1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Smug-lay. Persons who pretend to be smugglers of lace and valuable articles; these men borrow money of publicans by depositing these goods in their hands; they shortly afterwards decamp, and the publican discovers too late that he has been duped, and on opening the pretended treasure he finds trifling articles of no value.
1847. Halliwell, Arch. Words, s.v. Smugging. Games had . . . times or seasons . . . when any game was out, as it was termed, it was lawful to steal the thing played with . . . 'Tops are in, spin 'em again; Tops are out, smugging's about.
1851-61. Mayhew, Land. Lab., 11. 508. I shouldn't mind his licking me; I'd smug his money, and get his halfpence, or somethink. Ibid. After that he used to go smuggling, running away with other people's things.
2. (thieves').—To hush up; (3) to steal; and (4) to apprehend.
1857. M. Chron., 3 Oct. She wanted a guarantee the case should be smugged, or in other words compromised.
1877. Horsley, Jottings from Jail. Then two or three more coppers came up, and we got smugged, and got a sixer each.
Smuggle, verb. (old colloquial).—1.
To cuddle; to fondle: cf.
snuggle.
1698. Farquhar, Love and a Bottle, i. 1. Oh, the little lips! and 'tis the best-natured little dear [smuggles and kisses it].
1709. Ward, Works, i. 68. You may smuggle and grope . . . But must pay for the ultimate favour.
2. (schools').—To sharpen a pencil at both ends. Hence smuggler = a pencil thus sharpened.
Smuggling-ken, subs. phr. (old).—A
bawdy house (Grose).
Smulkin, subs. (old).—A brass
farthing (Irish): temp. Eliz.
Smusa, verb. (Grose).—'To
snatch or seize suddenly.'
Smut, subs. (colloquial).—1. Obscenity;
ribaldry. Hence smutty
= lewd, obscene, nutty (q.v.);
smuttiness = bawdry (B. E. and
Grose).
1698. Collier, Eng. Stage, 6. Smuttiness is a fault in behaviour as well as in religion. Ibid., 24. There are no smutty songs in their plays, in which the English are extremely scandalous.
d.1704. Brown, Works, i. 237. The Judge gravely tells them, Look ye, Ladies we have a smutty Tryal coming on . . . yet the Devil a Lady will flinch.
1709. Ward, London Terræfilius, 2. 12 [Works (1709), i.] She . . . has as many smutty stories at her tongue's end as an old parish clerk.
d.1719. Addison, The Lover, 39. He . . . will talk smut, though a priest and his mother be in the room.
1722. Steele, Conscious Lovers, Prol. Another smuts his scene.
1734. Pope, Satires, Prol. Spite, or smut, or rhymes, or blasphemies.
1746. Smollett, Advice, 172. The smutty joke, ridiculously lewd.
1857. Punch, 31 Jan., 'The Stone Jug.' A goney . . . As ain't up to our lurks, our flash patter and smut.
2. (various).—(a) A copper boiler (Grose, Vaux, and Hotten); (b) = a grate (Grose; in Vaux = a furnace); (c) = old iron (Grose).
See Brother Smut.
Snabble. verb. (old).—1. Generic
for force: e.g. to rifle or plunder,
to arrest, to kill; to eat greedily
(Grose).
1724. Harper [Harlequin Sheppard, 'Frisky Moll's Song']. But fileing of a rumbo ken, My Boman is snabbled again.
1752. Smollett, Faithful Narrative, Wks. (1901, xii. 184). The very cull who hath a warrant against me for snabbling his peeter and queer Joseph.
2. (venery).—To copulate: see Ride.
