Chapter M: =Ma’am.= An Americanism for mother. See “Madam.” (5)

=Speaker.= The official designation of the President of the House of
Commons, to whom technically, the Members address themselves, though
as a matter of fact, they address the country at large through the
medium of the Press. Since he never speaks himself, except to rule a
point of order, his title is a misnomer.

=Spencer.= A short overjacket introduced by the Earl of Spencer. This
nobleman made a wager that he would set a new fashion by appearing
abroad in any style of garment, however hideous it might be. He won
his bet, for “Spencers” became popular.

=Specs.= Short for “spectacles.”

=Spelling Bee.= The name given to a competitive examination, in spelling
in American schools, and later introduced in the cities as a
fashionable pastime. From the States it reached England about a
quarter of a century ago. The term “Bee” is essentially
Transatlantic, being employed in the sense of a “hive” for any
assemblage of workers--_e.g._ “a Sewing Bee.”

=Spindle City.= Lowell in Massachusetts, so called on account of its
numerous cotton factories.

=Spinet.= An early form of pianoforte, so called because it was played
upon exclusively by unmarried females, as a relaxation from the
labours of the spindle.

=Spinster.= A maiden lady, so called from the distaff or spindle, the
regular occupation of an unmarried female.

=Spiritualist.= One who cherishes a belief in the power of communicating
with departed spirits through the instrumentality of a Medium.

=Spitalfields.= The derivation of this name is generally given as from
an ancient priory of “St Mary of the Spittle.” This is wrong. There
may have been such a priory, but if so, like the present parish
church, its designation arose out of the “spital,” or hospital in
the sense of an almshouse, founded in the fields for the poor by
Walter Brune and his wife during the reign of Richard Cœur de
Lion.

=Spithead.= This famous roadstead, so eminently adapted for naval
reviews, received its name from being situated at the head of the
“spit” or sandbank which extends along the coast for three miles.

=Spitzbergen.= Danish for “sharp-pointed mountains,” relative to the
mountain peaks in these islands.

=Spook.= Expresses the Dutch for “ghost.” Introduced to the United
States by the early settlers of New York, this term has obtained
currency on both sides of the Atlantic in connection with
Spiritualism.

=Spooning.= This word is a play on “billing and cooing.” Courting
couples in the act of whispering “soft nothings” have their mouths
in such close contact that it resembles the manner of a mother bird
feeding her young brood.

=Sporting Women.= An Americanism for “gay women.”

=Spouting.= Colloquial for public speaking, because the orator indulges
in a constant flow of rhetoric, like water issuing from a pump
spout.

=Sprat Day.= 9th November, the opening of the London sprat-selling
season.

=Spread Eagle.= An inn sign adopted from the arms of Germany, indicative
of the fact that the wines of that country were to be had on the
premises.

=Spreads himself.= Said of one in America who makes an ostentatious
display of self-conceit. The allusion is to a peacock spreading its
tail feathers to their utmost capacity.

=Spring Gardens.= So called because at this north-eastern entrance to St
James’s Park unwitting pedestrians were suddenly drenched by a spray
of water through stepping on a hidden spring. This was considered
fine sport for the gallants who looked on during the Restoration
period.

=Spring Heel Jack.= The sobriquet of the eccentric Marquis of Waterford,
who about a century ago cultivated the habit of frightening people
after nightfall by springing upon them out of obscure corners and
alleys. It was said that terror of the streets had steel springs
fitted to his heels for the purpose.

=Square Meal.= An Americanism for a full meal, which can only be enjoyed
at the table, in contradistinction to a snack at a luncheon bar.

=Squatter.= Literally one who squats down on land to which he has no
legal title.

=Squaw.= Algonquin for an Indian woman.

=Stafford.= The county town of the shire derived this name from the
ancient mode of fording the River Sow, upon which it stands, by
means of staves or stilts.

=Stage-coach.= So called from the stages or degrees of the whole
journey, at each of which the coach pulled up to change horses and
refresh the travellers.

=Staines.= From the Saxon _stane_, stone, the boundary mark set up
beside the Thames, bearing date 1280, and the inscription: “God
preserve the City of London.” This defined the western limits of
jurisdiction claimed by the Thames Conservancy or Water Board.

=Stand Sam.= An Americanism for to “stand treat,” which originated among
the soldiers during the Civil War. When billeted upon the people
they demanded liquor by wholesale, saying that “Uncle Sam” would pay
for it, and it was everyone’s duty to stand Sam. See “Uncle Sam.”

=Stanhope.= An open carriage named in compliment to the Earl of
Stanhope, author and politician.

=Stanhope Gate.= This entrance to Hyde Park, in Park Lane, received its
name from Philip Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, residing at
Chesterfield House close by.

=Staples Inn.= Properly “Staplers’ Inn,” the ancient Hall of the
Woolstaplers, styled Merchants of the Staple.

=Star and Garter.= An inn or tavern sign commemorative of the
institution of the Order of the Garter by Edward III.

=Star Chamber.= This historic court received its name not from the stars
decorating the ceiling, as generally stated, but because it was the
ancient depository of the _Starra_, or Jewish records, at the order
of Richard I.

=Start your Boots.= An Americanism for “Be off!” “Walk away.”

=Starvation Dundas.= The sobriquet of Henry Dundas, created Lord
Melville, owing to his constant repetition of the word “Starvation”
in the course of a debate on American affairs in 1775.

=State of Spain.= New Jersey. After the battle of Waterloo Joseph
Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon I., fled to New Jersey, and,
settling on an estate at Borderstown, gathered so many Frenchmen and
Spaniards around him that the Philadelphians regarded the people of
this state generally as Spaniards and foreigners. At this time
Joseph Bonaparte was nominally King of Naples and of Spain.

=Stationer.= This term was not derived from “Stationery,” since the
latter grew out of the former. Ancient so-called booksellers were of
two kinds: the itinerants, and the stallholders in open market. Both
dealt in such books as were known at the time--hornbooks and the
like--but principally in writing materials, and as the stationery
booksellers had a more varied assortment than the pedlars, pen, ink,
and paper eventually received the name of “stationery,” and their
vendors that of “stationers.”

=Steelyard.= The name given to a weighing machine on which a single
weight is moved along a graduated beam. This has no reference to a
“yard” measure, but to the ancient Steelyard near London Bridge,
where the German merchants of old landed, weighed, and sold their
fine steel.

=Steeplechase.= This term originated in a race by a party of
unsuccessful fox hunters, who agreed to run a race to the village
church, the steeple of which was visible a couple of miles away, the
one who touched its stones with his whip first being declared the
winner.

=Stepney.= A corruption of “Stebenhithe,” after the owner of a hithe or
wharf on this portion of the Thames bank in Anglo-Saxon days.

=Sterling Money.= That originally coined in this country by the
“Esterlings,” the name given to the people of the Hanse Towns in the
eastern portion of Germany, at the invitation of King John. The
purity of the Esterling coinage was above reproach, whereas that of
England anterior to the mission of the Hansa merchants to reform it
had long become debased.

=Sterling Silver.= Genuine silver in its natural purity as opposed to
“German Silver,” an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc first made in
Germany. See “Sterling Money.”

=Stick a Pin there.= An Americanism for “make a note of it as a
reminder.” Dressmakers always stick a pin to mark the place where
material is to be stitched or taken in.

=Stiletto.= Expresses the diminutive of the Italian _stilo_, a dagger.

=Stingo.= See “Yorkshire Stingo.”

=Stock.= This flower received its name from the circumstance that it was
largely sold in the Stocks Market (so called on account of a pair of
stocks that stood there), on part of the site of which the Mansion
House was erected in 1737.

=Stock Exchange.= For the application of the term “Stock” to money, see
“Government Stock.”

=Stockwell.= From an ancient well discovered in a _stoke_ or wood.

=Stoke Newington.= Expresses the new town in the meadow adjacent to a
_stoke_, or wood, in reference to “Enfield Chase.” See “New
Southgate.”

=Stonecutter Street.= From the lapidaries who congregated here in
ancient days.

=Stone Jug.= See “In the Jug.”

=Stones End.= See “Stony Street.”

=Stonewall Jackson.= This sobriquet of General Jackson originated with
General Lee during the American Civil War. Rallying his troops after
the battle of Bull Run, he exclaimed, pointing in the direction with
his sword: “There is Jackson, standing like a stone wall!”

=Stony Street.= So called from the nature of this portion of the great
Roman highway to Dover, in continuation of “Watling Street,” north
of the Thames.

=Store.= An Americanism for a shop or warehouse.

=Storey’s Gate.= Marks the site of the residence of Edward Storey,
keeper of the royal aviary of Charles II. in that portion of St
James’s Park known as Birdcage Walk.

=Stormy Petrel.= A sea-bird, the appearance of which is regarded as a
portent of storms. Its Italian name, _Petrillo_, expresses the
diminutive of Peter, in allusion to St Peter, who walked on the sea,
because, instead of flying in the air, this bird habitually skims on
the surface of the water.

=Storthing.= From the Norse _stor_, great, and _thing_, court, the
Norwegian and Swedish House of Assembly.

=Stout.= This black alcoholic beverage is so called because it contains
more body and nourishment than ale or beer.

=Stradivarius.= A violin made by the celebrated Antonio Stradivari of
Cremona; generally abbreviated into “Strad.”

=Straight Drink.= An Americanism for a drink of pure, undiluted spirit.

=Strand.= The name given to the north bank of the Thames (from the Norse
_strönd_, shore, border) in days when, with the exception of a few
princely houses dotted here and there, the whole of this portion of
London was open country.

=Straphanger.= A term which has come into vogue since the introduction
of electrified railways, the trains being so crowded in the morning
and evening that straps are provided for standing passengers to
cling to _en route_.

=Strasburg.= This name was first heard of in the fifth century,
expressing the German for a fortified town on the _strass_ or
_strata_, the great Roman highway into Gaul.

=Stratford.= From the Latin _strata_, road, way; that portion of the old
Roman highway where the River Lea had to be forded. In Chaucer’s
time this little town, situated a long distance out of London, was
described as “Stratford-a-te-Bow,” in allusion to “Bow Bridge.”

=Stratford Place.= After Edward Stratford, the second Lord Aldborough,
who leased the ground for building purposes from the Corporation of
the City of London in 1775.

=Stratton Street.= After Lord Berkeley of Stratton, the owner of the
district now comprised in Mayfair, _temp._ Charles I.

=Strenuous Life.= The antithesis of the “Simple Life.”

=Stuarts.= This dynasty received its name from the fact that Walter, the
Lord High Steward of Scotland, married the daughter of King Robert
the Bruce. Since this Walter was the sixth of his line honoured with
such a position, he was said to belong to the Stewards, which,
eventually corrupted into “Stuarts,” resulted in a family name.

=Stumped.= To have no money left. See “Stump up.”

=Stump Orator.= One who harangues a crowd from the stump of a tree.

=Stump Speech.= A term popularised in this country through the minstrel
entertainment, being an extempore speech delivered to the Negroes of
the southern states from the stump of a tree.

=Stump the Country.= Colloquial for an electioneering campaign, derived
from the practice of political agents in the United States
addressing the people at large from a convenient tree stump.

=Stump up.= Originally an Americanism for “put down your money.” After
delivering a speech for a benevolent object the “Stump Orator”
stepped down, and the people around laid their contributions on the
tree stump.

=Suabia.= See “Servia.”

=Sub.= Short for “subsidise,” or to draw something in advance of one’s
salary.

=Sub Rosa.= “Under the Rose”--_i.e._ strictly between ourselves. It was
the custom of the Teutons when they assembled at a feast, to suspend
a rose from the ceiling as a reminder that whatever might be said
concerning their absent friends should not be repeated.

=Subtle Doctor.= Duns Scotus, the schoolman and prince of
metaphysicians, whose subtlety of reasoning has never been equalled
in ancient or modern times.

=Sucked in.= An expression derived from “Buying a pig in a poke.” See
“Let the Cat out of the Bag.”

=Sucker State.= Illinois, so called from the Galena lead miners, who
disappeared during the winter and returned to Galena in the spring,
when the sucker-fish in the Fevre River abounded. The people of this
state are accordingly styled “Suckers.”

=Suffolk.= A corruption of “South Folk,” the inhabitants of the southern
division of East Anglia.

=Suffolk Lane.= From the ancient town house of the Dukes of Suffolk.

=Suffolk Street.= From Suffolk House, the residence of the Earls of
Suffolk in former days.

=Suffragette.= If this latter-day term possesses any etymological
significance whatever, it expresses the diminutive of one who claims
the suffrage or the right, from the Latin _suffragio_, to vote. A
suffragette is, in brief, a woman who ought to know better. Eager to
take upon herself the responsibilities of citizenship on a common
footing with the male orders of creation, she cannot but shirk those
which rightly belong to her own state.

=Sulky.= A two-wheeled carriage for a single person, so called from the
popular idea at the time of its introduction that anyone who wished
to ride alone could not be otherwise than morose and sulky in his
disposition.

=Sumatra.= From the Arabic _Simatra_, “happy land.”

=Sumner Street.= After Dr Sumner, Bishop of Winchester, one of the last
occupants of Winchester House in this neighbourhood.

=Sun.= An inn sign after the heraldic device of Richard II.

=Sunday.= The first day of the week, dedicated in the Scandinavian
mythology to sun-worship.

=Sun-down.= An Americanism for “sunset.”

=Sunflower.= So called from the form and colour of its flower. See
“Heliotrope.”

=Sunnites.= The orthodox Mohammedans, who accept the _Sunna_, or
collective traditions, equally with the Koran.

=Sunset Land.= Arizona, on account of its glorious sunsets.

=Supers.= In theatrical parlance short for “supernumeraries,” those who
form the stage crowds, but have no individual lines to speak.

=Supper.= A term which has survived the changes of time. We still invite
a friend to “sup” with us, but the repast is more or less a
substantial one. Anciently the last meal of the day consisted only
of soup.

=Surrey.= From the Anglo-Saxon _Suth-rey_, south of the river--_i.e._
the Thames.

=Surrey Street.= After the town mansion and grounds of the Howards,
Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel and Surrey.

=Suspenders.= An Americanism for trouser braces.

=Sussex.= The territory of the _Suth-seaxe_, or South Saxons, under the
Heptarchy.

=Sutton Place.= After Thomas Sutton, founder of the Charter House, whom
the good folk of Hackney were proud to number among their residents
on this spot.

=Swallow Street.= It is difficult to imagine that this once merited the
name of “Slough Street,” on account of its miry condition; but such
is the fact.

=Swan Alley.= From the ancient town house of the Beauchamps, whose crest
was a swan.

=Swan-Upping.= The name given from time immemorial by the Vintners’
Company to their annual up-Thames visitation of the swans belonging
to them for the purpose of marking their bills with two nicks, by
way of distinguishing them from the royal swans, that have five
nicks.

=Swan with two Necks.= An ancient London inn sign, corrupted from “The
Swan with two Nicks,” in compliment to the Vintners’ Company. See
“Swan-Upping.”

=Sweating.= A word used in the original Biblical sense, and applied to
the unhealthy conditions which obtain among the denizens of the East
End of London, specifically the Jewish tailors, numbers of whom work
together in the fœtid atmosphere of a single small room.

=Swedenborgians.= The followers of Emmanuel Swedenborg, the Swedish
mystic. Prior to 1719, when his family became ennobled, his real
name was Svedborg.

=Swedish Nightingale.= Jenny Lind Goldschmidt, the rage of musical
London, who died in 1887.

=Sweepstake.= Money staked on a race by different persons, the fortunate
winner among whom takes the whole amount, literally at one sweep.

=Sweetbriar.= Expresses a “fragrant thorn.”

=Sweetheart.= A corruption of “Sweetard,” the suffix _ard_ expressing
the intensitive in many class names, such as “Dotard,” “Bastard,”
etc.

=Swell.= Slang for one of the upper classes, no doubt suggested by the
phrase: “The bloated aristocracy.” Also applied to an overdressed
person puffed out with the idea of his own importance.

=Switches.= An Americanism for ladies’ hair curlers, fringes, and other
hirsute appendages.

=Switzerland.= The English form of the Austrian Schwyz and German
Schweitz, originally the name of the three forest cantons whose
people threw off the Austrian yoke and asserted the independence of
the whole country.

=Switzerland of America.= West Virginia, so called on account of its
mountains.

=Sworn Brothers.= An ancient legal phrase signifying that two friends
had entered into a solemn compact to lend mutual aid and protection
and share each other’s fortunes. This custom was of Scandinavian
origin.

=Sydenham.= Expresses the home or family settlement in the south.

=Symmetrion Girl.= See “Sandow Girl.”

T

=Tabard.= The famous inn sign in Southwark immortalised by Chaucer’s
“Canterbury Pilgrims,” from the ancient tunic with wide flap sleeves
still worn by the heralds.

=Tableaux Vivants.= French for “living pictures,” specifically the
realisation of a celebrated painting or a scene from history by a
group of persons.

=Table d’Hôte.= Most people are under the impression that this term
means a dinner as served at a hotel. This is erroneous. Its literal
signification is “the table of the host.” Until quite modern days a
traveller who desired to be served with a meal at an inn had to take
it with the landlord at his own table.

=Taboo.= Strictly speaking, there is no such word as “tabooed,” yet we
generally find it employed in the place of “taboo.” The latter is
the European rendering of the Polynesian _tapu_, signifying a thing
reserved or consecrated to the use of one person. For a South Sea
Islander to exclaim _tapu_ when he sees anything that he fancies, is
tantamount to saying “I claim this thing; anyone else who touches it
shall die.” Amongst ourselves a subject which is _taboo_ must not be
discussed.

=Taffy.= The generic name for a Welshman, corrupted from Davy, which is
short for David, the most common Christian name of the country, in
honour of St David.

=Tagus.= The Phœnician for “river of fish.”

=Tailor.= From the French _tailleur_, based upon the verb _tailler_, to
cut.

=Take a Back Seat.= An Americanism for “You have outdone me; I’ll retire
from the front row.”

=Take a Rise out of Him.= To take an undue advantage, to benefit by a
mean action. This originated in fly-fishing; when a fish sees the
fly held out of the water it rises to seize the coveted prey, and is
caught itself.

=Takes the Cake.= An expression derived from the Cake Walking
competitions of the Negroes in the southern states of the American
Union. A cake is placed on the ground, and the competitors, male and
female, walk around it in couples. Those who disport themselves most
gracefully take the cake as their prize.

=Take your Hook.= See “Sling your Hook.”

=Talbot.= An inn sign in compliment to the Earls of Shrewsbury.

=Talbotype.= A process of photography, by means of the Camera Obscura,
invented by Fox Talbot in 1839.

=Talking Shop.= The nickname for the House of Commons. See “Parliament.”

=Tally Ho!= From the Norman hunting cry _Taillis au_ (“To the coppice”),
raised when the stag made for its native place of safety.

=Tallyman.= One who supplies goods on the weekly instalment system, so
called originally from the acknowledgments for payments that he gave
to his customers having to “tally” or agree with the entries in his
book. Why such a one should be ashamed of his old-time designation,
and now style himself a “Credit Draper,” can only be explained on
the ground that the tallyman is in bad odour with the husbands of
the guileless women whom he systematically overcharges. See
“Government Stock.”

=Tammany Ring.= The name given to certain officials of the Democratic
party in New York who in 1871 were punished for having during a long
series of years plundered the people wholesale. Tammany Hall was the
place where they held their meetings. This was originally the
headquarters of a benevolent society, but it degenerated into a
political club. By way of accounting for the designation, it may be
added that Tammany or Tammenund was the name of a famous Indian
chief of the Delaware tribe, greatly beloved by his people.

=Taming the Alps.= A phrase which has lately come into vogue through the
popular solicitude to prevent intrepid amateurs from climbing the
Alps without the assistance of local guides.

=Tantalise.= A word based upon the fable of Tantalus, a son of Jupiter,
who, because he betrayed his father’s secrets, was made to stand up
to his chin in water, with branches of luscious fruit over his head,
but when he wished to drink or to eat the water and the fruit
receded from him.

=Tapestry.= From the French _tapisserie_, based on the Latin _tapes_, a
carpet.

=Tapster.= The old name for a tavern-keeper or his assistant, applied in
days when taps were first fitted to barrels for drawing off liquor.

=Tarantella.= A dance invented for the purpose of inducing perspiration
as a supposed remedy for the poisonous bite of the Tarantula spider,
which received its name from the city of Taranto in Italy, where its
baneful effects were first noted.

=Tarlatan.= From Tarare in France, the chief seat of the manufacture.

=Tar Heels.= The nickname of the people of South Carolina, relative to
the tar industry in its lowland forests.

=Tarragona.= Called by the Romans _Tarraco_, after the name given to the
city by the Phœnicians, _Tarchon_, “citadel.”

=Tarred with the same Brush.= This expression originated in the custom
of marking the sheep of different folds formerly with a brush dipped
in tar, but nowadays more generally in red ochre.

=Tart.= A punning abbreviation of “Sweetheart.”

=Tasmania.= After Abel Jansen Tasman, the Dutch navigator, who
discovered it in 1642.

=Tattersall’s.= After Richard Tattersall, who established his famous
horse repository near Hyde Park Corner in 1786; on 10th April 1865
it was removed to its present locale at Knightsbridge.

=Taunton.= The town on the River Tone.

=Tavern.= From the Latin _taberna_, a hut of boards.

=Tavistock.= The stockaded place on the Tavy.

=Tavistock Street.= After the ancestor of the present great ground
landlord, Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, Marquis of
Tavistock, and Duke of Bedford, the father of the celebrated Rachel
who became the wife of Lord William Russell, beheaded in 1683. The
square and place similarly designated are included in the ducal
estate.

=Tawdry.= A word derived from the cheap, showy lace anciently sold at
the annual fair of St Audrey in the Isle of Ely. This was called St
Audrey’s lace, afterwards corrupted into Tawdrey. The name of St
Audrey itself was a corruption of St Ethelreda.

=Tay.= From the Celtic _tain_, river.

=Tearless Victory.= Plutarch in his “Lives” gave this name to the great
victory won by Archimandus, King of Sparta, over the Arcadians and
Argives, B.C. 367, without the loss of a single Spartan soldier.

=Teetotaler.= This designation of a total abstainer arose out of the
stammering address at Preston in September 1833 of one Richard
Turner, who concluded by saying: “Nothing but t-t-t-t-total
abstinence will do--that or nowt!”

=Teetotum.= A coined term for a Working Man’s Total Abstinence Club,
suggested by the word “Teetotaler.”

=Teignmouth.= Situated at the mouth, or in the estuary of, the Teign,
which name is a variant of the Celtic _tain_, river.

=Tell that to the Marines.= In the old days, before the bluejackets
proved themselves as good fighting men on land as at sea, the
Marines were an indispensable adjunct to the Navy, but as time hung
heavily upon their hands they were always ready to listen to a
story. Finding that they were easily gullible, the sailors loved to
entertain them with the most extraordinary yarns, and, while on
shore, if they heard a wonderful story themselves they made up their
minds to “tell that to the Marines.”

=Temple.= The seat of the “Knights Templars” in this country down to the
time of the dissolution of their Order by Edward II. in 1313.

=Temple Bar.= The ancient gateway, at the western extremity of Fleet
Street, defining the “liberty” of the city of London on that side,
and originally set up as the ordinary entrance to the London house
of the Knights Templars. Taken down in 1878, the “Bar” now adorns
the park of Sir Henry Meux at Theobalds, Cheshunt, Herts.

=Tenement House.= An Americanism for a dwelling-house let off to
different families.

=Tennessee.= Indian for “river of the great bend.”

=Tent Wine.= A corruption of _vinto tinto_, the Spanish for a white wine
coloured.

=Terpsichorean Art.= After Terpsichore, one of the Nine Muses, who
presided over dancing.

=Terra-cotta.= Italian for “baked earth”--_i.e._ clay.

=Texas.= Indian for “the place of protection,” where a colony of French
refugees were kindly received in 1817.

=Thaler.= Originally called a Joachims-Thaler, because this German coin
was struck out of silver found in the thal, or dale, of St Joachim
in France about 1518. From this “Thaler” the term “Dollar” has been
derived.

=Thames.= To assert that this name has been derived from the Latin (?)
_Thamesis_, “the broad Isis,” or that it expresses the conjunction
of the Thame and the Isis, is ridiculous. The word is wholly Celtic,
from _tam_, smooth, and _esis_, one of the many variants of the
original _uisg_, water. It is quite true that that portion of our
noble river which flows past Oxford is called the Isis, but the name
is scholastic only, and cannot be found in any ancient charter or
historical document. _Thames_ simply means smooth water, or, if we
care to admit it, “the smooth Isis.”

=Thames Street.= Runs parallel to the river on the north bank.

=Thanet Place.= This _cul de sac_ at the eastern end of the Strand
received its name from the Earl of Thanet, the owner of the land
prior to 1780.

=Thavie’s Inn.= A range of modern buildings on the site of an ancient
appendage to Lincoln’s Inn, so called by the Benchers in honour of
John Thavie, an armourer, who when he died in 1348 left a
considerable amount of property to the parish church of St Andrew.

=Theobalds Road.= So called because James I. was wont to pass along it
on the way to his favourite hunting-seat at Theobalds in
Hertfordshire. See “Kingsgate Street.”

=Thespian Art.= After Thespis, the Father of the Greek Drama.

=Thirteen Cantons.= A tavern sign off Golden Square, complimentary to
the Cantons of Switzerland, at a time when Soho was as much a Swiss
colony as it is now French.

=Thomas Street.= In honour of Thomas Guy, the founder of the Hospital,
also named after him.

=Thomists.= Those who accepted the teaching of St Thomas Aquinas, in
opposition to that of John Duns Scotus relative to the Immaculate
Conception.

=Threadneedle Street.= A corruption of, first, “Thridneedle,” and later
“Three-Needle” Street, so called from the arms of the Needlemakers’
Company.

=Three Chairmen.= A tavern sign in Mayfair, this house being the regular
resort of gentlemen’s servants in the days when sedan-chairs were
fashionable.

=Three Exes.= The nickname of the 30th Regiment of Foot (XXX).

=Three Kings.= An inn sign derived from the Magi or Three Wise Men who
came to adore the new-born Saviour at Bethlehem.

=Three Men Wine.= The name borne by a very bad wine which requires two
men to hold the victim, while a third pours it down his throat.

=Three Nuns.= A tavern sign in Aldgate, reminiscent of the neighbouring
priory of the Nuns of St Clare in ancient times.

=Three Suns.= An inn sign derived from the device of Edward IV. as King
of England.

=Throgmorton Street.= After the wealthy London banker, Sir Nicholas
Throgmorton.

=Throw up the Sponge.= Originally a boxing expression. When a
prize-fighter had been badly bruised in the first round he often
declined the sponge offered to him by his second, or, in a sudden
fit, threw it up in the air, declaring he had had enough of it;
hence to “throw up the sponge” is to acknowledge oneself beaten.

=Thundering Legion.= The name ever afterwards borne by that Roman legion
which, A.D. 179, overthrew the power of the Alemanni by defeating
them during a thunderstorm, which was thought to have been sent to
them in answer to the prayers of the Christians.

=Thurlow Place.= After Lord Chancellor Thurlow, whose residence was in
Great Ormond Street, close by.

=Thursday.= The day of Thor, the God of Thunder, in the Scandinavian
mythology.

=Tied House.= A public-house owned or financed by a firm of brewers,
with the result that the nominal landlord is not allowed to
replenish his stock from any other brewer.

=Tierra del Fuego.= Spanish for “land of fire,” so called from a volcano
on the largest island which throws up flame and smoke visible a very
great distance out at sea.

=Tight.= Intoxicated, because a person in this state generally clutches
tight hold of a street lamppost or a convenient railing when unable
to walk home after a debauch.

=Tighten your Purse Strings.= See “Purse Strings.”

=Tilbury.= The ancient form of the name of the village two miles west of
Tilbury Fort was _Tillaburgh_, after one Tilla, a Saxon, of whom,
however, nothing is now known. A small two-wheeled gig without a
cover is called a Tilbury, after a London sportsman who introduced
it nearly a century ago.

=Tinker.= A corruption of “tinner,” or tin-worker. This has given rise
to the verb “to tinker,” which meant originally to hammer lightly at
a thing after the style a tinman, without being able to repair it in
a thoroughly workman-like manner.

=Tintoretto.= The better known name of the famous Italian painter,
Jacopo Robusti, because his father was a _tintore_, or dyer.

=Tobacco.= From _tobaco_, the inhaling tube of the North American
Indians. By the Spaniards alone has the original spelling of the
name, now given universally to the fragrant weed itself, been
preserved.

=Tobago Island.= So called by Columbus on account of its resemblance to
the inhaling tube of the Indians, the _tobaco_.

=Toddy.= From the Hindoo _taudi_, a stimulating beverage made from the
juice of various palm-trees.

=Toff.= A vulgar corruption of the University term “Tuft,” a young
nobleman who pays high fees and is distinguished by a golden tuft or
tassel on his cap.

=Toggery.= A term derived from the same source as “Togs.”

=Togs.= Slang for clothes, but originally derived from _toga_, the
characteristic male garment of the Romans.

=Tokay.= An excellent white wine produced in the district of the same
name in Upper Hungary.

=Tokenhouse Yard.= Marks the site of the ancient Token-House, which came
into existence through the insufficiency of small copper coinage. A
number of Nuremberg “tokens” having been introduced into this
country, tradesmen imported large quantities of them for purposes of
small (halfpenny and farthing) change, but instead of being kept in
circulation such tokens were afterwards exchanged by the inhabitants
of the city for their face value at the Token-House. About the same
time various municipalities throughout the country manufactured
their own tokens. The London Token-House was swept away by the Great
Fire and never rebuilt.

=Toledo.= From the Hebrew _H’toledoth_, “generations,” “families,”
relative to the Jewish founders of the city.

=Tom Folio.= The sobriquet of Thomas Rawlinson, the bibliomaniac.

=Tommy Atkins.= This general designation of an English soldier arose out
of the hypothetical name, “Thomas Atkins,” which at one time figured
in the Paymaster-General’s monthly statement of accounts sent to the
War Office. So much money claimed by “Thomas Atkins” meant, of
course, the regular pay for the rank and file.

=Tom Tidler’s Ground.= A corruption of “Tom the Idler’s Ground.”

=Tontine.= The name given to a system of reducing the State Loans in
France in 1653 after Lorenzo Tonti, a Neapolitan protegé of Cardinal
Mazarin, its projector. According to this system, when one
subscriber dies, the money accredited to him passes to the others,
until the last survivor inherits the whole amount.

=Tooley Street.= Originally “St Olaff Street” after the parish church
dedicated to St Olaff or Olave. This thoroughfare was in the time of
the Commonwealth known as “St Tulie Street,” of which its modern
name is an easy corruption.

=Toothpicks.= A nickname borne by the people of Arkansas on account of
the Bowie Knives carried by the early settlers.

=Topaz.= From _topazios_, after _Topazos_, the Greek name of an island
in the Red Sea where this gem was anciently

=Tories.= Originally, during the Restoration period, the nickname
bestowed by the Protestants on their religious and political
opponents. This was in derisive allusion to a band of outlaws that
infested the bog districts of Ireland, the word _toree_ being Gaelic
for a robber.

=Toronto.= Indian for “oak-trees beside the lake.”

=Torquatus.= See “Manlius Torquatus.”

=Torres Strait.= After the Spanish navigator, L. N. de Torres, who
discovered it in 1606.

=Torrington Square.= After the family name of the first wife of John,
the sixth Duke of Bedford, the ancestor of the great ground
landlord.

=Tothill Street.= A name which recalls the ancient manor of Tothill,
properly Toothill--_i.e._ beacon hill. Wherever _toot_ or _tot_
appears in a place-name, it points to the one-time existence of a
beacon.

=Totnes.= A corruption of “Toot Ness,” the beacon on the headland.

=Tottenham.= From “Totham,” a corruption of _Toot ham_, the house or
hamlet by the beacon.

=Tottenham Court Road.= So called ever since the days of Elizabeth
because it then led to “Tottenham Court.” This was an ancient manor,
originally belonging to St Paul’s, and held in the reign of Henry
III. by William de Tottenhall.

=Touched him on the Raw.= Reminded him of something which hurt his
feelings. This expression arose out of an ostler’s solicitude to
avoid a sore place on a horse while grooming him.

=Toulon.= The _Telonium_ of the Romans, so called after Telo Martius,
the tribune who colonised it.

=Tractarians.= Those Oxford men who assisted Dr Pusey with the
composition of the famous “Tracts for the Times,” as well as those
who accepted the opinions expressed therein.

=Trafalgar Square.= From the Nelson Column, set up in 1843, two years
before the square itself was laid out as it now exists.

=Traitors’ Gate.= The riverside entrance to the Tower of London reserved
for State prisoners convicted of high treason.

=Tramway.= An abbreviation of “Outram way,” after Benjamin Outram of
Derbyshire, who was the first to place his sleepers end to end the
whole length of the rails, instead of crosswise, as on our railways.
Long before this, however, the word “Tram” had been applied to a
coal waggon or truck in the colliery districts, while the rails on
which a vehicle ran bore the name of a “Tramroad.”

=Transformation Scene.= So called because in the good old days of
Pantomine the Fairy Queen was at this juncture of the entertainment
supposed to transform the chief characters of the “opening” into
Clown, Pantaloon, Harlequin, Columbine, and Policeman.

=Transvaal.= Expresses the territory beyond the Vaal River.

=Transylvania.= From the Latin _trans_, beyond, and _sylva_, wood; this
name was given by the Hungarians to the country beyond their wooded
frontier.

=Trappists.= A strict Order of Cistercian Monks, so called from their
original home at La Trappe in Normandy, established during the
twelfth century.

=Treacle Bible.= A rare version of the Scriptures, so called on account
of the rendering of the passage (Jeremiah viii. 22): “Is there no
balm in Gilead?” as “There is no more traicle at Gilead.”

=Trent.= Celtic for “winding river.”

=Tried in the Balance and Found Wanting.= An expression founded on the
belief of the ancient Egyptians that the souls of men were weighed
after death.

=Trilbies.= Colloquial for feet, because Trilby in the novel and the
play named after the heroine appears in bare feet.

=Trilby.= A soft felt hat of the kind popularised by the heroine of the
famous Haymarket Theatre play, _Trilby_, founded upon the late
George du Maurier’s equally famous novel of the same title.

=Trinidad Island.= The name given to it by Columbus as an emblem of the
Trinity, relative to its three mountain peaks which, when seen from
afar, he at first imagined rose from three different islands.

=Trinitarians.= Those who accept the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as
opposed to the Unitarians; also the original designation of the
“Crutched Friars,” or Friars of the Holy Trinity.

=Trinity House.= This had its origin in an ancient guild incorporated in
1529 under the title of “The Master-Wardens and Assistants of the
Guild, or Fraternity, or Brotherhood, of the Most Glorious and
Undivisible Trinity, and St Clement, in the parish of Deptford,
Stroud, in the County of Kent.” The present building dates from
1795.

=Trinity Sunday.= That which follows Whitsunday, pursuant to the good
old Catholic custom of allowing religious exercises, specifically
the partaking of the Holy Communion, to be performed within the
octave, or eight days, of a great feast.

=Tristan d’Acunha.= After the Portuguese navigator who discovered this
island in 1651.

=Trithing.= See “Riding.”

=Trump Street.= After the makers of trumpets, who, in the days of public
pageants and processions, here had their workshops.

=Trust.= Another word for a “Combine” or “Corner,” with this difference
that its members are pledged to stand by one another, and faithfully
maintain the high prices their action has brought about.

=Tudors.= This royal house received its name from Owen Tudor, a Welsh
soldier, who while stationed at Windsor, contracted a secret
marriage with Catherine, the widowed queen of Henry V.

=Tuesday.= In the Scandinavian mythology the day set apart for the
worship of _Tiw_, the God of War.

=Tuft.= See “Toff.”

=Tulle.= From the French town of the same name, where this fabric was
first made.

=Tumble to it.= This phrase is a vulgar perversion of “stumble upon
it”--_i.e._ the meaning or comprehension of a thing.

=Tunis.= Anciently _Tunentum_, after the _Tunes_, who peopled the
country.

=Turin.= Called by the Romans _Augusta Taurisonum_, the capital of the
_Taurini_.

=Turkestan.= Conformably to the Persian _stan_, the country of the
Turks.

=Turkey.= From “Turkia,” the Celtic suffix expressing the country of the
Turks. The bird of this name was long thought to be a native of
Turkey; it was, however, introduced to Europe from North America
early in the sixteenth century.

=Turnagain Lane.= So called because it ends at a high brick wall, and
the pedestrian has no alternative but to retrace his steps.

=Turnmill Street.= A name which recalls the days when an old mill, whose
sails turned with the wind, stood in the pleasant meadow.

=Turpentine State.= North Carolina, from the turpentine found in its
great pine forests.

=Turquoise.= From Turkey, the country where this precious stone was
first found.

=Tuscany.= The territory of the Etruscans.

=Tweed.= It is perfectly true that this cloth is fabricated in the
vicinity of the River Tweed, but the name is really a corruption of
“Twill,” which word, in an invoice sent to James Locke in London,
being blotted, looked like “tweed,” and the customer thought the
cloth might as well be called by that name as by its original.

=Twelfth Night.= That which brought the Christmas holidays and
festivities to a close in former days. In the morning the people
went to church to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, afterwards
they gave themselves up right merrily to indoor amusements.

=Twickenham.= When Pope resided in this pretty up-river village its name
was “Twitnam” for short, but it meant the same as of yore, a hamlet
located between two rivulets of the Thames. The word is Anglo-Saxon,
cognate with the modern German _zwischen_, between, and _heim_, a
home.

=Twill.= From the German _zwillich_, “trellis work,” so called from the
diagonal ribs distinguished on the surface of this cloth.

=Two Fours.= The 44th Regiment of Foot.

=Two Sevens.= The 77th Regiment of Foot.

=Two Twos.= The 22nd Regiment of Foot.

=Tyburn.= A corruption of _Twa-burne_, “two streams,” the one from
Bayswater, the other from Kilburn, which met on the spot where the
public executions formerly took place and the Marble Arch now
stands.

=Tyne.= Another variant of the Celtic _tain_, river.

U

=Uisquebaugh.= From _uisge_, water, and _beatha_, life, the national
drink of the Irish people. Out of this we have derived the English
term “Whisky.”

=Ukase.= From the Russian _ukasat_, to speak.

=Ukraine.= Expresses the Slavonic for a “frontier country.”

=Ultramarine.= Another name for “Saunders Blue,” introduced to England
from beyond the sea.

=Umber.= From Umbria in Italy, where this pigment was first obtained.

=Umbrella.= From the Latin _umbra_, a shade. The original function of
such an article was to act as a shelter against the scorching rays
of the sun, similar to those monster white or coloured umbrellas one
sees in a Continental market-place. It was Jonas Hanway who first
diverted it from its proper use. See “Hanway Street.”

=Uncle.= How this name came to be applied to a pawnbroker was as
follows:--Before the “spout” was introduced all those pledges which
consisted of clothing were attached to a very large book, or _uncus_
as it was called, conformably to the Latin description of the
article, since the Lombards were the earliest pawnbrokers of
history. When this _uncus_ could accommodate nothing more, the rope
from which it depended was unslung from the ceiling, and laid across
the shoulders of an assistant, who then carried the whole collection
to the store-rooms overhead. Hence an article which had been pledged
was said to have “Gone to the Uncus,” or, as the modern phrase has
it, “Gone to my Uncle’s.”

=Uncle Sam.= The national nickname of the United States. This arose out
of the initials “U.S.,” which the Government caused to be painted or
branded on all its stores just as the Government property in this
country is marked with a broad arrow. Since it happened that the
official whose duty it was to see this marking properly carried out
was known among his numerous acquaintance as “Uncle Sam,” the
general impression obtained that the letters really applied to him,
as evidence that the goods had passed through his hands. In this way
“Uncle Sam” bequeathed his name to a great nation.

=Uncle Sam’s Ice-box.= Alaska, so called on account of its northern
situation. Prior to the year 1867 this territory belonged to Russia.

=Undertaker.= Specifically one who in former days undertook to be
responsible for the custody of a corpse until the moment that it was
lowered into the grave. This was the _raison d’être_ of the two
“mutes” stationed by him at the door of the house by day and by
night as guards.

=Underwriter.= One who accepts the responsibility of insuring a vessel
or its merchandise by signing his name at the foot of the policy.

=Unionists.= Those who are opposed to Home Rule for Ireland; now
identified with the Conservative Party.

=Union Jack.= The first part of this name has, of course, reference to
the Union of England and Scotland in the person of James I., but the
application of the word “Jack” to our national flag is not so easily
disposed of. Nevertheless, reference to our note on “Jack-boots”
will afford the reader a key to the question. Twenty-six of such
“Jacques,” emblazoned with the arms of St George, were ordered by
Edward III. for one of his warships. Designed primarily for the
defence of his soldiers when in fighting array, they were placed in
a row along the low bulwarks while the vessel was sailing, just as
the Romans and the hardy Norsemen disposed of their shields at sea.
After this statement it should not be difficult to see how the Cross
of St George displayed on a _jacque_ lent its name at first to the
staff from which the English flag was flown, and later to the flag
itself.

=Unitarians.= Those who are opposed to the doctrine of the Trinity,
denying, as they do, the Godhead or divinity of Jesus Christ and the
Holy Ghost. This tenet was promulgated by Lælius Socinus, an Italian
theologian, in 1546.

=United Brethren.= Another name for the religious sect styled the
“Moravians.”

=University.= From the Latin _universitatis_, the whole. This word
expresses the various distinct colleges and halls at Oxford,
Cambridge, and elsewhere, incorporated by a royal charter as one
great educational centre.

=Unlearned Parliament.= See “Parliament of Dunces.”

=Unready.= See “Ethelred the Unready.”

=Up a Tree.= Completely cornered, yet defiant; the allusion is to the
refuge of a tree-branch against the attack of a bull stationed
beneath it.

=Upper Berkeley Street.= See “Berkeley Street.”

=Upper Crust.= A modern term for the aristocracy, because it was
formerly considered a mark of high honour to allow the most
distinguished guest to cut off the top of the loaf at table.

=Upper Seymour Street.= After the Seymours, from whom the Portmans,
owners of the estate, are descended.

=Upper Ten.= Short for “The Upper Ten Thousand,” which, at the time when
N. P. Willis first made use of the term, was the approximate number
of fashionables or really well-to-do in the city of New York.

=Uppertendom.= An Americanism for the aristocracy.

=Upper Thames Street.= The western portion of Thames Street between
London and Blackfriars Bridges.

=Up the Spout.= This expression requires no elucidating. Nevertheless,
there was a time when a pawnbroking establishment had not the
convenience of a “spout,” and because this was so, the
matter-of-fact tradesman earned for himself the endearing title of
“My Uncle.” See “Uncle.”

=Up to Snuff.= Said of one who has a keen scent for reckoning up his
neighbours.

=Uruguay.= Expresses the Brazilian for “the golden water.”

=Ural.= A Tartar word for “belt.”

=Usher.= From the old French _huisher_, door, signifies a doorkeeper.

=Usk.= A variant of the Celtic _uisg_, water.

=Ursulines.= An Order of nuns named after St Ursula, who suffered
martyrdom at Cologne in the tenth century.

=Utah.= After an Indian tribe, the Yuta or Utes, encountered in the
region so named.

=Utilitarianism.= A word implying “the happiness of the greatest
number.” In this sense it was first popularised by John Stuart Mill,
after Jeremy Bentham had promulgated a similar ethical religion
under the style of “Utility.”

=Utopia.= From the Greek _ou_, not, and _topos_, place, this compound
term signifies “nowhere,” “no such place.” Ideas and Systems are
said to be “Utopian” when they cannot be accepted by the average
reasoning mind.