Grampus, subs. (colloquial).—A fat man. For synonyms, see Forty-guts.
To blow the Grampus. (nautical).—To drench; and (common), to sport in
the water.
Grand, subs. (colloquial).—Short for ‘grand piano.’
1891. Morning Advertiser, 28 Mar. A precocious young relative is
now about to take the daïs. There she stands, violin in hand, and
there begins the preliminary scramble on the hired grand.
Adj. (colloquial).—A general superlative.
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 19. Wot we want in a picter is
flavour and ‘fetch,’ and yours give it me grand.
To do the Grand, verb. phr. (common).—To put on airs. For synonyms, see
Lardy-dah.
Grand Bounce. See Bounce.
Grandmother. To see one’s grandmother, verb. phr. (common).—To have a
nightmare.
To see (or have) one’s grandmother (or little friend, or auntie) with
one. verb. phr. (common).—To have the menstrual discharge. See Flag.
To shoot one’s grandmother, verb. phr. (common).—To be mistaken; to
have found a mare’s nest; to be disappointed. Commonly ‘You’ve shot
your grannie.’
To teach one’s grandmother (or grannie) how to suck eggs, verb. phr.
(common).—To instruct an expert in his own particular line of business;
to talk old to one’s seniors.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1892. Globe, 27 Jan., p. 1, c. 5. Evidently he did not consider, as
Englishmen seem to do, that grandmothers possess no more knowledge
than is required to efficiently suck eggs.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 210. ‘Confound you
stupid, what do you take me for, that you try to teach your
grandmother to suck eggs.’
1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 77. She’s a teaching ’er
grandmother, she is, although she’s a littery swell.
My grandmother’s review. subs. phr. (obsolete).—The British Review.
[The nickname was Lord Byron’s.]
Grand-strut, subs. (old).—The Broad Walk in Hyde Park.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i., 4. We’ll start first to the
show shop of the metropolis, Hyde Park! promenade it down the grand
strut.
Granger, subs. (American political).—1. A member of the Farmers’
Alliance; a secret society, nominally non-political, but really taking
a hand in politics when occasion offered to favour agricultural
interests. [During the decade of years ending 1870, it attained to
great numerical strength, and extended throughout the United States.]
See Agricultural Wheel.
2. (American).—Hence, a farmer; a countryman; anyone from the rural
districts. For synonyms, see Joskin.
Grangerise, verb. (literary).—To fill out a book with portraits,
landscapes, title-pages, and illustrations generally not done for it.
1883. Sala, Living Wonders, p. 497. Mr. Ashton’s Social Life in the
Reign of Queen Anne ... would be a capital book to grangerize.
Grangerism, subs. (literary).—The practice of illustrating a book with
engravings, etc., from other sources. [From the practice of
illustrating Granger’s Bibliographical History of England.]
1883. Saturday Review, Jan. 27, p. 123, c. 2. Grangerism, as the
innocent may need to be told, is the pernicious vice of cutting
plates and title-pages out of many books to illustrate one book.
Grangerite, subs. (literary).—A practitioner in grangerism (q.v.).
1890. ‘Grangerising,’ in Cornhill Mag., Feb., p. 139. Another
favourite subject, and suitable also for the Grangerite, is
‘Boswell’s Johnson.’ It must be admitted that this delightful book
may gain a fresh chance by being thus treated, but ‘within the
limits of becoming grangerism.’
Grannam, subs. (old). Corn. [From the Latin.]—Fr., le grenu, or grelu.
It., re di granata; staffile; corniole. Sp., grito.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65. Grannam, corne.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept., 1874).
Granmer, corne.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 49 (1874).
Grannam, corn.
1706. E. Coles, Eng. Dict., Grannam, c. corn.
1737. Bacchus and Venus. ‘The Strowling Mort.’ Grannam ever filled
my sack.
Grannam’s-gold. subs. (old).—Wealth inherited. [Grannam = grandmother:
cf., Beaumont and Fletcher, Lover’s Progress, iv., 1. ‘Ghosts never
walk till after midnight, if I may believe my grannam.’]
Granny, subs. (nautical).—1. A bad knot with the second tie across; as
opposed to a reef knot in which the end and outer part are in line.
Also Granny’s Knot or Granny’s Bend.