Flush a.¹

[? f. FLUSH v.²]

  1.  Abundantly full. In later use chiefly of a stream, etc.: Full to overflowing, swollen, in flood.

1607.  Shaks., Timon, V. iv. 8. Now the time is flush.

1647.  H. More, Poems, 333.

1697.  Dampier, Voy., I. 393. These Islands are pretty well watered with small Brooks of fresh Water, that run flush into the Sea for 10 months in the year.

1826.  Disraeli, Viv. Grey, III. vi. In the flush moment of joy, where is the smiler, who loves not a witness to his revelry, or a listener to his good fortune?

1841.  Hartshorne, Salop. Antiq., Gloss., s.v. ‘The Sivirn’s (Severn is) pretty flush.’

1872.  Browning, Fifine, lxxxviii.

  † b.  ? ‘Up to the mark,’ perfect, faultless. Obs.

c. 1550.  Wever, Lusty Juventus, ciij.

  2.  Full of life or spirit, lively, lusty, vigorous. Hence, Self-confident, self-conceited. Now rare.

1604.  Shaks., Ham. (Qo. 2), III. iii. 81.

1611.  Coryat’s Crudities, Panegyricke Verses, C iv b.

a. 1680.  Charnock, Attrib. God (1834), II. 569. When we are not as flush and gay, as well spread and sparkling as others, this passion gnaws our Souls.

a. 1690.  Bp. Hopkins, Expos. Lord’s Prayer, etc. (1692), 297. Content not your selves with some part of it; that you read the Gospel, or New Testamant, but neglect the Old, as is the practice of some flush Notionists.

1767.  H. Brooke, Fool of Qual. (1792), I. iv. 143. Lord Richard chose his companion in arms, and both appeared quite flush and confident of victory.

1826.  J. Wilson, Noct. Ambr., Wks. I. 5.

1894.  Hardy, Life’s Little Ironies, Trag. Two Ambitions, 84. Her bright eyes, brown hair, flowery bonnet, lemon-colored gloves, and flush beauty were like an irradiation into the apartment, which they in their gloom could hardly bear.

  3.  Plentifully supplied (esp. with money). Const. of († in, † with.) Of money: Abundant, plentiful.

1603.  Dekker, Batch. Banq., viii. G ij a. Some dames of the company, which are more flush in crownes then her good man, bestowes money on gold rings, hats, silk girdles, Jewels, or some such toyes, yea costly toyes.

1637.  Heywood, King & Loyal Subject, III. Wks. 1874, VI. 45. Doth not the world wonder I should be so flush of money, and so bare in clothes?

1663.  Dryden, Wild Gallant, II. i. Const. Since you are so flush, Sir, you shall give me a Locket of Diamonds of three hundred pounds.

1667.  Waterhouse, Fire Lond., 28. Though many there were that gave and could give great rates for honest Carts and Labourers, yet others there were that could not reach it, monies being not so flush with them.

1712.  Arbuthnot, John Bull, I. iii. He was not flush in Ready, either to go to Law, or clear old Debts, neither could he find good Bail.

1727.  Philip Quarll, 81. The absent revelling Crew were cloy’d with their Mistresses, and had dismissed them with rough Usage, and ill Language, of which they generally are flush, when Money is scant.

1767.  S. Paterson, Another Traveller! I. 235. The count’s aversion to them, had never shewn itself while they were flush with money; during which short period, he had won considerable sums from their lordships.

1793.  T. Jefferson, Writ. (1830), IV. 482. Money being so flush, the six per cents run up to twenty-one, and twenty-two shillings.

1838.  Dickens, Nich. Nick., xiv. The first floor lodgers, being flush of furniture, kept an old mahogany table—real mahogany—on the landing-place outside, which was only taken in when occasion required.

1871.  M. Collins, Mrq. & Merch., II. ix. 269. Poor Tom, you know, is always very flush or very hard up.

  b.  dial. Lavish, profuse.

1703.  Thoresby, Lett. to Ray (E.D.S.), Flush, full-handed, prodigal, wasteful.

1859.  Geo. Eliot, A. Bede, I. i. 13 ‘When y’ are six an’ forty like me, istid o’ six an’ twenty, ye wonna be so flush o’ working for nought.’

1884.  Chesh. Gloss., Flush, lavish.

  c.  Of times: Prosperous.

1840.  W. Irving, Life & Lett. (1866), III. 153. If times ever again come smooth and flush with me, so that I can command a decent income independent of the irksome fagging of my pen, I shall think nothing of an occasional trip across the Atlantic, now that steam has made the voyage short and commodious; but cares and claims multiply upon me as I advance in years.

1847.  Disraeli, Tancred, III. vi. Every thing being thus in a state of flush and affluent prosperity.

1888.  Daily News, 17 Dec., 2/8. The output probably is greater now than it was during the best of the ‘flush’ times which preceded the long depression.

  4.  Of a high colour; blushing, ruddy; flushed.

1594.  Drayton, Idea, 107.

1817.  Keats, Lett., Nov., Wks. 1889, III. 97. Jane looked very flush when I first looked in, but was much better when I left.
    Ibid. (1821), Isabel, xxvii.

  5.  Even, level, in the same plane (whether horizontal or vertical) with (dial. by). [? Orig. of a river or stream running full (cf. sense 1), and so level with its banks: see quot. 1877. Cf. FLOAT.]

1791.  Bentham, Panopt., I. 172. Why throw the building back in this manner and place it in a recess, rather than close to the road, and flush with the surrounding wall?

1831.  Brewster, Nat. Magic, xi. (1833), 285. He observed the edge of a pin flush with the edge of the receptacle, whence the pin was protruded by the machine into the holes in the medallion, the depth of the hole regulating the answer.

1874.  Moggridge, Ants & Spiders, II. 91. The entire door does not shut flush with the surface.

1877.  N. W. Linc. Gloss., s.v. ‘Watter was flush by th’ bank top.’

  b.  Even or level with the adjacent surface.

  Bead and flush work, etc. (see quot. 1846). Flush work: (a) Jewellery: work in which the stones are level or nearly level with the setting. (b) Bookbinding: work in which the edges of the binding and leaves are cut level.

1823.  P. Nicholson, Pract. Build., 160. The parallel faces of both are made flush, and so closely united, as to appear almost like one single piece.

1846.  Buchanan, Techn. Dict., Bead and flush work, a piece of framed work with beads run on each edge of the inclined panel. Bead, flush, and square work, framing with bead and flush on one side, and square on the other.

1850.  Chubb’s Locks & Keys, 32. The bellies of the tumblers in Mr. Chubb’s lock were always flush, or in the same plane.

1869.  Sir E. J. Reed, Shipbuild., x. 180. The edges of the strakes of plating were fitted against one another, and the flush-joints thus formed were covered by internal edge-strips.

1883.  W. C. Russell, Sailors’ Lang., Flush-up.—Said of cargo that comes up to a level with the hatches.

1884.  B’ham Daily Post, 23 Feb., 3/4. Jeweller’s Setter.—Wanted, a good Hand, used to flush work.

1885.  J. Grant, Royal Highlanders, iii. 32. The original castle, or strong square tower, starts flush from the edge of the rock.

1892.  Pall Mall G., 13 Jan., 2/3. Flush work, which is the elementary work of our trade [bookbinding].

  c.  Of a vessel’s deck: Continued on one level from stem to stern. Also flush fore and aft.

1626.  Capt. Smith, Accid. Yng. Sea-men, 11. A flush decke, fore and aft.

1772–84.  Cook, Voy. (1790), VI. 2216. Our ships were ill fitted for war: the decks, fore and aft, being finished flush, had no covering for men or officers.

1840.  R. H. Dana, Bef. Mast, xxii. 66. Her decks were wide and roomy, (there being no poop, or house on deck, which disfigures the after part of most of our vessels,) flush, fore and aft, and as white as snow, which the crew told us was from constant use of holystones.

  d.  Of a vessel: Having no erection above the flush deck.

1800.  Naval Chron., III. 294. The Danae is a flush vessel; the Captain’s cabin is therefore below.

1833.  Marryat, P. Simple (1863), 261. I recollect faring harder than this through one cruise, in a flush vessel.

  6.  Pugilism. Of a blow: Direct, fall on the mark, ‘straight from the shoulder.’

1811.  Sporting Mag., XXXIX. Oct., 18/1. Crib in the rally hit right and left at the body and head, and the Black fought at the head alone, and was so successful with the left hand, that he planted some dextrous flush hits, and Crib bled at the mouth, and was damaged in both eyes.

1826.  H. N. Coleridge, West Indies, 161. Audain went up to his antagonist, squared his body, and saying, ‘Something between, something between, good sir!’ knocked him down with a flush hit on the nose.

  7.  Comb., in parasynthetic adjs. as (sense 1 b), flush-coloured; (sense 4 c), flush-decked, -jointed, -plated.

1748.  Richardson, Clarissa (1811), VI. xlii. 159. The description he gives of me, as lying upon a couch, in a strange way, bloated, and *flush-coloured.

1883.  D. J. Kelly, The Modern Yacht, in Harper’s Mag., LXVII. Aug., 450/2. His chances for comfort are better in the *flush-decked, high free-boarded, well-ventilated deep boat.

1869.  Sir E. J. Reed, Shipbuild., x. 180. In this, as in all succeeding arrangements, the butts of the plates were *flush-jointed. Ibid., x. 185. The unprotected parts of the later iron-clads above the armour-belts are *flush-plated, the edge-strips being worked inside.