Garrison-hack, subs. (common).—1. A woman given to indiscriminate flirtation with officers at a garrison.
1889 Daily Telegraph, 14 Feb. Lord Normantower, Philip's dearest friend, to whom she, when a garrison-hack, had been engaged, and whom she had thrown over simply because he was poor and prospectless.
1890. Athenæum, 8 Feb., p. 176, c. 1. The heroine is a garrison-hack, but the hero is an Australian.
2. (common).—A prostitute; a soldier's trull. For synonyms, see Barrack Hack and Tart.
Garrotte, subs. (common).—A
form of strangulation (see verb).
[From the Spanish la garrota =
a method of capital punishment,
which consists in strangulation by
means of an iron collar.]
Verb. (common).—1. A method of robbery with violence, much practised some years ago. The victims were generally old or feeble men and women. Three hands were engaged: the front-stall who looked out in that quarter, the back-stall at the rear, and the ugly or nasty-*man who did the work by passing his arm round his subject's neck from behind, and so throttling him to insensibility.
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of Lond. Committed for trial for garrotting and nearly murdering a gentleman.
1873. Trollope, Phineas Redux, ch. xlvi. In those days there had been much garrotting in the streets.
2. (cards).—To cheat by concealing certain cards at the back of the neck.
Garrotter, subs. (common).—A
practitioner of garrotting
(under verb, sense 1.)
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London, p. 201. The delectable epistle was written by garrotter Bill to his brother.
Garrotting. 1. See Garrotte
(verb, sense 1).
2. (gamblers').—Hiding a part of one's hand at the back of the neck for purposes of cheating.
Garter, subs. (nautical).—1. in.
pl. the irons, or bilboes. For
synonyms, see Darbies.
To get over the Garter, verb. phr. (venery).—To take liberties with a woman.
To Fly or Prick the Garter. See Prick the Garter.
Garvies, subs. (Scots').—1. Sprats.
Sometimes Garvie-Herring.
1845. P. Alloa, Statis. Acc., viii., 597. They are often very successful in taking the smaller fish, such as herrings, garvies or sprats, sparlings or smelts.
2. (military).—The Ninety-fourth Foot. [From the small stature of the earlier recruits.]
1869. Notes and Queries, 4 S. iii., p. 349. Garvie. The soubriquet points to the low average height of the recruits in the Fifeshire regiments, which, however, may not now be the case, since recruiting has become less local.
Gas, subs. (common).—Empty
talk; bounce; bombast.
1847. Porter, Quarter Race, etc., p. 120. The boys said that was all gas to scare them off.
1867. Chambers' Jour., 29 June. I've piped off Sabbath gas in my time I don't deny, but under the woods we mostly tell the truth.
1868. Chambers' Jour., 15 Feb., p. 110. I don't, an' never could splice ends with them as blow off gas about gold-*digging—saying it's plunder easy come an' easy gone, seeking the root of evil, an' other granny talk which hasn't no meaning.
