Booze

or bouse, bowse, etc., subs. (old cant).—1.  Drink; LAP (q.v.): generic. Also (2) = a drinking bout, a carouse; (3) = a draught, a GO (q.v.). As verb (or TO BOUSE THE JIB) = to drink; drink heavily, to tipple, to guzzle: employed in some sense of ‘to drink’ as early as 1300: See LUSH. Whence BOOZED = drunk, fuddled; BOOZY = drunken, SCREWED (q.v.); BOOZING = the act of drinking hard; and BOOZER = a confirmed tippler. Also derivatives, and in combination: e.g., BOOZING-CHEAT = a bottle; BOOZING-KEN = a drinking-den: see LUSH-CRIB; BOOZINGTON (or MR. BOOZINGTON) = a mock address: see LUSHINGTON.

  c. 1303.  FRIAR MICHAEL OF KILDARE [T. L. KINGTON-OLIPHANT, The New English, i, 3. We have the phrase drink dep, and the verb BOUSE].

  d. 1529.  SKELTON, The Tunnynge of Elynoure Rummynge, in Harleian Miscellany (ed. Park), I., 416.

  1536.  COPLAND, The Hye-way to the Spyttel-hous [HAZLITT, Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of England. (1866), IV. 69]. With BOUSY COVE maimed nace.

  1567.  HARMAN, A Caveat. 86. Now I tower that bene BOUSE makes nase nabes. Ibid., 5. The buriall was tourned to BOUSING and belly cheere. Ibid., 32. They bowle and BOWSE one to another, and for the tyme BOUSING belly chere. Ibid., 65. A BOWSING-KEN, a ale house. Ibid. Man. What, stowe your bene, cofe, and cut benat whydds, and byng we to rome vyle, to nyp a bong; so shall we haue lowre for the BOUSING KEN, and when we byng back to the deuseauyel, we wyll fylche some duddes of the Ruffemans, or myll the ken for a bagge of dudes. Ibid., 65. BOWSE, drinke.

  1590.  SPENSER, The Fairie Queene, I, iv. 22. And in his hand did beare a BOUZING can.

  1592.  NASHE, Pierce Penilesse, His Supplication to the Divell, in Wks. II., 91. They should haue all the companie that resort to them, bye BOWZING and beere-bathing in their houses every after-noone.

  1592.  GREENE, A Quip for an Upstart Courtier, in Wks. XI., 253. To marke the BOWSIE drunkard to dye of the dropsy.

  1607.  T. WALKINGTON, The Optick Glasse of Humors, 24. For drinkes, wee must not like BOWZERS carouse bowle after bowle to Bacchus his dyety, like the Grecians, nor vse smaller cuppes in the beginning of our banquet, more large & capacious bowles at the latter end.

  1609.  DEKKER, Lanthorne and Candlelight [GROSART, Works (1886), iii., 203]. If we niggle, or mill a BOWSING KEN.

  1610.  ROWLANDS, Martin Mark-all, 37 [Hunterian Club’s Reprint, 1874]. BOWSE, drinke. Ibid. BOWSING-KEN, an Ale-house.

  1611.  COTGRAVE, Dictionarie, s.v. Piailleur: … a tipler, BOWSER.

  1611.  MIDDLETON and DEKKER, The Roaring Girle, v. 1. So my BOUSY nab might skew some BOUSE.

  1615.  HARINGTON, Epigrams.

  1616.  JONSON, The Devil is an Ass, v., 4. And in the meantime, to be greasy, and BOUZY.

  1622.  FLETCHER, Beggar’s Bush, ‘The Maunder’s Initiation.’

  1633.  MASSINGER, A New Way to Pay Old Debts, I., i. Well. No BOUSE? nor no tobacco?

  c. 1650.  BRATHWAITE, Barnaby’s Journal (1723), 47.

  1652.  R. BROME, A Joviall Crew, II., Wks. (1873) III., 390.

  1671.  R. HEAD, The English Rogue, I., iv., 36 (1874). Most part of the night we spent in BOOZING, pecking rumly or wapping, that is drinking, eating, or whoreing.

  1693.  DRYDEN, Juvenal, x., 288. Which in his cups the BOWSY poet sings.

  c. 1696.  B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. BOWSE, c. Drink, or to Drink, see BENBOWSE and RUMBOWSE. Ibid., s.v. BOWSINGKEN, c. an Alehouse. The Cut tipt us a Hog, which we melted in Rumbowse, c. the Gentleman gave us a Shilling, which we spent in Strong Drink. Ibid., s.v. BOWSY. c. Drunk. We BOWS’D it about, we Drank damn’d hard.

  1705.  WARD, Hudibras Redivivus, II. iv. 14. Amongst a Crowd of Sots, half BOOZY.

  1714.  Memoirs of John Hall (4 ed.), 11. BOOZING-KEN, an Ale-house. [List of cant words in.]

  1714.  Memoirs of John Hall (4 ed.). 11. BOOZE, Drink. [List of cant words].

  1772.  BRIDGES, A Burlesque Translation of Homer, 403.

  1777.  COLMAN, Epilogue to Sheridan’s School for Scandal. While good Sir Peter BOOZES with the squire.

  1785.  GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. BOUSE, etc., drink.

  1791.  BURNS, Tam o’ Shanter. While we sit BOUSING at the nappy.

  1811.  GROSE and CLARKE, Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.

  c. 1819.  WOLCOT, Peter Pindar, 303, (ed. 1830). ‘Orson and Ellen.’

  1819.  T. MOORE, Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress, 27. Many of the words used by the Canting Beggars in Beaumont and Fletcher, and the Gipsies in Ben Jonson’s Masque, are still to be heard among the Gnostics of Dyot-street and Tothill-fields. To prig is still to steal;… BOUZING-KEN, an alehouse; cove, a fellow….

  1821.  W. T. MONCRIEFF, Tom and Jerry, ii., 6. Jemmy. Gemmen, have you ordered the peck and BOOZE for the evening?

  1834.  W. H. AINSWORTH, Rookwood, III., v. ‘We’ll have a jolly BOOSE when all’s over.’ Ibid. The hovel which they termed their BOOZING-KEN.

  1848.  THACKERAY, The Book of Snobs, xxiii. The BOOZY unshorn wretch is seen hovering round quays as packets arrive, and tippling drams in inn bars where he gets credit. Ibid., xxxiii. The quantity of brandy-and-water that Jack took showed what a regular BOOZER he was. Ibid. (1853), Barry Lyndon, xiii., 173. ‘I wonder, Sir Charles Lyndon … can demean himself by gambling and BOOZING with low Irish black-legs!’

  1830.  P. CROOK, War of Hats, 50.

  1857.  C. KINGSLEY, Two Years Ago, iii. Ere the Doctor could be stirred out of his BOOZY slumbers, and thrust into his clothes by his wife, the schoolmistress was safe in bed.

  1866.  G. ELIOT, Felix Holt, xi. ‘Till they can show there’s something they love better than swilling themselves with ale, entension of the suffrage can never mean anything for them but entension of BOOZING.’

  1884.  St. James’s Gazette, 19 Dec., 4., I. There was a great BOOZE on board.

  1889.  The Sporting Times, 6 July. Kid. The Music Hall Sports are at Alexandra Park on the 23rd, and there will be rare doings on that occasion. Master and Shifter both give prizes, and there will be BOOZE in our drag.

  1889.  Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday, Aug. 24, 267, 2. In Canton gardens I have BOOZED.