Foist, Foyst, or Fyst, subs. (old).—1. A cheat; a swindler; a sharper.
1592. John Day, Blind Beggar (Bullen), p. 21. Your nipper, your foyst, your rogue, your cheat. [[51]]
1596. Ben Jonson, Every Man in His Humour iv., 7. Prate again, as you like this, you whoreson foist you.
1607. Dekker, Jests to Make you Merie in wks. (Grosart) II., 326. Now to our foysts, alias pickpocket, alias cutpurse.
1609. Dekker, Lanthorne and Candelight, in wks. (Grosart) III., 212. A foyst nor a Nip shall not walke into a Fayre or a Play-house.
1611. Middleton, Roaring Girl, O. Pl., vi., 113. This brave fellow is no better than a foist. Foist! what is that? A diver with two fingers; a pickpocket; all his train study the figging law, that’s to say cutting of purses and foisting.
2. (old).—A trick; a swindle; an imposture. Also Foyster and Foister.
1605. Ben Jonson, Volpone or the Fox, iii., 9. Put not your foists upon me. I shall scent ’em.
3. (old).—A silent emission of wind through the anus (see quot., sense 2); a cheeser. See Fart and Fousty. [Coles has to fyst, vissio; which in his Latin part he renders to fizzle. Also fysting cur; and in Sherwood’s English Dictionary, subjoined to Cotgrave, fysting curs, and other offenders of the same class, are fully illustrated.]
1598. Florio, A Worlde of Wordes. Loffa, a fizle, a fiste, a close fart.