Part 3
=Bear.= Wherever this enters into the name of a tavern sign (with the single exception of that of “The Bear and Ragged Staff”) it denotes a house that had originally a bear garden attached to it.
=Bear and Ragged Staff.= A common inn sign in Warwickshire, from the heraldic device of Warwick the King Maker.
=Bear Garden.= This name at the corner of Sumner Street, Southwark, recalls the old Paris Garden, a famous bear-baiting establishment founded by Robert de Paris as far back in English history as the reign of Richard I. A “Bear Garden” is in our time synonymous with a place of resort for roughs or rowdies.
=Bear State.= Arkansas, from the Western description of the character of its people. “Does Arkansas abound with bears that it should be called the Bear State?” a Western man was once asked. “Yes, it does,” was the reply; “for I never knew a man from that state but he was a _bar_, and, in fact, the people are all _barish_ to a degree.”
=Bearward.= The custodian of the bear at public and private bear-baiting gardens. Most English towns anciently retained a bearward. See “Congleton Bears.”
=Beats a Philadelphia Lawyer.= An American expression implying that the lawyers of Philadelphia are noted for shrewdness and learning.
=Beauchamp Tower.= After Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, whom Richard II. caused to be imprisoned here for inciting the barons to remove the King’s favourite, Sir Simon de Burley.
=Beauclerc.= The surname of Henry I., on account of his accomplishments in an age when learning was rare.
=Beckenham.= The home in the vicinity of becks or brooks. The Saxon terminal _en_ expresses the plural.
=Bedad.= An Irishman’s exclamation, derived from the English “Begad” or “By Gad.”
=Bedford.= From the Anglo-Saxon _Bedican-ford_, the protected ford over the Ouse.
=Bedfordbury.= The _bury_ or enclosed land of the Duke of Bedford. Bedford Street and Bedford Square likewise point to the great ground landlord.
=Bedlam.= Short for Bethlehem Hospital, a “Lazar House” in South London which in 1815 was converted into an asylum for lunatics. See “Bethlehem.”
=Bedouins.= From the Arabic _badawiy_, “dwellers in the desert.”
=Beech Street.= Said to have been the property of Nicholas de la Beech, Lieutenant of the Tower, _temp._ Edward III.
=Beefeaters.= Although it has been proved that the word _Buffetier_ cannot be met with in any old book, the Yeomen of the Guard instituted by Henry VII. certainly waited at the royal table, and since this monarch was largely imbued with French manners, his personal attendants must after all have received their nickname from the _Buffet_, or sideboard.
=Beer Bible.= From the words “the beer” in place of “strong drink” (Isaiah xxiv. 9).
=Before the Mast.= The for’ard part of a ship, where, in the forecastle, the sailors have their quarters. Hence a common seaman is said to “Serve before the Mast.”
=Begad.= See “By Gad.”
=Begorra.= An Irish form of the English corrupted oath Begad or “By Gad.”
=Beguines.= An order of nuns in France, from the French _beguin_, a linen cap. These nuns are distinguished by their peculiar head covering.
=Begum.= A lady of high rank in the East, a princess in India, or the wife of a Turkish _beg_ (generally corrupted into _bey_) or Governor.
=Beldame.= From the French _Belle-dame_, “fine lady.” The meaning has now been corrupted from a lady entitled to the utmost respect on account of age or position to an ugly old woman.
=Belgium.= From the _Belgæ_, the name given by Cæsar to the warlike people who overran this portion of Gaul.
=Belgravia.= The fashionable district of which Belgrave Square is the centre, after one of the titles of the Duke of Westminster, the ground landlord.
=Bell.= A tavern sign, originally denoting a haunt for the lovers of sport, where a silver bell constituted the prize.
=Bell, Book, and Candle.= The instruments used by the Church in carrying out a sentence of excommunication. The bell apprised all good Christians of what was about to take place, the dread sentence was read out of the book, while the blowing out of the candle symbolised the spiritual darkness in which the excommunicated person would in future abide.
=Belleisle.= French for “beautiful isle.”
=Beloochistan.= Pursuant to the Persian _stan_, the country of the Belooches.
=Below Par.= Not up to the mark in point of health. The allusion is to Government stock not worth its nominal £100 value.
=Belvedere.= A public-house sign, derived from the Italian word for a pavilion built on a house-top commanding a fine prospect.
=Ben.= Theatrical slang for “benefit.”
=Bench.= The primitive seat of judges and magistrates before the modern throne-like chair was introduced. Barristers of the Inns of Court are styled “Benchers” from the wooden seats formerly provided for them.
=Benedict.= A confirmed bachelor, after St Benedict, who unceasingly preached the virtues of celibacy. Also a newly-married man who, like Benedick in _Much ado about Nothing_, after having long forsworn marriage, at length succumbed to the grand passion.
=Benedictine.= A liqueur made at the Benedictine monastery at Fécamp.
=Benedictines.= The monastic Order founded by St Benedict in the sixth century.
=Bengal Tigers.= The Leicester Regiment, which as the old 17th Foot rendered good service in India at the commencement of the last century, and received a royal tiger as a badge.
=Bennett Street.= From the town mansion of Henry Bennett, Earl of Arlington.
=Bentinck Street.= After William Bentinck, second Duke of Portland, the ground landlord.
=Bergen.= From the Danish _bierg_, mountain, the port nestling at the foot of high hills.
=Berkeley Square.= The whole district hereabouts comprised the land of Lord Berkeley of Stratton, one of the officers of Charles I.
=Berkeley Street= (Upper and Lower). After Edward Berkeley Portman, the ground landlord. There is a Berkeley Street too in Clerkenwell, on the site of which stood the residence of Sir Maurice Berkeley, the standard-bearer of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth.
=Berkshire.= The _Beoric_, or “forest shire,” of the Saxons.
=Berlin.= From the Slavonic _Berle_, denoting its situation in the midst of a sandy plain.
=Bermondsey.= The _ey_, or creek land, belonging to the Saxon lord Beomund.
=Bermuda Islands.= After Juan Bermudas, who discovered them in 1522.
=Bernardine Hospice.= This noble institution on the Alpine heights was not founded by St Bernard, nor has it ever been served by the monks of his Order. It takes its name from Bernard de Menthon, a wealthy Savoyard, who in 962 established this house of refuge for the pilgrims crossing the Alps on their way to the Holy Land. The monks who serve the Hospice are Augustinians.
=Bernardines.= The monastic Order founded by St Bernard in 1115.
=Berne.= From the German _Bären_, which expresses the plural for bear. The figure of a bear is conspicuous on the public buildings, fountains, etc.
=Berners Street.= After Lady Berners, the original owner of the land hereabouts.
=Best Man at a Wedding.= A survival of feudal times, when the particular friends of the “Bridegroom” undertook to frustrate the designs of a rival sworn to carry off the bride before the nuptials could take place. In Sweden weddings formerly took place under cover of night. Behind the high altar of the ancient church at Husaby, in Gothland, a collection of long lances, with sockets for torches, may yet be seen. These were served out to the groomsmen on such occasions, both for defence and illumination. These groomsmen were the bravest and best who could be found to volunteer their services.
=Bethlehem.= Hebrew for “house of bread.” Hence Bethlehem Hospital, the original name for a lazar or poor house.
=Bethnal Green.= Anciently Bednal Green, but corrupted from the family name of the Bathons, who resided here, _temp._ Edward I.
=Bevis Marks.= Properly Bury’s Marks, from the posts to define the limits of the ground belonging to the town house of the Abbots of Bury.
=Bideford Postman.= The sobriquet of Edward Capern, the poet, who was a letter-carrier at Bideford in Devon.
=Big Ben.= After Sir Benjamin Hall, Bart., M.P., one of the designers of the New Houses of Parliament, and Chief Commissioner of Works.
=Big Bend State.= Tennessee, which name expresses the Indian for “river of the great bend.”
=Bilbo.= The old name for a Spanish sword blade made at Bilboa.
=Bilboes.= The irons with which mutinous sailors are manacled together. From Bilboa, Spain, their place of origin.
=Bilker.= A corruption of _Balker_, one who balks or outwits another. In our day one hears mostly of the “Cab bilker”; formerly the “Tavern bilker” was an equally reprehensible character.
=Billingsgate.= After Belin, a Saxon lord, who had a residence beside the old Roman water-gate on the north bank of the Thames.
=Billiter Street.= A corruption of Belzettar, the name of the first builder on the land hereabouts.
=Billycock.= The slang term for a “bowler” hat always worn by William Coke at the Holkham shooting parties.
=Bingham’s Dandies.= One of the nicknames of the 17th Lancers, after their Colonel and their smart uniforms.
=Bioscope.= Moving or living pictures thrown on a screen, so called from the Greek _bios_, life, and _skopein_, to view.
=Birchin Lane.= Properly Birchover Lane, after the name of the builder.
=Birdcage Walk.= From the Royal Aviary of the Restoration, located along the south wall of St James’s Park.
=Bird of Passage.= A hotel phrase applied to a guest who arrives at stated seasons.
=Bird’s Eye Tobacco.= So called from the oval shape of the stalks when cut up with the leaf.
=Birkbeck Institute.= The premier Mechanics’ Institute, established by Dr Birkbeck in 1824.
=Birmingham.= Called Bremenium by the Romans and Birmingeham in Domesday Book. This being so, it cannot be corrupted from “Broom-place town,” as some authors say.
=Birrell.= To write, speak, or do anything after the manner of Mr Augustine Birrell, M.P., President of the Board of Education.
=Birrelligion.= A word coined by Dr Casterelli, Roman Catholic Bishop of Salford, who, speaking on Mr Birrell’s New Education Bill, said it was not one exactly of irreligion, but of Birrelligion, acceptable to no party or denomination.
=Bishopsgate Street.= From the ancient city gate rebuilt by Bishop Irkenwald, the son of King Offa, and repaired by Bishop William in the time of the Conqueror.
=Biz.= Theatrical slang for “business” or stage by-play.
=Black Brunswickers.= A celebrated regiment of seven hundred volunteers raised in Bohemia in 1809 by Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick, who took up arms against Napoleon because the latter had obstructed his succession to his father’s dukedom. Their uniform was black, in token of mourning for the deceased Duke. Finding they could not bear against the power of France, they enlisted in the English service. Thus it came to pass that the Black Brunswickers fought at the Battle of Waterloo, where their gallant leader met his death. Afterwards they were heard of no more.
=Black Bull.= An inn sign derived from the heraldic device of the House of Clare.
=Black Country.= The name given to the great coalfield in the Midlands. It extends from Birmingham to Wolverhampton on one side and from Lyle Waste to West Bromwich on the other.
=Black Friars.= The Order of the Dominicans, so called from their habits. In the district of Blackfriars stood the great monastery.
=Blackguards.= A derisive nickname given originally to the scullions of the Royal Household, touching their grimy appearance, as contrasted with the spruceness of the Guards of Honour.
=Blackheath.= A corruption of Bleak Heath.
=Blackleg.= After sporting men of a low type, who invariably wore black gaiters or top-boots.
=Blackmail.= Originally a tax or tribute paid to robbers or freebooters as a compromise for protection. “Black” implied the Gaelic for security, while _mal_ was Anglo-Saxon for tribute.
=Black Maria.= Slang for a prison van. Many years ago a negress of powerful build and strength, named Maria Lee, kept a sailor’s lodging-house at Boston. Everyone dreaded her, and she so frequently assisted the police of that day to pin down a refractory prisoner before he could be manacled that “Send for Black Maria!” became quite a common exclamation among them. Hence the earliest vehicles for the conveyance of offenders against law and order, especially since they were painted black, were named after her.
=Black Museum.= The collection of criminal relics preserved at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police at New Scotland Yard.
=Black Prince.= The sobriquet of Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III., not because he wore black armour, as is generally supposed, but, according to Froissart, “by terror of his arms,” and again, Strutt, “for his martial deeds.”
=Black Sea.= From its many black rocks, which render navigation dangerous.
=Blackwall.= A corruption of Bleak Wall.
=Black Watch.= Soldiers first appointed to watch the Highlands of Scotland. They received the name from their black tartans.
=Blandford Square.= From Blandford, Dorsetshire, near Bryanstone, the seat of the great ground landlord, Viscount Portman.
=Blankets.= First made by the Brothers Blanket, of Bristol, in 1337.
=Blarney.= Suave speeches intended only to gain time. When Cormack Macarthy was besieged by the English in Blarney Castle in 1662 he concluded an armistice, with the object of surrendering after a few days; but instead of doing so he sent out soft, evasive speeches, until Lord Carew and his soldiers were forced to admit that they had been duped. Hence the expression: “None of your Blarney.”
=Blenheim Oranges.= First cultivated at Blenheim, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough.
=Blenheim Street.= In compliment to the Duke of Marlborough after the battle of Blenheim.
=Blind Man’s Buff.= So called because if any one of those taking part in the game allowed the blind man to buff up against him he had to be blindfolded in his place.
=Blood.= See “Penny Blood.”
=Bloody.= The addiction of the vulgar to the use of this adjective on all occasions has made it low and reprehensible. Anciently, however, it was employed in a most reverential sense, relative to the Blood of Christ--_e.g._ the “Bloody Sacrifice of the Mass.”
=Bloody Assizes.= Those held by Judge Jeffreys in 1685 for the punishment of all who had taken part in the Duke of Monmouth’s rebellion. Three hundred persons were executed, and more than a thousand transported to the plantations.
=Bloody Butcher.= The sobriquet of the Duke of Cumberland, son of George II., owing to his wholesale slaughter of the adherents of Prince Charles Stuart, the Young Pretender, after the battle of Culloden.
=Bloody Eleventh.= The 11th Foot, in memory of the terrible slaughter inflicted on this regiment at Salamanca.
=Bloody Tower.= Where the infant Princes were murdered at the order of their uncle, Richard, Duke of Glo’ster.
=Bloomers.= After Mrs Ann Bloomer of New York, who introduced the original nondescript style of “New Woman” in 1849.
=Bloomsbury.= A corruption of “Lomesbury,” the name of a manor house and grounds which stood on the site of the present square. “Lomesbury village” sprang up around the ancient church of St Giles’s in-the-Fields.
=Bluchers.= After Field-Marshal von Blucher, who affected this style of military half-boot.
=Blue.= An indecent story is said to be “blue” because harlots in the ancient Bridewell, and in more modern houses of correction or penitentiaries, were habited in blue gowns.
=Blue Boar.= An inn sign derived from the heraldic device of Richard III.
=Blue Grass State.= Kentucky, from the character of the orchard grass in this fertile limestone region.
=Blue Hen’s Chickens.= A nickname for the people of Delaware. _The Delaware State Journal_ thus accounts for its origin: “At the beginning of the Revolutionary War there lived in Sussex county of that colony a gentleman of fortune named Caldwell, who was a sportsman, and breeder of fine horses and game-cocks. His favourite axiom was that the character of the progeny depends more on the mother than on the father, and that the finest game-cocks depended on the hen rather than on the cock. His observation led him to select a _blue_ hen, and he never failed to hatch a good game-cock from a blue hen’s egg. Caldwell distinguished himself as an officer in the First Delaware Regiment for his daring spirit. The high state of its discipline was conceded to its exertions, so that when officers were sent on recruiting service it was said that they had gone home for more of Caldwell’s game-cocks; but as Caldwell insisted that no cock could be truly game unless its mother was a _blue_ hen, the expression _Blue Hen’s Chickens_ was substituted for game-cocks.”
=Blue Law State.= An old name for Connecticut, whose original settlers shared with the Puritans in the mother country a disgust of the licentiousness of the Court of the Restoration, and on this account were said to advocate “Blue” Laws.
=Blue Noses.= A nickname bestowed upon the Nova Scotians, from the species of potato which they produce and claim to be the best in the world.
=Blue Peter.= The flag hoisted at the mast head to give notice that a vessel is about to sail. Its name is a corruption of the French “Bleu Partir,” or blue departure signal.
=Blue Pig.= An inn sign, corrupted from the “Blue Boar.”
=Blue Stocking.= From the famous club of literary ladies formed by Mrs Montague in 1840, at which Benjamin Stillingfleet, who habitually wore blue stockings, was a regular visitor. Blue stockings, therefore, became the recognised badge of membership. There was, however, such a club of ladies and gentlemen at Venice as far back as 1400, called _Della Calza_, from the colour of stockings worn.
=Blunderbuss.= A corruption of the Dutch _donderbus_, “thunder tube.”
=Board of Green Cloth.= The steward of the Royal Household presides over this so called court, which has a green cover on its table.
=Boar’s Head.= The sign of the ancient tavern in Eastcheap immortalised by Shakespeare. This, like all others of the same name, was derived from the heraldic device of the Gordons, the earliest of whom slew a boar that had long been a terror of the forest.
=Bob Apple.= A very old boyish pastime. Standing on tiptoe, with their hands behind them, they tried to catch in their mouths an apple as it swung to and fro at the end of a piece of string suspended from the ceiling. A variant of the same game consisted in lying across a form and plunging their heads into a large tub of water, at the bottom of which was the apple.
=Bobby.= The nickname of a policeman, after Sir Robert Peel, to whom the introduction of the modern police system was due.
=Bobs.= The popular nickname of Lord Roberts during the South African War. He is also called “Lord Bobs.”
=Boer.= Expresses the Dutch for a farmer. Synonymous with the English “boor,” an uncultivated fellow, a tiller of the soil.
=Bogtrotter.= An Irishman, from the ease with which he makes his way across the native bogs, in a manner astonishing to a stranger.
=Bogus.= In reporting a trial at law _The Boston Courier_ in 1857 gave the following authoritative origin:--“The word Bogus is a corruption of the name of one Borghese, a very corrupt individual, who twenty years ago or more did a tremendous business in the way of supplying the great west, and portions of the south-west, with counterfeit bills and bills on fictitious banks. The western people fell into the habit of shortening the name of Borghese to that of _Bogus_, and his bills, as well as all others of like character, were universally styled by them ‘bogus currency.’” So that the word is really American.
=Bohea.= Tea of the poorest quality, grown in the hilly district of Wu-i; pronounced by the Chinese _Vooy_.
=Bohemia.= From the _Bohii_, the ancient inhabitants of the country.
=Bohemian.= One who leads a hand-to-mouth existence by literary or other precarious pursuits, who shuns the ordinary conventions of society, and aspires to that only of his fellows. The term originally meant a “Gipsy,” because the earliest nomadic people who overran Western Europe did so by way of Bohemia.
=Boiled Shirt.= An Americanism, originally from the western states, for a starched white shirt.
=Bolivia.= After General Simon Bolivar, surnamed “The Liberator of Peru.”
=Bologna.= A settlement of the _Boii_, after whom the Romans called it Bononia.
=Bomba.= The sobriquet of Ferdinand, King of Naples, on account of his bombardment of Messina in 1848.
=Bonanza State.= Nevada, on account of its rich mines, styled Bonanza mines. _Bonanza_ is Spanish for “prosperity.”
=Bond Street= (Old and New). Built on the land owned by Sir Thomas Bond, Comptroller of the Household of Charles I.
=Bone of Contention.= In allusion to two dogs fighting over a bone.
=Bone-shaker.= The original type of bicycle, with wooden wheels, of which the rims consisted of small curved pieces glued together. Compared with a modern machine it was anything but easy riding.
=Boniface.= The popular name for an innkeeper--not that St Boniface was the patron saint of drawers and tapsters, but because one of the Popes of this name instituted what was called “St Boniface’s Cup,” by granting an indulgence to all who toasted his health, or that of his successors, immediately after saying grace at meals.
=Booking Office.= In the old coaching days passengers had to book their seats for a stage journey several days in advance at an office in the innyard whence the coaches set out. When railways came in the name was retained, though no “booking” was ever in evidence. Nearly all the old coaching innyards have been converted into railway goods and parcels receiving depots.
=Bookmaker.= From the way in which he adjusts his clients’ bets, so that, ordinarily, he cannot lose on the issue of a day’s racing.
=Boot-jack.= A wooden contrivance by which the wearer could help himself to take off his high-legged boots without the aid of a servant. Hence it was called a _jack_, which is the generic term for a man-servant or boy.
=Border Eagle State.= Mississippi, on account of the Border Eagle in the arms of the state.
=Bore.= This name was first applied by the “Macaronies” to any person who disapproved of foppishness or dandyism. Nowadays it implies one whose conversation is uninteresting, and whose society becomes repugnant.
=Borneo.= A European application of the Sanskrit _boorni_, land.
=Born in the Purple.= Since purple was the Imperial colour of the Cæsars and the Emperors of the East, the sons of the reigning monarch were said to be born in it. This expression had a literal truth, for the bed furniture was draped with purple.
=Born with a Silver Spoon in his Mouth.= In allusion to the silver apostle spoon formerly presented to an infant by its godfather at baptism. In the case of a child born lucky or rich such a gift of worldly goods was anticipated at the moment of entering life.
=Borough.= The _Burgh_ or town which arose on the south side of Old London Bridge, long before the City of London became closely packed with streets and houses.
=Borough English.= A Saxon custom, whereby the youngest son of a burgher inherited everything from his father, instead of the eldest, as among the Normans.
=Bosh.= See “All Bosh.”
=Bosphorus.= From the Greek _bos-porus_, cow strait, agreeably to the fable that Io, transformed into a white cow, swam across it.
=Boss.= A term derived from the Dutch settlers of New York, in whose language _baas_ (pronounced like the _a_ in _all_), expressed an overseer or master.
=Boston.= Short for St Botolph’s Town. “The stump” of the church is seen from afar across the Boston Deeps.
=Botany Bay.= So called by Captain Cook on account of the variety of, to him, new plants found on its shores. This portion of New South Wales was the first British Convict Settlement; hence Botany Bay became a term synonymous with penal servitude.
=Botolph Lane.= From the church of St Botolph, situated in it.
=Bottle of Hay.= A corruption of “bundle of hay,” from the French _botte_, a bundle, of which the word bottle expresses the diminutive.
=Bottom Dollar.= An Americanism for one’s last coin.