meaning to stop the seams of a vessel with pitch (_French_, POIX);
“here’s the d‑‑‑‑l to PAY, and no pitch hot,” said when any catastrophe
occurs which there is no means of averting; “to PAY over face and eyes,
as the cat did the monkey;” “to PAY through the nose,” to give a
ridiculous price,—an expressive phrase of which no one seems to know
the origin. Shakspeare uses PAY in the sense of to beat or thrash.
~Pay~, to deliver. “PAY that letter to Mr. So-and-so” is a very common
direction to a Chinese servant.—_Anglo-Chinese._
~Pay-away~, “go on with your story, or discourse.” From the nautical
phrase PAY-AWAY, meaning to allow a rope to run out of a vessel. When
the hearer considers the story quite long enough, he, carrying out the
same metaphor, exclaims “hold on.”
~Peach~, an informer against omnibus conductors and drivers, one
especially hired by the proprietors to count passengers and stoppages.
The term is in frequent use amongst omnibus-men. This is about the only
instance known of the verb being used as a substantive.
~Peach~, to inform against or betray. Webster states that the word
“impeach” is now mostly used, and that PEACH is confined principally to
the conversation of thieves and the lower orders. The word was
originally “impeach,” though it was never until lately used in the same
way as its abridgment.
~Peacock horse~, amongst undertakers, is one with a showy tail and mane,
which holds its head up well. PEACOCKY refers to an objectionable high
action among racehorses.
~Peaking~, remnants of cloth. Term amongst drapers and cloth
warehousemen.
~Peaky~, sickly, delicate.
~Pec~, a term used by the Eton boys for money, an abbreviation, of
course, of the _Latin_ PECUNIA.
~Peck~, food; “PECK and boose,” meat and drink.—_Lincolnshire._
_Ancient Cant_, PEK, meat.
~Peck~, to eat voraciously. A hearty eater is generally called “a rare
PECKER.” Originally PECK was to eat delicately, “but we have changed all
that now.”
~Peck-alley~, the throat.
~Pecker~, “keep your PECKER up,” _i.e._, don’t get down in the
mouth,—literally, keep your beak or head well up, “never say die!”
~Peckham~, a facetious usage of the name of this district, implying a
dinner; “all holiday at PECKHAM,” _i.e._, nothing to eat.
~Peckish~, hungry. _Old Cant_, PECKIDGE, meat.
~Peel~, to strip, or disrobe.—_Sporting._
~Peeler~, a policeman; so called from Sir Robert Peel (_see_ BOBBY);
properly applied to the Irish Constabulary rather than the Metropolitan
Police, the former force having been established by Sir Robert Peel.
~Peepers~, eyes; “painted PEEPERS,” eyes bruised or blackened from a
blow.—_Pugilistic._
~Peery~, suspicious, or inquisitive.
~Peg~, brandy and soda-water. A PEG by which to pull oneself up again.
Also, a shilling.—_Scotch._
~Peg~, “to PEG away,” to strike, run, or drive away; “PEG a hack,” to
drive a cab; “to take him down a PEG or two,” to check an arrogant or
conceited person,—possibly derived from the use of PEG tankards. _See_
PIN.
~Peg~, to drink frequently; generally used in reference to devotees of
“S. and B.”
~Peggers~, people who constantly stimulate themselves by means of brandy
and soda-water.
~Pegtops~, the loose trousers in fashion some years back, small at the
ankle and swelling upwards, in imitation of the Zouave costume.
~Penang-lawyer~, a long cane, sometimes carried by a footman.
PENANG-LAWYERS are also bludgeons which are carried by all classes in
Singapore.
~Pencil-fever~, a supposititious disease among racehorses, the
preliminary symptoms of which show that an animal has been pretty
considerably “milked.” PENCIL-FEVER sets in when, despite the efforts of
the “marketeers,” a horse can no longer be kept at a short price in the
lists, through his actual condition being discovered, and when every
layer of odds is anxious to write his name down. This disorder is also
called “milk-fever,” “market-fever,” and other suggestive names.
~Penny-a-liner~, a contributor of local news, accidents, fires, and
scandals to a newspaper; a man not regularly “on the paper;” one who is
popularly believed to be paid for each contribution at the rate of a
penny a line, and whose interest is, therefore, that his articles should
be stuffed with fine words and long sentences. This wonderful person, to
whom so much is daily attributed, is now generally called a LINER.
~Penny dreadfuls~, an expressive term for those penny publications which
depend more upon sensationalism than upon merit, artistic or literary,
for success.
~Penny gaff~, a shop turned into a temporary theatre (admission one
penny), at which dancing and singing take place every night. Sometimes
rude pictures of the performers are arranged outside to give the front a
gaudy and attractive look, and at night-time coloured lamps and
transparencies are displayed to draw an audience. Zest is given to these
entertainments by the fact that now and again the police make raids upon
the houses, and carry off both actors and spectators. These places are
also called “dukeys,” for no reason that can be discovered. _See_ GAFF.
~Penny starver~, a penny roll. _See_ BUSTER.
~Pen’orth~, value for money; as, “I’ll have my PEN’ORTH,”—given
irrespective of the actual amount.
~Pensioner~, a man of the most degraded condition who lives off the
miserable earnings of a prostitute. There is an unmentionable prefix to
the word PENSIONER. _See_ PONCE.
~Pepper~, to thrash, or strike.—_Pugilistic_, but used by
Shakspeare.—_Eastern Counties._
~Pepper-boxes~, the buildings of the Royal Academy and National Gallery
in Trafalgar Square. The name was first given by a wag, in allusion to
the cupolas erected by Wilkins, the architect, upon the roof, which,
from their form and awkward appearance, at a distance suggest to the
stranger the fact of their being enlarged PEPPER-BOXES. _See_ BOILERS.
~Perch~, or ROOST, a resting-place; “I’m off to PERCH,” _i.e._, I am
going to bed.
“Nor yet a single perch, for which my lucky stars to thank,
Except the _perch_ I’ve taken on this damp rheumatic bank.”
_Lay of the Unsuccessful Angler._
~Perform~, to carry out a design, generally a dishonest one. To “PERFORM
on a flat” is to cozen a fool.
~Perkin~, beer. Dandy or affected shortening of the widely-known firm,
Barclay and Perkins.
~Perpendicular~, a lunch taken standing-up at a tavern bar. It is usual
to call it lunch, often as the PERPENDICULAR may take the place of
dinner.
~Persuaders~, spurs.
~Pesky~, an intensitive expression, implying annoyance; as, “A PESKY,
troublesome fellow.” Corruption of PESTILENT; or, _Irish_, PEASGACH,
rough, rugged. PESKY has now become more American than English. _Pesky
Ike_ is the name of a popular American drama.
~Peter~, a partridge.—_Poacher’s term._
~Peter~, a bundle, or valise. Also, a cash-box.
~Peter~, to run short, or give out.—_American._
~Peter Funk~, an American term for a spurious auction or “knock-out.”
~Peter Grievous~, a miserable, melancholy fellow; a croaker.
~Petticoat~, a woman.
~Pewter~, money, like “tin,” used generally to signify silver; also a
tankard. “Let me have my beer in the PEWTER,” is a common request to
waiters, made by “City” men, and others who affect habits of rude
health. The pots for which rowing men contend are often called PEWTERS.
~Philadelphia-lawyer~, a Transatlantic limb of the law considered to be
the very acme of acuteness. Sailors relate many stories of his artful
abilities, none, however, short enough to find a place here. The phrase,
“Enough to puzzle a PHILADELPHIA-LAWYER,” means, enough to puzzle the
sharpest man in the world.
~Philander~, to ramble on incoherently; to write discursively and
weakly.
~Philip~, a policeman. The word is loudly given as a signal that the
police are approaching.
~Philiper~, a thief’s accomplice, one who stands by and looks out for
the police while the others commit a robbery, and who calls out
“Philip!” when any one approaches.
~Philistine~, a policeman. The German students call all townspeople not
of their body “Philister,” as ours say “cads.” The departing student
says, mournfully, in one of the Burschenlieder—
“Muss selber nun PHILISTER sein!”
_i.e._, “I must now myself PHILISTINE be!” Also, a man who is of a set
opposed to one’s own. Society is supposed to regard all outside its
bounds as belonging to the PHILISTINE world. Bohemians regard all
cleanly, orderly people who conform to conventionality as PHILISTINES.
~Physog~, or PHIZ, the face. Swift uses the latter word. Corruption of
PHYSIOGNOMY.
~Picaroon~, a pirate or buccaneer originally; now an ordinary thief.
~Piccadilly butchers~, a satirical name applied by the crowd to the
regiment of Horse Guards, known as the “Royal Blues,” from their savage
onslaught upon the crowd on the occasion of the arrest of Sir Francis
Burdett at his house in Piccadilly, by order of the Speaker of the House
of Commons. _See_ CHEESEMONGERS.
~Piccadilly weepers~, long carefully combed-out whiskers of the
Dundreary fashion.
~Pick~, “to PICK oneself up,” to recover after a beating or illness,
sometimes varied to “PICK up one’s crumbs;” “to PICK a man up,” “to do,”
or cheat him.
~Pickaninny~, a young child is thus styled by the West Indian negroes.
The word is now completely naturalized among sailors and water-side
people in England.
~Pickers~, the hands.—_Shakspeare._
~Pickle~, a miserable or comical position; “he is in a sad PICKLE,” said
of any one who has fallen into the gutter, or got besmeared. “A PICKLE
herring,” a comical fellow, a merry-andrew.—_Old._ Also, a mischievous
boy; “what a PICKLE he is, to be sure!” Derived from his always getting
into a PICKLE, or mess.
~Pickles!~ gammon; also a jeering and insulting exclamation.
~Pick-me-up~, a revivifying drink taken after a debauch; a tonic.
~Piece~, a contemptuous term for a woman; a strumpet.—_Shakspeare._ Not
always objectionable nowadays. A “barber’s clerk” does not object to
hear his sweetheart or wife called “a nice PIECE;” and gentlemen of the
counter-jumping fraternity describe their “young ladies” as “nice PIECES
of goods.”
~Pieman.~ In tossing, the man who cries is called the PIEMAN. In the old
days when the itinerant PIEMAN’S duty was to toss or sell, and his call
was, “Hot pies, toss or buy, toss or buy,” he was always supposed to be
entitled to the cry, the intending eater “skying the copper.” An active
and efficient police have, however, improved tossing—so far, at all
events, as PIEMEN and poor people are concerned—off the face of the
earth, and gaming of all descriptions is now a luxury confined to the
rich.
~Pig~, a mass of metal,—so called from its being poured in a fluid
state from a SOW, which _see_.—_Workman’s term._
~Pig~, a policeman; an informer. The word is now almost exclusively
applied by London thieves to a plain-clothes man, or a “nose.”
~Pig~, a pressman in a printing office. _See_ DONKEY.
~Pig~, or SOW’S BABY, a sixpence.
~Pig~, to live in a crowded, filthy manner. The lower orders of Irish
are said to PIG together. A suggestive, if not elegant, expression.
~Pig and Tinder-box~, the vulgar rendering of the well-known tavern
sign, “Elephant and Castle.”
~Pigeon~, a gullible or soft person. The _French_ cant, or _Argot_, has
the word PIGEON, dupe—“PECHON, PESCHON DE RUBY, apprenti gueux, enfant
(sans doute dérobé)”. The vagabonds and brigands of Spain also used the
word in their _Germania_, or robbers’ language, PALOMO (PIGEON),
ignorant, simple. In the sporting world sharps and flats are often
called “rooks and PIGEONS” respectively—sometimes “spiders and flies.”
~Pigeon~, business, simply the Chinese pronunciation of the English
word.—_Anglo-Chinese._
~Pigeon-English~, the English spoken by the natives of Canton and other
parts of China.
~Pigeon-flying~, or BLUEY CRACKING, breaking into empty houses and
stealing lead.
~Pigeon’s milk~, an imaginary fluid for which boys and simpletons are
frequently sent on the 1st of April.
~Pig-headed~, obstinate.
~Pig’s eye~, the ace of diamonds in cards.
~Pig’s whisper~, a low or inaudible whisper; also a short space of time,
synonymous with “cockstride,” _i.e._, cock’s tread.
~Pike~, a turnpike; “to bilk a PIKE,” to cheat the keeper of the
toll-gate. Mr. Tony Weller makes many amusing remarks on PIKES and
PIKE-keepers. Since the first edition of this work was published, PIKES
and PIKE-keepers have departed from amongst us, so far as London and its
immediate vicinity are concerned.
~Pike~, to run, to be off with speed.
~Pike it~, is said as a hasty and contemptuous, if not angry, dismissal,
“if you don’t like it, take a short stick and PIKE it.” This is but a
form of the attempts at rhyming smartness common in London.
“Joe quickly his sand had sold, sir,
And Bess got a basket of rags;
Then up to St. Giles’s they roll’d, sir;
To every bunter Bess brags.
Then unto the gin-shop they PIKE IT,
And Bess was admitted, we hear;
For none of the crew dare but like it,
As Joey, her kiddy, was there,”
_The Sand-man’s Wedding_, a Cantata.
“’Twas not our fault, dear Jack; we saw the watch going into the
house the moment we came there, and we thought it proper to PIKE
OFF.”—_The Prison Breaker_, a Farce.
~Pikey~, a tramp or gipsy. A PIKEY-cart is in various parts of the
country one of those habitable vehicles suggestive of a wandering life.
Possibly the term has reference to one who constantly uses the PIKE, or
turnpike road.
~Pile~, a sum of money; generally the whole of a man’s private means. A
term originally peculiar to Californian miners, in reference to their
accumulated dust and nuggets. American gamblers speak of “putting all
the PILE on” when they fancy anything very much. “To go the whole PILE”
runs level with our sporting phrase, “To go a raker.”
~Pill~, a doctor.—_Military._ PILL-DRIVER, a peddling apothecary.
~Pill~, to blackball a man at a club. Sometimes a man who is blackballed
is described as having received too much medicine.
~Pill-box~, a doctor’s carriage.
~Pin~, “to put in the PIN,” to refrain from drinking. From the ancient
peg tankard, which was furnished with a row of PINS, or pegs, to
regulate the amount which each person was to drink. Drunken people are
often requested to “put in the PIN,” from some remote connexion between
their unsteadiness and that of a carriage wheel which has lost its
linch-PIN. The popular cry, “Put in the PIN,” can have no connexion with
the drinking PIN or peg now, whatever it may originally have had. A
MERRY PIN, a roysterer. _See_ PEG.
~Pinch~, to steal or cheat; also, to catch, or apprehend.
~Pinchbeck~, inferior, deteriorated. Anything pretending to more than
its proper value is said to be PINCHBECK.
“Where, in these PINCHBECK days, can we hope to find the old
agricultural virtue in all its purity?”—_Framley Parsonage._
PINCHBECK was an inferior metal, compounded of copper and zinc, to
resemble gold. It was very fashionable in the last century, and derived
its name from a Mr. PINCHBECK, a well-known London tradesman, who
manufactured watches, buckles, and other articles out of it. PINCHBECK
first obtained his notoriety by the invention of an ingenious
candle-snuffers, which the author of _The Heroic Epistle to Sir William
Chambers_ made the vehicle of a facetious Ode that went through eight
editions. The title of this _jeu d’esprit_ ran thus:—
“_Ode to Mr. Pinchbeck, upon his Newly-invented Candle-Snuffers, by_
MALCOLM M’GREGOR, Esq., 1776.
“Illustrious PINCHBECK! condescend,
Thou well-beloved, and best king’s friend,
These lyric lines to view;
Oh, may they prompt thee, ere too late,
To snuff the candle of the State,
That burns a little blue!”
PINCHBECK published a poetical reply, and the two pamphlets were for a
long time the talk of the town.
~Pink~, the acme of perfection. The scarlet garb worn in the
hunting-field.
~Pink~, to stab, or pierce. In the days of rapier-wearing a professed
duellist was said to be “a regular PINKER and driller.”
~Pinnel~, or PENNEL,—corruption of penal servitude. As, “four-year
PINNEL.”
~Pinner-up~, a seller of old songs, pinned against a wall or framed
canvas. Formerly many of these street salesmen carried on their little
“paper trade” in London. There are but one or two now left.
~Pins~, legs.
~Pipe~, to follow or dog a person; to watch, to notice.
~Pipe~, to shed tears, or bewail; “PIPE one’s eye.”—_Sea term._
“He first began to eye his pipe.
And then to PIPE his eye.”—_Hood._
Metaphor from the boatswain’s pipe, which calls to duty.
~Pipe~, “to put one’s PIPE out,” to traverse his plans, “to take a rise”
out of him. When any one meets with a rebuff or a sharp answer, he is
often told to “put that in his PIPE and smoke it,” _i.e._, to digest it
carefully.
~Piper~, a person employed by an omnibus proprietor to act as a spy on
the conductor.
~Piper~, a broken-winded hack horse.
~Pipkin~, the stomach,—properly, an earthen round-bottomed
pot—_Norwich._
~Pips~, the marks, no matter of what suit, on playing cards. The ace is
often called “single PIP.”
~Pit~, a breast-pocket.
~Pitch~, a fixed locality where a patterer can hold forth to a gaping
multitude for at least some few minutes continuously; “to do a PITCH in
the drag,” to perform in the street. An itinerant is said to “make a
PITCH” whenever he attempts to do any business.
~Pitch~, to utter base coin. Smashers are known to themselves and their
friends, the rest of the dangerous classes, as “snide PITCHERS.” The
confederacy is divided into makers, buyers, holders, and pitchers. The
maker probably never sees the actual passers of base money, the buyer
being generally the intercommunicating medium. The holder is generally a
man who carries the bulk of the “snides,” and waits about; while the
pitcher, often a woman—indeed, more often than not—runs the actual
risk.
~Pitch~, to go to bed for less than the ordinary period. Journeymen
bakers, and others whose work is disjointed, call any short interval of
sleep a PITCH. Probably from the action.
~Pitch into~, to fight; “PITCH INTO him, Bill,” _i.e._, give him a
thrashing.
~Pitch the fork~, to tell a pitiful tale.
~Pitch the nob~, PRICK THE GARTER, which _see_.
~Place~, to name the first three horses in a race. This is the duty of
the judge, who sees nothing of the race but the finish. Sometimes an
official will place more than the first three, but this in no way
interferes with the meaning of the word as generally received. To run
“nowhere” is to be unplaced.
~Place~, first, second, or third position in a race. Sometimes a PLACE
is called a “situation” or a “shop.”
~Plant~, a dodge, a preconcerted swindle; a position in the street to
sell from. All bearings-up, bonnetings, and such like arrangements, are
the results of preconcerted schemes or PLANTS.
~Plant~, to mark a person out for plunder or robbery; to conceal or hide
money, &c.—_Old Cant._ In the sense of conceal, there is a similar word
in _Argot_, PLANQUER.
~Plant~, a hidden store of money or variables. To “spring a PLANT” is to
unearth another person’s hoard.
~Platform~, a standpoint in an argument, a statement of political or
general opinion. “Home rule’s my PLATFORM!” Originally _American_, but
now general.
~Play~, to strike for higher wages, to be out of work.—_North._
~Plebs~, a term used to stigmatize a tradesman’s son at Westminster
School. _Latin_, PLEBS, the vulgar.
~Plough.~ To be PLOUGHED is to fail to pass an examination. About
twenty years ago “pluck,” the word then used, began to be superseded
by PLOUGH. It is said to have arisen from a man who could not supply
the examiner with any quotation from Scripture, until at last he
blurted out, “And the ploughers ploughed on my back, and made long
furrows.”—_University._
~Ploughed~, drunk.
~Pluck~, the heart, liver, and lungs of an animal,—all that is PLUCKED
away in connexion with the windpipe, from the chest of a sheep or hog.
~Pluck~, to turn back at a University examination. The supposed origin
of PLUCK is, that when, on degree day, the proctor, after having read
the name of a candidate for a degree, walks down the hall and back, it
is to give any creditor the opportunity of plucking his sleeve, and
informing him of the candidate’s being in debt.
~Pluck~, courage, valour, stoutness. _See following._
~Plucked un~, a stout or brave fellow; “he’s a rare PLUCKED UN,” _i.e._,
he dares face anything.
During the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny PLUCKY, signifying
courageous, became a favourite term even among ladies; and the term
British PLUCK will probably live—slangy as is its origin—as long as
the language into which it has been adopted, for the history of the
deeds with which it is associated can never die, while, indeed, a
history remains to this country. The word met with great disfavour at
first from the “genteel,” but of course they followed when aristocracy
deigned to use it.
~Plum~, £100,000, usually applied to the dowry of a rich heiress, to a
legacy, or to a sum made in business or by a lucky speculation.
~Plum-cash~, prime cost.—_Anglo-Chinese._
~Plummy~, round, sleek, jolly, or fat; excellent, very good, first-rate.
~Plumper~, a single vote at an election, not a “split ticket.”
~Plunder~, a common word in the horse trade to express profit. Also an
American term for baggage, luggage. In Lower Canada the French packmen
call luggage “butin.”
~Plunger~, a heavy cavalry-man.—_Military slang._
~Plutocracy~, the wealthy classes. The Manchester merchants are often
termed a millocracy, and words of a similar character are mobocracy and
moneyocracy.
~Pocket~, to put up with. A man who does not resent an affront is said
to POCKET it.
~Pocket-pistol~, a dram-flask.
~Podgy~, drunk; dumpy, short, and fat.
~Pogram~, a Dissenter, a fanatic, formalist, or humbug. So called from a
well-known enthusiast of this name.
~Poke~, a bag, or sack; “to buy a pig in a POKE,” to purchase anything
without seeing it. POKE was originally a pocket. Shakspeare says—
“And then he pulled a dial from his POKE.”
~Poke.~ “Come, none of your POKING fun at me,” _i.e._, you must not
laugh at me.
~Poker.~ “By the holy POKER and the tumbling Tom!” an Irish oath.
~Pokers~, or SILVER POKERS, the Bedels of the Vice-Chancellor, who carry
silver maces, and accompany him through the streets. They are also
officers of his court.—_University._
“Around, around, all, all around.
On seats with velvet lined,
Sat Heads of Houses in a row,
And Deans and College Dons below,
With a POKER or two behind.”
_Rime of the New-made Baccalere_, 1841.
~Poky~, confined or cramped; “that corner is POKY and narrow.”
Housewives describe a small uncomfortable room as “a POKY hole.”
_Saxon_, POKE, a sack.
~Policeman~, a fly—more especially the kind known as “blue bottle.”
Also, among the dangerous classes, a man who is unworthy of confidence,
a sneak or mean fellow.
~Polish off~, to finish off anything quickly—a dinner, for instance;
also to finish off an adversary.—_Pugilistic._
~Poll~, at Cambridge, the “ordinary degree” candidates for the B.A.
Examination, who do not aspire to the “Honours” list. From the _Greek_,
οἱ πόλλοι, “the many.”
~Poll~, to beat or distance, as in a race; to utterly vanquish in
competition. Term much used by printers.
~Poll~, a female of unsteady character; “POLLED up,” means living with a
woman in a state of unmarried impropriety. Also, if a costermonger sees
one of his friends walking with a strange woman, he will say to him on
the earliest opportunity, “I saw yer when yer was POLLED up.”
~Poll~, or POLLING, one thief robbing another of part of the booty. In
use in ancient times, _vide Hall’s Union_, 1548.
~Poll parrot~, a talkative, gossiping woman. A term much used about
Ratcliff Highway.
~Polony~, Cockney shortening and vulgar pronunciation of Bologna
(sausage). The sausages which are sold under the name of POLONIES have,
however, no nearer connexion with Bologna sausages than that of the
word’s derivation.
~Pompadours~, the Fifty-sixth Regiment of Foot in the British army.
~Ponce~, a degraded man who lives upon a woman’s prostitution. Low-class
East-end thieves even will “draw the line” at PONCES, and object to
their presence in the boozing-kens.