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cully

American  
[kuhl-ee] / ˈkʌl i /

noun

cullies plural
  1. Archaic. a dupe.

  2. Slang. fellow; companion.


verb (used with object)

cullied, cullying
  1. to trick; cheat; dupe.

cully British  
/ ˈkʌlɪ /

noun

  1. slang pal; mate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of cully

First recorded in 1655–65; perhaps shortening of cullion

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Upon which our cully of a robber, thinking to save so much money, paid it him down, and madam seemed to be highly pleased.

From Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals Who have been Condemned and Executed for Murder, the Highway, Housebreaking, Street Robberies, Coining or other offences by Hayward, Arthur L.

Gaming finds a man a cully, and leaves him a knave.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 10, No. 281, November 3, 1827 by Various

Thus, when by rooks a lord is plied,   Some cully often wins a bet, By venturing on the cheating side,   Though not into the secret let.

From The Poems of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Volume 1 by Browning, William Ernst

The cully freely blotted the scrip, and tipt me forty hogs; the man freely signed the bond, and gave me forty shillings.—Scrip is also a Change Alley phrase for the last loan or subscription.

From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis

Duck cully and lice," he sang boldly, and then followed in a doubtful, hesitating quaver: "I—think—sausage.

From We of the Never-Never by Gunn, Jeannie

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