BEST. To the best in Christendom, i. e. the best **** in Christendom, a health formerly much in vogue.

BET, a wager, to bet, to lay a wager.

BETWATTLED, surprised, confounded, out of one's senses, also bewrayed.

BEVER, an afternoon's luncheon, also a fine hat, bever's fur making the best hats.

BEVERAGE, garnish money, or money for drink demanded of any one having a new suit of clothes.

BIDDY, or 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 bestride it like a little French pony, or post horse,

called in France bidets.

BILBEY'S BALL.

See ball.

BILBOA, (cant) a sword. Bilboa in Spain was once famous for well tempered blades: these are quoted by Falstaff, where he described the manner in which he lay in the buck basket.

BILK, (cant) to cheat. Let us bilk the rattling cove; let us cheat the hackney coachman of his fare: bilking a coachman, a box keeper, or a poor whore, was formerly among men of the town thought a gallant action.

BILL OF SALE, a widow's weeds. See house to let. BILLINSGATE LANGUAGE, foul language, or abuse.

Billinsgate is the market where the fish women assemble to purchase fish, and where in their dealings and disputes, they are somewhat apt to leave decency and good manners a little on the left hand.

BING (cant) to go.

BING AVAST, (cant) get you gone. darkmans, stole away in the night. ville, shall we go to London.

Binged avast in a
Bing we to Rume-

BINGO, (cant) brandy or other spirituous liquor.
BINGO BOY, (cant) a dram drinker.

BINGO MORT, (cant) a female dram drinker.

BINNACLE WORD, a fine or affected word, which sailors jeeringly offer to chalk up, upon the binnacle.

BIRD AND BABY, the sign of the eagle and child.

BIRD WITTED, inconsiderate, thoughtless, easily imposed on. BIRDS OF A FEATHER, rogues of the same gang.

BISHOP, a mixture of wine and water, into which is put a roasted orange. Also one of the largest of Mrs. Philips's purses, used to contain the others.

BISHOPPED, or to BISHOP, a term among horse dealers, for burning the mark into a horse's tooth, after he has lost it by age, by bishopping, a horse is made to appear younger than he is.

BITCH, a she dog, or dogess; the most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore, as may be gathered from the regular Billinsgate or St. Giles's answers, "I may be a whore, but can't be a bitch.

BITCH BOOBY, a country wench, military term.

TO BITCH, to yield, or give up an attempt through fear; to stand bitch, to make tea, or do the honours of the tea table, or performing a female part. Bitch there standing for woman, species for genus.

A BITER, a wench whose **** is ready to bite her a—se, a lascivious rampant wench.

A BITE, (cant) a cheat, also a woman's privities. The cull wapt the mort's bite; the fellow enjoyed the wench heartily. To BITE, (cant) to over-reach, or impose, also to steal. Biting was once esteemed a kind of wit, similar to the humbug. An instance of it is given in the Spectator: a man under sentence of death having sold his body to a surgeon rather below the market price, on receiving the money, cried a bite; I am to be hanged in chains. To bite the roger, to steal a portmanteau; to bite the wiper, to steal a handkerchief; to bite on the bridle, to be pinched or reduced to difficulties.

BLAB, a tell tale, or one incapable of keeping a secret. BLACK AND WHITE, in writing. I have it in black and white; I have written evidence.

BLACK ART, (cant) the art of picking a lock.

BLACK BOX, (cant) a lawyer. BLACK GUARD, a shabby dirty fellow, a term said to be derived from a number of dirty tattered and roguish boys, who attended at the horse guards and parade in St. James' park, to black the boots and shoes of the soldiers, or to do any other dirty offices, these from their constant attendance about the time of guard mounting, were nick named the black guards.

BLACK JACK, a jug to drink out of, made of jacked leather. BLACK INDIES, Newcastle in Northumberland, whose rich coal mines prove an Indies to the proprietor.

BLACK LEGS, a gambler or sharper on the turf or in the cock pit; so called perhaps from their appearing generally in boots, or else from game cocks, whose legs are always black. BLACK MONDAY, the first Monday after the school-boys' holidays or breaking up, when they are to go to school, and produce and repeat the tasks set them.

BLACK MUNS, hoods and scarves of alamode lute string. BLACK PSALM: to sing the black psalm, to cry; a saying used to children.

BLACK SPY, the devil.

BLACK STRAP, bene carlo wine, also port. A task of labour imposed on soldiers at Gibraltar, as a punishment for small offences.

BLANK; to look blank, to appear disappointed or confounded. BLARNEY; he has licked the Blarney stone; he deals in the wonderful, or tips us the traveller. The Blarney stone is a triangular stone on the very top of an ancient castle of that name, in the county of Cork in Ireland, extremely difficult of access, so that to have ascended to it was considered as a proof of perseverance, courage, and agility, whereof many are supposed to claim the honour, who never achieved the adventure; and to tip the Blarney, is figuratively used for telling a marvellous story, or falsity (Irish).

A BLASTED FELLOW, or BRIMSTONE, (cant) an abandoned rogue or prostitute.

TO BLAST, to curse.

BLEACHED MORT, a fair complexioned wench.

BLEATERS, (cant) those cheated by Jack in a box. See Jack in a box.

BLEATING CHEAT, (cant) a sheep.

BLEADING CULLY, one who parts easily with his money, or bleeds freely.

BLEW JOHN, ash or after-wort.
BLIND, a feint, pretence, a shift.
BLIND CHEEKS, the breech.

mine a-se.

Buss blind cheeks; kiss

BLIND EXCUSE, a poor or insufficient excuse; a blind alehouse, lane, or alley; an obscure, or little known or frequented alehouse, lane, or alley.

BLIND HARPERS, beggars counterfeiting blindness, playing on fiddles, &c.

BLINDMAN'S BUFF, a play used by children, where one being blinded by a handkerchief bound over his eyes, attempts to seize any one of the company, who all endeavour to avoid him; the person caught must be blinded in his stead.

BLINDMAN'S HOLIDAY, night, darkness.

BLOCK HOUSES, prisons, houses of correction, &c.

BLOODY BACK, a jeering appellation for a soldier, alluding to his scarlet coat.

BLOOD, a riotous disorderly person.

BLOSS, (cant) the pretended wife of a bully, or shop lifter. TO BLOT THE SKRIP AND JARK IT, (cant) i.e., to stand engaged, or bound for any one.

BLOW (cant) he has hit the blow, i.e., he has stolen the goods. BLOWER, a mistress or whore.

TO BLOW THE GROUNDSILS, (cant) to lie with a woman on the floor.

TO BLOW THE GAB, (cant) to confess, or impeach a confederate.

A BLOWSE or BLOWSABELLA, a woman whose hair is dishevelled and hanging about her face, a slattern.

TO BLUBBER, to cry.

BLUBBER, the mouth, (cant) I have stopped the cull's blubber, I have stopped the fellow's mouth, meant either by gagging or murdering him.

BLUE, to look blue, to be confounded, terrified, or disappointed. BLUE DEVILS, low spirits.

BLUE PIDGEON FLIERS, thieves who steal lead off houses and churches, (cant).

BLUE PLUMS, a bullet; surfeited with a blue plumb, wounded with a bullet; a sortment of George R-'s blue plumbs, a volley of ball, shot from soldiers' firelocks. BLUE FLAG, he has hoisted the blue flag, he has commenced publican, or taken a public house; alluding to the blue aprons worn by publicans. See admiral of the blue. BLUFF, fierce, surly; he looked as bluff as bull beef. BLUFFER, (cant) an Inn keeper.

BLUNDERBUSS, a short gun with a wide bore, for carrying slugs, also a stupid blundering fellow.

TO BLUSTER, to talk big, to hector or bully.

BOARDING SCHOOL, Bridewell, Newgate, or any other prison or house of correction.

BOB, (cant) a shop-lifter's assistant, or one that receives and carries off the stolen goods. All is bob, all is safe.

BOOBBED, cheated, tricked, disappointed.

BOB TAIL, (cant) a lewd woman, or one that plays with her tail, also an impotent man, or an eunuch. Tag, rag, and bobtail; a mob of all sorts of low people. To shift one's bob; to move off, or go away.

BODIES, the foot guards, or king's body guards.

BODY SNATCHERS, bum bailiffs.

BOG LANDER, an Irishman, Ireland being famous for its large bogs, which furnish the chief fuel in many parts of that kingdom.

BOG TROTTER, the same.

BOG HOUSE, the necessary house.

BOG LATIN, (Irish) barbarous Latin. See dog Latin, and apothecaries Latin.