bodkin
Preserved but no longer current.
Any one sitting between two others in a carriage, is said "to ride BODKIN." Amongst sporting men, applied to a person who takes his turn between the sheets on alternate nights, when the hotel has twice as many visitors as it can comfortably lodge; as, for instance, during a race-week.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “bodkin” mean?
Any one sitting between two others in a carriage, is said "to ride BODKIN." Amongst sporting men, applied to a person who takes his turn between the sheets on alternate nights, when the hotel has twice as many visitors as it can comfortably lodge; as, for instance, during a race-week.
Is “bodkin” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.