Heading
Colt's Tooth. To have a colt or colt's tooth, verbal phr. (old).—To be fond of youthful pleasures; in the case of elderly persons, to have juvenile tastes; to be of wanton disposition and capacity. [In allusion to a supposed desire to shed the teeth and see life over again.]
1500. Marlowe, 2 Tamburlaine, iv., 4. Nay, we will break the hedges of their mouths, And pull their kicking colts out of their pastures.
1606. Sir Gyles Goosecappe, v., 2, in Bullen's Old Plays, iii., 87. I shood doe my country, and Court-ship good service to beate thy coalts teeth out of thy head, for suffering such a reverend word to passe their guarde.
1637. Fletcher, Elder Brotner, II., iii. He should love her now, As he hath a colt's tooth yet.
1753. Walpole, Lett. to Mann, 27 April (1833), vol. III., p. 89. I hear that my Lord Granville has cut another colt's tooth—in short, they say he is going to be married again . . . there are not above two or three-and-forty years difference in their ages.
1770. Colman, The Portrait, in wks. (1777) IV., 215. Tho' not in the bloom of my youth, Yet still I have left a colt's tooth.
1812. C. K. Sharpe, in Correspondence (1888), II., 5. Tyndall and I always fought about noblemen, tho' I suspected his colt's tooth with regard to Lord Apsley, who is a mighty good sort of man, but only captivating.
Columbine, subs. (theatrical).—A
prostitute. For synonyms, see
Barrack-hack and Tart.
Columbus, subs. (theatrical).—Failure. A regular Columbus = an utter failure; 'dead frost.' Fr., Il pleut! = the play is a failure.
Comb-Brush, subs. (old).—A lady's maid. [A word compounded from the names of two familiar toilet requisites. Cf., whip = a coachman.]—See Abigail.
1750. Fielding, Tom Jones. The maid who at present attended on Sophia was recommended by Lady Bellaston, with whom she had lived for some time in the capacity of a comb-brush.
Comb Cut. To have one's comb
cut, verbal phr. (popular).—To
be mortified; disgraced; down on
one's luck. [A simile drawn from
cock-fighting.]
Comb Down.—See Comb one's
hair.
Combie, subs.(university).—A familiar abbreviation for 'Combination room,' the parlour in which college dons drink wine after Hall. Also a garment; see Combination.
Combination, subs. (general).—A woman's undergarment, shift and drawers in one. Also combie, and (American) chemiloon (q.v.), itself a combination of 'chemise' and 'pantaloon.'
Comb One's Hair, verbal phr., trs. and intr. (common).—To take to task; to scold; to keep in order. Sometimes to thrash, and generally ill-treat. Variants are to comb down; to comb one's noddle with a three-legged or joint stool. [A.S. cemban; O.E. kemben; German, kämmen = to comb. Halliwell gives kemb (a Border form) = to comb; also comb = to cut a person's comb, to disable him. The word seems to have always involved the idea of personal castigation, either physical or figurative. In this connection, cf., quot., 1593.] Fr., donner une peignée and laver la tête; but for synonyms in the sense of 'to scold,' see Wig; and in the sense of 'to thrash,' see Tan.
