# Australian Dopers - Origin of "have a squiz"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-origin-of-have-a-squiz/335849>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 16, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-origin-of-have-a-squiz/335849 "2005-12-16T02:31:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-origin-of-have-a-squiz/335849/1 "2005-12-16T02:31:53Z")

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I’m wondering whether anybody can explain the expression “have/having a squiz”. I always understood “squiz” was short for “Squizzy Taylor” but have no idea who he was anyway. I also can’t see how that could be rhyming slang for any word meaning “look at”. What gives?

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**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-origin-of-have-a-squiz/335849/2 "2005-12-16T02:50:10Z")

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Taylor was a Richmond gangster in the 20s. He had a droopy eyelid - I assume that’s why he was called Squizzy, rather than his name being the origin of the term.

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**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-origin-of-have-a-squiz/335849/3 "2005-12-16T02:57:08Z")

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From [World Wide Words](http://www.worldwidewords.org/backissues/wbi050528.txt):

> [@](#):
>
> DEKKO Subscribers in Australia and New Zealand contributed more  
> words of similar meaning to this slang term mentioned last week,  
> whose meaning is “look”. One from Australia was “squiz”, which is  
> often said to be a blend of “squint” and “quiz”. For all we know,  
> it might be, though the only certainty is that it comes from  
> nineteenth century Devonshire dialect.

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**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-origin-of-have-a-squiz/335849/4 "2005-12-16T05:11:09Z")

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We were told the same Squizzy Taylor origin at school.

Unfortunately it’s one of those phrases that one doesn’t hear very often nowadays.

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**Author:** ![Bernard\_Marx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@Bernard\_Marx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bernard_Marx)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-origin-of-have-a-squiz/335849/5 "2005-12-16T05:20:34Z")

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> [@Cunctator](#):
>
> We were told the same Squizzy Taylor origin at school.
> 
> Unfortunately it’s one of those phrases that one doesn’t hear very often nowadays.

In my job, “Squizzy” is the mandatory nickname for anyone whose surname is Taylor.

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**Author:** ![Fortean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fortean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fortean)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-origin-of-have-a-squiz/335849/6 "2005-12-16T16:24:26Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> though the only certainty is that it comes from nineteenth century Devonshire dialect.

Entirely anecdotally… I know of this expression, and have used it on occasion, and may have got it from my Dad, who comes from Devon. FWIW.

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**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-origin-of-have-a-squiz/335849/7 "2005-12-17T12:10:51Z")

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Thanks, **Fortean**. The first citation from the OED is an Australian one from 1916 (Dennis, _The Sentimental Bloke_), so some confirmation of the West Country origin is good.