Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a foot, usu. in pl; occas. legs, see cite 1841.

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Trotters, Feet.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1747		Life and Character of Moll King 12: I shall see my jolly old Codger [...] with his Day-lights dim, and his Trotters shivering under him.
1781–2		J. Messink Choice of Harlequin I viii: The French, with trotters nimble, could fly from English blows, / And they’ve got nimble daddles, as monsieur plainly shews.
a.1790		C. Dibdin ‘The Greenwich Pensioner’ Collection of Songs II 1: You are not old, nor made awry, / Nor do your shambling trotters ply, / As if by palsy shaken.
c.1805		‘Patrick O’Neal’ Jovial Songster 137: They bid me to mount, and be sure for to keep / Fast hold with my trotters for fear I should trip.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1829		Vidocq Memoirs (trans. W. McGinn) III 101: The mauleys and trotters are tied; you could not do more to secure a regular workman.
1833		‘Love without Mutton’ in Convivialist in Spedding & Watt (eds) Bawdy Songbooks (2011) IV 12: I took to my trotters and marched up to town.
1841		Dickens Old Curiosity Shop (1999) 136: Trotters, which, with the prefatory adjective, Short, had been conferred upon him by reason of the small size of his legs.
1848		E. Bennett Mike Fink 10/1: Well, ef it’s all up, I ’spect we mought as well start our trotters, boys.
1848		Bell’s Life in Sydney 11 Nov. 3/2: Mr Soole [...] immediately cased the trotters of Thomas in a pair [of boots] which exactly fitted both head and heols.
1859		G.A. Sala Gaslight and Daylight 354: ‘Look at my trotters,’ he continued, pointing to his feet.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 129/2: This move caught the eyes of the ‘flamers’ on the floor, who staggered to their ‘trotters’ and surrounded Joe and me.
1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 21 Mar. 5/4: Say, mate, I suppose there’s no harm in my resting my trotters behind this yer wagon o’ yourn?
1892		‘F. Anstey’ Voces Populi 293: Wot? – only two bloomin’ browns fur tykin’ the skites orf them two kids’ trotters!
1894		Truth (Sydney) 8 Apr. 3/7: Our Pretty Feet [...] This very knowing paragraphist, too, proceeds to account for our big trotters by the heat.
1898		J.D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 220: As fer ’is rahnd-the-’ouses, they ’ad a crease right dahn ’em, an’ bell bottoms that tumbled over ’is trotters a treat.
1901		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 24 Apr. 4/2: I can hear the clatter of their fast trotters whirling some bejewelled, painted Jezebel to riotous pleasure.
1905		Marvel III:53 2: If yer’s on yer own trotters yer can pull up and poke yer nose into anythink.
1911		L. Stone Jonah 8: ‘I should ’ave trotters as big as yer own,’ cried Jonah, pointing to the man’s feet, cased in enormous bluchers.
1911		H. Champion ‘When the Old Dun Cow Caught Fire’ 🎵 If you want to wash your fee [...] don’t put your trotters in the port wine jack.
1916		R. Service ‘Bill the Bomber’ Rhymes of a Red Cross Man 150: I’m minus of a trotter.
1928		C. McKay Home to Harlem 60: ‘She’s sho one ugly spade, but she’s right there with her Gordon Dry.’ ‘She ain’t got ’em from creeps to crown and her trotters is B flat, but her gin is regal.’.
1933		L. Stone Larrikin 16: I should ’ave trotters as big as yer own.
1948		C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident 61: Old ‘Bellyache’ came up and placed one of his trotters on the stool.
1961		(con. 1890–1910) ‘Flann O’Brien’ Hard Life (1962) 33: Right well you know that I have the trotters wore off me going up the stairs of that filthy Corporation.
1975		J. Ryan Remembering How We Stood 29: The great man [...] waddled out in to the Harry Street night [...] as fast as his trotters could take him.
1981		C. Hope Separate Development 67: The old trotters [...] should have been enough to keep me rooted to the spot all evening.
2004		(con. 1960s-70s) T. Taylor Top Fellas 19/1: Sandals, not exatly A1 protection for your trotters should a blue occur.
2006		D. Mitchell Black Swan Green 300: Wobbly on his trotters [...] Park yer arse a mo, mush.
2015		L. McInerney Glorious Heresies 97: [Christ] thought fallen women only handy for washing His trotters.

2. (also trotler) a fast horse or racehorse; usu. in pl. meaning horseracing in general.

[1598		J. Hall Virgidemiarum (1599) Bk V 92: One peece pays her idle wayting man, [...] Or hires a Friezeland trotter [...] To drag his tumbrell through the staring Cheape].
c.1790		‘De Kilmainham Minit’ Luke Caffrey’s Gost 5: We tip’ed all our Gripes in a Tangle, / And mounted our trotters wid speed, / To squint at de Snub as he’d dangle.
1821		W.T. Moncrieff Tom and Jerry I iv: Seeing your natty gig an fast trotter at the door, as I passed, I couldn’t avoid popping in to welcome you back.
1848		Flash Dict. in Sinks of London Laid Open 106: Fast trotters, good horses, rum prads.
1880		G.F. Northall ‘Momus’ Misc. 48: He [...] hired a trotter.
1890		Bulletin (Sydney) 19 July 15/1: ‘Ned’ Gregory is great on two subjects, my son ‘Syd.’ and ‘my trotter.’ [...] Ned’s trotter may need an introduction. Edward believes in having a horse useful as well as ornamental.
1919		J. Buchan Mr Standfast (1930) 491: He has a hobby for half-baked youth, just as another rich man might fancy orchids or fast trotters.
1936		(con. 1830s–60s) ‘Miles Franklin’ All That Swagger 283: With the prize girl in his sulky, and the high-stepping trotter under it.
1944		D. Burley Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive 26: Four deuce of groovy trotters.
1959		G. Slatter Gun in My Hand 63: The roar dies to an excited buzz [...] as the trotters come back to the birdcage.
1985		N. Pileggi Wiseguy (2001) 53: He was the brain who figured out how to increase the odds on the Superfecta bets at the trotters.
2010		(con. 1973) C. Stella Johnny Porno 10: What that cost me, I shoulda went the trotters.

3. (Aus.) a prostitute.

1846

Bell’s Life in Sydney 19 Sept. 3/2: They called her a b— w—, the favourite waterside appellation for every trotter in petticoats.

4. a boiled sheep’s foot sold as a street food.

1897

Globe (London) 15 Feb. 1/5: A favourite street delicacy of the present day is boiled sheep’s feet [...] ‘Trotters’ is their proper title.

5. a dancing person.

1920

Ade Hand-made Fables 31: All the other Trotters ducked to the Side-Lines and watched him burn up the Floor.

6. (UK Und.) a deserter from the armed forces.

1977

D. Powis Signs of Crime 205: Trotter A deserter from HM Armed Forces.