subs. (pugilists’).—1. A blow on the head; and 2 (common), a finishing stroke; A SETTLER (q.v.). In rod-fishing = the gaff (that kills).
1905. SIR HENRY POTTINGER, Flood, Fell, and Forest, II. xv. 109. Then, after one alarming ‘flurry’ on the top of the water, my left hand slips the landing-net under him, and his final struggles are shortly ended with a single tap of the ‘NOBBLER.’
3. (sharpers’).—A confederate of thimble-riggers and card-sharpers; BONNET (q.v.); BEARER UP (q.v.); also: NOB PITCHER. [The NOBBLER plays as if a stranger to the RIG (q.v.), to draw unsuspecting persons into play.]
1854. WHYTE-MELVILLE, General Bounce, vii. NOBBLERS and noblemen—grooms and gentlemen—betting-house keepers and cavalry officers—apparently all layers and no takers.
1876. C. HINDLEY, ed. The Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, 261. In my young days there used to travel about in gangs, like men of business, a lot of people called ‘NOBBLERS,’ who used to work the ‘thimble and pea rig’ and go ‘buzzing,’ that is, picking pockets, assisted by some small boys.
4. (North country).—A pettifogging lawyer.
5. (Australian).—A drink: A GO (q.v.); specifically of spirits.
1859. FRANK FOWLER, Southern Lights and Shadows, p. 53. To pay for liquor for another is to ‘stand,’ or to ‘shout,’ or to ‘sacrifice.’ The measure is called a ‘NOBBLER,’ or a break-down.
1859. H. KINGSLEY, Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn, xxxi. I had two NOBBLERS of brandy and one of Old Tom.
1860. Chambers’s Journal, xiii. 154. On the banks of the winding but now streamless creeks,… there was generally a solitary inn or squatter’s hut, where the universal NOBBLER of brandy and a snack of food were to be procured.
1870. ‘AMPHION,’ in Baily’s Magazine, xix. 172.
| Who hit his leg for | |
| Spite or for pelf, | |
| Was it the NOBBLER, or | |
| Was it himself? |
1873. M. E. BRADDON, To the Bitter End, xliv. He had eaten nothing since yesterday, but he did not get through these dismal hours of suspense without an occasional ‘NOBBLER.’
1881. A. C. GRANT, Bush-Life in Queensland, I. 243. He must drink a NOBBLER with ‘Tom,’ and be ready to ‘shout’ for all hands at least once a-day.
1888. BOLDREWOOD, Robbery under Arms, iii. We used to make it a point of drinking our NOBBLER, and sometimes treating the others twice, if we had cash.
