ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE, subs. phr. (old).—A tapster; from the colour of his apron (GROSE).
1731. HERRICK, Poor Robin’s Almanac. As soon as customers begin to stir, THE ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE, cries, ‘Coming, sir!’
ADMIRAL OF THE NARROW SEAS, subs. phr. (nautical).—A man vomiting into the lap of his neighbour or vis-à-vis (GROSE).
ADMIRAL OF THE RED, subs. phr. (common).—A sot: see LUSHINGTON.
ADMIRAL OF THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE, subs. phr. (old).—A beadle; a hall-porter; and similar functionaries when sporting the livery of office.
ADMIRAL OF THE WHITE, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A white-faced person; a coward; a woman in a faint.
YELLOW ADMIRAL, subs. phr. (naval).—A rear-admiral retired without service afloat after promotion. [ADMIRALS OF THE RED, THE WHITE, or THE BLUE were grades in naval rank prior to 1864, according to the colour of the ensign displayed: all admirals now fly the white ensign, and they rank as Admiral of the Fleet, Admiral, Vice-Admiral, and Rear-Admiral.]
TO TAP THE ADMIRAL, verb. phr. (nautical).—1. TO SUCK THE MONKEY: see quots. Germ. Den Affen sangen. Also (2) to drink on the sly.
1833. MARRYAT, Peter Simple, II. xi. ‘Mr. Simple, I am an old stager in the West Indies, and I’ll let you into a secret. Do you know what ‘SUCKING THE MONKEY’ means?’ ‘No, sir.’ ‘Well, then I’ll tell you; it is a term used among seamen for drinking rum out of cocoa-nuts, the milk having been poured out, and the liquor substituted. Now, do you comprehend why your men are tipsy?’
1837. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends, ‘The Black Mosquetaire.’
| What the vulgar call SUCKING THE MONKEY, | |
| Has much less effect on a man when he’s funky. |
1864. HOTTEN, The Slang Dictionary, s.v. ADMIRAL (TO TAP THE). To suck liquor from a cask by a straw … it was first done with the rum-cask in which the body of Admiral Lord Nelson was brought to England, and when the cask arrived the admiral was found ‘high and dry.’
1883. W. C. RUSSELL, Sailors’ Language, s.v. TAP THE ADMIRAL. Said of a man who would drink anything.
