subs. (nautical).—See quot.
1885. W. S. SCHLEY and J. R. SOLBY, The Rescue of Greely, p. 183. Whenever the whaling fleet is stopped for a number of days in the ice, it is the practice of the captains to assemble on board one or other of the ships to discuss the prospects of the season’s catch. These interviews are called ‘MOLLIES,’ and are announced by a bucket hoisted as a signal at the fore-royal masthead…. Generally speaking a ‘MOLLIE’ means making a night of it.
