1748. Smollett, Roderick Random. What time Murphy sends his
slipping puppies to the heyes of mortals.
Murphy’s-face, subs. (Irish).—A pig’s head.
1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Murphy’s Countenance.
Mush (Mush-topper or Mushroom), subs. (common).—1. See quots.
1821. Haggart, Life, 62. In one shop they robbed two mush-topers.
1856. H. Mayhew, Gt. World of London, p. 6, note. Fanciful
metaphors contribute largely to the formation of slang. It is upon
this principle that the mouth has come to be styled the
‘tater-trap’; ... umbrellas, ‘mushrooms’ (or, briefly ‘mush’).
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Mush. An umbrella; the mouth, in
pugilism.
1870. London Figaro, 15 June. What pretty faces, mush of mine, I’ve
sheltered ’neath thy shade! What jolly walks in ‘auld lang syne’
Beneath thy ribs I’ve made!