strange as it may seem, derived from the _Lingua Franca_, or bastard
_Italian_, of the Mediterranean seaports, of which other examples may be
found in the pages of this Dictionary. SALTEE, the cant term used by the
costermongers and others for a penny, is no other than the _Italian_,
SOLDO (plural, SOLDI), and the numerals—as may be seen by the _Italian_
equivalents—are a tolerably close imitation of the originals. After the
number six, a curious variation occurs, which is peculiar to the London
cant, seven being reckoned as SAY ONEY, _six-one_, SAY DOOE, _six-two_
= 8, and so on. DACHA is perhaps from the _Greek_ δέκα, ten, which, in
the Constantinopolitan _Lingua Franca_, is likely enough to have been
substituted for the _Italian_. MADZA is clearly the _Italian_ MEZZA. The
origin of BEONG has not yet been discovered, unless it be the _French_
BIEN, the application of which to a shilling is not so evident; but
amongst costermongers and other street folk it is quite immaterial what
foreign tongue contributes to their secret language. Providing the terms
are unknown to the police and the public generally, they care not a rush
whether the polite French, the gay Spaniards, or the cloudy Germans help
to swell their vocabulary. The numbers of low foreigners, however,
dragging out a miserable existence in our crowded neighbourhoods, organ
grinders and image sellers, foreign seamen from the vessels in the
river, and our own connexion with Malta and the Ionian Isles, may
explain, to a certain extent, the phenomenon of these Southern phrases
in the mouths of costers and tramps. Professor Ascoli, in his _Studj
Critici_, absurdly enough derives these words from the ancient
commercial importance of Italian settlers in England, when they gave a
name to Lombard Street!
~Salve~, praise, flattery, chaff.
~Sam~, _i.e._, DICKY-SAM, a native of Liverpool.
~Sam~, to “stand SAM,” to pay for refreshment or drink, to stand
paymaster for anything. An Americanism, originating in the letters U.S.
on the knapsacks of the United States’ soldiers, which letters were
jocularly said to be the initials of Uncle Sam (the Government), who
pays for all. In use in this country as early as 1827.
~Sammy~, a stupid fellow.
~Sampan~, a small boat.—_Anglo-Chinese._
~Samshoo~, a fiery, noxious spirit, distilled from rice. Spirits
generally.—_Anglo-Chinese._
~Samson and Abel~, a group of wrestlers in the centre of Brasenose
quadrangle. Some said it represented Samson killing a Philistine; others
Cain killing Abel. So the matter was compromised as above.—_Oxford
University._
~Sandwich~, a human advertising medium, placed between two boards
strapped, one on his breast the other on his shoulders. A “toad in the
hole” is the term applied to the same individual when his person is
confined by a four-sided box. A gentleman with a lady on each arm is
sometimes called a SANDWICH. The French phrase for this kind of
SANDWICH, _l’âne à deux pannières_, is expressive.
~Sanguinary James~, a raw sheep’s-head. _See_ BLOODY JEMMY.
~Sank work~, tailors’ phrase for soldiers’ clothes. Perhaps from the
_Norman_ SANC, blood,—in allusion either to the soldier’s calling, or
the colour of his coat.
~Sap~, or SAPSCULL, a poor green simpleton, with no heart for work.
~Sappy~, soft, foolish, namby-pamby, milk-and-watery. “It’s such a SAPPY
book.”
~Satin~, gin; “a yard of SATIN,” a glass of gin. Term used by females on
make-believe errands, when the real object of their departure from home
is to replenish the private bottle. With servants the words “tape” and
“ribbon” are more common, the purchase of these feminine requirements
being the general excuse for asking to “run out for a little while.”
_See_ WHITE SATIN.
~Saucebox~, a pert young person. In low life it also signifies the
mouth.
~Save~, to give part of one bet for part of another. A. and B. have
backed different horses, and they agree that in the event of either one
winning he shall give the other, say, £5. This is called “SAVING a
fiver,” and generally is done when scratchings and knockings-out have
left the field so that one of the two speculators must be a winner. The
practice also obtains much in competitions decided in heats or rounds,
in the course of which backers and layers comparing their prospects
often “SAVE a bit” with each other. Saving is, therefore, a form of
hedging.
~Saveloy~, a sausage of bread and chopped beef smoked, a minor kind of
POLONY, which _see_.
~Savvey~, to know; “do you SAVVEY that?” _Spanish_, SABE. In the nigger
and _Anglo-Chinese patois_, this is SABBY, “me no SABBY.” It is a
general word among the lower classes all over the world. It also means
acuteness or cleverness; as, “That fellow has plenty of SAVVEY.”
~Saw~, a term at whist. A SAW is established when two partners
alternately trump a suit, played to each other for the express purpose.
~Saw your timber~, “be off!” equivalent to “cut your stick.”
Occasionally varied, with mock refinement, to “amputate your mahogany.”
_See_ CUT.
~Sawbones~, a surgeon.
~Sawney~, or SANDY, a Scotchman. Corruption of Alexander.
~Sawney~, a simpleton; a gaping, awkward lout.
~Sawney~, bacon. SAWNEY HUNTER, one who steals bacon.
~Scab~, a worthless person.—_Old._ Shakspeare uses “scald” in a similar
sense.
~Scab-raiser~, a drummer in the army, so called from one of the duties
formerly pertaining to that office, viz., inflicting corporal punishment
on the soldiers.—_Military._
~Scabby neck~, a native of Denmark.—_Sea._
~Scabby-sheep~, epithet applied by the vulgar to a person who has been
in questionable society, or under unholy influence, and become tainted.
Also a mean disreputable fellow.
~Scaldrum dodge~, a dodge in use among begging impostors of burning the
body with a mixture of acids and gunpowder, so as to suit the hues and
complexions of any accident to be deplored by a confiding public.
~Scaly~, shabby, or mean. Perhaps anything which betokens the presence
of the “Old Serpent,” or it may be a variation of “fishy.”
~Scamander~, to wander about without a settled purpose;—possibly in
allusion to the winding course of the Homeric river of that name.
~Scammered~, drunk.
~Scamp~, a graceless fellow, a rascal; a wandering vagabond; scamping
was formerly the cant term for plundering and thieving. A ROYAL-SCAMP
was a highwayman, whilst a FOOT-SCAMP was an ordinary thief with nothing
but his legs to trust to in case of an attempt at capture. Some have
derived SCAMP from _qui ex campo exit_, one who leaves the field, a
deserter.
~Scamp~, to give short measure or quantity; applied to dishonest
contractors. Also to hurry through a task in a way which precludes the
possibility of its being done well. Probably the same as SKIMP and
SCRIMP.
~Scandal-water~, tea; from old maids’ tea-parties being generally a
focus for scandal.
~Scaramouch~, properly a tumbler, or SALTIMBANCO. Also a disreputable
fellow.
~Scarborough-warning~, a warning given too late to be taken advantage
of. When a person is driven over, and then told to keep out of the way,
he receives SCARBOROUGH-WARNING. Fuller says the proverb alludes to an
event which happened at that place in 1557, when Thomas Stafford seized
upon Scarborough Castle before the townsmen had the least notice of his
approach.
~Scarce~, TO MAKE ONESELF; to be off; to decamp.
~Scarlet fever~, the desire felt by young ladies to flirt with officers
in preference to civilians.
~Scarlet-town~, Reading, in Berkshire. As the name of this place is
pronounced Redding, SCARLET-TOWN is probably a rude pun upon it.
~Scarper~, to run away; _Spanish_, ESCAPAR, to escape, make off;
_Italian_, SCAPPARE. “SCARPER with the feeley of the donna of the
carzey,” to run away with the daughter of the landlady of the house;
almost pure _Italian_, “SCAPPARE COLLA FIGLIA DELLA DONNA DELLA
CASA.”—_Seven Dials and Prison Cant_, from the _Lingua Franca_.
~Schism-shop~, a Dissenters’ meeting-house.—_University._
~Schofel~, bad money. _See_ SHOFUL.
~School~, a knot of men or boys; generally a body of idlers or street
gamblers. Also, two or more “patterers” working together in the streets.
~Schroff~, a banker, treasurer, or confidential clerk.—_Anglo-Indian._
~Schwassle box~, the street arrangement for Punch and Judy. _See_
SWATCHEL-COVE.
~Sconce~, the head; judgment, sense.—_Dutch._
~Sconce~, to fine. Used by Dons as well as undergrads. The Dons fined or
SCONCED for small offences; _e.g._, five shillings for wearing a
coloured coat in hall at dinner-time. Among undergrads a pun, or an
oath, or an indecent remark, was SCONCED by the head of the table. If
the offender could, however, floor the tankard of beer which he was
SCONCED, he could retort on his SCONCER to the extent of twice the
amount he was SCONCED in.—_Oxford University._
~Score~, a reckoning, “to run up a SCORE at a public-house,” to obtain
credit there until pay-day, or a fixed time, when the debt must be
“wiped off.” From the old practice of scoring a tippler’s indebtedness
on the inside of a public-house door.
~Scorf~, to eat voraciously.
~Scot~, a quantity of anything, a lot, a share.—_Anglo-Saxon_, SCEAT,
pronounced SHOT.
~Scot~, temper, or passion,—from the irascible temperament of the
Scotch; “Oh! what a SCOT he was in,” _i.e._, what temper he showed.
~Scotch coffee~, biscuits toasted and boiled in water. A gross calumny
on the much-enduring Scotians; a supposed joke on their
parsimony.—_Sea._
~Scotch fiddle~, the itch; “to play the SCOTCH FIDDLE,” to work the
index finger of the right hand like a fiddlestick between the index and
middle finger of the left. This provokes a Scotchman in the highest
degree, as it implies that he is afflicted with the itch. It is supposed
that a continuous oatmeal diet is productive of cutaneous affection.
~Scotch greys~, lice. Our northern neighbours were calumniously
reported, in the “good old times” of ignorance and prejudice, to be
peculiarly liable to cutaneous eruptions and parasites.
~Scotches~, the legs; also synonymous with notches.
~Scout~, a college valet, or waiter.—_Oxford._ _See_ GYP.
~Scout~, the male servant, who generally has a staircase under his
charge, and waits on the men in each set of rooms. The female servant
(not unfrequently his wife or daughter) is the bedmaker.—_University._
~Scrag~, the neck.—_Old Cant._ _Scotch_, CRAIG. Still used by butchers.
Hence, SCRAG, to hang by the neck, and SCRAGGING, an execution,—also
_Old Cant_.
~Scran~, pieces of meat, broken victuals. Formerly the reckoning at a
public-house. SCRANNING, or “out on the SCRAN,” begging for broken
victuals. Also, an Irish malediction of a mild sort, “Bad SCRAN to yer!”
_i.e._, bad food to you.
~Scran-bag~, a soldier’s haversack.—_Military Slang._
~Scrap~, to fight. Also used as a substantive. Prize-fighters are often
known as SCRAPPERS.
~Scrape~, a difficulty; SCRAPE, low wit for a shave.
~Scrape~, cheap butter; also butter laid on bread in the thinnest
possible manner, as though it had been laid on and scraped off again.
“Bread and SCRAPE,” the bread and butter issued to schoolboys,—so
called from the manner in which the butter is laid on.
~Scratch~, an imaginary meeting-point in a fight, or verbal contest;
“coming up to the SCRATCH,” preparing to fight—literally approaching
the line which used to be chalked on the ground to divide the ring.
According to the rules of the prize ring, the toe should be placed at
the SCRATCH, so the phrase often is “toeing the SCRATCH.”
~Scratch~, “no great SCRATCH,” of little worth.
~Scratch~, to strike a horse’s name out of the list of runners in a
particular race. “Tomboy was SCRATCHED for the Derby at 10 a.m. on
Wednesday, from which period all bets made in reference to him are
void.” _See_ P.P.—_Turf._ One of Boz’s characters asks whether horses
are “really made more lively by being SCRATCHED.”
~Scratch-race~ (on the turf), a race at which the horses run at catch
weights, a race without restrictions. In boating, a race in which the
crew are picked up anyhow. A SCRATCH crew is a crew of all sorts.
~Screaming~, first-rate, splendid. Believed to have been first used in
the Adelphi play-bills; “a SCREAMING farce,” one calculated to make the
audience scream with laughter. Now a general expression.
~Screed~, an illogical or badly-written article or paper upon any
subject.
~Screeve~, a letter, a begging petition.
~Screeve~, to write, or devise; “to SCREEVE a fakement,” to concoct, or
write, a begging letter, or other impostor’s document. From the
_Dutch_, SCHRYVEN; _German_, SCHREIBEN, to write.
~Screever~, a man who draws with coloured chalks on the pavement figures
of our Saviour crowned with thorns, specimens of elaborate writing,
thunderstorms, ships on fire, &c. The men who attend these pavement
chalkings, and receive halfpence and sixpences from the admirers of
street art, are not always the draughtsmen. The artist or SCREEVER
draws, perhaps, in half-a-dozen places in the course of a morning, and
rents the spots out to as many cadaverous-looking men, who, when any one
looks hard at them, will commence to dabble clumsily with the short
pieces of chalks they always keep at hand. There are impostors of this
kind in higher walks of art.
~Screw~, an unsound or broken-down horse, that requires both whip and
spur to get him along. So called from the screw-like manner in which his
ribs generally show through the skin.
~Screw~, a mean or stingy person.
~Screw~, salary, or wages.
~Screw~, “to put on the SCREW,” to limit one’s credit, to be more exact
and precise; “to put under the SCREW;” to compel, to coerce, to
influence by strong pressure.
~Screw~, a small packet of tobacco. A “twist” of the “weed.”
~Screw~, a key—skeleton, or otherwise.
~Screw~, a turnkey.
~Screw loose.~ When friends become cold and distant towards each other,
it is said there is a SCREW LOOSE betwixt them; the same phrase is also
used when anything goes wrong with a person’s credit or reputation.
~Screwed~, intoxicated or drunk.
~Scrimmage~, or SCRUMMAGE, a disturbance or row.—_Ancient._ Probably a
corruption of SKIRMISH.
~Scrimshaw.~ Anything made by sailors for themselves in their leisure
hours at sea is termed SCRIMSHAW-WORK.
~Scrouge~, to crowd or squeeze.—_Wiltshire._
~Scruff~, the back part of the neck seized by the adversary in an
encounter. “I seized him by the SCRUFF of the neck, and chucked him
out.” Originally SCURF.
~Scrumptious~, nice, particular, beautiful.
~Scufter~, a policeman.—_North Country._
~Scull~, or SKULL, the head, or master of a college.—_University_, but
nearly obsolete; the gallery, however, in St. Mary’s (the Oxford
University church), where the “Heads of Houses” sit in solemn state, is
still nicknamed the “Golgotha” by the undergraduates.
~Scurf~, a mean fellow. Literally a scurvy fellow.
~Sea-connie~, the steersman of an Indian ship. By the insurance laws he
must be either a PYAH Portuguese, a European, or a Manilla man,—Lascars
not being allowed to be helmsmen.
~Sea-cook~, “son of a SEA-COOK,” an opprobrious phrase used on board
ship, differing from “son of a gun,” which is generally used admiringly
or approvingly.
~Seals~, a religious slang term for converts. Also a Mormon term for
wives. _See_ OWNED.
~See.~ Like “go” and “do,” this useful verb has long been supplemented
with a slang or unauthorized meaning. In street parlance, “to SEE” is to
know or believe; “I don’t SEE that,” _i.e._, “I don’t put faith in what
you offer, or I know what you say to be untrue.”
~See it out~, to stay out late or early, and see the gas put out. Also
to complete an undertaking.
~See the king.~ _See_ ELEPHANT.
~Seedy~, worn-out, poverty-stricken, used-up, shabby. Metaphorical
expression from the appearance of flowers when off bloom and running to
SEED; hence said of one who wears clothes until they crack and become
shabby. “How seedy he looks,” said of any man whose clothes are worn
threadbare, with greasy facings, and hat brightened up by perspiration
and continual polishing and wetting. When a man’s coat begins to look
worn-out and shabby he is said to look SEEDY and ready for cutting. This
term has been in common use for nearly two centuries, and latterly has
found its way into most dictionaries. Formerly slang, it is now a
recognised word, and one of the most expressive in the English language.
The French are always amused with it, they having no similar term.
“Oh, let my hat be e’er sae brown,
My coat be e’er sae SEEDY, O!
My whole turn-out scarce worth a crown,
Like gents well-bred, but needy, O!”
_Fisher’s Garland for 1835._
~Seeley’s pigs~, blocks of iron in Government dockyards. Mr. Seeley,
M.P., was the first to call attention in the House of Commons to the
scandalous waste of pig-iron in the dockyards. Some of the yards were
found to be half paved with blocks of metal, which were thence called
“SEELEY’S PIGS.”
~Sell~, a deception, or disappointment; also a lying joke.
~Sell~, to deceive, swindle, or play a practical joke upon a person. A
sham is a SELL in street parlance. “SOLD again, and got the money,” a
patterer cries after having successfully deceived somebody. Shakspeare
uses SELLING in a similar sense, viz., blinding or deceiving.
~Sensation~, a quartern of gin.
~Serene~, all right; “it’s all SERENE,” a street phrase of very modern
adoption, the burden of a song. SERENE, ALL SERENE! from the _Spanish_
SERENO, equivalent to the English “all’s well;” a countersign of
sentinels, supposed to have been acquired by some filibusters who were
imprisoned in Cuba, and liberated by the intercession of the British
ambassador. The Sereno, the Spanish night watchman, cries out, with the
hour, the state of the atmosphere. He was called the Sereno (clear),
from his announcing the usual fine (sereno) night—quite different from
the work of our old “Charlies,” whose usual call was one of foul
weather.
~Serve out~, to punish, or be revenged on any one.
~Setter~, sevenpence. _Italian_, SETTE. _See_ SALTEE.—_Lingua Franca._
~Setter~, a person employed by the vendor at an auction to run the
bidding up; to bid against _bona-fide_ bidders. Also the man who takes
the box at hazard, and “sets a go.”
~Setting jewels~, taking the best portions of a clever book not much
known to the general public, and incorporating them quietly with a new
work by a thoroughly original author. The credit of this term belongs to
Mr. Charles Reade, who explained that the process is accountable for the
presence of some writing by one Jonathan Swift, in a story published at
Christmas, 1872, and called _The Wandering Heir_.
~Settle~, to kill, ruin, or effectually quiet a person.
~Settled~, transported, or sent to penal servitude for life; sometimes
spoken of as WINDED-SETTLED.
~Set-to~, a sparring match, a fight; “a DEAD SET” is a determined
opposition in argument, or in movement.
~Sevendible~, a very curious word, used only in the North of Ireland, to
denote something particularly severe, strong, or sound. It is, no doubt,
derived from sevendouble—that is, sevenfold—and is applied to linen
cloth, a heavy beating, a harsh reprimand, &c.
~Seven-pennorth~, transportation for seven years.
~Seven-sided animal~, a one-eyed man, as he has an inside, outside, left
side, right side, foreside, backside, and blind side.
~Seven-up~, the game of all-fours, when played for seven chalks—that
is, when seven points or chalks have to be made to win the game.
~Sewed-up~, done up, used up, intoxicated. _Dutch_, SEEUWT, sick.
~Sewn-up~, quite worn-out, or “dead beat.”
~Shack~, a “chevalier d’industrie.” A scamp, a
blackguard.—_Nottingham._
~Shack-per-swaw~, every one for himself,—a phrase in use amongst the
lower orders at the East-end of London, derived apparently from the
_French_, CHACUN POUR SOI.
~Shackly~, loose, rickety.—_Devonshire._
~Shady~, an expression implying decadence. On “the SHADY side of forty”
implies that a person is considerably older than forty. SHADY also means
inferiority in other senses. A “shady trick” is either a shabby one,
mean or trumpery, or else it is one contemptible from the want of
ability displayed. The SHADY side of a question is, and fairly enough
too, that which has no brightness to recommend it.
~Shake~, a disreputable man or woman.—_North._ In London a SHAKE is a
prostitute.
~Shake-down~, an improvised bed.
~Shake-lurk~, a false paper carried by an impostor, giving an account of
a “dreadful shipwreck.”
~Shake the elbow~, TO, a roundabout expression for dice-playing. To
“crook the ELBOW” is an Americanism for “to drink.”
~Shaker~, a shirt.
~Shakers~, a Puritanical sect, almost peculiar to America, and not
similar to our Quakers, as is generally believed. They have very strange
notions on things in general, and especially on marriage and the
connexion of the sexes.
~Shakes~, a bad bargain is said to be “no great SHAKES;” “pretty fair
SHAKES” is anything good or favourable.—_Byron._ In America, a fair
SHAKE is a fair trade or a good bargain.
~Shakes~, “in a brace of SHAKES,” _i.e._, in an instant.
~Shakester~, or SHICKSTER, a female. Amongst costermongers this term is
invariably applied to ladies, or the wives of tradesmen, and females
generally, of the classes immediately above them. Amongst Jews the word
signifies a woman of shady antecedents. Supposed to be derived from the
_Hebrew_, SHIKTZA. It is generally pronounced “shickser.”
~Shaky~, said of a person of questionable health, integrity, or
solvency; at the Universities, of one not likely to pass his
examination.
~Shaler~, a girl. Corrupt form of _Gaelic_, CAILLE, a young woman.
~Shalley-gonahey~, a smock-frock.—_Cornish._
~Shallow~, the peculiar barrow used by costermongers.
~Shallow~, a weak-minded country justice of the peace.—_Shakspeare._
~Shallow-cove~, a begging rascal, who goes about the country half naked,
with the most limited amount of rags upon his person, wearing neither
shoes, stockings, nor hat.
~Shallow-mot~, a ragged woman,—the frequent companion of the
SHALLOW-COVE.
~Shallows~, “to go on the SHALLOWS,” to go half naked.
~Sham~, contraction of champagne. In general use among the lower class
of sporting men. Sometimes extended to SHAMMY.
~Sham Abraham~, to feign sickness. _See_ ABRAHAM.
~Shandrydan~, an old-fashioned or rickety conveyance of the “shay”
order.
~Shandy-gaff~, ale and gingerbeer. Origin unknown, but use very common.
~Shanks~, legs.
~Shanks’s mare~, “to ride SHANK’S MARE,” to go on foot.
~Shant~, a pot or quart; “SHANT of bivvy,” a quart of beer.
~Shanty~, a rude, temporary habitation. The word is principally employed
to designate the huts inhabited by navigators, when constructing large
lines of railway far distant from towns. It is derived from the _French_
CHANTIER, used by the Canadians for a log hut, and has travelled from
thence, by way of the United States, to England.
~Shanty~, a song. A term in use among sailors. From CHANTER.
~Shapes~, “to cut up” or “show SHAPES,” to exhibit pranks, or
flightiness.
~Shark~, a sharper, a swindler. Bow Street term in 1785, now in most
dictionaries.—_Friesic_ and _Danish_, SCHURK. _See_ LAND-SHARK.
~Sharp~, or SHARPER, a cunning cheat, a rogue,—the opposite of FLAT.
~Sharp~, a similar expression to “TWO PUN’ TEN” (which _see_), used by
assistants in shops to signify that a customer of suspected honesty is
amongst them. The shopman in this case would ask one of the assistants,
in a voice loud enough to be generally heard, “Has Mr. SHARP come in
yet?” “No,” would probably be the reply; “but he is expected every
minute.” The signal is at once understood, and a general look-out kept
upon the suspected party.
~Sharp’s-alley blood-worms~, beef sausages and black puddings. Sharp’s
Alley was, until City improvements caused it to be destroyed, a noted
slaughtering-place near Smithfield.
~Shave~, a false alarm, a hoax, a sell. This term was much in vogue in
the Crimea during the Russian campaign,—that is, though much used by
the military before then, the term did not, until that period, become
known to the general public.