double
To tip any one the double; to run away in his or her debt.
English · UK & Ireland 846
All languages English Tiếng Việt
Where will you be? Anywhere UK & IrelandUnited StatesOnline slangBusiness jargon
Expressions you’ll hear in Britain and Ireland — distinctly British usage first, then widespread staples.
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 jugg
A man's backside. Cotton's Virgil.
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.
doughy
A sufficiently obvious nickname for a baker.
douglas
Roby Douglas, with one eye and a stinking breath; the breech. Sea wit.
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."
dove-tail
A species of regular answer, which fits into the subject, like the contrivance whence it takes its name: Ex. Who owns this? The dovetail is, Not you by your asking.
dove-tart
A pigeon pie. A snake tart is an eel pie.
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:—
dowd
A woman’s nightcap.—Devonshire: also an American term; possibly from DOWDY, a slatternly woman.
dowdy
A coarse, vulgar-looking woman.
dowlas
A linendraper. DOWLAS is a sort of towelling.
down
Aware of a thing. Knowing it. There is NO DOWN. A cant phrase used by house-breakers to signify that the persons belonging to any house are not on their guard, or that they are fast asleep, and have not heard any noise to alarm them.
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.
down the road
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
down to the ground
An American rendering of the word entirely; as, "that suits me DOWN TO THE GROUND."
downer
A sixpence; apparently the Gipsy word, TAWNO, "little one," in course of metamorphosis into the more usual "tanner."
downs
Tothill Fields’ Prison.
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.
dowser
Vulgar pronunciation of DOUCEUR.
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.
doxies
She beggars, wenches, whores.
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 nasty, sluttish whore.
drab
A vulgar or low woman.—Shakspeare.
draft on aldgate pump
An old mercantile phrase for a fictitious banknote or fraudulent bill.
drag
To go on the drag; to follow a cart or waggon, in order to rob it. CANT.
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 lay
Waiting in the streets to rob carts or waggons.
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.
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.
drain
A drink; "to do a DRAIN," to take a friendly drink—"do a wet;" sometimes called a "common sewer."
dram
A glass 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.
draw latches
Robbers of houses whose doors are only fastened with latches. CANT.
draw off
to distract or divert attention away
draw the long bow
to exaggerate or tell a lie
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.
dribble
A method of pouring out, as it were, the dice from the box, gently, by which an old practitioner is enabled to cog one of them with his fore-finger.
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."
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.
dromedary
A heavy, bungling thief or rogue. A purple dromedary; a bungler in the art and mystery of thieving. CANT.
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
"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 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 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.
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.
dropping member
A man's yard with a gonorrhoea.