subs. (old).—Gin. For synonyms, see DRINKS and WHITE SATIN. [From maxime and so properly applied only to the best quality spirit.]
1823. BYRON, Don Juan, c. xi. st. 16.
| The dying man cried, ‘Hold! I’ve got my gruel! | |
| Oh! for a glass of MAX!’ |
1837. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends (The Bagman’s Dog).
| Who, doffing their coronets, collars, and ermines, treat | |
| Boxers to ‘MAX,’ at the Old Tun in Jermyn Street. |
1851–61. H. MAYHEW, London Labour and the London Poor, v. 8, i. p. 168. The stimulant of a ‘flash of lightning,’ a ‘go of rum,’ or a ‘glass of MAX,’—for so a dram of neat spirit was then called.
1859. G. W. MATSELL, Vocabulum; or, The Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
Verb. (United States military).—At West Point to gain the maximum of marks; hence, to do well.
