1843 Yale Lit. Mag. 8 406 He would have acted out his real nature with all the vim and pathos which heroes always manifest in like circumstances.

1850 Odd Leaves 51 He thought of his spurs, so he ris up, an' drove them vim in the hoss's flanx.

1850 Odd Leaves 91.

1875 N.Y. Herald 17 Apr. With a vim and determination that sometimes makes victory half assured.

1876 F. L. Galt in Orton Andes & Amazons ii. xliv. 586 [The Portuguese] seem still to carry about the vim of a Vasco de Gama in their wanderings.

1880 O. Johnson W. L. Garrison 128 There was..a Garrisonian grip and vim in the anti-slavery sentiment of the county.

1894 Outing 24 259/1 He fought well and with a vim that I have never seen equaled.

1894 Trade Marks Jrnl. 6 June 484/1 Vim... All goods included in Class 48. Lever Brothers, Limited, Port Sunlight, near Birkenhead; soap manufacturers.

1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway viii. 205 Shirley collected scrubbers and soap and Vim and a dustpan and brush.

1968 Listener 14 Mar. 359/1 The real battle, though, is with the Saturday-night dancers who put down French chalk to make the floor slippery. The badminton players retaliate—of old with Vim or a mixture of tea-leaves, sand and water.

1926 R. Macaulay Crewe Train ii. x. 179 Denham looked vaguely at the vim. ‘For the sink,’ her aunt explained. ‘And I've got you a..brush. That's to scrub the vim in with.’ ‘Thank you very much,’ said Denham, doubtfully; ‘I don't know how much I shall vim the sink, though.’

1976 T. Sharpe Wilt ii. 11 She got the washing-up done..and the bath Vimmed.