1859. G. Bunce, `Travels with Leichhardt,' p. 161:
". . . Dr. Leichhardt gave the party a quantity of dough boys, or as we called them, dips. . ."
[p. 171]: "In this dilemma, Dr. Leichhardt ordered the cook to mix up a lot of flour, and treated us all to a feed of dips. These were made as follows:—a quantity of flour was mixed up with water, and stirred with a spoon to a certain consistency, and dropped into a pot of boiling water, a spoonful at a time. Five minutes boiling was sufficient, when they were eaten with the water in which they were boiled."
<hw>Dirt</hw>, <i>n</i>. In Australia, any alluvial deposit in which gold is found; properly <i>Wash-dirt</i>. The word is used in the United States. See quotation, 187.
1853. Mrs. Chas. Clancy, `Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings,' p. 109:
"And after doing this several times, the `dirt,' of course, gradually diminishing, I was overjoyed to see a few bright specks."
1857. Borthwick, `California,' [Bartlett, quoted in `O.E.D.'] p. 120:
"In California, `dirt' is the universal word to signify the substance dug; earth, clay, gravel, or loose slate. The miners talk of rich dirt and poor dirt, and of stripping off so many feet of `top dirt' before getting to `pay-dirt,' the latter meaning dirt with so much gold in it that it will pay to dig it up and wash it."
1870. J. O. Tucker, `The Mute,'p. 40:
"Others to these the precious dirt convey,
Linger a moment till the panning's through."