E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Dum’mies (2 syl.).
Empty bottles or drawers in a druggist’s shop; wooden heads in a hairdresser’s shop: lay figures
in a tailor’s shop; persons on the stage who appear before the lights, but have nothing to say. These all are dumb, actually or figuratively.
