subs. (old).—1. A countryman; a clown. For synonyms, see JOSKIN.
1811. GROSE and CLARKE, Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. HARRY. A country fellow.
2. (colloquial).—See ’ARRY.
OLD HARRY, subs. (common).—The devil. For synonyms, see SKIPPER.
1693. CONGREVE, The Old Bachelor, ii., 1. By the LORD HARRY I’ll stay no longer.
1811. GROSE and CLARKE, Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
1830. BULWER-LYTTON, Paul Clifford, ch. iv. May OLD HARRY fly off with him.
1837. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends, ‘The Lord of Thoulouse’ (1865), p. 406. Shall I summon OLD HARRY himself to this spot?
HARRY OF THE WEST, subs. phr. (political American).—Henry Clay.
TO PLAY OLD HARRY, verb. phr. (common).—To annoy; to ruin; to play the devil.
1889. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 18 Jan. Otherwise PLAYED OLD HARRY with the guardians of the peace.
TOM, DICK, AND HARRY, phr. (common).—Generic for any and everybody; the mob.
1886. R. L. STEVENSON, Kidnapped, p. 287. He rode from public-house to public-house and shouted his sorrows into the lug of TOM, DICK, AND HARRY.
WHAT HARRY GAVE DOLL, verb. phr. (old venery).—The penis: also generic for fornication.
