34 If his hornes be forth, the Diuells
companion!
Ben Jonson - The Devil's Association
=5. 8. 33 with a Wanion. = This word is found only in the
phrases 'with a wanion,' 'in a wanion,' and 'wanions on you. ' It
is a kind of petty imprecation, and occurs rather frequently in
the dramatists, but its precise signification and etymology are
still in doubt. Boswell, _Malone_, 21. 61, proposed a derivation
from _winnowing_,'a beating;' Nares from _wanung_, Saxon,
'detriment;' Dyce (Ford's _Wks. _ 2. 291) from wan (vaande,
Dutch, 'a rod or wand'), 'of which _wannie_ and _wannion_ are
familiar diminutives. ' The _CD. _ makes it a later form of ME.
_waniand_, 'a waning,' spec. of the moon, regarded as implying
ill luck.
=5. 8.
34 If his hornes be forth, the Diuells companion! =
The jest is too obvious not to be a common one. Thus in
_Eastward Ho_ Slitgut, who is impersonating the cuckold at
Horn-fair, says: 'Slight! I think the devil be abroad. in
likeness of a storm, to rob me of my horns! ',--Marston's _Wks. _
3. 72. Cf. also _Staple of News_, _Wks. _ 5. 186: 'And why
would you so fain see the devil? would I say. Because he has horns,
wife, and may be a cuckold as well as a devil. '
=5. 8.
