bang straw
See also: bang-straw
English
Alternative forms
- bang-straw
Etymology
bang + straw
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
bang straw (plural bang straws)
- (idiomatic, archaic) A farmer's servant, especially a thresher.
- 1938 December 1, Hall, James Norman, “The Cheerful Tortoise (Doctor Dogbody's Leg)”, in The Windsor Magazine, volume 89, number 528, page 9:
- Strange fastened it to his cane, for he fancied his little stick even on shipboard. With this he sprung onto the bulwark and roared out to Williams: 'I've not struck, sir! Tell your bloody bang-straws to try and hit my stick!'
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References
- [Francis] Grose [et al.] (1811), “Bang straw”, in Lexicon Balatronicum. A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence. […], London: Printed for C. Chappell, […], OCLC 23927885.