Chapter I: Part 1

SLANG AND ITS
ANALOGUES
PAST AND PRESENT.

A DICTIONARY, HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE,
OF THE HETERODOX SPEECH OF ALL CLASSES
OF SOCIETY FOR MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED YEARS.

WITH SYNONYMS IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, ETC.

COMPILED AND EDITED BY
JOHN S. FARMER,

“Americanisms—Old and New”: “Ex Oriente Lux”: “’Twixt Two Worlds.”

VOL. I.—A TO BYZ.

PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.

MDCCCXC.

The author will esteem it a favour to be furnished with
examples of cant or slang of any kind or nationality,
together with quotations, especially early ones, illustrating
usage, meaning, derivation, etc. All communications may be
addressed to John S. Farmer, care of A. P. Watt, Esq., 2,
Paternoster Square, London, E.C.

PREFATORY NOTE.

“He that undertakes to compile a dictionary, undertakes that which, if it comprehends the full extent of his design, he knows himself unable to perform. Yet his labours, though deficient, may be useful, and with the hope of this inferior praise, he must incite his activity, and solace his weariness.” So wrote the great lexicographer, Dr. Johnson, in the “Advertisement” to the fourth edition of his Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1773. In another place he had already told, in words which have since become classical, of the difficulties he had encountered, and of his own estimate of the shortcomings of his work as compared with the original design. It is in very much the same position that I find myself, now that I have completed the first instalment of my own task, smaller and less important though it be. I am fully conscious of manifold imperfections; yet I hope, and indeed believe, that I have, in my presentation of what is generically known as “slang,” advanced the enquiry in some measure. While cordially acknowledging the aid I have derived from the labours of my predecessors in the field, I cannot but recognise that, again and again, having adopted a new mode of treatment, I have found myself forced to “blaze” the way into what was practically a terra incognita.

The difficulties were manifold, and crowded upon one at every turn from the very outset. First and foremost came the question of deciding whether any given word, phrase, or turn of expression could with justice be relegated to the limbo of unorthodox speech—in short to decide, What is Slang? As a matter of fact, I have not yet discovered, nor have I been able to formulate any definition which covers the whole of the ground to be traversed. As Dr. Murray truly observes, “there is absolutely no defining line in any direction: the circle of the English language has a well-defined centre, but no discernible circumference.” Authorities differ between themselves, and often with themselves when asked to set down in plain scientific terms the marks which distinguish the vagrant words of slang from correct and orthodox English. Nor is the difficulty removed or lessened by an analysis of the genesis, or the application of this vast and motley crowd of heterodox words: of a verity the borderland between slang and the “Queen’s English” is an ill-defined territory, the limits of which have never been clearly mapped out. It is, therefore, not without hesitation, that I have ventured to explore this “Dark Continent” of the World of Words. If I cast a ray of light where before was darkness, or reduce to some sort of order where much was confusion—well and good: if, on the other hand, my steps at times chance to falter, others will, in such a case, be able to profit by my experience as I have by that of my predecessors.

Hence—bearing in mind the ill-defined character of much of the enquiry—my title, “Slang and its Analogues,” which I think fairly and accurately describes the scope and intent of the present work, though it may not satisfy those critics who, without examination, seek to decry or put aside that which it has cost years of labour and research to produce. For the rest, however, a conscientious worker may well be content to abide the result of careful and honest criticism, whether for praise or demerit.

Great as was the initial difficulty in regard to a dividing line between the three great divisions of colloquial English—dialectical, technical, and slang—it was clearly and obviously necessary to draw the line somewhere. After careful consideration, I adopted, as a standard between literary and non-literary English, Annandale’s edition of Ogilvie’s Imperial English Dictionary. With but few exceptions, it will be found that no word is here included which is there set down as forming part of the orthodox inheritance of “the noble English tongue.” The next great difficulty with which I found myself confronted was the determination of the exact meanings of slang words and expressions. Frequently I discovered I had to deal with a veritable Proteus—slang used to-day in one sense shades off to-morrow into many modifications. This fact I have had to keep steadily in mind. It will account, in some instances, for what may, at first sight, appear to be an unnecessarily extended list of illustrative quotations; in such cases it will generally be found, on examination, that different shades of meaning are exemplified.

As regards treatment, I have adopted, though not in its entirety, what is commonly known as the “historical method,” supplementing this by an attempt at the comparative study of slang, i.e., the presentation of unorthodox English in juxtaposition with the argots of other European nations, notably those of the French, German, Italian, and Spanish peoples. The historical usage of slang is amply illustrated by the quotations appended to each example. These comprise in their range the whole period of English literature from the earliest down to the present time, my plan having been to give the first ascertainable use of any given word or phrase, tracing it down century by century, winding up with an example “down to date.” These illustrative quotations, roughly speaking, number upwards of 100,000 for the whole work. I was fortunate enough shortly after commencing my final task of revision to have about 12,000 quotations placed at my disposal by Mr. G. L. Apperson, of Wimbledon, who for many years has had special knowledge of the requirements of such work, having sub-edited certain sections of the New English Dictionary. I am glad to be able to make special mention of my indebtedness in this respect; as also to Mr. G. A. King, of Croydon, an old Wykehamist, for invaluable aid in connection with public school words and phrases.

Copious materials for a comparative study of English and foreign slang will be found in the often-times lengthy lists of analogous and synonymous terms appended to the more important and more commonly used examples in the body of the work. This branch of my study I shall deal with more fully in an article to follow the completion of the vocabulary proper, and I purpose to enhance the usefulness of that portion of the dictionary by a complete alphabetical list of all the foreign slang words and phrases herein used, with full references to page and column.

For the rest, my method will, I think, need little elucidation. I have endeavoured to make each example, with its explanation, derivation, synonyms, and illustrative quotations, as far as possible, complete in itself. Over and above this, however, the cross-references will be found of considerable value for the purpose of comparison, and will, I hope, be acceptable. I may also add that, wherever possible, I have given a reference indicating where synonymous or analogous words may be found. The arrangement of these synonyms has been a matter of considerable thought; first, as to the most fitting place for inclusion; and second, so to distribute them throughout the dictionary as to present a piece of work evenly balanced, and ready of reference.

There are certain sources of information of which I must make special acknowledgment. Among books, first and foremost, comes that invaluable store-house, Notes and Queries. I have freely drawn for information upon this inestimable periodical from its very first issue, invariably making a note of my indebtedness, and to whom, in the text. The New English Dictionary has also been of service in supplying, at times, earlier examples of the use of a slang word or phrase than those of which I was already possessed. It is not, however, without a certain amount of perhaps pardonable satisfaction that I, working single-handed, am often able to give much earlier illustrations of the slang side and usage of our mother tongue, than occurs elsewhere.

As regards French Argot, Francisque Michel, Lorédan Larchey, and A. Barrère, respectively, are the chief authorities to whom I wish to render due acknowledgment; Avé-Lallemant and Kahle have also been specially useful in connection with the German Gaunersprache. The dates of quotations have, wherever possible, been finally verified by comparison with the comprehensive and useful appendix to Dr. Brewer’s Reader’s Handbook.

It may not be out of place to give some indication of the complete scheme (subject to slight modification) of Slang and its Analogues. The work will comprise:—

I. A dictionary of ancient and modern English slang, treated
historically, including copious lists of English, French,
German, and Italian synonyms, etc.
II. A chapter on the comparative study of the subject; this
embraces English cant and slang, French Argot, German
Gaunersprache, Italian Fourbesque, Spanish Germania, and
Portuguese Calão.
III. A new and exhaustive Bibliography, with copious entries of
foreign books treating of the subject.
IV. A list of authorities and references to periodical
literature, with full titles and dates as mentioned
throughout the dictionary.
V. A complete vocabulary of all foreign slang words and
expressions occurring throughout the body of the work,
with detailed references to example, page, and column.
This will form in itself a comprehensive dictionary of
foreign slang.

Note.—A table of abbreviations used in this Volume will be found on page 406.

A DICTIONARY OF
SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES.

A

A (vulgar)—[“ă” as in bat].—A common vulgarism in speaking for (1) “have,” (2) “I,” (3) “he,” (4) “at,” (5) “on,” etc. It occurs in these connections for more than 300 years; all were used by Shakspeare, as well as by Beaumont and Fletcher and other writers of the Elizabethan period.

A1 or A1 Copper-Bottomed, adj. phr. (popular).—Applied to men or things, A1 is synonymous with a high degree of praise. ‘He must be a first-rater,’ said Sam. ‘A1,’ replied Mr. Roker. [1837, Pickwick Papers.]

The derivation of this colloquialism from the symbols used in registering ships at Lloyd’s is pretty well known. Letters—A.A. (in black and red), Æ (in black), E, etc.—are employed to denote various degrees of excellence in the hulls of vessels, figures being added to show the quality of the equipments, such as masts and rigging in sailing vessels, or boilers and engines in steamers. When hull and fittings alike are of the best, a vessel is classed A1. Hence, in mercantile circles, the expression has become popularly current, in a figurative sense, to signify the highest commercial credit; and, by a process of expansion, excellence of quality in general, i.e., first-class; first-rate. The form varies, being rendered by first-class letter a; A1 copper-bottomed; and, in the U.S.A., A1 and no mistake. The earliest reference given in the New English Dictionary for the colloquially figurative usage bears date 1836, but it was employed at least two years previously in a quarter which seems definitely to fix, not only the period of its adoption, but the process of transition as well. A1 was a perfectly natural colloquialism in the hands of Captain Marryat, at once an experienced seaman and a practised writer.

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. xliii. ‘Broached molasses, cask
No. 1, letter A.’

1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 229.
‘Here’s spoons for six, and tea and sugar for one. Sold again! and
this time to my old sweetheart of all. She’s a prime girl, she is;
she is a number one, copper-bottomed, and can sail as well in her
stays as out of her stays; she is full rigged, and carries a lot of
canvas. But I must not tell tales out of school.’

1882. Punch, lxxxii. 181, 1. In Vino (et cetera) Veritas. ‘What’s
up, old man? You seem to be out of sorts!’ ‘Snappe’s been here. I
begged him to give me his candid opinion about my pictures. He
did!’ ‘Ah! I see! It differs from yours! Now when I want a fellow’s
candid opinion about my pictures, I ask him to dinner, give him a
first-rate bottle of claret, a cup of A1 coffee, a glass of old
cognac, and the best cigar money can buy, and then I show him my
pictures, and I always find that his candid opinion coincides with
my own.’

Eng. Synonyms. All brandy; the pure quill; about East (American); about right; at par; the cheese; all there; bang up; a corker; up to Dick; downy; fizzing; that’s Bible; splash up; up to the nines; up to the knocker; down to the ground; slap up, etc.

French Synonyms. Abracadabrant, adj. (from Abracadabra); aux petits oignons (literally ‘like small onions.’ Cf., English, ‘like a thousand of bricks,’ and ‘like winkey’); bath (adj.: also bate. In Argot and Slang the origin of the term is thus stated:—Towards 1848 some Bath notepaper of superior quality was hawked about in the streets of Paris, and sold at a low price. Thus ‘papier bath’ became synonymous of (sic) excellent paper. In a short time the qualifying term alone remained and received a general application); arriver bon premier (literally ‘to arrive a good first’).

(Fenian).—Sometimes erroneously No. 1. In the copy of Hotten’s Slang Dictionary, annotated by H. J. Byron, the playwright, now in the British Museum, this is given as ‘a title for the commander of 900 men.’

Aaron, subs. (thieves’).—‘The Aaron,’ says H. O. Manton in Slangiana, ‘is the chief or captain of a gang or school of thieves. The title is invariably preceded by the prefix The—par excellence the first—similar to the eldest representatives of certain Irish and Scotch clans or families, such as The O’Connor Don, The Chisholm, etc. As Aaron was the first high priest ... it is probably of Jewish origin in its slang application. An Aaron was an old cant term for one of a class of cadgers, who combined begging with acting as guide to the summits of mountains, chiefly to evade the laws against vagabondage, no doubt a play, in its slang sense, on its Hebrew equivalent, lofty.’ In this last connection a closer relationship probably exists than that just stated, inasmuch as Gesenius thinks that the Hebrew Aaron is a derivative of Hāron, a mountaineer. It is to be remarked that leaders of the church were also called Aarons.

A. B., or A. B. S. (commercial).—An able-bodied seaman.—See Bottle sucker.

1875. Chambers’ Journal, No. 627. Of all the European sailors by
far the most reliable were five stalwart A.B’S.

Abaddon, subs. (old).—A thief who, to general nefarious practices, adds perfidy to his companions. Rarely, and perhaps only locally used. It is obviously derived from Abaddon, the destroyer or angel of the bottomless pit (Revelation ix., 11).

Abandannad, Abandannaad, subs. (thieves’).—1. A nearly obsolete term to designate primarily a pickpocket, whose chief quarry is pocket handkerchiefs or bandannas; and, hence

2. A petty thief, i.e., one whose depredations are regarded by the fraternity as not worth the risk incurred. Brewer writes down the word as a contraction of ‘a bandanna lad.’ With this derivation is connected the story of an incident said to have been a prime factor in the movement resulting in the passing of Sir Samuel Romilly’s Act for the abolition of capital punishment for highway robberies under 40s. value. Briefly told, it is that a footpad robbed a woman of a bandanna shawl, valued at 9d., an offence for which a notorious highwayman was hanged. Subsequently, however, he was proved to have been innocent, whereupon the fact of her mistaken accusation having done an innocent man to death so preyed upon the woman’s mind that she became raving mad. The incidents touched the public conscience, an agitation ensued, and the law was amended as stated.

Abandoned Habits, subs. phr. (popular).—The riding costumes of the ladies of the demi-monde in Hyde Park—(Slangiana). The punning and sufficiently obvious innuendo involved in the appellation hardly calls for further comment.—See Anonyma.

Abbess or Lady Abbess, subs. (old).—The keeper of a house of ill-fame; also a procuress. It has been suggested that the origin of this term for the mistress of a brothel, as also that of Abbot (q.v.), the name given to the male associate of the mistress, may be traced to the alleged illicit amours of Abelard and Héloïse. In this connection it is significant that, according to Francisque Michel’s Etudes Comparées sur l’Argot, a common woman was, in the old French cant, said to come from l’abbaye des s’offre à tous. The keeper of such an establishment was called l’abbesse, and her associate le sacristain. The analogy was carried still further, by the inmates being termed ‘nuns’ and ‘sisters of charity.’ This depravation in the meaning of words, usually applied only to the holders of sacred offices, may possibly, without undue license, be regarded as resulting from the mockery born of the degradation, in the popular mind, of the priestly office; or, it may naturally flow from the loose way in which the title of ‘abbot’ was often applied to the holders of non-monastic offices. Thus, the first step toward degeneration may have occurred in applying the term to the principal of a body of clergy, as an episcopal rector; or, as amongst the Genoese, to a chief magistrate. The second stage was reached when, in the middle ages, ‘abbot’ was applied ironically to the heads of various guilds and associations, and to the leaders in popular assemblages and disorderly festivities, e.g., the Abbot of Bell-ringers, the Abbot of Misrule, the Abbot of Unreason. Henceforward deterioration was both easy and rapid to the point when ‘abbot’ and its co-relative abbess, signified a steward and stewardess of the stews (q.v.). The terms are now obsolete on both sides of the Channel. In England the modern equivalent for abbess is mother (q.v.); and in France la maca, mère maca, la maquecée, or l’institutrice, do similar duty.

1782. Wolcot [P. Pindar], Odes to the Pope, Ode ii. in Works
(Dublin, 1795), vol. II., p. 492.

So an old abbess, for the rattling rakes,
A tempting dish of human nature makes,
And dresses up a luscious maid.

1840. W. Kidd, London and all Its Dangers. The infernal wretches
who traffic in the souls and bodies of their helpless victims are
called lady abbesses.

Abbey Lubber, subs. phr. (old).—[From abbey + lubber.]

1. An old term of contempt for an able-bodied idler who grew sleek and fat upon the charity of religious houses; also sometimes, especially subsequent to the Reformation, applied to monks. In this sense it has long fallen into disuse.

1680. Dryden, Spanish Friar, III. 3. This is no huge, overgrown
abbey lubber.

2. The term survives, however, and is still occasionally used by seafaring men, although ‘lubber’ is now more common amongst our Jack tars for a lazy, thriftless individual. If a sailor wishes to express the utmost scorn for laziness and meanness, he finds a very much more forcible expression in a ‘dirty dog and no sailor.’—See Lubbers’ hole.

Abbot, subs. (old).—The husband or ‘fancy man’ of an abbess (q.v.); now called a ponce (q.v.). In the old French argot these gentry were dignified by the title of sacristain. They were occasionally spoken of as croziered abbots, or abbots on the cross, in which case the establishments over which they mounted guard were not so much brothels as panel cribs (q.v.), where prostitution served mainly as a cloak for robbery.

Abbott’s Priory, subs. phr. (popular).—The King’s Bench Prison was formerly so-called; perhaps from Chief Justice Abbott.

Abbreviations.—These occasionally partake most clearly of the nature of slang. As illustrative examples may be mentioned:—K.D.Gs., the King’s, now the First Dragoon Guards.—O.K., all right; ‘orl krect.’—B.T.I., a big thing on ice.—Q.T., generally ‘on the strict Q.T.’, i.e., quiet.—T.T., too thin.—Cri., the Criterion (restaurant or theatre).—The Ox., the Oxford Music Hall.—Tec., detective.—B.P., British Public.—B. and S., brandy and soda.—P.D.Q., pretty d——d quick.

A. B. C.’s (London).—1. The Aërated Bread Co.’s establishments are, familiarly speaking, A. B. C.’s.

2. (Christ’s Hospital).—Ale, Bread and Cheese on ‘going home night.’

As easy as a. b. c., adv. phr. (popular).—Extremely facile; the acme of ease, i.e., from an adult’s point of view; children, however, probably view the matter in a different light. In this, as in much else, distance lends enchantment to the scene. This colloquialism is by no means of modern growth; Shakspeare speaks of answer ‘coming like A. B. C. book.’

A-Bear, v. (provincial and vulgar).—To suffer, or to tolerate. [From old English abearan, to bear or carry].—This term, though hoary with age, and long of honorable usage (from A.D. 885 downward), must now be classed with degenerate words, or at all events with non-literary English. Though still largely dialectical, its use amongst people of education is reckoned vulgar. It is now invariably employed in conjunction with ‘cannot’—‘I can’t abear furriners.’

Abelwhackets.—See Ablewhackets.

Aberdeen Cutlet, subs. phr. (familiar).—A dried haddock.—Cf., Billingsgate pheasant.

Abide, v. (vulgar).—To tolerate; to put up with. This, like abear (q.v.), has ancient sanction for its use. In the senses of to endure, suffer, bear, or sustain—meanings which are now obsolete—the word can be traced back as far as A.D. 1205; the modern vulgar usage, rarely employed affirmatively, dates from about A.D. 1526, when Tindale translated John viii. 43, by ‘He cannot abyde the hearyng of my words.’ Abide, therefore, may be classed amongst those words which, once respectable, have now fallen into disrepute. Shakspeare puts into the mouth of one of his characters a phrase which, to those acquainted with the speech of the uneducated classes, has a very modern appearance, ‘I cannot abide the smell of hot meat.’

Abigail, subs. (popular).—A lady’s maid. There can be little doubt that the familiar use of this name for the genus ‘waiting woman,’ was primarily an allusion to the title of handmaid assumed by Abigail, the wife of Nabal, in speaking to the servants of King David. ‘Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord’ (1 Sam. xxv. 41). Other names recorded in the Bible, and for the matter of that elsewhere, have been used much in the same way as marking distinctive character. Abigail has thus become associated with the idea of a female servant; so, too, a giant is spoken of as a Goliath; a patient man as a Job; a shrew as a Jezebel; a coward as a Bob Acres, cum multis aliis. In Beaumont and Fletcher’s comedy of The Scornful Lady (1616), one of the characters, Mrs. Youngton, a ‘waiting gentlewoman,’ is named Abigail. This play, having a long run of public favour,—Pepys in his Diary [1666], iv. 195, specially mentions it,—possibly led to the popularization of the nickname. At all events it subsequently appeared on more than one occasion in the same connection in the plays of the period. There is no reason to suppose that the term was derived from the notorious Abigail Hill, better known as Mrs. Masham, a poor relative of the Duchess of Marlborough, by whom she was introduced to a subordinate place about the person of Queen Anne; nor will the contention that it was first established in public usage by Dean Swift, who employed it in a letter to Stella, hold good; although likely enough he caused it to take deeper root than before. The terms on which he was with the Mashams rendered him the last person in the world likely to have used such a term, unless it had been so long in familiar use as to be deprived of all appearance of personal allusion to them.

1663. T. Killigrew, Parson’s Wedding, II., vi. in Dodsley, O.P.
(1780), xi., 425. [In this play, a waiting woman is termed an
Abigail.]

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, book XI., ch. ii. The mistress was no
sooner in bed than the maid prepared to follow her example. She
began to make many apologies to her sister Abigail for leaving her
alone in so horrid a place as an inn.

1858. G. Eliot, Mr. Gilfil’s Love-Story, ch. iii. The next morning,
Mrs. Sharp, then a blooming Abigail of three-and-thirty, entered
her lady’s private room.

It has been stated that Old English writers used the word Abigail to signify a termagant woman, and also a female bigamist, but there is no evidence to support these views. It may be mentioned that the French use the word in the popular English sense. A waiting woman was also formerly called a comb-brush (q.v.).

Ablewhackets, also Abelwhackets, Abelwackets, subs. (nautical).—[From able (uncertain, perhaps alluding to able seaman) + whack]. A game of cards played by sailors, in which the loser receives a whack or blow with a knotted handkerchief for every game (or point) he loses. Smyth, in his Sailor’s Word Book [1867], says it is very popular with horny-fisted salts. It is quoted by Grose as far back as 1785, but Clark Russell, in Sailor’s Language [1883], refers to it as obsolete.

Abound, v. (American).—To be prominent; en évidence.

1873. Evening Standard, 28 January. When we are told of a professed
wit more than usually abounding at an evening party, there is no
temptation to recruit our dictionaries from the English
manufactured in the United States.

About East, adv. phr. (American).—To the frontiersman or pioneer, the Eastern or New England States are typical of all that he cherishes most and loves best. The vicissitudes of his rough Western life, the toil and hardships he has undergone while battling with nature and building up a new habitation far from the old homestead, all predispose him to turn with longing eyes and undying, though quaintly exaggerated love to the East—the home of his fathers. A famous Yankee character (Major Jack Downing) makes use of the expression that he would ‘Go East of sunrise any day to see sich a place.’ Everybody and everything connected with the East, i.e., his native land, is commendable. To his mind they cannot be surpassed—hence the things he would hold up to admiration he says are about East, i.e., ‘about right.’ Indeed, it is surprising what a strong hold this idea has upon the minds of men. Many a familiar phrase recalls the old times and the old folks to memory, which, in this respect, is evergreen. They talk of going down East, that is, to New England, while the Down-Easter is neither more nor less than the pure and veritable Yankee.—Farmer’s Americanisms, Old and New.

About Right, adv. phr. (vulgar).—Correctly; to the purpose; properly—general satisfaction on the part of the speaker concerning a given thing or action. ’Arry sometimes varies the locution by ter rights (q.v.).

1850. F. E. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, ch. iv. ‘You’re about right,
there, Mr. Lawless; you’re down to every move, I see, as usual.’

1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines, ch. xxii. ‘I am afraid your schemes
went a little awry yesterday,’ observed Mrs. Daventry.... ‘You’re
about right; they did.’

About the Size of It, adv. phr. (American).—1. An expression covering a wide field—assent, general satisfaction, approval, etc. Synonymous with about right; o.k.; ter rights, etc.

2. Used also for ‘how’; ‘how much,’ etc.—a measure of quantity or quality.

1876 (?). James Greenwood, New ‘Roughs’ Guide’ in ‘Odd People in
Odd Places.’ Got no home, no wittles, and never a ’a’penny to buy
none with. That’s about the size of how destitoot we are, sir.

1881. Punch, May 14, p. 228. Sir G[orgius] M[idas] goes in for
Culture. “Look ’ere, Clarke. ‘Appy thought! I’ll make this little
room the libery, you know; ’ave a lot o’ books. Mind you order me
some.’ ‘Yes, Sir Gorgius. What sort of books shall I order?’ ‘Oh,
the best, of course, with binding and all that to match!’ ‘Yes, Sir
Gorgius, how many shall I order?’ ‘Well,—let me see,—suppose we say
a couple o’ ’undred yards of ’em, hay? That’s about the size of it,
I think.”

Above Board, adv. phr. (common).—Without disguise or concealment; with an absence of artifice. Jamieson refers this to the language of the gaming table, the players when changing cards putting their hands on, i.e., above the table or board to ensure fair dealing. It appears, however, even in its figurative sense to be a colloquialism of long standing.—See Murray’s New English Dictionary.

Above One’s Bend, adv. phr. (American).—See Bend.

Above Par, adv. phr. (familiar).—Used figuratively in a multitude of senses, e.g. (1) in reference to one’s health or spirits, in good condition; (2) applied to a man in liquor it signifies a state of moderate drunkenness; or (3) used in regard to pecuniary matters it is synonymous with being ‘flush,’ having ‘the needful’—‘best bliss of earth,’ as Duncombe puts it. Derived from the technical, commercial meaning. Stocks are said to be at par when purchasable at their ‘face’ value; when at a premium they are above par; and when selling at a decline in value, i.e., at a discount, they are said to be below par; hence the colloquial usage. See example in quotation. Synonyms, up to, or above the mark.

1880. Punch, June 5, p. 253. Fred on Pretty Girls and Pictures.

Awful fellow that Ted at his letters!—he writes for the
Scanmag, you know;
And his style never falls below ‘par.’ Not my joke, heard him
putting it so——.
And the pars in the Scanmag—he does them—are proper, and chock
full of ‘go.’
Only paper I care to grind through, never preachy, or gushing,
or slow!

Abracadabra, subs. (scientific jargon).——1.—A cabalistic word used in incantations. When written in a manner similar to that shown in accompanying diagram, so as to be read in different directions, and worn as an amulet, it was supposed to cure certain ailments.

A B R A C A D A B R A
A B R A C A D A B R
A B R A C A D A B
A B R A C A D A
A B R A C A D
A B R A C A
A B R A C
A B R A
A B R
A B
A

Hence (2), any word-charm, empty jingle of words, gibberish, nonsense, or extravagant idea. Littré’s derivation from the Hebrew—ab father, mach spirit, and dabar word—is regarded by many authorities as fanciful; as also is T. A. G. Balfour’s reference of it to a composition of the first letters of the Hebrew words signifying ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.’ Other authorities, though by no means in accord, generally agree that a Persian origin is the most likely. Mr. R. S. Charnock (Notes and Queries, 7 S., iii., 504) thinks it related to the cabalistic word abraxas composed of the Greek letters α, β, ρ, α, ξ, α, ς, making, according to the Greek numeration, the number 365.

Des auteurs beaucoup plus anciens n’ont vu dans le mot abraxas,
qu’une réunion des lettres numériques, qui étant additionées
donnent le nombre 365, ou l’année entière, en sorte qu’ abraxas
serait le symbole du soleil ou de sa révolution annuelle
presumée.—Depping.

In Persian, according to Grotenford, abraxas means the ‘Sun God’; if this be so its use as a talisman is easily understood. Yet another derivation is from a corrupt form of the Hebrew—dabar is verbū, and abraca is benedixit, i.e., verbum benedixit. If, however, the word is Semitic at all, and nothing more than an unintelligible jargon of letters, it could possibly be better explained than by Littré, by Abra(i) seda bra(i), ‘Out, bad spirit, out!’ as a magic formula for driving out the demon which causes the fever. It is interesting in this connection to compare Mark i. 25, ix. 25, and parallel passages.

1687. Aubrey’s Remaines of Gentilisme, p. 124 (1881). [In this work
abracadabra is given arranged as a spell.]

1711. Spectator, No. 221. They [the signatures] are, perhaps,
little amulets or charms to preserve the paper against the
fascination and malice of evil eyes; for which reason I would not
have my reader surprised, if hereafter he sees any of my papers
marked with a Q, a Z, a Y, an &c., or with the word abracadabra.

1722. Defoe, Journal of the Plague (ed. Brayley, 1835, p. 56).
‘This mysterious word, which, written in the form of a triangle or
a pyramid, was regarded as a talisman or charm of wonderful power,
is said to have been the name of a Syrian god, whose aid was
considered to be invoked by the wearers of the amulet. It
originated in the superstitions of a very remote period, and was
recommended as an antidote by Serenus Sammonicus, a Roman
physician, who lived in the early part of the third century, in the
reigns of the emperors Severus and Caracalla. Its efficacy was
reputed to be most powerful in agues and other disorders of a
febrile kind, and particularly against the fever called by the
physicians Hemitritæus.’

1879. Literary World, 5 Dec., p. 358, col. 2 [m]. The new
abracadabra of science, ‘organic evolution.’

Abraham, subs. (popular).—A clothier’s shop of the lowest description, where slop-made garments of shoddy cloth form the staple commodity together with second-hand clothes or hand-me-downs (q.v.). Chiefly localized in the East End of London, where these establishments are kept by Jews; hence probably the derivation of the term; adj. (old cant).—See Abram.

Abraham-Cove, Abraham-Man, Abram-Cove, Abram-Man, Tom of Bedlam’s Man, or Bedlam Beggar, subs. (old cant).—It is difficult now-a-days to trace with certainty the origin of these terms, notwithstanding a wealth of matter on the subject. Nares describes the fraternity as a set of vagabonds who wandered about the country soon after the dissolution of the religious houses: the provision for the poor in those places being cut off and no other substituted. Thus, primarily, an Abraham-man was a vagabond, a beggar—tattered, unwashed, unkempt—and a thief withal. ‘What an Abram!’ an exclamation for a naked fellow. Harman, the earliest authority, refers to them as feigning madness (see quot.), and as having been resident in Bethlehem Hospital. Wards in the ancient Bedlam bore distinctive names of some saint or patriarch; that named after Abraham was devoted to a class of mendicant lunatics, who on certain days were permitted to go out begging. It is an open question whether the ward gave the name to the men or vice versâ. In either case, however, the use of the term ‘Abraham’ is in this connection possibly an allusion to the beggar Lazarus in Luke xvii. These mendicants bore a badge, but many assumed the distinction without right, and begged feigning lunacy. Hence, it may be, the more popular signification of the term—

2. An impostor, wandering about the country pretending to be mad, begging in the streets, and laying hands upon all trifles ‘considered’ or ‘unconsidered’ in his way. Dekker, in his English Villanies [1632], has many curious particulars of the habits of this class of impostors who were said to sham Abraham. Shakspeare also, in King Lear [1605], Act ii., Scene 3, describes and puts into the mouth of one of these characters the following words:

... the basest and most poorest shape,
That ever penury in contempt of man,
Brought near to beast: my face I’ll grime with filth;
Blanket my loins; elf all my hair in knots;
And with presented nakedness outface
The winds, and persecutions of the sky.
The country gives me proof and precedent
Of Bedlam beggars, who, with roaring voices,
Strike in their numb’d and mortified bare arms
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary;
And with this horrible object, from low farms,
Poor pelting villages, sheep-cotes and mills,
Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers,
Enforce their charity.

The term is now obsolete, though Scott used it as late as 1824, and from the Quarterly Review (1813), IX., p. 167, it seems to have then been in pretty general use. The modern prototype is called a tramp or cadger. To sham Abraham, i.e., to feign sickness or distress is, however, still in vogue. The French equivalent is Fagotin (m).—See also Abraham sham and Abram.

1573. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 29. These Abraham men be those that
fayn themselves to have bene mad, and have bene kept either in
Bethlehem, or in some other pryson a good time, and not one amongst
twenty that ever came in prison for any such cause.

1625. Massinger, New Way to Pay Old Debts, II., i. Are they padders
or Abram-men that are your consorts?

1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Abram cove, naked or poor man.

1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxi. ‘There is a trick for you
to find an Abram-man, and save sixpence out when he begs of you as
a disbanded seaman.’

Abraham Grains, subs. (thieves’).—A publican who brews his own beer.

Abraham Newland, subs. (popular).—A bank note. Abraham Newland was chief cashier to the Bank of England, from 1778 to 1807.

1829. Sir W. Scott, letter to Croker in Croker Papers, vol. II., p.
36. A bank note seems to terrify everybody out of their wits, and
they will rather give up their constitution to Hunt and Cobbett
than part with an Abraham Newland to preserve it.

Abraham’s Balsam, subs. (old).—Death by hanging.—See To die in one’s boots.

Abraham Sham, subs. (old cant).—1.—Feigned sickness or distress. See Abraham-man. Usually spoken of as to sham Abraham, or Abram (q.v.). From this primary meaning, joined with an allusion to the name of a once well-known chief cashier of the Bank of England, was derived the secondary meaning of the term shamming Abraham, to forge bank-notes. Abraham Newland was in office in the years 1778–1807, and a popular song of the period ran as follows:

‘I have heard people say that sham Abraham you may,
But you mustn’t sham Abraham Newland.’

Further point is added to this stanza by the fact that bank notes were themselves termed Abraham Newlands (q.v.), and that forgery was felony by statute.

1759. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, cxix. “He swore that I
understood my business perfectly well, but that I shammed Abraham
merely to be idle.”

1849. C. Bronté, Shirley, ch. xxxiii. Matthew, sceptic and scoffer,
had already failed to subscribe a prompt belief in that pain about
the heart; he had muttered some words, amongst which the phrase
shamming Abraham had been very distinctly audible.

Abraham Suit, subs. phr. (thieves’).—False pretences; fraudulent representations to excite sympathy. The term is applied to any trick or artifice calculated to extract money from the charitable, whether by means of begging letter, a faked-up appearance, or other contrivance. Those who resort to such practices are said to go on the Abraham suit. Cf., Abraham sham.

Abraham’s Willing, subs. phr. (rhyming slang).—A shilling.

Abraham Work, subs. phr. (popular).—Shams of all kinds are so designated, from a bubble company down to the most trumpery ‘city pen’orth.’

Abram, subs. (old and also modern sea slang).—1. The same as Abraham-man (q.v.).—2. A malingerer; one who gets put on the sick list to shirk work.

Adj. (old cant).—1. Mad.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 36 (H. Club’s Repr., 1874).
Abram madde. He maunds Abram, he begs as a madde man.

2. Naked, ‘she’s all Abram.’

1671. R. Head, English Rogue, part I., ch. v., p. 47 (1874). Abram,
naked.

3. Abram or Abram coloured (old).—Derivation uncertain, but supposed to be a corruption of ‘auburn.’ In this connection it may be remarked that it is to be found in Coriolanus, Act II., scene 3; but where the original reads Abram the folio has ‘auburn.’ To sham Abram, verb (old).—Also see Abraham sham.—The original signification of this word, to feign sickness, led to its use to describe pretence of any kind; this is specially the case amongst sailors, workmen, etc., who describe malingering as doing Abram, the defaulter also being called by the same name.

Abregoyns, Abergoins, Abrogans, subs. (American).—Vulgarisms for ‘aborigines.’

Abridgments, subs. (nonce word).—Knee breeches. This term for small clothes appears in Bulwer Lytton’s comedy, Money.

1840. Bulwer Lytton, Money, iv. 4. Frantz (producing a pair of
small clothes, which Toke examines). Your master is von beggar,
etc. Toke. I accept the abridgements, but you’ve forgotten to line
the pockets.

Abroad, adv. (old).—1. Confused; staggered; perplexed. More generally retained in this sense in America than in England.

2. (popular).—Generally all abroad; i.e., wide of the mark; wrong; uncertain in one’s estimate; or, ‘all at sea.’ In this figurative sense the expression is much older than is popularly supposed.—See Bedoozled.

1821. The Fancy, vol. I., p. 255. In the fourth round he came in
all abroad, and got a doubler in the bread-basket, which spoiled
him for the remainder of the fight.

1840. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop, ch. lxi. ‘My friend!’ repeated
Kit, ‘You’re all abroad, seemingly,’ returned the other man.
‘There’s his letter, take hold.’

1846. Thackeray, V. Fair, ch. v. At the twelfth round the latter
champion was all abroad, as the saying is, and had lost all
presence of mind, and power of attack or defence.

3. To be transported. The French have a similar circumlution, aller en traverse, and the Italian Fourbesque has andar a traverso.

4. (Win. Coll.)—A boy returning to school work after being ill is said to come abroad. When on the sick list he is continent (q.v.) i.e., continens cameram, vel lectum, keeping his room or bed. When recovered he is allowed to go foris, out of doors, or more colloquially, abroad. Adams, in Wykehamica, remarks that the use of this term shows the antiquity of the school, dating as it does from the times of the ‘patrium sermonem fugito, Latinum exerceto, of the Tabula legum.’ To be furked abroad is a less complimentary term implying that a ‘man’ has been ‘shuffling’; it is specially applied to those who having ‘gone continent’ in the morning are sent back to school by the doctor at 9 a.m.

Abroaded (society).—See quotation, and compare with abroad.

1876. H. O. Manton, Slangiana, p. 11 (See Bibliography).
Fashionable slang for a noble defaulter on the Continent (sic) to
avoid creditors. It is the police official slang for convicts sent
to a colonial or penal settlement, but it is applied by thieves to
transportation either at home or in the Colonies.

Abs (Win. Coll.)—1. An abbreviation of ‘absent’ placed against the name of a boy when absent from the school.

2. v. tr., to take away. Formerly, circa, 1840, to abs a tolly (candle), meant to put it out; now it would mean to take it away whether lighted or unlighted, the modern ‘notion’ for putting it out being to ‘dump’ it.

3. v. n. To get away; generally used in the imperative, as, ‘abs!’ ‘Oh! do abs!’ Sometimes, however, a fellow is said to abs quickly, and mess things (q.v.) are absed (trans.), or put away.

4. To have one’s wind absed is to have it taken away by a violent blow in the stomach.

Abscotchalater, subs. (thieves’).—Quoted by H. O. Manton in Slangiana as ‘one who is hiding away from the police.’ Cf., Absquatulate.

Absence, subs. (Eton).—Names-calling, which takes place at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on half-holidays; and at 11.30 a.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. on whole holidays; at 6 p.m. only in summer half.

Absent Without Leave, adv. phr. (thieves’).—Said of one who has broken prison; or (popular) absconded.

Absit, subs. (Cambridge).—See quotation.

1886. Dickens’s Dictionary of the University of Cambridge, p. 3.
Every undergraduate wishing to leave Cambridge for a whole day, not
including a night, must obtain an ‘absit’ from his tutor.
Permission to go away for a longer period, either at the end of the
term or in the middle, is called an ‘exeat,’ and no undergraduate
should go down without obtaining his ‘exeat.’

Abskize, Abschize, v. (American).—To depart; go away. Said to be of Western origin, and to have been in use about 1883. Of rare and probably local usage. It has been derived from the Dutch afscheyden; Ger. abscheiden of similar meaning; a not unlikely origin, bearing in mind the large Dutch and German element in the U.S.A.

Absquatulate, also Absquotilate, v. (American).—To run away; to decamp; with the more or less forcible idea of absconding in disgrace. A factitious word, of American origin and jocular use, simulating a Latin form, perhaps from Latin ab and squat, i.e., to settle on land, especially public or new lands, without any title or right whether of purchase or permission, though in Australia the term is employed in a more restricted sense for a sub-lessee of the government at a nominal rent. It was first used by Mr. Hackett, as Nimrod Wildfire, a Kentucky character, in a play called ‘The Kentuckian,’ by Bernard, produced in 1833. It is now less often heard than formerly, having been replaced in some degree by the word skedaddle (q.v.). For synonyms, see Amputate one’s mahogany.

1835–1840. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xiv. ‘What’s the use
of legs but to absquotilate with ... when traps are sot for you.’

1879. Punch, Jan. 18, p. 23, col. 1. The Reward of Merit. Mrs. Lyon
Hunter, ‘How do you do, Mr. Brown? Let me present you to the
Duchess of Stilton! Your Grace, permit me to present to you Mr.
Brown, the distinguished scholar!’ Her Grace (affably). ‘Charmed to
make your acquaintance—er—Mr. Brown!’ Mr. Brown (with effusion).
‘Your Grace is really too kind. This is the ninth time I’ve enjoyed
the distinction of being presented to your Grace within the last
twelve months; but it’s a distinction I value so highly, that
without trespassing too much on your Grace’s indulgence, I hope I
may be occasionally permitted to enjoy it again.’ [Bows, and
absquatulates.]

1884. Daily Telegraph, August 20, p. 6, col. 1. Yet who knows but
that some day an accident may happen to the Aberdeenshire works of
art ... the sense of the cartoons be totally subverted—in
Rabelaisian phrase, ‘absquashed and absquatulated.’

Academician, subs. (old).—The inmate of a brothel.

Academy, subs. (old).—1. A disorderly house; a brothel; a bagnio. Grose remarks that these establishments were also called pushing schools. The old brothels have of late years rapidly disappeared, their places being taken by what are known as bed houses (q.v.). These vary in character as regards style, equipment, and cost, but of whatever grade, rooms may be had for longer or shorter periods as required. The French call them maisons de societé; maisons de passe; foutoirs, and gros numéros, the last from the fact, that these semi-private brothels bear a number of large dimensions over the entrance. The French have also a somewhat analogous term for the mistress of an académie in l’institutrice, the teacher. In the finishing academy (q.v.) the inmates are young prostitutes, the next stage in whose downward career is taken on the streets.

2. According to the N.Y. Slang Dictionary, a penitentiary or prison for minor offences.

3. A thieves’ school; also a band of thieves. There are establishments of similar character bearing more distinctive names, e.g.:

4. Buzzing Academy (thieves’).—A school for thieves, chiefly boys. Fagan, the old Jew in Oliver Twist, will occur to mind, as also the devices by which he taught his gang to pick pockets and pilfer adroitly.

5. Canting Academy (vagrants’).—A house of call or common lodging house, frequented by the fraternity; a cadger’s dossing ken. The term is also applied to any house where application for food or money is likely to be successful. At the regular ‘beggar’s house’—establishments which abound more or less in every town—information can be obtained so that the district can be thoroughly and systematically ‘worked.’

6. Character Academy.—At these places false characters are drawn up, to say nothing of the concoction of schemes of robbery.

7. Floating Academy (thieves’).—The hulks or prison ships were formerly so-called. When the regulations as regards transportation were relaxed, convicts condemned to hard labour were sent on board these vessels.

8. Gammoning Academy.—A reformatory.

Acause, conj. (vulgar).—A corruption of ‘because.’

Accommodation House, subs. (popular).—A brothel. Also frequently applied to what in police court phraseology are known as disorderly houses, i.e., houses where rooms can be hired for shorter or longer periods as desired.—See Bed house.

According to Cocker.—See Cocker.

According to the Revised Statutes.—See Revised statutes.

Account. To go on the account, verb. phr. (old nautical).—To join in a fillibustering or buccaneering expedition; to turn pirate. Ogilvie says, probably from the parties sharing, as in a commercial venture.

1812. Scott, Letter to a Friend. I hope it is no new thing for
gentlemen of fortune who are going on the account to change a
captain now and then.

To account for (sporting).—To kill; literally to be answerable for bringing down one’s share of the shooting; to make away with.

1846–48. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. xx. The persecuted animals
[rats] bolted above ground: the terrier accounted for one, the
keeper for another.

1858. Letter from Lahore, 28 September, in Times, 19 November. In
the course of one week they were hunted up and accounted for; and
you know that in Punjab phraseology accounting for means the
extreme fate due to mutineers. [M.]

Accounts. To cast up one’s accounts, verb. phr. (old cant).—To vomit. Still common; quoted by Grose [1785]. The expression sometimes runs, amongst seafaring men, to audit one’s accounts at the Court of Neptune.

Eng. Synonyms. To shoot the cat; to cat.

French Synonyms. Semer des miettes (lit. to sow or scatter crumbs); piquer le renard (lit. to goad the fox). Cf. ‘to shoot the cat.’ The old French phrase was chasser or escorcher le renard, either because, says Cotgrave, ‘in spueing one makes a noise like a fox that barks, or because the flaying of so unsavory an animal will make any man spue’; renverser (lit. to overturn, to upset); faire restitution (lit. to make amends; to restore); revoir la carte (lit. to look at the bill of fare again).

(Thieves’).—To turn Queen’s evidence.

Accumulatives, subs. (American).—These journalistic sparring matches are essentially a ‘Yankee notion.’ In England they are called codicils (q.v.), under which see an amusing example which will illustrate their character, as also the length to which American editors sometimes go in heaping Ossa upon Pelion.

Accumulator, subs. (racing).—A bettor, who when successful with one horse, carries forward the stakes to another event.

Ace of Spades, subs. phr. (old).—A widow. Though obsolete in England, it is quoted by the New York Slang Dictionary (1881) as still current in America.

Ack, intj. (Christ’s Hospital).—No! refusal of a request, e.g., ‘Lend me your book.’ ‘Ack!’

Ackman, Ackpirate (old), Or Ackruff (American), subs.—A freshwater thief; a ruffian who in conjunction with watermen robs and sometimes murders on the water. [Ack (unknown derivation, unless a corrupted form of ark, a boat; or wherry) + man, etc.] Quoted by Grose [1785], and also by Clark Russell, in Sailor’s Language [1883].

Acknowledge the Corn, verb. phr. (American).—To make an admission of failure; to admit being outwitted. The various stories professing to account for derivation are discussed in detail in Americanisms, Old and New: the most circumstantial and certainly the best authenticated, runs as follows:—In 1828, the Hon. Andrew Stewart was in Congress discussing the principle of ‘Protection,’ and said in the course of his remarks, that Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky sent their haystacks, cornfields, and fodder to New York and Philadelphia for sale. The Hon. Charles A. Wickliffe, from Kentucky, jumped up and said, ‘Why that is absurd; Mr. Speaker, I call the gentleman to order. He is stating an absurdity. We never send haystacks or cornfields to New York or Philadelphia.’ ‘Well, what do you send?’ ‘Why, horses, mules, cattle, hogs.’ ‘Well, what makes your horses, mules, cattle, hogs? You feed a hundred dollars’ worth of hay to a horse, you just animate and get upon the top of your haystack and ride off to market. How is it with your cattle? You make one of them carry fifty dollars’ worth of hay and grass to the Eastern market. Mr. Wickliffe, you send a hog worth ten dollars to an Eastern market; how much corn does it take at thirty-three cents per bushel to fatten it?’ ‘Why, thirty bushels!’ ‘Then you put that thirty bushels of corn into the shape of a hog, and make it walk off to the Eastern market.’ Mr. Wickliffe jumped up and said: ‘Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge the corn.’ [De Vere’s Americanisms [1872] p. 47.] Latterly the expression has been used in England in the sense of simply to make an admission.

1860. Haliburton (Sam Slick), The Season Ticket, No. 9. ‘He had a
beard that wouldn’t acknowledge the corn to no man’s.’

1865. Bacon, Handbook of America, p. 361. Acknowledge the corn, to
confess a charge or imputation.

1883. G. A. Sala, Living London, p. 97. Mr. Porter acknowledges the
corn as regards his fourteen days’ imprisonment, and is forgiven by
his loving consort.

Acorn. A horse foaled of an acorn, subs. phr. (old).—The gallows. Euphemisms for hanging, the ‘tree’ itself, and the victim of the law’s majesty were, at the time when the death penalty was a common punishment, both many and curious. A horse foaled of an acorn, is obviously an allusion to the timber of which the triple tree (q.v.) was constructed. The widows of those who had suffered the extreme penalty of the law were termed hempen widows (q.v.); the children of such, or those likely to meet with death by hanging, hempseed (q.v.); and hempen fever (q.v.) represented the dread malady itself.