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A club formed about the beginning of the 18th century by the leading Whigs of the day, and held in the house of Christopher Catt, a pastrycook of Shire Lane, which used to run north from Temple Bar to Carey Street (its site is now covered by the Law Courts). Christopher Catt's mutton pies, which were eaten at the club, were also called kit- cats, and in the Spectator (No. IX) we are told that it was from these the club got its name.
We had a pretty batch of it last night; we had a hearty dose of liquor. Batch originally means the whole quantity of bread baked at one time in an oven.
Bread and cheese and kisses.
to do something exceptionally well
Alluvial matter compressed to the form of a brick, and used for cleaning knives, polishing metals, etc. It is made at Bridgwater, the material being dredged from the river Parrett, which runs through Bridg- water.
The Sun.
A chair mounted on wheels and used for invalids. First used at Bath, which for long has been frequented by in- valids on account of its hot springs.
A special kind of biscuit in- vented by Dr. William Oliver (1695-1764), physician to the Bath Mineral Water Hospital, and an authority on gout.
A letter paper with a highly glazed surface, used by the ultra-fashionable visitors of Bath when that watering-place was at its prime. See POST-PAPER.
A limestone used for building, and f9und in the Lower Oolite, near Bath. It is easily wrought in the quarry but hardens on •exposure to the air.
Someone who sings well in private but not in public
A fixed-order word pair (irreversible binomial); full definition pending editorial review.
A pair of bad boots.
The weekly bills at Oxford. Probably originally wooden tallies, and so a diminutive of bâton.—University.
To close or make watertight, referring to hatches and cargo.
Prepare for a difficult or challenging situation
Wear and tear; "can’t stand the BATTER," i.e., not equal to the task; "on the BATTER," "on the streets," "on the town," or given up to roystering and debauchery.
Coffee.
This was a nickname given in World War I to the steel helmet or "tin hat" worn at the front. Used again 1939-45, when it was also called a "tin topee.
The prolonged aerial operations over Southern England and the Channel, August-September 1940, in which the
A satire by Swift (written 1697, published 1704), on the literary squabble as to the comparative value of ancient and modern authors. In the battle the ancient books fight against the modern books in St.
See GIANTS. Battle of the Herrings, See HERRINGS.
See NATIONS. Battle of the Poets, The. A satirical poem (1725) by John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, in which the versifiers of the time are brought into the field.
A tile—vulgar term for a hat. "Cool his BATTLE, Bill."
See STANDARD. Battle of the Three Emperors. See THREE EMPERORS.
A certain number of cocks, say sixteen, are pitted together; the eight victors are then pitted, then the four, and last of all the two; and the winner is victor of the battle royal. Metaphorically, the term is applied to any contest of wits, etc.
A battle or bout at cudgels or fisty-cuffs, wherein more than two persons are engaged: perhaps from its resemblance, in that particular, to more serious engagements fought to settle royal disputes.
A name sometimes formerly given to a horn-book (#.v.), because of its shape. Hence, perhaps, the phrase "Not to know B from a battledore." See B.
An ox.
An ox: beef being apt to batten or fatten those that eat it. The cove has hushed the battner; i.e. has killed the ox.
Wages, perquisites. Derived from BATTA, an extra pay given to soldiers while serving in India.
To beat; BATTY-FANGING, a beating; also BATTER-FANG. Used metaphorically as early as 1630.
Trivial or attractive but worthless things
See BELTED WILL. Baulk. See BALK. Baviad, The (bav' i ad). A merciless satire by Gifford on the Delia Cruscan poetry, pub- lished 1794, and republished the following year with a second part called The M&vfad. Bavius. and Maevms were two minor poets pilloried by Virgil (Eclogue, iii, 9).
A halfpenny. Scotch.
The twenty-third rank of canters, who carry pins, tape, ballads, and obscene books to sell, but live mostly by stealing. Cant.
To cry intensely and uncontrollably
To scold or reprimand someone severely
A crybaby.
A metrical version of the Psalms published by Stephen Daye at Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, in 1680. One of the first printed works of the New World, and now highly prized. "What the Gutenberg Bible is to Europe, the Bay Psalm Book is to the United States"— A. E. Newton. In 1947 a copy changed hands at auction for $151, 000.00.
Coarse-grained salt, formerly obtained by slow evaporation of sea-water and used for curing meat, etc. Perhaps so called because 01 iginally imported from the shores of the Bay of Biscay. "Bay," in this case, does not signify the colour.
Three stones, about thirty yards apart, near Sleaford. It is said that Rinaldo was riding on his favourite steed, when the demon of the place sprang up behind him; but Bayardo in terror took three tremendous leaps and unhorsed the fiend.
A strip of linen 231 ft. long and 20 in. wide on which is represented in tapestry the mission of Harold to William, Duke of Normandy (William the Conqueror), and all the incidents of his history from then till his death at Hastings in 1066. It is preserved at Bayeux, and is supposed to be the work of Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror.
The State of Missis- sippi; so called from its numerous bayous. A bayou is a creek, or sluggish and marshy over- flow of a river or lake. The word may be of native American origin, but is probably a corruption of Fr. boyau, gut.
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Common English phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
be extremely pleased or satisfied with
Common English phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
To arrive.
to exist or be present for a long time
to be avoided at all costs
Common English phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
One should be cautious when expressing desires, as they may come true in an unwanted way.
be accused or suspected of doing something
be officially accused of a crime
originate or come from something
to be in agreement or approval with something
Common English phrase; full definition pending editorial review.