or wack, subs. (old).—1. A heavy, smart, sounding blow. As verb = to beat, thwack. Also a heavy fall, and as verb = to fall.
1837. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends, ‘The Lady Rohesia.’ A blow descended, such as we must borrow a term from the Sister Island adequately to describe,—it was a ‘WHACK!’
1851–61. H. MAYHEW, London Labour and the London Poor, II. 564. Sometimes a chap will give me a lick with a stick just as I’m going over; sometimes a reg’lar good hard WHACK.
1888. W. A. CLOUSTON, The Book of Noodles, ii. A traveller, coming up, finds the missing man by WHACKING each of them over the shoulder.
1886. Daily Telegraph, 21 Feb. Yet the Flannigans and the Murphys paid no heed to him, but WHACKED away at each other with increasing vigour.
1887. The Field, 24 Sept. Father WHACKS her and the children in turns.
2. (common).—A share; piece; spec. an equal portion (GROSE): also WHACKING. As verb (or GO WHACKS) = (1) to divide, to share; and (2) to settle, pay up: e.g., WHACK the blunt = share the money; Give me my WHACK = Hand me my due. Also TO WHACK UP.
1840. THACKERAY, A Shabby Genteel Story, v. This gay young bachelor had taken his share (what he called ‘his WHACK’) of pleasure.
1851–61. H. MAYHEW, London Labour and the London Poor, II. 152. They then, as they term it, WHACK the whole lot. Ibid., II. 172. At last Long J—— and I got to quarrel about the WHACKING; there was cheatin’ a-goin’ on.
1887. J. W. HORSLEY, Jottings from Jail, i. So when we got there, there was some reelers there what knew me, and my pals said, ‘You had better get away from us; if we touch, you will take your WHACK (share) just the same.’
1884. GREENWOOD, The True History of a Little Ragamuffin, xv. ‘You agreed that we should GO WHACKS in everything,’ I pleaded, appealing to his sense of justice. Ibid., Tag, Rag, & Co., ‘A Converted Burglar.’ The sound, old-fashioned principle of ‘sharing the danger and WHACKING THE SWAG.’
1890. G. WALCH, A Little Tin Plate.
| My word! he did more than his WHACK; | |
| He was never a cove as would shirk. |
1889. Electrical Review, 2 Feb, 9. 1. The city has never WHACKED UP with the gas company.
3. (colloquial).—An attempt, a trial, a stroke.
4. (provincial).—Appetite, TWIST (q.v.).
WHACK! adj. (printers’).—An emphatic expression of doubt; a polite way of giving the lie direct.
