The Victorian AtlasCabinet of Curiosities
Slang & Sayings

doss

A bed — especially a cheap or makeshift one in a common lodging-house; to doss is to sleep rough.

“‘Sixpence for the doss, mate — and the straw wants turning,’ said the deputy of the lodging-house.”

Note: Recorded in Hotten's 1864 Slang Dictionary; a dossing-ken was the Victorian common lodging-house. Hotten derives it from ‘doze’.

#rest #street

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