The Surprising Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew Part 12

_Diggers_, spurs.

_Dimber Damber_, a top-man among the canting crew; also the chief rogue of the gang, or the greatest cheat.

_Dimbermort_, a pretty wench.

_Doash_, a cloak.

_Dobin rig_, stealing ribbons from haberdashers early in the morning, or late at night, generally practised by women in the disguise of maid-servants,

_Doctor_, milk and water, with a little rum and some nutmeg; also the name of a composition used by distillers, to make spirits appear stronger than they really are.

_Doctors_, loaded dice that will run but two or three chances-they put the doctors upon him; they cheated him with loaded dice.

_Dodsey_, a woman; perhaps a corruption of Doxey.

_Downy cove_, a smart fellow.

_Drumbelow_, a dull fellow.

_Dunnikin_, a necessary, or little-house.

_Dunaker_, a stealer of cows and calves.

_Eriffs_, rogues just initiated, and beginning to practise.

_Eternity box_, a coffin.

_Facer_, a b.u.mper without lip room.

_Families_, rings.

_Famms_, hands.

_Fastener_, a warrant.

_Fawney_, a ring.

_Feeder_, a spoon:-to nab the feeder; to steal a spoon.

_Fermerdy beggars_, all those who have not the sham sores or clymes.

_Ferret_, a p.a.w.nbroker or tradesman, that sells goods to young spendthrifts upon trust, at excessive rates, and then hunts them without mercy, and often throws them into jail, where they perish for their debt.

_Fidlam Ben_, general thieves; called also St. Peter's sons, having every finger a fish-hook.

_Flag_, a groat.

_Flash_, a periwig.

_Flaybottomist_, a b.u.m-thrasher, or schoolmaster.

_Flick_, old-fas.h.i.+oned, or sly.

_Flicker_, a drinking-gla.s.s.

_Flicking_, to cut, cutting; as flick me some panea and ca.s.san, cut me some bread and cheese.

_Flute_, the recorder of London, or any other town.

_Flyers_, shoes or boots.

_Fogus_, tobacco: tip me a gage of fogus; give me a pipe of tobacco.

_Froglanders_, Dutchmen.

_Frummagemmed_, choked, strangled, or hanged.

_Furmen_, aldermen.

_Gaberlunzie_, a beggar.

_Gan_, a mouth.

_Gans_, the lips.

_Gage_, a liquor pot, or a tobacco pipe.

_George_, a half-crown piece.

_Gem_, a fire.

_Gentry cove_, a gentleman.

_Gibberish_, the cant language of thieves and gipseys, called pedlars's French, St. Giles's Greek, and the Flash tongue: also the mystic language of Geber, used by chemists. Gibberish likewise means a sort of disguised language, formed by inserting any consonant between each syllable of an English word; in which case it is called the gibberish of the letter inserted; if _f_, it is the _f_ gibberish; if _g_, the _g_ gibberish; as in the sentence, How do you do? Howg dog youg dog?

_Gigg_, a nose: snitch.e.l.l his gigg; fillip his nose: grunter's gigg; a hog's snout. Gigg is also a high one-horse chaise.

_Gipseys_, a set of wandering vagrants found in the country. When a fresh recruit is admitted into this fraternity, he is to take the following oath, administered by the princ.i.p.al maunder, after going through the annexed forms:-

First, a new name is given him, by which he is ever after to be called; then standing up in the middle of the a.s.sembly, and directing his face to the dimber damber, or princ.i.p.al man of the gang, he repeats the following oath, which is dictated to him by some experienced member of the fraternity:

I, Crank Cuffin, do swear to be a true brother, and that I will in all things obey the commands of the great tawney prince, and keep his council, and not divulge the secrets of my brethren.

I will never leave nor forsake the company, but observe and keep all the times of appointment, either by day or night in every place whatever.

I will not teach any one to cant, nor will I disclose any of our mysteries to them.

I will take my prince's part against all that shall oppose him, or any of us, according to the utmost of my ability: nor will I suffer him, or any one belonging to us, to be abused by any strange abrams, rufflers, hookers, pailliards, swaddlers, Irish toyles, swigmen, whip jacks, jarkmen, bawdy baskets, domerars, clapper dogeons, patricoes, or curtails; but will defend him or them, as much as I can, against all other outliers whatever. I will not conceal aught I win out of libkins, or from the ruffmans, but I will preserve it for the use of the company.