Citations:can

English citations of can

• 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress:

  Yea, dark or bright, if they their silver drops Cause to descend, the earth, by yielding crops, Gives praise to both, and carpeth not at either, But treasures up the fruit they yield together; Yea, so commixes both, that in her fruit None can distinguish this from that: they suit Her well when hungry; but, if she be full, She spews out both, and makes their blessings null.

  Behold how he engageth all his wits; Also his snares, lines, angles, hooks, and nets; Yet fish there be, that neither hook, nor line, Nor snare, nor net, nor engine can make thine: They must be groped for, and be tickled too, Or they will not be catch'd, whate'er you do.

  How does the fowler seek to catch his game By divers means! all which one cannot name: His guns, his nets, his lime-twigs, light, and bell: He creeps, he goes, he stands; yea, who can tell Of all his postures?

• 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe:

  Though my mother refused to move it to my father, yet I heard afterwards that she reported all the discourse to him, and that my father, after showing a great concern at it, said to her, with a sigh, “That boy might be happy if he would stay at home; but if he goes abroad, he will be the most miserable wretch that ever was born: I can give no consent to it.”

  But if I can express at this distance the thoughts I had about me at that time, I was in tenfold more horror of mind upon account of my former convictions, and the having returned from them to the resolutions I had wickedly taken at first, than I was at death itself; and these, added to the terror of the storm, put me into such a condition that I can by no words describe it.

  Another trick I tried upon him, which he innocently came into also: his name was Ismael, which they call Muley, or Moely; so I called to him—“Moely,” said I, “our patron’s guns are on board the boat; can you not get a little powder and shot?

• 1843, Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol:

  And then let any man explain to me, if he can, how it happened that Scrooge, having his key in the lock of the door, saw in the knocker, without its undergoing any intermediate process of change — not a knocker, but Marley's face.

  Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I have no just cause to grieve."

  But if you were free to-day, to-morrow, yesterday, can even I believe that you would choose a dowerless girl — you who, in your very confidence with her, weigh everything by Gain: or, choosing her, if for a moment you were false enough to your one guiding principle to do so, do I not know that your repentance and regret would surely follow?

an amount of marijuana (from the old practice of putting it in tobacco cans)

• 1965, California. District Courts of Appeal, Reports of Cases Determined in the District Courts of Appeal of the State of California: 2nd

  Epolito handed appellant $20 and asked appellant to get him two “cans” of marijuana . Appellant left the car and entered an apartment house . When he returned they drove to 711 West Second Street.

• 1970, California. Supreme Court, Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of California

  ... prosecution for selling and giving away marijuana, the evidence clearly constituted substantial proof that a package purchased by defendant contained marijuana where he requested "four cans" of marijuana to be delivered to himself and ...

• 1972, Donald Goines, Whoreson, page 36:

  We bought three cans of reefer for fifty dollars, and split the rest of the money.

unclear than this is not just the usual sense of "can"

• 1963, Reports of Cases Determined in the District Courts of Appeal of the State of California

  In addition , Mrs . Murray told the officers about overhearing a telephone conversation between the occupant of the hotel room and another person calling in , which , interpreting the jargon used , involved a discussion of two cans of marijuana ...

• 1964, United States of America V. Aulet, page 31:

  ... it is not a fact that over a period of about 4 months I had made numerous purchases of cans of marijuana from Mario; it is not a fact that I paid $20 a can for marijuana from Mario; it is not a fact that our normal place of meeting was on Division ...

• 1969, Reports of cases determined in the courts of appeal of the state

  At approximately 9 : 15 p . m . on the same day , Agent Feldman returned to the place where he had just met defendant . Defendant approached Agent Feldman and asked Agent Feldman if he wanted to buy five cans of marijuana . After some  ...

destroyer (ship)

• 1946, Thomas Heggen, Mister Roberts, page 65:

  ... 'why in the hell did you want to get in the war?' Roberts's answer wasn't really an answer at all. 'I didn't know then that there were such things as auxiliaries,' he mused. 'I just took for granted that I'd get on a can or a wagon or a carrier right in the middle of it.'

(military) tank

• 1988, Ralph Zumbro, Tank Sergeant, Simon and Schuster (→ISBN), page 145:

  "Well then, round up those three savages and put them back in their cans." The lieutenant gave me a lopsided grin and said, "Yes sir— out." 1430: With 3d Platoon loaded up, the 2d was trickling back for more shells and a breather.

(bank) safe

• 1968, Mickey Spillane, The Big Kill, Penguin (→ISBN)

  He and two others planned a safe robbery with Decker opening the can while the others were lookouts and drove. It's our theory that Decker tried to get away with the entire haul without splitting and his partners overtook and killed him.