1880. Music of a Merry Heart, 55. The books went up and in due time were returned to us after examination, with the most startling faults indicated by a good big cross in the margin, which crosses for some reason, were known as sodgers.
Soiled-dove, subs. phr. (obsolete).—A
prostitute: see Tart.
Solace, subs. (old printers').—A
penalty; a fine (Moxon, 1683).
Sold. See Sell.
Soldier, subs. (common).—1. A
red herring; and (2) a boiled
lobster (Grose and Bee).
Verb. (Australian).—1. 'To make temporary use of (another man's horse). Thus a man wanting a mount catches the first horse he can, rides it to his destination, and then lets it go' (Century).
2. (old).—To bully; to hector (Halliwell).
3. (military). = To do routine work, as cleaning accoutrements, fatigue duty, anything irksome in a soldier's life.
Phrases and Combinations.—Soldier's-bottle (B. E. and Grose) = a large bottle; soldier's-mawnd = (1) 'a counterfeit Sore or Wound in the left Arm' (B. E.), and (2) 'a pretended soldier, begging with a counterfeit wound, which he pretends to have received at some famous siege or battle' (Grose); soldier's joy = masturbation; soldier's pomatum = a piece of tallow (Grose); soldier's thigh = an empty pocket; a soldier's wind = a fair wind either way, consequently (C. Russell) 'a beam wind'; old soldier = (1) an empty bottle: cf. Marine, and (2) see Old Soldier. See Come and Freshwater Soldier.
1853. Kingsley, Westward Ho, xix. The breeze blowing dead off the land was 'a soldier's wind there and back again,' for either ship.
Solemncholy. subs. (common).—Seriousness;
gravity: cf. 'melancholy.'
Sole-slogger, subs. (common).—A
shoemaker.
Sol-fa, subs. (old).—A parish clerk
(Grose).
Solid, adj. (Century: Am. polit.
slang).—United; unanimous.
Thus, a solid vote = a unanimous
vote; the solid South (American)
= the Southern States during
reconstruction: from their uniform
support of the Democratic
party; a solid party = a united
party; to make oneself solid
with = to come to an agreement
with, &c.
1884. Century Mag., xxxvii. 30. We thus succeeded in making ourselves solid with the administration before we had been in a town or village forty-eight hours.
1888. Howells, Annie Kilburn, xviii. I'm solid for Mr. Peck every time.
1898. Walsh, Lit. Curios., 1019. Solid South . . . The first occurrence of the phrase in the modern sense may be traced back to circa 1868 . . . The persistent solidarity of action of the Southern States . . . found expression in it as a term of reproach.
Solitary, subs. (prison).—Solitary
confinement.
1901. Walker, In the Blood, 156. We done a bit o' solitary once or twice.
Solo, subs. (Winchester).—A solitary
walk, without a socius
(q.v.).
Solomon (or Sollomon). See
Salmon.
