rouf en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ɹɔːf/
Etymology
Backslang for four.
Meanings
-
(qualifier:costermongers) The number four.
The betting also began to shift. "Sixpence Ned wins!" cried three or four; "Sixpence he loses!" answered another; "Done!" and up went the halfpence. "Half-a-crown Joe loses!"—"Here you are," answered Joe, but he lost again. "I'll try you a 'gen'" (shilling) said a coster; "And a 'rouf yenap'" (fourpence), added the other. "Say a 'exes'" (sixpence).—"Done!" and the betting continued, till the ground was spotted with silver and halfpence.
1851, Henry Mayhew, “Gambling of Costermongers”, in London Labour and the London Poor, volume 1, page 17:"Give me two gen, then, and take the whole bloody tol. I've walked me teef orf afore rouf this mornin', and wot 'ave I got? Two bloody yenneps! I ask yer."
1978, Rose Ayers, The Street Sparrows:Then the horse trading would begin with the words, from the jobber, of: "What's your size?" […] The broker might reply with the word rouf (a 4,000 share trade, which was a very small order); a score (20,000); a monkey (half a million); or a gorilla (one million shares - a very big order).
2011, Ian Lyall, The Street-Smart Trader, Harriman House Limited, →ISBN, page 11:
- (qualifier:costermongers; crime; crime, slang) The number four. ▸ A prison sentence of four years.
- (obsolete, qualifier:costermongers, slang) The number four. ▸ Four shillings.
-
(qualifier:costermongers, slang) The number four. ▸ Four pounds sterling.
I don't want a cockle – I don't want a neuf – I don't want a fat lady or a nevis – I don't want an exis, a flim or a rouf – or a carpet or bottle – These green flip-flops are a phunt a pair! And they've all got to go!
2014, David Eldridge, Market Boy, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 48:
- (qualifier:costermongers, slang) The number four. ▸ Odds of four to one.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| roufs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |