Old

subs. (common).—Money: see RHINO.

  1900.  G. R. SIMS, In London’s Heart, 20. “Perhaps it’s somebody you owe a bit of the OLD to, Jack.”… “No, I don’t think so,” he replied. “Most of the people I owed money to turned up, my dear, when they heard I’d married you.”

  Adj. (old colloquial).—1.  Crafty; cunning; experienced.

  2.  (old literary: now colloquial).—Great; famous; grand; once a common intensitive; now only in combination with ‘high,’ ‘good,’ ‘gay,’ etc.

  1590.  R. TARLTON, Newes out of Purgatorie. On Sunday, at masse, there was OLD ringing of bels.

  1596.  SHAKESPEARE, Merry Wives of Windsor, i. 4. There will be an OLD abusing of God’s patience, and the king’s English. Ibid. (1600), Much Ado about Nothing, v. 2. 98. Urs. Madam, you must come to your uncle. Yonder’s OLD coil at home.

  1607.  T. TOMKIS, Lingua, or the Five Senses, ii. 6 [DODSLEY, Old Plays (REED), V. 163]. Phantastes. I imagine there’s OLD moving amongst them.

  1611.  MIDDLETON and DEKKER, The Roaring Girle (Century). Here’s OLD cheating.

  1612.  DEKKER, If It Be Not Good, the Divel is in it. Iou. We shall haue OLD breaking of neckes then.

  1621.  FLETCHER, The Pilgrim, iii. 7. Strange work at sea; I fear me there’s OLD tumbling.

  1624.  MIDDLETON, A Game at Chess, iii. 1. Mass, here will be OLD firking.

  1664.  COTTON, Virgil Travestie (1st ed.), 104. There was OLD drinking and OLD singing.

  1883.  Referee, 11 March, 3, 2. All the children who have been engaged in the Drury Lane Pantomime took tea on the stage, and had a HIGH OLD TIME (while it lasted).

  1888.  J. MCCARTHY, and R. CAMPBELL PRAED, Ladies’ Gallery, xxxv. I went down to Melbourne, intending to have a HIGH OLD TIME.

  1891.  J. NEWMAN, Scamping Tricks, 7. You are a big fraud and a HIGH OLD liar.

  1892.  T. A. GUTHRIE (‘F. Anstey’), Voces Populi, ‘The Riding Class,’ 108. ‘We’ve bin having a GAY OLD time in ’ere.

  1899.  A. C. GUNTER, A Florida Enchantment, 86. Well, old boy, did you have a HIGH OLD time last evening, with that pretty widow?

  3.  (old cant).—See quot.

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

  4.  (old literary: now colloquial).—A general term of endearment or cordiality: e.g., OLD CHAP; OLD FELLOW; OLD BOY; OLD HOSS; OLD MAN; OLD GAL; etc. See BOY.

  1598.  SHAKESPEARE, 1 Henry IV., ii. 4. Go thy ways, OLD Jack.

  c. 1696.  B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. OLD CUFF, a frolicksome old Fellow. Ibid. OLD TOAST, a brisk old Fellow.

  1740.  RICHARDSON, Pamela, III. 380. Never fear, old boy, said Sir Charles, we’ll bear our parts in conversation.

  1785.  GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. OLD TOAST, a brisk old fellow.

  1823.  GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue [EGAN]. OLD CHAP, a good-natured flash phrase.

  1854.  Our Cruise in the Undine, 142. ‘Here’s a go, Bill!’ said the Doctor. ‘Never mind, OLD BOY,’ replied the Captain; ‘we’ll get the other side of him yet.’

  1871.  The Echo, 16 March. Are you going to have a wet, OLD BOY? one familiarly remarked.

  1889.  Illustrated London News, Summer Number, 26, col. 2. You are right there, OLD BOY, said Eustace.

  1892.  HUME NISBET, The Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 165. Now for business, OLD BOY.

  5.  (common).—A general disparagement: as in OLD BLOKE; OLD BUFFER; OLD CAT; OLD COCK; OLD CODGER; OLD COON; OLD CRAWLER; OLD CURMUDGEON; OLD DOG; OLD FILE; OLD FIZ-GIG; OLD GEEZER; OLD HUDDLE AND TWANG; OLD IMAGE; OLD POT-AND-PAN; OLD SHAVER; OLD SQUARE-TOES; OLD STAGER; OLD STICK; OLD STICK-IN-THE-MUD.

  1600.  Sir John Oldcastle, i. 2.

  1760.  COLMAN, Polly Honeycombe, i. 3. The OLD CODGER’S gone, and has locked me up with his daughter.

  1821.  W. T. MONCRIEFF, Tom and Jerry, ii. 4. Tom. Good night, OLD STICK-IN-THE-MUD.

  1836.  LEMAN REDE and R. B. PEAKE, The Middle Temple, sc. 3. Brutus. Thank you, ma’am; there was an OLD FIZGIG told me to bring that card here. Mrs. M. OLD FIZGIG! (aside) Does not speak quite respectful of his parent.

  1838.  C. SELBY, The Dancing Master, 2. Hard-hearted OLD CODGER, he’d see me killed with as much unconcern as he would a sucking-pig.

  1846.  PLANCHÉ, Court Favour, i. Duke. (aside.) Tiresome OLD CAT! Madam, (aloud) permit me then.

  1864.  Sun, 28 Dec., Review of HOTTEN’S The Slang Dictionary. We look in vain here for any mention of OLD SQUARE-TOES.

  1868.  MARK LEMON, Golden Fetters, ii. p. 74. Mr. Clendon did not call Mr. Barnard OLD COCK, OLD FELLOW, or OLD BEESWING.

  1870.  C. H. HAZLEWOOD and A. WILLIAMS, Leave It to Me, i. Jos. (aside) Blowed if I know what to say. (Aloud to Quince) My worthy OLD COCKALORUM.

  1888.  BOLDREWOOD, Robbery under Arms, xxxvi. You’re a regular OLD IMAGE, Jim, says she. Ibid., i. I used to laugh at him, and call him a regular OLD CRAWLER.

  1892.  MILLIKEN, ’Arry Ballads, 17. Life don’t want lifting, OLD OYSTER.

  1895.  H. B. MARRIOTT-WATSON, The King’s Treasure, in The New Review, July, 4. He was a comfortable OLD COCK, of an affluent habit, and pretty well to do, as I suspected.

  AS OLD AS CHARING CROSS (or AS PAUL’S), phr. (old).—Of ripe age.—RAY (1676).