Carry Corn, to bear success well and equally. It is said of a man who breaks down under a sudden access of wealth—as successful horse-racing men and unexpected legatees often do—or who becomes affected and intolerant, that “he doesn’t CARRY CORN well.”
Carry me Out! an exclamation of pretended astonishment on hearing news too good to be true, or a story too marvellous to be believed. Sometimes varied by “Let me die,” i.e., I can’t survive that. Profanely derived from the Nunc dimittis (Luke xi. 29). The Irish say, “CARRY ME OUT, and bury me decently.”
Carry-on, to joke a person to excess, to CARRY ON a “spree” too far; “how we CARRIED ON, to be sure!” i.e., what fun we had. Nautical term—from carrying on sail.
Carts, a pair of shoes. In Norfolk the carapace of a crab is called a crab cart; hence CARTS would be synonymous with [CRAB SHELLS], which see.
Cart-wheel, a five-shilling piece. Generally condensed to “WHEEL.”
Ca-sa, a writ of capias ad satisfaciendam.—Legal slang.
Casa, or CASE, a house, respectable or otherwise. Probably from the Italian CASA.—Old Cant. The Dutch use the word KAST in a vulgar sense for a house, i.e., MOTTEKAST, a brothel. Case sometimes means a water-closet, but is in general applied to a “house of accommodation.” Casa is generally pronounced carzey.
Cascade, to vomit.
Case. Some years ago the term CASE was applied generally to persons or things; “what a CASE he is,” i.e., what a curious person; “a rum CASE that,” or “you are a CASE,” both synonymous with the phrase “odd fish,” common half a century ago. This would seem to have been originally a “case” for the police-court; drunkenness, &c. Among young ladies at boarding-schools a CASE means a love-affair. Case now means any unfortunate matter. “I’m afraid it’s a CASE with him.”
Case, a bad crown-piece. Half-a-case, a counterfeit half-crown. There are two sources, either of which may have contributed this slang term. Caser is the Hebrew word for a crown; and silver coin is frequently counterfeited by coating or CASING pewter or iron imitations with silver. Possibly from its being “a CASE” with the unfortunate owner.