naughtinessn.

?1529 R. Hyrde tr. J. L. Vives Instr. Christen Woman i. iv. sig. D.ij^v Mynstrelles..be euer gyuen vnto pleasures, and..spende out theyr thryfte and theyr lyfe in naughtynes.

1541 T. Wyatt Defence in K. Muir Life & Lett. (1963) 196 That made me not holde my peace when I myght..improve his naughtines.

1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 63^v Neyther haue wee a shorte lyfe by Nature, but we make it shorter by naughtines.

1646 J. Hall Horæ Vacivæ 119 'Tis..dangerous to act any naughtinesse before children.

1677 W. Hubbard Narr. Troubles with Indians New-Eng. 11 He was..forced to acknowledge that it was the naughtiness of his own heart, that put him upon that Rebellion.

1720 J. Strype Stow's Surv. of London (rev. ed.) I. ii. ii. 10/1 For the restraining of which Naughtiness and Pilferies, the said John had again purchased it.

1792 W. Scott Let. 10 Sept. (1932) I. 21 He will have many advisers and animadverters upon the naughtiness of his ways.

1856 G. H. Boker Leonor de Guzman iv. iii, in Plays & Poems I. 314 Fresh from the confessional, You re-begin your naughtiness. Alas! Continued penitence must pre-suppose Continued sin.

1895 C. G. Leland Legends of Florence 181 A noble lady, who had never been found out in any naughtiness..came by, and seeing the penitent..turned up her nose.

1979 K. Amis Coll. Poems A new age, perhaps, will change our cruelty Into the quaint naughtiness of romance, Its dismal end always put off till to-morrow.

1995 19th-cent. Lit. 50 190 Whatever Gore's personal relation with the devil or ‘the black gentleman’, the novels themselves seemed questionable..as a belated return to the naughtiness of the Regency.

1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. ii. sig. K5 Now if it fall out that another ouershoote himselfe in talke, wee must consider whether it proceede of vnskilfull foolishnesse, or of wilfull naughtinesse.

1741 S. Richardson Pamela IV. lxiv. 456 There was a sad End of all the Four ungracious Children,..and God punished their Naughtiness.

1775 D. Garrick May-Day ii. 17 Your servant, pretty maids, and to you also young men, if you are good, for naughtiness, they say, has found its way into the country.

1833 Mem. Departed Friend 55 Not to fret over every little childish fit of naughtiness she has.

1871 M. Collins Marquis & Merchant II. iv. 90 What would Miss Pinnock say, if she confessed her naughtiness to her?

1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage lxxxi. 420 His illness was an absurd piece of naughtiness which amused rather than irritated.

1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day iii. 47 My father's reactions to my naughtiness were as unpredictable as his moods.

1990 J. Sutherland Mrs Humphry Ward i. 14 The childhood anecdotes which are told about her dwell on her disruptive energy, passion, and downright naughtiness.

1789 H. Brooke Cymbeline V. iv. 242 They were too little for the bare suspicion Of such a naughtiness!

1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xxv. 244 Something occurred after this..which vexed Miss Blanche, and she gave way to that series of naughtinesses whereof we have spoken.

1865 A. Trollope Can you forgive Her? II. xxvii. 209 Oh dear! you shouldn't grudge me my little naughtinesses.

1882 W. Ballantine Some Exper. Barrister's Life I. xiv. 174 Homburg... Its beauties and its naughtinesses have been often described.

1903 W. D. Howells Lett. Home vii. 43 Glimpses of the dining rooms and drawing rooms..are naughtinesses of superfluity, embarrassments of riches.

1997 Theatre July 8/1 When I discovered my talent for mimicry, I used that. That was my naughtiness, if you like.

1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani Ep. Ded. sig. bi Who so euer drinketh therof shall drawe vnto hym more slyme & naughtynesse than he shall good lycour.

1550 Privy Council Paper 28 Apr. in R. H. Tawney & E. Power Tudor Econ. Documents (1924) I. 185 There lie at Andewarpe such a numbre of our clothes unsolde, that till they were uttered these here wolde not well be bought, which, togither with the naughtinesse of the making, hindered the prices.

1579 W. Fulke Refut. Rastels Confut. in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 740 But to aunswere the naughtinesse of the argument, I say [etc.].

1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique iii. xxxiv. 500 Many times..the fruit is spoiled and lost, by the naughtines of the ground.

1658 W. Johnson tr. F. Würtz Surgeons Guid iii. iii. 225 A Wound that looks well,..yet the Patient..groweth weaker, it intimates the naughtiness of the medicine.

1702 V. Mandey tr. J. J. Hainlin Synopsis Mathematica: Staticks iii. iii. 756 To find out the naughtiness of deceitful Beams.

1921 A. Quiller-Couch & W. Wilson in W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (new ed.) Introd. p. ix Every editor who tries to handle this folio has very soon to admit its naughtiness.