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Title: The Public School Word-book - A conribution to to a historical glossary of words phrases - and turns of expression obsolete and in current use peculiar - to our great public schools together with some that have - been or are modish at the universities
Author: Farmer, John Stephen
Language: English
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THE PUBLIC SCHOOL
WORD-BOOK
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
PUBLIC SCHOOL WORD-BOOK
A CONTRIBUTION TO
A HISTORICAL GLOSSARY OF WORDS PHRASES
AND TURNS OF EXPRESSION OBSOLETE
AND IN PRESENT USE
PECULIAR TO
OUR GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
TOGETHER WITH SOME THAT HAVE BEEN OR
ARE _MODISH_ AT THE UNIVERSITIES
BY
JOHN S. FARMER
EDITOR OF “AMERICANISMS—OLD AND NEW,” “REGIMENTAL RECORDS
OF THE BRITISH ARMY,” AND (WITH W. E. HENLEY)
“SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES,” ETC.
LONDON
PRIVATELY ISSUED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
BY HIRSCHFELD BROTHERS
13 FURNIVAL STREET, E.C.
MCM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
PREFACE
It has been a matter of note and, maybe, of surprise that no attempt
has hitherto been made to gather in one volume the numerous Words,
Phrases, and Turns of Expression peculiar to OUR GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Bare lists of a dozen or more examples may be found in certain (mostly
out-of-date) Records and Histories; but taking the Schools
individually, only in one instance—Winchester—has there been anything
but the most perfunctory attention given to the subject; and in no
case has the question received that analytical, scientific
treatment—historically and comparatively—which has proved so
invaluable in the “Oxford Dictionary” and in “Slang and its
Analogues.”
It would, however, seem almost necessary to emphasise the fact that this
Word-Book is not, _per se_, a dictionary of school slang. On the
contrary, it is far more than that. For, though such colloquialisms as
are _peculiar_ to Public School life are naturally and rightly included,
yet by far the larger number of the examples here set down do not, by
any accepted method of classification, fall within that category. I am
led to make this clear at the outset by reason of a somewhat curious,
but altogether erroneous idea that the present book was to be a mere
reprint of extracts from the larger work on which, for many years, I
have been engaged. That is not so.
Nor, moreover, do these words and phrases appear, save in very few
instances, in any other work—not even in so admirably complete a
dictionary, in other respects, as “The Century,” while the monumental
Oxford undertaking will not be available, as a complete authority, for
many years to come.
Having thus stated what this work is _not_, it seems borne on me to
explain, anew, what it _is_, or rather, what has been my method. Briefly
put, my idea has been to collect such words, phrases, names, and
allusions to customs as now are, or have been, _peculiar_ to English
Public School life, and to apply to their definition and elucidation
what is known as the “historical” method, illustrating such examples as
lent themselves to it by quotations from old and present-day writers.
The Public Schools with which I have been concerned, arranged
chronologically in order of foundation or charter, are as follows:—
1160 Derby. │1564 Felsted.
1387 Winchester. │1567 Rugby.
1441 Eton. │1571 Harrow.
1515 Manchester Grammar. │1592 Stonyhurst.
1538 Royal High School, Edin. │1611 Charterhouse.
1541 Durham Grammar. │1619 Dulwich.
1550 Sherborne. │1830 Loretto.
1551 Shrewsbury. │1841 Cheltenham.
1552 Christ’s Hospital. │1843 Marlborough.
1552 King Edward’s. │1848 Lancing.
1553 Tonbridge. │1859 Wellington.
1560 Westminster. │1875 The Leys.
Also the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham,
Aberdeen, Dublin, &c.
How far I have been successful in my task I leave others to judge. I
must confess, however, that the extent and wealth of this special field
of inquiry has somewhat astonished me: yet I fear my lists are, in some
cases, still incomplete. But, even so, this contribution towards a more
perfect glossary will, I think, be a revelation to many.
No wonder our Mother-tongue is so vigorous, adaptable, and
expansive—reaching out in its creative energy to all the forms and
necessities of modern life—when even Young England shows such aptitude
in coining new expressions, and adapting older forms to its
ever-changing (and, shall I say, ever-increasing) needs. Studied
comparatively, there will be found much significance, not alone in the
survivals from past generations, but also in the relatively newer
phraseology. Many an interesting side-light, too, is thrown on ancient
school customs and usages.
Though primarily addressing myself to past schoolmen, it is not without
a hope that the general student and scholar, as well as those still _in
statu pupillari_, will find something of use and to interest.
Finally, I desire, though holding myself alone responsible for aught
that is solecismal in these pages, to acknowledge my indebtedness to
those who have afforded me such unstinted aid in compiling this work.
Especially are my thanks due to Mr. P. K. Tollit (Derby); Mr. W.
Durnford (Eton); Mr. R. D. Hodgson (Manchester Grammar); Mr. C. A. Ross
(Royal High School, Edin.); Rev. A. E. Hillard (Durham); Mr. W. B.
Wildman (Sherborne); Rev. J. F. Cornish (Christ’s Hospital); Rev. E. W.
Badger (King Edward’s, Birm.); Mr. C. H. Crofts (Tonbridge); Rev. E.
Gepp (Felsted); Mr. G. Townsend Warner (Harrow); the Rev. Fathers Gerard
and Browne and Rev. A. Goodier (Stonyhurst); Dr. H. H. Almond (Loretto);
Mr. J. F. L. Hardy (Marlborough); Mr. J. C. Isard (The Leys).
SPECIAL NOTICE
_While the “Public School Word-Book” was passing through the press a
certain amount of additional matter came to hand. Rather than omit
altogether I have included it in an Appendix._
_May I also say that I shall welcome any suggestions, additions, or
corrections that may be forwarded to me?_
_Communications may be addressed to John S. Farmer, c/o Messrs.
Hirschfeld Bros., 13 Furnival Street, London, E.C._
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
THE
PUBLIC SCHOOL WORD-BOOK
*A*, TO GET ONE’S “A,” _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—To pass a certain
standard in the Gymnasium: the next step being to the
Gymnasium Eight. _See_ Appendix.
*Abber*, _subs._ (Harrow).—1. An abstract: on history, &c.; set
as a punishment.
2. An ABSIT (_q.v._): on whole holidays, or under medical
advice.
*Abroad*, _adv._ (Winchester).—Convalescent; out of the
sick-room: _e.g._ “I have been (or come) ABROAD a week.”
_Cf._ CONTINENT.
1534. UDALL, _Roister Doister_, ... I bid him keepe warme at home, For
if he come ABROADE, he shall cough me a mome.
1598. SHAKSPEARE, 2 _Hen. IV._, i. 2. I am glad to see your Lordship
ABROAD. I heard say your Lordship was sicke. I hope your Lordship goes
ABROAD by aduice.
1761. _Letter_ [WRENCH]. I have been exceeding ill ... am not just got
ABROAD again.
*Abs*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Absent: placed against the name when
away from school. [From _absunt_ on Rolls.]
_Verb._ To take (get, or go) away. Formerly (_circa_ 1840)
to ABS a tolly (candle) = to put it out; it now = to take it
away whether lighted or unlighted, the modern NOTION
(_q.v._) for putting it out being to “dump” it. As a neuter
verb ABS is generally used in the imperative: _e.g._ “ABS!”
“Oh, do ABS!” Sometimes, however, a fellow is said TO ABS
quickly, and MESS THINGS (_q.v._) are ABSED, or put away. To
HAVE ONE’S WIND ABSED = to have it taken away by a violent
blow in the stomach.
*Absence*, _subs._ (Eton).—Names-calling. [This takes place at 3
and 6 P.M. on half-holidays; at 11.30, 3, and 6 P.M. on
whole-holidays; at 6 P.M. only in summer half.]
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 174. And the elevens were made
up, as they best might, out of such adventurous spirits as dared to
“skip” roll-calls and ABSENCE for the purpose. Eton, when the losers,
attributed the fact to the want of their best men in consequence of
these difficulties.
*Absit*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—_See_ quot.
1886. DICKENS’S _Dictionary of the University of Cambridge_, p. 3.
Every undergraduate wishing to leave Cambridge for a whole day, not
including a night, must obtain an ABSIT from his tutor. Permission to
go away for a longer period, either at the end of the term or in the
middle, is called an “exeat,” and no undergraduate should go down
without obtaining his “exeat.”
*Academia*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ Appendix.
*Academy*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An exhibition given at the end
of every quarter: the first by RHETORIC (_q.v._), the second
by POETRY (_q.v._), the third by SYNTAX (_q.v._), the last,
called the GREAT ACADEMIES, by all three combined. This last
is the crowning act of the school year, being attended by
many visitors, and is followed by the annual distribution of
prizes. Hence ACADEMY ROOM = the large hall in which the
chief exhibitions, displays, concerts, plays, &c., are held.
[The name may have come from the school at Liège, which was
known as the “Academy”; but more probably it is of much
older date, being derived from the “Academiæ” of the _Ratio
Studiorum Societatis Jesu_.]
*Accidence* (Harrow).—_See_ UPPER SCHOOL.
*Ack* (or *Ick*), _intj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—No! nothing.
_Ex._ “Lend me your book.” “ACK!” Obsolete.
*Action*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.: obsolete).—A game
in which a number of boys start from one end of the
cloisters and run to the other, trying to avoid being
captured _en route_ by others who seek to intercept
them. The game was also called FOX AND DOWDY. These were
names in use twenty-five years ago. To-day the same game
is called BACCA, because the prisoners must be held long
enough for the captor to say, “one, two, three, caught,
tobacco!”
*Ad lib.*, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—The time when boys are not
bound to study in the STUDY-PLACE (_q.v._).
*Admonishing-money*, _subs._ (Westminster).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 116. The punishments for
speaking English in hall or school, which have been before alluded to,
were strictly enforced in his [Dr. Busby’s] days in the way of fines,
called ADMONISHING-MONEY, which figure occasionally in his [Lynn’s]
account. The custom was for the second boy of the second election to
act as a sort of monitor for this purpose, and to deliver to any boy
who so offended a “mark” or tally, with the words, _Tu es custos_;
this mark he had to pass in turn to the first whom he could detect in
a similar slip, and the boy with whom the mark remained when hall
broke up incurred a fine. Charles Dryden, son of the poet, thought
himself so hardly used by being made _custos_ three days running (by
some unfairness, as he conceived), that the father wrote a strong
letter on the subject to his old master, Busby, and was very nearly
removing the boy from school.
*Ad portas*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A Latin speech
delivered by the Senior College Prefect to the Warden of New
College and the POSERS (_q.v._) under Middle gate at the
commencement of Election week.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 61. When the Warden of New
College, Oxford, with two of his Fellows, called the “posers” (or at
one time “supervisors”), arrive at the college, ... they are received
with a Latin oration AD PORTAS by the senior scholar. Two other
speeches are delivered in school just before their arrival: 1.
_Elizabethæ et Jacobi Laudes_ (commonly known as “Elizabeth and
Jacob”), by the Prefect of School; 2. _Fundatoris Laudes_, formerly
assigned to the senior “Founder’s kin” scholar, but now spoken by the
third prefect.
*Adsum*, _intj._ (Charterhouse).—The response made in answer to
names-calling.
1855. THACKERAY, _The Newcomes_, p. 774. At the usual evening hour the
chapel bell began to toll, and Thomas Newcome’s hands outside the bed
feebly beat time. And just as the last bell struck a peculiar sweet
smile shone over his face, and he lifted up his head a little and
quickly said ADSUM, and fell back. It was the word we used at school
when names were called; and lo, he whose heart was as that of a little
child had answered to his name, and stood in the presence of the
Master.
1900. _Daily Telegraph_, 23rd March, 8. 7. As in the old days of
Colonel Newcome, “ADSUM,” or “Always ready,” is still the watch-word
of the Charterhouse, whose authorities have issued a neatly-printed
list of Old Carthusians serving in South Africa, in a cover of the
school colours.
1900. TOD, _Charterhouse_, p. 97. ADSUM is the name of a new
institution.... There was no occasion for it when the school was in
London, and none could pass beyond the school precincts. Colonel
Newcome must have answered ADSUM at prayers only.
*Æger*. _See_ ÆGROTAT.
*Æger-room*, _subs._ (Felsted).—The sick-room. _See_ ÆGROTAT.
*Ægrotat* (or *Æger*), _subs._ (University).—(1) A medical
certificate excusing attendance. (2) The degree taken by
those so excused. READING ÆGROTAT = leave taken (generally
in December) to read for one’s degree. [Lat. _ægrotare_.]
1794. _Gent. Mag._, p. 1085. They [at Cambridge] sported an ÆGROTAT,
and they sported a new coat!
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, iv. “That there’s the ‘All, sir,
_that_ is,—where you dines, sir, leastways when you ain’t ‘Æger,’ or
elseweer.” _Ibid._, viii.—“Not very well, Robert, thank you. I—my head
aches, and I’m afraid I shall not be able to get up for chapel.”...
“If you’ll leave it to me, sir, I’ll make it all right for you, _I_
will. Of course you’d like to take out an ÆGER, sir; and I can bring
you your Commons just the same.”
1864. BABBAGE, _Passages from the Life of a Philosopher_, 37. I sent
my servant to the apothecary for a thing called an ÆGROTAT, which I
understood ... meant a certificate that I was indisposed.
1870. _Chambers’s Journal_, June 18, p. 395. Dick laughed. “I’ll get
the receipt from him. I often want a good thing for an ÆGER.”
1888. H. SMART, in _Temple Bar_, February, p. 213. “Instead of
applying for leave to my tutor, I had resorted to the old device of
pricking ÆGER.”
1890. _Felstedian_, Feb., p. 2. What’s up ... with Smith? He went ÆGER
before school this afternoon. I expect he’s rather bad; he is not the
fellow to go ÆGER for nothing. I do hate that ÆGER-room.
*After Four.* _See_ FOUR.
*Afternoon-tea*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—Detention
after 3 o’clock.
*After Twelve.* _See_ TWELVE.
*-agger*, _inseparable suffix_ (Charterhouse).—As in
COMBINAGGERS, a combination suit of pyjamas.
*Alderman*, _subs._ (Felsted: obsolete).—A qualified swimmer.
[From “The Alders,” a deep pool in the river Chelmer.]
1893. _Felstedian_, June, p. 79. Years ago there existed at Felsted a
class of beings known as “Swimming ALDERMEN.” What they were, and
whence they came, I know not; perhaps some Old Felstedian will be able
to enlighten me on the point. Perhaps the name was given to those who
could swim so many times from the “Alders” to “Duck-pond”; or,
perhaps, the name was derived from the aldermanic proportions of the
swimmer. _Ibid._ (1895, Ap., p. 44). A fourth term, “ALDERMAN,” was
not in the list. It has certainly “been dead lengthy” but was once
prized by its possessors, who had to swim so many times from the “Duck
Pond” to “The Alders” before they could gain the title. Ten lengths of
the new bath would afford a fair test, and ALDERMEN might have some
privilege or other. Its revival would be a good thing, for there has
of late been a tendency to prefer diving to swimming.
*All.* _See_ ALONG; IN; OUT; and ON.
*Allows*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The weekly allowance of 2s., from
which breakages, &c., are stopped.
*Alma Mater*, _subs._ (general).—One’s school, college, or
university.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, ii. 2. A white tie and a pair of very
small bands—the two articles which, with the usual academicals, form
the costume demanded by ALMA MATER of all her children when they take
their places in her schools.
1874. _The Blue_, Aug., _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_. In fact, the
musical arrangements of our ALMA MATER were something exceedingly
below _par_.
*Along.* ALL ALONG, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A kind
of dribbling football practice: indulged in during a short
spell of recreation.
*Alto-cad*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The paid member of the choir
taking alto.
*Amen-chapel*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A long service performed on
the four days set apart for commemorating the Founder, and
on the anniversary of his death.
*Ancient-mariner*, _subs._ (University).—A rowing Don.
*Anstey’s.* _See_ PLANKS.
*Apostles*, _subs._ (University).—_See_ quot.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantab._ The APOSTLES are the clodhoppers of
literature, who have at last scrambled through the Senate House
without being plucked, and have obtained the title of B.A. by a
miracle. The last twelve names on the list of Bachelor of Arts are
thus designated. [The term is now (1900) applied to the last twelve in
the Mathematical TRIPOS (_q.v._)]
*Appii* (The), _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—The Three Tuns, a
celebrated Durham inn. [From a misunderstanding of Acts
xxviii. 15.]
*Apple-pie Day*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The day on which
SIX-AND-SIX (_q.v._) is played—the Thursday after the first
Tuesday in December. [Because hot apple-pies were served on
GOMERS (_q.v._) in College for dinner.]
*Aquatics*, _subs._ (Eton).—Where boys “in the boats” play
cricket; also the WET-BOB cricket team.
*Archdeacon*, _subs._ (Oxford).—Merton strong ale.
*Armoury, The* (Harrow).—The room under the Old Schools where
rifles, belonging to the Rifle Corps, are kept.
*Arrow*, subs. (Harrow).—A challenge arrow, of silver: given to
the COCK-HOUSE (_q.v._) at shooting.
*Arundel Day* (The Leys).—The choir summer holiday.
*Ascension-day.* _See_ ASCENSIO SCHOLARUM.
*Ascensio Scholarum*, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—The opening
ceremony of the school year. The whole house assembles in
the STUDY-PLACE (_q.v._), and the Prefect of Studies reads
out the new forms, prefixing the formula “_Maneant in_” or
“_Ascendant in_” as the case may be. The day is known as
“Ascension Day.”
1843. _Stonyhurst Mag._, Nov. 1883, p. 232. The _Ascensio Scholarum_
was managed quite otherwise then than now [1843-83].... _Ascension
Day._—The opening day of schools. Mass of the Holy Ghost is said in
the church, after breakfast. The different schools, headed by their
masters, then return to the schoolrooms which they occupied the
preceding scholastic year. Presently the large bell tolls, and then
the Prefect of Studies opens the door of POETRY (_q.v._), and
announces that “RHETORIC (_q.v._) is empty.” The POETS (_q.v._) leave
their room and ascend to Rhetoric, and forthwith become Rhetoricians,
with all their privileges. Then the (late) Poet’s doorkeeper knocks at
SYNTAX’ (_q.v._) door and sings out that “Poetry is empty”; and so on
through the different schools. The little fellows newly arrived have
to wait in the gallery until “LITTLE FIGURES” (_q.v._) is vacant, when
they become Little Figuricians, “Little Figures,” it will be observed,
being what we [1883] call “ELEMENTS” (_q.v._).
*Ash-planting*, _subs._ (Rugby).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 349. In this room
[Over-School] it was that, in the latter half of the last century, the
punishment of ASH-PLANTING used to take place. It was inflicted by
order and in the presence of a judicial committee of the præposters
(Sixth Form) for some few grave offences against the recognised
internal discipline of the school, _e.g._ personal assault upon one of
their body by a mutinous fag—an offence which would still be severely
punished by the masters, if not by the Sixth themselves. Three
ash-saplings were used; in theory, at least, the two first were to be
broken upon the person of the culprit. The punishment was
severe—perhaps unjustifiably so; but it had the character of being
only inflicted in extreme cases, and with strict justice, and was not
regarded as a cruelty in the school.
*Athens* (Eton).—A bathing-place.
1865. _Etoniana_, p. 162. No boy is now allowed to go into a boat
until he has passed an examination in swimming before a committee of
masters at ATHENS or at Cuckoo Weir.
*Audit-ale* (or *Audit*), _subs._ (Cambridge).—A special brew of
ale, peculiar to Trinity College. [First-made draught on
AUDIT days.]
1837. BARHAM, _Ingoldsby Legends_, “Lay of St. Dunstan.” The “Trinity
AUDIT ALE” is not come-at-able, as I’ve found to my great grief when
dining at that table.
1876. TREVELYAN, _Life of Macaulay_ (1884), ch. iv. p. 127. A glass of
the AUDIT ALE, which reminded him that he was still a Fellow of
Trinity.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 55. A lot of Freshmen got together
after Hall (it was a Saints’ day, and they’d been drinking AUDIT) and
went and made hay in Marling’s rooms.
*Aul. præ*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Prefect of Hall. [Abbreviation
of _Præfectus Aulæ_.]
*Ave Maria Lane* (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A walk in the
playground.
*B*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A standard in Gymnasium the next below
the A (_q.v._). _See_ Appendix.
*Bacca.* _See_ ACTION.
*Bacchus*, _subs._ (Eton).—A copy of verses. _See_ quot.
1865. _Etoniana_, 27. On Shrove-Tuesday verses were written [_c._
1561] in honour or dispraise of Bacchus—“because poets were considered
the clients of Bacchus”—and those composed by the senior boys were
fixed on the inside of the folding-doors of the hall, as was the old
fashion in all schools and colleges. This custom was continued almost
into modern days, and though the subject was changed, the copy of
verses was still called “a BACCHUS.” When Pepys paid a visit to the
school in 1665, he found the subject given out for that year was the
one topic of absorbing interest—the Plague.
*Back.* To BACK UP, _verb_ (Winchester).—To call out: _e.g._
“Why didn’t you BACK UP? I should have come.” [In College
various times are BACKED-UP by Junior in Chambers, such as
“Three quarters!” “Hour!” “Bells go single!” “Bells down!”]
*Back Alley* (The Leys: obsolete).—A passage dividing “Upper”
and “Lower” Quadrangle: now done away with.
*Backings-up*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Half-burned fagot-ends.
[BACKING (prov. in Linc., Leices., and North country) =
slack; small-coal; turf.]
*Backs*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A favourite walk with
undergraduates.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 23. I’m in training now for the
Lent races, and have to be out for a walk in the BACKS before
breakfast every morning.
*Badger*, _subs._ (Wellington).—A member of the Second XV. at
football. [A “badge” is bestowed when permission is given to
play in this team.]
*Bag*, _subs._ (Westminster).—Milk.
*Bags* (or *Bags I*), _intj._ (common).—Used to assert a claim
to some article or privilege. Analogous school slang is
FAINS or FAIN IT (_q.v._) for demanding a truce during the
progress of a game, and which is always granted by the
opposing party. In other schools PIKE I or PRIOR PIKE serve
to lay claim to anything, or for asserting priority. Also
BAR: _e.g._ “He wanted me to do so and so, but I BARRED
not.” _Cf._ FAIN.
*Bags’-stile*, _subs._ (Rugby).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 363. On the Dunchurch Road there
was a stile long known as BAGS’ STILE; here a certain set of boys, of
whom Lyttelton was one [_c._ 1793], used to sit and “chaff” the
passing “bagsmen”—for the commercial travellers to Rugby then rode
with actual saddle-bags; and this practice led to terrible fights
occasionally with the aggrieved riders.
*Bake*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To rest; to sit or lie at ease.
Hence BAKER (_q.v._); BAKESTER (obsolete) = a sluggard;
BAKING-LEAVE (_q.v._); BAKING-PLACE (_q.v._); BAKER-LAYER
(_q.v._). [North. Dial. _beak_ = to bask in the heat.
JAMIESON, _beik_, _beke_, _beek_ = to bask.]
1360. _Ywaine_ [RITSON, _E. M. R._]. And ligges BEKEAND in his bed.
_d._ 1395. _Barbour MS._ Ane Inglis man, that lay BEKAND Hym be a fyr.
1577. KENDALL [WRENCH]. At home we take our ease And BEAKE ourselves
in rest.
1648. SYMMONS, _Vindication of Chas. I._ Wherefore if that Pope of
Rome when he lay BEAKING himself in the midst of his luxuries, had
cause to cry out, _Heu quantum patimur pro Christo_.
_d._ 1758. RAMSAY, _Works_. She and her cat sit BEEKING in her yard.
*Baker*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A cushion; also anything used
to sit or kneel upon, as a blotting-book, &c. [BAKERS were
of two kinds: that used in “College” was of large size,
oblong in shape, and green in colour. The other, used in
“Commoners,” was thin, narrow, much smaller, and of red
colour.] Hence BAKER-LAYER (obsolete) = a Junior who used
to take a Prefect’s green BAKER in and out of Hall at
meal-times.
*Baker-layer.* _See_ BAKER.
*Baking-leave*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—1. Permission to
BAKE (_q.v._) in a study in Commoners, or in a SCOB (_q.v._)
place in College. 2. Leave to sit in another’s TOYS
(_q.v._).
*Baking-place*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Any place in which to BAKE
(_q.v._), or in connection with which BAKING-LEAVE (_q.v._)
was given.
*Balbus*, _subs._ (University).—A Latin prose composition. [From
the frequency with which BALBUS is quoted in ARNOLD’S
well-known text-book, _Latin Prose Composition_.]
1870. _Quarterly Review._ BALBUS was in constant use.
*Ball.* CALL THE BALL! _phr._ (Stonyhurst).—The “Foul!” of
Association Football.
*Balls*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A Junior in College collects
footballs from the lockers in school and takes them through
at 6 o’clock to the Ball-keeper in Commoners to be blown or
repaired. The Ball-keeper is an Inferior who, for service in
looking after cricket and foot-balls, is exempted from
KICKING-IN (_q.v._) and WATCHING-OUT (_q.v._).
*Bally*, _subs._ (Sherborne: obsolete).—Ball court, the old name
for the Fives’ courts; there was a game, evidently like
fives, played at Sherborne against the north transept of the
church as early as 1585. The word has long ago passed out of
use.
*Banco*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Evening preparation at HOUSE
under the superintendence of a monitor; the Winchester
TOY-TIME (_q.v._).
1900. TOD, _Charterhouse_, 81. At old Charterhouse monitors had
unlimited powers.... They were seldom interfered with by any master;
for instance, the visit of a house master to BANCO was intensely
resented. There was a “boule” in the Sixth Form of 1872, as to what a
monitor should do who was thus insulted. Should he at once put his cap
on, and take no notice of the master? or would it be more dignified to
walk straight out of the room? _Ibid._, 84. The chief duties of a
monitor now are to keep BANCO, and to see that order is preserved in
the cubicles, and in his house generally. BANCO is the time from 7.30
to 8.55 every week-day evening except Saturday, and from 8.15 to 8.55
on Sundays, when the Under School sit in Long Room and prepare their
work for the next day. The keeping of BANCO is a fine exercise in
discipline for the monitor, and a very convenient arrangement for the
house master. It is a tradition that a monitor helps every Under
School boy with his work during BANCO if he can. _Ibid._, 95. The term
BANCO was suggested by H. W. Phillott, afterwards Canon of Hereford
... in 1832, or a little later.
*Bandy*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: nearly obsolete).—The Stonyhurst
form of Hockey: prominent in the Tichborne trial, when the
Claimant at first thought it a nickname, and afterwards a
part of the College buildings.
1823. NARES, _Glossary_, s.v. BANDY-BALL. A Yorkshire game, played
with a crooked bat and a ball. It is the same as the Scottish game of
golf. See STOWE’S _Survey_, ed. 1720, i. 251.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. BANDY. A game played with
sticks called BANDIES, bent and round at one end, and a small wooden
ball, which each party endeavours to drive to opposite fixed points.
Northbrooke, in 1577, mentions it as a favourite game in Devonshire.
It is sometimes called BANDY-BALL, and an early drawing of the game is
copied in STRUTT’S _Sports and Pastimes_, p. 102.
*Bangy* (or *Bangay*), _subs._ (Winchester).—Brown sugar. Also
as _adj._ = brown. Hence BANGAY BAGS (or BANGIES) =
brown-coloured trousers. WRENCH says the strong objection to
these in former times probably arose from Tony Lumpkin
coming to school in corduroys. [Suggested derivations are:
(1) from _Bangalore_, a coarse-sugar growing country; (2)
_bhang_ = hemp; (3) _banjy_ (Essex) = dull, gloomy.] A brown
gate formerly leading from Grass Court into Sick House Meads
was known as the BANGY GATE. The term is now often applied
to the gate by Racquet Court into Kingsgate Street.
*Bar.* TO BAR OUT, _verb. phr._ (Royal High School, Edin.:
obsolete).—To lock or barricade the doors to exclude the
masters. This custom has been practically extinct since the
day that Bailie John Macmorrane was shot by a pupil, William
Sinclair, son of the Chancellor of Caithness, while
endeavouring to get the door battered down (Sept. 15, 1595).
*Barbar*, _subs._ (Durham).—A candidate for scholarship from
another school. [That is, “barbarian” = foreigner.]
*Barber*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A thick fagot or bough; one was
included in each bundle. Also any large piece of wood.
_Verb_ (University).—To work off impositions by deputy.
[Tradition relates that a learned barber was at one time
frequently employed as a scapegoat in working off this
species of punishment inflicted on peccant students.] Also
TO BARBERISE.
1853. BRADLEY (“Cuthbert Bede”), _Verdant Green_, xii. As for
impositions, why ... ’Aint there coves to BARBERISE ’em for you?
*Barge*, _subs._ (Sherborne).—Small cricket: played, with a
stump for bat, against a wall.
_Verb_ (Charterhouse).—To hustle; TO MOB UP (_q.v._); TO
BRICK (_q.v._).
*Barn, The* (Charterhouse).—A temporary wooden building,
constructed in 1876 to meet deficiencies in class-room
accommodation. It stood on the site now occupied by the
Museum. It disappeared in 1884.
*Barnet*, _intj._ (Christ’s Hospital: obsolete).—Nonsense!
Humbug!
*Barn-school*, _subs._ (Rugby).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 367. Dr. James found there [Rugby
in 1777] 52 boys; in five years he had raised them to 165. The one
large schoolroom was no longer sufficient ... a new building was
added.... Even the new schools overflowed, for the members rose in
time to near 300; and the head-master was obliged to migrate into a
barn adjoining the Dunchurch Road.... There for more than twenty years
successive head-masters taught the two senior forms.... Connecting
these buildings with the three schools adjoining the old manor-house
was a line of cow-sheds, which served as a shelter in rainy
weather.... Such was the Rugby of 1809; for it was not till long
afterwards that barn and cow-sheds disappeared, though the present
school buildings were begun in that year.
*Barracks*, _subs._ (Loretto).—A Form occasionally interpolated
between NIPPERS (_q.v._) and Fourth. [In the Sixties a
master at Loretto was known as the Captain, and when the
first overflow from the school-house took place, the
house in which a few boys slept, and over which he was
master, was called the Garrison. The adjoining house was
afterwards occupied and was called the BARRACKS. Whence the
interpolated Form, which for a time had for its schoolroom a
room at that house, getting the name of the Barracks Form.
The name clung to it when moved to one of the regular
schoolrooms.]
*Barter*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A half volley at cricket. Also
as _verb_. [From Warden Barter, who was famous in the
cricket-field for dealing with such balls.]
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 65. None showed more enthusiastic
interest in these [Public School Cricket] matches than the late
excellent Warden, Robert Speckott Barter.... He seldom missed a match
at Lord’s from the time he played in the school eleven himself. He was
a tremendous hitter in his day; and the remarkable punishment which he
dealt out to the ball, when he was lucky enough to catch it on the
“half-volley,” has given to a long hit of this character at Winchester
(and even elsewhere) the name of a BARTER.
*Bartlemytide*, _subs._ (general: old).—The summer holiday.
*Base*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A goal: at football.
*Basinite*, _subs._ (Charterhouse: obsolete).—A hot-water fag:
he had to get hot water and towels ready for a monitor when
he descended to wash in COCKS (_q.v._).
*Bat-mugger*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A wooden instrument used in
oiling cricket-bats.
*Battal*, _subs._ (Harrow and Charterhouse).—Battalion drill for
the Rifle Corps: usually (at Harrow) in the evening. [The
second is the syllable accentuated.]
*Battler*, _subs._ (general).—A student. _See_ BATTLINGS.
*Battlings* (or *Battels*), _subs._ (general).—An allowance, in
money or kind; apparently originally intended to supplement
the meagre fare of fast-days. _Cf._ quots. Hence TO BATTEL =
to take provisions from the buttery.
1607. WENTWORTH SMITH, _Puritan_ [MALONE, _Suppl._, ii. 543]. Eat my
commons with a good stomach, and BATTLED with discretion.
1611. COTGRAVE, _Dict._... To BATTLE (as scholars do in Oxford), être
debiteur au collège pour ses vivres. _Ibid._, Mot usé seulement des
jeunes écoliers de l’université d’Oxford.
16 [?]. _Account rendered to Arch. of York_ [_William of Wykeham and
His Colleges_]. Item for BATTLINGS on fasting days with the lent. 0.
9. 8. [_i.e._, 9s. 8d.]
1678. PHILLIPS, _Dict._, s.v. BATTEL. In the University of Oxford is
taken for to run on to exceedings above the ordinary stint of the
appointed Commons.
1744. SALMON, _Present State of Univ._, i. 423. Undergraduates
consisting of Noblemen, Gentlemen-Commoners, Commoners, Scholars of
the Foundation, Exhibitioners, BATTLERS, and Servitors.... The
Commoners, I presume, are so called from their Commoning together, and
having a certain portion of Meat and Drink provided for them,
denominated Commons.... The BATTLERS are entitled to no Commons, but
purchase their Meat and Drink of the Cook and Butler.
1786-1805. TOOKE, _Purley_, 390, _s.v._ BATTEL, a term used at Eton
for the small portion of food which, in addition to the College
allowance, the Collegers receive from the Dames.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 184. The
expense was defrayed by the boys subscribing the last three BATTLINGS
(_i.e._ the weekly shilling allowed each boy). This was rather an
illusory coin, for we seldom actually fingered it, as some one of the
College servants generally had a kind of prescriptive right to a
benefit; and whenever Saturday arrived, Præfect of Hall’s valet was
sure to come round to ask the boys if they would give their BATTLING
to Rat Williams, or Dungy, or Pulver, or Long John, or some other
equally deserving individual.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, II. vii. [Note]. BATTELS are the
accounts of the expenses of each student. It is stated in Todd’s
_Johnson_ that this singular word is derived from the Saxon verb,
meaning “to count or reckon.” But it is stated in the _Gentleman’s
Magazine_ for 1792, that the word may probably be derived from the
Low-German word _bettahlen_, “to pay,” whence may come our English
word _tale_ or _score_.
1864. _Household Words_, p. 188. The business of the latter was to
call us of a morning to distribute amongst us our BATTLINGS, or
pocket-money.
1880. TROLLOPE, _Autobiogr._, i. 13. Every boy had a shilling a week
pocket-money, which we called BATTELS. [This is probably a
misprint—the Winchester term, as that used at other schools, is
BATTLING. It was advanced out of the pocket of the Second Master.]
1886-87. DICKENS, _Dictionary of Oxford and Cambridge_, p. 16. BATTELS
is properly a designation of the food obtained from the College
Buttery. An account of this, and of the account due to the Kitchen, is
sent in to every undergraduate weekly, hence these bills also are
known as BATTELS, and the name, further, is extended to the total
amount of the term’s expenses furnished by the College. In some
Colleges it is made essential to the keeping of an undergraduates’
term that he should BATTEL, _i.e._ obtain food in College on a certain
number of days each week.
1889. MURRAY, _Hist. Eng. Dict._, s.v. BATTELS. Much depends on the
original sense at Oxford: if this was ‘food, provisions,’ it is
natural to connect it with “BATTLE,” to feed, or receive
nourishment.... It appears that the word has apparently undergone
progressive extensions of application, owing partly to changes in the
internal economy of the colleges. Some Oxford men of a previous
generation state that it was understood by them to apply to the
buttery accounts alone, or even to the provisions ordered from the
buttery, as distinct from the “commons” supplied from the kitchen; but
this latter use is disavowed by others, ... but whether the BATTELS
were originally the provisions themselves, or the sums due on account
of them, must at present be left undecided.
*Baulk*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A false report. This is SPORTED
(_q.v._), not spread.
*Beak*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A master. FORM-BEAK = Form-master.
*Beanfielder*, _subs._ (Felsted: obsolete).—A long hit: at
cricket.
*Bearded Cad*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A porter employed by the
College to convey luggage from the railway station to the
school. [The term originated in an extremely hirsute
individual, who, at one time, acted in the capacity.]
*Beards!* _intj._ (The Leys: obsolete).—An ejaculation of
surprise.
*Beast*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A student who, having left
school, goes up to Cambridge to study before entering the
university. [Because (so it is stated) he is neither man
nor boy.]
*Bedmaker* (or *Bedder*) _subs._ 1. (Cambridge).—A charwoman; a
servant who makes beds and does other necessary domestic
duties for residents in College.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 6. Remember me most kindly to Mrs.
Bloggins. I shall never forget how good she was when we were at
Cambridge last term.... These BEDMAKERS are kind souls after all.
2. (Oxford).—BEDDER = a bedroom.
*Beef Row*, _subs._ (Shrewsbury).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 247. The dinners themselves [_c._
1800-40] were fairly good, with the exception of the “boiled beef”
days, which were highly unpopular. The beef was probably good enough,
but it was cured with saltpetre, and the consequent redness was, in
the boys’ eyes, objectionable. Remonstrances had been made in vain;
and the result was something like a school rebellion, well remembered
as the BEEF ROW. By concerted arrangement, on one day the boys in
every hall rose from the table in a body, and left the masters and the
boiled beef in sole occupation. Butler was indignant; he came into
each of the halls after locking up, and demanded from the heads of the
school a public apology for the insult, giving them an hour for
consideration, and placing before them the alternative of immediate
dismissal. The boys held together, and, early the next morning the
whole of the Sixth Form, comprising no less than three who were to be
future heads of Colleges, were started by chaise or coach for their
respective homes. The rest of the boys declared themselves _en
revolte_; they would not go into school, and the masters walked about
the court alternately threatening and persuading. At last a gentleman
in the town, an old Shrewsbury boy, much respected, harangued the
rebels, and persuaded them to surrender. Some sort of concession seems
almost to have been made by a portion of the absent Sixth Form under
home influence, and the affair ended in the return of all the exiles.
*Beeswaxers*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Thick boots for football.
[Pronounced Bĕswaxers.]
*Behind*, _subs._ (Eton and Winchester).—A back at football.
At Eton SHORT BEHIND and LONG BEHIND: usually abbreviated
to “short” and “long.” At Winchester, SECOND BEHIND and
LAST BEHIND. These answer to the half-back and back of
Association football. At Winchester, in the Fifteens,
there is also a THIRD BEHIND.
UP BEHIND, _phr._ (The Leys).—Out of bounds: at back of
College.
*Behind one’s Side.* _See_ SIDE.
*Bejant*, _subs._ (Aberdeen).—A new student: one of the first or
lowest class. _See_ SEMI-BEJANTS, TERTIANS, and MAGISTRANDS.
*Belial*, _subs._ (Oxford).—Balliol College.
*Bells.* BELLS GO SINGLE, _phr._ (Winchester).—A single bell is
rung for five minutes before the hour at which chapel
commences. For College evening chapel three three’s are
rung, and then follows a “bell,” one for every man in
College—70. BELLS DOWN = _see_ quots.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 62. The
junior in chamber had a hard time of it; ... while endeavouring to get
through his multifarious duties, he had to keep a sharp ear on the
performance of the chapel bell, and to call out accordingly, “first
peal!” “second peal!” and BELLS DOWN!
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, p. 256. At a quarter to six the peal again
rang out, and the cry of BELLS GO was sounded in shrill tones through
every chamber of College and Commoners.... After ten minutes the peal
changed, and only a single bell continued to ring. This was notified
by the cry BELLS GO SINGLE, and five minutes afterwards, by that of
“BELLS DOWN.”... Presently the head-master ... would descend from his
library: or the second master ... would appear at the archway near
Sixth Chamber, and the warning voice would be heard “Gabell,” or
“Williams through,” “Williams,” or “Ridding in.” Straightway there
would be a general rush, the college-boys darting across the
quadrangle in the rear of the Præfect of Chapel; while the Commoners
hurried in, keeping up a continuous stream from their more distant
quarters.
*Belly-hedge*, _subs._ (Shrewsbury).—An obstruction of
such a height that it can easily be cleared: of school
steeplechases. [That is, about belly high.]
*Belows*, _subs._ (Rugby).—_See_ CAP (3).
*Bender*, _subs._ (common).—The bow-shaped segment of a kite.
1873. Dr. BLACKLEY, _Hay Fever_, p. 145. The first kite was six feet
in length by three feet in width, and was made of the usual form,
namely, with a central shaft or “standard,” and a semicircular top or
BENDER.
*Bene-book*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—_See_ quot.
1900. TOD, _Charterhouse_, 131. Besides prizes, BENE-BOOKS are awarded
to the Sixth Forms on the following system: Every boy generally does
four classical exercises a week, viz., Greek and Latin prose, Greek
and Latin verse, and one mathematical exercise; these are marked,
according to their merit, B, b, sb, s, vs, m, M; that is to say, Big
bene, bene, satis bene, satis, vix satis, male, Big male.... A
BENE-BOOK (value 12s. 6d.) is earned by the winner of two BENES a week
throughout the quarter. There used to be a yet higher mark, _i.e._,
B†, or a WRITE-OUT, which counted four. A B† denoted that the
composition to which it was attached was worthy of being written out
in a book kept with a view to forming a new edition of “Sertum
Carthusianum.” There are many volumes of old WRITE-OUT books on the
shelves of the library, but for years no addition has been made to
them. The WRITE-OUT is quite obsolete.
*Bevers*, _subs._ (general).—An afternoon meal or refreshment;
a snack between meals. Whence (Winchester) BEVERS (or
BEVER-TIME) = an interval from 4.30 to 5 in afternoon
school, observed (says WRENCH) long after the distribution
of bread and beer had ceased on whole school-days. [_See_
BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER, i. 20; FORD, i. 392; FLORIO, in v.
_Merénda_; COOPER, in v. _Antecænium_; _Stanihurst’s
Descr. of Ireland_, p. 18; _Nomenclator_, p. 79; Sir JOHN
OLDCASTLE, p. 42; HOWELL, sect. 43; MIDDLETON’S _Works_,
iv. 427, v. 141.]
1580. _Lingua_ [DODSLEY, _Old Plays_ (REID, 1825), v. 148].
_Appetitus._ Your gallants never sup, breakfast, nor BEVER without me.
1585. _Nomenclator_, p. 79. A middaies meale: an undermeale: a boire
or BEAVER: a refreshing betwixt meales.
1597. HARRISON, _Desc. of England_. Of old we had breakfastes in the
forenoone, BEUARAGES or nuntions after dinner, and thereto reare
suppers, generallie when it was time to go to rest, a toie brought
into England by hardie Canutus; but nowe these are very well past, and
each one, except some young hungrie stomach, that cannot fast till
dinner-time, contenteth him self with dinner and supper.
1598. FLORIO, _Worlde of Wordes_, s.v. Merenda, Plauto. Propriè olim
prandium dicebatur quod meridie daretur. Nonius cibum qui post
meridiem sumitur interpretatur. ἑσπέρισμα. Le reciner.
1604. MARLOWE, _Dr. Faustus_. Thirty meals a day and ten BEVERS.
1607. BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER, _Woman Hater_, i. 3. He is none of those
same ordinary eaters, that will devour three breakfasts, and as many
dinners, without any prejudice to their BEVERS, drinkings, or suppers.
1611. COTGRAVE, _Dict._, s.v. BEVER. An afternoon’s nuncheon.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 83. In
summer time we were let out of afternoon school for a short time about
4 P.M., when there was a slight refection of bread and cheese laid out
in Hall. It was called BEEVER-TIME, and the pieces of bread BEEVERS.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. BEVER. An intermediate
refreshment between breakfast and dinner. The term is now applied to
the afternoon snack of harvest-men and other labourers, and perhaps
may be explained more correctly as any refreshment taken between the
regular meals. Sometimes refreshments of drink, or drinkings, were
called BEVERS; but potations were not BEVERS, as Mr. Dyce asserts.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_ [Winchester], p. 23. School opened
again at two o’clock; at half-past three came an interval called
BEVER-TIME, when the boys had again bread and beer allowed them. At
five the school was dismissed, and the whole resident society—warden,
fellows, masters, and scholars—went in procession round the cloisters
and the whole interior circuit of the college.
1884. M. MORRIS, in _English Illustrated Magazine_, Nov., p. 73. [At
Eton, we] came up from cricket in the summer afternoons for BEAVER.
*Bible-Clerk*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A College Prefect in full
power, appointed for one week. Formerly (with OSTIARIUS,
_q.v._) he kept order in school, and assisted at floggings.
He now reads lessons in Chapel, and takes round ROLLS
(_q.v._). He is absolved from going up to BOOKS (_q.v._)
during his term of office. The Prefect of HALL need not act
as BIBLE-CLERK unless he likes, and the Prefect of School
may choose any week he pleases; the rest take weeks in
rotation, in the order of their Chambers in College.
15 [?]. CHRIS. JOHNSON [WRENCH]. In Testamento Veteri caput alter in
Aulâ Clarâ voce legit, qui BIBLIOCLERICUS inde Dicitur; hebdomadam
propriis habet ille Camænsis.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 103.
Order was kept during school hours by the BIBLE-CLERK and Ostiarius,
two of the Præfects, who held these offices in rotation—the former
lasting for a week, the latter for one day only. They paraded School
armed with sticks, and brought up to the Head and Second Masters (who
alone had the power of flogging) the names of the delinquents which
had been “ordered” for punishment; the names of the more heinous
offenders being confided to the BIBLE-CLERK, the others to the
Ostiarius.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. BIBLE. A great book. (_A.-N._)
The term was constantly used without any reference to the Scriptures.
_Ibid._, s.v. BIBLE-CLERKSHIP. A very ancient scholarship in the
Universities, so called because the student who was promoted to that
office was enjoined to read the Bible at meal-times.
1864. _Blackwood’s Magazine_, XCV., p. 73. [At dinner] portions of
beef were served out to the boys ... the BIBLE-CLERK meanwhile reading
a chapter from the Old Testament. _Ibid._, p. 87. An hour ... is
expected to be employed in working under the superintendence of the
BIBLE-CLERK, as the Præfect in daily “course” is termed, who is
responsible for a decent amount of order and silence at these hours.
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, p. 59. There appears to have been no
regular BIBLE-CLERK.... From this it has been inferred that the
institution of these offices must have been subsequent, and (some
think) long subsequent, to the Founder’s time.
*Bibler.* _See_ BIBLING.
*Bibling* (or *Bibler*), _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A
flogging of six strokes. Hence BIBLING-ROD = the instrument
used in BIBLING: it consisted of a handle with four apple
twigs in the end twisted together. It was first used by
Warden Baker in 1454, and is represented in the _Aut Disce_.
BIBLING UNDER NAIL = a BIBLING administered for very heinous
offences after an offender had stood under NAIL (_q.v._).
1864. _Blackwood’s Magazine_, XCV., p. 79. Underneath is the place of
execution, where delinquents are BIBLED. _Ibid._, p. 72. It need
hardly be said that it [the rod] is applied in the ordinary fashion:
six cuts forming what is technically called a BIBLING—on which
occasions the Bible-Clerk introduces the victim; four being the sum of
a less terrible operation called a “scrubbing.”
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 37. Underneath is the place of
execution, where delinquents are BIBLED; and near it is a socket for a
candle-sconce, known as the “nail,” under which any boy who has been
detected in any disgraceful fault—lying, &c.—is placed as in a sort of
pillory to await his punishment; a piece of ancient discipline for
which happily there is seldom occasion.
*Bicker*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—A fray between the
boys of the school and the town boys, or KEELIES (_q.v._);
generally waged with the aid of stones (_cf._ GEORGE
BORROW’S _Lavengro_, ch. vii.; also SCOTT, _Redgauntlet_,
ch. i.). In the present Rector’s boyhood these school fights
were often waged with “Cowts,” made of a rope twisted firmly
into a thick end, with about four feet attached with which
to swing it.
... _Cursor Mundi_, MS. Coll. Trin. Cantab., f. 87. And for she loveth
me out of BIKER, Of my love she may be siker.
1581. RICHE, _Farewell to Militarie Profession_. My captaine, feelyng
suche a BICKERYNG within himself, the like whereof he had never
indured upon the sea, was like to bee taken prisoner aboard his owne
shippe.
1585. _Nomenclator._ Naturæ et morbi conflictus, Aurel. κρίσις. The
conflict or BICKERMENT of nature and sicknesse.
1823. NARES, _Glossary_, s.v. BICKERING and BICKERMENT. Skirmishing.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. BICKER. To fight; to quarrel;
to act with hostility. _Ibid._, BICKERMENT. Conflict. _Ibid._, s.v.
BIKERE. To skirmish; to fight; to quarrel. Also a substantive, a
quarrel. (_A.-S._) _Cf._ _Leg. Wom._, 2650; _Piers Ploughman_, p. 429;
MINOT’S _Poems_, p. 51; _Arthour and Merlin_, p. 206.
*Biddy*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A bath in College. [Fr. _bidet_.]
*Big*, _adj._ (Harrow).—Upwards of sixteen years of age; as
“only able to go in for BIG sports.” _See_ SMALL.
*Big-game*, _subs._ (Harrow: obsolete).—The chief football game.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 312. There is now a spacious
piece of ground kept for the especial purpose, where as many as six
separate games can be played at once, besides four smaller grounds
belonging to different houses. The BIG-GAME, in which only the _élite_
of the school players take part, is managed by the monitors under very
stringent regulations. [Now called Sixth Form game.—ED.]
*Big-school*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—The room in which
the school assembles for prayers, or on any occasion when it
is addressed as a whole by the Head Master. The room is also
used for teaching, though not so entirely so as twenty-five
years ago.
*Big-side*, _subs._ (Rugby and elsewhere).—The combination of
all the bigger fellows in the school in one and the same
game or run. Also the ground specially used for the game so
denominated. Hence BIG-SIDE run = a paper-chase, in which
picked representatives of all Houses take part, as opposed
to a House run. _See_ LITTLE-SIDE.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, vii. “Well, I’m going to have
a try,” said Tadpole; “it’s the last run of the half, and if a fellow
gets in at the end, BIG-SIDE stands ale and bread and cheese and a
bowl of punch; and the Cock’s such a famous place for ale.”
*Bill*, _subs._ 1. (Eton).—A list of the boys who go to the Head
Master at 12 o’clock; also of those who get off ABSENCE
(_q.v._): _e.g._ an eleven playing in a match are thus
exempt. _See_ Appendix.
c. 1850. BRODRICK, _Memories and Impressions_. ... It is credibly
reported of Mr. Cookesley—who, in spite of a tendency to buffoonery,
was an inspiring teacher—that he addressed a remarkably stupid boy in
the following terms: “I tell you what it is, sir, if you ever show me
up a copy of your own verses again, I’ll put you in the BILL” (an
Etonian euphemism for a capital punishment). “Why, a great strong
fellow like you can have no difficulty in getting a decent copy of
verses written for him, and if you ever again bring me one of your own
concoction I’ll have you flogged.”
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 100. Bagshawe even went so far
as to rebuke one of the monitors for rising in Mr. James’ presence;
and when told that it was by Mr. Busby’s order, desired him to write
that down on his BILL; a proceeding equivalent, as Mr. Busby declared,
and as Westminster and Eton men will perhaps agree, to ordering the
head-master up for corporal punishment.
1876. BRINSLEY RICHARDS, _Seven Years at Eton_. Some of the small boys
whom this delightful youth tempted to ape his habits, had often
occasion to rue it when they staggered back to College giddy and sick,
carrying with them a perfume which told its tale to their tutors, and
caused them to be put in the BILL.
2. (Harrow).—The “call-over” of the whole school on
half-holidays; at 4 P.M. in summer, at 4.15 P.M. in other
terms. Whence BILL-BOOK = the book—the list of the school in
order of forms—from which BILL is called; BILL-ORDER = the
order of the school as in the BILL-BOOK; BILL-MONITOR = a
member of the “First Fourth” who is in charge of the paper
on which monitors sign their names during BILL. Also used at
Westminster.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 284. His pupils were chiefly
boys of rank, and during Thackeray’s time had been exempted from
appearing at BILLS. Sumner stopped this privilege, to the great
disgust of Dr. Glasse and some of his aristocratic friends. Earl
Radnor even threatened to “ruin the school” if Sumner refused to give
way; but the new head-master was firm. Lord Dartmoor, on the other
hand, supported him, and removed his sons into his House from
Glasse’s, who was beaten in the struggle, and left Harrow. _Ibid._,
293. At the time of his appointment he was only twenty-six, but his
reputation as a scholar stood very high. It is enough to say that
under his rule Harrow has increased in numbers, and certainly not lost
in reputation. The last BILL-BOOK contains 492 names.
1899. _Public School Mag._, Dec., p. 446. The uniformity of daily life
at Harrow was interrupted by a pleasant interlude not long ago. The
Chinese Ambassador paid a visit to the school. His Excellency made an
inspection of the school buildings, and was finally cheered at BILL.
*Bill-brighter*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A small fagot used for
lighting coal fires in kitchen. [From a servant, Bill
Bright, who was living in 1830.]
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 89. The
Kitchen is a spacious apartment with a vaulted roof, occupying the
entire height of the building on the west side of the quadrangle, and
at least half its length; here we might see a few Fags endeavouring to
coax Jem Sims, John Coward, or Mother Mariner (the cooks) for an extra
supply of mashed potatoes, till Kitchen is cleared by the exasperated
Manciple, who has just detected a delinquent in the act of secreting
under his gown an armful of the small faggots used for lighting the
Kitchen fires (called BILL BRIGHTERS), an opportunity for purloining
which was never allowed to slip by a Junior of a properly regulated
mind.
*Bim* (or *Bimb*), _verb_ (Tonbridge).—To cane. Hence BIMB-STICK
= a cane.
*Binge*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A drinking-bout. [_Binger_ (Linc.) =
tipsy.]
*Birch-broom Race*, _subs. phr._ (Winchester).—_See_ TORCH-RACE.
*Birch-room*, _subs._ (Westminster).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 178. Behind is the “French
room,” once known as the BIRCH-ROOM (in which those useful implements
were manufactured and used), where a bench is carefully preserved
bearing the name of “John Dryden,” no doubt cut by the poet himself,
as the style of the letters corresponds with his date.
*Bird*, _subs._ (Durham).—A credulous boy; one easily cajoled; a
“soft.”
*Bishop*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The sapling with which a fagot
is bound together.
*Bite*, _intj._ (Charterhouse and Christ’s Hospital).—_Cave!_
*Black*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A nickname.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, I. vi. “There’s plenty of
youngsters don’t care about it,” said Walker. “Here, here’s Scud
East—you’ll be tossed, won’t you, young un?” Scud was East’s nickname,
or BLACK, as we called it, gained by his fleetness of foot.
*Black Book, The* (Charterhouse).—_See_ EXTRA.
*Black-hole*, _subs._ (Shrewsbury).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 241. There used to be a small
four-square apartment, not much larger than a Punch-and-Judy box,
lighted by a single narrow loop-hole—a receptacle for the
flogging-block and other like apparatus. This was known as the
BLACK-HOLE, or sometimes more familiarly as “Rome’s Hole,” from a
traditionary culprit who had been a very regular occupant.
*Black-jack*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A large leathern beer jug
used in College. It holds two gallons. In olden times
BLACK-JACKS were in common use for small beer. [_See_ UNTON,
_Inventories_, p. 1; BRAND’S _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 206; _Ord.
and Reg._, p. 392; HEYWOOD’S _Edward IV._, p. 97. Also JACK:
whence (Christ’s Hospital) JACK-BOY = a boy servitor of
beer.]
15—. _Simon the Cellarer._ But oh, oh, oh! his nose doth show, How oft
the BLACK-JACK to his lips doth go.
1592. NASHE, _Summer’s Last Will_ [DODSLEY, _Old Plays_ (1874), viii.
59]. Rise up, Sir Robert Toss-pot. [_Here he dubs Will Summer with
the_ BLACK-JACK.]
1606. _Return from Parnassus_ [DODSLEY, _Old Plays_ (1874), ix. 207].
A BLACK-JACK of beer and a Christmas pie.
1630. TAYLOR, _Works_, i. 113. Nor of BLACK-JACKS at gentle buttery
bars, Whose liquor oftentimes breeds household wars.
1690. B. E., _Dict. Cant. Crew_, s.v. JACK.
18[?]. T. WARTON, “The Happy Junior of Sixth Chamber.” Yet still with
pleasure shall we think on The Junior’s happy life at Winton ...
lozenges and snacks ... dispars, gomers, JACKS.
_c._ 1844. _Reminiscences of Christ’s Hospital_ (_The Blue_, Aug.
1874). By mistake the Cask was found to contain a fine old ale. The
news soon spread from boy to boy and from ward to ward; and there was
an extraordinary call upon the services of the JACK-BOYS, whose utmost
exertions were scarcely equal to the demand. As might be expected,
these latter took care of themselves upon the occasion.
*Black-sheep*, _verb_ (Winchester: obsolete).—To get above (or
“jockey”) a fellow in Middle Part: of men in Junior Part.
*Black Tiger, The* (Rugby).—A nickname given to Dr. Ingles,
head-master from 1793 to 1803.
*Blandyke* (Stonyhurst).—The monthly recreation day. [From the
village of Blandyke (now Blandecques), a league from St.
Omers, where was a country house or villa at which such days
were spent during the summer months.] _See_ Appendix.
*Blazer*, _subs._ (originally Cambridge: now general).—A light
jacket of bright colour. Originally applied to the bright
red uniform of the Lady Margaret Boat Club of St. John’s
College, Cambridge. [Prof. SKEAT (_N. and Q._, 7 S., iii.
436), speaking of the Johnian BLAZER, says it was always of
the most brilliant scarlet, and thinks it not improbable
that the fact suggested the name which subsequently became
general.]
1880. _Times_, June 19. Men in spotless flannel, and club BLAZERS.
1885. _Punch_, June 27, p. 304. Harkaway turns up clad in what he
calls a BLAZER, which makes him look like a nigger minstrel out for a
holiday.
1889. _Daily News_, Aug. 22, p. 6, col. 6. DRESS BY THE SEA. SIR,—In
your article of to-day, under the above heading, you speak of “a
striped red and black BLAZER,” “the BLAZER,” also of “the pale toned”
ones. This is worth noting as a case of the specific becoming the
generic. A BLAZER is the red flannel boating jacket worn by the Lady
Margaret, St. John’s College, Cambridge, Boat Club. When I was at
Cambridge it meant that and nothing else. It seems from your article
that a BLAZER now means a coloured flannel jacket, whether for
cricket, tennis, boating, or seaside wear.—Yours faithfully, WALTER
WREN.
1897. _Felstedian_, June, p. 99. The new football BLAZER is very
handsome.
*Bleed*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—One who is remarkably good at
anything.
*Bleyis-sylver* (or *Bent-sylver*), _subs._ (Royal High School,
Edin.).—A gratuity given in olden times by pupils to
masters. He who gave most was proclaimed “_victor_” or
“king.” [BLEYIS is derived from _bleis_ = a torch or blaze
(mod. Scot. _bleeze_). BLEYIS-SYLVER = silver given at
Candlemas on the time of the bleeze. Dr. Jamieson (_Dict._)
suggests _bent_ = Fr. _benit_, _i.e._ blessed, because money
was given on a Saint’s day. Dr. STEVENS, the school
historian, suggests _bent_ = coarse grass. In sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries pupils had leave to go and cut this
coarse grass to strew on floor of school. Afterwards annual
holidays were instituted on first Mondays of May, June, and
July, when a money payment was made to the master to
purchase “bent.” (_Cf._ STEVENS’ _Hist. of High School_, p.
678.) This is more probable.]
*Block, The* (Eton).—A wooden step in the library of the Upper
School upon which a boy set down for flogging kneels. He is
“held down” by two junior Collegers, and the Sixth Form
Preposter hands to the head-master the necessary birch or
birches.
*Blockhouse*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A sick-house.
*Bloody Porch* (Harrow: obsolete).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 320. Harrow fagging had no
special reputation for cruelty; yet there are those living who can
remember having been called out of their beds at night to have cold
water poured down their backs—for no special reason, but as a part of
the hardening process considered good for fags generally; or to start
from Leith’s boarding-house in the dark, to go round the church-yard
by the north porch—BLOODY PORCH, as it was called, from some obscure
legend. Once a boy was sent upon this dreaded tour at night, when it
so happened that there were a party concealed in the porch, watching
the grave of a newly-buried relative—for these were the days of
resurrection-men; they mistook the unfortunate fag for a
body-snatcher, and fired at him, wounding him slightly, and
frightening him almost to death.
*Blotch*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Blotting-paper.
*Blow*, _subs._ (old University).—A drunken frolic; a spree.
[_Blowboll_ = a drunkard: _cf._ SKELTON (_Works_, i. 23),
“Thou blynkerd blowboll, thou wakyst too late.”]
_Verb_ (Winchester).—To blush. _Cf._ BLUE = to blush, as in
quot. 1709.
14[?]. _Torrent of Portugal_, 11. His browys began to BLOWE.
1645. HABINGTON, _Works_. Th’enamoured spring by kissing BLOWS soft
blushes on her cheek.
1709. STEELE and SWIFT, _Tatler_, No. 71, p. 8. If a Virgin blushes,
we no longer cry she BLUES.
*Blucher*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete: _ch_ hard).—A College
præfect in half power. His jurisdiction did not extend
beyond “Seventh Chamber passage,” though his privileges were
the same as those of other præfects. These were eight in
number.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 30. The
eight senior præfects were said to have “full power,” and had some
slight privileges not enjoyed by the remaining ten, who were generally
called BLUCHERS.
1864. _Blackwood_, p. 86. The remaining eight college præfects (called
in Winchester tongue, BLUCHERS) have a more limited authority,
confined to Chambers and the Quadrangle.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 55. The remaining eight
college prefects (called in Winchester tongue BLUCHERS) have a more
limited authority, confined to chambers and the quadrangle; the form
of making these is—“_Præficio te sociis concameralibus_.” At least two
prefects are located in each of the seven chambers—one from the first
seven in rank, and one from the next seven. The juniors are also
divided into ranks of seven, and out of each rank the prefects,
according to their seniority, chose one each to fill up the numbers in
their own chamber; so that each chamber has, to a certain extent, ties
and associations of its own.
*Blue*, _subs._ 1. (Christ’s Hospital).—A scholar of Christ’s
Hospital; a blue-coat boy. [Derived from the colour of the
clothes—a blue drugget gown or body with ample skirts to it,
a yellow vest underneath in winter time, small-clothes of
Russia duck, worsted yellow stockings, a leathern girdle,
and a little black worsted cap, usually carried in the hand,
being the complete costume. This was the ordinary dress of
children in humble life during the reigns of the Tudors.]
_See_ Appendix.
1834. W. TROLLOPE (_Title_), Christ’s Hospital ... with Memoirs of
Eminent BLUES. _Ibid._ At the Spital did they first earn the title of
BLUE by appearing in raiment of that hue. Hitherto they had worn
russet cotton. The bands are supposed to be a relic of the ruff, as
the girdle was of the hempen cord. The ruff was regal, or reginal, and
the cord monkish, so a BLUE hovers ’twixt palace and monastery (one
picture pourtrays the dresses of the various Orders of Friars).
1877. W. H. BLANCH, _Blue-Coat Boys_, p. 33. To some extent it holds
also with regard to Civil Engineers, amongst whom, however, one
well-known name is that of a BLUE.
1895. _Gleanings from “The Blue”_ Dedication. To all BLUES Past and
Present this Book is dedicated.
2. (University).—A member of the Universities of Oxford or
Cambridge. [The colours for inter-University sports are dark
and light blue respectively.]
TO GET ONE’S BLUE, _verb. phr._ (University).—To be selected
as a competitor in inter-University sports: _cf._ “to get
silk” (of Q.C.’s). [From the University colours.]
1899. _Stonyhurst Mag._, Feb., p. 194. The expression “to get a BLUE”
is a phrase which is universally recognised as applying to the
athletics and games of the sister Universities, Oxford and Cambridge,
and to them only. As an ardent Oxford man I do not appreciate his
compliment; as an old Stonyhurst boy, I cannot but deplore his
servility.
*Blue-book*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A school register (alphabetically
arranged) comprising name, form, house, tutor, age, term of
coming, prizes, and honours.
*Bluer*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A blue flannel coat: worn by all
going to FOOTER (_q.v._) in winter, and cricket in summer.
*B. N. C.*, _subs._ (Oxford).—The popular abbreviation of
Brasenose College.
1885. _Daily News_, March 13, p. 5, col. 1. As when Corpus bumped B.
N. C. years ago, and went head of the river, whereon a spirit of wrath
entered into the B. N. C. men, and next night they bumped Corpus back
again.
*Board.* TO KEEP ONE’S NAME ON THE BOARD, _verb. phr._
(Cambridge).—To remain a member of a College.
*Boat* (The Leys).—A shallow valley, in which football is
played.
PROCESSION OF BOATS (Eton).—_See_ FOURTH OF JUNE.
TO SIT A BOAT, _verb. phr._ (Eton).—_See_ quot., and FOURTH
OF JUNE. [Long since abandoned.]
1865. _Etoniana_, p. 170. The time-honoured custom of SITTING A BOAT
must here claim mention. Some old Etonian, of generous and festive
disposition (generally an old “oar”), signifies to the captain of a
boat his intention of presenting the crew with a certain quantity of
champagne. In return he is entitled to be rowed up to Surly in the
boat to which he presents the wine; he occupies the coxswain’s seat,
who kneels or stands behind him. This giver of good things is called,
from this circumstance, a “sitter”; and the question, “Who SITS YOUR
BOAT?” or, “Have you a sitter?” is one of some interest, which may
often be heard addressed to a captain. The seat of honour in the
ten-oar is usually offered to some distinguished old Etonian. Mr.
Canning occupied it in 1824.
*Bob*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A large white beer-jug, about a
gallon in capacity.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 85. Each
end and præfect’s mess had their beer served up in a large white jug,
or BOB. The vessel used for the same purpose in Commoners’ was called
a “Joram.”
1888. T. A. TROLLOPE, _What I Remember_. Only those “Juniors” attended
whose office it was to bring away the portions of bread and cheese and
BOBS of beer for consumption in the afternoon.
_See_ DRY-BOB; WET-BOB.
*Bod*, _subs._ (Oxford).—The Bodleian Library; also Bodley.
*Bodeites* (Charterhouse).—_See_ OUT-HOUSES.
*Bodleian, The* (Oxford).—A famous library, popularly known as
the Bodley, founded by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
1445-80. Despoiled in 1550 and again in 1556, it was
restored and added to in 1598 by Sir Thomas Bodley. It now
contains some 600,000 volumes, and is especially rich in
manuscripts (some 30,000 volumes) and other literary
treasures. James Russell Lowell, the distinguished American,
says of this famous library: “Directly we enter, we are
struck by the stillness and solemnity that reign around,
helped by the dim light, the windows with painted glass, the
ponderous shelves, the illuminated missals, the graduates or
attendants conversing in low whispers or moving quietly
about. For reading purposes the library is as free and as
good as the library of the British Museum; with the
advantages that you may be seated in front of a window
commanding a beautiful garden prospect, that your arm-chair
is not disturbed, that books are allowed to accumulate
around you, and that you are not obliged to return them to
the care of the custodian on leaving the library. The
visitor will not fail to notice the portraits in the upper
library, and especially to cast a grateful look at the fine
portrait of Bodley. He will see the exercise-books used by
Edward VI. and Elizabeth when children, and, close by, the
autographs of distinguished visitors.”
*Boiler*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A plain coffee-pot used for
heating water—fourpenny and sixpenny boilers, not from their
price, but from the quantity of milk they held. το παν
BOILERS = large tin saucepan-like vessels in which water for
a BIDDY (_q.v._) was heated.
*Bolly*, _subs._ (Marlborough).—Pudding.
*Bom*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A servant; a waiter. [A waiter was
once dubbed “a vile abomination”; whence the contractions
“vile bom” and “BOM.”]
*Bond Street* (Stonyhurst).—A walk along one side of the
playground. Once obsolete but now restored, being applied to
another walk.
*Boner*, _subs._ (general).—A sharp blow on the spine.
*Bonner*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A bonfire.
*Bonnet.* TO HOLD THE BONNETS, _verb. phr._ (Royal High School,
Edin.: obsolete).—To hold the bonnet or handkerchief used to
divide High School boys when fighting.
*Bonnet-fire*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—The
process otherwise known as “running the gauntlet.”
1812. JAMIESON, _Dict. Scottish Language_, s.v.
*Book*, _verb_ (Westminster).—_See_ PANCAKE, and quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 172. They also claim a right
to BOOK the performer (_i.e._ hurl a shower of books at him) if he
fails more than once. This right was liberally exercised in 1865, when
the wrath of the school had culminated owing to repeated failures in
that and the previous year. The exasperated cook replied to the attack
with his only available missile—the frying-pan—and a serious row was
the consequence.
*Books*, _subs._ (Winchester).—1. The prizes formerly presented
by Lord Say and Sele, now given by the governing body, to
the “Senior” in each division at the end of “Half.” 2. The
school is thus divided:—SIXTH BOOK—Senior and Junior
Division; the whole of the rest of the School (but _see_
quotations), is in FIFTH BOOK—Senior Part, Middle Part,
Junior Part, each part being divided into so many divisions,
Senior, Middle, and Junior, or Senior, 2nd, 3rd, and Junior,
as the case may require. Formerly there was also “FOURTH
BOOK,” but it ceased to exist about the middle of the
Sixties.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 104. The
school was divided into three classes, or BOOKS, as they were called.
Of these, the Præfects formed one, SIXTH BOOK; FIFTH BOOK was
subdivided into three parts, called respectively “Senior, Middle, and
Junior part of the Fifth”; in speaking of them, the words “of the
Fifth” were generally omitted. The rest of the boys made up “Fourth
Book.”
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 24. The tiers of stone seats,
which may still be noticed in the deep recesses of the windows, were
the places in which the prefects sat when the boys were arranged in
their respective BOOKS; the term still used at Winchester for what in
other schools would be called “forms” or “classes.” There were then,
as now, four BOOKS only, though the highest was and is numbered as the
“sixth.” Then followed the fifth, fourth, and second fourth. The work
of the sixth BOOK comprised Homer, Hesiod, Virgil, Cicero, Martial,
and “Robinson’s Rhetoric.” _Ibid._, 36. Ninety feet long and
thirty-six in breadth, it is sufficiently spacious to allow all the
BOOKS to be assembled there without more confusion than is inseparable
from the system of teaching so many distinct classes in a single
room—an arrangement peculiar to Winchester alone amongst our large
Public Schools.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. BOOKS. The name of the
Classes into which the School is divided. The VI^{th}, V^{th}, and
II^{nd} only remain. From _Liber_ in the sense of _Roll_ probably.
UP TO BOOKS.—In class; repeating lessons; formerly UP AT
BOOKS.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 101. At
each end of school are three tiers of benches rising gradually one
above the other,—that on the ground being called “Senior Row,” and the
others “Middle” and “Junior Row” respectively. On these the Classes
sit when UP AT BOOKS, _i.e._ when repeating lessons.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. BOOK. This word was formerly
used for any composition, from a volume to a single sheet,
particularly where a list is spoken of. See the _State Papers_, i.
402.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 37. Three tiers of fixed seats
rise against the wainscotted walls on the east and west, where the
boys are arranged when UP TO BOOKS, the chairs of the different
masters being in front of each.
1872. WALCOTT, _Traditions and Customs of Cathedrals_, “Statutes of
Chichester Cathedral.” Four wax candles are always distributed at the
end of Lauds, at the four uppermost BOOKS, to the Senior set of the
BOOKS, to find the lights to the same BOOKS for that time. [Note to
foregoing:—At Winchester College the Forms are still called BOOKS.]
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, 417, _s.v._
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. BOOKS. It has been
suggested that this phrase arose from the school having originally to
go up to the Donatus—the one book which College boasted; and an entry
is extant of a three days’ remedy being entailed by the book going to
be bound. The pluralization would be no more than an ordinary
Wykehamical inflection.... The following mysterious use of _Libri_,
however, suggests a much more probable origin. CHRIS. JOHNSON says:
“_Seu Chandlerus erat, seu Custos ordine primus, Durus ab inductis
dicitur esse LIBRIS!_” To which a contemporaneous note is appended:
“_Lectionum a cæna repetitiones instituisse creditur, quas Wiccamici
materna lingua Libros dicunt._” What these “repetitiones” were is not
clear; but they were some form of lesson which præ-Elizabethan
Wykehamists had christened BOOKS in their _materna lingua_, and
Johnson’s annotator thought the word strange enough to deserve a note.
We may, therefore, very possibly be only perpetuating this word in our
use of UP TO BOOKS.
BOOKS CHAMBERS.—Explained by quotations.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 103. On
Remedies (a kind of whole holiday) we also went into school in the
morning and afternoon for an hour or two without masters; this was
called BOOKS CHAMBERS; and on Sundays, from four till a quarter to
five.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. BOOKS-CHAMBERS. Hours of
preparation in College: in the evening called Toy-time.
TO GET (or MAKE) BOOKS.—To get the first place, or to make
the highest score at anything. _Cf._ BOOKS, sense 1.
*Bookwork*, _subs._ (University).—Mathematics that can be
learned _verbatim_ from books—anything not a problem.
*Boots-and-Leathers*, _intj._ (Winchester).—_See_ PEAL.
*Bostruchyzer*, _subs._ (Oxford: obsolete).—A small comb for
curling the whiskers.—HOTTEN.
*Botany-bay*, _subs._ (University).—(1) Worcester College,
Oxford; and (2) part of Trinity College, Dublin. [On account
of their remote situations.]
1841. LEVER, _Charles O’Malley_, xx. note. BOTANY BAY was the slang
name given by college men to a new square rather remotely situated
from the remainder of the college [_i.e._ Trinity, Dublin].
1853. Rev. E. BRADLEY (“Cuthbert Bede”), _Adventures of Verdant
Green_, i. p. 63. BOTANY-BAY, a name given to Worcester College, from
its being the most distant college.
1886. GRAVES, _Way about Oxfordshire_, 19. At the end is Worcester
College (1714), from its remote position dubbed ... BOTANY-BAY, but
called by those who wish to speak endearingly of it “Wuggins.”
1900. _Athenæum_, 17th Feb., 208. BOTANY-BAY is often found as
strangely misapplied as the “Paradise” of so many rows. For instance,
the “Quad” of Trinity College, Dublin, which has been so called for
generations, can hardly have ever been remarkable for its flora. The
probable explanation is that its buildings were old and uncomfortable,
and it was the favourite abode of the youngest and noisiest members of
the University.
*Botolph’s*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A “Run” to St. Botolph’s
Church.
*Bottle*, _verb_ (Durham: obsolete).—To make hot: _e.g._ I got
regularly BOTTLED in that room; specifically, “to roast” a
boy before a fire. _See_ Appendix.
*Bottled.* TO BE BOTTLED, _verb. phr._ (Sherborne).—To be turned
in work.
*Bottom-side*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A wing: at football. The lower
wing (if one be lower than the other); as a rule the one
farthest from the hill.
*Boule*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A general confab or
conversation. _See_ PRIVEE.
1900. TOD, _Charterhouse_, 82. There was a BOULE (βουλή) once in the
Sixth Form of 1872 as to what a monitor should do if he were thus
insulted [by a visit of a master to Banco].
*Bounce.* FIRST BOUNCE, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A goal (which is
never allowed) taken by a “drop-kick” at football.
SECOND BOUNCE, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A kind of
HANDBALL (_q.v._) once very popular.
1887. _Stonyhurst Mag._, July, p. 18, “Stonyhurst in the Fifties.”
SECOND BOUNCE, a variety of handball played with small balls most
artistically made of strips of indiarubber, and covered with the best
kid-leather. These balls had to be taken to pieces and remade after
every match, and they had to be quite freshly made when used. Their
seams required to be frequently rubbed over with wax, some of which
was always smeared on the handball wall for the purpose. For a game of
SECOND BOUNCE a whole side of one of the big handballs was required,
and it was played by eight players, four a side. The “over-all” of
ordinary handball was the “over line,” and the bulk of the players
stood out yards beyond it. He whose “hand” it was bounced the ball,
and with a long strong swing of his arm hit it up against the wall,
whence with a sharp smack it rebounded high in the air and far out
into the ground. As it descended one of the opposite party stopped it
with his hand and let it BOUNCE twice on the ground, the FIRST BOUNCE
being, as a rule, too high to let him strike it, and then with a
similar swing hit it up again. The rules, except as to permitting the
ball to be taken up at the SECOND BOUNCE, were similar to those of
handball. Balls perished quickly in such a game, nearly a dozen being
required for one. SECOND BOUNCE used chiefly to be played on Sunday
afternoon, after Vespers, and almost all not engaged in the game would
range themselves on the flanks to watch.
*Bounder*, _subs._ (University).—A dog-cart.
*Bounds*, _subs._ (general).—The limit or the boundaries beyond
which it is not permissible to go.
ON BOUNDS (Stonyhurst).—A punishment to which a boy who has
been flagrantly “out of bounds” (the term as in other Public
Schools) is subjected. He is confined during ordinary
recreations to a very limited portion of the playground.
Such a boy is said to be “put ON BOUNDS.”
*Bowing-round Sunday*, _subs. phr._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_
PUBLIC-SUPPING.
1854. “Our Rebellion” [_The Blue_ (1871) July]. Next day was
BOWING-ROUND SUNDAY. “Hand down, don’t bow,” was the signal that
passed down our ranks as we stood in the Hall Cloisters, and many were
the black looks, but few the nods of reverence, our Treasurer and his
two attendant governors got that morning.
*Bowl*, _verb._ 1. (general).—To master; to succeed: as in a
paper, a lesson, an examination, &c.; to overcome: as a
difficulty, an examiner, &c. _See_ FLOOR and THROW.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 55. My Coach says he thinks I
shall BOWL over the Examiners next term in the General.
2. (Winchester).—To “pluck” or “plough” up to books; TO
CROPPLE (_q.v._).
*Box*, _verb._ 1. (Westminster).—To take possession of; “to
bag.”
2. (Stonyhurst).—To strike a ball with the closed hand when
in the air. _See_ STONYHURST-FOOTBALL.
3. (Charterhouse).—Of books: if a member of a House Library
Committee finds a library book lying about, he calls out the
name of the book three times at the top of his voice, and
adds, “BOXED!” The boy who has taken out the book thus BOXED
is fined sixpence, saving the fine if he shouts “Mine!”
before the word of confiscation is uttered.
*Box-buildings*, _subs._ (Sherborne: obsolete).—The Sanatorium:
in the seventeenth century called SICK-HOUSE (_q.v._), and
subsequently BOX-BUILDINGS. These buildings were pulled down
in 1850 and the name disappeared.
*Boy*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A grade of fag. The Lower School are
put ON BOY, in turns, to go messages, &c., for the Sixth
Form. _See_ Appendix.
*Brasenose* (or *B. N. C.*), _subs._ (Oxford).—Brasenose
College. [Founded in 1509 on the site of four ancient
Halls—Little University Hall was one, another being
Brasenose Hall (thirteenth century). Authorities differ as
to the origin of the curious name. _See_ quots.]
1512. _Charter of Henry VIII._ The King’s Hall and College of
BRASENOSE.
1800. CHURTON, _Life of Bishop Smith_, 227. Brazen Nose Hall, as the
Oxford antiquary has shown, may be traced as far back as the time of
Henry III., about the middle of the thirteenth century; and early in
the succeeding reign, 6 Edward I., 1278, it was known by the name of
Brasen Nose Hall, which peculiar name was undoubtedly owing, as the
same author observes, to the circumstance of a nose of brass affixed
to the gate. It is presumed, however, that this conspicuous appendage
of the portal was not formed of the mixed metal which the word now
denotes, but the genuine produce of the mine; as is the nose, or
rather face, of a lion or leopard still remaining at Stamford, which
also gave name to the edifice it adorned. And hence, when Henry VIII.
debased the coin by an alloy of _copper_, it was a common remark or
proverb, that “Testons were gone to Oxford, to study in _Brasen_
Nose.”
1837. INGRAM, _Memorials of Oxford_. BRASENOSE.... This curious
appellation, which, whatever was the origin of it, has been
perpetuated by the symbol of a brazen nose here and at Stamford,
occurs with the modern orthography, but in one undivided word, so
early as 1278, in an inquisition now printed in _The Hundred Rolls_,
though quoted by Wood from the manuscript record.
1837. _British Critic_, xxiv. 139. There is a spot in the centre of
the city where Alfred is said to have lived. BRASENOSE claims his
palace, Oriel his church, and University his school or academy. Of
these BRASENOSE is still called “the King’s Hall,” which is the name
by which Alfred himself, in his laws, calls his palace; and it has its
present singular name from a corruption of _brasinium_, or
_brasin-huse_, as having been originally located in that part of the
royal mansion which was devoted to the then important accommodation of
a brew-house.
1898. ALDEN, _Oxford Guide_, 52. Brasenose Hall (thirteenth century)
is said to have derived the name from its occupying the site of a
_brasen-hus_ or brewhouse. Over the old entrance-gate is the
representation of a _brazen nose_, probably added at a much later
date, when punning rebuses of this kind were in fashion.
*Brasser*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital: obsolete).—A bully.
*Bread-and-beer*, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—The name given to
the snack which boys may take at five o’clock.
*Bread-boy*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quot.
1798. Narrative “Christ’s Hospital, Three quarters of a Century ago”
[_Chelmsford Chronicle_ (1875), Ap. 16]. The breakfast-bell rang about
seven, when we all went into the hall, the nurses following, with boys
from each ward (called BREAD-BOYS) carrying large baskets on their
shoulders containing bread, which were taken to the head of each
table, where stood the nurse, who, after “grace,” went down the table,
serving out to each boy half of a twopenny loaf of bread. “Well,”
you’ll say, “but where’s the butter?” None was allowed—nothing but
bare bread. Those who had been sparing over night to save a portion of
the small piece of cheese they had for their supper, pulled it out of
their pockets. Sometimes a great fellow would make a little boy always
supply him with cheese of mornings, out of the piece the poor fellow
had had for his supper the night previous. Beer we had certainly,
served out in wooden vessels of an extraordinary shape, called
“piggins”; about six of them for four boys to drink out of, but such
beer! The piggins were seldom replenished, for we could not drink it.
We used to call it “the washings of the brewers’ aprons.”
1900. _Pall Mall Gazette_, 20th March, 3. 2. “A Lenten Supper.” Last
of all the BREAD-BOY hoists the tall bread-basket shoulder high and
bows round with it, never failing to raise a laugh as well as a
basket.
*Bread-picker*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A Junior
appointed by the four senior Præfects in Commoners: at one
time to put candles in outhouses; but formerly the word is
supposed to relate to the duty of securing bread when served
out. The office exempted from fagging at meal times.
*Brekker*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Breakfast.
1898. _Stonyhurst Mag._, Dec., p. 149, “Life at Oxford.” Each
undergraduate has two rooms, a bedroom and a sitting-room. In these he
lives, studies, and, with the exception of evening dinner in the Hall,
has his meals. He is thus able to entertain. The fashionable meal to
which to invite a friend is breakfast, or vernacularly BREKKER.
*Brew*, _verb._ 1. (Marlborough).—To make afternoon tea.
2. (Harrow).—To knock about; to damage.
3. (Harrow).—To cook. Hence, as _subs._ = a mess, or
self-cooked meal.
*Brick*, _verb_ (Charterhouse).—To hustle; TO MOB UP (_q.v._);
TO BARGE (_q.v._).
*Bricks*, _subs._ (Wellington).—A kind of pudding. [Also (var.
dial.) = a kind of loaf.]
*Bridge of Grunts* (Cambridge).—_See_ ISTHMUS OF SUEZ.
*Bring-on*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A SIZING (_q.v._), or extra in
the way of food (as jam, tinned meat, &c.). [That is, what a
boy “BRINGS ON” to his table, chiefly at tea.]
*Broad* (The), _subs._ (Oxford).—Broad Street.
*Broad-sheet*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The printed school list: issued
after the TRIALS (_q.v._).
*Brock*, _subs._ (Winchester).—To bully; to tease; to badger.
[BROCK, provincial in North and Hants = a badger, and
baiting these animals was a school sport till 1870.] Hence
BROCKSTER = a bully.
*Brogues*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Breeches. [An old
English survival: still dial. in Suffolk.]
*Broker*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A member of Pembroke College.
*Brooke Hall* (Charterhouse).—At Old Charterhouse the officers’
common room; at New Charterhouse the masters’ common room:
it is the place to which impositions must be taken.
1900. TOD, _Charterhouse_, p. 94. In the seventeenth century
schoolmasters had to be careful of their politics. Thus Master Robert
Brooke, the fourth of the “schoolmasters,” is said to have refused to
sign the Solemn League and Covenant, and to have flogged some of his
boys for Parliamentary proclivities. He was ejected from his office in
1643. At the Restoration, though not fully restored, he was given “two
chambers in cloisters and a pension of £30 a year.” After his death
these two chambers were knocked into one and it became BROOKE HALL.
*Brook-jumping*, _subs._ (Rugby).—_See_ HOUSE-WASHING.
*Brosier* (or *Brozier*). TO BROZIER MY DAME, _verb. phr._
(Eton).—To “eat out of house and home.” When a DAME (_q.v._)
keeps an unusually bad table, the boys agree on a certain
day to eat him literally “out of house and home.” Hence
BROZIERED = cleaned out. [_Brozier_ (Cheshire) = bankrupt.]
1796. MERTON, _Way to get Married_ (INCHBALD, _British Theatre_, vol.
xxvi.). [The term is so used here.]
*Browse*, _subs._ (Marlborough).—A pleasant or easy time; a
treat; anything enjoyable: _e.g._ MORNING BROWSE = leave off
early school; French is a BROWSE. Hence, CAPTAIN’S BROWSE =
an expedition to which a master takes his House Captains.
[From _browse_ = to eat lazily.]
_Adj._ Pleasant; enjoyable. Also (more frequently) BROWSY:
_e.g._ a BROWSY morning = a morning in which little work is
done; an awfully BROWSY day, or time = an enjoyable time.
_Verb._ To enjoy; to like: generally with _on_: _e.g._ “I
BROWSE ON old Smith,” or, “ON Science hour.”
*Brum*, _adj._ (Winchester).—(1) Poor; (2) mean, stingy. DEAD
BRUM = penniless.
*Brush*, _subs._ 1. (common).—A schoolmaster.
2. (Christ’s Hospital).—A flogging.
1844. _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_ [_The Blue_, Aug. 1874]. The
punishment ... next in severity was flogging with the birch (called
BRUSHING).
_Verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To flog.
*Brute*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—_See_ quot. Also BEAST.
1868. BREWER, _Phrase and Fable_, s.v. BRUTE, in Cambridge University
slang, is a man who has not yet matriculated. The play is evident. A
“man” in college phrase is a collegian; and as matriculation is the
sign and seal of acceptance, a scholar before that ceremony is not a
“man,” and therefore only a “BIPED BRUTE.”
*Buck*, _adj._ 1. (Winchester: obsolete).—Handsome.
2. (Felsted).—Fine; jolly.
1897. _Felstedian_, July, p. 129. What’s the good of a Præfect? he
never gets anybody up, and has never been known to be in time himself.
He’s a BUCK lot of use.
TO BE BUCKED, _verb. phr._ (Uppingham).—To be tired.
TO BUCK DOWN, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To grieve; to be
unhappy.
TO BUCK UP, _verb. phr._ 1. (Winchester).—To cheer; to be
pleased.
2. (Westminster).—To exert oneself.
3. (Harrow).—To play hard; to hurry.
*Bucksome* (or *Buxom*), _adj._ (Winchester).—Happy; cheerful.
*Budder*, _subs._ (Felsted: obsolete).—A hard worker; a SWOTTER.
[From a proper name.]
*Bug and Tick*, _subs. phr._ (The Leys).—The Natural History
Society. _See_ BUG AND SNAIL (Appendix).
*Buissonites*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Now called BODEITES
(_q.v._).
*Bulky*, _adj._ (Winchester).—(1) Rich; (2) generous.
*Bull-dog*, _subs._ 1. (University).—A proctor’s assistant or
marshal.
1823. LOCKHART, _Reg. Dalton_, I., x. (1842), 59. Long forgotten
stories about proctors bit and BULL-DOGS baffled.
1841. LYTTON, _Night and Morning_, bk. iii. chap. iii. The proctor and
his BULL-DOGS came up ... and gave chase to the delinquents; ... the
night was dark, and they reached the College in safety.
1847. TENNYSON, _Princess_, Prologue. We unworthier told Of college;
he had climb’d across the spikes, And he had squeezed himself betwixt
the bars, And he had breath’d the Proctor’s DOGS.
1880. BREWER, _Reader’s Handbook_. BULL-DOGS, the two servants of a
university proctor, who follow him in his rounds, to assist him in
apprehending students who are violating the university statutes, such
as appearing in the streets after dinner without cap and gown, &c.
2. (Cambridge: obsolete).—A Fellow of Trinity College.
*Bully*, _subs._ (Eton).—A mellay at football: the equivalent of
the Rugby SCRUMMAGE (_q.v._), and the Winchester HOT
(_q.v._).
*Bunker’s Hill* (Stonyhurst).—A row of cottages outside Hodder
grounds. Originally called Bankhurst, but after a battle
here between the inhabitants and the new-comers a century
ago, its present name was given to it. (See _Stonyhurst
Mag._, ii. 92.)
*Bum-brusher*, _subs._ (general).—A schoolmaster; also an usher.
1704. T. BROWN, _Works_ (1760), ii. 86. [Dionysius] was forced to turn
BUM-BRUSHER.
1788. _New London Magazine_, p. 137. A successor was immediately
called from that great nursery of BUM-BRUSHERS, Appleby School.
1832. _Blackwood’s Mag._, Oct., p. 426. To protract existence ... in
the shape of BUM-BRUSHERS, and so forth, after the fashion of the
exalted emigrés of 1792.
1838. _Comic Almanac_, Dec. [Schoolmaster’s Letter signed] Barnabas
BOM-BRUSH.
*Bum-curtain*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—An academical gown—scant and
short; especially applied to the short black gown worn till
1835 by members of Caius College.
1835. (Quoted in WHIBLEY’S _Three Centuries of Cambridge Wit_ [1889].)
’Tis the College of Caius—’tis the land where the “BUM-CURTAIN” lately
was sported by each jolly chum, But now black and blue are the gowns
that they wear Like the eye of a drunkard returned from a fair.
*Bumf*, _subs._ (general).—Paper. _See_ Appendix.
*Bumf-hunt*, _subs._ (Wellington).—A paper-chase.
*Bumming*, _subs._ (Wellington).—A thrashing.
*Bump*, _subs._ and _verb_ (University).—_See_ BUMPING-RACE.
*Bumping-race*, _subs._ (University).—Eight-oared
inter-Collegiate races, rowed in two divisions of fifteen
and sixteen boats respectively, including a SANDWICH BOAT
(_q.v._), _i.e._ the top boat of the second division, which
rows bottom of the first. The boats in each division start
at a distance apart of 175 feet from stern to stern in the
order at which they left off at the last preceding race, and
any boat which overtakes and BUMPS another (_i.e._ touches
it in any part) before the winning post is reached, changes
places with it for the next race. Hence BUMP-SUPPER = a
supper to commemorate the event.
1849. THACKERAY, _Pendennis_, iii. He listened, and with respect too,
to Mr. Foker’s accounts of what the men did at the University of which
Mr. F. was an ornament, and encountered a long series of stories about
boat-racing, BUMPING, College grass-plats, and milk-punch.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, x. A BUMP-SUPPER—that is, O ye
uninitiated! a supper to commemorate the fact of the boat of one
College having, in the annual races, BUMPED, or touched the boat of
another College immediately in its front, thereby gaining a place
towards the head of the river,—a BUMP-SUPPER was a famous opportunity
for discovering both the rowing and paying capabilities of Freshmen,
who, in the enthusiasm of the moment, would put down their two or
three guineas, and at once propose their names to be enrolled as
members at the next meeting of the club.
1860. _Macmillan’s Magazine_, March, p. 331. The chances of St.
Ambrose’s making a BUMP the first night were weighed.
1865. _Sketches from Cambridge_, p. 7. I can still condescend to give
our boat a stout when it makes a BUMP.
1886-7. DICKENS, _Dictionary of Cambridge_, p. 11. Any boat which
overtakes and BUMPS another ... before the winning post is reached,
changes place with it for the next race.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 2. I’m rowing in our first Lent
boat. We ought to make some BUMPS. _Ibid._, 51. We had a grand
BUMP-SUPPER, with lots of speeches.
1900. _Westminster Gaz._, 21st Feb., 8. 3. In the Second Division,
Worcester BUMPED Christ Church II. at the Ferry. Hertford left off at
the head of the division.
*Bunk*, _verb_ (Wellington and Sherborne).—To expel from school.
*Bunky*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Awkward; ill-finished.
*Bunny-grub*, _subs._ (Cheltenham).—Green vegetables; GRASS
(_q.v._).
*Burr*, _verb_ (Marlborough).—To tussle or fight in a noisy, but
friendly manner. Also as _subs._
*Butcher.* TO BUTCHER ABOUT, _verb. phr._ (Wellington).—To make
a great noise; to humbug.
*Buttery*, _subs._ (University).—A college kitchen. [See
_Twelfth Night_, i. 3; TAYLOR, _Works_, i. 113.]
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, iv. He was bearing a jug of BUTTERY
ale (they are renowned for their ale at Brazenface).
*Buying*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An opportunity which is
given for the purchase of pastry in the refectory at
“BREAD-AND-BEER” (_q.v._) time.
*Cab*, _subs._ (general).—An adventitious aid to study; a CRIB
(_q.v._); a PONY (_q.v._). [From CABBAGE (_q.v._) =
pilferings.]
1853. BRADLEY (“Cuthbert Bede”), _Adventures of Verdant Green_. Those
who can’t afford a coach get a CAB, _alias_ a crib, _alias_ a
translation.
1876. _Academy_, 4th Nov., p. 448, col. 2. The use of translations,
“cribs,” or CABS as boys call them, must at some time or other engage
the serious attention of schoolmasters.
*Cabbage*, _subs._ (general).—A translation; a CAB (_q.v._).
Also as _verb_ = to use a translation or other adventitious
aid in preparing exercises; to “crib.”
1837. GEN. P. THOMPSON, _Exerc._ (1842), iv. 234. A speech, which ...
had been what schoolboys call CABBAGED, from some of the forms of
oration ... published by way of caricature.
1862. H. MARRYAT, _Year in Sweden_, ii. 387. Steelyards ... sent by
Gustaf Wasa as checks upon country dealers, who CABBAGED, giving short
weight.
*Cacus* (Stonyhurst).—The Library lumber-room.
1888. _Stonyhurst Mag._, July, p. 185. The dust and darkness of CACUS
is destined to give place to the (comparatively) gilded splendour of a
Philosopher’s room. Two new windows are being opened in the wall of
the Elizabethan front over the old Bailey window.... Hitherto CACUS
has been shrouded in utter darkness, ... a receptacle for ... all the
literature, which ... had not been assigned a place in the Library.
*Cad*, _subs._ (general).—A non-school or non-University man: in
contempt. At Cambridge SNOB, the word Thackeray used, has
long been a common term for a townsman; now the undergrad.
says TOWNEE or TOWNER (_q.v._). The German analogue is
PHILISTER.
1831. HONE, _Year-Book_, 670. Preceded by one or two bands of music in
two boats, rowed by CADS.
1856. BRADLEY (“Cuthbert Bede”), _Adventures of Verdant Green_, i. p.
117. And I can chaff a CAD.
1860. _Macmillan’s Mag._, March, p. 327. You don’t think a gentleman
can lick a CAD, unless he is the biggest and strongest of the two.
1873. _Saturday Review_, September, p. 305. At Oxford the population
of the University and city is divided into “Dons, men, and CADS.”
*Café, The* (The Leys).—Head’s House Hall for meals.
*Cake*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A stroke with a cane. Also
as _verb_.
1844. _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_ [_The Blue_, Aug. 1874]. The
mildest punishment consisted of caning on the open hand (ironically
termed CAKES).
*Caker*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A bicycle. [Originally
“boneshaker”; whence “shaker” and “CAKER.”]
*Calk*, _verb_ (Eton).—To throw. _See_ Appendix, _s.v._ CORK.
*Call*, _subs._ (Eton).—A remission of ABSENCE (_q.v._). “It is
a CALL,” _i.e._ “There is no ABSENCE.”
*Calling-out*, _subs._ (Charterhouse: obsolete).—_See_
PULLING-OUT.
*Calling-over*, _subs._ (Rugby).—Names-calling.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, v. The master of the week
came down in cap and gown to CALLING-OVER, and the whole school of
three hundred boys swept into the big school to answer to their names.
*Calton.* SEE YOU ON THE CALTON, _phr._ (Royal High School,
Edin.).—A challenge to fight. [The Calton Hill lies at the
back of the school; it and THE DUNGEONS (_q.v._) are the two
fighting grounds.]
*Calves*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Pronounced _Caves_. _See_
HALVES.
*Calx*, _subs._ (Eton).—The goal line at football. [From a Latin
sense of CALX = a goal, anciently marked with lime or
chalk.] At Eton CALX is a space so marked off at each end of
WALL; GOOD CALX is the end at which there is a door for a
goal; BAD CALX the end where part of an elm-tree serves the
purpose.
1864. _Daily Telegraph_, Dec. 1. The Collegers were over-weighted ...
and the Oppidans managed to get the ball down into their CALX several
times.
*Campus Martius*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—Until
recently the name by which the battle-ground in THE DUNGEONS
(_q.v._) was known; now dying out. Formerly the scene of
encounters between different classes.
*Canals, The* (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The two ponds in front of
the College.
*Candle-keepers*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The seven seniors in
College by election who are not Præfects. They enjoy most of
the privileges of Præfects without their powers.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 30. The
Seven CANDLE-KEEPERS (why so called I have no idea, nor have I ever
heard any interpretation of the appellation). These were the seven
inferiors who had been longest in the school, quite independently of
their position in it; they were generally old and tough. Of these, the
senior had almost as much power as a Præfect; he had a “valet” in
chambers, one or two “breakfast fags,” and the power of fagging the
twenty juniors when in school or in meads. The junior CANDLE-KEEPER
was called the “Deputy,” and had also some slight privileges besides
that of having a valet and breakfast fag, which was common to all of
them.
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, p. 418. _See_ Appendix.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” The
CANDLE-KEEPERS are the next in chambers to the præfects; generally
fellows who have not much brains, but from having been a long time in
the school, having a certain number of “juniors,” and are excused
fagging and have certain minor privileges approaching those of a
præfect.
*Candlestick*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A humorous corruption of
the word “candidate.”
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 175.
Each of these [the Electors] had in turn the privilege of nominating a
boy for admission into Winchester till all vacancies were filled, of
which there were generally about twelve, but always many more
“Candidates” (or CANDLESTICKS, as they were often called).
1878. H. C. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, p. 418. CANDLESTICK, merely a
facetious version of “candidate.”
*Cannager-canoodle*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A Canadian canoe.
1893. _Felstedian_, June, p. 718, “Oxford Correspondence.” The Char
has been daily gay with bright yellow “CANAGGER-CANOODLES,” and
pink-and-green Japanese parasols and wobbling punts with their
sleeping occupants.
*Cannibal*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—In a BUMPING-RACE (_q.v._) a
College may be represented by more than one boat. The best
talent is put into the first, but it has sometimes happened
that the crew of the second have got so well together that
it has disappointed the prophets and bumped the first of its
own College. In this case it is termed A CANNIBAL, it having
eaten up its own kind, and a fine is exacted from it by the
University Boat Club.
*Canoodle*, _verb_ (Oxford).—To paddle or propel a canoe.
1879. E. H. MARSHALL, in _Notes and Queries_, 5 S., xi. 375. When I
was an undergraduate at Oxford, to CANOODLE was the slang expression
for paddling one’s own canoe on the bosom of the Cherwell or the Isis.
*Cantab*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A student at Cambridge
University. [An abbreviation of “CANTABRIGIAN.”]
1750. COVENTRY, _Pompey Litt._, II. x. (1785), p. 18, col. 1. The
young CANTAB ... had come up to London.
1803. _Gradus ad_ CANTAB. (Title.)
1821. BYRON, _Don Juan_, c. iii., st. 126. And I grown out of many
“wooden spoons” Of verse (the name with which we CANTABS please To dub
the last of honours in degrees).
*Canvas*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 66. The Winchester football
game is peculiar. It is played in CANVAS, as it is called. A portion
of Meads, some 80 feet by 25, is marked off by screens of canvas on
each side, within which the game is played, the two open ends forming
the lines of goal, across which the ball is to be kicked. It is placed
in the middle of the ground to begin with, and a “hot” formed round it
by the players stooping down all close together, with their heads
down, and at a given signal trying to force the ball or each other
away. The canvas screens answer to the Rugby “line of touch”; when the
ball escapes over these it is returned into play by juniors stationed
for the purpose, and a hot is formed afresh.
TO GO ON THE CANVAS, _verb. phr._ (Manchester Grammar).—To
finish drill (dumb-bells, clubs, &c.), and do gymnastic
exercises on the ladder, bars, rings, and ropes. [The floor
beneath the latter was once covered with stuffed canvas; the
phrase is retained, though the canvas has given way to
mats.]
*Cap*, _subs._ 1. (Westminster).—The collection at Play and
Election dinners. [The College cap was passed round on the
last night of Play for contributions. _Cf._ “to send round
the cap.”]
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 157. Queen Elizabeth seems to
have been present on at least one occasion, and to have contributed
liberally to the CAP, for she is recorded to have paid, in January
1564, the sum of £8, 6s. 8d. for certain plays by the grammar school
at Westminster and the children at Powle’s. A shout of “CAP, CAP!”
arises, and all available trenchers having been pressed into the
service, the captain distributes them amongst the Old Westminster
portion of the audience, who present substantial proofs of their
satisfaction. The sum collected in the CAP has frequently amounted to
above £200. After discharging all expenses of the play the surplus is
divided among the performers. But as these expenses have a natural
tendency to increase rather than diminish, while the number of old
Westminsters present is necessarily fewer than in the more prosperous
days of the school, the balance has of late been now and then on the
wrong side.
2. (Harrow).—A cap of House Colours, given by Captains of
House Cricket elevens to the House eleven, or to some of
them. The gift confers permanent membership. Hence, the
recipient of such a distinction. _See_ FEZ.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 94. Second Eleven matches are played
between the various Houses, and a challenge cup is presented at the
end of the term to the best house. No CAP may play in these matches.
3. (Rugby).—Each House had [1871] two CAPS, one the football
cap and the other the house-cap. The former was a sign of
distinction, and worn only by the few boys in the school to
whom it had been given.... If a boy distinguished himself in
cricket, he was allowed to wear a red band; or, as a higher
distinction, a blue band.... Distinctions might be varied in
all manner of ways according as a boy had won his red or his
blue band, his flannels, or his cap.... CAPS are now (1890)
given by the head of the School Fifteen. After the CAPS come
the FLANNELS (_q.v._), and then come the players without
distinction. The CAPS and FLANNELS in each House go to make
up the House Fifteen; the FLANNELS, without the CAPS, go to
make up the second fifteen in each House, which is called
BELOW CAPS, or for brevity, BELOW. The next fifteen in each
House are called TWO BELOWS, and so on, though it rarely
happens that a House has more BELOWS than two.—LEES KNOWLES.
_Verb_ (general).—To take off or touch one’s hat in
salutation: also TO CAP TO and TO CAP IT.
1593. H. SMITH, _Scrm._ (1871), i. 203. How would they CAP me were I
in velvets.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantabrigiam_, p. 23, _s.v._ BORE. Other bores are to
attend a sermon at St. Mary’s on Sunday ... TO CAP a fellow.
*Captain of Election*, _subs._ (Westminster).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 183. The CAPTAIN OF
ELECTION—the boy who gains first place—has the privilege of being
almost entirely exempted from the fagging incidental to his junior
year, and has his name painted on the election board in gold letters.
These tablets, fixed up in the dormitory, go back as far as 1629; and
among the names of the CAPTAINS, besides Lord Mansfield, as already
mentioned, may be read those of Markman, Warren Hastings, Cyril
Jackson and his brother the bishop, Randolph (Bishop), Abbot
(Speaker), Longley, &c.
*Captain of the Boats*, _subs. phr._ (Eton).—_See_ quot.
1865. _Etoniana_, p. 164. The CAPTAIN OF THE BOATS is perhaps the
greatest person in the school next to the head-master—if, indeed, he
does not rival that great authority in the estimation of the boys. The
whole regulation of the boats, both as to the selection of the crew of
the racing “eight,” and of the CAPTAINS of the several boats which
form the Fourth of June procession, rests entirely with him; and as he
has a great deal of this kind of patronage at his disposal, his
influence is very considerable. The boat crews are in some sort looked
upon as the aristocracy of the school, and for this reason the
position is an object of social ambition amongst the boys.
*Cargo*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A hamper from home. The word is
still in use.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 77. The
boys, eager for breakfast, tumultuously rushed out from school-court
... to see if Poole, the porter, had letters, or, what was even more
delightful, a CARGO (a hamper of game or eatables from home).
1881. PASCOE, _Every-day Life in our Public Schools_. Scholars may
supplement their fare with jam, potted meats, ... or, better still,
from the contents of CARGOES, _i.e._ hampers from home.
*Cart*, _verb_ (University).—To defeat: in a match, a fight, an
examination, a race, &c. “We CARTED them home” = we gave
them an awful licking.
*Case*, _subs._ (Westminster).—The discussion by Seniors and
Upper Election preceding a TANNING (_q.v._), and the tanning
itself.
*Cathedral*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A silk hat. [Because worn
when going to Cathedral.]
*Cat-and-cartridge*, _subs._ (The Leys).—Rabbit (or chicken)
with sausage.
*Cat’s*, _subs._ (University).—St. Catharine’s Hall. Hence
CAT’S-MEN = members of St. Catharine’s Hall.
_Intj._ (Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—The II^{nd}
Class. [Formerly it used to be a custom for the II^{nd}
class to pursue the I^{st} shouting “Gaits! Gaits!
Gai-ai-aits,” to which they replied, “CATS! CATS! Caa-ats!”]
_See_ DOGS.
*Cat’s Head*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—The end of a
shoulder of mutton.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 84. His
meal [dinner] took place at six o’clock P.M. in College (in Commoners’
it was at _one_); it was ample in quantity, and excellent in quality.
That of the Præfects was nicely served in joints, that of the
Inferiors was divided into portions (Dispars); there were, if I
remember rightly, six of these to a shoulder, and eight to a leg of
mutton, the other joints being divided in like proportion. All these
“Dispars” had different names; the thick slice out of the centre was
called “a Middle Cut,” that out of the shoulder a “Fleshy,” the ribs
“Racks,” the loin “Long Dispars”; these were the best, the more
indifferent were the end of the shoulder, or CAT’S HEAD, the breast,
or “Fat Flab,” &c. &c.
*Cat’s-skin*, _subs._ (Rugby).—1. _See_ quot.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, v. His go-to-meeting roof, as
his new friend called it. But this didn’t quite suit his fastidious
taste in another minute, being too shiny; so, as they walk up the
town, they dive into Nixon’s the hatter’s, and Tom is arrayed, to his
utter astonishment, and without paying for it, in a regulation
CAT-SKIN at seven-and-sixpence.
2. _See_ RABBIT-SKIN.
*Cause-money*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—Up-keep money for
the path leading to HILLS (_q.v._).
1891. WRENCH, _Word-Book_, s.v. CAUSE-MONEY. Money paid for the
maintenance of the path leading from College towards Hills.
*Causey, The* (Stonyhurst).—The avenue between the two ponds in
front of the College.
*Cave*, _intj._ (Eton).—“Beware!” A byword among boys out of
bounds when a master is in sight. [From the Latin.]
*Cedar*, _subs._ (Eton).—A pair-oared boat inrigged, without
canvas, and very “crank.” [No longer in use.]
*Certificate Good-day*, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_
GOOD-DAY.
*Chaff*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A small article or
plaything. Also as _verb_ = to exchange; to barter. [A.S.
_chaffere_ = to deal, exchange, or barter: as _sub._ =
merchandise. Also (North) _chaffle_ = to haggle.]
1388. WIMBELTON, _Sermon_ [MS. Hatton, 57, p. 4]. If thou art a
margchaunt, disceyve not thi brother in CHAFFARYNG.
1440. _Promptorium Parvulorum_ [MS. Harl. 221, ff. 206]. Rooryne or
chaungyne on CHAFFARE for another.
1450. _MS._ Bibl. Reg. 12 B. i. f. 19. _Emere vel vendere_, Anglice to
CHAFFARYN.
1844. _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_ [_The Blue_, Aug. 1874].
Pocket-knives, combs, “precious” marbles, tops, and all the other
numerous nondescript articles which go to make up the CHAFFS of a
Blue.
1877. BLANCH, _Blue-Coat Boys_, 96. CHAFF me your knife.
_Adj._ Pleasant; glad. Also CHAFFY. [Possibly, in this
sense, a memory of chaff = banter.] Whence, CHAFF FOR YOU =
“So much the better for you.” _Cf._ VEX.
_Intj._ An exclamation of joy or pleasure.
*Challenge*, _subs._ (Westminster).—The entrance examination for
Queen’s Scholarship. _See_ quot. [In ancient times (_vide_
STOW) St. Peter’s was one of the three great schools whose
scholars were accustomed on the days of their patron Saints
to challenge each other to a contest of grammar and
versification, which was apparently the earliest form of
what was afterwards developed not only into the Westminster
CHALLENGE, but into the Eton MONTEM (_q.v._).]
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 182. He undergoes a very
severe examination, called the CHALLENGE, the form of which must have
been preserved from Queen Elizabeth’s days, and is the last surviving
relic of the old scholastic disputations.
*Chamber-day*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A day on which access
was allowed to CHAMBERS (_q.v._) during the whole
day.—MANSFIELD.
*Chambers*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The College bedrooms: in
Commoners called GALLERIES (_q.v._). [CHAMBER is commonly
dialectical for bedroom.] _See_ ELECTION CHAMBER.
*Charity-remove*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A “remove” assigned to boys
who have remained in the Form below for several successive
school quarters.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 297. The intention of these
CHARITY-REMOVES (as they are called) is to prevent boys of dull
abilities being continually outstripped in the race of promotion by
boys younger than themselves; but practically the cases are very few
of boys who would be left in the same Form for above three quarters;
and even then the promotion is removed if the boy has been
“notoriously and ostentatiously” idle.
*Charity-tails*, _subs._ (Harrow).—_See_ TAILS.
*Charlies*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—Thick gloves made of
twine. [Introduced by a Mr. Charles Griffith: hence the
name.]
*Chase*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To abscond; to run away; as
from school.
1844. _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_ [_The Blue_, Aug. 1874]. At
length, to the consternation and perplexity of the authorities, and
the delight, admiration, and envy of the fellows, this incorrigible
character capped all his former misdeeds by an act of pluck and daring
which gained for himself, from that time forth, all the honours of a
hero—he CHASED.
*Chaw*, _subs._ 1. (University).—A trick; a device; a sell.
2. (Harrow).—A CAD (_q.v._); any non-member of the school.
Whence WORKER-CHAW = the boy who runs messages, &c., for the
work-shop. Also as _verb_ (football), to play roughly. TO BE
CHAWED = to be injured.
*Check-nights*, _subs._ (Eton).—Rehearsals of the FOURTH OF JUNE
(_q.v._) performance. Held every alternate Saturday in the
boating season, when the crews rowed up to Surly in their
uniform and there regaled themselves—the staple luxury being
ducks and green pease. These suppers were open to much
objection, and the custom has lately been done away
with.—_Etoniana_ (1865).
*Cheese*, _subs._ (Schools and University).—An adept; one
who “takes the shine out of another”; at Cambridge an
overdressed dandy = a HOWLING CHEESE.
1864. HEMYNG, _Eton School-days_. “Do you know Homer, Purefoy?” asked
Chudleigh. “No, I have not looked at the lesson yet.” “I am sure I
don’t know why you ever do; you are such a CHEESE. I want you to give
me a construe.”
*Chemmy*, _subs._ (Manchester Grammar).—Chemistry.
*Chief*, _subs._ (Sherborne).—The Head-master.
*Child*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—1. A scholar on the
foundation.
1547. Inj. Ed. VI. Commiss. [_William of Wykeham_, 152]. Item: that
all graces to be said or sung at meals within the said College, and
other prayers which the said scholars or CHILDREN are bound to use
shall be henceforth sung or said evermore in English.
_d._ 1711. KEN, _Manual ... for the use of ... Winchester College_. If
you are a Commoner, you may say your prayers in your own Chamber; but
if you are a CHILD or a Chorister, then to avoid the interruptions of
the Common Chambers, go into the Chappel, between first and second
Peal in the morning, to say your Morning Prayers, and say your Evening
Prayers when you go _Circum_.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. CHILD. The word “Scholar,”
as used by Ken, included the three classes—“Children,” Commoners, and
Choristers; and it is observable that, though it has been adopted of
late officially to designate the “Children” exclusively, this usage
has not extended to the school. “CHILD” has fallen into desuetude, but
its place has not been supplied by any other term.
2. _See_ quot. 1891.
1822. NARES, _Glossary_, s.v. CHILD ... The “CHILDREN of the Chapel”
signifies the boys of the Chapel.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 64. One table, by a curious
traditionary custom, is called the CHILDREN’S table—the electors
present each choosing one of the junior scholars for their CHILD, and
presenting him with a guinea and a luxurious dinner at this privileged
table.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. CHILD. Each of the ELECTORS
(_q.v._) might choose a Scholar on the foundation to attend upon him
(a nominal duty in recent times) at election time. These were known as
Warden’s CHILD, Warden of New College’s CHILD, &c. Of late the Head
Master always chose for his CHILD the head scholar in Cloisters, and
the Warden the second. Each CHILD received a guinea from the Elector
who appointed him. The Children got off all fagging on DOMUM DAY
(_q.v._); at Election Dinner they sat at the same table with Writers
and Election Grace Singers, where the fare was better than that served
to the scholars generally; and they had wine and dessert afterwards in
CHILD’S-room in the Warden’s house. Warden’s CHILD had during the
following year the duty of applying to the Head Master for every
REMEDY (_q.v._), and half-remedy that came in the ordinary course. In
applying he used the set phrase, “The Præpostors’ duty, and they would
be obliged for a remedy” (or “half-remedy”). Whenever the application
was something more than a mere form, it was made by the Præfect of
Hall, _e.g._ where a leave out day disturbed the ordinary arrangements
of the week.
*Chince* (or *Chinse*), _subs._ (Winchester).—A chance.
[Apparently a corrupted form of the word.]
*Chinner*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A grin.
*Chip-entry*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—_See_ quot.
1884. _Stonyhurst Mag._, June, p. 294. The old kitchen was very near
the site of the present one, but a part of it jutted into what is now
the end of the Higher Line Washing-place. Just outside this was a
flight of old oaken steps leading to the refectory. Beyond these
stairs, leading out to the back, there was a very old round-headed
oaken door, which is now in the buttery; it is about three hundred
years old. This was called CHIP-ENTRY.
*Chips*, _subs._ (Wellington).—A kind of grill. [From its
hardness.]
*Choice*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A candidate in course of trial for
an Eleven (House or School), and who has not got his CAP
(_q.v._), FEZ (_q.v._), or FLANNELS (_q.v._).
*Chorister*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quots.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 33. Besides
the Warden, Fellows, masters, and boys, there were twelve
“CHORISTERS,” who must by no means be omitted, as they formed an
important part of the internal economy. I suppose they were called
CHORISTERS because they had not to sing; certainly if ever that was a
part of their duty, it had entirely lapsed. Their office was to wait
on boys, in hall and chambers, till seven o’clock, and especially to
go on errands in the town,—the boys themselves never being allowed to
go there, except when invited by friends on Saints’ days. These little
CHORISTERS wore chocolate-coloured tail-coats and trousers, with metal
buttons; and, on the whole, I think their life must have been a weary
one.... _Ibid._, 189. The CHORISTERS really do sing now, and have not
to run errands in the town for boys, but wait on them in the hall
instead.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 22. The Bible-clerk meanwhile
reading aloud a chapter from the Old Testament, the CHORISTERS waited
at table. An antiphonal grace and psalm were sung, after which the
CHORISTERS and college servants took their dinner.
*Chouse*, _subs._ (Eton and Winchester).—A shame; an imposition.
Hence CHOUSER. [A derivative of chouse = trick; swindle:
_see_ quot. 1890.]
1864. _Athenæum._ When an Eton boy says that anything is “a beastly
CHOUSE,” he means that it is a great shame; and when an Eton
peripatetic tradesman is playful enough to call his customer “a little
CHOUSER,” he means that a leaf has been taken out of his own book by
one on whom he has practised.
1883. BRINSLEY RICHARDS, _Seven Years at Eton_. The boy ... was told
that what he had done was an awful CHOUSE.
1890. _Hist. Eng. Dict._ [MURRAY], _s.v._ CHOUSE. “As to the origin of
the Eng. use, Gifford (1814), in a note on the quot. from Ben Jonson,
says, ‘In 1609, Sir Robt. Shirley sent a messenger or CHIAUS to this
country, as his agent from the Grand Signior and the Sophy to transact
some preparatory business.’ The latter ‘CHIAUSED the Turkish and
Persian merchants of £4000,’ and decamped. But no trace of this
incident has yet been found outside of Gifford’s note; it was unknown
to Peter Whalley, a previous editor of Ben Jonson, 1756; also to
Skinner, Henshaw, Dr. Johnson, Todd, and others who discussed the
history of the word. Yet most of these recognised the likeness of
CHOUSE to the Turkish word, which Henshaw even proposed as the etymon
on the ground that the Turkish CHIAUS ‘is little better than a fool.’
Gifford’s note must therefore be taken with reserve.”
*Christians*, _subs. pl._ (Cambridge).—Fellows of Christ’s
College. [Derivation obvious.]
*Christopher* (Eton).—An old inn in Eton Street.
1865. _Etoniana_, 23. On the great festivals ... they had permission
to spend part of the day in a country walk; not without a strong
caution (so similar are the temptations of schoolboys and the
anxieties of masters in all ages) against turning into taverns and
beer-shops by the way. The “Tap” and the CHRISTOPHER had their earlier
prototypes....
*Chuck*, _subs._ (Westminster). _See_ quot.
1864. HOTTEN, _Slang Dict._, s.v. A schoolboy’s treat.
*Chucks!* _intj._ (general).—A signal of a master’s approach. A
French equivalent is _Vesse!_
*Circum.* TO GO CIRCUM, _verb. phr._ (Winchester). _See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 23 [_temp._ 1570]. At five the
school was dismissed, and the whole resident society—warden, fellows,
masters, and scholars—went in procession round the cloisters and the
whole interior circuit of the college, which was called GOING CIRCUM.
Thus they passed into the hall, where a supper of mutton was
served—one dispar to every three boys.
*Clacken*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—A wooden bat
about two feet long with a thin handle and rounded head
(_e.g._ [Illustration] ), flat on both sides, originally
used for the game of _hails_. The game is no longer played
at the school, but survives in the Edin. Academy. [A “Hail”
in Scotland denotes the place from which a ball is driven
off at the commencement of a game. “Clacken” is from
“clack,” the clapper of a mill.]
*Clarian*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A member of Clare Hall,
Cambridge; also GREYHOUND (_q.v._).
1889. C. WHIBLEY, _Cap and Gown_. E’en stuke-struck CLARIANS strove to
stoop.
*Classicus*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A Junior in each PART
(_q.v._): his duty is to get lessons set, &c.
CLASSICUS-PAPER = CUSE (_q.v._).
*Clean-straw*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Clean sheets. [Before 1540
the beds were bundles of straw on a stone floor. At that
date Dean Fleshmonger put in oaken floors, and provided
proper beds, such as existed in 1871 in Third, and later in
the case of the Præfect of Hall’s unused beds in Sixth. The
term is never used in reference to mattresses of any kind,
straw or other.] The dormitory arrangements are now
thoroughly modernised.
*Clipe*, _verb_ (general).—To tell tales; to “split”; to peach.
*Clodding*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A ceremony of initiation [put
down by Dr. Wooll, _temp._ 1808-28] performed on those who
were promoted into the Fifth. They had to run along the
course of a small gutter which flowed from the cow-sheds
(_see_ BARN-SCHOOL), through a double line of boys, who
pelted them with clods of clay moistened in that not very
delicate stream. Unpopular boys had these clods specially
hardened for their benefit—it was even said with stones
inside. On promotion from the Fourth to the Remove a boy
had to run the gauntlet up and down the big school between
a double line of his fellows, armed with handkerchiefs
tied in “Westminster knots.” He was allowed to protect
himself with books stuffed inside his trousers; but the
punishment was fearful.—COLLINS.
*Cloister-peals*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ PEALS.
*Cloister-roush*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 117. We
had some singular customs at the commencement of Cloister time. Senior
part and Cloisters, just before the entrance of the Masters into
School, used to engage in a kind of general tournament; this was
called CLOISTER-ROUSH.
*Cloisters*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The name given to Middle and
Junior Part of Fifth BOOK (_q.v._), when combined together
in CLOISTER-TIME (_q.v._).
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 24. But the younger commoners
probably seldom came into school, being taught chiefly in the chamber
of the warden or fellow under whose charge they were placed; and in
summer-time the whole of the scholars usually adjourned for lessons
into the adjacent CLOISTERS: a delightful arrangement, from which the
latter portion of the “long-half” is still called CLOISTER-TIME.
*Cloister-time*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Ten or twelve weeks at
the latter end of Long Half, commencing about Whitsunday and
ending at STANDING-UP WEEK (_q.v._).
*Clow*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Pronounced _clō_. A box on the
ear. [Possibly from _clout_. HALLIWELL, _clow_ (Cumberland)
= to scratch. Also _clew_ (Glouc.) = a blow.] Also as
_verb_: it was customary to preface the action by an
injunction to “hold down.”
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 140. The
juniors did not get much fun out of the regular games, as their part
consisted solely in kicking in the ball, and receiving divers kicks
and CLOWS in return for their vigilance. _Ibid._, p. 39. Nor, when
ordered to “hold down” (_i.e._ put your head in a convenient position)
for a CLOW, would the victim dare to ward off the blow.
*Club-keeper*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A Captain of the side in a
game: at cricket or football.
1820-5. WORDSWORTH [_Letter_, 1889]. The old ground which we played
upon was too much upon a slope, and when I was one of the
CLUB-KEEPERS, and head of the eleven, a considerable sum was spent in
endeavouring to improve it, and we succeeded in levelling a sufficient
space for a tolerably good wicket.
*Coach*, _subs._ (formerly University and Public Schools: now
common).—A private tutor; and in a transferred sense one who
trains another in mental or physical acquirements: _e.g._ in
Sanskrit, Shakspeare, cricket, or rowing. Analagous terms
are CRAMMER, FEEDER, and GRINDER. Also as _verb_ = to
prepare for an examination by private instruction; to train:
in general use both by coacher and coachee.
1846. THACKERAY, _Vanity Fair_, ch. v. The superb Cuff himself ...
helped him on with his Latin verses, COACHED him in play-hours.
1850. F. E. SMEDLEY, _Frank Fairleigh_, ch. xxix. p. 240. Besides the
regular college tutor, I secured the assistance of what, in the slang
of the day, we irreverently termed a COACH.
1853. C. BEDE, _Verdant Green_, pt. I., pp. 63-4. “That man is Cram,
the patent safety. He’s the first COACH in Oxford.” “A COACH,” said
our freshman in some wonder. “Oh, I forgot you didn’t know college
slang. I suppose a royal mail is the only gentleman COACH _you_ know
of. Why, in Oxford a COACH means a private tutor, you must know; and
those who can’t afford a COACH, get a cab, _alias_ a crib, _alias_
translation.”
1864. _Eton School-days_, ch. ix. p. 103. Lord Fitzwinton, one of the
smallest and best COACHES—in aquatics—in the school.
1870. _London Figaro_, June 10, “Quadrille Conversation.” It is, we
fear, Quixotic to hope that ladies and gentlemen invited to the same
ball would COACH with the same master.
1871. _Times_, “Report of the Debate in House of Lords on University
Test Bill.” The test proposed would be wholly ineffective; ... while
it would apply to the college tutors, who had little influence over
the young men, it would not affect the COACHES, who had the chief
direction of their studies.
1889. _Pall Mall Gazette_, 29th Nov., p. 1, col. 3. The schoolmaster
is concerned with the education of boys up to eighteen; all beyond
that falls either to the COACH or the professor.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 15. Our COACH is always finding
fault with me.
*Coaching*, _subs._ (Rugby: obsolete).—A flogging.
*Coat.* TO GET ONE’S COAT, _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—To be made a
member of the “Sixth Form Game”; the equivalent of the
“Twenty-two” at other schools: cricket.
*Cob*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A hard hit at cricket; a slogger: a
recent introduction. Also as _verb_ (common), to detect; to
catch.
_Verb._ 1. (Stonyhurst).—To purloin oranges, &c., after a DO
(_q.v._): _e.g._ “COB for me,” sometimes whispered by an
envious disappointed one to a fortunate friend as he goes
into the “Do-room.”
2. (Harrow).—In the verbal sense of COB = to detect; to
catch (_see_ subs., _ante_); the practice at Harrow is
almost always to use the word in the passive, with “badly”:
_e.g._ “I was badly COBBED ‘tollying-up’” (_q.v._).
*Cock*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An elevation from which, at
football, a GUARDER (_q.v._) kicks balls which “go out”: it
corresponds to the “tee” at golf.
TO BE COCKED UP, _verb. phr._ (Charterhouse).—_See_ quot.
1900. TOD, _Charterhouse_, 85. Fags [at Old Charterhouse] had to fag
in reality at cricket; they got COCKED UP if they cut, and they got
COCKED UP if they missed a catch, or muffed a ball. A stump was always
handy.
*Cock-house*, _subs._ (general). A champion house; as at
cricket, football—anything.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 95. (Harrow) The various Houses are
divided into “Upper Round” Houses (being those which possess a member
of the School Eleven at the beginning of the term), and “Lower Round”
Houses (being those which possess no member of the School Eleven at
the beginning of the term). The “Upper Round” Houses are drawn
together, and play against each other; and the same course is pursued
with regard to the “Lower Round” Houses. When all these ties are
played off, the winner of the “Upper Round” plays the winner of the
“Lower Round” for COCK-HOUSE. A silver challenge cup is presented to
the COCK-HOUSE of the year.
1898. WARNER in _Harrow School_, 271. Coming back from the holidays a
boy will eagerly discuss with his comrades the prospects of the term.
Have they any chance of being “COCK-HOUSE” in football or cricket—and
no chance is too small on which to build a mighty castle of hope.
*Cockloft, The* (Harrow).—A small room at the top of the Old
Schools; in turn a school-room or the limbo for the
SCHOOL-STOCK (_q.v._) of confiscated books.
*Cocks*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—The old washing place. [Early
in the century a leaden trough, into which six taps
discharged water, was fixed in a corner of Writing School,
behind a partition which was constructed to hold Gownboys
Library. These taps suggested the term COCKS. Formerly
Gownboys washed at the pump.]
*Cocoa-club*, _subs._ (The Leys).—Afternoon tea, &c., at four in
winter in House rooms or studies.
*Codd*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—_See_ quot.
1854. THACKERAY, _The Newcomes_. Yonder sit some threescore old
gentlemen, pensioners of the hospital; ... the Cistercian lads called
these old gentlemen CODDS.
*Cog.* TO COG ON, _verb. phr._ (Durham).—To swindle; to cheat:
_e.g._ “TO COG ON marks.” Also TO COCK ON.
*Coke on Littleton*, _subs. phr._ (Eton).—_See_ quot.
1743. DANIEL WRAY, _Letter_ from Cambridge [quoted in _Etoniana_
(1865), 70]. One blowing a chafing-dish with a surplice sleeve,
another warming a little negus or sipping “COKE UPON LITTLETON,”
_i.e._ tent and brandy.
*Coll*, _subs._ (United Services).—The College.
1899. _Public School Mag._, Nov., p. 345. To deal first with the
outward appearance of the COLL.—(COLL, be it noted, not College.)
“That long white barrack by the sea Stares blankly seaward still,”
sings Kipling in one of his very early poems.
*Collections*, _subs._ (Oxford).—College Terminal Examinations.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, II. viii. Witless men were cramming
for COLLECTIONS.
*College-John* (Westminster).—The porter and factotum of
College: invariably so-called, whatever his name may be.
*Colleger*, _subs._ 1. (general).—A square cap; a MORTAR-BOARD
(_q.v._).
2. (Eton).—A boy on the foundation as opposed to an OPPIDAN
(_q.v._).
1899. _Public School Mag._, Nov., p. 367. The discussion continues as
to whether the COLLEGERS should compete for the House Cup. As we have
always said, this seems a ridiculous suggestion. If COLLEGE is on a
separate foundation to the Oppidans, we can see no reason for them to
desire to join in competing for Oppidan events.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 14. Parents of independent means rejoice
when their sons obtain places on the Foundation at Eton. Admitted
after a severe competitive examination, and specially encouraged in
the habits of industry, the seventy COLLEGERS generally win a large
proportion of the prizes and other distinctions that are offered to
Etonians, and maintain the high reputation of their old school in the
class lists at Oxford and Cambridge.
*College-ware*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Crockery that falls
without breaking.—MANSFIELD.
*Combie*, _subs._ (University).—The “Combination room,” a
parlour in which college dons drink wine after Hall.
*Come.* COME UP! _intj._ (Sherborne).—The order given by the
Captain of the Games, after 3 Roll on a half-holiday, to
start the games at football.
*Come-up*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A regulation as to the
conditions by which one player might try to take the ball
from another: football.
*Commoner*, _subs._ (general).—A boy not on the foundation.
Whence (Winchester) COMMONERS = the building they lived in.
[Now abolished as a residence and converted into class-rooms
with a handsome library. The old building, which presented
externally (_vide_ MANSFIELD) the appearance of an inferior
workhouse, was successfully altered by Mr. BUTTERFIELD, and
is now, in its architecture, worthy of its purpose and
surroundings.]
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 26. Of the fellow-commoners,
or COMMONERS, as they are now termed, who have so increased as to form
a supplementary body of scholars doubling in number the College boys
themselves, it will be necessary to give some account. Provision had
been made in the original statutes for the reception and instruction
of independent students to the number of ten, sons of noblemen or of
“special friends” of the College, who, though not claiming the other
advantages of the foundation, might yet wish to avail themselves of
its sound teaching; with a proviso that these should not be in any way
burdensome to the revenues.... In [Dr. Burton’s] time the College rose
rapidly as a place of education for many of the young nobility, and
the accommodations were found insufficient. He built what is now
remembered by Wykehamists of the past generation as “OLD COMMONERS.”
... The number of COMMONERS gradually increased, until in 1820 they
reached 135. “OLD COMMONERS” was pulled down in 1839-41 to make way
for the present building, which was the result of a general Wykehamist
subscription. _Ibid._, 115 [Westminster]. In every public school the
masters were entirely dependent for any income beyond their statutable
salaries on the liberality of the parents of those boys who were
admitted as COMMONERS, or oppidans. _Ibid._, _Etoniana_, 10. [At Eton]
there were two classes of these boys—“_generosorum filii
Commensales_,” and simple “_Commensales_”—corresponding to the
“gentleman-COMMONER” and “COMMONER” of Oxford; the former probably of
higher social rank, paying more for their commons, and dining at a
separate table.
*Commoner-grub*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A dinner formerly given
by COMMONERS (_q.v._) to College after cricket matches.
*Commoners-speaking*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The day on which the
speakers, selected from among the INFERIORS (_q.v._),
declaimed.
*Common Innings*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A form of
cricket.
*Common-time*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The Short Half, and
beginning of Long up to Easter time.
*Commons*, _subs._ (University).—Rations of bread, butter, and
milk, supplied from the buttery. [When a number of men
breakfast together, the student whose rooms are the
rendezvous tells his scout the names of those _in_-college
men who are coming to breakfast with him. The scout then
collects their COMMONS, which thus forms the substratum of
the entertainment. The other things are of course supplied
by the giver of the breakfast, and are sent in by the
confectioner. As to the knives and forks and crockery, the
scout produces them from his common stock.]
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, viii. Of course you’d like to take out
an æger, sir; and I can bring you your COMMONS just the same.
*Compo*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—The championship
competition in the gymnasium, or at fives; place-kicking.
*Compositions*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Three days coming at the
end of each quarter, during which the composition work of
the various Forms is tested. According to the results is
arranged the “Order of Compositions,” which is accepted as
fixing a boy’s place in his Form for the ensuing quarter.
There is a hill some distance from the College known as
“Composition Hill,” so called because the Poets (_q.v._)
went there for inspiration on composition days. The first
and second boys according to the order of Compositions are
known respectively as “Roman Imperator” and “Carthaginian
Imperator.” The last Compositions of the year used to be
known as the “Great Compositions.” By them the Form medals,
&c., were decided.
*Compound-kish* (or *Hish*), _subs._ (Marlborough).—The rules of
the Latin compound sentence.
*Compul*, _adj._ and _adv._ (Harrow).—That is, “compulsory.”
*Compulsory*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—_See_ RUNABOUT.
*Con*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester).—A rap on the head with the
knuckles, or with anything hard, such as a cricket ball.
Also as _verb_: to rap with the knuckles. [The derivation
formerly accepted at Winchester was κονδυλον = a knuckle,
but the editors of the _Wykehamist_ suggest its origin in
the North Country _con_, “to fillip,” with which the French
_se cogner_ exactly corresponds.]
2. (general).—That is, “construe.” Hence TO GET A CONSTRUE =
to get some one to translate a piece.
*Conduct*, _subs._ (Eton).—A chaplain.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 163. I was stopped on my entry
into school by the “Minos.” The title of “CONDUCT,” by which the
chaplains of Eton College are known, was for many years ludicrously
misprinted by the successive editors of Horace Walpole’s Letters, who
made him talk of “standing funking over against a conduit to be
catechised.”
*Conduit*, _subs._ (Winchester).—(1) In College, a water-tap;
(2) in Commoners, a lavatory.
*Continent*, _adv._ (Winchester).—Ill; on the sick-list: _cf._
ABROAD. [From _continens cameram vel lectum_.] Hence
CONTINENT-ROOM = a sick-chamber.
1605. SHAKSPEARE, _Lear_, i. 2. I pray you have a CONTINENT
forbearance; ... if you do stir abroad, go armed.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 146.
When a boy felt ill, or inclined to quit school for a period, he had
to get leave CONTINENT, which was done by sending a boy in the morning
first to get leave from his tutor, and then from the Head Master.
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, p. 224. We suggested the “CONTINENT room”;
and on being required to say what was to become of the sick boys?
replied, that it was notorious that there was never anything the
matter with them!
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” I
remember that I have to get “LEAVE CONTINENT” for one of the fellows,
_i.e._ he wants to be “æger for the day” (“continent,” of course =
“keeping indoors,” being confined to “sick house” or the infirmary). I
have to ask leave from the senior præfect in chambers, the præfect of
hall, the second master, and the head-master, whom I waylay going to
chapel.
*Cool* (or *Cool-kick*), _subs._ (Eton).—A kick at football with
no one near. Also as _verb_ = to kick hard.
*Copus*, _subs._ (University).—A wine or beer cup: commonly
imposed as a fine upon those who talked Latin in Hall, or
committed other breaches of etiquette. [Dr. Johnson derives
it from _episcopus_, and if this be correct it is doubtless
the same as BISHOP.]
*Copy*, _subs._ (Harrow).—An asterisk: _e.g._ as placed on the
broadsheet against the name of any boy who comes out top of
his division in any subject; three COPIES secure a prize in
Speech-room. _See_ Appendix.
*Corn* (The), _subs._ (Oxford).—Cornmarket Street.
*Corner*, _intj._ (The Leys).—Look out! Clear the way!
[Originally shouted as a warning by boys cycling about the
buildings on approaching a corner.]
*Corner-monitor*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The monitor in turn at BILL
(_q.v._) to keep line and preserve order generally.
*Corps-board*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The Rifle Corps notice-board.
*Cosh*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—A caning. Also as _verb_
= to cane. A rarer word is TANK (_q.v._).
*Cots*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quot. [A corruption
of “cotton.”]
1810. CHARLES LAMB, _Recollections of Christ’s Hospital_ [1835], p.
24. The COTS, or superior Shoe Strings of the Monitors.
*Coup*, _verb._ 1. (Durham).—To upset: in frequent use on the
river. [North dia. COUP = to empty or overset.]
2. (Stonyhurst).—At BANDY (_q.v._), to lift the ball from
the ground by means of the crook of the stick.
*Course*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Duty: in _rota_. IN COURSE = on
duty. [COURSE-KEEPER (obsolete) = a Commoner who drew up a
table of fagging duties.—WRENCH.]
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_, 206. COURSE-KEEPER,
an office in the patronage of the Commoner Præfects, the duties of
which were principally connected with the organisation of the fagging
department. He was required to have been three years in the school, to
be of reasonable bodily strength, and in Middle Part. His privileges
were numerous, the principal being that he was allowed to fag. When he
ascended into Senior Part his duties ceased, but his privileges
remained; he was then called EX-COURSE-KEEPER.
*Court, The* (Stonyhurst).—The quadrangle behind the College
Towers; now more commonly called the Quadrangle.
[“Quadrangle” was one of the names which puzzled the
Claimant in the famous Tichborne Trial. _Cf._ _Times_
reports; also _Stonyhurst Magazine_, vol. i. p. 294, and
vol. ii. p. 317.]
*Courts*, _subs._ (Sherborne).—The school quadrangles: the
earliest known use of the term is at the end of the
sixteenth century.
*Cowshed*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital). _See_ Appendix.
_c._ 1890. _More Gleanings from_ THE BLUE, 84. Time was when it was
looked upon as a sacred duty on the first Sunday of each term to
introduce Hertford boys to those three stones in the Ditch which
represent the toffee man, to show them his six little children, his
brush and comb, his windmill, and whatsoever else belonging to him the
imaginative youth can discern in the bare stones under the COWSHED, as
it is called. Those “sermons in stones” belonged essentially to
Sunday.
*Cow-shooter*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A “deer-stalker”
hat: worn by Præfects and CANDLE-KEEPERS (_q.v._).
*Coxy*, _adj._ (general).—Stuck up; conceited; impudent. [COXY =
conceited (Warwickshire).—HALLIWELL.]
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, p. 202. He’s the COXIEST
young blackguard in the house—I always told you so. _Ibid._, p. 214.
“Confoundedly COXY those young rascals will get if we don’t mind,” was
the general feeling.
1882. F. ANSTEY, _Vice Versâ_, ch. iv. “Now then, young Bultitude, you
used to be a decent fellow enough last term, though you were COXY. So,
before we go any further—what do you mean by this sort of thing?”
*Coy*, _adv._ (Sherborne).—Shy.
*Crackle* (or *Crackling*), _subs._ (University).—The velvet
bars on the gowns of the JOHNIAN “HOGS” (_q.v._). [From a
resemblance to the scored rind on roast pork.] The covered
bridge between one of the courts and the grounds of John’s
is called the Isthmus of Suez (Latin _sus_, a swine).
1885. CUTHBERT BEDE, in _Notes and Queries_, 6 S., xi. 414. The word
CRACKLE refers to the velvet bars on the students’ gowns.
*Cram*, _subs._ (general).—An adventitious aid to study; a
translation; a crib. As _verb_ = to study at high pressure.
Hence, CRAMMER = a COACH (_q.v._); a GRINDER (_q.v._); and
CRAMMING = studying hard.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantab._, s.v.
1812. Miss EDGEWORTH, _Patronage_, ch. iii. Put him into the hands of
a clever grinder or CRAMMER, and they would soon cram the necessary
portion of Latin and Greek into him.
1825. HONE, _Every-Day Book_, Feb. 22. Shutting my room door ... and
CRAMMING Euc.
1841. _Punch_, vol. i. p. 201, col. 1. Aspirants to honours in law,
physic, or divinity, each know the value of private CRAMMING.
1844. _Puck_, p. 13. Though for Great Go and for Small, I teach Paley,
CRAM and all.
1853. BRADLEY (“C. Bede”), _Verdant Green_, pt. II. p. 68. The
infatuated Mr. Bouncer madly persisted ... in going into the school
clad in his examination coat, and padded over with a host of CRAMS.
1863. CHARLES READE, _Hard Cash_, i. p. 16. “All this term I have been
(‘training’ scratched out and another word put in: c—r oh, I know)
CRAMMING.” “CRAMMING, love?” “Yes, that is Oxfordish for studying.”
1869. SPENCER, _Study of Sociology_, ch. xv. 574 (9th ed.). And here,
by higher culture, I do not mean mere language-learning, and an
extension of the detestable CRAMMING system at present in use.
1872. BESANT AND RICE, _My Little Girl_. The writer of one crushing
article CRAMMED for it, like Mr. Pott’s young man.
1872. _Evening Standard_, Aug. 16. “The Competition Wallah.” The
CRAMMER follows in the wake of competitive examinations as surely as
does the shadow the body.
1872. _Daily News_, Dec. 20. Competitive examinations for the public
service defeated in a great measure the object of their promoters,
which was to place rich and poor on an equality, because success was
made to depend very largely on successful CRAMMING, which meant a
high-priced CRAMMER.
*Crib*, _subs._ (general).—A surreptitious aid to study. Also as
_verb_.
1841. _Punch_, i. 177. CRIBBING his answers from a tiny manual ...
which he hides under his blotting-paper. _Ibid._, 185. He has with a
prudent forethought stuffed his CRIBS inside his double-breasted
waistcoat.
1855. THACKERAY, _Newcomes_, ch. xxii. I wish I had read Greek a
little more at school, ... when we return I think I shall try and read
it with CRIBS.
1856. T. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, pt. II. ch. vi. Tom, I
want you to give up using vulgus books and CRIBS. _Ibid._, ii. 3. Two
highly moral lines ... which he CRIBBED entire from one of his books.
1889. _Globe_, 12th Oct., p. 1, col. 4. Always, it seems likely, there
will be men “going up” for examinations; and every now and again, no
doubt, there will be among them a wily “Heathen Pass-ee” like him of
whom Mr. Hilton speaks—who had CRIBS up his sleeve, and notes on his
cuff.
*Crick, The* (Rugby). _See_ quot.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 182. THE CRICK is the most celebrated of
all school runs. Everybody, I fancy, in the running world has heard of
it. On a day at the end of the Christmas term—generally on the first
Thursday in December—you may see all the School assembled at the “Quad
gates.”... THE CRICK is only run once a year. Its course is along
roads and footpaths to Crick village, and then back by Hillmorton, the
finish being a length of about a third of a mile along the Hillmorton
Road. It is a race pure and simple; and is in this respect a race
against time.... The length of the race is supposed to be about eleven
or twelve miles, and the time in which it is run is generally between
an hour and twenty minutes and an hour and a half.
*Cricket-bill*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A “call-over” on the
cricket-ground. All fall into line, down which a master goes
noting the number of those absent as stated by the SHEPHERDS
(_q.v._).
*Cricket-Quarter*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—_See_ LONG QUARTER.
*Croc*, _subs._ (Cheltenham).—A ladies’ school when walking out.
*Crocketts*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A kind of bastard cricket,
sometimes called “small CROCKETTS.” A stump was used and a
fives ball, with a bat of plain deal about two inches broad,
or a broomstick. TO GET CROCKETTS = to fail to score; to get
a “duck’s egg.” _Cf._ BOOKS.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 122. The
more noisily disposed would indulge in ... playing Hicockolorum, or
CROCKETTS.
*Cropple*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To pluck; to plough—UP TO Books.
[_Wykehamicé_ for _cripple_.]
*Cross.* TO BE CROSSED, _verb. phr._—For not paying term bills
to the bursar (treasurer), or for cutting chapels, or
lectures, or other offences, an undergrad. can be CROSSED at
the buttery, or kitchen, or both, _i.e._ a CROSS is put
against his name by the Don, who wishes to see him, or to
punish him.
1853. BRADLEY (“Cuthbert Bede”), _Verdant Green_, pt. II. ch. x.
Sir!—You will translate all your lectures; have your name CROSSED on
the buttery and kitchen books; and be confined to chapel, hall, and
college.
*Crow*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A master. [From the black gown
with “wings.”]
*Crown* (Charterhouse).—The school tuck-shop.
1900. TOD, _Charterhouse_, 96. At Old Charterhouse the word CROWN,
with a sort of coronet above it, was painted in large white letters on
a wall near the racket courts. The story is that the Crown Inn once
stood just outside this wall.... When the inn was pulled down, Lord
Ellenborough, then a boy in the school, painted a crown on a wall near
the place where the inn had stood. Years after, on his return from
India, being touched to find his boyish work still in existence, he
expressed a hope that it might never be allowed to vanish; so it has
been painted again from time to time, and Merchant Taylors’ still keep
it fresh. This “CROWN” was not near the tuck-shop, which was a grimy
cellar under the old school, with the face of a disused clock for a
signboard, and the superscription, “NO TICK HERE.” But it was thought
fit that the memory of this old word should be kept up somehow and
somewhere at the new school, so a large theatrical-looking crown was
suspended, like a tavern sign, outside the school tuck-shop in the
pavilion. In this way the name and memory of this bit of antiquity are
preserved.
*Crow Wood* (Stonyhurst).—A wood in the Park.
1884. _Stonyhurst Mag._, June, p. 294. The churn was in the latter
days [1834] turned by a wheel worked by water supplied from the CROW
WOOD.
*Crug*, _subs._ 1. (Christ’s Hospital).—At Hertford, a crust; in
the London school, crust and crumb alike.
1820. LAMB, _Elia_ (_Christ’s Hospital_) [_Works_ (1852), 322]. He had
his tea and hot rolls in a morning, while we were battening upon our
quarter of a penny loaf—our CRUG.
2. A BLUE (_q.v._); especially an “old boy.”
1877. BLANCH, _Blue-Coat Boys_, p. 80. All CRUGS will well remember,
&c.
*Cruganaler*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A biscuit given on
St. Matthew’s Day. [Orthography dubious. Blanch inclines to
the following derivation: “The biscuit had once something to
do with those nights when bread and beer, with cheese, were
substituted for bread-and-butter and milk. Thence the
term ‘crug and aler.’ The only argument against this is
the fact that the liquid was never dignified with the
name of ale, but was invariably called ‘the swipes.’ By
another derivation = ‘hard as nails.’ It is then spelt
CRUGGYNAILER.”] Obsolete.
*Cruggy*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Hungry. [From CRUG
(_q.v._).]
*Crump*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A hard hit; a fall. Also as
_verb_.
*Cud*, _adj._ 1. (Winchester).—Pretty; handsome. [A suggested
derivation is from κυδος; another is the A.S. _cuð_, the
Scots _couthie_, and whence _cuðle_, to cuddle (a derivative
of _cuð_), the meaning formerly given to a verbal usage of
CUD at Winchester.]
2. (Christ’s Hospital).—Severe. Whence CUDDY = hard:
difficult; said of a lesson. Also _Hertfordicé_ for
PASSY (_q.v._). [There is a common hard biscuit called a
“cuddy-biscuit” which doubtless has this derivation.]
Obsolete.
*Culminate*, _verb_ (University: obsolete).—To mount a
coach-box.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantabrigiam_, s.v.
*Cup-fag*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A boy whose duty it is to
place the challenge cups, should his House have any, in
their cases each morning, and remove them to a safe place
every night. He has also to keep them clean, and for neglect
of any of these duties he is fined. He receives a quarterly
payment for his services, and is exempt from other forms of
fagging.
*Curtain.* ABOVE THE CURTAIN, _phr._ (Westminster).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 108. A curtain formerly was
drawn across the school, dividing the upper forms from the lower. One
day a boy was so unlucky as to tear it; and Busby’s known severity
left no doubt of the punishment that would follow. The offender was in
despair, when a generous schoolfellow volunteered to take the blame
upon himself and suffered in his friend’s stead accordingly.... In
three year’s time he was sufficiently advanced to be admitted by Busby
ABOVE THE CURTAIN—that is, into the fourth class, the lowest in the
upper school. Of this class, however, he says the head-master “took
little or no care,” but as he rose into the higher forms he found the
teaching more satisfactory.
*Cuse*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A book in which a record is kept
of the “marks” in each division; a CLASSICUS PAPER (_q.v._):
also used for the weekly order.
*Custos*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The official who looks after all
arrangements in the way of stationery, &c., keeps the keys,
cuts names on the House-boards, &c.
Also _see_ ADMONISHING-MONEY.
*Cut*, _verb_ (general).—To avoid; to absent oneself from:
_e.g._ TO CUT LECTURE, TO CUT CHAPEL, TO CUT HALL, TO CUT
GATES. _See_ Appendix.
TO CUT INTO, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—Originally to hit
one with a “ground ash.” The office was exercised by
Bible-clerks upon a man kicking up a row when up to Books.
Now generally used in the sense of to correct in a less
formal manner than TUNDING (_q.v._).
TO CUT IN A BOOK, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866). CUT IN A
BOOK.—A method of drawing lots. A certain letter was fixed on (_e.g._
the first in the second line on the left page), each boy then turned
over a leaf, and whoever turned over the leaf in which the
corresponding letter was nearest to A, won.
*Cuts*, _subs._ (general).—Flannel trousers; SHORTS (_q.v._).
*Dab*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The entrance examination: held at the
beginning of term.
To be a DAB = to be skilled at anything. Hence, the two
entrance examinations, one at the end of term, and the other
at the very beginning of the next, are the SKEW (_q.v._) and
the DAB respectively. The DAB offers no second chance; hence
a bad candidate tries the “skew” first.
*Dame*, _subs._ (Eton).—A mathematical or other master (except a
classical) who keeps a boarding-house for boys in College.
Also (obsolete) at Harrow. _See_ Appendix, and quot. 1867.
1786-1805. TOOKE, _Parley_, 390, s.v. BATTEL. A term used at Eton for
the small portion of food which in addition to the College allowance
the Collegers receive from their DAMES.
1865. _Etoniana_, 133. Formerly these [boarding] houses were almost
entirely kept by “DAMES” or “Dominies”—the latter being the old style
when there was a male head of the establishment, though now the term
“DAMES” applies to all without reference to sex. Tutors and
assistant-masters used to live in most of these houses, but had no
charge over the boys. Only the lower master and some of the senior
assistant-masters kept houses of their own. There are now twenty
boarding-houses kept by masters, and ten by “DAMES”—of whom four only
are ladies.
1866-72. “MAC,” _Sketchy Memories of Eton_ (1885). I am thankful to
say that I did not attend the show. But I happened to see the World
conducted back to his DAME’S, and the spectacle was gruesome. The
punishment inflicted had been very considerable, and I do not think
the World appeared in public for quite a fortnight.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_ [Harrow], p. 293. All these
[sixteen boarding-houses other than the head-master’s] are kept by
assistant-masters, and form one considerable source of their income.
No DAMES’ boarding-houses are now sanctioned; and for the good order
of his establishment each master is responsible.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 16. Until recently some of the
boarding-houses were kept by assistant-masters, the remainder by
“dominies” or “DAMES,” who took no part in the work of education, and
had little or no disciplinary jurisdiction. The boys, therefore, who
boarded in DAMES’ houses had as their tutors assistant-masters
residing elsewhere. Now, although there remains only one female DAME,
the teachers of mathematics, science, and French are for some purposes
accounted DAMES.
*Damnation-corner*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ quot., and
DAMNATION-HILL (Appendix).
1866-72. “MAC,” _Sketchy Memories of Eton_ (1885). Meanwhile,
“regardless of our doom, we little victims played,” or rather watched
the play; we little knew what cruel fate awaited us, or that the
present head-master of Eton and the Rev. F. W. Cornish lay in ambush
for our outcoming behind that very sharp turn in the High Street,
which, on account of its acute angle, and the consequent danger of
being nailed in shirking in old days, was somewhat flippantly termed
DAMNATION-CORNER.
*Dancing Gallery, The* (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The old name of
the Picta Gallery.
1884. _Stonyhurst Mag._, i. 290. The gallery now known as “Our Lady’s
Gallery,” which in former times was designated THE DANCING GALLERY. It
is by competent judges pronounced to be one of the finest bits of
“Baronial Gothic” architecture in England, but the door is quite a
solecism, for it is of a much later design.
*Dark Walk, The* (Stonyhurst).—A long avenue of tall yew trees
in the garden. Tradition says the last of the Shireburns was
poisoned by eating some of the berries from these trees.
_Cf._ _Stonyhurst Mag._, ii. 179; iv. 703.
1885. _Stonyhurst Mag._, i. 179. The DARK WALK formerly extended a
considerable way nearer the house than now, and when the Jesuits came
it was found necessary to encroach upon the gardens to make room for
the playgrounds, and a certain part of the DARK WALK was taken in.
*Darker* (Harrow).—The photographic “dark-room”: formerly under
the Science Schools.
*Dark-lanthorn* (Harrow).—_See_ JACK-O’-LANTERN.
*Date-card*, _subs._ (Haileybury).—_See_ quot.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 297. Besides the ordinary forms of
punishment, there is the DATE-CARD, of which refractory or forgetful
youths write out selected “twelves.” It is much more useful to know
“Gutenberg prints from moveable type, 1453,” than to record “Infaudum,
regina, jubes renovare dolorem.”
*Daviesites* (Charterhouse).—_See_ OUT-HOUSES.
*Day* (Stonyhurst).—Rector’s Day, Provincial’s Day, General’s
Day—whole holidays given in honour of superiors; in the two
former instances accompanied by presentations of verses
written by the boys. [The word “DAY” seems as peculiar as
“PLACE” (_q.v._). _Cf._ the “Three hundred-day,” given when
the number of boys first reached three hundred; “Kenna’s
Day,” on the occasion of the visit of Captain Kenna, V.C.,
to the College, &c.]
*Day-boys*, _subs._ (Cheltenham).—An exercise on the horizontal
bar.
*Dean*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A small band of wood round a
BILL-BRIGHTER (_q.v._); that securing a fagot is called a
BISHOP (_q.v._).
*Debater*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The school debating society.
*Deeds* (or *Dees*), _subs._ (Felsted).—Private prayers.
*Deg*, _subs._ and _verb_ (The Leys).—To degrade; to depose.
Hence, one who has forfeited rank or office by misconduct.
*Degra*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A degradation.
*Degrade*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To feel degradation:
_e.g._ he is DEGRADED to do so-and-so.
*Dep*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A deputy GRECIAN (_q.v._),
_i.e._ a boy in the form below the GRECIANS.
*Deputy*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The Junior CANDLEKEEPER
(_q.v._), who had the organisation of the Fagging
department, and assisted the Senior CANDLEKEEPER in
thrashing the Juniors in Hall.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Derrywag*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Paper used for parsing: ruled
twenty lines down, and six across. [That is, “derivation
paper.”]
*Deten*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—A card issued to a boy
set down for Saturday afternoon detention. Also called a
SOUP-TICKET.
*Devor*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Plum-cake. [From the Latin
verb.]
*Dex*, _subs._ (Loretto).—A form of “small cricket” once
extremely popular at Loretto. [The name originated with
Andrew Lang, and was not intended to be complimentary to the
game. Often called PUDDEX, owing to a mistaken derivation.]
*Dibs* (or *Dobs*), _subs._ (Sherborne).—Prayers.
*Dic*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A dictionary.
*Dinge*, _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—A picture or
painting.
*Dip*, _subs._ 1. (Westminster).—A pocket-inkstand.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 165. Two pen-knives, two
pieces of india-rubber, two pencils, two pieces of sealing-wax, two
pieces of penstring, two DIPS (little globular ink-bottles), two
DIP-CORKS, two wedges, two pieces of gutta-percha (for putting on the
points of foils), and any number of pens. [Contents of a Westminster
fag’s pocket.]
2. (Felsted).—An “incandescent” electric lamp. Hence DIP-KEY
= an electric light switch-key.
*Dispar* (or *Disper*), _subs._ (Winchester).—A portion; a
share. _See_ quot., and CAT’S-HEAD.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Arch. Words_, s.v. DISPAR ... A commons or share.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 22. Under the superintendence
of the _præfectus ollæ_ (prefect of tub), portions of beef, called
DISPARS, were served out to the boys in messes of four, with a
sufficiency of bread, and beer in large black jacks.
*Distinction-breakfast*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_
GOOD-BREAKFAST.
*Distinguished*, _adj._ (Stonyhurst).—Said of a boy who obtains
two-thirds of the marks in any examination. “Distinction” in
the year’s work wins a prize, and term “distinctions” are
otherwise rewarded.
*Ditch* (The), _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ Appendix.
1854. _The Blue_ [quoted in] July 1871. The Steward did not attempt to
quiet us; he got us out of the Hall as quickly as he could, and we
rushed to the Treasurer’s house in the DITCH, and cried “Shame” till
we were tired.
*Ditto-blues*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A suit of clothes all of
blue cloth.
*Div*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A “division”: _e.g._ TIQUE-DIV
(_q.v._).
*Do*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A general name for minor and special
suppers: usually given to some privileged class, or in
reward for some extra work: e.g. Choir-DO; Magazine-DO
(given to the staff and contributors to the School
magazine). _Cf._ GOOD-SUPPER and GOOD-BREAKFAST. Whence
DO-ROOM = the long room in which a DO is held. [As a rule
words with the suffix “room” are modern; “PLACE” (_q.v._) is
the older form.]
*Dock*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To erase: as by rubbing out, or by
a stroke of the pen; to tear out: as leaves from a book.
Also DOCK OUT.
*Doctor*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The Head-master.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 27. The
Head Master, or the DOCTOR, as he is always called, lives in
“Commoners’ buildings.”
*Dog-biscuit*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A biscuit, which with a
glass of milk, or (in winter) a cup of coffee, may be had
before chapel at 7.30 A.M.
*Dogger*, _verb_ (Charterhouse).—To cheat; to sell rubbish.
*Dogs*, _intj._ (Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—The
III^{rd} Class: formerly used as was CATS (_q.v._) of the
II^{nd} Class.
*Dog-shooter*, _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—_See_ quot.
1889. BARRERE, _Slang, Jargon, and Cant_, p. 317. Cadets thus term a
student who accelerates, that is, who, being pretty certain of not
being able to obtain a commission in the engineers, or not caring for
it, elects to join a superior class before the end of the term.
*Dole*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A stratagem; a trick: as
to get one out of bed. [From Latin _dolus_.]
*Dolifier*, _subs._ (Winchester).—One who contrives a trick.
_See_ DOLE.
*Dolphin*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A boy who has passed a certain
examination in swimming and diving: about the fifteen best,
as a rule, are so named.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, p. 96. On the last Monday of the term
there is a contest for the best swimmer and the best diver, a
challenge cup being given for these events by Lord Ebrington. There
are also contests for racing, picking up eggs, and to become
“DOLPHINS,” and for a Humane Society medal.
*Dome* (or *Doom*), _subs._ (Sherborne).—A bedroom.
*Domum*, _intj._ (Winchester; obsolete).—The summons back from
Hills: given by College Juniors. Also as in quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_, 207. DOMUM—a Latin
Canticle, supposed to have been written by a boy who was not allowed
to go home for the holidays. The tradition says that he carved it on a
tree, and then committed suicide. On the last Friday in Long Half,
after Election, a kind of festival was held in the evening, when
numbers of people came into College, and DOMUM was sung over and over
again in School, Meads, and the principal Quadrangle ... at each place
(p. 183) singing DOMUM louder than before, till at last the power
failed, and the ladies, visitors, and superannuates went to recruit
their energies for a brief period before going to the DOMUM-BALL at
St. John’s rooms.
*Domum-ball*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A ball given by the
superannuated College Prefects on the evening after the
“men” go home for the Midsummer holidays.
*Domum-day*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Going-home day at Midsummer.
*Don*, _subs._ (University).—A fellow or officer of a college;
whence the vulgar usage = an adept; a swell. [From Latin
_dominus_, a lord, through the Spanish title.]
1665. DRYDEN, _Indian Emperor_, Epilogue, 21. For the great DONS of
wit—Phœbus gives them full privilege alone, To damn all others, and
cry up their own.
1698-1700. WARD, _London Spy_, pt. XIII. p. 299. Like the Great Old
DONS of the Law, when they dance the Measures in an Inns-of-Court Hall
upon the first day of Christmas.
1730. JAS. MILLER, _Humours of Oxford_, i. p. 7 (2nd ed.). The old
DONS ... will come cringing, cap in hand, to offer to show the ladies
the curiosities of the college.
1826. REYNOLDS (“Peter Corcoran”), _Song on the Fancy_. Dull
innocence! Twaddle on, Thy weary worshipper—and fain Would give thee
up, to be a DON, And beat the watch in Drury Lane.
1855. THACKERAY, _Newcomes_, ch. xi. Does not go much into society,
except ... once or twice to the houses of great country DONS who dwell
near him in the country.
_c._ 1880. _Broadside Ballad_, sung by Jenny Hill. “’Arry, ’Arry,
There you are now, ’Arry, I say, ’Arry, by Jove, you are a DON.”
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 11. What the DONS can be about to
allow boys ... to have a bottle of champagne each, and then “more,” I
can _not_ understand.
*Dor*, _subs._ (Old Westminster).—_See_ quot. [TO OBTAIN A DOR =
to get leave to sleep.—HALLIWELL.]
1715. J. KERSEY, _English Dictionary_. _Sub voce_, a term used at
Westminster School for leave to sleep awhile.
*Double*, _subs._ 1. (Loretto).—A general assembly of the
school. The first double is for morning prayers at 9.30 A.M.
after first hour’s school. After prayers, sides for the day
are arranged in Hall. The head boy holds a double after
dinner, when the exercise of those not playing in regular
games is arranged. [Originally summoned by a double bell.]
2. (Harrow).—A room shared by one other. _See_ SINGLE.
*Double Puff*, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—_See_ quot.
1886. _Stonyhurst Mag._, iii. 18. DOUBLE PUFF, ... a game played after
the fashion of “tip and run,” except that instead of a wicket and
tennis ball a Stonyhurst cricket bat is used, and a ball about the
size of an ordinary BANDY (_q.v._) ball, made of soft material and
covered with sheepskin, which made it very hard to hit far, and still
harder either to catch, or to pick up and throw in.... The distance
between the wickets is not as long as in wicket cricket; and the rule
about bowling is the same as in Stonyhurst cricket, namely, under-arm
and not waiting till the batsman is ready. It used to be played a good
many years ago on Sunday afternoons, between Vespers and supper; and
the community used to come out in large numbers to play it.
*Double-ruled*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Punishment paper. [Ruled
double like a copy-book.]
*Dough*, _subs._ (general).—Pudding.
*Doul*, _subs._ (Shrewsbury and Durham).—A fag. Also as _verb_.
Obsolete at Durham. _Cf._ DOWLINGS.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_ [Shrewsbury], p. 250. Four boys
are “put on” by rotation every week as general fags for the head
common room, whose duties in modern days consist chiefly in fetching
and carrying. These fags are called DOULS (δουλος) in the classical
Shrewsbury vernacular.
*Dove*, _subs._ (Cambridge: obsolete).—A member of St.
Catharine’s College.
1889. C. WHIBLEY, _Three Centuries of Cambridge Wit_, p. xxix. It is
said that the members of St. Catharine’s Hall were first of all called
“Puritans” from the derivation of the name of their patroness from
καθαίρειν. The “dove” being the emblem of purity, to change a name
from “Puritans” to DOVES was but one short step.
*Dowlings*, _subs._ (Shrewsbury).—Football.
1883. PASCOE, _Life at our Public Schools_. There are four or five
compulsory games a week (football) known as DOWLINGS (δουλος).
*Down.* TO BE DOWN, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To be engaged in
fagging: as in the cricket field, &c. A COLLEGE usage.
Also _see_ GO and SEND.
*Draw.* TO DRAW ROUND, _verb. phr._ (Felsted).—Originally to
bustle about; to chastise in a jocular way. Later, and
usually = to smack on the face or head.
*Dreep* (or *Dreip*), _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—A
curiously dressed person: _e.g._ “That’s a funny-looking
DREEP.”
*Dribbler*, _subs._ (Sherborne).—A weak-minded person.
*Drifty*, _adj._ (Felsted: obsolete).—Cold: _e.g._ “a DRIFTY
day.”
*Drive*, _verb_ (Felsted).—To be late, or nearly late, for a
roll-call. Also as _subs._: _e.g._ “He did a drive.”
_Intj._ (Felsted).—A contemptuous retort, signifying that a
piece of news is stale: originally DRIVE UP! [The original
usage.]
*Dry-bob*, _subs._ (Eton).—A boy who goes in for cricket rather
than boating. _See_ WET-BOB.
1839. BUCKLAND [_Macmillan’s Mag._ (Nov. 1889), “Eton Fifty Years
Ago”]. It was the ambition of most boys to be a wet-bob, and to be “in
the boats.” The school was divided between wet-bobs and DRY-BOBS, the
former taking their pleasure on the river, and the latter in the
cricket-field.
*Duchess’ Rooms* (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A section of the old
College once inhabited by a Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.
1885. _Stonyhurst Mag._, ii. 100. The whole of this building ... stood
in what is now the back court.... It was entirely of wood and plaster,
in the style denominated “post and pattern.” The Duchess of Norfolk,
the last of the Shireburns, daughter of Sir Nicholas, resided in it,
hence the name of THE DUCHESS’ ROOMS by which it was last known. She
faced the front of the wooden building with stone, and inserted sash
windows, a style then coming into fashion.
*Dubs*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Double.
*Duck*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester).—The face. TO MAKE A DUCK = to
grimace. [DUCK (var. dial.) = to bow.]
2. (Felsted).—A school matron.
3. (Harrow).—One of the House swimming four, upwards of
sixteen. Whence DUCKLING = one under sixteen.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, p. 96. “Ducker” is open all the summer
term, and for two weeks after the boys go back in September. For those
who care for swimming there are inter-House swimming matches; and each
House elects DUCKS (boys over sixteen) and DUCKLINGS (boys under
sixteen) to compete for Cock-House.
*Ducker, The* (Harrow).—The school bathing-place beyond the
Footer Fields: the largest artificial open-air bathing place
in England. Originally the DUCK-PUDDLE. [Probably the first
example of the “-ER” terminations: it is at least forty
years old.]
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 322. Bathing was always, until
very lately, practised under difficulties at Harrow. The common
bathing-place, known as DUCK-PUDDLE ... was a long piece of muddy
water, varying from four to eight feet in depth. There, after it had
been stirred up by all possible means into more of a puddle than
usual, new boys were formally dipped.... To avoid mixing in the
general wash at DUCK-PUDDLE, many boys used to go out to the Brent at
Perivale, or even as far as Ellestree reservoir, for bathing; and
these were favourite expeditions on the mornings of Saints’ days. But
Dr. Vaughan had the old “puddle” lined with brick, and supplied with
water by a steam-engine, to the great additional comfort of the
bathers.
*Ducks*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Football knickerbockers. [Made of
white “duck.”]
*Dump*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To extinguish: as a candle. _Ex._
DUMP the TOLLY (_q.v._). [_Dump_ (Devon) = to knock heavily;
to stump.]
*Dungeons.* MEET YOU IN THE DUNGEONS, _phr._ (Royal High School,
Edin.).—A challenge to fight. _See_ CALTON, and CAMPUS
MARTIUS.
*Dusthole*, _subs._ (Cambridge: obsolete).—Sidney Sussex
College.
*Early* (or *Late*) *Play*, _subs._ (Westminster).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 186. Besides the regular
weekly half-holidays, there are others specially granted, known as
EARLY and LATE PLAYS. The latter, given by the head-master at his
discretion, consists in the remission of all school work after eleven
A.M. But an EARLY PLAY—when school is “up” at nine—is a much more
formal indulgence, accorded by very ancient custom only to the
personal request of some visitor of distinction. St. David’s Day
(March 1st) and St. Patrick’s (March 17) have always been holidays of
this class: for the former, the late and the present Sir Watkin Wynn
have always come down to Westminster; and for the latter, the late
Marquess of Lansdowne (as an Irish peer) and Sir Everard Home. The
custom, even now observed on some occasions, was for the visitor’s
arrival at the gate to be formally announced to the head-master by
Monos, who received a “tip” for his services. The master at once “came
down school,” and reappeared through the great door, accompanied by
the hero of the day, who was received by the boys with great
demonstrations of welcome, expressed by the vigorous rapping of books
on the desks. Both knelt down side by side, while the “monitor of
school,” kneeling immediately in front of them, proceeded with the
usual school prayers. The visitor then “begged a play,” which was
granted. The applause was renewed, and acknowledged by a bow, after
which the whole of the boys rushed joyously down school, the masters
following in more grave and stately fashion. The visits of the “King
of North Wales” were doubly popular, since he presented every Welsh
boy with a sovereign—a custom which the present baronet liberally
continues.
*East.* _See_ WISE MEN OF THE EAST.
*Ecky*, _subs._ (Manchester Grammar).—Exercise.
*Egg* (or *Egg-up*), _verb_ (Marlborough).—To show ostentatious
zeal. Whence EGGER (_subs._) and EGGY (_adj._).
*Egg-flip Day*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The Founder’s
Commemoration Day. [Because a favourite beverage at the
festivities succeeding the great annual football match
played on that day between the “first sixes” of Commoners
and College was “Egg-flip.”]
*Eggotty*, _adj._ (Felsted).—Used as follows: A boy seen
carrying an egg or eggs, if addressed by another as
“EGGOTTY,” might, must in fact, almost in honour, throw an
egg at him. If the egg-owner was a good shot he would invite
his friend “call me EGGOTTY.”
*Eight*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The school Shooting EIGHT: also the
Gym. EIGHT.
*Election*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The examination of Præfects
and Senior Part for New College, and of candidates for
admission to Winchester.
_Intj._ (Westminster).—A fag-call.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 164. From about 8 to 10 he
[the fag] is supposed to be at work, in a sort of common room assigned
to the juniors collectively, preparing his lessons for next day; but
the call of “ELECTION,” which signifies that the services of one of
the junior election is required by one of the seniors, used to be
frequent enough to be a very serious interruption. It is admitted that
these demands upon a junior’s time have commonly been such that “a boy
tempted to be idle, as most of them are, finds very considerable
difficulty in doing his work.” In order to check these interruptions
as far as possible, a late regulation has made all fagging unlawful
during these evening hours of work.
TO GAIN A YEAR BY ELECTION, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—A boy
not being a FOUNDER (_q.v._) was obliged to leave at the
Election immediately succeeding his eighteenth birthday; he
whose birthday came shortly after Election, was thus enabled
to stay till he was nearly nineteen, and was so said “to
gain a year.”—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Electors*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The Warden and two Fellows of
New College, and the Warden, Sub-Warden, and Head-master of
Winchester, who conducted ELECTION (_q.v._).—MANSFIELD (_c._
1840).
*Elegant Extracts*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—Students who, though
“plucked,” were still given their degrees. A line was drawn
below the poll-list, and those allowed to pass were
nicknamed the ELEGANT EXTRACTS. There was a similar limbo in
the honour-list.
*Elements*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The first Form.
*End*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester).—A table or division of a table
in College Hall, practically meaning “mess.”—WRENCH.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 208. END.—At
dinner-time the INFERIORS (_q.v._) were divided into six companies,
each being presided over by a _Candlekeeper_ (_q.v._). These companies
and the table at which they sat were called ENDS.
2. (Felsted).—_See_ TIP.
*English*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A translation; an adventitious
aid to study; a crib.
*Ensign* (Eton).—_See_ MONTEM.
*Enterta*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—An entertainment.
*-er*, _inseparable suffix_ (Harrow).
*Erasmus.* GREAT (or LITTLE) ERASMUS FORM, _subs. phr._
(Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quot.
1834. TROLLOPE, _History of Christ’s Hospital_. THE GREAT AND LITTLE
ERASMUS FORMS get their respectable and respective titles from the
fact that their tenants in old time studied the larger and smaller
Colloquies of the learned Erasmus.
1870-95. _More Gleanings from_ THE BLUE, 191. THE GREAT ERASMUS.—The
origin of a name is seldom what one thinks it ought to be. Those of us
who rejoice in being able to write after our names the mystic letters,
L.E._x._, L.E._y._, L.E._z._, are distinguished from our less
fortunate neighbours by the lightning fluency with which we are able
to talk secrets in Greek. ERASMUS is a Greek word, and the Dutchman,
thanks to a visit to Oxford, became so great a scholar in Greek, that
he was appointed first Regius Professor of Greek in the University of
Cambridge.... Unfortunately, this is all wrong as far as the LITTLE
ERAS. are concerned, for they were not called ERAS. because they knew
Greek, but because they read Latin.... Erasmus did a kindness to
Christ’s Hospital long after his death in having written a number of
“Colloquies,” conversations between typical characters of his day, in
clear and faultless Latin.
*Ewe-lamb*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A school hour in which a Master
or Prefect has no appointed lesson.
*Ex*, _subs._ (Harrow).—(1) An exercise of any sort; and (2) an
EXEAT (_q.v._). Also (Charterhouse) in sense 2, but _not_
EXTRA, sense 3 (_q.v._).
*Ex-Course-keeper*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ COURSE-KEEPER.
*Exeat*, _subs._ 1. (general).—Written permission to go away
from School or College either at the end or during the term
for a longer period than a day. _Cf._ ABSIT.
1886. DICKENS, _Dict. of Cambridge_, 3. No undergraduate should go
down without obtaining his EXEAT.
2. (Charterhouse).—An interval in the middle of each of the
three terms of the school year; it was instituted so that
there might be no leaving at odd times. It lasts from noon
on Saturday to 6.45 P.M. on the following Monday. Formerly
Upper School had a GOING-OUT SATURDAY every week, and the
Under School one every other week, and leave lasted from
noon on Saturday till Sunday evening chapel. Also at Harrow
a similar term of leave.
*Exercises*, _subs._ (Sherborne: obsolete).—Ordinary Form
lessons, not merely written work: seventeenth century.
*Explain.* DON’T EXPLAIN! _intj._ (The Leys).—An injunction to
silence; “Shut up!”
*Extra*, _subs._ (Harrow).—1. Extra school on Tuesdays, when
those SENT (_q.v._) copy out Latin grammar for two hours and
a half: an extreme punishment.
2. (Harrow).—An extra day’s BOY (_q.v._): given to those who
CUT (_q.v._) when “on boy.”
3. (Charterhouse).—Extra school: it lasts from 2 to 4 every
Wednesday afternoon. The ways of procuring admission to it
are various: to neglect a REP (_q.v._) or a “construe,” to
be late for anything, to make a noise in the cubicles, to
come into school in slippers, or any misdemeanour leads to a
boy being “down for EXTRA.” The entries are kept in ... THE
BLACK BOOK. EXTRA school is for offences committed during
the first part of the week. There is also EXTRA drill on
Saturdays in Scholars’ Court, which lasts half the time of
EXTRA school, and which is much more disliked, for offences
committed between a Thursday and a Saturday.
*Extra Drill*, _subs._ (The Leys).—Imposed by way of punishment.
*Ex Trumps*, _adv. phr._ (Winchester).—Extempore. TO GO UP TO
BOOKS EX TRUMPS = to go to class without preparing one’s
lesson.
*Fag*, _subs._ 1. (general).—A boy who does menial work for a
schoolfellow in a higher Form. [From FAG, to grow weary.]
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 37. The
duties of a FAG, in the days of which I write, may be more easily
described by informing the reader what he had not to do, than by
endeavouring to make out a list of his positive duties. I believe when
I say that he had not to make the beds, nor to clean shoes, I have
exhausted the negative catalogue.
1855. THACKERAY, _Newcomes_, ch. xviii. Bob Trotter, the diminutive
FAG of the studio, who ran on all the young men’s errands, and fetched
them in apples, oranges, and walnuts.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, vii. These were the principal
duties of the FAGS in the house. From supper until nine o’clock three
FAGS taken in order stood in the passages, and answered any præposter
who called “Fag,” racing to the door, the last comer having to do the
work. This consisted generally of going to the buttery for beer and
bread and cheese (for the great men did not sup with the rest, but had
each his own allowance in his study or the fifth-form room), cleaning
candlesticks and putting in new candles, toasting cheese, bottling
beer, and carrying messages about the house.... And besides this
nightwork, each præpostor had three or four fags specially allotted to
him, of whom he was supposed to be the guide, philosopher, and friend,
and who in return for these good offices had to clean out his study
every morning by turns, directly after first lesson and before he
returned from breakfast.
1857. G. A. LAWRENCE, _Guy Livingstone_, ch. i. Is still enumerated
among the feats of the brave days of old, by the FAGS over their
evening small beer.
2. (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quot.
1850. L. HUNT, _Autobiography_, ch. iii. FAG, with us [at Christ’s
Hospital] meant eatables. The learned derived the word from the Greek
_phago_, to eat.
3. (Stonyhurst).—A fielder: at cricket. Also FAGGER.
4. (Stonyhurst).—A bore.
_Verb._ 1. (general).—To do menial work for a schoolfellow
in a higher Form. Hence FAGGER, FAG-MASTER, FAGGING, and
FAGGERY.
1853. DE QUINCEY, _Autob. Sketches_, i. 210. FAGGERY was an abuse too
venerable and sacred to be touched by profane hands.
1873. _Pall Mall Gazette_, 17th May. The Winchester “tunding” system,
with all its faults, is hardly less objectionable than the FAGGING
system pursued in the Scotch endowed hospitals.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75. As I was smaller and weaker than most
of the FAGS running, I hardly ever managed to get a place, and it was
absurd to expect me to do so. I had been “spanked” two or three times
already for failing, but I don’t know that I was more successful for
that. I know I cordially detested that branch of FAGGING.
1884. _Temple Bar_, August, p. 514. He must have completely marred his
chance of happiness at the school when he refused to FAG and took
countless thrashings, snivelling.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 46. My new FAG-MASTER, Forker
Major, is a beast.
2. (Stonyhurst).—To field: at cricket. The ordinary meaning
either as _subs._ or _verb_ does not exist at Stonyhurst.
*Fag-book*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Formerly a book given by a
monitor on leaving to each of his fags: it is now usual to
give a bat or a racket.
*Fain lo!* (or *Loss*), _intj._ (Felsted).—A phrase used to
retain a seat, &c., temporarily vacated. Also LO.
*Fains* (*Fainits!* or *Fain it*), _intj._ (general).—A call for
truce during the progress of a game without which priority
of place would be lost; generally understood to be demanded
“in bounds,” or when out of danger. [Thought to be a
corruption of “fend.”]
_Verb_ (also FEND, FAIN, FAINITS, &c.).—A cry of warning, or
of prohibition: as to prevent any change in the existing
conditions of a game; _e.g._ at marbles, FEN-PLACINGS =
no alteration in position of marbles is permissible;
FEN-CLEARANCES = removal of obstacles is forbidden. [FEND =
_M.E. defend_ in sense of “to forbid.”] FAIN, and FAIN I,
are corruptions. At Winchester, FINGY YOU, or FINGY THAT,
are analagous; but at Christ’s Hospital FIN = “I won’t
have.”
_Ante_ 1815. E. C. HARRINGTON, in _N. and Q._, 5 S., vii. 98.
Respecting the word FEN ... I can testify to the use of the term by
school-boys prior to the battle of Waterloo ... meaning that we
protested against an exceptional action.
1852. DICKENS, _Bleak House_. “I’m fly,” says Jo. “But FEN larks, you
know.”
1877. _Notes and Queries_, 5 S., vii. 178. A comical application was,
I remember well, “FEN live lumber!” which, if pronounced in time,
would disable your opponent from moving a bystander out of the way of
his shot.
*Fardel*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A division of Sixth
Book for New College Election. [A.S. _ferthe_ = the fourth,
and _del_, a part or portion.]
1200. _Orminn._ The FEORRTHE DALE was bitahht (delivered) to Pilate.
1283. _William of Palerne._ Non might sen other the FERTHE DEL of a
furlong.
*Faside*, _subs._ (Loretto).—To Faside Castle, and back:
altogether about five miles. Boys who have been watching
football matches have always to do this in wet weather; and,
in bad weather, a WALLYFORD (_q.v._). Whence FASIDE AND
THREE TREES = a combined walk and run about seven miles on a
short school-day not wet, when ground is unsuitable for
games. [Why THREE TREES is unknown.] _See_ GRIND-DAYS.
*Fat-flab*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A cut off the fat part of a
breast of mutton. _See_ DISPAR.
*Feeder-cric*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital: obsolete).—The game
usually known as “rounders.” _See_ Appendix.
1874. _The Blue_, Mar. In the country we shall have real unlimited
cricket in the place of rounders, FEEDER-CRIC, and the scanty
bi-weekly game in the suburbs.
*Fellow-commoner*, _subs._ (general).—_See_ quots., and
COMMONER.
1794. _Gent. Mag._, p. 1084. One [student at Cambridge] was a _Harry
Soph_; another a FELLOW-COMMONER and _senior Soph_, and occasionally
jocularly called an _empty bottle_, whilst _è contrà_, a bottle
decanted, was, from time to time, denominated a FELLOW-COMMONER.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 26. Thomas Middleton petitions
King Charles, on his restoration, to grant his royal letters to the
Winchester electors in favour of his son’s admittance “as a child in
Winchester College, where he has now spent three years as
FELLOW-COMMONER.”
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 38. She said she had heard from
her cousin, who is, I think, a FELLOW-COMMONER, or something of that
sort, at Downing College, that Harry is one of the most popular men at
Cambridge.
*Feoffee*, _subs._ (Manchester Grammar: obsolete).—The original
name for the trustees in whose hands the foundation
estate was placed by Hugh Bexwycke. [A.S. _feo_ = fee or
inheritance.]
*Ferk.* _See_ *Firk*.
*Ferula*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ TOLLY.
*Festive*, _adj._ (Charterhouse).—Said of a boy who has not
learned his duty to his superiors and seniors.
*Fez*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The equivalent of the CAP (_q.v._) for
cricket: the FEZ being given to the House Eleven for
distinction at football.
*Field*, _verb_. 1. (Winchester).—To take care of; to support:
in swimming.
2. (Harrow).—_See_ LICK.
3. (Eton).—_See_ WALL.
THE FIELD, _subs._ (Sherborne).—_See_ FIELDS.
*Fields*, _subs._ (Sherborne: obsolete).—The playing-ground:
seventeenth century. The modern term is “The Field,” though
there are five separate grounds.
*Fifteens*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A football match. _See_
SIX-AND-SIX.
*Fifty, The*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—The chief football ground;
the next immediately below it is the Middle Fifty, then the
Lower Fifty, and the Fourth Fifty. _Cf._ HUNDRED, which is
now obsolete.
*Fighting-green*, _subs._ (Westminster).—The old battle-ground
in the western cloister.
*Figures*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The Second Form: formerly GREAT
FIGURES. _See_ LITTLE FIGURES.
*Fin*, _intj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A form of negative. _Ex._
“FIN the small court” = “I won’t have, &c.” [Lat. _fend_.]
_See_ FAINS.
*Find*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A mess of, usually, two upper boys
which takes breakfast and tea in the rooms of one or other
of the set: a privilege of the Sixth Form. Whence FIND-FAG =
a fag who lays the table for the upper boys. [_Find_ (dial.)
= to supply; to supply with provisions.] Also as _verb_.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 316. Immediately a certain
number of rolls (FINDS they were called—etymology unknown) were
ordered at the baker’s, and were rebaked every morning until they were
pretty nearly as hard as pebbles. At nine o’clock on the morning fixed
for the rolling in, the members of the hall ranged themselves on the
long table which ran along one side of the room, each with his pile of
these rolls before him, and a fag to pick them up.
*Finder*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A waiter.
*Finjy!* _intj._ (Winchester).—An exclamation excusing one from
participation in an unpleasant or unacceptable task, which
he who says the word last has to undertake. _Cf._ FAINS.
*Firk* (or *Ferk*), _verb_ (Winchester).—To proceed; to hasten;
to expel; to send; to drive away. [O.E. _fercian_.] Also TO
FIRK UP and TO FIRK DOWN.
1283. _William of Palerne._ Thei bisiliche fondede (tried) fast to
FERKE him forthward.
_c._ 1400. _Troy Book._ I you helpe shall the flese for to fecche, and
FERKE it away.
[?] _MS. Lincoln_, _Morte Arthure_, f. 79. The Kyng FERKES furthe on a
faire stede.
1599. SHAKSPEARE, _Henry V._, iv. 4. _Pistol._ I’ll fer him, and FIRK
him, and ferret him, discuss the same in French unto him. _Boy._ I do
not know the French for fer and ferret and FIRK.
1611. BARRY, _Ram Alley_ [DODSLEY, _Old Plays_ (REED), v. 466]. Nay, I
will FIRK my silly novice, as he was never FIRK’D Since mid-wives
bound his noddle.
1640. BROME, _Antipodes_. As tumblers do ... by FIRKING up their
breeches.
1795. SEWELL, _Hist. of Quakers_. At this the judge said, “Take him
away: prevaricator! I’ll FERK him.”
*Five, The*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—The Five bell.
*Flannels*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The members of either School
Eleven.
1899. _Public School Mag._, Dec., p. 446. Up to the present the eleven
have won four matches and lost one, while Monro, Cookson, Wyckoff, and
Borwick have all received their FLANNELS.
*Flat*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—An objectionable
person; a “bounder.” [A misuse of flat = fool.]
*Fleshy*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A thick cut out of the middle of
a shoulder of mutton. _See_ DISPAR.
*Flies.* SQUASHED FLIES, _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—Biscuits
with currants.
*Floor*, _verb_ (general).—To pluck; to plough. Also = to
master; to prove oneself superior to the occasion: _e.g._ TO
FLOOR A PAPER, LESSON, EXAMINATION, EXAMINER, &c. _Cf._
BOWL; THROW.
1852. BRISTED, _Five Years in an English University_, p. 12. Somehow I
nearly FLOORED the paper.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, iv. Mr. Filcher thoroughly understood
the science of “FLOORING” a freshman.
1861. HUGHES, _Tom Brown at Oxford_. I’ve FLOORED my Little Go.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 98. These blessed exams. are
getting awfully close now, but I think I shall FLOOR mine.
*Fluke*, _verb_ (general).—To shirk.
1864. _Eton School-Days_, ch. xvi. p. 203. “By Jove! I think I shall
FLUKE doing Verses; I should like to see Paddy drive tandem through
College,” said Butler Burke.
*Flyer*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A half-volley at football. A
MADE-FLYER is when the bound of the ball is gained from a
previous kick, by the same side, against canvas or any other
obstacle, or is dropped, as in a “drop-kick.” This is now
confused with a “kick-up.”—WRENCH.
*Flying-man*, _subs._ (Eton).—The boy who stands behind the
“bully,” and either runs down, or kicks hard, as may be
required.
1864. _Eton School-Days_, ch. xxiii. p. 255. He possessed good wind,
and was a very good “kick-off,” and he could “bully” a ball as well as
any one. He was a little too heavy for FLYING-MAN, but he made a
decent “sidepost,” and now and then he officiated as “corner.”
*Fobs*, _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—Boiled bread and milk.
*Footer*, _subs._ (Harrow).—(1) Football; (2) a player of
football according to Rugby rules; and (3) the ball itself.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, p. 96. Directly after the goose match
(Michaelmas Day) FOOTER proper begins, and is the principal game
played at the school during the Christmas term. The game as played at
Harrow differs considerably from the game as played at Eton and other
schools, and has distinct rules of its own; it may be said to be more
like the Association game than any other.
1896. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 139. H. H. H. who wants to have a
“second” FOOTER shirt.
*Footer-hill, The* (Harrow).—The hill from the football-fields
and DUCKER (_q.v._).
*For*, _phr._ (Tonbridge).—A form of ridicule: _e.g._ “first
eleven FOR one” would be used in jeering at a boy who had
recently obtained his colours.
*Forakers* (or *Foricus*), _subs._ (Winchester).—The
water-closet. [Formerly _foricus_, and probably a corruption
of _foricas_, an English plural of the Latin _forica_.]
*Force.* OUT BY FORCE, _phr._ (Stonyhurst).—Of a football when
it goes out from two opposite players at the same time.
*Founders*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Boys who proved their descent
from the Founder, and were afterwards elected (by rote among
the Electors) as such. Only two were admitted each year, and
only two were sent to New College, but these two were put at
the head of the ROLL (_q.v._) whatever their previous
position in SIXTH BOOK (_q.v._) might have been. They were
not obliged to leave at the age of eighteen, as the other
boys were, but were allowed to remain till they were
twenty-five. They were supposed to have particularly thick
skulls.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Founder’s-Com.*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The four days on which
there were festivals in commemoration of the Founder, when
there was AMEN-CHAPEL (_q.v._); the Fellows and Masters gave
a dinner in Common-room, and the FOUNDERS (_q.v._) received
a sovereign each.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Founder’s-day*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The 3rd of October, the
anniversary of the death of John Lyon: usually kept on the
nearest Thursday to the date in question.
*Founder’s-kin*, _subs._ (various).—Those, who at Winchester,
Harrow, &c., could show descent from William of Wykeham or
John Lyon, &c., as the case might be, and who were entitled
to priority of election on the foundation.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 32. The preference assigned to
FOUNDER’S-KIN in the election soon brought into the field, as may be
supposed, young Wykehams and Williamses from all quarters, with others
who proved more or less satisfactorily their connection with the
founder’s family; and gradually the customs obtained of electing two
only of these favoured candidates at the head of the roll for
admission, and filling up the remaining vacancies by a process of
successive nominations by each of the six electors, the Warden of New
College having the first turn, until the number of vacancies was
supplied.
*Founder’s-Ob.*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The anniversary of the
Founder’s death.
*Four-holed Middlings*, _subs. phr._ (Winchester:
obsolete).—Ordinary walking shoes. _Cf._ BEESWAXERS.
*Fourth*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A rear or jakes. [Origin
uncertain; said to have been first used at St. John’s or
Trinity, where the closets are situated in the Fourth
Court. Whatever its derivation, the term is now the only
one in use at Cambridge, and is frequently heard outside
the university.] The verbal phrase is TO KEEP A FOURTH.
*Fourth Book*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—All the boys
below Junior Part the Fifth. _See_ BOOKS.
*Fourth Former* (Harrow).—The oldest form room in the Old
Schools: now used for morning prayer by those who go to the
Old Schools, and also as the head-master’s torture-chamber.
*Fourth of June* (Eton).—_See_ quot.
1865. _Etoniana_, p. 166. Since the glories of Montem have departed,
the FOURTH OF JUNE PROCESSION has taken its place as the great yearly
festival of Etonians. It was instituted in commemoration of a visit of
King George III., and is held on his birthday. It is the great
trysting day of Eton, when her sons gather from far and wide, young
and old, great and small,—no matter who or what, so long as they are
old Etonians; that magic bond binds them all together as brothers, and
levels for the time all distinctions of age or rank. The proceedings
begin with the ‘speeches’ delivered in the upper school at twelve
o’clock before the provost, fellows, masters, and a large audience of
the boys’ friends. Selections from classical authors, ancient or
modern, are recited by the Sixth-form boys, who are dressed for the
occasion in black swallow-tail coats, white ties, black knee-breeches
and buckles, silk stockings, and pumps. Then follows the provost’s
luncheon, given in the college hall to the distinguished visitors,
while similar entertainments on a smaller scale are going on in the
various tutors’ and dames’ houses. At 3 o’clock there is full choral
service in chapel. At 6 o’clock all hands adjourn to the Brocas, a
large open meadow, to witness the great event of the day,—the
procession of the Boats to Surly Hall, a public-house of that name, on
the right bank of the river, some three and a half miles from Windsor.
The boats are divided into two classes—Upper and Lower. The Upper
division consists of the _Monarch_ ten-oar, the _Victory_, and the
_Prince of Wales_, or, as it is more usually called, the _Third
Upper_. The Lower boats are the _Britannia_, _Dreadnought_, _Thetis_,
and _St. George_; sometimes, when the number of aspirants to a place
is larger than usual, an eighth boat called the _Defiance_ is added.
The collegers have also for some years put on a four-oar—latterly
expanded into an eight—which follows in the procession. The flotilla
is preceded by the Eton racing eight-oar, manned by the picked crew
who are to contend at Putney or Henley. Each boat has its distinctive
uniform. Formerly these were very fanciful—Greek pirates, or galley
slaves in silver chains, astonishing the quiet reaches of the Thames
for the day. The crews of the Upper boats now wear dark blue jackets
and trousers, and straw hats with ribbons, displaying the name of the
boat in gold letters. The coxswains are dressed in an admiral’s
uniform, with gold fittings, sword, and cocked-hat. The captain of
each boat has an anchor and crown embroidered in gold on the left
sleeve of his jacket. In the Lower boats, the crews wear trousers of
white jean, and all ornaments and embroidery are in silver. Each boat
carries a large silk flag in the stern. The procession is headed by a
quaint old-fashioned boat (an Eton racing boat of primitive days)
rowed by watermen and conveying a military band. The Westminster eight
always receives an invitation to this celebration, and occasionally
makes its appearance on the river, adding very much to the interest of
the procession.... Opposite to Surly Hall, a liberal display of good
things ... awaits the arrival of the crews—the Sixth Form alone being
accommodated with a tent. After a few toasts, and as much champagne as
can be fairly disposed of in a short time, the captain of the boat
gives the word for all to re-embark, and the flotilla returns to Eton
in the same order.... Singing, shouting, racing, and bumping, all go
on together in the most harmonious confusion.... The boats, after
their return through Windsor Bridge, turn and row two or three times
round an eyot in the middle of the stream above the bridge. During
this time a grand display of fireworks takes place on the eyot. The
ringing of the fine old bells in the Curfew Tower, the cheering of the
crews, and the brilliant coloured fires which strike across the water,
and light up the dense masses of spectators along the bridge, the
rafts, and the shore, produce an effect not easily forgotten. A
pyrotechnic illumination of the College arms concludes the ceremonies,
and is the signal for the crews to land and march in jubilant disorder
back to College.
*Fox-and-dowdy*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.: obsolete).—_See_
ACTION.
*Fragment*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A dinner for six
(served in College Hall, after the ordinary dinner), ordered
by a Fellow in favour of a particular boy, who was at
liberty to invite five others to join him. A fragment was
supposed to consist of three dishes.—_Winchester Word-Book_
[1891].
*Free*, _adj._ (Oxford).—Impudent; self-possessed.
1864. TENNYSON, _Northern Farmer_ (Old Style), line 25. But parson a
coomes an’ a goos, an’ a says it eäsy an’ FREEÄ.
*Freed*, _adv._ (Stonyhurst).—Of an extra recreation: given for
some special reason.
*Fresh*, _adj._ (University).—Said of an undergraduate in his
first term.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantabrigiam_, s.v.
1866. TREVELYAN, _Horace at Athens_. When you and I were FRESH.
*Fresher.* _See_ FRESHMAN.
*Freshers.* THE FRESHERS, _subs._ (Cambridge). That part of the
Cam which lies between the Mill and Byron’s Pool. So called
because it is frequented by FRESHMEN (_q.v._).
*Fresh-herring*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—A boy newly
admitted to the school. Such a one is seized on his first
or first few visits to the playground, and conveyed to a
corner—a MONKEY DEN—where he is more or less forcibly
SQUABBED (_q.v._) against the wall by as many persecutors
as can get at him. The incongruity of fresh-herrings in a
monkey-den does not seem to be remarked. But twenty-five
to thirty years ago FRESH-HERRINGS were hurled over _the
Precipice_. This was a drop of some six or eight feet from
the general level of the playground over a retaining wall
to the bottom of an incline up which coal-stores, &c.,
could be brought into the playground. The new science and
art rooms have covered the site, and MONKEY-DEN has
superseded the terrors of this local Tarpeian Rock. The
FRESH-HERRING is always told that he must bring beeswax
and turpentine for the purpose of polishing his desk, and
he not infrequently comes armed with this or some other
form of furniture-polish, to the glee of the “stuffer-up.”
*Freshman* (or *Fresher*), _subs._ (University).—A University
man during his first year. In Dublin University he is a
JUNIOR FRESHMAN during his first year, and a SENIOR FRESHMAN
the second year. At Oxford the title lasts for the first
term. _See_ SOPH.
1596. NASHE, _Saffron Walden_, in _Works_, iii. 8. When he was but yet
a FRESHMAN in Cambridge.
1611. MIDDLETON, _Roaring Girl_, Act iii. sc. 3. _S. Alex._ Then he’s
a graduate. _S. Davy._ Say they trust him not. _S. Alex._ Then is he
held a FRESHMAN and a sot.
1650. HOWELL, _Familiar Letters_ [NARES]. I am but a FRESHMAN yet in
France, therefore I can send you no news, but that all is here quiet,
and ’tis no ordinary news, that the French should be quiet.
1671. COTGRAVE, _Wit’s Interpreter_, p. 221. First, if thou art a
FRESHMAN, and art bent To bear love’s arms, and follow Cupid’s tent.
1767. COLMAN, _Oxonian in Town_, ii. 3. And now I find you as dull and
melancholy as a FRESHMAN at college after a jobation.
1841. LEVER, _Charles O’Malley_, ch. xiv. “This is his third year,”
said the Doctor, “and he is only a FRESHMAN, having lost every
examination.”
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, iii. Mr. Green saw at a glance that
all the passengers were Oxford men, dressed in every variety of Oxford
fashion, and exhibiting a pleasing diversity of Oxford manners. Their
private remarks on the two new-comers were, like stage “asides,”
perfectly audible. “Decided case of governor!” said one. “Undoubted
ditto of FRESHMAN!” observed another.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 55. A lot of FRESHMEN got together
after Hall (it was a Saints’ day, and they’d been drinking audit) and
went and made hay in Marling’s rooms.
1891. _Sporting Life_, Mar. 20. The mile, bar accidents, will be a
gift to B. C. Allen, of Corpus, who has more than maintained the
reputation he gained as a FRESHER.
1895. _Felstedian_, Dec., 178. The new trousers and immaculate brown
boots of the “FRESHER” are suffering terribly from the slush.
1898. _Stonyhurst Mag._, Dec., p. 149, “Life at Oxford.” Three Seniors
were entertaining some fifteen or more FRESHERS.
_Adj._ (University).—Of, or pertaining to, a FRESHMAN, or a
first year student.
*Freshman’s Bible*, _subs. phr._ (University).—The University
Calendar.
*Freshman’s Church*, _subs. phr._ (Cambridge).—The Pitt Press.
[From its ecclesiastical architecture.]
*Freshman’s Landmark*, _subs. phr._ (Cambridge).—King’s College
Chapel. [From the situation.]
*Freshmanship*, _subs._ (old).—Of the quality or state of being
a freshman.
1605. JONSON, _Volpone, or the Fox_, iv. 3. Well, wise Sir Pol., since
you have practised thus, Upon my FRESHMANSHIP, I’ll try your salt-head
With what proof it is against a counter-plot.
*Froust*, _subs._ (Harrow).—1. Extra sleep allowed on Sunday
mornings and whole holidays. Also (2) an easy-chair. Hence
FROUSTER.
*Frout*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Angry; vexed.
*Fudge*, _subs._ 1. (Christ’s Hospital).—To copy; to crib; to
dodge or escape: also _see_ quot.
1870-95. _More Gleanings from_ THE BLUE. The Latin Grammar was a
strange book to the new boy; he says he was “relieved from
embarrassment by the readiness with which my schoolfellows in the
class above assisted in explaining,” &c. &c.; so a “FUDGE” is not a
modern invention, though it is expressed by a polite periphrasis.
1877. _The Blue-Coat Boys_, p. 97. FUDGE, to prompt a fellow in class,
or prompt oneself in class artificially. Thence to tell: _e.g._ “FUDGE
me what the time is.”
2. (common).—To advance the hand unfairly at marbles.
*Fug*, _subs._ (Harrow).—1. A small soft football. Also (2) the
game as played with such a ball in a yard, house, &c. _See_
Appendix.
_Verb._ 1. (Shrewsbury).—To stay in a stuffy room.
2. (Harrow).—To stop indoors.
*Fug-footer*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A species of football played in
passages with a FUG (_q.v._) _See_ ante.
*Fuggy*, _subs._ (general).—A hot roll.
_Adj._ (Shrewsbury).—Stuffy.
*Fug-shop*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—The carpenter’s shop.
*Functior* (or FUNCTURE), _subs._ (Winchester).—An iron bracket
candlestick, used for the night-light in College Chambers.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_, p. 68. Beside the
window yawned the great fireplace, with its dogs, on which rested the
faggots and bars for the reception of the array of boilers. Above it
was a rushlight, fixed in a circular iron pan fastened to a staple in
the wall; it was called the FUNCTIOR.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. FUNCTURE. The word looks
like _fulctura_, an earlier form of _fulture_, meaning a prop or stay,
with phonetic change of _l_ into _n_.
*Funking-Monday*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quot.
1887. _The Blue_, Nov. Yet it is not from ignorance of vulgar slang
that the author’s elegance springs, for he unbends once so far as to
say that the Monday after the holidays is called “FUNKING-MONDAY.”
*Funking-room*, _subs._ (medical).—The room at the Royal College
of Surgeons where students collect on the last evening of
their final during the addition of their marks, and whence
each is summoned by an official announcing failure or
success.
1841. _Punch_, i. p. 225, col. 2. On the top of a staircase he enters
a room, wherein the partners of his misery are collected. It is a
long, narrow apartment, commonly known as the FUNKING-ROOM.
*Funkster*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A coward.
*Furk.* _See_ FIRK.
*Gag*, _subs._ 1. (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quot. GAG-EATER = a
term of reproach.
1813. LAMB, _Christ’s Hospital_, in _Works_, p. 324 (ed. 1852). L. has
recorded the repugnance of the school to GAGS, or the fat of fresh
beef boiled; and sets it down to some superstition.... A GAG-EATER in
our time was equivalent to a ghoul, ... and held in equal estimation.
2. (Winchester: obsolete).—An exercise (said to have been
invented by Dr. Gabell) which consists in writing Latin
criticisms on some celebrated piece, in a book sent in about
once a month. In the Parts below Sixth Book and Senior Part,
the GAGS consisted in historical analysis. [An abbreviation
of “gathering.”]
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 108.
From time to time, also, they had to write ... an analysis of some
historical work; these productions were called GATHERINGS (or GAGS).
*Gain.* _See_ ELECTION.
*Gaits* (*Geits*, *Gytes*, or *Gites*), _subs._ (Royal High
School, Edin.).—The first, or lowest class. _See_ CATS.
*Gallery*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A Commoner bedroom. [From a
tradition of GALLERIES in Commoners.] Hence GALLERY NYMPH =
a housemaid.
*Gang*, _subs._ (Felsted: obsolete).—A particular friend. From
the ordinary meaning of the word, applied first to the two
friends, then to each of them. Used only of “acute”
friendship. Also as _verb_ = to carry on such a friendship
with another.
*Garden, The* (Stonyhurst).—The playgrounds, built on the site
of part of the old garden, long kept this name. “The boys
went to the GARDEN” = “into the playground”: obsolete.
*Gater*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A plunge head foremost
into a POT (_q.v._).
*Gates*, _subs._ (University).—The being forbidden to pass
outside the gate of a college. Hence as _verb_ = to confine
wholly or during certain hours within the college gate for
some infraction of discipline. To BREAK GATES = to stay out
of college after hours. GATE-BILL (old) = the record of an
undergraduate’s failure to be within the precincts of his
college by a specified time at night.
1803. _Gradus ad Cant._, p. 128. To avoid GATE-BILLS he will be out at
night as late as he pleases ... climb over the college wall, and fee
his gyp well.
1835. _The Snobiad_ (WHIBLEY, _Cap and Gown_, p. 141). Two proctors
kindly holding either arm Staunch the dark blood and GATE him for the
term.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, I. ch. xii. He won’t hurt you much,
Giglamps! GATE and chapel you!
1861. HUGHES, _Tom Brown at Oxford_, ch. xii. Now you’ll both be GATED
probably, and the whole crew will be thrown out of gear.
1865. _Cornhill Mag._, p. 227. He is requested to confine himself to
college after a specified hour, which is familiarly termed being
GATED.
1870. _Morning Advertiser_, May 23. The two least culpable of the
party have been GATED.
1881. LANG, _Xxxii. Ballades_, “Of Midsummer Term.” When freshmen are
careless of GATES.
TO BE AT GATES, _verb. phr._ (Winchester: obsolete).—To
assemble in Seventh Chamber passage, preparatory to going
Hills or Cathedral.
*Gaudeamus*, _subs._ (general).—A feast; a drinking bout; any
sort of merry-making. [German students’, but now general.
From the first word of the mediæval (students’) ditty.]
*Gaudy* (or *Gaudy-day*), _subs._ (general).—A feast or
entertainment: specifically, the annual dinner of the
Fellows of a college in memory of founders or benefactors;
or a festival of the Inns of Court. [Lat. _gaudere_ = to
rejoice.]
1540. PALSGRAVE, _Acolastus_ [HALLIWELL]. We maye make our tryumphe,
kepe our GAUDYES, or let us sette the cocke on the hope, and make good
chere within dores. _Ibid._, I have good cause to set the cocke on the
hope, and make GAUDYE chere.
1608. SHAKSPEARE, _Antony and Cleopatra_, iii. 11. Come, Let’s have
one other GAUDY night; call to me All my sad captains; fill our bowls;
once more Let’s mock the midnight bell.
1636. SUCKLING, _Goblins_ [DODSLEY, _Old Plays_ (REED), x. 143]. A
foolish utensil of state, Which, like old plate upon a GAUDY day, ’s
brought forth to make a show, and that is all.
1724. E. COLES, _Eng. Dict._ GAUDY DAYS, college or Inns of Court
festivals.
1754. B. MARTIN, _Eng. Dict._, 2nd ed. GAUDIES, double commons, such
as they have on GAUDY or grand DAYS in colleges.
1760. FOOTE, _Minor_, Act i. Dine at twelve, and regale, upon a GAUDY
DAY, with buns and beer at Islington.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantab._, p. 122. Cut lectures ... give GAUDIES and
spreads.
1820. LAMB, _Elia_ (_Oxford in the Vacation_). Methought I a little
grudged at the coalition of the _better Jude_ with Simon—clubbing, as
it were, their sanctities together, to make up one poor GAUDY-DAY
between them.
1822. NARES, _Glossary_, s.v. GAUDY DAY or NIGHT. A time of festivity
and rejoicing. The expression is yet fully retained in the University
of Oxford. BLOUNT, in his _Glossographia_, speaks of a foolish
derivation of the word from a judge Gaudy, said to have been the
institutor of such days. But _such_ days were held in all times, and
did not want a judge to invent them.
1822. SCOTT, _Fortunes of Nigel_, ch. xxiii. We had a carouse to your
honour ... we fought, too, to finish off the GAUDY.
1878. BESANT AND RICE, _By Celia’s Arbour_, ch. xxxiii. Champagne ...
goes equally well with a simple luncheon of cold chicken, and with the
most elaborate GAUDY.
*General’s-day* (Stonyhurst).—_See_ DAY.
*Gentlemen-Philosopher*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—_See_
PHILOSOPHER.
*Genuine*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Praise. Also as _verb_ = to
praise. [It is suggested (but _see_ quot.) that the
derivation may be from _genuina_, the “jaw-tooth,” praise
being nothing but “jaw”: _cf._ _Parsius_, i. 115.]
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. GENUINE.... He was awfully
quilled and GENUINED my task. Possibly from calling a thing genuine.
_Cf._ to blackguard, to lord, &c. But fifty years ago it was a _subs._
only. [_See_ Appendix.]
*Gip* (or *Gyp*), _subs._ (Cambridge).—A college servant.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 8. My GYP said he thought he knew
some one who’d give me eighteen shillings for it.
*Girdlestoneites* (Charterhouse).—A boarding-house. [From a
master’s name.] _See_ OUT-HOUSES.
*Glope*, _verb_ (Winchester: obsolete).—To spit.
*Go.* TO GO DOWN, _verb_ (University).—To leave school or
college: by special EXEAT (_q.v._) or at vacation. Whence TO
BE SENT DOWN = to be under discipline; to be rusticated.
1863. H. KINGSLEY, _Austin Elliot_, i. 179. How dare you say “deuce”
in my presence? You can GO DOWN, my Lord.
1886. DICKENS, _Dict. of Cambridge_, 3. No undergraduate should GO
down without obtaining his EXEAT.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 53. I’m thankful to say this
Term’s nearly over now.... We shall be able to GO down next week ...
which is a blessing.
1898. _Stonyhurst Mag._, Dec., p. 149, “Life at Oxford.” You will
think, then, that most of us do no work. Well, a good many do precious
little. Still there is this check. All who do not pass their
examinations within a certain time must “GO DOWN,” _i.e._ they must
leave. It wholly depends upon ourselves, then, how much work we do;
and it is naturally a much more difficult matter to “read” in this way
than when one has regular schools and studies.
*Goal*, _subs._ (Winchester).—(1) At football the boy who stands
at the centre of each end, acting as umpire; and (2) the
score of three points made when the ball is kicked between
his legs, or over his head, without his touching it. _See_
SCHITT.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 138.
Midway between each of the two ends of the line was stationed another
boy, as umpire (GOAL he was called), who stood with his legs wide
apart, and a gown rolled up at each foot: if the ball was kicked
directly over his head, or between his legs, without his touching it,
it was a GOAL, and scored three for the party that kicked it.
*God*, _subs._ 1. (Eton).—A Sixth Form boy. _See_ Appendix.
1881. PASCOE, _Life in our Public Schools_. A GOD at Eton is probably
in a more exalted position, and receives more reverence than will ever
afterwards fall to his lot.
2. (Westminster).—The juniors who, at the WESTMINSTER PLAY
(_q.v._), occupy a back gallery. A proposal was made in 1792
to exclude them from the performance on the grand nights,
which, however, was successfully resisted. Whence GOD-KEEPER
= a Third Election boy, who acts as deputy monitor, and
keeps the gallery deities in order.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 155. A rushing noise is heard
as of a party of inebriated whirlwinds coming up College, and the _Di
Superi_ (in vulgar parlance THE GODS) make their appearance. Now is
the time to see the GOD-KEEPER in his glory, in kid gloves, cane, and
commanding voice: “Here, Jones, go up closer. Room for three or four
more in that corner. Tumble-up, Davis.”
*Going-out Saturday*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—_See_ EXEAT 2.
*Gold Hatband*, _subs._ (old University).—A nobleman
undergraduate; a TUFT (_q.v._).
1628. EARLE, _Microcosmography_. His companion is ordinarily some
stale fellow that has been notorious for an ingle to GOLD HATBANDS,
whom hee admires at first, afterwards scornes.
1889. _Gentleman’s Mag._, June, p. 598. Noblemen at the universities,
since known as “tufts,” because of the gold tuft or tassel to their
cap, were then known as GOLD HATBANDS.
*Golgotha*, _subs._ (old University).—The Dons’ gallery at
Cambridge; also a certain part of the theatre at Oxford.
[That is, “the place of skulls” (_cf._ Luke xxiii. 33 and
Matt. xxvii. 33); whence the pun, Dons being the heads of
houses.]
1730. JAS. MILLER, _Humours of Oxford_, Act ii., p. 23 (2nd ed.).
Sirrah, I’ll have you put in the black-book, rusticated—expelled—I’ll
have you _coram nobis_ at GOLGOTHA, where you’ll be bedevilled,
Muck-worm, you will.
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v.
1791. G. HUDDESFORD, _Salmagundi_ (Note on, p. 150). GOLGOTHA, “The
place of a Skull,” a name ludicrously affixed to the Place in which
the Heads of Colleges assemble.
1808. J. T. CONYBEARE in C. K. SHARP’S _Correspondence_ (1888), i.
324. The subject then of the ensuing section is _Oxford News_ ... we
will begin by GOLGOTHA.... Cole has already obtained the Headship of
Exeter, and Mr. Griffiths ... is to have that of University.
*Gomer*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester).—A large pewter dish used in
College. [Probably from its holding a _homer_ or _omer_ in
measure: _see_ quots.]
1610-31. DONNE. Not satisfied with his GOMER of manna.
_d._ 1656. HALL, _Satires_, Bk. v. He that gave a GOMER to each.
1778. _Inventory of Kitchen and Hall._ Twenty-four GOMERS (amongst
dishes and brass pots).
2. A new hat: specifically, a beaver when first introduced:
but _see_ quot., PEALS, and Appendix.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 68. Top-boots are no longer
considered, by young gentlemen of twelve, “your only wear” to go home
in, although the term for them—GOMERS (i.e. _go-homers_)—still
survives in the Winchester vocabulary.
*Good-breakfast*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A breakfast given to
those DISTINGUISHED (_q.v._) every term: also called
DISTINCTION-BREAKFAST. _Cf._ DO and GOOD-SUPPER.
*Good-creatures*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Meat, vegetables,
and pudding. [From a quaint old-fashioned “Scholars’
grace”—“Lord, bless to us these thy GOOD-CREATURES,” &c.]
*Good-day*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A free day given at the end of
the school year to those distinguished in mathematics. There
is also a “Rhetoric GOOD DAY,” given to the RHETORICIANS
(_q.v._), and a “Certificate GOOD DAY,” given to candidates
for the Higher Certificate Examination.
*Good-Four-o’clock*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A repast
similar in character to a GOOD-SUPPER and a GOOD-BREAKFAST
(both of which see).
*Good-supper*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A supper given for a
special reason: _e.g._ the CHOIR-SUPPER (that given to
members of the Choir); the ACTORS’-SUPPER (that given to the
participants in Shrovetide-plays); the ELEVEN-SUPPER (to the
Cricket eleven after an “out” match), &c. _Cf._ DO and
GOOD-BREAKFAST.
*Goose-match*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A cricket match played between
the School Eleven and a team of Old Harrovians on Michaelmas
Day, or as near to it as possible. The Eleven opposing the
School are called “the geese.” _See_ Appendix.
*Gosh*, _subs._ (Winchester).—To spit.
*Gown*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester: obsolete).—Coarse brown paper.
2. (University).—The schools as distinguished from the TOWN
(_q.v._): _e.g._ TOWN and GOWN.
1847. THACKERAY, _Punch’s Prize Novelists_, “Codlingsby,” p. 232. From
the Addenbroke’s hospital to the Blenheim turnpike, all Cambridge was
in an uproar—the College gates closed—the shops barricaded—the
shop-boys away in support of their brother townsmen—the battle raged,
and the GOWN had the worst of the fight.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, II., ch. iii. When GOWN was absent,
Town was miserable.
1891. _Pall Mall Gaz._, 30th May, p. 4, c. 3. Town and GOWN joined in
harmony.
*Gownboy*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A scholar on the foundation:
they wore at the Charterhouse black Eton jackets, black
trousers, shoes called GOWSERS (_q.v._), and gowns. This
distinctive garb was abolished in 1872.
*Gownboy-arch* (Charterhouse).—An arch near the east end of the
chapel, formerly the doorway from Scholars’ Court into
Gown-boys. The earliest Old Carthusian name inscribed on it
bears date 1778.
*Gownboy-cricket*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Cricket in which
there are twenty bowlers to one batsman, with no fielders.
*Gownboys* (Charterhouse).—A boarding-house. [Because on
migration to Godalming in 1872 nearly all the old GOWNBOYS
(_q.v._) were received there.]
*Gowner*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The GOAL (_q.v._) at football
stood with his legs stretched out, and a gown, rolled up
into a ball, at each foot. When the ball was kicked over
either of these gowns, without goal’s touching it, this
counted two for the party who kicked it.—MANSFIELD (_c._
1840). Also _see_ GOAL and SCHITT. Now obsolete.
*Gownsman* (also *Gown*), _subs._ (University).—A student.
1800. C. K. SHARPE, in _Correspondence_ (1888), i. 96. A battle
between the GOWNSMEN and townspeople ... in spite of the
Vice-Chancellor and Proctors.
1850. F. E. SMEDLEY, _Frank Fairlegh_, ch. xxv. The ancient town of
Cambridge, no longer animated by the countless throngs of GOWNSMEN,
frowned in its unaccustomed solitude.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, III. By the time Mr. Bouncer finished
these words, the coach appropriately drew up at the “Mitre,” and the
passengers tumbled off amid a knot of GOWNSMEN collected on the
pavement to receive them.
1861. HUGHES, _Tom Brown at Oxford_. The townsmen ... were met by the
GOWNSMEN with settled steady pluck.
*Gowsers*, _subs._ (Charterhouse: obsolete).—Shoes.
*Grammar*, _subs._ 1. (Stonyhurst).—The Lower Fourth Form.
2. (Harrow).—_See_ UPPER SCHOOL.
*Grand-matches*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The three final matches
of the STONYHURST-FOOTBALL (_q.v._) season, played always on
the Thursday before Shrove-tide, and on the following Monday
and Tuesday. These days are school holidays, and in the
evenings the great plays of the year are given.
*Grass*, _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—Vegetables.
TO BE SENT TO GRASS, _verb. phr._ (University).—To be
rusticated; to RECEIVE A TRAVELLING SCHOLARSHIP (_q.v._).
1794. _Gent. Mag._, p. 1085. And was very near rustication [at
Cambridge] merely for kicking up a row after a beakering party. “Soho,
Jack!” briskly rejoined another, “almost presented with a travelling
fellowship? very nigh being SENT TO GRASS, hey?”
*Greaser*, _subs._ 1. (Durham: obsolete).—A cad.
2. (Winchester: obsolete).—A mode of torture performed by
rubbing a boy’s head hard with the knuckles.—MANSFIELD (_c._
1840).
*Great-go* (or *Greats*), _subs._ (Cambridge).—The final
examination for the B.A. degree: _cf._ LITTLE-GO. At Oxford,
GREATER.
1841. _Prince of the New-made Baccalere, Oxford._ GREAT-GO is passed.
1861. HUGHES, _Tom Brown at Oxford_, ch. x. Both small and GREAT are
sufficiently distant to be altogether ignored, if we are that way
inclined.
1856-7. THACKERAY, _King of Brentford’s Test._, st. 7. At college,
though not fast, Yet his little-go and GREAT-GO, He creditably pass’d.
1871. _Morning Advertiser_, April 28. Yes, Mr. Lowe has been plucked
for his GREAT GO.
1883. _Echo_, 3rd May, p. 2, c. 4. But few, indeed, are the men who
have been in for GREATS during the last twenty years, and who have not
blessed Mr. Kitchin for his edition of the _Novum Organum_.
*Grecian*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A senior boy.
1870. _Blue Budget_, March. We have the full sanction and approval of
the GRECIANS, and some of them intend even to contribute articles
themselves.
1871. _The Blue_, Aug. Boys are taken at the age of seven years and
remain till they are sixteen.... If at their sixteenth year they have
shown remarkable aptitude, they are allowed to remain longer, and as
GRECIANS—a traditional title, the origin of which is unknown—to pursue
more advanced studies and to enjoy certain privileges as to table.
[_See_ Appendix.]
*Green.* 1. (Charterhouse).—The cricket-ground. _See_
UNDER-GREEN.
2. (Felsted: obsolete).—A Post-Office Order. [From the
colour.]
*Green-back*, _subs._ (University).—One of Todhunter’s series of
mathematical text-books. [Because bound in green cloth.
_Cf._ BLUE-RUIN = Bohn’s _Classical Series_.]
*Green Book, The* (Charterhouse).—A record of the date of
entering and leaving the school: this has been somewhat
loosely kept, and gaps are conspicuous.
*Green-room Boys*, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—Boys chosen to be
the stage-manager’s assistants at the Shrove-tide plays.
*Greens, The* (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—Two large grass plots, or
lawns and shrubberies, on the south front. A cricket-ball
hit full pitch into either of these from the opposite end of
the playground was known as “A Greener.” Whence GREEN-BOYS =
boys who used to look after the “GREENS.”
*Greeze*, _subs._ (Westminster).—A crowd.
*Greyers*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Grey flannel trousers: worn by all
the school not entitled to white FLANNELS (_q.v._) at
cricket.
*Greyhound*, _subs._ (Cambridge: obsolete).—A member of Clare
College; a CLARIAN (_q.v._).
1889. WHIBLEY, _Cap and Gown_, xxviii. The members of Clare ... were
called GRAYHOUNDS.
*Grind*, _subs._ (common).—(1) Study; reading for an
examination. Also as a _verb_. (2) A plodding student. (3)
Athletic sports in general: specifically, a training run.
Also as _verb_ = to teach; to instruct; to coach.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, pt. II. ch. v. “Come along,
boys,” cries East, always ready to leave the GRIND, as he called it.
_Ibid._, ch. vii. “The thing to find out,” said Tom meditatively, “is
how long one ought to GRIND at a sentence without looking at the
crib.”
1872. _Chambers’s Jour._, April. Joe Rullock, the mighty gymnasiarch,
the hero of a hundred GRINDS, the unwearied haunter of the palæstra,
could never give the lie to his whole past life, and deny his own
gymnastics.
1887. _Chambers’s Jour._, 14th May, p. 310. Smalls made just such a
goal as was required, and the GRIND it entailed was frequently of no
slight profit to him.
THE GRIND, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The ferry-boat at
Chesterton. (Oxford) A diversion popular among the less
athletic tutors and undergraduates, which consists in
walking by the Banbury Road to the 2-1/2 mile stone,
crossing to the Woodstock Road, which is here only a quarter
of a mile distant, and so returning to Oxford, occasionally
varying the proceeding by reversing the order of the walk.
It is, however, probable that the introduction of golf has
dealt a severe blow at the popularity of this innocent
amusement. Also THE FIVE MILES GRIND.
’VARSITY GRIND (Oxford).—A steeplechase held at Stratton
Audley.
*Grind-days*, _subs._ (Loretto).—The GRIND-DAYS occur twice a
year: in October and March. Privileged boys, school
officers, Sixth and Fifth, and probably Upper Fifth, go by
train to various places, such as Peebles, Pomathorn, &c.,
and walk, perhaps about twenty miles, to some other place,
where they dine, returning by train. Some of the rest cross
the Pentlands, and the Juniors go up the highest Pentland.
*Grinder*, _subs._ (general).—A private tutor; a COACH (_q.v._).
1812. Miss EDGEWORTH, _Patronage_, ch. iii. Put him into the hands of
a clever GRINDER or crammer, and they would soon cram the necessary
portion of Latin and Greek into him.
1841. _Punch_, vol. i. p. 201. Then contriving to accumulate five
guineas to pay a GRINDER, he routs out his old note-books from the
bottom of his box and commences to read.
1841. A. SMITH, “The London Medical Student” in _Punch_, i. p. 229. G
was a GRINDER, who sharpen’d the fools.
1849. THACKERAY, _Pendennis_, ch. v. She sent me down here with a
GRINDER. She wants me to cultivate my neglected genius.
*Grinding-mill*, _subs._ (general).—The house of a tutor
or COACH (_q.v._), where students are prepared for an
examination.
*Groats.* TO SAVE ONE’S GROATS, _verb. phr._ (old
University).—To come off handsomely. [At the Universities
nine groats are deposited in the hands of an academic
officer by every person standing for a degree, which, if the
depositor obtains, with honour, are returned to him.—GROSE.]
*Grotius-time*, _subs._ (Winchester).—From 7 P.M. to 7.45 P.M.
on Sundays, in CLOISTER-TIME (_q.v._) when SIXTH BOOK
(_q.v._) and SENIOR PART (_q.v._) went into school to
translate the work of that author.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
Now obsolete.
*Groute*, _verb_ (Marlborough and Cheltenham).—To work or study
hard; to SWOT (_q.v._).
*Grovel*, _subs._ (Sherborne).—A scrummage at football.
*Grubber*, _subs._ (general).—A tuck-shop. _See_ LAMB’S-TAILS,
ROUND OTHELLOS, KILL-ME-QUICKS, and PICANINNIES.
1899. _Public School Mag._, Dec., p. 441. The shop is privately
managed by Mr. Kimmins, of High Street, Tonbridge [and] is known as
“GRUBBER.”
*Grubby*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—The luncheon room.
*Gruff*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Low-pitched: of the voice.
_See_ quot., and SQUEAKY.
_c._ 1844. _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_ [_The Blue_, Aug. 1874].
The voices, in our own peculiar phraseology, being divided into two
classes—those who sang “squeaky,” and those who sang GRUFF.
*Guarder*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A goal-keeper: at football.
Whence SECOND-GUARDER = the “full-back” of Association
Football; and THIRD-GUARDER = the “halfback” of Association
Football.
*Gulf*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The bottom of a list of “passes,”
with the names of those who only just succeed in getting
their degree. At Oxford a man who, going in for honours,
only gets a pass. Hence as _verb_ (Cambridge) = to place in
the GULF; TO BE GULFED = to be on such a list. [Men so
placed were not eligible for the Classical Tripos.]
1852. BRISTED, _Five Tears in an English University_, p. 205. Some ten
or fifteen men just on the line, not bad enough to be plucked, or good
enough to be placed, are put into the GULF, as it is popularly called
(the examiners’ phrase is “degrees allowed”), and have their degrees
given them, but are not printed in the calendar. _Ibid._, 297. I
discovered that my name was nowhere to be found—that I was GULFED.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, pt. III. p. 89. I am not going to let
them GULPH me a second time.
1863. H. KINGSLEY, AUSTIN ELLIOT, p. 123. The good Professor scolded,
predicted that they would all be either GULFED or ploughed.
1865. _Sporting Gaz._, April 1. A man who was _GULFED_ for
mathematical honours was certainly, in olden time, unable to enter for
the classical examination; but though the arrangement is altered, the
term is _not_ obsolete. A man who is GULFED is considered to know
enough mathematics for an ordinary degree, but not enough to be
allowed his degree in mathematics only; he is consequently obliged to
pass in all the ordinary subjects (except mathematics) for the “poll,”
before taking his degree.
1876. TREVELYAN, LIFE OF MACAULAY (1884), ch. ii. p. 61. When the
Tripos of 1822 made its appearance, his name did not grace the list.
In short ... Macaulay was GULFED.
1896. _Tonbridgian_, No. 339, 1124. Poole hopes to get a Third in
Honour Mods., and Law hopes to escape a GULF next year in the same.
*Gull*, _subs._ (Oxford: obsolete).—A swindler; a trickster.
_Cf._ “GULL-CATCHER,” of which it is probably an
abbreviation.
1825. _The English Spy_, v. i. p. 161. “You’ll excuse me, sir, but as
you are _fresh_, take care to avoid the GULLS.” “I never understood
that GULLS were birds of prey,” said I. “Only in Oxford, sir, and
here, I assure you, they bite like hawks.”
*Gutter*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—A scrummage at Rugby football:
now nearly obsolete. [Properly the space between the teams
in the scrummage.]
_Verb_ (Winchester).—To fall in the water flat on the
stomach.
*Gymmy*, _subs._ (Manchester Grammar).—The gymnasium.
*Gyp* (or *Gip*), _subs._ (Cambridge).—A college servant. At
Oxford, a scout; at Dublin, a skip. [Etymology doubtful:
according to _Sat. Rev._ an abbreviation of Gipsy Joe:
according to Cambridge undergraduates, from the Greek γυψ
(GUPS) = a vulture; from the creature’s rapacity.]
1794. _Gent. Mag._, p. 1085. [A Cambridge college servant is called a
JIP.]
1803. _Gradus ad Cantab._, 128. To avoid gate-bills he will be out at
night as late as he pleases, ... climb over the college wall, and fee
his GYP well.
1842. _Tait’s Mag._, Oct., “Reminiscences of Coll. Life.” There is
attached to colleges and halls a person more useful than ornamental,
and better known than paid, whom Oxonians name GYP, from his supposed
moral affinity to a vulture (γυψ). The same is in Dublin denominated a
_Skip_, because of the activity which is an indispensable item in his
qualifications.
1849. C. KINGSLEY, _Alton Locke_, ch. xii. I’ll send you in luncheon
as I go through the butteries; then, perhaps, you’d like to come down
and see the race. Ask the GYP to tell you the way.
1850. SMEDLEY, _Frank Fairleigh_, p. 254. Fellow you call the GYP
wanted to make me believe you were out—thought I looked too like a
governor to be let in, I suppose.
1882. F. ANSTEY, _Vice Versâ_, ch. v. Who should we see coming
straight down on us but a Proctor with his bull-dogs (not dogs, you
know, but the strongest GYPS in the college).
*Gyte*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—A first year’s
student.
*Habit*, _subs._ (old University).—See quot.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantabrigiam._ HABIT. College HABIT, College dress,
called of old, livery: the dress of the Master, Fellows, and Scholars.
*Hades*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A W.C. _Cf._ STYX.
*Haggory*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—One of the gardens in the
_Higher Line_ (_q.v._) playground, which the Irish boys in
the early years of the century turned into a debating-place,
to promote the views of O’Connell and his party. [A
corruption of ἁγορά.]
*Hairy*, _adj._ (Oxford).—Difficult.
_d._ 1861. ARTHUR CLOUGH, _Long Vacation Pastoral_. Three weeks hence
we return to the shop and the wash-hand-stand-bason, Three weeks hence
unbury Thicksides and HAIRY Aldrich.
1864. _The Press_, Nov. 12. HAIRY for difficult is a characteristic
epithet.
*Half-faggot*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” At
6.15, when the first bell for chapel rings, I go round and wake up
everybody; as the præfects like hot water for washing, I make up a
fire, and put on the boilers; in other words, throw a bundle of sticks
called a “HALF-FAGGOT” on the old-fashioned “dogs,” or uprights, which
form the only fireplaces in chambers, coal not being in use.
*Hall*, _subs._ 1. (Oxford).—Dinner. Also as _verb_ = to dine.
[Taken in College Hall.]
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 55. A lot of Freshmen got together
after HALL (it was a Saint’s day, and they’d been drinking audit) and
went and made hay in Marling’s rooms.
2. (Sherborne).—Evening preparation.
3. (Shrewsbury).—_See_ SENIOR HALL.
TO GO ON HALL, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To fag: as a
breakfast waiter.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 48. However, as boys came to
school better scholars, and were consequently higher placed, fourth
form fags grew scarce, and the junior fifth were ordered, as the
phrase was, TO GO ON HALL. One champion stood upon his rights, and
refused; the indignant prefect proposed to thrash him publicly; the
juniors rose in a body and pinioned the prefects. Fond mammas, and
other declaimers against school tyranny, will regret to hear that this
spirited resistance was not appreciated by Dr. Williams; after a
patient hearing of the pleas on both sides, he supported the prefect’s
authority (it may be concluded that they had not really exceeded it),
and six of the ringleaders were expelled.
*Hall-crier*, _subs._ (Shrewsbury).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 249. And two HALL-CRIERS (or
latterly one), whose chief business was to read out at breakfast time
lists of the fags on duty for cricket or football, descriptions of
lost articles, &c. &c. This office in former days had commonly to be
performed under a fire of such missiles as came handiest—amongst them
often the regulation iron spoons supplied for the bread-and-milk
breakfast which was the fare in the rougher days of Shrewsbury. Each
proclamation began in due form with “Oh yes! oh yes! (Oyez! oyez!)”
and ended with “God save the King (or Queen)! and d—— the Radicals!”
*Hall-fagging*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A duty imposed on
sixteen of the lowest boys in each House. They have to
attend in Hall, usually four at a time, and carry out
orders, while the monitors have breakfast and tea. There
was no need for this duty at Old Charterhouse, fags
being always at hand. At New Charterhouse this was not
always the case; they were often playing at football or
cricket, or sitting in the library. Monitors, therefore,
arranged the system of HALL-FAGGING. Latterly it has
become usual to send into Hall fags who have offended
against monitorial discipline, have been talkative in
BANCO, or noisy in the cubicles. Where such culprits are
available the regular fags are exempt.—TOD.
*Halve*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A half-holiday: on Wednesdays
and Saturdays.
*Halves* (pron. _Hāves_), _subs._ (Winchester:
obsolete).—Half-Wellington boots, which were strictly _Non
licet_ (_q.v._).
*Hand.* To HAND UP, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To give
information against; to betray.
*Handball*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—(1) The Stonyhurst form of
Fives. Also (2) the ball used in playing; (3) the wall
against which the game is played; and (4) the courts into
which the wall and ground are divided.
1887. _Stonyhurst Mag._, iii. 18, “Stonyhurst in the Fifties.” On
Whit-Saturday HANDBALL came in. We had on that morning 2-1/2 hours’
school ... and having gone up to the study-place to put away our books
were let out by schools to run for places. In the old playground there
stood one of the present HANDBALLS, one side of it belonging to the
Higher Line, and one to the Lower. Of the Higher Line HANDBALLS [on
each side of this HANDBALL—the wall—were two HANDBALLS or courts] one
belonged to Rhetoric and one to Poetry. Of the Lower Line HANDBALLS
one to Grammar and one to Rudiments. There were besides in both Higher
and Lower Lines, other inferior HANDBALLS in the wall which separated
the playground from the garden, where the rails now stand. They were
called “The Pavilions,” and each contained three courts. Those in the
Higher Line were common property, the Lower Line ones belonged to
Rudiments, Figures, and Elements. Syntax had thus no HANDBALL and
Rudiments had two. In the Higher Line possession of the HANDBALL
always went to the first comers, those who first “touched-in” having
it. In the Lower Line during after-dinner recreation (at least in the
large HANDBALLS) it went by order of Compositions.
*Handing-up*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A form of Lynch law inflicted
[up to the second quarter of the century] by monitors on a
boy known to have been guilty of any highly disgraceful
conduct reflecting on the character of the school—stealing,
for example. The monitors satisfied themselves, after
careful inquiry, of the guilt of the accused, and called him
before an assembly of the Upper School in Butler’s Hall,
where he received from each monitor a certain number of
blows with a study toasting-fork. The punishment was severe,
but merciful to the delinquent as an alternative in some
cases to expulsion if the charge had been brought before the
head-master.—THORNTON.
*Harder*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Racquets: as opposed to SQUASH
(_q.v._); also a racquet ball. Whence HARDER-COURT = the
racquet court.
*Hard-up*, _adv._ (Winchester).—Abashed or out of countenance;
exhausted (as in swimming).
*Harlequin*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The wooden centre of a red
indiarubber ball.
*Harry-soph*, _subs._ (Cambridge: obsolete).—See SOPH.
1795. _Gent. Mag._, p. 20. A HARRY, or ERRANT SOPH, I understand to be
either a person, four-and-twenty years of age, and of an infirm state
of health, who is permitted to dine with the Fellows, and to wear a
plain, black, full-sleeved gown; or else he is one who, having kept
all the terms, by statute required previous to his law-act, is _hoc
ipsa facto_ entitled to wear the same garment, and thenceforth ranks
as bachelor, by courtesy.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantabrigiam_. HARRY SOPH, or HENRY SOPHISTER;
students who have kept all the terms required for a law act, and hence
are ranked as Bachelors of Law by courtesy. They wear a plain, black,
full-sleeved gown.
*Hash*, _verb_ (general).—To study hard; TO SWAT (_q.v._).
*Hasher*, _subs._ 1. (Charterhouse).—A “made” dish.
2. (Charterhouse).—A football sweater—tight-fitting, with
the colours running round in horizontal lines. In 1863
football shirts were introduced in place of HASHERS.
*Hat*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A gentleman commoner. [Who is
permitted to wear a hat instead of the regulation
mortar-board.] Also GOLD HATBAND.
1628. EARLE, _Microcosmographie_, “Young Gentleman of the Universitie”
(ed. ARBER, 1868). His companion is ordinarily some stale fellow that
has beene notorious for an ingle to GOLD HATBANDS, whom hee admires at
first, afterwards scornes.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantabrigiam._ Hat Commoner; the son of a nobleman,
who wears the gown of a Fellow Commoner with a HAT.
1830. LYTTON, _Paul Clifford_, ch. xxxii. I knew intimately all the
HATS in the University.
1841. LYTTON, _Night and Morning_, Bk. I. ch. i. He had certainly
nourished the belief that some one of the HATS or tinsel gowns, _i.e._
young lords or fellow.
*Hatch*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A flood-gate. [Hatch = a
flood-gate (BAILEY); also var. dial. = a garden-gate,
wicket-gate, or half-door.]
*Hatch-thoke*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A Founder’s
Commemoration-day. [THOKE = to lie late in bed; an old
custom being to lie in bed till breakfast on such occasions,
names being called at HATCH in Commoners.]
*Haul*, _verb_ (University).—To summon before the Proctor
for misdemeanour. Whence HAULABLE, _adj._, used of those
whose society authorities deem undesirable for the men:
_e.g._ they’re HAULABLE = those caught with them will be
proctorised.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 89. At last they were caught
trying to drive in through the big gate of John’s. Next day they were
HAULED and sent down.
TO HAUL UP, _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—To have a boy up to House
out of school-hours, to say “turned” repetitions.
*Haves.* _See_ HALVES.
*He*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A cake. YOUNG HE = a small cake; a
FISH-HE = fish-cake. _See_ SHE.
*Head*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—The chief cricket-ground.
*Health Walk*, subs. (Stonyhurst).—When the weather has been bad
for some time, the boys are freed on the first fine day for
“HEALTH WALKS.” The name seems still to be surviving,
through more often the boys have football than walks on such
occasions.
*Heder*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A plunge, feet foremost. Fr. _une
chandelle_.
*Hedgehog*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A London nickname for a
Hertford BLUE (_q.v._). _See_ Appendix.
_c._ 1800-29. _The Blue-Coat Boy_ [_More Gleanings from_ THE BLUE],
203. Another isolated statement of interest (unknown, perhaps, to
some), is that “Hertford boys called the London boys, ‘Jackdaws,’ and
those in London called those at Hertford ‘HEDGEHOGS’;” hedgehog boys
and pigtailed masters!
*Heifer*, _subs._ (Charterhouse: obsolete).—A charwoman.
*Hell*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A shady nook near Third Pot,
famous for a profusion of violets. [Dial. (Hants) = a dark,
wooded place: originally (SKEAT) a hidden place.]
*Hell-and-neck boy*, _subs. phr._ (Royal High School, Edin.:
obsolete).—A venturesome boy who had frequently climbed the
KITTLE-NINE-STEPS (q.v.).
*Hell Hole* and “*Hell’s Gates*,” _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The name
of some foundations of an old factory built on the Hodder.
*High* (The), _subs._ (Oxford).—High Street. _Cf._ The BROAD,
the TURL, the CORN, &c.
*High*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A fruit-pie. _See_ Low.
_c._ 1890. _More Gleanings from_ THE BLUE, 92. Those greedy gluttons
who during life had lain in wait for monied comrades, assailing them
with importunate entreaties or even with open violence. Now they
outstretched bony hands in vain for juicy “HIGHS,” which mocked and
eluded their grasp; bottles of ginger-beer and cherries hovered above
their skinny lips, as erst in “cherry-bob,” but never were they
granted taste or sip of cool beverage or dainty morsel.
*Higher Line*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The three highest classes.
*High-master*, _subs._ (St. Paul’s and Manchester Grammar).—The
Head-master: at Manchester the term was used in the earliest
statutes of the school (1515). _See_ SUR-MASTER.
*Hills*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester).—St. Catharine’s Hill. Hence,
TO SHIRK HILLS = _see_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, p. 28. Some of his principal
duties were to take the boys “on to HILLS,” call names there, &c.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_, 214. HILLS—St.
Catherine’s Hill, a green hill about one mile and a half from College,
about five hundred feet high, and near the top surrounded by a deep
trench, the remains of an old Roman camp. The boys had to ascend this
twice a day on whole Holidays and Remedies, once before breakfast, and
again at half-past two. In the summer they also went out in the
evening, but did not ascend Hills, but disported themselves below.
These sorties were called “going on to HILLS,” the evening expedition
being called “Underhills.” _Ibid._, iii. Ordinary offences of a
trifling character, such as being late for Chapel or “SHIRKING HILLS”
[_i.e._ evading going Hills], were punished by the infliction of an
imposition—generally thirty lines of Virgil, English and Latin.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 24. Tuesdays and Thursdays
were partial holidays, on which the boys went out to the HILLS twice;
once in the morning, returning at nine to breakfast, and again in the
afternoon, coming off at three. There they played at quoits, football,
and something which seems to have borne a resemblance to cricket.
2. (Cambridge).—The Gogmagog Hills; a common morning’s
ride.—_Gradus ad Cantab._
*Hiss* (The), _subs._ (Winchester).—The signal given at the
commencement of school hours when a Master was coming
in.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ [1866], 104. Just
before school-time a boy was always stationed to watch the arrival of
the Master, of which he had to give notice by emitting a loud HISS,
upon which there was a general rush up to books; the previous uproar
dwindled to a calm, and work began.
*Hivite*, _subs._ (St. Bees’).—A student of St. Bees’
(Cumberland).
1865. _John Bull_, Nov. 11. To be a HIVITE has long been considered a
little worse than a “literate.”... Of the value of some St. Bees’
testimonials we may form an estimate, &c.
*Hobbs*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—A fad; a mental eccentricity.
_See_ TACHS.
*Hobby*, _subs._ (common).—A translation. To RIDE HOBBIES = to
use CRIBS (_q.v._).
*Hockey-sticks and Fourpennies*, _subs. phr._ (Charterhouse).—A
kind of irregular cricket played at Old Charterhouse. The
bats were huge bludgeons called hockey-sticks, but without
any curve at the end; the balls were like large fives-balls,
and a little smaller than a regulation cricket-ball; the
wickets were usually coats or jackets; gownboy jackets were
much the best, because they were stiff and easily stood
upright; the pitch was either on the football ground, where
there was no grass, or on a flagged pavement in cloisters.
*Hodgsonites* (Charterhouse).—_See_ OUT-HOUSES.
*Hodman* (Oxford).—A scholar from Westminster School admitted to
Christ Church College.
1728. BAILEY, _Eng. Dict._, s.v. HODMAN.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Arch. Words_, s.v.... A nickname for a Canon of
Christ Church.
*Hog*, _subs._ (Cambridge: obsolete).—A student of St. John’s.
Also JOHNIAN HOG. _See_ CRACKLE, BRIDGE OF GRUNTS, and
ISTHMUS OF SUEZ.
1690. _Diary of Abraham de la Pryme_ (Surtees Society, No. 54), quoted
in _Notes and Queries_, 6 S., xi. 328. For us Jonians are called
abusively HOGGS.
1795. _Gent. Mag._, lxv. 22. The JOHNIAN HOGS were originally
remarkable on account of the squalid figures and low habits of the
_students_, and especially of the _sizars_ of Saint _John’s_ College.
[Another story of how name originated is given in detail in _Gent.
Mag._ (1795), lxv. 107.]
1889. WHIBLEY, _In Cap and Gown_, p. 28. An obsolete name for members
of St. John’s College, Cambridge.
*Hog Tower*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A coaching room off Rhetoric
school-room. [So called (1) because part of a tower, and (2)
because the RHETORICIANS (_q.v._) originally wished to use
it for other “more profitable” purposes than for study.]
*Hoi Polloi*, _subs. phr._ (University).—The candidates for
ordinary degrees. [From the Greek.] _Cf._ GULF.
*Hol*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A holiday. Whence HOL-TAG = holiday
task.
*Holiday*, _subs._ (Sherborne: obsolete).—A Saint’s day:
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
*Hollis*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A small pebble. [Said to be
derived from a boy of that name.—WRENCH.]
*Holy Club* (The), _subs._ (Oxford: obsolete).—A band of kindred
spirits who gathered round John Wesley while at Lincoln
College: in ridicule.
*Home-bill*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Food supplied by the butler
at breakfast or tea, to supplement the bread-and-butter
supplied by the house master. It consists of eggs, eggs and
bacon, ham, or sausages at breakfast; of poached eggs,
mince, sausages and potatoes, tongue, ham, brawn, beef,
or pork-pie at tea. The price is usually 4d. for each
HOME-BILL; in some houses 6d. is the charge for the Upper
School.
*Home-bug*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A home boarder; a day boy.
*Honour* (*Legion of*). _See_ LEGION.
*Honours*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Classes in which extra classics
are read in the three highest Forms.
*Hook*, _intj._ (Oxford).—An expression implying doubt. [Query
from the note of interrogation (?) or connected with “Hookey
Walker.”]
1823. BEE, _Dict. of the Turf_, s.v. HOOKEY WALKER—and WITH A HOOK,
usually accompanied by a significant upliftment of the hand and
crooking of the forefinger, implying that what is said is a lie, or is
to be taken contrariwise.
1843. MONCRIEFF, _Scamps of London_, i. 1. _Bob._ Will you have some
gin? _Fogg._ Gin—yes! _Bob_ (turning away). Ha—ha!—WITH A HOOK ... I
wish you may get it.
1870. TRAILL, _Saturday Songs_, p. 22. It’s go and go over the left,
It’s go WITH A HOOK AT THE END.
*Horse-box*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A cubicle or recess in
dormitory: about 5 or 6 feet high. Whence TO DO TEN
HORSE-BOXES = to perform “Sinking-and-rising exercise” on
the same.
*Hot*, _subs._ (Winchester).—1. A mellay at football. 2. A
crowd. Hence to HOT UP (or DOWN) = to crowd; to mob.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_, 215. In Twenty-two
and Twenty-two (_q.v._) when the ball went out of bounds, it was
brought in and placed between the two sides, who all clustered up
close round, with their heads down, each party, by weight and kicking,
trying to force the ball through the other.
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, p. 367. It would be replaced and a fresh
HOT formed.
*Hot-end*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A half-burned faggot stick with
one end red-hot.
*Hots*, _subs._ 1. (Felsted: obsolete).—Tarts; pastry, &c.
2. (Felsted).—Money: specifically “coppers.”
Whence TRAV-HOTS = travelling money.
1893. _Felstedian_, Mar., p. 20. I made two brackets in the workshop,
they liked them awfully; I meant to get them something decent, but I
hadn’t got any HOTS.
1893. _Felstedian_, July, p. 82. All right; it’s only a HOT. Did you
hear what we did in our dormy last night?
1895. _Felstedian_, April, p. 44. HOTS—“Hots” and “half-hots” very
evidently “burn a hole in one’s pocket” if they are left there long
enough.
*Hot-tiger*, _subs._ (Oxford: obsolete).—Hot-spiced ale and
sherry.
*Hound*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—_See_ quot.
1879. E. WALFORD, in _Notes and Queries_, 5 S., xii. 88. In the
_Anecdotes of Bowyer_ ... we are told that a HOUND of King’s College,
Cambridge, is an undergraduate not on the foundation, nearly the same
as a “sizar.”
*House-captain*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A boy, not in studies,
responsible for order in House-room.
*House-game*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A game—football or cricket—in
which the whole House play.
*House-list*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The printed list, in BILL
(_q.v._) order, of each House.
*House-room*, _subs._ (The Leys).—The Common Room of boys below
VI^{th} who have no studies.
*House-singing*, _subs._ (Harrow).—An informal concert at which
school songs are sung collectively: held once a fortnight
except in summer.
*House-washing*, _subs._ (Rugby: obsolete).—A sort of compressed
paper-chase, backwards and forwards in a short distance over
Clifton Brook, a tributary of the Warwickshire Avon. [The
name suggests that this was not a dry process; each House as
a rule had a HOUSE-WASHING in the Easter term.]
*Housey*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Belonging or peculiar to
the Hospital. The reverse of TOWNEY = of the town.
*Housle*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To hustle. [Dial.: _cf._ doust =
dust; fousty = fusty; rousty = rusty, &c.]
*Huff*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Strong ale brewed by the College.
[A survival: also HUFF-CAP.]
1579. FULWELL, _Art of Flattery_. Commonly called HUFCAP, it will make
a man look as though he had seene the devil.
1586. HOLINSHED, _Description of England_. These men hale at HUFF-CAP
till they be red as cockes, and little wiser than their combes.
1602. CAMPION, _English Poesy_ (BULLEN, _Works_, 1889, p. 247). Hunks
detests when HUFFCAP ale he tipples.
1614. GREENE, _Looking-Glass_ [DYCE], p. 127. The ale is strong ale,
’tis HUFCAP; I warrant you, ’twill make a man well.
1640. TAYLOR, _Works._ And this is it, of ale-houses and innes,
Wine-marchants, vintners, brewers, who much wins By others losing, I
say more or lesse, Who sale of HUFCAP liquor doe professe.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, p. 180. Washed down by libations
of HUFF.
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, s.v. HUFF, the strong ale brewed by the
College.
*Hum*, _verb_ (Derby).—To smell.
*Hundred* (The), _subs._ 1. (Loretto).—A long straight walk
within the school grounds.
2. (Tonbridge: obsolete).—One of the lower football grounds.
There were Upper, Middle, Lower, Fourth, and Fifth Hundreds.
_See_ FIFTY.
*Husky*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, p. 145. There were two kinds
[Gooseberry fool] HUSKY and non-husky.
*Ick.* _See_ ACK.
*Iliad*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—The regular penalty for late
attendance at chapel and other minor offences.
*Imperator*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A name given to the two first
boys in each class.
*Impo*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—An imposition.
*Impositor*, _subs._ (Sherborne: obsolete).—A school Præfect:
sixteenth century.
*Inferior*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Any member of the school not a
PRÆFECT (_q.v._).
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, p. 28. The Præfect of Hall ...
was looked upon by the INFERIORS with something more than a becoming
awe and reverence.
*Inform*, _verb_ (Charterhouse).—To sneak; to show up.
*Infra-dig*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Scornful; proud: _e.g._ “He
sported INFRA-DIG duck,” or “I am INFRA-DIG to it.”
*Island, The* (Rugby).—A mound or “tumulus” in the Close.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 372. They [the school
volunteer corps] had not only parades, but sham fights—if a fight
could be called a sham from which the combatants retired with broken
heads and bloody noses—attacking and defending the Doctor’s farmyard
on the little ISLAND between what were then the two Closes.
*Isthmus-of-Suez*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The bridge at St. John’s
College, Cambridge, leading from the grounds to one of the
Courts, familiarly known as the “Bridge of Sighs.” Also THE
BRIDGE OF GRUNTS. [From its slight similarity to the
Venetian example. _Sues_ = swine, in punning reference to
the JOHNIAN HOGS (_q.v._).] _See_ CRACKLE and HOG.
1857. _Punch_, June 20. A resident Fellowe he was, I wis, He had no
cure of Soules; And across ye BRIDGE OF SUES he’d come From playinge
ye game of bowles.
1885. CUTHBERT BEDE, in _N. and Q._, 6 S., xi. 414. Another word is
_Sues_, for swine. This is applied to the bridge leading from the old
courts to the new, familiarly known as the BRIDGE OF SIGHS from its
slight similarity to the Venetian example, but also known as the
ISTHMUS OF SUEZ. This word _Suez_ was then transformed to _Suez_,
swine, to adapt it to its Johnian frequenters.
*Jack.* _See_ BLACK-JACK.
*Jackdaw*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Hertford for a London
BLUE (_q.v._): obsolete.
_c._ 1800-29. _The Blue-Coat Boy_ [_More Gleanings from_ THE BLUE,
203]. Hertford boys called the London boys “JACKDAWS,” and those in
London called those at Hertford “Hedgehogs.”
*Jack-o’-Lantern*, _subs._ (Eton and Harrow: obsolete).—A
nocturnal form of “Hare and Hounds.”
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 312. But there was an ancient
form of it [“Hare and Hounds”] at Harrow, so especially attractive as
being pursued at unlawful hours and under unusual difficulties, that
it deserves special mention. It was known also in former days at Eton,
and in both schools went by the name of JACK O’ LANTERN. About seven
o’clock on winter evenings, when it was quite dark, the boys, by
sufferance on the part of the authorities, were let out from their
several boarding-houses into the fields below the school. A stout and
active runner started in advance, carrying a lantern, by the light of
which the rest pursued him in full cry. He showed or concealed his
light from time to time, and a great point of the sport was to entice
the hounds into some pool or muddy ditch (which “Jack” himself has
carefully avoided) by showing the light exactly in a line on the other
side.
1885. THORNTON, _Harrow School_, p. 276. JACK-O’-LANTERN was abolished
by Dr. George Butler, but re-appeared in Dr. Longley’s time as one of
those forbidden pleasures so dear to youth. Always played in the
evening, and originally by sufferance of the authorities, the game in
question was simply a run across country after a lantern carried by a
swift-footed boy. Oftentimes would the luckless hounds be enticed into
some slough of despond, and the performers return in a condition of
mud which may find its equal on a wet football day or a paper-chase
forty years later, but yet present no adequate idea of the confusion
caused by the return from JACK-O’-LANTERN, of thirty or forty boys at
night when in ordinary clothes. It is one of the most distinct
evidences that no discipline existed when we read of such a proscribed
saturnalia having occurred after lock-up in Dr. Longley’s time. But
the fact has been communicated to us by Harrow men whose word is
indisputable.
*Jambi*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Greek Iambics; an exercise in the
Upper School.
*Janny*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—A janitor.
*Jark*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A safe-conduct pass; a JASKER. [_Cf._
JARK = a seal.]
1818. SCOTT, _Heart of Midlothian_, xxix. Stay, gentlemen, ... this is
a JARK from Jim Radcliffe.
*Jarrehoe*, _subs._ (Wellington).—A man-servant. _Cf._ GYP and
SCOUT.
*Jericho*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A low quarter of Oxford.
*Jesuit*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A graduate or undergraduate of
Jesus College.
1771. SMOLLETT, _Humphrey Clinker_, To Sir W. Phillips, April 20.
Direct your next to me at Bath; and remember me to all our fellow
JESUITS.
1856. HALL, _College Words and Phrases_, p. 270, _s.v._
*Jib*, _subs._ (Dublin).—A first-year’s man.
1841. LEVER, _Charles O’Malley_, xiv. There [referring to Trinity
College Freshmen] ... are JIBS, whose names are neither known to the
proctor nor the police-office.
TO BE JIBBED, _verb. phr._ (Christ’s Hospital).—To be called
over the coals; to get into trouble. A Hertford word, the
London equivalent being TWIGGED. Obsolete.
*Jiffs, The* (Christ’s Hospital). _See_ Appendix.
_c._ 1890. _More Gleanings from_ THE BLUE, 92. North is the “Hall
playground” (I use the terrene names); south, the “Library”; east, the
“Ditch”; and west, the “JIFFS.”
*Jig*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A clever man: fifty years ago it
meant a swindler. The word has now the meanings (1) a low
joke, (2) a swindle, (3) an object of sport.
1600. HEYWOOD, 2 _Edward IV._, i. 1. There domineering with his
drunken crew Makes JIGS of us.
1620. COTGRAVE, _Dictionarie_, s.v. FARCE ... the JYG at the end of an
enterlude, wherein some pretie knaverie is acted.
1652. STAPYLTON, _Herodion_ (quoted in _Notions_). Devising with his
mates to find a JIGG, That he thereby might make himself a king.
*Jimmy.* ALL JIMMY, _adv. phr._ (Cambridge).—All nonsense.
[_Cf._ JEMMY-BURTY (Cambridge) = an _ignis fatuus_.]
*Jink*, _subs._ (Durham).—A dodge: at football.
*Jockey*, _subs._ (Winchester).—(1) To supplant; (2) to
appropriate; (3) to engage: _e.g._ “He JOCKEYED me UP to
books”; “Who has JOCKEYED my baker”; “This court is
JOCKEYED.” Probably an extended use of the word borrowed
from turf slang. JOCKEY NOT = the Commoner cry claiming
exemption, answering to “feign” at other schools: of which
the College “finge” seems a translation. The opposite of
JOCKEY UP = to LOSE DOWN.—_Notions._
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov. p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” Here
let me observe that only the præfects have separate basins to wash in;
the juniors use the two stone conduits. As there are seven who are not
præfects, there is rather a rush for them, so I JOCKEY (_i.e._ secure)
one for the “candlekeeper” by turning on some water and putting his
sponge into it.
*John* (Westminster).—_See_ COLLEGE JOHN.
*Johnian*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A student of St. John’s College:
also JOHNIAN PIG or HOG—_see_ HOG. Also as _adj._: _e.g._
JOHNIAN blazer, JOHNIAN melody, &c.
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v. HOG ... JOHNIAN HOGS, an appellation
given to the members of St. John’s College, Cambridge.
1829. PRAED, _Poems_, “The Vicar.” Sit in the Vicar’s seat: you’ll
hear The doctrine of a gentle JOHNIAN.
1841. _Westminster Review_, xxxv. 236. The JOHNIANS are always known
as pigs. They put up a new organ the other day which was immediately
christened “Baconi Novum Organum.”
*Joram*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A tin beer-can, used in
Commoners; a quart pot. [Var. dial. = a large dish or jug.]
In College a BOB (_q.v._) was used.
*Jordan* (Eton).—_See_ PLAYING-FIELDS.
*Jossop*, _subs._ (general).—Syrup; juice; gravy; sauce.
*Jubilee*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A pleasant time:
_e.g._ The town was all in a JUBILEE of feasts.—_Dryden._
1772. G. A. STEVENS, _Songs Comic and Satyrical_, p. 192. Day by day,
and night by night, Joyful JUBILEES we keep.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 216.
_Jubilee_—Any time when there was nothing to do, either in the way of
lessons or fagging.
*June* (Eton).—_See_ FOURTH OF JUNE.
*Jungle*, The (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The Seminary wood.
1889. _Stonyhurst Mag._, iii. 347. The welcome shade of what was
facetiously called THE JUNGLE.
*Junior*, _subs._ (Winchester).—All Inferiors except the seven
CANDLEKEEPERS (_q.v._) and Senior Inferior.
_Adj._ (Winchester).—Applied to all comparable objects. Of
two neighbouring trees, the bigger is the “senior”: there
are a “senior” and a “JUNIOR” end to a table, a room, &c.
TIGHT JUNIOR = lowest of all.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. JUNIOR.... At about the end
of the fifteenth century _senior_ and JUNIOR superseded _major_ and
_minor_, before which the two sets of words seem to have been used
concurrently.
*Junior Hall* (Shrewsbury).—_See_ SENIOR HALL.
*Junior Soph.* _See_ SOPH.
*Junket!* _intj._ (Winchester).—An exclamation of
self-congratulation: _e.g._ “JUNKET” I’ve got a “remi.”
Hence to JUNKET OVER = to exult over. [JUNKETING = a
merry-making.]
1630. WADSWORTH [WRENCH]. They made him oft-times go on foot, whilst
they rode about JUNKETTING in his coach.
_d._ 1745. SWIFT, _Works_. Whatever good bits you can pilfer in the
day, save them to JUNKET with your fellow-servants at night.
*Keelie*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—A town
boy. Now = “cad.”
*Keep.* To KEEP CHAPEL, _verb. phr._ (University).—_See_ quot.
1852.
1850. _Household Words_, ii. p. 161. “As you have failed to make up
your number of chapels the last two weeks,” such were the very words
of the Dean, “you will, if you please, KEEP every CHAPEL till the end
of the term.”
1852. BRISTED, _Five Years_, _&c._, 32. The undergraduate is expected
to go to chapel eight times, or, in academic parlance, to KEEP eight
CHAPELS a week.
TO KEEP CAVE, _verb. phr._ (Eton).—To watch and give warning
on a tutor’s approach.
1883. BRINSLEY RICHARDS, _Seven Years at Eton_, ch. iv. Another had to
mount guard in the passage, or on the staircase, TO KEEP _cave_.
*Kick.* TO KICK OVER, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To kick a ball
up in the air, when it is rolling along, or lying on the
ground: considered very bad play.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
_Ibid._, 217. KICK-IN.—In a game at football the bounds on
each side were kept by a line of Juniors, whose duty it was
to KICK the ball IN again whenever it passed outside the
line. _See_ KICKING-IN.
*Kicking-in*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot., and KICK.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 138. But
football wasn’t all beer and skittles to the Fags. There was an
institution called KICKING-IN, which, while it lasted, was much worse
than “watching out” at cricket, although it had the very great merit
of not continuing so long; for, even on a whole holiday, we seldom had
more than two hours of it.
*Kick-off*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Taking the football in hand
and kicking it into the air: this was done after each SCHITT
(_q.v._), GOWNER (_q.v._), or GOAL (_q.v._) by the losing
side, and whenever a ball that had been kicked up in the air
had been caught by one of the other side.—MANSFIELD (_c._
1840).
*Kid*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester).—Cheese.
2. (The Leys).—A boy under fifteen. Hence KID-SIXES =
football for KIDS—six a side.
*Kill*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To hurt badly.
1800. EDGEWORTH, _Castle Rackrent_, “Glossary.” This word [KILL] ...
means not killed, but much hurt. In Ireland, not only cowards but the
brave “die many times before their death.” There “killing is no
murder.”
1836. MARRYAT, _Japhet_, iii. Sure enough it cured me, but wasn’t I
quite KILT before I was cured.
*Kill-me-quick*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A tuck-shop cake.
*King Edward’s, Birm.*—A curious custom exists here of inherited
nicknames: _e.g._ Years ago a boy named Pearson was
nicknamed “Jelly”; every Pearson, though unrelated to the
other, for many years afterwards was nicknamed “Jelly.” A
trio of brothers have been successively named “Tiddley,”
others “Topsy,” and “Bowie.” An elder brother was called
“Pussy,” and his younger brother “Kitten.”
*Kings*, TO GET KINGS, _verb. phr._ (Eton).—To obtain a
scholarship at King’s Coll., Cambridge. _See_ RIPPING.
*Kingsman*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A member of King’s College.
1852. BRISTED, _Five Years_, 127. He came out the winner, with the
KINGSMAN, and one of our three.
*Kip*, _verb_ (Royal High School, Edin.).—To play truant. Common
throughout Scotland. [Possibly from “skip.”]
*Kish*, _subs._ (Marlborough).—A cushion: in ordinary use
doubled up under the arm for carrying school books, as well
as for sitting on in Form or Hall. As _verb_ = to use a
cushion as a weapon of offence. _See_ COMPOUND-KISH.
*Kittle-nine-steps*, _subs. phr._ (Royal High School, Edin.:
obsolete).—A pass on the very brink of the Castle rock, to
the north, by which it is just possible for a goat or a High
School boy to turn the corner of the building where it rises
from the edge of the precipice. _See_ HELL-AND-NECK-BOY.
*Klondyke*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A cross-country run to St.
Botolph’s.
*Knave*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A dunce: at Hertford, a
KNACK.
*Knock.* TO KNOCK IN, _verb. phr._ (Oxford).—1. To return to
College after GATE is closed.
1825. _English Spy_, i. 155. “Close the oak, Jem,” said Horace
Eglantine, “and take care no one KNOCKS IN before we have knocked down
the contents of your master’s musical _mélange_.”
1837. BARHAM, _Ingoldsby Legends_, p. 464 [ed. 1862]. That same
afternoon Father Dick, who as soon Would KNOCK IN or “cut chapel,” as
jump o’er the moon, Was missing at vespers—at complines—all night! And
his monks were of course in a deuce of a fright.
1853. CUTHBERT BEDE, _Verdant Green_, I. xi. At first, too, he was on
such occasions greatly alarmed at finding the gates of Brazenface
closed, obliging him thereby to KNOCK IN.
1861. HUGHES, _Tom Brown at Oxford_, p. 458 [ed. 1864]. There’s twelve
striking. I must KNOCK IN. Good night. You’ll be round to breakfast at
nine?
2. TO KNOCK OUT, _verb. phr._ (Oxford).—To leave college
after hours: of out of college men only. _See_ KNOCK IN.
1861. H. KINGSLEY, _Ravenshoe_, vii. Five out-college men had KNOCKED
OUT at a quarter to three, refusing to give any name but the dean’s.
1861. HUGHES, _Tom Brown at Oxford_, xlv. p. 503 [ed. 1864]. “Hullo!”
he said, getting up; “time for me to KNOCK OUT, or old Copas will be
in bed.”
3. TO KNOCK UP, _verb. phr._ (Christ’s Hospital).—To gain a
place in class: _e.g._ I KNOCKED UP, and “I KNOCKED Jones
UP.” The Hertford equivalent is OX UP (_q.v._). Both forms
are now obsolete.
*Knuckle.* TO KNUCKLE DOWN, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To kneel.
1748. DYCHE, _Dict._ (5th ed.). KNUCKLE-DOWN (_verb_) to stoop, bend,
yield, comply with, or submit to.
*Labyrinth* (The), _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A part of the
Garden.
*Lag*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The last. The “lag of the school,” the
last boy in BILL-order (_q.v._) in the school.
1881. PASCOE, _Every-day Life in our Public Schools_. Every morning
the LAG junior prepares and brings to hall the list.
*Lage*, _subs._ (University: obsolete).—To wash. [_Cf._ the old
cant term _lagge_ = a bundle of clothes for washing.]
*Lamb’s-tails*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A cake sold at the
tuck-shop.
*Landies*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—Gaiters. [From
tradespeople—Landy and Currell—who supplied them.]
*Land of Promises*, _subs. phr._ (University).—_See_ quot.
1823. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v. LAND OF PROMISES. The fair
expectation cherished by a steady novice at Oxford.
*Land of Sheepishness*, _subs. phr._ (old University).—_See_
quot.
1823. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v. LAND OF SHEEPISHNESS. Schoolboy’s
bondage.
*Largitate*, _subs._ (The Leys).—Apple-pie. [From the College
grace.]
*Lash*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To envy. Generally in
imperative as a taunt.
1890. _The Blue_, Oct., “The Queen in the City.” Our lips LASH on
learning that the “general bill of fare” contained 200 tureens of
turtle, 200 bottles of sherbot (what is this?), 50 boiled turkeys, and
oysters.
*Late-play*, _subs._ (Westminster).—A half-holiday or holiday
beginning at noon. _See_ EARLY PLAY.
*Launch*, _verb_ (general).—_See_ quots.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 218.
LAUNCH—To drag a boy out of bed, mattress, bed-clothes, and all.
1865. G. J. BERKELEY, _My Life_, &c., i. 129. I had [at Sandhurst
about 1815] to undergo the usual torments of being LAUNCHED, that is,
having my bed reversed while I was asleep; of being thrown on the
floor on my face, with the mattress on my back, and all my friends or
foes dancing on my prostrate body.
*Lawful Time*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Recess; playtime.
*Leave*, _subs._ (general).—Leave of absence from school; a
holiday.
*Leaving-money*, _subs._ (Eton). _See_ quot.
1865. _Etoniana_, p. 70. The restrictions [_temp._ Eliz.] by which the
masters were forbidden to take any fees (even from oppidans) was
probably evaded, almost from the first, by the system then universal
in all transactions of giving presents, under which heading the sons
of wealthy parents soon began to pay pretty highly for their
education. Traces of this arrangement remain in the custom still
prevailing—not at all to the credit of the school—of presenting a sum
as LEAVING-MONEY to the head-master and the private tutor. At what
time assistant-masters were first appointed does not appear; but they
were no doubt paid, up to a comparatively late date, entirely from
such fees as the parents of those under their tuition chose to give
them.
*Lecker*, _subs._ 1. (Oxford).—A lecture.
2. (Harrow).—The electric light.
*Legion of Honour*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The last twelve in the
mathematical TRIPOS (_q.v._).
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v. PLUCK.... These unfortunate fellows
are designated by many opprobrious appellations, such as the Twelve
Apostles, the LEGION OF HONOUR, Wise Men of the East, &c.
*Lemonade*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A day of high festival, coming
twice a year, at Shrove-tide and at Easter.
*Lemon Peel Fight*, _subs. phr._ (Charterhouse: obsolete).—_See_
quot.
1900. TOD, _Charterhouse_, 80. On Shrove-Tuesday, according to a
custom dating from 1850 or probably earlier, every boy used to receive
half a lemon with his pancake at dinner. This he reserved to use as a
missile in the fight which was to take place directly afterwards. At
Old Charterhouse, gownboys used to stand against the rest of the
school, and the fight consisted in each side pelting the other with
the half lemons. It lasted for fifteen or twenty minutes, and was
begun and ended by a house bell being rung. During these twenty
minutes a good many bruises and black eyes could be received, for
combatants fought at quite close quarters; and unpopular monitors were
sometimes badly damaged. At New Charterhouse the sides were at first
Old Charterhouse _v._ New. In 1877 they were changed again to
Out-houses _v._ The Rest. This was the last fight. Grave abuses had
crept in. The lemons were no longer simple lemons, but a sort of
bomb-shell, loaded with pebbles or ink, and several boys were badly
hurt. So the Sixth Form in 1878 “totally abolished LEMON PEEL as a
barbarous and obsolete practice.” It required a strong Sixth Form to
do this, for the fight was popular, and their action is one of the
best things that the school has done for itself. Its abolition differs
from the abolition of fighting; the latter became obsolete through the
action of public opinion; LEMON PEEL was abolished by an ukase almost
in defiance of public opinion.
*Lent Suppers.* _See_ PUBLIC-SUPPING.
*Let.* TO LET IN, _verb. phr._ (Oxford).—To associate with.
1861. HUGHES, _Tom Brown at Oxford_, i. He has also been good enough
to recommend to me many tradesmen, ... but, with the highest respect
for friend Perkins (my scout) and his obliging friends, I shall make
some inquiries before LETTING IN with any of them.
*Let-out*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—Any less extensive holiday than
a half holiday.
*Levite*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—A boy leaving the school.
*Levy*, _subs._ (Rugby).—_See_ quot.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, viii. In fact, the solemn
assembly, a LEVY of the school, had been held, at which the captain of
the school had got up, and, after premising that several instances had
occurred of matters having been reported to the masters; that this was
against public morality and School tradition; that a LEVY of the sixth
had been held on the subject, and they had resolved that the practice
must be stopped at once.
*Lib*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—The Library. Whence LIB. COLL. =
a collection of library books.
*Licet*, _adj._ and _adv._ (Winchester).—Allowed; permissible;
befitting a Wykehamist.
*Lick.* TO LICK OFF THE FIELD, _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—To get
five BASES (_q.v._) before the other side scores one, in a
FOOTER (_q.v._) House-match: this closes the game.
*Lie.* TO LIE IN, _verb. phr._ (Royal Military Academy).—To keep
one’s room when supposed to be out on leave.
*Lincoln Devil* (The), _subs._ (Oxford).—A curious gilded
deformed image (copied from a figure in Lincoln Cathedral)
which decorates the bows of the Lincoln boat. Replicas are
honoured by, and found in the rooms of, most Lincoln men.
*Lines*, _subs._ (general).—The usual punishment—the copying out
of so many lines of Greek or Latin. Hence TO BE PUT ON LINES
(Harrow) = to have to show up so many lines each half-hour
for a certain number of half-holidays, for being late for
chapel, &c.
*Links*, _subs._ (Loretto).—A short run or walk before
breakfast: about half a mile. [Formerly always across
Musselburgh Links: now there are various LINKS according to
circumstances.]
*Lion*, _subs._ (old University).—_See_ quot.
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v. LION.... Also the name given by the
gownsmen of Oxford to inhabitants or visitors.
*Lions, The* (Stonyhurst).—The two pillars in front of the
College.
*Little Figures*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The old name
for the class of ELEMENTS (_q.v._).
1895. _Stonyhurst Magazine_, v. p. 519. I was sent to Stonyhurst, when
I was put into the class of LITTLE FIGURES.
*Little Figuricians*, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ LITTLE
FIGURES.
*Little-go*, _subs._ (University).—The public examination which
students at the English Universities have to pass in the
second year of residence: also called the “previous
examination” (as preceding the final one for a degree), and,
at Oxford, SMALLS (_q.v._).
1841. THACKERAY, _King of Brentford’s Testament_, 86, 7. At college,
though not fast, Yet his LITTLE-GO and great-go He creditably pass’d.
1849. THACKERAY, _Pendennis_, iii. A tutor, don’t you see, old boy?
He’s coaching me, and some other men, for the LITTLE-GO.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, vii. “Oh,” said Mr. Charles Larkyns,
“they give you no end of trouble at these places; and they require the
vaccination certificate before you go in for your responsions—the
LITTLE-GO, you know.”
*Little Man*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ quot., and Appendix.
1866-72. _Sketchy Memoirs of Eton_, p. 16. He called the footman (or
LITTLE MAN ...) and bade him reach down the obnoxious placard.
*Little Refectory*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A room in
the old College, sometimes used as a refectory for smaller
boys.
*Little-side*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A term applied to all games
organised between houses only. _See_ BIG-SIDE.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, vii. In all the games too he
joined with all his heart, and soon became well versed in all the
mysteries of football, by continual practice at the School-house
LITTLE-SIDE, which played daily.
*Lob*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A “yorker”; never, as in ordinary
cricket phraseology, an underhand delivery.
*Lobster*, _intj._ (general).—A signal of a master’s approach.
_Verb_ (Winchester).—To cry. [_Lowster_ or _louster_ (South)
= to make a clumsy rattling noise.]
*Lockback*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A Holiday or REMEDY (_q.v._),
on which, from bad weather or any other cause, the boys did
not go on to HILLS (_q.v._), but remained on the school side
of Seventh Chamber Passage Gate.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Lockees*, _subs._ (Westminster).—Lockhouse.
*Lockites* (Charterhouse).—_See_ OUT-HOUSES.
*Locks and Keys*, _intj._ (Winchester).—_See_ PEALS.
*Lock-up*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Locking up—the time by which all
have to be in their Houses for the night; the hour varies
with the season, from 5.30 P.M. to 8.30 P.M.
*Log*, _subs._ (general).—The last boy of his “form” or “house.”
*Logie*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Sewage.
*Log-pond*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A sewer.
*London-cricket*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The modern game: to
distinguish it from STONYHURST-CRICKET (_q.v._).
*Long.* THE LONG (University).—The summer vacation.
1852. BRISTED, _Five Years in an English University_, p. 37. For a
month or six weeks in THE LONG they rambled off to see the sights of
Paris.
1863. READE, _Hard Cash_, i. 17. “I hope I shall not be [‘ploughed for
smalls’] to vex you and puss ...” “... Puss? that is me [sister
Julia]. How dare he? Did I not forbid all these nicknames and all this
Oxfordish, by proclamation, last LONG.” “Last LONG?” [remonstrates
mamma]. “Hem! last protracted vacation.”
THE LONGS, _subs._ (Oxford).—The latrines at Brasenose.
[Built by Lady Long.]
*Long-box*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A deal box for holding bats,
stumps, balls, &c.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Long Chamber*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ quot. Long Chamber still
exists, but in a very different condition.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 14. To Francis Hodgson, who was elected
Provost in 1840, is primarily due the vast improvement in the
condition of the scholars, or collegers, which was effected in the
course of the next few years.... LONG CHAMBER, a dormitory containing
no less than fifty-two beds, notorious for its filth and discomfort,
was considerably curtailed, and separate rooms were provided for
forty-nine boys by the erection of a new wing.
*Long-dispar*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, 84. There were six of these
[DISPARS (_q.v._) or portions] to a shoulder, and eight to a leg of
mutton, the other joints being divided in like proportion. All these
“dispars” had different names; the thick slice out of the centre of
the leg was called a “middle cut,” ... the ribs “Racks,” the loin LONG
DISPARS.
*Long-fork*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, 80. We had not proper toasting
forks, but pieces of stick called LONG FORKS.
*Long-glass*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ quot.
1883. *Brinsley Richards*, _Seven Years at Eton_, 321. A glass nearly
a yard long, shaped like the horn of a stage-coach guard, and with a
hollow globe instead of a foot. It held a quart of beer, and the
ceremony of drinking out of it constituted an initiation into the
higher circle of Etonian swelldom. There was LONG-GLASS drinking once
or twice a week during the summer half. The _invités_ attended in an
upper room of Tap after two, and each before the long glass was handed
to him had a napkin tied round his neck. It was considered a grand
thing to drain the glass without removing it from the lips, and
without spilling any of its contents. This was difficult, because when
the contents of the tubular portion of the glass had been sucked down,
the beer in the globe would remain for a moment as if congealed there:
then if the drinker tilted the glass up a little, and shook it, the
motionless beer would give a gurgle and come with a sudden rush all
over his face. There was a way of holding the long glass at a certain
angle by which catastrophes were avoided. Some boys could toss off
their quart of ale in quite superior style, and I may as well remark
that these clever fellows could do little else.
*Long-grass*, _subs._ (Winchester).—All MEADS (_q.v._) except
the paths and TURF (_q.v._).
*Long-meads*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester).—A field between
SICK-HOUSE (_q.v._) and COMMONERS (_q.v._): now thrown into
MEADS (_q.v._).
2. (Winchester).—“The time after dinner on summer evenings,
when we went on to UNDERHILLS.”—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Long-paper*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Foolscap.
*Long Quarter*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—One of the school terms:
now the shortest of the three, which are LONG, SUMMER, and
ORATION QUARTER. The SUMMER is colloquially known as
CRICKET-QUARTER, and the oration has been abolished.
*Long Room, The* (Stonyhurst).—The Museum. [From its shape.]
*Long Wallyford*, _subs._ (Loretto).—The usual run on a wet
short school day: about five miles. _See_ WALLYFORD and
FASIDE.
*Lord’s* (Winchester and Harrow).—_See_ Appendix.
*Lorettonian*, _subs._ (Loretto).—Frequently applied to boys who
wear even fewer clothes than usual at Loretto; or who
delight in violating the conventions of the outside world in
sensible ways.
*Lose.* TO LOSE DOWN (Winchester).—_See_ JOCKEY.
*Loss.* FAIN LOSS, _intj._ (Felsted).—The formula by which a
claim was made to a vacant seat. An obsolete equivalent was
FAIN LO; also NO LOSS. _See_ FAIN.
*Lounge*, _subs._ (Eton and Cambridge).—A treat; a chief meal.
_See_ Appendix.
1864. _The Press_, Nov. 12. By the way, we miss the Etonian word
LOUNGE, for which there is classic authority. “I don’t care for
dinner,” said Harry Coningsby at his grandfather’s table; “breakfast
is my LOUNGE.”
*Lout*, _subs._ (Rugby).—Any one of the poorer classes: not
necessarily an awkward, lubberly individual.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, v. “Hullo tho’,” says East,
pulling up, and taking another look at Tom, “this’ll never do—haven’t
you got a hat?—we never wear caps here. Only the LOUTS wear caps.
Bless you, if you were to go into the quadrangle with that thing on,
I——don’t know what’d happen.”
*Lower Club* (Eton).—_See_ PLAYING-FIELDS.
*Lower Line*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The four lowest classes.
1890. _Felstedian_, Feb., p. 2. Well, Johnson _ma_, happening to meet
Tompkins _mi_ just before first Prep, &c.
*Low-man*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A Junior Optimé as compared to a
Senior Optimé or a Wrangler.
*Luff*, _verb_ (Derby).—To hit out; to slog: as at cricket.
*Lush*, _subs._ (Eton).—A dainty.
*Lux*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A good thing; a splendid
thing: _e.g._ My knife is wooston a LUX. A Hertford word [?
luxury]. Obsolete.
*Luxer*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A handsome fellow.
*Mad*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Angry; vexed. [Old English, now
dial. in England, but universal in America. “Originally
severely injured” (SKEAT). “Enraged, furious” (JOHNSON).]
1369. CHAUCER, _Troilus_ [SKEAT, 1894], line 479. Ne made him thus in
armes for to MADDE.
1593. SHAKSPEARE, _Titus And._, iii. 1. 104. Had I but seen thy
picture in this plight, It would have MADDED me. _Ibid._, iii. 1. 223.
If the winds rage doth not the sea wax MAD.
1596. JONSON, _Every Man in His Humour_, iv. 1. You’d MAD the
patient’st body in the world.
1607. MIDDLETON, _Your Five Gallants_ [DE VERE]. They are MAD; she
graced me with one private minute above their fortunes.
1611. _Acts_ xxvi. 11 [Authorised Version].—And being exceeding MAD
against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
1667. PEPYS, _Diary_, iv. 482 [BICKERS, 1875]. The king is MAD at her
entertaining Jermin, and she is MAD at Jermin’s going to marry from
her, so they are all MAD; and so the kingdom is governed.
1816. PICKERING, _Collection of Words, &c._, s.v. MAD, in the sense of
“angry,” is considered as a low word in this country, and at the
present day is never used except in very familiar conversation.
1824. R. B. PEAKE, _Americans Abroad_, i. 1. I guess—I’m MADDED, but
I’ll bite in my breath a bit—not that I’m sitch a tarnation fool as to
believe all you tell me.
1848. RUXTON, _Life in the Far West_, p. 167. That nation is MAD.
1871. _New Era_, April [DE VERE]. The Squire’s MAD riz.
1891. N. GOULD, _Double Event_, p. 189. My eye! won’t he be just MAD.
*Made-beer*, _subs._ (Winchester).—College swipes bottled with
rice, a few raisins, sugar, and nutmeg to make it “up.”
*Magistrand*, _subs._ (Aberdeen).—A student in arts of the last
(the fourth) year. _Cf._ BEJAN.
*Make*, _verb_ (Winchester).—1. To appropriate.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, 46. In the matter of certain
articles ... supplied by the College, we used to put a liberal
interpretation on the eighth commandment, ... and it was considered
fair to MAKE them if you could.
2. To appoint Præfect.
*Man*, _subs._ (general).—A student: almost universal in School
phraseology instead of “boy.”
1811. _Lex. Bal._, s.v. MAN (Cambridge). Any undergraduate from
fifteen to thirty. As, a MAN of Emanuel—a young member of Emanuel.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, iii. The thought that he was going to
be an Oxford MAN fortunately assisted him in the preservation of that
tranquil dignity and careless ease which he considered to be the
necessary adjuncts of the manly character ... and Mr. Verdant Green
was enabled to say “Good-bye” with a firm voice and undimmed
spectacles.
_See_ WISE MEN OF THE EAST.
*Marker*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A person employed to walk up and
down chapel during a part of the service, pricking off the
names of the students present.
1849. _Blackwood’s Mag._, May. His name pricked off upon the MARKER’S
roll, No twinge of conscience racks his easy soul.
*Master*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A title: of rustics,
bargees, &c.
*Match*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A division in which the boys
play: e.g. “I’m in the third MATCH.” “This is the second
MATCH ground.” “He’s a first MATCH bowler.”
*Math. Ex.*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A mathematical exercise.
*Mathemat*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quots.
1895. Gleanings from _The Blue_, 1870-95, 77. It is true that the
MATHEMAT does take the labours of his hands to the Queen, and is proud
to do so; but it is a pity that the reputation of the school should
depend upon such ceremonies as these. [_See_ Appendix.]
1900. _Pall Mall Gaz._, 20th Mar., 3. 2. One of the things that strike
a stranger is the metal plate upon some shoulders, so it may be as
well to say here that it merely marks the members of the Mathematical
School, which trains boys for the sea, and interested Mr. Samuel
Pepys.
*Mathy*, _subs._ (Manchester Grammar).—Mathematics.
*Matron’s-gift*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1844. _Reminiscences of Christ’s Hospital_ [Blue, Aug. 1874].
Once annually the boys were served at supper with what was called the
“MATRON’S GIFT,”—cream cheese; but they never could appreciate this
luxury. It was in vain that the good old matron, with a sister the
very counterpart of herself, walked round the different tables,
expatiating in glowing terms upon the merits of this “beautiful
cheese,” as she called it, and wondering how any one could fail to
have a liking for this luxurious gift.
*May*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—Easter Term examinations, &c.
1852. BRISTED, _Five Years, &c._, 70. As the _MAY_ approached I began
to feel nervous.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 104. I suppose you know the Mater
and the girls are coming up here for the MAY week. It’s called the MAY
week, but we always have it early in June now. I believe, some years
ago, it really used to be in May.
1896. _Felstedian_, June, 95, “Cambridge Letter.” The MAYS were rowed
under very favourable conditions, and produced some grand struggles.
*Meads*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The College cricket ground.
WATER-MEADS = the valley of the Itchen.
*Medes and Persians*, _subs. phr._ (Winchester).—Jumping on a
MAN (_q.v._) when in bed.
*Melon*, _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—A new cadet.
*Men.* _See_ WISE MEN OF THE EAST.
*Mesopotamia*, _subs._ 1. (Oxford).—_See_ quot.
1886. _Pall Mall Gazette_, 23rd June, p. 13. Every Oxford man has
known and loved the beauties of the walk called MESOPOTAMIA.
2. (Eton).—_See_ PLAYING-FIELDS.
*Mess*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 219.
MESS—The Præfects’ tables in Hall were called “Tub, Middle, and Junior
MESS” respectively. The boys who dined at each were also so named. Any
number of boys who habitually breakfasted together were so called with
some distinguishing prefix, such as “Deputy’s MESS.” In Chambers tea
was called MESS; as was also the remains of a joint of meat. Lest the
reader should make a “MESS” of all these different meanings, I will
give a sentence in which they shall all figure: “Look there, Junior
MESS has sat down at Tub MESS, but as they will find nothing left but
a MESS, they had better go down to Chambers, as MESS is ready.”
*Middle-briars*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A recess in the middle
of cloisters where Eleven meetings used to be held; now a
place in cloisters where names are carved: becoming
obsolete.
*Middle-cut*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot., and DISPAR.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, p. 84. There were ... eight
[portions] to a leg of mutton; ... the thick slice out of the centre
of the leg was called a MIDDLE CUT.
*Middle Fire* (Westminster).—_See_ UPPER FIRE.
*Middle-green* (Charterhouse).—The new cricket-ground used by
“The Maniacs.”
*Middle-mess*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ MESS.
*Middle Part the Fifth*, _subs. phr._ (Winchester).—Generally
called MIDDLE PART. _See_ BOOKS.
*Middle-week*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A half-holiday on every third
Monday. [MODERN RUGS (_q.v._) say “because it was never the
middle of anything.”]
*Milk-hole*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The hole formed by the ROUSH
(_q.v._) under POT (_q.v._).
*Miller* (Harrow).—“The Milling Ground”: between the school-yard
and SQUASH (_q.v._) courts. Here all fights had to be
conducted in public. The practice is extinct, and the ground
is now used as a Morris-tube range.
*Minister*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The superior responsible for
the _matériel_: as food, servants, &c.
*Minor*, _subs._ (Eton).—A younger brother. Also MI.
1864. _Eton School-days_, vii. “Let my MINOR pass, you fellows!”
exclaimed Horsham.
1890. _Felstedian_, Feb., p. 2. I was born in the month of Tompkins
MI.
*Mitre*, _subs._ (University).—A hat. _See_ TUFTS.
*Moab*, _subs._ 1. (University: obsolete).—A hat; specifically,
the turban-shaped hat fashionable among ladies 1858-9. [From
the Scripture phrase, “MOAB is my wash-pot” (Ps. lx. 8).]
1864. _Reader_, Oct. 22. MOAB, a ... hat.... University it is all
over. We feel sure we know the undergraduate who coined the
expression; he is now a solemn don delivering lectures in Cambridge.
1884. _Graphic_, 20th Sept., p. 307-2. The third, with his varnished
boots, his stiff brown MOAB of the newest fashion, his well-displayed
shirt-cuffs.
2. (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, 190. On the west side of school
court, a spacious room, nicknamed MOAB, has been erected, with
numerous marble basins, and an unlimited supply of fresh water.
1865. _Etoniana_, 21. Like Wykeham’s scholars, the Eton boys rose
[_temp._ Eliz.] at five, said their Latin prayers antiphonally while
dressing, then made their own beds and swept out their chambers. Two
by two they then “went down” to wash, probably at some outdoor conduit
or fountain like the old Winchester MOAB.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 45. Independent of very early
hours and somewhat coarse fare, it was not pleasant to have to wash at
the old MOAB, as it was called—an open conduit in the quadrangle,
where it was necessary, on a severe winter morning, for a junior to
melt the ice on the stop-cock with a lighted faggot before any water
could be got to flow at all.
*Mob*. TO MOB UP, _verb. phr._ (Charterhouse).—To hustle; TO
BARGE (_q.v._); TO BRICK (_q.v._).
*Mods*, _subs._ (Oxford).—The first public examination for
degrees. [An abbreviation of “Moderations.”]
1887. _Chambers’s Journal_, 14th May, 310. MODS cannot be attempted
until the end of one year from matriculation, and need not be tackled
until the expiration of two.
*Monarch*, _subs._ (Eton).—The ten-oared boat.
*Money and Direction Rolls*, _intj._ (Winchester).—_See_ PEALS.
*Monitor*, _subs._ 1. (Stonyhurst).—One of the chief members of
the Higher Line SODALITY (_q.v._), responsible for the
behaviour of the other boys in Church and Chapel.
2. (general).—A senior scholar entrusted with the
supervision of school work and pastimes. _See_ PRÆFECT.
*Monkey.* _See_ FRESH-HERRING, and Appendix.
*Monos*, _subs._ (Westminster).—A junior detailed for duty
during regular school hours, who remains on guard at
the door of the college, as a sentinel, to see that no
suspicious characters find their way in. This functionary is
known as MONOS [i.e. _Monitor ostii_].... An officer of the
same kind ... at Winchester ... bore a similar name,
OSTIARIUS (_q.v._).—COLLINS.
*Mons*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A crowd. Also as _verb_: _e.g._
“Square round there, don’t MONS.”
*Montem*, _subs._ (Eton).—An Eton custom up to 1847, which
consisted in the scholars going in procession on the
Whit-Tuesday of every third year to a mound (Lat. _ad
montem_) near the Bath Road, and exacting a gratuity from
persons present or passing by. The collection was given to
the captain or senior scholar, and helped to defray his
expenses at the University. _See_ SALT, and _Sloane MS._
4839, f. 85.
1890. BREWER, _Phrase and Fable_, s.v. SALT-HILL. The mound at Eton
[near the Bath Road], where the Eton scholars used to collect money
from the visitors on Montem day. The mound is still called _Salt
Hill_, and the money given was called _salt_. The word salt is similar
to the Latin _sala’rium_ (salary), the pay given to Roman soldiers and
civil officers. _Ibid._ _Montem_.... Sometimes as much as £1000 was
thus collected.
*Morning-hills*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. Mansfield, _School-Life_, 52. On holidays and Remedies we
were turned out for a couple of hours on to St. Catherine’s Hill ...
once before breakfast (MORNING HILLS), and again in the afternoon
(MIDDLE HILLS).
*Mortar-board* (or *Mortar*), _subs._ (general).—The
trencher-cap worn at certain Public Schools and at the
Universities.
1600. KEMP, _Nine Days’ Wonder_, “Ded. Ep.” So that methinkes I could
flye to Rome ... with a MORTER on my head.
_d._ 1635. Bishop CORBET to T. Coryate. No more shall man with MORTAR
on his head Set forward towards Rome.
1647. FLETCHER, _Fair Maid of the Inn_, v. 2. He ... may now travel to
Rome with a MORTAR on’s head.
1857. CUTHBERT BEDE, _Verdant Green_, pt. II. ch. iii. “I don’t mind
this ’ere MORTAR-BOARD, sir,” remarked the professor of the noble art
of self-defence, as he pointed to the academical cap which surmounted
his head.
1864. _Fun_, 21st May, p. 96. Anon I saw a gentle youth (no “_sub
fusc_” undergrad.). “_Toga virilis_” he had none, no MORTAR-BOARD he
had.
1881. PASCOE, _Every-day Life_, 147. On admission ... a boy provides
himself with a MORTAR or college-cap.
1898. _Stonyhurst Mag._, Dec., p. 149, “Life at Oxford.” The wearing
of a cap and gown is another novelty for freshmen. At first one is apt
to feel very foolish under a “MORTAR-BOARD” and in the folds of the
academic gown, particularly in the miserable garb assigned to
commoners (_i.e._ undergraduates without scholarships).
*Mouse-digger*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, 150. Plying the MOUSE-DIGGER (a
kind of diminutive pick-axe) in search of mice.
*Mud-student*, _subs._ (general).—A student at the Agricultural
College, Cirencester.
1856. _Notes and Queries_, 2 S., ii. 198. A young friend of mine ... a
MUD-STUDENT.
*Muff*, _verb_ (Eton).—To fail in an examination; TO BE SPUN
(_q.v._) or PLUCKED (_q.v._); TO SKIP A COG (_q.v._).
1884. JULIAN STURGIS, in _Longmans’ Mag._, iii. 617. Freddy and Tommy
and Dicky have all MUFFED for the army. It’s really dreadful!
TO MUFF A CATCH, _verb. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—To catch a ball
against the chest, or in any way not clean with both hands.
In cricket, as played at Stonyhurst, such a catch did not
put the batsman out: obsolete.
*Mug*, _verb_ (Winchester and Sherborne).—(1) To study; to
work hard: _e.g._ I MUGGED all the morning, and shall
thoke (Winchester) this afternoon. (2) To take pains; to
beautify: _e.g._ “He has MUGGED his study, and made it
quite cud.” [_Cf._ _mug_ = to paint the face or “make
up.”] Hence MUGSTER = a hard-working student. _See_ -STER
and BAT-MUGGER.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, 122. The præfects would ... set
to work MUGGING.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 74. I remember that the senior præfect is
going to get up to MUG early before chapel.
1890. G. ALLEN, _The Tents of Shem_, xxiv. “Miss Knyvett,” and he
paused with his brush upturned, “you’re a sight too clever for me to
talk to.” “Not clever,” Iris corrected; “only well read. I’ve MUGGED
it up out of books, that’s all.” _Ibid._, ii. Instead of reading her
“Odyssey” and her “Lucretius,” and MUGGING up amusing works on conic
sections.
*Muse*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—The Museum.
*Mustard-and-Pepper Keeper*, _subs. phr._ (Winchester).—An
appointment in the gift of Præfect of Hall, which exempted
the holder from WATCHING-OUT (_q.v._) at cricket, or
KICKING-IN (_q.v._) at football.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
Obsolete.
*Muttoner*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A blow on the
knuckles from a cricket-ball while holding the bat.
*Muzz*, _verb_ (Westminster).—To read.
*Nail*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot., and BIBLING.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 221. To
stand up under the NAIL—the punishment inflicted on a boy detected in
a lie; he was ordered to stand up on Junior Row, just under the centre
sconce, during the whole of school time. At the close of it he
received a Bibler.
_Verb._ To impress for any kind of fagging; to detect.
*Name.* TO ORDER ONE’S NAME, _verb. phr._ (Winchester:
obsolete).—_See_ quots.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_, 223. ORDER YOUR
NAME. An order given to a delinquent by the Head or Second Master,
which was carried out by the boy requesting the Ostiarius to do so,
the consequence of which was, that at the end of school that officer
presented to the Master the victim’s name on a Roll, who forthwith
received a Scrubbing. When the words to the Bible-clerk were added,
the business was confided to that officer, who, with the Ostiarius,
officiated at the subsequent ceremony, which in this case was called a
Bibler.
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, xxiii. 429. ORDER YOUR NAME, the direction
given to an offender by any of the authorities. The boy so directed,
if he was in College, or if the order was given in school, had to go
to the Ostiarius—or to the Præfect in course, if the offence was
committed in Commoners—and give information of the order, and the
reason why it had been given. The Ostiarius, or the Præfect in course,
wrote down the culprit’s name, together with that of the Master, and
the offence, and carried it up to the Head or Second Master, when due
execution was done.
*Native* (pron. _nahtive_), _subs._ (The Leys).—Originally a
“crib”: now of varied signification. TO NATIVE A FOOTBALL =
to be tricky with it; as _adj._ = clever: also NATIVEY.
*Nescio.* TO SPORT A NESCIO (old University).—_See_ quot.
1823. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_ [EGAN], s.v. NESCIO. HE SPORTS A NESCIO;
he pretends not to understand anything. After the senate-house
examination for degrees, the students proceed to the schools to be
questioned by the proctor. According to custom immemorial the answers
must be NESCIO. The following is a translated specimen: _Q._ What is
your name? _A._ I do not know. _Q._ What is the name of this
University? _A._ I do not know. _Q._ Who was your father? _A._ I do
not know.
*Nestor*, _subs._ (Winchester).—An undersized boy.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 221.
NESTOR—Any boy who was past eighteen, or was old for his position in
the school, or who was known to be much older than he looked.
*New-bug*, _subs._ (general).—A new boy.
*New Guinea*, _subs._ (Oxford: obsolete).—_See_ quot.
1823. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_ [EGAN], s.v. NEW GUINEA. First possession
of income.
*News*, _subs._ (The Leys).—One division of the “School House,”
with three dormitories—“Upper News,” “Under News,” “Further
News.” _See_ OLDS.
*New Settlements*, _subs._ (Oxford: obsolete).—_See_ quot.
1823. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_ [EGAN], s.v. NEW SETTLEMENTS. Final
reckonings.
*Newy*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The CAD (_q.v._) paid to look
after the canvas tent in COMMONER (_q.v._) field.
*Nezzar*, _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—A young lady.
*Nick*, _verb_ (Durham).—To pray.
*Nicks*, _intj._ (Manchester Grammar).—Cave! Look out! [Said
also to be common in Manchester as a warning of the approach
of the police.] _See_ Appendix.
*Niff*, _verb_ (Derby).—To smell.
*Nig*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A dodge. Obsolete.
*Nigshious*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Ingenious: _e.g._ “a
NIGSHIOUS dodge.” Obsolete.
*Nihil-ad-rem*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Vague; unconscious. _Ex._
“He sported NIHIL-AD-REM ducks.”
*Nine Steps.* _See_ KITTLE-NINE-STEPS.
*Nipper*, _subs._ (Loretto).—Originally a boy of the lowest
Form: since there has been a preparatory House the term is
applied to all the boys there.
*Nipperkin*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A stone jug used
for serving beer in College between meals. Tea has long been
substituted for beer.
_c._ 1696. B. E., _Dict. Cant. Crew_, s.v. NIPPERKIN. Half a pint of
Wine, and but half a Quartern of Brandy, strong waters, &c.
1698-1700. WARD, _Lond. Spy_, II. (1706), i. 31. By that time we had
sipp’d off our NIPPERKIN of my Grannums _Aqua Mirabilis_.
1719. DURFEY, _Pills to Purge_.... Song, Quart-pot, pint-pot,
NIPPERKEN, &c.
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v.
1832. _Noctes Ambrosianæ_, Sept. William III., who only snoozed over a
NIPPERKIN of Schiedam with a few Dutch favourites.
1882. J. ASHTON, _Social Life in Reign of Q. Anne_, i. 197. [Beer] was
of different qualities, from the “penny NIPPERKIN of Molassas Ale” to
“a pint of Ale cost me five-pence.”
1883. TROLLOPE, _What I Remember_. It was the duty of the bedmakers to
carry every evening into each chamber a huge NIPPERKIN of beer.
*Nob*, subs. (Oxford: obsolete).—The Fellow of a College.
[Probably the original application of the colloquial usage =
a person of rank or position; from “nobility.” _Cf._ MOB,
from _mobile vulgus_.]
1825. _English Spy_, i. 136. “We must find you some more tractable
personage; some good-humoured NOB.”
*Noggs*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A hereditary name for Custos’
assistant. [From Dickens: the first owner’s name was
Newman—hence NOGGS.]
*Nomenclature* (Harrow).—_See_ UPPER SCHOOL.
*Non-attached* (or *Non-collegiate*), _adj._ (Oxford).—Most of
the students belong to a college or hall, but in 1868 what
was at first known as the “NON-ATTACHED,” and is now
designated the “NON-COLLEGIATE” system, was established. The
system, a revival of one that prevailed in ancient times, is
under the control of a body termed the Delegacy, the chief
officer being named the Censor. Efficient provision is made
for tuition, but its members live in their own lodgings in
the city, and are thus able to suit their own pockets.
Supervision is retained over the lodging-houses in a
sanitary and other points of view, from the fact that they
have to be licensed by the University authorities.
*Non-licet*, _adj._ and _adv._ (Winchester).—Illegal;
unbefitting a Wykehamist. _Ex._ “Don’t sport NON-LICET
notions.”
*Nonsense*, _subs._ (Eton).—A small division of the Third Form.
Now abolished.
*Northwick* (The),_ subs._ (Harrow).—The Northwick rifle: given
by Lord Northwick for the best aggregate of seven shoots
during the season.
*Noter*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A note-book.
*Notion*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A word, phrase, or usage
peculiar to Winchester College.
*Novi*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—A new boy.
*Nurse*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A matron.
_c._ 1800. “Christ’s Hospital Seventy-five Years Ago” (_Blue_, Nov.,
1875). The NURSES were permitted to flog and punish the boys as they
thought proper, and some of the NURSES were cruel women. One poor
fellow in my ward was labouring under a bodily infirmity. The brute of
a nurse used constantly to flog him with nettles, fresh-gathered from
time to time for the purpose, declaring they had the virtue of
strengthening his bodily frame, &c.! [_See_ Appendix.]
*Nursery* (The), _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—A gallery at
one end of Big School, in which the lowest two classes are
taught.
*Oak*, _subs._ (University).—An outer door. TO SPORT ONE’S OAK =
to be “not at home,” indicated by closing the outer door.
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v.
1840. _The Collegian’s Guide_, 119. In college each set of rooms is
provided with an OAK or outer door, with a spring lock, of which the
master has one key, and the servant another.
1853. BRADLEY (“Cuthbert Bede”), _Verdant Green_, iv. This is the
HOAK, this ’ere outer door is, sir, which the gentlemen sports, that
is to say, shuts, sir, when they’re a-readin’. _Ibid._, viii. Mr.
Verdant Green had, for the first time, SPORTED HIS OAK.
1861. HUGHES, _Tom Brown at Oxford_, vii. One evening he found himself
as usual at Hardy’s door about eight o’clock. The OAK was open, but he
got no answer when he knocked at the inner door.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 55. He tried to keep them out, but
they broke in his OAK, stripped him, tied him up in his table-cloth,
and left him on the grass plot where the porter found him.
*Ob*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A contraction of _obit_.
*Obeum* (The), _subs._ (Cambridge).—A water-closet building at
King’s College. [Attributed by the undergraduates to the
energy of O[scar] B[rowning].]
*Off-bat*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—“Point”: at cricket.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_, 222. OFF BAT, the
station of one of the field in a cricket match, called by the outer
world “Point.”
*Officer*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A College Præfect when in
office: as the Præfect of Hall, Chapel, School, or Library.
*-oi*, _inseparable suffix_ (Tonbridge).—Indicative of
complaisant disdain: e.g. TO DO THE BLEED-OI (_see_ BLEED) =
to swagger; to appear to be distinguishing oneself.
*Oiler*, _subs._ (University).—A cad.
*Oips*, _subs._ (Haileybury).—Boys who are not good enough for
the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or Below Bigside Elevens play in the
OIPS. [An abbreviation of _Hoi polloi_.]
*Old Cars*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Old Carthusians: regarded as
a vulgarism.
*Old Pig* (The).—_See_ PIG.
*Old Schools, The* (Harrow).—The original school building
erected by John Lyon, together with the “Old Speech-room,”
which, however, is of much later date.
*Olds*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A division of the “School House,”
three dormitories—“Upper Olds,” “Under Olds,” and “Under
Under.” _See_ NEWS.
*On*, _adv._ and _intj._ (Winchester: obsolete).—The word to
start given by the Præfect of Hall when the School went in
procession to Hills, Cathedral, &c. Also as in quot. _See_
Appendix.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life_, 222. When any person or thing of
importance was known to be likely to meet the boys when on Hills, the
word was passed that he, she, or it was ON—_e.g._ Ridsworth ON, snobs
ON, badger ON, &c.
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, xxiii.
*On-and-Off*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—Lemonade.
1894. _Tonbridgian_, No. 330, 919. The scene is one of the wildest
disorder. The writhing mass, in their efforts to obtain the desired
article, tread on each other’s toes, spill the “OFF AND ON” down one
another’s garments, and knock each other about with their elbows.
1899. _Public School Mag._, Dec., p. 444. “ON AND OFF” signifies home
lemonade, and is so called because of the tap from which it flows.
*Ones*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A competition at football, one player
a side: organised by Mr. Bowen. The play is for five
minutes, the ground measures 40 yards by 30 yards, and the
BASES (_q.v._) 8 feet.
*Oppidan*, _subs._ (Eton).—A boy who boards in the town, as
distinguished from a King’s Scholar.
1865. _Etoniana_, 31. The Latin-English term OPPIDAN was applied to
these independent scholars at least as early as Fuller’s days.
Speaking of the College, he says, “There be many OPPIDANES there
maintained at the cost of their friends.”
1899. _Public School Mag._, Nov., p. 367. If there is any need for a
test match between college and the OPPIDANS, we should suggest that
they should play the winning house in the House match, and hope to
beat it.
*Optime*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The name given to the second
class in the first portion of the public examination for
honours, called the Mathematical Tripos, those placed in the
first class being known as WRANGLERS (_q.v._), and those in
the third class as Junior Optimes.
*Oration Quarter*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—_See_ LONG QUARTER.
*Oratorio*, _subs._ (Sherborne).—The large choir, as
distinguished from the chapel choir.
*Order*, _subs._ (general).—Written permission from a tutor to
make purchases: as from tailor, &c. _See_ NAME.
*Orders*, _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—A Head-master’s promise to
add a day or two to the holidays: sometimes obtained, so
tradition says, by barricading Big School against him.
*Ostiar*, _subs._ (Sherborne: obsolete).—The Præfect on duty at
the Big School door: seventeenth century.
*Ostiarius*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—_See_ quots.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_, 223. OSTIARIUS, an
office held by the Præfects in succession. The duties were, to keep
order in school, collect the Vulguses, and prevent the boys from
shirking out. It is also the official title for the Second Master.
1865. _Etoniana_, 133. A peculiarity in the arrangements at Eton is,
that the school is practically divided into two. The division seems to
have been in force from the very earliest times—the three lower forms
having been then, as now, under the charge of the OSTIARIUS, or, as he
is now called, the lower master, who has the appointment of his own
provost-assistants, and is practically independent of the head-master,
and subject only to the control of the provost.
1866. _Wykehamist_, No. 1, Oct. We know of nothing more which calls
for notice, except the revival by Dr. Moberly of the OSTIARIUS—an
office which had been discontinued for many years, but was revived by
the Head-master on account of the great increase in the number of the
school.
1878. ADAMS, _Wykehamica_, xxiii. 429. OSTIARIUS, the Præfect in
charge of school.
*Othello.* _See_ ROUND.
*Outer*, _subs._ (Durham).—A cad; a “bounder.”
*Out-houses* (Charterhouse).—All the boarding-houses except
Sanderites, Verites, and Gownboys. The names of the
eight OUT-HOUSES are Girdlestonites, Lockites, Weekites,
Hodgsonites, Bodeites, Daviesites, Pageites, and Robinites
(the last a contraction of Robinsonites). Except Bodeites,
each house bears the name of its first master. One house,
Uskites—from a supposed similarity of the surroundings to
the valley of the Usk—disappeared in 1878.
*Out-match*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A match played against a
visiting team.
*Over-school*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A kind of common sitting-room
in the “new” building of 1755. The boys’ boxes were kept
there, and ASH-PLANTING (_q.v._) inflicted. The present
school-house hall was built on the site.
*Overtoys-box.* _See_ TOYS.
*Ovid* (Harrow).—_See_ UPPER SCHOOL.
*Owl*, _subs._ (Cambridge: obsolete).—A member of Sidney Sussex
College.
*Packing-up*, _intj._ (Winchester).—_See_ PEALS.
*Pad*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—Writing-paper: _e.g._ “a
sheet of PAD”; “lend me some PAD.” [The paper for exercises
is generally in the form of writing-pads, from which a sheet
may be separated as wanted.]
*Pageites* (Charterhouse).—_See_ OUT-HOUSES.
*Palmer*, _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—A sly fellow.
*Pancake.* TOSSING THE PANCAKE, _verb. phr._
(Westminster).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 171. The old Shrove-Tuesday
custom of TOSSING THE PANCAKE, though now peculiar to Westminster, is
said to have been also formerly in use at Eton. The ceremony as at
present performed is this. The cook, preceded by the verger, enters
the large school, in full official costume, with the hot cake in the
pan. He tosses it—or tries to toss it, for it is no easy feat—over the
iron bar, which has been already mentioned as having once held a
curtain screening off the upper school from the lower. If he succeeds
he claims a fee of two guineas. There is a scramble among the boys,
who stand on the other side of the bar, for the PANCAKE, and if any
boy can secure it whole, which seldom happens, he carries it up to the
dean, who presents him with a sovereign. They also claim a right to
“book” the performer (_i.e._ hurl a shower of books at him) if he
fails more than once. This right was liberally exercised in 1865, when
the wrath of the school had culminated owing to repeated failures in
that and the previous year. The exasperated cook replied to the attack
with his only available missile—the frying-pan—and a serious row was
the consequence. The battle is celebrated in a clever mock-heroic
poem, in Greek Homeric verse, attributed to a high Westminster
authority.
*Pandie*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—A stroke
from the leather strap known as the TAWSE (_q.v._), used in
Scotland instead of the cane; a PAUMIE (_q.v._). [From the
order given in Latin, _Pande manum_. _See_ _Redgauntlet_.]
*Pantile*, _subs._ (general).—A flat cake covered with jam.
*Panupetaston*, _subs._ (University: obsolete).—A loose overcoat
with wide sleeves.
*Paradise*, _subs._ 1. (Oxford).—A grove of trees outside St.
John’s College.
2. (Rugby).—A room in the old school (built in 1755) on the
site of which the school-house hall now stands. [From its
pleasant look-out.]
*Part.* _See_ BOOKS.
*Party Roll*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A list of boys going home
together. _See_ PEALS.
*Passy*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Severe: of a master. [That
is, “passionate.”—BLANCH.] _See_ Appendix.
1844. _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_ [_The Blue_, Aug. 1874]. Rightly
or wrongly, it was the general opinion in our time that punishment in
school depended less upon the correctness with which the lessons were
said, than upon the temper of the particular master. Frequently and
anxiously the question was asked, “Is he PASSY this morning?” and the
arrival of a new master created immense excitement. Our first queries
were invariably of his manners and temper—matters of far more
importance to us than any question as to his ability.
*Patrol*, _subs._ (Dulwich).—Keeping order in Form rooms between
morning and afternoon school: a duty of school Præfects.
*Paul’s-pigeons*, _subs._ (common).—The scholars of St. Paul’s
School.
*Pawmie*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—A stroke
on the hand from the leather strap known as the TAWSE
(_q.v._), used in Scotland instead of the cane: also PANDIE
(_q.v._). [_Paum_ = palm of the hand.]
*Pavvy, The* (Harrow).—The pavilion on the cricket-ground.
*Pax*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A chum; an intimate friend. [_Cf._
Scots _pack_ = intimate, familiar.]
1891. WRENCH, _Word-Book_, 30. Possibly the plural of “pack,” which
word has an extended use in reference to friendship ... as _adj._,
_subs._, and _verb_. This seems a more likely origin than the PAX of
the Church.
_Intj._ An injunction to desist or to silence—“Be quiet!”
“Hands off!” Also HAVE PAX! [Almost the pure Latin use of
the word.]
*P. D.*, _subs._ (Dulwich).—Punishment drill: in Junior School.
*Peal*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A custom in Commoners of
singing out comments on Præfects at the beginning of
CLOISTER-TIME (_q.v._). Also cheers given on the last three
Sundays of the Half for articles of dress, &c., connected
with going home, such as “Gomer Hats,” “Party Rolls,” &c....
“The ringing of Chapel bells is also divided into PEALS.”
[HALLIWELL.—PEALS = a noise or uproar. _Cf._ Mid. Eng.
_apel_ = an old term in hunting music, consisting of three
long moots.]
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 62. The
junior in chamber had a hard time of it; ... while endeavouring to get
through his multifarious duties, he had to keep a sharp ear on the
performance of the chapel bell, and to call out accordingly, “first
PEAL!” “second _PEAL_!” “bells down!”
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 22. The scholars at this time
were expected to rise at the sound of “first PEAL” at five o’clock,
and were recommended to say privately a short Latin selection from the
Psalms as soon as they were dressed. _Ibid._ They then swept out their
chambers and made their beds (consisting in those days of nothing
better than bundles of straw with a coverlet), and SECOND PEAL at
half-past five summoned them to chapel.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” At
6.30, I had to get back to call everybody again; and again at 6.40
(five minutes to second PEAL); at 6.45 (“second PEAL”) when the chapel
bell started and kept on till seven. When the bell stops I wait at the
door and call out “præfect of chapel going in”—_i.e._ the præfect of
the week who calls names; then “præfect of chapel in” when he reaches
the door.
1900. _St. James’s Gazette_, Mar. 15, “Arnoldiana.”—He [Matthew
Arnold] was the victim of public expression of disapproval—in
connection, Mr. Arnold thinks, with the lively ceremony known as
CLOISTER PEALINGS, when he was placed at the end of the great school,
and, amid howls and jeers, pelted with a rain of “pontos” for some
time. [CLOISTER pealings is here incorrectly used: _see_ STICKING-UP.]
*Pec*, _subs._ (Eton: obsolete).—Money. [Lat. _pecunia_.]
*Pempe*, _subs._ (Winchester).—An imaginary object in search of
which a new-comer is sent: the equivalent of “pigeon’s
milk,” or the “squad-umbrella.” [From πεμπε μω̂ρον προτερον
= “Send the fool farther.”]
*Penance-table*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A table in the refectory
at which a boy is condemned to sit alone for bad behaviour
during meals. Tradition says, with some authority, that the
present PENANCE-TABLE is the one on which Cromwell slept
when he spent a night at Stonyhurst. It is hence also called
“Cromwell’s Table.”
*Penance-walk*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A path in the playground
where malefactors are condemned to tramp in silence during
recreation time. The form of the order given is: “Take an
hour’s PENANCE,” or “Go on PENANCE.”
*Pensioner*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—One who pays a “pensio” or
rent for rooms in College. At Oxford a COMMONER (_q.v._).
1780. MANSEL [WHIBLEY, _Cap and Gown_]. A Cambridge Commencement’s the
time When gentlemen come for degrees And with wild-looking cousins and
wives Through a smart mob of PENSIONERS squeeze.
*Pepper*, _verb_ (University).—To mark the accents of a Greek
exercise.
*Pepper-box*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ Appendix.
*Percher*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A Latin cross marked
horizontally against the name of an absentee.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 225.
PERCHER—A mark (────┼──) put after a boy’s name on a Roll, which
showed that he had been absent from Chapel or Hills without leave; or
that he had not done his Verse or Prose Task, or Vulgus. It was also
often put by a Master in the margin of gags, or a Verse or Prose Task,
to indicate gross errors.
*Pets*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A set (says TOD) of young
ruffians in Under Long Room whom the editor of _The Verite
Chronicle_ (_see_ VERITE) was constrained from self-interest
to place on the free list. Only eight numbers appeared.
*Petties*, _subs._ (Harrow).—According to the Founder’s
regulations, the lowest class—“which have not learned their
accidence, or entered into the English rules of grammar.”
*Phædras* (Harrow).—_See_ UPPER SCHOOL.
*Phil*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The Philathletic Club. It consists of
members of the school elected for merit in athletics, the
first ten monitors being _ex officio_.
*Philosophers*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The body of students above
the ordinary forms. Also PHILS.
*Pi*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Virtuous; sanctimonious. _Ex._ “His
pitch-up are very PI.” _See_ Appendix.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. PI.... Abbreviation of
“pious.” _Ex._ “He’s very PI now, he mugs all day. He PI-jawed me for
thoking.”
*Pie-match*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A match arranged between teams in
one house, or in one form, followed by a supper, subscribed
for by the players, or provided by the masters.
*Pig.* _See_ HOG.
THE OLD PIG, _subs. phr._ (Rugby).—_See_ quot.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, vii. “The OLD PIG came by.”
“The what?” said the doctor. “The Oxford coach, sir,” explained Hall.
“Hah! yes, the Regulator,” said the doctor.
*Pigeon-hole*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A small study.
*Piggin*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quot.
1798. “Christ’s Hospital Three Quarters of a Century Ago” [_Chelmsford
Chronicle_ (1875), Ap. 16]. Beer we had certainly served out in wooden
vessels of an extraordinary shape, called PIGGINS; about six of them
for four boys to drink out of, but such beer! The PIGGINS were seldom
replenished, for we could not drink it.
*Pig-market* (The), _subs._ (Oxford).—A corridor leading to the
Divinity School: properly the Proscholium. [Said to have
been so used in the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII.]
1837. INGRAM, _Memorials of Oxford_.... The schools built by Abbot
Hokenorton being inadequate to the increasing wants of the University,
they applied to the Abbot of Reading for stone to rebuild them; and in
the year 1532 it appears that considerable sums of money were expended
on them; but they went to decay in the latter part of the reign of
Henry VIII. and during the whole reign of Edward VI. The change of
religion having occasioned a suspension of the usual exercises and
scholastic acts in the University, in the year 1540 only two of these
schools were used by determiners, and within two years after none at
all. The whole area between these schools and the divinity school was
subsequently converted into a garden and PIG-MARKET; and the schools
themselves, being completely abandoned by the masters and scholars,
were used by glovers and laundresses.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, iv. Our hero proceeded with his father
along the High Street, and turned round by St. Mary’s, and so up Cat
Street to the Schools, where they made their way to the classic
PIG-MARKET, to wait the arrival of the Vice-Chancellor.
*Pill*, _verb_ (University).—To talk twaddle or platitudes.
*Pin*, _verb_ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—To enjoy: _e.g._ “I PINNED
my innings”; “this is a PINNING book.”
1887. _Stonyhurst Mag._, iii. 89. A downright enjoyable PINNABLE game.
TO PIN A LOZEN, _verb. phr._ (Royal High School, Edin.:
obsolete).—To break a window. [_Lozen_ = a pane of glass.]
*Pinch*. TO PINCH IN, _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 315. Dr. Butler ... abolished,
amongst other old customs, certain rites and ceremonies which were
used in celebrating a boy’s remove from one form to the other in the
lower part of the school. No such promotion was considered complete,
so far as the boys were concerned, until the new member had been duly
“PINCHED IN”—remaining a certain fixed time in the play-room, during
which all the fraternity exercised a right of pinching him, limited
only by the tenderness of their dispositions or the strength of their
fingers. There were generally some adepts in this torture, who knew,
and taught others, the tenderest places and the most artistic mode of
taking hold, and who carried this evil knowledge with them from form
to form, to be practised on a succession of victims. The rites of
initiation were completed by tossing in a blanket in the dormitory,
and a certain number of bumps against the ceiling were required to
make the ceremony valid.
*Pintle*, _subs._ (Lancing).—(1) A form of cricket played with a
bat narrowed at both sides, a soft ball, and a stone wicket
in a pit. Also (2) = the bat used in the game. Hence
PINTLE-SLINGER = a fast bowler.
*Pitch-up*, _subs._ (Winchester).—One’s home circle; a group; a
crowd; a set of chums. Hence TO PITCH UP WITH = to associate
with.
*Place*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A room: generic: as study-PLACE,
shoe-PLACE, tailor’s PLACE, washing-PLACE, Dick’s PLACE,
stranger’s PLACE ( = parlour).
1891. JOHN GERARD, S.J., _Stonyhurst College_. This evidently comes
from St. Omers, in which district, we are told, the word is still
employed in the same promiscuous way.
TO RUN FOR A PLACE, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” My
next duty is what is called “running for a PLACE.” There are (or were)
six cricket pitches on “turf,” and any præfect has a right to one of
these all day (a bad arrangement, which I hope is altered now, as
fellows with no idea of cricket could thus keep much better players
off all day) provided he can get a stick with his name on, stuck in
the ground by his fag—the half-dozen out of the fifteen or twenty fags
running, who get their præfect’s sticks stuck in first, claiming the
place for him. It was the same sort of thing, as if the door from the
“underground” was opened about 6.30, and some twenty fellows rushed
out early in the morning to try and get pitches.
*Plain-ruled*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The paper usually used for
exercises, sixteen lines to a page.
*Planks* (The), _subs._ (Rugby).—_See_ quot.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, viii. The river Avon at Rugby
is ... a capital river for bathing, as it has many nice small pools
and several good reaches for swimming, all within about a mile of one
another, and at an easy twenty minutes’ walk from the School. This
mile of water is rented, or used to be rented, for bathing purposes by
the Trustees of the School, for the boys. The footpath to Brownsover
crosses the river by THE PLANKS, a curious old single-plank bridge
running for fifty or sixty yards into the flat meadows on each side of
the river—for in the winter there are frequent floods. Above THE
PLANKS were the bathing-places for the smaller boys; SLEATH’S, the
first bathing-place, where all new boys had to begin, until they had
proved to the bathing men (three steady individuals, who were paid to
attend daily through the summer to prevent accidents) that they could
swim pretty decently, when they were allowed to go on to ANSTEY’S,
about one hundred and fifty yards below. Here there was a hole about
six feet deep and twelve feet across, over which the puffing urchins
struggled to the opposite side, and thought no small beer of
themselves for having been out of their depths. Below THE PLANKS came
larger and deeper holes, the first of which was WRATISLAW’S, and the
last SWIFT’S, a famous hole, ten or twelve feet deep in parts, and
thirty yards across, from which there was a fine swimming reach right
down to the Mill. SWIFT’S was reserved for the sixth and fifth forms,
and had a spring-board and two sets of steps; the others had one set
of steps each, and were used indifferently by all the lower boys,
though each house addicted itself more to one hole than to another.
The School-house at this time affected WRATISLAW’S hole, and Tom and
East, who had learnt to swim like fishes, were to be found there as
regular as the clock through the summer, always twice, and often three
times a day.
*Plant*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A blow with a football. Also as
_verb_.
*Play*, _subs._ (Sherborne: obsolete—otherwise general).—A
holiday, half or whole.
1865. _Etoniana_, 115. Eton versification was very good indeed ...
exercises ... from their excellence, were laid before the provost, by
a time-honoured custom, as a claim for the weekly half-holiday called
“PLAY”—a ceremony which some other public schools have borrowed.
TO BEG A PLAY (Westminster).—_See_ EARLY PLAY and
WESTMINSTER PLAY.
*Playing-fields*, _subs._ (Eton).—There are seven separate
grounds—Upper Club, Lower Club, Upper Sixpenny, Sixpenny,
Jordan, Mesopotamia, and the new ground in “Agars Plough.”
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 59. Every one knows the PLAYING-FIELDS.
They are the crowning glory, the eye of Eton ... they are always
beautiful.
*Pleb*, _subs._ (Westminster).—A tradesman’s son.
*Pledge*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To give away: _e.g._ “PLEDGE me”
= “after you”; “PLEDGE you” = “give, pass, or lend me;”
“I’ll PLEDGE it you when I’ve done with it.”
1882. SKEAT [WRENCH]. SKEAT says it comes from a Latin _præbium_,
connected with præbere, in which case PLEDGE simply means “give.”
*Plodge*, _verb_ (Durham).—To paddle.
*Plough* (or *Pluck*), _verb_ (common).—To reject: as in an
examination.
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v. PLUCK.... Signifies to deny a degree
to a candidate at one of the universities, on account of
insufficiency. The three first books of Euclid, and as far as
Quadratic Equations in Algebra, will save a man from being PLUCKED.
These unfortunate fellows are designated by many opprobrious
appellations, such as the Twelve Apostles, the Legion of Honour, Wise
Men of the East, &c.
1847. C. BRONTË, _Jane Eyre_, x. He went to college and he got
PLUCKED, as I think they call it.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, iii. Verdant read up most desperately
for his matriculation, associating that initiatory examination with
the most dismal visions of PLUCKING, and other college tortures.
_Ibid._, xi. Note. When the degrees are conferred, the name of each
person is read out before he is presented to the Vice-Chancellor. The
proctor then walks once up and down the room, so that any person who
objects to the degree being granted may signify the same by pulling or
PLUCKING the proctor’s robes. This has been occasionally done by
tradesmen, in order to obtain payment of their “little bills,” but
such a proceeding is very rare, and the proctor’s promenade is usually
undisturbed.
1855. BRISTED, _Eng. Univ._, 258. If a man is PLUCKED—that is, does
not get marks enough to pass—his chance of a Fellowship is done for.
1863. READE, _Hard Cash_, Prol. Gooseberry pie ... adds to my chance
of being PLOUGHED for SMALLS.
1886. STUBBS, _Mediæval and Mod. Hist._, 386. I trust that I have
never PLUCKED a candidate ... without giving him every opportunity of
setting himself right.
1895. POCOCK, _Rules of the Game_, i. I knew one of that lot at
Corpus; in fact, we were crammed by the same tutor for “smalls,” and
both got PLOUGHED.
*Pluck*. _See_ PLOUGH.
*Plug*, _subs._ (common).—A translation; a CRIB (_q.v._).
1853. BRADLEY (“Cuthbert Bede”), _Verdant Green_.... Getting up his
subjects by the aid of those royal roads to knowledge, variously known
as cribs, crams, PLUGS, abstracts, analyses, or epitomes.
*Poacher*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—At football a player stationed
near an enemy’s goals to trouble his SECOND-GUARDERS
(_q.v._). They are not allowed to go within the
“Second-guarder’s” or POACHING line.
*Pœna*, _subs._ (general).—An imposition.
*Poet*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—See POETRY.
*Poetry*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The Fifth Form. [From the former
chief study of the Form: originally THE HUMANITIES. _Cf._
_Regulæ Professoris Humanitatis_ in the _Ratio Studiorum
Societatis Jesu_.]
*Poet’s-walk*, _subs._ (Eton).—A river-walk in the
playing-fields. POET’S-WALK = the tea those playing in Upper
Club have on half-holidays by the river.
*Pog*, _subs._ (Felsted).—The face. _See_ Appendix.
1895. _Felstedian_, April, p. 44. We won the game by one goal, three
rouges—points to its origin. “POG” may have meant a “melancholy” face
originally, and in time come to denote any Felstedian’s visage, grave
or gay.
1897. _Felstedian_, May, p. 87. I ... prayed that he wasn’t going to
drag in “Cheese” or “POG,” or any similar atrocities.
*Pojam*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A poem: set as an exercise.
*Poker*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A BEDEL (_q.v._) carrying a silver
mace before the Vice-Chancellor.
1841. _Rime of the New-Made Baccalere._ Around, around, all, all
around, On seats with velvet lined, Sat Heads of Houses in a row, And
Deans and College Dons below, With a POKER or two behind.
1853. BRADLEY (“Cuthbert Bede”), _Verdant Green_, vii. A sort of young
procession—the Vice-Chancellor, with his and Yeoman-bedels. The silver
maces carried by the latter gentlemen, made them by far the most showy
part of the procession.... _Ibid._ Tom is the bell that you hear at
nine each night; the Vice has to see that he is in proper condition,
and, as you have seen, goes out with his POKERS for that purpose.
1865. _Cornhill Mag._, Feb., 225. The heads of houses and university
officers attend [St. Mary’s, Oxford] in their robes, and form a
stately procession to and from the church. The Vice-Chancellor is
escorted by his mace-bearers, familiarly called POKERS, to and from
his residence.
*Poll*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The ordinary examination for
the B.A. degree, as distinguished from the “Honours”
examination. Also a student who takes the “Pass” degree
without “Honours.” Hence POLL-DEGREE and POLL-MAN. TO GO
OUT IN THE POLL = to take an ordinary degree.
1855. BRISTED, _Eng. Univ._, 62. Several declared that they would GO
OUT IN THE POLL.
1884. JAS. PAYN, in _Cornhill_, April, 370. I took my degree,
however—a first-class POLL; which my good folks at home believed to be
an honourable distinction.
1889. _Academy_, Mar. 2. It is related of some Cambridge POLL-MAN that
he was once so ill-advised as to desert a private tutor.
_Verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To maltreat; to make impure.
[That is, “pollute.”]
*Ponto*, _subs._ (general).—New bread kneaded into a ball.
1900. _St. James’s Gazette_, Mar. 15, “Arnoldiana.” He [Matthew
Arnold] was placed at the end of the great school, and, amid howls and
jeers, pelted with a rain of PONTOS for some time. The PONTO, though a
soft missile, being but the inside of a new roll, was probably
sufficient in quantity.
*Pony*, _subs._ (general).—A translation; a CRIB (_q.v._)—any
adventitious aid to study. Also as _verb_.
1832. _Tour through College_, 30. Their lexicons, PONIES, and
textbooks were strewed round their lamps on the table.
1856. HALL, _College Words_, s.v. PONY. So called, it may be, from the
fleetness and ease with which a skilful rider is enabled to pass over
places which to a common plodder may present obstacles.
*Poon*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To prop up a piece of furniture
with a wedge under the leg.—WRENCH.
*Pop*, _subs._ (Eton).—A club at Eton. Chiefly confined to
OPPIDANS (_q.v._), though COLLEGERS (_q.v._) are sometimes
elected.
1865. _Etoniana_, 207. “The Eton Society,” for reading and debates,
has had a longer and more successful existence than the magazines. It
is better known by its sobriquet of “POP,” supposed to be a
contraction of Popina, the rooms where it was held for many years
having been over a cookshop or confectioner’s. It was first instituted
in 1811, when Charles Fox Townshend (who was the elder brother of the
late Marquess, and died young) was the first president, and it has
gone on ever since with considerable popularity and success. The
preparation of the speeches leads to a certain amount of historical
reading for the purpose; but the chief attraction of “POP” lies in its
being a sort of social club, where papers and reviews are taken in;
and, as the numbers are strictly limited (originally twenty-two, since
increased to twenty-eight), to be elected into the society gives a boy
a certain degree of prestige in the school. In summer the debates are
almost nominal, out-door attractions being too strong; but in winter
they sometimes last for several hours, and are kept up with great
spirit. The members are almost exclusively oppidans, this being one of
the points where the jealousy between them and the collegers comes out
very distinctly. A few of the latter are admitted, but only when they
have some special claim to popularity.
*Portionist.* _See_ Postmaster.
*Poser*, _subs._ (Winchester and Eton).—An examiner: formerly a
bishop’s examining chaplain—at Eton for King’s College, and
at Winchester for New College Scholarships and Exhibitions.
Also APPOSER, OPPOSER, and OPPOSITOR. [_Posen_ = to
examine.—_Prompt. Parv._, 144.]
1574. QUEEN ELIZABETH, _Endorsement on Recommendation of Candidates
for College Election_, May 8. To our trustie and welbeloved the
wardens of the new Colledges in Oxford and nere Winchester and other
of them and to the OPPOSITORS and others having interest in the
election of Scollers.
1603. BACON, _Discourse_ [1887]. Let his questions not be troublesome,
for that is fit for a POSER.
1662. FULLER, _Worthies_, NORFOLK, ii. 462. The University [Cambridge]
... appointed Doctor Cranmer ... to be POSER-GENERAL of all Candidates
in Divinity.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 61. The election-day, both for
Winchester and New College, is on the Tuesday next after the 7th of
July (St. Thomas Beckett), when the warden of New College, Oxford,
with two of his fellows, called the POSERS (or at one time
supervisors), arrive at the college, where they are received with a
Latin oration “ad portas” by the senior scholar.
*Post*, _subs._ (University).—_See_ quot.
1855. BRISTED, _Eng. Univ._, 74. Fifty marks will prevent one from
being POSTED, but there are always two or three too stupid as well as
idle to save their POST. These drones are POSTED separately, as “not
worthy to be classed,” and privately slanged afterwards by the master
and seniors. Should a man be POSTED twice in succession, he is
generally recommended to try the air of some small college, or devote
his energies to some other walk of life.
_Verb._ 1. (University).—To reject: as in an examination; to
PLUCK (_q.v._); TO PLOUGH (_q.v._).
2. (Eton).—To put down for doing badly in COLLECTIONS
(_q.v._), the penalty being either a holiday-PŒNA (_q.v._),
or a SWISHING (_q.v._).
3. (University).—To put up a man’s name as not having paid
for food supplied by the College: supplies are then stopped
until the account is settled.
*Postmaster*, _subs._ (Oxford).—An Exhibitioner of Merton
College. Also PORTIONIST (_q.v._).
1853. BRADLEY (“Cuthbert Bede”), _Verdant Green_, vii. Each college
does its own postal department; and at Merton there are fourteen
POSTMASTERS, for they get no end of letters there. “Oh, yes! I
remember Mr. Larkyns ... telling us that the son of one of his old
friends had been a POSTMASTER of Merton; but I fancied that he had
said it had something to do with a scholarship.” “Ah, you see, it’s a
long while since the governor was here, and his memory fails him,”
remarked Mr. Charles Larkyns, very unfilially.
1886. _Oxford Guide_ [S. J. & C.]. The POSTMASTERS anciently performed
the duties of choristers, and their payment for this duty was six
shillings and fourpence per annum.
*Post-mortem*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The examination after
failure.
1844. _Puck_, 13. And now tho’ I’ve passed the POST-MORTEM at last.
*Post-past*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—Dessert: at St.
Omers.
1882. _Stonyhurst Mag._, i. 112. The dessert called POST-PAST was
always the best sort of apples or pears, and biscuits, or else
walnuts.
*Post te*, _phr._ (Charterhouse).—The most useful (says TOD) of
all the old Charterhouse expressions. For example, POST TE
MATH. EX. = “Will you have the kindness to permit me to
glance over your mathematical exercise?” Or one can give a
POST TE of anything; _e.g._ to give a friend a POST TE of a
book is to give him the right of its perusal when you have
done with it. The word is also used in a subtle and
sarcastic sense; _e.g._ POST TE hat or POST TE chum
signifies disapproval of the hat or friend of which or whom
the remark was made.
*Pot*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A canal lock. Whence POT-CAD = a
workman at the saw-mills; POT-GATES = lock-gates; POT-HOUSER
= a jump into the canal from the roof of a house called
POT-HOUSE.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 226. POT—A
canal lock; the one just under Hills was generally meant when the word
was used.
*Pot-house* (The), _subs._ (Cambridge).—St. Peter’s College:
formerly Peterhouse.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 85. He asked me what it was.... I
hadn’t a notion, so I made a shot and said “POT-HOUSE.” He said, “I
suppose you mean St. Peter’s College.”
*Potted-fug*, _subs._ (Rugby).—Potted-meat.
*Præfect.* _See_ PREFECT.
*Præpositor*, _subs._ (Sherborne: obsolete).—A School PRÆFECT
(_q.v._): seventeenth century.
*Præpostor*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A PRÆFECT (_q.v._).
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, v. The master mounted into
the high desk by the door, and one of the PRÆPOSTORS of the week stood
by him on the steps, the other three marching up and down the middle
of the school with their canes, calling out “Silence, silence!”...
Then the PRÆPOSTOR who stands by the master calls out the names,
beginning with the sixth form; and as he calls, each boy answers
“here” to his name, and walks out.
*Prayer-book* (Harrow).—_See_ Upper School.
*Precipice.* _See_ FRESH-HERRING.
*Prefect*, _subs._ (general).—A superior or senior member of a
school superintending in or out of school hours according to
office and school: as in studies, preparation, games, &c.
_See_ quots., PRÆPOSITOR, PRÆPOSTOR, &c.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 226.
PRÆFECTS—The eighteen Senior boys in College, and the twelve senior in
Commoners. The ten senior of those in College were said to be in “Full
power,” and took the office of Bible-Clerk in rotation; they all had
the power of fagging the Juniors, but those not in full power were
supposed not to have the right of fagging on the School side of
Seventh Chamber Passage; practically, however, they always did. One of
the Senior PRÆFECTS was called PRÆFECT of Hall, and was responsible in
a great measure for the conduct of the boys out of school. His duties
and privileges were numerous. There was also a “PRÆFECT of Tub,” who
was supposed to see that the dinner was properly distributed; a
“PRÆFECT of School,” who had the care of that building; and two
“PRÆFECTS of Chapel,” who during alternate weeks called names in
Chapel. There were fees attached to all these offices; and all the
PRÆFECTS had a certain number of boys allotted to them as Pupils, each
of whom paid one guinea each half.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75. Here let me observe that only the
PRÆFECTS have separate basins to wash in; the juniors use the two
stone conduits.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. PRÆFECTS.... The number of
Præfects was eighteen in College, three to each Chamber ... in
Commoners first eight, with four senior-inferiors, who were like
Præfects in half-power, and later twelve.... The word PRÆPOSTOR was
also used concurrently, it would appear, till the last century, when
it disappeared, except in the formula demanding a remedy, in which it
survives. What the relations of the two words were to each other it is
not easy to determine.... Præpostor occurs in the College Register,
and is still used in asking for Remedies. Both seem, therefore, to be
official words. At Eton Præpostor survives, though they are stated to
have begun with officers bearing other titles. They have also retained
_major_, _minor_, _minimus_, which we have discarded for _senior_,
_secundus_, _junior_. The “Præfect of Tub”—“qui nomen ducit ab
olla”—who presided over meals, and whose perquisites are said to have
been most lucrative—amounting to the value of £80 per annum—and the
“PRÆFECT of Cloisters” are obsolete offices.
1900. _MS. Notes_ (Rev. A. GOODIER, Stonyhurst). PRÆFECTS ... These
are four in number.
*Prep*, _subs._ 1. (Dulwich).—Evening preparation. _Cf._ BANCO,
TOY-TIME, &c.
2. (Felsted).—A place of preparation.
1890. _Felstedian_, Feb., p. 2. Johnson _ma_ happened to be in PREP in
good time, so he managed to get in a moment’s conversation with Jones.
*Preparatory*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The preparatory Form at
Hodder: originally ABECEDARII.
*Pricking Æger.* _See_ ÆGER.
*Private-business*, _subs._ (Eton).—Extra work with the tutor.
*Privee*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A private conversation. _See_
BOULE.
*Privs*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Special privileges in the House:
granted to either Sixth Form or THREE-YEARERS (_q.v._).
These take different forms in different houses. TO FIND
(_q.v._) and to TOLLY-UP are PRIVS: so is the right to wear
a coat that is not regulation school dress after LOCK-UP
(_q.v._).
*Pro*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A proproctor, or second in command in
the proctorial police. The two proctors appoint a certain
number of proproctors each.
1823. _Hints for Oxford_, 10. They (Freshmen) cap the PRO’S too in the
street, speak to people without being introduced, and are guilty of a
thousand _gaucheries_.
1869. W. BRADWOOD, _The O.V.H._, x. The proctor (more strictly a PRO)
backed out of the room with wholesale apologies.
*Proctorized*, _adj._ and _adv._ (University).—Stopped by a
proctor and told to call on him.
1861. HUGHES, _Tom Brown at Oxford_, i. 12. So gets PROCTORIZED in his
old age.
1885. _Punch_, May 16, p. 233. PROCTORISED again last night! Coming
home from jolly wine-party at John’s.
*Progger*, _subs._ (University).—A proctor.
1898. _Stonyhurst Mag._, Dec., p. 149, “Life at Oxford.” But a
Proctor, or—by the common practice—“PROGGER,” soon teaches the unwary
that the wisest course is to wear it at the stated times, however
objectionable it may be.
*Progging*, _subs._ (University).—_See_ PROCTORIZED.
1898. _Stonyhurst Mag._, Dec., p. 149, “Life at Oxford.” A “PROGGING”
may form part of another article. At present I have passed all due
bounds.
*Proggins*, _subs._ (University).—A proctor.
*Promo*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Promotion.
*Prompter*, _subs._ (Merchant Taylors’).—A member of the Second
Form.
*Proof*, _subs._ (Oxford).—The best ale at Magdalen College.
*Pros*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A W.C.
*Prose*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A lecture. Also as _verb_.
*Prose-task*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A piece of Latin prose
composition, which all the boys had to do once a
week.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Provincial’s-day.* _See_ DAY.
*Pruff*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Sturdy; insensible to pain.
1610. SHAKSPEARE, _Cor._, i. 4. Now put your shields before your
hearts, and fight With hearts more PROOF than shields.
1881. PASCOE, _Public Schools_.... But deprive a Wykehamist of words
in constant use, such as “quill,” meaning to curry favour with; PRUFF,
signifying sturdy, or proof against pain; “spree,” upstart, impudent;
“cud,” pretty, and many more, and his vocabulary becomes limited.
*Public-supping*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quots.
1870. _The Blue_, Mar. It is, we believe, certain that T.R.H. the
Prince and Princess Teck will grace one of the Lent PUBLIC SUPPERS
with their distinguished presence.
1900. _Daily Telegraph_, Mar. 16, “London Day by Day.” That quaint and
historic old custom known as the “public supping” of the children was
celebrated last evening at Christ’s Hospital, Newgate Street, in the
presence of the Lord Mayor, Alderman Vaughan Morgan (treasurer of the
school), and other civic and educational dignitaries.
1900. _Pall Mall Gazette_, 20th Mar., 3. 2, “A Lenten Supper.”
Attention is directed to this festival this year for two reasons—one,
that it is a very ancient custom; the other, that this is nearly the
last year in which it will be held; for it is clear that when the
school has changed its site, its dress, and certain of its officers
and masters, it will not care to carry on this quaint old ceremony.
And indeed, were the Hospital to hold such revelry at Horsham there
would be few to come as guests, if the name of guest can be assigned
to one who plays a part so passive as that of seeing other people
eat.... The scene of the supping is the Great Hall.... Six hundred
boys and more appear as nothing; they are all seated.... At each table
sits a matron, according to their wards (of which there are fifteen),
and attached to each ward is a matron, who used to be called nurse.
Beside the tables are the monitors, responsible for order—biggish
boys—not “Grecians,” for Grecians do not appear at the Lent suppers,
except to read or pray or sing, having already eaten in their wards.
The first performance, probably, is to light the candles on the
tables; each ward has four candles, and all are lighted at almost the
same moment. The hall is lighted from the roof by gas, so the
candlesticks are little more than ornaments. They are of oak, old, and
well-weighted at the base, and can count their age by centuries....
Their quaintness is concealed by artificial flowers, which the boys
pay for and the matrons arrange, the result more suggestive of
suburban bonnets than antiquity and quaintness. Ask a boy Why? he will
probably reply that “it always has been done.” Change has come; it
used to be held on Sundays during Lent instead of Thursday as to-day,
and up to absolutely recent years there were six suppers instead of
four. These festivals interfere somewhat with school work, and those
who are officially compelled to attend find sameness, even in a public
supper, in the course of thirty years or so. As the clock strikes
seven there is a rap, the boys stand up, the organ bursts into “God
save the Queen,” and up the hall marches the Lord Mayor, preceded by
the chief beadle of the Hospital, clad in gorgeous raiment and a mace
suggestive of a fish-slice. Behind comes the treasurer of the
Hospital, another alderman, and various governors, each bearing a
green stick to mark his office. These sit in reserved seats at the far
end of the hall, the Lord Mayor in _the_ chair, while on his right
hand by the wall are masters and on his left some “officers.” The
ceremony—a strange mixture of a religious service, a meal, and a
feudal relic—begun with the reading of a passage from the Sermon on
the Mount by a Grecian standing in a pulpit, whence he proceeded to
read special prayers written for the school by Bishop Compton, ending
with the Lord’s Prayer, after which a hymn and “grace” and then the
supper, during which the Lord Mayor, with a select few, made the grand
tour of the hall. Such a supper was soon over, and it was not long
before the boys had gathered up the plates and bowls and cloths and
knives, and then came grace and an anthem well sung by a well-trained
choir. This was followed by the feudal feature in the evening: the
whole school, with the exception of the Grecians, “bows round,” i.e.
the boys walk up two and two, marshalled by two beadles, who stand
near, and drawing near the chair, then bow the head in reverence to an
Authority. Most boys have a “trade,” and in this procession each one
carries a symbol of that “trade.” The matron’s special boy carries a
bonnet-candle in each hand, the knife-boy carries his knife-basket,
and the cloth-boy takes his cloth neatly rolled beneath his wing,
while, last of all, the bread-boy hoists the tall bread-basket
shoulder-high and “bows round” with it, never failing to raise a laugh
as well as a basket. When all have bowed, the boy-marshalling beadles
bow also, and the revels are ended. It is believed that the original
purpose of these suppers was to rouse interest in the outside public
and possibly raise money from their pockets; at all events, collection
boxes used to be placed about the hall on those occasions.
*Puddex.* _See_ DEX.
*Puke*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To vomit. [A survival.]
*Puker*, _subs._ (Shrewsbury).—A good-for-nothing.
*Pulling-out*, _subs._ (Charterhouse: obsolete).—PULLING-OUT
took place on Good Fridays. A line was marked from a corner
of green to cloisters. On one side of this line stood the
first and second forms, _i.e._ the Uppers, on the other side
of it the Unders. The Unders had the right of calling on any
unpopular Upper to run the gauntlet between two rows of
Unders from cloister doors to a point near the chapel. They
armed themselves with implements of all kinds, such as
sticks, or stones fastened into stockings, with which to
inflict punishment upon the Uppers. The latter naturally
resisted; hence there were fierce fights and dangerous
rushes. During the PULLING-OUT of 1824, a little fellow
called Howard, a younger son of the Earl of Suffolk, was
entangled in one of these rushes, dragged along the ground
for some distance, with a mass of boys upon him, and
received injuries from which he died soon after. This was
the end of PULLING-OUT, but the custom was as old as the
school.—MOZLEY. Also CALLING-OUT.
*Pulpiteers*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
1891. WRENCH, _Word-Book_, s.v. _Pulpiteers_. An arrangement during
Cloister-time of Sixth Book and Senior Part V. going up to books
together.... Middle and Junior Part taken together were called
Cloisters.
*Pun*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Punishment. Also as _verb_. Hence
PUN-PAPER = specially ruled paper for PUNS and impositions.
TO PUN OUT, _verb. phr._ (Christ’s Hospital).—To inform
against. _Ex._ “I’ll PUN OUT”; “I’ll PUN you OUT.”
Exclusively a London term: at Hertford the word is simply TO
PUN, or TO PUN OF.
*Punny*, _subs._ (Manchester Grammar).—Punishment School or
Drill: also known as P.S. and P.D.: both cause detention for
three-quarters of an hour after school.
*Punt*, _verb_ (Rugby).—To kick the ball (at football) before it
touches the ground.
*Punt-about*, _subs._ (Rugby).—The practice-ball: at football.
Also a practice game.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, I. v. He hadn’t long to
wonder, however, for next minute East cried out, “Hurra! here’s the
PUNT-ABOUT,—come along and try your hand at a kick.” The PUNT-ABOUT is
the practice-ball, which is just brought out and kicked about anyhow
from one boy to another before callings-over and dinner, and at other
odd times.
*Puny*, _subs._ (old Oxford).—A Freshman: also a student at the
Inns of Court.
15 [?]. _Christmas Prince at St. John’s College_, i. Others to make
sporte withall, of this last sorte were they whom they call freshmenn,
PUNIES of the first yeare.
15 [?]. _Ulysses upon Ajax_, B. 8. A very worme of wit, a PUNEY of
Oxford, shall make you more hatefull than Battalus the hungrye fidler.
1593. NASHE, _Christ’s Teares_ [WORKS (_Grosart_), iv. 228]. Sharing
halfe with the Baudes their Hostesses, and laughing at the PUNIES they
have lurched [robbed].
1634. MARSTON, in _Lectores_, &c. [NARES]. Shall each odd PUISNE of
the lawyer’s inne, Each barmy-froth, that last day did beginne, To
read his little, or his nere a whit.
_c._ 1640 [SHIRLEY], _Captain Underwit_ [BULLEN, _Old Plays_, ii.
340]. Preach to the PUISNES of the Inne sobrietie. [PUISNE (_i.e._
PUNY) was the term applied to students at the Inns of Court; also to
Freshmen at Oxford.—BULLEN.]
1847. HALLIWELL, _Arch. and Prov. Words_, s.v. PUNIES. Freshmen at
Oxford were called PUNIES for the first year.
*Pupe*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A pupil-room. [ROOM = class or form:
each tutor is assigned a ROOM, for the members of which he
is generally responsible, and for whom he signs orders.]
*Puseum* (The), _subs._ (Oxford).—The Pusey House in St. Giles’s
Street.
*Put.* TO BE PUT ON, _verb. phr._ (Dulwich).—To be told to
construe.
*Pux*, _verb_ (Royal High School, Edin.).—To punish with the
tawse: _e.g._ “Did you get PUXED?”
*Quad* (or *Quod*), _subs._ (general).—A quadrangle.
1840. _Collegian’s Guide_, 144. His mother ... had been seen crossing
the QUAD in tears.
1884. _Daily News_, Oct. 14, p. 5, col. 1. His undignified nickname is
carved in the turf of the college QUAD.
_Verb_ (Rugby).—To promenade round Cloisters at calling over
before a football-match.
*Quarter* (The), _subs._ (Charterhouse).—The quarter bell.
*Quarter-marks*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The aggregate of marks for
work during the term, as opposed to marks gained in TRIALS
(_q.v._).
*Quarter of Paper*, _subs. phr._ (Winchester).—A quarter of a
sheet of foolscap, on which the Prose and Verse Tasks were
always written.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840). _Cf._ VESSEL. Also
used at Westminster.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 165. Besides this, he had to
carry with him into school a portfolio containing a sufficiency of
QUARTERNS of paper. All or any of these articles he was supposed to
supply, upon requisition, to any boy of the “upper election.”
*Quill*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To curry favour; to flatter: _see_
QUILSTER. Hence (latterly) TO BE QUILLED = to be pleased.
_Cf._ QUILLER = a parasite.
*Quiller*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A parasite.
*Quilster*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A toady; a lickspittle.
*Quod*, _subs._ (Felsted).—_See_ D. (Appendix).
*Rabbiter*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A blow, delivered by the side
of the hand, on the back of the neck: as in killing a
rabbit.
*Rabbit-Skin*, _subs._ (University).—The academical hood. Hence
TO GET ONE’S RABBIT-SKIN = to obtain the B.A. degree.
[Because trimmed with rabbit fur. Also CAT’S-SKIN.]
*Rack*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A DISPAR (_q.v._), or portion
consisting of a joint (or chop) from a neck or loin of
mutton. [_Rack_ (HALLIWELL) = the neck of mutton or pork;
also (JOHNSON) = a neck of mutton cut for the table.]
1594. LYLY, _Mother Bombie_, iii. 4. _Lu._ And me thought there came
in a leg of mutton. _Dro._ What, all grosse meat? a RACKE had beene
dainty.
1706. COLES, _Eng. Dict._, s.v. RACK.... Probably from _hracca_,
Saxon, the back of the head.
... MAY, _Accomplished Cook_, 57. Then again, put in the crag end of
the RACK OF MUTTON to make the broth good. _Ibid._, p. 25. Take two
joynts of mutton, RACK and loin.
*Rag*, _subs._ (University).—1. An undergraduate’s gown.
1899. _Answers_, 14th Jan., 1. 1. This matter of the RAG is hedged
about with many unwritten laws. One who has mastered these will never
go to breakfast in another man’s rooms in cap and gown.... Nor will he
wear the RAG in the theatre, which is strictly barred.
2. A jollification.
1900. _Daily Mail_, 10th Mar., 2. 4. There was keen excitement at
Cambridge yesterday when the magistrates proceeded to deal with the
last two prosecutions of students arising out of the notorious RAG in
celebration of the relief of Ladysmith.
*Ragged-soph.* _See_ SOPH.
*Ramrod* (or *Raymonder*), _subs._ (Winchester).—A ball bowled
all along the ground.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Range*, _verb_ (The Leys).—To play football in the small walled
playground.
*Rattle*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The hour of rising: _e.g._ “I
got up at the RATTLE.” [From the instrument by which the
boys are called.]
*Rawcliffe’s*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An old tuck-shop: recently
obsolete.
*Rawk.* _See_ RORKE.
*Reader*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1886), 228.
READER—An office in the gift of every Præfect in Senior FARDEL
(_q.v._), which excused the recipient from watching out at Cricket.
His business was to read out aloud the translation of any book his
Master was cramming for Election examination.
*Reading-shelf*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A shelf with a drawer
fixed inside the head of a boy’s bed, on which to place a
candle for nocturnal studies.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Recker, The* (Harrow).—The town recreation-ground: here are
held the school sports.
*Rector.* 1. _See_ REGENT.
2. (Stonyhurst).—The Head-master. _See_ DAY.
*Regent*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.: obsolete).—An
assistant master: the Head-master was called “Maister” or
“Principal Maister”; now “Rector.”
*Remedy*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A holiday. _See_ WORK, quot.
1891.
1484. _Chapter Register of Southwell Minster._ Nota generaliter.
Ministri Ecclesiæ non vacant scolæ grammaticali. Magister
grammaticalis non attendit debitis horis doctrinæ suorum scolarium in
scola; et quam pluries indiscrete dat REMEDIUM suis scolaribus diebus
ferialibus, quod quasi ad tempus nichil addiscunt, expendendo bona
suorum parentum frustra et inaniter; et non locuntur latinum in scola
sed anglicum.
_d._ 1519. DEAN COLET, _Statutes of St. Paul’s School_. I will also
that they shall have no REMEDYES. Yf the Maister granteth any REMEDYES
he shall forfeit 40s., totiens quotiens, excepte the Kyng, or an
Archbishopp, or a Bishop present in his own person in the Scole desire
it.
1530. THOMAS MAGNUS, _Endowment Deed_, Newark Grammar School. Thomas
Magnus ordeyneth ... that the said maisters shall not be myche
inclyned nor gyven to graunt REMEDY for Recreacyon or Dispoorte to
their scolers unless it be ones in a wooke upon the Thuysday or
Thursday, or that further REMEDY be requyred by any honorable or
worshipfull Person or Personage, &c. &c.
1593. _Rites Durham Cathedral Monastic Church_ [Surtees Society].
There was ... a garding and a bowling allie ... for the Novices
sumetymes to recreate themselves when they had REMEDY of there master.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 49. In the
short half we had at least one “REMEDY,” and a half day every week,
and in summer two always; they were on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These
“REMEDIES” were a kind of mitigated whole holidays. We were supposed
to go into school for an hour or two in the morning and afternoon; but
as no Master was present, it didn’t come to much. This was called
“Books Chambers.” REMEDIES were not a matter of right, but were always
specially applied for by Præfect of Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The custom was for him to waylay the Doctor on his way to morning
chapel, and make the request, when, if granted, a gold ring was handed
to the applicant, on which was engraved, “_commendant rarior usus_.”
This ring was worn by the Præfect of Hall for the rest of the day, and
returned by him to the Doctor at the beginning of middle school on the
day following.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. REMEDY. A holiday in the
half, with Books-chambers or Toy-time. Originally there was always
one, and generally two REMEDIES in the week. Later every Tuesday in
Easter-time and Cloister-time was a REMEDY, the Thursday’s REMEDY
being often granted. Now Thursdays in Cloister-time only are REMEDIES
proper in middle-school hours; there are on these days Morning-lines,
and the afternoon is a half-holiday. Ascension-Day and the Queen’s
Accession are _holidays_: all red-letter Saints’-days are
Leave-out-days. _Remedium_ seems to have been the original word for
holiday: translated REMEDY.... The tradition of REMEDIES being granted
by _great persons_ survives in the custom of the Judges on Circuit
demanding a Half-REMEDY.
*Remi*, _subs._ 1. (Westminster).—A holiday. _Cf._ REMEDY.
2. (Winchester).—REMISSION (_q.v._).
*Remission* (or *Remi*), _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 229.
REMISSION—When owing to a Saint’s day having fallen on the day
previous to that on which a Verse or Prose Task, or Vulgus, was due,
the boys were excused from doing it, there was said to be REMISSION
from it.
*Rep*, _subs._ 1. (Harrow and King Edward’s, Birm.).—A
repetition.
1892. ANSTEY, _Voces Populi_, 65. It’s not in Selections from British
Poetry which we have to get up for REP.
2. (King Edward’s, Birm.).—The REPRESENTATIVE elected by the
Class to serve on the Committee of the School Club.
*Repeal Garden*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—One of the Higher Line
Gardens. [Used for Irish declamation at the beginning of the
century.] Obsolete.
*Responsions.* _See_ SMALLS.
*Resurrection*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A sort of eat-all feast,
consisting of a meeting to discuss the remnants of an
Academy DO (_q.v._) held on the previous day.
*Rhetoric*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The Sixth Form. [From
the chief work once studied in the form. _Cf._ _Regulæ
Professoris Rhetoricæ_ in the _Ratio Studiorum Societatis
Jesu_.]
*Rhetoric Good-day*, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ GOOD-DAY.
*Rhetorician*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ RHETORIC.
*Rigger*, _subs._ (Durham).—A racing-boat.
*Rinder*, _subs._ (The Leys and Queen’s).—An outsider.
*Riot Act*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—A body of school
rules, read over and commented upon by the Head Master on
the first Wednesday afternoon in term before the whole
school.
*Ripping*, _subs._ (Eton).—A ceremony incidental to the
departure of a Senior Colleger for King’s College,
Cambridge: when he has got KING’S (_q.v._) his gown has to
be stitched up that it may be RIPPED afterwards by the
Provost or his deputy.
*Robinites* (Charterhouse).—_See_ OUT-HOUSES.
*Rock*, _subs._ 1. (Derby).—The school bread. _See_ WASH.
2. (Winchester).—A medium-sized stone.
*Rod-maker*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The man who made the rods
used in BIBLING (_q.v._).
*Rogging*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Brook-fishing.
*Roke*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To stir: as a fire, a liquid, &c.
1375. _Percival_ [HALLIWELL]. Were they wighte, were they woke, Alle
that he tille stroke He made their bodies to ROKE.
1383. CHAUCER, _Canterbury Tales_. Yet in our ashen cold is fyr
i-REKE.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Arch. Words_, s.v. ROKE.... To shake; to roll ... to
stir liquids.
*Roker*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A ruler; a stick; a poker. _See_
ROKE. FLAT-ROKER = a flat ruler.
*Roll*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A list of names.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 230. The
ROLL _par excellence_ is the list of the boys who have passed their
examination for New College, and of those who are to come in to
Winchester. There is also a ROLL printed every November, which
contains the name of every one connected with the School, from the
Warden to the Choristers. The lists from which the Præfects of Hall
and Chapel called names; the papers on which the names of the
absentees on such occasions were written; the papers on which were
written the “Standing up”; the lists of the boys who had leave out on
a Saints’ day; the papers put on the Master’s desk when boys wished to
go out of school; those handed to the Master at the close of School by
the Bible-Clerk or Ostiarius with the names of the delinquents, and
many other similar papers, were all called ROLLS.
TO HAVE A ROLL ON, _verb. phr._ (Shrewsbury).—_See_ quot.
1877. PASCOE, _Every-day Life, &c._ Anything approaching swagger is
severely rebuked; there is no more objectionable quality than that
understood by the expression “He’s got such a horrid ROLL ON.”
TO ROLL IN, _verb. phr._ (Harrow: obs.).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 316. Another ancient barbarism
survived even long after Butler’s accession. There were in the
head-master’s house two public rooms for the use of his boarders—the
hall and the play-room. The latter was open to all, but the hall was
regarded as a sort of club-room, which no boy was allowed to enter,
except at dinner and supper time, until he had become a member by
being ROLLED-IN. Any one who desired the privilege of admission (and
none below the upper fifth were eligible), gave in his name to the
head-boy some days beforehand, in order that due preparations might be
made for the inauguration. Immediately a certain number of rolls
(_finds_ they were called—etymology unknown) were ordered at the
baker’s, and rebaked every morning until they were pretty nearly as
hard as pebbles. At nine o’clock on the morning fixed for the
ROLLING-IN, the members of the hall ranged themselves on the long
table which ran along one side of the room, each with his pile of
these rolls before him, and a fag to pick them up. The candidate
knelt, facing them, on a form close against the opposite wall, with
his head resting on his hands, so as to guard the face, while they
held, as well as they could, a plate on the top of the head by way of
helmet. Thus protected, the head itself formed a mark for the very
peculiar missiles which were ready to be aimed. When all was ready, a
time-keeper, watch in hand, gave the word—“Now!” when fast and
furiously—and very spitefully, if the boy was unpopular—the rolls were
showered upon the devoted head for the space of one minute, neither
more nor less. Such protection as the plate gave was soon lost by its
being broken to pieces. It was, as may be imagined, a very severe
ordeal, the bruises being very painful for weeks afterwards.
*Roller*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A roll-call.
*Room*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—In Stonyhurst nomenclature, ROOM
as a place-name is modern. _See_ DUCHESS’ ROOMS, DUKE’S
ROOM, PLACE, &c.
*Roosh*, _verb_ (Harrow).—To rush about.
*Roost*, _verb_ (Derby).—To kick hard: at football. [? Root.]
*Root-about*, _subs._ (The Leys).—Promiscuous football practice.
Also as _verb_.
*Ropes*, _subs._ (general).—A half-back at football.
*Rorke* (or *Rawk*), _subs._ (Tonbridge).—A navvy. [? Latin
_raucus_. _Cf._ RORKER.]
*Rorker*, _subs._ (Derby).—A street boy; a cad. [? Latin
_raucus_. _Cf._ RORKE.]
*Rosh* (or *Roush*), _verb_ (Royal Military Academy).—To bustle;
to horseplay. Hence STOP ROUSHING! = an injunction to
silence.
*Rotten.* _See_ Appendix.
*Rotter*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—A boy who shirks his fair share:
at games, &c.; a _fainéant_.
*Rouge*, _subs._ (Eton).—A point in the Eton game of football: 3
ROUGES = 1 goal. _Cf._ SCROUGE.
_Verb_ (Felsted).—To “rag”; to “scrag.” See _subs._
1895. _Felstedian_, April, pp. 43-4. “Vic” ... entirely baffles me,
and so does the expression TO ROUGE; but the fact that it occurs in
the early numbers of the _Felstedian_—“we won the game by one goal,
three ROUGES”—points to its origin.
*Round-Othello*, _subs._ (The Leys). A Leysian tuck-shop
delicacy.
*Roush*, _subs._ (Winchester).—1. A rush, or charge: as by a
man, a beast, or by water.
*Rowing-man*, _subs._ (University).—A spreester; a loose fish.
[“Row” as in “bough.”]
*Rows*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The fixed benches at each end of
School: called respectively Senior, Middle, and Junior ROW.
*Rowsterer*, _subs._ (Derby).—A cad.
*Ruck.* TO RUCK ALONG, _verb. phr._ (Oxford).—To walk quickly.
*Rudiments*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The Third Form.
*Rug*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A Rugbeian.
1892. _Evening Standard_, 25th Nov. 4, 5. The controversy was started
by the death of one who succumbed to his exertions. “An Old Medical
RUG” describes the sufferings he endured.
*Rugger*, _subs._ (general).—Football: the Rugby game.
1896. _Tonbridgian_, No. 339, 1124. At St. John’s, Sells has developed
into a good RUGGER half, Pinching is one of the best forwards, and
also plays Socker for the College at times.
1897. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 194. As regards RUGGER the ’Varsity team
have been somewhat under-rated.
*Run.* TO RUN CLOISTERS, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—A boy was
said TO RUN CLOISTERS when he obtained his remove from
Junior Part to Senior Part at the end of CLOISTER-TIME (a
period of ten or twelve weeks at the end of Long Half).
*Run.* _See_ RACE.
*Runabout*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—An irregular form of
football: formerly called COMPULSORY.
*Running-stone*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A stone set at a distance
from the CRICKET-STONE (_q.v._), to and from which a batsman
ran when making a score. _See_ STONYHURST-CRICKET.
1885. _Stonyhurst Mag._, ii. 85. The distance from the Cricket-stone
to the RUNNING-STONE to be twenty-seven yards.
*Rusticate*, _verb_ (common).—To send away a student for a time
from a College or University by way of punishment; to SHIP
(_q.v._). Hence RUSTICATION.
1714. _Spectator_, No. 596. After this I was deeply in love with a
milliner, and at last with my bedmaker, upon which I was sent away,
or, in the university phrase, RUSTICATED for ever.
1779. JOHNSON, _Life of Milton_, par. 12. It seems plain from his own
verses to _Diodati_, that he had incurred RUSTICATION; a temporary
dismission into the country, with perhaps the loss of a term.
1794. _Gent. Mag._, p. 1085. And was very near RUSTICATION [at
Cambridge], merely for kicking up a row after a beakering party.
1841. LEVER, _Charles O’Malley_, lxxix. You have totally forgotten me,
and the Dean informs me that you have never condescended a single line
to him, which latter enquiry on my part nearly cost me a
RUSTICATION.... Dear Cecil Cavendish, our gifted friend, slight of
limb and soft of voice, has been RUSTICATED for immersing four
bricklayers in that green receptacle of stagnant water and duckweed,
yclept the “Haha.”
1841. H. KINGSLEY, _Ravenshoe_, ch. viii. Non-university men sneer at
RUSTICATION; they can’t see any particular punishment in having to
absent yourself from your studies for a term or two.
1850. F. E. SMEDLEY, _Frank Fairlegh_, ch. xxx. Who, the landlord
tells me, has just been RUSTICATED for insulting Dr. Doublechin.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, iv. “The Master ... said as how Mr.
Bouncer had better go down into the country for a year, for change of
hair, and to visit his friends.” “Very kind indeed of Dr. Portman,”
said our hero, who missed the moral of the story, and took the
RUSTICATION for a kind forgiveness of injuries.
1885. _Daily Telegraph_, Oct. 29. Students who are liable at any
moment to be RUSTICATED.
*Saccer*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The Sacrament. _Cf._ SOCCER, RUGGER,
BREKKER, COLLECKER, &c.
*Salt*, _subs._ (Eton).—The gratuity exacted at the now obsolete
triennial festival of the MONTEM (_q.v._).
1886. BREWER, _Phrase and Fable_, s.v. SALT-HILL. At the Eton _Montem_
the captain of the school used to collect money from the visitors on
Montem day. Standing on a mound at Slough, he waved a flag, and
persons appointed for the purpose collected the donations. The mound
is still called SALT-HILL, and the money given was called SALT. The
word salt is similar to the Latin _sala’rium_ (salary), the pay given
to Roman soldiers and civil officers.
1890. SPEAKER, 22nd Feb., 210. 2. In lively but worldly fashion we go
to Eton, with its buried Montem, its “SALT! your majesty, SALT!” its
gin-twirley, and its jumping through paper fires in Long-Chamber.
*Salt-bearer*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ MONTEM.
*Samson*, _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—A baked jam pudding.
*Sanderites* (Charterhouse).—The head-master’s house. [Dr.
Sanders was head-master 1832-53.]
*Sands*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The pavement on the north side of
Chapel in Chamber Court.
*Sandwich-boat.* _See_ BUMPING-RACE.
*Sap*, _subs._ (common).—A hard worker; a diligent student.
1827. LYTTON, _Pelham_, ch. ii. When I once attempted to read Pope’s
poems out of school hours, I was laughed at, and called a SAP.
1850. SMEDLEY, _Frank Fairlegh_, 117. After several fruitless attempts
to shake my determination, they pronounced me an incorrigible SAP, and
leaving me to my own devices, proceeded to try their powers upon
Oaklands.
1856. WHYTE-MELVILLE, _Kate Coventry_, ch. xvii. At school, if he
makes an effort at distinction in school-hours, he is stigmatised by
his comrades as a SAP.
1888. GOSCHEN, _Speech at Aberdeen_, Jan. 31. Remember the many
epithets applied to those who, not content with doing their work,
commit the heinous offence of being absorbed in it ... schools and
colleges ... have invented for this purpose, with that peculiar
felicity which attaches to schoolboy nomenclature, phrases,
semi-classical, or wholly vernacular, such as a “SAP,” a “smug,” a
“swot,” a “bloke,” a “mugster.”
_Verb._ To read or study hard; to sweat.
1848. C. KINGSLEY, _Yeast_, i. SAPPING and studying still.
1853. LYTTON, _My Novel_, Bk. I. ch. xii. He understands that he was
sent to school to learn his lessons, and he learns them. You call that
SAPPING—I call it doing his duty.
1856. Miss YONGE, _Daisy Chain_, ch. xii. “At it again!” exclaimed Dr.
May. “Carry it away, Ethel; I will have no Latin or Greek touched
these holidays.” “You know,” said Norman, “if I don’t SAP, I shall
have no chance of keeping up!”
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 46. I ... haven’t to go SAPPING
round to get it when I want my own tea.
*Sappy*, _adj._ (Durham).—Severe: of a caning.
*Sark*, _verb_ (Sherborne).—To sulk.
*Saturday-nighter*, _subs._ (Harrow).—An exercise set for
Saturday night: usually an essay, map, or poem.
*Scadger*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A scamp; a rascal.
Now a general colloquialism.
*Scaff*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A selfish fellow. [The
adjectival forms are SCALY and SCABBY, whence may be the
derivation.] Obsolete: _see_ SCOUSE.
*Scaldings*, _intj._ (Winchester).—A general injunction to be
gone; “Be off!”
*Scan and Prove* (Harrow).—_See_ UPPER SCHOOL.
*Scheme*, _subs._ (Winchester).—An alarum worked by a candle.
_See_ quot.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SCHEME.... The candle on
reaching a measured point ignites paper, which by burning a string
releases a weight: this falls on the head of the boy to be waked.
*Schitt*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A goal: at football.
_See_ GOWNER.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SCHITT.... This was the
word in general use till 1860, when it was superseded by “goal.” In
early Winchester football there seems to have been three methods of
scoring—a _goal_, a _gowner_, a SCHITT, worth respectively 3, 2, and
1. The last behind stood between two gowns, which made a goal. The
ball passing over his head or between his legs scored three, over the
gowns two, over the rest of “worms” one. When the whole of “worms” was
made to count equally, every goal was a SCHITT.
*Schol*, _subs._ (Harrow).—(1) A scholar; and (2) a scholarship.
*School-stock*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The old books kept by the
school.
*School-twelve*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The twelve who take a leading
part at the concert.
*Scob* (or *Scobb*), _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quots.
1620. _Account_ [to J. Hutton at his entrance into the College]. For a
SCOBB to hold his books, 3s. 6d.
1890. GRANT ALLEN, _Tents of Shem_, xlii. Parker’s SCOB was 220. SCOB
was box in Winchester slang.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SCOB.... An oak box with a
double lid, set at the angles of the squares of wooden benches in
school. It is used as desk and book-case.... Probably the word has
been transferred from the bench itself, and comes from Fr. _Escabeau_.
Lat. _Scabellum_.
*Sconce*, _verb_. 1. (University: once common).—To fine; to
deduct by way of fine; to discontinue. Also as _subs._
Whence TO BUILD A SCONCE = to run up a score (as at an
alehouse, or of fines).
1632. SHIRLEY, _Witty Fair One_, iv. sc. 2. College! I have had a head
in most of the butteries of Cambridge, and it has been SCONCED to
purpose.
_c._ 1640. [SHIRLEY] _Captain Underwit_ [BULLEN, _Old Plays_, ii.
323]. _Tho._ I can teach you to build a SCONCE, sir.
1696. B. E., _Dict. Cant. Crew_, s.v. SCONCE. To build a large SCONCE,
to run deep upon tick or trust.
1730. JAS. MILLER, _Humours of Oxford_, i. p. 9 (2nd ed.). No, no, my
dear, I understand more manners than to leave my friends to go to
church—no, tho’ they SCONCE me a fortnight’s commons, I’ll not do it.
1748. T. DYCHE, _Dictionary_ (5th ed.). SCONCE (v.) ... also a cant
word for running up a score at an alehouse or tavern.
1760. JOHNSTON, _Chrysal_, ch. xxviii. [COOKE’S ed., N.D.]. These
youths have been playing a small game, cribbing from the till, and
building SCONCES, and such like tricks that there was no taking hold
of.
1765. GOLDSMITH, _Essays_, viii. He ran into debt with everybody that
would trust him, and none could build a SCONCE better than he.
1768. FOOTE, _Devil upon Two Sticks_, ii. 1. She paid my bill the next
day without SCONCING off sixpence.
1821. _The Etonian_, ii. 391. Was SCONCED in a quart of ale for
quoting Latin, a passage from Juvenal; murmured, and the fine was
doubled.
1823. BEE, SLANG DICT., s.v. SCONCE ... To discontinue: as SCONCE his
diet = give less victuals. SCONCE the reckoning = to go no further in
debt, but bolt.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. SCONCE.... “To SCONCE, to eat
more than another, _Winton_; to SCONCE, to impose a pecuniary mulct,
_Oxon._,” Kennett, MS. To SCONCE at Oxford, was to put a person’s name
in the College buttery books by way of fine.
1864. HOTTEN, _Slang Dict._, s.v. SCONCE. The Dons fined or SCONCED
for small offences; _e.g._ five shillings for wearing a coloured coat
in hall at dinner-time. Among undergrads, a pun, or an oath, or an
indecent remark, was SCONCED by the head of the table. If the offender
could, however, floor the tankard of beer which he was SCONCED, he
could retort on his SCONCER to the extent of twice the amount he was
SCONCED in.
1883. H. T. ELLACOMBE [_Notes and Queries_, 6 S., viii. 326]. Men were
SCONCED if accidentally they appeared in hall undressed. I think the
SCONCE was a quantity of beer to the scouts. The SCONCE-table was hung
up in the buttery.
1899. _Answers_, 14th Jan., i. 1. The average freshman is not very
long at Oxford before he is acquainted with the mysteries of SCONCING.
A SCONCE is a fine of a quart of ale, in which the unlucky fresher is
mulcted for various offences in Hall.
1899. _Public School Mag._, Dec., p. 476. Opponents who get in each
other’s way and “SCONCE” the “kicks.”
2. (Winchester).—To hinder; to get in the way: as of a kick
at football, a catch at cricket, &c.: _e.g._ “If you had not
SCONCED, I should have made a flyer!”
*Scourge*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—To flog. Whence
SCOURGING = a flogging of three strokes. _See_ SCRUBBING and
TUND.
1883. TROLLOPE, _What I Remember_.... The words “flog” or “flogging,”
it is to be observed, were never heard among us, in the mouth either
of the masters or the boys. We were SCOURGED.
*Scout*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A College servant: combining the
duties of valet, waiter, messenger, &c.
1750. _The Student_, i. 55. My SCOUT indeed is a very learned fellow.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, iii. Infatuated Mr. Green! If you
could have foreseen that those spoons and forks would have soon
passed—by a mysterious system of loss which undergraduate powers can
never fathom—into the property of Mr. Robert Filcher, the excellent,
though occasionally erratic, SCOUT of your beloved son ... you would
have been content to have let your son and heir represent the
ancestral wealth by any sham that would equally well have served his
purpose!
1884. JULIAN STURGIS in _Longmans’ Mag._, v. 65. The old don went back
to his chair, and ... thrust the bits into the waste-paper basket, as
his “SCOUT” came in with a note.
*Scrape out*, _verb_ (Winchester).—When a Præfect wished to go
out of School, he SCRAPED with his foot till he got a nod
from the Master.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Scrub*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To write fast: _e.g._
“SCRUB it down.” Also as _subs._ = handwriting. [Lat.
_scribere_.] _See_ STRIVE.
*Scrubbing*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A flogging: four
strokes at SCRUBBING-FORMS. _See_ SCOURGE.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 109. The
ordinary punishment consisted of four cuts, and was called “A
SCRUBBING.” The individual who was to be punished was told “to order
his name,” which he did by going to the Ostiarius, and requesting him
to do so; that officer accordingly, at the end of school time, would
take his name to the Master, who would then call it out, and the
victim had to kneel down at Senior row, while two Juniors laid bare
the regulation space of his back. The first time a boy’s name was
ordered, the punishment was remitted on his pleading “_Primum
tempus_.” For a more serious breach of duty, a flogging of six cuts (a
“Bibler”) was administered, in which case the culprit had to “order
his name to the Bible-Clerk,” and that individual, with the help of
Ostiarius, performed the office of Jack Ketch. If a boy was detected
in a lie, or any very disgraceful proceeding—a rare occurrence, I am
happy to say—he had to stand up in the centre of Junior row during the
whole of the school time, immediately preceding the infliction of the
flogging; this pillory process was called a “Bibler under the nail.” I
have also heard, that for a very heinous offence, a boy might be
punished in Sixth Chamber, in which case the number of stripes was not
limited; but I never knew an instance of this.
1864. _Blackwood’s Magazine_, vol. xcv., p. 79. Underneath is the
place of execution, where delinquents are BIBLED. _Ibid._, p. 72. It
need hardly be said that it [the rod] is applied in the ordinary
fashion: six cuts forming what is technically called a BIBLING—on
which occasions the Bible-Clerk introduces the victim; four being the
sum of a less terrible operation called a SCRUBBING.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SCRUBBING.... According to
T. A. Trollope, the word in use in his day was SCOURGING: this,
however, he describes as of three strokes: he does not mention
“bibling.” He was in College 1820-28.
*Scrutiny*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 62. The Oxford visitors, on
their arrival, proceed at once to “Election Chamber” to hear any
complaints which the boys may have to prefer. This is called the
SCRUTINY, the seven senior prefects, and the seven juniors in chambers
(one from each chamber), are separately questioned; but complaints are
seldom made. Next morning the examination for election of scholars to
New College begins—no longer in the renowned “Election Chamber”
itself, but in the long “Warden Gallery,” as more convenient for the
purpose; all prefects who are of standing to leave the school are
examined with any other who choose.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SCRUTINY. An examination of
the seven Seniors and seven Juniors in College, on the subject of
their personal comfort, &c., in College. There were two SCRUTINEES in
the year; one conducted by the Warden of New College and Posers in
Election Week, the other by the Wardens and Fellows of Winchester in
Sealing Week.
*Scud*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A runner.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, v. “I say,” said East, as he
got his wind, looking with much increased respect at Tom, “you ain’t a
bad SCUD, not by no means. Well, I’m as warm as a toast now.”
*Scull*, _subs._ (University).—The head (or master) of a
College.
1864. HOTTEN, _Slang Dict._, s.v. SCULL. The head, or master of a
college: nearly obsolete; the gallery, however, in St. Mary’s (the
Oxford University church), where the “Heads of Houses” sit in solemn
state, is still nicknamed the “Golgotha” by the undergraduates.
*Scull-race*, _subs._ (University).—A University Examination.
*Scuttle*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital, Hertford).—To cry out
under oppression with a view to attracting the notice of one
in authority. Hence SCUTTLE-CAT = one who SCUTTLES.
Obsolete.
*Second-bounce*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A kind of
handball once very popular.
*Second-bowler*, subs. (Stonyhurst).—A wicket-keeper. _See_
STONYHURST-CRICKET.
*Second-Elevens*, _subs._ (Harrow).—(1) A match, at football,
for practice: between two Houses, not as a HOUSE-MATCH
(_q.v._). Also (2) a match, at cricket, between any Eleven
from two Houses, save CAPS (_q.v._) and those in a regular
game. Also SECONDERS.
*Second-examen*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A punishment for great
carelessness in study during a term: _e.g._ I’ve got
SECOND-EXAM.
*Second-guarder.* _See_ GUARDER.
*Second-peal.* _See_ PEAL.
*Semi-bejan*, _subs._ (Aberdeen).—A student in the second class.
*Semper*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Always: _e.g._ I have got SEMPER
leave-out. _See_ Appendix.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 233. A very
common prefix; _e.g._ a boy was said to be SEMPER Continent, Tardy, or
Ex Trumps if he was often at Sick-house, or late for Chapel, or
habitually went up to Books without having looked at his lessons. An
official who was always present at the College meetings went by the
name of SEMPER TESTIS.
*Send.* TO SEND DOWN, _verb. phr._ (University).—To expel; to
rusticate. _See_ GO DOWN.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 89. Next day they were hauled and
SENT DOWN.
1891. _Felstedian_, April, p. 32. They SENT him down for two terms for
smashing a shop window.
TO SEND UP, _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—(1) To send up to the
head-master for some offence. Also (2) of an exercise sent
up to the head-master as “very good.”
*Senior.* _See_ JUNIOR.
*Senior Hall* (Shrewsbury).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 246. The boarders reside
chiefly either in the head-master’s house, or SENIOR HALL, as it is
called, or in a house adjoining rented by him, and called the “Junior
Hall.” The second-master also has a “Hall,” which will accommodate
about twenty. But the buildings are old, in many cases badly adapted
for their present use, and have either been purchased, built, or
rented from time to time by the head-master as the numbers of the
school required.
*Senior Part*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ BOOKS.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 233. SENIOR
PART, THE FIFTH—The part next below the Præfects, generally called
SENIOR PART.
1900. _St. James’s Gazette_, Mar. 15, “Arnoldiana.” One day they were
both invited to breakfast by the Head, in the company of a “stupid
boy” from SENIOR PART.
*Senior Soph.* _See_ SOPH.
*Servant*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ MONTEM.
*Servitor*, _subs._ (old).—_See_ SIZER.
*Seventh-chamber*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 23. The schoolroom was still
SEVENTH-CHAMBER—_Magna illa domus_, as the founder’s directions call
it—though, as some of the commoners must have been taught together
with the scholars, it is difficult to understand how so many could
have found room there without great confusion.
*Shack*, _subs._ (Felsted).—A share. Whence TO GO SHACK = to
give a share.
*Shadow*, _subs._ (Westminster).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 187. When a boy is first placed
in the school he is attached to another boy in the same form something
in the relation of an apprentice. The new boy is called the “SHADOW,”
the other, the “Substance.” For the first week the SHADOW follows the
Substance everywhere, takes his place next to him in class,
accompanies him as he rises or falls, and is exempt from any
responsibility for his own mistakes in or out of school. During this
interval of indulgence, his patron is expected to initiate him in all
the work of the school, to see that he is provided with the necessary
books and other appliances, and, in short, to teach him by degrees to
enter upon a substantial and responsible existence of his own.
*She*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A plum-pudding. _Cf._ HE.
*Sheep*, _subs._ (Aberdeen).—A second classman or undergraduate.
1865. MACDONALD, _Alec Forbes_, ii. 5. At length a certain semi
(second-classman, or more popularly SHEEP) stood up to give his
opinion on some subject in dispute.
*Sheepskin*, subs. (University).—The diploma received on taking
a degree. [Because inscribed on parchment.] Hence a person
who has taken a degree.
*Shell*, _subs._ (originally Westminster).—_See_ quot.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 178. At the end of this room [the
school-room] there is a kind of semicircular apse, in which the SHELL
form were formerly taught, and the shape of which is said to have
given rise to this name, since adopted at several other public
schools.
*Shepherd*, subs. (Harrow).—Every sixth boy in CRICKET-BILL
(_q.v._): he answers for the five below him being present.
*Shield* (The), _subs._ (Harrow).—The Ashburton Shield: shot for
at Bisley by Public School Eights.
*Shig*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A shilling.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Shimmy*, _subs._ (Felsted: obsolete).—A shirt.
*Shin*, _verb_ (Eton).—To kick on the shins.
1864. _Eton School-days_, xiii. He could not go out of his tutor’s if
there happened to be any one in the yard without some one throwing a
stone at him, or hissing, or SHINNING him if he passed near enough.
*Ship*, _verb._ 1. (Sherborne).—To turn a boy out of bed with
his mattress on top of him. _Cf._ LAUNCH.
2. (general).—To RUSTICATE (_q.v._).
*Shirk*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An old building of some
dimensions, containing a number of private rooms; erected
for temporary use, but since found of too much service to be
demolished.
1884. _Stonyhurst Mag._, i. 277. Gothic architecture of all
descriptions, including Elizabethan, was trampled out by the
Renaissance (revived Greek), of which SHIRK is a very bad specimen
(where it tries to be ornamental, as in its triangular pediment and
the pilasters beside the larger window).
_Verb._ 1. (Eton).—To hide when liable to be caught out of
bounds. Obsolete.
2. (Winchester).—_See_ HILLS.
*Shirkster*, _subs._ (Winchester).—One who shirks.
TO SHIRK IN, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To walk into water
when bathing.
TO SHIRK OUT, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To go out contrary
to rules.
*Shirt-sleevie*, _subs._ (Loretto).—A dance; on winter Saturday
evenings, and sometimes in the open air at the end of summer
term. [The costume is rational _de rigeur_: a flannel shirt
open at neck and flannel trousers—no coat or waistcoat may
be worn.]
*Shootabout*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—An irregular form of
football.
*Shooter*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A black morning coat: as
distinguished from the tail-coat worn by the Fifth and Sixth
Forms.
*Shorts*, _subs._ (general).—Flannel trousers; CUTS (_q.v._).
*Shot*, _intj._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—A cry of warning at
the approach of a master.
OUT BY SHOT, _phr._ (Stonyhurst).—At football when the ball
before going out hits one of the opposite side to the one
who last kicked. _See_ FORCE.
*Shuffle*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To pretend; to feign: as “to
SHUFFLE asleep.” Hence SHUFFLER.
*Shy*, _subs._ (Eton).—A point at the WALL (_q.v._) game.
*Siberia*, _subs._ (Felsted).—A section of the house containing
many private rooms. [From its supposed temperature in
winter.]
1889. _Felstedian_, July, 65. There lieth here a district which hath
the name SIBERIA: and also its people are called not Siberians, but
SIBERIA.
*Sick-house*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The College sanatorium,
which stands in SICK-HOUSE MEADS. _See_ also BOX-HOUSE and
BOX-BUILDINGS.
*Silver-fork*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A wooden skewer used as a
chop-stick when forks were scarce.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Silver-pence*, _subs._ (Westminster).—Small money rewards—which
were the pride of Westminsters in Cowper’s day—are still
continued. The coins are furnished to the school by the
Queen’s almoner in their unmilled state, prior to their
issue as currency. Some are given by the head-master every
week, and are valued quite as much as more substantial
prizes. Silver money is also furnished by the college
steward to the guests at the Elections dinners, that they
may be prepared to reward the epigrams; but this is the
ordinary coin of the realm.
*Sim*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A Simeonite, or member of the
Evangelical section of the Church of England. The modern
equivalent is PI-MAN (_q.v._). [From the Rev. CHARLES SIMEON
(1759-1836), fifty-four years Vicar of Holy Trinity,
Cambridge.]
1826. TODD, _The Sizar’s Table_ [WHIBLEY, _Cap and Gown_, 109]. Some
carnally given to women and wine, Some apostles of Simeon, all pure
and divine.
1853. BRISTED, _Eng. Univ._, 39. While passing for a terribly hard
reading-man, and a SIM of the straightest kind with the empty bottles.
*Simon*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.: obsolete).—A cane. [Acts
ix. 43.]
*Sines*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Bread. A SINES = a small loaf.
*Single*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A room for exclusive use: thus
DOUBLE (_q.v._).
*Sink*, _subs._ (The Leys).—(1) A heavy feed; a “stodge.” Also
(2) one who indulges therein; a glutton.
*Sitter*, _subs._ (Oxford and Harrow).—A sitting-room.
*Six*, subs. (Oxford).—A W.C.
*Six-and-Six*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Football: six a side. _Cf._
TWENTY-TWO AND TWENTY-TWO. _See_ Appendix.
*Sixes*, _subs._ (The Leys).—Football teams for competition—six
a side. _See_ KID, and Appendix.
*Six of* ..., _phr._ (Harrow).—An order to the value of
sixpence. Thus SIX OF SAUSAGES WITH (archaic) =
sixpennyworth of sausages with potatoes.
*Sixpenny*, _subs._ (Eton).—A large field for football and
cricket. _See_ PLAYING-FIELDS.
1864. _Eton School-days_, vi. I tell you plainly, if you are not in
SIXPENNY after twelve, I will do my best to give you a hiding wherever
I meet you.
*Six-raps*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: recently obsolete).—A game
consisting chiefly in rapping balls across the playground to
be caught by others.
1887. _Stonyhurst Mag._, iii. 18, “Stonyhurst in the Fifties.” SIX
RAPS, it may be remarked, was in those days played with a miniature
Stonyhurst-cricket (_q.v._) ball.
*Size*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—An allowance of bread, &c., for a
particular price; but _see_ quots. Whence SIZINGS.
1592. NASHE, _Pierce Penilesse_ [_Works_, ii. 68]. The Maister Butler
of Pembrooke Hall, a farre better Scholler than thy selfe, (in my
iudgement) and one that sheweth more discretion and gouernment in
setting vp a SISE of Bread, than thou in all thy whole booke.
1605. SHAKSPEARE, _Lear_, ii. 4. To bandy hasty words, to scant my
SIZES.
1614. BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER, _Wit at Several Weapons_, ii. To be so
strict A niggard to your commons, that you’re fain TO SIZE your belly
out with shoulder fees, With kidnies, rumps, &c.
1620. MINSHEU, _Dict._, s.v. SIZE. A farthing which schollers in
Cambridge have at the buttery, noted with the letter S.
1632. SHIRLEY, _Witty Fair One_, iv. 2. College! I have had a head in
most of the butteries of Cambridge, and it has been sconced to
purpose. I know what belongs to SIZING, and have answered to my cue in
my days.
1656. *BLOUNT*, _Glossographia_, ... SIZE.—A farthing’s worth of bread
or drink which scholars at Cambridge had at the buttery.
1773. HAWKINS, _Origin of the Drama_, iii. 271. You are still at
Cambridge with your SIZE cue.
1795. _Gent. Mag._, p. 21. In general, a SIZE is a small plateful of
any eatable; and at dinner, TO SIZE is to order for yourself any
little luxury that may chance to tempt you, in addition to the general
fare, for which you are expected to pay the cook at the end of the
term.
1823. NARES, _Glossary_, s.v. SIZE. To feed with SIZES, or small
scraps.
1853. BRISTED, _Five Years_, 20. Go through a regular second course
instead of the SIZINGS.
1864. HOTTEN, _Slang Dict._, s.v.
_Verb_ (Cambridge).—To order extras over and above the
usual commons at the dinner in College hall. Soup, pastry,
&c., are SIZINGS, and are paid for at a certain specified
rate per SIZE, or portion, to the college cook. Whence, to
pay one’s share of the expense: as at a supper-party.
SIZING-PARTY = a number of students who contribute each
his own part towards a supper, &c.
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v. SIZE ... If a man asks you to sup he
treats you: if TO SIZE, you pay for what you eat, liquors only being
provided by the inviter.
1853. BRISTED, _Eng. Univ._, 19. Soup, pastry, and cheese can be SIZED
FOR.
*Sizer* (or SIZAR), _subs._ (Cambridge).—A poor scholar. They
were elected annually; paid rent for rooms and other fees on
a lower scale than ordinary students; and got their dinners
including sizings _(see_ SIZE, _subs._ and _verb_) from what
was left at the Upper or Fellows’ table, free, or nearly so.
They were equivalent to the BATTLERS (_q.v._) or SERVITORS
(_q.v._) of Oxford.
1574. [R. W. CHURCH, _Spenser_ (1888), ch. i. p. 9.] On the 20th of
May, he was admitted SIZAR, or serving clerk at Pembroke Hall.
1670. J. EACHARD, _Contempt of the Clergy_ [ARBER’S _Garner_, vol.
vii. p. 257]. They took therefore, heretofore, a very good method to
prevent SIZARS overheating their brains. Bed-making, chamber-sweeping,
and water-fetching were doubtless great preservatives against too much
vain philosophy.
1779. JOHNSON, _Life of Milton_, Par. 7. He was ... removed in the
beginning of his sixteenth year to Christ’s College in Cambridge,
where he entered a SIZAR, Feb. 12, 1624.
1820. LAMB, _Elia_ (_Oxford in the Long Vacation_). In moods of
humility I can be a SIZAR, or a Servitor. When the peacock vein rises,
I strut a Gentleman Commoner.
1840. LYTTON, _Money_, ii. 3. I was put to school—sent to college, a
SIZAR. Do you know what a SIZAR is? In pride he is a gentleman—in
knowledge he is a scholar—and he crawls about, amidst gentlemen and
scholars, with the livery of a pauper on his back!
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. SIZER.... A student at
Cambridge whose expenses for living are partially provided by the
College, originally a servitor, as serving one of the Fellows. Each
Fellow of a College had one servitor allotted to him.
1857. MONCRIEFF, _Bashful Man_, ii. 4. _Collegian._ Who’s that fat
gentleman that’s just got in? _Coachman._ That fat gentleman’s a SIZER
from Corpus.
*Skew*, _subs._ (Harrow).—An entrance examination held on the
last Thursday of term. _See_ DAB, and Appendix.
*Ski* (or SCI), subs. (Westminster).—A plebeian; an outsider:
specifically the outer rabble of invaders of the territory
of Dean’s yard, belonging of right to the _gens togata_ as
Romans. [Said to be an abbreviation of VOLSCI.]
*Skimmer*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A method of entering the water
when bathing: by just skimming beneath the surface, and
rising again immediately.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Skimmery*, _subs._ (Oxford).—St. Mary’s Hall.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, viii. I swopped the beggar to a
SKIMMERY man for regular slap-up sets of the ballet.
1860. G. and P. WHARTON, _Wits and Beaux of Society_, p. 427. After
leaving Westminster School he was sent to immortal SKIMMERY (St.
Mary’s Hall), Oxford.
*Skip*, _subs._ (Dublin).—A College servant: valet, messenger,
and waiter combined: the Oxford SCOUT (_q.v._), and at
Cambridge a GYP (_q.v._). Formerly (in general use) = a
footman.
1703. WARD, _London Spy_, Pt. VII. p. 151. As a Courtier’s Footman
when he meets his Brother SKIP in the middle of _Covent-garden_.
1754. MARTIN, _Eng. Dict._, s.v. SKIP.... A nickname for a footman.
1839. LEVER, _Harry Lorrequer_, ch. xiii. For the uninitiated I have
only to add that SKIP is the Trinity College [Dublin] appellation for
servant.
1842. _Tait’s Mag._, Oct., “Rem. College Life.” The SKIP, or according
to the Oxford etymology, the man-vulture, is not fit for his calling
who cannot time his business so as to be present simultaneously at
several places.
1849. THACKERAY, _Pendennis_, ch. xx. His wounded tutor, his many
duns, the SKIP and bedmaker who waited upon him.
*Skirmish.* TO SKIRMISH ON, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To run
home from HILLS (_q.v._) when it commenced to rain.
*Skug* (or *Scug*), _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ Appendix.
1889. DRAGE, _Cyril_, vii. Such a little SKUG, to use a word in use at
my tutor’s.
*Skull.* _See_ SCULL.
*Sky*, _verb_ (Harrow).—(1) To charge any one, or to knock down:
at football. Also (2) = to hit or throw anything away.
*Skyte*, _subs._ (Shrewsbury).—A day boy. [Σχυθαι]
*Slabs*, _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—A flat cake.
*Slack*, _verb_ (Durham).—To sell: specifically, to dispose of
property to a dealer in second-hand goods. [From the name of
a second-hand bookseller in Durham.]
*Slave-driver*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A fag-master: exclusively at
cricket.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, p. 95. The upper ground on these days is
given up to practice at the nets for the Eleven and the “Sixth Form”
game, and to practice in fielding and catching. Boys below the Removes
have to fag for them, and these fags are managed by SLAVE-DRIVERS
(three or four boys appointed for the purpose).
*Sleath’s.* _See_ PLANKS.
*Slime*, _verb_ (Durham).—To try and cut games. Also = to loaf;
to lounge: _e.g._ SLIMING down town. _See_ App.
*Slog*, _subs._ (general).—A large slice.
_Verb_ (Stonyhurst).—At hockey to hit at the ball when the
right hand is less than a foot below the left on the stick.
*Sloggers*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The second division of boats;
corresponding to the Oxford TORPIDS (_q.v._).
*Slosher*, _subs._ (Cheltenham).—An assistant in a
boarding-house charged with superintending dormitories,
evening work, &c.
*Slow*, _adv._ (Winchester).—Ignorant of Winchester NOTIONS
(_q.v._).
*Slum*, _verb_ (Derby).—To evade; to get out of anything, as
work. Also (University), to avoid observation by using
by-streets.
*Small*, _adj._ (Harrow).—1. Under sixteen years of age:
eligible to go in for SMALL events in the sports. _See_ BIG.
2. Applied to boarding-houses kept by some of the assistant
masters, and strictly limited to seven or eight boys: a
comparatively modern arrangement, having been instituted
_circa_ 1850.
*Small-pill*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A diminutive football; used on
“runs.”
*Smalls*, _subs._ (Oxford).—The first examination.
1853. *Bradley*, _Verdant Green_, II. xi. The little gentleman was
going in for his Degree, _alias_ Great-go, _alias_ Greats; and our
hero for his first examination _in literis humanioribus_, _alias_
Responsions, _alias_ Little-go, _alias_ SMALLS.
1863. READE, _Hard Cash._... Cramming for SMALLS.... Julia reminded
her that SMALLS was the new word for LITTLE-GO.
*Smoke.* _See_ COBBLER.
*Smoker* (or *Smoke-shell*), _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—A
chamber-mug.
*Smug*, _subs._ (general).—An ill-mannered, ill-dressed, or
unpopular student. Also as _verb_ = to keep indoors hard at
work; whence also (as _subs._) a hard worker.
*Smuggler*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A small lead-pencil pointed at
both ends.
*Snack*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A racket ball: formerly a
bat-fives ball. [SNACK-BALLS (Glouc.) = balls made of SNACK
(a dried fungus), which are very elastic and bounce well.]
*Snap-up*, _verb_ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 234.
SNAPPING UP for false quantities.—When up at Books, if any boy, when
translating, made a false quantity, any other boy (however low down in
the Part) who could first correct him was allowed to go up above him.
If, however, the SNAPPER-UP was himself wrong, he had to go to the
bottom of the Part.
*Snicks.* TO GO SNICKS, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To share.
*Snitch*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A term of contempt.
_Verb_ (Derby).—To hit in the eye.
*Sniw.* TO OFFER SNIW, _verb. phr._ (The Leys).—To cheek. [SNIW
= Snow.]
*Snob*, _subs._ 1. (University).—A townsman.
2. (Marlborough).—Small cricket: as two together, or at tip
and run.
*Snoke*, _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—(1) An underhand person:
_e.g._ “He is a great SNOKE”; (2) an untoward circumstance:
_e.g._ “It was a great SNOKE, we lost the match.”
_Verb._ To inform: of an offence. Not necessarily “to
sneak,” because it could be used of a master reporting to
the Head-master.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. SNOKE. To ferret out; to pry
into. _North._ SNOKE-HORNE, _Townley Myst._, p. 68, a sneaking fellow.
*Snook*, _verb_ (Shrewsbury).—(1) To do the whole of an
examination proper. Whence (2) to beat in argument or
repartee.
*Snooker*, _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—A newly-joined
cadet of the fourth class.
*Soap*, _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—Cheese.
*Socius*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A chum; a companion.
_Verb_ (Winchester).—To accompany. [The School precept is
_Sociati omnes incedunto_.]
*Sock*, _subs._ 1. (Eton).—Edibles of any kind. Hence TO SOCK =
to eat outside regular meals: _e.g._ “We SOCKED Lyndsay
minor three times last week,” _i.e._ we gave him something
to eat outside his regular meals three times last week.
Whence SOCK = to give.
1881. PASCOE, _Everyday Life in our Public Schools_.... The
consumption of SOCK, too, in school was considerable, and on occasion
very conspicuous.
1883. BRINSLEY-RICHARDS, _Seven Years at Eton_.... We Eton fellows,
great and small, SOCKED prodigiously. By the way, I do not know whence
that term SOCK, as applied to what boys at some schools call “grub,”
and others “tick,” is derived; for I question the theory which makes
it spring from “suck.” I am rather disposed to accept the story that
at the beginning of this century, one of the men, who sold fruits and
tarts at the wall, got nicknamed SOCKS, in consequence of his having
discarded knee-breeches and stockings in favour of pants and short
hose. The man’s nickname might then have spread to his business and to
his wares by a process familiar to etymologists, till SOCKING came to
mean the purchase of good things not from SOCKS only, but from any
other vendor.
1889. BUCKLAND, _Eton Fifty Years Ago_ [_Macmillan’s Mag._, Nov.]. “My
governor has SOCKED me a book.”... A boy has also been heard to ask
another to SOCK him a construe of his lesson.
2. (Winchester).—To hit hard: especially at cricket. Also to
beat; to defeat: as in a game.
*Socker*, _subs._ (general).—Association football. _Cf._ RUGGER.
Also SOCCER.
1896. _Tonbridgian_, 339, 1124. Hartley has been playing very well
this season, and has also become a great half-back at SOCKER.
1897. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 194. In _SOCCER_, with old Blues up, we
ought to be very strong.
*Sodality*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Higher Line SODALITY and Lower
Line SODALITY = two confraternities of which boys are
members; they meet at fixed times for devotions. A member is
called a SODALIST.
*Sodger* (or *Sojer*), _subs._ (Winchester).—The Latin cross (a
PERCHER, _q.v._) marked against a Præfect’s name when
absent.
1880. _Music of a Merry Heart_, 55. The books went up, and in due time
were returned to us after examination, with the most startling faults
indicated by a good big cross in the margin, which crosses, for some
reason, were known as SODGERS.
*Sodom*, _subs._ (Oxford).—Wadham College.
*Soft-ball*, _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—Tennis.
*Sog*, _subs._ (Charterhouse and Winchester).—Twenty shillings;
a sovereign.
*Solo*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A solitary walk—without a SOCIUS
(_q.v._).
*Soph*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A student of the second or third
year; the distinctions are: A first year man = FRESHMAN
(_q.v._); second year = Junior SOPH; third year = Senior
SOPH.
1870. GOODRICH [WEBSTER, _Unabridged_, s.v. SOPHOMOSE]. This word has
generally been considered an American barbarism, but it was probably
introduced into our country at a very early period from the University
of Cambridge, England. Among the cant terms at that University, as
given in the “_Gradus ad Cantabrigiam_,” we find SOPH-MOR as the next
distinctive appellation to Freshman. It is added that a writer in the
_Gentleman’s Magazine_ thinks Mor an abbreviation of the Greek μωρία,
introduced at a time when the “Encomium Moriæ,” the “Praise of Folly,”
by Erasmus, was so generally used. The ordinary derivation of the
word, from σοφός and μωρός would seem, therefore, to be incorrect. The
young SOPHS at Cambridge appear formerly to have received the adjunct
mor, μωρός, to their names, either as one they courted for the reason
mentioned above, or as one given them in sport for the supposed
exhibition of inflated feeling in entering upon their new honours. The
term thus implied seems to have passed at a very early period from
Cambridge in England to Cambridge in America, as the next distinctive
appellation to Freshmen, and thus to have been attached to the second
of the four classes in our American colleges, while it has now almost
ceased to be known, even as a cant word, at the parent institution in
England from whence it came.
*Sorry*, _intj._ (Winchester).—“I beg your pardon.” [Not now
confined to Winchester.—WRENCH.]
*Soup-ticket*, _subs._ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—A card issued to
a boy set down for Saturday afternoon detention: a DETÉN
(_q.v._).
*Spadge*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—An affected walk. Also as
_verb._ Formerly merely “to walk.” [_Cf._ Lat. _spatiari_;
Ger. _spatzieren_.]
*Spange*, _adj._ (Royal Military Academy).—New; elegant; smart:
_e.g._ “to look SPANGE,” “a SPANGE uniform.”
*Sparrow’s-hall*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The old
infirmary. [The head-bailiff was one Sparrow, and here the
servants received their wages from him.]
*Spec*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Something enjoyable or pleasant; a
good thing. ON SPEC = in consequence.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SPEC.... What a SPEC! My
pitch-up have turned up, and I’ve got leave-out ON SPEC.
*Speecher*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The speech-day: usually the first
Thursday in July, when prizes are given. Greek, German, or
French plays are acted, and there is also an afternoon
concert. THE SPEECHER = the Speech-room, built in 1871.
*Speedyman*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—The messenger who
brought the news of a vacancy at New College, Oxford. Whence
SPED TO NEW COLLEGE = elected to a scholarship.
*Speg*, _adj._ (Winchester: obsolete).—Smart.
*Spending-house*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A pastry-cook’s: the custom,
until Dr. Arnold abolished it, had been for the boys to take
their morning and evening buttery commons of bread and cold
milk to one of these establishments, and with “extras,” such
as tea, coffee, butter, &c., to obtain a more decent meal
than was otherwise possible.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, p. 150. Every boy had a SPENDING-HOUSE,
as it was called, at one of the confectioners’ in High Street, where
he left his books, bat, fishing-rod, &c.—to save a journey to his
boarding-house—and spent his spare cash. It was in the back-yards of
these houses that dogs and guns were kept.
*Spess*, _subs._ (Felsted).—A specimen: a term of contempt.
1889. _Felstedian_, July, 66. Others ... calling out ... frightful
SPESSES, which word is in our language “specimens”; but as this is too
long for their memories, they have shortened it.
*Spin*, _verb_ (Royal Military Academy).—To reject: as to an
examination; to pluck; to plough.
*Spink*, _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—Milk: specifically,
condensed milk.
*Spinning-house*, _subs._ (University).—The prison of the
Vice-Chancellor’s court.
*Spital Sermons* (Christ’s Hospital).—Once the chief feature of
the Easter festivities of this ancient foundation. _See_
Appendix.
1834. TROLLOPE, _History of Christ’s Hospital_ [condensed and
annotated by the editor of _The Blue_]. All Easter festivities
connected with the School seem to be concentrated in the SPITAL
SERMONS. The great antiquity of those discourses may be judged from
the fact, that at the Easter following the foundation and opening of
the School [1552], its members were present at St. Mary Spital. At
this their first appearance at the Spital the boys appeared in that
costume which, with the exception of the hats, still distinguishes
them. A custom had long prevailed, according to which some learned
person was appointed yearly by the Bishop of London to preach at
Paul’s Cross on Good Friday on the Passion; and on the Monday,
Tuesday, and Wednesday following, three others were appointed in like
manner to uphold the doctrine of the Resurrection, at the Pulpit Cross
in the Spital. On the Sunday following, a fifth preached at Paul’s
Cross, passed judgment on the merits of those who had preceded him,
and concluded the ceremony with an appropriate exhortation from
himself. What this passing of judgment meant, and what purpose it
served, is rather hard to decide. It would almost seem as if some
prize or reward were offered for the best sermon. The SPITAL SERMONS
are certainly the oldest institution of their kind in London, and
probably in England. But they have naturally been subject to great
changes. At first there were five, two at Paul’s Cross and three at
St. Mary Spital. Many alterations followed; for instance, the Great
Rebellion put an end for a time both to pulpit and sermons, until the
Restoration, when they were revived, that is, the three SPITAL SERMONS
proper (for the judge disappears) at St. Bride’s Church, which still
stands in Fleet Street. Nothing interrupted them again until 1797,
when the preachers once more were removed to Christ’s Church, where
the SERMONS, now only two in number, have been regularly delivered,
until within the memory of many still in the school [1890] the
Corporation reduced their number to a minimum; and now one SPITAL
SERMON instead of five is listened to, not at St. Mary Spital, or
Paul’s Cross, or St. Bride’s, but at Christ Church, Newgate Street.
Though the scene has not changed since 1797, the accompanying ceremony
has been sadly mutilated. In my [Mr. Trollope’s] time, instead of the
subjects which were wont to be discussed from the Pulpit Cross of St.
Mary Spital, discourses were delivered commemorative of the five
Sister Hospitals of Christ’s Hospital, St. Thomas’, St. Bartholomew’s,
Bridewell, and Bethlehem. This feature has almost entirely
disappeared; the reverend preachers now pass by, or casually mention,
the original reason for their presence in the handsome pulpit of
Christ Church. “On each day the boys of Christ’s Hospital, with the
legend ‘He is risen’ attached to their left shoulder, form part of the
Civic procession; walking on the first day in the order of their
schools, the King’s boys bearing their nautical instruments.” [These
King’s boys are, of course, the Mathemats, who seem in earlier days,
before the development of the Classical side, and the chances of a
University career, to have been the most prominent part of the
School.] They assembled on Monday in the Square of the Royal Exchange,
and on their return were joined by the Lord Mayor and Civic
procession, with the ladies. On Tuesday they proceeded direct to the
Mansion House; each boy received a new sixpence, each monitor a
shilling, and each Grecian half a guinea. [It appears that Alderman
Thomson, whose portrait hangs in the Hall, whose name is engraven on
the walls of the Hospital, and to whom we owe the Classical and
Mathematical Medals, doubled the donation in every case, and his
successors have not returned to the original amount.] The boys were
again followed by the Civic authorities, without the ladies, to Christ
Church, where a Junior Bishop preached on Monday, and a clergyman
selected by the Lord Mayor (usually his chaplain) on Tuesday. But the
most interesting feature of all was that on both occasions an anthem
composed by one of the Grecians, and set to music by the organist, was
sung by the children.
*Spite*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To hate: to dislike.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 235. When a
boy suffered some injury himself, in order to spite another person; or
having in some way injured another, received punishment, he was said
to be SPITING GABELL. Dr. Gabell was formerly Head-master, and the
extreme inexpediency of attempting to annoy him gave rise to the
proverb.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SPITE. The word in
Wykehamical usage generally connoted the frame of mind rather than the
acts in which it finds expression. But the phrase “to SPITE Gabell”
describes the act popularly known as “cutting off your nose to SPITE
your face.”
*Splice*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To throw; to fling: as a missile.
*Sport*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To spread: as a baulk (or report);
to wear: as clothes; to provide: as a feast; to indulge in:
as smoking, walking, &c.—a general verb of action. Whence
SPORTING ACTION = an affected manner, gesture, or gait, or
betrayal of emotion. [_Sport_ (var. dial.) = to show, to
exhibit.]
*Sportings*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Clothes worn at the EXEAT
(_q.v._).
1900. TOD, _Charterhouse_, p. 102. The splendour of Exeat garb defies
description. It is enough to say that the Carthusian’s apparel then is
as costly as his purse will buy, and that he calls it SPORTINGS.
*Spree*, _adj._ (Winchester).—(1) Conceited; stuck-up: of
persons. (2) Smart; stylish; befitting a Wykehamist: of
dress, &c. [_Spree_ (Devon) = spruce, gay.]
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 72. At the
end of the half year we used to have large entertainments called
“SPREE MESSES,” between Toy-time and Chapel, consisting of tea,
coffee, muffins, cakes, &c., the funds for which were generally
provided by fines inflicted during Toy-time for talking loud, slamming
the door, coming in without whistling (to show that it was not a
Master entering), improper language, &c. &c. Sometimes a SPREE MESS
was given by the boys about to leave at the end of that Half.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SPREE.... As applied to
juniors, uppish; inclined to assume airs, or usurp privileges not
belonging to juniors. As applied to acts, permissible only to prefects
or those of senior standing.
*Spreeman*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A Junior who has to fag hard.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SPREEMAN. A Commoner
Inferior, who, in consideration of his social status or long standing
in the School, was invested by Præfects with privileges similar to
those enjoyed by Candle-keepers in College.
*Squab* (or *Squob*), _verb_ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—To squeeze
by. [The foot is placed against a wall or desk, and the back
against the victim, who is similarly treated from the
opposite side by some one else, or pressed against a wall.]
Hence SQUAB-UP = “push,” generally. [_Squab_ (Devon) = to
squeeze, to knock, to beat.]
*Square.* TO SQUARE ROUND, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To make
room: as at a fire, &c.
*Squash*, _subs._ 1. (Stonyhurst).—A mellay (at football) of the
two sides round the goal-posts. A goal secured in this way
is called a “squash-goal.” Also Harrow.
1876. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_ [Harrow], p. 312. The gravel cut
the leather case of the ball occasionally, as well as the hands and
faces of those who scrambled over it in a SQUASH, as that close
_mêlée_ is called, which Rugby men know as a “scrummage,” and Etonians
as a “rouge.”
1885. _Stonyhurst Mag._, i. 144. The second law on the Code enacts
that “no one may push, pull, charge, or trip another player.” How then
is a SQUASH GOAL to be accounted for?
2. (Harrow).—A game of racquets not played with a HARDER
(_q.v._), but with an indiarubber ball, which is also called
a SQUASH.
*Squashed-flies.* _See_ FLIES.
*Squeaky*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—High-pitched: of the
voice. _Cf._ GRUFF.
1844. _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_ [_The Blue_, Aug. 1874]. The
voices, in our own peculiar phraseology, being divided into two
classes—those who sang SQUEAKY and those who sang GRUFF. The monitors
were constantly on the look-out for boys with SQUEAKY voices, and did
any youth make himself at all prominent in this respect, down upon him
would pounce the monitor, forthwith to _transpose_ him to the organ
gallery, there to submit his musical abilities to a trial by the
organist. The latter was an elderly gentleman, inclined at times to be
rather irritable.
*Squealer*, _subs._ (Wellington).—A small boy.
*Squirm* (or *Squirt*), _subs._ (general).—An obnoxious boy.
*Squish*, _subs._ 1. (general).—Marmalade.
2. (Winchester).—Weak tea.
*Squo*, _adj._ (Charterhouse).—SQUASH (_q.v._); as in
SQUO-court, SQUO-ball, SQUO-bat, &c.
*Stally*, _adj._ (Derby).—Strong [? stalwart].
*Stamp*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Every one is provided with a “school
stamp”; the name is cut on it, and this must be printed on
all books, &c. Above the Second Fifth boys keep their own
stamp.
*Stand.* TO STAND OUT FOR COLLEGE, _verb. phr._
(Westminster).—To enter for a King’s scholarship. Candidates
must be under fifteen years of age, and have been in the
school as a town boy for not less than a year preceding.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 182. Then if he thinks proper
he “STANDS OUT FOR COLLEGE”—or, in the old Latin phraseology, becomes
one of the _minores candidati_. He undergoes a very severe
examination, called the “Challenge” [_q.v._], the form of which must
have been preserved from Queen Elizabeth’s days, and is the last
surviving relic of the old scholastic disputations; those tournaments
of Latin and logic, in which Queen Bess was wont to reward a
successful champion with a purse of gold from her own virgin hand, and
her successor, James, distributed liberally the more economical
guerdon of royal applause and criticism.
*Standing-up Week*, _subs. phr._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 235.
STANDING-UP WEEK—During the last week of Long Half all the boys,
except Sixth Book and Senior Part, had to say a number of lines by
heart in eight lessons, which they were supposed to have learned in
the course of the previous year; this was called STANDING-UP. Marks
were given according to merit, and these marks had a very material
effect on the respective positions of the boys in their Parts.
*Station.* ON STATION, _adv. phr._ (Westminster).—The
attendance, by juniors, on the games in the “Green” in Great
Dean’s Yard, or, on a rainy day, in College.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 186. The juniors are expected
to remain ON STATION in college for the short intervals after
breakfast and after dinner, and at other times in the playgrounds (the
“Green” in Dean’s Yard or Vincent Square, according to the time of
year or the game that happens to be in season); except on decidedly
wet days, when STATION is always in college.
*Statue* (The), _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A statue of the Virgin
looked after by the boys. They have “Month of May”
devotions, and write “May verses” in her honour.
*Stay.* TO STAY OUT, _verb. phr._ 1. (Eton).—To stay out of
school. _See_ quot.
1883. BRINSLEY-RICHARDS, _Seven Years at Eton_. Sometimes Blazes had a
lazy fit, and put himself on the sick-list for a day. This was called
STAY OUT, for the reason that one had to stay in.
1866-72. “MAC,” _Sketchy Memories of Eton_. Many things at Eton were
called by misnomers, in the construction of which the _lucus a non
lucendo_ principle came out very strong. Thus, when we stayed in, we
said we were STAYING OUT; when “absence” was called, we had to be
_present_; a _third_ of a year was called a _half_, &c. &c.
2. (Rugby).—To go on the sick-list.
*Stedman promo*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—An unexpected (and
probably undeserved) promotion. [Because announced in the
lists printed by Mr. R. B. Stedman, the school bookseller at
Godalming.]
*-ster*, _inseparable suffix_ (Winchester).—The termination
agent: as Brockster, Mugster, Thokester, Quilster, &c.
*Stew*, _verb_ (Stonyhurst).—To study. Whence STEW-POT = a hard
student.
*St. George*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ FOURTH OF JUNE.
1891. _Harry Fludyer_, 120. Well, about the boat procession. It went
off splendid. You know I’m in the ST. GEORGE, and Forker Major—a great
heavy brute—is our captain, and Tipkins is steerer.
*Sticking-up*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 236.
STICKING-UP.—On the last three Fridays of each Half, a boy was
selected by appointment of Commoner Præfects and Course-keeper, and
placed on the top of TOYS (_q.v._) in their Hall, and was pelted with
PONTOS (_q.v._) by the rest. The following PEALS (_q.v._) were chanted
previously, one on each day: “Locks and Keys,” “Boots and Leathers,”
and “Gomer Hats.”
*Stick-ups*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Stand-up, or high collars: as
opposed to “turn-downs.” The rules as to collars are very
intricate, and differ in various Houses. At Charterhouse
STICK-UPS are not permissible until the end of the first
year.
*Stinks*, _subs._ (general).—Chemistry. Also as a nickname for a
lecturer thereon.
*Stizzle*, _verb_ (Tonbridge).—To cane.
*Stodge*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—The inside of a roll; the
crumb of new bread.
_Verb_ (Tonbridge).—To hurt.
*Stodger*, _subs._ (Charterhouse and Tonbridge).—A penny bun.
*Stone* (The), _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital: obsolete).—The
Steward’s table in Hall. TO GO TO THE STONE = to go up for
trial, judgment, and sentence for misconduct.
1844. _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_ [_The Blue_, Aug. 1874]. With
respect to misconduct out of school hours, the several monitors were
the police, and the Steward the sole judge. When first appointed, the
young monitors displayed excessive zeal in the discovery of
delinquencies, and would call out with as much severity as it was
possible to throw into the voice of a youth of fourteen, “Go to THE
STONE, you, sir!” “THE STONE” was the name given to the Steward’s
table in the Hall, where offenders were tried, judgment delivered, and
sentence carried out, immediately after meals. The mildest punishment
consisted of caning on the open hand (ironically termed “cakes”), and
next in severity was flogging with the birch (called “brushing”); and
Fate, with a grim sense of humour which we failed to appreciate at the
time, decreed that the head beadle in our time, who was appointed to
administer the said brushings and cakes, should bear the appropriate
name of Honey.
*Stonyhurst-cricket* (or *Football*). _See_ Appendix.
*Stop.* TO STOP OUT, _verb. phr._ (Harrow and Charterhouse).—To
absent oneself from school: at Harrow, through
indisposition.
*Stopping-up*, subs. (Stonyhurst).—An extra time of study
allowed to elder boys when the rest have gone to bed: _e.g._
“I am going to STOPPING-UP to-night.”
*Strangers’ Place*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The
guest-rooms. When a boy had friends staying in the College
he was said to be “in the STRANGERS’ PLACE.” _Cf._ PLACE.
*Straw*,_ subs._ 1. (Harrow).—A straw hat worn by the whole
school all the year round, except on Sundays and at games.
The ELEVEN STRAW = a speckled black-and-white straw hat worn
by the Cricket Eleven.
2. (Rugby).—For two years after his first term (during which
a silk hat or “topper” was _de rigueur_) a boy wears a
black-and-white speckled straw hat with a black ribbon. Each
House has its own distinctive ribbon. At the end of his
third year a boy could “take” his “white straw,” but he was
not expected to do this unless he were a SWELL (_q.v._).
Also _see_ CLEAN STRAW.
*Strawer*, _subs._ (general).—A straw hat.
*Stretch*, _subs._ (University).—A walk.
*Strive*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To write with care: _see_
SCRUB. _E.g._ “Copy this!” “Shall I STRIVE, Sir, or ‘scrub’
it down?”
*Stub*, _verb_ (Felsted).—To kick a football about.
1888. _Felstedian_, Dec., p. 98. Now these hollow globes [footballs]
flying through the air, collide with their sandals, and this colliding
they call STUBBING. _Ibid._ (Nov. 1896, 153). Boys are fined for
STUBBING on a forty higher than their own.
1895. _Felstedian_, June, p. 104. Among plausible etymologies it is
attempted to derive STUB from “the sound made by a stubbed football.”
... But the word STUB deserves to be rescued from its fate. I had
always imagined it to be an East Anglian word for “kick,” but it is,
to the best of my belief, obsolete in England.... A contributor to
_Notes and Queries_, writing on a totally different subject, quoted
the following words from a speech by an American judge: “As a
barefooted boy I STUBBED my chapped toes over a rough New England
farm.” [_Stub_ is commonly dialectical, in the sense of “to grub.”]
*Stuckling*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A kind of flat pastry made of
the current year’s apples and dried currants.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. STUCKLING. An apple pasty,
thin, somewhat half circular in shape, and not made in a dish.
1883. TROLLOPE, _What I Remember_.... STUCKLING was a kind of flat
pastry made of chopped apples and currants. And the speciality of it
was that the apples must be that year’s apples. They used to be sent
up from Devonshire or Cornwall, and sometimes were with difficulty
obtained.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. STUCKLING. A pudding at
Election dinner, made of meat, apple, and carraway.
*Study-place*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A study. _Cf._ PLACE.
*Stuggy*,_ adj._ (general).—Thick-set. [STUGGY (Devon) = thick,
stout.]
*Stumper*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—Small cricket played with a
stump.
*Stumps*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Cricket played with a stump and a
soft ball.
*Styx*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A urinal. _Cf._ HADES.
*Sub-minister*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The superior responsible
for the health of the house. _See_ MINISTER.
*Substance*, _subs._ (Westminster).—_See_ SHADOW.
*Suck*, _subs._ (University).—A parasite; a toady.
*Suction*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Sweetmeats.
*Sudden-death*, _subs._ (University).—A crumpet.
*Sum*, _intj._ (Winchester).—The response at names-calling;
ADSUM (_q.v._).
*Summer Quarter*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—_See_ LONG QUARTER.
*Superann*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Superannuate.
*Superannuate*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 237.
SUPERANNUATE.—A boy who was obliged to leave at Election, owing to his
being past eighteen years of age. FOUNDERS (_q.v._) were not
SUPERANNUATE till they were twenty-five.
*Surly Hall* (Eton).—A public-house on the right bank of the
Thames, some three and a half miles from Windsor. _See_
FOURTH OF JUNE.
*Sur-master*, _subs._ (Manchester Grammar: obsolete).—The second
master; the “Usher.” [There is now no second in command.]
*Sus*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—The remains of a
Præfect’s tea: a fag’s perquisite.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 237.
SUS.—The Juniors’ tea: generally drunk out of a pint cup when in bed.
*Swank*, _verb_ (general).—To work hard. [O.E. _Swinke_ = to
labour.] Hence SWANKER = a hard worker. _See_ SWINK.
... _MS. Cott. Vespas_, D. vii. f. 3. I SWANK in mi sighing stede, I
sal wasche bi al nyghtes mi bede. _Ibid._, 46. I SWANK criand, haase
made. Chekes mine for pine I hade.
*Swat.* _See_ SWOT.
*Sweat.* _See_ SWOT.
*Sweater*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A servant.
*Sweat-gallery*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Fagging Juniors.
*Swell*, _subs._ 1. (Eton and Harrow). _See_ quot.
18[?]. T. R. OLIPHANT, _Eton College_.... It is very hard to define
exactly what is meant by a SWELL at Eton; but it usually implies a boy
who, brought into notice either by athletic prowess or scholarship, or
high standing in the school, by this means becomes acquainted with the
leading members of the school, and is found on acquaintance to develop
considerable social qualities, which make him hand and glove with all
the Eton magnates.
2. (Rugby).—The word SWELL (says Mr. LEES KNOWLES) had an
indefinite, but well understood, meaning in the school. A
member of the school “twenty,” or “fifteen” as it is now, or
a member of the eleven, was, for instance, a SWELL.
_Verb_ (Winchester).—To bathe; to wash.
*Swells*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Sunday services; Saints’-days,
&c. [When surplices were worn.]
*Swift’s.* _See_ PLANKS.
*Swill*, _verb_ (Shrewsbury).—To take a shower-bath; also
(Winchester) to wash by throwing water over the body.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.”
Having taken out the washing-stool, I proceed to call the Senior
Præfect; when he gets up I have to SWILL him (_i.e._ pour a can of
water over his back in his bath), and then rub him down with a towel.
*Swinger*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A box on the ears. _Cf._
_Swinge_ = to lash, to beat. Also SWINGE as _verb_.
1579. _Mariage of Witt and Wisdome._ O, the passion of God! so I
shalbe SWINGED; So, my bones shalbe bang’d! The poredge pot is stolne:
what, Lob, I say, Come away, and be hangd!
1611. COTGRAVE, _Dict._, s.v. DOBER. To beat, SWINGE, lamme,
bethwacke.
1637. DU BARTAS [NARES]. Then often SWINDGING, with his sinnewy train,
Somtimes his sides, somtimes the dusty plain.
[..?..] _Havelok the Dane_ [SKEAT, E.E.T.S. (1868), 214]. An ofte dede
him sore SWINGE, And wit hondes smerte dinge; So that the blod ran of
his fleys, That tendre was, and swithe neys.
*Swink*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To sweat; to work hard. Also as
_subs._ _See_ SWANK.
1579. _Mariage of Witt and Wisdome._ But now I SWINKE and sweate in
vaine, My labour hath no end, And moping in my study still, My
youthfull yeares I spend.
1590. SPENSER, _Faërie Queene_.... Honour, estate, and all this
worlde’s good, For which men SWINCKE and sweat incessantly.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. SWINK.... The former [to
sweat] is the primary Wykehamical meaning: SWINK and _sweat_ have
therefore changed places.
*Swipes*, _subs._ 1. (Stonyhurst).—The boy-servant who serves
out beer at dinner.
2. (Harrow).—Supper.
TO BE SWIPED, _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—To be birched.
*Swish*, _verb_ (Eton and Charterhouse).—To flog. Hence SWISHING
= a beating.
_c._ 1889. _Illustrated London News._ Flogging, or, as it is called at
Eton, SWISHING, is to be abolished at that aristocratic seminary.
1891. _Harry Fludyer_, 47. He complained of us and Tipkins, and I got
SWISHED the other day.
*Swot* (*Swat* or *Sweat*), _subs._ (general).—Lessons; work:
specifically, mathematics at Royal Military Academy. Also a
hard-working student.
1883. PASCOE, _Everyday Life at Our Public Schools_.... So much for
work or SWOT, as the Harrovian, in common with other boys, somewhat
inelegantly terms the more important part of instruction he receives
at school.
_Verb_ (general).—To work hard: as at lessons.
IN A SWOT, _phr._ (Shrewsbury).—In a rage.
*Syntax*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The upper Fourth Form.
*Tachs*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—A fad; a mental eccentricity.
_See_ HOBBS.
_c._ 1327. _Chester Plays_, ii. 27. For south this harde I hym saye,
That he woulde rise the thirde daye; Nowe suerlye and he so maye, He
hath a wounderous TACHE.
_c._ 1400. _Occleve MS._ [Soc. Ant.], 134, f. 279. And to his fadris
maneris enclyne, And wikkid TACCHIS and vices eschewe.
[..?..] _MS. Cantab_, Ff. i. 6, f. 157. It is a TACCHE of a devouryng
hounde To resseyve superfluyté and do excesse.
_d._ 1565. CHALONER, _Moriæ Euc._, p. 3, _b_. It is a common TATCHE,
naturally gevin to all men, as well as priests, to watche well for
theyr owne lucre.
1612. WARNER, _Albion’s England_, Bk. xiii. p. 318. First Jupiter that
did usurp his father’s throne, Of whom even his adorers write evil
TACHES many an one.
1822. NARES, _Glossary_, s.v. TACHE or TATCH. A blot, spot, stain, or
vice; _tache_, French.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. TACHE.... A quality, or
disposition; a trick; enterprise; boldness of design. (_A.-N._)
_Verb_ (Tonbridge).—To stare at: mostly confined to one
House.
*Tack*, _subs._ (Sherborne).—A feast in one’s study.
*Tag*, _subs._ (Winchester).—An off-side kick: at football. Also
as _verb_.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 237. TAG....
When a player has kicked the ball well forward, and has followed it,
if it was then kicked back again behind him by the other side, he was
then obliged to return to his original position with his own side. If
the ball had, in the meantime, been again kicked in front of him,
before he regained his position, and he was to kick it, it would be
considered unfair, and he would be said TO TAG.
*Tails*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The swallow-tailed coats worn by all
in the Upper School, and (as “charity-tails”) by all in the
Lower School who are considered by the Head of the School to
be tall enough to require them.
*Tank*, _verb_ (King Edward’s, Birm.).—To cane: a rarer word
than COSH (_q.v._). [_Tank_ (Warwicks.) = a blow.]
*Tap* (Eton).—_See_ Appendix.
*Taps.* _See_ TOLLY (sense 2).
*Tardy*, _adv._ (Winchester).—Late: as “I was TARDY TASK”
(_q.v._).
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” That
done I return to chambers, fling on my gown, which I am obliged to
keep off till the last moment as a sign of servitude to shew that I am
only a junior, and then scramble in to chapel somehow, very likely
late, with an impot in store from my form master, and a licking from
the præfect in my chamber for being TARDY, though as likely as not he
was himself the cause of it.
*Task*, _subs._ (Winchester).—All kinds of composition other
than an Essay or Vulgus.
*Tatol*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A tutor in Commoners. These came
into course in alternate weeks, their duties being to
preside at meals, Toys (_q.v._) and names-calling, and to go
round galleries at 9.15.
*Tavern* (The), _subs._ (Oxford).—New Inn Hall. [From its title,
“New Inn,” and also because the buttery is open all day, and
the members of the Hall can call for what they please at any
hour, the same as in a tavern.]
*Tawse*, _subs._ (Scots: general).—A leather strap used in
Scotland instead of the cane. [_Tawse_ (North) = a piece of
tanned leather.]
*Team*, _subs._ (University).—The pupils of a private tutor or
coach.
*Teddy-hall*, _subs._ (Oxford).—St. Edmund’s Hall.
*Teejay* (or *Tege*), _subs._ (Winchester).—A new-comer under
the charge of an older scholar, who also instructs him in
NOTIONS (_q.v._). Also as _verb_. [That is, _Protégé_.]
*Teek*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Mathematics. _See_ TIQUE.
*Temple*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A niche in Mead’s Wall.
1881. PASCOE, _Everyday Life in our Public Schools_.... On the last
night of term there is a bonfire in Ball Court, and all the TEMPLES or
miniature architectural excavations in Mead’s Wall are lighted up with
candle-ends.
*Ten-o’clock Recreation*, _subs. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—Still keeps
its name, though now for some years it comes nearly an hour
later.
*Tepe*, _verb_ (Durham: obsolete).—To smoke: a lane near School
was called Tepe Lane.
*Terrace, The* (Harrow).—The terrace below the chapel, towards
the Footer-fields.
*Tertian*, _subs._ (Aberdeen).—A student in the third class.
*Tetra*, _subs._ (Felsted: obsolete).—A “record”: TO GO BEYOND
THE TETRA = to beat the record. [A stuttering pronunciation
of, some say, “tremendous,” others, “extraordinary.”] _See_
Appendix.
*Thick*, _subs._ (Winchester and Rugby).—A stupid fellow. Also
as _adj._
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, I. vii. What a THICK I was to
come! Here we are, dead beat, and yet I know we’re close to the run
in, if we knew the country.
*Thicker*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Thucydides: translated in the Upper
School.
*Third Elevens* (or *Thirders*), _subs._ (Harrow).—A house
SECOND ELEVEN (_q.v._) playing another house Second Eleven
at football.
*Third-guarder*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ GUARDER.
*Thoke*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Rest; lying in bed. Hence
as _verb_ = to lie in bed late. [Prov. Eng. _thoky_ =
sluggish.] Whence TO THOKE UPON = to anticipate with
pleasure; THOKESTER = an idler.
1847. HALLIWELL, _Archaic Words_, s.v. THOKISH. Slothful; sluggish.
_East._ In Lincolnshire it is usually THOKY.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. THOKE. I’m THOKING ON next
week: what a THOKE it will be, with a Leave-out-day, a Hatch-THOKE,
and a half remedy.
1899. _Public School Mag._, Dec., p. 465. He attributed his
success—or, at any rate, his long survival—to the art of “THOKING”—in
the vulgar tongue, “slacking”—which he had laboriously acquired during
his first years of office.
*Thoker*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A thick slice of bread soaked in
water and then baked.
*Thos’s-hole*, _subs._ (Rugby). _See_ quot.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, vii. And so Tom and the
Tadpole, in night-shirts and trousers, started off downstairs, and
through “THOS’S-HOLE,” as the little buttery, where candles and beer
and bread and cheese were served out at night, was called, across the
School-house court.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, 367. “THOS” [Thomas Woobridge]
the well-remembered old school-house servitor, being mounted on the
leading horse.
*Three.* COME BACK AT THREE, _phr._ (Royal High School,
Edin.).—The formula to signify detention after school hours.
*Threepenny*, _subs._ (general).—A tuck-shop cake of that value.
*Throw*, _verb_ (University).—To master; to succeed: as in a
paper, lesson, examination, examiner, &c.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 98. These blessed exams. are
getting awfully close now, but I think I shall floor mine, and Dick’s
sure to THROW his examiners down.
*Tight*, _adj._ (Winchester).—Fast; hard.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. TIGHT.... A TIGHT bowler,
&c. As superlative adverb now only used in TIGHT junior. TIGHT-snob,
TIGHT-rot, and other such uses are obsolete.
*Tin-gloves*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 54. But
there were other ordeals that were not quite so harmless. Green was
liable to be asked whether he possessed a pair of TIN-GLOVES. As this
article does not generally form part of a boy’s outfit, Bully would
proceed to furnish him with a pair in the following manner:—Taking a
half consumed stick from the fire, he would draw the “red-hot end”
down the back of Green’s hand between each of the knuckles to the
wrist, and having produced three satisfactory lines of blisters would
then make two or three transverse lines across. A scientifically
fitted pair of gloves of this description was generally, if not
pleasant wear, of great durability.
*Tin-tab*, _subs._ (Dulwich).—The carpenter’s shop.
*Tip*, _subs._ (Felsted).—1. A false report.
1890. _Felstedian_, Feb., p. 3. Some one ventured to suggest that it
was all a beastly TIP.... Many would just like to get hold of the
fellow that started the TIP.
1893. _Felstedian_, Dec., p. 143. Nor is it credible that he stands in
need of those useful and entertaining scraps of general information to
which we apply the term “TIPS” in our ordinary conversation.
1895. _Felstedian_, April, p. 45. TIP.—“Tip” and “tip-spreading,”
expressing with that brevity which is the soul of wit, our horror of
scandal and scandal-mongering, again defy analysis.
2. (Felsted).—A foolish mistake in translating, &c.
*Tipping*, _adj._ (general).—First-rate; jolly.
*Tique*, _subs._ (Harrow).—(1) Arithmetic; and (2) mathematics.
[From a French master’s peculiar English pronunciation.]
*Tish*, _subs._ (Royal Military College).—A partition; a
cubicle.
*Tit.* _See_ ’VARSITY-TIT.
*Titch*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A flogging. Also as _verb_
[Onomatopœia]. _See_ Appendix.
*Tizzy-poole*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A fives ball
[costing 6d., and sold by a head porter named Poole.]
*Toad*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—In College a piece of
hot toast put into beer.
*Toe-fit-tie*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—_See_ quot.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 84, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” I
remember now; it was that brute A—— who “to FITTI”-ed me last
night.... For the benefit of the uninitiated let me explain the _modus
operandi_ and its etymology: it is nothing more or less than the
commencement of a line in the old familiar “_As in præsenti perfectum,
format in avi_,” which we used to learn, “_to fit-ti_,” in reference
to verbs of the third conjugation, transferred from the similarity of
sound to the school-boy’s toe; it consisted in tying a running noose
on a piece of string, cunningly turning up the bed-clothes at the
foot, putting it round the big toe of an unconscious sleeper, running
the noose up tight, and pulling till the victim followed the direction
of string from the pain, getting farther and farther out of bed and
nearer and nearer the floor, till mercifully released.
*Togger*, _subs._ (Oxford).—A TORPID (_q.v._) boat-race.
1894. _Felstedian_, Dec., p. 181. Wiltshire will probably row in one
of the University TOGGERS next term.
1896. _Tonbridgian_, No. 339, 1124. Rowland rowed in the TOGGER, fifth
on the river.
*Toke*, _verb_ (The Leys).—To be lazy; to “loaf.”
*Told.* TO BE TOLD, _verb. phr._ (Tonbridge).—To obtain one’s
colours in a school team.
*Tolly*, _subs._ 1. (general).—A candle. [From _tallow_.] _Cf._
BROLLY, YOLLY, &c.
2. (Stonyhurst).—The flat instrument for administering
punishment on the hand: the maximum is “twice nine.”
Sometimes called TAPS (_q.v._): _e.g._ “I’ve to get TAPS
to-night.”
TO TOLLY UP, _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—To surreptitiously light
candles after gas is out.
*Tom*, _subs._ (Oxford).—The great bell of Christ Church. [It
tolls 101 times each evening at ten minutes past nine
o’clock (there being 101 students on the foundation), and
marks the time for the closing of the College gates. “TOM”
is one of the lions of Oxford. It formerly belonged to
Oseney Abbey, and weighs about 17,000 pounds, being more
than double the weight of the great bell of St. Paul’s.]
*Tommy*, _subs._ (Dublin).—A sham shirt-front. [From the Greek
τομή, a section.]
*Tonkabout*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—The hitting up of catches
at cricket: said to be a BODEITE (_q.v._) term.
*Toot* (or *Tout*), _verb_ (Royal High School, Edin.).—To treat
to lunch. [Recently introduced by a boy from New Zealand.
Originally shout, then tout, whence TOOT. “Shout” = to stand
treat.]
*To-pan*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ quot., and BOILER.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 240.
TOE-PAN.—A large basin of red earthenware placed in each chamber for
washing the feet in.
*Top-side*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A wing at football: the opposite
one to BOTTOM-SIDE (_q.v._).
*Torch-race*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—Formerly, part of
the breaking-up ceremony of the winter half-year. On the
last morning the boys, after early chapel, rushed out of
gates, each bearing a burning birch-broom, up College Street
and along the wall of the Close up to the old White Hart
Inn, where breakfast was prepared before the chaises started
for their various destinations. This curious TORCH-RACE
subsequently gave way to a race of the seniors in sedan
chairs.
*Torpid*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A boy who has not been two years in
the school. There is a cup for the COCK-HOUSE (_q.v._) at
torpids in football.
*Torpids*, _subs._ (Oxford).—(1) The eight-oared spring races;
(2) the boats; and (3) the crews. Also TOGGER.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, II. xii. The Misses Green had the
satisfaction to see their brother pulling in one of the fifteen
TORPIDS that followed immediately in the wake of the other boats.
1889. _Felstedian_, Feb., p. 11. After the TORPIDS will come the
Clinker Forms—an institution hitherto unknown in Oxford.
1900. _Westminster Gazette_, 21st Feb., 8. 3. Oxford University
TORPIDS. These races were concluded to-day.
*Tosh*, _subs._ (general).—A foot-tub; a bath. Also, as _verb_ =
to throw water over a person: _e.g._ “He TOSHED his house
beak by mistake, and got three hundred.” Hence TOSH-POND
(Royal Military Academy) = the bathing-pond. [That is,
“toe-wash.”]
*Tosher*, _subs._ (Oxford).—An unattached student.
*Tosh-soap*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—Cheese.
*T’other-school*, _subs._ (Winchester).—(1) One’s former school;
and (2) any school not a Public School. Also as _adj._ =
NON-LICET (_q.v._), or unbecoming: because more or less
alien to Winchester.
*T’other-un*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A private school.
*Touch.* TO TOUCH IN, _verb. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—To reach one’s
block: of a batsman when running. _See_ STONYHURST-CRICKET.
[According to the Rules, “The TOUCHING-IN line is within a
bat’s length of the CRICKET-STONE” (_q.v._).]
*Touchy*, _adv._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Rather: _e.g._ TOUCHY a
lux = rather a good thing.
*Tow*, _subs._ (Shrewsbury).—A run in: at hare and hounds.
1881. PASCOE, _Everyday Life at our Public Schools_.... After that
last “all up,” there is a TOW or continuous run of from one to three
miles.
*Town and Gown*, _sub. phr._ (University).—The townsmen _v._ the
members of the University. [In her young days the position
of the University was one of perpetual conflict—with the
town, the Jews, the Friars, and the Papal Court.]
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, II. iii. TOWN AND GOWN disturbances
are of considerable antiquity. Fuller and Matthew Paris give accounts
of some which occurred as early as the year 1238. These disputes not
unfrequently terminated fatally to some of the combatants. One of the
most serious TOWN AND GOWN rows on record took place on the day of St.
Scholastica the Virgin, February 10, 1345, when several lives were
lost on either side. The University was at that time in the Lincoln
diocese; and Grostête, the bishop, placed the townspeople under an
interdict, from which they were not released till 1357, and then only
on condition that the mayor and sixty of the chief burgesses should on
every anniversary of the day of St. Scholastica, attend St. Mary’s
Church and offer up mass for the soul of the slain scholars, and
should also individually present an offering of one penny at the high
altar. They, moreover, paid a yearly fine of 100 marks to the
University, with the penalty of an additional fine of the same sum for
every omission in attending at St. Mary’s. This continued up to the
time of the Reformation, when it gradually fell into abeyance. In the
fifteenth year of Elizabeth, however, the University asserted their
claim to all arrears. The matter being brought to trial, it was
decided that the town should continue the annual fine and penance,
though the arrears were forgiven. The fine was yearly paid on the 10th
of February up to our own time; the mayor and chief burgesses attended
at St. Mary’s and made the offering at the conclusion of the litany,
which, on that occasion, was read from the altar. This was at length
put an end to by Convocation in the year 1825.
1899. HEYWOOD, _Guide to Oxford_. The TOWN AND GOWN rows, as occasions
for displays of physical force, lasted until quite recent times, as
readers of _Verdant Green_ and _Tom Brown at Oxford_ will know.
Nowadays, however, they are happily unknown.
*Townee* (or *Towner*), _subs._ (general).—_See_ CAD.
*Towney* (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ HOUSEY.
1887. _The Blue_, Nov. Thus, a little farther on, mention is made of
the time when a boy leaves the School. The consequent change of dress
might be vulgarly expressed by “exchanging HOUSEYS FOR TOWNEYS,” but
our author is before all things refined. “The boy is at liberty to
exchange the garb of the house for one more congenial to modern
taste.”
*Town-lout*, _subs._ (Rugby).—A scholar residing in the town
with his parents.
*Toys*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A bureau—desk and book-case
combined. Whence TOY-TIME (or TOYS) = evening preparation
(in College) and (in Commoners) all time so spent.
1440. _Prompt. Parv._ _Teye_, of a cofyr or forcer.
1881. PASCOE, _Everyday Life in our Public Schools_. The clock
striking seven each junior retires to his TOYS or bureau for an hour
and a half, during what is known as TOYTIME, when the work of the next
morning and the week’s composition have to be prepared.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. TOYS.... The expression
TOY-TIME suggests that the “s” has been added. If TOYS has not
descended from this word [teye], it must have been transferred from
the contents of the toys, and mean simply _one’s belongings_.
*Trades*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ quot. and
PUBLIC-SUPPING.
1900. _Daily Telegraph_, 16th March, “London Day by Day.” After the
boys had concluded their simple repast of tea and bread-and-butter,
they formed up two-and-two, and bowed to the Lord Mayor, the different
wards being headed by the TRADES, as the boys who carry the
candlesticks, the bread-basket, table-cloth, and cutlery are termed.
*Travelling-scholarship* (or *Fellowship*), _subs._
(University).—RUSTICATION (_q.v._).
*Treacle-bolly*, _subs._ (Marlborough). A walk by the Kennett
close to the College. [So called from the cottage of a
miller so nick-named.]
*Tree of Knowledge, The* (Charterhouse).—The tree under which
books, &c., are piled in the interval between second school
and dinner (say 12.30 to 1.15), while run-about in winter
and cricket-nets or position drill in summer is engaged in.
*Treer*, _subs._ (Durham: obsolete).—A boy who avoids organised
games, but plays a private game with one or two friends.
[Presumably because played by the trees at the side of the
ground.]
*Trek*, _verb_ (Durham).—To run.
*Trencher*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester).—A square wooden platter: in
use in College.
2. (general).—A college cap; a MORTAR-BOARD (_q.v._).
*Trial*, _subs._ (Harrow).—An examination. Whence TRIALS = the
examinations at the end of the summer and winter terms.
*Tribune*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A large pew in
ante-chapel: reserved for ladies.
*Tripos*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—A word dating from the sixteenth
century, and used successively in a number of different
senses. At first it was applied to the stool on which the
champion of the University sat at the disputations held at
the admission of Bachelors of Arts to their degree; then it
was transferred to the Bachelor himself; still later to the
humorous, or, in some cases, scurrilous, speech with which
“Mr. Tripos” opened the proceedings, and to the verses of
the Bachelors at the Acts. The honours-lists were printed
(about 1847-8) on the backs of these verses, and so
tripos came to mean an honour-list, and, last of all, the
examination itself. Until the year 1824 there was only one
tripos, the Mathematical; and up to 1850 only those who had
obtained honours in mathematics were admitted to the
Classical examination. The degree was not given for that
examination till a few years later.
1877. WORDSWORTH, _Scholæ Academicæ_, 20. Such interest as is now
attached to them belongs rather to the verses than to the list of the
several TRIPOSES (for the name has now at last come to signify degree
examinations) which have been circulated already severally.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 9. I’m seriously thinking of
chucking my TRIPOS and taking up the History Special.
*Trotter*, _subs._ (University).—A tailor’s assistant who goes
on round for orders.
*Truck-house*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The Recreation
rooms.
1882. _Stonyhurst Mag._, i. 12, “Rummagings amongst our Records.”
Grammar and Great Figures on their Declamation day ... were exempted
from studies and allowed something of a collation in the TRUCK-HOUSE.
*Tub*, _subs._ 1. (University).—A boat broad in the beam, used
by novices. Hence TUBBING = boating; to GET TUBBED = to be
taught to row.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_.... So to the river he next day went,
and made his first essay in a TUB.
1889. _Morning Advertiser._ If “up” at the University, we will
probably pass our time between “grinding hard” and TUBBING on the
river.
1898. _Stonyhurst Mag._, Dec., p. 149, “Life at Oxford.” Rowing is
naturally a great attraction to many freshmen, and every College is
always on the look-out for new oarsmen. What one does is to get
“TUBBED,” that is, one is taught to row by members of the College
eight in boats that are too TUB-like to be easily capsized.
2. (Winchester).—A chest in Hall into which DISPARS (_q.v._)
not taken by the boys were put.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 79. In front
of the screen stood “TUB,” from which the Præfect of that Ilk took his
title; it was a strong painted oak chest, with a lid, about two feet
high.... As will be seen, it was simply impossible for the Juniors to
be up to time, the consequence of which was that more than half the
dinners were not taken; these were thrown into “TUB” at the end of
Hall, whence they were ultimately taken away by some poor women, and I
always understood (though I am not certain that such was the case)
that the “Præfect of TUB” got a certain sum for each “Dispar” not
taken, and so had a direct interest in managing that as many as
possible should go without their dinner. I will now explain the
absence of the Juniors; immediately the Præfects were seated, the
whole Hall resounded with shouts of “Junior—Junior—Junior,” rising in
savageness of tone, as the supply became exhausted; in five minutes
all the Juniors were darting wildly about in all directions, executing
orders received from their lords and masters; some to Colson’s hatch
for salt, or down in the cellar for beer, back to school for something
forgotten, into chambers for a pint cup, down to the kitchen for
gravy, &c. &c.
1867. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_, p. 23. Until the last few years
the “præfect of TUB” (whose duty it was to examine the quality of the
meat sent in by the college butcher, and after dinner to see to the
proper collection and distribution of the remains) retained his title.
*Tub-mess*, _subs._ (Winchester).—The table at which the Senior
Præfects sat in Hall.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Tuck*, _subs._ (general).—Edibles of all kinds, but
particularly pastry. Hence TUCK-SHOP = a pastry-cook’s.
*Tuck-parcel*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A hamper from home: the
word is now becoming obsolete.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, I. vi. Come along down to
Sally Harrowell’s; that’s our school-house TUCK-SHOP. She bakes such
shining murphies. _Ibid._ The slogger looks rather sodden, as if he
didn’t take much exercise and ate too much TUCK.
*Tug*, _subs._ (Eton).—A Colleger; a scholar on the foundation.
Whence TUGGERY = College.
1881. PASCOE, _Everyday Life in our Public Schools_.... The long
looked-for St. Andrew’s Day arrives, when the great match of
collegers, or, as the small oppidan would term it, TUGS, and oppidans
is to be played.
1883. BRINSLEY-RICHARDS, _Seven Years at Eton_.... My interlocutor was
a red-headed freckled little boy of eleven, who had come from Aberdeen
“to try for TUGGERY,” that is, to try and pass in to the foundation as
a King’s Scholar.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 52. The Collegers did not always fare as
bravely as they do now, either at board or bed. Terrible tales of
their manner of life may be read.... Perhaps the recollections of that
time caused the disrespect, almost bordering on contempt, with which
the Oppidans used for many years to regard the _Togati_, or
gown-wearing boys. [_Note._—I suppose there is not much doubt that the
nickname of TUG by which the Collegers used to go among the rest of
the school, was derived from the _toga_ they wore.]
_Adj._ (Winchester) = stale; ordinary; vapid; common. Whence
TUGS = stale news; TUG-CLOTHES = everyday clothes; TUG-JAW =
wearisome talk.
*Tui*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Tuition.
*Tumbies*, _subs._ (University).—Ablutions.
*Tund*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To thrash. Whence TUNDING = a
thrashing. [Lat. _tundere_.]
1881. PASCOE, _Everyday Life in Our Public Schools_.... I never heard
of any case in Eton like the TUNDING which, some years ago, brought
our mother-school into disagreeable notice.
1883. TROLLOPE, _What I Remember_.... It was the prefect of hall who
ordered the infliction of a public TUNDING.... The following simple
and truthful statement of what a public TUNDING was may enable those
who take an interest in the matter to form some reasonable opinion
whether the infliction of such punishment were a good or a bad
thing.... Some dozen or so of boys, who had the best capacities for
the performance, were appointed by him for the purpose, and the whole
assembly stood around the daïs, while the hymn _Te de profundis_ was
sung. When all were thus assembled, and before the singers commenced,
the culprit who had been sentenced to a TUNDING stepped out, pulled
off his gown, and received from the hands of one deputed by the
“prefect of hall,” and armed with a tough, pliant, ground-ash stick, a
severe beating.
_c._ 1890. _Punch_ [Confession by a Wykehamist]. I like to be TUNDED
twice a day, And swished three times a week.
*Turf*, _subs._ 1. (Winchester).—The pitch: at cricket. The
field is “long grass.”
2. (Felsted).—The cricket-field.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 75. There are (or were) six cricket
pitches on TURF.
_Verb._ 1. (Derby).—To send to bed at bed-time: used of
Præpostors.
2. (Marlborough).—To chastise.
*Turl* (The), _subs._ (Oxford).—Turl Street. [Formerly a narrow
opening through the city wall into the High Street.]
*Turn.* TO TURN UP, _verb. phr._ (Marlborough).—To chastise:
with cane, stick, or fives-bat.
TO BE TURNED, _verb. phr._ (Harrow and Dulwich).—To be
ploughed in a _vive voce_ translation lesson.
*Twank*, _verb_ (Durham).—To cane. _See_ LAM and YARK. [_Twank_
(East) = to give a smart slap with the flat of the hand.]
*Tweaker*, _subs._ (Felsted: obsolete).—A catapult.
*Twelve.* AFTER TWELVE, _subs. phr._ (Eton).—From noon till two
P.M.
1861. WHYTE-MELVILLE, _Good for Nothing_, p. 39. I used to visit him
regularly in the dear old college from the AFTER TWELVE.
1864. _Eton School-days_, vi. I tell you plainly, if you are not in
Sixpenny AFTER TWELVE, I will do my best to give you a hiding wherever
I meet you.
1883. BRINSLEY-RICHARDS, _Seven Years at Eton_. Croppie, who
abominated all laws and delighted in transgressions, resolved to go to
the fair, and without difficulty he persuaded the Pug and me to join
him. One day AFTER TWELVE the three of us passed over Windsor Bridge
in the same condition as the “bold adventurers” alluded to in Gray’s
Ode.
THE TWELVE, _subs._ (Harrow).—_See_ quot., and Appendix.
1899. _Public School Mag._, Dec., p. 446. The working system of the
school has lately been slightly altered. Above the two sixth forms
there has been placed a Head-master’s “TWELVE,” with the object of
training the first TWELVE on the classical side for ’Varsity life.
They are only in school about three hours a day, but have to get
through a tough amount of work at their leisure.
*Twelve Apostles*, _subs._ 1. (Cambridge).—The last twelve in
the Mathematical Tripos.
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v. PLUCK.... These unfortunate fellows
are designated by many opprobrious appellations, such as the TWELVE
APOSTLES, the Legion of Honour, Wise Men of the East, &c.
2. (Stonyhurst).—The twelve first Stonyhurst boys.
1887. _Stonyhurst Mag._, iii. 90. Stonyhurst boys of all past times
since the coming of the original “TWELVE APOSTLES” ... will have
noticed once a year, about Eastertide, a curious notice ... giving
warning of an approaching meeting of the Court Leet.
*Twenty* (The), _subs._ (Rugby).—The Sixth Form.
*Twenty-two and Twenty-two*, _subs. phr._ (Winchester:
obsolete).—Football: twenty-two a side.
*Twig* (The), _subs._ (Marlborough: obsolete).—The Head-master.
[In whose authority rested the use of the birch.]
*Twilight*, _subs._ (general).—Toilet.
*Twist* (or *Twoster*), _subs._ (Winchester).—A stick spirally
marked by a creeper having grown round it.
*Ulula*, _subs._ (Manchester Grammar).—The school magazine. [The
Owl is the school crest, as it was that of the founder, Hugh
Oldham, Bishop of Exeter.]
*Under Fire* (Westminster).—_See_ UPPER FIRE.
*Under-green* (Charterhouse).—Formerly the present big or match
football ground: now the Under’s cricket-ground.
*Under School* (Harrow).—_See_ UPPER SCHOOL.
*Under Selectæ* (Harrow).—_See_ UPPER SCHOOL.
*Union*, _subs._ (University).—An undergrad’s debating society.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 15. I think I shall speak at the
UNION soon.... I tried on Tuesday last, but I couldn’t catch the
President’s eye.
*Univ*, _subs._ (Oxford).—University College.
*Up*, _adv._ (Harrow).—In school. TO BE UP TO ANY ONE AT SECOND
SCHOOL = to go to any one for work at 10 or 11 o’clock.
*Upper Club* (Eton).—_See_ PLAYING-FIELDS.
*Upper (Middle, or Under) Fire*, _subs._ (Westminster).—The
three fire-places, under former arrangements, in the present
dormitory.
*Upper School*, _subs._ (Harrow).—In 1770 (the first year of the
printed BILLS (_q.v._) of the school) the school comprised
the monitors—their numbers varied from four to ten—the Fifth
Form, the Shell, and the Fourth and Third Forms: these
ranked as the UPPER SCHOOL. The UNDER SCHOOL was divided in
a very peculiar fashion; there was first the “Scan and
Prove” class, then the “Ovid,” the “Phædrus,” the “Upper
Selectæ,” “Under Selectæ,” “Nomenclature,” “Grammar,” and
“Accidence.”... At present there are, besides the monitors
(fifteen in number), an Upper and Lower Sixth, three
separate divisions of the Fifth, two “Removes,” three
“Shells,” and three Fourths. On the Modern Side are one
Sixth, three Fifths, one “Remove,” three Shells, and three
Fourths.
*Upper Selectæ* (Harrow).—_See_ UPPER SCHOOL.
*Upper Sixpenny* (Eton).—_See_ PLAYING-FIELDS.
*Uskites* (Charterhouse).—_See_ OUT-HOUSES.
*Vac*, _subs._ (University).—Vacation.
1891. _Harry Fludyer at Cambridge_, 2. I can’t make out why the Pater
is always so crusty about Rover. He told me every day last VAC he
wouldn’t have his house over-run with dogs.
*Valet*, subs. (Winchester).—Every Præfect had a Junior in
Chambers who acted in this capacity, made his tea or coffee,
carried his things through from Chambers to School and back
again, and looked after him in general.—MANSFIELD (_c._
1840).
*Varmint*, _adj._ (old University).—Good; spruce.
*Varmint-man*, _subs._ (Cambridge: obsolete). _See_ quots.
1803. _Gradus ad Cantab._ A VARMINT-MAN spurns a scholarship, would
consider it a degradation to be a Fellow.
1827. _Alma Mater...._ The handsome man, my friend and pupil, was
naturally enough a bit of a swell, or VARMINT-MAN.
*’Varsity*, _subs._ (Oxford and Cambridge).—The accepted
corruption of University.
*’Varsity-tit* (or *Tit*), subs. (Durham).—A student of Durham
University: in contempt.
*Varying*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A VULGUS (_q.v._) done UP TO
BOOKS (_q.v._).
*Vaseline*, _subs._ (Royal Military Academy).—Butter.
*Vaughan, The* (Harrow).—The school library: named after Dr.
Vaughan.
*Verites* (Charterhouse).—A boarding-house. [A corruption of
Oliverites, after Dr. Oliver Walford, 1838-55.]
*Vessel*, subs. (Winchester).—The eighth of a sheet of
LONG-PAPER (_q.v._).—[HALLIWELL.] Ital. _vassiola_.
*Vex*, _adv._ (Christ’s Hospital).—“So much the worse for”:
_e.g._ “VEX FOR YOU.” _Cf._ CHAFF.
*Vic*, _intj._ (Felsted).—An exclamation giving warning of a
master’s approach; the equivalent of _cave_, which is not
used at Felsted. Also TO KEEP VIC.
*Vice* (The), _subs._ (University).—The Vice-Chancellor.
*Vile-child*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ quot., and Appendix.
1866-72. _Sketchy Memories of Eton...._ Being called a VILE-CHILD, the
which I subsequently learnt was a very frequent term of mild reproach,
and had no particular reference to the age of the individual to whom
it was addressed. As a proof of this I may add that, being at Eton for
the Winchester Match in 1883, I (_moi-qui-vous-parle_, height 6 feet 2
inches, and weight 14 stone 7 lbs.) was called a VILE-CHILD for being
on a committee to oppose a certain obnoxious Indian Bill! I wasn’t
sorry when tea was over, although many most pleasant evenings did I
afterwards spend in that room.
*Vocab*, _subs._ (Charterhouse).—A vocabulary.
*Vol*, _adj._ (Harrow).—Voluntary: _e.g._ VOL-GYM.
*Voluntary*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A copy of verses written
occasionally by some of the boys in Sixth Book and Senior
Part _ex proprio motu_.—MANSFIELD (_c._ 1840).
*Vulgus*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A Latin epigram: four
or six lines long. Hence VULGUS-BOOK = a CRIB (_q.v._).
1883. TROLLOPE, _What I Remember_.... The mention of a VULGUS requires
some explanation. Every inferior, _i.e._ non-prefect, in the school
was required every night to produce a copy of verses of from two to
six lines on a given theme—four or six lines for the upper classes,
two for the lowest. This was independent of a weekly verse task of
greater length, and was called a VULGUS, I suppose, because
everybody—the VULGUS—had to do it.
1856. HUGHES, _Tom Brown’s School-days_, II. iii. The VULGUS (commonly
supposed to have been established by William of Wykeham at Winchester,
and imported to Rugby by Arnold more for the sake of the lines which
were learnt by heart with it than for its own intrinsic value, as I’ve
always understood), ... is a short exercise in Greek or Latin verse,
on a given subject, the minimum number of lines being fixed for each
form.... At Rugby VULGUS and lines were the first lesson every other
day in the week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; and ... it is
obvious ... that the master of each Form had to set one hundred and
fourteen subjects every year.... Now, human nature being prone to
repeat itself, it will not be wondered that the masters gave the same
subjects sometimes over again after a certain lapse of time. To meet
and rebuke this bad habit of the masters, the school-boy mind, with
its accustomed ingenuity, had invented an elaborate system of
tradition. Almost every boy kept his own VULGUS written out in a book
... duly handed down from boy to boy, till ... popular boys, in whose
hands bequeathed VULGUS-BOOKS have accumulated, are prepared with
three or four VULGUSES on any subject in heaven or earth, or in “more
worlds than one,” which an unfortunate master can pitch upon.... The
only objection to the traditionary method of doing your VULGUSES was,
the risk that the successions might have become confused, and so that
you and another follower of traditions should show up the same
identical VULGUS some fine morning; in which case, when it happened,
considerable grief was the result.
*Waffle*, _verb_ (Durham).—To talk nonsense. [North dial.
_waffle_ = to wave, to fluctuate; _waffler_ (Camb.) = a
person who is very weak; _waffy_ (Linc.) = insipid.]
*Walking-days*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—Several days
allowed to a new boy during which he was initiated into the
ways of the house by an old boy.
*Wall*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ quot.
1890. _Great Public Schools_, 26. There are, as is well known, two
[football] games played at Eton—one at the WALL, the other in the
FIELD. The first is only played by a very limited number of boys, for
there is but one WALL; the game is of a mysterious and intricate
nature, and the uninitiated spectator cannot as a rule even see how a
point (called a SHY) is obtained. Indeed were it not for the
time-honoured match between Collegers and Oppidans on St. Andrew’s
Day, the game would probably become obsolete.... The Eton FIELD game
has, in the opinion of the writer [the Rev. Sydney R. James], merits,
as a game for boys, superior to those of any other kind of football.
In it speed and skilful dribbling and accurate kicking have their due
success, but strength and dogged perseverance and pluck are not left
out in the cold.
_Verb_ (Oxford).—To confine to College.
*Wallyford*, _subs._ (Loretto).—The usual run on a wet whole
school-day: about 3-1/2 miles. _See_ LONG WALLYFORD.
*Wanker*, _subs._ (Felsted).—A bloater. [From
“stinker”—“stwanker”—“wanker.”]
1892. _Felstedian_, Oct., 105. My name it is “WANKER”; a leaner or
lanker, Salter or ranker, fish never swam. _Ibid._, June 1897, p. 100.
He sniffs. “’Eugh, WANKERS again.”
*Warden*, subs. (Winchester).—See quot.
_c._ 1840. MANSFIELD, _School-Life at Winchester_ (1866), 27. The
chief of the whole establishment is the WARDEN, who has nothing to do
with the teaching of the boys; he admits and when necessary expels
them, confers on them the dignity of “Præfect,” listens to their
complaints, and, in fact, in all matters appertaining to the
management of the school and the society is omnipotent.
*Wash*, _subs._ (Derby).—School tea or coffee. _See_ ROCK.
*Washing-drawer*, _subs._ (Winchester).—In College, a box to
hold toilet requisites.
*Washing-stool*, _subs._ (Winchester).—In College, a Præfect’s
table.
1881. _Felstedian_, Nov., p. 74, “A Day’s Fagging at Winchester.” I
remember that the Senior Præfect is going to get up to mug early
before chapel, and I have to call him and take his WASHING-STOOL (a
rough wooden table generally used for putting washing basins on,
which, when covered with a cloth, serves as a writing-table) out into
Chamber Court.... Here let me observe that only the præfects have
separate basins to wash in; the juniors use the two stone conduits.
*Watch*, _subs._ (Westminster).—A junior who has to remain in
College during play-hours to answer inquiries, receive
messages, and so forth, performing, in fact, the duties of a
servant.
*Watch.* TO WATCH OUT, _verb. phr._ (Winchester).—To field: at
cricket.
*Water*, _subs._ (Westminster).—Boating.
1881. PASCOE, _Everyday Life in Our Public Schools_. Boating, or
WATER, as it is called at Westminster, is in a very flourishing
condition.
*Weekites* (Charterhouse).—_See_ OUT-HOUSES.
*Westminster Customs.* _See_ CAP; CHALLENGE; EARLY; PLAY; MONOS;
PANCAKE; SHADOW; SILVER-PENCE and WESTMINSTER PLAY. Besides
these are others worthy of mention:—
1. THE COLLEGE WAISTCOAT.—A remarkable and original service
was, up to the date of the Public Schools Commission,
exacted of a Westminster junior. He was supposed to be a
treasury of small conveniences for his seniors’ use in and
out of school. He wore a college waistcoat of peculiar
pattern, in the pockets of which he had to carry about and
produce immediately on legal demand—the items are recorded
in the published evidence—two penknives, two pieces of
india-rubber, two pencils, two pieces of sealing-wax, two
pieces of pen-string, two dips (_q.v._), two dip-corks, two
wedges, two pieces of gutta-percha (for putting on the
points of foils), and any number of pens. Besides, he had to
carry a portfolio containing a sufficiency of “quarterns” of
paper.
2. LATIN FORMULÆ.—Quaint old Latin formulæ continued in use
at Westminster, unchanged since its earliest foundation.
While the school is at morning lesson, the _monitor ostii_
(_see_ MONOS) watches the clock, and at half-past eleven
comes to the monitor of school and announces the time. The
monitor goes to the head-master’s desk, makes his bow, and
says, “_Sesqui est undecima_.” At a quarter to twelve he
makes the further announcement, “_Instat duodecima_.”
When twelve o’clock has struck he says again, “_Sonuit
duodecima_;” at a quarter-past twelve, “_Prima quarta acta
est_;” at half-past, “_Sesqui est duodecima_,” at which
welcome words books are shut, and the whole school is
dismissed. The same formalities, with the necessary
variations, are repeated during afternoon lessons. Before
dinner the Captain calls out two boys of the Second
Election, one to say grace—“_Age gratias_”—and the other to
repeat the proper responses—“_Agite responsa_;” and when
dinner is over, before grace again, he pays even the
juniors the compliment of asking whether they have had
enough—“_Satisne edistis et bibistis?_” to which the
compulsory answer is made—in old times too often by hungry
lips—“_Satis edimus et bibimus_.” Every night at ten o’clock
the monitor of chamber gives the order for the juniors to
put out the lights and go to bed—“_Extinctis lucernis
intrate lectos_.” It is only within the last generation or
two that the rule of speaking Latin exclusively, both by
boys and masters, during school hours has fallen into
abeyance.
*Westminster Play.*—A Latin comedy, presented annually in the
dormitory of St. Peter’s College, a custom dating from Queen
Elizabeth’s days. The performances take place just before
the Christmas holidays, the play being repeated three times.
The cast is strictly confined to the forty scholars on the
foundation. At the close of last presentation a CAP (_q.v._)
is collected, the surplus of which, after paying expenses,
is divided among the performers.
*Wet-bob*, _subs._ (Eton).—A rowing man. _See_ DRY-BOB.
1839. C. T. BUCKLAND, _Eton Fifty Years Ago_ [1889, _Macmillan’s_,
Nov.]. It was the ambition of most boys to be a WET-BOB, and to be “in
the boats.” The school was divided between WET-BOBS and dry-bobs, the
former taking their pleasure on the river, and the latter in the
cricket-field.
*Whale*, _subs._ 1. (Cheltenham).—Codfish.
2. (Royal Military Academy).—A sardine.
*Whiter*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A white waistcoat: this may be worn
by those who have been three years in the school.
*Whole*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A whole holiday, or whole schoolday.
*Wicker*, _subs._ (Felsted: obsolete).—A hamper: as of
provisions.
*Wicket-cricket*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Cricket played with a
stick or “wicket.”
*Wilderness* (The), _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The Dark
Walk; a part of the garden. _Cf._ GERARD, _Stonyhurst_, p.
179.
*Wilderness* (Charterhouse).—A playing ground at Old
Charterhouse before Thomas Sutton bought the estate: now a
belt of trees to the south of UNDER-GREEN (_q.v._).
*Wine*, _subs._ (University).—A wine-party. Also as _verb_.
1853. BRADLEY, _Verdant Green_, vii. Now I’m going to WINE with Smalls
to-night.
*Wise Men of the East*, _subs. phr._ (Cambridge).—The last
twelve in the Mathematical TRIPOS (_q.v._).
1785. GROSE, _Vulg. Tongue_, s.v. PLUCK.... These unfortunate
individuals were designated by many opprobrious appellations, such as
the Twelve Apostles, the Legion of Honour, WISE MEN OF THE EAST, &c.
*Wooston*, _adv._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Very: _e.g._ WOOSTON a
jolly fellow; a WOOSTON jolly fellow; I am WOOSTON, chaffy.
[That is, “whore son.”—GUILLEMARD.]
*Work*, _subs._ (Winchester).—Pain. Also as _verb_ = to hurt.
14[?]. _Townley Mysteries_, “Processus Noe.” My bonys are so stark No
wonder if they WARK For I am full old.
14[?]. _Alexander_ [ASHMOL.], line 531. So sare WERKIS hire the wame.
_Ibid._, line 539. Of *WERKE* well ne I wede (am mad).
1469. MALORY, _Morte d’Arthur_. But I may not stonde, myn hede WERCHES
soo.
1750. COLLIER, _Works_. I gran an I thrutcht, till my arms WARTCHD
agen.
1860. R. BRIERLY, _Ab. in London_. I shaked his hond till my arm
WARTCHT, then he shaked mine till his arm WARTCHT.
1891. WRENCH, _Winchester Word-Book_, s.v. WORK. The use of REMEDY
(_q.v._) for a holiday seems to imply that WORK is a painful disease.
*Worms*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A trenched line on the turf: used
as goal at football. _See_ quot.
1881. PASCOE, _Life in Our Public Schools_. Across the two ends of the
ground a small trench is dug, about four inches wide and two deep, and
a goal is obtained when the ball is fairly kicked across the trench
(Wiccamicé WORMS).
*Wrangler*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The name given to those who are
placed in the first class in the first or elementary portion
of the public examination for honours in pure and mixed
mathematics, commonly called the Mathematical Tripos, those
placed in the second class being known as Senior Optimes,
and those in the third class as Junior Optimes. Up to and
including the year 1882, the student who took absolutely the
first place in the Mathematical Tripos used to be termed
Senior Wrangler; those who came next to him being second,
third, fourth, &c., wranglers. Since then the title has been
given to the student who takes the first place in Part I. of
the Mathematical Tripos. The name is derived from the public
disputations, in which candidates for degrees were formerly
required to exhibit their powers.
1870. _The Blue_, March. We were rejoiced to hear of the University
success of a late Grecian—G. A. Greenhill, who was announced as Second
WRANGLER in the late Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge. Further on in
the month we heard of his being bracketed with Mr. Pendlebury (the
Senior WRANGLER) as Smith’s Prizeman, a thing seldom heard of at
Cambridge, and never before has any Blue attained that high honour.
*Wratislaw’s.* _See_ PLANKS.
*Writer*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A Junior acting as secretary to
a College officer.
*Wuggins*, _subs._ (Oxford).—Worcester College; BOTANY-BAY
(_q.v._).
*Yarder*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Cricket played in the school yard:
in the summer term.
TO GET YARDS, _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—To get a catch at
football and be allowed a free kick, not running more than
can be covered in three running strides. Hence TO GIVE YARDS
= to give such a catch; TO STEP YARDS = to cover the
distance in “kicking off yards” in three strides; TO KNOCK
DOWN YARDS = to prevent another from “taking yards.”
[Originally three yards.]
*Yards* (The), _subs._ 1. (Durham).—The list of members,
originally of the First Game, but now of the Second Game—at
football or cricket. [Formerly in the cricket season only a
patch of ground thirty yards square was mowed. Those who had
the privilege of playing on this were said to be “on the
YARDS.”]
2. (Royal High School, Edin.).—The gravel-covered
playground.
*Yark*, _verb_ (Durham).—To cane. _See_ TWANK and LAM. [_Yark_
(North) = to strike, to beat.]
*Yellow-hammer*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A BLUE (_q.v._) in
disgrace for gross misconduct and under discipline. _See_
quot.
1844. _Reminis. of Christ’s Hospital_ [The Blue, August 1874]. In the
case of a hardened offender, or of gross misdemeanour, a system of
degradation was adopted, by causing the culprit to wear his coat
turned inside out, and as the body of the coat had a yellow lining,
the metamorphosis was remarkably striking, and (unkindest cut of all!)
the subjects of this hideous transformation—these involuntary
turn-coats—were by their schoolfellows nicknamed YELLOW-HAMMERS.
*Yolly*, _subs._ (Winchester: obsolete).—A post-chaise. [That
is, “Yellow,” that having been generally a favourite colour
for these vehicles.]
*-y*, _inseparable suffix_ (Manchester Grammar).—_See_ MATHY,
CHEMMY, GYMMY, &c.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
APPENDIX
*A*, _subs._ (Felsted).—_See_ D, _infra._
*Abbey, The* (Durham).—The Cathedral. The boys of Durham
School (and they alone) speak, and always have spoken, of
the Cathedral as “the Abbey.” This is supposed to show
that the school dates from pre-Reformation days, though
its foundation is put down to the time of Henry VIII. The
Charity Commissioners admit the claim, and pay to the
Head-master a pension founded by Cardinal Langley in 1415
for the master of his school in Durham.
*Academia*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A select literary club: in
vogue where the Jesuit _Ratio Studiorum_ flourishes. Not now
existent at Stonyhurst, but it is in great vigour in America
and on the Continent.
*Ambulacrum*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The covered playground used
in wet weather.
*Arcady*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An arched portion of the new
front.
*Atramentarius*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The ink-pot
boy: an office once in vogue, the holder of it being
responsible for the cleanliness, &c., of the ink-pots in the
class-rooms. For this he was given a GOOD-DAY (_q.v._) at
the end of the year.
*B*, _subs._ (Felsted).—_See_ D, _infra._
*Back-stop*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The wicket-keeper in ordinary
cricket.
*Bag*, _verb_ (Stonyhurst).—TO COB (_q.v._).
*Ball of Honour*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ BEGGAR’S-ACE.
*Bannet* (and *Bannet-fire*), _subs._ (Royal High School,
Edin.).—_See_ BONNET and BONNET-FIRE, _ante_: in each case
an error has crept in; the correct spelling is, of course,
_bannet_.
*Bate*, _adj._ (Harrow).—Angry.
*Beast*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—_See_ BRUTE.
*Beggar’s-ace* (and *Ball of Honour*), _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Two
extra balls given by the winning side in a game to enable
their opponents to catch up if possible.
*Bill*, _subs._ (Eton).—An old Etonian states that “in the BILL”
used to mean only that a boy was “complained of” to the
Head-master. _See_ ante.
*Black Monday* (Stonyhurst).—The day of re-opening of schools.
*Blandyke* (Stonyhurst).—_See_ ante. It may be interesting to
call attention to the connection between Stonyhurst and St.
Omers and many of the words and phrases occurring in this
vocabulary. They not only date from the Continental period,
but find their explanation in it alone. The College was
founded in 1592 at St. Omers, and continued without a break
(at Bruges and Liège) previous to the settlement in England
in 1794.
*Bloody Wars*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A common name for any
stiffness: such as that usually experienced at the beginning
of the football or cricket season: _e.g._ “I’ve got the
BLOODY WARS.”
*Blue*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ ante; concerning the
dress, I learn that the cap was given up many years ago.
There used to be a yellow petticoat under the blue skirt.
The boys also wear white “bands.”
*Bluebottle*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital: Hertford).—A BLUE
(_q.v._): used by girls at Hertford. _See_ GRASSHOPPER
(Appendix) and HEDGEHOG (_ante_).
*Bottle*, _verb_ (Durham).—_See_ ante. Also TO BE BOTTLED = to
be in a fix.
*Bouncer*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A ball kicked from the hand
before it reaches the ground: Stonyhurst-football (_q.v._).
*Boy*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Specifically, a fag a grade above the
lowest form. _See_ ante. As a _verb_, TO BOY = to call for a
fag: all fags are summoned by a long drawn-out shout.
*Brick* (and *Clat*), _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The names given
to the two rival camps in a certain notorious
quasi-insurrection in the College some fifty years ago.
A full account appears in Fitzgerald’s _Stonyhurst
Memories_.
*Bug and Snail*, _subs._ phr. (Winchester).—The Natural History
Society.
*Bug-shooter*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A member of the School Corps.
*Bumf.* TO BUY A BUMF, _verb. phr._ (general).—To purchase a
newspaper. MATH-BUMF = mathematical paper. _See_ ante.
*Bunker*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—(1) A native; (2) a low fellow.
*Bus*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An extra nondescript class formed
chiefly of boys not born to study.
*Butt*, _subs._ (Dulwich).—The school tuck-shop. _See_ BUTTERY.
*Butter*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A boy known often to miss a
catch. Hence, as _verb_ = to miss a catch.
*Buzz*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To cry; to weep.
*C*, _subs._ (Felsted).—_See_ D, _infra_.
*Cæsar’s-bridge* (Stonyhurst).—An old bridge over the Hodder.
Also CROMWELL’S-BRIDGE, though it is probable that Cromwell
crossed the Hodder higher up. _See_ HIGGER BRIG.
*Cage, The* (Royal High School, Edin.).—A covered area, between
two gates, in which prisoners at games are confined. Also,
as _verb_ = to put in this enclosure.
*Candle-keepers*, _subs._ (Winchester).—MANSFIELD in his
_School-Life at Winchester College_, p. 30 (_see_ quot.
1840, _ante_), says, “Why so called I have no idea,” but
_see_ ADAM’S _Wykehamica_ (1878), 418.
*Cards.* ON CARDS, _phr._ (Harrow).—A report on conduct taken to
the Head-master.
*Carthaginians* (Stonyhurst).—_See_ VICTORY-WALK.
*Champion*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A boy in a LOWER LINE (_q.v._)
class who, on account of age or size, joins in the games of
the HIGHER LINE (_q.v._). _Cf._ CHARITY-TAILS.
*Chisel*, _verb_ (Winchester).—To cheat.
*Clap*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital: Hertford).—To push in front
of. Whence CLAPPER = one who so pushes.
*Clat* (Stonyhurst).—_See_ BRICK.
*Clogs*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The boots made by the College
shoemaker.
*Common-key*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A key by which most of the
doors on the boys’ side of the house are opened.
*Concertatio*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An exhibition of class-work
given from time to time in the Community refectory by the
LOWER LINE (_q.v._) classes.
*Copy*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Formerly COPY = a prize-book, chosen
by the recipient. _See_ ante.
*Cork*, _verb_ (Eton).—To throw. [An Old Etonian informs me that
“Cork” and not CALK (_q.v._) is the correct orthography.]
*Cowshed, The* (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ ante. It should be
stated that THE COWSHED is a sort of pent-house near the
Warden’s residence which workmen use for divers purposes.
*Cricket-machine*, subs. (Stonyhurst).—A boy who studies cricket
scores with excessive care.
*Crock*, _subs._ (general).—An indifferent performer at a game.
*Crocked.* TO BE CROCKED, _verb. phr._ (general).—To be injured
at a game.
*Crow’s-wing* (and *-refectory*), _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The part
of the house in which the masters live and fare. _See_ CROW.
*Cut.* TO CUT IN, _verb. phr._ (Harrow).—If a boy misses his
place in the line at BILL (_q.v._), and tries to run in
irregularly, he is said TO CUT IN.
*D*, _subs._ (Felsted).—A division of “punishment bounds.”
Nominally the bounds were:—A = practically no bounds; B =
the ordinary bounds, the roads about a mile from the school;
C = punishment bounds, confinement to the cricket-fields and
playground; and D = confinement to the old school-house
playground, one of the commonest forms of punishment till
1876, when the present school-house was opened. C and D were
also known respectively as MONGREL and QUOD.
*Dame*, _subs._ (Eton and Harrow).—Originally many ladies kept
boarding-houses: hence the word. _See_ ante.
*Damnation-hill* (Harrow).—_See_ DAMNATION-CORNER and HOWSON and
WARNER, _Harrow School_ (1898), 80.
*Degerd*, _adj._ (Harrow).—Degraded. [Pronounced _Daygerd_.]
*Dicks’* (Stonyhurst).—The chief tuck-shop at the present time.
*Ditch, The* (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ ante. THE DITCH is one
of the three playgrounds, or rather open spaces, within the
walls of Christ’s Hospital: it takes its name from the old
City ditch which ran beneath it. The two others are the
“Hall Play,” and the “Garden.”
*Double-remove.* To get a DOUBLE-REMOVE, _verb. phr._
(Harrow).—To skip a form.
*Dox*, _subs._ (Tonbridge).—The head-master. [An abbreviation of
“doctor.”]
*Dub.* TO DUB IN, _verb. phr._ (Christ’s Hospital).—To
subscribe.
*Duke’s-room* (Stonyhurst).—The PHILOSOPHERS’ (_q.v._)
drawing-room.
*Early bed*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—In winter time the smaller
boys go to bed an hour before the rest. Elder boys may avail
themselves of this if sick: _e.g._ “There is no EARLY BED
to-night.”
*Extraordinary*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Classes in which extra
classics are read in the lower forms.
*Fag-poker*, _intj._ (Harrow: obsolete).—A cry to a fag to fetch
a stake for the fire.
1827. COLLINS, _The Public Schools_ [Harrow], p. 318. Poker and tongs
were unknown luxuries in the “play-room” at Butler’s; and the junior
fag, at the call of “FAG poker,” had to rush out in the cold to pull a
hedge-stake of substantial dimensions from the fence or faggot-stack.
*Feeder-cric* (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ ante. This game got its
name from the “feeder,” _i.e._ the thrower of the ball, and
the humble imitation that it was of cricket. The bat was a
stick like a “glorified” ruler, but cut away at one end to
resemble in some sort a cricket-bat. It was played against a
buttress, on which was marked a circle in chalk, which
served as a wicket. The ball was soft, with a hole in it; as
in rounders the batsman might insist on certain conditions
as to the method of “feeding,” and might refuse to recognise
a “feed” unreasonable in height.
*First-praise*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ REPORT.
*First-touch.* TO BE FIRST-TOUCH, _verb. phr._
(Stonyhurst).—To be first in reaching the scene
of a game, a place in which was secured by
touching some object, as a handball, a wicket,
&c.
*Flab*, _subs._ 1. (Christ’s Hospital).—Butter.
2. (Stonyhurst).—A boy who does not play in
any of the regular (cricket) matches. For
such a practice net is provided, known as
the FLAB’S-NET.
*Fob*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To put on
carelessly: as bands or buttons, without
trouble, to look right for a minute or so.
*Forcing*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Dribbling. _See_
STONYHURST-FOOTBALL.
*Form-beak*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A form-master. _See_
BEAK.
*Form-game*, _subs._ (Harrow: obsolete).—At
football, the games arranged in grades of
ability, and not by Houses. They were named
on the same principle as the school is
arranged—Sixth Form game, Fifth Form game,
and so on.
*Forty*, _subs._ (Felsted).—A division of the school
for football or cricket. Each FORTY has its own
ground.
*Fotch*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A blow on the
face. Also as _verb_ = to strike.
*Fox*, _verb_ (Stonyhurst).—To pretend to be ill.
*Frart*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A potato.
*Fug*, _subs._ (Harrow).—_See_ ante. The name is now
given to a diminutive Association ball: formerly
one of hair and chamois-leather.
*Fungi*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital)—India-rubber.
*Gomer*, _subs._ (Winchester).—_See_ ante, sense 2.
I am informed that there is yet another usage.
GOMERS = a suit of clothes in which to go home.
[Because College men wear gowns.]
*Goose-match*, _subs._ (Harrow).—_See_ ante, and
quot.
1898. S. W. GORE, _Harrow School_, 225. Harrow is, I
believe, one of the few schools where cricket is played in
the Michaelmas term, when the traditional “GOOSE” MATCH is
played. This was started on the 22nd of September 1849 by
Mr. C. O. Eaton.
*Grammar-match*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A football
match in which the members of the highest class
of the LOWER LINE (_q.v._)—GRAMMAR (_q.v._)—play
the lower classes combined.
*Grasshopper*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital:
Hertford).—A BLUE-girl: used by boys at
Hertford. _See_ BLUEBOTTLE (Appendix) and
HEDGEHOG (_ante_).
*Great Figures* (Stonyhurst).—_See_ FIGURES, _ante_.
*Grecian*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Add
following to 1871 quot.:—
Then on leaving the school for college they obtain a gift
of £60 for clothing and outfit, and an allowance of £70 a
year while at college. Nor do they seem to owe any further
allegiance in after life to Christ’s Hospital. For
instance, many lads are educated specially for the navy,
and are distinguished from the others by wearing a metal
badge on the shoulder, but on leaving Christ’s they do not
necessarily enter maritime life.
*Head.* HEAD OF THE LINE, _subs. phr._
(Stonyhurst).—The Captain of the School.
*Hedgehog* (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ BLUEBOTTLE and
GRASSHOPPER (Appendix).
*Hell*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A well-known hazard on
the golf links: another is called PURGATORY.
*Henner*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—A
challenge to do something difficult, which the
challenger must first do himself: _e.g._ “Here’s
a HENNER for you!” [Probably from Old Scots
_hain_.]
*Higger Brig*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A bridge over
the Hodder. It was by the old bridge at this
point that Cromwell crossed on his way to
Stonyhurst Hall, though some say it was at
CÆSAR’S BRIDGE (_q.v._). [Derived from an
attempt to pronounce “Higher Bridge” in the
local fashion.]
*Hopgarth*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A part
of the Gardens.
*House-beak*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A master. _See_ BEAK
and FORM-BEAK.
*Immunity-card*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_
TOLLY-TICKET.
*In.* ALL IN, _phr._ (Stonyhurst).—A direction
given (1) at end of recreation; and (2) to
stay indoors at recreation time when wet.
*Ink-pot Boy* (Stonyhurst).—_See_ ATRAMENTARIUS.
*Jicker*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—(1) The
juice of a HIGH (_q.v._). [It is suggested
that this is a “portmanteau word”—from _juice_
and _liquor_.] Also (2) = blacking.
*Jickery*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Big: _e.g._
“You’re in for a JICKERY row.” [Query =
overflowing, like the JICKER (juice) of a “high”
(fruit tart).]
*Jiffs, The* (Christ’s Hospital).—THE JIFFS are
about the oldest part of the Hospital building.
The name is given to cloisters lying on the left
hand as one enters from Christ Church passage.
They are at a lower level, and are reached by
four steps. It was the only part not burned in
the Great Fire. The rooms above were destroyed.
[Suggested derivations are:—(1) from “Grey
Friars” = G.F.’s; and (2) from a beadle,
Geoffrey—Geoff’s—Jiffs.]
*Joseph*, _subs._ (Harrow: obsolete).—Generic for
boy: _e.g._ BEETLE-JOSEPH = an entomological
collector; MUSIC-JOSEPH = a boy who studied
music, and so forth.
*Keen*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—Good: _e.g._
“jolly KEEN” = very good.
*Kenna’s-day* (Stonyhurst).—_See_ DAY, _ante_.
*King*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.).—A game
peculiar to the school. The players range
themselves on one side of the playground, one
going into the centre and calling “King!” The
centre player endeavours to catch some one, who
then joins him, and this goes on till all are
caught. A rush is then made for the side, the
last to reach it taking the centre place in a
new game. It forms an excellent training for
football and a source of revenue to tailors.
*Lady Gallery* (Stonyhurst).—A gallery in which is a
statue of the Blessed Virgin.
*Lamm.* TO LAMM IN, _verb. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_
PEG IN.
*Last-quarter*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An interval at
the end of long recreations for toilet purposes,
&c., before studies or other duties: _e.g._ “Is
there LAST-QUARTER after this recreation?”
*Leeming’s Knot* (Stonyhurst).—A ditch or hole in a
neighbouring wood. [From some local farmer who
is said to have jumped into it.]
*Little Man*, _subs._ (Eton).—_See_ ante: this term,
I am informed, is only applied to one particular
man in a certain shop.
*Lo* (Felsted).—_See_ FAIN LO.
*Long Litany Lane* (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A lane
near the College.
*Long Sleep*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A longer time
than usual in bed: _e.g._ “There will be LONG
SLEEP to-morrow,” “May I have LONG SLEEP?”
*Long-soft*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A long, low
bounce: STONYHURST-FOOTBALL (_q.v._).
*Lord’s.* TO BE IN LORD’S, _verb. phr._
(Winchester).—To be a member of the first Eleven
at cricket, dating from the old Public School
matches at Lord’s between Winchester, Harrow,
and Eton. Whence LORD’S-EX = the Exeat for the
Eton and Harrow match.
*Lounge*, _subs._ (Eton).—Both present and past Eton
schoolmen inform me that, as far as they know,
this word was, and is, never used.
*Love-lane* (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A road near the
College.
*Low*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—There are two
sorts of fruit pies sold at the school shop,
called respectively, according to their shape,
“HIGH” and “LOW,” the word “pie” being generally
omitted.
*Magazine*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The dormitory of
the smaller boys in the College. Once a trunk
room.
*Mathemat*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ ante,
and add following to quot. 1895:—
The most distinctive feature in the MATHEMAT life was the
yearly “going to Court.” Our hair was trimmed and brushed
for the occasion by the Hospital barber, buttonholes and
gloves lavished on us. When we went to Buckingham Palace
we drove five in a carriage, the redundant gentleman being
literally and metaphorically sat upon by his justly
indignant comrades. But more interesting were our visits
to Windsor, with the march from the station to the Castle,
the long weary waiting in endless corridors and gorgeous
ante-chambers, the well-earned lunch, with John Brown
peeping in at the door; then Her Majesty’s inspection of
our drawings; and finally, our free range over the Castle
and toilsome ascent of the Round Tower. I remember the
following circumstance: One MATHEMAT exhibited a painting
of a ship still building. Prince George of Wales remarked
to his brother, “What a ‘rummy’ ship,” at which the
exhibitor laughed, causing the elder Prince to exclaim,
“Look, George, he’s laughing at you.”
*Mayfair* (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A walk in the
playground. _Cf._ BOND-STREET.
*Meeter*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A successful kick at
a ball coming towards the one who kicks. _See_
STONYHURST-FOOTBALL.
*Mob*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A move from one
Form to another.
*Mongrel* (Felsted).—_See_ D (Appendix).
*Monkey.* MONKEY-ROOM (Stonyhurst).—A lumber-room:
chiefly used as a stable for bicycles.
*Mull*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A fight.
*Nicks*, _intj._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ ante. Also used
at Stonyhurst by scouts at sight of a Prefect.
*Nip’s-night*, _subs._ (Felsted).—The annual
entertainment for the village people. [_Nip_ = a
rustic.]
*Nurse*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ ante.
Obsolete in London, but retained at Hertford.
*Officiate*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To
interfere: _i.e._ to be “officious.” _E.g._
“Don’t officiate.”
*On.* ALL ON, _phr._ (Stonyhurst).—The direction
given at the end of recreation. Also ALL IN.
*Passy*, _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—_See_ ante. Now
obsolete: the modern equivalent is VISH, which
_see_ (Appendix).
*Past*, _adv._ (Stonyhurst).—Beyond the goal line.
*Peg.* TO PEG IN, _verb. phr._ (Stonyhurst).—(1) To
throw in hard: of cricket. (2) To cane severely:
of corporal punishment: _e.g._ “Does So-and-so
PEG IN?” Also To LAMM IN.
*People*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Relations; visitors:
_e.g._ “I’ve got PEOPLE coming down.”
*Pepper-box*, _subs._ (Eton).—A buttress in
the original Fives Court on the Chapel
steps—reproduced in all Eton Fives Courts.
*Pester*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The special cab used to
convey boys with infectious diseases to SANNY
(_q.v._).
*Pet, The* (Felsted).—The petrifying stream: a small
brook near Felsted.
*Philathlet* (or *Phil*), _subs._ (Harrow).—_See_
PHIL, _ante_. Also the large school cricket
ground used for lower games.
*Philosopher’s-quarters*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The
part of the house in which the PHILOSOPHERS
(_q.v._) live.
*Pi*, _adj._ (originally Winchester).—_See_ ante.
This expression is now pretty general. Also
PI-JAW (or PI-GAS) = a serious admonition.
*Pog*, _subs._ (Felsted).—_See_ ante: the suggested
derivation is “Pig—pig-faced—pog.” “Put your
POG” was the usual direction to DRAWING-ROUND
(_q.v._).
*Post-office*, _verb_ (Harrow).—To promenade
the High Street. [Where is situated the
post-office.]
*Prefect’s-room*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The room in
which corporal punishment is inflicted. “To
visit the PREFECT’S-ROOM” has a recognised
significance. Also known as the TOLLY-SHOP.
*Prisoner’s-bars*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Otherwise
known as “Prisoner’s-base.”
*Privates*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Private lessons.
*Purgatory*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—_See_ HELL.
*Purl* (or *Pearl*), _subs._ (Winchester).—A header.
Also as _verb_.
*Rabble*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—The Vesper
Choir: _i.e._ the choir formed of boys not in
the College choir proper, who sing alternately
with the latter at Vespers.
*Reading-room*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—An hour of
extra study after supper. So called from the
room in which this study may be done. “I am
going to Reading Room.”
*Rector’s Tower* (Stonyhurst).—A tower at the end of
the west wing. Also known as Parbrick Tower,
after the Rector who built it.
*Report*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The account of the
school work given by the Prefect of Studies in
the Boys’ Refectory, before the whole house
assembled, at the end of each term. The class
which wins most honour is said to get FIRST
PRAISE. After the Report the DISTINCTION LISTS
are read. _Cf._ DISTINGUISHED.
*Retreat*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A period of three
days annually devoted by the boys to practices
of piety.
*Romans* (Stonyhurst).—_See_ VICTORY-WALK.
*Rostrum*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A pulpit
formerly in the boys’ refectory: used for
reading during certain meals.
*Rotten.* BELLS GO ROTTEN, _phr._
(Winchester).—_See_ MANSFIELD, _School-Life at
Winchester_ (1866), 432.
*Roust*, _verb_ (Durham).—To kick.
*Sabbatine*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A
kind of academical exhibition given by one of
the HIGHER LINE (_q.v._) classes to the rest
of the Higher Line and visitors on a Saturday
afternoon. [From _Sabbatum_.]
*Sack.* TO HAVE (or GET) THE SACK, _verb. phr._
(Harrow).—To be dismissed from school for an
offence. A common enough word, but its specific
use at Harrow deserves mention.
*Sage*, _subs._ (Royal High School, Edin.:
obsolete).—A class.
*Sanny*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The School Sanatorium.
*Scaley*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A term of contempt:
applied to all foreigners.
*Sciff*, _verb_ (Christ’s Hospital).—To knock over.
*Sconse*, _subs._ and _adj._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A
selfish fellow; selfish. _See_ SCAFF.
*Scratch* (Christ’s Hospital).—The matron’s servant.
*Scrub*, subs. (Stonyhurst).—A ball hit close to the
wall or ground: handball.
*Scug*, _subs._ (Eton).—A term of contempt for any
boy wanting in self-respect.
*Second-dinner*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—When a boy
for any reason has been unable to dine with the
rest, he is said to go to SECOND-DINNER.
*Second-tip*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst: obsolete).—A form
of STONYHURST-CRICKET (_q.v._), in which the
batsman had to run once at least in two hits.
*Second-washing*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The interval
allowed every day before dinner for toilet
purposes.
*Semmies* (or *Seminarians*), _subs._
(Stonyhurst).—Students at the Seminary or St.
Mary’s Hall.
*Semper* (Winchester).—_See_ ante. SEMPER TESTIS
also = “a boy always ready to support any
assertion of his friend.”
*Senior Philosopher*, subs. (Stonyhurst).—The head
and spokesman of the PHILOSOPHERS (_q.v._).
*Shag*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A share. Also
as _verb_.
*Shark*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A “cadger.”
Whence, as _verb_ = to make up to; to cadge.
*Shinner*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A kick on the
shins. _See_ STONYHURST-FOOTBALL.
*Shop-boys*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—The boys
responsible for the shop in the “house.” It is
entirely in the boys’ own hands; the profits go
to the games club.
*Shuts*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A “sell.” Also
as _intj._ = “Sold again!”
*Side.* BEHIND ONE’S SIDE, _phr._ (Winchester).—Said
of a man when nearer the opponents’ goal than
the player on his own side who last touched the
ball.
Also _see_ SWAGGER (Appendix).
*Sig*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A signature for
work: _e.g._ “To get a SIG.” _See_
SIGNED.
*Signed.* TO BE SIGNED, _verb. phr._
(Harrow).—To be excused work.
*Six-and-Six*, _subs._
(Winchester).—_See_ ante. Originally
one match yearly between College and
Commoners; now three matches between
College, Commoners, and Houses. Also
SIXES. _See_ APPLE-PIE DAY.
*Sixes*, _subs._ (Harrow).—Alternate six
balls in the Yard with another
batsman. Hence TO GO SIXES = to go
shares in anything.
*Skew* (Harrow).—_See_ ante. Also, as
_verb_ = to turn (or fail) in REP
(_q.v._).
*Skit*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A quantity.
*Slime*, _verb._ 1. (Felsted).—_See_
ante. To sneak in, out, or past.
Also as _subs._, TO DO A SLIME (even
in games) = to take a crafty
advantage.
2. (Harrow).—To go round quietly.
1898. WARNER, _Harrow School_, 282. His house
beak SLIMED and twug him.
3. (Harrow).—To make drops at
rackets.
*Slop*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital).—A
term of contempt.
*Slopper*, _subs._ (The Leys).—A
slop-basin.
*Snoring-dormitory*, _subs._
(Stonyhurst).—A special dormitory
reserved for troublesome sleepers.
*Souppy*, _subs._ (Royal High School,
Edin.).—The same as GRUBBY (_q.v._).
*Spec*, _verb_ (Harrow and Durham).—To
expect to get; to count on winning
beforehand: as a race, &c.
*Spital Sermon* (Christ’s
Hospital).—_See_ ante. In _The Blue_
of April 1900 appears an account of
a Spital Sermon preached in Christ
Church, Newgate Street, April 23rd,
1644: it is quaint. In recent years
the Lord Mayor’s chaplain preached
on Easter Monday, a bishop on
Tuesday, but within the last twenty
years the Monday sermon has been
given up. Also, the boys no longer
wear the bit of paper bearing the
words, “He is risen,” and the
“Mathemats” have ceased to carry
their nautical instruments.
*Spot.* ON THE SPOT, _phr._
(Stonyhurst).—(1) In good humour;
(2) in good condition.
*Stonyhurst-cricket*, _subs._
(Stonyhurst: recently obsolete).—A
form of cricket played till very
recent times at Stonyhurst, the
ordinary game being known as
LONDON-CRICKET. The points of
difference are chiefly these: (1)
the balls must be swift, and bowled
along the ground; (2) the batsman
must hit—“slog” is the term; and (3)
the game is played at a single
wicket. Bat, ball, and wickets
differ in shape and size from those
used in cricket proper. In Father
Gerard’s _Stonyhurst_ will be found
a detailed account of the game, and
a connection is traced between it
and a crude form once played at
Eton. It is in all probability a
survival of very primitive cricket
which became stereotyped because of
the life of the College abroad.
*Stonyhurst-football*, _subs._
(Stonyhurst).—A kind of football
played at Stonyhurst and some other
schools. It differs materially from
the Association and Rugby game,
chiefly in these respects: (1) any
number may play at once; (2) the
ball may be touched by the hand
during the game, but not handled or
carried as in Rugby football; (3)
charging, or otherwise roughly
treating another player, is
prohibited. The goal-posts are
longer and the space between them
narrower than in other forms of the
game; the ball is small and round.
It is akin to a species of football
played at Eton, and is clearly a
relic of the past. In matches the
sides usually have names: _e.g._
“French and English,” in the Grand
Matches—a significant survival from
old continental days; “Federals and
Allies” (now obsolete); “Pipes and
Windows”—a favourite impromptu
match, the “Pipes” being those who
sit on one side of the old “Study
Place,” the “Windows” those who sit
on the other. Now that the “Pipes”
(hot-water pipes) are on the same
side as the windows, the match is
more commonly called “Walls and
Windows,” but sometimes “Chapel
Pipes and Windows.” “Shavers and
Non-shavers” is another favourite
match.
*Strue*, _subs._ (general).—A construe.
_See_ CON.
*Superd.* TO BE SUPERD, _verb. phr._
(Harrow).—To be superannuated.
*Swack*, _subs._ (Christ’s
Hospital).—Deception. Whence TO
SWACK UP = to deceive; to take in.
*Swagger* (or *Side*), _subs._
(Harrow).—(1) Appropriating
privileges to which one has no
right; and (2) using peculiar
privileges which others may not use.
Etiquette in this respect is very
complex.
1898. WARNER, _Harrow School_, 280. The rules
of “SWAGGER” are most complex, like other
traditional and unwritten codes, and in them a
new boy is apt to find himself entangled. He
goes out with his umbrella rolled up, and he
finds he is swaggering; or he carries it by
its middle, or under his arm, or he walks on
the middle terrace after chapel, or he
innocently wears his “blues” open when it is
hot, or turns his trousers up when it is wet,
and again he is swaggering. Lady visitors
sometimes think small boys at Harrow rude. It
is not rudeness which leads boys to stick
close to the wall, even when coming up covered
with mud from football, and shoulder the world
into the gutter, it is modesty; to walk in the
road is SWAGGER. To loiter at the house door,
or to sing or whistle in the passages, and to
wear a hat in the house are also forms of
SWAGGER.
*Taff*, _subs._ (Christ’s Hospital:
Hertford).—A potato.
*Talker*, _subs._ (Harrow).—One who
cannot sing in time.
1898. HOWSON and WARNER, _Harrow School_, 208.
Then followed solos from those who could sing
and those who could not—it made no difference.
The latter class were called TALKERS, and
every boy was encouraged to stand up and “talk
it out.”
*Tap*, _subs._ (Eton).—Originally the
CHRISTOPHER (_q.v._). Now the only
place recognised by the authorities
where a boy can get beer.
*Tart-feast*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst:
obsolete).—Certain feasts indulged
in by classes at the end of the
school year.
*Temple of Bel[l], The* (Royal High
School, Edin.: obsolete).—A square
tower at the north-east corner of
the playground in which the bell was
formerly hung: now rendered
invisible by the new buildings.
*Tetra* (Felsted).—_See_ ante. Also as
_adj._: _e.g._ a science boy
regarded “Stinks” as “TETRA-buck.”
*Thirders*, _subs._ (Harrow).—The Third
Eleven.
*Three Hundred Day* (Stonyhurst).—_See_
DAY.
*Three-yearer*, _subs._ (Harrow).—A boy
who has been three years in the
school, and who, by seniority, has
the right to do certain things,
which his juniors may not do.
*Ticket*, _subs._ (Winchester).—A
promise, given by a Prefect to a
Junior, to remit the next punishment
when incurred.
*Titch*, _subs._ (Christ’s
Hospital).—_See_ ante. It is
suggested that TITCH is a
“portmanteau word”—“tight breeches,”
the tightening of the garment being
often a preliminary to the
operation.
*Tizzy-tick*, _subs._ (Harrow).—An order
on a tradesman to the extent of
sixpence a day.
*Tolly, The* (Rugby).—_See_ quot.
1900. _Athenæum_, 16th June, p. 743. The
chapel rather loses by its stunted head,
especially as a fine tapering spire
(disrespectfully known as “THE TOLLY”) appears
at the back of the Close.
*Tolly-shop*, _subs._
(Stonyhurst).—_See_ PREFECT’S-ROOM.
*Tolly-ticket*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A
custom now generally obsolete, but
still kept up by some masters. It
used to be common, and consisted in
giving a boy a card of good conduct
as a reward for specially good work.
If, later, he were to incur
punishment for some offence, he
would produce this card, and, unless
the offence were too grave, could
thereby receive a free pardon. Such
cards were called TOLLY TICKETS or
IMMUNITY CARDS. [A precisely similar
custom is described as having
existed at Eton in the forties by
Mr. C. Kegan Paul in his
_Memories_.]
*Tonk*, _verb_ (Durham).—To hit: a
cricket term.
*Trav*, _subs._
(Felsted).—Travelling-money. _See_
HOTS.
*Tubby* (Christ’s Hospital).—A male
servant of the school: his business
was to move certain tubs, the use of
which has long been discontinued,
but the name remains.
*Tuft*, _subs._ (University).—A young
nobleman, entered as a student at a
university, so called from the TUFT
or gold tassel worn on the cap. Also
GOLD-HATBAND (_q.v._). Whence
“tuft-hunter.”
*Tuz I*, _phr._ (Felsted).—The same as
FAIN IT (_q.v._), BAGS I (_q.v._),
&c.
*Twelve* (Harrow).—_See_ ante.
THE SCHOOL TWELVE, _subs. phr._
(Harrow).—The twelve best singers
(bass and tenor voices singing in
unison) in the school. Whence THE
HOUSE TWELVE = the same in each
House.
*Twug* (Harrow).—Caught. [The _past
par._ of “twig.”]
*Vacation-shoes* (or *-clothes*),
_subs._ (Stonyhurst).—Each boy is
measured for these before the summer
holidays.
*Victory-walk*, _subs._ (Stonyhurst).—A
recognised reward given every
half-term to the classes of the
LOWER LINE (_q.v._). The system is
as follows:—Each class is divided
into two sides, ROMANS and
CARTHAGINIANS, the boys being set
one against another as rivals. When
lessons are asked, the rivals are
asked in pairs, and each tries to
correct the other. A successful
correction is called a VICTORY. At
the end of the half-term these
victories are counted: the side
which has the greater total is freed
some afternoon for a VICTORY-WALK.
*Vile-child*, _subs._ (Eton).—I am
informed that this expression was
only used by a particular tutor, and
was never regarded as _peculiar_ to
Eton phraseology.
*Vill*, _subs._ (Felsted).—The village
of Felsted.
*Vish*, _adj._ (Christ’s
Hospital).—Cross: the modern
equivalent of PASSY (_q.v._). [That
is, “vicious.”]
*Whopping*, _subs._ (Harrow).—1. A
beating with a cane inflicted by a
Monitor, Head of House, Sixth Form
boy, &c., on a lower boy for a
breach of discipline.
2. A MONITOR’S-WHOPPING—a more
serious affair, only inflicted in
grave cases; the delinquent is
brought before the whole body of the
Monitors in the Vaughan Library, and
punishment given there.
*Wooden-spoon*, _subs._ (Cambridge).—The
student last on the list of
mathematical honours. _See_ TRIPOS,
GULF, TWELVE APOSTLES, WRANGLER, &c.
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
Edinburgh & London
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber’s note:
Unusual and variable spellings, hyphenations,
and capitalizations have been retained.
All upright instances of ‘Cf.’ italicized
(Bicker, [The] Dark Walk, Poetry, Rhetoric)
Adsum, double quote inserted before ‘ADSUM,’
“Newcome, “ADSUM,” or”
Battlings, ‘67’ changed to ‘87,’ “1886-87.
Dickens, Dictionary”
Bells, comma inserted following ‘Gabell,’ “be
heard “Gabell,” or”
Bene-book, comma inserted after ‘male,’ “vix
satis, male, Big male”
Black-jack, square brace inserted after ‘beer,’
“boy servitor of beer.]”
Blow, double quote inserted after ‘late,’ “thou
wakyst too late.””
Brasenose, double quote struck before ‘Brazen,’
“Brazen Nose Hall, as”
Calk, ‘Cork’ changed to small capitals, “See
Appendix, s.v. CORK”
Challenge, square brace inserted after ‘q.v.,’
“the Eton Montem (q.v.).]”
Continent, double quote inserted after ‘day,’
““æger for the day””
Dispar, ‘Commons’ changed to ‘commons,’ “A
commons or share.”
Div, text re-ordered for clarity, “e.g.
Tique-div (q.v.”
Dreep, ‘or’ changed to medium weight, “Dreep (or
Dreip)”
Drive, full stop inserted after ‘subs,’ “Also as
subs.”
Fin, double quote inserted after ‘etc.,’ ““I
won’t have, &c.””
Genuine, square brace inserted after ‘115,’ “cf.
Parsius, i. 115.]”
Go, comma inserted after ‘Kingsley,’ “H.
Kingsley, Austin Elliot”
Hatch, ‘garden’ changed to ‘garden-gate,’ “a
garden-gate, wicket-gate”
Haul, full stop inserted after ‘verb,’ “verb.
phr. (Harrow).—To have”
Long Chamber, ‘Long Chamber’ changed to small
capitals, “years.... LONG CHAMBER, a dormitory”
Long-meads, double qute inserted before ‘The,’
““The time after dinner”
Mad, ‘Triolus’ changed to ‘Troilus,’ “Chaucer,
Troilus [Skeat”
Mess, double quote inserted after ‘ready,’ “as
MESS is ready.””
Mortar-board, double quote struck before ‘fusc,’
“(no “sub fusc” undergrad.)”
Mustard-and-Pepper Keeper, ‘A’ changed to ‘An,’
“An appointment in the”
Nob, double quote inserted before ‘We,’ ““We
must find you some”
Non-attached, double quote inserted after
‘NON-ATTACHED,’ ““NON-ATTACHED,” and is now”
Pandie, ‘See’ italicized, “See Redgauntlet”
Post te, ‘POSTE’ changed to ‘POST,’ “e.g. POST
TE hat”
Skirmish, full stop inserted after ‘verb,’
“verb. phr. (Winchester).—To”
Snicks, full stop inserted after ‘verb,’ “verb.
phr. (Winchester).—To”
Sniw, full stop inserted after ‘verb,’ “verb.
phr. (The Leys).—To”
Sock, double quote inserted after ‘week,’ “three
times last week,””
Swink, ‘Marriage’ changed to ‘Mariage,’ “Mariage
of Witt and Wisdome”
Tardy, double quote inserted after ‘TASK,’ ““I
was TARDY TASK””
Touch, double quote inserted after ‘STONE,’ “of
the CRICKET-STONE””
Waffle, colon changed to semi-colon after
‘weak,’ “is very weak; waffy”
Appendix, Fag-poker, ‘LAG’ changed to ‘FAG,’
“call of “FAG poker”
Appendix, Stonyhurst-football, ‘form’ changed to
‘forms,’ “in other forms of”
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Public School Word-book - A conribution to to a historical glossary of words phrases - and turns of expression obsolete and in current use peculiar - to our great public schools together with some that have - been or are modish at the universities" ***
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