1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xvii. A hedge-parson, or buckle-beggar, as that order of priesthood has been irreverently termed.
Hedger, See, Hedge sense 2.
1828-45. Hood, Poems (Ed. 1846), p. 96. A black-leg saint, a spiritual hedger.
Hedge-school, subs. (Irish).—A school in the country parts of Ireland formerly conducted in the open air, pending the erection of a permanent building to which the name was transferred. Hence, hedge-schoolmaster.
Hedge-square. To doss (or snooze) in Hedge-square (or street), verb. phr. (vagrants').—To sleep in the open air.
English Synonyms.—To skipper it; to doss with the daisies; to be under the blue blanket; to put up at the Gutter Hotel; to do a star pitch.
French Synonyms.—Coucher à l'hotel de la belle étoile (pop. = to sleep at the Star Hotel); manger une soupe aux herbes (popular); fuer la comète (popular = to nose the comet); coucher dans le lit aux pois verts.
1877. Greenwood, Under the Blue Blanket. The vagrant brotherhood have several slang terms for sleeping out in a field or meadow. It is called 'snoozing in Hedge Square,' etc.
Hedge-tavern (or -ale-house), subs. (old).—See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hedge Tavern or Alehouse, A Jilting, Sharping Tavern, or Blind Alehouse.
1705. Farquhar, Twin-rivals, i., 1. That was . . . in the days of dirty linen, pit-masks, hedge-taverns, and beef-steaks.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hedge-whore (or Hedge-bit),
subs. (old: now recognised).—A
filthy harlot working in the open
air.
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes, s.v., Zambracca, a common-hedge-whore, strumpet, a base harlot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Hedging, subs. (racing).—See
Hedge, verbal sense 2.
1867. A. Trollope, Claverings, ch. xxiv. He would be lessening the odds against himself by a judicious hedging of his bets.
Heel. To bless the world with one's heels, verb. phr. (old).—To be hanged. For synonyms, see Ladder.
1566-7. Painter, Palace of Pleasure, sign R., 8. And the next daye, the three theves were conveied forth to blesse the worlde with their heeles.
To cool (or kick) the heels, verb. phr. (common).—To wait a long while at an appointed place.
1614. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair. Who forthwith comitted my little hot furie to the stockes, where we will leave him to coole his heeles, whilst we take a further view of the faire.
1673. Wycherley, Gentleman Dancing Master, iv., 1. They ne'er think of the poor watchful chambermaid, who sits knocking her heels in the cold, for want of better exercise, in some melancholy lobby or entry.
1752. Fielding, Amelia. In this parlour Amelia cooled her heels, as the phrase is, near a quarter of an hour.
1830. Lytton, Paul Clifford [Ed. 1854], p 22. He expected all who kicked their heels at his house would behave decent and polite to young Mr. Dot.
1833. Marryat, Peter Simple, ch. xiii. Tell him that I'll trouble him to forget to go to sleep again as he did last time, and leave me here kicking my heels contrary to the rules of the service.
