To keep the doctor, verb. phr. (licensed victuallers’).—To make a
practice of adulterating the liquor sold. Cf., doctor, subs., sense 2.
To put the doctor on one, verb. phr. (common).—To cheat.
Doctor Draw-fart, subs. phr. (common).—A wandering quack.
Doctored, ppl. adj. (common).—Patched; adulterated; falsified;
‘cooked.’
1866. G. Eliot, Felix Holt, ch. xxviii. The Cross-keys ... had
doctored ale, an odour of bad tobacco, and remarkably strong
cheese.
Dod Burn it! intj. phr. (American).—A euphemistic oath; on the model of
dadbinged (q.v.).
Dodder, subs. (Irish).—Burnt tobacco taken from the bottom of a pipe
and placed on the top of a fresh plug to give a stronger flavor.
Dodderer, subs. (street).—A meddler; always used in contempt. Sometimes
doddering old sheep’s head, which also = a fool.
Doddy, subs. (provincial).—In Norfolk a person of low stature.
Sometimes hodmandod and hoddy-doddy, all head and no body. Dodman in
the same dialect = a snail.
Dodfetched, adj. (American).—A euphemistic oath. [Dod = God.] Most of
its kind have originated in New England, where the descendants of the
Puritans form the largest portion of the population.
1888. Texas Siftings, 7 July. Then the poet was sore grieved, and
he said unto himself, ‘I’m a dodfetched fool.’
Dodgasted, adj. (American).—See dodfetched.
1888. Detroit Free Press. It’s a dodgasted funny thing, Uncle Zeke,
but it’s a fact, never knew it to fail; straight as a string, too.
Dodge, subs. and verb, [and derivative. Dodging, verb. subs.]
(colloquial).—To trick; to swindle; to elude. Once slang, now
recognised. Used in various combinations: the pious dodge = a pretence
of piety; the tidy-dodge = begging in the streets with tidily but
poorly dressed children, etc. Also, to ‘nart.’ For synonyms, see Lay.
1708. Swift, Abolishing of Christianity in prose wks. (Camelot
Cl.), p. 235. The chaffering with Dissenters, and dodging about
this or the other ceremony.
1754. B. Martin, Eng. Dict. (2nd ed.). To dodge.... 2. To be off
and on. 3. To prevaricate, or play shifting tricks.
1836. C. Dickens, Pickwick Papers, p. 135 (ed. 1857). ‘It was all
false, of course?’ ‘All, sir,’ replied Mr. Weller, ‘reg’lar do,
sir; artful dodge.’
1851–61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. i., p. 227.
Conscious how much their own livelihood depends upon assumption and
trickery, they naturally consider that others have some dodge, as
they call it, or some latent object in view when any good is sought
to be done them.
1856. Punch, vol. XXXI., p. 217. Long though your sentence and your
task severe, The pious dodge a ticket soon will send.
1865. Spectator, 2 Dec., Women’s Tact. [Mrs. Caudle.] Nagged, and
nagging is universally useful only with maids. She lost her temper
occasionally, and the suffering angel dodge is a very much more
effective as well as Christian resource.
1865. Spectator (On the Academy Dinner), p. 492. Earl Russell ...
broke loose from one conventionality of public dinners to fall into
another. He dodged the toast of Her Majesty’s Ministers, and did
not promise the Academy.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 23 March, p. 6, col. 1. He is naturally
anxious to ascertain if any new dodge has been brought to light,
and what was the amount of the penalty imposed for its
perpetration.
Dodger, subs. (common).—1. A trickster. Cf., The ‘Artful Dodger’
(Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. viii.). Fr., être ficelle = ‘to be a
dodger.’
1611. Cotgrave, Dict., Caqueraffe, a base micher, scurvie hagler,
lowsie dodger, etc.
1825. Scott, St. Ronan’s Well, ch. xxviii. A sly cock, this Frank
Tyrrel, thought the traveller; a very complete dodger—but no
matter—I shall wind him, were he to double like a fan.
1887. Baumann, Londonismen, vi. So from hartful young dodgers, From
vaxy old codgers, From the blowens ve got Soon to know vot is vot.