Lap

subs. (old).—1.  Any sort of potable; (among ballet-girls) gin. Also LAPPER. See quots.

  1573.  HARMAN, A Caveat or Warening for Common Cursetors (1814), p. 65. LAP, butter mylke or whey.

  1609.  DEKKER, Lanthorne and Candlelight, in Works (GROSART), III. 200.

  1630.  TAYLOR (‘The Water Poet’), Workes, ‘A Discovery by Sea.’ They will make a mans belly like a Sowse-tub, and inforce mee to drinke, as if they had a commission vnder the diuels great seale, to murder men with drinking, with such a deale of complementall oratory, As, off with your LAP.

  1641.  R. BROME, A Joviall Crew, ii. Here’s Pannam and LAP, and good Poplars of Yarrum.

  1665.  R. HEAD, The English Rogue, Pt. I. ch. v. p. 50 (1871). LAP, Pottage.

  c. 1696.  B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew. Pottage, Butter-milk, or Whey. ’Tis rum LAP, this is excellent Soupe.

  1724.  E. COLES, English Dictionary, s.v.

  1725.  A New Canting Dictionary, s.v. LAP … also strong Drink of any kind.

  1785.  GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. LAP, butter milk, or whey.

  1789.  G. PARKER, Life’s Painter, p. 119. To have a dish of LAP Prepar’d for those who like it. Ibid., p. 165. Dish of LAP, a dish of tea.

  1811.  GROSE and CLARKE, Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v.

  1815.  SCOTT, Guy Mannering, xxviii. I would have given baith LAP and pannel to ony puir gipsy.

  1836.  W. H. SMITH, The Individual. ‘The Thieves’ Chaunt.’ She never lushes dog’s soup or LAP.

  1859.  G. W. MATSELL, Vocabulum; or, The Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v. LAP. Drink; butter milk; pick it up; to take; to steal.

  2.  (athletes’).—One round of a course.

  1861.  Chambers’s Journal, XVI. 333. They had gone fourteen LAPS (as these circuits are called).

  1884.  Daily Telegraph, 27 Nov. Added seven miles and eight LAPS to their score.

  1885.  Daily News, 1 Sept., 2. 5. At half-distance the positions remained unaltered, and, as they began the last LAP, it appeared to be any one’s race.

  1891.  J. NEWMAN, Scamping Tricks, 84. I would have given just then some one else’s gold-mines for a strong LAP-UP of something neat.

  Verb. (common).—1.  To drink. Also, TO GO ON THE LAP.

  1819.  T. MOORE, Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress, p. 21. Up he rose in a funk, LAPP’D a toothful of brandy.

  1869.  W. BRADWOOD, The O. V. H., xix. As the latter LAPPED his third go of cold gin at the bar of the Greyhound.

  1886.  Punch, 25 Sept., p. 145, ‘’Arry on Commercial Education.’

  1892.  MILLIKEN, ’Arry Ballads, 62. I LAP lemon-squash.

  2.  (athletes’).—In running a race in laps, to overtake: as, to be one or more laps ahead.

  3.  (American thieves’).—To pick up; to take; to steal.—MATSELL (1859).

  4.  (American).—To seat a girl on one’s knees.

  5.  (American).—To throw candy, papers, etc. into the laps of passengers.

  TO LAP THE GUTTER. See GUTTER.

  TO LAP UP, verb. phr. (American thieves’).—To wipe out; to put out of sight.

  CAT-LAP. See Ante.