Now s. w. dial. [perh. the same word as prec.] = SWABBER2.
1681. T. Flatman, Heraclitus Ridens, No. 40 (1713), II. 3. He has all the Game in his Hand, all the Trumps and Swabbes.
a. 1840. in C. E. Byles, Life & Lett. R. S. Hawker, vi. (1905), 73. Us was settin’ playin’ swabs (‘all fours’) up to ‘The Bush.’
1880. W. Cornwall Gloss., s.v. Swabbers, ‘I never cared for whisk since swabs went out of fashion.’ Said by an old lady at Penzance about ten years since…. Each player before beginning to play puts in the pool a fixed sum for swabs.
1890. Glouc. Gloss., Swabs or Swabbers, honours at whist.
