shout

I.

v.

to stand treat.

1) Of drink.

2) Bytransference, of other things. The successful digger used to call passers-by to drink at his expense. The origin mayalso be from noisy bar-rooms, or crowded bar-parlours, wherethe man who was to pay for the liquor or refreshment called or shouted for the waiter or barman. When many men drinktogether the waiter of course looks for payment from the manwho first calls or shouts out for him to give him theorder. Or is «pay the shout» a variant of «pay the shot,» ortavern reckoning? In its first sense the word has reached theUnited States, and is freely employed there.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 335:

«And so I shouted for him and he shouted for me.»

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 80:

«Gentlemen required a great deal of attendance, did not `shout'(the slang term for ordering grog) every quarter of an hour,and therefore spent comparatively nothing.»

1867. A. L. Gordon, `Sea-Spray' (Credat Judaeus), p. 139:

«You may shout some cheroots, if you like; no champagne

For this child.'

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 268:

«This `shouting,' as `treating' is termed in the colonies,is the curse of the Northern goldfields. If you buy a horse youmust shout, the vendor must shout, and the bystanders who havebeen shouted to [more usual, for] must shout in their turn.»

1885. D. Sladen, `In Cornwall, etc.,' p. 156 [Title, `TheSigh of the Shouter']:

«Give me the wealth I have squandered in `shouting.'»

1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia, p. 149:.

«Drinking is quite a common practice, and what is familiarlyknown as `shouting' was at one time almost universal, though oflate years this peculiarly dangerous evil has been considerablydiminished in extent. To `shout' in a public-house means toinsist on everybody present, friends and strangers alike,drinking at the shouter's expense, and as no member of theparty will allow himself to be outdone in this reckless sort ofhospitality, each one `shouts' in succession, with the resultthat before long they are all overcome by intoxication.»

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 30:

«Some heavy drinking is indulged in through the `shouting'system, which is the rule.»

1893. E. W. Hornung, `Tiny Luttrell,' vol. ii. c. xv.p. 98:

«To insist on `shouting' Ruth a penny chair overlooking theornamental water in St. James's Park.»

(p.99): «You shall not be late, because I'll shout a hansomtoo.»

II.

n.

a free drink.

1864. H. Simcox, `Outward Bound,' p. 81:

«The arms are left and off they go,

And many a shout they're treated to.»

1874. Garnet Walch, Head over Heels,' p. 83:

«I . . . gave the boys round a spread an' a shout.»

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 78:

«Two lucky diggers laid a wager which of them should treat theassembled company with the largest shout.'»