Prattling box. The pulpit.
Pray. She prays with her knees upwards;
said of a woman
much given to gallantry and intrigue.
At her last prayers;
saying of an old maid.
Preadamite QUACABITES. This great and laudable
society
(as they termed themselves) held their
grand chapter
at the Coal-hole.
P—–K. The virile member.
Prick-eared. A prick-eared fellow; one whose
ears are
longer than his hair: an appellation
frequently given to
puritans, who considered long hair as
the mark of the
whore of Babylon.
PRICKLOUSE. A taylor.
Priest-craft. The art of awing the
laity, managing their
consciences, and diving into their pockets.
Priest-linked. Married.
Priest-ridden. Governed by a priest, or priests.
Prig. A thief, a cheat: also a conceited
coxcomical
fellow.
Prig napper. A thief taker.
Priggers. Thieves in general. Priggers
of prancers;
horse stealers. Priggers of cacklers:
robbers of hen-
roosts.
PRIGGING. Riding; also lying with a woman.
PRIGSTAR. A rival in love.
Prime. Bang up. Quite the thing.
Excellent. Well
done. She’s a prime piece;
she is very skilful in the
venereal act. Prime post. She’s
a prime article.
PRIMINAKY. I had like to be brought into a priminary;
i.e. into trouble; from PREMUNIRE.
Prince prig. A king of the gypsies;
also the head thief
or receiver general.
Princes. When the majesty of the people
was a favourite
terra in the House of Commons, a celebrated
wit, seeing
chimney sweepers dancing on a May-day,
styled them the
young princes.
PRINCOD. A pincushion. Scotch—Also
a round plump
man or woman.
Princox. A pert, lively, forward fellow.
Princum Prancum. Mrs. Princum Prancum;
a nice,
precise, formal madam.
PRINKING. Dressing over nicely: prinked
up as if he
came out of a bandbox, or fit to sit upon
a cupboard’s
head.
Print. All in print, quite neat or exact,
set, screwed up.
Quite in print; set in a formal manner.
Priscian. To break Priscian’s head;
to write or speak
false grammar. Priscian was a famous
grammarian, who
flourished at Constantinople in the year
525; and who
was so devoted to his favourite study,
that to speak false
Latin in his company, was as disagreeable
to him as to
break his head.
PRITTLE prattle. Insignificant talk:
generally applied
to women and children.
Prog. Provision. Rum prog; choice provision.
To prog;
to be on the hunt for provision:
called in the military
term to forage.


