The Public School Word-book / A conribution to to a historical glossary of words phrases and turns of expression obsolete and in current use peculiar to our great public schools together with some that have been or are modish at the universities

by John Stephen Farmer

Custos, subs. (Harrow).—The official who looks after all arrangements in the way of stationery, &c., keeps the keys, cuts names on the House-boards, &c.

Also see Admonishing-money.

Cut, verb (general).—To avoid; to absent oneself from: e.g. TO CUT LECTURE, TO CUT CHAPEL, TO CUT HALL, TO CUT GATES. See Appendix.

To cut into, verb. phr. (Winchester).—Originally to hit one with a “ground ash.” The office was exercised by Bible-clerks upon a man kicking up a row when up to Books. Now generally used in the sense of to correct in a less formal manner than TUNDING (q.v.).

To cut in a book, verb. phr. (Winchester).—See quot.

c. 1840. Mansfield, School-Life at Winchester (1866). Cut in a book.—A method of drawing lots. A certain letter was fixed on (e.g. the first in the second line on the left page), each boy then turned over a leaf, and whoever turned over the leaf in which the corresponding letter was nearest to A, won.

Cuts, subs. (general).—Flannel trousers; SHORTS (q.v.).

Dab, subs. (Harrow).—The entrance examination: held at the beginning of term.

To be a DAB = to be skilled at anything. Hence, the two entrance examinations, one at the end of term, and the other at the very beginning of the next, are the SKEW (q.v.) and the DAB respectively. The DAB offers no second chance; hence a bad candidate tries the “skew” first.