Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux. Written by himself.

U

UNBETTY, to unlock. See Betty.

UNDUB, to unlock, unfasten, &c. See Dub up.

UNPALLED, a thief whose associates are all apprehended, or taken from him by other means, is said to be unpalled, and he is then obliged to work single-handed.

UNSLOUR, to unlock, unfasten, or unbutton. See Slour. Speaking of a person whose coat is buttoned, so as to obstruct the access to his pockets, the knucks will say to each other, the cove is slour’d up, we must unslour him to get at his kickseys.

UNTHIMBLE, to unthimble a man, is to rob, or otherwise deprive him of his watch.

UNTHIMBLED, having been divested of one’s watch.

UP IN THE STIRRUPS, a man who is in swell street. that is, having plenty of money, is said to be up in the stirrups.

UPON THE CROSS. See Cross.

UPON THE SQUARE. See Square.

UPON THE SUIT, &c. See Suit.

UPPER-BEN, UPPER-BENJAMIN, UPPER-TOG, a great-coat.

V

VARDO, a waggon.

VARDO-GILL, a waggoner.

W

WACK, to share or divide any thing equally, as wack the blunt, divide the money, &c.

WACK, a share or equal proportion, as give me my wack, that is, my due part.

WALKER, an ironical expression, synonymous with bender, and used in the same manner.

WALKING-DISTILLER. See Carry the Keg.

WANTED, when any of the traps or runners have a private information against a family person, and are using means to apprehend the party, they say, such a one is wanted; and it becomes the latter, on receiving such intimation to keep out of the way, until the stink is over, or until he or she can find means to stash the business through the medium of Mr. Palmer, or by some other means.

WATER-SNEAK, robbing ships or vessels on a navigable river, or canal, by getting on board unperceived, generally in the night. The water-sneak, is lately made a capital offence.

WEAR IT, to wear it upon a person, (meaning to wear a nose, or a conk,) is synonymous with nosing, conking, splitting, or coming it, and is merely one of those fanciful variations so much admired by flash people.

WEAR THE BANDS. See Bands.

WEDGE, silver; as a wedge-feeder, a silver-spoon, &c.; but silver coin, as well as silver plate, are both comprehended under the name of wedge. See Ridge, and Speak to.

WEED, tobacco.

WEED, to pilfer or purloin a small portion from a large quantity of anything; often done by young or timid depredators, in the hope of escaping detection, as, an apprentice or shopman will weed his master’s lob, that is, take small sums out of the till when opportunity offers, which sort of peculation may be carried on with impunity for a length of time; but experienced thieves sometimes think it good judgment to weed a place, in order that it may be good again, perhaps for a considerable length of time, as in the instance of a warehouse, or other depôt for goods, to which they may possess the means of access by means of a false key; in this case, by taking too great a swag, at first, the proprietors would discover the deficiency, and take measures to prevent future depredation. To weed the swag is to embezzle part of the booty, unknown to your palls, before a division takes place, a temptation against which very few of the family are proof, if they can find an opportunity. A flash-cove, on discovering a deficiency in his purse or property, which he cannot account for, will declare that he, (or it, naming the article,) has been wedded to the ruffian.

WEEDING DUES, speaking of any person, place, or property, that has been weeded, it is said weeding dues have been concerned. See Dues.

WEIGH FORTY, term used by the police, who are as well versed in flash as the thieves themselves. It is often customary with the traps, to wink at depredations of a petty nature, and for which no reward would attach, and to let a thief reign unmolested till he commits a capital crime. They then grab him, and, on conviction, share (in many cases) a reward of 40l., or upwards; therefore these gentry will say, Let him alone at present, we don’t want him till he weighs his weight, meaning, of course, forty pounds.

WELL, to well your accomplice, or put him in the well, is explained under the word Garden, which see.

WHIDDLE, to speak of, or mention any thing, as, Don’t you whiddle about so and so, that is, don’t mention it.

WHIDDLER, a talkative or tell-tale person, who is not fit to be trusted with a secret.

WHIDS, words. See Crack a Whid.

WHISTLERS. See Browns and Whistlers.

WIN, or WINCHESTER, a penny.

WIND, a man transported for his natural life, is said to be lag’d for his wind, or to have knap’d a winder, or a bellowser, according to the humour of the speaker.

WOOLLY-BIRDS, sheep.

WORK. To work upon any particular game, is to practise generally, that species of fraud or depredation, as, He works upon the crack, he follows house-breaking, &c. An offender having been detected in the very fact, particularly in cases of coining, colouring base-metal, &c., is emphatically said to have been grab’d at work, meaning to imply, that the proof against him being so plain, he has no ground of defence to set up.

WRINKLE, to lie, or utter a falsehood.

WRINKLE, an untruth.

WRINKLER, a person prone to lying; such a character is called also a gully, which is probably an abbreviation of Gulliver, and from hence, to gully signifies to lie, or deal in the marvellous.

Y

YACK, a watch (obsolete.)

YARN, yarning or spinning a yarn, is a favourite amusement among flash-people; signifying to relate their various adventures, exploits, and escapes to each other. This is most common and gratifying, among persons in confinement or exile, to enliven a dull hour, and probably excite a secret hope of one day enjoying a repetition of their former pleasures. See Boned. A person expert at telling these stories, is said to spin a fine yarn. A man using a great deal of rhetoric, and exerting all his art to talk another person out of any thing he is intent upon, the latter will answer, Aye, Aye, you can spin a good yarn, but it won’t do; meaning, all your eloquence will not have the desired effect.

YELLOW, jealous; a jealous husband is called a yellow gloak.

YOKUFF, a chest, or large box.

YORK. To stare or look at any person in an impertinent manner, is termed yorking; to york any thing, in a common sense, is to view, look at, or examine it.

YORK, a look, or observation; a flash-cove observing another person (a flat) who appears to notice or scrutinize him, his proceedings, or the company he is with, will say to his palls, That cove is yorking as strong as a horse, or, There is York-street concerned.

YOUKELL, a countryman, or clown.

YOURNABS, yourself; an emphatical term used in speaking to another person.

FINIS.

Printed by W. CLOWES, Northumberland-court, Strand.