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 1809. Irving, Knickerbocker, 270. He who perseveres in error without flinching gets the credit of boldness and consistency, while he who wavers in seeking to do what is right gets stigmatised as a TRIMMER.

1885. D. Teleg., 6 Nov. Lord Hartington is not the sort of statesman to trim his opinions according to the expediency of conciliating or not conciliating.

1885. D. Chron., 5 Oct. They wanted no such aristocrats or trimming Whigs for that constituency.

See Trim.

3. (colloquial).—Anything specially decisive, of good quality, or noteworthy; a SETTLER (q.v.): spec, (cricket) = a well-delivered ball. Hence trimming = large, big, etc.

1816. Scott, Antiquary, xi. I will show you his last epistle, and the scroll of my answer—egad, it's a trimmer!

Trimming, subs, (colloquial).—1. In pl. = accessories: spec. those accompanying any dish or article of food.

1837. Dickens, Pickwick, xxxvii. A boiled leg of mutton with the usual

TRIMMINGS.

1839. Kirkland, New Home [Bartlett]. A cup of tea with trimmings is always in season, and is considered as the orthodox mode of welcoming any guest.

1845. Knickerbocker Mag., Aug. The party luxuriated at Florence's [eating-house] on lobster and trimmings.

1848. Thackeray, Snobs, xx. Whenever I ask a couple of dukes and a marquis or so to dine with me, I set them down to a piece of beef, or a leg of mutton and

TRIMMINGS.

1860. Holmes, Professor, iii. Champion, by acclamation of the College heavy-weights, broad-shouldered, bull-necked, square-jawed, six feet and trimmings.

1899. Whiteing, John St., xxi. Amerikins is all right Theirs is a big country, too—bigger than ours: but we make it up in the trimmins like.

2. See Trim and Trimmer.

Trim-tram, subs. phr. (old).—A trifle; an absurdity; folly; nonsense. As adj. = foolish, nonsensical, trifling. Also (Grose) 'like master, like man.'

1547. Patten [Arber, Eng. Garner, iii. 70]. Our consciences, now quite unclogged from the fear of [the Pope's] vain terriculaments and rattle-bladders, and from the fondness of his trim-trams and gewgaws.

1583. Stanyhurst, Æneid, ii. 113. But loa to what purpose do I chat such janglerye trim trams.

1760-2. Smollett, Sir L. Greaves, xiii. They thought you as great a nincompoop as your squire—trim-tram, like master, like man.

1772. Bridges, Homer, 411. He's telling some long trim-tram story.

Trincum (or Trinkum), subs. (old).—A trinket.

Trine, verb. (Old Cant).—1. To hang: see Ladder (B. E. and Grose). Trining-cheat = the gallows. [That is, trine = three + CHEAT (q. v.), generic for thing.]

Also TREYNE.

1567. Harman, Caveat, 31. Their end is either hanging, which they call Trining in their language, or die miserably of the pox.

1610. Rowlands, Martin Mark-all (H. Club's Rpt., 1874), 37. If you will make a word for the gallows, you must put thereto this word, Treyning, which signifies hanging; and so Treyning Cheate is as much to say, hanging things, or the gallows.

1612. Dekker, O per se O, 'Bing Out, Bien Morts.' On chates to trine, by Rome-coues dine for his long lib at last.

2. (old).—To go.

1360. Allit. Poems (Morris). [We see the Danish trine (ire), which Scott used as a slang term, 'trine to the nabbing cheat.']