PREFACE (continued 4)

Jubilee Plunger. The sobriquet of Ernest Benzon, who lost £250,000 on the turf in two years after embarking upon his betting career in 1887, the Jubilee year of Queen Victoria’s reign.

Judd Street. The property of Sir Andrew Judd, Lord Mayor of London in 1551. By his will he bequeathed 174it to the endowment of a school at Tonbridge, his native place.

Judges’ Walk. So called because a number of judges and barristers of the King’s Bench made themselves temporary habitations in tents on this breezy height of Hampstead during the Great Plague.

Jug. Thieves’ slang for prison. See “In the Jug.”

Juggins. A fool, a reckless fellow, so called after a noted character of this name, who about twenty years ago squandered his whole fortune by reckless betting on the turf.

Juggler. From the French jougleur, a jester or miscellaneous entertainer who was the invariable companion of a troubadour during the Middle Ages.

Julep. An American spirituous beverage, also a preparation to make medicines less nauseous. The word is derived from the Arabic julab, rose-water.

July. In honour of Julius Cæsar, who was born in this month.

Jump a Claim. A Far West expression meaning to deprive another of his lawful claim; literally to jump into his diggings and take possession.

Jump on it with both Feet. The Transatlantic mode of saying “I’ll denounce it to the utmost of my power.”

Jump the Game. An Americanism for running away from one’s creditors.

June. The sixth month of the year; that of growth, agreeably to the Latin juvenis, young. The Romans dedicated it to the “Juniores,” or young soldiers of the State.

Jungfrau. Two reasons are assigned for the name (German, “The Maiden”) given to this, one of the highest peaks of the Bernese Alps. Firstly, because of the unsullied purity and dazzling whiteness of the snow with which it is eternally clad; secondly, owing to the fact that, its summit being inaccessible, no man has ever conquered or ravished this mountain maiden.

175Junk. A seaman’s term for rope ends and also the salt beef served out on board ship. The word is derived from the Latin Juncus, a bulrush, out of which ropes were anciently made. In the second sense of the term the toughness of the meat is sarcastically implied.

Jury. From the Latin jurare, to swear.

Jury Mast. Properly “Joury Mast,” from the French jour, day, because it is only a temporary mast put up to replace one carried away by stress of weather.

Justice is Blind. An expression derived from the allegorical representation of Justice, who, holding the scales, is blindfolded. See “Scales of Justice.” This really had its origin in the custom of the ancient Egyptians, who conducted their trials in a darkened chamber, in order that the prisoner, the pleader, and the witnesses being alike unseen, the judges could not be moved to undue sympathy, and their judgment might be the more impartial.

Justice Walk. In this portion of Chelsea resided a London magistrate whose name has not been handed down to posterity.

Juteopolis. The name given to Dundee on account of its staple industry.

Jutland. The land of the Jutes.

Juveniles. In theatrical parlance the lovers’ parts. The principal stage lover’s part, such as Romeo, is called the “juvenile lead.” Other young men’s parts, that do not call for love making on the stage, are styled “walking gentlemen.”

K

Kaaba. The stone building inside the great Mosque at Mecca; said to have been erected over the spot where Adam first worshipped after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The name is Arabic for “square house.”

176Kaffraria. The country of the Kaffirs or “unbelievers,” from the Mohammedan standpoint. This term was applied not only to the natives south of Abyssinia and the desert regions of Africa, but also to the people of a country in Central Asia east of the Hindu Cush known accordingly as Kafiristan. Kaifer is Arabic for “infidel,” and the suffix stan expresses the Persian for “country.”

Kailyard. Scottish for cabbage garden.

Kaisar. The German form of the title of the Roman Emperors, “Cæsar.”

Kalmucks. A Western corruption of the native Khalmick, or “Apostates,” the name given to this large family of the Mongolian race because they rejected the doctrines of Buddha. It was these Kalmucks who, under the name of “Huns,” descended upon Europe in the fourth century.

Kamptulicon. From the Greek Kampto, to bend.

Kansas. The Indian name for the river, signifying “smoky water”; afterwards applied also to the state.

Keble College. A memorial college at Oxford of the Rev. John Keble, author of “The Christian Year,” whose death took place in 1866.

Keelhaul. To haul under the keel of a vessel from stem to stern by means of ropes on either side. This was the most dreaded, because the most dangerous, punishment meted out to seamen or apprentices by tyrannical captains in former times. Readers of Captain Marryat’s “Snarleyyow, or the Dog Fiend” will recollect what that meant to the hapless victim.

Keeping Crispin. An old phrase for the shoemakers’ annual holiday on the Feast of St Crispin, their patron saint, 25th October. In some parts of the country we hear of it in connection with what passes elsewhere under the name of “Cobblers’ Monday.”

Keep it Dark. The reference was originally to treasure kept in a place of concealment.

177Keep on Pegging at it. See “Peg Away.”

Keep the Ball Rolling. An expression derived from the game of Bandy, in which the two sets of players, armed with hooked sticks, continually sent the ball rolling to opposite goals.

Keep the Pot Boiling. The antithesis of a hand-to-mouth existence; meaning the command not only of something for the stock pot but also needful fuel.

Keep the Wolf from the Door. By paying one’s way others will prosper likewise, and ravenous creditors clamouring at the door for their just demands will be non-existent. The wolf is represented by a greedy landlord hungering for his rent, or, failing that, the household goods.

Keep your Nose to the Grindstone. To continue hard at work without cessation. If a tool is not held close to the grindstone the stone will go round all the same, but the tool does not get sharpened. So a man may loiter over his work, but the actual accomplishment is nil.

Keep your Pecker up. Have courage, and hold your head erect. Pecker is slang for the mouth, in allusion to fowls which peck their food--in other words, they strike at it with the beak.

Keep your Weather Eye open. Be on a sharp look-out in the right direction. A sailor looks towards the wind in order to forecast the weather.

Kendal. Expresses the dale of the River Ken.

Kendal Green. Green cloth made at Kendal in Westmoreland, for which this town was long famous. The cloths produced here still bear the name of “Kendals.”

Kennington. The town which grew up in the king’s meadow. Henry VIII. had a rural retreat erected here.

Kensington. Described in Anglo-Saxon records as Kynsington, or king’s meadow town.

178Kensington Gore. After Gore House, the residence of the Countess of Blessington, that occupied part of the site of the Royal Albert Hall.

Kent. Called by the Romans Cæsar Cantium after the Cantii, who peopled this Kenn, headland or corner, of Albion’s Isle.

Kentish Fire. The name given to rapturous volleys of cheers, such as that which distinguished the Kentish men when they applauded the “No Popery” orators in 1828-9.

Kentish Man. A native of the county of Kent, west of the Medway.

Kentish Town. A corruption of “Kantelowes Town,” built upon the manor of the same name. The modern spelling of this family name is “Cantlowes,” which is that given to a street on the south side of Camden Road.

Kent Street. Leads out of London to the great Kentish highway to Dover. At one time the landlords in this street took away the front doors of tenants who were more than a fortnight in arrears of paying their rent. This, styled a “Kent Street Ejectment,” was found effectual in getting rid of unprofitable tenants.

Kentucky. Indian for “long river.”

Keppel Street. From the “Admiral Keppel” at the corner of this street and Fulham Road.

Kerchief. See “Handkerchief.”

Kersey. From Kersey, in Suffolk, once famed for its woollen manufacture.

Kettledrum. A rounded drum, so called from its shape; also the name given to a tea party, both on account of the noise made by the guests, and because the hostess metaphorically beats them up at the time of sending out her invitations. See “Drum.”

Kettle of Fish. See “Pretty Kettle of Fish.”

Kew. Styled in ancient documents Kay-hoo, meaning a 179quay on a hoo or oe, which expressed the Danish for an island; also a spit of land at the mouth of a river or creek.

Keystone State. Pennsylvania, geographically considered as seventh among the thirteen original states of the Union.

Khaki. Expresses the Hindoo for “colour of cow dung.” This term came into prominence during the South African War, when all British uniforms were made of materials of this hue, so as to make our troops less conspicuous to the enemy.

KhanKhan. Expresses the Persian, from a Tartar word, for a lord or prince.

Khedive. From the Persian khidiw, a king. In the Turkish khadiv the title expresses a ruler one grade removed from a Sultan.

Kicker. An Americanism for one who at a public meeting objects to a proposal.

Kick the Bucket. An expression derived from the primitive mode of a man hanging himself by standing on a bucket, and then kicking it aside. The “drop” in this case could not have been a long one.

Kidnap. Not only is this word accepted English in the absence of a more refined equivalent, but it is also made to do service in the case of an adult taken away against his will. Kid, of course, expresses a young goat, and is slang for a child. The second portion of the term is likewise slang, from nab, to steal.

Kidney Bean. The coarse bean shaped like a kidney.

Kiel. From the Danish keol, a ship.

Kilbride. The church of St Bride or Bridget.

Kilburn. Expresses the kil, or cell, of “one Godwynne, a holy hermit,” beside the bourn, or brook.

Kildare. From the Celtic kildara, the cell or hermitage among the oaks. A monastery was founded here by St Bridget towards the close of the fifth century.

180Kilkenny. The kil, or church, of St Kenny or Canice in connection with the ancient abbey dedicated to St John.

Killarney. A corruption of “Killeaney,” from the church of the Dominican monastery on the banks of the River Leane.

Kindergarten. Expresses the German for a children’s garden or playground. The system of juvenile education so called aims at self-tuition by means of toys and games.

Kinetoscope. The name originally given to our modern “living pictures,” from the Greek kinetikos, “putting in motion.” See “Mutoscope.”

King Charles Spaniel. The small species of “Spaniel” which was such a favourite with Charles I.

King Edward’s Grammar School. A superior academical institution founded and endowed for the tuition of Latin and Greek grammar by Edward VI.

King Edward Street. After Edward VI., the “Boy King,” founder of Christ’s Hospital, or Blue Coat Grammar School, hard by.

Kingfisher. The king of fisher birds that dive into water for their prey, so called on account of its gay plumage.

King James’s Bible. The Authorised Version ordered to be prepared and given to the people by James I.

King-maker. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, so called because he was instrumental in placing both Edward IV. on the Yorkist and Henry VI. on the Lancastrian side on the throne after espousing their individual cause.

King of Bath. The sobriquet of Richard Nash, also known as Beau Nash, who for more than half-a-century was Master of Ceremonies at the fashionable Assembly Rooms of Bath.

King’s Arms. An inn sign, originally representing the counterfeit presentment or royal arms of an individual 181sovereign, but now a mere name, which must have done duty alike in honouring a long line of monarchs.

King’s Bench. Anciently the superior Court of Law presided over by the King in person, when he sat on an oaken bench. Wherever he went in state this Court followed him. Judges and magistrates are still said to occupy the Bench.

King’s College. At Cambridge, founded in 1441 by Henry VI. In London, the foundation by a royal charter of George IV. in 1828.

King’s County. In honour of Philip of Spain, the husband of Queen Mary. The original name was Ossaly.

King’s Cross. So called from a statue of George IV. set up here at the accession of that monarch, and taken down in 1842 to make way for the Great Northern Railway terminus. It is highly probable that an ancient cross stood on the same spot, since, quite apart from the fact that Queen Boadicea was defeated by the Romans at Battle Bridge hereabouts, it was in this neighbourhood too that King Alfred waged a sanguinary conflict with the Danes.

King’s Evil. The name given to scrofula, from the old superstitious idea that it could be cured by the touch of a king or queen.

Kingsgate Street. So called from the gate through which James I. passed across the meadows to Theobalds in Hertfordshire, his favourite hunting seat.

King’s Head. See “King’s Arms.”

Kingsland. This district marked the southern limits of the ancient royal domain of Enfield Chase.

King’s Lynn. Anciently called “Lynn Episcopi,” being the property of the Bishop of Norwich. At the dissolution of the monasteries Henry VIII. sequestered this estate, and gave the town the name of Lynn Regis, or King’s Lynn. The word Lynn is Celtic for “pool.”

King’s Own Men. The 78th Foot, so called from their Gaelic motto: “Cuidichr Rhi” (Help the King).

182King’s Road. In compliment to Charles II., who caused this highway between Chelsea and Fulham Palace to be made passable.

Kingston. The capital of Jamaica, after William III., in whose reign (1693) it was founded.

Kingston-on-Thames. From the ancient stone on which seven of the Anglo-Saxon kings were crowned. This interesting relic is now enclosed with iron railings near the Town Hall.

Kingstown. Originally “Dunleary,” the name was changed in honour of the visit of George IV. in September 1821.

King Street. That in Covent Garden, after Charles I., in whose reign it was laid out. In St James’s, after James I. In Cheapside, in honour of Henry IV., who passed down it to open the new Guildhall. At Westminster, because this was the direct road between the Court and the Abbey.

Kingsway. The name given by the London County Council to the new thoroughfare from Holborn to the Strand opened by King Edward VII. in 1905.

King William Street. In the city, after William IV., who performed the inaugural ceremony of declaring the London Bridge open for traffic, 1st August 1831. The street of the same name west of the Strand was newly laid out in his reign as a direct thoroughfare to Leicester Square.

Kirkcudbright. Expresses the Celtic for “the Church of St Cuthbert.”

Kirkdale. The church in the dale or vale of Pickering.

Kirke’s Lambs. The nickname bestowed upon the 2nd Foot, under the command of Captain Kirke, during the “Bloody Assizes,” and having for their badge the Paschal Lamb.

Kirschwasser. German for “Cherry Water,” this beverage being distilled from the juice of the black cherry.

183Kiss-me-Quick. The name of a small bonnet popular in England midway during the last century. Though of the “coal scuttle” pattern it did not extend beyond the face, and was chiefly worn by ladies going to parties or the play.

Kiss the Place and make it better. The expression, commonly employed by mothers and nurses to pacify children when they have hurt themselves, is a survival of the days of the sorcerers, who pretended to cure a disease by sucking the affected part.

Kiss the Scavenger’s Daughter. See “Scavenger’s Daughter.”

Kit. A soldier’s outfit, which he carries on his person when on the march. The name is derived from the Dutch kitte, a wooden beer-can strapped on the soldier’s belt.

Kit-Cat. The name given by artists to a three-quarter length portrait, and also to a canvas measuring 28 by 36 inches, in allusion to the portraits of uniform size, and all painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, to suit the dimensions of the apartments occupied by the famous Kit-Cat Club. This club was long held at the house of a pastrycook called Christopher Cat in Shire Lane, Fleet Street (now Serle’s Place), after whom, familiarly styled “Kit-Cat,” it took its name. His own mutton pies were the staple refreshment, from which circumstance such pies were until quite modern times also called “Kit-Cats.”

Kleptomania. The name given to an impulsive desire to steal or appropriate that which is ready to hand; so called from the Greek kleptes, thief, and mania, madness.

Knacker. From the Icelandic knakkr, a saddle; hence a dealer in and slaughterer of old horses.

Knapsack. From the Dutch and German knappen, to bite or chew, and zak, a sack. Like the original German and Dutch forms of this receptacle for a 184soldier’s necessaries on the march, the Swiss still carry a bag made of goatskin.

Knave. From the German knabe, a boy. The tricks peculiar to a boy no doubt caused this term to be applied to a deceitful or otherwise reprehensible fellow. The knave in a pack of cards represents, of course, the knight or servant to the king and queen.

Knife-board. The advertisement-board on either side of an omnibus roof, so called on account of its fancied resemblance to the domestic knife-sharpener. On the old-fashioned omnibuses the roof passengers sat back to back, with their feet touching the “knife-board,” and it was facetiously said they thereon sharpened their wits.

Knife and Fork Tea. See “High Tea.”

Knight. From the Saxon knicht, a servant, which is the origin also of the modern German knecht, a man-servant.

Knight Bachelor. One who in the days of chivalry forswore marriage until he had performed some feat of valour, and so merited renown.

Knight Banneret. A knight hastily created on the field of battle in recognition of signal bravery. This was done by tearing off a streamer from a banner and handing it to him as a token of investiture.

Knight Errant. One who went forth in quest of adventures, more particularly to win the admiration of fair ladies, by rescuing them, in common with the weak and oppressed, from the feudal lords whose rapacity in those barbarous ages knew no bounds. The word errant, like its modern equivalent errand, was derived from the Latin errare, to wander. It was in ridicule of this system of knight-errantry that Cervantes wrote his immortal romance “Don Quixote.”

Knight of the Yard Stick. An Americanism for a draper’s assistant or a retail dry-goods salesman; what in England people often style a “Counter Jumper.”

Knightrider Street. The place of assembling of the 185knights of old on their way in procession to the Smithfield tournaments.

Knightsbridge. Tradition has it that two knights who went to receive a blessing from the Bishop of London at Fulham Palace suddenly quarrelled, and fought a deadly combat on the bridge which anciently spanned the Westbourne where now stands Albert Gate. A public-house close by, demolished within the last three years, bore the sign of “The Fulham Bridge.”

Knights Hospitallers. The Second Order of Knights of the Crusades, who founded and protected the hospital at Jerusalem for the accommodation of pilgrims to the Holy Places. When at a later period they erected a larger hospital in connection with the church dedicated to St John the Baptist, they assumed the title of “Knights of St John of Jerusalem.”

Knights of Malta. The Knights Hospitallers who, having taken Rhode Island, were at length expelled therefrom by the Turks, and took up their establishment permanently at Malta.

Knights of St John of Jerusalem. See “Knights Hospitallers.”

Knights of the Road. Highwaymen, who were always good horsemen.

Knights Templars. The military Order of Knights of the Crusades, styled “Soldiers of the Temple.” Their aim was to wrest the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of the Saracens, and maintain it through futurity.

Knights Teutonic. An independent Order of Knights of the Crusades composed of nobles from the cities of Bremen and Lubeck for the protection of German pilgrims to the Holy Land.

Knickerbockers. The people of the city of New York. When Washington Irving wrote his “History of New York” he assumed the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker, in allusion to the wide breeches worn by the early settlers of the colony, then called by them New Amsterdam; hence the application of the term 186“Knickerbockers” to knee-breeches generally. New York is known as “The Knickerbocker City.”

Knocked into a Cocked Hat. Prostrated or completely flattened out like a cocked hat, which, as its name implies, could be cocked or carried under the arm.

Know-nothings. A secret society in the United States pledged to the checking of foreign immigration and political influence by foreigners which came into existence about the year 1848, and finally split upon the slavery question in 1860. When asked what its party or political aims were, all the members merely replied: “I don’t know; I know nothing.”

Knows the Ropes. Said of one who thoroughly understands his calling. A naval phrase, since a sailor must know all the ropes belonging to his ship.

K’nucks. In Canada the name given to French Canadians; elsewhere to Canadians generally. It has been stated on the authority of an intelligent French Canadian, by way of accounting for the origin of this term, that “the word ‘Cannuck’ is a corruption of ‘Connaught,’ the name we usually apply to the Irish, who are mostly emigrants from that province of Ireland.”

Kohinoor. A famous diamond which came into the possession of Queen Victoria on the annexation of the Punjaub in 1849. Its name expresses the Hindoo for “Mountain of Light.”

Kolis. The nickname of the 51st King’s Own Light Infantry, from the initials of their regimental name.

Koordistan. Pursuant to the Persian stan, the country of the Koords, “fierce, strong.”

Kopeck. A Russian copper coin of the value of three-eights of an English penny. So called from kopye, the native term for a lance, because this coin originally had upon it the representation of a lancer on horseback.

Kops Ale. A non-alcoholic ale brewed from the best Kentish hops, and not to be distinguished by appearances from the intoxicant. The name was chosen as a near approach to Hops Ale.

187Koran. Properly Al Koran, Arabic for “the book,” “the reading,” or “the thing to be read.”

Koumiss. A Mongolian term for an intoxicating beverage made by the Kalmucks from camels’ or mares’ milk by fermentation and distillation. “Koumiss” is the popular Russian beverage.

Kraal. The Kaffir term for a collection of huts shaped like a beehive and arranged in circular form, a native South African village.

Kremlin. The citadel of Moscow, so called from the Russian krem, a fortress.

Krems White. A pigment extensively produced at Krems in Austria.

Kreuzer. A copper coin of Germany conspicuous for a kreuz, or cross, on its reverse side. Its value was the sixtieth part of a gulden or florin.

Krupp Gun. After its inventor, and made at the famous Krupp Steel works at Essen in Germany.

Kümmel. The German name for a beverage, expressive of “Carraway,” from the seeds of which it is made.

Kummerbund. A Hindoo term for waistband. It became current in England two or three years ago during the excessively hot weather, when waistcoats were discarded, and the trouser tops concealed by a brilliant blue or scarlet sash.

Kurdistan. See “Koordistan.”

Kursaal. A place of entertainment at Southend-on-Sea. The name is German, literally “Cure-hall,” expressive of the public assembly-room at a “Kurhaus,” or hydropathic establishment, corresponding to the pump-room at a west of England health resort.

Kyrle Society. A modern society having for its aims the improvement of the homes of the poorer orders. It originated with the Misses M. and O. Hill in 1875, and was formally inaugurated by Prince Leopold a couple of years later. The title of the society was derived from John Kyrle of Ross, Herefordshire, 188whose artistic tastes and benevolent disposition contributed to the happiness and well-being of the people on his estate and all the country round about.

L

Labadists. A sect of Protestant mystics founded in the seventeenth century by Jean Labadic of Bourg, Germany.

La Belle Sauvage Yard. The yard of the famous coaching inn of the same name. The history of this sign was curious. Kept by Isabelle Savage, it bore the name of “The Bel Savage”; but its sign was a bell suspended within an iron hoop at the top of the usual “Ale Stake.” Hence its proper name was “The Bell in the Hoop.” When in the year 1616 John Rolfe brought his Virginian bride Pocohontas to London, the story of his remarkable adventures had anticipated his arrival, and people spoke of this Indian heroine as “La Belle Sauvage.” It was odd that these strangers within our gates should put up at the “Bell Savage,” and the association resulted in the change of title on their account.

Labrador. Called by the Portuguese navigators Tierra Labrador, “cultivatable land.”

Lackland. The surname of King John, who, owing to his thriftlessness, was left entirely without provision at the death of his father, Henry II.

Laconics. Terse and pithy replies, so called from the Lacons, which was the name applied to the Spartans, from the country whence they came. When Philip of Macedon sent this message to the Spartan magistrates: “If I enter Laconia I will level Lacedæmon to the ground,” the reply was briefly: “If.”

Lacrosse. This name was given to the game by Charlevoix, who, seeing it played by some Alonquin Indians with a stick between Quebec and Three Rivers, called it le jeu de la Crosse.

189Ladbroke Grove. This, with the square of the same name, was built upon by the Ladbroke family, who acquired the lease of the land for the purpose.

Lad Lane. A name frequently met with in connection with the old coaching inn, “The Swan with Two Necks.” It was a corruption of “Our Lady Lane,” so called from a statue of the Virgin.

Ladrones. Expresses the Spanish for “thieves,” the name given to those islands by Magellan because the natives made off with the stores he had landed.

Ladybird. A pretty species of beetle resembling a bug, and anciently called “Our Lady’s Bug.” Bug is the accepted American term for a beetle.

Lady Day. The Feast of Our Lady, otherwise of the Annunciation to the Virgin (25th March). Prior to 1752 this was also the first day of the New Year; now it figures as Quarter Day, when rents and taxes have to be paid.

Lady Freemason. The Hon. Elizabeth St Leger, niece of Sir Anthony St Leger, who founded the stakes named after him at Doncaster Races, and daughter of Lord Doneraile of Dublin. Chancing to overhear the proceedings at a Lodge held at her father’s mansion she was discovered, and, as the only way out of an unprecedented dilemma, initiated to the craft. No other female has ever been made a “Freemason.”

Lager Beer. The German “lager bier” is simply stock beer, the liquor being kept in a lager, or cellar, until it is sufficiently ripened for consumption. All over the United States the demand for “Lager” is enormous.

Laid on the Shelf. A phrase implying that one’s period of usefulness has been passed. The allusion is to books read and clothes laid aside as of no further use.

Laid up in Lavender. Something put away very carefully, as a good housewife preserves linen strewn with 190lavender in a press against moths. At times we hear the expression allusive to an article put in pawn.

Lake Erie. See “Erie.”

Lake Huron. See “Huron.”

Lake Ontario. See “Ontario.”

Lake School of Poets. A term applied by The Edinburgh Review to the imitators of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey, who communed with Nature in the Lake District of Cumberland and Westmoreland.

Lake Superior. The uppermost and principal of the five great lakes of North America.

Lake Winnipeg. See “Winnipeg.”

La Marseillaise. See “Marseillaise.”

Lambeth. A corruption of “Lamhithe,” the Anglo-Saxon for mud haven, or a muddy landing-place.

Lambeth Palace. The historic residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury.

Lamb’s Conduit Street. After William Lambe, a wealthy clothworker, who at his own cost built “a faire conduit and standard” in the fields here off Holborn in 1577.

Lamb’s Wool. A rural beverage of roasted apple juice and spiced ale. It received its name from the Saxon La Mæs Ubhal, or “Feast of the Apple Gathering.” From lammas ool its further corruption was easy.

Lame Duck. The name given to a member of the Stock Exchange who cannot meet his liabilities on settling day. Instead of walking erect, like a man of strict integrity, he ducks his head, and waddles off, well knowing that he has been black-boarded and struck off the list of members.

Lammas Day. The ancient name for the first of August, when every parishioner brought to church a loaf made of new wheat. The name expresses the Anglo-Saxon for “loaf mass,” and the bread was a gift of first-fruits to the clergy. Its modern equivalent is the “Harvest Festival.”

191Lamp-black. So called because this pigment was at first obtained by burning resinous matter over the flame of a lamp.

Lancaster. The Roman Lunecastra, or fortified camp on the Lune.

Lancaster Gun. After the name of its inventor.

Lancastrians. During the Wars of the Roses the partisans of the House of Lancaster in the contest for the crown of England as opposed to the House of York.

Lancers. This dance received its name from a company of Lancers who went through the evolutions of a quadrille on horseback about the year 1836.

Landau. After Landau in Germany, where it was first made.

Landes. Expresses the French for heaths. The people of this marshy and, in parts sandy, district walk on long stilts.

Landgrave. The Anglicised form of the German landgraf, count, a ground landlord.

Land o’ Cakes. Scotland, which has always been celebrated for its oatmeal cakes.

Land of Green Ginger. A square at Hull where, as popularly thought, green ginger was anciently landed from the river and sold in open market. The name is, however, a corruption of “Greenhinger,” being the land owned by Moses Greenhinger, a boat builder, who lived in Whitefriargate in the seventeenth century. This is proved by a letter of Sir Willoughby Hickman, a candidate for the borough in 1685. Therein he states that a coach took him from the waterside to the George Inn, “at the corner of the land of Moses Greenhinger.”

Land of Promise. The name of a short street in Hoxton, so called, sarcastically no doubt, because it leads to the workhouse.

Land of Steady Habits. Connecticut, so called on account of the excellent moral character of the people.

192Land of Sundown Seas. Alaska. “Sundown” is an Americanism for sunset, just as “Sun-up” is for sunrise.

Land o’ the Leal. The Scottish heaven, or “Dixie’s Land”; according to the Baroness Nairne’s ballad the word Leal means faithful.

Land of the Midnight Sun. Norway.

Landscaper. Local slang in the eastern counties for a tramp, vagrant, or “Loafer.”

Land Shark. The name given by sailors to a boarding-house keeper in a seaport town who preys upon them by systematic overcharges.

Landwehr. The German equivalent for our volunteers, or soldiers for land defence. The term wehr means bulwark, defence.

Lane. Actors refer to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, as “The Lane,” the playhouse of London par excellence since the palmy days of the Drama.

Langbourn Ward. From the long bourn or stream, of which now no trace remains.

Langholm Place. After the mansion and grounds of Sir James Langham, which occupied what is now the street of the same name.

Laodicea. This ancient city was so called after Laodice, the queen of Antiochus Theos, who founded it.

Lap Dog. One literally nursed in the lap of luxury. Mothers of families are strangers to such pets.

Lapsus Linguæ. Latin for “a slip of the tongue.”

Largess. From the Latin largitso, to give freely, through the French largesse. This word meant originally a fee or present bestowed upon a butler or head servant by a departing guest. In its modern acceptation it is a distribution of money amongst a number rather as a matter of policy or necessity than from choice.

Lascar. The generic name for an East Indian seaman, though it really expresses the Persian for a soldier, 193from lashkari, a camp-follower. Lascars were first employed by the East Indiamen homeward bound. Nowadays all Asiatic sailors, of whatever nationality, are called Lascars.

Lasso. From the Spanish lazo, a noose.

Latakia. A Turkish tobacco, so called from the place (the ancient Laodicea) where it is produced.

Latch-string is always out. An Americanism for a hearty welcome at all times, without need for a formal invitation. The allusion to the latch-string means: “You have only to walk in, like any member of the family.”

Lath. A subdivision of land while certain portions of Eastern England were held by the Danes, so called from the Norse “Lathing,” a law assembly.

Latins. See “Italy.”

Latin Vulgate. The Roman Catholic Bible authorised by the Council of Trent in 1546. This translation of the Scriptures was made by St Jerome from the Greek into the Latin or vulgar tongue A.D. 405.

Latitudinarians. The opposers of the High Church party, and also of the Puritans, during the Restoration period. Modern Latitudinarians are those who hold very broad views in regard to orthodox doctrine.

Laugh and grow Fat. In allusion to Democritus, “The Laughing Philosopher,” who waxed fat, and lived to be 109 years old.

Laughing Philosopher. Democritus of Abdera, from his habit of humorously exposing the absurdities of his countrymen, whose stupidity, he declared, was proverbial; the feeble powers of mankind, contrasted with the forces of nature, likewise aroused his contempt.

Laugh in your Sleeve. Anciently the sleeves of all outer garments were very wide, and when a person covered his face with his hand there was always a suspicion that he was making merry at someone else’s discomfiture.

194Laugh on the wrong Side of your Face. A person may preserve a grave countenance while listening to a story, and at the same time wink significantly to a bystander on the opposite side of the speaker. The expression means that if, for his insolence, he received a castigation, both his eyes would be made to wink or blink.

Laundress. The exclusive designation of a housekeeper or caretaker of bachelor chambers in the Temple. This is because during the Crusades a great many women of the town followed in the train of the Knights Templars to the Holy Land for the purpose of washing their linen. It afterwards transpired that, as a rule, they acted also as mistresses to the Knights, and had tents set apart for them even within sight of Jerusalem. Historians tell us too that, though a religious Order, the Templars did not scruple to introduce these women into their London house after their return from the seat of warfare, and this irregularity, in fact, led to their suppression by Edward II. in 1313.

Laundried. An Americanism for “washed,” in relation to household or personal linen. This, when one comes to look into the word, is correct English, meaning lawn dried.

Lavender. From the Latin verb lavare, to wash, because this shrub yields an essential oil employed in medicine and perfumery. Laundresses also use it for preserving newly washed linen against moths.

Lavender Water. A scent produced from the essential oil of lavender, spirits of wine, and ambergris.

Lawing. An Americanism for “going to law.”

Lawless Parliament. See “Parliament of Dunces.”

Lawn. The finest linen, which has been bleached on a lawn instead of the usual drying ground. The greensward called a lawn received its name from the Celtic allawnt, a smooth, rising ground.

Lawrence Lane. From the Church of St Lawrence, at its foot, in Gresham Street.

195Law Sakes. An American corruption of the phrase “For the Lord’s sake!” which, current among the Puritans of New England, found its way in this new form into neighbouring states.

Laws, Laws-a-me. A corruption of “Lord, have mercy on me.”

Lawyer. From the old English Lawwer, literally “lawman”; the suffix is allied to the Latin vir, man.

Lawyer’s Treat. A phrase implying that each shall pay for his own drinks. A lawyer never treats his clients at a refreshment bar; they defray the cost between them.

Lay-by. The name given to an article, generally clothing, purchased on the weekly instalment system, and laid by on a shelf until the whole amount has been paid off.

Lazar-house. The old name for a poor-house, in allusion to Lazarus, who picked up the crumbs under the table at the mansion of Dives. On the Continent such an institution is styled a “Lazaretto.”

Lazarists. An Order of missionaries founded by St Vincent de Paul, so called from their headquarters in Paris, the Priory of St Lazare, between 1632 and 1792.

Lazzaroni. The beggars of Naples, and originally all the poorest people of that city who had no regular habitation save the streets. Their name was derived from the common refuge, the Hospital of St Lazarus.

Leadenhall Street. After the edifice known as the Leadenhall, the first in London ever roofed with lead, built in 1419 by Sir Simon Eyre, and presented to the city for the purposes of a granary in time of scarcity.

Leading Article (or Leader). There are three reasons for this term applied to a large-type newspaper article. It is supposed to be written by the chief of the literary staff, the editor; it leads off the foreign and all other important news on the inside pages of the paper; and it is intended to lead public opinion according to the party views maintained by the journal in question.

196League of the Cross. The title of a modern crusade among the Roman Catholics for the total suppression of drunkenness.

Leamington. The town in the meadow on the banks of the Leam.

Leap Year. That which every fourth year leaps to the total of 366 days by adding a day to the month of February.

Leather Lane. From “The Old Leather Bottle,” now modernised, at the corner of this lane and Charles Street.

Leave some for Manners. A dinner-table phrase, which had its origin in the ancient custom of making an offering of a portion of the viands to the gods.

Lebanon. From the Hebrew laban, white; expresses “the white mountain.”

Lee. A variant of the Anglo-Saxon lea and ley, “meadow” or “pasture land.” This word enters into many river and place-names.

Leech. The old name for a medical man in the days when bleeding the patient, no matter what his ailment might be, was the common practice.

L. E. L. The literary pseudonym, formed from the initials of Letitia Elizabeth Landon, the poetess.

Leg and Star. A corruption of “The Star and Garter.” This, of course, arose when a painted device, instead of a mere title, served as an inn and tavern sign.

Legend. An Americanism for a written or printed notice. The term has latterly come into use in England relative to a tradesman’s shop announcement.

Legitimate Drama. That which is dependent upon its intrinsic literary and constructive merits, quite apart from scenic effects.

Leg Stretcher. A Far Western expression for a drink. This arose from the common travellers’ exclamation while the stage coach was waiting for the mails: “I’ll get off a bit, and stretch my legs.”

197Leicester. The Leirecastra of the Romans, being the fortified camp on the Leire, now called the Soar.

Leicester Square. Originally Leicester Fields, from the town mansion built on its east side by Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester, in 1636.

Leipsic. Expresses the Slavonic for linden or lime tree town, from lipa, lime-tree.

Leman Street. Properly “Lemon Street,” from a wharf at the Thames side, where, before the construction of the docks, lemons were landed and sold.

Lemon Sole. The species of sole found on the south coast of England; really a mud sole, from the Latin lima, mud.

Lent. From the Anglo-Saxon lencten, the spring. The word has the same origin as “lengthen,” since at this season of the year the lengthening of the days becomes perceptible.

Lent Crocking. A popular old-time diversion of the schoolboys on Shrove Tuesday. The ringleader, having knocked at a house door and recited a garbled set of verses, to the effect that he had come a-shroving, his companions kept up an incessant din with old saucepans and kettles until they were paid to go away.

Leonine Verses. Those which rhyme both in the middle and at the end of each line, so called after Leoninus, a canon of St Victor in Paris midway in the twelfth century.

Let the Cat out of the Bag. To disclose a trick unwittingly. The illusion is to a very old device at country fairs of selling a cat for a sucking pig. One pig only was exposed to view; all the others were supposed to be ready tied up for carrying away. If, on occasion, a purchaser insisted on untying the sack before paying for it, the cat leapt out, and the fraud was discovered. As to the other victims who had taken away theirs on trust, they were forced to admit, because their sack contained no sucking pig, that they had been “sucked in.”

198Levant. An Italian term for the Orient or East--i.e. all those parts of the Mediterranean eastward of Italy. The word is also used in the sense of to depart, and a defaulter was said to have levanted, or gone to the Levant. This was in allusion to the “Grand Tour” which all scions of the nobility were expected to make on reaching their majority.

Levee. A French word applied to a royal reception, from lever, arising, because in former times such a function took place in the King’s bed-chamber at the hour of rising.

Levellers. The primitive Radicals or Socialists of the time of Charles I. and long afterwards; their plea was that all men should be on a common level in regard to office-seeking. Also the original name of the “White Boys” in Ireland, who commenced their agrarian outrages by levelling the hedges and fences on enclosed lands.

Leviticus. That book of the Old Testament which sets forth the laws pertaining to the priests or Levites, the descendants of Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah.

Lewisham. From Leesham, the home or family settlement in the meadow. See “Lee.”

Leyden. Originally Lugdunum, the Latinised form of the Celtic llwch, a morass, and dun, a hill, fortress.

Leyton. The town in the lea or meadow.

Leytonstone. A corruption of “Leytonstowe,” the stock or wooded place in the vicinity of a meadow.

Lhassa. A Tibetan word for “full of gods.”

Liberal. The modern designation of the Progressive or “Whig” Party. This arose out of Lord Byron’s political magazine, The Liberal, in 1828, though the name was not formally assumed until the agitation for the Reform Bill in 1831.

Liberator. The surname of Simon Bolivar, who established the independence of Peru.

199Liberia. An independent republic of free Negroes on the west coast of Africa. The word is derived from the LatinLatin liber, free, and the Celtic suffix ia, country.

Library. From the Latin librarium, a bookcase, through liber, a book.

Lifting. This technical term in the printing trade, because type is lifted out of the columns prior to distribution, or, as may happen in a newspaper, to be held over until the next issue for want of space, has come to be applied by journalists to literary theft. Facts, anecdotes, or jokes stolen from a contribution submitted to an editor on approval are said to have been “lifted.” One newspaper, too, often “lifts” matter from another without acknowledgment.

Light. A journeyman printer’s term for “credit.” Derived from the old saying: “He stands in a good light with his neighbours.” The boast: “My light is good,” has about it little to find fault with.

Liguorians. Another name for the Redemptorists or Preachers of the Redemption, an Order founded by St Francis Liguori in 1732.

Like a Thousand of Brick. An Americanism for very heavily, as if a waggon-load of bricks had been dumped down on one.

Lille. Properly L’Isle, the island.

Lima. A Spanish corruption of the Peruvian Rima, the name of the river on which it is situated.

Limavady. From the Irish Leim-a-madha, “The Dog’s Leap.”

Limehouse. A corruption of Limehurst, or wood of lime-trees.

Lime Street. Where lime was sold in ancient times.

Limoges. Anciently called “Lemovica,” from the Lemovices, the people who settled in this portion of Gaul.

Lincoln. Originally Llyn-dun, the Celtic for “Pool hill,” 200or the town built on the eminence overlooking the Swanpool, which was not drained until the eighteenth century. When the Romans established themselves here they called it Lindum Colonia, or the colony beside the pool. Of this name, therefore, Lincoln is a softened abbreviation.

Lincoln College. Founded at Oxford by Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1427.

Lincoln’s Inn. Anciently the town mansion of the Earls of Lincoln, built by Henry de Lacey, Earl of Lincoln, in the fourteenth century.

Line of Business. A theatrical phrase for the special kind of parts in which an actor is experienced. One who plays the “Juveniles” would not be entrusted with an “Old Man’s” part, and so forth.

Liner. A steamship belonging to a regular line or service of fast sailers--e.g. the Cunard Line.

Lingo. Slang for language, derived from the Latin lingua, the tongue.

Lingua Franca. A common language along the Mediterranean shores, being a mixture of French and Italian. See “Lingo.”

Linoleum. A floorcloth, into the manufacture of which linseed oil enters largely.

Linseed Lancers. The nickname of the Army Medical Corps.

Lion. An ancient inn sign derived from the heraldic device of a particular monarch, or it might be, the Lord of the Manor. According to the colour of the animal in that device, so the name of the inn, after a mere name was substituted for the painted representation, came to be designated. Hence “Red Lion,” “Black Lion,” etc.

Lion and Key. A corruption of “The Lion on the Quay,” by way of distinguishing an inn or tavern from other Lions in the same seaport.

Lion Comique. The name bestowed upon George 201Leybourne and other music-hall vocalists of his class in days when comic singing was very different to what it is now. The modern type of vocal comedians is, happily, not “lionised” in the strict sense of the word.

Lionise. See “Lion of the Season.”

Lion of the Season. A distinguisheddistinguished musical executant or other celebrity, generally a foreigner, at whose shrine society metaphorically worships while his fame is at its zenith. The expression is the outcome of the anxiety of the country folk in former days to see the “London Lion” at the Tower. Hence to “lionise,” make the most of a “stranger within our gates.”

Lion Sermon. This is delivered once a year at the Church of St Katherine Cree in commemoration of Sir John Gayer’s miraculous escape from death by a lion when he found himself separated from his companions in the African desert. He bequeathed the sum of £200 a year to the poor on condition of this sermon being annually preached.

Lisbon. Anciently Olisipo or Ulyssippo, after Ulysses, who, visiting Portugal with Lucus, is traditionally stated to have laid the foundations of the city.

Lisson Grove. Formerly Lidstone Green, a corruption of “Ossulton Green,” the name of a Hundred cited in Domesday Book. Ossulton Street in the Euston Road preserves the name in the original form.

Litany. See “Rogation Days.”

Little Bit of All Right. A popular expression meaning “Just the thing I wanted,” or “It couldn’t have happened better.”

Little Britain. From the ancient residence of the Dukes of Brittany.

Little Corporal. The name bestowed upon Napoleon I., at the commencement of his military career, from his rank and low stature.

Little John. The real name of this Sherwood forester 202was John Little, but Robin Hood playfully inverted it because its owner was a tall, strapping fellow.

Little Man. The affectionate sobriquet of the late Mr Alfred Beit, the “Diamond King,” on account of his diminutive stature.

Little Mary. A modern euphonism for the stomach, popularised by J. M. Barrie’s successful comedy of this title.

Little too Thick. The antithesis of a “thin” story; one so crowded with extraordinary statements that it is hard to grasp or credit.

Little Turnstile. The lesser turnstile on the north side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, set up to prevent sheep from straying into Holborn.

Live like Fighting Cocks. From the days of the Greeks down to comparatively modern times game-cocks were fed luxuriantly, so as to increase their pugnacity; hence the application of the phrase to good living.

Live Man. An Americanism for an energetic agent or canvasser.

Liverpool. From an extinct bird, somewhat resembling the heron, and called the liver, that made the pool on which this city was built its home.

Liverpool Landseer. The sobriquet of William Huggins, who acquired an equal celebrity for animal painting in his native place, as Sir Edwin Landseer in the country at large.

Liverpool Street. After Lord Liverpool, one of the most popular members of the Ministry at the accession of George IV. There is another Liverpool Street named after him at King’s Cross.

Liverymen. Freemen of the city of London who on great special occasions wear the distinctive livery of the companies to which they belong.

Llandaff. Properly Llan Taff, the church on the Taff.

Lloyd’s. After Edward Lloyd, a coffee-house keeper in 203Abchurch Lane, whose premises were first used by merchants and shippers as a sort of club.

LL Whisky. That distilled by Messrs Kinahan of Dublin. When the Duke of Richmond was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland between 1807 and 1813 he in the former year sent to various distilleries for samples of good whisky, and preferring that tendered by Messrs Kinahan, he ordered a large vat of the same quality to be exclusively reserved for him. This vat had LL painted on it, denoting “Lord-Lieutenant Whisky.”

Lo. An American term for an Indian. This originated in Pope’s “Essay on Man,” a couplet of which reads:

“Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutored mind

Sees God in clouds or hears Him in the wind.”

Loaded. An Americanism for intoxicated or “primed.”

Loafer. This word is neither Dutch nor German, as generally stated; it is distinctly Spanish-American. The early settlers of Mexico and Texas gave the name of gallofo to a vagrant, who, like the lazzaroni of Naples, hung about the churches begging for alms. From the western states this word travelled to New York, and in the process became changed into “Loafer.”

Loan. An Americanism for “lend.”

Lock-out. When artisans have struck for an advance of wages, and afterwards decide to return to work on the former scale, the masters retaliate by shutting them out of the works altogether and employing fresh hands from elsewhere.

Lock, Stock, and Barrel. A sportsman’s phrase for the whole of a thing, in allusion to the three parts of a gun. In the modern sense it is used to imply the complete discomfiture of an adversary in argument or of one utterly outwitted in his schemes.

Loco-Focos. The American term for lucifer matches. By a patent dated 16th April 1834 John Marck, a storekeeper of Park Row, New York, brought out a self-lighting 204or friction cigar, which he called a Loco-Foco. The first portion of this name was taken from the newly introduced locomotive, which people generally thought to mean self-moving; the latter half was a euphonism of his own. When friction or self-firing matches came in they received the same designation. The Democratic Party of the United States received the name of “Loco-Focos” from the circumstance that at a great general meeting held in Tammany Hall to confirm the nomination of Gideon Lee as the Democratic candidate for Congress, a tumult arose, and the lights were turned out; whereupon the adherents of the candidate, who had provided themselves with loco-focos and candles, relighted the hall in a moment.

Loft. An Americanism for storey. In the United States it is usual to say a house contains so many “lofts” instead of storeys.

Logger. One employed in the North American forests cutting down trees and sawing them into logs.

Loggerhead. A dull, stupid fellow with no more sense in his head than a “logger” or lumberman. These loggers often quarrel for no visible cause; hence the expression to be “at loggerheads.”

Log-rolling. Primarily a political term descriptive of mutual co-operation on the part of individuals for the furtherance of a general cause. It means: “You help me and I’ll help you”; “If your party further my Bill through Congress I’ll pledge my party to push yours along too.” The expression obtains also in a social and journalistic sense: “If I propose a testimonial for you I expect you to do the same for me”; “I’ll write you up in the Press if you engage to return the compliment.” For the origin of the term we must look to the lumber regions of the state of Maine, where the loggers of different camps assist one another by turns to roll their logs down to the river.

Lollards. Originally an association of pious people in Germany at the commencement of the thirteenth century 205banded together for the purpose of burying the dead. They were so called on account of the solemn dirges they sang, from the Low German lollen, to sing softly. After a time the same title was assumed by the followers of one Walter Goilard, a dissolute priest, who was burned for heresy at Cologne in 1322. The Wycliffites assumed this name still later, and some of these it must have been who were imprisoned in the “Lollards’ Tower,” Lambeth Palace.

Lombard Street. From the Jews of Lombardy, who here set up banks and money-lending establishments, at the instance of Pope Gregory IX., as a means of assisting the people of England to raise money for the payment of their taxes early in the thirteenth century.

Lombardy. Called by the Romans Longobardi after its people, whom they subdued. This name was not derived from their long beards, as generally stated, but from the longis bardis, or long battle-axes, with which they were armed.

London. This name claims the same origin as “Lincoln,” the first rude habitations beside the Thames being situated on the rising ground now known as Tower Hill.

London Bridge was built on Woolpacks. This expression had its origin in the fact that, when the construction of Old London Bridge was stopped for want of funds, Henry II. expedited its completion by imposing a tax upon wool.

Londonderry. The town built by a company of London adventurers, to whom it, with the county of the same name, was granted by a royal charter of James I. Derry is Celtic for a grove or oak forest.

London Lion. An expression derived from the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London ere the metropolis rejoiced in a Zoological Gardens, and when travelling menageries were unheard of. Country visitors up in town for a few days never failed at that period to feast their eyes upon a real live lion, and on returning to their homes boasted of having seen the London Lion.

206London Stone. Marked the centre of Roman London, from which all the great roads through the country radiated.

London Wall. From the Roman wall which here defined the northern limits of the city. A portion of this old wall may yet be seen in Cripplegate Churchyard.

Lone Star State. Texas, from the single star in her flag.

Long Acre. The Anglo-Saxon acer, like the modern German acker, expresses a field. This was anciently a path across the fields between Lincoln’s Inn and “Lomesbury Village,” or the manor now known as Bloomsbury in the parish of St Giles’s-in-the-Fields.

Long Friday. The old name for Good Friday, both on account of the length of the Church service and the long fast imposed on all good Catholics.

Longford. The long ford on the River Camlin.

Long Island. So called from its shape.

Long Lane. This was a long, narrow lane extending from Barbican to Farringdon Road before the greater portion of its one side was cleared for the Smithfield Market.

Long Lane that has no Turning. An expression meaning that sooner or later a turn of fortune must come, since no lane, however long, exists that has no turning.

Long Peter. This name was merited by the celebrated Flemish painter, Peter Aartsen, by reason of his abnormal stature.

Long Parliament. That which was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell after it had lasted more than twelve years.

Longshanks. The surname of Edward I. on account of his spindle legs.

Longshoreman. Properly “Along-shoreman”--namely, a wharfinger, or one employed in loading and unloading vessels.

Look Daggers. A phrase used when two persons look fixedly at each other as if their eyes were dagger points ready to make a fatal thrust.

207Loosen your Purse Strings. See “Purse Strings.”

Lord Bobs. The later nickname of Lord Roberts since the close of the South African War.

Lord’s Cricket Ground. After Thomas Lord, the founder of the earliest private Cricket Club in London, in 1780. First in Dorset Square, and eventually on its present site--his own landed property--he set up a private pitch for genteel folk far from the haunts of the city apprentices and other enthusiasts of the game.

Lord’s Day. The name given to Sunday by the Quakers.

Lordship Lane. From the Lord of the Manor of Dulwich.

Loretto. Called by the Romans Lauretana after Laureta, the lady to whom the country villa, and a large tract of land on which the town was afterwards built, belonged.

Lorraine. Anciently Lotharingia, the duchy of Lotharius II., grandson of the Emperor Lewis I.

Los Angeles. Originally called by the Spaniards “Pueblo de los Angeles,” the city of the angels, on account of its delightful situation and climate.

Lo Spagnoletto. The surname of Guiseppe Ribera, the celebrated Spanish painter. It means “Little Spaniard.”

Lothbury. A corruption of “Lattenbury,” where the workers in latten ware, a species of bronze, had their shops in the Middle Ages. In the modern sense latten is a kind of sheet brass.

Loudoun Road. After the name of the builder on the estate.

Louis d’Or. A gold coin first struck in the reign of Louis XIII. of France. The name means a “Louis of gold.”

Louisiana. The name bestowed upon this State by M. de la Sale in 1682 in compliment to Louis XIV. of France.

Louvre. An adapted French word, from l’ouvert, “the opening,” which expressed a kind of turret on the roof of a building by way of a chimney to let out the smoke. 208A rude contrivance of this kind distinguished the ancient hunting seat of Dagobert, on the site of which Francis I. commenced the famous Parisian palace of this name in 1528, completed twenty years later by Henry II. A louvre window partakes of the same character.

Lower Berkeley Street. See “Berkeley Street.”

Lower Thames Street. The eastern portion of Thames Street, from London Bridge to the Tower.

Lowndes Square. After the ground landlord, lineally descended from William Loundes, secretary to the Treasury, temp. Queen Anne.

Low Sunday. Not only was this Sunday at the bottom of the Lenten or Easter Calendar, but prior to the alteration of New Year’s Day it was frequently also the last Sunday of the year.

Luciferians. A sect of Christians in the fourth century, under Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, who separated from the Orthodox Church on the ground that the reconverted “Arians” should not again be admitted to the fold.

Lucifer Matches. Early friction matches, so called from the Latin lucis, light, and ferre, to bring.

Lucullus Feast. A sumptuous banquet, so called after Licinius Lucullus, a famous Roman general, who in the days of his retirement was no less distinguished for the costly suppers he gave to the greatest men of the Empire. The sums expended on those entertainments were enormous. As an epicure he was unrivalled; he could also be a glutton on occasion. There is a story told that after the feast had been prepared no guests arrived. “Lucullus will sup to-night with Lucullus” was the explanation of the host.

Lud-a-massy. A corruption of the old exclamation “Lord, have mercy!”

Luddites. A name borne by the wilful destroyers of machinery in the manufacturing districtsdistricts; said to have been adopted from Ned Lud, an imbecile of Leicester, 209who being, chased by boys, took refuge in a house, and there broke a couple of stocking frames. These rioters caused great havoc during the second decade of the last century.

Ludgate Hill. The testimony of Old Stow notwithstanding, there is grave doubt whether King Lud, the reputed builder of the western gate of the city, ever existed. In much greater likelihood this gate received its name from its situation near the River Fleet, and meant simply Flood Gate. See “Fleet Street.”

Lug. Northern and Scottish for “ear.” In England generally this word is regarded as slang except when employed in connection with “Lugger” and “Luggage.”

Luggage. So called because it is lugged about in transit by the handles, as a Lancashire man would pull another by the lug or ear.

Lugger. A small craft having lugs, or drooping sails, like a dog’s ear.

Lumber. An Americanism for timber sawn into logs and sent floating down the rivers for eventual shipment.

Lumber-room. One set apart for odds and ends of no practical utility. The name is derived from “Lombard Room,” in which the Lombards, who were the first goldsmiths and money-lenders in England, stored the articles pledged with them.

Lunatic. From the Latin luna, the moon. The Romans persistently cherished the idea that a person’s mind was affected at the several changes of the moon.

Lupercalia. A Roman festival in honour of Lupercus, the god of fertility. This occurred on the 15th of February.

Lupus Street. This keeps alive the name of Henry Lupus, first Earl of Chester, from whom the Grosvenors, the ground landlords, are descended.

Lurid Waistcoat Banquet. The latest style of “Freak Dinner” in America, each guest disporting himself in a waistcoat of startling hue and design.

210Lutherans. After Martin Luther, the German Reformer.

Luxembourg. This celebrated palace of the French capital stands on the site of that purchased and enlarged in 1583 by the Duke of d’Epinay, Luxembourg. The title of the Dukes of Luxembourg is very ancient, having been derived from a beautiful chateau called Luici burgum, which was acquired by Siegfried, Count of Ardennes, in 963.

Lyceum Theatre. Opened in 1834 as the English Opera House. This was originally a lyceum or academical establishment connected with the Society of Arts. The word Lyceum was correctly applied in this case from the academy formed by Aristotle in the temple of Apollo Lyceus, near the River Illissus.

Lych-Gate. A large gateway at the entrance to the churchyard where the coffin can be set down while the mourners await the arrival of the clergyman to lead the funeral service. The word comes from the Gothic leik, and German leiche, a corpse.

Lyddite. So called because experiments with this explosive were first made at Lydd in Kent.

Lying around Loose. An Americanism for being out of a situation, lounging about the town.

Lyme Regis. This little Dorsetshire seaport on the River Lym was honoured with a royal charter and the title of Regis because it furnished Edward III. with three ships to aid in the siege of Calais in 1346.

Lynch Law. The summary justice meted out to public offenders in the western states of North America. This term was derived from James Lynch, a farmer of Piedmont on the western frontier of Virginia. There being no Court of Law for many miles around he was always appealed to in cases requiring a legal decision, and his judgments were so sound and impartial that the people gave him the name of Judge Lynch. The death sentence was by hanging at the nearest tree. To “lynch a man,” however, in the 211modern sense is to dispense with legal formalities altogether.

Lynn Regis. See “King’s Lynn.”

Lyon King at Arms. The principal at Heralds’ College in Scotland, so called from the lion rampant on the armorial bearings of the Scottish kings.

Lyre Bird. So called from the resemblance of the sixteen feathers of its tail when spread erect to a lyre.

M

Ma’am. An Americanism for mother. See “Madam.”

Ma’am School. The American term for a young ladies’ seminary, or an infants’ school kept by a woman.

Macadamised Road. This system of road-making by means of broken stones pressed down by a heavy roller was introduced by John Loudon Macadam, a Scotsman, appointed Surveyor of Public Roads in 1827.

Macaroni. From the Italian macare, to crush, to bruise, through Macarone, a mixture, a medley. This confection originally consisted of cheese and bread paste squeezed into balls.

Macaronies. Fashionable dandies first heard of in London after the accession of George III. Their leaders hailed from France and Italy, where Macaroni Clubs abounded. These clubs arose out of Dilettante Societies, formed for the cultivation of what was styled Macaronic Verse, after a poetical rhapsody entitled “Liber Macaronicorum,” a jumble of Latin and other languages published by a monk of Mantua in 1520. Subsequently everything in dress or taste received the name of Macaroni.

Macaroon. A biscuit the name of which has the same etymology as “Macaroni.”

Macassar Oil. So called because it was first exported from Macassar, the Dutch capital of Celebes Island.

Macclesfield Street. After the Earl of Macclesfield, the landlord of the estate when it was laid out in 1697.

212Macedonians. A fourth century sect of Christians founded by Macedonius, Patriarch of Constantinople.

Machinaw. A heavy blanket worn by Indians, and also nowadays in the western states used as a travelling rug and bed pallet. The term is derived from Machinac (pronounced Machinaw), the chief trading station with the Indians formerly. Western settlers also describe an overcoat as a Machinaw.

Machine. A bicycle is called a machine because it is a more or less complicated piece of mechanism made up of many parts. In the United States the term machine is applied both to a locomotive and a fire engine.

Mackenzie River. After Alexander Mackenzie, by whom it was first navigated in 1789.

Mackerel. From the Danish mackreel, “spots.”

Mackintosh. After the Scotsman who invented water-proofing material for over-garments.

Macklin Street. After Charles Macklin, the celebrated actor of Drury Lane Theatre. His name was really Maclaughlin shortened into Macklin.

Macmillanites. An offshoot of the Presbyterians under John Macmillan; also styled the “Reformed Presbytery.”

Madagascar. A corruption of the native name Malagasay, the island of the Malagese or Malays.

Madam. In New England the term applied to the deceased wife of a person of local distinction, such as the parson, doctor, etc. In the southern states it expresses the mistress or master’s wife universally among the Negroes. Elsewhere it is either Madam or Ma’am for a mother.

Mad Cavalier. Prince Rupert, so called on account of his rash courage and lack of self-control.

Mad Dog. A skull cap, from the old idea that keeping the head impervious to air was a remedy against the bite of a dog.

Mad Poet. Nathaniel Lee, who wrote some of his finest 213pieces while confined during four years at Bethlehem Hospital.

Mad as a Hatter. A corruption of “Mad as an atter.” Atter expressed the Saxon for a viper or adder. The word “Mad” was anciently used in the sense of venomous; hence this expression really meant “venomous as a viper.”

Mad as a March Hare. Being their rutting season, hares are very wild in March.

Made a bad Break. An Americanism for having made a silly slip of the tongue, a sad mistake, or a great blunder. The expression is, of course, derived from a game of billiards.

Made his Pile. Although a Californian phrase for having amassed a fortune, this originated at the gaming-tables throughout the States generally.

Madeira. Expresses the Portuguese for “timber.” This island was at the time of its discovery covered with forests. Also the name of a rich wine imported therefrom.

Madeleine. The church at Paris dedicated to Mary Magdalen or Mary of Magdala.

Maddox Street. After the name of the builder upon the land in 1720.

Madras. From the Arabic Madrasa, “university.” Originally Madrasa Pattan, the name expressed “University town.” Pattan is Sanscrit for town.

Madrid. In the tenth century this was simply a Moorish fortified outpost of Toledo, as expressed by its Arabic name, Majerit.

Maelstrom. Expresses the Norwegian for an eddy or whirlpool; literally “whirling stream.”

Maffiking. A word used to denote the madness which may seize upon an entire community on an occasion of great public rejoicing, as happened when news of the relief of Mafeking, during the South African War, reached England. Staid citizens--bankers, stockbrokers, 214and others--assembled in front of the Mansion House, cheering wildly, and losing all control over themselves to such a degree that they threw their hats high in the air. For the remainder of that day and far into the night all London went mad with joy.

Magazine. From the Arabic Makhzan, a depository for stores. In a literary sense this originally expressed a periodical whose contents were made up of elegant extracts from the best authors.

Magdalen Hospital. The old name of a penitentiary for fallen women, so called after Mary Magdalen. The French form of this name is Madeleine.

Magdalen Smith. The famous Dutch portrait painter, Gaspar Smitz, is usually known by this name on account of his many “Magdalens,” in which he excelled.

Magdeburg. German for “town on the plain.”

Magenta. This colour was so called because first produced after the battle of Magenta in 1859.

Magic City of the South. Birmingham in the state of Alabama. Since its foundation by the Elyton Land Company in 1871 it has bidden fair to rival Pittsburg as the Birmingham of America.

Magnolia. In honour of the eminent French botanist, Pierre Magnol.

Mahala. The Californian term for an Indian squaw, derived from the Spanish muger (pronounced muher), a woman.

Mahatma. A Hindoo term for a Buddhist gifted with what appear to be supernatural powers, as the result of the very highest intellectual development.

Mahogany. A vulgar term very frequently heard in the Midland counties for a man’s wife. This arose from the fact that the wood of the Mahogany-tree (West Indian Mahogan, but botanically Swietenia Mahogani) was for many years at first used exclusively for the manufacture of domestic dining-tables; hence a 215man would say: “I’ll discuss it with my wife over the Mahogany.” Eventually the phrase was corrupted into “I’ll talk to the Mahogany about it,” and so the term came to denote the man’s wife.

Mahrattas. The Hindoo term for “outcasts.” Although devout worshippers of Buddha, this powerful Hindoo family does not recognise that fine distinction of caste which obtains elsewhere.

Maida Vale. After the victory of Maida, 4th July 1806.

Maiden. An ancient instrument of capital punishment made in the form of a woman, the front of which opened like a door, and, the victim being imprisoned, sharp steel spikes pierced his body on every side. This name was also given to an early species of guillotine in Scotland. To be executed by its means was to “Kiss the Maiden,” because she clasped him in a death embrace.

Maidenland. A Virginian term for the land which comes to a man by marriage on his wife’s side, and which passes from him at her decease.

Maiden Assize. So called when there are no charges for the jury, which in the event of conviction merit capital punishment or the death sentence. On such an occasion the sheriffs present a pair of white gloves to the judges as the emblems of innocence.

Maiden Lane. Anciently skirting the garden of the Convent. This thoroughfare had at its western corner a statue of “Our Lady” let into the wall.

Maid Marian. So far from having any connection with Robin Hood and his merry men in Sherwood Forest, this term is derived from the “Morris Dance,” in which five men and a boy took part. On account of his antics and the ill-fitting morione, or helmet, that this boy wore, he came to be styled as the “Mad Morion,” of which Maid Marian was an easy corruption.

Maid of Orleans. Joan of Arc, who led her countrymen 216against the English, and effected the capture of the city of Orleans, 29th April 1429.

Maid of Saragossa. Augustina Zaragossa, who distinguished herself in the heroicheroic defence of the city of Saragossa during its eight months’ siege by the French in 1808-9.

Maidstone. From the Anglo-Saxon Medwægeston, the town on the Medwæge, or Medway, which river runs through the middle of the county of Kent.

Mail. The American term for “post”--i.e. a letter. This word is, of course, derived from the mail bag in which letters are transmitted.

Mail Stage. The American form of “Stage-coach.”

Maine. The name given to the French settlement in the New World after the city so called in the Mother Country. Maine, from the Celtic man, expresses a district or region.

Majorca. Expresses the Latin for Greater, relative to the “Balearic Islands.”

Make Bricks without Straw. To make something without the needful materials. In the East bricks are made out of straw and mud dried in the sun. The expression comes from the burdens laid upon the Israelites in Egypt as related in Exodus v.: “Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.”

Make Money out of a Shoe-string. An Americanism for a capacity to make money out of nothing--that is, without working capital.

Make the Raise. An Americanism for to “raise the loan.”

Make the Sneak. An Americanism for to sneak or run away.

Make Tracks. Originally a Far West expression when a squatter deserted his claim and set out to explore an unknown region.

217Make Trade hum. An Americanism for whipping up business by advertising or extraordinary energy.

Malaga. From the Phœnician malaca, salt. The wine of the same name is imported from this city of Spain.

Malmsey. Wine from Malvasia, an island in the Mediterranean historically famous for its vineyards.

Malta. From the Phœnician Melita, “a place of refuge.”

Mamelukes. From the Arabic mamluc, a slave. The original standing army of Egypt, composed of boy slaves purchased by the Sultan from the Tartar Khan in the Caucasus in the thirteenth century.

Mamma. Latin for “breast”; hence all animals that are suckled by the mother belong to the class of “Mammals.”

Mammon. From the Syriac mamona, “riches.”

Manchester. Expresses the Anglo-Saxon for a common on the site of a Roman camp. The Friesic man in this sense enters into many place names also on the Continent.

Manchester Square. After the Duke of Manchester, the owner of the estate.

Manchuria. The territory of the Manchus, the founders of the present ruling dynasty of China.

Mandarin. Although this title is borne by officers of every grade in China the word is really Portuguese, mandar, to command. It was applied by the early settlers of Macao to the Chinese officials of that colony, and has remained a European designation for a Chinaman of rank ever since.

Manhattan. From the Indian munnohatan, “the town on the island.”

Manicure. The American mode of “Manicurist,” which, from the Latin manus, hand, literally means one who undertakes the care of the finger-nails.

Manitoba. After Manitou, the “Great Spirit” of the Alonquin Indians. This name is pronounced Manitobar not Manitobar.

218Man in the Street. A metaphorical expression for the average man, with no more than a superficial knowledge of matters in general. Not belonging to a club, he has small means of adding to his own store of knowledge by daily communion with those better informed than himself.

Manlius Torquatus. The Roman Consul Manlius received his surname “Torquatus” through having wrested the golden torque or collar from his adversary on the field of war.

Mannheim. German for “the home of men.” Until the Elector Palatine Frederick IV. built a castle here, and a town grew up around it in the seventeenth century, this was a village of refugees from religious persecution in the Netherlands.

Man of Kent. A native of the county of Kent east of the Medway.

Man of Ross. The name given by Pope to John Kyrle of Ross, Herefordshire. See “Kyrle Society.”

Man of Straw. One who, having nothing to lose, descends to mean practices for gain, well knowing that his victims rarely go to the expense of entering a prosecution against him, since they cannot obtain damages. This term was derived from the hangers-on at the Westminster Law Courts, who were ready to swear anything at the instruction of counsel for a bribe. They were known by displaying a wisp of straw in their shoes. If another witness was required while a case was being heard, counsel generally sent out to look for “a pair of straw shoes.”

Man-of-War. This term is a popular abbreviation of man-of-war ship--i.e. the floating home of a man-of-war’s-man. Our national prestige has from time immemorial been dependent on the supremacy of the seas, therefore an English sailor, more than a soldier, was regarded by our ancestors as a fighting man. Since the introduction of ironclads, however, it has become the custom to speak of a floating battery as a war vessel or battleship, and a sailor as a bluejacket.

219Mansard Roof. After its inventor, François Mansard, the French architect of the seventeenth century.

Mansfield Street. From the town mansion of the Earls of Mansfield, which stood here.

Mansion House. Expresses the “house of houses,” the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London, the representative in the city of the King, whose flag proudly waves in the breeze from the roof.

Mantua. A lady’s cloak or mantle, originally introduced from the Italian city of this name.

Maoris. The aborigines of New Zealand. In the native tongue this means “indigenous.”

Maraboo Feathers. Those plucked from the underside of the wings of the stork of the same name. The stork being held sacred by the Mohammedans, as it was by the ancient Egyptians, its name has the same meaning as that of the “Marabuts.”

Marabuts. The priestly order of the Arabs in North Africa; those who attend the mosques and call the people to prayers. Their name is derived from the Arabic Marabath, sacred or devoted to God.

Maraschino. A liqueur distilled from delicate and finely flavoured cherries, called Marazques, cultivated at Zara in Dalmatia.

March. In honour of Mars, the Roman god of war.

Marconigram. A wireless telegram, so called after Marconi, the inventor of the system.

Margate. From the Anglo-Saxon Mære, the sea; expresses the road or entrance to the Thames estuary from the sea. See “Gate.”

Margaret Street. After Lady Margaret Cavendish, wife of the second Duke of Portland, landlord of the estate.

Marigold. This, golden flower, indigenous to Mexico, was dedicated by the Spaniards to the Virgin. What are called “Marigold Windows,” having these flowers represented on them, appear in Lady Chapels.

220Marine Store Dealer. The legal description of what is now a rag and bone merchant in a small way, because at one time old ships’ iron and cables were not allowed to be disposed of in any other manner save to such a registered dealer.

Market Street. The site of an ancient market on which at a later period the annual May Fair was held. This district is now one of the most fashionable in the West End of London.

Mark Lane. A corruption of “Mart Lane,” in which an ancient annual fair or mart of Flemish merchants was held.

Mark Twain. The literary pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, reminiscent of his early life as a pilot on a Mississippi steamboat. “Mark Twain” in nautical phraseology means “mark two fathoms of water.”

Marlborough House. This, the residence of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, was built by Sir Christopher Wren for John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, in 1709 at a total cost of a million of money.

Marlborough Road. This, like the square of the same name off the Fulham Road, was so called after the “Duke of Marlborough” at one end of it. At Peckham, after the one-time residence of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, before he removed to Pall Mall.

Maroons. Revolted Negroes in South America and the West Indies. The term was derived from the Morony River, between Dutch and French Guiana, where great numbers of these fugitives found a place of safety.

Marquee. Originally the tent of a marchioness.

Marquis. From the Italian and French Marchese, pursuant to the root mark, a boundary. Anciently expressive of an officer who had the guardianship of the marches or boundaries of a duchy. At a later period the owner of a slice of land bestowed upon him out of a duchy. Nowadays the title next below that of duke.

Marquis of Granby. A tavern sign in honour of John 221Manners, the British general during the Seven Years’ War in Germany, a soldier beloved by his men and esteemed by his country.

Marry. A perverted form of the oath “By Mary” in days when people were wont to swear by the Virgin.

Marsala. A light wine exported from Marsala in Sicily. This name was bestowed upon the town by the Arabs, Marsa Alla, “Port of God,” on account of its delightful situation.

Marseillaise. This was the composition of Rouget de Lisle, an artillery officer stationed with the French garrison at Strasburg. First sung at a banquet given by the mayor of that city, it became immensely popular; and when in 1792 the Marseilles volunteers were summoned to Paris, they sang it as they approached and entered the capital. The words and music at once struck the popular ear, so that “La Marseillaise” became the national war song.

Marshal. From the Teutonic mare, horse, and schalk, servant. This term, through the French maréchal, originally signified the groom of the horse; now it means in a civil sense the master of the horse and head of the ceremonies in devising pageants and processions. The Duke of Norfolk, as Earl Marshal of England, takes precedence over all other noblemen.

Marshal Forward. General Blucher, on account of his eagerness to make a dash in the campaign which terminated in the victory of Waterloo.

Marshalsea. The old Debtors’ Prison in Southwark, so called because the Court of the Knight Marshal, for the settlement of disputes between members of the Royal Household, was held within its walls. This edifice was demolished in 1842.

Marsham Street. From the ground landlord, Charles Marsham, Earl of Romney.

Martel. The surname of Charles, the son of Pepin d’Heristal, who signalised himself in battle against the Saracens when, according to the chronicler, “he 222knocked down the foe and crushed them between his axe, as a martel or hammer crushes what it strikes.” This exploit occurred during the attempted Saracenic invasion of France A.D. 732.

Martello Tower. Originally built near the sea as a watch-tower for protection of merchandise against pirates. The term arose from the custom of the sentry striking a bell with a martel, or hammer, as often as he discerned a pirate ship out at sea.

Martin. The common wall-swallow, corrupted from its Latin name Murten, from murus, a wall.

Martinet. From the name of a strict officer under Louis XIV. of France; hence the phrase “a regular martinet.”

Martin’s Lane. From St Martin’s Church in this lane.

Martlemas. A corruption of “Martinmas,” or Feast of St Martin, 4th November, the usual time for the hiring of servants in the rural districts of England.

Maryland. The name given by Lord Baltimore to the colony founded by him, in honour of Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I.

Maryland End. An Americanism for the hock of the ham, as distinguished from the other, the “Virginia End.”

Marylebone. A corruption of “St Mary of the Bourn”--i.e. the parish church of St Mary beside the bourn or stream which descended from near the hermitage at “Kilburn” to “Tyburn.”

Masaniello. The name of the leader of the Neapolitan insurrectionists of the seventeenth century was Tommaso Aniello, of which Masaniello is a corruption.

Masher. From the Romany or gipsy Masha, “to fascinate the eye.” Whether the overdressed fop, so designated in our day, really possessed this enviable quality is open to question.

Mason and Dixon’s Line. An American expression for the old-time boundary between the slave and the 223free states. This line was defended between Pennsylvania and Maryland and Virginia by two English surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, in 1763-7.

Massage. A Frenchised Hindoo word for rubbing. A male and female practitioner of this new curative mode of friction treatment are respectively styled a masseur and masseuse.

Mattan Diamond. This, the largest in the world, weighing 367 carats, is the property of the Rajah of Mattan in India.

Maudlin. A word expressive of sentimentality or an inclination to shed tears, more especially when in a state of intoxication. Old painters always represented Mary Magdalen with swollen eyes, the result of penitential tears; hence a corruption of “Magdalen.”

Maund. The Saxon for an alms-basket employed in the distribution of bread to the poor by the Lady of the Manor.

Maundy Thursday. So called from Maundé, the French form of Mandatum, the first word in the New Commandment or mandate given by our Lord to His disciples after washing their feet at the Last Supper. The essence of this mandate was to love one another; hence the washing of feet of poor persons and distribution of doles by the reigning sovereign on this day. See “Maund.”

Mauritius. A Dutch colony named in honour of Maurice, Prince of Orange.

Mausoleum. After the magnificentmagnificent sepulchral monument erected by his widow, Artemisia, to Mausolus, King of Caria, at Halicarnassus, 353 B.C.

May. The budding or shooting of plants in this month caused the Romans to give it the name of Magius, afterwards shortened into Maius, from the Sanskrit mah, to grow. Eventually this month was held sacred to Maia, the mother of Mercury, to whom sacrifices were offered on the first day.

224Maydew CherriesCherries. A corruption of Medoc cherries, from the district in France where they are cultivated.

Mayfair. On the site of this fashionable district Edward III. established a six days’ fair in the month of May for the benefit of the leper hospital of St James the Less, where St James’s Palace now stands.

May Meetings. The annual meetings of the many religious, missionary, and philanthropic bodies of the United Kingdom are held in London, generally at Exeter Hall, during the month of May.

Mazarin Bible. A very rare edition of the Scriptures, being one of the earliest printed by Gutenberg with separate metal types, between 1450 and 1455. It received this name from the fact that a copy was discovered in the library of Cardinal Mazarin.

Mecklenburg Square. One of the many names about London which, when new streets were built upon, complimented the Hanoverian Succession.

Medina. Expresses the Arabic for “City.” Its full name is Medinat al Nabi, “City of the Prophet.”

Mediterranean Sea. The sea “in the middle of the earth” is that between the two great continents, Europe and Africa.

Medway. See “Maidstone.”

Meerschaum. Expresses the German for “sea foam,” the fine white clay out of which pipes are made being at one time thought to be the petrified scum or foam of the sea.

Meistersingers. Literal German for “Master Singers”; master craftsmen who in the Middle Ages revived the national minstrelsy, which had been allowed to fall into decay.

Melbourne. In honour of Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister in 1837, when this Australian colony was founded.

Melodrama. Modern drama, distinguished by incidental music as an accompaniment to the action.

225Memorial Day. The United States mode of expressing a great commemorative occasion, such as Independence or Decoration Day.

Memorial Hall. This building, in Farringdon Road, commemorates the issue of the famous “Act of Uniformity,” whereby 2000 ministers of the Church of England were deprived of their livings on 24th August 1662. The site was formerly occupied by the old Fleet Prison.

Memory-Corner Thompson. The name borne by John Thompson of the parish of St Giles’s-in-the-Fields. Seated in a corner of a coffee-house, he was wont for the amusement of regular habitues to display his astounding powers of memory in regard to the topography of London.

Memory Woodfall. The sobriquet of William Woodfall, brother to the reputed author of the celebrated “Letters of Junius.” His mnemonical powers differed from that of “Memory-Corner Thompson” in that, after listening to a debate, Parliamentary or otherwise, overnight, he could repeat it word for word the next morning.

Mentor. A “guide, philosopher, and friend,” so called after Mentor, the faithful friend and counsellor of Ulysses.

Mercenaries. From the Latin mercer, wages, reward. These hired soldiers of antiquity figured largely in the Punic Wars.

Mercer. The old name for a dealer in silks and woollen fabrics, so called from the Latin mercis, wares, merchandise. Nowadays such a one styles himself a “Draper.”

Merino. A fabric of wool from the sheep of the same name, which expresses the Spanish for an inspector of sheep walks.

Merioneth. After Merion, an early British saint.

Merrimac. Indian for “swift water.”

226Merry Andrew. A buffoon or clown, said to have been so called after Andrew Borde, a noted physician of the time of Henry VIII., whose witticisms were on a par with his medical skill. His sayings were widely repeated, and since it happened that Andrew was then the most common name for a man-servant, facetious fellows came to be dubbed Merry Andrews.

Merry Monarch. Charles II., who from the time of coming to the throne never knew care, but made his life one round of pleasure.

Mesopotamia. The ancient description of the region situate between the Tigris and the Euphrates. The name is Greek, from mesos, middle, and potamos, river.

Messe Rouge. Expresses the French for “Red Mass.” At the resumption of their duties at the Law Courts after the Long Vacation all the Catholic judges and barristers attend a Mass of the Holy Ghost to invoke the Spirit for the gift of wisdom. Like the masses of the Feast of the Holy Ghost, the vestment worn by the officiating priest is red, in allusion to the tongues of fire that descended upon the Apostles on Whit Sunday.

Methodists. This name was first given by a fellow-student of Christ Church, Oxford, to the Brothers Wesley and a few friends who were in the habit of meeting on certain evenings for religious conversation. They also visited the inmates of Oxford Jail at stated times, always faithfully kept their engagements, and acted up to their Christian principles in a strictly methodical manner. The new sect was afterwards styled by John Wesley “The First Methodist Society.”

Metz. This city was styled by the Romans Mettis, from the Medio matrici, the people of the country, whom they conquered.

Mexico. Expresses the seat or place of Mexitli, the Aztec god of war.

227Michaelmas Day. The feast of St Michael, prince of the heavenly host, and patron saint of the Catholic Church. This is properly described as “St Michael and all Angels” (29th September).

Michaelmas Goose. Stubble geese being at their best about this time, the rural tenantry always brought their landlords a goose with their Michaelmas rent. Since the latter usually received more geese than they could consume themselves, they passed them over to friends, and thus the goose became a standing Michaelmas dish.

Michigan. Indian for “a weir for fish.”

Middlesex. Expresses the territory of the Middle Saxons, situate between that of the East and West Saxons under the Heptarchy.

Middling. North of England, and also American, for medium or passable in the sense of feeling well.

Mignonette. Expresses the diminutive of Mignon, the French for “darling.”

Mildmay Park. The estate of the Mildmays, whose ancestor, Sir Henry Mildmay, came, by marriage, into possession of Mildmay House and its park in the time of Charles I.

Mile End Gate. From a toll gate which at this point of the highroad marked the eastern limits of London town and the parish of Whitechapel, distant one mile from the city boundary at Aldgate.

Miles Lane. After Miles Coverdale, a famous preacher at the Weigh-House Chapel hard by in former days.

Milford Lane. From an old mill that stood here in the fields. The lane itself led to a ford across the river at low water.

Milking the Street. An Americanism for the operations of stockbrokers who, by alternately raising and depressing shares, capture all the floating money in the market. The allusion is, of course, to Wall Street, the financial centre of New York city.

228Milk Street. The ancient milk and butter market in connection with Cheapside.

Millbank. From an old mill that stood on the Thames bank, on the site of which the Grosvenors built a mansion, subsequently displaced for the gloomy prison of the same name.

Millerites. An American religious sect, whose founder, William Miller, prophesied the millennium or first judgment of the world by Christ and His angels to take place on 23rd February 1843. Many of his followers went mad through excitement as this date approached. Subsequent days assigned for the fulfilment of the prophesy proved alike misleading.

Milliner. A corruption of Milaner, after the city of Milan, which at one time set the fashion throughout Europe for elegance and taste not only in matters of dress, but of art. A milliner is one who deals in hats, feathers, and ribbons. See “Mercer.”

Mill Street. From a mill that stood hereabouts when the scene was one of peaceful rusticity.

Milton Street. After the author of “Paradise Lost,” who resided here for a time, and was buried in the parish church of St Giles’s, Cripplegate. This was the famous Grub Street of tradition.

Milwaukee. Indian for “rich land.”

Mincing Lane. A corruption of “Mynchen Lane,” denoting the property of the Minchery, the Saxon term for a nunnery of St Helen’s in Bishopsgate Street.

Minden Boys. The 20th Foot, so called from the conspicuous bravery displayed by them at the battle of Minden.

Mind your P’s and Q’s. This had reference originally to the pints and quarts chalked up against a rustic at the village alehouse. When his score threatened to become too disproportionate to his prospective wages, the alehouse-keeper generally administered a timely warning in these set terms. It was a polite way of 229saying he would very soon decline to serve him with more until the next settling day.

Miniature. So called because this early species of hand-painted portraiture originated in the head of the Madonna or of a saint that formed the initial letter of the beautifully illuminated rubrics produced by the monks styled the “Miniatori,” because their paints were made out of minium, or red lead.

Minnesingers. Expresses the Old German for “love singers,” the troubadours of the Fatherland in the Middle Ages.

Minnesota. Indian for “smoky water.”

Minorca. Expresses the lesser of the “Balearic Islands.”