Lumtum, subs. (American thieves’).—A fashionable thief.
1882. McCabe, New York, 221. Altogether my first evening among the
lumtums panned out well.
Lun, subs. (old).—(1) A harlequin.—Grose (1785). (2) A clown.—Matsell
(1859).
Lunan, subs. (vagrants’).—A girl. For synonyms see Titter. [From the
Romany].
Luncheon reservoir, subs. phr. (common).—The stomach. For synonyms see
Victualling Office.
Lung-box, subs. (common).—The mouth. For synonyms see Potato-trap.
Lungis, subs. (old).—An idle, lazy, fellow.
1592. Nashe, Summer’s Last Will [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), viii.
53]. There is not, goodman lungis.
1602. Dekker, Satiro-mastix [Nares]. Knaves, varlets! What lungis!
give a dozen of stools there.
Lungs, subs. (old).—See quot. 1755.
1610. Jonson, Alchemist. That is his fire-drake, his lungs, his
zephyrus, he that puffs his coals.
1755. Johnson, Dicty., s.v. Lungs. Formerly a cant term for a
person denoting a large and strong-voiced man, as Coles has
observed; and also a chymical servant, a sort of underwork-man in
the art.
Lunkhead, subs. (American).—An ill-bred, ill-looking horse; a screw
(q.v.).
Lunk-headed, adj. (American).—Senseless.
Luny. See Loony.
Lurch, subs. (old).—A cheat.
d. 1597. Peele, Jests, 619. The tapster having many of these
lurches fell to decay.
1606. Dekker, Seven Deadly Sins [Grosart (1886), ii. 52]. Betting,
lurches, rubber, and such tricks.
1604. Middleton, Black Book [in Century]. All such lurches, gripes,
and squeezes, as may be wrung out by the fist of extortion.
1626. Breton, Pasquil’s Mad-cappe [Grosart (1869), 1. e. 6, 2, 27].
Howere his wit may giue the foole the lurch, He is not fit to
gouerne in the church.
Verb. (old).—To steal; to cheat; to trick.
1563. Appius and Virginius [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), iv. 150].
Then—gallop to see where her father doth lurch.
1592. Greene, Defence of Conny catching, in Works, xi. 58. Was not
this an old conny catcher M. R. G. that could lurtch a poore conny
of so many thousands at one time?
1593. Nashe, Christe’s Teares [Grosart (1885), iv. 228]. Laughing
at the Punies they haue lurched.
1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives, ii. 1. I ... am fain to shuffle, to
hedge, and to lurch.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Imbolare to filch, to steale, to
purloine, lurche, to pilfer, to prowle.
1609. Jonson, Silent Woman, v. You have lurched your friends of the
better half of the garland, by concealing this part of the plot.
1662. Rump Songs, i. 210. Our gossips’ spoons away were lurcht, Our
feasts and fees for women churcht.
To leave in the lurch, verb. phr. (colloquial).—See quot. 1690. Fr.
laisser quelqu’un béar. [From cribbage].
[?]. Robin Hood and the Tinker [Child, Ballads, v. 233]. Robin made
them haste away, And left the tinker in the lurch, The great shot
for to pay.
1594. Nashe, Have with You [Grosart (1885), iii. 150]. He ... left
both of them in the lurtch.
1606. Return from Parnassus [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 178].
’Sblood, a while ago, before he had me in the lurch, who but my
cousin Prodigo?
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie, s.v. Il demeura lourche, he was left
in the lurch.
1662. Rump Songs, i. 9. And leave us in the lurch.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Lurched ... Left in the lurch,
Pawned for the Reckoning or left at Stake to Smart for any Plot.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1763. North Briton, No. 41, Mar. [quoted in Notes and Queries, 7 S.
iv. 48]. When John leaves Margaret in the lurch, And Presbyterians
head the Church.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1785. Burns, Jolly Beggars, ii. But the godly old chaplain left him
in the lurch.
1827. Todd, Johnson’s Dicty., s.v. Lurch. To leave in the lurch, a
ludicrous phrase.
1858. Lady Holland, Sydney Smith, xcv. Weary will be the latter
half of my pilgrimage, if you leave me in the lurch.
1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, v. It won’t do to leave
old dad in the lurch.
To give a lurch, verb. phr. (old).—To tell a lie; to deceive.
Lurcher, subs. (common).—1. A rogue.
1603–35. Breton, Mad World [Grosart (1860), ii. i. 12, 2, 50]. But
these may rather be called lurchmen than Churchmen, who as they are
not troubled with much learning, so they have no more honesty.
1888. Daily News, 4 Dec. After that shall try on the lazy lurchers
who live on unfortunates.
1891. Morning Advertizer, 3 April. It was quite time that the
honest and respectable drivers sat down on the lurchers once and
for all, and when they knew that there were 7,000 of them in London
they should think of their power and demand better conditions.