subs. phr. (common).—A swift steamer: specifically one running between England and America. Also ATLANTIC GREYHOUND. Mr. T. Dykes (Glasgow Mail, 28 May, 1900), says that in 1882 three great shipbuilding yards—Barrow, Dalmuir, and Fairfield—had each on hand a new steamer that was to beat the record, at that time held by the Arizona. He was commissioned by Mr. Gordon Bennett to write an article on the subject, and, as an old ‘coursing’ correspondent, was called upon to name the winner. He interviewed men best qualified to give an opinion, amongst others Mr. G. L. Watson, who plumped for the Fairfield boat as ‘likely to prove THE GREYHOUND OF THE ATLANTIC.’ The Alaska, therefore, was named the ‘Greyhound of the Atlantic’ before she was launched.
1891. Daily Chronicle, 24 March. Another is an unarmoured cruiser, a ‘commerce destroyer,’ to make a minimum of 21 knots an hour, and capable of catching any of the great OCEAN GREYHOUNDS.
