Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US black) personal vilification.

2000

Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 salt bomb Definition: a person that plotted on ya ass badly and fucked up yo rep. Example: Man whole ever drop that salt bomb on me tell my bitch that I was cheatin on her is gonna get a foot in they ass.

1. the condemned cell at Newgate prison.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang.
1820		London Mag. I, 29: Leaving the stone-jug after a miserable residence in the salt-boxes, to be topp’d in front of the debtor’s door [F&H].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1859, 1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
1869		J. Greenwood Seven Curses of London 89: The condemned cell – the salt box.
1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1888		D.V. Lucas Aus. and Homeward 335: Some of their slang may be interesting [...] the condemned cell, the salt-box.
1935		R.T. Hopkins Life and Death at the Old Bailey 64: The following crook’s words and phrases date from the days of the old Old Bailey: [...] the condemned cell – salt-box.

2. (UK Und.) an outside flap-pocket of a coat or jacket.

1833

H. Smith Gale Middleton 1 149: I prigged this here fogle out of his saltbox.

the cavity above a woman’s collar-bone.

1896		Farmer Vocabula Amatoria (1966) 240: Salières (Avoir des). To be thin and skinny of bust; ‘to have salt-cellars’.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.
1966		P. White Solid Mandala (1976) 123: She’s a thin, dark, plain girl. She’ll never be up to much because of the salt-cellars.

(US Und.) execution in the electric chair; often in phr. up salt creek.

1909		‘The Lang. of Crooks’ in Wash. Post 20 June 4/2: [paraphrasing J. Sullivan] Salt Creek is the electric chair.
1910		J. Sullivan ‘Criminal Sl.’ in Amer. Law Rev. LII (1918) 891: ‘Salt Creek’ means death in the electric chair.
1924		G. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 416: Salt creek. Jail. Up salt creek – to the electric chair.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 184/1: Salt creek, up. [...] in prison; awaiting execution.

a rope’s end, as used for flogging.

1622		J. Mabbe (trans.) Life of Guzman Pt II Bk III 342: A good Ropes end, (which your Sea-faring men call a salt Eele) gaue euery one of them fifty sound blows.
1654		Mercurius Fumigosus 20 11–18 Oct. 176: The doating old Car-man, for his offence, is to be imprisoned 9 days in a Water-tankard; and afterwards to be devoured with fresh Herrings and Salt Eles.
1663		Pepys Diary 24 Apr. (1876) II. 188: Up betimes, and with my salt eele went down in the parler and there got my boy and did beat him.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Salt-cel [sic] a Rope’s end used to Drub the Boies and Sailors on baord [sic] of Ship.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Salt eel; a rope’s end.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.

salt beef.

1836		Marryat Mr Midshipman Easy III 11: Why you stay in Midshipman berth eat hard biscuit, salt pig, salt horse?
1840		F.D. Bennett Whaling Voy. I. 189: note, A return [...] to the ‘salt horse’, which no one is more ready to abuse than an old sailor [OED].
1850		(con. 1843) Melville White-Jacket (1990) 60: The business of dining became a bore, and digestion was seriously impaired by the unamiable discourse we had over our salt horse.
1862		in R.G. Carter Four Brothers in Blue (1978) 24 Oct. 146: Pepper [...] makes our salt horse very palatable.
1874		C.M. Scammon Marine Mammals 123: That substantial fare called ‘salt-horse’ and ‘hard-tack’.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 14 Feb. 7/4: After the race, the Press was hospitably entertained by the gallant captain upon very old ‘salt horse,’ and very new rum.
1887		G. Davis Recoll. Sea-Wanderer 289: There are other terms in common use in the cabin and cook's galley [...] Beef is generally salt-horse, at least in my day what appeared in the fo'castle, had earned its dignity after several long voyages at sea.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 11 Feb. 4/6: Our War Department could supply each yeoman with at least a ‘salt-horse’ sandwich and a pint of ‘wallop’.
1898		H.H. Lewis A Gunner Aboard the ‘Yankee’ 42: Jack gets ‘salt-horse,’ rice, and hard-tack.
1907		C. M’Govern By Bolo and Krag 25: The dusty stuff that was [...] interfering with our proper digesting of the toothsome salthorse slum.
1917		‘Taffrail’ Sub 115: ‘Salt horse’ was the name given by old-time seamen to their salt beef in casks.
1939		in W.C. Fields By Himself (1974) 340: I’m an Epicurean, gourmet and sybarite when it comes to salt-horse and beans.
1945		R.S. Close Love me Sailor 144: In the pan he saw his share of salt horse hash.
1961		S. Hugill Shanties from the Seven Seas 595: Salt Horse. Salted beef.

see junk n.¹ (1a)

see separate entry.

to flog someone.

1695		Congreve Love for Love III vii: An’ he comes near me, may hap I may giv’n a salt eel for’s supper for all that.
1751		Smollett Peregrine Pickle in Works (1835) 165: If so be as how you have a mind to give him a salt eel for his supper.
1764		K. O’Hara Midas I v: He, with kicks o’ th’ crupper, Will make Pol dance – He’ll gi’n salt eel to’s supper.

to be flogged.

1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Salt eel; a rope’s end, used to correct boys, at sea: you shall have a salt eel for supper.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
1984		Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 1008/2: ca. 1620–1930.

see in one’s ackee under ackee n.

(US) to cause somene trouble.

1837

Ripley Transcript (MS) 30 Nov. 2/4: Take notice, all ye [...] Corn crackers, Yankees, Flat Heads [...] Land Pirates or what not, that if anyone has squatted on my improvements [...] I will row you up salt creek.

see separate entries.

(UK Und.) the outside coat pocket, with a flap.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 263: salt-box-cly the outside coat-pocket, with a flap.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue [as cit. 1812].

(W.I.) to suffer hardship.

1913

H. De Lisser Jane’s Career (1971) 4: If y’u don’t have a job, or somebody to help y’u, you may suck salt through a wooden spoon!

(US black) to denigrate, to belittle.

2008

‘Grandmaster Flash’ Adventures 166: They make her sound nice, but I know the salt she’s throwing when I'm not around [...] ‘We don’t need his ass anymore’.

(US) to be a weakling, to be lacking strength of character.

1883

Bad Boy’s Diary in Ware (1909) 258/2: Oh, thunder, you want salt on you. A super is an adjunct to the stage.