Douse the Glim
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Put out the candle; also, by extension, to blind a man. Among sailors "to douse a sail" means to lower it in haste.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Douse the Glim” mean?
Put out the candle; also, by extension, to blind a man. Among sailors "to douse a sail" means to lower it in haste.
Is “Douse the Glim” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.