Boiler-Plated, adj. (American).—Imperturbable; stolid; stoical. [The
simile is akin to that contained in expressions like iron-clad,
copper-bottomed, etc., drawn mainly from marine phraseology.]
Boilers or Brompton Boilers, subs. (popular).—1. A name originally
given to the new Kensington Museum and School of Art, in allusion to
the peculiar form of the buildings, and the fact of their being mainly
composed of, and covered with, sheet iron. This has been changed since
the extensive alterations in the building, or rather pile of buildings,
and the term boilers is now applied to the Bethnal Green Museum.—See
Pepper-boxes.
1885. Daily News, July 9, p. 5, col. 1. The building is merely a
fragment of the old ‘Brompton boilers,’ set up originally for the
South Kensington Museum.
2. (Royal Military Academy.)—Boiled potatoes. Fried potatoes are called
greasers.
Boiling or Biling. Whole boiling or biling, subs. phr. (common).—The
whole lot; entire quantity. [A figurative usage, from a quantity boiled
at one time.] Variants are the whole gridiron (q.v.) and all the shoot.
1835. Haliburton (‘Sam Slick’), Clockmaker, 3 S., ch. xviii. The
last mile, he said, tho’ the shortest one of the whole bilin’, took
the longest [time] to do it by a jug full.
1837. Marryat, Dog Fiend, xiii. [He] may ... whip the whole boiling
of us off to the Ingees.
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. lix., p. 496. ‘And the whole
bileing of people was mixed up in the same business, and no other.’
1874. E. L. Linton, Patricia Kemball, ch. xxii. ‘He have Dora? No,
not if he licked my foot for her, and I broke the whole boiling of
them—as I will!’
Boil One’s Lobster, verbal phr. (old).—To enter the army after having
been in the church. [From lobster, a slang term for a soldier, the
allusion being to the change in colour which lobsters undergo in the
process of boiling, turning from a bluish black to red.] Cf., Black
coat and Red coat.
Boke, subs. (American thieves’).—The nose. [This may either be derived
directly from beak, sense 3, or indirectly from boko (q.v.).] For
synonyms, see Conk.
Bold as Brass, adv. phr. (popular).—Audaciously forward; presumptuous;
without shame. The simile, or at least the general idea, seems to be an
old one. Shakspeare (see quot.) uses the expression ‘a face of brass,’
and even to this day brass, sense 1 (q.v.), is synonymous with
impudence or ‘cheek.’
1594. Shakspeare, Love’s Labour Lost, v., 2.
Biron. Thus pour the stars down plagues for perjury.
Can any face of brass hold longer out?——
1846. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, II., p. 12. He came in as bold as
brass.
1854. Thackeray, Lovel the Widower, p. 195. ‘A nursery governess at
the wages of a housemaid’ I continued, bold as Corinthian brass.
c. 1882. Broadside Ballad, ‘Timothy Titus.’
The name belongs to brave men, and I’m as bold as brass,
I do not wear the lion’s skin and show myself an ass;
I’m full of pluck and can defy, like Ajax, anything,
And if you put me to the test, a proof I soon can bring.
Boler, also Bowler, subs. (popular).—A stiff felt hat. For synonyms,
see Cady.
1861. Sat. Review, Sept. 21, 297. We are informed that he ... wore,
or rather carried in his hand, a white bowler hat.
1882. Pebody, Eng. Journalism, xxi., 158. The ministers, in bowlers
and pea-jackets, are to be found upon the shore of highland locks.
1889. Answers, June 8, p. 24. Most of the men were clothed in loud
and greasy suits of tweed, and wore what are known as bowler hats,
many of them much the worse for wear. The ladies affected fine and
smart costumes, but as the greater part of their dresses had seen
long months of service, the smartness was somewhat of the
bedraggled order.
Bolly, subs. (Marlborough College).—Pudding.
Bolt, subs. (old).—The throat. [This curious term would seem to be
derived from bolt = to gulp down.]
1821. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, Act iii., Sc. 3. Tom. Here,
Dusty, my prince, now then, sluice your bolt. (Gives Bob gin.) Bob.
Vell, your honours, here’s luck. (Bolts gin.) That’s a regular
kwortern, I knows by my mouth.
Verb (at one period slang, now recognised).—1. To escape; to leave
suddenly. Bolt is an instance of a word which once orthodox,
subsequently fell into disrepute, but which, after having for
generations served as a mere slang term, is now nearly as respectable
as when Dryden wrote: ‘I have reflected on those who, from time to
time, have shot into the world, some bolting out on the stage with vast
applause, and others hissed off.’ The following are a few examples of
its use. For synonyms, see Amputate.
1668. Etherege, She Would if She Could, I., i. (1704), p. 94. Is he
gone? Court. Ay, ay! you may venture to bolt now.
1712. Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull, pt. IV., ch. vi. Then, of a
sudden, bolting into the room, he began to tell....
1752. Fielding, Amelia, bk. XI., ch. vii. In his way home, Booth
was met by a lady in a chair, who immediately upon seeing him ...
bolted out of it.
1821. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, Act i., Sc, 7. Log. Come
along, then. Now, Jerry, chivey! Jerry. Chivey? Log. Mizzle? Jerry.
Mizzle? Log. Tip your rags a gallop! Jerry. Tip my rags a gallop?
Log. Walk your trotters! Jerry. Walk my trotters? Log. Bolt! Jerry.
Bolt? oh, aye! I’m fly now. You mean go.
1837. Barham, I. L. (M. of Venice). Jessy ransack’d the house,
popp’d her breeks on, and when so Disguis’d, bolted off with her
beau—one Lorenzo.
1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. ix., p. 90. He was more
strongly tempted ... to make excursive bolts into the neighbouring
alleys when he answered the door.
2. (American).—The usage in the United States indicates the right of
the independently minded to revolt against partisan rule, as ‘He bolted
the party nominations.’ Also substantively, as ‘He has organized a
bolt.’ The word derived this meaning from its sporting application to a
horse when it becomes unmanageable on the race-course. Cf., Bolter. It
is rarely used with its dictionary meaning in political connections;
and, when so used, is generally misunderstood by the average reader.
1871. St. Louis Democrat, 3 April. ‘Several of our contemporaries
have announced it as a well-established fact, that Carl Schurz has
bolted from the Republican party. We have the very best authority
for denying the report.’
1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, 3 Feb. What the Register does object to
are the fellows who bolt the ticket and support the opposition
candidate when they can not control nominations.
3. (colloquial.)—To eat hurriedly without chewing; to swallow whole; to
gulp down. Wolcot in a note to the first quotation hereunder appended,
explains bolt as a Hampshire word. ‘A rapid deglutition of bacon,
without the sober ceremony of mastication.’
1794. Wolcot (‘P. Pindar’), Ode to Tyrants, in wks. (Dublin, 1795),
vol. II., p. 527.
Bold push’d the Emp’ror on, with stride so noble,
Bolting his subjects with majestic gobble.
1843. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. xvi., p. 171. Dyspeptic
individuals bolted their food in wedges.
1857. Dickens, Dorrit, bk. I., ch. xiii., 101. ‘Give me as short a
time as you like to bolt my meals in, and keep me at it.’
1883. Daily Telegraph, Jan. 10, p. 5, col. 3. The dangerous habit
of bolting a light luncheon in two or three minutes.
Getting the bolt, phr. (thieves’).—Being sentenced to penal servitude.
Cf., Boat.
To turn the corner of Bolt Street, phr. (popular).—A humorous
expression for running away. Cf., Bolt, sense 1, also Queer Street, and
for synonyms, see Amputate.
Bolter, subs. (old).—1. Explained by quotation. The privileged places
referred to were such as Whitefriars, the Mint, Higher and Lower
Alsatia, etc.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5 ed.). Bolter (s.), a cant name for
one who hides himself in his own house, or some privileged place,
and dares only peep, but not go out of his retreat.
2. One who ‘bolts’; especially applied to horses, but figuratively to
persons in the sense of one given to throwing off restraint; in
American parlance one who ‘kicks’ (q.v.).
1840. Thackeray, Paris Sk. Bk. (1872), 244. The engine may explode
... or be a bolter. [M.]
1850. F. E. Smedley, Frank Fairlegh, ch. xiii. ‘Three of the horses
had never been in harness before, and the fourth was a bolter.’
1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. lviii., p. 483. This sparkling
sally is to the effect that, although he always knew she was the
best-groomed woman in the stud, he had no idea she was a bolter. It
is immensely received in turf-circles.
1881. C. J. Dunphie, The Chameleon, p. 17. It is better to ride a
steady old plodder than to trust your neck to a bolter.
3. (American.)—One who exercises the right of abstention in regard to
his political party. See Bolt, verb, sense 2.
1883. Atlantic Monthly, LII., 327. To whom a ‘scratcher’ or a
bolter is more hateful than the Beast. [M.]
1884. American, VIII., 100. To denounce the twenty-seven as bolters
from their party.
Bolt-in-Tun, phr. (London thieves’).—Bolted; run away.
1819. J. H. Vaux, Memoirs. A term founded on the cant word ‘bolt,’
and merely a fanciful variation very common among flash persons,
there being in London a famous inn so called. It is customary when
a man has run away from his lodgings, broken out of jail, or made
any other sudden movement, to say ‘the Bolt-in-tun is concerned,’
or ‘he’s gone to the Bolt-in-tun’ instead of simply saying, ‘he has
bolted,’ etc.
Boltsprit, Boltspreet, Bowsprit, subs. (common).—An old and humorous
term for the nose. [The analogy is between the spar or boom extending
beyond the stem of a vessel and the nose as a prominent and projecting
feature of the face.] For synonyms, see Conk.
1690. Shadwell, Amorous Bigot, Act v. As thou lovest thy ears, or
nose, that bolt-sprit of thy face. [M.]
1691. Shadwell, Scowerers, Act v. They do not consider the
tenderness of my bolt-sprit. [M.]
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5 ed.). Boltsprit (s.), a cant name for
the nose.
Bolt the Moon, verbal phr.—To remove one’s goods and chattels under
cover of night with a view of evading the payment of rent. A variant of
shoot the moon (q.v.); the act itself is called a moonlight flitting
(q.v.).
Bolus, subs. (common).—An apothecary; a doctor. [From bolus, a large
pill frequently prescribed by physicians.]
1878. Hatton, Cruel London, bk. VI., ch. ii. ‘The doctor, up from
the Indian bar, came and said I was wanted in London’ ... ‘good for
old Bolus,’ said Kernan; ‘and I believe him.’
Boman, subs. (old).—A gallant fellow. This is mentioned by Nares, who,
however, could find no example illustrating its use.
Bombay Ducks, subs. (old).—1. The Bombay regiments of the East India
Company’s army were so called.
2. A well known delicacy, the exact nature of which is explained by G.
A. Sala in the second quotation.
1865. G. A. Sala, in Daily Telegraph, 14 August, 5, 4. His cuisine
was, with the occasional interpolation of a not entirely
objectionable curry, accompanied by Bombay ducks, exclusively
old-fashioned English.
1886. G. A. Sala, in Ill. Lon. News, 7 August, 138, 2. The Bombay
duck is the Anglo-Indian relation of the Digby chick. Alive, it is
a fish called the bummelo; dead and dried, it becomes a duck.
Bombo, Bumbo, subs. (common).—A nickname given to various mixtures, but
chiefly to cold punch. Smollett, in a note in Roderick Random, speaks
of it as ‘a liquor composed of rum, sugar, water, and nutmeg.’
1748. Smollett, Roderick Random, ch. xxxiv. A table well stored
with bumbo and wine.
1867. Smyth, Sailors’ Word Book. Bombo, weak cold punch.
a. 1886. Northumb. Song, in N. and Q., 6 March, 195. The pitmen and
the keelman ... drink bumbo made of gin.
Bona, subs. (popular).—A girl; young woman; a belle.
c. 18(?). Broadside Ballad, ‘Oh, Fred, don’t be so frivolous.’
Girls are in vulgar called donas,
Some are called Miss and some Mrs.,
The best of them all are called bonas,
The whole jolly lot’s fond of kisses.
I kiss pretty lips, and I squeeze finger tips,
No matter what I have to pay,
If I meet a dear maid who is somewhat afraid,
She’ll blush like a virgin and say, ‘Oh my.’
Chorus.
Adj. (theatrical).—Good. [From the Latin.]—See Rumbo.
Bonanza, subs. (American).—A happy hit; a stroke of fortune; success.
[From the Spanish, a fair wind, fine weather, prosperous voyage.]
Bonanza was originally the name of a mine in Nevada, which once, quite
unexpectedly, turned out to be a big thing, and of enormous value; now
applied to any lucky hit or successful enterprise.
1875. Scribner’s Mag., July, p. 272. But a bonanza with millions in
it is not struck every week.
1888. San Francisco News Letter, 4 Feb. The mines along the veins
running north and south, of which North Belle Isle is the center,
are all stayers, and in the east and west ledge Grand Prize has
entered a body of ore which may develop into a bonanza as big as
the one which paid millions in dividends in years gone by.
Bona-Roba, subs. (old).—A courtesan; a showy prostitute. [From Italian
buona, good, + roba = a robe or dress.] The term was much in use among
the older dramatists. Ben Jonson speaks of a bouncing bona-roba; and
Cowley seems to have considered it as implying a fine, tall figure.
Bona in modern times is frequently employed to signify a girl or young
woman, without reference to morals.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., iii., 2. We knew where the
bona-robas were; and had the best of them all at commandment.
b. 1618, d. 1667. Cowley, Essay on Greatness (quoted by Nares). I
would neither wish that my mistress nor my fortune should be a
bona-roba;—but as Lucretius says, Parvula, pumilio, tota merum sal.
1822. Scott, Nigel, xvi. Your lordship is for a frolic into
Alsatia? ... there are bona-robas to be found there. [M.]
1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 69. The other
bona-roba, known amongst her companions as Mistress Poll Maggot,
was a beauty on a much larger scale—in fact, a perfect Amazon.
Bonce, subs. (popular).—1. The head; [probably a derivative of sense 2,
from the analogy between them.] For synonyms, see Crumpet.