1884 C. T. Davis Pract. Treat. Manuf. Bricks 103 This vegetable soil is called in brickyard parlance, ‘kelly’, and the operation of removing it termed ‘taking off the kelly’.

1884 C. T. Davis Pract. Treat. Manuf. Bricks 103 The operation of placing the soil upon the places where the bricks are moulded is termed ‘kellying the floors’.

1898 Handbk. Rules of Billiards (Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co.) (rev. ed.) 78 The game of Kelly pool is played with fifteen numbered balls, and one white ball not numbered.

1913 Billiards Mag. Oct. 25 (caption) A ‘Nine’ of billiard notables gathered from different states by Artist Carlson for a pictorial game at ‘Kelly’.

1918 Billiards Mag. Jan. 55/1 A new idea for the old game of Kelly.

1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Kelly pool, a variety of fifteen-ball pool in which each player draws a number and, while playing on the object balls in numerical order, aims to pocket the ball of the number corresponding to his own, thereby winning the game.

1948 A. Menjou & M. M. Musselman It took Nine Tailors 29 The only sports I cared to indulge in personally were Kelly pool and bowling.

1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands viii. 96 Er cold, proud man tumbles on his Darby Kel in ther dirt.

1928 M. C. Sharpe Chicago May xxxi. 287/2 Darby Kelly, belly.

1942 T. Rattigan Flare Path ii. ii. 138 Just that ride home. Cor, I still feel it down in the old darby kel.

1967 L. Deighton London Dossier 40 The only places now making boiled beef available to your darby kellies, or bellies, are the Jewish salt-beef bars.

1970 A. Draper Swansong for Rare Bird vi. 41 My old kelly was rumbling and I fancied a pie and chips.

1915 Recruiters' Bull. (U.S. Marine Corps) Dec. 33/2 Say, old top, when you go home tonight, Pull your old brown Kelly down real tight.

1922 Collier's 4 Mar. 8/2 I have got to wear a brass Kelly on my head which weighs at least ten pounds.

1927 E. Hemingway in Atlantic Monthly July 11/1 John put his kelly down on the table. It was all wet. His coat was wet, too.

1948 J. L. Lait & L. Mortimer New York: Confidential! xxxi. 276 Some of the larger clubs reap up to $50,000 a year for the privilege of checking your kellys.

1934 H. N. Rose Thes. Slang viii. 57/1 Oilfield slang... Hole to set the ‘Kelly’ in when not in use..: rat hole.

1939 D. Hager Fund. Petroleum Industry ix. 203 In older drilling methods where the kelly was not used, the drill pipe was badly cut by the gripping devices.

1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §516/4 Kelly, a square joint on top of the drill stem passing through a square hole in the rotary table.

1946 Mod. Petroleum Technol. (Inst. Petroleum) 87 As drilling proceeds the square section of the kelley is lowered through the rotary table until its full length is below the table. The drilling string is then raised, the kelley removed, a fresh length of drill pipe is coupled up and the kelley is replaced.

1963 Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) iii. 10 Kelly, the rod attached to the top of the drill column in rotary drilling. It passes through the rotary table and is turned by it, but is free to slide down through it as the borehole deepens.

1974 Scotsman 22 Apr. p. x Only in oil can you break off kelly and set down on rams while keeping a straight face.

1936 Mademoiselle Sept. 13 (advt.) A slipon with sleeveless sweater…rust with Churchill green, kelly with brown.

1936 Mademoiselle Nov. 49/1 (advt.) Sweaters..in..yellow, kelly green, gray.

1936 Mademoiselle Dec. 3/2 (advt.) Sweaters with an English pedigree..jockey red, Kelly green or natural.

1958 ‘E. McBain’ Killer's Choice (1960) vi. 69 ‘What sort of green was it?’ ‘Almost a Kelly green...’

1966 G. Baxt Queer Kind of Death (1967) xvi. 223 Kelly green lanterns at the end of the garden.

1972 ‘R. Crawford’ Whip Hand i. ix. 54 The kelly-green jungle was tangled; it hid a gunner.

1925 H. C. George in Bull. U.S. Bureau of Mines No. 224. 115 Means of escape from..the kelly board on every drilling and redrilling derrick shall be provided.

1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §516/2 Kelly-board, a platform at the height of the ‘kelly’.

1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §516/4 Kelly joint, the first joint of pipe attached to the ‘kelly’.

1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 134 Kelly's eye, no. 1 in the game of ‘House’.

1933 L. A. G. Strong Sea Wall 256 A game of ‘house’ was in progress, and a voice monotonously droned the numbers: ‘..Kelly's eye.’

1945 E. Waugh Brideshead Revisited ii. i. 230 The voice of the officer in charge of tombola—‘Kelly's eye—number one; legs, eleven; and we'll Shake the Bag.’

1962 Daily Tel. 25 June 11/4 Miss L. Brahmer..began calling the numbers over the loudspeakers... ‘Kelly's Eye, No. 1; and Legs Eleven’ echoed throughout the ship.