1789. Geo. Parker, Life’s Painter, p. 124. Bless your eyes and
limbs, lay out a mag with poor Chirruping Joe. I don’t come here
every darkey.
1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. III., p. 216.
We could average our ‘duey bionk peroon a darkey,’ or two shillings
each, in the night.
1878. C. Hindley, Life and Times of Jas. Catnach. The cleanest
angler on the pad in daylight or the darkey.
3. (common).—A negro. [From his complexion.] For synonyms, see
Snowball.
1840. Dana, Two Years before the Mast, ch. xvii. Tom Cringle says
that no one can fathom a negro’s affection for a pig; and I believe
he is right, for it almost broke our poor darky’s heart when he
heard that Bess was to be taken ashore.
1870. Negro Hymn. Walk in, darkies, troo de gate; Hark, de kullered
angels holler; Go ’way, white fokes, ye’re too late, We’s de
winnin’ kuller! Wait, Till de trumwet blow to foller!
1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 594. I wish de legislatur’ would
set dis darkie free, Oh! what a happy place den de darkie land
would be; We’d have a darkie Parliament An’ darkie codes of law,
An’ darkie judges on the bench, Darkie barristers and aw’.
Darn, Darned, verb and ppl. adj. (colloquial).—Euphemistic forms of
‘damn’ and ‘damned’; used to avoid ‘cussing bar’-foot.’ Also darnation,
dangnation, darn burn it, and darn or dash my buttons or wig.—See
Dadbinged and Oaths for synonyms.
c. 1840. West of England Ballad [quoted in Literary World, 11 Apr.,
1890, p. 347, col. 1]. But if he’d know’d he’d got so much money He
darned his buttons if he’d gi’ed ’un the shillin’.
1880. G. R. Sims, Zeph and other Stories, p. 87. I shall bring you
to your senses, Bess, now, my girl, and you won’t be so darned fast
refusin’ a good offer.
1888. Harper’s Magazine. My experience has taught me that in
Colorado the man who tells the first story has a darned poor show.
Dart, subs. (pugilistic).—A straight-armed blow.
D.A.’s, subs. (general).—The menstrual flux. [An abbreviation of
domestic afflictions (q.v.) and for synonyms see Flag-up.]
Dash, subs. (old).—1. A tavern waiter.
2. (common).—A small quantity; a ‘drink’; a ‘go’ (q.v. for synonyms).
Also a small quantity of one fluid to give a flavour to another, e.g.,
a lemon and a dash = a bottle of lemonade with just a suggestion of
bitter beer in it.
Verb (brewers’).—1. To adulterate.
1871. Times, 4 April. ‘Leader on Licensing Bill.’ The brewers are
careless of the characters of their tenants; they compel them to
take all their beer from themselves, and too often at such prices
that they are driven to adulterate or dash the liquor.
2. Also dash it! or dash my buttons, wig, timbers, etc., intj. phr.
(common).—Colloquial expletives; also employed euphemistically = ‘to
damn.’—See Buttons and Oaths.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress p. 46. Except light
oaths, to grace his speeches, Like ‘Dash my wig!’ or ‘burn my
breeches!’
1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 22. You may try,
but dash my timbers if you’ll ever cross the Thames to-night!
1842. Punch, vol. II., p. 20, col. 2. Yet henceforth—dash my wig!
I’ll live with thee, with thee I’ll hop the twig!
1849. C. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ch. iv. Gunpowder is your true
leveller—dash physical strength! A boy’s a man with a musket in his
hand, my chap!
1864. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, bk. IV., ch. iii. And if you
hadn’t come round to me to-night, dash my wig if I wouldn’t have
come round to you to-morrow.
1880. G. R. Sims, Three Brass Balls, pledge ii. ‘Dash it all!’ said
the police-surgeon, ‘that’s two fatal cases I’ve had to-day.’
Cut a Dash.—See Cut.
To have a dash on, verbal phr. (turf).—To speculate largely or wildly;
‘to go it strong.’
Dasher, subs. (old).—1. A showy prostitute. (Cf., sense 2).
1790. C. Dibdin, Sea Songs, ‘Old Cunwell the Pilot.’ My Poll, once
a dasher, now turned to a nurse.
2. (colloquial).—An ostentatious or extravagant man or woman; an
impetuous person; a ‘clipper’; also latterly,—the word has shown
progress towards literary English throughout—a man or woman of fashion;
a person of brilliant qualities, mental or physical. Fr., genreux-se;
une femme catapulteuse (a fine woman, as also une cocodète). Spanish
equivalents are damaza and sibila, while tiene garabato is said of
women who ‘hook’ men by their manner and grace (garabato = a
meat-hook).
1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. xxix., p. 289. ‘Why, you look
smarter by day,’ said Poll, ‘than you do by candlelight. I never
see such a tight young dasher.’
1856. Miss Edgeworth, Almeria, p. 292. She was astonished to find
in high life a degree of vulgarity of which her country companions
would have been ashamed: but all such things in high life go under
the general term dashing. These young ladies were dashers.
Daub, subs. (common).—1. An artist. Verb.—See Dawb.