2. (venery).—A prostitute.
Communicator. Agitate the communicator, verbal phr. (common).—To ring the bell.
Comp, subs. (printers').—A compositor.
[An abbreviated form
of 'companion' now peculiar to
compositors, but originally applied
to pressmen who work in couples,
as well as to compositors who
work in a 'companionship,' or
ship (q.v.).] Galley-slave
(q.v.) is a variant; so are
ass (q.v.) and donkey (q.v).
Cf., Pig.
1870. Sportsman, 17 Dec. 'A Chapel Meeting.' I stood before the world a journeyman comp.
1886. Tit-Bits, 31 July, p. 252. At provincial newspaper offices and other establishments applications for work from travelling comps are frequent.
1888. W. Blades, in Notes and Queries, 7 S., vi., 365. The printers who work together in one room are to this day called comps.
Company. To see company,
verbal phr. (prostitutes').—To
live by prostitution; to take in
fancy work (q.v.).
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Competition Wallah, subs. phr.
(Anglo-Indian).—One who enters
the Indian Civil Service by
examination. [From competition
+ Hindustani wallah, 'a
man' or 'person.']
1863. G. O. Trevelyan, Title, The Competition Wallah.
1886. Ill. Lon. News, 9 Jan., p. 31, col. 3. It is quite certain that, if justice is ever to be done to India, our competition wallahs must not be encouraged to look upon it as a mere Tom Tidler's ground, where they are to remain just so long as they require for picking up gold and silver (in the form of pension and savings).
Compo, subs. (nautical).—A sailor's
term for his monthly advance of
wages.
Compy-Shop, subs. (workmen's).—A
truck-shop. [Probably a corruption
of 'company-shop': workmen
before the passing of
certain Truck Acts, having been
frequently compelled to make
their weekly purchases at shops
either kept by, or worked to the
profit of, their employer.]
1870. Globe, 24 Sept. The Acts of Parliament which have been passed from time to time in reference to truck are easily evaded, for as a rule no workman is told that he must buy at the compy-shop, but the workmen well know that if they did not resort thither they would soon be dismissed their employment.
Con, subs. (Winchester College).—A
rap on the head with the
knuckles, or with anything hard,
such as a cricket ball. [For suggested
derivations, see verbal
sense.]
Verb.—To rap with the knuckles. [The derivation formerly accepted at Winchester was from [Greek: kondulon] = a knuckle, but the editors of the Wykehamist suggest its origin in the North Country con, 'to fillip,' with which the French se cogner exactly corresponds.]
Concaves and Convexes, subs.
ph. (cardsharpers'). Cards prepared
for cheating. All from the
eight to the king are cut convex,
and all from the deuce to the
seven concave; so that by cutting
the pack broadwise you cut
convex, and by cutting them
