Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
old gown en · NOUN
Meanings
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(obsolete, slang, uncountable) smuggled tea
[…] their horses loaded with 150 to 200 lbs. of “old gown” (smuggled tea) […]
1879, John Owens, Plain Papers Relating to the Excise Branch of the Inland Revenue Department, From 1621 to 1878, page 444:[…] at this time there was a very general leaning towards cheap brandy or tobacco; "old gown," as smuggled tea was called, was in general request, […]
1883, S. William Beck, Gloves, Their Annals and Associations, page 165: