1887. Dagonet in Referee, 7 Nov., p. 7, c. 3. She’d a Grecian ‘I suppose,’ And of Hampstead Heath two rows.
Houri of Fleet-street, subs. phr. (common).—A prostitute. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack and Tart.
House, subs. (theatrical).—1. An audience. To bring down the house = to elicit a general burst of applause. Fr., avoir sa côtelette; boire du lait.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. House. With them (the players) it means Covent-garden or Drury-lane, or indeed any other theatre. ‘A full-house’ and ‘half-a-house’ indicate the state of the receipts or number of the audience.
1870. Athenæum, 13 Aug., p. 120. ‘Letter of J. O. Halliwell.’ It is now certain that Shakespeare was never proprietor of either (the Globe or Blackfriars) theatre. His sole interest in them consisted in a participation, as an actor in the receipts of what is called the house.
1873. Home News, 24 Jan. I exerted myself, not for praise of that well-dressed mob they called the house, but for very love of the congenial sport.
1892. Sydney Watson, Wops the Waif, ch. iii., p. 4. There was tremendous enthusiasm this evening. Every scene was uproariously applauded, and at the climax the whole house rose and cheered and encored with tumultuous feeling.
The House (colloquial).—(1) The Stock Exchange; (2) The House of Commons; (3) Christ Church, Oxford.
House under the hill, subs. phr. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
House (or apartments) to let, subs. phr. (common).—A widow.—Lex. Bal. Also Bill-of-Sale and Man-trap. [[366]]