interest. The late Sir Robert Peel was called the RAT, or the TAMWORTH
RATCATCHER, for altering his views on the Roman Catholic question. From
RATS deserting vessels about to sink. The term is often used amongst
printers to denote one who works under price. Old cant for a clergyman.
~Rat~, TO SMELL A, to suspect something, to guess that there is
something amiss.
~Rather!~ a ridiculous street exclamation synonymous with yes; “Do you
like fried chickens?” “RATHER!” “Are you going out of town?” “RATHER!”
Very often pronounced “RAYTHER!”
~Rattening~, the punishment inflicted on non-unionists by Sheffield
grinders, through the instrumentality of “Mary Ann.” _See_ Parliamentary
Inquiry Report on the subject.
~Rattlecap~, an unsteady, volatile person. Generally applied to girls.
~Rattler~, a cab, coach, or cart.—_Old Cant._
~Rattletrap~, the mouth. Anything shaky and mean, but pretentious and
vulgar, is said to belong to the RATTLETRAP order of things.
~Rattling~, jolly, pleasant, well-appointed. “A RATTLING good spread”
means an excellent repast, while a true friend is said to be a “RATTLING
good fellow.”
~Raw~, a tender point, or foible; “to touch a man upon the RAW,” is to
irritate one by alluding to, or joking him on, anything on which he is
peculiarly susceptible or “thin-skinned.” Originally stable slang.
“Liver and bacon, kidneys, ten pounds one!
He thinks me RAW. I think I’m rather DONE.”
_Phantom Barber._
~Raw~, uninitiated; a novice.—_Old._ Frequently JOHNNY RAW.
~Reach me downs~, or HAND ME DOWNS, clothes bought at secondhand shops.
From “REACH ME DOWN that, and let’s see if it fits.” In Houndsditch and
other celebrated old clothes’ marts, the goods are kept hanging on pegs
so as to be well within view of intending buyers.
~Reader~, a pocket-book; “Touch him for his READER,” _i.e._, rob him of
his pocket-book.
~Ready~, or READY GILT (maybe GELT), money. Used by Arbuthnot—“Lord
Strut was not very flush in READY.”
~Ready-reckoners~, the Highland regiments of the British army.
~Real jam~, a sporting phrase, meaning anything exceptionally good. It
is said to be REAL JAM for those who back a horse at a long price, when
the animal wins, or comes to a short figure.
~Recent incision~, the busy thoroughfare on the Surrey side of the
Thames, known to sober people as the New Cut. Even this latter name has
now been changed—if indeed the place ever was so called properly.
Although to the general public the street which runs from opposite
Rowland Hill’s Chapel to Westminster Bridge Road is known as the New
Cut, its name to the Board of Works is Lower Marsh.
~Redge~, gold.
~Red herring~, a soldier. The terms are exchangeable, the fish being
often called a “soldier.”
~Red lane~, the throat.
~Red liner~, an officer of the Mendicity Society.
~Red rag~, the tongue.
~Red un~, a gold watch.
~Redtape~, official routine. A term which was much in vogue during the
Crimean campaign, so famous for War Office blunderings.
~Regulars~, a thief’s fair share of plunder.
~Reliever~, a coat worn in turn by any party of poor devils whose
wardrobes are in pawn.
~Relieving Officer~, a significant term for a father.—_University._
~Renage~, to revoke, a word used in Ireland at the game of five-card.
~Rench~, vulgar pronunciation of RINSE. “(W)RENCH your mouth out,” said
a fashionable dentist one day.
~Re-raw~, “on the RE-RAW,” tipsy or drunk.
~Resurrection pie~, once a school but now a common phrase, used in
reference to a pie supposed to be made of the scraps and leavings that
have appeared before.
~Ret~, an abbreviation of the word REITERATION, used to denote the forme
which, in a printing-office, backs or perfects paper already printed on
one side.
~Rhino~, ready money.—_Old._
“Some as I know,
Have parted with their ready RINO.”
_The Seaman’s Adieu_, Old Ballad, 1670.
~Rhinoceral~, rich, wealthy, abounding in RHINO. At first sound it would
seem as though it meant a man abounding in rhinoceroses.
~Rib~, a wife. Derivation, of course, Biblical.
~Ribbon~, gin, or other spirits. Modification of white satin.
~Ribbons~, the reins. “To handle the RIBBONS,” to drive.
~Ribroast~, to beat till the ribs are sore.—_Old_; but still in use:—
“And he departs, not meanly boasting
Of his magnificent RIBROASTING.”—_Hudibras._
~Rich~, spicy; also used in the sense of “too much of a good thing;” “a
RICH idea,” one too absurd or unreasonable to be adopted.
~Richard~, a dictionary. _See_ DICK.
~Ride~, “to RIDE the high horse,” or “RIDE roughshod over one,” to be
overbearing or oppressive; “to RIDE the black donkey,” to be in an ill
humour.
~Rider~, in a University examination, a problem or question appended to
another, as directly arising from or dependent on it;—beginning to be
generally used for any corollary or position which naturally arises from
any previous statement or evidence.
~Rider~, a supplementary clause in a document.
~Riff-raff~, low, vulgar rabble.
~Rig~, or trick, “spree,” or performance; “run a RIG,” to play a
trick.—_See_ JOHN GILPIN. “RIG the market,” in reality to play tricks
with it,—a mercantile slang phrase often used in the newspapers.
~Rigged~, “well RIGGED,” well dressed.—_Old Slang_, in use in 1736.
_See Bailey’s Dictionary.—Sea._
~Rigging~, a process well known in connexion with sales by auction, by
which articles are secured at prices considerably below their real
value. _See_ KNOCK-OUTS. To RIG the market is to do similar business on
a larger scale for the purpose of affecting the supplies, and thereby
increasing the profits on an original purchase of the goods thus made
scarce.
~Right as ninepence~, or NICE AS NINEPENCE (possible corruption of
NINE-PINS), quite right, exactly right, comfortable. _See_ NINEPENCE.
~Right you are~, a phrase implying entire acquiescence in what has been
said or done. The expression is singularly frequent and general amongst
the lower and middle classes of the metropolis.
~Rights~, “to have one to RIGHTS,” to be even with him, to serve him out
properly. “TO RIGHTS” is also an ejaculation signifying satisfaction of
the highest order.
~Rigmarole~, a prolix story.
~Rile~, to offend, to render very cross, irritated, or vexed. Properly,
to render liquor turbid.
~Ring~, to change; “RINGING castors,” changing hats; “to RING the
changes,” in low life means to change bad money for good; in
respectable society the phrase is sometimes employed to denote that the
aggressor has been paid back in his own coin, as in practical joking,
when the laugh is turned against the jester. The expression originally
came from the belfry.
~Ring~, a generic term given to horse-racing and pugilism,—the latter
was sometimes termed the PRIZE-RING. From the rings used for betting and
fighting in, respectively.
~Ring~, formerly “to go through the RING,” to take advantage of the
Insolvency Act, or be “whitewashed.” Now obsolete.
~Ring~, the open space in front of a racecourse stand, which is used for
betting purposes. Betting men are nowadays known as members of the ring,
especially if they are in the habit of attending race-meetings. RING, in
America, is a combination of speculators whose object is to force the
market for their own especial benefit without any regard to order or
decency. We have similar arrangements here, but hitherto no one word has
fairly described them.
~Ringdropping~, is a pursuit to which London “magsmen” and
“street-muggers” are prone. A ring or other spurious article is supposed
to be found just in front of a “soft-looking party,” and he or she is
tempted to buy it at less than half its supposed value.
~Rip~, a rake, “an old RIP,” an old libertine, or a debauchee.
Corruption of REPROBATE.
~Rip~, to go at a rare pace. This is an American term, and often means
to burst up. “Let her RIP, I’m insured.”
~Ripper~, a first-rate man or article.—_Provincial._
~Ripping~, excellent, very good. Equivalent to “stunning.”
~Rise~, “to take a RISE out of a person.” A metaphor from fly-fishing,
the silly fish RISING to be caught by an artificial fly; to mortify,
outwit, or cheat him, by superior cunning.
“There is only one thing, unfortunately, of which Oxford men are
economical, and that is, their University experience. They not only
think it fair that Freshmen should go through their ordeal unaided,
but many have a sweet satisfaction in their distresses, and even
busy themselves in obtaining elevations, or, as it is vulgarly
termed, in ‘getting RISES out of them.’”—_Hints to Freshmen_,
Oxford, 1843.
~Rise, or raise, a Barney~, to collect a mob; term used by patterers and
“schwassle-box” (Punch and Judy) men.
~Roarer~, a broken-winded horse; or, in the more polite speech of the
stable, “a high blower.” ROARING, as applied to horses, is often termed
“talking” by turf-men. It is often said delicately by sporting writers,
when speaking of a broken-winded racehorse, that “he makes a noise.”
~Roaring trade~, a very successful business.—_Shopkeepers’ Slang._
~Roast~, to expose a person to a running fire of jokes for the
amusement and with the assistance of a whole company. A performance not
indulged in by gentlemen. QUIZZING is done by a single person only.
~Robin redbreast~, the ancient Bow Street runner. So called from the
colour of his waistcoat.
~Rock-a-low~, an overcoat. Corruption of the _French_, ROQUELAURE.
~Rocked~, “he’s only HALF-ROCKED,” _i.e._, half-witted. _See_
HALF-ROCKED.
~Rogue’s yarn~, a thread of red or blue worsted, worked into the ropes
manufactured in the Government dockyards, to identify them if stolen.
Also a blue thread worked into canvas, for the same purpose.
~Roll of snow~, a piece of linen, or bundle of underclothing.
~Romany~, a gipsy, or the gipsy language; the speech of the Roma or
Zincali.—_Spanish Gipsy._ “Can you patter ROMANY?” _i.e._, can you talk
“black,” or gipsy lingo?
~Rook~, a cheat, or tricky gambler; the opposite of “pigeon.”
~Rook~, to cheat, to play “rook” to another’s “pigeon.”
~Rook~, a clergyman, not only from his black attire, but also, perhaps,
from the old nursery favourite, the _History of Cock Robin_.
“I, says the ROOK,
With my little book,
I’ll be the parson.”
~Rookery~, a low neighbourhood inhabited by dirty Irish and thieves—as
St. Giles’s ROOKERY.—_Old._ In military slang that part of the barracks
occupied by subalterns, often by no means a pattern of good order.
~Rooky~, rascally, rakish, scampish.
~Roost~, synonymous with PERCH, which _see_.
~Rooster~, a cock, whether bantam, game, barndoor, or of any other kind.
This is an Americanism which obtains full currency on the other side of
the Atlantic, though its use would infer that hens do not roost. As the
outcome of transpontine delicacy it must, however, be respected.
~Rooter~, anything good, or of a prime quality; “that is a ROOTER,”
_i.e._, a first-rate one of the sort.
~Rope~, to lose a race of any kind purposely, to swindle one’s backers
or the public by means of a “cross” or pre-arranged race, in which the
best man or best horse is made to ROPE, or run behind.
~Roper~, MISTRESS, “to marry MRS. ROPER” is to enlist in the Royal
Marines.
~Ropes~, the ways of London lower life. “To know the ROPES,” is to be
conversant with the minutiæ of metropolitan dodges, as regards both the
streets and the sporting world.
~Roping~, the act of pulling or restraining a horse, by its rider, to
prevent its winning a race—a trick not unfrequently practised on the
turf. Also when a pedestrian or other athlete loses where he should have
won, according to his backer’s calculations, he is accused of ROPING.
~Rose~, “under the rose” (frequently used in its _Latin_ form, _sub
rosâ_), _i.e._, under the obligation of silence and secrecy, of which
the rose was anciently an emblem, perhaps, as Sir Thomas Browne remarks,
from the closeness with which its petals are enfolded in the bud. The
Rose of Venus was given, says the classic legend, to Harpocrates, the
God of Silence, by Cupid, as a bribe to keep silent about the goddess’s
amours. It was commonly sculptured on the ceilings of banqueting rooms,
as a sign that what was said in free conversation there was not
afterwards to be divulged; and about 1526 was placed over the Roman
confessionals as an emblem of secrecy. The White Rose was also an emblem
of the Pretender, whose health, as king, his secret adherents used to
drink “under the ROSE.”
~Rosin~, beer or other drink given to musicians at a dancing party.
~Rosin-the-bow~, a fiddler. From a famous old song of that name.
~Rot~, nonsense, anything bad, disagreeable, or useless.
~Rot-gut~, bad, small beer. _See_ BUMCLINK. In America, cheap whisky.
~Rough~, bad; “ROUGH fish,” bad or stinking fish.—_Billingsgate._
~Rough-it~, to put up with chance entertainment, to take pot-luck and
what accommodation “turns up,” without sighing for better.
~Roughs~, coarse, or vulgar men. By many thought to be RUFF, corruption
of RUFFIAN.
~Rouleau~, a packet of sovereigns.—_Gaming._
~Round~, to tell tales, to SPLIT, which _see_; “to ROUND on a man,” to
swear to him as being the person, &c. Synonymous with BUFF, which _see_.
Also to turn round upon and abuse or rate. Shakspeare has ROUNDING,
whispering.
~Round~, “ROUND dealing,” honest trading; “ROUND sum,” a large sum.
Synonymous also, in a slang sense, with SQUARE, which _see_.
~Round~ (in the language of the street), the beat or usual walk of a
costermonger to sell his stock. A term used by street folk generally.
“Watchmen, sometimes they made their sallies,
And walk’d their ROUNDS through streets and allies.”
_Ned Ward’s Vulgus Britannicus_, 1710.
The word “beat” has, so far as our modern guardians are concerned,
deposed “round.”
~Round robin~, a petition, or paper of remonstrance, with the signatures
written in a circle,—to prevent the first signer, or ringleader, from
being discovered.
~Round un~, an unblushingly given and well-proportioned lie. Sometimes
known as a “whacker.”
~Roundabout~, a large swing with four compartments, each the size, and
very much the shape, of the body of a cart, capable of seating six or
eight boys and girls, erected in a high frame, and turned round by men
at a windlass. Fairs and merry-makings generally abound with these
swings. The frames take to pieces, and are carried in vans from fair to
fair by miserable horses.
~Roundem~, a button.
~Row~, “the ROW,” _i.e._, Paternoster Row. The notorious Holywell Street
is now called by its denizens “Bookseller’s Row.”
~Row~, a noisy disturbance, tumult, or trouble. Originally Cambridge,
now universal. Seventy years ago it was written ROUE, which would almost
indicate a French origin, from _roué_, a profligate or disturber of the
peace.—_Vide_ George Parker’s _Life’s Painter_, 1789, p. 122. This is,
however, very unlikely, as the derivation of the French word shows.
~Rowdy~, money. In America, a ruffian, a brawler, a “rough.” Rowdyism is
the state of being of New York roughs and loafers.
~Rowdy-dow~, low, vulgar “not the CHEESE,” or thing.
~Rub~, a quarrel or impediment; “there’s the RUB,” _i.e._, that is the
difficulty.—_Shakspeare and L’Estrange._
~Rubbed out~, dead,—a melancholy expression, of late frequently used in
fashionable novels. RUBBED OUT is synonymous with WIPED OUT, which
_see_.
~Rubber~, a term at whist, &c., the best of three games.
~Ruck~, the undistinguished crowd; “to come in with the RUCK,” to arrive
at the winning-post among the thick of the unplaced horses.—_Racing
term._
~Ruction~, an Irish row. A faction fight.
~Ruggy~, fusty, frowsy.
~Rule.~ “To run the RULE over,” is, among thieves, to try all a person’s
pockets quietly, as done by themselves, or to search any one thoroughly,
as at the police-station.
~Rule the roast~, to be at the head of affairs, to be “cock of the
walk.”
~Rum~, like its opposite, QUEER, was formerly a much-used prefix,
signifying fine, good, gallant, or valuable; perhaps in some
way connected with ROME. Nowadays it means indifferent, bad, or
questionable, and we often hear even persons in polite society use such
a phrase as, “What a RUM fellow he is, to be sure,” in speaking of a man
of singular habits or appearance. The term, from its frequent use, long
since claimed a place in our dictionaries; but, with the exception of
Johnson, who says RUM, a cant word for a clergyman(!), no lexicographer
has deigned to notice it.
“Thus RUMLY floor’d, the kind Acestes ran,
And pitying, raised from earth the game old man.”
_Virgil’s Æneid_, book v., Translation _by Thomas Moore_.
~Rum cull~, the manager of a theatre, generally the master of a
travelling troop.
~Rumbler~, a four-wheeled cab. Not so common as BOUNDER. _See_ GROWLER.
~Rumbowling~, anything inferior or adulterated.—_Sea._
~Rumbumptious~, haughty, pugilistic.
~Rumbustious~, or RUMBUSTICAL, pompous, haughty, boisterous, careless of
the comfort of others.
~Rumgumption~, or GUMPTION, knowledge, capacity, capability,—hence,
RUMGUMPTIOUS, knowing, wide-awake, forward, positive, pert, blunt.
~Rum-mizzler~, Seven Dials cant for a person who is clever at making his
escape, or getting out of a difficulty.
~Rump~, to turn the back upon any one. A still more decided “cut direct”
than the “cold shoulder.”
~Rumpus~, a noise, disturbance, a “row.”
~Rum-slim~, or RUM SLING, rum punch.
~Rumy~, a good woman or girl.—_Gipsy Cant._ In the Continental _Gipsy_,
ROMI, a woman, a wife, is the feminine of RO, a man.
~Run~ (good or bad), the success or duration of a piece’s
performance.—_Theatrical._
~Run~, to comprehend, &c.; “I don’t RUN to it,” _i.e._, I can’t do it, I
don’t understand; also not money enough, as, “I should like to, but it
wont RUN to it.”
~Run~, “to get the RUN upon any person,” to have the upper hand, or be
able to laugh at him. RUN down, to abuse or backbite any one; to “lord
it,” or “drive over” him. Originally stable slang.
~Run for the money~, TO HAVE A, to have a start given in with a bet. As
20 to 1 against Doncaster, with a RUN given. _See_ P.P. To have a RUN
FOR ONE’S MONEY is also to have a good determined struggle for anything.
~Run-in~, to lock up in the station-house. The police are very fond of
threatening to RUN-IN any person to whom they may take exception, and,
as recent revelations have shown, are by no means averse from putting
their threats into execution.
~Running patterer~, a street seller who runs or moves briskly along,
calling aloud his wares.
~Running stationer~, a hawker of books, ballads, dying speeches, and
newspapers. Persons of this class formerly used to run with newspapers,
blowing a horn, when they were sometimes termed FLYING STATIONERS.
Nowadays, in the event of any political or social disturbance, the
miserable relics of these peripatetic newsmen bawl the heads of the
telegram or information in quiet London thoroughfares, to the
disturbance of the residents. The race is very nearly extinct, the
evening-paper boys having run them to earth.
~Rush~, to come upon suddenly, generally for the purpose of borrowing.
To “give a man the RUSH,” is to spunge upon him all day, and then borrow
money at the finish, or pursue some such similar mode of procedure.
~Rush~, “doing it on the RUSH,” running away, or making off.
~Rust~, “to nab the RUST,” to take offence. RUSTY, cross, ill-tempered,
morose; not able to go through life like a person of easy and “polished”
manners.
~Rustication~, the sending of an offender from the University for one
term or more, thus hindering his qualifying for a degree.
~Rusty guts~, a blunt, rough, old fellow. Corruption of RUSTICUS.
~Rye.~ Gipsy term for a young man. In the same parlance “rawnie” is a
young woman.
~Sack~, to “get the SACK,” to be discharged by an employer. Varied in
the North of England to “get the BAG.” In London it is sometimes spoken
of as “getting the EMPTY.” It is common now to speak of “getting the
BULLET,” an evident play on the word discharge.
~Sad dog~, a merry fellow, a joker, a “gay” or “fast” man.
~Saddle~, an additional charge made by the manager to a performer upon
his benefit night.—_Theatrical._
~Safe~, trusty, worthy of confidence. A SAFE card is a man who knows
“what’s o’clock.” A SAFE man among betters is one who is sure to fulfil
his engagements.
~Safe un~, a horse which will not run, or will not try, in a race. The
bookmakers in London have the information sent them by the touts in
their pay, and lay against the SAFE UN, who is also called a “stiff un,”
a “dead un,” or a “shtumer,” as often as they can, irrespective of the
state of their books. Sometimes a SAFE UN will win, owing to the owner
or trainer having, for various reasons, altered his mind. Such a result
then goes to prove the “glorious uncertainty of the turf,” a phrase in
very common use among sporting writers whenever a favourite is beaten,
or whenever a horse runs slow one day and loses, and very fast the next
day and wins.
~Sails~, nickname for the sail-maker on board ship.
~St. Martin’s lace~, imitation gold lace; stage tinsel.
~Saint Monday~, a holiday most religiously observed by journeymen
shoemakers and other mechanics. An Irishman observed that this saint’s
anniversary happened every week. In some parts of the country Monday is
termed Cobblers’ Sunday.
~Sal~, a salary.—_Theatrical._
~Salaam~, a compliment or salutation.—_Anglo-Indian._
~Salamander~, a street acrobat and juggler who eats fire.
~Saloop~, SALEP, or SALOP, a greasy-looking beverage, formerly sold on
stalls at early morning, prepared from a powder made of the root of the
_Orchis mascula_, or Red-handed Orchis. Coffee-stands have superseded
SALOOP stalls; but, in addition to other writers, Charles Lamb, in one
of his papers, has left some account of this drinkable, which he says
was of all preparations the most grateful to the stomachs of young
chimney-sweeps. The present generation has no knowledge of this drink,
except that derived from books. The word “slops”—as applied to weak,
warm drink—is very likely derived from the Cockney pronunciation of
SALOOP.
~Salt~, a sailor.
~Salt~, “it’s rather too SALT,” said of an extravagant hotel bill. Also,
a sort of black mail or tribute levied on visitors or travellers by the
Eton boys, at their triennial festival called the “Montem,” by ancient
custom and privileges. It is now abolished. A periodical published at
Eton many years ago for circulation amongst the boys was called “_The
SALT-box_.” When a person about to sell a business connexion makes
fictitious entries in the books of accounts, to simulate that a much
more profitable trade is carried on than there really is, he is said to
SALT the books—SALTING and COOKING being somewhat similar operations.
At the gold diggings of Australia, miners sometimes SALT an unproductive
hole by sprinkling a few grains of gold-dust over it, and thus obtain a
good price from a “green hand.” Unpromising speculations are frequently
thus SALTED to entrap the unwary, the wildest ideas being rendered
palatable _cum grano salis_. And though old birds are not readily caught
by chaff, the efficacy of SALT in bird-catching, so far as the young are
concerned, is proverbial.
~Salt-box~, the condemned cell in Newgate.
~Salt junk~, navy salt beef. _See_ OLD HORSE.
~Saltee~, a penny. Pence, &c., are thus reckoned:—
ONEY SALTEE, a penny, from the _Italian_, UNO SOLDO.
DOOE SALTEE, twopence DUE SOLDI.
TRAY SALTEE, threepence TRE SOLDI.
QUARTERER SALTEE, fourpence QUATTRO SOLDI.
CHINKER SALTEE, fivepence CINQUE SOLDI.
SAY SALTEE, sixpence SEI SOLDI.
SAY ONEY SALTEE, or SETTER SALTEE, sevenpence SETTE SOLDI.
SAY DOOE SALTEE, or OTTER SALTEE, eightpence OTTO SOLDI.
SAY TRAY SALTEE, or NOBBA SALTEE, ninepence NOVE SOLDI.
SAY QUARTERER SALTEE, or DACHA SALTEE, tenpence DIECI SOLDI.
SAY CHINKER SALTEE, or DACHA ONEY SALTEE, elevenpence DIECI UNO SOLDI, &c.
ONEY BEONG, one shilling.
A BEONG SAY SALTEE, one shilling and sixpence.
DOOE BEONG SAY SALTEE, or MADZA CAROON, half-a-crown, or two
shillings and sixpence.