feague

Etymology and succession of senses unclear. Probably related to 'fake' and (some senses of) obsolete 'feak'. The ultimate origin may be German fegen "sweep, clean up", which has slang senses like "plunder; fix, tamper with", as did English 'fake'.

The source for the ginger-inserting sense is Grose's 1785 Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. It looks to me like it's an instance of "fix" (make the horse appear livelier than it actually is).

The word is in use long before this in senses more like "do for, fix the little red wagon of". The variant 'fake' is first known from Vaux's 1812 dictionary of flash language; from these, the modern sense of "forge, counterfeit" arose.

Why does GoogleAds have a picture ad for "Spanish for the Health Professional" on this page?

See feak for an interesting potential etymological connection.

Blahahahahah!!! Good one!

I actually didn't see that one coming. Har!

How would one put ginger up a horse's rectum?

wait for it ......

Somewhat gingerly, I would imagine. (Collapses in helpless laughter at own dimwitticism)

I hate to think about the poor fellow who had to put that eel into the horse's patootie...

It ought to be pronounced feg-way.

Given a choice, I'd run in the opposite direction, screaming.

Sensing that this just couldn't be real and must be one of sionnach's strange jokes, I looked it up. It seems that putting ginger up a horse's rear end (a fun new meaning for end user!) supplanted the previous practice of putting a live eel in the same location.

I don't know if I'd rather be the horse or the eel in that situation.

to put ginger up a horse's rear end, to make him lively and carry his tail well