-
Any
·adv To any extent; in any degree; at all.
II. Any (·adj & ·pron) One indifferently, out of an inde...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Down
·adj Downcast; as, a down look.
II. Down ·adv From a remoter or higher antiquity.
III. Down ·vt To...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
down
Aware of a thing. Knowing it. There is NO DOWN. A cant phrase used by house-breakers to signify that...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
down
I.
n.
a prejudice against, hostility to;a peculiarly Australian noun made out of the adverb.
1856...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
Pissing Alley
1) See Little Friday Street.
2) See Goldsmith Buildings, Temple.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
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
-
any how
At any rate, on any account, in any way.
We have no confidence in cobble-stone pavement for Broadwa...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
knowing ones
Sportsmen on the turf, who from experience and an acquaintance with the jockies, are supposed to be ...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
down wind, down sea
A proverbial expression among seamen between the tropics, where the sea is soon raised by the wind, ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Down-share
·noun A breastplow used in paring off turf on downs.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Down-wind
·add. ·adv With the wind.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Lock-down
·noun A contrivance to fasten logs together in rafting;
— used by lumbermen.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Steep-down
·adj Deep and precipitous, having steep descent.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Step-down
·add. ·adj Transforming or converting a current of high potential or pressure into one of low pressu...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Swan's-down
·noun ·Alt. of Swans-down.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Swans-down
·noun The down, or fine, soft feathers, of the swan, used on various articles of dress.
II. Swans-d...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Tumble-down
·adj Ready to fall; dilapidated; ruinous; as, a tumble-down house.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
down hills
Dice that run low.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to drop down
To be dispirited. This expression is used by thieves to signify that their companion did not die gam...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
boil down
v.
to reduce a statement to itssimplest form; a constant term amongst pressmen. Over thereporters' ...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
knock-down
v.
generally of a cheque. To spendriotously, usually in drink.
1869. Marcus Clarke, `Peripatetic P...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
lamb down
v. tr.
1) To knock down a cheque or a sum of money in a spree.There is an old English verb, of Scan...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
mulga-down
n.
hills covered with Mulga.
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 201:
«Fascin...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
take (a man) down
Australian sporting slang.
1) Toinduce a man to bet, knowing that he must lose.
2) To advisea man ...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
clap down
To set down; charge to one's account.
If a man be highly commended, we think him sufficiently lesse...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to knock down
A word used at auctions. 'This article is knocked down to you, sir;' meaning, that you are the purch...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
down upon
To be down upon, is to seize with avidity, as a bird of prey would pounce down upon its victim. Allu...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
slipper-down
A vulgar name in some parts of Connecticut for hasty pudding. The etymology is obvious.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
down-lying
just going to be brought to bed. N.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
blacking down
The tarring and blacking of rigging; or the operation of blacking the ship's sides with tar or miner...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
bore down
Sailed down from to windward.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
cutting down
Taking a deck off a ship; as ships of the line are converted into frigates, the Royal Sovereign into...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down along
Sailing coastways down Channel.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down east
Far away in that bearing. This term, as down west, &c., is an Americanism, recently adopted into our...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down-haul
A rope passing up along a stay, leading through cringles of the staysails or jib, and made fast to t...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down killock!
Let go the grapnel; the corruption of keel-hook or anchor.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down oars!
The order on shoving off a boat when the men have had them "tossed up."
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
go down
The name given to store-houses and magazines in the East Indies.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
heaving down
(See careening.) The bringing one of a ship's sides down into the water, by means of purchases on th...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
hove down
, properly hove out or careened. The situation of a ship when heeled or placed thus for repairs.
♦...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
hull-down
Is said of a ship when at such a distance that, from the convexity of the globe, only her masts and ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
laying down
, or laying off.
The act of delineating the various lines of a ship to the full size on the mould-...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
pipe down!
The order to dismiss the men from the deck when a duty has been performed on board ship.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
riding-down
The act of the men who throw their weight on the head of a sail to stretch it. Also, of the man who ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
strike down!
The order to lower casks, &c., into the hold.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
union down
When a ship hoists her ensign upside down it is a signal of distress or of mourning.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
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 up
His back is up, i.e. he is offended or angry; an expression or idea taken from a cat; that animal, w...
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
-
pissing pins and needles
To have a gonorrhea.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to feather one's nest
To enrich one's self.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to knuckle one's wipe
To steal his handkerchief.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to ape one's betters
To imitate one's superiors.
The negroes are good singers; they are an imitative race, and it is not...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to bark one's shins
To knock the skin off the shins by stumbling or striking against something.
Mr. Hortshorne calls th...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to cut one's stick
To be off, to leave immediately and go with all speed. A vulgar expression, and often heard. It is a...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to feather one's nest
To collect riches together; alluding to birds which collect feathers, among other materials, for mak...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to find one's self
To provide for one's self. When a laborer engages to provide himself with victuals, he is said to fi...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to fix one's flint
is a phrase taken from backwoods life, and means the same as to settle; to do for; to dish.
"Take i...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to raise one's bristles
To excite one's anger.
I cane to Congress in 1827, as honestly the friend of Gen. Jackson as any ma...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to run one's face
To make use of one's credit. 'To run one's face for a thing,' is to get it on tick.
Any one who can...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to settle one's hash
To properly punish one. We also say, 'to settle his business;' 'to fix his flint.'
Brave Prudhoe tr...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to shoot one's grandmother
is a common though vulgar phrase in New England, and means to be mistaken, or to be disappointed; to...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
above one's bend
Out of one's power; beyond reach. A common expression in the Western States.
I shall not attempt to...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
any manner of means
An expression much used instead of any means.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
knock me down
Strong ale or beer, stingo.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
cutting-down line
An elliptical curve line used by shipwrights in the delineation of ships; it determines the depth of...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down all chests!
The order to get all the officers' and seamen's chests down below from off the gun-decks when cleari...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down all hammocks!
The order for all the sailors to carry their hammocks down, and hang them up in their respective ber...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down-haul tackles
Employed when lower yards are struck in bad weather to prevent them from swaying about after the tru...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
edge down, to
To approach any object in an oblique direction.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
fall down, to
To sail, drift, or be towed to some lower part nearer a river's mouth or opening.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
hauling down vacancy
The colloquialism expressive of the promotion of a flag-lieutenant and midshipman on an admiral's ha...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jaw-me-down
An arrogant, overbearing, and unsound loud arguer.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
out or down
An exclamation of the boatswain, &c., in ordering men out of their hammocks, i.e. turn out, or your ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
peak down-haul
A rope rove through a block at the outer end of the gaff to haul it down by.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
running-down clause
A special admission into policies of marine insurance, to include the risk of loss or damage in cons...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
ship cut down
One which has had a deck cut off from her, whereby a three-decker is converted into a two-decker, an...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
try down, to
To boil out the oil from blubber at sea in whalers.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
up and down
The situation of the cable when it has been hove in sufficiently to bring the ship directly over the...
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
-
casting up one's accounts
Vomiting.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to be on one's taps
is to be always ready on one's feet, literally on one's shoes; a metaphor borrowed from the shoemake...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to hang up one's fiddle
To desist; to give up.
When a man loses his temper and ain't cool, he might as well hang up his fid...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
on one's own hook
A phrase much used in familiar language, denoting on one's own account; as, 'He is doing business on...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
break one's horn-book
to incur displeasure. South.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
commit one's self, to
To break through regulations. To incur responsibility without regard to results.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
report one's self, to
When an officer returns on board from duty, or from leave of absence.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
weather one's difficulties, to
A colloquial phrase meaning to contend with and surmount troubles.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
any port in a storm
signifies contentment with whatever may betide.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down in the mouth
Dispirited, dejected, disheartened.--Brockett's Glossary.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
down in the mouth
Low-spirited or disheartened.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
down with the helm!
An order to put the helm a-lee.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
drop down a river
Synonymous with falling (which see).
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
rattle down rigging, to
or, to rattle the shrouds.
To fix the ratlines in a line parallel to the vessel's set on the water...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
right up and down
Said in a dead calm, when the wind is no way at all. Or, in anchor work, when the cable is in that c...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
running-down the port
A method practised in the ruder state of navigation, when the longitude was very doubtful, by sailin...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
up-and-down tackle
A purchase used in bowsing down the eyes of the lower rigging over the mast-heads; lifting objects f...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
The Back Alley, Cloth Fair
See Back Court.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back Alley, Bear Alley
South out of Bear Alley and west to Fleet Market (Rocque, 1746-Dodsley, 1761). See Back Bear Alley.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back Alley, Shoe Lane
East out of Shoe Lane, in Farringdon Ward Without (Rocque, 1746-Boyle, 1799).
Site now occupied by ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back Gravel Lane, Houndsditch
South out of Stoney Lane at No.40 to Gravel Lane (q.v.). In Portsoken Ward (P.O. Directory).
First ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back Streate, Cloth Fair
See Back Court.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back Street, Little Moorfields
See Moorfields.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
back, of a ship
The keel and kelson are figuratively thus termed.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
back of the post
An additional timber bolted to the after-part of the stern-post, and forming its after-face.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
any how you can fix it
At any rate whatever.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
terminal velocity of any given body
The greatest velocity it can acquire by falling freely through the air; the limit being arrived at w...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
rolling down to st. helena
Running with a flowing sheet by the trade-wind.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
run down a coast, to
To sail along it, keeping parallel to or skirting its dangers.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
run down a vessel, to
To pass over, into, or foul her by running against her end-on, so as to jeopardize her.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Back Alley, Three Crane Lane
A passage to the Thames out of Three Crane Lane (Rocque, 1746-Boyle, 1799). In Vintry Ward.
The all...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back Alley, Three Foxes Court
Out of Three Foxes Court, Long Lane, West Smithfield (Strype, 1755-Boyle, 1799).
Not named in the m...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back Alley, Yard, Little Moorfields
West out of Back Street, Little Moorfields, with passage south to Moor Lane (Strype, ed. 1720), and ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
to have one's fat in the fire
is to have one's plans frustrated. A vulgar expression borrowed from the vocabulary of the kitchen.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
by the skin of one's teeth
When a man has made a narrow escape from any dilemma, it is a common remark to say, that he has save...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
Back Alley, Great Gardens, St. Katherine's
North out of the Great Gardens, St. Katherine's Lane, East Smithfield (Rocque, 1746-Lockie, 1816).
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
Back, Backside, of St. Thomas Apostles
See Little St. Thomas Apostles.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
try back for a bend, to
To pay back some of the bight of a cable, in order to have sufficient to form the bend.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Back Alley, Dean's Court, St. Martin's le Grand
South out of Dean's Court to New Rents, east of St. Martin's le Grand, in Aldersgate Ward Within (Ro...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.