1899. Ev. Standard, 13 March, 8, 2. 'A China Episode.' Mathew Leveret, a peripatetic dealer in crockery ware, was driving his pony and shallow . . . laden with crockeryware of all kinds.
4. (tramps').—See quots. and Shivering Jemmy.
1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab., i. 262. He scraped acquaintance with a 'school of shallow coves'; that is, men who go about half-naked, telling frightful tales about shipwrecks, hair-breadth escapes from houses on fire, and such like aqueous and igneous calamities. . . . People got 'fly' to the shallow brigade, so Peter came up to London to 'try his hand at something else.'
1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London. The shaller, or more properly shallow dodge, is for a beggar to make capital of his rags, and a disgusting condition of semi-nudity. . . . A pouncing of the exposed parts with common powder blue is found to heighten the frost-bitten effect.
1877. Turner, Vagrants, &c, 641. I have been a shallow-cove, also a high-*flyer.
1893. Ripon Chronicle, 23 Aug. 'A Queer Life Story.' Billy Brum has been running shallow at intervals in these parts for the past five years. By running shallow I mean that he never wears either boots, coat, or hat, even in the depths of the most dismal winter.
1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, x. I only do the shallow on the pinch. I shall have to come back to the nigger business, its more respectable. Ibid., x. One thing, I always go very 'spectable—clean collar, clean scarf, clean boots. It's far better to go that way than shallow.
1900. Flynt, Tramps, 240. One day he is a shallow-cove, or 'Shivering Jimmy.'
To LIVE SHALLOW, verb. phr. (thieves').—To live quietly and in retirement, as when wanted (q.v.)
Sham, subs. adj. and verb. (old).—Generic
for false. As subs. =
(1) a cheat, a trick; (2) a substitute,
as a pillow-sham, false
sleeves, fronts, or cuffs. As adj.
= spurious, counterfeit. As verb.
= to cheat; to feign: also TO cut
A sham = 'to play a rogue's Trick'
(B. E. and Grose); shamocrat
= one who apes rank or wealth.
1677. Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iii. 1. Shamming is telling you an insipid dull Lie with a dull Face, which the sly Wag the Author only laughs at himself; and, making himself believe 'tis a good Jest, puts the sham only upon himself.
1689. Prior, To Fleetwood Shepherd. Your Wits that fleer and sham, Down from Don Quixote to Tom Tram.
1700. Congreve, Way of the World, v. 10. That sham is too gross to pass on me! Ibid., i. 1. The discovery of your sham addresses to her, to Conceal your Love to her Niece, has provok'd this Separation.
1722. Steele, Conscious Lovers, i. Wearing shams to make linen last clean a fortnight.
1740. North, Examen, 231. The word sham is true cant of the Newmarket breed. It is contracted of 'ashamed.' The native signification is a town lady of diversion in country maid's cloaths, who to make good her disguise, pretends to be so 'sham'd.' Thence it became proverbial . . . so annex'd to a plot it means one that is fictitious and untrue.
1778. Sheridan, The Rivals, i. 1. Why does your master pass only for ensign?—now if he had shamm'd general.
1790. Franklin, Auto., 257. He stayed some time to exercise the men in sham attacks upon sham forts.
1813. Aubrey, Lives, 'Henry Blount.' Two young gent. that heard Sr. H. tell this sham . . . rode the next day to St. Albans to enquire . . . 'twas altogether false.
1817. Scott, Rob Roy, xxxvii. He shammed ill, and his death was given publicly out in the French papers.
3. (common).—Champagne; BOY (q.v.): also SHAMMY.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, iv. A bottle of sherry, a bottle of sham, a bottle of port and a shass caffy, it ain't so bad, hay, Pen.?
See Abraham; Snite.
