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Gammerstang commented on the word nose-swelling
(noun/adjective) - (1) To make a person's nose swell, to make him jealous of a rival; found in John Ray's 1678 collection of proverbs.
--James Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, 1855
(2) To offer or pretend to do kindnesses to one, and then pass him by and do it to another.
--Sir James Murray's New English Dictionary, 1908
(3) Eighteen pence, conceit; show of importance. A consequential person is said to "have eighteen pence around him." Originally the word would apply to people who made arrogant assumption stand in the place of wealth and position.
--Thomas Darlington's Folk-Speech of South Cheshire, 1887
January 14, 2018