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 1809. Irving, Knickerbocker, 437. Every member waddled home as fast as his short legs could carry him, wheezing as he went with corpulency and terror.

1885. D. Tel., 29 Sep. It knows it cannot move fast and scorns to do more than waddle away moderately.

To waddle out of the Alley, verb. phr. (old).—To make default on the Stock Exchange: cf. Lame duck.

1771. Garrick, Prologue to The Maid of Bath. The gaming fools are doves, the knaves are rooks, Change-alley bankrupts waddle out lame ducks.

1787. Whitehall Evening News [quoted in Francis, Stock Exchange]. There were no less than 25 lame ducks who waddled out of the alley.

1846. Marryat, Peter Simple, III. xxv. 458. He was obliged to waddle: if I didn't know much about bulls and bears, I know very well what a lame duck is to my cost.

1860. Peacock, Gryll Grange; xviii. In Stock Exchange slang, Bulls are speculators for a rise, Bears for a fall. A lame duck is a man who cannot pay his differences, and is said to waddle off.

Waddler, subs. (common).—A duck.

Waddy, subs. (Australian).—A walking-stick: properly a war-club.

1874. Stephens, Poems {The Headless Trooper). Thanks, generous colonial, Thou art very, very kind; Now pick a thickish waddy up And plug my wound behind.

Wade, subs. (colloquial).—1. A ford; and (2) the act of wading. Also waders = long water-proof boots: used by sportsmen for wading through water.

1885. Field, 4 Ap. It was a wade of nearly a mile, and every now and then the water just touched the ponies' bellies. Ibid., 11 Sep. Waders are of as much service on the swampy ground round the pool as for actually reaching fish rising some way out.

1888. Fort. Rev., xliii. 632. An ardent votary of fly and bank-fishing, with waders and a two-handed rod.

Wafer-woman, subs. phr. (old).—A bawd; procuress, go-between. Also waferer = a pander, a male bawd.

1607. Beaumont, Woman-hater, ii. 1. 'Twas no set meeting, Certainly, for there was no wafer-woman with her These three days, on my knowledge.

1765. Bickerstaff, Maid of the Mill, i. 3. Do you think me a babe? Am I not able, cousin, At my years and discretion, to deliver A letter handsomely? is that such a hard thing? Why, every wafer-woman will undertake it.

Waffle, verb (printers').—To talk incessantly, clack (q.v.), jaw (q.v.): at Durham School = to talk nonsense. [Cf. prov. Eng. waffle = to bark, to yelp.]

1888. D. Teleg., 3 Mar. Out they went into the bleak bitterness, the dogs running before them, and, as the people say, waffling—that is, snuffing and whining—in their eagerness to get on.

Waffles, subs. (common).—A loafer, an idle sauntering person.

Wafrican, subs. (Stock Exchange).—In pl. = generic for West African stocks and shares: cf. Westralian.

1901. West. Gaz., 7 Feb., 9. 1. Wafricans. One thing beloved in the Stock Exchange is abbreviation; and another is nickname. Kaffirs have been far too long established to lay any claim to the title Safricans, so that there is no danger of the use of the term to clash with Wafricans. There is already a Wafricana Syndicate, or something of the sort. Thus is the language murdered to the disgust of the purist.

Wag, subs. (old colloquial).—1. A buffoon, droll, practical joker. [Probably Wag-halter (q.v.) = a rogue (q.v.): cf. 'mad wag,' 'mad wag-halter,' etc.]. Also as a half-jocular, half-affectionate