or roge, roger, subs. (old cant).—1. A professed beggar; ‘the fourth Order of Canters’ (AWDELEY, HARMAN, B. E., GROSE). Whence (2) WILD ROGUE (see quot. 1567), and (3, modern) = a knave or rascal; A ROGUE IN GRAIN = ‘a great rogue, or a corn-chandler’ (GROSE); A ROGUE IN SPIRIT = ‘a distiller or brandy-merchant’ (GROSE). As verb = to beg.
1531–47. COPLAND, The Hye-way to the Spyttel-hous [HAZLITT, Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of England, IV. 44]. These ROGERS that … foot and frydge.
1567. HARMAN, A Caveat or Warening for Common Cursetors (1869), 41. A WILDE ROGE is he that is borne a Roge: he is more subtil and more geuen by nature to all kinde of knauery than the other…. I once rebuking a wyld roge because he went idelly about he shewed me that he was a begger by enheritance—his Grandfather was a begger, his father was one, and he must nedes be one by good reason.
1605. SHAKESPEARE, King Lear, iv. 7, 39. To hovel thee with swine and ROGUES forlorn.
1611. COTGRAVE, Dictionarie, s.v. Divague. Raunging, ROGUING about.
1619. FLETCHER, The Wild-Goose Chase, ii. 3. Ros. ’Tis pity such a lusty fellow should wander up and down, and want employment. Bel. She takes me for a ROGUE.
[Passim in English literature to the present time.]
2. (colloquial).—Anything vicious; bastard; or unstandardized. Thus ROGUE-ELEPHANT = an evil-minded murderous male or female; ROGUE’S-BADGE = blinkers for a vicious horse. [Cf. ROGUE (christened Roger) Riderhood, DICKENS, Our Mutual Friend.]
1859. DARWIN, Origin of Species, 42 and 43. When a race of plants is once pretty well established, the seed-raisers do not pick out the best plants, but … pull up the ‘ROGUES,’ as they call the plants that deviate from the proper standard…. The destruction of horses under a certain size … may be compared to the ‘ROGUING’ of plants.
1888. Referee, 11 Dec. Admiral Benbow is a ROGUE, but he was tried exceedingly well in the summer time.
1891. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette. He wore the rogue’s badge, but is built on racing lines.
3. (colloquial).—An endearment. Whence ROGUISH = playfully mischievous. Also = a wag.
1596. SHAKESPEARE, Hamlet, ii. 2, 197. The satirical ROGUE says here that old men have grey beards. Ibid. (1598), 2 Henry IV., ii. 4, 233. Ah, you sweet little ROGUE, you!
1607. BEAUMONT and FLETCHER, The Woman-Hater, v. 5. Come, come, little ROGUE, thou art too maidenly [et passim].
1733. POPE, Imitations of Horace, I. vii. 27. What, rob your boys? those pretty ROGUES.
d. 1796. BURNS, Cessnock Banks. An’ she has twa sparkling ROGUEISH een.
DERIVATIVES.—ROGUE’S GALLERY = a collection of photographs of convicted prisoners; ROGUE-HOUSE = a prison or lockup; ROGUE-MONEY (Scots’) = an assessment for police purposes; ROGUE’S-MARCH = the DRUMMING OUT (q.v.) of a disgraced soldier or sailor; ROGUE’S-YARN = a worsted thread, varying in color in each dockyard, woven in each strand of rope to prevent theft and to trace defective manufacture.
1886. BESANT, The World Went Very Well Then, xxi. As for the Hue and Cry, leave that to me. I will tackle the Hue and Cry, which I value not an inch of ROGUES’ YARN.
1891. Century Dictionary, s.v. ROGUE … In rope made in United States navy-yards the ROGUE’S YARN is twisted in a contrary direction to the others, and is of manila in hemp rope, and of hemp in manila rope.
