Forking, subs. (thieves’).—1. Thieving. See Fork.
2. (tailors’).—Hurrying and scamping (q.v.).
Forkless, adj. (thieves’).—Clumsy; unworkmanlike; as without forks (q.v.).
1821. Haggart, Life, p. 40. I met George Bagrie, and William Paterson, alias old Hag, two very willing, but poor snibs, accompanying a lushy cove, and going to work in a very forkless manner.
Forloper, subs. (South African).—A teamster guide.
Forlorn Hope, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A gamester’s last stake.—Grose.
Form, subs. (turf.)—1. Condition; training; fitness for a contest.
In or out of form = in or out of condition, i.e., fit or unfit for work. Better or Top form, etc. (in comparison). Cf., Colour.
1861. Walsh, The Horse, ch. vi. If it be supposed that two three-year-olds, carrying the same weight, could run a mile and a-half, and come in abreast, it is said that the form of one is equal to that of the other.
1884. Hawley Smart, Post to Finish, ch. xxxv. When fillies, in racing parlance, lose their form at three years old, they are apt to never recover it.