Page:Farmer - Slang and its analogues past and present - Volume 2.pdf/333

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1706. E. Coles, Eng. Dict. Draw Latches, Roberdsmen, Night thieves.

1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.

[Date uncertain]. Nursery Rhyme. Cross-patch, draw the latch, sit by the fire and spin.

Draw-off, verb (pugilistic).—To throw back the body to strike; 'he drew off, and delivered on the left peeper.' A sailor would say, 'he hauled off and slipped in.'

Dreadful, subs. (common).—A 'sensational' story, newspaper, or print. For variants, see Awful, and Shilling Shocker.

1890. Academy, 1 Feb., p. 78, col. 1. Mr. George Manville Fenn is an old hand at a story with an alarming title, and he seldoms fails to live up to it. The only thing we can say against his last 'dreadful' is that it is a little deficient in 'body.'

Dredgerman, subs. (common).—Explained in quot.

1857. Dickens, Down with the Tide, in Reprinted Pieces, p. 269. Besides these, there were the dredgermen, who, under pretence of dredging up coals and such like from the bottom of the river, hung about barges and other undecked craft, and when they saw an opportunity, threw any property they could lay their hands on overboard: in order, slyly, to dredge it up when the vessel was gone. Sometimes, they dexterously used their dredges to whip away anything that might lie within reach. Some of them were mighty neat at this, and the accomplishment was called dry dredging.

Dress, subs. (Winchester College).—The players who come next in order after Six or Fifteen. [So called because they come down to the matches ready dressed to act as substitutes if required.]

Dress a Hat, verb. phr. (common).—To exchange pilferings: e.g., to swap pickings from a hosier's stock with a shoemaker's assistant for boots or shoes.

Dress Down, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To beat; also to scold.—See Tan and Wig respectively for synonyms. Cf., Dressing.

1715. Mrs. Centlivre, Gotham Election, Sc. v. I'll dress her down, I warrant her, and she be for fighting.

Dressed Like Xmas Beef.—See Beef.

Dress-house, subs. (common).—A brothel. Cf., Dress-lodger.

Dressing, or Dressing-down, subs. (colloquial).—Correction, whether manual or verbal; also defeat. Cf., Baste. For synonyms, see Tanning.

1811. Jane Austen, Sense and S., ch. xxx. If ever I meet him again I will give him such a dressing as he has not had this many a day.

1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xxviii. The Scourge flogged him heartily and the Penny Voice of Freedom gave him an awful dressing.

Dress-lodger, subs. (common).—A woman boarded, fed, and clothed by another, and paying by prostitution.

1836. Kidd, London and all its Dangers, p. 32. Dress ladies are a class of Cyprians who deserve no pity. They are voluntarily the property of an old hag who clothes them elegantly for the wages of their prostitution, and their only aim is to enjoy themselves, and cheat her of half her perquisites.

1869. Greenwood, Seven Curses of London. You would never dream of the deplorable depth of her destitution if you met her in her gay attire She is absolutely poorer than the meanest beggar that ever whined for a crust. These women are known as Dress lodgers.

Dress to Death, Dress Within an Inch of One's Life, or Dress to Kill, verb. phr. (colloquial). To dress in the extreme of fashion.