bleed the monkey

present singular third person bleeds the monkey · participle present bleeding the monkey · participle past bled the monkey · past bled the monkey

1. slanggovernmentSynonym of suck the monkey (“to surreptitiously drink alcohol from a cask through an inserted tube”).

   He invented the 'monkey fist' — a knot which gives weight to a heaving line; the union plate he called a 'monkey face' and, in times of merrymaking, he frequently 'bled the monkey' to get his grog.

   1969, Lookout: Annual report issue, volumes 60-62

   Synonyms: suck the monkey