level-coil
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
A corruption of French lève-cul (“lift the buttocks”).
Noun[edit]
- (historical) A boisterous and rowdy game formerly played on Christmas, in which players must quickly switch seats at a signal.
- 1600, Robert Armin, “How Leanard a leane Foole, playde at slide groate by himselfe after dinner, when his belly was full.”, in Foole Upon Foole, Or, Six Sortes of Sottes, London: William Ferbrand, published 1605:
- […] so they did, and entred the Parler, found all this leuell coyle, and his pate broken, his face scratcht […]
- 1665, Andrew Marvell, The Character of Holland, London: T. Mabb, page 3:
- A daily Deluge over them does boyle: / The Earth and Water play at Level coyle.
- 1656, Thomas Blount, “Level-Coile”, in Glossographia, London: Tho. Newcomb, published 1661:
- Level-Coile (from the Fr. leuer le Cul, i. to raise or remove the Buttock) is when three play at Tables, or other Game, where onely two can play at a time, and the loser removes his Buttock and sits out, and therefore called also Hitch-Buttock.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- “level-coil, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000. - “level-coil”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
