subs. phr. (old colloquial).—A tear. Also WATERWORKS = the eyes, the TEAR-PUMP: whence TO TURN ON THE WATERWORKS = to cry: also see WATER, verb 2.
1605. SHAKESPEARE, King Lear, ii. 4. 280.
| O, let not women’s weapons, WATER-DROPS, | |
| Stain my man’s cheeks! |
1857. T. HUGHES, Tom Brown’s School-days, ii. 5. Sneaking little brute … clapping on the WATERWORKS just in the hardest place.
