deep adj.
1. sly, artful, thus deep one, a cunning individual, or one who believes they are.
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Greene’s Ghost Haunting Coniecatchers 39: Such iollie shauers, that are deepe slashers of others [...] sit vp all night, some at cardes and Dice, some quaffing and swilling at the Tauerne. | |
| Wandring Whore II 10: It will be very proper to have a List of the names, of our deepest Pyemen and decayed Occupiers, whose names may stand upon record amongst us, as the Benefactors in St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. | |
| New Academy of Complements 205: The sixteenth a Sheep-napper, whose trade’s so deep, / If he’s caught in the Corn, he’s mark’d for a Sheep. | |
| Squire of Alsatia III i: They are all deep, they are very deep and sharp, sharp as needles, adad. | |
| ‘Black Procession’ in Musa Pedestris (1896) 39: The sixteenth a sheep-napper, whose trade is so deep, / If he’s caught in the corn, he’s marked for a sheep. | |
| Beggar’s Opera III iv: There will be deep Play to-night at , thus deep one, a cunning person or one who believes they areMarybone, and consequently Money may be pick’d up upon the Road. | |
| in Jesse George Selwyn (1843) III 159: In gaming, ’tis said, he’s the stoutest of cocks; / No man can play deeper than this Mr. Fox. | |
| Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: Deep one. A thorough-paced Rogue, a sly designing fellow: in opposition to a Shallow or foolish one. | |
| Memoirs (1995) III 194: My friend Type played a deep game. | |
| Song Smith 133: He is a father to us all, and when we receive our prize money, and goes into port, tells us to take care of the land pirates, the ladies, because he says as how they are too deep for us unthinking tars. | |
| Lex. Balatronicum. | |
| Sequel to Military Adventures of Johnny Newcome I 86: In fashion’s sportive ring set all agoing— Deep at Newmarket, and at Brookes’s knowing. | |
| letter 16 Mar. in Gore Creevey Papers (1948) 223: I was introduced [...] to Lady Anne, who to my mind, has neither beauty nor elegance nor manners to recommend her, but if ever I saw a deep one, it is her. | |
![[Ire]](/static/img/flags/ire.png "Ireland") | Tom and Jerry; Musical Extravaganza I vi: He little knows what a deep one I am! | |
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Clockmaker I 24: The Quaker well nigh fainted when he heerd this; but he was pretty deep too. | |
| Oliver Twist (1966) 239: If there is any deep play here, I shall have it out of you, my girl, cunning as you are. | |
| Shabby Genteel Story (1853) 130: Cinqbars [...] was fully convinced that Brandon was a deeper dog than ever. | |
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | Sydney Herald 26 Oct. 2/4: r Rennie gave an im- mense number of examples of similar slang vulgarities [...] a deep one, for ‘a designing fellow;’ fagged, for ‘tired;’ to fleece, for to ‘plunder’. | |
| Bleak House (1991) 280: Such an old card as this; so deep, so sly, and so secret. | |
| Quite Alone I 30: There came up my Lord Carlton, a wild rake of the time, and deep player. | |
| Life and Times of James Catnach 151: He was said to be a libertine, a deep gamester. | |
| Admiral Guinea II vi: Aha, you’re a sly dog, you’re a deep dog, Pew. | |
| Autobiog. of a Gipsey 59: That’s deep travellin’ talk, though it ain’t, not to say, reg’lar Romnimus. | |
| Boss 82: ‘It’s better,’ said that deep one, ‘to lind people money than to give it to ’em.’. | |
| Gem 16 Sept. 2: Oh, he’s a deep one, the Fox is. | |
| Final Count 839: You’re being too deep, old lads. | |
| Gentlemen of the Broad Arrows 131: He was playing a very deep game. | |
| Loving (1978) 74: Ah you’re a deep one you are. | |
| Und. Nights 23: Bella was deep as well as wide. | |
| Chili 40: Bobbie, deep sister from Naw’Leans . . . ummm huh. | |
| Source Nov. 144: Me and Lauryn looked at each other and were, like, ‘Wow that’s deep. Where did that come from?’. | |
| Hooky Gear 205: Crime is many things to many people, a deep con once said. |
2. fast.
| Sporting Mag. Oct. V 5/2: Well, off we set, and maintained a devilish deep rate till we came to Turnham Green. |
3. (US black) extreme, amazing, intense.
 | 69 Barrow Street 64: As soon as she had finished dragging on the joint [...] she held the smoke in her lungs as long as possible. When she let out her breath she was smiling. ‘Cool,’ she murmured. ‘Deep’ . | |
| ‘Atomic Dog’ in Flyboy in the Buttermilk (1992) 33: Everybody walks around with big sunglasses on and their hair dooed up. It’s deep. Man, they’ve got Japanese Rastas over there with Japanese dreadlocks. | |
| Autobiog. of My Dead Brother 145: ‘You getting a little deep,’ C.J. said. ‘But it feels right’. |
4. (US) full of money.
| ‘The Target’ Wire ep. 1 [TV script] He fade a few shooters. Played out till the pot's deep. |
5. (UK black) extremely bad.
| hubpages.com ‘Roadman Slang’ 10 Jan. 🌐 Deep - similar to ‘peak’, but more serious. It is normally used to describe someone's cruel behaviour or a really bad situation, e.g. ‘don't be deep to him, his mum died!’, or ‘deep, he actually hates me!’. | |
| Riker’s 74: When I had visits, they had to have an agent in the room. If an agent wasn’t in the room, I couldn’t have a visit. That’s how deep it was. |
In compounds
an artful, cunning or shrewd person.
| Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 240: file: a person who has had a long course of experience in the arts of fraud, so as to have become an adept, is termed an old file upon the town; so it is usual to say of a man who is extremely cunning, and not to be over-reached, that he is a deep file. | |
| Memoirs (trans. W. McGinn) III 17: We know well enough that you are a fellow workman, but you are a deep file: we two might do a fine stroke of business. |
see snooker n. (1)
see under sugar n.4
SE in slang uses
In compounds
1. a place of imprisonment, a prison.
| Playback 75: Even if the cops didn’t grab him and toss him into the deep freeze. |
2. ostracism.
| (con. early 1950s) L.A. Confidential 332: This deep freeze number is driving me crazy. |
(Aus.) a deep glass of beer.
| Murder Down Under (1951) 134: ‘We can nip out now and then on the quiet and ’ave a deep-noser.’ ‘A deep-noser!’ ‘Yes a snifter’ [...] ‘A snifter’s a pot, an’ a pot’s a deep-noser.’. | |
| New Shoe 88: ‘Good-day-ee! How’s it for a deep noser?’ [...] He lifted the glass of beer presented by Dick Lake. |
see separate entries.
a serious situation, a difficult problem; usu. as in deep shit.
| Hell’s Angels (1967) 27: We figured we were in deep shit until they told us bail was only eleven hundred dollars. | |
| Thief 278: I was in deep shit. | |
| Traveller’s Tool 36: He ends up in deep shit. | |
| Pugilist at Rest 31: Baggit had gone into some deep shit with a Ranger Company [...] his platoon catching most of the trouble. | |
| (con. 1964-65) Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 32: Max and Jacky knew they were in deep shit. | |
| Keepers of Truth 248: This town is in deep shit, my friends. | |
| Rubdown [ebook] It’s not funny [...] I’m in deep shit. | |
| Mad mag. Oct. 60: Either the New Jersey Nets drafted some [...] bizarre new recruits or we’re in deep ca-ca. | |
| ‘Farm Hands’ in Crime Factory: Hard Labour [ebook] I don’t think you get it, grandad. You’re in deep shit. | |
| Finders Keepers (2016) 78: You’re in deep shit [...] You must prepare for a very long stay in the state penitentiary. | |
| Adventures of the Honey Badger [ebook] ‘Gentlemen — we are in deep shit!’. | |
| in Observer 12 Nov. 🌐 Iain Duncan Smith [...] was so embarrassingly useless at the job that some of them nicknamed him In Deep Shit. |
1. a drinking-glass of the largest size.
| Bulletin (Sydney) 5 June 3/1: Mr. B. procured a small tumbler [and] frantically raised the glass overhead, exclaiming. ‘Here’s the glass you get now; in my time it was only a good sized pint or a quart that would satisfy a man.’ [...] Mr. Buchanan, in future, is to have what he calls a ‘deepsinker’' -more, it is said, by way of custom than requirement. | |
| Australia: a Charcoal Sketch 32: Long-sleever, Bishop Barker, and Deep-sinker, synonyms of Yankee Schooner [OED]. | |
| Aus. Sl. Dict. 23: Deep Sinker, a long beer. | |
| Argus 15 Jan. 6/5: A tumbler—whether medium, small, or deep-sinker. | |
| Dict. of Aus. Words And Terms 🌐 DEEP SINKER—A large vessel made of glass, metal or other substance used to drink out of. |
2. the drink served in such a glass.
| Dead Bird (Sydney) 14 Dec. 4/4: Over two deep-sinkers we told each other what we would have done if we had drawn the first prize in the Grand Art Union. | |
| ‘Hits! Skits! & Jingles!’ in Wannan Folklore of Aus. Pub (1972) 30: Can’t you give us a deep-sinker? | |
| Bulletin (Sydney) 28 Dec. 31/1: A thirsty swagman came in with a tongue dry as a board, and seized the handle of the deserted beer-pump to draw a deep-sinker. | |
| Spats’ Fact’ry (1922) 149: Feathers pulled off the last gill of his deep-sinker. | |
| I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 171: As the day faded into evening we had a couple of ‘deep sinkers.’ [Ibid.] 232/1: deep sinker – an almost awingly big glass of beer. |
see separate entries.
see separate entries.
see high yellow n.