1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique f. 113^v To exercise the witte with cunnynge of manye thinges without Booke.

1581 R. Mulcaster Positions v. 31 Can any growne man so moile him selfe, without to much cumber, with either the principles of Grammar, or cunning without booke, as a child will?

1597 Bp. J. King Lect. Ionas xl. 545 Why do we traine vp our children, in poets, orators, histories,..& everlastingly keepe them in the reading & conning of only catechismes?

1626 N. Breton Fantasticks sig. F The Scholler now falles to conning of his Lesson.

1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. v. 213 By his conning of Saxon Poems day and night.

1703 tr. Present State Europe May 130 His Holiness..gave his first Hours to the conning of a Sermon which he was to preach.

1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion viii. 378 From infant conning of the Christ-cross-row. View more context for this quotation

1890 F. W. Blackmar Stud. Hist. & Sociol. 58 The dull, dry conning of the facts of universal history with the chief idea of knowing the facts of the world's history only to forget them.

1902 Princeton Alumni Weekly 1 Nov. 93/1 The pupil's own direct observation and experiment take the place of the conning of mere theory and generalization.

1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward I. Intro. p. iii The conning of grievances, which all valetudinarians know is a most fascinating pastime.

1885 Illustr. London News 21 Mar. 307/1 Anxious conning of household bills.

1929 Advocate of Peace Feb. 106/1 We are astonished to learn, from a rapid conning of the figures that hay now ranks fourth in value.

1941 Layman's Mag. Sept. 19/1 His book..calls for careful conning.

1992 J. Mason & P. Washington Future of Thinking iii. 39 Turning the study of literature into the more or less sophisticated conning of elaborate ideological or stylistic paradigms.