Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK black) an old person.

1999		(con. 1979–80) A. Wheatle Brixton Rock (2004) 2: A man who would be more comfortable working as a bingo-caller for the old greybacks.
2001		(con. 1981) A. Wheatle East of Acre Lane 59: I’ll ’ave to be der a long time for dat [i.e. promotion]. Probably when I’m a greyback.

2. see grayback n.

see graybar hotel under gray adj.

an earthenware jug used in public houses.

c.1786		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: Grey Beard. Formerly Earthen Juggs used in Publick houses for drawing ale: had the figure of a man with a large beard stamped on them; whence Probably they took the name. Dutch earthen Juggs used for Smuggling Gin on the Coasts of Essex and Suffolk are at this time called Grey Beards.
1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (2nd, 3rd edn) n.p.:
1814		W. Scott Waverley Ch. lxiv: There’s plenty of brandy in the greybeard.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1886		State 20 May 217: A whisky or brandy which is held in merited respect for very superior potency is entitled [in America] ‘reverent,’ from the same kind of fancy which led the Scotch to call a whisky jar a grey-beard [F&H].

(drugs) MDMA.

1996

A. Forsyth ‘Ecstasy and Illegal Drug Design’ on DrugText.org 🌐 Ecstasy brand names: SHAPE [...] (disco) biscuit [...] white biscuit [...] mini snowball pellet [...] brown biscuit [...] (disco/ham)burger [...] grey biscuit.

see gray boy under gray adj.

see gray broad under gray adj.

(Aus. Und.) a prisoner.

1902		Bulletin (Sydney) 31 May 31/2: The Spider, Rajah Riley, Pincher Wilson, and three other greycoats comprised the representatives of the bond, and [...] compared very favorably with the six freemen, amongst whom was the gaol wood-carter.
1907		Bulletin 17 Jan. 40/1: Corpse-watchers guard the doom-cell in ‘B’ wing all the night; The sleepless ‘grey-coats’ mumble and start in sudden fright.

(Aus. prison) weak prison stew; similarly porridge.

1967		‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xxxv 6/1: grey death: Weak prison stew. The cause of many prison ‘rally ups.’.
1968		J. Alard He who Shoots Last 125: Dey locks y’up at four in the arvo until da grey death lobs on ya plate in da mornin’.
1979		(ref. to 1957) L. Newcombe Inside Out 27: The food was atrocious. In particular the evening meal [...] In 1957 they called it the Grey Death [AND].
1982		M. Findlay State of the Prison 90: The Report pointed out that: ‘The standard of food has improved considerably since the days of the notorious “grey death” stews, but still falls short of that implied in the Department's literature’ .
1990		Tupper & Wortley Aus. Prison Sl. Gloss. 🌐 Grey death. Prison stew, notoriously unpalatable.
2001		‘Pixie Page’ The Official Judy McBurney Website 🌐 The Prisoner: Cell Block H Episode 427 [...] Pixie complains about the porridge at breakfast and Cass offers to eat it for her. Pixie says ‘Urgh! I’m going to need a knife and fork to eat this!’ Judy calls it: ‘Good old grey death.’.

(Aus.) a NSW parking police officer; the same officer in Victoria is a grey meanie.

1971		Sun. Australian 1 Aug. 3: Mr McMahon walked into the hotel’s lounge and took tea. Meanwhile one of Melbourne’s famous ‘grey meanies’ slapped the ticket on the Prime Minister’s car [GAW4].
1983		Newcastle Herald (Aus.) 8 Feb. 3: Six parking officers, or grey bombers as they are better known, are being trained in Newcastle [GAW4].
1984		Age (Melbourne) 3 Apr. 17 n.p.: [headline] Grey meanies, and how to beat them [GAW4].
2002		AusImports ‘Johnny Hoppers’ 🌐 Another kind of cop is the ‘Brown or Grey Bomber’, ‘Grey Ghost’ (NSW) or ‘Grey Meanie’ (VIC) who enforce Parking Laws.

see separate entries.

(W.I.) an albino.

1966

cited in Cassidy & LePage Dict. Jam. Eng. (1980).

a farmer who rents out the tithes normally due to a vicar or rector.

1784		J. Cullum Hist. & Antquities Hawsted 171: A Grey parson. A layman, who hires the tithes of the parson.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Grey parson, a farmer who rents the tithes of the rector or vicar.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1830		W. Cobbett Rural Rides (1885) I 123: The author applied to Mr. Nicholls, the name of ‘the grey-coated parson’.
1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. (2nd edn) 150: GRAY-COAT-PARSON, a lay impropriator, or lessee of great tithes.
1873		Sl. Dict.

(W.I.) an albino.

1958

cited in Cassidy & LePage Dict. Jam. Eng. (1980).

see graystone college under gray adj.

(W.I.) a person of mixed race.

1954

cited in Cassidy & LePage Dict. Jam. Eng. (1980).