1887. St. James's Gaz., 2 Feb. The object of the Spring Show is to encourage generally the breeding of sound and shapely half-bred horses, ponies, nags, trappers, hacks, chargers, harness-horses, and hunters.
4. (colloquial).—Belongings; THINGS (q.v.); STICKS AND STONES (q.v.): usually in a measure of contempt, cf. rattle-trap.
1835. Dana, Before the Mast, xvii. A part of her crew . . . promised to conceal him and his traps until the Pilgrim should sail.
1840. Thackeray, Comic Almanack, 257, 'Cox's Diary.' Carry you, and your kids, and your traps, etc. Ibid. (1854-5), Newcomes, xxx. A couple of horses carry us and our traps.
1853. Haliburton, Wise Saws, etc. We call clothes and other fixins 'traps' here, and sometimes 'duds' for shortness.
1857. Kingsley, Two Years Ago, xiv. On the first hint of disease, pack up your traps and your good lady, and go and live in the watch-house across the river.
1869. Stowe, Oldtown, 147. The other was a sort of storeroom, where the old cap'n kep' all sorts o' traps.
1877. Hale, Adv. of a Pullman, 143. A cheerful black boy followed with their other traps, and so they crossed to the platform of the through-train.
1887. D. Teleg., 3 Sep. As soon as the affair was over, the traps were packed up as quickly as possible and the party drove away.
1900. Nisbet, Sheep's Clothing, III. vii. He left his traps at the wharf when he landed.
5. (Australian).—Swag (q.v.).
6. (venery).—The female pudendum: also carnal trap: see Monosyllable and Trapstick.
1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, II. xxi. Here within . . . showing his long codpiece, is Master John Thursday who . . . doth so well know how to find out all the corners . . . in your carnal trap.
Trapan, subs. and verb. (old: now recognised).—'He that draws in or wheedles a Cull, and Bites him. Trapan'd, c. Sharpt, ensnar'd'; 'to inveigle, to ensnare' (Grose).
Trapes (or Traipes), subs. (old).—1. A sloven, slattern, draggletail (B. E. and Grose): a generic term of contempt for a woman; hence (2) a going or gadding about, in a more or less careless, objectless, or even lawless fashion: also trapesing. As verb (or to TRAPE)=to gad about; to wander listlessly, or in a slovenly or bedraggled fashion: cf. trespass, Fr. trépasser.
1673. Cotton, Burlesque on Burlesque, 274. I had not car'd If Pallas here had been preferr'd; But to bestow it on that Trapes, It mads me.
1678. Butler, Hudibras, III. ii. 467. But when he found the solemn trapes. Possess'd with th' Devil, worms, and claps.
1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, ii. Has she not lost her diamond necklace? Answer me to that, trapes.
1715. Gay, What d'ye call it, i. 1. From door to door I'd sooner whine and beg . . . Than marry such a trapes.
1728. Pope, Dunciad, iii. 141. Lo, next two slip-shod muses traipse along, In lofty madness, meditating song.
1728. Young, Satires, vi., 'On Women.' Since full each other station of renown, Who would not be the greatest trapes in town?
d. 1745. Swift, Works [Century]. I am to go traping with Lady Kerry and Mrs. Pratt to see sights all this day.
1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, i. The daughter a tall, trapesing, trolloping, talkative maypole.
1843-4. Haliburton, Attaché, ii. So away goes lunch, and off goes you and the 'Sir' a-trampoosin' and a-TRAPESIN' over the wet grass agin.
1852. Thackeray, Esmond, ii. 15. How am I to go trapesing to Kensington in my yellow satin sack before all the fine company?
