SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES PAST AND PRESENT.
A Dictionary, Historical and Comparative, of the Heterodox Speech of all Classes of Society for more than Three Hundred Years.
WITH SYNONYMS IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, ETC.
COMPILED AND EDITED BY JOHN S. FARMER and W. E. HENLEY.
VOL. III.—Fla. to Hyps.
PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.
MDCCCXCIII.
VOL. III.
A DICTIONARY OF SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES.
Flabbergast, verb. (colloquial). To astound; to stagger, either physically or mentally. [O. E., flab = to frighten + gast = to scare.] Fr., abalober; baba (from ébahi = astounded); épater (= flatten out). Sp., quedarse de, or hecho, una pieza (= ‘knocked all of a heap’). See Floored.
1772. Annual Register, ‘On New Words.’ Now we are flabbergasted and bored from morning to night.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, etc., p. 79. His colleagues were flabbergasted when they heard of Castlereagh’s sudden death.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (‘Brothers of Birchington’). He was quite flabbergasted to see the amount.
1841. Punch, vol. I., p. 261. We rather just imagine they will be not a little puzzled and flabbergasted to discover the meaning or wit of some of those elegant phrases.
1864. Derby Day, p. 67. You’re sort of flabbergasted. It’s taken all the wind out of you like, and you feel like an old screw a blowing up Highgate Hill.
1889. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 18 Jan. Poor Clarke was completely flabbergasted.
1891. National Observer, 1 Aug. In no other sport is the laudator temporis acti so completely flabbergasted as here.
Flabberdegaz, subs. (theatrical).—Words interpolated to dissemble a lapse of memory; gag (q.v.). Also, imperfect utterance or bad acting.
Flag, subs. (old).—1. A groat, or fourpenny piece. Also Flagg, and Flagge. For synonyms, see Joey.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1814), p. 65. Roge. But a flagge, a wyn, and a make. (But a groat, a penny, and a half-penny.)
1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all, p. 38 (H. Club’s Rept. 1874) s.v.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall (4th ed.), p. 12, s.v.
1725. Jonathan Wild, Canting Dict., s.v.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 269. A tremendous black doll bought for a flag (fourpence) of a retired rag-merchant.
2. (common).—An apron; hence a badge of office or trade; cf., Flag-flasher. Equivalents are Belly-cheat and Fig-leaf.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, vol. I., p. 232 (List of patterer’s words), s.v.
1872. Dundee Advertiser, 20 April; ‘Report of Meeting of Domestic Servants.’ It was contended that they were compelled to wear what was generally known as a flag.
1887. W. E. Henley, Villon’s Straight Tip. Suppose you try a different tack, And on the square you flash your flag.
3. (obsolete).—A jade.
1539. David Lyndsay, Thrie Estaitis. Works [Ed. Laing, 1879], ii. 109. Ane fistand flag.
4. (common).—The menstrual cloth. Variants are bandage; clout; danger-signal; diaper; double clout (Durfey); gentleman’s pleasure garden padlock; periodicity rag; the red rag; sanitary towel; window-curtain.
The Flag (or Danger-Signal) is up = “The Captain’s at home” (Grose), i.e., the menstrual flux is on.
English Synonyms.—To have domestic afflictions, or the D.A.’s; to have the flowers (q.v.); to have one’s grandmother, or little friend, or auntie, with one; to have them (or it) on; to be in a state of ‘no thoroughfare’; to have the red rag on; to be road-making; to have the street up for repairs; to be at Number One, London; to have ‘the gate locked and the key lost.’
French Synonyms.—Avoir ses cardinales (literally, to have one’s reds); avoir les histoires; avoir les affaires (common); avoir ses anglais (in allusion to the scarlet of English soldiers); broyer des tomates (= tomato-crushing); avoir son marquis (Cotgrave); avoir les fleurs rouges; avoir sa chemise tachée (Cotgrave); voir Sophie; avoir les ordinaires.
Italian Synonyms.—Marchese (Florio), marchesano (= menses. Michel says, Art. marque = a month, a woman. “Il ne saurait être douteux que ce nom ne soit venu à cette division de l’année, de l’infirmité périodique qu’ont les marques, ou femmes, lors que la Lune, pour tenir sa diette et vaquer à ses purifications menstruelles, fait marquer les logis feminins par son fourrier, lequel pour escusson n’a que son impression rouge”).
To Fly the Flag, verb. phr. (tailors’).—To post a notice that ‘hands’ are wanted. See also Fly the Flag, post.
Flag of Defiance, subs. phr. (old nautical).—A drunken roysterer. For synonyms, see Elbow-crooker.
To hang out the flag of defiance (or bloody flag), verb. phr.—To be continuously drunk. [An allusion to the ‘crimson face’ (Cotgrave) and the pugnacity of certain terms of inebriety.] For synonyms, see rinks.
1690. B. E., New Dict. of the Canting Crew, s.v. The flag of defiance is out (among the Tarrs) the Fellow’s Face is very Red, and he is Drunk.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Flag-flasher, subs. (common).—One sporting a badge or other ensign of office (cap, apron, uniform, etc.) when off duty.—Cf., Flag, sense 2.
Flag-about, subs. (old).—A strumpet. [From Flag, a paving-stone]. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.
Flag-Flying.—See Flag.
Flag of Distress, subs. phr. (common).—1. A card announcing ‘lodgings,’ or ‘board and lodgings.’ Hence, any overt sign of poverty.
2. (common).—A flying shirt-tail; in America, a letter in the post-office (q.v.).
Flagger, subs. (common).—A street-walker. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.
1865. Daily Paper, ‘Police Report.’ She wasn’t a low sort at all—she wasn’t a Flagger, as we call it. So I replies, ‘I am well, thankee; and am happy to say I feel as such.’
Flags, subs. (common).—Linen drying and flying in the wind. For synonyms, see Snow.
Flag Unfurled, subs. phr. (rhyming).—A man of the world.
Flag-Wagging, subs. (military).—Flag-signal drill.
Flam, subs. (colloquial).—Nonsense (for synonyms, see Gammon); humbug; flattery; or, a lie: as a regular flam (for synonyms, see Whopper). Cf. FLim-flam.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, [Cf., Flim-flam.]
1647. Beaumont and Fletcher, Humourous Lieutenant, iv., 1. With some new flam or other, nothing to the matter.
1664. Butler, Hudibras, pt. II., ch. iii., p. 29. A flam more senseless than the roguery of old aruspicey and aug’ry.
1742–4. Roger North, Lives of the Norths, ch. i., p. 368. They must have known his Lordship better and not have ventured such flams at him.
1760. Foote, Minor, Act II. Had the flam been fact, your behaviour was natural enough.
1762. Foote, Liar, bk. II., ch. ii. Can’t you discern that this flam of Sir James Elliot’s is a mere fetch to favour his retreat?
1830. Sir E. B. Lytton, Paul Clifford, p. 298 (ed. 1854). Harry ... told you as ow it was all a flam about the child in the bundle!
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (ed. 1862), p. 325. No trick nor flam, but your real Schiedam.
1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ch. ii. And their pockets full they crams by their patriotic flams, And then swear ’tis for the good of the nation.
1850. D. Jerrold, The Catspaw, Act II. Though the story of that scoundrel Coolcard, Augustus Coolcard—and I was never before deceived—never—is a flam—all a flam.
1870. London Figaro, 22 Sept. Is not your boasted power a flam?
1887. W. E. Henley, Villon’s Good Night. You flymy titters fond of flam.
2. (old).—A single stroke on the drum.—[Grose, 1785.]
Adj. (old).—False.
1692. Sprat, Relation of Young’s Contrivance (Harl. Misc. vi. 224). To amuse him the more in his search, she addeth a flam story that she had got his hand by corrupting one of the letter-carriers in London.
Verb (colloquial).—1. To take in; to flatter; to lie; to foist or fob off. flamming = lying.
1658. Rowley and Ford, &c., Witch of Edm., ii., 2. Was this your cunning? and then flam me off with an old witch, two wives, and Winnifride.
1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia, II. in wks. (1720) iv. 41. Does he think to flam me with a lye?
1830. S. Warren, Diary of a Late Physician, ch. v. But I’ll show him whether or not I, for one of them, am to be jeered and flammed with impunity.
1835. Marryat, Jacob Faithful, ch. xxviii. How she did flam that poor old Domine.
(American University).—To affect, or prefer, female society; to Grouse (q.v.). [A corruption of flame (q.v.)]. See Molrowing.
Flambustious, adj. (American).—Showy; gaudy; pleasant.
1868. Putnam’s Magazine. We will have a flambustious time. [Cf., Shakspeare (1608), Antony and Cleopatra, iii., 11. Let’s have one other gaudy night.]
Flamdoodle, subs. (American).—Nonsense; vain boasting. Probably a variant of flapdoodle (q.v.).
1888. New York Sun. We wasn’t goin’ to have any high falutin’ flamdoodle business over him.
Flame, subs. (colloquial).—1. A sweetheart; a mistress in keeping. Old flame = an old lover; a cast-off mistress. Also (2) a venereal disease.
b. 1664. d. 1721. Mathew Prior [in Palgrave’s “Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics,” ed. 1885]. Euphelia serves to grace my measure, but Chloe is my real flame.
1757. Foote, Author, Act I. Let’s see, Mr. and Mrs. Cadwallader, and your flame, the sister, as I live.
1846–8. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. xiv. On this Rebecca instantly stated that Amelia was engaged to be married to a Lieutenant Osborne, a very old flame.