A solid man is a man of property and position. To get solid with any one is to acquire influence.

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1799.  The solid men of Boston town.—The Aurora, Phila., Jan. 8.

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1863.  At the vast meeting held in New York city, April 20th [1861], to sustain the Government, almost every “solid” man of the city participated.—O. J. Victor, ‘The History … of the Southern Rebellion,’ ii. 105.

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1888.  [It would afford him] an opportunity to get solid with the politicians.—Missouri Republican, Feb. 24 (Farmer).

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*** An old song in ridicule of Pitt ends thus:—

        Solid Men of Boston, banish strong potations,
Solid Men of Boston, make no long orations,
Solid Men of Boston, go to bed at Sun down,
And never lose your way, like the loggerheads of London.
See Notes and Queries, 7 S. vi. 483.    

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