subs. (old).—1. A woman.—Grose [1785]. For synonyms, see PETTICOAT.
1742. CHARLES JOHNSON, Highwaymen and Pyrates, p. 293. ‘Not I,’ reply’d Jones, very readily, ‘I neither know nor care who you are, tho’ before you spoke, I took you for a brewer, because you carry your COOLER by your side.’
2. (American thieves’).—A prison. For synonyms, see CAGE.
3. (common).—Ale or stout after spirits and water. Sometimes called ‘putting the beggar on the gentleman’; also DAMPER (q.v.).
1821. P. EGAN, Tom and Jerry (ed. 1890), p. 76. Many persons … in order to allay the heat or thirst arising from the pernicious use of such quantities of ardent spirits, frequently take a glass of porter, which is termed a COOLER, ‘a damper,’ etc.
