1847. Thackeray, Mrs. Perkins’s Ball (The Mulligan). The Mulligan has withdrawn his custom from the ‘infernal four-and-ninepenny scoundthrel,’ as he calls him. The hatter has not shut up shop in consequence.
1849. Viator, Oxford Guide. He then did raise his four-and-nine, And scratched his shaggy pate.
1867. Jas. Greenwood, Unsent. Journeys, xxx., 229. Because he wore a four-and-nine, and had a pencil stuck behind his ear.
Four-bones, subs. (thieves’).—The knees.
1857. Punch, 31 Jan. ‘Dear Bill, This Stone-jug.’ For them coves in Guildhall and that blessed Lord Mayor, Prigs on their four bones should chop whiners I swear.
Four-eyes, subs. (common).—A person in spectacles: ‘a chap that can’t believe his own eyes.’
Four-holed Middlings, subs. phr. (Winchester College).—Ordinary walking shoes; cf. beeswaxers. Obsolete.
Four Kings. The history (or book) of the four kings. subs. phr. (old).—A pack of cards; otherwise, a child’s best guide to the gallows, or the devil’s picture books. Fr., Livre des quatre rois.
Four-legged burglar-alarm, subs. phr. (common).—A watch dog.
Four-legged Frolic, subs. phr. (venery).—The act of kind: a reminiscence of the proverb, ‘There goes more to a marriage than four bare legs in a bed.’ For synonyms, see Greens and Ride.