cloy v.
1. to arrest.
Disputation Betweene a Hee and a Shee Conny-Catcher (1923) 10: Truth if fortune so fauour thy husband, that hee be neither smoakt nor cloyed, for I am sure all they brauery comes by his Nipping, Foysting, and lifting. | ||
Crabtree Lectures 193: Cove. But sto Mort: what if I should bee Cloyed in the milling of Cacklers, Quacklers, or Duds, or nipping a Bung, and so be cloyed, & budged to the Naskin. |
2. to rob, to steal.
O per se O O1: Bingd out bien Morts and toure, bing out of the Rome-vile: And towre the coue, that cloyde your duds vpon the chates to trine. | Canting Song||
Crabtree Lectures 193: Mort. [...] And if thou want lower, budge to the next Vile, and there nip a Bung, or cloy a Culley; then budge to the bowsing Ken, and boose rumsie and beanely. | ||
Eng. Villainies (9th edn). | Canters Dict.||
Catterpillers of this Nation Anatomized 4: When there’s a great company gathered of gaping spectators, then they take the opportuinity to fibb and cloy. | ||
Eng. Rogue I 46: [as cit. 1612]. | ||
‘Canting Song’ Canting Academy (1674) 22: [as cit. 1637]. | ||
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, [...] or to cloy a mish from the crack man’s.’. | in||
Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Cloy c. to Steal. Cloy the Clout, c. to Steal the Hankerchief [sic]. Cloy the Lour, c. to Steal the Money. | ||
Triumph of Wit 196: [as cit. 1637]. | ||
Lives of Most Notorious Highway-men, etc. (1926) 204: Cloy, to steal, Cloy the clout, i.e., to steal the handkerchief. | ||
New Canting Dict. n.p.: cloying c. Stealing, Thieving, Robbing. | ||
Hist. of Highwaymen &c. 105: [as cit. 1684]. | ||
, , , | Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725]. | |
Poor Robin n.p.: Money is now a hard commodity to get, insomuch that some will venture their necks for it, by padding, cloying, milling, filching, nabbing, etc., all of which in plain English is only stealing [F&H]. | ||
, , | Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Cloy, to steal, (cant) To cloy the clout; to steal the handkerchief. To cloy the lour; to steal money. | |
Dict. Sl. and Cant. | ||
(con. 18C) Guy Mannering (1999) 148: There was not one, from Johnnie Faa the upright man, of the gang to little Christie that was in the panniers, would cloyed a dud from them. | ||
Flash Dict. | ||
Modern Flash Dict. | ||
Flash Dict. in Sinks of London Laid Open. | ||
New and Improved Flash Dict. |