1719. Smith, Lives of Highwaymen, i. 108. 'Punisht at hard labour in Bridewell, which beating of hemp, the thieves call mill dolly.'
Mill-dose, subs. (American
thieves').—Prison labour.—Matsell
(1859).
Mill-lay, subs. (old).—See quot.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Mill Lay. To force open the doors of houses in order to rob them.
Miller, subs. (pugilistic).—1. A
pugilist.
1823. Bee, Dict. Turf, s.v. Millers—second-rate boxers, whose arms run round in rapid succession, not always falling very hard, or with determinate object.
1837. S. Warren, Diary of a Late Physician, vii. The captain . . . being a first-rate miller, as the phrase is . . . let fall a sudden shower of blows about Mr. Marningham's head and breast.
c.1840. Hood, Miss Kilmansegg. Because she wouldn't go to a mill, She didn't know when but remembered still, That the miller's name was Mendoza.
2. See Joe miller.
3. (old).—A vicious horse.
1825. The English Spy, i. 236. The horse shewed symptoms of being a miller. The Baronet, nothing daunted, touches him smartly under the flank, when up he goes in his forequarters, smashes the tilbury into ten thousand pieces, bolts away with the traces and shafts, and leaves the baronet with a broken head.
4. (old coaching).—A white hat.
5. (Old Cant).—See quot.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Miller, a Killer or Murderer.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
To give the miller, verb. phr. (common).—See quot.
1876. Hindley, Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 193. Some of his pals gave him the miller, that is a lot of flour is wrapped up in thin paper about the size of a fist, and when thrown, the first thing it comes in contact with, breaks and smothers the party all over.
To drown the miller, verb. phr. (common).—1. To water overmuch. Originally to drown the miller's thumb, i.e., the thumb-mark on the glass.
1767. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn (1893), 171]. To put out the miller's thumb. Spoken by good housewives, when they have wet their meal for bread or paste too much.
1821. Scott, The Pirate, ii. 64. 'He shall drink off the yawl full of punch.' 'Too much water drowned the miller,' answered Triptolemus.
1834. Marryat, Jacob Faithful, ch. xii. Old Tom put the pannikin to his lips. 'Drowned the miller, by heavens!' said he; 'what could I have been about?' ejaculated he, adding more spirits to his mixture.
1886. Miss Hume, Shrops. Folk Lore, p. 597. To drown the miller = to add too much water to the flour in bread-making; also frequently applied to tea-making, when it is of course meaningless.
2. (Scots').—To go bankrupt. [Jamieson].
1805. A. Scott, Poems, 34. Honest men's been ta'en for rogues, When bad luck gars drown the miller, Hunted 'maist out o' their brogues, Fortune-smit for lack o' siller.
Miller's-eye, subs. (common).—A
lump of flour in a loaf.
To put the miller's-eye out, verb. phr. (common).—To be sparing of flour.
Miller's-thumb. See Cobbler's-thumb.
Milliner's-shop, subs. (venery).—The
female pudendum. For synonyms
see Monosyllable.
Mill-ken, subs. (thieves').—A house-*breaker.
See Area-sneak, and
(for synonyms) Thieves.
