English Synonyms.—Boss; captain of the waiters; captain; chief; colonel; commander; chief bottle-washer; ganger; head-butler; head-cook and bottle-washer; gorger; omee; rum-cull.
French Synonyms.—Le pantriot (popular and thieves’: also = a young nincompoop); le, or la, pâte (popular: properly paste or dough); le naïf (printers’: obsolete); le herz or hers (thieves’: obviously from the German); le loncegué (thieves’: Fr., back-slang; = gonce, itself a slang term for a man); le galeux (popular: = one with the itch); le grêle (popular: specifically a master-tailor); le singe (= monkey); le troploc; le nourisseur (= the grubber); l’ogre (specifically a fence); le notaire (= publican); le patron (colloquial: = governor).
Italian Synonyms.—Chielmiero (vulgar).
Governor’s-stiff, subs. (American).—A pardon.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Gower-street Dialect. See Medical Greek.
Gowk, subs. (prison).—A simpleton. (Scots’ gowk = a cuckoo). For synonyms, see Buffle and Cabbage-head. Also a countryman. For synonyms, see Joskin.
1816. Scott, Antiquary, ch. x. ‘Hout awa’, ye auld gowk,’ said Jenny Rintherout.
To hunt the gowk, verb. phr. (common).—To go on a fool’s errand.
Gowler, subs. (old).—A dog; specifically a howler.