If I meet a dear maid who is somewhat afraid, She'll blush like a virgin and say,' Oh my.' Chorus.
Adj. (theatrical).—Good. [From the Latin.]—See Rumbo.
Bonanza, subs. (American).—A
happy hit; a stroke of fortune;
success. [From the Spanish,
a fair wind, fine weather, prosperous
voyage.] Bonanza was
originally the name of a mine
in Nevada, which once, quite
unexpectedly, turned out to be
a big thing, and of enormous
value; now applied to any
lucky hit or successful enterprise.
1875. Scribner's Mag., July, p. 272. But a bonanza with millions in it is not struck every week.
1888. San Francisco News Letter, 4 Feb. The mines along the veins running north and south, of which North Belle Isle is the center, are all stayers, and in the east and west ledge Grand Prize has entered a body of ore which may develop into a bonanza as big as the one which paid millions in dividends in years gone by.
Bona-Roba, subs. (old).—A courtesan;
a showy prostitute. [From
Italian buona, good, + roba = a
robe or dress.] The term was
much in use among the older
dramatists. Ben Jonson speaks
of a bouncing bona-roba; and
Cowley seems to have considered
it as implying a fine, tall
figure. Bona in modern times
is frequently employed to signify
a girl or young woman,
without reference to morals.
1598. Shakspeare, 2 Henry IV., iii., 2. We knew where the bona-robas were; and had the best of them all at commandment.
b. 1618, d. 1667. Cowley, Essay on Greatness (quoted by Nares). I would neither wish that my mistress nor my fortune should be a bona-roba ;—but as Lucretius says, Parvula, pumilio, tota merum sal.
1822. Scott, Nigel, xvi. Your lordship is for a frolic into Alsatia? . . . there are bona-robas to be found there, [m.]
1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 69. The other bona-roba, known amongst her companions as Mistress Poll Maggot, was a beauty on a much larger scale—in fact, a perfect Amazon.
Bonce, subs, (popular).—1. The
head; [probably a derivative of
sense 2, from the analogy
between them.] For synonyms,
see Crumpet.
2. A large marble [origin unknown, but see Alley].
Bone, subs. (American).—When a
traveller, in passing his luggage
through the Custom House, tips
the officer in the expectation
that the latter's examination of
his impedimenta will be more
or less superficial, the fee thus
given is termed a bone. The
practice, is, of course, contrary
to all regulations; but, human
nature being human nature all
the world over, it is believed
that similar expedients for
evading the law are not altogether
unknown in England.
Adj. (thieves').—Good; excellent;
is the vagabonds'
hieroglyphic for bone, or good, chalked by them on houses and street corners as a hint to succeeding beggars. [Probably from French bon, good. Cf., Boon.]
1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. I., p. 232. He [beggar] mostly chalks a signal on or near the door. I give one or two instances.
'Bone,' meaning good.
1883. G. A. S [ala], in Ill. L. News, Nov. 10, p. 451, col. 3. It is well known that the lozenge-shaped diagram chalked by beggars and tramps on doors and
