vessel used for the same purpose in Commoners' was called a joram.
JOSEPH, subs. (old).—i. See quots:
specifically a lady's riding habit
with buttons to the skirts. In
American (thieves') a patched coat.
Cf. Benjamin, and for synonyms
see Capella.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, 1. v. 48 (1874). Joseph, a cloak.
1688. Shadwell, Sq. of Alsatia, ii. in Wks. (1720), 4. Who's here? my father? Lolpoop, Lolpoop, hide me; give me my Joseph.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Joseph, a Cloak or Coat. A Rum Joseph, a good Cloak or Coat. A Queer Joseph, a coarse ord'nary Cloak or Coat; also an old or tattered one.
1714. Memoirs of John Hall, (4th ed.) p. 12. Joseph, a close coat.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1766. Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, xvi. Olivia would be drawn as an Amazon . . . dressed in a green Joseph.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Joseph, a woman's great coat.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v.
1818. S. E. Ferrier, Marriage, viii. Another held up a tartan cloak, with a hood; and a third thrust forward a dark cloth Joseph, lined with flannel.
1823. Modern Flash Dict., s.v.
1825. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, 111. xxvii. So as to betray, with every swing of her body, the rich dress, underneath her Joseph.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 62. 'Well, by gunflints,' says he 'ef you ain't makin' a josey.'
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Joseph, a coat that's patched.
2. (colloquial).—A woman-proof male. To wear Joseph's coat = to defy temptation, as Joseph with Potiphar's wife.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Joseph.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Joseph's coat. It's of no use trying, he wears a Joseph's coat.
1870. Reynolds's Newspaper, 6 Feb. You appear to have been a regular Joseph.
Not for Joseph, phr. (common).—A contemptuous refusal; a sarcastic dissent: cf. All my eye.
1844. C. Selby, London by Night, ii. 1. Jack. Who's to pay? Ned. Whichever you please. Jack. Oh! in that case you may as well settle it. Ned. Not for Joseph! You asked me to tea.
c.1867. Broadside Ballad, 'Not for Joe'. Not for Joe. . . . Not for Joseph, if he knows it.
Joseph's-coat, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A coat of many colours; a dress of honour.
1892. Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads, 'The Rhyme of the Three Captains'. They ha' rigged him a Joseph's Jury-coat to keep his honour warm.
JOSEY, verb. (American).—To go; to
hasten. For synonyms see Amputate
and Skedaddle.
JOSH, subs.(colloquial).—1. A sleepy-head;
a dolt.
2. (American).—An Arkansas man.
Verb. (American).—To chaff; to quiz; to make fun of.
Intj. (American).—A word shouted at the New-York Stock Exchange to wake up a slumbering member.—Bartlett.
JOSKIN, subs. (common).—A bumpkin:
also a dolt. For synonyms
see Buffle and Cabbage-head.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v. Joskin. The drop-cove maced the joskin of twenty quid, the ringdropper cheated the countryman of twenty guineas.
1819. Chas. Lamb, Letter to Mr. Manning. I hate the joskins a name for Hertfordshire bumpkins.
1828. Bee, Living Picture of London, p. 15. The very sight of a countryman, either yokel or joskin.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
