1847. Thackeray, Lords and Liv., III. He was chassÉd on the spot.
[m.]
1868. Yates, Rock Ahead, I., p. 185. If Lord Ticehurst married,
more than half Gilbert Lloyd’s influence would be gone, if indeed
the turf were not abandoned, and the confederate chassÉd.
Chat, subs. (thieves’).—1. A house. For synonyms, see Diggings.
1879. J. W. Horsley, in Macm. Mag., XL., 501. I piped a slavey
(servant) come out of a chat (house).
2. (common).—The female pudendum. [From French chat, a cat, and by
implication the ‘pussy.’]
3. (common).—The truth; the real state of a case; the proper words to
use; the ‘correct card.’
1819. Thomas Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress, p. 6. And,
setting in case there should come such a rumpus, As some mode of
settling the chat we must compass, With which the tag-rag will have
nothing to do, What think you, great swells, of a royal set-to?
1862. Trollope, Orley Farm, ch. vi. Has the gentleman any right to
be in this room at all, or has he not? Is he commercial, or is
he—miscellaneous? That’s the chat as I take it.
4. (low).—Gabble; chatter; impudence; e.g., None of your chat, or I’ll
give you a shove in the eye.
Verb.—To hang.—See Chates, sense 1. [This reading, however, is
problematical.]
1513. G. Douglas, Æneis, viii., Prol. 126. Quod. I, churle, ga chat
the, and chide with ane vthir.
Chates, subs. (old).—1. The gallows, (Also Chattes and Chats.)
[Doubtful as to derivation, see quot. 1610.] For synonyms, see
Nubbing-cheat.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 66. Chattes: the gallowes.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 37, (H. Club’s Repr., 1874).
Chates, the Gallowes: here he [Harman, author of a Caveat for
Cursitors-date, c. 1570, reprinted as The Belman of London,
containing list of cant words] mistakes both the simple word,
because he so found it printed, not knowing the true originall
thereof, and also in the compound; as for Chates it should be
Cheates, which word is vsed generally for things, as Tip me that
Cheate, Give me that thing: so that if you will make a word for the
Gallous, you must put thereto this word, Treyning, which signifies
hanging; and so Treyning Cheate is as much to say, hanging things,
or the Gallous, and not Chates.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 48 (1874). Chats:
the gallows.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1706. E. Coles, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1881. New York Slang Dict., s.v.
2. (old).—Lice. (Also chats and chatts.) [Grose suggests that chatts is
an abbreviation of chattels in the sense of cattle—lice being the chief
live-stock of beggars, gipsies, and the rest of the canting crew; the
history of the word ‘chattel’ appears to bear out his contention. The
Norman catel passed later into cattell, and these forms were in the
sixteenth century restricted to live-stock, chattell passing from legal
French into general use for the wider sense—article of property.]
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1812. J. H. Vaux, Flash Dict., s.v.
1864. Hotten, Slang Dict., s.v.
English Synonyms. Active citizens; crabs; crumbs; friends in need; back
friends; grey backs; black cattle; Scots Greys; gentleman’s companions;
creepers; gold-backed ’uns; German ducks; dicky-birds; familiars;
saddle-backs; Yorkshire Greys.
French Synonyms. Les espagnols (popular: formerly lice were called
‘Spanish bugs,’ poux espagnols, to distinguish them from the cimex
lectuarius, or common bed bug); un coquillon (popular: also ‘a
pilgrim’); les goux (thieves’); le garnison (pop. = garrison); un
loupate (= poux, disguised); un habitant (= a householder or
‘citizen’); un grenadier (popular); un got (thieves’); un mousquetaire
gris (pop. = a grey musketeer).
German Synonyms. Huttererg’ sell’n (perhaps the nearest German
equivalent to the English ‘gentleman’s companion,’ the German word
signifying ‘skin-society’); Jokel, or Jokelche, Jokelcher, Juckel,
Juckeler (sing.: also = a postillion, ‘one who rides,’ the latter,
however, being more commonly rendered Post-Juckel. Ave-Lallement
derives it from Jäckel or Jockel, diminutives of Jacob, but there are
the German words, Jucken, ‘to itch,’ and Juckler, ‘one who itches.’ It
is quite possible that the two last are later, historically. In
connection, see next example); Hans Walter (in Luther’s Liber Vagatorum
[1529]. Hanz literally means Jack, or John [Cf., preceding Jokel], the
old word Hansa refers to a multitude; old German Hanse, a society;
Hans, a companion); Kinne, pl. Kinnim (of purely Hebrew origin;
Kinnimachler = a ‘dirty, filthy fellow,’ or ‘an avaricious man,’
literally ‘a lice-eater’; Kinnimer, a man full of lice. The
Fieselsprache has Kineh and Kinehbruder to signify ‘an intimate
companion,’ or ‘chum’; Marschirer or die stillen Marschirer (Viennese
thieves’ for lice; literally ‘the silent walkers’); Sand (used for
vermin in general and lice in particular; sandig sein, to be lousy).
Italian Synonyms. Grisaldi; grisanti; guallino.
Spanish Synonym. Cancano, (m; a low term).
Chat-Hole, subs. (prison).—A hole made by convicts in a wall, to carry
on a conversation. [From chat, an abbreviation of chatter, + hole.]
Chats, subs. (old).—1. See Chates.