Green’s Dictionary of Slang

swallow v.

also gulp, swallow it, swallow whole

1. to accept, esp. a false story that one is told.

[UK]Jonson Silent Woman II iv: Hee’ll swallow it like Creame.
[UK]M. Hawke Killing is Murder 51: Fools they are not, because they will not swallow this Imposters principles of knavery, which none but fools and gudgeons will.
[UK]Woman Turn’d Bully IV i: This Dashwell is the easiest Gudgion! he gulps a Lye as readily as Juglers swallow Knives.
[UK]B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Swallow (Falsities for Truths) to believe them.
[UK]N. Ward A Frolic to Horn-Fair 13: With this piece of History we were mightily pleased [...] which indeed I swallow’d without Chewing, as [...] an Ignorant Congregation does the hum-drum Doctrines of a Dark Priest.
[UK]Humours of a Coffee-House 17 Sept. 26: He is one of those Infatuated Noddies that would swallow a Sham-Victory, as greedily as a Gallon of his own March Beer.
[UK]C. Walker Authentick Memoirs of Sally Salisbury 111: This the Gudgeon swallows.
[UK]Cleland Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1985) 15: What was it she could not see me silly enough to swallow?
[UK]Sporting Mag. July II 225/1: I should swallow your communications with much more faith and avidity, did M. St Bel stand in the shoes of a sportsman.
[UK]J. Wetherell Adventures of John Wetherell (1954) 28 Feb. 27: This was a bitter pill but I had to swallow it.
[UK]B.H. Malkin (trans.) Adventures of Gil Blas (1822) III 181: As for this fellow, he swallowed flattery by the lump without mastication.
[US]S. Smith Major Downing (1834) 158: He called me an ‘old rogue.’ I can’t swallow that very well.
[US]T. Haliburton Clockmaker II 77: Folks believed everything they heerd of it. They actilly swallered a story that a British officer with a cork leg bathed there, and the flesh growed on it.
[US]T. Haliburton Clockmaker III 154: They’ll swallow anything, them fellars, they are such gulls.
[UK]‘Cuthbert Bede’ Adventures of Mr Verdant Green (1982) I 68: Mr Verdant Green having ‘swallowed’ this [story], his friend was thereby enabled, not only to use up old ‘sells’, but also to draw largely on his invention for new ones.
[US]‘Artemus Ward’ Artemus Ward, His Book 115: Otheller swallers lago’s lyin tail & goes to makin a noosence of hisself ginrally.
[UK]J. Greenwood Wilds of London (1881) 116: I am a shilling out by my gentleman and I must swallow it.
[Aus]Bulletin (Sydney) 25 Apr. 6/3: For years past he has been a staunch believer in Britain’s ‘Bulwark,’ and has swallowed all its thrilling tales as easily as the whale swallowed Jonah.
[UK]G.A. Henty Dorothy’s Double II 194: Do you think that I am such a fool as to swallow that?
[Aus]Worker (Brisbane) 28 Jan. 11/3: I have known Mr Kerr too long to swallow that.
[Aus]E.G. Murphy ‘Them was the Days’ in Jarrahland Jingles 170: To London cold and foggy. / An’ there I ’ires an inky ghost To put me pap in writin,’ / An’ get the Cockney push on toast, Wot swaller saltbush skitin’.
[UK]‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘The Sweetshop Girl’ Sporting Times 5 Mar. 1/4: It very often follows that his fairy tales she swallows.
[Ire]Joyce Ulysses 161: That last pagan king of Ireland Cormac in the schoolpoem choked himself at Sletty southward of the Boyne [...] Saint Patrick converted him to Christianity. Couldn’t swallow it all however.
[US]S. Ornitz Haunch Paunch and Jowl 36: Archie snarls back at him: ‘You don’t expect me to swallow that bunk.’.
[UK]D.L. Sayers Have His Carcase 401: Alex, poor egg, swallows this, hook, line and sinker.
C. Drew ‘Gorilla Grogan’ in Bulletin (Sydney) 26 July 41/1: I’ve got to hand it to Gorilla; he acted well. [...] The crowd swallowed it up to the sinker.
[UK]J. Curtis You’re in the Racket, Too 249: He’s asked me if anybody’s in the card-room and I’ve told him no. He’s only swallowed that whole.
[US]N. Algren Neon Wilderness (1986) 148: I can’t swallow that lingo.
[US]J. Thompson Swell-Looking Babe 44: That might be pretty hard for people to swallow.
[UK]J.R. Ackerley We Think The World Of You (1971) 123: And he swallowed that?
[US]J. Carroll ‘from a diary’ in Adventures in Poetry July n.p.: The priest was making a speech about Teddy and tried to pawn off some story about him fixing a TV antenna when he fell off but no one swallowed that shit.
[UK]Wodehouse Much Obliged, Jeeves 153: ‘And did he swallow it?’ ‘He appeared to.’.
[Aus]B. Humphries Traveller’s Tool 46: She swallowed my yarn that I’d been set up hook, line and sinker.
[Ire]R. Doyle Snapper 135: Sharon wasn’t sure, but she thought they’d all swallowed it.
[UK]J. Hawes Dead Long Enough 262: Jesus, did you really think we’d swallow that guff about six to eight pints.
[Aus]G. Disher Heat [ebook] ‘Your uncle won’t just swallow it,’ Trask said. ‘He’ll look very hard at you, and me’.

2. to be accepted.

[UK]Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 6/1: Blasting her bloody eyes for such luck, she would call for the ‘max,’ and say that was all the ‘flat’ had in his [...] ‘kick’; but this ‘game’ did not ‘swallow’ long.

3. to accept defeat, i.e. in a game.

[UK]Sporting Times 3 Mar. 2/2: The bloomin’ old Frenchman ’as wocked in, / The Sham ’un has swallered the lot!
[UK]G.F. Newman Villain’s Tale 72: [of a snooker game] You want to swallow it, Micky.

SE in slang uses

In compounds

swallow-pipe (n.)

(W.I., Bdos) the throat.

[[UK]‘Peter Pindar’ ‘Farewell Odes’ in Works (1794) I 148: Each paunch with guttling was so swell’d, Not one bit more could pass your swallowpipe].
Hansard (Bdos) 6 Nov. 2760: Mr. Chairman, I do not want you to ask him. I will go and put my hands in [sic] his swallow-pipe and tell the people of St Peter what I did and get back my seat.

In phrases

swallow a hair (v.) [SE hair, which must be washed down the throat]

to be drunk.

[UK]T. Heywood The drunkard 60: No man must call a Good-fellow Drunkard [...] But if at any time they spie that defect in another, they may without any forfeit or just exceptions taken, say [...] He hath swallowed an Hair or a Taven-Token [sic].
[UK]Eighth Liberal Science n.p.: [as 1635].
[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: He has swallowed a hare; he is drunk; more probably a hair, which requires washing down.
swallow a hare (v.) [? the drunkard may leap around like the animal]

to become very drunk.

[Ire]Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) n.p.: No man ought to call a Good-fellow a Drunkard; but [...] he may without a forfeit say he [...] hath swollowed a Hare.
[UK]B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: He has swallow’d a Hare, he is very Drunk.
[UK] ‘The Art of Drinking’ in Wit’s Cabinet 138: He has swallowed a Hare.
[UK]New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
[UK]Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: He has swallowed a hare; he is drunk; more probably a hair, which requires washing down.
[UK]Lex. Balatronicum.
[UK]Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
swallow and choke (n.)

(US) a restaurant, a café.

[US]W. Winchell Your Broadway & Mine 1 Dec.. [synd. col.] [O]ne heavenly dawn in the corner of a sizzling swallow-and-choke.
swallow a tavern token (v.) [SE tavern token, a token given as part of one’s change; it can be used in payment for subsequent drinks]

to become drunk.

[UK]Jonson Every Man In his Humour I iii: Drunk, sir! [...] perhaps he swallowd a tavern-token.
[UK]T. Heywood The drunkard 60: No man must call a Good-fellow Drunkard [...] But if at any time they spie that defect in another, they may without any forfeit or just exceptions taken, say [...] He hath swallowed an Hair or a Taven-Token [sic].
[UK]Eighth Liberal Science n.p.: [as 1635].
[UK] ‘The Art of Drinking’ in Wit’s Cabinet 138: He has swallowed a Hare, or a Tavern-token.
[US]B. Franklin ‘Drinkers Dict.’ in Pennsylvania Gazette 6 Jan. in AS XII:2 92: They come to be well understood to signify plainly that A MAN IS DRUNK. [...] Has Swallow’d a Tavern Token.
swallow bobby (v.)

(Aus.) to make a false affidavit.

[Aus][A. Harris] (con. 1820s) Settlers & Convicts 95: Some of the first ‘nobs’ in the colony used to ‘swallow bobby’ (make false affidavits) to an enormous extent.
swallow it (v.) (UK Und.)

1. to back down; to retreat.

[UK]B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 11: When the Blacks heard about this unusal assembly they swallowed it. They had never reckoned on so many thieves and tearaways getting together. [Ibid.] 69: The other four tearaways swallowed it and scarpered.

2. to give up crime.

[UK]J. Gosling Ghost Squad 29: Only a few weeks ago he told me he ‘had swallowed it’ — got out of crime.
swallow one’s spit (v.) (also swallow one’s lip, …neck, …toad)

(W.I.) to keep quiet, to hold one’s tongue.

[US]‘Max Brand’ Pleasant Jim 62: ‘Swallow your lip, Rizdal!’ boomed the gaoler.
[US]C. Coe Hooch! 164: Why stand there swallerin’ your neck an’ holdin’ that door with your heel?
[WI]L. Bennett Jam. Dial. Verses 13: Well me hear him talk ’bout him cattles [...] Me did swallow me spit for all him ’ave. It wan big head maga cow.
[US]S. Longstreet Straw Boss (1979) 255: Mike Brant knows how to hide his bitterness, his anger, when it could do him harm (Mom called this ‘swallowing your toad’).

In exclamations