lard n.
1. (US) human fat; often in combs.; thus lardhood n.
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Clockmaker I 178: He must have a proper sight of lard, that chap? | |
| Mysteries of N.Y. 41: [...] tripping the fat gurl up and telling her that there has been a big fall in lard. | |
 | Uniform of Glory 94: The filthy barrel of lard that is your stomach. | |
| Amer. Thes. Sl. | |
| Little Men, Big World 59: ‘Ignore Leon till next week. We’ll sweat him a little.’ ‘He can stand it. He’s got too much lard around his belt.’. | |
| Freeloaders 90: A blank-faced girl on the brink of lardhood. | |
| Dict. of Invective (1991) 232: lard. Fat, in various combinations, e.g., lard ass, lardball, lard bucket, and tub of lard, all referring to a grossly overweight person, and lardhead, to a dumb one. |
2. (US) butter or margarine.
| Amer. Thes. Sl. |
3. (Irish) the essence, the ‘daylights’; usu. in phr. beat the lard out of; also beat the meal out of.
![[Ire]](/static/img/flags/ire.png "Ireland") | ‘Donnybrook Jig’ Dublin Comic Songster 261: He hit him a dig, The pig, / He beat the meal out of his wig. | |
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | ‘Bricks’ in ‘Hello, Soldier!’ 30: Our push took on the Peewee pack, ’n’ belted out their lard. | |
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Children of the Rainbow 15: Just when I had the lard frightened out of them! You! [Ibid.] 82: ‘I’d beat the lard out of you!’ I said. ‘Once on weekdays and twice on Sundays.’. | |
| Mr Jive-Ass Nigger 25: I didn’t say anything about your mother, did I now, Tail said. [. . . .] You better not, I beat the lard outa your fat ass, George said. | |
| (con. 1960s) Pictures in my Head 8: If I ever see you next or near that baby tryin’ to give him anything again, I’ll bate the lard out o’ ye. | |
| (con. 1970) Danti-Dan in McGuinness Dazzling Dark (1996) I iv: I wouldn’t be surprised if she did it on purpose to scare the lard out of me. |
In derivatives
(US) a fat person, usu. used in direct address.
| Weekly World News 1 Sept. 32: Dear Fat and Happy: Bully for you, Lardo! [HDAS]. | |
| A 6th Bowl of Chicken Soup for the Soul n.p.: He ate before meals, between meals and after meals. We laughed and called him ‘lardo.’. | |
| I, Fatty 31: Betcha yer so fat ya can’t see yer weiner, can ya, Señor Lardo? |
In compounds
see separate entries.
an obese person.
| Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 141: lard-ball A very fat person. | |
| Dict. of Invective (1991) 232: lard. Fat, in various combinations, e.g., lard ass, lardball, lard bucket, and tub of lard, all referring to a grossly overweight person, and lardhead, to a dumb one. |
(UK black) a fat person.
| Crumple Zone 39: I thank the moving stars there ain’t no lard batty living on the roof who’d crush me by falling. |
(US) an obese person.
| ‘Song of the Pipeline’ in Botkin Folk-Say 110: There was a big lard belly pusher there that irritated me. | |
| Rebellion of Leo McGuire (1953) 10: Nuts to you, too, Lard Belly! | |
| ‘Adrian Mole, aged 32 ¾’ Guardian 1 Apr. 🌐 I longed to tell the mustachioed lard-belly that Glenn was a good boy, but she picked an argument with the newsagent about non-delivery of her People’s Friend, so I left without defending my son. |
an obese person.
| ‘Mutiny of the Mavericks’ in Life’s Handicap 225: Mulcahy confused the causes of things, and when a very muzzy Maverick smote a sergeant on the nose or called his commanding officer a bald-headed old lard-bladder [...] he fancied that rebellion and not liquor was at the bottom of the outbreak. | |
| Between Fairs 19: Ay, but I’d have you know there is offence, when an old lard-bladder of a circus-clown, the likes of you, tries to teach her own business to Nanny Ragtag . |
see lardhead n.
a fat person.
| (con. 1950) Band of Brothers 255: At Little Creek he had been taunted: ‘What’s with you, Lardbucket? Ain’t you human?’. | |
| Dict. of Invective (1991) 232: lard. Fat, in various combinations, e.g., lard ass, lardball, lard bucket, and tub of lard, all referring to a grossly overweight person, and lardhead, to a dumb one. | |
| (con. 1949) Big Blowdown (1999) 284: The lard-bucket, he sliced Jimmy with a razor, right? | |
| Independent 5 Oct. 7/3: On behalf of the lard-bucket community I regret that Chris Christie has decided not to try. |
(US) an obese person.
| S.R.O. (1998) 189: ‘That lard butt ought to save some of her lies’. | |
| Semi-Tough 191: Especially them lard butts who have to play down in that trench where the men are. |
(US) a fat person.
| Red Harvest (1965) 35: Go talk to the lard-can that sent you. | |
| ‘Nightmare Town’ in Nightmare Town (2001) 7: You big lard-can [...] you’ll lay off or I’ll spoil your vest for you. |
see separate entry.
(US black) a flatterer, a toady, one who ingratiates.
| ‘Back Door Stuff’ 23 Apr. [synd. col.] I mean the real people and not the lardmouths who grease you good with words and then slip away. |
(Aus.) (second rate) butter sold in bulk .
| Laverton Mercury (WA) 31 Oct. 3/7: A whole case of eggs coming from many quarters gets the name of ‘raffles,’ and a certain kind of butter sold in large quantities is ‘promoted lard,’ while lard itself, even of the best kind, is termed ‘bullet grease.’. |
a fat person’s stomach.
| Riot (1967) 172: Keep your snitchin’ mouth shut or I’ll sink a couple in that lard sack of yours. |
In phrases
to put on weight.
| Dolores Claiborne 241: He’d larded up considerably the last few years. |
a nickname for an obese person.
| Come in Spinner (1960) 20: All the cosmetics in the place won’t make me look like Guinea, even when she’s giving that lump of lard a sweat bath. | |
| Lore and Lang. of Schoolchildren (1977) 188: Lumpy, lump of lardy, piggy. | |
| Riordans 59: Batty said that no-one but himself was entitled to call her a miserable ould faggot, and called Johnny a lump of lard. |
see under tub n.1