1594. Nashe, Terrors of the Night (Grosart, iii., 250). Whereas his
horse-leech ... will give a man twenty guineas in one.
1597. Hall, Satires, ii., 4. No horse-leech but will look for
larger fee.
Horse-marines, subs. (common).—A mythical corps, very commonly cited in
jokes and quizzies on the innocent. [The Jollies (q.v.) or Royal
Marines, being ignorant of seamanship, have always been the butt of
blue-jackets.] Tell that to the marines (or horse-marines) the sailors
won’t believe it = a rejoinder to an attempt at imposition or
credulity. Often amplified with when they’re riding at anchor. See also
Bingham’s Dandies.
1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxi. ‘Come, none of your
quizzing, my old buck,’ said Sir Bingo—‘what the devil has a ship
to do with horse’s furniture?—Do you think we belong to the
horse-marines?’
c. 1870. Broadside Ballad, ‘Captain Jinks.’ I’m Captain Jinks of
the Horse-Marines.
1886. Stephens and Yardley, Little Jack Sheppard, p. 3. They may
tell that yarn to the horse marines, For we bean’t such fools as we
looks.
1886. Tinsley’s Mag., Apr., 321. Owing to a singular deviation from
the ordinary functions of cavalry, the 17th Lancers were once
christened the horse marines.
1892. Wops the Waif [Horner’s Penny Stories], ch. i., p. 1. Oh,
nothink, eh! You’d better tell that to the hoss marines; I’ve lived
a sight too long in Shoreditch to take that in.
Horse-milliner, subs. (common).—1. A dandy trooper.
1778. Chatterton, Ballads of Charity, ii., 113. The trammels of his
palfrey pleased his sight, For the horse-milliner his head with
roses dight.
1813. Scott, Bridal of Triermain, ii., 3. One comes in foreign
trashery Of tinkling chain and spur, A walking haberdashery Of
feathers, lace and fur; In Rowley’s antiquated phrase,
Horse-milliner of modern days.