1857. Thackeray, Virginians, ch. xxxi. She is changed now, isn't she? What an old Gorgon it is! She is a great patroness of your book-men, and when that old frump was young they actually made verses about her.
3. (old).—A cheat; a trick.
1602. Rowland, Greene's Ghost, 37. They come off with their . . . frumps
Verb (old).—To mock; to insult.
1589. Nashe, Month's Mind, in Works, Vol. I., p. 158. One of them . . . maketh a iest of Princes, and 'the troubling of the State, and offending of her Maiestie,' hee turneth of with a frumping forsooth, as though it were a toie to think of it.
1593. G. Harvey, Pierces Super, in Works II., 107. That despiseth the graces of God, flowteth the constellations of heaven, frumpeth the operations of nature.
1609. Man in the Moone. Hee . . . frumpeth those his mistresse frownes on.
1757. Garrick, Irish Widow, I., i. Yes, he was frumped, and called me old blockhead.
Frumper, subs. (old).—A sturdy
man; a good blade.
1825. Kent, Modern Flash Dict., s.v.
Frumpish, adj. (colloquial).—Cross-grained;
old-fashioned and
severe in dress, manners, morals,
and notions; ill-natured; given
to frumps. Also Frumpy.
1589. Greene, Tullies Love, in wks. vii., 131. Who were you but as fauourable, as you are frumpish, would soone censure by my talke, how deepe I am reade in loues principles.
1701. Farquhar, Sir Harry Wildair, Act. V., Sc. 5. She got, I don't know how, a crotchet of jealousy in her head. This made her frumpish, but we had ne'er an angry word.
1757. Foote, Author, Act II. And methought she looked very frumpish and jealous.
1764. O'Hara, Midas, I., 3. La! mother, why so frumpish?
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, Bk. I., ch. xi. 'Don't fancy me a frumpy old married woman, my dear; I was married but the other day, you know.'
1889. Modern Society, 12 Oct., p 1271, col. 2. Quite an elderly and superannuated look is given to the toilette which is finished off by a woollen cloud or silken shawl, and only invalids and sixty-year-old women should be allowed such frumpish privileges.
Frushee, subs. (Scots').—An open
jam tart.
Fry, verb (common).—To translate
into plain English. Cf., boil
down.
1881. Jas. Payn, Grape from a Thorn, ch. xxx. 'I shall repose the greatest confidence in you, my dear girl, which one human being can entrust to another.' was one of its sentences, which, when it came 'to be fried,' meant that she should delegate to her the duties of combing Fido and cutting her canary's claws.
Go and fry your face, phr. (common).—A retort expressive of incredulity, derision, or contempt.
Frying-pan. To jump from the
frying-pan into the fire,
verb. phr. (common).—To go
from bad to worse. Cf., 'from
the smoke into the smother' (As
You Like it, i., 2.). Fr., tomber
de la poêle dans la braise.
1684. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, Part II. Some, though they shun the Frying-pan, do leap into the fire.
To Fry the Pewter, verb phr. (thieves').—To melt down pewter measures.
F Sharp, subs. phr. (common).—A
flea; cf., B flat.
Fuant, subs. (old).—Excrement.—B.
E. Dict. of the Canting Crew.
Fub, verb. (old).—To cheat; to
steal; to put off with false
excuses. Also Fubbery = cheating,
stealing, deception.
