A
=A1.= An expression meaning “first-rate.” Derived from Lloyd’s “Registry
of Shipping,” in which letters denote the quality of a ship’s hull,
and figures that of its equipment. A vessel registered A1 is of the
first class in all respects.
=Abbey Laird.= An insolvent debtor who in former times sought the
sanctuary of the precincts of Holyrood Abbey against arrest.
=Abbey Road.= From the ancient abbey of the Holy Virgins of St John the
Baptist in St John’s Wood.
=Abbotsford.= The name given by Sir Walter Scott to his residence on the
banks of the Tweed, from the poetical assumption that the abbots of
Melrose must have forded the stream hereabouts in olden times.
=A.B.C. Girls.= Waitresses at the depots of the Aerated Bread Company
Limited.
=Aberdeen.= From the Celtic _aber_, estuary, confluence; the town at the
mouth of the Dee.
=Abernethy Biscuits.= From the name of the baker who introduced them.
Their connection with Dr Abernethy was repudiated by the great
physician himself.
=Aberystwith.= The town at the mouth of the Ystwith.
=Abigail.= The generic name for a waiting-maid, in allusion to the
handmaid who introduced herself to David (1 Sam. xxv. 23). Its
popularity during the second half of the seventeenth century may be
accounted for by the fact that the maiden name of Mrs Masham, the
waiting-woman of Queen Anne, was Abigail Hill.
=Abingdon.= A corruption of Abbendon, the town of abbeys, being a place
famed for religious houses far back in Anglo-Saxon days.
=Abingdon Street.= From the ancient town residence of the Earls of
Abingdon.
=Abney Park.= From Abney House, now a Conservative Club, the residence
of Sir Thomas Abney, Lord Mayor of London. Dr Isaac Watts passed
away at Abney House in 1748.
=Abode of Love.= See “Agapemonites.”
=Abolitionists.= The party sworn to the total and immediate abolition of
slavery in the United States.
=Above Board.= Open, not playing an underhanded game. The owners of the
gaming-tables on a race-course unsuspectedly regulated the issue of
the spinning hand on the board by means of a treadle.
=Abraham Newlands.= Bank of England notes, so called from the signature
they bore early in the last century.
=Absinthe.= From the Greek _apsnithion_, wormwood.
=Absquatulate.= A Far-West Americanism. A squatter who suddenly left his
claim was said to have absquatulated.
=Abyssinia.= The country of the Abassins, or “mixed races.”
=Academy.= From the garden of Academus, where Plato taught his
disciples; called on this account the Academics, or Academic School
of Philosophy.
=According to Cocker.= Strictly correct. After Edward Cocker of Paul’s
Chain, who published a most popular arithmetic.
=According to Gunter.= An expression much used in America for anything
done properly and systematically. The allusion is to Edmund Gunter,
the celebrated mathematician, who invented a chain and scale for
measuring.
=Achilles Tendon.= The tendon reaching from the calf of the leg to the
heel. See “Heel of Achilles.”
=Acknowledge the Corn.= An Americanism of extremely popular application.
Its origin is thus given by _The Pittsburg Commercial Advertiser_:
“Some years ago a raw customer from the upper country determined to
try his fortune at New Orleans. Accordingly he provided himself with
two flat boats--one laden with corn and the other with potatoes--and
down the river he went. The night after his arrival he went up town
to a gambling-house. Of course, he commenced betting, and, his luck
proving unfortunate, he lost. When his money was gone he bet his
‘truck’; and the corn and potatoes followed the money. At last, when
evidently cleaned out, he returned to his boats at the wharf, where
the evidences of a new misfortune presented themselves. Through some
accident or other the flat boat containing the corn was sunk, and a
total loss. Consoling himself as well as he could he went to sleep,
dreaming of gamblers, potatoes, and corn. It was scarcely sunrise,
however, when he was disturbed by the ‘child of chance,’ who had
arrived to take possession of the two boats as his winnings. Slowly
awakening from his sleep, our hero, rubbing his eyes and looking the
man in the face, replied: ‘Stranger, I acknowledge the corn--take
’em; but the potatoes you _can’t_ have, by thunder!’ Since that time
it has become customary for a man who frankly admits having been
hoaxed or beaten to say: ‘I acknowledge the corn.’”
=Acropolis.= From the Greek _akros_, highest, and _polis_, city. A
citadel or fortress overlooking a city, as at Athens.
=Acton.= Anglo-Saxon for “Oak Town,” built in the neighbourhood of a
great oak forest.
=Actors’ Day.= A day--the third Thursday in October--set apart for a
performance in all the theatres of the United Kingdom in aid of the
various theatrical charities--actors being pledged to give their
services, dramatic authors to forego their fees, and managers to
devote the entire receipts to the good cause.
=Adam Street.= After the Brothers Adam, who built the streets
collectively styled the “Adelphi.”
=Adam’s Needle.= A plant so called from its long, pointed leaves.
Whether he and his spouse strung their aprons together by its means
is doubtful.
=Adam’s Wine.= Drinking water, because Adam knew not the fermented juice
of the grape.
=Ada Rehan.= This American actress is of Irish extraction, her name
being “Regan,” but on entering the dramatic profession she changed
it to “Rehan.”
=Addison of the North.= The literary sobriquet of Henry Fielding, author
of “The Man of Feeling,” on account of the purity and elegance of
his style.
=Addison Road.= After the great English essayist, who, having married
the Dowager Countess of Warwick, lived and died at Holland House,
Kensington.
=Addled Parliament.= A memorable session during the reign of James I.,
which, though it lasted from 5th April 1614 to 7th June 1615, passed
no new measure whatever.
=Adelaide.= The capital of South Australia, an island, and also a noted
hostelry on Haverstock Hill, named in honour of the consort of
William IV.
=Adelphi.= The collective name for several streets and a noble terrace
on the south side of the Strand, built by the Brothers Adam.
_Adelphi_ is Greek for “brothers.”
=Adieu.= Originally a popular commendation to the care of God--_A Dieu!_
=Adonis.= The name given to a beautiful youth, and also to the anemone,
after Adonis, who was beloved by Venus. The flower is said to have
sprung from his blood when he was gored to death by a wild boar in
the chase.
=Admirable Crichton.= The designation of one accomplished in all the
arts. “Admirable” Crichton was a noted Scottish prodigy of the
sixteenth century.
=Admiral.= From the Arabic _emir-el-bahr_, Lord of the Sea.
=Adrianople.= The city founded by the Emperor Hadrian.
=Adriatic Sea.= After the Emperor Hadrian.
=Adullamites.= Those who in 1866 seceded from the Reform Party. John
Bright said they had retired to the Cave of Adullam, there to gather
around them all the discontented. The allusion was to David’s flight
from Saul (1. Sam. xxii. 1, 2).
=Ad valorem.= A Customs term for duties levied according to the stated
value of goods imported. The duty on various qualities of the same
goods may therefore differ.
=Ædiles.= Civil officers of Rome who had the care of the streets and
_ædes_, or public buildings.
=Æolian Harp.= A lute placed in the trees for the zephyrs to play upon,
so called after Æolus, the god of the winds.
=Æsculapius.= The generic term for a physician, after the one of this
name mentioned by Homer, who was afterwards deified in the Greek
mythology.
=Afghanistan.= Pursuant to the Persian _stan_, the country of the
Afghans.
=Africa.= From the Phœnician _afer_, a black man, and the Sanskrit
_ac_, earth, land, country. This great continent is the natural home
of the blacks--the negroes of North America and the West Indian
Islands being descended from the slaves carried thither from the
west coast of Africa since the time of the original slave trader,
Sir John Hawkins, in 1562.
=Agapæ.= Love feasts of the Romans, from the Greek _agape_, love.
=Agapemonites.= An old term which has newly come into vogue in our day.
_Agapemone_ is Greek for “abode of love.” There was such a retreat
early in the nineteenth century at Charlynch, Somerset, the seat of
the Agapemonists or Agapemonites, followers of Henry James Prince,
an ex-Churchman.
=Agar Street.= After William Agar, a wealthy lawyer, who resided in it.
See “Agar Town.”
=Agar Town.= A now vanished district covered by St Pancras Railway
Station, the lease of which was acquired by William Agar in 1840 for
building purposes.
=Agate.= From _Achates_, the Greek name of a Sicilian river, in the bed
of which this gem was found in abundance.
=Agnostic.= From the Greek _a_, without, and _gnomi_, to know. One who
professes a belief only in what he knows or can discover for
himself. Literally a “know-nothing.”
=Agony Column.= At first this newspaper column was confined to
distressful inquiries for missing relatives and friends. Latterly it
has become a tacit means of communication between persons who, for
various reasons, cannot exchange letters sent through the post.
=Ahoy.= From _Aoi_, the battle cry of the Norsemen as they ran their
galleys upon the enemy.
=Aigrette.= A French word, denoting the tall white plume of a heron.
From a feather head-dress the term has now come to be applied to an
ornament of gems worn by a lady on the crown of her head when in
full evening dress.
=Air of a Gentleman.= In this sense the word “air” is synonymous with
“manner” and “deportment.”
=Air Street.= When laid out and built upon in 1659 this was the most
westerly street in London. The allusion to fresh air is obvious.
=Aix-la-Chapelle.= The _Aquis Granum_ of the Romans, famous for its
baths. Hence the German name Aachen, expressive of many springs. The
place is also noted for its many churches; the cathedral, which grew
out of the original chapel, contains the shrine of Charlemagne.
=Alabama.= Indian for “here we rest.”
=A la Guillotine.= The name given in France after the Revolution to the
fashion of wearing the hair very short, in memory of friends and
relatives who had fallen victims to the “Guillotine.”
=A la Watteau.= The name given to a stage ballet in which the pretty
rustic costumes are after the style of those ever present in the
pastoral paintings of Antoine Watteau, the famous French artist.
Reproductions of his pictures frequently also figure on expensive
furniture--screens in particular.
=Albania.= From the Latin _albus_, white, “the country of snowy mountain
ranges.”
=Albany.= A commodious range of bachelor chambers in Piccadilly, at one
time the residence of Frederick, son of George III., created Duke of
York and Albany.
=Albany Street.= After the Duke of York and Albany, _temp._ George III.
=Albemarle Street.= In the West End street of this name resided
Christopher Monk, second Duke of Albemarle. The other, in
Clerkenwell, was built upon when General Monk, the first Duke of
Albemarle, was at the zenith of his popularity.
=Albert.= After the Prince Consort, to whom the jewellers of Birmingham
presented a short gold watch-chain on the occasion of his visit to
that city in 1849.
=Albert Gate.= After Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria. The
Albert Bridge, Albert Memorial, and Royal Albert Hall likewise
perpetuate his name.
=Albigensis.= Christian heretics of the twelfth century, drawn from the
Albigeois, whose capital was Albi, in Languedoc.
=Albion.= The name given to Britain by the Romans on account of its
(_albus_) white cliffs, as approached from the sea.
=Alcantara.= From the Arabic _Al-kantarah_, “the bridge,” referring to
the fine stone bridge built by Trajan.
=Alcove.= From the Arabic _El-kauf_ through the Spanish _alcoba_, a
tent.
=Aldermanbury.= The _bury_ or enclosed place in which stood the first
Guildhall prior to the reign of Henry IV.
=Alderney.= In French Aurigny, from the Latin Aurinia, Isle of Light.
=Aldersgate Street.= From the ancient city gate near which grew several
fine alder-trees.
=Aldgate.= From the Auld Gate of Saxon London, the earliest of the city
gates.
=Aldine Editions.= Early editions of the classics produced and given to
the world by Aldo Manuzio, the celebrated printer of Venice, in the
sixteenth century.
=Aldwych.= An old name for a magnificent new thoroughfare which has
taken the place of quaint, out-of-date Wych Street, anciently
described as _Auld Wych_, leading as it did to the old village,
whose parish church was that of St Giles’s in the Fields.
=Ale-stake.= The pole anciently set up in front of an alehouse. This was
at first surmounted by a bush, in imitation of a wine bush; later it
became exchanged for a sign.
=Ale-wife.= An old name for the wife of a tavern keeper.
=Alexandra Limp.= When our present Queen, as Princess of Wales, having
sustained an injury to her knee, was walking lame, it became the
fashion to imitate her gait.
=Alexandria.= The city founded by Alexander the Great, B.C. 332.
=Aleutian Islands.= From the Russian _aleut_, “bald rock.”
=Alfreton.= Properly Alfred’s Town, identified with Alfred the Great.
=Algiers.= From the Arabic _Al Jezair_, “the peninsula.”
=Alhambra.= From the Arabic _Kal-at-al-hamra_, “the red castle.”
=Alibi.= Latin for “elsewhere.”
=A Little too Previous.= An Americanism for being in too great a hurry;
rushing at conclusions; saying or doing a thing without sufficient
warranty.
=All Abroad.= Provincial for scattered wits; “all over the place.”
=Allahabad.= Arabic and Persian for “City of God.”
=All Bosh.= The introduction of the term “Bosh” into our vocabulary must
be accredited to James Morier, in whose Oriental romances, “The
Adventures of Haiji Baba of Ispahan” and “Ayesha,” it frequently
appears. _Bosh_ is Persian and Turkish, signifying rubbish,
nonsense, silly talk.
=Alleghany.= A corruption of Alligewi, the name of an Indian tribe.
=Allemanni.= Teutonic for “All Men”; expressing a confederacy.
=All-fired.= An Americanism for “great”--_e.g._ “He came in an all-fired
hurry.”
=All-hallowe’en.= The vigil of “All-hallows’ Day.”
=All-hallows’-Barking.= This ancient church, dedicated to All the
Saints, belonged to the Abbey at Barking, Essex.
=All-hallows’ Day.= The old-time designation of All Saints’ Day, from
Anglo-Saxon _halig_, holy.
=All Moonshine.= As the light of the moon is reflected from the sun, so
an incredible statement received at second hand is said to be “all
moonshine.”
=All my Eye and Betty Martin.= A corruption of _Ah mihi, beate Martine_
(Woe to me, Blessed Martin), formerly used by beggars in Italy to
invoke their patron saint. The story goes that a sailor who wandered
into a church in that country, hearing these words, afterwards told
his companions that all he could make out from the service was: “All
my eye and Betty Martin.”
=All Saints’ Bay.= Discovered by Amerigo Vespucci on the Feast of All
Saints, 1503.
=All Saints’ Day.= The day set apart by the Church for the invocation of
the whole body of canonised saints.
=All Serena.= From the Spanish _serena_, used by sentinels as a
countersign for “All’s well.”
=All Souls’ College.= Founded at Oxford by Henry Chichely, Archbishop of
Canterbury, for the perpetual offering up of prayers on behalf of
the souls of those who fell in the wars of Henry V. in France.
=All Souls’ Day.= The day of special prayers for the liberation of the
suffering souls in Purgatory. The French people make it a point of
duty to visit the graves of their deceased relatives on this day.
=All the Go.= Originally a drapers’ phrase, meaning that a certain line
of goods is “going” fast and will soon be gone. A publisher, too,
thinks a book should “go” with the reading public.
=All There.= An Americanism expressive of one who has all his wits about
him.
=Almack’s.= Fashionable assembly-rooms in King Street, St James’s,
opened 12th February 1765 by MacCall, a Scotsman, who inverted his
name to remove all suspicion of his origin. The next proprietor
called them Willis’s Rooms, after himself. In 1890 they were
converted into a restaurant.
=Almighty Dollar.= For this expression we are indebted to Washington
Irving, who in his sketch of “The Creole Village” (1837) spoke of it
as “the great object of universal devotion throughout our land.”
=Alnwick.= The _wick_, or village, on the Alne.
=Alpaca.= Cloth made from the wool of the Peruvian sheep of the same
name, akin to the llama.
=Alps.= From the Latin _albus_, white, the mountains eternally capped
with snow.
=Alsace.= Teutonic for “the other seat,” being the abode of their own
people west of the Rhine. With the Celtic suffix the name became
“Alsatia.”
=Alsatia.= Anciently the district of Whitefriars, which, being a
sanctuary for law-breakers, received the name of the Rhine province
notorious as the common refuge of the disaffected.
=Alter Ego.= Expresses the Latin for “my other self” or “double.”
=Amadeus.= The family name of the House of Savoy, from its motto: “Love
God.”
=Amain.= A nautical phrase meaning suddenly, at once--_e.g._ “Strike
amain,” “Lower amain.”
=Amateur Casual.= The literary sobriquet of Mr James Greenwood, who in
1866 spent a night in Lambeth Workhouse, and wrote his experiences
in _The Pall Mall Gazette_. Within the last few months he has
undertaken a similar up-to-date commission for _The Tribune_.
=Amati.= A violin of rare excellence made by Andrea Amati of Cremona.
=Amazon.= The Spaniards first called this river the Orellana, in honour
of their countryman who navigated it, but after hearing accounts of
the fighting women on its banks they gave it the name of the fabled
African tribe of warlike women who cut or burnt off the right breast
in order the better to steady the bow. The word Amazon is Greek,
from _a_, without, and _maza_, breast.
=Ambrosian Chant.= Ascribed to St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan in the fourth
century.
=Ambuscade.= From the Italian _imboscata_, concealed in a wood.
=Amen.= Hebrew for “Yea,” “Truly,” “So be it.”
=Amen Corner.= Old Stow tells us this lane was suddenly stopped up in
his time, so that people said “Amen” on finding they had to turn
back again. There may be something in this; but the greater
likelihood is that it was here where the monks finished the recital
of the Paternoster before they took up the Ave Maria while on their
way in solemn procession to St Paul’s at the great Church festivals.
=America.= After Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine adventurer, who chanced
to be at Seville when Columbus was preparing for his second voyage
to the West. With Ojeda, Vespucci embarked upon an independent
expedition. Subsequently he made further voyages in Portuguese
ships, and discovered the Bay of All Saints. His remaining days were
spent in the service of the King of Spain, preparing charts and
prescribed routes to the New World. Although these official
publications bore his signature, Vespucci never claimed to have
discovered the great Western Continent. A wonderful narrative of his
voyages, however, purporting to have been written by Vespucci, found
its way into the hands of Martin Waldseemuller of Freiburg, Baden.
This he translated, and caused it to be published by a bookseller at
St Die in Lorraine in 1507. In his preface to the work Waldseemuller
suggested that the newly discovered country should be called
America, after the author, who had visited it. Hence the name really
originated in Germany.
=American Indians.= See “Indians.”
=Americanism.= A coined word or phrase in the United States which,
freely repeated, tickles the popular ear and soon becomes engrafted
upon the national vocabulary. Many Americanisms are now as common in
England as in the land of their origin. The term may also be applied
to such American deviations from British custom, as the substitution
of “Depot” for Railway Station, “News-stand” for Bookstall, “On the
street” for “In the street,” etc. etc.
=Amiens.= From the Latin _ambiens_, surrounded by water. Three branches
of the River Somme run through the city.
=Ammonites.= The descendants of Ben-ammi, the son of Lot (Gen. xxix.
38).
=Among the Gods.= At the time when the expression first came into use,
the ceiling of Drury Lane Theatre was embellished with classical
deities disporting themselves among the clouds in an azure sky.
=Among the Missing.= An Americanism for an absentee. When a person
wishes to be “out” to a visitor, he tells the servant that he
prefers to be “among the missing.”
=Amorica.= The country of the Armorici, “dwellers on the sea.”
=Ampthill Square.= From Ampthill Park, Bedfordshire, one of the seats of
the ground landlord, the Duke of Bedford.
=Amsterdam.= The town built on the dam of the Amstel.
=Amwell Street.= After one of the wells in Hertfordshire, whose waters
were drawn upon by Sir Hugh Myddleton for the New River.
=Anabaptists.= Conformably to the Greek _ana_, twice, the designation of
the original Baptists, who, having been baptised at birth, went
through the ceremony a second time on reaching maturity.
=Anacreon Moore.= The sobriquet of Thomas Moore, who translated the
_Odes_ of Anacreon, and constructed his own verses on the same
classic model.
=Anatolia.= The Turkish and Greek description of Asia Minor, from
_anatolie_, east--_i.e._ of Constantinople.
=Ancient.= Iago is described as Othello’s “ancient.” Even in
Shakespeare’s day this word was a corruption of _ensign_, or
standard-bearer.
=Ancient Lights.= After having enjoyed the light of a window on his
premises for twenty years uninterruptedly a person may, subject to
displaying the notice “ancient lights,” prevent that light from
being intercepted by any other building.
=Ancona.= From the Greek _agkon_, elbow, relative to its position on an
angle of the coast.
=Andalusia.= Properly Vandalusia, the country of the Vandals.
=Andes.= From the Peruvian _anta_, copper.
=Andrea Ferrara.= A world-famous Italian sword blade made by Andrea of
the city of Ferrara.
=Angel.= An inn sign, originally the “Angel and Salutation,” depicting
the visit of the angel who announced to the Virgin that she was to
be the mother of the Redeemer.
=Angelic Doctor.= One of the sobriquets of St Thomas Aquinas,
universally regarded as “The Angel of the Schools.” He is said also
to have written much on the nature of angels.
=Anglesea.= Properly Anglesey, expressing, from the point of view of the
Celtic inhabitants of Wales, the _ey_, or island of the Angles.
=Anglesea Morris.= After William Morris, who caught this species of fish
off the Isle of Anglesea.
=Angola.= Wool brought from Angola on the West Coast of Africa.
=Angostura Bitters.= Prepared from the celebrated medicinal bark
discovered by Capuchin monks in the Venezuelan city Angostura, which
name signifies a strait.
=Anguilla Island.= West Indian for “Little Snake,” from its shape.
=Anisette.= A cordial prepared from aniseed.
=Annunciator.= An Americanism for bell or gong.
=Antarctic Ocean.= That situate _anti_, opposite to, the Arctic Ocean.
=Antelope State.= Nebraska, from the number of antelopes found there.
=Anthem.= A hymn sung by the entire congregation, as distinguished from
Antiphone, which term expresses a series of choral responses.
=Antigua.= Expresses the Spanish for an ancient city.
=Antwerp.= In French Anvers, the _Antverpia_ of the Romans.
=Any.= An Americanism for “at all”--_e.g._ “It didn’t trouble me any.”
=Apache State.= Arizona, the scene of many bloodthirsty encounters with
the wild Apaches.
=Apennines.= The Pennine Alps, from the Celtic _ben_, which is the same
as the Welsh _pen_, summit or mountain head.
=Apollinaris Water.= Brought from the famous mineral spring in the
valley of the Ahor of the Rhine province. The ruins of a temple of
Apollo gave the name to the spot.
=Apothecary.= The old name for a dispenser of medicines. The Greek word
really implies a storehouse or depository; it is compounded out of
_apo_, to put away, and _theke_, chest, box. Differing from modern
chemists and druggists, licentiates of the Apothecaries’ Company may
visit the sick and prescribe for them, as well as make up
physicians’ prescriptions.
=Appian Way.= The construction of this famous road leading from Rome to
Capua was commenced by Appius Claudius.
=Apostle of Temperance.= Father Mathew, the inveterate enemy of tipplers
in the Emerald Isle of his time.
=Apostles’ Creed.= The whole summary of Christian Faith, according to
the Apostles.
=Apostolic Fathers.= Those early doctors of the Church who, living in
the first century after Christ, received their teaching from His
disciples, if they did not actually enjoy personal communion with
the Apostles.
=Apricot.= From the Latin _præcoqus_, early ripe.
=April.= The month in which the buds begin to shoot, from _aperio_, to
open.
=April Fish.= The French equivalent of “April Fool,” since, like a fish,
the unsuspecting victim of a practical joke is easily caught.
=April Fool.= The custom of April Fooling originated in France, which
country took the lead in shifting the New Year from what is now Lady
Day to the 1st of January. This occurred in 1564. From the earliest
periods of history people bestowed gifts upon their neighbours at
the New Year, but as the 25th of March so often fell in Holy Week,
even on Good Friday itself, the Church uniformly postponed the
celebration of the New Year until the octave--viz. the 1st of April.
When, therefore, New Year’s Day had been transferred to the 1st of
January, people paid mock visits to their friends on the 1st of
April with the object of fooling them into the belief that matters
remained as they were. The like custom was introduced into England
on the alteration of our calendar in 1762. April Fools’ Day is
supposed to be over at twelve o’clock, since the New Year’s
visitation and bestowal of gifts always took place before noon.
=Apsley House.= The residence of the Duke of Wellington, built by Henry
Apsley, Lord Chancellor, afterwards Lord Bathurst.
=Aquarians.= A Christian sect of the fourth century who substituted
water for wine in the Communion.
=Aqua Tofana.= A colourless poison invented by a Sicilian woman named
Tofana towards the close of the seventeenth century. So extensive
was her secret traffic with this liquid among young married women
who were anxious to rid themselves of their husbands that when, at a
great age, Tofana was dragged from the convent where she had taken
refuge, and executed, she admitted to having caused the deaths of
600 persons.
=Arabia.= The country of the Arabs, or “men of the desert.”
=Arbor Day.= A day set apart in America for planting trees.
=Arbroath.= Originally Aberbrothockwick, the village at the mouth of the
Brothock.
=Arcadian.= An ideal farmer or a rustic scene; after the Arcadians, who
were essentially a pastoral race.
=Arcadian Poetry.= Pastoral poetry, in allusion to the Arcadians.
=Archangel.= A town in Russia which derived its name from a great
monastery of St Michael the Archangel.
=Archer-fish.= A fish endowed with the power of shooting water at
insects, which thus become an easy prey.
=Archway Road.= Leads to the modern successor of the famous Highgate
Archway opened in 1813.
=Arctic Ocean.= From the Greek _arktos_, bear, having reference to the
great northern constellation.
=Ardennes.= The great forest on the heights.
=Argand Lamp.= After its inventor, Aimé Argand.
=Argentine Republic.= The modern name of Argentina, through which runs
the La Plata, or River of Silver. While preserving their original
designation of the river, the Spaniards Latinised that of the
country.
=Argosy.= A vessel laden with rich merchandise, from the _Argo_, in
which Jason and his fellow-adventurers, the Argonauts, sailed to
Colchis in quest of the Golden Fleece, B.C. 1263.
=Argyll.= From _Garra Ghaidhael_, the country of the West Gaels.
=Argyll Street.= From the old town mansion of the Dukes of Argyll. The
celebrated Argyll Rooms, now the Trocadero Restaurant, were a far
cry from the other extreme of Regent Street.
=Argus-eyed.= After the fabled Argus, who had a hundred eyes.
=Arians.= The followers of the first Christian heretic, Arius, a
presbyter of the Church of Alexandria in the fourth century.
=Arizona.= Indian for “sand-hills.”
=Arkansas.= The same as Kansas, “smoky water,” with the French suffix
_arc_, a bow.
=Arkansas Toothpick.= The Far-West designation of a “Bowie Knife,” the
blade of which, as used by the people of this state, shuts up into
the handle.
=Arlington Street.= From the town mansion of Henry Bennett, Earl of
Arlington.
=Arminians.= The anti-Calvinists of Holland, led by James Harmensen
under the Latinised name of Jacobus Arminius.
=Arras.= Mediæval tapestry, for the production of which the town of
Arras, in the French Netherlands, was famous.
=Arrowroot.= So called because the Indians of tropical America regarded
the root of the plant as efficacious against arrow wounds.
=Artemus Ward.= The pseudonym of Charles Farrar Browne, the American
humorous lecturer. This was, however, the actual name of an
eccentric showman whom he had encountered on his travels.
=Artesian Well.= From Artois, where such wells were first bored.
=Arthur’s Seat.= Said to have derived its name from King Arthur, but how
his association with the city of Edinburgh arose no man can tell.
=Artichoke.= From the Arabic _ardischauki_, earth thorn.
=Artillery Lane.= Stands on part of the site of the practising ground of
the London Artillery Company, _temp._ Henry VIII., and later of the
Tower Gunners, when all the land towards the north hereabouts was
open fields.
=Arundel.= The dale of the River Arun.
=Arundel Street.= That in the Strand from the town mansion and extensive
grounds of the Howards, Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel and
Surrey. That in the Haymarket after the ground landlord, Lord
Arundel of Wardour.
=Ascension Island.= Discovered by the Portuguese on the Feast of the
Ascension, 1501.
=As Cross as Two Sticks.= Two sticks held together in the centre like
the letter X form a cross.
=Ashby-de-la-Zouch.= The home among the ash-trees of the De La Zouches.
_By_ expresses the Anglo-Saxon for a dwelling.
=Asia.= From the Sanskrit _Ushas_, “land of the dawn.” By the Western
nations Asiatics were anciently styled “the people of the sun.”
=Asia Minor.= Lesser Asia, called by the Turks and Greeks “Anatolia.”
=Aspasia.= A flower named after Aspasia of Miletus, the mistress of
Pericles.
=As Poor as a Church Mouse.= A church is one of the very few buildings
that contain neither kitchen nor larder. Church mice, therefore,
have a hungry time of it.
=As Rich as a Jew.= The Jews in England were the first usurers, bankers,
and bill-brokers. They only had the command of ready money, the
wealth of the nobility consisting in the possession of broad lands.
=Assumptionists.= A modern religious Order, founded fifty years ago,
whose full title is the Augustinians of the Assumption.
=Astoria.= From the fur-trading station established in 1811 by John
Jacob Astor of New York.
=Astrakhan.= Fur brought from Astrakhan, which name signifies the
country or district ruled by a khan of the Tartar or Mogul Empire.
=Asturia.= From the Basque _asta_, rock, and _ura_, water, denoting a
region of mountains and estuaries.
=Atlantic Ocean.= Called by the Greeks _Atlantikos pelagos_, from the
Isle of Atlantis, imagined by Homer and Plato to be beyond the
Strait of Gibraltar.
=Athanasian Creed.= Opinions affecting the doctrine of the Trinity,
ascribed to St Athanasius of Alexandria, adopted and formally
compiled by St Hilary, Bishop of Arles in the fifth century.
=Athens.= From the Temple of Athene, or Minerva, the tutelary goddess of
the city.
=Athens of America.= The city of Boston, considered the chief seat of
learning in the New World.
=Athens of the South.= Nashville, Tennessee, on account of the number of
its scholastic institutions.
=Athelney.= The “Royal Island” or “Isle of the Nobles,” where Alfred the
Great founded a Benedictine monastery.
=Atlas.= Since the publication of “Mercator’s Projections,” with the
figure of Atlas bearing the globe on his shoulders as a
frontispiece, in 1560, all books of maps have received this name.
=At Loggerheads.= See “Loggerhead.”
=Auburn.= From the Anglo-Saxon Auld Bourne, old bourn, or stream.
=Auckland.= The capital of New Zealand, named in honour of Lord
Auckland, a famous politician of his time, who became
Governor-General of India, and after his retirement was elected
President of the Asiatic Society. His ancestor, the first Lord
Auckland, took his title from Auckland in Durham, which name was
originally Oakland.
=Audley Street= (North and South). Perpetuate the memory of Hugh Audley,
a barrister of the Middle Temple, whose landed estates hereabouts
were computed at his death in 1662 to be worth a million of money.
=Augsburg Confession.= The Lutheran Confession of faith drawn up by
Melancthon, and presented by Martin Luther to Charles V. during the
sitting of the German Diet at Augsburg in 1530.
=August.= After Augustus Cæsar, who regarded this as his lucky month.
Its original name was _Sextilis_, the sixth month of the Roman year.
=Augustan Age.= The best literary age of any country, because Rome in
the time of Augustus Cæsar produced the finest examples of Latin
literature.
=Augustin Friars.= The religious Order said to have been founded by St
Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. See “Austin Friars.”
=Auld Reekie.= The name given to the old part of Edinburgh, from the
cloud of reek or smoke which usually caps it.
=Austin Friars.= Part of the site of the priory of the Augustin Friars,
whose church still remains.
=Australasia.= Southern Asia.
=Australia.= From the Latin _Australis_, southern.
=Austria.= From _Oesterreich_, or Eastern Empire, as distinguished from
the Western Empire founded by Charlemagne.
=Autocar.= The name first given to a motor car; incorrectly, however,
since so far from being automatic such a one, like all mechanically
propelled vehicles, requires a guiding intelligence.
=Autun.= The _Augustodunum_, or Town of Augustus, of the Romans.
=Auvergne.= From the _Auverni_, who overran it in the time of the
Cæsars.
=Avoca.= Gaelic for “the meeting of the waters.”
=Ave Maria Lane.= Where the monks of old chanted the “Ave Maria” on
their way to St Paul’s. See “Amen Corner.”
=Avon.= From _Arfon_, the Celtic for river or stream, which enters into
many place-names.
=Axminster.= The monastery town on the Axe.
=Ayah.= Hindustani for waiting-woman or nurse.
=Aye-Vye.= An animal found in Madagascar, so called from its cry.
=Aylesbury Street.= From the town house and garden of the Earls of
Aylesbury.
=Azores.= The Portuguese named this group of islands Acores, the plural
of _acor_, hawk, on account of the great number of hawks there.
=Azov.= A Russianised form of Asak, the name given to it by the Tartars.
B
=Bacchanalia.= Roman festivals in honour of Bacchus, the god of wine.
=Bacchus Verses.= Verses written in praise or dispraise of Bacchus, and
affixed to the doors of the College at Eton on “Collop Monday.”
=Bachelor Girl.= One who lives in her own rooms, belongs to a woman’s
club, and considers herself superior to what is called home
influence--a distinctly modern creation.
=Backgammon.= From the Saxon _Bac_ and _gamen_, “back-game,” because the
pieces have at times to go back and be moved up afresh.
=Back a Man.= To have full confidence in him. From backing or endorsing
a bill on another’s behalf.
=Badajoz.= Called by the Moors _Beledaix_, “Land of Health.”
=Bad Egg.= A man who is commercially or morally unsound, and therefore
fit only to be shunned.
=Badger State.= Wisconsin, from the name given to the early miners, who
made for themselves winter habitations in the earth, like a badger.
=Badminton.= A drink of spiced claret, and also a game of tennis played
with shuttlecocks instead of balls, introduced by the Duke of
Beaufort at Badminton, his country seat.
=Baffin’s Bay.= After William Baffin, the pilot of an expedition sent
out to explore this region in 1616.
=Bagatelle.= From the Italian _bagetella_, a conjurer’s trick.
=Baggage.= A term often applied to a woman, because the wives of
soldiers taken on foreign service go with the stores and baggage
generally. In the United States this word is an equivalent for the
English “Luggage.”
=Bagman.= The old name for a commercial traveller, who carried his
samples in a bag.
=Bag o’ Nails.= A popular corruption of the ancient inn sign, “The
Bachannals,” referring to Pan and the Satyrs.
=Bag o’ Tricks.= In allusion to the large bag in which an itinerant
conjurer carried his tricks.
=Bakers’ Dozen.= In olden times, when bread was sold in open market
instead of shops, women took up the trade of selling bread from door
to door. They received from the bakers thirteen loaves for the price
of twelve, the odd one constituting their profit.
=Baker Street.= After Sir Edward Baker, a great friend of the Portmans
of Dorsetshire, the ground landlords.
=Bakshish.= A Persian word for “gratuity.”
=Balaklava.= When settled by the Genoese, they gave it the name of
_Bella-chiava_, or “Fair Haven.”
=Balearic Islands.= From the Greek _ballein_, to throw, expresses the
Island of Slingers.
=Ball.= A dancing party received this name primarily from the curious
ancient Ball Play in Church by the Dean and choir boys of Naples
during the “Feast of Fools” at Easter. While singing an antiphon the
boys caught the ball thrown by the Dean as they danced around him.
At private dancing parties the dancers always threw a ball at one
another as, to the sound of their own voices, they whirled around in
sets, the pastime consisting in loosening hands in time to catch it.
Afterwards the ball was discarded, but the dance time received the
name of a Ballad, from the Latin _ballare_, to dance.
=Ballad.= See “Ball.”
=Ballet.= Expresses the French diminutive of _bal_, a dance. See “Ball.”
=Ball’s Pond.= From an inn, the “Salutation,” kept by John Ball, whose
dog and duck sports in a large pond attracted a great concourse of
visitors in former days.
=Balsover Street.= From Balsover, Derbyshire, the seat of the Fitzroys,
Dukes of Grafton, the ground landlords.
=Baltic Sea.= A sea of belts or straits. _Bält_ is Norse for strait.
=Baltimore.= After Lord Baltimore, the founder of the neighbouring state
of Maryland.
=Baltimore Bird.= Though found almost everywhere in the United States,
it is said to have received its name from the correspondence of its
colours with those distinguished in the arms of Lord Baltimore, the
Governor of Maryland.
=Bancroft Road.= After Francis Bancroft, the founder of the Drapers’
Almshouses, in this road.
=Bandana.= The Hindu term for silk goods generally, but now applied to
cotton pocket-handkerchiefs with white or yellow spots on a blue
ground.
=Bandy Words with You.= From the old game of Bandy, in which the ball
was struck or bandied to opposite sides.
=Bangor.= From _Ban-choir_, “The White Choir” of the Abbey, founded by
St Cungall in the sixth century.
=Banjo.= Properly Bandore, from the Greek _Pandoura_, a stringed
instrument named after Pan. The word was introduced into North
America from Europe.
=Banker Poet.= Samuel Rogers, author of “The Pleasures of Memory,” who
was a banker all his life.
=Banshee.= From the Gaelic _bean sidhe_, woman fairy.
=Bantam.= A species of fowl said to have been introduced to Europe from
Bantam in Java.
=Banting.= After William Banting, a London cabinetmaker, who in 1863
reduced his superfluous fat by a dietic system peculiarly his own.
=Bar.= In old days, when a counter did not obtain, and drinking vessels
had to be set down on the benches or barrel ends, a bar separated
the frequenters of a tavern from the drawers or tapsters. Similarly,
at the Courts of Law the _Bar_ was a rail behind which a barrister
or counsel had to plead his client’s cause.
=Barbadoes.= From the streamers of moss, resembling a beard, suspended
from the tree branches.
=Barbarians.= The name universally applied by the Romans to wandering or
warlike tribes who were unkempt and unshaven.
=Barbarossa.= The sobriquet of Frederick the First of Germany, on
account of his red beard.
=Barbary.= The land of the Berbers, the Arabic description of the people
of this region prior to the Saracen Conquest.
=Barber.= From the Latin _barba_, a beard.
=Barber-surgeons.= Hairdressers who, down to the sixteenth century, also
practised “cupping” or blood-letting, a relic of which is the modern
Barber’s Pole. The red and white stripes around the pole denoted the
bandages, while in place of the gilt knob at the end there
originally hung the basin affixed under the chin of the patient
operated upon.
=Barbican.= That portion of the Roman wall round the city of London
where there must have been a watch-tower looking towards the north.
_Barbacana_ is a Persian word for a watch-tower in connection with a
fortified place.
=Barcelona.= Anciently Barcino, after Hamilcar Barca, the father of
Hannibal, who refounded the city.
=Baring Island.= Named by Captain Penny after Sir Francis Baring, first
Lord of the Admiralty.
=Barley Mow.= An old sign for a tavern in connection with the Mow or
house where the barley was stored for brewing. _Mowe_ is Saxon for
“heap.”
=Barmecide’s Feast.= An illusory banquet. From the story of the Barber’s
Sixth Brother, in “The Arabian Nights.” Barmecide invited a starving
wretch to a feast, but gave him nothing to eat.
=Barnsbury.= Anciently Berners’ Bury, the manor of which was held by
Lady Berners, abbess of St Albans.
=Barnstormer.= A strolling actor. In the old days, away from the regular
circuits, there were no provincial theatres or halls licensed for
stage plays whatever. The consequence was a company of strolling
players obtained permission to perform in a barn. Edmund Kean
admitted, when in the zenith of his fame, that he had gained his
experience “by barnstorming.”
=Barrister.= See “Bar.”
=Barrow Road.= This, with Barrow Hill Place, marks the site of a barrow
or sepulchral mound of the Britons and Romans slain in battle.
=Barry Cornwall.= The anagrammatic pseudonym of Bryan Waller Procter,
the poet.
=Bar Tender.= An Americanism for barman or barkeeper.
=Bartholomew Close.= The site of the ancient cloisters of St
Bartholomew’s Priory, connected with the neighbouring church, which
is the oldest in London.
=Bartholomew Fair.= The famous fair which for centuries survived the
mediæval mart that had given rise to it in the neighbouring street,
still known as Cloth Fair. It was held on the Feast of St
Bartholomew.
=Barton Street.= A street in Westminster built by Barton Booth, the
eminent actor of Drury Lane Theatre.
=Bashaw.= Properly “Pashaw.” See “Pasha.”
=Basinghall Street.= From the mansion and grounds of the Basings, whose
ancestor, Solomon Basing, was Lord Mayor of London in 1216.
=Bassano.= The better known, indeed to most people the only proper, name
of the famous Italian artist, Jacopa da Ponte, who signed all his
pictures “Il Bassano,” having been born at Bassano in the state of
Venice.
=Bass’s Straits.= Discovered by Matthew Flinders. These straits were
named by him after a young ship’s surgeon, who, with a crew of only
six men, in a small vessel, accompanied him on the expedition.
=Bath Chair.= First introduced at Bath, the great health resort of a
bygone day.
=Bath Street.= From a Bagnio, or Turkish Bath, established here in the
seventeenth century.
=Battersea.= Anciently Patricesy, or St Peter’s-ey, the manor belonging
to the abbey of St Peter’s, Westminster. The suffix _ey_ implied not
only an island, but also a creek.
=Battle-born State.= Nevada, because admitted into the American Union
during the Civil War.
=Battle Bridge Road.= In this neighbourhood the _Iceni_, under Boadicea,
sustained their total defeat at the hands of the Romans, A.D. 61.
=Battle of all the Nations.= The battle of Leipsic, 16th to 18th October
1813, so called because it effected the deliverance of Europe from
the domination of Napoleon Buonaparte.
=Battle of the Giants.= That of Marignano, in which 1200 Swiss Guards,
allies of the Milanese, were defeated, 13th September 1515.
=Battle of the Herrings.= From the sortie of the Orleaners to cut off a
convoy of salted herrings on its way to the English, besieging their
city, 12th February 1429.
=Battle of the Standard.= From the high crucifix borne as a standard on
a waggon by the English at Northallerton, 29th August 1138.
=Battle of the Spurs.= That of Guinnegate, 16th August 1513, when the
French were utterly routed in consequence of a panic; they used
their spurs instead of their weapons of defence.
=Battle of the Spurs of Gold.= From the enormous number of gold spurs
picked up on the field after the defeat of the French knights at
Courtray, 11th July 1302.
=Bavaria.= The country of the _Boii_, anciently styled Boiaria.
=Baynard’s Castle.= See “Bayswater.”
=Bayonet.= Not from the town of Bayonne, but because a Basque regiment
in the district of Bayonnetta in 1647, surprised by the Spaniards,
stuck their knives into the muzzles of their muskets, and, charging,
drove off the enemy with great slaughter.
=Bay State.= Massachusetts, from the original denomination of this
colony in the New England Commonwealth--viz. Massachusetts Bay.
=Bayon State.= Mississippi, from the French _bayon_, watercourse,
touching its great river.
=Bayswater.= Originally described as “Baynard’s Watering,” being a manor
built by Ralph Baynard, one of the favourites of William the
Conqueror, the owner of Baynard’s Castle, in what is now Thames
Street, destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
=B. D. V.= A tobacco advertisement which stands for “Best Dark
Virginia.”
=Beak.= The slang term for a magistrate, on account of the _beag_ or
gold collar that he wears.
=Beak Street.= This name has a sportive reference to the magistrate at
the neighbouring police court in Great Marlborough Street.
=Beanfeast.= From the Bean-goose (so called from the similarity of the
nail of its bill to a bean) which was formerly the invariable dinner
dish.
=Bear.= Wherever this enters into the name of a tavern sign (with the
single exception of that of “The Bear and Ragged Staff”) it denotes
a house that had originally a bear garden attached to it.
=Bear and Ragged Staff.= A common inn sign in Warwickshire, from the
heraldic device of Warwick the King Maker.
=Bear Garden.= This name at the corner of Sumner Street, Southwark,
recalls the old Paris Garden, a famous bear-baiting establishment
founded by Robert de Paris as far back in English history as the
reign of Richard I. A “Bear Garden” is in our time synonymous with a
place of resort for roughs or rowdies.
=Bear State.= Arkansas, from the Western description of the character of
its people. “Does Arkansas abound with bears that it should be
called the Bear State?” a Western man was once asked. “Yes, it
does,” was the reply; “for I never knew a man from that state but he
was a _bar_, and, in fact, the people are all _barish_ to a degree.”
=Bearward.= The custodian of the bear at public and private bear-baiting
gardens. Most English towns anciently retained a bearward. See
“Congleton Bears.”
=Beats a Philadelphia Lawyer.= An American expression implying that the
lawyers of Philadelphia are noted for shrewdness and learning.
=Beauchamp Tower.= After Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, whom
Richard II. caused to be imprisoned here for inciting the barons to
remove the King’s favourite, Sir Simon de Burley.
=Beauclerc.= The surname of Henry I., on account of his accomplishments
in an age when learning was rare.
=Beckenham.= The home in the vicinity of becks or brooks. The Saxon
terminal _en_ expresses the plural.
=Bedad.= An Irishman’s exclamation, derived from the English “Begad” or
“By Gad.”
=Bedford.= From the Anglo-Saxon _Bedican-ford_, the protected ford over
the Ouse.
=Bedfordbury.= The _bury_ or enclosed land of the Duke of Bedford.
Bedford Street and Bedford Square likewise point to the great ground
landlord.
=Bedlam.= Short for Bethlehem Hospital, a “Lazar House” in South London
which in 1815 was converted into an asylum for lunatics. See
“Bethlehem.”
=Bedouins.= From the Arabic _badawiy_, “dwellers in the desert.”
=Beech Street.= Said to have been the property of Nicholas de la Beech,
Lieutenant of the Tower, _temp._ Edward III.
=Beefeaters.= Although it has been proved that the word _Buffetier_
cannot be met with in any old book, the Yeomen of the Guard
instituted by Henry VII. certainly waited at the royal table, and
since this monarch was largely imbued with French manners, his
personal attendants must after all have received their nickname from
the _Buffet_, or sideboard.
=Beer Bible.= From the words “the beer” in place of “strong drink”
(Isaiah xxiv. 9).
=Before the Mast.= The for’ard part of a ship, where, in the forecastle,
the sailors have their quarters. Hence a common seaman is said to
“Serve before the Mast.”
=Begad.= See “By Gad.”
=Begorra.= An Irish form of the English corrupted oath Begad or “By
Gad.”
=Beguines.= An order of nuns in France, from the French _beguin_, a
linen cap. These nuns are distinguished by their peculiar head
covering.
=Begum.= A lady of high rank in the East, a princess in India, or the
wife of a Turkish _beg_ (generally corrupted into _bey_) or
Governor.
=Beldame.= From the French _Belle-dame_, “fine lady.” The meaning has
now been corrupted from a lady entitled to the utmost respect on
account of age or position to an ugly old woman.
=Belgium.= From the _Belgæ_, the name given by Cæsar to the warlike
people who overran this portion of Gaul.
=Belgravia.= The fashionable district of which Belgrave Square is the
centre, after one of the titles of the Duke of Westminster, the
ground landlord.
=Bell.= A tavern sign, originally denoting a haunt for the lovers of
sport, where a silver bell constituted the prize.
=Bell, Book, and Candle.= The instruments used by the Church in carrying
out a sentence of excommunication. The bell apprised all good
Christians of what was about to take place, the dread sentence was
read out of the book, while the blowing out of the candle symbolised
the spiritual darkness in which the excommunicated person would in
future abide.
=Belleisle.= French for “beautiful isle.”
=Beloochistan.= Pursuant to the Persian _stan_, the country of the
Belooches.
=Below Par.= Not up to the mark in point of health. The allusion is to
Government stock not worth its nominal £100 value.
=Belvedere.= A public-house sign, derived from the Italian word for a
pavilion built on a house-top commanding a fine prospect.
=Ben.= Theatrical slang for “benefit.”
=Bench.= The primitive seat of judges and magistrates before the modern
throne-like chair was introduced. Barristers of the Inns of Court
are styled “Benchers” from the wooden seats formerly provided for
them.
=Benedict.= A confirmed bachelor, after St Benedict, who unceasingly
preached the virtues of celibacy. Also a newly-married man who, like
Benedick in _Much ado about Nothing_, after having long forsworn
marriage, at length succumbed to the grand passion.
=Benedictine.= A liqueur made at the Benedictine monastery at Fécamp.
=Benedictines.= The monastic Order founded by St Benedict in the sixth
century.
=Bengal Tigers.= The Leicester Regiment, which as the old 17th Foot
rendered good service in India at the commencement of the last
century, and received a royal tiger as a badge.
=Bennett Street.= From the town mansion of Henry Bennett, Earl of
Arlington.
=Bentinck Street.= After William Bentinck, second Duke of Portland, the
ground landlord.
=Bergen.= From the Danish _bierg_, mountain, the port nestling at the
foot of high hills.
=Berkeley Square.= The whole district hereabouts comprised the land of
Lord Berkeley of Stratton, one of the officers of Charles I.
=Berkeley Street= (Upper and Lower). After Edward Berkeley Portman, the
ground landlord. There is a Berkeley Street too in Clerkenwell, on
the site of which stood the residence of Sir Maurice Berkeley, the
standard-bearer of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth.
=Berkshire.= The _Beoric_, or “forest shire,” of the Saxons.
=Berlin.= From the Slavonic _Berle_, denoting its situation in the midst
of a sandy plain.
=Bermondsey.= The _ey_, or creek land, belonging to the Saxon lord
Beomund.
=Bermuda Islands.= After Juan Bermudas, who discovered them in 1522.
=Bernardine Hospice.= This noble institution on the Alpine heights was
not founded by St Bernard, nor has it ever been served by the monks
of his Order. It takes its name from Bernard de Menthon, a wealthy
Savoyard, who in 962 established this house of refuge for the
pilgrims crossing the Alps on their way to the Holy Land. The monks
who serve the Hospice are Augustinians.
=Bernardines.= The monastic Order founded by St Bernard in 1115.
=Berne.= From the German _Bären_, which expresses the plural for bear.
The figure of a bear is conspicuous on the public buildings,
fountains, etc.
=Berners Street.= After Lady Berners, the original owner of the land
hereabouts.
=Best Man at a Wedding.= A survival of feudal times, when the particular
friends of the “Bridegroom” undertook to frustrate the designs of a
rival sworn to carry off the bride before the nuptials could take
place. In Sweden weddings formerly took place under cover of night.
Behind the high altar of the ancient church at Husaby, in Gothland,
a collection of long lances, with sockets for torches, may yet be
seen. These were served out to the groomsmen on such occasions, both
for defence and illumination. These groomsmen were the bravest and
best who could be found to volunteer their services.
=Bethlehem.= Hebrew for “house of bread.” Hence Bethlehem Hospital, the
original name for a lazar or poor house.
=Bethnal Green.= Anciently Bednal Green, but corrupted from the family
name of the Bathons, who resided here, _temp._ Edward I.
=Bevis Marks.= Properly Bury’s Marks, from the posts to define the
limits of the ground belonging to the town house of the Abbots of
Bury.
=Bideford Postman.= The sobriquet of Edward Capern, the poet, who was a
letter-carrier at Bideford in Devon.
=Big Ben.= After Sir Benjamin Hall, Bart., M.P., one of the designers of
the New Houses of Parliament, and Chief Commissioner of Works.
=Big Bend State.= Tennessee, which name expresses the Indian for “river
of the great bend.”
=Bilbo.= The old name for a Spanish sword blade made at Bilboa.
=Bilboes.= The irons with which mutinous sailors are manacled together.
From Bilboa, Spain, their place of origin.
=Bilker.= A corruption of _Balker_, one who balks or outwits another. In
our day one hears mostly of the “Cab bilker”; formerly the “Tavern
bilker” was an equally reprehensible character.
=Billingsgate.= After Belin, a Saxon lord, who had a residence beside
the old Roman water-gate on the north bank of the Thames.
=Billiter Street.= A corruption of Belzettar, the name of the first
builder on the land hereabouts.
=Billycock.= The slang term for a “bowler” hat always worn by William
Coke at the Holkham shooting parties.
=Bingham’s Dandies.= One of the nicknames of the 17th Lancers, after
their Colonel and their smart uniforms.
=Bioscope.= Moving or living pictures thrown on a screen, so called from
the Greek _bios_, life, and _skopein_, to view.
=Birchin Lane.= Properly Birchover Lane, after the name of the builder.
=Birdcage Walk.= From the Royal Aviary of the Restoration, located along
the south wall of St James’s Park.
=Bird of Passage.= A hotel phrase applied to a guest who arrives at
stated seasons.
=Bird’s Eye Tobacco.= So called from the oval shape of the stalks when
cut up with the leaf.
=Birkbeck Institute.= The premier Mechanics’ Institute, established by
Dr Birkbeck in 1824.
=Birmingham.= Called Bremenium by the Romans and Birmingeham in Domesday
Book. This being so, it cannot be corrupted from “Broom-place town,”
as some authors say.
=Birrell.= To write, speak, or do anything after the manner of Mr
Augustine Birrell, M.P., President of the Board of Education.
=Birrelligion.= A word coined by Dr Casterelli, Roman Catholic Bishop of
Salford, who, speaking on Mr Birrell’s New Education Bill, said it
was not one exactly of irreligion, but of Birrelligion, acceptable
to no party or denomination.
=Bishopsgate Street.= From the ancient city gate rebuilt by Bishop
Irkenwald, the son of King Offa, and repaired by Bishop William in
the time of the Conqueror.
=Biz.= Theatrical slang for “business” or stage by-play.
=Black Brunswickers.= A celebrated regiment of seven hundred volunteers
raised in Bohemia in 1809 by Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick,
who took up arms against Napoleon because the latter had obstructed
his succession to his father’s dukedom. Their uniform was black, in
token of mourning for the deceased Duke. Finding they could not bear
against the power of France, they enlisted in the English service.
Thus it came to pass that the Black Brunswickers fought at the
Battle of Waterloo, where their gallant leader met his death.
Afterwards they were heard of no more.
=Black Bull.= An inn sign derived from the heraldic device of the House
of Clare.
=Black Country.= The name given to the great coalfield in the Midlands.
It extends from Birmingham to Wolverhampton on one side and from
Lyle Waste to West Bromwich on the other.
=Black Friars.= The Order of the Dominicans, so called from their
habits. In the district of Blackfriars stood the great monastery.
=Blackguards.= A derisive nickname given originally to the scullions of
the Royal Household, touching their grimy appearance, as contrasted
with the spruceness of the Guards of Honour.
=Blackheath.= A corruption of Bleak Heath.
=Blackleg.= After sporting men of a low type, who invariably wore black
gaiters or top-boots.
=Blackmail.= Originally a tax or tribute paid to robbers or freebooters
as a compromise for protection. “Black” implied the Gaelic for
security, while _mal_ was Anglo-Saxon for tribute.
=Black Maria.= Slang for a prison van. Many years ago a negress of
powerful build and strength, named Maria Lee, kept a sailor’s
lodging-house at Boston. Everyone dreaded her, and she so frequently
assisted the police of that day to pin down a refractory prisoner
before he could be manacled that “Send for Black Maria!” became
quite a common exclamation among them. Hence the earliest vehicles
for the conveyance of offenders against law and order, especially
since they were painted black, were named after her.
=Black Museum.= The collection of criminal relics preserved at the
headquarters of the Metropolitan Police at New Scotland Yard.
=Black Prince.= The sobriquet of Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward
III., not because he wore black armour, as is generally supposed,
but, according to Froissart, “by terror of his arms,” and again,
Strutt, “for his martial deeds.”
=Black Sea.= From its many black rocks, which render navigation
dangerous.
=Blackwall.= A corruption of Bleak Wall.
=Black Watch.= Soldiers first appointed to watch the Highlands of
Scotland. They received the name from their black tartans.
=Blandford Square.= From Blandford, Dorsetshire, near Bryanstone, the
seat of the great ground landlord, Viscount Portman.
=Blankets.= First made by the Brothers Blanket, of Bristol, in 1337.
=Blarney.= Suave speeches intended only to gain time. When Cormack
Macarthy was besieged by the English in Blarney Castle in 1662 he
concluded an armistice, with the object of surrendering after a few
days; but instead of doing so he sent out soft, evasive speeches,
until Lord Carew and his soldiers were forced to admit that they had
been duped. Hence the expression: “None of your Blarney.”
=Blenheim Oranges.= First cultivated at Blenheim, the seat of the Duke
of Marlborough.
=Blenheim Street.= In compliment to the Duke of Marlborough after the
battle of Blenheim.
=Blind Man’s Buff.= So called because if any one of those taking part in
the game allowed the blind man to buff up against him he had to be
blindfolded in his place.
=Blood.= See “Penny Blood.”
=Bloody.= The addiction of the vulgar to the use of this adjective on
all occasions has made it low and reprehensible. Anciently, however,
it was employed in a most reverential sense, relative to the Blood
of Christ--_e.g._ the “Bloody Sacrifice of the Mass.”
=Bloody Assizes.= Those held by Judge Jeffreys in 1685 for the
punishment of all who had taken part in the Duke of Monmouth’s
rebellion. Three hundred persons were executed, and more than a
thousand transported to the plantations.
=Bloody Butcher.= The sobriquet of the Duke of Cumberland, son of George
II., owing to his wholesale slaughter of the adherents of Prince
Charles Stuart, the Young Pretender, after the battle of Culloden.
=Bloody Eleventh.= The 11th Foot, in memory of the terrible slaughter
inflicted on this regiment at Salamanca.
=Bloody Tower.= Where the infant Princes were murdered at the order of
their uncle, Richard, Duke of Glo’ster.
=Bloomers.= After Mrs Ann Bloomer of New York, who introduced the
original nondescript style of “New Woman” in 1849.
=Bloomsbury.= A corruption of “Lomesbury,” the name of a manor house and
grounds which stood on the site of the present square. “Lomesbury
village” sprang up around the ancient church of St Giles’s
in-the-Fields.
=Bluchers.= After Field-Marshal von Blucher, who affected this style of
military half-boot.
=Blue.= An indecent story is said to be “blue” because harlots in the
ancient Bridewell, and in more modern houses of correction or
penitentiaries, were habited in blue gowns.
=Blue Boar.= An inn sign derived from the heraldic device of Richard
III.
=Blue Grass State.= Kentucky, from the character of the orchard grass in
this fertile limestone region.
=Blue Hen’s Chickens.= A nickname for the people of Delaware. _The
Delaware State Journal_ thus accounts for its origin: “At the
beginning of the Revolutionary War there lived in Sussex county of
that colony a gentleman of fortune named Caldwell, who was a
sportsman, and breeder of fine horses and game-cocks. His favourite
axiom was that the character of the progeny depends more on the
mother than on the father, and that the finest game-cocks depended
on the hen rather than on the cock. His observation led him to
select a _blue_ hen, and he never failed to hatch a good game-cock
from a blue hen’s egg. Caldwell distinguished himself as an officer
in the First Delaware Regiment for his daring spirit. The high state
of its discipline was conceded to its exertions, so that when
officers were sent on recruiting service it was said that they had
gone home for more of Caldwell’s game-cocks; but as Caldwell
insisted that no cock could be truly game unless its mother was a
_blue_ hen, the expression _Blue Hen’s Chickens_ was substituted for
game-cocks.”
=Blue Law State.= An old name for Connecticut, whose original settlers
shared with the Puritans in the mother country a disgust of the
licentiousness of the Court of the Restoration, and on this account
were said to advocate “Blue” Laws.
=Blue Noses.= A nickname bestowed upon the Nova Scotians, from the
species of potato which they produce and claim to be the best in the
world.
=Blue Peter.= The flag hoisted at the mast head to give notice that a
vessel is about to sail. Its name is a corruption of the French
“Bleu Partir,” or blue departure signal.
=Blue Pig.= An inn sign, corrupted from the “Blue Boar.”
=Blue Stocking.= From the famous club of literary ladies formed by Mrs
Montague in 1840, at which Benjamin Stillingfleet, who habitually
wore blue stockings, was a regular visitor. Blue stockings,
therefore, became the recognised badge of membership. There was,
however, such a club of ladies and gentlemen at Venice as far back
as 1400, called _Della Calza_, from the colour of stockings worn.
=Blunderbuss.= A corruption of the Dutch _donderbus_, “thunder tube.”
=Board of Green Cloth.= The steward of the Royal Household presides over
this so called court, which has a green cover on its table.
=Boar’s Head.= The sign of the ancient tavern in Eastcheap immortalised
by Shakespeare. This, like all others of the same name, was derived
from the heraldic device of the Gordons, the earliest of whom slew a
boar that had long been a terror of the forest.
=Bob Apple.= A very old boyish pastime. Standing on tiptoe, with their
hands behind them, they tried to catch in their mouths an apple as
it swung to and fro at the end of a piece of string suspended from
the ceiling. A variant of the same game consisted in lying across a
form and plunging their heads into a large tub of water, at the
bottom of which was the apple.
=Bobby.= The nickname of a policeman, after Sir Robert Peel, to whom the
introduction of the modern police system was due.
=Bobs.= The popular nickname of Lord Roberts during the South African
War. He is also called “Lord Bobs.”
=Boer.= Expresses the Dutch for a farmer. Synonymous with the English
“boor,” an uncultivated fellow, a tiller of the soil.
=Bogtrotter.= An Irishman, from the ease with which he makes his way
across the native bogs, in a manner astonishing to a stranger.
=Bogus.= In reporting a trial at law _The Boston Courier_ in 1857 gave
the following authoritative origin:--“The word Bogus is a corruption
of the name of one Borghese, a very corrupt individual, who twenty
years ago or more did a tremendous business in the way of supplying
the great west, and portions of the south-west, with counterfeit
bills and bills on fictitious banks. The western people fell into
the habit of shortening the name of Borghese to that of _Bogus_, and
his bills, as well as all others of like character, were universally
styled by them ‘bogus currency.’” So that the word is really
American.
=Bohea.= Tea of the poorest quality, grown in the hilly district of
Wu-i; pronounced by the Chinese _Vooy_.
=Bohemia.= From the _Bohii_, the ancient inhabitants of the country.
=Bohemian.= One who leads a hand-to-mouth existence by literary or other
precarious pursuits, who shuns the ordinary conventions of society,
and aspires to that only of his fellows. The term originally meant a
“Gipsy,” because the earliest nomadic people who overran Western
Europe did so by way of Bohemia.
=Boiled Shirt.= An Americanism, originally from the western states, for
a starched white shirt.
=Bolivia.= After General Simon Bolivar, surnamed “The Liberator of
Peru.”
=Bologna.= A settlement of the _Boii_, after whom the Romans called it
Bononia.
=Bomba.= The sobriquet of Ferdinand, King of Naples, on account of his
bombardment of Messina in 1848.
=Bonanza State.= Nevada, on account of its rich mines, styled Bonanza
mines. _Bonanza_ is Spanish for “prosperity.”
=Bond Street= (Old and New). Built on the land owned by Sir Thomas Bond,
Comptroller of the Household of Charles I.
=Bone of Contention.= In allusion to two dogs fighting over a bone.
=Bone-shaker.= The original type of bicycle, with wooden wheels, of
which the rims consisted of small curved pieces glued together.
Compared with a modern machine it was anything but easy riding.
=Boniface.= The popular name for an innkeeper--not that St Boniface was
the patron saint of drawers and tapsters, but because one of the
Popes of this name instituted what was called “St Boniface’s Cup,”
by granting an indulgence to all who toasted his health, or that of
his successors, immediately after saying grace at meals.
=Booking Office.= In the old coaching days passengers had to book their
seats for a stage journey several days in advance at an office in
the innyard whence the coaches set out. When railways came in the
name was retained, though no “booking” was ever in evidence. Nearly
all the old coaching innyards have been converted into railway goods
and parcels receiving depots.
=Bookmaker.= From the way in which he adjusts his clients’ bets, so
that, ordinarily, he cannot lose on the issue of a day’s racing.
=Boot-jack.= A wooden contrivance by which the wearer could help himself
to take off his high-legged boots without the aid of a servant.
Hence it was called a _jack_, which is the generic term for a
man-servant or boy.
=Border Eagle State.= Mississippi, on account of the Border Eagle in the
arms of the state.
=Bore.= This name was first applied by the “Macaronies” to any person
who disapproved of foppishness or dandyism. Nowadays it implies one
whose conversation is uninteresting, and whose society becomes
repugnant.
=Borneo.= A European application of the Sanskrit _boorni_, land.
=Born in the Purple.= Since purple was the Imperial colour of the Cæsars
and the Emperors of the East, the sons of the reigning monarch were
said to be born in it. This expression had a literal truth, for the
bed furniture was draped with purple.
=Born with a Silver Spoon in his Mouth.= In allusion to the silver
apostle spoon formerly presented to an infant by its godfather at
baptism. In the case of a child born lucky or rich such a gift of
worldly goods was anticipated at the moment of entering life.
=Borough.= The _Burgh_ or town which arose on the south side of Old
London Bridge, long before the City of London became closely packed
with streets and houses.
=Borough English.= A Saxon custom, whereby the youngest son of a burgher
inherited everything from his father, instead of the eldest, as
among the Normans.
=Bosh.= See “All Bosh.”
=Bosphorus.= From the Greek _bos-porus_, cow strait, agreeably to the
fable that Io, transformed into a white cow, swam across it.
=Boss.= A term derived from the Dutch settlers of New York, in whose
language _baas_ (pronounced like the _a_ in _all_), expressed an
overseer or master.
=Boston.= Short for St Botolph’s Town. “The stump” of the church is seen
from afar across the Boston Deeps.
=Botany Bay.= So called by Captain Cook on account of the variety of, to
him, new plants found on its shores. This portion of New South Wales
was the first British Convict Settlement; hence Botany Bay became a
term synonymous with penal servitude.
=Botolph Lane.= From the church of St Botolph, situated in it.
=Bottle of Hay.= A corruption of “bundle of hay,” from the French
_botte_, a bundle, of which the word bottle expresses the
diminutive.
=Bottom Dollar.= An Americanism for one’s last coin.
=Bovril.= An adaptation of _bovis_, ox, and _vril_, strength--the latter
being a word coined by Lord Lytton in “The Coming Race.”
=Bow.= From the ancient stone bridge over the Lea, which was the first
ever built in this country on a bow or arch.
=Bow Church.= Properly the church of St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, the
first in this country to be built on bows or arches.
=Bowdlerise.= In the year 1818 Thomas Bowdler brought out an expurgated
edition of Shakespeare’s Plays; hence a “Bowdlerised Edition” of any
work is one of which the original text has been unwarrantably
tampered with.
=Bowie Knife.= After Colonel Jim Bowie, a famous fighter of the western
states, who first armed himself with this weapon.
=Bow Street.= From its arc shape when first laid out.
=Bow Street Runners.= Primitive detectives sent out from their
headquarters in Bow Street in highwayman days.
=Bowyer Tower.= Anciently the residence of the Tower bowyer or bowmaker.
Here, according to tradition, the Duke of Clarence was drowned in a
butt of “Malmsey.”
=Boxing Day.= See “Christmas-box.”
=Box Office.= At one time only the private boxes at a theatre could be
booked in advance; hence the term.
=Box the Compass.= To be able to repeat all the thirty-two degrees or
points of the mariner’s compass; a mental exercise all round the
compass-box.
=Boycott.= To ostracise a man. This word came into use in 1881, after
Captain Boycott of Lough Mark Farm, co. Mayo, was cut off from all
social and commercial intercourse with his neighbours for the crime
of being an Irish landlord.
=Boy King.= Edward VI., who ascended the throne of England in his tenth,
and died in his sixteenth, year.
=Boz.= Under this _nom de plume_ Charles Dickens published his earliest
“Sketches” of London life and character in _The Morning Chronicle_.
He has told us himself that this was the pet name of a younger
brother, after Moses Primrose in “The Vicar of Wakefield.” The
infantile members of the family pronounced the name “Bozes,” and at
last shortened it into “Boz.”
=Bradford.= From the Anglo-Saxon _Bradenford_, “broad ford.”
=Braggadocio.= After _Braggadochio_, a boasting character in Spenser’s
“Faery Queene.”
=Brahma Fowl.= Originally from the district of the Brahmapootra River in
India. _Pootra_ is Sanskrit for Son; hence the river name means “The
Son of Brahma.”
=Brandy.= From the German _Brantwein_, burnt wine. A spirituous
distillation from wine.
=Brazenose College.= The brazen nose on the college gate
notwithstanding, this name was derived from the fact that here stood
an ancient _brasenhuis_, or “brew-house.” Oxford has always been
famous for the excellent quality of its beer.
=Bravo.= In Italy one who is always boasting of his courage and prowess;
generally a hired assassin.
=Brazil.= From _braza_, the name given by the Portuguese to the red
dye-wood of the country.
=Bread Street.= Where the bakers had their stalls in connection with the
Old Chepe, or market.
=Break Bread.= To accept hospitality. In the East bread is baked in the
form of large cakes, which are broken, never cut with a knife. To
break bread with a stranger ensures the latter personal protection
as long as he remains under the roof of his host.
=Breakfast.= The morning meal, when the fast since the previous night’s
supper is broken.
=Break the Bank.= Specifically at the gaming-tables of Monte Carlo. With
extraordinary luck this may be done on occasion; but the winner’s
triumph is short-lived since, the capital of the bank being
unlimited, if he continues to play after fresh stores of gold have
been produced, he must lose in the end.
=Brecon.= See “Brecknock.”
=Brecknock.= The capital (also called Brecon) of one of the shires of
Wales, originally _Breckineauc_, after Brychan, a famous Welsh
prince. Brecknock Road takes its name from Lord Camden, Earl of
Brecknock, the ground landlord.
=Breeches Bible.= From the word “breeches” for “aprons” (Genesis iii.
7).
=Brentford.= The ford over the Brent.
=Breviary.= The name given to an abridgment of the daily prayers, for
the use of priests, during the Seven Canonical Hours, made by Pope
Gregory VII. in the eleventh century.
=Brevier.= The style of type originally employed in the composition of
the Catholic “Breviary.”
=Bridegroom.= The word _groom_ comes from the Gothic and Anglo-Saxon
_guma_, man, allied to the Latin _homo_, man. It still expresses a
man-servant who grooms or attends to his master’s horse.
=Bride Lane.= From the church of St Bride or Bridget.
=Bride of the Sea.= Venice, in allusion to the ancient ceremony of “The
Marriage of the Adriatic.”
=Bridewell.= The name anciently given to a female penitentiary, from the
original establishment near the well of St Bride or Bridget in the
parish of Blackfriars. The name is preserved in Bridewell Police
Station.
=Brigadier.= The commanding officer of a brigade.
=Bridge.= Twenty years ago two families at Great Dalby, Leicestershire,
paid each other a visit on alternate nights, for a game of what they
called Russian whist. Their way lay across a broken bridge, very
dangerous after nightfall. “Thank goodness, it’s your bridge
to-morrow night!” they were wont to exclaim on parting. This gave
the name to the game itself.
=Bridge of Sighs.= The bridge forming a covered gallery over the Canal
at Venice between the State prisons on the one hand and the palace
of the Doges on the other. Prisoners were led to the latter to hear
the death sentence pronounced, and thence to execution. No State
prisoner was ever known to recross this bridge; hence its name.
=Bridgewater Square.= From the town house of the Earls of Bridgewater.
=Brief.= A brief summary of all the facts of a client’s case prepared by
a solicitor for the instruction of counsel.
=Bristol.= Called by the Anglo-Saxons “_Brightstow_,” or pleasant,
stockaded place.
=Britain.= This country was known to the Phœnicians as _Barat-Anac_,
“the land of time.” The Romans called it _Britannia_.
=British Columbia.= The only portion of North America which honours the
memory, as a place name, of Christopher Columbus.
=Brittany.= The land anciently possessed by the kings of Britain.
=Brixton.= Anciently _Brigestan_, the bridge of stone.
=Broadside.= A large sheet printed straight across instead of in
columns.
=Broker.= From the Anglo-Saxon _brucan_, through the Old English
_brocour_, to use for profit.
=Brompton.= Anciently Broom Town, or place of the broom plant.
=Brook Street.= From a stream meandering through the fields from Tyburn.
=Brooke Street.= From the town house of Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke. In
this street the boy poet Chatterton poisoned himself.
=Brother Jonathan.= After Jonathan Turnbull, the adviser of General
Washington in all cases of military emergency. “We must ask Brother
Jonathan” was the latter’s invariable reply to a suggestion made to
him.
=Brougham.= First made to the order of Lord Brougham.
=Brought under the Hammer.= Put up for sale by public auction. The
allusion is, of course, to the auctioneer’s hammer.
=Bruce Castle.= The residence of Robert Bruce after his defeat by John
Baliol in the contest for the Scottish crown.
=Bruges.= From its many bridges.
=Brummagem.= The slang term for cheap jewellery made at Birmingham. In
local parlance this city is “Brummagem,” and its inhabitants are
“Brums.”
=Brunswick Square.= Laid out and built upon at the accession of the
House of Brunswick.
=Bruton Street.= From the seat of the Berkeleys at Bruton,
Somersetshire.
=Bryanstone Square.= From the seat, near Blandford, Dorset, of Viscount
Portman, the ground landlord.
=Bucephalus.= A horse, after the famous charger of Alexander the Great.
=Buckeye State.= Ohio, from the buckeye-trees with which this state
abounds. Its people are called “Buckeyes.”
=Buckingham.= The Anglo-Saxon _Boccenham_, or “beech-tree village.”
=Buckingham Palace.= After the residence, on this site, of John
Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham.
=Buckingham Street.= From the older mansion of John Sheffield, Duke of
Buckingham. The water-gate is still in evidence.
=Buckle to.= An expression descended from the days of chivalry, when a
knight buckled on his armour for the tournament.
=Bucklersbury.= Anciently the _bury_ or enclosed ground of a wealthy
grocer named Buckle or Bukerel.
=Budge Row.= From the vendors of “Budge” or lambskin fur who congregated
here.
=Bug Bible.= From the word “bugges”--_i.e._ bogies--in place of “the
terror” (Psalm xci. 5).
=Buggy.= From _bâghi_, the Hindustani for a one-horse vehicle.
=Bull.= A papal edict, so called on account of the _bulla_, or seal.
=Bull and Gate.= An inn sign, corrupted from “Boulogne Gate,” touching
the siege of Boulogne and its harbour by Henry VIII. in 1544.
=Bulgaria.= A corruption of Volgaria, the country of the _Volsci_.
=Bull-dog.= A dog originally employed in the brutal sport of
bull-baiting. The name is also given to one of the two attendants of
the proctor at a university while going his rounds by night.
=Bullion State.= Missouri, after Thomas Hart Benton, who, when
representing this state in Congress, merited the nickname of “Old
Bullion,” from his spirited advocacy of a gold and silver currency
instead of “Greenbacks” or paper.
=Bullyrag.= See “Ragging.”
=Bullyruffian.= A corruption of the _Bellerophon_, the vessel on which
Napoleon surrendered after the battle of Waterloo.
=Bungalow.= From the Bengalese _bangla_, a wooden house of one storey
surrounded by a verandah.
=Bunhill Fields.= Not from the Great Plague pit in Finsbury, but from
the cart-loads of human bones shot here when the charnel-house of St
Paul’s Churchyard was pulled down in 1549.
=Bunkum.= Originally a Congressman’s speech, “full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing.” An oratorial flight not intended to carry a
proposal, but to catch popular applause. The representative for
Buncombe, in North Carolina, occupied the time of the house at
Washington so long with a meaningless speech that many members left
the hall. Asked his reason for such a display of empty words, he
replied: “I was not speaking to the House, but to Buncombe.”
=Bureau.= French for a writing-desk, from _buro_, a drugget, with which
it was invariably covered.
=Burgess Roll.= See “Roll Call.”
=Burgundy.= A wine produced in the French province of the same name.
=Burke.= To stop or gag--_e.g._ to burke a question. After an Irishman
of this name, who silently and secretly took the lives of many
peaceable citizens by holding a pitch plaster over their mouths, in
order to sell their bodies to the doctors for dissection. He was
hanged in 1849. His crimes were described as “Burking.”
=Burleigh Street.= From the residence of Lord Burleigh in Exeter Street,
hard by.
=Burlington Street= (Old and New). After Richard Boyle, Earl of
Burlington and Cork, from whom Burlington House, refronted by him,
also received its name.
=Burmah.= From the natives, who claim to be descendants of Brahma, the
supreme deity of the Hindoos.
=Burton Crescent.= After the name of its builder.
=Bury St Edmunds.= A corruption of the Borough of St Edmund, where the
Saxon king and martyr was crowned on Christmas Day, 856. Taken
prisoner and killed by the Danes, he was laid to rest here. Over the
site of his tomb Canute built a Benedictine monastery.
=Bury Street.= Properly Berry Street, after its builder.
=Bury the Hatchet.= At a deliberation of war the hatchet is always in
evidence among the Indians of North America, but when the calumet,
or pipe of peace, is being passed round, the symbol of warfare is
carefully hidden.
=Busking.= Theatrical slang for an _al fresco_ performance to earn a few
coppers. To “go busking on the sands” is the least refined aspect of
a Pierrot Entertainment. See “Sock and Buskin.”
=Buy a Pig in a Poke.= A man naturally wants to see what he is
bargaining for. “Poke” is an old word for a sack or large bag, of
which _pocket_ expresses the diminutive.
=By Gad.= A corruption of the old oath “By God.”
=By George.= Originally this oath had reference to the patron saint of
England. In more modern times it was corrupted into “By Jove,” so
that it might have applied to Jupiter; then at the Hanoverian
Succession the ancient form came in again.
=By Hook or by Crook.= The final word here is a corruption of Croke.
More than a century ago two eminent K.C.’s named Hook and Croke were
most generally retained by litigants in action at law. This gave
rise to the saying: “If I can’t win my case by Hook I will by
Croke.”
=By Jingo.= An exclamation traceable to the Basque mountaineers brought
over to England by Edward I. to aid him in the subjection of Wales
at the time when the Plantagenets held possession of the Basque
provinces. “Jainko” expressed the supreme deity of these hillmen.
=By Jove.= See “By George.”
=By the Holy Rood.= The most solemn oath of the crusaders. “Rood,” from
the Anglo-Saxon _rod_, was the Old English name for Cross.
=By the Mass.= A common oath in the days of our Catholic ancestors, when
quarrels were generally made up by the parties attending Mass
together.
=By the Peacock.= See “Peacock.”
=By the Skin of my Teeth.= An expression derived from Job xix. 20: “My
bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the
skin of my teeth.”
=Byward Tower.= A corruption of Bearward Tower, the residence of the
Tower “Bearward.” The bear-house at our national fortress in the
time of James I. is mentioned in Nichol’s “Progresses and
Processions.”
C
=Cab.= Short for “Cabriolet,” or little caperer, from _cabriole_, a
goat’s leap. See “Capri.”
=Cabal.= A political term formed out of the initials of the intriguing
ministry of 1670--thus: Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and
Lauderdale.
=Cabinet.= The designation of Ministers of State, who first conducted
their deliberations in a cabinet, from the Italian _gabinetto_, a
small room. A picture or photograph of this size received its name
from the apartment for which it was best suited.
=Cabin Girls.= Waitresses at the “Cabin” Restaurants Limited.
=Cablegram.= An Americanism for telegram.
=Cadiz.= Called Gades by the Romans, from the Phœnician _Gadir_,
enclosed, shut in.
=Cadogan Square.= From the Earl of Cadogan, the lord of the manor of
Chelsea.
=Cahoot.= An Americanism for partnership or company, derived from the
French _capute_, hut, cabin. Men who share a cabin or shanty are
said to be “in cahoot.”
=Caitiff.= An old term of contempt for a despicable person, derived from
the Latin _captivis_, a captive, slave.
=Caius College.= The name given to Gonville College, Cambridge, after
its refoundation by Dr Caius by royal charter in 1558.
=Cake Walk.= A musical walking competition round a cake, very popular
among the negroes of the southern states. The couple adjudged to
walk most gracefully receive the cake as a prize.
=Calcutta.= From _Kalikutta_, “the village of Kali,” the goddess of
time.
=Caledonia.= The country of the Caels or Gaels; _Gadhel_ in the native
tongue signified a “hidden cover.”
=Caledonian Road.= From the Royal Caledonian Asylum for Scottish
orphans, now removed.
=Calico.= First brought from Calicut in the East Indies.
=California.= Called by Cortez _Caliente Fornalla_, or “hot furnace,” on
account of its climate.
=Caliph.= From the Arabic _Khalifah_, a successor.
=Called over the Coals.= A corruption of “Hauled over the Coals.”
=Camberwell.= From the ancient holy well in the vicinity of the church
of St Giles, the patron saint of cripples. _Cam_ is Celtic for
“crooked.”
=Cambria.= The country of the _Cimbri_ or _Cymri_, who finally settled
in Wales.
=Cambric.= First made at Cambray in Flanders.
=Cambridge.= From the bridge over the Cam, or “crooked” river. See
“Cantab.”
=Camden Town.= After the Earl of Camden, the ground landlord.
=Camellia.= Introduced into Europe by G. J. Camelli, the German
missionary botanist.
=Camera Obscura.= Literally a dark chamber.
=Cameron Highlanders.= The Scottish regiment of infantry raised by Allan
Cameron in 1793.
=Camisard.= A military term for a night attack, after the Camisards,
Protestant insurgents of the seventeenth century, who, wearing a
_camise_, or peasant’s smock, conducted their depredations under
cover of night.
=Camomile Street.= From the herbs that grew on the waste north of the
city.
=Campania.= An extensive plain outside Rome, across which the “Appian
Way” was constructed. The word comes from the Latin _campus_, a
field.
=Campden Square.= From the residence of Sir Baptist Hicks, created
Viscount Campden.
=Canada.= From the Indian _kannatha_, a village or collection of huts.
=Canary.= Wine and a species of singing bird brought from the Canary
Islands, so called, agreeably to the Latin _canis_, on account of
the large dogs found there.
=Candia.= Anciently Crete, called by the Arabs _Khandæ_, “island of
trenches.”
=Candy.= An Americanism for sweetmeats. The Arabic _quand_, sugar, gave
the French word _candi_.
=Canned Meat.= An Americanism for tinned meat.
=Cannibal.= See “Caribbean Sea.”
=Cannon Row.= The ancient residence of the Canons of St Stephen’s
Chapel, Westminster Abbey.
=Cannon Street.= A corruption of Candlewick Street, where the
candle-makers congregated.
=Cannucks.= See “K’nucks.”
=Canonbury.= From the manorial residence of the priors of St Bartholomew
Church, Clerkenwell, of which the ancient tower remains.
=Cant.= After Alexander and Andrew Cant, a couple of bigoted
Covenanters, who persecuted their religious opponents with
relentless zeal, and at the same time prayed for those who suffered
on account of their religious opinions.
=Cantab.= Of Cambridge University. The River Cam was anciently called
the Granta; hence the Saxon name of the city _Grantabrycge_, or the
bridge over the Granta, softened later into _Cantbrigge_.
=Canterbury.= The fortified place or chief town of “Kent.”
=Canterbury Music Hall.= This, the first of the London music halls,
opened in 1848, grew out of the old-time popular “free-and-easy,” or
“sing-song,” held in an upper room of what was until then a tavern
displaying the arms of the city of Canterbury, and styled the
“Canterbury Arms.”
=Cantlowes Road.= See “Kentish Town.”
=Canvas Back.= A species of sea-duck, regarded as a luxury on account of
the delicacy of its flesh. So called from the colour of the plumage
on its back.
=Cape Finisterre.= Adapted by the French from the Latin _finis terra_,
“land’s end.”
=Capel Court.= The Stock Exchange, so called from the residence of Sir
William Capel, Lord Mayor in 1504.
=Cape of Good Hope.= So called by John II., King of Portugal, after Diaz
had touched this point of Africa, as a favourable augury for the
circumnavigation of the globe.
=Cape Horn.= Named Hoorn, after his birthplace, by Schouten, the Dutch
navigator, who first rounded it.
=Capri.= From the Latin _caper_, a he-goat, expresses the island of wild
goats.
=Capuchin Friars.= From the pointed cowl or _capuce_ worn by them.
=Carat Gold.= So called because gold and precious stones were formerly
weighted against carat seeds or seeds of the Abyssinian coral
flower.
=Carbonari.= Italian for charcoal-burners, in whose huts this secret
society held its meetings.
=Carburton Street.= From the Northamptonshire village on the ducal
estate of the ground landlord.
=Cardiff.= From _Caer Taff_, the fort on the Taff.
=Cardigan.= After Ceredog, a famous chieftain.
=Caribbean Sea.= From the Caribbs, which West Indian designation
signifies “cruel men.” Corrupted through the Spanish _Caribal_, we
have derived the word “Cannibal,” for one who eats human flesh.
=Carlton House Terrace.= From Carlton House, built by Lord Carlton,
later the residence of Frederick, Prince of Wales, the father of
George III.
=Carmagnole.= A wild song and dance which came into prominence during
the French Revolution. It received its name from Carmagnolas, a town
in Piedmont, whence the Savoyard boys carried the tune into the
south of France.
=Carmarthen.= A corruption of _Caer-merlin_, or the fortress built by
Merlin, in the neighbourhood of which he was born.
=Carmelites.= White Friars of the order of Mount Carmel.
=Carnarvon.= The fortress on the _Arfon_, or water.
=Carolina.= After Carollus, the Latinised name of Charles II., who
granted a charter of colonisation to eight of his favourites.
=Caroline Islands.= In honour of Charles I. of Spain.
=Carpenter.= Originally one who made only the body or wooden portion of
a vehicle. So called from the Latin _carpentum_, waggon. An ordinary
worker in wood was, and still is in the English provinces, a joiner.
=Carpet Knight.= A civilian honoured with a knighthood by the sovereign.
One who has not won his spurs on the field, like the knights of old.
=Carry Coals to Newcastle.= To do that which is altogether superfluous.
It would be ridiculous to take coals to a place where they are found
in abundance.
=Cartaret Street.= After John Cartaret, Earl of Granville, Secretary of
State, and one of the most popular ministers of the reign of George
II.
=Carte de Visite.= Photographs received this name because the Duc de
Parma in 1857 had his likeness printed on the back of his large
visiting-cards.
=Carthage.= From the Phœnician _Karth-hadtha_, New Town.
=Carthagena.= From _Carthago Novo_, or New Carthage.
=Carthusians.= Monks of La Chartreuse, near Grenoble. This name is also
given to former scholars of the “Charter House.”
=Carthusian Street.= Although some distance to the west of it, this
street leads to the “Charter House.”
=Caspian Sea.= From the _Caspii_, who peopled its shores.
=Castile.= In Spanish Castilla, from the castles or forts set up for
defence against the Moors.
=Castle.= An inn sign denoting a wine-house, from the castle in the arms
of Spain.
=Catacombs.= Italian _Catacomba_, from the Greek _kata_, downward, and
_kumbe_, a hollow, a cavity.
=Cat and Fiddle.= A corruption of “Caton le Fidele,” the faithful Caton,
Governor of Calais, whose name was honoured by many an inn sign.
=Cat and Wheel.= A corruption of the old inn sign the “Catherine Wheel,”
the instrument of the martyrdom of St Catherine.
=Cat Call.= A corruption of _Cat Wail_. When a theatre or music-hall
audience is dissatisfied with the performance, and impatient for it
to be brought to an end, the “Gods” indulging in “Mewing” like a
chorus of cats on the roof by night.
=Catch a Weasel asleep.= No one ever caught a weasel napping, for the
simple reason that he hides himself in a hole away from the sight of
man.
=Catchpenny.= Short for “Catnach Penny,” from the penny dying speeches
and yard of songs printed by James Catnach in Seven Dials, and
hawked about the streets. The “Catnach Press” was as great a power
in that day as the trashy “Bits” literature is in our own.
=Cathedral.= From the Greek _kathedra_, a seat--_i.e._ the chair of a
bishop. See “City.”
=Caucus.= From the Caulkers of Boston, U.S., who shortly before the
Revolution came into open conflict with the British soldiery.
Meetings were held in the calk houses, and a Caulkers’ Club was
formed. Since that time a political meeting of American citizens has
been styled a Caucus.
=Cavalier.= From the French _chevalier_, a horseman.
=Cavendish.= Tobacco pressed into plugs for chewing, from the name of
the first maker.
=Cavendish Square.= After Henrietta Cavendish, second wife of Lord
Harley, the ground landlord.
=Centennial State.= Colorado, admitted into the American Union one
hundred years after the Declaration of Independence.
=Ceylon.= Called by the Portuguese Selen, an abbreviation of the
Sanskrit _Sinhaladwipa_, “Island of Lyons.”
=Chadwell Street.= After the name of the source of the New River in
Hertfordshire. The well was anciently dedicated to St Chad.
=Chaff.= A corruption of _chafe_, to make hot with anger, as heat may be
produced by friction.
=Chalk Farm.= Originally “Chalcot Farm,” a noted resort for duellists of
a past day.
=Chalk it up.= In allusion to the drink score chalked on a slate against
a customer at a country ale-house.
=Champagne.= A light wine, from the French province of the same name,
which expresses a plain, from the Latin _campus_, field.
=Champs de Mars.= Expresses the large open space or “Plain of Mars,” in
Paris, set apart for military reviews.
=Chancery Lane.= A corruption of “Chancellor’s Lane,” from the town
house of the Bishops of Chichester, afterwards the residence of the
Lord High Chancellor of England.
=Chandos Street.= From the residence of James Bridges, Duke of Chandos.
=Chap.= Originally short for “Chapman,” one who sold his wares at a
_chepe_, or market.
=Chap Book.= A small book or tract sold by chapmen. See “Chap.”
=Chapel.= A printers’ meeting held in the composing-room, so called
because Caxton set up the first English press in a disused chapel of
Westminster Abbey. The presiding workman is styled “The Father of
the Chapel.”
=Chapel of Ease.= An auxiliary place of worship, for the convenience of
those who resided at a great distance from the parish church.
=Charing Cross.= The idea that this spot received its name from the
“good Queen” Eleanor, whose bier was set down here for the last time
on its way to Westminster Abbey has been exploded. It was even then
called the village of Charing, in honour of _La Chère Reine_, the
Blessed Virgin, this being the usual halting-place between London
and the venerable Abbey.
=Charlatan.= From the Italian _ciarlatano_, a quack, a babbler, a
loquacious itinerant who sold medicines in a public square.
=Charles Martel.= See “Martel.”
=Charles Street.= Built upon in the reign of Charles II.
=Charlies.= The old night watchmen reorganised by Charles I. These were
the only civic protectors down to the introduction of the modern
police system by Sir Robert Peel.
=Charlotte Street.= After the queen of George III.
=Charter House.= A corruption of La Chartreuse, one of the English
houses of the Order of monks of the place of the same name in
France.
=Chartreuse.= The liqueurs prepared at the monastery of La Chartreuse,
near Grenoble.
=Chauffeur.= The French term for a motor-car driver; it has no English
equivalent.
=Cheap Jack.= A modern equivalent for “Chap-man.” Jack is a generic name
for man-servant or an inferior person.
=Cheapside.= The High Street of the city of London, consequently
abutting on the _chepe_, or market-place.
=Cheese it.= A corruption of “Choose it better,” or, in other words,
“Tell me something I can believe.”
=Chef.= French for head or master. Employed alone, the word expresses a
head man cook.
=Chelmsford.= The ford over the Chelmer.
=Chelsea.= Anciently “Chevelsey,” or “Shingle Island.” See “Chiswick.”
=Chequers.= An inn sign derived from the arms of the Fitzwarrens, one of
whom had the granting of vintners’ licences.
=Cherry Bob.= An old summer pastime for boys. A bunch of cherries
suspended from a beam or tree-branch was kept swinging to and fro,
while the boys, with their hands behind them, tried to catch the
fruit with their mouths.
=Cherry Gardens Pier.= A name reminiscent of a popular resort of bygone
days in connection with the “Jamaica” in front of which rum, newly
arrived from the West Indies, was landed.
=Cherry Pickers.= The 11th Hussars, because, when captured by the French
during the Peninsular War, some men of the regiment were robbing an
orchard.
=Chesapeake.= Indian for “great waters.”
=Chester.= The city built on the Roman _castra_, or camp.
=Chestnut.= Edwin Abbey, the painter of the Coronation picture, is said
to have been responsible for the term “Chestnut” as applied to a
stale joke. While a member of a club at Philadelphia he always told
a story about a man who had a chestnut farm, but made nothing out of
it because he gave his chestnuts away. Abbey invariably began this
story differently, so that his follow clubmen would not recognise
it, but they soon interrupted him by exclaiming “Chestnuts!”
=Chestnut Sunday.= The first Sunday in June, when the chestnut-trees in
Bushey Park at Hampton Court are in bloom.
=Cheyne Walk.= After Lord Cheyne, lord of the manor of Chelsea in the
seventeenth century.
=Chicago.= Indian for “wild onion.”
=Chichester.= The Roman camp town taken by Cissa, King of the South
Saxons, thenceforth called _Cissanceaster_.
=Chichester Rents.= The site of the town mansion of the Bishops of
Chichester.
=Chili.= Peruvian for “land of snow.”
=China.= After Tsin, the founder of a great dynasty. Earthenware of a
superior quality was first made in China; hence the name.
=Chin Music.= An Americanism for derisive laughter.
=Chip off the Old Block.= A saying in allusion to the “Family Tree.”
=Chippendale.= Furniture of elegant design, named after its famous
maker.
=Chiswick.= Anciently “Cheoselwick,” or village of shingles, from the
Anglo-Saxon _ceosal_, sand, gravel.
=Chocolat-Menier.= The perfection of chocolate, introduced by M. Menier
of Paris, who died in 1881.
=Choke Him off.= The allusion is to grip a dog by the throat in order to
make him relax his hold.
=Christiania.= Rebuilt by Christian IV. of Denmark.
=Christian Scientists.= A modern offshoot of the Peculiar People, or
Faith Healers, who believe that sickness and pain can be cured by
faith and prayer without medicine.
=Christmas-box.= A relic of Catholic days, when a box was placed in all
the churches to receive Christmas alms for the poor. These were
distributed on the day following.
=Christmas Island.= Captain Cook landed here on Christmas Day, 1777.
=Christ’s College.= Founded at Cambridge by Lady Margaret, Countess of
Richmond, mother of Henry VII., for a master and twelve fellows,
corresponding to Christ and His apostles, to whom it was dedicated.
=Christy Minstrels.= After Charles Christy, who introduced the Negro
Minstrel Entertainment to England.
=Church Ale.= Specifically the ale brewed by the church-wardens for
merrymakers on the village green at Whitsuntide and other high
holidays. Later the assemblage itself came to be styled a “Church
Ale.”
=Chute.= The French for “a fall,” applied by the Americans to a
declivity of water. The exciting diversion of boating on such a
waterfall is styled “Shooting the Chutes.”
=Cicerone.= After Cicero, the prince of speakers. The comparison between
the celebrated orator and the “Roman Guide” befooled by Mark Twain
is rather painful.
=Cigar.= From the Spanish _Cigarro_, the original name of a particular
kind of Cuban tobacco.
=Cinderella Dance.= Because it is brought to an end at twelve o’clock,
in allusion to the heroine in the fairy story.
=Circumlocution Office.= A term first applied to the shuttle-cock
methods in vogue at our public offices by Charles Dickens in “Little
Dorrit.”
=Cistercians.= An Order of monks established at Cistercium, or Citeau,
near Dijon.
=City.= The proper and historic distinction between a city and a town
lies in the fact that the former is the seat of a bishop, and
accordingly contains a cathedral. In modern times many burghs or
towns have been advanced to the dignity of a city on account of
their commercial importance. These are, however, cities only in
name.
=City Fathers.= Aldermen of the city of London.
=City Golgotha.= Old Temple Bar, from the heads of rebels spiked on its
top. _Golgotha_ is Hebrew for “the place of skulls.”
=Claim.= A squatter’s term for a piece of land which he has marked off
and settled upon pending its legal acquisition from the Government.
During the gold fever the name also came to be applied to the land
parcelled out to each digger.
=Clare Market.= The site of Clare House, the residence of the Earl of
Clare.
=Clarence.= A carriage named after the Duke of Clarence, afterwards
William IV.
=Clarges Street.= From the mansion of Sir Walter Clarges, afterwards
taken over by the Venetian ambassador.
=Clarendon.= The black type first used at the Clarendon Press, Oxford,
which owed its foundation to the profits of Lord Clarendon’s
“History of the Rebellion,” presented to the University.
=Claude Lorraine.= The assumed name of the celebrated landscape painter
Claude Galée, who was a native of Lorraine.
=Cleaned Out.= Pockets emptied of cash. The allusion is to a saucepan or
other domestic cooking utensil which is cleansed after use.
=Clerkenwell.= The holy well beside which the parish clerks performed
their miracle plays on festival days.
=Clifford Street.= After Elizabeth Clifford, wife of the Earl of
Burlington.
=Closure.= A modern parliamentary term signifying the right of the
Speaker to order the closing of a useless debate. The Closure was
first applied 24th February 1884.
=Cloth Fair.= The great annual mart for the sale of cloth brought over
by Flemish merchants.
=Club.= From the German _kleben_, to adhere, cleave to, associate.
=Clyde.= The strong river, from the Gaelic _clyth_, strong.
=Coast is Clear.= Originally a smugglers’ phrase relative to
coastguards.
=Coat of Arms.= During the days of chivalry, when a knight was
completely encased in armour and the vizor of his helmet was drawn
over his face, his sole mode of distinction was by the embroidered
design of his armorial bearings on a sleeveless coat that he wore in
the lists at tournaments. In warfare the coat was dispensed with,
but he was known to his comrades by another device on the crest of
his helmet.
=Cobbler.= An American drink of spirits, beer, sugar, and spice, said to
have been first concocted by a Western shoemaker.
=Coblentz.= From the Latin name, _Confluentia_, being situated at the
confluence of the Rivers Rhine and Moselle.