3. (venery).—Generic for the female pudendum: e.g., a bit of fish = a
grind (q.v.); fish-market = a brothel; and to go fishing = to go
grousing (q.v.).
Verb (colloquial).—To attempt to obtain by artifice; to seek
indirectly; to curry favour.
Pretty kettle of fish, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A perplexing state of
affairs; a quandary.
To have other fish to fry, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To have other
business on hand.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 90. He shouted to us,
and pointed to his cargo; but we had other fish to fry, and
accordingly never relaxed in our pulling.
To be neither fish nor flesh, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be neither
one thing nor another; said of waverers and nondescripts; sometimes
extended to neither fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring.
1598. Shakspeare, II. Henry IV., iv., 3. Falstaff. Why, she’s
neither fish nor flesh; a man knows not where to have her.
1631–1700. Dryden [quoted in Annandale]. Damned neuters in their
middle way of steering, Are neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red
herring.
Fish-Broth, subs. (common).—Water. For synonyms, see Adam’s ale, to
which may be added: Fr., le bouillon de canard (thieves’); l’agout
(thieves’): Four. vetta.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe. The churlish frampold waves gave him
his belly-full of fish-broath.
Fisher, subs. (common).—A lickspittle; only used contemptuously.
Fishhooks, subs. (common).—The fingers. For synonyms, see Forks.
1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.
Fishmarket, subs. (gaming).—The lowest hole at bagatelle; Simon
(q.v.).—See also Fish, subs., sense 3.
Fishy, adj. (common).—Effete, dubious, or seedy (of persons); unsound,
or equivocal (of things). Also Fishiness = unsoundness.
1858. Shirley Brooks, The Gordian Knot, p. 14. Highly fishy they
were. Something about breach of trust, and the embezzling his
brother’s money—a man in India.
1859. Punch, vol. XXXVI., p. 82. The affair is decidedly fishy.
However somebody must have the place, and so our friend Sam Warren
... takes the mastership, resigning his seat.
1868. Orchestra, 29 Feb., p. 365. When he commented on the words in
the libel of Greek derivation, he professed to have forgotten all
he ever learnt at school, said that ichthyophagous meant fishy, a
word that thoroughly described the plaintiffs case.
1870. London Figaro, 31 Oct. Captain Spratt is the right man in the
right place, though his appointment to such a post is certainly, on
the face of it, fishy.
1884. F. Anstey, Giant’s Robe, ch. xxii. There’s something fishy
about it all, and I mean to get at it.
1890. St. James’ Gazette, 9 April, p. 3, col. 1. Unfortunately the
Bill is fishy; and there are ‘very awkward and stiff considerations
about it.’
Fist, subs. (common).—1. Hand-writing. Fr., la cape.
1864. Derby Day, p. 8. Must say though that your friend writes a
tolerable fist.