heaven forbid
used to express a strong hope that something will not happen
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heavers
Thieves who make it their business to steal tradesmen's shop-books. CANT.
Heaviside Layer
The name'given to an ionised region of the upper atmosphere having a high degree of electrical conductivity. It is believed to exist about 60 miles above the earth and it reflects radio waves back to the earth, thus enabling reception round the curved surface of the globe. The name is taken from Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) who suggested its exis- tence in 1901.
heavy as a dead donkey
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
heavy dragoons
Bugs, in contradistinction from fleas, which are "light infantry."—Oxford University.
heavy equipment
Large machines used for construction or other heavy work
heavy foot
a tendency to press the accelerator pedal too hard
heavy going
Difficult or boring to do or understand
heavy hand
exercising strict control or punishment
heavy hitter
A person with great influence or power
heavy lifting
doing the most difficult or important part of a task
heavy with child
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
hebe
A Jew.
hecka
very
hector
Bully, a swaggering coward. To hector; to bully, probably from such persons affecting the valour of Hector, the Trojan hero.
hedge
To make a hedge; to secure a bet, or wager, laid on one side, by taking the odds on the other, so that, let what will happen, a certain gain is secured, or hedged in, by the person who takes this precaution; who is then said to be on velvet.
hedge
To get away from any dangerous spot. "We saw the slop coming, and HEDGED at once."
hedge alehouse
A small obscure alehouse.
hedge one's bets
To reduce risk by taking multiple opposing positions
hedge priest
An illiterate unbeneficed curate, a patrico.
hedge whore
An itinerant harlot, who bilks the bagnios and bawdy-houses, by disposing of her favours on the wayside, under a hedge; a low beggarly prostitute.
hedge-popping
Shooting small birds about the hedges, as boys do; unsportsmanlike kind of shooting.
hee-haw
Nothing.
heel tap
A peg in the heel of a shoe, taken out when it is finished. A person leaving any liquor in his glass, is frequently called upon by the toast-master to take off his heel-tap.
heel-tap
The small quantity of wine or other beverage left in the bottom of a glass, considered as a sign that the liquor is not liked, and therefore unfriendly and unsocial to the host and the company. See DAY-LIGHT.
heelie
heelflip
heels
To he laid by the heels; to be confined, or put in prison. Out at heels; worn, or diminished: his estate or affairs are out at heels. To turn up his heels; to turn up the knave of trumps at the game of all-fours.
heffalump trap
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
heigh-ho!
A cant term for stolen yarn, from the expression used to apprize the dishonest shopkeeper that the speaker had stolen yarn to sell.—Norwich Cant.
Heinrich Heine
Captain Marryat's novel The Phantom Ship (1839) tells of Philip Vander- decken's successful but disastrous search for his father, the captain of the Flying Dutchman.
hel-bat
A table. } The aspirate is matter of taste.
hell
A taylor's repository for his stolen goods, called cabbage: see CABBAGE. Little hell; a small dark covered passage, leading from London-wall to Bell-alley.
hell
A fashionable gambling-house. Small places of this kind are called "silver hells." Reason obvious.
hell and half of Georgia
a large and chaotic area
hell broth
A magical mixture prepared for evil purposes. (Macbeth iv, 1.
hell cat
A termagant, a vixen, a furious scolding woman. See TERMAGANT and VIXEN.
hell fire dick
The Cambridge driver of the Telegraph. The favorite companion of the University fashionables, and the only tutor to whose precepts they attend.
hell from above
severe attack or criticism from a position of authority
Hell Gate
A dangerous passage between Great Barn Island and Long Island. The Dutch settlers of New York called it Hoellgat (whirling-gut), corrupted into Hell Gate. Flood Rock, its most dangerous reef, has been blown up.
hell hound
A wicked abandoned fellow.
hell if I care
expressing indifference or not caring
hell if I know
used to express lack of knowledge or uncertainty
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. (William Shakespeare)
The present situation is extremely bad or evil
hell mend someone
may someone suffer the consequences of their actions
hell on earth
A place or situation of extreme suffering or chaos
hell on wheels
Completely out of control or extremely difficult to manage
hell or high water
Regardless of obstacles or challenges
hell to pay
Severe consequences or punishment will follow
hell upon earth
Or the most pleasant and delectable History of Whittington’s Colledge, otherwise vulgarly called Newgate, 12mo. 1703.
hell week
a period of intense and demanding activity
Hell's Corner
The triangle of Kent about Dover, so called from its being both under fire from German cross-channel guns and the scene of much of the bitterest air fighting during the Battle of Britain, 1940.
hell-born babe
A lewd graceless youth, one naturally of a wicked disposition.
hellagood
Very good.
hellifying
Extreme.
helmet hair
hair that is messy or flattened from wearing a helmet
help a lame dog over a stile
to assist someone who is struggling or in need
helping hand
Assistance or support given to someone in need
helter skelter
To run helter skelter, hand over head, in defiance of order.
helter-skelter
Anyhow, without regard to order or precedence.
hem and haw
To speak hesitantly or evasively
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