Murray, a dog tied or chained up either to guard a house, or on account of its ferocity; hence generally a mastiff or bloodhound. The transition from this point to the slang sense is clear.
1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard [1889], p. 12. 'But where are the lurchers?' 'Who?' asked Wood. 'The traps!' responded a bystander. 'The shoulder-clappers!' added a lady, who, in her anxiety to join the party, had unintentionally substituted her husband's nether habiliments for her own petticoats. 'The ban-dogs!' thundered a tall man whose stature and former avocations had procured him the nickname of 'The long drover of the Borough market.' Where are they?' 'Ay. where are they?' chorused the mob, flourishing their various weapons, and flashing their torches in the air; 'we'll sarve 'em out.'
BANDS, subs. TO WEAR THE
bands (old cant).—To be
hungry.—See Banded.
B. and s. (popular).—An everyday
colloquialism, in the abbreviated
form, for brandy and
soda.
1868. Whyte Melville, White Rose, ch. xiii. Before the b. and s.—signifying a beaker of brandy and soda-water—could make its appearance.
1881. W. Black, Beautiful Wretch, ch. v. 'Come away, and I will get you some tea, though what would be better for you still, would be some b. and s.'
1882. Punch, vol. LXXXII., p. 69, col. 1.
I'll sing you a fine new song, all about a fine young spark, Who's a fine young London gentleman, quite up to any lark, Who takes supper very early, and breakfasts in the dark; Who's a real 'dear old chappie,' as I needn't perhaps remark.
He will say that port and sherry his nice palate always cloy; He'll nothing drink but 'b. and s.' and big magnums of 'the boy'; He's the darling of the barmaid and the honest waiter's joy, As he quaffs his Pommery, 'Extra Sec,' his 'Giesler,' or 'Ivroy.'
Bandy, subs. (thieves').—A sixpence;
so called, in the first
instance, from these coins being
often thin, worn, and bent.
Also called a cripple and
bender, but, for synonyms,
see the latter. The term appears
in Grose [1785].
1819. T. Moore, Tom Crib's Memorial, p. 25, n. A bandy or cripple, a sixpence.
1885. Household Words, June 20, p. 155. The sixpence is a coin more liable to bend than most others, so it is not surprising to find that several of its popular names have reference to this weakness. It is called a bandy, a 'bender,' a 'cripple.'
Bang, subs. (colloquial).—1. A
blow; Old Norse, bang, a
hammering. Though a dictionary
word, bang has not yet
succeeded in passing from the
limbo of vulgarism in many of
its uses. For example, a 'bang
of the door' sounds legitimate
enough, and is an expression
to which even the most pronounced
stickler for linguistic
purity would scarcely object;
yet, a 'bang on the nose' or
'jaw' would, doubtless, be
looked upon as low and vulgar.
Only to illustrate such variations,
can the word find a
fitting entry into these pages.
Amongst pugilists and the
vulgar, bang is, without doubt,
closely identified with personal
castigation; and, in this connection,
English Synonyms are not rare. To bang one in the jaw; to spoil one's picture; to give a wipe on the nose; to fetch
