1603. J. Sylvester, Tr. Du Bartas, Mag., p. 65 (1608). Heer, many a
Hebe faire, heer more than one Quick-seruing Chiron neatly waits
vpon The Beds and Boords.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xlix. Shortly after the same Hebe
brought up a plate of beef-collops.
1886. Athenæum, 9 Jan., 63/2. It is not with the Colonel’s Hebes,
however, that the manœuvres of the military quintet are carried on.
1891. Sportsman, 25 Mar. Not even the kindly morning welcome of La
Rærdon, most pleasant and courteous of deft-handed Hebes, could
blot out the fact.
Hebrew, subs. (common).—Gibberish; Greek (q.v.). To talk Hebrew = to
talk nonsense or gibberish.
1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, ii., 1. Mon. If she did but know what
part I take in her sufferings——. Flip. Mighty obscure. Mon. Well,
I’ll say no more; but——. Flip. All Hebrew.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. ‘You may as well talk Hebrew,’
said of jargon.
Hector, subs. (old).—A bully; a blusterer.
1659. Lady Alimony, ii., 6 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875,
xiv., 322). Hectors, or champion haxters, pimps or palliards.
Ibid., iii., I., (p. 326). Levelling at honour, they declare
themselves glorious hectors.
b. 1670. J. Hacket, Archbp. Williams, ii., 203. One Hector, a
phrase at that time for a daring ruffian, had the ear of great ones
sooner than five strict men.
1674. Cotton, Complete Gamester, p. 333. Shoals of Huffs, Hectors,
Setters, Gilts, Pads.... And these may all pass under the general
or common appellation of Rooks.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iv., 1. She would rather trust her
honour with some dissolute debauched hector.
1679. Butler, Hudibras, iii., 2, 108. As bones of Hectors when they
differ, The more th’are Cudgel’d, grow the Stiffer.
1689. Lestrange, Tr. Erasmus, p. 139. And a Ruffling Hector that
lives upon the Highway.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hector, a Vaporing, Swaggering
Coward.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 24. I hate, she cry’d, a hector, a
Drone without a Sting.
1725. New Cant. Dict.
1750. Ozell, Rabelais, iv., Pref. xxiii. These roaring hectors.
1757. Pope, Imit. Hor., ii., 1, 71. I only wear it in a land of
Hectors, thieves ... and Directors.
1778. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1826. Congress Deb., ii., 1., p. 1024. He hoped it would invite ...
a reply from the Southern Hector ... of this debate.
Verb (common).—To play the bully; to bluster. Also to play the Hector.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, ii., 1. No hectoring, good Captain.
1849–61. Macaulay, Hist. of Eng., ch. xvi. To play the Hector at
cockpits or hazard tables.
To wear Hector’s cloak, verb. phr. (old).—To receive the right reward
for treachery. [When Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, was routed
in 1569, he hid himself in the house of Hector Armstrong, of Harlaw,
who betrayed him for hire, and prospered so ill thereafter that he died
a beggar by the roadside.]
Hectoring, subs. and adj. (old: now recognised).—Bullying; blustering.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, ii., 1. Thou art soe debauched,
drunken, lewd, hectoring, gaming companion. Ibid., ii., 1. Every
idle, young, hectoring, roaring companion, with a pair of turned
red breeches, and a broad back, thinks to carry away any widow of
the best degree.
1893. St. James’s Gazette, xxvii, 4074, p. 3. Mr. Sexton with much
unnecessary outlay of hectoring bluster, repudiates guilty
knowledge.
Hedge, subs. (racing).—See verbal sense.
1856. Hughes, Tom Brown, p. 200. Now listen, you young fool, you
don’t know anything about it; the horse is no use to you. He won’t
win, but I want him as a hedge.
1864. Eton Schooldays, ch. vii. He took the precaution to take
those odds five or six times by way of a hedge, in case anything
should happen to Chorley.
Verb (racing).—1. To secure oneself against, or minimise the loss on a
bet by reversing on advantageous terms; to get out (q.v.). [Thus, if a
man backs A to win him £100 at 5 to 1, he will if possible hedge by
laying (say) 3 to 1 to the amount of (say) £60 against him. He will
then stand thus: If A wins he gains on the first bet £100, and loses on
the second £60, leaving a net gain of £40; if A loses he loses on the
first bet £20, and wins on the second £20, thus clearing himself.] See
Standing on Velvet and Go.
1616. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, iii., 1. I must have you do A noble
gentleman a courtesy here, In a mere toy, some pretty ring or
jewel, Of fifty or threescore pound. Make it a hundred, And hedge
in the last forty that I owe you, And your own price for the ring.
1671. Buckingham, The Rehearsal, Prol. Now, critics, do your worst,
that here are met, For, like a rook, I have hedg’d in my bet.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hedge, to secure a desperate
Bet, Wager, or Debt.
1736. Fielding, Pasquin, Act iii. Sneer. That’s laying against
yourself, Mr. Trapwit. Trap. I love a hedge, sir.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Hedge (v.) ... also to secure
or re-insure a dangerous debt, voyage, wager, etc.
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. lxix. They changed their
note, and attempted to hedge for their own indemnification, by
proposing to lay the odds in favour of Gauntlet.
1754. Connoisseur, No. 15. Whatever turn things take, he can never
lose. This he has effected, by what he has taught the world to
call, hedging a bet.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1854. Whyte Melville, General Bounce, ch. xii. If she says ‘Yes,’
sell out.... If she says ‘No’ get second leave.... So it’s hedged
both ways.
1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 201. You’d better hedge some of
your sweep money.