cock, old cock

   Used mainly by British male speakers to other men in a friendly way. The expression dates from the seventeenth century and derives from the slang use of ‘cock’ to mean a man who fights with great courage. ‘He has drawn blood of him yet. Well done, old cock!’ (Philip Massinger, The Unnatural Combat, 1639). In The Pickwick Papers Sam Weller’s use of the term causes a special term of address to be used in reply: ‘“Do you always smoke arter you goes to bed, old cock?” inquired Mr Weller of his landlord, when they had both retired for the night. “Yes, I does, young bantam,” replied the cobbler.’ It is perhaps surprising that ‘cock’, ‘old cock’, etc., have survived as modern terms of address. The slang meaning that gave rise to the expression is now obsolete, though other slang meanings of a less pleasant nature live on. To describe something as a ‘lot of old cock’ in British slang is to say that it is rubbish. As a term for penis, a usage which began in the seventeenth century, ‘cock’ is still a taboo word in polite society. This explains the comment in Birthstone, by D. M.Thomas, who describes hearing ‘my cock’ used as a term of address in Cornwall: ‘and it was the barmaid who was “my cock”; as though she wore a dildo under her broad floral dress.’ In The House with the Green Shutters, by George Douglas, occurs: ‘Aha, Deacon, my old cock,’ Deacon being the man’s professional title. The novel is set in a Scottish town. A Kind of Loving, by Stan Barstow, has three examples of ‘old cock’ and one of ‘cock’, used by working-class young men to one another in a friendly way. Aaron’s Rod, by D.H.Lawrence, has ‘my young cock’ addressed to one young man by another.