1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xii. He was in the 'Cave of Harmony,' he says, that night you flared up about Captain Costigan.
1871. Daily Telegraph, 8 June, 'Paris in Convalescence.' On this he flared up like a Commune conflagration, and cried out; 'Shame, in the name of religion, art, and history!'
Flash, subs. (old).—1. The vulgar
tongue; the lingo of thieves and
their associates. To patter
flash = to talk in thieves' lingo.
[The derivation of Flash, like
that of French argot, is entirely
speculative. It has, however,
been generally referred to a district
called Flash (the primary
signification as a place name is
not clear), between Buxton Leek
and Macclesfield: there lived
many chapmen who, says Dr.
Aiken ("Description of Country
round Manchester"), 'were known
as flash-men . . . using a sort
of slang or cant dialect.']
1718. Hitchin. The Regulator of Thieves, etc., with Account of flash words, etc. (Title).
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, II., 69. Jigger, being cant or flash for door.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib's Memorial, p. 25. With respect to that peculiar language called flash, or St. Jiles' Greek, etc.
1830. Sir E. B. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. viii. Here a tall gentleman marched up to him, and addressed him in a certain language, which might be called the freemasonry of flash.
1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (1889), p. 12, 'What does he say?' roared the long drover. 'He says he don't understand flash,' replied the lady in gentleman's attire.
1843-4. Hood, Miss Kilmansegg. His cheeks no longer drew the cash. Because, as his comrades explain'd in flash, He had overdrawn his badger.
1827. Maginn, Vidocq's Song. Pattered in flash like a covey knowing.
1864. Athenæum, 29 Oct. The northern village of ill-repute, and bearing that name (flash) gave to felonious high-flying the term flash.
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 278. Why, when the late Lord Lytton wrote Pelham it was brought against him that 'his knowledge of flash was evidently purely superficial.' Flash, my sister, is merely recondite slang or thieves' argot.
English Analogues.—Back Slang or Kacab-Genals (the main principle consists in roughly pronouncing the word backwards, as erif for fire, dab for bad, etc.: the practice exists in most languages); Cant (q.v.); Centre Slang (the central vowel is made the initial letter, vowels and consonants being added at pleasure); Gammy (North country: mainly composed of Gypsy words); Gibberish (formed by inserting a consonant between each syllable of a word, the result being the F, G, H, M or S gibberish, according to the letter used: thus, "goming mout tom-daym," or "gosings outs tos-days?" = going out to-day?); jargon; the Green Lingo (French thieves'); Marrowskying or Hospital Greek (manufactured by transferring the initial letters of words; plenty of rain thus becomes renty of plain: the 'Gower St. dialect' of Albert Smith, Mr. Ledbury); Pedlar's French (old cant: Florio, 1598; Cotgrave, 1612); Rhyming Slang (q.v.) Slang (q.v.); St. Giles' Greek (last century for Slang as distinguished from Cant); Thieves' Latin; the Vulgar Tongue; Yob-gab (q.v.); Notions (q.v.); Ziph (q.v.).
French and other Analogues.—Argot or arguche; la langue verte (properly gamesters'); le langage soudardant (soldiers'
