supe slang.
(s(j)uːp)
Short for super n. Also as v. intr., to act as a supernumerary in a theatre. Cf. super v. 1.
| 1824 in Spirit Publ. Jrnls. (1825) 309 A youthful supernumerary compositor, or ‘gentleman supe’ in a printing establishment. 1885 J. K. Jerome On the Stage 59 The other set, the regular bob (sometimes eighteenpence) a-night ‘sūps’. 1893 W. K. Post Harvard Stories 107 Do you remember the time..that we saw the old man suping in that spectacular play? 1903 Farmer & Henley Slang, Supe,..the superintendent of a station. 1915 J. B. Rathbun Motion Picture Making 72 ‘Westerns’ are invariably taken in their proper locale, the ‘supes’ usually being drawn from the ranches and towns surrounding the studio. 1977 [see scoff v.1 2 c]. |