1818. Austen, Persuasion. I have no very good opinion of Mrs.
Charles’ nursery maid.... She is always upon the gad.
3. (colloquial).—On the spree (especially of women); and, by
implication, on the town.
To gad the hoof, verb. phr. (common).—To walk or go without shoes; to
pad the hoof (q.v.). Also, more loosely, to walk or roam about.
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3rd ed., p. 447. Going without
shoes, gadding the hoof.
Gadabout, subs. (colloquial).—A trapesing gossip; as a housewife seldom
seen at home, but very often at her neighbours’ doors. [From Gad = to
wander, to stray (Cf., Lycidas: ‘the gadding vine’) + About.] Used also
as an adjective; e.g., ‘a Gad-about hussey.’
Gadso, subs. (old)—The penis. Italian cazzo. For synonyms, see
Creamstick and Prick.
Intj. (old: still literary and colloquial).—An interjection. [A relic
of phallicism with which many popular oaths and exclamations have a
direct connection, especially in Neo-Latin dialects. A Spaniard cries
out, Carajo! (—the member), or Cojones! (—the testicles); an Italian
says Cazzo (the penis); while a Frenchman exclaims by the act itself,
Foutre! The female equivalent, (coño with the Spaniard, conno with the
Italian, con with the Frenchman, and cunt with ourselves), was, and is,
more generally used as an expression of contempt, which is also the
case with the testicles. (Cf., ante, All Balls!) Germanic oaths are
profane rather than obscene; except, perhaps, in Potz! and Potztaufend!
and the English equivalent Pox! which last is obsolete. See Catso. In
Florio (A Worlde of Wordes, 1598), Cazzo = ‘a man’s privie member,’ and
cazzo di mare = a pintle fish; while cazzica = ‘an interjection of
admiration and affirming. What? Gad’s me, Gad forfend, tush.’]
1697. Vanbrugh, Provoked Wife, iii., 1. Sir? Gadso! we are to
consult about playing the devil to night.
1770. Foote, Lame Lover, i. Gadso! a little unlucky.
1838. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. iv. ‘Gadso!’ said the undertaker
... ‘that’s just the very thing I wanted to speak to you about.’
Gadzooks! intj. (old and colloquial).—A corruption of Gadzo (q.v.).
Gaff, subs. (old).—1. A fair.
1754. Discoveries of John Poulter, p. 32. The first thing they do
at a gaff is to look for a room clear of company.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. The drop coves maced the joskins
at the gaff; the ring-droppers cheated the countryman at the fair.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 22. We stopped at this place two days,
waiting to attend the gaff.
1823. Jon. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc., s.v. A fair is a gaff as
well as all the transactions enacted there.
2. (common).—A cheap, low music-hall or theatre; frequently penny-gaff,
Cf., quot. 1823, sense 1. Also dookie. Fr., un beuglant (= a low
music-hall; beugler = to bellow); un bouisbouis (boui = brothel); une
guinche (popular). See also quot. 1889.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., p. 46. They court
for a time, going to raffles and gaffs together, and then the
affair is arranged.
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London, p. 68. A gaff is a place
where stage plays, according to the strict interpretation of the
term, may not be represented. The actors of a drama may not
correspond in colloquy, only in pantomime; but the pieces brought
out at the gaff are seldom of an intricate character, and the not
over-fastidious auditory are well content with an exhibition of
dumb-show and gesture.
1870. Orchestra, 18 Feb. The absolute harm done by these gaffs does
not consist in the subjects represented.
1889. Notes and Queries, 7 S. vii., p. 395. I have often heard the
British soldier make use of the word when speaking of the
entertainment got up for his benefit in barracks.