Belated Birthdays!

[the_gneech]

Happy birthday to demiurgent, exatron, partiallyclips, and montecook, all of whom either had birthdays while I was away, or had a birthday yesterday when I was still recovering. Hope you don't mind sharing today's Forgotten English (© Jeffrey Kacirk)!

three outs
When three persons go into a public-house, call for liquor generally considered sufficient for two, and have a glass which will divide it into three equal portions, they are said to "drink three outs."

--James Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, 1855

Last Quarter
Feast Day of St. Adelemn,
a twelfth-century French patron of waiters and manservants. A more treacherous form of freeloading in pubs, known as "shooting the crow," was described in Albert Barrére's Dictionary of Slang, Jargon, and Cant (1889): "An ancient sinner was recently charged with 'shooting the crow' -- obtaining alcoholic stimulant at public-houses and making an artful retreat without paying for the cool, refreshing moisture. His method was charmingly simple. After strolling into a coffee-room, he would order a 'six' of whisky. On the liquor being brought, he usually remarked, 'The water in the bottle looks rather cloudy, waiter. Fetch some fresh, if you please.' Then, while the gentleman garçon retired, the [customer] invariably drank the spirit with rapidity, and made tracks as speedily as possible. Fifteen days hard [labor]."

So that's a "lower-case 'c' with cedilla," eh? Learn something new every day.

-The Gneech

Comments

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

Ah, ç, how I love thee!

[aquaventure.livejournal.com]

Wow - you know, I've not heard any archaic word definitions since my English 150 class. The professor there thought it kept us on edge if she used them in tests.

That reminds me........I still need to find out what a "welkin" is.......

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

You might enjoy FreeRice.com. Guess the meanings of obscure words, and for every one you get right, you donate 20 grains of rice through the UN to help end world hunger!

...which means you can cheat without feeling guilty if you want to! :}

[aquaventure.livejournal.com]

Oh, YEAH, I remember that one! I played it once - but I have no idea what level I got up to. Thanks for the reminder! I'll have to give it another go.