1886. Graphic, 10 April, p. 399. The manager himself is sometimes
known as the ‘gorger,’ and daddy is the stage-manager.
3. (common).—A confederate of ‘workers’ of mock raffles, lotteries,
etc.; generally the person selected to receive the prize.
Daddyism, subs. (American).—Pride of birth.
1871. Kate Field, in Harper’s Bazaar, Aug. An Eastern man
commending the services of a young Philadelphian to a Chicago
tradesman, said: ‘He comes of a very good family; his grandfather
was a distinguished man.’ ‘Was he?’ replied the man of Chicago.
‘That’s of no account with us. There’s less daddyism here than any
part of the United States. What’s he himself.’
Daffy or Daffy’s Elixir, subs. (common).—Gin. [From a popular medicine
sold as early as the beginning of the eighteenth century: see
advertisements (1709), in Ashton’s Social Life in the Reign of Queen
Anne, i., pp. 7, 8: now known as ‘Tincture of Senna.’] For synonyms,
see Drinks.
1821. The Fancy, vol. I., p. 304. While carrying on his new
vocation of publican, Jack did not deny himself the use of drops of
daffy.
1841. Leman Rede, Sixteen-String Jack, Act i., Sc. 2. Take some
daffy to the back parlour.
1851. H. Mayhew, Lon. Lab. and Lon. Poor, IV., 430. When I goes in
where they are a havin’ their daffies—that’s drops o’ gin, sir.
1871. London Figaro, 15 April. [If the baby] should bawl
persistently ... he would ... thoroughly dose it with daffy.
1882. Punch, vol. LXXXII., 193. They had low foreheads, and wore
big buttonholes, for so they termed the flowers, it was ‘the thing’
to wear. A good many of them, too, had been partaking freely of
daffy.
Daffy-Down-Dilly, subs. (old).—A dandy; one ‘got up regardless.’ For
synonyms, see Dandy.
1841. Leman Rede, Sixteen-String Jack, Act i., Sc. 2. Bob: I’m
here, my daffy-down-dilly!
Dagen, subs. (old).—An ‘artful member.’ [From dagen, a sword or
dagger.] For synonyms, see Downy cove. Dagger = the penis.
Dagger-Cheap, adj. phr. (old).—‘Dirt’ cheap. [From an ordinary of low
repute in Holborn, notorious for the coarseness of its
entertainment.—See Jonson’s Alchemist, v., 2, and Devil is an Ass, i.,
1.]
1631. Bishop Andrewes, Sermons (posthumous). We set our wares at a
very easy price; he (the devil) may buy us even dagger-cheap, as we
say.
Dags, subs. (common).—A feat; a performance or work, e.g., I’ll do your
dags = an incitement to emulation. [From dag, the old Saxon form of
‘day.’ Darg for a day’s work is common in Scotland. A love-darg is a
day’s free help given to a farmer by his neighbours.]
1879. Notes and Queries, 5 S., xii., 15 Aug., p. 128. ‘I’ll do you
(or your) dags.’ An expression used by children of young, and
sometimes of older, growth, meaning, ‘I’ll do something that you
cannot do.’
1886. Fun. He was very fond of what, in schoolboy days, we used to
call doing dags.
Daily Levy, subs. (journalistic).—The Daily Telegraph. [This London
daily was established by Mr. Edward Levy Lawson.]
Dairy, subs. (common).—The paps. To air the dairy = to expose the
breast.
English Synonyms. Bubs or bubbies; charlies; blubber; butter-boxes;
butter-bags; berkeleys; cat-heads; diddies; globes; dugs; milk-walk;
milk-shop; milky way; dumplings; udder (Browning); ‘Nature’s founts’;
feeding bottles; ‘charms’; hemispheres; apple-dumpling shop; meat
market; poonts; titties; cabman’s rests (rhyming); baby’s bottom.
French Synonyms. Les avantages (familiar); l’avant-cœur (popular = the
fore-heart; as l’avant-bras = the fore-arm); l’avant-main; les
avant-scènes (properly that goes before; the front of a stage); les
avant-postes (literally, the outposts); l’oranger (popular = the
orange-tree. Cf., des oranges sur l’étagère); les nénais or nénets
(popular); deux œufs sur le plat (common); le monzu or mouzu (Old
Cant); des blagues à tabac (popular = tobacco-pouches); des bessons
(common = twins); une étagère or un étal (properly a butcher’s stall;
étalage = goods exposed for sale; Cf., étaler sa marchandise = to wear
a low-necked dress); la doublure de la pièce (popular); devant de gilet
(popular: un gilet à la mode = well-developed paps); une livraison de
bois devant sa porte (popular); le ragoût de la poitrine (ragoût =
pleasure, poitrine = breast); la mappe-monde (popular: literally a map
of the two hemispheres); les nichons (familiar); il y a du monde au
balcon (said of one with large paps); les bossoirs (sailors’; gabarit
sans bossoirs = thin or withered paps); les calebasses (= gourds); les
éclaireurs (popular: scouts); des gibasses (popular: skinny paps); des
œufs sur la place d’armes (popular).
German Synonym. Gleishaus (i.e., milk-house; Gleis = milk).
Italian Synonym. Tetta.
Spanish Synonyms. Balso-peto (m; properly = a large pouch carried near
the breast); chiche or chichi (f; a Mexican vulgarism); pechera (f;
also = a stomacher or frill on the bosom of a shirt).
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.
Daisies, subs. (general).—Boots. Cf., Daisy-roots, and for synonyms,
see Trotter-cases.
1879. J. W. Horsley, in Macm. Mag., XL., 503. While waiting for my
pal I had my daisies cleaned.
To turn up one’s toes to the daisies.—To die. For synonyms, see Aloft
and Hop the twig.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Babes in the Wood). Be kind to
those dear little folks When our toes are turned up to the daisies.
Daisy, subs. (American).—A man or thing first-rate of a kind. Also
equivalent to Dandy, subs., sense 4.
c. 1876. Broadside Ballad, ‘Mrs. Brady’s Daughter.’ She’s such a
daisy, she sets me crazy.
1888. Denver Republican, May. Jack Dempsey is beyond compare a
pugilistic daisy.
1890. Rudyard Kipling, Fuzzy Wuzzy, in Scots Observer, iv., p. 439,
col. 1. ’E’s a daisy, ’e’s a ducky, ’e’s a lamb.
Adj. (American).—First-rate; A1.
1889. Puck’s Library, April, p. 7. Big scene of boats ascending
Nile cataracts—new sensation, never done before—and chance for
daisy effects in the desert.
Daisy Beat.—See under Beat.
Daisy-Beaters.—See Creepers.
Daisy-Cutter, subs. (common).—1. A horse whether good or bad. Also
daisy-kicker. Fr., un rase-tapis.
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1817. Scott, Rob Roy, ch. iii. I should like to try that
daisy-cutter of yours upon a piece of level road (barring canter)
for a quart of claret at the next inn.
1834. W. H. Ainsworth, Rookwood. Song, ‘The Game of High Toby.’ But
what daisy-cutter can match that black tit.
1866. C. Reade, Griffith Gaunt, ch. i. Others galloped uselessly
about pounding the earth, for daisy-cutters were few in those days.
2. (cricket).—A ball which travels more than half the ‘pitch’ along the
ground without rising; a ‘sneak.’ Wykehamicè, ‘a ramrod.’—See Grub.
Daisy-Kicker, subs. (old).—1. A horse. Cf., Daisy-cutter and Grogham.
For synonyms, see Prad.
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, II., 48. The hostler then says,
‘He has a choice nag or daisy-kicker to sell or swap.’