Heading
d. 1625. Fletcher, How our St. George's will be stride the dragons! The red and ramping dragons!
To water the dragon, verb. phr. (common).—To urinate; 'pump ship;' 'rack off.'
Dragsman.—A coachman; also a
Drag-sneak (q.v.).
1832. Egan, Book of Sports, p. 2. The Swell dragsman or in plain English a well-dressed stage coachman.
1851. H. Mayhew, Lon. Lab. and Lon. Poor, IV., 332. This locality is much infested with pickpockets and also with dragsmen, i.e., those persons who steal goods or luggage from carts and coaches.
Drag-Sneak, subs. (old).—A thief
who makes a speciality of robbing
vehicles.—[See Drag, sense 1.]
Also Dragsman and Dragger,
see quot., 1781.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, II., 151. Draggers [named and described in].
1856. H. Mayhew, Gt. World of London, p. 46. Belonging to the first variety, or those who sneak off with goods, are drag-sneaks, who make off with goods from carts or coaches.
Drag the Pudding, verb. phr.
(tailors').—To 'get the sack'
just before Christmas-time.
Drain, subs. (common).—A drink.
For synonyms, see Go. To do a
drain, wet (q.v.), or Common
Sewer (q.v.) = to take a friendly
drink.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 106. Those two old men who came in just to have a drain, finished their third quartern a few seconds ago.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 2 July, p. 5, col. 3. The drinking portion of the Americans are excessively partial to perpendicular drains of cocktails and other drams with more or less preposterous names.
2. (old).—Gin. [From its diuretic qualities.] For synonyms, see Drinks.
3. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms, see Monosyllable.
Drains, subs. (nautical).—A ship's
cook; otherwise the doctor
(q.v.).
Drammer.—See Drummer.
Draper.—See Gammon the
Draper.
Drat, verb, and Dratted, adj. (colloquial).—A
mild and indefinite
imprecation of contempt, or impatience.
[A corruption of 'God
rot it.'] For synonyms, see
Oaths.
1846. Punch, vol. XI., p. 40, col. 2.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xxi., p. 178. Drat you, be quiet! says the good old man.
1864. Churchman's Family Magazine, Nov., p. 420.
1869. Mrs. H. Wood, Roland Yorke, ch. v. If that dratted girl had been at her post indoors . . . it might never have happened.
1883. James Payn, Thicker than Water, ch. xxix. An observation which, I am sorry to say, . . . she supplemented with 'Drat the girl!'
Draught, subs. (colloquial).—A
privy. For synonyms, see Mrs.
Jones.
1602. Shakspeare, Troilus and Cressida, v. 1. Sweet draught! Sweet quoth 'a! sweet sink, sweet sewer!
1633. Harrington, Epigrams. A godly father sitting on a draught, To do as need and nature hath us taught, Mumbled (as was his manner) certaine prayers.
Draw, subs. (popular).—1. An
undecided contest. [An abbreviation
of 'drawn game.']
