A New and Comprehensive

Vocabulary of the Flash Language

Na

nail
1 to over-reach or take advantage of someone
In the course of trade or traffic.
See needle for more information.
2 to rob or steal
As in I nail'd him for his reader
meaning ‘I robbed him of his pocket-book’.
I nail'd the swell's mantra in the push
meaning ‘I picked the gentleman's pocket of his watch in the crowd’, etc.
nancy
the posteriors
nap the bib
to cry
As in the mollisher nap'd her bib meaning ‘the woman fell a crying’.
nash
to go away from or quit any place or company
Speaking of a person who is gone they say,
He is nash'd or Mr. Nash is concerned.
 

Ne

ne dash
nothing
needle
to haggle
To needle a person is to haggle with him in making a bargain and if possible, take advantage of him, though in the most trifling article.
See nail for more information.
needle-pointer
see nail
needy-mizzler
a poor ragged object of either sex
A shabby-looking person.
 

Ni

nib
a gentleman , or person of the higher order
People who affect gentility or consequence, without any real pretensions thereto, are from hence vulgarly called half-nibs or half-swells. Indeed, persons of low minds, who conceive money to be the only criterion of gentility, are too apt to stigmatize with the before‑mentioned epithets any man, who however well-bred and educated may be reduced to a shabby external but still preserves a sense of decorum in his manners and avoids associating with the vagabonds among whom he may unfortunately be doomed to exist.
nibb'd
taken in custody
nibble
to pilfer trifling articles
Not having spirit to touch any thing of consequence.
nibbler
a pilferer or petty thief
nix ~ nix my doll
nothing
 

No

nob it
1 to act with such prudence and knowledge of the world
As to prosper and become independent without any labour or bodily exertion.
This is termed nobbing it or fighting nob work.
2 to effect any purpose or obtain any thing
By means of good judgment and sagacity, is called nobbing it for such a thing.
nob-pitchers
a general term for those sharpers who attend at fairs , races , etc
To take in the flats at prick in the garter, cups and balls, and other similar artifices.
no down
see fake away , etc
nose
1 a thief who becomes an evidence against his accomplices
2 watching suspicious characters
A person who seeing one or more suspicious characters in the streets makes a point of watching them in order to frustrate any attempt they may make or to cause their apprehension.
3 a spy or informer of any description
4 to pry into any person's proceedings in an impertinent manner.
To nose upon anyone is to tell of any thing he has said or done with a view to injure him, or to benefit yourself.
 

Nu

nulling-cove
a pugilist
nut
to please a person
By any little act of assiduity, by a present or by flattering words is called nutting him as the present, etc by which you have gratified them is termed a nut.
nuts upon
1 to be very much pleased or gratified
With any object , adventure , or overture.
So a person who conceives a strong inclination for another of the opposite sex, is said to be quite nutty, or nuts upon him or her.
2 an expression of self-satisfaction
A man who is much gratified with any bargain he has made or a narrow escape he has had, or other event in which he is interested, will express his self-satisfaction or gladness by declaring that he is, or was, quite nuts upon himself