A New and Comprehensive Vocabulary of the Flash Language by James Hardy Vaux (top ten books to read TXT) 📕

or runners, are properly so called; but it is

common to include constables of any description under this title.

 

TRICK. See DO THE TRICK.

 

TRIG: a bit of stick, paper, etc., placed by thieves in the keyhole of,

or elsewhere about, the door of a house, which they suspect to be

uninhabited; if the trig remains unmoved the following day, it is a proof

that no person sleeps in the house, on which the gang enter it the

ensuing night upon the screw, and frequently meet with a good booty, such

as beds, carpets, etc., the family being probably out of town. This

operation is called trigging the jigger.

 

TRY IT ON: to make all attempt, or essay, where success is doubtful. So

to try it on with a woman, signifies to attempt her chastity.

 

TURN UP: to desist from, or relinquish, any particular habit or mode of

life, or the further pursuit of any object you had in view, is called

turning it up. To turn up a mistress, or a male acquaintance, is to drop

all intercourse, or correspondence, with them. To turn up a particular

house, or shop, you have been accustomed to use, or deal at, signifies to

withdraw your patronage, or custom, and visit it no more. To quit a

person suddenly in the street, whether secretly or openly, is called

turning him up. To turn a man up sweet, is to get rid of him effectually,

but yet to leave him in perfect good humour, and free from any suspicion

or discontent; this piece of finesse often affords a field for the

exercise of consummate address, as in the case of turning up a flat,

after having stript him of all his money at play, or a shopkeeper, whom

you have just robbed before his face of something valuable, upon the

pinch, or the hoist.

 

TURNED UP: a person acquitted by a jury, or discharged by a magistrate

for want of evidence, etc., is said to be turned up. See SWELL.

 

TURNIPS: to give any body turnips signifies to turn him or her up, and

the party so turned up, is said to have knap’d turnips.

 

TURN UP A TRUMP: to be fortunate in getting a good stake, or by any other

means improving your finances.

 

TWIG: any thing accomplished cleverly, or as it should be, is said to be

done in twig, in good twig, or in prime twig. A person well dress’d is

said to be in twig. See DROP, GAMMON THE TWELVE, and OUT OF TWIG.

 

TWISTED: hanged.

 

TWO POLL ONE. See BRIDGE.

 

TYE IT UP: to tye up any particular custom, practice, or habit, is

synonymous with knifeing, stowing, turning it up, or stashing it. To 0’e

it up is a phrase, which, used emphatically, is generally understood to

mean a course of depredation and wickedness. See SQUARE, and DO THE

TRICK.

 

UNBETTY: to unlock. See BETTY.

 

UNDUB: to unlock, unfasten, etc. See DUB UP.

 

UNPALLED: a thief whose associates are all apprehended, or taken from him

by other means, is said to be unpalled, and he is then obliged to work

single-handed.

 

UNSLOUR: to unlock, unfasten, or unbutton. See SLOUR. Speaking of a

person whose coat is buttoned, so as to obstruct the access to his

pockets, the knucks will say to each other, the cove is dour’d up, we

must unslour him to get at his kickseys.

 

UNTHIMBLE: to unthimble a man, is to rob, or otherwise deprive him of his

watch.

 

UNTHIMBLED: having been divested of one’s watch.

 

UP IN THE STIRRUPS: a man who is in swell street, that is, having plenty

of money, is said to be up in the stirrups.

 

UPON THE CROSS. See Cross.

 

UPON THE SQUARE. See SQUARE.

 

UPON THE SUIT, etc. See SUIT.

 

UPPER-BEN, UPPER-BENJAMIN, UPPER-TOG, a great-coat.

 

VARDO: a waggon.

 

VARDO-GILL: a waggoner.

 

WACK: to share or divide any thing equally, as wack the blunt, divide the

money, etc.

 

WACK: a share or equal proportion, as give me my wack, that is, my due

part.

 

WALKER: an ironical expression, synonymous with bender, and used in the

same manner.

 

WALKING-DISTILLER. See CARRY THE KEG.

 

WANTED: when any of the traps or runners have a private information

against a family person, and are using means to apprehend the party, they

say, such a one is wanted; and it becomes the latter, on receiving such

intimation to keep out if the way, until the stink is over, or until he

or she can find means to stash the business through the medium of Mr.

Palmer, or by some other means.

 

WATER-SNEAK: robbing ships or vessels on a navigable river, or canal, by

getting on board unperceived, generally in the night. The water-sneak, is

lately made a capital offence.

 

WEAR IT: to wear it upon a person, (meaning to wear a nose, or a conk,)

is synonymous with nosing, conking, splitting, or coming it, and is

merely one of those fanciful variations so much admired by flash people.

 

WEAR THE BANDS. See BANDS.

 

WEDGE: silver; as a wedge-feeder, a silver spoon, etc.; but silver coin,

as well as silver plate, are both comprehended under the name of wedge.

See RIDGE and SPEAK TO.

 

WEED: tobacco.

 

WEED: to pilfer or purloin a small portion from a large quantity of any

thing; often done by young or timid depredators, in the hope of escaping

detection, as, an apprentice or shopman will weed his master’s lob, that

is, take small sums out of the till when opportunity offers, which sort

of peculation may be carried on with impunity for a length of time; but

experienced thieves sometimes think it good Judgment to weed a place, in

order that it may be good again, perhaps for a considerable length of

time, as in the instance of a warehouse or other depot for goods, to

which they may possess the means of access by means of a false key; in

this ease, by taking too great a swag, at first, the proprietors would

discover the deficiency, and take measures to prevent future depredation.

To weed the swag is to embezzle part of the booty, unknown to your palls,

before a division takes place, a temptation against which very few of tm

family are proof, if they can find an opportunity. A flash-cove, on

discovering a deficiency in his purse or property, which he cannot

account for, will declare that he, (or it, naming the article,) has been

weeded to the ruffian.

 

WEEDING DUES: speaking of any person, place, or property, that has been

weeded, it is said weeding dues have been concerned. See DUES.

 

WEIGH FORTY: term used by the police, who are as well versed in flash as

the thieves themselves. It is often customary with the traps, to wink at

depredations of a petty nature, and for which no reward would attach, and

to let a thief reign unmolested till he commits a capital crime. They

then grab him, and, on conviction, share (in many cases) a reward of

40l., or upwards; therefore these gentry will say, Let him alone at

present, we don’t want him till he weighs his weight, meaning, of course,

forty pounds.

 

WELL: to well your accomplice, or put him in the well, is explained under

the word GARDEN, which see.

 

WHIDDLE: to speak of, or mention any thing, as, Don’t you whiddle about

so and so, that is, don’t mention it.

 

WHIDDLER: a talkative or tell-tale person, who is not fit to be trusted

with a secret.

 

WHIDS: words. See CRACK A WHID.

 

WHISTLERS. See BROWNS AND WHISTLERS.

 

WIN, or WINCHESTER: a penny.

 

WIND: a man transported for his natural life, is said to be lag’d for his

wind, or to have knap’d a winder, or a bellowser, according to the humour

of the speaker.

 

WOOLLY-BIRDS: sheep.

 

WORK. To work upon any particular game, is to practise generally, that

species of fraud or depredation, as, He works upon the crack, he follows

housebreaking, etc. An offender having been detected in the very fact,

particularly in cases of coining, colouring base-metal, etc., is

emphatically said to have been grab’d at work, meaning to imply, that the

proof against him being so plain, he has no ground of defence to set up.

 

WRINKLE: to lie, or utter a falsehood.

 

WRINKLE: an untruth.

 

WRINKLER: a person prone to lying; such a character is called also a

gully, which is probably an abbreviation of Gulliver, and from hence, to

gully signifies to lie, or deal in the marvellous.

 

YACK: a watch (obsolete.)

 

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.

 

YELLOW: jealous; a jealous husband is called a yellow gloak.

 

YOKUFF: a chest, or large box.

 

YORK: To stare or look at any person in an impertinent manner, is termed

yorking; to york any thing, in a common sense, is to view, look at, or

examine it.

 

YORK: a look, or observation; a flash-cove observing another person (a

flat) who appears to notice or scrutinize him, his proceedings, or the

company he is with, will say to his palls, That cove is yorking as strong

as a horse, or, There is York-street concerned.

 

YOUKELL: a countryman, or clown.

 

YOURNABS: yourself; an emphatical term used in speaking to another person.

 

FINIS.

 

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