Coffee-Housing, subs.—See quot.
1877 Hawley Smart, Play or Pay, ch. iv. ‘Not going to hunt? Why
Miss Bazing told me you had a regular string of horses coming
down!’ ‘Ah, Bessie’s wrong. I always was a changeable beggar, you
know. The string consists of a hack, just good enough to do a
little bit of coffee-housing occasionally.’
Coffee-Mill, subs. (old).—The mouth: a ‘grinder’ itself, and furnished
with ‘grinders’—American ‘cogs,’—as well. For synonyms, see
Potato-trap.
1821. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, Act ii., Sc. 2. Gas. Come,
come, silence your coffee-mill.
Coffee-Milling, subs. phr. (common).—1. Grinding; working hard. Cf., To
cock snooks (see Snooks) or ‘take a sight’ by putting the thumb of one
hand to the nose and grinding the little finger with the other, as if
you worked an imaginary coffee mill.
1837. Dickens, Pickwick, p. 249.
1854. Aytoun and Martin, The Bon Gaultier Ballads. ‘The Lay of the
Lovelorn.’ When I went the pace so wildly, caring little what might
come, Coffee-milling care and sorrow, with a nose-adapted thumb.
Coffins, subs. (Stock Exchange).—The Funeral Furnishing Company’s
Shares.
Another nail in one’s coffin.—See Nail.
Cog, subs. (American thieves’).—A tooth.—Matsell [1859]. Cf.,
Coffee-mill.
Coke. Go and Eat Coke, verb. phr. (vulgar).—A phrase indicative of
contempt. A corollary is ‘and evacuate, or s—t cinders.’
Coker, subs. (old).—A lie.—Grose [1785]. For synonyms, see Whopper.
Colchester Clocks, subs. (streets’).—A breed of large oysters.
1865. Daily Telegraph, 13 Sep. For the big, uncompromising
Colchester clock, which we see on stalls and shudder at, with
unlimited vinegar and pepper, the East-ender willingly gives his
penny.
Cold. To have a bad cold, verbal phr. (common).—Said of one who keeps
his door closed against all comers for fear of duns; also of one who
has ‘shot the moon.’ Also of one that has taken clap.
1863. Chambers’ Journal, vol. XX., p. 5. ‘It’s no good your
ringing,’ remarked the book-boy, when I had discovered that fact
for myself; ‘Mr. Cranium ain’t at home, he ain’t. He’s got a werry
bad cold.’ After a few minutes, however, and many genial
impertinences, I discovered that having a bad cold means, in Camden
Town, being in debt, while a very bad cold implies that the
sufferer has taken clandestine departure from his lodgings.
To leave out in the cold, verbal phr.—To neglect; shut out, or abandon.
1861. New York Tribune, July, The ‘Assents’ continue to come in
freely at the Erie Railroad office; and the appearances are that at
the closing of the books ... there will be few shares or bonds left
out in the cold.
Cold Blood, subs. (licensed victuallers’).—A house licensed for the
sale of beer ‘not to be drunk on the premises.’
Cold Coffee, subs. phr. (Oxford University).—1. A sell; a hoax; a
trumpery affair.
2. (common).—Misfortune; ill-luck. A variant is cold gruel; also to
have one’s comb cut; in French, to experience a run of ill-luck is
expressed by être abonné au guignon; literally ‘to become a subscriber
to ill-luck’; in Spanish, dar al traste con los negocios, signifies,
colloquially, ‘to fail’ or ‘to be unfortunate in business.’