Barrow-Tram, subs. (familiar).—An ungainly person; one awkward in gait,
and coarse and rawboned in feature.
Barter, subs. (Winchester College).—A half volley. From the Warden of
that name famous for disposing of them.
1870. Mansfield, School-Life at Winchester College, p. 133. What a
noble game cricket must be when one loved it so much,
notwithstanding the previous training! What genuine excitement when
College and Commoners was played; what frantic shouting when Rapid
got well hold of a ‘barter’ ... and sent the ball from ‘Spanish
Poplar,’ right over Mead’s wall by ‘Log pond.’
1878. Adams, Wykehamica, p. 327. Barter was the most popular boy of
his day with his schoolfellows. Wonderful things are told of his
scores at cricket at which he is supposed to have been the hardest
hitter of his own times, or of any near him.... He was so renowned
for the tremendous force with which he was wont to swipe the ball,
commonly known to cricketers as a ‘half-volley,’ that it actually
changed its name in the Wykehamical vocabulary, and for fully half
a century afterwards—and, for all I know, to the present day—bore
the name of a Barter.
Verb.—To hit a ball hard at cricket.
Hitting barters.—Practice catching; full pitches hit from the middle of
‘Turf’ towards Ball-Court for catching practice towards the end of
‘Long Meads.’
Bartholomew Baby, subs. (old).—A gaudily dressed doll, such as appears
to have been commonly sold at Bartholomew Fair.—See Bartholomew-pig.
Also applied to a person gaudily dressed.
1682. Wit and Drollery, p. 343.
Her petticoat of sattin,
Her gown of crimson tabby,
Lac’d up before, and spangl’d ore,
Just like a Bartholomew baby.
Bartholomew-Pig, subs. (old).—Roasted pigs, says Nares, were formerly
among the chief attractions of Bartholomew Fair, West Smithfield,
London: they were sold piping hot, in booths and on stalls, and
ostentatiously displayed, to excite the appetite of passengers. Hence a
Bartholomew-pig became a common subject of allusion: the Puritan railed
against it.
1614. B. Jons., Bart. Fair, i., 6. For the very calling it a
Bartholomew-pig, and to eat it so, is a spice of idolatry.
Falstaff, in coaxing ridicule of his enormous figure, is playfully
called by his favourite,
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Hen. IV., ii., 4. Thou whoreson little tidy
Bartholomew-boar-pig.
Dr. Johnson thought that paste-pigs were there meant: but the true
Bartholomew-pigs were substantial, real, hot, roasted pigs; as may be
seen throughout the above play of old Ben, where Ursula, the pig-woman,
is no inconsiderable personage. Gayton also speaks of the pig-dressers.
Like Bartholomew Fair pig-dressers, who look like the dams, as well
as the cooks of what they roasted.
Fest. N., p. 57.
The young wife in Jonson’s play pretends a violent longing for pig,
that she may be taken to the fair; and it seems that her case was far
from uncommon. Davenant speaks of the Bartlemew-pig,
That gaping lies on every stall,
Till female with great belly call.
The fair in its later days got to be a place of too much mobbing and
riot for ladies in that condition. There might also be paste-pigs, but,
if so, they were very inferior objects, and meant only for children.
Mrs. Ursula also tells us the price of her pigs; namely, five
shillings, five shillings and sixpence, or even six shillings! This was
surely as dear in James I.’s time, as a guinea lately. The highest
price, of course, was to be asked of a longing woman. The fair was
abolished in 1854, having been inaugurated in 1133.—Nares.
Barts., subs. (medical students’).—An abbreviation of ‘St. Bartholomew
Hospital.’
Bash, verb (popular).—To beat; thrash; or crush out of shape. Possibly
from the Scandinavian bask, a slap; ‘box’ also seems to have the same
derivation. Chiefly appearing in the northern dialects, bash is
regarded nowadays in the light of a vulgar colloquialism. Thieves use
it synonymously with ‘to flog.’—See Bashing. In older writers the word
appears as pash, the ‘p’ in this case being simply a harder form than
‘b.’ An alternative onomatopoetic derivation has, however, been
suggested, the ‘b’ of such words as ‘beat’ and ‘bang’ being transferred
to the terminal letters of ‘dash,’ ‘gash,’ ‘smash,’ etc.
1592. Nashe, Strange Newes, in wks. II., 272. A leane arme put out
of the bed shall grind and pash euerie crum of thy booke into
pin-dust.
1622. Massinger, Virgin Martyr, II., ii. Jove’s artillery shot down
at once, to pash your gods in pieces.
1882. Daily Telegraph, Dec. 9, p. 2, col. 6. A man ... told witness
that he would earn a sovereign if he cared to give a certain
woman—the complainant—a couple of black eyes.... His instructions
were to follow the man he met in the public-house in Bear Street,
and to bash the woman he would point out to him in Portland Street.
1882. F. Anstey, Vice Versâ, ch. xii. ‘If you have got bashed about
pretty well since you came back, it’s been all your own fault, and
you know it.’
1883. Standard, March 2, p. 6, col. 7. Mr. Hannay reminded her that
when the summons was applied for, the boy’s father had said that
the boy was bashed on the floor, and received a black eye and a
bruised head.
Amongst synonyms may be mentioned the English verb ‘bang,’ and the
French bêcher, which signifies properly to dig or break up ground.—See
Tan.
Basher, subs. (pugilistic).—A prize-fighter. For synonyms, see Bruiser.
1882. Daily Telegraph, Dec. 16, p. 2, col. 6. According to the
statement of the prosecuting solicitor, this was the man who
undertook to point out to Leech, the professed basher, the woman
whom he was to assault in Portland Street.
Bashi-Bazouk, subs. (popular).—A ruffian; and used loosely as a more or
less mild term of opprobrium; also applied to anything bizarre in
character or composition. The expression came into vogue during the
period when the Bulgarian atrocities were electrifying the world by
their barbarous cruelty. The Bashi-bazouks are properly irregular
Turkish soldiery. They are collected hastily in times of emergency; and
are, consequently, somewhat impatient of discipline, assuming that such
a commodity in its Western sense is known at all to the
Tartar-descended Turk—‘the unspeakable Turk’ as he was fitly called
during the period above alluded to. So infamous have these levies
become at times, that more than once they have been disbanded in
deference to pressure brought to bear upon the Turkish authorities by
the Western powers.
Bashing, subs. (prison).—A flogging; a taste of the cat-o’-nine-tails.
Prisoners condemned to this punishment at the commencement of their
term are said by their companions to receive a bashing in; if they also
undergo a flogging just previous to their release, it is called a
bashing out.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 157. There were the
evidences of former floggings, or bashings, as the prisoners call
them.
Basils, subs. (old cant).—Fetters on one leg only.
Basin, subs. (American).—A schooner (q.v.).
Basing.—See That’s basing.
Basketed, ppl. adj. (old).—From this cockpit expression used of persons
unable or unwilling to pay their losses, and who in consequence were
relegated for the rest of the day to a basket hung over the cockpit, is
derived the figurative usage in the sense of ‘to be left out in the
cold’; not understood; non-plussed; ‘floored.’
b. 1788, d. 1841. Hook, Gerv. Skinner, ch. iii. Skinner was quite
enchanted with the brilliancy of his guests, although now and then
a little puzzled at their allusions; there jokes were chiefly local
or professional, and very frequently my excellent friend Gervase
was, to use a modern phrase of general acceptation, basketed.
1818. P. Egan, Boxiana, vol. I., p. 79. The fight was soon over
after this circumstance, and the sweaters and trainers were
completely in the basket!
1866. E. Yates, Land at Last.... And find you in his den, lighting
it up like—like—like—I’m regularly basketed, by jove!
To be brought or to go to the basket, phr. (familiar).—To be
imprisoned; to be reduced to poverty. A basket is here the symbol of
daily provision, or alms. Formerly prisoners were dependent on charity
for daily sustenance, and it was customary for them to let down a
basket by a string through the gaol windows, soliciting the alms of
passers-by.—See also Angling for farthings.
1632. Massinger and Field, Fatal Dowry, v., 1. Pontalier [to
Liladam, who is in custody for debt].
Arrested! this is one of those whose base
And abject flattery help’d to dig his grave;
He is not worth your pity, nor my anger;
Go to the basket, and repent.
1700. Gentleman Instructed [1732], p. 6. God be praised! I am not
brought to the basket, though I had rather live on charity than
rapine. [d.]
To be left in the basket, phr. (common).—To be rejected; abandoned;
unchosen. Cf., second quotation.
1840. Barham, I. L. (House Warning).
Whatever he wants, he has only to ask it,
And all other suitors are left in the basket.
1874. Bell’s Life, 26 Dec. The pick of the basket, a compact young
greyhound.
Basket-Making, subs. (old).—When enceinte a woman was formerly said ‘to
have a kid in the basket.’ [Cf., Bay-window.] Hence basket-making to
signify the act of copulation.
Bass, subs. (popular).—A familiar abbreviation for Bass’ ale, brewed at
Burton-on-Trent.
1853. Rev. E. Bradley (‘Cuthbert Bede’), Adventures of Verdant
Green, p. 23. The young gentleman exhibited great capacity for the
beer of Bass, and the porter of Guiness.
1863. Oudia, Held in Bondage, I., p. 65. Those idle lads in the
Temple, who smoke cavendish and drink Bass. Ibid, p. 126.
Discussing Bass and a cold luncheon.
1868. Miss Braddon, Only a Clod, I., p. 138. A lot of fellows
drinking no end of Bass.
18(?). Annie Thomas, A Passion in Tatters, I., p. 110. Bass that
was not worthy of its name.
Baste, verb (colloquial).—To thrash; to beat soundly. This verb is
given a place here for the purpose of comparison, as it is somewhat
uncertain whether it can with propriety be classed as slang. Of
uncertain origin, but dating from the sixteenth century; to baste,
properly ‘to sew together loosely,’ or ‘to apply fat or gravy to a
joint,’ is, in its figurative usage, of more than passing interest when
compared with anoint (q.v.), and other words employed in the same
figurative sense. It is curious indeed to note the many synonymous
analogues for a good beating or thrashing, all of which pertain more or
less to slang. R. W. Hackwood [N. and Q., 7 S., vii., 153] mentions
several, amongst others colting (q.v.), used by Marryat in Midshipman
Easy. As bearing upon the general idea involved in this class of words,
the quotation may be placed side by side with another from the King’s
Own by the same writer.
1830. Marryat, King’s Own, ch. vii. ‘He always carried in his
pocket a colt (i.e., a foot and a half of rope, knotted at one end
and whipped at the other), for the benefit of the youngsters, to
whom he was a most inordinate tyrant.’
1836. Marryat, Midshipman Easy, ch. xii. ‘Then he colted me for
half-an-hour, and that’s all.’
Colting like basting is of uncertain derivation. Comparing it, however,
with analogous words, may we not take it, continues the writer referred
to, as very closely associated with, if not actually belonging to, the
series of synonyms for the operations which derive their origin from
the shoemakers, curriers, and allied trades, as we find it in ‘a
leathering,’ ‘a strapping,’ ‘a tanning,’ ‘a welting,’ etc. Indeed, it
is worth noting in this connection, from the number of epithets applied
to the operation, what a deal of chastising has apparently been
required in most trades and occupations, for nearly all—except,
perhaps, the carpenter’s, where sticks are plentiful—appear to be
represented, and even in the domestic circle one can have a choice of
‘a towelling,’ ‘a basting,’ ‘a clouting,’ ‘a rubbing down,’ ‘a
dressing,’ ‘a trimming,’ or ‘a wiping’ when occasion requires.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, III. (1822), 223. He departit weil basit and
defuleyeit of his clothing.
1599. Greene, George-a-Greene, in wks. (Grosart) XIV., 174. Ile
baste you both so well, you were neuer better basted in your liues.
1605. Tryall of Chevalry, III., i., in Bullen’s Old Plays, iii.,
305. But, had I knowne as much, I would have basted him till his
bones had rattled in his skin.
1611. Beaumont, Knight of Burning Pestle, II., iv.
Look on my shoulders, they are black and blue;
Whilst to and fro fair Luce and I were winding,
He came and basted me with a hedge-binding.
1660. Pepys, Diary, July 22. One man was basted by the keeper, for
carrying some people over on his back, through the water.
1754. Martin, Eng. Dict., 2 ed. To baste or bast ... to beat, or
bang soundly.
1874. Mrs. H. Wood, Johnny Ludlow, 1 S., xix., p. 328. ‘Hold your
row, Davvy,’ he roared out, wrathfully: ‘you’d not like me to come
back and give you a basting.’
Among some English Synonyms may also be mentioned:—to give a hiding; to
give a walloping; to dust one’s jacket; to quilt; to tan; to set about;
to walk into; to manhandle; to give one Jesse; to give one gas; to
dowse; to pay.
For synonyms generally, see Tan.
Baster, subs. (American thieves’).—A New York cant term for a house
thief.
Bastile, subs. (vagrants’).—A workhouse. For synonyms, see Big house.
Probably from the Bastile, a famous prison; lock-ups for a long time
being generically named Bastiles. Now corrupted into steel.
1883. Cuthbert Bede, in Graphic, June 2, p. 558, col. 2. Mister
Corbyn had always called the workhouse by the opprobrious epithet
of the basteel.
(Thieves’.)—A prison.—See Cage. Bastile in this sense is mentioned by
Captain Grose [1785].
Bat, subs. (old slang).—1. A prostitute who plies her trade by night;
an allusion to the nocturnal habits of the flying mammal—indeed,
another old term for a woman of the town was literally a fly-by-night.
The equivalent French term, hirondelle de nuit, i.e., ‘a night
swallow,’ is more poetic. For full lists of synonyms, see Barrack-hack.
2. (American.)—A spree; frolic; and sometimes a drunken bout. A
contracted form of ‘batter.’
1889. Bird o’ Freedom, Aug. 7, p. 1. Mr. Pote: ‘I see in the
evening paper that a woman has been bitten by a bat, and afterwards
died of lockjaw.’ Mrs. P. (tartily): ‘If she had been bitten by the
kind of bat you went on when I was away last Saturday week, she
would probably have died of delirium tremens.’
3. (athletic.)—Pace; speed (in walking, rowing, etc.). Partly also
dialectical, especially Scotch, Craven, and Lincolnshire.
1887. Daily News, 18 August, p. 6, col. 3. Here they come, a mixed
flock of birds full bat overhead.
To bat one’s eyes, phr. (American).—1. A South-western term which is
explained by quotation.
1846. Overland Monthly, p. 79. The ox whip has both parts as long
as they can be managed. I have seen a poor fellow from Ohio,
totally unused to this enormous affair, swing it round his head in
many an awkward twist, while the Texans stood by and laughed to see
him knock off his hat and bat his eyes at every twitch, to avoid
cutting them out.
Cf., Italian batter d’occhio, twinkling of an eye.