a basket by a string through the gaol windows, soliciting the alms of passers-by.—See also Angling for farthings.
1632. Massinger and Field, Fatal Dowry, v., 1. Pontalier [to Liladam, who is in custody for debt].
Arrested! this is one of those whose base And abject flattery help'd to dig his grave; He is not worth your pity, nor my anger; Go to the basket, and repent.
1700. Gentleman Instructed [1732], p. 6. God be praised! I am not brought to the basket, though I had rather live on charity than rapine. [d.]
To be left in the basket, phr. (common).—To be rejected; abandoned; unchosen. Cf., second quotation.
1840. Barham, I. L. (House Warning).
Whatever he wants, he has only to ask it, And all other suitors are left in the basket.
1874. Bell's Life, 26 Dec. The pick of the basket, a compact young greyhound.
Basket-Making, subs. (old).—When
enceinte a woman was
formerly said 'to have a kid in
the basket.' [Cf., Bay-window.]
Hence basket-making
to signify the act of copulation.
Bass, subs. (popular).—A familiar
abbreviation for Bass' ale,
brewed at Burton-on-Trent.
1853. Rev. E. Bradley ('Cuthbert Bede'), Adventures of Verdant Green, p. 23. The young gentleman exhibited great capacity for the beer of Bass, and the porter of Guiness.
1863. Oudia, Held in Bondage, I., p. 65. Those idle lads in the Temple, who smoke cavendish and drink Bass. Ibid, p. 126. Discussing Bass and a cold luncheon.
1868. Miss Braddon, Only a Clod, I., p. 138. A lot of fellows drinking no end of Bass.
18(?). Annie Thomas, A Passion in Tatters, I., p. 110. Bass that was not worthy of its name.
Baste, verb (colloquial).—To
thrash; to beat soundly. This
verb is given a place here for
the purpose of comparison,
as it is somewhat uncertain
whether it can with propriety
be classed as slang. Of uncertain
origin, but dating from
the sixteenth century; to baste,
properly 'to sew together
loosely,' or 'to apply fat or
gravy to a joint,' is, in its
figurative usage, of more than
passing interest when compared
with anoint (q.v.), and
other words employed in the
same figurative sense. It is
curious indeed to note the
many synonymous analogues
for a good beating or thrashing,
all of which pertain more or
less to slang. R. W. Hackwood
[N. and Q., 7 S., vii., 153]
mentions several, amongst
others colting (q.v.), used by
Marryat in Midshipman Easy.
As bearing upon the general
idea involved in this class of
words, the quotation may be
placed side by side with another
from the King's Own by the
same writer.
1830. Marryat, King's Own, ch. vii. 'He always carried in his pocket a colt (i.e., a foot and a half of rope, knotted at one end and whipped at the other), for the benefit of the youngsters, to whom he was a most inordinate tyrant.'
1836. Marryat, Midshipman Easy, ch. xii. 'Then he colted me for half-an-hour, and that's all.'
Colting like basting is of uncertain derivation. Comparing it, however, with analogous words, may we not take it, continues the writer referred to, as very closely associated
