subs. phr. (old).—1. A glass of gin; a dram of neat spirit. See GO and DRINKS. Latterly, an ‘American drink.’ See quot. 1862.
1789. G. PARKER, Life’s Painter, p. 164, s.v.
1821. P. EGAN, Tom and Jerry (ed. 1890), p. 79. I have not exactly recovered from the severe effects of the repeated FLASHES OF LIGHTNING and strong claps of thunder, with which I had to encounter last night.
1823. BADCOCK (‘Jon Bee’), Dictionary of the Turf, etc. (quoted in).
| ——But ere they homeward pik’d it, | |
| A FLASH OF LIGHTNING was sarv’d round | |
| To every one as lik’d it. |
1830. BULWER-LYTTON, Paul Clifford (ed. 1854), p. 141. The thunders of eloquence being hushed, FLASHES OF LIGHTNING, or, as the vulgar say, ‘glasses of gin’ gleamed about.
1851–61. H. MAYHEW, London Labour and the London Poor, i., p. 168. The stimulant of a FLASH OF LIGHTNING … for so a dram of neat spirit was then called.
1862. E. MACDERMOTT, Popular Guide to International Exhibition, 1862, p. 185. In the vestibule of each refreshment room there is an American bar, where visitors may indulge in … gum-ticklers, eye-openers, FLASHES OF LIGHTNING … and a variety of similar beverages.
2. (nautical).—The gold braid on an officer’s cap.
