1592. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse [Grosart], ii., 18. I … retired me to Paules, to seeke my dinner with Duke Humfrey.
1843. Moncrieff, The Scamps of London, i., 1. Dines oftener with Duke Humphrey than anybody else, I believe.
Humpty-dumpty, subs. (colloquial).—1. A short and thick-set person; a grundy (q.v.); a hunch-back. For synonyms, see Forty Guts. [[382]]
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
2. (old).—See quot. 1690.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Humptey Dumptey, Ale boild with Brandy.
1698. M. Sorbière’s Journey to London in the Year 1698, p. 135, quoted in Notes and Queries, 6 S., xii., 167. He answer’d me that he had a thousand such sort of liquors, as Humtie Dumtie, Three Threads.…
1786. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1837. Disraeli, Venetia, i., 14. As for the beverage they drank humpty-dumpty, which is ale boiled with brandy.
Adj. and adv. (colloquial).—Short and thick; all of a heap; all together.