1886-96. Marshall, 'Pomes' from the Pink 'Un ['Boycotting the Author'], 45. So he added two 'oughts,' and got cash for it too, And promptly, proceeded the pieces to 'blew.'
1887. Bauman, Londonismen, 'Rum Coves.' Rum coves that relieve us Of chinkers and pieces, Is gin'rally lagged.
To go (or fall) to pieces, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be brought to bed.
To go all to pieces, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To collapse; to become exhausted; to be ruined.
1667. Pepys, Diary, 29 Aug. I find by all hands that the Court is at this day all to pieces, every man of a faction of one sort or other.
1672. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn], 64. s.v. A Bankrupt. He's all to pieces.
1811. Austen, Sense and S., xxx. 'Fifty thousand pounds! and by all accounts it won't come before its wanted; for they say he is all to pieces.'
1882. Punch, lxxxii., 185, 2. 'These pals will be all right after dinner.' 'Let us hope they will,' said the Corinthian, 'for they look all to pieces now.'
1884. Echo, 7 April, 3, 1. The Oxford men were now all to pieces! their boat was full of water.
To eat a piece, verb phr. (U. S. colloquial).—To eat between meals. Also to piece.
See also Flesh, Muslin, Pudding, Thick, and Top.
Piece-of-entire, subs. (old).—A
jolly fellow.
Piece-out, subs,. (tailors').—Employment;
a loan.
Pieman, subs. (streets').—The one
in hand at pitch-and-toss (q.v.).
2. See Pi, adj.
Piercer, subs. (common).—A squint-eye;
one looking nine ways for
Sundays (q.v.).
Piffing. See Spiff.
Piffle, subs. (colloquial).—Twaddle:
esp. mincing, pretentious,
affected twaddle. Hence as verb
(colloquial) = to trifle pretentiously;
to twaddle with a purpose
and an air. Piffler = an
earnest futility, i.e., a person
with a moral end in view, and
nothing to back it but a habit of
talking, or writing sentimental
rubbish. [In Jamieson, 'Piffer'
= to do peevishly,' or 'in a
feeble or trifling way'; while
'pifferin' = 'trifling, insignificant.']
Verb (old).—2. To filch; and 3 (old) = to be squeamish.—Bailey (1728); Halliwell (1847).
Pig, subs. (colloquial).—1. An
epithet of disparagement or
abuse. Thus, a dirty pig = a
person unclean in word or deed
(Grose); an old pig = an
ill-natured boor; A learned pig
= a bombastic shallow-pate; as
verb. (or to pig it, Grose) = to
herd as pigs; to pig together
= to lie (or sleep) two (or more)
in a bed (Grose); piggery = a
squalid or untidy room; pig-eyed
= small-eyed; pig-faced
heavy jowled; piggish
greedy; pig-headed = obstinate (Grose); as happy as a pig in muck (or shit) = contented but filthy; like a pig, no good alive = selfish; to long for pig (or a Bartholomew pig) (q.v.) = to show signs of, or presume upon, pregnancy; to bleed like a pig = to bleed copiously, like a pig under the knife; to stare like a stuck pig = to look fixedly or terrifically.
