1857. Hughes, Tom Brown’s Schooldays, ch. i., p. 8. A nice little
gorse or spinney where abideth poor Charley, having no other cover
to which to betake himself for miles and miles, when pushed out
some fine November morning by the old Berkshire.
1859. H. Kingsley, Geoffrey Hamlyn, ch. xxviii. ‘And all after a
poor little fox!’ ‘You don’t know Charley, I can see,’ said
Halbert; ‘poor little fox indeed.’
4. (American thieves’).—A watch. [Possibly a pun upon Charley, sense 1,
a watch or watchman.] For synonyms, see Ticker.