Beau Nash
Richard Nash (1674-1762). Son of a Welsh gentleman, a notorious diner- out. He undertook the management of the rooms at Bath, and conducted the public balls with a splendour and decorum never before witnessed.
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beau trap
A loose stone in a pavement, under which water lodges, and on being trod upon, squirts it up, to the great damage of white stockings; also a sharper neatly dressed, lying in wait for raw country squires, or ignorant fops.
beau trap
An old slang expression for a loose paving-stone under which water lodged, and which squirted up filth when trodden on, to the annoyance of the smartly dressed.
beau-nasty
A slovenly fop; one finely dressed, but dirty.
beaumont and fletcher’s
Comedy of The Beggar’s Bush, 4to, 1661.
Beautiful Parricide
Beatrice Cenci, daughter of Francesco Cenci, a dissipated and passion- ate Roman nobleman. With her brothers, she plotted the death of her father because of his unmitigated cruelty to his wife and children. She was executed in 1599, and at-the trial her counsel, with the view of still further gaining popular sympathy for his client, accused the father, probably without foundation, of having attempted to commit incest with her.
beautiful people
Attractive and fashionable people, especially in a social elite
Beauty and the Beast
The hero and heroine of the well-known fairy tale in which Beauty saved the life of her father by consent- ing to live with the Beast; and the Beast, being disenchanted by Beauty's love, became a handsome prince, and married her.
beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Beauty is subjective and varies from person to person
beauty is only skin deep
Physical attractiveness does not reflect inner character
Beauty is truth, truth beauty (John Keats)
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
beauty queen
A woman who wins a beauty contest
beauty sleep
Sleep needed to feel rested and look attractive
beauty sleep
Sleep taken before midnight. Those who habitually go to bed, especially during youth, after midnight, are supposed to become pale and more or less haggard.
beaver
Old street term for a hat; GOSS is the modern word, BEAVER, except in the country, having fallen into disuse.
beaver away
Work steadily and diligently at something
bebee
A lady.—Anglo-Indian.
becalmed
A piece of sea wit, sported in hot weather. I am becalmed, the sail sticks to the mast; that is, my shirt sticks to my back. His prad is becalmed; his horse knocked up.
because of
due to a particular reason or circumstance
beck
A beadle. See HERMANBECK.
beck and call
completely under someone's control
become of
To happen or come to someone or something
become one flesh
be united in marriage or a romantic relationship
bed
Put to bed with a mattock, and tucked up with a spade; said of one that is dead and buried. You will go up a ladder to bed, i.e. you will be hanged. In many country places, persons hanged are made to mount up a ladder, which is afterwards turned round or taken away, whence the term, "Turned off."
bed and breakfast
a private home offering overnight lodging and morning meal
bed blocker
A hospital patient who stays longer than medically necessary
bed in
To settle or become accustomed to a new situation
bed-fagot
A contemptuous term for a woman; generally applied to a prostitute.—See FAGOT.
bed-maker
Women employed at Cambridge to attend on the Students, sweep his room, &c. They will put their hands to any thing, and are generally blest with a pretty family of daughters: who unmake the beds, as fast as they are made by their mothers.
bed-post
"in the twinkling of a BED-POST," in a moment, or very quickly. Originally BED-STAFF, a stick placed vertically in the frame of a bed to keep the bedding in its place, and used sometimes as a defensive weapon.
Bedchamber Question
In May, 1839, Lord Melbourne's Whig ministry resigned, and when Sir Robert Peel formed a government he
Bedell's Bible
A translation of the Author- ized Version into Irish carried out under the direction of Bedell (d. 1642), Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh.
Bedford Book of Hours
An illuminated manuscript of extraordinary beauty made for John, Duke of Bedford, second son of King Henry IV, whose wife presented it to King Henry VI at Christmas, 1430. It is now in the British Museum.
Bedford Level
The large tract of marshy land about 60 miles in breadth and 40 in length which lies in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Huntingdonshire, North- amptonshire, and Lincolnshire, and includes the Isle of Ely and the whole of the Fen district. So called from Francis, fourth Earl of Bedford, who undertook the draining of the Fens in 1634.
bedfordshire
Bed.
bedfordshire
I am for Bedfordshire, i.e. for going to bed.
bedizened
Dressed out, over-dressed, or awkwardly ornamented.
Bednal Green
Sheridan Knowlcs also &as a play on the story (1834). Bessee was very beautiful, and was courted by four suitors at once — a knight, a gentleman of fortune, a London merchant, and the son of the innkeeper at Romford. She told them that they must obtain the consent of her father, the poor blind beggar of Bethnal Green. When they heard that, they all slunk off except ,the knight, who went to ask the beggar's leave to wed the "pretty Bessee.
bee
"to have a BEE in one’s bonnet," i.e., to be not exactly sane; to have a craze in one particular direction. Several otherwise sensible and excellent M.P.’s are distinguished by the "BEE in his bonnet" each carries.
bee in one's bonnet
An idea that obsesses or preoccupies someone
beeball
Basketball.
beef
To cry beef; to give the alarm. They have cried beef on us. Cant.--To be in a man's beef; to wound him with a sword. 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 serves him.
beef bayonet
The penis.
beef eater
A yeoman of the guards, instituted by Henry VII. Their office was to stand near the bouffet, or cupboard, thence called Bouffetiers, since corrupted to Beef Eaters. Others suppose they obtained this name from the size of their persons, and the easiness of their duty, as having scarce more to do than to eat the king's beef.
beef to the hoof
to add strength or value to something
beef-headed
Stupid, fat-headed, dull.
Beef-steak Club
The present Beef-steak Club dates from 1876, but the original club of this name was founded about 1707. Its badge was a gridiron, and it was said to comprise "the chief wits and great men of the nation.
beefed
Muscular.
beefhead
A Texan.
beefy
Unduly thick or fat, commonly said of women’s ankles; also rich, juicy, plenteous. To take the whole pool at loo, or to have any particular run of luck at cards generally is said by players to be "very BEEFY."
beeline
The straightest possible line of route to a given point. When a bee is well laden, it makes a straight flight for home. Originally an Americanism, but now general.
been there, done that
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
been there, done that, bought the T-shirt
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
been there, done that, got the T-shirt
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
been to the rodeo
Experienced and knowledgeable about a situation or activity
beer goggles
A state of mind where someone appears more attractive due to alcohol consumption
beer muscles
false courage or confidence caused by drinking alcohol
beersie
A beer.
beery
Intoxicated, or fuddled with beer.
bees and honey
money
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