Captain Armstrong. To come Captain Armstrong, phr. (turf)—To ‘pull’ a
horse and thus prevent him from winning. Captain Armstrong is often
used for a dishonest jockey. [A play upon words, i.e., ‘to pull with a
strong arm.’]
1864. Sporting Life, 5 Nov. (Leader). Captain Armstrong is again
abroad, muscular and powerful, riding his favourite hobby in the
steeple-chase field, preparing thus early in the season for
pulling, stopping, and putting the strings on.
Captain Copperthorn’s Crew. subs. phr. (old).—All officers Said of a
company where everyone wants to be first.
Captain Cork, subs. phr. (military).—A nickname for a man who is slow
in passing the bottle.
Captain Crank, subs. phr. (old).—The chief of a gang of highwaymen.
Captain Grand, subs. phr. (old).—A haughty, blustering fellow. For
synonyms, see Furioso.
Captain Hackum, subs. phr. (old).—A hectoring bully.—Grose.
Captain Lieutenant, subs. phr. (old).—Meat neither young enough for
veal, nor old enough for beef. [The simile is drawn from the brevet
officer who, while ranking as captain, receives lieutenant’s
pay.]—Grose.
Captain Queernabs, subs. phr. (old).—A shabby or ill-dressed man. For
synonyms, see Guy.
Captain Quiz, subs. phr. (old).—A mocker.
Captain Sharp, subs. phr. (old).—A cheating bully, or one in a set of
gamblers, whose office it is to bully the ‘pigeon,’ who refuses to
pay.—Grose. Cf., Captain, sense 2.
Captain Tom, subs. phr. (old).—The head or leader of a mob; also the
mob itself.—Grose.
Caravan, subs. (old).—1. A dupe; gull; a subject of plunder.—See
Bubble.
1676. Etherege, Man of Mode, III., iii., in wks. (1704), 233. What
spruce prig is that? A caravan, lately come from Paris.
1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia. [In list of cant words prefixed
to.] Caravan: a bubble, the cheated.
1889. G. L. Apperson, in Gentleman’s Magazine (‘Seventeenth Century
Colloquialisms’), p. 598. Towards the end of the century a person
easily gulled, or ‘bubbled’ was known as a caravan, but earlier the
term ‘rook’ which is now restricted to a cheat or sharper, appears
to have been applied to the person cheated.