■ verb informal, chiefly Brit. ask for or obtain (something to which one is not strictly entitled).
■ noun Falconry a padded wooden frame on which hooded hawks are carried to the field.
Phrases
on the ~ informal seeking to obtain something without paying for it.
Derivatives
~r noun
Origin
C17 (in the dialect sense 'carry about'): back-form. from the noun ~r , which denoted an itinerant dealer; the noun is appar. an alt. of cage , perh. confused with the dialect verb ~ 'carry about'.