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

Hawk-eye State, subs. phr. (American).—Iowa. [After the famous Indian chief.]

Hawse. To fall athwart one’s hawse, verb. phr. (nautical).—To obstruct; to fall out with; to counter and check.

Hawse-holes. To come (or creep) in through the hawse-holes, verb. phr. (nautical).—To enter the service at the lowest grade; to rise from the forecastle.

1830. Marryat, King’s Own, ch. viii. His kind and considerate captain was aware that a lad who creeps in at the hawse-holes, i.e., is promoted from before the mast, was not likely to be favourably received in the midshipmen’s mess.

1889. Chambers’ Journal, 3 Aug., 495. A sailor who rose from the ranks was formerly said to have crept through the hawse-holes.

Hay. To make hay, verb. phr. (University).—To throw into confusion; to turn topsy-turvy; to knock to pieces in argument or single combat. Also, to kick up a row.

1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. vii. The fellows were mad with fighting too. I wish they hadn’t come here and made hay afterwards.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. To Dance the Hay. To make Hay while the Sun Shines, or make good use of one’s Time.

Hay-bag, subs. (thieves’).—A woman. [I.e., something to lie upon.] For synonyms, see Petticoat. Fr., une paillaisse.

Hay-band, subs. (common).—A common cigar. For synonyms, see Weed.

Haymarket-hector, subs. (old).—A prostitute’s bully. See Hector.

c. 1675. Marvell, Cutting of Sir John Coventry’s Nose, vi. O ye Haymarket Hectors!

Haymarket-ware, subs. (common).—A common prostitute. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.

Hay-pitcher (or Hay-seed), subs. (American).—A countryman. Cf., Gape-seed.

1888. New York World. ‘I wouldn’t hev come into his shop if I had known it,’ protested the imitation hay-pitcher. [284]

1888. Detroit Free Press, Sept. Al. (to hayseed)—Ever read Ouida? H.—No, but by golly I must get his books. The weeds in my garden are raisin’ eternal tarnation.

1890. Norton, Political Americanisms, p. 53. Hayseeds—rustics. The ‘hayseed delegation’ in a State legislature is supposed to consist of farmers or their representatives.

1890. Judge, ‘Christmas No.’, p. 31. Them two fellers … has been passin’ d’rog’tory remarks about that hayseed’s ears.

1893. Clark Russell, Life of the Merchant Sailor, in Scribner’s, xiv, 8. Hired by the State to court the hayseed to the tenders.

Hays! intj. (American).—An injunction to be gone; git (q.v.).

1851. Judson, Mysteries of New York, ch. i., p. 12. Cut and run, my darling! Hays! is the word, and off you go.

Haze, subs. (American).—Bewilderment; confusion; fog (q.v.).

Verb (American).—1. To play tricks or practical jokes; to frolic. Hence, Hazing. Also to mystify or Fog (q.v.).

1848. N. Y. Com. Adv., 2 Dec. W. had been drinking, and was hazing about the street at night, acting somewhat suspiciously or strangely [when the officer arrested him].

1887. Lippincott’s Mag., July, p. 105. This and the Dyke are the only approaches to hazing that I have ever heard of here.

1888. Philadelphia Bulletin, 27 Feb. So woman is completing her conquest of the planet. She rows. She smokes. She preaches. She hazes. She shoots. She rides.

1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 39. In some of the studios at that date, the hazing of new pupils was both barbarous and obscene.

1840. R. H. Dana, Two Years Before the Mast, ch. viii. Haze is a word of frequent use on board ship, and never, I believe, used elsewhere. It is very expressive to a sailor, and means to punish by hard work. Let an officer once say ‘I’ll haze you,’ and your fate is fixed. You will be ‘worked up,’ if you are not a better man than he is.

1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 205. Here I have been five days … hazing—what you call slanging—upholsterers.

1883. Stevenson, Treasure Island, ch. xi., p. 89 (1886). I’ve had a’most enough o’ Cap’n Smollett; he’s hazed me long enough, by thunder!

1889. Notes and Queries, 7 S. viii., 31 Aug. My old partner, who served his time at sea, always spoke of giving a man ‘a good hazing’ when he meant he had been finding fault with his doings, etc.

Hazel-geld, verb. (old).—See quots.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hazel-geld, to Beat any one with a Hazle-Stick or Plant.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hazle-gild, to beat anyone with a hazle stick.

Hazy, adj. (old: now recognised).—1. See quot.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hazy Weather, when it is Thick, Misty, Foggy.

2. (common).—Stupid with drink; mixed (q.v.). For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

1824. T. Hook, Sayings and Doings, 1st. S. ‘Friend of the Family,’ p. 179. One night at a public-house I was foolish enough to brag. Hazy, Sir—you understand? smoking and drinking.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘Lay of S. Cuthbert.’ Stamp’d on the jasey As though he were crazy, And staggering about just as if he were hazy.

He, subs. (Charterhouse).—A cake. A young he = a small cake. See She.

Head, subs. (nautical).—1. A man-of-war’s privy.

2. (common).—The obverse of a coin or medal. Heads or tails? = Guess whether the coin [285]spun will come down with head uppermost or not. [The side not bearing the Sovereign’s head has various devices: Britannia, George and the Dragon, a harp, the Royal arms, an inscription, etc.—all included in the word ‘tail,’ i.e., the reverse of ‘head.’ The Romans said heads or ships?]

d. 1680. Butler, Remains (1759), ii., 431. Let his chance prove what it will, he plays at cross you lose, and pile you win.

1871. Observer, 16 Apr. Perhaps for the first time Parliament is asked to enjoin a settlement of public dispute by means of tossing heads or tails, ‘cross or pile.’

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, ii., 10. Pray how do you like this head?… I dressed it myself from a print in the Ladies’ Memorandum Book for last year.

1640. Gough, Strange Discovery. Not if you stay at home, and warm my bed; But if you leave me, have at your head.

1609. Holland, Amenianus Marcellinus. Now, it tooke him in the head, and incensed was his desires (seeing Gaule now quited) to set first upon Constantius.

1559. Eliote, Dict. Abruptum ingenium, a rash brayne that dooeth all thinges on head.

1614. Terence in English. Fellow servant, I can very hardly refraine my selfe, but that I must needes flee at the head of him.

To eat one’s (or its) head off, verb. phr. (common).—To cost more than the worth in keep.

1703. Country Farmer’s Catechism. My mare has eaten her head off at the Ax in Aldermanbury.

1878. Parker Gillmore, Great Thirst Land, ch. vii. Our horses were eating their heads off at livery.

1893. Cassell’s Sat. Jour., 1 Feb. p. 384, 2. A lot of raw material in stock which, in local parlance, would eat its head off if kept warehoused.

1556. Heywood, Spider and Fly. Thirdlie, to set cocke on hope, and run on heade.

To give one’s head (or one’s beard) for washing, verb. phr. (old).—To yield tamely and without resistance. Fr., laver la tête = to reprimand; to admonish with point, energy, and force.

1615. Beaumont and Fletcher, Cupid’s Revenge, iv., 3. I’m resolved.… And so am I, and forty more good fellows, That will not give their heads for the washing, I take it.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, I., iii., 255. For my part it shall ne’er be said, I for the washing gave my head, nor did I turn my back for fear.

To put a head (or new-head) on one, verb. phr. (common).—1. To change a man’s aspect by punching his head: hence, to get the better of one’s opponent; to annihilate. Also to put a new face on.

1870. R. Grant White, Words and their Uses. But all his jargon was surpassed, in wild absurdity, By threats, profanely emphasised, to put a head on me.… Instead of putting on a head he strove to smite off mine.

18(?). Bret Harte, Further Words from Truthful James. To go for that same party for to put a head on him. [286]

1888. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 80. I’d put a new head on yer for tuppence.

2. (colloquial).—To froth malt liquors. [E.g., ‘Put a head on it, Miss,’ addressed to the barmaid, is a request to work the engine briskly, and make the liquor take on a cauliflower (q.v.)]

Heads I win, tails you lose, phr. (common).—A gage of certainty = In no case can I fail: I hold all the trumps.

1890. Welfare, Mar., p. 8., c. 1. A director holding shares to the extent of £50 will draw a yearly recognition of his patronage to the tune of £100. It is unnecessary to ask whether such a course of speculation follows the principle of tails you lose, heads I win.

To get the head into chancery, verb. phr. (formerly pugilists’: now common).—To get the other fighter’s head under one arm and hold it there; a position of helplessness. See Chancery.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 18. When Georgy, one time, got the head of the Bear into chancery.

2. (colloquial).—Hence to get, or be got, into a posture of absolute helplessness.

To knock on the head, verb. phr. (common).—To kill; to destroy; to put an end to.

1871. Weekly Dispatch, 21 May. ‘Police Report.’ The magistrate (Mr. Newton) refused the application for bail, remarking that the sooner the house was done away with the better, and he would take care that it and all connected with it were knocked on the head.

To get (or have) a swelling in the (or a big-) head, verb. phr. (common).—To be or become conceited; to put on airs.

1888. Cincinnati Enquirer. Anna Kelly … is missing from her home in Newport. Somebody has been swelling her head.

1890. Star, 27 Jan. Although he received but £100 for his share, he got the big head, went to pieces, and is now on the retired list.

To hit the right nail on the head, verb. phr. (common). To speak or act with precision and directness; to do the right thing. [The colloquialism is common to most languages. The French say, Vous avez frappé au but (= You have hit the mark). The Italians, Havete dato in brocca (= You have hit the pitcher: alluding to a game where a pitcher stood in the place of Aunt Sally (q.v.)). The Latins, Rem acu tetigisti (= You have touched the thing with a needle: referring to the custom of probing sores.)]

1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., iii., 21. The common Proverb as it is read, That a Man must hit the nail on the head.

1892. Milliken, ’Arry Ballads, p. 43. That’s what I meant when I said that that josser, whose name I’ve forgotten ’ad ’it the right nail on the ’ead.

To argue (or talk) one’s head off, verb. phr. (common).—To be extremely disputative or loquacious; to be all jaw (q.v.).

To bundle out head (or neck) and heels, verb. phr. (common).—To eject with violence.

To have no head, verb. phr. (common).—1. (of persons). To lack ballast; to be crack-brained. See Apartments to Let. Hence, to have a head on = to be cute, alert; to have sand (q.v.). [287]

1888. Lynch, Mountain Mystery, ch. 2. Caledonia was declared to possess a Coroner with a head, and a very good one on him, and a messenger was sent to rouse him.

To have a head, verb. phr. (common).—To experience the after-effects of heavy drinking (cf., Mouth); also to have a head-ache. For synonyms, see Screwed.

To give one his head, verb. phr. (common).—To give one full and free play; to let go.

To have maggots in the head, verb. phr. (common).—To be crotchetty, whimsical, freakish; to have a bee in one’s bonnet. For synonyms, see Apartments.

To lie heads and tails, verb. phr. (common).—To sleep packed sardine fashion, i.e., heads to head-rail and foot-rail alternately.

Over head and ears (in work, love, debt, etc.), phr. (common).—Completely engrossed in; infatuated with; to the fullest extent.

1589. Nashe, Pasqvill of England (Grosart), i., 114. Presently he fetcheth his seas himselfe, and leaps very boldly ouer heade and eares.

1735. Granville (quoted in Johnson’s Dict., s.v. Head). In jingling rimes well fortified and strong, He fights intrenched o’er head and ears in song.

Without head or tail, adv. phr. (common).—Incoherent; neither one thing nor the other. E.g., I can’t make head or tail of it = I cannot make it out.

1728. Vanbrugh, Journey to London, iv. He had the insolence to intrude into my own dressing room here, with a story without a head or tail.

1736. Fielding, Pasquin, v. Take this play, and bid ’em forthwith act it; there is not in it either head or tail.

1874. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, 1st Series, No. 12, p. 203. Mrs. Blair has been writing us a strange rigmarole, which nobody can make head or tail of.

1891. W. C. Russell, Ocean Tragedy, p. 22. There is nothing to make heads or tails of in it that I can see.

To have a head like a sieve, verb. phr. (common).—To be unreliable; to be forgetful.

Heads out! phr. (American university).—A warning cry on the approach of a master.

Fat (or soft) in the head, adv. phr. (common).—Stupid. For synonyms, see Apartments.

Off one’s head, adv. phr. (common).—Stupid; crazy. For synonyms, see Apartments.

Head-beetler, subs. (workmen’s).—1. A bully; and (2) a foreman; a ganger (q.v.).

1886. Chambers’ Journal, 18 Sept., p. 599. Head-beetler is used (in Ulster) in the same vulgar sense as ‘Head-cook and bottle-washer’ in some localities. The ‘beetle’ was a machine for producing figured fabrics by the pressure of a roller, and head-beetler probably means the chief director of this class of work. [288]

Head-bloke. See Head-screw.

Head-bully (or -cully).—See quots.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Head bully of the pass or passage bank. The Top Tilter of the Gang, throughout the whole Army, who Demands and receives Contribution from all the Pass Banks in the Army.

Head-cook and bottle-washer, subs. phr. (common).—1. A general servant; in contempt.

1876. Hindley, Adv. of a Cheap-Jack, p. 66. Fred Jolly being the head-cook and bottle-washer.

Head-clerk. Head-clerk of doxology works, subs. phr. (American).—A parson. See Devil-dodger.

1869. Clemens (Mark Twain), Innocents at Home, ch. ii. If I’ve got the rights of it, and you are the head clerk of the doxology works next door.

Header, subs. (tailors’).—A notability; a big-wig (q.v.).

to take a header, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To plunge, or fall, headforemost, into water: and (theatrical), to take an apparently dangerous leap in sensational drama. Hence, to go straight and directly for one’s object.

1856. Inside Sebastopol, ch. xiv. We may surely shut the door and take a header.

1863. Fun, 4 Apr., p. 23. Did the chairman commence the proceedings by taking a tremendous header … a verbatim report might be interesting.

1884. W. C. Russell, Jack’s Courtship, ch. vii. ‘Miss Hawke,’ said I, plucking up my heart for a header and going in, so to speak, with my eyes shut and my hands clenched.

Head-fruit, subs. (old).—Horns: i.e., the result of being cuckolded.

1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, ii., 3. That boded horns: the fruit of the head is horns.

Head-Guard, subs. (thieves’).—A hat; specifically, a billy-cock.

Heading, subs. (American cowboys’).—A pillow; any rest for the head.

Heading ’em, subs. phr. (streets).—The tossing of coins in gambling. (In allusion to the head on the coin.)

Head-marked, adj. (venery).—Horned. To know by head-mark = to know (a cuckold) by his horns.

Headquarters, subs. (racing).—Newmarket. (Being the chief racing and training centre.)

1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. Of the two-year olds that ran … races for them are the strong point of that particular gathering at headquarters.

Head-rails, subs. (old nautical).—The teeth. For synonyms, see Grinders.

1853. Bradley, [Cuthbert Bede] Verdant Green, Pt. II., ch. iv. He had agreeable remarks for each of his opponents … to another he would cheerfully remark, ‘your head-rails were loosened there, wasn’t they?’

Head-robber, subs. (journalists’).—1. A plagiarist. [289]

Head-screw (or bloke), subs. (prison).—A chief warder.

Heady, adj. (old: now recognised).—1. See quot.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Heady, strong Liquors that immediately fly up into the Noddle, and so quickly make Drunk.

1864. National Review, p. 535. I think it’s the novels that make my girls so heady.

Heady-whop, subs. (streets).—A person with a preternaturally large head. (A corruption of whopping-head (q.v.).)

Healtheries, subs. (common).—The Health Exhibition, held at South Kensington. [Others of the series were nick-named The Fisheries, The Colinderies, The Forestries, etc.]

Heap, subs. (colloquial).—A large number; lots; a great deal.

1371. Chaucer, Boke of the Duchesse, iii., 295 (1888, Minor Poems, Skeat, p. 23). Of smale foules a gret hepe.

1383. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, i., 23/575 (Riverside Press). The wisdom of an heepe of lerned men.

1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xxxv. I sha’n’t see her again, and she wont hear of me for I don’t know how long; and she will be meeting heaps of men.

1885. Punch, 4 July, p. 4. ‘Splendid sight,’ he goes on, ‘heaps of people—people you don’t see anywhere else—and lots of pretty girls.’

1888. Texas Siftings, 20 Oct. He did not encroach on the domain of familiarity, but he looked a heap.

1892. Gunter, Miss Dividends, xi. Every one here would do a heap for Bishop Tranyon’s darter.

1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 223. He pronounced himself a heap better.

All of a heap, phr. (old: now colloquial).—Astonished; confused; taken aback; flabbergast (q.v.); and (pugilists’) ‘doubled up.’

1593. Shakspeare, Titus Andronicus, ii., 4. Lord Bassianus lies embrewed here, all on a heap.

1775. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. VIII., ch. ii. My good landlady was (according to vulgar phrase) struck all of a heap by this relation.

1775. Sheridan, Duenna, ii., 2. That was just my case, too, Madam; I was struck all of a heap for my part.

1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. xxiv. The interrogatory seemed to strike the honest magistrate, to use the vulgar phrase, all of a heap.

1832. Egan, Book of Sports, s.v. All of a heap and all of a lump, unmistakably doubled up by a smasher.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick. ‘And what’s the lady’s name?’ says the lawyer. My father was struck all of a heap. ‘Blessed if I know,’ said he.

1888. J. McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed, The Ladies’ Gallery, ch. xiv. The idea seemed to take him all of a heap.

1891. Scots’ Mag., Oct., p. 321. Spinks and Durward were struck, as we may say, all of a heap, when they fully realised that Folio had disappeared.

Heaped, adj. (racing).—1. Hard put to it; floored (q.v.).

1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 158. They’ve all heard of Blackton’s accident, and fancy we’re fairly heaped for someone to ride.

1607. Cyril Tourneur, Revenger’s Tragedy, ii., 1. O, ’twill be glorious to kill ’em … when they’re heaped. [290]

Hear. To hear a bird sing (old).—To receive private communication; in modern parlance, a little bird told me so.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., v., 5. I will lay odds, that ere this year expire, We bear our civil swords and native fire As far as France. I hear a bird so sing.

Hearing, subs. (common).—A scolding; a lecture. For synonyms, see Wigging.

Hearing-cheats, subs. (old cant).—The ears.

French Synonyms.—Les plats à barbe (popular = large ears); les oches or loches (thieves’); les isgourdes (popular); des feuilles de chou (popular = cabbage leaves); des écoutes or éscoutes (popular = hearing cheats); des cliquettes (popular).

German Synonyms.—Horcher (= the listener); Linzer, Loser, (Viennese: also Losling, Leusling, Leisling, or Lauschling): Osen.

Heart. Next the heart, adv. phr. (old).—Fasting.

1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse [Grosart], ii., 37. You may command his hart out of his belly, to make you a rasher on the coales, if you will next your heart.

[Other colloquial usages are at heart = in reality, truly, at bottom; for one’s heart = for one’s life; in one’s heart of hearts = in the inmost recesses of oneself; to break the heart of = (a) to cause great grief, or to kill by grief, and (b) to bring nearly to completion; to find in one’s heart = to be willing; to get or learn by heart = to commit to memory; to have at heart = to feel strongly about; to have in the heart = to design or to intend; to lay or take to heart = to be concerned or anxious about; to set the heart at rest = to tranquilize; to set the heart on = to be desirous of, to be fond of; to take heart of grace = to pluck up courage.]

Heart-and-dart, subs. (rhyming). A fart (q.v.).

Heartbreaker, subs. (old).—A pendant curl; a love-lock (q.v.). Fr., un crêvecœur.

1663. Butler, Hudibras, Pt. I., c. 1. Like Samson’s heartbreakers, it grew In time to make a nation rue.

1694. Ladies’ Dict. A crevecœur, by some called heartbreaker, is the curled lock at the nape of the neck, and generally there are two of them.

1816. Johnson, Eng. Dict., s.v. A cant name for a woman’s curls, supposed to break the hearts of all her lovers.

Heartburn, subs. (streets).—A bad cigar. For synonyms, see Weed.

Heartsease, subs. (old).—1. See quot.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hearts-ease. An ordinary sort of strong water.

Hearty, subs. and adj. (common).—Drink; drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed. [291]

Hearty-choke. To have a hearty choke and caper sauce for breakfast, verb. phr. (old).—To be hanged. Cf., Vegetable breakfast, and for synonyms, see Ladder.

1834. Ainsworth, Rookwood, ‘Nix my Doly,’ Who cut his last fling with great applause To a hearty choke with caper sauce.

1893. Danvers, The Grantham Mystery, ch. xiii, I am not particularly anxious to run the risk of being compelled to have a hearty-choke for breakfast one fine morning.

Heat, subs. (racing and colloquial).—A bout; a turn; a trial; by whose means the ‘field’ is gradually reduced. Cf., Handicap.

1681. Dryden, Epil. to Saunders’s Tamerlane, 25. But there’s no hope of an old battered jade; Faint and unnerved he runs into a sweat, And always fails you at the second heat.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. lxxxviii. Our adventurer had the satisfaction of seeing his antagonist distanced in the first and second heats.

1753. Adventurer, No. 37. The first heat I put my master in possession of the stakes.

1819. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor, ch. xxii. There was little to prevent Bucklaw himself from sitting for the county—he must carry the heat—must walk the course.

On Heat, subs. phr. (venery).—Amorously inclined, hot (q.v.). [Said of women and bitches.]

Heathen-philosopher, subs. (old).—See quot.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. A sorry poor tatter’d Fellow, whose Breech may be seen through his Pocket-holes.

1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v. This saying arose from the old philosophers, many of whom despised the vanity of dress to such a point, as often to fall into the excess complained of.

Heave, subs. (old).—1. An attempt to deceive or cajole: a dead-heave = a flagrant attempt.

1862. Browne (‘Artemus Ward’), Artemus Ward, his book. ‘Cruise of the Polly Ann.’ Stickin my hed out of the cabin window, I hev.

2. (old).—To rob: has survived, in Shropshire, as a provincialism. The heler (hider) is as bad as the heaver = the receiver is as bad as the thief.

1575. Awdeley, Fraternitye of Vacabondes. But hys chiefest trade is to rob bowthes in a faire, or to pilfer ware from staules, which they cal heaving of the bowth.

1608. Dekker, Belman of London in Wks. (Grosart) III., 102. But the end of their land-voiages is to rob Boothes at fayres, which they call Heaving of the Booth.

1671. R. Head, English Rogue, Pt. I., ch. xlv. p. 319 (1874). I met with an old comrade that had lately heav’d a booth, Anglice broken open a Shop.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary, (5th Ed.). Heave (v.) … and in the Canting Language, it is to rob or steal from any person or thing.

1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. iv. Come heave ahead, my lads, and be smart. [292]

Heaven, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable. To feel one’s way to heaven = to grope (q.v.) a woman. See also, St. Peter.

Heavenly-collar, (or lappel), subs. (tailors’).—A collar or lappel that turns the wrong way.

Heaver, subs. (old).—1. The bosom; the panter (q.v.).

2. (American).—A person in love: i.e., sighing (= heaving the bosom, or making play with the heaver) like a furnace.

Heavy. See Heavy-wet.

Adj. (American).—Large: e.g., a heavy amount = a considerable sum of money.

To come (or do) the heavy, verb. phr. (common).—To affect a vastly superior position; to put on airs or frills (q.v.). See Come and Do.

The heavies, subs. phr. (military).—The regiments of Household Cavalry, 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards, and 1st and 2nd Dragoons. [From their equipment and weight.]

1841. Lever, Chas. O’Malley, ch. lviii. I’m thinking we’d better call out the heavies by turns.

Heavy-arsed (old colloquial), adj. phr.—Slow to move; inert; hard to stir. See Arse.

Heavy-Cavalry (or Dragoons), subs. (common).—Bugs; light-infantry = fleas. Also heavy horsemen, the heavy troop, and the heavies.

Heavy-grog, subs. (workmen’s).—Hard work.

Heavy-grubber, subs. (common).—1. A hearty eater; a glutton. For synonyms, see Stodger.

1858. Dickens, Great Expectations, ch. xl., p. 190. ‘I’m a heavy grubber, dear boy,’ he said, as a polite kind of apology when he had made an end of his meal, ‘but I always was. If it had been in my constitution to be a lighter grubber, I might ha’ got into lighter trouble.’

Heavy-plodder, subs. (old).—A stock-broker.

Heavy- (or Howling-) swell, subs. (common).—A man or woman in the height of fashion: a spiff (q.v.).

1892. Anstey, Model Music Hall, 74. We look such heavy swells, you see, we’re all aristo-crats.

Heavy-wet, subs. (common).—1. Malt liquor; specifically porter and stout. Also heavy. For synonyms, see Drinks and Swipes.

1821. Egan, Tom and Jerry, p. 75. The soldiers and their companions were seen tossing off the heavy wet and spirits.

1838. Grant, Sketches in London, p. 92. If it be heavywet, the favorite beverage … of Dr. Wade.

1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ch. ii. Here comes the heavy. Hand it here to take the taste of that fellow’s talk out of my mouth. [293]

1852. Judson, Mysteries of New York, bk. II., ch. x. What’ll it be, my covies? Heavy wet, cold or warm?

1888. J. Runciman, The Chequers, p. 86. Mother up with your heavy wet and try suthin’ short.

Hebe, subs. (old).—1. See quots.

1648–9. Crashaw, Poems. ‘On the Death of Mr. H.’ Ere Hebe’s hand had overlaid His smooth cheeks with a downy shade.

1778. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v. The first Hair appearing about the genital parts; also the Parts themselves; but more specifically the Time of Youth at which it first appears.

1603. J. Sylvester, Tr. Du Bartas, Mag., p. 65 (1608). Heer, many a Hebe faire, heer more than one Quick-seruing Chiron neatly waits vpon The Beds and Boords.

1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. xlix. Shortly after the same Hebe brought up a plate of beef-collops.

1886. Athenæum, 9 Jan., 63/2. It is not with the Colonel’s Hebes, however, that the manœuvres of the military quintet are carried on.

1891. Sportsman, 25 Mar. Not even the kindly morning welcome of La Rærdon, most pleasant and courteous of deft-handed Hebes, could blot out the fact.

Hebrew, subs. (common).—Gibberish; Greek (q.v.). To talk Hebrew = to talk nonsense or gibberish.

1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, ii., 1. Mon. If she did but know what part I take in her sufferings——. Flip. Mighty obscure. Mon. Well, I’ll say no more; but——. Flip. All Hebrew.

1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. ‘You may as well talk Hebrew,’ said of jargon.

Hector, subs. (old).—A bully; a blusterer.

1659. Lady Alimony, ii., 6 (Dodsley, Old Plays, 4th ed., 1875, xiv., 322). Hectors, or champion haxters, pimps or palliards. Ibid., iii., I., (p. 326). Levelling at honour, they declare themselves glorious hectors.

b. 1670. J. Hacket, Archbp. Williams, ii., 203. One Hector, a phrase at that time for a daring ruffian, had the ear of great ones sooner than five strict men.

1674. Cotton, Complete Gamester, p. 333. Shoals of Huffs, Hectors, Setters, Gilts, Pads.… And these may all pass under the general or common appellation of Rooks.

1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iv., 1. She would rather trust her honour with some dissolute debauched hector.

1679. Butler, Hudibras, iii., 2, 108. As bones of Hectors when they differ, The more th’are Cudgel’d, grow the Stiffer.

1689. Lestrange, Tr. Erasmus, p. 139. And a Ruffling Hector that lives upon the Highway.

1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., ii., 24. I hate, she cry’d, a hector, a Drone without a Sting.

1757. Pope, Imit. Hor., ii., 1, 71. I only wear it in a land of Hectors, thieves … and Directors.

1826. Congress Deb., ii., 1., p. 1024. He hoped it would invite … a reply from the Southern Hector … of this debate.

1849–61. Macaulay, Hist. of Eng., ch. xvi. To play the Hector at cockpits or hazard tables.

To wear Hector’s cloak, verb. phr. (old).—To receive the right reward for treachery. [When Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, was routed in 1569, he hid himself in the house of Hector Armstrong, of Harlaw, who betrayed him for hire, and prospered [294]so ill thereafter that he died a beggar by the roadside.]

Hectoring, subs. and adj. (old: now recognised).—Bullying; blustering.

1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, ii., 1. Thou art soe debauched, drunken, lewd, hectoring, gaming companion. Ibid., ii., 1. Every idle, young, hectoring, roaring companion, with a pair of turned red breeches, and a broad back, thinks to carry away any widow of the best degree.

1893. St. James’s Gazette, xxvii, 4074, p. 3. Mr. Sexton with much unnecessary outlay of hectoring bluster, repudiates guilty knowledge.

Hedge, subs. (racing).—See verbal sense.

1856. Hughes, Tom Brown, p. 200. Now listen, you young fool, you don’t know anything about it; the horse is no use to you. He won’t win, but I want him as a hedge.

1864. Eton Schooldays, ch. vii. He took the precaution to take those odds five or six times by way of a hedge, in case anything should happen to Chorley.

Verb (racing).—1. To secure oneself against, or minimise the loss on a bet by reversing on advantageous terms; to get out (q.v.). [Thus, if a man backs A to win him £100 at 5 to 1, he will if possible hedge by laying (say) 3 to 1 to the amount of (say) £60 against him. He will then stand thus: If A wins he gains on the first bet £100, and loses on the second £60, leaving a net gain of £40; if A loses he loses on the first bet £20, and wins on the second £20, thus clearing himself.] See Standing on Velvet and Go.

1616. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, iii., 1. I must have you do A noble gentleman a courtesy here, In a mere toy, some pretty ring or jewel, Of fifty or threescore pound. Make it a hundred, And hedge in the last forty that I owe you, And your own price for the ring.

1671. Buckingham, The Rehearsal, Prol. Now, critics, do your worst, that here are met, For, like a rook, I have hedg’d in my bet.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hedge, to secure a desperate Bet, Wager, or Debt.

1736. Fielding, Pasquin, Act iii. Sneer. That’s laying against yourself, Mr. Trapwit. Trap. I love a hedge, sir.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Hedge (v.) … also to secure or re-insure a dangerous debt, voyage, wager, etc.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, ch. lxix. They changed their note, and attempted to hedge for their own indemnification, by proposing to lay the odds in favour of Gauntlet.

1754. Connoisseur, No. 15. Whatever turn things take, he can never lose. This he has effected, by what he has taught the world to call, hedging a bet.

1854. Whyte Melville, General Bounce, ch. xii. If she says ‘Yes,’ sell out.… If she says ‘No’ get second leave.… So it’s hedged both ways.

1891. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 201. You’d better hedge some of your sweep money.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew. It hangs in the hedge, of a Law-suit or anything else Depending, Undetermined.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. As common as the hedge or highway, said of a prostitute or Strumpet.

Hedge-bird, subs. (old).—See quot.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii., 1. Out, you rogue, you hedge-bird, you pimp, you panier-man’s bastard, you.

Hedge-bottom Attorney (or Solicitor), subs. phr. (legal).—A person who, being not admitted or being uncertificated (or, it may be, admitted and certificated both, but struck off the rolls for malpractice), sets up in the name of a qualified man, and thus evades the penalties attaching to those who act as solicitors without being duly qualified. [All the business is done in another name, but the hedge-bottom is the real principal, the partner being only a dummy.]—Sir Patrick Colquhoun in Slang, Jargon and Cant.

Hedge-creeper, subs. (old).—A hedge-thief; a skulker under hedges; a pitiful rascal.

1594. Nashe, Unfortunate Traveller p. 32 (Chiswick Press, 1892). Call him a sneaking eavesdropper, a scraping hedge-creeper, and a piperley pickthanke.

Hedge-docked, adj. (venery).—Deflowered in the open.

Hedge-marriage (or wedding), subs. (old).—An irregular marriage performed by a hedge-priest (q.v.); a marriage over the broom.

Hedge-note, subs. (old).—Low writing. [As Dryden: ‘They left these hedge-notes for another sort of poem.’]

Hedge-popping, subs. (sporting).—Shooting small birds about hedges. Whence Hedge-popper = a trumpery shooter; and Hedge-game = small birds, as sparrows and tits.

Hedge-priest (or parson), subs. (old: now recognised).—A sham cleric; a blackguard or vagabond parson; a couple beggar. [As Johnson notes, the use of Hedge in a detrimental sense is common. As Hedge-begot; Hedge-born; Hedge-brat; Hedge-found; Hedge-docked (q.v.); Hedge-tavern (= a low alehouse); Hedge-square (q.v.); Hedge-reared; Hedge-mustard; Hedge-writer (= a Grub-street author); Hedge-building, etc. Shakspeare uses the phrase ‘Hedge-born’ as the very opposite of ‘gentle blooded’ (1 Henry VI., iv., 1).] Specifically, Hedge-priests = (in Ireland) a cleric admitted to orders directly from a Hedge-school (q.v.) without having studied theology. [Before Maynooth, men were admitted to ordination ere they left for the continental colleges, so that they might receive the stipend for saying mass.]

1588. Marprelate’s Epistle, p. 30 (Ed. Arber). Is it any maruaile that we haue so many swine dumbe dogs nonresidents with their iourneimen the hedge-priests … in our ministry.

1594. Shakspeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, v., 2. The pedant, the braggart, the hedge-priest, the fool, and the boy.

1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes. Arlotto, the name of a merie priest, a lack-latine, or hedge-priest.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hedge Priest. A sorry Hackney, Underling, Illiterate, Vagabond, see Patrico.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. A hedge-parson, or buckle-beggar, as that order of priesthood has been irreverently termed.

Hedger. See Hedge, sense 2.

1828–45. Hood, Poems (Ed. 1846), p. 96. A black-leg saint, a spiritual hedger.

Hedge-school, subs. (Irish).—A school in the country parts of Ireland formerly conducted in the open air, pending the erection of a permanent building to which the name was transferred. Hence, hedge-schoolmaster.

Hedge-square. To doss (or snooze) in Hedge-square (or street), verb. phr. (vagrants’).—To sleep in the open air.

English Synonyms.—To skipper it; to doss with the daisies; to be under the blue blanket; to put up at the Gutter Hotel; to do a star pitch.

French Synonyms.—Coucher à l’hotel de la belle étoile (pop. = to sleep at the Star Hotel); manger une soupe aux herbes (popular); filer la comète (popular = to nose the comet); coucher dans le lit aux pois verts.

1877. Greenwood, Under the Blue Blanket. The vagrant brotherhood have several slang terms for sleeping out in a field or meadow. It is called ‘snoozing in Hedge Square,’ etc.

Hedge-tavern (or -ale-house), subs. (old).—See quot.

1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hedge Tavern or Alehouse, A Jilting, Sharping Tavern, or Blind Alehouse.

1705. Farquhar, Twin-rivals, i., 1. That was … in the days of dirty linen, pit-masks, hedge-taverns, and beef-steaks.

Hedge-whore (or Hedge-bit), subs. (old: now recognised).—A filthy harlot working in the open air.

1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, s.v., Zambracca, a common hedge-whore, strumpet, a base harlot.

Hedging, subs. (racing).—See Hedge, verbal sense 2.

1867. A. Trollope, Claverings, ch. xxiv. He would be lessening the odds against himself by a judicious hedging of his bets.

Heel. To bless the world with one’s heels, verb. phr. (old).—To be hanged. For synonyms, see Ladder.

1566–7. Painter, Palace of Pleasure, sign R., 8. And the next daye, the three theves were conveied forth to blesse the worlde with their heeles.

To cool (or kick) the heels, verb. phr. (common).—To wait a long while at an appointed place.

1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair. Who forthwith comitted my little hot furie to the stockes, where we will leave him to coole his heeles, whilst we take a further view of the faire.