Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(UK Und.) a pig, pork.

c.1566		Harman Caveat for Common Cursetours in Viles & Furnivall (1907) 83: A grunting chete or a patricoes kynchen, a pig.
1592		Groundworke of Conny-catching A3: She hath a Cackling Chete, a gruntinge chete, ruffe peck, cassan, and popelars of yarum.
1608		Dekker Lanthorne and Candle-Light Ch. 1: A Grunting chete, a Pig.
1611		Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girle V i: I’ll [...] drink ben bouse, and eat a fat gruntling cheat, a cackling cheat, and a quacking cheat.
1622		Beaumont & Fletcher Beggar’s Bush V i: Or surprising a boor’s ken, for grunting-cheats?
1637		Dekker Canting Song in Eng. Villainies (8th edn) O2: Ben Bowse thou shalt Bowse thy fill, and crash a grunting cheat thats young.
1648		Dekker Canters Dict. Eng. Villainies (9th edn).
1665		Head Eng. Rogue I 49: Grunting cheat, A Sucking Pig.
1674		Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) 4: Some are sent [...] to filch Tybs of the Buttery, Cackling cheats, Margery Praters, Red-shanks, and Grunting cheats.
1684		W. Nevison in Newgate Calendar I (1926) 291: ‘Now,’ saith he, ‘that thou art entered into our fraternity, thou must not scruple to act any villainies which thou shalt be able to perform, whether it be to nip a bung, bite the Peter Cloy, the lurries crash, either a bleating cheat, cackling cheat, grunting cheat, quacking cheat, Tib-oth-buttery, Margery Prater.’.
1688		J. Shirley Triumph of Wit 210: The Foragers go out, and fetch in Crackling Cheats, Grunting Cheats, Margery Praters, Red Shanks, [...] Nor does Tib of the Buttery, that is, the Geese escape them.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Grunting Cheat c. a Pig.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1734		C. Johnson Hist. of Highwaymen &c. 105: [as cit. 1684].
1741		Canting Academy, or the Pedlar’s-French Dict. 116: A Pig A grunting Cheat.
1754		Scoundrel’s Dict. 18: Pork – Grunting-cheat. [Ibid.] 19: Sucking Pigs – Grunting-cheats.
1785		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Lastly, I will cleave to my doxy wap sliffly, and will bring her duds, margery praters, gobblers, grunting cheats, or tibs of the buttery, or any thing else I can come at, as winnings for her wapping.
1822		R. Nares Gloss. (1888) I 391: grunting cheat. In the beggars’ cant language, a pig. I have not thought it worth while, in general, to introduce the terms of this mock language, as they are never used without a glossary subjoined; and certainly they are little worthy of being recorded.