Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a notably large nose [mispron. of duke = Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), known for his large nose and thus nicknamed Conky].

1909

J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 115/1: Dook (Peoples’). A huge nose. Corruption of ‘duke,’ and referring to the Duke – time of Wellington, who during the first half of the 19th century was, with intervals of unpopularity, styled ‘the duke’. His Grace’s high nose was hereditary. [Ibid.] 120/1: Duke (Street). Nose.

2. a hand; often in pl. [var. of duke n.³ (1)].

1892		Albert Chevalier ‘Our Little Nipper’ 🎵 ’E gits me on at skittles and ’e flukes, And when ’e wants to ’e can use ’is ‘dooks’.
1902		Bulletin Reciter 1880–1901 3: We brought up Ikey Gizzard (’im they call the Golden Dook) / And several other chaps as makes a ready-money book.
1908		E.G. Murphy ‘Andrew Barr of Doodlekine’ in Jarrahland Jingles 58: He dreamed of times when he and Brim Would flip a dook with ’aughty Kings.
1916		R. Service ‘My Prisoner’ Rhymes of a Red Cross Man 121: You keep ’em stuck, / Them saucy dooks o’ yours, above yer ’ead.
1924		(con. WWI) A.G. Pretty Gloss. of Sl. [...] in the A.I.F. 1921–1924 (rev. t/s) n.p.: dook. Hand.
1934		P. Allingham Cheapjack 157: This used to be the best gaff in the country for dook reading.
1949		L. Glassop Lucky Palmer 98: You go out to the dogs and start punting on Canterbury with a brick in your dook.
1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 120: ‘How do you do?’ she greeted me, handing out a dook like a dead fish.
1956		T. Sutherland Green Kiwi 137: By the yellow truck stood ‘the Scandy joker’, waving his dooks about.
1960		N. Hilliard Maori Girl 193: The old boy with his head tilted forward all the time [...] bun hat in his dook – that’s Sir Walter Peach.

3. in pl., the fists; usu. as put up one’s dooks

1873		Sl. Dict. 153: Dukes, or dooks the hands, originally modification of the rhyming slang. “Duke of Yorks,” forks=fingers, hands ? a long way round, but quite true. The word is in very common use among low folk.
1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 113: I suppose there are few promoters who had helped the game on as much as Jimmy Brockett, nor encouraged more likely young blokes with genius in their dooks to get out of the rut.
1978		F. Norman Dead Butler Caper 54: I danced away from him with my dooks up, ready and willing to give him more of the same.