A hog in armour, subs. phr. (old).—A lout in fine clothes. Also a
Jack-in-office; Hog-in-togs = (in America) a well-dressed loafer. [Hog
= Hodge (q.v.), a rustic.]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hog ... an awkward, or mean looking
man or woman, finely dressed, is said to look like a hog in armour.
Hog and hominy, subs. phr. (American).—Plain fare; Common doings
(q.v.). [Pork and maize are the two cheapest food stuffs in the U.S.A.]
To go the whole hog. See Whole Animal.
To bring one’s hogs (or pigs) to a fine market, verb. phr. (old).—To do
well; to make a good deal (q.v.). Also, in sarcasm, the opposite.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew., s.v. He has brought his hoggs to a
fair market, or he has Spun a fair Thread.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hog.... He has brought his hogs to
a fine market, a saying of one who has been remarkably successful
in his affairs, and is spoken ironically to signify the contrary.
To drive one’s hogs (or pigs) to market, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
snore.
1738. Swift, Polite Conversations, ii., 455. I’gad he fell asleep,
and snored so loud that we thought he was driving his hogs to
market.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hog.... to drive one’s hogs, to
snore, the noise made by some persons in snoring being not much
unlike the notes of that animal.
Hog-age, subs. (American).—The period between boyhood and manhood. Cf.,
Hobbledehoy.
Hogan-mogan, subs. (old).—See quot.
1892. Aitken, Satires of Andrew Marvell, p. 128. The States General
of the United provinces were officially addressed as High and
Mighty Lords, or in Dutch, Hoogmogenden; hence English satirists
called them hogans-mogans, and applied the phrase to Dutchmen in
general. Cf., Hoganmoganides, or the Dutch Hudibras (1694), and ‘A
New Song on the hogan-mogans’ in ‘A Collection of the Newest Poems
... against Popery, etc.’ (1689).
Hog-grubber, subs. (old).—A miser; a niggard; a mean cuss (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. A hog-grubber, ... a
narrow-soul’d sneaking Fellow.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hog Grubber, a mean stingy fellow.
Hogmagundy (or Houghmagandie), subs. (Scots).—Copulation. For synonyms,
see Greens and Ride.
1786. Burns, The Holy Fair [last stanza]. There’s some are fou o’
love divine, There’s some are fou o’ brandy; An’ mony jobs that day
begin, May end in hougmagandie Some ither day.
Hogmenay, subs. (old Scots’).—1. New Year’s Eve, which is a national
festival. [The origin has been the subject of much discussion.]
1776. Brand, Popular Antiquities, p. 102. Sirs, do you what Hagmane
signifies? It is the devil be in the house.
1793. The Bee, 10 July, p. 17. The night preceding that festival
Hoggmonay.
1879. James Napier, Folk Lore, p. 154. After the Reformation, the
Scotch transferred Hagmanay [from Xmas Eve] to the last day of
December, as a preparation day for the New Year.
2. Hence a wanton. [The feast is celebrated with much drink and not a
little license.]
Hogo, subs. (old).—A flavour; an aroma; a relish. Hence, in irony, and
by corruption, a stink. Cf., Fogo. [From Fr., haut goût.] See High,
sense 2.
1569. Erasmus, Trans. Praise of Folly, p. 13 [1709]. Pleasure that
haut-goust of Folly.
1639–61. Rump Songs. ‘A Vindication of the Rump.’ Oh! what a Hogo
was there.
1645. Howell, Letters, V., xxxviii., p. 42. He can marinat fish,
make gellies, and is excellent for a pickant sawce, and the haugou.
1653. Walton, Compleat Angler, I., ch. vii. To give the sawce a
hogoe let the dish (into which you let the Pike fall) be rubed with
it [garlick].
1656. Choyce Drollery, p. 34. And why not say a word or two Of she
that’s just? witnesse all who Have ever been at thy ho-go.
1663. Killigrew, The Parson’s Wedding, iii., 2 (Dodsley, Old Plays,
4th ed., 1875, xiv., 451). We’ll work ourselves into such a sauce
as you can never surfeit on, and yet no hogough.
1667. Cowley, Government of Oliver Cromwell, Prose Works
(Pickering, 1826), 94. Cromwell ... found out the true hogo of this
pleasure, and rejoiced in the extravagance of his ways.
1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, ii., 1. She has ... no more teeth
left than such as give a haut gout to her breath.
1686. Twelve Ingenious Characters. A bad husband is an
inconsiderate piece of sottish extravagance; for though he consist
of several ill ingredients, yet still good fellowship is the causa
sine qua non, and gives him the ho-go.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hogo.
1705–7. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, Vol. I., Pt. vi., p. 4. Most
stinking meat, Toss’d up with leeks into Raggoo, To overcome the
unsav’ry hogo.
1718. Durfey, Pills, iii., 177. ‘Let’s drink and be merry.’ Your
most Beautiful Bit, that hath all Eyes upon her, That her Honesty
sells for a hogo of Honour.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hogo ... it has a confounded hogo,
it stinks confoundedly.
Hogshead. To couch a hogshead, verb. phr. (Old Cant).—See quot. For
synonyms, see Balmy.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 66. To couch a hogshead: to ly
downe and slepe. Ibid., I couched a hogshead in a skypper this
darkemans.
Hog-shearing, subs. (old).—Much ado about nothing; great cry and little
wool.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hog. Labour in vain, which the
Latines express by Goats-wooll, as the English by the shearing of
Hoggs.
Hogs-norton. To have been born at Hogs-Norton, verb. phr. (old).—To be
ill-mannered.
d. 1666. Howell, Eng. Proverbs, p. 16. I think thou wast born at
Hoggs-Norton, where piggs play upon the organs.
1676. Marvel, Mr. Smirke [Grosart], iv., p. 89. A pair of organs of
cats which he had done well to have made the pigs at Hogs-Norton
play on.
Hogstye of Venus, subs. phr. (venery).—See quot. For synonyms, see
Monosyllable.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Porcile di venere, the
hog-stye of Venus, a womans privities or geare.
Hog-wash, subs. (common).—1. Bad liquor; specifically, rot-gut (q.v.).
2. (journalists’).—Worthless newspaper matter; slush, swash, and
flub-dub (q.v.).
Hoi polloi, subs. phr. (university).—The candidates for ordinary
degrees. [From the Greek.] Cf., Gulf.
Hoist, subs. (old).—A shop-lifter; also a confederate hoisting or
helping a thief to reach an open window. The Hoist = shop-lifting. To
go upon the hoist = to enter a house by an open window.
1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd Ed.), s.v. Hoist. This is done by
the assistance of a confederate called the hoist, who leans his
head against the wall, making his back a kind of step or
ascent.—Grose.
1819. Vaux, Cant. Dict. Hoist, the game of shop-lifting is called
the hoist; a person expert at this practice is said to be a good
hoist.
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 38. We were principally engaged upon the
hoys and coreing.
Verb (thieves’).—1. To practise shop-lifting; to rob by means of the
hoist (q.v.).
2. (American).—To run away; to decamp. For synonyms, see Amputate and
Skedaddle.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc., p. 174. Jist hist, and take
yourself off.
3. (common).—To drink. E.g., Will you hoist? = will you have a liquor?;
Hoisting = drinking; On the hoist = on the drunk. Also a hoist in.
To give a hoist, verb. phr. (tailors’).—To do a bad turn.
To have (or do) a hoist in, verb. phr. (venery).—To copulate. For
synonyms, see Greens and Ride.
Hoister, subs. (old).—1. A shop-lifter; a hoist (q.v., sense 1). Also a
pickpocket.
1847–50. J. H. Jesse, London, i., 30. He that could take out a
counter without any noise was allowed to be a public hoyster.
N.B.—That a hoyster is a pickpocket.