adjective General Slang

Dab

/dæb/ · adjective · slang

Cockney back-slang for 'bad' — spoiled stock, a poor pitch, a wrong'un.

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Definitions

1

Of a person, untrustworthy or dishonest — a 'dab' customer or dealer to be wary of.

“Watch him, he's a dab one, short-changes you given half a chance.”
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2

Bad, poor or spoiled. From 'bad' reversed to 'dab', the back-slang judgement traders passed on goods, weather, takings or people in front of the very person or item concerned.

“That fruit's gone dab — shift it cheap before anyone looks close.”
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3

Of conditions, unfavourable for trade — a slow day, a wet pitch, a thin crowd.

“Dab weather, dab crowd, dab takings — a day to forget.”
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Dab In A Sentence

Don't buy off that stall, the stock's all dab by the afternoon.
A dab pitch by the gutter, but it was all that was left.
He gave me a dab coin, bent and light — cheeky devil.

Origin & Usage

Cockney costermonger back-slang of the 1840s ('bad' reversed), the everyday quality-judgement term in the coded vocabulary documented by Mayhew (1851) and Hotten (1859). Note this back-slang 'dab' is distinct from the older English 'dab hand' (expert), which is unrelated.

Variants dabbo
Tags #cockney#back-slang#british#uk#trade

People Also Ask

What does dab mean in back-slang?

It means bad — 'bad' reversed in Cockney costermonger back-slang, said of spoiled goods, poor days or dodgy people.

Is this the same as 'dab hand'?

No — 'dab hand' meaning an expert is a separate, older English idiom and is not related to this back-slang 'dab' for 'bad'.

Where did back-slang 'dab' come from?

From 1840s London street sellers' back-slang, documented by Mayhew and Hotten in the mid-19th century.

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