Chapter XV: Part 15

1711. Spectator, No. 232. The reduction of the prices of our
manufactures by the addition of so many new hands, would be no
inconvenience to any man.

1754. Fielding, Jonathan Wild, i, 14. The mercantile part of the
world, therefore, wisely use the term ‘employing hands,’ and esteem
each other as they employ more or fewer.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. We lost a hand, we lost a sailor.

1871. Chambers’ Miscellany, No. 113, p. 3. He was admitted as a
hand in an establishment already numbering three hundred active
workers.

1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 70. The hands has all bloomin’
well struck.

1892. National Observer, 22 Oct., vol. viii., p. 571. The dispute
in the South-East Lancashire cotton trade is like to result in the
stoppage of fourteen or fifteen million spindles which will take
employment from sixty thousand hands, a fifth of them women and
children.

1893. Fortnightly Review, Jan., p. 62. The wages paid to the
operatives in our woollen industry are, to a marked extent, lower
than those received by the hands employed in our cotton mills.

2. (coachmen’s).—See quot.

1856. Whyte Melville, Kate Coventry, ch. xv. Lady Horsingham was
tolerably courageous, but totally destitute of what is termed hand,
a quality as necessary in driving as in riding, particularly with
fractious or high-spirited horses.

A good (or cool, neat, old, fine, etc.) hand, subs. phr. (colloquial).—An expert.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.), s.v. Hand (v.). ‘He is a good
hand,’ spoke of one that is an artist in some particular mechanical
art or trade, etc.

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, iii., 1. When I was in my
best story of the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene, he asked
if I had not a good hand at making punch.

1854. Whyte Melville, General Bounce, xii. A quaint boy at Eton,
cool hand at Oxford, a deep card in the regiment, man or woman
never yet had the best of ‘Uppy.’

1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, i., p. 33. The new man, the
green hand, takes little or no heed of the entrance of the
officers.... Not so the old hand.

1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 195. Ye’re a grand hand at the
sleeping!

1892. W. E. Gladstone, Times ‘Report.’... This old Parliamentary
hand.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i., 7, p. 18. You always
was a neat hand with the bones.

A hand like a foot, phr. (common).—A large, coarse hand. Also a vulgar or uneducated handwriting.

1738. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Col. Whoe’er writ it with a
hand like a foot.

A hand like a fist, phr. (gamesters’).—A hand full of trumps. Also (in derision) a hand there’s no playing.

To take a hand with the outside music, verb. phr. (American).—See quot.

1892. J. L. Sullivan, A 19th Century Gladiator, iii. After
thirty-seven rounds in fifty-five minutes, the umpires and seconds
got into a fight, and Sullivan felt fresh enough to take a hand in
the outside music.

To get a hand on, verb. phr. (tailors’).—To suspect; to be distrustful.

To get one’s hand in, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To practise with a view to proficiency.

To get one’s hand on it, verb. phr. (venery).—To grope a woman.

To bear a hand, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Bear a hand, make haste.

To bring up by hand, verb. phr. (venery).—To procure erection manually.

To bring down (or off) by hand, verb. phr. (venery).—To masturbate. For synonyms, see Frig.

To stand one’s hand, verb. phr. (Australian).—To Treat (q.v.); to Stand Sam (q.v.).

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 58. I used to see
her at some of the public-houses frequented by Mrs. Condon,
standing her hand liberally to all who happened to be in the bar,
and therefore being made much of by the thirsty loafers whom she
treated.

To hand in one’s chips (or checks).—See Cash one’s Checks.

To have (or get) the upper hand, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To have at an advantage; to get to windward (q.v.).

1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 173. I was growing impatient
to get back and have the upper hand of my uncle.

To hand up, verb. (Winchester College).—To give information against; to betray.—Notions.

Hands up! intj. (common).—An injunction to desist; stow it! (q.v.). Also (police) = a command to surrender. Bail up (q.v.).

1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 120. Hands up! Jerry.

[Amongst other colloquial usages of Hand are the following:—At hand
= readily, hard by; at any hand (Shakspeare) = on any account; at
no hand = on no account; for one’s own hand = for one’s own purpose
or interest; from hand to hand = from one to another; in hand = in
a state of preparation, under consideration, or control; off one’s
hands = finished; on hand = in possession; in one’s hands = in
one’s care; out of hand = completed, without hesitation; to one’s
hand = ready; hand over head = negligently, rashly; hand to mouth =
improvident; hands off! = stand off; heavy on hand = hard to
manage; hot at hand = difficult to manage; light in hand = easy to
manage; to ask (or give) the hand of = to ask (or give) in
marriage; to be hand and glove with = to be very intimate with; to
bear a hand = to help; to bear in (or on) hand = to cheat or mock
by false promises; to change hands = to change owners; to come to
hand = to be received; to get hand = to gain influence; to give a
hand = to applaud; to give the hand to = to be reconciled to; to
have a hand in = to have a share in; to have one’s hands full = to
be fully occupied; to hold hands with = to vie with, to hold one’s
own; to lay hands on = to assault, to seize; to lend a hand = to
help; to make a hand = to gain an advantage; to put (or stretch)
forth the hand against = to use violence; to set the hand to = to
undertake; to strike hands = to make a bargain; to take by the hand
= to take under one’s guidance; to take in hand = to attempt; to
wash one’s hands of = to disclaim responsibility; a heavy hand =
severity; a light hand = gentleness; a slack hand = idleness,
carelessness; a strict hand = severe discipline; clean hands =
freedom from guilt; to stand one in hand = to concern, to be of
importance to; hand to fist = tête-a-tête, hip to haunch; hand over
hand = easily; to get a hand = to be applauded.]

Hand-and-Pocket Shop, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hand-and-Pocket-Shop. An eating
house, where ready money is paid for what is called for.

Handbasket-portion, subs. (old).—See quot.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hand-basket-portion. A woman whose
husband receives frequent presents from her father, or family, is
said to have a hand-basket-portion.

Handbinder (in. pl.), subs. (old).—Chains for the wrists. For synonyms, see Darbies.

1696. Ray, Nomenclator, Menotes, liens à lier les mains, fers à
enferrer les mains. Manicls, or handbinders.

Hander, subs. (schoolboys’).—A stroke on the hand with a cane; a palmie (q.v.).

1868. Jas. Greenwood, Purgatory of Peter the Cruel, v., 149. You’ve
been playing the wag, and you’ve got to take your handers.

Handicap, subs. (colloquial).—An arrangement in racing, etc., by which every competitor is, or is supposed to be, brought on an equality so far as regards his chance of winning by an adjustment of the weights to be carried, the distance to be run, etc.: extra weight or distance being imposed in proportion to their supposed merits on those held better than the others. [A handicap is framed in accordance with the known performances of the competitors, and, in horse-racing, with regard to the age and sex of the entries. The term is derived from the old game of hand-in-cap, or handicap.]

1660. Pepys, Diary, 18 Sep. Here some of us fell to handycapp, a
sport that I never knew before.

1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines xxi. The race carried so many
penalties and allowances that it partook somewhat of the nature of
a handicap.

Verb (colloquial). 1. To adjust or proportion weights, starts, etc., in order to bring a number of competitors as nearly as possible to an equality.

1841. Lever, Charles O’Malley, ch. lxviii. Pleasant and cheerful
enough, when they’re handicapping the coat off your back, and your
new tilbury for a spavined pony and a cotton umbrella; but regular
devils if you come to cross them the least in life.

2. To make even or level; to equalise between.

3. To embarrass, burden, hinder, or impede in any way.

1883. Grenville-Murray, People I Have Met, 123. He was not
handicapped by a title, so that the beautiful ethics of hereditary
legislation had no claim on his attention.

Handie-Dandie, subs. phr. (old).—Copulation.

1490–1554. David Lyndsay, Kitty’s Confessioun [Laing], i., 136. Ane
plack I will gar Sandie, Gie the agane with Handie-Dandie.

Handle, subs. (common).—1. The nose. For synonyms, see Conk.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. The cove flashes a rare handle to his
physog; the fellow has a large nose.

1887. Modern Society, 27 Aug., 864. A restless, intriguing, and
busy old lady, with an immense handle to her face.

2. (colloquial).—A title. Fr., une queue, as Monsieur Sans-queue = Mr. Nobody.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xxiii. She ... entertained us with
stories of colonial governors and their ladies, mentioning no
persons but those who had handles to their names, as the phrase is.

1857. Ducange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue. Handle, n. Title. Oh, you
want a handle to your name.

1871. London Figaro, 17 June, ‘The plaint of a poor Parson.’
Neither he nor his clerical neighbours—unless they belong to county
families, or have handles to their names—have ever been invited by
the Dean to partake of the hospitalities of the Deanery.

1886. J. S. Winter, Army Society, ch. ii. That’s the worst of
having a handle to one’s name.

1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 16 Jan. Here’s the Honourable Tom Jones,
and Lord Smith, and Viscount Brown—that’s them, with the handles
knocked off their names.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i., 2. He was aye
ettling after a bit handle to his name.

3. (colloquial).—Occasion; opportunity; means.

1753–77. Melmoth, Cicero, bk. ii., let. 17 (note 5). The defence of
Vatinius gave a plausible handle for some censure upon Cicero.

Verb (cardsharpers’).—1. To conceal cards in the palm of the hand, or up the sleeves; to palm (q.v.).

2. (colloquial).—To use; to make use of; to manage.

1606. Chapman, Gentleman Usher, iii., 5. Now let the sport begin: I
think my love will handle him as well as I have done.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Handle. To know how to handle
one’s fists; to be skilful in the art of boxing.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ii., 7. Smart chap that cabman—handled his
fives well.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Admiral Guinea, ii., 5. Commander, you
handled him like a babby, kept the weather gauge, and hulled him
every shot.

To handle the ribbons, verb. phr. (common).—To drive.

1857. Moncrieff, Bashful Man, ii. 4. Shouldn’t have any objection
in life, squire, to let you handle the ribands for a stage or two,
but four-in-hand, you know, requires——.

1872. Evening Standard, 10 Aug. The Princess of Wales is expected,
and her Royal Highness has several times during the week driven
through the town in an open phaeton, drawn by four beautiful
ponies, and she appears to handle the ribbons in a very skilful
manner.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 198. It was agreed Marston should
handle the ribbons.

1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 32. He ’andled the ribbings to
rights.

To fly off the handle. See Fly, to which add the following earlier quot.

1825. Neal, Brother Jonathan, bk. I., ch. iv. Most off the handle,
some o’ the tribe, I guess.

Hand-me-downs (or Hand-’em-downs), subs. (common).—Second-hand clothes. Hand-me-down-shop, or Never-too-late-to-mend-shop = a repairing tailors’. Fr., un decrochez-moi-ça.

1878. Notes and Queries, 5, s. ix., 6 Apr., p. 263. Hand-’em-down—A
second-hand garment (Northamptonshire).

1888. New York World, 5 Mar. Russell Sage, it is said, walked into
a Broadway clothing store the other day and tried on and purchased
a twelve-dollar suit of hand-me-downs.

1889. Sporting Times, 29 June. Trousers which fit him nowhere in
particular, and which all over proclaim themselves entitled to the
epithet of hand-me-downs.

English Synonyms.—Reach-me-downs; translations; wall-flowers.

French Synonyms.—La musique (popular); la mise-bas (servants’: especially ‘perks’).

Hand-out, subs. (American).—Food to a tramp at the door.

1887. Morley Roberts, The Western Avernus. Some of the boys said it
was a regular hand-out, and that we looked like a crowd of old
bummers.

Handpiece, subs. (American).—A handkerchief. For synonyms, see Wipe.

1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 67. Then ... he tied his
white hand-pieces to an opening made for the purpose on one side of
the dashboard.

Handsaw, subs. (common).—A street vendor of knives and razors; an itinerant Chive-fencer (q.v.).

Handsome, adj. and adv. (colloquial, and formerly literary).—Sharp, severe; convenient, fit; neat, graceful; dextrous, skilful, ready; ample, generous, liberal; manageable; in good or proper style; and (in America) grand or beautiful.

1553. Wilson, Arte of Rhetorique, p. 3. Phauorinus the Philosopher
did hit a yong man ouer the thumbes very handsomely.

1553–99. Spenser, Wks. For a thief it is so handsome, As it may
seem it was first invented by him.

1590. Goldynge, Cæsar, p. 220. They had not so handsome horses.

1593. Shakspeare, Titus Andronicus, ii., 3. If we miss to meet him
handsomely.

1600. P. Holland, Livy, p. 255. A light footman’s shield he takes
with him, and a Spanish blade by his side, more handsome to fight
short and close.

1604. Shakspeare, Winter’s Tale, iv., 3. His garments are rich, but
he wears them not handsomely.

1614. Raleigh, History of the World, Bk. III., ch. viii., § 6.
Playing their games handsomely against so nimble a wit.

1672–1719. Addison, Wks. An alms-house, which I intend to endow
very handsomely.

1778–79. V. Knox, Essays, 102. A handsome sum of money.

1798. Lodge, Illust. Brit. Hist., i., 178. He is very desyrus to
serve your Grace, and seymes to me to be a very handsome man.

1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 8. He turned on his back
handsome.

To do the handsome (or the handsome thing), verb. phr. (common).—To behave extremely well; to be ‘civil.’

1887. Manville Fenn, This Man’s Wife, ii., 15. Sir Gordon’s ready
to do the handsome thing.

Handsome is that handsome does, phr. (colloquial).—‘Actions, not words, are the test of merit’; also ironically of ill-favoured persons.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Handsome is that handsome does: a
proverb frequently cited by ugly women.

Handsome-bodied in the face, adv. phr. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Handsome Bodied Man in the Face, a
jeering commendation of an ugly fellow.

Handsome as a last year’s corpse, adv. phr. (American).—A sarcastic compliment.

Handsomely! intj. (nautical).—Gently! A cry to signify smartly, but carefully. Also Handsomely over the bricks = Go cautiously.

Handsome-reward, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Handsome-reward. This, in
advertisements, means a horse-whipping.

Handsprings. To chuck handsprings, verb. phr. (common).—To turn somersaults.

Handstaff, subs. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick. [From that member of the flail which is held in the hands].

Handy. Handy as a pocket in a shirt, phr. (American).—Very convenient.

Handy-blows, (or cuffs), subs. (old).—Cuffs with the hand; fisticuffs; hence close quarters.

1603. Knolles, Hist. of the Turkes. If ever they came to
handy-blows.

1690. B. E., Cant. Crew, s.v. Handy Blows, Fistycuffs.

1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.

Handy-man, subs. (colloquial).—A servant or workman doing odd jobs.

1847. De Quincey, The Spanish Military Nun, Wks. (1890), xiii.,
165. She was a handy girl. She could turn her hand to anything.

1872. Times, 27 Aug. ‘Autumn Manœuvres.’ The result is he cannot be
called a handy-man.

1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 8 Nov., p. 2, c. 1. Again did Mr. Sambourne’s
handy-man appear, this time clad in the real robes of the Lord
Mayor.

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 55. He was a
handy-man.

Hang, subs. (colloquial).—1. The general drift, tendency, or bent: as in to get the hang of = to get conversant with; to acquire the trick, or knack, or knowledge of.

1847. Darley, Drama in Pokerville, p. 67. The theatre was cleared
in an instant ... all running to get the hang of the scrape.

1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 70. By this time I began to git
the hang of the place a little better.

1851. Hooper, Widow Rugby’s Husband, etc., p. 64. To be efficient a
solicitor must get the hang of his customers.

a. 1871. Prime, Hist. of Long Island, p. 82. If ever you must have
an indifferent teacher for your children, let it be after they have
got a fair start and have acquired the hang of the tools for
themselves.

1884. Milliken, Punch, 11 Oct. They ain’t got the ’ang of it,
Charlie, the toffs ain’t.

1890. Daily Chronicle, 4 Apr., p. 7 c. 2. When the Raw Cadet enters
Woolwich Academy, it is sometime before he gets what some call the
hang of the place.

1892. Illustrated Bits, Oct. 22, p. 6. c. 2. When I get the hang of
them I shall be a regular dab at theosophy.

2. (colloquial).—A little bit; a bit; a Damn. See Care. Fr., s’en contreficher or s’en tamponner le coquard (or coquillard).

1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xliii. She looks as well as you
by candle-light, but she can’t ride a hang.

Verb (generally Hang it!).—An exclamation of vexation, disgust, or disappointment; also, more forcibly, a euphemism for Damn it! Fr., Ah! mince alors.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., ii., 4. He a good wit? hang him,
baboon!

1609. Jonson, Epicœne, ii., 2. A mere talking mole, hang him.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, v. 3. Ay, and be hanged.

1694. Dunton, Ladies’ Dict., p. 229. Aristænetus telling a brisk
buxom Lass of a proper fine Man that would make her a good Husband,
Hang him [reply’d she] he has no Mony.

1772. Coles, Eng.-Lat. Dict., s.v. Hanged. Go and be hanged.

1780. Mrs. Cowley, Belle’s Stratagem, iv., 1. Hang Harriet, and
Charlotte, and Maria! the name your father gave ye?

1823. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 5. Hang cards! bring me
a bobstick of rum slim.

1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 169. ‘You be hanged,
Felix,’ quoth his ally, with a most quizzical grin.

1863. Ch. Reade, Hard Cash, ii., 218. Hang the grub; it turns my
stomach.

1883. R. L. Stevenson, Treasure Island, p. 161. You can go hang!

1889. Sporting Times, 6 July. Hebrew Scholar: Rub up your Hebrew.
Or go and hang yourself.

1890. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, ch. xvii. Hang it all, if that’s
English law, you know, I don’t thing very much of the wisdom of our
ancestors.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 164. Hang it all.

1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 7. But ’ang it, I can’t stand the
style of the silent and the stare-me-down sort.

1892. F. Anstey, Voces Populi, ‘On the Ice,’ p. 122. Stick by me,
old fellow, till I begin to feel my——Oh, hang it all!

To hang an arse, verb. phr. (old).—To hang back; to hesitate.

1598. Marston, Satyres, ‘Ad Rythmum.’ But if you hang an arse like
Tubered, When Chremes dragged him from his brothel bed.

1637. Massinger, Guardian, v, 5. Nay, no hanging an arse.

1639–61. Rump Songs, ii., 86. Nay, if it hang an arse; We’ll pluck
it from the stares, And roast it at hell for its grease.

1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, ch. lxv. My lads, I’m told you
hang an arse.

1780. Tomlinson, Slang Pastoral, 2. My arse hangs behind me as
heavy as lead.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

To hang in, verb. phr. (common).—To get to work; to do one’s best; to wire in (q.v.).

To hang in the bellropes, verb. phr. (common).—To defer marriage after being ‘asked’ in church.

To hang on by one’s eyelashes, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To persist at any cost, and in the teeth of any discouragement.

To hang on by the splash-board, verb. phr. (common).—To ‘catch’ a tram, omnibus, etc., when it is on the move; hence to succeed by the ‘skin of one’s teeth.’ Fr., arcpincer l’omnibus.

To hang around (or about), verb. phr. (American).—To loiter; to loaf; to haunt.

To hang out, verb (common).—To live; to reside. Also (subs.), a residence; a lodging; and (American university) a feast; an entertainment.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hang out. The traps scavey where
we hang out; the officers know where we live.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxx. ‘I say, old boy, where do you
hang out?’ Mr. Pickwick replied that he was at present suspended at
the George and Vulture.

1852. Bristed, Five Years in an English University, p. 80. The
fourth of July I celebrated by a hang-out.

1871. City Press, 21 Jan. ‘Curiosities of Street Literature.’ He
hangs out in Monmouth-court.

1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 14. I should like to go in for
blue blood, and ’ang out near the clubs and the parks.

To hang out a shingle, verb. phr. (American).—To start or carry on business.

1871. Public Opinion, Dec. Tom Stowell hung out his shingle as a
lawyer at the Tombs, afterwards at Essex-market, and eventually in
Brooklyn.

To hang one’s latchpan, verb. phr. (common).—To be dejected; to pout. Fr., faire son aquilin.

To hang it out, verb. phr. (common).—To skulk; to mike (q.v.).

To hang up, verb. phr. (common).—1. To give credit; to score (or chalk) up: said of a reckoning. Also ‘to put on the slate’ or (American) on the ice (q.v.).

1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Hang-it-up, speaking of the Reckoning
at a Bowsing-Ken, when the Rogues are obliged, for want of Money,
to run on Tick.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

2. (American).—To bear in mind; to remember.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hang it up. Think of it, remember
it.

3. (American).—To pawn, For synonyms, see Pop.

4. (thieves’).—To rob with violence on the street; to hold up (q.v.). Fr., la faire au père François.

5. (common).—To be in extremis; to know not which way to turn for relief: e.g., a man hanging = one to whom any change must be for the better.

6. (colloquial).—To postpone; to leave undecided.

1887. Cornhill Magazine, June, p. 624. To hang up a bill is to pass
it through one or more of its stages, and then to lay it aside, and
defer its further consideration for a more or less indefinite
period.

To hang on, verb. phr. (colloquial).—(1) To sponge; and (2) to pursue an individual or a design.

1601. Shakspeare, Henry VIII., iii., 2. Oh, how wretched Is that
poor man that hangs on princes’ favours!

To hang off, verb. phr. (printers’).—To fight shy of.

To hang up one’s fiddle, verb. phr. (American).—To retire; to desist. To hang up one’s fiddle anywhere = To adapt oneself to circumstances.

To hang up one’s hat, verb. phr. (common).—1. To die. For synonyms, see Aloft.

1854. Notes and Queries, Vol. X., p. 203. He has hung up his hat.
This sentence, which is sometimes used in reference to persons
deceased, etc.

1882. Punch, lxxxii., 185, c. 1.

2. (common).—To make oneself permanently at home.

Hang-bluff, subs. (rhyming).—Snuff.

1857. Ducange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Hang-by, subs. (old).—A hanger-on; a parasite; a companion.

1598. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, iv., 2. I am not afraid of
you nor them neither, you hang-byes here.

Hang-dog, subs. (old).—A pitiful rascal, only fit for the rope or the hanging of superfluous curs. Cf., Gallows-bird.

1732. Fielding, Mock Doctor, i., 4. Heaven has inspired me with one
of the most wonderful inventions to be revenged on my hang-dog.

Adj. (old).—Vile, or suspicious, in aspect; gallows-looking (q.v.).

Hang-gallows, adj. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hang-gallows Look, a thievish, or
villainous appearance.

Hanger, subs. (old).—A side-arm—short sword or cutlass—hanging from the girdle. (See Hangers, in. pl., sense 1.)

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, x. A couteau de chasse, or short
hanger.

In. pl. (old).—1. Ornamental loops from the girdle to suspend the sword and dagger.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, v. 2. Six French rapiers and poignards,
with their assigns, as girdle, hangers, and so on.

1596. Nashe, Unf. Trav. [Chiswick Press, 1891]. Huge hangers that
have half a cowhide in them.

1599. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, iv., 4. I had thrown off
the hangers a little before.

1610. Jonson, Alchemist, v., 2. Where be the French petticoats, And
girdles and hangers?

2. (common).—Gloves; specifically gloves in the hand.

3. See Pothooks.

Hang-in-chains, subs. phr. (old).—See quots.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hang-in-chains, a vile desperate
fellow.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, Hang-in-chains. A vile, desperate
fellow. Persons guilty of murder, or other atrocious crimes, are
frequently, after execution, hanged on a gibbet, to which they are
fastened by iron bandages; the gibbet is commonly placed on or near
the place where the crime was committed.

Hanging, adj. (colloquial).—Fit for the halter.

Hanging-bee, subs. (American).—A gathering of lynch-lawmongers, bent on the application of the rope. See Bee.

Hanging Johnny, subs. phr. (venery).—The penis: specifically, in a condition of impotence or disease. For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.

Hangman, subs. (old).—A jocular endearment.

1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado About Nothing, iii., 2. He had twice or
thrice cut Cupid’s bowstring, and the little hangman dare not shoot
at him.

Hangman’s-day, subs. (old).—Monday, and (in America) Friday.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hangman’s day. Friday is so called
from the custom of hanging people on a Friday.

Hangman’s-wages, subs. (old).—Thirteen-pence-halfpenny. [The fee for an execution was a Scots mark: the value of which piece was settled, by a proclamation of James I., at 13½d.]

1602. Decker, Honest Whore, Pt. II., in Wks. (1873) ii., 171. Why
should I eate hempe-seed at the hangman’s thirteene-pence
halfe-penny ordinary?

1659. Hangman’s Last Will (Rump Song quoted in Notes and Queries, 2
S. xi., 316). For half thirteen-pence half-penny wages, I would
have cleared out all the town cages, And you should have been rid
of all the sages. I and my gallows groan.

1678. Butler, Hudibras, Pt. III., c. 2. To find us pillories and
cart’s-tails, Or hangman’s wages.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hangman’s wages, thirteenpence
half-penny, which according to the vulgar tradition was thus
allotted, one shilling for the execution, and three halfpence for
the rope.

Hang-slang about, verb. phr. (common).—To abuse; to slang (q.v.); to Billingsgate (q.v.).

Hank, subs. (old colloquial).—1. A tie; a hold; an advantage; a difficulty. [In a hank = in trouble].

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. He has a hank upon him, or the
Ascendant over him.

1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. He has a hank upon him; He ... will
make him do what he pleases.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. He has a hank on him, i.e., an
ascendant over him, or a hold upon him: A Smithfield hank = An ox
rendered furious by over driving and barbarous treatment.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hank. To know something about a man
that is disreputable. He has a hank on the bloke, whereby he sucks
honey when he chooses, he knows something about the man, and
therefore induces him to give him money when he chooses.

2. (common).—A spell of rest; an easy time.

1888. Sporting Life, 7 Dec. So quiet was the first round that the
ire of the company was raised, and they called out, ‘No hank!’

Verb (common).—To worry; to bait; to drive from pillar to post.

Hanker, verb (old: now recognised).—To desire eagerly; to fret after; to long or pine for: generally with ‘after.’ Also, Hankering (subs.) = an importunate and irritating longing.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hanker after, to Long or wish
much for.

1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. To hanker after anything, to have a
longing after or for it.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 98. I did see a creatur’ once, named
Sofy Mason ... that I tuk an orful hankerin’ arter.

1878. Whitman, Leaves of Grass, ‘Spontaneous Me,’ 90 (ed. 1884).
The hairy wild-bee that murmurs and hankers up and down.

Hankin, subs. (commercial).—The trick of putting off bad work for good. [Cf., To play hankey, or To play hanky-panky.]

Hanktelo, subs. (old).—See quots.

1593. Nashe, Strange Newes (Grosart, Wks., ii., 251). Is the
Astrologicaall Discourse a better booke than Pierce Pennilesse?
Gabriel Hangtelow saies it is?

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hanktelo, a silly Fellow, a
meer Cods-head.

1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

Hanky-Panky, subs. (common).—(1) Legerdemain; whence (2) trickery; underhand (q.v.) work; cheating; any manner of double-dealing or intrigue. Hanky-panky business = conjuring; hanky-panky work (or tricks) = double-dealing. A bit of hanky-panky = a trick; a piece of knavery.

1841. Punch, Vol. I., p. 88. Only a little hanky-panky.

1880. G. R. Sims, Zeph, ch. xiii. He knew that ... any crime
committed on his premises would tell against him on licensing day,
and he kept a pretty sharp look out to see that what he was pleased
to term hanky panky was not carried on under his nose.

1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. xxxviii. If there was any
hanky panky, any mystery I mean, he’d always swear he was out
whenever he called, for fear it should be bullied out of him.

1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. v., p. 323.——There’s some
hanky panky business going on among the men of No. 2 prison; the
Catholic side is ringing changes and it is done in this shop.

Hanky-panky-bloke, subs. phr. (theatrical).—A conjuror; a pile of mags (q.v.).

Hanky-Spanky, adj. (common).—Dashing; nobby (q.v.). Specifically of well-cut clothes.

Hannah. That’s the man as married Hannah, phr. (streets’).—‘That’s the thing’: used of a thing well begun and well ended; or as an expressive of certainty. Varied sometimes by that’s what’s the matter with Hannah.

Hans Carvel’s Ring, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable. [From Poggio (tit. Annulus); Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles (xi.); Ariosto (Sat. v.); the Nouvelle of Malespini (89, ii.); Rabelais (Pantagruel, iii., 28); and Matthew Prior.]

Hansel (or Handsel), subs. (common).—The first money taken in the morning; lucky money. Hence, earnest money; first-fruits, &c. Hansel-Monday = the first Monday in the new year, when presents were received by children and servants. [A. S., handselen = to deliver into the hand.]

1587. Greene, Menaphon (Arber), p. 71. He should like inough haue
had first handsell of our new Shepheards sheepehooke.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii. Bring him a sixpenny bottle of
ale: They say a fool’s handsel is lucky.

1679. Holland, Ammianus Marcellinus. With which wofull tidings
being sore astonied, as if it were the first hansell and beginning
of evils comming toward him.

1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary, etc. (1811), p. 121. It is a common
practice among the lower class of hucksters, pedlars, or dealers in
fruit or fish, on receiving the price of the first goods sold that
day, which they call hansel, to spit on the money, as they term it,
for good luck.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. iii. There was a whin bonnie lasses
there, forbye mysel’, and deil ane to gie them hansels. Ibid., ch.
xxxii. Grizzy has naething frae me, by twa pair o’ new shoon ilka
year, and maybe a bit compliment at Hansel Monanday.

1821. Scott, Kenilworth, ch. xix. ‘How wears the Hollands you won
of me?’ ‘Why, well, as you may see, Master Goldthred,’ answered
Mike; ‘I will bestow a pot on thee for the handsel.’

Verb (common).—1. To give handsel to; also (2), to use for the first time.

1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, in Wks., v., 249. And gather about him
as flocking to hansell him and strike him good luck.

1605. Chapman, etc., Eastward Hoe, ii. My lady ... is so ravished
with desire to hansell her new coach.

1639–61. Rump Songs, i. [1662], 137. Belike he meant to Hansell his
New Satten.

1663. Pepys, Diary, 12 Apr. Coming home to-night, a drunken boy was
carrying by our constable to our new pair of stocks to handsel
them.

1874. [G. A. Lawrence], Hagarene, ch. xvii. The habit of stout blue
cloth ... was Pete Harradine’s last and crowning extravagance, as
they passed through town on their way to Fulmerstone, and it had
never been hanselled yet.

1881. Besant and Rice, Sweet Nelly, in Ten Years’ Tenant, etc.,
Vol. I., p. 200. I wanted to present her with something to hansel
friendship.

Hanseller, subs. (common).—A street vendor; a Cheap Jack.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 392. The sellers
of tins, who carry them under their arms, or in any way on a round,
apart from the use of a vehicle, are known as hand-sellers.

1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 10. Cheap-Jacks, as
they were then as now called by the people, although the term
han’-seller is mostly used by themselves.

Hans-en-Kelder, subs. (old).—A child in the womb: literally, Jack-in-the-Cellar (q.v.). [From the Dutch.]

1647. Cleaveland, Character of a London Diurnall. The originall
sinner in this kind was Dutch; Galliobelgicus, the Protoplast; and
the moderne Mercuries, but hans-en-kelders. The countesse of
Zealand was brought to bed of an almanack; as many children as
dayes in the yeare.

1648. Mercurius Pragmaticus, i. The birthday of that precious new
government which is yet but a Hans-en-kelder.

d. 1658. Lovelace, Poems, p. 63. Next beg I to present my duty To
pregnant sister in prime beauty, Whom [who] well I deem (ere few
months elder) Will take out Hans from pretty kelder.

1663. Dryden, Wild Gallant, v., Wks., i. 61 (1701). Seems you are
desirous I should Father this Hans en Kelder heere.

1672. Marvell, Char. of Holland, line 65. More pregnant then their
Marg’ret, that laid down For Hans-in-Kelder of a whole Hanse town.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hans-en-Kelder, Jack in the
Box, the Child in the Womb, or a Health to it.

1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, v. Then I am as it were a
grandfather to your new Wiffe’s, hans en kelder.

1678. T. Baker, Tunbridge Wells, p. 27. Here’s a health to this
Lady’s Hans in Kelder!

1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hans in Kelder, a health frequently
drank to breeding women, or their husbands.

Hansom, subs. (coster).—A chop.

Hap-Harlot, subs. (old).—A coarse stuff to make rugs or coverlets with; a rug. Cf., Wrap-rascal = an overcoat.

1577–87. Holinshed, Description of England, bk. ii., ch. xii. A
sheet vnder couerlets made of dagswain, or hap-harlots (I vse their
owne termes).

Ha’porth o’ Coppers, subs. phr. (legal).—Habeas Corpus.

Ha’porth of Liveliness, subs. phr. (Coster).—1. Music.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 21. Or they
will call to the orchestra, saying, ‘Now then you catgut-scrapers!
Let’s have a ha’porth of liveliness.’

2. (common).—A loitering Lawrence; a slowcoach (q.v.).

Happify, verb. (American).—To please.

1612. Sylvester, Lach. Lach., 642. One short mishap for ever
happifies.

1848. Burton, Waggeries, etc., p. 70. For eatin’ and drinkin’, it
happifies me to say that we bang the bush.

Happy, adj. (common).—Slightly drunk; elevated (q.v.). For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

Happy-despatch, subs. (common).—Death, specifically, a sudden or violent end.

Happy-dosser. See Dosser.

Happy Eliza, subs. (common).—A female Salvationist [As in the Broadside Ballad (1887–8), ‘They call me Happy Eliza, and I’m Converted Jane: We’ve been two hot’uns in our time.’]

Happy-family, subs. (colloquial).—See quot.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., p. 224. Happy
families, or assemblages of animals of diverse habits and
propensities living amicably, or at least quietly, in one cage.

Happy-go-lucky, subs. (colloquial).—Careless; thoughtless; improvident. Fr., va comme je te pousse and à la flan.

1856. Reade, Never Too Late to Mend, ch. xv. In the happy-go-lucky
way of his class.

1883. Illust. London News, 8 Dec., p. 551, c. 1. He dashes off a
play in a happy-go-lucky style, basing it on theatrical precedent
so far as certain stock situations are concerned.

Happy Hunting-grounds, subs. (American).—1. The future state; glory (q.v.). [From the North-American Indian’s conception of heaven.]

1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 98. After a long journey,
they will reach the happy hunting-grounds.

1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, ch. v. Old Mescal is now
keeping a sharp eye out for the child and the cowboy, that he may
send them to the happy hunting-grounds also.

2. (colloquial).—A favourable place for work or play.

1892. Cassell’s Sat. Journal, 26 Oct., p. 119. The happy
hunting-ground of the swell mobsman is the opening of some
Exhibition.

3. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.

Happy-land, subs. (common).—The after life; glory (q.v.).

1893. Danvers, The Grantham Mystery, ch. xiii. The old ’un will
soon join the young ’un in the happy land.

Happy-returns, subs. (Australian).—Vomiting. See Flay the Fox.

Harbour, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable. Also Harbour of Hope.

Hard, subs. (prison).—1. Hard labour.

1890. Globe, 26 Feb., p. 1, c. 4. Monetary penalties, therefore, do
not act as deterrents, but the certainty of seven days’
incarceration, with or without hard, would soon diminish the
nuisance.

2. See Hard-Shell.

3. (colloquial).—Third-class. As opposed to soft (q.v.). Thus: ‘Do you go hard or soft?’ = ‘Do you go Third or First?’ An abbreviation of Hard-arse.

Adj. (American).—1. Applied to metal of all kinds: e.g., hard (cole or stuff) = silver or gold as compared to cheques or soft (q.v.).

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, ii., ch. 18. The bill ... amounted to
one dollar and a quarter hard money.

1844. Puck, p. 146. That cunning old file wont let her go with the
hard cash down.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hard; metal.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hard cole. Silver or gold money.

1863. Charles Reade, Hard Cash. [Title.]

2. (old: now recognised).—1. Sour or souring; as in hard-cider; (2) hard drinks (American) = intoxicating liquors, as wine, ale, etc., while lemonade, soda-water, ginger-beer, etc., are soft.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hard drink, that is very Stale,
or begining to Sower.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hard, stale beer nearly sour, is
said to be hard.

1882. Daily Telegraph, 10 Oct., p. 5, c. 3. A fourth defendant, in
pleading guilty, urged that the month of August last ‘turned a lot
of beer sour,’ and that he had only used some sugar for the purpose
of mollifying the hard or sour porter.

Hard as a Bone (Nails, etc.), adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very hard; austere; unyielding.

1885. Indoor Paupers, p. 79. He stood it for a week or two without
flinching—being at that date hard as nails, as he expresses it.

Hard at it, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very busy; in the thick of a piece of work.

To die hard, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To sell one’s life dearly; e.g., The die-hards (q.v.), the 59th Regiment, so called from their gallantry at Albuera.

To give hard for soft, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate. See Greens.

To be Hard Hit. See Hard-hit.

[Hard, adj., is used in many combinations; generally with an
unpleasant intention. Thus, hard-arsed (or fisted, or handed) =
very niggardly; hard-bit (or hard-mouthful) = an unpleasant
experience; hard-driven (or hard-run) = sore bested; hard-faced (or
favoured, or featured) = grum, shrewish, or bony; hard-headed (or
hard-witted) = shrewd and intelligent, but unimaginative and
unsympathetic; hard-hearted = incapable of pity; hard-lipped =
obstinate, dour; hard-master = a nigger-driver; hard-nut = a
dangerous antagonist; hard-on = pitiless in severity; hard-riding =
selfish and reckless equestration; hard-service = the worst kind of
employment; hard-wrought = overworked, etc., etc.]

Hard-a-weather, adj. (nautical).—Tough; weather-proof.

1891. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 44. They were hard-a-weather
fellows.

Hard-bake, subs. (schoolboys’).—A sweetmeat made of boiled brown sugar or treacle with blanched almonds.

1825. Hone, Every-day Bk., I., 51. Hardbake, brandy-balls, and
bull’s-eyes.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ii. The commodities exposed for sale in
the public streets are marine stores, hard-bake, apples, etc.

Hard-baked, adj. (old).—1. Constipated.

1823. Jon Bee, Dict. of Turf, s.v.

2. (common).—Stern; unflinching; strong.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 73. It’s my opinion, these squirtish
kind a fellars ain’t perticular hard-baked.

Hard-bargain (or Case), subs. (common).—1. A lazy fellow; a bad-egg (q.v.); a skulker. One of the Queen’s Hard-bargains = a bad soldier.

1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 71. La Bonté had lost all
traces of civilised humanity, and might justly claim to be
considered as hard a case as any of the mountaineers then present.

1888. Lynch, Mountain Mystery, ch. xliii. A fellow who comes and
goes between here and Rockville, generally considered a hard case,
and believed to be more outlaw than miner.

2. (trade).—A defaulting debtor.

3. (nautical).—A brutal mate or officer. Also hard-horse.

Hard-bit (or Bit of Hard), subs. (venery).—1. The penis in erection; whence (2), for women, the act of connection.

Hard-bitten, adj. (colloquial).—Resolute; game (q.v.); desperate.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, liii. My sooth, they’ll be hard-bitten
terriers will worrie Dandie.

Hard-cheese, subs. (Royal Military Academy).—Hard lines; bad luck; specifically at billiards.

Hard-cole. See Hard and Cole.

Hard-doings, subs. (American).—1. Rough fare; and (2) hard work.

1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 37. Hard doins when it comes
to that.

Hard-drinking, subs. (old: now recognized).—Drinking to excess.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hard-drinking, excessive
Soking, or toping aboundance.

Hard-head, subs. (American).—A man of good parts, physical, intellectual, or moral.

1824. R. B. Peake, Americans Abroad, i., 1. Dou. None of your
flouting, by jumping jigs, I won’t stand it—we Americans have got
hard heads—we warn’t brought up in the woods to be scart at by an
owl—you can’t scare me so.

1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, p. 110. Most of the passengers had
disappeared for the night, and only a knot of hard-heads were left
upon deck.

Hard-hit. To be hard hit, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To have experienced a heavy loss; as over a race, at cards, etc.

2. (colloquial).—To be deeply in love; completely gone on (q.v.).

1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Ladies’ Gallery, ch.
xxv. The wound was keen, I had been hit hard.

1891. M. E. Braddon, Gerard, p. 312. You’ve been hard hit.

Hard-lines, subs. (colloquial).—Hardship; difficulty; an unfortunate result or occurrence. [Formerly line = lot: Cf., Bible and Prayer book version of Psalm xvi., 5, 6.]

1855. Notes and Queries, 1 S. xii., p. 287. Hard Lines. Whence is
this expression, so common, particularly among seafaring men,
derived?

1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, ch. xxiii. I think it’s deuced
hard lines to lock up a fellow for merely humbugging an old parson
up in Kentish Town.

1888. Sporting Life, 15 Dec. For the Kempton folks it was rather
hard lines.

1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Ladies’ Gallery, ch.
xxvi. It’s awful hard lines, Lady Star Strange, that I am only
thought good enough for you Londoners in the dead season.

1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 3. I call it ’ard lines, dear old
man.

Hard-mouthed, adj. (colloquial).—Difficult to deal with; wilful; obstinate. Also coarse in speech. [From the stable.]

1686. Durfey, Commonw. of Wordes, i., 1. [Speaking of a girl.] I
hate your young Wechees, Skitish Colts—they are so hard mouth’d,
there’s no dealing with em.

1704. Swift, Tale of a Tub, Sect. ix. I myself, the author of these
momentous truths, am a person, whose imaginations are hard-mouthed,
and exceedingly disposed to run away with his reason.

1704. Swift, Operation of the Spirit, Sect. ii., par. 9. The flesh
... when it comes to the turn of being bearer, is wonderfully
headstrong and hard-mouthed.

Hard-neck, subs. (tailors’).—Brazen impudence, monumental cheek (q.v.).

Hard-on, adj. phr. (venery).—Prick-proud. For synonyms, see Horn.

Hard-pan, subs. phr. (American).—The lowest point; bed-rock (q.v.).

1882. Besant, All Sorts and Conditions of Men, ch. xxi. And as for
business, it’s got down to the hard pan, and dollars are skurce.

1861. Holmes, Elsie Venner, ch. viii. Mr. Silas Peckham had gone a
little deeper than he meant, and came upon the hard pan, as the
well-diggers call it, of the Colonel’s character, before he thought
of it.

1888. Missouri Republican, 2 Mar. Prices were at hard pan.

To get down to hard-pan, verb. phr. (American).—To buckle to; to get to business.

Hard-puncher, subs. (common).—The fur cap of the London rough; formerly worn by men in training; a modification of the Scotch cap with a peak. [From the nickname of a noted pugilist.]

Hard-pushed, adv. (colloquial).—In difficulties; hard-up (q.v.).

a. 1871. Perils of Pearl Street, p. 123. As I said, at the end of
six months we began to be hard-pushed. Our credit, however, was
still fair.

Hard Put To, adj. phr. (colloquial).—In a difficulty, monetary or other; e.g., He’d be hard put to it to find a sovereign (or a word, or an excuse) = It would take him all his time, etc.

Hard-row. See Row.

Hard-run, adj. (colloquial).—In want of money; hard-up (q.v.)

Hard-shell, subs. (American).—A member of an extreme section of Baptists holding very strict and rigid views. [The soft-shells are of more liberal mind.] Also Hards and Softs.

1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 30. The old hard-shell laid
about him like rath.

1888. Baltimore Sun. Mr. E., a regular member of the hard-shell
Baptist Church.

1893. Stevenson, Island Night’s Entertainments, p. 35. He’s a
hard-shell Baptist is Papa.

2. (political American).—A division of the Democratic Party in 1846–48, when the Hunkers (q.v.) received the name of Hards, and their opponents, the Barn-burners (q.v.) that of Softs.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 91. Hards, softs, whigs and Tylerites
were represented.

Adj. (American).—Extremely orthodox; unyielding; hidebound.

Hard-stuff, subs. (American).—1. Money.

2. (Australian).—Intoxicating liquors; see Hard (adj. sense 2). For synonyms see Drinks.

Hard-tack, subs. (nautical).—1. Ship’s biscuits; specifically, ordinary sea-fare as distinguished from food ashore, or Soft-Tommy (q.v.).

1841. Lever, Charles O’Malley, ch. lxxxviii. No more hard-tack,
thought I, no salt butter, but a genuine land breakfast.

1889. Lippincott, Oct., p. 476. They have feasted on salt horse and
hard-tack many a day; but they know a good thing when they find it.

2. (common).—Coarse or insufficient fare.

Hard-up, subs. (common).—1. A collector of cigar ends, a topper-hunter. [Which refuse, untwisted and chopped up, is sold to the very poor.] Sometimes Hard-cut. Fr., un mégottier.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 5. The
cigar-end finders, or hard-ups, as they are called, who collect the
refuse pieces of smoked cigars from the gutters, and having dried
them, sell them as tobacco to the very poor.

1888. Tit Bits, 24 March, 373. Smoking hard-up is picking up the
stumps of cigars thrown away in the streets, cutting them up, and
smoking them in the pipe.

1891. Morning Advertiser, 26 Mar. A constable on duty on the
Embankment early in the morning saw the accused prowling about, and
on asking what he was doing, received the reply that he was looking
for hard cut.—Mr. Vaughan: Looking for what?—The Prisoner:
Hard-cut; dropped cigar-ends.

2. (common).—A poor man; a stony-broke (q.v.).

1857. Ducange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue. Hard-up, a poor person.

Adv. phr. (colloquial).—1. Very badly in want of money; in urgent need of anything. Also Hard-run and Hard-pushed.

1809–41. Th. Hook, The Sutherlands. He returned, and being hard up,
as we say, took it into his head to break a shop-window at
Liverpool, and take out some trumpery trinket stuff.

1821. Haggart, Life, p. 104. There I met in with two Edinburgh
snibs, who were hard up.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Merchant of Venice.’ Who by
showing at Operas, Balls, Plays, and Court, ... Had shrunk his
‘weak means,’ and was ‘stump’d’ and hard up.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xi. He ... was, not to put too fine
a point upon it hard-up.

1865. New York Herald. This anxiety ... shows conclusively that
they are hard-up for political capital.

1871. Lond. Figaro, 25 Jan. For years, England has been a refuge
for hard-up German princelings.

1887. Manville Fenn, This Man’s Wife, i., 13. I don’t look hard up
do I? No, because you’ve spent my money on your wretched dress.

1891. Fun, 25 Mar. You’re hard up, ain’t you? Stumped? Well, it’s
Threadneedle Street to a frying-pan, that if Popsy knew your real
name, he’d lend you a thousand or two like a shot.

English Synonyms.—Many under floored apply equally to hard-up; others are:—At low water mark; cracked up; dead-broke; down on one’s luck; fast; in Queer Street; in the last of pea time; in the last run of shad; low down; low in the lay; oofless; out of favor with the oof-bird; pebble-beached; seedy; short; sold-up; stony-broke; strapped; stuck; stumped; suffering from an attack of the week’s (or month’s) end; tight; on one’s uppers; under a cloud; on one’s beam ends.

French Synonyms.—Se mettre dans le bœuf (common = to go in for block ornaments (q.v.)); être en brindezingue (mountebanks = gone to smash); être brouillé avec la monnaie (familiar = to have had a row with one’s banker); être coupé (printers’); être à la côte (familiar = on the shelf); être fauché (thieves’ = cut down); être dans la purée (thieves’); être molle (thieves’); être à la faridon (popular); être en dèche (popular); être désargenté (thieves’ = oofless); être bref (popular = short); être à fond de cale (popular = down to bed-rock); être à la manque (popular = on short commons); manger de la misère (popular = to sup sorrow); être dans le lac (popular = a hole); être pané (general); panné comme la Hollande (general = very hard up).

Spanish Synonyms.—Estar pelado or ser un pelado (= skinned); tiñoso (= scabby).

Italian Synonym.—Calcare a ventun ’ora.

2. (common).—Intoxicated. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

3. (Winchester College).—Out of countenance; exhausted (in swimming).

Hard-upness or Hard-uppishness, subs. (colloquial).—Poverty; a condition of impoverishment.

1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack. There were frequent ...
collapses from death or hard-upness.

1883. Illust. London News, 26 May, p. 519, c. 3. These I O U’s ...
do not imply, as might be supposed, common hardupness.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 28. Ike’s knowledge of some of the
bookmakers he had met in the old land led him to believe that
hard-uppishness would scare any knight of the pencil away.

Hardware (or Hard), subs. (American).—Counterfeit coin.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

Hardware-bloke, subs. (thieves’).—A native of Birmingham; a Brum (q.v.).

Hardy-annual, subs. (Parliamentary).—A bill that is brought in every year, but never passed into law. Hence (journalistic), any stock subject.

1892. Pall Mall Gaz., 16 Aug., p. 4, c. 2. Signs of the so called
‘silly season’ which has been somewhat delayed this year owing to
the political crisis, are now beginning to appear. The readers of
the Daily Telegraph are once more filling the columns of that
journal with ‘Is Marriage a Failure?’ The hardy annual is called
‘English Wives’ this time.

Hare, verb. (old).—To dodge; to double; to bewilder.

1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 92. Running, haring, gaping,
staring.

1672. Marvell, Rehearsal, Tr. (Grosart), iii, 372. They amaze,
shatter and hare their people.

To hare it, verb. phr. (American thieves’).—To retrace one’s steps; to double back. [From the way of a hare with the hounds.]

To make a hare of, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make ridiculous; to expose the ignorance of any person.

1830–32. Carleton, Traits and Stories, ‘The Hedge-School.’ What a
hare that made of him ... and did not leave him a leg to stand on!

1844. Lever, Tom Burke of Ours, ii., 393. It was Mister Curran made
a hare of your Honor that day.

To swallow a hare, verb. phr. (old).—To get very drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.

1725. New Cant. Dict. Hare, s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. He has swallowed a hare, he is
drunk, more probably a hair which requires washing down.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.

To hold with the hare and hunt with the hounds, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To play a double game; to keep on good terms with two conflicting parties.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.

To kiss the hare’s foot, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be late; to be a day after the fair; to kiss the post.

Hare-brained (or Hair-brained), adj. (old colloquial: now recognised).—Reckless; flighty; impudent; skittish. Also, substantively, hare-brain = a hare-brained person.

1534. N. Udal, Roister Doister, I., iv., p. 27 (Arber). Ah foolish
hare-braine, This is not she.

1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, in Wks., ii., 53. A harebraind
little Dwarfe it is.

1621. Burton, Anat. of Mel., I., III., I., ii., 259 (1836). Yet
again, many of them, desperate hare-brains.

1622. Bacon, Henry VII. That same haire-braine wild fellow, my
subject.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. xliii. When the government of
a nation depends upon the caprice of the ignorant, hair-brained
vulgar.

1870. Chambers’ Miscellany, No. 53, p. 28. The Slater girls are as
hare-brained as herself.

Hared, adj. (old).—Hurried.

Hare-sleep, subs. (old).—Sham slumber; foxes’ sleep (q.v.).

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hare-sleep, with Eies a’most
open.

Harking, subs. (old).—See quots.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Harking, whispering on one side
to borrow Money.

1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hark-ye-ing, whispering on one side
to borrow money.

Harlequin, subs. (theatrical).—1. A sovereign. For synonyms, see Canary.

2. (Winchester College).—The wooden nucleus of a red india-rubber ball.

3. (old).—A patchwork quilt.

Harlequin China, adj. phr. (old).—Sets composed of several patterns and makes.

Harlotry, subs. (old).—A wanton.

d. 1529. Skelton, Bowge of Courte. He had no pleasure but in
harlotrye.

1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, iv., i. But O the harlotry, did
she make that use of it then.