Understanding; skill.--Todd. This vulgar word is provincial in most parts of England, and is noticed in the glossaries of Pegge, Brockett, Forby, Jennings, and Halliwell. With us it is frequently heard.
What tho' young empty airy sparks
May have their critical remarks;--
'Tis sma' presumption,
To say they're but unlearned clarks,
And want the gumption.
Hamilton, Ramsay's Poems, II.
He's a clever man, and aint wantin' in gumption. He's no fool, that's a fact.--Sam Slick in England, ch. 26.