Ware Hawk! phr. (old).—A warning; look sharp! See subs. sense 2.
d. 1529. Skelton, Ware Hawk (Title).
1625. Jonson, Staple of News, v. 2. See! the whole covey is scattered; ware, ware the hawks!
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hawk, ware hawk, the word to look sharp, a bye-word when a bailiff passes.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, ch. iii. Ware hawk! Douse the Glim.
To hawk one’s meat, verb. phr. (common).—To peddle one’s charms, i.e., to show a great deal of neck and breasts. Fr., montrer sa viande.
Hawk-a-mouthed, adj. phr. (old).—See quot. [[283]]
c. 1750. Dialogue in the Devonshire Dialect (Palmer, 1839) s.v. One that is perpetually hawking and spitting; also foul-mouthed.
Hawker, subs. (old: now recognized).—A pedlar.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hawkers. Retail News-Sellers.