subs. (American).—1. A five-cent piece. [Abbreviation of ‘nickel.’]
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. Also NICK IN THE NOTCH. See MONOSYLLABLE.
c. 1720. Old Song [FARMER, Merry Songs and Ballads (1897), iii., 223], ‘John and Nell.’
| And in the NICK he seiz’d her, | |
| She trembled, blush’d, and hung her head. |
1736. The Cupid, p. 129.
| So in the NICK the Nymph was finely | |
| Fitted for her cold Disdain. |
d. 1749. ROBERTSON OF STRUAN, Poems, 186. And as one guides me to the NICK, The other cries—Put up thy——
1782. G. A. STEVENS, Songs, Comic and Satyrical, ‘The Sentiment Song.’ The NICK makes the tail stand, the farrier’s wife’s mark.
3. See OLD NICK.
4. (old).—A dent, or island, in the bottom of a beer can: cf. KICK. Hence NICK AND FROTH = (1) false measure; and (2) a publican.
d. 1529. SKELTON, The Tunnynge of Elynoure Rummynge.
| Our pots are full quarted, | |
| We were not thus thwarted | |
| With froth-canne and NICK-POT. |
1612. ROWLANDS, The Knave of Hearts, 13.
| We must be tapsters running up and downe | |
| With cannes of beere, (malt sod in fishes broth) | |
| And those they say are fil’d with NICK AND FROTH. |
fl. 1650. R. FLETCHER, Poems, 133. From the NICK AND FROTH of a penny pothouse.
1628. Robin Good-fellow [HALLIWELL]. There was a tapster, that with his pots smalnesse, and with frothing of his drinke, had got a good summe of money together. This NICKING of the pots he would never leave.
1661. Poor Robin. All we know of the matter is, that she [a conscientious hostess] still continues the NICK AND FROTH trade as usual.
c. 1696. B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. NICKUM. NICK AND FROTH built the Pye at Aldgate, sharping in the Reckonings and cheating in the measure built that (once) Noted House.
1822. NARES, Glossary, s.v. NICK. A deceptive bottom in a beer can, by which the customers were cheated, the NICK below AND the FROTH above filling up part of the measure.
5. (colloquial).—The exact or critical instant.
1594. Look About You, Sc. 25 [DODSLEY, Old Plays, 1874, vii., 459].
| Skink. A plague upon them, come they in the NICK, | |
| To hinder Reynard of his fox’s trick? |
1611. L. BARRY, Ram Alley [DODSLEY, Old Plays, 1874, x., 286].
| I have a trick, | |
| To second this beginning, and in the NICK | |
| To strike it dead. |
1621. BEAUMONT and FLETCHER, The Pilgrim, iii. 7. Mast. Now ye have hit the NICK.
1633. FORD, Love’s Sacrifice, ii., 2. Maur. Most fit opportunity! her grace comes just i’ th’ NICK.
1655. Phillis of Scyros. And see when Nerea comes just in the NICK.
1664. J. WILSON, Andronicus Comnenius, v., i. Dramatists of the Restoration (1874), xiv. 193. He catches at anything. This is our NICK.
1708. CENTLIVRE, The Busy Body, ii. 1. Sir Geo. Ads-heart, Madam, you won’t leave me just in the NICK, will you? Sir Fran. Ha, ha ha! She has NICK’D you, Sir George, I think! Ha, ha, ha!
d. 1716. SOUTH, Sermons, ix., ser. 4. God delivered them at the very NICK of time.
1823. BADCOCK (‘Jon Bee’), Dictionary of the Turf, etc., s.v. NICK. You are arrived in the NICK of time, is addressed to one who comes in at the critical minute.
6. (gaming).—A winning throw at dice.
d. 1721. PRIOR, Cupid and Ganymede.
| Cries Ganymede: the usual trick: | |
| Seven, slur a six; eleven, a NICK. |
Verb. (old).—1. To steal; and (2) to cheat. Fr. rifler.
1617. FLETCHER, The Mad Lover, i., 1.
| You men of wares, the men of wars will NICK ye: | |
| For starve nor beg they must not. |
1677. WYCHERLEY, The Plain Dealer, iii. Free. I ventured my last stake upon the squire to NICK him of his mother.
1727. GAY, The Beggar’s Opera, ii., 4. She rivetted a linen-draper’s eye so fast upon her, that he was NICK’D of three pieces of cambric before he could look off.
1750. FIELDING, Tom Jones, VII., xii. Thinks I to myself. I’ll NICK you there, old cull; the devil a smack of your nonsense shall you ever get into me.
1752–1840. BURNEY, Diary. I entirely depended upon it, and for four mornings was up at 7 o’clock and all the trouble and fatigue of washing face and hands quite clean, putting on clean linnen, a tidy gown and smug cap, and after all we were choused, for he NICKED us entirely and never came at all.
1817. SCOTT, Rob Roy, iii. The polite and accomplished adventurer, who NICKED you out of your money at White’s.
1823. BADCOCK (‘Jon Bee’), Dictionary of the Turf, etc., s.v.
1834. W. H. AINSWORTH, Rookwood, IV., ii. I NICK the broads.
1869. Temple Bar, xxvi., 75. I bolted in and NICKED a nice silver tea-pot.
1869. Echo, 9 Sept. ‘Life of London Boys.’ They climbed up there as they would climb anywhere—in at your window, over your hedges, where they would NICK the taters, or apples, or onions, or anything else, and waste them in the kiln.
1871. Standard, 8 Sept. ‘Bow St.’ Shannon confessed that he himself was as big a thief as any one in London, and asked him (witness) to NICK a watch, pledge it at Morris’s, and give him (Shannon) the ticket, as he was determined to have Morris convicted.
1880. Punch’s Almanack, 9. The Cad’s Calendar. ’Ot July, just NICKED a handy fiver.
1889. The Sporting Times, 6 July. ‘The Shah at Fleet St.’ The well-known diamond aigrette and the celebrated emerald were also left behind, to the intense disgust of the staff, who had calculated on NICKING out a few stones from the former.
1897. Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday, 23 Oct., 342, 2. Even down to her Sunday stays, Which she calmly NICKS from missus’s box.
3. (old).—See quot.
1808. JAMIESON, An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, s.v. NICK. A cant word signifying, ‘to drink heartily; as, he NICKS fine.’
4. (old).—To break windows with copper coins. Hence, NICKER = a person addicted to the practice.
1712. GAY, Trivia, iii., 323. His scatter’d pence the flying NICKER flings.
1714. T. LUCAS, Memoirs of Gamesters, etc., 203. Call’d by the NICKERS and Sharpers, little Dick-Fisher.
1717. PRIOR, Alma, iii., 233.
| Break watchmen’s heads, and chairmen’s glasses, | |
| And thence proceeds to NICKING sashes. |
c. 1741. ARBUTHNOT and POPE, Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus. Your modern Musicians want art to defend their windows from common NICKERS.
1886. M. E. BRADDON, Mohawks, ix. The Flying Post described how the NICKERS had broken all Mr. Topsparkle’s windows with halfpence.
5. (old).—To fool.
1593. SHAKESPEARE, Comedy of Errors, v. 1. His man with sissors NICKS him like a fool.
1633. FLETCHER and SHIRLEY, The Night-Walker, or the Little Thief, i., 1. NICK him home, thou know’st she dotes on thee.
6. (old).—To score at dice.—B. E. (c. 1696); GROSE (1785).
1598. FLORIO, A Worlde of Wordes, p. 280. To tye or NICKE a caste at dice.
1677. WYCHERLEY, The Plain Dealer, ii., 1. Thou art some debauch’d drunken, leud, hectoring, gaming companion, and want’st some Widow’s old gold to NICK upon.
1773. GOLDSMITH, She Stoops to Conquer, iii. My old luck; I never NICKED seven that I did not throw ames ace three times following.
7. (old).—To hit the mark.—B. E. (c. 1696): GROSE (1785).
1690. The Pagan Prince [NARES]. She NICKT it, you’l say, exactly.
1691–2. Gentlemen’s Journal, Jan., p. 39. It seems he NICK’D the critical moment.
1696. AUBREY, Miscellanies, 50. This dream … made him get up very early; he NICKED the time, and met with the waggoner just at the very door, and asked him what he had in his cart.
1714. T. LUCAS, Memoirs of Gamesters, etc., 62. He conjur’d that Beldam, to NICK the Opportunity.
1821. W. T. MONCRIEFF, Tom and Jerry [DICK], p. 6. Tom. You’ve NICKED it; the fact is this, Dicky—you must turn missionary. Here is a young native from the country, just caught, whom you must civilize.
1831. LAMB, Satan in Search of a Wife, I., xii.
| ‘I wish my Nicky is not in love’— | |
| ‘O Mother, you have NICK’T it’— | |
| And he turn’d his head aside with a blush. |
1883. The Field, 21 Jan. The white [greyhound] NICKED up on the inside for two or three wrenches.
1891. Sporting Life, 26 March. As he interfered with Innisheen, it perhaps saved an objection when the latter just NICKED the verdict by the shortest of heads.
8. (old).—To nickname.
1634. FORD, Perkin Warbeck, iv., 3. Warbeck, as you NICK him, came to me.
1681. N. LEE, The Princess of Cleve, ii. 3. Believe me, Sir, in a little time you’ll be NICK’D the Town-Bull.
9. (old).—To catch; to arrest.
1701. CIBBER, Love Makes a Man, v., 3. Well, Madam, you see I’m punctual—you’ve NICK’D your Man, faith.
1759. J. TOWNLEY, High Life below Stairs, ii., 1. Free. You have just NICKED them in the very minute.
1796. J. G. HOLMAN, Abroad and at Home, ii., 3. He had NICK’D his man, and accosted me accordingly. We lost one another in the croud, and he departed in his error.
1835. C. SELBY, Catching an Heiress, sc. 1. I’ve NICK’D it!
1836. MARRYAT, Japhet, lvii. That is the other fellow who attacked me, and ran away. He has come to get off his accomplice, and now we’ve just NICKED them both.
1841. BULWER-LYTTON, Night and Morning, II., iv. I must be off—tempus fugit, and I must arrive just in time to NICK the vessels. Shall get to Ostend or Rotterdam, safe and snug; thence to Paris.
1893. P. H. EMERSON, Signor Lippo, xvii. I found my way back to Vestminster, got palled in with a lot more boys, done a bit of gonoffing or anything to get some posh, but it got too hot, all my pals got NICKED, and I chucked it and done a bit of costering and that’s how I lost my eye.
1896. FARJEON, The Betrayal of John Fordham, III. 279. Louis had plenty of money to sport; e’d been backin’ winners…. Maxwell ’ad been NICKED the other way through backin’ losers.
10. (common).—To compare or jump with.
1887. VISCOUNT BURY and G. L. HILLIER, Cycling, 227. Only one sport ‘NICKS’ with cycling.
11. (old).—To indent a beer can; to falsify a measure by indenting and frothing up.
1628. Robin Good-fellow [HALLIWELL]. There was a tapster, that with his pots smalnesse, and with frothing of his drinke, had got a good summe of money together. This NICKING of the pots he would never leave.
c. 1636. The London Chanticleers, Sc. 5. The sleights of NICKING and frothing he scorns as too common.
TO NICK THE PIN, verb. phr. (old).—To drink fairly.—B. E. (c. 1696).
TO KNOCK A NICK IN THE POST, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.
1847. HALLIWELL, A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, etc., s.v. NICK. TO KNOCK A NICK IN THE POST, i.e., to make a record of any remarkable event. This is evidently an ancient method of recording.
OUT OF ALL NICK, adv. phr. (old).—Past counting.
1595. SHAKESPEARE, Two Gentlemen of Verona, iv. 2. I tell you what Launce, his man, told me, he lov’d her OUT OF ALL NICK.
OUT ON THE NICK, phr. (thieves’).—Out thieving; ON THE PINCH (q.v.).
TO NICK WITH NAY, verb. phr. (old).—To deny.
1350. William of Palerne, (E.E.T.S.), 4145. ȝif sehe NICKES WIÞ NAY · & nel nouȝt com sone.
[?]. The Romance of Athelston.
| On her knees they kneleden adoun, | |
| And prayden hym off hys benysoun; | |
| He NYKKYD HEM WITH NAY. |
1820. SCOTT, The Abbot, xxxviii. As I have but one boon to ask, I trust you will not NICK me WITH NAY.
NICKS. See NIX.
