in and outadv.n.
(Cf. also ins and outs at in n.2 1.)
A. adv.† 2. Inside out. Obsolete.
1. Alternately in and out; now in, now out.
a. Of motion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > to and fro [phrase] > in and out
out and inOE
in and out?1504
a1240 Sawles Warde in Cott. Hom. 247 Þe warliche loki hwam ha leote in ant ut.]
?1504 S. Hawes Example of Vertu sig. ee.iiiiv I was in a mase goynge in and oute.
a1642 J. Suckling Poems 38 in Fragmenta Aurea (1646) Her feet beneath her Petticoat, Like little mice stole in and out.
1703 W. Dampier Voy. New Holland i. 19 This Rope serveth to hale the Boat in and out.
1897 H. Caine Christian i. xi. 49 Little knowing curls that went in and out on her temples.
b. Of position, condition, season, etc.
ΚΠ
1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. E4 Their affections, had beene more permanent, and not so in, and out, as they were, like an Instrument well tuned.
1687 R. L'Estrange Answer to Let. to Dissenter 22 'Tis not with Sermons, as 'tis with Mackrel, to be In, and Out.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 72. ¶7 The Fire..has seen the Glass-house Fires in and out above an Hundred Times.
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. xxix. 251 He was much in and out.
ΚΠ
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lv. 187 When he had well proued him [a horse] and turned hym in and out.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 234v Cesar permitted hym to turne the tale in and out, and laie the wyte or blame on hymselfe.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke 138 a Soodainly turned in and out clene arsie versie.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke 151 a O the course of thinges meruailously turned in and out.
3. Both in and out; inside and outside.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > completely [phrase] > thoroughly > from beginning to end or through and through
to the boneOE
through and throughc1225
out and outc1300
from top to tail1303
out and inc1390
(from) head to heel (also heels)c1400
(from) head to foot (also feet)c1425
from top to (into, unto) toec1425
to the skin1526
to one's (also the) finger (also fingers') ends1530
from first to last1536
up and down1542
whole out1562
to the pith1587
to the back1594
from A to (also until) Z1612
from clew to earing1627
from top to bottom1666
back and edge1673
all hollow1762
(all) to pieces1788
from A to Za1821
to one's (also the) fingertips1825
to one's fingernails1851
from tip to toe1853
down to the ground1859
to the backbone1864
right the way1867
pur sang1893
from the ground up1895
in and out1895
from soda (card) to hock1902
1895 How to get Married 113 A widow knows him [a man] in and out.
4. attributive (quasi-adj.) in various senses; spec. in-and-out bolts (see quot. 1850); in-and-out boy, in and out man, someone in and out of prison; a burglar; in-and-out class, those paupers who are now in and now out of the workhouse; in-and-out cottage, a cottage of irregular plan; in and out family, formerly, a family constantly entering and leaving a workhouse; in-and-out running, alternate winning and losing of races (so in-and-out football); in and out work, work which is not continuous; also, irregular or unlawful practice.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > shipbuilding > nails, rivets bolts
rove and clench1336
scupper-nail1485
wrakling1494
ribbing-nail1703
filling-nail1784
Blake's screw1840
in-and-out bolts1841
scarp-bolt1867
pan head1869
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > alternate winning and losing
in-and-out running1885
society > morality > moral evil > lack of principle or integrity > [noun] > dishonesty > action
brokery1602
trinketing1646
adultery1753
traffickery1838
hanky-panky1841
grafting1859
shystering1860
graft1865
skulduggery1867
sharp practice1869
in and out work1888
by-practice1913
grift1914
dirty pool1973
the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person > poor person in receipt of relief > in an institution > occasionally
casual poor1593
casual1865
ins and outs1884
in-and-out class1897
in and out family1904
society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > temporary or casual work
notec1350
jobbery1832
catchwork1856
grass1888
in and out work1903
gig work2004
gig2015
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > one who has been long or often in jail
Newgate bird1580
bridewell bird1590
jail-bird1603
prison-birda1640
old hand1826
repeater1873
old lag1910
loser1912
in-and-out boy1937
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > burglar > [noun]
housebreakera1400
burglary1533
burglar1541
burglarer1598
mill1607
mill-ken1667
hoister1708
crack1749
cracksman1819
screwsman1819
screwer1831
crib-cracker1879
cracker1886
key worker1895
houseman1904
home invader1907
in and out man1961
1640 Bp. J. Hall Episcopacie ii. xvii. 182 What Ordination to that their In-and-out Office; have these succeeding and Momentary Presidents?
1824 M. R. Mitford Our Village I. 289 Ah! the in-and-out cottage! the dear, dear home!
1841 R. H. Dana Seaman's Man. 111 In-and-out, a term sometimes used for the scantline of the timbers, the moulding way, and particularly for those bolts that are driven into the hanging and lodging knees, through the sides, which are called in-and-out bolts.
1850 J. Greenwood Sailor's Sea-bk. 126 In and out,..applied to those bolts in the knees, riders, &c., which are driven through the ship's sides, or athwartships, and therefore called ‘In and out bolts’.
1855 ‘G. Eliot’ in Fraser's Mag. June 699/2 Heavy-looking in-and-out corridors, such as one found only in German inns.
1885 Referee 26 Apr. 1/2 Now and again in-and-out running on the part of a horse subjects his owner to considerable annoyance.
1888 Times 26 June 4/5 Have you heard of what is called in-and-out running?
1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms III. xviii. 277 I began to hear that there was a deal of in-and-out sort of work about my getting my freedom.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 31 July 2/3 Children of habitual tramps and of the ‘in and out’ classes.
1903 Westm. Gaz. 29 Sept. 10/1 His engagements are only for particular plays—‘in and out’ work.
1904 Daily Chron. 14 June 9/1 One notable ‘In and Out’ family entered and discharged itself sixty-two times from a London workhouse in one year.
1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands viii. 97 It was in 'n' out sorter work.
1910 E. M. Forster Howards End v. 38 Oh, heavens! I've knocked the In and Out card down.
1936 H. G. Wells Anat. Frustration xv. 178 That does not close the Jewish problem for you. It merely brings you back to the fundamental age-long problem of this nation among the nations, this in-and-out mentality, the essential parasitism of the Jewish mycelium upon the social and cultural organisms in which it lives.
1937 C. Prior So I wrote It xvi. 191 Among the boys I knew, very few had either the courage or skill to tackle ‘live gaffs’ by night. Most of them were in-and-out boys. They did their eighteen months in Wandsworth or Pentonville, had a run of a month or so and went back to do a twenty-one or even a lagging.
1939 H. Hodge Cab, Sir? 221 An ‘in and out job’ is a passenger who comes back to his starting point.
1959 Times 31 Dec. 11/3 The discovery was announced in 1925 and met with a very in-and-out reception.
1960 Encounter Mar. 77/1 The In-and-Out Game is played... ‘Everyone’ knows that Hemingway is not so In as Faulkner.
1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 1143/2 In-and-out man, an opportunist thief.
1961 Times 14 Apr. 5/4 Two clubs who have had an in-and-out season meet at Old Deer Park.
1970 Guardian 12 Sept. 11/2 Israeli casualties were..high... The alternative..would be a quick ‘in and out’ operation.
1972 Times 15 Dec. 14/3 ‘In and out’ records through lapsing..are not uncommon.
B. n.
The ‘In’ and ‘Out’, the name of the Naval and Military Club in London.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inversion > inverted [phrase] > inside out
inside outwards1681
outside in1681
The ‘In’ and ‘Out1925
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > specific societies or organizations > [noun] > specific clubs
Hell Fire Club1721
mug-house1827
rag1858
The ‘In’ and ‘Out1925
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 127 The In and Out, the Naval and Military Club, 94, Piccadilly. So called familiarly from the words ‘In’ and ‘Out’, painted on the pillars of the approach to the courtyard in front.
1967 Guardian 21 Feb. 3/6 Two London clubs, the 105-year-old Naval and Military, better known as the ‘In and Out’, and the 92-year-old Devonshire, may merge.
Derivatives
in-and-outishness n. Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > misshapenness > [noun] > irregularity of shape
irregularity1646
in and-outness1824
in-and-outishness1833
ramblingness1835
in and-outism1836
scrawliness1867
1833 T. Hook Widow & Marquess viii The in-and-outishness of the Quebec.
in and-outism n. Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > misshapenness > [noun] > irregularity of shape
irregularity1646
in and-outness1824
in-and-outishness1833
ramblingness1835
in and-outism1836
scrawliness1867
1836 T. Hook Gilbert Gurney III. iii. 135 Her figure..was..full of those in-and-out-isms which constitute in my mind true symmetry.
in and-outness n. irregularity of form or outline.Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > misshapenness > [noun] > irregularity of shape
irregularity1646
in and-outness1824
in-and-outishness1833
ramblingness1835
in and-outism1836
scrawliness1867
1824 M. R. Mitford Our Village (1863) I. 5 A cottage..all angles, and of a charming in-and-outness.
in-and-outer n. one who is only moderately skilled or is erratic in performance; one who holds office intermittently.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > inconstant person or thing > inconstant person
starter1519
changeling1539
flirt1577
Protean1598
weathercock1598
changerc1600
mooncalf1607
minute jacka1616
a nose of wax1821
sugar stick1825
wax-nosea1843
in-and-outer1905
brainstormer1907
1905 Outing Feb. 572/2 Whippets run in more consistent form than horses, and there are few ‘in-and-outers’.
1934 E. B. Marks They All Sang 210 He was an in-and-outer..and this was one of his ‘out’ periods.
1952 Assoc. Press 8 Oct. Reynolds has 30 knockouts among his 52 victories but he has been an in-and-outer.
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 29 Mar. 53/3 There are a great many ‘in-and-outers’ who know mighty little of the art of breeding.
1967 Economist 5 Aug. 496/1 The British unfamiliarity with the American concept of ‘ins and outers’—men who alternate between private careers and public service.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adv.n.?1504