1669. Nicker Nicked, in Hart. Misc. (ed. Park), II., 108. Bulker
occurs in a list of names of thieves.
1678. Four for a Penny, in Hart. Misc. (ed. Park), IV., 147. He is
the treasurer of the thieves’ exchequer, the common fender of all
bulkers and shop-lifts in the town.
Bulky, subs. (provincial).—A police constable. Said to be a northern
term. For synonyms, see Beak.
1821. Edinburgh Mag., August, p. 156. This enterprising ruffian
boasts of his success in deceiving the bulkies on a search, by
concealing his stolen notes in the cape of his coat.
1841. Lytton, Night and Morning, bk. V., ch. ii. ‘Inquiries about
your respectability would soon bring the bulkies about me.’
Adj. (Winchester College).—Rich or generous, or both. The opposite of
brum (q.v.).
Bull, subs. (colloquial.)—1. Formerly a blunder or mistake; now
generally understood as an inconsistent statement; a ludicrous
contradiction, often partaking largely of the nature of a pun. [Bull in
M.E. = to befool; to mock.] The term was current long before the form
Irish bull is met with.
1642. Milton, Apol. for Smect., § 6. But that such a poem should be
toothless, I still affirm it to be a bull, taking away the essence
of that which it calls itself. For if it bite neither the persons
nor the vices, how is it a satire? And if it bite either, how is it
toothless?
1673. Dryden, The Assignation, Act iii., Sc. 1. Ben. Faith, lady, I
could not sleep one wink, for dreaming of you. Lan. Not sleep for
dreaming? When the place falls, you shall be bull master general at
court.
1689. Selden, Table Talk, p. 96 (Arber’s ed.). We can make no
notion of it, ’tis so full of intricacy, so full of contradiction:
’tis in good earnest, as we state it, half-a-dozen bulls one upon
another.
1705. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus, vol. II., pt. I., p. 6. With Stale
Quibbles, Puns, and Bulls.
1841. Lever, Charles O’Malley, ch. i. ‘I have got into such an
infernal habit of making bulls, that I can’t write sense when I
want it.’
1859. H. Kingsley, Geoffrey Hamlyn, ch. xxxix. He was telling the
most outrageous of Irish stories, and making, on purpose, the most
outrageous of Irish bulls.
In this connection it may be noted that in French cavalry regiments
portez! and remettez! are mock commands given upon the perpetration of
a bull. La calinotade signifies in the popular speech a ludicrous or
foolish saying, whilst one given to uttering them is termed un calino.
2. (thieves’.)—A crown or five shilling piece. Formerly bull’s eye
(q.v.). [The origin is doubtful. It may be a mere allusion to the
circular shape, or it may be of classical derivation, and be a
reference to the herds and flocks which at one time constituted a man’s
wealth. Cf., Latin pecunia, from pecus, cattle or oxen.]
1812. J. H. Vaux, Flash Dictionary. Bull, a crown, or five
shillings.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. I., p. 232.
List of patterers’ words. Bull, a crown.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xlvi. Four half-bulls, wot you may
call half-crowns.
1857. Notes and Queries, 2 S., 4 July. And therefore much as a bull
(or a hog) stand arbitrarily for a five-shilling-piece, half-a-bull
for half a-crown, a bob for a shilling, a tanner for sixpence,
etc., with equal propriety might a plum stand for £100,000.
1889. Answers, July 27, p. 136, col. 2. Once found, the ‘lurker’ is
pretty sure to draw a bull (five shillings), or even a ‘counter’
(pound).
3. (Stock Exchange.)—Originally a speculative purchase for a rise;
i.e., a man would agree to buy stock at a future day at a stated price
with no intention of taking it up, but trusting to the market advancing
in value to make the transaction profitable. Bull is the reverse of
bear (q.v.). The term is now more frequently applied to the person
engaged in the above-mentioned tactics, i.e., to one who tries to
enhance the value of stocks by speculative purchases or otherwise. Also
used as a verb and adjective.
b. 1671, d. 1757. Cibber, The Refusal, or The Ladies’ Philosophy.
Granger (to Witling, who has been boasting of his gain): And all
this out of ‘Change Alley’? Witling: Every shilling, Sir, all out
of stocks, Pulls, Bulls, Rams, Bears, and Bubbles.
1768. Foote, Devil upon Two Sticks, Act i. A mere bull and bear
booby; the patron of lame ducks, brokers, and fraudulent foot
bankrupts.
1774. Coleman, Man of Business, IV., i., in wks. (1777) II., 179.
My young master is the bull, and Sir Charles is the bear. He agreed
for stock, expecting it to be up at three hundred by this time;
but, lack-a-day, sir, it has been falling ever since.
1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. iv. The hum and bustle which his approach
was wont to produce among the bulls, bears, and brokers of Stock
Alley.
1860. Peacock, Gryll Grange, ch. xviii. In Stock Exchange slang,
Bulls are speculators for a rise, Bears for a fall.
1881. Mark Lane Express, Aug. 8, p. 1085. The speculative movement
which has, so far, exerted a bull influence on the maize market.
On the French Bourse a bull is called un haussier; in Berlin he is
known as liebhaler; and in Vienna the term used is contremine.