double, v.¹ — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

double v.¹

[SE double, to turn sharply and suddenly in running, to turn back on one’s course]

1. to run off, to escape.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 236: double: to double a person, or tip him the Dublin packet, signifies either to run away from him openly, and elude his attempts to over-take you, or to give him the slip in the streets, or elsewhere, unperceived, commonly done to escape from an officer who has you in custody, or to turn up a flat of any kind, whom you have a wish to get rid of.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1837		R. Barham ‘Hand of Glory’ Ingoldsby Legends I (1866) 30: In vain may the blood-spiller ‘double’ and fly [...] He’ll be sure to be caught by a Hugh [sic] and a cry.

2. to avoid, to elude, to give the slip to.

1812, 1823

see sense 1.

double in brass (v.) [circus/vaudeville jargon double in brass, to perform one’s own speciality as well as play in the orchestra]

(orig. US) to have a wide range of abilities; to perform more than one’s primary job.

1915		S. Ford Shorty McCabe on the Job 179: He was sort of doublin’ in brass, as it were; conversin’ for two, you know.
1920		S. Lewis Main Street (1921) 224: The hard-working actors doubled in brass, and took tickets.
1940		R. Chandler Farewell, My Lovely (1949) 222: The crew doubles in brass up on the play decks, table men and spotters and waiters and so on.
1949		R. Chandler Little Sister 180: We got to double in brass once in a while.
1952		A.S. Fleischman Look behind You, Lady (2006) 26: He doubled in brass as band leader and m.c.
1964		S. Woodward Paper Tiger 252: The first couple of months I worked there [at The Compass, a newspaper] I doubled in brass, coincidentally finishing the football book for Dell.
1978		K. Bonfiglioli letter in Bonfiglioli Mortdecai ABC (2001) 148: St Fiachre, the Patron Saint of rectal diseases [...] He is also Patron of syphilis-sufferers. I suppose you could call that ‘doubling in brass’.

double one’s milt (v.)

see under milt n.

double up (v.)

see separate entries.