or kinchen, subs. (old).—1. A child; a boy; a young man. Also KINCHEN COVE (q.v.).
1567. HARMAN, A Caveat or Warening for Common Cursetors, p. 76. A KYNCHEN CO is a young boye, traden vp to suche peuishe purposes as you haue harde of other young ympes before, that when he groweth vnto yeres, he is better to hang then to drawe.
1607. DEKKER, Jests to Make You Merie, in Wks. (GROSART), II. 329. KINCHEN the coue towres, which is as much as, Fellow the man smokes or suspects you.
1608. DEKKER, The Belman of London, in Wks. (GROSART), III. 105. These KINCHINS, the first thing they doe is to learne how to cant, and the onely thing they practise is to creepe in at windowes, or celler doores.
c. 1696. B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. KINCHIN, a little child.
1725. A New Canting Dictionary, s.v.
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1815. SCOTT, Guy Mannering, xxxiv. We did the KINCHIN no harm.
1836. W. H. SMITH, The Individual, 13 Nov. ‘The Thieves’ Chaunt.’
| Her duds are bob—she’s a KINCHIN crack, | |
| And I hopes as how she’ll never back. |
1837. B. DISRAELI, Venetia, Bk. i. xiv. He is no lanspresado, or I am a KINCHIN.
1837. DICKENS, Oliver Twist, xlii. ‘The KINCHINS,’ said the Jew, ‘is the young children that’s sent on errands by their mothers with sixpences and shillings.
1839. W. H. AINSWORTH, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 13. ‘Let’s have a look at the KINCHEN that ought to have been throttled,’ added he, snatching the child from Wood.
1841. LEMAN REDE, Sixteen-String Jack, i. 3. Kit. Peter, don’t patter; you’re werry good in the fancy line—in the light part of our business,—such as robbing a KINCHEN of it’s coral, filching an old lady’s redicule, or getting up small talk vith a nursery maid, vhile you takes a vax impression of the key.
1859. H. KINGSLEY, Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn, xxiii. ‘So boss,’ began the ruffian, not looking at him; ‘we ain’t fit company for the likes of that KINCHIN, etc.?’
1876. C. HINDLEY, ed. The Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 2. Nor is his crying pal the ‘KINCHIN’ any more faithfully drawn.
