Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a drunkard; thus fuddle-caps’ hall, a tavern.

1653		Urquhart Gargantua and Pantagruel II 302: Come, in the mean time let’s drink here, come here’s to thee old Fuddlecap.
1673		M. Stevenson Norfolk Drollery 13: Some Fuddle-cap sure came Into the Room.
1699		N. Ward London Spy IV 75: The Sober Fraternity, who are allow’d of late to be as good Judges of the Comfortable Creature, as [...] a Latitudinarian Fuddle-Cap.
1700		T. Brown Amusements Serious and Comical in Works (1744) III 93: I introduc’d his pagan worship into a christian society of true protestant fuddle-caps. [Ibid.] 96: One of the priests of Bacchus, who received his ordination at fuddle-caps-hall.
1725		New Canting Dict. n.p.: fuddle-cap a Drunkard.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1840		Era 21 June 8/1: ‘Here, fuddle-cap,’ he continued, giving her some brandy.
1848		‘Ned Buntline’ Mysteries and Miseries of N.Y. I 111: What’s the kids in for, old fuddle-cap?