Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) a large number; a large amount.

1831		Poughkeepsie Jrnl (NY) 13 Apr. 1/5: [Y]ou may advise Doctor Bolus Doctor Ulna [...] and the whole raft of them [...] to pack up their duds and bolt off.
1848		Bartlett Dict. Americanisms.
c.1850		F.M. Whitcher Widow Bedott Papers (1883) 77: She was a sick-lookin’ woman, with a hull raft o’ young ones squallin’ round her.
1876		(con. c.1840) ‘Mark Twain’ Tom Sawyer 193: ‘I don’ know no kings, Tom.’ ‘I reckon you don’t. But if you was to go to Europe you’d see a raft of ’em.’.
1887		G. Devol Forty Years a Gambler 18: I went down there and bought a raft of green lumber.
1898		Wichita Eagle (KS) 18 Nov. 4/1: It was hard for a Democrat to [...] vote for a whole raft of fellows who do not hold a single tenet of the Democratic party.
1902		C.L. Cullen More Ex-Tank Tales 52: They packed the aisles [...] and a whole raft of ’em had to be stood on their heads.
1906		S. Ford Shorty McCabe 8: I could give you a whole raft of reasons that would sound well, but there’s only one that covers the case.
1917		Boy’s Own Paper XL 4 211: I think he said it was a mile an’ three-quarters of bandages, anyhow, they was a raft of ’em, ’cause I counted mo’n a hundred layers.
1922		S. Lewis Babbitt (1974) 96: They say there’s a whole raft of stuff being smuggled across at Detroit.
1934		E. Caldwell Tobacco Road (1958) 20: This raft of women and children is all the time bellowing for snuff and rations, too.
1944		D. Runyon Runyon à la Carte 108: He is with quite a raft of mission workers.
1959		A. Zugsmith Beat Generation 74: She’d made an effort to be pally with Harry’s raft of sisters.
1966		H.S. Thompson Hell’s Angels (1967) 48: A raft of new possibilities.
1978		P. Theroux Picture Palace 225: We’re going to use a whole raft of your pictures.
1987		T. Paulin ‘The Bungalow on the Unapproved Road’ in Fivemiletown 1: A patched Oldsmobile / heading for Donegal / with a raft of hooch in the trunk.
1999		Guardian Guide 15–21 May 71: A raft of fun ideas.
2000		Indep. on Sun. Culture 9 Jan. 4: A raft of other dot.coms.

2. (US) a piece of toast.

1899		Atlanta Constitution 17 July 5/4: An order for eggs on toast went to the kitchen as, ‘Adam and Eve on a raft.’.
1902		N.-Y. Trib. section II, 27 July 2: ‘Give me some poached eggs on toast,’ you say, ‘and a cup of coffee.’ The waiter turns toward the kitchen and shouts, ‘Noah on a raft!’ Then he wheels toward the steaming, polished coffee tanks and cries, ‘Draw one!’.
1918		N.Y. Tribune 15 Dec. 4/3: ‘Adam and Eve on a raft,’ we shall say, having been fond of poached eggs on toast since childhood.
1925		J. Tully Beggars of Life 100: A man ordered eggs on toast. ‘Two on a raft wit’ their eyes open,’ yelled the waiter.
1935		H. Carr L.A.: City of Dreams 265: Thousands of girls pour into Southern California every year intent on storming the cold studio walls. The lucky ones find jobs carrying trays – using their Garbo histrionics to yell ‘Mac, stack and a shorty brown and heavy on the goo; two on a raft and double it.’.
1960, 1975		Wentworth & Flexner DAS 33/1: biddies on a raft Eggs on toast.