turtle (dove) n.2
1. usu. in pl., a glove, esp. those worn by housebreakers to hide fingerprints.
![]() | Vulgar Tongue. | |
, , | ![]() | Sl. Dict. |
![]() | Signor Lippo 55: One day he walked straight into this kitchen clobbered in a pair of rounds, tight to his legs, [...] and a long sleeve cadi on his napper, and a pair of turtles on his martins. | |
![]() | Eve. Teleg. (Dundee) 3 Aug. 4/1: He puts on a clean 'Oxford,' changes his 'almonds,' brushes his 'Barnet,' and dons his 'turtles.' He then pays a visit to the 'rub-a-dub'. | |
![]() | Gilt Kid 24: ‘Got any turtles?’ The Gilt Kid, having no gloves, answered: ‘No, but I’ll buy a pair.’. | |
![]() | Me and My Girl I iii: Nah gis me titfa and me turtle doves an’ I’ll be on me Edna May. | |
![]() | None But the Lonely Heart 116: Always leaving his turtle doves in his sky rocket, he is. | |
![]() | Truth (Brisbane) 1 Aug. 5/3: . [F]our women's gloves were found concealed in Bray’s clothes (in Bray’s rhyming slang,‘gloves’ would probably be ‘turtle doves’ or ‘light-o’-loves’). | |
![]() | ‘Screwsman’s Lament’ in Encounter n.d. in Norman’s London (1969) 67: We went round to my gaff, to get my turtle doves, / My stick, tools and glimmer, which every screwsman loves. | |
![]() | Up the Frog 12: That’s a decent pair of turtle doves you’ve got! | |
![]() | Signs of Crime 206: Turtle (doves) or turtles Gloves (commoner than may be expected, used to refer to housebreakers’ and safe-cutters’ gloves). | |
![]() | (con. 1950s–60s) in Little Legs 198: turtles gloves (abb. for turtle doves). |
2. love.
![]() | More Bible in Cockney 22: Me turtle-dove for you is too blinkin’ strong, inni? |