Green’s Dictionary of Slang

tarpaulin adj.

[tarpaulin n.]

pertaining to sailors or sea-travel.

Show quotations
[UK]J. Phillips Maronides (1678) V 137: A young tarpaulin jack a lent / Brought him a cup of musty Tent.
[UK]N. Ward A Frolic to Horn-Fair 15: The Members of this Society of Tarpaulin Paupers.
[US]D. Corcoran Pickings from N.O. Picayune 174: Jack Robinson, a tarpaulin-faced, tempest-tossed mariner.
[UK] ‘A Letter’ in Pearl 7 Jan. 8: A COPY of a LETTER Was given mee by my cozen SC of Kempston, and written in a Tarpaulin style.

In compounds

tarpaulin muster (n.) (also tarpaulin) [naut. jargon tarpaulin muster, a collection or pooling of money among seamen]

(Aus./N.Z.) a collection of money, either for a round of drinks or for donation to a third party or a cause.

Show quotations
[US]Junction City Wkly Union (KS) 10 Mar. 1/5: As a rule it’s a tarpaulin muster for the widow when a pilot dies.
[US]Boston Globe (MA) 6 July 6/6: A tarpaulin muster was made and enough coin raised.
Aus. Brewers’ Journal May n.p.: An extraordinary affair is reported from Woolgani (about 80 kms west of Coolgardie WA). A few weeks ago, a gang of men stationed there had a tarpaulin muster and 10 shillins was collected. The subscribers deputed one James Mead to proceed to Woolgangi and return with the value of the money in beer.
[Aus]Sun. Times (Perth) 29 July 4/7: A tarpaulin muster will be held at the first meeting to provide suction for the prospectors.
[UK]J. Masefield [title] A Tarpaulin Muster.
[Aus]Sport (Adelaide) 10 Feb. 5/4: The mob made up a tarpaulin and gave Snowy the dough for some beef and bread—but haven’'t seen him since.
F. Garrett War Diary 15 May 🌐 Tommies had tea cooked for us at BENI SEUF and we got up [a] tarpaulin muster.
B. Adams Fenceless Meadows 10: Early in the evening a sailor, passing his hat around, had taken a ‘tarpaulin muster,’ every one present putting in such coin as he might afford.
Proceedings of the [...] Biennial Convention of the International Longshoremen 336: It’s not sloppy to take up a tarpaulin muster.
[Aus]E. George Two at Daly Waters 102: As she had not brought a town outfit, Daly Waters had what we call in the bush a tarpaulin muster (the loan of everybody’s best clothes).
H.W. Edwards Under Four Flags 125: With the generosity proverbial amongst sailors, they had a ‘tarpaulin muster.’.
[Aus]J. Pollard Story of Lance Skulthorpe Ch. xiii: He needed around five hundred pounds to promote the show on the scale he proposed, so he held a tarpaulin muster of all hands, women and cooks included.
Indep. Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) 6 Sept. 20/5: The Rooster Booster Club kicked in $1000 and there was a ‘tarpaulin muster’ to raise another £100.
[Aus]Sydney Morn. Herald 30 May 1/6: The crew [...] held tarpaulin musters to pay for the damage.