Part 8
=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.