BEL with a fword. To be in a woman's beef; to have carnal knowledge of her. Say you bought your beef of me; a jocular request from a butcher to a fat man, implying that he credits the butcher who ferves him. BEEF EATER. A yeoman of the guards, inftituted by Henry VII. Their office was to ftand near the bouffet, or cupboard, thence called Bouffetiers, fince corrupted to Beef Eaters. Others fuppofe they obtained this name from the fize of their perfons, and the eafinefs of their duty, as having fcarce more to do than to eat the king's beef. BEETLE-BROWED. One having thick projecting eyebrows. BEETLE-HEADED. Dull, ftupid. BEGGAR MAKER. A publican, or ale-houfe keeper. BEGGARS BULLETS. Stones. The beggars bullets began to fly, i. e. they began to throw ftones. BEILBY'S BALL. He will dance at Beilby's ball, where the fheriff pays the mufick; he will be hanged. Who Mr. Beilby was, or why that ceremony was fo called, remains with the quadrature of the circle, the discovery of the philofopher's ftone, and divers other defiderata yet undif covered. BELCH. All forts of beer; that liquor being apt to caufe eructation. BELL, BOOK, AND CANDLE. They curfed him with bell, book, and candle; an allufion to the popish form of excommunicating and anathematizing perfons who had offended the church. TO BEAR THE BELL. To excel or surpass all competitors, to be the principal in a body or fociety; an allufion to the fore horfe or leader of a team, whofe harness is commonly ornamented with a bell or bells. Some fuppofe it a term borrowed from an ancient tournament, where the victorious knight bore away the belle or fair lady. Others derive it from a horse race, or other rural contentions, where bells where frequently given as prizes. BELLOWS. The lungs. BELLOWER. The town crier. BELLY. His eye was bigger than his belly; a faying of a per fon at a table, who takes more on his plate than he can eat. BELLY BET BELLYFULL. A hearty beating, fufficient to make a man yield or give out. A woman with child is alfo faid to have got her belly full. BELLY PLEA. The plea of pregnancy, generally adduced by female felons capitally convicted, which they take care to provide for, previous to their trials; every gaol having, as the Beggar's Opera informs us, one or more child getters, who qualify the ladies for that expedient to procure a refpite. BELLY TIMBER. Food of all forts. BELL SWAGGER. A noify bullying fellow. BELL WETHER. The chief or leader of a mob: an idea taken from a flock of fheep, where the wether has a bell about his neck. BENE. Good. BENAR. Better. Cant. BENE BOWSE. Good beer, or other ftrong liquor. Cant. BENE DARKMANS. Good night. Cant. BENE FEAKERS. Counterfeiters of bills. Cant. BENE FEAKERS OF GYBES. Counterfeiters of paffes. Cant. BENESHIPLY. Worshipfully. Cant. ΒΕΝ. A fool. Cant. BENISH. Foolish. BENISON. The beggar's benifon; May your ***** and purse never fail you. BERMUDAS. A cant name for certain places in London, privileged against arrefts, like the Mint in Southwark, Ben Joafon. BESS, OF BETTY. A fmall inftrument used by house-breakers to force open doors. Bring befs and glym; bring the inftrument to force the door, and the dark lanthorn. Small flasks like thofe for Florence wine, are also called betties. BESS. See BROWN BESS. BETHLEHEMITES. Christmas carol fingers. Cant. BET. A wager.-To BET. To lay a wager. BETTY MARTIN. That's my eye, Betty Martin; an answer to any one that attempts to impofe or humbug. BETWAT BETWATTLED. Surprifed, confounded, out of one's fenfes ; alfo bewrayed. BEVER. An afternoon's luncheon; alfo a fine hat, bevers fur making the best hats. BEVERAGE. Garnish money, or money for drink, demanded of any one having a new fuit of clothes. BIBLE. A boatswain's great axe. Sea term. BIBLE OATH. Suppofed by the vulgar to be more binding than an oath taken on the Teftament only, as being the bigger book, and generally containing both the Old and New Teftamentr BIDDY, OF CHICK-A-BIDDY. A chicken, and figuratively a young wench. BIDET, commonly pronounced BIDDY. A kind of tub, contrived for ladies to wash themselves, for which purpose they beftride it like a little French poney, or poft-horse, called in France bidets. BIENLY. Excellently. She wheedled fo bienly; fhe coaxed or flattered fo cleverly. French. BILBOA. A fword. Bilboa in Spain was once famous for well-tempered blades: thefe are quoted by Falftaff, where he defcribes the manner in which he lay in the buck bafket. The Bilboas; the stocks. Cant. TO BILK. To cheat. Let us bilk the rattling cove; let us cheat the hackney coachman of his fare. Cant.—Bilking a coachman, a box keeper, and a poor whore, were formerly, among men of the town, thought gallant actions. BILL OF SALE. A widow's weeds. See HOUSE TO LET. BILLINGSGATE LANGUAGE. Foul language, or abuse. Billingsgate is the market where the fish women affemble to purchase fish; and where, in their dealings and disputes, they are fomewhat apt to leave decency and good manners a little on the left hand. BING To go. Cant.-Bing avaft; get you gone. Binged avaft in a darkmans ; ftole away in the night. Bing we to Rumeville fhall we go to London ? BINGO. Brandy or other spirituous liquor. Cant. BINGO MORT. A female dram drinker. Cant. BINNACLE BINNACLE WORD. A fine or affected word, which failors jeeringly offer to chalk up on the binnacle. BIRD AND BABY. The fign of the eagle and child. BIRD-WITTED. Inconfiderate, thoughtless, easily impofed on. BIRDS OF A FEATHER. Rogues of the fame gang. BIRTH-DAY SUIT. He was in his birth-day fuit, that is,. ftark naked. BISHOP. A mixture of wine and water, into which is put a roafted orange. Alfo one of the largeft of Mrs. Phillips's purfes, ufed to contain the others. BISHOPPED, or TO BISHOP. A term among horfe dealers, for burning the mark into a horfe's tooth, after he has loft it by age; by bishopping, a horfe is made to appear younger than he is. It is a common faying of milk that is burnt to, that the bishop has fet his foot in it. Formerly, when a bishop paffed through a village, all the inhabitants ran out of their houses to folicit his bleffing, even leaving their milk, &c. on the fire, to take its chance; which, when burnt to, was faid to be bishopped. BIT. Money. He grappled the cull's bit; he feized the man's money. A bit is also the fmalleft current coin in Jaimaica, equal to about fixpence fterling. BITCH. A fhe dog, or, doggefs; the most offenfive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore, as may be gathered from the regular Billingfgate or St. Giles's answer-" I may be 66 a whore, but can't be a bitch." То TO BITCH. To yield, or give up an attempt through fear. To ftand bitch; to make tea, or do the honours of the tea table, performing a female part: bitch there ftanding for woman, fpecies for genus. BITCH BOOBY. A country wench. Military term. BITER. A wench whofe **** is ready to bite her a-fe; a lafcivious, rampant wench. BITE. A cheat; alfo a woman's privities. The cull wapt the mort's bite; the fellow enjoyed the wench heartily. Cant. TO BITE. To over-reach, or impofe; also to steal. Cant. -Biting was once efteemed a kind of wit, fimilar to the BLA humbug. An inftance of it is given in the Spectator: A man under fentence of death having fold his body to a furgeon rather below the market price, on receiving the money, cried, A bite! I am to be hanged in chains.-To bite the roger; to fteal a portmanteau. To bite the wiper; to fteal a handkerchief. To bite on the bridle; to be pinched or reduced to difficulties. Hark ye, friend, whether do they bite in the collar or the cod-piece? Water wit to anglers. BLAB. A tell-tale, or one incapable of keeping a fecret. BLACK AND WHITE. In writing. I have it in black and white; I have written evidence. BLACK ART. The art of picking a lock. Cant. BLACK A-SE. A copper or kettle. The pot calls the kettle black a-fe. Cant. BLACK BOOK. He is down in the black book, i. e. has a ftain in his character. A black book is kept in most regiments, wherein the names of all perfons fentenced to punishment are recorded. BLACK BOX. A lawyer. Cant. BLACK EYE. We gave the bottle a black eye, i. c. drank it almost up. He cannot say black is the white of my eye; he cannot point out a blot in my character. BLACK FLY. The greatest drawback on the farmer is the black fly, i. e. the parfon who takes tythe of the harvest. BLACK-GUARD. A fhabby, dirty fellow; a term said to be derived from a number of dirty, tattered, and roguish boys, who attended at the Horfe Guards, and Parade in St. James's Park, to black the boots and fhoes of the foldiers, or to do any other dirty offices. Thefe, from their conftant attendance about the time of guard mounting, were nick-named the black-guards. BLACK JACK. A jug to drink out of, made of jacked lea ther. BLACK JOKE. A popular tune to a fong, having for the burthen, "Her black joke and belly fo white:" figuratively the black joke fignifies the monofyllable. See MONOSYL LABLE. BLACK |