subs. (old: now recognised).—A person who has been often in gaol; an incorrigible rogue. Fr., un chevronné. For synonyms, see WRONG ’UN.

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  1680.  ELIZABETH CARY, The History of the Life, Reign, and Death of Edward II., p. 146. It is the piety and the true valour of an army, which gives them heart and victory; which how it can be expected out of ruffians and GAOL-BIRDS, that are the scum of the Commonwealth, I leave to your consideration.

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  1701.  DEFOE, The True-Born Englishman, II.

        In print my panegyrics fill the street,
And hired GAOL-BIRDS, their huzzas repeat.

3

  1762.  SMOLLETT, Sir Launcelot Greaves, vol. II., ch. ix. He is become a blackguard GAOL-BIRD.

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  1856.  C. READE, It Is Never Too Late to Mend, ch. xi. The GAOL-BIRDS who piped this tune were without a single exception the desperate cases of this moral hospital; they were old offenders.

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  1882.  Pall Mall Gazette, 5 Oct. Liberating the GAOL-BIRDS in Alexandria.

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