verb General Slang

Bouse

/baʊz/ · verb · slang

To drink, in the old cant — and 'bousing ken' was the boozing-house where rogues drank.

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Definitions

1

A 'bousing ken' — the alehouse or drinking-den where the canting crew gathered.

“Meet me at the bousing ken when the lightmans fails.”
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2

As a noun, drink or liquor itself; 'bene bouse' was good drink, 'queer bouse' was bad.

“Pass the bouse — and may it be bene bouse for once.”
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3

To drink, especially to drink heavily; the canting verb for taking liquor.

“They boused away the take before the sun was well up.”
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Bouse In A Sentence

He'd bouse the night through and beg the day after.
The whole crew was deep in the bouse and singing canting songs.
No bene bouse in that ken — only sour stuff fit for a queer cuffin.

Origin & Usage

Recorded by Harman (1566) and in B.E. (1699) and Grose (1785). The word is the ancestor of modern 'booze'; the 'bousing ken' was the canting name for the alehouse.

Variants boozebowsebene bousebousing ken
Tags #thieves-cant#cant#historical#british#drink

People Also Ask

What does bouse mean in thieves' cant?

To drink, or drink itself — the canting verb and noun for liquor, recorded by Harman (1566) and Grose (1785).

Is bouse related to booze?

Yes — modern 'booze' descends directly from this cant and earlier Middle Dutch/Middle English forms.

What is a bousing ken?

The alehouse or drinking-den where the canting crew gathered, 'ken' being cant for a house.

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