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UNIVERSITY OF CALJFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
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THE

AMERICfltt

Slang Dictionary
BY

JAMES MfllTLAHD.

EMBODYING ALL AMERICAN AND ENGLISH SLANG PHRASES IN

CURRENT USE, WITH THEIR DERIVATION AND PHILOLOGY.

CHICAGO.
1891.
 COPYRIGHT 1891
BY

JAMES MAITLAND.

CHICAGO, ILL.
PRINTKD AND PUBLI8HBD FOR THK AUTHOR BY
R. J. KITTREDGE & CO.,
51 TO 58 WssT Jackson Strsbt,
1891.
(JO

>^
 To the army of newspaper workers in whose ranks

the writer is proud to be enrolled this Dictionary of

Slang is dedicated.
 The compiler will feel greatly obliged for sugges-

tions of slang words of new mintage, or of any pop-

ular expressions which he may have overlooked.

 PREFACE.

In the preparation of this " Dictionary of

American Slang" it has been the aim of the compiler
to include as many as practicable of those words and
phrases which, though they find no place in standard
dictionaries, enter so largely into the everyday
speech of the people.
The United States, when it borrowed the language
of the Mother Country, adopted also many of its
colloquialisms and many more of its provincialisms.
Ours is the tongue that Shakespeare spoke, and our
inheritance includes much of the heterodox philology
of our British cousins. Especially with respect to
sporting and theatrical slang, and to the language
common and the thief-catcher and known
to the thief
as "Thieves' patter," the majority of words, and
phrases are as often used in one country as in the
other.
 T his work, therefore while aim ing
^ to present a ^ JLa, ^
full list of distinctively American slang, that which \!y^
is born of the soil will include also the recognized Ww^a.-
slang words and phrases of English origin and use. '^^^AA^
No such collection has heretofore been made. The
earlier
English works such as those of Grose,
Pearce Egan and their followers, copyists and plagi-
arists cover but a narrow field. They deal largely
with obsolete Cant, with the no less obsolete terms
of the prize ring, with purely Cockney and provin-
cial idioms in which not even an antiquarian interest
can be felt. In addition to this they are disfigured
by vulgarisms and indecency.
A
quarter of a century ago or more John C.
Hotten, a London publisher, issued a " Slang Dic-
ti onary," which, wh ile a vast improvement on all

i ts was confined inTts s cope toT^ ngTrsh

predecessors,
slang. Mr. Hotten, although as we believe, an
American, entirely neglected the terse, distinctive,
and epigrammatic colloquialisms of the New World.
In his otherwise valuable work far too much space
isdevoted to the Cant of the Gipsies, to the thieves
patter of St. Giles's clerks, and to obsolete matters
generally. It gives an account of the hieroglyphics
said to be used by English beggars as a guide for
each other; a sketch of the macaronic dialect of
English fashionable life in the eighteenth century;
and glossaries of back slang, rhyming slang and the
alleged centre slang. Some 300 pages are appor-
words and phrases, and
tioned to definitions of slang
the average number of these to a page may be
estimated as a dozen. In all less than 4000 defini-
tions are given, while the present work furnishes
over 6000.
The present compiler holds, without the slightest
disrespect to earlier searchers in this field, (to many
of whom he under great obligations) that no work
is

heretofore published upon this subject meets the

needs of the educated people of the United States
in the present day. No American
dictionary of^

slang exists, although collections of Americanisms

have been published, one of which (that of John
Russell Bartlett) is valuable, but does not cover the,
field of American slang.
No English work has so much as touched upon
the great store-house of native American slang,
which has been born development and was
of our
made necessary by our novel conditions. Hotten
quotes "rumbumptious," "abskuze," "catawamp-
iously," and "exfluncify" as samples of American
slang in ordinary daily use. These are about on a
par with the names invented in London and Paris
for the so-called "American drinks" the "corpse
reviver," the "nigger-girl's smile" and the "Pride of
Columbia." No man living in the United States
ever heard of the one or drank of the other, or if he
did he never lived to tell the story.
The same authorities who quote these unheard-of
atrocities as representativeAmericanisms have failed
in their researches to run across the words "boom'
or "bonanza" or "boodle" now in common use'
here. They dignify their dandies as "swells" but
never heard of our "dudes" although curiously
enough the last term is simply the old gipsy word
for clothes, now corrupted into "duds." English
writers apparently never heard of "striking oil;" of
a "journey up Salt River;" of a man being "in the
soup" or of a more lucky individual "making a ten-
strike."
Without multiplying instances it may then be
claimed that a Slang Dictionary which shall embody
within its covers the accepted slang of daily use in
both the United States and Great Britain will be a
useful book. In preparing such a work it was
necessary to eliminate obsolete words and phrases.
The Elizabethan dramatists bristle with the slang of
a by-gone age, but it has been forgotten both in
England and in this country. Much of the Gipsy
cant is unintelligible and obsolete. The rubbishing
back slang of the London school boy is not worth
mention. When you know that a girl is a "Irig"
and a boy is a "yob" then you know all there is to
that.
The rhyming slang which speaks of rain as "Mary
Jane" or "alecampane" indifferently is of no possible
interest. As to the so called "Medical Greek," of
which Albert Smith gave us some examples in his
amusing novels, its distinguishing characteristic is
that a "stint of pout" means a pint of stout, and that
you "poke a smipe" instead of smoking a pipe. The
alleged wit of the American newspaper humorist
who evolves the "saccharine subsequently" as a varia-
tion on the "sweet by-and-by" is of the same high
order and we want none of it. For the omission
of the indecent phrases which disfigure so many
books upon slang no apology is needed.
Itjias been attempted in this_.coJQjQi|on_to^ include
what may be termed the slang of the Anglo-Saxon,
whether he dwell in London or New York, in
Chicago or Sydney. The compilation has been the
work of years, the information has been derived
from books of all sortsand men of all classes, and
the work is offered as an honestly-meant and pains-
taking contribution to the literature of slang. So
far as practicable the derivations of words and the
country of their nativity have been given. But in
dealing with slang the philologist has small oppor-
tunity, for many of the brightest and strongest ex-
pressions are destitute of known parentage. It is

to gather together under one roof these foundHngs,

such of them at least as have proven themselves
worthy to live, that the present asylum has been
provided.
James Maitland.
 The abbreviations in brackets signify the original

source of the word as (Eng.) England; (Fr.)

France; (Ger.) Germany; (Gip.) Gipsy; (Hind.)

Hindu; (Am.) American; (Sp.) Spanish; (P. R.)

prize ring, etc.

 THE
AMERICAN SLANG DICTIONARY.

A. B., able seaman.

Abaft (sea term), the rear part of a ship's deck. From
Aft, the after part.
Abeam (sea term), used to express the position of an object
as seenfrom a ship.
Abide (Eng.), to suffer. "I cannot abide him."
Abigail (Eng.), a lady's maid. Said to be from the name
of Mrs. Masham (Abigail Hill), who, as lady-in-waiting to
Queen Anne, distinguished herself as a mistress of intrigue.
Aboard (Am.) "All aboard" is used on American railways
as a direction to passengers.
Aboon (Scotch), above.
About right. "To give it to one about right" is to give it

tohim well; thoroughly.

Above one's bend (Am.), beyond one's power. See Too
HIGH FOR HIS NUT. Shakespeare makes Hamlet say,
"They fool me to the top of my bent."
Above par. Stocks issued nominally at loo sometimes com-
mand a premium and are then above par. The expression
has been extended to other articles and means something
superior or beyond the ordinary.
Above snalces (Am.), tall.
 s

14 ABRADM
Abraham-man (Old Eng.), a vagabond; one who obtains
money by shamming sickness. It was at onfe time the
practice to allow the inmates of the Abraham Ward of
Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam), London, to go out begging
fcr the benefit of the hospital. Certain vagrants imposed
on the charitable by pretending to be actual inmates, and
were therefore known as Abram-men or Sham Abra-
ham (^. V.)
Absquatulate (Am.), to run away. Equivalent to Ske-
daddle Vamose, (^. v.)
or
According to Gunter (Am.) Anything thus done is done
according to rule. Gunter, who lived in early colonial
times, was the inventor of the measuring chain named after
him, and of a slide-rule for gauging casks, which was
adopted as the lawful measure. In England the equivalent
is "According to Cocker," who was a famous mathemati-
cian and author of a text-book on Arithmetic. Every
card-player knows the expression, "According to Hoyle,"
supreme authority on games of chance.
Account, of some value. See No Account.
Acknowledge the corn (Am.), to own up; to confess.
Across lots (Am.), the most direct way; quicker than
going around by the road.
Adam's Ale (Eng.), water,
Adam's Wine (Scotch), water.
Added to the list (Eng.), a euphemism current among
sporting writers, implying that a horse has been added
to the list of geldings.
Addlepate (Eng,), a foolish person.
Ad:2niral of the Red (Eng.), one whose rubicund nose
shows his fondness for strong potations.
Admire (Am.), is used by New Englanders in the sense of
"wish." "I should admire to meet Mr. Jones." Macbeth''
banquet broke up "with most admired disorder," and the
 ADOALD 15

word is still used to express surprise or wonder.

Adobe (Span.) Houses and walls in Arizona, New Mexico
and other territories are built of adobe, otherwise sun-dried
mud.
Afeard (Old Eng.), afraid. See Macbeth^ "What, a soldier
and afeard!"
Afoot or on horseback ( Am. ) When a man does not know
whether he is the one or the other, he is all abroad, or all
broke up.
Afternoon farmer (Eng.), one who puts off his work to
the latest moment.
Against the grrain, contrary; in opposition to one's wish;
analogy drawn from the operations of the carpenter or
wood-worker.
Age, or Edge (Am.), in the game of poker. The player
next to the dealer holds the "age" and is not compelled to
bet until all the players have signified their intentions.
Aggrravators(Eng.),otherwise Newgate Knockers (^. z^.),
are greasy locks of hair twisted back from the temples, and
much affected by London costermongers and thieves.
Agnardiente (Span.), a vile species of distilled liquor, com-
mon inMexico.
Ahead, forward in advance.
; "Go-ahead," move on. "To
get ahead of," to defeat.
Airy, conceited.
Akeybo (Eng,), a phrase used as follows: "He beats
Akeybo and Akeybo beats the devil." See Beats the
Dutch.
Albany Regency (Am.), the cabal of politicians who some
forty years ago controlled the State politics of New York
from Albany, and who cut a considerable figure in national
politics as well.
Alderman (Eng.), a half crown. Also a long clay pipe,
otherwise known as a Churchwarden {<j. v.")
i6 ALDALL
Alderman (Eng.), a large crowbar used by burglars.
Alderman in chains (Eng.), a turkey festooned with sau-
sages.
All any more (Am.), a provincialism for all gone.
Alley, a large marble used by boys at play. Agate is a
glass marble.
All-fired (Am,), a mild form of adjuration, probably a Pur-
itan modification of hell-fired.
All hollow (Am. ), to beat one "all hollow" is to knock him
out entirely.
All in the Downs (Eng.), miserable; dull. In the days of
sailing ships whole fleets were often becalmed in the Downs
off the south-east coast of England. The sailors did not
take kindly to a period of enforced inactivity, and were
miserable accordingly.
All my eye (Eng.), an expression of incredulity. Some-
times "All my eye and Betty Martin." Said to be a cor-
ruption of an old-time invocation of St. Martin of Tours,
*'Oh, mihi beate Martine."
All our side (Eng.), an expression of gratification over the
success of a school nine or a local sport.
All out (Old Eng.), by far. "He was all out the best of the
lot." See Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy.
All overish (Eng.), feeling unwell; the premonition of
sickness.
Allow (Am.), is used in the United States in the sense of
intend or expect, or even of believe. "I allow to go to
town," or "We allowed you would be here " are common
instances. In the ballad of "Banty Tim" Tilman Joy says:
" I come back here allowin' to vote as I used to do."
All-possessed (Am.), affected by evil spirits and carrying
on accordingly. "Swearing like all-possessed."
All serene (Eng.), one of the many bits of street slang
which had a brief run some years ago. It bore no


ALLANA 17

meaning, and was applied indifferently, on all occasions.

All sorts, the drippings of glasses in saloons, collected and
made to do duty, after a fashion, for drinkers who are not
too particular so long as the stuff is cheap.
All sorts of a man (Am.), a complimentary term equivalent
to out-and-out; cute, clever.
All the go, anything on which there is a great run, whether
it be a new book or a new style of neck-tie. See All
THE RAGE.
All the rage, successful ; in great demand. Equivalent to
"All the go."
All there (Eng.), first rate, or "up to the mark." May be
said of a well-dressed woman or of a fine horse, but is
always used as a term of approval. Superlatively it is
rendered "all there and a ha'porth over."
All to pieces (Eng.), broken up. Aterm much in use
among sporting men to express a break-down by a horse
or a boat's crew in a race.
All to siuash (Eng.), ruined; bankrupt; gone beyond re-
demption.
All wool and a yard wide (Am.), first-class; genuine.
Almighty Dollar (Am.), supposed to have been introduced
by Washington Irving, but really much older. It repre-
sents the manner in which money rules. Ben Jonson
speaks of "almighty gold."
Ambition (Am.), is sometimes used instead of grudge, or
had an ambition against hira."
spite; as, "I
Ambitious (Am.), may mean angry or spiteful, and in New
England signifies industrious, business-like, energetic.
Among the missing (Am.), dead, absent.
Amort (Old Eng.), dead; dejected. "What, sweetheart, all
amort?" Taming of the Shrew.
Anan, an English provincialism for "How?" or "What did
you say ?" Scarcely ever heard now-a-days.

/
i8 ANEAPP
Anent (Scotch), pertaining to, or about. A
good word,
and often used in this country by writers.
Angel (Am.), one who possesses the means and incHnation
to "stand treat."
Anointed (Irish), superlative, as "an anointed scoundrel";
one pre-eminent among his class and deserving anointment
as much as any other monarch.
Anointing' (Irish), a beating, especially one severe enough
to call for the application of ointment.
Anonyma (Eng.), a euphemism for a woman of the demi-
monde. Incognita is also used for the same product
of civilization.
Ante (Am.) In the game of poker the player next to the
dealer deposits a "chip" of an agreed value in the pool be-
fore the cards are dealt. This is his ante, and the remain-
ing players must also ante up if they conclude to play.
Ante-up (Am.), to pay.
Antic (Old Eng.), a fool.
Anxious seat, in the slang of the conventicle, a seat occupied
by those who are "under conviction" but have not yet
"found peace." Otherwise known as the Mourner's
Bench.
A 1, first-rate. Derived from the rating of ships at Lloyd's,
and used in insurance business.

Apartments to let (Eng.), said in reference to one with a

vacancy where his brains should be. "Got a tile off," or
"rooms to rent in the top story," or "attic to let unfur-
nished" are equivalents.
Apple-cart (Eng.) "To upset one's apple-cart" is to knock
him over.
Apple-jack, apple brandy.
Apple-pie (Engo), in good order.
Appro (Eng,), a contraction of approbation. English
 ARAATT '9

jewelers often sell goods "on appro," i. e., *on sale or

return."
Arab. Street Arabs are the gutter-snipes, boot-blacks, news-
Gamins generally.
boys and
Area Sueak (Eng.), a thief who gains admittance to kitchens
by means of the area or outside court of the basement.
Argol-bargol ( Scotch), to dispute to bandy words.
;

Argot, the French term for slang, in which the language is

very rich.
Argufy, a vulgarism for "to argue;" common in England,
lessknown here.
Arkansas Toothpick (Am.), a bowie-knife.
Aries ( Scotch), earnest money something to bind a bargain.
;

Arrastra ( Span.), a primitive mill for pulverizing ore.

Arroyo (Span.), a small river or the dry bed of a stream.
A ravine caused by the action of water.
Ashepat, the Irish equivalent for Cinderella.
Astern of tlie lighter, behind hand.
At is used in a very curious way in some parts of the United
States, as "Where are you going at?"
At has another peculiar meaning, both in this country and in
England. The English costermonger thrashes his wife
because she is "always at him;" and "keeping at" a man
is a method of getting him to do something not unknown
on this side the Atlantic.
Athwart (sea term), across; as, "athwart our hawse."
Atomy (Old Eng.), used in contempt of a small person.
See Shakespeare's //. King- Henry IV.., v. 4.
Attic, the head. "Queer in the attic," weak-minded.
Attic, the upper story of a building. Dr. Johnson so de-
fined it, and in the same dictionary rendered "cock-loft" as
"a room above the attic."
Attic Salt, wit.
^'
20 AUGAXL
Auctioneer (Eng.) To "tip him the auctioneer" is to knock
a man down.
Auld Reekie (Scotch), the city of Edinburgh, from its

smoky appearance.
Aunty (Am.), a common term for an old negress.
Avast (sea slang), go away; shut up; stop.
Awake, or Wide-awake, knowing, understanding, or in
other words. Fly, (^. v.)
Awful, a useful adjective in its proper place, but used by all
classes of English society in a very ridiculous fashion "an :

awful fine woman" ; "awfully jolly" ; "awful glad".

Ax, to ask. A great favorite of the true-born cockney.
Axe to grind. One who takes a lively interest in some mat-
ter not directly concerning him, is sometimes suspected of
having an axe to grind ; z. c, of having purposes of his
own to serve.
Axle-grease, money; especially that used for purposes of
bribery.
 B
Babes, a name given to Baltimore rowdies.
Baby, a prostitute's lover, or "fancy man."
Baby act, "to plead the" ; to plead infancy as a defense to a
suit at law. Otherwise to beg off on the ground of youth
or inexperience; to weaken.
Bach or Batch, young men living alone and doing their
own cooking and cleaning are said to "batch it"; abbrevia-
tion of bachelor.
Back (Eng.), to bet that a horse will win. To lay (j-. v.)
is to bet against the horse.
Back (Eng.), to indorse a note; otherwise "to get up
behind."
Backbone (Am.), grit, sand, courage, moral stamina.
Back (Eng.), "to get one's back up," to become angry and
ready to fight, as a cat arches its back when enraged.
Backcap (Am.), to do one an ill-turn by speaking evil of
him or carrying tales, or otherwise to "spoil his game."
Back country (Am.) See Backwoods.
Back-down (Am.) See Back out.
Back-end (Eng.), that portion of the racing year after the
close of the season proper, and when only minor races
remain to be run.
Back-bander (Eng.), a blow on the face with the back of
the hand. Also to drink out of turn, or anything done
secretly and in an underhand way.
Backer"(Eng.), one who backs a horse to win.
Backing and filling, like "backing water," is a metaphor
ai
22 BAGBAD
drawn from nautical use. It means indecision; shilly-
shallying.
Backlog- (Am.), a large log used in old fire-places where
wood is burned. It serves to support the other fuel.
Back-out or Back-down, to surrender.
Back seat (Am.), an inferior position. Making a man take
a back seat is setting him back ; taking him down.
Backset, a check.
Backshish, or Bucksheesh, the Eastern equivalent of the
French pour-boire or the English Tip (^. v.)
Back talk (Am.), an impertinent answer.
Back track (Am.) "To take the back track" is to retreat.
Backwater (Am.), to retreat, to abandon an undertaking.
Backwoods (Am.), the uncleared timber country of the
West; the confines of civilization. Termed also Back
COUNTRY or Back settlements, as lying back from the
earlier settled Atlantic seaboard.

Bacon (Eng.) "To save one's bacon," to escape from a diffi-

culty.
Bad, "to go to the," to be ruined.
Bad, very much used instead of badly. "He wants it bad."
Bad cess to you (Irish), may trouble come upon you. See
Bad Scran.
Bad egg-, a rascal.
Bad form (Eng.), anything incorrect; a breach of good
taste or good manners. See Form.
Badger (Eng,), to tease or annoy. Derived from drawing
or baiting a badger.
Badger game (Am.), a variety of the Panel game {g. v.)
A woman gets a man in a compromising situation and her
male accomplices rob him or extort money by threats.
Badger State, Wisconsin.
 BADBAI 33
Bad lot (Eng.), a person of disreputable character.
Bad man (Am.), a bully or bruiser; a thief. "Bad" is used
in the sense of "hard."
Bad medicine (Am.), said of one who is objectionable for
any reason. Derived from the Indian "medicine-man's"
practice of making good or bad medicine; that is, helpful
or harmful drugs accordingly as he is paid.
Bad pill, a person of unenviable reputation.
Bad scran to you (Irish), may you have poor food. See
Scran.
Bad to beat, difficult to beat: bad being used in the sense of
hard.
Bag" (Eng.), to steal or seize. Equivalent to "grab" or to
"collar" or to "hook.''
Baggage (Eng.), a term of opprobium applied to a child or
a young girl.
Baggage-smasher (Am.), a railroad porter or expressman
who takes a fiendish delight in damaging trunks.
Bagged (Eng.), captured; arrested.
Bagman, the English equivalent for the American "drum-
mer" or "apostle of commerce."
Bag of tricks (Eng.) The whole of anything is spoken of
as the "whole bag of tricks."
Bag f wind (Am.), a boastful fellow. See Windbag.
Bags (Eng.), trousers. Those of extravagant or "loud"
pattern are "howling-bags." "Kicksies" is another equiva-
lent for the American "pants," articles which Dr. Holmes
says are worn only by "gents."
Bags cf mystery, sausages.
JBaU (Eng,), the handle of a bucket or pail.
Bairn (Scotch), a child.
Baiting (Am.), lunch in the harvest-field, or a feed for a
horse on the road.
24 BAKBAN
Baked, seasoned.See Half-baked.
Baker's dozen, The term
thirteen. arose from the
practice of bakers giving one extra loaf in every twelve to
make up for the short w^eight.
Balaam (Eng.), printers' term for standing matter.
Balaam-box (Eng.), an equivalent for the waste-box or
basket in an editorial room.
Bald-beaded (Am.), *'to go it," is to rush things in a lively-
style.
Bale up or Bail up, an Australian term equivalent to the
English "shell out" or the Western "hold up your hands."
Balk or Baulk (Am.), where a horse refuses to go or to
draw a vehicle. In England a balky horse is now known
as a "jibber," although the other term was originally
English.
Ballast (Eng.), money. A
rich man is well ballasted. A
drunken man has too much ballast on board.
Balmy (Eng.), sleep. One of Dick Stviveller*s pet phrases.
Probaoly from "Tired Nature's sweet restorer, balmy
sleep."
Bamboozle (Gip.), to delude or cheat; sometimes used as a
noun in the sense of a deception or *'sell."
Banagher, "that bangs Banagher and Banagher beats the
devil." An Irish expression similar to "That beats
THE Dutch" (^. t>.)
Bandanna, (Eng.), a handkerchief.
Banded (Eng.), hungry. From the practice of tying a
strap or band around the middle or taking up a hole in the
waist-strap when hungry.
Bandy (Eng.), crippled; bow-legged. Applied to a bent
coin.
Bangr to explode with a loud noise.
Bang, a fringe of hair on the forehead.
 BAN BAR as
Bang:, to excel; also to thrash.
Bangfiugr, a thrashing.
Bang-up (Eng.), first-rate; otherwise "slap-up;" or (Am.)
"bully."
Bank (Eng.), the extent of one's wealth. At hazard and
at other gambling games one player takes the bank against
all the others.
Banlc, "to play" (Am.), means to play against the bank or
gambling house. Bank also means to deposit money in a
bank or other place of safety. To bank is also to go
shares.
Banker (Eng.), a father. Otherwise Relieving Officer
{g. V.)
Banner, "carrying the." An artisan or mechanic out of
work is said to be "carrying the banner."
Banquette (Fr.), the sidewalk. Used in the South only.
Bantam, a pert boy or youth.
Bantam-weig-ht, the lightest at which men can fight.
Equivalent to Feather-weight (^. v.)
Banter, a challenge.
Bantling (Old Eng.), a child. Probably from an infant in
"bands '
or swaddling-clothes.
Banyan day (sea slang), a day in which no meat is served
as rations.
Bar (Eng.), in betting language, to except. "Two to one,
bar one," means that the bookmaker will lay such odds
against any horse in a race barring the favorite.
Barbecue (from the Spanish), an ox roasted whole at an
open-air public entertainment.
Barber's clerk (Eng.), an opprobious term for a shop-boy
who apes the manners and dress of one of superior station.
Bargain, a parcel ; an indefinite quantity or number.
Bargee (Eng.), equivalent to a "canaller." The English
26 BAR
bargee is credited with a capacity for pugilism and bad
language which often gets him into a row with the colle-
gians of Oxford and Cambridge.
Barker (Eng.), a man employed at the doors of cheap
shows and hand-me-down clothing stores. Equivalent to
the American Capper or Steerer (^. v.)
Barkers or Barking-irons (Eng.), pistols.
Barking up the wrong tree (Am.). A man is said to do
this when his suspicions point in the wrong direction.
When out 'coon-hunting the dogs sometimes make a mis-
take of this kind.
Barnacles (Eng.), spectacles. Possibly from binoculars.
Blinkers (g. v.) is an equivalent.
Barnburners (Am.), a political party which existed in New
York some fifty years ago. They represented the young
Democracy, and from their desire for reform at all costs
were compared with the farmer who burned down his
barn to get rid of the rats. Their opponents were known
as Hunkers (^. v.)

Barney (Eng.), a lark or jollification. Also a crooked race

or prize-fight; a "sell" or "cross."
Barn-stormers (Eng.), traveling theatrical performers who
play when and where they can.
Barracoon (Sp.), a slave-pen or enclosure.
Barrel (Am.), at election time candidates are currently re-
ported to "open a barrel," presumably containing dollars,
for the benefit of their henchmen and supporters. Mr.
Tilden in 1876 was charged with opening a very large
barrel, the first time the word was thus used.
Barrel (Eng.), the stomach.
Barrens (Am.), patches of poor soil fit only for growing
small timber, as pine or oak.
Barrikin (Gip.), jargon, speech.


BAS BAW 37
Bash (Eng. or Gipsy), to beat. Probably from the old
word "bashing," to beat a walnut tree with long poles.
"Bashing a dona" is beating a woman. Bashing is also
applied by criminals to prison floggings.
Baste (Eng.), to beat.
Bastiug- (Eng.), a beating.
Bastile (Eng.), abbreviated to" Steel ", is a generic term for
a prison or workhouse.
Bat (Am.), "to bat the eyes" is to wink.
Bat (Am.), on a bat," on a drunk.
Bat, to strike " to bat a man over the head."
;

Bat (Eng.), speed in running or walking. "He went off at

a good bat."
Bat (Eng.), " on his own bat," on his own account. Origi-
nally a cricketing term where a player scores so many runs
" off his own bat," or carries out his bat at the end of the
game.
Bate (Old Eng.), to abate or allow a deduction from the
price asked.
Bats (Eng.), a pair of dilapidated boots.
Batta (Hindu), extra pay given to soldiers serving in India.
Batter (Eng.), wear and tear; "on the batter," on the streets
or on the town.
Battery (Am.) In base ball parlance the pitcher and
catcher are called the battery.
Battery (Am.), a boat used for duck shooting, otherwise
known as a Sink box (^. v.)
Baudrons (Scotch), a cat. "Auld Baudrons by the ingle
sits.'* Burns.
Baulk. See Balk ante.
Bawcock (Old Eng.), a fine fellow. See Shakespeare,
King Henry IV,
28 BAY-BEA
Bayou (Am.), a stream running out of instead of into a
river, only possible in low, alluvial regions.
Bay State (Am.), Massachusetts.
Bazoo (Am,), "to blow one's" to boast or talk freely about
oneself ; to brag. In the " woolly West " there are a few
frontier newspapers known as the " Bazoo."
Beacli Combers (sea term), sailors on the Pacific coast.
Beak (Eng. or Gip.), a magistrate. Ancient Cant gives
Beck, perhaps from the Saxon Beag, a gold collar emble-
matic of authority.
Beak-hunter, a poultry thief derivation obvious.
;

Beam-ends. A ship thrown over on her side and in distress

is on her beam-ends, and the term is applied to a man in
trouble and poverty.
Bean-eaters, natives of Boston, Mass.
Beanpole, a very tall man.
Beans (Eng.), money. Probably from the French Biens,
property.
Bear (Eng.), a Stock Exchange speculator who sells stock
" short " which he does not possess and who speculates for
a decline. See Bull. The name is probably derived from
the old story about " sellix -y the bear's hide before catching
him," which is what the speculator for a fall actually does.
Bearing^ the market, trying to depress prices by selling
large blocks of stock, gold, grain or other objects of specu-
lation or by disseminating reports.
Bear-leader (Eng.), a private tutor to a young gentleman.
As a corollary the pupil is known as a cub."
Bear State, Arkansas.
Bearer-up (Eng.), a "capper" for a gambling house or
mock -auction shop, who encourages others to speculate by
playing or bidding-up as the case may be.
Beat, See Dead-beat.
 BEA BEE 29

Beat, the ground supposed to be traveled over by a police-

man on duty.
Beater-cases (Old Eng.), boots.
Beat-hollow, to defeat entirely to beat " out of sight " or
;

" into fits."

Beat-out, tired, fagged out.

Beats the Dutch, something extraordinary. That beats
the Dutch and the Dutch beats the Devil " is the superla-
tive.
Beau (French), a lover or sweetheart. " To beau" is to
court or gallant a girl.
Beaver (Eng.), an old term for a top or stove-pipe hat, now
made of silk, but formerly made of beaver. " Goss,"
" tile," " thatch," " cady," are a few of the equivalents.
Bed-fagot (Eng.), a contemptuous term for a woman of ill-

fame.
Bed-post, " in the twinkling of," in a moment or very quickly.
" In three shakes of a lamb's tail' is analogous.
Bed-spread (Am.), a quilt or counterpane.
Bed-rock (Am.), in mining phraseology, is the stratum
which underlies the mineral-bearing rock or soil.
Bee (Am.), a craze. Politicians occasionally get a Presiden-
tial " bee in their bonnet."
Bee (Am.), a gathering for work and social purposes com-
bined, such as the old-time quilting bee, apple-paring bee,
and spelling bee.
Beef-headed (Eng.), stupid as an ox; dull, fatheaded.
Beefy (Eng.), thick or fat, when applied to one's personal
appearance. It also means rich, juicy , plenteous ; such as
playing in " beefy " luck.
Beeline (Am.), the straightest possible route to a given
30 BEE BEN
point. A bee when laden with honey makes a " beeline "
for its hive. The English say, "as the crow flies."
Beery (Eng.), intoxicated, bemused with beer.
Beeswax (Eng.), poor, soft cheese.
Beetle-crusliers (Eng.), large feet.
Bej?gar*s velvet (Eng.), the fluff or down which accu-
mulates under beds and other furniture where the maid is
careless. Otherwise known as " Slut's wool."
Beg^into (Am.) An inferior article does not "begin to"
equal a better one.
Belcher (Eng.), a blue bird's eye handkerchief. Otherwise
a "FOGLK " {^. v.)
Beliked (Am.), beloved; liked.
Bell (Old Cant), a song.
Bellows (Eng.), the lungs. " Bellows to mend " means
"out or wind."
Bellowsed (Eng.), transported; knocked out of wind.
Belly-timber (Eng.), food.
Belly- veil g-eance (Eng.), sour small beer or cider.
Bemused (Eng.), fuddled with beer or other drink.
Ben, abbreviation for benefit (theatrical).
Ben, abbreviation for Benjamin, an overcoat.
Ben Cull (Gip.) a "pal "or companion. The Gipsies use
^en or JSten for good.
Bend (Am.), above one's bend, beyond his power or out of
his reach. '' Too high for his nut" is an equivalent.
Bender, an English sixpence.
Bender (Eng.), the arm. "Over the bender " see "Over
THE LBFT."
Bender, " On a bender," on a drunk.
 BENBET 31

Bene (Gip.) good. Bonar^ best. Compare the Latin Bona^

Bonum.
Benedict, a married man. From " Benedick," the husband
of " Beatrice " in Muck Ado about Nothing.
Benjamin, or Upper Benjamin, an overcoat. Named after
a Jew tailor in London and sometimes known as a
*
Joseph," that being also a common name among the
ready-made clothiers of that city.
Benjy, diminutive of Benjamin, a waistcoat.
Beong (Gip.), an English shilling.
Bess o' Bedlam (Old Eng.), a crazy woman.
Best (Am.), to beat a man in a bargain; to defeat him.
Best Licks (Am.), to put in one's best licks, is to do the best
one can.
Better (Eng.), more. Better than a mile."
Better (Am.), is used to assert a thing certain, as "you'd
better believe it ".

Betterments, improvements.
Bettermost, the best.
Bettings round, in betting parlance, means to lay equally
against all horses, so that the bookmaker runs little risk.
See Hedge.
Betty (Cant), a skeleton key.
Between drinks (Am.), a long time. On one historical
occasion the Governors of the sovereign States of North
and South Carolina met to discuss matters of State comity,
and the executive of the one commonwealth is reported to
have said to the other dignitary "Governor, it's a long time
between drinks."
Between hay and grass (Am.), taken from farm language,
a season at which there is nothing doing and nothing com-
ing in.
32 BID BIL
Biddable (Irish), manageable, obedient.
Biddy, an Irish woman.
Big", "to talk big," to boast. To "look big" is to assume an
air of importance.
Big-bug, or Big- gun (Am.), one who is, or fancies him-
self to be, a great personage.
Biggest toad in the puddle (Am.), a consequential person
in a small town.
Big bead (Am.), or Swelled bead, said of one who has a
great opinion of himself.
Big wig (Eng.), a person in authority or office. Judges
and other high officers in England wear wigs.
Bilbo, a sword; from Bilboa, atown in Spain, where the best
swords were made.
Bilboes (Old Eng.), fetters or stocks.
Biled owl (Am.), "drunk as a," very far gone.
Biling (Am.), the whole boiling, entire lot.
Bilk (Old Eng.), to defraud or cheat by means just outside
the laws. A Bilk is a swindler.
Billingsgate language, from the common
(Eng.), foul
speech of the fishwives of Billingsgate market, London.
Billy (Eng.), a policeman's club.
Billy (Scotch), a silk pocket handkerchief.
Billycock (Eng.), a soft felt hat; a "wide-awake."
Billy-fencer (Eng.), a marine store dealer, or dealer in old
junk and metal. Stolen metal of any kind is known as
Billy.
Billy Patterson, "who struck," a question no nearer an
answer now than when it was first propounded by a negro
minstrel, who offered a pecuniary reward for the man who
"struck his brother Bill." It ranks with the "song the
siren sang" and the name which Achilles took when he
dwelt among women as a mystery unsolved.
 BIN BIT 33
Bin, for been "With everything that pretty bin my lady
;

sweet arise." This is the Old English form of been, has

the authority of Dryden, Jonson, and Herrick, and in our
own day of Whittier. Byron also used it, but quotes it.
The New Englander pronounces it "ben."
Bin^ (Gip.), Look out:
Bing Morts and toure and toure
out, bien
Bing out, bien Morts and toure.
For allyour duds are binged avast
The bien cove hath the loure." Old Gipsy sottg.

Bingro (Old Cant), brandy.

Bird-cage (Eng.), a four-wheeled cab. Also a prison.
Bird of Freedom (Am.), the American Eagle.
Birthday suit (Eng.), no clothes at all; same costume as
worn by Adam and Eve at a very early period.
Bishop (Eng.), a warm drink often mentioned by eighteenth
century writers, but now out of date.
Bit (Am.), 12^ cents; a short bit is a dime. The Penn-
sylvanians speak of a "levy" for 12^ cents. In the West
Indies sixpence, English money, is a bit.
Bit, "did his bit," served his time in prison. prisoner A
sentenced to three months imprisonment said to the judge,
"I can do that bit on my head."
Bit of blood (Eng.), a horse of good breeding.
Bit of stuff (Eng.), a young woman. "Bit of calico," or
"bit of muslin," are equivalents.
Bite (Old Eng.), a cheat, a hard bargain.
Bite, to cheat or swindle. To "be bitten" is to be taken in
or defrauded.
Bite-faker (Eng.), a counterfeiter.
Bittock (Scotch.) If you ask a Scotchman the distance to
any place, he will reply, after asking you in return where
you came from, that it is so many miles and a bittock. The
34 BIV BLA
bittock is generally a trifle longer than the miles. See
Scott, Heart of Mid
Lothian.
Bivvy (Eng.), beer. A "shant of bivvy" is a quart of beer.
The derivation is doubtless from beverage.
Biz (Am.), contraction of business.
Blab (Eng.), to talk freely; to tell.
Black (Eng.), a nick-name. Tom Brown (see Tom Brotvn's
School Days), gave the gamekeeper a "black" by calling
him "Velveteens."
Black and white (Eng.), hand-writing. "Let us have it
in black and white," /. e., let there be a written contract.
Black Diamonds (Eng.), coals.
Black-eye, "to give a," is to inflict harm or damage on any
scheme.
Blackguard (Old Cant), a disreputable fellow. To black-
guard is to abuse.

Blackleg (Eng.), a rascal or swindler; a card cheat. See

Leg.
Blackmail (Scotch), money paid to avoid prosecution or
exposure. Originally the "rent" in money or stock paid
by the Lowland Scotch farmers to some Highland robber
chief or "cateran," on condition that he protected them
against others of his kind. See Scott, Jiod Roy,
Black Maria (Eng.), the van in which prisoners are con-
veyed to the jail or bridewell.
Black Monday (Eng.), the Monday on which boys return
to school after the holidays.

Black sheep (Eng.), a "bad lot." In French, mauvais

sujet.

Black snake (Am.), a long whip of rawhide.

Black strap, port wine, or a mixture of molasses and spirits.

(
 BLA BLE 35
Bladder of lard (Eng.), a bald head.
Blade (Eng.), a man; a "roaring blade," or a "knowing
blade."
Blamed, a New England euphemism for damned. In Eng-
land they say "blarmed."
Blarney (Irish),flattery. There is a stone in Blarney
Castle, County Cork, and he or she who kisses that stone
can persuade others to believe anything.

And there's a stone there

Which whoever kisses.
Sure he never misses
To grow eloquent.
'Tis he can clamber
To a lady's chamber.
Or become a member
Of Parliament.
Father Proutes Reliques.
Blanket Indian (Am.), a semi-civilized aborigine who re-
ceives blankets and rations from Uncle Sam when the
agent does not steal them.
Blather (Irish), stupid talk.
Blatherskite (Irish), a wild and foolish talker and boaster;
a cheap orator.
Blaze (Am.), to mark trees with cuts by an ax for the pur-
pose of finding one's way. A
"blaze" (Eng.), is a white
mark on the face of a horse or cow.
Blazer, a striped tennis or rowing jacket of a "loud" pattern.
Blazes, the infernal regions. "Like blazes I will" is a com-
mon English asseveration. Sam Weller horrified the swell
footman by addressing him as "Blazes," a delicate compli-
ment to his bright red livery.
Bleach, a family washing hung out to dry.
36 BLE BLI
Bleaching-boards, the unsheltered upper seats at a base ball
match.
Bleed (Eng.), to victimize or extract money from a person.
*'To bleed" is to part with money.

Bleeding', an adjective much used in England; a modifica-

tion of the word "bloody" in its vulgar sense.

"The bloomin' little sparrow

Went up the bleedin' spout,
Along came the blasted rain
And washed the bleedin' sparrow out

The blessed sun came out

And dried up the blasted rain,
And the bloomin' little sparrow
Went up the bleedin' spout again."

Slewed (Eng.), spent. "Blewed it all in," spent all one's

money.
Blind (Am.), an arrangement of bushes used by duck
hunters so as to secure themselves from observation.
Blind (Am.), at the game of poker where the player has
the privilege before seeing his hand of "going it blind,"
that is of taking the chances. In such a case the other
players must "see" his blind if they want to play.
Blind (Eng.), a pretense, or make-believe.
Blind-drunk (Eng.), when a man can not see a hole in a
ladder.
Blind-hookey (Eng.), a gambling game, otherwise known
as Wilful Murder.
Blind in both eyes (Am.), eggs fried on both sides.

Blindman's holiday (Eng.), twilight.

Blinker (Eng.), the eye.
Blinkers (Eng.), spectacles.
 BLI BLO 87

Blizzard (Am.), a storm of wind and snow common on the

northern prairies. The word has been adopted in England
within the last few years.
Bloater (Eng.), a herring.
Block (Eng.), the head.
Block (Am.), a city square.
Block-ornaments (Eng.), the small trimmings made by
butchers in preparing joints for sale, and sold to the poor
at a low price.
Blocks of (Am.), an expression introduced into Ameri-
five
can politics in 1888, when an Indiana politician was charged
with bribing voters, whom he described as "blocks of five."
Bloke (Eng.), a man, "a stupid bloke." Never used in a
complimentary sense.
Blood (Eng.), a fast youth.
Blood-money (Eng.), money received by informers in crimi-
nal cases.
Blood-tubs (Am.), roughs, street-loafers. The term comes
from Baltimore.
Bloody (Eng.), a vulgar expletive, used without sense or
reason, either as an adjective or an adverb.
Bloody shirt (Am.), "waving the." Calling up the issues
of the late Civil War for political purposes.
Bloomer (Am.), a semi-masculine costume, invented and
worn some thirty years ago by a Mrs. Bloomer.
Blooming-, an adjective used in England as an alternative for
"bleedin' " etc. "The whole blooming lot" means the full
quantity.
Blow (Eng.), to inform. "Blow the gaff," to give away
the story of a crime.
Blow (Am.), to brag or boast.
Blow a cloud (Eng.), to smoke a pipe or cigar.

_.. (= .4. ij ) 1


38 ' BLO BLU

Blowed (Eng.), a mild and meaningless expletive. Some-
times "blow me," or "blow me tight."

If I've a soul to give me food,

Or find me in employ
By day or night, why blow me tight,
He was a vulgar boy.
Ingoldsby Legends.
Blonren (GIp.), a girl. Generally applied to one of light
character. Byron uses it in Don Juan. A famous slang
song of Father Prout's reads:
"As from ken to ken I was going,
Doing a bit on the prigging lay
Who should I meet but a jolly blowen,
Who was fly to the time of day."
Blower (Am.), a braggart; one who is full of gasconading
stories.
Blowhard (Am.), a boaster.
Blow in (Am. ), to spend one's money. "Jones blew in all
his dust against the game" (faro).
Blow-out (Eng.), a feast. Tuck-In means the same.
Afternoon teas are known as "tea-fights," or "muffin-
worries."
Blowsalinda, a country girl; from a character in an old
play.
Blow up (Eng.), to scold.
Blue (Eng.), miserable, gloomy.
Blue-blood (Eng.), an aristocrat. One "of the caste of
Vere de Vere."
Blue-bottle (Eng.), a policeman. See II. King Kenry IV.^
Act . See also Bobby, Peeler, Crusher, Cop and
Slop. The last is back-slang for police.
Blue devils, misery. A
man with delirium tremens has
them.
 BLUBOA 39

Blue-grass country (Am.), Kentucky.

Blue Hen State (Am.), Delaware.
Blue Jackets (Eng.), seamen in the navy.
Blue-laws, a set of rules or ordinances principally in regard
to Sabbath observance, alleged to have been adopted in
Connecticut in Puritan times. No such laws were ever
passed by any legislature in this country, although the Sab-
batarian laws of New England were harsh enough.
Blue moon (Eng.), "once in a." An indefinite period, iden-
tical with the Greek Kalends.
Blue noses (Am.), natives of Nova Scotia.
Blue Peter (Eng.), a signal for trumps at whist, made by
playing a higher card unnecessarily in place of one of a
lower denomination.
Blue pigeon flyer (Eng.), a plumber who strips lead from
roofs and sells it on his own account.

Blue ruin (Eng.), gin.

Blue stocking (Eng.), a learned lady. From the French
Bas-hleu.
Blues, got the, despondent, miserable. See Blue Devils,
ante.
Bluflf (Am.), an excuse or a brag. At the game of poker a
man will stay in the game with a poor hand, and by heavy
betting will try to "bluff" the game through, the other
players being afraid to "call" him.
Bluffs (Am.), hills of moderate size by the side of rivers.
Blnmmies (Dutch), wild flowers.
Blunt (Eng.), money.
Board of green cloth (Eng.), the gaming table.
Boated (Eng.), transported, from the prisoners being sent
abroad in ships. Now applied to penal servitude, which
has replaced transportation as a punishment.
40 BOBBOG
Bob (Eng.), one shilling.
Bob (Am.), immature veal, the sale of which is prohibited
by law.
Bob, "So help me." An English euphemism for "so help
me God," the usual oath in courts of justice.
Bobbery (Anglo-Hindu), a tumult or bother.
Bobbish (Eng.), feeling well. A
cockney will say he
"feels bobbish."
Bobby (Eng.), a policeman. From the name of Sir Robert
Peel, who introduced the metropolitan police force. See
also Peeler.
Bodewasli (Am.). (Fr. Bois de vache;) Buffalo Chips,
{q. V.)
Bodkin (Eng.), "to sit." One person sitting between two
others in a carriage "sits bodkin."
Bodle (Scotch), a penny.
Body-snatcber (Eng.), one who stealsdead bodies for the
dissecting room; a resurrectionist. Also applied of old
time to a bailiff or sheriff's officer.
Bogie (Eng.), a ghost or apparition; also applied to his Sa-
tanic majesty, who is known as "Old Bogie." In Scotland
a "bogle" is a mythical creature of evil appearance and dis-
position. See Burns, Tarn 6* Shunter,
Bog orang-es (Irish), potatoes.
Bogie-engine (Am.), a form of locomotive used for work
in railroad yards.

Bog-trotter, an Irishman. The term was formerly applied

to the inhabitants of the "debateable land" on the borders
of England and Scotland.
Bogus (Am.), imitation, fraudulent; as bogus titles, bogus
degrees, etc. Said to be from the name of an Italian
swindler named Borghese, who pretended to be a prince,
 BOH BON 41

and who defrauded a great many in the United States some

fifty years ago.
Bohemian, or actor, who ignores con-
a literary man, artist
ventionalities. The French speak
of the vie de Boheme^
and in most European languages the word has a similar
meaning.
Boiled shirt (Am.), more often "biled";a white linen shirt.
Boko (Eng. P. R.), the nose.
Bolt (Eng.), to run away. Also to swallow without chew-
ing.
Bolt, in American politics, to desert a political party or con-
vention.
Bolus (Eng.), an apothecary or a dose of medicine.
Bonanza (Sp.), originally a very rich mine or deposit of
precious metals. Now
applied to any extremely well-pay-
ing business.
Bona-roba (Old Eng.), a woman of the town. Originally
from the Lingua Franca, Justice Shallow in King Henry
IV., boasts of his old-time acquaintance with the bona-
robas.
Bone (Old Cant), to steal.
Bone (Gip.), good. From the Latin bonum or the French
bon.
Bones (Eng.), "made no bones of it," did it without diffi-
culty; or without hesitation.
Bones (Am.), substitutes for castanets; used by negro min-
strels.
Bones (Eng.), dice.
Boniface (Old Eng.), the landlord of an inn.
Bonnet (Scotch), a cap. To Bonnet a man is to knock
his hat over his eyes.
Bonnet or Bearer-np (Eng.) One who plays with his
42 BON BOO
"pals" at some gambling game to induce outsiders to ven-
ture their money. In the United States he is known as a
Capper (^. v.)
Bonny (Scotch), handsome, fine.
Boodle (Am.), money obtained as a bribe, or in return for
crooked or corrupt work. The Commissioners of Cook
County, 111., who awarded contracts to their friends for
valuable consideration, and some of whom were sent to the
penitentiary, were known as "boodlers."

Boo-hoo, to cry ; to bawl out.

Book (Eng.), "to make a," to bet against all horses in a race.
Thousands of bookmakers find a first-class living in Eng-
land and this country, thanks to the innate passion for
backing horses which exists in the community. If the
bookmaker sticks to his business and abstains from backing
horses on his own account it is a mathematical certainty
that he will win, always provided that he fills his book in
accordance with the system on which the business is based.
In effect, he keeps a bank at which others gamble, and he
gets the benefit.
Booked, caught; disposed of. Booked for a long term (in
prison.)
Bookie, a bookmaker. One who makes a book on a race;
that is, one who stands ready to lay the odds against any or
every horse in a race.
Books, a deck of cards, "the devil's picture book." See also
Papers.
Boom (Am.), a rush of business.
In the lumber United States logs are cut and stored
districts of the
to await the rise of the river, [see Freshet], and the accumulated
logs form a boom. When the water rises to a sufficient height the
boom breaks, and the logs go out "booming." Western cities boom
and are boomed, politicians have booms, and real estate dealers boom
their property by advertising.
 BOO BOS 43
Boom (sea term.) "To top one's boom,** to start oflE.

Boomer (Am.), a recent invention to describe those persons

who, in anticipation of the opening of Oklahoma and other
attempted to exploit the country
territories to settlement,
on their own
account, and who went in with or in advance
of the "boom," generally to come back "broke."
Boomerangr (Am.), a story put forth for political purposes,
the untruth of which being exposed reacts against its dis-
seminators. Practically the same as a Roorback, (^. v.)
Boon-companion, doubtless from ion^ good, a good fellow;
a comrade in a drinking bout.
Boost (Am.), to help up. "Give me a boost up this tree,"
says one boy to another.
Boot (Eng.), a premium paid with anything bartered or ex-
changed.
Boot, "to boot a man," is to kick him.
Booze (Old English, douse), to drink. Boozy, drunk.
Probably from the dutch buyzen, to tipple.
Boozingr-ken (Gip.), a drinking-house.
Boozy, drunk. Other equivalents are tight, muzzy, lushy,
got a jag, on a bender or spree, full as a goose, or as David's
sow, or as St. Antony's pig, or as a fiddler's bitch, tight as
bricks, been in the sun, and perhaps a hundred more.

Bore (Old Eng.), a troublesome acquaintance; one who

wearies and annoys you. Shakespeare has it in King
Henry VIII.
Bore, in the language of the prize ring, is to bear an oppo-
nent down by superior weight, and thus force him to the
ropes. Used also to express the practice of jockeys who by
foul riding drive their competitors to the rails.
Bosh (Hindu and Gip.), nonsense; empty talk.
Boss (Dutch), an employer. The chief of a political ring,
44 BOS BOU
as "Boss" Tweed in the palmy days of Tammany. The
word is simply an equivalent for "master," which latter

term goes not well among our "fierce democracy." To boss

is to manage.

Boss-eyed (Eng.), one who squints; otherwise swivel-

eyed.
Bossy ( Am.), a calf or cow.

Bother, Botheration and Botheroo, all signify trouble or

annoyance.
Bottle-holder, the supporter of a pugilist in the ring, so-
called from his having had charge of the water-bottle for
refreshment purposes.
Bottom (Eng.), stamina, pluck. "Sand" or "grit" are
equivalents.
Bottom dollar (Am.), the last of one's money.
Bottom fact (Am.), an undoubted fact.
Boughten (Am.), that which is purchased, as distinguished
from articles home-made or home-grown. Thus country
people speak of "boughten bread," "boughten carpets," or
"boughten stockings," instead of home-made bread, or
home-woven carpets or hose.
Bounce (Eng.), impudence, brag. See Cheek.
Bounce (Am.), to throw out; to fire. "To get the grand
bounce," is to be discharged from work.
Bouncer (Am.), one hired in in a saloon, dive, or low thea-
tre or other place of entertainment for the purpose of throw-
ing out objectionable visitors.
Bouncer (Eng.), an extravagant falsehood.
Bounceable (Eng.), given to bragging and boasting.
Bound, determined, resolved.
Bounty-jumper (Am.) During the late Civil War thous-
ands of scoundrels enlisted for the sake of the bounties
 BOUBOY 45

offered by States, municipalities and individuals, and de-

serted as soon as they had obtained the money. few of A
them were punished, but the trade was for a time a profit-
able one, as the bounties paid were large.
Bourbon (Am.), a variety of whisky and a species of Demo-
crat.
Bow-catcher (Eng.), properly Beau-catcher, a small curl
twisted on the cheek or temple of young ladies. The
French call them accroche cceurs, and in the United States
they are known as "spit curls."
Bowdlerizing*, emasculating a standard work in order to ren-
der it "fit for the family circle." One Dr. Bowdler many
years ago did this with Shakespeare, and thus "damned
himself to everlasting fame."
Bower (Ger., bauer^ knave), the knave of trumps at euchre
is the right bower; the other knave of the same color
(black or red as it may be), is the left bower. The right
bower is the best trump, and the left bower ranks the ace.
A man will speak of his partner or business assistant as
his "right bower."
Bowie (Am.), a knife invented and often used by one Col.
Bowie.
Bowled-out (Eng.), beaten. From the game of cricket,
and now in general use.
Box (Am.), a boat used for duck-shooting; a Sink-boat
orKATTERY, which see.
Box-car (Am.), a closed freight car.
Box coat (Eng.), a heavy overcoat worn by coachmen.
Boy (Am.), a negro servant of any age.
Boycott is a comparatively new word
of which the origin
is absolutely known. A certain Boycott, an
Captain
Irish landowner, proved obnoxious to the people of his
district, and they unanimously resolved to have nothing to
46 BRA
do with him. He found it impossible to hire men t assist
tradesmen would not supply him
in getting in the harvest,
with provisions, and nobody would buy or sell with him.
The English government sent him assistance, and the case
became famous. The system of "boycotting" has been
adopted on a large scale by trade organizations. Thus if a
shop-keeper sells goods made by non-union labor, the mem-
bers of trade unions can bring him to time by refusing
to deal with him. The limit to the capacity of this system
(which cuts in many directions), has not yet been reached.
It is denounced by some as conspiracy, but is difficult to
reach by law. Meantime the word "Boycott" has come to
stay.
Bracelets (Eng.), handcuffs.
Brace grame (Am.), a swindling operation.
Brace up (Am.), pull yourself together; get to business.
Brack (Old Eng.), a break or crack; a flaw in cloth.
Brads (Eng.), money.
Brag (Eng,), boast. Also a game of cards where "bluff" is

the cliief element.

Brainpan (Eng.), the skull.
Brakes, "put on the," (Am.), adapted from railroad use;
means to go slow.
Branch (Am.), a brook or small stream. Otherwise a Fork
(gr.v.)
Brandy Pawnee (Anglo-Hindu), brandy and water. See
Thackeray, The Newcomes,
Bran new (Eng.), properly Brand new; showing the man-
ufacturer's mark or brand.
Brash (Am.), fresh, impertinent. It has also the meaning
of brittle.
Brass (Eng.), money. The word is principally used in
 BRABRE 47
Lancashire; less often by the London cockneys, who have
a hundred equivalents of their own for "the needful."
Brass (Eng.), impudence. Brazen is applied to hard and
polished cheek, probably from the qualities of the metal.
Brat (Old Eng.), a child. Used as a term of opprobrium.
Brave (Am.), an adult Indian.
Braw (Scotch), rich, well-dressed, fine-looking. Braws are
good clothes. "Dirty braw" is the equivalent of the Eng-
lish "shabby-genteel."
Brazen-faced, impudent.
Breachy (Am.), said of unruly oxen, such as break down
fences.
Bread basket, the stomach, in prize ring language.
Break (Am.), "a bad break;" a mistake.
Breakbone (Am.), a species of fever, otherwise known as'

dengue.
Breakdown (Am.), a dance, generally identified with negro
song and dance performers.
Breaking the ice (Eng.), making a beginning.
Breaking: out in a fresh place (Am.), doing something
new and unexpected.
Breaky leg (Old Cant), drink. From the capacity of strong
potations to tangle up the lower extremities. See Tangle-
foot.
Breathe a prayer, to drink.
Breeches, **to wear the." Said of a woman who usurps
the entire control of her husband's affairs. In such
cases the dame is known as the "Grey Mare," or the
"White Sergeant."
Breeks (Scotch), trousers. An old proverb says "It's ill
taking the breeks off a Highlandman," the mountaineers
wearing kilts only.
4S BREBRO
Breezy, noisy, fresh.
Brer*, negro for brother. See Uncle Remus Stories.
Brick (Eng.), a good fellow.
Brick in liis hat (Am.), tipsy, intoxicated.
Bridge, a cheating trick at cards, where the particular card
desired is curved by the pressure of the hand so as to make
the deck cut at that point. The French call the trick Faire
le pont; to make the bridge.
Brief (Eng.), a card cut down for cheating purposes. In
Old English, breef.
Brief, apawn ticket, or a raffle ticket.
Bring to, to stop suddenly, as a ship at sea is brought to.
Briny (Eng.), the sea.
Britisher, a native of Great Britain.
Broad-hrim (Eng.), a Quaker.
Broad-faker (Eng.), a swindling card player; sometimes
known as a Broadsman.
Broads (Eng.), cards.
Broadway Statue (Am.), an over-dressed "masher;" very
prominent on a New York thoroughfare. The genus is
ubiquitous and has many aliases.
Broady (Eng.), an abbreviation of broadcloth. Broady
WORKERS are fellows who sell cloth goods of villainous
quality in the piece, pretending either that it is the product
of a bankrupt sale or has evaded the customs, or been "ob-
tained on the cross."
Brogans (Irish), shoes.
Brogues, breeches; from the Dutch.
Broke (Am.), ruined, bankrupt, out of money. All broke
UP means either miserable or in hard luck financially.
Brolly (Eng.), an umbrella.
Broncho (Sp.), a small horse pony, indigenous on the plains.
 BROBUB 49

Brother Chip, Brother Whip, etc., are terms of familiarity

among carpenters, coachmen and others. "Ditto, Brother
Smut," is a sort of tu quoque argument.
Brother Jonathan (Am.), shares with Uncle Sam the
dignity of being the tutelary genius of the United States.
It is alleged, on insufficient evidence, that Washington was
wont to say when questions of importance came up, "We
must ask Brother Jonathan about that," referring to Jona-
than Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut, and that the
phrase thus passed into use. Lowell has immortalized it
by his famous "Jonathan to John."
Broth of a boy (Irish), a good fellow.
Brotus (Am.), something given in as make- weight; the su-
perfluity of a helping ; heaped measure. The word is used
in the South exclusively.
Brown or Bronze (Eng.), a half-penny. See also Flatch.
Brown (Eng.), "done up brown," deceived, taken in.
Brown study (Eng.), a reverie.
Brown to (Eng.), to understand, to "tumble" to.
Bruiser (Eng.), a pugilist.
Brummagem, provincial pronunciation of Birmingham,
England, and probably approaching nearer to the old-time
name than the present word. Brummagem goods are imi-
tation, the city being famous for its production of cheap
jewelry, etc.

Brush (Eng.), a journeyman painter.

Brush (Am.), undergrowth of a forest.
Brush (Eng.), a fox's taiL
Brush (Eng.), a fight or scrimmage. "We had a smart
brush with the enemy."
Brush (Old Eng.), to run away.
Bub or Bubby (Old Cant), driri^.
50 BUBBUF
Bubble (Old Eng.), to swindle. Much used by eighteenth
century dramatists and novelists. Bubble Companies
are swindling associations, such as the Anglo- Bengalee
Insurance Company, projected by Tigg Montague, Esq.
Bubble and squeak (Eng.), a dish of cold roast meat and
vegetables fried together in a pan.
Bubbly Jock (Scotch), a turkey, from the noise it makes.
Buck (Am.), an adult male Indian or negro.
Buck, an English sixpence. "Two and a buck;" two shil-
lings and sixpence.
Buck (Eng.), a smart, dressy man.
Buckeye State, Ohio.
Buck fever (Am.), the feeling which overcomes an inexpe-
rienced hunter when he gets a shot at a deer.
Buckle (Eng.), to marry.
Buckle-begrgrar (Eng.), a hedge-priest; one who stands
ready to perform a marriage ceremony without much
trouble about a license; generally an unfrocked minister.
Buckled, married. See Hitched; also taken into custody.
Buckle to, to yield, to bend, to give in. Shakespeare has it.
See also the old ballad, " 'Twas within a mile of Edinboro*
town."
Buckra, a negro term for a white man.
Bud (society slang), a young lady in her first season.
Budge (Eng.), strong drink. Budging Ken, a public
house.
Budge (Eng.), to move, to go away.
Buff (Eng.), the bare skin. See Birthday Suit, ante.
Buff (Old Cant), to swear to or give evidence.
Buffalo (Am.), a robe or coat made of buffalo hide.
Buffalo chips or Bodewash (Am.), the droppings of buf-
falo; used formerly for fuel on the plains.
 BUF BUL 51

Buffalo wallow (Am.), a sink or marshy place in which the

buffalo roll.
Buffer (Eng.), an old man; a good-humored term. *A
jolly old buffer."
Buffy (Eng.), intoxicated.
Bugr, the common term in the United States for all kinds of
beetles.
Bug juice (Am.), whisky.
Bugrmaster-General (Am.) Pet name fcr a State Ento-
mologist or scientific man interested in entomology.
Bug walk (Eng.), a coarse term for a bed; not always un-
deserved.
Build (Eng.), the make or style of an article; specially ap-
plied to clothing.
Bull (Eng.), a stock exchange speculator who "goes long"
on stocks, trusting to a rising market. See Bear, ante.
Bull, an English crown piece.
Bull-dogs or Barkers (Eng.), pistols.
Bull-dogs (Eng.), assistants to the proctors of English uni-
versities.
Bulldoze (Am.), to over-awe, to terrify, to silence by threats.
In Louisiana, about 1876, it was alleged that the negroes
were "bulldozed" by the whates to prevent them from ex-
ercising the elective franchise.
Bullet (Eng.), "to get the bullet," to be discharged from
work.
Bulls-eye, in target shooting, is the center of the target. To
hit the bull's eye in the center is to succeed in one's object.
Bull*s-eye, a large, old-fashioned watch.
Bully, in Old English, in which sense the word is still, to a
certain extent, used in this country; a good fellow, a jolly
companion. "Bully for you," and "that's bully," or "I feel
52 BULBUN
bully," are thus used. But the word has another meaning,
a bully being a low blackguard, who lives on women of
the town, and thrashes them or others. A
bully is a brag-
gart and a coward,
BuUyragr (Eng.), to scold or abuse.
Bull-whacker (Am.), a cow-boy or cattle-herder.
Bum or Bummer (Am.), a loafer or vagabond, who in"
habits a ten-cent lodging-house, and gets victuals on the
free-lunch system. On the Bum, on a drunk.
Bum-boat (Eng.), a shore-boat which supplies sailors with
provisions. In the United States, a floating drink-shop or
resort for "toughs."
Bummer (Am.), a tramp or loafer. Bummers followed the
army during the Civil War. See Hans BreitmarCs Bal-
lads.
Bumper (Eng.), full measure.
Bumptious (Eng.), self-sufficient, arrogant.
Bunch of fives (P. R.), the fist.
Bunco or Banco (Am.), a swindle generally affected by in-
ducing a greenhorn to play cards. The bunco-steerer pro-
fesses an acquaintance with his victim, and usually two or
three are implicated in the game.
Bundle (Eng.), to pack one off.
Bundling is a Welsh practice, and also prevails, or did until
lately, in some parts of Pennsylvania. Courting is there
done in bed, the parties being fully dressed, to prevent
undue familiarity.
Bung (Eng.), to close up.
Bung (Eng.), the landlord of a public house.
Bunk, a bed, cot or hammock.
Bunk it (Eng.), be off, decamp.
Bunker (Eng.), beer.
 BUN BUT 53
Bnnknm (Am.), pretense, flap-doodle, gas. Said to be from
a member of the North Carolina Legislature, who made a
flamboyant speech, not with a view of impressing his fel-
V
low-legislators, but for effect upon his constituents in Bun-
combe County.
Bupyingr the hatchet (Am.), ending a feud or diflficulty.
The aborigines were said to dig up the war hatchet when
going on the war-path and to bury it with certain solemni-
ties when peace was attained.

Bus, an omnibus.
Bush, in Australia means the equivalent of the American
"backwoods." The "bush" is not properly forest, but
small, scrubby timber and shrubs.
Bushwhackers (Am.), during the Civil War were a sort
of irregular cavalry in the South, analogous to the "bum-
mers," and practically identical with the "Jayhawkers" of
that time.
Buss, a kiss. Old English, no doubt derived from the French
baiser^ to kiss.
Bust or Burst, to tell tales; to split or inform.
Busted (Am.), out of money broke. ;

Buster (Eng.), a spree or frolic.

Buster (Eng.), a small loaf. A still smaller one is called a
"starver."
Bustle (Eng.), money.
Butcher (Eng.), the king in playing cards.
Bute (Am. ), abbreviation of beauty. "He's a tbute'."
Butte (Sp.), is the Western name for small hills or mounds;
an alternative for bluffs. The only English equivalent is
Knobs.
Butter, flattery same as "soft soap," "soft sawder."
;

Butter-fingered, apt to let things fall ; one who drops the

ball at base ball or cricket.

54 BUTBY
Butternuts (Am.), from their home-spun clothing. A term
applied during the Civil War to Southern country people.
Button (Eng.), a decoy or sham purchaser. Otherwise
known as a Bonnet or Capper.
Button-liollngr, engaging a man in conversation when he
would rather be about his own business. From the sup-
posed practice of holding a button of the victim's coat to
prevent his escape.
Buttons, the generic name for a page boy in England ; his
jacket being usually adorned with several rows of gilt
buttons.
Buttons (Eng.), "not to have all his buttons," to be deficient
in intellect.
Butty (Eng.), an overseer in the mining district.
Buz (Eng.), to talk, to whisper.
Buz (Eng.), to pick pockets.
Buzzard dollar (Am.), a term applied in derision to the
silver dollar, the uncomplimentary allusion being to the
buzzard-like eagle on the coin.
Buzzer (Eng.), a pickpocket.
By and large (Am.), on the whole; speaking generally.
Byblow (Eng.), an illegitimate child. See Love-Child.
By hook or by crook (Eng.), by fair means or foul.
By the skin of his teeth, although used in the Bible (see
Book of Job), is certainly slang, and is used to express a
narrow escape.
Cab (Eng.), a light carriage drawn by one horse. The
name is an abbreviation of the French cabriolet. The
driver is styled "cabby."
Cabbage (Eng.), cloth stolen by tailors and claimed as law-
ful perquisites.
Cabbagehead (Eng.), a stupid person.
Cablegram, a message sent by submarine cable. This word,
like telegram and a score of others, has been coined in re-
cent years and is in common use, although hardly to be
considered good English.
Caboodle (Am.), the whole lot.
Caboose, the galley or cook-house of a ship. Used in the
United States for the car on a train devoted to the use of
the trainbands.
Cache(Am.), to hide. This is an old French word intro-
duced by hunters and trappers who, when hard pressed by
Indians, would cache their belongings, that bury them.
is,

Cackle, to talk. A
Cackle-tub is a pulpit, and a Cack-
ling COVE is a preacher or an actor.
Cad (Eng.), an omnibus driver. In its wider sense applied
to the objectionable class known as Snobs (jp-. v.)
Cadge (Eng.^, to beg. A whining beggar is a Cadger.
"On the cadge" is applied to the regular "rounders" who
wander from town to town telling in each place a pitiful
story of distress. In Scotland a "cadger" is an itinerant
peddler of fish.


56 CAD CAM
Cadgingr, begging.
Cady (Am.), a hat.
Cagre, a prison. Often Bird-cage. Lovelace says:
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage."
Cagmag (Eng.), scraps of food.
Cahoots (Am.), in company with, or associated together
*'Smith and Brown were in cahoots to rob Jones."
Cain (Am.), "to raise," to create trouble. (See To raise.
Ned.)
Caird (Scotch), a tinker.
Cake (Eng.), a soft person, doughy.
Cake is dough, said when one makes a failure.
Calaboose (Sp.), a prison.
Calash, a ladies' head-dress. Also a carriage with a hood.
From the Frenqh caleche.
Calculate (Am.), an alternative for Guess or Reckon
{q, V.)
Calico, bit of, a girl. Also Bit op Muslin, Bit of Stuff
(J-.
V.)
Call, occasion. "He had no call to go."
Call, an invitation to a clergyman to accept a pulpit.
Calif on the Stock Exchange, a time-bargain or speculative
contract which entitles the holder to call for certain stock
at a certain price.

Caller (Scotch), fresh, cool.

Calumet, the Indian peace pipe.
Ca'me, ca'thee (Scotch). In English, "Scratch my back
and I'll scratch yours."
Camesa or Mish, a shirt or chemise. From the Spanish.
Italian is Camicia,
 CAMCAN 57
Campaigrn (Am.), the period antecedent to an election, dur-
ing which the candidates take the field, meetings are held
and speeches delivered. The imagery of all such contests
istaken from the battle-field.
Canard (Fr.), an unreliable story.
Canary, an English sovereign, from the color.
Candy-Butcher, an offensive nuisance, who accompanies
traveling circuses, and peddles candy therein.
Canister (P. R.), the head.
Cannikin (Old Eng.), a small can. See lago's song in
Othello.
Canny (Scotch), clever, nice, neat.
Canoe (Am.), "to paddle one's own," is to go it alone; to
make one's own way in the world.
Canon (Sp.), a narrow valley or passageway between rocks,
often of great height. The Grand Canon of the Colorado
is the largest known.
Cant, the slang of the Gipsies.
Cant (Eng.), a blow or a toss in wrestling.
Cant, to overturn ; to throw.
Cantab (Eng.), a student at Cambridge University {Cant-
abrium).
Cantankerous, bad-tempered, litigious. Probably a corrup-
tion of contentious.
Canting, as applied to a professor of religion, means that he
isa pretentious hypocrite. The word is said to have been
derived from the name of one Andrew Cant, a Scotch
clergyman, but this is extremely doubtful.
Cant of togs, a suit of clothes.
Canuck, a Canadian.
Canvaseens, sailors' trousers.
58 CAPCAR
Cap, to outdo. "That caps the climax." Capping verses
was an old-time amusement of the learned.
Cap, "to set her cap," as a woman does at a man whom she
wants to marry.
Cape Cod turkey, salt pork.
Caper, proper. The proper caper is the "right thing," the
style.
Caper-dealer (Eng.), or Hop Merchant; a dancing mas-
ter. Or who is hanged, cuts capers,
in thieves' slang, one
u e.^ *'dances on nothing."
Capper, one who is employed in a gambling house to play
in order to "rope in outsiders." Mock auction shops of
the "Peter Funk" order employ "cappers" to bid, so as to
run up prices.
Cap-sheaf (Eng.), the top, the summit.
Card (Eng.), a character. **A queer card" is synonymous
with "an odd fish."
Carking: (Eng.), anxious, careful.
Carle (Scotch), an old man, a companion.
Cameying (Irish), flattering, wheeling.
Camisli (Old Gant), meat. Doubtless from the Lingua
Franca. A
Carnish-Ken is an eating-house. Thus we
have Carnival, which, as Byron says, means "farewell to
flesh."
Caroon, five shillings ; from the French, couroune^ a crown.
(Gipsy), C(?ra; (Span.), corowa.
Carpet, "on the carpet," said to be from the French sur le
tapisy but not used in the same sense in France.
Carpeted means to be hauled before some superior au-
thority for a reprimand. "On the carpet," anything cur-
rent for discussion.
Carpet-bagger (Am.), a term invented during the recon-
struction period to identify Northern men who went into
 CARCAS 59

the Southern States to obtain political office, and whose sole

property was the carpet bag or valise which thqjr carried
with them.
Carry (Am.) In the Southern States this word is used in the
sense of "escort," or "accompany," e. g.^ "Mr. G. carried
Miss M. to the ball." The English novelists of the
eighteenth century used the word in exactly the same way.
Carry-all (French, Carriole)^ a large carriage; in Canada
a sleigh.
Carrying water on both shoulders, playing a double part;
agreeing ostensibly with both parties in interest; double-
faced action.
Carry me out (Eng.), an exclamation of pretended astonish-
ment. The Irish add, "and bury me dacent." Sometimes
varied to "Oh let me die," or in the United States, "You
!

can have my hat."

Carry-on, to frolic or "cut up didoes."
Carser (Gip.), a house or inn. Probably from the Spanish n'
casa. \ '

Cart-wheel, an English crownpiece or an American silver ,p ;^<,Vr j^v.

dollar. Vo^''
'%C*^
Casa (Sp. or It.), a house, generally not a respectable one.
A Mott-Kask is a brothel ; from the Low Dutch Motte
Kast.
Case (Eng.), a curious fellow; about the same as 'a rum
card," an "odd fish," or a "queer duck."
Case ( Am.), one dollar. From the Hebrew caser^ or crown.
Cash up (Am.), to pay.
Cassan (Gip.) cheese. From the German case.
Castles in Spain, a mythical possession, equivalent to estates
on the Island of Dunnowhere. From the French Cha-
teaux en Esfagne,
6o CAS CAU
Castor (Eng.), a hat. From the Latin name for a beaver,
from whose fur top-hats were formerly made. A silk
hat is still often spoken of as a beaver, and prize-fight reports
invariably set forth that "Muggins shied his castor into the
ring," preparatory to entering it himself.
Cat, a lady's muff; sometimes applied to the lady herself.
Cat, or "cat o' nine-tails," a whip formerly used for flogging
seamen.
Catamaran, a disagreeable old woman. Thackeray uses the
word.
Catch a weasel asleep (Eng.), a task requiring much
acuteness.
Catch on (Am.), to appreciate; to be alive to the situation.
"Do you catch on?" is varied to "Do you tumble?"
Catch-up (Am.), a Western phrase, signifying to harness
the horses.
Catch-w^eight. Prize-fights are sometimes arranged to be
fought irrespective of the weight of the contestants;
in other words, you take them as you catch them.
Caterwaul, to sing loudly and out of tune, as pussy does on
the tiles when enjoying a night out.
Catgut scraper, a fiddler. Burns uses the word in his
yolly Beggars.
Cat-in-pan, a turncoat. See The Vicar of Bray.
Cat-lap, weak drink.
Cats and Dogs, said to rain that way sometimes; occasion-
ally it rains "pitchforks."
Catspaw, a dupe or tool ; one who is made use of. From
the old story of the monkey who used the cat's paw to re-
move his chestnuts from the fire. A
catspaw at sea means
a light breeze.
Cat's water, gin.
Caubeen (Irish), a hat or cap.
 CAU CHA 6i

Cancns (Am.), a meeting of a party to select candidates for

office,or to determine upon a course of policy. The word
has been adopted into use in England. It is asserted, but
so far as we can ascertain, without any evidence to back it,
that the word was derived from a meeting of caulkers held
in Boston, prior to the Revolutionary War.
Caugrht on the fly. This comes from the base ball field ; its
origin is palpable ; itsadaptation can be readily made.
Caulker (Eng.), more often Corker, a drink. A caulker
is also a story of the Munchausen order.
Caution (Am.), anything extraordinary. "He's a caution"
isused to characterize a man who may be a "caution" to
drink, or a "caution" to work. "A caution to snakes" is
the superlative. j

Cave-in (Am.), from the caving or sinking in of an aban-

doned mine, or of a well or shaft. A beaten man caves-in;
if in the prize-ring he "throws up the sponge."

Cavort (Am.), cavorting around; prancing about in a play-

ful ana purposeless way. From the French curvet^ as ap-
plied to a horse's actions.
Century (Eng.), a hundred pounds.
Cliafr, to joke or quiz. Originally to "queer" or to "smoke"
or *'roast," had the same meaning.
Chaffer (Old Eng.), the mouth. "Moisten your chaflEer,"
take a drink.
Chain lightningr (Am.), bad whisky.
Chal (Gip.), a man. Chie is the Romany for a woman.
Chalks (Eng.), walk your chalks, to go. To "beat by a
long chalk," to be superior by many degrees.
Chalk up (Eng.), to credit. From the old practice of chalk-
ing tavern scores behind the bar-door.
Chancery, in difficulties. To get an opponent in the prize-
ring in chancery is to get his head firmly under one's arm,
62 CHA
when he is practically defenceless against severe punish-
ment. The analogy is doubtless drawn from the help-
less condition of a litigant under the old equity practice.
Chance the ducks (Eng.), an absurd equivalent for "come
what may." "I'll do it and chance the ducks." Probably
the corruption of an oath, or of Chance the Dux, or mas-
ter.
Change, small money.
Change your breath, take a drink.
Chap, a man or boy. He may be a "rum chap," a "queer"
one, or any other adjective may be used. The word was
introduced into the English public schools about the same
time as the word Muff (^. v.)y but while the latter has re-
tained its place in the vocabulary of the youthful aristo-
crats, "chap" has been relegated to the shop-boys, with
whom it is a great favorite.
Chapel, an assemblage of compositors (printers), held for
the purpose of making regulations and discussing matters
of interest to the men. The presiding officer is known as
the "Father of the Chapel." The earliest printing offices
were attached to monastic institutions, and Caxton had his
press in Westminster Abbey ; hence the use of the word.
Chapparal (Sp.), thick, low bush.
Char or Chare (Old Eng.), a turn of work. We use the
word "chores," now obsolete in England. But the Eng-
lish have "charwoman," a person who does housework in
the absence of a regular servant.
Chatterbox, an incessant talker.
Chaunt, to sing in the streets. Canter's or chaunter's talk
is the language of the vulgar. A
Horse-chaunter (^.
a horse-dealer of a low order, who chants the praises
!>.), is
of some old "screw."
Chaunter, a street ballad singer.
'
 CHACHI 63

Gbaw, past participle of chew. A "chaw" of tobacco is a

sufficient modicum. "All chawed up" means "done for,"
finished.

Chaw-bacon (Eng.), a rustic. ~ Joskin, Yokel and Clod-

Crusher are English equivalents. In the United States
the animal is known as a "jay," or "country-jake," or a
"greeny."
Cheap (Eng.), "on the cheap," living economically.
Cheap Jack (Eng.), a street-corner peddler; a Fakir
{g. V.)

Cheater (Old Eng.), a decoy. See II Henry IV, it. 3,

Checks, money or equivalents for it.

Checks (Am.), "passed in his checks" or chips, said of one

dead. A gambler cashes in his chips at the close of the
game.
Cheek (Eng.), impudence, brass. "All to his own cheek,"
all To "cheek" a
for himself. man is to "give him lip,"
to sauce him.

Cheek by jowl (Old Eng.), side by side.

Cheese, anything good. "That's the cheese." Said to be

derived from the Persian Chiz the thing.
Cheese it, leave off. "Cheese your barrikin" (from bark-
ing), hold your tongue.
Cheese-cutter (Eng.), a prominent, aquiline nose. Also a
cap with a square peak in front.
Chestnut (Am.), an old story; an often repeated yam.
The average chestnut of the "dago" fruit stand has claims
to respect on account of its age, but is not desirable as an
article of diet, and ancient stories are equally tiresome.

Chic (Fr.), the correct thing, the style, or "proper caper."

64 CHI
Chlcagoed ^Am.^, the equivalent of "skunked" or beaten
out of signt. Some years ago Chicago had a base-ball
club which met with phenomenal succcess. Other com-
peting clubs which ended the game without scoring were
said to have been "Chicagoed."
Chicken (Eng.), anything young. Chicken Stakes are
races for two-year-olds, or where the stakes are very small.
An old maid is described as being "no chicken."
Chicken-feed (Am.), small change.
Chicken-hearted (Eng.), cowardly, frightened.
Childer (Old Eng.), children.
Chill (Eng.), to "take the chill off," to warm beer.
Chin, to talk impudently.
Chinch or Chintz, a bed-bug. ( Cimex lectularius.)
Chink (Eng.), money.
Chin music (Am.), talk. A talkative person is said to have
too much chin.
Chinook (Am.), a wind which blows at certain seasons on
V the Pacific Slope. Chinook jargon is a language of the
Volapuk order, invented and used in Oregon.
Chip (Am.), a disc of ivory or bone, used in playing cards.
To avoid the use of money and of making change, the
"bank" sells chips of various colors at prices agreed upon,
and redeems them at the end of the game.
Chip, a carpenter.
Chip-in, to contribute toward a game or a collection.
Chip of the old block, a child bearing a physical or moral
resemblance to his putative parent.
Chipper (Am.), lively.
Chippy (Am.), a young girl; not a complimentary term.
Chippy-Chasers are the well-dressed loafers who lie in
wait for shop girls and school children.
 CHICHO 65

CJhips, money.
Chirk (Am.), cheerful, lively; in good spirits.
Chirp (Eng.), to talk; usually to inform or to "peach."
Chisel (Eng.), to cheat.
Chit (Hindu), a letter.
Chiv or Chive, a knife. Also used as a verb, to knife. The
word is used by the Gipsies, and is probably of Hindu
origin.
Chive (Gip.), the tongue.
Chive-fencer, a street-peddler of cutlery.
Chivy (Eng.), to chase, as in boys' play. Probably from
Chevy Chase. Also the shouting of boys at play. "Poor
Jo," in Dicken's novel. Bleak House^ objected to being
"chivied," that is, ordered to "move on."

Chock (Old Eng.), to choke.

Chock-f\ill (Eng.), full to the throat. Properly Chuck-
full.
Choke-off (Eng.), to get rid of, to finish.
Choker (Eng.), a white necktie.
Chokey (Eng.), a prison. Generally applied to a military
guard-house.
Chop (Pidgin English), good. "First chop" signifies of
best quality. A Chinaman makes his "chop" where a
white man writes his name.
Chop (Eng.), to swop or exchange. "Chopping about"
means to vary one's actions, as "to chop and change." A
"chopping sea" is one where the waves, although small, are
contrary.
Chops (Eng.), the mouth. Properly Chaps.
Chores, small jobs of work about the house or farm. Orig-
inally English, but seldom heard in England now, although
"charwoman" is used to signify an assistant in house work.
66 CHOCHU
Chouse (Old Eng.), to cheat. Ben Jonson used the word in
The Alchemist. The reference is to a Turkish interpre-
ter or chiaousy who in the early part of the seventeenth
century succeeded in swindling a number of London mer-
chants.
Chubby (Eng.), round-faced, plump.
Chuck (Eng.), food.
Chuck (Eng.), to throw.
Chuck-a-luck (Am.), a game played with dice.

Chucker-out (Am.), a bruiser hired by gambling'-house

keepers and the proprietors of "dives" and low places to
preserve the peace by throwing out all who are obnoxious
to the management. He is equally well-known as a
"Bouncer."
Chuck-full (Eng.), see Chock-full, ante.
Chuck it up (Eng.), to surrender. Otherwise to "Jack up."
Chuckle-head (Eng.), a stupid person.
Chum (Eng.), an intimate friend. To chum with a man is
to board and lodge with him. Probably from the Anglo-
Saxon Cuma^ a guest. An
Englishman will say "Jones
and I got quite chummy."
Chummy (Eng.), a chimney-sweep.
Chump (Am.), a stupid fellow; a fool.
Chump (Eng.), the head. A silly or daft person is "off his
chump."
Chunk (Eng.), a thick or large shapeless portion of any-
thing, as of bread or meat.
Chunky (Am.), short, thick. A stout-built man of small
stature is "chunkybuilt." See Stocky.
Churchwarden (Eng.), a long clay pipe, otherwise known
"yard of clay."
as a
Chute (Am.), a bayou or narrow portion of a river. Also
applied to an artificial conduit. See Shoot.
 CIN CLA &f
Cinch (Am.), "to have a cinch on" anything Is to have "a
dead pull." The word comes from the "cinch" or saddle-
girth that, properly manipulated, holds the saddle or load
in place. A
"leadpipe" or "grapevine" cinch are superla-
tives. This word is also applied to a modification of tke
game of Pedro.
Cinder, "to take a cinder in it," is said in England where
sodawater or lemonade is strengthened by the addition of
brandy or other strong liquor. In this country we say
"take a stick in it."

Circumbendibus, round about a story with no end to it.

;

Circumstance, "not a" (Am.), used as a comparison, as

*'That was not a circumstance to what happened once to
me."
Clabber, sour milk.
Clack, talk.
Clack-box, a garrulous person.
Clack-dish (Old Cant), a dish carried by beggars in old
time for the reception of food.
Clag (Eng.), to stick.
Claim (Am.), the land or mining property taken up by a
settler or prospector. Claim-jumping is taking violent
possession of another's claim, a common practice in the
mining country, but risky.
Clam "happy as a" (Am.). For some unknown reason this
bivalve issupposed to enjoy perennial bliss and to be spec-
ially happy at "high water."
Clam-shell (Am.), the mouth. Common in New England,
and used by Lowell in the Biglotv Papers.
Clapper (Eng.), the tongue.
Clapper-claw (Old Eng.), a row between women where
caps are torn and faces clawed. See Shakespeare, Troilus
and Cressida.
68 CLA CLE
Clap-trap (Eng.), high-sounding nonsense; bombast. "A
trap to catch a clap (applause) from a theatre audience."
Claque (French), the paid mob who attend the representa-
tions of plays in France, and applaud at times arranged in
advance.
Claret (P. R.), blood.
Class (Eng.), quality. "He cannot trot in that class" is said
of an inferior horse in this country.

Clatch (Old), a quantity; same as a Batch or Brcxdd.

Claver (Scotch) gossip.
Clawhanuner (Am.), a dress-coat; otherwise known as a
"steel-pen" or "swallow-tail."
Clay. "To moisten one's clay" (Eng.) is to drink.
Clay-eater (Am.), a native South Carolinian. The "poor
whites" in some of the back counties of that State eat con-
siderable quantities of soft, white clay.
Clean (Old Eng.), entirely "clean gone;" altogether gone;
out or sight.
Clean out (Eng.), to ruin; to exhaust financially or other-
wise.
Clear grit (Am.), decided; honest.
Clear out (Am.), to go away. "Dig out" and "skip" are
equivalent.
Clem (North of England), to starve or to be thirsty.
Clerk of the Weather, a mythical personage supposed to
control the elements. See Old Probs.
Clever, in the United States is used colloquially in the sense of
good-natured, while in England it means handy, skillful, as
"a clever mechanic." Where the Englishman says "clever"
we say "smart," and where we would speak of a man as a
"clever" fellow the Englishman would use the word
"jolly."
 CLICLY 69
Click (Eng.), to snatch or pull away.
Clicker (Eng.), a female touterat a bonnet shop. Eqiuva
lent to the male "capper" or "steerer."
Clinch (Eng.), a jail.
Clinched (Eng.), locked up in jail.
Clincher (Eng.), a statement which settles an argument; a
lie which cannot be controverted.
Clip, a blow or stroke with the hand.
Clipper, a fast sailing vessel ; also applied to a showy, hand-
some woman. Clipper-rigged means stylish; well-ar-
ranged.
Clippingr (Eng.), first class; excellent.
Clock, (Eng.), a watch. A gold watch is a "red clock" or a
red 'un; a silver watch is a *'white 'un."
Clock, "what's o'clock." To know this is to be "fly to the
time of day;'* wide-awake, knowing.
Clodhopper (Eng.), a country clown.
Clodpole (Eng.), an ignorant countryman.
Clootie (Scotch), the Devil, from his supposed color; clootie,
black.
Cloud, "under a," to be in difficulties, disgrace, or disre-
pute.
Clout (Old Eng.) a cotton handkerchief.
Clout (Eng.), a blow.
Clout, to mend, as a tinker clouts a kettle, or a tailor clouts a
garmet.
CloTcr (Eng.), "to be in clover" is to be well off. The
bookmaker vsrho has so arranged his bets that he may win
and cannot possibly lose is in clover, or "stands on velvet."
Cly (Old Cant), the pocket.
Cly-fiaker (Gip.), from Cly, a pocket; and Fake (j-. v.)^ to
rob, or to go on. See Father Prout's famous song, pur-
porting to be a translation from the French.
70 COACOC
Coach (Eng.), a private tutor; to coach Is to instruct, and is
used not only of mental but physical instruction. Thus it
is said "The Oxford crew were coached from the tow-path

by W. Blank, former stroke of the University crew."

Coach-wheel or Cart-wheel, an English crown-piece, or
five shillings.
Coal (Eng.), money.
Coals, "carrying." pimp or pander that he
It is said of a
will "carry coal." See Shakespeare, King Henry IV.
Coals (Eng.), "to haul one over the," to take to task or to
scold.
Coast (Am.), to slide down hill on sleds in the snow.
Cob (Eng.), a middle-sized horse.
Cobbler (Am.), the name of a drink; "a sherry-cobbler."
Cobbler (Eng.), a mender of old boots and shoes.
Cock (Eng.), a jovial fellow; a "jolly old cock."
Cock (Eng.), a story; a fake.
Cock-a-hoop (Eng.), in high spirits.
Cock-a-leekie (Scotch), a broth made of chicken.
Cock and bull story, a long rambling anecdote.
Cocked-hat, "knocked into a," knocked out of shape.
Cocker, "according to." See According to Gunter,
ante.
Cockey, impertinent.
Cock-eyed, squinting.
Cock laundress (Eng.), the male hanger-on of a laundry,
who carries home the washing.
Cockles (Eng.), "to warm one's cockles," a vulgar phrase
implying great pleasure.
Cockloft (Eng.), the upper room of a house; the attic.
Cockney, a native of London, England. In order to be en-
titled to this dis tinction the person must be born "within
 COCCOL 71

the sound of Bow Bells," that is, of the bells of the Church
of St, Mary le Bow, in Cheapside, London.
Cock of the waUc (Eng.), the master spirit; the head of a
party.
Cockshy (Eng.), from the game of that name in which arti-
cles are set upon sticks to be thrown at. Any person
abused in the newspapers is spoken of as a "cockshy."
Cocksure (Eng.), certain.
Cocktail (Am.), a mixed drink.
Cocktail (Eng.),. an aged but lively horse.
Cocky (Eng.), pert, swaggering, impudent.
Cocoa-nut (P. R.), the head.
Cocum (Gip.), shrewdness, luck.
Cod (Eng.), to hoax, to "take a rise" out of one.
C. O. D. (Am.), cash on delivery.
Coddle (Eng.), to nurse; tomake much of.
Codfish aristocracy (Am.), the name applied to the nouveau
riche of Massachusetts, who were said to have made their
money out of the fisheries.
Codger (Old Cant), an old man.
Cog (Old Eng.), to cheat. See Merry Wives of Windsor,
III 3.
Cogged (Old Eng.), loaded dice.

Cold (Am.), certain, positive; as "I give it out cold" that I

will do so-and-so.
Cold coflfee or Cold gruel (Eng.), bad luck.
Cold deck (Am.), a pack of cards so arranged that the deal-
er knows what kind of a hand he is giving his opponent.
Cold meat ( Eng. ) , a corpse.
Cold scran (Irish), cold victuals.
7* COL
Ojjlfl Slini]lflpr "to give one," is to treat a friend with mod-
ified civility, as when one calls at dinner time when no
preparation has been made and is served with the remnant
of yesterday's shoulder of mutton.
Gold veal (Eng.), kissing one's sister.
Cold water (Eng.), "to throw on," to discourage.
CJold water party (Am.), the Prohibitionists.
Cold without (Eng.), spirits and cold water without sugar.
Collar (Eng.), to seize hold of; to arrest. Also to steal.
Collar (Am.), (as a noun) a policeman.
Collar (Eng.), "out of," out of work. Same as "out of
harness" or Carrying the Banner. See Banner,
ante.
Collide, to come into collision. Not recognized by English
writers of to-day, although used by Dryden.
Collogue (Irish), to conspire; to talk mysteriously. Prob-
ably from colloquy or colleague, or a combination of both.
Collop (Scotch), a small portion of meat.
Color (Am.), in mining parlance a speck of gold; the small-
est quantity which it will pay to work.

Color (Eng.), complexion, tint. "I have not seen the color
of his money," that is, he has not paid me yet.
Colors (P. R.), handkerchiefs worn as distinctive emblems
by prize-fighters on entering the ring. Boating crews
have special colored caps; such as Oxford dark and Cam-
bridge light blue. Jockeys are distinguished by their vari-
colored caps and jackets.
Colt, a professional cricketer or baseball player during his
first season.
Colt (Eng.), a weapon resembling a sling-shot. Also a
piece of rope, formerly used in the navy for "colting" the
ship-boys.
 COLCOM 7j
Colt (Eng.), to cause one to stand treat; to make him pay
his rooting.
Colt's tooth (Eng.). The possession of one is alleged against
certain elderly gentlemen of juvenile tastes.
Comb (Am.), the ridge of a hill.

Comb, "to cut one's" (Eng.), to take a person down; to mor-

tify or disgrace him. From the practice of cutting the
combs or wattles of domestic fowls.
Combine (Am.), a word recently coined to express the same
meaning and supposed not to be quite so distaste-
as "trust"
ful to the opponents of monopolies,
Come-alongs (Am.), articles of twine or wire which may
be twisted around the wrists and are used by policemen in
lieu of handcuffs.
Come down (Eng.), to pay; to milk down.
Come off (Am.), go slow, let up, stop your conversation or
tricks.
Comether (Irish). It is said of some men, who have pre-
sumably "kissed the Blarney stone," that they can "put the
comether" on others; that is, can cast a glamour over them
and make them believe anything.
Come out. In society parlance, a young lady "comes out"
when she makes her debut or first formal appearance in
society.
Come-outers, in the slang of the conventicle, those who
leave a religious organization because of some disagree-
ment as to doctrine.
Coming it (Eng.), proceeding at a great rate.
Coming it strong: (Eng.), putting on considerable style; at-
tempting to do something hardly justified by the circum-
stances.
Coming: tricks or Coming the old soldier (Eng.), trying
to cheat or swindle one.
H COMCON
Commander, a sailor's term for a beetle or large rammer
used for packing freight in a ship's hold.
Commons, short, a scanty meal. Commons is English
University slang for an allowance.
Comp, abbreviation of compositor, a printer who works at
the case ; a typo.
Comprador (Sp.), an agent, sub-contractor, or boss steve-
dore.
Coney (Am.), counterfeit money.
Coniacker (Am.), a counterfeiter.
Conk, the nose.
Con men (Am.), or confidence men, swindlers, bunko steer-
ers. See Bunco.
Constable, "to overrun the" (Eng.), to exceed one's in-
come.
Constitutional (Eng.), a walk supposed to be taken for the
benefit of the constitution.
Contangfo, on the Stock Exchange, the price paid for carry-
ing over bargains from day to day.
Continental (Am.), first applied to the Congress which
met in 1774; then to the army raised under its auspices,
and then to the money or scrip issued by it. "Not worth
a continental" has reference to the disrepute into which
this money fell.

Continuations (Eng.), trousers. Otherwise unmentiona-

bles, inexpressibles, and other euphemisms of a mock- modest
character.
Contraband (Am.), which means properly anything for-
bidden to be imported in time of war in neutral vessels, was
applied during the Civil War, 1 861- 1865, to the negro
slaves in the South. Gen. B. F. Butler held that negroes
were "contraband of war" and declined to give them up.
The negro was often spoken of later as "the intelligent
contraband" by newspaper correspondents.
 CONcoo 75
Contraption or Contription, a contrivance. Bums in Tarn
G" Shunter has "cantrip," doubtless the same thing.
Convenient (Irish), near to, "handy by," to use another
Hibemicism. Usually pronounced "convanient."
Convey, to steal. "Convey the wise it call." So said an-
cient Pistol.
Conveyer or Conveyancer, a thief or snapper-up of uncon-
sidered trifles."
Coof (Scotch), a fool.
Cook, "to cook up accounts," to prepare such by false entries
in order to produce a favorable impression. To "cook up
a story" is to prepare a Fake i^q.v.^
Cook one's goose (Eng.), to ruin him, or to knock him out
in any way.
Cooky or Cookie (Am.), a sweet cake or biscuit.
Cooler (Am.), the calaboose or police station.
Cooler, a drink, generally of beer or some mild beverage.
Coon (Am.), a negro. "A gone coon" is one in a bad way.
The old story, a veritable chestnut, is told that Captain
Scott, a noted backwoods sportsman, leveled his gun at a
coon in a tree. The coon said, "Is your name Scott?" and
being answered in the affirmative said "Don't shoot; I'll
come down." David Crockett is often substituted for Cap-
tain Scott in variations of this yarn.

Coon's age (Am. ), an indefinite period, usually supposed to

be a very long time. Why is unknown, as raccoons are
not specially long-lived.
Cooper (Eng.), a mixture of stout and porter, formerly a
favorite drink with the porters of Billingsgate market. It
is sometimes spoken of as "meat and drink" and one of its
votaries asked a barmaid to "Draw it thick, Miss, I've had
no breakfast."
76 COOCOR
Cooper (Eng.), to forge.
Coopered (Gip.), spoilt, as a cask ruined for want of coop-
ering.
Coot, "bald as a coot;" the coot or mud-hen is destitute of
feathers on top of its headj "in the place where the wool
ought to grow."
Cop (contraction of Copper), a policeman. To cop is to
seize or lay hold of. To be copped is to be "collared" by
an officer.
Copenhagen treat, where every man pays for his own
drink. Sometimes called a Philadelphia treat.
Coper or Couper (Eng.), a horse dealer.
Copper, an English penny or half-penny. Since the change
in the petty coinage known as a "bronze."
Copper or Cop (Eng.), a policeman; one who cops, that is,
arrests people.
Copper (Am.), a button or small check placed on a bet at
faro indicates that the bet is "coppered," that is, the play-
er bets that the card indicated will lose (that is, win for the
bank).
Copperhead (Am.); stay-at-home Northern men who dur-
ing the Civil Warsympathized with the Confederacy were
styled "copperheads" from a particularly venomous snake
which lies in ambush and strikes without warning.
Corduroy, a rough kind of ribbed cloth, much affected by
English gamekeepers and "horsey" men generally.
Corduroy (Am.), a rough road made by laying logs side by
side on the earth. From the resemblance to the ribs of cor-
duroy cloth.
Corinthian, a man about town; "one of the boys;" a sport.
See Shakespeare / Henry I K, eV, 4. But it is far older than
this. The immorality of Corinth was proverbial in an-
cient Greece and to "Corinthianize" was to frequent the
company of the heiercs.
 COR 77

Cork (Eng.), a bankrupt or ruined man, with too little bal-

last to float psoperly.
Cork, "to draw a" (P. R.), to give one a bloody nose.
Corked (Eng.), wine that has lost its flavor through an im-
perfect cork.
Corker (Eng.), a stiff story; "that's a corker," that settles
it.

Corks (Eng.), a butler, from his function.

Comcracker (Am.), a native of the Southern mountain
country.
Corn-dodgers (Am.), cake made of corn-meal. See Hob-
cake and JOHNNY-CAKB.
Corned, drunk; soaked; pickled like corned beef.
Comer (Am.), an operation in stocks or any other article of
speculation by which the "shorts," not having the goods to
deliver, are "cornered."
Cornered (Eng.), hemmed in; placed in a position from
which there is no escape.
Corner-man, otherwise End-man. The bones and tambor-
ine players in anegro minstrel show.
Corn-fed (Am.), stout, plump, in good condition.
Corn-juice (Am.), whisky.
Corporation (Eng.), the stomach.
Corporosity (Am.), supposed to have some reference to
the human form. "How does your corporosity sagatiate?"
is a supposedly comic inquiry after one's health.

Corpse (Eng.), to spoil or to confuse, as to "corpse the

play" by making a mistake in the dialogue or by acting in
a ridiculous manner.
Corral (Sp ), the enclosure into which cattle or sheep are
driven for protection. Any place fenced in a primitive
fashion. The South African Boers call it a Kraal.
Corral (Sp.), to enclose; to pen up.
76 COSGOV
Costard (Old Eng.), the head. The word is also used for
a large apple, from whence we have Costermonger
(l^.
v.)y a street fruit-peddler.
Coster (Eng.), abbreviation of Costermonger (see next).
Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and Beaumont and Fletcher
used the word in its present acceptation.
Costermonger (Eng.), an itinerant peddler, of whom there
are several thousands in London alone.
Cotton, "to cotton to" is to take a fancy to or to like a per-
son. Claimed as a native Americanism, but really Old
English.
Count, to suppose. "I counted on going."
Counter (P. R.), to strike back; to exchange a blow.
Cross countering is hitting back with one hand in ex-
change for a blow with the opposite one.
Counter-jumper (Eng.), a shopman or clerk in a store.
Counting ties (Am.); in many country places the railroads
form the most direct and sometimes the only passable routes
between towns. Tramps and others compelled to walk
for lack of railroad fare speak of having "taken a contract
to count ties," which is done one at a time.
Country Jake, a greenhorn from the rural districts.
County crop (Eng.), hair cut short as if by the prison bar-
ber, at the expense of the county.
Couple-beggar (Old Eng.), a degraded clergyman, or
hedge priest, who marries people in irregular fashion.
Course of Sprouts, "to put one through a," is to initiate
him.
Couter, an English sovereign. From the Gipsy cuta, a gold
coin.
Cove, a man or boy. Probably from the old Cant word
cofe or cu^n. A gentry-cove is a gentleman.
 GOVCRA 79
Coventry, "sent to" (Eng.), banished or excluded from fel-
lowship or society. The town of Coventry, England, was
one where all trades were in the hands of the guilds of
freemen, so that an outsider there had little chance.
Cowan, a sneaking, prying, inquisitive person. The word
is from the Greek for "dog." Freemasons speak of out-
siders as "cowans," i. e., strangers.
Cowboy (Am.), a cattle-herder. During the Revolutionary
War the name was applied to the country Tories of New
York State.
Cow-catcher (Am.), an appendage affixed to the front of ml
locomotive for the purpose of removing cattle or other ob-
structions from the track.
Cowhide or Rawhide (Am.), a whip made of twisted strips
of rawhide. Cowhiding is thrashing one with such a
weapon.
Cow-lick (Eng.), a refractory lock of hair on the front of the

head one which will neither curl nor lie down.
Cow with the iron tail (Eng.), the pump.
Cox (Eng.), the coxswain or steersman of a boat.
Coyote (Am.), the prairie wolf. From the Mexican coyote*
Crab, a sour, disagreeable person; no doubt from the crab
or wild apple, which is a very ill-tempered fruit.
Crab, "to catch a crab," (Eng.), to fall backwards by miss-
ing a stroke in rowing.
Crabbed (Eng.), ill-tempered; sour as a crab-apple.
Crab-shells (Eng.), Crabs, at dice, a pair of aces.
feet.
Crack, the favorite horse in a race.
first-rate, excellent; A
crack hand, a crack article, a crack regiment.
Crack (Gip.), kindling-wood. Derivation obvious.
Crack a bottle (Eng.), to drink. In Old English "crush"
is used, probably from the fact that the original bottles
were of leather and presented a crushed appearance when
empty.
8o CRA
Crack a crib (Eng.), to break into a house.
Cracked up ( Eng. ) ruined.
,

Cracker (Am.), the poor whites of South Carolina.

Crack-hemp (Old Eng.), a thief; one destined to the gal-
lows.
Crackingr a crust (Eng.), getting along after a fashion.
"Cracking a tidy crust" denotes a more comfortable state
of affairs.

Crack on, to apply industriously to hurry along.

;

Cracksman, a burglar, /. c, one who "cracks cribs." See

Crib.
Crack up (Old Eng.), to praise or boast about; to boom.
See Boom, ante.
Cradle (Am.), a scythe with a light frame work attached,
used for cutting grain.
Cradle (Am.), a machine shaped like a child's cradle and
used for washing auriferous earth. See also Rocker.
Cradle of Liberty (Am.), Faneuil Hall, Boston.
Cram (Eng.), to lie. Also to impart or acquire learning
quickly, as in cramming for an examination.
Crammer (Eng.), a University tutor who prepares pupils
for competitive examinations by cramming them with in-
formation on subjects which they are likely to be questioned
on.
Crammer (Eng.), a lie.

Crank (Am.), an erratic person; one of ill-balanced mind.

An unsteady ship is crank or cranky.
Cranky, unsteady, foolish, erratic or cross in temper. An-
cient Cant gives Cranke for simulated sickness, and
Crankey-men for beggars. In German Krank means
sickly.
Craps (Am.), a game played by negroes with dice, and of
 CRACRO 8i

which the colored race are passionately fond. The mys-

teries of "shooting craps," like the Chinese "fan-tan," are
practically beyond the ken of white men.
Crawfish (Am.), to back out; to retract one's statements.
From the motion of the crawfish.
Crawler or Growler, an English four-wheeled cab.
Crazy-bone (Am.), the extremity of the elbow, a blow on
which causes a painful tingling. See Funny-bone.
Crazy-quilt, an Americanism for the patch-work counter-
pane.
Cream of the valley or "White satin (Eng.), gin.
Crease (Am.), to shoot a horse or deer in the upper part of
the neck, so that it falls stunned, but is not killed.
Creek, which is properly a small bay, is the name applied in
the Northern States and Canada to small streams.
Creepy (Scotch), a stool.
Crevasse (Sp.), a break in a levee or river bank.
Crib (Eng.) a house, lodging or apartment. Otherwise a
situation.
Crib (Eng.), to steal or purloin.
Crib (Eng.), a literal translation of a
classical work, used by
school-boys to save themselves the trouble of studying.
Crikey, a stupid ejaculation used by cockneys as an expres-
sion of astonishment. Possibly a corruption of Christ or
Christus.
Cripple (Eng.), a bent'coin.
Crispin, a shoemaker, from the name of the patron saint of
the craft.
Croak (Eng.), to die.
Croaker (Eng.), one who takes a despondent view of every-
thing. From the ominous croaking of a crow or raven.
Croaker (Eng.), a beggar.
82 CRO
Croaks (Eng.), murderer's confessions; last dying speeches.
Crock (Am.), an earthenware pot.
Crocodile tears, the tears of a hypocrite. See Othello.
Ancient travelers fabled that crocodiles wept to attract the
attention of persons whom they then devoured.
Crone (Eng.), an old woman.
Crony, an intimate friend. See Chum and Pal.
Crook (Am.), a thief.
Crooked (Am.), anything stolen.
Crooked men, or familiarly "crooks," are thieves and crim-
inals generally.
Crooked stick (Eng.), an ugly tempered person.
Crooked whisky (Am.), that upon which the government
tax has not been paid.
Crook one's elbow, to drink.
Crop (Eng.), to cut short. See County crop. Dog's
ears are cropped.
Crop (Eng.), a hunting whip.
Cropped or Topped (Eng.), hanged.
Cropper (Am.), one who cultivates a farm for a share of
the crop.
Cropper (Eng.), a fall in the hunting field. To "come a
cropper is applied also to a business failure or to disasters
generally.
Croppies, an opprobrious term applied to the Irish. "Crop-
pies, lie down" is a line of a well-known song.
Crop-up (Eng.), to turn up in the course of conversation.
Cross, in the sporting world, is an arrangement for a fight or
any contest to be won or lost irrespective of the merits of
the contestants. A
"double cross" is where the man who
has "put up the job" plays straight at the last and swindles
his associate swindler.
 CRO CRU 83
C5w>ss, "on the" (Eng.), crooked, dishonest.
Cross-crib (Eng.), a house frequented by thieves.
Grossman (Eng.), a thief; a dishonest or crooked person.
Crow (Am.), to exult over another as a cock does after a
victorious battle.
Crow, a lookout for thieves. Crows when foraging always
set some of theirnumber to
watch and give the alarm.
Crow, to eat crow (Am.). To take back what one has said.
Politicians are sometimes compelled to eat considerable crow
after an unsuccessful campaign. The story goes that a
soldier shot the pet crow of a citizen, who, securing the
soldier's man to eat a part of the unsavory
gun, forced the
bird. When the citizen returned the gun to the soldier the
latter compelled the owner to finish the crow. The citizen
complained to the commanding officer, who had the men
paraded and the soldier picked out. "Do you know this
gentleman?" said the officer. "Yes, sir, took breakfast
with him this morning," was the answer.
Crowbait, an aged and decrepit horse, only fit to feed the
crows.
Crowd (Am.), a company or gathering of any size.
Crowdie (Scotch), oatmeal porridge.
Crowding the mourners (Am.), pressing one too hard ; pre-
suming on good nature. Mourners have the
at a funeral
first right to the carriages provided and are sometimes
crowded by outsiders and chronic attendants at such occa-
sions.
Crow's feet (Eng.), wrinkles in the corners of the eye.
Crow to pick or Bone to pick (Eng.), a quarrel to settle.
Cruel (Am.), used as a substitute for very, exceedingly.
Crumbs, "to pick up" (Eng.), to be getting a living, or im-
proving in appetite, health or circumstances.
Crunimy (Eng.), fat. In Cockney slang, lousy.
 ;

84 CRUCUR
Crummy-doss (Eng.), a lousy, filthy bed.
Cruncli (Eng.), to crush.
Crush (Eng.), to run away.
Crush (Eng.), a crowd.
Crusher (Eng.), a policeman.
Crush-hat (Eng.), an opera hat.
Crushing (Eng.), used as an adjective, much in the same
way as "jolly" or "awfully," as "a crushing good time."
Crusty (Eng.), ill-tempered, morose.
Crutch and toothpick brigade, the name invented by the
London Punch for the dude element.
Cub, a mannerless youth; a lout.
Cuddy (Scotch), a donkey.
Cue (Eng.), the signal to an actor to reply to another, or for
the curtain to fall, or the band to strike up.
Cuffey (Am.), a negro.
Cuffin (Old Cant), a man.
Cul-de-sac (Fr.), the bottom of the bag; a street with no
outlet, or blind passage.
Cull or Cully (Gip.), a man or boy. Generally qualified as
a ''rum cull" or "queer cull." Cully is almost a term of
endearment.
Cumber (Old Eng.), trouble.
Cummer or Kimmer (Scotch), a gossip or intimate ac-
quaintance.
Cunning (Am.), pretty, small, neat, cute.
Cupboard love, the sentiment entered by the London police-
man for the cook.
Curbstone broker (Am.), a hanger-on of Boards of Trade
or Stock Exchanges, who does his business on the sidewalk
an irregular speculator with the street for his place of busi-
ness and his ofiice in his hat.

\
 CUR CUT 85

Cure (cockney), probably from curiosity; a funny fellow.

Curios, abbreviation for curiosities; bric-a-brac.
Curious (Eng.), often used for excellent, as "curious wines."
Curious books are those which are "off-color."
Curlicue (Am.), a fantastic ornament.
Currency lads, native-born Australians.
Curtain raiser, in theatrical language means a one-act farce
which precedes the drama of the evening. In French
lever de rideau.
Cushion-smiter or Tub-thumper or Bible-banger (Eng. ),
a clergyman.
Cuss (Am.), a corruption of curse. Applied to a man as an
"ugly cuss."
Cussedness (Am.), malice, spite.
Customer (Eng.), a man; a "rum customer," a bad one to
tackle or a queer fellow.
Customer (Old Eng.), a common woman.
Cut, has many meanings. "Cut and run" is to quit work
and start off; "cut it," to desist; "cut that," be quiet; "cut
your stick," go at once; "cut your lucky," the same; "cut
up rough," to become obstreperous; "cut one's eye teeth,"
wide-awake, knowing.
Cut, drunk.
Cut, to ignore an acquaintance.
Cut, to take cards from a pack to decide who shall deal.
Cut and dried (Eng.), prepared or arranged in advance.
Cuta or Center (Gip.), an English sovereign or pound.
Cut a splurge, to make a show or great display.
Cute (Am.), abbreviation of acute.
Cuteness, keenness.
Cutof one's jib,the appearance of a man.
Cut-ofr (Am,), where a river forms a new channel for itself
86 CUT
by common occurrence on the
cutting through a bend; a
Mississippi. See Mark Twain's river stories.
Cut out (Eng.), defeated.
Cutter (Am.), a sleigh.
Cutter (Old Eng.), a highwayman, a thief. Gutter's
Law was the rule which governed outlaws in their deal-
ings with each other.
Cutting a swathe (Am.), same as Cuttino a dash.
Cutting capers or Cutting shines (Eng.), playing tricks.
Cutting it fat (Eng.), overdoing it; making an extortionate
profit.
Cut up didoes (Eng.), to play tricks.
Cutty (Eng.), a short clay pipe.
Cutty (Scotch), short. See Tain CShanterx
"Tam roars out 'Weel done, cutty sark,'
And in an instant all was dark."
Cut-under, to undersell in price.
Cut up rough, to behave badly.
Cut up well, is said of a wealthy man who dies and leaves a
large fortune.
Cut your lucky (Eng.), get away; run off.

Cut your stick (Eng.), leave at once.

 D
Dab or Dabster (Eng.), an expert.
Daddle (Eng.), the hand.
Daddy (Eng.), the stage manager of a theatre. Also a
childish diminutive for father.
Daddy longrlegrs (Eng.), a small insect with very long legs.
Dade or Dadi (Gip.), a father. In English and Cymric,
Dad.
Daft (Scotch), silly; a harmless lunatic.
Dago (Am.), a name given in the United States to the low-
and
class Italians Sicilians. Said to be derived from the
Spanish Diego.
Dago-shop, a low saloon or resort for depraved men and
women, conducted by a Dago.
Dags (Eng.), a corruption of daring. "I'll do your dagi,"
I'lldo anything you dare.
Daisy, a young girl.
Daisy-cutter, applied to a horse which trots or gallops with-
out lifting its feet far from the ground. Also in the base-
ball field to a straight "liner" which does not rise high.
Damage, the cost. "What's the damage?" how much is to
pay. Sometimes varied to "What is the extortion?" In
England the biU\ in France V addition.
Damaged (Am.), intoxicated.
Damp (Am.), a drink.
Damper (Eng.), a till or money drawer.
Damper, an Australian term for a cake, unleavened, and
baked in the coals.
9i
88 DAMDAR
Damper (Eng.), "to put a damper on," to discourage.
Equivalent to "throw cold water" on a scheme.
Dan to Beersheba, the extreme length of Ancient Pales-
tine ; an expression used to signify great distance. mod- A
ern equivalent is "from Jones's tavern to the forks of the
road."
Dance upon nothingr (Eng.), to be hanged.
Dander (Am.), anger, passion. To "get one's dander up"
is to get in a passion.
Dandy, a fop. Byron uses the word, which originated about
1816. Prior to that time "macaroni" was the word.
Later English is "swell" and sometimes "toff." In the
United States "dude" is much used.
Dandy (Irish), a small glass of whisky.
Dandypratt (Old Eng.), a little fellow; a mannikin.
Danites or Destroying angels (Am.), an organization with-
in theMormon ranks for the purpose of putting out of the
way obnoxious Gentiles and apostate Mormons. They
committed many murders, but their leader, Lee, was finally,
4 executed for his share in the "Mountain Meadow" massacre
and the society exists no longer, at least for purposes of as-
sassination.
Darbies (Old Cant), handcuffs. Sir Walter Scott uses the
term in Peverilofthe Peak.
Darby and Joan, an old married couple.
Dark, blind.
Dark (Eng.), secret, as "Keep it dark.'*
Dark and bloody gfround (Am.), Kentucky.
Dark horse (Eng.), one of whom little is known, but who
may prove dangerous in a race.
Darkmans (Gip.), night.
Darky (Am.), a negro.
 DAR DEA 89

Dam (Am.), a euphemism for damn.

Dash (Eng.), fire, vigor.
Dash, an ejaculation much in favor with the "heavy father"
on the stage, who in the old comedies "dashes his wig," his
buttons and everything else.
Dashingr (Eng.), showy, fast.
David's sow, "drunk as," the exact state of intoxication at-
tained by this animal is unrecorded, but he probably got
along as far as his brother, "St. Anthony's pig."
Davy (Eng.), "on my davy," or Alfred Davy; on my affi-
davit.
Davy's locker (Sea term), the bottom of the sea. Some-
times Davy Jones's locker.
Dawdle (Eng.), to loiter or fritter away time.
Daylights (Gip.), eyes.
Dazed (Eng.), confounded or bewildered.
Deacon (Am.), to deacon berries is to place the best fruit on
top, a practice not entirely unknown outside of church cir-
cles. "All deacons are good, but there's odds in deacons,"
is a Yankee proverb.
Deacon (Am.), to deacon off a hymn is to give it out line by
line.
Deacon (Am.); the skin of a very young calf, which has
been "killed to save its life," is known as a "deacon."
Dead-alive (Eng.), stupid, dull.
Dead-beat (Eng.), exhausted, "done up."
Dead beat (Am.), a fellow who borrows money or obtains
credit on all kinds of pretenses and pays nobody. With
a wholesome fear of the law he keeps just outside of the
statutes against fraud, and he seldom possesses the qualities
of a first-class swindler.
Dead-broke (Am.), out of cash; penniless.
90 DEA
Dead gon'i (Am.), infatuated. A girl is *<dead gone" on a
man or vice versa.
Dead-head (Am.), one who has free admission to theatres
or free rides on railroads, etc.

Dead-heat (Eng.), when two horses in a race finish so close

together tnat the judges are unable to decide between
them.
Dead horse, "working on the" (Eng.), doing work which
has been paid for in advance.
Dead letter, an action of no value or weight. Letters gone
astray in the postofRce or which fail to reach their owners.
Dead loads (Am.), a great quantity of anything.
Dead-lock, a standstill. Perhaps the most famous is that in
the Criticy when Mr. Puff gets all his characters with
their daggers at each other's throats.
Dead man (Eng.), a baker. Dead man or "dead 'un" prop-
erly means an extra loaf smuggled into the basket by the
journeyman. Sometimes it represents an extra loaf
charged to the customer but not delivered.
Dead men (Eng.), empty bottles.
Deadmen's shoes, "waiting for" (Eng.), is considered a
wearisome task.
Dead money (Eng.), bets laid by a bookmaker early in the
racing season against horses which are struck out before the
race, and on which the bookmaker of course wins the
amount deposited by the backer.
Dead nuts, to be "dead nuts" on one is to be in love with or
fascinated with the person.
Dead rabbit (Am.), a loafer or tough; the Baltimore equiv-
alent for the New York plug-ugly, the ward striker or
heeler, the saloon loafer and political bummer and thug
everywhere.
Dead-set (Eng.), a pointed and persistent attack on a per-
 DEADEU 91

Dead soldier (Eng.), an empty bottle.

Dead to rights ^Am.), certain, positive. Having a man
"dead to rights is said by officers who have found absolute
proof of crime against him.
Dead *im, a horse which it is known is not meant to win.
It is known also as a Shtumer or Safe 'un (j'. v.)
Deaner (Gip. denier)^ an English shilling.
Dear me, an English ejaculation derived, probably, from
Dio mio.
Death (Eng.), **dressed to death" or "dressed to kill," the
extreme of fashion.
Death (Am.), "to be death on" anything is to be completely
master of the subject or devoted to it.

Deck (Old Eng.), a pack of cards. See Shakespeare, King

Henry /F, v, j. General in the U. S.; not used now in
England.
Deeor D, a pocketbook; a detective.
Deed (Am.), to convey property by deed or assignment.
Deft (Old), clever, neat.
DeU (Gip.), a girl.
Demi-rep (Eng.), a courtesan; one of demi-monde reputa-
tion.
Depot (French), a railway station.
Derrick. This word, now in common use in the United
States to signify a scaffold-like construction to support a
crane, is derived from the name of an English hangman,
who flourished early in the 17th century.
Derringer (Am.), a revolver.
Destroying angels (Am.), see Danites, ante
Dence, of cards, dice or dominoes, the two spot.
Deuce, a euphemism for the devil. Said to be a corruption
of Deus or Zeus.
92 DEVDIG
Devil (Eng.), the Attorney General's devil, a young lawyer
who assists in getting up cases for his leader.
Devil-dodger (Eng.), a clergyman; also one who attends
church semi-occasionally only.
Devilled bones (Eng.), the "drumsticks" of a fowl,
sprinkled with cayenne pepper and grilled.
Devil, printer's, (Eng.), the press-boy, messenger or ap-
prentice in a printing office. It is said that Fust, the orig-
inal printer, employed a negro boy, wkom the ignorant
populace thought was the devil.
Devil*s delight (Eng.), a row.
Devil's picture books, cards. Burns uses the expression in
The Ttva Dogs.
Devil's teeth or Devil's bones (Eng.), dice.
Dew-beaters (Old Eng.), feet.
Dibs or Dibbs (Old Eng.), money.
Dice or Dicer (Am.), a silk hat. See also Tile.
Dickens, the devil. See Shakespeare, Merry Wives of
Windsor.
Dicker (Am.), a bargain or trade. Used as a verb, to dicker
is to bargain.
Dickey (Eng.), an imitation shirt front.
Dickey (Eng.), a seat on a stage coach or traveling carriage
usually occupied by a servant.
Dickey (Eng.), inferior, sick, poor.
Dicky (Old Eng.), a donkey.
Diddle, to cheat or defraud. Jeremy Diddler, in the old
farce of Raising the Wind^ was a type of this petty fraud.
Didoes, "to cut up," to play tricks or capers. Possibly from
"Widow" Dido's relations with yEneas.
Dig (Eng.), a blow; "a dig in the ribs."
Diggers (Eng.), spurs. Also the spades in cards.
 DIGDIT 98
Digrgrings (Eng.), lodgings.
Digging up tlie hatchet (Am.), Indians when about to
commence war are said to dig up the war-hatchet. See
Burying the hatchet, ante.
Dight (Old Eng.), to clean or dress.
Dig out (Am.), to go away.
Dike (Scotch), a ditch or wall.
Dilly-daUy (Eng.), to trifle.
Dimmock, money.
Dinarly, from the Latin Denarius^ money.
Ding (Old Eng. and Scotch), to strike; a heavy blow.
Dingy, a flat-bottomed boat.
Dining with Duke Humphrey (Eng.), going without din-
ner.
Dipper (Am.), a bowl with a handle. The constellation of
the Great Bear, called in England Charles's Wain, is known
in the United States as the Dipper.

Dirt (Am.), real estate; any kind of earth. Miners speak

of "poor dirt" and "pay dirt."
Dirt, "to eat" (Eng.), to humble oneself. From the Orien-
talpractice or grovelling on the earth in the presence of a
superior.
Disgruntled (Am.), disappointed, disconcerted.
Disgruised (Eng.), in drink.
Dish, to suppress or defeat. Earl Derby boasted that he
had "dished the Whigs," when he partly adopted their pol-
icy and "stole their thunder."
Disrememher (Am.), to forget.
Distressed, wretched, miserable.
Dittoes (Eng.), a suit of clothes, all the pieces of the same
material.
94 DITDOG
Ditty-bag, a sailor's bag containing his thread, needles, etc.,
for mending his clothes.
Dive (Am.), a basement saloon, wine room or low variety
show.
Diver (Eng.), a pickpocket.
Divide (Am.), the mountain ridge which forms a backbone
of the country and divides the watersheds of the rivers.
Divy (Am.), an abbreviation of dividend; the share coming
to each person.
Dixie (Am.), the South.
Do or Done, has a dozen meanings, such as to cheat, to
knock out in a prize-fight, or briefly to accomplish any-
thing. "I done him" means I cheated him, while to "do
one up" means to thrash him.
Dock, to cut down one's wages.
Dock-walloper (Am.), a laborer on the wharves or docks.
Doctor (Eng.), to adulterate or to drug or poison. A ship's
cook is called "the doctor" by the sailors.
Dodge, a trick, to dodge, to escape. The "Artful Dodger"
will be remembered by all readers of Dickens' Oliver
Twist.
Dodger (Eng.), a drink.
Dodger (Am.), a cake of See Corn-dodger, ante.
meal.
Dodman (Eng.), a See David Cofferfield.
snail.
Dog, to follow a person's footsteps as a dog would do; to
spy.
Dog-cheap, very cheap; far below the actual value.
Doggery (Am.), a low "dive" or unlicensed whisky shop.
Doggone (Am.), a mild form of oath dog being God trans
posed.
Dog's age, a long time. See Coon's Agb.
Dogs ears, the curled corners of the leaves of a book.
 DOGDON 95
Dogs, "gone to the," ruined. An old or worthless horse sold
to feed hounds goes to the dogs.
Dog's nose (Eng.), a mixture of gin and beer. Otherwise
known "a h'aporth and a penn'orth." That is, one
as
cent's worth of beer and two cents' worth of gin.

Dog-tired, played out ; like a dog after a hard day's run.

I>og, "too much" (Am.), is the equivalent for "too mucn
side" or style.
Doing time (Eng.), working out a prison sentence.
Doings (Am.), prepared food; otherwise fixings.
Doldrums, a sea term for difficulties or low spirits. A sail-
ing vessel in a calm is in the doldrums.

Dollar ( E ng. ) , five shillings. Half a dollar, two shillings and

sixpence.
Dollar of the dads (Am.), the 41 2 J^ grain silver dollar,
claimed to be the coin favored by the fathers of the re-
public.
Dollop (Old Eng.), a lump. From the Anglo-Saxon dole^
a portion.
DoUy-shop (Eng.), an unlicensed pawn-shop. These were
originally rag shops or junk shops, and had for a sign a
black doll.
Domestics (Am.), cotton goods.
Dominie (Scotch), a school -master. In the United States
often applied to a clergyman. From the Latin Dominus^
master.
Domino, the last.
Dominoes (Eng.), or box of ivories, the teeth.
Don (Eng.), the Head or master of a college or the Fellows.
Don as an adjective means a smart or clever fellow, as "Hd
is a don at billiards."
96 DON DOU
Dona (Gip.), probably from the Spanish Donna^ a girl or
woman.
Donate (Am.), to contribute; to give.
Donation party (Am.). In the rural districts church mem-
bers sometimes supplement the meagre salary of their pas-
tor by descending upon him in a body, each person carry-
ing a load of groceries or other useful articles which are
presented to him. The affair partakes of the nature of a
jollification, and it is said that sometimes, thanks to the
healthy appetites of the visitors, the "dominie's" larder is
emptier after they leave than before they came.
Done (Am.), is used by Southern negroes, "done gone" or
"done come," etc.
Done (Eng.), cheated. See Do.
Done brown (Eng.), completely swindled.
Done up (Eng.), finished, beaten.
Donnet (Scotch), a stupid person.
Dope, to dose, to poison.
Dorados (Gip.), gold pieces.
Dornick (Am.), a stone or "rock."
Dose (Eng.), a sufficiency, either of thrashing or drink
Doss (Gip.), a bed, or to sleep. Perhaps from doze.
Dossing-ken (Gip.), a lodging house.
Do tell (Am.), a Yankeeism for "really," "indeed.*
Double (Eng.), to turn or dodge, as a hare does when pur-
sued.
Double-decker (Am.), two "cocktails," or other morning
refreshers in one; a drink for a thirsty man.
Double harness (Eng.), wedded life.
Double set up, two kinds of bread served in a restaurant.
Double-shuffle, a dance of the flip-flap order.
Double up (Eng.), to beat severely.
 DOUDOX 97
Douce (Scotch), wise, careful, pious and most of the other vir-
tues combined. Such a character as "Douce David Deans**
in the Heart of Midlothian.
Dough, money.
Doughface (Am.), according to Lowell "a contented licks-
pittle, a common variety of Northern politician." The
genus was common enough in Congress and outside that
body during slavery times.
Dough-head, a stupid fellow.
Doughy (Eng.), a baker.
Douse the glim (Gip.), put out the light.
Downast (Am.), New England.
Down in the mouth (Eng.), disconsolate.
Down on a man, to detect his tricks. Also to dislike or to
be opposed to a person.
Down on your luck (Am.), unfortunate, miserable.
Downs, "all m
the'* (Eng.), miserable. See All in the
DOWNS, ante.
Down the road (Eng.), fancy, stylish, showy.
Down to the ground (Am.), entirely. "That suits me
down to the ground.'* Up to the handle has the same
meaning.
Downy (Eng.), knowing, cunning. A "downy cove" is a
sharper; one who is "fly.**
Dowry (Gip.), a lot. A
"dowry" of "pamy" is a lot of
rain.
Do you see any green in my eye (Eng.), a common inquiry
when a catch or fraud is attempted.
Dojcy (Gip.), a girl. An English bishop asked to define ortho-
doxy said, "Orthodoxy is my doxy ; heterodoxy is another
man*s doxy.** Sometimes spelt Doxis and applied to little
girls as a term of endearment.


98 DRADRE
Drab (Old Eng.), a low woman. Used by Shakespeare.
Draff, brewer's grains or swill fed to hogs. "Still swine eat
all the draff." Old Proverb.
Drag: (Eng.), feminine apparel worn by men.
Dragr (Eng.), a wagon or brake drawn by two or four horses.
Generally a "swell turnout."
Dragr (Eng.), a street or road. Back drag, an alley or
back street.
Drag (Eng.), three months in jail.
Drag (Eng.), an anise-seed bag used in imitation fox hunts
to furnish scent for the hounds, the bag being dragged
across country.
Draggletail (Old Eng.), a dirty, slovenly woman.
Dragon, an English sovereign, from the St. George and
Dragon on the obverse of the coin.
Drag out (Am.), a "knockdown and drag out" is a fight of a
rough and tumble character.
Drain (Eng.), a drink.
Draw has many meanings. A theatrical performance
"draws good houses ;" a man can be "drawn on ;" a pick-
pocket "draws a wipe" or a "ticker," and a man in a fight
"gets the draw" on his pistol in a hurry, if he wants to get
the "drop" on his opponent.
Draw (Am.), the game of draw-poker.
Draw a bead (Am.), to take aim with a rifle.
Draw It mild (Eng.), do not exaggerate.
Draw one in the dark (Am.), a cheap restaurant order for a
cup of coffee.
Draw the long bow, to tell an extravagant, Munchausen-

like story. Equivalent to "pitching the hatchet," (^r. z;.)

Dreadful, greatly, very. Used and misused like the words
awful and awfully, as a dreadful good man, a dreadful
fine house.
 DREDUB 99
Dressed to kill or Dressed to death or Dressed up to the
nines, all mean the same thing, viz.y dressed too much;
too showy.
Drink (Am.), a river; any body of water.
Drive (Am.), a mass of logs accumulated on a stream and
floated down at high water.
Drive (Am.), the annual *'round-up" of cattle on the plains
for the purpose of branding them.
Driver (Am.), a hustler; a hard taskmaster.
Drivingrat, "What are you driving at?" what are you do-
ing?
Drop (Am.), to get the drop on a man is to pull and fire a
revolver before he can get his revolver in hand.
Drop (Eng.), to drop an acquaintance. A mild form of cut-
ting.
Dropgtime (Eng.), See Ring dropping.
Drop it (Eng.), quit, let up.
Drum (Eng.), a house or lodging. Flash drum, a house
of ill-fame.
Drum (Eng.), fashionable slang for a ball or rout, now al-
most obsolete.
Drum (Eng.), the road.
Drumble (Old Eng.), to drone, to be sluggish. See Merry
Wives of Windsor.
Drummer (Am.) a commercial traveler.
Drumsticks (Eng.), legs.
Drunk, a drinking bout. "On a big drunk."
Dry up (Am.), make an end, quit.
D. T,, Delirium tremens.
Dub or Dup (Old Eng.), to open or close a door.
Dub (Eng.), to pay "dub up," pay up.
Dubber (Gip.), the tongue.
lOo DUBDUN
Dubersome (Am.), doubtful, a corruption of dubious.
Dacats, money.
Dude, a swell or dressy man. From the old Gipsy dttdes^
clothes, that being all there is to the modern dude.
Dndecn or Dudheen (Irish), a short pipe.
Duds (Gip.), clothes.
DuflF (Eng.), pudding.
Duffer (Eng.), anything worthless. A man of no account
is a duffer and sham jewelry is duffing.

Dug-out (Am.), a house made by excavating the prairie and

throwing up the soil to form sides and a roof.
Dug-out (Am.), a canoe.
Duke Humphrey, *to dine with" (Eng.), to go without
dinner altogether.
Dukes or Docks (P. R.), the hands or fists. "Put up your
dukes" is an invitation to fight or spar.
Dull (Eng.), stupid, or hard of hearing.
Dumb-founded (Eng.), perplexed confused.
Dummy (Eng.), a deaf mute.
Dummy (Eng.), a pocket-book.
Dununy (Eng.), an empty bottle or box, used to fill up store
shelves.
Dump (Am.), to unload.
Dump (Am.), the place at the mouth of a coal pit where the
waste is deposited. Any place where dirt or rubbish is un-
loaded.
Dumpish (Eng.), dull, stupid.
Dumpy (Eng.), short and stout; also surly.
Dun, probably from (//;;, noise; to demand payment of a
bill.

Dunderhead (Eng.), a blockhead; a stupid person.

 >

DUNDYE loi

Dnimagre (Sea term), baggage, clothing.

Dunop (Back slang), an English pound or sovereign.
Dupe (Am.), in printing office parlance, means the duplicate
proofs, by which the amount of matter set by a compositor
ismeasured; the aggregate "dupes" pasted together form-
ing his "string."
Dumed or Darned, a corruption of damned; a Puritn oath*
Dust (Eng.), **rai8e a dust," to make a row.
Dust (Eng.), money.
Dust (Eng.), to go away. "Dust out of this."
Dust (Eng.), to beat To "dust one's jacket."
Duster (Am.), an outside coat of linen used when traveling.
Dusty, "not so" (Eng.), not so bad.
Dutch (Am.), the German people. Said to be from
Deutsche German. But 200 years ago it was in common
English use, and as the early settlers of New York were
Hollanders and not Germans, the term was adopted in this
country.
Datcli courage, that which comes from gin.
"And there the sachem learnt the rule
He taught to kith and kin:
Ron from the white man when you find
He smells of Holland's gin.
0. W. Holms.
Dutch Uncle. I talked to him like a Dutch uncle" probably
has a meaning, but what that es^tly is or whei^ce the
phrase comes is unknown. ^ kMtfJ W^^^'v'^-i^ "^
Dyed in the wool ( Am. ) , applied to old-tinie politicians'who '

have strictly kept the faith, their principles, like home-

spun clothing, being "dyed in the wooL" There are very
few left.
 E
Eager (Old Eng.), sharp. See Hamlet, The air biteth
* * * * It is a nipping and an eager air."
shrewdly.
Eagle (Am.), a ten-dollar gold coin. A double eagle is
twenty dollars; a half eagle five dollars.
Ear-bob (Am.), an ear-drop.
Earmark (Eng.), the token by which anything is known.
artb, "wants the" (Am.), said of anyone who evinces a
greedy disposition.
Earwig (Eng.), a clergyman.
Ease (Eng.), to rob.
East (Am.). "About East" is about right.
Eathisheadoff (Eng.), a horse kept idle in the stable is
do this.
said to
Ebony (Am.), a negro. "God's image carved in ebony."
Egg", *'to egg on," to stir one up to strife. Probably from
the Anglo-Saxon eggian. Grose gives it as agging^ and
the derivation as the French agacer, to provoke.
Egypt (Am.), Southern Illinois, either because there is corn
in it oXy ^s its enemies say, because it is the laud of dark-
ness.
Elbow, "to shake one's" (Am.), to throw dice. "To crook
\ one's elbow," to drink, from the motions made.
Elbow grease (Eng.), labor. Said by notable housewives
to be the best kind of furniture polish.
Elephant, "to see the" (Am.), to "do" the town; to see the
sights, especially those of an immoral character.
 ELEEVE 103

Blevated (Eng.), Intoxicated.

Emerald Isle, Ireland.
Empire State, the State of New York. New York City
is sometimes styled the Empire Citj.
Emptins (Am.), yeast.
Twill take more emptin's by a long chalk than this new party's got
To give such heavy cakes as these a start, I'll tell you what."
Biglow Papers.
Enemy, the" (Eng.), time. "What says the enemy ?" what
o'clock is it.

English (Am.), in the game of billiards, is the peculiar

twist or "side" given to the cue-ball by striking it on one
side or the other.
Enthuse (Am.), to manifest delight; to become enthusiastic.
A mere newspaper barbarism.
Ephesian ( Old Cant ), a toper. See II King Henry I K, Act
iiyScene 2.
Essence peddler (Am.), mephitis mephatica^ the native
American skunk.
Essex lion (Eng.), a calf. The people of Essex, England,
are charged by their neighbors with considering a calf a
wild beast. "Essex calves" is the generic term for the na-
tives of the county.
Euchre (Am.), to defraud or cheat; to beat, as one is "eu-
chred" who fails to make his point at the card game of
that name.
Eventuate (Am.), to happen. Often used, but not good
English.
Ever faithfal isle, Cuba.
Everlasting, great, exceeding.
Everlasting staircase (Eng.), the treadmill, better known
as the "mill."
Every which way (Am.), anyhow, anyway.
I04 EXCEYE
Exchange (Am.), a euphemism for a drinking shop or
saloon.
Ex*s, expenses.
Eye-opener, a morning drink.
Eye's skinned, "to keep one's," to be on the alert; watch-
ful.
Eye teeth, "to cut one's," to be wide-awake ; sharp.
Eye water (Eng.), gin.
Face (Eng.), to run one*s face, to obtain credit; impudence.
Facer (P. R.), a blow in the face. In Ireland a stiff drink
of whisky.
Face the music (Am.), to meet the emergency; to stand up
against trouble. "To come up to the scratch," or to "toe
the mark."
Fad (Eng.), a hobby.
Fadgre (Eng.), a farthing; one-fourth of an English penny.
Fadge (Old Eng.), a burden.
Fadgre (Shakespeare), to suit. See Lovers Labor Lost.
Fagr (Eng.), a lower school-boy in the English public schools
who performs menial offices and fetches and carries for his
elder schoolmates. See Thomas Hughes' Tom Brown at
Rugby.
Faggott (Eng.), a collection of odds and ends of meat, pop-
ular among the London poor. It consists of "fag-ends."
Faggott (Eng.), an opprobrious term used by English
women of the lower class in speaking of one of their own
sex.
Fair and square, honorable, straightforward.
Fairings (Eng.), gifts brought from a country fair.
Fair off (Am.), said of clearing weather.
Fair shake, "to give one a" (Am.), is to use him properly;
to give him a fair chance.
Fake (Eng.), to cheat or swindle; otherwise to go on.
"Fake away" is an encouragement given by thieves to their
pals. See Ainsworth's Jack Shefhard.
105
io6 FAKFAR
Fake (Eng.), to hocus or poison a horse with a view to
making him safe in a race.
Fake (Am.), has come to mean in the United States a story
without foundation. Some persons, known as "fakirs,"
have achieved an unenviable reputation in press circles by
their indulgence in this practice.
Fakement (Eng.), a begging petition or writing of any
kind. In effect, anything new or strange is a fakement.

Fall, "riding for a" (Eng.); in the hunting field and when
steeple-chasing, if a rider finds that he has no chance to
win he sometimes "rides for a fall," that is, picks out a soft
place to be thrown off. Business men in difficulties fix
their books so that when the inevitable crash comes there
is something left for them, and thus ride for a fall.

Fall (Am.), the season of autumn, when the leaves fall.

Fal-lals (Eng.), trumpery ornaments or gew-gawsj super-
fluous ribbons, etc.
weather (Am.),
Fallingr rainy or snowy weather.
Fambles (Old Cant), the hands.
Family, "the" (of thieves). The predatory class speak of
each other as of "the family." See Father Prout and
Ainsworth.
Fancy (Eng.), the prize ring and its adherents. The para-
mour of a prostitute is known as her "fancy man."
Fandango (Sp.), a dance.
Fanning (Eng.), stealing.
Fanning, a beating.
Faniking aroond, making a good deal of fuss about noth-
ing.
Fantegue or Fanteeg, bewilderment, flustration.
Fardel, a burden. See Hamlet: "Who would fardels
bear?"
 FARFEA I<j7

Fardowner (Irish), a native of Connaught.

Fash (Scotch), to bother, to trouble or tease.
Fast, gay, thoughtless, inclined to dissipation. Alleged by
Hotten to be an Americanism, but without authority.
Fast, tied up for want of money.
Fast and loose, "to play" (Eng,), to equivocate or dodge.
Fat, in the language of the printer (compositor) means the
void spaces in a page, for which he is paid at the same rate
as for solid matter. Actors talk, too, of "fat" parts. Some-
times spelled "phat" by phonetically inclined "comps."
Father (Eng.), a fence or receiver of stolen property. Prac-
tically the same thing as "Uncle" when applied to "shady"
pawn-brokers.
Favor (Old Eng.), to resemble.
Favorite, in racing parlance the horse which stands best in
the betting. A "hot favorite" may start with money on
him, that is odds may be laid that he will win even though
there are several horses in the race.
Fawney (Old Cant), a ring. The Fawney-ri is the old
ring-dropping trick, where the operator pretends to pick
up a ring, which he tells the victim behind him is no good
to him. He is a poor man, etc., and will sell it for what
the other man pleases. The dupe, thinking he has a sure
thing, pays, of course, for a worthless fraud.
Faze or Phaze (Am.), to bother or knock out. "You can-
not faze Smith would be considered a compliment by that
gentleman. The word is sometimes pronounced Peaze.
Feather (Eng.), in rowing is to so carry the oar as to ipeet
the least possible resistance.
Feather, "in full" (Eng.), well-dressed.
Feathered his nest, said of one who has well-provided for
himself at the expense of others.
Featherrwelsrlit (P. R,), a pugilist who fights at a very
 io8 FEA FFV
low weight, or a jockey who can ride a yearling or two-year
old.
Featly (Old Eng.), neatly, dexterously.
Feed, a dinner.
Feed, of oneV'(Eng.), having lost one's appetite.
Feele (Gip.), a girl. From the French fille.
Feel to do (Am.), to be inclined to do anything.
Feet, "to feel one's," said of a child learning to walk, and
by analogy of a boy or girl beginning to "take notice."
Fellow (Am.), a vulgarism for sweetheart.
Felt, a hat, whether of that or any other soft material, but
not applied to a silk hat, which is a *'dicer" or "high dicer"
or a dozen other things.
Fence, "on the" (Am.). See On the fence.
Fence (Eng.), a receiver of stolen property, such as Dickens'
Fagin.
Fend (Old Eng.), to take care of; to shift for.
Fennits (Eng.), probably from "feign it," a word used by
children at play when they seek to avoid being caught
while resting without leaving the game. A sort of armis-
tice is declared by the utterance of the word.
Feminst or Femenst (Irish), opposite, over against; often
erroneously used in the sense of opposed to.
Fetich, an object of superstitious reverence. A savage will
make a fetich of a stone or an animal or of almost any-
thing.
Fettle, "in good fettle," in good condition.
Few (Eng.), used to signify the exact opposite, as "Did you
have a good time?" "Just a few." "Rather" is an equiva-
lent. In Scotland few signifies a quantity, as "Will you
have a few porridge ?"
F. F. V. (Am.), an abbreviation for "first families of Vir-
 FIBFIG 109

ginia," a race supposed to be descended from English aristo-

crats and Indian princesses.
Fib, to lie.
Fibbing, in the prize-ring means blows delivered rapidly
and from a short distance.
Fid, a drink. The word is used by sailors and especially by
whalers.
Fid, a plug of tobacco.
Fiddle, "to play second," to act a subordinate part
Fiddle-ddle, trifling talk, twaddle.
Fiddler, a cheat or sharper.
Fiddler, an English sixpence.
Fiddler's ^een, the place where sailors go to when they
die, a sort of Limbo of rum and tobacco, with plenty of fid-
dling and dancing.
Fiddler's money (Eng.), small change. See Chickbn-
FEKD.
Fiddlesticks (Eng.), an ejaculation signifying nonsense.
Fiddling: (Eng.), wasting time, idling, trifling.
Field, the whole number of competitors in a race. In bet-
ting the "field" represents the bulk of the horses as op-
posed to the favorite.
Field, to look out at cricket, base-ball or foot ball.
Fig, "in full fig" (Eng.), in dress costume. Probably from
the fig-leaf costume which Eve assumed when she first re-
alized the necessity of clothes.
Figaro, a barber. From the Barber of Seville,
Fight shy (Eng.), to keep away from.
Fight the tiger (Am.), to gamble.
Figure, the price. "What's the figure?" is the equivalent of
"How much is the damage?" or "What's the robbery (or
extortion)?" addressed to a hotel or shop-keeper.
no FIGFIR
Wignre, to consider, to count the cost.
Figure, "to cut a good figure," to make a good appearance.
FiiTiu'e-head (Eng.), the face.
Filch (Old Eng.), tromfylcke, to rob.
File (Eng.), "a deep file," spoken of a cunning or artful man.
Filibuster, the name given adventurers who made
to the
raids on Cuba, Nicaragua and Mexico,and of whom Walker
was a type. The word is from the Spanish Jilibustero^ a
freebooter.
Filibustering (Am.), in legislation, the use of irregular
means to defeat a proposed measure.
Filly, a young girl, from the French fille^ or from filly, a
young mare.
^^, the hand. Used mostly by sailors.
Finder, one who finds things before they are lost; like the
Highlander who found the tongs beside the kitchen fire.
Finger in the pie, "to have a," to be connected with an un-
dertaking or business.
Finish, "a fight to a," a prize-fight where it is specified that
one of the contestants shall be knocked out.
Finnuf, a five-pound Bank of England note. Doubtless
from the German finify five.
Ftp or Fippuns, five pence, English money. A fip in the
United States, one-sixteenth of a dollar; a half -real or Pic-
ayune, {jg. V.)
Fire (Am.), to throw out, to discharge, to bounce.
Fire-away, go in, make a start.
Fire-eater (Eng.), a quarrelsome man, a braggart. As a
rule the professional fire-eater eats all the men he kills; in
other words his brag is seldom backed by action.
Fire-water (Am.), whisky.
First-chop (Pidgin Eng.), excellent.
First class, the best, capable, great.
 FIRFIX in
First Lnff (Sea term), first lieutenant in the navy.
First rate, of the first class or order; applied to a Wsr-ttt-
sel of heavy armament.
First robber, the box-ofl5ce man of a theatre.
Fish, *an odd fish," or "a queer fish" is said of erratic or
doubtful people.
Fish-fag, a market-woman ; any vixenish or foul-mouthed
woman. No doubt from the obscene and vulgar language
of the Billingsgate market-women.
Fish out of water, a man out of his right place; not in lui
proper element.
Fishy, a doubtful story. "It smells fishy" is said of a yam
that passes belief. Fish-stories are proverbially exagger-
ated.
Fits, "to give one," to punish him.
Five-pence, otherwise Fippuns, "fine as," an absolutely
meaningless comparison.
Fives, "bunch of" (P. R.), the fist.

Fivses (Cockney), fingers. "Fivses were made before

forks.'^
Five water weak rum and water. What the
grrog, very
sailors call"water bewitched and rum begrudged."
Fix (Am.), is used in the United States in many forms. A
housewife fixes the dinner ot the furniture, fixes her dr^ss
or her obstreperous boy, the latter by a summary process.
A man in a predicament is in an awful fix. No so-called
Americanism has been so much derided by English writ-
ers, but the word is after all a useful one, and by no means
so often misplaced as is alleged. At least while used in the
sense of to put in place, "fix" is a good enough word, and
if Mary fixes her "bangs" or Tommy fixes his filed they
are well within the Umit.
Fixings (Am.), the accompaniments of a dish. The Amer*
112 i FIZFLI
ican speaks of "chicken fixings;" the Englishman of a leg
of mutton and "trimmings."
Fiz, champagne.
Fizzing (Eng.), excellent, first rate.

Fizzle, a failure.
Flabbergrast (Old Eng.), to astonish or strike with wonder.
Flag (Eng.), the aprons worn by auctioneer's assistants,
touts and porters.
Flam (Eng.), nonsense; a tale which cannot be believed.
Flame (Eng.), a sweetheart.
Flapdoodle (Am.), nonsense; stuff they feed fools on.
Flap-jack (Old Eng.), a pancake. See Shakespeare, Peri-
cles^ Prince of Tyre.
Flare (Old Eng.), to blaze up.
Flare up, a social gathering. Otherwise a row.
Flash, the language of Cant or Slang. A flashy man is one
who is dressed with more regard to cost than good taste.
Flash jewelry is that of the "Brummagem" variety, better
known as "Snide" (^. z'.) Flash money is counterfeit.
Flashing' a roll (Am.), to display a lot of money.
Flash in the pan, a failure, from the flashing of the powder
in an old-fashioned gun.
Flat, a fool or stupid person.
Flat broke, out of money ; destitute.
Flatch, an English half-penny.
Flat-footed, "to come out" (Am.), to make an authoritative
statement. Downright, resolute.
Flatten out, to fail, to collapse.
Flick or Old flick, (Eng.), a term of endearment used by
the vulgar,
Flicky to strike with a whip.
 FLIFLU 113

FUcker, "let her flicker." Let her go.

Flies, (Am.), "no flies on him;" no nonsense about him.
Flim-flam (Old Eng.), nonsense; a stupid story. See Beau-
mont and Fletcher.
Flimsy (Eng.), a Bank of England note.
Flimsy, copying paper used by reporters.
Fling, "to have one's" to indulge or dissipate.
Flip, fresh, fly, impudent.
Flip-flop, a dance or break-down ; a somersault.
Flipper, the hand. Sailor's slang.
Flit (Scotch and Old Eng.), to remove from one house to
another.
Floater (Am.), a body found in the river or lake.
Floor (P. R.), to knock dow^n.
Floored, beaten, knocked out.
Floorer, a knock-down blow.
Flop, to fall over suddenly, as one who faints.
Flop (Am.), in politics, to change front on a question.
Fluke (Eng.), an accidental shot at billiards, or indeed any-
thing gained when not expected.
Flume (Am.), in the mining districts "flumes" are used to
convey water for the purpose of washing out pay-dirt. A
man who dies is said to have "gone up the flume."
Flummery, flattery, gammon, nonsense. The name is also
given to a light pudding.
Flummoxed, perplexed. Sometimes pronounced "kerflum-
mixed."
Flunk, to fail, to back out. See Funk.
Flunkey (Eng.), a man servant or footman.
Flunky, frightened, timid.
Flush (Am.), having plenty of money.
1
14 FLUFOO
Flush, in the game of cribbage, where the hand of cards
consists all of one suit, or where the "crib" and the turn-up
card are all of one suit.
Flutter, to try, as "I will have a flutter for it." Also to toss
coppers.
Fly, knowing, wide-awake.
Fly, to toss or lift. Fly around, to be active.
Fly cop, a detective, probably on the lucus a non lucendo
principle.
Flyer (Am.), a speculation on the Board of Trade ai Stock
Exchange, as a "flyer in wheat."
Flyingr bigb, spending lots of money ; living at a great rate.
Flying kites, raising money on accommodation bills.
Flying mess, a soldier's term for having no meSs at all and
being compelled to eat where he can.
Plying stationer (Eng.), a hawker of penny ballads or
cheap pamphlets.
Foggy, intoxicated.
Fogle (Old Cant), a silk handkerchief.
Fogle-faker, a pickpocket.
Folks (Scotch), people; one's family. "How's all the
folks ?^
Follow-me-lads, curls hanging over a lady's shoulder. In
the French ^^Suivez-moi^jeune hommey
Foot, <to put one's foot in it," to make a bad mistake ; to
blunder foolishly.
Foot and Walker's line; persons who cannot afford to ride
are said to patronize this old fashioned system of getting
there.
Footing, "to pay one's footing" is to "stand treat" when in-
itiated as an apprentice to a trade, or into a society or
lodge.
 FOOFRA 115
Foot it, to walk.
Forehanded (Am.), well-provided, economical.
Fork out or Fork over, to pay.
Forks (Eng.), fingers.
Forks (Am.), where a road divides or a river branches.
Often applied to various streams which unite to form a
river, as "the Republican fork of the Kansas."
Form, condition, training. Used of either horse or man in
the sporting world. A breach of good manners is also bad
form, {g''V.)
Forty-rod (Am.), New Jersey whisky, which kills at that
distance. ' Known also as "Jersey lightning."
Forty winks, a short nap or sleep.
Forward (Old Eng.), drunk, or getting that way.
Pou (Scotch), intoxicated. See Bums, "Willie brewed a
pecK o* maut," or Buchanan's "Wedding of Shon Mac-
Lean," when "every piper was fou."
Fonl, to jostle in a race.
Foul-tip (Am.), at base-ball, a ball touched by the bat, but
which falls within the foul-line.
Pour-eyes, one who wears spectacles.
Four hundred (Am.), the "society" class of New York
city, said to be limited to that number. See Upper ten.
Fourth estate (Eng.), the press.
Fox, to cheat or rob. Also to watch.
Fox, to mend, as a cobbler repairs boots and shoes.
Fox*s sleep, sleeping with one eye open; keeping watch
while pretending indifference.
Foxy, cunning.
Foxy, red-haired.
Frampold (Old Eng.), peevish, cross, fretfuL
Frapping, from the French fraffer.^ a beating.
ii6 FRAFRI
Fraud, used as a noun; a cheat, a swindle.
Free-and-easy (Eng.), a club held at a public house where
the members themselves furnish the harmony. Known
also as a Sing-song.
Free-fight, a row in which everybody takes a hand. Some-
thing after the style of Donnybrook Fair.
Free-for-all, in racing or other sporting contests, means
that no competitor is barred by reason of weight or record.
Free list, to be on the free list is to obtain admission to thea-
tres, etc., without paying at the door.
Free soilers (Am.), the early settlers of Kansas and Ne-
braska territories, who were
opposed to slavery and its ex-
tension into those territories. The Free-soil party cut a
considerable figure in politics 1852-56, but practically
merged into the Republican party by i860.
Freeze-out (Am.), a variety of the game of Poker.
Freeze to (Am.), to attach oneself strongly to another per-
son.
Fremit (Old Eng.), strange, unneighborly.
French cream (Eng.), brandy.
French leave, "to take" (Eng.), to go away without obtain-
ing permission.
Fresh, slightly intoxicated.
Fresh (Am.), said of a man who thinks he knows every-
thing and who talks freely and pushes himself forward.
Freshet (Am.), a sudden rise in a stream or river.
Freshman, a college or university student in his first year.
Frijoles (Sp.), beans.
Friendly lead, a gathering at an English public house of
the lower order, which combines in itself features of busi-
ness, convivial and social character. Jones, it may be as-
sumed, is either in or has just come out of trouble trouble
with the law, that is. His friends hold a session at a pub-
 FRIFUL 117

lie hou&e where songs are sung, fishy stories told and a con-
tribution taken upfor the benefit of the troubled one. This
is done by one of the organizers of the meeting "leading"
off, as a deacon fattens the plate before handing it around
the church, and the visitors follow the "lead" thus set.
Frills (Am.), "to put on frills" is to make considerable show
on small justification.
Frisk (Eng.), to search.
Frisk a cly, to rob a pocket.
Frog (Eng.), a policeman.
Frog's march (Eng.). Drunken or disorderly persons who
decline to walk to the station house are given the frog's
march. Four policemen seize each a leg or an arm and the
victim is thus marched along, face downwards.
Frolic (Am.), a party or social gathering.
From soda to hock (Am.). See Hock supra.
Frontispiece, the face.
Front name, a Christian or "given" name.
Frow, a woman or wife. From the German frau; Dutch
Vraww^ a housewife.
Frowsy, dirty, slatternly, untidy.
Frump (Eng.), a slatternly old woman. Sometimes ap-
plied to a prim elderly lady ; the feminine equivalent of
what would be an "old fogey." See Fogby ante.
Frying-pan, a large, old fashioned watch.
Fudge, nonsense, bosh. See The Vicar of Wakefield,
Fudge, to fudge a day's work is to pretend to be working
while really "sojering." The word comes from the Gaelic
Fugg^ deception.
Full, intoxicated; "full as a goose" or a tick, or a score of
other things.
Full against. When a bookmaker has laid all the money
ii8 FULFUR
he cares to against a certain horse he announces that he is
"full against him."
Fullams or Fulloms, false dice (Shakespeare). Obsolete
now.
Full blast, in good going order. Derived from the technol-
ogy of the steam engine.
Full feather, good condition, high spirits. A
person well-
dressed is said to be in full feather, otherwise in Full
FIG, {q. V.)
Full fig. In uniform or full dress. See fig ante.
Full of Beans (English stable slang), said of one whom
prosperity has rendered offensive and bumptious.
Full team (Am.), a powerful man.
Full tilt, at a great pace.
Full swing^, very fast.
Fully ( Eng. ), "to be fullied," fully committed for trial. The
invention of a penny-a-liner in order to swell his report.
The prisoner can be no more than committed anyhow.
Funeral (Am.), "it is none of my funeral.;" no business of
the person speaking.
Funk, cowardice. To funk is to be afraid.
Funk, to smoke out, or to terrify.
Funny-bone (Eng.), the extremity of the elbow. Possibly
because of its connection with the humerus. See Crazy-
BONB.
Furrow (Am.), "to draw a straight furrow" is to mind one's
own business and to work straight along.
Gab (Old Eng.), talk. "Gift of the gab," loquacity.
Gabble (Old Eng.), to talk rapidly.
Gaby (Am.), a simpleton.
Gad (Eng.), a stick with a sharp point used for driving cat-
tle; a goad.
Gad (Eng.), to go about purposelessly. Gad- about is a
woman who attends to the business of everyone else to the
neglect of her own and that of her family.
Gaff (Eng.), a play-house of the lowest order, admission to
which is generally one penny or two pence.
Gaffer (Eng.), master. Probably from Grandfather and
often applied by rustics to an old man.
Gaffing (Eng.), tossing. See Jeffing.
Gag, to hoax.
Gag: (Eng.), a lie.
Gag, language introduced by an actor and not found in Ihe
play as written. Designed to tickle the ears of the ground-
lings.
Galeny (Old Eng.), from gallinaceous, applied to any fowl,
but chiefly to the guinea-hen.
Galanty sbow (Eng.), from gallant or gallantry; an exhi-
bition which black figures are exhibited on a white
in
sheet to the accompaniment of the showman's "patter."
Gale (Am.), a state of excitement.
Gall (Am.), impudence, otherwise known as **cheek."
Galley yam (Sea slang), a doubtful story.
iij)
120 GAL GAM
Gallimaufry (Sea slang), a stew made up of scraps from
the cook's galley.
Gallinipper (Am.), an insect resembling a mosquito.
Gallipot (Old), a druggist or apothecary.
Gallivant (Old Eng.), to wait upon the ladies.
Gallows bird, a young thief one likely to bring up on the
gallows.
Gallus, an adjective used in England in the sense of "very,"
as "gallus poor," "gallus bad grub." Never a very com-
plimentary term.
Galluses, braces or suspenders.
Galoot (Am.), a man; not a complimentary term. Jim
Bludsoe, in John Hay's ballad swore, that he would
"Hold her nozzle agin' the bank
Till the last galoot's ashore."
Galore (Irish, from Go Leor^ plenty), abundance. "Lashings
of whisky and tobacco galore" are the necessary concomi-
tants of a well-organized wake.
Gam (Sea slang), a visit or gossip.
Game, plucky.
Game, a trick. "What is your little game?'*
Game leg, a stiff or wounded leg.
Gamester, a gambler.
Gammer (Eng.), no doubt from grandmother, the mistress
of a house, or an old woman.
Gammon (Old Eng.), deceit, humbug. To gammon is "to
make game on."
"And 'cause he gammons so the flats
We calls him Veeping Bill."
Ingoldsby Legends.
Gammy, bad, ill-tempered.
Gamp, an umbrella; from the lamented Sairy^ friend of Mrs.
Harris, who always carried one.
 GAN GAZ 121

Gander party, a gathering of men only. See Stag party.

Gangf (Scotch), go on. "Gang your gait," go about your
business.
Gang (Am.), a gathering of men; not a complimentary
term.
Ganger (Eng.), the overseer or "boss" of a gang of laborers.
Gape-seed, something to look at. A
**country jake" visit-
ing a large city generally finds plenty of gape-seed.
Garden truck or Garden sass (Am.), vegetables.
Gargle, drink.
Gas (Am.), bounce, brag, lots of talk.
Gas-bag, a man who boasts habitually of his own doings and
importance.
Gassy, very talkative, bounceable.
Gate money, the price charged for admission to a race, fight
or other sporting event. See Gate race below.
Gate race, a race or sporting contest where the prize is only
a nominal consideration; the whole affair being gotten up
for the sake of the admission fee charged.
Gatter (Eng.), beer or more properly porter.
''Lots of gatter, quo^ she, is flowing
Lend me a lift in the family way."
Pother Prout.
Gaum (Eng.), to smear; to make dirty.
Gawky, an awkward person a fool. ;

Gay, a euphemism for dissipated. "Gay women" are wo-

men of the town. The London Punch some years ago
had a picture of two disreputables, standing under an arch-
way in thepouring rain. To the one says the other,
How long have you been gay ?"
Gazebo (Irish), a cupola or other adornment on top of a
building. Mrs. Major McDowd, in Vanity Paity found
fault with the "gazeybo" on the market-house of a Flemish
city.
 122 GAZGHO
Gazelle, "that's where the gazelle comes in ;" that explains
the cause of the occurrence. See Milk in the Cocoa-
nut.
Gear up (Am.), to harness.
Gee (Scotch), (pronounced with a hard G), to disagree with:
"Then hey! play up the runaway bride
For she has ta'en the gee."
Old Scotch Song,
Gee-whillikens, an ejaculation.
Gemmen (Cockney), contraction of gentlemen.
Gent, silver. From the French argent.
Gents, a vulgar contraction of gentleman. According to
Oliver Wendell Holmes "gents are persons who wear
pants."
Gerrymander (Am.), to manipulate legislative or congres-
sional districts for the benefit of one party and to the detri-
ment of another. In the time of Governor Gerry the
State of Massachusetts was thus served and the map of the
districts so laid out presented a fanciful resemblance to a
lizard or salamander. Gerry was charged with the work
and hence, "Gerrymander."
Get (Am.), go away.
Get a move on (Am. ), go away, move along.
Get around, to get the better of one to persuade.
;

Get there (Am.), a smart, intelligent fellow who displays

business aptitude and meets with success is said to "get
there." Sometimes he "gets there with both feet."
Get up, a person's appearance or style. "Got up regardless"
means dressed without reference to expense.
Get up and get, one who is prompt and energetic is said to
have plenty of this.
Ghost, when there is no money in the treasury to pay sala-
people say "the ghost doesn't walk."
ries theatrical The
use of the word has become general.
 GHOGIN 123

Ghost dance (Am.), a war dance introduced among the

Sioux Indians of Dakota early in 1891, those who partici-
pated wearing long shirts of fantastic appearance.
Ghost of a chance, "not having the," with no probability of
success.
Gib, a cat which has been castrated.
Gibberish (Gip.), unmeaning jargon, sometimes formed by
school boys by the insertion of extra consonants as "g" or
"1" in common words.
Gibus, an opera or crush hat, from the name of the inven-
tor.
Giff-gaff (Scotch), like "ca' me, ca' thee," means in effect
"Scratch my back and I'll scratch your back." In other
words doing something for another who rtturns the com-
pliment. "Giff-gaff" makes good friends.
Gig, "the language of," a Macaronic dialect used by eigh-
teenth century exquisites, now happily extinct.
Gig lamps, spectacles.
Giglot (Old Eng.), a silly girl.
GiIderoy*s kite, "higher than," out of sight, completely
gone.
Gills, the lower part of the face.
Gilt,money ; from the Dutch gelt.
Gilt-edged (Am.), first class, the best of its kind. Even
butter is advertised as "gilt-edged dairy."
Gimcrack (Old Eng. ), anything gaudy and easily break-
able.
Ginger (Eng.), red hair.
Gingerly, to do anything with great care.
Gingham, an umbrella.
Ginmill, a tippling house.
Gin-spinner, a dealer in spirituous liquors.
124 GIV GOA
Give, is to strike or scold. A small boy in a fight is told to
**give it" to his opponent, while his mother "gives it" to
him when he gets home.
Give away, to inform to peach or split. "That is a give
;

away" is said of a damaging admission.

Given name, a Christian name.
Give in, to surrender. To "throw up the sponge."
Give it mouth, speak up.
Give out, to fail, to be exhausted.
Give us a rest, a slang phrase of recent introduction used
when a tedious story is being told. Equivalent to You
MAKS MK TIRED.
Glaze, "to star the," to break a window, often done for pur-
poses of robbery.
Glib, the tongue. A glib talker is one who has the "gift of
the gab."
Glim, a light. "Dowse that glim," put out the light
Doubtless from glim or glimmer^ a spark.
Glimmer (Old Cant), a fire.
Globe-trotter, a traveler; one who has visited manj coun-
tries.
Glorious, intoxicated.
Glum or Glumpy, sulky, stern.
Go, used in a score of ways. "A rum go" and a "great
is
go" are curious and remarkable occurrences; "all the go"
is synonymous with "all the rage ;" "here's a pretty go"
means here's a trouble [see Ingoldsby]. The "go" at
cribbage is the last card.
Go (Eng.), a glass of gin.
Go (Am.), "to made a go of it," to make a success.
Goaliead(Sea slang), go on, proceed in a forward direc
tion.
 GOA GOI 125

Go ahead (Am.), as an adjective means advancing, pro-

gressing.
Goat, "to ride the," to be initiated into a secret society. It
isvulgarly held that a live goat is among the properties of
a masonic lodge, and that candidates have to ride him.
Gob (P. R.), the mouth. Also used for Gab, talk- Both
w^ords are from the Gaelic Gab, the mouth.
Go back on (Am.), to abandon a friend or an undertaking.
Gobbler (Am.), a turkey. '

Go by, "to give one the go by" is to cut his acquaintance.

God bless the Duke of Argryle. It is alleged that a former
Duke of Argyle, taking pity on his afflicted compatriots,
caused posts to be erected in order that those suffering
from the "Scotch fiddle," in other words the itch, might
rub their backs whenever necessary. The thankfulness of
fhe benificiaries was expressed in the exclamation.
Gods, the frequenters of the theatre gallaries, not always
the least critical part of the audience. So called from the
height at which they sit. The French term for the upper
gallery is Paradis.
God*s mercy (Eng.), ham or bacon and eggs. At country
inns, remote from a butcher, you will be told that there is
nothing in the house but God's mercy.
Go for the gloves (Eng.), to lay against a horse on the
chance of its losing, without possessing the wherewithal
to settle in the other event. Probably from the practice of
ladies betting gloves on sporting events, expecting to be
paid if they win and not to pay if they lose.
Go In, to enter for a race or any contest. "Go in and win"
is the advice given to a small boy in a street fight by inter-

ested spectators.
Going, traveling, as "the going is bad, the roads being all
mud."
^

:; I

Ai I
126 GOI GON
Going the pace, living fast; cutting a dash.
Go it (Eng.), to keep it up. To "go it strong" is applied to
a man on a drunk, who is in for a continued spree.
Go it alone (Am.), a player at euchre if satisfied that he can
make a "march" will "go it alone," in which case his part-
ner lays down his hand, and the adventurous one plays
against the other two men.
Go it blind (Am .), an expression used at the game of poker.
See Blind, ante.
Go it strong, to act energetically and vigorously.
Goldfinch, an English sovereign.
Gold-mine, any profitable investment. See Bonanza, ante.
Golden wedding (Am.), the fiftieth anniversary of a wed-
ding often celebrated by aged couples. The silver wed-
ding is the twenty-fifth anniversary.
Golly, an ejaculation used by negroes.
Gone case (Am.), said of a man who is altogether broken
up.
Gone coon (Am.), one who is completely lost or beaten.
See Coon, ante.
Gone goose (Am.), one lost beyond recovery.
Gone over to the majority, dead.
Goner (Am.), "he's a goner," means that he is lost or
ruined.
Gone under, ruined. Also used to express the supposed
whereabouts of a party deceased, who is not likely to have
taken the other route.
Gone up, lost, ruined.
Gone up Salt River or Salt Creek (Am.), is said of politi-
cians rejected at the polls.
Gone up the spout (Eng.), lost, much as one's personal be-
longings are when entrusted to the tender mercies of the
pawnbroker.
 GON GOO 137

Oonnof (Old Eng.), a thief.

Goobers, peanuts.
Good as gold, very good ; said of children.
Good as they make *ein, superlatively good.
Good as wheat (Eng.), staple, first-class.
Goods (Eng.), is applied by sports to either men or horses.
Anything which promises well or turns out satisfactory is
*'good goods,"
Good time (Am.), applied indifferently to a carouse, an en-
joyable concert or other performance, a friendly gathering
or almost anything pleasant. "Did you have a good time?"
is asked of a man returning from a vacation or of a lady
who has been to a ball.
Good woman, an English public house sign representing a
headless woman. Sometimes known as the Silent Wo-
man.
Goody, something nice to eat; children call candies and cakes
"goodies."
Goody-goody, well-meaning, but petty ; offensively pious.
Goose, a tailor's pressing iron. It is said to live on Cab-
bage (g'.v.)
Goose, "to cook one's goose," is otherwise rendered *<to set-
tle his hash," or "to give him his gruel." May be used to
characterize manslaughter or any milder form of knocking
a man out.
Goose, to hiss or condemn a play. From the anserine cus-
tom of hissing when annoyed.
Goose (Am.), "sound on the goose," a term signifying that
one is orthodox on the question at issue. Leland treats
the phrase humorously in one of his famous Ballads of
Hans Breitmann.
Gooseberry Old, his Satanic majesty. To "play Old
Gooseberry" with anyone is to do him harm.
128 GOOGOT
Gooseberry picker (Irish), one who assists fond lovers to
means of communicating; a matchmaker.
Gooseberry season (Eng.), the dull time of year in which
newspapers are filled with stories of gigantic fruits, sea-ser-
pents and other lusus naturce. Otherwise known as the
*silly season."

Goose-egrg^ (Am.), when a man scores a nought or "round

O" at any game he makes a *'goose-egg."
Gooser, a knock-out blow.
Goose-step, one of the preliminary steps in the English sys-
tem of military drill ; the ^ons asinorum of the new recruit
G. O. P. (Am.), Grand Old Party; the Republican party.
Gopher (Am.), in police language, a young sneak-thief or
associate of burglars, who is passed into a room through a
transom or window.
Gopher (Am.), in the South, the name of a rude wooden
plow.
Gospel grrinder (Eng.), a clergyman or missionary.
Gospel-shop (Eng.), a church or meeting house.
Goss (Eng.), an abbreviation of gossamer, a hat.
Gossoon (Irish), a boy or lad.
Goth, an uncivilized or uncultivated person. See Philis-
tine*
Gotham, New York City, where the wise men dwell.
Washington Irving applied the term to that city but
first
its origin is English, and dates from the time when the vil-
lagers of Gotham in Lincolnshire raked the pond to get the
moon out.
Go the big figriuro(Am.), or the whole figure, to do any-
thing on a large scale.
Go the whole hog^ (Am.), to put everything on one chance.
Go through (Am.), to complete or finish; to go through a
 GOT GRA 129

man is to *<hoId him up" and rob him. Stage and train
robbers "go through the passengers."
Go through the mill (Am.), to gain experience.
Go to grass (Am.), be off, get out.
Gouge, to cheat or defraud.
Go under, to die, to perish.
Government mule, "stupid as a," or "obstinate as a," said of
any stupid or stubborn person. The contract mules during
the Civil War tried the patience of the soldiers sorely.
Governor (Eng.), a father. In the last century applied to a
teacher in charge of a youth of good fortune, now known
as a "bear-leader." The gilded youth of England speak
of their fathers as the Governor, Pater, Old Man or Re-
lieving Officer and occasionally as "His Nibs."
Gowk (Old Scotch), a fool or silly person. Hunting the
gowk equivalent to making an
is * April fool" of one, by
sending him on a bootless errand.
Gownsman (Eng.), a University student.
Gowpen (Scotch), a double handful.
Grab, to clutch or sieze.
Grabbed, caught. See Nabbed.
Graft, work; anything done; "great graft" is anything sat-
isfactory.
Granger (Am.), a farmer. The "Patrons of Husbandry"
called the lodges "granges."
Granite State (Am.), the State of New Hampshire.
Granny's knot (Eng.), a knot which will not hold.
Grapevine (Am.), a hold in wrestling.
Grapplers, fingers.
Grass, "brought to," in the prize-ring, means a knock-down
blow.
Grass, "gone to," dead. "Go to grass," said to a trouble-
130 GRAGRE
some person, may be derived from "go to grace," which
means, of course, *'go to
" somewhere else.
Grass widow (Am.), properly Grace widow, or widow by
the grace of circumstances, a married woman living
apart from her husband. It is also applied to divorcees.
Gravelled (Old Eng.), bothered, perplexed, angry.
Gravel-rash, a scratched face caused by a fall upon the
earth.
Gray backs (Am.), body lice.
Gray mare, the better horse; the wife who *'wears the
breeches" {^ v.)
Grease (Am.), money used for bribery. See Boodlb.
Grease spot, "nothing left but a" (Am.), is said of a man
badly used up in a fight.
Greaser (Am.), a Mexican.
Greasy chin, a dinner. See Ingoldshy Legends,
Great go, the most important examination at the English
universities. The minor "exam's" are known as "smalls"
or "little go."
Great go, a success; anything which has a "boom." See
All thk go, ante.
Great unwashed (Eng.), the lower classes.
Greek (Old Eng.), a sharper.
Greek Kalends (Anc), an indefinite period; never. The
Greeks had no Kalends and the term was used in ancient
Rome in its present significance.
Green (Eng.), ignorant, inexperienced. **Do you see any-
thing green in my eye?" is an ironical inquiry often made
by cockneys.
Green (Old Eng.), fresh, simple.
Greenbacks (Am.), the paper money issued by the United
States.
 OREGRI 131

Greenbackers (Am.), the advocates of an unlimited issue of

paper money.
Green goods (Am.), counterfeit bills, doubtless from "green-
backs."
Greenbom or Greenie (Eng.), a fresh or unsophisticated
person.
Green Isle, Ireland.
Green Mountain State (Am.), Vermont.
Greet (Scotch), to weep.
Gridiron, an instrument alleged to be used in the initiation
of candidates to secret societies. "On the gridiron" means
"roasted."
Gridiron (Am.), the stars and stripes.
Grief, "to come to" (Eng.), to meet with an accident, phys-
ically or financially.
Griffin {Yx, grifon)^ a mulatto.
Griffin or GrifF, a term applied in India to a newly arrived
cadet, probably because the inexperienced consider a griffin
as one of the indigenous animals of that country.
Grind (Eng.), daily toil or study; also a walk. Mr. Man-
talini in Nicholas Nickelby objected to the "demnition
grind" of his daily life.
Grinder (Eng.), a tooth.
Grinder (Eng.), a university tutor or Coach (y. v.)
Grin in the sack, or in the basket (Fr.), to be beheaded.
The head of a guillotined person falls into a basket
Grip, "to lose one's" (Am.), to lose control of anything or to
fail in business or other effort.
Grist to the mill, anything which brings in money.
Grit (Am.), pluck, sand, spirit.
Grit, in Canadian politics, a member of the Liberal party.
Grizzle, to fret or cry.
133 GRiGRU
Grizzled, light or brown hair turning gray. Dark hair in
such a case is known as Iron-gray (j'. v.)
Grog, spirits and water. Said to be derived from an old
English naval officer named Grogram, who mixed his
liquor in that fashion. Seven-water grog is where the
milder liquor predominates largely.
Grogr blossoms, the rubicund facial appearance resulting
from hard drinking.
Groggery (Am.), a low-class tavern or grog-shop.
Groggy, a prize-fighter who is unsteady on his limbs, or a
horse *weak on his pins" is said to be groggy.
Grounder (Am.), at base-ball, a ball which is struck low or
flies near the ground.
Ground floor, on the" (Am.), to be admitted into a
"let in
speculation or scheme on even terms with the original pro-
jectors.
Grouty (Eng.), crabbed, surly.
Growler (Eng.), a four-wheeled cab. Supposed to be from
the dissatisfied mood in which the driver is invariably found
when settling time comes.
Grub, food.
Grubbing-ken, a cook-shop, hotel or restaurant.
Grubby, dirty.
Grub-stake (Am.), food and other necessaries furnished to
prospectors in the mining districts by men who share in the
profits of a mine, if one is found by the men they back.
Grub street, in the eighteenth century the abiding place of
London writers and booksellers' hacks.
Gruel, "gave him his," to kill a man. In the prize ring to
knock him out for good.
Grundy, Mrs., the embodiment of feminine public opinion.
"What will Mrs. Grundy say ?" is taken from a last century
play.
 GUEGUS 133

Gaess, in the United States has many significations. It

means to believe, to surmise, to fancy, and even (but im-
properly ) is used as an affirmation of certainty. Shakespeare,
Chaucer, Coleridge, and Byron among the great English
writers use the vv^ord in the sense in which it is now ac-
cepted in England, that of conjecture. The American
usage, as "I guesss not" (imperative) or "I guess I'll go,**
/: c, "I think,'* is slang, for it is not good English.

Ouillotine or Axe, the weapon which descends on politi-

cians whose friends and party fail of election.
Gulch (Am.), a deep ravine caused by the action of water;
sometimes with a stream flowing through it.
Gulf (Old Eng.), the throat.
Gulfed (Eng.), university slang for a man who fails to take
honors. See Plucked or Ploughed.
Gull, to cheat or deceive.
Gully (Scotch), a pocket-knife. See Bums, Death and
Doctor Hornbook.
Gum (Am.), to impose on.
Gummy, thick, fat.^

Gump, a foolish fellow ; a dullard.

Gumption, sense. Much used in Yorkshire, England, and
in New England.
Gums, india-rubber overshoes.
Gun (Am.), a revolver.
Gunner's daughter, "marrying the** (sea slang). Boys
in the navy ordered for punishment were formerly lashed
to the cannon so as to give the boatswain*8 mate a good
chance at them ; hence the term. See Marryatt*8 works.
Gush, nonsense, sentiment. The kind of literature found in
and periodicals designed for young ladies.
"society'* papers
Gusher (Am.), a flowing oil-welL
134 [GUTGYP
Gut scraper, a fiddler. See Bums in The Jolly Beggars,
Gutter lane, the throat.
Gutter-snipe, a street loafer.
Guttle. See Guzzle.
Guy, a fright; an ill-dressed person. Derived from the ef-
figies ofGuy Fawkes which are carried in London streets
on the 5th of November in remembrance of the Gunpowder
Plot.
Guy, to make fun of; to'roast or "josh" a person.
Guzzle, to eat or.drink to excess.
'There was guzzling Dick and guttling Ned,
And likewise was little Billee."
Sea Song.
Gyp, an undergraduate's servant at Cambridge University,
England. Said to be derived from the Greek gyps, a vul-
ture. Their congeners at Oxford are known as Scouts
 H
Habitan (Fr.), a small landed proprietor in Canada.
Hack (Am.), a common carriage. In England a hone used
for riding, as a "park hack" or a *'cover hack."
Hack, "booksellers," a literary man who does general work
for a publisher.
Hackle (Eng.), pluck; "to show hackle" is to be willing to
fight. Hackles are the long feathers on the back of the
neck of a domestic cock, which he erects when angry.
Haddock ( E ng. ) , a purse.
Hair of the dog, a drink taken in the morning after an over-
night debauch, on the principle of similia similibus curan-
tar. "Hair of the dog, good for the bite."
Hair-splittingr, finding foolish and trumpery arguments.
Haifa bean (Eng.), half a sovereign; ten shillings.
Half a couter (Eng.), half a sovereign. From the Gripsy
cuta^ a gold coin.
Half ahogr (Eng.), sixpence.
Half and half (Eng.), a mixture of mild ale and porter.
Haifa stretch (Eng.), six months in prison, A
"stretch"
is a year.
Half a tusheron, half-a-crown, English money.
Half baked (Eng.), soft witted; doughy.
Half bull (Eng.), half a crown; two shillings and sixpence.
Otherwise "two bob and a bender" or "half a dollar."
Ete.lfKM>cked "to go off" (Am.), to start before one is

ready.
136 HALHAN
Half mourning (Eng.), a black eye. Where both optics
are discolored it is known as "deep grief."
Half seas over (Old Eng.), drunk.
Hamfatter (Am.), or more briefly "ham," a tenth-rate actor
or variety performer.
Hand, "a cool hand," a person with plenty of assurance.
Sometimes *'a cool bird."

Hand (Eng.), a workman or helper, as a "factory hand."

Hander (Eng.), a second or assistant.

Handicap (Eng.), the adjustment of competitors in a race

according to their ages, lecorded speed, or supposed capac-
ity, so as to as nearly as possible equalize them.

Handle (Eng.), the nose.

Handle, to manage; to overcome.
Handle "to fly off the" (Am.), to lose one's temper.
Handle to one's name (Eng.), a title.
Handling (Eng.), at cards, means the concealment of valua-
ble cards for the purpose of cheating.
HAnd-me-downs (Eng.), second-hand clothes, or slop- made
garmets.
Hand out (Am.), a cold lunch given to a tramp.
Hand-running, consecutively.
Hang (Am.), "to get the hang of," to acquire the knack of
doing anything.
Hang around (Am.), to loiter about or loaf.
Hanging (Eng.), said of one in difficulties; a man to whom
any change must be an improvement.
Hang it up, to obtain credit. Equivalent to "put it on the
slate" or on the ice.
Hangman's wages, thirteen pence half penny of English
money.
 HANHAR 137

Hangout (Eng.), to reside. "Where do you hang out?"

"your sign" being implied.
Hang- up (Am.), to pawn.
Hang up (Am.), to rob with violence on the street. See
Hold up.
Hannah, "that's what's the matter with" (Am.), an expres-
sion used to corroborate an asseveration, expressive of cer-
tainty.
Hansel Handsel (Old Eng.), the first money taken in on
or
any day. The vendor generally spits on the coin for luck.
Happy as a clam (Am.), a New England simile for joy ful-
ness.
Happy-go-lucky (Eng.), careless; indifferent to fortune.
Hard case (Am.), a dissipated man; a tough.
Hard-headed, obstinate.
Hard lines (Old), hardship, poverty. Lines is the equiva-
lent of lot; thus in the Bible: "The lines have fallen unto
me in pleasant places."
Hard mouthed 'un (Eng. stable slang), a difficult person to
manage, like a hard-mouthed horse.
Hard pan, the rock which lies below the surface soil the ;

foundation or bottom. "Getting down to hard pan" is get-

ting down to business.
Hard pushed, in difficulties; short of money.
Hard row to hoe (Am.), a difficult task to perform; analogy
drawn from work in the corn or cotton field.

Hard run, in want of money.

Hard shell, a variety of Baptists, who consider themselves
the only orthodox crowd.
Hard stufif, money. Also applied to whisky.
Hard tack, ship biscuit. Soft Tommy is fresh bread.
Hard-up, poor and in distress.
138 HARHEA
Hard-up, a fellow who picks up stumps of cigars from the
gutters.
Hare-brained, reckless, foolish. The hare is credited with
little wisdom.

Harris, Mrs., the mythical friend of Sairy Gamp, whom

she quoted on all occasions. See Martin Ckuzzlewit.
Harry or Old Harry, the Devil. "To raise Old Harry" is
to create a disturbance.
Harum-scarum, wild, reckless.
Hash, a mess, confusion. To "hash up" is to jumble to-
gether.
Hash, "to settle one's" is to finish him.
Hatchet, "to bury" or "to dig up" (Am.). When Indians
are about to go to war they are said to dig up the war
hatchet; after peace is made the symbolic weapon is buried
again.
Hatchet, "to throw the," to tell lies. See Long bow.
Hawbuck (Eng.), a clodpole or greenhorn; an ignorant
country fellow.
Hawkeye State (Am.), Iowa.
Hawse-holes, "to come in through," to begin on board a
ship as an ordinary seaman instead of "coming on board
through the cabin windows," as the "middies" are said to
do.
Haze (Eng.), to bully or annoy a subordinate or a freshman
at college."Hazing" has caused much trouble at West
Point Academy and at different universities.
Hazy (Eng.), half drunk; also dull, stupid.
Header (Eng.), a plunge foremost into the water. In the
"tank drama" at theatres of the transpontine order the hero
takes sensational "headers" into the water to the great de-
light of the gallery "gods."
 HEAHEE 139

Head or tail, I can't make head or tail of it," 1. ., cannot

understand.
Head like a sieve ( Am.),8aid of one which holds no knowl-
edge.
Head-rails (Eng.), teeth.
Head seragr, the master or overseer; anyone m authority.
Derived from the Hindu serang^ for boatsw^ain.
Heap, a heap of people," a number. "Struck all of a
heap," astonished.
Heat, in horse-racing, a round or turn. Mile heats, best
three in five, means, for instance, that the horses trot or run
in each turn one mile, the losers dropping out and the win-
ners finally settling the race between them.
Heave, to throw.
Heavies (Eng.), the heavy dragoon regiments.
Heavy, large a "heavy" amount.
;

Heavy-weight, a pugilist of the first rank.

Heavy wet (Eng.), malt liquor, especially stout or porter.
Hedge, in the language of the betting ring means to secure
oneself from loss over one bet by making another or several
others. Thus, early in the racin^' season, backs the A
horse Highflyer at 50 to i
say $1,000 to $20. The horse
from one cause or another is made a favorite and starts at
4 to I against him. A then lays that price, $80 to $30,
against Highflyer. If the horse wins A
receives $1,000
and has to pay out $80. If the horse loses A receives
$20 and has to pay out $20. If he has backed several
horses which appreciate enough to enable him to t'hedge"
properly he may "stand to win" on any one of them and
not lose in any case. This is known as Standing on
Velvet, (^. z>.)
Heeled, armed or provided for.
Heeler, the backer of another, as of a gambler or a striker*
A heeler also "stakes" gamblers who are "dead broke."
I40 HEE HIG
Heels, "two for his heels," two points taken in cribbage by
the dealer who turns up the jack.

Heel-taps, small quantities of wine left in the bottoms of the

glasses.
Heft (Am.), weight. To heft anything is to lift it. A
"hefty" man is a heavy, chunky fellow; a man of his
hands.
Hell, a gambling house, formerly divided into **gold*' and
"silver" hells.
Hell and Tommy, utter destruction.
Help (Am.), a domestic servant or hired hand.
Helter-skelter, confused ; without order or precedence.
Hemp cravat, the hangman's noose.
Hempen garter, the hangman's rope.
Hempen widow (Old Cant), the widow of one who has
been hanged.
"In the box of a stone jug I was bom,
Of a hempen widow the kid forlorn.
Nix my dolly, pals. Fake away,"
Ainsworth.
Hen convention (Am.), a gathering of women for political
or social purposes.
Henpecked (Eng.), said of one who permits his wife to
have everything her own way.
Herring-pond (Eng.), the sea. "Gone across the pond,"
transported.
Hey, Rube (Am.), the rallying cry of circus employees when
attacked by outsiders. The Guelfs and Ghibellines rallied
their followers by the cries "Hie Waiblingen," "Hie
Welf."
Hiding, a thrashing. "Tanning the hide," beating severely.
Higgledy-piggledy, confusedly, all of a heap, as pigs lie.
 HIGHIT 141

Hlgrhbinder (Am.), a class of Chinese in San Francisco

who blackmail gamblers and prostitutes, and who '"remove'*
by the knife or pistol those who incur the enmity of their
organization.
High Church, the ritualistic or Puseyite party in the Angli-
pan or Episcopalian church. Low churchmen are the so-
called Evangelicals, who affect little respect for forms
which they pronounce papistical.
High, *'how is that for high?" an inquiry often made a few
years ago on all occasions, but now out of date, Meaning
it has none.
High (Am.^, *'too high for his nut," beyond one's reach;
above his oend.

Highfalutin' ^ Am.), showy, stuck up, affected ; high^ound-

ing, bombastic.
High-flyer, one who lives well, spends money freely, and
goes in for society and life in general.
High jinks ( Scotch ) , a jollification. See Scott in Guy Man-
nering.
High-kicker, a ballet dancer.
Hlghlows (Eng.), laced boots.
High-roller (Am.), a fast liver; one who gambles freely
and for large sums.
High-toned (Am.), aristocratic, stylish, fashionable.
Hill of beans, "not worth a," used to express absolute
worthlessness.
Hipped, low spirited, dull, hypochondriacal.
Hire a hall (Am.), advice offered to a man who talks too
long to suit his audience.
His nibs, anyone in authori^, from President to Police Court
Justice.
Bitch, a difficulty; a knot tied in a rope.
142 HITHOE
Hitched (Am.), mirried. From the hitching necessary for
harness. Where the couple do not agree they are said "not
to hitch."
Hitch up, to harness wagon or buggy.
horses to a
Hit the pipe (Am.), smoke opium. Opium "joints" are
to
found in most large cities where Chinese and others "hit the
pipe" until reduced to insensibility.
Hoax, to deceive, was originally Cant and is a corruption of
Hocus, (j-. V.) The word is now, however, given in
standard dictionaries.
Hob and nob, to drink together.
Hobble, "in a," in trouble.
Hobbled, fastened as horses are, by the feet.
Hobbledehoy, a youth in his callow stage; neither man nor
boy.
Hobson's choice, that or nothing; take it or leave it. From
the name of a livery stable keeper in the town of Cambridge
who insisted on his customers always taking the horse
nearest the stable door, no matter what their preference
might be.
Hock (Am.), the last card remaining in the deal-box at faro.
The soda card is the top card of the deck when the cards
are placed in the dealing-box. Hence the phrase "from
Soda to Hock," (^. v.), equivalent to from Alpha to Omega.
Hocus, to drug for the purpose of robbery. To hocus a
horse is to poison him.
Hocus-pocus, cabalistic words used by gipsies and conjurers,
and supposed to be a corruption of Monkish Latin.
Hodge (Eng.), generic name for a countryman. Sometimes
Giles is used in the same sense, both being common names
among the rural population.
Hoe-cake (Am.), a cake made of corn-meal unleavened and
baked in the ashes on the side of a hoe.
 ^

HOEHOO 143

Hoe-down (Am.), a negro dance; same as Breakdown,

{q, V.)
Hoe one's own row (Am.), to do one's appointed task, as in
work in the corn or cotton field.
Hog (Eng.), a shilling.
Hogrged (Eng.), is said of a horse's mane, cut so as to stick
up like a hog's bristles. Roached is the American equiv-
alent.
Hog wallow (Am.), a sink hole or mud spring on the prai-
rie where the hogs delight to roll.
Hogwash, worthless newspaper matter, otherwise known as
slush, swash and flub-dub.
Hoisting, shoplifting.
Hold on (German Halt a),stop.
Hold out (Am.), an apparatus used by gamblers for the pur-
pose of cneating by "holding out" desirable cards.
Hold your horses, go easy don't become excited.
;

Hole in a ladder; a man unable to see one is either very

stupid or very drunk.
HoUow, "to beat hollow," to excel.
Holt, "to take," to take hold.
Homely (Am.), not handsome; plain in appearance. In
England the word means homelike, plain, unpretending.
Honunock or Hununock, a small elevation or knob of land,
Hummocky ice is that which has been elevated by the
winds or waves above the other ice. ~y ' '

Homo {^Lingua Franca)^ a man, from the Latin.

Honey-fugle, to cheat or deceive; to delude by means of fine
phrases.
Honor bright (Eng.), an asseveration of truth.
Hoodlum (Am.), a tough or street loafer. The name orig-
inated in San Francisco .
144 tiOOHOR
Hoodoo, a hegto phfase nlgtiHjitig that a person or thifl^
has been bewitched. Anything or any person may be a
hoodoOj"that is, have the power to bring bad luck, just as
any person or thing may be a Mascot (j-. v.), and bring
good luck.
Hooky "on his own hook," doing business for himself.
Hook it or Slitig- your hook (Eng.), go away. Compare
Git (Am.)
Hooks, fingers.
"Then his dies my
hooks I throw in,
And collarhis dragons clean away."
S/atiiff sfftig by Father Promt.
Hooks, "dropped off the," dead.
Hook or crook, "by," by fair means or foul.

Hookey (Am.), to play truant. English boys say "playing

the wag."
Hoosier (Am.), an Indiana man.
Hop (Am.), a dance.
Hop merchant, a dancing master.
Hopping mad (Am.), exceedingly angry, mad enough to
hop about.
Hop the twig, to die. See "Kick the bucket," "Peg out,"
etc.
Horn (Am.), a drink of spirits.
Horn (Am.), "in a horn," as appliedto any statement means
the exact reverse of the words spoken. The English
equivalent is Over thb left {q. v.)
Horaie or Aiild Horaie (Scotch), the devil.
Homswoggle (Am.), to cheat. See Shenanegan and
Skullduggery.
Horror*, low spirits, inciptefit delirium tremens^ otherwise
known as D. T.
 HOTl HOW i45

Horse (Eng.}^ t* flog, from the old wooden horse used as a

flogging stool.
Horse and horse or Horse atid ( Am.)y in throwing poker
dice when each player wins one throw; the third horse de-
cides the game.
Horseback, in miner's parlance, a fault in a seam of coal.

Horse^haunter (E>ng.), a horse

lo\*r.clas9 dealer who
chaunts the praises of some miserable screw.
Horse marine (Am.), an awkward person. Sailors have
little respect for iiiarines.
Horse nails (Eng.), money.
Horse on me (Am.), one against the speaker. See Horse
AND HoRSft.
Horse sense (Am.), d very desirable quality; good, sound,
practical common-sense.
Horsey (Eng.), like a groom or jockey. iWen vvhose talk
is of the turf and of little else.

!d[oss (Am.), corruption of horse. "Old Hoss" is a term of

endearment. An Englishman calls a horse a "hoss."
hotfoot, pursuit on the moment. Or to get away in a
hurry.
Hot coppers (Eng.), fever in the mouth and throat follow-
ing an overnight debauch.
Houses, "safe as" (Eng.), certain; real estate and buildings
being held to be a safer investment than any other form of
property.
House-warming, an entertainment given to celebrate settle-
ment in a new house.
How? lor "What did you say?" is a common New England-
ism.
How came you so, intoxicated.
Howdie (Scotch), a midwife.
146 HOWHUM
Howdy, a provincialism for "How do you do?"
Howisthatfor liigrli? (Am.), an inquiry often made now-
a-days in regard to practically any happening.
Hubble-bubble, a hookah or water-pipe.
Hub of the Universe (Am.), the city of Boston.
Huckster, a peddler.
Hue and cry, to follow a fugitive criminal with a hastily-
summoned posse.
HufT, a dodge or trick.
Huff, in the game of draughts means the penalty for not tak-
ing an opponent's piece when the game requires it. The
Scotch say "blow."
Huff, to vex or offend. Huffy means short-tempered.
Hugger-mugger, all mixed up. Also to hush up or to plot
clandestinely.
Hulking, a hulking brute is a big ruffian, such as hang about
street corners.
Human (Am.), for human being; a man. A term much
used in the United States.
Hum and haw, to hesitate or to raise objections of a trivial
character.
Humble pie, to eat ; to give in or be submissive.
Hum-box (Old Eng.), a pulpit. "Old Cotton humming his
pray."
Humbug, an imposition ; a fraud. The word came first into
use about the middle of the eighteenth century. The game
of double-dummy whist was formerly known as humbug.
It is probably derived from ambiguous.
Humdrum, tedious, monotonous.
Humming, as applied to ale means strong. Probably from
the humming which follows strong potations.
in the ears
Hummock (See HoMMocK,a;i/e), small elevations on the
prairie.
 HUMHU3 147

Hmnp, **having the hump," out of sorts, annoyed, low-spir-

ited. "It gives me the hump."
Hump up, "to have one's," to be cross or ill-tempered, as a
cat sets its back up when annoyed.
Hunch (Eng.), a piece of anything.
Hunch, to push or jostle.
Huugr beef, that is hung up in the sun to dry.
which
Hunk (See Chunk) a large piece or lump.
Hunk (Dutch ^0>&), the goal or home in a child's game.
Thence applied to mean safe.
Hunkers (Am.), a section of the Democratic party in New
York State forty or more years ago. See Barnburners,
ante.
Hunki-dori (Am.), all right.
Hunks, "Old Hunks," a miser.
Hunky (Am.), "all hunky," good, jolly, all right.
Hurdy-gurdy, an alleged musical instrument worked by a
crank, and known in Italy as the "viola."

Hurly-burly (Old Eng.), noise, confusion. See Macbeth.

Hurrah, a noisy expression of delight. *On a hurrah"
means on a triumphant drunk.
Hurry up (Am.), hasten. Within the last twenty years
the expression has largely supplanted the old-fashioned
"make haste" in England.
Husband's tea (Eng.), very weak tea, such as a man gets
who comes late to the table.
Hush-money, blackmail.
Hush-shop (Eng.), a place where liquor is sold on the quiet
and without a license.
Hush up, be silent; be quiet.
Husky (Am.), stout, well-built
148 HUS-.-HYP
QuflSf (Eng.), ftni^probrious term applied to a girl. Orig-
inally its character stood much higher than now, being
identical with housewife.
Hustler (Am.), one who i^ energetic ^nd pushing in busi-
ness Otherwise a Rustj.er.
Hypocrites, pillow-shams; false covers for pillows.
Hyps, blwe 4evil8, ^yp^ED or Hipped, out of sprtg.
 I

nk (O, E,yiJk "the same*'), an old form found both m Eng-

lisn and Scotch, meaning the same. Thus,Chaucer has
this "ilk worthe knight" and "that ilk man." It is still not
unknown in Scotland in connection with family desigpia-
tions; thus,"Kinloch of that ilk" means "Kinloch of the es-
tate" of the same name, or "Kinloch of Kinloch." Often ig-
norantly used to mean "of that description," as in "carpet-
baggers and politicians of that ilk."
HI, in England a person in bad health is "ill;" in this country
he is always "sick," even if his trouble arises from a broken
leg.
In, to be in with one is to be on terms of intimacy or friendship
with him.
Infkntry, young children.
Influence (Am.), the peculiar "inflooence" possessed by pol-
iticians and used to obtain office. See Pull.
In for it, in trouble.
Ingle (Old Eng.), the chimney comer.
In it, is a recent English coinage and is about equivalent to
"In the swim," which it has practically supplanted.
Inkslinger (Am.), a writer or editor.
Innings (Eng.), good fortune, a run of luck. "He has had
a long inning" is said of a man who dies in the fullness of
years. Taken from the cricket field.
Inside lining, food.
Inside of (Am.), within; in less time than.
Inside track, the position nearest the rail on a race-track,
>49
I50 INTISH
desirable as keeping close to it shortens the distance which
has to be traversed.
Interesting situation, "as ladies wish to be who love their
lords."
In the heart of the city, to be at home; to succeed.
In the soup (Am.). This expression originated about 1888
and is applied to any unsuccessful politician who "gets
left" or who of old was said to be "Sent up Salt River,"
{g. V.)
In the straw, a vulgar expression to signify a woman in
child-bed. Possibly from the Nativity, when the Holy
Child was laid in the manger.

In the swim, in society, or in with sporting men with regard

to some coming event. To be "playing in good luck."
In touch with (Eng.), in sympathy, or having a full knowl-
edge.
Invite (Am.), a vulgar corruption of "invitation" used by
parvenu society people.
Inwick and outwick, at the game of curling, signify the
peculiar "twist" or "side" given to stones by the player,
and which causes them to pass inside or outside of stones
which lie between them and the goal or *'tee."
Irish apricots or Irish lemons, potatoes. See Bog
ORANGES, ante.
Irish, "to get one's Irish up," to become angry. To get
one's Dutch up means the same thing.
Iron-gray, black hair turning gray.
Iron horse, a locomotive.
Irons in the fire, schemes for making money ; varied occu-
pations.
I should smile ot snicker or murmur, vulgarisms much in
use to signify acquiescence with a statement made. "Are
 ITEIVO 151

you going to the picnic?" "Well, I should smile." A

littleof this goes a long way, but scores of expressions
of this character are in use, so some reference to them is
necessary.
Item, knowledge of; to get item is to obtain information.
Ivories, teeth. Aset of teeth is a box of "Ivories" or Dom-
INOBS. "Rinse your ivories" means take a drink.
Jab, to strike or thrust.
Jabber, to talk fast. From Ji66 oxjabh (Gip.), the tongue.
Jack, the knave in cards.
Jack and half jack, imitation gold coins used by swindlers
to convey the idea that they have lots of money.
Jacked up (Eng.), done for, knocked out.
Jacket, the skin of a potato.
Jacketingr, a thrashing.
Jackey (Eng.), gin.
Jack In office, an official who presumes above his position.
Jack in the box, a tool used by burglars to break open
safes.
Jack Ketch (Eng.), the common hangman, from the name
of a public executioner in England in the seventeenth cen-
tury. The corresponding functionary in France is known
as Monsieur de Paris,
Jack of all trades, one who has a smattering of several
branches of knowledge.
Jackpot (Am.), in the game of poker, is where the game
cannot be opened except by a player who holds a pair of
jacks or better.
Jack Robinson, "before you can say" (Eng.), presumably
means in a great hurry, but who Robinson was is as much
a mystery as the identity of the man who struck Billy Pat-
terson, and why one should say Jack Robinson is equally
mysterious.
Jack Sprat, a diminutive person.
 JAC-JAY ,53

Jack Tar, a saflor.

Jacqnes Bonlionimo, a countryman. The French equiva-
lent for the English Hodge as applied to a rustic.
Jade, an uncomplimentary term applied to a girl. Like
hussy, knave and some other Old Saxon words it once had
a milder meaning.
Jagr (Am.) a decided and emphatic drunk; a load. The
word, now unused in England, is still used by the descend-
ants of the Puritans in the East, where a jag (load) of hay is
often spoken of. In Norfolk, England, according to Grose,
a jag was a load or parcel of any kind.
Jail-bird, one who has "done time."
Jam (Eng.), an obstruction, as a jam of logs or of ice in a
river.
Jam (Eng^, anything nice. A pretty girl is "real jam."
See also Tart.
Jamboree (Am.), a spree.
Jam up, Same as "bang up" or **8lap up."
good, prime.
James, an English sovereign or pound sterling.
Jargon, involved language of a barbarous character.
Jark (Old Cant), a seal, or a pass, or safe conduct.
Jarvey (Eng.), a coachman.
Jasey or Jazey (Old), a wig.
Jaw, to talk. "Hold your jaw;" "What are you jawing
about?"
Jawbone, credit To live on jawbone is to "stand off' one's
creditors.
Jawbreaker, a long word or one difficult to pronounce.
Jawtwister means the same.
Jay (Am.), a countryman or greenhorn.
Jayhawker (Am.), an irregular (very irregular) cavalry-
man who performed for the Confederacy services very
154 JEA-JEW
similar to those rendered by the "bummers" to the Union
forces. The jayhawker was a guerilla by nature, a thief
by practice and often a murderer and pillager.
Jeames, generic name for an English "flunkey" or liveried
servant. See Thackeray, Memoirs of yeames De la
Pluche.
Jeff, in printer's slang, to gamble by throwing "quads."

Printers will "jeflP* for anything for the choice of the first
"take" on the hook or for the beer, or their week's wages.
Jehu, a driver. From Jehu, the son of Nimshi, who "drove
furiously."
Jeminy or Jimminy crikes (Eng.), a vulgar expression of
surprise.
Jeiuiny (Eng.), a sheep's head.
Jemmy and Jessamy, a pair of "spooning" lovers.
Jemmy ducks (Sea term), the man who takes care of the
poultry and other live stock on board ship.
Jemmy or Jimmy, a short crowbar, used by burglars.
Jeremy Diddler, an adept at borrowing. From a character
in the farce of Raising the Wind,
Jerked meat (Am.), that dried in the open air. Probably
from the Spanish Chargui.
Jerry, a watch. "Jerry nicking" is making a bold snatch
at a watch chain and running ofE with the "super."
Jerry shop (Eng.), a beer shop.
Jerry sneak, a watch thief. See Jerry, ante,
Jersey lightning, bad face.
Jerusalem pony (Eng.), an ass or donkey.
Jesse, "to give one," to beat or scold him. Often incorrectly
given as "Jessie."
Jew, to beat down in a bargain; a habit of the Israelite
trader.
 JEW-JXN 155

Jew's eye, anything of great value is said to be worth a

Jew's eye, as sometimes said "a king's ransom." Shakes-
it is

peare uses the expression. See Merchant of Venice:

"There will come a Christian by
Will be worth a Jewess' eye."
Jezebel, a woman a termagant or
of indifferent character;
shrew. From the wife of Ahab, king of Israel.
Jib (Eng.), to baulk. A
Jibber is a baulky horse.
Jib, the face. "Cut of his jib," his appearance
Jibb (Gip.), the tongue. From the Hindu.
Jibe (Am.), to agree, to harmonize.
Jiffy, 'in a," on the moment, quickly.
Jiff (Am.). "The jig*s up," it is all over.
Jigger (Am.), a small measure used by barkeepers.
Jigger (Am.), the bridge or rest used in billiards.
Jigger (Eng.), a door, "dub the jigger," close the door.
Also applied by soldiers to a prison.
JifiT&cred. "I'll be jiggered," a mild form of Cockney oath.
Jim-jams, delirium tremens.
Jimmy or James (Eng.), a sheep's head.
Jingo, "by Jingo," a mild oath, said to be a corruption of
St. Gengulphus. See Ingoldsby Legends. Sometimes
"by the living Jingo." By supporters of the Basque etymol-
ogy the expression is alleged to have originated in Wales,
whither Edward I is said to have had a party of Basque
soldiers conveyed during his Welsh wars ; but "Hey Jingo"
is first met with in literature in Oldham's Satyrs upon the
yesuits (1679). Jingoism is now understood to be a sort
of British Chauvinism, and in this respect dates only from
the Russo-Turkish war of 1878. At the time there was a
strong anti-Russian feeling in London, and the most popu-
lar music-hall song of the day was a sort of doggerel threat
against Russia, beginning:
We don't want to fight, but by jingo if we do,
We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the
money, toa
156 JO-JOH
Jo (Scotch), a lover or sweetheart. "John Anderson, my
Jo."
Job or Jab, a blow with a knife or sharp instrument.
Job (Eng.), a piece of work. "A bad job," misfortune.
Job, in political phraseology, a scheme of plunder, favorit-
ism. A"put-up job" is a planned scheme.
Jobation or, more properly, Javrbation, a scolding.
Jobbery, the arrangement of unfair schemes or plans for
political plunder.
Job lot, miscellaneous goods offered at a bargain.
Job's comforter, one who reproves or brings additional
trouble instead of giving consolation. The prophet Job
had three friends of this kind and made some sarcastic re-
marks to them when they had finished talking.
Job's turkey, 'as poor as" (Am. ), hard up, thin, badly fed.
Job possessed camels and asses and a wife, but there is no
record that he owned a poultry-farm.
Jock, a jockey.
Joctelegr (Scotch), a knife.
Joe Miller, an old and oft-told story; a "chestnut." One
Joseph Miller, an English clown, is credited with the pub-
lication of a book of moss-covered jests, now in the posses-
sion of Chauncey M. Depew.
Joey (Eng.), a four-penny bit. Named after Joseph Hume,
who caused them to be coined.
Jog-trot, a slow pace, a trifle faster than a walk.
John, common name for a Chinaman in the United States.
JolinBull, generic term for an Englishman; beefy, brawny
and obstinate.
Jobn Company, the old East India Company.
Jolin Oorados (Gip.), gold coin.
Jobnny (Am.), a Confederate soldier.
 JOH-JUV 157

Johnny cake (Am.), a cake of unleavened meal baked on

the hearth.
Johnny Crapaud, old name for a Frenchman.
Johnny Raw, a greenhorn a new recruit.
;

John Thomas (See Jeames), an English footman or

"flunkey."
Joint (Am.), an opium-smoking den or gambling- house, or
any resort of bad repute is spoken of as a "joint."
Joker or liittle joker (Am.), at euchre is an additional
(53d) card which ranks as the highest trump.
Jolly (Eng), a marine.
Jolly, to speak well of a friend is to "jolly him."
Josh (Am.), to hoax, chaff or roast a person; to make fun
of him.
Joskin (Eng.), a countryman, a greenhorn.
Joss, the Chinese God, from the Spanish Dios,
Jour., a journeyman.
Jug" or Stone jug", a prison. See Spike Park.
Jugful, "not by a;" not by a good deal.
Jug-handle (Am.), anything one-sided.
Jump, "to jump on a man," to rob him by violence.
Jumper, a jacket or short coat.
Jumping a claim (Am.), to occupy by force a land or min-
ing claim rightfully belonging to another. The refuting
argument is generally a Winchester rifle.
Jumping bail (Am.), absconding while under bail.

Jumping-off place (Am.), the end of a road or railroad;

the place where civilization stops.
Jumping-up-behind, to endorse an accommodation bill,
usually an expensive luxury.
Junk (Am.), old iron, rags and other like material.
Junk, salt beef.
Junk-dealer, one who deals in old metals, rags and the like.
Juvenal (Old), a boy.
 K
Kanaka, a native of the Sandwich Islands.
Keel over, to capsize or upset.
Keep, food.
Keep it up, prolong a spree.
to
Keeps, "to play for," said by boys in playing marbles where
the winner keeps the winning*. Applied also to anything
meant in earnest.
Kelter, money. Probably from the German gelt.
Ken (Gip.), a house. Boozing or Lushing-ken, a tavern
or drinking-house. Probably from the Persian khan^ a
house or inn.
Ken (Scotch), to know.
Kenspeckle (Scotch), easily known because marked or
branded.
Ketch, Jack^ the English hangman. According to Macau-
lay a person of that name officiated as public executioner
temp Charles II. See Jack Ketch, ante.
Kettle offish (Eng.), trouble of any kind. "Here's a pretty
kettle of fish" is said of a muddle or mess.
Key of the street (Eng.), an imaginary instrument said to
be possessed by one locked out of doors.
Keystone State (Am.), Pennsylvania.
Kibosh, nonsense, stuff, humbug, palaver. To put the kibosh
on one is to deceive him. Another meaning is to put a
stop to anything.
Kick (Eng.), a pocket, purse, or pocket-book.
iS8
 KIC KIN 159

Kick (Am.), to object or protest.

Kick, "I'll be there in a kick," I'llbe there in a minute.
Kick (Eng.), sixpence. "Two and a kick" represents half
a crown.
Kicked in, smitten, mashed.
Kicked the bucket, dead.
Kick over tlie traces, to be independent of control, or to
spend money extravagantly.
Kicks, shoes.
Kicksbaw (Eng.), a made dish. See II Henry /F, v. i.
Kicksies (Eng.), trousers.
Kick up, a noise or disturbance. "To kick up a row" or
"kick up the dust.'*
Kid, a child.
Kid, to joke, chaff or hoax.
Kiddily, fashionably dressed.
Kid nap, from kid^ a child, and nah, to steal, both originally
Gipsy words and now as combined meaning to abduct or
carry away a person.
Kidney, "of that kidney," of that kind.
Kid on (Eng.), to induce a person to do anything.
Kidsman (Eng.), a trainer of young thieves.
Killock (Am.), a small anchor.
Kilter, "out of" (Am.), off the level, out of sorts.
Kimbo or A-Kimbo, holding the arms in a bent position
from the body and resting the hands on the hips.
Kimmer or Cummer (Scotch), an acquaintance or gossip*
Kincbin (Gip.), a child.
Kinchin cove (Gip.), one who robs children.
Kinchin lay (Gip.), robbing children on the streets. "Noah
Claypole" in Oliver Twist was a proficient in this art.
i6o KINKNI
Kindlings (Am.), broken wood used for lighting fires.
King-pin (Am.), the tallest pin at skittles or ten-pins. Used
by analogy to signify the chief or superior.
King's pictures or Queen's pictures (Eng.), coin.
Kink, a knot or twist.
Kinky, curly, like a negroes hair.
Kirk (Scotch), a church.
Kiss, at billiards, when two balls strike each other in the
course of their movement on the table, the stroke not being
intended by the player.
Kiss-curl or Bowcatcher, a small curl twisted on the fore-
head.
Kisser (P. R.), the mouth.
Kissing-crust (Eng.), the soft crust which marks where one
loaf has touched another in the oven.
Kiss-me-quick, a short veil ; a bonnet not now in fashion.

Kit, baggage or personal belongings. Also a "kit" of tools.

Blite-flying, raising money on accommodation bills. See

Flying Kites, ante.
Kittle (Scotch), fickle, uncertain.
Kitty, in the game of draw-poker, each player raking in a
pot with two pairs or better, or winning a jack-pot, puts a
*chip" into a hole in the table for the good of the house.
Knacker, an old and decrepit horse. Also the man who
slaughters such.
Knap (Eng.), to steal. No doubt from Nab, (^. v.)
Blnap, to receive or take.
Kjiee-high, of diminutive stature. "Knee-high to a grass-
hopper. "
Knickerbocker (Am.), a descendant of one of the old
Dutch families of New York.
 KNI KNU i6i
/
Knife (Am.), to knife a person, is to do him harm, to stab
him in character if not in person,
E[nife-board, the long seat on top of a London omnibus.
Knobstick (Eng.), a non-union workman. See Rat
Knock-down, strong ale.
Knock-down (Am.), to embezzle.
Knocked-up (Eng.), tired, played out.
Knocker, "up to the," swell, in the height of fashion.
Knocked into a cocked hat, knocked out of shape.
Knock oflF, to quit work.
Knock-out, in racing parlance, to drive a horse out of the
betting list. A bankrupt is said to be "knocked-out."
ELnock out (Am.), an arrangement by brokers at auction sales
to refrain irom competition. Anyone of the gang acquires
the coveted lots and at a subsequent sale confined to the
members of the knock-out each man has the right to bid
for the articles he wants. The proceeds are then divided
among the confederates.
Knock-out, a fight in which one of the combatants is rend-
ered senseless or is so badly damaged as to be unable to re-
spond to the call of time.
Knock under (Old), to submit.
EUnowing', sharp, shrewd, fly, sometimes dishonest.
Knowledge-box (Eng.), the head.
Know-nothings, the so-called American party, which from
1852 to 1856 cut a considerable figure in politics. They
composed a secret society and got their name from always
professing to know nothing when questioned as to the ob-
jects of the order.
Knuckle-dusters, iron or brass instruments worn on the
hands and used as a means of offence.
EInuckle under, to yield or submit.
1 62 KONKYE
Koniacker (Am.), a counterfeiter.
Kosher (Heb., right, from yashar^ to be right), pure, ac-
cording to the Jewish ordinances. Thus "Kosher meat" is
meat killed and prepared by Jews after the Jewish maner,
and so fit to be eaten by Jews.
Kotoo or Kotow^, to bow down to, to cringe or flatter. From
the Chinese ceremony where those who approach the Em-
peror do so on their hands and knees.
Kudos (from the Greek), honor, praise, reputation.
Ku-Klux-Klan, a secret society in the Southern States, now
extinct.
Kye (Scotch), cattle.
La! or Lawks, a foolish ejaculation used by women and
probably a perversion of "Lord."
Lac or Lakh (Hindu), one hundred thousand, as a "lac of
rupees."
Lace, to thrash.
Laced (Eng.), tea with something stronger in it.

Laced mutton (Old Eng.), a woman; not a complimentary

term.
Lacingr (Eng.), a beating.
Ladder, *'a hole in a," when a man cannot see this he is very
drunk indeed.
Lag (Old Eng.), to stay behind.
Lag, a returned convict.
Lagged, sent to prison or transported.
Lagger, an informer.
Lally cooler, one who is pre-eminently successful in his line; a
"daisy," a "dandy," a "darling," a "lulu."
Lam (Eng.), to beat.
Lamb, on the Stock Exchange, the unfortunate speculators
who are shorn by the luckier dealers.
Lambasting (Eng.), a beatmg.
Lambs (Eng.), roughs, loafers.
Lame duck, a bankrupt stock-jobber or broker.
Lamming, a beating.
Lamps, "under the," said of London or any other large city.
Land-K;rab, in sailor's phrase, a land-lubber.
i6i
i64 LANLAV
IJand-grabbers (Am.), people who under the forms of law
or in defiance of them get possession of the public domain
or of the property of individuals.
Land-lubber, a sailor's term for a landsman.
Land-shark, a sailor's term for a lawyer. Also applied to
the keepers of sailor's boarding-houses who rob poor Jack
through thick and thin.
Land's sake (Am.), an expression of surprise.
Lap, once around a short circular or elliptical course; so many
laps to the mile.
Lariat (Sp.), la riata)^ a rope of rawhide, hemp or sea-grass
used for catching Texas steers and mustangs. Practically
the same as Lasso, {^q. f.)
Lark, a frolic, a spree.
Larrikin, street loafers are known in Sydney, N. S. W., by
this name. In New York they are ''Broadway statues;"
in Baltimore "plug-uglies;" in San Francisco "hoodlums,"
and everywhere "rowdies."
Larrup (Irish), to beat.
Larruppin^ (Irish), a beating.
Lashins (Irish), plenty. "Lashins of whisky and tobacco
galore" are the necessary accompaniments of a well-con-
ducted "wake."
Lass or Liassie (Scotch), a girl.
Lassitudinous, a Malapropian expresion for languid, lazy.
Lasso (See Lariat, ante)^ a rope used by cowboys to catch
cattle or ponies, the noose being thrown around the ani-
mals horns or neck.
Latchpan, the lower lip.
Late Unpleasantness, the American Civil War of 1861-65.
Laiby, thin, like a lath.
Lave (Scotch) the remainder.
 LAVLED 165

LaTender, "laid up in," put carefully somewhere; in pawn

or in a debtor's prison.
liSw, "to give," to give a start as true sportsmen gfive a hare
or other animal before laying the dogs on.
liawin (Scotch), the reckoning.
Lawing, going to law.
I^ay, to bet against a horse in a race or a man in any contest.
Betters are divided into layers and backers. The Book-
maker (f. V.) lays against everything at the market odds
or less.

I^ay, a dodge; a pursuit or practice.

liay, "on the lay," a thieves term for the particular branch of
conveyancing in which they may be engaged. See Kin-
chin-lay.
liay, "What lay are you on?" What scheme or work have
you on hand.
Laying pipe, making arrangements to ensure the passage or
defeat of some measure before a legislative body. See
Pipe-laying, Wire-pulling and Log-rolling.
Lay on thick, to flatter.
Lay-out, the painted table at faro, representing the cards.
Lead, "friendly." See Friendly lead, anie.
Lean-to, an addition to a house or barn, generally of one
story, with the roof leaning against the wall of the main
building.
Lear (Scotch), learning.
Leary, flash, knowing, sly.
Leather, to thrash.
Leather (Am.), a pocketbook.
Leaving shop (Eng.), an unlicensed pawnshop.
Led captain (Eng.), a fashionable pimp. Doll Tearsheet
objected strongly to Ancient Pistol styling himself "cap-
i66 LEELEV
and said the word had become as odious as *'occupy"
tain,"
which was a good word until it became ill-sorted. See
II King Kenry IV. act ii^ sc. 4..
liCer (Gip.), a newspaper.
Leery or Leary, doubtful, uncertain. Also drunk.
Left out in the cold, neglected, shut out.
Leg", in playing cards the game is sometimes scored with
chalk marks crossed ; one "leg" of each mark being rubbed
out for each point scored.
Leg, an abbreviation of Blackleg {jj. v.), a swindler.
Leg, in seamanship, tacking; "a long and a short leg."
Leg and leg, the state of a game when each member has lost
a "leg." Same as Horse and horse, ante.
Leg-bail, "to give" to forfeit one's bail by absconding.
Leg it, to run away.
Leg piece, a burlesque or opera bouffe performance, in which
the chief attraction is the young ladies of the ballet.
Let alone, a Cockneyism for "much less.'
Let drive, to strike at.
Let her rip (Am.), let things go: move on ahead.
Let in, swindled.
Let on, to tell, to acknowledge.
Let the cat out of the hag, to divulge a secret.
Letup, a rest; a relief; to quit.
Levant, to abscond.
Levee, a reception. French, lever.
Levee (Fr.), an embankment on the side of a river, very
frequent along the lower Mississippi.
Level best, "to do one's," to go to the full extent of one's
ability.
Level-headed, of good judgment.
 LEVLIM tClf

Levy (Am.), a shilling.

liick, a blow; to lick is to thrash
liicking:, a beating.
Lickspittle, a parasite who submits to indignities for the
sake of advantages. One who "crooks the pregnant hinges
of the knee, that thrift may follow fawning."
Lie out of whole cloth (Am.), an absolute fabrication.
Lifer, a convict sentenced for life.

Lift, to steal; to pick pockets. Shakespeare uses the word.

Lifter (Old Eng.), a thief. See Troilus and Cressida !<, 2,
Lig (Old Eng.), to lie down.
Light, credit. "To get a light" is to obtmn credit, while to
have one's "light put out" is to have credit stopped. The
last expression refers also to death.
Lightmans (Gip.), the day. The Gipsy term for night is

Darkmans.
Lightning, gin. Jersey lightning is a variety of alleged
whiskey, which kills at forty rods; otherwise known as
Sudden death {g. v.)
Lightning jerker, a telegraph operator.
Lights, the lungs of animals.
Lights or Daylights, the eyes.
Light out, to run away.
Light-weight, of little importance; weak. In the prize-
ring applied to light-built pugilists below a certain weight.
Like, is used for "as;" "like I do" for "as I do." Also for
"as if" or "as though.
Like a hook, "to know one," to be well acquainted with
him ; to have studied him.
Limh, "a young limb," a troublesome child.
Limher, supple.
Limho, a prison. From the Catholic term for purgatory.
i68 LIMLIT
liimb of the Law, a lawyer's clerk or young attorney.
liine, "to get one in a," to get some sport out of him.
I^ne, "What line are you in?" calling, trade, profession.
liines (Eng.), a marriage certificate. The lady who can
"show her marriage lines" never fails to use that fact in an
argument with her opponent, who is living in concubinage.
liines (Am.), reins.
lAngo, talk or language; from the Italian lingua.
liingua-Franca, the corrupt Italian which has been em-
ployed since the period of the Genoese and Venetian su-
premacy, as the language of commercial intercourse in the
Mediterranean, especially the Levant. Any language
which serves a similar purpose, as for instance Swahili and
Haussa in Africa, and the Chinook jargon in the northwest
of the United States, is called generally a "lingua-franca."
Compare Pigeon English.
Hon (Eng.), a notable person; one whom people flock to
see as they would a menagerie.
Lion-hunter, one who hunts up and makes much of celebri-
ties or notorieties. Such as Mrs. Leo Hunter in Pickwick.
Lionize, to make much of a distinguished visitor.
Lip, impudence.
Lip, to sing.
Liquor up (Am.), to take a drink.
Lissom, relaxed, limber.
Little end of the horn, "to come out at the," to fail in an
undertaking.
Little go, the minor examinations at English universities,
known as Smalls (^. x'.)

Little Joker, the little pea under the thimble in the thimble-
rigging game.
Little William, a blU.
 LIVLOG 169

IA\e out (Am.), to be at service, to live as a domestic ser-

vant.
liive stock, vermin.
liO, applied to the aborigines, from Pope's lines:
Lo! the poor Indian, whose untutored mind.
Sees God in clouds, or hears Him in the wind.
Thus we get "Poor Lo."
Lioad, "he has a load," he is drunk.
lioafer (Dutch latifer), a lazy vagabond; an idle lounger.
liOb, a till or money drawer,
liObb, the head.
liObby (Am.), to lobby is to work among a legislative body
to influence them in favor of or in opposition to proposed
legislation. Lobbyists form a large and obnoxious class
and have much to do with the corruption of politics in the
National and State government. Women as well as men
are engaged in this business.
liOblolly, a sailor's term for gruel.
LiObloUy-boy (Sea term), a surgeon's mate or assistant.
Lobs (Gip.), words, talk.
liobscouse, a dish of potatoes, meat and sea biscuit all boiled
together.
liObsneaking', stealing from tills and money drawers.
Lobster, an English soldier is a boiled lobster from his red
coat. A policeman, who has a blue uniform, is a raw lob-
ster. It does not please a London "bobby" to ask him,
"Who stole the lobster."
Lobster-box, military barracks.
Loco-foco, a name given in 1835 *o ^ section of the Demo-
cratic party. Loco-foco matches, then recently introduced,
were used to obtain a light at one of their meetings aad
hence the name.
Locust, a policeman's club, also known as a *'hickory" from
the natture of the wood.
I70 LODLOO
liOdg'e, an Indian house, tepee or wigwam.
liOgrgerheads, "to come to," to come to blows; to quarrel.
^oggj or liOgy, stupid.
liOgr-rolUng (Am.), in the legislature means a system of co-
operation by which one member will vote for the pet meas-
ure of another in return for a like service on his own bill.
The name comes from the practice of lumbermen from dif-
ferent camps assisting each other in turn to roll their logs
to the river.
liOll, to lie around in a lazy manner.
Liolliper (Eng.), the tongue.
liOne Star State (Am.), Texas.
Liongr, in Stock Exchange language means when a man has
bought stock, grain or other goods on time which he can
call for at any time. To be Short is to sell stock which
one does not posses.
liong and short of it, the whole of anything.
liOngr bow, "to draw the," to exaggerate; to tell extravagant
stories. See Pitching the hatchet.
liOngr chalk, "not by a," not by a good deal.
liong green (Am.), counterfeit bills of large denominations.
liOng-headed, farseeing, smart, calculating.
Jjong home, the grave.
liOng odds, such odds as go to show that the man or horse or
whatever they are laid against has, or is supposed to have
little chance to win.
liOngtail, a banknote for a large amount.
Liongtails, English pheasants.
lioof (Scotch), the hand.
liook out or liooker out (Am.), an assistant to the dealer at
faro.
lioon (Am.), a foolish fellow; "stupid as a loon."
 LOOLUM 171

lioony, short for looney-tick (lunatic), silly, stupid,

lioose, "on the," on the spree.

liOOt, plunder. To loot is to pillage.
IJope, to leap. "Loping along."
liop-sided, uneven.
Lord, "drunk as a," very drunk indeed the antithesis of
"sober as a judge," showing the difference between the ar-
tocracy and the bench.
liost cause (Am.), that of the Southern Confederacy
Lothario, generally used with the prefix "gay," a deceiver;
a seducer of women. From a character in an old play. /
/

Loud (Eng.), showy, flashy, over-dressed.

Louuce (Eng.), an abbreviation of allowance. "He's had
his lounce," he has had enough to drink*
liour or liowr (Gip.), money.
liOut, a heavy, awkward fellow.
Love, nothing. Five points to none at any game would be
"five to love."
Love-child (Eng.), an illegitimate child.
liow-downer (Am.), a native of North Carolina.
Low-water, out of money.
Lubber (Sea slang), a fool or awkward person.
Luck, "down on your luck," in trouble or diflSculty, un-
happy.
Lucky (Eng.), "to cut one's lucky," to go away quickly.
liUg, the ear.
liUg, to carry. Probably from luggage, baggage.
liUm (Scotch), a chimney.
Lumber, to put in pawn. Probably from the Lombards, the
original pawnbrokers.
Lumbered, pawned.
i7a LUMLYN
linmmox, a stupid fellow.
liUmp, anything large, as a "lump of a man,"
liumper, a dockyard workman; also a wharf -rat or dock-
thief.
Lump it, leave it. "If you don't like it you can lump it."

I^uiupy, intoxicated.
IJunk-head, a stupid man ; a fool.
liunnon. Cockney for London.
Liurch (Eng.), the players who make the double point at
whist are said to have "lurched" their opponents At crib-
bage a man is "lurched" or "skunked" if he fails to get
around the corner, that is to peg 31 holes before his oppon-
ent gets out.
liurk, a dodge, trick or swindle; a tale of feigned poverty
and distress made up for begging purposes.
IJurker (Eng.), an impostor who travels about with false
stories of sickness and distress.
Lusb, drink.
liushlng-crib or Ken, a drinking-house.
Lnshin^on, a drunkard.
Jjushy, intoxicated.
Ijyncliing-bee (Am.), a gathering of men for the purpose
of lynching a criminal.
Lynch law, the execution of a criminal by a mob.
 M
Mace (Eng.), to obtain money by threats; to "sponge" or
to swindle.
Maceman, a swindler.
Mad (Old Eng.), angry. Used in the same ^ense in the
United States.
Mad as a March hare, crazy. "Mad as thunder" means
the same.
Mad as a wet hen, angry, vexed.
Mag (Eng.), a halfpenny. "Haven't got a mag" expresses
utter destitution.
Maggotty, fanciful. "Got a maggot in his brain" or "a bee
in his bonnet."
Magpie, in target shooting, a white and a black flag, not lo
good as a bull's eye.
Magsman, a street swindler or "faker."
Mahogany, said of a dinner table; "to have one's leg's under
another man's mahogany," is to sit at his table as a guest.
Mahound (Obs.), Mahomet, the Prophet of Islam.
Mail (Am.); to place a letter in the postoffice. An English-
man "posts" his letter.
Main (Old Eng.), very; "main glad," very glad.
Main guy (Am.), the chief or leader of any organization.
Make it hot, to make things uncomfortable for any one; to
persecute him.
Make, "on the" (Am.), looking out for what one can get
Make tracks (Am,), to get away in a hurry; to Skedad-
dle {^. V.)
m
174 MAK MAR
Make-up, in the parlance of the theatre, applied to actors
dressing tbeir faces with paint, etc.
Makings, perquisites, or less mildly, stealings.
Maltee, a native of Malta.
Mami (Gip.), a grandmother or old woman, doubtless from
mamma.
Mammy or Maumer, an old negro woman.
Man Above (Irish), the Almighty.
Man Friday, a useful assistant, from the name of the savage
who acted as servant to Robinson Crusoe.
Man of straw (Eng.), a person without resources or capital.
Man up a tree, "the way looks to a," the way anything
it

appears to one who possesses special advantages for ob-

serving.
Marbles (Eng.), money.
March, at euchre, to win all the tricks.
Mare's nest, a supposed discovery of something wonderful
which turns out to be nothing at all.
Marine, an empty bottle.
Mark, "a soft mark," one easily swindled.
Mark, "to make one's," to achieve success.

Mark, "to toe the," to be ready "to come up to

; the scratch."
Marriage lines (Eng.), a marriage certificate.
MarroiY (Old Eng.), a companion; a "mate" or fellow.
Marrow-bones (Old), the knees.
Martingale, in the language of the gaming-table, a method
of playing roulette or rouge et noir^ by doubling the stake
every time one loses, and so continuing until one wins.
Like all "systems" for breaking the bank this is open to
the objection that the method may have to be carried to an
amount beyond the limit allowed before the player wins.
 MASMEA 175

In addition to this there is the chance that the game may

not be fair, and the bank's percentage of **splits" or "zeros"
is to be considered.

Mascot (Am.), anything lucky; a sort of Fetich (^. v,)

Mash (Am.), a school-girl's term for a street flirtation.
Masheen, "to run with the" (Am.), to serve with the vol-
unteer fire department.
Masher (Am.), a well-dressed loafer who spends his time
in ogling women on the street and who travels on his
shape.
Master of the rolls (Eng.), a baker.
Mate (Eng.), a companion or "pal."
Mate, to match or pair.
Mauley orMawley (P. R.), the fist: also the signature
Maund (Gip.), to beg.
Maunder (Old), a beggar.
Maunder (Scotch), to mutter.
Maundering, wandering, spoken of traveling beggars as
who maunder or meander in
well as those their speech.
Maungr (Gip.), in English Maund, to beg.
Maverick (Am.), an unmarked yearling steer.
Maw, the mouth.
Mawkin (Scotch, a cat.
Max (Eng.), gin. Bryon uses the word in Don yuan.
Mealy-mouthed (Eng.), soft-spoken, plausible.
Mean (Am.), which in England is used for stingy or close,
is applied in this country in an entirely different sense.
When one young girl says to another "Now, Sadie, you're
real mean," she desires to express, not that Sadie is close
in money matters, but that she is bad-tempered or has done
something to the detriment of her friend. The word is
abominably misused.
176 ME AMIL
Mean white (Am.), a low class white person in the South.
Measly, mean, miserable-looking.
Medical Greek (Eng.), a wretched apology for slang used
by London medical students, and consisting of the trans-
position of the initials of words. In this jargon "poking a
smipe" means smoking a pipe, and a "stint of pout" is a pint
of stout.
Medicine man (Am.), an Indian doctor or priest.
Mending fences (Am.), the politician, who, having been
elected to Congress or other office requiring his residence
away from home returns occasionally to heal up differences
which may have arisen among his supporters and to pre-
pare for a renomination. Then he is "mending his fences."
Mesa (Sp.), a table land.
Mess "to lose the number of one's" (Sea term), to die.
Mess, a quantity of anything, as a "mess of milk."
Michingr (Old Eng.), stealing or playing truant.
Micks, Irishmen.
Midden (Old Eng.), a dung heap.
Middle-weight (P. R.), as applied to pugilists, one who
fights at 145 to 155 pounds.
Middy (Sea), abbreviation of midshipman.
Mighty, used improperly as an adjective or adverb in much
the same way as Awfully (^. v.)
Mike, generic term for an Irish laborer.
Mild, "draw it mild," do not exaggerate; go easy.
Milk, in the language of the betting ring, to enter a horse
for a race and make the public believe he is likely to win,
bet against him on the quiet, and then either "scratch" him
or take care that if he runs he does not win. Such is the
process of "milking."
Milk down or Give down, to "part;** to give up money.
 MIL MIX 177

Milk in the ooa-nut (Am.), when an explanation of some-

thing is given it is said "That explains the milk in the co-
coa-nut" and it is sometimes added "But not the shaggy
bark on the outside."
Milk-sliake (Am.), a "dude" or effeminate youth, one whose
ideas of wild dissipation are represented by the mild and
inoffensive drink thus named.
Milksop, an effeminate youth or man.
Mill (P. R.), a prize fight. Hood says in his Lay of Miss
Killmanskeg that:
"Her husband treated her ill
Because she refused to go down to a mill,
She didn't know where, but remembered still
That the miller's name was Mendoza."
Mendoza was the champion pugilist.
Mill, the treadmill.
Mill, "to go through the," to go through the Bankruptcy
Court or to pass through any kind of trouble.
Miller, "to drown the," to put too much water into the flour
when making bread.
Mind (Scotch), to remember. "I mind me of the time."
Also to remind, to notice.
Minute-men, militia men or country troops whose engage-
ment was that they should be ready to march at a minute*s
notice. Some of them marched to Lexington, Mass., in
1775, much to the discomfiture of George the Third's reg-
ular troops.
Mish (Gip.), a shirt or chemise. From the French chemise^
Italian Camicia.
Mitten, "to get the" (Am.), to be rejected by one's sweet-
heart.
Mittens (P. R.), boxing gloves.
Miv, a marble.
Mixed, uncertain, confused.
178 MIZMON
Mizzle (Eng.), to run away.
Mizzler, one who runs away.
Mizzling^, drizzling rain.
Mob (Old Eng.), a crowd.
Mob, to hustle for the purpose of robbery.
Mob, "our mob," one's own party or gang.
Mobsman, a pickpocket who operates in a crowd.
Moccasin, an Indian shoe made of soft leather, and generally
ornamented with beads.
Mock auction, a pretended sale gotten up by swindlers to
entrap the unwary, the supposed bidders being really "cap-
pers."
Modest quencher, Dick Swiveller's equivalent for a drink.
Moisten your chaflfer, take a drink.
Moisten your clay, same as the preceding.
Mokado (Gip.), unclean, somewhat of a similar meaning to
Tabu (^. v.)
Moke, in England a donkey ; in the United States a negro.
Molecatcher (Eng.), a midwife.
Moll, a girl, usually applied to one of low character.
Moiled, followed or accompanied by a woman.
Mollisher, a low-class woman; one living in concubinage.
Moll-tooler, a female pickpocket.
Molly-coddle, an effeminate man.
MoUygrubs or MuUygrubs, the stomach-ache.
Molrowing, out on a spree.
Mommick or Mommock, to handle awkwardly ; to disar.
range.
Mondayish, disinclined for work after a Sunday holiday.
Monkey (Eng."^, five hundred pounds.
 MONMOP 179

Monkey, spirit or ill-temper. A man has his "monkey up"

when he is -'mad" or angry.
Monkey and parrot time, a lady left her favorite bird in
company with a monkey and during her absence the two
animals had a fight. When she returned the monkey was
wiping his scratched face and the almost featherless parrot
called out, "We've been having a hell of a time." A
gen-
eral row or free fight is a "monkey and parrot time."
Monkey board (Eng.), the step behind an omnibus on
which the conductor stands.
Monkey, "long tailed," a mortgage.
Monkey's allowance, blows instead of alms; more kicks
than half-pence.
Monkey shines, tricks, larking ; like boys at play.
Monkey with, to interfere with anything,
Monniker, a signature.
Month of Sundays, an indefinite period; along time.
Mooch, to play the truant. Shakespeare has Micher (^. v.)
Mooch, to sponge, to loaf about. On thk mooch, on the
look-out for odd jobs.
Moon, a month. See Blue moon, ante.
Moon-calf, a stupid, idiotic person. Applied to Caliban.
See TAe Ternf est ii^ 2: iii^ 2.
Mooney, silly, intoxicated.
Mooning: about, loitering, wandering about in a purposeless
manner.
Moonlig^ht workers, smugglers.
Moonraker (Eng.), the natives of Wiltshire England, silly
people who raked the pond to get the moon out.
Moonshine (Am.), illicit whisky.
Moonshine, nonsense, a fairy tale, deception, humbug.
Mop, an habitual drunkard.
i8o MOPMOT
Mop, an English country fair for the hiring of servants.
Mop-board, the washboard which extends around the floor
of rooms. In England it is called the "baseboard."

Mops and brooms, "in a state of," intoxicated.

Mopusses, money.
Moral (certainty implied), a forthcoming result suchfas a race
which appears to be certain. It does not always do to bet on
a "moral."
More-ish, where there is not quite enough of anything to eat
or drink it is said to taste "more-ish."

More power to your elbow (Irish), an expression of good-

will.
More tban seven, said of a precocious child or girl, or of the
age of a spinster.

Morgan, "a good enough." A man named Morgan was al-

leged to have been abducted by Freemasons in 1826 and
drowned at Niagara. A
body which was identified as that
of Morgan was found in the river and the Anti- Masonic
party made a political affair of it. Thurlow Weed, one of
the political leaders of that party, on being told that the
body was not that of the missing man replied, "It's a good
enough Morgan until after election."

Mort, many, as a *'mort of people."

Mort (Gip.), a woman. See Mott.
Mortal (Eng.), excessively.
Mortar board, a college cap.
Mosey (Am.), a corruption of the Spanish vamose^ to go
away.
Moss-backs (Am.), old-time politicians; people behind the
age.
Mot (Gip.), a girl of indifferent character.
 MOTMUD i8i

Mot-cart (Eng.), a brougham used by a woman of the town*

Otherwise known as a Loose-box.
Mouch, to sneak about.
Mouchey (Eng.), a Jew.
Mought (Am.), is often used for might. "What mought
you call it."
Mount (Eng.), a saddle horse.
Mountain dew, Scotch whisky. Otherwise known as "Dew
off Ben Nevis."
Mountain-pecker, a sheep.
Mourners, in religious parlance, persons under conviction of
sin.
Mourning, two black eyes; one eye in that condition is
styled half-mourning.
Mouse (P. R.), a black eye.
Mouth, "too much," free of speech, having too much to say.
Mouthpiece (Eng.), thieves name for a lawyer or counsel.
Mouthy, talkative, argumentative.
Move (Eng.), a dodge, a trick. "Up to every move on the
board." Probably derived from the game of chess or
checkers.
Mrs. Grundy, the representative of the censorious World,
"What will Mrs. Grundy say ?" is from the old comedy of
Speed the Plough.
Much of a muchness, alike; very much the same thing.
Muck (Eng.), to beat, to excel.
Mucked out (Eng.), beaten.
Mucker, "to go a," to plunge, as in betting heavily ; to go to
grief.
Muckinger (Old Eng.), a pocket handkerchief.
Mud crusher, a word of contempt applied by cavalry to in-
fantry soldiers.
i82 MUD MUG
Mud lark, a boy or man who picks up a living on river
banks and wharves. Sometimes known as a Dock rat or
Whakf rat.
Mudsill (Am.), the threshold. Applied figuratively to the
laboring classes, and formerly much used by Southern peo-
ple to express their contempt for Northerners who were
such "base mechanics" as to work for a living. The word
is seldom used now-a-days in this connection.

Mud student (Eng.), a farm pupil at an agricultural college.

Muff, a stupid or weak-minded person ; a duffer. A muff is
"a thing which holds a lady's hand without squeezing it."
Muffin-worry, an old lady's tea party.
Mufti, the civilian dress of a naval or military officer off duty.
In India applied to the regimental chaplain or to any clergy-
man or priest.
Mug (Old Eng.), the mouth or face. "An ugly mug" is an
ill-favored countenance.
Mug, to get drunk.
Mugging (Eng.), a thrashing.
Muggy, drunk.
Muggy (Old Eng.), moist, as muggy weather.
Mug-up, to paint or prepare the face with cosmetics for ap-
pearance on the stage.
Mugwump (Am.), was first applied by a New York news-
paper in 1884 to the members of the Republican party who
preferred Cleveland to Blaine. It is now used generally
to characterize voters who sink party politics and vote for
whom they consider the most suitable candidate. The
word, originally tnugquomp^ is from the Algonquin Indian
dialect and means "Big Chief" or "Leader." It may be
found in John Eliot's Indian Bible. Mr. A. F. Keenan,
editor of the Indianapolis Sentinel^ picked up the word in
New England and used it as early as 1872 as a large-type
 MULMUT 183

heading for some article on a "big wig" in politics. After

this the word seems to have Iain perdu until resuscitated in
the New York Sun in March, 1884, when it applied it to a
Mr. Bradley, who was interested in some local issue in
Bobb*s Ferry, heading its article "Mugwump D. O. Brad-
ley."
Mulatto (Sp. niulaioy a mule) ; the offspring of a white per-
son and a negro.
Mule-whacker (Am.), a teamster in charge of mules.
Muley or Mooley (Am.), a common name for a cow.
Mull (Scotch), a snuff box.
Mull, "to make a mull" of anything is to spoil it.
Mum, "to keep" (Old Eng.), to hold one's peace. "Mum's
the word" is a signal for silence.
Mum-budget (Old Eng.), a game at which each person had
a "nay-word" or countersign. See Merry Wives of
Windsor
Mumutner (Old Eng.), an actor.
Mump, to beg.
Mumper (Eng.), a beggar.
Mumpish, miserable; out of sorts.
Mumps, the miserables.
Mundungrus, coarse tobacco,
Mungarly, bread, food.
Murk (Old), dark.
Murphy, a potato.
Muslin, "bit of," a girl or young woman.
Muss, disorder, generally counted an Americanism, is as old
as Shakespeare, who uses the word in Anthony and Cleo-
patra.
Mustang, the wild horse of the pridries.
Mutton, a contemptuous term for a woman. Ben Jonson
IJS4 MUXMYU
ta^ Shakespeare use the term "a laced mutton" for a
\{ranton.
Mutton-head, a stupid fellow.
Muzzle, the mouth.
Muzzier, a drink.
Muzzy, intoxicated.
My Uncle, the pawnbroker. The French say ma ianie^ my
aimt,^
 N
Nab, to catch, to seize.
Nabbed, caught, apprehended.
Kabob, an Indian prince; a great man.
Nabs or Nibs, a person; "his nabs."
Nab the rust (Eng.),to take offence.
Nagr (Eng.), to annoy by scolding. "Nagging" is persistent,
passionless scolding.
Nag (Eng.), a horse.
Nail, to arrest.
Nail, to steal or capture.
Nail, "dead as a door nail." Shakespeare uses the expres-
sion in King Henry /K, while Dickens expressed his ina-
bility to figure out why a door-nail is deader than any other
piece of ironmongery.
Nailed, taken up, arrested.
Nail in one's cofSii, a drink.
Nail, "on the," money down.
Namby-pamby, effeminate, over-nice.
f Name your poison, call for your drink,
Nantee (iitigua-Franca), shut up or hold your tongue.
"Nantee Palaver," say nothing, from the Italian nientCy
nothing.
Nap (Gip.), to catch, take or steal. See Nab.
Nap, a short sleep or doze.
Nark (Thieves* slang), an informer.
Narrow, mean, sordid.
i8S
i86 NARNEW
Nary, a corruption of "ne'er a," as "nary one."
Nasty, ill-tempered.
Kation (Old Eng.), is used in New England in the sense of
many, as a "nation lot."
Natty, (Old), neat, tidy.
Natural, an idiot; a simpleton; a natural-born fool.
Navvy (Eng.), a laborer on canal and railway works. Short
for navigator, one employed in building navigable canals.
N, C, "nujEE ced," phonetic equivalent for "enough said."
Near, stingy, mean ; close in money matters.
Neat (Eng.), undiluted spirits. In this country "straight" is

used.
Neck and crop, entirely, completely, as a man is thrown out
of doors.
Neck and neck, where two horses run so close together that
the judges are unable to decide between them.
Neck of woods, a settlement or section of backwoods.
Neck or nothing, desperate.
Necktie party, a lynching.
Ned, an English guinea.
Ned, "to raise," to create a fuss or disturbance.
Neddy (Eng.), a donkey. On special occasions he is ad-
dressed as "Edward." See Our Mutual Friend.
Needful, cash, money.
Needled (Eng.), annoyed. "He gave me the needle," that
vexea or annoyed me.
is,

Neef (Old Eng.), the hand.

Nerve (Am.), gall, cheek, self-confidence.
New chum (Australian), a newcomer to the country.
Newgate knockers (Eng.), flat curls extending from the
temple back toward the ears, much affected by the London
 NEWNIN 187

costermongers and others of the lower class. See Aggra-

VATORS, ante.
Ne^inuarket, tossing odd or even or "heads or tails" when
the "best two out of three" wins. When the first toss de-
cides the game is known as *'sudden death."
Nibble, to take or steal.
Nibs, "his nibs," any person who may be referred to, such
as "I told His Nibs" or "Get on to His Nibs." It is neither
a title of honor nor the reverse.
Nick, "Old Nick," the devil. Hotten says from the Scan-
dinavian knickar, the destroying principle. Butler says in
Hudibras :
"Nick Macheivel had ne'er a trick.
Though he gave name to our Old Nick."
Probably the one explanation is as nearly correct as the
other.
Nick, to hit the mark ; to win one's point. Also to steal.
Nigger, to burn in two, as a log is burned.
Nigger, a negro.
Niggling, trifling or idling.
Nigh, near, close, miserly.
Night cap, a drink taken the last thing at night.'
Night hawk, a prostitute, thief or other pest of the streets.
Night hawk, a term sometimes applied to a night police re>
porter.
Night owl, a term applied indifferently to night- workers of
the predatory character and to the morning newspaper men
and others who are compelled to labor at night.
Nim (Old Eng.), to take, to steal. Shakespeare doubtless
had this in mind when he christened Nym, the associate of
Bardolph and ancient Pistol.
Nincompoop (Eng.), a stupid fellow, a henpecked husband.


i88 NINNOB
Nine holes (Eng.), in the game of whist when nine points
have been scored honors do not count. To be in the nine-
hole is therefore reckoned as equivalent to a handicap.
Kinepence, "nice as" (Eng.), all right.
Nines, "dressed up to the," showy, stylish, "dressed to kill."
Ninny or Ninnyhammer, a stupid person.
Ninth part of a man, a tailor.
Nip, to steal. See Nap and Nab, ante,
Nip, to arrest; to capture.
Nip or Nipper, a drink of spirits.
Nip and tuck, very close; almost equal
Nipcheese, a ship's purser.
Nipper, a smart boy or lad.
Nippers, the fingers.
Nipping (Am.), mincing.
Nippingr, cold. "It is a nipping and an eager air." Hamlet.
Nix (German nichts)^ nothing.
Nixey, no.
Nix my dolly, a meaningless phrase from a slang song in
one of Ainsworth's novels. It was adopted by the Lon-
don street boys and was used on all occasions.
No account, of no value, worthless.
Noh (from knob), the head.
Nob, a swell.
Nobbing chete or Nubbing chete (Old Cant), the gallov/s.
Nobble, to cheat; to over-reach.
Nobble, "to nobble" a horse is to get at him and lame or poi-
son him.
Nobbier, a stiff drink.
Nobbier (Eng.), a "capper" for any swindling game. A
"bonnet^* or "bearer-up."
 NOBNOS 189

Nobby, stylish.
Kob, "one for his," when the knave of trumps is held in
hand or "crib," at the game of cribbage the holder scores
"one for his nob." If the knave is the turn-up card the
score is "two for his heels."
No rror, certainly. "Don't you make no error" is the un-
grammatical method of asserting that what has been said is
a fact.
No flies, "there's no flies on him;" he is all right.
Nog^n, a small measure.
No mistake, certainly, positively. Used much in the same
manner as No brror, ante.
Nonce, "for the nonce," for once.
None of my funeral (Am.), no business of the person using
the expression. A man is not supposed to take much in-
terest in the funeral of a stranger.
No odds, no matter; of no consequence.
Noodle, a stupid person or fool.
Nooningr (Am.), an interval for rest and refreshment at mid-
day, as in the harvest field.

Nortb, cunning, shrewd. It is said of Yorkshiremen and

Scotchmen, who are being credited with being sharp and
keen at a bargain, that they are "too far north" to deal
with.
Norther (Am.), an unpleasant wind which visits Texas and
the Gulf of Mexico; a modification of the blizzard of
Dakota.
Nose, an informer or spy.
Nose, "on the," giving information to the police.
Nose oat of joint, supplanted, superseded; like the old baby
is when the new one comes.
Nose, "to cut off one's nose to spite one's face** is tp 4p ^ome-
190 NOSNUM
thing injudicious, harmful or expensive to oneself In order
to inflict a minor injury on another or to obtain revenge
from him.
Nose, "to pay through the," to pay an extravagant price.
Nose to the grindstone, to be compelled to work constantly
in order to make a bare living.
Note, a joke or saying. *'That's a good note."
Note-shaver, a bill discounter; a usurer.
Not for Joe, a catch phrase much in use a few years ago and
taken from an alleged comic song.
Nothing to nobody, nobody's business.
Not in it, said of a person not likely to succeed, as "Jones is
not in the race."
Notion, a whim or fancy. To take a notion to a person is to
take a liking to him ; to "cotton" to him.
Notional, whimsical, fanciful.
Notions (Am.), such small things as buttons, needles, pins,
threads, etc., often carried by peddlers.
No two ways about it (Am.), certain, positive.
Nous, comprehension, perception, quickness. From the
Greek. Byron uses it in Don yuan.
Nowhere, in racing parlance where a horse fails to pass the
distance post he is be nowhere. The great horse
said to
Eclipse once ran in an English race and his trainer bet that
he could place every horse in the race. This he did by
placing "Eclipse first and the rest nowhere," and in the re-
sult he proved to be correct, no one of the competitors, save
Eclipse, succeeding in passing the distance post.
Nowt (Scotch), cows and oxen.
Number of his mess, "to lose the," to die. Said of soldiers
and sailors.
Numbskull (Eng.), a stupid person; a dullard.
 NURMYM 19X

Nnrse (Eng.), to run one omnibus so close to another that

people cannot conveniently get in the first vehicle.
Nut, the head. Sometimes Cocoanut (^. v,) *'Off one's
nut" means out of one's head ; not sane.
Kathook (Old Eng.), an epithet aplied to a beadle or con-
stable by Doll Tearsheet, II King Henry IVy act t>, sc. 4,
Probably because the officer was thin in person, like a
hooked stick used for pulling down nuts from hedges.
Nutmeg State (Am.), Connecticut.
Nuts, "to be nuts" or "dead nuts" on any man, person or
thing, is to be pleased with or fond of the same.
Nux, any object in view. "Stoll the nux," look out.
Nymph of the pave, a woman of the town.
 o
Oaf, a stupid, ungainly fellow; a lout.
Oak (Eng.), the outer door of college rooms or offices. To
"sport the oak" is to lock the door.
Oak barrens or Oak openingrs (Am.), clusters of scrub-oak
timber on the prairie.
Oar, "to put in an oar," to interfere in another person's busi-
ness.
Oats, "to feel one's," to feel good or "cocky," as a horse does
after a good feed.
Obfuscated, intoxicated.
Obstropolous, a vulgarian equivalent for obstroperous.
Ochre (Eng.), money, generally gold, from the yellow color.
O'clock, "to know what's o'clock," to be wide-awake, sharp,
experienced. "Like one o'clock," brisk, sharp.
Odd fish, a peculiar or eccentric person.
Odd man out (Eng.), a gambling game played by three per-
sons where each tosses up a coin and if two come down
"head" and one "tail" or vice versa then the odd man stands
out of the game. See Tommy Dodd, supra.
Odd or even, a method of gambling by calling out the num-
ber of fingers held up or of coins held in the hand, whether
they be "odd or even."
Odds, the proportions or differences of a bet, thus the odds
on a sporting event may be, say, ten to one against a possi-
ble winner. "What's the odds?" what is the difference.
"It's no odds," it is of no consequence.
Odd Stick, same as Odd pish, ante,
19
 ODR OLD 93

Odrotit (Obs.), an old-fashioned euphemism for an oath,

probably from "God rot it."
Off and on, vacillating, uncertain, unsteady.
Off color, shady as to character; said of diamonds or women.
Off Ms chump, foolish, insane, oE his head or "his base."
Off Ills feed, said of one who is sick and has no appetite.
Originally stable slang.
Office, information.
Office, "to give the," to furnish information; to peach, split
or inform.
Offish, distant; not familiar.
Off the handle, "to fly," to go into a passion.
Off the hooks, dead.
Off the horn, said of very tough steak, supposed to be cut
off the horn or behind the ear of the ox. ^^u^**
Ogles (Eng.), the eyes. ^^,j J^
'^
Ointment (Eng.), money, especially when given as a bribe, ft<' ^^^
O.K. (Am.), an alleged condensation of "Orl Korrect" a\ Ni*^ '',(j'\^^^
misspelling of all correct. To "O. K." an account is to in-/ A^^ ^ v h
itial it in evidence of its correctness, and as the two lettersT ,* t,V-

are easily written the practice has become common in busi- ^'^\j^
ness circles. ^ J
h,^**
*^
j*^'^*

Old boots, "like old boots," like anything or nothing; a l^"'^!^

stupid saying with little or no meaning or excuse for its ^*P
use.
Old Country* a term generally applied by Americans to
Great Britain, or to some division of that kingdom. It is
not used in speaking of France, Germany or any part of
the continent of Europe.
Old dog, a knowing person.
Old Fogy (Eng.), one who is behind the times.
Old Gentleman, His Satanic Majesty.
194 OLDON
Old Gooseberry or Old Harry or Old Scratch, all syno-
nyms for the Devil. See Gooseberry, ante.
Old horse (Sea term), salt junk or beef.
Old hoss, applied as a term of friendship in the West. See
Hoss, ante.
Old lady of Threadneedle Street, the Bank of England.
Old man, the American equivalent for the English "gov-
ernor" as applied to one's father. Also applied to the cap-
tain of a merchant vessel.
Old Nick, the Devil.
OldProbs (Am.), the weather clerk; the chief of the Sig-
nal Service.
Old Salt, a sailor.
Old Scratch, the Devil.
Old sledge, a modification of the game of seven-up or all-
fours.
Old soldier, "to come the," to play tricks on one.
Old soldiers, stubs of cigars or empty bottles.
Old Tom, gin.
Oliver (Old Eng.), the moon.
Omee (Gip.), the landlord or master of the house.
Omnibus bill, a measure of legislation embracing a number
of subjects.
One-er, a Cockneyism for a person distinguished for some-
thing good or bad as the case may be. The poor Mar-
chioness in Oliver Twist characterized Miss Sally Brass as
a "one-er" or "wunner."
One-horse (Am)., second rate, cheap or of no account.
One in ten (Eng.), an Episcopalian clergyman, from his be-
ing entitled to the tithes.
One o'clock, "like," lively, quick.
On has many slang meanings. "To be on" is to be drunk or
 ONOORN 195

getting that way ; "to get on" to a bet is to accept or a man

may be "put on" to a "good thing." "Trying it on" is at-
tempting to cheat or defraud. To "be on to" a thing is to
understand it. "Catch on" means to appreciate a point; to
be fly to the racket; to tumble.
On one's ear (Am.), angry, mad.
On the batter (Eng.), on the tow:;.
On the fence (Am.), said of poUticians who take neither side,
but wait to see which way the "cat is going to jump," or
who try to "carry water on both shoulders."
On the getting one's living by thieving, or any disrepu-
fly,
table orimmoral means.
On the hooks, engaged, barga'ned for.
On the job (Eng.), out for the day; on a lark.
On the lay (crooked implies-/;, on any scheme for swindling.
"What laj are you on?" tiiat is "What is your game?"
On the loose, dissipated picking up a living on the streets.
;

On the make, looking out for oneself. See Out for the
STUFF.
On the nose, on the watch or look out. See Nose, ante.
On the shelf, as ok- maids are said to be after reaching a cer-
tain or uncertain aje.
On the tiles, dissipated out on the spree.
;

On time, punctual, ready at the appointed

; moment.
Oof (Eng.), money. The oof-bird is the cashier or paymas-
ter.
Open the ball, to commence anything, from a fight to a pic-
nic.
Oracle, "to work the" (Eng.), to plan, plot or manoeuvre.
Organ-grinder, a fellow who travels with a barrel-organ.
Ornery (Amo), ordinary; much used in the East for mean or
unpleasauL
196 OUTOWN
Out and out (Eng.), entirely, thoroughly.
Out for the stuff (Am.), said of politicians at election time,
when money is to be got.
Out of collar (Eng.), out of work.
Out of kilter (Am.), out of order, not fitting, unsettled.
Out of meat (Am.), hungry. A story is told of a boy dig-
ging for a woodchuck, to whom a man said it was no use
wasting time. "Got to have him," said the boy, "minister's
coming to-morrow and we are out of meat."
Out of sight (Am.), beyond reach; not attainable.
Out of soap, without money.
Out of whack, out of repair.
Outsider, one who is not in the ring ; a person debarred
from society.
Over (Am.), in cricket after four balls have been delivered
the bowler, wicket-keeper, and fielders change places and
the bowling is done from the former batting wicket.
Over, in England a man writes a newspaper article "over"
his own signature. In the United States we say he "wrote
under the signature of," etc. As a matter of fact the name
follows the letter and over would seem to be correct.
Overslaughed, passed over, omitted.
Over the hroomstick, irregular marriages among the gipsies
are said to be thus performed.
Over the left (Eng.), an exclamation of disbelief, sometimes
accompanied Dy pointing the hand over the left shoulder.
See In a horn, ante.
Over, "to come it," to delude or to flatter or to force or com-
pel.
Own up, to confess or acknowledge.
Pack, go away. "Pack off, there." "Sent packing," dis-
charged, sent about one's business.
Pack (Am.), to pack a meeting, to have it filled up by per-
sons pledged to a particular course.
Pack (Am.), to transport in packs or packages, as things are
carried through the woods or over rough roads.
Pad, "to stand" (Eng.), to beg with a paper pinned on the
breast with "I am starving" or "Relieve a shipwrecked
sailor" inscribed on it.
Padding, in the literary world, light articles of a miscellan-
eous character used to fill up the magazines.
Paddle, to go away.
Paddle (Am.), a wooden instrument made from a shingle
and used to punish boys. To paddle is to thrash.
Paddle one's own canoe (Am.), to make one's own way
in life ; to go it alone as a canoeist does.
Pad the lioof, to walk.
Paddingr-ken, a lodging house for tramps.
Paddy, an Irishman.
Paddy Murphy's pig, "as Irish as," the ne plus ultra of
Hibernicism.
Paddy's gun, "crooked as;" this valuable firearm had a bend
in the barrel which made it useful for shooting round the
corner.
Padro (from the Latin or Portuguese), a clergyman,
Painter (Am.), a panther or catanipunt.
'9r
198 PAIPAN
Painter, a rope.
Paint the town red (Am.), to go on an extended spree.
Pal (Gip.), a partner, friend or accomplice.
Palaver (Gip.), to talk.
Pale-face, Indian name for a white man.
Pall (Sea term), to stop. Apall is a small instrument used
to stop the motion of the windlass.
Palmetto State (Am.), South Carolina.
Palm off, to impose upon one by deceiving him as to the
quality of an article.
Palming-, swindling or secreting small articles in the hands
for the purpose of theft.
Palm oil, money given as a bribe.
Pam, the knave of clubs at the game of loo.
Pane or Parney (Gip.), rain.
Panel game (Am.), is worked by a thief in connection with
a girl of the town, who lures men to a prepared room,
which the thief enters by a concealed door or a moveable
panel.
Panel-worker, the operators in the game above described*
Panhandle (Am.), the name applied to a district of West
Virginia from its shape, lying as it does in a strip between
Pennsylvania and Ohio. There is a similar division of
Texas and a railroad of the same name.
Pannikin (Old Eng.), a small pan.
Pannum (Gip), bread. From the Latin panis; French,
fain; Lmgua- Franca, /ae.
Pan out, from the practice of the gulch miners of shaking
up "pay dirt" in a pan to separate the grains of gold from
the earth. If the dirt is rich it is said to "pan out well" and
the expression is popularly used for any well-paying ven-
ture.
 PANPAS tOQ

PantUe, a hat.
Pants (Am.), abbreviation of pantaloons; trousers.
Papers, cards.
Pappoose, this name, though commonly applied to an Indian
baby, does not appear to belong to any Indian dialect but is
a sort of pidgin-English attempt at "babies" as "Yankee"
or "Yengees" was the best the Indians could do at pro-
nouncing the word English.
Paradise, French slang for the gallery of a theatre, where
"
the "gods" sit.
Parbnckle, to draw barrels up an inclined plane by a rope.
Pard or Pardner (Am.), a partner or companion.
Parish bull (Eng.), a parson.
Parish lantern (Eng.), the moon*
Parley-voo, a Frenchman.
Parney (Gip.), rain.
Parrot or Poll-parrotingr, too much talk. In Our Mutual
Friend Mr. Roger Riderhood, an honest man who earned
his bread by the sweat of his brow, accuseci his daughter
Pleasant of poll-parroting. In Othello Cassio when in-
veighing against himself for his drinking match with lago,
says "Drunk and speak parrot."
Parson (Eng.), a signpost; one who points the way but does
not travel it.

Parson's nose (Eng.), the hind part of a goose.

Part (Eng.), to pay or to give up.
Parter, a free, liberal paymaster is a "good parter."
Party, a vulgarism for a person; "an old party." But
Shakespeare has it and it is used in the English version of
the Apocrypha.
Pass in one's checks (Am.), to die, from the practice of
cashing in checks or chips at the close of a game.
aoo PAS PAY
Passengrer, to wake up the wrong" (Am.), to interfere
with a man who is capable of making an effective resist-
ance. Railroad thieves who operate on the pockets of
sleeping travelers occasionally make a mistake of this kind.
Paste, to punch in the face.
Pasteboards (Eng.), visitmg cards. Major Pendennis used
the word, according to Thackeray.
Paste-horn, the nose.
Patch, a term of opprobrium used by Shakespeare and the
early dramatists, now seldom heard.
Patch, "not a patch on it," nowhere near it.

Pate, the head.

Pat hand (Am.), at the game
of draw poker, one which is
satisfactory to the holder from the first. To "stand-pal" is
to keep such a hand without drawing or discarding. Some-
times this is done for a bluff when the hand is actually a
poor one.
Patroon (Dutch), a grantee of land under the old Dutch
government of New York. The patroons formed a landed
aristocracy similar to the seigneurs of Canada.
Patter (Gip.), talk, an oration, the speeches of counsel or
the charge of a judge. To "Patter flash" is to talk cant
or slang.
Patterer, an itinerant vendor of cheap songs and flash litera-
ture generally.
Paul Pry, an inquisitive person; from the character in the
well-known play.
Paw, the hand.
Pay, to beat.
Pay (Pidgin Eng.), to deliver. "Pay that letter to Mr.
Smith."
Pay away (Sea term), go on with your story.
 PAYPEG 30I

Pay dirt (Am.), earth which yields sufficient of the precious

metals to pay the miner for his trouble.
Pay, "man o' war fashion," is, according to Marryatt (see
yacob Faithful)^ "over the face and eyes as the cat paid the
monkey."
Pay through the nose, to pay an extortionate price.
Peach, to inform.
Peaked, thin, sickly, delicate.
Peaky, sickly looking.
Peart or Peert (Am.), brisk, lively. Formerly common
in England, but now unknown there, although used in most
parts of the United States.
Peck (Eng.), food; to eat ravenously. "Where I peck,"
said Joey Ladle in No Thoroughfare^ "is not so high an
object to me as how much I peck,"
Peck alley, the throat.
Pecker, "keep your pecker up," hold up your head ; don't
get down in the mouth.
Peckish (Eng.), hungry.
Peddler's French, an old term for slang.
Peek (Old Eng.), to peep. Often used in this country.
Peel (P. R.), to strip.
Peeler (Eng.), a policeman. From Sir Robert Peel. See
Bobby, ante.
Peepers (P. R.), the eyes.
Peer out (Gip.), to look about.
Peery, suspicious, inquisitive.
Peg, an English shilling.
Peg (Australian), a drink of spirits.
Peg away, to work industriously.
Pegged out, played out, finished.
ao2 PEGPHA
Peggers, men who take too many "pegs" of spirits.

Pegr, "to take down a," to check an arrogant or offensive

person.
Pelican, a term of opprobrium as "an old pelican," but why
so-called is unknown.
Pelican State (Am.), the State of Louisiana, from its coat
of arms.
Pelt (Eng.), to throw.
Pemmican (Am.), dried and pounded meat and grease used
on the plains.
Pen (Am.), the penitentiary.
Penciler (Eng.), a bookmaker.
Penny-a-liner, a man employed on English newspapers to
do reports of minor happenings and paid by the line.
Penny dreadfuls, cheap and flashy literature of the "Ned
Buntline" and <'Wild Bill" type.
Penny gaff, the lowest kind of English theatre or variety
dive.
Pensioner (Eng.), a degraded wretch who lives on the
earnings of a prostitute. See Ponce.
People (Am.), "He is great people," is used in a commenda-
tory sense of anyone. Job said of his friends who gave him so
much good advice, "I know that you are the people and
that when you die wisdom will depart from the earth."
Pepper, to beat.
Peppery, hot-tempered.
Perch or Roost, a bed or resting-place.
Petticoat, a woman.
Pewter (Eng.), money. Racing cups, although of a richer
metah are known as "pewters."
Phat or Fat, printer's term for matter which they are paid
to set, but which, as in the case of advertisements, etc., is
not solid but is spaced out.
 PHI-PIG 903

Philadelphia lawyer, "that beats a," a common saying, but

whence derived is unknown.
Philander, to talk discursively with women; to ramble on
incoherently.
Philistine, in the slang of the aesthete, all persons who do
not magnify the importance of culture are "Philistines" or
"Goths."
Physogr, Phiz or Fizzogr, the face or countenance.
Pi, type spilt and mixed up.
Picayune, in Louisiana, one-sixteenth of a dollar.
Picaroon (Sp.), a thief.
Picayunish (Am.), petty, small.
Pick, "to pick on any one" is to make an assault bodily or
verbally on him.
Pickanninny (Am.), a negro baby.
Pickers (Old Eng.), the hands. See Shakespeare, Hamlet,
Pickle (Eng.), a mischievous boy.
Pickle, "in a pickle," in a mess or a bad way.
Pick-me-up (Am.), a drink taken after a debauch; a tonic.
Pick-up, a street walker.
Pick-up, a make-shift dinner; anything you can get.
Pick up, to improve in health.
Pick up (Am.), to clean up a room.
Pidgrin-CngUsh, a jargon used by the Chinese of the sea-
port towns in their communications with the English.
Piece, a contemptuous term for a woman. The English
lower classes speak of a girl as a "nice piece of stuff."
Pigeon (Eng.), a gullible or soft person, one easily cheated.
Frequenters of gambling houses are divided into "pigeons'*
and "rooks," otherwise "flies" and "spiders."
Pig-headed (Eng.), obstinate.
204 PIGPIN
Pig in a poke, to buy a" (Eng.), is to purchase something
without seeing it. From the old story of a man who
bought, as he supposed, a pig in a "poke" or sack and when
he got home a cat jumped out of the bag.
Pig*s baby or Sow's baby, an English sixpence.
Pig-'s whisper (Eng.), an indefinitely short space of time.
Pike, a Missourian.
Pike it, to run off.
Pile ^Am.), a sum of money; all that one has. To make
one s pile is to make a fortune.
Pile-in (Am.), make a beginning.
Pile it on, to "lay it on thick ;" to overdo anything.
Pilgrrim (Am.), a traveler; in the West a "tenderfoot."
Pill (Eng.), to blackball an applicant for admission to a
club.
Pill, "a bad pill" is an objectionable person or one of low
morals.
Pill-box (Eng.), a one-horse brougham ; a carriage much af-
fected by doctors.
Pills, a doctor.
Pills, bullets.
Pin, "to put in the," to stop drinking.
Pinch, to arrest.
Pinch, to steal.
Pinch, "a tight pinch," in danger or short of money.
Pinchbeck (Eng.), imitation jewelry, from the name of its

inventor.
Pine-tree State (Am.), Maine.
Pink, "the pink of perfection," the acme of style.
Pink (Eng.), the scarlet coats worn in the hunting-field.
Pink, to stab or pierce.
 PINPLA 305

Pins, legs.
Pipe or Pipe-oflf (Am.), to follow or watch.
Pipe one's eye (Eng.), to shed tears. According to Hood,
"The bosun eyed his pipe,
And then he piped his eye."
Pipe, "to put out one's," to traverse his plans; to knock him
out.
Pipe-laying (Am.), like Log-rolling (gr. w.), is making
arrangements for political success without much considera-
tion as to the means employed.
Pipe, "put that in your pipe," a clincher to an argument.
Piper-oflf, a spy or "spotter."
Pippin (Eng.), a term of endearment or friendship. "How
are you, my pippin ?"
Pips, the spots on playing cards.
Pistaroon or Pistareen, a silver coin worth twenty cents.
Pitch (Eng.), any locality selected by a hawker or street
patterer for his operations.
Pitch, to pass base coin. Smashers are also known as
Snide pitchers (f. v.)
Pitch (Eng.), to sleep for a short time, as on the floor or on
a lounge. London journeymen bakers "pitch in" every
night while waiting for their dough to rise.
Pitching- the hatchet, telling incredible yams of the Mun-
chausen order.
Pitch into, to fight.
Pitch the forlc, to tell a pitiful story.
Place, to name the first three horses in a race in their order.
Placee (Am.), a name formerly given in the South to a col-
ored mistress of a white man.
Placer-diggings (Am.), are localities where gold is fotind
scattered in the surface dirt.
3o6 PLAPLU
Plack (Scotch), a half penny.
Plank (Am.), to lay down; to pay out money.
Plank (Am.), the component parts of a political platform
are known as planks.
Plant, a swindle, a put-up job, a dodge.
Plant, a hidden store of money or valuables.
Planted, buried.
Plates of meat (Eng.), feet.
Platform (Am.), a declaration of principles by a political
party, convention or candidate.
Play, to go on strike; to be out of work.
Play ball (Am.), go on with what you are about.
Played out, ended, ruined.
Playing 'possum (Am.), act a part, deceiving. The opos-
sum when struck often pretends to be dead.
Plaza (Sp.), a public square. Used in New Mexico and
Lower California,
Plebs, name given by boys at English public schools to the
town boys, with whom they are always at war.
Ploughed (Eng.), failing to pass an examination at one of
the universities. See Plucked.
Ploughed, drunk.
Pluck (Eng.), courage, valor.
Pluck (Eng.), the liver and lungs of a sheep or hog.
Plucked (Eng.), failing to pass an examination. See
Ploughed, ante.
Plug (Am.), a hat. Also a cake of chewing tobacco.
Plug (Am.), a name applied by telegraph operators to a poor
hynd at telegraphy or to the operator at a small "plug"
station.
Plugger (Am.), one who plays in a gambling house to in-
duce the belief that a game is going on.
 PLU POL 207

Plng-ugly (Am.), name given to the rowdies of Baltimore.

Plum (Eng.), directly, exactly.
Plum (Eng.), one hundred thousand pounds. Perhaps
from pluma^ a feather, the idea being that the possessor
of such a sum had "well-feathered his nest."
Plummy (Eng.), round, sleek, jolly, fat.
Plumper (Eng.), a single or straight vote at an election, the
opposite of a "split ticket."
Plunder (Eng.), baggage, personal belongings, profit.
Plunger (Eng.), a heavy dragoon.
Plunger (Eng.), a man who bets heavily; a "high roller."
Plunk (Am.), a dollar.
Pocket (Am.), in mining phrase, a small deposit of the prec-
ious metal ; not a true fissure vein.
Pocket, "to put up with" (Eng.), a man who fails to resent
an affront is said to pocket it, while a poor man is compelled
to "pocket his pride."
Pocket-pistol, a spirit flask.
Podgy, short, dumpy.
Pogy (Am.), a jail or workhouse.
Point or Pointer, information ; a tip.

Poke (Am.), to dawdle.

Poke (Old Eng.), a sack or bag. There is an old proverb
about "buying a pig in a poke." See ante.
Poker, a stupid person ; a bore.
Poker, a game of cards, otherwise known as "Draw."
Poky, confined, cramped, as a "poky" room.
Policy, a game based on the choice of numbers supposed to
be drawn by lot. It is a great favorite with negroes. Two
chosen numbers coming out constitute a "saddle;" three a
*gig" and four a "horse," and each pays accordingly.
 2o8 POLPOP
PoUsh oflf (P. R.), to finish, as in a fight.
Poll, to beat or distance.
Pollywog, a tadpole.
Polony, a Cockneyism for bologna sausage.
Pompadour, the style of brushing the hair high up in front,
much affected by dudes. The name comes from Mme. de
Pompadour.
Pompeyed, a ridiculous equivalent for pampered. See
Dickens, Great Expectations.
I Ponce (Eng.), a pimp who lives upon the earnings of a pros-
titute. See Pensioner.
Pond Herring-pond, the ocean.
or
Pone (Am.), a cake made of corn meal. The name is a cor-
ruption of an Indian word.
Pony (Eng.), twenty-five pounds.
Pony, a translation of a classical work used by students. In
England it is a "crib."

Pony, a small glass of spirits.

Pony up, to pay.

Poo-Bab, one full of business; a jack of all trades. From a
character in the opera of The Mikado, on whom all manner
of work is thrust.
Pooh-pooh, an exclamation signifying unbelief; to deride.
Pool, to unite issues, to aggregate funds and combine
as is done by railroad corporations. See Trust and Com-
bine.
Poona (Gip.), an English sovereign or pound.
Poor Lo, the American Indian. See Lo, ante.
Poorly (Eng.), in bad health.
Pop, to pawn or pledge. To "pop up the spout."
Pop, a mild drink, like ginger-beer.
 POPPOT 209

Pop (Am.), a pistol or revolver.

Pope's nose. See Parson's nose, ante.
Poppycock, nonsense, silly boasting.
Pop the question, to make an offer of marriage.
Popular (Am.), conceited, fussy. "As popular as a hen
with one chicken."
Portagre (Am.), a carrying-place over land from one naviga-
ble stream to another, or around falls or rapids.
Post, to pay out money ; to "post the coal" is a sporting term
signifying to make one's stake good.
Posted, when a man refuses to pay his gambling debts his
name is posted. Also if he refuses to fight a duel he may
be posted as a coward,
Posted-up, well-acquainted with a subject.
Pot, a favorite in the betting.
Pot, to finish. "Gone to pot" means dead, from the classic
custom of placing the ashes of the dead in an urn.
Pot (Am.), the accumulated bets in a game of poker,
A "jack-pot" is one which can only be opened by a player
who holds a pair of jacks or better.
Potato-trap (Eng.), the mouth.
Potboiler (Eng.), a picture painted or sketch written hur-
riedly and for the purpose of "keeping the pot boiling."
Potheen, Irish whisky of the home-made kind, prepared
from potatoes and flavored with peat smoke.
Pot-hunter (Eng.), an alleged sportsman who shoots every-
thing he comes across, whether game or not.
Pot luck (Eng.), just as it comes; anything there may be in
the house for dinner.
Potted (Eng.), buried. Also said of anything put out of the
way, as to "pot" the ball at pool.
Potter, to meddle without judgment; to mess about.
2IO POT PRI
Pot-valiant (Eng.), courageous through application to the
bottle. Full of Dutch courage, {^q. v.)
Pot-wrestler or Pot-walloper (Am.), a scullion or dish-

Pour-boire (Fr.), a small gift or tip, literally "for beer." " .

-^v
~
Pow (Scotch), the head. {>t *^

"Now blessings on thy frosty pow,

John Anderson, my Jo."
Powder monkey, a boy who carries ammunition and supplies
for gunners on board ship.
Power, a large quantity, as a "power of money."
Pow-wow (Am. Indian), a conference.
P. P., play or pay,
in racing parlance means that the bet
must be paid whether the backer "gets a run for his
money" or not.
P. R., the prize ring.
Prad (Gip.), a horse.
Prairie State (Am. ), the State of Illinois. See also Sucker
State.
Prancer (Gip.), a horse.
Praties (Irish), potatoes.
Precious, very or great, as "precious few," or "a precious
rascal."
Presently (Scotch), directly; at present.
Pretty, in Scotland, a tall, fine-looking man is described as a
"pretty" man.
Previousness, freshness.
Prial, a corruption of pair-royal, a term used in cribbage to
signify any three cards of a similar description. Four
such cards form a double prial.
Prig (Old Eng.), a thief; used as a verb, to steal. See Win-
ter*s TaUy iv^ 2.
 PRIPUE 211

Prig (Eng.), a conceited, stuck-up person.

Prig (Scotch), to beat down in price; to bargain.
Priggish (Eng.), conceited.
Primed (Eng.), well-loaded with drink.
Primp up, to dress up. Probably the same as Prink. See
next article.
Prink, to make neat or fine.
Prinked out, well dressed.
Pro (Theatrical), an actor; a member of "the" profession.
Prog, food.
Prop, a necktie or scarf-pin.
Prop, a blow.
Proper, very, exceedingly, good. A "proper" man is a tall,
fine-looking fellow.
Props, theatrical properties; articles used in presenting a
drama, as pictures, tables, sham jewelry, etc.
Props, crutches.
Prospecting, searching for gold or other mineral deposits*
A "prospect" is a fair outlook for successful mining.
Prosser (Eng.), one who lives on the earnings of a prosti-
tute.
Provider (Am.), spoken of a husband. "He is a good pro-
vider," (for his family implied).
Ps and Q*s, precise behavior. "Mind your P*s and Q's,*
be careful.
Pub (Eng.), a public house; a tavern.
Pucker, "in a," in a temper.
Pucker, a snarl or tangle.
Pucker up, to twist up the mouth, as one does who eats an
olive, a lemon, or a persimmon.
Pueblo (Sp.), a village or house.
ai2 PUFPUN
Puflf, an advertisement; to puff is to praise unduly.
Pug, short for pugilist.
Puke, nickname for a Missourian.

Pukka (Hindustani). In India anything that is good and

nice is "puklca," and the word is used as an adjective much
as"awful" is in England.
Pull (Am.), an advantage held over another person.
Pull (Am.), to arrest, or to raid a gambling- house or house
of ill -fame.
Pull, to pull a horse in a race, is for the jockey to hold him
in or so ride as to prevent him winning.
Pull (Am.), *'to have a pull," to be possessed of influence; a
word much used in the political world.
Pull down your vest, a stupid expression which originated
a few years ago, became a catch phrase on the streets and
then faded into deserved oblivion.
Pullet (Eng.), a young girl.
Pull foot (Am.), to start off rapidly; to run.
Pull through, to succeed ; to recover from an illness.
Pull up stakes (Am.), to remove bag and baggage.
Pull wool over one*s eyes, to deceive; to humbug.
Pummel or Pommel, to thrash.
Pump, to extract information by cross-questioning.
Pundit (Hindu), a grave and reverend seignior; a learned
man.
Punkah (Hindu), a swinging fan used for ventilating houses
East Indies.
in the
Punkins, "some" (Am.) (pumpkins), good, smart. About
the opposite of Small potatoes (f. z>.)

Punt, to gamble.
Punter, a small gambler or backer of horses; an attendant
at a gambling table.
 PURPUT 913

Purl, to spill.
Purl (Old Eng.), a mixture of hot ale and sugar used in old
times as a morning drink and known as "early purl."
Purler (Eng.), a heavy fall from a horse in the hunting-
field.
Purr (Eng.), to kick.
Purry (Old Scotch), the poker.
Pusb (Eng.), a crowd.
Push, a robbery or swindle.
Puss (P. R.), the mouth.
Put (Eng.), a game of cards.
Put (Am.), to start or go away; to put out
Put a head on (Am.), to punch or assault another.
Put it on ice (Am.), charge it up.
Put on (Eng.), to promise another a share in a bet should
it prove successful. Thus a racing man will say to his
jockey, "I have put you on so much on to-day's race."
That means the jockey wins he will receive the bet,
that if
while if he he will not have to pay, the bet being car-
loses
ried by the employer.

Put one's foot down, to become imperative.

Put out (Eng.), annoyed, angry.
Put out, to start or set out; to put off.
Puts, on the Stock Exchange, a gambling transaction in
which a man pays for the privilege of delivering stock at a
certain price within a specified time. See Call, ante.
Putter up (Eng.), an associate of housebreakers and bur-
glars who
obtains information about good "plants" and ar-
ranges the preliminaries of a robbery.
Put that in your pipe (Eng.), think of it; digest it
Put the pot on (Eng.), to bet largely.


214 PUT
Put through, to carry any undertaking into effect; to com-
plete a deal.
Put to sleep (P. R.) a word of recent introduction, signify
ing to knock a man out; to render him incapable of con-^
tinuing a contest in the ring.
Put up, to suggest; to incite.
Put up, to stop at an hotel or tavern.
Put up, to supply one with money.
Put-up job, a robbery or swindle arranged in advance.
Put upon, cheated, victimized.
 Q
Quadroon (Am.), the ofbpring of a white person and a
mulatto.
Quality (Eng.), the upper classes; gentry.
Quandary, a dilemma, a doubt; from the French qu^en
diraije.
Quarter, twenty-five cents.
Quartereen (Sp.), a small coin.
Quaver, a musician.
Quean (Old Eng.), a woman, a strumpet. FalstaF says,
"Throw the quean in the channel," when Mrs. Quickly
seeks his arrest.
Queer, counterfeit money.
Queer, "to queer a Hat," is to gammon or bamboozle him.
Byron uses the word in Don yuan^ Canto xi.
Queer, base, roguish, worthless. Also anything peculiar or
strange.
Queer Guffin (Old), a Justice of the Peace or committing
magistrate.
Queer-soft, counterfeit notes or bills.

Queer street, "to be in" (Eng.), to be in trouble or diffi-

culty.
Quid, an English sovereign.
Quid (Sea term), a mouthful or "chaw" of tobacco.
Quid-nnnc, "What now ?" an inquisitive person, one always
asking for news.
Quiet, "on the," clandestinely, in secret.
116
3X6 QUIQUO
Quill-dpiver, a clerk or scrivener.
Quilt, to thrash.
Quit (Am.), to stop.
Quite (Am.), is used to express an indefinite space of time,
as "quite a while," or an indefinite quantity as "quite a
number." In either case the English is bad.
Quitter, said of a horse which breaks down in a race or a
man who "quits" in a fight. The opposite of "stayer."
Quiz, to joke or roast.
Quiz, "an old," a prying person; an odd fellow.
Quizzical, jocose, humorous.
Quizzing-glass, an eye-glass.
Quod, prison, probably from the quadrangular shape of such
edifices or of their enclosed court yards.

. > v?,i. t.:..

 R
"Race, used as a verb, to run; to chase.
Back, used for wreck, as in "gone to rack and ruin."
Backer, a pacer.
Backet, a noise or disturbance; a dodge. "What racket are
you on ?" what are you about.
Backetty, wild, noisy.
Back of bones, a starved horse or other domestic animal.
Backs, the bones or frame- work of a dead horse.
Baff (Eng.), a dissipated fellow; a cheap swell.
Baffish, dissipated.
Bagr, a bank-note or bill.

Bagramuffin (Eng.), an ill-clad vagabond.

Bag money (Am.), paper money.
Bag off the bush, "to take the," to exceL
Bags, money.
Bag-shop, a bank.
BaUroad, to push through at a rapid pace, as "He was rail*
roaded to the penitentiary."
Bain-napper, an umbrella.
Baise (Am.), to bring up; to rear from childhood. Also to
grow corn or other crops.
Baise a racket, to kick up a row.
Baise Cain or Baise Ned, to create a disturbance.
Baise the Wind (Eng.), to obtain money or credit.
m
ai8 RAIRAP
Baise, to make a" (Am.), to borrow money.
Bake down, to scold.
Bake-off, the bank's percentage at a gambling game.
Baker, to go a," to bet hea,vily; the usual preliminary to
"coming a cropper."
Bamp (Eng.), to hustle for the purpose of robbery; to
blackmail.
Bampage, "on the," on a drunk or in a violent temper.
Mrs. Joe Gargery in Great Expectations had a habit of
going on the rampage, much to the discomfort of poor Pip.
Bamper (Eng.), a brutal ruffian who infests race courses,
and forms one of a gang who assault persons for the pur-
pose of robbery.
Bamps, at the game of pin-pool, to knock down four pins,
leaving the king-pin standing, and thus winning the game.
Bamshackle, queer, rickety, knocked about.
Banche (Sp.), a house or farm.
Bandan, where a boat is impelled by three rowers; the mid-
shipman sculling and the other two rowing, this is styled
rowing "randan."
Bandy, disorderly, noisy.
Bangry (Am.), large, loosely built. Said of a horse or cow.
Bank, full-grown, complete, as "a rank sucker."
Bank, to cheat.
Bantan, "on the,** drunk.
Banter, a term of derision applied to a Methodist. There is
a sect registered in England as "Ranters."
BantipoU, a noisy, rude girl ; a madcap.
Bap, to swear in a court of justice.
Bap, to speak vehemently and rapidly, as to "rap out oaths."
Bapid, an equivalent for Fast (f . v,)
 RAPREA 119
Rapparee (Irish), a name given to the Irish rebels and out-
laws who infested the bogs and maintained a guerilla war-
fare.
Kappingr, large, enormous, as a "rapping big lie.**
Rapscallion, a low fellow; a tattered and ragged man.
Baree-sbow, a collection of curiosities.
Bat (Eng.), a sneak, an informer, a turncoat To rat is to
leave one's party.
Bat, among working men a non-unioaist; one who works
under price.
Bat, Ho smell a," to suspect something.

Bather, a stupid ejaculation synonymous with yes; **Do you

go out of town this year?" "Rather."
Battening (Eng.), outrages committed by trade unionists on
objectionable workmen.
Battle, "an agreeable" (Eng.), a lady's man; a fellow full
of smart talk.
Battlebrain (Eng.), a flighty person.
Battler, a hustler; a lively fellow.
Battletrap (Eng.), a shaky buggy or wagon or anything
out of order.
Battletrap, the mouth.
Battling, noisy, jolly, pleasant
Baw (Eng.), a tender point or foible; to <*touch a man on
the raw" is to irritate him as if by touching a wound.
Baw, a novice, fresh, green. See Johnny Raw, ante.
Bazzle-dazzle, to confuse or deceive. Also an equivalent
for drunk.
Beach me downs or Hand me downs, clothes bought at
second-hand stores.
Beader, a pocket-book.
230 REAREN
Beady, money.
Beal, isused in the United States instead of very, as "You're
real mean," or "I'm real glad to see you." The usage is
not a commendable one.
Real jam, anything exceptionably good.
Beckon, used in the South as "calculate" is in New England,
has no an authority than the Authorized Version to back
less
it. St. Paul says, Romans viii. i8^ "For I reckon that the
sufferings of this time are not worthy," etc. See also
Romans vi, 2
Bed cent, the smallest copper coin.
Bed do^, a name formerly given to State Bank notes.
Bed, "not a (Am.), out of money.
red,"
Bedd (Old Eng.), to clean up the house or room.
Bed-eye (Am.), new whisky.
Bed herring", a British soldier.
Bed-hot, a red-hot time is a "drunk" or a "hurrah time."
Bed lane, the throat.
Bed liquor (Am.), whisky.
Bed rag, the tongue.
Bed-tape (Am.), official routine. From the color of the
string with which official papers are tied.
Bed 'un or Bed super, a gold watch.
Befresher (Eng.), money paid an attorney or barrister from
day to day during the progress of a trial or case in court.
Begrulars (Thieves' slang), a fair division of plunder.

Begulators (Am.), self -constituted guardians of public vir-

tue and morality, who form Vigilance Committees and join
inlynching parties.
Believing officer (Eng.), a father.
Beuagrue (Irish), to revoke at cards.
 REPRIG aai

Repeater (Am.), one who votes early and often at an elec-

tion.
Resurrection man, a grave-robber. See Dickens' Tale of
Two Cities.
Resurrection pie, a pie made of scraps or leavings.
Retainer, a preliminary fee paid to a lawyer.
Rhino (Old Eng.), money.
Rib, a wife. See Genesis^ chap, ii^ verse 21.
Ribbon (Eng.), gin, whisky or other spirits.
Ribbons (Eng.), carriage reins.
Ribroasty to beat.
Ricb, spicy, luscious, entertaining.
Ride, to carry, to transport. In England one drives ahuggy
but rides a horse, while in the United States one goes for
a ride whether on horseback or in a carriage.
Ride the high horse, to put on style; to be overbearing or
oppressive.
Rider, an addition to a legislative measure.
Riding for a flail, in the hunting-field or in steeple-chasing
cunning riders who see no chance of being in at the finish
sometimes ride for a fall, coming down as easily as they
can and thus saving their reputation as horsemen, the mat-
ter being credited as an accident. So, too, in the business
world where a speculator finds himself unable to meet his
engagements he places some of his assets in safety and
rides for a fall.
Riffle, "to make the" (Am.), to succeed.
Riff-raff, low, vulgar people.
Rig (Am.), a horse and wagon or team.
Big, a trick or dodge. To "run a rig" b to play tricks, and
*to rig the market" is much the same.
222 RIGRIP
Bigged-oat, well-dressed.
digging, a woman's clothing.
Right (Am.), is used for very, as "it rains right hard."
Right along (Am.), without cessation, continuously.
Right as a trivet, exactly right, but why trivet is unknown.
Right away (Am.), directly, immediately.
Right here or Right now (Am.), at this time.
Right off (Am.), immediately.
Rights, "to have one dead to," to be even with him ; to serve
him out.
Right you are (Eng.), a phrase expressive of acquiesence.
Rigmarole, a prolix or stupid story.
Rile or Roil (Am.), to trouble, as to "roil the water."
Riled, annoyed, offended.
Ring (Am.), a combination of speculators or politicians.
Ring, "betting," the enclosure used by betting men at races.
Ring-dropping, an imitation gold ring is dropped by the op-
erator, who pretends to have just found it and offers to sell
it cheap to the "sucker" of the occasion. See Fawney-
RiG, ante.
Ringer, a horse entered in a race under a false name with
intent to deceive the handicappers or judges.
Ring in, to ring in is to substitute a "cold deck" of cards for
the proper ones, or in any other way to cheat by substitu-
tion or false entry.
Ring the changes (Am.), to swindle by substituting bad
money for good.
Ring, "the twenty-four foot," the regulation prize-ring.
Rip, an old rake an abbreviation of reprobate.
;

Rip (Am.), to go at a great pace. "Let her rip."

Ripper (Eng.), a first-rate man or horse or article.
 RIPRON 223

Ripping, excellent, very good.

Bipsuorter (Am.), a tearing, driving fellow.
Rise, "to take a rise out of" one is to hoax, "cod" or play
tricks on him.
Rive (Old Eng.), to tear or rend.
Road, a common v^roman. See Shakespeare, King Henry
IV.
Roarer, a broken-v^inded horse.
Roaring game, the Scotch game of curling, played v^rith
stones on the ice, and now naturalized in Canada and the
United States.
Roaring trade, a successful business.
Roast, to quiz, to "cod" or "josh" by keeping up a succession
of satirical jokes. In newspaper slang an exposure or un-
favorable criticism.
Rock (Am.), a stone of any size. A boy heaves a rock and
breaks a window.
Rockbottom, the lowest, said of the prices of goods.
Rock-rooted, said of the Democratic party, fondly by its
members, in derision by its foes. See Mossbacks, ante.
Rocks (Am.), money.
Rocky (Am.), shaky, either financially or physically.
Roiled (Am.), disturbed, muddy.
Roll, a parcel of bank-bills.
Roll of snow (Gip.), a piece of linen.
Rolling the duck, sending out for beer. See Rushing the
CAN and Rushing the growler.
Rom or Romm (Gip.), a man. Romany, the Gipsy people;
also applied to their language.
Bonyon (Old), a term of contempt applied to a woman.
See Macbeth /, j.
 ;

224 ROO ROU

Rook (Old Eng.), a cheat, a card sharper. See Merry
Wives of Windsor^ /, j.
Rook (Eng.), a clergyman, from his black clothes.
Book, to cheat or swindle.
Booked, cheated.
Bookery, a low neighborhood, street or collection of houses.
Booky, rascally, scampish.
Boorback (Am.), a false allegation issued for political pur-
poses.
Boost, a resting-place, "Going to roost," going to bed.
Booster, the male barnyard fowl.
Boot of all evil, money.
Boot, hog, or die (Am.), signifies that one must hustle for
a living.
Bope, to cause a horse to win or lose a race. See Pull.
Bopein (Am.), to swindle; to induce one to enter a scheme
in which he will be cheated. Shakespeare uses "ropery"
for roguery.
Boper-in (Am.), a "capper" for a gambling house or for
any other swindle.
Bopes, "to know the," to be "up to snuff;" to know the way
about; familiarity with city life and tricks.

Bopingr, pulling or otherwise restraining a horse in a race.

Bose, "under the," quietly, in secret.
Bot, nonsense.
Bot-gut (Am.), bad whisky.
Bough and tumble, a fight in which all rules are ignored.
Bough diamond, a man whose character is better than his
appearance.
Bough it, to put up with inferior accommodations or food
to work hard, as at mining in the Territories.
 ROURUB 225

Bouglis, rowdies, vulgar fellows.

Bound, to inform, to split or tell tales. "Rounding," accord-
ing to Shakespeare, is whispering.
Bound, the beat or usual walk of a traveling peddler or beg-
gar.
Bounder (Am.), one who is well acquainted with the town,
especially the shady side of it.

Bound Bobin, a petition or paper of remonstance with the

signatures written in a circle.
Bound 'un, an unblushing and well-rounded He. Otherwise
known as a Whopper (^. v.)
Bound up (Am.), the periodical collection of cattle for the
purpose of branding.
Boup (Scotch), an auction.
Boupy, hoarse.
Boust, to stir up.
Boustabout (Am.), a dock laborer or steamboat hand.
B01V, a noisy disturbance or tumult.
Bow^dy (Am.), a street loafer and thumper, a species of
blackguard disagreeably prevalent in large cities. Same as
the Plug-Ugly, Hoodlum, Dead rabbit or Larrikin

Kowdy, money.
Bow to hoe, "to have a hard" (Am.), to have a difficult
task to perform. Lowell uses the expression in the JSt^-
lovi Papers.
Bub, a quarrel or impediment. "There's the rub."
Bubbedout (Am.), dead. Similar to Wiped out (^. v.")

Bubber, the best of three games at whist.

Rubbers, "those that play at bowlswill meet with rubbers,"
a warning often given, and taken from the old game of
bowls.
226 RUB RUN
Bubbingr it in, imposing on one to an extraordinary extent.
Buck, "in the ruck," in the last end.
Buck, a wrinkle or plait in cloth.
Buction (Irish), a fight or lively row of the Donny brook
order. A Shindy (j-. v.)
Bule the roast or, more properly, roost, to be at the head
of affairs; to be the cock of the walk, as the cock rules the
hen-roost.
Bum (Gip.), queer, peculiar, as a "rum old chap;" "that is a
rum (strange) go."
Bumbler (Eng.), a four-wheeled cab. Formerly the cart
inwhich criminals were taken to execution. See "The
night before Larry was stretched."
Bumbumptious, pompous, haughty.
Bum-mill (Am.), a saloon or groggery.
Bumpus, a noise or disturbance.
Bun, said of a play, its success and duration.
Bun (Am)., to contend for office or to conduct any business.
Bun, to tease.
Bun, on a bank, when there is a heavy demand by many de-

positors for the immediate payment of their claims.

Bun, to comprehend or to compass, as "I can't run to it.**

Also not to have enough money to "run" to the expense

asked.
Bun, "to run the town," to overawe the police and conduct
matters anyhow.
Bun for the money, *'to have," when a bet is made condi-
tioned on the horse actually starting.
Bun-in, arrested, taken to the police station.
Bun Into the ^ound, to overdo anything.
 RUNRUS 337

Bnimer (Eng.), for bookmakers, a man who runs from place

to place with news of race results or the state of the betting
market, now practically supplanted by the telephone and
the "ticker."
Running amuck, from the Malay amok; a common prac-
tice among the Malays when maddened by bhangs is to
arm themselves with a huge knife and run through the
streets, cutting and slashing indiscriminately.
Bun cue's face, to obtain credit on the strength of one's ap-
pearance.
Buut (Am.), the smallest pig of the litter, called in England
the "titman pig." Any contemptible or miserable crea-
ture.
Bush, spirit, energy, vim.
Bush, come suddenly on one. To give a man the rush is
to
to spring a demand for money on him.
Bushing the can or the growler, sending to the saloon for
beer with a can or pitcher.
Bush it (Am.), hurry up.
Bust, "to nab the" (Eng.), to take offence.
Bustle, to move about sharply ; to hustle.
Bustler, a hustler.
Sachem (Am.), an Indian chief.
Sack, "to get the," to be discharged from a situation. In
Scotland it is to "get the bag." To "get the bullet" is
equivalent.
Sad (Am.), heavy, as applied to bread.
Sad dog, on the lucus a non lucendo principle, is applied to
a merry fellow; a gay or fast man.
Safe (Eng.), certain, trusty.
Safe one, a horse that will not be run to win and on which
the bookmakers feel "safe."
Sag (Am.), to hang down, as a sagging rope.
Sagamore (Am.), an Indian chief or Sachem (^. v.)
Sail in (Am.), make a beginning.
St. Anthony's pig, "drunk as." In some old paintings the
Saint, who was the friend and patron of animals, is repre-
sented with a pig at his heels, but tradition is silent as to
any misbehavior on the part of Piggy.
St. Giles's Greek, slang; the cant of the Seven Dials.
Saint Monday (Eng.), a holiday often taken by mechanics
in order to recover from the fatigues of a Sunday's enjoy-
ment.
Saints (Am.), name arrogated to themselves by the Mor-
mons.
Sal, salary. Theatrical slang.
Salaam (Hindu), a salutation or bow.
Saloon (Am.), a retail beer and whisky shop.
aas
 SALSAN 339

Salt, money.
Salt or Old Salt, a sailor.
Salt down, to put away ; to bank or save money.
Saltee (Lingua-Franca), a penny.
Salt Junk or Old Horse (Sea term), salt beef.
Salt River, "to row up" (Am.), the fate of defeated politi-
cians and political parties.
Salt, "that is too," said of an extortionate bill.

Salt, "to salt a mine," is to place valuable ore in a mine with

a view to deceiving a possible purchaser.
Salve (Eng.), flattery.
Sam, "to stand Sam" (Am.), to stand treat.
Sambo (Am.), term applied to male negroes.
Sammy or Simple Sammy, a stupid or silly fellow.*

Samp (Am.), a preparation of Indian com.

Sampan, a small boat.
Sample-room (Am.), a retail groggery.
Sand (Am.(, grit, courage.
S. and B. (Eng.), soda and brandy.
Sandbagr (Am.), a weapon used by highwaymen; made
with sand packed in a cloth bag.
Sandba^gr^d (Am.), struck with a sandbag. Metaphoric-
ally used for blackmailed.
Sand-bagger (Am.), a highwayman who stuns his victim
by a blow from behind. A blackmailer.
Sandhiller (Am.), a native of South Carolina.
Sandwich man (Eng.), one who travels through the streets
with advertising boards strapped in front and behind him.
A gentleman with a lady on each side is spoken of as a
sandwich.
Sandy, a Scotchman; abbreviation of Alexander,
330 SAP SCA
Saphead, a stupid, silly person.
Saratoga (Am.), a lady's trunk of huge dimensions.
Sardine, an old sailor.
Sark (Scotch), a shirt.
Sass ^^Am.), common New England equivalent for sauce.
Garden-sass is vegetables.
Satin (Eng.), gin. Otherwise Tape or Ribbon.
Sauce (Eng.), impertinence.
Sauce (Am.), preserved fruits or table vegetables.
Saucebox (Eng.), an impertinent person.
Save (Eng.), to give part of one bet for part of another; a
form of hedging.
Saveloy (Eng.), a sausage.
Savey or Savvy, a corruption of the Spanish sabe^ to know;
much used on the Pacific coast and in India and China.
Saw, at whist, when two partners alternately trump a suit,
played by each to the other for the special purpose.
Sawbones, a surgeon. Sam Weller uses the expression in
Pickwick.
Sawdust (Am.), money, generally counterfeit.
Sawney, a Scotchman; also a lout.
Saw-ofF (Am.), a deciding toss or throw of the dice to settle
which of two men left in at the end of a game shall settla
the full score.
Sawyer (Am.), a tree partially submerged in a river and
forming a danger to navigation. See also Snag, supra.
Say so, "upon my," a very mild form of asseveration.
Scab (Eng.), a term of opprobrium applied to non-union
workmen.
Scads (Am.), money.
 SCASCO 331

Scalawag: (Am.), a worthless fellow; a bummer and black-

guard.
Scallops or Scollops, "to put on," to assume an air of im-
portance or style ; to put on "side."
Scalper (Am.), a railroad ticket broker, or a speculative op-
erator on the Board of Trade or Stock Exchange, who
deals in small lots and in an irregular way.
Scalp-lock (Am.), the long tuft of hair worn by Indians.
Scaly, shabby, mean.
Scamp (Old Eng.), a rascal.
Scamp, properly skimp, to give short measure; to slur over
one's woric.
Scandal water, tea.
Scarce, "to make oneself," to be off; to decamp.
Scare (Am.), a fight, or to frighten.^
Scare up (Am.), to hunt for; to find.
Scarlet fever (Eng.), the sentiment felt by young women
for the red-coated military.
Scarper, from the Spanish escarpar, to run away, to escape.
Scary (Am.), frightened, timid.
Schlager (Ger.), a sword.
Schnapps (Ger.), gin or other spirits.
Schnitzel or Snitz (Ger.), dried fruit cut in small slices.

Schofel or Shoftd, bad money.

School, a gang of young men or boys.
Schooner (Am.), a large beer glass.
Scoop (Am.), in newspaper language a beat; exclusive in-
formation.
Scooped (Am.), beaten.
Sconce, the head.
332 SCO SCR
Sconce (Eng.), to fine.

Scoot (Am.), to run away.

Scorcher, a person of bad temper or of great energy. Also
one who in any way outdoes the rest; a superlative with
many meanings.
Score, a tavern reckoning, from the old practice of scoring
such with chalk on the door. To settle old scores is to
wipe out a debt, whether it be of money or vengeance.
Score, to keep count or tally, as scoring a base ball match.
Scot, a quantity of anything; a lot or share.
Scot, temper or passion. "What a scot he was in." De-
rived from the supposed irascible temperament of the North
Briton.
Scotch fiddle (the Itch), a cutaneous disease somewhat pre-
valent north of the Tweed. See God bless the Dukb
OF Argyle.
Scout, a college valet or servant at Oxford. At Cambridge
he is known as a Gyp, or vulture.
Scrag* (Eng.), the neck, and to hang by the neck.
Scragging, hanging.
Scran, cold meat or other victuals. "Bad scran to you," is
an Irish malediction.
Scrap (Am.), a fight, or to fight.
Scrape (Eng.), a difficulty.
Scrape, a shave.
Scratch (P. R.), an imaginary meeting point in a fight. To
**toe the scratch" is to be ready for the fight.

Scratch, an accidental gain at billiards or at any other game.

"He won by a scratch;" otherwise by a Fluke (^. v.)
Scratch, to strike a horse out of a race.
Scratched, struck out.
 SCRSEC 333

Scratch race or Scratch crew, a race without restrictions

or a crew made up anyhow.
Scrawny, thin, angular, bony.
Screamer, a bouncing, lively girl ; a tomboy.
Screaming-, first-rate, splendid, amusing.
Screed (Gld Eng.), a written paper or article.
Screeve, a begging petition.
Screever (Eng.), a pavement chalker who draws rude pic-
tures of ships, etc., on the sidewalk. Also a writer of beg-
ging letters.
Screw (Eng.), a worn out horse.
Screw^, salary, wages.
Screw (Eng.), a miser, a mean person.
Screw, a small package of tobacco.
Screw, a key ; also the turnkey of a prison.
Screw, "to put on the," to limit credit; to compel or coerce.
Screwed, drunk.
Screw loose, "a," anything wrong or ill-adjusted; a difference
of opinion.
Screw your nut (Am.), go away; get out. See Sling
YOUR HOOK, supra.
Scrimmage (Irish), a row, disturbance or free fight.
Scrouge (Eng.), to punish or squeeze,
Scrouged (Eng.), crowded.
Scrub, worthless.
Scruff, the back of the neck.
Scrumptious, handsome, excellent.
Sea.cook, "son of a," an opprobrious phrase used by sailors.
Sea-dog, an old sailor.
Secesh, a corruption of secession. The Confederate States
were sometimes spoken of as Secessia.
834 SECSER
Second wind, to get one's" to rally after exertion, as in a
fight or a race.
See, has many slang meanings, of which its use in the sense
of "know" or "believe," as "I can't see that," is one. It is
a common practice of the street hoodlum to conclude his
statement with this word, as "I was going to the saloon,
see."
See, to bribe ; to fix or "square" a man. "Jones has been
seen and is all right."
See a man, "to go out to" (Am.), an excuse to go out for a
drink, the man being supposedly a barkeeper.
Seedy (Eng.), shabby, worn-out, poverty-stricken. Also
used to express sickness.
See it out, to stay late at a meeting or to complete an under-
taking.
See the elephant or See the king (Am.), to take in the
sights; to do the town.
See you later (Am.), a phrase of recent introduction used
instead of good-bye as a parting salute.
Sell (Eng.), a practical joke; a sham or swindle. "To sell"
is to swindle. Shakespeare uses selling in the sense of de-
ceiving.
Sell out, is said of a race or other sporting contest which is
thrown or "crossed." The
expression is also used when a
politician or a political party goes over to the other side,
presumably for a consideration.
Send-occasionally (Am.), once in a while.
Sense-carrier (Irish), a title given to an old villager, one of
the kind who "know it all."

Serape (Sp.), a blanket with an opening in the middle for

the head, and worn as a cloak.
Serene (Eng.), "all serene," all right; a phrase taken from
 SRSHA 3S5

a comic song and used when first introduced on all occa-

sions. Now it is seldom heard.
Serious (Eng.), religious.
Serve out, to punish.
Serve you right, a word of comfort given to a man who has
gotten into trouble through his own fault. See Ingoldsby^
A Tale of Margate.
Set-back, a discomfiture or defeat.
Set in his ways, firm, obstinate.
Setter (Eng.), a capper or mock bidder at an auction. One
who "sets in a game" in a robbery. Shakespeare uses it in
this sense in 1 King Henry I F, act ii^ sc. ^, where Poins
describes Gadshill as their setter.
Settle, to kill, ruin, or effectually quiet a man.
Settle, to pay. Also said of a minister permanently engaged
by a church, which "settles" him, or of a person who takes
up a residence in some place with the intention of remain-
ing there.
Settled, paid, discharged.
Settled, transported or sentenced to imprisonment for life.

Settle one's hash, to finish him ; to knock him out.

Settler, a knock-down blow; anything decisive; an unan-
swerable argument.
Set-to (P. R.), a fight or sparring match. To make a Dead-
set at one is to oppose him in a determined manner.
Set up or Set them up (Am.), to pay for the drinks.
Seven-up (Am.), the game of all fours; from the number of
points that have to be made to win.
Sewed up, done up, played out, intoxicated.
Shabby-genteel (Eng.), aping gentility without the means
to present a good appearance. Thackeray uses the phrase
freely.
236 SHA
Shack, a vagabond; a blackguard.
Shackly, loose, rickety.
Shadbelly coat (Am.), an old-fashioned garment worn by
Quakers.
Shadow, to watch; also as a noun, the fellow who does the
watching.
Shady, "to keep," to remain in the background.
Shady, disreputable inferior, as "a shady trick." "On the
;

shady side of forty" means that one has passed that age.
Shake, a disreputable person ; a prostitute.
Shake, to get rid of ; to cut. To give one the "dirty shake"
is to throw him over.

Shake, a fair chance. From the game of dice, where if

the box is shaken fairly each player has an equal chance.
Shake-down, an improvised bed on the floor.
Shakes (Am.), the ague.
Shakes, "no great," not much good.
Shakester or Schickster, a woman of doubtful repute.
Shake the elhow, to play dice.
Shaky, timid, uncertain in bad condition financially, physi-
;

cally or mentally.
Shaler, a girl.
Shallow cove (Old CantV a half naked beggar who trades
on his appearance. A
Shallow-mot is his equally
wretched looking female companion.
Shallows, "to go on the," to go about ragged and half naked
in order to excite compassion.

Sham, corruption of champagne; quite often a perfectly cor-

supposed vintage.
rect characterization of the

Shamming Abraham (Old Eng.), to feign sickness or dis-

tress. See Abrahawman, ante.
 SHASHE a37

Shandrydan (Irish), an old-fashioned chaise.

Shandygaff (Eng.), a mixture of ale and ginger-beer; a
favorite summer drink.
Shanghaied, said of sailors who are captured by the crimps
and hustled on board a ship when drunk, often being badly
hurt in the process.
Shanks, the legs.
Shank's mare, "to ride," to go a-foot. Otherwise to go by
Foot and Walker's link.
Shant, a quart. "Shant of bivvy," a quart or pot of beer.
Shanty (Sea slang), a song.
Shanty, a rude house or hut.
Shark, a sharper or swindler. Sailor's term for a lawyer.
Sharp (Eng.), punctual. "Dinner was served at 7 sharp."
Sharper, a swindler.
Sharp stick, to be after one with a sharp stick is to pursue
him revengefully.
Shape, "to travel on one's;" to trade on one's appearance.
Shave, a false alarm to hoax or sell.
;

Shave, a narrow escape.

Shave, a discount or rebate on goods purchased or on a note
or bill.

Shave, to shave a customer is to overcharge him.

Shaver, a sharp fellow; generally applied to a boy, as "Look
alive, young shaver."
Shaving-shop, a loan or discount office.
Shebang (Irish), a house or other building.
Shebeen (Irish), a place where unlicensed liquor is sold.
See Shebang.
Shed a tear, to take a drink. Same as driving a "Nail in
one's coffin."
238 SHE SHI
Shedder (Am.), a crab which has recently cast its shell; a
softshell crab.
Sheeny, a Jew. The origin of the word is much disputed.
Slieep*s eyes, amorous looks cast by spoony lovers.
Sheepskin, the parchment diploma given to graduating stu-
dents.
Shelf, "on the" (Eng.), said of old maids past thirty years of
age. Also of anything pawned or laid by.
Shell, a light row-boat.
Shell (Am.), to hull corn.
Shell game (Am.), a swindling game played with walnut
shells and a pea, analogous to thimble-rigging.
Shell-out, to pay up ; to count out money.
Shellworker (Am.), one who works the Shell gamb
Iq. T?.); a swindler and confidence man.
Shenanigan (Irish), cheating, playing tricks, fooling.
Shent (Old Eng.), blamed, rebuked. See Coriolanus^ v^ 2.
Shent is also used in the sense of hurt.
Shepherd, to look after; to watch.
Shlce (Hebrew), nothing; "to work for shice," is to work
gratis.
Shicer, a mean or worthless fellow.
Shickery, shabby, bad.
Shickster (Heb.), a woman.
Shiftless (Am.), worthless, lazy; having no business instinct.
Shigs, money, silver.
Shilling (Am.), twenty-five cents.
Sliilling shockers, cheap books of the sensational order sold
in England at one shilling each.
Shilly-shally (Eng.), to fritter away time; to hesitate or be
irresolute.
 SHI SHO 239

Shimmy (Cockney), a chemise.

Shin (Am.), to walk; "shinning around," hustling, moving
about briskly.
Shindy, a row, noise or disturbance.
Shine, a noise or row. Sometimes "monkey shines," applied
to larking or jocularity.
Shine, "to cut a," to dress well ; to "put on side."
Shine, "to take the shine out of one," to surpass or excel him.
Shiners, gold coin, and particularly English sovereigns.
Shines, "cutting up," joining in a frolic or racket of any
kind.
Shine up to, to take a fancy to; to go courting or to set one's
cap for a person.
Shingle (Am.), to cut one's hair short.
Shingle (Am.), a sign, as "The Doctor hung out his
shingle."
Shinny (Am.), a game played with sticks and a ball, some-
times played on ice and by a large party. The boys are di-
vided into sides and the aim is to knock the ball into the
enemy's camp. "Shinny on your own side;" an expression
used in the game.
Shinplaster (Am.), a bank note or bill.
Shin-up (Am.), to climb a tree by using the hands and feet
only.
Shiny, dressy, Spiff (^. v.)
Ship-shape, in good order. Sometimes "ship-shape and
Bristol fashion."
Ship's husband (Sea term), a purser.
Shirty (Eng.), ill-tempered, quarrelsome.
Shiver my timbers, a sailor's ejaculation.
Shoat or Shote (Old Eng.), a hog.
240 SHO
Shoddy, an inferior kind of cloth, made from old stuff
worked over.
Shoddy (Am.), anything at once pretentious and inferior.
Shoddyocracy (Am.), people who have become rich by
making contracts for shoddy goods or in any other disrep-
utable way the parvenu rich.
;

Shoe (Eng.), to initiate a person; to make him free of his

trade. Equivalent to ''paying one's footing."
Shoe leather (Eng.), warning given by a thief to his "pal,"
meaning, of course, to make use of his legs.
Shoes, "to die in one's," to be hanged.
Shoful (Eng.), a hansom cab.
Shoful (Heb.), bad money or imitation jewelry; anything
inferior.
Shotul pitcher, one who passes bad money.
Shoful pullet, a girl of doubtful reputation.
Shool, to saunter idly about. See Roderick Randon.
Sho^ (Old Eng.), to walk or move away. "Shog along."
Shool (Heb.), a synagogue.
Shoot or Shute (properly cAuie)^ a passageway by which
logs are shot down the hill sides.

Shooting-iron (Am.), a revolver or gun of any kind.

Shooting-stick (Am.), an article used by printers to tighten
the quoins which lock up a form.
Shoot the cat, to vomit.
Shoot the hat (Am.), a street call directing the hearer to get
rid of an objectionable tile.
Shoot the moon (Eng.), to remove one's household goods
between two days for the purpose of evading the payment
of rent.
Shop (Eng.), a "place" in a race; first, second or third.
Sometimes called a "situation."
 SHO 241

Shop, a house, office or abiding-place of any kind. "How

are they all at the shop. ?"
Shop, to discharge a person. In the English army to "shop"
an officer is to place him under arrest.

Shop-lifter, a thief who steals articles from the counters of

stores. Shakespeare uses "lifter" for thief.

Shop, "to talk" (Eng.),to be full of nothing but one's call-

ing or profession, as a doctor talks of medicine or a
farmer of his crops.
Short, hard up, out of money.
Short, on the Stock Exchange, having sold stock which one
does not possess. The "shorts" are those who speculate for
a fall.
Short-commons, short allowance of food.
Short-hair (Am.), descriptive term for low-grade politicians
and ward bummers. The Democratic party in the cities is
divided into "swallow-tails" and "short hairs" well-dressed
men and toughs.
Short metre (New Eng.), directly, in short order. See the
Biglo-w Papers*
Shorts, breeches.
Shot, money.
Shot (Old Eng.), the reckoning at an inn. See Two Gen-
tlemen of Verona ii^ 5.
Shot in the locker ( Sea term), money in the treasury.
Shot in the neck (Eng.), intoxicated.
Shoulder-hitter, a bully or pugilist; a "slugger."
Shout (Am.), to pay for drinks round. "It's my shout.**
Shove, to pawn. Also to pass counterfeit money; to "shove
the queer."
242 SHOSHY
ShoTe"half]peiuiy (Eng.), a gambling game played by
pushing coins along a table, the aim being to get them
near to certain lines.
Shovel, a peculiar hat worn by dignitaries of the Church of
England.
Show (Am.), "give him a show," give him a chance. "I
had no show to win."
Show off, to make a display.
Show up, to appear.
Shrieking sisterhood, the army of female suffragists and
woman's rights women.
Shrimp, a diminutive person ; a small boy.
Shtumer, a horse which it is known will not be run to win.
See Stiff 'un.
Shuck (Am.), the outer covering or husk, as of a walnut or
an ear of corn. To shuck corn is to strip off the husks.
Shucks, "not worth" (Am.), worthless; of no value.
Shunt (Eng.), to avoid; to turn aside. Railroad cars which
are "switched" in this country are "shunted" in England.
Shut of, "to get," to get rid of.
Shut up, be quiet; stop. The phrase also means exhausted,
done for.

Shy (Eng.), a throw; to throw. A

cockshy is a game
played at fairs, when sticks are thrown at articles set upon
other sticks a few feet away, the striker sometimes getting
what he hits.

Shy (Eng.), to stop suddenly or swerve to one side, as a

horse does when frightened.
Shy, "to fight shy," to keep away from a person, to avoid
him.
Shyster (Am.), a low-class lawyer who touts openly for bus-
 SIC SIM 243

iness and who undertakes shady cases ana every trick of

the law; a pettifogger.
Sick (Am.), with disease. In England a person
afflicted
and "sick" is only applied to express sick-
afflicted is "ill,"
ness of the stomach or nausea.
Sick as a horse, or as a dog or a cat; popular similes, curi-
ously misplaced in the first instance as horses never vomit.
Sickener, a dose too much of anything.
Sicker (Scotch), sure, certain.
Side, "to put on," to put on style. "Too much dog," means
the same thing.
Side, a Gipsy equivalent for "yes," probably from the Span-
ish si.
Side-wheeler (Am.), a pacing horse.
Siege, "had a siege of it," a hard time; a long sickness
Sight, a great many ; *'a sight of people.
Sight, "to take a" (Eng.), to place the thumb to the nose
and spread the fingers out.
"The Sacristan, he said no word to indicate a doubt.
Bat he put his thumb up to his nose
And he spread his fingers out."
Ingoldsby Legends.
Silk stockings (Am.), the moneyed class, commonly accred-
ited with wearing silken hose. Applied to a section of the
Democratic party. See Short hairs, ante.
Silver Grays (Am.), a name applied to a branch of the Whig
party some forty years ago. A
convention was held at
which Francis Granger presided and as the chairman and
many of the delegates were advanced in years it was
called the "Silver Gray" convention.
Silver wedding (Am)., the twenty-fifth anniversary of a
wedding, often celebrated with much pomp.
Simon, an English sixpence.
344 SIM SIX
Simon Pure, the genuine article, from a character in the old
comedy of A Bold Stroke for a Wife.
Simpson (Eng.), water used in place of milk; applied also
to the milk dealer himself.
Sinews of war (Eng.), money, funds.
Singed cat, "like a," better than he looks, said of a person
whose appearance does him injustice.
Sing out, to call aloud.
Singr small, to lessen one's boasting.
Singsong* (Eng.), a harmonic meeting at a public house; a
*'free and easy."
Sink (Fr. cinq') a throw of five at dice.
Sink-boat (Am.), a boat used for duck shooting. See
Battery, ante.
Sinkhole (Am.), a depression or hole in limestone forma-
which streams sink and are
tion in lost.

Sinkers, bad money.

Sinkers, doughnuts.
Sirree; "Yes, sirree. Bob," a vulgar emphasizing of an af-
firmation.
Siserara, a hard blow. See Vicar of Wakeffeld.
Sit under, to regularly attend the ministrations of a preacher.
Sit-upons, trousers.
Siwy, a corruption of asseveration; "upon my sivvy," upon
my word.
Sixes and sevens, "all at," all in confusion.
Six-shooter, a revolver of six chambers.
Sixty, "like sixty," at a rapid rate, briskly.
Sixty per cent, a bill discounter.
Sixwatergrog (Sea term), very thin of the rum and very
strong of the water.
 SIZ SKI 245

Sizz, to make a hissing sound, as to sizzle.

Skates, "got them on," said of a man when drunk.
Skedaddle, to run away, now a common Americanism and
claimed to have originated in the Civil War. As a matter
of fact the word has been in use in the West of Scotland
for many years, and is used there and in Lancashire, Eng-
land, in the sense of to spill or to scatter, as to skedaddle the
milk.
Skeery (Am.), scary, frightened.
Skeezicks (Am.), a paltry little fellow.
Skid, a contrivance placed before a wagon wheel to prevent
it going too fast down hill. Otherwise a Drag or Shoe.
Skid or Skiv, an English sovereign.
Skid, a slide used for loading barrels or heavy goods or for
moving timber.
Skied (Eng.), when pictures exhibited publicly are hung
near the ceiling they are said to be "skied." If hung too
low they are "floored." The most desirable position is *'on
the line" of sight.
Skillag-alee (Irish), thin gruel.
Skilly (Eng.), workhouse or prison gruel.
Skimping or Skimpy, scant.
Skin (Am.), to get the best of; to get all that one has.
Skin (Am.), a purse or pocketbook. See Leather, ante.
Skin, to use a "crib" or "pony" in order to pass an examina-
tion.
Skinflint (Eng.), a mean, stingy person. It is said of such
a one that he would "skin a flint for a penny and spoil a
shilling knife."

Skin game (Eng.), a crooked game at cards; to swindle.

Skiuk (Old Eng.), to drink.
246 SKI SKY
Skinker (Old Eng.), a tavern waiter. See I King Henry
IV, u, 4.
Skinning- the lamb (Eng.), when an outsider wins a race
bookmakers are said to "skin the lamb," as they have in all
probability laid very little against the winner. The term
is also used on the Stock Exchange.

Skin your own skunk (Am.), do your own dirty work.

Skip, get out, run away.
Skip or Skep (Scotch), the captain of a side in the game of
curling.
Skipper (Sea), the master or captain of a merchant vessel.
Skipper, a cheese-mite.
Skit, a joke, squib ox jeu d*esprit.
Skive (Am.),to pare leather or skin so as to leave a bevelled
edge.
Skivings (Am.), waste pieces of leather.
Skullduggery ( Am.), dirty, mean actions ; conspiracy c- plot-
ting.
Skunk (Am.), an objectionable person; one of bad charac-
ter.
Skunked (Am.), signifies beaten out of sight; Distanced
or Chicagoed (^. v.) At cards and other games the
player who fails to reach a certain point in the game is
skunked. Thus, at cribbage, if he fails to turn the last row
he is in this predicament.
Sky (Eng.), to throw up in the air, as with pennies in toss-
ing.
Sky-blue (Eng.), milk diluted with water.
Skylarking (Sea), playing tricks or rough games as sailors
do on board ship.
Sky-parlor (Eng.), an attic or garret.
Sky-pilot, a navy chaplain or other minister.
 SKYSLA 247

Skyscraper (Am.), a very tall building such as are now be-

ing built in Chicago.
Slab, thick, as gruel, porridge, etc. Shakespeare uses the
word in Macbeth.
Slab-sided (Am.), applied to men or women of angular ap-
pearance.
Slack or Sleek (Eng.), small coal.
Slack (Am.), lazy, shiftless.
Slack baked, stupid, deficient'in character.
Slack, "too much slack," too much talk.
Slam, to stnke or push violently, as "slamming the door."
Slam, at whist ^ when two partners take the whole thirteen
tricks, thus constituting a slam, it is counted to them as a
rubber.
Slang-, a traveling show.
Slangr, a watch chain.
Slang, the language which, though unrecognized in diction-
aries, is in common daily use not only among
the vulgar but
in every branch of life. Originally slang meant the secret
language of the English Gipsies and was synonymous with
Gibberish (^. v.^ Later it came to express all vulgar
language not included as Cant. It is sometimes termed
Flash, and the French equivalent is argot.
Slang-whanger, (Am.), a long-winded speaker.
Slangry, loud, flash, vulgar.
Slant, a side-blow.
Slantindicular, oblique, awry.
Slap (Eng.), euphemism for rogue.
Slap, exactly. "Slap in the wind's eye," exactly to wind-
"''
ward.
Slap-bang*, suddenly, violently.
248 SLA SLI
Slap-dash, immediately, in great haste; with more force
than necessary.
Slap-up, first-rate, excellent; the ne flus ultra of style.
Slasher, a clever fighter; a roaring blade.
Slashes (Am.), swampy or wet grounds overgrown with
bushes. Henry Clay was known as "the Mill-boy of the
Slashes."
Slate (Am.), in politics, a programme or list of appoint-
ments.
Slate (Eng.), to abuse or "cut up" in the newspapers or re-
views.
Slated (Am.), placed on a list, as one who is slated for a
specified position.
Slate loose (Eng.); see Tile loose, off one's head, crazy.
Slate, **putit on the" (Eng.), to give credit. Equivalent to
Chalk it up or Put it on ice or Hang it up (^. z>.)
Slathers (Irish), a large quantity; equivalent to Lashins

Slats, narrow pieces of board or timber, as the slats of a lad-

der or of a wagon or cart, or of a wooden bedstead.
Slaughter in the pan (Am.), a steak order at a cheap res-
taurant.
Slavey (Eng.), a maid servant.
Sleeper (Am.), a railroad car fitted up for the sleeping accom-
odations of the passengers.
Sleepers (Am.), drunken men in the gutters. "Laying for
sleepers or for "plain drunks," is the occupation of street
thieves.
Sleuth (Am.), a detective or professional thief -catcher.
Slewed (Sea term), drunk, intoxicated. "Three sheets in
the wind," or "half seas over."
Slick* from sleek, unctuous, smooth.
 SLI SLU 349

Slide, "letit slide," for let it pass. Shakespea'-e has "Let the
world slide." See " Taming of the Shrewd"*
Sling your hook (Eng.), get away. Otherwise "hook it."
American equivalents are "skip." "dig out" and "vamose*"
Slip, "to give the slip," to run away or to elude pursuit.
Slippingr (Eng.), a card-sharping trick by which a desired
card is produced from the deck. It is the faire sauter la
coupe of the French and is a favorite trick with crooked
ecarte players.
Slips, the side galleries in a theatre.
Slip up, to fail in any undertaking.
Slobber or Slubber, to slop over; to make a great fuss over
one.
Slogr (P. R.), to fight or beat. Applied to pugilists, who are
known as good sloggers.
Slogrgring (P. R.), fighting.
Slop, to gush, to slop over.
Slop (Eng.), back slang for police; now in general use.
Slop, cheap ready-made work, such as clothing.
Slope, to abscond or run away ; otherwise to "mizzle."
Slops, light food for invalids or any weak beverage.
Slop-sbop, a ready made tailor's shop, where the goods are of
an inferior quality.
Slouch (Am.), of no account; generally used with the neg-
ative, as "he is no slouch."
Slour (Eng.), to lock up or fasten.
Slowcoach (Eng.), a lumbering, dull person.
Slowed, locked up, imprisoned.
Slubberdegulllon, a term of contempt. See Hudibras,
Slug, to strike. See Slog, ante.
Slugger, a prizefighter or bully.
250 SLUSMI
Slum (Thieves Cant), a letter.
Slum, to hide.
Slumgullion (Old Eng.), a term of derision.
Slumming (Eng.), visiting the poor in their homes from
curiosity or a desire to give them assistance.

Slung'-shot or Sling-shot (Am.), a weapon of offense made

by placing a stone or piece of lead in a bag. See Sand-
bag, ante.
Slush (Am.), newspaper term for reporter's copy.
Slushy, a ship's cook.
Smack, smooth. See Ten Thousand a Year.
Small beer, "he doesn't think small beer of himself," means
that a man has a high sense of his own importance.
Small hours, the early hours after midnight. What Burns
speaks of as "The wee short hours ayont the twal."
Small potatoes (Am.), a term of contempt.
Smalls, Oxford University term for the first or minor exam-
ination of students. At Cambridge the corresponding
term is Little go (^. vJ^
Smart, in this country means active, intelligent or quick. In
England it means dressy.
Smart chance (Am.), a good opportunity.
Smash (Eng.), to become bankrupt; "to go all to smash,"
same as "to go to the dogs."
Smasher (Eng.), a maker or passer of counterfeit money.
Smear-case (Dutch), soft cheese made from sour milk.
Smeller (P. R.), the nose; a punch on the smeller is a blow
on the nose.
Smile, a drink or to drink.
Smish or Mish (Gip.), a shirt or chemise.
 SMISNA 251

Smithereens, all to," all to smash. Smither is an English

provincialism for a fragment.
Smock (Old Eng.), a woman's undergarment; See Shakes-
peare.
Smockfaced (Eng.), white faced, delicate.
Smoke, a Cant term for London. Going into the country
is "going out of the smoke."
Smoke (Old Eng.), to detect an artifice, in other words "to
tumble to the racket."
Smoke-stack (Am.), the funnel of a steamer.
Smoke-wa^on (Am.), a revolver. The word is used by the
negroes of the Chicago levee.
Smouch, to take advantage of.
Smudge, to smear or daub.
Smudge (Am.), smoke from a fire made of damp combusti-
bles and intended to drive away insects.
Smugr (Eng.), neat, smooth.
Smuggins (Cockney schoolboy), snatching or purloining
marbles, tops or other toys.
Smut (Eng.), indecent conversation.
Snack (Gip,), a share or division. Also a light meal or
lunch.
Snack, to quiz or chaff; an innuendo.
Snacks, to go," to go halves.
Snaffle (Eng.), talk on private or professional subjects;
equivalent to "talking shop."
Snaffled, arrested.
Snaggle-teeth, irregular and uneven teeth*
Snaggling, angling with a pin or hook.
Snaggy, ill-tempered, cross.
252 SNA SNE
Snags and Sawyers (Am.), are obstructions to the naviga-
tion of rivers caused byhaving their roats fastened to
trees
the bottom or by large branches of submerged trees. Very
common in the Mississippi.
Snagr "struck a" (Am.), run against an obstruction. See
preceding definition.
Snake, to follovir in an underhand way; to crawl like a
snake.
Snake, to steal or carry off; probably a corruption of Sneak
{g. V.)
Snakes, "to see" (Am.), to have the horrors, as in delirium
tremens.
Snakes, to wake" (Am.), to get oneself into trouble.
Snake-bead (Am.), an upturned broken rail on a railroad
which may pierce through the bottom of a car and cause a
disaster.
Snake in, to take in to draw in.
;

Snake out (Am.), to drag or haul out, as stumps of trees are

dragged out by horse-power.
Snap (Am.), a spell of weather, as "a cold snap."
Snap (Am.), energy, smartness.
Snap, rapid, off-hand.
Snap (Am.), anything good. A "soft snap" is an easy job.
Snapps (Dutch schnapps)^ spirits.
Snaps (Old Eng.), share or portion.
Snarl, a tangle or contest.
Snarl, a number or quantity, as a snarl of children.
Sneak, ''Get a sneak on you," move on, get away
Sneak, to steal or carry off.
Sneakman (Eng.), a shoplifter or petty thief.

Sneap, an insult or affront. Shakespeare has it

 SNESNI 253

Sneck (Scotch) the latch of a door.

Sneezed at, "not to be," not to be despised.
Sneezc-lurker (Eng.), a thief who throws snuff or red pep-
per into the eyes of a pedestrian and then robs him.
Sneezer (Eng.), a snuff box.
Snell-fencer (Eng.), an itinerant peddler of needles, which
are known as "snells."
Snicker, a drinking cup.
Snickersnee (Sea slang), a knife. See Thackeray's Ballad
of I^ittle Billee.
Snide, spurious, inferior. Said of flash jewelry or of flash
men. Used as a noun also, as "He's a snide."
Snide-pitcher, a cheat or passer of bad money.
Snifter (Am.), a drink of liquor.
Snigger, to sneer.
Sniggering" (Eng.), laughing to oneself.
Snip (Eng.), a tailor.
Snipe, an impertinent boy.
Snipe, in Stock exchange slang, a curbstone broker.
Snipe, applied to a tailor's bill, from its extreme length.
Snipe, to steal.
Snipe, the butt of a cigar.
Snipe-hunting, going round the streets looking for cigar
ends.
Snippy, an insignificant, but self-assertive person; as applied
to personal appearance, a sharp-visaged small woman.
Snitch, to give information to the police; to turn informer.
Byron uses it in Don yuan,
Snitchers, informers.
Snitchers (Scotch), handcuffs.
254 SNOSOB
Snob (Eng.), a low and vulgar person; one who pretends to
be what he is not and who apes the manners of those above
him in social position. For a full definition of the genus
in all its varieties see Thackeray's Book of Snobs.
Snobbish, stuck up, proud; having the characteristics of a
Snob, ante.
Snooks (corruption of Snacks) "to go snooks," to go halves.
Snoop, "to snoop around," to go around in an inquisitive and
prying style, looking into petty matters; to wander around
aimlessly.
Snooser or Snoozer, a term hardly complimentary applied
to a man. "He is a queer old snoozer."
Snooze (Eng.), to sleep or doze.
Snorter, a drink of liquor.
Snorter, a blow on the nose.
Snorter (Am.), a wild Westerner. "A rip-roaring snorter."
Snow (Gip.), wet linen hung out to dry and available for
predatory purposes by the "snow-gatherer."
Snuffed out (Eng.), dead; gone out like the flame of a can-
dle.
Snuff, "up to" (Eng.), knowing and sharp.
Snuffy, out of temper.
Snuffy, partly drunk.
Snug-, to purloin.
Snuggle, to lie cosily and closely.
Soak, "an old soak," a confirmed drunkard.
Soak, to pawn.
Soap, flattery.
Soap, money.
Sober as a judge, may be considered as the antithesis of
Drunk as a loud.
 SOC SOM a55

Sociable (Am.), a church festival.

Sock (Eng.J, credit.
Sockdollager (Am.), a heavy blow; a finisher.
Socket-money (Eng.), blackmail.
Sock it to him (Am.), give him a good thrashing.
Soda. See Hock.
Soft (Am.), bank notes.
Soft (Eng.), foolish, green.
Soft money (Am.), paper money.
Soft-sawder (Eng.), flattery.
Soft snap (Am.), an easy and well-paying job.
Soft soap (Eng.), flattery, blarney.
Soft tack, sea term for fresh bread. "Soft Tommy" is the
equivalent.
Soft tiling (Am.), an easy time.
Softy (Eng.), a foolish or stupid person.
Soiled dove (Eng.), a prostitute or kept mistress. So-called
because many of them live in St. John's Wood, London.
Sojer or Soldier, a red herring or bloater. Otherwise
known as a "Billingsgate Pheasant" or a "two-eyed steak."
Sold, gulled, deceived.
is to dodge one's work.
Soldier, "to soldier" or "sojer,"
Sold up or Sold out (Eng.), bankrupt, ruined.
Solid, responsible, wealthy. "Solid men of Boston."
So longr, an Americanism used instead of good-bye. "See
you later" comes under the same category.
Some, is used in the United States for somewhat or some-
thing, as "Jones is some on shooting."
Some pumpkins (Am.) (pronounced punkins), anything
large. The antithesis of Small potatoes, ante.
2S6 SOP SOW
Sop (Eng.), a soft or foolish man; a milksop.
Sop, bread and milk or other nursery food.
Soph, abbreviation of Sophomore, college term for a student
in his second year.
Sorehead, a disgruntled politician.
Sort, "that's your sort," a term of approbation or encourage-
ment.
So-so (Eng.), not particularly reputable; off-color as to char-
acter.
Sossle or Sozzle, to splash.
Sot (Am.), the past participle of set. "They knew the mule
was dead because the critters eyes were sot."
Sou, the French five centime piece, equivalent to an Ameri-
can cent.
Sou marquee, "not worth a," of no value ; not worth a sou
which has been marked or crossed.
Sound, to pump, to get information from.
Sound on the goose (Am.), of orthodox political belief.
Leland has an amusing story (Hans Breitman's Ballads')
of a Pennsylvania politician who assHred men of all parties
that he was sound on the goose and thus escaped more defi-
nite pledging.

Souper, a contemptuous term applied to those Irish Catho-

lics whoduring the famine conformed, at least outwardly,
to Protestantism for the purpose of obtaining the soup and
other food provided by the narrow bigotry of the age for
starving people of the Protestant faith only.
Sou'wester (Sea), a hat with a projection or "fantail" behind
to protect tne back of the neck during dirty weather.
SoY, contraction for an English sovereign or pound sterling.
Sow, the receptacle into which molten metal is poured in order
to make "Pig-iron." v
 SOW SPE a57

Sowbelly (Air.,), the soldier's name for salt pork, which

largely consisted of back and belly pieces.
Sowingr wild oats, dissipating, having one's fling.
Sow*s baby, sixpence.
Space, "to work on," to write by the line or column.
Spalpeen (Irish), a term of reproach, but used half jocularly
and sometimes almost as a term of endearment.
Span (Am.), a team of horses.
Spanish (Eng.), money.
Spanish, "to walk Spanish," means about the same as to "toe
the line" or to "come up to the mark."
Spank, a slap or smack. Also used as a verb.
Spanker, a fast traveler or a rapid goer of any kind.
Spanking, large, fine, strong, as "A spanking pace or
breeze."
Spark, a sweetheart (male) comp. Flame, the female
equivalent.
Sparking (Am.), courting.
Sparks, diamonds.
Spat (Irish), a petty quarrel, a slap.
Spec, short for speculation, as "he bought those goods on
spec."
Speckled beauties, trout; generally those which an amateur
fails to land.

Specs, spectacles.
Speech, in turf language a Tip or Wrinkle. Equivalent
to being Given the office.
Speel, to run away.
Spell (Am.), a turn of work. To "spell" another is to go on
with the work while he rests.
Spell, to advertise. Also to desire or hanker after.
358 SPE SPI
Spellken, a theatre, from the German sfielen^ to play, and
the Gipsy or Cant, ken^ a house. Often abbreviated to
"spell."
Spelling-bee (Am.), a competition in spelling, which orig-
inated in the rural districts of New
England and has been
translated to Old England, where for a time it became a
fad.
Spelter, money.
Spick and Span, new and fresh. Butler has it in Hudibras.
Spider (Am.), a cooking utensil.
Spidereen (Sea), an imaginary ship. A sailor when asked
what ship he belongs to will say if he does not care to tell
the truth "the Spidereen frigate with seven decks and no
bottom."
Spiel (Ger.), play, go-ahead.
Spielken (from the German), a play-house. See Spellkkn
ante.
Spier (Scotch), to ask, to enquire.
Spiff (Eng.), well-dressed, swellish.
Spiffed, partly drunk.
Spifflicate, to confound, silence or stifle. Probably it was
manufactured from the last-named word and from suffo-
cate, and was originally "stiflicate."
Spike Park (Eng.), originally the Queen's Bench prison,
and now applied to any place of detention.
Spiketail (Am.), a dress coat or Swallow Tail (^. v.')
Spill (Am.), to upset.
Spilt Milk (Eng.), that which is gone beyond recovery and
which as the proverb says "it is no use crying over."
Spin (Eng.), to reject. A man is "spun" who fails to pass
his army examination. College equivalents are Ploughed
and Plucked (^. v.")
 ;

SPI SPO ^59

Spindle-Shanks (Eng.), a man with long, thin legs.
Spinuikcn (Eng.) the workhouse.
Spit, "he is the spit of his brother," he strongly resembles
him.
Spitcurl (Am.), a lock of hair plastered over the temple; the
feminine equivalent for Newgate Knockers, see ante.
Spitfire (Eng.), a passionate virago.
Spit on theslate, to condone or wipe out offences or debts
"spiton the slate and call it square."
Spitzbub, a German term of derision.
Splash, "to make a splash" is equivalent to "cutting a dash,"
or to living at an expensive rate and putting on plenty of
"side."
Splendiferous (Am.), sumptuous, first rate. Splendacious
is used also both being indefensible from any standpoint.
;

Spleuchan (Scotch), a snuS or tobacco box.

Splice (Sea), to marry, to bind together as a rope is spliced.
Splice the main brace, alleged sea-term for taking a drink.
As a matter of fact a ship has no main brace.
Split, to inform.
Split, a quarrel or division, as a split in a political party.
Splurge (Am.), dash, swagger. To make a splurge is also
to make a great display.
Spoiling for a fight: anxious to get into a row. Like the
Irishman at Donnybrook Fair who asked "Won't somebody
please tread on the tail of my coat," or his compatriot who
complained that he was "blue-mouldy for want of a beating."
Spoils system (Am.), that under which the successful party
at an election fills all the offices with men of its own polit-
cal faith; a system erroneously said to have been introduced
into American politics by President Jackson, who in truth
simply bettered the instruction given by some of his pred-
i6o SPOSPR
ecessors. The doctrine of Vae Victis is a good deal older
than 1832.
Spoke in one's wheel "to put a," is to block a man's game
or to say or do something to prevent him attaining his
object.
Sponge, or Spunge, to live upon another in a mean and
paltry way.
Sponger, a genteel beggar.
Sponge, **to throw up the," in the prize-ring is to concede
the defeat of a contestant, which was symbolized by throwing
the sponge used for his benefit up in the air as a sign that it
was no longer needed.
Spook (Dutch), a ghost or apparition.
Spoon (Eng.), a lover in the worst stage of the complaint.
Sometimes there are a "pair of spoons."
Spooney, stupid, weak-minded, foolishly fond.
Spoor, the trail of any large animal. Originally from South
Africa and applied to the foot mark of the lion, elephant,
rhinoceros or other "big game."
Sport, (Am.), a gambler or betting man. In England a
Sporting Man.
Sport, (Eng.), to wear, -'he sported a new tile."
Sport the oak (Eng.), to close the outer door, or Oak.
Spot, to mark, to recognize.
Spotted, known or marked.
Spotter (Am.), a private detective, male or female, employed
to spy on and report the shortcomings of employes on rail-
roads etc.
Spout, to preach.
Spout, up the (Eng.), pawned. Also in difficulties or dead.
Spouter, a preacher or orator.
Sprag (Old Eng.), quick. See Merry Wives iVy i.
 SPRSQU 361

Sprat, an English sixpence.

Sprat, a little insignificant boy.
Spread, a meal. Also applied by schoolboys to butter.
Spread, "to make a," display. To spread oneself is to
attempt to excel.
Spread Eagle (Am.), flamboyant rhetoric; exaltation of
the great American bird and the land of freedom.
Spree (Eng.), a boisterous piece of merriment, a frolic ending
in a drunk. Probably from the French Esprit.
Sprint, a short foot race. Aspurt.
Sprouts, "a course of," treatment of a rough character, dis-
cipline.
Sprung (Eng.), intoxicated.
Spry (Am.), active, quick.
Spuds, potatoes.
Spun, rejected on examination. See Spin ante,
Spungiug house, the Sheriff's officers house to which per-
sons arrested for debt were temporarily taken. The name
referred probably to the extortionate charges made. Ref-
erences to these places abound in Dickens, Thackeray and
many English writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries.
Spunk, pluck, spirit.
Spunks, lucifer matches.
Spunky, plucky.
Spurt (Eng.), an effort at great temporary speed in a race,
made in order to obtain a lead or to finish in front.
Squab, a young pigeon. Also a short sofa.
Squabby, flat, short and thick.
Square, "on the square," honest, straightforward. The
antithesis of "On the Cross." Sometimes emphasized "On
a
263 SQU
the dead square." A "square man" is one who will not
"round" on you.
Squared, settled with.
Square up, to pay, to settle accounts. To be square with a
man is to owe him nothing.
Square, "to come out;" to speak out without qualification.
Squaring (Am.), although derived from the word which
expresses perfect honesty, one of those words which have
is

become ill-sorted and have fallen from grace. To "act

square" and to "do the square thing" are right and proper
but when a man is "squared" it often means that he has
been "seen" or "made right;" that is that he has accepted a
bribe to connive at some illegal or immoral action, to com-
pound a felony or as blackmail.
Squasb, to crush or squeeze.
Squatter (Am.), one who settles on land to which he has no
title.

Squatter Sovereignty (Am.), the right of actual settlers in

territories of the United States to make their own laws.
The phrase was much used by Stephen A. Douglas and his
followers about 1856.
Squaw (Am.), an adult female Indian.
Squaw-mau (Am.), a white man married to an Indian
woman and sharing tribal rights and privileges.
Squeak, "a narrow squeak," an escape.
Squeak, to inform, or "peach."
Squeal (Am.), to inform or tell tales.
Squealer (Am.), an informer. The word came into great
notoriety during the whisky ring exposures, when nearly
every "crooked" ganger and distiller joined the ignoble
army of "squealers" in order to "get in out of the rain."
Squeeze, to blackmail.
 V

SQU STA 263

Squeeze, silk.
Squeeze, the neck.
Squeezer (Old Eng.), the hangman's rope.
Squib, a jeu d'esfrit^ a skit or sarcastic story.
Squibs, paint brushes.
Squiuny-eyed (Old Eng.), squinting. See Lear^ iv, 6.
Squtnters, the eyes.
Squirm (Am.), to wriggle or twist about.
Squirt, a brainless fop, a contemptible fellow.
Stab, to drink ; "stab yourself and pass the dagger," help
yourself and pass the bottle.
Stab; "ontbestab" (Eng.), on the establishment, that is,

on regular wages and not paid by the piece.

Stab-rag (Eng.), a tailor.
Stack of whites; waiter's term for wheat cakes. A Stack
OF Reds means buckwheat, and a Stack of Blues corn
cakes.
Stag, an English shilling.
Stagr (Eng.) to watch, "stag his nibs with the done;" see the
man with the girl.
Stag, on the Stock Exchange, a speculator without capital.
Stagger, to surprise.
Stagger, one who is on the watch.
Stagger, to try ; "I will make a stagger at it anyhow."
Stag party (Am.), a party composed entirely of men.
Stale (Old Eng.), a prostitute.
Stale drunk, a debauch carried over from one day to another;
unevaporated fumes of liquor.
Stalking Horse (Eng.), any bugbear persistently paraded ; a
person used as a pretence.
264 STA
Stall (Eng.), a worker with pickpockets or other thieves,
one who keeps watch or receives the plunder but does not
do the actual act of theft.
Stall, any dodge or imposition. Properly Stoll.
Stalled, stuck, as a horse is stalled in the mud. Shakespear*
uses Stelled for set or fixed.
Stall-off, to put off or mislead; to screen a robbery.
Stall your mugr (Eng.), go away, get out of here.
Stallsiuan, an accomplice.
Stampede (Spanish), a general outbreak of animals caused
by fright. In such cases on the plains whole herds of
cattle rush madly away. The term has been transferred to
scares among human beings.
Stampers, shoes.
Stand in (Eng.), to share in a bet or any speculation, or to
take a side in a dispute. To stand in with another is to
share with him or to be friendly with him.
Standing: on Velvet (Eng.), betting so that whichever horse
wins the bettor cannot lose, while he may win.
Stand Pad (Eng.), to stand on the sidewalk begging, or
with a placard, "I am starving" or something of that kind
in order to incite charity.
Stand Pat (Am.), to retain one's hand at draw-poker and
not take any other cards.
Standtreator Stand Sam (Eng.), to pay for drinks or
other entertainment for a friend.
Star, the leading performer at a theatre.
Starchy (Eng.), stuck-up, extra dignified, stiff in manner.
Stargazing: (Eng.), looking up at the sky to the neglect of
what is at one's feet.
Stark (Eng.), stiff, cold, dead.
Stark naked (Eng.), raw spirits.
 STASTI 265

Stars and Stripes (Am.), the flag of the United States

otherwise the Star Spangled Banner.
Start, "a rumstart," (Eng.), an odd occurrence. "To get the
start" ofone is to overreach or to anticipate him.
Star the glaze (Eng.), to break a window, often done for
purposes of robbery.
Starver, a very small loaf of bread. Otherwise a "duffer."
Stash it (Eng.), stop it; let up.
Staving, great, strong.
Stayer (Eng.), one not easily discouraged; a good long-dis-
tance horse.
Steep, extravagant, great; "the price is too steep."
Steer (Am.), to steer one against a gambling game or other
swindle, to induce him to play or speculate by false pretences.
Steerer (Am.), one who lays in wait for "suckers" and
shows them where they can find a little game in which he
has an interest.
Steering committee (Am.), a committee appointed to take
charge of a political campaign.
Stems, or Pipe-stems, the legs.
Step and fetch it, a lame man one with one leg shorter than
;

! the other. Sometimes called Dot and Carry one.

Step it, go away, make off.
Stepper, the treadmill.
Stepper, a "high stepper" is a well-dressed lively woman.
Sternwheeler (Am.), a steamboat with one paddle-wheel
placed at the rear, much used on the Ohio and Mississippi.
Stick, a poor actor or a fellow of little account; "a poor stick."
Stick, in theatrical phrase, to break down in the dialogue.
Stick, a billiard cue.
Stick, "cut your," go away.
266 STI STO
Sticker, a stayer, one who does not know when to quit or
how to let go; one not easily gotten rid of.
Stickful, about twelve lines of type, as much as the compos-
itor's "stick" will hold.
Stickings (Eng.), coarse and damaged meat.
Stickler, a very particular person.
Sticks, furniture.
Stick, "to stick a man" is to get in his debt or leave him in
the lurch.
Stick up, an Australian term for highway robbery in the
Bush.
Stick up for, to back up; to assist.
Stiflf (Am.), a corpse.

Stiff (Eng.), an accommodation bill. To "do a bit of stiff*

is to negotiate a bill or "fly a kite."
Stiff (Am.), a lie or fake.
Stiff (Am.), a worthless fellow. "An old stiff."
Stiff *un (Eng.), see Safe one ante.
Still drunk, (Am.), a long continued drunk never reaching
to a violent stage and never descending to sobriety.
Stingo, (Eng.), strong ale.
"This Franklin, sirs, he brewed good ale
And he called it rare old Stingo.
Ingoldshy.
Stinker, or Stinkerandos brand, a bad cigar.
Stint (Am.), to stop. A
stint of work is a certain task.
Stir, a prison. From the Gipsy Stirabin.
Stitch, generic name for a tailor.
Stived up, close, sultry, not ventilated.
Stock, "to take stock in," to believe in one. To "take stock
of" one on the other hand is to "size him up," to scrutinize
him*
 STOSTR ^
Stock (Am.), to stock cards is to arrange them for cheating
purposes
*^at the cards they were stocked
In a way that I grieve
And my feelings were shocked
At the state of Nye's sleeve
Which was stuffed full of aces and bowers
And the same with intent to deceive."
Bret Harte, Heathen Onmee.
Stocky (Am.), short and stoutly built.
Stoll (Gip.), to understand.
Stomach (Eng.), to bear with. Mostly used in the negative
stomach that."
as "I couldn't
Stone fence (Am.), a mixture of whisky and cider.
Stone jug (Eng.), a prison. Ainsworth's disreputable hero
sing^:
"In the box of a stone-jug I was bom
Of a hempen widow the kid forlorn."
Stook, a pocket-handkerchief. A
Stock Hauler is a
handkerchief thief or pickpocket.
Stool-pig^eon, a decoy. One employed by the police to lead
his associates into a trap.
Stoop (Dutch), the front steps of a house.
Story, a falsehood. -^^

Stot (Scotch), a young bullock. ^

Stoat (Old Eng. and Scotch), a cup.
Stoughton bottle, a term of derision.
Stowaway, one who hides on board ship to get a passage
without paying.
Stow it, (Eng.), or Stow your gab, leave ofE; quit talking.
Synonymous with Stash, (^. v.)
Straddle, on the Stock Exchange, a contract under which
the holder may either call for or deliver stock at a certain
fixed price.
268 STR
Straddle, at poker, to double the ante.
Straddle-bug, a beetle.
Straiirlit (Am.), undiluted spirits. See Neat.
Straigrlit, honest, square, the opposite of Crooked (y. v.)
Straight (Am.), in the game of Poker is a sequence of five
cards. A straight may count either way from an ace as
Ace, King, Queen, etc., or Ace, Deuce, Trey, etc. The
game may be played with or without straights as may be
agreed.
Straight as a string, honest.
Straight ticket (Am.), the ticket nominated by a political
party caucus or convention and voted as a whole, without
scratching.
Strap, a barber.
Strapped, hard up, out of money.
Straw bail, worthless bail furnished by professional bailors,
who are *'men of straw" instead of men of wealth. Of old
times in England men who were willing to become bail for
others for a consideration hung about the courts with straws
stuck in their shoes, as it was forbidden to openly solicit the
job. Dickens has a reference to the practice in Pickwick.
Straw, "in the," (Eng,), ladies are said to be so at their
accouchement.
Streak, to decamp, to run away.
Streak, a vein ; "a streak of good luck."
Streaked, tired out, sweated out.
Streaky, ill-tempered ; irritable.
Street, "the," Wall Street, New York City.
Street Arabs, t\\G gamins of the street, bootblacks, newsboys,
et id genus omne.
Stretch, a walk.
Stretch, one year's imprisonment.
 STRSTU 369

Stretch, to hang.
Stretched, hanged.
"The night before Larry was stretched
The boys they all paid him a visit
A bit in their sacks too they fetched
They sweated their duds tell they riz it."

Stretcher, a falsehood, one that requires a stretch of the im-

agination to swallow it.
Strike a jigger, to pick a lock or break open a door.
Strike it (Am.), or strike it rich, to make a success.
Strike me, a Cockney asseveration ; often Strike me Blind.
Striker (Am.), a ward striker or worker is a fellow who
has or professes to have political influence in the neighbor-
hood where he lives and who uses it for all it is worth and
strikes a candidate for money.
String, tto get in a" or to "get in a line" is to hoax.
String, "with a string to it," (Am.), is said of an offer or
promise made contingent on something else being done or
subject to recall.
Stripe, "the right," the right kind of pattern.
Stroke, the leading oarsman in a boat, the one who sets the
pace and pulls the stroke oar.
Stronunel (Gip.), straw.
Strong, to "come it strong" or to "pitch it strong," explains
itself.

Strong-minded, said of woman suffragists and advanced

woman generally.
Struck, impressed with.
Struck it rich (Am.), having made a winning.
Struck Oil (Am.), same as the foregoing; having become
suddenly rich as those did who struck a flowing oil-well.
Stub, to strike, as one stubs one's toe.
270 STU
Stuck, out of money, in distress. Also to be taken in.
Stuck, to be stuck on a person or on any article is to be fond
of him or it, thus Jones is stuck on a girl and the girl is
stuck on candy.
Stuck tip (Eng.), purse-proud.
Stuff, money.
StiiS", to stuff a person, is to gammon or hoax him, to cram
him with falsehood.
Stump, to puzzle or confound. Also to challenge. See
Lowell,
"It don't seem hardly right, John
When both my hands was full
To stump me to a fight, John
Your cousin too, John Bull."
Jonathan to John.
Stump, to go on foot.
Stump, "to take the," (Am.), to make electioneering
speeches in various places. Such speeches were formerly
made from the stumps of trees, affording the speaker a
vantage ground.
Stumped, puzzled, unable to reply.
Stumped (Eng.), knocked out, from the cricketing term.
Stumper, a puzzler, an unanswerable question.
Stump it, walk off; Stir your Stumps.
Stump-speaker (Am.), one who speaks from the stump.
Stumps, legs or feet.
Stumptail (Am.), bank notes of doubtful value; depreciated
paper currency.
Stump up, to pay one's share.
Stumpy (Eng.), money.
Stunner (Eng.), anything astonishing or overwhelming.
Stimning, very fine, large, astonishing, firsi rate.
 SUBSUR 271

Sub, a subaltern officer.

Sub, one who fills a p\ace temporarily in the absence of the
regular employe; an abbreviation of substitute.
Sub, to draw money in advance; probably from subsidize.
Subjects, medical term for corpses.
Suck, a drunkard.
Suck, to pump.
Suck, a parasite or flatterer.
Suck Casa (Lingua Franca) a drinking house.
Sucked in, deceived, swindled. See Roped in ante.
Sucker (Am.), a resident of Illinois.
Sucker, a victim of sharpers; a greenhorn.
Sucking the monkey, stealing liquor from a barrel by means
of a straw inserted through a gimlet hole.
Sudden death (Eng.), in tossing where the first call decides,
as differingfrom the "best two out of three."
Sufferer, a tailor one who gives tick and fails to collect.
;

Sugrar, money.
Sulky (Am.), a two-wheeled carriage. In France a des-
ohligeante.
Sundown (Am.), sunset.
Sun in the eyes or Been in the sun, intoxicated.
Sun up, sunrise.
Supe or Super, abbreviation of supernumerary ; one who
plays Roman citizens, soldiers, and other inferior parts in a
theatre.
Super, a watch. A "red super" is a gold watch; a "vvliite
super," a silver one.
Supply, a clergyman who fills a pulpit temporarily during
the absence of the regular pastor.
Sure and Sure-enough;real, genuine, certainly.
273 SUR SWE
Surprise Party (Am.), a party of friends descend upon the
house of a mutual friend and take possession of it, each
bringing some contribution toward a jollification.
Suspenders (Am.), braces.
Suspicion, a slight flavor, probably from the French sou-pc0n.
Suspicion, "to," (Am.), often wrongly used for "to suspect."
S^w^ab (Sea term), an epaulet.
Swab (Sea term) a term of derision.
Swag, (Eng.), plunder, baggage.
Swagger, to put on style or Side {q.vJ) The word is old.
In King Henry I V^ fart II, Doll Tearsheet speaks of
Ancient Pistol as a "swaggerer," much to the alarm of Dame
Quickly, who refuses to admit him until FalstafE assures
her that Pistol is no "swaggerer, but a tame cheater, who
will not swagger with a Barbary hen if her feathers turn
back in any show of resistance."
Swagsman, one who carries off the proceeds of a robbery.
Swale, a tract of low land.
Swallow-tail, a dress coat.
Swamped, in overwhelming trouble, as when one is head over
heels in debt ; ruined.
Swankey, a mixture of molasses and vinegar; small beer.
Swap or Swop, to barter or exchange.
Swashbuckler, or Swingebuckler, a bully. Formerly
applied to a swordsman of the pattern of Ancient Pistol;
"the cankers of a long peace" with a "horrid suit of the
camp and a beard of the general's cut."
Swatb, "to cut a wide" to live high ; to make a big splurge; to
cut a figure in the world.
Swear oflf, to take an oath to refrain from drinking.
Sweat, to bleed, to extort money from.
 SWE SWI 273

Sweat-box (Am.), a cell in which suspected persons are con-

fined and subjected to examination by the police for the
purpose of extorting confessions from them; an illegal
method but often practiced.
Sweath-cloth (Am.), part of the apparatus used by thimble-
riggers and "shell- workers." It can be spread out any-
where and a game inaugurated at a moment's notice.
Sweated (Eng.), said of gold coins which have been shook
up in a bag to reduce their weight.
Sweated, pawned.
Sweater, a cheap tailor who pays starvation wages. Also
applied to the poor devils who sweat for his benefit.
Sweater, one who "sweats" gold coin.
Sweep, a contumelious term.
Sweet, "to be sweet on," to be fond of.
Sweetener, a bribe or gift.
Swell, a dressy man. In England the lower classes speak of
anyone of superior position as a *'swell." But there are
many varieties of the genus, of which the "howling swell"
is the most obnoxious.

Swelled head (Am.), vanity. See Big Head ante.

Swigr, to drink; also a drink.
Swill (Am.), drink; to guzzle.
Swill, to drink. Swill, which means hog-wash, is also
applied to any inferior drink.
Swim, "in the," in good luck ; in a good line of business ; on
the inside.
Swing, to have one's full swing is to have a good chance and
unfettered action.
Swing, to hang to be hanged.
;

Swinge, to beat with a whip.

Swingeing, large, powerful, as a "swingeing blow.**
274 SWI SYN
Swipe, a sweeping blow; at cricket to hit hard with a full
swing of the bat.
Swipes, sour or small beer. To Swipe is to drink.
Swlpey, intoxicated.
Swished, flogged.
Switch, to flog.
Switch (Am.), to turn cars from one line of rails to another.
In England the process is called Shunting. A switch is
the movable rail by which this process is effected.
Switch, a wisp of false hair used by women for their
supposed adornment.
Swivel-eye, a squinting eye. See Boss-Eye and Cock-
Eye ante.
Swizzle (Eng.), small beer.
Swop or Swap, to exchange or barter.
Swot or Swat, a blow, or to strike.
Syne (Scotch), long ago, as "Auld Lang Syne."
T *to suit to a T," to fit to a nicety.
Tab, (Am.), a ticket; "to keep tab" is equivalent to keeping
tally or to score.
Tabby, an old woman, one of cattish disposition.
Tabby party, composed entirely of women.
a party
Tabooed, forbidden, from the savage custom of setting apart
certain things as being "tabu;" that is, sacred and not to be
touched.
Tack, "hard," sea biscuit.
Tacked, tied down, beaten.
Tackle, harness. Also clothing.
Tackle, to encounter a person either in argument or physical
contest; to seize hold of.
Tackling, is used in New England to signify harnessing.
Tads, small boys.
Taflfy, a Welshman. "Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a
thief."
Taflfy (Am.), candy. Also flattery.

Tag (Am.), a slight touch; the name of a boy's game.

Tag (Am.), a See Tab, ante.
ticket.
Tag-rag (Eng.), a mixed crowd; low people.
Tailings (Am.), refuse ore.
Take, the allowance of "copy" given out to a compositor to
set.

Take (Eng.), to understand.

S76
276 TAK TAN
Take, to succeed.
Take a fall, to down one in argument or physically.
Take after, to resemble.
Take down, to humiliate.
Take in, to swindle or defraud. Used both as a verb and as
a noun, a "take in" being a swindle.
Take it out. To take it out of one is to thrash him or get
even witn him.
Taken in, arrested. See Run In.
Take on, to grieve or lament bitterly.
Takes the cake (Am.), or takes the bun, or the bakery, etc.
etc. Said of a tall fish story or of anything superlative.
Take up, to adopt the cause of another or to accept a
challenge.
Take water (Am.), to back down.
Talking shop (Eng.), talking business always, as a company
of lawyers talking law or doctors discussing medicine.
Talking turkey (Am.), speaking to the point.
Tall, fine, extravagant.
Tall talk (Am.), romance, brag, bombast.
Tally, "to keep," to keep count. This was formerly done
with tally -sticks, but the word is now applied to any system
of counting.
Tan, to beat.
Tandem (Eng.), two horses in line.
Tang-, a sting. Shakespeare has it, "She had a tongue with
a tang."
Tangle-foot (Am.), bad whisky.
Tank, a man with an infinite capacity for liquor.
Tanner, an English sixpence.
Tantrums (Eng.), ill-temper.
 TAPTEA 277

Tap, to extract information.

Tape (Eng.), gin.
Taper oflF, to quit drinking gradually,
Tapsalterie (Scotch), upside down.
Taradiddle, a falsehood.
Tarbrush. A
person with negro blood in his veins is said to
have "had a dip of the tar-brush."
Tarpaulin, a sailor.
Tart (Eng.), a girl, generally applied to one of light behavior.
See ToTTiE.
Tartar, a savage fellow ; a rough customer. To "catch a
Tartar" is to tackle somebody who proves very hard to
manage. A French soldier in Russia captured a Tartar
and called out to his companions that he had done so.
"Bring him along" was the order. "He won't come" said
the soldier. "Then come without him." "I can't," said
the Frenchman, "he won't let mc."
Tatler, a watch.
Tats, lice.
Tats, old rags.
Tatterdemalion (Eng.), a ragged vagrant.
Taw, a boys's marble.
Taw, "come up to," to toe the mark.
Tax-eater (Am.), one who holds political office, elective or
appointive ; a feeder at the public crib.
Tax-fighter (Am.), one who resists the payment of taxes
and contests them in court.
Tea-fight (Eng.), a tea-party.
Team or Teem (Old Eng.), to pour out.
Team, a whole team," (Am.), an expression of admiration.
Tear, "on a," (Am.), on a spree or debauch.
278 TECTES
Tec, a detective. Otherwise a "Dee" or D."
Tee mark at the game of
(Scotch), the winning curling.
Teeney, small; from the Gipsy Tawno^ little.
Teeter, to see-saw.
Teeth, "to cut one's eye teeth," to be wide-awake, fly and
knowing.
Teetotaller, a total abstainer from drink. The term is said
to have arisen from the efforts of an enthusiast who stuttered
when trying to express his t-t-total abstinence.
Telle! to titter.

Telegram, a despatch by telegraph.

Telescope (Am.), in railroad collisions when the cars pass
through each other in the smash-up.
Tell, to tell good-by is to say farewell.
Tell on, to tell about, to inform against.
Ten Commandments, or Ten Talents, (the latter from
talons); the ten fingers with which a virago threatens her
opponent in a quarrel.
Tend, to take care of or attend to, no longer holds that mean-
ing in England, though it was used by Shakespeare and is
still in use in this country.

Tenderfoot (Am.), one newly arrived in the mining

country.
Ten-strike (Am.), a successful stroke, a thorough piece of
work. From the game of ten-pins, where it means to
knock down all the balls at one throw.
Tepee, an Indian tent or wigwam.
Terrier or Tarrier, a tough man, a loafer.
Terror, "a holy terror," (Am.), a hard man, a passionate
fellow.
Tester (Old), an English sixpence.
 TEXTHO 279

Texas (Am.), the upper deck of a Mississippi river steam-

boat.
Tbank ye ma'ams (Am.), hollows or depressions in a road
which cause vehicles to bump up and down. A
young
fellow driving a girl in a sleigh is permitted to kiss the girl
at each of these, the same as taking toll at the bridges.
Tlmtch, a hat.
Thick, stupid.
Thick, "to be thick with one" to be intimate with him.
Thick, "to lay it on to him," to flatter; to surfeit with
adulation.
Thick *un, an English sovereign or pound sterling, other-
wise a Neddy. The latter was originally a guinea, or
twenty-one shillings.
Thimble, a watch.
Thimble-rig: (Eng.), a swindling game worked with three
thimbles and a pea, the "sucker" being induced to bet
under which thimble the evasive pea is lodged. Similar
to the Shell-Game (j-. v.)

Thimble-twisters, watch thieves, those who snatch at the

chain and break it.
Thin, "too thin," not to be believed, too gauzy and flimsy a
tale. Said to be an Americanism, but used by Shakespeare
in the same sense.
Thing:, "the thing," (Eng.), the style, the proper proportion.
Sometimes the "correct thing."
Thin-skinned (Eng.), over nice, petulant, easily offended.
Thirds, a widow's dower, being one-third of the estate of her
husband.
Thirty (Am.), in the telegrapher's code, means "That's all,

good-night."
Thole (Old Eng.) to endure, to put up with.
28o THOTHU
Thompson's colt, "stupid as." This animal is said to have
swum the river in order to get a drink.
Thousand of bricks, "to come down on one like a," is to
descend heavily on one.
Thrap, to strike.
Three-card-men (Am.), gamblers who play monte and
other swindling games and rob the unwary.
Three **Bs,** the, reading, (w)riting and 'rithmetic.
Three sheets in the wind (Sea term), unsteady from drink.
Same as Half-Seas-Over.
Three-up (Eng.), a gambling game played with coppers or
other coins. One man throws up three coins and another
calls. The odd man loses or wins as may be agreed.
Through, (Am.), finished. When a man has had enough
to eat he says he is "through..*
Through the mill, a man who has bought and paid for his
experience is said to have "been through the mill."
Throw over, to reject or abandon.
Thrummer, an English threepenny bit.

Thrums, three pence.

Thrums, remnants of silk or dress goods.
Thrups or Thrips, three pence English.
Thug, a thief, thumper and street loafer. From the Hindu.
Thumper, a lie of large dimensions.
Thumper (Am.), a rough or bully, a pugilist.
Thumping, large, fine or strong.
Thunderbomb, an imaginary man o' war about which great
yarns are spun. See Spidirken ante.
Thundering, large, extra-sized.
Thunder, 'stolen," the plans or speeches of some one else
devoted to one's own purpose.
 TIBTIG 981

Tib, the head.

Tibbing out, in English schoolboy slang, going out of
bounds.
Tib's eve, an indefinite period like the Greek Kalends.
Tick (Eng.), credit, trust.
Ticker, a watch.
Ticker, the electric apparatus by which quotations of stock
or grain, etc. are recorded.
_^_.^ Ticket (Am.), the list of candidates for office as prepared by
^ the party leaders or by caucus or convention.
Ticket, "that's the," that's all right.
Tickler, a puzzle.
Tickler, a register of bills payable and notes falling due kept
by merchants and bankers.
Tiddly wink (Eng.), the name of a game.
Tidy, tolerably well.
Tidy (Am.), an ornamental cover for a sofa or chair; known
in England as an Anti-macassar.
Tie, a dead heat; where two sides have equal numbers.
Tied or Tied up, married.
Tie to, to rely upon.
Tiflf (Eng.), a petty quarrel.
Tiffin, (Anglo Hindu) lunch.
Tiflfy, easily offended.

Tigrer (Am.), a final cheer, "three cheers and a tiger were

given."
Tiger, "to buck the;" to play against the bank in a gambling
house.
Tight, intoxicated.
Tight, close, hard. The money market is said to be "tight"
when discounters hold off.
282 TIGTIN
Tight little island; Great Britain.
Tight place "to be in a," to be in difficulty or danger, or to
be short of money.
Tightener, a hearty meal.
Tights, coverings for the lower limbs worn by ballet-girls
and chorus singers and by a certain class of actresses.
Tike or Tyke, a dog.
Tile, a hat.
Tile loose, "got a;" not quite right in the head.
Teeter, a see-saw.
Tilter, same as
Timber (Am.), woodland.
Timber-merchant (Eng.), a pedler of matches.
Timber-toes, a wooden-legged man.
Time, "doing time," working out a sentence of imprison-
ment.
Time o' day, "to be fly to the," is to be smart, sharp, knowing,
up to all the tricks on the board, to know what's o'clock.
Time, "to call," in the language of the prize ring, the signal
to begin or to renew a fight.

Time, "to have a good," (Am.), or a "high old time," is to

go on a spree or debauch or to indulge in pleasure.
Tin, money.
Tine (Scotch), to lose.
Tinge (Eng.), a percentage allowed to dry goods salesmen
on such inferior or old-fashioned articles as they can work
off on customers as "bargains". Otherwise known as
Spiffs.
Tinker's Dam. Menders of pots and kettles make a "dam"
of bread to prevent the solder from wasting. The bread is
of course worthless after this and "not worth a tinker's
dam" is synonymous with absolute worthlessness.
 TINTIB 083

Tinkler, a bell. "Jerk the tinkler," ring the bell, or "agitate

the communicator."
Tin-pot, small, petty, shabby, worthless.
Tin wedding (Am.), celebration of the tenth anniversary of
a marriage.
Tip (Eng.), advice or information respecting anything, but
especially applied to racing matters ; "a straight tip" is one
v\rhich comes direct from an owner or trainer and which is
supposed reliable.
Tip, in bookbinding, to insert new pages in a printed book in
place of defective pages.
Tip, a douceur or small gift to servants, waiters, etc. In
France pour-boire.
Tip the wink, to inform.
Tip, <to miss one's tip," to fail in a scheme or undertaking.
Tipper, Mrs. Gamp's favorite drink when she "malted,"
ale.
was the "Brighton tipper."
Tipster, one who furnishes tips on races; otherwise known
as a "Sporting Prophet."

Tip-top. first-rate, of the best kind ; away up.

Tip-topper, a swell or dressy man ; a high-flyer.
Tip us your fin, shake hands.
Tired, "you make me," (Am.), is said to one who tells a
stupid story or who bothers a person.
Tish, among tradesmen, an allowance made to employes for
disposing of inferior goods. See Tinge ante.
Tit (Eng.), a horse.
Tit for tat (Eng.), an equivalent, retaliation.
Titivate (Eng.), to put in order or dress up. Probably from
Tidy -vat e.
Titley, drink.
284 TITTOM
Titman, the small pig of a litter, the runt
Titter, a girl.
Tizzy or Tester (Eng.), sixpence.
Toad in the hole (Eng.), a batter pudding with a piece of
meat in it.
Toasting-fork (Eng.), a regulation army sword.
Toby, the highway. "On the high toby," on the main road.
Byron uses the expression in Don Juan.
Tod, a drink, abbreviation of Toddy.
Toddle, to saunter about, to walk as a child.
Toddle, get away.
Toddy, spirits and water. See Grog ante.
To-do, a disturbance, trouble "here's a pretty to-do."
Toe, to kick.
Toe the mark, to come forward, to "come up to the scratch,"
to respond when called.
Toflf (Eng.), a swell; a dressy man.
Togr, a coat, from the Latin toga.
Togged out, dressed.
Togs or Toggery, clothing.
Toke, dry bread.
Tol-lol or ToUolish, tolerable, fair.

Toll-shop, a prison.
Tom and Jerry, a mixed drink ; also applied to a drinking-
house. Tom and Jerry were characters in Pierce Egan's
Life in London.
Tomboy, a hoyden, a romping girl.

Tombstone, a pawn-ticket "in memory of" whatever may

have been pawned.
Tomfoolery, nonsense.
 TOMTOO 285

Tommy, bread, food generally. A Tommybag is that in

which food is carried.
Tommy Atkins, generic term for an English private soldier.
Tommy Dodd, where the odd man wins or
pitch and toss,
loses as the agreement may be.
Tommy master (Eng.), one who pays his workman in
[^ goods or store orders instead of cash. See Truck.
Tommy rot (Eng.), nonsense.
Tommy-shop (Eng.), a baker's shop, or a shop where work-
men take out goods instead of pay in cash.
Toney (Am.), fancy, swellish.
Tongrne, **to grive," to talk, or in the case of fox-hounds to
yelp or bark when the fox is found.
Too high for his nut (Am.), too good for any one, otherwise
"too rich for his blood."
Tool (Eng.), to drive.
Tool, "a poor tool," a bad hand at anything ; a duffer.
Tooler (Eng.), a pickpocket. A
Moll-tooler is a female
pickpocket.
Tooley street tailors, self-conceited persons who claim to
speak for the people at large. Three tailors of Tooley
street, London, once presented a petition to Parliament
beginning "We, the people of England."
Toom (Scotch), empty.
Toot (Am.), a spree.
Toot, "on a," on a drunk.
Tooth, "old in the tooth," far advanced in age. Simile
drawn from the stable, as the age of horses cannot be told
by the teeth after they are seven or eight years old.
Too thin, not satisfactory, too evident to deceive. Shake-
speare has it with exactly this meaning.
286 TOOTOU
Tootsies, ladies or children's feet.
Top-heavy, drunk.
Top notch, the highest point attainable.
Topped, hanged.
Topper, a blow on the head.
Topper, anything above the ordinary.
Top-piece, a hat, tile or "dicer."
Top sawyer, a master or head of his trade ; originally the man
at the upper end of a whip-saw.
Topsy-turvy (Old Cant), upside down.
Top-up, a finishing drink.
Torch (Am.), a cigar or cigarette.
To rights, "dead to rights," excellent, very good, positive.
Torn up, agitated, worried, grieved.
Tory, in England the Conservative party. During the
Revolutionary War the term was applied to the royalist
sympathizers. Tory is practically synonymous with retro-
grade.
Tot, an infant.
Tot, a small glass.
Tote (Am.), to carry.
Tottie, a young girl, not a complimentary term.
Tot-up or Tote-up, to reckon or count; to add together a
column of figures.
Touch (Am.), to obtain money from one, as a political
worker will "touch" a candidate for anything from a "V"
up.
Touch, to extract money from a person, either by blackmail
or larceny.
Touch-and-go, very near; a close shave.
Touched, robbed or blackmailed.
 TOUTRA 287

Toacher, "as near as a," as near as possible without actually

coming in contact.
Touch flesh, an invitation to shake hands.
Touching committee (Am.), a self-appointed gang of pol-
iticans and ward workers who "bleed" candidates for office.

Touchy, pevish, irritable.

Tough (Am), a street loafer and bar-room bully.
Toure (Gip.), to look out, to see.
Tout, a solicitor for trade, such as stand outside cheap cloth-
ing stores and importune passers-by. Cheap hotels employ
touts at the railway depots to **rope in" travelers and
immigrants.
Tout, to watch or solicit.

Tout, in sporting phraseology, one who watches race horses

at exercise and reports to his employer as to their condition
and performances.
Touter, a hotel runner.
Touzle (Scotch), to romp with or tumble. Touzy is
tumbled or disheveled.
To wake snakes (Am.), to get into trouble.
Towel (Eng.), to beat or whip. A cudgel was formerly
known as an Oaken Towel.
Towelling, a beating or rubbing down with an Oakbn
TOWKL.
Tow-head, a person with light hair.
Tracks, "to make," (Am.), to go away.
Trade (Am.), to barter or exchange, to sell or dicker.

Tradesman (Eng.), a mechanic or artisan; one who

thoroughly understands his business.
Trail (Am.), a path; the track left by man or animals. To
"camp on the trail" is to follow in close pursuit.
288 TRA TRE
Trailer (Am.), the street cars on the cable lines which are
drawn by the "grip"
Trailing one's coat, trying to get up a row, as the Irishman
did at Donnybrook Fair by trailing his coat for somebody
to tread upon.
Train, to teach, to bring up.
Train, "to train with," to associate with.
Training-muster, in New England, the annual gathering of
the militia or National Guard for exercise and instruction.
Tramp, a traveling vagabond who works when he must,
steals when he can and begs at all times. After the panic
of 1873 a great many men who had been thrown out of
work in the cities started to tramp the country in the hope
of finding work and to these the above definition does not
apply. But now-a-days the tramp who is honest and will-
ing to work if he could get work to do is a rara avis.
Translator, a cobbler who revamps old boots and shoes.
Trap, a detective.
Trap (Eng.), a light carriage with two wheels.
Trapes, to gossip and gad-about.
Trapesing, untidy, draggletailed.
Traps (Eng.), baggage, personal effects.
Trash, the leaves of the sugar cane.
Trash, anything paltry or contemptible; worthless. See
White Trash.
Traveler, a tramp's name for tramps.
Treasury, in theatrical parlance, the pay department of a
theatre. *'No treasury" means no salary.
Treat, to pay for a drink or cigar for another person.
Tree, "up a tree," (Am.), in difficulties.
Treed (Am.), cornered, caught, as a 'coon or other animal
when compelled to seek refuge in a tree.
 TRE TRU 289

Trews (Scotch), tight fitting trousers.

Trim, to beat, "I'll trim your jacket."
Trimmingfs, the necessary adjuncts to anything cooked. Sam
Weller was invited to a "swarry" by the swell footmen of
Bath the refreshments consisting of a boiled leg of mutton
;

and trimmings.
Troll, a method of fishing by means of a line trailed from a
boat in motion.
Trollop, a slatternly woman.
Trolly, a cart or two-wheeled conveyance used for freight.
Trot out, to draw out or to exploit.
Trotter cases, shoes.
Trotters, feet.
Truck (Am.), vegetables, *'garden-sass."
Truck, to exchange or barter.
Truck, to deal with. "I don't want any truck with you."
Truck-patch, a piece of ground used for raising vegetables
etc.
Trucks, trousers.
Truck system, that under which miners and other workmen
are compelled to take a great part of their pay in orders on
a store mantained by their employers.
Trull (Old Eng.), a common woman or slut; a "tinker's
trull.^'

Trump, a good fellow, "a regular trump."

Trump, to play a trump card is to score a success. To turn
up trumps is to meet with good luck.
Trust, a combination of manufacturers or dealers for the
purpose of limiting production and advancing prices, or one
of railroads, gas companies and other corporations for their
own benefit and to the detriment of the public. See
Combine ante.
290 TRYTUR
Try-on, a dodge or attempt at extortion or overcharge; an
attempt to swindle.
Tub (Eng.), to bathe.
Tub thumper, a preacher, usually applied to itinerant ranters.
Tuck (Eng.), schoolboy's term for food, fruit, pastry etc.
Tuckered out (Am.), tired out.
Tuck in or Tuck out (Eng.), a hearty meal j "a good tuck
in."
Tuck on, to add to the price.
Tuft (Eng.), a University swell, from the gilded tufts on the
caps of fellow-commoners, who are wealthy men and often
the sons of noblemen.
Tufthunter, (Eng.). a hanger-on to persons of wealth and
distinction. See Tuft ante.
Tulip (Eng.), a complimentary term applied to a manor boy
"How are you, my tulip?"
Tumble^ to understand; to "fall."
Tumble-bugr, a beetle.
Tune the old cow died of; any discordant music.
Turf, horse racing and betting thereon.
Turf, "on the," as to men those connected with racing and
betting on races; as to women synonymous with "on the
town."
Turn, "to call the," to guess right. In the game of faro
when three cards are left in the box the player who can
name the order in which they will come out "calls the
turn" and wins accordingly.
Turnip, an old fashioned watch.
Turn it up, to quit, change or abandon.
Turn out (Eng.), a carriage and horses.
Turnpike sailors, beggars who pretend to be shipwrecked
seamen.
 TUR TWO 291

Turn up, to appear unexpectedly, "something may turn up."

Mr. Micawber was always waiting for something to turn
up.
Turn up, an impromptu fight.
Turpentine State, North Carolina.
Tusheroon, an English crown piece; five shillings,
Tussle, a struggle, row or argument.
Tussle, to struggle or wrestle with.
Twaddle, idle talk, rubbish.
Twelver, an English shilling or twelve pence.
Twig, to comprehend, same as Tumble or Catch on.
"A landsman said, I twig the cove
He's been upon the mill
And 'cos he gammons so the flats
We calls him Veeping Bill."
Itigoldsby.
Twist, appetite.
Twist, brandy and gin mixed.
Twitchety, nervous, fidgety.
Twitter, to tremble.
Twitter, to sing.
Two-eyed-steak (Eng.), a herring or bloater.
Two-handed, expert with the fists.
Two penny or Tupp*ny (Eng.), the head. At the game of
leap-frog one boy will call to another to "tuck in his
tupp'ny."
Two-penny half-penny (Eng.), paltry, small. The
American equivalent is Picayunish {g. v.)
Two-penny rope (Eng.), a low lodging house where the
bed clothing, such as it is, is suspended from or fastened to
ropes as a guard against the predatory habits of the lodgers.
In the morning the rope is pulled up as a signal that it is
time to arise.
292 TWO TYP
Two to one (Eng.), the pawnbroker's sign, it being two to
one that you never again see the article pawned.
Two upon ten (Eng.), two eyes upon ten fingers; a signal
for watchfulness in shops when a person suspected of shop-
lifting is noticed. Shortened toTwo Pun' ten, it passes as
a money term 2, los, od. and if it is not convenient to call
out, that amount is written on a piece of paper and handed
to the clerk.
Tycoon, the master or "boss," often "Big Tycoon." From
the Japanese ruler.
Tyke or Tike (Eng.), a dog.
Typo, a compositor.


u
TJglSt is used In the Northern States of the Union as an
equivalent for ill-tempered. In England it means ill-favored,
unpleasant to look upon.
Ullages, dregs of wine left in glasses and bottles.
Uncle (Am.), a term applied to an old negro man.
Uncle Sam, the tutelary genius of the United States.
All ye icebergs make salaam
You belong to Uncle Sam. Br^t Harte.
The phrase "Uncle Sam" arose during the war of 1812 with England An
army contractor named Elbert Anderson had a storeyard at a small town on
the Hudson. A government inspector named Samuel Wilson, who was
always called "Uncle Sam," supermtended the examination of the supplies,
and when they were passed each cask, box, or package was marked "E. A.
U. S.," the initials of the contractor and of the United States. The man
whose duty it was to mark the casks, being asked what the letters meant,
rephed that they stood for Elbert Anderson and "Uncle Sam." The story
was retold, printed, and spread throughout the army and the country.
Underaclond, in difficulties.
Understandings, boots or feet.
Understudy, one \srho studies a part for the stage with a
view to taking the place of the regular actor or actress in
case of their failure to appear.
Under the rose, under the obligation of silence and secrecy.
Usually quoted in Latin form of sub rosa.
its

Unfortunate, an euphemism for a woman of the town,

derived from Thomas Hood's famous poem:
"One more unfortunate
Weary of breath
Rashly importunate
Gone to her death."
393
294 UNLUSE
TJnlicked, ill-trained, loutish, rude.
Unload, on the Stock Exchange or Board of Trade, to sell
out stock.
Unterrified (Am.), an adjective often applied to the Dena-
ocratic party.
Unwashed, 'the great" (Eng.), the lower classes.
Up, has many meanings. To be up to a thing or two is to
be clever, knowing. To put a man up to anything is to
post him, or teach him a trick. "All up" means that it is
all over with him and "what's up?" signifies "what is the
news?"
Upper crust, the higher classes of society.
Upper story, the head.
Upper ten or Upper ten thousand, the English aristocracy
and the higher class of gentry. The New York equivalent
is McAllister's "400."
Uppish, proud, arrogant.
Upright man, a Gipsy or initiated rogue.
Up the flume (Am.), ruined.
Up the spout, pawned.
Up to dick, is about equal to Up to Snuff, that is knowing,
smart.
USQd up, tired, beaten.
 Vaga. "to vag'* in police parlance, is to run a man in as a
vagabond; one without visible means of support.
Talley tan (Am.), bad whisky.
Tamose (Span), to go. * Vamose the ranch," leave the
place.
Vamp, to cobble or tinker up.
Vaquero (Span), a horseman or cattle tender.
Varmint, a corruption of vermin, an opprobrious term. The
returned convict in Great Expectations speaks of himself
in the third person as a "poor varmint."
Tamisher, one who passes imitation gold coin; otherwise a
Snide-pitcher (f. z>.)
Tarsity (Eng.), either University; Oxford or Cambridge.
Velvet, **to stand on," when a bookmaker has so shaped his
b operations on a race by hedging that he cannot lose and
/ stands to win on one or more horses he stands on velvet.
* Velvet also means winnings at any game of chance.

Vendue (French vendre to sell), a public auction. In Scot-

land it is called a Roup (^. z^.)

Veneer, artificiality, polish, conventionality.

Vest-pocket vote. Citizens who object to party dictation or
,
who for other reasons do not care to accept tickets from the
pedlers at the polls prepare them at home and carry them,
(usually in the vest pocket as being handiest) to the polls.
Vest, "pull down your;" one of the absurd street sayings
which from time to time flourish and fade. It had a nm
296 VETVOY
some years ago but is now happily heard no more and
scarcely deserves mention.
Vet, a veterinary surgeon.
Vigilance Committee (Am.), a self-appointed organization
for the purpose of punishing criminals who have gone un-
whipped of justice. The most famous was that which
"regulated" San Francisco; the most recent that which
hanged and shot the '^Mafia" suspects at New Orleans.
Vim, spirit, energy.
Voyagr^W (French)} a Canadian boatman.
 w
"Wabster (Scotch), from We5, a weaver.
"Wabble or Wobble, to move from side to side, to roll about
Wad (Am.), a roll of bills.
Wad, a lunch or light meal.
Wake (Irish), the friends of a dead man sit up all night with
the corpse, the usual accompaniments being large quantities
of whisky and much tobacco.
Wake, an English country fair.
Waking Snakes (Am.), getting into trouble.
Waking up the wrong passenger, making a mistake in the
man sometimes done by thieves on sleeping-cars and
as is
steamboats, who attempt to rob a man whom they suppose
to be asleep and find him too much for them.
Walker, sometimes Hookey Walker, an ejaculation of in-
credulity.
Walking-papers, "to get one's," is to be discharged from
employment.
Walk into, to overcome, to demolish, to scold or thrash. It
"" ;"
also to get in debt, "He walked into the tradesmen
means
and sometimes to "walk into the grub," i. e. to eat a big
dinner.
Walk-over, when there Is no opposition one horse walks

over the course and his owner claims the stakes. An un-
opposed election is a walk-over.
Walk Spanish, to make a man come up to time.
298 V/ALWAT
Walk tiPi An expi'ession which may be friendly or the con-
trary. There is a great difference between "Walk up
Moriarty" and "Morlarty, walk up."
Walk your cbalks, to walk straight or to behave properly.
A drunken man finds great difficulty in walking along a
chalk line.
Wallflower, those who at a ball do not dance, either from
lack of inclination or of partners, and who while the danc-
ing is going on range up against the walls.
Wallop, to beat or trash.
Walloping", a thrashing. Also used as an adjective to
express size, greatness.
Wampum (Indian), strings of shells or beads used as
currency.
Warm (Eng.), rich.
Warm, to thrash. "I'll warm your jacket." Also to abuse;
tomake it hot for anybody.
Warming-pan, one who holds an office or a benefice until
another shall have become qualified to take it.

Warming-pan, an old-fashioned gold watch of considerable

size.
Warm with (Eng.), hot spirits and water with sugar.
War paint, full dress.
Warpath, "on the," (Am.), ready for a fight.
Wash, "that won't," that willnot stand investigation ; any-
thing not genuine.
Washed out, faded, sickly-looking.
Wash-out (Am.), where a roadway, bridge or railroad em-
bankment is carried away by a flood.
Waste, to reduce one's weight by training.
Watchmaker, a pickpocket or watch-thief.
Watch out (Am.), look out.
 WATWEL 399

Water; to water stock Is to increase the capita] stock of a

railroad or other corporation without receiving value for
the stock thus issued.
Water bewitched (Sea), very weak tea r grog.
Watering stock. See Water ante.
Wattles, ears.
Wax, (Eng.), a rage.
Wax, to beat or overcome.
Weak-kneed, undecided, not reliable.
Weak Sister,any person who cannot be relied upon.
Wearing the willow, is said of one disappointed in love:
All round my hat I wears a green willow;
All round my hat, for a twelvemonth and a day
If any one should ask me the reason why I do so^
I tell s 'em for my true love that's far, far away.

Wears the breeches, said of a wife who runs the house her
own way and whose husband has nothing to say about
family matters.
Weather eye, a cautious eye. One who keeps a sharp look-
out is said to **keep his weather eye open,"
Wedge (Old Cant), silver.
Wee (Scotch), little.

Weed, a cigar, or tobacco in any form.

Weed, a mourning hat band.
Weeds, a widow's mourning.
Weighing in, in racing phraseology, jockeys weighing
before the race.
Weight-for-age, where horses are penalized according to "

their ages, and not, as in handicaps, according to their per-

formances. Thus a five year old may carry 14 to 20
pounds more than a three year old.
Wolcher or Welsher (Eng.), the pests of a race-course who
300 WELWHA
make bets without ever Intending to pay and abscond when
the race goes against them.
Welt, to thrash with a stick.

Wench, an Enghsh provincialism for a young girl or servant

man in the United States applied to a negress.
;

Wet, a drmk, a drain.

Wet Blanket, a kill- joy to dampen one's prospects.
J

Wet groceries (Am.), spirituous liquors.

Wet Night (Eng.), an all-night debauch.
Wet the other eye, take another drink.
Wet your whistle, (properly w-^e^, to sharpen); to take a
drink.
Whack, a share or lot.
Whack, a blow; to whack, to beat.
Whacker, a lie of fair and full proportions; a Bouncer
{g. V.)
Whacking, a thrashing.
Whacking, large, fine, strong.
Whacks, "to go," to divide equally.
Whack up, to pay or to divide.
Whale (Am.), to beat or thrash.
Whale, "very like a," said of anything improbable. See
Hamlet.
Whaling (Am.), a thrashing.
Whangdoodle (Am.), this mysterious animal, like the
"gyascutis" of circus fame, has never been beheld of man
and its attributes and habits are entirely unknown.
Wharf-rat, a dock loafer and thief, who steals rope and any-
thing else he can reach from ships at anchor or in the
docks.
 WHAWHI 301

"What's o'clock, "to know," to be "up to the time of day,"

to be knowing, cunning.
"Wheelhorse (Am.), a leader; "the wheelhorses of the
Democratic Party.
"Wheels, *'to grease the," to furnish money for carrying out
a scheme.
Wheeze, a joke or anecdote not properly in the play but in-
troduced by an actor on his own account; same as Gag
{q. V.)
Wherewithal, money.
Whet, to sharpen; an appetizer.
Whlds, (Old Eng.), words. "Cut bien whids." (Gip.),
speak good words.
Whigr, in England a member of the moderate Liberal party;
during the Revolutionary War one who was loyal to the
United States.
Whim-wham, nonsense, rubbish, f ancif ulness.
Whip (Am.), to surpass, to thrash.
Whip, to take up quickly.
Whip, in the English House of Commons, the member
charged with the duty of keeping his party together and
having them ready to vote when necessary.
Whipper-snapper (Eng.), a diminutive insignificant person.
Whippingr the devil arouud the stump, publicly denoun-
cing some habit or practice and yet excusing it under
certain circumstances ; in other words preaching one thing
and practicing another.
Whipsawed (Am.), left in the lurch.
Whisper, a tip, information given secretly.
Whisper, to borrow money in small sums.
Whisperer, a constant borrower.
302 WHI
Whistle, "clean as a;" neat, cleverly done.
WMstle, "to pay for one's," to pay extravagantly for any
fancy.
Whistle, "to wet one's," to drink. See Wet Your
Whistle.
Whistling-shop (Eng.), an unlicensed liquor- house.
White Caps (Am.), irregular regulators of public morals; a
sort of northern Ku-Klux.
Whitechapel, in tossing coppers, where the "best two out
of three" wins.
Whitechapel, anything mean or paltry.

White Choker, a white necktie of the kind affected by

clergyman, lawyers and doctors and worn as full-dress.
White eye, bad whisky; Same as Red-Eye (^. v.)
White-feather, "to show the," to display cowardice. A
game-cock with a white feather in his wing or tail is not
pure bred and generally "flies the pit."
White lie, a mild variety of falsehood.
White liners (Am.), a political party in Louisiana opposed
to negro domination.
White-livered, cowardly.
White prop, a diamond pin.
White satin (Eng.), gin.
White Sergeant, a wife who "wears the breeches."
White trash (Am.), the poor whites of the South.
White un (Eng.), a silver watch.
Whitewash, to rehabilitate; a bankrupt or insolvent is
"whitewashed" by process of court.
White wine (Eng.), gin.
White wings (Am.), poached eggs.
 WHIWIG 303

Whittle (Old Eng.), a knife. "A Sheffield whittle bore he

Chaucer.
in his belt."
Whittle (Am.), to cut with a pocket knife.
Whole Cloth (Am.), a lie made out of whole cloth is one
without any substratum of truth.
Whole hog or none, "to go the," to do anything thoroughly
or not at all.

Whole team (Am.), a good fellow is a whole team and

superlatively "with a big yellow dog under the wagon."
Whoop her up; to make things go.
Whop, to trash or beat; a corruption of whip.
Whopper, a lie anything large.
;

Whopping, a beating.
Wide-awake (Am.), abroad-brimmed soft hat, otherwise
known as a billycock, (Eng.)
Wide-awake (Eng.), knowing, smart. Compare Up to
Snuff and "Fly."
Wideawakes (Am.), a political organization, largely com-
posed of marching clubs, named from the slouch hats worn
by the members. It was formed in 1859 and was a prom-
inent factor within the Republican party.
Wido (Eng.), knowing, wide-awake.
Wide open (Am.), "to run things," is to go on without
much care for results ; to cut a big swath.
Widow, in card games, an extra hand which may be taken up
by the players in turn.
Wife, in thieves cant, a fetter fastened on one leg.
Wigging (Eng.), a rebuke or scolding.
Wiggle, to wriggle about, to bend the body from side to side.

Wigwam (Indian), an Indian cabin, lodge or tepee, shaped

like a tent.
304 WILWIR
Wild, vexed, cross, passionate, mad.
Wild-cat (Am.), country bank-notes of more than doubtful
reputation. Also known as Red Dog and Stumptail.
Wild oats (Eng.), youthful pranks, dissipation; fast young
men are said to "sow their wild oats."
William, a bill.
Willow, a cricket bat.
Wilt, to wither, to droop.
Wind, empty talk, bragadoccio, gas.
Wind, "to raise the," to procure money.
Wind, "to slip one's," to die.
Windbagr, a bloviant braggart.
Windfall, fruit shaken down by the winds. Also a slice of
unexpected luck, or a legacy.
Windows, the eyes; poetically "the windows of the soul;"
in slang known as "peepers."
Winey (Eng.), intoxicated.
Winged, shot in the arm or shoulder.
Winking", "like," very quickly.
Wipe, a handkerchief.
Wipe, a blow, to strike.
Wiped out, dead.
Wipe-out (Am.), to destroy or finish.
Wiping one's eye, taking a drink.
Wire, to telegraph.
Wire in, go in with a will; advice given by bystanders to a
boy in a street fight.
Wire-puller (Am.), a political "fine worker," who sets up
plans for the election of candidates and the passage or
defeat of legislative measures.
Wire-pulling (Am.), political manipulation.
 WIS WOR 305

Wisdom tooth, a large back tooth which does not make its
appearance until long after all the others, when a person
has presumably arrived at the age of discretion.
Wise woman, a midwife. The French call her sage-femme.
Wisliy-washy, weak, insipid.
With a string to it (Am.), a gift or donation made con-
ditionally and subject to withdrawal.
Wobbler, a foot soldier.
Wobbly, rickety, unsteady.
Wolf, to eat ravenously to rob.
;

Wolf, a hard man, a bargain-driver or extortioner.

Wollop, to beat.
Woodbine, "gone where the woodbine twineth;" passed
away; out of sight.
Wooden overcoat, a coffin.
Wooden wedding^ (Am.), the fifth anniversary of a
wedding.
Wood up (Am.), to load a steamboat with wood for fuel.
Wool, to tear the hair.
Wool-gathering, wandering in mind ; in a reverie.
Wool over the eyes, "to pull the," to impose upon one.
Wooly (Eng.), a blanket.
Wooly (Eng.), out of temper.
Work, to plan, to scheme, to victimize.
Working the oracle, manseuvering, scheming.
Worm, a policeman.
Worm-fence, an irregular rail fence, otherwise a Snakb
Fence.
Worriment, trouble, worry. ,

Worrit (Old Eng.) to worry or scold.

3o6 WRAWUN
Wrathy, angry.
Wrestle, to strive with, as a boy wrestles with his lessons or
a man with a tough job of work.
Wrinkle, an idea; a dodge or trick.
Wanner, a Cockneyism for "one 'er." The Marchioness
uses it in the Old Curiosity Shop^ to express her apprecia-
tion of the manifold virtues of Miss Sally Brass.
Yack (Gip.), a watch.
Tahoo, a low-class, vulgar person. See Swift, Gulliver's
Travels.
ITam, to eat.
Yams, stupid people.
Yank, to pull or jerk.
Yankee, popular name for New Englanders. The English,
who speak of Canadians as Americans, and of the United
States as *'the States," term all citizens of the United
States Yankees, even if they hail from Illinois, California
or Georgia. The word is derived from "Yengees," an
attempt of the Massachusetts Indians to say "English."
Yankeedom, New England.
Yankee Doodle, a doggerel song, the tune of which is often
played as a march. The first recorded appearance of tne
tune is in the old song, {temp Charles II.)y "Lucy Locket
lost her pocket." Yankee Doodle is used as a generic term
for the United States.
Yannam, bread.
Yannap, an English penny. This is back-slang but has
passed into common use.
Yappy, soft, foolish.
Yard of clay, a long clay pipe, otherwise a Church-
warden (j'. V.)
Yarn, a sailor's story. To "spin a yarn," is to tell a tale and
a "tough yam" is one hard lo believe.
ao7
3oS YCLYOU
Yclept, or Clepped (Old Eng.), called, named. See Lovers
Labor Lost.
Yellow boy, an English sovereign or pound.
Yellow Jack, the yellow fever.
Yidden. the Jewish people.
Yiddish, a kind of bastard Hebrew dialect, much used by
London Jews of the lower order.
Yokel, a countryman or greenhorn.
Yorkshire, "to come," to cheat or overreach in a bargain.
Yorkshiremen have a great reputation for sharpness, par-
ticularly in trading horses.
Y orkshire reckoning, or "treat," where every man pays
own
his share: same as a Copenhagen or Philadelphia
Treat (^. v.')

Younker, a boy or youngster.

You *uns and We 'uns, used in the South for "you" and
"we."

3"
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