggesting the gill-shields in fishes.
Fit in the arm (Street, 1897). A
blow. In June 1897 one Tom Kelly
was given into custody by a woman for
striking her. His defence before the
magistrate took the shape of the declaration
that ' a fit had seized him in the
arm ', and for months afterwards back
street frequenters called a blow a fit.
Fit-up towns ( Theat. , 1880). Poor,
behind-the-times places which cannot
boast a theatre amongst them.
Perhaps you don't know what the '
fitup
towns ' are. Let me tell you. They
are the towns which do not possess a
theatre, and which are therefore only
visited by small companies carrying portable
scenery, which can be fitted up in a
hall or an assembly room. Ref., 22nd
July 1883.
Fitz (Peoples'). Royal natural children
derivation obvious. Broadly
131
Five-barred Gate Flag Unfurled
applied amongst old theatrical people
to the invasion of the stage by educated
persons of position or fortune.
' I wish all the fitzes in the world were
at the bottom of the sea.' Said by a
young stage manager, October 1883.
Five-barred gate (London Streets,
1886 on).- -A policeman, from the force
being chiefly recruited from the agricultural
class.
The evidence against the defendant,
given by Constable 308 A, was that whilst
in company with a woman he abused him
(the policeman) without reason, asking
how long he had been away from a ' fivebarred
gate' (the country).!). N., 2nd
July 1890.
Five o'clock tea (Soc., 1879).
Strictly tea, and nothing beyond,
except a wafer biscuit, a little more
wafery bread and butter, and perhaps
a microscopic cake, if it is a society
holiday. Came to be added first to
the ordinary refreshmentless call
between three and five P.M. Five
o'clock tea has gradually stolen up
to a four o'clock teapot, for people
came in a crowd, and the old exclusive
puritanic plan of one visitor
retreating as another came, or retired,
even if solus-visiting at the end of a
quarter of an hour was abandoned.
Five or seven (Police; London,
1885). Drunk. From 'five shillings
or seven days', the ordinary London
magisterial decision upon ' drunks '
unknown to the police, and reduced by
Mr Hosack, a metropolitan magistrate,
to five or seven.
Another is,
' Arthur Eoberts in dress
allegorical of five or seven, as Mr Hosack.'
Mr Hosack, as many of my readers may
not be aware, is a magistrate, and ' five
or seven' means but no matter.
Ref., 17th January 1886.
Fiveoclocquer (Paris-Eng., 1896).
Afternoon tea.
Every one, we suppose, has heard of
the delightful French phrase,
' fiveoclocquer
a quatre heures ', which is,
perhaps, the noblest achievement of the
art of word-coining in sublime contempt
of meaning. Newsp. Cutting, 24th June
1898.
Five - pounders (Jersey). Not a
piece of ordnance but cheap excursionists,
who fall upon Jersey in high
summer-time, and who make a stay of
three or four roaring days, having this
132
sum when they start, and nothing by
the time they reach London.
The five-pounders are usually of the
genus 'Arry. They are not unwelcomed
in Jersey, so long as their five pounds
last. Graphic, 31st March 1883.
Fiz (Society). Champagne.
Pat Feeney has sworn off fiz, and will
never touch a drop for the rest of his life.
Not even a drop of whisky. Another
injustice to Oireland. Cutting, 1883.
Pat was a patriotic singer of Irish
songs, and constantly wailing over the
'
green sod ' of his native land.
Fizzle (out) (Peoples'). To fail, and
a failure ; from the noise made by the
gas escaping from aerated waters when
the corks fail, so that the water has no
effervescent quality when opened.
Gale and Spader's
'
Fizz-Bang-Boom
'
company has fizzled out in San Francisco.
Newsp. Cutting.
It is a foolish, highly-peppered story of
love, intrigue and politics. It was little
better than fizzle. N. Y. Tribune.
Flabbergast (Briv. Class). To
astound. Rejected of most lexicographers,
but accepted of all men.
Probably a proper-name word, possibly
Phil Applegarth or Applegast.
The goings on of Cock-Eyed Sal flabbergasted
him much, but he was spliced
to her, and he couldn't help it. Cutting.
Flag (Printers'). Woeful expression
referring to an ' out '
; that is to say,
some missed words in setting up a
piece of 'copy'. This may involve
over-running a number of lines at a
frightful expense of time. Taken
from the aspect of the ' out ' words
written at the side of the proof and
enclosed in a loop ; a line leading from
the nearer end of which concludes in
the caret which marks the point in
the copy where the missing words are
wanting.
Flag of distress (Street). A boy's
shirt through a too-open trousers-seat.
From the flag of a distress on a ship
being white because more easily seen ;
though perhaps the flag in question is
only more or less white.
Flag unfurled (Rhyming). A man
of the world passing into flag, after
the mode of rhyming English of a
passing character.
A cove who fancies himself a flag
unfurled is very now or never we don't
think. Cutting.
Flam Flash o' Light
Flam (Soc. 18 cent.). Fib rather
than lie. Quite passed away from
London, but still heard in the counties.
Probably from a proper name. Johnson
says,
' a cant word of no certain
etymology '. Words from proper names
really have no etymology. Butler
(Hudibras) uses this word :
A flam more senseless than the
roguery.
Of old aruspicy and augury !
Miss "Wilhelmina Skeggs (Vicar oj
Wakefield) is great in the use of this
term. May be from Flamborough
Head, whence, in the 17th century,
came false continental news, exactly
as ' Humbug ' came to be the term
applied to continental false news from
Hamburg.
Flannel -jacket (Contractors').
Familiar name for the gigantic navvy
who, without exception, wears this
garment. Generally pronounced
' flannin ', flannel being a hard word
from Wales. Tom Taylor used the
term in a scene of the Ticket of Leave
Man. ' Hey - sup (drink) thou dear
flannin-jacket.'
Flap -jack invalid (Amer.). A
victim of dissipation.
' Keduce the nation to a vast hospital
of flap-jack invalids.' Texas Siftings.
Flapper (Lower Class). Hand
sometimes flipper. Possibly from the
slapping movement of the hand
suggesting the striking tail or fins of
a fish when the word would be an
onomatope its sound being that of
the flap of a fish on wet sand or stones.
Said by some authorities to have a
very disagreeable meaning.
Flapper (Society). A very immoral
young girl in her early
' teens '.
A correspondent of Notes and Queries
has been troubling his mind about the
use of the slang word '
flapper
' as
applied to young girls. Another correspondent
points out that a 'flapper' is
a young wild duck which is unable to fly,
hence a little duck of any description,
human or otherwise. The answer seems
at first sight frivolous enough, but it is
probably the correct solution of this
interesting problem all the same.
E. N., 20th August 1892.
Flare-up (Peoples', 19 cent.). A
stir, riot, disturbance obviously from
a house on fire.
'Flare-up' at the present time is a
purely jocular interjection. A noisy
revel is very often spoken of by bacchanalians
as ' a jolly flare - up '
; but
sixty - three years ago '
flare-up
' had
another and a very sinister signification.
To it was added the admonition ' to join
the Union '.
'
Flare-up and join the
Union !
' The Union part of the cry is
associated in my mind with processions
of working men, yelling and cursing
and bearing banners embellished with
death's - heads and cross - bones, and
inscriptions about ' Bread or Blood '
;
while '
flare-up
' had a direct bearing on
incendiarism. G. A. Sala in D.T., 28th
July 1894.
Flash (Thieves'). Imitation gold
coins the name probably suggested
by their glitter. Sometimes called
' Hanoverian '
sovereigns a term
originating probably upon the accession
of the House of Brunswick looked
upon by all true Jacobites as counterfeit.
The last occasion where these
terms were in transitory use was at the
trial (1881) of one Lefroy, for murder.
The attorney-general, Sir Henry James
(afterwards Lord James of Hereford),
prosecuted. In his opening speech he
said :
'
Precisely similar coins the ' flash
'
or Hanoverian sovereigns found in the
carriage, which Lefroy repudiated, etc.'
Newsp. Cutting.
Flash (Milit.). A ribbon decoration
of the 23rd Koyal Welsh Fusiliers.
It is easy to imagine the indignation
which would be displayed at any attempt
to deprive the officers of the 23rd Royal
Welsh Fusiliers of their right to wear
what is called ' the Flash '. This ornament
consists of a black ribbon sewed
on to the back of the tunic-collar, and
allowed to flutter in the breeze in
imitation of the tie of the old pig-tail.
D.N., July 1881.
Flash (Street). Grand, splendid.
Evidently derived from strong flash of
lightning.
They're so flash that it's a blooming
wonder they know themselves. Cutting,
1883.
Flash dona (Thieves'). A highclass
low-class lady.
' I was always a real lady, as much as
any flash dona what gets her portrait
took and then goes on the boards.'
133
Flash o' light (New Cut, S.
London). Complimentary description
Flat as a Frying-pan Fly Member
of a woman dressed upon the model of
the rainbow.
Flat as a frying-pan (Peoples', old).
Flat indeed. Probably derived from
the first implement of this kind which
was level compared with the crocks
of Elizabethan days.
' Egad I'm struck as flat as a fryingpan
'. Farquhar, The Inconstant.
Flat chicken (Lower Class). Stewed
tripe. All common foods have fine
satirical names.
Flat-foot (Navy}. A young sailor
less than twenty-one. (See Shellback).
Flatty (Thieves'). A greenhorn.
An endearing diminutive of flat, who
would be more despised than the less
contemned flatty.
Flaxation (New Eng.). One of
the more remarkable American hypocritical
evasions of actual swearing.
Equal to damnation.
' Then, what in flaxation do you want
of those things ?
'
Newsp. Gutting.
Fleet (Old Eng.gone to Nantucktt,
where it stays). To trifle, idle. Heard
sometimes in mid-counties, e.g.,
' He fleets his life away. Many young
gentlemen flock to him every day, and
fleet the time carelessly as they did in
the golden age.' As You Like It.
Fleshy part of the thigh (Peoples'.,
1899). Evasive military hospital
phraseology to describe a wound on
that part of the human frame which
'goes over the hedge last'. Came
into use upon the news from S. Africa
of Lord Methuen having been wounded
in this region.
Flier (Sporting, 19 cent.). A breeder
of carrier and other homing pigeons.
'
Fliers', a term given to the individuals
whose sportsmanlike instincts induce
them to spend considerable time and
money on the training of homing pigeons.
D. T. y 17th December 1897.
Flight o' steps (Coffee - house).
Thick slices of bread and butter.
Royal order in relation to steps at
least four ridge and furrows.
He asks for a pint of mahogany juice,
a flight of doorsteps, and a penny
halligator. Mankind (Surrey Theatre),
1883.
Flimsy (Press). Copy on very thin
tracing paper. A dozen sheets of
flimsy are interleaved with as many
sheets of carbonized or charcoaled paper,
when by writing heavily in pencil on
the mass of flimsy, twelve copies are
obtained. Passed into a verb
' Flimsy me that par ', means ' make
half a dozen copies on tracing paper '.
Had the questions to be copied out ?
Yes ; and the answers to be flimsied.
Sir C. Dilke, Crawford Divorce Suit,
July 1886.
Fling out or flung away (Peoples').
Angry retreat,
Wardlaw whipped before him and
flung out of the room. (Charles Keade. )
Theodore flung away and was rushing
off". (Miss Yonge.)
Flip-flap (Street boy, 1898 on).
Broad fringe of hair covering the
young male forehead. This fashion,
revived from the time of George IV.,
began with the quiff (q.v.), expanded
to the guiver, and widened to the
flip-flap, a name evidently gained from
its motion in the winds.
Flop (Low Lond., 1881). When
the lower classes of women adopted
the ' cretin ' or '
poodle
'
style of
wearing the hair low down over the
forehead, they gave it this name.
Flounce (Theatrical and Society,
1854 on). The thick line of black
paint put on the edge of the lower
eyelid to enhance the effect of the eye
itself. When under the second empire
painting the face (see Mind the paint),
became common, this term came to be
heard in society.
Fluff in (Lower Peoples'). Deceive
by smooth modes.
Fly cop (Anglo-Amer.). Detective
(see Tec). Cop is abbreviation of
copper (q.v.). Fly is quite an old
word for adroit.
Fly donah (Street). Adroit lady
not perhaps too honest.
Fly loo (Student, 1850). Summer
game. The players stand round a
table, each having a lump of sugar or
touch of honey well before him. The
owner of the sweets upon which a fly
first settles takes the stakes. (See
Kentucky Loo.)
Fly me (Ancient). Exclamation
against mistrust or doubt. From flay.
Fly member (Com. Peo.). Clever,
adroit man fly being used to give the
idea of speed in apprehending, and
134
Fly Rink Forum
lighting on what passes. (See Hot
member. )
Fly rink (Peoples', 1875). A
polished bald head.
Flying: the kite (Soc.). Making
public in the 90's. Earlier in the
century it was issuing accommodation
bills. Now, however, it has the other
meaning, as
He would be very sorry to do entirely
without the interview, and politicians
were said to use it as a means of '
flying
the kite'. Anthony Hope, April 1898.
Foal and filly dance (Soc.).
Dance to which only very young
people of both sexes are invited.
Fog in (Soc.). To see a place by
chance, or to achieve by accident.
Foot I foot ! Now and again this
expression is cast after the respectably
dressed person who wanders into
strange and doubtful bye-ways. Phrase
obtained much attention by its use by
Emile Zola in L'Assommoir, where it is
found even in the mouth of a priest.
It is difficult to say when this term
passed into England. The word is to
be found as 'foutre' in Shakespeare
(Henry VI.). Probably reintroduced
into England by the French court of
Charles II.
Foot-and-mouth disease (Lancashire).
Swearing followed by kicking.
Foot-bath (European. ) Overflow
from glass into saucer. Said in
England of a full glass.
It is customary throughout Spain for
the waiters of cafe's to fill a glass with
wine or liquor so that it overflows upon
the saucer. This custom, in which it
is desired to show an appearance of
liberality, is called 'the foot-bath'.
People, 28th July 1895.
Foot - rot (Public - house). Contemptuous
name given by the contemners
of fourpenny ale. (See Brown. )
Footless stocking without a leg.
(Irish). Nothing zero. (See What
the Connaught man shot at.)
Fopper (Parvenus
1
). Mistake. Perversion
of ' faux pas '. In its extreme
application an ' event ', if you accept
the word's Latin meaning. Equivalent
to what the French call brise
du soir.
Forcing the hand (Soc.). Compel
admissions. From whist, where to
force the hand of an adversary is to
play high in order to compel him to
play higher. Much used by lawyers
always great whist-players.
Sir C. Warren agreed with the assessor
that it was hardly fair to put a question
of this character.
Mr Wontner observed that it was
forcing his hand. Gass Case, July 1887.
Fore God (American). Shape of
old English oath ' Before God, I
swear. '
Foreign line (Railway). Any line
which is not that on which the speaker
is employed.
Foreigneering coves (Low London,
1860). Most graphic description of
dislike to others than British that
has perhaps been invented.
We have no passion for ribbons, and
orders, and all the tinsel trappings of
aliens or 'foreigneering coves', as they
are termed in the simple language of
' Those in the Know '. D. N., 1883.
Foreigner (Negro). Elegant evasive
title given by negroes to describe
themselves, in order to avoid the
hated word black.
Forest of fools (Literary. 17 cent.).
The World.
Amongst all the wild men that run up
and down in this wide Forest of Fools,
etc. Decker's Gull's Horn-Book, 1609.
Forever - gentleman ( Soc. , 1870).
A man in whom good breeding is ingrained.
(See Half Hour Gentleman.)
Forrader (Soc., 1880 on). Forwarder
adopted from the gutter, one
night, in the House of Commons.
Used in many jocular ways.
Whether the Liberal Forwards will get
any ' forrarder ' over the light claret
which we have no doubt is all that they
can conscientiously allow themselves
remains to be seen. D. T., 15th
December 1898.
Fortnum and Mason (Soc., 1850
on). Complete, luxurious hamper for
picnic or races. From the perfection
of the eatables sent out by this firm of
grocers in Piccadilly.
49ers ( W. - American). Earliest
Californian miners from the year in
which the movement to California
commenced.
Forum (Birmingham). The
' Forum '
is the Town Hall, and known
135
Forwards French
by that name through all Warwickshire.
Earl Granville, who was received with
most enthusiastic cheers, said : I rise a
stranger in this famous Town Hall
(cries of ' No ') known in Birmingham,
I believe, by a still more classical name.
Bright Celebration (B'rgham), June
1383.
Forwards (Polit., 1897). Radicals
last cry of the 19th century in
discovering a new name for the
advanced sections in the House of
Commons.
Sir Charles Dilke leads a knot of
Radical 'forwards' on questions of
foreign affairs, whose views are, probably,
at least as distasteful to the
leader of the Opposition as the policy
of Lord Salisbury.!). T., 21st June
1898.
Foundling temper (London). A
very bad temper proverbially said of
the domestic servants poured upon
London by the metropolitan Foundling
Hospital.
The ladies who are conducting the
Metropolitan Association for Befriending
Young Servants are perpetually thwarted
and discouraged by the singular incapacity
for self-control of the girls who
have been bred in the great pauper
schools. Their chief characteristic is an
ungovernable temper. This is popularly
recognised as the ' Foundling temper'.
D. N., 9th September 1885.
Foundry (Peoples'}. Shop, but
chiefly applied to a pork butcher's
probably because of the noisy vibration
of the sausage machine.
Fountain temples (London, 90's).
Places of convenience, sunk below the
roadways. Remarkable for lavish
marble, mosaic, and clear running
water. (See Cottages.)
Four arf (Costers'). The costermonger's
favourite beverage is a pot
o' four arf.
Four -legged fortune (Soc. t 1880
on). Winning horse.
They talk Turf slang ; they back ' fourlegged
fortunes ', and his lordship owns
a steed which brings him to utter grief.
D.T., 22nd April 1898.
Four liner (Soc.). Very important.
From 'whips' or messages to M.P.'s,
which have from one to four lines
drawn under them, according to
importance.
Four-lined whips have been sent out
on both sides of the House of Commons
urging members to be in their places
this evening. D. N., March 1890.
Four thick (Public-house). Fourpence
per quart beer the commonest
there is (in London), and generally
the muddiest.
Fourpenny cannon (London
Slums). Beef-steak pudding price, a
groat. Named possibly from its shape,
that of a cannon-ball (cut down to
cannon), but possibly referring to the
cast-iron character not only of the beef,
but its integument.
Fourpenny pit (Rhyming). Fourpenny
bit now antiquarian phrase
since this silver coin has been
absolutely withdrawn in favour of the
threepenny bit.
Foxes (American). People of
Maine probably owing to the foxes
which prevail there.
Frame (Artists', 1890). Picture.
Franc -fileur (French, 1870). A
cur, a freebolter in contradistinction
from franc-tireur, the volunteer light
infantry of the defence. Used now
and again in England in society for
a man who gets away quietly and
won't dance.
Freak (Theatrical, 1885). Actors
who lose professional cast by aiding in
eccentric shows. From New York.
Actors who play in dime museums are
now called 'freaks'. Mef., 18th April
1906.
Freakeries (London, 1898).
Barnum's freak and acrobat shows at
Olympia.
Free (Peoples' and School). To
make free. Process never of a very
elegant kind especially amongst
school - boys. Expectoration enters
into the process as a rule. (See
'Lynch').
Free hand (Political, about 1880).
Plenary powers, carte blanche.
General Gordon has been given, if we
must use a detestable piece of slang a
'free hand'. In plainer and better
English he has been allowed to do as
he pleased. D. N., 5th May 1884.
French (S. of N. Amer. Soc.).
Term used in Maryland and Virginia
for any fashion that is disliked.
Probably from 18th century when the
people of these states very much
136
Frenchman Fruit of a Gibbet
disliked the French population of
Louisiana.
Frenchman (Soc., 19 cent.). Bottle
of brandy from this spirit being
French.
Frenchy (Street, 19 cent., to 1854).
A term of contempt addressed to any
man with a foreign air in the streets.
Fresh -whites (Peoples', 19 cent.).
Pallor.
Freshers and toshers (Oxford,
1896). Freshers despised as freshmen,
and toshers beiog men who have no
sympathy with the Church. Combined
term of contempt.
Fretted (American). Vexed to do
a thing.
Friars (L. G. and D. Railway
passengers', 1860). Hurried short for
'Blackfriars'.
Friction (Polit., 1885). New
satirical term for political or international
quarrel.
The letter from Lord Granville which
Lord Edmund Fitzmaurice read in the
House of Commons contained an expression
of Lord Granville's hope that the
' friction ' with Germany may now be
considered a thing of the past. D. N.,
10th March 1885.
Fried carpets (London Theatrical,
1878-82). Given to the exceedingly
short ballet skirt, then especially seen
at the old '
Gaiety'.
Friendly pannikin (Australian
gold -
fields). An amicable drink
together out of the small tin pot
one which serves the outlying Australian
for most purposes.
Fright hair (Theatrical). A wig
or portion of a wig which by a string
can be made to stand on end and
express fright.
Frisk at the tables (London). A
moderate touch at gaming.
My object is fulfilled if I have made it
clear that ' a frisk at the tables '
is now
rendered easy to Londoners, and that
those wishing to enjoy one have but to
attend the first well-managed sporting
meeting, to receive encouragement and
respectful protection at the hands of the
police. G. A. Sala.
Frisky (Com. London, 1880). Badtempered,
and a euphemism for the
same.
Frivoller (Soc., 1879 on). Person
137
with no serious aim in life. Substantive
derived from Lord Beaconsfield's
celebrated phrase 'hair-brained
frivolity '.
'Junius' contains plenty of fine
stirring lines, even if they awake no
more than an occasional echo in the
bosoms of the cynical 'frivollers' who
exclusively occupy ' the best parts
' at all
our theatres. Kef., 1st March 1885.
Frochard (Theatrical, about 1870).
Savage old woman part from the
demon-hag in Les Deux Orphelines.
Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight
was more or less a ' bobtail '
piece, and
thoroughly American in tone. We had
a New York blood ; a low-comedy
character called Bermudas ; a ' side-walk
merchant prince, with a banjo swarry
'
;
a Wall Street dealer ; a judge of the
Tombs Police Court ; and a vile
Frochard sort of person called Old
Judas. D. T., 9th June 1899.
Froncey (Low. Land., 19 cent.).
Fran9ais protest in the interests of
things English and of England.
Front (Soc., 1888). Audacityfrom
the forehead, pushing forward.
Equals affront.
There is another rendering of the word
'front' in use among some clever folk,
but I wouldn't for the world suggest that
the promoters have any of that to say
nothing of 420 ft. of it. Ref., 9th March
1890.
Front name (Universal Street, 19
cent.). Christian name, and always
considered as the cognomen.
Front piece (Theatrical, 1880).
Dramatic trifle which precedes the
piece de resistance.
The new front piece, Written in Sand,
turned out to be a pretty little idyllic
affair. Ref., 31st August 1884.
Frosy (Devonshire). A delicacy in
food eaten quietly by not more than
two, after the children are in bed the
couple generally man and wife.
Froze out (Amer.-Eng., 1880-96).
Conquered, made the other a
nonentity.
Fruit of a gibbet (Peoples', 18 cent.).
Hanged felon. The gibbet, as distinct
from the gallows, was the frame upon
which the hanged man was swung in
chains.
I found thee a complete emblem of
poverty, resembling the fruit of a gibbet
seven years exposed to wind and weather
Gay's Beggars' Opera.
Frump Galbe
Frump (Soc. t 1871 on). High cut
bodice. When the second French
Empire fell (1870), the low-cut bodice,
which the Court of the Tuileries had
maintained for eighteen years, was
swept away. London society led with
the high, and afterwards the square
cut bodice, which still very generally
prevails. Young men in society at
once dubbed the high bodice
patroness a ' frump
' a badly dressed
woman.
Full as a goat (Tavern, 18 cent.).
Drunk. This phrase is evidently
' Full
as a goitre', the word often used for
the huge throat wen which, common
in the last century, is now rarely seen.
The word having no distinct modern
meaning, has been naturally changed
to goat. The idea of fulness is complete
in contemplating a huge goitre,
which always looks upon the point of
bursting.
. . . New Arrival 'I want a bed.'
Clerk :
' Can't have one, sir ; they're all
full.' N. A. : 'Then I'll sleep with the
landlord.' Clerk: 'Can't do it, sir.
He's full, too ; fuller than a goat, and
has been for three days.' N. Y.
Mercury, 1888.
Function (Soc., 1880 on). First
used for grave musical performances ;
but the aesthetes began to apply the
word to all kinds of meetings even
afternoon teas.
The drenching showers of Thursday
night in no way damped the ardour of
Haymarket reopeners. The ceremony
was, in its way, almost a function. Jief.,
18th September 1887.
Fury (Navy). Crew's name for the
Furious.
Fuss (Anglo-American, 19 cent.).
Dispute, row, wrangle, without any
serious consequences.
Fuss and feathers (Amer.-Eng.,
1880). Bosh, pretence, froth. Probably
from 18th century English ;
and referring to cock-fighting where
the birds only pulled feather and
threatened.
Well, as an American critic says of the
notions of the solar mythologists, this
was 'all fuss and feathers'. D. 2?.,
10th February 1898.
Fuz-chats (Beggars'). The people
who camp out on commons amongst
the ' furze '. Generally show-people,
and gipsy cheap-jacks, also gipsies
proper.
G. O. M. (Political Popular, 1882).
Grand Old Man. In this year Mr W.
E. Gladstone, when Premier, was described
in this way. The satirical
journals took up the phrase, and
reduced it to initials.
I knocked the G. 0. M. down, Northcote
sat on his head, and he gave in.
Ref., 7th December 1884.
G. T. T. (New York). Gone to
Texas. Confession of flight put on
office door.
Gads O](Hist.). Evaded swearing.
Equals God s oath probably refers to
the promises made to the patriarchs.
Gadsbud (Queen Anne). God's
blood, or God's bud, meaning the
Infant Saviour. Another shape is
Od's Bud (q.v.),
' Gadsbud ! I am provoked
into a fermentation.' Congreve,
The Double Dealer.
Gaelically utter (Soc. ). The Scotch
accent when trying to produce English.
' West of England !
' cried a supporter
of the majority, in an accent too Gaelically
utter for London ink to reproduce.
' I don't believe there are any solicitors
in the West of England. Only a set of
clerks.' S. T., 1st February 1883.
Gaiety girls (Stage, 1890 on).
Dashing singing and dancing comedians
in variety pieces from their
first gaining attention at the Gaiety
Theatre.
One of the most interesting features of
the Nellie Farren benefit is the promised
re-appearance of Miss Marion Hood, one
of the brightest and most graceful of
'
Gaiety
'
girls. People, 27th February
1898.
Gaiety step (Theat., 1888-92). A
quick, high dancing pas, made popular
at the Gaiety Theatre. Term spread
to America.
Galbe (Thieves'). Profile of a violent
character, and even applied to any
eccentricity of shape above the knees.
This is from the French, and doubtlessly
came into fashion at the Court
of Charles II. The word is one of the
proper-name series, and comes from
the Emperor Galba, who lived long in
Gaul, where his pronounced profile and
138
Gallersgood General Backacher
terrific nose begot the word. Galbe is
used daily all over France, but especially
in Paris. "
Quel Galbe."
Gallersgood (Thieves', 18 cent.).
Corruption of gallows' good. So bad
that it is worthy of the gallows.
Gally-pot baronet (Soc. t 19 cent.).
Ennobled physician outcome of the
scorn of birth for even the scientific
parvenu.
Gal-sneaker ( CommonLond., 1870).
A man devoted to seduction.
Gambetter (International, 1879).
To humbug 'Don't you try to Gam
Better me!' From Gambetta, of
Italian and Jewish origin, who was
very popular in France from 1870 to
about 1876, when politicians began to
suspect his sincerity. In 1879 his
popularity was rapidly waning. In
this year the verb in question was
invented. It is still used in French
politics when accusing an opponent of
double-dealing.
Gamblous (Soc., 1885). Gambling
invented by Mr J. Chamberlain.
(29th April 1885. Speech at dinner of
the Eighty Club.)
I suppose Lord Salisbury thinks that
if this country only blustered enough we
might attain all that we desired from the
fears of foreign Powers. There is something
to be said for the game of brag,
but in this case the stakes are so high,
the risk so great, that I do not believe
that any sensible men will commit their
fortunes to a party or a statesman who
would run such tremendous hazards in
such a gamblous spirit.
Gander (London, 1815-40). Fop.
It is a perversion of Gandin, the
Parisian description of a fop from the
Restoration to the '40's.
Ganymede ( University). Freshman,
or man in his second or even third
year, of an effeminate tendency.
Gaperies, The (London, 1902).
The very last outcome of entertainments
ending in ' ies '
(see Colindiries,
etc. ) It is simply a rendering of ' Gay
Paris '.
Garbage (Naval). Clothes, etc.
probably from the appearance of a box
of clothes waiting the wash.
Garbed (American ; passing to
Eng.). Full - dressed. Would appear
to be an intensification of the ordinary
use of the word dressed.
Garret (Hatters', 19 cent.). A consultation
of the members of a shop
in relation to some trade or social
difficulty of the moment.
Garret (Street, 19 cent.). Mouthprobably
suggested by the mouth
being high up in relation to all the
body.
Gas-pipes (Street). Name given to
trousers when tight. In France when
fashion causes the hem of the trouser
to widen out, this style is called pied
d'elephant, to which it has a fair
resemblance.
Gaul darned (American). Modern
opposition to too plain bad languagb
' God damned '.
Gawblimy (Street, 1870). Ceaseless
apostrophe by the lower orders to
heaven, in reference to some declaration.
This is 'Gaw Bli Me'. Gaw
from the street shape of the word
God ' this shape being Gawd, ' bli
'
an ellipsis, and ' me '.
Gawd forgive him the prayers he
said (Peoples'). Evasion of saying the
sinner swore consummately.
Gaze at the melody (American).
Look a thing in the face. Another
form of ' Face the music '.
Gee - gees (Infantry}. Cavalry.
This term, from the nursery, for a
horse is directed at the cavalry by
the infants. (See Coldcreams, Porridge
pots, Grinning dears, Muck. )
Gee-ru (American, 1880). Extension
of amazement. The ' Ge '
is for
Jerusalem, a word once much used ;
accent on first syllable and on second.
Often used,
' Je you don't say so !
'
General (Com. Life). Chandler's
shop where everything may be
obtained.
General (Mid. - class, 1880 on).
Maid of all work.
That the race of generals threatens to
become extinct is a proposition which is
not really so startling as it sounds at
first. D. T., 18th January 1898.
General (Middle -
class, 19 cent.}
Shilling.
' Can you generalise ?
' A
delicate mode of saying
' Can you loan
me a shilling ?
'
General Backacher (Military,
1899). General Gatacher modulation
of his name to designate this
soldier's love of hard-working his
men. (See Bobs.)
139
Genitrave Get up Early
Genitrave (Peoples', Hist.)
Farthing or smallest coin. Was
in use before maravedi, which probably
came to England with Philip
of Spain.
Gentleman (Liverpool). There are
no men in Liverpool ; all are gentlemen.
Gentleman in blue (London, 1840).
One of the satirical names for policeman.
Gentleman super (Theatrical
about 1884). A theatre-super of some
position or standing the ordinary
super being a person of no standing
whatever beyond earning about a
shilling or two per evening. In 1884
Mr Wilson Barrett (Princess's Theatre)
invented the gentleman super with a
view to creating a school of actors,
who began on the lowest rung of the
ladder. Their price was about twelve
to fifteen shillings per week.
Gentleman who pays the rent,
The (Irish peasantry, 19 cent.). Pig
Milesian variety. Origin obvious.
The Irish pig, the gentleman who pays
the Irish rent, if not exactly a willing
immigrant into this country, has always
proved a quiet one after his arrival. He
has generally been cured before leaving
home. D. T., 17th December 1897.
Gentlemen of the long robe
(Historical). Term applied by warriors
who wore short tunics, satirically to
designate mere lawyers, who waged
wars with but words.
George (Military, 1880-96). The
Commander-in-Chief, George, Duke of
Cambridge. Good evidence of the
duke's popularity, which never waned
to the moment he resigned the
command.
Georgium Sidus (Soc.). The
Netherlands figuratively speaking.
The Surrey side of the Styx.
Geranium (Street, 1882). Red nose.
German gospel (Peoples', November
1897). Bounce, vain boasting, megalomania.
From a phrase addressed
in this month by Prince Henry of
Prussia to his brother of Germany at
a dinner :
' The gospel that emanates
from your Majesty's sacred person, etc.'
Get away closer (Coster, Hist.).
Invitation to yet more pronounced
devotion.
Get curly (Tailors'). Troublesome.
Get fits (Peoples'). Vce victis
suffer rage from being conquered ;
impatient under defeat. Generally
'
git fits '.
Get in (Low London, 19 cent.).
Victoriously strike.
And then you goes and gets in both
fists one, two, three afore I knew
where I was. Then o' course I ups and
gives you a one-er, and off I goes.
D. T., 18th October 1897.
Get inside and pull the blinds
down (Low London, 19 cent.). Gross
verbal attack delivered on the highway
at a poor rider.
Get it down the neck (Lower
Peoples'). To swallow.
Get left (Anglo-Amer.). Abbreviation
of ' in the lurch '.
Get outside (Street). Swallow.
Get religion (Peoples'). Become
religious.
Get the drop (Amer.-Eng.). Outcome
of the use of the revolver in
U.S.A. The muzzle of the revolver is
dropped down to the aim from a higher
level hence the term, which means to
obtain victory.
Get the g. b. (Amer.). Dismissal
g. b. being
'
go by '.
' Won't he feel cheap when he gets the
g. b. ?'
Get the heels on it (Amer.-Eng.).
Victory, success from the American
habit (rapidly passing away) of resting
the heels, when their proprietor is
seated, on a level with his head, if not
above it.
Get the shillings ready (Street,
1897). Be prepared to ladle out
money. From the rush of charity
which characterised the sixtieth year of
Queen Victoria's reign, and especially
referring to the Daily Telegraph shillings
charity lists towards the fund for
the payment of the debts of the London
Hospitals.
Get the shoot (Peoples'). Dismissal
probably from the mill shoot turning
out the flour.
Get the spike (Low London). Lose
one's temper.
'0' course Chris git's the spike!'
People, 5th January 1895.
Get to onest (Amer.). Retire immediately.
Get up early (Street). Be clever.
140
Get up Steam Ginger Blue
Get up steam (Peoples', 1840 on).
Be energetic. Outcome of the initiation
of the railway system. Even
George Eliot, who hated anything
approaching slang, used this phrase so
early as 1846.
' I do not know whether I can get up
any steam again on the subject of Quinet
but I will try.' George Eliot's Life,
vol. i., p. 150.
Get your eye in a sling (Peoples'}.
Warning that you may receive a
sudden and early black eye, calling
for a bandage the sling in question.
Getting a big boy now (London).
Of age. The line was the leading
phrase of the refrain of a song made
popular by Herbert Campbell. It is
applied satirically to strong lusty
young fellows about whose manhood
there can be little or no question.
Getting all over a man (L. Life,
19 cent.). Handling and examining
him not necessarily for theft, but in
all probability feloniously.
The only reason witness could give for
the attack was that a few days previously
he prevented Eegan '
getting all over a
strange man ' whom he had brought into
the lodging-house. D. T., 8th October
1895.
Getting before oneself (Peoples').
Personal emphasis of any kind of
vanity, boastfulness, threat, anger.
Getting behind yourself (Peoples',
19 cent.). Lapse of memory in reference
to events.
Getting it down fine (American,
1880). Successful by adroitness.
Getting it down fine on burglars. It
is getting so that even burglars are
seriously interfered with in the practice
of their professions. A recent invention,
etc. Albany Argus, 1883.
Getting ox-tail soup (1867-83).
Refers to the maiming of cattle,
exercised by Fenians and other disaffected
Irish, against the property of
cattle-owners who displeased them.
In Ireland there have been no experiments
at all, for the cutting off the tails
of living cattle 'getting ox-tail soup',
as some Irish facetiously styled this
practice is not a scientific experiment.
D. N., 7th June 1883.
Good example of historical phrase.
Giants (Restaurant). Huge
asparagus.
I was startled by hearing the player
call the waiter and order, as he pointed
to the carte,
' Two Giants'. I arrived at
a solution of the mystery when presently
I saw the gourmands devouring
'
giant
'
asparagus. Ref., 1882.
Gibby (Navy). Spoon.
Giddy young whelp (London,
1896). Youth about town. Rather
contemptuous. Sometimes giddy
young whelk pronounced Wilk.
Giddy kipper was the first developmentfrom
probably giddy skipper.
Gigglemug (Street}. An habitually
smiling face.
Gigmanity (Soc.). People who
keep gigs therefore respectable.
Took its rise from the trial of one
Thurtell for the murder of a Mr
Weare, as to whom it was asked by
counsel of a witness :
' Was Weare
a respectable man ?
' the answer being
' Yes he kept a gig '.
Gilt on the gingerbread (Peoples'
almost obsolete). The past - away
annual rural fairs were made ghastly
gay with flat gingerbread cakes,
covered with Dutch metal, which
tried to look like gilt.
Gin and fog (Theatrical). Peculiar
hoarseness, generally believed to be
caused by the abuse of alcohol.
Dr Lennox Brown has been delivering
an interesting lecture on the effects of
alcohol on the voice. There is a brokendown
voice known in the profession as
'the gin and fog'. G. R. Sims, Ref.,
llth January 1886.
Gin bottle (Street). Dirty, abandoned,
flabby, debased woman, generally over
thirty, the victim of alcoholic abuse,
within an ace of inevitable death.
Gin crawl (London, Fleet St. and
Strand). Beaten street tracks haunted
by drunken or broken down literary
men, journalists, reporters, and inferior
actors out of employ.
Phil Benjamin was taking his daily
constitutional, which consisted in what
is called ' a gin crawl ' in this instance
between Drury Lane and Covent Garden.
Bird o' Freedom, 7th March 1883.
Gin - sling (Public-house, 19 cent.).
Practically cold gin-punch. Generally
supposed to come from U.S.A., and
named thus from slinging the mixture
from glass to glass.
Ginger blue (Amer.-Eng., 1855).
Exclamation protesting againstcaddish -
ness. Ginger was applied on the
141
Girl of the Period Go In
plantations of S. U.S.A. to over-eager
negroes. Blue was added as a satirical
reference to blue blood.
Girl of the period (Soc., 1880 on).
Term invented by Mrs Lynn Linton
in a series of articles in The Saturday
Review, attacking the self-emancipation
of the young lady of this
generation.
After Naseby, by Mr Briton Riviere.
The reader, even if he has not visited
the Academy, can imagine for himself
the young lady of the period, bowed
down with grief, and holding the fatal
letter, below a tall window of the
Royalist hall. D. N., Academy Grit.
Git a bit (L. London). May refer
to woman, but generally means obtaining
money.
On the day this 'ere job came off Chris
comes around to me and says :
' I 'aint
going to work to-day ; you had better
come out and see if we can't get a bit.
People, 6th January 1895.
Git the ambulance (Street, 1897).
Declaration of incapacity, generally of
a drunken character, cast at the
sufferer. Took the place of 'git the
stretcher' which was (and is) maintained
by the police. Took its rise
from the introduction amongst civilians
of ambulance service.
Git the sads (Peoples'). Vulgar
synonym for 'to have the vapours'.
(See Smokes).
Give a lift (Amer.-Eng.). A sharp
quick kick.
Give it hot (L. Life). Severe
castigation.
Remember, remember,
Next month of November,
The boycotting, treason, and plot
For condoning this treason
(To win votes the reason)
We'll give it Lord Salisbury hot !
Ref., 18th October 1885.
Give the crock (Peoples'). Yielding
victory the crock must have been
ug-
I have been making a long calculation,
and I find that this sum will only just
cover ex.'s, so I am simply giving you
the crock. Our Boys, No. 2, December
1883.
Give away the racket (American).
Unintentionally to reveal.
Give him rope enough (Old
English). This phrase is abbreviated
from the addition,
' and he'll hang
himself.
Give way to booze (Street). Mode
of describing habits of drinking.
Give it a drink ( Theatre and Musichall,
1897). Fin de sttcle shape of
condemnation conferred upon a bad
piece, or some poor turn at the music
halls.
Give out (American). End finish ;
from a mine giving out as to ore.
Give way (Ladies', 19 cent.).
Weep, break down, resolve in tears.
Unhappily the infection appeared to
extend its influence even to Mr Barrymore,
who, when Mr Forbes-Robertson
was preparing to bring the scene to a
close by 'taking the measure of an
unmade grave ', had begun to exhibit in
his turn an alarming tendency to '
give
way', as the ladies say. D. N., llth
November 1882.
Give the shake (American).
Abbreviation of shaking hands upon
departure.
Give us a rest (American, 1882).
A figurative way of asking a long
talker to curtail his sermon.
Give him a rolling for his all
over (Street). Corruption of give him
a Roland for his Oliver.
Giving one. The one here
mentioned may be a kiss or a blow.
Glim (Thieves'). Candle.
Glory-oh (Navy). Name given by
the crew to the Glory.
Glory hole (Street). One of the
names found for the places of meeting
of the Salvationists in their early
days.
The '
Glory Hole ' Disturbances at
Maidstone: The 'Glory Hole' disturbances
were continued last night at
Maidstone. D. N., 24th October 1887.
Glow (Com. Class). Blush.
Go and eat coke (Back Street).
Direction implying contempt.
Go around (American). Drift ; go
with current in life ; live thought-
Go-away (Soc., 1886). The dress
into which a bride passes before she
departs with her husband.
Go close (SportingAnglo-American).
To the winning post. Abbreviation.
Go down one (Com. London). To
be vanquished.
Go in (Peoples'). Act with absolute
vigour.
' Go in and win '
is the best
142
Go Off Go-between
known of the applications of this
phrase.
The person who jumped on the communion
table at St Paul's Cathedral
the other day, pulling down the crucifix,
knocking over the flowers and other
adornments, may be said to have had
a very inexpensive 'go in'. He had
been fined 5. Entr'acte, April 1883.
Go off (Theatrical}. Go off the
stage.
Go off (Soc. ). Not to take place.
Mr Matthews: 'There is something
cut out of the diary ?
' ' That was an
engagement that went off.' ' Whenever
an engagement goes off you cut it out ?
'
'Yes.' 'What do you mean by an
engagement going off ?
' ' When a
person says he will call and does not, I
cut it out.' Sir C. Dilke, Crawford
Divorce Suit, July 1886.
Go on the aeger (Oxford). Signs
the sick-list.
If a man is ill, or thinks he is the
will often being father to the thought
he 'goes on the seger' that is to say,
he puts his name down on the sick-list
and obtains the luxury of a hot dinner
in his rooms./). T., 14th August 1899.
Go on tick (Hist.), Credit short
for ticket. Fallen very low in the
world.
This phrase is derived from the French
word 'Etiquet,' a little note, breviate or
best i.e., a ticket or note being made
or taken instead of payment ; consequently,
to go on trust or credit.
" We'll play on tick, and lose the Indies ;
I'll discharge it all to-morrow. "
Dryden,
An Evening's Love.
Go on with the funeral (American).
Continue the ceremony.
Go out foreign (Thieves'). To
emigrate under shady circumstances.
Go one better (American).
Superiority from a term at 'poker',
or 'brag'.
The merry Duchess can see the late
Mrs Lydia Pinkham, and go her one
better. jy. York Puck, September 1883.
Go solid (American-Eng., 1884).
Thorough.
The Irish Nationalist vote, whatever
it may amount to, will, in American
phraseology, 'go solid', against the
Liberal party. D. N., 10th Sept. 1885.
Go to Hanover (Jacobite, 18 cent.).
Paraphrase of ' Go to Hell 'Hanover
being quite on a par with the hotter
place in the opinion of the Jacobites.
Go to bed (Printers', 1860-80).
Phrase used by printers in reference to
printing a newspaper on the bed of the
printing-press.
Go to Hell or Connaught (Hist.).
Be off. From the time of Cromwell,
but still heard, especially in Protestant
Ireland. Means utter repudiation of
the person addressed. The Parliament
(1653-54) passed a law, driving away
all the people of Ireland who owned
any land, out of Ulster, Munster, and
Leinster.
Go to sleep (American-English).
Fail, expire, come to an end, now
generally accepted ; but in the fiist
place used as to wandering theatrical
and other amusements companies about
the U.S. A.
Go up (Oxford and Cambridge). To
go, academically, to one 'Varsity or the
other.
Wiclif went up to Oxford between
1335 and 1340. Balliol was his college
naturally, as he was a North Countryman.
D. N., 30th December 1884.
(See Go down).
Go up (Theatrical). The action of
going up the stage that is to the
back boards of that platform. (See Go
off, Come on).
Go up one (Peoples'). Applause.
Derived from the school class the
scholar going one nearer the top as he
goes up one.
Go-aheaditiveness (Amer.) Success.
Go-between, The (Holborn, W.C.,
1897). St Alban's Church, Holborn.
This high church used to be called
' Machonichie's ' from the name of its
first spiritual director, who, dying in the
snows of Scotland, was succeeded by
Father Stanton, when the church came
to be called ' Stanton's '. It acquired
the title here given from a police-court
case.
Mr Horace Smith : What is your religion
?
The Woman : Well, my boy was christened
at St Alban's, Holborn.
Mr Carr (second clerk) : Is that Church
of England ?
The Woman : I don't know. You
ought to know ; you're more learned
than me.
Mr H. Smith : Is it a Roman Catholic
Church ?
Th Woman: Well, it's between the
two. It ain't Roman Catholic, and yet
143
Go ivithout Passport Gold Hunters
it's very High. It's a go-between.
D. T., 5th February 1897.
Go without passport (Amer.
1860). Commit suicide.
Go wrong (Soc., 1870). Antithesis
of prosper.
Goes Fanti (Scientific, 19 cent.).
Tendency to return to primitive lifeatavism.
Another sort of man simply 'goes
Fanti,' like the Rev. John Greedy, M. A.,
Oxon, and reverts to savagery. D. N.,
25th August 1887.
Going 'ome (L. Class). Dying.
Going into laager (Colonial, passing
to England). Taking precautions
against danger. From S. Africa,
where the farmers in a given district,
when fearing an attack from natives,
assemble their waggons and form them
into a zigzag circle or square, and
pitch their tents within it. This is
going into laager.
The news from Bechuanaland this
morning is more serious. The magistrate
and farmers at Kuruman have
gone into laager. D. T., 9th January
1897.
Going ter keep a peanner-shop
(Street, London). Evidence of complete
grandeur, said aloud of and to a
neighbour or other person passing in
all the flaunting array adapted to
holiday-making.
Going to Calabar (Naval). Dying
from Calabar being situated on the
marshy estuary of Cross River, West
Coast of Africa, and particularly one
of the spots called white men's graves.
Going to buy anything? (Streets,
1896 on). Evasive request for a drink.
One man who wants refreshment
badly meets another, and puts this
minute inquiry.
Going to see a dawg (Sporting}.
Meaning a woman, whose social position
may be assumed by her association
with 'dawg' always thus spelt
or pronounced.
Going to see a man (Anglo-Amer.,
1883). Going to get a drink.
A young fellow, who had a pretty
young woman iu tow, got up after each
act and went out. When he came back
the second time his companion asked :
'Did you see him?' 'See whom?' he
demanded. ' The man you went to see.
'
' I didn't go out to see a man ; I wanted
to get a drink,' was the candid rejoinder.
The chronicler adds that the frankness
of this admission so overpowered her
that she could only squeeze his hand and
say,
' Oh, George ! and was it good ?
'
Ref., 6th September 1885.
Gone coon (Amer. -Eng. ). Raccoon,
which has taken refuge in a tree, and
thus offers a perfect aim to the sportsman.
Conquered, trapped.
Gone over a goodish bit of grass
(Peoples'}. Tough referring to a very
hard leg of mutton, presumably old.
Good example of evasive satire.
Gone through Hades with his hat
off (Amer. just understood in England).
Bold.
Gone through the sieve (Managers').
Bankrupt lost from sight.
Gone to Chicago (Eng.-Amer.).
Vanished, levanted. Last outcome
( 1884) of G. T. T. (q.v.).
The spectacle of half a score of goldlaced
and brass-buttoned generals in full
uniform gravely discussing whether a
fellow-officer was or was not wanting in
proper respect for a civilian now shorn
of official station and ' gone to Chicago
'
cannot fail to be inspiring. New York
Mercury, April 1885.
Gone to Rome (Obscure}. Become
silent.
Catholic Spain still keeps up her old
traditions of Holy Week observances and
religious ceremonies. When the clock
strikes ten on the morning of Maundy
Thursday all carriage, cart and tramwaycar
traffic ceases, even in the streets of
Madrid ; and the capital of Spain becomes
a Silent City for forty- eight hours,
until ten o'clock strikes on Saturday
morning, and the bells of the churches
' return from Rome ', as the popular saying
has it, and announce High Mass.
D. N. , 4th April 1890.
(See Sent to Coventry. )
Godfer (Peoples'). Troublesome
child. Short for God-forsaken.
God-forbids (Rhyming). Kids a
cynical mode of describing children,
by poor men who dread a long family.
God-speed (Nautical). Hospitable
meal given when a vessel is about to
sail.
Mr Sutherland at a God-speed party
on board the Valetta said, etc. D. N. t
3rd March 1884.
Golblast (Amer., 1883). A mild
oath.
Gold hunters (American}.
Californians.
144
Gom Got Line
Gom (Political, 1883). G.O.M.
became a word. Coined on the initials
of Graiid Old Man Mr Gladstone,
who in this year was quite the idol
of the people.
Gonnows ( Women of Lower Class,
19 cent.). God knows with the 'd'
elided. ' Gonnows I'm innercent Mrs
Biffley gonnows that.'
Gonoph (E. London). Thief this
word being Hebrew for the same.
Good curtain (Theatrical). Good
ending to an act.
Good hiding (Peoples'). The good
refers to the hider, not the hided.
The second word refers to the hide,
or skin of the victim.
Good strange (Queen Ann). God's
strings, that is, the cords which
bound string having possibly been
pronounced strang, as it still is in
some parts of England.
Good strange I swear I'm almost
tipsy. Congreve, The Double Dealer.
Good thing out of it (Peoples'
Hist. ) . Success probably not wholly
unaccompanied by smartness.
Meantime it is as well to put in a word
of warning against the notion that the
British Government seeks to use a
common commercial phrase to make a
' good thing oat of it
' from a financial
point of view. D. T., 18th January
1898.
Good young man (L. Peoples',
1881). Catch phrase for hypocrite.
Brought in by Mr Arthur Roberts in
a song. (See Bad young man.)
Goose (U.S.A.). Practical joke.
Has nothing to do with goosing in
theatres.
Gooseberry-picker (Soc.old). A
confidant in love matters, who shields
the couple, and brings about interviews
between them.
Gorblimeries (Police). Seven Dials.
Gorblimy (about 1875). A gutter
phrase A corruption of 'God blind
me'.
Gord keep us (London- Jewish). A
vulgar translation of one of the most
beautiful Hebrew ejaculations.
Gordelpus (Street). A '
starver,
' or
casual, who has obtained this name
from his ordinary exclamation
'Gordelpus (God help us) what's a
cove ter do ?
'
Gosh ding (Anglo- Amer.). God
damn.
Gospel according to St Jeames
(Soc., 1847 on). Snobbery, abject
devotion to persons of position.
Derived from Thackeray's Jeames de
la Pluche.
Gospel of gloom (Anti -
aesthetic,
1880). Satirical description of
sestheticism which tended to doleful
colours, gloomy houses, sad limp
dresses, and solemn, earnest behaviour.
As what was called ' the artistic dress '
was never adopted by acknowledged
beauties or ladies of rank and fashion so
did that theory of house decoration
familiarly known as ' the gospel of gloom ',
completely fail to obtain any grip in
Grosvenor, Berkeley, St James's, or
Belgrave Square. D. N. Workers, etc.,
17th September 1898.
Gospel of the tub (Society, 1845).
The mania for the use of cold water.
A bath was, all over Europe, a luxury,
or a remedy for illness, until what has
been called the gospel of the tub was
commenced in England. Athletics, tubbing,
and the Broad Church seized on
the English mind together, and cold
water was preached as the great preserver
of strength and beauty. D. N.,
9th February 1883.
Got a clock (Peoples', Historical).
Carrying a handbag. The creation of
this phrase is quite historical. The
first serious explosion by dynamite in
London (Victoria Terminus, 1883) was
effected by dynamite in connection
with an American clock whose hammer
struck the trigger of a pistol whose
charge fired the explosion. (See
Fenian. )
Got a collar on (Street). Stuck up.
Got a face on him (Peoples').
Evasion of ugly.
Got the crop (Military up to
1856). Short hair. Until after the
Crimean War, when the long beards
the men brought home resulted in the
hair being close cropped as a matter
of natural taste ; hair in the British
army was worn somewhat long.
Got the glow (Com. London).
To blush.
Got it (General, 19 cent.). The
' it
' here is very emphatic, and means
punishment in excelsis.
Got line (Theatrical, 1870 on).
Shortly
'
go
'
; but the words mean
145
Got Right Grey-mite
more than this. They infer vigour,
grace, strength and charm in movement,
especially in dancing. Only
applied to women.
Got right (Sporting, 19 cent.}.
Cured.
Mr C. Hibbert has, we understand,
sent Kirkhnl to Jesse Winfield to be got
right. Jesse is a good trainer and rider,
but he has theories. Eo. News, 23rd
January 1896.
Got swing (Artistic generally, 1880).
Equivalent to 'go', vigour or the
French avoir la ligne.
Got thar (Anglo-Amer., 1880). Got
there completion, triumph, victory.
Got the morbs (See., 1880).
Temporary melancholia. Abstract
noun coined from adjective morbid.
Got the pants (Common}. Panting
from over-exertion. Figure of speech.
Got the perpetual (Peoples' ). Chiefly
confined to vigorous and go ahead
young men.
Got the shutters up (Peoples'}.
Surly from the silent appearance of
a closed shop.
Got the woefuls (Peoples'). Miserable,
wretched, in the dumps.
Got up and dusted (Amer.-Eng.).
Escaped from a man when running
away throwing up the dust behind
him.
Got up no end (Peoples'). Magnificent
personal display, appertaining to
all parts of the dress and person.
Cotter -dam-merung (Soc. 1862).
Grotesque swearing which was used
after Wagner had -allowed his Ring to
be performed in London (1862).
Gowned (L. Fashion, 1890 on).
Evening dressed.
The diamonds worn by Mrs Raleigh,
exquisitely
' gowned ' we believed that
is the word would not bear the scrutiny
of the experts of Hatton Garden. D. T.,
26th September 1895.
Grab -bag (Anglo-American).
Tombola, or lucky bag, filled with small
and large prizes disguised in sawdust.
Grabber (Thieves'). Evasive term
amongst the fraternity for a garotter.
Grabbles (Country). Infantry.
Probably disguised grubbies, from the
evident fact that the infantry are not
out of the mud as are the cavalry.
Grace o' God (Financial). Term
given to the copy of a writ issued upon
a bill of exchange.
Grandfather Clock (Peoples', 1868).
High eight-day clock. Never had a
name before this date. From an
American song called 'My Grandfather's
Clock,' which became popular
and gave this title.
Grand Old Man (Pol., 1880-90).
Mr W. E. Gladstone. Mr Bradlaugh,
although claiming no originality for
this phrase, was the cause of its
popularity, through introducing it, in
reference to Mr Gladstone, in a speech
at Northampton.
Five minutes later an almost painful
silence, followed by a craning of necks
and a general rising from chairs and
benches, proclaimed the fact that the
' Grand Old Man ' had been seen
emerging from the central doorway at
the back of the stage. D. T., September
1896. (SeeG.OM.)
Grand Young Man (Pol., 1885).
R,t. Hon. Joseph Chamberlain in
contradiction to the Grand Old Man.
Granite-boys (American). People
of New Hampshire, which is a graniteproducing
territory
Grass before breakfast (Irish, 18
cent, and early 19 cent.}. Duel. May
be a jocular derangement of grace
before breakfast.
Dick Dawson had a message conveyed
to him from O'Grady requesting the
honour of his company the next morning
to 'grass before breakfast'. Lover,
Handy Andy, ch. xix.
Grasses (Printers'}. A cry directed
at any one particularly polite ; probably
from French gracieuse. (See
Bridges. )
Grave-digger (Anglo - Ind., 19
cent.). Strong drink.
Too much 'route marching, pipe -
claying, and starching
' tends to dulness
and apathy, whilst it leads the British
soldier, when off duty, to make too free
an acquaintance with the '
grave-digger ',
as it is termed in India. D. T., 21st
August 1896.
Graved (Sheer adopted American).
Buried. (See
'
Nuptiated.
'
)
Gray - mare the better horse
(Peoples'). Praise of a wife, as more
able than her husband.
Gray-mite (American). Vegetarian.
From one Graham, who advocated
146
Grease Grinning at the Daisy Roots
severe vegetarianism. Grahamite
offered an irresistible opening.
Grease (Westminster School).
Struggle, contention, or scramble
of any kind, short of actual fighting.
Grease. See Bit o' Grease.
Grease-spot. The imaginary result
of a passage-at-arms.
Greaser (Navy, 1860-82). A scornful
way of describing naval engineers.
Great bed of Ware (Peoples').
Anything very large in the furniture
way. The great bed of Ware was at
"Ware, in Hertfordshire, until near
1870. Shakespeare speaks of the
Great Bed of Ware in Twelfth Night.
Great bounce (Am., 1883). Death.
EverydayAmericans, disgusted possibly
with the sentimental fashion of describing
death for some years (see Rocked
to sleep, Joins the angels, Sweet bye
and bye, etc., etc.) invented several
grotesque paraphrases of death (see
Set to music). This was one of the
attempts.
Experience has shown that iron steamships
are very dangerous in case of
collisions, so the only plan now to
increase ocean travel will be to build
vessels entirely of india - rubber. A
collision between vessels would hardly
do more than give the passengers the
grand bounce. Detroit Free Press, 1883.
Great horn-spoon (American probablyfrom
the Dutch). The Deity.
Great Seizer (Amer. satirical).
The Sheriff.
Greater Britain (Polit.). Annexation.
Term seriously invented by Sir
C. Dilke (1885) to include all colonies.
Greater London (Soc.). Popular,
well-known. * He belongs to Greater
London' meaning that he is more
than known to a mere division of
society. Originally invented to describe
the vast modern increase in
suburbs.
Grecian Bend (1865-70). A satirical
description of a stoop forward in
walking noticed amongst women of
extreme fashion during the last years of
the Second French Empire, and which
was due to the use of enormously highheeled
French boots. The fashion fell
with the Empire. (See
" Roman Fall,"
" Alexandra Limp,"
" Buxton Limp.")
Greedy Scene (Theatrical). An
acting scene in which a principal actor
or actress clears the stage in order to
have it for himself or herself, and
bring down the curtain upon himself.
Green mountain boys (American).
People ofVermont a droll translation).
Green, To be (Railway, not yet
come to people). Be cautious, from
green through the railway world being
the colour signal for caution. Good
example of changed meaning green
still in one sense meaning foolish, inexperienced.
(See All over Red. )
Greenery - yallery (Soc., 1880-84).
Distinctive term applied to the
aesthetes who affected this peculiar
'colour-tone'. Derived from W. S.
Gilbert's Patience.
When we all admired maidens clad,
like the Goddess Venus in an obscure
minor poem, 'in mourning raiment of
green and grey', when, in fact, the
'
greenery yallery
' view of life prevailed,
then blood was at a discount, and
albumen ceased to be firm in the
market. D. N., llth June 1885.
Greens (Hist. Pre-reform). Corruption
of groans, no longer comprehensible
after the reformation. This
word has got coalesced with 'agreeings
' these referring to domesticity,
and thus the inexplicable 'greens'
become comprehensible.
S'elp me greens, yer washup, I don't
know what booze is. I'm a most ill-used
bloke.
Grey (Thieves'). Evasive name for
silver from its colour presumably ;
and figuratively, money.
Griminess (Literature). Eroticism
in literature, especially French.
Attempt to write a novel in which the
characters are 'all good' was no doubt
a spirited reaction against the prevalent
'griminess' of French fiction. D. N..
19th January 1895.
Grin like a Cheshire cat (Peoples').
Fearfullest grin of all.
Grinning at the daisy roots (Anglo-
Indian). Dead singular reminiscence
of home fields, daisies being absent
from the Hindustanee flora.
For thin potations are fortunately
in favour, and the old - fashioned
gormandizers of twenty dozen of oysters
and unlimited stout are like the beerswilling
'nabobs' or 'old Indians', all,
in Calcutta language, 'grinning at the
daisy - roots' now. D. N. t 25th
September 1884.
147
Grinning Dears Gyle
Grinning dears (Military]. Linesman's
nick-name for ' Grenadiers '.
Groceries sundries (Trade). Wine
and bottled spirits sold furtively on
credit to women the bills sent in to
their husbands including the cost of
these liquids, itemed as (groceries
sundries).
Grogging (Peoples'). Adulteration.
Took its rise from making false grog
by pouring boiling water into empty
whisky barrels, impregnated with the
spirit. Thence passed as a well-understood
word to represent adulteration in
general.
Groping for Jesus (Peoples', 1882).
Public prayer. Derived from one of
the imitative military orders of General
Booth, the creator of the Salvation
Army. They did actually use the cry
'
Grope for Jesus grope for Jesus ',
when the followers fell upon their
knees.
Groundling (Theatre, 16 cent.).
Occupier of the pit, probably came out
of the bear-pit.
Grouse (Army). Grumble and
growl. This is a provincial word still
in extensive use for worrying and
scratching.
Growler - shovers (Peoples'). Cabmen.
Grub - hamper (Public Schools').
Consignment of sweet edibles from
home.
Gruel (American). Sloppy poetical
effort.
Guanoing the mind (Sor.., 1847).
Reading French novels. Invention
of Disraeli, published in Tancred.
Accepted by Geo. Eliot. "This is a
piece of impiety which you may expect
from a lady who has been guanoing
her mind with French novels. This is
the impertinent expression of Disraeli,
who, writing himself much more
detestable stutf than ever came from a
French pen, can do nothing better to
bamboozle the unfortunates who are
seduced into reading his Twiwred, than
speaking superciliously of all other
men and things." Life, vol. i.,
p. 163.
Guess (American-English). Think ;
as 'I guess not'. Supposed to have
come from U.S.A. to England, but it
seems in the first place to have gone
there from here. Escalus, in
Shakespeare's Measure for Measure,
replies to a question,
'
I guess not'.
Guffoon (Irish). An awkward,
shambling fellow. From Italian.
Gugusse (French used by certain
English Catholics). An effeminate
youth who frequents the private company
of priests. In Paris (1880) the
word was taken from the name of one
of the novels specially directed about
this time at the French priesthood.
Guinea gold (Peoples', 18 cent.).
Sincere perfect. The gold coin of
the whole eighteenth century was made
of gold from the coast of Guinea.
It was of a magnificent yellow and
gave the name to the new twenty-one
shilling coin.
Guiver (Street Boy Swells, 1890 on).
The tignasse or sweep of hair worn
down on the forehead, lower and lower
as the '90's proceeded. (See Quiff. )
Gum (Lower Peoples'). Said to be
abbreviation of ' God Almighty '.
Gummed (American-English Boys').
American boys' ways of referring to
age.
' He's gummed '
meaning that
he has no teeth left that he is only
fit to die.
Gummed (Amer.-Eng.). Equal to
damned. Disguised swearing. Term
very common in U.S.A.
Gum-suckers. A native of Tasmania,
where gum-trees abound; a
fool.
Gummy (Sporting, 1870). Swell, a
grandee. Imported by English racing
book-makers who infested and infest
Paris. A translation of ' gommeux '.
Gummy composer (Musical). Old
and insipid.
Gun - flints (Amer.). People of
Rhode Island.
Gunnery Jack (Naval). Gunnery
lieutenant very popular in the Navy
during the Boer War, and especially
after the relief of Ladysmith.
Gunning (Amer.-Eng.). Shooting,
Gyle (Fast Life, 1850-78). Shortened
familiar, and secretive title for Argyle
Rooms, Windmill Street.
148
H. 0. G. Hand-me-down Shop
H
H. O. G. (American). Satire upon
titles of honour High Old Genius.
H. Q. (Volunteers', 1860, etc.).
Abbreviation of Head Quarters.
Had enough (Street, 19 -cent.).
Way of saying a man is drunk.
Haggis debate (Parliamentary).
Referring to Scotland and Scotch
affairs.
Hail up (Australian). Put up, as
at an inn. Also an order by a bushranger
an intimation to throw up the
hands, so that no weapon shall be
used.
Haines (American-Eng.). Intimation
of sudden retreat. Heard in
Liverpool, whence it arrived from New
York.
Hair raised (American - Eng.).
Feminine quarrelling.
Hairpin (American Soc., 1882). A
simpleton.
Hake (Cornish Local). Offensive
description of a man of St Ives probably
because hake is a very common
fish, or possibly because it and St Ives
smell equally fishy.
It is an unpardonable sin to describe
a gentleman of St Ives as a 'hake'.
D. T., 20th August 1896.
Half-a-brewer (Low Street, 1850).
Drunk.
Half-a-doz ( Theatrical). Short for
half-a-dozen.
Half-a-foot o' port (Strand, 19
cent. ). Glass of that wine at ' Short's '
opposite Somerset House. From
the height of the glass, its shape being
that of the champagne beaker of the
'40's.
In the front department we have the
' ladies ' who are the life-long companions
of hard work, and enjoy their port of
uncertain date, at 3^d. the half foot, for
the size of the long glasses warrants this
description. People, 20th November
1898.
Halfalfanalf. See Arfarfanarf.
_Half-and-half.
See Arf-an-arf.
Half a pint of mild and bitter
(Tavern). Intimated by a whistled
phrase, well known to bar tenders,
and quite as readily accepted as a
spoken order throughout London
except the West district.
Half a ton of bones done up in
horsehair (Sporting). A thin illconditioned
young horse.
Half - a - yennork (Com. Londo-n).
Half-a-crown.
Half-crown ball (Mid.-CL, 1880).
A respectable, commonplace hop.
Half -go. Three pennyworth of
spirits, for mixing with hot or cold
water.
Half-hour gentleman (Soc., 1870).
A man whose breeding is only
superficial. (See For-ever gentleman).
Half - past nines (Lond. Streets).
Very large feminine boots and shoes
nines being a large size even for men
of moderate feet.
Halfpenny howling swell (1870-
79). An imitation howling swell a
pretender. (See Brown.)
Halfpenny-lot day. (See 'Apennylot
day.)
Half-rats (Peons', 1897). Partially
intoxicated.
Half up the pole (Street). Half
drunk. (See Up the pole.)
Hallelujah galop (Salvationists').
A quick hymn in or f time, to
which they inarched invented by
General Booth to attract the multitude.
Hallelujah lass. (See Ally Luja
Lass.)
Halligator (Coffee-home). One of
the variety of names for herring.
Hamburg (Anglo-Indian). Bazaar
rumour.
Hamlets (Theatrical, 1885). Omelettesstarted
on Ash Wednesday by
the actors of the Princess's Theatre,
where Mr Wilson Barrett was then
playing Hamlet. These gay souls
dined and supped at the Swiss Hotel,
Compton Street, and necessarily therefore
found themselves before omelettes.
They were dubbed ' Hamlets ' and
they have kept the name in 'the
profession',
Hammered (N. CountryIron Trade).
Married very local word.
Hampshire hog (Sussex). Hampshire
man. (See Sussex Sow. )
Hand - me - down shop (Poor).
Illegal pawnbroker's where halfpence
149
Hand of Trumps Haussmannisation
are advanced upon property which the
Lombardians will not look at. Used to
designate the shop. (See Ammedown.)
Hand of Trumps (Mid. - Class),
Bound to win. Victory.
Handful (Mid. - Class). Trouble,
difficulty. Much to contend with.
Handy Jack (Peoples'). Contemptuous
form of 'Jack of all
trades'.
Handy man, The (Boer War. 1899-
1900). Sailor. When the Boers
(October 1899) overran Natal, the
sailors who went to the front with
cannon showed themselves very active.
The handy man. High praise for the
naval brigade. People, 1st April 1900.
Hang1 up (Amer.). Hold your
tongue.
Hang up the ladle (Soc., 18 cent.).
To marry.
Hanoverjacks (Peoples
7
). Imitation
sovereigns. Probably originally false
coins bearing the effigy of Jacobus, or
James II., sent over from Germany,
and passed as genuine in William
III.'s reign. It may be doubted if the
issuers could have been prosecuted
for their coins were not imitations of
really current coin.
On searching the prisoner I found
twenty-five
' To Hanover '
sovereigns
usually carried by magsmen, several
'Bank of Engraving' notes, and two
duplicates relating to coats. Police
Report, 1888.
Happen on (People's, Old). Discover.
Happy dosser. (Se&'Appy dosser.)
Hard and fast line (Parliamentary).
Equal to obstinacy, argument which
refuses to hear reason.
Mr Henley did not after 1870 take any
prominent part in the debates. Some of
his sayings will probably be always recollected
in Parliament. The ' hard and
fast line ' and the '
ugly rush ' are destined
apparently to become stock phrases in
our Parliamentary controversy. D. N.,
10th December 1884.
Hard on the setting sun (Anglo-
Saxon Hist., 19 cent.). Phrase indicating
utter scorn of the Red Indian.
' Hard on the setting sun '
is a characteristic
bye-word with which to signalise
his humiliation. People, 13th June 1897.
Hard Simpson (Milk-sellers'). Ice.
Simpson was the general name for
water up to the time when the introduction
of the system of market inspectors
put an end, or almost an end,
to adulterated milk. This phrase came
out in a police court 1865.
Hard tack (Sailors'). A sea biscuit.
In passed-away times it ivas hard.
Tack is the diminutive of tackle, to
encounter. (See Soft tack. )
Hard up (All Classes). Impecunious.
Harder (Anglo-Amer.). Higher, in
reference to betting.
Hardware (Army and Navy, 1880).
Ammunition in general, and shells in
particular. Jocular description.
If King Theebaw has had the precaution
to lay in a supply of torpedoes, he
may be able to give the expedition some
trouble, but the chances are that the
authorities at Kangoon may have had an
eye on such kind of ' hardware '. D. N, .
12th November 1885.
Harlequin Jack (Law Class). A
man who shows off equally in manner
and in dress ; e.g.,
' What is 'e ? on'y
a 'arlequin Jack.'
Haro. To yell. (See Cry haro. )
Harrico veins. (See 'Arrico veins.)
Harriet Lane (Peoples', 1875).
Australian canned meat because it
had the appearance of chopped-up meat;
and Harriet Lane was chopped up by
one Wainwright.
Harvested (Amer.). Guarded,
watched over.
Hash dispensary (Amer.). Boarding
house.
Hash-slingers (Amer., 1880).
College-student waiters in up-mountain
hotels.
Hasty pudding (Peoples'). Literal
for it is flour and water boiled and
completed in five minutes. (See Stirabout
; Turn-round pudding. )
Hatter? Who's your (See Bad
hat.)
Haussmannisation (1860-70 on).
Imperious action in relation to the
improvement of cities without reference
to the liberty of the subject.
From Haussman, the minister of
Napoleon III., under whose administration
half Paris, for political purposes,
was pulled down and rebuilt.
But, after all, the possibilities of improvement
in this direction are strictly
limited; land is too valuable, and the
150
Have a Cab Heckling
imperial process known as ' Haussmannisation
' would not in all cases be popular.
D. T., 12th July 1898.
Have a cab (London). Paraphrase
for admission or reproach of intoxication.
Have a down (Australian). Bear
a grudge. Very significant Saxon.
Also, the handicapper would ' have a
down ' as the phrase goes in Sydney
on that owner for all forthcoming races.
JRef., 26th September 1886.
Have a turn (Pug., 19 cent.). A
bout of fisticuffs, a pugilistic skirmish.
Ansburgh even told one of the officers
that he would have liked to ' have a turn
with him ', placing himself at the time in
a sparring attitude. D. N., 10th April
Have out (Peoples', 1860). To hold
a frank discussion, verging upon personalities.
But she cannot forego the satisfaction
of ' having it out ' with her husband.
D. N., 2nd April 1883.
Have to rights (Lower Peoples',
1880). To vanquish frequently used
in the passive voice.
Have to wait for the honey (Devon-
Wait until hungry.
Havelock's saints (Military Indian
Mutiny). Teetotallers, abstainers.
Having (Leicestershire). Greedy.
Mrs Deane was proud . . . and having
enough she wouldn't let her husband
stand still for want of spurring. George
Eliot, Mill on the Floss.
Haw-haw toff
(Street). Swell,
aristocrat 'haw-haw' being an expression
very common as to the opening
words of upper class men, while toff is
almost the sound caused by haughtily
drawing in the breath with the lower
lip on the edge of the upper teeth.
Hawk and pigeon (Soc., 19 cent.).
Villain and victim.
The station-sergeant on duty}>
not
knowing the detective, supposed him to
be the accused. 'But I am the officer
in the case.' It was not until the real
captive intervened with an explanation
that hawk and pigeon were sorted out
properly for the occasion.' D. T., 17th
June 1897.
Hawking (Amer.}. Pouncing. Derived
from the action of birds of prey
crashing on their quarry.
Hawkins, Sir Frederic. (See
'Awkins.)
Haymaking (College and Army).
Practical joking.
A number of men go into a friend's
room, find him absent, and testify to
their chagrin by disturbing the arrangements
of his furniture. But haymaking
of this sort is comparatively harmless
and inoffensive. D. N., 1882.
He lies at the Pool of Bethesda
(St. Beghs'i). This comes from the
German. To lie at the Pool of Bethesda
is used proverbially in Germany, in
speaking of the theological candidates
who are waiting for a benefice.
He never does anything wrong
(Music Hall, 1883). Satirical modb
of describing a man who never does
anything right.
' What bankrupt
again ? Oh, impossible he never does
anything wrong.
'
He worships his creator (Soc.).
Said of a self-made man who has a
good opinion of himself. .
Heap o' coke (Thieves', Rhyming}.
Bloke which means a comrade.
Some heaps o' coke haven't got an
ounce of cheek in them until they're
Hatch kennurd, but they ain't worth
calling into account.
Heap o' saucepan lids (Rhyming,
1880). Rhyming with dibs money.
This is one of the trade titles for
money, and comes out of the hardware
trades.
Heaping in (Amer. -Agri.}. Accumulating
an argument, or debt.
From heaping in produce.
Heapy (Rhyming}. Bloke (a chum).
Short for heap o' coke.
Heated term (Amer.}. Name for
the short but fierce American summer.
Hearthstone ( Coffee Palace}. Butter.
It results out of the term '
door-steps ',
as a description of the flight of three
or four thick slices of bread and butter
on a small plate. The action of rubbing
hearthstone over house - steps, and of
spreading butter thinly on the slices
of bread yielded this grotesque figure
of speech.
Heaves (Com. Class}. Spasms.
Graphic description of the complaint.
Heavy hand (Com. Peoples'}. Deep
trouble.
Heavy merchant (Theatr.}. Man
who plays the villain.
Heckling (N.B., 18-19 cent.}. Mild
bullying from cock-fighting, heck-
151
Heckling Higher Culture
ling being the process of pecking out
the neck-feathers.
Heckling (Polit., 1850 on). Searching
enquiry by way of questions asked
of political candidates. From passing
hanks of raw hemp through carding
machines.
There was some timid heckling, to
which Mr Gladstone good-humouredly
replied. D. N., llth November 1885.
Hell and Tommy (Old English).
Said to be Hal and Tommy, i.e.,
Henry VIII. and Thomas Cromwell
this couple, after the fall of Woolsey,
playing havoc with church property.
'
I'll play hell and tommy with you !
'
In all probability this phrase is a corruption
of ' hell and torment'.
Helter - skelter (Historic). Full
speed. Reid says :
' Helter-skelter is
a contraction of the Latin, Hilareter
celerter cheerfully and quickly.' Probably
an onomatope very .fortunately
applied when Van Tromp's fleet fled
before the English some ships north
towards the Helder, others south
towards the Scheldt (Dutch Skelder).
And helter-skelter have
I rode to thee,
And tidings do I bring.
Shakespeare, Henry IV.,
2 part, Act 5, Sc. 3.
He-male (Com. London, 1880). A
full shape of male, and resulting
from calling female she-male (q.v.).
Hemp's grown for you (Peoples',
17 cent.). Periphrastic prognostication
of the gallows flax coming from hemp
and rope from flax. Meaning that
already the executioner's cord is in
existence for the beneficiary referred
to. (See
' Dance upon nothing ',
' Mount
the cart'.)
Henri Clark (Drury Lane, 1883).
Flatter. From the flattering stagemode
of a singer of this name.
Her Majesty's naval police
(19 cent.). Sharks whose presence
all over the world prevents sailors from
deserting by way of harbour water.
Hercules pillars (Lit. and Soc.
from Latin). Limit of belief. Gibraltar
and the corresponding rock on the
African coast, were, for the Roman,
the limits of the world of waters, and,
colloquially, of any extreme statement.
Hero-hotic (Bohemia, 1897).
Grotesque pronunciation of 'erotic'
and applied to the more eccentric
novels of the day.
He's saving them all for 'Lisa
(Peoples'). Said of a good young man
who will not use oaths or strike blows.
This phrase arose in consequence of a
row between a violent beggar and a
frank young man of the people. The
mendicant asked for a copper, the
frank youth intimated he was saving
them all for 'Lisa. A fight followed.
Hess-u-hen (Lower Middle Class).
A way of asking for a copy of The
Sun newspaper.
Hey lass let's be hammered for
life on Sunday ! Probably, in the
first place, from the work of the
blacksmith at Gretna Green. It was
said of him jocularly that he hammered
couples together rather than married
them.
Heye-glass weather (Street, 1860
on). Foggy requiring the help of
an eye, or rather eye-glass. Attack
upon young men wearing single eyeglasses,
which became common in this
year.
Hidgeot (Street). Gutter translation
of idiot.
High (Oxford). High Street.
Why, Oxford has laid out more than
100,000 in adding a barrack for
purposes of examinations to the ' High ',
already sufficiently modernised by the
tramway. D. N., February 1885.
High collar and short shirts
(Music Hall, 1882). This was an
attack upon the cheap swells of the
period.
High time, or (intensified), High
old time (American). Jovial period,
enjoyment without much control.
' Look to your safes the burglars are
having a high old time of it. G. A.
Sala, /. L. News, 10th February 1883.
High part (Dublin Theatrical).
Satirical phrase for the gallery.
High shelf (Peoples'). The ground.
Highflyer (Nautical). Slave-ship.
High-grade (American-Eng., 1895).
Superior. From railway world meaning
steep above the general level.
High - toned coloured society
(American, 1882). Negro-astheticism.
Higher culture (Soc., 1885 on).
Oatch word of enthusiastic society
people interested in education, who
152
Highland Fling Holloway Castle
assume that all persons are capable of
advanced education.
Moreover, even if we neglect to
organise in this way the force which
appears to be thus mysteriously making
for ' the higher culture,' its mere appearance
among us is a highly encouraging
sign. D.T., llth February 1897.
Highland fling (Political, 1881).
Series of speeches in Scotland. When
Gladstone (1879-80) delivered his
famous Midlothian speeches, this term
was applied to the statesman's efforts,
and has since been accepted as
representing a political speech delivered
in Scotland.
Hill-top literature. Solid advice.
Derived from danger-board warnings
to cyclists on the summits of steep
hills.
The attention which is now being
given to that form of '
hill-top literature ',
known as ' danger-boards ', has resuscitated
some stories concerning them.
It is said that in Ireland a tourist went
down a steep and dangerous hill and
was astonished to observe that it seemed
to be without the necessary warning.
However, when he got to the foot of the
descent he found the notice,
' This hill is
dangerous to cyclists '. D. T., 14th July
1898.
Hinchinarfer (Streets, 1880 on).
Gruff-voiced woman, with shrieking
sisterhood tendencies. Obscure erotic.
His hand was out (Peoples').
Ready to take all and everything at
all times.
Histed (American, outlying}. Vigilance
committee evasion for hanged.
Corruption of hoisted pronounced
high-sted.
Historical (Society, 1882). Oldfashionedsaid
of a costume or bonnet
which has been seen more than three
times.
Now, though dinner-dresses are rich,
costly, and elaborate, if a lady appears
at a fourth dinner or even a third in the
same gown, it is immediately dubbed
historical. Fashion as it ivas and is,
D. N., 26th December 1882.
Hitch up (Anglo-American). Start.
From harnessing two horses to run
abreast.
Ho he's got the white coat
(Provincial). Meaning he is drunk.
Hold a candle (Peoples'). Be
humble. Serve abjectly, as seen in the
proverb. Took its rise from the habit
of a host receiving an honoured guest
by holding a candle in each hand and
walking backwards before the arrival.
Hold stock (Eng.-American, 1879).
Assertion of possession. From the
money brokering operations in New
York.
I do not come as a grievance monger or
complainant. I do not ask for your
pity, and have not the faintest feeling
of revenge. Those were the passions of
youth a delightful period in which, as
our American friends phrase it, no
longer 'held any stock'. Mr E. Yates,
at Dinner given to him, London, 31st
May 1885.
Hold up (Society, 1860 on). To bo
cheated or turned to account. From
the American highway - man's habit
of calling upon his victim to * hold up
'
his hands, that he may not fire.
Holding up the corner (Anglo-
American). Satirical description of a
leaning idler.
Hollanders (S. London, 1875-85).
Pointed waxed moustache. "When
Napoleon III. became popular in
England (1854) many adopted the
chin-tuft or goatee he wore a tuft to
which the necessary name imperial
was given. During the first half of
the 19th century no face hair in
England was possible below the
mutton-chop whisker probably from
national horror of the over-bearded
faces of the French revolutionaries.
A Mr "W. Holland became a popular
lessee he at last reaching Covent
Garden Theatre. Throughout his
public life he grew, and always had on
hand, or rather on upper lip, the
finest pair of black - waxed sheeny
moustaches ever beheld.
Holler Cuss (London, 1899). From
Holocauste a French horse in the
Derby of 1899. There is here also a
little satire, for the horse in question
showed several faults in form.
Holocauste, colloquially
' Holler Cuss ',
excited some ribald remarks by reason
of his peculiar hue. D. T., 1st June
1899.
Holloway Castle (Peoples'). Prison
at Holloway (chiefly for debt), in the
north of London; hence, sometimes
called North Castle, as more evasive
than Holloway.
It may be taken as highly improbable
that Her Grace (of Sutherland) will be
subjected to the indignities which are
153

L ~^BV*V- -WVW T^^BW^ J*A*T^
.~,,iL_L- ..-
"
Hug Centre Idle Fellowships
Hug centre (Amer. passing to
England}. Head - quarters of public
love-making.
Central Park as a hug centre. The
amount of love made visible in Central
Park is simply appalling. N. Y.
Mercury, December 1882.
The word was soon taken up in
London, Hyde Park doing duty as a
' hug centre '.
Hullabaloo (Peoples'}. Noise, disturbance.
It would appear to be a
corruption of the French hurluberlu
the accent on the two ' lu's '.
Hullo, features ! (Com. Peoples').
Friendly salute upon meeting an
acquaintance.
Hullo, my Buck ! (Peoples'). Exclamation
of approbation. Possibly
from Villiers, Duke of Buckingham,
or from the idea of a fine deer. Or it
may be from buckram, the first stiffening
used in making men's clothes. In
that case it is a metaphor from the
man to his fashion.
Hum (Navy). Crew's name for the
Hermes.
Hum (Lower Classes, 19 cent.).
Smell evilly. This is an application
from the humming of fermentation in
an active manure heap.
Hum (Peoples', Hist.). Attract
attention.
Mr Douglas Sladen has given new life
to an old and somewhat decrepit annual ;
a new life that makes it ' hum ' in the
very direction the reading world desires.
People, 4th April 1897.
Hunder-hand (Street Boys, 1880).
Sudden blow given with advantage.
Hung (Artists', 19 cent.}. Picture
accepted and hung at an Exhibition.
' ' I'm hung at the Ac.
"
(See Walled. )
Hung up (Soc., 1879). Said where
in lower classes stuck up would be
used. From the American where
personal catastrophe is referred to by
this phrase. (See Screwed up.)
Hunkered down(Americanprairie).
Stooped, anchored down.
Hunter (Soc., 1880). Hunting
watch.
Jennings was on Friday presented with
a gold hunter and chain, by a few of his
kind friends in front, who took this
opportunity of expressing their opinion
of his form as man and manager. Ref.,
9th August 1885.
Hupper sukkles (Soc., 1846-70).
Upper circles. Introduced by
Thackeray in the De la Pluche
Papers.
Hurry up (Anglo-Indian, 1850). Be
quick originated in the river steamer
navigation of U. S. A.
Hustler (Amer. Circus). Name
invented for flaming advertisements.
Hyde Park railings (Streets of W.
London). Breast of mutton from the
parallel bones suggesting the parallel
railings.
Hyking (Peoples'}. Calling out at
or after any one.
I. T. A. (Peoples'}. Euphemism for
Irish toothache (q.v.).
I believe you, my boy (L. Class).
Certainly. Accepted by middle-class
about 1850 from the drama of The
Green Bushes, in which Paul Bedford,
then a most popular actor, used the
phrase as a catch line.
'Tis forty years since Buckstone's
drama The Green Bushes, was first
played at the Adelphi, and since Paul
Bedford's ' I believe yer, my boy !
' found
its way on to tongues of the multitude.
Ref., 18th October 1885.
I refer you to Smith (1897).
Synonym of Ananias champion long
bowyer, etc. From a character named
Smith with an affliction of lying in
The Prodigal Father (Strand Theatre,
1897).
' I refer you to Smith.' This will be
the new London catchword. Whenever
anyone has been drawing the long bow,
as Harry Paulton does in the new play,
whenever a boaster has been telling
tarrididles or lying with extra vivacity,
he will be met with the quick rejoinder,
'I refer you to Smith'./). T., 2nd
February 1897.
I say (Peoples', 19 cent. ). Protest.
Ichabod (Nonconformist). Lamentation.
From Biblical source. ' Ichabod
Ichabod I have lost my wealth.
The Lord be praised.'
Idle fellowships (Oxford and Cambridge).
The old as distinct from the
new fellowships. Parliamentary action
swept away towards the end of the
156
letqui Inventories
19th century most of these fatal sinecures.
Much has been said against what are
called idle Fellowships. Z>. N. t
November 1884.
letqui (0. L. Sporting). A remarkable
shape of phrasing, where
the first letter or so is removed from
the beginning of the word and added
at the end. The word is *
quiet'.
He (Complicated rhyming}. Dance
Isle of France dance. ' Can't he ile ?
'
I'll give you Jim Smith (Street,
1887). Thrashing. Sudden adoption
of the name of a prize fighter to
designate fighting.
Imperial pop (Street, 1854). Pop
is ginger beer, derived of course from
the sound made when drawing the
cork. The adjective was added by
street sellers of this refreshment when
Napoleon III. passed in state through
London.
Imperialists (Polit., 1888 on).
Name found by the Radicals (who were
in favour of the abandoning of the
colonies) for the Conservatives, who
wished the Empire to remain intact.
Impressionist (Soc. t 1884). Intensely
appealing directly to the
emotions.
Of late years we are accustomed to
take our notions of French dramatic art
from something more '
impressionist
'
;
more vivid and rapid and startling ;
depending more on sudden effects and
bold splashes of light and shade. D.
N., 29th April 1885.
Improve the occasion (American).
Take advantage of it.
In (Peoples'). Gain. ' I'm nothing
in by that deal.' (See Out. )
In and out (Common). Pauper who
gives notice frequently to leave the
poor-house, and who returns after a
short holiday, say a day, or from
Saturday to Monday.
There are considerable numbers of
paupers, it seems, who find the workhouse
a convenient retreat on emergency,
but have a strong aversion to permanent
residence there. They are known
familiarly as 'the ins-and-outs '. D. N. t
10th December 1884.
In for a bad thing (Peoples', 1880
on). To have ill luck.
' You are in for a bad thing, Phil, my
boy.' E. N., 23rd February 1896.
In Paris (Soc. , 19 cent. ). Eloped.
In the drag (Tailors'). Behindhand.
Incident (Amer. accepted in England).
An illegitimate child.
Indorse (Amer.). To sanction.
Inferior portion (Polit. t 1885).
Eighties party of younger Tories. From
a letter written by Mr W. E. Gladstone,
which commenced
My Dear Sir, In 1879 and 1880 the
inferior portion of the Tory party circulated
a multitude of untruths concerning
me, etc.
The phrase took at once, and was
satirically used.
Ink-bottle (Artisans'). A clerk.
Inkslinger (Navy). Purser's clerk.
Term of sovereign contempt.
Innocent (Thieves', Hist.). Referring
to a term of undeserved condemnation.
An ex-convict, who admitted having
undergone long terms of penal servitude,
applied to Mr Denman, at Westminster,
complaining that his worship gave him
three months' ' innocent ' in May 1893 at
South-Western Police Court. D. T.,
16th October 1896.
Inquiry note (Theat., 1860). Term
came into use when provincial companies
were replaced by travelling ones.
It is a letter asking for information as
to what nights a theatre may be had
for performance.
Ins (Political, 19 cent.). The Ministerial
side of the House of Commons.
(See Outs. )
Inside (Thieves'). Abbreviation of
' inside a prison '.
Beaufort's duke trots by, and then
dashes past a once member of the dangerous
classes, who has been ' inside '
many a time and oft, but who, having
run into a bit of ready, will now go
straight while straightness pays. Ref.,
14th October 1888.
Inside of (American). A very emphatic
synonym for ' within '.
Inside the mark (Anglo-Amer.}.
Moderate.
Inside the probable (Americanreaching
England). Within probability.
Introduce shoemaker to tailor
(Peoples'). Evasive metaphor for
fundamental kicking.
Inventories (Soc. , 1885). Play upon
the word inventions. In the previous
157
Inveterate Cockney Jacket, To
year a series of industrial exhibitions
had been started in the then gardens
of the S. Kensington Museum. This
initial display was the ' Fisheries ', and
from that time the successive exhibitions
had their titles changed into
plurals in ' ries '. Hence the ' Inventions
' became the Inventories.
As all the world knows by now, London
was very near losing its ' Inventories ' on
Friday, for about noon a fire broke out
there, and for some time threatened to
be a big thing. Ref., 14th June 1885.
This is the close of the season. I suppose
the Kensington Inventories has had
the best of it, and owing to this fact I
imagine many of the managers may be
deprived of that great pleasure paying
income-tax. Mr J. L. Toole's closing
speech, Toole's Theatre, 7th August 1885.
Inveterate Cockney (Political,
1885). Ignorant of country life a
mere townsman.
. . . Now, gentlemen, there are three
assumptions in this calculation, every one
of which I, an ' inveterate Cockney ', can
see at a single glance to be totally inaccurate.
Mr Joseph Chamberlain, 14th
October 1885.
Invincibles (Fenian, 1883). Short
for Invincible Brotherhood.
Irish draperies (Peoples', England).
Cobwebs.
Irish toothache (Peoples). Enceinte.
(See I. T. A.)
Irishman's rest (Peoples'). Going up
a friend's ladder with a hod of bricks.
Irons (American). Pistols.
Irvingism (Lond. Soc., 1880 on).
Imitation on or off the stage of the
mode of speaking and bearing of Sir
Henry Irving.
Mr William Felton may also be heard
of again. The ' Irvingism
' of his voice
was obviously natural and in no way
assumed. D. T., 12th October 1896.
Islands (London). Refuges (q.v.)
or raised pavements in centre of
roads, to facilitate road-crossing by
pedestrians.
The statue (Charles I., Charing Cross)
being situated on an 'island,' a certain
amount of skirmishing was necessary in
order to reach it. D. T., 31st January
1899.
It snowed (Peoples' from America}.
Catastrophe, misery.
Italian quarrel (Soc.). Death,
poison, treachery, remorselessness.
It's dogged as does it (Pugilistic).
Perseverance.
Mr Benjamin's race and nation have
generally shown themselves perfectly
alive to the truth of the principle that
' it's dogged as does it ', and they are not
as a rule devoid of wits. D. N.. 10th
February 1883.
J
J. (Peoples'). Lost reduction of
Juggins (q.v.) which in 1884 was quite
exceptionally popular.
By means of this knowledge we find
the greatest of all differences between
the raid on betting men in 1869 and the
raid on professional gamblers and their
J.'s twenty years after. Ref.. 19th April
1889.
J.A.Y. (Peoples', 1880 on). Fool,
over-trustful person, one of easy belief.
Our business is not, however, with
them or their intentions ; what we have
to do is to think of the jays who offered
about ten times the market price for a
ten-round spar. Ref., 17th November
1889.
J. S. or N. or D. (Divorce Court}.
The initials of the three forms of
disturbance amongst married folk.
Whether it was an application for a
divorce, a judicial separation, or for
nullity of marriage, no one outside the
parties interested will, probably, ever be
any the wiser, since the letter indicating
this (either
' J. S.', or 'N.', or '
D.', as
the case may be) was not added in this
instance, for some inscrutable reason.
People, 16th August 1896.
Jack (Lambeth, 1865-72). A policeman
quite local.
Jack-a-dandy (Rhyming). Brandy.
This evolution has something probably
to do with brandy, as being the most
expensive of the ordinary spirits.
Jack ashore (Peoples'). Jack
elevated practically drunk, and
larky.
Jack up (Street). To quit
especially in love affairs.
Jacked it (Obscure). Died.
Jacket (Military}. A soldier who
wears a jacket (chiefly cavalry or horse
artillery).
Jacket, To (Peoples'}. Threat to
hare you locked up as a madman.
158
Jag Jettisonise
Jag (Spanish - American - Eng.}.
Desire to use a knife against somebody
to jag him.
Jaggers (Oxford). Men of Jesus
College.
Jesus College men were called 'Jaggers',
long before a certain messenger - boy
played the part of Mercury across the
Atlantic. D. T., 14th August 1899.
Jailed (Peoples', 1879). Sent to
prison. From America, through
Liverpool, over England.
Jakkitch (Provincial). Term of
opprobrium. Probably corruption of
Jack Ketch.
Jam (Lower Class, 1 880 on). Pretty
girl presumably of easy habits. The
history of this word is very interesting.
A girl of notoriety in Piccadilly was
named ' Tart '. She, in compliment to
her sweetness, came to be styled jam
tart, and the knowing ones would ask
' Would you like a bit of jam tart ?
'
Then the tyranny of brevity asserting
itself, the phrase became 'jam', which
lasted twenty years.
Here's a timely warning for all
burlesque writers. The Examiner of
Plays, which his name is Pigott, has
determined that he will not give his
sanction to the production of any piece
in which the word 'tart' occurs. It ts
not yet known whether orders have been
issued from headquarters to all dictionary
publishers to wipe the word out of the
English language ; but the order has
been sent, or will be, first to the burlesque
makers, and to the dictionary-makers it
may be sent tart-er. Ref., 27th October
1889.
Jam-pot (Political, 1883-84). One
of the opprobrious names cast at Mr
Gladstone apropos to his recommending
to Englishmen the cultivation of
fruit and the exportation of jam.
Mr Gladstone is insulted day after day
and week after week in Tory prints. He
is a jam-pot, a wood-cutter, a hopeless
lunatic, a Jesuit, an Atheist, a windbag,
a storyteller, an idiot, and a humbug.
G. R. Sims, 28th September 1884.
Jammiest bits of jam (Com. Lon.,
1883). Absolutely perfect young
females.
Jane Shore's fate (Provincial very
ancient). Death in penury and shame.
Jap crock (Soc., I860 on). Any
piece of Japanese porcelain of a value
from 10,000 to a mere lOd.
Japanned (Soc., 1897-98). Dressed
or furnished in Japanese fashion. Play
upon the old word for lacquering.
The play is ' japanned
'
by Mr Arthur
Diosy of the Japan Society. From
Daly's Theatre, London, play - bill,
1897-98.
Jarbee (Navy). Able seaman.
Jaundy (Navy). Master-at-arms.
Supposed to be from '
gendarme '.
Jaunty (Peoples'). Self-sufficient in
appearance or words.
Jawkins (Club, 1846). A club bore.
Name-word derived from Thackeray's
'Book of Snobs'.
Jay town (Anglo - Amer., 1889).
Valueless.
A brother-journalist who has spent
some years in the United States has
written explaining to me the meaning of
a 'jay town ' term alleged to have been
used by Mrs Kendal in describing San
Francisco. Ajay town is a country town.
A 'jay' or a 'yapp' is the American
equivalent of an English yokel or country
bumpkin. Ref., 25th November 1894.
Jayhawkers (American). People of
Kansas.
Jee (American). Oath-like expression.
First syllable of Jerusalem.
' Jee ! You don't dare to do it !
'
Jeff (Anglo - American, 1862 - 83).
Master, superintendent, director,
manufacturer.
Jenny, To ( Thieves'). Comprehend.
Jeremiah, To (Peoples'). To
complain from the character of
that prophet.
Jeremiah-mongering (Soc., 1885).
Deplorable and needless lamentation.
Invented to describe the social
behaviour of those who after the fall
of Khartoum went around maintaining
that England had indeed come to a
finality.
Jerking a wheeze (Theatrical,
1860). Telling a wheeze (q.v.) with
brilliant effect.
Jersey hop (1883). An unceremonious
assembly of persons with
a common taste for valsing ; from
Jersey, U.S.A.
Jesus'-eyes (Papal). Forget-menots.
Jettisonise (Col., 19 cent.). Importedplaced
on a jetty.
159
Jeune Sikcle Josser
Jeune siecle (Soc., 20 cent.).
Conversion of fin de siecle, and describing
people equally of the same
social behaviour. Of course from
Paris.
Jib (Soc., 1848-80). Flat- folding,
'chimney-pot' hat, closed by springs
set in centre of vertical ribs. Name
from that of the French inventor
'Gibus 3
.
Jib, Big (Navy). Good wishes
' Long may your big jib draw '
ostensibly refers to a valuable sail,
but furtively has an erotic meaning.
Practically it is wishing a man, who
has served his time and is leaving the
service, health and happiness.
Jig-got o' mutton ( Thieves'). French
gigot.
Jimmies (Hist., 17 cent.). Guineas
in the reign of James II. Remains
to this day.
Jimmy Bungs (Navy). Coopers.
Jimmy Rounds (Nelsonic Period).
Frenchmen according to the Jack Tar
of the wars with France in Nelson's
time. From the cry of the French
sailor when face to face with the
English mariner ,/e me rends.
Joburg (Military, 1900 on).
Johannesburg.
Jinks the Barber (M. Class, 1850).
Secret informant. Idea suggested by
the general barber being such a
gossiper. Jinks is a familiar name for
an easy-going man. Invented by
Pierce Egan.
Job (Peoples', Hist.}. Hen-pecked
husband. Patient origin obvious.
Douglas Jerrold gave this Biblical
name to Mr Caudle.
Jobanjeramiah(Peo^gs'). Maunderer
combination of the two doleful
patriarchs.
Jockies, By (American-Provincial).
Said to be survival of early English ;
' By Jesus '
cries.
Jockeying (London Streets, 19 cent.).
Vehicular racing.
Joey (Theatrical). To mug, or
attract the attention of the public,
while the 'mugger' is up the stage,
and should be quiet, letting actors
"down the stage" have their chance.
John Fortnight ( Workmen's
London). The tallyman from his
calling every other week.
The tallyman, or ' John Fortnight ', as
the humorists call him, and the caller
for the club - money secure varying
receptions.
Johnny Crapose (Peoples'). Frenchmen.
The second word is '
crapaud ',
but how comes it that this word has
been accepted in conjunction with
Johnny to describe a Frenchman ?
Johnny Horner (Rhyming). Round
the corner meaning a public-house.
Joined the angels (Amer., 1880).
One of the ways of mentioning death.
' Do not ask me after my dear John
Thomas he has joined the angels.'
Joint (Street). Wife.
Jolly (Middle Class). Rally, a shout,
a chevy. This word is evidently very
old.
He chanced to come where was a jolly
Knight. Spenser.
Those were jolly days. Dryden.
While the jolly horns lead on propitious
day. Milton.
The jolly hunting band convene.
Beattie.
Jolly utter (London, 1881). One of
the phrases resulting out of Punch's
attack (1881) upon the Esthetic
School. This is to be found in Sir W.
S. Gilbert's piece Patience.
Broken Hearts is rather a ticklish piece
to tackle. Badly or even carelessly
played, the love-sickness and the moonstruckness
would be quite too jolly utter
for the ordinary Philistine mind to stand.
Ref., 18th February 1883.
Jonah (Theatrical, 1883). An actor
who brings bad luck to a theatre.
Suggests the superstition of the evil
eye. From Jonah's supposed ill-luck
bringing catastrophe, when at sea.
Apt antithesis to Mascotte.
Joseph and Jesse (Polit., 1886).
Political satiric cry against Mr Joseph
Chamberlain and Mr Jesse Collings,
raised immediately after the latter took
office (February 1886).
The amendment did not expressly contain
the principle of compulsion, and the
speech of Mr Collings is not binding upon
the House of Commons or the Government.
But, as Mr Chaplin rather neatly
put it on the night of his last appearance
as Chancellor of the Duchy, ' the voice is
the voice of Jesse, the hand is the
hand of Joseph. D. N.. 26th February
1886.
'
Josser
grandee.
160
(Hong-Kong). A swell, a
From joss, the name of the
Jubilee Keep the Devil Out of One's Clothes
figures of Chinese gods, with the
personal 'er' added. Suggested by
observation of the request paid by the
Chinese to the 'joss'.
Jubilee (Mid. Class, 1887). The
Jubilee (1887) came to be applied in
many ways but one, satirically
descriptive of supremacy chiefly
survived.
Judaic superbacey (C. Garden and
vicinity, 1897). Jew in all the glory
of his best clothes generally a young
Joseph, or a young old David.
Judy - slayer (London, Jewish).
Lady-killer.
Juggins's boy (L. Lond., 1882).
The sharp and impudent son of a
stupid and easily ridiculed father.
Juggins-hunting (Tavern). Looking
for a man who will pay for liquor.
Jumbo (London, 1882). Anything
particularly large and striking became
a 'jumbo' there being at this time a
large elephant of that name in the Zoo.
The vulgar assert that Epsom is a very
hotbed of training theories, and it must
be admitted that it has its peculiarities
in this direction. Nay, did it not produce
the genial Mr Ellis, whom the
wicked called 'Jumbo'? E. N., 23rd
January 1896.
Mr Ellis was a big, heavy, solemn
official. Some months after Jumbo's
expatriation, a very tall man appeared
in Drury Lane Theatre, and all the
boys on hand, yelled
' Jumbo '
; an
amiable Bavarian eight-foot giantess
was trotted out at a music hall she
was at once baptised Jumba by the
very press itself.
Jumbo (Tavern, 1882). The
Elephant and Castle Tavern, S.
London. (See Animal.)
Jumboism (Polit., 1882). The
Liberals having invented Jingoism
to describe the warlike tendency of
the Conservative party, this latter
took advantage of the Jumbo craze to
dub the hesitative policy of the Liberal
Whigs jumboism.
Jump bail (Anglo-American). To
run away from it. Both jumped their
bail.
Jumped up swell (Street). Sudden
leap from rags to royal raiment ; also
a ton in a hurry.
Jumping Moses (Amer. - Eng.).
Exclamation equivalent to Great
Heaven.
June too-too (Peoples', 1897). June
22 in 1897 the celebration of the
sixtieth anniversary of the Queen's
reign. Survival, or rather resuscitation
of the phrase 'too-too', satirically
directed against sestheticism in the
'80's meaning (satirically) too, too
good. Here used as a comic variation
of ' 22 'two two.
Jupiter Scapin (Parisian, 1810).
Napoleon I. Used in England now
and again to indicate a tricky minister.
Just ached (American). Longed.
Just too sweet for anything
(American). Highest form of praise.
K.A.B.G.N.A.L.S. (Myttic). The
letters of back slang (less the needless
'c'), and uttered rapidly to indicate
that this mode of conversation will be
agreeable to speaker. Another form is
Kabac genals.
Kangaroo (Nautical in origin). A
tall, thin man, especially ill-shaped
and round-shouldered.
Kansas neck -blister (American).
Bowie-knife.
The same with a knife. Horsemen,
when travelling, carry it in the boot, and
footmen down the neck ; hence a bowieknife
is popularly known as a 'Kansas
neck-blister'. All Year Round, 31st
October 1883.
Kapswalla (N. American-Indian).
To steal adopted from the original by
American thieves.
Katterzem (Scotland). Quartorsieme.
A man willing to go out dining
at a moment's notice a parasite.
Kee gee (E. London, 1860). Go,
vigour.
Keep off the grass (Peoples'). Be
cautious.
Keep the boiler clear (Engineers',
1840). Watch your stomach in
reference to health.
Keep the devil out of one's clothes
(American probably from Dutch).
To fight against poverty.
361
Keep up Old Queen Kicked the Cat
Keep up, old queen (Street). Valediction
addressed by common women
to a sister being escorted into a prison
van.
Keep yer 'air on (L. Class, 1800 on). A favourite monitory proverb recommending
patience as distinct from
impatience, and tearing the 'air off.
Keep your nose clean (Army).
Avoid drink.
Keep yourself good all through
(Soc., 1882). Modern paraphrase of
Keep yourself unspotted from the
world.
Keeping Dovercourt (E. Anglia).
Making a great noise. Dovercourt
(Essex) was once celebrated for its
scolds this we have on the authority
of Halliwell. On the other hand the
term may come from the great noise
made by a local insect called the
Dovercourt beetle.
Kemble pipe (Hereford). Last pipe
of the evening. An ancestor of John
Kemble, a Catholic priest, suffered
martyrdom at Hereford, in the
seventeenth century. On his way
to execution he smoked his pipe
and conversed with his friends.
Kenealyism (Soc., 1874). Social
method composed of alternate profound
humility and complete rebuke
supposed to have been invented
from Dr Kenealy, who in this year
defended Arthur Orton, called 'the
claimant', upon a charge of perjury.
Orton claimed to be Sir Roger Tichborne.
Kentucky loo (Students'). Summer
gaming operation. (See Fly loo.)
Kepple's snob (Naval, 1870). Expression
of scorn by superfine naval
young officers. ' The Kepple's Head ',
named after the admiral. The uaval
clubmen have converted knob into
snob. ' Cut him he puts up at the
"Kepple's snob".'
Kerwollop (Amer., 19 cent.). To
beat, or wallop.
' Ker '
is also frequently
used before words implying
movement, as kersmash, kerbang,
kerash (crash), kerflummux, kerslap.
(See Artemus Ward' I went kerwallop
over the fence.')
Kew (Reverse Slang). Week spelt
with one ' e '.
Key-vee (Peoples', 1862). Alert, on
the key-vee of course a corruption
of '
qui vive,' the French sentry
challenge.
Khaki is a tint once called Devonshire
grey. It was recommended by a
military convention (1882) to replace
the scarlet cloth of the British army
this scarlet being condemned in consequence
of its offering a ready mark for
the distant bullet.
Khaki (Military, February 1900).
Volunteer especially yeomanry
volunteer for the Boer war, 1899-1900.
Applied in all ways to pease-pudding
amongst many, from the colour.
Hence resulted in common eatinghouses
the order, 'Cannon and Khaki,'
i.e., round beef-steak pudding and a
dump of pease-pudding.
Kibe ? ( University). To whose
benefit ? Abbreviation of ' cui bono '.
Kick (Anglo-American). To succeed
in pleasing audience.
Kick (Costermongers'). Trousers
short for kicksies, probably from the
garment being that in which the
wearer uses his boots at angles. Or it
may be from '
quelques choses'.
'That dona's dotty,' said Obadiah, as
he gazed upon his half-a-dollar, and put
it carefully away in his only kick ;
' and
now for a jolly spree.'
If the burick (wife) wears the kicksies,
that's your luck, not ours.
Kick is also used by thieves for
1
pocket ', probably because the kicksies
or trousers have pockets. Fine example
of application of the title of a whole
to a portion.
When your kick is empty, and your
mouth is dry, your blooming pals will not
give you a yannep to get a drop of four
thick.
Kick (Trade-tailors'). To seek for
work probably suggested by a
barbarous mode of kicking at a door,
before knocker or bell was invented.
Kick a lung out (Anglo-Amer.).
Severe castigation.
Kick into dry goods (American).
To dress clothes being dry goods.
Kick up my dust in the park (Soc. ).
Promenade there. From French 'Faire
ma poussiere aux Champs Elysees '.
Kick out (Anglo-American). Die
from the frequent nervous movement
of the legs as death approaches.
Kicked the cat (L. Class]. Shown
signs of domestic dissatisfaction,
162
Kid- Catcher Knock Along
Kid-catcher (L. School Board, 1869
on). L.S.B. official who beat up
school tenants.
Coroner: How did you escape the
school board officers ? Witness : I don't
know how I managed to escape the ' kidcatcher',
sir, but I did it. People, 30th
August 1896.
Kill who? (Peoples', 1870 on).
Satirical protest against a threat, and
an assertion of quiet bravery.
Kill with kindness (Peoples'). This
phrase is not generally understood ;
supposed to be literal. Really means
to cause shame by overwhelming with
satirical attentions a person who has
misbehaved himself. It is not forgiveness,
but retaliation.
Killing the canary (Bricklayers').
Shirking work.
Kilmainham (Political, 1882).
Compromise. Said of an arrangement
in which each of two parties concedes
something to the other in order that
a third party may be defeated. Took
its rise early in 1882, when the Conservative
opposition unintentionally
brought about the Kilmainham Treaty.
Kin'd (Soc., 1884). Satirical pronunciation
of kind. Result of Barrett's
production of Hamlet (October 1884)
wherein he made this reading
' A little
more than kin and less than kin'd.'
Kingsman of the rortiest (Sporting,
early 19 cent.). Square, folded necktie
of high colours.
Kippers (Navy). Stokers. Very probably
because they are so smoke-dried,
and dark of complexion.
Kiss-curl (Peoples', 1854-60). Flat
temple curl, abandoned by middleclass
in 1860 or about. Still seen in
S.E. London, where it is patronised
by the street belles of that locality.
Kite (American, 19 cent.). The
face.
Kite, Blow out the (Com. Lond.).
To have a full stomach suggested
either by an inflated bladder, or a
soldier's full ' kit '.
Klobber (E. London). Jewish for
best or state clothes generally.
Kate Vaughan was perhaps a trifle too
dainty, and I fancy any Kitty so circumstanced,
on the sudden return of master
in the midst of unlawful revelry, would
have taken some pains to cover up the
resplendent and unaccustomed ' klobber '
I believe that is the aristocratic term,
Kate ought to know, now donned for
the occasion. Ref., 17th May 1885.
1 And belted knight
Isn't such a sight
As Becky Moss in her klobr.'
' So I klobbered myself up as well
as circs would permit.'
K' mither (Provincial). Corruption
of "Come hither" a woman of the
town.
Klondyke (Peoples', 1897 on). Mad
not fit to be trusted. From the
craze that set in August 1897 around
the Klondyke gold-bearing district.
Klondyke fever (July, 1897).
Rush for gold in British Columbia.
Began in this month, increased as the
year waned.
Klondike gold fever has 'caught on'
in the City. . . . D. T., 31st July 1897.
Knapsack descent (Peoples').
Soldiers in a family, either on the
father's or mother's side, and very
possibly both.
Knee-drill (Peoples', 1882). Hypocritical
praying. Derived from the
military terms introduced into prayer
meetings by the Salvation Army.
Knickerbocker (N. York). Man or
woman in best society in New York.
Accepted from opponents and made
a class word.
Knife (Lowest Lond., 19 cent.). A
shrew suggestive of being
' into you
'
in a moment.
Knife (Theatrical, 1880 on). Condense
a piece. Knife is now modified
into blue pencil.
Knife and fork tea (Middle Class,
1874). Vulgarisation of high tea (see).
Knights of the Jemmy (Soc.,
19 cent.). Burglars the arms of the
cavaliers in question being jemmies ;
the modern name for short crow-bars.
Some seasons ago the place was overrun
by knights of the jemmy, who committed
their depredations on other
people's property in the coolest manner
possible, and yet contrived to evade
capture. Z>. T., 8th August 1896.
Knock about drolls. (See Athletic
drolls.)
Knock along (Austral.). To idle.
There is an Australian phrase, isn't
there, with reference to an idle fellow?
they say &he goes 'knocking along'. I
163
Knock Fairly Silly La!
am not aware that it is an Australian
phrase. We get our bad language from
England.
The Lord Chief Justice: Knocking
along
'
is not an English phrase. It is
' knocking about '.
Dr Kenealy: Well, it is 'knocking
along '. I Hon't think it an improvement
on the English phrase. Tichborne Case,
1874.
Knock fairly silly (Lower Class]
Almost, if not quite annihilated.
Capt. Thatcher said that when they
first came in touch with the Boers they
expected to be attacked, and they were.
But they ' knocked the Boers fairly silly
'
and then made for Krugersdorp at a
hand-gallop all the way. People, 16th
February 1896.
Knock in (Costermongers'). To
make money into the pocket understood.
Knock in (Club). Make one at a
card table.
Knock off corners (Music Hall,
1880). Be successful.
Just as Arthur Williams had commenced
to 'knock corners off' at the
music hall, he is once more summoned
to the Gaiety. More study ! Entr'acte,
16th April 1885.
Knock -upable (Soc.). Open to
being knocked up.
For some time I have been weak and
knock-upable. G. Eliot's Life, vol. i.,
p. 440.
Knocker on the front door
(Peoples'). Achieve respectibility.
Knows how many go to a dozen
(Hist.). Sharp. Even to this day
many things are sold thirteen to the
dozen especially books and newspapers.
' Thirteen '
is generally called
a baker's dozen from thirteen loaves
being sold as a dozen, exactly as
thirteen rolls in our days go to the
dozen.
Knuckle end (Cornwall). The
extreme west of the duchy the Land's
End, so named from its shape.
Kodak (Soc., 1890 on). To surreptitiously
obtain shape-information.
From the snap-shot photographic
camera named after its inventor.
We are watching him (Sir Henry
Irving, Richard 111.), our eyes are
riveted on his face, we are interested in
the workings of his mind, we are secretly
kodaking every expression, however
slight. D. T., 21st December 1896.
Kollah (Hebr.- Yiddish). A bride.
Often spelled calloh (q.v.).
Kop-gee (Peoples', 1899). Last
discovery of the century for head
from the Transvaal kopje or mound.
Kosal Kasa (Hebrew Trade).
Is. 6d. the Hebrew words for '!'
and ' 6 '.
Kosher (E. Lond., Judaic). Pure
undefiled. Word used by the Jews
in reference to eatables, and especially
alcoholic drinks at certain feasts of the
year, especially Passover and Pentecost.
The word is here written phonetically,
but in actuality the vowels are omitted
K SH R, or rather R SH K, to be
very precise. The antithesis of this
word is Trifer unclean, unholy,
written T R F R.
Kruger - spoof (Peoples', 1896).
Lying. From the promises of fair
dealing forwarded in January 1896,
made by the President of the Transvaal
republic, and not kept.
Kwy (Fast Life, 1800-40). First
syllable of '
quietus
' death.
Kyacting (Navy). Jocularity
during work.
'Here, knock off that "kyacting",
will you?' an irate P.O. will say if he
sees a youngster playing the fool instead
of attending to his work. Rev. G.
Goodenough, R.N.
Kypher (L. Class). To dress hair
from the French ' eoiffer '.
L., The (N. York, 1880 on). The
Elevated Railway.
We have in New York a rich man who
is almost the counterpart of Hetty Green.
I refer to Mr Russell Sage. He was once
associated with Jay Gould, and between
them they engineered the '
L,' or Elevated
Railroad of New York, much to their
advantage, as most people imagine.
D. T., 18th February 1897.
L. L. (Dublin Tavern). Best
whisky. Initials of Lord Lieutenant.
L. L. (Financial, 1870 on). Initials
of Limited Liability, and used satirically
to suggest fraud.
La ! (Suburban London). Nimminy-
164
La-di-da Lassitudinarian
pimminy for the vulgar
' lor !
' which
is an abbreviation of the exclamation
'Lord!'
La-di-da (Street). Elegant leisure,
and liberal expenditure.
Laagered (S. African). Waggondefence.
The waggons are zig-zagged
in line or in square, so that the head of
one waggon is half way down the side
of the next thus giving an extended
firing line, while the length of the
waggon is used to offer its fullest
protection as compared with its width.
For several hours after we were -
laagered in position on Monday to
receive the attack, concealed behind
trees and tall grass, their sharp-shooters
kept up a scathing fire. D. N>, 29th
January 1885.
Lady from the ground up
(American). (See Perfect Lady.)
Lady in the straw (Hist.). 'Our
Lady in the Straw' referring to the
stable in which the Redeemer was
born. An old popular oath.
Lady Jane (Soc., 1882). A stout,
handsome, cheery woman.
Lally-gagging (American Peoples').
Flirting origin probably Dutch.
You see, Pa has been in a habit lately
of going to the store a good deal and
lally-gagging with the girl clerks. Bad
Boy, 1883.
Lamartinism (Literary). Goodygoody.
Lamartine introduced the
novelty, in historical writing, of
maintaining that everybody has
always acted for the best, whatever
his action, in the best of possible
worlds. Term used scornfully since
1848 in French literature. Now
sometimes exercised deprecatingly at
Oxford, and in London.
Lambeth (Peoples', S. L.). Wash.
From the popular cleansing place in
S. London being the Lambeth baths.
Lambies (Navy). Mizzen-top men.
Lame as St. Giles Cripplegate,
As (Peoples' Hist.). Very lame
applied to a badly-told untruth. St.
Giles was the patron saint of cripples,
as distinct from St. Martin, who was
the patron of all beggars. Cripples,
therefore, had two saintly patrons.
St. Giles's, London, was just under
London Wall at its most northern
point, and was St. Giles's Without
that is, outside the city. It abutted
165
on the great north gate, and the
church being frequented (in Roman
Catholic times) by cripples in great
numbers many of them being
fraudulent limpers the gate came
to be called Cripplegate ; and this
phrase suggested a lame excuse. The
great bastion near the north gate is
still represented by about half of it.
Land Navy (Cadgers'). Imitation
sailors.
Land o' Cakes (Historical).
Scotland.
It was my firm intention when I
returned from my little Scotch tour to
write glowing accounts of the scenery
of 'the land of cakes.' G. R. Sims,
Ref., 5th October 1884.
Land o' Scots (Eng. - American,
1884). Heaven.
'Lane (Theatrical). Classic term
became popular for Drury Lane
Theatre.
Langtries (Society, 1880). Fine
eyes. Mrs Langtry, whose portraits
as a celebrated beauty had been seen
for years in shop windows, suddenly
became popular (1882) by appearing
on the stage in England and America,
where immense crowds were attracted.
Language (Peoples'), Sheer swearing.
Satire upon violent expressions.
Meanwhile a scramble has been taking
place between two omnibuses behind for
the lead of the road, illustrated by a free
use of what is called 'language.' D. N.,
1st August 1890.
Language of flowers (Bow Street
Police Court, 1860-83). Ten shillings
or seven days ; the favourite sentence
of Mr Flowers, a very popular and
amiable magistrate at this court for
many years.
Lap (Co/ee-house). Tea.
Lapsy lingo (Peoples'). Corruption
of lapsus linguce.
Lard - king (Anglo - American).
Typical Cincinnati millionaire, whose
fortune is based upon pig.
Lardy - dardy (Peoples', 1862).
Affected.
Large - heads (Anglo - Amer.).
Drunkards.
Large-sized scare (Amer.). Wild
panic.
Lassitudinarian (Soc., 1894 on).
Satirical evolution from valetudinarian.
Last Bit o' Family Plate Leave yer 'Omer
Evasive term for a constitutionally
lazy man.
... an occupation, by the way, exactly
suiting a ' lassitudinarian '
temperament.
D. T., 4th February 1897.
Last bit o' family plate (Artisans').
Final silver coin.
Last shake o' the bag (Peoples'
old). Youngest child.
Latch - key (Irish Constabulary,
1881-82). Crowbar name given by
the Irish Constabulary to the crowbar,
as the too frequent key with which
they had to open house doors when in
the process of eviction.
Law (Police). Advantage, start,
privilege. Invented by the police.
The defendants were placed in the
police van and driven off under the very
noses of their would-be persecutors, who
were quite unaware that their prey had
escaped them. Having given the van a
good extent of 'law', the crowd were
allowed to go where they wished, but only
in time to find that they had been outwitted.
D. N., 15th September 1885.
Law's - a - me (Hist. now chiefly
used in U.S.A.). Lord save me.
He's full of the Old Scratch, but lawsa-
me he's my own dead sister's boy !
Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, p. 19.
Lay (lie) on the face (Peoples').
Dissipate exorbitantly.
Lea toff (Local Lond.). A youth of
social aspirations, chiefly in relation to
Sunday ; one who displays his distinction,
in a hired boat, rowing up and
down the River Lea.
Lead poisoning (W. America).
Active bullets.
Very recently a gentleman who was at
once editor of a local newspaper and
town constable found it necessary to
relinquish the latter post in consequence
of a disease which he euphemistically
termed ' lead -poisoning ', the result of
being shot through part of the lungs by
a desperado of the township under his
care. D. N., 27th March 1883.
Leaden pill sometimes Leaden
favour (Anglo-American). Bullet.
Leadenhall market sportsman
(Sporting, 1870). Landowner who
sells his game to Leadenhall market
poulterers.
The true foxhunter loathes the preserver
of pheasants as ' an old woman ',
or ' a Leadenhall-market sportsman
'
;
while the latter rages at the wholesale
destruction of his costly game by the
fox. D. N., llth November 1885.
Leaderette (Press, 1875). When,
probably borrowing from the French,
the idea of lightening journalism, short
pithy 'leaders' were introduced, a
technical name was to be found for
them, and ' leaderette ' was the result.
Leading article (Trade, 1870). A
term used to denote the best bargain
in the shop one that should lead to
other purchases.
Leading heavies (Theat.). Middleaged
women's serious roles.
I am an actress. I was in Mr
O'Connor's company during his engagement
at the Star Theatre, playing the
'
leading heavies '
throughout that engagement.
I was to receive 12 dollars
a week and expenses. N. Y. Mercury,
9th June 1888.
Leak (Anglo-American, 1880). To
lie.
Leaky (Peoples'). Talkative when
drunk.
Learn by rote (Scholastic). Learn
by the road, route, or rut that is to
say, without intelligence, perfunctorily.
Learning shover (Com. London,
1869 on). Schoolmaster took its rise
at the institution of the London School
Board.
Leather and prunella (Middle- Class
ancient). Expresses flimsiness. A
corruption of ' All lather and prunella
'
the ' lather '
being whipped cream,
the '
prunella
'
probably damson puree
or plum jelly. Sometimes used to
express humbug.
Then who shall say so good a fellow,
Was only leather and prunella. Don
Juan.
The Foreign Office regards all the
organised cheerfulness of the last few
days' Chinese diplomatic blandishments
and promises, edicts and telegrams,
alike, as so much leather and prunella.
Z). T., 24th July 1900.
Leave them to fry in their own fat
(Plantagenet English). This phrase is
equal to Give him rope enough and
he'll hang himself. The phrase was
brought into fashion again by Prince
Bismarck, who (1871) after the partial
retirement of the German forces,
applied it to Parisians and their
politics.
Leave yer 'omer (L. Class
Women's). A handsome, dashing
166
Leccers Lethal
man. This is derived, very satirically,
from 'That's the man I'm goin* to
leave me 'ome for '. Good example of
street sentiment.
Leccers (Oxford 'er'). Lectures
both 'c's'hard.
Each man attends as cheerfully as he
can his 'leccers'. I). T., 14th August
1899.
Left centre (PoliL, 1885). Whig.
Bestowed by advanced Liberals on
cautious Liberal party.
Thiers used to say that France was
essentially Left Centre, and that power
would come to the party of the most
prudent./). N., 20th October 1885.
Left her purse on her piano
(Peoples', 19 cent.). Satirical hit at
self-sufficiency.
Left the minority (Soc. , 1879). No
longer with the living.
Poor ' Benefit Thompson
' has left the
minority. Entr'acte, 30th April 1885.
Leg (Fast Society, 1860). Footman
from the display of the lower limbs.
Leg maniac (Stage, 1880 on).
Eccentric, rapid dancer.
Mr Fred Storey holds a unique position
as a '
leg maniac ' horrible term !
D. T., 3rd December 1896.
Leg up (Peoples'). Help.
Legit (Theatrical). Shortening of
legitimate, in its turn the curtailing
of the legitimate drama.
Leisure hours (Rhyming). Flowers.
Leisured rich (Soc. t 1885). Invented
by Mr Gladstone.
Lemon squash party (Soc., 1882).
A meeting of young men, initially at
Oxford, when nothing was drunk but
this preparation.
Lemoncholy (Transposition
London). Melancholy.
Lend us your breath to kill Jumbo
(Low London). Protest against the
odour of bad breath.
Length of the foot (Irish). Comprehend
and manipulate the victim.
Does the enterprising tradesman who
thus shields himself behind magisterial
patronage undertake to teach the
district the length of Mr Bushby's foot ?
D. N., 18th August 1884.
Lengthy (Parl., 1875). Used by
both houses for 'long'.
The fine people who think it elegant
to say
'
lengthy
' when they mean '
long ',
though they have not yet come to say
'strengthy' when they mean 'strong',
are fond of saying 'utilise' when they
mean use. Z). N., April 1883.
Let, To (Art). Sparsely - filled
canvas.
Let 'em all come (Peoples', 1896).
Cheery defiance. Outcome of the
plucky way in which the British, in
the first days in the new year, accepted
the message of congratulation by the
Emperor of Germany to President
Kruger on the repulse of the Jameson
raid ; followed next day by the imperial
message sent by President of
the U.S.A., apropos to the English
boundary dispute with Venezuela ;
both followed by some defiant comments
in the French press.
Let her rip (English-American, 1840
onwards). Let her go as she wants.
This phrase has a very striking history.
"When rival river steam-boats were
fully established on the Mississippi
and other American rivers, the rival
captains would put on every ounce of
steam in order to keep ahead. Too
frequently the boiler would burst, or
'rip', as emphatically it would when
bursting.
' Let her rip
' came to be
a common expression amongst these
captains when more timid passengers
or sensible sub-officers urged him to
lower the steam pressure.
Let out (American). Releases
very emphatic.
' Well, sah, I wanted to ax how many
kinds of religun you had up dat way ?
'
' Oh, about a dozen, I guess.'
' Cracky, golly !
' he whispered,
' but
dat lets me out ! 'Detroit Free Press,
1883.
Let out your back - band
(American). Be more familiar and
friendly in your statement.
I ax you let out your back band a little
on that last statement.
Let through (Peoples'). (1) Escape ;
(2) Cause injury.
Let up (Anglo-American). Make
an end. From 'letting' or lifting
up the engine bar which, down, puts all
steam on. To end pressure.
Lethal (Press, 19 cent.). Mortal.
From the waters of Lethe. Now
applied by careless writers to any mode
of violent death.
It is always understood among the
most distinguished members of the professionthe
higher burglarious circles,
167
Letter-Fencers Lion Chang
as they are called that nothing but the
direst necessity shall ever make them
use a revolver or other lethal weapon.
He/., 3rd February 1889.
Letter - fencers (London). Postmen.
Levenses (E. Anglican). Lunch
the meals of the elevens, whence this
pleonastic plural has been evolved.
Liberal forwards (Political, 1898).
Modified Radicals without fads.
' Liberal forwards ' as Mr George
Kussell's party styles itself are
notoriously suspicious of the reactionary
designs which they attribute to Lord
Salisbury. Z>. T., 2nd February 1899.
Lick into shape (Com.). To get
ready. Obviously from animals,
especially bears, licking their young.
It had not been thought necessary to
lick the piece into shape. The result
was most laughable ; the last act created
more laughter than has done any farce
for years. Stage, 21st Auguat 1885.
Lie down and die (Anglo
American). Despair.
Lie down to rest (Amer. - Eng.,
Street). Fail, come to an end, a
dramatic company which has collapsed.
Often seen, in the past tense, in
American graveyards ; finally it passed
into a colloquialism. (See Climb the
golden staircase. )
Henderson's Uncle Tom Company laid
down to rest at Dunkirk, Ohio, on
Tuesday. N. Y. Mercury. December
1884.
Reached England about 1883.
Life and everlasting (Peoples',
Hist.). Complete, final, without
appeal especially applied to sales.
His Honour : Why didn't you jib, and
take the horse back then ?
Defendant: I took it back the next
morning. When he sold it he said 'it
was for life and everlasting'. D. T.,
23rd November 1897.
Lift up (N. Eng. Methodists'). To
pray.
Lifter (Stable). Kicking horse, one
which lifts.
Lifu (Motor car, 1897). Reduction
of liquid fuel (paraffin or other oil).
Starting punctually to time, the Lifu,
which takes its name from the liquid
fuel (oil) which it uses, as the odour
proclaims, arrived at London Bridge.
D. T., 17th December 1897.
168
Light - comedy merchant
(Theatrical). Comedian pure and
simple.
Despite its title, The Mormon, has no
connection with the followers of Brigham
Young, and the scene is laid not at Salt
Lake City, but at Eamsgate; a very lightcomedy
merchant, the Hon. Charles
Nugent, being heavily in debt. Ref..
13th March 1887.
Light - food (Lower Peoples').
Tobacco for chewing as a repast very
light.
Light-house (Navy}. Pepper-castor.
Lightning curtain - taker
(Theatrical, 1884). A curtain-taker
(q.v.), who does not wait for much
applause (which he may not receive),
and who therefore rushes on upon the
least approbation. (See Take a
curtain, Fake a curtain.)
Lights up (Theat., circa, 1900).
Condemnation of a new piece on the
first night of its production (see Boo).
Chiefly the decision of the gallery.
Like to meet her in the dark
(L. Class, 1884). Plain.
Lime-juice (Theatrical, 1875).
Lime light.
Limerick (Peoples'). Queer and
coarse rhymes, like 'There was a
young lady of Lea,' etc. Some say
this style of rhyme was called
Limericks because all the specimens
go to a tune to the original words,
' Won't you come up up up
Won't you come up to Limerick ?
'
Lincoln & Bennett (Soc., 1840 on).
Superior hat. From makers' name.
(See Dorsay, Nicholls, Poole, Redfern.)
Lined (Low Life). Passive voice of
active verb to line, and derived from
certificate of marriage.
Link and froom (Street, Hebrew).
'
Dolly ', who was a Jewess, but one
who was link rather than froom, was
about forty years old at the time of her
death. Ref., 3rd February 1889.
Linkman ( W. London). General
man-servant about kitchen or yard.
Lion Chang (Fugitive Ang., 1896).
Jocular Anglicising of the name of Li
Hung Chang and referring to his
fleeting popularity. He arrived in the
beginning of the month, went to
America before the end of it, and in
the meantime was dubbed long Lion
Chang. His entourage also obtained,
Lion Comique Lizards
in several instances, droll names. Lo
Feng Luh became Loafing Loo, Viscount
Li became Lud Lulliety, and
Seng became S'eng-song.
Lion comique (Music Hall, 1880).
This term was a way of describing a
leading comic singer.
Changes of fancy and taste have
abolished the ' lion comique ', as he was
known to an antecedent generation, and
the death of Mr Macdermott practically
snaps the last link. D. T., 9th May
1901.
Liqueur of four ale (City, satirical).
Precisely as the common folk make
fun of cheap food and give it impressive
titles such as calling sheep's head
broth turtle soup ; so middle - class
young city men chaff their drinks.
The most expensive liqueur, green
Chartreuse would be eighteenpence
while four ale (City sherry) is the
cheapest. Phrase really means, *a
glass of bitter' beer understood.
Liquor (Public - house keepers').
Euphemism for the water used in
adulterating beer.
Listening to oneself (Irish, old).
Thinking.
Little beg (Pub. Sch. ). Abbreviation
of little beggar friendly term applied
by upper form to lower form boys.
Little bit o' keg (L. Class). Kegmeg
meat, that is, common meat
erotic.
Little bit of sugar for the bird
(Peoples', 1897). Premium, unexpected
benefit, surprise, acquisition.
She applied for five Ordinary shares at
1 premium, paying 2, 10s. with her
application, and on allotment she paid
up the balance, 7, 10s. in full. She
held all the shares when the corporation
was wound up, and received nothing for
her money.
You didn't get anything of Goodman's
'little bit of sugar'? (Laughter. ) No.
D. T., 24th December 1898.
Little deers (Soc. Anglo-American).
Young women generally associated,
or declaring themselves to be associated,
with the stage. New spelling of
' dears ' to form a feminine to stags.
Little go (Thieves'). First imprisonment,
first invented by a fallen
university man.
Little Ireland (1879). The then
Home Rule brigade in the House of
Commons.
Little more Charley behind
(Theatrical). More lumbar width
speaking of feminine dress or costume.
Little season (Society, 1880 on).
London season between 6th January
and Shrove Tuesday. The real season
begins about 15th April and ends with
July.
London has been during the last few
years not only full of visitors after Easter,
but has developed a pre-Lenten or 'little'
season, as it is called. D. N., 6th July
1884.
Little whack (Drinking men's).
Small quantity of spirits.
You may choose for the moment of
illustration either your going into or your
coming out of the Carnarvon Arms ;
where you intend to have or where you
have had your little whack. Besant &
Bice, Golden Butterfly, vol. i., ch. xii.
Live down (Soc., 1870). To overcome
by strenuous patience.
When it took six months to go from
India to England they made the most of
a bad situation, and tried to live down
heat and care. (Indian Hospitality)
Graphic, 17th March 1883.
Live messages ( Telegraphers', 1870).
Messages in course of transition.
In the telegraph department dining
accommodation has been provided,
because it is thought undesirable that
those who are engaged in the transmission
of telegraph messages should
leave the premises during their period
of duty. With what are called 'live
messages
' fresh in their minds, there is
felt to be an objection to their adjourning
to neighbouring restaurants. D. N.,
27th September 1883.
Live on (L. Peoples'). Fine girl or
woman. (See Leave yer 'ome.)
Live up to (Esthetic, 1878-83).
Exist purely up to a pure standard.
Invented by Du Maurier (Punch).
Phrase used quite seriously by the
Burne Jones school. (See Apostle of
culture. )
Living bache (Soc.). Life in
chambers living like a bachelor.
Living with mother now (Music
Hall, 1881). The refrain of a doubtful
song, in which this answer is made by
the young person to all the blandishments
of her inamorato.
Lizards (American). Men of
Alabama.
169
Loaferies, The Look into the Whites
Loaferies, The (E. London).
Whitechapel Workhouse from the
tenderness shown towards the inmates.
In 1898 the guardians even wished to
do away with the term workhouse.
No very luminous suggestions were
forthcoming as to a new title, though
one of the guardians thought ' Paradise '
a fitting change. The others, however,
seemed to consider this a little previous.
Perhaps 'House of Repose' or 'The
Loaferies ' would be considered appropriate.
Mr Perez remarked that whatever
the new name, in a few years it
would be as \inpopular as the old one.
D. T., 10th February 1898.
Loan (American). Lend, now
becoming English. Has been accepted
probably as a euphemism.
Such a term as ' I will loan you my dog
Schneider' is hardly British. D. N..
1882.
Loathly (London Chib, October
1897). Offensive.
This savage sacrificial feat, performed
with horrible frequency by Bitchlieli and
his reverend subordinates on the
' teocalli ', or green stone, surmounting
the shrines of the loathly idols that were
eventually overthrown and destroyed by
Hernan Cortes. D. T.. 24th December
1898.
Lobby (Amer. coming to Eng.).
To corrupt by process. To attempt to
exercise an influence on members of a
legislative body by persons not members
who attend the session of a legislative
body for the purpose of influencing the
debates.
Lobby through (Amer. passing to
Eng.). Is to get a bill accepted by
influence.
Loblifer (Cornwall). Luck-bringing
mannikin. Probably a corruption of
Lob-lie-by-the-fire from this genius
being fond of warmth after his damp
cave abode.
'
Lob-Lie-by-the-Fire,' is a pretty story
of farm life and rustic folk, in which
mysterious agrarian services rendered by
an unseen benefactor awaken all the old
country superstitions. D. N., 17th
December 1885.
Local pot. (See Pot.)
Locate (American). To settle.
Locked up (Street). Arrested.
Locust (Soc. ). Extravagant person
who sweeps everything away.
Locum (Doctors'). Deputy short
for locum tenens. Sometimes Moke'
a medical man who performs for
another who is ill or away.
Lolliker (Durham old). Tongue.
Lollipop dress (Theatrical, 1884).
Stripy dress, generally red and white,
suggestive of sticks of confectionery.
London, Best side towards
(Peoples'). Making the best of everything.
Good example of the national
desire to battle through adversity.
Derived from the desire of all country
people to visit London for themselves,
and make their fortunes, though its
street are not paved with gold.
London ivy (Colloquial). Dust
sometimes used for fog.
London smoke (Soc., 1860). A
yellowish grey ; became once a favourite
colour because it hid dirt.
Long last (Eng. Prov.). Time or
period spaciously waited for.
At long last Sir George White and his
gallant garrison are free. Lord Dun
donald rode into Ladysmith on Wednesday
night. D. T., 2nd March 1900.
Long pull (Public - house). Overmeasure,
either as a custom, or to
induce trade.
Long - shore (Maritime). Landlubber
; coast people who have the
misfortune not to be sailors.
But what would have been the alarm
of those timid '
long-shore
' races if they
could have imagined the present dangers
of the deep. D. N., 6th January 1886.
Long stale drunk (American-Eng. ,
1884). State of depression owing to
physical inability to throw off the
effects of intoxication.
. . . recovery from what our American
cousins describe as a ' long stale drunk '.
Ref., 9th April 1885.
Long-tailed bear (Peoples', Hist.).
One of the evasions of saying 'you
lie'. From the fact that bears have
no tails.
Long 'un (Poachers'). Pheasantreferring
to the length of the tail.
(See Short-'un.)
Long's (Strand, 19 cent.). Short's
wine-house opposite Somerset House.
Look into the whites (Peoples')
' Of each other's eyes
' understood. To
be about to fight from the fact that
the eyes protrude, or the lids recede
more than usual when a set-to is about
to commence.
170
Look Old Lump o' Stont
It would be absolutely impossible for
any adjustment of the boundary question
to be made if the Russians and Afghans
kept advancing until they could look into
the whites of each other's eyes. D. N.,
14th March 1885.
Look old (Street}. Severe. Very
fine eulogy of the wisdom of age, as
compared with the carelessness of
youth.
Look slippery (Naval). Hurry up,
be quick from the association of
slipperiness and speed.
Look through the fingers (Irish).
To evade ; to pretend not to observe
and see.
Looking as if he hadn't got his
right change (London). Appearing
mad or wild.
Looking round the clock
(American). Getting appearance of
age parallel between life and completion
of the orbit of the hands of a
clock.
Looking seven ways for Sunday
(Lower Middle London). Squinting.
Looks like a widder woman
(Amer., 1883). Appears old.
Loose bit o' goods (Street, 1870
on). Young woman who has abandoned
the proprieties. (See Straight bit o'
goods.)
Loosing a fiver (Peoples'). Having
to pay extravagantly for any pleasure
or purchase.
Loosing French (Street). Violent
language in English.
Lord Blarney (Irish, 1885).
Aristocratic flatterer. First given to
Lord Carnarvon, who after his appointment
as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
(1885) made many flattering speeches.
Lord Carnarvon's plausible and soothing,
or to adopt the Irish expression
'soothering', speeches appear only to
have won for him the nickname of Lord
Blarney. D. N., 14th November 1885.
Lordy me (Prov. Hist.). Exclamation.
Corruption of Lord have me !
One of the sacred ejaculations of early
reform days.
Lost a cartful and found a
waggon - load (Peoples'). Getting
stout.
Lot's wife's back-bone (Peoples').
To suggest extreme saltness, as * Salt
as Lot's wife's back-bone '.
Lottermy (Mid. Counties rarely
Corruption of Lord take me !
Lotties and Totties (Theatrical).
Ladies at large.
If time and space permitted I should
like to tell you all about the Lotties and
the Totties and the other out-of-work pets
who pervaded the stalls, and showed a
liberal proportion of their backs backs
and bosoms, too as bare as they were
born. Ref., 15th November 1885.
Lotus (L. Class, 1885.) Rhyme to
hocuss.
Love curls (Society, 1880). This
term came in when women began to
cut their hair short and wear it low
over the forehead.
For the defence the respondent, Mr
Robert Nathaniel Latham, was called.
He gave a positive denial to the charge
of cruelty. He had objected to his wife
wearing what she called 'love curls'.
Latham v. Latham, Probate and Divorce
Division, 9th February 1883.
Lovely as she can be and live, As
(American, 1882). Superlative praise
of beauty. That is to say she could
only be more lovely when raised to the
condition of an angel.
Lovey dovey (Low London).
Example of nonsense rhyming.
Low comedy merchant (Theat.,
1883). Farcical actor.
The success of Indiana mainly depends
upon the extravagant humours of the
chief low - comedy merchant. Ref.,
October 1886.
He won't be able to box Mr Fred J.
Stimson, the low comedy merchant, for
some weeks to come.
(See 'Shop'.)
Lully (L. Class). Shirt.
Lumberer (Soc. ). Lying adventurer
obscure.
Mr Gill felt instinctively that there
was something wrong with this man's
appearanee ; and when this man came,
in cross-examination, to give an account
of himself, it accorded with the wellknown
expression 'lumberer'. Lord
Dunlo's Divorce, July 1890.
Lump of ice (Rhyming}. Advice
in common use.
Lump of school (Rhyming). Fool.
Lump o' jaw on (Street}. Talkative.
Lump o' stone (Thieves'). County
jail.
171
Lumpy-Roar Make a Stuffed Bird Laugh
Lumpy-roar (Low London, 1855).
A grandee, a swell of the first water.
Said to be an anglicization of
TEmpereur' Napoleon III., who
became popular in 1885 by his visit
to England, owing to the excitement
produced by the Crimean War, and
his encouragement of English trade.
M
M. D. (Bridgeivater, 1857). Money
down referring to electioneering
bribery.
McKinleyism McKinleyise
(American-JEng., 1897). Protection.
From President Mackinley, U.S.A.,
the great apostle of protection.
Meanwhile Congress is hearing from
the people in no uncertain tones as to
certain schedules which Mr Dingley
proposes to 'McKinleyise'. D. T., 23rd
March 1897.
Mating (Peoples', 19 cent.). Severe,
but regulated thrashing by fists.
Early in the '19th century Mace was
for an exceptional time a leading
prize-fighter.
Mackinaw (American Hunters').
A very strong and ingeniously-woven
blanket, said to have been first made
and sold by a Scotch wool - stapler
called Maclnor.
Mad as hops (American).
Excitable.
Made in Germany (London, 1890
on). Bad, valueless. Outcome of the
vast quantity of inferior goods imported
from Germany. Term increased
in force from the date when this phrase
had, legally, to be printed on the
object.
Maffickers, Early.
Japanese merchants in New York
met at dinner last night 'to celebrate
the Japanese victory'. Star, 10th
February 1904.
Several days after the first naval
success of the Japanese.
Mafficking: (Street, 1900). Street
rowdyism. April 1, 1900, added this
word to the English language. It is
quite as likely to stay as boycott. On
the evening of that day the news of
the relief of Mafeking arrived at about
9 P.M. by eleven o'clock the streets
were absolutely riotous.
Magdalen Marm (Southward, 19
cent.). A servant from. the Magdalen,
a refuge for fallen women in the Blackfriars
Road, which existed there until
about the middle of the century. The
women who went out as servants from
that place had been too often pampered
there, and gave little satisfaction
hence the Surrey side found this
satirical term.
Mailed fist (Peoples', 1897). Needless
threats, boasting. From a sendoff
dinner speech by the Emperor of
Germany when sending forth his only
brother, Henry, to conquer China with
a fleet of two sail all of which ended
in leasing a coaling-station by China
to Germany.
Mailing (Anglo - American). To
post for the mail.
After mailing, I returned to the
Capitol, and rejoined Agneni on the
balcony of the Senator's hall. D. N.,
1870.
Maintenon (Soc., Hist.). Mistress
who affects piety. From the position
and life of Madame de Maintenon, the
last favourite of Louis XIV.
Major MacFluffer or Fluffy
(Theatrical, 19 cent.). Sudden lapse
of memory, and use of words to call
the attention of the inattentive
prompter. It is said to have arisen
from an actor, in this strait, yelling
half a dozen times as he looked off on
the prompt side * Major MacFluffer
where the devil is Major MacFluffer.'
More than one of the principals were
foggy with the text, and were reduced
to fluffing or to waiting for ' the word '
from the wings. Ref.. 13th November
1887.
Major Methodist (Soc., '80's on).
Extremely precise person. Intensification
of Methodist.
Make a fun (Irish). Exercise fuss.
The villagers make a fun over every
sister leaving, but we don't like it in any
instance. Being externs, they might
express their gratitude that way, but we
wish to avoid it. It was done in the case
of Sister Mary Clare. Miss Sauriris
1 Nunnery' Case.
Make a stuffed bird laugh
(American). Absolutely preposterous.
172
Make All Right Married the Widow
Make all right (Election, 19 cent.).
Promise to pay for vote.
Make - it (London Poor). Corruption
of make-weight, the piece of bread
added by bakers when weighing a loaf,
to make up the weight few loaves
being baked of the correct weight.
Make it warm (London, 1880).
Punish.
Mr Firth remarked that he himself
was engaged in the icy latitude of the
north endeavouring, as some one had
said, to make it warm for their good
friends on the other side, and to help
to carry the flag of progress once more
to victory. D. N., 7th October 1885.
Make leg (Com. Lond.). To
become prosperous.
Make up (Soc. and Peoples', 1860
on). To make love to.
Make up my leg (Costermongers').
To make money. From the time of
smalls, stockings and buckled shoes,
when making up the leg was a necessary
prelude to going into society. (See
Pull up my boot. )
Making your coffin (Tailors').
Charging too highly for an article.
Said when a tailor charges a heavy
price for a first job, and so probably
loses a second.
Male impersonator (Music Hall).
A misnomer for the performer is a
female who personates a man and
sings like one.
Mall (Metal Trades'). Credit.
Man of Sedan (Political). Last
nickname given for Napoleon III.
from his fall at that city.
Man-killer (Abstainers'). Porter,
stout, cooper the black beers.
Manchester school of nutrition
(Soc., 1860). High-feeding, emphatically
introduced by certain medical men
of that city.
Mandamus (Legal). Verb invented
from a writ of mandamus.
The court was not dispensed from considering
this part of the case, as it would
have been if Mr Bradlaugh had been
trying to ' mandamus ' the Speaker or the
Serjeant-at-Arms. D. N., 28th January
1885.
Mange, letty, bevy and clobber.
Italian through the organ-grinders'
lodging-houses. Eating, bed, drink,
clothes this last word being Hebrew.
Manny (Jewish E. London). Term
of endearment or admiration prefixed
to Jewish name, as ' Manny Lyons '.
Apparently a muscular Hebrewism.
Mantalini (Mid. Class, 1840 on). A man-milliner from the milliner's
husband inDickens's NicholasNickleby.
A famous Mantalini, one who will very
shortly open a palatial branch establishment
in London town, has draped and
adorned the feminine form divine of
handsome Jane Hading. D. T., 2nd
January 1897.
From about 1860-90 this name was
superseded by that of * Worth ', th^
English man-milliner of the second
empire, and afterwards of the third
republic.
Marcus Superbus (Theat., 1896).
Grandee. This was the name given to
himself by Mr Wilson Barrett in his
play, The Sign of the Cross (1896).
Soon after the success of this morality,
a variety piece called The Gay Parisienne
was produced ; therein Miss Louie
Freear made an immediate success as
a burlesque actress, who invented a
grotesque name Marcus Superfluous.
Margery (L. London, 19 cent.).
Effeminate.
Mark time (Mil., 19 cent.). Wait,
hold on, be patient, don't be in a
hurry. From the military order when
soldiers are halted for a short time on
march, or drill, and which is done
that step may not be lost.
Marking M. (Irish Peoples').
Kapidity. The M. is the initial of
the Virgin Mary, still a very sacred
symbol in Ireland. Usually used in
describing rapidity of action.
Marksman (Old). Legal term for
a man who cannot write, and who
makes his mark.
Marm - poosey or Marm - puss
(Public-house, 1863). Applied to a
showily-dressed landlady.
Marmalade country (Scotland).
Music hall reference to the orange
marmalade made in Dundee and other
Scotch places.
Marriage face (Middle Class). Sad
one because generally a bride cries
a good deal, and so temporarily spoils
her looks.
Married the widow (French
known in England, 19 cent. ). Made a
mess of things. Derived from a man
173
Married to Brown Bess May God Blind Me
going to the guillotine, which makes
widows, while the idea of marriage is
suggested by the momentary association
with the guillotine, which is
called in French slang
' the widow '.
Married to Brown Bess (Mil., 18-
19 cent. ). To serve as a soldier. Brown
Bess was of course the musket.
You can tell her that you are safe and
married to Brown Bess (that is to say enlisted).
Thackeray, Barry Linden, ch. v.
Martialist (Soe., 1885). Soldier
holding a commission.
The marvel was ' that the colonel stood
it '. He was, indeed, a long-suffering
martialist. D. N., 31st December 1885.
Marwooded (Peoples'). Hanged.
This term prevailedjwhile Executioner
Marwood held office. He died in
1883.
Mary Ann (L. London, 19 cent.).
An effeminate man.
Mash, Made a (Soc., 1883).
Effected a conquest struck somebody
all of a heap.
Mash that (Com. Land.). Hold
your tongue. Probably from macher
to chew, or figuratively keep to yourself
in your mouth.
Mashers' corners (Soc., 1882). The
O.P. and P.S. entrances to the stalls
of the old Gaiety Theatre.
Masonics (Soc., Hist.). Secrets
from the secret rites of Freemasonry.
Not that there are either secrets or
rites in Freemasonry at all events in
England where combined secrets are
neither wanted nor expected.
Massites (Soc., 1897). Members of
the Anglican Church who believe in
transubstantiation. These believers
accept the term gravely ; but it was
invented by the representative, or
Low Church, party.
Masterpiece o' night work (Street).
Admiringly said of a handsome unfortunate.
Match (Soc., 19 cent.). Society
classic for marriage throughout the
reign giving rise to the compound
matchmaker, a woman who brings
about marriages.
Mrs Gerard did her best to make the
match, and although she afterwards conceived
doubts as to whether her sister
really loved him, she said nothing to
Lord Durham to that effect. Lord
Herschel, Lord Durham's Nullity Suit,
March 1885.
174
Materials (Irish). Evasive term
for whisky-punch.
Matinee (Theatrical, 1870). Morning
theatrical performance. This
entertainment came from New York,
and was speedily adopted not only in
England, but in France, which accepted
the word.
Matin6e dog (Theatrical). Sufferer
experimented upon. From vivisection
of canines, or testing food for poison
by submitting it to tykes. Of course
a figure of speech in relation to the
frequent dramatic rubbish which is
submitted at matinees, as distinct
from evening performances.
Arrangements have been made by
Irvine Bacon and Charles Groves to try
it ere long on the matinee dog probably
at the Haymarket. Re/., 3rd February
1889.
Matineers (Soc., 1885). Frequenters
of matinees. Outcome of the rage
for matinees, 1884-85. They are composed
of quite 80 per cent, of ladies.
Matineers on the look out for a really
excellent and varied show will thank me
for calling their attention to a matine
to be given in compliment to Mrs Robert
Reece.
Maty (London Workmen's). Mate.
Maungo (N. Country, 1869).
Shoddy. This word is said to come
from the term '
it maun go 'that is
to say it must sell from its cheapness.
Maw-sang (Northumbrian). Blood
a corrupted oath probably mort
saint, holy death.
Mawther (E. Anglican). Not only
mother, but applied to even a girl
baby, girl, maid, wife, and childless
widow.
Mawwormy (Peoples'). Fault-finding,
dismally anticipating wretchedness.
From the character Mawworm.
Augustus Harris insisting on Carl Rosa
accepting the wreath thrown on the stage
last Saturday night was a delicious and
touching spectacle. Here is a glorious
subject for one of our figure-painters.
Without being mawwormy, I fail to see
why a wreath should be presented to
any man who makes a business of giving
opera. Entr'acte, 6th June 1885.
(See Pecksniffian.)
May God blind me (Street). The
original invocation of the gutterling,
reduced to ' Gaw blin' me '.
'
bly me ',
'blyme', 'bly'.
Mayhap Military
Mayhap (Peoples}. Abbreviation of
may happen.
'Your widow? Mayhap not.' Garrick,
Abel Drugger.
Mean to do without 'em (Music
Hall, 1882). The "em' infers to
women. The phrase was first made
popular by the singer Arthur Roberts.
Mean white (Anglo-Indian). A
poor Englishman.
Meater (Street). Coward. Said of
a dog who only bites meat, that is to
say, one who will not fight. Thence
applied to cowardly men.
Meddle and muddle (Political,
1879). Came in during contest
between Beaconsfield and Gladstone
unmasterly policy which harries and
does nothing.
The Board is pursuing a policy of
meddle and muddle, and is getting itself
most cordially hated all round, Ref.,
26th April 1885.
Meddling duchess (Peoples
1
, 1880).
Intensification of duchess (q. v. ). Ageing,
pompous woman who fusses about and
achieves nothing.
Melt (Financial). To discount a
bill.
Melton hot day (Sporting and
Club, 1885). Equivalent to melting
hot day. Created Derby Day (3rd
June), which was very sultry, and
apropos to the winner of the day
* Melton '.
Several who came near me after the
big race remarked that it was a Melton
hot day, and seemed to think they were
saying something original and something
funny. Ref., 7th June 1885.
Memugger (Oxford). Martyrs'
memorial. A satirical and even profane
application of ' er'.
The triumph of this jargon was reached
when some one christened the Martyrs'
Memorial the '
Martyrs' Memugger '.
D. T., 14th August 1899.
Mended (Street, 19 cent.}. Bandaged.
Menkind (Soc.,
J
90's). Male
relatives simply.
The great pull which Pekin had, over
other Eastern or over South American
Legations was that it is the traditional
custom that the ladies of the Corps
Diplomatique, who can rarely be prevailed
upon to venture so far from Paris
as Chili and Peru, accompany their
menkind forth to the Celestial City.
D. T., 4th July 1900.
Mentisental (Syllable traversion
E. of London only). Sentimental.
Merchant (Theatrical, 1882). The
theatre coming to be called the '
shop ',
actors dubbed themselves ' merchants ',
qualified by their line.
Merely moral man (Soc., 1890).
Started by Ritualistic incumbents.
Attack upon men who are moral without
expressed Christian belief.
Mervousness (Polit., 1885).
Satirical synonym for nervousness
invented about 1876 by the political
party who did not believe in the
advance of Russia towards India.
Messengers (Country). The small
dark, rapidly-drifting cloudlets which
foretell a storm.
Micky. See Bob, Harry and Dick.
Microbe of sectionalism (Soc., and
Parl, circa 1896). Social fad in the
House of Commons. As gradually
the * microbe ' was discovered to be
the cause of all disease, or the effect
of all tendency to disease, the phrase
was used figuratively. In this case it
is applied to the total break up of the
Liberal party in the '90's, by the
divided feeling upon most extreme
points. Such as total abstinence,
local veto, vaccination, voluntary
schools, etc.
The abdication by the Radical party
of its proper functions has an unfortunate
tendency to foster what we have called
the microbe of sectionalism. D. T.,
21st June 1890.
Mid vire (Sporting, Paris). Midday
wires, giving last prices in the comingon
races. Heard in London.
Middle cuts (Slums'). These are
the prime cuts of fried fish at fried
fish shops.
Midge (Devon, old). A tell-tale.
Mighty roarer (Yankee). Niagara
cataract.
Mikey (Corrupt Rhyming). Sick
after drink. (See Bob, Harry and
Dick).
Milikers (Com. London, 1870).
Militia probably a corruption of the
true word, upon the basis that publichouse
is idiotically called shuvly-
Military (Tavern, 1885). Porter.
One of the later baptisms.
175
Milk-Bottle Monday Mice
Milk-bottle (Com. Peoples'). Baby.
Milken ( Thieves' , 1 8 cent. ) . Housebreaker.
(See Fielding's Jonathan
Wild.)
Million to a bit of dirt (Sporting,
1860). A sure bet requiring no caution.
'It's a million to a bit o' dirt the
Plunger pulls it off.' (See Dollars to
buttons )
Mimodrama (Theatrical, 1897).
Drama of dumb show, as distinct from
melodrama, wherein the more noise the
better.
He had found the argument of this
minodrama in an artic e of criticism
written by Theophile KJautier. D. T.,
3rd March 1897.
Minchin Malacho (Peoples', 18 cent.
on). Whatever this may mean it is
evidently still understood by the
vulgar. In April 1895 the present
writer heard a man in the gallery of
the Palace of Varieties (London), after
several scornful phrases, say derisively,
* Oh ah minchin maleego.'
Mind the grease (Peoples'). Let
me pass, please.
Mind the paint (Peoples'). Said of
passing girls who have painted their
faces. Adopted from the ordinary
phrase used by house-painters who
flourish this legend on floor, pavement,
and wall. (See Aristocratic veins.)
Mind the step (Peoples'). Veiled
or satiric suggestion that the victim
addressed is drunk.
Mine (Low Life). Husband of a
kind. Sometimes really applied to a
husband.
Mine-jobber (City, 1880 on). Cheat.
When English copper mining became
comparatively valueless by reason of
the import of Australian and other ore
as ballast, all the rascals on change
floated mine companies, which had
not a chance of success.
Minnie P. play (Stage, 1885 on).
Drama in which a little maid variety
actress is the chief motive. She must
sing, dance, play tricks, and never
wear a long dress. From Miss Minnie
Palmer's creations, chiefly in My
Sweetheart. Now obsolete.
Misery (Old Eng. and American).
Pain.
Misery bowl (Tourists'). Reliefbasin
at sea.
176
Misery junction (Music Hall
Singers'). The angle forming the southwest
corner of the York and Waterloo
Roads. So named from the daily
meeting here of music hall '
pros
' who
are out of engagements, and who are in
this neighbourhood for the purpose of
calling on their agents, half a dozen of
whom live within hail. (See Pro's
Avenue. )
Misleading paper (1876 on). Name
given to Times newspaper when it
began to lose its distinctive feature as
the '
leading paper
' in Liberal policy.
Probably the critic of the leading I
should say the misleading morning
paper did not see the show.
Miss (American). To be unlucky.
Mistaken (Birmingham, 1885).
Lie. From a satirical paragraph by
Mr Chamberlain (9th November), at
Birmingham.
Mitching (Canadian). Common
term for playing the truant. Comes
from Devonshire, where the term is
still in use.
Mitten (Amer. t Hist.). Refusal of
marriage by a lady.
' She gave him the
mitten.'
Mixologist (American Saloon).
Outcome of the complicated nature of
American drinks a learned mixer.
Mo'. (See 'Art a mo'.)
Mock litany men (Irish mendicants').
Sing-song beggars who utter
plaints or requests in a chanting
manner.
Modernity (Soc. t '90's). Obvious.
This word was invented early in the
'90's first as a satire, then as a
perspicacious descriptive.
Nothing seems to be wanting to the
perfect 'modernity' of the process by
which Clerkenwell is endeavouring to
discover its most fitting 'shepherd of
souls ' save the presence of a few bookmakers
and a daily report of the state
of the odds against the various competing
candidates. D. T., 16th June 1898.
Moll-hunters (Street). Men, of all
ages, who are always lurking after
women.
Monaker (Cow,. Lond., 1870). Title
or name. From Italian lingo for name,
Monaco being the Italian for monk.
Monday mice (L. Sir. , Hist. ). The
processions of black eyes, in both sexes,
and in back streets as the result of
the week-end closing at 11 P.M. on
Monday Pops Mother of the Modern Drama
Sunday nights a black eye getting
this name from its ordinary size and
rounded shape suggesting a huddled
up mouse.
Monday pops (Soc. ). Abbreviation
of popular and put in plural. Refers
to celebrated long-established concerts
at St James's Hall, London.
We have been to a Monday pop this
week. Geo. Eliot, Letters, 26th
November, 1862.
Money bag lord (Soc., 19 cent.).
Ennobled banker. (See Paint brush
baronet and Gaily pot baronet. )
Money bugs (Amer. Eng.).
Millionaires. Beetles are called bugs,
or were, in the U.S.A. The golden
bug is a beetle that has the appearance
of a lump of dead gold.
It is estimated, I see, that the Vanderbilt
family of millionaires control among
them 20,000 miles of American railways,
which in one way and another afford
employment for three millions of human
beings. . . . The happiness or the
misery of three millions of people wholly
dependent on the whims and caprices
of, say, half a dozen 'money bugs'.
People, 20th March 1898.
Monkey (Mechanics'). Clerk.
Monkey and parrot time
(American). Equivalent to cat and
dog life.
Monkey motions (Military}. Extension
drill. Used satirically by the
men in reference to the manoeuvres of
this really droll drill.
Monkey on the house (Soc.).
Expression current in Cambridgeshire.
It means that the owner of the house
has raised money on it. The natives
also say,
' A monkey on the land ', the
word 'monkey' being exactly equivalent
to 'mortgage'.
Monkey, To (American - Eng.).
Prance and carry on effusively
especially towards a pretty girl.
Monks. Sickly parrots. They hold
their heads down and in.
Monos ( Westminster School).
King's scholar who at 4 P.M.
announces, in Latin, the finish of
the day's work.
Moo (L. Class). Common woman.
Moocheries (Peoples', 1885). One
of the names given to The Inventions.
(See Muckeries. )
Moony cove (Peoples'). The word
is derived from trie tendency of persons
suffering from incipient insanity to
keep the eyes raised when walking.
Moon-struck is another form of the
word.
Moorgate - rattler (Clare Market,
1899). Startlingly - dressed passerby
a swell of that district, or in
it. Perhaps a corruption of Moorgate,
or possibly Margate.
Mops and brooms (Peoples').
Drunk probably suggested by the
hair getting disordered and like a
mop. From a time when hair was
worn long.
' Mops and brooms ' doubtless express
a sense of confusion. Daily News.
Moral Cremorne (Soc., 1883).
Fisheries Exhibition, Royal Horticultural
Gardens, 1883. So named
because there had been no illumination
fetes since the closing of immoral
Cremorne Gardens.
The Fisheries Exhibition is over. The
lights of the moral Cremorne are out.
Ref., 3rd November 1883.
More blue (Devon, old). Exclamation.
Absolute pronunciation of ' mort
bleue', and coming down probably
from the Frenchified court of Charles
II., when Exeter was a western
metropolis. (See Big beck, Zounds,
Zooks, Odd's fish, Please the pigs,
Maw sang.)
More war (Street, 1898). Street
quarrel or wrangle, especially amongst
women. Outcome of the somewhat
discussive warfare carried on between
U.S.A. and Spain in this year.
Satirical to some degree.
Mother (Complicated Rhyming,
1868). Water. Abbreviation of
* mother and daughter' rhyming
with 'water'.
Mother of the modern drama
(Theatrical). An actress who took up
high matronly ground in a lecture
delivered (1884) at Birmingham. The
lady, successful early in life, and
married to a rich, prosperous and
devoted husband, spoke veryea? cathedra,
and during her oration pitied the
strugglers, and announced her intention
of quitting the stage when ' 40 '.
Calculating people arrived at the conclusion
that the lady never therefore
intended to leave the stage, as no one
can be ' 40 ' twice.
177 M
Mother's Help Muffin- Wallopers
Mother's help (Mid. Class, 1883
on). Nursery governess. Term invented
for the accommodation of
people who want a governess, and do
not want to pay for one.
Motor (London Soc., 1896). Fast,
hard-living ; said of a man about town.
Motor (Oxford, 1897). Coach, cram
tutor for exams. Origin obvious.
Simply the conversion of the old-time
coach into the new-time motor without
the car.
Motor (Soc., 1896). The motor-car,
immediately shortened to motor, was
first shown in London streets on 10th
November 1896. Before the end of
the year a score of phrases were built
up around it.
Byron had shown the true origin of the
Motor long before the gentlemen who
thought they invented it were born.
Did he not say in his famous riddle :
'Twas whispered in Heaven, 'twas
Motor'd in Hell. D. T., 19th
November 1896.
Motter (Street, 1896). Name given
to the motor carriage on its very first
official appearance in London on Lord
Mayor's Day, 1896.
Mount the cart (Peoples', 18 cent.).
Be hanged from the then habit of
carting culprits from Newgate to
Tyburn tree, or gallows the cart
being drawn from under the wretch
when the rope had been attached to
the beam.
Mourning coach horse (Middle
Class London, 1850). A tall, solemn
woman, dressed in black and many
inky feathers. (See Sala's B. )
Mouth-pie (Street). Emphatic name
for feminine scolding.
Move the previous question (Soc.,
from Parliamentary Life). To evade ;
to object to explain.
To ' move the previous question
'
is in
Parliamentary phraseology simply to say
that the present is not the most convenient
moment for discussing any
particular motion. Another time, it
says another time, by all means ; but
not just now.
Move the procession (American
Mining). To incite a crowd against
some unpopular person.
Mowrowsky (Anglo American).
Interchange of initial consonants of
two adjacent words, by accident or
intention, as bin and gitters for *
gin
and bitters'. Very common, 1840-56.
Brought into fashion by Albert Smith
from hospital life. Now chiefly
patronised in America.
A mowrowsky is often a transfer of
two words, as in the Taming of the
Shrew, where Grumio cries, in pretended
fright, 'The oats have eaten
the horses'. During the Donnelly
discussion (1888) wherein it was contended
that the plays of Shakespeare
had been written by Lord Bacon, an
intended satirical mowrowsky was
invented by an interchange of initials
between the two names, Bakespeare
and Shacon.
Muck (Military). Scornful appellation
bestowed upon all infantry by all
cavalry.
Muck and halfpenny afters (Middle
Class). Bad, pretentious dinner
spotted at the corners with custard
powder preparations, and half-dozens
of stewed prunes, etc., etc.
Muckeries (Youths, 1885). Name
given to the ' Inventories' (Inventions
Exhibition at S. Kensington) as the
season went on, by the youthful
frequenters.
Mucking ( Westminster School).
Idling, hanging round.
Mud island (E. London). Southend
watering-place on the mouth of
the Thames, whose estuary still produces
a deal of mud.
Mud show (Soc.). An agricultural,
or other out-door show.
Mud - hovel argument (Political,
1879-84). Term given to Tory argument
against extension of political
liberty in Ireland.
A great part of his speech, however,
consisted only of what we may call the
' mud - hovel '
argument, an argument
which he applied to Ireland, and on
which it will be remembered he had
recently an opportunity of expatiating
in Ireland. D. N., 4th March 1884.
Mud-pusher (Street, 1870). Crossing
sweeper.
Muff (Soc., 1840 on). A stupid,
dilatory, inactive, and generally
amiable young man.
Muffin - puncher (Street). Muffin -
baker.
Muffin - wallopers (Middle Class
London, 1880). Scandal -loving women,
178
Mug My Elm is Grown
chiefly spinsters, who meet over a cup
of tea.
Mug (Theatrical). To show variety
of comic expression in the features.
Multa bona fakement (Tavern,
1800-35). Very good trick from
the Italian molto bono, and abstract
noun made from fake to manipulate
adroitly if dishonestly,
A hand truck was procured, and
drugged Charley (watchman) and his
box were then transferred to another
locality, so that when Charley awoke he
found himself and box ready for doing
duty in another parish. This trick was
estimated to be a multa bona fakement.
Diprose's Clement Danes; Pierce Egan,
Life in London, vol. i., p. 101.
Mumchance (Peop., Hist.). Dolefully
silent.
The man or woman who can sit
'mumchance', and with faces as long
as a yard measure, over a well-acted
farce do not deserve to be ranked in the
noble army of all-embracing playgoers.
Z>. T., llth March 1897.
Mumming booth (Lower Stage). A
wandering marquee in which short
plays are produced.
Munching house (City, 1850).
Onomatope for Mansion House from
the lusty-feeding going on there.
The distinguished artists who repeated
The Masque of Painters at the Munching
House the other day do not seem to
have been quite satisfied with their
treatment. Ref., 5th July 1885.
Mundane (Franco-Eng. y 1890 on).
Person of fashion.
The Comtesse de Maupeou, a mundane
who has recently risen upon the musical
horizon, rendered several songs. D. JV.,
12th April 1897.
Murder an' Irish (Peoples', 19 cent.).
Exclamation intimating that things
are at a climax. Sometimes more
emphatically used as ' murderin' Irish '.
Museum headache (Authors', 1857).
Many a student avers, whether
candidly or not, that it costs him less
to buy rare books than to hang about
the Museum, waiting the leisure of the
attendants, and struggling against a
'Museum headache'. Z>. JV., llth
December 1882.
Mush, gush, and lush (Amer.-
Eng., 1884). Mean interested criticism
critiques paid for either in money or
feastings.
Mushroom (Public - house). Name
given by frequenters (presumably in
contempt), to the great clock to be
seen in most taverns, and which gives
warning as to closing time.
Music Hall howl (Musicians'). The
peculiar mode of singing in music-halls,
the result of endeavouring rather to
make the words of a song heard than
to create musical effect.
Music Hall public (Soc. t 1884).
Satirical description of public who do
not care for high-class compositions.
Next time M. Kiviere organises a
benefit let him make up his mind whether
he will seek the suffrages of the musical
or the music hall public. He might be
happy with either, but he will never get
both at once. fief., 3rd May 1885.
Musk-rats (American). People of
Delaware given because those animals
prevail in this division.
Must know Mrs Kelley? You
(London, 1898 on). Joking exclamation
with no particular meaning,
generally shot at a long - winded
talker. Phrase used for two years at
all times and places by Dan Leno.
Mustard plaster (Peoples'). Dismal
young man. Put a mustard plaster on
his chest. Said of a doleful and dismal
pallid young man. Derived from a
comic song, in association with
Colman's mustard, written by the
celebrated pantomime writer, E. L.
Blanchard, and sung in one of his
pantomimes at Drury Lane.
Mustard pot (Peoples'). Carriage
with a light yellow body. Obvious
outcome of mere relation of colours.
Mutton shunter (Policemen, 1883).
Policeman.
My elm is grown (Peoples', 18 cent.).
Prognostication of one's own death
figure of speech depending upon the
practical fact that elm is used throughout
the land for coffins.
179
N.A.D. Natural, All Your
N
N.A.D. (Military Hospital).
Shamming in any way. Initials of No
Appreciable Disease.
N. D. (Soc., 19 cent.). Initials of
No Date, used by librarians in making
their lists. Applied to a woman who
tries to look young.
N. F. (Artisans', masked). Initials
of No Fool.
N. G. (Peoples', 19 cent.). Emphatic
initials of No Go which in its
turn implies failure.
N. N. (Soc.). Necessary Nuisance
generally applied to husband.
N. Y. D. (Military Hospital).
Evasive for drunk. Initials of Not
Yet Diagnosed found on military
hospital bed-cards as a direction to
visiting medical men and to nurses.
In this case the true diagnosis would
lead to a confinement to barracks.
Nail a goss ( Thieves'). To steal a
hat industry gone out since hats
became so cheap. The silk plush hat
which succeeded and killed the beaver
was so comparatively light that it was
called a gossamer, soon naturally reduced
to goss.
Nail a strike (Thieves'). To steal a
watch.
Nailed up drama (Theat., 1881).
Satirical title found for the drama
which depends upon elaborate scenery.
Said first in relation to The World,
produced at Drury Lane about this
time.
Nana, Nanaish (Club, 1882). Outrageous,
overstepping decency from
the French romance Nana, by Zola.
Theodora would be an unpresentable
being to a London or a New York audience,
and is almost too ' high
' in the
sense poulterers attach to the word for
even a Boulevardier public. In the
name of history, Zola's Nana is out-
Nana-ed. D. N. (criticism on Theodora),
29th December 1884.
Nancy (Low London, 19 cent.).
Effeminate in a slight degree. Also
used in the U.S.A.
Nancy tales (Lit. , 1890). Humbug,
bosh.
The negroes of the West Indies call an
old wife's fable ' a Nancy story ', derived
from Ananzi, the African spider who
told tales. D. N., 17th January 1891.
Nanny (Street boys'). Banana. (See
Tommy Rabbit, )
Nanty (Italian organ-grinders').
Nothing corruption of niente.
' 'E's a nanty cove.'
Nanty narking (Tavern, 1800 on
to 1840). Great fun. (See Egan's
Life in London.)
Nanty worster (Common London).
Nanty (Italian) here means ' no '
;
worster an intensification of 'worst'.
The phrase means therefore a 'noworse
'.
Nark the titter (Dangerous Classes).
Watch the woman. ' Nark '
is probably
a rhyming word to ' mark '.
Titter is the very lowest mode of
describing a woman one who has
teats.
Nap (London, 1855-70). A very
pointed moustache the two points
forming a long line which 'cut' the
face. It was re-introduced by Napoleon
III., and is still worn by Napoleonists
in Paris.
Nap or nothing (Club, 1868). All
or naught.
Nap (knap) the regulars (Thieves').
Receive or grab the customary portion
of the money resulting from the sale of
stolen property.
Narrative (Middle class). Dog's
tail. A tale is a narrative tale =
tail in pronunciation.
Nathaniel, Below (Old English).
Even lower than Hades Nathaniel
(like Samuel, or Zamiel in Germany)
and Old Nick, or Nicholas, being
familiar synonyms for Satan.
Throughout my life I have always had
a burning desire and a dogged determination
to get below the surface of
things, and Eugene Sue's masterpiece
took you, as the saying is,
' down below
Nathaniel', as regards the basements
and the subterraneans of society. G. A.
Sala, D. T., 18th July 1895.
Nattermy (Peoples'). Word for a
thin human being. From anatomy.
Natural, All your (Peoples'). Ellipsis
of all your natural born days.
Natural probably here meant as ' ordinary',
which phrase would exclude
your 'extraordinary' days.
180
Nautical Triumvisetta Nice Place to Live Out Of
Nautical triumvisetta (Music Hall).
A singing and dancing nautical scene
by three persons, of whom two are
generally women.
Near and far (Public-house Rhyming).
The bar.
Neat (Low Peoples'). Unadulterated,
unmixed in relation to drink : e.g.,
Two o' gin neat is quite an improvement
upon a similar quantity of ' raw'.
Nec Ultra (Soc., 17-19 cent.). West
side of Temple Bar.
To the Countess Blushrose, Nature
herself had written Nec Ultra on the west
side of Temple Bar. D. Jerrold's The
Story of a Feather, chap. ix.
Neck oil (E. London). Beer
generally.
Ned Skinner (Rhyming). Dinner.
Neddyvaul (Street boys').
' Ned of
all'. Chief, commander, conqueror.
Neecee peeress (Soc.). An E. C.
or city bride of little or no family, and
an immense fortune, both of which are
wedded to some poor lord or baronet.
Needful (Peoples', 19 cent.). Money
and one of the most urgent terms for
it. In use by all classes.
Needle (Tailors'). Got the needle,
i.e., irritated, as when the needle runs
into a finger. Has spread generally
over working classes, who have accepted
the graphic nature of the phrase.
Needles and pins (Peoples'). Warning
against marriage. The rhyming
runs
Pins and needles needles and pins
When a man marries his trouble begins.
Common also to America, to which
land it passed from Devonshire, where
the phrase is still very common.
Neetrith gen (Backspeech). Thirteen
shillings. The first word is thirteen
spelt backwards the 'th' very properly
being taken as one letter. 'Gen' is
the short for general (a shilling).
Negus (Queen Ann's reign). Port
wine and hot water, heightened by
grated nutmeg. One of the name
words from a Colonel Negus who invented
the beverage.
Never fear (Peoples'). Don't be
anxious.
Never squedge (Low. London). A
poor pulseless, passionless youth a
duffer.
181
Neversweat (Common English, 19
cent.). A graphic, one-word description
of a lazy, or even a slow individual,
used only towards men and boys.
New (Britannia training ship).
Fresh arrival, last addition. Used in
the plural.
New (American). News. 'Oh, is
that the new ?
'
New cut warrior (S. London, 1830).
An inhabitant fighter, in or near the
New Cut, a road made only in the
19th century through the Lambeth
Marshes from Blackfriars to Lambeth.
New departure (Soc., 1880).
Synonym for change of any kind.
We have often pointed out that the
electoral changes which have just been
accomplished must produce a new era
or, as the Americans would call it, a new
departure in legislation. D. N., 9th
August 1885.
New pair of boots (Mid.-class).
Another question altogether later
shape of another pair of shoes.
Once they have the concession made
to them, then it becomes a ' new pair of
boots '
altogether. Entr'acte, 17th March
1883.
Newcastle programme (1894 on).
Extreme promises, difficult of execution.
From afepeech of extreme Radical
promise made by Mr John Morley at
Newcastle.
Next parish to America (Irish).
Arran Island most western land of
Ireland.
Just sixteen miles beyond Barna, and
at the mouth of the Bay of Gal way, is
Arran island, which the people here call
the ' Next Parish to America '.D. N. t
December 1887.
Next thing to the judgment day
(wholly American). Absolute social
shock.
Nice as nasty (Lower Peoples').
Evasive way of declaring the opponent
objectionable.
Nice blackberry (American).
Satirical phrase, intimating that the
other is a bitter weed or fruit.
Nice joint (Street). Charming, if
over-pronounced, young person.
Nice place to live out of (Peoples').
Evasive way of condemning a locality.
Without corresponding to the idea of
' a nice place to live out of ', Harrogate
Nice Thin Job No Rats
is assuredly one of those spots which owe
much to their surroundings.
(See Do without it. )
Nice thin job (Peoples', 1895).
Mean evasion of a promise.
' Thin '
to be seen through, comes from
America and in England antithetically
suggested thick now very prevalent
for ill-usage and misbehaviour
in general.
Nicholls (Soc. t 1860 on). Complete
riding habit. From the splendid
habits made by Nicholls, of Regent
Street.
Nickel - plate (American). An
equivalent to our German silver a
swindle, a social fraud.
The name ' nickel plate ', as applied to
the New York, Chicago & St Louis Railway,
came into use in this way : speaking
of the road by its initial letters a
common practice among railroad men
N. Y. C. L. suggested nickel, and from
that to ' nickel plate
' was an easy transition.
Detroit Free Press, 1882.
Niggers' duel (Anglo-American).
A never-intended encounter. Each
behind a mile-stone, therefore a mile
apart.
Night flea (Essex School). Boarder
in contradistinction from Day-bug
(**).
Niminy-piminy (Soc., 19 cent.).
Effeminately affected.
Mr Beckford wrote in Leigh Hunt's
Story of Rimini :
Nimmini Pimmini
The Story of Rimmini.
D. N., llth December 1882.
Nimshes (American Federal, 1860-
65). One of the contemptuous names
describing the Secessionists. Origin
not known.
Nine mile nuts (Japanese pigeon).
Anything to eat or drink very sustaining.
From the nutritive qualities of
chestnuts especially in Japan.
Nine tailors make a man (OldEng. ).
Said derisively of a small man, whether
tailor or not.
Nines, Up to the (Common).
Perfect.
90 dog (Street). Pug. Referring to
aspect of tail.
97 champion frost (Peoples'). First
motor cars. The expectations raised
on 10th November, 1896, by the
procession of motor cars from the
Embankment to Brighton, were disappointed
by the immediate results.
No. I. (New York, 1883). When
the U.S.A. were interested, early in
this year, as to whether the 'No I.
'
of the Invincible Brotherhood (Fenian)
was or was not in America, the term
No. I. was often applied to noisy, or
even merely evident, Irishmen.
No. I. (Political, 1883). Mysterious.
This phrase took its rise early this
year, consequent upon the collapse of
' The Brotherhood of Invincibles'.
No better than they ought to be
(Peoples'). Worse than many.
There are fireworks on certain nights
now at the Crystal Palace, and they are
about the most successful of the displays
given here ; though it may be said they
attract very many persons whom Mrs
Grundy says are no better than they
ought to be. Entr'acte, 6th June 1885.
No beyond jammer (Street).
Perfectly beautiful woman.
Nochurch (Peoples'}. When thegreat
wrangle took place between the High
Church party and the Low Church
party, this phrase, which at once took,
and has remained popular, was deftly
discovered by Douglas Jerrold to
represent the religious condition of
the utterly outcast. The phrase was
first published by the wit in a page
of Punch.
No class (Street, 1893 on).
Commonplace.
He proposed to Sal and she knew he was
gone on her a bit
Although I knew quite well it couldn't
last;
But when she said, 'I love him, Bill,' it
fairly knocked me sick,
Cos I seemed to know 'e wasn't any
class.
' Soldiers ! Why, soldiers ain't no
class.' D. T., June 1897.
No earthly (London, 1899). Abbreviation
of ' no earthly chance '.
The actors who have not booked their
seats vid Mr Henry Dana, are hereby
notified that they have now no earthly,
as all seats have been allotted. Ref.,
22nd October 1899.
No grease (Engineers'). Absence
of behaviour, of politeness.
No rats (Peoples'). Scotchman.
Evasive reference to that native, it
being supposed that a Scot is always
associated with bagpipes, and that no
182
No Return Ticket Not In It
rat can bear the neighbourhood of that
musical instrument.
No return ticket (Common, London).
Abbreviation of ' He's going to Hanwell
and no return ticket' said of a man
who shows signs of madness.
Nobby (Navy). Anelicization of
the 'Niobe'.
Nolled (American). Form of nolle
prosequi. Used by lawyers.
Non compos. See Compos, Non.
Non me (Peoples', 1820-30). Lie.
* That's a non me for one.' Took its
rise from the trial of Queen Caroline,
wherein the Italian witnesses observed
' non mi ricordo '
(I do not remember)
to every important question put to
them in cross-examination.
Nonsensational (Critical, 1897).
Sensational nonsense.
With a piece of nonsensational extravagance
entitled The MacHaggis, Mr
Penley on Thursday night re-opened his
theatre. People, 28th February 1897.
Norfolk Howard (Popular). A
bed-bug. Due to a man named
Buggey advertising a change of name
to this phrase, a combination of the
family name and title of the Duke of
Norfolk. Produced much press comment
and even sympathy for all
persons with objectionable names.
The following list of vexatious names
was compiled and published in the
Times.
Asse, Bub, Belly, Boots, Cripple,
Cheese, Cockles, Dunce, Dam, Drinkmilke,
Def, Flashman, Fatt, Ginger,
Goose, Beaste, Barehead, Bungler,
Bugg, Buggey, Bones, Cheeke, Clodd,
Cod, Demon, Fiend, Funck, Frogge,
Ghost, Gready, Hagg, Humpe, Holdwater,
Headach, Jugs, Jelly, Idle,
Kneebone, Kidney, Licie, Lame, Lazy,
Leakey, Maypole, Mule, Monkey,
Milksop, Mudd, Honeybum, Maydenhead,
Mug, Piddle, Paswater, Pisse,
Pricksmall, Pricke, Phisicke, Pighead,
Pot, Poker, Poopy, Prigge, Pigge,
Punch, Proverbs, Quicklove, Quash,
Radish, Rumpe, Rawbone, Rottengoose,
Swette, Shish, Sprat, Sheartlifte, Stiffe,
Squibb, Sponge, Stubborne, Swine,
Shittel, Shave, Shrimps, Shirt, Skim,
Squalsh, Silly, Shoe, Smelt, Skull,
Spattel, Shadow, Snaggs, Spittle, Teate,
Taylecoate, Villain, Vittels, Vile, Whale.
North Castle (Slang of the impecunious,
1880). Holloway Jail, in
the north of London.
Nose (Boating). The extreme tip
of the bow of a boat.
Nose and chin (Rhyming). One of
the modes of referring to gin.
Nose-bag (Mid. -class, 19 cent.). A
hospitable house.
'These gulls', remarked the keeper
before referred to,
' come now in larger
numbers from year to year. The fact is
they are like a good many of the people
you see walking about if they once find
out where there's a good nose-bag they
take care to be near it.' D. T., 22nd
December 1898.
Nose-bagger (Seaside Soc.). A
day visitor to the seaside, who brings
his own provisions, presumably in a
bag one who is of no monetary value
to the resort visited. Contemptuous
comparison to the cab-horse, or even
the shore-donkey.
'Last season was a bad one ; there were
plenty of visitors, but nearly all "nosebaggers
"
people who come for the day
and bring their own provisions,' said a
Southend butcher in his examination at
the Chelmsford Bankruptcy Court.
Lloyds', 24th November 1807.
Noser (Covent Garden). Said of
visitors to the market who inspect
the flowers and fruits, sometimes quite
closely, and who do not buy.
Nosper (Low London back}.
Common word for stranger. It is
'
person '.
Not a feather to fly with (Colloquial
from Universities). When the word
'
plucked
' was used to designate failure
to pass an examination, the figure of
speech was carried out by describing a
very doleful failure as being plucked
' without a feather to fly with ' meaning
that no success whatever was
obtained. Applied in many ways.
Not dead yet (Theatrical, 1883).
Ancient generally said of an antique
fairy.
Not enough written (Authors',
1870). Not sufficiently corrected for
style.
Not in it (Sporting}. Failure referring
to a horse in a race as having
no chance.
The gentleman who declared that goldmining
was not in it was strictly correct.
The gold production in the United States
is worth between nine and ten millions,
but the profit upon it is nothing like that
on sugar. D. T., 26th February 1897.
183
Not on Borrowing Terms Nursery Noodles
Not on borrowing terms (American,
1882). Not in friendly relations said
of next-door neighbours.
The families of the two young souls
were not on ' borrowing terms '. Texas
Siftings, 1883.
Not the cheese (Peoples', Hist.).
Not satisfactory. Dr Brewer absolutely
refers this word back to the
Persian and the Hindoo cheez, thing ;
though he says nothing of the journey.
May be from the French, 'Ce n'est
pas la chose' chose being used a great
deal for thing in the sixties.
Not to-day, Baker (Peons', 1885).
Said at a youth who is paying attentions
which are obviously unwelcome.
Term used by housewives refusing bread
when the morning baker calls. But
satirically applied in reference to a
military man of this name who was
given into custody for pressing his
attentions upon a young lady travelling
by accident alone with him.
The gentleman signs himself ' Baker ',
and wants to try an experiment on my
family. In the words of the poet, I
reply, 'Not to-day, Baker !' Ref. , 8th
March 1885.
Not too nice (Soc., 1870 on). First
degree of condemnation equals bad.
Outcome of the frequent use of nice.
Not up to Dick (Common Respectable
Life). Not well ; ill and wretched.
Not worth a rap (Irish, Hist.).
Worth nothing. In the early years of
the 18th century, from 1721, notwithstanding
the savage Drapier Letters,
copper money was so rare in Ireland
that a quantity of base metal was in
circulation in the shape of small coins.
They came to be called raps probably
the short of rapparee, a good-fornothing
fellow hence the word came
to be applied to describe valuelessness.
Note (Soc., 1860 on). Intellectual
signature, polite war-cry.
Culture is the 'note' of Boston.
D. N., 18th November 1884.
Notergal Wash, or N. Wash (L.
Class, 1857 on). No wash at all
grubbiness. Very interesting if from
Nightingale. Miss Nightingale, the
creator (1855-56) of rational nursing,
had the misfortune to incur the lower
public satire for stating that a person
could keep himself clean on a pint of
washing water per day. She did not
say he was preferably to do this.
Nothing to do with the case
(Peoples', Hist.). Elegant evasion of
' you lie !
' Made very popular by Mr
W. S. Gilbert's The Mikado, wherein
Mr G. Grossmith had a capital song
which began :
' The flowers that bloom in the spring
Have nothing to do with the case.'
Nottub (Back phrasing). Button.
Now or never (Rhyming). Clever.
Well, these Tommy Rotters kid the
poor judy they're very rich, and if they're
now and never they get carefully carried
(married) to her. Biography of Cheap
Heiress Hunters, 1882.
Now we're busy (Peoples', 1868).
To suggest action. Also an evasive
intimation that the person spoken of
is no better for his liquor, and is about
to be destructive.
Now we shan't be long (Peoples',
1895 on). Intimation of finality.
Origin obscure. Probably from railway
travellers' phrase when near the
end of a journey.
' Now we shan't be long ', said Henry
Martin to Thomas Hiom, as the couple
equipped themselves with a pair of
double-barrelled catapults and a copious
supply of indiarubber pellets, and started
off on a partridge-shooting expedition to
the Finchley Road. D. T. , 8th September
1896.
Now we shall be shan't (Dec.
1896). Another jocular shape of
'Now we shan't be long' and purposely
having no meaning.
Nudities (Critics, 1890 on). New
shape of ' nude studies ' or ' nudes '.
The nudities, though of the usual
class, are fewer and less fragrant than
usual, the horrors less horrible, and what
may be called the medical pictures less
repulsive. D. N., 19th April 1898.
Nuf ced (From America). Contraction
of '
enough said '
absurdly
spelt. Warning to say no more.
Used in Liverpool chiefly.
Number one (Navy). Strictly naval
for first lieutenant.
Nuptiated (Wilful American).
Married.
Nurse the hoe-handle (Agricultural
American). Lazy.
Nursery noodles (Literary). Critics
who are very fastidious.
184
Oaky-Pokeys
O (Peoples', Hist. ). Most emphatic
form of liking and satisfaction always
used as a suffix. " What !
"
O (Printers'). Emphatic, and abbreviation
of overseer.
9- B. (Criminal). Old Bailey, City
Criminal Court.
O. P. H. (Polit., 1886). Old Parliamentary
Hand meaning Gladstone.
Invented by Times (February 1886).
O. T. (Street, Satirical, 1880). One
way of observing that the weather is
warm.
O. V. (Sooth). Abbreviation of
oven the name given to the open
pace below the stage in which the
Pepper's ghost illusion is worked.
This apparatus, which is at an angle
of 35, and upon which the phantomised
comedians lie, is surrounded by
lamps, and is very hot hence the
title. (See Phant.)
OVO (Low Class, Hist.} Quite
inexplicable. No solution ever obtained
from the initiates.
O Bergami, or O Begga me
(London Peoples', 1820). Still used in
the streets as intimating that the
person addressed is a liar, or worse.
From one Ber'gami a lying witness at
the trial of Queen Caroline whose
denial of everything brought about
this phrase, with his eternal ' non mi
ricordo '. (See Non me.)
O chase me (Streets, 1898 on).
Satiric invitation, or pretended satiric,
ty a maiden to a youth to run after
her and hug and kiss her.
O Cheese and Crust (Lower
Peoples'). 0, Jesus Christ !
O cricum jiminy (Peoples', Hist.).
An exclamation of pretended fear.
O ! cry ! (Peoples'). Exclamation
of satiric surprise, confounded with
cry, but probably nothing to do with
it.
'
! crickey !
' may be another
shape of the expression. May be an
evasion of '
! Christ !
'
O dear me 1 (Peoples'). Exclamation
of regret. Probably from the Court of
Katharine of Arragon (Henry VIII.),
or perhaps from that of Catherine of
Braganza (Charles II.).
' Ay di mi !
' as the Spaniards say, we
shall have no Pomard this year ! The
storms of yesterday and of Monday have
devastated the vineyards. D. N., 1874.
O Gomorrah to you ! (Com. Life).
Play of a word upon ' to-morrow ', and
said either savagely or jocularly.
O good night ! (Low English).
Meaning,
' This is too much I think
I must be going.'
O ! la ! (European almost historical).
! law ! The influence of the
Crusades upon European society was
notoriously immense. Surely some
expressions were imported ? What
more likely than that of * Allah !
'
which is in the mouth of every Mahomedan
at all times, and always at the
beginning of a sentence ?
* Hullo !
'
may be from the same source.
O my eye (Peoples' Old Catholic).
Corruption of ' Ah mihi 'the opening
words of the prayer to St Martin, the
patron of beggars. Implies doubt, and
a suggestion of deceptive utterance.
O. P. H. (Street, 19 cent.). Off.
O Pollaky 1 (Peoples', 1870). Exclamation
of protest against too urgent
enquiries. From an independent, selfconstituted,
foreign detective, who
resided on Paddington Green, and
became famous for his mysterious and
varied advertisements, which invariably
ended with his name (accent on
the second syllable), and his address.
O soldiers ! (Peoples'). Exclamation
not now often heard.
O Smith ! (Peoples', 1835 - 50).
Cavernous laugh, very popular, for
nearly a score of years.
' What an
Smith ' would be the comment upon
hearing a grim 'Ha-ha'. Smith
always did the frequent Adelphi
villains of that day, also the unscrupulous
villains.
O the language 1 (Peoples
1
).
Generally said to a drunken woman
using violent or spluttering English.
O Willie, Willie (Peoples', 1898).
Term of satiric reproach addressed to a
taradiddler rather than a flat liar.
Oak (Rhyming). Joke very
common. Now passed into chestnut.
Oaky-pokeys (Devonshire). Cockchafers.
185
Oat-Stealer Old Ebenezer
Oat-stealer (Country Tavern).
Ostler. A play upon the original word.
Obvious (Soc. t 1897). Fat, stout.
Origin evident.
'Mary, you are becoming too obvious. '
Obviously severe (Soc., 1890 on).
Hopelessly rude of speech.
Occifer (Colloquial imbecile, 19 cent. ).
Officer.
Ochorboc (Italian organ-grinders').
Beer. The word is here found by
taking the first letter of the word
' bochor ' and adding it to the end, also
adding 'oc'. The original word is
'Bocca' (mouth).
Odd job man (Trade). Modified
description of the Shyster, who professes
to do anything and only does his
employer.
Odd-fellows (Peoples'). Name of a
mutual benefit society. Corruption of
God-fellows.
Odd's Bobs (Peoples'). God's Babe
(the Redeemer). May be found in
Roderick Random.
Od's death. The Crucifixion Hia
death ; long since passed into 'Sdeath.
Od's fish (Peoples', Hist.). Scotch
exclamation, probably brought south
by James I.
' Od '
is an evasion of
'God', while fish is a Scotticism for
fash, which in its turn is from /ache",
one of the French terms brought into
Scotland through French influence.
Od's my life (Lower Class). One of
the religious adiurations ' God's my
life.'
Know Lieutenant Bowling odd's my
life ! and that I do. Roderick Random,
ch. xxiv.
Odsbud (Peoples'). Is probably
God's Bud and meaningthe Redeemer,
or it may be God's Blood. (See Tom
Jones, bk. xvi., ch. viii.)
Odso (Provincial). Now only heard
in country places. One of the evasive
religious ejaculations of 17th century
'God's oath'.
Young Mirabel :
' Odso the relics,
madam, from Rome !
'
Farquhar, The
Inconstant.
Off chump (Stable). No appetite
onomatope of the noise made by horses
in eating.
Off the rails (line) (Peoples', 1840
on). Unsteady.
Officers of the 52nds (Irish City of
Cork). Known generally in Irish
garrison towns. Young men, chiefly
clerks and shopkeepers, who make a
rigid official appearance on Sundays.
There are fifty-two Sundays in a year.
Officers' wives (Army, 19 cent.).
Prosperity.
The bugle sang out 'Officers' wives
have puddings and pies, while soldiers'
wives have skilly', that is the soldiers'
translation of the call to mess. Re/.,
10th April 1885.
Ofters (Sporting, 1884). Frequenters.
We may almost assume that the
principle of heredity has once again
asserted itself, and that the youthful
' ofters ' whom I saw in the Haymarket
the other night, all shirt front and fur
collar, are the offspring of the very same
sort of tpringalds who exploited themselves
thirty years ago in the very selfsame
neighbourhood. Ref., 23rd
December 1888.
Og-rattin (Land. Restaurant). Au
gratin anglicization.
Ogotaspuotas (Street, S. L., 1897).
Bosh, nonsense. At once dubbed ' Oh,
go to spue'. Legend upon a Radical
flag carried on Sunday, 7th March 1897,
to Hyde Park and to a meeting in
favour of the Cretans.
Old boots, To fight like. Fight
like Marlborough the first English
general to wear immense jack boots.
William III. preceded him in this
display but the Orange's were lighter
boots. For several generations Marlborough
was the people's hero. Indeed
he was only displaced first by Nelson,
and then by Wellington. The heroes
have given several boots to society
Wellington and Blucher amongst
others. ' My dawg can fet like old
boots, and shoon too.'
Old boys (Soc., 1880). Old schoolfellows.
An ' Old Boy's
' Dinner. An ' Old
Boy's' dinner of Amersham and
Amersham Hall School was held last
night at the Freemasons' Tavern, when
about 130 were present. 2). N., 9tk
April 1885.
Old Ebenezer (American - Sport).
Grizzly and grisly bear. Probably
applied from its appearance.
The hunter on the lonely heights of
the Rocky Mountains is far too well
186
Old Gal On (a Bit o') Toast
armed to-day to fear either a ' mountain
lion ', as the panther is locally called, or
'Old Ebenezer', the renowned grizzly
bear himself. D. N., 2nd February 1883.
Old gal (Peoples'}. General term of
affection describing a wife.
Old gang ^Parliamentary, 1870-
1900). Ancient Tory party uncompromising
Tories, generally old men.
Lord Randolph Churchill has probably
not gained all the points on which he was
disposed to insist. But, in deference to
his opinion, there will no doubt be a
clearance out of some of those whom the
Fourth Party is in the habit of politely
designating as the 'Old Gang'. Mr J.
Chamberlain, 17th June 1885.
Old geyser (Street). Elderly man.
Old hat (Old English and new Australian).
Modern anatomical reference
very cogent, but not explainable.
I shall conclude this note with remarking
that the term ' old hat '
is at present
used by the vulgar in no very honourable
sense. Fielding, Jonathan Wild.
Old Mother Hubbard (Common
English, 1880). Fictional said of a
story which is past belief.
Old moustache (Street, 1880).
Elderly vigorous man with grey
moustache.
' Prisoners of War ', two English
middies, one of them with his arm in
a sling, on a bench in a French seaport.
An old moustache guards them. D. N.,
9th April 1885.
Old put (Soc., early 19 cent. now
Peoples). A pretentious, stupid, aged
gentlemanly man. Derived probably
from a proper name.
It is quite credible that such a man,
meeting in an omnibus an elderly gentleman
of antiquated air and costume,
should consider it funny to insult the
' old put
'
by pretending to be an intimate
acquaintance, and accosting him
with a familiar 'How's Maria?' St
James1
Gazette, 7th August 1883.
Old Shake (Amer. Press, 1870).
Shakespeare.
Old shoes. Rum. (See Old boots. )
Old Shovel-penny ( Military). The
pay-master, who is generally an ancient.
Old slop (London, 19 cent.). A
corruption of '
saloop ', derived from
the French '
salope '. Applied to the
Times newspaper from 1840-50, to intimate
that it was bowing and smiling
on all sides, and trying to attract,
while having no will of its own.
Old splendid (American, 19 cent.).
Splendid in the highest.
Old Whiskers (Street, 19 cent.).
Cheeky boys' salute to a working-man
whose whiskers are a little wild and
iron-grey.
Old Wigsby (Middle -
class).
Crotchety, narrow - minded, elderly
man, who snappishly can see no good
in any modern thing. Same in French
equivalent perruque.
M. Halevy, whom he welcomed at the
Academy, is also no perruque, or solemn
big wig, and it may be said, with some
emphasis, that he is no prude D. N.,
February 1886.
Olds, middles, and youngs (Provincial).
Scotch, English, and Irish.
Some one who had studied the idiosyncrasies
of the three chief component
parts of the United Kingdom, summed
up his experiences of them by comparing
the Scotch to old people, the English to
middle-aged, and the Irish to children.
D. N., 5th March 1885.
Oldster (Slang, Clubs, 1884). Ageing
man. Gift from U.S.A.
You mustn't trust the oldsters too
implicitly when they endeavour to persuade
you, as they always will, that
there never was such a time as their
time. Ref., 7th March 1886.
Olive oil (Music Hall, 1884). English
pronunciation of Au revoir.
Oliver (Compound Rhyming). Fist.
As thus : Oliver Twist. Derived from
Dickens.
Omnes (Wine Merchants'). Word
for the mixtures of odds and ends of
various wines.
On dig (School). Abbreviation of
' on his dignity '.
On for a tatur (Peoples'). Fascinated,
enraptured. Said of a man
talking to a barmaid, and making eyes
at her. Evidently from Ute-&-Mte.
On his ear (Amer.-Eng.). In disgrace
from American handy mothers
grabbing their boys' ears while battling
in the streets with other boys.
On his feet (American). Ruined.
Qnice(Amer.-Eng.\ Dead. From
placing body on ice to aid in '
faking
it .
On (a bit o') toast. 'He had me
on (a bit o') toast '
; figuratively to
187
On the Back Seam Oner over the Gash
say he absorbed or swallowed me so
readily that the act was no more
trouble to him than swallowing anything
that will lie on a fragment of
the toast in question.
On the back seam (Tailors'}. Another
elegant evasion. Flat on the
floor.
On the beer (Peoples'). Evident.
On the bias (Dressmakers'). Illegitimate.
On the cross.
On the deck ( Costers' local). Living
in Seven Dials. (See Deck.)
On the marry (American). Looking
out for a wife or husband.
On the nail (Peoples'). Immediate
payment no trust. From the habit
of ancient shop - keepers having a
square - headed, large nail driven
through the counter. Upon its head
the money in payment was laid.
On the pig's back (Irish}. In
luck's way. Comes from Rome.
During the reigns of the Twelve a
golden amulet in the shape of a pig
was supposed to bring good luck.
On the pounce (Irish). Preparing
to spring, verbally. Brought into
sudden fashion by Mr E. Harrington,
H.R., M.P. (13th September 1887).
Upon his being suspended he observed,
'You, Mr Speaker, have been on the
pounce for me since I rose you have
been on the pounce waiting for me
all the evening, and I claim my right
to speak.
Mr Smith has the further* function of
keeping ready ' on the pounce ', as the
irreverent phrase goes to clap on the
closure whenever he and his colleagues
think they have had enough of a debate.
D. N., 10th October 1890.
On the run (Anglo American).
Escaping.
On the slate (Loiver Peoples').
Written up against you from the
credit-slate kept in chandlers' shops.
On the square (Peoples'). Totally
honest and straightforward. From
Freemasonry, where the square is
typical of everything that is good.
On the tapis ( Diplomatic). Rumour,
equivalent to ' on dit '.
On velvet (Mid. class 1860),
Luxurious success.
Once (Street). Vigour, go, cheek
the substantivizing of ' on ' most
emphatic.
188
I like Shine I cannot help admiring
the large amount he possesses of what is
vulgarly called 'once'. Rcf., 24th
October 1886.
Once a week man or Sunday
promenader (London, 1830-40). Man
in debt. Could only go out on Sunday,
because on that day no arrests for
debt could be made. (See Egan's Eeal
Life in London. )
Onces (Artisans'). Wages abbreviation
of ' once a week '.
One and a peppermint drop (Com.
London). One-eyed person.
One bites (Loud. Costers, 1870 on).
Small, acrid apples which, being
tested with one bite, are thrown away.
One consecutive night (Soc. and
Stage). Enough.
The second lecture is almost invariably
a dismal failure. ' One consecutive night
'
is the limit of the funny man's course.
D. N., 15th August 1890.
One drink house (Common London,
19 cent.). Where only one serving is
permitted. If the customer desire a
second helping, he has to take a walk
' round the houses '
after the first.
One leg trouser (Soc. , 1 882). Tight,
feminine skirt of the period.
. . . and ladies in the latest '
one-legtrouser'
fashion from Paris. D. J\
T
.,
18th April 1883.
(See Eel-skin.)
One of them (Streets). A shilling.
One of those (Peoples' 1880). An
obscure phrase, coming probably from
a comic song entitled,
' I really must
have one of those'. No ascertained
meaning above the class in which it
originated but evidently quite understood
by its patrons. Remained in
gutter fashion for about four years,
when it fell from its high intent.
1.30 (Tavern). That is to say,
' one
hour and a half derived from railway
mode of counting time.
One-eyed city (American). A poor,
inactive place.
One - light - undershirt - and - no -
suspenders weather (American).
Very hot.
One-two (Peoples'). Familiar figure
of speech for rapidity.
Oner over the gash (Peoples').
A blow over the mouth.
Oolfoo Ought to Know
Oolfoo (Low. Cl-ass). Fool.
He'll make the judy think that you're
the biggest oolfoo that ever was started
on the blessed earth.
Oons (Provincial Romanesque).
Evasion of ' God's wounds '. Once
pronounced 'ouns'. (See 'Tare an'
ouns ',
' Hounds ').
' No hang it. 'Twill never do oons.'
Farquhar, The Inconstant.
Op (Soc., 1870). Opera.
Open-airs (Salvationist). Meetings
beyond roofs.
We have had some blessed heart-rejoicing
times. Last week three sinners
wept their way to Calvary, and enlisted
to fight under the blood-stained banner.
Our open-airs are glorious. War Cry,
1884.
Open door (Polit., 1898). Colonial
free trade. Heard long before this
year, but took form in the autumn of
this, due to the discord in China
when England urged that Chinese
commerce should be equally free to
all nations hence the term, which at
once passed over Europe.
Open eye (Trade, 1899). Correlative
and completion of open door
meaning that though the foreigner may
trade with the whole empire, a sharp
eye must be kept on him. Invention
of Mr Stuart Wortley (at Stoke-upon-
Trent, December 1899), who said in a
dinner-speech :
' For our commercial
prosperity we needed the open eye as
well as the open door.'
Open to (L. London). To tell
confess.
I knew then that Selby had got a bit
more (money) than he opened to (told)
me. People, 6th January 1895.
Opera (Amer., 1880). Perversion
of 'uproar'.
Operation (Tailors'). Patch, especially
in relation to the rear of trousers.
Opportunism (Polit., 1860 on).
Shaping ways to most available means.
Used rather in contempt, as subserving
conscience to convenience, or to personal
advantage.
Opt (American passing to England,
1882). Abbreviation of verb '
optate '.
Food and treatment are much better
at lunatic asylums than at gaols, or in
casual wards; therefore Mr Wickham
'opts' for lunatic asylums. D. N.,
February 1882.
Order (Theat.). Free pass.
Order dead-head (Theat., 1880).
Patron of the theatre the dead-head
who passes on with an order. ' Deadhead'
(q.v.) comes from America, and
is there unqualified by the word ' order'
(q.v.).
On Monday the house was quite full of
what looked like money, leavened by a
faint sprinkling of the order dead-head.
Ref., 17th April 1885.
Order of the Boot (M. Class). A
species of violent assault. The order
of knighthood is bestowed by a tap
with a sword on the shoulder. The
Order of the Boot is conferred by the
toe of the boot farther down.
Orf chump (Peoples'). No appetite.
' Orf is a variation of '
off'. Derived
from stablemen's tongues in reference
to their horses ' I'm orf chump altogether.'
Orf his chump (Peoples'). Mad,
cranky. It has nothing to do with
' orf chump '. Means ' off his head '
his brain not in order.
Ornary (American). Expression
for contemptible. Corruption of ' ordinary
'.
But I was roused by a fiendish laugh
That might have raised the dead
Them ornary sneaks had sot the clocks
A half an hour ahead !
Ornin' (L. Class). Boasting, praising
oneself. Probably from the bombastic
self-assertion of the hunter's horn.
Chiefly provincial.
Otamies (Lower Peoples'). Surgical
operations of all kinds. Probable corruption
of anatomies.
And now, poor man, he is among the
otamies, at Surgeons' Hall. Gay, Beggars'
Opera.
Other arrangements (Theatrical).
Defeat retreat.
Wherefore Hartt, though still by no
means bowed down by weight of woe or
otherwise, thinks it now time to make
other arrangements. Ref., 5th July
1885.
Other side (Anglo-American). In
U.S.A. it is G. Britain. In G. B. it
is U.S.A.
Ouah (Erotic, Peoples', 1882). Exclamation
of delight.
Ought to know (Soc. ). Expression
of belief in capability of person spoken
of.
189
Out Oysterics
Out (Peoples'). Loss. Sometimes
used in the plural.
Out (Soc. and Peoples', 19 cent.).
Quarrelled.
Nor is Russian statesmanship our only
trouble at the present moment. Prince
Bismarck is or has been ' out with us ',
as the children say. D. N., 6th March
1885.
Out of commission (Clerks'). Requiring
an appointment.
Out of the cupboard (Peoples',
Soys'). Turn out in the world.
Out of mess (Military, Hist.).
Dead he eats no more.
In the Eastern Soudan, in 1884, at El
Teb, many of our men were wounded
indeed, I believe, some killed by the
wounded, wily enemy ; and it became
necessary, as we searched the field for
our own dead and wounded, to put some
of these treacherous foes out of rness ;
but there was no unnecessary butchery.
D. T., 7th January 1899.
Out of sorts (Printers'). Literally,
out of sorts of types some of the
composing compartments empty. This
term is quite obsolete now that composing
machines are universal.
Out of the tail of the eye (Irish).
Furtive observation.
Out of the whole cloth (Amer.).
Untruth in the deepest degree. Equivalent
to ' Whole hog
'
(q.v.}.
Out of the wood (American). Out
of the difficulty. Derived from pioneers
and others in the West.
Outs (Polit., 19 cent.). The Opposition.
While the Outs look upon this discovery
as a tremendous blow to the Ins,
while Tory newspapers insist that all this
is the outcome of Liberal concessions,
there is little or no chance of our getting
the remedy that is so necessary. Ref.,
25th February 1883.
Outs (Anglo-Amer. ). Out of friendship.
Probably old provincial English.
It is currently believed that Mrs Willie
K. Vanderbilt, nee Alva Smith, and the
Baroness Fontenilliat, nee Mimi Smith,
are decidedly and emphatically on the
outs. New York Mercury, 1892.
Outside Eliza (Low. London).
Drunk again, Eliza. Applied to intoxicated,
reeling women. Derived
from a police case where a barman
stated that he said to the prisoner
over and over again,
'
Outside, Eliza '
but she would not go, and finally
smashed a plate-glass window.
Outward man (Devon). A guzzler,
one who does not stop at home.
Ovate (American - English, 90's).
Verb derived from ovation.
An acute stage of the troubles in China
seems to have been thoughtlessly ended
by the Allies without their Commanderin-
Chief, who was really very busy being
received and ovated. N. Y. Times,
August 1900.
Over the bender (Old English).
Implying that the statement made is
untrue, e.g.,
' You'll pay me cock sure
on Monday ?
' ' Yes over the bender.'
The bender is the elbow. It is
historical in common English life that
a declaration made over the elbow
as distinct from not over it, need not
be held sacred. Probably from early
Christian if not from Pagan times.
The bender is always the left elbow,
and may therefore have something to
do with 'over' the left.
Over the lefter (Poachers'). A
partridge before 1st September, or a
pheasant before 1st October.
Over the stile (Rhyming). Committed
for trial.
Over-eye (Peoples', old). To watch.
Owl, Biled (Eng.-Amer., 1880 on).
Bad complexion signs facial of dissipation.
But Christmas scooped the sheriff,
The egg-nogs gathered him in ;
And Shelby's boy, Leviticus,
Was, New Year's, tight as sin ; And along in March the Golyers
Got so drunk that a fresh-biled owl
Would 'a' looked 'longside o' them two
young men,
Like a sober temperance fowl.
Col. Hay, U.S.A., Ambassador
to Eng., 1897.
Oyster months (Peoples', Hist.).
All the months (8) in which there
is an ' R '
oysters being quite
' out '
in May, June, July, August.
Oysterics (Mid. -class, 1900-04 on). A coined word, suggesting hysterics,
to satirize the panic in reference to
oysters creating typhoid fever.
Once again the public is thrown into a
state of what is grimly known in the
trade as '
oysterics ', owing to reports of
deaths at Portsmouth from infected
oysters. It is two years since the great
oyster scare followed on the deaths
following the mayoral banquet at Winchester.
D. T., llth November 1904.
190
P. 0. Paint tlie Town Red
P. C. (Soc., 1880). Initials of 'poor
classes'.
P. P. and C. C. (Irish). Parish
priest ; Catholic curate.
P. P. C. (Middle-class). Snappish
good-bye. Of course from departure
card, Pour prendre conge".
P. P. C. (Soc., 19 cent.). Pour
prendre conge". Used in two ways,
when sending a card. If without
addition, it means good-bye if with
future date added, it means au revoir.
P. P. C., To (Soc., 1880 on). To
quarrel and cut.
P. P. M. (Soc., 19 cent.). Initials
of Pour Ptit Moment, a modification of
P. P. C.
P. R. (Sporting). Initials of Prize
Ring.
P. R. B. (Soc., 1848 on). Pre-
Raphaelite Brotherhood. Sometimes
ironically styled 'the Purby'. In
1848 three artists, D. G. Rosetti,
Holman Hunt and J. E. Millais,
formed a brotherhood, with these
letters following their names. Several
other painters joined them, together
with T. Woolner, the sculptor.
Theirs was a revival of religion in
art, religion which the brotherhood
maintained had been swept out of
Italian art by the materialistic force
of the Renaissance.
The Pre-Raphaelite brethren, or
'P.R.B.'s,' as they are familiarly
called, brought skill, earnestness, and
thoroughness to the purpose of overturning
established beliefs in matters
artistic. D. N., November 1885.
P. S. (Theatrical). Prompt side
first entrance left hand of the stage,
when facing the audience.
P. S.'s (Hatter's term). This secret
trade phrase is called as here written,
but is always described in the trade
by ' x '. It represents a sum of money
which the master is willing to advance
to a valuable workman in addition to
his statement of weekly account, when
he has made a short week, and which
P. S. he will repay when a 'long'
week arrives.
P. W. Abney (Streets', 1897). A
high, feminine hat which first appeared
in 1896, and grew. The phrase is a
reduction of Prince of Wales Abney
Cemetery ; it is got from three black,
upright ostrich feathers, set up at the
side of the hat in the fashion of the
Prince of Wales's crest feathers. (See
'Catafalque'.)
P. Y. C. (Baltic Coffee - house).
Pale yellow candle from this establishment
persistently rejecting gas.
Pa (Peoples'). Relieving officer of a
parish.
Pack (Navy). Curtailment 01
' Pactolus '.
Pack. (Texas). To carry.
Packing (Peoples'). Food.
Packing-ken (Low. Class). Eatinghouse
because you pack the food in
your stomach then and there.
Padder (Oxford). Short for Paddington
Terminus.
Paddington Station, dearest of all the
London termini to the undergraduate
heart during term, is Padder. D. T.,
14th August 1899.
Paid shot (Old Scotch). 'Shot' is
a common mode of expression to
denote a reckoning, etc. ' I have paid
my shot,' or rather 'scot', from
'scottum', a tax or contribution, a
shot.
Paint a proof (Printers'). To make
a number of corrections on a proof, and
so paint it with ink on both margins.
Paint the town red (Amer.-Eng.,
1890). Originally to produce a sense
of danger by night rioting. From
railway system, where red is the
danger signal. Now applied in a
thousand ways.
The delegates from California are full
of Chicago firewater, and are in the
streets howling for Elaine and threatening
to paint the town red.
An effectual stop has been put to the
last eccentricity of the facetious ex-
Communist Maxime Lisbonne, who had
lately, it will be remembered, endeavoured
to '
paint the town red '
by
promenading the streets of Paris in a
scarlet brougham. D. T.. 6th November
1894.
After a time variety was gained by
the use of vermilion.
There are no dreary exhibitions of
' comic ' drunkenness as if drunkenness
191
Paint-Brush Baronets Parable
could ever be comical nor any representation
of 'racketty' young bloods
painting the place vermilion.
Paint-brush baronets (Soc., 1885).
Title invented for ennobled artists.
The two paint-brush baronetcies are
also sure to be popular. Mr Watts has
his admirers in the circles of ' culture ',
and is a magnificent artist of the
imaginative school. Mr Christmas
Number Millais is, however, a household
word, and popular with all classes. Now
he is a bart. he will be more popular
still, and his pictures will fetch bigger
prices than ever. Ref., 28th June 1885.
Painter stainers (Soc., 1883).
Artists. At the Royal Academy
Banquet, 1883, remarkable for much
erratic observation, the Lord Mayor
endeavoured to obtain a lift for the
then threatened glories of the city
by declaring that ' in earlier times the
Corporation was the means whereby
art was fostered in this country, and
we have still amongst us a body which
has devoted itself largely to the encouragement
of Art namely, the
Painter Stainers' Company, which
existed in the reign of Edward III.,
and is still in a flourishing condition.
This company may really be described
as having been the Royal Academy of
England until the foundation of the
present Academy in 1761 '.
For the remainder of the season
artists were in society jocularly called
painter-stainers. Indeed the term
lasted for many seasons.
Pair o' compasses (London, 1880).
This term for a couple of human legs
(in connection with a human body)
came into vogue when the narrowness
of the trousers brought out the
stretched, compass-like effect of a pair
of long legs. (See Gas-pipes.)
Pair o' round -mys (Low Life}.
Trousers.
Palpitate with actuality (A merican-
Eng., 1885). Intensely evident.
As no one of any influence is at present
proposing a separation between Church
and State, the vow does not, in the
beautiful phrase which has been wafted
to us across the Atlantic,
'
palpitate with
actuality '. D. N., 12th November 1885.
Pan out boss (American Miners1
}.
Successful. Pan out is derived from
the process of washing for gold.
Panic (Stock Exchange, 19 cent.}.
Sudden alarm, followed by fall in
prices.
Pannum (Thieves'}, Bread, dinner.
Panny (Low Peoples'). A familiar
house.
Panny (Low Peoples'}. Fight
amongst women.
Panorama (Lower Class}. Paraphrase
of paramour.
Mr Branson, the bank forger, murders
his wretched panorama, Mary Power,
and departs for Australia. Ref., 17th
November 1889.
Pantile Park (London}. View of
roofs and chimney pots. Used by
Charles Dickens upon viewing the
scene from Foster's back windows at
58 Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Panto (Theatrical). Brief for
pantomime. Who would call a
pantomime by any other name than
this, would be voted an outsider at a
blow. 'I now hear that this house
is not to be altered until after the
panto.'
Pantry Politics (Soc., 1884).
Servants' talk.
The case has laid bare one side of
'
Society journalism ', or, if we may
suggest an amendment, ' pantry politics ',
and very curious the revelation is. Sat.
Rev., 21st March 1885.
Pants - shoulder (American). The
broadest part of a pair of trousers.
Paper house (Theatrical). No
money all free admissions.
Paper trunk and twine lock
(Figurative Anglo - American). The
least possible amount of luggage
packed in an old news sheet and
stringed.
Paperer (Theatrical, 1879). The
official who issues '
paper ', or free
passes, and so '
papers the house '.
Results showed that the '
paperer
'
understood his business. Ref., 14th
June 1885.
Par-banging (Street). Tramping,
seeking for work. Origin obscure
but probably French.
Par-leader (Press, 1875). A short,
commenting article, in which no break
occurs. A little essay of perhaps a
score of sentences, but all in one
paragraph.
Parable (Amer. - Eng.). Long,
dreary egotistical statement.
192
Parish Pick-Axe Pear
Parish pick-axe (Peoples'). A
prominent nose.
Parker (Local L., 1850 and on).
Street description of a very well-dressed
man in the neighbourhood of the
parks.
Parliament Whiskey (Irish).
Satirical description of potheen which
has paid inland revenue dues.
If you are very ignorant, you must be
told that poteen is the far famed liquor
which the Irish, on the faith of the proverb,
'stolen bread is sweetest', prefer,
in spite of law, and no not of lawgivers,
they drink it themselves, to its
unsuccessful rival, parliament whiskey.
Mirror, 1829.
Parlour-jumper (Police, 1870 on).
From jump, to thieve, to start property
from you to him.
A constable explained that the prisoner
was known as a '
parlour-jumper '. This,
in ordinary language, meant that he
went in for robbing rooms. D. T., 4th
August 1898.
Parnelliament (Soc., 1886). Invented
and accepted name for ' Parliament
' from the astounding success of
Parnell in throwing the Conservatives
and Liberals into confusion.
Parrot and monkey time (Amer.-
Eng., 1885). Period of quarrelling.
Started from a droll and salacious tale
of a monkey and a parrot. Soon
shortened to parroty.
There is no work to be had for them
and the unfortunate creatures are likely
to have what has graphically been called
' a parroty time ' in their new home.
Leonard and the chairs have had what
Leonard's gay countrymen call 'a parroty
time'. D. N., 12th October 1886.
Parsley bed (Peoples', Hist.}. The
supposed matrix of the new baby, as
chronicled in nurseries. (See Visit
from the stork. )
Part that goes over the fence last
(American). Evident.
Parts his hair with a towel
(American, 1882). Bald.
Pas de Lafarge (Soc., '40's).
Tabooed subject as the result of its
being over discussed. Did or did not
Madame Lafarge poison her husband ?
The dinner discussions became as great
a bore as did, long after, the Tichborne
case which by the way, led to the
yell at dinner tables' No Tich '. In
Paris, for years, when a man showed
himself a bore, the protest ran ' Pas
de Lafarge '. Now ' Pas de Dreyfus '.
Pass round the arm (American).
To apply open-handed castigation to
children after the manner of applause.
Pass the Rubicon (Classic). Venture
everything, no going back.
Pattern (Irish). Delightful,
brilliant. Abbreviation of 'pattern
fair ', which is a corruption of '
patron
fair', which is short for '
patron saint'.
Paul capstan (Navy). Expression
of admission of excellency on the other
side as ' Well, you paul my capstan'.
Paulies (Transvaal War, 1899).
Followers of Oom Paul Kruger a pun
between this word and '
poor lies '.
' The writer calls the Boers ' Paulies '.
E. N., 9th December 1899.
Pawked up stuff (Sporting). False
goods bad horses, or dogs, or valueless
^portsmen.
Pay out (American miners' passing
to England}. Derived from a mine
ceasing to be productive, when it was
said to have paid out. Passed into
general use amongst English-speaking
people.
Peabody (L. Class). Short for
block of houses built under the Peabody
Bequest to the poor of London.
Peacock (Anglo-Indian). Walk up
and down in full fig while the band
plays.
Peacock and the ladies, Before
the (Old Eng.}. A solemn promise
an appeal to knightly honour.
In olden days the peacock was a
favourite dish with lords and ladies of
high degree. It was customary to skin
the bird without plucking, and send the
roast bird to table with its natural
envelop. The peacock was considered in
the days of chivalry not simply as an exquisite
delicacy, but as a dish of peculiar
solemnity. When it was brought to the
table, decorated with its plumage, its
comb gilded, and a sponge in its bill, wet
with spirits of wine and lighted, it was
the signal for the gallant knights present
to make vows to accomplish some deed
of chivalry
' before the peacock and the
ladies '.
Peacock horse (Street}. Mourning
coach horse which generally has much
parade in his movements.
Pear (Parisian, 1830-48). Name
given to Louis Philippe from the
193
Peas in the Pot Permanent Pug
shape of his head. (See Jupiter
Scapin).
Peas in the pot (Low London}.
Rhyming phrase meaning
' hot ',
erotic.
Big Tim says you are very peaa.
Peoples', 6th January 1895.
Pecksniffian (Peoples'). Hypocritical
from Dickens's Martin
Chuzzlewit.
Peel off (City, 1860). To obtain
money bya Stock Exchange transaction.
Peel the patch off the weak point
(American) . Expose a man's weakness.
Peep o' Day tree (Theatrical, 1862).
In this Exhibition year, one Edmund
Falconer produced a piece called Peep
o' Day, at the Lyceum, and made out
of it a great fortune, chiefly by the
ingenuity displayed in a stage tree, on
the edge of a quarry. Its chief branch
moved on a pivot by the use of which
the hero swung down on to the stage just
in time to prevent the murder of the
heroine. From that time forward this
providential stage machinery has been
thus called.
The hero and heroine escape by a Peep
o' Day tree, which enables them to
descend from the cliff, amidst the
enthusiastic and unanimous applause of
the audience. Era, April 1883.
Peg (Theatrical, 1884). Sensation
point or effect of a piece. Something
upon which the actors, or more probably
an actor, can build up a scene.
Pegging away (American,
Military). Used by General Grant
for heavy artillery attack. Previously
known as a careless phrase, but after
the Civil War accepted gravely.
Penances and leatherheads
(American). People of Pennsylvania
probably from their early puritanic
origin still very marked.
Pencil, open, lost, and found
(Com. Lond., 19 cent.). Rhyming
phrase, means 10.
Pencil dates (Theatrical, 1896 on).
Make engagements to perform.
The fourth D'Artagnan is Mr Charles
Warner, who, full of spirit and energy,
intends to bombard Suburbia and the
provinces with the already successful
Hamilton version, and is, as the phrase
goes, 'pencilling in dates' as fast as a
manager can who knows his business.
D. T., 6th August 1898.
Pennorth o' treacle (L. London,
1882). A charming girl the final
outcome of the use of 'jam '.
Pennorth o' treason (Newsvendors').
Copy of a notorious penny Sunday
London paper, which attacks every
party, and has no policy of its own.
Penny death-traps (L. London
1897). Penny glass paraffin lamps
made in Germany. Fragile and easily
upset ; they caused many deaths.
Penny gush (1880-82). Exaggerated
mode of writing English frequently
seen in a certain London daily paper.
This, published in an English paper
would probably be described as penny
gush. G. A. Sala, Illustrated London
News, 16th December 1882.
Penny loaf (Thieves'}. Cur one
afraid to steal ; a man who would
rather live on a penny loaf than steal
good beef.
Penny locket (Rhyming}. Pocket.
While he's got his peepers on the
penny locket, you know, perhaps, how
to be a bit careful
Penny pick (London, circa 1838).
Cigar. From Pickwick, Dickens's first
popular creation.
Penny puzzle (Street, 1883).
Sausage because it is never found
out. (See Bag o' mystery.)
Penny starver (Street). Lowest
description of cigar commercial value
three for twopence.
Penny toff (London, 1870 on). The
lowest description of toff the cad
imitator of the follies of the jeunesse
dore'e.
Perfect lady (Street). Not at
all one anything but. Satirically
applied to any woman drunk and misbehaving
herself in the streets. The
phrase took its rise from a police court
case, in which a witness deposed that,
though the prisoner did get her living
in the streets and drank a little, she
was otherwise a '
perfect lady '.
Perfumed talk (Anglo-American).
Satirical synonym for vile language.
Perhaps (Old Eng.). Equivalent
to most decidedly.
Permanent pug (Printers' and
Tavern). Fighting man around the
door of the premises. Originally applied
to the door-porter of editorial
offices.
194
Perpetual Staircase Pickles
Perpetual staircase (Thieves'). The
tread-mill.
Perpetuana (Norfolk, IS cent.). A
very strong dress fabric, which lasted
an immense time. Still applied to
describe old women in Norfolk.
Norfolk folk want a little fresh impulse
now, to restore the flourishing condition
of their textile manufactures. Beauty
arrayed herself in bravery that was
cheap and was not nasty. Perpetuana
lasted for ever. Athenceum, 1870.
Perplexed and transient phantom
(Politics). Politician who fails and
vanishes.
Lord Salisbury hopes to be something
more than a 'perplexed and transient
phantom '. D. N., 1st July 1885.
Perseus (Soc., 1883). An editor.
From a phrase used by Professor
Huxley at the Royal Academy Banquet,
1883.
Petit bleu (Franco-Eng. t 1898).
Forgery. From the colour of the
French telegraphic paper.
Then, with regard to the petit bleu
which Picquart is accused of forging.
It is true that the address on this telegraphic
post card was scratched out, the
name of the addressee being effaced,
and that of Easterhazy written over it.
D. T., 28th November 1898.
Peto (Soc.). Evasion of P.T.O.
initials of Please turn over.
Petticoat interest (Literature, 1860
on). Those portions of fiction referring
to womankind.
Scott did not trouble himself much
about Maid Marian. He had enough of
what is now called '
petticoat interest '
in his story without her. D. N., 29th
March 1892.
Phant (Shatomen's). The sheet of
plate-glass placed sloping, or diagonally,
on the stage, to reflect from below
or from the side the illusion known as
Pepper's ghost. In order to keep the
secret as far as possible, the word
glass was never used, but the first
syllable of phantom. Sometimes
fant', at other times, in the North,
'
peeble
' a new evasive name.
Pheasant (Common London). Dried
herring. (See Two-eyed steak. )
Phil and Jim (Oxford, 1890 on).
Church of S. Philip and S. James.
This phrase is sometimes pronounced
' Fillin Jim '.
195
Philistine (Soc. ). Formerly an outsider,
but with no offensive meaning ;
but now with an offensive meaning.
In 1840 Liszt's reputation was at its
highest, but he met with indifference
here, and no doubt regarded us as given
over to philistinism. Ref.. llth April
1886.
Physic-bottle (Peoples'). Doctor.
Piano (Soc., 1870). To sing small,
to take a back seat.
Piccadilly fringe (Loiv. Class, 1884).
Front hair of women cut short and
brought down, and curled over the
forehead. Fashion originated in Paris
about 1868.
By Mr Russell When Jarrett talked
about cutting my hair, she asked me if I
wanted a '
Piccadilly fringe '.
What is the '
Piccadilly fringe
'
J Cut
your hair on your forehead.
Is there anything objectionable about
that? It makes you look ugly. Armstrong
Abduction Case, October 1885.
Piccadilly window (Street, '90's).
Single eye-glass worn by some men of
fashion hence the Piccadilly.
Pick of the basket (Sporting).
Best derived from market baskets.
Some of Sir Watkin's horses are of
extraordinary build and value. Comet
stands out foremost, and 'is the pick of
the basket '. World, 1878.
Picker -up (Thieves', 19 cent.).
Woman of the town.
Picking its eyes (Stock Exchange,
'90's). Getting the best, or top, of a
good thing. From S. Africa mining,
there applied to obtaining the immediate
and easily obtained gold.
It is to be feared that more attention
would, naturally, be paid to extracting
the richest ore from the mines ('picking
its eyes ', as the popular term is) than to
proceeding with the regular course of
development.!). T., 26th July 1900.
Pickled dog (Provincial). Term of
contempt rarely now heard.
Pickles (Peoples'). Exclamation of
good-tempered mistrust, or even want
of belief.
The promoters say that benefit will
accrue to our Indian fellow-subjects by
bringing before the English people actual
representations of the methods of manufactures,
amusements, etc., of our vast
Indian empire, and will thus serve imperial
interests. That, of course, is all
.^e/., 5th July 1885.
Pickpocketienne Pill-Pusher
Pickpocketienne (Anglo - French).
Woman pickpocket.
Picnic (American-English}. A treat
from the frequency of picnics in
America, where there is always room
for them.
Native dramatists for the past week
have enjoyed what the street gamins
would call a picnic. N. Y. Mercury,
January 1884.
Pidgin ( World's Sea-shore). Simplified
mixture of two or three languages,
of which English is generally
one. Lingua Franca, the common
tongue of the Mediterranean, has
Italian chiefly for its basis, mixed with
French and Arabic. The word started
in the Chinese waters. The chief
English pidgin, sometimes erroneously
called pigeon, is the mixture of English
with Hindostanee, and of English
with Chinese but there must in all
be scores of pidgin in the world, negro
specimens being the more curious.
Pidgin is a corruption of business.
According to Herr Leo Wigner, this
mysterious Yiddish is not the mere
barbarous trade-jargon, the '
pidgin-
Hebrew ', of the indigent alien of Whitechapel.
D. T., 6th July 1899.
Pie (Eng.-American, 19 cent.). Delightfulvery
enjoyable.
At the depot the light was dim, and so
it was in the sleeper, as it generally is ;
but as she got into the car a neat leg in a
white stocking showed plainly enough to
make Jim murmur to himself,
' Well, this
is pie '. N. Y. Mercury, 3rd January
1885.
Piebald eye (Peoples'). Black one
black by a blow.
My ! Bill where was yer piebaldered ?
(See Mouse, Eye in a sling.)
Piebald mucker sheeny (E. Lond.).
Low old Jew.
Pie-pusher (Streets). Street pieman,
who ceaselessly recommends, or pushes,
his wares.
Pieces, All to (Soc. , from Sporting,
1880). Exhausted generally said of
horses.
She was as pale as death, and trembling
from head to foot. He was
perfectly satisfied that what she had
described took place, for when she came
in she was ' all to pieces '. Statement
by Sir Beaumont Dixie concerning an
attack on his wife, Lady Florence Dixie,
March 1883.
Pie-shop (London). Dog from the
supposition (1842), when one Blauchard
first started a penny pie-shop, that the
pies were made of dogs.
Pieuvre (Anglo-French, '60's).
Prostitute. When Victor Hugo published
his Les Travailleurs de la Mer,
his terrible description of the octopus
the pieuvre as a creature which
overcame a man by embraces, was at
once seized upon by the boulevardierjournalists
as an apt description of the
woman of the town.
Pig months (Peoples', Hist.). All
the months (eight) in which there is
an ' R '. These pig months are those
in which you may more safely eat
fresh pork than in the others the four
summer months in fact.
Pig-bridge (Trin. Col., Cambridge).
The beautiful Venetian-like bridge
over the Cam, where it passes St
John's College, and connecting its
quads. Thus called because the
Johnians are styled pigs (q.v.).
Pigeon pair (Familiar). A boy
born first, a girl following, within not
more than two years. Probably from
the known fidelity of winged pigeon
pairs to each other.
Pigs (Trin. Col., Cambridge, 19
cent.). Name given by the men of
Trinity to their neighbours of St
John's.
Pigs, An't please the (Pre-Reformation,
Eng. ). Corruption of ' Please the
Pyx '. Still common in West England,
where * x ' becomes '
gs '. (See Please
the pigs.)
Pigot or Piggot (Hist., 1888-89).
Lie unblushing, obvious lie. Passed
into verb, generally passive to be
pigotted. From the forger Pigot.
I must print the verses, and leave the
reader to judge if I have been Pigotted
or not. Ref., 17th March 1889.
Pigtail (Street, obsolete about 1840).
An old man, from the ancients clinging
to the 18th century mode of wearing
the hair.
Pill (Street). Dose, suffering,
sentence, punishment. Endless in
application.
Pill (Sailors'). Custom-house officer.
Because both are so very searching.
Pill - pusher (Peoples'). Doctor.
Fine example of the graphic in
phraseology.
196
Pillow Securities Play Camels
If the pill-pushers will only chuck it
out now that diamond rings are poisonous,
broughams pestilential, oysters and
champagne deadly, and villas in Singin's
Wood fatal in every case, many a man
will be happy, many a pal will be saved.
Pillow securities (City, 19 cent.).
Safe scrip, shares that rarely vary in
price.
The shares of the earliest cable companies
did not enjoy their present
character of ' safe ', or, as Mr Draper,
Secretary of the Eastern Telegraph Company,
who was associated with Sir John
Fender thirty years, aptly terms,
'
pillow
securities 'those which do not trouble
an investor's dreams at night and which
a man need not worry about. D. T., 8th
July 1896.
Pin (Peoples'). To pawn clothes.
When Lantier was doing up his bundle
to send to the pawnbroker's, one intelligent
pittite shouted out ' Pin !
'
Evidently that pittite knew something.
Ref., 1882.
Pin pricks (Hist., 1898). Slight
attacks assaults.
Our friendship with France is not to
be obtained by a policy of pinpricks a
phrase, by the way, which is not, as
some suppose, of English origin, but was
first employed by a responsible French
journal, Le Matin. D. T.. 9th December
1898.
Ping (Sportsman, to 1854). To
speak in a quick singing high voice.
From the sharp ping of the old musket.
Pink 'un (Sporting Times, 1880).
Sporting life from the tint of the
paper, and to distinguish it from the
Brown 'un, Sportsman.
Before doing so, I took the advice of
one John Corlett, who propriets a paper
called the Pink 'Un.Ref., 31st July
1887.
Pink wine (Military}. Champagne.
Pinnacles (Peoples'). A corruption
of ' barnacles ', eye-glasses, spectacles.
Pint o* mahogany (Coffee-house).
Coffee.
Piou-piou (Soc.). Tommy Atkins
translated into French.
Pip-pip (Streets'). Hue and cry
after any one, but generally a youth
in striking bicycle costumery.
Onomatope of the horn warning
which sometimes replaces the bell of
the bike.
Pipe - opener ( First Universe
spurt in rowing practice to open the
lungs, and get that kind of pipe
in working order.
Pirate (Low London). Emphatic
person man or woman especially
the latter, and in music halls, where
the actresses and singers of great force
obtain this distinction.
Pistol-pockets (American - Eng. ).
Warning not to fool.
Pitch in (Scotch). Railway collision.
Pith (Hospital). Sever the spinal
cord.
Pittite (Theatrical). Frequenter of
the pit. Took the place of groundling
(q.v.), when seats destroyed the force
of the Shakespearian term.
A correspondent wishes me to ask Mr
Irving if, when he has finished looking
after the interests of Lyceum pittites,
he will be kind enough to turn his
attention to Lyceum dress-circlers.
Ref., 10th May 1885.
(See Stall-pots.)
Pizen (American, circa 1875).
Corruption of poison, and here describing
alcohol generally in its whiskey
form. (See Death promoter.)
Plain as a pipe-stem (Peoples', 17
cent. on). Utterly plain nothing
could be plainer than the stem of the
white clay pipe from the cutty of the
time of Charles II., to the long churchwarden
tempo George III.
Plank the knife in (L. Class, Hist.).
Stab deeply.
Planter (Anglo - Indian). Badtempered
horse.
Plaster (Peoples', 1890 on). A collar
a huge shirt or applied collar, said
to be introduced by the late Duke of
Clarence.
Plasterer's trowel and seringapatam
(Rhyming). It means ' fowl
and ham '.
Plates o* meat (Low London
Rhyming}. Feet. (See Barges. )
Platform ticket (Railway). Phrase
uttered by friend who has been to see
a friend off by train, and is stopped
as a passenger.
Play camels (Anglo-Indian). Get
drunk, or drink too much. Playful
reference to the drinking habits of the
camel, who stores his drink rather than
drinks it.
197
Play Consumption Poet of the Brush
Play consumption (American
becoming English). This is the equal
of malingering, or shamming.
Play dirt (American). Deceive.
Play for paste (Billiard - room).
For drink probably from '
pasta
'
(Spanish) a meal, or perhaps
' vino
di pasta' a light sherry.
Play low (American-Eny.). Act
meanly.
Farewell banquets have lately been
played a little low down, but the ' sendoff'
supper given to Wilson Barrett at
the Criterion, on Thursday night, was an
exception. /</., 15th August 1886.
Play owings (Sporting phrase).
Living on credit.
Play the bear (Lancashire).
Played out since '49 (W. American).
Ancient untruth.
If he further informs you that 'this
has been played out since '49 ', he means
that since the first colonization of the
Pacific coast by 'smart men', such a
thing was never believed in : 1849 being
the year of the commencement of the
Californian gold digging. All the Year
Round, 31st October 1868.
Playing a big game (Criminal).
Trying for a daring success.
Prior to his finally leaving her, he had
often spoken about 'playing a big game'.
D. T., 31st March 1897.
Playing for a sucker (American,
1880). Attack upon the innocence of
a youth.
Please I want the cook -
girl
(London). Said of a youth haunting
the head of area steps.
Please mother open the door
(Street). Expressed admiration of a
passing girl. Always said in a high
monotone, except
' door ', which is
uttered in a falling minor third.
Please mo-ther o - pen the door.
Please the pigs (Old Catholic).
Deo volente God willing. Corruption
of ' An it please the pyx
'
(Pyxis). A
very interesting form of this phrase
is to be found in Devonshire 'An
it please the pixies.'
Pleinairists (Art, 1886 on). Openair
artists the school of pleinair,
which is utterly antagonistic to
shadowed or claustral art.
These pretty illustrations, from the
designs of the well - known French
pleinairiste and figure painter, Raphael
Collin, are delicate and graceful even
to the verge of effeminacy. D. T., 10th
February 1897.
Plimsoll (Nautical). The 'cargo'
line in merchant shipping. Plimsoll,
in the House of Commons, forced the
Bill for the better regulation of
merchant shipping.
Plon-plon (Parisian, 1855). Name
given to the despised Prince Jerome
Napoleon after he hurried away from
the Crimean War.
Pluck (Peoples'). Daring, as distinct
from slow courage.
Plucking (Peoples'). Robbing.
Plug (American). To get into
difficulties.
Ply (Mid.-class). Tendency, kink,
inclination, leaning. Probably from
the French '
pli '.
Pocket artist (Critical, '90's).
Small actor or actress. Meant kindly,
but not liked by the victims.
To the prettiness and grace of Miss
Cutler Florodora owed not a little. She
is quite a 'pocket' artist. D.T., 13th
November 1899.
Pod (Commercial). Practical short
for Post Office Directory.
Podsnap (Soc., 1865 on). A Sir
Oracle; whose word is sufficient for
himself. From Dickens.
Podsnappery. Wilful determination
to ignore the objectionable or
inconvenient, at the same time assuming
airs of superior virtue and noble
resignation.
Oppressed nationalities have not been
accustomed to expect sympathy or assistance
from Austria. But the question is
a very grave one, and no amount of
diplomatic Podsnappery can keep it any
longer in the background. D. N., 8th
July 1889.
Poet of the brush (Art, 1890 on).
Artist. Outcome of the eternal search
for new phrases.
Mr T. Hope M'Lachlan is the painter
of night skies, through which the moon
sails with an opalescent halo round her
disc. He is in his truest conceptions a
poet of the brush. D. T., 4th January
1896.
198
Poke Portuguese Pumping
Poke (Thieves'). Purse. This word
for sack, pouch, satchel, is to be found
in Shakespeare.
Poked up (Anglo-American). Embarassed,
inconvenienced.
Poker (American-Eng.). Game of
cards.
Polka, To (Anglo-Amer. ). Another
of the forms of expressing rapid retreat.
'
Boss, dis woman neber raise dat money
in dis -world ;
' and with a plaintive
farewell, she polkaed from the office, and
once more deep silence prevailed.
Providence Journal.
(See Bailey, Skip, Valse.)
Pomatum pot (Soc., 1885). Small
specimens of pot-shaped and covered
china.
Mr Gladstone at twenty-five minutes
to five was fairly embarked on his speech.
The familiar throat mixture commonly
known as the pomatum pot was at his
side, only on this occasion there were
two pots instead of one. D. N., 9th May
1886:
'Pon my life (Com. Lond. Rhyming,
19 cent.). Wife.
Pongelo (Anglo - Indian Army}.
Pale ale but relatively any beer.
Poole (Soe. t 1840 on). Perfect
clothing from Poole, a leading tailor,
in Saville Row. (See Dorsay, Lincoln
& Bennet, Redfern, Nicholls, etc.)
Poor as a Connaught man (Irish,
Personal). Poorest even amongst Irishmen.
Marrying Mr Cecil Devereux, who is
as poor they say as a Connaught man.
Miss M. Edgeworth, Ennui, ch. xi.
Poor man's goose (Low. Classes).
Bullock's liver, baked with sage and
onions and a bit of fat bacon.
Poot (Hindostanee). Shilling use
confined to E. London where once
E. Indian beggars were common.
Pop goes the weasel (Street, about
1870). Phrase a great mystery of
passing English. In the 70's every
etymologist wrote about this phrase
and left it where it was. Activity is
suggested by 'pop', and the little
weasel is very active. Probably erotic
origin. Chiefly associated with these
lines
Up and down the City Road,
In and out the Eagle,
That's the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel !
Pop on (Sporting). Quick blow
generally on the face.
Then big Tim popped it on Selby's
face, and they had a bit of a spar round
like. A Chivy Duel, People, 6th January
1895.
Pop visit (Soc., 18 cent.). Short
ones.
I have a dozen friendly pop visits to
make in less than an hour, and would
not miss one for the universe. Garrick's
Abel Drugger.
Pope (Com. Eng.). Abbreviation of
pope o' Rome, the rhyming for
* home '.
Poppa (Amer. Eng., 1890 on).
Papa.
But even those who have never seen
or read the American play can guess
how an old Kansas millionaire, vulgar,
bombastic, dictatorial, and good-hearted,
the typical Yankee 'poppa', came to
New York with his 'gals'. D. T., 15th
February 1897.
Popping-crease (Railway Officials').
Junction station.
Pppsy wopsy (Low. Lond.). A
smiling, doll-like, attractive girl.
Pork pie hat and crinoline (Street,
1866 - 71). Satirical reference to
women's appearance in the streets.
Suppose my (Edipus should lurk at last
Under a pork-pie hat and crinoline.
R. Browning, Prince Hohenstiel
Schwangau, 1871.
Porky (Low. Class). Name for a
pork-butcher, and sometimes satirically
for a Jew.
Porridge-hole (Scotch). The mouth.
Porridge-pots (Military). Linesmen's
satirical mode of naming the
Scotch guard. (See Cold creams,
Grinning dears, Gee-gees, Muck. )
Port wine don ( University). Scornful
description of the college professorial
grandee, who leans to the Manchester
school of nutrition.
Mr Mark Pattison was a very remarkable
character. . . . He was extremely
unlike the port wine don of fiction and
caricature. D. N., 6th March 1885.
Portable property (Doubtful Soc.).
Easily stolen or pawned values especially
plate.
The testimonial consisted of a silver
tea-pot, coffee-pot, and chocolate-jug
all of which would doubtless have been
considered by my friend Wemmick very
fine specimens of portable property.
Ref., 7th June 1885.
Portuguese pumping (Nautical).
Not to be learnt. Ask sailors the
199
Possle Prayer-Book
meaning of this phrase, and they may
laugh a good deal, but they give no
etymology. It is probably nasty.
Possle (Low. Class). Earnest advocate.
Corruption of apostle. Used
satirically.
Post the blue (Racing). Gain the
Derby.
Post haste (18 cent. English survival).
Rapid from the post-chaise
being the most rapid mode of travelling
before 1840. (See Motor.)
Postage stamp (Tavern, 1837-85).
Facetious name given to hotels and
taverns signed the 'Queen's Head.'
Postern gate (American). Widest
part of the trouser.
Postman's sister (Mid. -class, 1883).
Secret informant.
For any little inaccuracy of detail
which may have crept into the above
paragraph I am in no way to blame. I
tell the tale as 'twas told to me by the
postman's sister. Ref.. 18th October
1885.
(See Jinks the barber, Boy Jones.)
Pot (Naval). Executive officer as
distinct from Greaser and Scratcher
(q.v.).
Pot of all (O. London, 1883). Pot
in excelsis, pot of exaltation, a perfect
leader-hero, demigod.
Pot o' beer (Abstainers'). Bottle of
ginger beer.
Pot o' bliss (Public-house, 1876).
A fine tall woman.
Pot of O' (Rhyming, 1868). Short
for ' Pot of 0, my dear,' which is the
rhyme for beer.
Potty (Low Class). Tinker.
Pot-au-feu(P0^., 1885). Domestic
policy. Due to Clemenceau, who invented
it, and named it in antagonism
to the Chauvinist principles of Ferry.
M. Clemenceau's rapidly - increasing
influence is the most significant fact in
the current politics of France. One
might imagine that the pot-au-feu principle,
as he himself has named it, would
fail, as a cry, among a people like the
French. D. N., 8th August 1885.
Pot-house (Club Life). Easy-go
club. Suggestive of a licensed victualler's
house.
Potching (Hotel Waiters'). Taking
fees against rules. Probably from the
French to '
pocher' or '
empocher'.
Good-natured customers may imagine
that if they have given a fee to the
waiter who presents the bill, they may
hand another to the usual man who has
attended upon them ; but head-waiters
are alive to the perils of this practice,
which they call patching, and dismissal
will be the punishment of the waiter
who is caught taking vails on the sly.
Graphic (Restaurant Management), 17th
March 1883).
Potentially (Polit., 1883). To all
intents and purposes.
This person considered that Russia was
through her railway system practically,
or as it is the fashion to say potentially,
mistress of Herat D. N., 29th April
1885.
Potsheen (Irish). Whiskey. Word
varies in various districts generally
Potheen.
Potsheen, plase your honour becaase
it's the little whiskey that's made in the
private still or pot ; and sheen, becaase
it's a fond word for whatsoever we'd
like, and for what we have little of and
would make much of. Miss Edgeworth,
The Absentee, chap. x.
Potter's field (American). Portion
of graveyard appropriated to unpaid
burials.
Poultice (Soc., 1880). Fat woman.
Poultice (Soc., 1882). Very high
collar, suggestive of a neck poultice,
ring-like in shape.
Poultice-mixer (Navy). Sick-bay
man, or nurse.
Poultice over the peeper (Peoples').
A blow on the eye.
Pound to an olive (Jewish). This
is a phrase resulting out of the
Hebrews' love of olives, and is equivalent
to the sporting term, 'It's a
million pounds to a bit o' dirt.'
Powdering hair (Tavern, 18 cent.).
Getting drunk still heard in remote
places. Euphemism invented by a
polite landlord to account for lengths
of time such as dressing and powdering
hair required.
Ppw-wow (Anglo-American). Convention
or tentative meeting. From
North American Indian this word
meaning in that language Congress.
Prairie. (See Bit o' prairie.)
Prairie comedians (U.S.A.). Poor,
ranting, talentless actor.
Nothing can be more painful to a city
summer audience than the wild rantings
of barn-storming tragedians, or more
aggravating than the inane drivel of
prairie comedians. N. Y. Mercury, 1883.
Prayer-book (Sporting, circa 1870).
Ruff's Guide to the Turf.
200
Predeceased Prospect
Predeceased (Legal become satirical).
Used to ridicule the statement
of some obvious fact, such as two and
and two make four.
Premiere (Press, 1884). Abbreviation
of premiere representation, an
ordinary Paris phrase. First used in
London press for first night in 1884.
Prescot (Rhyming}. Waistcoat.
'Spot his blooming prescot.'
Prester John (Peoples'). The
unknown.
He's no more related to our family
than Prester John. Farquhar, The
Inconstant.
Preterite (Soc., 19 cent.). Ancient
especially applied to women.
' Young ? She's quite a preterite
nevertheless, intense.' (See Has been.)
Pretty -boy clip (Soc., 1880 on).
Hair brought flat down over the forehead,
and cut in a straight line from
ear to ear.
We happen to know that the style
termed by irreverent mashers the prettyboy
clip, the style sometimes called the
upward drag, and the quiff which
ranges from a delicate fringe to furze-bush
proportions, at first amazed and amused
the neat Japanese damsels. D. N., 26th
January 1885.
Pretty fellow (Peoples'). Fine,
handsome, sometimes satirical.
Polly thinks him a very pretty man.
Gay, Beggars' Opera.
Pretty steep (American).
Threatening.
Previous. (See Behind yourself. )
Price of a pint ( Workmen's). Any
sum below sixpence.
Prince's points (Soc. and Club,
1877). Shilling points at whist.
Takes its origin from about this date.
Very keen reasoning on the part of the
then Prince of Wales, an eager whistplayer.
H.R.H. laid down the theory
that the best whist-players were not
necessarily the richest of men, and
therefore if he played high points he
might deprive himself of the pleasure
of meeting the best players. Prince's
points became very rapidly fashionable.
Printing House Square (Club, 19
cent., to 1880). Powerful crushing,
ex cathedra, from the Times being
published in that locality.
Prize faggots (Street). Well
developed breasts in women. Faggots
are savoury preparations of minced
bullocks or sheeps' viscera or plucks,
mixed with oatmeal, shaped into
rounded lumps and baked until the
outside forms a crust. They are sold
in all the busy lower parts of London
at a penny. Prize faggots would be
those larger than usual.
Problem novel (Literary, 1888 on).
Title bestowed upon novels with a
purpose generally as affecting women,
their aspirations and wrongs.
It was impossible to resist the question
whether the ' problem novel ' had had its
day, and it appears
' not quite, but it is
considerably less in demand than it was.'
D. T., 2nd October 1896.
Process-pusher (1880). Lawyer's
clerk. Satirical description.
Process server (Artists', 1886 on).
Photogravure printers.
Perhaps many of our artists have not
yet learned the technique which best
suits processes, or perhaps our processservers
are not yet adepts in their
business. D. N., 9th December 1890.
Procesh (American - Eng.). Abbreviation
of procession growing
common in England (1884).
I was removed on a plank, escorted by
a torchlight procesh of the local fire
brigade. -Besant & Rice, Golden Butterfly,
vol. i., ch. xviii.
Pro-donnas (Music Hall, 1880).
Professional ladies actresses.
Professional beauty (Fashionable
slang, 1879-82). This term arose in
one of the Society papers, and was at
once accepted by the best people, and
even by the best of the Press. It
referred to women in society, sometimes
the very highest, who '
professed
'
their beauty by permitting any number
of their photographic portraits to be
sold in infinite varities of poses.
Promoted (October 1890). Dead.
From the public funeral of Mrs Booth,
wife of General Booth, the originator
of the Salvation Army.
Propers (Low. Class). Meaning
refused but thoroughly comprehended
by the coster classes. Erotic.
Proper donas and rorty blokes
(L. Peoples', 1880). Good and true
men and women.
Properties (Theatrical). Theatrical
adjuncts.
Propper bit of frock (Com. Lond. ,
1873). Pretty and clever well-dressed
girl.
Prospect (American Miners'). To
search for new gold-fields.
201
Prostituted Pulling a Pop
Prostituted (Patent Law}. Made
common. Said of a patent, so long on
the market, waiting to be taken up by
a capitalist or company, that it is
common, and known to one and all.
Pros' Avenue (Theatrical, circa
1880). The Gaiety Bar (Strand).
From this bar being the resort of
gentlemen of ' the profession '.
Prosser (Theatrical, 1880). Pro
passed into '
prosser '.
Protean entertainer (Theatrical).
Artiste whose exceptional ability consists
in rapid changes of dress.
Few will deny that Leopold! Fregoli
is an artist to the tips of his fingers,
alert, versatile, neat in his business,
quick as lightning in his changes, and,
when all is said and done, the best
'
protean
' entertainer that the oldest
playgoer has ever seen. D. T., 10th
March 1897.
Proud nothing (Provincial.). Obvious.
Prudes on the prowl (Soc., 1895
on). Hypersensitive women who
haunted music halls to discover misbehaviour
either on or off the stage.
Prudes on the prowl have long ceased
to minimise the much too meagre fund
of human enjoyment left in the world,
and their place has been taken by a
body who may be described as Guardians
on the Growl. D. T., 16th December
1897.
Pschutt (Parisian, 1883). Ton,
fashion, distinction. Reached America
in 1884, and at once became ridiculous
as pasha.
Psha (Peoples'}. Exclamation. No
derivation.
Psychological moment (Soc. and
Literary, 1894 on). Opportunity.
Nick of time. Became very popular
in 1896.
I seized the p. m., and nailed him for
a tenner.
It can afford to bide its time, and
strike a decisive blow when the psychological
moment has arrived. D. T.. 6th
March 1896.
Pub (Tlieatrical}. The public
sometimes P. B.
Publican (1883). One of the names
of General Booth after buying the
Grecian Theatre and Tavern in the
City Road (1883). (See Salvation
Army.)
Publicaness (Tavern, 1880). The
wife of a publican.
Puff -puff (Children's, 19 cent.}.
Railway engine. (See Gee-gee.)
Puffing billy (N. Eng.}. Steamengine,
given contemptuously to
Stephenson's first engine, still at Darlington,
and accepted seriously by him.
Pull (Peoples'}. Anxious moment.
(See Extra pull. )
Pull-down (Soc., 1870, etc.). Name
given to the moustache which succeeded
the nap. (q.v.}.
Pull down the blind (Low London.,
1880 on). This was addressed in the
first place to spooney young couples
who in public were making too great
a display of their love.
Pull down your basque (American
amongst women). The '
basque
'
is
the spine of the corset. The recommendation
is a suggestion to behave
properly.
Pull down your vest (American}.
Be well bred, behave yourself.
Pull leg (Peoples'}. Satirize, humbug,
mislead, ridicule.
Young Chinny hinted that they must
be pulling his leg. Rudyard Kipling,
The Tomb of his Ancestors.
Pull oneself over (Com. London}.
To feed.
I took one for myself, and essayed to
pull myself over it. But there, I will
spare further recital, beyond that, burnt
outside, the chops were raw inside, and
like iron all over. Ref., 6th June 1886.
Pull the string proper (Theatrical].
To know how to succeed with the
public. Suggested by manipulating
marionnettes.
Dressed in the uniform of the London
Scottish Rifles, he hides from his motherin-
law in a shower-bath, and is swamped
by that awful lady, who knows how and
when to 'pull the strings'. Ref., 5th
October 1884.
Pull-up (American becoming English,
1 870). Wave of prosperity following
disaster ; chiefly used in theatrical
life.
Pull up my boot (Costermongers
1
}.
To make money. When a man prepares
for his day's work, he pulls on
and strings up his boots. (See Make
up my leg.)
The Strand people are pulling the
string with the Comedy of Errors, I am
told (1883).
Pull your ear (Peoples', Hist.}. To
produce memory.
Pulling a pop (Anglo-American}.
Firing a pistol,
202
Pulling the Right String Put you on your Back Seam
Pulling the right string (Cabinetmakers',
1863). Before calipers were
in use by carpenters and others, small
measurements were made with string.
Hence arose the term,
* Are you pulling
the right string ?' Some maintain
it refers to the pulling of puppet-show
strings.
Pumblechook (American - Eng.).
Human ass.
Pumpkin - face (American}. A
round face with no expression in it.
Puncheous Pilate (Peoples
1
). Corruption
of Pontius Pilate, jocosely
addressed to a person in protest of
some small asserted authority.
Punkah one's face (Anglo-Indian}.
Fan the features. From the Hindostanee.
Push-buggy (American heard in
Liverpool}. Perambulator.
Pushing (Peoples', 1885). Endeavouring
to induce a man to propose
marriage. Early in 1885, in the suit
brought by Lord Durham to obtain a
nullity of marriage (Durham v. Milner,
otherwise Durham), the Hon. Mrs
Gerard, the sister of the defendant,
said in evidence :
Lord Durham joined my sister at
Buxton.
What was her bearing towards him ?
I thought she seemed shy, but I considered
that was chiefly on account of
there being only one sitting-room in the
house. I had a conversation with my
sister as to the propriety of visiting
Lambton. She was nervous, and said it
looked ' rather pushing
' to go. 28th
February 1885.
Pusley (American heard in Liverpool).
Most mysterious who was
Pusley ?
Pa is better, thanks to careful nursing.
You see, Pa began finding fault with me
again because I didn't play more jokes
on him. I told him that people were
getting an idea that I was mean as
Pusley, because I played jokes on him,
and I had quit. Pa said 'never mind
what people say. I am your father, and
it pleases me to have you practise on me.'
Peck's Bad Boy, 1884.
Pusserspock (Naval). Corruption
of 'pursers pork' bad, hard saltmeat,
name being given to it because
the purser was the purchaser.
Put a steam on the table (Peoples').
To earn enough money to obtain a hot
Sunday dinner. A figure of speech.
Refers chiefly to boiled food, the
phrase having been invented before
domestic ovens.
Put down (Low London). To eat.
Put it on (L. London). Extract
money by threats, or whining lying,
as the case may best be met.
Arter all the brass was nearly all gone,
Selby says,
' I'll go round to the Mug
agin, and put it on him (make him pay)
for another bit.' People. 6th January
1895.
Put on (Street). Old woman mendicant
who puts on a shivering and
wretched look.
Put on (Theatrical). To produce.
Put on a boss (Street). Take a
look of a malevolent character, so
that a squint is suggested for squinting
suggests malevolence.
Put on a cigar (Peoples', 1850 on).
Assertion of gentility, to the injurious
exclusion of the pipe.
Put on the flooence (Peoples', 1850-
83). Attract, subdue, overcome by
mental force. Corruption of 'fluence
from influence.
Put on the pot (All Classes). Be
grand.
Put oneself outside (American-
English, 1860). To eat or drink.
Put out (Low Class, Hist.). Killed
abbreviation of ' Put out his lights
'
(q.v.).
Brien, on the way to the station remarked
to the officer,
' I am not in this,
but I know they meant to put you out
to-night.' D. T., 14th May 1901.
Put the gloves on him (Scotch
Thieves', 1868). Ameliorate him.
Put the light out (Criminal and
Street), Kill.
In the days of Shakespeare wise men
called '
stealing
'
conveying ; now a malefactor
does not murder, he pops a man
off, or he puts his light out. Graphic,
24th September 1884.
Put the miller's eye out (Peoples').
To use too much water in making grog
or tea.
Put the windows in (Street).
Smashing them.
Put to bed (Music Hall). To
conquer, to annihilate, figuratively.
Put to find (Low Class). Prison.
Put you on your back seam
(Tailors). To seat a gentleman
suddenly, not only on the ground,
but on the seam which hemispheres
the 'shoulder' of his trousers. Very
local.
203
Put your Hat up there Queer Shovers
Put your hat up there (Peoples
1
).
Friendly accusation of courting there
meaning you are resolved to make
one of the family.
Put your clothes together when
you come (Provincial, Peoples'). Shape
of inviting for a long visit, stretching
over time, requiring many changes of
garments.
Puts a 'and in a pocket (Lower
Classes). Hospitable, given to charity.
Putting a poor mouth (Irish). To
complain moaningly.
The Irishman, putting a poor mouth
on his position, declared that at his house
'whin they had a red herring it was
Christmas Day wid 'urn '. D. N., 1884.
Putting the value on it (Artists'}.
Signing a canvas. Satirical meaning
the work has no real value, and
sells only by reason of the name
attached.
Putty-medal (Peoples', 1856). No
medal at all. Satirical recommendation
to reward for mischief or injury.
A tailor makes a misfit; e.g., 'Give
him a putty medal.'
Pyrotechnic pleasantries (Soc.,
1897). Dynamite explosions of a
feeble and harmless character. Probably
the work of semi-idiots. Sign
that destructive anarchy was abating.
There is, indeed, a growing impression
that if he is found out, it will at once be
perceived that he is a monomaniac, who
has acted out of sheer silliness in indulging
in these '
pyrotechnic pleasantries '.
D. T., 17th June 1897.
Q. B. (Law, '90's). Queen's Bench.
Now King's Bench.
Q. S. (Peoples'). Initials of Queer
Street a figure of speech, even a
metaphor, whereby a gentleman in
difficulties relegates them to his
district.
Quagger (Oxford 'cr'). Queen's
man student of Queen's College.
Also called '
gooser '. Quaggers is
possibly goose, duck, quack quaggers.
Quandary (Peoples', 17 cent.).
Difficulty, fix. Probably from the
half-French court of Charles II., who
was half French by his mother. Qu'
en dirai-je ? Skinner gives this derivation.
Possibly a frequent expression
of Louise Querouille (the Mother
Carwell of the streets), who afterwards
became Louise, Duchess of Portsmouth,
when she built Portsmouth Place,
S.W., corner of Lincoln's Inn Fields
some seven houses, those remaining
still showing on the pilasters alternate
roses of England, lilies of France,
double flanked with torches of Hymen
that look like rams' horns which
insignia would probably be more appropriate.
Johnson calls '
quandary
' a
' low word '. (See Curmudgeon. )
Quarter pound bird's eye (Low.
Class Smokers'). Quarter of one ounce
a pennorth. Asked for quite
seriously. Probably begun as a joke.
(See Sherry.)
Quarter sessions (Legal). Jocose
swearing.
Quarter stretch (Thieves'). Three
months' imprisonment.
'
Saucy Sail's
got a quarter with hard.' (See
Stretch.)
Quartern o' bliss (Low London,
1882). A taking small woman.
Diminutive of ' Pot o' bliss ' a fine
woman.
Quartern o' bry (Complicated
Rhyming, 1868). Short for Bryan o'
Lynn which rhymes with gin.
Quartern o' finger (Complicated
Rhyming], 1868). Short for finger
and thumb, which rhymes with rum
the refreshment called for.
Queenie (Street). Mock endearing
name called after a fat woman trying
to walk young.
'
Queenie, come back,
sweet' (Drury Lane Panto., 1884).
Addressed to Mr H. Campell, one of
the heaviest men on the stage, and
then playing 'Eliza', a cook. (See
Poultice.)
Queen's bad bargain (Military}.
A recruit who turns out a bad soldier
from Queen's shilling.
Queen's weather (Soc. t 1837 to end
of reign). Fine sunshine from the
singular fact that through her reign
the Queen almost always had fine
weather when she appeared in public.
Queer-bit makers (Police}. Coiners.
Queer shovers (Police}. Queer is
bad money shovers any kind of
industrials ; the whole passers of bad
money.
204
Queer the Pitch Rail-Birds
Queer the pitch (Music Hall, 1880).
Spoil business, impede applause. This
phrase comes from the patter of street
performers, whose '
pitch
' for performance
is 'queered' by a severe policeman.
In its application in music halls
it means any act which injures a
performance the pitch. For instance
a jeer, a cough, a sneeze will queer
the pitch, but it is chiefly applied to
the band, when by a sudden stoppage,
or error in accompaniment, the singer
is, or might be, brought to grief.
At home, if an actor or actress dared
to act whilst some one else was speaking,
he or she would be fined or dismissed as
' queering somebody's pitch ', whereas
every gesture, every animated movement
assists the speaker instead of spoiling
him. D. T., 29th June 1897.
Queue (Theatrical). Tail-piece, last
word, upon which another actor has to
reply. Evidently from French, and
quite clear from '
queu ', as it is often
lamentably spelt.
Quick-change artiste (Theatrical).
Translation of protean entertainer.
England has boasted a goodly supply
of what were once called '
quick-change
artists ', from the days of the elder
Charles Mathews until the more decadent
and mechanical times of W. S. Woodin.
D. T., 10th March 1897.
Quick curtain ( Theatrical}. Rapid
descent of curtain.
Quid -fishing (Thieves'). Skilled
thieving quid being a sovereign.
Quid to a bloater (Street}. Sovereign
to a herring commonest shape of
street cock-sure betting.
Quiff (Anglo-Indian). Idea, fancy,
movement, suggestion.
Quiff (Army, 1890 on). The sweep
of hair over the forehead.
Quifs (Military,
Manoeuvres.
19 cent.}.
Quit off (American). To refrain.
Quite a dizzy (Mid. -class). Very
clever man evidently from Disraeli.
Quite the don (Peoples' Hist.).
Perfect, magnificent. Probably from
the name given to the husband of
Queen Mary Tudor Philip being a
very magnificent Spaniard.
R. C. (Catholic, 1880 on). Roman
Catholic.
R. M. D. (London, Lower Financial).
Ready money down.
Racial atavism (Society, 1897).
Atavism. Came from Paris. It is a
synonym for heredity.
We prefer to believe that it is a case
of what might be scientifically described
as ' racial atavism '. It is simply that
'fault of the Dutch' which Canning
discovered in the course of treaty
negotiations at an early period of the
century, and which has now broken out
in a fresh place among their colonial
descendants. /). T., 19th February
1897.
Rad (Political). Abbreviation of
Radical, and bestowed by the Conservatives
probably from its suggestiveness
of ' rat '.
Rag ( Oxford, 19 cent. ). Disarrangement
of another man's furniture, but
with no damage.
If you return and find your rooms in
a state of chaos, your friends have been
indulging in a 'rag'. D. T., 14th
August 1899.
Rag-stick (Peoples'). One of the
names for umbrella, said of a loose and
unreefed implement.
Ragged edge (Amer.~Eng., 1884).
Deserted.
It seems fair to assume that father,
daughter and her child sailed yesterday
for Paris, leaving poor Tom on the
ragged edge. N. Y. Mercury, 10th
January 1885.
Raggies (Navy). Steady chums.
The term, however, seems to be generrally
one of disparagement.
Rags (Art Jargon, 1880). Old lace
used for decorative purposes. (See
Crocks and Timbers. )
Rags, Daily (Printers'). London
lower class daily newspapers.
A man in the country wants to sell
his old kicksies, Charley Prescotts and
coats, and seeing the advertisements in
the respectable daily rags, he sends them
all up to the buyer, and gets five bob in
return, which, he is told, is all they're
worth.
Rail-birds (Racing, 1890 on).
Watchers of race-horses when exer-
205
Railroad Bible Real Lady
cising. From their perching on fivebarred
and other gates while on the
wait.
The ' rail-birds ', as certain people are
called who closely watch the work of
horses on the race tracks, would do well
to keep an eye on Tommy Ryan. N. T,
Mercury, December 1891.
Railroad Bible (Amer. Travellers',
1880). Pack of cards.
Railways (Railway Servants'). Red
stockings of course worn by women,
and resulting out of '
signal red '
used throughout the British dominions ;
e.g.,
' She's a pair of smart railways
ain't she ?'
Rain-napper (Street). Umbrella
because it catches the rain. From
* knap
' to catch quickly.
Raise (Amer., 1880). Kickvigorous
instance of replacing cause
by effect.
Rajah, The (Drury Lane, 1850 on).
Synonym for the Mogul.
Raked fore and aft (Mariners').
Desperately in love. Figure of speech
from damage done to the whole of
rigging by a well-directed shelling.
Raker (Common Classes, 1840-56).
Comb.
'Ral (Navy). Strict naval for
admiral.
Rampers (London Street). Noisy
street-rangers, chiefly young men.
Randy-voo (Army). Tavern which
is the headquarters of recruiting sergeants.
Also synonymous with noise
and wrangling from Rendez-vous.
Rank and smell (L. Peoples', 19
cent.). Common person.
Rare old water-bruiser (Nautical).
A tough, hard-working old shore-man.
Rarified (Soc., 1860 on). Tamed.
Usually applied to tamed women
from one Rarey, a horse-tamer.
Rasher and doorstep (L. Classes).
Coffee-house phrasing the rasher
speaks for itself. The doorstep is a
thick slice of bread and butter.
Raspberry. (See Bit o' raspberry.)
Rat (Artisans'). A man who has
not served his time, and therefore who
has no indentures. He may, however,
be a very fine workman ; but he can
enter no society or union.
Rat back clip (Peoples', 1856).
Short hair.
Rational costume (Society, 1895).
Trousers for women. Early in the
fifties these appendages were called
Bloomers from an American lady of
that name. A generation passed, when
they loomed up again as divided skirts
and Bectives (probably from Lady
Bective having approved the fashion).
Next, about 1890, they took over the
name for young boys' knee-trousers,
and were styled knickerbockers the
name of which probably came from
Washington Irving. Finally, in 1895,
the female trouser was known as
rational costume.
Rattle (Sporting). Good news of
certain reliance, and in relation to a
horse entered for a given race.
Rattle-belly-pop (American Saloon).
Whiskey and lemonade. Changed,
when speaking to the more elegant
sex, to rattle-blank-pop.
Rattle, With a (Racing) Unexpected
rapidity.
The only approach to a sensation was
caused by Warrington and Kettleholder,
the former coming ' with a rattle ' in the
morning to the price taken about him in
the excitement caused by his forward
running in the Cesarewitch. Newsp.
Raum method (Anglo-Amer., 1890).
Nepotism, corruption.
The ' Kaum method '
is simply the
method by which Mr Commissioner
Raum is said to determine the fitness of
candidates for clerkships in the Pension
Office. It consists in simply 'looking
them in the face and giving a judgment '.
He looked his own son, Green B. Raum,
jun., in the face and formed a judgment
of him. D. N., 17th July 1890.
Raven (Public-house). Small bit of
bread and cheese 2d. From the idea
that the ravens could only carry small
quantities to Elisha.
Readied the rosser (Lower Classes).
Bribed the police. Readied, past tense
of to ready, from the 'ready '-money.
Rosseur French one who harries and
worries.
Ready-money betting (Racing).
Where the backer at once pays his
money to the bookmaker, and awaits
the result.
Real healthy (American passing
to England). Well-brained.
Real Kate (London Local, Clare
Market, 1882 swept away, 1900).
Kind matron. In this year a charitable
queen of the market, one Kate, died.
Real lady (Music Hall, 1881). A
lady in excelsis.
206
Real Peacer Redundant
Real Peacer (Street Soys'). Final
shape of Charley Peace, a hero-murderer.
Real raspberry jam (Street, 1883).
Climax of the use of ' jam ' to describe
lovely woman.
Real razor (Westminster School,
1883). A defiant, quarrelsome, or
bad-tempered scholar.
Real Rugby (Public-school). Cruel.
Derived from the Rugby rules of football,
which are more likely to lead to
accident, it is generally held, than the
more modified rules of the * Soccer '.
Real scorcher (Street). Vigorous,
active personality but without vice.
Real sweet (Eng. -Amer.) Perfect.
Reb (American Civil War, 1862-65).
Abbreviation of ' rebel ', given in scorn
by the Federals to the Confederates,
and afterwards adopted by them.
Reconstituting an epoch (Lit.,
1875). Misrepresenting history. Devised
when Mr Wills produced Charles
I. at Lyceum Theatre.
M. Sardou lays the scene of his story
in a historic period, introducing more or
less authentic historic personages ; or, as
the phrase goes, reconstituting an epoch.
D. N.'s Criticism of M. Sardou's Theodora,
13th July 1885.
Receipt of fernseed (Proverbial
superstition). Ability to be present
invisibly. The statement that if you
held fernseed you were invisible was
based upon the supposition that you
could not do so, because fernseed had
no existence ferns showing no flowers.
Rifle green, the dark artillery blue,
and the dark grey of the service greatcoat
were as bad, or nearly as bad, as
black ; so that at present the British
soldier of all arms must be admitted to
be singularly destitute of the '
receipt of
fernseed './>. N., March 1883.
Recently struck it (Amer.-Eng.).
Nouveau riche man of sudden wealth.
That is he has recently struck gold.
Common to U.S.A. growing in England.
Re-dayboo (Music Hall, 1899). Rede"
but. Absurdity, of course being a
first appearance a second time.
This welcome '
re-dayboo ', as Dan
Leno would doubtless call it, was made,
etc. Sun, 29th November 1899.
Red. (See Bit o' red.)
Red, All over. (See All over red.)
Red heart (London Tavern about
1870. Short for ' redheart rum '.
Red herring (Soc.). Intended
deceit. From dragging a red herring,
at the end of a string, over the track
of a fox whereby the hounds are
thrown out.
The Conservative candidate gravely
stated that if Home Rule is granted,
Irishmen will come over in such numbers
that instead of the labourers' wages
being 12s. or 13s. a week, they will be
reduced to 6s. and 7s.; and this red
herring has been implicitly believed.
D. N., 17th July 1886.
Red-handed (Hist.). In the fact
flagrante delicto.
George Wallis, 30, was charged on
remand with stealing some cloth from
a shop in Whitechapel. The prisoner
was caught almost redhanded. People,
27th December 1896.
Red-hot miracle (Sporting, 1882).
Startling paradox of the very day.
Red - hot treat (Lower Peoples').
Extremely dangerous person.
Red peppers (American). Form of
swearing.
Red-shirts (Colonial and American
Mining World). The name given to
gold and silver miners, all of whom
wear red flannel shirts. Garibaldi
while in America adopted the red
shirt for life, introduced it upon the
continent of Europe, and made it
historically famous.
Red -tie (Univ., Oxford, 1876).
Synonym for vulgarity.
Reading up (N. Country, Hist.).
Tidying, putting the house in order.
From the habit of rubbing red ochre
over the cleaned doorsteps, side-posts,
and hearth - stones. Passing away
rapidly.
Readings (Thieves'). One of the
words for watches. Probably from
the name of a receiver of that name,
who gave the best prices.
Redfern (Soc., 1879). Perfectly,
fitting lady's coat or jacket. From
the vogue obtained, 1879 on, by
Redfern, Maddox, W. Regent Street,
whose lady's tailoring became celebrated
over the whole world.
Redundant (City, 1898). Impudent.
Arose from the invention of Mr H.
Bottomly in a speech.
Personally, and speaking entirely for
myself, I regard the attitude taken up
by Dr Alexander as a little redundant,
having regard to the appointment of the
committee. D. T., 2nd June 1898.
207
Reelings Rib-shirts
Reelings (Rhyme). Feelings.
Ref. (Political}. Abbreviation of
Reformer. Invented by the Tories as
a term of brief contempt.
Refuges (London Mid. -class}. The
lamp-islands centred at wide crossings
as half-way oases in the desert of
London roads.
Reg. duck egg! (Sporting}. A
cypher of no value. From cricket
when a batter going out on nothing
at all is marked ' '
playfully
described as a ' duck egg '. The '
reg
'
is a common abbreviation of '
regular '.
Regenerate. (See Degenerate.)
Regionalism (Political, 1880 on).
Sub-nationality. Word to describe
differences of political and social feeling
between differing races or subraces
under one government as N.
and S. of North America, Hungary
and Austria, Poland and Russia.
Adopted in England during the Home
Rule struggle in House of Commons.
As platinum and silver do not melt at
the same degree of heat, so, too, diversity
of disposition, which in Italy is more
marked than elsewhere, will not allow of
the Southerners being educated by the
same method as the Piedmontese. The
twenty-six years which have elapsed
since our unification have proved this
abundantly. Regionalism is still a profound
sore. Signer Fazzari, D. JV., 21st
April 1886.
Regular oner (Peoples'). Individual
past praying for a scapegrace.
Sometimes used in satirical praise.
Reign of Queen Dick (Peoples'}.
Never a quibble.
Removal (Political, 1883). Assassination.
When the exposure of the
Phoenix Park and other assassinations
(1882) took place Carey, one of the
chief informants, in his evidence,
always referred to a political murder
as a removal. The word at once took.
Umbrellas as Weapons. In reading
the evidence which Town Councillor
Carey gave as to the Phoenix Park
murders or ' removals ', as the Irish
Invincibles call them it is impossible
to avoid wishing that the heroic victims
of hired slabbers had been armed.
Graphic, 24th February 1883.
Reparty (Soc., 1874). Satirical
pronunciation of repartee.
Just as the young Gaiety lady favoured
by royalty who had a speaking part presented
to her on that account was not
good at reparty, so artists are not, as a
body, good at spelling. Ref., 7th March
1886.
Repentance curl (Soc., 1863). It
was a solitary, heavy curl made of a
portion of the back hair, and brought
over the left shoulder and allowed to
fall over the left breast. The Princess
of Wales brought this fashion into
England (1863), where it held good for
many years. (See Zarndrer.)
Repetitious (Literary). Repetitional.
First applied by the Daily Telegraph.
It was just as well, for the scheme of
' Self and Lady ' had a tendency to
become monotonous and to be repetitious
in its effects. D. T., 20th September
1900.
Reprint (Printers'). Printed matter
for putting in type, as opposed to
manuscript.
Resistance - piece (Press). Chief
dish, or leading stage - piece. From
the French piece de resistance.
The Christmas treat was a great success.
About sixty sat down to the banquet.
After this, the resistance-piece, was over,
etc. Ref., 10th January 1886.
Responsible (Theatrical). Fee'd
to lead. He is an actor more of
common sense than parts, who steadily
obeys the lead and takes that leader's
place when not acting.
Wanted, for a first-class portable,
Entire Co., including Gent, for Entire
Lead, Juveniles, Responsibles, etc.
Resting (Theatrical, 1890 on).
Obvious but it has another satirical
meaning that of 'out of an
engagement '.
This is the period of the year when the
actor casts off his stage - mantle, and
settles down to that easy, indefinite,
unemployed time which comes under the
description of 'Resting'. D. T., llth
August 1898.
Resurrection pie (Peoples'). All
sorts pasty.
Revolveress (Soc, 1885). A woman
who uses a pistol.
The details of the career of the charming
Lucille, the latest revolveress, are
romantic, though slightly mixed. Ref.,
8th February 1885.
'Ria (Maria). Passing to 'Aryet
(Harriet). The typical name of the
costermonger's young lady a coster
herself.
Rib-shirts (Street, 1880). Fronts,
or dickeys, worn over a grubby shirt
to give the air of a fresh one.
208
Rice Christians Road Combination
Rice Christians (8oc. t 19 cent.}.
Natives in rice-bearing countries, who
accept the missionaries in order to gain
rice or food. Now used generally of
people who make of religion a business.
It is extremely doubtful, in these
circumstances, whether such converts
as the missions boast are ever more
than the dregs of Chinese society,
coolies without family, home, or pedigree,
' rice-Christians ' as they are scornfully
named. Ref., llth August 1895.
Rich as crazes (Irish). Of course
Croesus.
Rich -one (Upper ffetairice). A
wealthy wife. Said of the luckless
spouse of a man who finds home not
to his liking.
Richmonds in the field (Peoples').
Satirical description of rivals in active
work no matter of what kind. From
Shakespeare's Richard III.
I think there be six Richmonds in the
field.
There were so many Richmonds in the
field, so many pretenders to the throne,
that it was quite impossible to discover
the real king. I cannot tell you how it
is going to end. Wars of disputed succession
are proverbially long and bloody.
Sir W. Harcourt (June 1885) in House
of Commons.
Ricing (Mid.-class). Throwing rice
over the bride when in her go-away
carriage. From the East Indies, where
this custom intimates the hope of
children rice being a prolific growth.
Ride square (Racing). Square here
means ' fair '.
Riding (Sporting, 19 cent.). Adroitness,
ability from racing, where a
jockey's riding is a great factor in
working out success. Applied in
every possible way.
Nobody questions the guilt of William
Palmer. But there was some truth in
his remark that ' the riding had done it ',
and if Mrs Bartlett were acquainted with
the language of the turf, she might pay
the same compliment to Mr Clarke as
Palmer paid to Sir Alexander Cockburn.
D. N., 19th April 1886.
Rig sale (London, 19 cent.).
Swindle a false sale.
Right, About (Peoples'). Modest
self-depreciation, or depreciation in
general ; not absolutely right, but
nearly so, e.g., 'I thrashed him about
right'. (See To rights.)
Right gee-gee (Sporting, 1880).
The horse certain to win.
Right off (Peoples', 1897). Rejection,
failure, determination.
Right racket (Amer. - Eng.).
Successful public declaration. Chiefly
refers to entertainments and publishing.
Right tenpenny on the cranium
(Peoples'). Good phrasing. A new
rendering of ' Right nail on the head '.
Messrs Robertson and Bruce, at
Toole's Theatre, with 'M.P.', seem to
have hit the right tenpenny on the
cranium.
Rights ( Thieves', 1 860). Perfection.
Ring dropping (Peoples'}. Equivalent
to ' Tell your grandmother to
suck eggs'. Said in scorn of weak
attempts at deception. From the stale
cheat of the operator pretending to
pick up a ring in the street in front of
the intended victim.
Rip (Anglo-American). Creation of
a word from the initials of Requiescat in
pace in Catholic cemeteries, the pious
wish being declared by these initials.
Ripper (Thieves'). Daring murderer
of women. Very common noun devised
from rip, the ripper making his wound
with a knife in the human body. In
1888-91 a number (ten) of murders of
women were perpetrated, presumably
by the same man, as the ripping treatment
of the victims was common to
all or almost all the cases.
Ripping slum (Tavern, 1800-30).
Capital trick. (See Egan's Life in
London.)
Rise bristles (Anglo. - American).
Excite to resentment.
Risky (Soc., '90's). Adulterous
but not openly so.
There are plenty of ladies living, as all
their world knows, lives which are generally
called '
risky ', who are personally
most scrupulous in observing all the
minor conventionalities. John Strange
Winter, D. T., 5th August 1899.
Rit (University, passing to Peoples').
A ritualistic clergyman. (See Tec,
Cad, Pot.)
Ritualistic knee (Doctors', 1840-50).
When genuflection came in, with the
success of Dr Pusey's church theories,
the ritualistic knee really became
known to medical men. It was caused
by severe untrained momentary kneeling
when passing the altar, etc.
Road combination (Anglo -
American Theatrical). Congregation
of variety artists moving rapidly from
town to town.
209
Road-Starver Rose, Under the
Road-starver (Mendicants, 1881).
Long coat made without pockets,
especially without a fob for money.
Road meaning generally the mass of
beggars the starver is that which
deprives the road of food.
Reader (Local London). Sunday
splendour of the youthful persuasion,
who displays himself in the Mile End
Road. Superior to Whitechapel
streeter (q.v.).
Roast 'and an* noo (Eating-house
waiters'). Short for 'roast shoulder
(of mutton) and new potatoes '. 'And,
or hand used for shoulder shortens the
word by more than one-half, while
' noo '
is quite a reasonable reduction.
Robbing the barber (Peoples', 19
cent.). Wearing long hair.
Robin (Street, 19 cent.). Little boy
or girl beggar standing about like a
starving robin.
' Eobin Dinners ' are due to the kindly
suggestion of the Rev. Charles Bullock,
editor of Home Words whose appeals to
the generosity of his readers to enable
him to entertain 25,000 or 30,000 London
children every year. D. T., 7th January
1899.
Robin Goodfellow (Peoples', Hist. ).
In Shakespeare's time he was a merry
urchin boy. See A Midsummer Night's
Dream. Previously he was associated
with the dusius, and even with Satan
for in the drawings of the 15th
century frequently he had horns and
hoofs added to his peculiar qualifications.
Descendant of the fauns. Probably
his pre-Shakespearian title was
Good-Filler. This term Robin Goodfellow
would result out of the national
tendency, as Puritanism spread over
the land, to veil the erotic by Anglicized
euphemism.
Robustious (Peoples'). Pompous.
Mr Barnes's unfortunate tendency on
this occasion was to a rather ' robustious
periwig-pated
'
style that sits ill upon
the shoulders of so sentimental a personage
as Lord Lytton's Claude Melnotte.
D. N., 29th October 1883.
Rocked to sleep (1880). One of
the sentimental American modes of
describing death, one which began to
prevail about this time.
Rockiness (Low. Class, 1887 on).
Want of foundation, unsteadiness.
Used chiefly of a drunken man.
Rogers (Soc., 1830-50). A ghastly
countenance probably from Rogers
the banker-poet, who in his age looked
very old ; or from the pirate flag, the
Jolly Roger, which showed a skull.
Rogues' walk (Soc., 1882). The
' Walk ' in the '90's was the north of
Piccadilly from the Circus to Bond
Street.
Roman Fall (1865-70). A droop in
the back produced by throwing the
shoulders well behind. A fashion of
the last years of the French Empire,
borrowed from French military officers,
who were compelled to accept this
attitude as the result of tight lacing,
one of the more ominous excesses of
French life in those terrible days. The
fashion being accepted in England, it
was dubbed the Roman Fall, as a
counterpoise to the Grecian Bend (q.v.).
Said to have been invented by Mr F.
C. Burnaud, in Punch. ' Proud ? Not
proud ? Spot his Roman fall.' (See
Two inches beyond upright.)
Roof scrapers ( Theatrical). Gallery
boys especially those standing behind
the highest row of seats and therefore
nearest the roof.
Rooster (Parliamentary, I860).
M.P. who makes himself heard, who is
not a silent member.
Whether the returned member be a
rooster or not time will tell. Bird o'
Freedom, March 1883.
Roosters (River Lea Anglers').
Followers of the gentle craft, who do
not move from one spot probably
because they ground-bated it the night
before.
Rope-yarn Sunday (Mercantile
Marine). Thursday. On Sunday the
food being at its best, Sunday and
feasting well are synonymous. Thursday,
as the half-way day, is distinguished
by duff, or pudding, which
is always made long, roly-poly shape,
which suggests rope - yarn hanks
hence Rope-yarn Sunday.
Rorty bloke (Costers'). Vigorous,
strong.
Rorty toff (Costers
1
). Variation of
rorty bloke an inferior rorty bloke.
Rortyness (Street). Vitality.
Before that she reminded me a little
too much, in her rortyness, of the seriocomic
lady who sings
' What cheer
"Ria", Ria's on the job!' Ref., 23rd
August 1885.
Rose, Under the. (See Sub rosa.)
210
Rose-coloured Spectacles Rumbo
Rose-coloured spectacles (Soc.).
Optimism. Free translation oicouleur
de rose.
In these days, when the mind's eye is
less apt to observe things through rosecoloursd
spectacles, a good many of the
grand old crusted adages have broken
down badly. G. R. Sims, Ref., 1st
February 1885.
Roses and raptures (Lit, 1830 on).
Satire of the Book of Beauty style of
literature, the precursor of sestheticism.
Attributed to Dr Maginn.
The social and religious life of Hellas
was by no means what a vain people
supposes. It was no more all roses and
raptures than our modern existence is
all beer and skittles. I). N., June 1885.
Rossacrucians (Press, 1885).
Followers of O'Donoran Rossa.
Satirical term invented by Mr G. R.
Sims. Ref., 8th February 1885.
Rot-funks (Cricket). Panics.
Rothschild (Soc.). A rich man.
(See Vanderbilt.)
Rotten orange (Lower Peoples',
1686). Term of contempt. Historical
from the name given by the Jacobites
to William III. Prince of Orange.
Rotten -apple (American, Theatrical).
To condemn an actor by hissing
him. Figurative expression.
The last new American verb is ' To
rotten-apple '. Actors, it seems, in some
of the minor New York theatres, are not
infrequently rotten-appled, much in the
same way as our legislative candidates in
the old hustings days used to be ' rottenegged
'. London Figaro, March 1883.
Rotten row (Rhyming}. Bow.
Rotter (Theatrical and Street).
Failure in any way, especially on the
stage. Presumably from rot.
Rotting about (Soc. of a kind).
Wasting time from place to place.
Roughs and toughs (Peoples').
Beautiful rhyming coalescing, for
'rough' is English and 'tough' is
the New York equivalent observation.
All the way down, whenever there was
a stop, they were insulted by Boers, and
we in the truck had to mix with sixty
or more of the '
roughs
' and '
toughs
' of
a score of nations. Sun, 7th November
1899.
Round (Sail-room). A valse, galop,
or polka. (See Square.)
Round the corner (Street). Drink.
Figurative expression not as the high
road.
211
The barmaid replied : 'It's good enough
for you ; go into the other bar, where the
men are. ' Mrs Montgomery retorted :
' You're wrong all round the corner,'
meaning that she had had something to
drink. D. T., 16th July 1898.
Rovers (American). People of
Colorado given in consequence of
their prospecting habits.
Row in (Peoples'). Unfair conspiracy.
From Thames life through
centuries. A man 'rowed in' in a
river robbery, or even a murder.
It's very likely the sellers and the
general public concerned in auction sales
are anything but satisfied with the results
of sales by auction where a ' knock-out '
is arranged, and especially where the
auctioneer 'rows in' with the crew.
D. T., 12th February 1897.
Row-de-dow (Irish, 19 cent.). Riot
term applied scornfully by Irish to
a disturbance. From a chief portion
of the chorus of ' British Grenadiers'.
With regard to the Prince and
Princess's visit to Ireland, the 'row-dedow'
that is, we believe, the Hibernian
term for it which took place, etc.
Ref., 9th March 1885.
Rubbing it in well (Police). Giving
fatal evidence.
Rubbish (Military Anglo-Indian,
early 19 cent.). Luggage of any
kind, and especially furniture, which
was frequently very shabby. (See
Garbage.)
Ruck down (West Provincial, 19
cent.). To courtesy very low.
Ruckerky (Soc., 90's). Grotesque
pronunciation of recherche'.
It was a security which a member of
the Asylums Board had described, in a
glowing adjective, as 'ruckerky'.
D. T., 4th April 1898.
Rudders (Oxford). Rudiments of
Faith and Religion (now abolished)
irreverent statement in ' er '.
Ruffer (Peoples'). One who is rough.
Rugger (Oxford Football, 1880 on).
Rugby rules. (See Soccer.)
Rule the roast (Old Eng.). To
govern noisily.
Rule was granted (Lawyers'}.
Another chance.
Rum-bottle (Navy, 1860). Sailor
from the liquor affected by mariners.
Rumbo (Middle-class, 1860). This
is an exclamation of congratulation,
probably obtained from the gipsies,
as amongst them ' Rumbo '
is a
common cry upon the meeting of
Rumourmongers Sad, and Bad, and Mad
two men. Women never interchange
this cry. It is a corruption of
the Spanish carambo, the accent of
which is upon the second, the word
becoming almost k'rambo.
Rumourmongers (City, 1897).
New coinage. Hitherto there have
been iron, fish and cheesemongers.
Newsmonger was the first modern
discovery in this direction, and now
the debased ' rumour ' follows suit.
It would almost seem as if the once
ingenious class of rumourmongers were
losing its power of skilful imagination,
and the method of the new school is to
cover one blunder by a still greater
blunder. D. T., 19th November 1897.
Run amok (Asia). Amok means
homicidal mania accompanied by
running blindly forward. Passing
from India to England it has got
Anglicized into ' Running a muck ',
probably from the fleeting destroyer
showing himself in a muck sweat.
This corrupted phrase is now applied
in England in a score of ways all of
which imply a good deal of action.
In Malacca, Siani, Java and adjacent
places the mental state which leads to
amok is equally well known and
dreaded. The perpetrator shows signs
of moroseness for days, more or less
in number, before he is seized with
amok, when he dashes up, with a
drawn knife, and lays about him
amidst the scudding people until he
himself is killed by a general onslaught.
In the more civilised spots where this
custom prevails, especially in Batavia,
precautions are taken which prevent
the destruction either of the victim
to 'amok', or those near him when
the murderous moment arrives. Every
policeman is armed with a catch-fork.
Directly a patient starts upon amok,
supposing the police are not ready for
him, as, being warned of the symptoms,
they generally are, the spearing of
this strange fish commences. Overtaken,
the springed points of the
amok-spear are pushed round the neck,
which passed, the incurved articulations
once more expand, and the victim
is held at spear's length, when all the
damage he can do is to himself. Thus
hooked he is 'run in', where, if he
has not wounded himself fatally, he is
treated for * D.T.'s 'the origin of most
amok when he either recovers or is
passed into an asylum.
Run home on the ear (American).
Entirely defeated.
Run through (Parliamentary).
Rapid in action especially official.
Runner (Thieves'). Technical name
for dog-stealer.
Rushing business (Thieves' and
Public-house). Robbery by adroitness,
cheating under the semblance of fair
treatment.
They go out on the rushing business,
and a very profitable emag they find it.
Hag., 1882.
Rushlight (Peoples'). Very thin
man. Derived from use of candles
of which the forgotten rushlight was
the slimmist.
Rusted in (American). Settled
down. Suggested by rust fixing in a
nail or screw.
Ruttat-pusher (1882). Keeper of a
potato car.
S. A. These are the initials and
sign of the Salvation Army.
S. D. (Theatrical). Stage door.
S. M. (Theatrical). Stage manager.
S. P. (Press, 1870 on). Letters
equalling special correspondent, being
first two letters of first word.
S. S. (Street, 1883). These initials
originally stood for sinner saved. The
letters were revived, with a similar
meaning by some of General Booth's
enthusiasts (1882) in the Salvation
Army.
Sacred lamp (Theatrical, 1883).
Ballet-girl burlesque. The origin of
this term is quite historical. Mr John
Hollingshead, lessee for many years
of the Gaiety Theatre, Strand, London,
issued one of a series of remarkable
lessee's ukases, in which he cynically
referred to the burlesques he had produced
as keeping alight the sacred
lamp of burlesque.
Sad, and bad, and mad (Soe., 1880).
Fashionable Jeremiah-mongering.
Philosophers and sages, and people
who speak of the ' fatal gift of beauty'
would say, with Mr Browning's halfrepentant
lover, this was all very
'
sad,
and bad, and mad '. D. N.. 10th March
1885.
212
Sad Vulgar Sal Hatch
Sad vulgar (Soc., 18 cent, and earlier
19 cent.}. Synonym for cad, snob.
He is a 'sad vulgar', as the ladies'
expression was in the days of George III. ;
and there is something very droll about
the poetical retribution he meets with.
St James' Gazette, 17th August 1883.
Saddling - paddock (Australian).
Place of amusement or rather place of
assignation.
Saffron Walden God - help - ye
(Provincial). Beggars, outcasts,
mendicants of that place. (See
Gordelpus. )
The triumph of scornful nomenclature
was reached in the case of Saffron
Walden, nicknamed 'Saffron Walden
God - help - ye ', from the presumed
wretchedness of its inhabitants. . . .
In the heart of the New Forest occurs
a similar instance of nomenclature to
that of Saffron Walden, with the
difference only that it is accepted by the
inhabitants instead of being thrust upon
them by the surrounding population.
The village of Burley is always spoken of
by the native as ' Burley God-help-us '.
D. N., August 1884.
Sag (Amer.-Eng.). Sinking, cessation,
non-success from mining, where
a sinking of the bed, or roof, of a mine,
has this term applied.
Still more when Mr Matthew Arnold
or Mr Irving appears in the States, then
there is ' no sag in the popular boom ',
which, being interpreted, means that
there is no lull in the general excitement.
D. N. t 5th October 1886.
Sage hens (American). People of
Nevada probably from the multiplicity
of prairie fowl which frequent
the sage bushes which cover the prairie
in that state.
Sail in (American - En g.).
Equivalent to 'Go it', and taking its
place in England.
Sailor's champagne (Peoples').
Champagne on the do ut des principle
an easy-go sailor shoots all his pay
in a day, and then reminds you all the
rest of his run on shore that you only
exhibit beer and mere board and
lodging.
St Alban's clean shave (Church).
Appearance of the ritualistic or high
church clergymen's face.
St Alban's doves (Electioneering,
1869). Two active political canvassers,
so called from attending a certain
church of which they were shining
lights.
St Giles' carpet (Seven Dials old).
A sprinkling of sand.
St John's Wood donas (Publichouse,
1882). Immoral women of the
better class, living at St John's Wood
generally.
St Lubbock (Lower London, 1880
on). An orgy, a drunken riot. From
the August Bank Holiday, the first
Monday in the month, chiefly invented,
in the parliamentary sense, by Sir
John Lubbock. The tendency on the
part of the more violent holidaymakers
produced the satirical ' St ', and
its accompanying meaning.
St Lubbock, Feasts of (Public,
1 8 7 1 on) . Bank holidays as established
by law Easter Monday, Whit
Monday, first Monday in August and
Boxing Day, 26th December. From
Sir John Lubbock's Act, 1871, by
which the first, second, and fourth
were made legal, and the third created.
The feasts of St Lubbock i.e., Bank
Holidays established in consequence of
the exertions of Sir John Lubbock, M.P.
(afterwards Lord Avebury), in 1871, are
regarded with the highest favour. Their
influences upon the commercial world
and whole community have been remarkable.
D. T., July 1899.
St Peter's the beast (Oxford, 1890
on). St Peter's in the East.
All who have dwelt near St Peter's-inthe-
East and been tortured by its fearsome
bell will understand why, despite
its pleasant situation and curious crypt,
it should be referred to as ' St Peter's the
Beast'. D. T., 14th August 1899.
St Stephen's hell (Parliamentary).
No. 15 Committee Room, House of
Commons. When the Parnellite 'split'
took place, the Irish Nationalist
members 'discussed' in this chamber
for many days the noise resulting in
the bestowal by the lower officials of
this title upon the room in question.
Sal hatch (Peoples'). Umbrellaorigin
quite obscure, but probably
salacious.
Sal hatch (Prob. Hist., 17 cent.).
Dirty weneh. Probably one of the
court of Charles II. French phrases
of a certain fashion. Of course a corruptionfrom
'Sale Ange', which is
itself a French corruption of Sallanches,
a town in Savoy whence spread over
France, as from all other Swiss towns,
women servants. The French have
historically always considered the
213
Sal Stoppers Sandwich Board
Swiss less cleanly than themselves;
they still use the phrase to worry
servant girls from Savoy, now, of
course, part of France. Sal Hatch is
applied in exactly the same way to
dirty - looking young English girls.
This word, however, may come from
the Italian Salaccia a dirty, ugly,
big woman. If so, it reaches us from
the Hatton Garden division of London.
Sal slappers (Costers'). Modification
of a vigorous name for a common
woman.
Salad march (Ballet, 19 cent.).
March of ballet girls in green, white,
and pale amber from the usual colours
of salads.
A ' salad ' march, with the coryph&s
dressed as lettuces and spring cabbages,
is an admirably harmonious arrangement./).
T., 7th May 1899.
Sally B. (American, 1880 on). A
very thin, tall woman in evening dress.
This phrase, which fleetingly passed
through London, is quite historical.
Derived from Madame Bernhardt,
who, though at the end of the Victorian
era, she became a well-developed comedian,
was for many years the most absolutely
thin woman on the stage.
Sally Lunn (Peoples'). Bun, invented
in the 18th century by a
Chelsea industrial of that name. (See
Simnel.)
Saloon (Amer. ~Eng.). Tavernapplied
to a brilliant establishment.
Salt, Barrel of. (See Barrel.)
Salt-cellars (Peoples'). The cavities
behind the feminine collar-bones.
Salt-horse squires (Naval, lucent.).
Warrant, as distinct from commissioned,
officers. Name used to suggest
the parvenu grandeurs of the warrant
officer, who was dined upon salt beef
the salt horse in question.
Salt-pen (Lit., 1860 on). Nautical.
Figurative description of the pen of a
writer of sea-stories.
Salt junk (Music Hall, 1897). Last
rhyming cry for drunk passing into
' salt '.
Salt's pricker (Naval). Thick roll
of compressed Cavendish tobacco. Used
sometimes very figuratively.
Salvation Army (Street, 1882).
Drunk.
Salvation Army of politics (Polit.,
1885). Radicals. Invented by Mr
Goschen in this year.
214
For us Radicals, the Salvation Army
of politics, as Mr Goschen denominated
us, the keen desire for social improvement,
the great and healthy efforts for
actual and immediate reforms, the enthusiasm
of social progress ; but for him
the better part, for the educated and
thinking men the nobler mission of the
candid friend, the duty of criticising the
work in which his culture and refinement
prevent him from taking any part. Mr
J. Chamberlain's Speech : Dinner of the
Eighty Club, 28th April 1885.
Salvation jugginses (Com. London,
1882). The early aversion exhibited
towards the more violent members of
the Salvation Army led to the addition
of the word juggins.
Salvation rotters (1883). Final
term of scorn levelled at the early
Salvationists.
Salvation - soul - sneakers (1883).
This was one of the last terms applied,
before General Booth (February) yielded
to circumstances and with almost papal
authority forebade outdoor processions
in London. (See Skeleton Army.)
Sam (Peoples'). Abbreviation of
Stand Sam pay for a drink.
Sam Hill (American). Some hell,
replacing the name of a notoriously
wild-tongued man.
Same o. b. (Peoples', 1880). Abbreviation
of * old bob ' this standing
for shilling. Phrase has reference to
the universal shilling entrance-fee to
most ordinary places of information or
amusement.
Same old 3 and 4 ( Workmen's).
3 shillings and 4 pence which, multiplied
by six working days, gives 1 per
week.
Sampan (Navy). Historical name,
from Nelson's time, of the Sans
Pareil.
Sandford and Merton (Press).
Didacticism from the lofty tone of
the speakers in this once celebrated
boys' book.
It would, we think, have been more
attractive but for an occasional tendency
to fall into the Saiiftford and Mertoun
or directly didactic vein, as when we are
reminded that ' an undue concession to
narrow prejudice or cowardly convention
should be unsparingly denounced, because
it is insidiously and subtly destructive'.
D. N., 2nd February 1885.
Sandwich board (Street, 19 cent.).
Police station stretcher, used chiefly
for conveying drunken persons.
Sandwich Men Say
Sandwich men (Street, 1860 on).
The doleful, broken-down men employed
at one shilling per day to carry
pairs of advertisement boards, tabardfashion,
one on the unambitious chest,
t\e other on the broken back.
Sangster (London, 1850). Umbrella.
A Mr Sangster, of Fleet Street,
invented a light and elegant steelribbed
umbrella, which he called
Sangster's patent umbrella.
Sanguinary muddle (Polit., 1884).
Policy of Europe which seemed always
destructive. Invented by Lord Derby.
Lord I)erby used a very strong expression
the other day about the diplomacy
of Europe. He called it a '
sanguinary
muddle ', and recommended that England
should keep out of it. D. N., 17th
October 1885.
Sans-culottes (Peoples', 1793-1830).
San skillets such was the translation
by the people for the people in the
loyal later times of George III. This
phrase came to be immediately applied
to the most wretchedly -clad men in
the revolutionary streets of Paris.
Sapheadism (Agricultural, Amer.).
When the sap is rising, the bark is
soft hence this term for weak-headed-
Sapper (Music Hall, 2nd French
Empire). Gay, irresistible dog. From
* Eien est sacre pour un sssapeur !
'
the chorus of a song by Theresa, a
great Paris music hall cantatrice,
1860-70. She came to London about
1866.
Mr Clement -Smith, the well-known
theatrical bill printer, being captured
the other day by another of those evening
paper sappers to whom nothing is
sacred, was irreverently christened by
his tormentor 'the Bill-poster King.'
Ref., 3rd February 1899.
Sappy (Low. London). Weakheaded.
Origin obscure.
Saratoga (American - English).
Anything large, huge. Saratoga is an
example of new word-growth. Saratoga
Springs being the most fashionable
inland station for New Yorkers,
necessarily the largest amount of personal
luggage accompanied the fashionable
frequenters, while size was required
that ladies' costumes might not
be crushed in travelling. But the
most remarkable development of Sarotoga
was that of being used to describe
anything of unusual size.
Sarcasm (Soc., 19 cent.). Satirical
assumption of the meaning of a
stupidly-said thing.
Sardine-box (Peoples'). A jocular
name given to the prison-van, in which
the prisoners were stowed away or
packed,*as it were. (See V.R., Black
Maria, Virtue Rewarded, Vagabonds
Removed, etc.)
Sarey Gamp (London, '40's). Huge
market umbrella. Now not seen out
of museums, and mostly bought up for
their mines of valuable whalebone.
Sargentlemanly (Peoples', 19 cent.).
Satirical perversion of 'so gentlemanly',
and importing that the person
has taken rank above a mere private.
Sarkaster (Press, 1880). Invented
word; synonym for satirist derived
from sarcastic.
Sarken News (London, 1860-83).
The common term for Clerkenwell
News a journal which was begun in
a small way in Clerkenwell, and became
one of the chief metropolitan
mediums for advertising.
Sashay (Anglo-American). Slide,
skip, dance, skirt, walkingly haunt,
etc. From term used by French and
other dancing - masters chasser to
glissade from one side to the other.
Sat(lTniver., 1860). Satisfaction.
Satellite (Public - school). Modern
synonym for fag' a boy who revolves
round a bigger one, whom he has set
up as his model and hero. Sometimes
'Sat'.
Saturday middles (Soc., 1875).
The article on the left of the middle
of the Saturday Review where it
opened in the centre.
Saturday pie (Peoples'). Pasty,
within which is interred all the disjecta
membra of the week.
Sauce-box (Peoples'). The mouth.
Sausanmash (Jww. Clerks'). Lowest
common denomination of ' one sausage
and mashed potatoes '.
Saveloy Square (E. London). Duke
Place, Aldgate so named satirically
on the lucus a non lucendo principle
because, being wholly inhabited by
Jews, no ordinary sausages are ever
found there.
Say (American colloquial). Commonest
form of 'listen'. Probably
descended from the Plymouth Brethren
who crossed to the States. ' Say ',
equivalent to ' do ', is a common form
215
Say Howdy for Me Scooped
of expression in Devonshire to this
day.
Say howdy for me (Amer.-Eng.)'
Remember me to, etc. (See Howdy).
Passing rapidly into English every-day
expression.
Say soldi (Italian through organgrinders')
Six shillings.
'Sblood (Oath. Exclamatory). His
blood. Will be found in Tom Jones,
bk. xviii. ch. 10 ; where also will be
found Od zookers God's hooks, or
hooker, which equals 'nails' the
three used in the Crucifixion.
'S'bodlikins (Cath. Exclamatory).
His bodily-kins ! Meaning obscure.
Some say it refers to the earthly kin of
Jesus His brothers and sisters on
Joseph's side. Others, extremists say
the word is His body leakings meaning
the blood flowing from the side.
Scaffold-pole (Common London).
Is the fried potato chip sold with fried
fish.
Scaling down (American-English).
Repudiation of debt.
Scalp (American-Eng. , 19 cent).
Victories.
After securing all the amateur scalps
in San Francisco, Corbett became a
professional pugilist. D. T., 18th March
1897.
Scalper (American - English). A
savage horse, suggested by the Indian
habit of achieving the scalp, and the
tendency of the scalper to snap at the
head of his groom. Now extended to
describe briefly any human being of
merciless tendencies, especially in his
financial dealings.
Scalps (Soc., 1896). Jewel chain
charms worn upon bangles, and given
by young men to young girls.
Scandal village (Sussex). London
Super Mare or Brighton, where the
virtuous natives assume their London
patrons to be all libellous.
Scare (American - English, 1880).
Grow frightened.
Scare - crown (American, Boys').
Intensification of scare - crow, and
adapted to a woolless old man. (See
Bald head, Bottle nose. )
Scent of the hay (Theatrical).
Sneer at false pastoral writing for the
stage. From the protest of Mr Pinero
upon being accused, in The Squire (a
pastoral comedy), of plagiarising a
book of Mr Hardy's. Pinero urged
that his chief desire had been to waft
a scent of the hay across the footlights.
M. Mayer's company have been
engaged in wafting the scent of the hay
across the footlights. It is French hay,
but good of the sort. Ref., 21st
February 1886.
Schlemozzle (E. London, Jews').
Riot, quarrel, noise of any kind.
Colloquial Hebrew.
I had espied W. A. P., sitting not far
off, and partly with a desire to prevent
bloodshed, partly in the hope of promoting
a schlemozzle, I notified Jones
accordingly. Ref., 1st December 1889.
School Board 'ull be after you
(London Streets, 1881). Practically
meaning ' Look out or the police
will have you.'
School-marm (Soc. t 1886). Schoolmistress.
(From U.S.A.)
Celibacy of the clergy is a familiar
doctrine, both for banning and for blessing.
But the celibacy of the 'school
marm' is a heresy which as yet only
exists in the pious dream of school
managers and school boards, by whom
marriage is regarded as an even more
ruthless enemy than death. Pall Mall
Gazette, 12th January 1888.
Schoolmaster is abroad (Peoples').
In other times the country may have
heard with dismay that 'the soldier
was abroad '. It will not be so now.
Let the soldier be abroad if he will ;
he can do nothing in this age. There
is another personage abroad a personage
less imposing in the eyes of some,
perhaps, insignificant. The schoolmaster
is abroad ; and I trust to him,
armed with his primer, against the
soldier in full military array.
Schooners, frigates, and fullmasters
(Naval). Degrees of comparison
as to the capabilities of
apprentices in the Navy the least
accomplished being the schooner, the
frigate the youth who is handy at his
business, and the full - master the
achieved youngster who can learn no
more of the art of navigation understood.
Scoop (Military, 1880). One of the
modes of wearing the hair when the
mode of bringing it down flat upon
the forehead came in. (See Curtain.)
Scooped (Amer. - Eng., 1880).
Swindled money being scooped out
of the pocket.
216
Score Scrunging
Score (Peoples'}. Reckoning
figuratively used. 'I've got a score
against you, and some day you'll pay
'
from the custom in old times of
drawing lines upon a board with a bit
of chalk the number of marks in a
line being a score. (See Chalking
against.)
Scorpions (Theatrical). Babies
whose observations do not help the
performance.
Scorpions (Army, Hist.}. Scornful
reference by officers to the civil inhabitants
of Gibraltar. Originally
referred to the natural children of
English soldiers by Spanish mothers.
Sometimes 'Rock scorpions', the
* Rock '
being Gibraltar.
A military correspondent writes from
Gibraltar complaining of want of houses
for officers attached to the garrison.
The '
Scorpions ', as the inhabitants are
facetiously called, have all the best
houses in their hands. D. T. t 5th
November 1897.
Scotch (Rhyming). Abbreviation
of Scotch-pegs, the catch-rhyme for
'leg'.
Scrag-hole (Theatrical). Gallery.
Probably suggested by the stretching
of the scrag or neck, and the resemblance
of the gallery to a dark hole.
Scrape along (Poor Peoples'}. To
live somehow from day to day, to
scrape off a living.
Scraper (Soc., 1880). Short one
to two-inch whisker, slightly curved,
and therefore differing from the square
inch.
Scratch down (Street). The public
scolding of a man by a woman.
Scratch me (L. Lond., 19 cent.}.
Lucifer match.
Scratch - rash (Artisans'}. Face
scratched presumably by wife.
Scratchers (Lower Class). Lucifer
matches. Splendid example of peoples'
onomatope always going on. The
lower classes never took to the absurdly
pompous word lucifer ; and even the
middles added matches, from the old
sulphur matches, probably a corruption
of ' meche '.
Scratchers (Naval). Pay-masters
and their subordinates. Comes down
from the noisy times of quill pens.
Scratching poll (Peoples'). Pole for
cattle to rub their sides against. A
reference to a skin disease erroneously
217
said to be prevalent amongst Scotchmen.
An exhibition of Scotchmen's knees
took place at the Castle, and was
attended with great success. Mr Sandy
M'Alister MacDonoughloch took the first
prize and a cold in the nose. The prize
consists of a scratching poll.
Screamer (Press). Alarmist article
or leader.
Screaming gin and ignorance
(Sporting Reporters, 1868). Bad newspaper
writing.
Screed (American - English). A
pelt, or muck running. Widely applied.
Side by side with these garrulous
'screeds' about what took place six or
seven weeks ago comes news of what is
doing to-day. Mef., 9th March 1885.
Screw your nut (L. London).
Dodge a blow aimed at the head.
When we gets there, the Mug says,
' How did he get that ?
'
looking at
Selby's eye, and I says,
' He got it
because he could not screw his nut.'
Peoples', 6th January 1895.
Screwed up (Oxford and Cambridge
Universities). To be vanquished.
The term takes its rise from the ancient
habit of screwing up an offender's door,
generally a don's. The action was
only complete by breaking off the
heads of the very thin screws.
Screwed up (Artisans'). Without
money can't move. More emphaticallyscrewed
up in a corner. (See
Hung up, Stuck up. )
Scribe (Pressy 1870 on). A poor
writer.
Scribley (Provincial). Screw-belly,
i.e., sourish small beer.
Script (Authors', 1897). Short for
manuscript especially in the theatre.
Scripturience (Literary, 1900).
Rage for writing ; cacoethes scribendi.
Presumably invented by Mr William
Archer, who wrote
It is true that Mr Stedman's net is one
of very small meshes, which hauls in the
minnows as well as the Tritons ; but what
an amazing harvest, even of mediocrity !
There is a serious danger, it seems to me,
in this universal scripturience. M.
Leader, 27th October 1900.
Scrummage (Youths', 1860).
Struggle. Derived from foot-ball term.
Scrunging (Country Boys'). Stealing
unripe apples and pears probably
from the noise made in masticating.
Scug or Smug See the Breeze
Scug, or Smug (Schools'). A new
that is new boy.
In regard to the general charge, it is well
known that everywhere bullying has been
reduced to the smallest proportion. In
our fathers' time every new boy,
' scug ',
or c smug ', or whatever the generic name
may have boen, was kicked and knocked
about as a matter of course for the first
part of his curriculum. D. T., 12th June
1897.
Sculps (American). Convenient
abbreviations of pieces of sculpture.
Perhaps no statue, except the unfortunates
in Trafalgar Square, and the
melancholy meeting of '
sculps
' in
Parliament Square, was more sharply
criticised at the time of its erection,
or more heartily laughed at afterwards
than the gigantic equestrian effigy of the
late Duke of Wellington.!). N., 18th
January 1883.
Sculpt (American Artists'). Verb
from sculptor as writer to write ;
dancer to dance ; singer to sing ;
sculptor to sculpt.
Sculptor's ghost (Art). Sculptor
whose name is not associated with the
marble upon which he works. May
be the actual creator of a work which
goes in another's name, or may be
engaged only for his speciality which
may be hair, or bust, or legs, or hands,
or drapery.
Scurry around (American, 1876).
Be active.
If you care to lynch him there are
barrels of tar, and one of us might scurry
around and get some feathers. Detroit
Free Press, 1883.
Scuttler (Manchester, 1870 on).
Young street rough.
Might it not be possible to teach
manners, and to enforce their observance,
even by means of the rod and the
cane, at the Board schools? It is in
those expensive seminaries, we apprehend,
that the majority of the juvenile
'scuttlers' are educated. D. T.. October
1893.
'Sdeath (Poetical). Abbreviation of
His death meaning the Crucifixion.
(See 'Sflesh.)
Se Ta.nnha.user(Frenc7i-Eng., 90's).
Bore oneself as ' Queje me tannhause'.
Sea William (Naval early 19 cent).
Civilian.
' For d'ye see I'm a Sea William, and
not in no ways under martial law,' said
the pilot. Marryat, Rattlin the Reefer,
ch. Iviii.
Sea-side moths (Mid. -class). Bed
vermin.
Seats Bill (Political, 1884). Short
name suddenly given to the Redistribution
of Parliamentary seats. Due to
Mr Gladstone, and instantly accepted
as a brevity, clear in meaning.
Further progress was made in the
settlement of the main outlines of the
Redistribution scheme, or the Seats Bill
as it has now become the fashion to call
it. D. N., 27th November 1884.
^
Sec. (Commercial, 1860). Abbreviation
for second.
Second - hand sun (Poor Folk).
Nothing much to be proud of suggested
where sunlight is only reflected
into a given room from a neighbouring
wall.
Second-handwoman(Anglo-Indian
Army, 1859). Widow.
Second liker (Tavern, 1884 on).
Repetition drink another like the
first. Now applied generally to
repetition.
Second picture (Theatrical, 1885).
Tableau upon the rising of the curtain
to applause, after it has fallen at the
end of an act, or a play.
Secrets of the alcove (Soc., 1890
on). Most intimate influence of the
wife over the husband. Outcome of
analytical fiction. Phrase invented by
Dumas fils.
It may be what Dumas called 'the
secret of the alcove ', but when perfectly
represented, and with absolute purity,
on the stage, it is very delightful to
witness. Here we see a married woman
using every feminine art and charm to
tempt her husband back to companionship
and love. D. T., 29th June 1897.
Sedition - mongers (Polit., 1886).
Name given to supporters of Home
Rule. Started by Lord R. Churchill,
22nd February 1886, at Belfast.
See (American). To 'bet'. In
the card game of poker each player
' sees ' an opponent for so much that
is, bets so much upon cards which he
holds, but has not yet shown. It is
a word which now may often be heard
in Liverpool commercial cotton circles.
Stearn Carpenter, the Heracles of the
Troy Times, would have ' seen '
Achilles,
' and gone ten dollars more ', to employ
the language understood by the countrymen
of Mr Charles Dudley Warner.
D. N., 13th February 1883.
See the breeze (Cockney, 1877).
Expression of summer enjoyment at
218
Seek, a Clove Set the Hudson on Fire
escaping from London to an open
common. (See Taste the sun.)
Seek a clove (American). Take a
drink.
Seen better days (Middle-class).
Euphemism for saying a person is
poor.
Seen the elephant (American -
English, 1880 on). Climax witnessed
the finish. From the universal
American circus whose chief attraction
in country places is the elephant.
Therefore the phrase means proud
exultation, and is applied to boastful
persons.
Selah (American - English). The
Hebrew 'vale', 'God be with you'.
Probably the origin of the London
artisan phrase,
' So long'. (See.)
Happy, happy England ! Everybody
has got plenty of work to do except the
judges of the Divorce Court. Selah !
D. T.. 29th October 1896.
Senal pervitude (Com. Street Satire).
Penal servitude.
Send for Gulliver (Soc., 1887 on).
Depreciatory comment upon some
affair not worth discussion. From a
cascadescent incident in the first part
of Dr Lemuel Gulliver's travels.
Send off (Anglo-American Lit.).
Poem, tale, or article written specially
to attract attention direct opposite
to pot-boiler.
Mr English, then a journalist in active
harness, promised the firm a 'send-of
poem. N. Y. Mercury, 1888.
Sensation scene (Theatrical, 1862).
Exciting scene of action in a play.
Title invented by Edward Falconer.
(See Nailed up drama, Peep o' day
tree.)
Sensation-mongering(PoZ#.,1888).
Searching for effect.
Mr Chamberlain has resolved to take
no part in a controversy raised and maintained
either for party purposes or in
pursuit of sensation-mongering. D. N.,
26th February 1886.
Sensational (American Press, passed
to Eng. about 1870). Omniscient
adjective used wherever extraordinary
might be a possible equivalent.
Sensational writing (Lit.). Crude,
frank, banal description, or dialogue,
intended to excite or dismay.
Sent (Peoples'). Evasion and contraction
of ' sent to prison '.
At Northwich William Flynn was sent
for seven days for begging. People.
20th March 1898.
Sent across the Herring - pond
(Lower Class). Transported to Botany
Bay.
Sent to Coventry (Rural). Cutnot
spoken to. Origin so obscure as
not to be within view of any known
etymologist.
Sent to the skies (L. Mid.-dass).
Killed evasive accusation of murder.
Sent up (American-Eng. ). Exposed,
publicized. From the New York
Police Court term for imprisonment.
'Sent up for a month' up to the
prison that is.
Sentimental hairpin (Soc., 1880).
An affected, insignificant girl.
Sentry go (Military). Mounting
guard.
The Volunteer billets himself now
preferentially in forts and in barracks,
enjoys compliance with the stern regulations
enforced in such places, and would
rather be on 'sentry go' than in a
public-house carouse. 2J. N., 28th April
1886.
Sepulchre (Middle-class, London).
Name given to the flat cravats covering
the shirt front between the coat and
throat. Satire upon their effect in
covering over and burying the shirtfront,
when no longer immaculate.
Afterwards called chest-plasters. (See
Doggie, Poultice, Shakespeare-navels.)
Serio-comic (Music Hall, 1860-82).
The title given only to lady-singers of
a lively turn, and in distinction from
' comics ', who are always men.
Serve (Thieves Soc.). Euphemism
for passing through a term of imprisonment.
Sessions (Peoples'). Noise, quarrelling,
disturbance, from the fact that
at sessions there are conditions not
peculiar to quietude.
Set (Street, 1880). Conquered, put
down.
Set about (Peoples'). To assault.
The present assault was committed on
the 20th ult. As frequently happened,
they
' had words ' about money matters,
and because she would not accede to his
demands he 'set about her'. People,
4th April 1897.
Set the Hudson on fire (New York,
1884). Instance of imitation, of ' Set
the Thames on fire '.
'Mme. Boniface' is not likely to set
219
Seven Dials Ralcer Shapes and Shirts
the Hudson on fire, as it is original in
neither plot nor music. ff. Y. Mercury,
1884.
Seven Dials raker (Costers' local). A girl of the town who never smiles
out of the Dials. (See Deck.)
Seven times seven man (Peoples'
Satirical). Hypocritical religionist.
Seventy-five cent, word (Ainer.-
Eng., 1884). Sesquipedalian.
'Sflesh (Provincial). His flesh a
very rare Catholic exclamation, descended
from before the Reformation.
(See 'Sdeath.)
Shack-per-swaw (Sporting). Every
man for himself. French chaque
pour soi. Introduced in England by
a French gentleman rider.
Shadder ( Work.-dass, 19 cent.). A
thin, worn person.
Shadow of a shade (Pol-it., 1886).
More than immaculate, when used in
the negative, as it always was. Invented
by Lord R. Churchill.
But of confiscation, of taking away a
man's property without paying him for it,
there is not, as Lord Randolph Churchill
would say, the shadow of a shade of a
hint or suggestion or implication or
inference. I). Jv~., 26th February 1886.
Shadow of the owl (Athenceum
Club). Cellar smoking - room (until
1899, when the Council added a floor,
part of which was the newfumoir of the
Athenaeum), where the visitor was at
once met by the topaz eyes of the highperched
owl, raised in honour of the
tutelary goddess of that ilk, Minerva.
Shadwoking (Soc.). Grotesque
rendering of shadowing.
Shake a flannin (Navvies', 19 cent.).
To fight. (See Flannel-jacket.)
Shake fleas ( Old Eng. ). To thrash .
Shake leg (Peoples'). Remove.
Shake old fel (American). Greeting
' Shake hands, old fellow.'
Shake-out (Stock Exchange, 19 cent.).
Sudden revulsion and following clearance
due to panic, the result of discovery
of fraud, or of stupendous
bankruptcy, or even the death of a
powerful financier of known speculative
turn of mind.
After Saturday's heavy shake-out in
New York, occasioned by the news of
Mr Flower's death, the market has
settled down a little in consequence of
the evidences afforded that the big
financial houses were fully prepared to
grapple with the situation. D. T.. 16th
May 1899.
Shake-up (Peoples'). Start, beginning,
spurring.
The first French Revolution, with all
its attendant horrors, was entirely due
to the fact that in a little preliminary
shake-up the Paris masses found themselves,
to nobody's surprise more than
their own, fully equal to cope with
the gendarmerie. Ref., 27th November
1887.
Shake yer toe - rag (Beggars')
Show a clean pair of heels run away.
Shakespeare-navels (Lond. Youths',
1870). Long - pointed, turned -down
collar.
Sham-abram (Peoples'). Pretend
illness. Very common use still in
the Navy. The captain is shamabraming
again he wants a day on
shore, to see a doctor.
Sham-ateurs (Sporting). People
who are not even amateurs.
The amateurs of Pancras Road showed
themselves distinctly different from the
sham-ateurs of Her Majesty's Theatre.
Ref., 16th December 1888.
Shamrock (Military, 19 cent.). A
bayonet prick.
Shan von Voght (Irish Peoples').
The Pasquinade, Mrs Harris, or Paul
Pry of Irish life.
Can anything as spirited and stirring
as the ' Shan von Voght ' be rhymed in
favour of declining to pay rent? ti. N..
5th November 1883.
Shanghai gentleman (Naval). The
very reverse of a gentleman.
Shank (American). Centre or heart.
From the shank or grip of a button.
Why, you ain't going home already ?
It's right in the shank of the evening.
Texas Siftings, 1883.
Shank yersels awa (Scotch). Take
yourselves off move your shanks.
Shant of bivvy (Hatton Garden).
Pint of beer.
Shan't take salt ( Theatrical). Small
returns. Good example of an elision
creating obscurity. Means, ' We shall
not take enough money to pay for salt,
let alone bread.'
Shape up (Peoples', 18 cent.). Show
fight from the aspect of a prizefighter
when prepared to kill.
When Fred called him an all-round
ass he shaped up !
Shapes and shirts (Theat., 1883).
Satirical name given by young comedians
of the present day to distinguish
220
Shave Shingle
old actors, who swear by the legitimate
Elizabethan drama, which involves
either the 'shape' or the
' shirt
' the first being the cut-in
tunic ; the other, or shirt, being independent
of shape. (See Chest-plaster.)
Shave (Peoples', 1884). Drink.
Shaves (Services). False news
sometimes mere jokes.
Belgrade is getting livelier because of
the influx of miscellaneous foreigners.
It still maintains its pre-eminence for
'shaves'. D.N., 1876.
Shawl (Mid. -class). Symptom of
engagement.
Lady Clonbrony was delighted to see
that her son assisted Grace Nugentin in
shawling Miss Broadhurst. Miss Edgeworth,
The Absentee, 1809.
She (Soc., 1887). Queen Victoria.
From She, the African romance by Mr
Rider Haggard produced early in this
year.
She didn't seem to mind it very
much (Peoples', 1885). Cant phrase,
intimating jealousy on 'her' part.
Sheckles (Peoples'). Money. From
the Hebrew.
Shed a tear (Peons', 1860). Take
a short drink not a draught.
Shedduff (Mid.-class). Corruption
of chef d'asuvre.
Sheet o' tripe (Streets'). Plate of
this dish.
She'll go off in an aromatic faint
(Soc., 1883). Said of a fantastical
woman, meaning that her delicate
nerves will surely be the death of her.
Shellback (Navy). Sailor of full
age. (See Flatfoot.)
She-male (Common London, 1880).
Synonym for female, and pairing with
he-male. (See He-male.)
I love the she-male sex.
Sheol (E. London). Evasion of
' Hell ' the word being Hebrew for
this place.
In our own channels or in the great
Australian bight we who would go to sea
for pleasure would go to Sheol for pastime.
Ref., 4th October 1887.
Shepherd, To (Boer War, October
1899-1900). To surround, to drive
into a crowd from surrounding the
enemy.
Since Cronje was shepherded with his
army into the bed of the Modder by a
turning movement, the remaining Boer
commanders have been very nervous lest
a similar manoeuvre should be tried
against them. D. T., 2nd April 1900.
Sherry (Tavern). Four ale that
is, ale at fourpence per quart.
She's been a good wife to him
(Streets'). Satire cast at a drunken
woman rolling in the streets.
Shet down (Engineers', American).
Thoroughly commenced ; suggested by
'
shotting
' or '
shutting
' down a safety
valve.
Shet up, Sossidge (Peoples', 1896).
Recommendation to a German, noisy
in public, to be quiet really, 'Shut
up, Sausage'.
Sheltered (Low Life). Complete
ignominy. Word derived from shopshutter.
Shevvle chap (Sheffield). A man
of that city.
Shift (Irish, 1800). Blow up.
Shiftmonger (Tavern, 1882). Very
remarkable expression. When the
chappies and Johnnies became notorious
for frequenting the old Gaiety
Theatre stalls (1879-82), they were
remarkable for the display of very
large, rigid shirt-fronts. Indeed, this
shirt became a specialty hence the
word.
The shiftmonger rolled into the
Roman's (Romano's an Italian restaurant
in the Strand) blind, speechless, paralytic.
Staggering up to the well-known
slate, he wrote thereon, in trembling
characters,
' Coffee and soda for one.
Wake me in time to bress for Baiety
Gurlesque '. Bird o' Freedom, 7th March
1886.
Shillelagh (Irish, Hist.}. Knobbed
stick carried for fighting.
What did he hit you with ? Witness :
An Irish shillelagh a crinkled and thick
stick a kind of Irishman's truncheon.
D. T., 31st December 1895.
Shilling tabernacle (Peoples').
Wesleyan or Baptist tea-meeting at
twenty-four halfpence per head.
Shin stage (Peoples', 18 cent.}.
Journey on foot or by propelling the
shins.
Shine (American). Smiling look.
Shingle (American}. Close-cropped
hair ridge and furrow. When (1880)
following a London fashion, the hair
of American men of fashion was cut
close, this term came to be applied.
It is derived from the name of thin
wooden tiles shingles, which, of
course, lie flat and close to the roofrafters.
' There will be no more parting there ',
221
Shipwrecked Short 'Uns
said the man when he looked into the
mirror after having his hair shingled.
Texas Si/tings.
Shipwrecked (E. London). Drunk.
(See Floored.)
Shirtsleeves and shirt - sleeves
(Peoples'). Poor and rich, work and
luxury. The first are rolled up to the
shoulders. ' I do my work in my
shirtsleeves.' The shirt-sleeves are
fair, white, smooth, and only displayed,
as a rule, at the cuff.
Shoe's on the mast (Sailors' and
Peoples', Hist.). If you like to be
liberal, now's your time.' Originally
typical of homeward-bound and payoff.
In the 18th century, when near
the end of a long voyage, the sailors
nailed a shoe to the mast, the toes
downward, that passengers might delicately
bestow a parting gift.
Shofel (E. London). Hansom cab.
Said to be derived from the peaked
bonnets in use about 1850-53, which
Jewesses dubbed by this name. Shofel,
it seems, is a common word for hood,
peak, or eave even a hook nose.
Shool (E. London}. Church or
chapel from this Hebrew word representing
synagogue.
The beadle's eye was all over the
shool at once. Zangwill, Children of
the Ghetto.
Shoot (S. Exchange). To give a
man a close price in a stock without
knowing whether there will be a profit
or loss on the transaction.
Shoot (S. London, 1868). Walworth
Road Station, L. C. & D. Railway.
Because of the immense number of
persons 'shot' out there.
A recent writer on the condition of
Italy adduces the wretched character of
most of the railway stations as evidence
of the poverty of the country. I would
give something to know his opinion of
Walworth, as evidenced by the condition
of the * Shoot ! 'South London Press,
November 1882.
Shoot, Blooming (Common London,
1880). Cursed crowd.
Here's bad luck to the whole blooming
shoot. Cutting.
Shoot into the brown ( Volunteers',
circa 1860). Figuratively to fail.
The phrase takes its rise from rifle
practice, where the queer shot misses
the black and white target altogether,
and shoots into the brown i.e., the
earth butt.
Shoot the chimney (American).
Chimney is figurative for talking, and
derived from movement of chin. Shoot
here means stop.
Shoot f wood to t' hole (Yorks.).
Be secret. Let no one hear you.
Translated thus :
' Shut the wood to
the hole ;
'
or, in other words,
' Shut
the door'.
Shoot your cuff (Peoples', 1875 on).
Make the best personal appearance you
can and come along from the habit
of wearing wide cuffs. (See Cuffshooter.)
Shooter (American- Eng., 1870).
Pistol.
Shooting at sight (American).
Instantaneous homicide without
warning.
Shop (Theat., 1880). Theatre.
One of the mock-modest affectations
of actors, putting themselves and their
work on a trade basis. (See Low
comedy merchant. )
Shop, To (Low. London). To be
instrumental in sending an individual
to prison. Generally used to describe
imprisonment.
Sullivan shopped him real landed
him. People, 6th January 1895.
Shop-constable (Workshop}. He
represents the first principle of justice,
the most primitive type of the
magistrate. He is appointed for a
day ; he takes his turn with the rest
of his shop companions, and commands
one day, only to obey the next. When
there is a trade or a personal quarrel,
an appeal is made to the ' constable ',
who has the case tried.
Shopped ( Theatrical). Verb derived
from shop. Engaged for piece.
Short (Bankers'). A cheque paid in
as few notes as possible.
Short (Public-house). Raw spirits
to distinguish it from spirits and
water.
Short turn (Hatters' men). A
particular ring at the warehouse bell
requires that the boy shall answer it.
Upon his return he gives to the shop
constable (see), of the day the message
he has heard at the gate.
' Gentlemen,
a short turn ', he may say, or ' a long
turn '. In the first case, the applicant
is presumably a well - authenticated
' Unionist '.
Short 'uns (Poachers'). Partridges
referring to the almost complete
absence of tail feathers. (See Long 'un. )
222
Slwrt Week Sieve-Memory
Short week (Artisans'}. Not a
full six days' wages to take.
Shortage (Anglo-American, 1880
on). Abbreviation of defalcation.
Sho's (American). Abbreviation of
' sure as '.
Shot (Peoples', Hist.). Freed from
past tense of a verb rarely used in the
singular in police society.
It was a horse that didn't mean work,
and witness was very glad to '
get shot
of him'. D. T., 14th December 1897.
Shoulder-dab (London, 1800). A
warrant officer or bailiff, who tapped
the debtor on the shoulder as a legal
arrest.
Shouldering' ( Undertakers'). Carrying
corpse in coffin.
It appeared that at a late hour on
Monday night the prosecutors were
'shouldering' a coffin, containing a
corpse which they had just brought away
from the Westminster Hospital. D. N.,
20th August 1890.
Shov (Thieves'). Knife, or rather
dagger or dirk. Said by some to be an
application of ' shove ' the movement
made with the knife ; by others a
corruption, very cogent, of 'chiv'
the Romany for knife.
Shove (Street, 1880 adopted generally).
Bounce, gas, self-glorification,
preposterous patriotic yell.
You only get to know what a nice
place England is by going abroad, and
finding what a lot of ' shove ' there is
about the glorification of most other
places. Ref., 24th July 1887.
Shove in (Common Glass). Pawn
requires no elucidation.
Shove off (Navy). To quit, go,
flee, depart from shoving off a boat
from land or ship.
Show drink, To (Amer. - Eng.).
Obvious.
Show-houses (Soc., 18 and 19 cent.).
Mansions containing valuable works of
art.
Show-houses is a very appropriate term
for such of the mansions of our nobility
and gentry as are open to public
inspection. Mirror, 1829.
Show the hand (Peoples'). To
reveal unintentionally. From cardplaying,
where showing the hand is
sure to lose the game.
Showy (Society, 1880). This word
for overdressed and over ' made up
'
began to be common in this year.
Shulleg-day (Street, 1880). Corruption
of show-leg day referring to
muddy day in London when the ladies
carry their skirts high and expose their
ankles.
Shunt (Railway Officials'). To kill
or move out of the way from shunting
carriages and engines.
Shut down (Amer. -Eng.). Ceased
from closing the lid of the cash-box.
But Coghill didn't want any more of
the lands at any price. Then Lafayette
tried to get the balance of the money
due in honour to Coghill from Barin' by
selling Baring some more of the lands.
But Baring by this time had got enough
of the lands himself, and shut down.
N. Y. Mercury, 23rd May 1885.
Shut down (Anglo - American).
Forbidden very emphatic form of
opposition.
Dr Oliver and Dr Myrtle what pretty
names ! have ' shut down ' on ' monopole
'
and 'extra dry'. Harrowgate D. N.t
31st August 1883.
Shut up your garret (Street). Hold
your tongue.
Shuvly kouse (Street). Perversion
of public-house. This phrase spread
through London from a police-court
case, in which a half-witted girl used
this phrase.
Sick in 14 languages (American
Marine). Very ill indeed.
Sick man of Europe (Polit., 1853
on). Any reigning sultan of Turkey.
The phrase, as applied to Turkey, is
said to have been given currency by
the Emperor Nicholas I. of Russia.
Conversing in 1853 with Sir George
Hamilton Seymour, the English Ambassador
at St Petersburg, he used the
words :
' We have on our hands a
sick man a very sick man. It will
be a great misfortune if, one of these
days, he should slip away from us
before the necessary arrangements have
been made.'
Side-scrapers (Middle-class London,
1879-82). This was the name given to
the square inch or two of whisker
parallel with the ear which came in
about this time.
Sieve-memory (Peoples' old). Bad
memory.
I pray you, sir, write down these
charms, for I have but a sieve-memory.
All runs through. Garrick, Abel
Drugger.
223
Signed All Over Six-Cornered Oath
Signed all over (Artists'). Said of
a good picture which instantly reveals
its creator in every inch.
Silence -yelper (Thieves"). Usher
in a court of law this word being his
chief shape of speech.
Silly dinner (Soc. , Anglo-American,
1897). Free and easy feasts. Took
its rise in an evasive paraphrase of the
name Seeley. Mr Herbert Barnum
Seeley gave (20th December 1896) a
dinner in New York which was concluded
by a femimine music - hall
entertainment.
Instantly the news of the Seeley dinner
got into the newspapers, Mr Oscar
Hammerstein put a clever burlesque of
the whole business on the stage of
Olympia a music hall in Broadway.
D. T., 28th January 1897.
From this time a doubtful dinner
was spoken of as a Silly one. Became
quite colloquial. 'There will be a
silly snack on Sunday, 11.30,
T. W. B. F.
Silly mop! (Provincial, Rural).
Evasion of silly cow. Said generally
of a stupid woman.
Silver streak (Patriotic). English
Channel.
The silver streak shelters England from
those direct consequences of a great war
on the Continent which might be expected
to overtake France. D. N., 14th
October 1885.
Simnel (Scarborough). Cake of two
kinds set one on the other, and so
baked. The result of an accidental
baking. There is a legend in Scarborough,
however, that this name
refers to the pretender Simnel, and
that this cake was first baked by him
in Henry VII. 's kitchen.
The day was termed ' Mothering
Sunday ', because all children in service
repaired to their homes, taking with
them a spiced cake, called a simnel, to
which quaint ceremony, still observed in
many rural districts, Herrick alludes in
the lines
A simnel also will I bring
'Gainst thou goest a-mothering.
D. T., 16th March 1901.
Simpson v. Hard Simpson.
Singing drolls (Music Hall). Comic
male duettists who invented this title
to distinguish themselves from comic
singers, who were not droll, and who
rarely wore costume. (See Athletic
drolls.)
Singing Spanish (Old Eng.).
Making a wild, crooning noise
probably suggested by the church
services of Queen Mary Tudor's
husband.
Sinjin's Wood (Streets', 1882).
Satirical way of announcing St John's
Wood.
You have tasted the bad lush called
wines from the wood. Well, there is
worse tipple than that, cully the wines
of Sinjin's Wood. They generally run
you in about a dick a bottle.
Sip (Com. Lond. , 19 cent. ). Synonym
for kiss.
Sissies (Soc., 1890 on). Effeminate
men in society.
Sissy men in Society. Powdered,
painted and laced. They swarm at
afternoon teas. Of late, says a London
writer, a certain type of man has become
protuberant a languid, weak-kneed,
vain, and lazy specimen of humanity
who has literally no redeeming points
that can be discovered, and who yet
gives himself all the airs of one to whom
the universe ought to do unquestioning
homage. N* Y. Mercury, May 1893.
Sit down supper (Soc., 1860).
When about this date the medical
press began to agitate against high
feeding, one of the economical results
was the invention of the ' stand up
'
supper, a necessarily thinner meal
than the old ball - banquet. Oldfashioned
people thereupon adopted
this term.
Sitter (Cricket, 1898). Easy catch.
Siwy, Upon my (Common London).
A polite way of taking or making oath
possibly a corruption of asseveration.
I'll not disgrace your toffish lot. I'll
be a great man, upon my sivvy. Cutting,
1882.
(See Thuzzy-muzzy. )
Six buses through Temple Bar
(Peoples', 1840 - 50). Impossibility.
Originated by the celebrated M.P.,
General Thompson.
Everybody who asks the Government
to go on with the Suffrage Bill and the
Seats Bill as one measure, and at one
time, will be committing that great
mistake which our old friend General
Thompson used to describe as being
made by the man who insisted on driving
six omnibuses abreast through Temple
Bar. John Bright, Leeds, 18th October
1883.
Six-cornered oath (Anglo-American).
Complicated swearing.
224
Six Feet above Contradiction Stagger
Since we are going to have German
opera this season, it is high time to
explain that Die Gfotterdammerung is not
a six-cornered German oath, but an
opera. N. Y. Mercury, September 1883.
Six feet above contradiction
(American). Completely imperious.
Six feet and itches (Peoples").
Over six feet. Corruption of inches,
usually written ' ichs ' hence the
word.
Six mile bridge assassins
(Tipperary). Soldiers from the fact
that once upon a time certain rioters
were shot at this spot, not far from
Mallow.
Six of everything ( Workwomen's).
Said by workwomen and workmen's
wives in praise of a girl who marries
with a trousseau meeting the respectable
requirements of this phrase.
Six - monthser (Police). A
stipendiary magistrate of a savage
nature who always gives, where he
can, the full term (six months)
allowed him by law.
Six-quarter men (Cloth Drapers'').
There are two widths of cloth six
quarter and three quarter. The
superior employes are called 'sixquarter
men ' the inferior ' threequarter
men ' a term of contempt.
Sixes, Put on the (Military, 1879).
Small hook curls, hence 'sixes'
gummed by some privates on their
foreheads, and composed of their
forehead hair.
' Ain't the 3rd putting on the sixes,'
said by a private at Dover of another
regiment in reference to the 3rd, whose
colonel allowed this style of hairdressing.
Skalbanker (Paper-makers'). An
outsider paper-maker, one who has not
served seven years to the trade.
Skeleton Army (Street, 1882).
Street fighting. The origin of this term
for fighting in public took its rise about
the end of 1882, when the Skeleton
Army was formed to oppose the extreme
vigour of the early Salvation
Army.
Serious Affray between the Skeleton
and Salvation Armies. A man named
Timothy M'Cartney is at present lying
in the London Hospital suffering from a
severe wound in the back, which he received
from one of the members of the
Skeleton Army. D. N., 10th January
1883.
Skettling (Naval Officers'). Full
dressing.
Ski (Westminster School). Street
Arab, road boy.
Skilamalink (L. London). Secret,
shady, doubtful. If not brought in
by Robson, it was re-introduced by
him at the Olympic Theatre, and in a
burlesque.
Skin-changers (Peoples'). Appertaining
to metamorphosis. It referred,
and refers generally, to the wehr-wolf
throughout Europe.
Lycanthropy (a charming subject) is by
the late Mr J. F. M'Lennan. The wolf
is the animal, as Mr M'Lennan says, into
which European '
skin-changers
' commonly
turn themselves. D. N., 7th
August 1883.
Skinners (Street). Mental torture
figure of speech. From the agony
endured by being flayed alive.
Skins a wicked eye (American).
Evil-looking eye the skinning referring
to the wide opening of the lid.
Skip (Anglo-American, 1870). A
rapid retreat, quick march to avoid
consequences. Also to run away
meanly. (See Bailey, Polka, Valse. )
Skippable (Soc., 1882). To be
avoided from skipping in reading.
Mrs Oliphant's contessa is not so odious
nor quite such a bore as some contessas
we have known, but she is skippable,
too. D. N., 26th December 1884.
Skipper (Criminal, 1870). One
retreating.
Skipper (Military). Naval way of
describing a military captain.
Skivvy (Navy). Japanese equivalent
to rumbo.
Sky -pilot (Naval). Chaplain
brought in about the time of Dibdin
and Tom Bowline. (See Holy Joe,
Devil-dodger. )
While some of the members of the
Congregational Union were enquiring the
way to the hall where refreshments were
served, the doorkeeper shouted in a
stentorian voice :
' Sky - pilots' beanfeast
\'D. T., 4th October 1895.
Skying a copper (Peoples', 1830
on). Making a disturbance upsetting
the apple-cart. From Hood's poem,
A Report from, Below, to which this
title was popularly given until it absolutely
dispossessed the true one.
Slagger (Low Life). Fellow who
keeps a house of accommodation.
225
Slam Small and Early
Slam (American passing to England}.
To skurry or chevy, probably
from the vigour displayed in slamming
a door.
Slam - slam (Anglo-Indian}. To
salute taken from Eastern salaam.
Slanging (Music Hall, 1880). This
is a term for singing, and is due to the
quantity of spoken slang between the
verses.
Slap (Theatrical). Paint used in
creating a stage complexion. Probably
from its being liberally and literally
slapped on.
Slated (London Hospital, 19 cent.).
To die. Visitors to their relations and
friends in hospital are only admitted
on certain days until a patient is
doomed, when he is 'slated' that is
to say, his name is placed on the doorporter's
slate, in order that his relations
and friends may mention his
name, and obtain entrance to the hospital
at any reasonable hour.
Slaughter-house (Thieves'). Name
for the Surrey Sessions-house. (See
Steel, X.'s hall, jug.)
Sleeps like a top (Old English).
From taupe a mole, which is practically
always in bed.
Slice off (Military). Paying part of
an old score.
'Slife (Ancient). Catholic exclamation
His life. (See Odd's my life.)
Slightly tightly (Fast Life). Bemused
with beer ; not drunk.
Sling a slobber (Low Life). To
kiss, or rather sling a kiss the salute
itself being the slobber.
Sling hook (Peoples'). Dismissal.
From the mining districts. Refers to
a hooked bag which is hung up in
dressing - room, and contains such
things as the miner does not require
down the shaft. When dismissed the
miner removes his hooked bag, and
takes it away.
Sling in (American now English,
1860). Very common American verb
to recommend action.
'
Sling in your feet ', said to a breakdown
dancer.
'
Sling us in something hot in your rag ',
said to a newspaper critic.
Sling joints (American). Gain a
living rather by physical than mental
effort.
Sling over (Soc. , from Amer.). To
embrace emphatically.
Sling your body (Low. London).
Dance with vigour.
Slipper (Tailors'). Sixpence.
Slippery or slippy (Marine).
Active.
Sloan, To (Peoples', 1899).
Hamper, baulk, cut. A word that
lasted only as long as a summer's
leaves. From an American jockey
(Archer), who, riding a French horse
(Holocaust) in the Derby this year,
attempted to slant him across the
course inside Tottenham corner and
hamper the race. It was a fearless
trick, invented by Archer at the risk
of his life one that Sloan imitated at
the expense of his horse's life.
When the rider of a mare named Nursemaid
finished d la Sloan, the Devonshire
labourer expressed his mingled surprise
and admiration at the daring of the feat.
D. T., 12th August 1899.
Slop-made (Australian). Disjointed.
Slosh the burick (Common London
Life}. Beating the wife.
Slosh the old gooseberry (Low.
London). Beat the wife.
Sloshiety paper (Press, 1883). A
satiric imitative, equivalent to Society
paper invented to attack the '
sloshy'
gushing tendency of these prints.
Sloshing around (American).
Hitting out indiscriminately.
Slow (Cricketting). Slow ball.
Slow curtain (Theatrical). Curtain
lowered gradually.
Slug (Thieves'). Hard drive of the
fist into a face. Probably an onomatope.
Slumming (Soc., 1883). Visiting
the poorest parts or slums of a city
with a view to self-improvement.
The results of a little experiment,
which has been tried with the kindly
consent of the Benchers of the Inner
Temple, are well worth the attention of
people who interest themselves in what
is cynically called 'slumming'. D. N.,
August 1884.
Slung (Art Students'}. Rejected
probably derived from rhyme to hung.
Slush (Com. People}. Coffee and
tea served in common coffee-house.
Small and early (Soc., 1877). A
carpet dance to which only a few intimates
are invited. It is begun about
eight and ends about eleven.
The Earl of Northbrook had a dinnerparty
at his official residence yesterday.
226
Smash a Brandy Peg Snapping your Head Off
A small and early party assembled after
dinner. D. N., 6th March 1884.
Smash a brandy peg (Military,
1880), Drink the spirit in question.
Abdullah Bey would smash a brandy peg
with any one of us, and on the present
occasion quaffed his laager beer like a
stolid old Dutchman. D. N., 7th May
1884.
Smash the teapot (Street}. Break
the abstinence pledge.
Smash-up (Military, 1854 on).
Defeat.
Every one who was present at the
' smash-up
' and victory at Tamai used
to say that no battle like it would again
be witnessed in the Soudan. D. N,,
28th January 1885.
Smashed (Navy). Reduced in rank.
Smell hell through a gridiron
(American). Reference to drinkmadness.
Smell the foot -lamps (Historic
survival}. Stage-struck ; but in many
ways referring to the stage. Of course
referring to the whale oil lamps used
as the foot-lamps, where candles could
not be conveniently snuffed.
Smilence (Peoples'). Word - disguising
with a suggested point.
Smilence, ladies, if you please.
Smithereens, Smither's ruins
(Irish). Destruction. 'Faith, I was
smashed entirely into smithereens.'
May be an Irish word, but .probably
corruption of ' Smither's ruins ' as
typical of complete smash. Though
who Smithers may have been seems
not t* be known.
Smoke-waggons ( W. American-
English, 1890). Revolvers pistols.
They certainly do carry condensed
smoke.
Smoker (Social, 1878). Club or
corps concert, where the members
sing, play, and smoke, and, as a rule,
recite.
Upon Mr A. D. Sturley and Mr M. G.
Dearin devolved the pleasant duty of
presiding at the ' smoker '. D. T.,
February 1894.
Smoking (School). Blushing.
Smole (Word disguise). A grotesque
variation of smile.
S'mother evening (Music Hall
1884). Cynical refusal.
Among the items was Roberts's song,
' S'mother evening '. Ref., 7th June
1885.
227
Smothering a parrot (French).
Draining a glass of absinthe neat.
Derived from the green colour of the
absinthe.
Smouge (American-English, 1880),
To steal probably Dutch.
While grace is being said at the table,
children should know that it is a breach
of good breeding to smouge fruit-cakes
just because their parents' heads are
bowed down. American Comic Etiquette
for Children, 1882.)
Snaggle-tooth (Street). Woman of
lower order, generally a shrew, who,
lifting her upper lip when scolding,
shows an irregular row of teeth.
Snake out (Amer.-Eng., 1835-40).
Hunt down. From rattle-snake hunting.
Now dead in U.S.A. cities,
where the force of the verb is lost.
Comes from early settlers. Heard
sometimes in rural England.
The present is a fair opportunity to
snake Thompson out. Proclamation,
Boston 1835, against the English Abolitionist,
Mr George Thompson, then visiting
America.
Snakes (Anglo-American). Drinkmadness
delirium tremens.
Snakes (Eng.-American, 19 cent.).
Danger.
Mr Cluer asked if anybody was chasing
the prisoner when he cried out,
'
They're
after me '
?
The witness replied in the negative. Mr Cluer : Then I suppose he saw
snakes. D. T., 2nd January 1900.
Snakes alive (American). Much
worse than snakes.
Snaky (A merican Backwoods).
Evidently suggested by the backwoodsman
associating untruth with
the doubtful and uncertain behaviour
of the serpent.
Snakes also have the vice of developing
mendacity in the human race so conspicuously
that in the Far West '
snaky
'
is the term applied to a tale more vivid
than probable. D. N., 19th February
1883.
Snap-manager (Anglo-American).
One who hurries a company together.
A snap-manager in Canada lately exemplified
the ultimate of check by asking
James Herne to loan him his lithographs
to advertise the playing of a filched copy
of flerne's Heart of Oak '.
Snapping your head off (Society,
19 cent.). Brusqueness of manner.
Anthony Trollope seemed a singularly
gruff and ponderous personage, rather
Snapping Soccer
blundering in converse, and slightly addicted
to 'snapping your head off' if
you differed from him. Illustrated
London News (G. A. Sala), 16th December
1882.
Snapping (Colliers'). Eating very
good suggestion of hungry man devouring.
Snappy (Soc,, 1893 on). Attractive.
Applied in all ways.
I must sand you a few lines to tell you
to take care of yourself, and be a good
little boy, and keep out of mischief. I
am going to keep the spotted jersey, and
it looks quite snappy. D. T., 4th July
1895.
Sneaking-budge (Thieves').
Shop-lifting. (See Fielding, Jonathan
Wild.)
Snide and shine (E. London).
General description of the common
Jews of the East of London by their
Christian brethren. Both words bear
the same meaning, but taken together
are most emphatic.
Snide - sparkler ( Trade Jewish
Jewellers'). False diamond.
Snippety (Literature, 1890 on).
Journals made up of snippings from
other and generally ancient journals.
Used satirically. From the noise
made by scissors in the operation of
editing.
Men-folk may buy the '
snippety' publications,
but this fact never appears to
deter women from getting copies for
themselves. D. T., 2nd October 1896.
Snossidge (Commonest London,
1880). A nonsense mode of pronouncing
'
sausage '.
Snubber (Public school).
Reprimand.
Snuff a bloke's candle (Thieves'
English, 18 cent.). To murder a man.
S'elp me, Bob (Pre-reformation).
Corruption of ' So help me, Babe '. An
appeal to the mediation of the infant
Saviour. Following the rule of peoples'
colloquial, which always finds a new
meaning for an exploded word, Bob has
here been substituted. Some writers
insist upon Bob being the diminutive
of Robert, a policeman as though the
classes using such a phrase as this
would ask assistance from the nearest
constituted authority?
The City coppers can't leave the poor
costers alone. It riles the coppers, s'elp
me bob, to see a cove trying to get an
honest living. Cutting, 1883.
228
S'elp me greens (Pre-reformation).
' So help me, groans
'
groans being
aids to repentance after the manner of
Jeremiah. To-day the word has a very
remarkable meaning 'may I lose the
attributes of masculine vigour if I am
diverging from the line of rectitude.'
A close study of Balzac's Vautrin will
throw much probable light upon
phrases of this kind.
Here's a nice little story, and it's all
true, s'elp me greens. 1883.
S'elp me never (Modern Low
London). Meaning, probably,
' May
God never help me if I lie now '
'Never', however, may be a corruption
of a distinct word.
So and so (Military). Short for
Senior Ordnance Store Officer.
So'brien (Mariners'). Corruption
of Sobraon, a well-known favourite
Australian steam-ship, named after
one of Wellington's victories. Good
example of anglicizing.
So glad (London, 1867 on). Catch
word from William Brough's Field of
the Cloth of Gold.
His song is as likely to take the town
as the French King's catch phrase, 'So
glad ', which was all over London twenty
years ago. D. T., June 1867.
So long v. Aspect.
So very human (Soc., 1880).
Apology, originally for conduct, but
applied finally in so many ways that it
fell into disuse 1884.
An attempt to exclude foreign material
would in all probability be met by
retaliatory measures. This would not
be a wise policy on the part of other
countries, but then it would be, in the
slang of the day, 'so very human'.
D. N., 27th October 1884.
Soaked the mill (American). Sold
all his property through drink.
Soap. Girls. (See Bits o' soap.)
Soccer (Oxford Football, 1880 on).
Association football saves three
syllables.
'Soccer', however, is an excellent
example of Oxford minting, whether or
not she can claim the credit of its invention.
For the rule is as follows : Take
any word in common use ; knock the end
off and add 'er'. If it should sound
acceptable, it suffers no further mult ation.
If it is still harsh and cacophonous,
see what it will look like by striking off
its head and the casual removal of an
intermediate syllable. All these proSocial
E. Souvenir'd
cesses appear to have been gone through
in order to produce ' Soccer ' from
Association. Rugby was more fortunate.
It had only a tail to lose. D. T., 14th
August 1899. (-See Rugger.)
Social E. (Mid. -class, 19 cent.).
Evasion of social evil.
Society (Artisans'). A synonym
for workhouse.
Society journal (Soc., 1878).
Evasive name for a scandal-publishing
newspaper.
It seems that Mr Legge is the proud
inventor of the phrase Society Journal,
and he may further plume himself on
having rendered it much the same service
as Hyperbolus performed for ostracism.
Probably no paper will be ambitious of
the title Society Journal after the
account which Mr Legge gave in the witness-
box of the way in which the business
is conducted. Sat. Rev., 21st March
1885.
Society journalist (Press, 1875). A
contributor to the Society Journal.
Society maddists (Soc., 1881).
Term to describe people not born in
society, who devote their whole lives,
and often fortunes, to get into society.
Sodgeries (London, 1890). Latest
outcome of fisheries, colindries, etc.
Started by Punch (April 1880). A
Military Exhibition, Chelsea Barracks.
Soft sawder to order (Anglo-
Amer. ). Tailor's clothes ordered and
not ready made.
There is a fine opportunity
rlessly erei
for any
pulpit, and tell a few truths to those
eminent personages whose preachers
supply them regularly with soft-sawder
to order. Entr'acte, 7th April 1883.
Soldier's farewell (Garrison).
1 Go to bed ', with noisy additions.
Soldier's supper (Garrison).
Nothing at all tea being the final
meal of the day.
Some (Anglo-American). Is this
word or not a pun ? The question put
' Are you an American ?
' he will reply
'Some, sir'. Is this sum, Sam, or
some, used with satire for out and out ?
Some pumpkins (American
farmers'). Considerable importance.
Some when (Soc., 1860-70). Some
time.
Some one has blundered (Soc.,
1860 on). Emphatic yet evasive mode
of complaint. From Tennyson's Charge
of the Light Brigade.
I am sure the Lord Mayor will be very
229
sorry to learn that on this occasion some
one has blundered. Ref., 5th July 1885.
Something in the city (Peoples').
Evasive suggestion of doubtfulness as
to the person spoken of.
(Something) please (Amer.-Eng.).
Substitution of ' dam-well '
please.
We cannot all go to learn English
accent and style in Boston or New York,
and must try to be intelligible without
hoping to be accurate or elegant. We
are told not to say
' above his strength
*
,
but ' beyond his strength '. We shall do
as we (something) please, to quote
another Transatlantic authority. D. N.,
16th April 1885.
Sooper ( Theatrical). Common pronunciation
of *
super', contraction of
supernumerary, the name given to the
rank and file of a theatrical company.
Sossidge - slump (Polit., 1896).
Failure derived from sossidge (a
German), and slump (failure or pay-out
of a mine-vein), and referred to the
telegram of the Emperor of Germany
in January, to President Kruger,
congratulating him on repulsing Dr
Jameson's raid. This telegram made
the Germans unpopular, and caused
German trade in England to fall off
woefully.
Soul -faker (Peoples', 1883). One
of the early names given to the
Salvationists before their value was
in any way recognized.
Souper and slang (Thieves').
Watch and chain. Probably the first
word is soup-plate from the once huge
size of the watch, while the second
may be a wilful corruption of sling,
because the old long chain, worn round
the neck would habitually sling about
a great deal.
Soupy (Low Peoples'). Drank to
sickness.
Soured on, To be (Anglo-
American). To dislike thoroughly.
South Chicago rough (U.S.A.).
Typical rough of American cities.
Souvenir egg (American). Ancient
specimen hence cogency of ' souvenir '
always associated with time which an
egg should never possess.
Souvenir'd (Theatrical). Gratis
picture or pamphlet, celebrating a
centenary, or bicentenary, or even a
tercentenary of a new piece or variety
show.
First anniversary of The New Boy at
Sovereign not in It Spilled in the Big Drink
the Vaudeville next Thursday, when all
the audience will be magnificently
' souvenired ' as the Americans now say.
Ref. t 17th February 1895.
Sovereign not in it (Nautical).
Jaundiced said of a man whose complexion
has suffered from yellow fever
or other illness which leaves the skin
chromy.
Spangle (Theatrical, 19 cent.). A
sovereign.
Spank the kids (Common London).
Figurative way of describing bad
temper. (See On his ear.)
Spark (Peoples'). Man of fashion.
Now and again heard in country places.
Still very common in U.S.A., where it
comes from Carolian times. Then
chiefly used as a verb ' to spark
about' equal to our once common,
'To beau about'. Evidently a figure
of speech derived from the brilliancy
and movement of a fire spark. Used
as verb by Spenser,
' In her eyes the
fire of love doth spark.' In Prior's
time it was quite commonly used in
place of beau. He says
' The finest
sparks, and cleanest beaux.' Dryden
has ' A spark like thee, of the mankilling
trade, fell sick.' Farquhar
( The Inconstant) says :
' Then the ideas
wherewith the mind is preoccupate
but this subject is not agreeable to you
sparks, that profess the vanity of the
times.
Sparrer (Dustman's) (Sparrow).
Finds in dust-bins generally silver
spoons, thimbles, etc.
I give you my word, sir, that I had
never stole in a regler sort of way, I
mean as much as a sixpence in my life.
Course I had took plenty o' sparrers,
but that you'll own is different. James
Greenwood, D. T., 19th October 1895.
Speak (Lower People). To court,
or make love.
Speak a piece (American). Recite.
This phrase was taken, especially by
Artemus Ward, from the schoolboy's
way of referring to his own oratory.
Speak brown to-morrow (Pure
Cockney, 1877). To get sunburnt.
(See Can't you feel the shrimps, Taste
the sun, See the breeze. )
Spellken (Thieves', 18 and early 19
cent.). Cock-pit.
Booze in the ken, or at the spellken
hustle. Byron, Don Juan, canto xi.,
stanza xix.
Sperrib (Middle-class, Loud.}. Wife
of his bosom. Corruption of spare-rib,
and derived from the legend of the
creation of Eve.
Speshul! (Street, 1884-85). Lie.
During the Soudan War the afternoon
and evening papers were perpetually
issuing special editions with extravagant
news, rarely repeated in the
next morning's editions.
Sphere of influence (Diplomatic,
1898). Nascent colony, range of
country under a foreign eye, which so
far has no real locus standi. Came
out of the abortive scramble for China
(1897-1900).
A rumour is current that France has
offered the Pekin Government to suppress
the revolt, considering the southern
provinces within her sphere of influence.
D. T., 14th July 1898.
Spieler (Australasia, 1890 on).
Swindler.
Spieler, it would appear, is the Antipodean
synonym for the professional
swindler, whose business and pleasure
it is to take in his fellow-man, to
whom he contemptuously applies the
feneric
term 'mug'. D. T., 14th July
897.
Spierpon orchestra (Soc., 1885 on).
Public restaurant musical. This is
Spiers and Pond, and the transmutation
was due to a French musical
conductor, who converted his employers'
names into Spiere et Pon.
Criterion. Grand Hall, 3s. 6d. Dinner,
at separate tables, 6 to 9, accompanied
by the celebrated Spierpon Orchestra.
D. T., 8th October 1894.
Spill (Jovial). Drink.
Spill and pelt (Theatrical, 1830,
etc.). The name given to the practical
fun at the end of each scene in the
comic portion of a pantomime. Supers
rush on with rnock vegetables, meat,
poultry, fish, etc., spill them all, and
then pelt them at each other and
altogether off the stage.
Spill milk against posts (Lowest
Class). Extreme condemnation of the
habits of the man spoken of.
Spilled in the big drink (American-
English). Drowned in the Atlantic.
(See Ditch.)
Zeus threw a thunderbolt at the rock,
and, as the American says, Ajax was
'
spilled in the drink '. D. N. 8th
August 1884.
230
Spin Square Up-and-Down Man
Spin (Anglo - Indian, 1800 - 50).
Short for spinster the brigades of
unmarried and poor young ladies who
once went out habitually to India for
husbands.
Spin a cuff (Navy). Bore a mess
with a long, pointless story, which the
narrator is finally, as a rule, recommended
to cut.
Spin the bat (Anglo-Indian, 19
cent.). Used figuratively for remarkable
military language.
Spit amber (Amer., 1870). To
expectorate while chewing tobacco.
Spits on his hands (American).
Goes to work with a will suggested
by this habit on the part of energetic
workmen when about to start work.
Splinters fly (American Pastoral).
Riot derived from the kicking experiments
of the mule.
Split (Low London). Souteneur.
Split soda (Tavern, 1860 on). A
bottle of soda water divided between
two guests. The 'baby' soda is for
' one r
client
Sponge it out (Anglo-Amer. , 1883).
Forget it.
A new phrase is destined to become
popular, viz. :
' Sponge it out '.N. Y.
Mercury, November 1883.
Spoof oof (Theat., 1896). Money.
Mr Shine sings of Mashonaland, the
land of British spoof, where the niggers
do the digging and the white men get
the ' oof '.People, 16th February 1896.
Spooferies (L. Peoples', 1888 on).
Sporting clubs of an inferior kind.
About half-past one this morning I
was in the '
Spooferies '. Where ? In
the 'Spooferies' in Maiden Lane. People,
6th January 1895.
Spoon, Big (Amer.). An oath
the origin of which is lost. Sometimes
' By the great horn spoon '.
Probably Biblical.
Rolling roll hold on ! By the big
spoon you've hit it !
Spooning the burick (Thieves').
Making love to a friend's wife.
Spoony stuff (London Theatres',
1882). Weak, sentimental work,
below contempt.
Sport (Anglo-American, 19 cent.).
Eccentric, physical aberration, chiefly
relating to human beings.
It is still undeniable that a child who
is not interested in animals, especially of
the larger and wilder species, must be
wanting in some of the most graceful
and endearing instincts of the childish
nature. Such infantile 'sports', however,
are happily rare. D. T., 29th
December 1896.
Sportsman for liquor (Sporting,
1882). A fine toper.
We never knew what a sportsman
Algernon Charles Swinburne was for his
liquor till we took up his last volume of
poems. Sporting Times, 1882.
Spot winner (Sport and People).
Lucky, or capable perhaps both.
From racing spotting meaning
judgment.
Some of them may have 'spotted
winners ', and were perhaps reflecting
pleasurably on a success which they felt
to be much more due to their own sound
judgment than to mere good luck.
D. T., 14th June 1898.
Spotted dog (Street Boys'). Plain
plum-pudding spotted dough. The
dog here is one of the pronunciations
of dough the 'h' being removed and
the ' g
' made hard.
Spotted duff (Street, 19 cent.).
Another shape of spotted dog. Duff
has always been a street pronunciation
of ' dough '.
Spotted leopard (Street Boys').
Another variety of spotted dog.
A penny's worth of spotted leopard is
not a bad way of filling up the space of
the internals, though spotted leopard
may make you have to squander some
rhino in pongelow. 1883.
Spout (Peoples'). Large mouth
ever open. (See Boko.)
Spread (Anglo - American). Take
great, self - satisfied aims in doing
anything.
Spring like a ha'penny knife
(Peoples'). Floppy, dumpy, no
resilience from the absolute want of
Sheffield perfection in the make of
pen-knives at sixpence the dozen.
Sprung up (Middle - class). A
parvenu in the nature of a readymade
or self-made man.
Spurrings ( Yorkshire Old).
Marriage banns. Origin vague; but
ominously suggestive of the bridegroom
being goaded to the churchdoor.
Square (Ball-room). A quadrille
or lancers. (See Round. )
Square up-and-down man (Amer.).
Square-shouldered, upright, tall man,
with no fat or superfluous flesh about
him.
231
Squash Stand
Squash (Club and Hotel, 1877). A
temperance drink of lemon, soda-water,
ice, and sugar came into fashion during
a panic against spirits and, in
modified form, against wine. Onomatope,
from the noise made by pressing
the lemon.
By ten P.M., at the latest, you may be
in the smoking-room of your club sipping
lemon 'squash'. lllus. London News
(G. A. Sala), 17th February 1883.
Squash ballads (Peace Party).
Ballads prompting war and personal
devotion.
The new laureate has started off on a
squash ballad apropos to Jameson's stirup.
London Correspondent of N. Y.
Clipper, January 1896.
Squasho (American pasting into
land). Negro a title probably
resulting from the negro's love of
melons, pumpkins, squashes, etc.
Squat (Com. London). A seat
probably derived from squatter.
Squat on (American). To oppose.
Squeaker, The (Press, '90 's). Burlesque
name given to the paper called
The Speaker a, journal of representative
Radicalism.
Squealer (Fenian, 1867, etc.). Informer.
Squeejee (Streets'). Mud -clearer;
plate of vulcanized india-rubber fixed
at right angles to a long handle.
Onomatope the cleaner in question
actually saying the word now and
again.
We were more than once awakened by
the avalanche of the deck bucket and
the noise of sandpaper and 'squeejee '.
D. N., 27th April 1897.
Squeezability (Polit., 1884). Political
pressure. Word invented long
since, but only accepted politically
about 1884.
They could not realise the change
which the Franchise Act had made in
the counties ; or they believed too implicitly
in the squeezability of the
newly - enfranchized electors. D. N.,
3rd December 1885.
Squeeze-box (Navy). The ship
harmonium used in the hasty Sunday
service. From the action of the
feet.
Squilde (L. Class, 1895-96). Term
of street chaff. Word designed from
a Christian name and a surname
hangs about the market with a paltry
order, and who will not deal fairly.
Squirt (L. Class, 18 cent.). Doctor.
Very suggestive of Moliere in general,
and of Le Malade Imaginaire in particular.
Squirt (Doubtful Soc., 1870). One
of the onomatopoetic titles of champagne
suggested by its uppishness.
Stable Jack (Infantry). Cavalry
a scornful description, as intimating
that the miserable man has incessantly
to be the slave of his horse, an
oppression from which the happier infantry
man is free. (See Jack Tar,
Jack in the water, Jack of all trades,
Hulking Jack, Dona Jack. )
Stable mind (Soc.). Devoted to
horses.
Stage, To (American, 1860). To
stage a piece is to put a piece on the
stage.
Stagger (American, 1883). Effort.
Staked out (Mining, 1880 on).
Divided, measured.
When the first discovery of gold was
made at Klondyke, in August 1896, the
creek was staked off from end to end in
claims D. T., 21st July 1897.
Stalked unchecked (American origin).
Freed from the attentions of
the criminal classes. Satirically said
to have been invented by a West
U.S.A. criminal upon being about to
be lynched, and in reference to the
villain public, who moved around him
without being ordered by him to hold
i T 1 f *
Squint (S. Exchange). Man who
The thieving and ruffianism of Moscow
took its country holiday ; and at the
Coronation and its attendant festivities
respectability, in the bitter words of the
Western American desperado, 'stalked
unchecked '. D. T., 29th April 1897.
Stall off (Peoples'). Damp, impede,
hinder, warn.
Stall-pots (Theatrical). Occupants
of the stalls. Applied by the gods
derisively to these well-dressed patrons
of the drama.
Stalwarts (Conservatives', 1886).
Satirical name for Radicals, used by
Mr Chamberlain seriously ; accepted
satirically by Conservative party.
Stamps (Thieves'). Boots a sort
of onomatope.
Stand ( Colloquial all Classes). Pay
for only used in a general way for
drink or eatables.
232
Stand Pat Stem-Winder
Stand pat (American, 1860). Satisfied.
Taken from a game of cards
called poker.
' Stand pat
'
means, ' I
have got sufficient cards go ahead !'
Stand-up supper (Society, 1860).
About this date the '
stand-up
' ball
supper came into vogue probably as
the result of modern medical condemnation
of late feeding. Necessarily
more economical than its antithesis
the sit-down supper. It took immensely,
so that very rapidly the term
came to suggest anything of a mean
and paltry character.
Star company (Theatrical). A
wandering dramatic company, composed
of one well-known person and
a number of nobodies, all of whom
appear in but one piece, as a rule,
with which they travel.
A popular local leading lady writes for
information regarding a Mr Henry C.
Warren, of Troy, N. Y., who is alleged
to load recognized actresses with propositions
to take them starring next season.
N. Y. Mercury, February 1884.
Stars and stripes (New fork).
Contemptuous phrase applied by the
younger New York society to the
Puritanic habits still clinging to New
England, and above all to Boston.
It refers to the solemn Sunday cold
dinner of the ' hub ' of the universe,
which distinctively consists or did
consist of cold boiled belly of pork
(stripes) and Boston beans (stars).
New Englanders are proud of their
national dish of pork and beans, eaten
cold on Sundays in Boston, and derisively
called ' stars and stripes
' in New
York. D. N., 13th July 1883.
Start a jolly (Theatre and Music
Hall). To lead the applause, and
effect a diversion in favour of a given
performer.
State tea (Soc., 1870). Tea at
which every atom of the family plate is
exhibited. Name probably suggested
by State ball. (See Five o'clock tea.)
States can be saved without it
(Pol., 1880). Condemnation. Origin
not known.
In short, Mr Stephenson may be advised
to take away SSverine. States can
be saved without it.Ref., 10th May
1885.
Stay and be hanged (Peoples').
Still hard amongst lower middle-class.
Probably started by Captain Macheath
(Beggars' Opera) :
' If you doubt it, let
me stay and be hanged.'
Steal thunder (Soc., Hist.). Annexing
another man's idea, or work,
without remunerating him, and to
your own advantage. Said to be derived
from
John Dennis, a play-writer in the 17th
century, who invented stage thunder for
a piece of his own which failed. But the
manager translated Dennis's thunder into
another piece. It was highly applauded,
when Dennis started up in the pit, and
cried out to the audience :
' They won't
act my piece, but they steal my thunder.
Hence the origin of the phrase.
Steam on the table (Workmen's,
18 cent. on). Boiled joint generally
steaming, on Sunday.
Steel v. Bastile.
Steeple Jack (Builders'). Climber
of steeples and shafts for fixing scaffolding
when repairs are required.
Steeplechase (Sporting and Soc.).
Direct line, defying and overcoming
all obstructions.
Mr Fowler was one of the oldest inhabitants
of Aylesbury, not forgetful of the
historic cross-country ride to Aylesbury
church-steeple from Waddesdon Windmill,
which gave the name to the very
modern sport called steeplechasing. I
apprehend that the name of steeplechase
arose from Aylesbury Church steeple
being the goal of the famous race, in
which Mr Peyton acted as starter, the
Marquis of Waterford, of facetious
memory was nearly drowned, Jem
Mason finished third with Prospero, and
Captain Beecher won on Vivian. D. N.,
13th July 1885.
Steever's worth of copper (Streets',
E. Lond.). One penny from Stuyver.
Stellar (American-Eng., 1884 on).
Leading Latin shape of '
starring
' in
relation to acting.
William Terriss and Miss Millward, of
London, and their company made their
stellar debtit at Niblo's garden to a tolerably
good attendance. N. Y. Mercury,
October 1889.
Stellardom (Anglo American
Theatrical). The condition of being
a star, or leading actor or actress.
Impossible to form a company of actors
and actresses who have not sought the
divorce courts, and who do not aspire to
stellardom. N. Y. Mercury, November
1883.
Stem -winder (American Liverpool).
Keyless watch.
233
Steps Stote-an'-Bottle
Steps (Low. London, 19 cent.}.
Thick slices of bread and butter, overlaying
each other on a plate thus
suggesting the idea of a flight of steps.
Stern ambition (City. 1898). Determination.
Brought in by Mr H.
Bottomley in speech (1st June 1889) :
I will invite you to pass the necessary
resolutions for getting the Market Trust
out of the trouble into which it has got,
and out of which it will be my own very
stern ambition, as well as that of my
colleagues, to extricate you at the very
earliest possible moment.
Stick a bust (Thieves', 19 cent.).
Commit a burglary.
Mr Paul Taylor : What were his exact
words?
Witness: I am going to 'stick a
bust. '
Mr Paul Taylor: What does that
mean ?
Detective-sergeant Fitzgerald : Commit
a burglary. D. T., 28th December
1899.
Stick and bangers (Sporting).
Billiard cue and balls. A phrase
having also an erotic meaning.
S t i c k i n g s (Lower Peoples' ) .
Butchers' cuttings laid on a board, to
which they clammily cling. (See
Door and hinge, Hyde Park railings.)
Sticks (Navy and Army).
Drummer.
Still (Anglo - American). Quiet
drunkard.
Still as a mouse (Peoples', 18 cent.).
Quite still. But a mouse is never
still ! Good example of a bad translation.
No doubt from the half-Dutch
Court of William III. Mr Rees
(U.S.A.) says very keenly :
Expressive of noiseless action. The
Dutch phrase is evidently its origin :
AIs stille als in rn.ee hose, i.e., as still as
one in his stockings a listener.
Or it may be,
' Still as Amos '
though what Amos is beyond ken.
Still he is not happy (London,
1870 on). Satire shot at a man whom
nothing pleases or satisfies.
In 1870, a catch phrase used by Mr J.
L. Toole in a burlesque at the Gaiety
Theatre,
' Still I am not happy', enjoyed
for some months considerable acceptance
among sportive youths in the metropolitan
thoroughfares. D. T., 28th July
1894.
Stilton (Peoples', 1850 on). Distinction.
Synonym for cheese (see).
She was the real Stilton, I can tell
yer.
(See Cheshire.)
Stinker (Working Boys'). Penny
cigars. Frequently so named in
taverns. Also the most emphatic
term for the high - smelling dried
herring.
Stir-about (Peoples'}. Pudding or
porridge made by stirring the ingredients
generally oatmeal or wheatflour
when cooking. (See Hasty
pudding and Turn-round pudding.)
Stir up (Peoples'). Equivalent to
beat up in society. To visit on the
spur of the moment.
Stolypin's necktie (Europ. Politics,
1897). The final halter. This term
was brought into fashion in 1907
(Nov. -Dec.), at a Duma then recently
assembled in St Petersburg. One
Rodicheff, an extreme Radical, brought
in the term on 30th November 1907.
Stone and a beating (Sporting, 18
cent.). The speaker offers to weight
himself with 14 Ibs. avoirdupois, and
then outrun his opponent.
Canis vulpis is, as a rule, able to give,
intellectually speaking, and in language
germane to the matter,
' a stone and a
beating
' to the majority of his pursuers.
D. N., 4th February 1885.
Stop-gap (Theatr.). Piece rushed
on between a failure and the production
of a carefully-prepared new piece
or new arrival.
After the first act The Denhams was
well received, the adaptor receiving a
call ; but, except as a stop-gap, we do
not think it will prove of much service to
the management. Re/., 21st February
1885.
Stop -gap administration (Polit.,
1885). The Conservative Government
formed June 1885. Name given by
Mr J. Chamberlain (17th June 1885).
Stork, Visit from the (Soc., 1880
on). Arrival of a baby. From the
German.
She was in the habit of receiving visits
from the Stork as the Germans put it
to the children by which it is meant
that she occasionally presented her
husband with an infant. D. T., 15th
February 1897.
Stote-an'-bottle (N. York Theatre).
Audience who neither applaud nor
laugh. Probably corruption from
Dutch.
We had but a stote-an'-bottlish crowd
last night.
234
Stow Stuffed Monkey
Stow (Streets'}. Abbreviation of
bestow.
Strad (Musicians'). Abbreviation
of Stradivarius violin.
Straight (Theatr.).
In the United States the expression
'straight* is very generally used in
theatrical circles to signify a part in
which the actor or actress has but to be
him or herself upon the stage.
Straight as they make 'em (London
Streets, from America). Upright
and honest.
Straight bit o' goods (Streets', 1870
on). A young woman of good character.
(See Loose bit o' goods.)
Straight drinking (Low. London,
19 cent.). Drinking without sitting
down bar-drinking.
Straight up and down the mast
(Irish). Calm. An Irish sailor's way
of describing a calm when the mast
is fairly perpendicular.
Strapped (Amer. ). Without money
possibly suggested by the impossibility
of removing when without money,
as when strapped and bound.
Straps (Streets'). Sprats. One of
the rhyming shapes of passing English.
Street yelp (Low. Class, 1884).
Evolution of passing street cry, such
as ' Walker ',
' Does your mother know
you're out?' Every few weeks some
new street yelp is invented, and eagerly
taken up as a substitute for wit by
the class that enjoys these things.
Stretch (Navy). Outstay leave.
Stretch his breeches (Peoples').
Said of a boy who has been thrashed.
It comes down from the time when the
tight leather breech might be fairly
said to be stretched when flattened.
Stretcher, The (Irish). Layer out
of dead men.
Stretching (Anglo-American, 1895).
Helping oneself at table without the
help of servants.
Strict Q.T. (Peoples', 1870). The
letters being the first and last of
'
quiet '. The phrase is an invocation
to secrecy.
Strike (Anglo-Amer.). To come
across a person, or thing.
Strike a bargain (Sporting, 18
cent.). To conclude it by the act of
striking the butt ends of the riding
whips of the seller and buyer as a
mutual agreement equal to the
stipulation of the Roman buyer and
seller, who exchanged straws.
In the end I agreed to charge him
26s. per week, and we then struck the
bargain.
Strike a bright (Peoples'). Have a
happy thought.
Strike legislation (Amer. -Eng. t
1897). Enforced bribery of legislators
the pressure being applied by the
legislators themselves to burke enquiries.
'
Sir, this is not fair trading ;
it is nothing less than strike legislation.'
Known slightly in England.
Strike me pink (Soc., 18 cent. on).
Literally an exclamation to declare
truthfulness. Cover me with my own
blood. Sometimes God, etc. From
duelling times when to pink was not
so much to pierce as to draw blood.
Strike oil (American becoming
English). To be successful. 'I've
struck oil at last.' This expression
comes from the paraffin districts of
North America, where sometimes
numerous expensive artesian borings
are made without the least success.
Strike us up a gum tree (Low.
London). Bring to grief.
Yes, and strike us up a gum tree, she
says, if you won't give her sardines and
bloaters for her tea instead of winkles
she'll go back to her old man. 1850.
Australian probably meaning
' terrible '. The gum tree is enormously
high, 100 feet of clear, smooth
trunk without a branch, so that a man
up a gum tree could not descend
without help.
Stricken field (Soc., 1898). Field
where' lie the vanquished. Term
found in several poets. Re-introduced
upon the fall of Omdurman in the
autumn of this year.
Colonel Holden's happy idea of
organizing in the museum of the Royal
United Service Institution an exhibition
of the trophies brought home from ' the
stricken field
' of Omdurman has brought
a vast number of visitors to see the
collection. D. T., 25th November 1898.
Struguel (Peoples'). Struggle.
Stuck up (American - English).
Moneyless very figurative expression
derived from being
* stuck up
'
by
highwayman, after which you have
no money left in your pocket.
Stuff. Girl. (See Bit o' stuff.)
Stuffed monkey (Jewish Lond.).
A very pleasant close almond biscuit.
Now the confectioner exchanges his
235
Stun Sun, Been in the
stuffed monkeys, and his bolas ... for
unleavened pa lavas, etc. Zangwill,
Children of the Ghetto.
Stun (Reversed word). Nuts.
Sub (Editorially). Abbreviation of
subject. Very common in U.S.A.
With Captain Williams, her namesake,
as chairman, would be the judges here.
The Mercury will be pleased to hear
from Mrs Williams on this sub. N. Y.
Mercury, May 1885.
Sub rosa (Soc. ). In secret. Sometimes
' under the rose '. Used by the
author of Junius's Letters as his motto,
the rose being above. Confounded
with ' under the rows ' a sort of rebus.
When houses were built floor out
above floor, so that the ground floor
was some feet within the front of the
garrets, talkers, say lovers, could not
be seen from the floors above therefore
' under the rows '
(rows of superposed
jutting floors) implied
'
secretly '.
There still exists (1907) in London, a
group of 'rows', forming the north
side of Staple Inn (Holborn) where it
can be seen that a maiden on the first
floor might almost shake hands, from
the window, with a grenadier on the
pavement, while from the second floor,
an observer could not catch a glimpse
of the military heels ' under the rows '.
The rose, a symbol of silence, gave rise
to the phrase,
' under the rose ', from the
circumstance of the Pope's presenting
consecrated roses, which were placed
over confessionals to denote secrecy,
whilst others contend that the old Greek
custom of suspending a rose over the
guest table was employed as an emblem
that the conversation should not be
repeated elsewhere. Cutting.
Sub rosa look (Anglo - Amer.).
Doubtful aspect. Perversion of the
Latin proverb.
The business had a sub rosa look
throughout. Newsp. Cutting.
Submerged tenth (Soc. t 1890 on).
Tenth of London, which is always in
utter poverty. Originated by General
Booth. First accepted satirically but
now quite received as a serious phrase.
If the population of London is reckoned
roughly at 4,000,000 and ' the submerged
tenth ' as the phrase goes is taken as
the basis of the calculation of recipients,
400,000 meals will have to be given, and
at a shilling a head 20,000 at least will
be required. World, May 1897.
Such a dawg (Theatrical, 1888).
Tremendous masher. First used by
E. Terry in a Gaiety burlesque.
The next time Mr Biggar thinks fit to
leave these shores, perhaps he will try to
be less fascinating, bearing in mind that
women are weak and not always able
to wrestle successfully with the blandishments
of such a Lothario. 'Such a
dawg ! 'Entr'acte, 17th March 1883.
Suck the mop (Cabmem'). To
wait on the cab-rank for a job.
The man who gives his horse a rest on
the rank is, in cabmen's phraseology,
'sucking the mop'. D. N., 10th June
1889.
Sucker (American). A young and
confiding youth.
Suffolk punches (Provincial).
Descriptive name for Suffolk folk,
much on all fours with Norfolk
dumplings. A punch is a comfortable
kind of cob-like horse. This is rather
a complimentary term.
Sugar (Low. Class). Grocer.
Sugar-shop (Electioneering). Money
shop, literally ; but figuratively a head
centre of bribery.
Suggestionize (Legal, 1889 on).
To prompt.
Many witnesses were called to establish
his identity, and for the defence it was
alleged that these people might have
been '
suggestionized
'
by the influence
of the crime on their minds. D. T.,
16th October 1896.
Suitable for electioneering purposes
(Polit., Historic.). Bad eggs.
From the exercise of projecting them
at antagonistic candidates.
Leather Lane supplies the greater proportion
of the eggs, and if not to be
classified as 'suitable for electioneering
purposes', would probably be of that
order curtly set forth as '
eggs ', without
any subtle grading as 'Fresh laid',
'Breakfast', or ' Cooking '.D. T. t 27th
June 1898.
Sum. (See Some.)
Summer, Another (Devonshire
chiefly). Butterfly generally the
first - seen ' Oh ! here's another
summer !
'
Very poetic. Remarkable
that Devonshire offers most of the
poetic phrases. (See Any birds can
build in my bonnet.)
Sun, Been in the (Peoples').
Drunk. Fine figure of speech. Drink
and hot sun both produce red face.
Good example of double entendre, or
rather perhaps of direct satire by
indirect means,
' I see you've been in the sun, Tom !
'
236
Sun over the Fore-Yard Swipe
Sun over the fore-yard (Navy).
Evasive mode of observing that Soand-
so is pretty well dead drunk.
Sunclear (Lit., 1885). Very clear.
What there is in Royal subjects to
paralyze the genius of a painter we fail
to divine, but it is sunclear that Mr
Haag could no more resist this unfortunate
influence than the greater
Landseer D. N., 10th November 1885.
Sunday (Soc.). To pass Sabbath
with a given person.
Sunday face (Irish). Holiday
countenance.
Sunday - flash - togs (Street).
Sabbath garments. A Sunday-flash-togs young man,
A pocket-of-hogs young man,
A save-all-his-rhino,
To cut-a-big-shine, oh,
Will soon-have-a-pub young man.
Parody of a song in Patience, 1880.
Sunrise London (London). East
London.
And, indeed, it cannot be denied that
what has been spoken of as the ' sunrise '
division of the great metropolis has of
late years been greatly favoured. Thanks
mainly to the advocacy of the most
influential of the newspaper press, the
aspect of the whole poverty-stricken
area, in its length and breadth, from the
Minories to Mile End, and from Spitalfields
to Shadwell, has been vastly
improved. Z>. T., 30th July 1896.
Surrey side (London, exclusive}.
Transpontine portion of London. The
northern portion of London bounded
by the Thames, and especially the
more western quarters, have always
spoken of this division of the metropolis
(Southwark and Lambeth) to the
south of the Thames, as the '
Surrey
side '.
Susanside (Idiot Phrasing}.
Suicide.
Sussex sow (Hampshire). Probably
a return compliment for the
name of Hampshire hog (q.v.).
Swagger man (Soc. ,1880). Person
of position. Used rather with praise
than not.
Swaller a sailor (Port and
Harbour). Get drunk upon rum.
Swallered the anchor (Marine).
Said of a sailor who comes home,
loafs, and does not show signs of going
to sea again.
Swank (Printers'). Small talk,
lying.
Swanny (American Provincial).
Corruption of ' swear now '.
Swear off (American passing to
JEng.). To abandon, in relation to
drinking habits.
Swearing apartment (Tavern).
The street.
Sweat (Thieves'). To unsolder a
tin box by applying fire, or a blowpipe.
Sweater ( Work-peoples'). One who
* middles ' between the manufacturer,
or tradesman, and the worker. He is
answerable for the value of the work,
and is therefore preferred to the worker
himself. The middle levies a heavy
blackmail upon the worker. Probably
he pays no more than 50 per cent,
to the worker of the money he receives
from the tradesman.
In the second number of the Charity
Organisation Review there is a short
account of a co-operative needlework
experiment, the object of it being to
emancipate poor workwomen from the
'sweaters'. D. N., 21st February 1885.
Sweeping up (Boer War, 1899-
1900). Grew out of the end of the
war, when the dispersed Boers harassed
the English very much.
Though the time has come when
Volunteers, Yeomen, and Guards should
be sent home, there is still a good deal
of sweeping up to be done in the
Transvaal. D. T., 2nd October 1900.
(See Dusting.)
Sweeps and saints (City, 19 cent.).
Stockbrokers and their surrounders,
from the First of May (Sweeps' Day)
and the First of November (All Saints'
Day) being holidays on the Exchange.
Sweet waters (W. England).
Illicit spirit made from the residue
of the cider press. Fearfulest drink in
the world. Term well known in all
the apple counties.
Swell donas (Low Life). Great
ladies in their way.
Swell donas lushes up on port wine, and
that sort of pizon.
Swig Day (Jesus College, Oxford).
St David's Day so called because a
drink called swig, composed of spiced
ale, wine, toast, etc., is dispensed out
of an immense silver-gilt bowl holding
ten gallons, and served by a ladle of
half-pint capacity presented to the
college in 1732 by the then SirWatkin
Williams Wynn.
Swipe (Thieves', 18 cent.). Stealing.
When silk pocket handkerchiefs
(Indian bandannas) were used by all
237
Sworn at Highgate Table Part
men of position and were worth stealing
(see Dickens's ' Oliver Twist ')
they were called * Wipes ' hence to
'Swipe a Wipe' was to steal a
bandanna.
Sworn at Highgate (Peoples').
Convenient asseveration whereby the
declarant undertakes never to accept
anything offered while he can obtain
a better. The phrase took the shape
of a coloured cartoon in 1796, when
it was published (12th September) by
Laurie and Whittle of 53 Fleet Street.
A good impression of this print is now
to be found at the Old Gate House, at
the top of Highgate Hill the locale of
the toll-gate where the swearing at
Highgate was held to be only properly
administered. The oath-taker is accompanied
by a herald who holds aloof
the significant horns, which are reproduced
in letter-form on the front of
the tavern before which the operation
is completed. The ' maid '
pins meanwhile
a ragged clout to his coat-tail,
while the mistress waits with a foaming
pot of beer, or rather gallon
measure, for the garnishing of everybody
after the oath is complete. This
declaration runs as follows :
*
Pray, sir lay your right hand on
this Book, and attend to the Oath
you swear by the Rules of Sound Judgment
that you will not eat Brown
Bread when you can have White,
except you like the Brown the better ;
that you will not drink Small Beer
when you can get Strong, except you
like the Small Beer better but you
will kiss the Maid in preference to the
Mistress, if you like the Maid better
so help you Billy Bodkin. Turn round
and fulfil your oath.'
Sympathetic truth (Art, 1890 on).
True, but not too true some concession
to the artistic ideal.
Mr J ames S. Hill has less experience,
less power, perhaps, of making or seeing
a picture, than some of his friendly rivals ;
but few, if any, of them surpass him in
the sympathetic truth with which he
renders some of the less obvious, the less
showy aspects of nature. D. T., 4th
January 1896.
Synagogue (Covent Garden, 1890
on). Shed in the north-east corner of
' the Garden '. So called from this
place (erected 1890) being wholly
' run '
by Jews.
Synthetic breadth (Art, 1890 on).
Probably means 'harmony of treatment
'.
Syrup (Druggists'). A trade word
amongst dispensing chemists for money.
T. O. (Printers'). Turn-over, short
for a turn-over apprentice from one
master to another.
T. and O. (Sporting, 1880). New
form of 2 to 1.
The betting to-night (Saturday) against
the Empire's chance of getting the music
hall licence is two and one (t & o). Ref..
4th August 1887.
T. W. B. F., also C. W. D.
(New York). Mystic initials understood
in certain New York society; but
quite beyond the outer world. Placed
at the foot of invitations, only one of
these two series is used. When the
recipient is a gentleman the arcana
are T. W. B. F. ; while the lady's
masonics are C. W. D.
T. W. K. (Military, Anglo-Indian,
1840 on). Condemnatory initials of
' Too well-known '.
Tab (L. C.). The ear, amongst
tailors and other workmen.
Tabby meeting (London). May
meeting of the evangelical party at
Exeter Hall (Strand, London now
turned to other uses). Probably contraction
of Tabitha generic name for
quakerly persons.
Table beer (Peoples'). Poor beer.
Commonly applied to any ordinary
thing or proceeding.
The Spartan hosts entertained the
visitor with cold beef, table beer, cheese,
and pickles. D. N., 6th November 1884.
Table companions (Oxford). Men
of the same College are called ' table
companions' in one of the reports,
which we take to be analogous to the
' stable companions
' of our sporting
contemporaries, and in certain cases
are said, somewhat unintelligibly, to
make the running for one another.
Table part (Theatrical). R61e
which is played only from the waist
upwards, and therefore behind a table.
Term in association with the protean
238
Table-Talk Take Gruel Together
entertainer, and the quick change
artiste.
The whole of the ' table parts ', as
they were called, were, as usual, by
Charles Mathews himself, but he was
relieved in the dramatic acts by Yates,
who undertook a series of rapid changes
of dress and character then originally
introduced. D. T., 10th March 1897.
Table-talk (Soc., 1883). Talk
bordering on the unkind.
In summer we have the new pictures,
and some critics will say 'the old are
better'. But they are not better stuff
to table-talk, because spite can get little
pleasure out of condemning Sir Joshua
or Rubens. D. N., 1st February 1884.
Tabled (American Legislation).
Short for placed on the table.
Mr Forster spoke the other day of the
amendments on the English Education
Bill which he had just
' tabled ', meaning
which he had just laid on the table.
D. N., 1st February 1884.
Taboo (Soc., 19 cent.}. Prohibited,
forbidden. Sacred, not to be touched.
The King of Dahomi is not allowed so
much as to see the gold in the Fetish
House where the remains of his dead
forefathers lie. That gold is taboo.
D. N., 22nd July 1887.
Tabs ( Theatrical}. Ageing women.
Abbreviation of Tabby, one of the
common names for the cat, always
associated with ancient women.
Tacking (Peoples' from Seamens').
Obtaining end by roundabout means,
from the mode of sailing against wind
by zigzag courses. May be from tact.
Tacks (Art}. Artist's apparatus.
From tackle, taken from angling.
Tadpoles (American). People of
Mississippi probably from the superabundance
of water there.
Tail out (Amer.-Eng., 1880). To
run away, scuttle, bolt. From the
tail of birds and animals being last
seen as they retreat.
Next I made out a brown thing, seated
on the table in the centre, and in another
moment when my eyes grew accustomed
to the light, and I saw what these things
were_I was tailing out of it as hard as
my legs could carry me. Haggard, King
Solomon's Mines.
Tail tea (Soc., 1880 to death of
Victoria). The afternoon tea following
royal drawing-rooms, at which ladies
who had been to court that afternoon,
appeared in their trains hence tail
teas. The King relegated drawingrooms
to the late evening.
Tail-twisting (American, 19 cent.).
Worrying England figuratively,
twisting the tail of the British lion.
Generally a political process in order
to deflect the conviction of the voter.
We must, of course, be prepared for a
little ' tail-twisting
' from time to time
whenever the domestic concerns in the
States are turning out uncomfortably for
the party in power. 17th October 1896.
Taits (Church). Moderate clergymen
from their following in the footsteps
of Dr Tait, Archbishop of
Canterbury, who sought, vainly, to
assimilate all parties. (See Anglican
inch, St Alban's clean shave, No
church. )
Taj (Boys'}. Lucious, ripping.
Take (Printers'}. The bit of copy
the printer's compositor
' takes ' at one
time.
Take a curtain (Theatrical, 1880).
Appear before the curtain in answer to
sufficient applause.
Written in Sand was well received, and
Broughton had to 'take a curtain'.
Re/., 31st August 1884.
(See Curtain - taker, Lightning
curtain-taker, Fake a curtain. )
Take a squint (Low. Class). Look.
* Take a squint at the donah, now !
'
(See Cast an optic.)
Take a trip (Trade). To discharge
oneself from a situation which act
would be followed by movement searching
for a new situation.
Take and give (C. L., rhyming).
' Live ', generally referring to man and
wife.
Take care of (Police). To arrest.
Take care of dowb (Political, 1855).
New reading of Take care of No. I.
Take gruel (Low. Classes). To die
from the fact that gruel general
accompanies any long illness which
ends in death.
Take gruel together (Low Life,
1884). To live together as man and
wife. Derived from a case where a
housekeeper to an eccentric clergyman
was '
inquested
' as the result of death
from want of medical attendance. The
police newsmonger put a severe construction
upon the case.
' They took their gruel together !
'
This is a charming euphemism perpetrated
by an old clergyman to explain
239
Take In Tamaroo
his relations with an elderly female who
lived alone in his house with him. ' We
take our gruel together !
'
is likely to
become a fashionable expression. Rsf.,
14th December 1884.
Take in (Anglo-American, 1882).
Patronize from taking in papers.
Take it fighting (American-Eng.,
1880). Be courageous, antithesis of
take it lying down.
But if we intend ' to take it fighting ',
then the most ordinary economy and
plain sense demand that the construction
and supply of the proper depots be commenced
without an hour's delay. D. N.,
5th March 1885.
Take it lying down (American-
Eng., 1880). To be cowardly on the
basis that a self-respecting fighter will
not strike a prostrate enemy.
If we mean to ' take it lying down ',
like the preacher threatened by Colonel
Quagg then every penny we spend on
the volunteers, and every hour they give
to drill, is so much wanton waste.
D. N., 5th March 1885.
Take my Bradlaugh (Peoples',
1883). New phrase for 'take my
oath'. Humorously, or perhaps
satirically adopted at the time when
Mr Charles Bradlaugh's name was
intimately associated with the Affirmation
Bill.
Take off corner pieces (Com.
Classes). To beat another, generally
one's wife. (See Knock off corners.)
Take off my coat (Street).
Challenge to fight. (See Blood or
Beer.)
Take soles off your shoes (Anglo-
American). To surprise utterly.
'But ah, my dear sir,' with another
engaging smile which took the soles off
the shoes of the interviewer,
' I did not
know what was coming. I did not know
what that initiation really was.' N. Y.
Mercury, 1884.
Take the egg (American). To
win.
Take the flour (American. -Eng.,
1885). Outcome of Take the cake,
which was followed by Take the bun.
There is a woman in Fargo who takes
the flour. N. Y. Mercury, 1885.
Take the kettle (Com.). Obtain
the prize. It is said at one time a
kettle was the reward (U.S.A.), of
village spelling bees.
Take the number off the door
(Peoples'). Said of a domestic establishment
where the wife is a shrew, and
by scolding draws attention to the
domus. The removal of the number
would make the cottage less discoverable.
Take the pastry (Amer.). Lead.
Take the tiles off (Soc.). Extreme
extravagance.
He flings his money about with a lavish
recklessness, sufficient to take, as they
say, the tiles off the roof of a house.
Truth, May 1878.
Taken in and done for (Peoples',
1880 on). Absorbed.
As it is, they are literally
' taken in
and done for'. They visit a theatre,
where they have no notion that the
presence of tobacco-smoke will be felt,
and find themselves only separated by a
curtain from a saloon where noxious
cigarettes poison the atmosphere.
Entr'acte, 1883.
Take time by the forelock
(Peoples'). Be in time probably
suggested by long forehead tuft of
hair, now and again worn by old
men. Certainly time is always represented
with one tuft on the head.
Taken stripes (U.S.A.). Equivalent
to our ' wears the broad arrow '.
Evasion in reference to an U.S.A. state
prisoner.
After 4th July the convicts with a good
record in the Kansas State Penitentiary
will wear suits of cadet grey instead of
striped suits. D. T., 4th June 1897.
Taken to the stump (Polit.).
Public oratory. From the tree stump
on which the wandering puritans
preached. Good example of freedom of
opinion, existing long since in England,
when wayside stumps could be used
as points for public speaking.
According to our correspondent at
Sofia, General Kaulbars has now taken
to the stump. D. N., 4th October 1886.
Talk by a bow (Com. London,
1860-82). Periphrase of quarrel.
Talk to his picture (Suffolk
Peoples'). Admonish so gravely that
the admonished one will be no more
able to speak than could his portrait.
Tall 'un (Com. Life). Pint of coffee,
half a pint being a short 'un.
Tall weeping (Amer., 1883). Deep
grief.
Tamarinds (Chemists'). Sometimes
used by chemists for 'money'. Not
general.
Tamaroo (Irish). Noisy.
240
Tammany Tec, Teck
Tammany (American Eng., 19
cent}. Bribery from Tammany Hall,
a place where for forty years the
corrupt manipulators of the municipality
of New York have held their
meetings.
Not long ago there was an election on
the other side of the water, and we were
all full of contemptuous denunciation of
Tammany. What was this butTammany ?
This was a Tammany Government.
D. T., 14th December 1897.
Tandem (Cambridge, 1870 on).
Long. Used in speaking of a tall man.
Tangle - leg (Anglo - Amer.).
Whisky. Derivation obvious.
Tangle - monger (Soc., 19 cent.).
Application of word ' monger '. Speaks
for itself an individual, generally a
woman, who fogs and implies everything.
Tanky (Navy). Foreman or captain
of the hold which looks like a tank.
Tannery (Anglo-American, 1880).
Large boots also absolute reference to
feet almost as capacious.
Tanter go (Provincial, Mid. Hist.).
End, finish, departure. May be from
Catholic times, and the 'Tantum
Ergo' the last division of a mass.
Tap (Peoples'). Draw blood, by a
blow, from the nose. Derived from
the beer barrel.
Before the magistrate one of them explained
that they were simply engaged
in a friendly, good-humoured contest,
the one whose nose got 'tapped' first
paying for a round of beer for the company.
D. T., 19th July 1897.
Taper (Polit.). Seeker after profitable
office. Abbreviation of Red
Taper from the colour of official tape. We have our Tadpoles and our Tapers,
it is true, and our greedy party-men
clamouring for rewards, but our disappointed
seekers after job, place and
pay do not snarl and fight for their prey
in public like hungry dogs over a bone.
D. T., 27th April 1897.
Tare an' ouns (Irish - English).
Corruption of ' Tear and wounds '
created when wounds rhymed with
pounds. (See Oons, Zounds?)
Tart (Street, 1884). A common
girl the outcome of * Bit of jam '
(q.v.). Also a rhyming phrase
agreeing with 'sweet heart'. (See
Banbury. )
I have to do my needlework
To make myself look smart,
But yesterday I'm glad to say
I found a little tart.
Taste of his quality (Peoples', 19
cent. ). Obvious. From the prize ring.
Widely applied.
A fair ' taste of his quality
'
is afforded
by a comparison between pp. 40 and 43.
John Storm, who has become curate to a
Canon of an outrageously caricatured
type of worldliness, is being taken by
him to call upon one of his lady
parishioners, etc. D. T. (Grit. The
Christian), 1898.
Taste the sun (Cockney, 1877).
Used as an intensifier by Londoners
out in the country for the day. (See
Speak brown to-morrow, Can't you
feel the shrimps, See the breeze.)
Tatur-trap (Irish, 19 cent.). The
mouth ; tatur being short for potato.
Tax -fencer (Com. Lond., 1878).
Disreputable shopkeeper as distinct
from the honest pusher.
Tea and toast struggle (Peoples').
Said of Wesleyan tea-meetings where
the supply is rarely adequate to the
demand.
Tea and turn out (Peoples', 19
cent.). A roundabout way of saying
there is no supper.
Tea in a mug (Irish). Suggestive
of bad breeding.
Tea -bottle (Mid. -class). An old
maid from the ordinary drink of
spinsters.
Tea-kettle purgers (L. London).
Total abstainers. 'Purgers
5 would
appear to be a reminiscence of attacks
upon Puritanism.
Tea-pot (Peoples'). Total abstainer.
This phrase is a reduction of tea-pot
sucker.
Tea-pot ('Varsities, 1880). Tea
party antithesis of wine (q.v.).
About this year the more earnest life
at the universities then commencing
took as one shape that of temperance.
Tea-room party (Parliament, 1866).
A Radical party in the House of
Commons, whose members first foregathered
in the tea-room. Gladstone
and Bright were in favour of some
limitation of the franchise, one which
would exclude the so-called residuum,
and it was proposed to draw a line
somewhere above household suffrage
pure and simple. Hereupon forty-eight
Radicals held a meeting in the tearoom
of the House of Commons.
Teatchgir (Coster). Right.
Tec, Teck (Peoples'). Detectivecut
down after an ordinary fashion.
241
Teeth-Drawing That kind of Thing will not answer
I'm told that Jack Shaw, the smartest
and best tec in London or anywhere
else, thinks of retiring from the force.
Cutting.
Teeth-drawing (Med. Students', 19
cent, to 1860). Wrenching off doorknockers
with club-like sticks. Headquarters,
Lant Street, Southwark
street now cleared away, but until
1860 the bowers of St Thomas's and
Guy's students.
Teetotically (Peoples', '90's). Comic
intensification of teetotally.
Tekram (Inverted word). Market ;
very common usage.
Telescope (American Railway] .
To collide and close in like a telescope
applied to the running into each
other of railway carriages in collision.
Now applied in various ways.
The excursion train, of twenty cars,
came into collision with a goods car.
The shock was so severe that five crowded
cars were completely 'telescoped'.
D. N., 1878.
Temporiser (Polit.). Shiftless uncertain
man. From a speech by Mr
Gladstone (17th November 1885) in
Scotland.
Ten bob squats (Theatrical}. Stalls
in a theatre. About 1880 going to the
theatre had become so fashionable,
owing possibly to the steady patronage
of the Prince of Wales, that the price
of stalls in most of the best houses
was raised.
Ten stroke (Billiard players').
Complete victory from the fact that
ten is the highest stroke at billiards
that can be made ; cannon off the red,
all three balls in.
10 wedding (Peoples', 1897). '!'
the wife, and '0' the husband= 10
wedding.
Tenderfeet (American mining, 1849
on). Doubtful roving industrials.
Given to the mining rabble in California,
during the gold-rush (1849),
and now classic in U.S.A., and all
Colonial mining districts. Applied in
all ways.
Numbers of prospectors and tenderfeet
started for the then unknown goldfields,
and when a steamer reached San
Francisco with some of these miners who
had ' struck it rich '
aboard, the fact that
gold had been found in abundance along
the Klondike again excited public
interest in the matter. D. T., 21st July
1897.
Tenip (Public-house, inverted word)-
Pint. As suggesting natural euphony.
Terrier (American). Troublesome
boy.
A policeman came along and the dude
told him I was a terrier, and the policeman
jerked my coat collar off. 1883.
Terror to cats (American passing
to England). Most troublesome
chiefly applied to over - active and
mischievous boys.
Pa says I am a terror to cats. Every
time pa says anything it gives me a new
idea. I tell you pa has got a great brain,
but sometimes he don't have it with him.
Detroit Free Press, 1883.
Testril (Hist.). Sixpenny piece,
and another shape of tester. Shakespeare
proves that the testril was of
the value of sixpence in the poet's time.
Sir Toby (to clown) : Come on, there is
sixpence for you. Let's have a song.
Sir Andrew : There is a testril of me
too ! Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act
ii., scene ii.
Testugger (Oxford). Testamur a
certificate.
Thames butter (Poor London, 1870).
Very bad butter. A Mr W. Sawyer,
then editor of South London Press,
published a paragraph to the effect
that a Frenchman was making butter
out of Thames mud at Battersea. In
truth this chemist was extracting
yellow grease from Thames mud-worms.
Thank the mussies (Peoples, 1870).
Equivalent to 'Thank the gods'.
Thank you for the next (Hist.)
Lancashire expression of gratitude for
something given.
That gets me (Amer.). Defeat
from the game of poker, the other side
getting the stakes.
That kind of thing will not answer
(Peoples', 1885). Poverty from a
fragment of evidence given by the Hon.
Mrs Gerard, sister of the defendant in
the case ' Durham versus Milner (otherwise
Durham) ' the celebrated suit
brought by Lord Durham (1885),
against his wife for nullity of marriage,
on the ground that the lady was insane
at the time of the ceremony. Mrs
Gerard said
In the season of 1881 Lord Burghersh
paid her a great deal of attention. I did
not think it would be a suitable marriage.
It was one that would be distasteful to
her family. That was made pretty plain
to my sister. I don't think she was very
242
That Moan's soon made Think and Thank
much attached to Lord Burghersh. My
sister, in reference to Lord Burghersh's
attentions, said that kind of thing would
not answer, as he was poor.
That moan's soon made (Scotch
and Peoples', 19 cent). Grief easily
consoled.
There is no more to be said on the
subject ; as the Scottish saying has it
'that moan's soon made'. D. N.. 10th
March 1885.
That won't pay the old woman
her ninepence (Bow Street Police
Court). Condemnation of an evasive
act.
That's a cough lozenge for him
(Peoples', 1850 on). Punishment.
Arose from an advertisement, 'Cough no
more lozenges '. It was to be inferred
that they might kill the patient, who
would then certainly cough no more.
That's gone to Pimlico (W.
London, Streets', 1888). Smashedruined.
Derived from the fact that
Pimlico became a favourite residential
centre of women who fell.
That's the ticket (Peoples', 18 cent.).
Proper thing to do corruption of
1
etiquette
' that's the etiquette.
Diprose in his St Clement Danes
says : This term arose in 1717 when
Spiller, a comedian, used the expression
upon seeing the card of admission
designed by Hogarth, then a very
young man, for a benefit at Drury
Lane Theatre, in favour of the celebrated
Joe Miller. However, a good
authority says :
' Ticket '
is from
Norman French. The rules of
*
etiquette
' were written upon cards
hence the name 'ticket'. The
*
etiquette
' or pass - card was also
affixed to a bag or bundle, to show it
was not to be examined.
That's up against your shirt
(Street). Significant of victory.
That's where you spoil yourself
(Peoples', 1880-81). A very popular
catch - sentence applied to smart individuals
who went a little too far.
Theatre Royal amen (Low. Class).
Church. (See Holy Ghost shop.)
Theatricality (Soc., 1888 on). Anything
generically theatrical. Arose
when theatres ceased to be a luxury.
And as if this 'terrible acting', these
* terrible frowns', and these 'terrific
impressions ', were not enough, as if
the tinfoil, and the tinsel, and the
theatricality were not sufficient, they
must needs call in good old Colley Gibber
to improve on Shakespeare, and enable
the gifted actors to rant and storm the
more. D. T., 21st December 1896.
Then comes a pig to be killed
(Peoples'}. Expression of misbeliefbased
upon the lines of Mrs Bond who
would call to her poultry
' Come
chicks, come ! Come to Mrs Bond and
be killed.'
Then the band played (Parliamentary).
Climax, finality. Derived
from the use of brass bands on the
nomination day, which immediately
sounded when the opponent of their
employer attempted to address the
people.
There, All (Street, 1860 on). Exclamation,
declaring perfection.
' I'm
all there, completely happy '.
' She is
an all there bit o' jam '.
Mrs Saker has done great things at
the Liverpool Alexandra with 'Aladdin',
the scenery and company being alike
excellent. Miss Jenny Hill is all there,
as she ever was, and I suppose ever will
be. Ref., 18th January 1885.
There's 'air (London Streets, 1900).
Shortened ' there is hair !
'
meaning
a quantity, and shaping out of the
pulled up side hair, and fringe being
about this time deserted in favour of
Cked
masses, coming down over the
jhead.
Thick (Peoples'). Severe, also too
daring in cheating.
Selby says :
' I've got it thick this time.
So I looks at his leg, and sees he was
ableeding '. People, 6th January 1895.
Thick ear (Street, 19 cent.). One
swelled by a blow.
Thick end of a hundred years
( Yorks. ). Nearly a century.
Thick starch double blue (Common
Soc.). Rustling holiday dress for
summer white dress very severely
laundried.
Thick tea (N. England). A tea as
solid as a dinner. Long known in the
Ridings before high tea was thought of.
Thick 'un (Peoples'). Sovereign.
Thieves' kitchen (London Street,
1882), The name satirically given to
the then new Law Courts.
Thin as a rasher of wind (Com.
London). Complete skeleton of a man.
Thingembobs (Com. Peoples'). One
of the idiotic names for trousers like
inexpressibles, unmentionables, etc.
Think and thank (English-Jewish).
Translated from the first words of the
243
Think Some Three is an Awkivard Number
ordinary Hebrew morning prayer.
Implies gratitude.
Think some (American). Mature
consideration.
Thinking part (Theatrical). That
of a supernumerary who has nothing
to say. Satirical.
Thinks he holds it (Sporting,
becoming general 1875). Said of a
vain man. As obscure as emphatic.
It refers to any sort of championship
in athletics.
Thirteenth juryman (Legal, 19
cent.). A judge who, in addressing a
jury, shows leaning or prejudice.
No English Judge would have so far
forgotten the impartiality of the Bench,
prone as one here and there may be to
convert himself into a 'thirteenth, juryman
'. D. T., 10th October 1895.
This is all right (Peoples', 1896 on).
With accent on the all. Satirical
meaning everything is wrong.
Mrs Harris was not there, and Harris
remarked :
' This is all right, nothing to
eat or drink, and no one to speak to '.
People, 7th November 1897.
Thistle down (Irish). Children of
a wandering nature generally, but more
particularly in open breezy places,
describing the children who gather
thistle down in autumn the down
with which the Irish peasant, especially
in Donegal, makes pillows.
Thistle seed (Peoples'). Devonshire
for gipsies, because they drift carelessly
like winged thistle seed.
Thorough-handed man (American).
Candid, open specimen of the genus.
Thou (Society, 1 860, etc. ). Abbreviation
for thousand.
Three acres and a cow (Peoples',
1887). Satirical exclamation directed
at illogical optimism. This was the
panacea suggested for the renascence
of agriculture in England. Every
peasant was to have these blessings
but no one discovered where the money
was to come from to meet the expenditure.
Mr George Smith of Coalville
claimed the invention of this
phrase in a letter to the Daily News
(27th August 1887), wherein he
says :
I also brought the subject before the
Select Committee on Canals in 1883, and
about which Lord Wemyss goodhumouredly
made some fun in the House
of Lords in 1884, which fun gave new
life to the phrase living to-day.
Three and sixpenny thoughtful
(Soc., 1890 on). Satire upon the
feminine theorv novel, which became
dominant, 1890-96. Antithesis of the
shilling shocker, which was so full of
action that it had no time to think.
Fielding, according to the theory
which has apparently suggested this
undertaking, is so constantly in the
hands of his countrymen of mature
years, they show so marked a preference
for him as a novelist over the author
of the latest '
shilling dreadful ' or ' three
and sixpenny thoughtful ', that they long
to admit the younger generation to a
share in their enjoyment. D. T., 27th
May 1896.
Three a'porth o' gordepus
(Streets'). A street Arab.
Three B's, The (Clerical). Bright,
brief, and brotherly the modern protest
against the sleepy nature of a
majority of the 19th century church
services.
Three cold Irish (Tavern). Threepenny-
worth of Irish whiskey with
cold water. Because (1867) of a passing
pun between this order and three
hanged Fenians. The three cold Irish
were Allen, Larkin, and Gould, who
were executed at Manchester (1867),
for the murder of Sergeant Brett in
the attempt to rescue from him
certain Fenian prisoners.
Three cornered constituency (Soc. ).
House where an only child or mutual
friend throws in the domestic casting
vote, and so gives victory to husband
or wife. From the parliamentary
arrangement (1867), whereby certain
boroughs returned three members
while the voter was only allowed to
vote for two members.
Three d. masher (Peoples', 1883).
Young men of limited means and
more or less superficial gentlemanly
externals.
Three is an awkward number
(Soc. and Peoples', 1885). Paraphrase of
' three are company, two are not ',
and brought in with surprising rapidity
from a line of evidence given by the
Hon. Mrs Gerard in the celebrated
Lord Durham's nullity of marriage
suit.
On the ride to Raby in the pony carriage
did not your sister get as far away
from Lord Durham as she could ? I did
not notice.
But you said that Lord Durham was
244
Three Out Brush TicJflers
very nice while your sister was very
silent? Three is an awkward number
under the circumstances of the case.
(Laughter.)
Three out brush (Public-house). A
glass shaped like an inverted cone,
and therefore something like a housepainter's
brush, especially when dry.
The glass holds one-third of a quartern
a quartern being just half of half a
pint.
Three planks (Com. English). A
coffin.
In France the'coffin is spoken of as
la machine a quatre planches et quatre
clous.
Three-quarter man (Cloth-drapers').
An inferior employe. (See Six-quarter
men.)
Three wise men of Gotham
(Peoples'). Meaning that they were
not wise. Generally applied to a trio of
male fools. In the twenty-fourth year
of the reign of HenryVI1 1. , 3rd October,
a law was passed by the magistracy of
Westham, for the purpose of preventing
unauthorised persons from setting
'
nettes, pottes, and annoyances', or in
anywise taking fish within the privilege
of the march of Pevensey. The
King's commission was directed to
John Moor, of Lewes ; Richard, Abbot
of Begeham ; John, Prior of Myehillym
; Thomas, Lord Dacre, and others.
Upon the proceedings of this meeting,
which was held at Gotham, near
Pevensey, the facetious Andrew Borde,
a native of that town, founded his
Merrie Talcs of the Wise Men of
Gotham.
Threepenny shot (Artizans'). Beefsteak
globular pudding at that price,
sold in common cook- and coffeeshops.
Throat - latch (American). The
larynx, as outwardly developed.
Throw it up (Theatrical). Don't
repeat it ; figuratively. Really means
reject it, as something not fit to be
retained.
If Miss Hodson ever revises and compresses
the piece, she must take heed
that she removes the ' throw it up '
lines,
and the references to Somebody's virgin
vinegar and Somebody else's soap. Ref.,
20th December 1885.
Throw mud at the clock (Peoples').
Despairg even to suicide. Means
defy time and dis. Mostly used figuratively.
Throwing the hammer (Low Military).
Erotic. Obtaining money under
false pretences. (See Catch cocks.)
Thumper (American). Man who
steals by misrepresentation thumper
being
' a big lie '.
Thusly (American). In this manner.
The word was the invention of Artemus
Ward (about 1860). T h u z z y-m u z z y (Low. London).
Wilful corruption of enthusiasm. Said
to come down from the tenor Brahan,
who either invented the term or
thought he was using the true word.
His English was not great, as witness
'Twas in Trafalgar Bay
We saw the Frenchman lay.
Ticket o' leave (Peoples', 70's).
Holiday, vacation, outing.
The expression, 'Ticket o' leave', is
probably the invention of the criminal
intellect, which, as everybody knows,
delights in giving utterance to its own
ideas in its own peculiar way. D. N.,
27th October 1886.
Ticket-skinner (New York). Opera
and theatre ticket speculator, who
buys for a rise. Sometimes sells a
2-dollar ticket for 5 or even 10 dollars.
Innocent people regard the high rates
announced by the managers as final, and
only discover at the entrance that the
advertised price for seats is a ruse to lure
them to the merciful treatment of middle
men, called ticket-skinners, who, having
temporary possession of nearly all the
tickets, exact just what they please for
a seat. N. Y. Mercury, October 1883.
Tickle one's innards (Anglo -
American). Indulge in a drink.
Thankee, mister ; that war well
thought of. It's Sunday ; but come,
let's steer for a side door, and tickle our
innards, ye know. N. Y. Mercury, 16th
January 1885.
Tickle to death ( U. S. ). Delight in
the extreme.
Ticklers (Transvaal War, 1900).
Peacock feathers, which were sold to
the youth of both sexes on '' Mafeking
Night
' for the first time, at one penny
a piece, and so named by the vendors.
It appears that the peacock feathers
'ticklers', for short which were such
an important feature in the popular rejoicings
of the last few days, come from
France. The cheaper kind of Union
Jacks oome from Germany, the better
kind from Scotland. D. T., 28th May
1900.
245
Ticklish Tins
Street genius immediately raised the
word to an endearment by changing it
into tiddler.
Ticklish (Peoples'). Easily excited,
or spurred to resistance.
Tiddle - a - wink (Rhyming). A
drink.
Tie o* mutton (Irish, London
Tailors'). Thigh of meaning leg;
and refers to the hopes of a hot Sunday
dinner.
Tie up your stocking (Oxford
Univer.). Finish your tumbler of
champagne don't leave any. No
heel-taps.
Tie up with a curly one (Cricketing,
1890). Bowl out with a screwed or
rifled projection of the ball, sent from
the shoulder on a parabolic curve produced
by simultaneous swing of the
arm and turn of the wrist.
Tied down (American). Crushed
by the force of circumstances.
Tiger (American). Prostitute.
Never tigress. Shadwell, London, was
called by sailors Tiger Bay long since
swept away.
Tiger (Soys', 19 cent.). Toughcrusted
bread. Probably from both
offering a deal of fight.
Tiger (San Francisco). The guardian
inside the inner door of a gaminghouse
equivalent to the chucker-out
of a London tavern.
Tiger (Political, 1895). Hon. J.
Chamberlain. Bestowed by the Radical
party. Sir J. Kitson quoted this
verse in a political speech :
There was a young lady of Riga
Who went for a ride on a tiger ;
They finished the ride with the lady
inside,
And a smile on the face of the tiger.
The young lady was presumably
Britannia,
Tiger bit him hard (American
gamester). Meaning that he had lost
a good deal of money at a sitting.
Tight as a biled (or boiled) owl
(American). Completely drunk.
Tiled (Masonic). Closed from the
tiler closing in a house by way of the
tilea. The outer-door paid officer of a
masonic lodge is the tiler.
What is a 'tiled lodge of the Antediluvian
Order of Buffaloes?' One of
the Bristol lodges saw fit to meet together
in a room in a public-house, and
at this gathering there was singing and
playing. Thereupon a constable entered
and knocked at the door whence
the sounds of revelry were proceeding.
Here we get our first glimpse of the
mystery attaching to the word 'tiled'.
In one of the panels of the door there
was a slide. Somebody looked through
this aperture, shook his head, and the
slide was closed again. Was the somebody
a 'tiler'? a term derived, like
that of ' mason ', from the old trade
guilds. D. T., 2nd July 1896.
Timbers (Art jargon, 1880).
Cabinets, bookcases, escritoires, elaborate
tables worked wood in general.
(See Crocks and rags).
Timbers ( Gutter commerce). Lucifer
matches.
Timothy grass (American). Cat's
tail
grass.
Tin hat (Anglo-Port Said). Drunk
two tin hats very drunk three, incapable,
and to be carried on board.
Tinman (Sporting, 1880). Millionaire
; from man possessing tin.
Too many of the big swells found profit
in the Tinman to allow him to pass into
retirement while able to earn winnings
for them if conditions were modified for
his benefit. Ref., 14th November 1886.
(Referring to F. Archer, a popular
and rich jockey, who had some days
before committed suicide.)
Tin - shin - off (American). Tin is
money ; shin is to walk ; and together
with the third word means abscond
with money.
Tinder - tempered (Peoples', old).
Hot-tempered from the tinder sometimes
taking fire in a moment from the
Hash of the flint and steel.
'Tis both your faults, you tinder-tempered
knaves. Garrick, Abel Drugger.
Tintamarre (Devon). Noise,
hubbub. One of the French phrases
common, and only common, to Devon.
Tip the velvet (Grim. Clatses).
Kiss with the point of the tongue.
Tipping the office (Soc., 18 cent.).
Revealing a secret frequently in
connection with some doubtful proceeding.
Titotular bosh (Music Hall, 1897).
Absolute nonsense made up by an
absurd play upon the word teetotal, and
one of the terms for ' humbug '.
Tittimatorterin (E. Anglican). Seesaw.
Tius (East London reversed word).
Suit of clothes.
246
To Away Tommy RdbUt
To away (Theatrical). Creation of
a verb from the dramatic exclamation
'away'.
To Christmas (Soc., 1880). To
make high holiday with plenty of
The associations of Christmas for the
young and for the people are almost
wholly of a festive character. They
conjugate actively the verb ' to Christmas
'. D. N., 25th December 1884.
Toast v. On (a bit of) toast.
Toast your blooming eyebrows
(Peoples'). Probably a delicate way of
telling a man to go to blazes.
Toby (Soc., 1882). Lady's collar
from the wide frill worn round the
neck by Mr Punch's dog.
Toe-path (Cavalry). Regiment of
infantry. Eminently suggestive of the
contempt in which the cavalry hold
the infantry, who as a rule are much
smaller men than the gee-gees (q.v.).
Toe-rag (Peoples', Prov.). Beggar.
Most country people ride or drive,
hence the contempt enclosed in ' toe ',
with which the possessor walks. Another
term (Devon) is footpad without
reference to robbery. Rags speak
for themselves.
Toff bundle - carrier (Music Hall,
1870 on). He is the gentleman in
attendance upon a serio-comic, and
see her from hall to hall a prosperous
serio-comic often having to sing at
three or four music halls in the course
of one evening. Her changes of dress,
etc., call for a large assortment of
flying luggage, to which the devoted
one gives all his attention hence the
term.
Toff-omee (Thieves'). Superlative
of toff.
Toff-shoving (London Rough, 1882).
Pushing about well-dressed men in a
crowd.
Tog -bound (Peoples'). No good
clothes to wear.
Tog-fencer (Com. Lond., 1870). A
tailor.
Toga-play (Theatrical). Classical
'ogies (Public - school). Knotted
ropes' ends carried about hidden by
elder boys to beat their fags with
once-called 'colts'.
Toileted (American - Eng., 1884).
Dressed. Conjugated throughout.
Pretty Martha Springsteen brings suit
against her husband for separation. The
lady is young and good-looking and is
exquisitely toileted. N. Y. Mercury,
January 1885.
Tom (Street, 19 cent. ). A masculine
woman of the town. In higher ranks
one who does not care for the society
of others than those of her own sex.
Tom and funny (Rhyming).
Figurative description of money. Tom o' Bedlam (Provincial). A
wild, maddish fellow from the name
once given to inoffensive imbeciles who
were licensed to go about begging.
Abram-men, otherwise called Tom o'
Bedlams, are very strangely and antickly
garbed, with several coloured ribbons or
tape in their hat, it may be ; instead of a
feather, a fox-tail hanging down a long
stick with ribbons streaming and the
like. Yet for all their seeming madness
they have wit enough to steal as they go.
The Canting Academy, 1674.
Tomahawk (Street). Policeman's
staff.
Tomasso di rotto (Middle-class
Youths'). Italian shape of Tommy
rot.
Tomb-stone (Com. Lond., 19 cent.).
A pawn-ticket the shape and printed
heading of which do give the idea of a
doll's tombstone.
Tommy (Bobby) Atkins (Popular,
1882). The friendly name found about
this year for a soldier of the line
presumably invented amongst line
soldiers, and certainly adopted by
them. Tommy Atkins first appeared
in print in the correspondence sent
home during the Egyptian campaign
(1882).
This time it was some other member
of the family of Thomas Atkins who
resumed the colloquy of which our friend
Bill had dropped the thread. D. N.,
28th September 1882.
Tommy and exes (Workmen's).
Bread beer, and 'bacca.
Tommy make room for your uncle
(Music Hall). Suggestive of the uncle
being a better man than the nephew,
and accepted very willingly by the
less juvenile of music-hall patrons.
Adopted as the leading line of a
chorus to a comic song. Said, however,
to have a recondite meaning.
Tommy pipes (Navy, 19 cent.).
Boatswain because he pipes or
whistles all hands.
Tommy rabbit (Street Soys').
Pomegranate. (See Nanny.)
247
Tomtug Tough as Tacker
Tomtug (Rhyming). Bed insect.
Tone - painting (Soc., 1890 on).
Referring to programme music.
Mr Silas points out that even great
musicians do not appear at their best in
tone-painting. D. T., 31st March 1897.
Tony (American coming to
England, 1890). Adjective, formed
upon the abstract noun.
As for fashionable matters, there was
less 'society', of course, in point of
numbers in Hone's time than in ours, but
it was just as ' tony
' of its kind, if anything
a little more so. H. Y. Mercury,
18th May 1890.
(See No class.)
Too all but (London, 1881). One
of the phrases resulting out of Punch's
trouvaille 'too-too' (1881), and to be
found in Mr W. S. Gilbert's extravaganza,
Patience.
Too cheap (Peoples'). Under
valued. Used in every possible way.
Too damned good (Military).
Second Dragoon Guards. From the
regimental indication on the shoulderstraps.
2
D.G.
Too full of holes to skin (W.
America}. Very much riddled with
bullets.
Too mean to raise (American}.
Utterly contemptible.
Too much with us! (Soc., 1897).
Boredom, incubus.
Klondyke is ' too much with us '
just
now. It has long been dragged into
conversation with the persistency of a
pantomime gag. D. T., 14th January
1897.
Too numerous to mention (London,
1882). Angrily drunk.
Too too (Soc., 1881). More than
perfect. Too-too was first found in
Punch in the height of the aesthetic
craze (1881).
Too utterly too (Society, 1883).
Final phrase resulting from the
satirical use of 'too-too'.
Tooled (Soc., 19 cent.). Murdered.
Satirical metaphor. Invented by De
Quincey.
Sir Edward Reed's suspected assassin
is thought to have 'tooled', as De
Quincey says, with a Japanese dagger.
D. N., 12th February 1885.
Tooleries (Theatrical, 1885).
Toole's Theatre now swept away.
Toothpick (American-Eng.). Clasp
knife or bowie knife. Satirical description
of its formidable appearance.
Toothpicks (American). People of
Arkansas.
Top-drawing-room (Low. London).
A garret.
Topical allusion (Political Music
Hall). Direct or indirect reference to
passing events.
When Miss Victor, exclaiming,
' Noble
nation, the Russians !
' a faint laugh,
broken by a faint hiss, indicated that a
perception had somewhere dawned upon
somebody of what burlesque writers call
a 'topical allusion'. D. N., 27th April
1885.
Topical vocalist (Music Hall).' One
who sings concerning the events or
topics of the day.
Tpra - loorals (Theatrical).
Feminine bust. Generally used in
reference to a dress very decolletee.
Torch-light procession (American,
1883). One of the more fiery American
drinks.
Tory democracy (Polit., 1885).
Impossibility, absurdity.
Lord R. Churchill had given a new
combination in the words 'Tory Democracy
'. A Tory could not be a Democrat,
and a Democrat could not be a Tory.
Mr H. Labouchere, Finsbury, 13th
October 1885.
Tory rory (London, 18 cent, to
1845). Name given to those who
wore their hats fiercely cocked.
Tosh (Cricket, 1898). Fatally easy
bowling.
Tosh (Thieves' old). Pocketprobably
a corruption from the French
poche.
Tot - hunter (Low Life). Bonecollector
generally used offensively
in quarrels, and in reference to
parents.
Tot-hunting (Low. Class). Scouring
the streets in search of pretty
girls.
Totty all colours (London Streets').
Young person who has contrived to
get most of the colours of the rainbow
into her costume.
Totty one lung (Street, 1885). An
asthmatic, or consumptive young
person who, whether good or bad,
thinks herself somebody.
Tough as tacker (Peoples').
Tough in excelsis.
248
Tourney Trifa
Tourney (Pugilistic}. Mill or encounter
of two fighters. Word coined
after the Eglintoun tournament.
Concerning the present tourney I
think that's the word arrangements
for a special train were attempted to be
made. Morning Star, 1862.
Tournure (Dresmakers', 1882).
Happily invented name for the dressimprover
of that year. Town (Rhyming). Halfpenny.
Thus town brown so named from
colour.
Tra la la (Peoples', 1880). Parting
benediction not too civil ; possibly
contemptuous. Died out about 1890.
The phrase took its rise with a comic
singer named Henri Clarke, whose
speciality was imitating Parisians.
Wkether he invented 'tra la la', or
heard it in Paris, or uttered by a
Frenchman in London he made a
great hit with it as the burden of a
chorus.
Thanks. I hate personalities. Goodmorning.
So tra, la, la ! Funny Folk,
No. 519.
Traffy (Wavy). Portsmouth's seafaring
reduction of the Trafalgar
(once Nelson's ship), and long since
anchored for life at Portsmouth.
Trailing coat (Irish spread to
England in 19 cent.). Defiance. In
Irish village fights the man trailed his
coat by way of challenge he who
took up the cartel trod on it, and
the fight began.
Irishmen in the postal service may say
that in introducing his 'blacklegs' Mr
Raikes was 'trailing his coat'. D. N.,
10th July 1890.
Train too fine (Soc. and Sport,
1890 on). Push things too oppressively
from sporting life, where men with
too much training overdo the training.
There is undoubted ground for the
belief that our bishops as a body are
beginning to 'train too fine'. D. T.,
10th June 1898.
Tram-fare (London Streets1
, 1882).
Twopence. Until the toll over Waterloo
Bridge (London) one halfpenny was
abolished, the lower women of the
streets used to ask for coin to go over
the bridge.
Transfer (Society). To steal.
Translate the truth (Soc., 1899).
Lie evasively. In general use during
this year.
The resources of the French language
for putting a polish of politeness on ugly
facts are infinite. When M. DelcassS's
mendacity in connection with the Muscat
incident was exposed, a leading Paris
paper extenuated his offence by the
ingenious excuse that, after all, he
merely 'translated the truth'. People,
19th March 1899.
Translated (Soc., 80's). Emphatically
intoxicated. Probably a reminiscence
of Shakespeare
' Bless
thee, Bottom, thou art translated'
(Midsummer Night's Dream).
Trap (Australian, 1870). Mounted
trooper.
Travelling1 tinkers (Inter - regi -
mental). 30th Regiment Lancashire
regiment.
Treacle-man (Thieves'}. Beautiful
male decoy who is the pretended young
man of the housemaid and the real
forerunner of the burglar. (See Leaveyer-
homer.)
Often used to designate the commercial
traveller who has to make sales
of type-writers, sewing machines, etc.
to young girls and old women. Sometimes
bitterly applied by drapers'
assistants to any one of their number
who makes the smartest sales.
Treason - mongers (Polit., 1885).
Contemptuous name found for dynamiters
as their great schemes for the
destruction of London faded into
nothingness.
None but treason-mongers will dispute
the applicability of the inscription on the
pedestal, which, in the familiar words
from Henry V11L, represents him as
having fallen a martyr for his country.
Globe, 1st July 1885.
Trelawny ( West Cornwall}. Warcry
of the Cornish men ; derived from
one of the three leading septs of
Cornwall
By Tre, Pol, and Pen
Ye shall know the Cornish men.
Used as a defiance.
Trifa (Jewish}. Unclean clean
things may become trifa ; others, such
as pork and shell-fish, are always trifa.
Applied widely in E. London.
Tripha, ritually unclean. I. Zangwill,
Children of the Ghetto.
The slaughterer must be a man of high
moral character. In opening the animal,
he must make a thorough inspection of
it, and if he finds it in any way diseased,
he pronounces 'trefa* that it is unfit
for the food of Jews.
(See Kosher.)
249
Trilby True Inwardness
Trilby (Soc., 1894). Woman's
exquisite foot. American - English.
From Du Maurier's book (1894) Trilby
the name of the book, and of the
heroine, whose beautifully rare foot is
insisted on.
Having exhausted palmistry an
American paper has spent its energy
of psychological investigation on the
foot (I beg pardon, the trilby), but a
rival comes out with a page of illustrated
description of the mouth. People, 7th
July 1895.
Trimming (Polit., 18 cent. on).
Not sailing straight.
' He's a trimmer of trimmers, and
he lies by heredity.'
Trimming was the name which the
18th century politician gave to what
we now call opportunism. Ouida, An
Altruist (1896).
Trimmings (Trade, 1897). Masked
alcohol. When, by the contrivance of
Mr Gladstone, it was attempted to
modify the attraction of the publichouse
by giving licenses to sell
alcoholic drinks to various tradesmen,
some linen-drapers and silk-mercers
who gave credit, opened liberal refreshment
rooms at their establishments,
and put down their lady-customers'
wine -lunches as 'trimmings' in the
bills sent to the husbands. Hence the
word became synonymous with secret
drinking by women.
The Drapers' World declares ' alcoholic
trimmings' to be fiction. D. T., 18th
January 1897.
Trinity kiss (Soc., about 1870).
A triple kiss generally given by
daughters and very young sons, when
going to bed, to father and mother.
Tfi i p e (Journalistic). Rubbish,
'rot'.
Yet she puts in six or seven pages of
her own tripe, and limits me to three
columns. T. Le Breton, The Modern,
Christian (1902), ch. 8.
Tripe, Blooming six foot o'
(Street, 1880). A giant policeman.
' Yer blooming six foot o' tripe, how's
yer fat old head ?
' attack upon a tall
policeman.
Triper (Streets', E. London}.
Trifa (?) this being the Jewish for
unclean.
Tripos pup (Cambridge Univ.)
Undergrad cantabs.
Every year the coaches exact more
and more work out of their 'Tripos
pups'. D. N., 14th June 1887.
Triumphant toast (Soc., 18 cent.).
Toast in excelsis.
Miss Chudleigh next was the triumphant
toast: a lively, sweet-tempered,
gay, self-admired, and not altogether
without reason, generally-admired lady
she moved not, without crowds after
her. She smiled at every one. Richardson,
Lettters from Tunbridge Wells, 1748.
Trot (Com. Lond., 1875). A walk
probably suggested by the ordinary
quick movement of most young
Englishmen.
Trot the udyju Pope o' Rome
(Street). This is very enigmatic
English, composed of rhyming and
transposition styles, and is generally
used by one man to another when he
wants the wife, or other feminine
person, out of the way. Udyju is
judy (wife) transposed Judy being
very common word for wife or mistress
equally. Pope o' Rome is rhyming for
home.
Trots (Common London). Feet
derived from 'trotting'.
Trots (Peoples', 1846). Policemen.
Refers to these officers being always on
the go or beat.
Trotter-cases (Com. London, 1860).
Boots.
Trotting away from the pole
(American). In error wandering
from subject. From horse - trotting
sport; the pole being the winning
post.
Trouble (American, 1870). Distinct
American for '
anxiety '.
Troubled with the slows (Aquatics).
Observed of the losing boat or swimmer.
Trouting (Piscatorial). Catching
trout.
April and May are the best months for
trouting on the Thames. People, 3rd
April 1898.
Trowser (E. London, 1895 on).
Jack of all trades and master of none.
Sir Reginald Hanson: What is a
'trowser'. Sweeting: Vy, a man as
does any hod jobs. Anythin'. D. T.,
4th November 1897.
True bill, judgment, execution
(Anglo-American). Medical analysis
of the course of paralysis.
True inwardness (Literary, 1890
on). Reality. One of the principal
shapes of literary jargon produced in
the '90's. Probably the only serious
survival of the aesthetic craze of the
'80's.
250
Trying it on the Dog Turn the Tap on
Trying it on the dog (Theatrical).
Abbreviation of ' the matine'e dog '.
Derived from the amiable habit, in the
good old times of testing a present of
eatables by giving a portion to the dog.
In the present relation it is a contemptuous
reference to the lower
judging capacities of afternoon theatrical
audiences. Testing the value of a
new piece by an afternoon audience
is trying it on the matinee dog who
is below consideration, but may be
useful.
If any enterprising person desires to
make money from a play or a composition
of music he does not boldly attempt the
experiment upon the public. His shrewd
suspicion that they would avenge the
torture induces him to adopt the preliminary
precaution of '
trying it on the
dog. D. T., 4th February 1897.
Tub practice (Boating}. Unskilled
efforts in broad-bottomed boats.
During the intervals of racing in the
eight they should have been taken out
for 'tub' practice in convenient gig
pairs. D. T., 17th June 1897.
Tubbichon (Peoples', '60'a). Corruption
of tire - buchon (corkscrew)
which was the Paris argot in the '60's
for the long solitary ringlet of a portion
of the back hair worn in front of the
left shoulder, a fashion created by the
Empress Eugenie, and accepted in
London by the middle - classes immediately
after that lady visited
London (1855), when for a time everything
French was very popular.
Miss Spong's fair hair is all pushed
into a gold net, save for one long tirelouchon
hanging over the left shoulder.
Z>. T., 21st January 1898.
Tug of war (Peoples'). Contest
final and settling. Now applied to
two sets of boys or men pulling from
the two ends of one rope the tug
being to get one side a mere inch over
the dividing chalk line.
Tumbling down to grass (Peoples',
1884). Equivalent to going to the
bad. Breaking up, failing. From the
fact of land going out of cultivation
1875-85.
Tunnels (Theat., 1885). Opera
Comique Theatre (swept away by Strand
improvements) Strand. From the
several subterranean passages leading
to this underground theatre.
These same ' coarse bullies ' have often
enough been Mr W. S. Gilbert's
staunchest supporters at the Savoy, and
at the Royalty and the Tunnels. JRef.,
10th January 1886.
(Mr Gilbert had been complaining
of the angry reception, by the gallery,
of a play by him. )
Tup (Streets' especially in Woolwich').
Arrested. It is derived from
' locked up ', the ' t
' of locked being
prefixed to up.
Tuppenny 'apenny ones (Street).
Very poor and common sort.
Tupper (Soc. , 1850 on). A commonplace
honest bore who talks or writes
ABC. Takes its rise from Mr Martin
Tupper who wrote a phenomenally
successful book called Proverbial
Philosophy composed entirely of selfevident
propositions.
Turf (Street, 19 cent.). Prostitution.
From loose women being on
parade. Thence came turfer.
Turn down your cup (Soc., 19 cent. ,
1785-1890). Die from the once existing
provincial habit of reversing one's
cup in one's saucer when no more tea
or coffee was required. Finish hence
the figure of speech.
This last word cost Mr Palmer half his
breakfast ; on hearing it he turned down
his cup with a profound sigh. Miss M.
Edgeworth, Manoeuvring.
Turn over (Press, 1860 on). Last
column on the right of the front page
of a newspaper, especially an evening
one. So called from the social article
which fills that column turning a few
lines, for the sake of effect, over on to
top of first column on second page.
Turn paper collars (American).
Figurative for poverty. (See Out o'
collar.)
Turn round pudding
Any slop pudding or porric
by turning round the ingredients with
a spoon, in a saucepan. (See Stir about,
Hasty pudding.)
Turn the best side to London
(Peoples'). Shrewd way of recommending
the hearer to make the best of
everything.
Turn the tap on (Common London).
To be ready with tears.
' You noticed, perhaps ', said my companion,
' that when she had finished her
song she fell a crying ? That's what she's
strong in. She can turn the taps on at a
moment's notice, and that in a way you'd
never think was any other than natural.'
D. T. t 8th February 1883.
251
Turn Turtle Two Inches beyond Upright
Turn turtle (Naval). Tumble down
drunk from the over-turning of a
vessel which is to turn turtle.
Turn up (Universal). Appear unexpectedly.
Turn up friendly lead (Coster, 1870).
Final jovial co-operation. A publichouse
sing-song to pay the burial
expenses of a dead friend, or a pal
who has turned up life.
Turnover (Cornish mining).
Capital. Alas it is generally the
shareholders in these toils who are
turned over.
Turn-over (Lit., 1880). A work to
dip into rather than read.
The book has as a ' turn over ' much of
the character of a good volume of Punch,
and it has the merits (both rare in French
comic drawing) of bringing no blush on
the cheek of the young person, and of
having its work finished and not merely
indicated in outline. Sat. Rev., 26th
December 1885.
Turn-up (Thieves?). Acquittal the
prosecution being turned up, or
abandoned. ' This will be only a turn
up.
' Also used socially.
'
Ginger
May's turned me up', does not mean
that this yellow-haired Circe has committed
an assault upon the speaker,
but has abandoned him.
Dear Parnell, For heaven's sake stop
the boycotting and the Moonlighting and
the outrages. I have promised you
Home Rule, and you shall have it ; but
if you let your lads play old gooseberry
with law and order as they are doing
now, I shall have to turn it up.
Salisbury, Ref., 18th October 1885.
Turnups (Lower Peoples' ). Rejection
of a suitor. She dismisses him or
turns him up said to be from hospital
practice of turning up the ordinary
joint bedstead when a patient left it
for the grave. Corrupted into an idea
of turnips generally pronounced
turnups by the vulgar.
Turkey-buyer (Leadenhall market).
Swell, toff, dude, person of consequence,
banker. Because it requires
more than two-pence to buy gobblers.
Turkey merchant ( City). Extensive
financier in scrip a city plunger,
supposed to have some reference to the
gaming traffic in Turkish bonds which
continued until 1878. More probably
a name-word, a corruption of ' T. K. '
the initials of some past away
252
speculator, Swhose only legacy to the
world was this phrase.
Turtle soup ( Workmen's}. Sheep's
head broth. (See Clare market duck,
City sherry.)
Tweedle-dum sirs (Soc.). Baronets
or knights who gain their titles by way
of music. Started when Sir Michael
Costa obtained his title. Almost
forgotten when Sir Arthur Sullivan
was knighted. (See Gally-pot baronet. )
Twelve o'clock (Artizan*'). Action
time to be moving. Derived from
the fact that this is (or rather was),
the dinner hour, and that the diners
move rapidly towards home.
Twelve pound actor (Theatrical). A well-weighted newly-born baby a
child born in ' the profession
' of course.
Mrs James O'Neill has added a twelvepound
actor to Jimmy's board account.
20 in the pounder (Peoples'). Gentleman
who, owing a sovereign, does not
make a composition, but pays his 240
pence in full.
Twicers (Lower Class, 19 cent.).
Twins.
Twisting the lion's tail. (See
Tail-twisting.)
Twixter (L. London). Either a
lady-like young man, or a man-like
young woman as the case may be.
Two 'arts in a pond (Lower Class).
Two hearts (bullocks'), in a pond-dish,
this receptacle being a baking dish
divided in two parts by a transverse
wall hence the ponds. Used on
Sunday morning at the bake-houses to
describe dinner baked there and
called for.
Two brothers alive, and one
married (Music Hall, 1897). The one
married being as bad as dead.
Two buckle horses (Stables').
Tuberculosis.
Two ends and the middle of a bad
lot (Middle-class). Evasive method of
utter condemnation.
Two F's(Mid.-class, 1880). Fringe
and followers of lady servants.
As for the two F's fringes (forehead
hair) and followers surely they should
be permitted in moderation. The fringe
need not become a fuzz, the followers
need not degenerate into polyandry.
D. N., 20th October 1886.
Two inches beyond upright
(Peoples'). Hypocritical liar. Perversion
of description of upright-standing
Two L.'s, The Uhlan
man, who throws his back backwards
beyond upright. Two L's, The (American Eng. ,
1880). In England means certain
destruction. In America lead or
liquor. Comes from the Wild West,
and chiefly Arizona, where between
taking eternal pulls at Bourbon
whiskey, and for ever drawing lead at
sight upon the next door neighbour,
or being drawn upon a man of thirty
was a phenomenon of old age.
Two to one against you (Peoples').
Very much against you. Refers to the
pawnbroker's golden sign
' the three
balls ' two above one, implying that
it is two to one that you will never
get your pledge back.
Two upon ten (Tradesmen's).
' Two '
eyes upon ' ten '
fingers warning
that a thief is in the neighbourhood
; generally given out by one
shopman for the benefit of the others.
Two white, two red, and after
you with the blacking brush usually
cut down two white, two red, and
the brush (London Street, 1860-70).
This phrase is absolutely a legacy from
the second French empire. Under
Napoleon III., the use of colour
cosmetics became very marked. Like
most French fashions this came to
London, and even penetrated for a
short time into fairly respectable
society, whence it rapidly reached the
streets, with much exaggeration hence
the phrase which thus satirizes the
vulgarity of the use of colours. It
means ' two dabs of red, two of white,
and the use of blacking brush to make
up the eyebrows '.
' After you, miss,
with the two two's and the two b's'
(i.e., blacking brush).
Two with you (Tavern Life). Suggesting
a twopenny drink.
Arthur Eoberts may be congratulated.
At the finish his friends crowded around,
and challenged him with a 'Two with
you '.JRef., 12th June 1887.
Twopenny tube (C. London, 1900).
The Central London Underground
Electric Railway (opened in the first
week in August 1900), gained this
shortened designation within ten
days. At once it became a phrase to
stay. From the then one and only
fare twopence.
We have already, it is true, the omnibus,
the hansom, the four-wheeler, the
tramcar, the underground railway, and
the 'two-penny tube'. D. T. (Sir E.
Arnold), 13th October 1900.
u
U.K. (London, 1870). Emphatic
initials of United Kingdom.
Minnie Palmer is on all call nightly,
and may be pronounced the finest antidyspeptic
dose in the U.K. U bet !
Sunday Times, 14th October 1883.
U.P. (Lower Social). 'Up' spelt,
to make the word more forcible.
Usually used with all as 'It's all
U.P. with him', which may mean
that he is about to die, or fail in
business, or his winnings, or his power
of work of any kind.
Still the box did not come down, and
I thought certainly it was ' U.P. ' with
all of us. By this time some of the men
who felt better had climbed up, but
most of us were not strong enough to do
so. D. T., 17th May 1897.
See N.G. and G.T.T.
Ud's my life (Peoples', 18 cent.).
One of the evasive forms of religious
swearing, 'God's my life'. (See
Zounds, etc.)
Ugger, The (Oxford). The Union.
Marvels have been done with the most
unpromising material. For example,
one would have thought that ' the Union '
defied corruption. But not so. Some
ingenious wit had an inspiration and
called it ' the Ugger ', and his friends
bowed low before him. D. T., 14th
August 1899.
Ugly (Common Coffee housey 19
cent.). Thick. (See Ungryome.)
Ugly (Soc., 50's). Bonnet shade.
'Ugly'. The passing name bestowed
by common consent upon the hideous
shades worn upon the front of the
bonnet, and made of silk drawn in
gathers upon wires.
Ugly rush (Parliamentary). Speed
to prevent enquiry forcing a bill.
(See Hard and fast line. )
Uhlan (Parliamentary, 1883).
Free lance or perhaps free-booter.
Lord Randolph Churchill. The Uhlans
were first familiarly known in England
253
Ulster Ungryome
during the Franco-German War (1870-
71) but only by report. They were
the avant courriers of the German
advance into France, their appearance
presaging the arrival of a numerous
body. The word soon came to represent
a daring, headstrong skirmisher.
Lord Randolph in politics answering
this description, ultimately acquired
this title.
Such an idea had long been in the mind
of Lord Randolph Churchill, the Uhlan
of the Conservative army. D. N., 17th
February 1883.
Ulster (Anglo Amer.). Skin of
anything. Jocosely suggested by the
long ulster coat covering the whole
body.
Ultra-crepidation (Soc., 19 cent.).
Plunging, vaulting ambition. From
Ne sutor ultra crepidam.
But be that as it may, the man whom
proverbial wisdom exhorts to ' stick to
his last '
is the very man who most often
sets that advice at nought. He has
been '
ultra-crepidating ', to use a word
of Coleridgian coinage, throughout all
history. D. T., 14th May 1895.
Ululation (Press, about 1875).
First night condemnation by all the
gallery and the back of the pit. (See
Damned, Hornpipe.)
Umble-cum-stumble (Low. Class).
Thoroughly understood.
Unattached (Parliamentary, 1850,
on). A member of the legislation
whose vote is never quite to be counted
upon by any party.
Unavoidable circumstances
(American Satirical). Court kneebreeches.
Unbounded assortment of gratuitous
untruths (Polit., 1885). Extensive
systematic lying. From speech
(llth November 1885) of Mr Gladstone's
at Edinburgh, wherein may be
found :
It has become the fashion with a
portion of the Tory party to circulate in
reference to myself personally and individually
an unbounded assortment of the
most gratuitous untruths.
Unconscious self (Soc., 1885).
Genius the quality of exceptional and
inexplicable production of intellectual
work.
Dore's very best drawings look like the
work of an inspired 'unconscious self,
to borrow the latest terminology of
psychical research. D. N., 25th June
1885.
254
Uncrowned king (Political, 1881).
Satirical name for C. S. Parnell, M.P.
for Cork, the leader of the Irish movement.
The crown referred to that of
Ireland, from one of whose kings, like
most Irish leaders, C. S. Parnell was
descended.
Under or over (American-English,
1860 on). Contraction of under the
grass or over the grass this phrase
being a metaphor of death (under the
grass) and of life (over the grass).
Applied to widows meaning either a
husband who is dead, or a husband in
divorce, who of course is over and
above the grass.
This widow of ' Under the grass
' and
1 Over the grass ', the dead husband and
the divorced one, is very fascinating, very
brilliant, and certainly cynical. D. T.,
9th August 1899.
Under the rose v. Sub rosa.
Underdone (Colloquial). Pale complexion.
Took the place of doughy.
Underground Russia (Socialistic).
Nihilistic Russia.
Andre" Frangoli has himself played an
important part in the Russian revolutionary
movement; nobody is better
acquainted than he with ' Underground
Russia ', and his name is not unknown in
England. I give the story, word for
word, as he gave it to me D. N., 15th
September 1883.
Understudy (Theatrical). Presumed
inferior actor or actress, who
learns a part played by a presumedly
superior actor or actress, and who only
gets a chance of appearing as the
result of illness or other indisposition
on the part of the superior being.
In the theatrical profession it is always
understood to be a perfectly legitimate
proceeding, and occasionally in the
interests of art, for an ' understudy
' to
pray for the collapse of a principal.
D. T., 20th May 1897.
Undigested Ananias (Peoples'^
1895). Triumphant liar.
' Just listen to him !
' exclaimed Mra
Quick ;
' look at his impudence. Hear
how he cheeks the Court. Why, it's as
bad as when he once called my husband
an "undigested Ananias'". D. T..
24th June 1896.
Unfair done by (Peoples', Hist.),
Ill-treated.
Ungryome (Common Cofec-hoiae,
1880). Unaspirated and collided condition
of the two words,
' hungry
' and
home*. (See Ugly.)
Unhitched Uppertendom
Unhitched (Liverpool spreading) .
Let go, released, separated.
When all the arrangements were made
and the pair stood up the 'Squire gazed
at them over his spectacles and unhitched
on them in the most solemn and impressive
tones. N. Y. Mercury. April
1886.
Unicorn carman (L. Streets', 19
cent. }. Driver of three horses harnessed
tandem.
Unkinned (Soc., 1884). Satirical
pronunciation of ' unkind ' the result
of the production (1884) of Hamlet at
the Princess's Theatre, where Mr
"Wilson Barrett in the title-rdle, acting
under advice, used kin instead of kind
in the great soliloquy.
Unrelieved holocaust (Society,
1883). In 1882 the destruction of
the Ring Theatre (Vienna), and of a
circus at Berditscheff (Russia), both
accompanied by terrible loss of life,
led a writer in the Times to use the
above odd phrase in reference to these
catastrophes whereupon the satirical
spirits of society adopted it to ridicule
the most absurd incidents.
Up (Sporting). In the saddle.
'Archer up' favourite cry meaning
success in 1880-83.
That most enterprising of picture
ublishers, Mr George Eees, of Russell
treet, Covent Garden, has issued a
splendidly got up coloured lithograph of
St Blaise (a horse),
' with CharlieWoodup'.
Up (Theatrical). Up the stage.
Under this condition as a rule the up'd
one has only to look on. (See Come
down. )
Up a tree for tenpence (Peoples',
1850 on). Moneyless, stone-broke.
Up fields (Westminster School).
Enclosure of Vincent Square, Westminster,
practically the private
property of St Peter's. It is historically
the field where the Westminsters
played, and play especially football.
Up my sleeve (Ancient English).
This phrase is very obscure, but it is
certainly used in the sense of being
intoxicated.
It was six pots up my sleeve when we
reached port ; and Sarah asked me to
her next Sunday tea fight.
Up or down (Peoples'). Heaven or
Hades.
Up School (Westminster School).
Short for 'Upper School' the great
school-room.
Up the pole (Peoples', 1896 on).
Drunk.
Plaintiff : I did not ; but your little
juently saying that you were
' up the poll
The Judi
Up
Fudge: Up the what? Up the
poll, sir.
What is that? You know, sir.
the poll.
The Judge : I don't know.
The High Bailiff explained that the
term was a slang one for being intoxicated.
D. T. t llth December 1897.
The approach to drunkenness is
'getting on the pole'.
Up to date (Soc. and Peoples', 1873
on). Total modernity.
The two principals were made up like
Corbett and Fitzsimmons, and the entertainment
was a triumph of 'the up-todate
'.Peoples', 4th April 1897.
Up to the scratch (Peoples', 19
cent.). Fit, sufficient, allowable. Said
to be from the lady committee of
Almacks approving of names submitted
to them by scratching some
cabalistic mark intimating that the
owner of the name might be allowed
to enter Almacks. 'Not up to the
scratch ' referred to the fact that all
who applied for entrance were not
found worthy. Said to have been
started by Beau Brummel.
The picture-destroyer pays his polite
attentions to Mr Herbert as well as to
Mr Alma Tadema. Who can say after
this that Mr Herbert's pictures are not
up to the scratch ? Entr'acte, 30th May
1885.
Up-end (Street, 1880 on). Fling
down heavily, so that the heels fly up.
Used figuratively for amazement as
' I was fair-upended !
'
Up-keep^oc., 1897). Maintenance,
keeping up, keeping as a going concern.
First noticed in print in this year.
The Council has now resolved to relieve
local authorities of the cost of the up-keep
of those places which they at present
defray. D. T., 1st December 1897.
Upper and downer (Lower People).
Wrestling struggle, in which combatants
upset, but rarely if ever strike,
each other. Generally for a bet.
Upper ten set (Servants'}. Ladies
and gentlemen employed by the upper
ten thousand. Phrase found by themselves
for themselves.
Uppertendom (New York}. Word
coined from upper ten.
255
Use Very Well
Use (High Church, 1890 on).
Function.
On Palm Sunday the benediction of
palms carried in procession was more
than ever the ' use ', not merely in very
advanced Anglican churches, and in more
than one case a bishop was the chief
officiator. World, April 1897.
Usher of the hall (Soc., 1883).
Odd kitchen man male. Equivalent
of char or chore woman.
Mr M'Coan asked as to 'the sentence
upon George Gardiner, described as a
tutor, charged with stealing a jug of
beer and sentenced to six weeks'
imprisonment. Sir W. Harcourt, amid
much laughter, explained that owing to
the custom in large establishments of
the odd man being called ' the Usher of
the Hall', a position held by Gardiner,
the writer of the newspaper paragraph
had converted him into a tutor. House
of Commons, 19th April 1883.
Util (Theatrical). Utility. The
util actor in a company. He is the
odd man ready to do anything.
Generally a clever man who has missed
his mark.
V.C. (London, about 1882). Plucky.
The initials of Victoria Cross.
V.C. (American -Eng., 19 cent.}.
Abbreviation of Vigilance Committee.
A body of American neighbours bound
together to punish an evil - doer,
murderer, highwayman, horse-stealer,
or unscrupulous sensualist who contrives
to evade the law. Chiefly
operates in out - lying and southern
districts. 'Take care, or you'll be
V.C.'d '
(veeceed). (See Burke, Wainwright).
V.R. (Peoples'). Evasive reference
to the prison van, which, in the reign
of Victoria, bore these initials on
each side. (See Black Maria, Virtue
rewarded, Vagabonds removed, Sardine
box).
V.R., V.R., V.R. (Jubilee, 1897).
Ve are, ve are, ve are = we are, we are,
we are. One of the jocular readings of
'V.R.' during the Diamond Jubilee.
Applied to a placard in Kensington
when the Queen visited that suburb
(28th June 1897).
Vagabonds removed (Peoples').
Droll application of the initials V.R.
the letters standing, of course, for
Victoria Regina, which appeared on the
outside of the prison van to the end of
the reign of Victoria.
Vales (Soc., 18 cent.). Presents to
servants. Still used in old houses.
Valse (Anglo - Amer.). Synonym
for airy walking, especially in quitting
a room. (See Bailey, Polka, Skip).
Vanderbilt (American). The U.S.A.
synonym for Rothschild (q.v.). To
describe a very rich man the Vanderbilts
of New York being historical
millionaires. 1884.
Vapourage (American). Medical
vapour bathing.
Vardy the carsey (Criminal).
Italian. Look at the house. One of
the Italian organ-men's expressions
passed on. From ' vedere ' and ' casa '.
Variant (Lit.,
J
90's). Variation,
divergency.
He piloted Florodora into the harbour
of safety by his diverting variant of
John Wellington Wells. D. T., 13th
November 1899.
Variety stage (Music Hall, 1880).
As distinct from the dramatic. Outgrowth
of the prosperity of music halls.
Varnish (Soc., 19 cent.). Badchamfary
means (Polit., 18 cent.).
Contradict, turn - coat, prevaricate.
Introduced by Burke. Held its ground
until 1840.
The contradiction between his methods
is due, he pleads, to the identity of the
object at which he aimed then, and at
which he aims now. He varies his
means, as Burke expressed it, to secure
the essential unity of his end. W. E.
Gladstone (Edinburgh, llth November
1885).
Venture girl (Anglo-Indian). Early
Victorian. Poor young lady sent out
to India to obtain a husband.
Verandah (S. London). The gallery
of the old Victoria theatre.
Very famillionaire (Soc., 1870).
Referring to the shape of patronage
displayed by rich men. Derived from
the satirist Heine.
Very froncey (Soc., 19 cent.). Too
pronounced. Shape of Tres Francais.
upposed to be an elegant evasion of
saying a given thing is vulgar.
Very well (Soc., 1860 on).
degree of
the first.
approval Not
Second
Bad being
256
Vestrify Wabbler
Vestrify (Parliamentary, 1884). To
minimise ; to reduce in dignity.
Mr Chaplin has enriched the English
dictionary with the verb '
vestrify ', which
is perhaps destined to a longer life than
the somewhat uncouth verb '
boycott '.
D. N., 31st December 1884.
Vic (Theatrical}. When the first
theatre was built in the New Cut
(Lambeth) it was called the Brunswick,
in honour of the Princess Charlotte.
It was burnt down before it was
opened, and by the time it was rebuilt
the poor Princess Charlotte was
dead, and the eyes of the nation turned
to the Princess Victoria. The new
theatre was baptized the Royal Victoria,
cut down by the New Cut
warriors to Vic, before the first
dramatic week was out. Strangely
enough, the Princess Royal came to be
called by this prompt diminutive.
She is often thus named in the Queen's
Diary. (See Bird, Brit., 'Delphi, Eff,
Lane).
Viewy (Political, 1860-70). Mistrustedly
theoretical, dilletante, lacking
breadth. Invented in opposition to
the philosophy of J. S. Mill. Remained
as a condemnatory adjective.
Village blacksmith (Music Hallpassing
to theatres). An artiste who
never has a longer engagement than a
week. Euphemism for a failure.
Figuratively derived from a verse in
Longfellow s poem :
' Week in, week out, from noon till night
You can hear his bellows roar.'
Vintage (Anglo-American). Year
of birth.
'I want to sue a man for breach of
promise,
' said a maiden of the vintage of
1842, coming into a lawyer's office.
N.Y.Mercury, 1883.
Virgins' bus (Peoples', 1870). The
last bus from Piccadilly Corner westward.
So named satirically in reference
to the character of the chief
patronesses at that late hour. No
longer runs the tubes bowled over
this vehicle. (See Covered brougham).
Virtue rewarded (Peoples'). Prison
van ironical reference to the moral
nature of its occupants, and based upon
the initials V.R., which used to be
seen on each side.
Vogue (Soc., 1897). Fashion. This
word was markedly used only early in
1897.
A remarkable instance of the commercial
value of ' vogue
' in art occurred
at Christie's on Saturday. D. T., 8th
March 1897.
Voice, To (Sor.., 1897 on). Assert,
declare loudly. This use of a noun as
a verb is very significant of public life.
London yesterday voiced the very
spirit of the country. D. T., 17th
October 1899.
Volunteer knee drill. Abject
adulation. Outcome of volunteer
movement.
Vote khaki, To (Peoples', 1900).
Opting for the Conservatives, plumping
for the Liberal Unionist. First heard
in the May of 1900.
One would give something to hear Mr
Hosea Biglow's opinion upon 'voting
khaki'. M. Leader, W. Archer, 27th
October 1900.
Voulez-vous squatty-vous?
(Theatre gods'). Will you sit down?
One of the half French nonsense
phrases which began with the frequency
of French emigres and prisoners in
England. Started by Grimaldi.
W
W. 2. (Peoples', 1896). Double-u
Two satirical description of the
Emperor William II., following on his
telegram to President Kruger on New
Year's Day 1896. Said of any militarylooking
man stalking town.
W.P.B. (Press). Waste paper
basket. Ominous initials generally
referring to communications.
If the criticism or remark is nice, I
read and enjoy it ; if it is nasty, it is
thrown into the W.P.B., and it troubles
me not' fief., 2nd March 1884.
I should say the printer's devil picked
up the pieces from the editor's W.P.B.,
and handed them in for copy.
Wabbler (Sporting). Pedestrian.
Mr Edward Payson Weston, the wellknown
long - distance pedestrian, illustrated
'endurance withotit alcohol' by
walking 50 miles in ten hours, or rather in
nine hours fifty minutes, for the ' wabbler'
saved ten minutes of his advertised
time.
257
Wad Wardour Street Woods
Wad (Navy), Gunner interesting
as a survival from the days of muzzleloading
cannon.
Wade in (American). To begin a
fight. This expression was begun
during the Civil War, and was probably
started by some farmer recruits
who obtained the figure of speech from
the memory of the courage vith which
ducklings take to the water almost as
soon as born.
Wag-gernery, O (Lower Soc. y '80's).
New shape of ' agony ', based upon
the ignorant contempt for the great
German, Wagner, through this decade.
Waistcoat piece (Tailors'}. Breast
and neck of mutton from its resemblance
to the shape of half the front of
a waistcoat not made up. (See Hyde
Park railings. )
Waistrel (Lancashire and the North
generally old}. A wretched, halfstarved
wanderer.
Wait (Theatrical). Time between
the acts ; the time between the appearances
of an actor in the same piece.
Wait till the clouds roll by
(Peoples', 1884). Catch line used to
induce hopefulness from an American
ballad, in which this phrase formed
the chief feature of the chorus.
Wherever I have been lately and found
the people festively inclined I have
gathered that they intend to 'wait till
the crowds roll loy'.Ref., August 1884.
Wait a quarter of a sec ! (Society).
Intensification of ' Half a sec !
' Protest
against being over-hurried.
Wake snakes (American - Eng.}.
Provoke to the uttermost.
Walk out (American - Eng. ,
Theatrical, 1890 on). Failure from
the American habit of condemning a
bad play before it is over by going home.
Reached England by way of Liverpool.
I am delighted to find, on the assurance
of the author, that though New
York ' walked out ', Washington ' walked
in' and received it warmly, and the
Boston audience gave it a most enthusiastic
reception also. Z>. T., 24th
February 1897.
Walk out with the bat (Soc., 1880).
Victory from the last cricketer in an
innings taking his bat out, the last
player but one having 'gone out'.
Walk turkey (American - Eng.}.
Promenade with constrained effort, like
the movement of the turkey.
Walking round (Peoples' old).
Preparing for assault. From dog&
walking round each other to look for
the safest attack.
Walled (Artists', 1882). Picture
accepted took the place of hung.
Wallop down (Com. Land.). To
fall with a crash.
Waltzing off on the ear (American}.
A person who acts upon the first word
to which he happens to listen.
Wander (Street, 19 cent.}. Satirical
expression and meaning ' Be off'.
Want of proportion (Criticism,
1883). Term providing a new shape
of attack upon the inductive process.
Attributed to Mr Theodore Watts
Dunton.
Want to score (Peoples'). Desire to
succeed. From scoring, or marking in
all athletic and many other exercises.
He was engaged in the most difficult
scenes of a risky play. And he helped
it, not because he ' wanted to score ', but
because he is a thorough artist, and
knows the responsibility of his business.
D. T., 6th January 1896.
Wants a apron ( Workman's}. Out
of work the apron off.
Wants salt (American - English,
1880 on). Wants grit.
Oh, thunder, you want salt on you. A
super is an adjunct to the stage. Bad
Boy's Diary, 1883.
War Cry (Salvation Army, 1882-
83). The ' huzza ' of this body and of
religious, and a title to their peculiar
newspaper.
That's a very pretty dona, though, I
came across in Eegent Street the other
evening who sold me a War Cry. 1883.
War - cry (Public - house, 1882).
Mixture of stout and mild ale under- *
stood. Applied satirically by '
topers
'
because the Salvation Army spoke
stoutly and ever used mild terms.
(See Brighton bitter, Cold four,
Baby and nurse.)
War-paint (Soc., 1875). Court,
state, and evening dress in general
jewels, white gloves, etc. , etc. Derived
from North American Indians who
always painted themselves when going
into battle. (See Full fig.)
Wardour Street woods (Cabinetmakers').
Imitation old furniture,
knocked together yesterday. Name
obtained from Wardour Street (Soho,
258
Warm as They Make Them Weasel
London), because that place is or was
supposed to be the headquarters of this
business. (See Worm-eater.)
Warm as they make them (Street).
Immoral.
Warm bit (Com. London, 1880).
Yigorous woman.
Warm corner (Soc., Sporting). A.
nook where birds are found in plenty.
Warm with (London Taverns).
Refers to orders for spirits and water,
the * with '
refers to sugar.
Warrocks (American passing to
JSng.). Beware! This seems to be a
orruption of war - hawks meaning
tomahawks. Certainly it is menacing
and comes originally from the vocabulary
of the North American Indians.
Warwick weed ( Warwickshire). ,
Warwick elm. Disguised self-glorification
of the splendour of the county
elms.
Passing through the ridge and furrow
ountry where the elm, the ' Warwickshire
weed', rises straight out of the
corn, etc. I). N., August 1885.
Warwickshire Will. Name given
to Shakespeare in his county.
Washer-dona (Com. Lond.,19 cent. ).
Washer-woman.
Watch him like a hawk (Hist.).
Watch to the very death.
Hawks were tamed by watching.
Shakespeare has several allusions to this.
Desdemona in assuring Cassio how she
will urge his suit with Othello, says :
' I'll watch him tame, and talk him out
of patience.'
Selden, in his Table Talk, says:
' Lecturers get a great deal of money,
because they preach the people tame,
as a man watches a hawk.'
Watchers (Election). Euphemism
for spies on the look out for bribery.
Water - bottle (Street). Total
abstainer. (See Rum -bottle, Milkbottle,
Ink-bottle, etc., etc.)
Water down (Political). Weaken
minimise results.
It is no use increasing the number of
Toters if you water down and minimise
the political influence which the vote
onfers. Mr J. Chamberlain, 13th June
1883.
Water dona (Lower Class).
Washer-woman a lady who disports
herself in water, together with soap
and suds.
Waterloo (Streets, 19 cent, to about
1870). Half-penny as thus. Ther
was a half-penny toll over Waterloo
Bridge, on the Surrey side of which
lived most of the poorer common
women who harassed the Strand. Aa
midnight arrived, these moneylesa
women who hung about Wellington
Street at the Strand end of the bridge
begged for a ' Waterloo ' to pay their
toll over the bridge. Wauns (Peoples', provincial).
Wounds God's wounds. Another
shape of zounds.
Wauns so sound that they never
wake? I wish my wife lay there.
Farquhar, The Recruiting Officer.
Way of all flesh (Peoples'). Dead
probably from Puritanic phrase.
Weak in the arm (Public-house}.
Caustic euphemism for a short pull of
beer, as compared with th long pull.
Chiefly refers to half-pint drawn in
a pint pot.
Weaken (Amer., 1880). Soften.
Wears a revolver-pocket (Doubtful
Soc., 1880 on). Evasive statement to
the effect that the speaker carries a
revolver.
The hateful and barbarous custom of
carrying these deadly weapons has risen
to an incredible height ; it has long been
known to the Home Office, who need
only to have asked the tailors how many
revolver pockets they now make.
Mitchell Henry, Times, 23rd January
1885.
Wears the broad arrow (Thieves').
Elegant evasion of a reference to
convict life. (See Taken stripes. )
Wears the head large (Low. Mid.-
class). Recovering from alcoholic
excess.
It was half-past six before all was over,
and during the day heads were worn
large. Ref., loth August 1886.
Wears the leek (Popular). Is a
Welshman. It seems likely that th
wearing of the leek actually came into
usage when Henry VII. conquered at
Bosworth by the aid of his Welsh
followers under the Tudor colours,
white and green, suggestive of the leek
itself. To this view a Harleian MS.,
written by a Welshman, in the time of
James I., gives some grounds.
Weasel (East Anglia). Bribe probably
from this animal slimly introducing
himself into pocket-like rabbit
holes.
259
Weases Well-Sinking
Weases (Amer.). People of S.
Carolina.
Weather peeper (Nautical). Best
eye.
Web-foots (Provincial). People of
Lincolnshire, probably bestowed upon
them by their higher county neighbours,
who did not live in the wretched
fens of Lincolnshire. Also called
yellow - bellies. Taken together suggestive
of fen-game, such as wild ducks
and geese, widgeon, all common to the
fens. In the States, most of the state
nicknames are derived from the flora,
fauna, or prevailing geology of the
district.
Why English people give each other
comical names is a question fitter for a
learned essay than a descriptive sketch :
but the fact remains that we have besides
Yorkshire 'tykes', Norfolk 'dumplings',
Cheshire 'cats', Essex 'calves', and
Suffolk 'punches', as well as Lincolnshire
folk, who are web-foots. D. -ZV.,
August 1884.
This term web-foot is applied to the
people of Oregon but as an alternative
to web-foot they are often called
hard-cases.
Wedge (Thieves'). Jew. A wedge
fixes objects or breaks them up. So a
Jew-fence, in relation with thieves,
or a Jew ordinary, in his everyday
business, is supposed to 'wedge' the
other.
Wee - wees (Peoples' Hogarth
period). Frenchmen from the habit
of Frenchmen, common to this day,
of repeating the ordinary affirmative
oui.
This looks very much as if the English
race were dwindling into a people of
town-loafers, afraid to risk themselves in
new enterprises in rude lands, and as
incapable of being genuine colonists as
the despised 'men of Wee Wee' the
French. D. N., 20th October 1886.
Weed out (Polit., 1870). Change
politics.
The Chairman had said that he had no
hesitation in saying that if Mr Goschen
did not weed himself out of the Liberal
party, the Liberal party would not attempt
to weed him out. Mr J. Morley,
Nottingham, October 1885.
Weeper (Soc., 1884). Long sweeping
moustache. Probably adapted from
the long ends of crape worn at funerals
until burial reform (1866-67) swept them
away.
Weg (Pol-it., 1885). Initials of
William Ewart Gladstone. Given in
memory of Mr Wegg (Our Mutual
Friend), who was a great sayer of
words.
It seems that in 1857 a speech was
delivered by a Mr James Hall who called
Weg a great political coward. This
speech is now reprinted in the Globe
nearly thirty years afterwards. Ref.,
17th May 1885.
(fiteG.O.M.)
Welcher or welsher (Racing). A
cheat. When a book-maker does not
pay his debts after a race he is often
fallen upon with cries of ' welcher ',
and his clothes almost as often are
torn off his back. It is said the word
takes its rise from the name of a man
who, after repeated warnings, was the
first to suffer from this adaptation of
Lynch law.
Weigh in (American-Eng.). Assert
oneself from weighing, in horseracing.
The journal
'
weighs in ' with a
prismatic Christmas number. D. N.,
November 1885.
Weigh out (//. London). Give one
his fair share. Fine idea of the
distribution of stolen plate melted
down to avoid identification.
' I made Criss weigh out my share !
'
Peoples', 6th January 1895.
Weighing the thumb (L. Class,
19 cent.). Cheating in weight by
sticking down the scale with the
thumb, so as to give the idea of full
weight, and then seizing the scale
before the rebound occurs.
For practising the old trick of '
weighing
his thumb ' to the disadvantage of
the customer, a City coster, named James
Martin, who said he thought it ' a light
affair ', was directed to pay a fine of 20s.
and costs./). T., 25th August 1896.
Well (Soc., 1860). Capital, very
good, satisfactory. Used as an adjective
instead of an adverb.
Well certainly (American Soc.).
This phrase is very common in U. S. A.
now and again used in England.
Well-groomed (Peoples', 1881).
Perfectly dressed. From the stables,
when the highest praise is to speak of
a horse as well-groomed.
Well-sinking (Anglo - Indian, 18
cent. on). Digging for treasure.
Generally making money.
260
Well Shod What Would Mrs Boston Say?
Questioned as to why he had no
pension for his wounds, Fraser stated
that after the relief of Lucknow he
bought his discharge ; he had then
upwards of 200. He got the money
by 'well-sinking', i.e., the discovery of
buried treasure. People, 22nd September
1895.
Well shod (Anglo-American}.
Well off. Specimen of figurative
slang a horse only going prosperously
when well shod.
Well sot up (Provincial American).
Well-dowried. Only said of middleclass
brides, chiefly agriculturally.
Wellingtons (Mid. -class, 1812 on).
Plural of Wellington, and referring to
boots named after the Iron Duke.
'Where are my Wellingtons?' (See
Von Blucher).
Wen, The (Middle-class). London
from its shape, and figuratively from
its absorbing quality.
Cobbett called the London of his day
The Wen '. The movement of the rural
population townwards was only then beginning.
D. N., 26th June 1885.
Wet a line (Anglers'). Go fishing.
Year by year the communications with
the lovely Thames Valley have been
increased until there is no difficulty in
the way of the Thames angler
' wetting
a line '.
Wet -bobs (Eaton). Bobs means
boys the phrase designates boating
Etonians, as distinct from dry-bobs, or
cricketers.
Wet canteen (Military). Where
liquors are sold. Antithesis of dry
canteen which is the stores-centre
of the barracks, where all things but
beer may be obtained on payment.
Wet ship (Nautical). Ship in
which captain and company drink
deeply.
Wet 'uns (Low. Glass, 19 cent.).
Wet ones meaning tears.
Whack up (American, from Irish).
To subscribe.
Whales (American passing to England).
Desperately devoted.
e The Red Lamp '
belongs to the Princess
Claudia Morakoff, who is whales on
Nihilist-hunting.^/., 24th April 1887.
What a bean feast I (Peoples').
Satirical exclamation in reference to a
riot, quarrel, or wretched meal ; or other
entertainment. (See Bean feast.)
What a Collins ! (Exeter, 19 cent.).
Greedy person evidently from name
of a gourmand who has long since been
forgotten.
What a tale our cat's got (Peoples'
proverbial old). Figure of speech to
describe a woman or girl flaunting in
a new dress, and swinging the hind
part of the skirt from side to side with
a haughty motion of the hips.
What do you think? (Mid. -class,
1882). What is your general opinion
of things ? Introduced in this year by
a comic singer, who interpolated the
enquiry at various strong points in his
song ; accent on ' you '.
What ho ! she bumps ! (London,
1899). Satirical cry upon any display
of vigour especially feminine. Said
to be derived from a report of a boating
adventure, where this term was
used as ' she ' fetched land. A popular
song made this term more popular.
To see Willie Edouin dance a hornpipe
is a liberal education, and his official
Eilamation,
' I trade in bumps. Obme
by not saying, "What ho!'"
ost tempted an Ibsenite to smile.
D. T., 13th November 1899.
What next, and next? (Peoples',
19 cent. ). Exclamation signifying contempt
for audacious assertion. A
favourite phrase of William Cobbett's.
The Tories must be hard up for a stick
to bang Gladstone with when the Globe
actually has to reprint an attack upon
him from the Oswestry Observer of 1857.
Ye gods ! what next, and next? Ref.,
17th May 1885.
What Paddy gave the drum
(Irish Military, 1845). Elegant
euphemism for a sound thrashing,
as '
I'll give you what Paddy gave the
drum '.
What the Connaught man shot
at (Irish}. Roundabout for 'nothing
at all '.
' What the Connaught man shot at '
has been of late far from ' nothing '.
Z). N., 1883.
(See Footless stocking without a leg. )
What the hell ! (People*). Exclamation
of anger. Is it one of the
Catholic corruptions? 'What the
hail!' from 'Hail, Mary'?
What will you liq. ? (Middle-class).
What will you drink ?
What would Mrs Boston say?
(American-Eng., 1850 on). Equivalent
to What would Mrs Grundy say ?
Sometimes heard in England. The
261
Whatchir Where do I Come inf
people of Boston hold Boston to be the
most superior city in the U.S.A.
Whatchir ! (Sailors'). Shape of
' What cheer ?
'
What-er, A (Street). Shape of
' what ' thus formed in answer to
some reply as to what the speaker is.
He may say I'm a chimbler (chimneysweep)
to which the reply, always in
response to a noun ending in ' er ' ' A
what-er ?
'
What's the dynamite now ? (Soc.,
1890 on). Protest against a burst of
ill-temper, as suggestive of blowing
people up.
What's the hullaballoo ? (Peoples',
18 cent, and 19 cent.). Riot, noise,
contention. Is this one of the Catholic
corruptions is it
' What's the holy
belly'
' Ventre Saint Gris ' the nickname
of Henri IV. of Navarre and
referring to the dead, therefore grey,
body of Christ. On the other hand,
* Hurliberlieu '
is a French term.
What's the lyddite? (Boer War,
1899-1900). Latest shape of ' What's
the row ?
'
What's the mat? (Public-school,
1880). Abbreviation of ' matter '.
What's yer fighting weight?
(Street, 1883). 'At what weight do
you fight, and are you fit ? I'm your
man !
'
What's yer Gladstone weight?
(Street, 1885). Satirical shape of
'What's your fighting weight?'
Means that the speaker doubts if
you will fight if invited. From the
disrepute into which Mr Gladstone
passed with the Jingoes, or war party,
for his alleged unwillingness to carry
on the war in the Soudan with
eagerness.
What'syourpoll to-day? (Printers',
19 cent.}. Amount of piece wages
from numbers on a statement of votes.
Whaty ?, A (Peoples', 18 cent.). An
enquiry made when any strange statement
is made: e.g., 'He's a jimjack
'
'A whaty ? ''A jimjack.' This diminutive
is probably of court descent ;
for all the familiar memoirs of George
III. give an anecdote of his defiance to
some peeress to fog him with Scotch,
and his immediate defeat, when he
cried ' A whaty, my lady a whaty ?
'
The popular interchange of ' v ' and
*w', which has now utterly passed
away, was a singular evidence of evem
the lowest of the people accepting and
adopting the early royal Georgian
modes of pronouncing English. Sam
Weller made this mode classic. Old
puns reek with it.
* Oh it's a wherry
is it ? werry good, etc., etc.'
Wheel-house, Abaft the (Amer.).
Below the small of the back.
The next instant a huge bull charged
out of the door, and, catching the hero
of Valley Forge abaft the wheelhouae,
incontinently slammed him into a big
apple tree. Newsp. Cutting.
Wheeled (Low Life}. Moved upon
wheels, as distinct from wheel, which
is 'barrered' (q.v.). Instance of expressed
awe in the contemplation f
unaccustomed luxury. That is wheeled
in a cab.
Wheeze (Theatr.). Gag, i.e., linet
(usually comic) interpolated in the
text by the player.
Wheezer (Music Hall, 1897).
Phonograph.
Whelps (American). People of
Tennessee.
When at Rome do as Rome does
(Proverbial). Recommendation to fall
in with the arrangements of those
about you. Counsel to be not too
conscientious.
Where are you a-going to can't
yer! (Low. London, 1880). Really
meaning, Take care who you're shoving
against.
Where did you get the Rossa?
(Peoples', 1885). Enquiry as to
borrowed plumes. Arose from the
trial of a Mrs Dudley (New York,
July 1885) for shooting at O'Donovan
Rossa.
When Rossa said his name was
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, Mrs Dudley
asked,
' Where did you get the Rossa ?
'
D. N., 1st July 1885.
It was supposed that the Rossa wa
a flight of fancy. This phrase commenced
in New York, thence went to
Liverpool and over all England.
Where do I come in? (Peoples
1
,
J
90's). Personal protest. From a
police
- court case in which a shrevr
put this question until she was turned
out.
'Where', to use a phrase which Mr
Labouchere has made Parliamentary,
' do
we come in ?
'
Unfortunately, we do not
come in at all. D. T., 5th August 1899.
262
Where the Flies won't Get It Whistler
Where the flies won't get it
(American}. To swallow ' it
'
generally drink.
Where's the war ? (Peoples', 1900).
Applied to some scattered and divided
street wrangle. From the Boer War
after June 1900 when both sides
seemed to be distributed over creation,
and never appeared to get really face
to face.
Whig (Mid-class, 1860-99). Irresolute
person even a turncoat.
From the Whig, in parliament, being
generally a temporiser.
Whipped out of one's boots
(American). Completely conquered.
Whirl (Anglo-American}. A stormy
turn, a general challenge.
Whisht (Provincial). Dangerous
to be avoided. Probably an onomatope
from the catching of the breath
in fear.
Companionship offered to such beings
( Protestant nuns) in a remote rural
neighbourhood in England was not all
kindly. They were 'whisht' women,
even witches, to the rustics. D. N.,
29th December 1884.
Whiskbroom 'with' (American -
Eng., 1897). Cry describing drunkenness.
This phrase came from U.S.A.
on 8th of July 1897.
Prohibition (U.S.A.) has always been
followed by a remarkable display of
ingenuity in evasion, but, according to
Miss Kate Field, no State ever evaded
the prohibitory law so neatly as Kansas.
Desiring to purchase a whiskbroom when
on a lecture tour out there, Miss Field
went into a druggist's where they were
displayed in the window. ' Will you have
one with or without?' asked the man
behind the counter. ' I do not understand
your meaning,' she replied. Holding
up two whiskbrooms apparently
exactly alike, he parted the wisps of one,
disclosing a small flask, and with a little
whirl of his thumb and finger the top of
the broom came off, like the cork out of
a bottle. Miss Field bought the two
whiskbrooms, one for ordinary use, the
other to exhibit to audiences as an argument
in her lecture,
' Does Prohibition
Prohibit ?'/). T., 8th July 1897.
The whiskbroom is a small coir
"brush about a foot log.
Whisker -fake (Theatrical). Cosmetic
for facial hair.
Whiskeries (London, 1888). Irish
Exhibition in London.
Early on Monday morning I arose and
donned my caubeen, my brogues and
other things, and lighting my dhudeen,
and selecting my finest shillelagh, went
off to Olympia to assist at the opening of
the Whiskyries, otherwise the Irish
Exhibition. Ref., 10th June 1888.
Whisky-bottle (Scotch). A Scotch
drunkard.
Whisky stalls (Press, 1883). End
stalls, or near the end, so that an
occupier can adjourn to the refreshment
bar without much inconvenience
to himself, or a long line of
neighbours.
Whiskystraight(AmericanSaloon).
Whisky with no water about it.
Whispering gallery (Theatrical,
1883). The then Gaiety Bar long
since razed, and its site aiding in the
formation of the front of Aldwych.
Derived from the Whispering Gallery
of St Paul's Cathedral. Said in satire
of the poorer actors 'out of a ship',
who frequented that hostelry, aad
whispered to any one of their more
fortunate brethren as, 'Could you
lend me half a dollar?' (See Pros'
Avenue.)
Whist drive (Soc. 1895). Whist
where the players are shifted, at the
end of a rubber, to other tables and
other players.
Whistle for wind (Peoples', 19 cent.).
Description of a fool.
The reef-points clatter upon your fair
white mainsail and the helmsman whistles
softly for the wind which will not come.
Sir E. Arnold, D. T., 31st March 1897.
Whistler (E. London). Chance
labourer at docks from the poor
fellow whistling for work.
Only fifty men were wanted beyond
the 'royals', or regular hands. So a
hundred and fifty needy 'whistlers'
the dock term for chance labourers had
to turn with heavy hearts away. Ref.,
29th March 1885.
Whistler (Soc., 1880). Misty,
dreamy, milky, softly opalescent
atmosphere from many peculiarly
exceptional pictures painted by the
artist of this name. Came to be
applied to ethics, aesthetics, and even
conversation, where the doctrines
enunciated were foggy.
The river, too, never looks better than
on one of these 'Whistler' evenings.
Symphonies in silver and gold and blue
and purple and cold grey are to be found
on the embankments, notably on the
263
Whistlers Whitehall
south of the river, for the trouble of
going there. D. N., llth November
1884.
Whistlers (Scotland). Bag-pipers.
In their native wilds, the people of
Fife are known as 'whistlers', not on
account of their musical proclivities, but
because their country take its name from
a very highly-pitched musical instrument,
between which and a ' whistle ' the Caledonian
ear distinguishes little difference.
D. T., 4th March 1898.
White Army, The (Street, 1883).
A band of men who formed themselves
together to combat social evil.
Another 'army' has been formed.
This time it is a band of youths and
men who are to wear a white cross, and
battle against the social evil. The White
Army may be very earnest, but if it is to
parade the streets like the other armies
it will be just what it is formed to put
down. Ref., 18th February 1883.
White Brahmins (Anglo-Indian, 19
cent.). Excessively exclusive persons.
Invented by Hindoo satire to describe
the Brahminic-like exclusiveness of
those of the English in India, who
wished to prevent the native Indian
from obtaining any power.
When Indians mean to be sarcastic,
they denominate the English in India
White Brahmins. D. N., 9th December
1884.
White elephant (Soc., 18 cent, and
on). An article (generally large and
expensive), for which you have no use.
Again, a present which entails more
expense than advantage, one generally
bestowed by a donor who wishes to
relieve himself of a burden. Derived
from a habit of the remoter Kings of
Siam, who, when they wished to ruin
a courtier, made him a present of a
white elephant, whose sacred nature
made his keep and that of his attendants
so expensive that the owner was
necessarily reduced to beggary.
White horse (Irish). Cowardice.
Derived from the tradition that James
II. fled from the battle of the Boyne
on a white horse.
White light (Railway now spread
to Peoples'). All right, correct, safe.
From a white light throughout the
railway world representing safety, and
freedom from danger. (See All over
red, Be green. )
White magic (Soc., 19 cent.). In
general, innocent legerdemain, but
figuratively applied to very beautiful
fair women. Also applied by Protestant
writers to the Roman Catholic ritual.
White nigger (Negro). Term of
contempt and offence used by blacks
against white folk.
The emancipated blacks of Sierra
Leone not only address each other as
'
niggers ', but salute as ' white niggers
'
all Europeans with whom they are not
on friendly terms. D. N., 20th Jun&
1883.
White soup (Thieved). Melted
silver run down from stolen plate, to
avoid identification.
One or two colleges at Oxford have a
crozier or so of the fourteenth century,
or a platter of the time of Edward IV.
But most of the college plate made
'white soup' at the time of the Civil
War, and went unavailingly to buy
horses and feed men for the King.
D. N., 5th May 1887.
Whitechapel (Peoples', 1888).
Woman murder. In and about 1888
a number of women of the town in the
East of London were murdered and
mutilated. Before the year was out
a woman murder came to be called
a Whitechapel.
When charged prisoner said he knew
nothing about the murder ; he was very
drunk. A witness who worked with him
said he had heard Nicholson say,
' I shall
do a Whitechapel on my wife yet '.
Whitechapel oner (Local London).
A leader of light and youth in the
Aldgate district chiefly in the high
coster interests. (See Roader. )
Whitechapel warriors (E. London).
Militia of the Aldgate district.
Whitechokery (Peoples', 1870).
Figure of speech for the general scheme
of life maintained by the various classes
who wear white neckties habitually
or only in the evening.
Whitehall (Military, 19 cent.).
Metaphor of cheerfulness. When a
soldier has leave of absence to London,
his sergeant probably says to him,
' Don't go near Whitehall, or we shan't
see you to time'. This refers to the
fact that a soldier can generally get au
extension of leave of absence if he
makes personal application for it at the
Horse Guards, which is the very heart
of Whitehall. It is popularly supposed
in the army that if a soldier on leave
goes near Whitehall he cannot resist
the temptation to apply for extra leave.
Hence when a soldier looks particularly
264
White -Washed Whoa, Emma!
cheerful, it is said of him, * He's been
to Whitehall'.
White-washed (Builders'}. Compounded
with creditors or passed
through the bankruptcy court.
Whittington Priory (Debtors').
Holloway prison for debt from its propinquity
to Highgate, and the associations
of Highgate with Whittington.
Whittling (Polit.). Niggling and
reducing things by fragments. From
the ancient and past away habit of
agricultural Americans, shaving away
a stick with a clasp-knife, while talking.
Is now used for petty, wasteful
action, as distinct from sheer evident
work.
Lord Salisbury put forward with great
ingenuity and ability what he called the
Tory programme at Newport. He has
since been engaged in whittling it away
until what was little before has become
small by degrees and beautifully less ;
until there is hardly any of it left for
your consideration. Mr Chamberlain
(Birmingham), 3rd November 1885.
Who are yer? (Street, 1883).
Enquiry in an offensive tone, made in
the street, and which, when answered,
usually receives the counter-enquiry,
Who did you say? (L. Streets',
'90's). Satire levelled at a passing
person of evident, or self-asserting
importance, and uttered by one friend
to another, without any preliminary
statement on any side.
Who pawned her sister's ship?
(Local London, Clare Market, Strand).
The meaning of the term is quite
obscure, but during the last year of
this historical ramshackle and labyrinthine
spot, this sentence would always
create a burst of laughter amongst the
intimateg of that doubtful locality.
May have been an evasion of ' shift '.
Who shot the dog? (L. C., Ws).
Term of contempt levelled at volunteers,
who were not at their initiation popular
with the masses, who had not got over
the revulsion of feeling in favour of
the real soldier. The phrase arose
from the rash shooting of a dog in the
streets by a Surrey Volunteer.
'Who shot the dog?' was a very illnatured
cry prevalent in London streets
in the early days of the Volunteer movement,
and was supposed to refer to a
misadventure of some rifleman who had
inadvertently shot a dog. D. T. (G. A.
Sala), 28th July 1894.
Who stole the goose? (Peoples'
provincial). Interjection of contempt,
which appears to have some
hidden meaning, probably of an erotic
nature.
Who sups with the devil must
have a long spoon (Historical).
Brought into fashion again by Mr J.
Chamberlain (1898), meaning of course,
that in dealings with rascals one must
keep one's eye open said in reference
to Russia's action in China.
Who took it out of you ? (Street).
Meaning wholly unknown to people
not absolutely of lower class.
Who ? who ? (Soc. , 1852). Doubtful,
to be mistrusted. From a parliamentary
episode.
The c Who ? who ? Government '. The
story went that the Duke of Wellington,
asking Lord Derby one evening in the
House of Commons for the names of the
new Ministers, and knowing nothing of
many of them, had to call out 'Who?
who ?
' so often in tones audible to the
whole House, that the attention of friends
and enemies was alike attracted, and the
humour of the day found a title for the
Ministry out of the Duke's astonished
and repeated enquiry. D. N., 10th
December 1884.
Whoa, bust me (Low. London).
Protest. A very common expression
through the 19th century.
Whoa, carry me out (Common
London, 19 cent.). Here we have the
protecting 'Whoa' preceding a droll
affectation of being shocked to death,
which involves being effectually carried
out.
Whoa, Emma! (Street, '80's).
Entreaty to be modified addressed to
women with marked appearance or
behaviour in the streets. It came from
an inquest on a woman who had died
under astounding circumstances. She
was suffering from inflammation ; she
induced her hraband to allay her pain
by the use of a small Dutch clock
weight. Finding relief from the contact
of the cold iron, she urged the
husband to continue the operation
whereupon she died. At the inquest
the husband had to defend himself.
He urged that he said to his wife
Whoa Emma !
' over and over again,
but she would not listen to him. For
years this phrase lasted as a street
265
Whoa, Jameson ! Willie We have Missed You
protest, too often shot at drunken
wojnen. (See Outside Eliza, Now
we're busy.)
Whoa, Jameson! (Peoples', 1896).
An admiring warning against plucky
rashness. When Dr Jameson invaded
the Transvaal, with a handful of men,
and lost, the people recognised his
equal pluck and rashness.
Whole hog (Anglo - American).
Thorough bare-faced lie derived in
the first place from a recommendation
to a man of Connecticut (where pork
affords the chief menu) to go the
whole hog the man having made a
statement as to a quantity of pork he
had eaten. As usual with popular
phrases, it passed into a song 'The
whole Hog or None.'
Whole souled time (American,
1882). Perfect delight.
It was a whole-souled time, as the
Americans call it now unknown.
Graphic, 17th March 1883.
Whole team (American, 1878).
Perfect, absolute from the agricultural
states, where the ' whole
team' does the work.
It is an Americanism. We cannot tell
who invented it, but it means that a man
is in possession of uncommon powers of
mind. That he is a whole team when he
is smart ; when he is very smart he is a
whole team and a horse to spare, and
when the smartest, a whole team and a
horse to spare and a pair of coach dogs
under the waggon. N. Y. Mercury, 2nd
March 1878.
Whole team and a little dog under
the waggon (American). Distinguished,
liberal, proper said of anything.
Wholeskin brigade ( Transvaal
War). Cautious cowards in its
general application, but in actual war
meaning a regiment, battalion or
brigade which has not been in action.
Does not necessarily mean that the
brigade in question has shirked action.
. . . the ' wholeskin brigade ', to borrow
a phrase from the pungent vocabulary of
the British private in South Africa, etc.
D. T., 31st October 1901.
Whoop up (American}. To tune a
musical instrument.
Whooperups ( Theatrical and Entertainment
generally}. Inferior, noisy
singers.
Whoy-oi! (Street). Cry used by
coster - class upon sight of a gailydressed
girl passing near them. Also
the cry of welcome amongst London
costermongers.
Whyms (Club, 1882). Consolidation
into a word of the initials
'Y.M.C.A.' (q.v.).
Widow, The (Army, 1863 on).
Affectionate name for Queen Victoria.
In no way disparaging.
Widow, The (Soc., 1850 on).
Clicquot champagne brand of la
Veuve Cliquot, hence the term. (See
Squat, Dutchman, etc.)
Wielder of the willow (Sporting).
Cricketer from the bats being made
of this wood.
Wife out of Westminster ( Old English).
Doubtful spouse sometimes
still heard in the East of London.
Wig-faker (Low. London, 18 cent.
on). Hair-dresser.
Wigs on the green (Irish, 18 cent.).
Fighting. The Irish Parliament
House (1782-1800) was on the Green,
Dublin, in days when wigs were worn.
The Green was the constant scene of
riots, and as constantly wigs would
strew the roadway. Still used figuratively
all over Ireland.
In taking leave of Bayreuth and the
'
JRing ', I can only counsel a continuance
of that policy of peace which seems
happily to have been adopted both by
ardent Wagnerites and by those who
choose to cleave to the older ways of
music. Twenty years ago, if the
chroniclers tell us truth, it was almost a
case of '
wigs on the green
' at Festival
time, to such heights did party feeling
run. D. T., 25th August 1896.
Wild - goose (American mining).
Promise of fortune. A thin vein of
ore, generally referring to silver, which
presages the discovery of valuable
veins.
Wilhelm II. much (Soc., 1898).
Wilhelm Too much. Obvious chaff
suggesting the extremely busy activity
of the Emperor of Germany.
Will you short? (Australian
Tavern). Pay for a small dose of
spirits.
Willie we have missed you
(Peoples', 1899). Welcome. In the
'fifties a ballad with this title was
very popular. Finally it became a
march which is played to this day.
On 20th November the Emperor of
Germany arrived at Portsmouth, and
266
Willie Willie Wicked, Wicked I Without Authorial Expenses
this march was the first music to
welcome him when he came on shore.
While the inspection was in progress
the band of the Koyal Marine Light
Infantry played '
Willie, we have missed
you ', a playful attention which pleased
the Emperor, who heartily shook the
bandmaster, Lieutenant Miller, by the
hand as he passed. D. T., 21st
November 1899.
Willie Willie wicked, wicked !
(Street). Satiric street reproach
addressed to a middle-aged woman
talking to a youth. From a county
court case in which a middle-aged
landlady sued for a week's rent from
a young man lodger whose defence
was that he left the house because
the plaintiff would not only come
into his room, but would proceed to
sit on his bed.
Windfall (Hist.). Unexpected
fortune.
Window (Street, 1860). Eye-glass
invented to meet the requirements
of the round, rimless, stringless eyeglass
which so many young men still
carry, as by a miracle, in the right eye.
Wine ('Varsities, 19 cent.). Abbreviation
of wine-party.
His first ' wine ', given in his own
room, was an awful ordeal. D. N.,
6th March 1885.
(See Tea-pot.)
Wing (Theatrical). Perform with
much help from the prompter who
stands at the win.
Let us take the slang verb ' to wing '.
play a
role
without knowing the text, and the word
It indicates the capacity to itself came into use from the fact that
the artiste frequently received the assistance
of a special prompter, who often
stood upon the stage, but screened from
the audience by a piece of the scenery or
a wing. Stage, 31st August 1885.
Wingers sometimes called
Flanges (Colloquial about 1865).
After the Crimean beard, which meant
all the hair growable on the face, had
lasted in fashion about ten or twelve
years, the chin came to be once more
shown, and the whiskers were thrown
back, or pulled away from the cheeks,
and allowed to grow as long as nature
decided. The name was obtained from
their streaming and waving character.
Winifred, O (Peoples', '90's). Exclamation
importing disbelief from
St Winifred's Well, in Wales.
St Winifred's Well, in Flintshire,
whose miraculous cures are the envy of
Lourdes and the wonder of the North
of England, is not to be turned into
a soda-water manufactory without a
struggle. D. T., 15th December 1898.
Wink (American Saloon). Dumb
mode of ordering liquor.
Winter campaign (Peoples', 1884).
Riot, shrewishness, drunken disturbance
from the name given by the
dynamiters to their operations in the
winter months, when general darkness
threw but little light upon their
proceedings.
After the explosion of 30th May there
was a lull, and then there commenced
what, on the other side of the Atlantic,
they were pleased to call the 'winter
campaign'. There was an attempt to
blow up London Bridge, then there wai
the explosion in the railway tunnel near
King's Cross, and afterwards the explosions
at Westminster and the Tower.
D. N., 3rd March 1885.
Wipe off your chin (American,
1860). To drink a liqour probably
suggested by the habit of a bearded
man wiping the moustache and beard
about the chin, with the hand, after
a drink. Also used as a recommendation
to be silent from chin being used
to mean speech.
Wiping feet (Hoppers' Kent).
Asking for beer -money. Mode of
asking for money from visitors to hopfields.
The boots are brushed with
hop-bines, and the money is waited
for.
Wire in and get your name up
(Peoples', 1862). Recommendation to
struggle for success, but originally very
erotic.
By-and-bye, when the white heat of
excitement is over, no one will be able
to say that anybody connected with thi
maladorous squabble missed a chance of
' wiring in and getting his name up'.
Ref., 21st October 1888.
Without any (L. Class, 1890 on).
Abstinence from any shape of alcohol.
One of the elegant evasions.
The old lady made a curtsey to the
Bench as she entered the dock, and repeated
her obeisance when asked what
she had to say. She said she had gone
for years
' without any ', and was afraid
she had taken too much. D. T., 1/tk
December 1897.
Without authorial expenses
(Literary). Cheating, piracy, theft.
207
Witness-Stand Wreckers, First-Night
From this phrase being used against
the U.S.A. to explain that the original
English author has been paid nothing
for the reprinted work.
Witness-stand (American). Witness-
box in court of law. Rather a
misnomer, as the witnesses are seated.
In the English witness-box no witness
ia allowed a seat while he can keep his
feet.
Talk of volubility, why, a darkey lady
on the witness-stand is irrepressible.
They are all ladies, and I observed that
each of them referred to the other as a
lady, even when she was an opponent.
D. T., 2nd April 1897.
Woffle (Music Hall and Music generally).
To mask, evade, manipulate a
note or even difficult passage.
Wellies (E. London). Well known
term for olives, of which the great
mass brought to London are consumed
by the Jews and other East Londoners.
Probably an abbreviation of the call,
' O ! olives !
'
by the street vendors of
these delicacies.
Wolverines (American). People of
Michigan probably from the territory
being over-run with wolves.
Won't run to it, It (Sporting
Peoples'). Too poor. Figure of speech
from a horse not reaching the post ;
in other words a horse with no stay.
Very common expression.
Won't take off his coat (Street).
Equal to a coward.
Won't wash (Peoples'). No
permanent value derived from the
printed calico trade.
Wood - spoiler (Navy). Merely
average ship's carpenter.
Woodbine (L. London). Name of
the maker of a penny packet of five
cigarettes.
Wooden nutmegs (American).
People of Connecticut. Given in consequence
of these traders having been
the first to discover this spice, which,
it has been said, they once palmed off
upon the unwary.
Wooden spoon (Soc., 19 cent.)
Thick-head ; idiot. From Cambridge
University a wooden spoon being
until recently given as the lowest
possible mathematical honour but at
least an honour at the Tripos Examinations.
(Now no longer given,
Tripos being abolished.)
He will never do any good he ia too
quite a wooden spoon.
This year a student from Caius College
and another from St Catharine's
were bracketed equal for the honour of
the ' wooden spoon
' in the Mathematical
Tripos, and to each was presented a huge,
trophy in the form of a malt shovel,
gaily adorned with his college arms and
colours. D. T., 19th June 1894.
Wooden Ulster (Street). Coffin.
Word - mongering (Press, 1878).
Redundancy of description. Used in
critical scorn.
Work (Theatrical and Music Hall),
Perform. Natural affected outcome
of calling the theatre '
shop
'
(q.v.).
Work the steam off (Soc., 1870
on). Get rid of superabundant
energy.
Work up (Peoples'). To aggravate.
Worker (Polit., American). A
civil service placeman who politically
works to bring in his candidate, sothat
this voter may not go out of
office at the next presidential election.
Workus (Church of England).
Methodist chapel from its plain,
white-washed appearance.
Worm-eater (Trade Cabinet -
makers'). A deft artisan who drills
very diminutive holes in imitation old
furniture, to give the effect of wormholes
to the wood. (See Wardour
Street Woods.)
Worrab (Costers
1
transposed word).
Barrow.
Worrocks (Peoples'). Beware.
Probably a corruption of ' 'Ware
hawks ' ware being short for beware.
The phrase implies look after your
pockets ; there are thieves about a
threat presaging attack.
Worry down (American). To
swallow greedily, like a dog.
Worry the dog (Peoples'). Bully
said of a man who upsets even the
welcome of the house-dog, which retreats
at his approach. Worth (Soc. t 1860-85). Most
fashionable costume. From name of
a man-milliner of the second French
empire.
Wotchero! (Peoples'). Agglomeration
of ' What cheer oh !
'
Wotchero ! another one. E. T., llth
April 1885.
Wreckers, First-night (Theatr.),
In 1882 a small band of men, chiefly
268
Wrecking X's Hall
very young, but led by a man of fifty,
who combined to wreck pieces on their
first night, became very troublesome.
They numbered about ten or a dozen,
were chiefly superior journeymen, and
combined only in relation to their
behaviour in, the theatres, rarely even
drinking together. Injudicious approval
of one or two of their remarks,
published in one or two cheap Sunday
papers, touched their vanity, and they
proceeded from objection to objection
until nothing pleased them. They
received their first check at the Vaudeville
on the first night of The Gutfnor,
when they were ' rushed ' from pit and
gallery. But their great shock was
experienced on the first appearance of
Miss Lotta at the Opera Comique
(1883), where they were attacked by
friends of the management, in which
it was said the son of a military duke
took victorious part as against the
wreckers. So powerful did these
people become in the '80's, that managers,
even including Irving, changed
their first nights from Saturday to
some other day in the week, in the
belief that the wreckers were generally
patrons who could only, as a rule,
frequent the theatres on the last night
of the week.
Happily there are good reasons for
believing that the managerial belief in
'first-night wreckers', as they are called,
is greatly exaggerated. D. N., 25th
September 1884.
Wrecking (Financial, 1880).
Destroying without mercy and obviously
adopted from the old Cornish
custom of attracting vessels by false
lights, and then destroying all who
came ashore. About 1880, the immense
height of consols encouraged
speculation, and for some three years
a vast number of limited liability companies
were started, of which nine out
of ten came to complete grief. A class
of financial solicitors then sprang into
existence, who gained doubtful incomes
by 'wrecking' companies and
grabbing what they could.
Wriggle off (Land., 1860). Take
one's departure.
Wriggling in for a commish
(American). Sneaking for the payment
of a commission.
Write one's name across another's
(Sporting). To strike in the face.
Mr John Coleman, having been accused
of being the author of a certain
book, writes to the papers demanding to
know the originator of the ' slander '.
Mr Coleman is anxious 'to write my
signature across his'. This picturesque
phrase will be a useful addition to the
vocabulary of the ring. Globe, 5th
October 1885.
Wrong scent (Hunting, 19 cent.).
Mistaken enquiry. From the phrase
' on a wrong scent '. Good parallel is
Barking up a wrong tree (q.v.).
Wrong side of the hedge (Coaching
times). A figurative way of describing
a fling from a coach-top.
Wroth of reses (Theatrical, 1882).
He, wore a wrothe of reses letter inversion
of 'wreath of roses'. This
treatment was started by Mr F. C.
Burnaud (Punch, about 1877), who
began with 'she smole a smile', etc.,
etc. Said of a male singer who
vocalises too sentimentally.
Wrux (Modern Public-school, 1875).
A rotter ; a humbug.
X. S. (People* t 1860, etc.). Abbreviation
of expenses.
X. X. (Tavern). Double X abbreviation
of * double excellent '.
X. X. X. (Tavern). Treble X
Treble excellent.
X's hall (Thieves'). Sessions House,
Clerkenwell. X's is a corruption of
Hicks Hicks being a dreaded judge
who sat for many years on the bench.
In the time of imprisonment for debt,
every county jail was called by its
Governor's name with hotel added
as Chelmsford Jail was called
MacGorrorey's Hotel. (See Slaughter
house. )
Writ - pushers
Lawyers' clerks.
(Legal vulgar).
269
Y.M.C.A. You Mate Me Tired
Y. M. C. A. (Anglo-Amer.). Goodygoody,
pure in excelsis. Initials of
' Young Men's Christian Association '.
Yaller-bellies (Lincoln). People of
Lincolnshire from the quantity of
geese which came from the county
of Lincoln. The belly feathers of the
$oose are yellowish in the shade.
Yaller dog (American). Yellow is
the tint of most dogs in America
kence it is the most searching term of
rdinary contempt.
Yankee main tack (Navy). Direct
line ; is generally associated with a
threat to knock a man down. '
I'll
lay you along like a Yankee main tack.'
Yankee paradise (England). Paris.
In the time of the Second Empire, it
was said, 'All good Americans go to
Paris when they die'. As, however,
the century wore on, the excessive
xtortions of the Parisians drove the
touring Americans to London, where
they remain in peace and comparative
economy.
Yankeeries (London, 1887).
American and American-Indian display
at Earl's Court Gardens.
Bill West's Wild Buffalo I mean
West Buffalo's Wild Bill at any rate,
you know what I do mean, though I can't
get it quite right has been the Jubilee
boom up to the present. Her gracious
Majesty has been to the Yankeeries.
fief., 15th May 1887.
Yard of satin ( Women's). Glass of
gin. Specimen of grim satire, comparing
the colour and smoothness of
the spirit with a material generally
far distant from the fashions of the
patronesses of gin.
Yardnarb (Transposed word, 1880).
This is confused back-phrasing, being
'brandy'. Here the 'y' for ease in
pronunciation is converted into 'yar'
to collide with the ' d '.
Ye gods and little fishes ! (Peoples').
Exclamation of contempt, mocking the
theatrical appeal to the gods by an
added invocation to finny small fry.
Misa Hilton was engaged 0, ye gods
and little fishes ! at a salary of 15 a
week. Rff., 1st March 1885.
Probably means that the lady would
be receiving quite enough.
Yell (Yale College, U.S.A.).
Classical war-cry.
Yell -play (Theatr.). A farcical
piece in several acts where the laughter
is required to be unceasing.
Yellow journalism (Political). Extreme
jingoistic and overwhelming
views.
America remains true to her British
friendship, and the stories of American
Fenians invading Canada are officially
characterised as ' the latest outbreak of
yellow journalism '. D. T. t 27th
December 1899.
Yellow-backs (Middle-class). They
were cheap two-shilling editions of
novels, which were generally bound in
a yellow, glazed paper, printed in
colours.
Yellow-bellies. (See Web-foots.)
Yelp (Music Hall, 1870, etc.). To
sing in chorus. In all music halls
the audience join in the choruses.
Yere they come smoking their
pipes (Billingsgate,
J
70's). Always
said by buyers of fish at the auctions
when the bids were awfully rapid and
high it meant probably independence
and determination. (See Now we're
busy.)
Yo Tommy (Minor Theatr. and
Peoples'). Exclamation of condemnation
by the small actor. Amongst the
lower classes it is a declaration of
admiration addressed to the softer sex
by the sterner.
Yon kipper ( Yiddish'). The Day of
Atonement New Year's Day amidst
the Hebrews. The phrase is yon
kippur this final word being a
spondee.
Yorkshire (Peoples'). Fair and
square payments.
You musn't squeal (Peoples', Anglo-
American, 1898). Exhortation to be
brave. Often satirically used. From
the first speech by Mr Roosevelt, New
York, to volunteers formed in May
1898, upon outbreak of war between
U.S.A. and Spain.
You make me tired (Anglo-
American, '90's). 'You bore me'
exact synonym. Sometimes now heard
270
You get Yourself DisliJced Zulu Express
in London supposed to be introduced
by the Duchess of Marlborough (1898)
a then leader of fashion.
You'll get yourself disliked (Street,
1878). A satirical protest against any
one who is behaving abominably.
Young person, The (Soc., about
1880). Girl from fifteen to marriage.
To know ' Th&j-Critt '
is to like him.
It is true that his morality is rather lax
even for a cavalry officer, and that he
cannot be recommended to the young
person. But then there is such plenty of
literature for the young person. Sat.
Rev., 26th December 1885.
Young thing (Masculine Women's
Society). A youth between seventeen
and twenty-one.
You're off the grass (Cricketing).
Without a chance.
Yurup (American Street). Europe
accent on the ' rup '.
Zambo (Merchant Marine, 19 cent.).
Probably a perversion of Sambo (see).
A term on the Spanish main for a race
produced by the union of the negro
and the Indian it literally means
bow-legged. Smyth's Sailors' Word-
Book.
Zarndrer (Street, 1863-70). The long
single curl brought from the back hair
over the left shoulder, and allowed to
lie on the breast. From Alexandra,
Princess of Wales, having brought over
this fashion from Denmark.
Zeb (Shortened inverted word, 1882).
Best.
The zeb way we know is to throw the
crockery at her. If you owe rent, toss
the landlord double or quits, and if you
know anything of tossing you're bound to
come off first zeb.
Zeb taoc (Curtailed inverted word).
Best coat.
Zedding about (Soc., 1883). Going
zigzag, diverging.
Zoodikers (Catholic Survival).
God's hooks hook sometimes being
hooker. Tom Jones, bk. xviii., ch. 13.
Zooks (Catholic Survival). God's
hooks hooks being old English for
nails ; here meaning the nails used
pon the cross.
' Zouks ', said my father. Sterne,
Tristram, Shandy.
Zounds (Catholic Survival). God's
wounds this word here rhyming with
' sounds '. This oath has survived even
to our times. It was common in the
time of Latimer.
Zounds and blood. May be found
in Tom Jones, bk. xvi., ch. 4.
Zulu express (Railway}. Name
given to a Great Western afternoon
express, at date of Zulu War.