Heading
COCKISH, adj. (old).—Wanton; 'on heat.' [From cock, the penis, + ISH.] Latham quotes cockish in the sense of 'pert,' from the strutting of the barn-door cock.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue. A cockish wench: a forward, coming girl.
Cock it, verb (tailors').—To examine;
see; or speak of (a thing).
Cockles, subs. (venery).—The
labia minora.
Cockles of the Heart, subs. phr.
(common).—A jocose vulgarism
encountered in a variety of combinations;
e.g., 'that will rejoice'
or 'tickle' or 'warm the cockles
of your heart,' etc. [It is
suggested (N. and Q., 7 S., iv.,
26) that a hint as to its origin
may be found in Lower, an
eminent anatomist of the seventeenth
century, who thus speaks
in his Tractatus de Corde
(1669), p. 25, of the muscular
fibres of the ventricles.
'Fibræ quidem rectis hisce exteri oribus in dextro ventriculo proximè subjectæ obliquè dextrorsum ascendentes in basin cordis terminantur, et spirali suo ambitu helicem sive cochleam satis aptè referunt.'
The ventricles of the heart might, therefore, be called cochlea cordis, and this would easily be turned into cockles of the heart.] The French say, Tu t'en pourlécheras la face (that'll rejoice the cockles of your heart).
1671. Eachard, Observations [Wright]. This contrivance of his did inwardly rejoice the cockles of his heart.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, ch. xxvi. Which would have cheered the cockles of the reigning monarch.
1834. Marryat, Jacob Faithful, ch. xii. 'There now, master, there's a glass of grog for you that would float a marling-spike. See if that don't warm the cockles of your old heart.'
1839. W. H. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard, p. 49 (ed. 1840). 'There, Mr. Wood,' cried David, pouring out a glass of the spirit, and offering it to the carpenter, 'that'll warm the cockles of your heart.'
To cry cockles, verbal phr. (common).—To be hanged. [From the gurgling noise made in strangulation.] For synonyms, see Ladder.
Cock-Loft, subs. (old).—The head.
[A cock-loft is properly a small
loft, garret, or apartment at the
top of a house. Cf., Garret,
Upper Storey, etc.] An old
proverb runs, 'All his gear is in
his cock-loft'; i.e., 'all his
wealth, work, or worth is in his
head.' For synonyms, see
Crumpet.
1642. Thomas Fuller, Holy and Profane State, And. Ad. fen. 1. Often the cockloft is empty, in those whom nature hath built many stories high.
Cockney, subs. (colloquial).—One
born within the sound of bow-bells.
[The origin of cockney
has been much debated; but,
says Dr. Murray, in the course of
an exhaustive statement (Academy,
May 10, 1890, p. 320), the history
of the word, so far as it means a
person, is very clear and simple.
We have the senses (1) 'cockered
or pet child,' 'nestle-cock,' 'mother's
darling,' 'milksop,' the
name being applicable primarily
to the child, but continued to the
squeamish and effeminate man
into which he grows up. (2) A
nickname applied by country
people to the inhabitants of great
towns, whom they considered
'milksops,' from their daintier
habits and incapacity for rough
