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 Hockey, adj. (old).—Drunk, especially on stale beer. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

1796. Grose, Vulg. Tongue (3rd Ed.), s.v.

Hocus, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A cheat; an imposter. [An abbreviation of hocus-pocus (q.v.).]

1654. Witts Recreations. Here Hocas lyes with his tricks and his knocks, Whom death hath made sure as a juglers box; Who many hath cozen'd by his leiger-demain, Is presto convey'd and here underlain. Thus Hocas he's here, and here he is not, While death plaid the Hocas, and brought him to th' pot.

2. (old: now recognised).—Drugged liquor.

1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Hocus or Hocus Pocus A deleterious drug mixed with wine, etc., which enfeebles the person acted upon.

Adj. (old).—See quots. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

1725. New. Cant. Dict., s.v. Hocus, disguised in Liquor; drunk.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hocus Pocus, he is quite hocus, he is quite drunk.

Verb (old: now recognised).—1. To cheat; to impose upon.

2. (old: now recognised).—To drug; to snuff (q.v.).

1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xiii., p. 104. 'What do you mean by hocussing brandy and water?' inquired Mr. Pickwick. 'Puttin' laund'num in it,' replied Sam.

1836. Comic Almanack, p. 1. For that we hocuss'd first his drink.

1848. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, II., ch. xxix. Mr. Frederick Pigeon avers that it was at her house at Lausanne that he was hocussed at supper and lost eight hundred pounds to Major Loder and the Honourable Mr. Deucease.

1854. De Quincey, Murder as one of the Fine Arts, Wks., xiii., 119. Him they intended to disable by a trick then newly introduced amongst robbers, and termed hocussing, i.e., clandestinely drugging the liquor of the victim with laudanum.

1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Hocus 'Hocus the bloke's lush, and then frisk his sacks,' put something into the fellow's drink that will stupify him, and then search his pockets.

1859. The Bulletin, 21 May. An offence which goes by the name of hocussing, and which consists of an evil doer furtively introducing laudanum or some other narcotic into beer or spirits, which the victim drinks and, becoming stupified thereby, is then easily robbed.

1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, bk. II., ch. xii. I will not say a hocussed wine, but fur from a wine as was 'elthy for the mind.

Hocus-pocus, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A juggler's phrase. Hence a juggler's (or impostor's) stock in trade. Also HOCUS-TRADE.

1639-61. Rump Songs. 'Vanity of Vanities.' A hocus-pocus, juggling Knight.

1639-61. Rump Songs, ii., 156. 'The Rump Ululant.' Religion we made free of hocus trade.

1646. Randolph, Jealous Lovers, If I do not think women were got with riddling, whip me! Hocas Pocas, here you shall have me, and there you shall have me.

1654. Gayton, Test. Notes Don. Quix., 46. This old fellow had not the Hocas Pocas of Astrology.

1675. Wycherley, Country Wife, iii., 2. That burlesque is a hocus-pocus trick they have got.

d. 1680. Butler, Remains (1759), ii., 122. With a little heaving and straining, would turn it into Latin, as Mille hoco-pokiana, and a thousand such.

1689. Marvell, Historical Poem, line 90. With hocus pocus They gain on tender consciences at night.

c. 1755. Adey, Candle in the Dark, p. 29. At the playing of every trick he used to say, hocus pocus, tontus, talontus, vade celeriter jubeo.

1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.