1594. Shakspeare, Love's Lab. Lost, v. 2. This is the flower that smiles on every one, To shew his teeth as white AS WHALE HIS BONE.
Whaler, subs. (American).—1. Anything extraordinary of its kind, also whale, e.g. 'a regular whale': see Whopper. Hence whaling = overwhelming.
1848. Longstreet, Georgia Scenes, 184. 'He's a whaler!' said Rory; 'but his face is mighty little for his body and legs.'
2. (Australian).—A sundowner (q.v.): i.e. one who cruises about.
1893. Sydney Morning Herald, 12 Aug., 8. 8. The nomad, the whaler, it is who will find the new order hostile to his vested interest of doing nothing.
Whang, subs. (common).—1. A blow, a whack; a beating, a banging. As verb = to flog, thrash. Also (2) a banging noise, and as verb = to clatter, throw with violence.
d. 1889. Browning, Up at a Villa. Bang, whang, whang, goes the drum.
1890. Warner, Pilgrimage, 317. The whang of the bass drum.
3. (colloquial).—A slice, chunk, dollop (q.v.). Also as verb = to cut in large strips, slices, or chunks.
1678. Ray, Proverbs, 386. Of other men's lether, men take large whanges.
d. 1796. Burns, Holy Fair. Wi' sweet-milk cheese in mony a whang.
d. 1803. Beattie, Tales, 8. My uncle set it to his breast, And whang'd it down.
4. (American).—Formerly, in Maine and some other parts of New England, a house-cleaning party; a gathering of neighbours to aid one of their number in cleaning a house (Century).
See Whanger.
Whangby, subs. (provincial).—Very hard cheese made of old or skimmed milk (Halliwell).
Whangam (Whangdoodle, etc.), subs. (? nonce words).—An imaginary animal: its precise nature, form, and attributes are seemingly left to individual fancy.
1759-62. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, xcviii. A whangam that eats grasshoppers had marked [one] for its prey.
1856. Harp of a Thousand Strings. 'Where the lion roareth, and the whang-doodle mourneth for her first-born.' It was subsequently applied to political subjects, such as the Free Trade, Decompton Democracy, etc.
Whanger (or Whang), subs. (common).—Anything big or unusual of its kind: see Whopper. As adj. (or whanging) = large, strapping.
Whap. See Whop.
Wharf-rat, subs. phr. (old).—A thief prowling about wharves; cf. Water-rat.
Wharl, verb (old).—To be unable to pronounce the letter R. Also as subs.
1662. Fuller, Worthies, II. 225. All that are born therein have a harsh and rattling kind of uttering their words with much difficulty and wharling in their throats.
1724-7. Defoe, Tour Thro' Great Britain, iii. 233. The natives of [Northumberland] of the antient original Race or families are distinguished by a Shibboleth upon their Tongues in pronouncing the letter R, which they cannot utter without a hollow Jairing in the Throat, by which they are as plainly known as a Foreigner is by pronouncing the Th; this they call the Northumberland R or wharle; and the Natives value themselves on that Imperfection, because, forsooth, it shows the Antiquity of their Blood.
