Hempen-squincy, subs. (old).—Hanging. For synonyms, see Ladder.
1646. Randolph’s Jealous Lovers. Hear you, tutour, Shall not we be suspected for the murder, And choke with a hempen squincy.
Hempen-widow, subs. (old).—A woman widowed by the gallows.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hempen Widow, One whose Husband was Hanged.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th Ed.). Hempen-Widow (s.), a woman whose husband was hanged.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1834. Harrison Ainsworth, Rookwood, p. 89. In a box of the stone-jug I was born, Of a hempen-widow the kid forlorn Fake away.
Hen, subs. (common).—1. A woman. Specifically, a wife or mistress. For synonyms, see Petticoat.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.