Bitto, bitti (gypsy), a bit, a little, small, little. A bitto mūsh, a small man; bitti dīr, fainter, lower (voice), less, smaller; bitti mūlloa or mūlleys, goblins, fairies.
Bivvy, pivvy (provincial), a drink, beer; a shant of bivvy, a pot of beer; a diminutive of beverage, or from the gypsy piava or biava, to drink; pivo, beer in Bohemian or Czech. In French cant pivois is wine.
Bīyêg'hin (tinker), stealing; biyêgh', to steal; biyegh' th'eenik, to steal the thing.
Biz (English and American), business.
"They manage these things better in France," said Gub, on the Caffarel affair. "It's all very well to sneer at 'decorated tailors,' but I think if you can do it, to pay your tailor with a decoration is dashed good biz. I think I shall try it on."
"What'll you decorate him with?" asked Rootytooty, who takes a lively interest in these matters, and believes muchly in an editor's ability to benefit his fellow-men.
"Oh," replied Gub, "I shall try him with the Order of the Boot."—Sporting Times.
It also means any kind of occupation.
That wasn't my day for being in the target biz, and I flopped flat as a pancake.—American Newspaper.
To bonnet a lot of old blokes and make petticoats squeal is good biz,
But a Crusher's 'ard knuckles a crunching yer scrag? No, I'm blowed if that is!
Let 'em swarm "in their thousands"—the mugs!—and their black and red flags let 'em carry;
But wen they are next on the job they will 'ave to look wide-oh! for 'Arry.
In theatrical language the biz is the acting, performing a part.
And, when you come to Covent G., it also may be said,
That Horace Lennard's book is good, and worthy to be read;
That Squire and those are funny chaps that Fanny Leslie's "great,"
And Joseph Cave, in all the biz, is smart and up to date.
B. K. S. (officers), barracks, used specially among officers in mufti, who wish to preserve the incognito.
Blab (common), to talk inconsiderately, to let secrets slip out, betray; Dan. blabbre, to babble.
"He has not peached so far," said the Jew. ... "If he means to blab us among his new friends, we may slap his mouth yet."—Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist.
Among the many modes of tormenting practised by the ordinary woman of society, one of the worst is her habit of blabbing, or repeating to one dear friend the things that have been lately said and done by another dear friend.—Saturday Review.
Black-and-tan (street), half-and-half, porter and ale mixed. (American), applied to black and brown terriers. A mulatto, a mixture of mulattoes and blacks. During the Civil War the South was called the black-and-tan country, from the planters "tanning" or beating their slaves.
