Dabchick n. (Zool.) A small water bird (Podilymbus podiceps), allied to the grebes, remarkable for its quickness in diving; called also dapchick, dobchick, dipchick, didapper, dobber, devil-diver, hell-diver, and pied-billed grebe.
... take an instance which I am sure you will remember. When I first met little DABCHICK, I thought I had never seen a happier mortal. He was clever, good-natured, and sprightly. He sold tea somewhere in Mincing Lane, and on the proceeds of his sales he managed to support a wife and two pleasant children in reasonable comfort at Balham. Mrs. DABCHICK ... — Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 101, July 11, 1891 • Various
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