To curry favour; to obtain the favour of a person [by] coaxing or servility. To curry any one’s hide; to beat him.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
curmudgeon * curse of scotlandNathan Bailey's 1721 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes