Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. gin; thus a gin-drinker.

1946		Weekly Tel. 6 Apr. in DSUE (1984).
1952		W. Granville Dict. Theatrical Terms.
1962		R. Cook Crust on its Uppers 41: I’m just getting out the vera for a celebration bevvy.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 206: Vera [Lynn] (fr Cockney rhyming sl) gin; by extension, one whose gin intake is tremendous.
1973		Galton & Simpson ‘Christmas 1973’ Steptoe and Son [TV script] A bottle of Vera Lynn, in case the vicar comes.
1978		Maledicta II:1+2 (Summer/Winter) 119: Errol Flynn = ‘chin’, Vera Lynn = ‘gin’, and murderer Dr. Crippen = ‘dripping’, as in cookery rather than in the clap, have stayed in the language though they have passed out of the news.
1989		(con. 1950s–60s) in G. Tremlett Little Legs 198: vera lynn gin.
1999		Guardian Weekend 25 Sept. 24: Inhaling the juniper fumes of her Vera Lynn.
2002		Pete’s Aussie Sl. Home Page 🌐 Vera Lynn: [...] gin.
2019		P. Baker Fabulosa 299/1: vera gin.

2. skin.

2002

B. Kirkpatrick Wicked Cockney Rhy. Sl.

3. (UK/Aus.) the chin.

1976		(ref. to 1930s) R. Barnes Coronation Cups and Jam Jars 109: He caught one right under the Vera Lynn from George’s great mauler.
1983		R. Aven-Bray Ridgey-Didge Oz Jack Lang 51: Vera Lynn [...] Chin.
2001		D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 198/1: Vera Lynn n. chin.
2002		Pete’s Aussie Sl. Home Page 🌐 Vera Lynn: the chin.

4. (Irish) in pl., cigarette papers [= skin n.¹ (2c)].

2001

G. Coughlan Everyday Eng. and Sl. 🌐 vera lynns: skins.