or shice, subs. (thieves’).—1. Any worthless person or thing: generic for contempt. Also (2) = nothing; NIX (q.v.): e.g., TO WORK FOR SHICE = to get no payment. Spec. SHICE = base money; and, as adj., (1) spurious, shabby, bad: also SHICERY and SHICKERY; and (2) = tipsy.
1851–61. H. MAYHEW, London Labour and the London Poor, I. 472. The hedge crocus is SHICKERY togged.
1871. Illustrated Sydney News, 21 Jan., ‘The Digger.’ The ne’er-do-wells … are … the first to rush to a new field, scrape it of its surface gold and then too lazy to seek further by deep sinking denounce the rush as a SHICER.
1877. W. H. THOMSON, Five Years’ Penal Servitude, iii. 240. I ascertained while at Dartmoor that a very large ‘business’ is done in ‘SHISE.’ Ibid., ii. 128. Seeing how the fellow was acting he sent him two ‘SHISE’ notes, which gave him a dose that ‘cooked’ him.
1899. BINSTEAD, Houndsditch Day by Day, 46. She comes over SHIKKUR an’ vants to go to shleeb.
1901. W. S. WALKER, In the Blood, 260. ‘You’re a damned good plucked un, Toby!’ muttered Squiffy, ‘an’ ye’re no SHICER.’
