1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, 57. Juno and he have had their quantum, And play no more at rantum-scantum.
c. 1871. Siliad, 99. I, too, O comrade, quantum suff. would cry.
Quarrel.—See Bread-and-Butter,
Pick, Take.
Quarrel-picker, subs. phr. (old).—A
glazier.—B. E. (c.1696);
Grose (1785).
1676. Warening for Housekeepers, 4. The third sort of thieves, which are called glasiers, are the right quarrel-pickers . . . they take out a pane of glass, and so go in at the window, and take what stands next them.
Quarroms (Quarrome, or Quarron),
subs. (Old Cant).—The
body.—Harman (1567); Dekker
(1620); B. E. (c.1696).
1377. Langland, Piers Plowman, B. xiv., 331. Ne noyther sherte ne shone To keure my caroigne.
c.1450. Knt. de la Tour, xxvii (1868) 39. To adorne suche a carion as is your body.
[?] Colin Blowbols Testament (Hazlitt, E. Pop. Poetry, i, 96]. First, I bequeath my goost that is barren, When it is depertid from the careyne.
1567. Harman, Caveat, 84. Bene Lightmans to thy quarromes, in what lipken hast thou lypped in this darkemans, whether in a lybbege or in the strummell?
1707. Old Song, 'The Maunder's Praise of His Strowling Mort' [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), 33. ?] White thy fambles, red thy gan, And thy quarrons dainty is.
Quarry, subs. (venery).—The
female pudendum: see Monosyllable.
Quarter, subs. (American).—A
quarter dollar; twenty-five cents.
1824. Atlantic Magazine, I. 343. Every man . . . vociferously swore that he had ponied up his quarter.
Quarter-decker, subs. phr.
(naval).—An officer more remarkable
for manners than seamanship.
Hence quarter-deckish
= punctilious.
Quartereen, subs. (theatrical).—A
farthing: see Rhino.
Quarter-sessions Rose, subs.
phr. (gardeners').—A 'perpetual'
rose. [Fr. rose de quatre saisons.]
Quart-mania, subs. phr. (common).—Delirium
tremens: see
Gallon-distemper.
Quarto (or Mr. Quarto), subs.
(old).—A publisher or bookseller:
see Barabbas.
1772. Bridges, Burlesque Homer, iv. My bookseller . . . Mr. Quarto.
Quart-pot tea, subs. phr. (Australian).—See
quot.
1885. Finch-Hatton, Advance Australia. Quart-pot tea, as tea made in the bush is always called, is really the proper way to make it. A tin quart of water is set down by the fire, and when it is boiling hard a handful of tea is thrown in, and the pot instantly removed from the fire.
Quash, verb. (old: once, and still,
literary).—'To annul; to overthrow;
to extinguish: vulgarly
pron. squash.'—B. E. (c.1696);
Grose (1785).
Quashie (or Quassy), subs. (common).—A
negro; generic: see
Snowball.
1836. M. Scott, Tom Cringle's Log, xi. Half a dozen mules, accompanied by three or four negroes, but with no escort whatsoever. 'I say, quashie, where are the bombardiers?'
1847. Porter, Big Bear, 89. To show his gratitude invited quashey to go up to the doggery and liquor.
