cant
A blow or toss; "a CANT over the kisser," a blow on the mouth; "a CANT over the buttock," a throw or toss in wrestling.
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Expressions you’ll hear in Britain and Ireland — distinctly British usage first, then widespread staples.
cantab
A student at Cambridge.
cantankerous
Litigious, bad-tempered. An American corruption probably of contentious. A reviewer of an early edition of this book derives it from the Anglo-Norman CONTEK, litigation or strife. Others have suggested "cankerous" as the origin. Bailey has CONTEKE, contention as a Spenserian word, and there is the O.E. CONTEKORS, quarrelsome persons.
canterbury story
A long roundabout tale.
canting
Preaching with a whining, affected tone, perhaps a corruption of chaunting; some derive it from Andrew Cant, a famous Scotch preacher, who used that whining manner of expression. Also a kind of gibberish used by thieves and gypsies, called likewise pedlar's French, the slang, &c. &c.
canting academy
Or, Villanies Discovered, wherein are shown the Mysterious and Villanous Practices of that Wicked Crew—Hectors, Trapanners, Gilts, &c., with several new Catches and Songs; also Compleat Canting Dictionary, 12mo, frontispiece. 1674.
canting dictionary
Comprehending all the Terms, Antient and Modern, used in the several Tribes of Gypsies, Beggars, Shoplifters, Highwaymen, Foot-Pads, and all other Clans of Cheats and Villains, with Proverbs, Phrases, Figurative Speeches, &c., to which is added a complete Collection of Songs in the Canting Dialect, 12mo. 1725.
canting:
A Poem, interspersed with Tales and Additional Scraps, post 8vo. 1814.
canvasseens
Sailors’ canvas trousers.
cap
A false cover to a tossing coin. The term and the instrument are both nearly obsolete. See COVER-DOWN.
cap acquaintance
Persons slightly acquainted, or only so far as mutually to salute with the hat on meeting. A woman who endeavours to attract the notice of any particular man, is said to set her cap at him.
caper-merchant
A dancing-master. Sometimes a hop-merchant.
capers
Dancing, frolicking; "to cut CAPER-SAUCE," i.e., to dance upon nothing—be hanged. Old thieves’ talk.
capon
A castrated cock, also an eunuch.
capper-clawing
Female encounter, where caps are torn and nails freely used. Sometimes it is pronounced CLAPPER-CLAW. The word occurs in Shakspeare, Troilus and Cressida, act v. sc. 4.
capping verses
Repeating Latin Verses in turn, beginning with the letter with which the last speaker left off.
capricornified
Cuckolded, hornified.
capsize
To overturn or reverse. He took his broth till he capsized; he drank till he fell out of his chair. SEA TERM.
captain
Led captain; an humble dependant in a great family, who for a precarious subsistence, and distant hopes of preferment, suffers every kind of indignity, and is the butt of every species of joke or ill-humour. The small provision made for officers of the army and navy in time of peace, obliges many in both services to occupy this wretched station.
captain copperthorne's crew
All officers; a saying of a company where everyone strives to rule.
captain lieutenant
Meat between veal and beef, the flesh of an old calf; a military simile, drawn from the officer of that denomination, who has only the pay of a lieutenant, with the rank of captain; and so is not entirely one or the other, but between both.
captain podd
A celebrated master of a puppet-shew, in Ben Johnson's time, whose name became a common one to signify any of that fraternity.
captain queernabs
A shabby ill-dressed fellow.
captain sharp
A cheating bully, or one in a set of gamblers, whose office is to bully any pigeon, who, suspecting roguery, refuses to pay what he has lost. CANT.
captain tom
The leader of a mob; also the mob itself.
caravan
A large sum of money; also, a person cheated of such sum. CANT.
caravan
A railway train, especially a train expressly chartered to convey people to a prize fight.
caravansera
A railway station. In pugilistic phraseology a tip for the starting point might have been given thus. "The SCRATCH must be TOED at sharp five, so the CARAVAN will start at four from the CARAVANSERA."
carboy
A general term in most parts of the world for a very large glass or earthenware bottle.
carbuncle face
A red face, full of pimples.
card
A character. "A queer CARD," i.e., an odd fish.
cardinal
A cloak in fashion about the year 1760.
cardinal
A lady’s red cloak. A cloak with this name was in fashion in the year 1760. It received its title from its similarity in shape to one of the vestments of a cardinal. Also mulled red wine.
cardwell’s men
Officers promoted in pursuance of the new system of non-purchase.
carew
Life and Adventures of Bamfylde Moore Carew, the King of the Beggars, with Canting Dictionary, portrait, 8vo. 1791.
carney
Soft hypocritical language. Also, to flatter, wheedle, or insinuate oneself.—Prov.
carnish
Meat, from the Ital. CARNE, flesh; a Lingua Franca importation; CARNISH-KEN, a thieves’ eating-house; "cove of the CARNISH-KEN," the keeper thereof.—North Country Cant.
caroon
Five shillings. French, COURONNE; Gipsy, COURNA; Spanish, CORONA.
carpet
"upon the CARPET," any subject or matter that is uppermost for discussion or conversation. Frequently quoted as sur le tapis, or more generally "on the tapis," but it does not seem to be at all known in France. Also servants’ slang. When a domestic is summoned by the master or mistress to receive a warning or reprimand, he or she is said to be CARPETED. The corresponding term in commercial establishments is a WIGGING.
carpet-knight
An habitué of drawing-rooms, a "ladies’ man."
carrier-pigeon
A swindler, one who formerly used to cheat lottery-office keepers. Now used among betting men to describe one who runs from place to place with "commissions."
carriers
A set of rogues who are employed to look out and watch upon the roads, at inns, &c. in order to carry information to their respective gangs, of a booty in prospect.
carrion hunter
An undertaker; called also a cold cook, and death hunter. See COLD COOK and DEATH HUNTER.
carriwitchet
A hoaxing, puzzling question, not admitting of a satisfactory answer, as—"How far is it from the first of July to London Bridge?" "If a bushel of apples cost ten shillings, how long will it take for an oyster to eat its way through a barrel of soap?"
carrot
"Take a CARROT!" a vulgar insulting phrase.
carrots
The coarse and satirical term for red hair. An epigram gives an illustration of the use of this term:—
carrotty-pated
Ginger-hackled, red-haired. See GINGER-HACKLED.
carry corn
To bear success well and equally. It is said of a man who breaks down under a sudden access of wealth—as successful horse-racing men and unexpected legatees often do—or who becomes affected and intolerant, that "he doesn’t CARRY CORN well."
carry me out!
An exclamation of pretended astonishment on hearing news too good to be true, or a story too marvellous to be believed. Sometimes varied by "Let me die," i.e., I can’t survive that. Profanely derived from the Nunc dimittis (Luke xi. 29). The Irish say, "CARRY ME OUT, and bury me decently."
carry witchet
A sort of conundrum, puzzlewit, or riddle.
carry-on
To joke a person to excess, to CARRY ON a "spree" too far; "how we CARRIED ON, to be sure!" i.e., what fun we had. Nautical term—from carrying on sail.
cart
To put the cart before the horse; to mention the last part of a story first. To be flogged at the cart's a-se or tail; persons guilty of petty larceny are frequently sentenced to be tied to the tail of a cart, and whipped by the common executioner, for a certain distance: the degree of severity in the execution is left to the discretion of the executioner, who, it is said, has cats of nine tails of all prices.
cart-wheel
A five-shilling piece. Generally condensed to "WHEEL."
carting
The punishment formerly inflicted on bawds, who were placed in a tumbrel or cart, and led through a town, that their persons might be known.
carts
A pair of shoes. In Norfolk the carapace of a crab is called a crab cart; hence CARTS would be synonymous with CRAB SHELLS, which see.
carvel's ring
The private parts of a woman. Ham Carvel, a jealous old doctor, being in bed with his wife, dreamed that the Devil gave him a ring, which, so long as he had it on his finger, would prevent his being made a cuckold: waking he found he had got his finger the Lord knows where. See Rabelais, and Prior's versification of the story.
casa
Or CASE, a house, respectable or otherwise. Probably from the Italian CASA.—Old Cant. The Dutch use the word KAST in a vulgar sense for a house, i.e., MOTTEKAST, a brothel. CASE sometimes means a water-closet, but is in general applied to a "house of accommodation." CASA is generally pronounced carzey.
case
A house; perhaps from the Italian CASA. In the canting lingo it meant store or ware house, as well as a dwelling house. Tout that case; mark or observe that house. It is all bob, now let's dub the gig of the case; now the coast is clear, let us break open the door of the house.
case
Some years ago the term CASE was applied generally to persons or things; "what a CASE he is," i.e., what a curious person; "a rum CASE that," or "you are a CASE," both synonymous with the phrase "odd fish," common half a century ago. This would seem to have been originally a "case" for the police-court; drunkenness, &c. Among young ladies at boarding-schools a CASE means a love-affair. CASE now means any unfortunate matter. "I’m afraid it’s a CASE with him."
case vrow
A prostitute attached to a particular bawdy house.