subs. (various).—Anything especial: as (hunting) a bad leap; (common) a punishing blow, rank tradesman, or flat falsehood; (stock exchange) a big turn or large profit; and so forth. Hence RASPING-SHORTER (cricketers’) = a ball which, blocked by the bat, glides swiftly along the ground instead of rebounding.
1834. W. H. AINSWORTH, Rookwood, iv. viii. A stiff fence, captain—a reg’lar RASPER.
1841. JOHN MILLS, The Old English Gentleman, xiv. 114 (3rd ed.). A fence of little more than six feet in height was before their horses’ heads. Straight as winged arrows they flew at the leap, and cleared the RASPER without touching a shoe.
1858. DR. J. BROWN, Spare Hours, 3 S. 60. You cannot … make him keep his seat over a RASPING fence.
1886. ROOSEVELT, Cross-Country Riding in America, in The Century Magazine, xxxii. 336. Three-fourths of our fences are of this sort, which average somewhat better than four feet in height, with an occasional RASPER that will come well up to five.
1885. The Field, 26 Dec. Away over some RASPING, big fences.
1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. Denny … occasionally got home a RASPER.
