Slang and its analogues, 2 | Project Gutenberg

agle-takers, subs. (military).—The Eighty-Seventh Foot. [The title was gained at Barossa (1811), when it captured the eagle of the 8th French Light Infantry. Its colours also bear ‘the plume of the Prince of Wales’ and ‘the harp and crown,’ an eagle with a wreath of laurel.] It was also nicknamed ‘The Old Fogs’; also ‘The Faugh-a-Ballagh Boys,’ from Fag an bealac! = ‘Clear the Way,’ the regimental march, and the war-cry at Barossa.

Ear. To send away with a flea in the ear, verb. phr. (common).—To dismiss peremptorily and with a scolding. Fr., mettre la puce à l’oreille = to get angry.

1764–1817. J. G. Holman, Abroad and at Home, ii., 1. I could not think of Miss Hartley being troubled with such a brute of a fellow … so, an’t please you, my lady, I sent him away with a flea in his ear.

1841. Comic Almanack, p. 280. One thing is very clear, If they ain’t off of their own accord, the Lord Mayor will soon help ’em off with a flea in their ear.

1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 202. Her husband had with difficulty restrained her from sending Forrest away with what in homely language is denominated a flea in his ear.

To get up on one’s ear, verb. phr. (American).—To bestir oneself; to rouse oneself for an effort.

1870. Richard Grant White. Words and their Uses. They called me bully boy, altho’ I’ve seen nigh three-score years, And said that I was lightning when I got up on my ear.

1888. Puck’s Library, May, p. 15. A man who walked on his ear out of a store said ‘he came out on the Erie route.’

Earl of Cork, subs. phr. (Irish).—The ace of diamonds.—[See quots.]

1830. W. Carleton, Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry. ‘What do you mean by the Earl of Cork?’ asked Mr. Squander. ‘The ace of diamonds, your honour. It’s the worst ace, and the poorest card in the pack, and is called the Earl of Cork, because he’s the poorest nobleman in Ireland.’

1864. Athenæum, 29 Oct. The ace of diamonds acquired the name of ‘the earl of cork’ because his lordship happened to be the poorest nobleman in Ireland. [351]

Earl of Mar’s Grey Breeks, subs. phr. (military).—The Twenty-First Foot. [In allusion to the colour of the men’s breeches and to the original title of the regiment, The Earl of Mar’s Fuzileers.] Obsolete.

Early. To get up early, verb. phr. (common).—To be astute; ready; wide-awake. Cf., ‘It’s the early bird that catches the worm.’

1738. Swift, Polite Convers., Dial. 3. They must rise early that would cheat her of her money.

c. 1869. Vance, Broadside Ballad. For to get me on the hop, or on my ‘tibby’ drop, You must wake up very early in the morning.

1880. A. Trollope, The Duke’s Children, ch. xlvi. It was said of him that … if you wished to take him in you must get up early.

Early-riser, subs. (common).—An aperient. Cf., Custom-house officer and Two gunners and a driver.

Early-worm, subs. (common).—A man who searches the streets at daybreak for cigar stumps.

Earth-bath, subs. (old).—A grave. To take an earth-bath = to be buried; cf., ground sweat.

Earthquake. Bottled earthquake, subs. phr. (American).—Intoxicating drinks.

Earth-stoppers, subs. (old).—Horse’s feet.

1823. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, i., 6. There’s action for you—there’s one to tip ’em the go-bye at a mill,—there’s earth-stoppers—quiet to drive, quiet in harness, trots fifteen miles in less than an hour.

Earthy, adj. (colloquial).—Gross; common; devoid of ‘soul.’

Ear-wig, subs. (old).—A private prompter or flatterer; also (thieves’) a clergyman. [From the popular delusion that the earwig lodges itself in the ear with a view to working its way into the brain when it causes death.]

1639. Beaumont and Fletcher, Bloody Brother. Dram. Personæ, Latorch Rollo’s Earwig.

1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter p. 77. And the court, mercy on us! there are no words equal to the just painting of its ear-wigs, its sycophants, pensioners, placemen, scouters, masters of the ceremonies, etc.

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, A pack of mouthers, and flatterers, and ear-wigs.

Verb (common).—To prompt; to influence by covert statements; to whisper insinuations.

1842. Marryat, Percival Keene, xiii. And by way of a hint, make him your friend if you can, for he earwigs the captain in fine style.

1879. Jas. Payn, High Spirits (Confiscated Weeds). He is a sound divine and politician, but a little apt to be led away by specious arguments on the subject of education; and Carker was in the habit … of earwigging him.

Ease, verb (common).—1. To rob; Fr., soulager. Cf., Annex and Convey. To ease a bloke = to rob a man.

1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. viii. ‘The law’s hard—very severe—hanged poor Jack Winterfield at York, despite family connexions and great interest, all for [352]easing a fat West-country grazier of the price of a few beasts.’

1840. Thackeray, Paris Sketch Book, p. 109. His was the place at the écarté table, where the Countess would ease him nightly of a few pieces.

1849. Punch, November, ‘The Swell Mobsman’s Almanack.’ Remember, wen you’ve eased a cove in a fogg, never cut away in an ’urry, or crushers stop you.

1861. A. C. Swinburne, Poems and Ballads. ‘Hermaphroditus.’ Hath made him man to ease a woman’s sighs.

To ease oneself, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To ‘rear.’ For synonyms, see Bury a Quaker.

Eason, verb (American thieves’).—To tell.

East-and-South, subs. (rhyming slang).—The mouth. Also Sunny South. For synonyms, see Potato-trap.

Eastery, subs. (cheap-jacks’).—Private business.

1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 107. At one eastery Aaron Jessell was going to cry the place.

Easy, To make easy, verb. phr. (old).—To gag or kill. [Grose, 1785.]

Easy as damn it, (or as my eye), adj. phr. (popular).—Excessively easy: ‘easy as lying’ [Shakspeare].

Easy does it! verb. phr. (popular).—An exclamation of encouragement and counsel = ‘Take your time and keep your coat on.’

Easy over the pimples, (or over the stones), verb. phr. (popular).—An injunction = ‘go slow,’ or ‘mind what you’re about.’

Easy Virtue.—See Lady of Easy Virtue.

Eat, verb (American).—To provision: e.g., a steamer is said to be able to eat 400 passengers and sleep about half that number.

ante 1871. Pickings from the Picayune, p. 47. Hoosier—‘Squire, what pay do you give?’ Contractor—‘Ten bits a day.’ Hoosier—‘Why, Squire, I was told you’d give us two dollars a-day and eat us.’

1887. R. A. Procter, on ‘Americanisms’ in Knowledge, s.v. Sometimes a host may eat his guests in another sense. I once, when staying at an hotel, found a finely coloured motto rather unfortunately spelt; it ran, ‘Watch and Prey.’ Its owner carried out the idea.

Eat a fig, verb. phr. (rhyming slang).—To ‘crack a crib’; to break a house.

To eat one’s head off, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be retained for service and stand idle; also (quot., 1850) to cost more in ‘keep’ than one is worth.

1850. F. E. Smedley, Frank Fairleigh, ch. xiv. I’d rather keep her for a week than a fortnight, I can tell you; she’d eat her head off in a month, and no mistake.

1872. Times, 27 Aug. ‘The Autumn Manœuvres.’ The country never would stand the maintenance all the year round of some 1,500 horses which would have nothing to do for nine months out of the twelve but eat their heads off. [353]

1874. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, 1 S., No. xxv., p. 446. And I fit to eat my head off with having nothing to do.

Eat one’s head, hat, boots, etc., verb. phr. (common).—A locution of emphatic asseveration. [Probably Dickensonian, influenced by the proverbial saying, ‘To eat one’s heart out’—to undergo intense struggle, and also To eat one’s head off (q.v.).]—See Notes and Queries, 7 S., iii., 7, 94, 197, 352, 433.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, xlii., 367. ‘Well, if I knew as little of life as that, I’D eat my hat and swallow the buckle whole,’ said the clerical gentleman.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. xiv. This was the handsome offer with which Mr. Grimwig backed and confirmed nearly every assertion he made; and it was the more singular in his case because, even admitting, for the sake of argument, the possibility of scientific improvements being ever brought to that pass which will enable a man to eat his own head in the event of his being so disposed, Mr. Grimwig’s head was such a particularly large one that the most sanguine man alive could hardly entertain a hope of being able to get through it at a sitting, to put entirely out of the question a very thick coating of powder.

1887. E. E. Money, Little Dutch Maiden, II., viii., 148. And if you don’t run up against him next day in Bond Street, you may eat your hat!

To eat one’s terms, verb. phr. (legal).—To go through the prescribed course of study for admission to the bar. [In allusion to the dinners a student has to attend in the public hall of his inn.]

To eat one’s words, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To retract a statement; to own a lie.

To eat up, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To vanquish; to ruin. [Originally Zulu.]

1890. National Observer, 13 Dec, p. 88, col. 2. But buttons tarnish, hot gospelling palls, the eating-up of white men is in strictest consonance with regal tradition and the regal habit.

Eaves, subs. (American).—A hen-roost.

Eavesdropper, subs. (American).—A chicken thief; also generally, any petty pilferer.

Ebenezer, subs. (Winchester College).—A stroke at fives: when the ball hits ‘line’ at such an angle as to rise perpendicularly into the air.

Ebony, subs. (common).—1. A negro; otherwise Blackbird (q.v.) and Black Ivory. Thomas Fuller (1608–1661) spoke of the negro race as ‘God’s images cut in ebony.’ For synonyms, see Snowball.

2. The publisher of Maga.: i.e., Blackwood.—(See Noctes Ambrosianæ passim.)

Ebony-optics, subs. (old).—Black eyes. Ebony-optics albonized = black eyes painted white.

Edgabac, subs. (back slang).—Cabbage.

Edge. Stitched off the edge, phr. (tailors’).—Said of a glass not filled to the top.

Short top edge, subs. phr. (tailors’).—A turn-up nose or celestial (q.v.). [354]

Edge in, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To slip in; insinuate: e.g., To edge in a word (or a remark).

Edge off (or out of), verb. phr. (colloquial).—To slink away; to gradually desist. To take the edge off [a thing, or person, or idea] = to become acquainted with; to enjoy to satiety. Cf., Hamlet, iii., 2. ‘It would cost you a groaning to take off my edge.’

Edgenaro, subs. (back slang).—An orange.

Edge-ways. Not able to get a word in edge-ways, phr. (colloquial).—Having but the barest opportunity of taking part in a discussion.

Eel-Skins, subs. (old).—Tight trousers. For synonyms, see Bags and Kicks.

1827. Bulwer Lytton, Pelham, ch. xlix., p. 190. He only filched a twopenny halfpenny gilt chain out of his master, Levy, the pawnbroker’s window, and stuck it in his eel-skin to make a show.

E-fink, subs. (back slang).—A knife.

Efter, subs. (thieves’).—A theatre thief.

Egg.—See Bad Egg.

Eggs. Sure as eggs is eggs, phr. (popular).—Of a certainty; without doubt. [From the formula, ‘x is x.’]

To teach one’s grandmother to roast or suck eggs, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To lecture elders and superiors; Fr., les oisons veulent mener les oies paître = the goslings want to drive the geese to pasture.

Egham, Staines, and Windsor, subs. phr. (common).—See quot.

1886. G. A. Sala, in Ill. Lon. News, 23 Oct., 418, 2. Is not the three-cornered hat of an English gentleman’s coachman in gala livery known as an ‘Egham, Staines, and Windsor’?

Egyptian-Hall, subs. (rhyming slang).—A ball.

Eighter, subs. (prison).—An eight-ounce loaf.

Ekame, subs. (back slang).—A make (q.v.), or swindle.

Ekom, subs. (back slang).—A moke (q.v.), or donkey.

Elbow, verb (American thieves’).—To turn a corner; to get out of sight.

To shake the elbow, verb. phr.—To play dice. [From the motion of the arm in ‘casting.’]

1680. Cotton, Compleat Gamester [gaming is compared to] a paralytical distemper which, seizing the arm the man cannot chuse but shake his elbow.

1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, Act i. He’s always shaking his heels with the ladies and his elbows with the lords.

1709. Mrs. Centlivre, Gamester, I. (1872), i., 134. He is at shaking his elbows over a table … courting the dice like a mistress, and cursing them when he is disappointed.

1713. Guardian, No. 120. But what would you say, should you see the Sparkler shaking her elbow for a whole [355]night together, and thumping the table with a dice-box?

1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. To eke out your living By the wag of your elbows.

To crook the elbow, verb. phr. (common).—To drink.—See Elbow-crooker. [From the action of the arm.] For synonyms, see Lush.

Elbow-Crooker, subs. (common).—A hard drinker. See infra and Drinks.

English Synonyms.—Borachio; boozington; brewer’s horse; bubber; budger; mop; lushington; worker of the cannon; wet-quaker; soaker; lapper; pegger; angel altogether; bloat; ensign-bearer; fiddle-cup; sponge; tun; toss-pot; swill-pot; wet subject; shifter; potster; swallower; pot-walloper; wetster; dramster; drinkster; beer-barrel; ginnums; lowerer; moist ’un; drainist; boozer; mopper-up; piss-maker; thirstington.

French Synonyms.—Un louave (thieves’); un litronneur (popular: litre = 1·760 pint); une grosse culotte (popular = big-breeches or fat-arse); un gavé (thieves’: gaver = to stuff); une lampe à mort (pop.: a confirmed drunkard; = a death-lamp); un zingueur (popular); un boyau rouge (pop. = red-guts); un marquant (thieves’: = conspicuous, striking, etc.); un canonneur (pop.: canon = a glass of wine; cf., English cannon); un camphrier (pop.: a dram-drinker; also = a camphor-tree); un fioleur (pop.: fiole = phial: cf., toss-pot and swill-pot); une éponge (pop.: = a sponge; also a paramour, a fool, an attorney); un bibard (thieves’: biberon = sucking-bottle); un buvard (popular: = blotting book); un pochard (colloquial); adroit du coude (pop. = artful elbowed); un artilleur (pop.: = a cannoneer; cf., cannon); un boissonneur (pop.: boisson = drink); un buvailleur or buvaillon (pop.: a man easily drunk); un chocaillon (pop.: a female drunkard); un poivrot (familiar); un sac à vin (pop. = a wine butt).

German Synonym.—Mattobolo (matto balo = a drunken pig: from the gypsy matto = drunk).

Spanish Synonyms.—Cuero (= a goat-skin bag for wine or oil); coladra (= a wooden pail in which wine is measured and retailed); cuba (= a measure for wine); difunto de taberna (lit., a public-house corpse); odre (= a wine-skin); pellejo (= a liquor skin dressed and pitched); peneque; potista; odrina (= an ox-hide bottle).

Elbower, subs. (American thieves’).—A runaway. [Cf., elbow.]

Elbow-Grease, subs. (colloquial).—Energetic and continuous manual labour: e.g., ‘Elbow-Grease is the best furniture oil.’ Fr., huile de bras or de poignet; du foulage.

1779–1839. Galt [quoted in Imperial Eng. Dict.]. He has scartit and dintit my guid mahogany past a’ the power o’ beeswax and elbow-grease to smooth.

1859. G. Eliot, Adam Bede, bk. I., ch. vi. Nowhere else could an oak clock-case and an oak table have got to such a [356]polish by the hand: genuine elbow-polish, as Mrs. Poyser called it, for she thanked God she never had any of your varnished rubbish in her house.

1870. London Figaro, 31 Oct. Often have I been … frequently admonished to put some elbow-grease into my work.

1876. M. E. Braddon, Joshua Haggard’s Daughter, ch. xi. There’s no such polish in Devonshire, I should think, as poor Phœbe’s elbow-grease.

Elbow-scraper, or Jigger, subs. (common).—A fiddler.

Elbow-shaker, subs. (old).—A gambler.—See Elbow.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Elbow-shaker (s.) a gamester, one that practises dice-playing.

Elbow-shaking, subs. (common).—Gambling.—See Elbow.

1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, ch. lx. ‘It’s been doosedly dipped and cut into, sir, by the confounded extravygance of your master, with his helbow shakin’, and his bill discountin’.’

Electrified, ppl. adj. 1. (American).—Moderately drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends. ‘The Lay of St. Gengulphus.’ Pig, pudding, and soup. The electrified groups, Pop under the sofa.

Elegant, adj. (colloquial).—Excellent.

Elegant-Extracts, subs. (military).—1. The Eighty-Fifth Foot. [This regiment was remodelled in 1812, after a long sequence of court-martials: when the officers were removed, and others set in their room.]

1871. Chambers’ Journal, 23 Dec., p. 803. ‘Elegant Extracts’ was the name given to the 85th on its being reformed with officers picked out from those of other regiments.

2. (Cambridge University).—Students who, though ‘plucked,’ were still given their degrees. A line was drawn below the poll-list, and those allowed to pass were nicknamed the elegant extracts. [There was a similar limbo in the honour-list, called the Gulf: for ‘Between them (in the poll) and us (in the honour lists) there is a great gulf fixed.’]

Elephant, subs. (American thieves’).—A wealthy victim. Cf., To see the Elephant.

To see the Elephant, verb. phr. (American).—1. To see the world; to ‘go out for wool and come home shorn’; by implication, to ‘go on the loose.’ Sometimes, To see the King.

b. 1533, d. 1592. Montaigne, Arrien. Hist. Ind., ch. 17. Aux Indes Orientales la chasteté y estant en singulière recommandation, l’usage pourtant souffroit qu’une femme mariée se peust abandonner à qui luy presentoit un ÉlÉphant, et cela avec quelque gloire d’avoir esté estimée à si hault prix.

1841. Kendall, Narrative of the Texan Santa Fé Expedition, i., p. 109. When a man is disappointed in any thing he undertakes, when he has seen enough, when he gets tired and sick of any job he may have set himself about, he has seen the elephant.

1870. L. Oliphant, Piccadilly, pt. ii., p. 39. So had Mr. Wog, who went up to town to see what he called the elephant,—an American expression, signifying ‘to gain experience of the world.’

1872. Besant and Rice, R. M. Mortiboy, ch. xxxiv. Just like the Americans, when they go to see a great sight, say they are going to see the elephant.

1888. Boston Globe, 4 March. It was in a Hanover Street dispensary, where the tillers of the soil love to congregate, when [357]they are down to Bosting, inspecting the Athenian white elephant.

1889. Puck’s Library, Ap., p. 25. Forepaugh says that elephants have a natural liking for whiskey. We have often wondered, when a man went out to see the elephant, why he always brought back such a strange odour with him. This seems to explain it.

Elephant-dance.—See Cellar-flap and Double-Shuffle.

Elephant’s-trunk, subs. (rhyming slang).—Drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

Elevate, verb (colloquial).—To make or become slightly drunk.—See Elevated.

Elevated, ppl. adj. (colloquial).—Slightly drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

1664. Etherege, Comical Revenge, IV., iii. in wks. (1704), 51. The wine makes the rogue witty.… I will keep him thus elevated ’till he has married Grace.

1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xvii. The liquor mounted up to our heads, and made us all extremely frolicsome. I, in particular, was much elevated.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Elevated (a.) … sometime spoke of a person that has drank a little too freely.

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. l., p. 434. Except when he’s elevated, Bob’s the quietest creature breathing.

Elevation, subs. (colloquial).—1. A phase of drunkenness.—See Elevated.

1823. Scott, Peveril, ch. iii. The unwonted agitation of her voice attracted the attention of the refractory steward, notwithstanding his present state of elevation.

1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ‘What’s elevation?’ ‘Opium, bor alive.’

Elfen, verb (American thieves’).—To walk lightly; to go on tiptoe.

Ellenborough Lodge, or Spike, or Park, subs. phr. (old).—The King’s Bench. [From Lord Chief-Justice Ellenborough.] For synonyms, see Cage. Ellenborough’s Teeth = the chevaux de frize round the prison wall.

Elrig, subs. (back slang).—A girl.

Elycampane or Elecampane.—See Allacompain and quot.

1823. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, ii., 4. Go and get a pennyworth of elycampane. Jerry. There’s a pair of men-milliners.

Emag, subs. (back slang).—Game: e.g., ‘I know your little emag.’

Embroider, verb (common).—To exaggerate; to add to the truth.

1877. S. L. Clemens (‘Mark Twain’), The Mississippi Pilot. Tom tried to make himself appear to be a hero too, and succeeded to some extent, but then he always had a way of embroidering.

Embroidery, subs. (common).—Exaggeration; the American sass and trimmin’s (q.v.).—[See Embroider.]

1890. Standard, 5 April, p. 2, col. 1. Fanny Burney had many good qualities, no doubt, but we fancy that when she tells us with such evident unction how great folks loved and admired her she puts a good deal of embroidery into her narrations.

Emma.—See Whoa Emma and Street-cries. [358]

Emperor, subs. (American thieves’).—A drunken man. [An intensification of ‘drunk as a lord’; whence ‘drunk as an emperor.’]

1881. New York Slang Dict. ‘On the Trail.’ A pinch for an Emperor’s slang.

Drunk as an Emperor, phr. (common).—An intensitive of ‘drunk as a lord.’ Fr., saoul comme trente mille hommes, or un âne.

Empty the Bag.—See Bag.

Encumbrances, subs. (common).—Children.—See Certainties and Uncertainties.

End. To be all on end, verb. phr. (American).—To be very angry; irritated. Also expectant.

End of the Sentimental Journey, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.

Enemy, subs. (common).—Time: e.g., ‘How goes the enemy’ = what’s o’clock? ‘To kill the enemy’ = to kill time.

1839. Dickens, Nich. Nickleby, ch. xix., p. 149. ‘How goes the enemy, Snobb?’ asked Sir Mulberry Hawke. ‘Four minutes gone.’

1864. Glasgow Citizen, 19 Nov. The swell who is bored by his efforts to ‘kill the enemy.’

English Burgundy, subs. phr. (old).—Porter.—See Drinks.

Enif, adj. (back slang).—Fine.

Enin Gen, subs. phr. (back slang).—Nine shillings. Enin Yanneps = Ninepence.

Enjoy, verb (old).—To ‘possess’ a woman.

1594. Shakspeare, The Rape of Lucrece, st. 74. ‘Lucrece,’ quoth he, ‘this night I must enjoy thee; if thou deny, then force must work my way.’

Eno, adj. (back slang).—One.

1850. Lloyd’s Weekly, 3 Feb. ‘Low Lodging Houses of London.’ There’s people there will rob their own brother. There’s people there talk backward—for one they say eno, for two owt, for three eerht, for four ruof, for five evif, for six exis. I don’t know any higher.

Ensign-Bearer, subs. (old).—A drunkard; especially one with a red nose and blotchy face.—See Elbow-crooker.

Ephesian, subs. (old).—A boon companion; a ‘spreester.’ Cf., Corinthian.

1596. Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, iv., 5. Art thou there? it is thine host, thine Ephesian, calls.

1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., ii. 2. P. H. What company? Page. Ephesians, my lord, of the old church.

Epip, subs. (back slang).—A pipe.

Epsom-races, subs. (rhyming slang).—A pair of braces. [359]

Equal to the Genuine Limburger.—See Limburger.

Equipped, ppl. adj. (American thieves’).—Rich; well-dressed; in good circumstances. Cf., well-ballasted.

Erif, subs. (back slang).—Fire.

Eriff, subs. (American thieves’).—A young thief.

1881. New York Slang Dict. ‘On the Trail.’ It’s the gait all them eriffs dances, observed the one-eyed man.

Errand. To send a baby on an errand, verb. phr. (common).—To undertake what is pretty sure to turn out badly.

Error.—See No Error.

Erth (back slang).—Three. Erth Gen = Three shillings. Erth-pu = Three-up, a street game, played with three halfpence. Erth Sith-Noms = Three months’ imprisonment; a ‘drag.’ Erth Yanneps = Threepence.

Esclop (back slang).—A police-constable; esclop is pronounced ‘slop’ the c is never sounded. For synonyms, see Beak and Copper.

Es-roch (back slang).—A horse. For synonyms, see Prad.

Essex-Lion, subs. (old).—A calf: e.g., ‘as valiant as an essex-lion.’ Cf., Cotswold Lion, Cambridgeshire Nightingale, etc.

1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary, s.v. Essex lions. Calves, great numbers of which are brought alive in carts to the London markets.

Essex-Stile, subs. (old).—A ditch.

1787. Grose, Prov. Glossary. Explained to be either real stiles which, because of the very small enclosures in Essex, are very frequent or the ‘narrow bridges, such as are laid between marsh and marsh in the hundreds of this county, only jocularly called stiles, as the loose stone walls in Derbyshire are ludicrously called hedges.’

Esuch (back slang).—A house. For synonyms, see Ken.

Eternity-Box, subs. (common).—A coffin.

French Synonyms.—Boîte à dominos (popular); étui à lorgnette (popular); boîte à doche (thieves’); redingote de sapin (popular).

Evaporate, verb (common).—To run away; to disappear. For synonyms, see Amputate and Skedaddle.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xxii., p. 191. Upon which the young man, looking round, instantly evaporates.

1854. Ainsworth, Flitch of Bacon, pt. I., ch. x. You may evaporate if you think proper, Sir G.; but split me if I stir a step.

1857. Cuthbert Bede, Verdant Green, pt. II., ch. ix. Mr. Bouncer evaporates with a low bow, leaving the Ladies to play with their parasols, and converse.

Evatch, verb (back slang).—To have: e.g., ‘Evatch a kool at the elrig’ = Have a look at the girl. [360]

Everlasting-Shoes, (also Everlastings), subs. (common).—The naked feet. For synonyms, see Creepers.

Everlasting-staircase, subs. (thieves’).—The treadmill. For synonyms, see Wheel of Life.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. i., p. 300. Why we should be very soon taking reg’lar exercise on Colonel Chesterton’s everlasting staircase. We has a great respect for the law—O, certainly!

1874. H. Mayhew, London Characters, p. 349. I had ‘done’ my quarter of an hour on the everlasting staircase (treadmill).

Everton-toffee, subs. (rhyming slang).—Coffee.

Everything is lovely and the goose hangs high, phr. (American).—Everything is going swimmingly. [An allusion to the ‘sport’ of gander pulling. A gander was plucked, thoroughly greased, especially about the head and neck, and tied tight by the feet to the branch of a tree. The game was then to ride furiously at the mark, catch it by the head or neck, and attempt to bear it away. With every failure the fun would get more uproarious].

1867. Round Table, 30 July. I am not aware that any one has asked you the meaning of the slang phrase, everything goes lovely and the goose hangs high; but doubtless … it is derived from the Southern sport(!) of ‘Gander-pulling.’

Eve’s Custom-House, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum.

Evif, adj. (back slang).—Five Evif-gen = A crown, or five shillings. Evif-yanneps = five pence.

Evil, subs. (old).—A wife. For synonyms, see Dutch.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon. Evil. A wife; a halter; matrimony.

Evlenet-gen, (back slang).—Twelve shillings. Evlenet sith-noms = twelve months: generally known as a ‘stretch.’

Ewe.—See White Ewe and Old Ewe.

Ewe-mutton, subs. (common).—An elderly strumpet or ‘piece.’

Exalted, ppl. adj. (old).—Hanged. For synonyms, see Ladder. Cf., elevated = drunk.

1836. Michael Scott, Cruise of the Midge, p. 226. Your great-grandfather was exalted, was he?—that is hanged, I suppose?

Exam, subs. (school).—An abbreviation of ‘Examination.’

1883. James Payn, Thicker than Water, ch. xxi. It’s a mere question of political economy; I read all about it for my exam.—the supply will exceed the demand.

Exasperate, verb (common).—To over-aspirate the letter H.

1857. Cuthbert Bede, Verdant Green, pt. II., ch. ix. Mr. Bouncer replies, with a footman’s bow, and a footman’s hexasperation of his h’s.

Excellers, subs. (military).—The Fortieth Foot. [A pun upon its number, xl + ers.]

Excruciators, subs. (common).—Tight boots; especially with pointed toes.

Execution-day, subs. (common).—Washing day. [361]

Exes, subs. (common).—1. An abbreviation of ‘expenses.’

1871. Fun, 4 Nov. ‘The Policeman’s Complaint.’ Nay oft I’m told I’ve been deceived, And of my x’s I’m bereaved; So on the whole I muchly grieved By information I received.

1883. Referee, 18 March, p. 3, col. 3. The piece was ready, but the ‘pieces’ were not, and without the exes Morton would not allow the gas to be lighted or the curtain to go up. It was a case of no pay no play.

1890. Montagu Williams, Leaves of a Life, I., p. 153. He was out for a spree at the races, and I suppose he thought he’d like to pay his exes.

2. (colloquial).—An abbreviation of ‘ex-officials,’ ‘ex-ministers,’ and so forth. As in Tom Moore’s ‘We x’s have proved ourselves not to be wise.’

Exis-evif-gen, (back slang).—Six times five shillings, i.e., 30s. All monies may be reckoned in this manner, either with yanneps or gens. Exis-evif-yanneps, literally, ‘sixpence and fivepence = elevenpence.’ Exis gen = six shillings. Exis sith-noms = six months. Exis yanneps = Sixpence.

Expecting, ppl. (colloquial).—With child.

Experience Does it, phr. (common).—A dog-English rendering of Experienta docet.

Explaterate, verb (American).—To hold forth; explain in detail. [From O.E. Explate = to unfold.]

Explosion, subs. (common).—A delivery.

Exquisite, subs. (common).—A fop. For synonyms, see Dandy.

Extensive, adv. (common).—Formerly applied to a person’s appearance or talk; ‘rather extensive that!’ intimating that the person alluded to is showing off, or ‘cutting it fat.’

Extinguisher, subs. (common).—A dog’s muzzle.

1890. Standard, 12 May, p. 5, col. 4. I had to appear before Mr. Curtis-Bennett, at West Kensington, to answer the charge of the dog being at large without his extinguisher en évidence.

Ex Trumps, adv. phr. (Winchester College).—Extempore. To go up to books ex trumps = to go to class without preparing one’s lesson.

Eye.—See All My Eye.

To keep the eyes clean, skinned, or peeled, verb. phr. (American).—To be watchful; alert; with all one’s wits about one.

1837. C. Gilman, Negro Domestic’s Recollections. Mans Ben ax ’em for sing one hymn for ’em, cause he eye clean.

1865. New York Herald. My son, afore you leave yer home, I want ter say ter you, Thar’s lots of pitfalls in the world ter let young roosters through; So keep a padlock on yer mouth and skin yer weather eye, But never advertise yerself as being monstrous fly.

To have a drop in the eye, verb. phr. (common).—To be drunk. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

1738. Swift, Pol. Convers., Dial. 1. You must own you had a drop in your eye; when I left you, you were half seas over.

1837. Barham, I. L. (Black Mousquetaire). In vain did he try With strong waters to ply His friend, on the ground [362]that he never could spy Such a thing as a ghost with a drop in his eye.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. viii. ‘My eyes, how green!’ exclaimed the young gentleman. ‘Why a beak’s a madgst’rate.’

Eyelashes. To hang on by the eyelashes or eyebrows, verb. phr. (common).—To be very tenacious; also, by implication, to be in a difficulty. Cf., Hang on by the splash-board.

Eye-limpet, subs. (common).—An artificial eye.

Eye-opener, subs. (American).—1. Drink generally; specifically, a mixed drink.

1879. Notes and Queries, 5th S., xi., 140. His lecture must have been a lively and profitable eye-opener for the somnolence of a cathedral town.

1888. Cornhill Mag., March, p. 228. If Joanna was ever so blessed as to hear her sing ‘Houp la!’ it would be a regular eye-opener to her.

1889. Answers, 23 Feb., p. 194, col. 1. No doubt the enclosed will be an eye-opener for you.

Eyeteeth. To have cut one’s eyeteeth, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To have learned wisdom.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed). Eye-teeth (s.), those immediately under the eye; also quickness or sharpness of understanding and parts, are sometimes so called.

1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker 1 S., ch. xvi. Them ’ere fellers cut their eye-teeth afore they ever sot foot in this country, I expect.

Eye-water, subs. (common).—Gin. For synonyms, see Drinks.

1869. Whyte Melville, M. or N., p. 66. On this minnit, off at six, Buster; two bob an’ a bender, and a three of eye-water, in?

1886. Judy, 4 August, p. 58. He imbibed stupendous quantities of jiggered gin, dog’s nose, and Paddy’s eye-water.