Heading
Edge in, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To slip in; insinuate: e.g., To edge in a word (or a remark).
Edge off (or out of), verb. phr. (colloquial).—To slink away; to gradually desist. To take the edge off [a thing, or person, or idea] = to become acquainted with; to enjoy to satiety. Cf., Hamlet, iii., 2. 'It would cost you a groaning to take off my edge.'
Edgenaro, subs. (back slang).—An
orange.
Edge-ways. Not able to get
a word in edge-ways, phr.
(colloquial).—Having but the
barest opportunity of taking part
in a discussion.
Eel-Skins, subs. (old).—Tight
trousers. For synonyms, see
Bags and Kicks.
1827. Bulwer Lytton, Pelham, ch. xlix., p. 190. He only filched a twopenny halfpenny gilt chain out of his master, Levy, the pawnbroker's window, and stuck it in his eel-skin to make a show.
E-fink, subs. (back slang).—A
knife.
Efter, subs. (thieves').—A theatre
thief.
Egg.—See Bad Egg.
Egg on, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To encourage.
Eggs. Sure as eggs is eggs, phr.
(popular).—Of a certainty; without
doubt. [From the formula,
'x is x.']
To teach one's grandmother to roast or suck eggs, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To lecture elders and superiors; Fr., les oisons veulent mener les oies paître = the goslings want to drive the geese to pasture.
Egham, Staines, and Windsor, subs. phr. (common).—See quot.
1886. G. A. Sala, in Ill. Lon. News, 23 Oct., 418, 2. Is not the three-cornered hat of an English gentleman's coachman in gala livery known as an 'Egham, Staines, and Windsor'?
Egyptian-Hall, subs. (rhyming
slang).—A ball.
Eighter, subs. (prison).—An eight-ounce
loaf.
Ekame, subs. (back slang).—A
make (q.v.), or swindle.
Ekom, subs. (back slang).—A moke
(q.v.), or donkey.
Elbow, verb (American thieves').—To
turn a corner; to get out of
sight.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, or Rogue's Lexicon, s.v.
To shake the elbow, verb. phr. To play dice. [From the motion of the arm in 'casting.']
1680. Cotton, Compleat Gamester [gaming is compared to] a paralytical distemper which, seizing the arm the man cannot chuse but shake his elbow.
1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, Act i. He's always shaking his heels with the ladies and his elbows with the lords.
1709. Mrs. Centlivre, Gamester, I. (1872), i., 134. He is at shaking his elbows over a table . . . courting the dice like a mistress, and cursing them when he is disappointed.
1713. Guardian, No. 120. But what would you say, should you see the Sparkler shaking her elbow for a whole
