subs. (once literary: now military).—A sword.
c. 1270. Robert of Gloucester’s Chronicle, p. 104. He drow ys KNYF, & slow þe kyng.
Verb. (colloquial).—1. To stab.
1851. F. WALPOLE, The Ansayrii, ii. 8. A brute who in cold blood KNIVED and tortured them with his own hand.
1862. DICKENS, Xmas Stories (Somebody’s Luggage), p. 132 (H. ed.). If you should even get into trouble through KNIFEING—or say, garotting—a brother artist.
1870. Globe, 17 Nov., i. 3. Already a too refractory sufferer has been threatened by his torturer with the not very pleasant alternative of being KNIFED if he does not submit with a better grace.
2. (American electioneering).—To plot against the candidate of one’s own party.
1870. Globe, 17 Nov. [Leader].
TO LAY DOWN ONE’S KNIFE AND FORK, verb. phr. (common).—To die; TO PEG OUT (q.v.); TO SNUFF IT (q.v.). For synonyms, see ALOFT and HOP THE TWIG.
TO KNIFE IT, verb. phr. (old).—To decamp; TO CUT IT (q.v.).
KNIFE IT! intj. (old).—Separate! leave off! go away!
TO PLAY A GOOD KNIFE AND FORK, verb. phr. (common).—To eat with appetite.
1837. KNOWLES, The Love-Chase, i. 3.
| Why shouldn’t I marry? KNIFE AND FORK I PLAY | |
| Better than many a boy of twenty-five. |
1846–8. THACKERAY, Vanity Fair, ii. viii. The Colonel PLAYS A GOOD KNIFE AND FORK at tiffin, and resumes those weapons with great success at dinner.
BEFORE ONE CAN SAY ‘KNIFE’! phr. (common).—Instanter; IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE (q.v.). Cf. JACK ROBINSON.
1892. BOLDREWOOD, Robbery under Arms, xxiv. She’d be off and out to sea BEFORE ANY ONE COULD SAY ‘KNIFE.’
