Glossary list

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Glossaries

Term Main definition
rack¹

To be stretched  (faculties, words, etc.) to the limit; to be put (a person) in an extremely difficult or awkward position. Figurative from The rack: An instrument of torture, usually consisting of a frame on which the victim was stretched by turning two rollers fastened at each end to the wrists and ankles [OED]

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railer

The OED offers a meaning of rail as "To mill about, go to and fro; to wander, roam" although the latest date for this meaning cited by the OED is 1567

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Railway stags
The meaning of stag has Stag: A slang term for short-term speculator. A stag would be equivalent to a day trader who attempts to profit off short-term market moves by quickly moving in and out of positions. (Investopedia, http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stag.asp)   A person who applies for an allocation of shares in a joint-stock concern solely with a view to selling immediately at a profit. Or 1854 H. AYRES Fenn’s Eng. & For. Funds 109 A Stag is one who is not a Member of the Stock Exchange, but deals outside, and is sometimes called an ‘Outsider’
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railways¹

Slang for women's red stockings [Kilgarriff, Michael - Sing Us One of the Old songs : A Guide to Popular Song 1860-1920 (Oxford University Press, 1998) p98]

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Rally(1)

to engage in banter

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ramille(1)

Meaning unknown

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ranters¹

 Ranter¹: A person who talks or declaims noisily, bombastically, or vehemently (in early use especially in preaching) [OED]

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Synonyms - ranter¹
rapper(1)

In coal mines; A lever at the top of a shaft for rapping a signal.

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raw_lobster¹

Policeman (from the blue colour of a raw lobster and a policeman's uniform)

[Palmer, Roy - A Touch on the Times Songs of Social Change 1770 to 1914 (Penguin Education, 1974) pp 62]

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Synonyms - raw_lobsters¹
rhino¹

Money [OED]

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ribbons¹

Reins [CPB] : long narrow straps, frequently of leather, attached to the bridle or bit of a horse or other animal on either side of the head and used by a rider or driver to control and guide the animal [OED]

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ricks¹

Rick - A stack of hay, corn, etc.; esp. one formed into a regular shape and thatched. [OED]

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rife¹

lavish, generous, unstinting, Plenty, abundance [Dictionary of the Scots Language]

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riff raff

People of low social class or position; disreputable or undesirable people; members of the rabble considered collectively. The dregs or lowest element of a community, class [OED]

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rigging¹

Rigging: The action of preparing a ship or boat for going to sea, esp. by fitting the necessary ropes, chains, and wires. [OED] and by extension the ropes, chains, and wires themselves [CPB]

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Rigs²

Rig:to romp, frolic; to act or play energetically and excitedly [OED]

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rigs¹

Rig: A dishonest or fraudulent scheme or enterprise; a trick or swindle. Also something used to deceive or defraud a person.

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Synonyms - rig¹
roast¹

Roast: to severely ridicule [OED]

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Synonyms - roasted¹
Rob_Roy¹

Rob Roy was a legendary cateran -  A Highland marauder or irregular fighting man {i} - and the eponymous hero of the novel by Walter Scott published in 1817 {ii}

References:
{i} Dictionary of the Scots Language - accessed 12Oct2019
{ii}  http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/works/novels/robroy.html - accessed 12Oct2019

 

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rookery¹

A place containing a dense aggregation of people [OED] often used of slums

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