offer them a barrel of Ale, but he will make them a promise of his unfeigned thanks and gratitude for this and past favours, with his hearty good wishes for the prosperity of the Town and Trade of Brighton; that his Shipmates, wherever bound, may set sail with fair wind and good passage; that they may never have short allowance—banyan days; or a southerly wind in the Bread Basket.
Banjo, subs. (common).—A bed-pan;
also called a fiddle or
slipper (q.v.)—the latter from
an improved shape which
allows of its being slipped in
without disturbing the patient.
Bank, subs. (common).—A lump
sum of money; one's fortune.
Verb (thieves').—1. To secure; to obtain (in a pilfering sense).
2. To put in a place of safety.
3. To go shares; to divide fairly with confederates.
4. (prison.)—Millbank prison.
1889. Answers, May 25, p. 412. We approached our destination, Millbank—the bank in a convict's parlance.
Bankers, subs. (old).—Clumsy
boots and shoes; now called
beetle-crushers. For synonyms
generally, see Trotter-cases.
Bank Shaving, subs. phr. (American.—Before
banks were regulated
by Act of Congress, a
practice prevailed among the
least reputable of such institutions
of purchasing notes of
hand and similar documents at
enormously usurious rates of
discount. Many were the facilities
for sharp practice of every
kind. Such banks were called
shaving banks, and the unfortunate
wretch who thus 'raised
the wind' was said to get his
paper shaved. The origin of
the phrase may be looked for
in maritime nomenclature, a
shaver from a sailor's point of
view being a man who is cute
and unscrupulous—possibly
from the unpleasant operation
of shaving on board ship when
crossing the line.
Bankside Ladies, subs. phr. (old).—Ladies
of more complaisance
than virtue. Bankside, Southwark,
was once the fashionable
theatrical quarter of London.
There stood once the Globe, the
Swan, the Rose, and the Hope
theatres. On the boards of the
first-named originally appeared
most of Shakspeare's plays.
In Old London the neighbourhoods
of the principal theatres
appear to have been noted for
anything but vestal virtue.
Covent Garden and Drury Lane,
like Bankside, have entered
largely into the vicious slang of
the past.
1638. Randolph, Muses' Looking-Glass, O. Pl., 9., 206. Come, I will send for a whole coach or two of Bankside ladies, and we will be jovial.
Bank-Sneak, subs. (American).—A
variety of the genus thief who
confines his attention to bank
robberies. Smart, clever, well-dressed,
they usually work in
gangs, two or three confederates
being employed as cover
whilst the leader does the work.
In large towns considerable
finesse is exhibited by these
men in effecting their purpose;
but in the more thinly populated
districts polish and ruse
are abandoned in favour of
more drastic methods. The
bank-sneak of the West pursues
his depredations more as
a bandit; his city confrère is
more adroit, and therefore infinitely
more dangerous. For
synonyms, see Area-sneak.
