• OLD
adj. 1. great, plentiful, excessive, as in ‘high old time’ …M15
adj. 2. used affectionately of a person; occasionally used of an animal …L16
adj. 3. in old clothes; shabby …1596 obs. rare
adj. 4. ugly …1708 criminals’ sl. obs.
adj. 5. sly, crafty, cunning, clever …1722
adj. 6. of bread: stale …1782 Sc.
adj. 7. an intensifier; great, abundant, famous, fine …1790 Sc. & Eng. dial.
adj. 8. customary, usual …1864 Sc. & Eng. dial.
adj. 9. tiresome; usually constructed with ‘get’, as in ‘too much of a good thing gets old’ …1864 colloq.
adj. 10. used as an expression of familiarity, as ‘the old boozer’ …M19
adj. 11. overdue, late in payment …1873 Eng. dial.
adj. 12. wise, serious, thoughtful; of a child: precocious, staid, demure …1896 Eng. dial.
adj. 13. musty, rotten; fetid …Bk1905 Eng. dial.
adv. 1. in ancient times, long ago …1608 obs. rare
adv. 2. craftily, knowingly; distrustfully, askance; angrily …1881 Eng. dial.
n. 1. age, duration of life or existence …c1200 obs.
n. 2. old age, the advanced stage or period of life …c1205 obs.
n. 3. an old man, an old woman …c1375 obs.
n. 4. the wane of the moon …c1420 obs.
n. 5. must, mould …Bk1905 Eng. dial.
n. 6. a dark lager-style beer brewed by the top-fermentation method …1935 Aust. sl.
n. 7. a master, a boss …M19 sl.
n. 8. money … Bk1903 sl.
vb. to grow old …c825 obs.
• THE OLD ACKAMARACKUS
n. insincere or exaggerated talk intended to flatter or deceive; humbug or flattery, nonsense, a tall story …1933 sl., orig. US
• THE OLD ADAM
n. 1. original sin; male and female lust; human sexuality …Shakespeare
n. 2. the penis …19C Brit. sl.
n. 3. the devil …1965 Amer. dial.
n. 4. lust; male sex drive and potency …20C sl.
• OLD-AGE PENSION
n. in bingo: the number 65 …1940s sl.
• OLD A’ILL THING
n. the devil …1823 Sc.
• OLD AL
n. a mythical alligator of the Mississippi River …1938 Amer. dial.
• OLD AMBER
n. beer …1960s Aust. sl.
• OLD ANCIENT
adj. ancient, antique, old-fashioned …1893 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• OLD APPLE
n. 1919 US sl. – a baseball
• THE OLD ARMY GAME
n. 1. any ruthlessly played or unfair gambling game, esp. poker, or the shell game; any swindle …1890 US sl.
n. 2. any form of trickery, deception, or evasion …1910 Amer. sl.
n. 3. the shifting of responsibility to others …1930 Amer. sl.
• OLD ARTHUR
n. arthritis personified …1968 Amer. dial.
• OLD AS ADAM
adj. a1599 – primevally old; existing since the very beginning of humanity
• OLD AS PANTON GATES
adj. very old …Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• OLD-ASS
adj. run-down, dilapidated …1960s US sl.
• OLD AUNT
n. a hare …1895 Eng. dial.
• OLD AUNT DINAH
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD AUNTIE
n. 1. a great-aunt …Bk1905 Sc.
n. 2. a middle-aged or elderly effeminate male homosexual; used disparagingly …1940 Amer. sl.
• OLD AUNT VIOLET
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD BACH
n. a confirmed bachelor …M19 US sl.
• OLD BACHELOR
n. 1. a confirmed bachelor; a solitary or reclusive rustic; a hermit …1867 Amer. dial.
n. 2. the last piece of food left on a plate …1966 Amer. dial.
• OLD BACHELOR’S PIECE
n. the last piece of food left on a plate …1966 Amer. dial.
• OLD BAD MAN
n. the Devil …1954 Amer. dial.
• OLD BAD PLACE
n. Hell …1954 Amer. dial.
• OLD BADS
n. old clothes …1950s W. Indies sl.
• OLD BAG
n. 1. an unattractive, obnoxious, or unpleasant old woman; an old hag, any old woman …1922 sl., orig. US, disparaging usage
n. 2. an elderly, slatternly prostitute …1961 UK sl.
• OLD BAGS
n. the wind …1881 Eng. dial.
• OLD BAILEY UNDERWRITER
n. a forger …1831 criminals’ sl.
• OLD BAKER
n. a household spirit, a demon, an apparition …1824 Eng. dial.
• OLD BALDY
n. a bald or partly bald person or thing …1856 US sl.
• OLD BALLS
n. a man; often used as a term of affection …L19 sl.
• OLD BASTARD
n. a man, a fellow; a term of address, generally amongst males …1944 Aust. sl.
• OLD BAT
n. a disagreeable, middle-aged or elderly woman; an unpleasant or despicable female; an unattractive or foolish old woman …1886 UK sl.
• OLD BATCH
n. a confirmed bachelor; a solitary or reclusive rustic; a hermit …1899 Amer. dial.
• OLD BEAN
n. 1. a familial form of address, usually to man …1905
n. 2. an old person, seen affectionately or kindly …1940s sl.
• OLD BEESWING
n. a genial drinker …L19 sl.
• OLD BEJOYFUL
n. whisky; liquor …1815 US sl.
• OLD BEN
n. the devil …19C
• OLD BENDY
n. the Devil …18C sl.
• OLD BESS
n. a gun …1895 Eng. dial.
• OLD BESSIE
n. a shotgun or rifle …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD BESSY
n. a gun …1895 Eng. dial.
• OLD BETSY
n. 1. one’s favourite gun; a shotgun or rifle …1832 sl., orig. US
n. 2. the sun …1939 Amer. dial.
n. 3. an automobile …1967 Amer. dial.
• OLD BIDDY
n. an elderly, gossipy, or dissolute woman; a fussy, mean or quarrelsome old woman …1938 colloq.
• OLD BILL
n. 1. corned beef …1910s US sl.
n. 2. a veteran; any old soldier, esp. if with heavy, drooping whiskers …1915 military colloq.
n. 3. an extraordinarily profitable taxi fare …c1917 taxi drivers usage
n. 4. in horse racing: a rank outsider (horse) …1920s sl.
n. 5. a police officer; the police …1958 UK sl.
n. 6. the police force as an institution …1950s sl.
n. 7. a police station …1950s sl.
n. 8. the penis …1998 UK sl.
• OLD BILLY
n. the devil; a hobgoblin or boogeyman …1894
• OLD BILLY HELL
n. the devil; a hobgoblin or boogeyman …1969 Amer. dial.
• OLD BILLY-O
n. the devil …1923
• OLD BIRD
adj. of a prisoner: having traditional values …2001 UK sl.
n. 1. a form of address …L19 sl.
n. 2. a man; a ‘cove’ …1853 jocular
n. 3. an experienced thief …1877 cant
n. 4. an old hand in prison …1877 UK sl.
n. 5. an experienced, knowing person …c1887 colloq.
n. 6. a veteran prisoner …M19 UK prison sl.
n. 7. a person, usually old …1910s sl.
n. 8. a mature, older or old woman …2003 UK sl.
• OLD BIRDIE
n. a form of address …L19 sl.
• OLD BITCH
n. a woman who lectures …1935 tramps’ sl.
• OLD BITING DICK
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD BLACKIE
n. the devil …1953 Amer. dial.
• OLD BLACK JOE
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD BLACK JOES
n. the toes …20C Aust. rhyming sl.
• OLD BLADE
n. 1. a term of address …L18 nautical usage
n. 2. one’s wife …1915 Amer. dial.
• OLD BLAZES
n. the devil …1849 sl.
• OLD BLIND BOB
n. the penis …18C sl.
• OLD BLOKE
n. 1. an old man …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
n. 2. the penis …1992 Aust. sl.
• OLD BLUE EYES
n. Frank Sinatra, US singer (1915-1998) …1984 US sl.
• OLD BLUE LIGHTS
n. a naval gunner …1916 sl.
• OLD BOAT
n. a house, usually in an untidy state, where old people live …c1930 sl.
• OLD BODY
n. an old woman; occasionally used of a man …M19 sl.
• OLD BOGEY
n. the devil; an apparition, a spectre …1897 Eng. dial.
• OLD BOILED EGG
n. an O.B.E. …c1925 UK sl.
• OLD BOILER
n. an unattractive (old) woman …1965 sl., orig. Aust.
• OLD BOLLOCKS
n. an older man …2000 UK sl.
• OLD BONEY
n. death …18C sl.
• OLD BOOGER
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD BOOGERMAN
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD BOOT
n. 1. an unattractive woman; a woman with qualities that are considered unattractive …1958 UK sl.
n. 2. a sluttish, promiscuous woman, not necessarily old …M20 sl., derogatory
• OLD BOTHERATION
n. the devil …1858 Eng. dial.
• OLD BOY
n. 1. an old man …1500 UK
n. 2. a strong ale …c1740 colloq.
n. 3. any oldish man, or one in authority, as one’s father, a headmaster, etc….19C colloq.
n. 4. the devil …19C
n. 5. a father …1892 UK
n. 6. the penis …1920s US sl.
n. 7. a friendly form of address to another man …2000 UK sl.
• THE OLD BOY
n. 1. one’s father …17C sl.
n. 2. the devil …1782
n. 3. a bachelor …Bk1905 Eng. dial.
n. 4. the penis …1943 US sl.
• OLD BOY NETWORK
n. a social and, especially, business connection between former public school pupils which is presumed, by those without such a connection, to give unfair advantages in matters of employment and social advancement; also applied to connections made at university, and at other institutions which may be considered as for the privileged …1959 UK
• OLD BOZO
n. an old man …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• OLD BROKE
n. old clothes …1950s W. Indies sl.
• OLD BROWN WINDSOR
n. the anus …1920s Aust. sl.
• OLD BUBA
n. an old person who acts younger than their age …1950s W. Indies sl.
• OLD BUCK
n. 1. a general term of address …L18 sl.
n. 2. a man …M19 sl.
n. 3. boastful talk or insolence …1895 sl.
n. 4. impudence, cheek; gossip; abuse …Bk1905 Eng. dial.
n. 5. an old man …1940 Amer. dial.
n. 6. James Buchanan, 15th US president …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• OLD BUCKET
n. a motor vehicle, generally an old or dilapidated car …1938 Amer. dial.
• OLD BUFFALO
n. a nickel …1965 Amer. sl.
• OLD BUFFER
n. a foolish old person …1749 Brit. sl.
• OLD BUGGY
n. an automobile, esp. an old or broken-down car …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD BUZZARD
n. 1. 19C sl. – an old and unattractive person
n. 2. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a cranky old man
• OLD CAIN
n. the devil …1942 Amer. dial.
• OLD CALICO
n. an old woman …M19 US sl.
• OLD CARLE
n. the devil …1891 Sc.
• OLD CAT
n. 1. a malicious or spiteful woman; a mean, cunning woman; a shrewish man …1915 Amer. dial.
n. 2. tic-tac-toe …1950 Amer. dial.
n. 3. a Morris Minor …1981 UK Citizens’ band radio sl.
• OLD CATAMARAN
n. an old, scraggy woman; a quarrelsome or offensive woman …1785 sl.
• OLD-CATTISH
adj. like an old maid …1780
• OLD CHAP
n. 1. a man; a friendly form of address to another man …1822 UK
n. 2. one’s father …M19 sl.
n. 3. the devil …Bk1905 Eng. dial.
n. 4. an old friend …20C US sl.
n. 5. an old man …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
n. 6. the penis …1992 UK sl.
• OLD CHAPPIE
n. a term of address …c1880
• OLD CHARLEY
n. an infantryman’s pack …20C army sl.
• OLD CHAUNCEY
n. a reliable person …1958 Amer. dial.
• OLD CHEESE
n. one’s mother; occasionally someone else’s mother …1970s Aust. sl.
• OLD CHILD
n. the devil …Bk1905 Sc.
• THE OLD CHILLS AND FEVER STUFF
n. love …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• OLD CHINA
n. an old friend …1910s sl.
• OLD CHIP
n. a term of endearment …L19 sl.
• OLD CHOCKA
n. a man …c1830 Cockney colloq.
• OLD CHOCKER
n. 1. a man …c1830 Cockney colloq.
n. 2. an old fellow …M19 sl.
• OLD CHOOK
n. a general term of intimate affection …1910s Aust. sl.
• OLD CHRISTMAS
n. Twelfth Night (January 5) or Twelfth Day (January 6) …1895 Amer. dial.
• OLD CHUM
n. an experienced colonist; one who had spent some years in the colony, esp. in the outback …19C Aust. hist. sl.
• OLD CHUMP
n. a general term of address, either derogatory or teasing …L19 sl.
• OLD CLO
n. 1. a Jew …M19 sl., derogatory
n. 2. old clothes …M19 sl.
n. 3. an intellectual …L19 sl.
• OLD CLOOTIE
n. the Devil …M18 chiefly Sc.
• OLD CLOOTS
n. the devil …1785 Sc.
• OLD CLOVEN-FOOT
n. the devil …1943 Amer. dial.
• OLD COALEY
n. the anus …1940s Amer. dial. euphemism
• OLD COCK
n. a man, esp. as a term of affectionate address …1639 sl.
• OLD COCKALORUM
n. a man, esp. as a term of affectionate address …L19 sl.
• OLD COCKER
n. 1. a man, esp. as a term of affectionate address …L18 sl.
n. 2. an old man, usually a disreputable one …1940s sl., orig. US
• OLD CODGER
n. a fellow; a man, with the implication of crotchety old age …M18 sl.
• OLD COFFINHEAD
n. a giant rattlesnake of Texas folklore, pictured as ‘eight feet long and so ole he done got whiskers’ – used to frighten children with …1940 Amer. dial.
• OLD COLE
n. a veteran dice cheat …M16 UK criminals’ sl.
• OLD COMIC
n. a Vauxhall Victor car …1981 UK Citizens’ band radio sl.
• OLD COMPLAINT
n. drunkenness …L19 Aust. sl.
• OLD COON
n. a shrewd individual …M19 US sl.
• OLD COOT
n. a foolish or cantankerous old person; also used affectionately …M18 sl.
• OLD CORKER
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD CORNCOB
n. General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) of the US Army …1982 US sl.
• OLD CORPSE
n. an affectionate term of address …1930s sl.
• OLD COUNTRY
n. the Deep South; Africa …1960s African-American sl.
• THE OLD COUNTRY
n. 1. Great Britain …1817
n. 2. to the US armed forces at the end of World War II: the United States …1949 US
n. 3. Beverly Hills, California; used with irony by transplants to the San Fernando Valley …2004 US sl.
• OLD COVE
n. an old or older man; often a term of familiar address …17C sl.
• OLD COW
n. a despicable old woman …1864 Aust. sl.
• OLD CRATCH
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD CROCK
n. a person or thing, such as a car, that is old or decrepit ….20C sl. chiefly Brit.
• OLD CRONE
n. a sheep that has lost its teeth …Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• OLD CROW
n. 1. an unattractive (old) woman …1866 sl. orig. US
n. 2. a general term of abuse, not specifically of a woman …L19 sl.
• OLD CUFFEE
n. a Black person; an African; an African-American; a coloured person …1650s African-American usage
• OLD CURIOSITY
n. one’s wife …L19 sl.
• OLD CUSS
n. an old man …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• OLD D
n. a mother; Old Dear, Old Darling …1996 UK sl.
• OLD DAD
n. 1. the devil …1895 Eng. dial.
n. 2. the penis …1969 Amer. dial.
• OLD DADDY
n. 1. a term of address to an old man …1785 sl.
n. 2. one’s grandfather; an older man …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD DAMPA
n. old clothes …20C W. Indies sl.
• OLD DART
n. England or the United Kingdom; spec. London …1892 Aust. sl.
• OLD DAVEY
n. a watery grave; thus death in general …18C nautical usage
• OLD DAVY
n. the spirit of the sea …c1750 nautical usage
• OLD DAY
n. the day after a festivity when no work is done …Bk1905 Sc.
• OLD DEAR
n. 1. an old person; usually, but not always, a woman …L19 sl.
n. 2. one’s wife …L19 sl.
n. 3. an affectionate term of address, irrespective of sex …1900s sl.
• OLD DELPH WILL
n. a household spirit, a demon, an apparition …1824 Eng. dial.
• OLD DELUDER
n. the devil …1986 Amer. dial.
• OLD DEVIL
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD DICKENS
n. the devil …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD DIG
n. a veteran soldier …1940s Aust. & NZ sl.
• OLD DINAH FLOW
n. a hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave …1965 Amer. dial.
• OLD DING
n. the vagina …19C sl.
• OLD DIRIGO (STATE)
n. Maine …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• OLD DIRTY
n. a nickname for the town of Greenock …1889 Sc.
• OLD DOC YAK
n. a doctor who is not very capable or doesn’t have a very good reputation …1967 Amer. dial.
• OLD DODO
n. an old man …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• OLD DOG
n. 1. an expert in a given field …L16 sl.
n. 2. a man, usually with overtones of admiration for his less than conventional lifestyle …M18 sl.
n. 3. an experienced convict …c1820 Aust. prison sl.
n. 4. the bowl of a tobacco pipe …c1885 UK prison sl.
n. 5. a direct term of affectionate address …1930s sl., orig. African-American
n. 6. an old man …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
n. 7. a Rover car …1981 UK sl.
• THE OLD DOG
n. syphilis ..1935 US sl.
• OLD DOG AT COMMON PRAYER
n. a mediocre clergyman who could read the prayers, but had no skill at the actual preaching …L17 sl.
• OLD DOMINION
n. Virginia …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• OLD DONAH
n. one’s mother …19C sl.
• THE OLD DOSS
n. 1. the Bridewell prison, sited on the banks of the Fleet River …1823 criminals’ sl. obs.
n. 2. The Toms, New York Prison …1859 US sl.
• OLD DRIVER
n. the Devil …L18 sl.
• OLD DUCK
n. an old man …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• OLD DUFFER
n. an old man …Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• OLD DUTCH
n. 1. a woman …L19 sl.
n. 2. one’s wife …L19 sl.
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Lexicophilia 