1877. Horsley, Jottings from Jail. He was very lucky at making twirls, and used to supply them all with tools.
To twirl one's thumbs, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be idle: cf. 'cool one's heels': cf. twiddle.
1889. Norris, Miss Shafto, xxiv. Upon my word, Walter, you are pretty cool! Will it amuse me, pray, to twirl my thumbs in your studio?
Twish, intj. (colloquial).—An exclamation
of contempt.
Twiss, subs. (old).—A chamber-mug;
it (q.v.). [Grose: A
Mr. Richard Twiss having . . .
given a very unfavourable description
of the Irish character some
utensils were made with his
portrait at the bottom, and the
following, 'Let every one piss,
On lying Dick Twiss.']
Twist, subs. (old).—1. The fourchure,
the crutch.
1586. Harrison, Desc. Britain v. A man of common heigth might easilie go vnder his twist, without stooping, a stature incredible.
1609. Heywood, Troia Britanica. Typhon makes play, Jhove catcht him by the twist, Heaves him aloft.
2. (colloquial).—A bent, turn, cast: a variation from what is usually normal and proper. Thus a twisted vision = a wrong or 'cussed' way of looking at things; a twisted (= a lying) tongue: whence twister = a falsehood or gross exaggeration; twisted (= brogueish) speech, etc. Also twisty (or twistical) = awkward, crooked (q.v.), funny (q.v.); twistable = easily influenced.
1820. Humphreys, Yankee in England. He may be straight-going, farzino, manwards; but, in his dealings with t'other sex, he is a leetle twistical, according to their tell. I wouldn't make a town talk of it.
1821. Lamb, Mockery End. Heads with some diverting twist in them.
1824. Peake, Americans Abroad, i. 1. Come . . . you are but an underlin', tho' you are so uppish and twistical.
1862. New York Tribune, 28 Mar. This amendment is twistable into an advice, an impertinent advice to a foreign nation.
1881. Huxley, Science and Culture. An exclusively scientific training will bring about a mental twist as surely as an exclusively literary training.
1887. Field, 26 Nov. The fox made his straight point, though by devious and twisty courses.
d. 1891. Lowell, FitzAdam's Story. You might have called him with his humorous twist, A kind of human entomologist.
3. (colloquial).—An appetite; hence to twist it down (or lustily) = 'to feed like a Farmer' (B. E.), 'to eat heartily' (Grose). Fr. crampe au pylore.
4. (old).—(a) A mixture of tea and coffee (B. E. and Grose); also (b) brandy, beer, and eggs (Grose); and (c) brandy and gin.
1849-50. Thackeray, Pendennis, xxxix. When he went to the Back Kitchen that night . . . the gin twist and devilled turkey had no charms for him.
5. (Winchester).—A stick spirally marked by a creeper having grown round it: also twister.
Verb. (old).—To hang: see Ladder (Grose). Hence twisted = hanged.
1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nose. His pall nosed, and he was twisted for a crack.
