Heading
1851. Chambers' Paper, No. 52, p. 20. The carpenter, a rough hardy Swede, rejoicing in the name of Burstrome, was not offended in the slightest degree at being called chips even by the black cuddy servant.
1883. Clark Russell, Sailors' Language, pref., xii. The carpenter is more politely termed chips.
2. (gaming).—Counters used in games of chance. Cf., Checks.
1869. S. L. Clemens ('Mark Twain'), Innocents at Home, ch. ii. Don't put up another chip till I look at my hand.
3. (American).—Cards. [Mr. C. Nordhoff writing to Mr. John Camden Hotten, on 1 May, 1865, states that 'chips = slang for cards.']
4. (common).—Money. [This usage is derived through sense 2, and passes naturally to sense 5 (q.v.).]
1877. W. Black, Green Past. and Picc., ch. xlix. You kent fool away your hand and keep the chips.
1885. Sporting Times, 23 May. 'The Chorister' Promise.' The landlady came and knocked at the door—(Sing Fulham Road), Saying she'd have to clear out, and swore She'd distrain on her wardrobe what was more (Because of the chips she owed).
5. (general).—A sovereign. Used both in sing. and pl.—See quot. under Chip, sense 3, and Cf., preceding sense.
6. (Wellington College).—A kind of grill, so called from its hardness.
To hand in one's chips, phr. (gamblers').—To die. [For probable derivation, see Checks.]
Chirp, verb (thieves').—1. To talk.
For synonyms, see Patter.
Grose has chirping merry =
exhilarated with liquor.
1884. J. Greenwood. The Little Ragamuffins. I firmly resolved to chirp, when I was taken before the magistrate to give evidence, as little as possible.
2. To inform. For synonyms, see Peach.
Chirper, subs. (common).—1. A
singer.
2. (common).—A glass or tankard.
1862. George Meredith, Juggling Jerry Poems. Hand up the chirper! ripe ale winks in it; Let's have comfort and be at peace. Once a stout draught made me light as a linnet. Cheer up! the Lord must have his lease.
3. (common).—The mouth. For synonyms, see Potato trap.
4. (music-hall).—One of a gang frequenting the stage doors of music-halls to blackmail the singers. If money be refused them, they go into the auditorium and hoot, hiss, and groan at the performer. [Cf., Chirrup, quot., 1888.]
1889. Daily News, 2 July, p. 2. Singularly enough the Canterbury Music-hall . . . was mentioned in one of the night-charges, two men known as chirpers or chirripers being brought before Mr. Biron.
Chirpy, adj. (colloquial).—Cheerful;
lively. [From chirp =
babble of birds, + y.]
1837. J. Bates, in Ht. Martineau, Soc. Amer., III., 332. It makes me chirpy to think of Roseland.
1879. Justin McCarthy. Donna Quixote, ch. xxxv. To Charlton this appeared gravely ominous. . . . Paulina, on the other hand, was what she would herself have called chirpy.
1882. Besant, All Sorts and Conditions of Men, ch. xx., p. 146. Her ladyship pu quite a chirpy face upon it.
