in theatrical language, means those admitted by orders without payment. They count for nothing. In the United States, persons who receive something of value for which the taxpayer has to pay.
⁂ In nautical language, a log floating so low in the water that only a small part of it is visible.
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.
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