French red wine; figuratively, blood. I tapped his claret; I broke his head, and made the blood run. Claret-faced; red-faced.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Clapperdogeon * Clawed offNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes