| 18th Century Thieves Cant |
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| Entertainment |
| Entertainment : Dice Games |
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| BONES | Dice. | 1811 |
| COG | to cheat at Dice. To Cog a Die; to conceal or secure a Die; also the Money or whatever the Sweetners drop, to draw in the Bubbles: Also to wheedle. | 1737 |
| CRABS | A losing throw to the main at hazard. | 1811 |
| DICE | The names of false dice: A bale of bard cinque deuces A bale of flat cinque deuces A bale of flat sice aces A bale of bard cater traes A bale of flat cater traes A bale of fulhams A bale of light graniers A bale of langrets contrary to the ventage A bale of gordes, with as many highmen as lowmen, for passage A bale of demies A bale of long dice for even and odd A bale of bristles A bale of direct contraries. | 1811 |
| DISPATCHERS | Loaded or false dice. | 1811 |
| DISPATCHES | false dice used by gamblers, so contrived as always to throw a nick. | 1819 |
| DOCTORS | Loaded dice, that will run but two or three chances. They put the doctors upon him; they cheated him with loaded dice. | 1811 |
| DOWN HILLS | Dice that run low. | 1811 |
| DOWN-HILLS | Dice that run low. | 1737 |
| DRIBBLE | A method of pouring out, as it were, the dice from the box, gently, by which an old practitioner is enabled to cog one of them with his fore-finger. | 1811 |
| FULHAMS | Loaded dice are called high and lowmen, or high and low fulhams, by Ben Jonson and other writers of his time; either because they were made at Fulham, or from that place being the resort of sharpers. | 1811 |
| HIGH JINKS | A gambler at dice, who, having a strong head, drinks to intoxicate his adversary, or pigeon. | 1811 |
| HIGHJINKS | a Play at Dice who Drinks. | 1737 |
| LONG GALLERY | Throwing, or rather trundling, the dice the whole length of the board. | 1811 |
| MUMCHANCE | An ancient game like hazard, played with dice: probably so named from the silence observed in playing at it. | 1811 |
| NAP | by cheating with the Dice to ecure one chance; also a Clap or Pox, and a short sleep, Nap the Wiper, steal the Hankerchief. You have napt it, You are Clapt. | 1737 |
| NICK IT | to win at Dice, to hit the Mark. | 1737 |
| PASSAGE | A camp game with three dice: doublets, making up ten or more, to pass or win; any other chances lose. | 1811 |
| RATTLE | A dice-box. To rattle; to talk without consideration, also to move off or go away. To rattle one off; to rate or scold him. | 1811 |
| SHAKE | To shake ones elbow; to game with dice. To shake a cloth in the wind; to be hanged in chains. | 1811 |
| SHARPERS-TOOLS | false Dice. | 1737 |
| SLUR | a Cheat at Dice; also a slight Scandal or Affront. | 1737 |
| SLUR | To slur, is a method of cheating at dice: also to cast a reflection on any ones character, to scandalize. | 1811 |
| STAMP | A particular manner of throwing the dice out of the box, by striking it with violence against the table. | 1811 |
| TAT MONGER | One that uses false dice. | 1811 |
| TATS | false Dice. | 1737 |
| TATS | False dice. | 1811 |
| TATT-BOX | a dice-box. | 1819 |
| TATTS | dice. | 1819 |
| TO COG | To cheat with dice; also to coax or wheedle, To cog a die; to conceal or secure a die. To cog a dinner; to wheedle one out of a dinner. | 1811 |
| TO NAP | To cheat at dice by securing one chance. Also to catch the venereal disease. Youve napt it; you are infected. | 1811 |
| To NICK | To win at dice, to hit the mark just in the nick of time, or at the critical moment. | 1811 |
| UPHILLS | high Dice. | 1737 |
| UPHILLS | False dice that run high. | 1811 |
| Entertainment : Gaming |
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| BLEED | as, To bleed freely, i.e. To part with their Money easily. | 1737 |
| BROADS | cards; a person expert at which is said to be a good broad-player. | 1819 |
| CHUB | He is a young Chub, or a meer Chub, very ignorant or unexperiencd in Gaming, not at all acquainted with Sharping. A good Chub, said by the Butchers, when they have bit a silly raw Customer. | 1737 |
| CHUB | He is a young chub, or a mere chub; i.e. a foolish fellow, easily imposed on: an illusion to a fish of that name, easily taken. | 1811 |
| CLEANED OUT | said of a gambler who has lost his last stake at play; also, of a flat who has been stript of all his money by a coalition of sharps. | 1819 |
| CRIMP | as, To play Crimp, to lay or bet on one Side, and (by foul Play) to let the other win, having a Share of the Purchase. | 1737 |
| CROSS-BITE | to draw in a Friend, yet snack with the Sharper; also to countermine or disappoint | 1737 |
| DARBY | ready Money; as, The Cull tippd us the Darby; The Fellow gave us all his ready Money. | 1737 |
| DOCTOR | a false Die that will run but two or three Chances. They put the Doctor upon him; they cheated him with false Dice. | 1737 |
| EAGLE | a winning Gamester. | 1737 |
| FLATS | a cant name for playing-cards. | 1819 |
| FLY THE MAGS | to gamble, by tossing up halfpence. | 1819 |
| FORLORN HOPE | A gamesters last stake. | 1811 |
| FORLORN-HOPE | losing Gamesters. | 1737 |
| HEDGE | to secure a desperate Bet, Wager or Debt. By Hedge or by stile, by Hook or by Crook | 1737 |
| HEDGE | To make a hedge; to secure a bet, or wager, laid on one side, by taking the odds on the other, so that, let what will happen, a certain gain is secured, or hedged in, by the person who takes this precaution; who is then said to be on velvet. | 1811 |
| HISTORY OF THE FOUR KINGS, or CHILDS BEST GUIDE | A pack of cards. He studies the history of the four kings assiduously; he plays much at cards. | 1811 |
| HUNTING | decoying, or drawing others into Play. | 1737 |
| HUNTING | Drawing in unwary persons to play or game. CANT. | 1811 |
| LEVANTING or RUNNING A LEVANT | an expedient practised by broken gamesters to retrieve themselves, and signifies to bet money at a race, cockmatch, &c., without a shilling in their pocket to answer the event. The punishment for this conduct in a public cockpit is rather curious ; the offender is placed in a large basket, kept on purpose, which is then hoisted up to the ceiling or roof of the building, and the party is there kept suspended, and exposed to derision during the pleasure of the company. | 1819 |
| PAM | The knave of clubs. | 1811 |
| PLAY | To play booty; to play with an intention to lose. To play the whole game; to cheat. To play least in sight; to hide, or keep out of the way. To play the devil; to be guilty of some great irregularity or mismanagement. | 1811 |
| PLAY IT OFF | to play Booty; also to throw away, at Gaming, so much and no more. He plays it off, he cheats. | 1737 |
| POMP | To save ones pomp at whist, is to score five before the adversaries are up, or win the game: originally derived from pimp, which is Welsh for five; and should be, I have saved my pimp. | 1811 |
| POST or POST THE PONEY | To stake, or lay down the money, as on laying a bet, or concluding a bargain. | 1819 |
| RUN A CRIMP | to run a Race or Horse-match foully or knavishly. | 1737 |
| SCONCE | To build a large sconce; To run deep upon Tick or Trust. | 1737 |
| SECRET | as, Let into the Secret; When one is drawn in at Horse-racing, Cock-fighting, Bowling, and other such Sports or Games, and bit. | 1737 |
| SECRET | He has been let into the secret: he has been cheated at gaming or horse-racing. He or she is in the grand secret, i.e. dead. | 1811 |
| SKIN | to strip a man of all his money at play, is termed skinning him. | 1819 |
| SLAM | a Trick; also also a Game intirely lost, without getting one on that Side. | 1737 |
| SLAM | A trick; also a game at whist lost without scoring one. To slam to a door; to shut it with violence. | 1811 |
| SPARKING BLOWS | Blows given by cocks before they close, or, as the term is, mouth it: used figuratively for words previous to a quarrel. | 1811 |
| 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 sparrows 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 a | 1811 |
| STRIP THE TABLE | To win all the Money on the Place. We have stript the Cull; We have got all the Fools Money. The Coves stript; The Rogue has not a Jack left to help himself. | 1737 |
| 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. | 1811 |
| TAW | A schoolboys game, played with small round balls made of stone dust, catted marbles. Ill be one upon your taw presently; a species of threat. | 1811 |
| TO PLAY BOOTY | to play with a design to lose. | 1737 |
| TOM BRAY'S BILK | laying out ace and deuce at cribbage. | 1819 |
| TOM BROWN | twelve in hand, or crib. | 1819 |
| TOP | to cheat or trick any one; also to insult. What, do you top upon me? Do you stick a little Wax to the Dice to keep them together, to get the Chance you would have? He thought to have topt upon me; He designed to have put upon, sharped, bullied, or affronted me. | 1737 |
| TRAY TRIP | An ancient game like Scotch hop, played on a pavement marked out with chalk into different compartments. | 1811 |
| TUP RUNNING | A rural sport practised at wakes and fairs in Derbyshire; a ram, whose tail is well soaped and greased, is turned out to the multitude; any one that can take him by the tail, and hold him fast, is to have him for his own. | 1811 |
| TURF | On the turf; persons who keep running horses, or attend and bet at horse-races, are said to be on the turf. | 1811 |
| VINCENTS LAW | The art of cheating at cards, composed of the following associates: bankers, those who play booty; the gripe, he that betteth; and the person cheated, who is styled the vincent; the gains acquired, termage. | 1811 |
| WIBLINGS WITCH | The four of clubs: from one James Wibling, who in the reign of King James I. grew rich by private gaming, and was commonly observed to have that card, and never to lose a game but when he had it not. | 1811 |
| WOOD PECKER | A bystander, who bets whilst another plays. | 1811 |
| WOOD-PECKER | a By-stander that bets, while others game. | 1737 |
| Young CUB | a new Gamester drawn in to be rookd. | 1737 |
| Entertainment : Plays and Operas |
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| PLUMP | Fat, full, fleshy. Plump in the pocket; full in the pocket. To plump; to strike, or shoot. Ill give you a plump in the bread basket, or the victualling office: Ill give you a blow in the stomach. Plump his peepers, or day-lights; give him a blow in the eyes. He pulled out his pops and plumped him; he drew out his pistols and shot him. A plumper; a single vote at an election. Plump also means directly, or exactly; as, it fell plump upon him: it fell directly upon him. | 1811 |
| Entertainment : Related Terms |
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| CHAUNT | A song. | 1811 |
| CHAUNT | a song; to chaunt is to sing; to throw of a rum chaunt, is to sing a good song. | 1819 |
| CUT THE YARN | See YARN. | 1819 |
| FRISK | fun or mirth of any kind, | 1819 |
| GAFF | to gamble with cards, dice, &c., or to toss up. | 1819 |
| LARK | A piece of merriment. People playing together jocosely. | 1811 |
| LARK | fun or sport of any kind, to create which is termed knocking up a lark. | 1819 |
| RUMPUS | a masquerade. | 1819 |
| SPIN A YARN | See Yarn. | 1819 |
| YARN | yarning or spinning a yarn, is a favourite amusement among flash-people; signifying to relate their various adventures, exploits, and escapes to each other. This is most common and gratifying, among persons in confinement or exile, to enliven a dull hour, and probably excite a secret hope of one day enjoying a repetition of their former pleasures. See Boned. A person expert at telling these stories, is said to spin a fine yarn. A man using a great deal of rhetoric, and exerting all his art to talk another person out of any thing he is intent upon, the latter will answer, Aye, Aye, you can spin a good yarn, but it won't do; meaning, all your eloquence will not have the desired effect. | 1819 |
| Entertainment : Sports |
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| BULL HANKERS | Persons who over-drive bulls, or frequent bull baits. | 1811 |
| BULL-HANKERS | men who delight in th« sport of bull-hanking; that is, bull-baiting, or bullock-hunting, garnet which afford much amusement, and at the same time frequent opportunities of depredation, in the confusion and alarm excited by the enraged animal. | 1819 |
| CROSS BUTTOCK | A particular lock or fall in the Broughtonian art, which, as Mr. Fielding observes, conveyed more pleasant sensations to the spectators than the patient. | 1811 |
| DRUMMER | A jockey term for a horse that throws about his fore legs irregularly: the idea is taken from a kettle drummer, who in beating makes many flourishes with his drumsticks. | 1811 |
| HANK | a bull-bait, or bullock-hunt. | 1819 |
| SPANK | (WHIP) To run neatly along, beteeen a trot and gallop. The tits spanked it to town; the horses went merrily along all the way to town. | 1811 |
| Entertainment : Tricks and Cheats |
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| AMUSEMENT | a blind, or feint. | 1737 |
| BAM | a Sham or Cheat: a knavish Contrivance to amuse or deceive. | 1737 |
| BAM | A jocular imposition, the same as a humbug. See HUMBUG. | 1811 |
| BANBURY STORY | of a Cock and a Bull, an idle Relation, in order to pick Acquaintance on the Road, till a convenient Place or Opportunity offer to rob or plunder. | 1737 |
| BANBURY STORY OF A COCK AND A BULL | A roundabout, nonsensical story. | 1811 |
| BLIND | a Feint, a Pretence, a shift. | 1737 |
| BLIND | A feint, pretence, or shift. | 1811 |
| BRIDGE | To make a bridge of any ones nose; to push the bottle past him, so as to deprive him of his turn of filling his glass; to pass one over. Also to play booty, or purposely to avoid winning. | 1811 |
| BRIDGE | to bridge a person, or throw him over the bridge, is, in a general sense, to deceive him by betraying the confidence he has reposed in you, and instead of serving him faithfully, to involve him in ruin or disgrace; or, three men being concerned alike in any transaction, two of them will form a collusion to bridge the third, and engross to themselves all the advantage which may eventually accrue. Two persons having been engaged in a long and doubtful contest or rivalship, he, who by superior art or perseverance gains the point, is said to have thrown his opponent over the bridge. Among gamblers, it means deceiving the person who had back'd you, by wilfully losing the game; the money so lost by him being shared between yourself and your confederates who had laid against you. In playing threehanded games, two of the party will play into each other's hands, so that the third must inevitably be thrown over the bridge, commonly called, two poll one. See Play Across. | 1819 |
| COLLOGUE | wheedle. | 1737 |
| FETCH | a Trick or Wheedle. A meer Fetch. | 1737 |
| FETCH | A trick, wheedle, or invention to deceive. | 1811 |
| FRUMP | a dry Bob, or Jest. | 1737 |
| GRAY | a half-penny, or other coin, having two heads or two tails, and fabricated for the use of gamblers, who, by such a deception, frequently win large sums. | 1819 |
| JIG | a Trick; A pleasant Jig, a witty arch Trick. | 1737 |
| JIG | A trick. A pleasant jig; a witty arch trick. Also a lock or door. The feather-bed jig; copulation. | 1811 |
| PUMP | to wheedle-Secrets out of any one. | 1737 |
| QUEERE-FUN | a bungling Cheat or Trick; also Game or Merriment. | 1737 |
| RUM BITE | A clever cheat, a clean trick. | 1811 |
| RUM FUN | A sharp trick. CANT. | 1811 |
| RUM-BITE | a clever Cheat, a neat Trick. | 1737 |
| RUM-FUN | a clever Cheat or sharp trick. | 1737 |
| SHAM | a Cheat, or Trick. To Cut a Sham; To play a Rogues Trick. | 1737 |
| SHAM | A cheat, or trick. To cut a sham; to cheat or deceive. Shams; false sleeves to put on over a dirty shirt, or false sleeves with ruffles to put over a plain one. To sham Abram; to counterfeit sickness. | 1811 |
| TWO POLL ONE | See Bridge. | 1819 |
| WILES | Tricks, Intrigues, cunning Stratagems. | 1737 |
| WIRE-DRAW | a Fetch or Trick to wheedle in Bubbles; also to screw, over-reach, or deal hard with. Wire-drawn; so served or treated. | 1737 |
