German Flutes, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A pair of boots.
Germantowner, subs. (American billiards’).—A pushing shot—when the
balls played with, and at, are jarred together. Cf., Whitechapeller.
Gerry, subs. (Old Cant).—Excrement.
1567. Harman, Caveat, s.v.
Gerry Gan, intj. (Old Cant).—A retort forcible. Stow it! (q.v.). [From
Gerry = excrement + Gan = mouth, i.e., literally, Shit in your mouth.]
The common form is: Shit (or a turd) in your teeth; as in Ben Jonson,
Bartholomew Fair, 1614. Fr., Tais ta gueule ou j’te chie dedans.
1567. Harman, Caveat. Gerry gan, the ruffian cly thee.
Gerrymander (pronounced with the ‘g’ hard, as in ‘get’), verb.
(political American).—To arrange the electoral subdivisions of a State
to the profit and advantage of a particular party.
[The term, says Norton, is derived from the name of Governor Gerry,
of Massachusetts, who, in 1811, signed a Bill readjusting the
representative districts so as to favour the Democrats and weaken
the Federalists, although the last-named party polled nearly
two-thirds of the votes cast. A fancied resemblance of a map of the
districts thus treated led Stuart, the painter, to add a few lines
with his pencil, and say to Mr. Russell, editor of the Boston
Sentinel. ‘That will do for a Salamander.’ Russell glanced at it:
‘Salamander,’ said he, ‘call it a Gerrymander!’ The epithet took at
once, and became a Federalist war-cry, the caricature being
published as a campaign document.]
1871. Boston Daily Advertiser, 6 Dec. Gerrimander was the name
printed under a picture of a pretended monster, whose shape was
modified from the distorted geography which Mr. Gerry’s friends
inflicted on part of the State for the sake of economizing,
majorities.
Gerrymandering, subs. (political American). See Gerrymander.
1872. New York Sunday Mercury, 31 March. The Legislature of Ohio
intends to prove itself a veritable master in the gerrymandering
business.
1890. Athenæum, 22 Feb. p. 238, c. 1. Whatever faults can be found
with Sir John’s administration, it has been good and successful
enough to afford excuse for all the gerrymandering with which he is
charged by his critics.
1891. Belfort’s Mag., Aug., p. 439. The Democrats of Michigan have
carried the art of gerrymandering to such an extent that they have
thoroughly disgusted their opponents.
Gerund-Grinder, subs. (common).—A schoolmaster, especially a pedant.
Also Gerund-Grinding.
1759–67. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, iv., 112. Tutors, governors,
gerund-grinders, and bear-leaders.
1788. Knox, Winter Evenings, 59. A pedant, a mere plodder, a petty
tyrant, a gerund-grinder.
1825–7. Hone, Every Day Book, II., p. 33. Gerund-Grinding and
parsing are usually prepared for at the last moment.
Get, subs. (old).—1. A cheating contrivance; a Have (q.v.).
2. (old).—A child; the result, that is, of an act of procreation or
begetting. Thus, one of his gets = one of his making; whose get is
that? = Who’s the father? It’s his get, anyhow = At all events he got
it.
1570. Scottish Text Society, Satirical Poems, I., 171, ‘Treason of
Dumbarton’ (1891). Ganelon’s gets, relicts of Sinon’s seed.
d. 1798. Burns, Merry Muses. ‘For a’ that.’ O’ bastard getts some
had a score, An’ some had mair than a’ that.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 41. This, again, is unusual for a
Chester, as his get are generally quiet and docile, but a bit lazy.
Get! (or You Get!) intj. (American).—Short for Get out! Usually, Git!
(q.v.).
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 176. None of your
damned impertinence. Get!
To get at, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To quiz; to banter; to
aggravate; to take a rise out of. Also To get back at.
1891. Sloper’s Half Holiday, 3 Jan. ‘Your family don’t seem to get
on, missie.’ ‘On!’ replied the child, with dignity flashing from
her great blue eyes; ‘on! I’ve got a father on the booze, a sister
on the music ’all, an’ a brother on the treadmill. On! who’re ye
gettin’ at?’
2. (racing and colloquial).—To influence; to bribe; to nobble (of
horses), and to corrupt (of persons); applied to horse, owner, trainer,
jockey, and vet. alike.
1870. Spectator, 23 April. That, of course, makes it profitable for
owners to withdraw horses they have secretly betted against, and
for scoundrels to get at horses.
1871. Saturday Review, 9 Sept. It is quite clear that some of the
foreign working men have been got at.
1883. Graphic, 17 March, p. 262, c. 2. The House of Commons ... can
also be trusted to decide in local questions without any suspicion
of being got at, as is sometimes the case elsewhere.
1883. Badminton Library, Steeplechasing, p. 404. Suspicions that
the mare had been got at, that is to say, drugged, were afterwards
noised abroad.
1888. Daily Telegraph, 17 Nov. It was strongly suspected that he
had been got at.
1890. Globe, 11 Aug., p. 1, c. 1. Fancy the professional agitator
trying to get at such men as these—men who gloried in being
soldiers and nothing else!
1892. Pall Mall Gazette, May 10, p. 3, c. 3. The scoundrels (verily
of the lowest form) who have tried to get at Orme.
1892. National Observer, vii. 630. If the horse were got at, then a
bookie who stood heavily to lose is probably assumed.
To get about, verb. phr. (venery).—To do the act of intromission. For
synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
To get back at, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To satirise; to call to
account.
1888. Daily Inter-Ocean. The newspapers are getting back at Sam.
Get back into your box! phr. (American).—An injunction to silence; stow
it! (q.v. for synonyms).
To get encored, verb. phr. (tailors’).—To have a job returned for
alterations.
To get even with, verb. phr. (common).—To take one’s revenge; to give
tit for tat.
To get it, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be punished (morally or
physically); to be called over the coals. Also (venery) to catch a
clap.
To get off, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To (1) escape punishment, to be
let off; (2) to utter, to deliver oneself of, to perpetrate—as to get
off a joke; and (3) to get married.
To get on, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To back a horse; to put a bit on
(q.v.).
2. (colloquial).—To succeed; or, simply, to fare. Thus, How are you
getting on? may signify (1) To what extent are you prospering? or (2)
How are you doing?
1871. Pall Mall Gaz., 29 Dec. That great Anglo-Saxon passion of
rising in the world, or getting on—that is, rising into the class
above him.
1892. A. W. Pinero, The Times: a Comedy, v. 1. We used to go very
early to such places and stay right through, now that papa has got
on, we arrive late everywhere and murmur an apology!
To get one in the cold, verb. phr. (American).—To have at an advantage;
to be on the windward side (q.v.); to have on toast (q.v.).
To get one on, verb. phr. (pugilists’).—To land a blow.
To get down fine (or close), verb. phr. (American).—To know all about
one’s antecedents; and (police) to know where to find one’s man.
To get into, verb. phr. (venery).—To occupy (q.v.). Also To get in and
To get up. For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
1620. Percy, Folio MSS., p. 197. Gett vp againe, Billy, if that
thou louest me.
To get over, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To seduce, to fascinate, to dupe.
Also To come over and To get round.
To get outside of, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To eat or drink; also to
accomplish one’s purpose.
1892. S. Watson, Wops the Waif, p. 9. Tickle urged Wops again and
again to drink, but Wops’s only reply was, ‘Yer go on, Tickle; git
outside the lot, if yer can; it’ll do yer good, Cully.’