Heading
Mr. Mobbs said he rather thought that game was played out. A woman, he proceeded to explain, can work with a dummy-daddle in an omnibus or a railway carriage much better than a man, because, without appearing conspicuous, she can wear any kind of loose shawl or cloak as concealment for her real hand.
Dummy-hunter, subs. (old).—A
pickpocket who confined his
operations to pocket-books. [From
dummy (q.v.) = a pocket book +
HUNTER.]
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1834. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood [ed. 1884] p. 89. No dummy hunter had forks so fly, No knuckler so deftly could fake a cly.
1843. Punch, vol. IV., p. 129. While ears are cramm'd with humbug, boys! The dummy-hunters ply An easy trade.
Dump, subs. (old).—A metal counter.
Verb (colloquial).—1. To throw down so as to produce a heavy noise: e.g., to DUMP down coals.
2. (Winchester College).—To put out. 'Dump the tolly!' = Extinguish the candle!
Dump Fencer, subs. (old).—A
button-merchant.
Dumpies, subs. (military).—The
Nineteenth Hussars. [From the
diminutive size of the men when
the regiment was first raised.]
Obsolete. Dumpy = squat or
undersized.
Dumpling-depôt, subs. (common).—The stomach. For synonyms, see Bread-basket.
Dumpling-Shop. subs. (common).—The
paps. For synonyms, see
Dairy.
Dumps, subs. (common).—Money.
For synonyms, see Actual and
Gilt.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Sir Rupert). May I venture to say when a gentleman jumps In the river at midnight for want of the dumps He rarely puts on his knee-breeches and pumps.
In the dumps, adv. phr. (colloquial).—Cast down; ill at ease; unpleasantly situate.
1592. Greene, Groatsworth of Wit, in wks. xii., 115. Whence spring these DUMPS?
1596. JONSON, Every Man in His Humour, III., iii. How now, Master Knowell, in dumps, in dumps! Come, this becomes not.
1600. Shakspeare, Much Ado about Nothing, ii., 3. Sing no more ditties, sing no mo Of dumps so dull and heavy.
1711. Spectator, No. 176. When I come home she is in the dumps, because she says she is sure I came so soon only because I think her handsome.
1717. Mrs. Centlivre, Bold Stroke for a Wife, v., 1. What art thou in the dumps for?
1771. Foote, Maid of Bath, II. She seems got quite I' the dumps.
1847. W. B. Rhodes, Bombastes Furioso, p. 19. My happiness is chang'd to doleful dumps, Whilst, merry Michael, all thy cards were trumps.
1855. Trench, English, Past and Present (2nd ed.), p. 131. In the great ballad of Chevy-Chase a noble warrior, whose legs are hewn off, is described as being in doleful dumps. Holland's translation of Livy represents the Romans as being in the dumps after the battle of Cannæ. It was in elegant use then.
1885. Daily Telegraph, 19 Jan., p. 5, col. 2. Everybody who suffers now and then from a fit of the dumps is counselled to read amusing books.
DUN, subs. and verb (originally
slang: now recognised).—An importunate
creditor; to persist
in demanding payment. [A. S.
dynian = to clamour, to din;
possibly influenced by the memory
of a certain Joe Dunn, a famous
