2. (American).—A dish (pork or beef) smothered with potatoes [cf. smother, an old cookery term—'rabbits smothered in onions'].
Smouch, subs. (old).—1. A low-crowned
hat (Halliwell).
2. See Smous.
Verb. (old).—1. To kiss: as subs. (or smoucher) = a kiss.
1578. Whetstone, Promos and Cassandra, 47. Come, smack me; I long for a smouch.
1583. Stubbes, Anat. Abuses, 114. What bussing, what smouching, and slabbering one of another.
1600. Weakest to Wall, i. 3. You will love me, smouch me, be my secret vriend.
1600. Heywood, 1 Ed. IV. [Pearson, Works (1874), i. 40]. I had rather than a bend of leather, Shee and I might smouch together.
1606. Ret. from Parnassus. Why how now pedant Phœbus, are you smoutching Thalia on her tender lips?
2. (old).—To chouse; to trick; to take an unfair advantage.
Smous (or Smouch), subs. (old).—A
Jew (Grose). Also (2) a
sharper.
1705. Bosman, Description of Guinea, Letter XI. As impertenant and noisy as the Smouse or German Jews at their synagogue at Amsterdam.
1760. Johnston, Chrysal, i. 228. I saw them roast some poor smouches at Lisbon because they would not eat pork.
1764. C. Macklin, Man of the World, ii. 1. Ha, ha, ha!. . . I honour the Smouse.
1837. Barham, Ingolds. Leg., 'Mer. of Venice.' You find fault mit ma pargains, and say I'm a Smouch.
Smouting, subs. (old printers').—See
quot: now grassing (q.v.).
1688. R. Holme, Academy, &c. Workmen, when they are out of constant work, sometimes accept of a day or two's work or a week's work at another printing house; this by-work they call smouting.
Smouze, verb. (American).—'To
demolish; as with a blow' (Bartlett).
Smug, subs. (old).—1. A blacksmith
(B. E. and Grose).
1611. Rowland, Knave of Clubs. A smug of Vulcan's forging trade.
1629. Dekker, Londons Tempe. I must now A golden handle make for my wife's fann, Worke, my fine smugges.
1709. Ward, Works, i. 133. You're an impudent slut, cries the smug at his bellows.
2. (common).—An affectedly proper or self-satisfied person. Hence as adj. (B. E. and Grose: now accepted) = 'Neat and spruce.'
3. (school and university).—See quot. As verb. = to work hard.
1888. Goschen, Speech at Aberdeen, 31 Jan. The heinous offence of being absorbed in it [work]. Schools and Colleges . . . have invented . . . phrases, semi-classical, or wholly vernacular, such as 'sap,' 'smug,' 'swot,' 'bloke,' 'a mugster.'
1889. Lancet, ii. 471. Students . . . continually at study . . . absent-minded . . . often offended at . . . a joke. They become labelled smugs and are avoided by their class-mates.
Verb. (common).—1. To pilfer; to snatch: in quot. 1633 = to sneak into favour. Hence smuggings {see quot. 1847). Smug-lay (old thieves'), see quots. c.1696 and 1785: also smuggler.
c.1633. Fletcher [Halliwell]. Thou mayst succeed Ganymede in his place, And unsuspected smug the Thund'rers face. O happy she shall climbe thy tender bed, And make thee man first for a maidenhead.
c.1696. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Smug-lay. Those that Cheat the King of his Customs by private Imports and Exports.
