1895 Cent. Mag. June 296/1 I could succeed in England, too, if I wanted to do that sort of business [sc. larceny]; but that isn't legitimate mooching.

1899 ‘J. Flynt’ Tramping with Tramps i. 145 Moochin' spiles workin' jes ez workin' spiles moochin'.

1979 L. Derwent Border Bairn i. 17 The tramps were adepts at mooching, and never refused any cast-off.

1987 Observer 4 Oct. (Colour Suppl.) 63/1 The English talent for freeloading, which also goes by the names of sponging, leeching and the more American mooching.

1988 Sunday Times (Nexis) 26 June The moochings round the streets Peter undertakes..offer Wain at least topographical scope for covering the whole of Oxford.

1947 C. Haury in H. W. Howard Salmon Fishing on Puget Sound 85 Mooching, a term applied to a combination of slow trolling with spinning gear is one of the most effective and popular ways of catching salmon.

1963 Vancouver Sun 3 July 19/1 By ‘mooching’ I mean mostly drifting with light tackle for heavy fish.

1980 D. Nuttall Mooching i. 15 The two distinguishing features of mooching should be that there be no dodger or flasher and the tackle must be basically designed for still fishing or moving very slowly.

1862 T. Hughes in Macmillan's Mag. Jan. 250/1 And the yuckle did scraam, ‘Let us peck out his eyes’ ‘Zich a girt mouchin' wosbird deserves to be caddled’.

1888 Bury Times 28 Jan. 7/5 The Mouching Fraternity.—James Thompson..and John Sullivan..were charged with begging at Walmersley.

1930 Punch 12 Feb. 187/3 And when he blesses her employ None shall besiege her small tall Troy—Nor rat nor rook nor mouching boy.

1994 B. Anderson All Nice Girls xi. 192 A shackled elephant clanked past... The trunk curled backwards, unfurled like a ponga frond and tapped its mooching attendant twice on the shoulder.