Beeswax, poor, soft cheese.

Sometimes called "sweaty-toe cheese."

Hence the term.

Beeswing, the film which forms on the sides of bottles which contain good old port wine. This breaks up into small pieces in the process of decanting, and looks like BEES' WINGS. Beetle-Crusher, or SQUASHER, a large flat foot. made popular by being once used by Leech. Beetle-Sticker, an entomologist.

The expression was

Beggars' Velvet, downy particles which accumulate under furniture from the negligence of housemaids. Otherwise called SLUTS'-wool. Belcher, a blue bird's-eye handkerchief.-See BILLY.

Bell, a song. Tramps' term. Simply diminutive of BELLOW.

Bellows, the lungs. BELLOWSER, a blow in the "wind," or pit of the stomach, taking one's breath away.

Bellowsed, or LAGGED, transported.

Bellows to Mend, a person out of breath; especially a pugilist is said to be BELLOWS TO MEND" when winded. With the P. R., the word has fallen into desuetude.

Belly-Timber, food, or "grub."

Belly-Vengeance, small sour beer, apt to cause gastralgia.
Bemuse, to fuddle one's self with drink,

beer," &c.

Ben, a benefit.-Theatrical.

BEMUSING himself with

Ben Cull, a friend, or "pal." Expression used by thieves.

Bend, "that's above my bend," i.e., beyond my power, too expensive or too difficult for me to perform.

Bender, a sixpence. Probably from its liability to bend. In the days when the term was most in use sixpences were not kept in the excellent state of preservation peculiar to the currency of the present day. Bender, the arm; over the BENDER," synonymous with

left."-See OVER.

over the

Bendigo, a rough fur cap worn in the midland counties, called after a noted pugilist of that name. "Hard Punchers are caps worn by London roughs and formerly by men in training. They are a modification of the common Scotch cap, and have peaks.

Bene, good.—Ancient Cant; BENAR was the comparative.-See BONE. Latin.

Benedick, a married man. Shakspeare.

Benjamin, coat. Formerly termed a JOSEPH, in allusion, perhaps, to Joseph's coat of many colours.—See UPPER-BENJAMIN.

Ben Joltram, brown bread and skimmed milk; a Norfolk term for a ploughboy's breakfast.

Benjy, a waistcoat, diminutive of BENJAMIN.

Beong, a shilling.-See SALTEE.—Lingua Franca.

Bess-o'-Bedlam, a lunatic vagrant.-Norfolk.

1

Best, to get the better or BEST of a man in any way-not necessarily to cheat-to have the best of a bargain. BESTED, taken in, or defrauded, in reality worsted. BESTER, a low betting cheat, a fraudulent book

maker.

Better, more; "how far is it to town?" "Oh, BETTER 'n a mile.".
Saxon and Old English, now a vulgarism.

Betting Round, laying fairly and equally against nearly all the horses
in a race so that no great risk can be run. Commonly called getting
round. See BOOK, and BOOKMAKING.

Betty, a skeleton key, or picklock.-Old Prison Cant.

B Flats, bugs.-Compare F SHARPS.

Bible-Carrier, a person who sells songs without singing them.--Seven
Dials.

Biddy, a general name applied to Irish stallwomen and milkmaids, in
the same manner that Mike is given to the labouring men.
A big
red-faced Irish servant girl is known as a Bridget.

Big, "to look BIG," to assume an inflated air or manner; "to talk BIG,"
i.e., boastingly.

Big-Bird, TO GET THE, i.e., to be hissed, as actors occasionally are by the "gods." BIG-BIRD is simply a metaphor for goose.—Theat. Slang.

Big House, or LARGE HOUSE, the workhouse,—a phrase used by the very poor.

Big-wig, a person in authority or office. Exchangeable with GREAT

GUN.

Bilbo, a sword; abbrev. of "BILBAO blade." Spanish swords were anciently very celebrated, especially those of Toledo, Bilbao, &c. Bilk, a cheat, or a swindler. Formerly in general use, now confined to the streets, where it is common, and mostly used in reference to prostitutes. Gothic, BILAICAN.

Bilk, to defraud, or obtain goods, &c., without paying for them;

to

BILK the schoolmaster," to get information or experience without pay-
ing for it.

Billingsgate (when applied to speech), foul and coarse language.
Many years since people used to visit Thames Street to hear the
Billingsgate fishwomen abuse each other. The anecdote of Dr.
Johnson and the Billingsgate virago is well known.

Billingsgate Pheasant, a red herring or bloater. This is also called
two-eyed steak.

a

Billy, a silk pocket-handkerchief.—Scotch.—See WIPE.

** A list of slang terms descriptive of the various patterns of handkerchiefs, pocket and neck, is here subjoined :-

BELCHER, darkish blue ground, large round white spots, with a

spot in the centre of darker blue than the ground. This

was adopted by Jem Belcher, the pugilist, as his "colours,” and soon became popular amongst "the fancy."

BIRD'S-EYE WIPE, a handkerchief of any colour, containing white spots. The blue bird's-eye is similar to the Belcher except in the centre. Sometimes a BIRD'S-EYE WIPE has a white ground and blue spots.

BLOOD-RED FANCY, red.

BLUE BILLY, blue ground, generally with white figures.
CREAM FANCY, any pattern on a white ground.

KING'S MAN, yellow pattern on a green ground.

RANDAL'S MAN, green, with white spots; named after the favourite colours of Jack Randal, pugilist.

WATER'S MAN, sky coloured.

YELLOW FANCY, yellow, with white spots.

YELLOW MAN, all yellow.

Billy, a policeman's staff.

BILLY

Also stolen metal of any kind. HUNTING is buying old metal. A BILLY-FENCER is a marine-store dealer. Billy-Barlow, a street clown; sometimes termed a JIM CROW, or SALTIMBANCO,-so called from the hero of a slang song. Billy was a real person, semi-idiotic, and though in dirt and rags, fancied himself a swell of the first water. Occasionally he came out with real witticisms. He was a well-known street character about the East-end of London, and died in Whitechapel Workhouse.

Billy-Cock, a soft felt hat of the Jim Crow or "wide-awake" description.

Bingo, brandy.-Old Cant.

Bingy, a term largely used in the butter trade to denote bad, ropy butter; nearly equivalent to VINNIED.

Bird-Cage, a four-wheeled cab.

Birthday Suit, the suit in which Adam and Eve first saw each other, and " were not ashamed.'

Bishop, a warm drink composed of materials similar to those used in the manufacture of "flip" and " purl."

Bit, fourpence; in America a 12 cent piece is called a BIT, and a defaced 20 cent piece is termed a LONG BIT. A BIT is the smallest coin in Jamaica, equal to 6d. BIT usually means the smallest silver coin in circulation; also a piece of money of any kind. Charles Bannister,

the witty singer and actor, one day meeting a Bow Street runner with a man in custody, asked what the prisoner had done; and being told that he had stolen a bridle, and had been detected in the act of selling it, said, "Ah, then, he wanted to touch the BIT."

Bitch, tea; a BITCH party," a tea-drinking.

Probably because under

raduates consider tea only fit for old women.-Oxford.

Bite, a cheat; a Yorkshire BITE," a cheating fellow from that county. The term BITE is also applied to a hard bargainer.-North; also old

slang-used by Pope. Swift says it originated with a nobleman in his day. Bite, to cheat; "to be BITTEN," to be taken in or imposed upon.

Ori

ginally a Gipsy term. CROSS-BITER, for a cheat, continually occurs in writers of the sixteenth century. Bailey has CROSS-BITE, a disappointment, probably the primary sense; and BITE is very probably a contraction of this.

Bit-Faker, or TURNER OUT, a coiner of bad money.

Bit-of-Stuff, overdressed man; a man with full confidence in his appearance and abilities; a young woman, who is also called a BIT OF

MUSLIN.

Bitter, diminutive of bitter beer; "to do a BITTER," to drink beer.Originally Oxford, but now general.

Bittock, a distance of very undecided length. If a North countryman be asked the distance to a place, he will most probably reply, "a mile and a BITTOCK." The latter may be considered any distance from one hundred yards to ten miles.

Bivvy, or GATTER, beer; "shant of BIVVY, shant of BIVVY," a pot or quart of beer. In Suffolk the afternoon refreshment of reapers is called BEVER. It is also an old English term.

"He is none of those same ordinary eaters, that will devour three breakfasts,
and as many dinners, without any prejudice to their BEVERS, drinkings, or
suppers."-Beaumont and Fletcher's Woman Hater, i. 3.

Both words are probably from the Italian, BEVERE, BERE. Latin,
BIBERE. English, BEVErage.

Biz, contraction of the word business; a phrase much used in America in writing as well as in conversation.

B. K. S. Military officers in mufti, when out on a spree, and not wishing their profession to be known, speak of their barracks as the

B. K. S.

Black and White, handwriting or print. "Let's have it in BLACK
AND WHITE," is often said with regard to an agreement when it is to
the advantage of one or both that it should be written.
Black-a-vised, having a very dark complexion.

Blackberry-Swagger, a person who hawks tapes, boot-laces, &c.
Blackbirding, slave-catching. Term most applied nowadays to the
Polynesian coolie traffic.

Black Diamonds, coals; talented persons of dingy or unpolished exterior; rough jewels.

Blackguard, a low or dirty fellow; a rough or a hulking fellow, capable of any meanness or cowardice.

"A cant word amongst the vulgar, by which is implied a dirty fellow of the meanest kind, Dr. Johnson says, and he cites only the modern authority of Swift. But the introduction of this word into our language belongs not to the vulgar, and is more than a century prior to the time of Swift. Mr. Malone agrees with me in exhibiting the two first of the following examples :-The black-guard is evidently designed to imply a fit attendant on the devil. Mr.

Gifford, however, in his late edition of Ben Jonson's works, assigns an origin. of the name different from what the old examples which I have cited seem to countenance. It has been formed, he says, from those mean and dirty dependants, in great houses, who were selected to carry coals to the kitchen, halls, &c. To this smutty regiment, who attended the progresses, and rode in the carts with the pots and kettles, which, with every other article of furniture, were then moved from palace to palace, the people, in derision, gave the name of black guards; a term since become sufficiently familiar, and never properly explained.'"-Todd's Johnson's Dictionary.

Blackguard as an adjective is very powerful.

Blackleg, a rascal, swindler, or card cheat. The derivation of this term was solemnly argued before the full Court of Queen's Bench upon a motion for a new trial for libel, but was not decided by the learned tribunal. Probably it is from the custom of sporting and turf men wearing black top-boots. Hence BLACKLEG came to be the phrase for a professional sporting man, and thence for a professional sporting cheat. The word is now in its worst sense diminished to "leg.

Black Maria, the sombre van in which prisoners are conveyed from the police court to prison.

Black Monday, the Monday on which boys return to school after the holidays. Also a low term for the Monday on which an execution took place.

Black Sheep, a "bad lot," "mauvais sujet;" sometimes "scabby sheep;" also a workman who refuses to join in a strike.

Black Strap, port wine; especially that which is thick and sweet. Blackwork, undertaking. The waiters met at public dinners are often employed during the day as mutes, etc. Omnibus and cab drivers regard BLACKWORK as a dernier ressort.

Bladder-of-Lard, a coarse, satirical nickname for a bald-headed person. From similarity of appearance.

Blade, a man-in ancient times the term for a soldier; "knowing BLADE," a wide-awake, sharp, or cunning man.

Blarney, flattery, powers of persuasion. A castle in the county of Cork. It is said that whoever kisses a certain stone in this castle will be able to persuade others of whatever he or she pleases. The name of the castle is derived from BLADH, a blossom, i.c., the flowery or fertile demesne. BLADH is also flattery; hence the connexion. A more than ordinarily persuasive Irishman is said to have "kissed the BLAR

NEY stone.

Blast, to curse. Originally a Military expression.

Blaze, to leave trace purposely of one's way in a forest or unknown path by marking trees or other objects.

Blazes, a low synonym for the infernal regions, and now almost for anything. "Like BLAZES" is a phrase of intensification applied without any reference to the original meaning. Also applied to the brilliant habiliments of flunkeys, since the episode of Sam Weller and the swarry."

Bleed, to victimize, or extract money from a person, to sponge on, to make suffer vindictively.