To sell a bargain; a species of wit, much in vogue about the latter end of the reign of Queen Anne, and frequently alluded to by Dean Swift, who says the maids of honour often amused themselves with it. It consisted in the seller naming his or her hinder parts, in answer to the question, What? which the buyer was artfully led to ask. As a specimen, take the following instance: A lady would come into a room full of company, apparently in a fright, crying out, It is white, and follows me! On any of the company asking, What? she sold him the bargain, by saying, Mine a-e.
a parcel, an indefinite quantity or number 1 as, I have a good bargain of corn this year, or a good ...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
To make a bargain. A common colloquial expression, as old as the language. This bargain is ful dr...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.