1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, ii. 2, 197. The satirical rogue says here that old men have grey beards. Ibid. (1598), 2 Hen. IV., ii. 4, 233. Ah, you sweet little rogue, you!
1607. Beaumont and Fletcher, Woman Hater, v. 5. Come, come, little rogue, thou art too maidenly [et passim].
1733. Pope, Imit. of Horace, I. vii. 27. What, rob your boys? those pretty rogues.
b. 1796. Burns, Cessnock Banks. An' she has twa sparkling rogueish een.
Derivatives.—Rogue's-gallery = a collection of photographs of convicted prisoners; rogue-house = a prison or lock-up; rogue-money (Scots') = an assessment for police purposes; rogue's-march = the drumming out (q.v.) of a disgraced soldier or sailor; rogue's-yarn = a worsted thread, varying in color in each dockyard, woven in each strand of rope to prevent theft and to trace defective manufacture.
1886. Besant, World went very well Then, xxi. As for the Hue and Cry, leave that to me. I will tackle the Hue and Cry, which I value not an inch of rogues' yarn.
1891. Century Dict., s.v. Rogue. . . . In rope made in United States navy-yards the rogue's yarn is twisted in a contrary direction to the others, and is of manila in hemp rope, and of hemp in manila rope.
Rogue-and-pullet, subs. phr.
(thieves').—A man and woman
in confederacy as thieves.
Rogue-and-villain, subs. phr.
(rhyming).—A shilling: see
Rhino.
1887. Horsley, Jottings from Jail. Come, cows-and-kisses, put the battle of the Nile on your Barnet fair, and a rogue and villain in your sky-rocket.
Rogueship. See Spittle rogue-*ship.
Roister (Royster Doister,
Royster, Roisterer, &c.),
subs. (old).—(1) A swaggerer
(B. E., Grose); and (2) a frolic.
Whence as verb. (also roist) =
to swagger; roisting (roistering,
roisterly, or roisterous)
= uproarious.
1553. Udall, roister doister, Prol. The vayne glorious . . . Whose humour the roysting sort continually doth feed.
1577. Harrison, England, 149. They ruffle and roist it out.
1602. Shakspeare, Troilus and Cress., ii. 2, 208. I have a roisting challenge sent amongst The dull and factious nobles of the Greeks.
1630. Time's Whistle [E. E. T. S.], 60. They must not part till they have drunk a barrell, Or straight this roister will begin to quarrel.
1749. Smollett, Gil Blas [Routledge], 175. This is beyond all bearing, screamed out the young royster.
1809. Irving, Knickerbocker, 92. An honest social race of jolly roysters, who had no objection to a drinking bout, and were very merry in their cups. Ibid., 348. A gang of merry roistering devils.
1843. Carlyle, Past and Present, ii. 15. Roysterous young dogs; carolling, howling, breaking the Lord Abbot's sleep.
1855. Tennyson, Maud, xiv. 2. Her brother lingers late with the roystering company. Ibid. (1859), Geraint. A rout of roisterers femininely fair And dissolutely pale.
Roker, subs. (schools).—A ruler;
a stick; a poker. Flat-roker
= a flat ruler. [Roke (Halliwell)
= to stir a fire, a liquid,
&c.]
Roland (or Rowland) for
Oliver, subs. phr. (old).—(1) A
match; a tit for tat; six of one
and half a dozen of the other: a
fanciful or practical proof of
equality.—B. E. and Grose. Fr.
Guy Contre Robert.
