Meanings
present singular third person draws the cloth · participle present drawing the cloth · past drew the cloth · participle past drawn the cloth
- archaicTo clear the table after a meal.
The silence of our meal was alone broken by the dull clattering of knives and forks, and the tinkling of the bell to summon the brisk waiter to bring wine and draw the cloth.
1855, Susanna Moodie, Geoffrey Moncton, page 3271 more example
At last, when the cloth had been drawn and the King's health drunk in a glass of port suited to a very young head, they took their coffee and ratafia biscuits (the sea-going equivalent of petits fours) in the great cabin.
1996, Patrick O'Brian, The Yellow Admiral, page 174Synonyms: clear the table, unset the table
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo clear the table after a meal.
Cite this entry
draw the cloth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/draw%20the%20cloth
“draw the cloth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/draw%20the%20cloth. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “draw the cloth,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/draw%20the%20cloth.
Source: draw the cloth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.