RIB. A wife: an allusion to our common mother Eve, made out of Adam's rib. A crooked rib: a cross-grained wife.
RIBALDRY. Vulgar abusive language, such as was spoken
by ribalds. Ribalds were originally mercenary soldiers
who travelled about, serving any master far pay, but
afterwards degenerated into a mere banditti.
RIBBIN. Money. The ribbin runs thick; i.e. there is
plenty of money. CANT. Blue ribbin. Gin. The cull
lushes the blue ribbin; the silly fellow drinks common
gin.
To RIBROAST. To beat: I'll ribroast him to his heart's
content.
RICH FACE, or NOSE. A red pimpled, face.
RICHAUD SNARY. A dictionary. A country lad, having been reproved for calling persons by their christian names, being sent by his master to borrow a dictionary, thought to shew his breeding by asking for a Richard Snary.
RIDER. A person who receives part of the salary of a place or appointment from the ostensible occupier, by virtue of an agreement with the donor, or great man appointing. The rider is said to be quartered upon the possessor, who often has one or more persons thus riding behind him. See QUARTERED.
RIDGE. A guinea. Ridge cully; a goldsmith. CANT.
RIDING ST. GEORGE. The woman uppermost in the amorous congress, that is, the dragon upon St. George. This is said to be the way to get a bishop.
RIDING SKIMMINGTON. A ludicrous cavalcade, in ridicule of a man beaten by his wife. It consists of a man riding behind a woman, with his face to the horse's tail, holding a distaff in his hand, at which he seems to work, the woman all the while beating him with a ladle; a smock displayed on a staff is carried before them as an emblematical standard, denoting female superiority: they are accompanied by what is called the ROUGH MUSIC, that is, frying-pans, bulls horns, marrow-bones and cleavers, &c. A procession of this kind is admirably described by Butler in his Hudibras. He rode private, i.e. was a private trooper.