FLARE, subs, (nautical).—1. Primarily a stylish craft; hence, by implication, anything out of the common. For synonyms, see STUNNER.
2. (colloquial).—A row; a dispute; a 'drunk'; or spree. Cf., FLARE-UP.
Verb, (thieves').—1. Specifically to whisk out; hence, to steal actively, lightly, or delicately.
1850. Lloyds Weekly, 3 Feb. Low Lodging Houses of London. B. tried his pocket saying. 'I'll show you how to do a hankerchief'; but the baker looked round and B. stopped; and just after that I FLARED it (whisked the handerchief out); and that's the first I did.'
1851-61. MAYHEW, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., 457. Just after that I FLARED it (a handerchief).
2. (common).—To swagger; to go with a bounce.
1841. LEMAN REDE, Sixteen-String Jack, ii., 3. Crissy Odsbuds, I'll on with my duds, And over the water we'll FLARE.)
ALL OF A FLARE, adv. phr.
(thieves').—Bunglingly.
1839. BRANDON, Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime, p. 113. Some of the girls at Milberry's pick pockets at night: while one talks to the man, the other robs him; but they are not dextrous, they pull it out ALL OF A FLARE.
FLARING, adj. and adv. (colloquial).—Excessive:
e.g., a
FLARING lie; FLARING drunk;
a FLARING whore; see FLAMING.
FLARE-UP (or -OUT), subs. (popular).
An orgie; a fight; an outburst
of temper. Also a spree.
1838. HALIBURTON, Clockmaker, 2 Ser. ch. x. Some of our young citizens . . . got into a FLARE-UP with a party of boatmen that lives in the Mississippi; a desperate row it was too.
1847. Punch, vol. XIII., p. 148, Address at the Opening of a Casino. In for FLARE-UP and frolic let us go, And polk it on the fast fantastic toe.
1851. MAYHEW, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, I., p. 160. These (hot eel) dealers generally trade on their own capital; but when some have been having a FLARE-UP, and have 'broke down for stock' to use the words of my informant, they borrow £1 and pay it back in a week or a fortnight.
1879. JUSTIN M'CARTHY, Donna Quixote, ch. xvii. Paulina had a hard struggle many a time to keep down her temper, and not to have what she would have called a FLARE-OUT.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS.—Barney; batter; bean-feast; beano; break-*down; burst; booze (specifically a drinking-bout); caper; devil's delight; dust; fanteague; fight; flare; flats-yad (back slang); fly; gig; hay-bag; hell's delight; high jinks; hooping up; hop; jagg; jamboree; jump; jun-*ketting; lark; drive; randan; on the tiles; on the fly; painting the town (American); rampage; razzle-dazzle; reeraw; ructions; shake; shine; spree; sky-wannocking; tear; tear up; toot.
FRENCH SYNONYMS.—La nocerie (popular: une noce à tout casser; or, une noce de bâtons de chaise = a grand jollification); faire des crepes (= to have a rare spree); badouiller (popular: especially applied to drinking bouts).
ITALIAN SYNONYM.—Far festa alle campane.
SPANISH SYNONYMS.—Trapisonda (a drunken revel); holgueta.
Verb (common).—To fly into a passion.
1849. MAHONEY, Rel. Father Prout, I., 319. 'Vert-Vert, the Parrot.' Forth like a Congreave rocket burst, And storm'd and swore, FLARED UP, and curs'd.
