Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A fool or dupe.
- v. To fool; cheat.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A fellow; a “cove”; especially, a verdant fellow who is easily deceived, tricked, or imposed on, as by a sharper, jilt, or strumpet; a mean dupe.
- To deceive; trick, cheat, or impose upon; jilt; gull.
Wiktionary
- n. A person who is easily tricked or imposed on; a dupe, a gullible person.
- n. A companion.
- v. To trick, to impose on, to dupe.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A person easily deceived, tricked, or imposed on; a mean dupe; a gull.
- v. To trick, cheat, or impose on; to deceive.
Etymologies
- Perhaps from cullion.
Examples
“cully" too cruel a reproach to the men, for their abused weakness for us.”
Memoirs Of Fanny Hill A New and Genuine Edition from the Original Text (London, 1749)
“Given the uproar at that time, Mr. Stimson had to resign as was described in the WSJ at cully-stimson-resigns.”
“Given the uproar at that time, Mr. Stimson had to resign as was described in the WSJ at cully-stimson-resigns .”
“And thank you, TVaddict, for bringing our attention to this! cully”
Download Thursday’s SUPERNATURAL Season Premiere Now | the TV addict
“April 2nd, 2009 at 2:10 pm and this is going to have cully hamner sp? question back-ups?”
“Why are the cul de…cully sac…teh dead end hidden cornerses marked “Good playce to eat pinny gigs” or “good place to eet skwirrlols”?”
No…..eye iz sik - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, yarrr cully, and any squint what is caught not talking like a pirate will have his filthy guts torn from his wreeetched grog pot and laced round his useless head.”
Boing Boing: September 18, 2005 - September 24, 2005 Archives
“Nay, art thou not the cully of that still viler Joseph Leman, who serves himself as much by thy money, as he does thee by the double part he acts by thy direction? —”
“English cully, who was so easily disheartened, and hung his ears in manifest despondence, rather than rather than run the risk of making a voyage that should be altogether unprofitable, resolved to practise her charms upon the Dutch merchant.”
“Charles, whom they knew, and from the earliness of my escape, and their perfect ignorance of his ever having so much as seen me, not having the least suspicion of his being accessory to my flight, they were, in their way, making up to him; and as to his companion, they took him probably for a fresh cully.”
Lists
‘cully’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
yarb Suppose, for instance, that an actor gets drunk and makes a fool of himself; or an actress gets hold of a rich cully and makes a fool of him! The green-room is sure to ring with all the particulars, and a few more than are true.
- Lesage, The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, tr. Smollett, bk 5 ch. 1 Sep 19, 2008