Rollickers, in allusion to the 'jolly doggish' bearing of the corps.
Blaze, subs. and verb (common).—In
some of the usages of this
word, the precincts of slang are
narrowly touched, even if the
boundary line is not crossed; as
e.g., when a man is said to
blaze his way through the labyrinths
of the metropolis. The
original meaning is well known.
The early settlers in traversing
the vast forests which abounded
on the American continent,
found it very necessary to mark
their route. This they did by
the simple expedient of blazing
the trees at convenient
distances. Blazing consists
merely in chopping a piece of
the bark off each tree selected
in the desired line of march.
The mark itself is called a
blaze. In addition to this,
blazing was also adopted as
an indication that the land
within the limits of the trees
thus marked had been appropriated
by a settler—a rude
and informal, but, in early days,
a thoroughly well recognised
method of securing a title to
the land. Some writers affect
to derive the word from the old
French blazon, the armorial bearing
of the Normans, and quote
the use of 'blazen,' by Shakspeare,
in a sense not altogether
dissimilar to the meaning conveyed
by blazing, as proof to
this effect.
It is employed generally in America and all English-speaking colonies. The following quotations will exemplify its use both in the original and more figurative senses.—See Blazes.
1737. Wesley, wks. (1872) I., 68. We then found another blaze and pursued it. [m.]
1883. Bret Harte, In the Carquinez Woods, ch. viii. 'I made a blaze hereabouts to show where to leave the trail. There it is,' he added, pointing to a slight notch cut in the trunk of an adjoining tree. . . . They proceeded cautiously at right angles with the blazed tree for ten minutes more.
Blaze-away, intj. (common).—Look sharp; 'stir your stumps'—an injunction to renewed and more effective effort.
Blazer, subs. (popular).—Originally
applied to the uniform of
the Lady Margaret Boat Club
of St. John's College, Cambridge,
which was of a bright
red and was called a blazer.
Now applied to any light jacket
of bright colour worn at cricket
or other sports. Prof. Skeat
[N. and Q.,7 S., iii., 436] speaking
of the Johnian blazer,
says it was always of the most
brilliant scarlet, and thinks it
not improbable that the fact
suggested the name which subsequently
became general.
1880. Times, June 19. Men in spotless flannel, and club blazers. [m.]
1885. Punch, June 27, p. 304. On the morning of the start for our 'Spin to Brighton,' Harkaway turns up clad in what he calls a blazer, which makes him look like a nigger minstrel out for a holiday.
1889. Daily News, Aug. 22, p. 6, col. 6. Dress by the Sea. Sir,—In your article of to-day, under the above heading, you speak of 'a striped red and black blazer,' 'the blazer,' also of 'the pale toned' ones. This is worth noting as a case of the specific becoming the generic. A blazer is the red flannel boating jacket, worn by the Lady Margaret, St. John's College, Cambridge, Boat Club. When I was at Cambridge it meant that and nothing else. It seems from your article that a blazer now means a coloured flannel jacket, whether for cricket, tennis, boating, or seaside wear.—Yours faithfully, Walter Wren.
