Bad-Bargain, subs. (old).—Formerly a worthless soldier; a malingerer. Nowadays the term is applied to any worthless person or scapegrace.
Bad-Break, subs. (American).—A
corruption of 'bad outbreak,'
i.e., riotous conduct, generally
attributable to drink.
Bad Crowd Generally, phr. (American).—Of
Western origin,
and equivalent to the English
no great shakes (q.v.). 'Crowd,'
it may be remarked, in America,
signifies either one or more individuals.
Bad-Egg, subs, (familiar).—A
scoundrel; a blackguard; a
'loose fish.' In America the
meaning attached to the term
does not necessarily involve
such an idea of depravity as on
this side of the Atlantic. In the
States the term is also applied
to a worthless speculation.
1866. Sala, Trip to Barbary, p. 130. The man in black baize with the felt képi, and who had a hatchet face desperately scarred with the small-pox, looked from head to heel a bad egg.
1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, ch. ii., p. 123. There is no doubt, but there are many of the officials of the convict prisons who are what the Yankees call gad eggs.
English Synonyms. Bad-lot; bad halfpenny; bad-hat. In Australia 'ne'er-do-wells' are termed sundowners; dry hash; or, a stringy bark.
French Synonyms. Malfrat (popular); mauvais gobet (popular: mauvais, bad; gobet, properly a mouthful, morsel, lump, or piece); ferlampier or ferlandier (thieves': ferlampié formerly signified a dunce); clique (popular); mariasse (popular).
Bad Form, subs. (society).—He
who, or that which fails to conform
to the shifting fads and
fancies of Society, with a big
S; and, in a more general sense,
anybody or anything vulgar or
lacking polish.
1882. Punch. Eton boy. What an awful lot of energy you've got uncle! Uncle. Pretty well, my boy, for my time of life, I think! E. B. Yes! but energy's such awful bad form, you know!
Badge, subs. (old).—Used in the
canting sense, for one branded
in the hand. 'He has got his
badge, and piked'; i.e., 'he
was burned in the hand, and is
at liberty.—Grose.
Badge-Cove, subs. (old).—A parish
pensioner; also in the sixteenth,
seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries
a licensed beggar or
almsman. The remarks under
Abram man and Abram sham
are to the point in this connection.
Badger, subs. (old).—1. A river
thief. A good account of these
gentry appears in Harrison
Ainsworth's Jack Sheppard.
2. (American thieves').—In the cant language of the American criminal classes a badger or panel thief (q.v.) is one who robs a man after a woman accomplice has enticed the victim into her den.
3. (schoolboy).—A red haired individual.
4. (harlotry).—A common prostitute.—See Barrack-hack.
5. (nautical).—Sometimes badger-bag. The fictitious individual personating Neptune in the festivities incident to 'crossing the line.'—See Ambassador and Arthur.
