TO STRUM. To have carnal knowledge of a woman; also to play badly on the harpsichord, or any other stringed instrument. A strummer of wire; a player on any instrument strung with wire. STRUMPET. A harlot, STUB-FACED. Pitted with the small pox: the devil ran over his face with horse stubs (horse nails) in his shoes. STUBBLE IT. Hold your tongue. Cant. STULING KEN. See STALLING KEN. Cant. STUм. The flower of fermenting wine, used by vintners to adulterate their wines. STUMPS. Legs. To stir one's stumps; to walk fast. STURDY BEGGARS. The fifth and last of the most ancient order of canters, beggars that rather demand than ask. Cant. SUCCESSFULLY. Used by the vulgar for successively: as three or four landlords of this house have been ruined successfully by the number of soldiers quartered on them. Irish. SUCH A REASON PIST MY GOOSE, or MY GOOSE PIST. Said when any one offers an absurd reason. SUCK. Strong liquor of any sort. To suck the monkey; see MONKEY. Sucky; drunk. To SUCK. To pump. To draw from a man all he knows. The file sucked the noodle's brains: the deep one drew out of the fool all he knew. SUCKING CHICKEN. A young chicken. SUDS. In the suds; in trouble, in a disagreeable situation, or involved in some difficulty. SUGAR STICK. The virile member. SUGAR SOPS. Toasted bread soked in ale, sweetened with sugar, and grated nutmeg: it is eaten with cheese. SUIT AND CLOAK. Good store of brandy, or other strong liquor, let down gutter lane. SULKY. A one-horse chaise or carriage, capable of holding SUNNY BANK. A good fire in winter. SUPERNACULUM. Good liquor, of which there is not even a drop left sufficient to wet one's nail. SUPOUCH. A landlady of an inn, or hostess. SURVEYOR OF THE HIGHWAYS. One reeling drunk.. SUB SURVEYOR OF THE PAVEMENT. One standing in the pillory. SUS. PER COLL. Hanged: persons who have been hanged are thus entered into the jailor's books. SUSPENCE. One in a deadly suspence; a man just turned off at the gallows. SUTLER, A camp publican: also one that pilfers gloves, tobacco boxes, and such small moveables. SWABBERS. The ace of hearts, knave of clubs, ace and duce of trumps, at whist: also the lubberly seamen, put to swab and clean the ship. SWAD, OF SWADKIN. A soldier. Cant. TO SWADDLE. To beat with a stick. SWADDLERS. The tenth order of the canting tribe, who not only rob, but beat, and often murder passenges. Cant.Swaddlers is also the Irish name for methodist, SWAG. A shop. Any quantity of goods. As, plant the swag; conceal the goods. Rum swag; a shop full of rich goods. Cant. SWAGGER. To bully, brag, or boast, also to strut. SWANNERY. He keeps a swannery; i. e. all his geese are swans. SWEATING. A mode of diminishing the gold coin, practised chiefly by the Jews, who corrode it with aqua regia. Sweating was also a diversion practised by the bloods of the last century, who styled themselves Mobocks: these gentlemen lay in wait to surprise some person late in the night, when surroudning him, they with their swords pricked him in the posteriors, which obliged him to be constantly turning round; this they continued till they thought him sufliciently sweated. SWEET. Easy to be imposed on, or taken in; also expert, dexterous, clever. Sweet's your hand; said of one dexterous at stealing. SWEET HEART. A term applicable to either the masculine or feminine gender, signifying a girl's lover, or a man's mistress: derived from a sweet cake in the shape of a heart. SWEETNERS. Guinea droppers, cheats, sharpers. To sweeten; to decoy, or draw in. To be sweet upon; to coax, wheedle, court, or allure. He seemed sweet upon that wench; he seemed to court that girl., SWELL. A gentleman. A well dressed man. The flashman bounced the swell of all his blunt; the girl's bully frightened. the gentleman out of all his money. SWELLED HEAD. A disorder to which horses are extremely liable, particularly those of the subalterns of the army. 02 This This disorder is generally occasioned by remaining too long in one livery-stable or inn, and often arises to that height that it prevents their coming out at the stable door. 'The most certain cure is the unguentum aureum---not applied to the horse, but to the palm of the master of the inn or stable. N. B. Neither this disorder, nor its remedy, is mentioned by either Bracken, Bartlet, or any of the medern writers on farriery. SWIG. A hearty draught of liquor. SWIGMEN. Thieves who travel the country under colour of buying old shoes, old clothes, &c. or selling brooms, mops, &c. Cant. To SWILL. To drink greedily. SWILL TUB. A drunkard, a sot. SWIMMER. A counterfeit old coin. SWIMMER. A ship. I shall have a swimmer; a cant phrase used by thieves to signify that they will be sent on board the tender. TO SWING. To be hanged. He will swing for it; he will be hanged for it. SWING TAIL. A hog. To SWINGE. To beat stoutly. SWINGING. A great swinging fellow; a great stout fellow. A swinging lie; a lusty lie. SWINDLER. One who obtains goods on credit by false pretences, and sells them for ready money at any price, in order to make up a purse. This name is derived from the German word schwindlin, to totter, to be ready to fall; these arts being generally practised by persons on the totter, or just ready to break. The term swindler has since been used to signify cheats of every kind. SWIPES. Purser's swipes; small beer: so termed on board the king's ships, where it is furnished by the purser. SWISH TAIL. A pheasant; so called by the persons who sell game for the poachers. TO SWIVE. To copulate. Swizzle. Drink, or any brisk or windy liquor. In North America, a mixture of spruce beer, rum, and sugar, was so called. The 17th regiment had a society called the Swizzle Club, at Ticonderoga, A. D. 1760. SWORD RACKET. To enlist in different regiments, and on receiving the bounty to desert immediately. SWOP. Au exchange. SYEBUCK. Sixpence. SYNTAX. A schoolmaster. TABBY. TABBY. An old maid; either from Tabitha, a formal antiquated name; or else from a tabby cat, old maids being often compared to cats. To drive Tab; to go out on a party of pleasure with a wife and family. TACE. Silence, hold your tongue. Tace is Latin for a candle; a jocular admonition to be silent on any subject. TACKLE. A mistress; also good clothes. The cull has tipt his tackle rum gigging; the fellow has given his mistress good clothes. A man's tackle: the genitals. TAFFY, i. e. Davy. A general name for a Welchman, St. David being the tutelar saint of Wales. Taffy's day; the first of March, St. David's day. TAG-RAG AND BOBTAIL. An expression meaning an assemblage of low people, the mobility of all sorts. To tag after one like a tantony pig: to follow one wherever one goes, just as St. Anthony is followed by his pig. TAIL. A prostitute. Also, a sword. TAKEN IN. Imposed on, cheated. TALE TELLERS. Persons said to have been formerly hired to tell wonderful stories of giants and fairies, to lull their hearers to sleep. Talesman; the author of a story or report: I'll tell you my tale, and my talesman. Tale bearers; mischief makers, incendiaries in families.. TALL BOY. A bottle, or two-quart pot. TALLY MEN. Brokers that let out clothes to the women of the town. See RABBIT SUCKERS. TALLYWAGS, or TARRYWAGS. A man's testicles. TAME. To run tame about a house; to live familiarly in a family with which one is upon a visit. Tame army; the city trained bands. TANDEM. A two-wheeled chaise, buggy, or noddy, drawn by two horses, one before the other: that is, at length. TANGIER. A room in Newgate, where debtors were confined, hence called Tangerines. TANNER. A sixpence. The kiddey tipped the rattling cove a tanner for luck; the lad gave the coachman sixpence for drink. TANTADLIN TART. A sirreverence, human excrement. TANTRUMS. Pet, or passion: madam was in her tantrums. TANTWIVY. Away they went tantwivy; away they went full speed. Tantwivy was the sound of the hunting horn in full cry, or that of a post horn. 1. TAP. TAP. A gentle blow. A tap on the shoulder; an arrest. TAPE. Red tape; brandy. Blue or white tape; gin. TAR. Don't lose a sheep for a halfpennyworth of tar: tar is TARPAWLIN. A coarse cloth tarred over: also, figuratively, a sailor. TARRING AND FEATHERING. A punishment lately inflicted by the good people of Boston on any person convicted, or suspected, of loyalty: such delinquents being stripped naked, were daubed all over with tar, and afterwards put into a hogshead of feathers. TART. Sour, sharp, quick, pert. 6 TARTAR. To catch a Tartar; to attack one of superior strength or abilities. This saying originated from a story of an Irish soldier in the Imperial service, who, in a battle against the Turks, called out to his comrade that he had caught a Tartar. Bring him along then,' said he. He won't come,' answered Paddy. Then come along yourself,' replied his comrade. 'Arrah,' cried be, but he won't let me.'--A Tartar is also an adept at any feat, or game: he is quite a Tartar at cricket, or billiards. TAT. Tit for tat; an equivalent. TATS. False dice. TATLER. A watch. To flash a tatler: to wear a watch. TATMONGER, One that uses false dice. TATTER DEMALLION. A ragged fellow, whose clothes hang all in tatters. TATTOO. A beat of the drum, or signal for soldiers to go to their quarters, and a direction to the sutlers to close the tap, and draw no more liquor for them; it is generally beat at nine in summer and eight in winter. The devil's tattoo; beating with one's foot against the ground, as done by persons in low spirits. TAW. A schoolboy's game, played with small round balls made of stone dust, called marbles. I'll be one upon your taw presently; a species of threat. TAWDRY. Garish, gawdy, with lace or staring and discordant colours: a term said to be derived from the shrine and altar of St. Audrey (an Isle of Ely saintess), which for finery exceeded all others thereabouts, so as to become proverbial; whence any fine dressed man or wo 3 man |