GRIN. A skeleton.
GRIPE-FIST. A broker; a miser.
GROANERS. Thieves who attend at charity sermons, and rob the
congregation of their watches and purses, exchange bad hats for good
ones, steal the prayer-books, etc., etc.
GROGHAM. A horse.
GROPERS. Blind men.
GROUND SWEAT. A grave.
GRUEL. Coffee.
GRUNTER. A country constable.
GUERRILLAS. This name is applied by gamblers to fellows who skin suckers
when and where they can, who do not like the professional gamblers, but
try to beat them, sometimes inform on them, and tell the suckers that
they have been cheated.
GUMMEY-STUFF. Medicine.
GUN. To watch; to examine; to look at.
GUN. A thief.
GUNNED. Looked at; examined. "The copper gunned me as if he was fly to
my mug," the officer looked at me as if he knew my face.
GUNPOWDER. A scolding or quick-tempered woman.
GUNS. Pickpockets.
GUTTER. Porter.
GUTTER-LANE. The throat.
GUY. A dark lantern.
H
HACKUM. A bravado; a slasher. "Capt. Hackum," a fellow who slashes with
a bowie-knife.
HALF-A-HOG. A five-cent piece.
HALF-A-NED. A five-dollar gold piece.
HALF-A-STRETCH. Six months' imprisonment.
HAMLET. A captain of police.
HAMS. Pants.
HANDLE. Nose. "The cove flashed a rare handle to his physog." The fellow
has a very large nose.
HANG BLUFF. Snuff.
HANG IT UP. Think of it; remember it.
HANG OUT. The place one lives in. "The cops scavey where we hang out,"
the officers know where we live.
HANGMAN'S DAY. Friday is so called from the custom of hanging people on
a Friday.
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.
HARD. Metal.
HARD COLE. Silver or gold money.
HARDWARE. False coin.
HARE IT. Return; come back.
HARMAN. A constable.
HARMAN BEAK. The sheriff.
HARP. A woman.
HARRIDAN. A haggard old woman; a scold.
HASH. To vomit.
HATCHES. In distress; in trouble; in debt.
HAVEY CAVEY. Wavering; doubtful.
HAVIL. A sheep.
HAWK. A confidence man; a swindler.
HEAVE. To rob. "To heave a crib," to rob a house.
HEAVER. The breast or chest of a person.
HEAVERS. Persons in love.
HEAVING. Stealing; taking, "The cove was done for heaving a peter from a
cart," the fellow was convicted for stealing a trunk from a cart.
HEDGE. To bet on both sides; to be friends with both sides; to pray
"Good God," "Good Devil."
HEELER. An accomplice of the pocket-book dropper. The heeler stoops
behind the victim, and strikes one of his heels as if by mistake; this
draws his attention to the pocket-book that lies on the ground.
HEELS. To run away.
HEMP. To choke.
HEMP THE FLAT. Choke the fool.
HEN. A woman.
HERRING. All bad; all alike.
HICKEY. Tipsy; not quite drunk; elated.
HICKJOP. A fool.
HICKSAM. A countryman; a fool.
HIGH BEAK. The first judge; the president; the governor; the head
official.
HIGH BLOKE. A well-dressed fellow.
HIGH GAG. Telling secrets; a fellow that whispers.
HIGH JINKS. Small gamblers.
HIGH PADS. Highway robbers.
HIGH ROPES. In a passion; very loud.
HIGH TIDE. Plenty of money.
HIGH TOBERS. Gonnoffs; the highest order of thieves, who generally go
well dressed, and frequent watering-places, etc., etc.
HIGH TOBY. A highway robber.
HIGH-LIVER. A fellow who lives in a garret.
HIGHFLYER. An audacious, lewd woman.
HIKE. Run away. "Hike; the cops have tumbled to us," run; the officers
have seen us.
HIP INSIDE. Inside coat-pocket.
HIP OUTSIDE. Outside coat-pocket.
HISTORY OF THE FOUR KINGS. A pack of cards. "The bloke's skin is lathy,
he studies the history of the four kings closer than the autum-bawler's
patter," the man's purse is thin; he studies a pack of cards more than
the parson's sermons.
HOB OR NOB. What will you drink?
HOBB. A country-fellow.
HOBINOL. A clown.
HOBNAIL. A countryman.
HOCK. Caught in hock; caught by the heels. "If the cove should be caught
in the hock he won't snickle," if the fellow should be caught in the
act, he would not tell.
HOCKEY. Drunk.
HOCKS. The feet.
HOCUS. To stupify. "Hocus the bloke's lush, and then frisk his sacks,"
put something into the fellow's drink that will stupify him, and then
search his pockets.
HOD. A mason; a builder.
HOG IN ARMOR. A blustering office-holder.
HOG IN TOGS. A well-dressed loafer.
HOGG. A ten-cent piece.
HOGGING. To humbug.
HOGO. High-flavored; strong-scented.
HOIST. To rob houses by climbing into a window. It is generally done by
two or three follows, one of whom stands close to the house, and the
others climb up on him to the window.
HOISTER. A shop-lifter.
HOISTING. Putting a man upright on his head, and shaking him until his
money and watch fall out of his pockets; they hold this to be no
robbery.