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. T. 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. W. H. 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.’
