blighty n. (often capitalized) England; wound necessitating soldier’s removal from the front to the homeland slang
blim n. small piece of hashish slang
blind baggage n. railway postal car with no door on the end, usu. just behind the tender; riding the rails unseen by trainyard bulls
blinkard n. person with poor vision; idjut obsolete
blirt v. to burst into tears
blithe adj. heedless; jocund, merry
blowzy adj. ruddy, rude, and dirty
blucher n. leather half-boot, strong high shoe
bludge v. to shirk; to scrounge; to live off another’s earnings, esp. as a pimp slang
blue v. to squander, to spend wastefully or without restraint slang
bob-a-job n. children performing light household work for a nominal fee British
bodge v. to patch poorly or clumsily
bodkin n. large thick needle for piercing leather or cloth; dagger
bog standard adj. just ordinary (with derogatory connotation) informal
boggart n. malevolent household fairy in English folklore, frequently stealing small items and souring milk
bole n. tree trunk
bolshie n. Bolshevik, communist; leftist slang
bolt v. to change rapidly from growing primarily leaves to produce instead seeds and flowers botany
bolus n. overlarge pill; round soft mass, esp. of chewed food
bombazeen n. (var. of bombasine) twill fabric of worsted and (often) silk or cotton, used as mourning garb when dyed black
bombinate v. to buzz, to hum
bonhomous adj. cheerful, full of bonhomie
bonze n. Buddhist monk, particularly of Japan, so-called by Europeans
boor n. rude person; yokel; peasant
boot v. to improve; to profit, to avail
bootjack n. forked device designed to assist in removal of riding boots
bootless adj. useless, ineffectual, without effect or gain archaic
borage n. herbaceous plant with blue flowers, thought to have medicinal properties
borborygmus n. stomach noise made by internal gas movement; wamble
bord n. coalface leading into the seam; roadway in mine through which coal is extracted
bore n. large tidal wave caused either by meeting of two tides or by tidal water rushing into a narrow estuary
boreal adj. of the north, of the north wind
borstal n. reformatory school for juvenile delinquents
bort n. low-grade diamonds and fragments of good diamonds, used commonly as abrasive
boscage n. mass of shrubs or trees, thicket
bosk n. thicket of bushes
bosky adj. of or related to bushes or shrubs; bushy, covered or shielded by low foliage; shady
bothy n. small cottage or hut, usu. of only a single room
bottomry n. shipping contract wherein the vessel is used as collateral to raise money financing a commercial voyage nautical
bougie n. thin flexible instrument for insertion or dilation of bodily passages
bourne n. boundary, limit; goal
bouser n. tippler, heavy drinker, boozer obsolete
boustrophedon adv. moving alternately from right to left and from left to right, as in certain ancient texts and inscriptions
bowse v. to haul with tackle [also bouse] nautical
boxty n. Irish potato pancake or bread
brach n. female hound; disgusting woman archaic
bract n. small specialized leaf growing with a plant’s flower botany
bradawl n. small hand-boring tool
bradykinin n. peptide hormone that mediates inflammation
braggadocio n. boastful speech, empty bragging
Search: