Heading
2. (Scots' colloquial).—A native of the Kingdom (q.v.), i.e., the county of Fife.
Fi-fi or fie-fie, adj. (common).—Indecent;
'blue or 'smutty.'
[From Fie = an exclamation signifying
contempt, impatience, or
disapproval.] A Thackerayean
term.
1861. A. Trollope, Framley Parsonage, ch. vi. And then Mrs. Proudie began her story about Mr. Slope, or rather recommenced it. She was very fond of talking about this gentleman who had once been her pet chaplain, but was now her bitterest foe; and, in telling the story, she had sometimes to whisper to Miss Dunstable, for there were one or two fie-fie little anecdotes about a married lady, not altogether fit for young Mr. Robart's ears.
1874. M. Collins, Frances, ch. xviii. Flood was a gay bachelor, with a few fie-fie stories floating through club atmosphere about him.
Fifteener, subs, (bibliographical).
—A book printed in the 15th
century.
1890. 'Grangerising' in Cornhill Mag., Feb., p. 139. Some of them torn from fifteeners, or 'incurables,' books of the fathers of printing.
Fifth Rib. To hit, dig, or poke
ONE UNDER THE FIFTH RIB,
verb.phr. (common).—To deliver
a heavy blow; to dumbfound.
1890. Globe, 26 Feb., p. 1, col. 5. It strikes the man who has been dallying with strange tailors . . . under the fifth rib.
Fig, subs. (colloquial).—1. A
gesture of contempt made by
thrusting forth the thumb
between the fore and middle
fingers: whence the expression
'I do not care, or would not give,
a fig for you.' Fr., je ne
voudrais pas en donner un ferret
d'aiguillette. Cf., Care, and for
other similes of worthlessness, see
Curse, Straw, Rush, Chip,
Cent, Dam, etc. [Italian:
When the Milanese revolted
against the Emperor Frederick
Barbarossa, they set his Empress
hind before upon a mule, and thus
expelled her. Frederick afterwards
besieged and took the city,
and compelled all his prisoners, on
pain of death, to extract with his
(or her) teeth a fig from the fundament
of a mule and, the thing
being done, to say in announcement,
'ecco la fica.' Thus far la
fica became an universal mode of
derision. Fr., faire la figue;
Ger., die Feigen weisen; It., far
le fiche; Dutch, De vÿghe setten.
1599. Shakspeare, Henry V., iii., 6. Pistol. Die and be damned and fico for thy friendship. Fluellen. It is well. Pistol. The fig of Spain.
1610. Ben Jonson, The Alchemist, i 1. Subtle. What to do? Lick figs out of mine arse.
1821. Pierce Egan, Tom and Jerry [ed. 1890], p. 106. A fig for each bum.
1861. T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. vi. A fig for Poll Ady and fat Sukey Wimble; I now could jump over the steeple so nimble; With joy I be ready to cry.
1882. Punch, vol. LXXXII., p. 185, col. 2 (q.v.).
2. (common).—Dress. [From Fig, verb, sense = that which shows off a man or woman, as a fig of ginger shows off a horse. Cf., quot., 1819, in Fig up.] In full fig = in full dress.
1861. T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. i. He waits on me in hall, where we go in full fig of cap and gown at five, and get very good dinners, and cheap enough.
1873. Cassell's Magazine, Jan., p. 246, col. 2. 'London Cured.' They are rather prone to dress flashily, and wear when in full fig no end of jewellery.
