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 1593. Shakspeare, Titus Andron., ii. 3. Two of thy whelps, fell curs of bloody kind.

1854. Dickens, Hard Times, iii. 7. On one of the back benches sat the villainous whelp, sulky to the last, whom he had the misery to call his son.

2. (old).—A ship of some kind.

1630-40. Court and Times Chas. I., ii. 186. Captain Plumley was sent thither with one of the ships royal and two whelps to seek out Nutt the pirate.

1635. [Brereton, Travels, 164.] Aboard one of the king's ships called the ninth whelp.

When. Say when! phr. (common).—That is, 'Say when I shall stop': the dovetail reply is 'Bob!'

1889. Modern Society, 6 June. 'Say when,' said Bonko, taking up a flagon of whiskey and commencing to pour out the spirit into my glass. 'Bob!' replied I.

Whennymeg, subs. (provincial).—In pl. = the testes, cods (q.v.): properly trinkets (q.v.).

Where. See You.

Wherefore. See Why.

Wherewith (or Wherewithal), subs. (colloquial).—The necessary, requisites: spec. money (generic): see Rhino.

[1390. Mandeville, Travels [Halliwell], 3. A man that hath wherof (opes).]

1659. Milton, Touching Hirelings. We ourselves have not wherewithal; who shall bear the charges of our Journey?

1809. Malkin, Gil Blas [Routledge], 260. How the devil doos she mean that I should get the wherewithal? Does she take me for treasurer to a charity?

1855. Spenser, Prin. of Sociology, 15. Heavily taxed in providing the wherewithal to meet excessive loss.

1864. Tennyson, Enoch Arden. The wherewithal to give his babes a better bringing-up.

1887. D. Teleg., 8 Dec. M. , however, had not the wherewithal to furnish a marriage portion of seven camels.

Wherret. See Whirrit.

Wherry-go-nimble, subs. phr. (common).—A looseness of the bowels, a back-door trot (q.v.): cf. Jerry-go-nimble.

Wheting-corne, subs. phr. (old).—The female pudendum (Halliwell): see Monosyllable.

Whetstone. To give (deserve, win, lie for, etc.) the whetstone, verb. phr. (old).—To give (get, or compete for) the prize for lying: a whetstone, i.e. a wit-sharpener, regarded as a satirical premium for what nowadays would be called 'naked' (or 'monumental') lying. [Nares: There were, in some places, jocular games, in which the prize given for the greatest lie was a whetstone. Halliwell: The liar was sometimes publicly exhibited with the whetstone fastened to him.]

Bulleyn, Prose Morality [Waldron, Sad Sheph., 162. 220]. My name is Mendax, a younger brother, linially descended of an auncient house before the Conquest We geve three whetstones in gules, with no difference.

1570. Ascham, Scholemaster, 26. I assure you there is no such whetstone to sharpen a good witte and encourage a will to learnynge as is praise.

1580. Lyly, Euphues and His England, C. 4. If I met with one of Crete, I was readie to lie with him for the whetstone.