Francis Grose

“ QUID. The quantity of tobacco put into the mouth at one time. To quid tobacco; to chew tobacco. Quid est hoc? hoc est quid; a guinea. Half a quid; half a guinea. The swell tipped me fifty quid for the prad; the gentleman gave fifty pounds for the horse.
QUIDS. Cash, money. Can you tip me any quids? can you lend me some money?
QUIFFING. Rogering. See TO ROGER.
QUIDNUNC. A politician: from a character of that name in the farce of the Upholsterer.
QUILL DRIVER. A clerk, scribe, or hackney writer.
QUIM. The private parts of a woman: perhaps from the
Spanish quemar, to burn. ”

“ GREY MARE. The grey mare is the better horse; said of
a woman who governs her husband.
GREY PARSON. A farmer who rents the tithes of the rector
or vicar.
GRIG. A farthing. A merry grig; a fellow as merry as a grig: an allusion to the apparent liveliness of a grig, or young eel.
GRIM. Old Mr. Grim; death.
GRIMALKIN. A cat: mawkin signifies a hare in Scotland.
GRIN. To grin in a glass case; to be anatomized for murder: the skeletons of many criminals are preserved in glass cases, at Surgeons' hall.
GRINAGOG, THE CAT'S UNCLE. A foolish grinning fellow,
one who grins without reason. ”

“ TO FAG. To beat. Fag the bloss; beat the wench; Cant. A fag also means a boy of an inferior form or class, who acts as a servant to one of a superior, who is said to fag him, he is my fag; whence, perhaps, fagged out, for jaded or tired. To stand a good fag; not to be soon tired.
FAGGER. A little boy put in at a window to rob the house.
FAGGOT. A man hired at a muster to appear as a soldier. To faggot in the canting sense, means to bind: an allusion to the faggots made up by the woodmen, which are all bound. Faggot the culls; bind the men. ”

“ LINEN ARMOURERS. Taylors.
LION. To tip the lion; to squeeze the nose of the party tipped, flat to his face with the thumb. To shew the lions and tombs; to point out the particular curiosities of any place, to act the ciceroni: an allusion to Westminster Abbey, and the Tower, where the tombs and lions are shewn. A lion is also a name given by the gownsmen of Oxford to an inhabitant or visitor. It is a standing joke among the city wits to send boys and country folks, on the first of April, to the Tower-ditch, to see the lions washed.
LIQUOR. To liquor one's boots ”

“ To SHAG. To copulate. He is but bad shag; he is no able
woman's man.
SHAG-BAG, or SHAKE-BAG. A poor sneaking fellow; a man
of no spirit: a term borrowed from the cock-pit.
SHAKE. To shake one's elbow; to game with dice. To
shake a cloth in the wind; to be hanged in chains.
SHAKE. To draw any thing from the pocket. He shook the swell of his fogle; he robbed the gentleman of his silk handkerchief.
SHALLOW PATE. A simple fellow.
SHALLOW. A WHIP hat, so called from the want of depth
in the crown. LILLY SHALLOW, a WHITE Whip hat.
SHAM. A cheat, or trick. To cut a sham; to cheat or deceive. ”

“ SPARROW. Mumbling a sparrow; a cruel sport frequently practised at wakes and fairs: for a small premium, a booby having his hands tied behind him, has the wing of a cock sparrow put into his mouth: with this hold, without any other assistance than the motion of his lips, he is to get the sparrow's head into his mouth: on attempting to do it, the bird defends itself surprisingly, frequently pecking the mumbler till his lips are covered with blood, and he is obliged to desist: to prevent the bird from getting away, he is fastened by a string to a button of the booby's coat. ”

“ KICKSEYS. Breeches.
KICKSHAWS. French dishes: corruption of quelque chose.
KID. A little dapper fellow. A child. The blowen has napped the kid. The girl is with child.
TO KID. To coax or wheedle. To inveigle. To amuse a man or divert his attention while another robs him. The sneaksman kidded the cove of the ken, while his pall frisked the panney; the thief amused the master of the house, while his companion robbed the house. ”

“ HOITY-TOITY. A hoity-toity wench; a giddy, thoughtless, romping girl.
HOLBORN HILL. To ride backwards up Holborn hill; to go to the gallows: the way to Tyburn, the place of execution for criminals condemned in London, was up that hill. Criminals going to suffer, always ride backwards, as some conceive to increase the ignominy, but more probably to prevent them being shocked with a distant view of the gallows; as, in amputations, surgeons conceal the instruments with which they are going to operate. ”

“ BITCH. A she dog, or doggess; the most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore, as may he gathered from the regular Billinsgate or St. Giles's answer—"I may be a whore, but can't be a bitch."
TO BITCH. To yield, or give up an attempt through fear. To stand bitch; to make tea, or do the honours of the tea-table, performing a female part: bitch there standing for woman, species for genius.
BITCH BOOBY. A country wench. Military term.
BITE. A cheat; also a woman's privities. The cull wapt the mort's bite ”

“ A man who is to represent king Arthur, ridiculously dressed, having a large wig made out of oakum, or some old swabs, is seated on the side, or over a large vessel of water. Every person in his turn is to be ceremoniously introduced to him, and to pour a bucket of water over him, crying, hail, king Arthur! ”

“ CRUISERS. Beggars, or highway spies, who traverse the
road, to give intelligence of a booty; also rogues ready to
snap up any booty that may offer, like privateers or pirates
on a cruise.
CRUMMY. Fat, fleshy. A fine crummy dame; a fat woman.
He has picked up his crumbs finely of late; he has
grown very fat, or rich, of late.
CRUMP. One who helps solicitors to affidavit men, or false witnesses.—'I wish you had, Mrs. Crump;' a Gloucestershire saying, in answer to a wish for any thing; implying, you must not expect any assistance from the speaker. ”

“ A saying of any low pretender to precedency.
KNOB. The head. See NOB.
KNOCK. To knock a woman; to have carnal knowledge of her. To knock off; to conclude: phrase borrowed from the blacksmith. To knock under; to submit.
KNOCK ME DOWN. Strong ale or beer, stingo.
KNOT. A crew, gang, or fraternity. He has tied a knot with his tongue, that he cannot untie with his teeth: i.e. he is married.
KNOWING ONES. Sportsmen on the turf, who from experience and an acquaintance with the jockies, are supposed to be in the secret, that is, to know the true merits or powers of each horse ”

“ CLOVEN FOOT. To spy the cloven foot in any business; to discover some roguery or something bad in it: a saying that alludes to a piece of vulgar superstition, which is, that, let the Devil transform himself into what shape he will, he cannot hide his cloven foot
TO CHUCK. To shew a propensity for a man. The mors chucks; the wench wants to be doing.
CLOUT. A blow. I'll give you a clout on your jolly nob; I'll give you a blow on your head. It also means a handkerchief. CANT. Any pocket handkerchief except a silk one. ”

“ BULLY. A cowardly fellow, who gives himself airs of great bravery. A bully huff cap; a hector. See HECTOR.
BULLY BACK. A bully to a bawdy-house; one who is kept in pay, to oblige the frequenters of the house to submit to the impositions of the mother abbess, or bawd; and who also sometimes pretends to be the husband of one of the ladies, and under that pretence extorts money from greenhorns, or ignorant young men, whom he finds with her. See GREENHORN.
BULLY COCK. One who foments quarrels in order to rob
the persons quarrelling. ”

“ The blowen tipped the swell a burner;
the girl gave the gentleman a clap.
BURNER. He is no burner of navigable rivers; i.e. he is no conjuror, or man of extraordinary abilities; or rather, he is, but a simple fellow. See THAMES.
BURNT. Poxed or clapped. He was sent out a sacrifice, and came home a burnt offering; a saying of seamen who have caught the venereal disease abroad. He has burnt his fingers; he has suffered by meddling.
BURR. A hanger on, or dependant; an allusion to the field burrs, which are not easily got rid of. ”

“ TO WHIP THE COCK. A piece of sport practised at wakes, horse-races, and fairs in Leicestershire: a cock being tied or fastened into a hat or basket, half a dozen carters blindfolded, and armed with their cart whips, are placed round it, who, after being turned thrice about, begin to whip the cock, which if any one strikes so as to make it cry out, it becomes his property; the joke is, that instead of whipping the cock they flog each other heartily. ”

“ GUN. He is in the gun; he is drunk: perhaps from an allusion
to a vessel called a gun, used for ale in the universities.
GUNDIGUTS. A fat, pursy fellow.
GUNNER'S DAUGHTER. To kiss the gunner's daughter; to be tied to a gun and flogged on the posteriors; a mode of punishing boys on board a ship of war.
GUNPOWDER. An old Woman. CANT.
GUTS. My great guts are ready to eat my little ones; my guts begin to think my throat's cut; my guts curse my teeth: all expressions signifying the party is extremely hungry.
GUTS AND GARBAGE. A very fat man or woman. More guts than brains; a silly fellow. ”

“ QUEER MORT. A diseased strumpet. CANT.
QUEER NAB. A felt hat, or other bad hat.
QUEER PLUNGERS. Cheats who throw themselves into the water, in order that they may be taken up by their accomplices, who carry them to one of the houses appointed by the Humane Society for the recovery of drowned persons, where they are rewarded by the society with a guinea each; and the supposed drowned persons, pretending he was driven to that extremity by great necessity, also frequently sent away with a contribution in his pocket. ”

“ SCOT. A young bull.
SCOTCH GREYS. Lice. The headquarters of the Scotch greys: the head of a man full of large lice.
SCOTCH PINT. A bottle containing two quarts.
SCOTCH BAIT. A halt and a resting on a stick, as practised by pedlars.
SCOTCH CHOCOLATE. Brimstone and milk.
SCOTCH FIDDLE. The itch.
SCOTCH MIST. A sober soaking rain; a Scotch mist will wet an Englishman to the skin.
SCOTCH WARMING PAN. A wench; also a fart.
SCOUNDREL. A man void of every principle of honour.
SCOUR. To scour or score off; to run away: perhaps from SCORE; i.e. full speed, or as fast as legs would carry one. ”

“ SPRING-ANKLE WAREHOUSE. Newgate, or any other gaol:
IRISH.
SQUAB. A fat man or woman: from their likeness to a
well-stuffed couch, called also a squab. A new-hatched
chicken.
SQUARE. Honest, not roguish. A square cove, i.e. a
man who does not steal, or get his living by dishonest
means.
SQUARE TOES. An old man: square toed shoes were
anciently worn in common, and long retained by old
men.
SQUEAK. A narrow escape, a chance: he had a squeak for his life. To squeak; to confess, peach, or turn stag. They squeak beef upon us; they cry out thieves after us. ”

“ HAMS, or HAMCASES Breeches.
HAND. A sailor. We lost a hand; we lost a sailor. Bear a hand; make haste. Hand to fist; opposite: the same as tete-a-tete, or cheek by joul.
HAND AND POCKET SHOP. An eating house, where ready money is paid for what is called for.
HAND BASKET PORTION. A woman whose husband receives
frequent presents from her father, or family, is
said to have a hand-basket portion.
HANDLE. To know how to handle one's fists; to be skilful
in the art of boxing. The cove flashes a rare handle to
his physog; the fellow has a large nose. ”

“ CLAN. A family's tribe or brotherhood; a word much used in Scotland. The head of the clan; the chief: an allusion to a story of a Scotchman, who, when a very large louse crept down his arm, put him back again, saying he was the head of the clan, and that, if injured, all the rest would resent it.
CLANK. A silver tankard. CANT.
CLANK NAPPER. A silver tankard stealer. See RUM BUBBER.
CLANKER. A great lie.
CLAP. A venereal taint. He went out by Had'em, and came round by Clapham home; i.e. he went out a wenching, and got a clap. ”

“ BROWN GEORGE. An ammunition loaf, A wig without
powder; similar to the undress wig worn by his majesty.
BROWN MADAM, or MISS BROWN. The monosyllable.
BROWN STUDY. Said of one absent, in a reverie, or
thoughtful.
BRUISER. A boxer; one skilled in the art of boxing also
an inferior workman among chasers.
BREWES, or BROWES. The fat scum from the pot in
which salted beef is boiled.
TO BRUSH. To run away. Let us buy a brush and lope; let us go away or off. To have a brush with a woman; to lie with her. To have a brush with a man; to fight with him. The cove cracked the peter and bought a brush ”

“ LUMPERS. Persons who contract to unload ships; also
thieves who lurk about wharfs to pilfer goods from ships,
lighters, &c.
LUMPING. Great. A lumping penny worth; a great quantity
for the money, a bargain. He has'got a lumping penny-worth;
frequently said of a man who marries a fat woman.
LUN. Harlequin.
LURCH. To be left in the lurch; to be abandoned by one's
confederates or party, to be left in a scrape.
LURCHED. Those who lose a game of whist, without scoring five,
are said to be lurched.
LURCHER. A lurcher of the law; a bum bailiff, or his setter. ”

“ A dimber cove; a pretty fellow. Dimber mort; a pretty wench. CANT.
DIMBER DAMBER. A top man, or prince, among the canting crew: also the chief rogue of the gang, or the completest cheat. CANT.
DING. To knock down. To ding it in one's ears; to reproach or tell one something one is not desirous of hearing. Also to throw away or hide: thus a highwayman who throws away or hides any thing with which he robbed, to prevent being known or detected, is, in the canting lingo, styled a Dinger.
DING BOY. A rogue, a hector, a bully, or sharper. CANT.
DING DONG. Helter skelter, in a hasty disorderly manner. ”