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Posted by languagehat

https://languagehat.com/the-water-poet/

https://languagehat.com/?p=18846

Trevor Joyce has introduced me to John Taylor (1578 – 1653), who dubbed himself the Water Poet: “He spent much of his life as a Thames waterman, a member of the guild of boatmen that ferried passengers across the River Thames in London, in the days when the London Bridge was the only passage between the banks. His occupation was his gateway into the literary society of London, as he ferried patrons, actors, and playwrights across the Thames to the Bankside theatres.” In his e-mail, Trevor quoted this impressive passage from “his 1621 work Taylor’s Motto, which included a list of then-current card games and diversions”:

The prodigall’s estate, like to a flux,
The Mercer, Draper, and the Silkman sucks:
The Tailor, Millainer, Dogs, Drabs, and Dice,
Trey-trip, or Passage, or the Most-at-thrice.
At Irish, Tick tackle, Doublets, Draughts, or Cheese,
He flings his money free with carelessnesse:
At Novum, Mainchance, Mischance (chuse ye which),
At One-and-Thirty, or at Poor-and-Rich,
Ruffe, Slam, Trump, Whisk, Hole, Sant, New Cut.
Unto the keeping of four knaves he’ll put
His whole estate at Loadum or at Gleeke,
At Tickle-me-quickly, he’s a merry Greek;
At Primifisto, Post and Payre, Primero,
Maw, Whip-her ginney, he’s a lib’ral hero;
At My-sow-pigged: but (reader never doubt ye)
He’s skilled in all games except Looke about ye.
Bowles, Shove groat, Tennis, no game comes amiss,
His purse a nurse for anybody is;
Caroches, Coaches and Tobacconists,
All sorts of people freely from his fists,
His vaine expenses daily suck and soake,
And he himself sucks only drink and smoake.
And thus the Prodigall himself alone
Gives sucke to thousands and himself sucks non.

Click through to the Wikipedia article I linked to for explanations of many of these, e.g. Primifisto: “Primo visto, Primavista, Prima-vista, Primi-vist, Primiuiste, Primofistula, or even Primefisto, is a 16th-century gambling card game fashionable c. 1530–1640. Very little is known about this game, but judging by the etymology of the words used to describe the many local variants of the game, it appears to be one of Italian origin.” As for the connotations of “suck” in his day, further affiant sayeth naught. Thanks, Trevor!

https://languagehat.com/the-water-poet/

https://languagehat.com/?p=18846