Green’s Dictionary of Slang

tiddly n.

a drink.

1893		P.H. Emerson Signor Lippo 11: ‘Well, culls, have a tiddley?,’ they said, going off to a pub.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 14 Jan. 6/6: ‘Going to have a tiddley (i.e. a drink)?’ ‘Yes, old man, I’ll join you’.
1894		A. Morrison Tales of Mean Streets (1983) 132: ‘That’s all right, ol’ cock,’ roared Bill Napper, reaching toward the guv’nor. ‘You come ’an ’ave a tiddley.’.
1895		‘’Arry and the New Woman’ in Punch 18 May 230/1: It took two ’ot tiddleys to warm ’er.
1898		W.A. Sun. Times (Perth) 27 Feb. 3/2: Besides, you ought to shout a tiddley for ‘Joe’ Fountain.
1904		Sun. Times (Perth) 17 Jan. 1/1: One of them has deserted the thrummer for the tanner tiddley.
1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 12 Dec. 25/2: ‘Well, look here, old man, what about a mint jelup to pull us together and keep us up now it is blowing?’ / ‘A what?’ [...] / ‘A wet, a pick-me-up, a tiddly, or, in plain English, a blanky drink.’.
1939		W. Winchell On Broadway 5 Dec. [synd. col.] A ‘Tiddley’ is what H’wood calls ‘the last drink.’ ‘Let’s have a tiddley,’ they say.
1940		E. Curry Hysterical Hist. of Aus. 49: ‘Rum,’ meaning, of course, a drink [...] or, in the vernacular, a ‘tiddley.’.
1954		J. Phelan Tramp at Anchor 159: The discussion as to [...] whether one had a tiddley or a laugh (i.e., a drink or a smoke).
1956		‘Charles Raven’ Und. Nights 22: She waltzes down to Hoxton in it to see her dear old Mum, and takes her out for a tiddly.
2003		(con. 1932) W. Woodruff Beyond Nab End 29: Sustained by ‘the spot of tiddly’, Mrs Wheeler was convinced she would ‘larst a loiftoim.’.

In compounds

tiddly crib (n.)

(Aus.) the private bar in a public house or hotel.

1902

W.A. Sun. Times (Perth) 9 Mar. 1/1: The pernicious ‘private bar’ system is being introduced into many leading hotels hereabouts [...] these very-much-tied tiddly cribs develop into little else than half-and-half harems [and] these sly seraglios are immensely useful to spielers in ‘running the rule’ over rustics.

In phrases

on the tidd(i)ly

drunk.

1890

Music Hall & Theatre Rev. 28 June 6/1: Don’t get on the tiddily down Peckham way any of you, or the coppers may have their revenge.