1856. Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, pt II., ch. v. I want to give you a true picture of what every-day school life was in my time, and not a kid-glove and go-to-meeting-coat picture.
1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago. Looks right well in her go-to-meeting clothes.
Gouge, subs. (American).—An
imposture; a swindle; a method
of cheating.
1845. New York Tribune, 10 Dec. R and H will probably receive from Mr. Polk's administration $100,000 more than respectable printers would have done the work for. There is a clean, plain gouge of this sum out of the people's strong box.
Verb. (old).—1. Grose says, 'To squeeze out a man's eye with the thumb, a cruel practice used by the Bostonians in America.'
1848. Ruxton, Life in the Far West, p. 49. His eyes having been gouged in a mountain fray.
2. (American).—To defraud.
1845. New York Tribune, 26 Nov. Very well, gentlemen! gouge Mr. Crosby out of the seat, if you think it wholesome to do it.
1874. W. D. Howells, Foregone Conclusions, ch. iii. The man's a perfect Jew—or a perfect Christian, one ought to say in Venice; we true believers do gouge so much more infamously here.
1885. Bret Harte, A Ship of '49, ch. i. He's regularly gouged me in that 'ere horsehair spekilation.
Gouger, subs. (American).—A
cheat; a swindler. For synonyms,
see Rook.
Gouging, subs. (American).—Cheating.
Goujeers. See Goodyear.
Gourd, subs. (old).—False dice
with a cavity within, which in
Fullams (q.v.) was filled with
lead to give a bias. See also
High-men and Low-men.
1544. Ascham, Toxophylus. What false dyse use they? as dyse stopped with quicksilver and heares, dyse of vauntage, flattes, gourds, to chop and chaunge when they liste.
1596, Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, i., 3. Let vultures gripe thy guts! for gourd and fullam holds, And high and low beguiles the rich and poor.
1616. Beaumont and Fletcher, Scornful Lady, iv. And thy dry bones can reach at nothing now But gourds or nine-pins; pray go fetch a trencher, go.
Gourock Ham, subs. (common).—A
salt herring (Gourock was
formerly a great fishing village).
For synonyms, see Glasgow
Magistrate.
Government-man, subs. (old
Australian).—A convict.
1864. Smythe, Ten Months in Fiji Islands, q.v.
1883. Graphic, 17 Mar., p. 262, c. 3. They never settle down as thousands of our Government men cheerfully did in Australia after they had their freedom.
Government-securities, subs.
(common).—Handcuffs; fetters
generally. For synonyms, see
Darbies.
Government-signpost, subs.
(old).—The gallows. For synonyms,
see Nubbing-cheat.
1887. A. Barrère, Argot and Slang, p. 272. Montagne du géant. Fr. (obsolete), gallows, scrag, nobbing cheat, or government signpost.
Governor (or Guv), subs. (common).—1.
A father. Also relieving
officer; old 'un;
pater; nibso; and his nibs.
Applied to elderly people in
general. Fr., le géniteur and
l'ancien (= the old 'un).
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xx. p. 169. 'You're quite certain it was them, governor?' inquired Mr. Weller, junior. 'Quite, Sammy, quite,' replied his father.
