FRIBBLE. An effeminate fop; a name borrowed from a celebrated character of that kind, in the farce of Miss in her Teens, written by Mr. Garrick.

FRIDAY-FACE. A dismal countenance. Before, and even long after the Reformation, Friday was a day of abstinence, or jour maigre. Immediately after the restoration of king Charles II. a proclamation was issued, prohibiting all publicans from dressing any suppers on a Friday.

TO FRIG. Figuratively used for trifling.

FRIG PIG. A trifling, fiddle-faddle fellow.

FRIGATE. A well-rigged frigate; a well-dressed wench.

FRISK. To dance the Paddington frisk; to be hanged.

TO FRISK. Used by thieves to signify searching a person whom they have robbed. Blast his eyes! frisk him.

FROE, or VROE, A woman, wife, or mistress. Brush to your froe, or bloss, and wheedle for crop; run to your mistress, and sooth and coax her out of some money. DUTCH.

FROGLANDER. A Dutchman.

FROSTY FACE. One pitted with the small pox.

FROG'S WINE. Gin.

FRUITFUL VINE. A woman's private parts, i.e. that has FLOWERS every month, and bears fruit in nine months.

FRUMMAGEMMED. Choaked, strangled, suffocated, or hanged. CANT.

FUBSEY. Plump. A fubsey wench; a plump, healthy wench.

FUDDLE. Drunk. This is rum fuddle; this is excellent tipple, or drink. Fuddle; drunk. Fuddle cap; a drunkard.

FUDGE. Nonsense.

FULHAMS. Loaded dice are called high and lowmen, or high and low fulhams, by Ben Jonson and other writers of his time; either because they were made at Fulham, or from that place being the resort of sharpers.

FULL OF EMPTINESS. Jocular term for empty.

FULL MARCH. The Scotch greys are in full march by the crown office; the lice are crawling down his head.

FUMBLER. An old or impotent man. To fumble, also means to go awkwardly about any work, or manual operation.

FUN. A cheat, or trick. Do you think to fun me out of it? Do you think to cheat me?--Also the breech, perhaps from being the abbreviation of fundament. I'll kick your fun. CANT.

TO FUNK. To use an unfair motion of the hand in plumping at taw. SCHOOLBOY'S TERM.

FUNK. To smoke; figuratively, to smoke or stink through fear. I was in a cursed funk. To funk the cobler; a schoolboy's trick, performed with a.s.safoettida and cotton, which are stuffed into a pipe: the cotton being lighted, and the bowl of the pipe covered with a coa.r.s.e handkerchief, the smoke is blown out at the small end, through the crannies of a cobler's stall.

FURMEN. Aldermen.

FURMITY, or FROMENTY. Wheat boiled up to a jelly. To simper like a furmity kettle: to smile, or look merry about the gills.

FUSS. A confusion, a hurry, an unnecessary to do about trifles.

FUSSOCK. A lazy fat woman. An old fussock; a frowsy old woman.

FUSTIAN. Bombast language. Red fustian; port wine.

FUSTY LUGGS. A beastly, s.l.u.ttish woman.

TO FUZZ. To shuffle cards minutely: also, to change the pack.

GAB, or GOB. The mouth. Gift of the gab; a facility of speech, nimble tongued eloquence. To blow the gab; to confess, or peach.

GAB, or GOB, STRING. A bridle.

GABBY. A foolish fellow.

GAD-SO. An exclamation said to be derived from the Italian word cazzo.

GAFF. A fair. The drop coves maced the joskins at the gaff; the ring-droppers cheated the countryman at the fair.

TO GAFF. To game by tossing up halfpence.

GAG. An instrument used chiefly by housebreakers and thieves, for propping open the mouth of a person robbed, thereby to prevent his calling out for a.s.sistance.

GAGE. A quart pot, or a pint; also a pipe. CANT.

GAGE, or FOGUS. A pipe of tobacco.

GAGGERS. High and Low. Cheats, who by sham pretences, and wonderful stories of their sufferings, impose on the credulity of well meaning people. See RUM GAGGER.

GALIMAUFREY. A hodgepodge made up of the remnants and sc.r.a.ps of the larder.

GALL. His gall is not yet broken; a saying used in prisons of a man just brought in, who appears dejected.

GALLEY. Building the galley; a game formerly used at sea, in order to put a trick upon a landsman, or fresh-water sailor. It being agreed to play at that game, one sailor personates the builder, and another the merchant or contractor: the builder first begins by laying the keel, which consists of a number of men laid all along on their backs, one after another, that is, head to foot; he next puts in the ribs or knees, by making a number of men sit feet to feet, at right angles to, and on each side of, the keel: he now fixing on the person intended to be the object of the joke, observes he is a fierce-looking fellow, and fit for the lion; he accordingly places him at the head, his arms being held or locked in by the two persons next to him, representing the ribs. After several other dispositions, the builder delivers over the galley to the contractor as complete: but he, among other faults and objections, observes the lion is not gilt, on which the builder or one of his a.s.sistants, runs to the head, and dipping a mop in the excrement, thrusts it into the face of the lion.

GALLEY FOIST. A city barge, used formerly on the lord mayor's day, when he was sworn in at Westminster.

GALLIED. Hurried, vexed, over-fatigued, perhaps like a galley slave.

GALLIGASKINS. Breeches.

GALLIPOT. A nick namefor an apothecary,

GALLORE, or GOLORE. Plenty.

GALLOPER. A blood horse. A hunter. The toby gill clapped his bleeders to his galloper and tipped the straps the double. The highwayman spurred his horse and got away from the officers.

GALLOWS BIRD. A grief, or pickpocket; also one that a.s.sociates with them.