Slang and its analogues past and present, volume III (of 7)

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i., 7, p. 18. You always was a neat hand with the bones.

A hand like a foot, phr. (common).—A large, coarse hand. Also a vulgar or uneducated handwriting.

1738. Swift, Polite Conversation, i. Col. Whoe’er writ it with a hand like a foot.

A hand like a fist, phr. (gamesters’).—A hand full of trumps. Also (in derision) a hand there’s no playing.

1892. J. L. Sullivan, A 19th Century Gladiator, iii. After thirty-seven rounds in fifty-five minutes, the umpires and seconds got into a fight, and Sullivan felt fresh enough to take a hand in the outside music.

To get one’s hand in, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To practise with a view to proficiency.

To bring down (or off) by hand, verb. phr. (venery).—To masturbate. For synonyms, see Frig.

To stand one’s hand, verb. phr. (Australian).—To Treat (q.v.); to Stand Sam (q.v.).

1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 58. I used to see her at some of the public-houses frequented by Mrs. Condon, standing her hand liberally to all who happened to be in the bar, and therefore being made much of by the thirsty loafers whom she treated.

To have (or get) the upper hand, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To have at an advantage; to get to windward (q.v.).

1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 173. I was growing impatient to get back and have the upper hand of my uncle.

To hand up, verb. (Winchester College).—To give information against; to betray.—Notions.

Hands up! intj. (common).—An injunction to desist; stow it! (q.v.). Also (police) = a command to surrender. Bail up (q.v.).

[Amongst other colloquial usages of Hand are the following:—At hand = readily, hard by; at any hand (Shakspeare) = on any account; at no hand = on no account; for one’s own hand = for one’s own purpose or interest; from hand to hand = from one to another; in hand = in a state of preparation, under consideration, or control; off one’s hands = finished; on hand = in possession; in one’s hands = in one’s care; out of hand = completed, without hesitation; to one’s hand = ready; hand over head = negligently, rashly; hand to mouth = improvident; hands off! = stand off; heavy on hand = hard to manage; hot at hand = difficult to manage; light in hand = easy to manage; to ask (or give) the hand of = to ask (or give) in marriage; to be hand and glove with = to be very intimate with; to bear a hand = to help; to bear in (or on) hand = to cheat or mock by false promises; to change hands = to change owners; to come to hand = to be received; to get hand = to gain influence; to give a hand = to applaud; to give the hand to = to be reconciled to; to have a hand in = to have a share in; to have one’s hands full = to be fully occupied; to hold hands with = to vie with, to hold one’s own; to lay hands on = to assault, to seize; to lend a hand = to help; to make a hand = to gain an advantage; to put (or stretch) forth the hand against = to use violence; to set the hand to = to undertake; to strike hands = to make a bargain; to take by the hand = to take under one’s guidance; to take in hand = to attempt; to wash one’s hands of = to disclaim responsibility; a heavy hand = severity; a light hand = gentleness; a slack hand = idleness, carelessness; a strict hand = severe discipline; clean hands = freedom from guilt; to stand one in hand = to concern, to be of importance to; hand to fist = tête-a-tête, hip to haunch; hand over hand = easily; to get a hand = to be applauded.]

Hand-and-Pocket Shop, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hand-and-Pocket-Shop. An eating house, where ready money is paid for what is called for.

Handbasket-portion, subs. (old).—See quot.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hand-basket-portion. A woman whose husband receives frequent presents from her father, or family, is said to have a hand-basket-portion.

Handbinder (in. pl.), subs. (old).—Chains for the wrists. For synonyms, see Darbies.

1696. Ray, Nomenclator, Menotes, liens à lier les mains, fers à enferrer les mains. Manicls, or handbinders.

Hander, subs. (schoolboys’).—A stroke on the hand with a cane; a palmie (q.v.).

1868. Jas. Greenwood, Purgatory of Peter the Cruel, v., 149. You’ve been playing the wag, and you’ve got to take your handers.

Handicap, subs. (colloquial).—An arrangement in racing, etc., by which every competitor is, or is supposed to be, brought on an equality so far as regards his chance of winning by an adjustment of the weights to be carried, the distance to be run, etc.: extra weight or distance being imposed in proportion to their supposed merits on those held better than the others. [A handicap is framed in accordance with the known performances of the competitors, and, in horse-racing, with regard to the age and sex of the entries. The term is derived from the old game of hand-in-cap, or handicap.]

1660. Pepys, Diary, 18 Sep. Here some of us fell to handycapp, a sport that I never knew before.

1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines xxi. The race carried so many penalties and allowances that it partook somewhat of the nature of a handicap.

Verb (colloquial). 1. To adjust or proportion weights, starts, etc., in order to bring a number of competitors as nearly as possible to an equality. [258]

1841. Lever, Charles O’Malley, ch. lxviii. Pleasant and cheerful enough, when they’re handicapping the coat off your back, and your new tilbury for a spavined pony and a cotton umbrella; but regular devils if you come to cross them the least in life.

1883. Grenville-Murray, People I Have Met, 123. He was not handicapped by a title, so that the beautiful ethics of hereditary legislation had no claim on his attention.

Handie-Dandie, subs. phr. (old).—Copulation.

1490–1554. David Lyndsay, Kitty’s Confessioun [Laing], i., 136. Ane plack I will gar Sandie, Gie the agane with Handie-Dandie.

Handle, subs. (common).—1. The nose. For synonyms, see Conk.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. The cove flashes a rare handle to his physog; the fellow has a large nose.

1887. Modern Society, 27 Aug., 864. A restless, intriguing, and busy old lady, with an immense handle to her face.

2. (colloquial).—A title. Fr., une queue, as Monsieur Sans-queue = Mr. Nobody.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, xxiii. She … entertained us with stories of colonial governors and their ladies, mentioning no persons but those who had handles to their names, as the phrase is.

1857. Ducange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue. Handle, n. Title. Oh, you want a handle to your name.

1871. London Figaro, 17 June, ‘The plaint of a poor Parson.’ Neither he nor his clerical neighbours—unless they belong to county families, or have handles to their names—have ever been invited by the Dean to partake of the hospitalities of the Deanery.

1886. J. S. Winter, Army Society, ch. ii. That’s the worst of having a handle to one’s name.

1891. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 16 Jan. Here’s the Honourable Tom Jones, and Lord Smith, and Viscount Brown—that’s them, with the handles knocked off their names.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, i., 2. He was aye ettling after a bit handle to his name.

1753–77. Melmoth, Cicero, bk. ii., let. 17 (note 5). The defence of Vatinius gave a plausible handle for some censure upon Cicero.

Verb (cardsharpers’).—1. To conceal cards in the palm of the hand, or up the sleeves; to palm (q.v.).

1606. Chapman, Gentleman Usher, iii., 5. Now let the sport begin: I think my love will handle him as well as I have done.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Handle. To know how to handle one’s fists; to be skilful in the art of boxing.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ii., 7. Smart chap that cabman—handled his fives well.

1892. Henley and Stevenson, Admiral Guinea, ii., 5. Commander, you handled him like a babby, kept the weather gauge, and hulled him every shot.

1857. Moncrieff, Bashful Man, ii. 4. Shouldn’t have any objection in life, squire, to let you handle the ribands for a stage or two, but four-in-hand, you know, requires——.

1872. Evening Standard, 10 Aug. The Princess of Wales is expected, and her Royal Highness has several times during the week driven through the town in an open phaeton, drawn by four beautiful ponies, and she appears to handle the ribbons in a very skilful manner.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 198. It was agreed Marston should handle the ribbons. [259]

1825. Neal, Brother Jonathan, bk. I., ch. iv. Most off the handle, some o’ the tribe, I guess.

Hand-me-downs (or Hand-’em-downs), subs. (common).—Second-hand clothes. Hand-me-down-shop, or Never-too-late-to-mend-shop = a repairing tailors’. Fr., un decrochez-moi-ça.

1878. Notes and Queries, 5, s. ix., 6 Apr., p. 263. Hand-’em-down—A second-hand garment (Northamptonshire).

1888. New York World, 5 Mar. Russell Sage, it is said, walked into a Broadway clothing store the other day and tried on and purchased a twelve-dollar suit of hand-me-downs.

1889. Sporting Times, 29 June. Trousers which fit him nowhere in particular, and which all over proclaim themselves entitled to the epithet of hand-me-downs.

French Synonyms.—La musique (popular); la mise-bas (servants’: especially ‘perks’).

Hand-out, subs. (American).—Food to a tramp at the door.

1887. Morley Roberts, The Western Avernus. Some of the boys said it was a regular hand-out, and that we looked like a crowd of old bummers.

Handpiece, subs. (American).—A handkerchief. For synonyms, see Wipe.

1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 67. Then … he tied his white hand-pieces to an opening made for the purpose on one side of the dashboard.

Handsaw, subs. (common).—A street vendor of knives and razors; an itinerant Chive-fencer (q.v.).

Handsome, adj. and adv. (colloquial, and formerly literary).—Sharp, severe; convenient, fit; neat, graceful; dextrous, skilful, ready; ample, generous, liberal; manageable; in good or proper style; and (in America) grand or beautiful.

1553. Wilson, Arte of Rhetorique, p. 3. Phauorinus the Philosopher did hit a yong man ouer the thumbes very handsomely.

1553–99. Spenser, Wks. For a thief it is so handsome, As it may seem it was first invented by him.

1593. Shakspeare, Titus Andronicus, ii., 3. If we miss to meet him handsomely.

1600. P. Holland, Livy, p. 255. A light footman’s shield he takes with him, and a Spanish blade by his side, more handsome to fight short and close.

1604. Shakspeare, Winter’s Tale, iv., 3. His garments are rich, but he wears them not handsomely.

1614. Raleigh, History of the World, Bk. III., ch. viii., § 6. Playing their games handsomely against so nimble a wit.

1672–1719. Addison, Wks. An alms-house, which I intend to endow very handsomely.

1798. Lodge, Illust. Brit. Hist., i., 178. He is very desyrus to serve your Grace, and seymes to me to be a very handsome man.

To do the handsome (or the handsome thing), verb. phr. (common).—To behave extremely well; to be ‘civil.’ [260]

1887. Manville Fenn, This Man’s Wife, ii., 15. Sir Gordon’s ready to do the handsome thing.

Handsome is that handsome does, phr. (colloquial).—‘Actions, not words, are the test of merit’; also ironically of ill-favoured persons.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Handsome is that handsome does: a proverb frequently cited by ugly women.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Handsome Bodied Man in the Face, a jeering commendation of an ugly fellow.

Handsome as a last year’s corpse, adv. phr. (American).—A sarcastic compliment.

Handsomely! intj. (nautical).—Gently! A cry to signify smartly, but carefully. Also Handsomely over the bricks = Go cautiously.

Handsome-reward, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Handsome-reward. This, in advertisements, means a horse-whipping.

Handsprings. To chuck handsprings, verb. phr. (common).—To turn somersaults.

Handstaff, subs. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick. [From that member of the flail which is held in the hands].

Handy. Handy as a pocket in a shirt, phr. (American).—Very convenient.

Handy-blows, (or cuffs), subs. (old).—Cuffs with the hand; fisticuffs; hence close quarters.

Handy-man, subs. (colloquial).—A servant or workman doing odd jobs.

1847. De Quincey, The Spanish Military Nun, Wks. (1890), xiii., 165. She was a handy girl. She could turn her hand to anything.

1872. Times, 27 Aug. ‘Autumn Manœuvres.’ The result is he cannot be called a handy-man.

1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 8 Nov., p. 2, c. 1. Again did Mr. Sambourne’s handy-man appear, this time clad in the real robes of the Lord Mayor.

Hang, subs. (colloquial).—1. The general drift, tendency, or bent: as in to get the hang of = to get conversant with; to acquire the trick, or knack, or knowledge of.

1847. Darley, Drama in Pokerville, p. 67. The theatre was cleared in an instant … all running to get the hang of the scrape.

1848. Jones, Sketches of Travel, p. 70. By this time I began to git the hang of the place a little better.

1851. Hooper, Widow Rugby’s Husband, etc., p. 64. To be efficient a solicitor must get the hang of his customers.

a. 1871. Prime, Hist. of Long Island, p. 82. If ever you must have an indifferent teacher for your children, let it be after they have got a fair start and have acquired the hang of the tools for themselves.

1884. Milliken, Punch, 11 Oct. They ain’t got the ’ang of it, Charlie, the toffs ain’t.

1890. Daily Chronicle, 4 Apr., p. 7 c. 2. When the Raw Cadet enters Woolwich Academy, it is sometime before he gets what some call the hang of the place. [261]

1892. Illustrated Bits, Oct. 22, p. 6. c. 2. When I get the hang of them I shall be a regular dab at theosophy.

2. (colloquial).—A little bit; a bit; a Damn. See Care. Fr., s’en contreficher or s’en tamponner le coquard (or coquillard).

1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xliii. She looks as well as you by candle-light, but she can’t ride a hang.

Verb (generally Hang it!).—An exclamation of vexation, disgust, or disappointment; also, more forcibly, a euphemism for Damn it! Fr., Ah! mince alors.

1694. Dunton, Ladies’ Dict., p. 229. Aristænetus telling a brisk buxom Lass of a proper fine Man that would make her a good Husband, Hang him [reply’d she] he has no Mony.

1780. Mrs. Cowley, Belle’s Stratagem, iv., 1. Hang Harriet, and Charlotte, and Maria! the name your father gave ye?

1823. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 5. Hang cards! bring me a bobstick of rum slim.

1836. M. Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 169. ‘You be hanged, Felix,’ quoth his ally, with a most quizzical grin.

1889. Sporting Times, 6 July. Hebrew Scholar: Rub up your Hebrew. Or go and hang yourself.

1890. Grant Allen, Tents of Shem, ch. xvii. Hang it all, if that’s English law, you know, I don’t thing very much of the wisdom of our ancestors.

1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 7. But ’ang it, I can’t stand the style of the silent and the stare-me-down sort.

1892. F. Anstey, Voces Populi, ‘On the Ice,’ p. 122. Stick by me, old fellow, till I begin to feel my——Oh, hang it all!

1598. Marston, Satyres, ‘Ad Rythmum.’ But if you hang an arse like Tubered, When Chremes dragged him from his brothel bed.

1639–61. Rump Songs, ii., 86. Nay, if it hang an arse; We’ll pluck it from the stares, And roast it at hell for its grease.

1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, ch. lxv. My lads, I’m told you hang an arse.

To hang in, verb. phr. (common).—To get to work; to do one’s best; to wire in (q.v.).

To hang in the bellropes, verb. phr. (common).—To defer marriage after being ‘asked’ in church.

To hang on by one’s eyelashes, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To persist at any cost, and in the teeth of any discouragement.

To hang on by the splash-board, verb. phr. (common).—To ‘catch’ a tram, omnibus, etc., when it is on the move; hence to succeed by the ‘skin of one’s teeth.’ Fr., arcpincer l’omnibus.

To hang around (or about), verb. phr. (American).—To loiter; to loaf; to haunt. [262]

To hang out, verb (common).—To live; to reside. Also (subs.), a residence; a lodging; and (American university) a feast; an entertainment.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. Hang out. The traps scavey where we hang out; the officers know where we live.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxx. ‘I say, old boy, where do you hang out?’ Mr. Pickwick replied that he was at present suspended at the George and Vulture.

1852. Bristed, Five Years in an English University, p. 80. The fourth of July I celebrated by a hang-out.

1871. City Press, 21 Jan. ‘Curiosities of Street Literature.’ He hangs out in Monmouth-court.

1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 14. I should like to go in for blue blood, and ’ang out near the clubs and the parks.

To hang out a shingle, verb. phr. (American).—To start or carry on business.

1871. Public Opinion, Dec. Tom Stowell hung out his shingle as a lawyer at the Tombs, afterwards at Essex-market, and eventually in Brooklyn.

To hang one’s latchpan, verb. phr. (common).—To be dejected; to pout. Fr., faire son aquilin.

To hang up, verb. phr. (common).—1. To give credit; to score (or chalk) up: said of a reckoning. Also ‘to put on the slate’ or (American) on the ice (q.v.).

1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. Hang-it-up, speaking of the Reckoning at a Bowsing-Ken, when the Rogues are obliged, for want of Money, to run on Tick.

4. (thieves’).—To rob with violence on the street; to hold up (q.v.). Fr., la faire au père François.

5. (common).—To be in extremis; to know not which way to turn for relief: e.g., a man hanging = one to whom any change must be for the better.

1887. Cornhill Magazine, June, p. 624. To hang up a bill is to pass it through one or more of its stages, and then to lay it aside, and defer its further consideration for a more or less indefinite period.

To hang on, verb. phr. (colloquial).—(1) To sponge; and (2) to pursue an individual or a design.

1601. Shakspeare, Henry VIII., iii., 2. Oh, how wretched Is that poor man that hangs on princes’ favours!

To hang up one’s fiddle, verb. phr. (American).—To retire; to desist. To hang up one’s fiddle anywhere = To adapt oneself to circumstances.

To hang up one’s hat, verb. phr. (common).—1. To die. For synonyms, see Aloft.

1854. Notes and Queries, Vol. X., p. 203. He has hung up his hat. This sentence, which is sometimes used in reference to persons deceased, etc.

Hang-bluff, subs. (rhyming).—Snuff.

Hang-by, subs. (old).—A hanger-on; a parasite; a companion.

1598. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, iv., 2. I am not afraid of you nor them neither, you hang-byes here.

Hang-dog, subs. (old).—A pitiful rascal, only fit for the rope or the hanging of superfluous curs. Cf., Gallows-bird.

1732. Fielding, Mock Doctor, i., 4. Heaven has inspired me with one of the most wonderful inventions to be revenged on my hang-dog.

Hang-gallows, adj. (old).—See quot.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hang-gallows Look, a thievish, or villainous appearance.

Hanger, subs. (old).—A side-arm—short sword or cutlass—hanging from the girdle. (See Hangers, in. pl., sense 1.)

In. pl. (old).—1. Ornamental loops from the girdle to suspend the sword and dagger.

1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, v. 2. Six French rapiers and poignards, with their assigns, as girdle, hangers, and so on.

1596. Nashe, Unf. Trav. [Chiswick Press, 1891]. Huge hangers that have half a cowhide in them.

1599. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, iv., 4. I had thrown off the hangers a little before.

1610. Jonson, Alchemist, v., 2. Where be the French petticoats, And girdles and hangers?

Hang-in-chains, subs. phr. (old).—See quots.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, Hang-in-chains. A vile, desperate fellow. Persons guilty of murder, or other atrocious crimes, are frequently, after execution, hanged on a gibbet, to which they are fastened by iron bandages; the gibbet is commonly placed on or near the place where the crime was committed.

Hanging, adj. (colloquial).—Fit for the halter.

Hanging-bee, subs. (American).—A gathering of lynch-lawmongers, bent on the application of the rope. See Bee.

Hanging Johnny, subs. phr. (venery).—The penis: specifically, in a condition of impotence or disease. For synonyms, see Creamstick and Prick.

Hangman, subs. (old).—A jocular endearment.

1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado About Nothing, iii., 2. He had twice or thrice cut Cupid’s bowstring, and the little hangman dare not shoot at him.

Hangman’s-day, subs. (old).—Monday, and (in America) Friday.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hangman’s day. Friday is so called from the custom of hanging people on a Friday.

Hangman’s-wages, subs. (old).—Thirteen-pence-halfpenny. [The fee for an execution was a Scots [264]mark: the value of which piece was settled, by a proclamation of James I., at 13½d.]

1602. Decker, Honest Whore, Pt. II., in Wks. (1873) ii., 171. Why should I eate hempe-seed at the hangman’s thirteene-pence halfe-penny ordinary?

1659. Hangman’s Last Will (Rump Song quoted in Notes and Queries, 2 S. xi., 316). For half thirteen-pence half-penny wages, I would have cleared out all the town cages, And you should have been rid of all the sages. I and my gallows groan.

1678. Butler, Hudibras, Pt. III., c. 2. To find us pillories and cart’s-tails, Or hangman’s wages.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hangman’s wages, thirteenpence half-penny, which according to the vulgar tradition was thus allotted, one shilling for the execution, and three halfpence for the rope.

Hang-slang about, verb. phr. (common).—To abuse; to slang (q.v.); to Billingsgate (q.v.).

Hank, subs. (old colloquial).—1. A tie; a hold; an advantage; a difficulty. [In a hank = in trouble].

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. He has a hank upon him, or the Ascendant over him.

1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v. He has a hank upon him; He … will make him do what he pleases.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. He has a hank on him, i.e., an ascendant over him, or a hold upon him: A Smithfield hank = An ox rendered furious by over driving and barbarous treatment.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hank. To know something about a man that is disreputable. He has a hank on the bloke, whereby he sucks honey when he chooses, he knows something about the man, and therefore induces him to give him money when he chooses.

1888. Sporting Life, 7 Dec. So quiet was the first round that the ire of the company was raised, and they called out, ‘No hank!’

Hanker, verb (old: now recognised).—To desire eagerly; to fret after; to long or pine for: generally with ‘after.’ Also, Hankering (subs.) = an importunate and irritating longing.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. To hanker after anything, to have a longing after or for it.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 98. I did see a creatur’ once, named Sofy Mason … that I tuk an orful hankerin’ arter.

1878. Whitman, Leaves of Grass, ‘Spontaneous Me,’ 90 (ed. 1884). The hairy wild-bee that murmurs and hankers up and down.

Hankin, subs. (commercial).—The trick of putting off bad work for good. [Cf., To play hankey, or To play hanky-panky.]

Hanktelo, subs. (old).—See quots.

1593. Nashe, Strange Newes (Grosart, Wks., ii., 251). Is the Astrologicaall Discourse a better booke than Pierce Pennilesse? Gabriel Hangtelow saies it is?

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hanktelo, a silly Fellow, a meer Cods-head.

Hanky-Panky, subs. (common).—(1) Legerdemain; whence (2) trickery; underhand (q.v.) work; cheating; any manner of [265]double-dealing or intrigue. Hanky-panky business = conjuring; hanky-panky work (or tricks) = double-dealing. A bit of hanky-panky = a trick; a piece of knavery.

1880. G. R. Sims, Zeph, ch. xiii. He knew that … any crime committed on his premises would tell against him on licensing day, and he kept a pretty sharp look out to see that what he was pleased to term hanky panky was not carried on under his nose.

1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. xxxviii. If there was any hanky panky, any mystery I mean, he’d always swear he was out whenever he called, for fear it should be bullied out of him.

1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. v., p. 323.——There’s some hanky panky business going on among the men of No. 2 prison; the Catholic side is ringing changes and it is done in this shop.

Hanky-panky-bloke, subs. phr. (theatrical).—A conjuror; a pile of mags (q.v.).

Hanky-Spanky, adj. (common).—Dashing; nobby (q.v.). Specifically of well-cut clothes.

Hannah. That’s the man as married Hannah, phr. (streets’).—‘That’s the thing’: used of a thing well begun and well ended; or as an expressive of certainty. Varied sometimes by that’s what’s the matter with Hannah.

Hans Carvel’s Ring, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable. [From Poggio (tit. Annulus); Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles (xi.); Ariosto (Sat. v.); the Nouvelle of Malespini (89, ii.); Rabelais (Pantagruel, iii., 28); and Matthew Prior.]

Hansel (or Handsel), subs. (common).—The first money taken in the morning; lucky money. Hence, earnest money; first-fruits, &c. Hansel-Monday = the first Monday in the new year, when presents were received by children and servants. [A. S., handselen = to deliver into the hand.]

1587. Greene, Menaphon (Arber), p. 71. He should like inough haue had first handsell of our new Shepheards sheepehooke.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii. Bring him a sixpenny bottle of ale: They say a fool’s handsel is lucky.

1679. Holland, Ammianus Marcellinus. With which wofull tidings being sore astonied, as if it were the first hansell and beginning of evils comming toward him.

1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary, etc. (1811), p. 121. It is a common practice among the lower class of hucksters, pedlars, or dealers in fruit or fish, on receiving the price of the first goods sold that day, which they call hansel, to spit on the money, as they term it, for good luck.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. iii. There was a whin bonnie lasses there, forbye mysel’, and deil ane to gie them hansels. Ibid., ch. xxxii. Grizzy has naething frae me, by twa pair o’ new shoon ilka year, and maybe a bit compliment at Hansel Monanday.

1821. Scott, Kenilworth, ch. xix. ‘How wears the Hollands you won of me?’ ‘Why, well, as you may see, Master Goldthred,’ answered Mike; ‘I will bestow a pot on thee for the handsel.’

1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, in Wks., v., 249. And gather about him as flocking to hansell him and strike him good luck.

1605. Chapman, etc., Eastward Hoe, ii. My lady … is so ravished with desire to hansell her new coach.

1639–61. Rump Songs, i. [1662], 137. Belike he meant to Hansell his New Satten. [266]

1663. Pepys, Diary, 12 Apr. Coming home to-night, a drunken boy was carrying by our constable to our new pair of stocks to handsel them.

1874. [G. A. Lawrence], Hagarene, ch. xvii. The habit of stout blue cloth … was Pete Harradine’s last and crowning extravagance, as they passed through town on their way to Fulmerstone, and it had never been hanselled yet.

1881. Besant and Rice, Sweet Nelly, in Ten Years’ Tenant, etc., Vol. I., p. 200. I wanted to present her with something to hansel friendship.

Hanseller, subs. (common).—A street vendor; a Cheap Jack.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., 392. The sellers of tins, who carry them under their arms, or in any way on a round, apart from the use of a vehicle, are known as hand-sellers.

1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 10. Cheap-Jacks, as they were then as now called by the people, although the term han’-seller is mostly used by themselves.

Hans-en-Kelder, subs. (old).—A child in the womb: literally, Jack-in-the-Cellar (q.v.). [From the Dutch.]

1647. Cleaveland, Character of a London Diurnall. The originall sinner in this kind was Dutch; Galliobelgicus, the Protoplast; and the moderne Mercuries, but hans-en-kelders. The countesse of Zealand was brought to bed of an almanack; as many children as dayes in the yeare.

1648. Mercurius Pragmaticus, i. The birthday of that precious new government which is yet but a Hans-en-kelder.

d. 1658. Lovelace, Poems, p. 63. Next beg I to present my duty To pregnant sister in prime beauty, Whom [who] well I deem (ere few months elder) Will take out Hans from pretty kelder.

1663. Dryden, Wild Gallant, v., Wks., i. 61 (1701). Seems you are desirous I should Father this Hans en Kelder heere.

1672. Marvell, Char. of Holland, line 65. More pregnant then their Marg’ret, that laid down For Hans-in-Kelder of a whole Hanse town.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hans-en-Kelder, Jack in the Box, the Child in the Womb, or a Health to it.

1672. Wycherley, Love in a Wood, v. Then I am as it were a grandfather to your new Wiffe’s, hans en kelder.

1678. T. Baker, Tunbridge Wells, p. 27. Here’s a health to this Lady’s Hans in Kelder!

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hans in Kelder, a health frequently drank to breeding women, or their husbands.

Hansom, subs. (coster).—A chop.

Hap-Harlot, subs. (old).—A coarse stuff to make rugs or coverlets with; a rug. Cf., Wrap-rascal = an overcoat.

1577–87. Holinshed, Description of England, bk. ii., ch. xii. A sheet vnder couerlets made of dagswain, or hap-harlots (I vse their owne termes).

Ha’porth o’ Coppers, subs. phr. (legal).—Habeas Corpus.

Ha’porth of Liveliness, subs. phr. (Coster).—1. Music.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, i., p. 21. Or they will call to the orchestra, saying, ‘Now then you catgut-scrapers! Let’s have a ha’porth of liveliness.’

Happify, verb. (American).—To please.

1848. Burton, Waggeries, etc., p. 70. For eatin’ and drinkin’, it happifies me to say that we bang the bush.

Happy, adj. (common).—Slightly drunk; elevated (q.v.). For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed. [267]

Happy-despatch, subs. (common).—Death, specifically, a sudden or violent end.

Happy-dosser. See Dosser.

Happy Eliza, subs. (common).—A female Salvationist [As in the Broadside Ballad (1887–8), ‘They call me Happy Eliza, and I’m Converted Jane: We’ve been two hot’uns in our time.’]

Happy-family, subs. (colloquial).—See quot.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., p. 224. Happy families, or assemblages of animals of diverse habits and propensities living amicably, or at least quietly, in one cage.

Happy-go-lucky, subs. (colloquial).—Careless; thoughtless; improvident. Fr., va comme je te pousse and à la flan.

1856. Reade, Never Too Late to Mend, ch. xv. In the happy-go-lucky way of his class.

1883. Illust. London News, 8 Dec., p. 551, c. 1. He dashes off a play in a happy-go-lucky style, basing it on theatrical precedent so far as certain stock situations are concerned.

Happy Hunting-grounds, subs. (American).—1. The future state; glory (q.v.). [From the North-American Indian’s conception of heaven.]

1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 98. After a long journey, they will reach the happy hunting-grounds.

1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody of Nowhere, ch. v. Old Mescal is now keeping a sharp eye out for the child and the cowboy, that he may send them to the happy hunting-grounds also.

1892. Cassell’s Sat. Journal, 26 Oct., p. 119. The happy hunting-ground of the swell mobsman is the opening of some Exhibition.

Happy-land, subs. (common).—The after life; glory (q.v.).

1893. Danvers, The Grantham Mystery, ch. xiii. The old ’un will soon join the young ’un in the happy land.

Happy-returns, subs. (Australian).—Vomiting. See Flay the Fox.

Harbour, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable. Also Harbour of Hope.

Hard, subs. (prison).—1. Hard labour.

1890. Globe, 26 Feb., p. 1, c. 4. Monetary penalties, therefore, do not act as deterrents, but the certainty of seven days’ incarceration, with or without hard, would soon diminish the nuisance.

3. (colloquial).—Third-class. As opposed to soft (q.v.). Thus: ‘Do you go hard or soft?’ = ‘Do you go Third or First?’ An abbreviation of Hard-arse.

Adj. (American).—1. Applied to metal of all kinds: e.g., hard (cole or stuff) = silver or gold as compared to cheques or soft (q.v.).

1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, ii., ch. 18. The bill … amounted to one dollar and a quarter hard money.

1844. Puck, p. 146. That cunning old file wont let her go with the hard cash down.

2. (old: now recognised).—1. Sour or souring; as in hard-cider; (2) hard drinks (American) = intoxicating liquors, as wine, ale, etc., while lemonade, soda-water, ginger-beer, etc., are soft.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hard drink, that is very Stale, or begining to Sower.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hard, stale beer nearly sour, is said to be hard.

1882. Daily Telegraph, 10 Oct., p. 5, c. 3. A fourth defendant, in pleading guilty, urged that the month of August last ‘turned a lot of beer sour,’ and that he had only used some sugar for the purpose of mollifying the hard or sour porter.

Hard as a Bone (Nails, etc.), adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very hard; austere; unyielding.

1885. Indoor Paupers, p. 79. He stood it for a week or two without flinching—being at that date hard as nails, as he expresses it.

Hard at it, adj. phr. (colloquial).—Very busy; in the thick of a piece of work.

To die hard, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To sell one’s life dearly; e.g., The die-hards (q.v.), the 59th Regiment, so called from their gallantry at Albuera.

[Hard, adj., is used in many combinations; generally with an unpleasant intention. Thus, hard-arsed (or fisted, or handed) = very niggardly; hard-bit (or hard-mouthful) = an unpleasant experience; hard-driven (or hard-run) = sore bested; hard-faced (or favoured, or featured) = grum, shrewish, or bony; hard-headed (or hard-witted) = shrewd and intelligent, but unimaginative and unsympathetic; hard-hearted = incapable of pity; hard-lipped = obstinate, dour; hard-master = a nigger-driver; hard-nut = a dangerous antagonist; hard-on = pitiless in severity; hard-riding = selfish and reckless equestration; hard-service = the worst kind of employment; hard-wrought = overworked, etc., etc.]

Hard-a-weather, adj. (nautical).—Tough; weather-proof.

Hard-bake, subs. (schoolboys’).—A sweetmeat made of boiled brown sugar or treacle with blanched almonds.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ii. The commodities exposed for sale in the public streets are marine stores, hard-bake, apples, etc.

Hard-baked, adj. (old).—1. Constipated.

1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 73. It’s my opinion, these squirtish kind a fellars ain’t perticular hard-baked.

Hard-bargain (or Case), subs. (common).—1. A lazy fellow; a bad-egg (q.v.); a skulker. One of the Queen’s Hard-bargains = a bad soldier.

1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 71. La Bonté had lost all traces of civilised humanity, and might justly claim to be considered as hard a case as any of the mountaineers then present.

1888. Lynch, Mountain Mystery, ch. xliii. A fellow who comes and goes between here and Rockville, generally considered a hard case, and believed to be more outlaw than miner.

Hard-bit (or Bit of Hard), subs. (venery).—1. The penis in erection; whence (2), for women, the act of connection.

Hard-bitten, adj. (colloquial).—Resolute; game (q.v.); desperate.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, liii. My sooth, they’ll be hard-bitten terriers will worrie Dandie.

Hard-cheese, subs. (Royal Military Academy).—Hard lines; bad luck; specifically at billiards.

Hard-cole. See Hard and Cole.

Hard-doings, subs. (American).—1. Rough fare; and (2) hard work.

Hard-drinking, subs. (old: now recognized).—Drinking to excess.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hard-drinking, excessive Soking, or toping aboundance.

Hard-head, subs. (American).—A man of good parts, physical, intellectual, or moral.

1824. R. B. Peake, Americans Abroad, i., 1. Dou. None of your flouting, by jumping jigs, I won’t stand it—we Americans have got hard heads—we warn’t brought up in the woods to be scart at by an owl—you can’t scare me so.

1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, p. 110. Most of the passengers had disappeared for the night, and only a knot of hard-heads were left upon deck.

Hard-hit. To be hard hit, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To have experienced a heavy loss; as over a race, at cards, etc.

1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Ladies’ Gallery, ch. xxv. The wound was keen, I had been hit hard.

Hard-lines, subs. (colloquial).—Hardship; difficulty; an unfortunate result or occurrence. [Formerly line = lot: Cf., Bible and Prayer book version of Psalm xvi., 5, 6.]

1855. Notes and Queries, 1 S. xii., p. 287. Hard Lines. Whence is this expression, so common, particularly among seafaring men, derived?

1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, ch. xxiii. I think it’s deuced hard lines to lock up a fellow for merely humbugging an old parson up in Kentish Town.

1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, Ladies’ Gallery, ch. xxvi. It’s awful hard lines, Lady Star Strange, that I am only thought good enough for you Londoners in the dead season.