a glass of spirits; lit. that whichnobbles or gets hold of you. Nobble is the frequentative formof nab. No doubt there is an allusion to the bad spiritsfrequently sold at bush public-houses, but if a teetotaler hadinvented the word he could not have invented one involvingstronger condemnation.
1852. G. F. P., `Gold Pen and Pencil Sketches,' canto xiv.:
«The summit gained, he pulls up at the Valley,
To drain a farewell `nobbler' to his Sally.»
1859. Frank Fowler, `Southern Lights and Shadows,' p. 52:
«To pay for liquor for another is to `stand,' or to `shout,'or to `sacrifice.' The measure is called a `nobbler,' or a`break-down.'»
1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. ii.p. 201:
«A nobbler is the proper colonial phrase for a drink at apublic-house.»
1876. J. Brenchley, `May Bloom,' p. 80:
«And faster yet the torrents flow
Of nobblers bolted rapidly.»
1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 249:
«When cruising about . . . with a crew of Kurnai . . . Iheard two of my men discussing where we could camp, and one, onmentioning a place, said, speaking his own language, that therewas `le-en (good) nobler.' I said, `there is no nobler there.'He then said in English, `Oh! I meant water.' On inquiry Ilearned that a man named Yan (water) had died shortly, before,and that not liking to use that word, they had to invent a newone.»
1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 36:
«Only to pull up again at the nearest public-house, to theveranda of which his horse's bridle was hung until he hadimbibed a nobbler or two.»