Does anyone know what "pushing pills" means in the vernacular of 1910 musical comedies?
Here is the context: A mentally and fiscally impoverished young English lord is explaining why he does not want breakfast: he had a friend staying over who "was still up when I got back last night, and we stayed up playing pills--he's rotten at pills; something frightful; I give him thirty--till five this morning. I feel frightfully cheap." (p. 88 of the Overlook edition of A Gentleman of Leisure).
The description of the young lord fits exactly with Wodehouse's ubiquitous portrayal of Young Man with a Hangover. But what is "pushing pills"? It wouldn't make sense for it to be drugs--usually Wodehouse steers clear of such things. Besides, how can one be rotten at drugs? So it's probably some game involving drinking (Tiddly-winks? Dominoes?).
