Gentleman Harry Simms, Flash, and the OED

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Mon Sep 15 15:25:52 UTC 2014


At 9/15/2014 08:31 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>But in the songs it's an adjective, not a noun meaning criminal lingo.

The OED "flash, adj.3" sense 5.b combines the adj. with "Also 
quasi-noun".  The 1747 quotation is adj., the 1756 noun. Etc.

Joel 

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