1792.—"The Colonel found him as much dismayed as if he had been surrounded by the whole Austrian army, and busy in placing an ambuscade to catch about six looties."—Letter of T. Munro, in Life.
" "This body (horse plunderers round Madras) had been branded generally by the name of Looties, but they had some little title to a better appellation, for they were ... not guilty of those sanguinary and inhuman deeds...."—Madras Courier, Jan. 26.
1793.—"A party was immediately sent, who released 27 half-starved wretches in heavy irons; among them was Mr. Randal Cadman, a midshipman taken 10 years before by Suffrein. The remainder were private soldiers; some of whom had been taken by the Looties; others were deserters...."—Dirom's Narrative, p. 157.
b. A different word is the Ar.—Pers. lūṭīy, bearing a worse meaning, 'one of the people of Lot,' and more generally 'a blackguard.'
[1824.—"They were singing, dancing, and making the luti all the livelong day."—Hajji Baba, ed. 1851, p. 444.
[1858.—"The Loutis, who wandered from town to town with monkeys and other animals, taught them to cast earth upon their heads (a sign of the deepest grief among Asiatics) when they were asked whether they would be governors of Balkh or Akhcheh."—Ferrier, H. of the Afghans, 101.
[1883.—"Monkeys and baboons are kept and trained by the Lūtis, or professional buffoons."—Will's Modern Persia, ed. 1891, p. 306.]
The people of Shiraz are noted for a fondness for jingling phrases, common enough among many Asiatics, including the people of India, where one constantly hears one's servants speak of chaukī-aukī (for chairs and tables), naukar-chākar (where both are however real words), 'servants,' lakṛī-akṛī, 'sticks and staves,' and so forth. Regarding this Mr. Wills tells a story (Modern Persia, p. 239). The late Minister, Ḳawām-ud-Daulat, a Shirāzi, was asked by the Shāh:
"Why is it, Ḳawām, that you Shīrāzīs always talk of Kabob-mabob and so on? You always add a nonsense-word; is it for euphony?"
"Oh, Asylum of the Universe, may I be your sacrifice! No respectable person in Shīrāz does so, only the lūtī-pūtī says it!"