Green’s Dictionary of Slang

sir-reverence n.

faeces, excrement.

1592		Greene Blacke Bookes Messenger 29: Neuer was gentle Angler so drest, for his face, his head, and his necke, were all besmeared with the soft sirreuerence, so as hee stunke worse than a Iakes farmer.
1613		Middleton Chaste Maid in Cheapside IV i: Are you not ashamed, tutor? Grammatica? Why, recte scribendi atque loquendi ars, sir-reverence of my mother.
1627		J. Taylor ‘An Armado’ in Works (1869) I 78: Florence, the onely daughter to Sir reuerence Stirstinke, of Hole-hauen in the county of Ruffmillion Glisterpipe-maker.
1630		J. Taylor ‘A Whore’ in Works (1869) II 109: A Lechers loue is (like Sir Reuerence) hot.
c.1635		W. Cartwright Ordinary IV iii: I shall / Blaze out sir-reverence, if ye do not quench me.
1654		Mercurius Fumigosus 30 20–27 Dec. 236: Shee is next week (If she still continue her hellish clamour against her husband) to be gagg’d with a surreverence.
a.1661		‘Arsy Versy’ Rump Poems and Songs (1662) II 47: As a preface of honour, and not as a frump, / First with a Sirreverence ushers the Rump.
1665		Head Eng. Rogue I 129: I made my Sirreverence to her, wishing they had gagged her breech too so wide, that her guts might have a passage through her posteriours.
1668		‘P.R.’ Whores Dialogue 7: I honor the Civet cat above all other. O it is a pretisus [i.e. precious] beast, for were it not for his sir reverence, I should have such a strong savor , that I suppose a Cobler would disdain to kiss me.
1683		London Jilt pt 2 104: Maximus [...] went out of the House, his Cloaths all covered with a Sirreverence.
1696		Motteux (trans.) Gargantua and Pantagruel (1927) II Bk IV 422: I happened to read a chapter [...] and old Nick turn me into bumfodder, if this did not make me so hide-bound and costive, that for four or five days I hardly scumbered one poor butt of sir-reverance.
1700		N. Ward A Frolic to Horn-Fair 11: An Unlucky Rogue, with [...] a Ladle in his hand, fishes up a floating Sir-Reverence in his Wooden Vehicle, and gives it an Unfortunate Toss upon my Ladies Bubbies.
1708		J. Hall Memoirs (1714) 15: But the Lower-Ward, where the tight-slovenly Dogs lye upon ragged Blankets, spread near Sir-Reverence, one would take to be Old Nick’s Backside, where all the Damn’d go to ease their Roasted Arses.
1714		A. Smith Lives of Most Noted Highway-men, etc. I 134: Up to the Arm-pits in Sir-Reverence.
1728		Pope Essay on the Dunciad 18: The only Difference between the Roman Racer and the English, was that one slipp’d down in Bull’s Blood, the other in a Sir-Reverence.
1733		Pennsylvania Gaz. 1 Aug. 4/1: Matthew Cushing [...] broke into the house of Joseph Cooke [...] and having left a large Sir-Reverence in the middle of the room and another in one of the Man’s Stockings, he made his escape.
1734		C. Johnson Hist. of Highwaymen &c. 437: Nell [...] left him there wallowing in Sir Reverence, Urine, and other Nastiness.
1766		Bath Chron. 22 May 1/1: ’Tis common to hold our Noses against the Smell of a Sir-reverence.
1771		Smollett Humphrey Clinker (1925) I 66: Asked if he did not think that such an unreserved mixture would improve the whole mass, ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘as a plate of marmalade would improve a pan of sir-reverence.’.
1776		Bath Chron. 22 May 1/1: Just in the same Manner as ’tis common to hold our Noses against the Smell of a Sir-reverence.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1803		‘A Pembrochian’ Gradus ad Cantabrigiam 22: To the same purpose Ovid, if the reader has not already smelt out the allusion, which, with Sir Reverence be it spoken, is a pretty strong one.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1812		Spirit of Irish Wit 105: ‘Pray did your honour ever sarve an ejectment upon a Sir Reverence?’.
1820		Pleasant Hist. of Poor Robin 7: The wine, beer, and cyder not agreeing in his belly, he very mannerly, sir-reverence beshit the bed.
1836		‘Chapter of T--d’s’ in Comic Songster and Gentleman’s Private Cabinet 43: This world’s but a dunyken – mankind are only t--ds! / The parson’s a Sir Reverence, and at best but an old f--t.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict. 231: Sir Reverence a corruption of the old phrase, SAVE YOUR REVERENCE, a sort of apology for alluding to anything likely to shock one’s sense of decency. Latin, SALVÂ REVERENTIÂ. [...] from this it came to mean the thing itself ? human ordure generally, but sometimes other indecencies.
1873		Sl. Dict.
2002		Indep. on Sun. Rev. 24 Mar. 62: Peter Bazalgette, whose great-grandfather built the great London sewer system [...] truffling in their metaphorical outfall and selling [...] ‘People shows’, cookery drivel, piss and Sir-Reverence.

In exclamations

sir reverence!

excuse me, I beg your pardon.

1568		Hist. of Jacob and Esau II iv: And Jacob first to have a fart syr reuerence.
1573		New Custom I i : It would almost for anger (sir reverence!) make a man to piss, / To hear what they talk of in open communication.
1584		Three Ladies of London II: Thou hast honesty, sir reverence! come out, dog, where art thou? Even as much honesty as had my mother’s great hoggish sow.
1599		Nashe Praise of the Red Herring 75: I might as well haue writte of a dogges turde (in his teeth surreuerence).
1604		Middleton Father Hubburd’s Tales Line 395: His back part seemed to us like a monster, the roll of the breeches standing so low that we conjectured his house of office, sir-reverence, stood in his hams.
1639		J. Taylor Crabtree Lectures 71: Marry Syr-reverence, goodly Gossip: I pray you Mistress Gill Flurts how came you by that goodly word?
1685		G. Meriton In Praise of York-shire Ale 12: Some piss’d their Breetches, Sirreverence your Nose, Some not only piss’d but all bee— their Hose.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict. 231: Sir Reverence a corruption of the old phrase, SAVE YOUR REVERENCE, a sort of apology for alluding to anything likely to shock one’s sense of decency. Latin, SALVÂ REVERENTIÂ. [...].