“A host in himself.”
1833. [He] was not only a whole team, but a team and a half, good measure.—J. K. Paulding, ‘The Banks of the Ohio,’ ii. 123–4 (Lond.).
1840.
| Now who shall we have for our governor, governor, governor, | |
| Who, tell me who? | |
| Let’s have Bill Seward for he’s a team | |
| For Tippecanoe and Tyler too—Tippecanoe and Tyler too, | |
| And with them we’ll beat little Van, Van, | |
| Van is a used up man, | |
| And with them we’ll beat little Van. | |
From ‘The New Whig Song,’ N.Y. Herald, Oct. 3, and Niles’ National Register, lix. Nov. 7, p. 167/1. |
1842. Cadwallader is a whole team.—Phila. Spirit of the Times, Feb. 4.
1844. She’s just the loudest gal, I reckon, in the settlement; as slick as a peeled maple, and as clear grit as a skinned tater rolled in the sand, and I’m called a whole team, and a big dog under a [the] waggon.—Yale Lit. Mag., x. 167 (Feb.).
a. 1848. You are a whole team, and a drum-major to spare.—Dow, Jun., ‘Patent Sermons,’ i. 284.
1851. Mike is a team and no mistake.—‘Polly Peablossom’s Wedding,’ &c., p. 67. (Italics in the original.)
1852. Isn’t [the boy] a beauty? Isn’t he a whole team and one horse extra?—C. A. Bristed, ‘The Upper Ten Thousand,’ p. 56 (N.Y.).
1852. Lew Whetzel was a whole team at shootin’…. You’re a team in the way of cookin’, you are.—H. C. Watson, ‘Nights in a Block-house,’ pp. 142, 179 (Phila.).
1854. Jump him up when you will, and you’ll find him a ‘full team’ at any thing.—Knick. Mag., xliv. 416 (Oct.) (Phila.).
1858. See Appendix VII.
1865. Columbus was a four-horse team fillibuster, and a large yaller dog under the waggin.—C. F. Browne, ‘Artemus Ward on his Travels,’ i. 5.
