1709 Cotton's Compl. Gamester (new ed.) xxxviii. 183 They (as has been said) are compell'd by the Soveraign Authority to stint the Prodigal humours in Punting, and are only to play at a Twelve Peny Bank.

1719 C. Johnson Masquerade iv. 59 No more Tallying, no more Punting, no Partys at Play of any sort.

1798 G. Colman Heir at Law i. i. 8 A damn'd game of cocking and punting, I think they call it, where I lost as much in half-an-hour, as would keep her..in fricassee's and whipt sullibub's for a fortnight.

1808 C. Anstey Poet. Wks. 272 In the morning I took him hunting, At dinner well-plied champain, At tea gave a lecture on punting; At midnight, on throwing a main.

1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes I. x. 101 What must have been the venerable Queen Charlotte's state of mind when she heard..of his punting at gaming-tables?

1951 Sport 16–22 Mar. 22/2 My advice is to make sure that the system or method of punting you adopt is a good one.

1992 Economist 8 Aug. 76/3 The tax-exempt tokkin funds that many companies used as vehicles for short-term stockmarket punting.

1778 A. Dalrymple Considerations Present State Affairs Eng. & Amer. 23 Men whose attention is equally engaged in equipping a fleet for America, or setting on foot a punting expedition up the Thames.

a1827 W. Hickey Mem. (1960) xx. 331 I presume it possible that you may be a first-rate seaman..but..you know nothing of punting.

1865 D. Livingstone & C. Livingstone Narr. Exped. Zambesi xxi. 418 They preferred punting to paddling.

1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat xv. 256 Punting is not as easy as it looks.

1928 Daily Express 7 May 5/2 Half-captaincies may be had either in rowing, canoeing, or punting.

1955 Times 25 May 11/4 There is double punting, and what is to prevent the team, moving at a creditable rate of knots, being mixed?

1991 M. Dibdin Dirty Tricks (BNC) 51 The hands of the clock spin round, the pages drop off the calendar, shots of punting and cricket replace those of rowing and rugby.

2005 K. Harrison Starter Marriage 242 Now, if you've ever done any punting—hands up the Cambridge posse, yaay—this'll be a doddle.

a1798 T. Pennant Tour on Continent (1948) 57 A rope fastened to high poles crosses it [sc. the stream], and the boat is fixed to the middle by another long rope; and by that means the rudder and a punting pole is forced over.

1875 A. Helps Social Pressure xx. 290 The punter, very nearly got upset, holding on stoutly to his punting-pole when it stuck in the mud.

1904 J. Conrad Nostromo ii. viii. 235 You might stumble or displace something which would make a noise. The sweeps and the punting poles are lying about.

2004 N.Y. Sun (Nexis) 27 Feb. 24 Men in lungis..propelling themselves upstream with punting poles, and transporting coir, rice, and coconuts.

1882 Times 17 Jan. 3/5 The liberty of using the hands [in rugby football]..renders possible the ‘drop kick’, certainly the most picturesque mode of kicking a football, and makes ‘punting’ of much greater frequency.

1888 N.-Y. Times 20 Nov. 2/5 Wagenhurst did heroic tackling and all-around playing, while Hill did some good punting.

1910 W. Camp Bk. of Foot-ball viii. 313 In punting, the ball is kicked with the instep and not with the toe.

1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 11 July 32/4 Mann, whose punting average was 43 yards in 13 attempts, also kicked five converts.

1974 Liverpool Echo (Football ed.) 31 Aug. 3/3 His timing and immaculate positioning, together with his straight-backed, stiff-legged punting are..faithfully reproduced by Alec.

2004 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 9 Mar. b1/2 Chris Gardocki spent four years in Chicago and four years in Cleveland, so punting in Heinz Field doesn't faze him.