1696. Aubrey, Miscel., 50. This dream .. made him get up very early; he nicked the time, and met with the waggoner just at the very door, and asked him what he had in his cart.
1691-2. Gentlemen's Journal, Jan., p. 39. It seems he nick'd the critical moment.
1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 62. He conjur'd that Beldam to nick the opportunity.
1823. Moncrieff, Tom & Jerry [Dick], p. 6. Tom. You've nicked it; the fact is this, Dicky—you must turn missionary. Here is a young native from the country, just caught, whom you must civilize.
1831. C. Lamb, Satan in Search of a Wife, 1., xii. 'I wish my Nicky is not in love'—'O mother you have nicked it'—And he turn'd his head aside with a blush.
1883. Field, 21 Jan. The white [greyhound] nicked up on the inside for two or three wrenches.
1891. Sporting Life, 26 March. As he interfered with Innisheen, it perhaps saved an objection when the latter just nicked the verdict by the shortest of heads.
8. (old).—To nickname.
1634. Ford, Perkin Warbeck, iv., 3. Warbeck, as you nick him, came to me.
1689. Princess of Cleve. Believe me, sir, in a little time you'll be nick'd the town-bull.
9. (old).—To catch; to arrest.
1700. Cibber, Love Makes a Man, v., 3. Well, madam, you see I'm punctual—you've nick'd your man, faith.
1759. Townley, High Life Below Stairs, ii., 1. You have just nicked them in the very minute.
d. 1817. Holman, Abroad and at Home, ii., 3. He had nicked his man, and accosted me accordingly. We lost one another in the crowd, and he departed in his error.
1835. Selby; Catching an Heiress, 1. I've nicked it!
1836. Marryat, Japhet. lvii. That is the other fellow who attacked me, and ran away. He has come to get off his accomplice, and now we've just nicked them both.
1841. Lytton, Night and Morning, II., iv. I must be off—tempus fugit, and I must arrive just in time to nick the vessels. Shall get to Ostend or Rotterdam, safe and snug; thence to Paris.
1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, xvii. I found my way back to Vestminster, got palled in with a lot more boys, done a bit of gonoffing or anything to get some posh, but it got too hot, all my pals got nicked, and I chucked it and done a bit of costering and that's how I lost my eye.
1896. Farjeon, Betray. of John Fordham, iii. 279. Louis had plenty of money to sport; e'd been backin' winners. Maxwell 'ad been nicked the other way through backin' losers.
10. (common).—To compare or jump with.
1887. Bury and Hillier, Cycling, 227. Only one sport nicks with cycling.
11. (old).—To indent a beer can; to falsify a measure by indenting and frothing up.
1628. Life of Robin Goodfellow [Halliwell]. There was a tapster, that with his pots smallnesse, and with frothing of his drinke, had got a good somme of money together. This nicking of his pots he would never leave.
c. 1636. London Chanticleers, Sc. 5. The sleights of nicking and frothing he scorns as too common.
12 (venery).—To copulate: see Greens and Ride.
To nick the pin, verb. phr. (old).—To drink fairly.—B. E. (c. 1696).
To knock a nick in the post, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.
1847. Halliwell, Archaic & Prov. Words, s.v. Nick. To knock a nick in the post, i.e., to make a record of any remarkable event. This is evidently an ancient method of recording.
Out of all nick, adv. phr. (old).—Past counting.
1595. Shakspeare, Two Gent., iv., 2. I tell you what Launce, his man, told me, he lov'd her out of all nick.
