Part 16

~Dog cheap~, or DOG-FOOLISH, very or singularly cheap, or foolish. Latham, in his _English Language_, says:—“This has nothing to do with dogs. The first syllable is god = _good_, transposed, and the second, the ch‑‑p, is chapman, merchant: compare EASTCHEAP.”—_Old term._

~Doggery~, nonsense, transparent attempts to cheat.

~Dog gone~, a form of mild swearing used by boys.

~Dog in a blanket~, a kind of pudding, made of preserved fruit spread on thin dough, and then rolled up and boiled. This pudding is also called “rolly-polly” and “stocking.”

~Dog in the manger~, a scurvy, ill-conditioned, selfish fellow. From the fable of that title.

~Dog Latin~, barbarous Latin, such as was formerly used by lawyers in their pleadings. Now applied to medical Latin.

~Dogs~, TO GO TO THE, to be commercially or socially ruined. Originally a stable term applied to old or worthless horses, sold to feed hounds.

~Dog’s body~, a kind of pease pudding.—_Sea._

~Dog’s ears~, the curled corners of the leaves of books, which have been carelessly treated. The use of this term is so common that it is hardly to be considered slang.

~Dog’s nose~, gin and beer, so called from the mixture being _cold_, like a dog’s nose.

~Dog stealer~, a DOG DEALER. There is sometimes less difference between the two trades than between “d” and “st.”

~Doing time~, working out a sentence in prison. “He’s done time,” is a slang phrase used in reference to a man who is known to have been in gaol.

~Doldrums~, difficulties, low spirits, dumps.—_Sea._

~Dollop~, a lump or portion.—_Norfolk._ _Anglo-Saxon_, DALE, _dole_.

~Dollop~, to _dole up_, to give up a share.—_Ibid._

~Dolly~, a very mild gambling contrivance, generally used in sweetmeat and other child’s-ware shops, until stopped by the authorities a few years back, and consisting of a round board and the figure of an old man or “DOLLY,” down which was a spiral hole. A marble dropped “down the DOLLY,” would stop in one of the small holes or pits (numbered) on the board. The bet was decided according as the marble stopped on a high or low figure. _See_ DOLLY-SHOP.

~Dollymop~, a tawdrily-dressed maid-servant, a semi-professional street-walker.

~Dolly shop~, an illegal pawnshop,—where goods, or stolen property, not good enough for the pawnbroker, are received, and charged at so much per day. If not redeemed the third day the goods are forfeited. Originally these shops were rag shops as well, and were represented by the _black doll_, the usual sign of a rag shop. Twenty years ago, a DOLLY SHOP was, among boys, a small sweetstuff and fruit shop where a hollow wooden figure, of the kind described above, was kept. A wager was made, and the customer got double quantity for his money, or nothing. A paternal legislature, and a police system worthy of the task, have long since wiped this blot from a nation’s face. The amount at stake was generally a halfpenny, sometimes less.

~Dominie~, a parson, or master at a grammar school.

~Domino~, a common ejaculation of soldiers and sailors when they receive the last lash of a flogging. The allusion may be understood from the game of dominoes. A DOMINO means either a blow, or the last of a series of things, whether pleasant or otherwise, so the ejaculation savours somewhat of wit.

~Dominoes~, the teeth.

~Don~, a clever fellow, the opposite of a muff; a person of distinction in his line or walk. At the English Universities, the Masters and Fellows are the DONS. DON is also used as an adjective, “a DON hand at a knife and fork,” _i.e._, a first-rate feeder at a dinner-table.

~Dona and feeles~, a woman and children. _Italian_ or _Lingua Franca_, DONNE E FIGLIE. The word DONA is usually pronounced DONER.

~Done!~ the expression used when a bet is accepted. To be DONE, is to be considerably worsted.—_See_ also DO.

~Done up~, an equivalent expression to “dead beat.”

~Donkey~, “tuppence more and up goes the DONKEY,” a vulgar street phrase for extracting as much money as possible before performing any task. The phrase had its origin with a travelling showman, the finale of whose performance was the hoisting of a DONKEY on a pole or ladder; but this consummation was never arrived at unless the required amount was first paid up, and “tuppence more” was generally the sum demanded.

~Donkey~, in printers’ slang, means a compositor. In the days before steam machinery was invented, the men who worked at press—the pressmen—were so dirty and drunken a body that they earned the name of pigs. In revenge, and for no reason that can be discovered, they christened the compositors DONKEYS.

~Don Pedro~, a game at cards. It is a compound of All Fours, and the Irish game variously termed All Fives, Five and Ten, Fifteen, Forty-five, &c. It was probably invented by the mixed English and Irish rabble who fought in Portugal in 1832-3.

~Dookin~, fortune-telling. _Gipsy_, DUKKERIN.

~Dose~, three months’ imprisonment with hard labour.

~Doss~, a bed. Probably from DOZE, though quite as likely from DORSE, the back. Least likely of all, as any one who knows aught about the surrounding circumstances of those who use the term will admit, is it from the Norman, DOSSEL, a hanging or bed canopy, from which some have professed to derive it.

~Doss~, to sleep, formerly spelt DORSE. _Gael._, DOSAL, slumber. In the old pugilistic days a man knocked down, or out of time, was said to be “sent to DORSE,” but whether because he was senseless, or because he lay on his back, is not known, though most likely the latter.

~Dossing-ken~, a lodging-house.

~Dot and go one~, a lame or limping man.

~Do the high~, to walk up and down High Street on Sunday evenings, especially just after Church.—_Oxford University._

~Double~, “to tip (or give) the DOUBLE,” to run away from any person; to double back, turn short round upon one’s pursuers, and so escape, as a hare does.—_Sporting._

~Double cross~, a CROSS in which a man who has engaged to lose breaks his engagement, and “goes straight” at the last moment. This proceeding is called “doubling” or “putting the double on,” and is often productive of much excitement in athletic circles.—_See_ CROSS.

~Double lines~, ship casualties. So called at Lloyd’s from the manner of entering in books kept for the purpose.

~Double-shuffle~, a low, shuffling, noisy dance, common amongst costermongers. Sometimes called “cellar flap,” from its being danced by the impecunious on the cellar-flaps of public-houses, outside which they must perforce remain.

~Doublet~, a spurious diamond, made up of two smaller stones for pawning or duffing purposes. These articles are cleverly manufactured and excellently set, and a practised eye can alone detect the imposition.—_See_ MOSKENEER.

~Double up~, to pair off, or “chum” with another man; to beat severely, so as to leave the sufferer “all of a heap.”

~Doughy~, a sufficiently obvious nickname for a baker.

~Douse~, to put out; “DOUSE that glim,” put out that candle. In Norfolk this expression is DOUT, which is clearly for DO OUT. Sometimes DOUSE means to rinse; and sometimes to throw water, clean or dirty, over any one, is to “DOUSE it.”

~Dovercourt~, a noisy assemblage; “all talkers and no hearers, like DOVERCOURT.” At Dovercourt, in Essex, a court is annually held; and as the members principally consist of rude fishermen, the irregularity noticed in the proverbial saying frequently prevails. Bramston in his _Art of Politics_ says:—

“Those who would captivate the well-bred throng, Should not too often speak, nor speak too long; Church, nor church matters, ever turn to sport, Nor make St. Stephen’s Chapel DOVER COURT.”

This would seem to be more properly applied to a Court of Dover people, a DOVER COURT, not a DOVERCOURT COURT.

~Dove-tart~, a pigeon pie. A snake tart is an eel pie.

~Dowd~, a woman’s nightcap.—_Devonshire_: also an American term; possibly from DOWDY, a slatternly woman.

~Dowlas~, a linendraper. DOWLAS is a sort of towelling.

~Down~, to be aware of, or awake to, any move—in this meaning, exchangeable with UP; “DOWN upon one’s luck,” unfortunate; “DOWN in the mouth,” disconsolate; “to be DOWN on one,” to treat him harshly or suspiciously, to pounce upon him, or detect his tricks.

~Downer~, a sixpence; apparently the Gipsy word, TAWNO, “little one,” in course of metamorphosis into the more usual “tanner.”

~Downs~, Tothill Fields’ Prison.

~Down the road~, stylish, showy, after the fashion.

~Down to the ground~, an American rendering of the word entirely; as, “that suits me DOWN TO THE GROUND.”

~Downy~, knowing or cunning; “a DOWNY COVE,” a knowing or experienced sharper. Literally, a DOWNY person is one who is “DOWN to every move on the board.” In Norfolk, however, it means low-spirited, _i.e._, DOWN in the mouth.

~Dowry~, a lot, a great deal; “DOWRY of parny,” lot of rain or water.—_See_ PARNY. Probably from the Gipsy.

~Dowsers~, men who profess to tell fortunes, and who, by the use of the divining rod, pretend to be able to discover treasure-trove.—_Cornish._

~Doxy~, the female companion of a tramp or beggar. In the West of England, the women frequently call their little girls DOXIES, in a familiar or endearing sense. _Orthodoxy_ has been described as being a man’s own DOXY, and _heterodoxy_ another man’s DOXY.—_Ancient Cant._

~Drab~, a vulgar or low woman.—_Shakspeare._

~Drab~, poison.—_Romany._

~Draft on Aldgate Pump~, an old mercantile phrase for a fictitious banknote or fraudulent bill.

~Drag~, a cart of any kind, term generally used to denote any particularly well-appointed turnout, drawn by a pair or four horses, especially at race meetings.

~Drag~, feminine attire worn by men. A recent notorious impersonation case led to the publication of the word in that sense.

~Drag~, a street, or road; BACK-DRAG, back street.

~Drag~, or THREE MOON, three months in prison.

~Drag~, THE, a favourite pursuit with fast-hunting sets; as, THE DRAG can be trailed over very stiff country.

~Dragging~, robbing carts, &c., by means of a light trap which follows behind laden vehicles. Cabs are sometimes eased of trunks in this way, though it is hard to say whether with or without the complicity of the cabmen.

~Dragging time~, the evening of a country fair day, when the young fellows begin pulling the wenches about.

~Draggletail~, a dirty, dissipated woman; a prostitute of the lowest class.

~Drain~, a drink; “to do a DRAIN,” to take a friendly drink—“do a wet;” sometimes called a “common sewer.”

~Draw~, used in several senses:—1, of a theatre, new piece or exhibition, when it attracts the public and succeeds; 2, to induce—as, “DRAW him on;” 3, of pocket-picking—as, “DRAW his wipe,” “DRAW his ticker.” In sporting parlance it is used with an ellipsis of “trigger,” “I DREW on it as it rose.” In America to “DRAW on a man” is to produce knife or pistol, and to use it as well. Where lethal weapons are used in the States, no man raises his weapon till he means to use it, and a celebrated American writer has recently given a dissertation on the relative advantages of cocking and firing a pistol by an almost simultaneous action as it is raised, and of cocking as the instrument is raised, and of then dropping the muzzle slightly as the trigger is pulled. The former way is more speedy, the latter more effective. “Come, DRAW it mild!” _i.e._, don’t exaggerate; opposite of “come it strong,” from the phraseology of the bar (of a “public”), where customers desire the beer to be “drawn mild.”

~Draw-boy~, a cunning device used by puffing tradesmen. A really good article is advertised or ticketed and exposed for sale in the shop window at a very low price, with a view of drawing in customers to purchase other and inferior articles at high prices. These gentry have fortunately found to their cost, on one or two occasions, by means of magisterial decisions, that DRAW-BOYS have drawn for their owners something other than profit.

~Drawers~, formerly the ancient cant name for very long stockings.

~Drawing teeth~, wrenching off knockers.—_Medical Student slang._

~Drawlatch~, a loiterer.

~Draw off~, to throw back the body to give impetus to a blow; “he DREW OFF, and delivered on the left drum.”—_Pugilistic._ A sailor would say, “he hauled off and slipped in.”

~Draw the long bow~, to tell extravagant stories, to exaggerate overmuch; same as “throw the hatchet.” From the extremely wonderful stories which used to be told of the Norman archers, and more subsequently of Indians’ skill with the tomahawk.

~Dress a hat~, TO, to rob in a manner very difficult of detection. The business is managed by two or more servants or shopmen of different employers, exchanging their master’s goods; as, for instance, a shoemaker’s shopman receives shirts or other articles from a hosier’s, in return for a pair of boots. Another very ingenious method may be witnessed about eleven o’clock in the forenoon in any of the suburban districts of London. A butcher’s boy, with a bit of steak filched from his master’s shop, or from a customer, falls in with a neighbouring baker’s man, who has a loaf obtained in a similar manner. Their mutual friend, the potboy, in full expectation of their visit, has the tap-room fire bright and clear, and not only cooks the steak, but again, by means of collusion, this time with the barman or barmaid, “stands a shant of gatter” as his share. So a capital luncheon is improvised for the three, without the necessity of paying for it; and this practical communistic operation is styled DRESSING A HAT. Most likely from the fact that a hat receives the attention of three or four people before it is properly fit for wear.

~Dripping~, a cook.

~Drive~, a term used by tradesmen in speaking of business; “he’s DRIVING a roaring trade,” _i.e._, a very good one; hence, to succeed in a bargain, “I DROVE a good bargain,” _i.e._, got the best end of it. To “LET DRIVE at one,” to strike out. A man snoring hard is said to be “DRIVING his pigs to market.”

~Drive at~, to aim at; “what is he DRIVING AT?” “what does he intend to imply?” a phrase often used when a circuitous line of argument is adopted by a barrister, or a strange set of questions asked, the purport of which is not very evident.

~Driz~, lace. In a low lodging-house this singular autograph inscription appeared over the mantelpiece. “Scotch Mary, with DRIZ [lace], bound to Dover and back, please God.” It is a common thing for ignorant or superstitious people to make some mark or sign before going on a journey, and then to wonder whether it will be there when they return.

~Driz-fencer~, a person who sells lace.

~Drop~, “to DROP an acquaintance,” to relinquish a connexion, is very polite slang. DROPPING is distinguished from cutting by being done gradually and almost imperceptibly, whereas cutting has outward and visible signs which may be unpleasantly resented. To “DROP money” at any form of speculation or gambling, is to lose it.

~Drop~, to quit, go off, or turn aside; “DROP the main Toby,” go off the main road.

~Drop~, “to DROP a man,” to knock him down; “to DROP into a person,” to give him a thrashing. _See_ SLIP and WALK. “To DROP on a man,” to accuse or rebuke him suddenly.

~Drop it~, synonymous with “cut it” or “cheese it.” Probably from the signal given in the good old hanging days by the culprit, who used generally to drop a handkerchief when he was ready for the cart to be moved from under him.

~Drum~, a house, a lodging, a street; HAZARD-DRUM, a gambling-house; FLASH-DRUM, a house of ill-fame.

~Drum~, the ear.—_Pugilistic._ An example of slang synecdoche.

~Drum~, as applied to the road, is doubtless from the Wallachian gipsy word “DRUMRI,” derived from the _Greek_, δρόμος.

~Drum~, old slang for a ball or rout; afterwards called a hop.

~Drummer~, a robber who first makes his victims insensible by drugs or violence, and then plunders them.

~Drumsticks~, legs; DRUMSTICK CASES, trousers. The leg of a fowl is generally called a DRUMSTICK.

~Dryasdust~, an antiquary. From Scott.

~Dry lodging~, sleeping and sitting accommodation only, without board. This is lodging-house keepers’ slang, and is generally used in reference to rooms let to lodgers who take their meals at their clubs, or in the City, according to their social positions.

~Dry nurse~, when an inferior officer on board ship carries on the duty, on account of the captain’s ignorance of seamanship, the junior officer is said to DRY-NURSE his captain. Majors and adjutants in the army also not unfrequently DRY-NURSE the colonels of their regiments in a similar manner. The sergeant who coaches very young officers, is called a “wet nurse.” The abolition of purchase has, however, considerably modified all this.

~D.T.~, a popular abbreviation of delirium tremens; sometimes written and pronounced _del. trem._ D.T. also often represents the _Daily Telegraph_.

~Dub~, to pay or give; “DUB UP,” pay up.

~Dubash~, a general agent.—_Anglo-Indian._

~Dubber~, the mouth or tongue; “mum your DUBBER,” hold your tongue.

~Dubsman~, or SCREW, a turnkey.—_Old Cant._

~Ducats~, money.—_Theatrical Slang._

~Duck~, a bundle of bits of the “stickings” of beef sold for food to the London poor.—_See_ FAGGOT.

~Ducket~, a ticket of any kind. Generally applied to pawnbroker’s duplicates and raffle cards. Probably from DOCKET.

~Ducks~, trousers. _Sea_ term. The expression most in use on land is “white DUCKS,” _i.e._, white pantaloons or trousers.

~Ducks and Drakes~, “to make DUCKS AND DRAKES of one’s money,” to throw it away childishly—derived from children “shying” flat stones on the surface of a pool, which they call DUCKS AND DRAKES, according to the number of skips they make.

~Dudder~, or DUDSMAN, a person who formerly travelled the country as a pedlar, selling gown-pieces, silk waistcoats, &c., to countrymen. In selling a waistcoat-piece, which cost him perhaps five shillings, for thirty shillings or two pounds, he would show great fear of the revenue officer, and beg the purchasing clodhopper to kneel down in a puddle of water, crook his arm, and swear that it might never become straight if he told an exciseman, or even his own wife. The term and practice are nearly obsolete. In Liverpool, however, and at the East-end of London, men dressed up as sailors, with pretended silk handkerchiefs and cigars “only just smuggled from the Indies,” are still to be plentifully found.

~Dudeen~, or DUDHEEN, a short tobacco-pipe. Common term in Ireland and the Irish quarters of London.

~Duds~, clothes, or personal property. _Gaelic_, DUD; _Ancient Cant_; also _Dutch_.

~Duff~, to cheat, to sell spurious goods, often under pretence of their being stolen or smuggled.

~Duff~, pudding; vulgar pronunciation of dough.—_Sea._

~Duffer~, a hawker of “Brummagem” or sham jewellery, or of shams of any kind, a fool, a worthless person. DUFFER was formerly synonymous with DUDDER, and was a general term given to pedlars. It is mentioned in the _Frauds of London_ (1760) as a word in frequent use in the last century to express cheats of all kinds.

~Duffer~, anything of no merit. A term applied by artists to a picture below mediocrity, and by dealers in jewellery to any spurious article. It is now general in its application to a worthless fellow.

~Duffing~, false, counterfeit, worthless.

~Duffy~, a term for a ghost or spirit among the West Indian negroes. In all probability the DAVY JONES of sailors, and a contraction thereof originally.

~Duke~, gin, a term amongst livery servants.

~Duke Humphrey.~ “To dine with DUKE HUMPHREY” is a euphuism for dining not at all. Many reasons have been given for the saying, and the one most worthy of credence is this:—Some visitors were inspecting the abbey where the remains of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester lie, and one of them was unfortunately shut in, and remained there _solus_ while his companions were feasting at a neighbouring hostelry. He was afterwards said to have dined with DUKE HUMPHREY, and the saying eventually passed into a proverb.

~Dukes~, or DOOKS, the hands, originally modification of the rhyming slang, “Duke of Yorks,” forks = fingers, hands—a long way round, but quite true. The word is in very common use among low folk. “Put up your DOOKS” is a kind invitation to fight.

~Dukey~, or DOOKEY, a penny gaff, which _see_.

~Dumbfound~, to perplex, to beat soundly till not able to speak. Originally a cant word. Johnson cites the _Spectator_ for the earliest use. _Scotch_, DUMBFOUNDER.

~Dummacker~, a knowing or acute person.

~Dummies~, empty bottles, and drawers in an apothecary’s shop, labelled so as to give the idea of an extensive stock. Chandlers’ shop keepers and small general dealers use dummies largely, half-tubs of butter, bladders of lard, hams, cheeses, &c., being specially manufactured for them. Dummies in libraries generally take the form of “Hume and Smollett’s History of England” and other works not likely to tempt the general reader.

~Dummy~, a deaf-and-dumb person; a clumsy, awkward fellow; any one unusually thick-witted.

~Dummy~, in three-handed whist the person who holds two hands plays DUMMY.

~Dummy~, a pocket-book. In this word the derivation is obvious, being connected with DUMB, _i.e._, that which makes no sound. As a thieves’ term for a pocket-book, it is peculiarly applicable, for the contents of pocket-books, bank-notes and papers, make no noise, while the money in a purse may betray its presence by chinking.

~Dump fencer~, a man who sells buttons.

~Dumpish~, sullen or gloomy.

~Dumpy~, short and stout.

~Dun~, to solicit payment.—_Old Cant_, from the French DONNEZ, give; or from JOE DIN, or DUN, a famous bailiff; or simply a corruption of DIN, from the _Anglo-Saxon_ DUNAN, to clamour.

~Dunderhead~, a blockhead.

~Dundreary~, an empty swell.

~Dung~, an operative who works for an employer who does not give full or “society” wages.

~Dungaree~, low, common, coarse, vulgar.—_Anglo-Indian._ DUNGAREE is the name of a disreputable suburb of Bombay, and also of a coarse blue cloth worn by sailors.

“As smart a young fellow as ever you’d see, In jacket and trousers of blue DUNGAREE.”

~Dunkhorned~, sneaking, shabby. DUNKHORN in Norfolk is the short, blunt horn of a beast, and the adjective is applied to a cuckold who has not spirit to resist his disgrace.

~Dunnage~, baggage, clothes. Also, a sea term for wood or loose faggots laid at the bottom of ships, upon which is placed the cargo.

~Dunnyken~, originally DANNAKEN, a watercloset.—From DANNA and KEN, which _see_.

~Durrynacking~, offering lace or any other article as an introduction to fortune-telling; generally practised by women.

~Dust~, money; “down with the DUST,” put down the money.—_Ancient._ Dean Swift once took for his text, “He who giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord.” His sermon was short. “Now, my brethren,” said he, “if you are satisfied with the security, down with the DUST.”

~Dust~, a disturbance, or noise, “to raise a DUST,” to make a row.

~Dust~, to beat; “DUST one’s jacket,” _i.e._, give him a beating.

~Dust-hole~, Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge.—_Univ. Slang._

~Dust-hole~, the Queen’s Theatre, Tottenham Court Road, was so called until comparatively recently, when it was entirely renovated and renamed, and now, as the Prince of Wales’s, it is one of the most fortunate and fashionable theatres in London.

~Dustoorie~, commission, douceur, bribe.—_Anglo-Indian._

~Dusty~, a phrase used in answering a question where one expects approbation. “What do you think of this?” “Well, it’s not so DUSTY,” _i.e._, not so bad; sometimes varied to “none so DUSTY.”

~Dutch~, or DOUBLE DUTCH, gibberish, or any foreign tongue. “To talk DOUBLE DUTCH backwards on a Sunday” is a humorous locution for extraordinary linguistic facility.