A drink; or 'go' (q.v. for synonyms).
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxvii., p. 228. 'So we'll just give ourselves a damp, Sammy.' Saying this, Mr. Weller mixed two glasses of spirits and water, and produced a couple of pipes.
Damper, subs. (thieves').—1. A
till or 'lob.' Drawing a
damper = robbing a till, i.e.,
'lob-sneaking.'
1857. Snowden, Mag. Assistant, 3 ed., p. 445, s.v.
2. (tailors').—A sweater; one who takes as much as possible out of workmen for a minimum of pay.
3. (colloquial).—He or that which damps, chills, or discourages.
4. (old).—Ale or stout after spirits and water.—See Cooler.
5. (old).—A snack between meals.—See senses 6 and 7.
6. (schoolboys').—A suet pudding served before meat. Cf., senses 4 and 5.
7. (Australian).—Unleavened bread made of flour and water and baked in thin cakes, in a frying pan or on a flat stone in wood ashes.
1885. G. A. Sala, in Daily Telegraph, 3 Sept., p. 5, col. 5. They got enough flour from Sydney to make their dampers.
1886. G. Sutherland, Australia, p. 77. They must at least receive a 'pannikin' of flour and be allowed to bake it up into a piece of damper at the cooking fire.
Damp One's Mug, verbal phr.
(common).—To drink. For
synonyms, see Lush.
Damp-Pot, subs. (tailors')—The
sea; specifically the Atlantic.
For synonyms, see Briny and
Puddle.
Damp the Sawdust, verbal phr.
(licensed victuallers')—To 'crack
a bottle' with friends 'for luck'
on starting a new 'house.'
Damson-Pie, subs. (Black
Country).—A Birmingham and
'black country' term for 'Billingsgatry.'
1888. W. Black, Strange Adv. of House Boat, ch. viii. Even if you were to hear some of the Birmingham lads giving each other a dose of damson-pie . . . you wouldn't understand a single sentence.
Dance, subs. (thieves').—A staircase
or flight of steps. A contraction
of the older form—dancers.
[Ducange Anglicus,
1857.]
Verb (old).—1. To be hanged. Also to dance upon nothing and to dance the Paddington frisk. Fr., danser une danse où il ny a pas d'plancher and faire la bénediction du pied en l'air. For synonyms, see Ladder.
1839. H. Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard, ch. xxxi. 'My limbs feel so light, now that my irons are removed,' he observed with a smile, 'that I am half inclined to dance.' 'You'll dance upon nothing, presently,' rejoined Jonathan, brutally.
1840. Hood, Miss Kilmansegg. Just as the felon condemned to die, With a very natural loathing, Leaving the sheriff to dream of ropes, From his gloomy cell in a vision elopes To a caper on sunny greens and slopes Instead of the dance upon nothing.
1864. Daily News, 2 Dec. Another synonym for being hanged is dancing on nothing in a hempen cravat.
2. (printers').—Type dances if letters drop out when the forme is lifted.
