rattle the bones

English

Dice from the Vasa, sunk in 1628.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

rattle the bones (third-person singular simple present rattles the bones, present participle rattling the bones, simple past and past participle rattled the bones)

1. (obsolete, nautical, slang) To play dice.
   • 1902 March, John Oxenham, “The Legion of the Lost”, in Macmillan's Magazine, volume 85, number 509, pages 386–87:

     Little Mr. Crow shook the dice up and down in his balled hands so long that the Butcher growled "Come on! Come on! Get done, man!" He continued to rattle the bones between his palms, and the Butchers red face twisted up into a scowl.

References

• Hotten, James Camden (1872). "Bones." from The slang dictionary.
• Breverton, Terry (2004). "Rattle the bones." The pirate dictionary.