1880. Blackwood's Mag., July, p. 91. [Australian loq.] 'Bail up! Bail up!' shout the two red-veiled attackers, revolvers in hand.
1887. G. L. Apperson, All the Year Round, July 30, p. 68, col. 1. In times gone by, it was by no means an uncommon occurrence [in Australia] for a coach to be 'stuck up' by a band of bushrangers, whose shouts of bail up, an invitation equivalent to our 'shell out,' supported by revolver barrels, terrified the hearts of the passengers. But a coach is now seldom interfered with, and to 'stick up' is applied to less daring attempts to rob.
2. Hence, colloquially, a demand for instant payment. Equivalent to the English fork out! stump up! etc. For synonyms, see Shell out.
Bait, subs. (common).—Anger;
rage; indignation. Derived from
the figurative sense of 'to bait,'
i.e., to worry; harass; or tease.
1882. F. Anstey, Vice-Versâ, ch. v. 'I went calmly on, smoking my cigar as if nothing was the matter. That put the Proctor in a bait, I can tell you!'
Baitland, subs. (nautical).—Admiral
Smyth in his Sailors' Word
Book quotes this as 'an old
word, formerly used to signify
a port where refreshments could
be procured.'
Bake, verb. (Winchester College).—To
rest, or lie down.
Baked, ppl. adj. (common).—Collapsed;
exhausted; done up;
e.g., 'toward the end of the
course the crew were regularly
baked.' A common colloquialism
at the beginning of the
present century; but the punning
idea involved is very ancient.
To bake one's bread
in the sense of 'to do for
one' occurs as early as 1380,
as will be seen from the following
quotation.
1380. Sir Ferumb, 577. For euere my bred had be bake; myn lyf dawes had be tynt.
Half-baked (common) is said of a dull-witted or imbecile person, i.e., one who is 'soft' or inexperienced, in contrast to one who is baked in the sense of 'seasoned,' quick-witted, etc.
1864. Notes and Queries, 3 S., vi., 494, 2. He is only half-baked—put in with the bread, and taken out with the cakes.
Baker, subs. (Winchester College).—A
cushion. These were of two
kinds; that used in 'College'
was of large size, oblong in
shape, and green in colour.
The other used in 'Commoners'
was thin, narrow, much smaller,
and of red colour. The term
baker is also applied to anything
placed upon a form to sit
upon, e.g., a blotting book or
other article; in short, anything
comfortable to sit upon.
(American).—A loafer. The word is generally attributed to Baron de Mandat Grancey, who, in his work Cowboys and Colonels, innocently translated the word 'loafer' as baker.
To spell baker (colloquial).—To attempt a difficult task. In the old spelling books 'baker' was frequently the first word of two syllables to which a child came when learning to spell.
Baker-Kneed, also Baker-legged,
adj. (common).—1. Knock-kneed;
disfigured by crooked
legs. This deformity, incident
to bakers, arising from the constrained
position in which they
knead bread, is said to be the
almost certain penalty of habitually
bearing any burden of
