1594. Lodge, Wounds of Civil War [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), vii. 145]. Aristion is a jolly-timbered man.
1597-8. A Woman will Have her Will [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), x. 519]. 'To bed? and what hath God sent you'. 'A jolly girl, sir'.
1607. Marston, What You Will. With what a jolly presence would he pace Round the Rialto.
1694. Gentlemen's Journal, Mar., p. 57. Wine alone can make us jolly.—Ibid. Among my cups I sing and roar Like jolly topers till I snore.
1747-8. J. Trapp, Notes upon the Gospels, [ed. 1865] p. 25. All was jolly quiet at Ephesus before St. Paul came thither.
1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, ii. iii. What they call a jolly brisk young man.
1836. H. M. Milner, Turpin's Ride to York, ii. 4. That's a jolly lie.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. ix. 'He is so jolly green,' said Charley.
1854. Punch, Nov. The Russian Liprandi charged John, Pat, and Sandy, And a jolly good licking he got.
1856. Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days, ii. 1. What a jolly desk!
1869. Daily Telegraph. He is annoyed when young ladies use slang phrases, such as awfully jolly! Their fresh lips should drop pearls and diamonds—not snakes and toads.
1891. Licensed Victuallers' Gaz., 9 Jan. I was jolly glad he didn't die before.
1894. S. R. Crockett, The Play-actress, p. 98. My governor 'ud he jolly well left if I did not turn up bright and early.
2. (common).—Slightly drunk. For synonyms see Drinks and Screwed.
1883. Daily News, 9 Feb., p. 3, col. 7. The prosecutor came in on Friday night with Mr. S., and had several glasses of lager beer, and all got jolly!
3. (racing).—Fat; with too much flesh.
1888. Daily Chronicle, 10 Dec. Mr. Fennick's mare stripped in jolly condition.
Verb. (common).—To joke; to rally; to vituperate.
1610. G. Fletcher, Christ's Triumph, They jolly at his grief.
1876. C. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 69. I can't jolly him down, so you must settle and do away with him, or I must 'dry up,' for the fellow's bested me.
1879. Notes and Queries, 5, S. xi. 406. Jolleying is a common term among workmen in London, and is used to express nearly every description of verbal ridicule and abuse.
1889. Licensed Vict. Gaz., 8 Feb. Amidst yells, shouts, hisses, and jollyings.
1892. Gunter, Miss Dividends, ch. xv. You've left her alone all day—you ain't been near to jolly her up.
Jolly-boys, subs. (common).—A
group of small drinking vessels
connected by a tube, or by openings
one from another.
Jolly-dog, subs. (common).—A boon
companion.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jolly-dog, a merry or facetious fellow; a bon vivant, who never flinches from his glass, nor cries to go home to bed.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v.
c.1867. Broadside Ballad, 'Slap Bang'. There is a set of jolly dogs I've lately come across.
1880. Punch's Almanack, 13.
Jolly-jumper, subs. (nautical).—A
light sail set above a sky-scraper
(q.v.).—Clark Russell (1883).
Jolly-nob.—See Jolly, subs. sense
1.
Jolly-roger, subs. (nautical).—A
pirate's flag; a death's head
and cross bones (q.v.).
1885. Stevenson, Treasure Island, xix, p. 151 (1886). There was the jolly roger—the black flag of piracy—flying from her peak.
