being taken, as it were, as an insignia of office.
1756. The World, No. 207. He . . . had always greased my heels himself, and upon every one of my birthdays, had treated all his brother whips at his own expence.
1849. T. Miller, in Gabarni in London, p. 39. He is very kind to any poor brother of the whip whom he sees tugging up-hill in vain, with a weighty load and an ill-fed team.
Brother-Smut, subs. phr. (popular).—A term of familiarity. 'Ditto, brother or sister smut,' tu quoque.
Brother Starlings, subs. (old).—Men who cohabit with the same mistress.
1785. Grose, Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Brother Starling . . . one who . . . builds in the same nest.
Broth of a Boy, subs. phr. (Irish originally, but now common).—A jolly good fellow. Cf., Brick. [The term is thought to originate from the Irish Broth, passion—Brotha, passionate, spirited—its meaning being, 'He's a lad of spirit,' though it may come from the ancient Cornish name for the mastiff—brath. Hence a broth of a boy would then mean 'a stout dog of a boy—robust.']
1819-24. Byron, Don Juan, c. viii., st. 24. But Juan was quite a broth of a boy, a thing of impulse and a child of song.
1877. Besant and Rice, Son of Vulcan, ch. xx. You ought to have been a preacher and a boy. Faith, and a broth of a boy, and a broth of a preacher you'd have made.
Broughtonian, subs. (old).—A bruiser; boxer; pugilist. [From Broughton, once the best boxer of his day.]
Brown, subs. (common).—1. A halfpenny. [Probably an allusion to the colour of the coin in question.] For synonyms of money generally, see Actual.
1812. J. H. Vaux, Flash Dict. Browns and whistlers, bad halfpence and farthings.
1821. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, Act ii., Sc. 3. Bob. Now then for the stumpy. (Searching about in his pockets for the money.) My tanners are like young colts; I'm obliged to hunt 'em into a corner, afore I can get hold on 'em—there!—hand us over three browns out of that 'ere tizzy; and tip us the heavy. (Landlord receives money, and delivers porter.)
1837. Barham, I. L. (Black Mousquetaire). The magic effect of a hand of crowns Upon people whose pockets boast nothing but browns.
1851. Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, III., p. 57. If I takes a hat round, they has a plate, and they gets sovereigns where we has only browns. Ibid. We keeps it up for half an hour or an hour. . . . if the browns tumble in well.
1853. Whyte Melville, Digby Grand, ch. iv. A shower of browns, the coppers mingled with silver, from our private box, rewards their exertions.
c. 1884. Broadside Ballad, 'Jimmy Johnson's Holiday.' But Violet, the Margate pet, Who always call'd him Teaser, Said 'She would stick like mortar'd brick, While Johnson had a brown.'
2. (old.)—Porter. [Qy. an abbreviation of 'Brown Stout.']
1820. Glossary at end of Corcoran's The Fancy. Brown, porter; heavy brown, stout.
Verb.—1. A variant of 'to do brown,' i.e., to do to perfection; to get the better of. [The simile is obviously taken from the browning process which meat undergoes during roasting.]—See Do brown.
2. To understand; comprehend.
