to dor the dotterel
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Dor is an obsolete word meaning to trick or cheat. Whence the phrase means to cheat the simpleton.
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 “to dor the dotterel” mean?
Dor is an obsolete word meaning to trick or cheat. Whence the phrase means to cheat the simpleton.
Is “to dor the dotterel” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.