Green’s Dictionary of Slang

cheery, sprightly, lively; of men, sexually enthusiastic.

1639		R. Davenport A New Tricke to Cheat the Divell III i: A Cup of Nipsitate briske and neate; The Drawers call it Tickle-braine, ’twill do’t.
1674		T. Duffet Epilogue Spoken by Heccate and Three Witches 34: But of all the brisk bawdes ’tis M--- for me [...] She can serve from the Lord, to the Squire and Clown, From a Guinny she’ll fit ye to half a Crown.
1684		A Character of London-Village 1: The Ladies [...] Tending to show the Brisk Gallants their way.
1693		Proc. Old Bailey 31 May n.p.: The Prisoner brought him a brisk young Girl, who presently had the Impudence to pull up her Coats, and laying her hand upon her Belly said, Here's that that will do you good, a Commodity for you, if you’ll pay for it.
1702		Farquhar Twin-Rivals I ii: Perhaps you know him; he’s a brisk fellow, much about Court.
1713		W. King York Spy 30: Next Morning about Eight [we] were visited by a brisk young Spark.
1724		A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) IV 374: Give me a brisk wench and clean straw, And I value not who rules the roast [sic].
1732		Delightful Adventures of Honest John Cole 22: Let his Wife be full brisk, / Bound, caper, and frisk, / Till she foams at the Thing that’s below, Sir.
1749		Smollett (trans.) Adventures of Gil Blas I 205: They are merry, brisk, romping creatures.
c.1750		‘On the Spaw at Castle-connel’ in A. Carpenter Verse in Eng. in 18C Ireland (1998) 308: Our waters can soon make a man / Brisk as the fam’d MacDonnell.
1756		Sham Beggar I i: A brisk young Fellow.
1772		Bridges Burlesque Homer (3rd edn) Preface: My works are for the laughing tribe, / And I expect they’ll all subscribe; / To these brisk souls I mean to shew, / That full four thousand years ago, / Some men were knaves, and some were bullies.
1780		H. Cowley Belle’s Stratagem IV i: About as long, my brisk widow, as you have been angling for a second husband.
1797		New London City Jester 26: The journeyman, a brisk blade.
c.1824		A. Tennyson Devil and the Lady (1930) 35: And you as brisk as bottled beer.
1833		‘I Wanted — I Could Not Tell What’ in Fal-Lal Songster in Spedding & Watt (eds) Bawdy Songbooks (2011) III 6: At last a brisk husband I got — / [...] / He gave me — I must not tell what.
1883		St Louis Post-Disptach (MO) 16 Apr. 4/6: ‘How are you, my brave boy?’ ‘Eh? Oh, I cawn’t say as I’m too brisk, don’t chew know! I’m freakish to-day’.
1901		‘Hugh McHugh’ Down the Line 29: It was a swift squad of sports that climbed into a coach [...] one morning last week. A bunch of brisk boys — believe me!
1908		‘Hugh McHugh’ Go To It 45: A bunch of brisk ones – believe me!