or ooftish, subs. (popular).—Money. Hence OOF-BIRD = the goose that lays the golden eggs, the source of supply; the FEATHERED OOF-BIRD = money in plenty; TO MAKE THE OOF-BIRD WALK = to circulate money; OOFLESS = poor. See quot. 1870.
c. 1870. The Sporting Times, 26 Dec., 1891. 1. OOFTISH was, some twenty years ago, the East End synonym for ‘money,’ and was derived from auf tische, ‘on the table’—the aristocracy of Houndsditch being in the habit of refusing to play cards, even with their best friends, unless the money were down ‘on the table.’ Hence OOFTISH, a word which was freely used by the late Mr. Benson and his companions in the De Goncourt frauds. We—that is to say Gub—met OOFTISH at a thieves’ supper in Little Wylde Street, took the animal home, cut his tail off, and turned him loose. So that OOF now swaggers about the mansions of the aristocracy.
1888. The Sportsman, 27 Dec. It is a sad and weary time for many, for when the dustman, the man who blacks the boots, and he with the grog-blossom on his nose who does nothing but hold cab-doors open when nobody asks him to have all been paid, the OOF BIRD lakes unto itself wings and flies away.
1889. Daily News, 27 Aug., 7, 1. Henry Smith, her coachman, next gave evidence. He said he heard King say he had come after some OOFTISH.
1897. Pall Mall Gazette, 8 March, 7, 3. No splosh, no OOF-BIRD from those blokes.
