subs. (old colloquial).—Dupery; fraud; a cheat’s device. Cf., GULLAGE.
1598. JONSON, Every Man in his Humour, iii. 2. Your Balsamum and your St. John’s wort, are all mere GULLERIES and trash to it.
1606. JOHN DAY, The Ile of Guls, iii. 1. Upon you both: so, so, so; how greedily their inventions, like bugles follow the scent of their own GULLERY: yet these are no fools, God forbid, not they. Ibid. (1608), Humour out of Breath, iv. 3. I am gulld, palpably gulld … and mine owne GULLERY grieues me not half so much as the dukes displeasure.
1630. TAYLOR (‘The Water Poet’), Workes, ‘A Bawd,’ 92. Neverthelesse, whosoever will but looke into the lying legend of golden GULLERY, there they shall finde that the poore seduced ignorant Romanists doe imitate all the idolatrous fornication of the heathen pagans, and infidels.
1633. MARMION, A Fine Companion. Lit. What, more GULLERIES yet? They have cosened mee of my daughters, I hope they will cheate me of my wife too. Have you any more of these tricks to shew? ha!
1689. SELDEN, Table Talk, p. 38 (ARBER’S ed.). And how can it be proved, that ever any man reveal’d Confession, when there is no Witness? And no man can be Witness in his own cause. A meer GULLERY.
1819. H. MORE, Defence of Moral Cabbala, ch. iii. The sweet deception and GULLERY of their own corrupted fancy.
1821. SCOTT, Kenilworth, ch. xx. Do you think, because I have good-naturedly purchased your trumpery goods at your roguish prices, that you may put any GULLERY you will on me?
