Taylor’s Motto (1621)

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John Taylor (1578–1653) was an English poet who gave himself the epithet “the Water-Poet”. His work Taylor’s Motto was published in 1621, and contains a list of games, as follows:

The Prodigals estate, like to a flux,
The Mercer, Draper, and the Silkman sucks:
The Taylor, Millainer, Dogs, Drabs and Dice,
Trey-trip, or Passage, or The most at thrice;
At Irish, Tick-tack, Doublets, Draughts or Chesse,
He flings his money free with carelessenesse:
At Nouum, Mumchance, mischance, (chuse ye which
At One and thirty, or at Poore and rich,
Ruffe, slam, Trump, nody, whisk, hole, Sant, Newcut.
Vnto the keeping of foure Knaues he'le put
His whole estate, at Loadum, or at Gleeke
At Tickle-me-quickly, he's a merry Greeke,
At Primefisto, Post and payre, Primero,
Maw, Whip-her-ginny, he•s a lib'rall Hero;
At My-sow-pigg'd, and (Reader neuer doubt ye,
He's skil'd in all games, except) Looke about ye.
Bowles, shoue-groate, tennis, no game comes amis,
His purse a nurse for any body is;
Caroches, Coaches, and Tobacconists,
All sorts of people freely from his fists
His vaine expences daily sucke and soake,
And his himselfe sucks onely drinke and smoake,
And thus the Prodigall, himselfe alone,
Giues suck to thousands, and himselfe sucks none.^A

The named games are:

• Dice games:
  • Trey-Trip
  • Passage: see Passage
  • The Most at Thrice
• Tables games:
  • Irish
  • Tick-tack
  • Doublets
• Board games:
  • Draughts
  • Chess
• Card games:
  • Nouumm
  • Mumchance
  • Mischance
  • One and Thirty
  • Poore and Rich
  • Ruffe
  • Slam
  • Trump
  • Nody
  • Whisk
  • Hole: My Lady’s Hole
  • Sant
  • Newcut
  • Loadum
  • Gleeke
  • Tickle-me-quickly
  • Primefisto
  • Post and Payre
  • Primero
  • Maw
  • Whip-her-ginny
  • My-sow-pigg’d: My Sow (Has) Pigged
• Physical games:
  • Bowles
  • Shoue-groate
  • Tennis