Arse-upwards in good luck.
1600 (circa). Timon I., 5 (1842), 20. This man this daye rose with
his arse upwards: To daye a fidler, and at night a noble.
Also such forms as arse-board, the tail board of a cart—this is still
dialectical; arse-gut, the rectum; arse-long; arse-push, a heavy
backward fall; arse-ropes, the intestines.
Arse-Cooler, subs. (low).—A bustle or dress-improver. [From arse, see
preceding + cooler; in reference to the manner in which this article of
feminine attire extends the dress, and prevents it clinging to the part
of the body referred to.]
For synonyms, see Bird-cage.
Ars-Musica, subs. (low).—The podex when used as a noisy vent.—A play
upon words.
Arst (vulgarism).—A mispronunciation of ‘asked.’
Arsy-Varsy or Arsy-Versy, adv. and adj. (low).—Topsy-turvy; topside
t’other way; heels over head; or ‘the cart before the horse.’ [From
arse + Latin versus ‘to turn,’ following model onomatopoetic compounds
like ‘hirdie-girdie,’ ‘higgledy-piggledy,’ etc.] Once in polite use,
but now confined to the low and vulgar.
1539. Taverner, Erasm. Prov. (1552), 62. Ye set the cart before the
horse ... cleane contrarily, and arsy-versy as they say.
1728. Bailey, Dictionary. Arsy-versey, topsy-turvy, preposterously,
perversely, without order.
Still dialectical. See English Dialect Society’s Glossaries, e.g., West
Somerset Word Book.
Arter (vulgarism).—An incorrect pronunciation of ‘after.’
Artesian, subs. (Australian).—In Gippsland, Victoria, a well-known and
popular brew of beer is manufactured with water obtained from an
artesian well at Sale—and hence artesian as a common nickname for all
Colonial beer.—See also Cascade.
English synonyms for beer will be found under Swipes.
Artful Dodger, subs. (rhyming and thieves’ slang).—1. A lodger.
1881. New York Slang Dictionary. Artful dodgers, fellows who dare
not sleep twice in the same place for fear of arrest.
2. An expert thief. The artful dodger in Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’ will
occur to mind in this connection.
Arthur. King Arthur (old).—A sailor’s game, thus described, in effect,
by Grose. When near the line, or in a hot latitude, a man who is to
represent King Arthur, is ridiculously dressed, having a large wig made
out of oakum, or some old swabs. He is seated on the side, or over a
large vessel of water, and every person in turn is ceremoniously
introduced to him, and has to pour a bucket of water over him, crying
out, ‘Hail, King Arthur!’ If during the ceremony the person introduced
laughs or smiles (to which his majesty endeavours to excite him by all
sorts of ridiculous gesticulations), he changes places with, and then
becomes King Arthur, till relieved by some brother tar who has as
little command over his muscles as himself.—See also Ambassador.
Artichoke, subs. (American thieves’).—An aged prostitute of the lowest
type. For general synonyms, see Barrack hack.
Article, subs. (popular).—1. A term of contempt for a worthless or
insignificant person or animal—‘A pretty article he is.’
1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. xxvi., p. 268. You’re a nice
article, to turn sulky on first coming home!
2. A woman. In this sense generally current at the beginning of the
century—‘a prime article,’ a handsome girl, or, as the Lexicon
Balatronicum [1811] has it, ‘a hell of a goer.’
1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, ch. xxxi. ‘She’d never have done
for you, you know; and she’s the very article for such a man as
Peppermint.’
See also Sappy for English and foreign synonyms.
Articles, subs. (thieves’).—A suit of clothes. Formerly current in
England [circa 1780–1825]; now surviving principally amongst American
thieves.
Articles of Virtue, subs. phr. (popular).—Virgins. A play upon the word
‘virtue,’ in allusion to the absence of defloration; and also upon
vertu in its special English usage.
Artist, subs. (American thieves’).—An adroit rogue; a skilful
gamester.—N.Y.S.D.
As ... as They Make ’Em, phr. (common).—Generally employed with such
adjectives as ‘hot,’ ‘drunk,’ ‘bad,’ etc.; e.g., as bad as they make
’em.
1889. Bird o’ Freedom, Aug. 17, p. 3. On reaching the party it was
evident that one of the Frenchmen was, not to put too fine a point
on it, about as drunk as they make ’em. He opened the campaign by
asking us to have a drink with him. Of course, he spoke in French.
Asia Minor, subs. (popular).—The Kensington and Bayswater districts in
London, on account of the many Anglo-Indians who, on their retirement,
take refuge therein. The nickname, however, is a double-barrelled one,
inasmuch as this quarter is also the headquarters of the Greek
community in the metropolis. Sobriquets of the kind are not infrequent.
The district between Maida Vale and St. Peter’s Park, Paddington, is
called ‘the New Jerusalem,’ because of the large number of Jews who
live there; and the same reason has given an exactly identical
appellation to Brighton, while Cheltenham is nicknamed ‘the Black Hole’
from its numerous Anglo-Indian residents.
A sketch appeared under the title of ‘The Ladies in Parliament’ in
Macmillan’s Magazine [Nov., 1866], wherein Tyburnia was described as
‘the pension’d Indian’s undisturbed retreat.’
1888. Daily News, 9 Feb., p. 2, col. 5. The Ladbroke Hall,
Notting-hill ... is in the centre of a district where Indians in
the British metropolis mostly congregate, a circumstance which has
acquired for this part of London the nickname of Asia Minor, by
which it is sometimes called.
Ask Bogy! phr. (old nautical slang).—An evasive reply.
Askew, subs. (old cant).—A cuppe.—Harman [1567].
Asquirm.—See Squirm.
1866. W. D. Howells, Venetian Life, ch. xviii. It is wet and slimy
underfoot, and the innumerable gigantic eels, writhing everywhere,
set the soul asquirm.
Ass, subs. (printers’).—A compositor, so nicknamed by pressmen, who, in
turn, are called pigs (q.v.). Ass is sometimes varied by donkey. In
French printing offices compositors are called mulets, i.e., ‘mules.’
Assay It! intj. (American thieves’).—Commence! try it! Obviously from
the verb ‘to assay,’ and probably introduced by counterfeit coiners.
Assig., subs. (old).—An assignation.—Grose.
Aste, subs. (old cant).—Nares quotes this as an old cant term for
money. For modern synonyms, see Actual.
1612. The Passenger of Benvenuto. These companions, who in the
phisionomie of their forehead, eyes, and nose, carry the impression
and marke of the pillerie galley, and of the halter, they call the
purse a leafe, and a fleece; money, cuckoes, and aste, and crowns.
Astronomer, subs. (old).—A horse which carries its head high.
Athanasian Wench, subs. (old).—A forward, abandoned woman, of obliging
disposition—one who practises prostitution from libidinous desire
rather than for gain. Also Quicunque vult. For synonyms, see Barrack
hack.
Atlantic-Ranger, subs. (common).—A herring. The derivation is too
obvious to need particularization.
1883. Good Words, p. 378. Peas-pudding, and hard-boiled eggs,
rubbing shoulders, as it were, with Atlantic rangers (i.e., red
herrings).
Among other curious synonyms for this fish may be mentioned
Billingsgate pheasant; two-eyed steak; Yarmouth capon; sea rover; and
Glasgow magistrate, all of which see. A very common request at
Lockhart’s coffee-houses in London is for ‘a door step and a sea
rover,’ i.e., a halfpenny slice of bread and butter and a herring.
Atmosphere, subs. (American).—By the atmosphere of a thing, whether
book, church, or individual, is meant its tone or influence. Atmosphere
is one of the most recent introductions into the canting-slang
phraseology of ‘Culchaw, don’t you know!’ It belongs to the same
category as that which employs awfully and dreadfully for ‘very’; or
lovely for anything pleasing, etc. The number of legitimate words
perverted from their legitimate meanings and used in senses oftentimes
ludicrous is much larger than most people would care to admit.
Atomy, subs. (familiar).—1. A diminutive, or deformed person. [From a
jocular pronunciation of ‘anatomy.’] As will be seen from the
historical examples which follow, this expression has been in the
mouths of the English people for at least 300 years.
1595. Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, iv., i., 57.
... I see, Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies’ midwife; and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the forefinger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies,
Athwart men’s noses as they fall asleep.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., v., 4, 33. Host. Thou atomy, thou!
Dot. Come, you thin thing, come, you rascal.
1822. Scott, The Fortunes of Nigel, ch. iii. ‘He was an atomy when
he came up from the North, and I am sure he died ... at twenty
stone weight.’
1866. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, ch. ix. A miserable little
atomy, more deformed, more diminutive, more mutilated than any
beggar in a bowl.
1884. Cornhill Magazine, May, p. 478. ‘And atomy scarecrow and
atomy, what next will you call me? Yet you want to marry me!’
1886. Miss Braddon, Mohawks, ch. xxii. ‘How lovely his young wife
looks to-night; lovely enough to keep that poor old atomy in
perpetual torment.’
2. (American thieves’).—Amongst the fraternity atomy has the special
meaning of an empty-headed person, and not necessarily one deformed or
of small, mean stature.
For synonyms, in first sense, see Sappy.
Attack, verb. (common).—A jocular rendering of the legitimate word; to
commence operations, not necessarily, however, with the idea of force,
which is always associated with the proper usage. Also as a subs.
1812. Combe (Dr. Syntax), Pictur. xvii., 62. The Doctor then ...
pronounced the grace ... The fierce attack was soon begun.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. i. It was a double letter, and the
Major commenced perusing the envelope before he attacked the inner
epistle.
At That, adv. phr. (American and Australian).—An intensitive phrase
tacked on to the end of an assertion or statement already made. ‘He’s a
slick ’cute rascal, and a pretty demon at that,’ i.e., he is a rascal
of rascals, an adept at villainy. It is a purely cant phrase, and has
achieved a degree of popularity quite out of proportion to its
merits—if any. Proctor suggests that the expression is an abbreviation
of ‘added to that,’ but others regard it as the German dazu, a theory
which is not improbable, in view of the large German element in the
States.
1882. Pinkerton’s Mollie Maguires and Detectives. A miner from
Wadesville, was spoken of as an ancient Mollie—Cooney being
actually what the detective assumed to be, and a sharp one at that.
1888. Forest and Stream, March 15. Worth a year’s subscription, and
cheap at that.
1888. New York Herald, July 22. Who would have supposed that the
self-contained Mr. French, the icily regular T. Henry French, with
a disposition as undemonstrative as the Alpine edelweiss, would
suffer his temper to go away because of the loss of a hat—aye, and
of an old hat at that.
Attic or Attic-Storey, subs. (common).—The head, from its being the
highest or crowning member, the body being figuratively regarded as a
house. Sometimes upper-storey. For synonyms, see Crumpet.
1870. Alford, in Life (1873), 467. Tolerably well all day, but the
noise in the attic unremoved.
Queer in the attic, etc. Drunk; also weak-minded, or ‘cracked.’
Attic-Salt, subs. (literary).—Well-turned phrases spiced with wit and
humour. A reference to the peculiar style and idiom of the Greek
language as used by the Athenians, and, says Hotten, ‘partly a sly hit
at the well-known poverty of many writers.’ Whether so, or not, the
phrase is one of long standing.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5 ed.) In Philology, we say attic-salt,
for a delicate, poignant kind of wit and humour after the Athenian
manner, who were particular in this way.
1779. Sheridan, The Critic, Act i., Sc. 2. I have the plot from the
author, and only add—characters strongly drawn—highly coloured—hand
of a master—fund of genuine humour—mine of invention—neat
dialogue—attic-salt.
1848. Jas. Hannay, King Dobbs, ch. ix., p. 129 (1856). ‘If you joke
in that style, we’ll lose the day,’ said Dobbs, who had some quiet
homely superstitions. ‘What? is it unlucky to spill attic-salt, as
well as the ordinary kind?’
Attleborough, subs. (American).—Sham jewelry; used in precisely the
same manner as ‘Brummagem,’ and as widely applied to men and things. It
has passed from the classics of thiefdom into general use, and is
applied to anything of a sham, pinchbeck, insincere, or doubtful
character. Attleborough is a town celebrated for its manufacture of
trashy jewelry.
Attorney, subs. (popular).—A drumstick of goose, or turkey, grilled and
devilled. [From devil = a lawyer who does routine work for another =
attorney.]
1828. G. Griffin, Collegians, ch. xiii. ‘I love a plain beef steak
before a grilled attorney.’
(Thieves’).—A shrewd, and often not over honest or scrupulous man who,
possessing some knowledge of the law, acts in the capacity of legal
adviser to those of the ‘crooked craft’ unfortunate enough to need
assistance. Such men are generally solicitors and others whose names
have been struck off the rolls, as also, occasionally, solicitors’
clerks who have otherwise failed in life. Their practices are shady,
but their fees are low.
Attorney-General’s Devil.—See Devil.
Auctioneer. To tip or give the auctioneer.—A phrase borrowed from the
sale room, and signifying ‘to knock a man down.’
1863. G. A. Sala, Breakfast in Bed, Essay I., p. 4 (1864). And who,
in return for a craven blow, can deliver the auctioneer well over
the face and eyes.
Audit-Ale, subs. (Cambridge Univ.).—A special brew of ale, peculiar to
Trinity College, made in the first instance for draught on audit days,
whence its name.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Lay of S. Dunstan).
To be sure the best beer
Of all did not appear,
For I’ve said ’twas in June, and so late in the year
The ‘Trinity audit ale’ is not come-at-able,
As I’ve found to my great grief when dining at that table.
1876. Trevelyan, Life of Macaulay (1884), ch. iv., p. 127. A glass
of the audit ale, which reminded him that he was still a fellow of
Trinity.
Audley.—See John Audley.
Aufe.—See Oaf.
Auger, subs. (American thieves’).—A person given to prosiness is so
called; a bore.
Aught, subs. (vulgarism).—A common illiteracy for ‘naught’ when naming
the cipher—‘o’.
Auld Hornie, subs. (common).—One of the numerous nicknames given to the
devil. Others are, old nick; old scratch; old Harry; skipper; old
gentleman; deuce; dickens; ruffian, etc.—See Skipper for synonyms.
Auld Reekie (popular).—A sobriquet for the old town of Edinburgh. It
means ‘old smoky.’ Of late years it has been applied to the whole city.
1806. Miss Pitman, in C. K. Sharpe’s Correspondence (1888), i.,
271. We are within two hours-and-a-half of Auld Reeky.
1816. Scott, Antiquary, ch. vi. ‘And what news do you bring us from
Edinburgh, Monkbarns?’ said Sir Arthur; ‘how wags the world in Auld
Reekie?’
1889. Colonies and India, July 24, p. 10, col. 1. The Australasian
Colony in Auld Reekie is prospering apace, and it may soon be
necessary to plant some gum trees along Princes Street to meet the
growing demands of the population.
Auly-Auly, subs. (Win. Coll.).—A game formerly played in ‘Grass Court’
on Saturday afternoons after chapel. It consisted in throwing an
india-rubber ball at one another, and everybody was obliged to go down
and join in it. ‘Haul ye, call ye,’ is the supposed derivation; but, as
the game, though in vogue in 1830, was not played as late as 1845,
there is some difficulty in defining it in detail.
Aunt, subs. (old).—Applied, especially during the Elizabethan period,
to either a procuress, a prostitute, or a concubine. It survived till
the commencement of the present century and then gradually died out.
For synonyms, see Mother.
1608. Middleton, Trick to Catch the Old One, II., i. Was it not
then better bestowed upon his uncle than upon one of his aunts?—I
need not say bawd, for everyone knows what aunt stands for in the
last translation.
1623. Shakspear, Winter’s Tale, iv., 3.
Summer songs for me and my aunts,
While we lie tumbling in the hay.
To go and see one’s aunt (common).—To go to the W.C.—See Mrs. Jones.
Aunt Sally, subs. (familiar).—A well-known game, common to race-courses
and fairs, which consists in throwing short staves at a wooden head
mounted on a stick, placed upright in the ground, and forming a kind of
target. In the mouth of the image is placed a clay pipe, and the object
of the player, who stands at say twenty or thirty yards distance, is to
demolish this. The amusement is not unlike the more popular ‘three
shies a penny.’ The origin of Aunt Sally is wrapped in mystery; nor is
it known whether she is any relation to the black lady whose effigy
some few years since was frequently to be met with suspended outside
the shops of rag and ‘marine store’ dealers. A writer in Notes and
Queries [2 S., x., 117] affirms that Aunt Sally is the heroine of a
popular negro melody, in which the old lady meets with several
ludicrous adventures, but evidence in support of this theory is at
present wanting.
1866. G. A. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, ch. i., p. 11. They will
go to Epsom by the rail, and create disturbances on the course, and
among the ‘sticks’ and aunt sallies.
1883. Punch, June 2, p. 264, col. 1. The average number of ‘chucks’
at cocoa-nuts before achieving success is six, and of ‘shies’ at
aunt sally, four.
Au Reservoir! intj. phr. (common).—Au revoir. A mere play upon sounds.
Common in America, where it originated, and now often heard in England.
Australian Flag, subs. (Anglo-Australian).—The tail of a shirt, when,
after exertion, it rucks up in folds between the trousers and the
waistcoat—an ‘up-country’ phrase.—See Cornstalk.
Australian Grip, subs. (Australian).—A hearty shake of the hands.
Autem, Autum, Autom, subs. (old cant).—A church. The term first appears
in Harman’s Caveat [1573]; again in Rowland’s Martin Mark-all [1610];
in Head’s English Rogue [1665]; in Cole’s English Dictionary [1724]; in
Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue [1785], and in Duncombe’s Sinks
of London Laid Open [1848].—See also Autem mort.
Adj.—Married. So quoted in Cole’s English Dictionary, whence autem
mort, etc.
Autem-Bawler, subs. (old cant).—A parson. [From autem (q.v.), a church
+ bawler, a speaker.] For modern English and foreign synonyms, see
Gospel shark. Other ancient expressions for a clergyman are autem-jet,
autem-cackler, and autem-pricker; the last two named, however, apply,
as a rule, only to Dissenters.
Autem-Cackler, subs. (old cant).—A Dissenter; sometimes specially
applied to Dissenting ministers.
1876. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 260. ‘On one
occasion a Jew was selling cocoa-nut, when the autem-cackler, i.e.,
Dissenting minister, came and wanted to impart to the Israelite the
sin he committed in carrying on his vocation on such a day
[Sunday]. The Jew half listened to what the other said, but kept on
calling out “Cocoa-nut a half-penny a slice, a very nice
cocoa-nut—cocoanut!”’
2. A married woman.—See Autem. In this sense it is used in a canting
song in the New York Slang Dictionary, first published in 1881, and
which, as a specimen of the verse affected by the light-fingered
fraternity, it may not be out of place to give entire. It should be
read in connection with the remarks On canting songs (q.v.).
‘A HUNDRED STRETCHES (1) HENCE.’
‘Oh! where will be the culls of the bing (2)
A hundred stretches hence?
The bene morts (3), who sweetly sing,
A hundred stretches hence?
The autumn-cacklers, autumn-coves (4),
The jolly blade who wildly roves;
And where the buffer (5), bruiser (6), blowen (7),
And all the cops (8) and beaks (9) so knowin’
A hundred stretches hence?
‘And where the swag (10), so bleakly (11) pinched (12),
A hundred stretches hence?
The thimbles (13), slang (14), and danglers (15) filched,
A hundred stretches hence?
The chips (16), the fawneys (17), chatty-feeders (18),
The bugs (19), the boungs (20), and well-filled readers (21);
And where the fence (22) and snoozing-ken (23),
With all the prigs (24) and lushing men (25),
A hundred stretches hence?
‘Played out they lay, it will be said
A hundred stretches hence;
With shovels they were put to bed (26)
A hundred stretches since!
Some rubbed to wit had napped a winder (27),
And some were scragged (28) and took a blinder (29),
Planted the swag and lost to sight,
We’ll bid them, one and all, good-night,
A hundred stretches hence.’
1, Stretch, a year; 2, culls of the bing, innkeepers, publicans; 3,
bene morts, pretty girls or women; 4, autumn cove, married men; 5,
buffer, smuggler, rogue, or cheat; 6, bruiser, prostitute’s bully
or prize-fighter; 7, blowen, a showy prostitute; 8, cop, policeman;
9, beak, a magistrate; 10, swag, plunder, proceeds of robbery; 11,
bleakly, cleverly, also handsome; 12, pinched, stolen; 13, thimble,
a watch; 14, slang, a watch chain; 15, danglers, a bunch of seals;
16, chips, money; 17, fawney, a ring; 18, chatty-feeder, a spoon;
19, bug, a breast pin; 20, boung, a purse; 21, reader, a
pocket-book; 22, fence, a receiver of stolen goods; 23,
snoozing-ken, a brothel; 24, prig, a thief; 25, lushing-men,
drinking-men; 26, put to bed with a shovel, buried; 27, to nap a
winder—to nap, to cheat, winder, a life sentence; 28, scragged,
hanged; 29, to take a blinder, to drown oneself.
Autem Cackle Tub, subs. (old cant).—The meeting house of Dissenters of
every description. Also a pulpit.
Autem-Cove, subs. (old cant).—A married man. [From autem (q.v.), a
church + cove, a man.]
Autem-Dippers or Autem-Divers, subs. (old cant).—1. Formerly a nickname
for Baptists, from their practice of immersing adult converts, as
distinguished from infant sprinkling.
2. Pickpockets who practised in churches were called autem-divers; also
churchwardens and overseers of the poor who defrauded, deceived, and
imposed upon the parish.
Autem-Goglers, subs. (old cant).—Pretended French prophets—Grose.
Conjurors, fortune-tellers—Duncombe.
Autem-Jet, subs. (old cant).—A parson. [From autem, a church + jet,
black, in allusion to the black garments usually worn by ‘the cloth.’]
For some curious synonyms, see Devil-dodger.
Autem, or Autem-Mort, subs. (old cant).—A married woman, i.e., one
wedded in a church. [From autem, a church + mort, or mot, a woman.] The
term belongs to the oldest cant, and is the subject of a long
description in Harman’s Caveat. (See quotation.) The old fraternity of
vagabonds (for a full description of which, see Cadgers—ancient and
modern) was divided into well marked classes, as also were the women
who accompanied them in their peregrinations. The men were not strict
monogamists, either as regards lawful companions or those of another
grade—
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 49. These Autem Mortes be maried
wemen, as there be but a fewe: For Autem in their language is a
church, so shee is a wyfe maried at the church, and they be as
chaste as a cowe I have, that goeth to bull eury moone, with what
bull she careth not. These walke most times from their husbands
companye a moneth and more to gether, being asociate with another
as honest as her selfe. These wyll pylfar clothes of hedges; some
of them go with children of ten or xii years of age; yf tyme and
place serue for their purpose, they will send them into some house,
at the window, to steale and robbe, which they call in their
language, Milling of the ken; and wil go with wallets on their
shoulders, and slates at their backes. There is one of these Autem
Mortes, she is now a widow, of fyfty yeres old; her name is Alice
Milson: she goeth about with a couple of great boyes, the youngest
of them is fast Upon xx yeares of age....
1592. Greene, Quip, in works IX., 283. The pedler as bad or rather
worse, walketh the country with his docksey at the least, if he
have not two, his mortes dels, and Autem Mortis.
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 7 (H. Club’s Reprint, 1874).
Here another [complains] that they could not quietly take their
rest in the night, nor keepe his autem, or doxie sole vnto
himselfe.
1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, bk. III., ch. v. Morts, autem-morts,
walking morts, dells, doxies with all the shades and grades of the
canting crew, were assembled.
Toward the end of the eighteenth century autem-mort was used as
synonymous with a female beggar alone; then another meaning crept into
the word—a prostitute.—See Cadger.
Autem-Prickear.—The same as autem-cackler (q.v.).
Autem-Quaver, subs. (old cant).—A Quaker. [From autem, a church +
quaver, referring to the shaking, peculiar to some of the religious
exercises of the Society of Friends.]
Autem-Quaver-Tub, subs. (old cant).—A Quaker’s meeting-house; also a
desk therein.
Author-Baiting, subs. (theatrical).—Calling the author of an
unsuccessful play before the curtain, and then, wanting all sense of
decency and feeling, to overwhelm him with every imaginable source of
annoyance—yelling, hooting, bellowing, etc.
Avast! intj. (nautical).—Hold on! Stop! Shut up! Stow it! etc., etc. No
word perhaps has more suggested derivations than avast! Webster writes
it down as from the Italian basta, enough; literally, it suffices, from
bastare, to suffice. He does not, however, seem to have been altogether
certain, for he queries whether it is not a worn-down form of the Dutch
houd vast, hou’ vast, hold fast! a derivation which Dr. Murray endorses
as ‘probable’ in his New Dictionary of the English Language. Bearing in
mind that avast, although used colloquially is first and foremost a
sailor’s term, this derivation does not seem far-fetched; for, the
Dutch having been themselves one of the great maritime nations of the
past, it is not unlikely that the term should have come from them,
especially when it is borne in mind that a large proportion of nautical
terms are so derived.
Such are boom; sprit; reef; schooner; skate; sloop; stiver; taffrail;
yacht (jaghten, ‘to chase’), etc.
On the other hand, as regards the Italian basta, it is only fair to
point out that French workmen use basta, in the sense of enough! no
more! The same term occurs also in the Spanish.
Hotten connects it with the old cant bynge a waste, get out of the way!
go hence! but though one cannot speak with certainty, this is not, on
the face of it, apparent. There seems no discoverable connection
between the two; moreover, the comparative and historical method of
dealing with slang shows us that avast in its present form and sense
can be traced as far back as 1681, within about a hundred years of the
publication of Harman’s Caveat where bynge a waste first occurs. The
probability therefore is that the two terms are distinct, and that
avast is derived from a different source to bynge a waste (q.v.) which,
as Leland points out, has probably its origin in the Romany.
1681. Otway, Soldiers’ Fortune, iv., i. Hoa up, hoa up; so avast
there, sir.
1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xli. ‘Avast there, friend: none of
your tricks upon travellers.’
1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. xcvii. ‘And upon this scrap
of paper—no, avast—that’s my discharge from the parish.’
1884. W. C. Russell, Jack’s Courtship, ch. xiv. But avast now!
we’ve had enough of philosopherising.
Avoirdupois-Lay, subs. (old thieves’ cant).—This is given by Grose as
meaning the theft of brass weights off shop counters.
Avuncular-Relation, subs. (common).—A pawnbroker—a facetious variant of
uncle (q.v.), another name for the same individual.
Awake, adv. (old, and modern American thieves’).—On the alert;
vigilant. Cf., wide-awake, a certain kind of hat, so called,
by-the-bye, from its never having a ‘nap.’ For synonyms, see Fly.
1821. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry (Dicks’ ed., 1889), p. 6.
Prime. From the cut of the gentleman’s clothes, I presume he’s lately
come from the Esquimaux Islands.
Tom. Ha! ha! very good, Primefit; I say, Jerry—you see he’s down upon
you.
Jerry. Yes, he’s up, he’s awake, he’s fly—Ha! ha!
1838. Dickens, Nich. Nickleby, ch. xxxix., p. 314. ‘If you hear the
waiter coming, sir, shove it in your pocket and look out of the
window, d’ye hear?’ ‘I’m awake, father,’ replied the dutiful
Wackford.
Awful, subs. (common).—A sensational newspaper, tale, or narration;
e.g., a penny awful. Sometimes called a dreadful; other names for this
kind of mental pabulum are blood and thunder tales, and gutter
literature.
Adj.—Generally colloquial as an intensitive, conveying no more awe-full
meaning than ‘very,’ ‘exceedingly,’ etc. Strange as it may appear this
familiar usage is very old, and was frequently heard north of the Tweed
long prior to its use by Southrons. An intermediate stage was its
appearance across the Atlantic, whence its re-introduction into the
Mother Country may be traced.
1834. Lamb, Gent. Giantess, Misc. Wks. (1871), 363. She is indeed,
as the Americans would express it, something awful.
b. 1789, d. 1880. Planché, Good Woman in the Wood.
‘A poor widow and her orphan chicks
Left without fixtures, in an awful fix.’
1883. Hawley Smart, At Fault, III., v., 82. ‘I’m awful glad you two
have made acquaintance.’
Awfully, the adverbial form, is subjected to the same ill-treatment, as
the following examples will show.
1877. Punch’s Pocket Book for 1878, p. 165. You should have come
with us. It’s too awfully nice, as I told you I thought it would
be.
1878. M. E. Braddon, Cloven Foot, ch. vii. ‘Awfully,’ was Miss
Clare’s chief laudatory adjective [sic]; her superlative form of
praise was ‘quite too awfully,’ and when enthusiasm carried her
beyond herself she called things ‘nice.’ ‘Quite too awfully nice,’
was her maximum of rapture.
1889. Illustrated Bits, July 13.
An Old Proverb Twisted.
‘The ham of the sandwich was awfully tough,’
He said, for, oh, it was dry,
As at first he tried to bite into the stuff,
All in vain, how hard he would try.
But at last, when fairly bit into the thing,
He found that it was all right,
And he said, as happy as any king,
‘The bark was worse than the bite.’
French equivalents are, bigrement; jusqu’à la troisième capucine; and
pommé.
Awkward-Squad, subs. (military and naval).—Recruits when commencing to
learn their drill.
Ax, Axe, verb. (vulgar).—To ask. Though now looked upon as a vulgarism,
ax is still largely dialectical, and is really the most correct form of
the word. ‘Ask’ is the northern gloss which has gradually supplanted
ax. The latter, down to nearly 1600, says Dr. Murray, was the regular
literary form.
c. 1380. Chaucer, Tale of Melibeus. Seint Jame eck saith: If eny
fellow have neede of sapiens, axe it of God.
1474. Caxton, Game of the Chesse, bk. III., ch. viii. He must nedes
begge and axe his breed.
1758. A. Murphy, The Upholsterer, Act i. An old crazy fool—axing
your pardon, ma’am, for calling your father so.
1763. Foote, Mayor of Garratt, Act ii., Sc. 2. Mrs. Sneak. Where is
the puppy? Sneak. Yes, yes, she is axing for me.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. vi. ‘I axed her would she like to
live in the great house, and she said no.’
1883. Echo, Jan. 25, p. 2, col. 3. To axe, considered but a
vulgarism, for to ask, is good Saxon.
Axe. An axe to grind, phr. (American).—A much-used phrase of political
origin. Men are said to have axes to grind when suspected of selfish or
interested motives. From politics the expression has passed into use
among all classes of society. The Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean (Feb. 1888)
spoke of certain politicians as ‘men with axes to grind.’ What we
believe is right is more often so because it grinds our axe than
otherwise.
1871. (From Hoppe’s Conversations Lexicon). Miner. ‘Who’ll turn the
grindstones?’ When I see a merchant over-polite to his customers,
begging them to taste a little brandy, and throwing half his goods
on the counter, thinks I, that man has an axe to grind.
1888. Detroit Free Press, Sept. 22. William Black, the novelist,
says the only ax a novelist has to grind is the climax.
Axe-My-Eye! subs. (cheap jacks’).—One who is up to every trick; a cute
fellow.
1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 232.
Stow your gab and gauffery,
To every fakement I’m a fly;
I never takes no fluffery,
For I’m a regular axe-my-eye.
Ayrshires, subs. (Stock Exchange).—Glasgow and South-Western Railway
Stock.
B
B Not to know b from a battledore, phr. (old).—To be entirely
illiterate; very ignorant. This old cant phrase has several variants,
all of them alliterative in character. For example, not to know b from
a bull’s-foot—from a broomstick—chalk from cheese, etc. Each and all
indicate inability to distinguish between familiar objects that differ.
Battledore is an old name for the hornbook from which children used to
learn the alphabet.
1401. Pol. Poems, II., 57. I know not an a from the wynd-mylne, ne
a b from a bole foot. [M.]
1609. Dekker, Guls-Hornebooke, 3. You shall not neede to buy
bookes; no, scorne to distinguish a b from a battledore; onely
looke that your eares be long enough to reach our rudiments, and
you are made for ever.
1846. Brackenridge, Modern Chivalry, 43. There were members who
scarcely knew b from a bull’s-foot. [M.]
B (fenian).—Mr. H. J. Byron, the playwright, in his annotated copy of
the Slang Dictionary, mentions this as the title of a captain in the
‘army of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.’
B’s.—See B flat.
Babe, subs. (parliamentary).—The last elected member of the House of
Commons. The oldest representative of the chamber is called the father
of the house (q.v.).
(American).—The youngest member of a class at the United States
Military College at West Point. A term sans wit, sans point, sans
almost everything.
Babe in the Wood, subs. phr. (old).—1. A victim of the law’s
solicitude; in other words, a culprit sentenced to the stocks or the
pillory. Obsolete.