Chapter XXII: Part 22

Family-man, subs. (old).—A thief; specifically, a fence (q.v.). [In allusion to the fraternities into which thieves were at one time invariably banded.]—See Thieves.

1749. Bamfylde Moore-Carew., ‘Oath of the Canting Crew.’ No
dummerar, or romany; No member of the family.

1788. G. A. Stevens, Adv. of a Specialist, i., 221. Let the people
say what they will against gamesters, gamblers, Or family-men.

1838. Glascock, Land Sharks and Sea Gulls, II., 100. This house ...
was a favourite resort of the family, or, to speak with less
reserve, it was a thieves’ house.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, [3rd ed.], p. 444. Thieves:
Family-men.

Family of Love, subs. phr. (venery).—A company of prostitutes.

Family-plate, subs. (common).—Silver money. For synonyms, see Actual and Gilt.

Family-pound, subs. (common).—A family grave.

Fam-lay, subs. (thieves’).—Shop-lifting. [From fam, a hand + lay, a performance.]

1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.

Fam-snatchers, subs. (old).—Gloves. Cf., Fambling-cheat.

c. 1824. Pierce Egan, Finish to Life in London. To Jerry Hawthorn,
Esq., I resign my fam-snatchers, i.e., my gloves.

Fam-squeeze, subs. (old).—Strangulation.

Fam-struck, adj. and adv. (thieves’).—Baffled in ascertaining the whereabouts of valuables on the person of an intended victim; also handcuffed.

Fan, subs. (thieves’).—A waistcoat; said by Hotten (1864) to be a Houndsditch term, but quoted in Matsell (1859) as American.

English Synonyms.—Ben; benjie; M.B. waistcoat; Charley Prescot.

French Synonyms.—Un gilmont (thieves’); un georget (popular: = a breast-plate); un casimir (popular); une camisole (popular: properly, a kind of petticoat-bodice worn by women); un croisant (popular).

German Synonyms.—Brustmalbisch; Kreuzspanne (Hanoverian); Nefesch (Ave-Lallement suggests identity with the Fischness of Zimmermann, a word said to be derived from the English ‘fashion.’ Probably, however, the true etymon is the Hebrew nephesch, in allusion to a waistcoat covering the chest and heart, the seat of life. German ladies call a scarf or shawl [which protects the same region] Seelenwärmer; i.e., a soul-warmer); Zwängerling (= fitting closely to the body; cf., Weitling, Hanoverian Weitchen, the trousers = wide).

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3rd ed., p. 444, s.v.

Verb (old).—1. To beat; to be-rate. For synonyms, see Baste and Tan.

1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue. I fannd him sweetly, I beat him
heartily.

1887. W. O. Tristram, in Eng. Ill. Mag., v., 228. The coachman now
has recourse to all the dark arts of persuasion and the whip,
fanning them, which, in the tongue of coachmen, is whipping them.

2. (thieves’).—To feel; to handle (with a view to ascertain if a victim has anything valuable about his person). [Cf. Fam, of which it is possibly a corruption.] Also to steal from the person.

1851–1861. H. Mayhew, Lon. Lab. and Lon. Poor, IV., 319. Before Joe
said anything to me, he had fanned the gentleman’s pocket, i.e.,
had felt the pocket and knew there was a handkerchief.

Queen Anne’s Fan.—See Anne’s Fan.

Fancy, subs. (old).—The fraternity of pugilists: prize-fighting being once regarded as THE fancy par excellence. Hence, by implication, people who cultivate a special hobby or taste. Cf., Fancy-bloke.

1818. P. Egan, Boxiana, vol. I., p. 355. The various gradations of
the Fancy hither resort, to discuss matters incidental to pugilism.

1848. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, ch. xiv. Mr. William Ramm, known to
the Fancy as the Tutbury Pet.

1860. Chambers’ Journal, vol. XIII., p. 153.

Fancy-bloke, subs. (common).—1. A sporting man. [From Fancy (q.v.) + Bloke, a man.]

2. (venery).—See Fancy-man.

Fancy-house, subs. (venery).—A brothel; also a house of accommodation (q.v.). For synonyms, see Nanny-Shop.

Fancy-Joseph, subs. (venery).—A prostitute’s boy, or apple-squire, or cupid (q.v.). For synonyms, see Bully and Fancy-man.

Fancy-lay, subs. (old).—Pugilism. [From Fancy (q.v.) + Lay (q.v.) = an undertaking or pursuit.]

1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial, p. 36. We, who’re of the
fancy-lay, As dead hands at a mill as they, And quite as ready,
after it, To share the spoil and grab the bit.

Fancy-man or Bloke, subs. (venery).—A prostitute’s lover, husband, or pensioner. [There are two suggested derivations; (1) that fancy here bears its face value; (2) that it is a corruption of the Fr. fiancé.] Fancy-woman = a mistress or keep (q.v.). For synonyms, see Bully and infra.

1821. P. Egan, Tom and Jerry, p. 20. Although ‘one of the fancy,’
he was not a fancy man.

1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 70. ‘And me,’
insinuated Mrs. Maggot. ‘My little fancy man’s quite as fond of me
as of you, Bess. Ain’t you, Jacky darling?’

1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lon. Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. I., p. 186. The
women of the town buy of me, when it gets late, for themselves and
their fancy men.

1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant. (3rd ed.), p. 446, s.v.

1885. Indoor Paupers, p. 38. The most degraded are the men who
subsist by fastening upon street harlots and sharing their wretched
earnings. When their mistresses come to grief, and are placed under
lock and key, which happens frequently, the fancy man generally
manages to skulk out of the mischief and escape scot-free.

English Synonyms. Apple-squire; faker; bully; ponce; pensioner; Sunday-man; fancy-Joseph; squire of the body; fucker; apron-squire; cunt-pensioner; petticoat pensioner; prosser; twat-faker; twat-master; stallion; mack; bouncer; bruiser; buck.

French Synonyms. Un Des Grieux (popular: the hero of Manon Lescaut); un aquarium (pop.: an assembly of fancy-men; cf., maquereau = a mackerel); un cousin de Moïse (pop.: a ‘fast’ man who has married a demi-mondaine; Delvau says, ‘dans l’argot du peuple, qui fait allusion aux deux lignes de feu dont sont ornées les tempes du législateur des Hébreux’); un caprice (pop.: un caprice sérieux = a man who keeps a mistress); un paillasson (pop.: = a mattress); un dos; un marlou.

German Synonyms. Balhoche (from Hebrew baal, a man + hocho, here, there. Literally, one in possession but removable); Strichler or Strichbube (Strich = a fast locality); Strawes; Straweszunder (Viennese: from strizeln = to run quickly).

Italian Synonym. Bramoso.

Spanish Synonyms. Comblezado (obsolete: applied to a married man whose wife lives in adultery with another); mandilejo (vulgar).

Fancy-piece, subs. (venery).—A prostitute. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.

Fancy-work. To take in fancy work, verb. phr. (popular).—To play the prostitute on the sly; in the language of venery, ‘to work for one’s living and do the naughty for one’s clothes.’ Said of women (as milliners, dressmakers, shop girls, and so forth) in receipt of low wages yet dressing well and having plenty of money. ‘How does she do it?’ ‘Oh! she takes in fancy-work!’ Cf., Fancy-house and Ride.

Fang-faker, subs. (common).—A dentist. [From Fang, a long pointed tooth + Faker (q.v.).] Fang-chovey = a dental establishment.—See Chovey.

Fanning, verb. subs. (thieves’).—1. Stealing; Cross-fanning = robbery from the person, the arms of the manipulator being folded.

2. (old).—A beating. [From Fan (q.v.), to beat + ing.]

Fanny (also Fanny-Artful and Fanny-fair), subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.

Fanny Adams, subs. phr. (naval).—Tinned mutton.

Fanny Blair, subs. phr. (rhyming slang).—The hair. For synonyms, see Top-dressing.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.

Fantail, subs. (common).—A sort of round hat with a long leathern fan-shaped flap at the back; worn by coal-heavers and dustmen; a sou’-wester (q.v.).

1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. II., p. 199. He
had good strong lace boots, gray worsted stockings, a stout pair of
corduroy breeches, a short smockfrock and fantail.

1877. J. Greenwood, Dick Temple, ch. xiii. I fancy I see you, for
example, with knee breeches and calves and a fantail, shouldering
an inky sack and shooting its contents into a hole in the pavement.

Fanteague. On the fanteague, adv. phr. (colloquial).—On the ‘burst,’ or on the ‘loose.’

Far-back, subs. (tailors’).—An indifferent workman; an ignoramus.

Farden, subs. (common).—A farthing. For synonyms, see Fadge.

1880. Milliken, Punch’s Almanack, May. Otherwise don’t care one
brass farden, For the best ever blowed in Covent Garden.

Farm, subs. (common).—1. An establishment where pauper children were lodged and fed at so much a head; also for illegitimate children. Also verbally = to contract to feed and lodge pauper or illegitimate children.

1838. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. ii. The parish authorities
magnanimously and humanely resolved, that Oliver should be farmed,
or, in other words, that he should be despatched to a branch
workhouse some three miles off, where twenty or thirty other
juvenile offenders against the poor-laws, rolled about the floor
all day, without the inconvenience of too much food or too much
clothing, under the parental superintendence of an elderly female,
who received the culprits at and for the consideration of
sevenpence-halfpenny per small head per week.

1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London. There can be no question
that he has a better chance ... though his treacherous ‘adopter’
deserts him on a doorstep, than if he were so kindly cruel as to
tolerate his existence at the farm.

2. (prison).—The prison infirmary. To fetch the farm = to be ordered infirmary diet and treatment.—See Fetch.

Farmer, subs. (old).—1. An alderman.

1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.

2. (common).—One who contracts to lodge and feed pauper or illegitimate children.

1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London. These are not the farmers
who append to their advertisements the notification that children
of ill-health are not objected to.

Fart, subs. (vulgar).—An eruption of wind through the anus. [A.S. feort.] By implication a contemptible person. Also verbally = to discharge wind through the anus. Fr., lâcher une pastille.

1383. Chaucer, The Miller’s Tale. This Nicholas anon let fleen a
fart As gret as it had been a thonder dint.

1610. Ben Jonson, The Alchemist, i., 1. Thy worst! I fart at thee.

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones. ‘I don’t give a fart for ’n,’ says the
squire, suiting the action to the word.

1785. Burns, Death and Dr. Hornbook. But Dr. Hornbook with his art
And cursed skill, Has made them baith no worth a f—t.

Fart-catcher, subs. (vulgar).—A footman. [That is, one who follows another closely; cf., Fart.] Other names are flunkey; John Thomas; James; catch-fart; and Calves (q.v.).

Fart-daniel, subs. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.

Farthing. Not to care a brass farthing, phr. (common).—To care nothing. Chaucer uses the expression ‘no farthing of grease’ as equivalent to a small quantity. [James II. debased the coinage and issued brass pence, halfpence, and farthings.]

Fartick (also Fartkin), subs. (vulgar).—A diminutive of Fart (q.v.).

Farting-crackers, subs. (old).—Breeches. For synonyms, see Bags and Kicks.

Farting-trap, subs. (Irish).—A jaunting car. [An allusion to the effects of the rough-driving character of these vehicles.]

Fartleberries, subs. (vulgar).—Excrement on the hair about the anus; also dilberries (q.v.) or clinkers (q.v.).

Fart-sucker, subs. phr. (common).—A vile parasite; an ‘arse-hole creeper.’

Fast, adj. and adv. (colloquial).—1. Embarrassed; ‘hard-up’; ‘in a tight place.’

2. (colloquial).—Dissipated; addicted to going the pace (q.v.): e.g., a fast man = a rake-hell, or spendthrift; a fast woman = a strumpet; a fast life = a life of debauchery; a fast house = a brothel, or a sporting tavern; to dress fast = to dress for the town; to live fast = to ‘go the pace,’ and so forth.

1751. Smollett, Peregrine Pickle ch. lxxxviii. He returned to his
former course of fast living among the bucks of the town.

1846. Thackeray, V. F., vol. 1., ch. xxvi. ‘He’s going it pretty
fast,’ said the clerk. ‘He’s only married a week, and I saw him and
some other military chaps handing Mrs. Highflyer to her carriage
after the play.’

1860. The Atlas, 7 July. Lord William belongs to the genus fast and
we presume to the species soft—contradictions more apparent than
real.

1870. Daily Telegraph, 11 July. Having a delightful air of being
mildly fast and decorously on the loose.

1880. G. R. Sims, Three Brass Balls, Pledge xi. She knew he could
not afford to gamble and keep fast company night after night.

3. (common).—Impudent; ‘cheeky’: e.g., ‘Don’t you be so fast’ = Mind your own business.

To play fast and loose, verbal phr. (colloquial).—To be variable; inconstant; to say one thing and do another. [From the ancient game now known as prick the garter (q.v.).]

1557. Tottel’s Miscellany, p. 157 (Arber’s ed.), ‘Of a new maried
studient that plaied fast or lose’ [Title of Epigram].

1593. G. Harvey, New Letter, in wks., i., 274 (Grosart). If he
playeth at fast and loose (as is vehemently suspected by strong
presumptions) whom shall he cunny catch, or cros-bite, but his
cast-away selfe?

1599. Jonson, Ev. Man out of his Hum., I. Nor how they play fast
and loose with a poor gentleman’s fortunes, to get their own.

1632. Chapman and Shirley, The Ball, Act ii. Fr. Is’t come to this?
if lords play fast and loose, What shall poor knights and
gentlemen?

1710. Ward, Vulgus Britannicus, ch. iv., p. 50. On second Thoughts,
we should excuse, The People’s playing Fast and Loose.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. lvii., p. 477. I’m a practical one,
and that’s my experience. So’s this rule. Fast and loose in one
thing, Fast and loose in everything.

Fastener, or Fastner, subs. (old).—A warrant.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.; 1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or
Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.

Fast-fuck, subs. (prostitutes’).—An act of trade done standing, or at least in quick time: as opposed to trade with an all-night lodger.

Fat, subs. (thieves’).—1. Money; Fr., de la graisse (= grease or tallow). For synonyms, see Actual and Gilt.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.

2. (printers’).—Composition full of blank spaces or in many lines. Verse is fat, while this dictionary, with its constant change of type, is lean (q.v.). Hence, work that pays well. Fr., une affaire juteuse = a ‘fat job.’

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. Fat amongst printers means void spaces.

1856. Notes and Queries, 2 S., I., 283, s.v.

1868. O. W. Holmes, Guardian Angel, ch. xxiv., p. 203 (Rose Lib.).
If collected and printed in large type, with plenty of what the
unpleasant printers call fat ensuring thereby blank spaces upon ...
thick paper.

1885. Athenæum, 27 June, p. 817, col. 1. With the aid of wide
margins and a liberal amount of fat, as the printers call it, the
text is doled out in pages of but nineteen lines each, and thus the
three articles are successfully expanded into a booklet of over two
hundred pages.

3. (theatrical).—A good part; telling lines and conspicuous or commanding situations. [Cf., sense 2.] Fr., avoir des côtelettes = to have a bit of fat (Dictionnaire Historique et Pittoresque du Theâtre. Paris, 1884).

1883. Referee, 18 March, p. 2, col. 4. They look miserable because
they have nothing to do, all the fat having been seized by Terry.

1888. Referee, 15 April, 3, 1. I don’t want to rob Miss Claremont
of her fat, but her part must be cut down.

Adj. (general).—1. Rich; abundant; profitable.

1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Fat cull, a rich fellow.

1888. Puck’s Library, May, p. 25. This would make the labour so
much lighter, that every time a girl went to set a pound of candy
she would consider that she had a good fat take.

2. (Australian).—Good. [An old English usage.]

d. 1626. Middleton [works, II., 422]. O, for a bowl of fat canary,
Rich Aristippus, sparkling sherry! Some nectar else from Juno’s
dairy, O, these draughts would make us merry.

1890. Speaker, 22 Feb., p. 212, col. 2. As ‘good’ in English is fat
in Australian, the story is probably true about the missionary—not
a story of Dr. Lumholtz’s. After many years of work in the field,
this good missionary was taken apart by some anxious but meagre
inquirers in his flock. Sir, said they, must a man be very fat to
enter the Kingdom of Heaven? He was able to reassure them.

Cut it fat.—See Cut.

Cut up fat.—See Cut up.

Bit of fat, subs. phr. (popular).—See subs., senses 2 and 3; also adj. in both senses: and (venery) connection with a stout woman.

All the fat’s in the fire, phr. (common).—Said of failures and of the results of sudden and unexpected revelation; disappointments: i.e., it is all ‘over’ or ‘up’ with a person or thing. A late equivalent is, ‘And then the band played.’

Fat as a hen’s forehead, adv. phr. (old).—Meagre; skinny (q.v.).

Fat- (also Barge-, Broad- and Heavy-) Arsed, adj. phr. (common).—Broad in the breech; and, by implication, in Richard Baxter’s Shove to Heavy Arsed Christians, thick-witted and slow to move.

Fat- (also Thick-) Chops, subs. (common).—A contumelious epithet.

Fat-Cock, subs. (common).—An epithet rather jocular than derisive for a stout and elderly man; also (venery) a double-sucker (q.v.).

Fater, Faytor, or Fator, subs. (old).—A fortune-teller. Lexicon Balatronicum [1811]. In Spencer = a doer; in Bailey = an idle fellow; a vagabond. [From Fr. faiteur.]

Fat-Fancier, (or -Monger,) subs. (venery).—An amateur of stout women.

Fat-flab, subs. (Winchester School).—A cut off the fat part of a breast of mutton.—See Cat’s Head.

Fat- (or Full-) Guts, subs. (common).—An opprobrious epithet for a fat man or woman.

Fat-head, subs. (common).—A dolt.

Fat-headed, -skulled, -thoughted, -pated, -brained, and -witted (colloquial) = dull; stupid; slow.

1885. Mrs. J. H. Riddell, Mitre Court, ch. xix. He is a fathead—a
great blundering John Bull.

Father, subs. (thieves’).—1. A receiver of stolen property; a fence (q.v.).

2. (general).—A chief in authority; an elder: e.g., the father of the house = the oldest member of the House of Commons (cf., Babe); among printers, the chairman of the chapel, the intermediary between master and men; in naval circles, the builder of a man-of-war or Government ‘bottom.’

Father Derbies’ Bands.—See Darbies.

Father’s Brother, subs. phr. (common).—A pawnbroker; my uncle (q.v.).

Fat Jack of the Bone-house, subs. phr. (common).—A contumelious epithet for a very stout man.

Fat-mutton, subs. (venery).—A fat bit (see Bit of Fat), i.e., a stout bed-fellow.

Fatness, subs. (common).—Wealth. Cf., Fat = rich.

Fatten-up, verb (theatrical).—To write fat (subs., sense 3) into a part.

Fat-un, subs. (common).—An emission of wind from the anus of peculiar rankness; a ‘roarer’ (Swift).

Fatty (or Fatymus, or Fattyma), subs. (colloquial).—A jocular epithet for a fat man; a comic endearment for a fat woman.

Faugh-a-Ballagh Boys, subs. phr. (military).—The Eighty-Seventh Foot; also known as the eagle-takers (q.v.), and the old fogs (q.v.). [From Fag an bealac = ‘Clear the Way,’ the name of the regimental march.]

Faulkner, subs. (old).—A tumbler; juggler. Lex. Balat. [1811] and Duncombe’s Sinks of London [1848].

Fawney, or Fauney, subs. (common).—1. A ring; Fr., une brobuante; une broquille; un chason; Fourbesque, cerchiosa.

2. A swindle (also called Fawney-dropping, or rig), worked as follows:—A ring (snide) is let drop in front of a passer-by, who picks it up, and is confronted by the dropper, who claims to share. In consideration of immediate settlement he offers to accept something less than the apparent value in cash. Also done with pocket-books, meerschaum pipes, etc. Fawney-dropper = one that practices the ring-dropping trick; Fawney-bouncing = selling rings for a pretended wager; Fawnied = ringed.

1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 174. Fawny. An old, stale
trick, called ring-dropping.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. I., p. 471. He
wears a stunning fawny (ring) on his finger.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. I., p. 389. I
do a little in the fawney dropping line; (fawneys are rings).

1857. Ducange Anglicus, The Vulgar Tongue, p. 39. Fawney-droppers
gammon the flats and take the yokels in.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, p. 124. And where ...
The Chips, the fawneys, Chatty-feeders, The bugs, the boungs, and
well-filled readers.

Feager, subs. (old).—See quot. and cf., Feaker.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Repr., 1874). A
Feager of Loges, one that beggeth with counterfeit writings.

Feague, verb (old).—To send packing; to whiff away.

1826. Scott, Journal [pub. 1890], I., 205. Though this be Monday, I
am not able to feague it away, as Bayes says—[The reference, as
furnished by Dr. Murray to Mr. David Douglas, editor of the Journal
(1890), is to certain editions of Buckingham’s farce, The
Rehearsal: ‘I lay my head close to it with a snuff-box in my hand,
and feague it away.’]

Feak, subs. (old).—The fundament. Lex. Balat. [1811].

Feather, subs. (colloquial).—1. Kind; species; company; cf., Birds of a feather. For synonyms, see Kidney.

1608. Dekker, Belman of London, in wks. (Grosart), III., 140. And
he delivers it either to a Broker or some Bawd (for they all are of
one feather).

1609. Shakspeare, Timon of Athens, Act i., Sc. 1. I am not of that
feather, to shake off My friend when he must need me.

2. in pl. (common).—Money; wealth.—[See Feather one’s nest.] For synonyms, see Actual and Gilt.

3. (venery).—The female pubic hair (Prior and T. Moore). For synonyms, see Fleece.

In full feather, adv. phr. (colloquial).—1. Rich.—[See sense 2.]

1871. Mrs. H. Wood, Dene Hollow. ch. xxx. And now things went on
swimmingly. Captain Clanwaring, in feather as to cash, at least
temporarily, was the gayest of the gay.

1886. Graphic, 30 Jan., p. 130, col. 2. On these generally
convivial occasions, Watty, by reason of his office [butler], was
of course always in full feather.

2. (colloquial).—In full costume; ‘with all one’s war paint on.’

In high or full feather, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Elated; brilliant; conspicuous.

1852. H. B. Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ch. viii. Sam was in the
highest possible feather, and expressed his exultation by all sorts
of supernatural howls and ejaculations.

1856. T. Hughes, Tom Brown’s School-Days, pt. II., ch. iv. Martin
leads the way in high feather; it is quite a new sensation to him,
getting companions, and he finds it very pleasant, and means to
show them all manner of proofs of his science and skill.

To feather one’s nest, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To amass money; specifically to enrich oneself by indirect pickings and emoluments. [From birds collecting feathers (see also sense 2) to line their nests.]

1590. Greene, Francesco’s Fortunes, in wks., viii., 138. She sees
thou hast fethred thy nest, and hast crowns in thy purse.

1662. Pepys, Diary, 7 June. Mr. Coventry had already feathered his
nest in selling of places.

1700. Congreve, Way of the World, Act v., Sc. 1. You have forgot
this, have you, now you have feather’d your nest.

1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, I., ii., 25 (1734). If I don’t feather
my nest, and get a good husband, I deserve to die.

1858. G. Eliot, Janet’s Repentance, ch. xiii. Dempster must have
feathered his nest pretty well; he can afford to lose a little
business.

To feather an oar, verb. phr. (aquatics).—In rowing, to turn the blade horizontally, with the upper edge pointing aft, as it leaves the water, for the purpose of lessening the resistance of the air upon it.

d. 1814. Dibdin, The Waterman. He feathered his oars with such
skill and dexterity, Winning each heart and delighting each eye.

Whence High or Low in the feather.

1819. T. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress, p. 5. The swells
in high feather.

1878. Lang, Ballad of the Boat-race. They catch the stroke and they
slog it through, With Cambridge heavy and low in the feather, The
standing sin of the fair Light Blue.

To show the white feather, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To turn cur; to prove oneself a coward. [Among game cocks a cross-bred bird is known by a white feather in the tail. Of old the breed was strictly preserved in England, for though birds of all descriptions were reared in the farm-yard, special care was taken that game fowls did not mix with them; but this would occasionally happen, and while the game birds were only red and black, white feathers would naturally appear when there was any cross. The slightest impurity of strain was said to destroy the bird’s courage, and the half-breeds were never trained for the pit. It became an adage that any cock would fight on his own dunghill, but it must be one without a white feather to fight in the pit.]

1842. Comic Almanack, p. 306. Precluding the possibility of anyone,
at any time, showing a white feather.

Feather-bed and Pillows, subs. phr. (venery).—A fat woman.

Feather-bed Lane, subs. phr. (old).—A rough or stony lane.

Feather-bed Soldier, subs. phr. (old colloquial).—A practised and determined whoremonger.

Feck, verb (old).—To discover the safe way of stealing or swindling.

1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, p. 106, s.v.

Feed, subs. (colloquial).—A meal; spread (q.v.), or blow-out (q.v.). Fr., une lampie (from lamper = to gulp down). [From the stable usage = an allowance of provender. An analogue, however, is found in Milton: ‘For such pleasures till that hour At feed or fountain never had I found.’]

1830. Bulwer Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 22, ed. 1854. Like most
single men, being very much the gentlemen so far as money was
concerned, he gave them plenty of feeds, and from time to time a
very agreeable hop.

1853. Rev. E. Bradley (‘C. Bede’), Verdant Green, pt. III., p. 90
(q.v.).

1861. A. Trollope, Framley Parsonage, chap. iii.... It’s deuced
shabby of him, not hunting here in his own county. He escapes all
the bore of going to lectures, and giving feeds to the neighbours;
that’s why he treats us so.

1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. xxxiii. He had been
accustomed to describe Mr. Schröder as ‘a good old cock, sir; a
worthy old party; kind-hearted, and all that, and giving no end of
good feeds.’

18(?). Bret Harte, The Man of no Account. When the ‘Skyscraper’ arrived at San Francisco we had a grand feed.

1883. G. A. S[ala], in Illustr. L. News, 7 July, p. 3, col. 1. To
be able to escape from a large public feed is, indeed, a sweet
boon; but there are some big dinners at which attendance is a case
of ‘must.’

Verb (football).—1. To support; back up.

2. (theatrical).—To prompt.

3. (university).—To teach or cram (q.v.) for an examination.

At feed, subs. phr. (colloquial).—At meat.

1890. National Observer, V., p. 138, col. 1. Statesmen at feed.

d. 1674. Milton. For such pleasures till that hour At feed or fountain never had I found.

To be off one’s feed, verb. phr. (common).—To have a distaste for food. [From the stable.]

1836. M. Scott, Cringle’s Log, ch. ix. Shall I fill you a cup of
coffee, Obed?... Why, man, you are off your feed.

1863. C. Reade, Hard Cash, ii., 218. No, doctor; I’m off my feed
for once.

1881. Jas. Payn, Grape from a Thorn, ch. liii. I won’t take a
rasher this morning, thank you; nor yet any pigeon pie. I’m rather
off my feed.

To feed the dummy or the dumb-glutton (q.v.), verb. phr. (venery).—To have connection. For synonyms, see Ride.

To feed the fishes, verb. phr. (common).—To be sea-sick; also to be drowned.

1884. Home Tidings, 22 Nov., p. 398. Although I fed myself shortly
before arriving abreast of Eddystone, I fed the fish shortly
afterwards.

To feed the press, verb. phr. (journalistic).—To send up copy slip by slip.

Feeder, subs. (common).—1. A spoon; among thieves a silver spoon. To nab a feeder = to steal a spoon.

1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1821. D. Haggart, Life, Glossary, s.v.

2. (university).—A tutor; crammer (q.v.); coach (q.v.).—(See Dr. Blimber’s Mr. Feeder in Dombey and Son).

1766. O. Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, chap. vii. (ed. 1827), p.
41. Mr. Thornhill came with a couple of friends, his chaplain and
feeder.

1864. Glasgow Herald, 9 Nov. [Review of Hotten’s Slang Dictionary.]
Feeder is given here as ‘old cant’ for a spoon.

Feeding-bottle, subs. (colloquial).—The paps. For synonyms, see Dairy.

Feel, verb (venery).—To take liberties with a woman. For synonyms, see Firkytoodle.

Feel a Thing in One’s Bones.—See Bones.

Feele, subs. (common).—A girl or daughter. For synonyms in the former sense, see Titter. [Fr., fille; It., figlia.] Feeles = mother and daughter.

Feeler, subs. (colloquial)—1. A device or remark designed to bring out the opinions of others.

1841. Tait’s Mag., Sept. ‘Political Register.’ The Times is putting
out feelers on the corn-law question.

1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 29 Nov., p. 6, col. 3. The efforts made to
purchase the Halliwell-Phillips collection by private subscription
in Birmingham, have (says the local Times) utterly failed. A feeler
was sent out by the Free Libraries Committee.

2. (common).—The hand. For synonyms, see Bunch of fives and Daddle.

1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iv., p. 259. I one day asked
a man ... if the hard work of prison did not spoil his hands for
delicate manipulations. ‘Oh, bless you, no!’ he replied;... ‘In a
week or two a man can bring his hooks and feelers into full working
trim again and no mistake.’

Feet. Making feet for children’s stockings, verb. phr. (old).—Begetting or breeding children.

Officer of feet, subs. phr. (old military).—An officer of infantry.—Grose [1785].

How’s your poor feet? phr. (common).—A street catch phrase in the early part of the sixties. [For suggested derivation cf., quot., 1890.]—See Street cries.

1863. All the Year Round, p. 180, col. 1. ‘How’s your poor feet?’ a
year ago cheated half the natives of Cockaigne into the belief that
they were gifted with a special genius for repartee.

1890. Town and Country (Sydney), 11 Jan., p. 19, col. 4. Henry
Irving’s revival of ‘The Dead Heart’ has revived a bit of slang....
When the play was brought out originally, where one of the
characters says, ‘My heart is dead, dead, dead!’ a voice from the
gallery nearly broke up the drama with ‘How are your poor feet?’
The phrase lived.

To lie feet uppermost, verb. phr. (venery).—To ‘take’ a man.

Feet-Casements, subs. (common).—Boots or shoes. For synonyms, see Trotter-Cases.

Feeze [also Feaze, Feize, and Pheeze], verb (old).—1. To copulate. For synonyms, see Ride.

1612. Beaumont and Fletcher, The Coxcomb (q.v.).

2. (old).—To beat.

Feint, subs. (old).—A pawnbroker. For synonyms, see My Uncle.

1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.; 1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or
Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.

Feker, subs. (American thieves’).—Trade; profession; cf., Feck.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.

Fell a Bit on, verb. phr. (tailors’).—To act craftily; in an underhand manner.

Fell-and-didn’t, phr. (tailors’).—Said of a man walking lame.

Fellow.—See Old fellow.

Fellow-Commoner, subs. (university).—An empty bottle. For synonyms, see Dead man.

1794. Gent. Mag., p. 1084. One [student at Cambridge] was a Harry
Soph; another a fellow-commoner and senior Soph, and occasionally
jocularly called an empty bottle, whilst è contrà, a bottle
decanted was, from time to time, denominated a fellow-commoner.

Felt, subs. (old).—A hat of felted wool. For synonyms, see Golgotha.

1609. Dekker, Gul’s Horne-Booke, chap. iv. For, in my opinion, ye
braine that cannot choose his Felt well (being the head ornament)
must needes poure folly into all the rest of the members.

1614. J. Cooke, Green’s Tu Quoque, in Anc. Brit. Drama (1810), ii.,
567. Sir Lion. Aye, but son Bubble, where did you two buy your
felts? Scat. Felts! by this light mine is a good beaver.

1823. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, Act ii., Sc. 5. Don’t nibble
the felt, Jerry.

1841. Thynne, Deb. between Pride and Lowliness. A faire cloke on
his backe, and on his head a felt.

Fem.—See Famble.

Fen, subs. (thieves’).—A prostitute or procuress.—Grose [1785].

Verb (schoolboys’).—(also Fend, Fain, Fainits, etc.). A term of warning, or of prohibition: as to prevent any change in the existing conditions of a game; e.g., at marbles, Fen-placings = no alteration in position of marbles is permissible; fen-clearances = removal of obstacles is forbidden. [Fend = M. E. defend in sense of ‘to forbid.’] Fain, Fain I, (with which cf., Bags I) are corruptions. At Winchester, Fingy you or Fingy that are analagous; but at Christ’s Hospital Fin = ‘I won’t have,’ the reverse of Bags I.

ante. 1815. E. C. Harrington, in N. and Q., 5 S., vii., 98.
Respecting the word fen ... I can testify to the use of the term by
schoolboys prior to the battle of Waterloo ... meaning that we
protested against an exceptional action.

1852. Dickens, Bleak House. ‘I’m fly,’ says Jo. ‘But fen larks, you
know.’

1877. Notes and Queries, 5 S., vii., 178. A comical application,
was, I remember well, ‘Fen live lumber’! which, if pronounced in
time, would disable your opponent from moving a bystander out of
the way of his shot.

Fence, subs. (common).—1. A purchaser or receiver of stolen goods.—See verbal sense, and Thieves.

English Synonyms. Fencing master, or cully; billy-fencer; angling cove; stallsman; Ikey; family-man; father.

French Synonyms. Une crosse (thieves’); un carreur (thieves’); un attriqueur or une attriqueuse (thieves’); un franc de maison (also = landlord of a thieves’ lodging-house or ‘flash ken’); un fourgue, fourgat, or fourgasse (thieves’); une nourrice (a female fence; = nurse); un meunier (= a miller; porter au moulin = to fence the swag); un ogre (thieves’).

German Synonyms. Pascher or Verpascher (from paschlnisenen = to peddle illegally); Sarser, or Sasser (= a go-between); Tschorrgoi (gypsy).

Portuguese Synonym. Entrujão.

1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 3. The Fence and he [a
thief], are like the Devil and the Doctor, they live by one
another.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Fence (s.) ... and in the
Canting Language, signifies one who receives and disposes of stolen
goods for the robbers.

1834. W. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, p. 171 (ed. 1864). The fence and
he are like the devil and the doctor, they live by one another;
and, like traitors, ’tis best to keep each other’s counsel.

1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, p. 60. What are you up to?
Ill-treating the boys, you ... insatiable old Fence.

1851. Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, vol. II., p. 106.
In one of my inquiries among the young thieves and pickpockets in
the low lodging-houses, I heard frequent accounts of their selling
the metal goods they stole to fences, and in one particular
instance to the mistress of a lodging house, who had conveniences
for the melting of pewter pots (called ‘cats and kittens’ by the
young thieves according to the size of the vessels).

1883. Daily Telegraph, 13 June, p. 7, col. 2. The criminal who,
without the aid of the professional fence, would experience much
difficulty in disposing of his booty.

1885. Indoor Paupers, p. 73. The articles bore the workhouse stamp,
were much worn, and would not have brought the thief more than a
couple of pence, even supposing that he could find a fence, who
would venture to purchase.

2. A place where stolen goods are purchased or received. [From sense 1.] Also a Dolly-, leaving-, or swag-shop—(q.v.); Fencing-crib. Fr., un moulin.

1847. Illus. Lon. News, 2 May. The keeper of the fence loves to set
up in business there [Clerkenwell]—low public-houses abound, where
thieves drink and smoke—Jew receivers work the corners.

1848. Punch, vol. xiv., p. 149. If Citizen Blanc hold to his
opinions of 1839, we may expect no law of international copyright
from the Republic. Let M. Galignani rejoice; and let his
Bibliotheque in the Rue Vivienne still remain the greatest literary
fence in Europe.

Verb (old).—1. To purchase or receive stolen goods.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Repr., 1874). To
fence property, to sell any thing that is stolen.

1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 153. Fenced. Is disposing of
anything stolen for a quarter of the value.

1828. Jon Bee, Picture of London, p. 212. Even though he be a thief
himself, or more harmfully engaged in fencing others’ thefts.

1830. Bulwer Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 298, ed. 1854. Vell, ven ve
came out, you minds as on the voman had a bundle in her arms, and
you spake to her, and she answered you roughly, and left us all and
vent straight home; and ve vent and fenced the swag that wery
night, and afterwards napped the regulars.

1885. Chamb. Journal, 21 Feb., p. 126. Moreover, he was strongly
suspected of fencing—that is, purchasing stolen property.

2. (common).—To spend money.

1728. Bailey, Dict., s.v.

To be, sit, or ride on the fence, verb. phr. (American).—To be neutral; to be ready to join the winning side; to wait ‘to see how the cat will jump.’ Also, To sit on both sides of the hedge. [Cf., Latin prævaricato = straddling with distorted legs.]—See Jumping Cat.

1862. J. Russell Lowell, Biglow Papers, II., p. 97. A kind o’
hangin’ round an’ settin’ on the fence, Till Providence pinted how
to jump an’ save the most expense.

1887. ‘Political Slang,’ in Cornhill Mag., June, p. 626. Those who
sit on the fence—men with impartial minds, who wait to see, as
another pretty phrase has it, ‘how the cat will jump.’

1888. Texas Siftings, 7 July. While Democratic papers will claim
that Judge Thurman is as hearty and well at seventy-five as he was
at fifty-five, journals on the other side of the fence will
represent him to be a weak, feeble old man, much better fitted for
the invalid than the vice-presidential chair.

Those who thus seek to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds are called fence-men. The operation is fence-riding, which sometimes qualifies for rail-riding (q.v.).

1848. New York Herald, 14 Oct. All the fence-men, all the doubters,
all the seekers after majorities, will now bustle up, come out, and
declare that General Taylor is the most popular man in the country,
and that he was always their first choice.

1868. Congressional Globe, 17 July. This question is one of clear
right and wrong, and there can be no fence-riding, when the rights
of four millions of men are at stake.

Fencer, subs. (tramps’).—A hawker of small wares; a tramp: generally used in connection with another word; thus, driz-fencer (q.v.) = a pedlar of lace.

Fencing-Crib or Ken, subs. (thieves’).—A place where stolen goods are purchased or secreted.—See Fence, subs., sense 2.

1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.

1839. W. H. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard, p. 277, ed. 1840. ‘It only
leads to the fencing crib,’ replied Wild. ‘There’s no outlet that
way.’

Fencing-Cully, subs. (thieves’).—A receiver of stolen goods.—See Fence.

1720. Bailey, Dict., s.v.

Fen-Nightingale, subs. (common).—A frog. Also Cambridgeshire, and Cape Nightingale.

Ferguson. You can’t lodge here, Mr. Ferguson, phr. (street).—A street cry, popular about 1845–50; used in derision or denial. [Mr. J. H. Dixon, writing to Mr. John Camden Hotten, under date Nov. 6, 1864, says the phrase originated thus:—A young Scotsman, named Ferguson, visited Epsom races, where he got very drunk. His friends applied to several hotel keepers to give him a bed, but in vain. There was no place for Mr. Ferguson. He was accordingly driven to London by his companions, who kept calling out, Ferguson, you can’t lodge here. This was caught up by the crowd, repeated, and in a week was all over London, and in a month all over the kingdom. Mr. Dixon states he was introduced to Mr. Ferguson, and that two of his companions were intimate friends.]—See Street-cries.

Ferm, subs. (Old Cant).—A hole; with Spencer = a prison.

1632. Dekker, English Villanies. He [an angler for duds] carries a
short staff in his hand which is called a filch, having in the nab
or head of it a ferme (that is to say a hole).

Ferret, subs. (thieves’).—1. A barge-thief.

2. (old).—A dunning tradesman.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.

3. (common).—A pawnbroker. For synonyms, see My Uncle.

1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.

Ferreting, subs. (venery).—The act of connection.

Ferret Out, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be at pains to penetrate a mystery of any kind by working underground.

Ferricadouzer, subs. (pugilist).—A knock-down blow; a thrashing. [From the Italian fare cadere, to cause to fall + dosso, back.] For synonyms, see Dig.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. I., p. 244.
Then there wasn’t no risk with Haynan ... no fear of a
ferricadouzer for the butcher.... What does it mean? It means a
denskitch (a good thrashing).

Fess, verb (colloquial).—To confess; to own up. Fr., norguer.

Adj. (school).—Proud.

Festive, adj. (colloquial).—Loud; fast; a kind of general utility word. Gay and festive cuss (Artemus Ward) = a rollicking companion.

Fetch, subs. (old).—1. A stratagem; indirectly bringing something to pass.

1576. J. Skelton, Merie Tales, xiii. Yea sayde Skelton, if thou
have such pretie fetchis, you can dooe more then thys; and
therefore if thou dooeste not one thynge that I shel tell thee, I
wil folowe the lawe on thee. What is that sayde the Myller. If that
thou dooeste not stele my cuppe of the table when I am sette atte
meate thou shalt not eskape my handes.

1727. John Gay, Beggar’s Opera, Act II., Scene 2. Mac. Be pacified,
my dear Lucy; this is all a fetch of Polly’s, to make me desperate
with you, in case I get off. If I am hanged, she would fain have
the credit of being thought my widow. Really, Polly, this is no
time for a dispute of this sort; for whenever you are talking of
marriage, I am thinking of hanging.

1780. Mrs. Cowley, Belle’s Stratagem, v. 1. Why, my illness was
only a fetch, man, to make you marry Letty.

1848. Lowell, Fable for Critics, p. 19. But as Cicero says he won’t
say this or that (a fetch, I must say, most transparent and flat),
After saying whate’er he could possibly think of.

2. (colloquial).—A success.

3. (old).—A likeness: e.g., the very fetch of him = his very image or spit (q.v.). Also an apparition.

Verb (colloquial).—1. To please; to excite admiration; to arouse attention or interest.

1607. Dekker, Westward Ho! Act ii., Sc. 2. Earl. Ha! Bird. O, I
thought I should fetch you: you can ‘ha’ at that; I’ll make you hem
anon.

1610. Jonson, Alchemist, II. This will fetch ’em, And make them
haste towards their gulling more. A man must deal like a rough
nurse, and fright Those that are froward, to an appetite.

1727. Gay, Beggar’s Opera, Act I., Sc. 8. Polly. Give her another
glass, Sir; my Mama drinks double the quantity whenever she is out
of order. This, you see, fetches her.

1864. E. Yates, Broken to Harness, ch. v., p. 48 (1873). But now he
was certainly fetched, as his friends would call it, and began to
feel an interest in Miss Townshend, which he had never felt for any
other person.

1867–70. C. G. Leland, Hans. Breitmann’s Ballads. Dot fetched him.
He shtood all shpell-bound.

1879. Justin McCarthy, Donna Quixote, ch. xvii. She was quite
clever enough to take on any part that might best commend her to
the people she sought to please; and she thought she had hit upon
the best way to fetch Gabrielle, as she would herself have put it.

1882. Besant, All Sorts and Cond. of Men, ch. xxx. You shall be my
assistant: you shall play the piano and come on dressed in a pink
costoom, which generally fetches at an entertainment.

1883. Referee, 1 April, p. 2, col. 4. There were scenes, though,
wherein she fairly fetched her audience.

1884. S. L. Clemens (‘M. Twain’), Huckleberry Finn, xxi., 205.
Hamlet’s soliloquy, you know; the most celebrated thing in
Shakespeare. Ah, it’s sublime, sublime! Always fetches the house.

1884. G. A. Sala, in Ill. Lon. News, 17 May, p. 470, col. 3. The
maritime conflagration fetched the audience, especially the pit and
gallery.

2. (colloquial).—To get; to do.

[Some combinations are To fetch the farm = to get infirmary
treatment and diet; To fetch a stinger (colloquial) = to get in a
heavy blow; To fetch a lagging (thieves’) = to serve one’s term; To
fetch a howl = to cry; To fetch a crack = to strike; To fetch a
circumbendibus = to make a detour; To fetch the brewer = to get
drunk.]

To fetch away, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To part; e.g., ‘a fool and his money are soon fetched away.’

To fetch up, verb. phr. (common).—1. To stop; to run against.

2. (popular).—to startle.

3. (American).—To come to light.

4. (common).—To recruit one’s strength after illness.

Fetching, ppl. adj. (colloquial).—Attractive (as of women); pleasing (as of a dress or bonnet).

c. 1882. Broadside Ballad. ‘You May Lay Odds on That.’ Some most
fetching dresses the ladies now wear, You may lay odds on that.

1889. Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday, 17 August, p. 262, col. 2. How
can they show off a pretty figure and a fetching bathing costume if
they go in further than knee deep?

1889. Bird o’ Freedom, 7 Aug., p. 3. Quite delighted at being at
last understood and appreciated by one of the fetching sex, Stewart
made the running so fast that I couldn’t see the way he went.

Fettle. In good or in proper fettle, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Drunk. [From provincial English fettle = a state of fitness.]

Few. A few, or Just a few, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Originally (cf., quot., 1778) a little. Hence, by implication, on the lucus a non lucendo principle, considerably; e.g., ‘Were you alarmed?’ ‘No, but I was astonished a few!’ i.e., ‘I was greatly surprised.’ Cf., rather = a good deal.

1778. D’Arblay, Diary, etc., 6 July, vol. I., ch. i., p. 15 (1876).
So I trembled a few, for I thought, ten to one but he’d say:
‘He?—not he—I promise you!’

1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xx., p. 173. I appeal to our mutual
friend, Smallweed, whether he has or has not heard me remark, that
I can’t make him out. Mr. Smallweed bears the concise testimony, a
few.

Fib, verb (Old Cant).—1. To beat; specifically (pugilism) to get in a quick succession of blows, as when you get your man round the neck (i.e., into chancery) and pommel his ribs or face.

1665. R. Head, English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 49 (1874). Fib, to
beat.

1724. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Fib, to beat.

1811. Southey, Letters (ii., 236). I have been taking part in the
controversy about ‘Bell and the Dragon,’ as you will see in the
Quarterly, where I have fibbed the Edinburgh (as the fancy say)
most completely.

1853. Thackeray, Men’s Wives, Frank Berry, ch. 1. For heaven’s
sake, my boy, fib with your right, and mind his left hand!

1853. Rev. E. Bradley (‘C. Bede’). Verdant Green, pt. I., p. 106.
His whole person put in chancery, stung, bruised, fibbed, propped
... and otherwise ill-treated.

1865. G. F. Berkeley, My Life, etc., I., 311. As there was no room
to hit out, in the phraseology of the ring, I fibbed at half a
dozen waistcoats and faces with all my might and main.

2. (colloquial and recognised).—To lie.

1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, Act iv., Sc. iii. You fib, you
baggage, you do understand, and you shall understand.

1712. Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull, pt. IV., ch. iv. Whereby one
may know when you fib, and when you speak truth.

1755. Johnson, Dict. of Eng. Lang., s.v. Fib, a cant word amongst
children.

1863. Alex. Smith, Dreamthorp, p. 11. Could I have fibbed in these
days; Could I have betrayed a comrade?

Also, used substantively = (1) a lie; (2) a liar; see quot., 1862.

1738. Swift, Polite Convers., Dial. 2. If I had said so I should
have told a fib.

1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. III., ch. iv. Those who will tell
one fib will hardly stick at another.

1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, Act iii. Ask me no
questions, and I’ll tell you no fibs.

1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, chap. 58. ‘Oh! you dreadful fib,’
said Flora.

1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines, ch. xix. Mrs. Charrington saw no
harm ... in the utterance of a pretty fib; but she refused to place
a deliberate lie upon paper.

Fibber, subs. (colloquial).—A liar. [From Fib.]

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Fibber (s.) a liar, one who
speaks falsely, etc.

1785. Wolcot, Lyric Odes, No. 6, in wks. (1809), i., 67. Your royal
grandsire (trust me, I’m no fibber) Was vastly fond of Colley
Cibber.

1882. Jas. Payn, For Cash Only, ch. xxvi. For one’s lover to be a
fibber is bad enough, but to be a forger

Fibbery, subs. (colloquial).—Lying.

1857. Ducange Anglicus, Vulg. Tongue. ‘The Leary Man.’ And if you
come to fibbery You must mug one or two.

Fibbing, subs. (pugilist).—1. Pummelling an opponent’s head while ‘in chancery’; a drubbing. Fr., bordée de coups de poings. [From Fib (q.v.).]

1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Mem. to Cong., p. 2. And if the Fine Arts
Of fibbing and loving be dear to your hearts.

1834. W. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood, p. 268 (ed. 1864). Resolved his
fibbing not to mind.

1837. Barham, I. L. (The Ghost). Whom sometimes there would come on
a sort of fear his Spouse might knock his head off, Demolish half
his teeth, or drive a rib in, She shone so much in ‘facers’ and in
fibbing.

2. (colloquial).—Lying.

Fibbing-Gloak, subs. (Old Cant).—A pugilist. For synonyms, see Hittite. [From Fib, sense 1 + Gloak, a man.]

Fibbing-Match, subs. (thieves’).—A prize-fight.—See Fib, sense 1.

Fibster, subs. (colloquial).—A liar. [From Fib, verb, sense 2.]

1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xx. You wicked old fibster!
Didn’t you hesitate, stammer, and blush, when you said that?

Fiddle, subs. (common).—1. A sharper; sometimes old fiddle. For synonyms, see Rook.

2. (American).—A swindle. For synonyms, see Sell.

3. (thieves’).—A whip.

4. (thieves’).—See quot.

1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. i., p. 44. The taskmaster
warder came in, bringing with him the fiddle on which I was to play
a tune called ‘Four pounds of oakum a day.’ It consisted of nothing
but a piece of rope and a long crooked nail.

5. (Stock Exchange).—One-sixteenth part of a pound.

1887. Atkin, House Scraps. Done at a fiddle.

6. (old).—A watchman’s or policeman’s rattle.

1832. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, Act II., Sc. 2. There’s one!
go it, Jerry!—Come, Green. Log. Aye, come, Jerry there’s the
Charlies’ fiddles going. Jerry. Charlies’ fiddles?—I’m not fly,
Doctor. Log. Rattles, Jerry, rattles! you’re fly now, I see. Come
along, Tom! Go it, Jerry!

1848. Duncombe, Sinks of London, s.v.

7. (colloquial).—A sixpence; also a fiddler; Cf., fiddler’s money.

8. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.

Verb (colloquial).—1. To trifle, especially with the hands.

1663. Pepys, Diary, 13 July. Where all the ladies walked, talking
and fiddling with their hats and feathers, and changing and trying
one another’s by one another’s heads, and laughing.

1738. Swift, Polite Convers., Dial. 2. He took a pipe in his hand,
and fiddled with it till he broke it.

1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Fiddle (v.) ... also to spend
a person’s time about matters of small or no importance.

1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines, ch. iii. That second charger of Mr.
Harperley’s is smart, but they’ve had him fiddling about so long in
the school, he’s most likely forgot how to gallop.

2. (thieves’).—To cheat; specifically, to gamble.

1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. III., p. 140.
She is supposed to bring in all the money she has taken, but that
we don’t know, and we are generally fiddled most tremendous.

3. (common).—To earn a livelihood by doing small jobs on the street.—See Fiddling.

4. (American).—To intrigue.

5. (common).—To take liberties with a woman; for synonyms, see Firkytoodle.

6. (pugilistic).—To strike.

Scotch-fiddle, subs. (common).—The itch.

To hang up the fiddle.—To abandon an undertaking.

To play first or second fiddle, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To take a leading or a subordinate part. Among tailors second fiddle = an unpleasant task.

1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. xii., p. 122. To say that Tom
had no idea of playing first fiddle in any social orchestra but was
always quite satisfied to be set down for the hundred and fiftieth
violin in the band, or thereabouts, is to express his modesty in
very inadequate terms.

1847. Thackeray, Letter, 2 Jan., to W. E. Ayton in Memoirs. If my
friend will shout, Titmarsh for ever, hurrah for etc., etc., I may
go up with a run to a pretty fair place in my trade, and be allowed
to appear before the public as among the first fiddles.

1886. Jas. Payn, Grape from a Thorn, ch. xi. She had inherited from
her mother an extreme objection to playing, in any orchestra
whatsoever, the second fiddle.

Fit as a fiddle, phr. (colloquial).—In good form or condition.

1886. Jas. Payn, Heir of the Ages (Ry. ed. 1888), p. 63.

Intj.—See Fiddle-de-dee.

Fiddle-bow, subs. (venery).—The penis. For synonyms, see Creamstick.

Fiddle-faced, adj. (colloquial).—Wizened, also substantively.

1885. W. Westall, Larry Lohengrin, ch. v. Tell me how far, in your
opinion, I answer to this flattering description of
yours—white-chokered, strait-laced, and fiddle-faced?

Fiddle-faddle, subs. (colloquial).—Twaddling; trifling; ‘little nothings’; rot (q.v.). Fr., oui, les lanciers!

1593. G. Harvey, Pierces Super. in wks. II., 98. Or who of
judgment, will not cry? away with these paultringe fidle-fadles.

1657. Political Ballads (ed. Wilkins, 1860), vol. I., p. 139. After
much fiddle-faddle The egg proved addle.

1712. Spectator, No. 299. Their mother tells them ... that her
mother danced in a ball at Court with the Duke of Monmouth; with
abundance of fiddle-faddle of the same nature.

1876. C. H. Wall, trans. Molière, vol. i., p. 157. I see nothing
about here but white of eggs, milk of roses, and a thousand
fiddle-faddles that I know nothing about.

Adj. Trifling; fussing; fluffing.

1712. Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull, pt. III., ch. viii. She was a
troublesome, fiddle-faddle old woman, and so ceremonious that there
was no bearing of her.

b. 1811, d. 1863. Thackeray, Character Sketches (Fashionable Authoress). She interlards her works with fearful quotations from the French, fiddle-faddle extracts from Italian operas, German phrases, fiercely mutilated, and a scrap or two of bad Spanish.

Verb. To toy; to trifle; to talk nonsense; to gossip; to make ‘much cry and little wool.’

1761. Dr. Hawksworth, Edgar and Emmeline, I., ii. Here have I had a
young, tempting girl fiddle-faddling about me these two hours to
dress me.

1873. Miss Broughton, Nancy, ch. xxxvii. I am idly fiddle-faddling
with a piece of work.

Also Fiddle-faddler, one inclined to fiddle-faddles.