a. 1534. N. Udall, Roister Doister, III., iii., p. 44 (Arber). Ye are such a calfe, such an asse, such a BLOCKE.
1595. Shakspeare, Two Gentlemen, Act ii., Sc. 5. Speed. What an ass art thou! I understand thee not. Launce. What a BLOCK art thou, that thou canst not!
1599. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour. Induct. Cor. Hang him, dull BLOCK!
1624. Massinger, Bondman, II., ii. This will bring him on, Or he's a BLOCK.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5 ed.). Block (s) . . . sometimes an ignorant, stupid fellow.
1881. Besant and Rice, Chaplain of the Fleet, pt. II., ch. iv. She said that her partner was delightful to dance with, partly because he was a lord—and a title, she said, gives an air of grace to any BLOCK—partly because he danced well and talked amiably.
2. The head. Possibly an abbreviated form of BARBER'S BLOCK (q.v.). For synonyms, see Crumpet.
1637. Shirley, Lady of Pleas, II., i. Buy a beaver For thy own BLOCK.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, ch. xxxv. 'I cleaned a groom's boots on Toosday, and he punched my BLOCK because I blacked the tops.'
Barber's Block, subs. (common).—1. A transferred sense [from a wooden head for showing off a wig] applied to a showy, over-dressed man; a fop.
1876. E. Lynn Linton, Hallberger's Illus. Mag., p. 72. No, not to men worthy of the name of men—men, not BARBER'S BLOCKS.
2. The head.—See Block, sense 2.
1823. Scott, Peveril of the Peak, ch. v. (I., p. 67). Were I not to take better care of the wood than you, brother, there would soon be no more wood about the town than the BARBER'S BLOCK that's on your own shoulders.
A CHIP OF THE SAME OLD BLOCK, phr. (common).—A man or thing exhibiting the same qualities as he or that with which a comparison is made.
1627. Sanderson, Serm., I., 283. Am not I a child of the same Adam, a vessel of the same clay, A CHIP OF THE SAME BLOCK, with him. [m.]
1655. L'Estrange, Charles I., 126. Episcopacy, which they thought but a great CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK Popery. [M.]
To Cut a Block With A Razor, phr. (old).—Inconsequent argument; futile endeavour; incongruous application of means or ability to the end in view.
1774. Goldsmith, Retaliation, 42. 'Twas his fate unemployed or in place, sir, to eat mutton cold and CUT BLOCKS WITH A RAZOR.
To Block a Hat, phr. (popular).—To crush a man's hat over the eyes by a blow; TO BONNET (q.v.).
Blockers.—See Block Ornaments.
Block House, subs. (old).—A prison; the house of detention. For synonyms, see Cage.
1624. Capt. Smith, Virginia, III., xi., 85. To stop the disorders of our disorderly Theeues . . . built a Block-house. [m.]
1785. Grose, Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Block-houses, Prisons, houses of correction, etc.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum. [Same definition given as in Grose.]
1889. Murray, New English Dictionary. [Common since c. 1500: of uncertain history. The Ger. equivalent blockhaus ('einen steinen Blockhaus') is quoted by Grimm, 1557 and 1602; the Du. blokhuis is in Kilian, 1599; Fr. blocus, generally considered to be the same word, and orig. in same sense, is quoted by Littré in the 16th c. (Cf., Bloccuz). So far as evidence goes, the Eng. is thus the earliest; but we should expect it to be of Du. or Ger. origin. In any case the sense was not originally (as in modern notion) a house composed of blocks of wood, but one which blocks or obstructs a passage. The history and age of the Ger. blockhaus and Fr. blocus require more investigation.]
