-
Back
·noun A ferryboat. ·see <<Bac>>, 1.
II. Back ·adv (Of time) In times past; ago.
III. Back ·noun Th...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
back
is often used for ago; as in the phrase, "a little while back," i. e. "a short time ago."
Behind th...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
back
♦ To back an anchor. To carry a small anchor ahead of the one by which the ship rides, to partake of...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Up
·prep <<Upon>>.
II. Up ·adv Aside, so as not to be in use; as, to lay up riches; put up your weapon...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Back door
·- A door in the back part of a building; hence, an indirect way.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Back fire
·add. ·- A fire started ahead of a forest or prairie fire to burn only against the wind, so that whe...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Back stairs
·- Stairs in the back part of a house, as distinguished from the front stairs; hence, a private or i...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Back-fire
·add. ·vi To have or experience a back fire or back fires;
— said of an internal-combustion engine....
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Diamond-back
·noun The salt-marsh terrapin of the Atlantic coast (Malacoclemmys palustris).
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Hog's-back
·noun A <<Hogback>>.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Warty-back
·add. ·noun An American fresh-water mussel (Quadrula pustulosa). Its shell is used in making buttons...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Water back
·- ·see under 1st Back.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Watteau back
·add. ·- The back of a woman's gown in which one or more very broad folds are carried from the neck ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Back Alley
See Little Bell Alley, Copthall Buildings.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back Court
North out of Cloth Fair at No.21 and east, parallel to and between Long Lane and Cloth Fair (P.O. Di...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back Yard
1) Out of Pelican Court, Little Britain (Strype, 1755-Boyle, 1799).
Not named in the maps.
2) Out ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
back biter
One who slanders another behind his back, i.e. in his absence. His bosom friends are become his back...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
back door
(usher, or gentleman of the)
A sodomite.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
bloody back
A jeering appellation for a soldier, alluding to his scarlet coat.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
bully back
A bully to a bawdy-house; one who is kept in pay, to oblige the frequenters of the house to submit t...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
crook back
Sixpence; for the reason of this name, see CRIPPLE.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
back-blocks
n.
1) The far interior ofAustralia, and away from settled country. Land in Australia isdivided on t...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
back-block
adj.
from the interior.
1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `Sydneyside Saxon,' vol. xii. p. 215:
«`What a nic...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
back-blocker
n.
a resident in the back-blocks.
1870. `The Argus,' March 22, p. 7, col. 2
«I am a bushman, a ba...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
back-slanging
verbal n.
In the back-blocks (q.v.) of Australia, where hotels are naturally scarce andinferior, th...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
fiddle-back
n.
name given inAustralia to the beetle, Schizorrhina australasiae.
...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
mealy-back
n.
a local name for the locust (q.v.).
...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
saddle-back
n.
a bird of the North Island ofNew Zealand, Creadion carunculatus, Cab. See also Jack-bird and Cre...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
to back out
To retreat from a difficulty, to refuse to fulfil a promise or engagement. A metaphor borrowed from ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
pick-back
On the back.--Johnson. We often use the word with children. To ride pick-back, is for a child to rid...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
u-back
U-BLOCK, &c. ; a christmas-block. See yu-batch. N.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
back-board
A board across the stern sheets of a boat to support the back of passengers; and also to form the bo...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back-cutting
When the water-level is such that the excavation of a canal, or other channel, does not furnish eart...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back-frame
A vertical wheel for turning the three whirlers of a small rope-machine.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back-her
The order, in steam-navigation, directing the engineer to reverse the movement of the cranks and urg...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back-rope
The rope-pendant, or small chain for staying the dolphin-striker. Also a piece long enough to reach ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back-staff
A name formerly given to a peculiar sea-quadrant, because the back of the observer was turned toward...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back-strapped
As a ship carried round to the back of Gibraltar by a counter-current and eddies of wind, the strong...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back-sweep
That which forms the hollow of the top-timber of a frame.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back-water
The swell of the sea thrown back, or rebounded by its contact with any solid body. Also the loss of ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
beaten back
Returning into port from stress of foul weather.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
heckle-back
A name of the fifteen-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus spinachia.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
razor-back
The fin-whale (Balænoptera), so called from its prominent dorsal fin. It usually attains the length ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
strong-back
The same with Samson's post (which see). Also, an adaptation of a strong piece of wood over the wind...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
swart-back
The Larus marinus, or great black and white gull.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
thorn-back
A well-known fish of the ray kind, Raia clavata.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
walk back!
A method in cases where a purchase must not be lowered by a round turn, as "Walk back the capstan;" ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Break-up
·noun Disruption; a separation and dispersion of the parts or members; as, a break-up of an assembly...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Flare-up
·noun A sudden burst of anger or passion; an angry dispute.
II. Flare-up ·add. ·noun A sudden burst...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Frame-up
·add. ·noun A conspiracy or plot, ·esp. for a malicious or evil purpose, as to incriminate a person ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Get-up
·noun General composition or structure; manner in which the parts of a thing are combined; make-up; ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Higher-up
·add. ·noun A superior officer or official;
— used chiefly in ·pl
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Hunt's-up
·noun A tune played on the horn very early in the morning to call out the hunters; hence, any arousi...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Let-up
·noun Abatement; also, cessation; as, it blew a gale for three days without any let-up.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Line-up
·add. ·noun ·Alt. of <<Lineup>>.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Make-up
·noun The way in which the parts of anything are put together; often, the way in which an actor is d...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Making-up
·noun The act of becoming reconciled or friendly.
II. Making-up ·noun The act of bringing spirits t...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Pick-up
·add. ·noun ·Alt. of <<Pickup>>.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Pricking-up
·noun The first coating of plaster in work of three coats upon laths. Its surface is scratched once ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Put-up
·adj Arranged; plotted;
— in a bad sense; as, a put-up job.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Round-up
·add. ·noun A gathering in of scattered persons or things; as, s round-up of criminals.
II. Round-u...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Seven-up
·noun The game of cards called also all fours, and old sledge.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Start-up
·noun A kind of high rustic shoe.
II. Start-up ·adj <<Upstart>>.
III. Start-up ·noun One who comes...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Steep-up
·adj Lofty and precipitous.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Step-up
·add. ·adj Transforming or converting a low-pressure current into one of high pressure; as, a step-u...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Stuck-up
·adj Self-important and supercilious, /onceited; vain; arrogant.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Take-up
·noun That which takes up or tightens; specifically, a device in a sewing machine for drawing up the...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Tilt-up
·noun ·same·as Tip-up.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Tip-up
·noun The spotted sandpiper;
— called also teeter-tail. ·see under <<Sandpiper>>.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Up-line
·noun A line or track leading from the provinces toward the metropolis or a principal terminus; the ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Up-over
·add. ·adj Designating a method of shaft excavation by drifting to a point below, and then raising i...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Up-train
·- A train going in the direction conventionally called up.
II. Up-train ·- A train going in the di...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Up-wind
·add. ·adv Against the wind.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Wind-up
·add. ·noun Act of winding up, or closing; a concluding act or part; the end.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
bang up
(WHIP.)
Quite the thing, hellish fine. Well done. Compleat. Dashing. In a handsome stile. A bang up...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
blow-up
A discovery, or the confusion occasioned by one.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
cooped up
Imprisoned, confined like a fowl in a coop.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
dished up
He is completely dished up; he is totally ruined. To throw a thing in one's dish; to reproach or twi...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
done up
Ruined by gaming and extravagances. Modern Term.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to mop up
To drink up. To empty a glass or pot.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
tucked up
Hanged. A tucker up to an old bachelor or widower; a supposed mistress.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
turned up
Acquitted; discharged.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
used up
Killed: a military saying, originating from a message sent by the late General Guise, on the expedit...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
bail up
v.
1) To secure the head of a cow in abail for milking.
2) By transference, to stop travellers in ...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
hang up
v.
to tie up a horse.
1860. W. Kelly, `Life in Victoria,' p. 49 [Footnote]:
«In Melbourne there a...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
log up
v.
to make a log-support for thewindlass.
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. v. p. 54:
«W...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
ready up
v.
See quotation.
1893. `The Age,' Nov. 25, p. 13, col. 2:
« Mr. Purees: A statement has been mad...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
roll up
v. intr.
to gather, to assemble.
1887. J. Farrell, `How he died,' p. 26:
«The miners all rolled u...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
roll-up
n.
a meeting. See preceding verb.
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xxxv. p. 308:
«Makin...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
stick-up
v. tr.
1) The regular word for theaction of bushrangers stopping passers-by on the highway androbbi...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
sticker-up
I.
n. sc.
a bushranger.
1879. W. J. Barry, `Up and Down,' p. 197:
«They had only just been liber...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
stock-up
v.
complete the number of animalson a station, so that it may carry its full complement.
1890. Rol...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
to blow up
To scold, to abuse, either in speaking or writing. A vulgar expression borrowed from sailor's langua...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to brisk up
To come up with life and speed; to take an erect or bold attitude.--Webster. An Americanism.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to brush up
To prepare oneself; to take courage.
When Miss Mary came, I brushed up, and was determined to have ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to chaw up
To use up; demolish.
I heerd Tom Jones swar he'd chaw me up, if an inch of me was found in them dig...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to crack up
To crack, i. e. to brag or boast, is a verb common in old authors, from Chaucer downwards, and still...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
cuddle up
To hug or fondle. So used in some parts of England.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to cut up
1) To criticise with severity; as, he was severely cut up in the newspapers.
Some correspondent ask...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to fetch up
To stop suddenly. This sense of the word is not noticed in the English dictionaries, nor by Webster....
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to flare up
To blaze out; to get excited suddenly; to get into a passion.
It is expected that this grand discus...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to hold up
In allusion to the weather, to clear up, after a storm; to stop raining.
Though nice and dark the p...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to knock up
To wear out with fatigue.--Halliwell.
It is the constant labour, unvaried by the least relaxation, ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to pony up
A vulgar phrase, meaning to pay over money. Ex. 'Come, Mr. B----, pony up that account;' that is, pa...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to row up
To punish with words; to rebuke. It is an essential Westernism, and derived from the practice of mak...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to serve up
To expose to ridicule; to expose.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to shut up
To hold one's tongue. A vulgar expression.
Jones was singing, "'Tis the Star Spangled Banner;" but ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to slick up
To dress up; to make fine.
Mrs. Flyer was slicked up for the occasion, in the snuff-colored silk sh...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to spruce up
To dress oneself sprucely. In Sussex (England) they say, to sprug up, in the same sense.
To-night w...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to square up
To put oneself in an attitude fit for boxing. Provincial in various parts of England.--Halliwell.
Y...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to stive up
To stuff up close.--Johnson.
Things are a good deal stived up. People's minds are sour, and I don't...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to tip up
To raise up one end, as of a cart, so that the contents may pass out.--Worcester. Both this and the ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to use up
To discomfit; destroy. Grose has this word, which he calls a military one, meaning killed.
I have p...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to wind up
To close up; to give the quietus to an antagonist in a debate; to effectually demolish.
John Bell, ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
blow-up
A quarrel; a dispute. A common expression, used in familiar conversation.
There was a regular blow-...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
build up
To erect; and metaphorically to establish, to found.
In this manner it was thought we should sooner...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
buttoning up
A Wall street phrase. When a broker has bought stock on speculation and it falls suddenly on his han...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
chock up
Close, tight; said of a thing which fits closely to another.
When the bells ring, the wood-work the...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
done up
Ruined by gaming and extravagance.--Grose. We use it colloquially, where a person is ruined in any w...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
let up
A let up is a release; a relief. An expression borrowed from pugilists.
There was no let up in the ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
pertend up
Better; more cheerful.--Sherwood's Georgia.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
pick-up
A pick-up, or a pick-up dinner, is a dinner made up of such fragments of cold meats as remain from f...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
tilt-up
The popular name of the Sand-piper. See peet-weet.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
tip-up
The popular name of the Sand-piper. See peet-weet.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
up to
To be up to a thing,' is to understand it. A common English and American vulgarism.
Have you ever t...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
up-block
a horse-block, or horsing-block Glouc.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
brail up!
The order to pull upon the brails, and thereby spill and haul in the sail. The mizen, or spanker, or...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
breezing up
The gale freshening.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
bringers up
The last men in a boarding or small-arm party. Among soldiers, it means the whole last rank of a bat...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
broke-up
Said of a gale of wind passing away; or a ship which has gone to pieces on a reef, &c.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
bundle-up!
The call to the men below to hurry up on deck.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
chock-up
, chock-full, chock-home, chock-up, &c.
Denote as far aft, full, home, up, &c., as possible, or th...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
clue up!
The order to clue up the square sails.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
dock up
, or duck up
To clue up a corner of a sail that hinders the helmsman from seeing.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
drawing up
Adjusting a ship's station in the line; the converse of dropping astern.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
drifting-up
Is used as relating to sands which are driven by the winds. As at Cape Blanco, on the coast of Afric...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
duck-up!
A term used by the steersman when the main-sail, fore-sail, or sprit-sail hinders his seeing to stee...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
fly-up
A sudden deviation upwards from a sheer line; the term is nearly synonymous with flight.
♦ To fly ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
hard up
The tiller so placed as to carry the rudder close over to leeward of the stern-post. Also, used figu...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
horse-up
See horsing-iron.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jiggered-up
Done up; tired out.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
laid up
A vessel dismantled and moored in a harbour, either for want of employment, or as unfit for further ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
rounding-up
Is to haul through the slack of a tackle which hangs in a perpendicular direction, without sustainin...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
setting-up
Raising a ship from her blocks, shores, &c., by wedges driven between the heels of the shore and the...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
set up
Soldiers, mariners, and small-arm men, well drilled, and instructed to be upright and soldierlike in...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
sharp up
Trimmed as near as possible to the wind, with the yards braced up nearly fore and aft.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
standing up
A ship in good trim, and well attended to, is said to stand well up to her canvas.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
tail up
When a whale dives perpendicularly. In this case whalers expect the fish to rise near the same spot....
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
take-up
The part between the smoke-box and the bottom of the funnel in a marine boiler. Also, a seaman takes...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
tumble up!
A requisition of the boatswain's mates, &c., to quicken the hands after being piped up. The cry is w...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
up along
Sailing from the mouth of the channel upwards.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
up anchor
Pipe to weigh; every man to his station.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
up boats!
The order to hoist the boats to the stern and quarter davits.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
up courses!
The order to haul them up by the clue-garnets, &c.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
up screw!
The order in steamers to lift the screw on making sail.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
'way up!
See way aloft!
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
wedging up
Gaining security by driving wedges.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
working up
The keeping men at work on needless matters, beyond the usual hours, for punishment.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Back Bear Alley
On the south side of Bear Alley, Fleet Market, in Farringdon (Lockie, 1810 and 1816).
Former names ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Ebgate Back Alley
Mentioned in the registers of St. Laurence Pountney, 1628 (Wilson, p. 132).
Not further identified....
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Northumberland Back Alley
West out of Northumberland Alley. In Aldgate Ward (O.S. 1880).
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
back gammon player
A sodomite.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
back and forth
Backwards and forwards, applied to a person in walking, as, "He was walking back and forth." A commo...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
back-o'-beyond
Said of an unknown distance.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back off all
The order when the harpooner has thrown his harpoon into the whale. Also, to back off a sudden dange...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
canvas-back duck
An American wild duck (Fuligula valisneria), which takes this name from the colour of the back feath...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
fall back, to
To recede from any position previously occupied.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
put back, to
To return to port generally the last left.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Pick-me-up
·add. ·noun A stimulant, restorative, or tonic; a bracer.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Setting-up exercise
·add. ·- Any one of a series of gymnastic exercises used, as in drilling recruits, for the purpose o...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Up-to-date
·add. ·adj Extending to the present time; having style, manners, knowledge, or other qualities that ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
hang it up
Score it up: speaking of a reckoning.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to keep it up
To prolong a debauch. We kept it up finely last night; metaphor drawn from the game of shuttle- cock...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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lock up house
A spunging house; a public house kept by sheriff's officers, to which they convey the persons they h...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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bailing-up pen
n.
place for fastening up cattle.
1889. R. M. Praed, `Romance of Station,' vol. i. c. ii.[`Eng. Di...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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full up of
adj. (slang)
sick and tired of.«Full on,» and «full of,» are other forms.
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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pick-it-up
n.
a boys' name for the Diamondbird (q.v.).
1896. G. A. Keartland, `Horne Expedition in CentralAus...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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the jig is up
i. e. the game is up; it is all over with me.
The time was when I could cut pigeon wings, and perfo...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to break up land
To plough up land that has lain long as a meadow, is the sense as understood in the United States. I...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to cut up shines
To cut capers, play tricks.
A wild bull of the prairies was cutting up shines at no great distance,...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to keep it up
To prolong a debauch. 'He kept it up finely last night;' a metaphor drawn from a game of shuttlecock...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to pull up stakes
To pack up one's furniture or baggage preparatory to a removal; to remove.
If this stranger is to r...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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catawamptiously chawed up
Completely demolished, utterly defeated. One of the ludicrous monstrosities in which the vulgar lang...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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met up with
for overtook.--Sherwood's Georgia.
Mich. The common abbreviation fur Michigan.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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up-a-day
A fondling expression of a nurse to a child, when she takes it up in her arms, or lifts it over some...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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up to snuff
To be flash; to be shrewd. Up to snuff and a pinch above it, is a common cant phrase.--Grose. Both t...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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up to trap
Knowing; shrewd. English and American.
Phrenology is a little bit dangerous. It is only fit for an ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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ripping one up
telling him all his faults, Exm.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
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blow up, to
To abuse angrily.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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break-up, to
To take a ship to pieces when she becomes old and unserviceable.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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bring up, to
To cast anchor.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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built-up guns
Recently invented guns of great strength, specially adapted to meet the requirements of rifled artil...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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ease up, to
To come up handsomely with a tackle-fall.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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shin up, to
To climb up a rope or spar without the aid of any kind of steps.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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silt-up, to
To be choked with mud or sand, so as to obstruct vessels.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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sway up, to
To apply a strain on a mast-rope in order to lift the spar upwards, so that the fid may be taken out...
The Sailor's Word-Book