1890. R. L. Stevenson, Treasure Island, p. 149. ‘Why, in a place like this, where nobody puts in but gentlemen of fortune, Silver would fly the jolly roger, you don’t make no doubt of that.’
Gentleman of Observation, subs. phr. (turf).—A tout.
Gentleman of the Round, subs. phr. (old).—An invalided or disabled soldier, making his living by begging.
1596. Jonson, Every Man in, etc., 2. Your decaied, ruinous, worme-eaten gentlemen of the round.
Gentleman of the Short Staff, subs. phr. (old).—A constable.
1839. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (1889), p. 12. In the language of the gentleman of the short staff an important caption could be effected.
Gentleman of the Fist, subs. phr. (pugilists’).—A prize-fighter.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 44. Furnish such gentlemen of the fist.
Gentleman in Brown, subs. phr. (common).—A bed bug. For synonyms, see Norfolk Howard.
1885. G. A. Sala in Daily Telegraph, 14 Aug., 5/3. Bed bugs, the convertible term for which is ‘chintzes,’ are the disagreeable insects known in modern polite English as ‘Norfolk Howards,’ or gentlemen in brown.