away with the fairies
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
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awful
A senseless expletive, used to intensify a description of anything good or bad; "what an AWFUL fine woman!" "awfully jolly," "awfully sorry," &c. The phrase is not confined to any section of society.
awko taco
Awkward.
awks
Awkward.
Awkward Squad
Military recruits not yet fitted to take their place in the ranks.
awky
Awkward.
ax
To ask. Sometimes pronounced arks.
ax to grind
a personal reason for doing something
axe wound
Vulva.
axis of advance
A military term for the road or track running through an area to be attacked and used by the attackers to maintain direction.
aye aye shepherd's pie
Yes.
aye aye, sir
used to acknowledge and confirm receipt of an order
ayo
A greeting.
b flats
Bugs.—Compare F SHARPS.
B Flats
Bugs; which obnoxious insects are characterized by their flatness. B. of B. K. Some mysterious initials applied to himself in his diary by Arthur Orton, "the Tichborne Claimant." Supposed to denote "Baronet of British Kingdom.'* For some time it was a phrase applied popularly to any- one who put on airs.
b-ball
basketball
b-flat
A bedbug.
b-girl
A bargirl.
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.
b.n.c
For Brasenose, initials of Brazen Nose College. In spite of the nose over the gate the probability is the real name was Brasinium. It is still famous for its beer.—University.
babble
Confused, unintelligible talk, such as was used at the building the tower of Babel.
babe in arms
A very young or innocent person
babe in the woods
A naive or inexperienced person
babe magnet
A person who attracts many romantic or sexual partners
babes
The lowest order of KNOCK-OUTS (which see), who are prevailed upon not to give opposing biddings at auctions, in consideration of their receiving a small sum (from one shilling to half-a-crown), and a certain quantity of beer. They can, however, even after this agreement, be secured on the other side for a little longer price. There is no honour among thieves—at all events not among auction thieves—nowadays.
babes in the wood
Criminals in the stocks, or pillory.
Babes in the Wood
See CHILDREN. The phrase has been humorously applied to (1) simple trustful folks, never suspicious, and easily gulled; (2) insurrectionary hordes that infested the mountains of Wicklow and the woods of Enniscorthy towards the close of the 18th century; and (3) men in the stocks or in the pillory.
babies in the eyes
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Babies in the Eyes
Love in the expression of the eyes. Love is the little babe Cupid, and hence the conceit, originating from the miniature image of oneself in the pupil of another's eyes.
baby and bathwater
to reject something entirely, including its good parts
baby elephant in the room
a smaller, related issue that needs attention
baby gravy
Semen.
baby juice
Semen.
baby powder
Cocaine.
baby step
A small, initial step in a process or action
baby up
to take care of someone or something very carefully
baby-catcher
An obstetrician.
Babylonian Captivity
The seventy years that the Jews were captives in Babylon. They were made captives by Nebuchadnezzar, and released by Cyrus (536 B.C.).
babylonian numbers
N-ec Babylonios temp- tans numeros (Horace: Odes, Bk. i, xi, 2). Do not pry into futurity by astrological calcula- tions and horoscopes. Do not consult fortune-tellers. The Chaldeans were the most noted of astrologers.
babysitter test
A measure of how well someone can take care of themselves.
Bacchus and Circe
The name is from the Gr. komos, carousal.
bacchus and venus
Or, A Select Collection of near Two Hundred of the most Witty and Diverting Songs and Catches in Love and Gallantry, with Songs in the Canting Dialect, with a DICTIONARY explaining all Burlesque and Canting Terms, 12mo. 1738.
baccy
Tobacco.
bach
A bachelor.
Bachelor of Arts
A student who has taken the university degree below that of Master.
Bachelor of Salamanca
The last novel of Le Sage (published in 1736); the hero is a bachelor of arts, Don Cherubin de la Ronda; he is placed in different situations of life, and associates with all classes of society.
bachelor's buttons
Several flowers are so called. Red batchelor's buttons, the double red campion; yellow, the upright crowfoot; white, the white ranunculus, or white campion. The similitude these flowers have to the jagged cloath buttons anciently worne . . . gave occasion ... to call them Bachelor's Buttons.
bachelor's porch
An old name for the north door of a church. Menservants and poor men used to sit on benches down the north aisle, and maidservants and poor women on the south side. After service the men formed one line and the women another, down which the clergy and gentry passed.
bachelor's wife
A hypothetical ideal or perfect wife. Bachelors' wives and maids' children be well taught. HEYWOOD: Proverbs.
back
To support by means of money, on the turf or otherwise.—See LAY.
back alley
The anus.
back and edge
Entirely, heartily, tooth and nail, with might and main. The reference is, perhaps, to a wedge driven home to split wood. They were working back and edge for me. BOLDREWOOD: Robbery under Arms, ch. ii.
back and fill
to maneuver or change direction repeatedly
back and forth
moving repeatedly from one place to another
back at you
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
back biter
One who slanders another behind his back, i.e. in his absence. His bosom friends are become his back biters, said of a lousy man.
back down
To withdraw or retreat from a decision or confrontation
back forty
A remote or hard-to-reach area
back gammon player
A person who talks excessively but does little
back in the day
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
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