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 1840. Barham, Ingolds. Leg. (M. of Venice). Old Shylock was making a racket.

1840. Judd, Margaret, i. 17. The wind blazed and racketed through the narrow space between the house and the hill.

1843. Macaulay, in Trevelyan, i. 302. I have been racketing lately, having dined twice with Rogers and once with Grant.

1851. Longfellow, Golden Legend, iv. What an infernal racket and riot.

1851. Mayhew, London. Lab., i. 268. It was difficult to pall him upon any racket (detect him in any pretence). Ibid. iii. 264. I joined because I felt I was getting racketty, and giving my mind to nothing but drink. Ibid. (1856), Gt. World of London, 46. Lady and gentlemen racket-men, who steal cocks and hens Noisy racket-men, who make off with china or crockery-ware from earthenware shops.

1868. Temple Bar, xxiv. 538. Snide-pitching is a capital racket.

1882. D. News, 27 Oct., 7. 4. Walker said, 'I will stand the racket of this. I stole it because I was hard up.'

1885. D. Teleg., 16 Nov. He had been off on the racket perhaps for a week at a time. Ibid. (1886), 20 Feb. The unhappy dispenser of police law and his rackety son.

1886-96. Marshall, Pomes, 82. I'm on the polling-racket.

1888. Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, i. And now—that chain rubbed a sore, curse it!—all that racket's over. Ibid. xi. It's only some other cross cattle or horse racket.

1889. Century Mag., xxxix. 527. 'Lucky I learned that signal-racket.'

1890. New York Evg. Post [Century], 29 Jan. To give the name of legislation to the proceedings at Albany would be an abuse of language. The proper name was "tumbling to the racket." The Assembly passed the bill without debate much as they might pass a bill authorising a man to change his name.

1901. Troddles, 45. They had broken a chair and kicked up such an awful racket that Mrs. Bloggs had to make a reproachful request for consideration.

To play racket, verb. phr. (old).—To prove inconstant.

1369. Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 461. Canst thou play raket to and fro, Nettle in, dock out, now this, now that?

RACLAN, subs, (tramps').—A married woman: [cf. Gipsy = a girl].

Rad, subs. (political).—A Radical.

1844. Disraeli, Coningsby. They say the Rads are going to throw us over.

1858. Trollope, Dr. Thorne, xxxv. He's got what will buy him bread and cheese, when the Rads shut up the Church.

18[?]. Thackeray, Imitations of Beranger, 'Jolly Jack,' st. 1. And Rads attacked the throne and state, And Tories the reforming.

c.1871. Giliad, 195. The Whigs are heirless, and the Rads are mad.

Raddled, adj. (old).—Drunk: see Drinks and Screwed. [Dial. (Linc.) = to do anything to excess.]—Ray (1767).

Rafe (or Ralph), subs. (common).—A pawn-ticket.

Raff and Raffle. See Riff-raff.

Raffling-shop, subs. phr. (old).—A lottery agent's: the article or lottery ticket was divided into shares, and cast for by a throw of the dice. [M. E. raffle = a game at dice. ]

1714. Lucas, Gamesters, 103. He haunted all the Raffling-Shops about Town.

Raft, subs. (American).—1. A whole lot; and (2) a goodly number. [The rafts of lumber on American waterways are sometimes of enormous size.]

18[?]. Widow Bedott Papers, 210. The Elder's wife was a sick-lookin' woman, with a whole raft o' young ones Squalling round her.