Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive To evade work or shirk responsibility
  • verb intransitive To renege in card games

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Unknown Britishism, of uncertain origin.

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Examples

  • One proposed origin is in the southwest English shires: fainaigue, “to cheat; to renege on a debt; to deceive by flattery,” perhaps associated with the Old French fornier, “to deny.”

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • One proposed origin is in the southwest English shires: fainaigue, “to cheat; to renege on a debt; to deceive by flattery,” perhaps associated with the Old French fornier, “to deny.”

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

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