Boshy, adj. (common).—Trumpery; nonsensical.—See Bosh.
1882. F. Anstey, Vice Versâ, ch. iv. 'There was no dancing, only boshy games and a conjuror.'
Bos-Ken, subs. (vagrants').—A
farmhouse. An old canting
term. [From L. bos = ox + ken,
a house.] Cf., Ken.
1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. I., p. 472. 'Up at a bosken (farm-house) they'll get among the servant girls.'
Boskiness, subs. (popular).—The
quality of being fuddled with
drink; bemused; a state of
drunkenness.
1887. Judy, 31 August, p. 101. The Town Councillor had a squabble with his parent . . . and accused him of boskiness.
Bosky, adj. (popular).—Drunk;
tipsy; fuddled. [Derivation uncertain;
bosky = 'wooded,' or
'bushy,' and there may be an
allusion to the obscurity and
overshadowing, peculiar to a
wooded country. Bailey [1728]
has also bosky = swelled, but
does not give the slang sense of
the word, although it appears
in the editions 1730-6. It may,
therefore, be a figuratively
humorous reading of 'swelled,'
i.e., 'tight.'] For synonyms,
see Screwed.
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5 ed.). Bosky (a.), fuddled, half or quite drunk.
1824. Blackw. Mag., XVI., 573. He may be tipsy, bosky, cut, or anything but drunk.
1886. Punch, 17 April, p. 185. I got a bit bosky last night. Has the 'eadache got into my rhymes?
Bosman, subs. (vagrants').—A
farmer. [From the Dutch
bosch-man, one who lives in
the woods; otherwise Boschje-*man,
or bushman.] Cf., Bosken.
1851-61. H. Mayhew, London Lab. and Lon. Poor, vol. I., p. 471. 'I've seen the swell bosmen (farmers) buy the pills to give the people standing about.'
Boss, subs. (American and English).—1.
A master; a head
man; one who directs. [From
the Dutch baas, a master.]
Few words have acquired a
greater hold on American life
than this term, and the primitive
meaning of master, overseer,
or superior of any kind, though
in a large measure retained to
this day, has been widened out
in every direction. The political
boss is the leader whose word
is law to his henchman. Boss
Tweed, of New York, is believed
to have been the first to bear
the title in a semi-official way.
The phrase boss rule is said
to have been invented by Mr.
Wayne MacVeagh, and employed
by him in political
speeches in Chicago. It is
now in common use in this
sense. In the two first quotations
the word appears to be
used much as in the modern
sense. For synonyms, see
Governor.
1590. Marlowe, Tamburlaine, pt. I., Act iii., Sc. 3. Zab. Base concubine, must thou be placed by me, That am the empress of the mighty Turk? Zen. Disdainful Turkess and unreverend boss!
1679. M. Philipse, Early Voyage to New Netherlands (quoted by De Vere). Here they had their first interview with the female boss or supercargo of the vessel.
1848. Bartlett, Americanisms. I have never known a second wife but what was boss of the situation.
1850. New York Herald, May 24. The Eternal City is in a very curious position. The Pope has returned to his ancestral home; but he has nothing in his pocket, and Rothschild refuses to let him have any more money. A thousand years ago, and the boot would have been on t'other leg. . . . To-day it is very
