subs. (old).—1. A handkerchief: orig. WIPER = a hand towel, but see quot. 1624 (B. E. and GROSE).
1624. JONSON, The Masque of Owls.
| Had their napkins and posies, | |
| And the WIPERS for their noses. |
1830. W. T. MONCRIEFF, The Heart of London, i. 1. Rummy Spitalfields WIPES.
1837. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends, ‘The Forlorn One.’ This here warment’s prigg’d your WIPE.
1838. DICKENS, Oliver Twist, ix. ‘And what have you got, my dear?’ said Fagin to Charley Bates. ‘WIPES,’ replied Master Bates; at the same time producing four pocket-handkerchiefs.
1861. H. KINGSLEY, Ravenshoe, xxxv. ‘But, what is cly-faking?’ said Charles. ‘Why a-prigging of WIPES and sneeze-boxes and ridicules and such.’
2. (common).—A blow; literally or figuratively. As verb = to strike: e.g., a WIPE over (= a rap) over the knuckles.
1577. E. HELLOWES, trans. The Familiar Epistles of Sir Anthony of Guevara, 242. Since you were the first that laid hand to weapon, the fault is not myne, if I haue hapned to giue you a WYPE.
1589. NASHE, Pasquils Apologie [GROSART, Works, i. 232]. A WIPE ouer the shinnes.
1695. CONGREVE, Love for Love, iv. He was woundy angry when I giv’n that WIPE, he hadn’t a word to say, and so I left’n.
1705. VANBRUGH, The Confederacy, v. 2. That’s a WIPE for me now, because I did not give her a new year’s gift.
1733. SWIFT, On Poetry.
| To statesmen would you give a WIPE, | |
| You print it in Italic type. |
1772. BRIDGES, A Burlesque Translation of Homer, 16. Or else your jaws may get a WIPE.
1843–4. HALIBURTON (‘Sam Slick’), The Attaché, xxvi. Father … gave me a WIPE … that knocked me over and hurt me properly.
1900. KIPLING, Stalky & Co., 224. ‘Mary’ll weep sore when she knows we’re leaving,’ said Beetle. ‘She gave me a awfull WIPE on the head last time,’ said Stalky.
PHRASES. TO WIPE ONE DOWN = (1) to flatter, (2) to pacify; TO WIPE OFF A SCORE = to pay one’s debts; TO WIPE A PERSON’S EYE = (1) to shoot game which another has missed, (2) to gain an advantage through skilful manipulation; TO WIPE THE OTHER EYE = to take another drink; TO WIPE OUT = to kill, to exterminate; TO WIPE ONE’S NOSE = to cheat; TO WIPE UP THE FLOOR WITH ONE = to completely demolish an adversary; TO WIPE A PERSON’S NOSE (see NOSE, adding quots. 1611 and 1622).
1611. CHAPMAN, May-Day, v. 1 [Old English Plays (1815), iv. 110]. ’Sfoot, lieutenant, wilt thou suffer thy NOSE TO BE WIP’D of this great heir?
1622. FLETCHER, The Spanish Curate, iv. 5.
| Lop. Most finely fool’d, and handsomely, and neatly, | |
| Such cunning Masters must be fool’d sometimes, Sir, | |
| And HAVE THEIR Worships NOSES WIP’D, ’tis healthful, | |
| We are but quit. |
1854. Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs. They [the Comanches, Apaches, and others] had met for the purpose of forming their own party, in order, as they, in their strong language said, to ‘WIPE OUT’ all frontier Indians they could find on the plains.
1856. SARA T. L. ROBINSON, Kansas, 221–2. We are coming to Lawrence [said the Missourians] in a few days, to WIPE OUT the d——d abolition city, and to kill or drive off every one of the inhabitants.
1857. New York Times, Nov. ‘Letter from Utah.’ The Mormon militia under Brigham Young intend to take a stand at the pass in the mountains near Bear River, with the certainty of WIPING OUT the U.S. forces sent against them.
1858. Alta Californian, July. The Pima Indians have got up another quarrel with the Apaches, and have mustered upwards of a thousand warriors to give battle. It is their determination to WIPE OUT the Apaches, or, as they express it, to eat them up entirely, which is a consummation devoutly to be wished.
1870. J. K. MEDBERY, Men and Mysteries of Wall Street, 138. To WIPE OUT an [stock] operator, is [a Wall-Street phrase, and means] to entangle him in [stock] transactions until he loses his footing and fails utterly. It is one of the malignancies and cruelties of the street.
1887. W. E. HENLEY and R. L. STEVENSON, Deacon Brodie, i. 3. I’ll MOP THE FLOOR UP WITH HIM any day, if so be as you or any on ’em ’ll make it worth my while.
1888. Detroit Free Press, Aug. The Scroggin boy was as tough as a dog-wood knot. He’d WIPE UP THE GROUND WITH HIM; he’d walk all over him.
