1871. De Vere, Americanisms, s.v. This mysterious word mosey is, probably correctly, said to be nothing more than a mere variety of the Americanized verb vamose, with the final vowel sounded, and the first syllable lost. It certainly has the same meaning, of leaving suddenly, and generally involuntarily.
1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, 6 Feb. But the bullets and their own fighting began to tell pretty soon, even on grizzlies. First one rolled over and stretched out, then another sat down on his haunches and dropped his head and finally sprawled out, a third moseyed off some distance to sit down and lick his wounds.
To mosey along, verb. phr. (American).—1. To jog along.
18[?]. New York Tribune [quoted by Bartlett]. I'll get a room nicely furnished, and my wife and I will jes mosey along till the election trouble is over, an' den dere'll be a powerful sight of whitewashin' to be done.
2. (American).—To bustle about.
1885. M. N. Murfree, Prophet of Gt. Smoky Mountains, xiii. Hurry 'long, D'rindy, you-uns ain't goin' ter reel a hank ef ye don't mosey.
Mosh, verb. (thieves').—To leave
a restaurant without paying. A
corruption of 'mouch' (mike, q.v.).
Moskeneer, verb. (common).—To
pawn for more than the pledge
is worth: moskers (q.v.)=men
who make moskeneering a profession.
Also as subs.=the
agent.
1887. W. E. Henley, Villon's Straight Tip. Fiddle, or fence, or mace, or mack; Or moskeneer, or flash the drag.
1893. Emerson, Signor Lippo, 100. He moskeneers from twenty to thirty supers a week. Ibid. p. 99. As we were talking in came Johnson, a fair moskeneer.
Mosker, subs. (common).—See quot.
and Moskeneer.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 9 July, p. 3, col. 1. The mosker . . . is, in slang vernacular, one who makes a living by taking advantage of the business incapacity of persons engaged in the pawnbroking trade, and by subtle wiles and subterfuge imposes on their credulity and weak good nature. [From long article on The Mosker].
Mosque, subs. (old).—A church or
chapel.—Parker, Life's Painter,
120 (1800).
Moss, subs. (thieves').—1. See
quot. and blue pigeon.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v. Moss. A cant term for lead, because both are found on the tops of buildings.
2. (American).—Money. For synonyms see Actual and Gilt.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Moss-rose, subs. (venery).—The
female pudendum. For synonyms
see Monosyllable.
Mossyback, subs. (American).—1.
A man hiding in woods or
swamps—('till the moss grew
on his back')—to escape
the conscription for the Southern
army. Also Mossback.
2. (American political).—An extreme conservative in politics.
3. (common).—An old fashioned person; a back-number (q.v.).
Mossy-cell (face or vale), subs.
phr. (venery).—The female pudendum.—Grose.
For synonyms
see Monosyllable.
Mossyface (or old mossyface),
subs. (common).—The ace of
spades.
