Breeching

a flogging. Term in use among boys at several private schools. Breef , probably identical with BRIEF , a shortened card used for cheating purposes; thus described in an old book of games of about 1720— “Take a pack of cards and open them, then take out all the honours... and cut a little from the edges of the rest all alike, so as to make the honours broader than the rest, so that when your adversary cuts to you, you are certain of an honour. When you cut to your adversary cut at the ends, and then it is a chance if you cut him an honour, because the cards at the ends are all of a length. Thus you may make breefs end-ways as well as sideways.” Modern card-players of a certain kind have considerably improved on this.