subs. (venery).—A person set to watch a DRESS-LODGER (q.v.).
1869. GREENWOOD, The Seven Curses of London. Not alone. Dress lodgers are never allowed to do that, sir. I haven’t been one long, but long enough to find that out. There’s always a WATCHER. Sometimes it’s a woman—an old woman, who isn’t fit for anything else—but in general it’s a man. He watches you always, walking behind you, or on the opposite side of the way. He never loses sight of you, never fear.
