Sumsy, an action of assumpsit.—Legal Slang.
Sun in the eyes, too much drink. A person who is tipsy is said to have the SUN IN HIS EYES. He is also said to have been “standing too long in the SUN.”
Supe, or super, abbreviation of SUPERNUMERARY.—Theatrical.
Super, a watch; SUPER-SCREWING, stealing watches.
Surat, an adulterated article of inferior quality. This word affords a remarkable instance of the manner in which slang phrases are coined. In the report of an action for libel in the Times, some few years back, it was stated “that, since the American civil war, it has been not unusual for manufacturers to mix American cotton with surat, and, the latter being an inferior article, the people in Lancashire have begun to apply the term SURAT to any article of inferior or adulterated quality. The plaintiffs were brewers, and the action was brought to recover special damages resulting from the publication of an advertisement in these words:—‘All in want of beerhouses must beware of Beaumont and White, the SURAT brewers.’”
Surf, an actor who frequently pursues another calling.—Theatrical. Surf, or SERF, is also a term much in use among the lower orders to denote a crawling or sycophantic wretch.
Suspicion, a scarcely perceptible flavour; as, “There was just a SUSPICION of oil in the mixture.” French, SOUPÇON.
Swab, an epaulet.—Sea.
Swack-up, a falsehood.
Swaddler, a Wesleyan Methodist; a name originally given to members of that body by the Irish mob; said to have originated with an ignorant Romanist, to whom the words of the English Bible were a novelty, and who, hearing one of John Wesley’s preachers mention the swaddling clothes of the Holy Infant, in a sermon on Christmas-day at Dublin, shouted out in derision, “A SWADDLER! a SWADDLER!” as if the whole story were the preacher’s invention.—Southey’s Life of Wesley, vol. ii. p. 109. See [introductory article].