GALORE, abundance. _Irish_, GO LEOR, in plenty.
GALLOWS, very, or exceedingly—a disgusting exclamation; “GALLOWS poor,”
very poor.
GAME, a term variously applied; “are you GAME?” have you courage
enough? “what’s your little GAME?” what are you going to do? “come,
none of your GAMES,” be quiet, don’t annoy me; “on the GAME,” out
thieving.
GAMMON, to hoax, to deceive merrily, to laugh at a person, to tell
an untrue but plausible story, to make game of, or in the provincial
dialect, to make GAME ON; “who’s thou makin’ thy GAM’ ON?” _i.e._, who
are you making a fool of?—_Yorkshire._
GAMMON, deceit, humbug, a false and ridiculous story. _Anglo Saxon_,
GAMEN, game, sport.
GAMMY, bad, unfavourable, poor tempered. Those householders who are
known enemies to the street folk and tramps, are pronounced by them to
be GAMMY. GAMMY sometimes means forged, as “GAMMY-MONEKER,” a forged
signature; GAMMY STUFF, spurious medicine; GAMMY LOWR, counterfeit
coin. _Hants_, GAMY, dirty. The hieroglyphic used by beggars and
cadgers to intimate to those of the tribe coming after that things are
not very favourable, is known as □, or GAMMY.
GAMMY-VIAL (Ville), a town where the police will not let persons hawk.
GANDER MONTH, the period when the monthly nurse is in the ascendant,
and the husband has to shift for himself.
GAR, euphuistic corruption of the title of the Deity; “be GAR, you
don’t say so!”—_Franco-English._
GARRET, the head.
GARRET, the fob pocket.
GARGLE, medical student Slang for physic.
GAS, “to give a person GAS,” to scold him or give him a good beating.
Synonymous with “to give him JESSIE.”
GASSY, liable to “flare up” at any offence.
GATTER, beer; “shant of GATTER,” a pot of beer. A curious street
melody, brimful and running over with slang, known in Seven Dials as
_Bet, the Coaley’s Daughter_, thus mentions the word in a favourite
verse:—
“But when I strove my flame to tell
Says she, ‘_Come, stow that patter_,’
If you’re a _cove_ wot likes a gal
Vy don’t you _stand_ some GATTER?
_In course_ I instantly complied—
Two brimming quarts of porter,
With four _goes_ of gin beside,
Drained Bet the Coaley’s daughter.”
GAWFS, cheap red-skinned apples, a favourite fruit with costermongers,
who rub them well with a piece of cloth, and find ready purchasers.
GAWKY, a lanky, or awkward person; a fool. _Saxon_, GEAC; _Scotch_,
GOWK.
GAY, loose, dissipated; “GAY woman,” a kept mistress, or prostitute.
GEE, to agree with, or be congenial to a person.
GEN, a shilling. Also, GENT, silver. Abbreviation of the _French_,
ARGENT.
GENT, a contraction of “gentleman,”—in more senses than one. A dressy,
showy, foppish man, with a little mind, who vulgarises the prevailing
fashion.
GENT, silver. From the _French_, ARGENT.
GET-UP, a person’s appearance, or general arrangements. Probably
derived from the decorations of a play.
“There’s so much GETTING UP to please the town,
It takes a precious deal of coming down.”
_Planché’s Mr. Buckstone’s Ascent of Parnassus._
GHOST, “the GHOST does’nt walk,” _i.e._, the manager is too poor to pay
salaries as yet.—_Theat.; Ho. Words, No. 183._
GIB-FACE, properly the lower lip of a horse; “TO HANG ONE’S GIB,” to
pout the lower lip, be angry or sullen.
GIBBERISH, unmeaning jargon; the language of the Gipseys, synonymous
with SLANG, another _Gipsey_ word. Somner says, “_French_, GABBER;
_Dutch_, GABBEREN; and our own GAB, GABBER; hence also, I take it,
our GIBBERISH, a kind of canting language used by a sort of rogues
we vulgarly call Gipseys, a _gibble gabble_ understood only among
themselves.”—_Gipsey._ _See Introduction._
GIFFLE GAFFLE, nonsense.—See CHAFF. _Icelandic_, GAFLA.
GIFT, any article which has been stolen and afterwards sold at a low
price.
GIG, a farthing. Formerly, GRIG.
GIG, fun, frolic, a spree.
“In search of _lark_, or some delicious gig,
The mind delights on, when ’tis in _prime twig_.”
_Randall’s Diary_, 1820.
GIGLAMPS, spectacles. In my first edition I stated this to be a
_University_ term. Mr. CUTHBERT BEDE, however, in a communication
to _Notes and Queries_, of which I have availed myself in the
present edition, says—“If the compiler has taken this epithet from
_Verdant Green_, I can only say that I consider the word not to be a
‘University’ word in general, but as only due to the inventive genius
of Mr. Bouncer in particular.” The term, however, has been adopted, and
is now in general use.