[?]. MS. Trin. Coll. Oxen., 57. Nym, he seyde, this thief Faste in alle wyse, And wyn of him the tresour, And make him do sacrifyse.
1586. The Booke of Hunting [quoted by Halliwell]. Then boldly blow the prize thereat, Your play for to nime or ye come in.
c.1600-62. Common Cries of London [Collier, Roxburghe Ballads (1847), 213]. And some there be . . . That pinch the countryman With nimming of a fee.
1606. John Day, Ile of Guls, iii., p. 67. As I led him to his Chamber I nimde his Chayne and drew his Purse, and next morning perswaded him he lost it in the great Chamber at the Reuels.
1608. Penniles Parl. in Harl. Misc. (ed. Park), 1., 182. To the great impoverishing of all nimmers, lifters, and cut-purses.
1634. T. Tomkis (?), Albumazar, iii., 7. Met you with Ronca? 'tis the cunning'st nimmer Of the whole company of Cut-Purse Hall.
1637. Massinger, Guardian, v., 2. I am not good at nimming.
1640. Rawlins, The Rebellion, iii. If our hell afford a devil, but I see none, unless he appear in a delicious remnant of nim'd satin.
1663. Butler, Hudibras, i., i., 598. Examine Venus, and the Moon, VVho stole a thimble or a spoon . . . They'l question Mars, and by his look Detect who 'twas that nimm'd a Cloke.
1664. Butler, Hud., ii., iii., 209. Booker's, Lilly's, Sarah Jimmers And Blank-Schemes to dis-cover Nimmers.
c.1696. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nim. Nim a togeman—to steal a cloak. Nim a cloak, To cut off the buttons in a crowd, or whip it off a man's shoulders.
d.1704. Lestrange, Works [Johnson]. They could not keep themselves honest of their fingers, but would be nimming something or other for the love of thieving.
1727. Gay, Beggar's Opera, ii., 2. I must now step home, for I expect the gentleman about this snuff-box that Filch nimmed two nights ago in the park.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, &c., s.v.
1831. C. Lamb, Hercules Pacificatus, in Englishman's Mag. And whatsoe'er they nimm'd, she hid it.
1836. Smith, The Individual, 'The Thieves' Chaunt,' 5. But because she lately nimm'd some tin, They have sent her to lodge at the King's Head Inn.
Nimble, adj. (colloquial).—Easy-got;
quickly 'turned-over': of
money. Cf. Ninepence.
1898. Le Queux, Scribes and Pharisees, viii. The baronet was not very wealthy, and allowed his name to appear as director of certain companies, and pocketed fees ranging from the nimble half-sovereign to the crisp and respectable five-pound note.
Nimble as a cat on a hot bakestone (or hot bricks), phr. (common).—As nimble as may be; in a hurry to get away; alert; on the qui-vive. Also as nimble as an eel in a sand-*bag, as a new-gelt dog, as a bee in a tar-barrel, as a cow in a cage, or as ninepence.—Ray (1676).
Nimenog, subs. (old).—A fool. Also
nigmenog.—B. E. (1696).
Nimgimmer, subs. (old).—see quot.—Grose
(1785 and 1823).
1696. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Nim-gimmer. A Doctor, Surgeon, Apothecary or any one that cures a Clap or the Pox.
Nimrod, subs. (colloquial).—1. A
hunting-man; a sportsman.
1599. Hakluyt, Voyages, ii., i., 309. These mighty Nimrods fled, some into holes and some into mountaines.
1765. Blackstone, Comm., iv., 416. The game laws have raised a little Nimrod in every parish.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v.
1887. Athenæum, 13 Aug., 208, 1. To the former (old sportsmen) he will recall events almost forgotten concerning the Nimrods of a past generation.
2. subs. (venery).—The penis. [Because 'a mighty hunter']. See Creamstick and Prick.
