3. (popular).—A continuous series of somersaults in which the hands and
feet alternately touch the ground, the appearance produced being
similar to the spokes of a cart wheel in motion. Otherwise called a
Catharine wheel.
1851. Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, II., p. 562. We either
do the cat’unwheel (Sic) or else we keep before the gentleman and
lady, turning head-over-heels. Ib., p. 564: at night I go along
with the others tumbling. I does the cat’enwheel. (Sic.)
1864. Sala, in Daily Telegraph, Dec. 23. I saw a little ...
blackguard boy turning cartwheels in front of the Clifton House.
Carver and Gilder, subs. phr. (common).—A match maker. Cf.,
Fingersmith, a midwife.
Casa.—See Case.
Cascade, subs. (Australian).—1. In Tasmania beer is called cascade
because manufactured from ‘cascade’ water. Cf., Artesian. For synonyms,
see Swipes and Drinks.
2. (theatrical).—Explained by quotation. Another name for the same
effect is hang out.
1851. Mayhew, Lon. Lab. and Lon. Poor, III., p. 156. The principal
distinction between pantomimes and ballets is that there are more
cascades, and trips, and valleys in pantomimes, and none in
ballets. A trip is a dance between Harlequin and the Columbine, and
cascades and valleys are trundling and gymnastic performances, such
as tumbling across the stage on wheels, and catching hold of hands
and twirling round.
Verb (old).—To vomit. For synonyms, see Accounts.
1771. Smollet, Humphry Clinker, III., Oct. 4, iii. She cascaded in
his urn.
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. ii. I daresay five hundred
rank and file, at the fewest, were all cascading at one and the
same moment.
Case, subs. (colloquial).—1. A certainty in fact, an accentuated or
abnormal instance in character. When two persons fall in love, or are
engaged to marry, it is said to be a case with them. An eccentric
person is likewise a case. [As a designation for persons, case probably
had its origin in Journalese and Police-court English; e.g., a case of
larceny.]
1848. Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms. Case: a character, a
queer one; as ‘That Sol Haddock is a case.’ ‘What a hard case he
is,’ meaning a reckless scapegrace, mauvais sujet.
1859. H. Kingsley, Geoffrey Hamlyn, ch. xlii. Tossed from workhouse
to prison, from prison to hulk—every man’s hand against him—an Arab
of society. As hopeless a case, my lord judge, as you ever had to
deal with.
1868. O. W. Holmes, Guardian Angel, ch. iv., p. 35 (Rose Lib.). ‘It
was a devilish hard case,’ he said, ‘that old Malachi had left his
money as he did.’
1872. Miss Braddon, To the Bitter End, ch. xlviii. They have only
been engaged three weeks; but from the day we first met Lord
Stanmore at a hunting breakfast at Stoneleigh, the business was
settled. It was a case, as you fast young men say.
1880. Hawley Smart, Social Sinners, ch. xxiv. He saw people began
to make way for him when she was concerned; in short, that they
looked upon it as a case.
1887. Cassell’s Mag., Dec, p. 26. It isn’t Mr. and Mrs. Cardewe he
comes to see! It’s Miss Amy.... They have met before; and in my
opinion it’s a case!
2. (thieves’)—A bad five-shilling piece; half a case, a bad half-crown.
Cf., caser. In America a dollar, good or bad. [There are two sources,
either of which may have contributed this slang term. (1.) Caser, the
Hebrew word for a crown; (2.) silver coin is frequently counterfeited
by coating or casing pewter or iron imitations with silver.—Hotten.]
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3 ed., p. 444. Bad five
shillings—case.
3. (old).—A house, respectable or otherwise. Subsequently restricted to
a brothel, and, by derivation, a ‘water-closet.’ [Presumably from the
Italian casa, a house, through the Lingua Franca. It is found in
various forms, casa, case, caser, carser, carsey, the last a phonetic
rendering of the usual pronunciation of casa.] For synonyms, see Ken.
1678. Marvell, wks. (1875) III., 497. A net ... That Charles
himself might chase To Caresbrook’s narrow case. [m.]
1690. b. e., Dict. Cant. Crew. Case: a House, Shop, or Ware-house.
1785. Grose, Dict. of Vul. Tongue. Case: a house, perhaps from the
Italian casa. In the canting lingo it meant store or warehouse, as
well as dwelling house. Tout that case: mark or observe that house.
It is all bob, now let’s dub the gigg of the case: now the coast is
clear, let us break open the door of the house.
1883. Echo, Jan. 25, p. 2, col. 3. From the Italian we get the
thieves’ slang term casa for house.
4. (Westminster School).—The discussion by Seniors and Upper Election
preceding a tanning (q.v.), and the tanning itself.
A case of Crabs, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A failure.
A case of Pickles, subs. phr. (colloquial).—An incident; a bad
break-down; a break up.
A case of Stump, subs. phr. (colloquial).—Said of one absolutely
guiltless of the possession of coin.
Caseine, subs. (rare).—The correct thing. A variant of the cheese
(q.v.) Cf., Cassan.
1856. C. Kingsley, Letter, May. Horn minnow looks like a gudgeon,
which is the pure caseine.
Caser, subs. (thieves’).—Five shillings.—See Case and Caroon.
1879. J. W. Horsley, in Macm. Mag., XL., 501. One morning I found I
did not have more than a caser (5s.).
Case-Vrow, subs. (old).—A prostitute in residence in a particular
brothel; now called a dress-lodger (q.v.). [From case (q.v.), a house,
+ Dutch vrouw, a woman.]
Casey, subs. (thieves’).—Cheese.—See Cassan.
Cash.—See Cassan.
Equal to cash.—Of unquestionable merit. In allusion to the fact that
paper currency is largely a medium of exchange.
1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 1 S., chap. xvi. Though I say it,
that shouldn’t say it, they [the U.S. Americans] fairly take the
shine off creation—they are actilly equal to cash.
To cash a Prescription, subs. phr. (colloquial).—To get a prescription
made up.
1890. The Scots Observer, p. 399, col. 2. The Socialist, with an
ear for Ibsen, and an eye for Wagner, and a prescription in his
pocket that only needs to be cashed for the world to forget its
past, and belie its present, and bedevil its future.
Cashels, subs. (Stock Exchange).—Great Southern and Western of Ireland
Railway Stock. [Said to be derived from the fact that the line
originally had no station at Cashel.]
Cash or Pass in One’s Checks. verbal phr. (American). To die. Derived
from the game of poker, where counters or checks, purchased at certain
fixed rates, are equivalent to coin. The euphemism is drawn from the
analogy between settling one’s earthly accounts, and paying in dues at
the end of the game.
18(?). John Hay, Jim Bludsoe of the Prairie Belle. ‘How Jimmy
Bludsoe pass’d in his checks The night of the Prairie Belle.’
1870. Bret Harte, Outcasts Poker Flat. Beneath this tree lies the
body of J. O. who ... handed in his checks on the 7th December,
1850.
1872. S. L. Clemens (‘Mark Twain’), Roughing It, p. 332. ‘You see,’
said the miner, ‘one of the boys has passed in his checks, and we
want to give him a good send off.’
1882. Dodge, Plains of the Great West. As close a shave as I ever
made to passing in my checks was from a buffalo stampede.
1888. New York Sun. Well, I owned the mule for several years after
that, and when he finally passed in his checks I gave him as decent
a burial as any pioneer ever got.
Cash-Up, verb (colloquial).—To liquidate a debt by the transfer of
money, i.e., cash, or its equivalent. For synonyms, see Shell out.
1837. Barham, I. L. (M. of Venice). And Antonio grew In a deuce of
a stew, For he could not cash up, spite of all he could do.
1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, I., p. 213. ‘When my father’s
executors cash up’ he used strange expressions now and then, but
that was his way.—‘Cash up’s a very good expression’ observed
Martin, ‘when other people don’t apply it to you.’
1861. Sala, Seven Sons of Mammon, II., p. 197. ‘But they may cash
up.’ ‘Cash up! They’ll never cash up a farthing piece.’
Cask, subs. (popular).—A brougham; otherwise a pill-box (q.v.). A
French equivalent is une bagniole.
Cass.—See Cassan.
Cassan, subs. (thieves’).—Old Cant for cheese. Also cass, casson,
cassam, cassom, and casey. The oldest form is cassan, which is found in
Harman’s Caveat or Warening for Common Cursetors, the first known
dictionary of English cant [1567]. Cass, chiefly American thieves, is a
latter corruption probably influenced by the Dutch kaas, or the M.
Dutch kâse, Lat. caseus. [For suggested derivation, which corresponds
to that given in the N.E.D., see second quot.]
English Synonyms. Caz; sweaty-toe; choke-dog.
French Synonyms. Le renâché (thieves’ term); une côtelette de
menuisier, de perruquier, or de vâche (popular terms for a portion of
Brie; literally a cabinet-maker’s, hair-dresser’s, or cow-cutlet); le
dûreme (thieves’); une boussole de réfroidi or de singe (popular = a
Dutch Cheese.)
German Synonyms. Fendrich (Old Cant appearing in the Liber Vagatorum
[1529] as Wenderich or Wendrich; subsequently modified into Fähndrich.
The derivation is referable, perhaps, to an old practice, prevalent in
North Germany, of using as a board sign [Fahne, a flag, standard,
banner] with three cheeses pictured); Gewine (from the Hebrew gewino);
Karnet or Kornet; Kawine (a variant of Gewine); Stinkefix (from the
O.H.G. Stinchan, to smell, to stink; this is especially applied to old
cheese).
Italian Synonyms. Tenerosa (cream cheese); mascherpo; stifello
(literally a kind of flute, in allusion to the holes in some kinds of
cheese, notably Gruyère).
Spanish Synonym. Formage (evidently a corruption of the French
fromage).
1567. Harman, Caveat (1869), p. 86. She hath a Cacking chete, a
grunting chete, ruff Pecke, cassan, and popplarr of yarum.
1609. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candlelight, in wks. (Grosart) III.,
195. Cassan is cheese, and is a worde barbarously coynd out of the
substantive caseus, which also signifies a cheese.
1656. Broome, Jovial Crew, Act ii. Here’s ruffpeck and cassan, and
all of the best, And scraps of the dainties of gentry cofe’s feast.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4 ed.), p. 11. Casum: cheese.
1881. New York Slang Dictionary. Cass: cheese.
Castell, verb (old).—To see or look. [It is uncertain as to whether
this word is slang or not. It is not included in the N.E.D.] For
synonyms, see Pipe.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 37 (H. Club’s Repr., 1874). To
Castell: to see or looke.
Caster, subs. (old).—1. A cloak. [Cf., Castor, a hat; there seems to be
no historical improbability for a similar derivation].
Another Old Cant term for a cloak was calle (q.v.), and the French have
un bleu, whilst the Italian Fourbesque has toppo and manto, the latter
probably meaning ‘a long black veil’; Calaõ. tralha. The Germania
renders cloak by noche (literally ‘night,’ and signifying also in a
canting sense ‘sadness’ and ‘sentence of death’); nube (literally a
‘cloud’); pelosa (specially applied to a cloak worn in the morning;
literally ‘shaggy’ or ‘hairy’); bellosa or vellosa (a sailor’s cloak).
1567. Harman, Caveat [E. E. Text Soc., 1869], p. 77. He walketh in
softly a nights, when they be at their rest, and plucketh of as
many garmentes as be ought worth that he may come by, ... and
maketh porte sale at some conuenient place of theirs, that some be
soone ready in the morning, for want of their Casters and Togemans.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 37 (H. Club’s Repr., 1874).
Caster: a Clocke.
1785. Grose, Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue [s.v.].
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum [s.v.].
2. (colloquial).—A cast-off or rejected person or thing. [From cast,
thrown, + er.]
1859. Lang, Wand. India, p. 144. The horse which drew the buggy had
been a caster ... a horse considered no longer fit for the cavalry
or horse artillery, and sold by public auction, after being branded
with the letter R on the near shoulder. [m.]
Castieu’s Hotel, subs. phr. (Australian thieves’).—The Melbourne gaol,
so called from Mr. J. B. Castieu. For list of nicknames of this
description, see Cage.
18(?). Australian Printers Keepsake. He caught a month, and had to
white it out at diamond-cracking in Castieu’s Hotel.
Castle-Rag, subs. (rhyming slang).—A flag or fourpenny piece. For
synonyms, see Joey.
Cast-Offs, subs. (nautical).—1. Landsmen’s clothes. For synonyms, see
Togs.