old

old
   or auld is a prefix to numerous nicknames, or names for Nick1, the devil, who was liable to appear if you spoke about him directly: whence our expression talk of the devil, if a person about whom we have been speaking in his absence comes into view. Instead of using the word devil, people spoke of (the) old or auld bendy, blazes, bogey, boots, boy, chap, child, cloot, cloutie, dad, Davy, driver, gentleman, gooseberry, Harry, hornie, lad, mahoon, man, Nick, one, poger, poker, Roger, ruffin, Sandy, scratch, serpent, smoker, sooty, thief, toast, etc. Some of these names are dealt with elsewhere, without the prefix. It was not uncommon for a farmer to leave a patch of ground untilled for the devil's use (today Brussels calls it setaside), in the hope that he might be induced to leave the rest of the farm alone:
    The old man's fold, where the druid sacrificed to the demon. (EDD) and see clootie's croft under cloot.

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • old — W1S1 [əuld US ould] adj comparative older superlative oldest ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(not new)¦ 2¦(not young)¦ 3¦(age)¦ 4¦(that you used to have)¦ 5¦(familiar)¦ 6¦(very well known)¦ 7 the old days 8 …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Old — Old, a. [Compar. {Older}; superl. {Oldest}.] [OE. old, ald, AS. ald, eald; akin to D. oud, OS. ald, OFries. ald, old, G. alt, Goth. alpeis, and also to Goth. alan to grow up, Icel. ala to bear, produce, bring up, L. alere to nourish. Cf. {Adult} …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • old — [ ould ] adjective *** ▸ 1 for talking about age ▸ 2 having lived a long time ▸ 3 not new ▸ 4 that existed in the past ▸ 5 for showing you like someone ▸ + PHRASES 1. ) used for talking about the age of someone or something: how old: She didn t… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • old — [ōld] adj. older or elder, oldest or eldest [ME < OE (Anglian) ald, WS eald, akin to Ger alt < IE base * al , to grow > L altus, old, alere, to nourish: basic sense “grown”] 1. having lived or been in existence for a long time; aged 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • Old — or OLD may refer to: Contents 1 Age 2 Places 3 Persons 4 Music 5 Acronyms …   Wikipedia

  • old — (adj.) O.E. ald (Anglian), eald (W.Saxon) aged, antique, primeval; elder, experienced, from W.Gmc. *althas grown up, adult (Cf. O.Fris. ald, Goth. alþeis, Du. oud, Ger. alt), originally a pp. stem of a verb meaning grow, nourish (Cf. Goth. alan… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Old 97's — Old 97 redirects here. For the Southern Railway train and its crash, see Wreck of the Old 97. Old 97 s The Old 97 s performing in 2008 Background information …   Wikipedia

  • old — ► ADJECTIVE (older, oldest) 1) having lived for a long time; no longer young. 2) made or built long ago. 3) possessed or used for a long time. 4) dating from far back; long established or known. 5) former; previous. 6) …   English terms dictionary

  • old — 1 *aged, elderly, superannuated Analogous words: *weak, feeble, infirm, decrepit Antonyms: young 2 Old, ancient, venerable, antique, antiquated, antediluvian, archaic, obsolete all denote having come into existence or use in the more or less… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • old — (izg. ȏld) prid. DEFINICIJA ob. u: SINTAGMA old boy (izg. old bȏj) 1. veteran (bivši sportaš, glazbenik i sl.) 2. jedan od partnera više dobi koja je određena posebnim propisima; stariji senior; old fashioned (izg. old fȅšnd) što je nekoć bilo… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Old 8×10 — Studio album by Randy Travis Released July 12, 1988 …   Wikipedia

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