maltworm

plural maltworms

1. archaicA tippler; a drinker of alcohol.

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

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

   1 more example

   […] 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.

   1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act III

   Synonyms: alcoholic, souse, suck-pint