1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue Part 25

DRAGOONING IT. A man who occupies two branches of one profession, is said to dragoon it; because, like the soldier of that denomination, he serves in a double capacity.

Such is a physician who furnishes the medicines, and compounds his own prescriptions.

DRAIN. Gin: so called from the diuretic qualities imputed to that liquor.

DRAM. A gla.s.s or small measure of any spirituous liquors, which, being originally sold by apothecaries, were estimated by drams, ounces, &c. Dog's dram; to spit in his mouth, and clap his back.

DRAM-A-TICK. A dram served upon credit.

DRAPER. An ale draper; an alehouse keeper.

DRAUGHT, or BILL, ON THE PUMP AT ALDGATE. A bad or false bill of exchange. See ALDGATE.

DRAW LATCHES. Robbers of houses whose doors are only fastened with latches. CANT.

TO DRAW. To take any thing from a pocket. To draw a swell of a clout. To pick a gentleman's pocket of a handkerchief. To draw the long bow; to tell lies.

DRAWERS. Stockings. CANT.

DRAWING THE KING'S PICTURE. Coining. CANT.

TO DRESS. To beat. I'll dress his hide neatly; I'll beat him soundly.

DRIBBLE. A method of pouring out, as it were, the dice from the box, gently, by which an old pract.i.tioner is enabled to cog one of them with his fore-finger.

DRIPPER. A gleet.

DROMEDARY. A heavy, bungling thief or rogue. A purple dromedary; a bungler in the art and mystery of thieving.

CANT.

DROMMERARS. See DOMMERER.

DROP. The new drop; a contrivance for executing felons at Newgate, by means of a platform, which drops from under them: this is also called the last drop. See LEAF.

See MORNING DROP.

DROP A COG. To let fall, with design, a piece of gold or silver, in order to draw in and cheat the person who sees it picked up; the piece so dropped is called a dropt cog.

DROP IN THE EYE. Almost drunk.

DROPPING MEMBER. A man's yard with a gonorrhoea.

DROP COVES. Persons who practice the fraud of dropping a ring or other article, and picking it up before the person intended to be defrauded, they pretend that the thing is very valuable to induce their gull to lend them money, or to purchase the article. See FAWNY RIG, and MONEY DROPPERS.

TO DROP DOWN. To be dispirited. This expression is used by thieves to signify that their companion did not die game, as the kiddy dropped down when he went to be twisted; the young fellow was very low spirited when he walked out to be hanged.

TO DRUB. To beat any one with a stick, or rope's end: perhaps a contraction of DRY RUB. It is also used to signify a good beating with any instrument.

DRUMMER. A jockey term for a horse that throws about his fore legs irregularly: the idea is taken from a kettle drummer, who in beating makes many flourishes with his drumsticks.

DRUNK. Drunk as a wheel-barrow. Drunk as David's sow. See DAVID'S SOW.

DRURY LANE AGUE. The venereal disorder.

DRURY LANE VESTAL. A woman of the town, or prost.i.tute; Drury-lane and its environs were formerly the residence of many of those ladies.

DRY BOB. A smart repartee: also copulation without emission; in law Latin, siccus robertulus.

DRY BOOTS. A sly humorous fellow.

DUB. A picklock, or master-key. CANT.

DUB LAY. Robbing houses by picking the locks.

DUB THE JIGGER. Open the door. CANT.

DUB O' TH' HICK. A lick on the head.

DUBBER. A picker of locks. CANT.

DUCE. Two-pence.

DUCK. A lame duck; an Exchange-alley phrase for a stock-jobber, who either cannot or will not pay his losses, or, differences, in which case he is said to WADDLE OUT OF THE ALLEY, as he cannot appear there again till his debts are settled and paid; should he attempt it, he would be hustled out by the fraternity.

DUCKS AND DRAKES. To make ducks and drakes: a school-boy's amus.e.m.e.nt, practised with pieces of tile, oyster-sh.e.l.ls, or flattish stones, which being skimmed along the surface of a pond, or still river, rebound many times. To make ducks and drakes of one's money; to throw it idly away.

DUCK F-CK-R. The man who has the care of the poultry on board a ship of war.

DUCK LEGS. Short legs.

DUDDERS, or WHISPERING DUDDERS. Cheats who travel the country, pretending to sell smuggled goods: they accost their intended dupes in a whisper. The goods they have for sale are old shop-keepers, or damaged; purchased by them of large manufactories. See DUFFER.

DUDDERING RAKE. A thundering rake, a buck of the first head, one extremely lewd.

DUDGEON. Anger.

DUDS. Clothes.

DUFFERS. Cheats who ply in different parts of the town, particularly about Water-lane, opposite St. Clement's church, in the Strand, and pretend to deal in smuggled goods, stopping all country people, or such as they think they can impose on; which they frequently do, by selling them Spital-fields goods at double their current price.

DUGS. A woman's b.r.e.a.s.t.s,

DUKE, or RUM DUKE. A queer unaccountable fellow.

DUKE OF LIMBS. A tall, awkward, ill-made fellow.

DUKE HUMPHREY. To dine with Duke Humphrey; to fast. In old St. Paul's church was an aisle called Duke Humphrey's walk (from a tomb vulgarly called his, but in reality belonging to John of Gaunt), and persons who walked there, while others were at dinner, were said to dine with Duke Humphrey.

DULL SWIFT. A stupid, sluggish fellow, one long going on an errand.

DUMB ARM. A lame arm.