• GAS
n. 1. 1847 sl. – empty or boastful talk; showy pretense, bombast; humbug, nonsense
n. 2. 19C colloq. – intestinal gas
n. 3. 1914 Anglo-Irish – fun, amusement
n. 4. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – boasting
n. 5. c1953 sl., orig. US jazz usage – one who pleases or delights; something enjoyable
n. 6. 20C US sl. – liquor
vb. 1. 1847 US sl. – to deceive or impose upon by talking ‘gas’ or nonsense
vb. 2. 1852 sl., orig. US – to indulge in empty talk; to talk idly or boastfully
vb. 3. 1941 sl., orig. US jazz usage – to please, to delight
• GAS AND GAITERS
n. 1923 sl. – pompous but empty talk
• GAS-BAG
n. 1889 – an empty or loquacious talker, a windbag
• GAS BOMBS
n. Amer. World War I sl. – stale eggs
• GAS BRONCO
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a motorcycle
• GASCON
n. a1771 – a braggart, a boaster
• GASCONADE
n. 1709 – extravagant boasting; vainglorious fiction
vb. 1727 – to boast extravagantly
• GASCONADER
n. 1753 – a braggart, a boaster
• GASCONADO
n. 1809 obs. rare – extravagant boasting; vainglorious fiction
• GASCONISM
n. 1807 – a spirit of boastfulness or vaunting
• GASCONNADE
n. 1709 – extravagant boasting; vainglorious fiction
• GASEOUS
adj. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – hot-tempered
• GASEYN
n. c1420 – marshy ground
• GASFEST
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a conversation; discussion
• GAS GOGGLES
n. Amer. World War I sl. – a gas mask
• GAS-GUZZLER
n. 1973 US sl. – a motor vehicle that demands immoderate quantities of fuel, either by design or in consequence of a driver’s excessive demands
• GASH
adj. 1. 1589 obs. exc. Sc. – dismal in appearance
adj. 2. 1706 Sc. – sagacious, wise
adj. 3. 1721 Sc. – talkative, loquacious
adj. 4. 1785 Sc. – well-dressed and dignified
adj. 5. 1826 Sc. – having an air of wisdom, dignity, or self-importance
adj. 6. 1997 UK sl. – useless, of poor quality
adv. 1. 1721 Sc. – fluently, loquaciously
adv. 2. 1806 Sc. – trimly, neatly, so as to have a good appearance
n. 1. 1813 Sc. – prattle, pert language
n. 2. 1852 US sl. – the mouth
n. 3. c1866 sl. – female genitals; the vagina
n. 4. 1914 sl., derogatory – a woman
n. 5. 1914 sl. – a sexually loose woman; a prostitute
n. 6. 1943 Aust. sl. – a second helping of food
n. 7. 1950 US sl. – a male homosexual who is sexually passive
n. 8. 1958 Antarctica usage – rubbish, refuse
n. 9. 1986 US sl. – marijuana
n. 10. 20C sl. – an ugly male
vb. 1. a1774 Sc. – to talk, to converse, to gossip
vb. 2. 1989 US sl. – to have sex
• GASH-BUCKET
n. 20C sl. – a refuse bucket; a bucket used as a urinal
• GAS-HEAD
n. 1. 1968 US sl. – a person with chemically straightened hair
n. 2. 1996 UK sl. – an abuser of industrial solvents for their psychoactive effects
• GASHFUL
adj. 1620 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – ghastly, horrid
• GASH-GABBIT
adj. 1721 Sc. – having a projecting chin
• GASH HOUND
n. 1. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a philanderer
n. 2. 1955 US sl. – a man who is obsessed with women; a whoremonger
• GASHLINESS
n. 1848 – ghastliness, dismalness
• GASHLY
adj. 1633 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – ghastly, horrid
adv. a1774 Sc. – fluently, loquaciously
• GASKET
n. 1. 1942 US sl. – a doughnut
n. 2. 1970 US sl. – any improvised seal between the end of a dropper and the hub of a needle
• GASKET (JINT)
n. 1988 Glasgow rhyming sl. (local pronunciation of ‘joint’) – a pint, esp. of beer
• GASKINS
n. 1573 obs. – wide, loose breeches or hose
• GASOLINE!
int. 1954 US sl. – in oil drilling: used as a shouted warning that a boss is approaching
• GASOLINE ALLEY
n. 1965 US sl. – in motor racing: the area at the race track where race teams repair and prepare cars for the race
• GASOLINE WAGON
n. Bk1913-17 Amer. dial. – an automobile
• GASOLOGUE
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a boastful conversation; a conversation; discussion
• GASP AND GRUNT
n. 1961 UK rhyming sl. for ‘cunt’ – the vagina; a woman or women sexually objectified
• GASPANT
adj. 1831 nonce word – gasping
• GAS-PASSER
n. 1961 US sl. – an anaesthetist
• GASPER
n. 1. 1914 UK sl. – a cigarette; orig. military for an inferior cigarette
n. 2. 1970 US sl. – something that is astonishing
n. 3. 1984 US sl. – a marijuana cigarette
n. 4. 2003 UK sl. – in typography, an exclamation mark
• GASPER STICK
n. 1998 UK sl. – a marijuana cigarette
• GASPE STEAK
n. 1998 Can. sl. – fried bologna
• GASP FOR
vb. c1586 – to want
• GASPING
adj. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – astonishing
• GAS-PIPE
n. 1897 jocular usage – a gun of inferior quality
• GASPIRATOR
n. Amer. World War I sl. – a gas mask
• GAS PUMP JOCK
n. 1986 US sl. – in the days before self-service, a petrol (gas) station attendant
• GAS QUEEN
n. 1997 US sl. – a male homosexual who patronizes young male prostitutes working on the street
• GASSED
adj. 1. 1919 UK World War I military usage – tipsy, drunk
adj. 2. 1946 US sl. – describes a drug that is considered to be terrific or very enjoyable; used esp. of marijuana
adj. 3. 1947 Amer. sl. – tickled pink
• GASSER
n. 1. 1944 US sl. – something wonderful, very exceptional, extraordinarily successful; one who pleases or delights; something enjoyable
n. 2. 1954 US sl. – in oil drilling: a well that produces no oil
n. 3. 1965 US sl. – in drag racing, a car that only uses petrol for fuel
n. 4. 1984 Aust. sl. – a cigarette
n. 5. 2002 UK medical sl. – an anaesthetist
• GASSERS AND SLASHERS
n. 2002 UK medical sl. – anaesthetists and surgeons
• GASSING
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – boasting
• GASSY
adj. 1. 1863 sl. – characterized by empty talk; talkative, loquacious
adj. 2. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – hot-tempered
adj. 3. 1962 US sl. – excellent, pleasant, humorous
• GAST
adj. a1300 obs. – terrified, afraid
n. a1684 Sc. – a fright
vb. c1000 obs. – to frighten, to alarm, to scare, to terrify
• GASTER
vb. 1. 1593 obs. – to frighten, to scare, to terrify
vb. 2. 1609 obs. – to destroy
• GASTERAL
adj. 1828 jocular usage – pert. to the stomach
• GASTNESS
n. c1374 obs. – terrified condition or appearance; terror, dread
• GASTRAL
adj. 1828 jocular usage – pert. to the stomach
• GASTRILOQUIAL
adj. 1864 – speaking from the belly; pert. to ventriloquism
• GASTRILOQUISM
n. 1831 – ventriloquism
• GASTRILOQUIST
n. 1785 – a ventriloquist
• GASTRILOQUOUS
adj. 1731 – speaking from the belly
• GASTRILOQUY
n. 1848 – ventriloquism
• GASTRIMARGISM
n. 1607 obs. – gluttony; voraciousness
• GASTRIMARGY
n. c1430 obs. – gluttony; voraciousness
• GASTRO
n. 1975 Aust. sl. – gastroenteritis
• GASTROLATER
n. 1694 rare – whose god is his belly; a glutton
• GASTROLATROUS
adj. 1694 obs. – belly-worshipping; gluttonous, greedy, voracious
• GASTROLOGER
n. 1820 – an epicure, a judge of good eating
• GASTROLOGICAL
adj. 1851 – pert. to good eating
• GASTROLOGIST
n. 1822 – an epicure, a judge of good eating
• GASTROLOGY
n. 1810 – the science of cooking for the stomach; hence, cookery, good eating
• GASTROMANCY
n. 1610 obs. – divination by the belly
• GASTROMANTIC
adj. 1646 obs. – practising gastromancy
• GASTRONOME
n. 1823 – one skilled in what goes into the belly; a judge of good eating; a gourmet, an epicure
• GASTRONOMIC
adj. 1828 – pert. to good eating
• GASTRONOMICAL
adj. 1809 – pert. to good eating
• GASTRONOMIST
n. 1825 – a judge of good eating, an epicure
• GASTRONOMOUS
adj. 1828 rare – devoted to good eating
• GASTRONOMY
n. 1814 – the art and science of delicate eating
• GASTROPHILANTHROPIST
n. 1814 nonce word – a benevolent purveyor for the appetites of others
• GASTROPHILE
n. 1820 rare – one who loves his stomach, or good eating; one who loves good food
• GASTROPHILISM
n. 1814 – love of good eating
• GASTROPHILIST
n. 1814 – one who loves good eating
• GASTROPHILITE
adj. 1835 rare – fond of good eating
• GASTROSOPH
n. 1855 – one who is skilled in matters of eating
• GASTROSOPHER
n. 1855 – one who is skilled in matters of eating
• GASTROSOPHY
n. 1824 – the science of good eating
• GASTROUS
adj. 1865 Sc. obs. – monstrous
• GASUMPH
n. 1932 Brit. sl. – deception, swindling, fraud
vb. 1928 Brit. sl. – to swindle, to cheat
• GAT
n. 1. 1723 – an opening between sandbanks; a channel, a strait
n. 2. 1897 US sl. – a gun, esp. a pistol; in the Royal Air Force, a rifle
n. 3. 1968 S. Afr. – the anus
vb. 1990 US sl. – to shoot
• GAT-CREEPER
n. 1985 S. Afr. – a sycophant
• GATE
n. 1. c1200 obs. – way, manner, or method of doing or behaving; a peculiar habit
n. 2. c1200 obs. exc. Sc. & N. Eng. dial. – a way, a road, a path
n. 3. a1300 obs. – a going, journey, course
n. 4. 1340 obs. – of a bird, esp. a hawk: flight
n. 5. c1470 – a street
n. 6. 1601 – an entrance into a country through mountains; a mountain-pass
n. 7. 1677 obs. – in hunting: the length of stride of a deer as shown by his footmarks
n. 8. 1723 – an opening between sandbanks; a channel, a strait
n. 9. 19C sl. – the female genitals; spec., the vulva
n. 10. 1936 US sl. – a jazz musician; hence, a fashionable man
n. 11. 1936 US sl. – a young person
n. 12. 1936 US sl. – used as a term of address among jazz lovers of the 1930s and 1940s
n. 13. 1936 US sl., chiefly Brit. – the mouth
n. 14. 1966 US sl. – release from prison
n. 15. 1986 US sl. – a vein into which a drug is injected
vb. 1. 1583 obs. rare – of an animal: to walk
vb. 2. c1590 obs. rare – to watch
vb. 3. 1835 – at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge: to confine an undergraduate to the precincts of the college, either entirely or after a certain hour
vb. 4. 1963 US sl. – in private dice games: to stop the dice while rolling, either as a superstition or to check for cheating
• THE GATE
n. 1901 sl., chiefly US – dismissal
• GATE-CRASH
vb. 1922 US sl. – to achieve entrance to a place, or an event such as a party, without proper credentials or an invitation
• GATE-CRASHER
n. 1927 US sl. – a person who achieves entrance to a place, or an event such as a party, without proper credentials or an invitation
• GATE-CRASHING
n. 1927 US sl. – the act of achieving entrance to a place, or an event such as a party, without proper credentials or an invitation
• GATE-DOOR
n. c1460 obs. – a street door
• GATE-DOWN
n. c1440 obs. – a going down, setting of the sun, etc.
• GATE FEVER
n. 1958 UK sl. – the anxiety suffered by prisoners as they approach their release date
• GATE-GOING
n. a1555 obs. – wayfaring
• GATE HAPPY
adj. 1996 UK sl. – of prisoners: exuberant or excited at the approach of a release date
• GATE JAW
n. 1976 US sl. – in trucking: a driver who monopolises conversation on the citizens’ band radio
• GATEKEEPER
n. 1967 US sl. – a person who introduces another to a first LSD experience
• GATELESS
adj. c1200 obs. – pathless
• GATELINGS
adv. 1768 Sc. obs. – directly
• GATE MONEY
n. 1931 US sl. – the cash given to a prisoner upon release from prison
• GATEMOUTH
n. 1. 1936 US sl. – jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)
n. 2. 1944 US sl. – a gossip
• GATE-OF-HORN
n. 19C Brit. sl. – the female genitals
• GATE-OF-LIFE
n. 19C Brit. sl. – the female genitals
• GATE-OF-PLENTY
n. 19C Brit. sl. – the female genitals
• GATER
n. 1844 sl., orig. US – an alligator
• GATE-ROW
n. 1598 obs. – a street
• GATES
n. 1. 1936 US sl., chiefly college usage – used as a term of address, male-to-male
n. 2. 1966 US sl. – marijuana
n. 3. 1985 Bermuda – a house
• GATESHODEL
n. c1375 obs. – a parting of the ways; a crossway, a fork of a road
• GATES OF ROME
n. 1960 UK rhyming sl. – home
• GATE TO HEAVEN
n. 2001 US sl. – the vagina
• GATE-WARD
n. c1000 arch. – a gate-keeper
• GATEWARDS
adv. 1630-56 obs. – by the direct road, directly
• GATEWAY TO THE SOUTH
n. 1977 UK sl. – Balham, a district in South London
• GATEY
adj. 1959 UK sl. – of prisoners: suffering anxiety as the date of release from prison approaches
• GATHER
n. 1. 1530 obs. – the pluck (heart, liver, and lights) of an animal, esp. of a sheep or calf
n. 2. 1999 UK sl. – a police officer
vb. 1. c725 obs. – to join or unite; to put together, to form by union
vb. 2. a1000 obs. – to collect or bring together literary matter; to compile
vb. 3. a1225 obs. – to accumulate wealth
vb. 4. 1577 obs. – to chide, to reprove
vb. 5. 1816 rare – to form folds or wrinkles
vb. 6. 1975 Aust. sl. – to arrest
• GATHERED
adj. 1866 Sc. – rich, well-to-do
• GATHERED WINDS
n. 1819 Sc. – eddy-winds, cross currents of wind
• GATHERER
n. 1. 1500-20 obs. – one who gathers wealth, as opposed to ‘spender’ or ‘waster’; a miser
n. 2. c1600 obs. – a money-taker at a theatre
n. 3. 1696 – one of the front teeth of a horse
n. 4. 1901 Sc. – a frugal, saving, thrifty person
• GATHER HEAD
vb. 1590 – to acquire strength; also, to swell as a festering sore
• GATHERING
n. 1. a1225 obs. – the act or practice of collecting wealth; miserly acquisition of money
n. 2. c1380 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – a collection of money
n. 3. 1552 obs. – a conclusion or inference
n. 4. 1953 Sc. – the accumulating of wealth, saving; accumulated wealth, savings
• GATHERING-CRY
n. 1817 Sc. – a summons to assemble for war
• GATHERING WORD
n. 1816 Sc. – a summons to assemble for war
• GATHERS
n. 1530 obs. – the pluck (heart, liver, and lights) of an animal, esp. of a sheep or calf
• GATHER STRAWS
vb. 1825 – of the eyes: to be sleepy
• GATHER TO ONE’S FEET
vb. 1827 Sc. – to get to one’s feet, to rise up
• GATHER TO ONE’S LEGS
vb. 1801 Sc. – to get to one’s feet, to rise up
• GATHER-UP
n. 1. 1900 N. Ireland – a wandering ragman
n. 2. 1922 Sc. – a motley collection of things or people
• GATHER UP ONE’S CRUMBS
vb. 1588 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – to ‘pick up’ or recover one’s strength or health; to improve in condition
• GATION
n. 1805 Eng. dial. – a silly-looking person
• GATNICK
n. 1999 UK sl. – London ‘Gatwick’ airport
• GATO
n. 1980 US sl. – heroin
• GATOR
n. 1. 1844 US sl. – an alligator
n. 2. 1944 US sl. – a swing jazz enthusiast
n. 3. 1944 US sl. – an all-purpose male form of address
• ‘GATOR BAIT
n. 1970 Amer. dial., derogatory – a Black person, esp. a Black child
• GATOR BOY
n. 1963 US sl. – a male member of the Seminole Indian tribe
• GATOR GIRL
n. 1963 US sl. – a female member of the Seminole Indian tribe
• GATOR GRIP
n. 1987 US sl. – in television and film-making: a clamp used to attach lights
• GATOR SWEAT
n. 20C US colloq. – home-brewed whisky, esp. that which is aged in earthen mounds
• GATT
n. 1897 sl., orig. US – a revolver or pistol
• GATTED
adj. 2002 UK sl. – drunk
• GATTER
n. 1818 sl. – beer; liquor generally
• GATTLE-HEAD
n. 1691 Eng. dial. obs. – a forgetful, careless, and thoughtless person
• GAT-TOOTHED
adj. c1386 obs. rare – having the teeth set wide apart
• GATURE
n. 1538 obs. rare – gait, mien
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Updated: February 27, 2023
Lexicophilia 