subs. (common).—1. A dram; a ‘drink’; a GO (q.v.): specifically (in India), a ‘brandy-and-soda.’ In the 16th century ‘peg-tankards’ held two quarts, divided by seven pegs or pins, one above the other, into eight equal portions. Hence, TO DRINK TO PEGS = to drink the draught marked in a peg tankard; TO ADD (or DRIVE) A PEG (or NAIL) INTO ONE’S COFFIN = to drink hard; TO GO A PEG LOWER = to drink to excess; A PEG TOO LOW = (1) drunk, and (2) low-spirited; PEGGER = a persistent drinker, or NIPSTER (q.v.).
1821. P. EGAN, Life in London, II. ii. To chaff with the flash Mollishers, and in being home to a PEG in all their various sprees and rambles.
1871. Figaro, 15 Oct. A man who, in the days of PEG TANKARDS, would have got on PEG BY PEG, marvellously rapidly to the state of the ‘much-loved intemperance of the Saxons’—as the old chronicler, Brady, has it.
1871. G. A. SALA [Belgravia, April, 216]. Ensign Plume of the 200th Foot, at present languishing obscure at ‘Gib’ and taking too many ‘PEGS’ of brandy-and-soda when on guard.
1883. Graphic, 17 March, 286, 3. The dispensation of food and liquor, however, never entered into the calculations of the Anglo-Indian of the last generation. Even the shopkeepers used to think nothing of giving their customers PEGS.
1884. World, 16 April, 18, 2. And then he took to play and PEGS, and his naturally excitable disposition did the rest.
1894. Illustrated Bits, 31 March, 7, 1. Come and have a PEG, he cried.
1898. BINSTEAD, A Pink ’Un and a Pelican, 35. Just as we were all taking a ‘PEG’ at the bar … a local postman delivered that letter.
2. (old).—A blow: spec. (old boxers’) a straight drive in the pit of the stomach: see DIG and WIPE. Whence PEGGING = a beating.—GROSE (1785).
c. 1600. [COLLIER, Dramatic Poetry (1831), ii. 198]. Strike a PEGGE into him with a club.
1748. SMOLLETT, Roderick Random, xxviii. PEGS on the stomach without number.
3. (common).—A foot or leg: CRIBBAGE-PEGS: see CREEPERS.
1841. Punch, i. 243. You’ll not STIR A PEG out of where you are untill you pay me for my throwble.
1851–61. H. MAYHEW, London Labour and the London Poor, III. 221. The donkey stopt short and wouldn’t move a PEG.
1862. J. R. LOWELL, The Biglow Papers, II. 99. To rise a PEG an’ jine the crowd that went for reconstructin’.
d. 1874. TOM HOOD, Faithless Nelly Gray.
| The army-surgeons made him limbs; | |
| Said he, ‘They’re only PEGS; | |
| But there’s as wooden members quite | |
| As represent my legs!’ |
1887. G. R. SIMS, Dagonet Ditties, in Referee, 7 Nov., p. 7, c. 3, ‘Tottie.’
| Then a bow-wow … | |
| And right through my ‘rank and riches’ | |
| Did my ‘CRIBBAGE PEGS’ assail. |
4. (common).—A tooth.
5. (thieves’).—A shilling; a BOB (q.v.).
1857. DUCANGE ANGLICUS, pseud. The Vulgar Tongue, 39. Lawyer Bob draws fakements up; he’s tipped a PEG for each.
6. (colloquial).—A step; a degree: cf. sense 1. Hence TO TAKE DOWN A PEG = to humiliate; TO HOIST A PEG HIGHER = to advance.
1625. The Court and Times of Charles the First, i. 58. Two maids … fell a-talking together of the brave times that would be shortly … when;… the Bishop of Chester that bore himself so high should be HOISTED A PEG higher to his little ease.
d. 1677. BARROW, Pope’s Supremacy (Encyclopædic Dictionary). To screw papal authority to the highest PEG.
1664. BUTLER, Hudibras, II. 2.
| Trepanned your party with intrigue, | |
| And took your grandees DOWN A PEG. |
1834. M. G. DOWLING, Othello Travestie, i. 4. I’ll TAKE YOU DOWN A PEG, and stop your music.
1848. W. T. THOMPSON, Major Jones’s Sketches of Travel, 162. If they didn’t get their notions TUCK DOWN A PEG or two, then I’m terribly mistaken.
1869. Daily Telegraph, 6 Sept. It was her duty to bring him DOWN A PEG or two. She did her duty.
1882. The Literary World, 3 Feb. The brilliant young athlete wanted TAKING DOWN A PEG.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 1 Sept. It was Hallam who … not liking a certain condescension in his manner, resolved to TAKE him DOWN A PEG or two.
1891. N. GOULD, The Double Event, 195. You TOOK me DOWN A PEG, Jack, and I deserved it.
1892. HUME NISBET, The Bushranger’s Sweetheart, 85. We were regarded … as blooming swells, who wanted TAKING DOWN A PEG or two.
1900. Free Lance, 6 Oct., 8, 1. ‘TAKING him DOWN A PEG’ [Title].
7. (colloquial).—A text; an excuse.
1791–1823. DISRAELI, Curiosities of Literature. His successors now only made use of the sentences as a row of PEGS to hang on their fine-spun metaphysical questions.
1871. Globe, 22 Sept. Given a PEG—that is to say, some scrap of news or incident of passing interest—upon which to hang a string of historical, argumentative, or moral reflections.
1885. The Field, 17 Oct. A PEG whereon to hang an account of a hunt breakfast.
8. (colloquial).—A diminutive of Margaret: also PEGGY.
Verb. (old).—1. To drive.
1819. T. MOORE, Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress, 80. I first was hir’d TO PEG a Hack.
2. (old).—See quot.
c. 1696. B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. PEG AT COCKS, to throw at them at Shrovetide.
3. (old).—To beat.
4. (common).—To drink frequently; to tipple.
1883. M. E. BRADDON, The Golden Calf, xxv. There is a great deal of what is called, ‘PEGGING,’—an intermittent kind of tippling which goes on all day long.
5. (stock exchange).—To fix a market price, and prevent fluctuation by buying all that is offered at it, thus debarring lower quotations; or, selling all that the market will take at it, thus preventing higher quotations.
1891. New York Herald, 31 May, 6, 2. Portuguese have also been well PEGGED, but other ‘Internationals’ have been featureless.
6. (old).—To run: cf. TO PEG AWAY.
1884. LE FANU [Temple Bar, Aug., 484]. Away with me out of the hall-door, that chanced to be open, and down the street I PEGGED like a madman.
TO PEG AWAY (AT or ON), verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To work persistently; TO PUT IN LICKS (q.v.). Cf. Fr. aller son petit bonhomme de chemin. Hence PEGGING = plodding.
1749. SMOLLETT, Gil Blas [ROUTLEDGE], 167. Large pieces of bread and good substantial slices of roast meat, at which we began PEGGING with all possible pertinacity.
1837. DICKENS, Pickwick Papers, xxx. PEG AWAY, Bob, said Mr. Allen to his companion, encouragingly. Ibid. (1852), Bleak House, xvii. 143. I should PEG AWAY at Blackstone and all those fellows with the most tremendous ardour.
1856. BRET HARTE, Dow’s Flat. But Dow, in his well, kept a PEGGIN’ in his usual ridikilous way.
1862. THACKERAY, The Adventures of Philip, vii. He’s been … PEGGING AWAY at the olives and maceroons.
1864. Daily Telegraph, 19 Oct. The plan of PEGGING AWAY must end either in the capture of Richmond, or in the utter discomfiture of the attacking force.
1864. Glasgow Herald, 10 Dec. In all … I find only an echo of the words of their chief, to KEEP PEGGING AWAY till the end comes.
1873. Pall Mall Gazette, Jan. To PEG AWAY continually is, as we well know, the loftiest idea of modern statesmanship, but it is necessary to find something to PEG AT, as even a statesman PEGGING AWAY at nothing, and beating the air with vain motions may become ridiculous.
1879. C. G. LELAND, Abraham Lincoln, xi. President Lincoln, when asked what we should do if the war should last for years, replied, “We’ll keep PEGGING AWAY.”
1888. W. BLACK, The Strange Adventures of a House-boat, vii. The rain KEEPS PEGGING AWAY in a steady, unmistakeable, business-like fashion.
18[?]. American Hebrew, xxxix. 52. We have gradually worked and PEGGED ALONG year by year.
2. (colloquial).—To fight.
TO PEG INTO, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To hit; to ‘let drive.’
1834. M. G. DOWLING, Othello Travestie, ii. 5. You PEG it INTO him, and pray don’t spare him.
1889. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 18 Jan. PEG INTO him, snacks.
TO PEG OUT, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To die: see HOP THE TWIG.
1870. Echo, 10 March. Then … the heart-broken man exclaimed, Oh, George, George, why did you PEG OUT?
1884. Daily Telegraph, 9 Oct., 2, 3. He … was told that it was so bad that it might PEG-OUT any minute.
1892. Daily Chronicle, 28 March, 5, 6. I thought … I was going to PEG OUT last night.
1897. B. MITFORD, A Romance of the Cape Frontier, II. xv. Better fun than PEGGING OUT with only the sooty-faced niggers prodding away at you.
2. (colloquial).—To be ruined; QUISBY (q.v.).
TO BE PEGGED OUT, verb. phr. (common).—See quot.
1886. Tit-bits, 31 July, 252. Being PEGGED OUT (i.e., too notorious) in the neighbourhood, he begged by proxy.
ON THE PEG, phr. (military).—1. Under arrest; ROOSTED (q.v.).
2. (military).—Under stoppage of pay; fined.
TO PUT ON THE PEG, verb. phr. (military).—To pull oneself up (or together); to be careful: as of drink, behaviour, etc.
TO PEG UP. See verb., sense 7.
THERE ARE ALWAYS MORE ROUND PEGS THAN ROUND HOLES, phr. (colloquial).—There are always more candidates than places.
OLD PEG, subs. phr. (old).—See quot.
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. PEG. OLD PEG, poor hard Suffolk or Yorkshire Cheese.
