To come out of the little end of the horn, phr. (American).—To fare
badly; in allusion to the thin end of the Cornucopia.
Come Over, verbal phr. (colloquial).—To influence; to overreach; to
cheat. (If the quots. are compared chronologically it will be seen that
there has been a gradual deterioration in the meaning of this
colloquialism.) Cf., come round; get over.
1609. Dekker, Gul’s Horne-Booke, ch. ii. Care not for those coorse
painted cloath rimes, made by ye University of Salerne, that come
ouer you, with ... sweete candied councell.
1667. Shirley, Love Tricks, Act ii., Sc. 1. I do not see what fault
she can find with me; and if I had some good word to come over
her—but I must help it out, an need be, with swearing.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue. To come over any one: to cheat or
overreach him.
1794. Gent. Mag., p. 1085. I lately came over him for a good round
sum.
c. 1860. Broadside Ballad, I’m a young man from the country, But
you don’t get over me.
c. 1879. Music Hall Song (sung by Jenny Hill, the ‘Vital Spark’).
You may get over water-butts, You may get over fountains, But I’ll
take particular notice that you don’t get over Sal.
1884. Daily Telegraph, March 11, p. 2, col. 1. ‘But don’t you try
and come it over me, or you’ll find yourself in the wrong box.’
Come [the old Soldier, or any person or thing] Over One, verbal phr.
(colloquial).—To imitate; to overbear; to wheedle; to rule by an
assumption of authority. Fr., essayer de monter un bateau à quelqu’un;
or monter le coup or un battage.
1713. C. Shadwell, Humours of the Army, Act iii. The Devil a
Farthing he owes me—but however, I’ll put the old soldier upon him.
1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xviii. Were it not that I think
he has scarce the impudence to propose such a thing to succeed,
curse me but I should think he was coming the old soldier over me,
and keeping up his game.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick Papers (about 1827), p. 369 (ed. 1857).
‘Ah, by jove, he has!’ replied Smangle. ‘Hear him come the four
cats in the wheelbarrow—four distinct cats, sir, I pledge you my
honour. Now you know that’s infirnal clever!’
1839. The Druid. ‘Post and Paddock.’ The only way his crime to
cover, To hide his shame from children’s eye, Is not to try and
come the lover, But stable-wards at once to fly.
1855. W. M. Thackeray, The Newcomes, II., 253. ‘I had a letter this
morning from my liberal and punctual employer, Thomas Potts,
Esquire, of the Newcome Independent, who states, in language
scarcely respectful, that Sir Barnes Newcome Newcome is trying to
come the religious dodge, as Mr. Potts calls it.’
1877. W. Black, Green Past. and Picc., ch. i. ‘She’s rather
serious, you know, and would like to come the maternal over you.’
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 167. To hear him
speak, one might imagine him as innocent as a lamb, and as green as
a schoolboy, but just try to come the hanky-panky and play the old
soldier with him.
1877. J. Greenwood, Dick Temple. Permit me, if you and your two
friends think of coming what is vulgarly called the old soldier
over me, to make you understand that you had better abandon the
intention.
Come Round, verbal phr. (colloquial).—To influence; to circumvent; to
persuade. Cf., Come over, and come about, sense 1.
1846. Thackeray, V. Fair, ch. xi. Finally, the reports were that
the governess had come round everybody, wrote Sir Pitt’s letters,
did his business, managed his accounts—had the upper hand of the
whole house.
Come Souse, verbal phr. (pugilistic).—To fall heavily. Also Cosouse.
1819. T. Moore, Tom Crib’s Mem. to Cong. As it was, Master Georgy
came souse with the whack, And there sprawled, like a turtle turned
queer on its back.
Come the Gum Game, verbal phr. (Western American).—To overreach by
concealment. [From the preference shown by hunted opossums and racoons
for gum trees as places of refuge.]
1869. Kansas City Advertiser, 7 May. You can’t come that gum game
over me any more; I’ve been to the land-office and know all about
the place.
Come Through a Side Door, verbal phr. (common).—To be born
illegitimately.
c. 1880. Broadside Ballad, ‘The Blessed Orphan.’ I don’t think I
was born at all, No parents own I came here; I was left at a house
of call, Close by a Pickford’s van here, Some wicked wretches say,
but I My indignation smother, That I came through a side door In
this world from the other.
Come to Stay, verbal phr. (American).—To be endowed with permanent
qualities. Thus the New York Morning Journal announces that earth fuel,
a new material for cooking and firing purposes, has come to stay, i.e.,
its commercial success is assured.
1888. Pittsburg Bulletin. In the realm of advertising, the
illustration has evidently come to stay. It attracts and retains
the eye, and so serves a double purpose.
Come To, or Up To, Time, verbal phr. (pugilistic).—To answer the call
of ‘Time!’ after the thirty seconds’ rest between round and round;
hence, by analogy, to be on the alert; to be ready.
1869. Whyte Melville, M. or N., p. 11. The surprise staggered him
like a blow. From such blows, however, we soon come to time,
willing to take any amount of similar punishment.
Come Tricks.—See Come, sense 2.
Come up Smiling, verbal phr. (pugilistic).—To laugh (or grin) at
‘punishment’; hence (generally) to be superior to rebuff or disaster;
to face defeat without flinching.
1887. John Strange Winter, That Imp, p. 67. And yet come up smiling
at the end of it.
Come up to the Chalk.—See Scratch.
[Some other slang uses of the verb To Come are To Come the Artful =
to essay to deceive; To Come the Heavy = to affect a vastly
superior position; To Come the ugly = to threaten; To Come the Nob,
or The Don = to put on airs; To Come the Lardy-Dardy = to dress for
the public and ‘look up to your clobber’; To Come the Serjeant = to
issue peremptory orders; To Come the Spoon = to make love; To Come
the Gypsy = to try to defraud; To Come the Rothschild = to pretend
to be rich; and To Come the Traviata (prostitutes’, now obsolete) =
to feign consumption, to put on ‘the Traviata cough’ (q.v.) with a
view to beguiling charitable males.]
Comflogisticate, verb (American).—To embarrass; put out of countenance;
confuse; or hoax.—See Bamblustercate.
Comfoozled, adj. (rare).—Overcome; exhausted.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxxix., p. 340. ‘Well,’ said Sam,
‘he’s in a horrid state o’ love; reg’larly comfoozled, and done
over with it.’
Comfortable Importance or Comfortable Impudence, subs. (old).—A wife;
also a mistress in a wife’s position. Fr., Mon gouvernement. For
synonyms, see Dutch.
Comical, subs. (common).—A napkin.
To be Struck Comical, verb. phr. (popular).—To be astonished.
Coming, ppl. adj. (old).—1. Wanton; forward; sexual.—See Come, sense 1.
1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, ch. xii. I dares to swear the wench was
as willing as he, for she was always a forward kind of body. And
when wenches are so coming, young men are not so much to be blamed
neither, for to be sure they do no more than what is natural.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.