See “Knocked into a Cocked Hat.”
=Cockade State.= Maryland, from the brilliant cockades worn by the brave
Old Maryland Regiment during the War of Independence.
=Cockney.= From “Cockayne,” a Fools’ Paradise, where there is nothing
but eating and drinking, described in a satiric poem of the
thirteenth century. The word was clearly derived from _coquere_, to
cook, and had reference to London, where the conduits on occasion
ran with wine, and good living fell to the lot of men generally.
=Cock-penny.= A penny levied by the master on each of the boys for
allowing the brutal sport of cock-throwing in school on Shrove
Tuesday formerly. The master himself found the bird.
=Cocktail.= Tradition has it that one of Montezuma’s nobles sent a
draught of a new beverage concocted by him from the cactus plant to
the Emperor by his daughter Xochitl. The Aztec monarch smiled,
tasted it, gulped it down with a relish, and, it is said, afterwards
married the girl; thenceforward this drink became the native tipple,
and for centuries it bore the softened name of Octel. The corruption
of _Octel_ into _Cocktail_ by the soldiers of the American Army
when, under General Scott, they invaded Mexico, about sixty years
ago, was easy.
=Coger.= A slang term derived from the members of the celebrated Cogers’
Club in Salisbury Court, Fleet Street. They styled themselves
“Cogers” from the Latin _cogito_, to think deeply.
=Cohees.= Natives of Western Pennsylvania, owing to their addiction to
the phrase “Quoth he,” softened into _Quo’he_.
=Coin Money.= To make money as fast as it is turned out at the Mint. Few
men are so fortunate.
=Coke Hat.= After William Coke, who popularised it. See “Billycock.”
=Coldbath Fields.= A district of Clerkenwell now long built over, but
famous for a cold bath; the site is marked by the present Bath
Street.
=Colchester.= The camp town on the Colne.
=Coldstream Guards.= The regiment raised by General Monk at Coldstream,
Berwickshire, in 1660.
=Coleman Street.= Said to have been built upon by one Coleman; but long
before his time the coalmen or charcoal merchants congregated here.
=Colleen.= Irish for girl. “Colleen Bawn” expresses a blonde girl.
=College Hill.= From a collegiate foundation of Sir Richard Whittington,
thrice Lord Mayor of London.
=College Port.= Inferior port served up to the older students at
college. It is said to be specially prepared for this market.
=Collop Monday.= The day preceding Shrove Tuesday, when housewives cut
up all their meat into large steaks or collops for salting during
Lent.
=Cologne.= The _Colonia Agrippina_ of the Romans, so called after the
mother of Nero, who was born here.
=Colonel.= A Far-West title of courtesy bestowed upon anyone who owns a
stud horse.
=Colorado.= The Spaniards gave this name to the state in allusion to its
coloured ranges.
=Colosseum.= Greek for “great amphitheatre.”
=Combine.= An Americanism for “Combination.” Applied in a financial or
commercial sense, this term is now well understood in our own
country.
=Come up to the Scratch.= A prize-fighting expression. A line was
scratched on the ground with a stick, and the combatants were
expected to toe it with the left foot.
=Commonwealth.= In theatrical parlance, a sharing out of the proceeds of
the week’s performances after all expenses have been deducted. This
generally happens when the manager has decamped with the entire
takings, and left his company stranded.
=Compton Street= (Old and New). Built upon by Sir Richard Compton and
Bishop Compton respectively.
=Conduit Street.= From a conduit of spring water set up here before the
land was built over.
=Confidence Man.= An Americanism for one who in this country is known to
extract money from strangers by the “confidence trick.”
=Confounded Liar.= Literally one who is covered with confusion on being
brought face to face with the truth.
=Congleton Bears.= A nickname given to the people of Congleton,
Cheshire. Local tradition has it that the bear intended for baiting
at the holiday sports died, and, to procure another, the authorities
appropriated the money collected for a new Church Bible.
=Congregationalists.= Independent Nonconformists, who are neither
Baptists nor Wesleyans, and claim the right to “call” their own
ministers, each congregation managing its own affairs.
=Connecticut.= From the Indian _Quinnitukut_, “country of the long
river.”
=Conscience Money.= Money sent anonymously to the Treasury in respect of
Income-Tax after the thought of having defrauded the Revenue has
pricked the individual conscience.
=Constance.= Founded by Constantine, the father of Constantine the
Great; one of the oldest cities of Germany.
=Constantinople.= The city of Constantine.
=Constitution Hill.= Where John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, took his
daily constitutional walk while residing at Buckingham House, built
by him in 1703. On the site of this mansion George IV. erected the
present edifice, Buckingham Palace, in 1825.
=Cook your Goose.= An old chronicler thus explains this saying: “The
Kyng of Swedland coming to a towne of his enemyes with very little
company, his enemyes, to slyghte his forces, did hang out a goose
for him to shoote, but perceiving before nyghte that these fewe
soldiers had invaded and sette their chief houlds on fire, they
demanded of him what his intent was, to whom he replied, ‘To cook
your goose.’”
=Coon.= Short for racoon, an American animal much prized on account of
its fur.
=Cooper.= A publican’s term for half ale and half porter. See “Entire.”
=Copenhagen Street.= From Copenhagen Fields, where stood a noted
tea-house opened by a Dane.
=Copper.= A policeman, from the thieves’ slang _cop_, to take, catch.
=Copperheads.= A political faction of North America during the Civil
War, regarded as secret foes, and so called after the copperhead
serpent, which steals upon its enemy unawares.
=Cordeliers.= Franciscan Friars distinguished from the parent Order by
the knotted waist-cord.
=Corduroy.= In French _Cord du Roy_, “King’s cord,” because ribbed or
corded material was originally worn only by the Kings of France.
=Cordwainer.= The old name for a shoemaker, because the leather he
worked upon was Cordwain, a corruption of Cordovan, brought from the
city of Cordova.
=Cork.= From the Gaelic _corroch_, a swamp.
=Cork Street.= From the residence of Lord Cork, one of the four brothers
of the Boyle family.
=Corncrackers.= The Kentuckians, from a native bird of the crane species
called the Corncracker.
=Corner.= The creation of a monopoly of prices in respect of natural
produce or manufactured goods. The allusion here is to speculators
who agreed in a quiet corner, at or near the Exchange, to buy up the
whole market.
=Cornhill.= The ancient city corn market.
=Cornwall.= Pursuant to the Saxon _Wahl_, the horn of land peopled by
foreigners.
=Corpus Christi College.= At Cambridge, founded by the united guilds or
fraternities of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin.
=Corsica.= A Phœnician term for “wooded isle.”
=Cossack.= The Russian form of the Tartar term _kasake_, a horseman.
=Costa Rica.= Spanish for “rich coast.”
=Costermonger.= In Shakespeare’s time a Costardmonger, or trader in a
famous species of apple so called.
=Cottonopolis.= Manchester, the city identified with English cotton
manufacture.
=Cotton Plantation State.= Alabama, from its staple industry.
=Cotton to.= An Americanism meaning to cling to a man as cotton would
cling to his garments.
=Counter-jumper.= The derisive nickname of a draper’s assistant, on
account of his agility in leaping over the counter as a short cut
from one department to another.
=Country Dance.= A corruption of the French _contre danse_, from the
opposite positions of the dancers.
=Coup de Grace.= The merciful finishing stroke of the executioner after
a criminal had been tortured by having all his bones broken on a
wheel. One blow on the head then put him out of his misery.
=Court Cards.= Properly Coat Cards, on account of their heraldic
devices.
=Court of Arches.= The ecclesiastical Court of Appeal for the
Archbishopric of Canterbury which in ancient times was held in the
crypt of St Mary-le-Bow, or St Mary of the Arches at Cheapside. See
“Bow Church.”
=Court Plaster.= The plaster out of which ladies of the Court fashioned
their decorative (?) face patches.
=Covenanters.= Those who entered into a Solemn League or Covenant to
resist the religious and political measures of Charles I. in 1638.
=Covent Garden.= A corruption of Convent Garden, the site of which was
converted into a market, _temp._ Charles II. The convent and garden
belonged to the Abbey at Westminster.
=Coventry.= A corruption of Conventry--_i.e._ Convent town. Before the
Reformation it was far famed for the number of its conventual
establishments. The suffix _try_ is Celtic for “dwelling.”
=Coventry Street.= From the residence of Henry Coventry, Secretary of
State, _temp._ Charles II.
=Cowcross Street.= Where the cattle crossed the brook in days when this
now congested neighbourhood was pleasant pasture land watered by the
“River of Wells.”
=Coxcomb.= A vain, empty-pated individual. So called from the cock’s
comb worn on the cap by the licensed jesters, because they were
allowed to crow over their betters.
=Cracker.= Although the origin of this term when applied to a juvenile
firework would appear to be self-evident, it is really a corruption
of _Cracque_, the Norman description of “Greek Fire.”
=Crackers.= The people of Georgia, owing, it is said, to the
unintelligibility of their speech.
=Cranbourn Street.= From the long, narrow stream of this name, when the
whole district hereabouts was open fields.
=Crank.= One whose notions of things are angular, eccentric, or crooked.
His ideas do not run in a straight line.
=Cravat.= Introduced into Western Europe by the Cravates or Croatians in
the seventeenth century.
=Craven Street.= From the residence of Lord Craven prior to his removal
to Drury House in Drury Lane.
=Cream City.= Milwaukee, from the cream-coloured bricks of which its
houses are built.
=Credit Draper.= The modern designation of a “Tallyman.”
=Cree Church.= See “St Katherine Cree.”
=Creed Lane.= Where the monks recited the Credo in procession to St
Paul’s. See “Ave Maria Lane.”
=Cremorne Gardens.= Laid out on the site of the mansion and grounds of
Thomas Dawson, Lord Cremorne.
=Creole State.= Louisiana. In New Orleans particularly a Creole is a
native of French extraction.
=Crescent City.= New Orleans, built in the form of a crescent.
=Crimea.= From the _Kimri_ or _Cymri_ who settled in the peninsula.
=Cripplegate.= From the city gate around which gathered cripples begging
for alms, the neighbouring church being dedicated to St Giles, their
patron.
=Crokers.= Potatoes, because first raised in Croker’s Field at Youghal,
Ireland.
=Cromwell Road.= From the mansion and grounds of Richard Cromwell, son
of the Lord Protector.
=Crop Clubs.= Clubs formed to evade Mr Pitt’s tax on hair powder. _The
Times_ thus noticed one of the earliest in its issue of 14th April
1795: “A numerous Club has been formed in Lambeth called the ‘Crop
Club,’ every member of which is obliged to have his hair docked as
close as the Duke of Bridgewater’s old bay horses. This assemblage
is instituted for the purpose of opposing, or rather evading, the
tax on powdered heads.”
=Cross Keys.= A common inn sign throughout Yorkshire, from the arms of
the Archbishop of York.
=Crowd.= Theatrical slang for members of a company collectively.
=Crow over him.= A cock always crows over a vanquished opponent in a
fight.
=Crutched Friars.= Friars of the Holy Trinity, so called from the
embroidered cross on their habits (Latin, _cruciati_, crossed).
Their London house was located in the thoroughfare named after them.
=Cuba.= The native name of the island when Columbus discovered it.
=Cully.= A slang term applied to a man, mate, or companion. Its origin
is the Romany _cuddy_, from the Persian _gudda_, an ass.
=Cumberland.= The land of the Cymri.
=Cupboard.= See “Dresser.”
=Curaçoa.= A liqueur first prepared at the West Indian island of the
same name.
=Currants.= First brought from Corinth.
=Cursitor Street.= From the Cursitors’ Office that stood here. The
Cursitors were clerks of Chancery, but anciently _choristers_, just
as the Lord Chancellor himself was an ecclesiastic.
=Curtain Road.= From the “Curtain Theatre,” where Ben Jonson’s “Every
Man in his Humour” was put on the stage.
=Curzon Street.= From George Augustus Curzon, created Viscount Howe, the
ground landlord.
=Cuspidor.= The American term for a spittoon, derived from the Spanish
_escupidor_, a spitter.
=Cut me to the Quick.= The quick of one’s fingers when cut into is most
alive or sensitive to pain. See “Quicksilver.”
=Cutpurse.= A thief who, in days before pockets came into vogue, had no
difficulty in cutting the strings with which a purse was suspended
from the girdle.
=Cut the Line.= A printer’s expression for knocking off work. Formerly
compositors finished the line they were composing; nowadays Trades
Unionism has made them so particular that they leave off in the
middle of a line on the first stroke of the bell.
=Cypress.= A tree introduced to Western Europe from the island of
Cyprus.
=Cyprus.= From _kupras_, the Greek name for a herb which grew on the
island in profusion.
D
=Dachshund.= German for “badger-dog.”
=Daffodil.= An English corruption of the French _d’Asphodel_.
=Dagonet.= The pseudonym of Mr George R. Sims in _The Referee_, after
the jester at the Court of King Arthur.
=Daguerreotype.= An early process of photography discovered by L. J. M.
Daguerre.
=Dahlgreen Gun.= After its inventor, an officer in the United States
Navy.
=Dahlia.= Introduced to Europe from Mexico in 1784 by Andrew Dahl, the
Swedish botanist.
=Daisy.= From the Anglo-Saxon _dæges eye_, or “day’s eye,” on account of
its sunlike appearance.
=Dakota.= From the Dacoits, a tribe of Indians found there.
=Dale Road.= From the residence of Canon Dale, poet, and Vicar of St
Pancras.
=Dalmatian.= A species of dog bred in Dalmatia.
=Dalston.= The town in the dale when the north of London was more or
less wooded.
=Damage.= See “What’s the Damage?”
=Damascenes.= From Damascus, famous for its plums.
=Damascus.= From the Arabic name of the city, _Dimiskesh-Shâm_.
=Damascus Blade.= From Damascus, a city world famous for the temper of
its sword blades.
=Damask.= First made at Damascus in Syria.
=Damask Rose.= Introduced to Europe from Damascus.
=Damassin.= A Damask cloth interwoven with flowers of gold or silver.
=Dame School.= The old name for a girls’ school taught by a spinster or
dame.
=Damsons.= Properly _Damascenes_, from Damascus.
=Dancing Chancellor.= Sir Christopher Hatton so pleased Queen Elizabeth
by his dancing at a Court masque that she made him a Knight of the
Garter; subsequently he became Lord Chancellor of England.
=Dandelion.= A corruption of the French _dent de lion_, from its fancied
resemblance to a lion’s tooth.
=Dandy.= From the French _dandin_, silly fellow, ninny.
=Dantzic.= Expresses the town settled by the Danes.
=Danvers Street.= From Danvers House, in which resided Sir John Danvers,
to whom the introduction of the Italian style of horticulture in
England was due.
=Darbies.= A pair of handcuffs, in allusion to Darby and Joan, who were
inseparable.
=Dardanelles.= After the city on the Asiatic side founded by Dardanus,
the ancestor of Priam, the last king of Troy.
=Dark and Bloody Ground.= Kentucky, the great battle-ground of the
Indians and white settlers, as also that of the savage tribes
amongst themselves.
=Darmstadt.= The _stadt_, or town, on the Darm.
=Dartford.= From the Saxon _Darentford_, the fort on the Darent.
=Dartmoor.= The moor in which the River Dart takes its rise.
=Dartmouth.= On the estuary of the River Dart.
=Dauphin.= The title borne by the eldest son of the King of France until
1830, from the armorial device of a _delphinus_, or dolphin.
=Davenport.= After the original maker.
=Davies Street.= After Mary Davies, heiress of the manor of Ebury,
Pimlico.
=Davis Strait.= After the navigator who discovered it.
=Davy Jones’s Locker.= Properly “Duffy Jonah’s Locker.” _Duffy_ is the
ghost of the West Indian Negroes; Jonah, the prophet cast into the
sea; and “locker,” the ordinary seaman’s chest.
=D. D. Cellars.= See “Dirty Dick’s.”
=Dead as a Door Nail.= The reflection that, if a man were to be knocked
on the head as often as is the “nail” on which a door knocker rests,
he would have very little life left in him, easily accounts for this
saying.
=Dead Beat.= Prostrate from fatigue, incapable of further exertion. Also
the name of an American drink of whisky and ginger-soda after a hard
night’s carousal.
=Deadheads.= In America persons who enjoy the right of travelling on a
railway system at the public expense; in this country actors and
pseudo “professionals,” who pass into places of amusement without
paying. The origin of the term is as follows:--More than sixty years
ago all the principal avenues of the city of Delaware converged to a
toll gate at the entrance to the Elmwood Cemetery Road. The cemetery
having been laid out long prior to the construction of the plank
road beyond the toll gate, funerals were allowed to pass through the
latter toll free. One day as Dr Price, a well-known physician,
stopped to pay his toll he observed to the gatekeeper: “Considering
the benevolent character of the profession to which I have the
honour to belong, I think you ought to let me pass toll free.” “No,
no, doctor,” the man replied; “we can’t afford that. You send too
many deadheads through here as it is!” The story travelled, and the
term “Deadheads” became fixed.
=Dead Reckoning.= Calculating a ship’s whereabouts at sea from the
log-book without aid from the celestial bodies.
=Dead Sea.= Traditionally on the site of the city of Sodom. Its waters
are highly saline, and no fish are found in them.
=Dean Street.= After Bishop Compton, who, before he became Dean of the
Savoy Chapel, held the living of St Anne’s, Soho.
=Dean’s Yard.= Affords access to the residence of the Dean of
Westminster, which, with the cloisters, belonged to the abbots prior
to the Reformation.
=Death or Glory Men.= The 17th Lancers, from their badge, a Death’s head
superposed on the words “Or Glory.”
=De Beauvoir Town.= From the manorial residence of the De Beauvoirs.
=Deccan.= From the Sanskrit _Dakshina_, the south, being that portion of
Hindustan south of the Vindhya Mountains.
=December.= The tenth month of the Roman Calendar when the year was
reckoned from March.
=Decemvir.= One of the ten legislators of Rome appointed to draw up a
code of laws.
=Decoration Day.= 30th May, observed in the United States for decorating
the graves of the soldiers who fell in the struggle between the
North and South.
=Deemster.= See “Doomster.”
=Dehaley Street.= From the residence of the Dehaleys.
=Delaware.= After the Governor of Virginia, Thomas West, Lord Delaware,
who died on board his vessel while visiting the bay in 1610.
=Del Salviati.= The assumed name of the famous Italian painter Francesco
Rossi, in compliment to his patron, Cardinal Salviati, who was born
in the same year as himself.
=Demijohn.= A corruption of _Damaghan_, in Persia, a town anciently
famous for its glass-ware.
=Democracy.= From the Greek _demos_, people, and _kratein_, to rule.
Government by the people.
=Denbigh.= From _Dinbach_, the Celtic for “a little fort.”
=Denmark.= Properly _Danmark_, the mark or boundary of the land of the
Danes.
=Depot.= The American term for a railway station.
=Deptford.= The deep ford over the Ravensbourne.
=Derby.= Saxon for “deer village.” The Derby stakes at Epsom were
founded by Edward Smith Stanley, Earl of Derby, in 1780.
=Derrick.= The old name for a gibbet and now for a high crane. So called
after a seventeenth-century hangman at Tyburn.
=Derry Down.= The opening words of the Druidical chorus as they
proceeded to the sacred grove to gather mistletoe at the winter
solstice. _Derry_ is Celtic for “grove.”
=Dessborough Place.= From Dessbrowe House, in which resided the
brother-in-law of Oliver Cromwell.
=Detroit.= French for “strait.”
=Deuteronomy.= A Greek word signifying the second giving of the Law by
Moses.
=Devereaux Court.= See “Essex Street.”
=Devil’s Sonata.= One of Tartini’s most celebrated compositions. He
dreamt that the Evil One appeared to him playing a sonata on the
violin. At its conclusion his visitor asked: “Tartini, canst thou
play this?” Awaking with his mind still full of the grotesque music,
Tartini played it over, and then recorded it permanently on paper.
=Devil to Pay.= When money was lost by unsuccessful litigation it passed
into the hands of lawyers, who were thought to spend it where they
spent much of their time--viz. at the Devil Tavern in Fleet Street.
The money, therefore, went to the Devil.
=Devizes.= From the Latin _Devisæ_, denoting the point where the old
Roman road passed into the district of the Celts.
=Devon.= After a Celtic tribe, the _Damnonii_.
=Devonshire House.= The town house of the Duke of Devonshire.
=Devonshire Square.= From the mansion of William Cavendish, Earl of
Devonshire, who died here in 1628.
=Diamond King.= The late Mr Alfred Beit, the South African financier,
whose wealth rivalled that of the Rothschilds.
=Dickey.= A shirt front, which often has to do duty for a clean shirt.
So called from the German _decken_, to hide.
=Diddler.= A schemer, an artful dodger. After Jeremy Diddler, the chief
character in the old farce, “Raising the Wind.”
=Die Hards.= The 57th Foot. When the regiment was surrounded at Albuera,
their Colonel cried: “Die hard, my lads; die hard!” And fighting,
they died.
=Digger Indians.= Tribes of the lowest class who live principally upon
roots. They have never been known to hunt.
=Diggings.= A Bohemian term for “lodgings.” Not from the Californian
gold diggings, as generally supposed, but from the Galena lead
miners of Wisconsin, who called both their mines and their
underground winter habitations “diggings.”
=Dime.= A ten-cent piece, from the French _dixme_, or _dîme_,
tenth--_i.e._ of a dollar.
=Dimity.= First brought from Damietta, Egypt.
=Dine with Duke Humphrey.= An old saying of those who were fated to go
dinnerless. When the “Good Duke Humphrey,” son of Henry IV., was
buried at St Albans, a monument to his memory was to be erected in
St Paul’s Cathedral. At that time, as for long afterwards, the nave
of our national fane was a fashionable promenade. When the
promenaders left for dinner, others who had no dinners to go to
explained that they would stay behind in order to look for the Good
Duke’s monument.
=Dining-room Servant.= An Americanism for waiter or male house servant.
=Diorama.= See “Panorama.”
=Dirty Dick’s.= The noted tavern in Bishopgate, said to have been
associated with Nathaniel Bentley, the miser, who never washed
himself. As a matter of fact, Dirty Dick was an ironmonger in
Leadenhall Street. After his death his effects were bought and
exhibited at the Bishopgate tavern, together with his portrait as a
sign.
=Dirty Shirts.= The 101st Foot, who were hotly engaged at the battle of
Delhi in their shirt sleeves.
=Dissenters.= Synonymous with the Nonconformists. Those who dissented
from the doctrines of the Church of England and those likewise who,
at a later period, separated from the Presbyterian Church of
Scotland.
=Distaffs’ Day.= The old name for 7th January, when, Christmas being
over with Twelfth Night, women returned to their distaffs or
spindles.
=Divan.= A Turkish word signifying a Council of State, from the fact
that the Turkish Council Chamber has low couches ranged round its
walls, plentifully supplied with cushions. The name has been
imported into Western Europe specifically to imply a low-cushioned
sofa or couch.
=Dixie’s Land.= The Negroes’ paradise in slavery days. Dixie had a tract
of land on Manhattan Island. He treated his slaves well, but as they
increased sold many of them off to masters further afield. They
always looked back to Dixie’s Land as an ideal locality, associated
with heaven, and when one of them died his kith and kin said he had
gone to Dixie’s Land.
=Dizzy.= The nickname of Benjamin Disraeli, afterwards Earl of
Beaconsfield, the great political opponent of Mr Gladstone.
=Doctor.= There are three kinds of Doctors--of Law, Physic, and
Divinity. The first and the last are essentially University degrees,
with which the vulgar orders of the people have little or no
acquaintance. They know only of one “Doctor,” the medical
practitioner, and since he wears a frock coat and a silk hat he is
entitled to all the respect that they can pay him.
=Doctors’ Commons.= Anciently a college for Professors of Canon and
Civil Law, who dined in common on certain days in each term, similar
to students at the Inns of Court before they are called to the Bar.
=Dog and Duck.= A tavern sign indicative of the old sport of duck
hunting by spaniels in a pond.
=Dog-cart.= Originally one in which sportsmen drove their pointers and
setters to the field.
=Dog his Footsteps.= To follow close to his heels like a dog.
=Dog in the Manger.= From the old story told of the dog who did not
require the hay for himself, yet refused to allow the ox to come
near it.
=Dog Rose.= From the old idea that the root of this rose-tree was an
antidote for the bite of a mad dog.
=Dog Watch.= A corruption of “Dodge Watch,” being a watch of two hours
only instead of four, by which _dodging_ seamen gradually shift
their watch on successive days.
=Dolgelley.= Celtic for “dale of hazels.”
=Dollar.= From the German Thaler, originally Joachims-Thaler, the silver
out of which this coin was struck having been found in the Thal or
Valley of St Joachim in Bohemia.
=Dollars and Dimes.= An Americanism for money generally. See “Dime.”
=Dolly Shop.= The old name for a rag shop which had a black doll over
the door for a sign. At one time old clothes were shipped to the
Negroes in the southern states of America.
=Dolly Varden.= The name of a flowered skirt, answering to the
description of that worn by Dolly Varden in Dickens’s “Barnaby
Rudge.” This dress material became very popular after the novel was
published. It also gave rise to a song, of which the burden was:
“Dressed in a Dolly Varden.”
=Dolphin.= A gold coin introduced by Charles V. of France, also Dauphin
of Vienne.
=Dominica.= Expresses the Spanish for Sunday, the day on which Columbus
discovered this island.
=Dominicans.= Friars of the Order of St Dominic; also called Black
Friars, from their habits.
=Dominoes.= A game invented by two French monks, who amused themselves
with square, flat stones marked with spots. The winner declared his
victory by reciting the first line of the Vesper service: “Dixit
Dominus Domino Meo.” When, later, the game became the recreation of
the whole convent, the Vesper line was abbreviated into “Domino,”
and the stones themselves received the name of “Dominoes.”
=Don.= A corruption of the Celtic _tain_, river.
=Donatists.= A sect of the fourth century, adherents of Donatus, Bishop
of Numidia.
=Doncaster St Leger.= The stakes at Doncaster races founded by Colonel
Anthony St Leger in 1776.
=Donegal.= Gaelic for the “fortress of the west”--viz. Donegal Castle,
held by the O’Donnels of Tyrconnel.
=Donet.= The old name for a Grammar, after Donatus, the grammarian and
preceptor of St Jerome.
=Donkey.= An ass, from its _dun_ colour.
=Don’t care a Dam.= When this expression first obtained currency a dam
was the smallest Hindoo coin, not worth an English farthing.
=Don’t care a Jot.= See “Iota.”
=Doomster.= The official in the Scottish High Court who pronounced the
doom to the prisoner, and also acted as executioner. In Jersey and
the Isle of Man a judge is styled a “Deemster.”
=Dope Habit.= An Americanism for the morphia habit. “Dope” is the
Chinese word for opium. This in the United States is now applied to
all kinds of strong drugs or bromides prepared from opium.
=Dorcas Society.= From the passage in Acts ix. 39: “And all the widows
stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which
Dorcas made while she was with them.”
=Dorchester.= The Roman camp in the district of the _Dwr-trigs_ or water
dwellers. See “Dorset.”
=Dorset.= The Anglo-Saxon _Dwrset_, or water settlement, so called from
the British tribe the _Dwr-trigs_, “water dwellers,” who peopled it.
=Dorset Square.= After Viscount Portman, the ground landlord, who,
before he was raised to the peerage, was for many years Member for
Dorsetshire.
=Dorset Street.= From the mansion and grounds of the Earl of Dorset of
the Restoration period. Here stood also the Dorset Gardens Theatre.
=Doss.= Slang for a sleep, a shakedown. From the old word _dossel_, a
bundle of hay or straw, whence was derived _Doss_, a straw bed.
=Doss-house.= A common lodging-house. See “Doss.”
=Douay Bible.= The Old Testament translation of the Latin Vulgate
printed at the English College at Douay, France, in 1609.
=Doublet.= So called because it was double lined or wadded, originally
for purposes of defence.
=Douglas.= From its situation at the juncture of the two streams, the
_Dhoo_, black, and _Glass_, grey.
=Douro.= From the Celtic _Dwr_, water.
=Dover House.= The residence of the Hon. George Agar Ellis, afterwards
Lord Dover.
=Dover Street.= After Henry Jermyn, Lord Dover, who died at his
residence here in 1782.
=Dowager.= The widow of a person of high rank, because she enjoyed a
substantial dower or dowry for her maintenance during life.
=Dowgate.= From the Celtic _Dwr_, water. Hence a water gate on the north
bank of the Thames.
=Downing Street.= From the mansion of Sir George Downing, M.P., of the
Restoration period.
=Down with the Dust.= A gold miner’s expression in the Far West, where
money is scarce and necessary commodities are in general bartered
for with gold dust.
=Doyley.= From the Brothers Doyley, linen drapers in the Strand, who
introduced this species of table napery.
=Do your Level Best.= This expression means that, while striving to the
utmost you must also act strictly straightforward.
=Drachenfels.= German for “dragon rocks.” Here Siegfried, the hero of
the Niebelungenlied, slew the dragon.
=Draft on Aldgate Pump.= A punning phrase for a worthless bill or
cheque.
=Draggletail.= A slovenly woman who allows her skirts to draggle or
trail in the mire of the street.
=Dragoman.= From the Turkish _drukeman_, an interpreter. A dragoman is
in the East what a “Cicerone” is in Italy and elsewhere in Western
Europe.
=Dragoons.= From the ancient musket called a dragon, or “spitfire.” The
muzzle was embellished with a representation of a dragon.
=Draper.= One who dealt in cloth for draping only, as distinct from a
mercer, milliner, or mantle-maker.
=Drapers’ Gardens.= The property of the Drapers’ Company, whose hall is
situated here.
=Drat it.= A corruption of “Odd rot it,” from the old oath, “God rot
them.”
=Drawer.= The old name for an inn or tavern keeper’s assistant, who drew
the beer from the casks.
=Drawing-room.= Originally “Withdrawing-room” to which the ladies
withdrew after dinner while the gentlemen sat over their wine.
=Draw it mild.= Originally a tavern phrase, when anyone preferred
ordinary ale to hot spiced liquor.
=Draw the Long Bow.= In allusion to the exaggerated skill of the English
archers prior to the introduction of gunpowder.
=Dress Circle.= That portion of a theatre which, before the introduction
of stalls, was set apart for the superior sections of the audience.
=Dressed up to the Knocker.= To the extreme height of his resources.
Before the establishment of the modern police system door knockers
were placed as high as possible to prevent them from being wrenched
off by sportive wags after nightfall.
=Dresser.= The kitchen sideboard, on which the meat was dressed before
serving it up in the dining-chamber. The collection of cups, plates,
and dishes which distinguishes a dresser originally had a place on a
wide shelf or board over this meat dresser; hence cup-board.
=Drinks like a Fish.= Ready to swallow any quantity of liquor that may
be offered. A great many fish have their mouths wide open whilst
swimming.
=Drive a Bargain.= An expression meaning to knock down the original
price asked, in punning allusion to “driving” a nail.
=Drop o’ the Crater.= See “Mountain Dew.”
=Druid.= In the Celtic _Derwydd_, derived from _dewr_, oak, and _gwydd_,
knowledge. A priest who worshipped and offered sacrifices under an
oak.
=Drum.= The name for a fashionable evening party of bygone days, from
the noise made by the card players.
=Drummers.= An Americanism for commercial travellers, who are engaged in
beating up trade.
=Drunkard’s Cloak.= A large wooden crinoline that hung from a drunkard’s
neck to the ground, causing every bone in his body to ache owing to
the weight resting on his shoulders. The instrument resembled an
inverted flower pot, having a hole in the top for his head to be
thrust through. Under this drastic treatment he soon became sober.
=Drunk as a Fiddler.= The fiddler was generally incapable of discoursing
further music half way through the night’s jollification, because
the dancers freely plied him with drink.
=Drunk as a Lord.= When George the Third was King, and long afterwards,
the fine old English gentleman acted up to his character by using
strong language and imbibing strong potations. To be “drunk as a
lord” was the surest mark of gentility, and a “three bottle man” a
pattern of sobriety. After dining it was considered no disgrace to
roll helplessly under the table.
=Drury Lane.= From Drury House, the residence of Sir William Drury,
_temp._ William III.
=Dublin.= From _Dubh-linn_, “black pool.”
=Dub Up.= An expression derived from the very general custom of dubbing
or touching a man on the shoulder when arresting him for debt.
=Ducat.= Duke’s money, anciently struck in the Duchy of Apulia, Sicily.
=Duchess Street.= After Lady Cavendish, who became the wife of the
second Duke of Portland.
=Ducking Stool.= An instrument for the punishment of scolding wives.
This public ducking in a pond effectually served to cool their
temper for the time being.
=Duck’s Foot Lane.= Properly “Duke’s Foot Lane,” the footway leading
from the town house of the Earls of Suffolk down to the Thames.
=Dude.= An American name for a fop, derived from a very old English
word, “dudes,” whence we have the slang term “Duds,” for clothes.
=Dudley.= From the castle built by Dodo, a Saxon prince, and _ley_,
“meadow.”
=Duds.= See “Dude.”
=Dug-out.= A Far West Americanism for a boat or canoe hewn out of a
large tree log.
=Dukeries.= That portion of Nottinghamshire distinguished for the number
of ducal residences, of which Welbeck Abbey is perhaps the most
admired.
=Duke Street.= In Aldgate, after the Dukes of Norfolk. Near Smithfield,
the ancient property of the Dukes of Brittany. In Grosvenor Square,
after the Duke of Cumberland. Off Langham Place, after the Duke of
Portland. Near Manchester Square, after the Duke of Manchester. In
the Strand, after George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.
=Dulwich.= The corruption of _Dalewich_, the village in the dale.
=Duma.= Russian for Parliament or popular representation.
=Dumb Ox.= One of the sobriquets of St Thomas Aquinas, from the silence
with which he pursued his studies. His master, Albertus Magnus,
however, predicted that “this dumb ox will one day fill the world
with his bellowing.”
=Dumping.= A word which has come into prominence relative to Mr
Chamberlain’s Fiscal Policy. In various forms the verb _dump_ may be
met with in Teutonic and Scandinavian tongues, meaning to “pitch
down,” “throw down in a lump,” etc. etc. A “Dump Cart” in America is
one that tilts up in front, and so “dumps” its load behind.
=Dun.= A persistent creditor. After Joe Dun, a noted bailiff, who never
failed to bring a debtor to book. People used to say: “Why don’t you
Dun him for the debt?” meaning they would send Joe Dun to make him
pay or arrest him.
=Dunce.= From John Duns Scotus, who, it is said, gave no proof of his
remarkable attainments in his early scholastic days.
=Dundee.= A corruption of _Duntay_, the hill fort on the Tay.
=Dunedin.= See “Edinburgh.”
=Dungeness.= A corruption of _Danger Ness_, the Headland of Danger.
=Dunkirk.= Expresses the “Church in the Dunes,” or sand-hills, built by
St Eloi in the seventh century.
=Durham.= A corruption of _Dunholm_, from its situation on a hill
surrounded by the river.
=Dusseldorf.= The village on the Dussel.
=Dutchman.= A contemptuous epithet applied to our phlegmatic enemies
during the wars with Holland.
=Dyers’ Buildings.= The site of an ancient almshouse of the Dyers’
Company.
E
=Eagle.= An inn sign, the cognisance of Queen Mary.
=Earl Street.= After Charles Marsham, Earl of Romney.
=Earl’s Court.= From the Earl of Warwick, whose estate it was until, by
the marriage of the Dowager Countess of Warwick with Lord Holland,
it passed into her husband’s family.
=East Anglia.= A name still popular as defining the eastern counties.
This was one of the seven divisions or petty kingdoms of England
under the Angles or Saxons.
=Eastcheap.= The eastern _chepe_, or market, of the city of London.
=Easter.= From the Teutonic _Ostara_, goddess of light or spring;
rendered by the Anglo-Saxons _Eastre_. This great spring festival
lasted eight days.
=Easter Island.= The name given to it by Jacob Roggevin when he visited
the island on Easter Sunday, 1722.
=East Sheen.= A name reminiscent of the original designation of
“Richmond.”
=Eat Dirt.= An Americanism for a confession of penitence or absolute
defeat in an argument.
=Eat Humble Pie.= In the days of sumptuous banquets of venison the lords
of the feast reserved to themselves the flesh of the deer. The
huntsmen and retainers had to be content with the heart, liver, and
entrails, collectively called the “umbles,” which were made into
monster pies.
=Eat my own Words.= To take them back again, to retract a statement.
=Eaton Square.= From Eaton Hall, near Chester, the seat of the Duke of
Westminster, the ground landlord.
=Eau de Cologne.= A scent prepared at Cologne. The city itself is not
sweet to the nostrils; it has been said that forty different smells
may be distinguished there.
=Eavesdropper.= A corruption of _Eavesdripper_, one who, listening under
the eaves of a house, caught the drips from the roof when it chanced
to be raining.
=Ebro.= After the _Iberi_, who spread themselves over the country from
the banks of this river. See “Iberia.”
=Ebury Square.= From the ancient manor of Eabury Farm, inherited by Mary
Davies, and which, by her marriage, passed into the possession of
the Grosvenor family.
=Eccleston Square.= From Eccleston, Cheshire, the country seat of the
Grosvenors.
=Ecuador.= Expresses the Spanish for Equator.
=Edgar Atheling.= Signifies “Edgar of noble descent.”
=Edinburgh.= The fortress or burgh built by Edwin, King of Northumbria.
The Scots called it _Dunedin_.
=Edinburgh of America.= Albany, in the state of New York, so called on
account of its magnificent public buildings and its commanding
situation.
=Edmonton.= In Anglo-Saxon days _Edmund’s Town_.
=Edmund Ironside.= So called from the suit of chain mail that he wore.
Notwithstanding this protection he was treacherously murdered after
a reign of nine months only.
=Edward the Confessor.= The title bestowed upon the King of the
Anglo-Saxons at his canonisation, on account of his remarkable
asceticism, since, although he made the daughter of Earl Godwin his
queen, he denied himself what are styled conjugal rights.
=Edward the Martyr.= Murdered at the instance of his stepmother at Corfe
Castle after having reigned scarcely three years.
=Eel Pie Island.= From the invariable dinner dish served up to river
excursionists.
=Effra Road.= At Camberwell, from the little river of the same name, now
converted into a sewer.
=Egalité.= The name assumed by Philippe, Duc d’Orleans, the father of
Louis Philippe, King of France, when, siding with the Republican
Party in 1789, he accepted their motto: “Liberty, Fraternity, and
Equality.” Four years later he met his death by the guillotine.
=Ehrenbreitstein.= Expresses the German for “Honour’s Broad Stone.” The
castle stands on a precipitous rock, which well merits the
description of the “Gibraltar of the Rhine.”
=Eisteddfod.= Celtic for a gathering of Welsh bards, from _eistodd_, to
sit. As of old, the annual “Eisteddfod” is held for the
encouragement of national music.
=Eldorado.= California. _Eldorado_ expresses the Spanish for “golden
region.”
=Electic Philosophers.= Those who, agreeably to the Greek _ek-lego_, to
pick out, selected what was best in the different schools or
systems, and so built up one of their own.
=Elephant and Castle.= The famous landmark in South London derived its
sign from the arms of the Cutlers’ Company. A tavern in St Pancras
parish took its sign from the skeleton of an elephant, beside which
was a flint-headed spear, dug up in the neighbourhood. The
connection between these and the battle fought by the followers of
Queen Boadicea against the Roman invaders was unmistakable.
=Elephant stepped on his Purse.= An Americanism implying that a creditor
or some unlucky speculation has squeezed all the money out of a man.
=Elgin Marbles.= Brought from Greece by the seventh Earl of Elgin.
Acquired by the nation for the British Museum in 1816.
=Elia.= The pseudonym of Charles Lamb for his “Essays” contributed to
_The London Magazine_. This was the name of a gay, light-hearted
foreigner, who fluttered about the South Sea House at the time when
Lamb was a clerk there. At the moment of penning his signature to
the first essay he bethought himself of that person, and substituted
the name of _Elia_ for his own.
=Eltham.= Anciently _Ealdham_, “the old home.” Here Anthony Bec, the
“Battling Bishop of Durham,” built himself a palace midway in the
thirteenth century. After his death it fell to the Crown, and became
a Royal residence, until the time of James I. The original
Banqueting-Hall, used in modern days as a barn, may yet be seen.
=Ely Place.= Marks the site of the residence of the Bishops of Ely.
=Ember Days.= This term has no connection with embers or sackcloth and
ashes as a penitential observance. The Saxons called them _Ymbrine
dagas_, or “running days,” because they came round at regular
seasons of the year.
=Emerald Isle.= Ireland, from its fresh verdure, due to its shores being
washed by the warm waters of the “Gulf Stream.”
=Empire Day.= May 24th, formerly the Queen’s Birthday. In the last days
of Victoria the British Empire was consolidated through the
assistance lent by the Colonies to the Mother Country in the South
African War. When, therefore, King Edward VII. came to the throne,
the former Queen’s Birthday was invested with a greater significance
than of old.
=Empire State.= New York, which, owing to position and commercial
enterprise, has no rival among the other states of the Union.
=Empire State of the South.= Georgia, in consequence of its rapid
industrial development.
=Ena Road.= In honour of Princess Ena, the consort of the young King of
Spain.
=Encore.= From the Latin _hauc horam_, till this hour, still, again.
=Encyclopædia.= A book containing general or all-round instruction or
information, from the Greek _enkylios_, circular or general, and
_paideia_, instruction. An epitome of the whole circle of learning.
=Endell Street.= After the name of the builder. This is one of the few
streets in London that has preserved its old characteristics,
steadfastly refusing to march with the times.
=England.= In the time of Alfred the Great our country was styled
_Engaland_, or the land of the Engles or Angles, who came over from
Jutland.
=Englishman’s House is his Castle.= By the law of the land a bailiff
must effect a peaceable entrance in order to distrain upon a
debtor’s goods; therefore the latter is, as it were, sufficiently
secure in his own fortress if he declines to give the enemy
admittance.
=Ennis.= Expresses in Ireland, like _Innis_, the Celtic for an island.
Both these words enter largely into Irish place-names.
=Enniskillen.= The kirk town on an island, the Celtic _kil_, originally
implying a hermit’s cell, and later a chapel.
=Ennismore Place.= After Viscount Ennismore, Earl of Listowel, the
ground landlord.
=Enough is as good as a Feast.= Because at no time can a person eat more
than enough.
=Enrol.= See “Roll Call.”
=Entente Cordiale.= Expresses the French for cordial good will.
=Entire.= A word still to be met with on old tavern signs. It meant
different qualities of ale or beer drawn from one cask.
=Entrées.= French for entries or commencements. Those made dishes are
served after the soups, as an introduction to the more substantial
portions of the repast, the joints.
=Epicure.= After Epicurus, a Greek philosopher, who taught that pleasure
and good living constituted the happiness of mankind. His followers
were styled Epicureans.
=Epiphany.= From the Greek _Epiphaneia_, an appearance, a showing;
relative to the adoration of the Magi, who came from the East twelve
days after the birth of the Saviour.
=Epsom Salts.= From the mineral springs at Epsom.
=Equality State.= Wyoming, where, first among the communities of the
world, women were accorded the right to vote.
=Erie.= Indian for “Wild Cat,” the fierce tribe exterminated by the
Iroquois.
=Escurial.= Properly _Escorial_, Spanish for “among the rocks.” King
Philip II. built this superb convent and palace after the battle of
St Quentin, in the course of which he had been obliged to bombard a
monastery of the Order of St Jerome. He dedicated it to St Lawrence.
He caused the structure to be in the form of a gridiron, the symbol
of the Saint’s martyrdom.
=Esk.= A river name derived from the Celtic _uisg_, water.
=Esquimaux.= An Alonquin Indian term signifying “eaters of raw flesh.”
=Essex.= The kingdom of the East Saxons under the Heptarchy.
=Essex Street.= From the mansion of Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex, the
Parliamentary General in Cromwell’s time.
=Ethelred the Unready.= From his incapacity and unwillingness to accept
_rede_, or counsel.
=Ethiopia.= From the Greek _aithein_, to burn, and _ops_, the face.
Hence “the country of the blacks.”
=Etiquette.= A French word for “label.” Formerly a ticket or card of
instructions was handed to visitors on ceremonial occasions.
Nowadays such rules as pertain to deportment or decorum are supposed
to enter into the education of all well-bred persons.
=Etna.= From the Phœnician _attuna_, a furnace.
=Eton.= The Anglo-Saxon _Eyton_, “island town.”
=Ettrick Shepherd.= The literary sobriquet of James Hogg, the poet, of
Ettrick, Selkirkshire.
=Europe.= From the Greek _euros_, broad, and _ops_, the face; literally
“the broad face of the earth.”
=Euston Road.= From the seat of the Earl of Euston at Thetford, Norfolk,
the ground landlord.
=Evacuation Day.= November 25th, observed in the United States as
commemorating the evacuation of New York city by the British after
the War of Independence, 1783.
=Evangelist.= From the Greek _euanggelion_, “good news.” One of the four
writers of the Gospels of the New Testament.
=Evelyn Street.= From the residence of John Evelyn, the diarist. One of
his descendants, the Rev. W. J. Evelyn, of Wolton, built the church
of St Luke, Deptford, in 1872.
=Everglade State.= Florida, from its tracts of land, covered with water
and grass, called Everglades.
=Ex.= Another form of the Celtic _uisg_, water.
=Exchequer.= The table of this Court was formerly covered with checkered
cloth, so called from the Old French _eschequier_, chess board.
=Executive City.= Washington, which contains the White House, the
official residence of the President of the Republic, the House of
Representatives, and the Senate Chamber.
=Exellers.= The 40th Foot, from the Roman numerals XL.
=Exeter.= Called by the Saxons _Exancester_, or the Roman camp town on
the Exe.
=Exeter College.= Founded at Oxford by Walter Stapleton, Bishop of
Exeter and Lord Treasurer of England, in 1316.
=Exeter Street.= From the mansion and grounds of the Earl of Exeter, the
eldest son of the great Lord Burleigh.
=Exhibition Road.= This wide thoroughfare formed the eastern boundary of
the plot of ground purchased by the Commissioners for the Great
Exhibition of 1862.
=Exodus.= The Scriptural narrative of the departure of the Israelites
from the Land of Bondage.
=Eye.= Expresses the Anglo-Saxon for island. The river Waveney surrounds
the town.
=Eye-opener.= An American drink of mixed spirits as a remedy for
drowsiness.
F
=Face the Music.= To bear the jeers and taunts of those who laugh at us.
=Factory King.= Richard Oastler of Bradford, the promoter of the “Ten
Hours’ Bill.”
=Fag.= Slang for a cigarette, derived from the fag end--_i.e._ fatigued
or spent end--of a cigar. Also a small boy who acts as a drudge in
the service of another at a public school, so called from the
Anglo-Saxon _fæge_, weak, timid.
=Fair Cop.= Thieves’ slang for a smart capture by the police. Whereas
another would say “The game’s up!” a thief admits that he has been
fairly caught by the expression “It’s a fair cop.” See “Cop.”
=Fair Maid of Kent.= Joan, the beautiful and only daughter of the Earl
of Kent, who became the wife of Edward the Black Prince.
=Fair Street.= A name left us as a reminder of a once celebrated fair on
the Southwark bank of the Thames.
=Faith Healers.= A sect which upholds the doctrine of healing the sick
by prayer and anointing with oil in the name of the Lord, as set
forth in James v. 13-15.
=Faix.= An Irishman’s exclamation for “Faith” or “In Faith.”
=Fake.= To make-believe or cheat. An actor is said to “fake up” an
article of costume out of very sorry materials, which at a distance
looks like the real thing. A photographer can “fake” a spirit photo
by means of two distinct plates. Food also is largely “faked.” The
word is derived from “Fakir.”
=Fakir.= From the Arabic _fakhar_, poor.
=Falcon Square.= From an ancient hostelry, “The Castle and Falcon,” hard
by in Aldersgate Street.
=Falernian.= A celebrated wine, extolled by Horace, Virgil, and other
Latin authors, prepared from grapes grown in the district of
Falernicum.
=Fall.= An Americanism for autumn, in allusion to the fall of the
leaves.
=Fallopian Tubes.= Said to have been discovered by Gabriel Fallopius,
the eminent Italian anatomist of the sixteenth century. They were,
however, known to the ancients.
=Falls City.= Louisville, in the state of Kentucky, because it overlooks
the falls of the Ohio River.
=Falmouth.= A seaport at the mouth of the Fale.
=Family Circle.= This expression had a literal meaning in the time of
the Normans, when the fire occupied the centre of the floor, and the
smoke found its vent through a hole in the roof. In Germany and
Russia the domestic apartments are economically warmed by an
enclosed stove in the centre. Amongst ourselves the phrase “sit
_round_ the fire” only conveys a half-truth.
=Fancy Drink.= An Americanism for a concoction of various spirits, as
distinguished from a Straight Drink of one kind.
=Fandago.= Spanish for a “lively dance.”
=Farmer George.= George III., on account of his dress, manners, and
bucolic sporting inclinations.
=Farm Street.= From an old farm, on the land of Lord Berkeley of
Stratton in the time of Charles I.
=Faro.= So called from a representation of Pharaoh on one of the cards
originally.
=Farringdon Road.= After William Farringdon, citizen and goldsmith, who,
for the sum of twenty marks, in 1279 purchased the Aldermanry of the
ward named after him.
=Farthing.= From the Anglo-Saxon _feorthling_, a little fourth. In olden
times penny pieces were nicked across like a Good Friday bun; so
they could be broken into halves and fourths as occasion required.
=Farthingale.= A corruption of Verdingale, from the French _vertugarde_,
a guard for modesty. Queen Elizabeth is said to have introduced this
hooped petticoat in order to disguise her figure.
=Farthing Poet.= The sobriquet of Richard Horne, who published his chief
poem, “Orion,” at one farthing, so that it should not want for
buyers.
=Fastern’s E’en.= The Scottish description of Shrove Tuesday, being the
eve of the Lenten Fast.
=Father of Believers.= Mohammed, because he established and promulgated
the faith of the Moslem, or “true believers.”
=Father of the Music Halls.= The late William Morton, manager of the
Palace Theatre of Varieties, and founder of the earliest London
Music Hall, “The Canterbury,” in the Westminster Bridge Road, which
dates from the year 1848.
=Fathers of the Church.= The great doctors or theological writers of the
period from the first to the seventh centuries of Christianity. See
“Apostolic Fathers.”
=Faugh-a-Ballagh Boys.= The 87th Foot, from their battle cry.
=Feast of Lanterns.= A Chinese festival which occurs on the fifteenth
day of the first moon of the year. Walking by the side of a
beautiful lake one night the daughter of a mandarin fell in, and was
drowned. When her father heard of the accident he, attended by all
his household, carrying lanterns, rushed to the spot. On the
anniversary he caused fires to be lighted beside the lake, and
invited all the people of the country round about to offer up
prayers for the safety of her soul. In course of time the solemn
character of the gathering was forgotten, and the day has ever since
been observed as a national holiday.
=Feast of Tabernacles.= Commemorative of the forty years’ wandering of
the Israelites in search of the Promised Land, during which long
period they dwelt in temporary huts or tabernacles, formed of tree
branches covered with leaves. Even at the present day the Jews at
least take their meals in temporary structures covered with leaves
throughout the nine days of the festival.
=Feather in my Cap.= An expression derived from a custom of the North
American Indians, who stuck a fresh feather in their head-dress for
every one of their enemies slain in battle.
=Feathers.= An inn sign originally, when the painted device appeared in
place of the mere name, signifying the “Plume of Feathers,” or
“Prince of Wales’s Feathers,” the crest of Edward the Black Prince.
=February.= From the Latin _februare_, to purify, this being the month
appointed by the Romans for the festival of the _Februalia_ of
purification and expiation.
=Federal States.= During the American Civil War the Treaty States of the
North, which resisted the Separatist or Confederate States in the
South.
=Feel Peckish.= See “Keep your Pecker up.”
=Fellah.= Arabic for agriculturist or peasant. In the plural, “El
Fellahin,” the term is specifically applied to the labouring
population of Egypt.
=Fenchurch Street.= From an ancient church in the fens or marshy ground
through which ran the Lang Bourne from Beach Lane to the Wall brook
behind the Stocks Market, where the Mansion House now stands.
=Fenians.= Said to express the Gaelic for “hunters,” but the greater
likelihood is that this secret society took the name of the _Finna
Eirinii_, ancient organisation of Irish militia, so called after
Fion MacCumhal, the hero of legendary history.
=Fetter Lane.= A corruption of “Fewters Lane,” from the Norman-French
_faitour_, an evil-doer, on account of the idle vagabonds who
infested it in days when this lane led to some pleasure gardens.
=Feuilleton.= Expresses the French for a small leaf. Like the serial
stories nowadays in many English newspapers, articles of a
non-political character were introduced in the French _Journal des
Debatés_ as long ago as the commencement of the nineteenth century,
these being separated from the news by a line towards the bottom of
each page.
=Fez.= From Fez in Morocco, whence this red cap of the Turks was
introduced into the Ottoman Empire.
=F. F. V.= Initials well understood in America, implying the “First
Families of Virginia.”
=Fiddler’s Money.= A threepenny piece. Originally it was a small coin
paid by each of the dancers to the fiddler at a merry-making.
=Fifth Monarchy Men.= Religious fanatics of the time of Charles I. who
proclaimed the second coming of Christ to establish the fifth
monarchy, or millennium. The four previous great monarchies of the
world were the Assyrian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman.
=Fifty Club.= A social club founded in 1899 by G. C. Paterson,
incidentally for the entertainment of its members on the attainment
of their fiftieth birthday.
=Fighting Fifth.= The 5th Foot, on account of their prowess during the
Peninsular War.
=Fighting Fitzgerald.= George Robert Fitzgerald, a noted gamester and
duellist of the eighteenth century, with whom no one ever picked a
quarrel without falling by his hand. A sure shot and an expert
swordsman, he was a man to be feared by all.
=Fight Shy.= Originally a prize-fighting expression, when one of the
combatants betrayed a lack of courage.
=Filberts.= After St Philibert, on whose feast day, 22nd August, the
nutting season commenced.
=Filibuster.= A Spanish and French corruption of the German _freibeter_,
derived from the Dutch _vlie-boot_, or fly-boat, a small clipper
vessel. This was introduced into England during the wars with the
Low Countries. The word Freebooter claims the same origin.
=Finality John.= The sobriquet of John Russell, afterwards Earl Russell,
from his conviction that the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832
would be a _finality_ to the universal Suffrage Question.
=Finch Lane.= Properly Finke Lane, after Sir Richard Finke, who resided
in it, and rebuilt the church of St Bennet on the site of the
present Royal Exchange. A tradesman in Cheapside rejoices in the
possession of the full name of this vanished church, St
Bennet-Finke.
=Fingal’s Cave.= That of Fion MacCumhal, abbreviated into Fingal, a
celebrated legendary hero.
=Finland.= Properly _Fenland_, the land of lakes and marshes. The native
name of the country is _Suomesimaa_, the watered land of the
_Suomes_.
=Finsbury.= From the Anglo-Saxon _Fensbury_, the town among the fens or
marshes.
=Finsbury Pavement.= The first London thoroughfare where the paving of
the side walk with flagstones was introduced.
=Fire dogs.= These adjuncts to an old-fashioned fireplace received their
name from the small dog that was anciently imprisoned in a wheel at
one end of the spit. Three hours of this canine exercise were
required to prepare the roast beef of Old England for the table. If
the dog refused to exert himself a live coal was put inside the
wheel to accelerate his movements.
=Fire Water.= The North American Indian designation of rum, and ardent
spirits generally.
=Fire Worshippers.= The Parsees, who worship the sun as the symbol of
the Deity.
=First Gentleman of Europe.= The complimentary sobriquet of George IV.,
owing to his rank, personal attractions, and the ability, as became
a gentleman of the period, of telling good stories well.
=Firth of Forth.= _Firth_ expresses the Gaelic for an estuary or arm of
the sea. Forth is the name of the river.
=Fish Street Hill.= From the fishmongers who first congregated here in
the reign of Edward I. The Hall of the Fishmongers’ Company stands
at the foot of London Bridge.
=Fit-up.= In theatrical parlance the entire appurtenances of a stage,
excepting the floor only, carried from town to town, and fitted up
in Town Halls, Assembly-rooms, and Corn Exchanges.
=Fitzroy Square.= From one of the family names of the ground landlord.
=Fives.= An old game at ball, usually played by five on each side. The
“court” consists of a roomy space with a high wall at one end.
=Fixings.= An Americanism for dress ornaments or accessories; house,
hotel, or theatre embellishments and decorations generally.
=Flamingo.= From the bright red colour of this tropical bird.
=Flanders.= From the native name _Vländergau_, the country of the
Vländer, who from the earliest period of their history were ruled by
counts.
=Flannelled Fools.= An opprobrious epithet bestowed upon the English
people on account of their all-pervading sport of cricket by Rudyard
Kipling. It gave rise to much acrimony at the time, and tended to
lessen his popularity as a writer.
=Flash Jewellery.= Spurious, not what it pretends to be. Like a flash of
fire, its brilliance is only fleeting.
=Flask Walk.= In this pleasant lane stands the old hostelry “The Flash.”
=Fleet Road.= All that is left us to remind one of the clear stream
which coursed through the meadows down to Holborn (the Old Bourne)
and Clerkenwell, emptying itself into the Thames in what is now
Bridge Street, Blackfriars.
=Fleet Street.= The River Fleet, which in old days was navigable from
the Thames as far as what is now Ludgate Circus. The old English
word _Fleot_ expressed a tidal stream deep enough for vessels to
float in.
=Fleetwood Road.= Here stood Fleetwood House, the residence of Charles
Fleetwood, the Parliamentary General.
=Fleshly School of Poetry.= That of the sensuous order, popularised by
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Swinburne, and Morris.
=Flint.= From the flint or quartz which abounds in this country.
=Floralia.= A Roman festival in honour of Flora, commencing 28th April
and terminating 2nd May. It was said to have been instituted at the
command of an oracle with a view of obtaining from the goddess the
protection of blossoms.
=Florence.= Expresses “The City of Flowers.”
=Florida.= Named by Ponce de Leon from the twofold circumstance of his
landing upon it on _Pascua Florida_, or Easter Sunday, and the
luxuriance of its vegetation.
=Florin.= A silver coin of the value of two shillings, originally struck
at Florence. It still bears on its reverse side a representation of
a lily, symbolical of “The City of Flowers.”
=Flower Sermon.= An annual observance at the Church of St Katherine
Cree, Leadenhall Street, inaugurated by the rector, the Rev. Dr
Whittemore, in 1853. The flowers of the earth form the text; the
pulpit is richly adorned with flowers; and every member of the
congregation brings a bouquet. The idea of the flower service, if
not the sermon, has been largely copied in various parts of the
country.
=Flunkey.= From the French _flanquer_, the henchman or groom who ran at
the flank or side of his mounted master.
=Fly.= Provincial for a hansom cab. When one looks at such a hackney
carriage it suggests a sedan-chair on wheels. Such a vehicle,
introduced at Brighton for invalids, was a great favourite with
George IV. then Prince of Wales, who often requisitioned it for a
night frolic. Called by him on account of its lightness a
“fly-by-night,” its name became abbreviated into a “fly.”
=Fly Posting.= A showman’s phrase for small bills posted hurriedly in
all possible conspicuous places under cover of night.
=Fly-up-the-Creeks.= The people of Florida, who were wont to disappear
on the approach of strangers.
=F. M. Allen.= The pseudonym of Mr Edward Downey at the time when he was
also a publisher. F. M. Allen was his wife’s maiden name.
=Foley Street.= After the town house of Lord Foley.
=Fontagne.= A wire structure for raising the hair of ladies, introduced
by the Duchesse de Fontagne, one of the mistresses of Louis XIV. of
France.
=Fontinalia.= Roman festivals in honour of the nymphs of wells and
fountains. It was from these that the English and French custom of
“Well Dressing” in the month of May found its origin.
=Foolscap.= A size of paper which from time immemorial has had for its
watermark a fool’s cap and bells.
=Footpad.= Originally a thief or highway robber who wore padded shoes.
=Fop.= From the German and Dutch _foppen_, to jeer at, make a fool of.
This word must be very old, since Vanbrugh gave the name of Lord
Foppington to a conceited coxcomb in this comedy “The Relapse,”
1697.
=Forecastle.= The quarters apportioned to the seamen in the fore end of
a vessel. Anciently the whole forward portion bore the name of
_Aforecastle_ on account of “The Castle” or State Cabin erected in a
castle-like form in the centre.
=Forefathers’ Day.= December 21st, commemorated in the New England
States on account of the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620.
=Forest City.= Cleveland (Ohio) and Portland (Maine), on account of the
trees which characterise their beautiful avenues.
=Forest Gate.= The district which in modern times has sprung up south of
the old gate leading into Epping Forest. A representation of the
gate appears on the curtain of the local public hall, or, as it is
now styled, “The Grand Theatre.”
=Forest Hill.= A name reminiscent of days when this portion of South
London as far as Croydon was forest land.
=Fore Street.= The street in front of the London Wall, the Barbican or
watch-tower, and Cripple Gate.
=Forget-me-not.= A flower emblematical of friendship or a keepsake. The
story goes that a German knight, walking on the banks of the Danube
with his lady, undertook, at her request, to gather a tuft of
_Mysotis palustris_, growing in the water. Encumbered by his armour,
he was carried away by the stream, and sank, after having thrown the
flowers to his mistress, exclaiming: “_Vergess mein nicht!_”
=Forlorn Hope.= From the German _verloren_, lost. A company of soldiers
ordered upon such a perilous enterprise, that there is small hope of
their return.
=Formosa.= A Portuguese word signifying “beautiful.”
=Fortino.= A clipped phrase in several of the states of North America,
from “For aught I know.”
=Foster Lane.= From the Church of St Vedast, the name of a Bishop of
Arras. How Vedast came to be Anglicised into Foster is not
explained.
=Foul-weather Jack.= Commodore John Byron, the circumnavigator of the
eighteenth century. Whenever he put out to sea he was sure to
experience foul weather.
=Four Hundred.= The Select or “Smart” Society of New York city.
=Fourteen Hundred.= The cry raised when a stranger is discovered in the
Stock Exchange, whereupon he is immediately hustled out. This had
its origin in the circumstance that for a great many years the
recognised full membership on ’Change was 1399.
=Fourth Estate.= The Press. Edward Burke referred to the Reporters’
Gallery as more powerful than the three great estates of the
realm--viz. the Lords Spiritual, the Lords Temporal, and the
Commons.
=Fox in the Hole.= An inn or tavern sign contiguous to the hunting
field.
=Frame House.= The American term for a house built of timber. Chinatown,
or the Chinese quarter of the city of San Francisco, was entirely
constructed of “frame houses.”
=Franc.= A silver coin of Franconia or France.
=France.= Anciently _Franconia_, the country of the Franks, so called
from the _franca_, a kind of javelin with which they armed
themselves when this people effected the conquest of Gaul.
=Franciscans.= Friars of the Order of St Francis of Assisi. Originally
the Grey Friars, their habits are now brown. One of the rules laid
down by their pious founder was that the brethren should always be
clad like the poorest of the poor. He selected the loose sack of
grey, undyed wool, bound round the waist by a cord of the Umbrian
Shepherds. Towards the close of the fifteenth century the better
classes affected gaudy colours, and the poorer orders, imitating
them so far as the use of dyed materials was concerned, took to
wearing garments of sober brown. Hence the change in the colour of
the Franciscan habit.
=Frankincense.= Incense brought to the East from “Franconia.”
=Freak Dinner.= A latter-day term, arising out of the examples set by
American millionaires to outdo all previous attempts in the way of
sumptuous banquets. There have been dinners costing £100 per head.
To please the eye, champagne has been made to flow wastefully from a
fountain. The name is, however, more correctly applied to the scenic
embellishments, as when the banqueting-chamber of the Gaiety
Restaurant was converted into a South African mining tent, and real
Kaffirs were the waiters, to remind the diners of the mode by which
they had acquired their wealth.
=Freebooter.= See “Filibuster.”
=Free Church of Scotland.= The adherents of Dr Chalmers, who separated
from the Scottish Presbyterian Church to establish an independent
community, 18th May 1843.
=Free House.= A public-house, of which the landlord, being his own
master, is at full liberty to change his brewer if the quality of
the liquor supplied to him does not give complete satisfaction. See
“Tied House.”
=Free-lance.= An unattached journalist who sends out his literary wares
on approval. The term has been derived from those roving companies
of knights who, at the close of the Wars of the Crusades, were ready
to enlist under any banner for a monetary consideration. Like the
mercenaries of the Carthaginians and Romans, these were the first
paid soldiers.
=Free List.= A list kept by theatrical managers of Men about Town,
barristers, medical men, and others, who can be relied upon to
“dress the house” at short notice when business is bad, and so give
it an air of prosperity. These are not “Deadheads” in the ordinary
sense, because they render the management a service; but being well
able to pay for seats at all times they are apt to be obnoxious in
their demands when the entertainment really draws good houses. Hence
the notice “Free list entirely suspended” at such times.
=Freemasons.= A brotherhood of masons who in the Mediæval Ages built the
cathedrals which are even now lasting mementoes of their skill. They
travelled from one city to another, always employed in the same
devoted work, and, to prove that they were master craftsmen,
invented various symbols, by which they could be recognised.
Everywhere these masons enjoyed immunity from taxation and military
service. Hence they received the name of “free-masons.”
=Freeze on to him.= To cling to a man as hoarfrost clings to wood in
winter.
=Freight Train.= An Americanism for goods train.
=Freshman.= An undergraduate in his first year at a university.
=Friar.= Agreeably to the Latin _fratre_, brother. This term signifies a
member of a religious community as distinguished from a monk (Greek,
_monas_, alone), who was originally a hermit, and, except when at
meals or at prayers in the monastery, spends his time in a cell.
=Friar Street.= Marks the eastern boundary of the monastery of the
Dominicans or Black Friars anciently located south of Ludgate Hill.
=Friar Tuck.= So called because, like that of all friars, his habit was
_tucked_ or drawn up round the cord that encircled his waist.
=Friday.= In the Scandinavian mythology this day of the week was set
apart for the worship of Frigga, the wife of Odin.
=Friday Street.= The fish market of Old London, so called from the
weekly fast day, when it must have been particularly thronged.
=Friendly Islands.= So called by Captain Cook on account of the
peaceable disposition of the natives.
=Friesland.= Anciently _Friesia_, the country of the _Frisii_.
=Frisco.= An American abbreviation of San Francisco.
=Frith Street.= Originally Fryth Street, after the name of the builder
upon the land in 1680.
=Frobisher Strait.= Discovered by Sir Martin Frobisher, 1576.
=Frognal.= That portion of Hampstead once graced by Frognal Priory,
built by “Memory-Corner Thompson.”
=From Pillar to Post.= This had reference in olden times to the hooting
crowds who followed a public offender from the pillory to the
whipping-post. The “post,” however, was more usually a “cart’s
tail.”
=Fuchsia.= After Leonard Fuchs, the distinguished German botanist.
=Fudge.= A word derived from the sound produced by the nasal expression
of contempt, _futsch!_ among the Germans and Dutch.
=Fulham.= The _Fullenhame_ of Anglo-Saxon days, expressing the home or
habitation of water-fowl.
=Funeral.= Specifically a torchlight procession, from the Latin _funis_,
a torch. In ancient times burials always took place by night.
=Furnival Street.= A name left to remind us of Furnival’s Inn, on the
opposite side of Holborn, and where Charles Dickens wrote his
“Pickwick Papers.” Anciently this was the “Inn” or town mansion of
the Lords Furnival, a title which became extinct in the reign of
Richard II.
=Fusiliers.= Because originally armed with a light musket styled a
_fusil_.
=Fye Foot Lane.= A corruption of _Five Foot Lane_, the width of this
narrow thoroughfare when it led down to the Thames side.
G
=Gad-about.= The word “Gad” is Gaelic, signifying “to rove.”
=Gaelic.= See “Caledonia.”
=Gaff.= See “Penny Gaff.”
=Gaffer.= Provincial for an old man; a corruption of “grandfather.”
=Gag.= An actor’s interpolation of catch phrases at his own sweet will.
Originally, however, _gagging_ was a device to disconcert or stop
the mouth of another actor by the unexpected employment of words not
in the text of the play.
=Gallivanting.= An old English word for “doing the agreeable.” Its
derivation is clearly traceable to “gallant” and “gallantry.”
=Galoshes.= From the Spanish _galocha_, a patten or wooden shoe.
=Galvanism.= After Luigi Galvani, the eminent physician of Bologna in
the eighteenth century, the discoverer of electrical currents
produced by chemical agency.
=Gamboge.= Brought from Cambogia in Siam.
=Gamp.= After Mrs Gamp in “Martin Chuzzlewit,” who never went abroad
without her fat, pawky umbrella, and when at home gave it an
honoured position by the side of the fireplace. Charles Dickens must
have had the town of _Guingamp_ in his mind when he invented Mrs
Gamp. See “Gingham.”
=Gander Party.= An Americanism for a social party composed of men only.
=Ganges.= The sacred river of the Hindoos, thought by them to flow
through Gang, the earth, to heaven. The name they gave to it,
therefore, was _Ganga_.
=Garden of England.= The Isle of Wight. The mildness of the climate and
the luxuriance of the vegetation bespeak a perpetual summer.
=Garden Spot.= The fertile centre of Kentucky, whence the Indians, after
many a sanguinary encounter, were banished by the white settlers.
=Garden State.= New Jersey, from the fertility of its soil.
=Garden Town.= The name bestowed upon both Cheltenham and Leamington in
virtue of their spas, public gardens, and promenades tastefully laid
out.
=Gargantuan.= Anything out of all reasonable limits. We speak of a
“Gargantuan Feast,” a “Gargantuan Thirst,” to express a capacity for
enormous consumption. The word is derived from Gargantua, the hero
of Rabelais’s famous satire of this title.
=Garlick Hill.= Where garlic was anciently brought to land at
Queenhithe.
=Garrick Street.= From the Garrick Club, the premier rendezvous of the
leading members of the dramatic profession.
=Garrotters.= Street marauders of the latter part of the last century
who gripped their victim tightly round the neck while accomplices
rifled his pockets. Their designation was derived from the
_Garrotte_, with which malefactors are strangled in Spain.
=Gas Bag.= An Americanism for one who is always boasting of his own
importance.
=Gasconade.= To boast. The people of Gascony had an unenviable
reputation for boasting.
=Gate.= This old English word does not in all cases express a city gate,
as in London, but a road, street, or passage--_e.g._ Canongate, the
way past the House of the Canons of Holyrood Abbey at Edinburgh;
Lowgate, Whitefriargate, etc., at Hull; Harrowgate, the passage
through the hills; and Boulogne Gate, or entrance to Boulogne
Harbour.
=Gatling Gun.= Named after R. J. Gatling, its inventor.
=Gaul.= The _Gallia_ of the Romans, from the Celtic name of the country,
_Gal_, “western.”
=Gave him a Baker’s Dozen.= As much as he merited, and one blow over as
a finishing stroke. A drubbing that he little expected.
=Gave him a Roland for an Oliver.= Exactly what he gave me himself; a
tit for tat. Roland and Oliver were two knights in the train of
Charlemagne. Both were equally accomplished; what the one did the
other essayed also with success. In the matter of fighting too they
were exactly on a par, since, after having been put to the test in
single combat, for a long time neither of them gained the least
advantage.
=Gave him the Cold Shoulder.= Received him with scant ceremony. The
allusion is to the fare generally set before an unexpected visitor
who has not dined.
=Gave him the Grand Shake.= An Americanism for finally breaking off an
acquaintance.
=Gavelkind.= A custom among the Anglo-Saxons whereby all the sons of a
family inherited alike. Lord Coke traces it from the Teutonic _gif
eal cyn_, and translates it literally “give all kinde.” Inheritance
by Gavelkind obtained in Kent long after the Norman Conquest;
indeed, it is said that some Kentish lands are still held by this
ancient tenure.
=Gavotte.= A dance familiar to the Gavots in the French province of
Dauphiny.
=Gay Lothario.= A seducer. From the leading character in Nicholas Rowe’s
“The Fair Penitent,” produced in 1703.
=Gazette.= From the Italian _Gazzetta_, the name of a Venetian coin
valued at about ¾d. of English money, which was charged for the
individual reading, from hand-to-hand, of a written sheet at Venice
containing news of the war with Soliman II., _temp._ sixteenth
century.
=Geneva Gown.= The habit of Low Churchmen, so called from its
resemblance to the gown worn by the Calvinists of Geneva.
=Genre Painting.= One on a pastoral subject, with figures, that does not
properly come under the definition of a landscape. The word is
French for a kind, a sort.
=Gentleman in Black.= A chimney-sweep, who, like a clergyman, was
formerly saluted out of respect for “the cloth.”
=Gentleman Jack.= John Bannister, a favourite actor of Drury Lane
Theatre, respected by all for his integrity even more than for his
histrionic accomplishments.
=Gentleman Smith.= William Smith of Drury Lane, the _beau ideal_ of a
gentleman on the stage.
=Gentleman Turkey.= The Far Western description of a turkey cock.
=George.= An inn sign in honour of the patron saint of England. After
the Hanoverian Succession, by which time pictorial signs had for the
most part disappeared, and the name alone stood for a sign, the
omission of the “St” made the sign complimentary to the reigning
monarch. Reading of the execution of Charles I., we are told that
the ill-fated King handed his “George” to Juxon, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, who attended him on the scaffold. This was the badge of
the Order of the Garter, representing St George on horseback
piercing the fallen dragon with his lance.
=George and Dragon.= See “George.”
=George Ranger.= H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, who was appointed Ranger
of the Royal Parks.
=Georges Sand.= This literary pseudonym of Mademoiselle Dupin,
afterwards Madame Dudevant, arose out of her attachment to a young
student named Jules Sandeau, with whom she collaborated in the
production of her first novel, “Rose et Blanche.”
=Georgia.= In compliment to George II., the reigning monarch when this
state was colonised.
=German Silver.= See “Sterling Silver.”
=Germany.= Called by the Romans _Germania_, from a Gaulish or Celtic
word meaning “neighbours.”
=Gerrard Street.= After the family name of the Earl of Macclesfield, the
ground landlord, when it was first built upon at the close of the
seventeenth century.
=Gerrymandering.= An American political term for subdividing a
constituency in such a way as to give one party an unfair advantage
over all others. Its adoption was due to Elbridge Gerry, Governor of
Massachusetts. When a map of this new electoral distribution was
shown to an artist he remarked that it looked very much like a
salamander. “A salamander, you say? Why not a Gerrymander!” was the
reply. And a Gerrymander the name of the scheme remained.
=Get there all the same.= An Americanism meaning to succeed in any
enterprise, despite all obstacles or opposition.
=Ghost.= One employed by an author or an artist to do his work for him,
so called because, his name and personality being withheld from the
public, he is kept in the shade. In other words, he is a mere shadow
of his master. Originally, however, the term had reference to the
friend who had inspired or suggested the work.
=Ghost walking.= A theatrical phrase. Actors assembling at the theatre
for their weekly salaries generally put the question among
themselves: “Is the ghost walking?” While those about to accept an
engagement with a manager of whom they know nothing ask: “Does the
ghost walk?” Its origin is as follows:--Many years ago a manager of
the Bogus type had in his company a self-willed actor whose strong
part was the Ghost in “Hamlet.” If his salary was not forthcoming on
a Saturday morning he exclaimed: “Then the ghost won’t walk
to-night.” Indispensable actor as he was, the manager invariably
acceded to his demands. Sometimes it happened that he received only
a portion of his salary, with a promise of the remainder in the
course of the performance, in which case he refused to go on until
the money was actually paid. It is said that the other members of
the company would wait on a Saturday morning about the time for
“Treasury” until they received word by a messenger that the ghost
_would_ walk.
=Giaour.= From the Arabic _kiafir_, “unbeliever.” The Turks bestow this
name on all European Christians, enemies of the Mohammedan faith.
Readers of Lord Byron’s poem “The Giaour” may require to be informed
of its meaning.
=Gibberish.= After Geber, an Arabian alchemist of the eleventh century,
who employed an unintelligible jargon to mystify the ecclesiastics,
lest by plain speaking he might be put to death as a sorcerer.
=Gibraltar.= From the Arabic designation, _Jebel-al-Tarik_, the Mountain
of Tarik, in honour of Ben Zeyad Tarik, a Moorish General, to whose
prowess the conquest of Spain in the eighth century was due.
=Gibraltar of America.= The city of Quebec, from its commanding and
impregnable position on the heights.
=Gibson Girl.= A new type of womanhood popularised in America by the
drawings of Charles Dana Gibson, and introduced to London by Miss
Camille Clifford.
=Gibus.= An opera or crush hat, so called after its inventor.
=Gift of the Gab.= “Gab” is a very old word; it was used by the
Anglo-Saxons for speech. The Scots employed it to describe the
mouth; hence to “gabble.” The French had it too in the forms of
“gaber,” to boast or talk wildly.
=Gig.= A term claiming the same origin as “Jig”--_i.e._ the French
_gigue_, a lively dance--because this vehicle moves lightly.
=Gilbertines.= An English religious Order of the twelfth century,
founded by St Gilbert of Sempringham, Lincolnshire.
=Gilly flower.= A corruption of _July flower_, from the month when it
blossoms.
=Giltspur Street.= Said to have received its name from the gilt spurs of
the knights riding to the tournaments in Smithfield. The greater
probability is that the makers of gilt spurs congregated in this
street.
=Gimnal Ring.= A love token of bygone days, so called from the Latin
_gemellus_, joined. This ring was composed of two separate bands
fitted into each other with little teeth. When lovers were betrothed
it was divided, only to be put together again at the nuptial
ceremony.
=Gin.= Short for Geneva. Not after Geneva in Switzerland, because this
is the national spirituous drink of the Dutch, called at first by
them _giniva_, from the French _genievre_, juniper. Juniper berries
were originally employed to flavour the spirit distilled from
unmalted rye. The native name for Dutch gin is now Schiedam, after
the town where it is made. Dutch gin brought to England is called
Hollands.
=Ginger.= Red-haired people are said to be _ginger_ because Guinevre,
the Queen at the Court of King Arthur, had red hair.
=Gingham.= A corruption of Guingamp in Brittany, where the cotton stuff
brought from Java, there called _gingang_, was dyed and made into
umbrella covers before silk and alpaca came into use for this
purpose. Hence the slang term for an umbrella. See “Gamp.”
=Gin Sling.= An American drink composed of equal parts of gin and water.
See “Sling.”
=Gipsies.= A corruption of _Egyptians_, because, when first heard of in
Europe, they spread themselves over Bohemia, and were thought to
have arrived there by way of Egypt.
=Giraldus Cambrensis.= The Latinised pen name of Gerald de Barri,
Archbishop of St David’s, and historian of Cambria or Wales.
=Girasole.= The Italian name of the sunflower, from the Latin _gyara_,
to turn, and _sol_, the sun.
=Girondists.= Deputies from the Department of the Gironde who formed the
Moderate Republican Party in the French Revolution.
=Girton Girl.= A student of Girton College, Cambridge.
=Give him Beans.= An expression derived from a French proverb: “If he
gives me peas I will give him beans”--_i.e._ I will be quits with
him.
=Give him plenty of Rope.= Let him do just what he thinks is best, and
everything will come out right in the end. Following in your train,
and, metaphorically, attached to your rope, the longer the rope the
wider will be the sweep he can command; he can always be pulled in
when it becomes necessary to check his movements.
=Given Name.= An Americanism for a Christian or forename.
=Gives himself Airs.= One who assumes a manner out of keeping with his
social position. “Air” was formerly synonymous with deportment.
=Give up the Ghost.= Literally to yield up the Spirit.
=Gladiator.= From the Latin _gladius_, a sword. A slave trained to
defend himself with a short sword in the mortal combats of the Roman
arena for the amusement of the Emperors and the populace.
=Glad Rags.= An Americanism for holiday clothes or festive garments.
=Gladstone Bag.= So called in compliment to Mr W. E. Gladstone when, as
leader of the Liberal Government, his name was “familiar in men’s
mouths as household words.”
=Glamorgan.= From _Gwlad-Margam_, “the territory of Margam,” a Welsh
chieftain of the tenth century. His name is correctly preserved in
Margam Abbey.
=Glenlivet.= Whisky distilled in the Vale of Glenlivet in Banffshire.
=Globe.= An inn sign, the name of which was derived from the arms of the
King of Portugal.
=Globe Trotter.= A tourist, a traveller in foreign lands.
=Glorious Fourth of July.= Another name for “Independence Day.”
=Gloucester.= The _Gloicastra_ of the Romans, in honour of Gloi, son of
the Emperor Claudius, who was born here.
=Gloucester Road.= From Oxford Lodge, the one-time residence of the
Duchess of Gloucester.
=Go ahead.= From the nautical phrase “The wind’s ahead”--_i.e._ blowing
from the stern towards the vessel’s head.
=Goat and Compasses.= A corruption of the Puritan motto “God encompass
us.”
=Goatee.= An Americanism for the typical Yankee chin tuft, in allusion
to the beard of a goat.
=Gobelin Tapestry.= Made under royal patronage in the house originally
occupied by Jean Gobelin, a wool dyer in Paris, _temp._ seventeenth
century.
=God help you.= Anciently an invocation on behalf of a person subjected
to the Ordeal of Fire.
=Godstone.= A corruption of “Good Stone,” relative to the excellence of
the stone quarried here.
=Goggles.= Shaded spectacles, so called in allusion to gig lamps.
=Go in for Banting.= See “Banting.”
=Gold Coast.= The coast of Guinea, West Africa, where gold was found.
=Golden Cross.= The device of the Crusaders, extensively adopted as an
inn sign.
=Golden Gate.= The entrance to San Francisco Harbour. This name had been
bestowed upon it by the Spaniards centuries before the outbreak of
the gold fever in 1847, from their own knowledge that this was the
gate to the Land of Gold.
=Golden Lane.= A corruption of “Golding Lane,” after the builder.
=Golden Square.= Properly “Gelding Square,” from an old inn of this
name.
=Go Marooning.= A southern state American expression for a picnicking
party on the shore or up country which is to last for several days.
See “Maroons.”
=Gone over to the Majority.= A Parliamentary phrase equally, if more
generally, applied to one who has passed from the scene of his
life’s labours to the spirit world. Ancient and modern authors
contain passages in the latter connection. The Rev. Robert Blair in
“The Grave” says: “’Tis long since Death had the majority.”
=Gone to Pot.= Vanished possessions. The reference is to the
metalliferous melting pot.
=Gone to Rack and Ruin.= A corruption of “wreck and ruin.”
=Gone to Texas.= An American expression for one who has decamped leaving
debts behind him. It was (and is) no unusual thing for a man to
display this notice, perhaps only the initials “G.T.T.” on his door
for the information of callers after he has absconded.
=Gone to the Devil.= From the twofold circumstance that money lost
through lawyers would surely be spent by them at their regular
resort, the celebrated “Devil Tavern,” hard by Temple Bar, and the
not unusual answer tendered by a subordinate to a caller at a place
of business in Fleet Street that his master had “gone to the
‘Devil.’”
=Gone to the Dogs.= Money that has been squandered uselessly, as the
remains of a feast in Eastern countries are thrown to the dogs
instead of being given to the poor. A vicious man is said to have
gone to the dogs because in the East social outcasts are often
worried by ravenous dogs that prowl about the streets by night.
=Gone under.= One who has sunk in the social scale; never recovered from
financial embarrassments; who found it impossible to “keep his head
above water.” The allusion is, of course, to drowning.
=Gone up the Country.= An expression implying that a person is
insolvent; originally introduced into England from the Colonies.
When a man could not make ends meet in the coast cities he went
prospecting up the country.
=Gong Punch.= The American term for the bell ticket punch used by
conductors on tramcars.
=Gonville College.= The original name of Caius College, Cambridge,
founded by Edmund Gonville in 1348.
=Good enough Morgan.= An American phrase for an imposition, or any
person or thing likely to pass muster for the reality. This
originated during the Anti-Masonic riots in the state of New York,
when it was alleged that the Freemasons had drowned a man called
Morgan for having betrayed their secrets. A body was actually found
in the river near Fort Niagara, and identified by Morgan’s wife
chiefly on account of a missing tooth. It was, however, proved that
the whole story had been trumped up for political ends. A prominent
politician who had a hand in the affair indeed confessed that, when
reminded that the body would never pass for Morgan’s, he declared:
“It’s a good enough Morgan.” Hence the phrase.
=Goodge Street.= After the name of the builder.
=Goodman’s Fields.= After the owner of the lands upon a portion of whose
farm the Prioresses or Nuns of St Clare built their priory. This
name recurs in the “Life of David Garrick,” who established his fame
at the old Goodman’s Fields Theatre before he migrated to Drury
Lane.
=Good Old Town of Hull.= A name originally bestowed upon the “Third
Port” by tramps and beggars, who, in common with the deserving poor,
fared exceeding well out of the bounty of the Dominican and
Carmelite Friars. The streets Blackfriargate and Whitefriargate fix
the locality of these conventual establishments.
=Good Time.= An Americanism for a very pleasurable or festive time. See
“High Time.”
=Good Wine needs no Bush.= An ivy bush was in former times displayed at
the end of a stake wherever wine was sold, the ivy being sacred to
Bacchus. Travellers who had once tasted good wine took careful stock
of the place before leaving it; consequently they needed no bush to
direct them when next they visited the neighbourhood.
=Goodwin Sands.= At the time of the Norman Conquest this comprised the
estate of Earl Godwin, from whom it was filched and bestowed upon
the Abbey of St Augustine at Canterbury. Neglect of the repair of
the sea-wall caused the waves to rush in and overwhelm the land.
=Go off the Handle.= To lose one’s head or go insane. The allusion is to
the head of an axe flying off the handle.
=Go one better.= Originally a sporting expression, meaning that by
jumping farther a contestant would make a scratch on the ground
beyond the one just scored.
=Goose.= The tailor’s smoothing iron, from the resemblance of its handle
to the neck of a goose.
=Gooseberry.= A corruption of _Gorseberry_, rough or coarse, on account
of the hairs or diminutive prickles which distinguish this berry.
=Gordon Hotels.= Established by the late Frederick Gordon, a solicitor
of Bloomsbury. These middle-class hotels have supplied a long-felt
want in London and elsewhere.
=Gordon Square.= In compliment to Lady Georgina Gordon, wife of the
sixth Duke of Bedford, the ground landlord.
=Gospel.= From the Anglo-Saxon _God-spell_, “good news.”
=Gospel Oak.= From the oak-tree marking the juncture of St Pancras and
Hampstead parishes, beneath which the Gospel was annually read.
=Goswell Road.= From an ancient spring, styled “God’s Well,” discovered
in this neighbourhood.
=Gotham.= The city of New York. Washington Irving first gave it this
name in his “Salmagundi.” Its people in his time were anything but
fools, yet he may not have appreciated the singular wisdom
attributed to them. By referring to the city as Gotham he made a
playful allusion to Gotham in Nottinghamshire, England, which for
centuries had merited a reputation for being a town whose
inhabitants did and said the most foolish things.
=Go the whole Hog.= An expression derived from Cowper’s poem entitled
“Of the Love of the World reproved,” in which he discusses the
eating of pork by the Turks:
“But for one piece they thought it hard
From the whole hog to be debarred.”
=Got my Back up.= In allusion to cats, which set up their backs on being
confronted by their own species or by a ferocious dog.
=Got my Dander up.= The word _dander_ here is a corruption of dandruff,
which, though it means only the scurf on the head, has come to be
curiously applied to the hair itself; as when the fur of enraged
animals is raised.
=Got the Bullet.= Suddenly discharged from one’s occupation; “fired
out,” as it were.
=Got the Push.= Ousted from one’s place of employment. Metaphorically to
have been pushed off the premises.
=Got the Sack.= An expression derived from the sack in which mechanics
and artisans generally carried their own tools. When engaged to work
the tools were assigned to a proper place in the workshop, while the
master took possession of the sack. On discharging his men he
returned them the sack.
=Go to.= An Old English expression which leaves something to the
imagination. Originally it must have implied a place where there is
much caloric. In its popular acceptation it meant simply “Get along
with you!”
=Go to Bath.= An expression signifying that a person is talking
nonsense. When the west of England was the fashionable health resort
silly and slightly demented folk were recommended to “Go to Bath,
and get your head shaved.”
=Go to Bungay.= The curt answer received by persons who asked where they
could get the once fashionable leather breeches. Bungay, in Suffolk,
was the only place where they were made. This expression travelled
over to New England with the first emigrants, and is still common in
that portion of the United States.
=Go to Jericho.= Jericho was the name given by Henry VIII. to the Manor
of Blackmore, near Chelmsford, whither he often retired quite
suddenly from affairs of State. At such times his courtiers
suspected some fresh freak of gallantry, and said he had “gone to
Jericho.” Moreover, when in a testy mood, his Queen would tell him
to “go to Jericho!”
=Go to Putney.= A very old expression, tantamount to consigning a person
beyond the pale of London society or civilisation.
=Got out of Bed the wrong Way.= From the old superstition that planting
the left foot on the ground first on rising in the morning was a
harbinger of ill luck for the day.
=Government Stock.= The origin of the word Stock is interesting. Down to
the year 1782, when the practice was abolished, public money
invested in Government securities was acknowledged on the two
opposite ends of a piece of wood called a stock, from the
Anglo-Saxon _stocc_, a trunk. The stock was then cut in two, one
portion being handed to the investor and the other consigned to the
Tally Office.
=Gower Street.= After the name of the builder on this portion of the
Bedford estate.
=Gowk.= The Scottish equivalent for an “April Fool,” signifying a
foolish person.
=Gracechurch Street.= From the herb market anciently held around the
Church of St Benet, called the Grass Church. This edifice has in
modern times been pulled down, and the money realised for the site
devoted to the erection of a new St Benet’s in the Mile End Road.
=Gramercy.= From _grand merci_, “great thanks,” a phrase introduced when
French was the language of the Court.
=Granby Street.= In honour of John Manners, Marquis of Granby, whose
name is also perpetuated by many a tavern sign.
=Grand Hotel.= Not in the sense of magnificence, but true to the French
meaning of the word “great”; hence Grand Theatre, the Grand Tour,
and the Grand Canal at Venice.
=Grand Old Man.= The name applied by Mr Labouchere to Mr W. E. Gladstone
on the occasion of Mr Bradlaugh’s expulsion from the House after his
election for Northampton because he refused to take the oath in the
prescribed manner. Referring to a conversation in the tea-room Mr
Labouchere said: “I told some friends that before I left Mr
Gladstone came to me, and that grand old man, with tears in his
eyes, took me by the hands, and said: ‘Mr Labouchere, bring me Mr
Bradlaugh back again.’”
=Grand Tour.= More than a hundred years ago each of the sons of
gentlemen in their turn made the Grand or Extended Tour through
France, Germany, and Italy, just as nowadays daughters are presented
at Court as a preliminary to moving in fashionable society.
=Grange Road.= Marks the situation of an old mansion called “The
Grange.” The word Grange expresses the French for a barn or granary.
=Granite State.= New Hampshire, from its staple product.
=Grapes.= An inn or public sign, denoting that the house contained a
vinery.
=Grass Widow.= A married woman separated from her husband, but not
divorced. In the eyes of the world she passes for a widow by grace
of courtesy. The correct description is, therefore, a “Grace Widow.”
The corruption came about quite easily.
=Grays.= Anciently the estate of the noble family who gave their name to
Gray’s Inn, their town mansion. Lady Jane Grey came of this stock.
=Gray’s Inn.= The Inn or mansion of the Earls Gray, made over to the law
students, _temp._ Edward III. See “Inn.”
=Gray’s Inn Road.= From Gray’s Inn, the eastern wall of which it skirts.
=Great Bear Lake.= On account of its situation under the northern
constellation of the Great Bear.
=Great Belt.= The great strait leading to the Baltic Sea. Both these
names are derived from the Norse _bält_, strait.
=Great College Street.= At the southern extremity of this thoroughfare
in Camden Town stands the Royal Veterinary College.
=Great Coram Street.= From the Foundling Hospital built and endowed by
Captain Thomas Coram in 1739.
=Great Dover Street.= The London portion of the old Roman highway to
Dover.
=Great George Street.= Stands on the site of the stable-yard of a famous
old coaching inn, “The George and Dragon.”
=Great Marlborough Street.= In honour of the Duke of Marlborough, the
people’s idol after the victory of Blenheim.
=Great Ormond Street.= After the British General, James Butler, second
Duke of Ormond.
=Great Peter Street.= Contiguous to Westminster Abbey, dedicated to St
Peter.
=Great Portland Street.= The business thoroughfare on the Duke of
Portland’s estate.
=Great Queen Street.= First laid out across the fields in the time of
Queen Elizabeth, and named after her.
=Great Russell Street.= In honour of the ill-fated Lord William Russell,
whose wife, Rachel, was the daughter of the Duke of Bedford, the
great ground landlord.
=Great St Helen’s.= Occupies the site of the ancient priory of St
Helen’s, of which the church remains.
=Great St Thomas Apostle.= Marks the site of a vanished church of this
name.
=Great Stanhope Street.= From the mansion of Philip Stanhope, Earl of
Chesterfield.
=Great Suffolk Street.= After Suffolk House, in which resided George
Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.
=Great Sutton Street.= Perpetuates the memory of Thomas Sutton, the
founder of the Charter House.
=Great Titchfield Street.= After the Duke of Grafton and Marquis of
Titchfield, father of the Earl of Euston, the ground landlord.
=Great Winchester Street.= From Winchester House, the residence of the
first Earl of Winchester.
=Great Windmill Street.= A couple of centuries ago, when this district
was open fields, a large windmill stood hereabouts.
=Greece.= Called _Græcia_ by the Romans, after the _Graikoi_, a tribe of
settlers in Epiros.
=Greek Street.= At one time a colony of Greek merchants who contributed
to the erection of a Greek church here.
=Greenaway Gardens.= After the late Miss Kate Greenaway, the lady
artist, who resided in its vicinity.
=Greenbacks.= The paper currency of the United States, printed in green
and with a device of the same colour on the back. Mr Chase,
Secretary of the Treasury in 1862, claimed the honour of having
added this word to the American vocabulary.
=Green Dragon.= An inn sign anciently depicting the combat of St George
with the dragon.
=Greengage.= The greenish plum introduced to England by Lord Gage from
the monastery of La Chartreuse in France.
=Greengrocer.= See “Grocer.”
=Greenhorn.= A raw, inexperienced youth. The allusion here is to the
undeveloped horns of a young ox.
=Green Horse.= The nickname of the 5th Dragoon Guards, from their green
facings.
=Greenland.= From the moss which grows abundantly in this otherwise
sterile region. Iceland or Greenland moss is said to be very
efficacious in the treatment of consumption.
=Green Man.= An inn sign denoting that the house was kept by a retired
gamekeeper of the lord of the manor. Mediæval gamekeepers always
dressed in green. See “Inn.”
=Green Man and Still.= A tavern sign pointing to the existence on the
premises of a still where cordials were distilled from green herbs.
In this case the house was not kept by a gamekeeper, but by a
herbalist. It may, however, have belonged to an innkeeper or a
“Green Man” further afield on the same estate.
=Green Mountain State.= Vermont, as its name implies.
=Green Park.= On account of its delightful grassy surface.
=Green-room.= From the green-coloured walls of the room set apart by
David Garrick behind the scenes of Drury Lane Theatre for members of
the company in the intervals of playing their parts. This colour was
chosen as a relief to the eye after the glare of the stage lights.
=Green Sea.= From the aspect of its waters looking towards the shores of
Arabia.
=Greenwich.= Expresses the Saxon for “green village.”
=Grenadiers.= Anciently a company of soldiers who marched in front of
every regiment of foot, it being their function to throw
hand-grenades into the ranks of the enemy.
=Gresham Street.= After Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of the Royal
Exchange. His residence in Old Broad Street, on the site of the
present Gresham House, was converted by him into a college, which in
1843 was removed into Gresham Street. The word Gresham comes from
the German _Grassheim_, “grass home”; hence the grasshopper on the
summit of the Royal Exchange.
=Greville Street.= Marks the site of the mansion of Fulke Greville, Lord
Brooke, one of the ministers of James I.
=Grey Friars.= See “Franciscans.”
=Greyhound.= An inn sign derived from the badge of Henry VII. The dog of
this name originally came from Greece, and was accordingly styled a
_graihund_, after the _Graikoi_, the people of that country.
=Gripsack.= An Americanism for a travellers’ hand-bag, corresponding to
an English carpet bag.
=Grisette.= A generic name for a Parisian shop or work girl, from the
_gris_, or grey cloth, which was at one time generally worn by the
inferior classes in France.
=Grocer.= A term derived from the same root as _Gross_, “the great
hundred,” and applied to a provision dealer who in former times was
the only trader rejoicing in the monopoly of dealing in large
quantities.
=Grocery.= An Americanism for a grocer’s store or shop. Also used in the
plural sense for commodities dealt in by a grocer; corresponding to
our “groceries.”
=Grog.= The name originally given by the sailors under Admiral Edward
Vernon to the rum diluted with water he served out to them on board
ship. They called him “Old Grog” because he always appeared on deck
in a long grogram cloak when the weather was “dirty.”
=Groggery.= An Americanism for a “grog shop” where spirituous liquors
only are purveyed; answering to our “Gin Palace.”
=Grosvenor Square.= The centre of the London estate of the Grosvenor
family. Sir Richard Grosvenor was Grand Cup-bearer to George II. The
word Grosvenor is Norman-French--_i.e._ _Le Gros Veneur_, “the chief
hunter.”