maltworm

English

Etymology

malt +‎ worm

Noun

maltworm (plural maltworms)

1. (archaic) A tippler; a drinker of alcohol.
   • 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act III:

     […] beg my pardon, in which you ſhall not onely ſaue a proper hanſome tall fellow and a ſtout Captaine, but alſo you ſhall purchaſe the prayers of all the ale wiues in the towne, for ſauing a mault-worme and a cuſtomer to helpe away their ſtrong ale.

   • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

     The fiend hath prick'd down Bardolph irrecoverable; and his face is Lucifer's privy-kitchen, where he doth nothing but roast malt-worms.

Synonyms

• alcoholic, souse, suck-pint; See also Thesaurus:drunkard

References

• “maltworm”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.