gaffing
Preserved but no longer current.
Tossing halfpence, or counters.—North, where it means tossing up three halfpennies. One man tosses, and another calls. Sometimes the coins are tossed from a stick, and the tosser keeps those which fall heads uppermost.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “gaffing” mean?
Tossing halfpence, or counters.—North, where it means tossing up three halfpennies. One man tosses, and another calls. Sometimes the coins are tossed from a stick, and the tosser keeps those which fall heads uppermost.
Is “gaffing” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.