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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

sound the drum en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (obsolete, qualifier:thieves' cant) To knock or ring at the door of a house to determine whether it is empty, with a view to burglary if so.
    • Chief Inspector Horwell had his men make house-to-house inquiries to find out if any burglar had been 'sounding the drum' in the neighbourhood. 2014, Jan Bondeson, Murder Houses of London: