red sail-yard dockers
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Buyers of stores stolen out of the royal yards and docks.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “red sail-yard dockers” mean?
Buyers of stores stolen out of the royal yards and docks.
Is “red sail-yard dockers” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.