Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to beat severely, thus n. dry-rub.

1687		J. Phillips [trans.] Cervantes Don Quixote 595: I wish this Adventure might end in a few dry Rubs, but I dread a worse Conclusion.
c.1770		‘The Servant’s Pedigree’ in Holloway & Black I (1975) 249: Dry-rub her rooms, ne’er a tale will she tell.