Babes, the lowest order of KNOCK-OUTS (which see), who are prevailed upon not to give opposing biddings at auctions, in consideration of their receiving a small sum (from one shilling to half-a-crown), and a certain quantity of beer. They can, however, even after this agreement, be secured on the other side for a little longer price. There is no honour among thieves—at all events not among auction thieves—nowadays.
Back, to support by means of money, on the turf or otherwise.—See LAY.
Back, “to get one’s BACK UP,” to annoy or enrage. Probably from the action of a cat when preparing to give battle to an enemy.
Back-end, that portion of the year which commences with October. This phrase is peculiar to the turf, and has its origin in the fact that October was actually, and is now nearly, the finishing portion of the racing season. Towards BACK-END the punters and “little men” generally begin to look forward with anxiety to their winter prospects, and “going for the gloves” is not only a frequent phrase, but a frequently recurring practice.
Back Out, to retreat from a difficulty; reverse of GO AHEAD. Metaphor borrowed from the stables.
Back Slang It, to go out the back way. Equivalent to “Sling your hook out of the back-door,” i.e., get away quickly.
Backslums, the byeways and disreputable portions of a town.
Back-Hander, a blow on the face with the back of the hand, a back-handed tip. Also a drink out of turn, as when a greedy person delays the decanter to get a second glass. Anything done slyly or secretly is said to be done in a back-handed manner.
Backer, one who places his money on a particular man or animal; a supporter of one side in a contest. The great body of betting men is divided into BOOKMAKERS and BACKERS.
Back Jump, a back window.—Prison term.
Bacon, the body, “to save one’s BACON,” to escape.
Bad, “to go to the bad,” to deteriorate in character, to be ruined. Virgil has an almost similar phrase, in pejus ruere, which means, by the way, to go to the worse.
Bad, hard, difficult. Word in use among sporting men who say, “He will be BAD to beat,” when they mean that the man or horse to whom they refer will about win.
Bad Egg, a scoundrel or rascal.
Badger, to tease, to annoy by “chaffing.” Suggestive of drawing a badger.
Bad Lot, a term derived from auctioneering slang, and now generally used to describe a man or woman of indifferent morals.
Badminton, blood,—properly a peculiar kind of claret-cup invented at the Duke of Beaufort’s seat of that name. Badminton proper is made of claret, sugar, spice, cucumber peel, and ice, and was sometimes used by the patrons of the Prize Ring as a synonym for blood.
Bad Words, words not always bad of themselves but unpleasant to “ears polite,” from their vulgar associations.
Baffaty, calico. Term used in the drapery trade.
Bag, to seize or steal, equivalent to “collar.”
Bagman, a commercial traveller. This word is used more in reference to the old style of commercial travellers than to the present.
Bags, trousers. Trousers of an extensive pattern, or exaggerated fashion, have sometimes been termed HOWLING-BAGS, but only when the style has been very “loud.” The word is probably an abbreviation of bumbags. “To have the BAGS off,” to be of age and one’s own master, to have plenty of money. Bags of mystery is another phrase in frequent use, and refers to sausages and saveloys. Bag of tricks, refers to the whole of a means towards a result. “That’s the whole bag of tricks.”
Baked, seasoned, “he’s only HALF-BAKED,” i.e., soft, inexperienced.
Baker’s Dozen, thirteen. Originally the London bakers supplied the retailers, i.e., chandlers’ shopkeepers and itinerants, with thirteen loaves to the dozen, so as to make up what is known as the overweight, the surplus number, called the inbread, being thrown in for fear of incurring a penalty for short weight. To “give a man a BAKER’S DOZEN,” in a slang sense, sometimes means to give him an extra good beating or pummelling.
Balaam, printers’ slang for matter kept in type about monstrous productions of nature, &c., to fill up spaces in newspapers that would otherwise be vacant. The term BALAAM-BOX has often been used as the name of a depository for rejected articles. Evidently from Scripture, and referring to the “speech of an ass.”
Bald-Faced Stag, a term of derision applied to a person with a bald head. Also, still more coarsely, “BLADDER-OF-LARD.”
Bale up, an Australian term equivalent to our “Shell out.” A demand for instantaneous payment.
Ballambangjang. The Straits of BALLAMBANGJANG, though unnoticed by geographers, are frequently mentioned in sailors’ yarns as being so narrow, and the rocks on each side so crowded with trees inhabited by monkeys, that the ship’s yards cannot be squared, on account of the monkey’s tails getting jammed into, and choking up, the brace blocks.—Sea.
Ballast, money. A rich man is said to be well-ballasted. If not proud and over-bearing he is said to carry his ballast well.
Balmy, weak-minded or idiotic (not insane).
Balmy, sleep; “have a dose of the BALMY.”
Bamboozle, to deceive, make fun of, or cheat a person; abbreviated to BAM, which is sometimes used also as a substantive—a deception, a sham, a “sell.” Swift says BAMBOOZLE was invented by a nobleman in the reign of Charles II.; but this is very likely an error. The probability is that a nobleman then first used it in polite society. The term is derived from the Gipsies.
Bandannah, originally a peculiar kind of silk pocket-handkerchief, now slang used to denote all sorts of “stooks,” “wipes,” and “fogles,” and in fact the generic term for a kerchief, whether neck or pocket.
Banded, hungry. From the habit hungry folks have of tying themselves tight round the middle.
Bandy, or CRIPPLE, a sixpence, so called from this coin being generally bent or crooked; old term for flimsy or bad cloth, temp. Q. Elizabeth.
Bang, to excel or surpass; BANGING, great or thumping.
Bang-up, first-rate, in the best possible style.
Bank, to put in a place of safety. “Bank the rag,” i.e., secure the note. Also “to bank” is to go shares.
Bank, the total amount possessed by any one, “How’s the BANK?” “Not very strong; about one and a buck.”
Bantling, a child; stated in Bacchus and Venus, 1737, and by Grose, to be a cant term. This is hardly slang now-a-days, and modern etymologists give its origin as that of bands or swaddling clothes.
Banyan-Day, a day on which no meat is served out for rations; probably derived from the BANIANS, a Hindoo caste, who abstain from animal food. Quite as probably from the sanitary arrangements which have in hot climates counselled the eating of BANYANS and other fruits in preference to meat on certain days.—Sea.
Bar, or BARRING, excepting; in common use in the betting-ring; “Two to one bar one,” i.e., two to one against any horse with the exception of one. The Irish use of BARRIN’ is very similar, and the words BAR and BARRING may now be regarded as general.
Barber’s Cat, a half-starved sickly-looking person. Term used in connexion with an expression too coarse to print.
Barber’s Clerk, an overdressed shopboy who apes the manners of, and tries to pass himself off as, a gentleman; a term of reproach applied not to an artisan but to one of those who, being below, assume airs of superiority over, handicraftsmen.
Barge, a term used among printers (compositors) to denote a case in which there is an undue proportion of some letters and a corresponding shortness of those which are most valuable.
Bark, an Irish person of either sex. From this term, much in use among the London lower orders, but for which no etymology can be found, Ireland is now and then playfully called Barkshire.
Barker, a man employed to cry at the doors of “gaffs,” shows, and puffing shops, to entice people inside. Among touting photographers he is called a doorsman.
Barking-Iron, or BARKER, a pistol. Term used by footpads and thieves generally.
Barnacles, spectacles; possibly a corruption of binoculi; but derived by some from the barnacle (Lepas Anatifera), a kind of conical shell adhering to ships’ bottoms. Hence a marine term for goggles, which they resemble in shape, and for which they are used by sailors in case of ophthalmic derangement.
Barney, an unfair race of any kind: a sell or cross. Also a lark, jollification, or outing. The word BARNEY is sometimes applied to a swindle unconnected with the sporting world.
Barn Stormers, theatrical performers who travel the country and act in barns, selecting short and tragic pieces to suit the rustic taste.
Barrikin, jargon, speech, or discourse; “We can’t tumble to that BARRIKIN,” i.e., we don’t understand what he says. “Cheese your BARRIKIN,” shut up. Miege calls it “a sort of stuff;” Old French, BARACAN.
Bash, to beat, thrash; “BASHING a dona,” beating a woman; originally a provincial word, applied to the practice of beating walnut trees, when in bud, with long poles, to increase their productiveness. Hence the West country proverb—
The more you BASH ’em, the better they be.”
The word BASH, among thieves, signifies to flog with the cat or birch. The worst that can happen to a brutal ruffian is to receive “a BASHING in, and a BASHING out,”—a flogging at the commencement and another at the close of his term of enforced virtue.
Baste, to beat, properly to pour gravy on roasting meat to keep it from burning, and add to its flavour. Also a sewing term.
Bastile, the workhouse. General name for “the Union” amongst the lower orders of the North. Formerly used to denote a prison, or “lock-up;” but its abbreviated form, STEEL, is now the favourite expression with the dangerous classes, some of whom have never heard of BASTILE, familiar as they are with “steel.”
Bat, “on his own BAT,” on his own account. Evident modification of the cricket term, “off his own bat,” though not connected therewith.—See HOOK.
Bat, to take an innings at cricket. To “carry out one’s BAT” is to be last in, i.e., to be “not out.” A man’s individual score is said to be made “off his own BAT.”
Bat, pace at walking or running. As, “He went off at a good BAT.”
Bats, a pair of bad boots.
Battells, the weekly bills at Oxford. Probably originally wooden tallies, and so a diminutive of bâton.—University.
Batter, wear and tear; “can’t stand the BATTER,” i.e., not equal to the task; “on the BATTER,” “on the streets,” “on the town,” or given up to roystering and debauchery.
Batty, wages, perquisites. Derived from BATTA, an extra pay given to soldiers while serving in India.
Batty-Fang, to beat; BATTY-FANGING, a beating; also BATTER-FANG. Used metaphorically as early as 1630.
“So batter-fanged and belabour’d with tongue mettle, that he was weary of his life.”—Taylor’s Works.
Beach-Comber, a fellow who prowls about the sea-shore to plunder wrecks, and pick up waifs and strays of any kind.—Sea.
Beak, originally a magistrate, judge, or policeman; now a magistrate only; “to baffle the BEAK,” to get remanded. Ancient Cant, BECK. Saxon, BEAG, a necklace or gold collar—emblem of authority. Sir John Fielding was called the BLIND-BEAK in the last century. Maybe connected with the Italian BECCO, which means a (bird’s) beak, and also a blockhead.—See WALKER.
Beaker-Hunter, or BEAK-HUNTER, a stealer of poultry.
Beans, money; “a haddock of BEANS,” a purse of money; formerly, BEAN meant a guinea; French, BIENS, property.
Bear, one who contracts to deliver or sell a certain quantity of stock in the public funds on a forthcoming day at a stated place, but who does not possess it, trusting to a decline in public securities to enable him to fulfil the agreement and realize a profit.—See BULL. Both words are slang terms on the Stock Exchange, and are frequently used in the business columns of newspapers.
“He who sells that of which he is not possessed is proverbially said to sell the skin before he has caught the BEAR. It was the practice of stock-jobbers, in the year 1720, to enter into a contract for transferring South Sea stock at a future time for a certain price; but he who contracted to sell had frequently no stock to transfer, nor did he who bought intend to receive any in consequence of his bargain; the seller was, therefore, called a BEAR, in allusion to the proverb, and the buyer a BULL, perhaps only as a similar distinction. The contract was merely a wager, to be determined by the rise or fall of stock; if it rose, the seller paid the difference to the buyer, proportioned to the sum determined by the same computation to the seller.”—Dr. Warton on Pope.
These arrangements are nowadays called “time bargains,” and are as fairly (or unfairly) gambling as any transactions at the Victoria Club or Tattersall’s, or any of the doings which call for the intervention of the police and the protestations of pompous City magistrates, who, during their terms of office, try to be virtuous and make their names immortal. Certainly BULLING and BEARING are as productive of bankruptcy and misery as are BACKING and LAYING.
Be-argered, drunk. (The word is divided here simply to convey the pronunciation.)
Bear-Leader, a tutor in a private family. In the old days of the “grand tour” the term was much more in use and of course more significant than it is now.
Bear-up and Bearer-up.—See BONNET.
Beat, the allotted range traversed by a policeman on duty.
Beat, or BEAT-HOLLOW, to surpass or excel; also “BEAT into fits,” and “BEAT badly.”
Beat, “DEAD-BEAT,” wholly worn out, done up.
Beater-Cases, boots. Nearly obsolete. Trotter cases is the term nowadays.
Beaver, old street term for a hat; GOSS is the modern word, BEAVER, except in the country, having fallen into disuse.
Bebee, a lady.—Anglo-Indian.
Be-Blowed, a derisive instruction never carried into effect, as, “You BE-BLOWED.” Used similarly to the old “Go to.” See BLOW ME.
Bed-Fagot, a contemptuous term for a woman; generally applied to a prostitute.—See FAGOT.
Bed-Post, “in the twinkling of a BED-POST,” in a moment, or very quickly. Originally BED-STAFF, a stick placed vertically in the frame of a bed to keep the bedding in its place, and used sometimes as a defensive weapon.
Bee, “to have a BEE in one’s bonnet,” i.e., to be not exactly sane; to have a craze in one particular direction. Several otherwise sensible and excellent M.P.’s are distinguished by the “BEE in his bonnet” each carries.
Beef-Headed, stupid, fat-headed, dull.
Beefy, unduly thick or fat, commonly said of women’s ankles; also rich, juicy, plenteous. To take the whole pool at loo, or to have any particular run of luck at cards generally is said by players to be “very BEEFY.”
Beeline, the straightest possible line of route to a given point. When a bee is well laden, it makes a straight flight for home. Originally an Americanism, but now general.
Beery, intoxicated, or fuddled with beer.
Beeswax, poor, soft cheese. Sometimes called “sweaty-toe cheese.”
Beeswing, the film which forms on the sides of bottles which contain good old port wine. This breaks up into small pieces in the process of decanting, and looks like BEES’ WINGS. Hence the term.
Beetle-Crusher, or SQUASHER, a large flat foot. The expression was made popular by being once used by Leech.
Beetle-Sticker, an entomologist.
Beggars’ Velvet, downy particles which accumulate under furniture from the negligence of housemaids. Otherwise called SLUTS’-WOOL.
Belcher, a blue bird’s-eye handkerchief.—See BILLY.
Bell, a song. Tramps’ term. Simply diminutive of BELLOW.
Bellows, the lungs. Bellowser, a blow in the “wind,” or pit of the stomach, taking one’s breath away.
Bellowsed, or LAGGED, transported.
Bellows to Mend, a person out of breath; especially a pugilist is said to be “BELLOWS TO MEND” when winded. With the P.R., the word has fallen into desuetude.
Belly-Timber, food, or “grub.”
Belly-Vengeance, small sour beer, apt to cause gastralgia.
Bemuse, to fuddle one’s self with drink, “BEMUSING himself with beer,” &c.
Ben, a benefit.—Theatrical.
Ben Cull, a friend, or “pal.” Expression used by thieves.
Bend, “that’s above my bend,” i.e., beyond my power, too expensive or too difficult for me to perform.
Bender, a sixpence. Probably from its liability to bend. In the days when the term was most in use sixpences were not kept in the excellent state of preservation peculiar to the currency of the present day.
Bender, the arm; “over the BENDER,” synonymous with “over the left.”—See OVER.
Bendigo, a rough fur cap worn in the midland counties, called after a noted pugilist of that name. “Hard Punchers” are caps worn by London roughs and formerly by men in training. They are a modification of the common Scotch cap, and have peaks.
Bene, good.—Ancient Cant; BENAR was the comparative.—See BONE. Latin.
Benedick, a married man. Shakspeare.
Benjamin, coat. Formerly termed a JOSEPH, in allusion, perhaps, to Joseph’s coat of many colours.—See UPPER-BENJAMIN.
Ben Joltram, brown bread and skimmed milk; a Norfolk term for a ploughboy’s breakfast.
Benjy, a waistcoat, diminutive of BENJAMIN.
Beong, a shilling.—See SALTEE.—Lingua Franca.
Bess-o’-Bedlam, a lunatic vagrant.—Norfolk.
Best, to get the better or BEST of a man in any way—not necessarily to cheat—to have the best of a bargain. BESTED, taken in, or defrauded, in reality worsted. Bester, a low betting cheat, a fraudulent bookmaker.
Better, more; “how far is it to town?” “Oh, BETTER ’n a mile.”—Saxon and Old English, now a vulgarism.
Betting Round, laying fairly and equally against nearly all the horses in a race so that no great risk can be run. Commonly called getting round. See BOOK, and BOOKMAKING.
Betty, a skeleton key, or picklock.—Old Prison Cant.
B Flats, bugs.—Compare F SHARPS.
Bible-Carrier, a person who sells songs without singing them.—Seven Dials.
Biddy, a general name applied to Irish stallwomen and milkmaids, in the same manner that Mike is given to the labouring men. A big red-faced Irish servant girl is known as a Bridget.
Big, “to look BIG,” to assume an inflated air or manner; “to talk BIG,” i.e., boastingly.
Big-Bird, TO GET THE, i.e., to be hissed, as actors occasionally are by the “gods.” Big-bird is simply a metaphor for goose.—Theat. Slang.
Big House, or LARGE HOUSE, the workhouse,—a phrase used by the very poor.
Big-wig, a person in authority or office. Exchangeable with “GREAT GUN.”
Bilbo, a sword; abbrev. of “BILBAO blade.” Spanish swords were anciently very celebrated, especially those of Toledo, Bilbao, &c.
Bilk, a cheat, or a swindler. Formerly in general use, now confined to the streets, where it is common, and mostly used in reference to prostitutes. Gothic, BILAICAN.
Bilk, to defraud, or obtain goods, &c., without paying for them; “to BILK the schoolmaster,” to get information or experience without paying for it.
Billingsgate (when applied to speech), foul and coarse language. Many years since people used to visit Thames Street to hear the Billingsgate fishwomen abuse each other. The anecdote of Dr. Johnson and the Billingsgate virago is well known.
Billingsgate Pheasant, a red herring or bloater. This is also called a “two-eyed steak.”
Billy, a silk pocket-handkerchief.—Scotch.—See WIPE.
⁂ A list of slang terms descriptive of the various patterns of handkerchiefs, pocket and neck, is here subjoined:—
Belcher, darkish blue ground, large round white spots, with a spot in the centre of darker blue than the ground. This was adopted by Jem Belcher, the pugilist, as his “colours,” and soon became popular amongst “the fancy.”
Bird’s-eye wipe, a handkerchief of any colour, containing white spots. The blue bird’s-eye is similar to the Belcher except in the centre. Sometimes a BIRD’S-EYE WIPE has a white ground and blue spots.
Blood-red fancy, red.
Blue Billy, blue ground, generally with white figures.
Cream fancy, any pattern on a white ground.
King’s man, yellow pattern on a green ground.
Randal’s man, green, with white spots; named after the favourite colours of Jack Randal, pugilist.
Water’s man, sky coloured.
Yellow fancy, yellow, with white spots.
Yellow man, all yellow.
Billy, a policeman’s staff. Also stolen metal of any kind. Billy-hunting is buying old metal. A Billy-fencer is a marine-store dealer.
Billy-Barlow, a street clown; sometimes termed a JIM CROW, or SALTIMBANCO,—so called from the hero of a slang song. Billy was a real person, semi-idiotic, and though in dirt and rags, fancied himself a swell of the first water. Occasionally he came out with real witticisms. He was a well-known street character about the East-end of London, and died in Whitechapel Workhouse.
Billy-Cock, a soft felt hat of the Jim Crow or “wide-awake” description.
Bingo, brandy.—Old Cant.
Bingy, a term largely used in the butter trade to denote bad, ropy butter; nearly equivalent to VINNIED.
Bird-Cage, a four-wheeled cab.
Birthday Suit, the suit in which Adam and Eve first saw each other, and “were not ashamed.”
Bishop, a warm drink composed of materials similar to those used in the manufacture of “flip” and “purl.”
Bit, fourpence; in America a 12½ cent piece is called a BIT, and a defaced 20 cent piece is termed a LONG BIT. A BIT is the smallest coin in Jamaica, equal to 6d. Bit usually means the smallest silver coin in circulation; also a piece of money of any kind. Charles Bannister, the witty singer and actor, one day meeting a Bow Street runner with a man in custody, asked what the prisoner had done; and being told that he had stolen a bridle, and had been detected in the act of selling it, said, “Ah, then, he wanted to touch the BIT.”
Bitch, tea; “a BITCH party,” a tea-drinking. Probably because undergraduates consider tea only fit for old women.—Oxford.
Bite, a cheat; “a Yorkshire BITE,” a cheating fellow from that county. The term BITE is also applied to a hard bargainer.—North; also old slang—used by Pope. Swift says it originated with a nobleman in his day.
Bite, to cheat; “to be BITTEN,” to be taken in or imposed upon. Originally a Gipsy term. Cross-biter, for a cheat, continually occurs in writers of the sixteenth century. Bailey has CROSS-BITE, a disappointment, probably the primary sense; and BITE is very probably a contraction of this.
Bit-Faker, or TURNER OUT, a coiner of bad money.
Bit-of-Stuff, overdressed man; a man with full confidence in his appearance and abilities; a young woman, who is also called a BIT OF MUSLIN.
Bitter, diminutive of bitter beer; “to do a BITTER,” to drink beer.—Originally Oxford, but now general.
Bittock, a distance of very undecided length. If a North countryman be asked the distance to a place, he will most probably reply, “a mile and a BITTOCK.” The latter may be considered any distance from one hundred yards to ten miles.
Bivvy, or GATTER, beer; “shant of BIVVY,” a pot or quart of beer. In Suffolk the afternoon refreshment of reapers is called BEVER. It is also an old English term.
“He is none of those same ordinary eaters, that will devour three breakfasts, and as many dinners, without any prejudice to their BEVERS, drinkings, or suppers.”—Beaumont and Fletcher’s Woman Hater, i. 3.
Both words are probably from the Italian, BEVERE, BERE. Latin, BIBERE. English, BEVERAGE.
Biz, contraction of the word business; a phrase much used in America in writing as well as in conversation.
B. K. S. Military officers in mufti, when out on a spree, and not wishing their profession to be known, speak of their barracks as the B. K. S.
Black and White, handwriting or print. “Let’s have it in BLACK AND WHITE,” is often said with regard to an agreement when it is to the advantage of one or both that it should be written.
Black-a-vised, having a very dark complexion.
Blackberry-Swagger, a person who hawks tapes, boot-laces, &c.
Blackbirding, slave-catching. Term most applied nowadays to the Polynesian coolie traffic.
Black Diamonds, coals; talented persons of dingy or unpolished exterior; rough jewels.
Blackguard, a low or dirty fellow; a rough or a hulking fellow, capable of any meanness or cowardice.
“A cant word amongst the vulgar, by which is implied a dirty fellow of the meanest kind, Dr. Johnson says, and he cites only the modern authority of Swift. But the introduction of this word into our language belongs not to the vulgar, and is more than a century prior to the time of Swift. Mr. Malone agrees with me in exhibiting the two first of the following examples:—The black-guard is evidently designed to imply a fit attendant on the devil. Mr. Gifford, however, in his late edition of Ben Jonson’s works, assigns an origin of the name different from what the old examples which I have cited seem to countenance. It has been formed, he says, from those ‘mean and dirty dependants, in great houses, who were selected to carry coals to the kitchen, halls, &c. To this smutty regiment, who attended the progresses, and rode in the carts with the pots and kettles, which, with every other article of furniture, were then moved from palace to palace, the people, in derision, gave the name of black guards; a term since become sufficiently familiar, and never properly explained.’”—Todd’s Johnson’s Dictionary.
Blackguard as an adjective is very powerful.
Blackleg, a rascal, swindler, or card cheat. The derivation of this term was solemnly argued before the full Court of Queen’s Bench upon a motion for a new trial for libel, but was not decided by the learned tribunal. Probably it is from the custom of sporting and turf men wearing black top-boots. Hence BLACKLEG came to be the phrase for a professional sporting man, and thence for a professional sporting cheat. The word is now in its worst sense diminished to “leg.”
Black Maria, the sombre van in which prisoners are conveyed from the police court to prison.
Black Monday, the Monday on which boys return to school after the holidays. Also a low term for the Monday on which an execution took place.
Black Sheep, a “bad lot,” “mauvais sujet;” sometimes “scabby sheep;” also a workman who refuses to join in a strike.
Black Strap, port wine; especially that which is thick and sweet.
Blackwork, undertaking. The waiters met at public dinners are often employed during the day as mutes, etc. Omnibus and cab drivers regard BLACKWORK as a dernier ressort.
Bladder-of-Lard, a coarse, satirical nickname for a bald-headed person. From similarity of appearance.
Blade, a man—in ancient times the term for a soldier; “knowing BLADE,” a wide-awake, sharp, or cunning man.
Blarney, flattery, powers of persuasion. A castle in the county of Cork. It is said that whoever kisses a certain stone in this castle will be able to persuade others of whatever he or she pleases. The name of the castle is derived from BLADH, a blossom, i.e., the flowery or fertile demesne. Bladh is also flattery; hence the connexion. A more than ordinarily persuasive Irishman is said to have “kissed the BLARNEY stone.”
Blast, to curse. Originally a Military expression.
Blaze, to leave trace purposely of one’s way in a forest or unknown path by marking trees or other objects.
Blazes, a low synonym for the infernal regions, and now almost for anything. “Like BLAZES” is a phrase of intensification applied without any reference to the original meaning. Also applied to the brilliant habiliments of flunkeys, since the episode of Sam Weller and the “swarry.”
Bleed, to victimize, or extract money from a person, to sponge on, to make suffer vindictively.
Blest, a vow; “BLEST if I’ll do it,” i.e., I am determined not to do it; euphemism for CURST.
Blether, to bother, to annoy, to pester. “A BLETHERING old nuisance” is a common expression for a garrulous old person.
Blew, or BLOW, to inform, or peach, to lose or spend money.
Blewed, a man who has lost or spent all his money is said to have BLEWED it. Also used in cases of robbery from the person, as, “He’s BLEWED his red ’un,” i.e., he’s been eased of his watch.
Blewed, got rid of, disposed of, spent.
Blind, a pretence, or make-believe.
Blind-Half-Hundred, the Fiftieth Regiment of Foot; so called through their great sufferings from ophthalmia when serving in Egypt.
Blind-Hookey, a game at cards which has no recommendation beyond the rapidity with which money can be won and lost at it; called also WILFUL MURDER.
Blind-Man’s-Holiday, night, darkness. Sometimes applied to the period “between the lights.”
Blind Monkeys, an imaginary collection at the Zoological Gardens, which are supposed to receive care and attention from persons fitted by nature for such office and for little else. An idle and useless person is often told that he is only fit to lead the BLIND MONKEYS to evacuate. Another form this elegant conversation takes, is for one man to tell another that he knows of a suitable situation for him. “How much a week? and what to do?” are natural questions, and then comes the scathing and sarcastic reply, “Five bob a week at the doctor’s—you’re to stand behind the door and make the patients sick. They wont want no physic when they sees your mug.”
Blinker, a blackened eye.—Norwich. Also a hard blow in the eye. BLINKERS, spectacles.
Blink-Fencer, a person who sells spectacles.
Bloated Aristocrat, a street term for any decently dressed person. From the persistent abuse lavished on a “bloated and parasitical aristocracy” by Hyde Park demagogues and a certain unpleasant portion of the weekly press.
Bloater.—See MILD.
Blob (from BLAB), to talk. Beggars are of two kinds—those who SCREEVE (introducing themselves with a FAKEMENT, or false document) and those who BLOB, or state their case in their own truly “unvarnished” language.
Block, the head. “To BLOCK a hat,” is to knock a man’s hat down over his eyes.—See BONNET. Also a street obstruction.
Block Ornaments, the small dark-coloured and sometimes stinking pieces of meat which used to be exposed on the cheap butchers’ blocks or counters; matters of interest to all the sharp-visaged women in poor neighbourhoods. Since the great rise in the price of meat there has been little necessity for butchers to make block ornaments of their odds and ends. They are bespoke beforehand.
Bloke, a man; “the BLOKE with the jasey,” the man with the wig, i.e., the Judge. Gipsy and Hindoo, LOKE. North, BLOACHER, any large animal.
Blood, a fast or high-mettled man. Nearly obsolete, but much used in George the Fourth’s time.
Blood-money, the money that used to be paid to any one who by information or evidence led to a conviction for a capital offence. Nowadays applied to all sums received by informers.
Blood-Red Fancy, a particular kind of handkerchief sometimes worn by pugilists and frequenters of prize fights.—See BILLY and COLOUR.
Bloody, an expletive used, without reference to meaning, as an adjective and an adverb, simply for intensification.
Bloody Jemmy, an uncooked sheep’s head.—See SANGUINARY JAMES. Also MOUNTAIN PECKER.