subs. (colloquial).—A large number; lots; a great deal.
1371. CHAUCER, Boke of the Duchesse, iii., 295 (1888, Minor Poems, SKEAT, p. 23). Of smale foules a gret HEPE. Ibid. (1383), The Canterbury Tales, Prologue, i. 23/575 (Riverside Press). The wisdom of an Heepe of lerned men.
1861. T. HUGHES, Tom Brown at Oxford, ch. xxxv. I sha’n’t see her again, and she wont hear of me for I don’t know how long; and she will be meeting HEAPS of men.
1885. Punch, 4 July, p. 4. ‘Splendid sight,’ he goes on, ‘HEAPS of people—people you don’t see anywhere else—and lots of pretty girls.’
1888. Texas Siftings, 20 Oct. He did not encroach on the domain of familiarity, but he looked a HEAP.
1892. A. C. GUNTER, Miss Dividends, xi. Every one here would do a HEAP for Bishop Tranyon’s darter.
Adv. (American).—A great deal.
1848. RUXTON, Life in the Far West, p. 223. He pronounced himself a HEAP better.
ALL OF A HEAP, phr. (old: now colloquial).—Astonished; confused; taken aback; FLABBERGAST (q.v.); and (pugilists’) ‘doubled up.’
1593. SHAKESPEARE, Titus Andronicus, ii. 4. Lord Bassianus lies enbrewed here, ALL ON A HEAP.
1775. FIELDING, Tom Jones, bk. VIII., ch. ii. My good landlady was. (according to vulgar phrase) struck ALL OF A HEAP by this relation.
1775. SHERIDAN, Duenna, ii., 2. That was just my case, too, Madam; I was struck ALL OF A HEAP for my part.
1817. SCOTT, Rob Roy, ch. xxiv. The interrogatory seemed to strike the honest magistrate, to use the vulgar phrase, ALL OF A HEAP.
1832. P. EGAN, Book of Sports, s.v. ALL OF A HEAP and all of a lump, unmistakably doubled up by a smasher.
1836. DICKENS, Pickwick Papers, ch. x. ‘And what’s the lady’s name?’ says the lawyer. My father was struck ALL OF A HEAP. ‘Blessed if I know,’ says he.
1888. J. MCCARTHY, and R. CAMPBELL PRAED, The Ladies’ Gallery, ch. xiv. The idea seemed to take him ALL OF A HEAP.
1891. Scots’ Magazine, Oct., p. 321. Spinks and Durward were struck, as we may say, ALL OF A HEAP, when they fully realised that Folio had disappeared.
