where a man's shoulders are of the champagne (q.v.) order, i.e., like the neck of a wine bottle, with nothing upon which the garment in question can be hung.
American Tweezers, subs. (thieves').--An ingenious instrument of American invention, by means of which it is possible to turn a key in a door and unlock it from the outside.
Ames Ace, Ambs-Ace, or Ambes-Ace, Within ames ace, subs. phr. (old).--1. Nearly; very near; ambs-ace was the double ace, the lowest throw at dice. Hence also
2. Bad luck; misfortune. The expression, according to Murray, dates back to a.d. 1297.
Aminidab, subs. (old).--A jeering name for a Quaker.--Grose.
Ammunition, subs. (common).--Paper for use at the cabinet d'aisance. Also called curl papers (q.v.).
Ammunition Leg, subs. (military).--A wooden leg. From the attributive use of 'ammunition' as applied to stores supplied to soldiers for equipment or rations. To show the length to which this application of the word has been carried, it may be noted that Robertson, in 1693, speaks of 'an ammunition whore.'--scortum castrense.
amort, adv. and pred. adj. (old).--Usually all amort, an antithetical phrase to all alive (q.v.), and meaning half dead; in a state of stupor; without spirit; sometimes used as a synonym of BALMY, CRACKED, DOTTY, all of which see.[** extra .; P2: no] A-la-mort, from the French, is regarded as the original form, though it is doubtful which took precedence in literary English. At one time both forms were quite naturalised; they are now of interest as affording an instance of words, gradually lapsing into slang or vulgar usage, and then coming to be regarded as Anglo-French phrases. American thieves still retain them, to signify struck dumb, or confounded; in these senses they are given by Grose in his Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue [1787], which would seem to show they had already commenced their downward career.
Ampersand, subs. (familiar).--The breech; or posteriors. [From Eng. and + Latin per se, by itself, + Eng. and; literally, 'and by itself and' used to distinguish the character '&,' which in old nursery books came at the end of the alphabet. Hence, employed to signify the hinder parts.] The word in its slang sense is quite a recent introduction, said to be of American origin. For synonyms, see Blind cheeks.
Amputate. To amputate one's mahogany or timber (familiar).--To be off; to begone--the idea being that of quick or violent motion, often, though not always, the result of moral or physical force. [Probably from that sense of amputate equivalent to 'cut off' or 'away.' Cf., 'cut,' a slang synonym.] A welcher is called a timber-merchant, because he removes
