DASH. A tavern drawer. To cut a dash: to make a figure.
DAVID JONES. The devil, the spirit of the sea: called Necken in the north countries, such as Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
DAVID JONES'S LOCKER. The sea.
DAVID'S SOW. As drunk as David's sow; a common saying, which took its rise from the following circumstance: One David Lloyd, a Welchman, who kept an alehouse at Hereford, had a living sow with six legs, which was greatly resorted to by the curious; he had also a wife much addicted to drunkenness, for which he used sometimes to give her due correction. One day David's wife having taken a cup too much, and being fearful of the consequences, turned out the sow, and lay down to sleep herself sober in the stye. A company coming in to see the sow, David ushered them into the stye, exclaiming, there is a sow for you! did any of you ever see such another? all the while supposing the sow had really been there; to which some of the company, seeing the state the woman was in, replied, it was the drunkenest sow they had ever beheld; whence the woman was ever after called David's sow.
DAVY. I'll take my davy of it; vulgar abbreviation of affidavit.
TO DAWB. To bribe. The cull was scragged because he could not dawb; the rogue was hanged because he could not bribe. All bedawbed with lace; all over lace.
DAY LIGHTS. Eyes. To darken his day lights, or sow up
his sees; to close up a man's eyes in boxing.
DEAD CARGO. A term used by thieves, when they are
disappointed in the value of their booty.
DEAD HORSE. To work for the dead horse; to work for
wages already paid.
DEAD-LOUSE. Vulgar pronunciation of the Dedalus ship of
war.