1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 70. Near to
these hopeful youths sat a fence, or receiver, bargaining with a
clouter, or pickpocket, for a ‘suit,’ or, to speak in more
intelligible language, a watch and seals, two ‘cloaks,’ commonly
called watch-cases and a ‘wedge-lobb,’ otherwise known as a silver
snuff-box.
Cloak-Twitchers, subs. (old).—Thieves who made a special business of
robbing the lieges of their cloaks. [From cloak + twitch, to snatch, +
er.] In the old French cant these rogues were termed tirelaines, i.e.,
wool-pullers (tirer = pull). For synonyms, see Thieves.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Clobber, subs. (common).—Primarily old, but now also applied to new
clothes. For synonyms, see Togs.
1879. J. W. Horsley, Macm. Mag., XL., 502. Having a new suit of
clobber on me.
1889. Answers, 11 May, p. 374, col. 3. The clobber (old clothes)
which have been presented by charitable persons are exchanged and
sold.
1889. Sporting Times, quoted in Slang, Jargon, and Cant, p. 255. If
you are hard up always tell the dear things that you are a
gentleman’s valet. This will account for your good clobber.
Verb.—Also clobber up. 1. To patch; revive; or ‘translate’ clothes.
[Properly applied to cobbling of the lowest class. Cf., Clobberer.]
1865. Cassell’s Paper, Article, ‘Old Clo’.’ They are now past
‘clobbering,’ ‘reviving,’ or ‘translating,’ they are, in fact, at
the lowest point of Fortune’s wheel: but the next turn puts them in
its highest point again.
2. To dress smartly; to rig oneself out presentably. For synonyms, see
Rig out.
1879. J. W. Horsley, Macm. Mag., XL., 501. I used to get a good
many pieces about this time, so I used to clobber myself up and go
to the concert-rooms.
1886. W. E. Henley, Villon’s Good-Night. You judes that clobber for
the stramm.
1889. Fun [quoted in S., J., and C. p. 256]. ‘D’you know, if you
were clobbered up I shouldn’t mind taking you out?’ She promised to
be presentable. In her own words she said, ‘I’ll come clobbered up
like a dukess.’
To do clobber at a fence, phr. (thieves’).—To sell stolen clothes. Fr.,
laver les harnais.
Clobberer, subs. (common).—See quot. and Cf., Clobber, subs. and verb.
1864. The Times, Nov. 2. Old clothes that are intended to remain in
this country have to be tutored and transformed. The clobberer, the
‘reviver,’ and the ‘translator’ lay hands upon them. The duty of
the clobberer is to patch, to sew up, and to restore as far as
possible the garments to their pristine appearance.
Clock, subs. (thieves’).—A watch. A red clock = a gold watch; a white
clock = a silver watch. Generally modified into ‘red’un’ and
‘white’un,’ but for synonyms, see Ticker.
1886. Tit-Bits, 5 June, p. 121. Thus Fillied for a Clock and Slang,
reveals the fact that the writer stole a watch and chain, was
apprehended, and has been fully committed for trial.
To know what’s o’clock, phr. (common).—To be on the alert; in full
possession of one’s senses; a downey cove: generally knowing (q.v. for
synonyms). A variant is to know the time o’day.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 451. Our governor’s wide awake,
he is, I’ll never say nothin’ agin him, nor no man; but he knows
what’s o’clock, he does, uncommon.
1849–50. Thackeray, Pendennis, I., p. 138. I’m not clever, p’raps,
but I am rather downy, and partial friends say that I know what’s
o’clock tolerably well.
Clock Stopped.—See Tick.
Clod-Crushers, subs. (popular).—1. Clumsy boots. [In agriculture an
implement for pulverising clods. Cf., Beetle-crushers, and for
synonyms, see Trotter-cases.]