subs. (prison).—1. A quid or thereabouts of tobacco.
1882. GREENWOOD, Gaol Birds at Large. A piece as large as a horse-bean, called a ‘chew,’ is regarded as the equivalent for a twelve-ounce loaf and a meat ration, and even a morsel—a mere taste that can only be laid on the tongue and sucked like a small sweetmeat (it is called a WING, and is not larger or of more substance than a man’s little finger-nail), is ‘good’ for a six-ounce loaf.
Verb (colloquial).—1. To wound slightly: orig. to shoot in the arm or shoulder.
2. (theatrical).—To undertake a part at short notice and study it in the ‘wings.’
