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Green’s Dictionary of Slang

mow-heater n.

also mow beater

[the drover’s habit of sleeping on hay mows + ? drover’s ‘heating up’ of the mower n.’s behinds as he uses his stick to guide them through gates, down lanes etc.]

(UK Und.) a drover.

1674		Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) n.p.: Mow-heater Drover.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Mow-beater A Drover.
1707		J. Shirley Triumph of Wit (5 edn) 195: The mow-heater pikes off with the Mows [The Drover goes away with the Cows].
1725		New Canting Dict. n.p.: mow-heater, c. a drover.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725].
1754		Scoundrel’s Dict. 17: A Drover – Mow-beater. [Ibid.] 21: The Mow-beater pikes off with the Mows.
c.1786		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: Mow Heater. A Drover: from their frequent sleeping on Hay Mows.
1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (2nd, 3rd edn) n.p.:
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1788].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue [as cit. 1788].