play Old Gooseberry

English

Alternative forms

• play up Old Gooseberry

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

play Old Gooseberry (third-person singular simple present plays Old Gooseberry, present participle playing Old Gooseberry, simple past and past participle played Old Gooseberry)

1. (archaic, idiomatic, UK) To suddenly put a stop to a disturbance by force or threats.
2. (archaic, idiomatic, UK) To play the devil; to make mischief.
   • 1843–44, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit:

     I'll play old Gooseberry with the office, and make you glad to buy me out at a good high figure, if you try any of your tricks with me.

Synonyms

• (make mischief): play Old Harry

References

• [Francis Grose] (1788) “Play Old Gooseberry”, in A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 2nd edition, London: […] S. Hooper, […], →OCLC.
• John S[tephen] Farmer; W[illiam] E[rnest] Henley, compilers (1893) “play Old Gooseberry”, in Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present. […], volume III, [London: […] Harrison and Sons] […], →OCLC, page 183.
• Eric Partridge, The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slang. Routledge, 1973. →ISBN.