can be run. Commonly called getting round.—Hotten.
Bettor Round, subs. (racing).—One
who is addicted to betting
round (q.v.).
1882. 'Thormanby,' Famous Racing Men, p. 75. He [John Gully] worked on gradually as a layer of odds—a 'bettor round,' or 'leg,' as he was called in those days. [c. 1820.]
Betty or Bess, subs. (old).—A
small instrument used formerly
by burglars to force open doors
and pick locks. Now called a
jenny; also jemmy; tivvil;
twist; or screw. For synonyms,
see Thieves, etc.
1671. R. Head, English Rogue, pt. I., ch. v., p. 47 (1874). Betty, an instrument to break a door.
1705. Ward, Hudibras Redivivus. vol. II., pt. IX., p. 7. So Ruffains, who, with Crows and Betties, Break Houses, when it dark and late is.
1785. Grose, Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Bring bess and glym; i.e., bring the instrument to force the door, and the dark lanthorn.
1851. H. Mayhew, Lon. Lab. and Lon. Poor, IV., 339. Expert burglars are generally equipped with good tools. They have a jemmy, a cutter, a dozen of betties, better known as picklocks.
Verb (colloquial).—To potter about; to fuss about. Usually said of a man assuming the domestic functions of a woman.
All betty! intj. (thieves').—cry of warning; 't's all up; the game is lost!'
Betty Martin.—See All my eye.
Betwattled, ppl. adj. (old).—Surprised;
confounded; out of
one's senses; also bewrayed.—Grose.
Between You and Me and the Bedpost.—See
Bedpost.
Bever, Bevir, Bœver, subs. (Eton,
Winchester, and Westminster
Colleges).—An afternoon meal
served in hall. An old time term
for a repast or snack between
meals, especially in the afternoon;
it is still dialectical in
some parts of England. Murray
gives examples of its use dating
back to 1500.
1870. Mansfield, School-Life at Winchester College, p. 83. In summer time we were let out of afternoon school for a short time about four p.m., when there was a slight refection of bread and cheese laid out in Hall. It was called beever-time, and the pieces of bread beevers.
1884. M. Morris, in English Illustrated Magazine, Nov., p. 73. [At Eton, we] came up from cricket in the summer afternoons for beaver.
Beverage or Bevy, subs. (old).—tip;
a vail; equivalent to the
French pourboire; money for
drink, demanded, says Grose
[1785], of any one having a new
suit of clothes. For synonyms,
see Tip.
Beware, subs. (theatrical).—Explained
by quotation.
1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, vol. III., p. 149. 'We [strolling actors] call breakfast, dinner, tea, supper, all of them "numyare"; and all beer, brandy, water, or soup, are beware.'
B Flats, subs. (common).—Bugs.
Cf., F sharps, and for synonyms,
see Norfolk Howards.
1866. Dickens, Household Words, xx., 326. Mrs. B. beheld one night a stout negro of the flat-back tribe—known among comic writers as b flats—stealing up towards the head of the bed.
1868. Brewer, Phrase and Fable, s.v. B flats.—Bugs. The pun is 'B' (the initial letter), and 'flat,' from the flatness of the obnoxious insect.
