The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue dates from 1811 and this is probably the only full, uncensored and searchable version of this dictionary on the internet. All the original crudities have been restored and it offers an interesting perspective on Common English from the time of the Regency and Jane Austen.

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Entries releated to OLD

 

ACORN		You will ride a horse foaled by an acorn, i.e. the gallows, called also the Wooden and Three-legged Mare. You will be hanged. - See THREE-LEGGED MARE. ACT OF PARLIAMENT. A military term for small beer, five pints of which, by an act of parliament, a landlord was formerly obliged to give to each soldier gratis.
ACTEON		A cuckold, from the horns planted on the head of Acteon by Diana.
ALDERMAN		A roasted turkey garnished with sausages; the latter are supposed to represent the gold chain worn by those magistrates.
ALL NATIONS		A composition of all the different spirits sold in a dram-shop, collected in a vessel into which the drainings of the bottles and quartern pots are emptied.
ALLS		The five alls is a country sign, representing five human figures, each having a motto under him. The first is a king in his regalia; his motto, I govern all: the second, a bishop in pontificals; motto, I pray for all: third, a lawyer in his gown; motto, I plead for all: fourth: a soldier in his regimentals, fully accoutred; motto, I fight for all: fifth, a poor countryman with his scythe and rake; motto, I pay for all.
AMBASSADOR		A trick to duck some ignorant fellow or landsman, frequently played on board ships in the warm latitudes. It is thus managed: A large tub is filled with water, and two stools placed on each side of it. Over the whole is thrown a tarpaulin, or old sail: this is kept tight by two persons, who are to represent the king and queen of a foreign country, and are seated on the stools. The person intended to be ducked plays the Ambassador, and after repeating a ridiculous speech dictated to him, is led in great form up to the throne, and seated between the king and queen, who rising suddenly as soon as he is seated, he falls backwards into the tub of water.
APE LEADER		An old maid; their punishment after death, for neglecting increase and multiply, will be, it is said, leading apes in hell.
APRON STRING HOLD		An estate held by a man during his wife's life.
ARTHUR, KING ARTHUR		A game used at sea, when near the line, or in a hot latitude. It is performed thus: A man who is to represent king Arthur, ridiculously dressed, having a large wig made out of oakum, or some old swabs, is seated on the side, or over a large vessel of water. Every person in his turn is to be ceremoniously introduced to him, and to pour a bucket of water over him, crying, hail, king Arthur! if during this ceremony the person introduced laughs or smiles (to which his majesty endeavours to excite him, by all sorts of ridiculous gesticulations), he changes place with, and then becomes, king Arthur, till relieved by some brother tar, who has as little command over his muscles as himself.
BACKED		Dead. He wishes to have the senior, or old square-toes, backed; he longs to have his father on six men's shoulders; that is, carrying to the grave.
BAD BARGAIN		One of his majesty's bad bargains; a worthless soldier, a malingeror. See MALINGEROR.
BAG OF NAILS		He squints like a bag of nails; ie: his eyes are directed as many ways as the points of a bag of nails. The old BAG OF NAILS at Pimlico; originally the BACCHANALS.
BARGAIN		To sell a bargain; a species of wit, much in vogue about the latter end of the reign of Queen Anne, and frequently alluded to by Dean Swift, who says the maids of honour often amused themselves with it. It consisted in the seller naming his or her hinder parts, in answer to the question, What? which the buyer was artfully led to ask. As a specimen, take the following instance: A lady would come into a room full of company, apparently in a fright, crying out, It is white, and follows me! On any of the company asking, What? she sold him the bargain, by saying, Mine arse.
BARNABY		An old dance to a quick movement. See Cotton, in his Virgil Travesti; where, speaking of Eolus he has these lines, Bounce cry the port-holes, out they fly, And make the world dance Barnaby.
BARTHOLOMEW BABY		A person dressed up in a tawdry manner, like the dolls or babies sold at Bartholomew fair.
BASKET-MAKING		The good old trade of basket-making; copulation, or making feet for children's stockings.
BAYARD OF TEN TOES		To ride bayard of ten toes, is to walk on foot. Bayard was a horse famous in old romances, BEAK. A justice of-peace, or magistrate. Also a judge or chairman who presides in court. I clapp'd my peepers full of tears, and so the old beak set me free; I began to weep, and the judge set me free.
BEAR		One who contracts to deliver a certain quantity of sum of stock in the public funds, on a future day, and at stated price; or, in other words, sells what he has not got, like the huntsman in the fable, who sold the bear's skin before the bear was killed. As the bear sells the stock he is not possessed of, so the bull purchases what he has not money to pay for; but in case of any alteration in the price agreed on, either party pays or receives the difference. Exchange Alley.
BIBLE OATH		Supposed by the vulgar to be more binding than an oath taken on the Testament only, as being the bigger book, and generally containing both the Old and New Testament.
BLACK GUARD		A shabby, mean fellow; a term said to be derived from a number of dirty, tattered roguish boys, who attended at the Horse Guards, and Parade in St. James's Park, to black the boots and shoes of the soldiers, or to do any other dirty offices. These, from their constant attendance about the time of guard mounting, were nick-named the black-guards.
BLACK STRAP		Bene Carlo wine; also port. A task of labour imposed on soldiers at Gibraltar, as a punishment for small offences.
BLOODY BACK		A jeering appellation for a soldier, alluding to his scarlet coat.
BLUE PLUMB		A bullet. - Surfeited with a blue plumb; wounded with a bullet. A sortment of George R - 's blue plumbs; a volley of ball, shot from soldiers' firelocks.
BOB STAY		A rope which holds the bowsprit to the stem or cutwater. Figuratively, the frenum of a man's yard.
BOLD		Bold as a miller's shirt, which every day takes a rogue by the collar.
BOOTS		The youngest officer in a regimental mess, whose duty it is to skink, that is, to stir the fire, snuff the candles, and ring the bell. See SKINK. - To ride in any one's old boots; to marry or keep his cast-off mistress.
BORACHIO		A skin for holding wine, commonly a goat's; also a nick name for a drunkard.
BRAZEN-FACED		Bold-faced, shameless, impudent.
BROTHER OF THE BLADE		A soldier
BROWN BESS		A soldier's firelock. To hug brown Bess; to carry a firelock, or serve as a private soldier.
BUCK FITCH		A lecherous old fellow.
BUCK OF THE FIRST HEAD		One who in debauchery surpasses the rest of his companions, a blood or choice spirit. There are in London divers lodges or societies of Bucks, formed in imitation of the Free Masons: one was held at the Rose, in Monkwell-street, about the year 1705. The president is styled the Grand Buck. A buck sometimes signifies a cuckold.
BUCK'S FACE		A cuckold.
BULKER		One who lodges all night on a bulk or projection before old-fashioned shop windows.
BULL'S FEATHER		A horn: he wears the bull's feather; he is a cuckold.
BUSS BEGGAR		An old superannuated fumbler, whom none but beggars will suffer to kiss them.
BUTTOCK AND TONGUE		A scolding wife.
CAGG		To cagg; a military term used by the private soldiers, signifying a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time; or, as the term is, till their cagg is out: which vow is commonly observed with the strictest exactness. Ex. I have cagg'd myself for six months. Excuse me this time, and I will cagg myself for a year. This term is also used in the same sense among the common people of Scotland, where it is performed with divers ceremonies.
CAGG MAGGS		Old Lincolnshire geese, which having been plucked ten or twelve years, are sent up to London to feast the cockneys.
CAMBRADE		A chamber fellow; a Spanish military term. Soldiers were in that country divided into chambers, five men making a chamber, whence it was generally used to signify companion.
CAMP CANDLESTICK		A bottle, or soldier's bayonet.
CAPRICORNIFIED		Cuckolded, hornified.
CAPTAIN LIEUTENANT		Meat between veal and beef, the flesh of an old calf; a military simile, drawn from the officer of that denomination, who has only the pay of a lieutenant, with the rank of captain; and so is not entirely one or the other, but between both.
CARRION HUNTER		An undertaker; called also a cold cook, and death hunter. See COLD COOK and DEATH HUNTER.
CARVEL'S RING		The private parts of a woman. Ham Carvel, a jealous old doctor, being in bed with his wife, dreamed that the Devil gave him a ring, which, so long as he had it on his finger, would prevent his being made a cuckold: waking he found he had got his finger the Lord knows where. See Rabelais, and Prior's versification of the story.
CAT		A common prostitute. An old cat; a cross old woman.
CAT AND BAGPIPEAN SOCIETY		A society which met at their office in the great western road: in their summons, published in the daily papers, it was added, that the kittens might come with the old cats without being scratched.
CATAMARAN		An old scraggy woman; from a kind of float made of spars and yards lashed together, for saving ship-wrecked persons.
CATERPILLAR		A nick name for a soldier. In the year 1745, a soldier quartered at a house near Derby, was desired by his landlord to call upon him, whenever he came that way; for, added he, soldiers are the pillars of the nation. The rebellion being finished, it happened the same regiment was quartered in Derbyshire, when the soldier resolved to accept of his landlord's invitation, and accordingly obtained leave to go to him: but, on his arrival, he was greatly surprised to find a very cold reception; whereupon expostulating with his landlord, he reminded him of his invitation, and the circumstance of his having said, soldiers were the pillars of the nation. If I did, answered the host, I meant CATERpiliars.
CATHEDRAL		Old-fashioned. An old cathedral-bedstead, chair, etc.
CAULIFLOWER		A large white wig, such as is commonly worn by the dignified clergy, and was formerly by physicians. Also the private parts of a woman; the reason for which appellation is given in the following story: A woman, who was giving evidence in a cause wherein it was necessary to express those parts, made use of the term cauliflower; for which the judge on the bench, a peevish old fellow, reproved her, saying she might as well call it artichoke. Not so, my lord, replied she; for an artichoke has a bottom, but a cunt and a cauliflower have none.
CAXON		An old weather-beaten wig.
CHARREN		The smoke of Charren. - His eyes water from the smoke of Charren; a man of that place coming out of his house weeping, because his wife had beat him, told his neighbours the smoke had made his eyes water.
CHIP		A child. A chip of the old block; a child who either in person or sentiments resembles its father or mother.
CHIVEY		I gave him a good chivey; I gave him, a hearty scolding.
CHOAKING PYE, or COLD PYE		A punishment inflicted on any person sleeping in company: it consists in wrapping up cotton in a case or tube of paper, setting it on fire, and directing the smoke up the nostrils of the sleeper. See HOWELL'S COTGRAVE.
CLAPPER CLAW		To scold, to abuse, or claw off with the tongue.
COB, or COBBING		A punishment used by the seamen for petty offences, or irregularities, among themselves: it consists in bastonadoing the offender on the posteriors with a cobbing stick, or pipe staff; the number usually inflicted is a dozen. At the first stroke the executioner repeats the word WATCH, on which all persons present are to take off their hats, on pain of like punishment: the last stroke is always given as hard as possible, and is called THE PURSE. Ashore, among soldiers, where this punishment is sometimes adopted, WATCH and THE PURSE are not included in the number, but given over and above, or, in the vulgar phrase, free gratis for nothing. This piece of discipline is also inflicted in Ireland, by the school-boys, on persons coming into the school without taking off their hats; it is there called school butter.
COCKNEY		A nick name given to the citizens of London, or persons born within the sound of Bow bell, derived from the following story: A citizen of London, being in the country, and hearing a horse neigh, exclaimed, Lord! how that horse laughs! A by-stander telling him that noise was called NEIGHING, the next morning, when the cock crowed, the citizen to shew he had not forgot what was told him, cried out, Do you hear how the COCK NEIGHS? The king of the cockneys is mentioned among the regulations for the sports and shows formerly held in the Middle Temple on Childermas Day, where he had his officers, a marshal, constable, butler, etc. See DUGDALE'S ORIGINES JURIDICIALES, p. 247. - Ray says, the interpretation of the word Cockney, is, a young person coaxed or conquered, made wanton; or a nestle cock, delicately bred and brought up, so as, when arrived a man's estate, to be unable to bear the least hardship. Whatever may be the origin of this appellation, we learn from the following verses, attributed to Hugh Bigot, Earl of Norfolk, that it was in use. in the time of king Henry II. Was I in my castle at Bungay, Fast by the river Waveney, I would not care for the king of Cockney; ie: the king of London.
CODGER		An old codger: an old fellow.
COLD		You will catch cold at that; a vulgar threat or advice to desist from an attempt. He caught cold by lying in bed barefoot; a saying of any one extremely tender or careful of himself.
COLD BURNING		A punishment inflicted by private soldiers on their comrades for trifling offences, or breach of their mess laws; it is administered in the following manner: The prisoner is set against the wall, with the arm which is to be burned tied as high above his head as possible. The executioner then ascends a stool, and having a bottle of cold water, pours it slowly down the sleeve of the delinquent, patting him, and leading the water gently down his body, till it runs out at his breeches knees: this is repeated to the other arm, if he is sentenced to be burned in both.
COLD COOK		An undertaker of funerals, or carrion hunter. See CARRION HUNTER.
COLD IRON		A sword, or any other weapon for cutting or stabbing. I gave him two inches of cold iron into his beef.
COLD MEAT		A dead wife is the beat cold meat in a man's house.
COLD PIG		To give cold pig is a punishment inflicted on sluggards who lie too long in bed: it consists in pulling off all the bed clothes from them, and throwing cold water upon them.
COLD PUDDING		This is said to settle one's love.
COLLEGE COVE		The College cove has numbered him, and if he is knocked down he'll be twisted; the turnkey of Newgate has told the judge how many times the prisoner has been tried before and therefore if he is found guilty, he certainly will be hanged. It is said to be the custom of the Old Bailey for one of the turnkeys of Newgate to give information to the judge how many times an old offender has been tried, by holding up as many fingers as the number of times the prisoner has been before arraigned at that bar.
COLT'S TOOTH		An old fellow who marries or keeps a young girl, is said to have a colt's tooth in his head.
COMB		To comb one's head; to clapperclaw, or scold any one: a woman who lectures her husband, is said to comb his head. She combed his head with a joint stool; she threw a stool at him.
COT, or QUOT		A man who meddles with women's household business, particularly in the kitchen. The punishment commonly inflicted on a quot, is pinning a greasy dishclout to the skirts of his coat.
COURT OF ASSISTANTS		A court often applied to by young women who marry old men.
CRONE		An old ewe whose teeth are worn out; figuratively, a toothless old beldam.
CRUMP		One who helps solicitors to affidavit men, or false witnesses. - 'I wish you had, Mrs. Crump;' a Gloucestershire saying, in answer to a wish for any thing; implying, you must not expect any assistance from the speaker. It is said to have originated from the following incident: One Mrs. Crump, the wife of a substantial farmer, dining with the old Lady Coventry, who was extremely deaf, said to one of the footmen, waiting at table, 'I wish I had a draught of small beer,' her modesty not permitting her to desire so fine a gentleman to bring it: the fellow, conscious that his mistress could not hear either the request or answer, replied, without moving, 'I wish you had, Mrs. Crump.' These wishes being again repeated by both parties, Mrs. Crump got up from the table to fetch it herself; and being asked by my lady where she was going, related what had passed. The story being told abroad, the expression became proverbial.
CUCKOLD		The husband of an incontinent wife: cuckolds, however, are Christians, as we learn by the following story: An old woman hearing a man call his dog Cuckold, reproved him sharply, saying, 'Sirrah, are not you ashamed to call a dog by a Christian's name ?' To cuckold the parson; to bed with one's wife before she has been churched.
CUFF		An old cuff; an old man. To cuff Jonas; said of one who is knock-kneed, or who beats his sides to keep himself warm in frosty weather; called also Beating the booby.
CUNDUM		The dried gut of a sheep, worn by men in the act of coition, to prevent venereal infection; said to have been invented by one colonel Cundum. These machines were long prepared and sold by a matron of the name of Philips, at the Green Canister, in Half-moon-street, in the Strand. That good lady having acquired a fortune, retired from business; but learning that the town was not well served by her successors, she, out of a patriotic zeal for the public welfare, returned to her occupation; of which she gave notice by divers hand-bills, in circulation in the year 1776. Also a false scabbard over a sword, and the oil-skin case for holding the colours of a regiment.
CURMUDGEON		A covetous old fellow, derived, according to some, from the French term coeur mechant.
CURTAIN LECTURE		A woman who scolds her husband when in bed, is said to read him a curtain lecture.
DADDY		Father. Old daddy; a familiar address to an old man. To beat daddy mammy; the first rudiments of drum beating, being the elements of the roll.
DEMURE		As demure as an old whore at a christening.
DERRICK		The name of the finisher of the law, or hangman about the year 1608. - 'For he rides his circuit with the Devil, and Derrick must be his host, and Tiburne the inne at which he will lighte.' Vide Bellman of London, in art. PRIGGIN LAW. - 'At the gallows, where I leave them, as to the haven at which they must all cast anchor, if Derrick's cables do but hold.'
DEVIL		A printer's errand-boy. Also a small thread in the king's ropes and cables, whereby they may be distinguished from all others. The Devil himself; a small streak of blue thread in the king's sails. The Devil may dance in his pocket; i.e. he has no money: the cross on our ancient coins being jocularly supposed to prevent him from visiting that place, for fear, as it is said, of breaking his shins against it. To hold a candle to the Devil; to be civil to any one out of fear: in allusion to the story of the old woman, who set a wax taper before the image of St. Michael, and another before the Devil, whom that saint is commonly represented as trampling under his feet: being reproved for paying such honour to Satan, she answered, as it was uncertain which place she should go to, heaven or hell, she chose to secure a friend in both places. That will be when the Devil is blind, and he has not got sore eyes yet; said of any thing unlikely to happen. It rains whilst the sun shines, the Devil is beating his wife with a shoulder of mutton: this phenomenon is also said to denote that cuckolds are going to heaven; on being informed of this, a loving wife cried out with great vehemence, 'Run, husband, run!'The Devil was sick, the Devil a monk would be; The Devil was well, the Devil a monk was he.a proverb signifying that we are apt to forget promises made in time of distress. To pull the Devil by the tail, to be reduced to one's shifts. The Devil go with you and sixpence, and then you will have both money and company.
DEVIL'S DAUGHTER		It is said of one who has a termagant for his wife, that he has married the Devil's daughter, and lives with the old folks.
DEVILISH		Very: an epithet which in the English vulgar language is made to agree with every quality or thing; as, devilish bad, devilish good; devilish sick, devilish well; devilish sweet, devilish sour; devilish hot, devilish cold, etc. etc.
DICK		That happened in the reign of queen Dick, ie: never: said of any absurd old story. I am as queer as Dick's hatband; that is, out of spirits, or don't know what ails me.
DIE HARD, or GAME		To die hard, is to shew no signs of fear or contrition at the gallows; not to whiddle or squeak. This advice is frequently given to felons going to suffer the law, by their old comrades, anxious for the honour of the gang.
DIP		To dip for a wig. Formerly, in Middle Row, Holborn, wigs of different sorts were, it is said, put into a close-stool box, into which, for three-pence, any one might dip, or thrust in his hand, and take out the first wig he laid hold of; if he was dissatisfied with his prize, he might, on paying three halfpence, return it and dip again.
DOG		An old dog at it; expert or accustomed to any thing. Dog in a manger; one who would prevent another from enjoying what he himself does not want: an allusion to the well-known fable. The dogs have not dined; a common saying to any one whose shirt hangs out behind. To dog, or dodge; to follow at a distance. To blush like a blue dog, i.e. not at all. To walk the black dog on any one; a punishment inflicted in the night on a fresh prisoner, by his comrades, in case of his refusal to pay the usual footing or garnish.
DOG IN A DOUBLET		A daring, resolute fellow. In Germany and Flanders the boldest dogs used to hunt the boar, having a kind of buff doublet buttoned on their bodies, Rubens has represented several so equipped, so has Sneyders.
DOMINE DO LITTLE		An impotent old fellow.
DRAGOONING IT		A man who occupies two branches of one profession, is said to dragoon it; because, like the soldier of that denomination, he serves in a double capacity. Such is a physician who furnishes the medicines, and compounds his own prescriptions.
DRAM		A glass or small measure of any spirituous liquors, which, being originally sold by apothecaries, were estimated by drams, ounces, etc. Dog's dram; to spit in his mouth, and clap his back.
DRIBBLE		A method of pouring out, as it were, the dice from the box, gently, by which an old practitioner is enabled to cog one of them with his fore-finger.
DROP A COG		To let fall, with design, a piece of gold or silver, in order to draw in and cheat the person who sees it picked up; the piece so dropped is called a dropt cog.
DUDDERS, or WHISPERING DUDDERS		Cheats who travel the country, pretending to sell smuggled goods: they accost their intended dupes in a whisper. The goods they have for sale are old shop-keepers, or damaged; purchased by them of large manufactories. See DUFFER.
DUKE HUMPHREY		To dine with Duke Humphrey; to fast. In old St. Paul's church was an aisle called Duke Humphrey's walk (from a tomb vulgarly called his, but in reality belonging to John of Gaunt), and persons who walked there, while others were at dinner, were said to dine with Duke Humphrey.
DUN		An importunate creditor. Dunny, in the provincial dialect of several counties, signifies DEAF; to dun, then, perhaps may mean to deafen with importunate demands: some derive it from the word DONNEZ, which signifies GIVE. But the true original meaning of the word, owes its birth to one Joe Dun, a famous bailiff of the town of Lincoln, so extremely active, and so dexterous in his business, that it became a proverb, when a man refused to pay, Why do not you DUN him? that is, Why do not you set Dun to attest him? Hence it became a cant word, and is now as old as since the days of Henry VII. Dun was also the general name for the hangman, before that of Jack Ketch. And presently a halter got, Made of the best strong hempen teer, And ere a cat could lick her ear, Had tied it up with as much art, As DUN himself could do for's heart. Cotton's Virgil Trav. book iv.
EWE		A white ewe; a beautiful woman. An old ewe, drest lamb fashion; an old woman, drest like a young girl.
FAGGOT		A man hired at a muster to appear as a soldier. To faggot in the canting sense, means to bind: an allusion to the faggots made up by the woodmen, which are all bound. Faggot the culls; bind the men.
FAM LAY		Going into a goldsmith's shop, under pretence of buying a wedding ring, and palming one or two, by daubing the hand with some viscous matter.
FELLOW COMMONER		An empty bottle: so called at the university of Cambridge, where fellow commoners are not in general considered as over full of learning. At Oxford an empty bottle is called a gentleman commoner for the same reason. They pay at Cambridge 250 l. a year for the privilege of wearing a gold or silver tassel to their caps. The younger branches of the nobility have the privilege of wearing a hat, and from thence are denominated HAT FELLOW COMMONERS.
FICE, or FOYSE		A small windy escape backwards, more obvious to the nose than ears; frequently by old ladies charged on their lap-dogs. See FIZZLE.
FLEA BITE		A trifling injury. To send any one away with a flea in his ear; to give any one a hearty scolding.
FLOGGING CULLY		A debilitated lecher, commonly an old one.
FLY-BY-NIGHT		You old fly-by-night; an ancient term of reproach to an old woman, signifying that she was a witch, and alluding to the nocturnal excursions attributed to witches, who were supposed to fly abroad to their meetings, mounted on brooms.
FOB		A cheat, trick, or contrivance, I will not be fobbed off so; I will not be thus deceived with false pretences. The fob is also a small breeches pocket for holding a watch.
FOGEY		Old Fogey. A nickname for an invalid soldier: derived from the French word fougeux, fierce or fiery.
FOGRAM		An old fogram; a fusty old fellow.
FOOT WABBLER		A contemptuous appellation for a foot soldier, commonly used by the cavalry.
FOOTMAN'S MAWND		An artificial sore made with unslaked lime, soap, and the rust of old iron, on the back of a beggar's hand, as if hurt by the bite or kick of a horse.
FOX		A sharp, cunning fellow. Also an old term for a sword, probably a rusty one, or else from its being dyed red with blood; some say this name alluded to certain swords of remarkable good temper, or metal, marked with the figure of a fox, probably the sign, or rebus, of the maker.
FREE BOOTERS		Lawless robbers and plunderers: originally soldiers who served without pay, for the privilege of plundering the enemy.
FREEHOLDER		He whose wife accompanies him to the alehouse.
FRENCH CREAM		Brandy; so called by the old tabbies and dowagers when drank in their tea.
FUMBLER		An old or impotent man. To fumble, also means to go awkwardly about any work, or manual operation.
FUSSOCK		A lazy fat woman. An old fussock; a frowsy old woman.
GAMON		To humbug. To deceive, To tell lies. What rum gamon the old file pitched to the flat; how finely the knowing old fellow humbugged the fool.
GARNISH		An entrance fee demanded by the old prisoners of one just committed to gaol.
GO SHOP		The Queen's Head in Duke's court, Bow street, Covent Garden; frequented by the under players: where gin and water was sold in three-halfpenny bowls, called Goes; the gin was called Arrack. The go, the fashion; as, large hats are all the go.
GOLD DROPPERS		Sharpers who drop a piece of gold, which they pick up in the presence of some unexperienced person, for whom the trap is laid, this they pretend to have found, and, as he saw them pick it up, they invite him to a public house to partake of it: when there, two or three of their comrades drop in, as if by accident, and propose cards, or some other game, when they seldom fail of stripping their prey.
GOLD FINDER		One whose employment is to empty necessary houses; called also a tom-turd-man, and night-man: the latter, from that business being always performed in the night.
GOLDFINCH		One who has commonly a purse full of gold. Goldfinches; guineas.
GOOSEBERRY		He played up old gooseberry among them; said of a person who. by force or threats, suddenly puts an end to a riot or disturbance.
GOREE		Money, chiefly gold: perhaps from the traffic carried on at that place, which is chiefly for gold dust.
GRAFTED		Cuckolded, i.e. having horns grafted on his head.
GRANNUM'S GOLD		Hoarded money: supposed to have belonged to the grandmother of the possessor.
GREEN		Young, inexperienced, unacquainted; ignorant. How green the cull was not to stag how the old file planted the books. How ignorant the booby was not to perceive how the old sharper placed the cards in such a manner as to insure the game.
GREEN BAG		An attorney: those gentlemen carry their clients' deeds in a green bag; and, it is said, when they have no deeds to carry, frequently fill them with an old pair of breeches, or any other trumpery, to give themselves the appearance of business.
GRIM		Old Mr. Grim; death.
GUNPOWDER		An old Woman.
HALBERT		A weapon carried by a serjeant of foot. To get a halbert; to be appointed a serjeant. To be brought to the halberts; to be flogged a la militaire: soldiers of the infantry, when flogged, being commonly tied to three halberts, set up in a triangle, with a fourth fastened across them. He carries the halbert in his face; a saying of one promoted from a serjeant to a commission officer.
HANK		He has a hank on him; i.e. an ascendancy over him, or a hold upon him. A Smithfield hank; an ox, rendered furious by overdriving and barbarous treatment. See BULL HANK.
HARRIDAN		A hagged old woman; a miserable, scraggy, worn-out harlot, fit to take her bawd's degree: derived from the French word HARIDELLE, a worn-out jade of a horse or mare.
HARRY		A country fellow. - Old Harry; the Devil.
HAT		Old hat; a woman's privities: because frequently felt.
HEATHEN PHILOSOPHER		One whose breech may be seen through his pocket-hole: this saying arose from the old philosophers, many of whom depised the vanity of dress to such a point, as often to fall into the opposite extreme.
HELL CAT		A termagant, a vixen, a furious scolding woman. See TERMAGANT and VIXEN.
HOB OR NOB		Will you hob or nob with me? a question formerly in fashion at polite tables, signifying a request or challenge to drink a glass of wine with the proposer: if the party challenged answered Nob, they were to chuse whether white or red. This foolish custom is said to have originated in the days of good queen Bess, thus: when great chimnies were in fashion, there was at each corner of the hearth, or grate, a small elevated projection, called the hob; and behind it a seat. In winter time the beer was placed on the hob to warm: and the cold beer was set on a small table, said to have been called the nob; so that the question, Will you have hob or nob? seems only to have meant, Will you have warm or cold beer? i.e. beer from the hob, or beer from the nob.
HOBSON'S CHOICE		That or none; from old Hobson, a famous carrier of Cambridge, who used to let horses to the students; but never permitted them to chuse, always allotting each man the horse he thought properest for his manner of riding and treatment.
HOCKEY		Drunk with strong stale beer, called old hock. See HICKEY.
HOCKING, or HOUGHING		A piece of cruelty practised by the butchers of Dublin, on soldiers, by cutting the tendon of Achilles; this has been by law made felony.
HOISTING		A ludicrous ceremony formerly performed on every soldier, the first time he appeared in the field after being married; it was thus managed: As soon as the regiment, or company, had grounded their arms to rest a while, three or four men of the same company to which the bridegroom belonged, seized upon him, and putting a couple of bayonets out of the two corners of his hat, to represent horns, it was placed on his head, the back part foremost. He was then hoisted on the shoulders of two strong fellows, and carried round the arms, a drum and fife beating and playing the pioneers call, named Round Heads and Cuckolds, but on this occasion styled the Cuckold's March; in passing the colours, he was to take off his hat: this, in some regiments, was practised by the officers on their brethren, Hoisting, among pickpockets, is, setting a man on his head, that his money, watch, etc. may fall out of his pockets; these they pick up, and hold to be no robbery. See REVERSED.
HOOD-WINKED		Blindfolded by a handkerchief, or other ligature, bound over the eyes.
HORN FAIR		An annual fair held at Charlton, in Kent, on St. Luke's day, the 18th of October. It consists of a riotous mob, who after a printed summons dispersed through the adjacent towns, meet at Cuckold's Point, near Deptford, and march from thence in procession, through that town and Greenwich, to Charlton, with horns of different kinds upon their heads; and at the fair there are sold rams horns, and every sort of toy made of horn; even the gingerbread figures have horns.
HORN MAD		A person extremely jealous of his wife, is said to be horn mad. Also a cuckold, who does not cut or breed his horns easily.
HORN WORK		Cuckold-making.
HORNIFIED		Cuckolded.
HOSTELER		Oat stealer. Hosteler was originally the name for an inn-keeper; inns being in old English styled hostels, from the French signifying the same.
HUBBLE DE SHUFF		Confusedly. To fire hubble de shuff, to fire quick and irregularly. OLD MILITARY TERM.
HUFF		To reprove, or scold at any one; also to bluster, bounce, ding, or swagger. A captain huff; a noted bully. To stand the huff; to be answerable for the reckoning in a public house.
HUG		To hug brown bess; to carry a firelock, or serve as a private soldier. He hugs it as the Devil hugs a witch: said of one who holds any thing as if he was afraid of losing it.
HUM CAP		Very old and strong beer, called also stingo. See STINGO.
IRISH APRICOTS		Potatoes. It is a common joke against the Irish vessels, to say they are loaded with fruit and timber, that is, potatoes and broomsticks. Irish assurance; a bold forward behaviour: as being dipt in the river Styx was formerly supposed to render persons invulnerable, so it is said that a dipping in the river Shannon totally annihilates bashfulness; whence arises the saying of an impudent Irishman, that he has been dipt in the Shannon.
IRISH TOYLES		Thieves who carry about pins, laces, and other pedlars wares, and under the pretence of offering their goods to sale, rob houses, or pilfer any thing they can lay hold of.
JASON'S FLEECE		A citizen cheated of his gold.
JEM		A gold ring.
JOINT		To hit a joint in carving, the operator must think of a cuckold. To put one's nose out of joint; to rival one in the favour of a patron or mistress.
JUNIPER LECTURE		A round scolding bout.
KEMP'S SHOES		Would I had Kemp's shoes to throw after you. BEN JONSON. Perhaps Kemp was a man remarkable for his good luck or fortune; throwing an old shoe, or shoes, after any one going on an important business, being by the vulgar deemed lucky.
KILKENNY		An old frize coat.
KING'S BAD BARGAIN		One of the king's bad bargains; a malingeror, or soldier who shirks his duty.
KIT		A dancing-master, so called from his kit or cittern, a small fiddle, which dancing-masters always carry about with them, to play to their scholars. The kit is likewise the whole of a soldier's necessaries, the contents of his knapsack: and is used also to express the whole of different commodities: as, Here, take the whole kit; i.e. take all.
LAYSTALL		A dunghill about London, on which the soil brought from necessary houses is emptied; or, in more technical terms, where the old gold collected at weddings by the Tom t - d man, is stored.
LAZYBONES		An instrument like a pair of tongs, for old or very fat people to take any thing from the ground without stooping.
LEGGERS		Sham leggers; cheats who pretend to sell smuggled goods, but in reality only deal in old shop-keepers or damaged goods.
LIGHT BOB		A soldier of the light infantry company.
LINE OF THE OLD AUTHOR		A dram of brandy.
LOB		Going on the lob; going into a shop to get change for gold, and secreting some of the change.
LOB'S POUND		A prison. Dr. Grey, in his notes on Hudibras, explains it to allude to one Doctor Lob, a dissenting preacher, who used to hold forth when conventicles were prohibited, and had made himself a retreat by means of a trap door at the bottom of his pulpit. Once being pursued by the officers of justice, they followed him through divers subterraneous passages, till they got into a dark cell, from whence they could not find their way out, but calling to some of their companions, swore they had got into Lob's Pound.
LOBSTER		A nick name for a soldier, from the colour of his clothes. To boil one's lobster, for a churchman to become a soldier: lobsters, which are of a bluish black, being made red by boiling. I will not make a lobster kettle of my cunt, a reply frequently made by the nymphs of the Point at Portsmouth, when requested by a soldier to grant him a favour.
LOCK UP HOUSE		A spunging house; a public house kept by sheriff's officers, to which they convey the persons they have arrested, where they practise every species of imposition and extortion with impunity. Also houses kept by agents or crimps, who enlist, or rather trepan, men to serve the East India or African company as soldiers.
LOUSE		A gentleman's companion. He will never louse a grey head of his own; he will never live to be old.
LUMBER		Live lumber; soldiers or passengers on board a ship are so called by the sailors.
MALKIN, or MAULKIN		A general name for a cat; also a parcel of rags fastened to the end of a stick, to clean an oven; also a figure set up in a garden to scare the birds; likewise an awkward woman. The cove's so scaly, he'd spice a malkin of his jazey: the fellow is so mean, that he would rob a scare-crow of his old wig.
MASON'S MAUND		A sham sore above the elbow, to counterfeit a broken arm by a fall from a scaffold.
MAUNDERING BROTH		Scolding.
METTLESOME		Bold, courageous.
MINT		Gold. A mint of money; common phrase for a large sum.
NEB, or NIB		The bill of a bird, and the slit of a pen. Figuratively, the face and mouth of a woman; as, She holds up her neb: she holds up her mouth to be kissed.
NEW COLLEGE STUDENTS		Golden scholars, silver bachelors, and leaden masters.
NEW DROP		The scaffold used at Newgate for hanging of criminals; which dropping down, leaves them suspended. By this improvement, the use of that vulgar vehicle, a cart, is entirely left off.
NICK		Old nick; the Devil.
NIGHTINGALE		A soldier who, as the term is, sings out at the halberts. It is a point of honour in some regiments, among the grenadiers, never to cry out, become nightingales, whilst under the discipline of the cat of nine tails; to avoid which, they chew a bullet.
NODDY		A simpleton or fool. Also a kind of low cart, with a seat before it for the driver, used in and about Dublin, in the manner of a hackney coach: the fare is just half that of a coach, for the same distance; so that for sixpence one may have a set down, as it is called, of a mile and half, and frequently a tumble down into the bargain: it is called a noddy from the nutation of its head. Knave noddy; the old-fashioned name for the knave of trumps.
NOLL		Old Noll; Oliver Cromwell.
NOSE BAG		A bag fastened to the horse's head, in which the soldiers of the cavalry put the oats given to their horses: whence the saying, I see the hose bag in his face; i.e. he has been a private man, or rode private.
NOTE		He changed his note; he told another sort of a story.
NUGGING DRESS		An out-of-the-way old-fashioned dress, or rather a loose kind of dress, denoting a courtesan.
NYP SHOP		The Peacock in Gray's Inn Lane, where Burton ale is sold in nyps.
OLD		Ugly.
OLD DING		See OLD HAT.
OLD DOG AT IT		Expert, accustomed.
OLD DOSS		Bridewell.
OLD HAND		Knowing or expert in any business.
OLD HARRY		A composition used by vintners to adulterate their wines; also the nick-name for the devil.
OLD MR		GORY. A piece of gold.
OLD NICK		The Devil: from NEKEN, the evil spirit of the north.
OLD ONE		The Devil. Likewise an expression of quizzical familiarity, as "how d'ye do, OLD ONE?"
OLD PEGG		Poor Yorkshire cheese, made of skimmed milk.
OLD POGER		The Devil.
OLD STAGER		One accustomed to business, one who knows mankind.
OLD TOAST		A brisk old fellow.
OVEN		A great mouth; the old woman would never have looked for her daughter in the oven, had she not been there herself.
OX HOUSE		He must go through the ox house to bed; a saying of an old fellow who marries a young girl.
PAINTER		I'll cut your painter for you; I'll send you off; the painter being the ropfe that holds the boat fast to the ship. SEA TERM.
PARISH SOLDIER		A jeering name for a militiaman: from substitutes being frequently hired by the parish from which one of its inhabitants is drawn.
PEAL		To ring a peal in a man's ears; to scold at him: his wife rang him such a peal!
PEEPING TOM		A nick name for a curious prying fellow; derived from an old legendary tale, told of a taylor of Coventry, who, when Godiva countess of Chester rode at noon quite naked through that town, in order to procure certain immunities for the inhabitants, (notwithstanding the rest of the people shut up their houses) shly peeped out of his window, for which he was miraculously struck blind. His figure, peeping out of a window, is still kept up in remembrance of the transaction.
PEG		Old Peg; poor hard Suffolk or Yorkshire cheese. A peg is also a blow with a straightarm: a term used by the professors of gymnastic arts. A peg in the day-light, the victualling office, or the haltering-place; a blow in the eye, stomach, or under the ear.
PETTICOAT HOLD		One who has an estate during his wife's life, called the apron-string hold.
PIG		Sixpence, a sow's baby. Pig-widgeon; a simpleton. To pig together; to lie or sleep together, two or more in a bed. Cold pig; a jocular punishment inflicted by the maid seryants, or other females of the house, on persons lying over long in bed: it consists in pulling off all the bed clothes, and leaving them to pig or lie in the cold. To buy a pig in a poke; to purchase any thing without seeing. Pig's eyes; small eyes. Pigsnyes; the same: a vulgar term of endearment to a woman. He can have boiled pig at home; a mark of being master of his own house: an allusion to a well known poem and story. Brandy is Latin for pig and goose; an apology for drinking a dram after either.
PIG RUNNING		A piece of game frequently practised at fairs, wakes, etc. A large pig, whose tail is cut short, and both soaped and greased, being turned out, is hunted by the young men and boys, and becomes the property of him who can catch and hold him by the tail, abpve the height of his head.
PISS-PROUD		Having a false erection. That old fellow thought he had an erection, but his - was only piss- proud; said of any old fellow who marries a young wife.
PITCHER		The miraculous pitcher, that holds water with the mouth downwards: a woman's commodity. She has crack'd her pitcher or pipkin; she has lost her maidenhead.
PLUMPERS		Contrivances said to be formerly worn by old maids, for filling out a pair of shrivelled cheeks.
PRAY		She prays with her knees upwards; said of a woman much given to gallantry and intrigue. At her last prayers; saying of an old maid.
PUCKER WATER		Water impregnated with alum, or other astringents, used by old experienced traders to counterfeit virginity.
PUDDING TIME		In good time, or at the beginning of a meal: pudding formerly making the first dish. To give the crows a pudding; to die. You must eat some cold pudding, to settle your love.
PUNCH		A liquor called by foreigners Contradiction, from its being composed of spirits to make it strong, water to make it weak, lemon juice to make it sour, and sugar to make it sweet. Punch is also the name of the prince of puppets, the chief wit and support of a puppet-show. To punch it, is a cant term for running away. Punchable; old passable money, anno 1695. A girl that is ripe for man is called a punchable wench. Cobler's Punch. Urine with a cinder in it.
PUNK		A whore; also a soldier's trull. See TRULL.
QUARTERED		Divided into four parts; to be hanged, drawn, and quartered, is the sentence on traitors and rebels. Persons receiving part of the salary of an office from the holder of it, by virtue of an agreement with the donor, are said to be quartered on him. Soldiers billetted on a publican are likewise said to be quartered on him.
QUEER		To puzzle or confound. I have queered the old full bottom; i.e. I have puzzled the judge. To queer one's ogles among bruisers; to darken one's day lights.
QUEER BIRDS		Rogues relieved from prison, and returned to their old trade.
RAG FAIR		An inspection of the linen and necessaries of a company of soldiers, commonly made by their officers on Mondays or Saturdays.
RAILS		See HEAD RAILS. A dish of rails; a lecture, jobation, or scolding from a married woman to her husband.
RAMMER		The arm. The busnapper's kenchin seized my rammer; i.e. the watchman laid hold of my arm.
RATTLE		A dice-box. To rattle; to talk without consideration, also to move off or go away. To rattle one off; to rate or scold him.
REPOSITORY		A lock-up or spunging-house, a gaol. Also livery stables where horses and carriages are sold by auction.
RIBALDRY		Vulgar abusive language, such as was spoken by ribalds. Ribalds were originally mercenary soldiers who travelled about, serving any master far pay, but afterwards degenerated into a mere banditti.
RIDGE		A guinea. Ridge cully; a goldsmith.
RIDING SKIMMINGTON		A ludicrous cavalcade, in ridicule of a man beaten by his wife. It consists of a man riding behind a woman, with his face to the horse's tail, holding a distaff in his hand, at which he seems to work, the woman all the while beating him with a ladle; a smock displayed on a staff is carried before them as an emblematical standard, denoting female superiority: they are accompanied by what is called the ROUGH MUSIC, that is, frying-pans, bulls horns, marrow-bones and cleavers, etc. A procession of this kind is admirably described by Butler in his Hudibras. He rode private, i.e. was a private trooper.
RIGMAROLE		Roundabout, nonsensical. He told a long rigmarole story.
ROBERT'S MEN		The third old rank of the canting crew, mighty thieves, like Robin Hood.
ROULEAU		A number of guineas, from twenty to fifty or more, wrapped up in paper, for the more ready circulation at gaming-tables: sometimes they are inclosed in ivory boxes, made to hold exactly 20, 50, or 100 guineas.
ROUT		A modern card meeting at a private house; also an order from the Secretary at War, directing the march and quartering of soldiers.
RUFFLERS		The first rank of canters; also notorious rogues pretending to be maimed soldiers or sailors.
RUM COD		A good purse of gold.
RUM DUKE		A jolly handsome fellow; also an odd eccentric fellow; likewise the boldest and stoutest fellows lately among the Alsatians, Minters, Savoyards, and other inhabitants of privileged districts, sent to remove and guard the goods of such bankrupts as intended to take sanctuary in those places.
RUM KICKS		Breeches of gold or silver brocade, or richly laced with gold or silver.
SADDLE		To saddle the spit; to give a dinner or supper. To saddle one's nose; to wear spectacles. To saddle a place or pension; to oblige the holder to pay a certain portion of his income to some one nominated by the donor. Saddle sick: galled with riding, having lost leather.
SANK, SANKY, or CENTIPEE'S		A taylor employed by clothiers in making soldier's clothing.
SAUCE BOX		A term of familiar raillery, signifying a bold or forward person.
SAW		An old saw; an ancient proverbial saying.
SCOLD'S CURE		A coffin. The blowen has napped the scold's cure; the bitch is in her coffin.
SCONCE		The head, probably as being the fort and citadel of a man: from SCONCE, an old name for a fort, derived from a Dutch word of the same signification; To build a sconce: a military term for bilking one's quarters. To sconce or skonce; to impose a fine.
SCRATCH		Old Scratch; the Devil: probably from the long and sharp claws with which he is frequently delineated.
SHARK		A sharper: perhaps from his preying upon any one he can lay hold of. Also a custom-house officer, or tide-waiter. Sharks; the first order of pickpockets. BOW- STREET TERM, A.D. 1785.
SHIFTING BALLAST		A term used by sailors, to signify soldiers, passengers, or any landsmen on board.
SIDE POCKET		He has as much need of a wife as a dog of a side pocket; said of a weak old debilitated man. He wants it as much as a dog does a side pocket; a simile used for one who desires any thing by no means necessary.
SIMON		Sixpence. Simple Simon: a natural, a silly fellow; Simon Suck-egg, sold his wife for an addle duck-egg.
SIR JOHN		The old title for a country parson: as Sir John of Wrotham, mentioned by Shakespeare.
SKULKER		A soldier who by feigned sickness, or other pretences, evades his duty; a sailor who keeps below in time of danger; in the civil line, one who keeps out of the way, when any work is to be done. To skulk; to hide one's self, to avoid labour or duty.
SMART MONEY		Money allowed to soldiers or sailors for the loss of a limb, or other hurt received in the service.
SMITHFIELD BARGAIN		A bargain whereby the purchaser is taken in. This is likewise frequently used to express matches or marriages contracted solely on the score of interest, on one or both sides, where the fair sex are bought and sold like cattle in Smithfield.
SMUT		A copper. A grate. Old iron. The cove was lagged for a smut: the fellow was transported for stealing a copper.
SNUFFLES		A cold in the head, attended with a running at the nose.
SOAK		To drink. An old soaker; a drunkard, one that moistens his clay to make it stick together.
SOLDIER		A red herring.
SOLDIER'S BOTTLE		A large one.
SOLDIER'S MAWND		A pretended soldier, begging with a counterfeit wound, which he pretends to have received at some famous siege or battle.
SOLDIER'S POMATUM		A piece of tallow candle.
SONG		He changed his song; he altered his account or evidence. It was bought for an old song, i.e. very cheap. His morning and his evening song do not agree; he tells a different story.
SPARROW		Mumbling a sparrow; a cruel sport frequently practised at wakes and fairs: for a small premium, a booby having his hands tied behind him, has the wing of a cock sparrow put into his mouth: with this hold, without any other assistance than the motion of his lips, he is to get the sparrow's head into his mouth: on attempting to do it, the bird defends itself surprisingly, frequently pecking the mumbler till his lips are covered with blood, and he is obliged to desist: to prevent the bird from getting away, he is fastened by a string to a button of the booby's coat.
SPARROW-MOUTHED		Wide-mouthed, like the mouth of a sparrow: it is said of such persons, that they do not hold their mouths by lease, but have it from year to year; i.e. from ear to ear. One whose mouth cannot be enlarged without removing their ears, and who when they yawn have their heads half off.
SPOONEY		Thin, haggard, like the shank of a spoon; also delicate, craving for something, longing for sweets. Avaricious. That tit is damned spooney. She's a spooney piece of goods. He's a spooney old fellow.
SPREAD EAGLE		A soldier tied to the halberts in order to be whipped; his attitude bearing some likeness to that figure, as painted on signs.
SQUARE TOES		An old man: square toed shoes were anciently worn in common, and long retained by old men.
STALLION		A man kept by an old lady for secret services.
START, or THE OLD START		Newgate: he is gone to the start, or the old start.
STARVE'EM, ROB'EM, AND CHEAT'EM		Stroud, Rochester, and Chatham; so called by soldiers and sailors, and not without good reason.
STAY		A cuckold.
STEWED QUAKER		Burnt rum, with a piece of butter: an American remedy for a cold.
STICKS		Household furniture.
STOCK JOBBERS		Persons who gamble in Exchange Alley, by pretending to buy and sell the public funds, but in reality only betting that they will be at a certain price, at a particular time; possessing neither the stock pretended to be sold, nor money sufficient to make good the payments for which they contract: these gentlemen are known under the different appellations of bulls, bears, and lame ducks.
STOUP		A vessel to hold liquor: a vessel containing a size or half a pint, is so called at Cambridge.
STOW		Stow you; be silent, or hold your peace. Stow your whidds and plant'em, for the cove of the ken can cant'em; you have said enough, the man of the house understands you.
STUBBLE IT		Hold your tongue.
SUCCESSFULLY		Used by the vulgar for SUCCESSIVELY: as three or four landlords of this house have been ruined successfully by the number of soldiers quartered on them. IRISH.
SULKY		A one-horse chaise or carriage, capable of holding but one person: called by the French a DESOBLIGEANT.
SWAD, or SWADKIN		A soldier.
SWEATING		A mode of diminishing the gold coin, practiced chiefly by the Jews, who corrode it with aqua regia. Sweating was also a diversion practised by the bloods of the last century, who styled themselves Mohocks: these gentlemen lay in wait to surprise some person late in the night, when surrouding him, they with their swords pricked him in the posteriors, which obliged him to be constantly turning round; this they continued till they thought him sufficiently sweated.
SWIGMEN		Thieves who travel the country under colour of buying old shoes, old clothes, etc. or selling brooms, mops, etc.
SWIMMER		A counterfeit old coin.
TABBY		An old maid; either from Tabitha, a formal antiquated name; or else from a tabby cat, old maids being often compared to cats. To drive Tab; to go out on a party of pleasure with a wife and family.
TACE		Silence, hold your tongue. TACE is Latin for a candle; a jocular admonition to be silent on any subject.
TARTAR		To catch a Tartar; to attack one of superior strength or abilities. This saying originated from a story of an Irish-soldier in the Imperial service, who, in a battle against the Turks, called out to his comrade that he had caught a Tartar. 'Bring him along then,' said he. 'He won't come,' answered Paddy. 'Then come along yourself,' replied his comrade. 'Arrah,' cried he, 'but he won't let me.' - A Tartar is also an adept at any feat, or game: he is quite a Tartar at cricket, or billiards.
TATTOO		A beat of the drum, of signal for soldiers to go to their quarters, and a direction to the sutlers to close the tap, anddtew nomore liquor for them; it is generally beat at nine in summer and eight in winter. The devil's tattoo; beating with one's foot against the ground, as done by persons in low spirits.
TERMAGANT		An outrageous scold from Termagantes, a cruel Pagan, formerly represented in diners shows and entertainments, where being dressed a la Turque, in long clothes, he was mistaken for a furious woman.
THIRDING		A custom practised at the universities, where two thirds of the original price is allowed by the upholsterers to the students for household goods returned to them within the year.
THORNBACK		An old maid.
THUMP		A blow. This is better than a thump on the back with a stone; said on giving any one a drink of good liquor on a cold morning. Thatch, thistle, thunder, and thump; words to the Irish, like the Shibboleth of the Hebrews.
TOAST		A health; also a beautiful woman whose health is often drank by men. The origin of this term (as it is said) was this: a beautiful lady bathing in a cold bath, one of her admirers out of gallantry drank some of the water: whereupon another of her lovers observed, he never drank in the morning, but he would kiss the toast, and immediately saluted the lady.
TOMMY		Soft Tommy, or white Tommy; bread is so called by sailors, to distinguish it from biscuit. Brown Tommy: ammunition bread for soldiers; or brown bread given to convicts at the hulks.
TONGUE		Tongue enough for two sets of teeth: said of a talkative person. As old as my tongue, and a little older than my teeth; a dovetail in answer to the question, How old are you? Tongue pad; a scold, or nimble-tongued person.
TOP DIVER		A lover of women. An old top diver; one who has loved old hat in his time.
TOP SAIL		He paid his debts at Portsmouth with the topsail; i.e. he went to. sea and left them unpaid. SCT soldiers are said to pay off their scores with the drum; that is, by marching away.
TRANSLATORS		Sellers of old mended shoes and boots, between coblers and shoemakers.
TRAVELLING PIQUET		A mode of amusing themselves, practised by two persons riding in a carriage, each reckoning towards his game the persons or animals that pass by on the side next them, according to the following estimation: A parson riding a grey horse, witholue furniture; game. An old woman under a hedge; ditto. A cat looking out of a window; 60. A man, woman, and child, in a buggy; 40. A man with a woman behind him; 30. A flock of sheep; 20. A flock of geese; 10. A post chaise; 5. A horseman; 2. A man or woman walking; 1.
TROT		An old trot; a decrepit old woman. A dog trot; a gentle pace.
TRULL		A soldier or a tinker's trull; a soldier or tinker's female companion. - Guteli, or trulli, are spirits like women, which shew great kindness to men, and hereof it is that we call light women trulls.
TRUMPERY		An old whore, or goods of no value; rubbish.
TRUNK		A nose. How fares your old trunk? does your nose still stand fast? an allusion to the proboscis or trunk of an elephant. To shove a trunk: to introduce one's self unasked into any place or company. Trunk-maker like; more noise than work.
TUCKED UP		Hanged. A tucker up to an old bachelor or widower; a supposed mistress.
TUFT HUNTER		A it anniversary parasite, one who courts the acquaintance of nobility, whose caps are adorned with a gold tuft.
TUP		A ram: figuratively, a cuckold.
TUP RUNNING		A rural sport practised at wakes and fairs in Derbyshire; a ram, whose tail is well soaped and greased, is turned out to the multitude; any one that can take him by the tail, and hold him fast, is to have him for his own.
TURD		There were four turds for dinner: stir turd, hold turd, tread turd, and mus-turd: to wit, a hog's face, feet and chitterlings, with mustard. He will never shite a seaman's turd; i.e. he will never make a good seaman.
TWO THIEVES BEATING A ROGUE		A man beating his hands against his sides to warm himself in cold weather; called also beating the booby, and cuffing Jonas.
VAMP		To pawn any thing. I'll vamp it, and tip you the cole: I'll pawn it, and give you the money. Also to refit, new dress, or rub up old hats, shoes or other wearing apparel; likewise to put new feet to old boots. Applied more particularly to a quack bookseller.
WABLER		Footwabler; a contemptuous term for a foot soldier, frequently used by those of the cavalry.
WALKING THE PLANK		A mode of destroying devoted persons or officers in a mutiny or ship-board, by blindfolding them, and obliging them to walk on a plank laid over the ship's side; by this means, as the mutineers suppose, avoiding the penalty of murder.
WARMING-PAN		A large old-fashioned watch. A Scotch warming-pan; a female bedfellow.
WHIP THE COCK		A piece of sport practised at wakes, horse-races, and fairs in Leicestershire: a cock being tied or fastened into a hat or basket, half a dozen carters blindfolded, and armed with their cart whips, are placed round it, who, after being turned thrice about, begin to whip the cock, which if any one strikes so as to make it cry out, it becomes his property; the joke is, that instead of whipping the cock they flog each other heartily.
WHISTLING SHOP		Rooms in the King's Bench and Fleet prison where drams are privately sold.
WHITE LIE		A harmless lie, one not told with a malicious intent, a lie told to reconcile people at variance.
WHORE'S CURSE		A piece of gold coin, value five shillings and three pence, frequently given to women of the town by such as professed always to give gold, and who before the introduction of those pieces always gave half a guinea.
WISE MEN OF GOTHAM		Gotham is a village in Nottinghamshire; its magistrates are said to have attempted to hedge in a cuckow; a bush, called the cuckow's bush, is still shewn in support of the tradition. A thousand other ridiculous stories are told of the men of Gotham.
WOODEN HORSE		To fide the wooden horse was a military punishment formerly in use. This horse consisted of two or more planks about eight feet long, fixed together so as to form a sharp ridge or angle, which answered to the body of the horse. It was supported by four posts, about six feet long, for legs. A head, neck, and tail, rudely cut in wood, were added, which completed the appearance of a horse. On this sharp ridge delinquents were mounted, with their hands tied behind them; and to steady them (as it was said), and lest the horse should kick them off, one or more firelocks were tied to each leg. In this situation they were sometimes condemned to sit an hour or two; but at length it having been found to injure the soldiers materially, and sometimes to rupture them, it was left off about the time of the accession of King George I. A wooden horse was standing in the Parade at Portsmouth as late as the year 1750.
XANTIPPE		The name of Socrates's wife: now used to signify a shrew or scolding wife.