i>shouts out</i> for him to give him the
order. Or is "pay the shout" a variant of "pay the shot," or
tavern reckoning? In its first sense the word has reached the
United States, and is freely employed there.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 335:

"And so I shouted for him and he shouted for me."

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 80:

"Gentlemen required a great deal of attendance, did not `shout'
(the slang term for ordering grog) every quarter of an hour,
and therefore spent comparatively nothing."

1867. A. L. Gordon, `Sea-Spray' (Credat Judaeus), p. 139:

"You may shout some cheroots, if you like; no champagne
For this child.'

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 268:

"This `shouting,' as `treating' is termed in the colonies,
is the curse of the Northern goldfields. If you buy a horse you
must shout, the vendor must shout, and the bystanders who have
been shouted to [more usual, for] must shout in their turn."

1885. D. Sladen, `In Cornwall, etc.,' p. 156 [Title, `The
Sigh of the Shouter']:

"Give me the wealth I have squandered in `shouting.'"

1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia, p. 149:.

"Drinking is quite a common practice, and what is familiarly
known as `shouting' was at one time almost universal, though of
late years this peculiarly dangerous evil has been considerably
diminished in extent. To `shout' in a public-house means to
insist on everybody present, friends and strangers alike,
drinking at the shouter's expense, and as no member of the
party will allow himself to be outdone in this reckless sort of
hospitality, each one `shouts' in succession, with the result
that before long they are all overcome by intoxication."

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 30:

"Some heavy drinking is indulged in through the `shouting'
system, which is the rule."

1893. E. W. Hornung, `Tiny Luttrell,' vol. ii. c. xv.
p. 98:

"To insist on `shouting' Ruth a penny chair overlooking the
ornamental water in St. James's Park."

(p.99): "You shall not be late, because I'll shout a hansom
too."

<hw>Shout</hw>, <i>n</i>. a free drink.

1864. H. Simcox, `Outward Bound,' p. 81:

"The arms are left and off they go,
And many a shout they're treated to."

1874. Garnet Walch, Head over Heels,' p. 83:

"I . . . gave the boys round a spread an' a shout."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 78:

"Two lucky diggers laid a wager which of t