subs. (old).—A prison: see CAGE and LOB’S POUND. Hence POUNDED = imprisoned.—GROSE (1785).
Verb. (colloquial).—TO HAMMER (q.v.): see TAN.—GROSE (1785). Whence POUNDING-MATCH = a fight. Also PUN.
1596. SPENSER, The Fairie Queene, IV. iv. 31.
| An hundred knights had him enclosed round, … | |
| All which at once huge strokes on him did POUND, | |
| In hope to take him prisoner. |
1598. FLORIO, A Worlde of Wordes, 6. To stampe or PUNNE in a mortar.
1602. SHAKESPEARE, Troilus and Cressida, ii. 1. He would PUN thee into shivers with his fist, as a sailor breaks a biscuit.
1859. WHITBY, Political Portraits, 206. The Crimean War was at best a POUNDING-MATCH; the result proved nothing but that Russia, single-handed, could not hope to keep its ground against united France and England.
1888. The Sportsman, 28 Nov. To see the men POUND each other.
2. (colloquial).—To move forward, steadily and with more or less noise: generally with ‘along,’ or ‘up and down.’
1888. F. REMINGTON, A Scout with the Buffalo-Soldiers, in The Century Magazine, XXXVII. 900. He ’s POUNDED up and down across this Territory for the last five years.
1885. Daily Telegraph, 3 Oct. POUNDING ALONG a dusty high road.
1894. G. EGERTON, The Yellow Book, I. 196, ‘A Lost Masterpiece.’ We can’t escape her…. She POUNDS ALONG untiringly.
3. (hunting).—To get caught, or left in a field with no easy means of egress save a fence your horse won’t take: stuck as in a pound.
1884. The Saturday Review, 5 Jan. He jumps a little and I see him POUNDED every day.
1885. Daily Telegraph, 27 Oct. Any fence which would be likely to POUND or give a fall to his rival.
4. (old).—See quot.
1821. P. EGAN, Life in London, II. ii. This feature is what the bon vivants term being POUNDED; i.e., being caught “astray” from propriety.
TO POUND IT, verb. phr. (old).—1. See quot. 1819. Hence POUNDABLE = certain, inevitable; and (2) to wager in pounds (BEE, 1823).
1819. J. H. VAUX, Memoirs, s.v. POUND IT. To ensure or make a certainty of any thing; thus, a man will say, I ’ll POUND IT to be so; taken, probably from the custom of laying, or rather offering ten pounds to a crown at a cock-match, in which case if no person takes this extravagant odds, the battle is at an end. This is termed POUNDING A cock.
1828. BADCOCK (‘Jon Bee’), Living Picture of London, 44. You’ll soon be bowled out, I’ll POUND IT.
1838. DICKENS, Oliver Twist, xxxix. I’ll POUND IT that you han’t.
TO GO ONE’S POUND, verb. phr. (military).—To eat a thing out. [The weight of a soldier’s ration of bread and meat is 1 lb.]
IN FOR POUND, adv. phr. (thieves’).—Committed for trial.
SHUT IN THE PARSON’S POUND, phr. (old).—Married; SPLICED (q.v.).—GROSE (1785).
