flogger
Preserved but no longer current.
A whip.—Almost obsolete. FLOGGER is still the term applied to a number of strips of cloth attached to a handle, and used in theatrical painting rooms to beat off the dust of the charcoal used in sketching a scene.
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 “flogger” mean?
A whip.—Almost obsolete. FLOGGER is still the term applied to a number of strips of cloth attached to a handle, and used in theatrical painting rooms to beat off the dust of the charcoal used in sketching a scene.
Is “flogger” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.