subs. (colloquial Scots’).—Anything antiquated; specifically in commendation: as ‘the good old HAS-BEENS’; cf., NEVER WAS.
1891. The Sportsman, 1 April. Big Joe M’Auliffe proved conclusively that he is one of the HAS BEENS or else one of the NEVER WASERS, as Dan Rice, the circus man, always called ambitious counterfeits.
