Hot-stomach. So hot a stomach as to burn the clothes off his back, phr. (old).—Said of one who pawns his clothes for drink.—Lex. Bal.
Hottentot, subs. (East-end). See
quot.
1880. G. R. Sims, How the Poor Live, ch. x. The cry of Hottentots went round. 'Hottentots' is the playful way in this district of designating a stranger, that is to say, a stranger come from the West.
2. (common).—A fool. For synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head.
Hot-tiger, subs. (Oxford Univ.).—Hot-spiced
ale and sherry.—Hotten.
Hot-water. To be in hot-water,
verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
be in trouble, in difficulties,
or worried.
1846. Punch's Almanack, 29 Nov. The Times first printed by steam, 1814, and has kept the country in hot water ever since.
1864. Mark Lemon, Jest book, p. 238. Lord Allen, in conversation with Rogers, the poet, observed: 'I never put my razor into hot water, as I find it injures the temper of the blade.' 'No doubt of it,' replied Rogers; 'show me the blade that is not out of temper when plunged into hot water.'
Hound, subs. (Cambridge Univ.).—1.
See quot.
1879. E. Walford, in N. and Q., 5 S., xii., 88. In the Anecdotes of Bowyer . . . we are told that a hound of King's College, Cambridge, is an undergraduate not on the foundation, nearly the same as a 'sizar.'
2. (colloquial). A mean, contemptible fellow; a scoundrel; a filthy sneak.
Hounslow-heath, subs. (rhyming).—The
teeth. For synonyms, see
Grinders. Also Hampstead-heath.
1887. Dagonet in Referee, 7 Nov., p. 7, c. 3. She'd a Grecian 'I suppose,' And of Hampstead Heath two rows.
Houri of Fleet-street, subs. phr.
(common).—A prostitute. For
synonyms, see Barrack-hack
and Tart.
House, subs. (theatrical).—1. An
audience. To bring down the
house = to elicit a general burst of
applause. Fr., avoir sa côtelette;
boire du lait.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. House. With them (the players) it means Covent-garden or Drury-lane, or indeed any other theatre. 'A full-house' and 'half-a-house' indicate the state of the receipts or number of the audience.
1870. Athenæum, 13 Aug., p. 120. 'Letter of J. O. Halliwell.' It is now certain that Shakespeare was never proprietor of either (the Globe or Blackfriars) theatre. His sole interest in them consisted in a participation, as an actor in the receipts of what is called the house.
1873. Home News, 24 Jan. I exerted myself, not for praise of that well-dressed mob they called the house, but for very love of the congenial sport.
1892. Sydney Watson, Wops the Waif, ch. iii., p. 4. There was tremendous enthusiasm this evening. Every scene was uproariously applauded, and at the climax the whole house rose and cheered and encored with tumultuous feeling.
The House (colloquial).—(1) The Stock Exchange; (2) The House of Commons; (3) Christ Church, Oxford.
House under the hill, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
House (or apartments) to let, subs. phr. (common).—A widow.—Lex. Bal. Also Bill-of-Sale and Man-trap.
