Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. in pl., the female breasts; thus (Aus.) her dumplings are boiling over, her breasts are falling out of a low-cut dress.

1707		N. Ward London Terraefilius II 15: Learn how to tread out your Toes, riggle your Bum, thrust out your Dumplins.
1725		N. Ward Amorous Bugbears 24: I [...] talk’d lusheously to a second, patted the Dumplins of a third.
1896		Farmer Vocabula Amatoria (1966) 39: Blagues a tabac, m. Small breasts; ‘dumplings’.

2. a native of East Anglia[such individuals are supposed to be excessively fond of dumplings].

1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Dumplin, a short thick man or woman. Norfolk dumplin; a jeering appellation of a Norfolk man, dumplins being a favourite kind of food in that county.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1850		‘Epistle from Joe Muggins’s Dog’ in Era (London) 16 June 5/3: [T]hese Suffolk dumplins do kum it grand when thay’ve harf a chance.

3. (US) an attractive (young) woman.

1972

D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 98: [S]he pushed a whole blouse full of lungs against my arm and licked my ear again and left. [. . . .] ‘Anybody got any idea what that dumplin’ resembles in a better light?’ I asked.

4. a term of endearment.

1985

T. Wolff ‘Coming Attractions’ in Back in the World 5: ‘Sorry I woke you up.’ ‘That’s what we’re here for, dumpling ’.