Chapter C

=Cab.= Short for “Cabriolet,” or little caperer, from _cabriole_, a
goat’s leap. See “Capri.”

=Cabal.= A political term formed out of the initials of the intriguing
ministry of 1670--thus: Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and
Lauderdale.

=Cabinet.= The designation of Ministers of State, who first conducted
their deliberations in a cabinet, from the Italian _gabinetto_, a
small room. A picture or photograph of this size received its name
from the apartment for which it was best suited.

=Cabin Girls.= Waitresses at the “Cabin” Restaurants Limited.

=Cablegram.= An Americanism for telegram.

=Cadiz.= Called Gades by the Romans, from the Phœnician _Gadir_,
enclosed, shut in.

=Cadogan Square.= From the Earl of Cadogan, the lord of the manor of
Chelsea.

=Cahoot.= An Americanism for partnership or company, derived from the
French _capute_, hut, cabin. Men who share a cabin or shanty are
said to be “in cahoot.”

=Caitiff.= An old term of contempt for a despicable person, derived from
the Latin _captivis_, a captive, slave.

=Caius College.= The name given to Gonville College, Cambridge, after
its refoundation by Dr Caius by royal charter in 1558.

=Cake Walk.= A musical walking competition round a cake, very popular
among the negroes of the southern states. The couple adjudged to
walk most gracefully receive the cake as a prize.

=Calcutta.= From _Kalikutta_, “the village of Kali,” the goddess of
time.

=Caledonia.= The country of the Caels or Gaels; _Gadhel_ in the native
tongue signified a “hidden cover.”

=Caledonian Road.= From the Royal Caledonian Asylum for Scottish
orphans, now removed.

=Calico.= First brought from Calicut in the East Indies.

=California.= Called by Cortez _Caliente Fornalla_, or “hot furnace,” on
account of its climate.

=Caliph.= From the Arabic _Khalifah_, a successor.

=Called over the Coals.= A corruption of “Hauled over the Coals.”

=Camberwell.= From the ancient holy well in the vicinity of the church
of St Giles, the patron saint of cripples. _Cam_ is Celtic for
“crooked.”

=Cambria.= The country of the _Cimbri_ or _Cymri_, who finally settled
in Wales.

=Cambric.= First made at Cambray in Flanders.

=Cambridge.= From the bridge over the Cam, or “crooked” river. See
“Cantab.”

=Camden Town.= After the Earl of Camden, the ground landlord.

=Camellia.= Introduced into Europe by G. J. Camelli, the German
missionary botanist.

=Camera Obscura.= Literally a dark chamber.

=Cameron Highlanders.= The Scottish regiment of infantry raised by Allan
Cameron in 1793.

=Camisard.= A military term for a night attack, after the Camisards,
Protestant insurgents of the seventeenth century, who, wearing a
_camise_, or peasant’s smock, conducted their depredations under
cover of night.

=Camomile Street.= From the herbs that grew on the waste north of the
city.

=Campania.= An extensive plain outside Rome, across which the “Appian
Way” was constructed. The word comes from the Latin _campus_, a
field.

=Campden Square.= From the residence of Sir Baptist Hicks, created
Viscount Campden.

=Canada.= From the Indian _kannatha_, a village or collection of huts.

=Canary.= Wine and a species of singing bird brought from the Canary
Islands, so called, agreeably to the Latin _canis_, on account of
the large dogs found there.

=Candia.= Anciently Crete, called by the Arabs _Khandæ_, “island of
trenches.”

=Candy.= An Americanism for sweetmeats. The Arabic _quand_, sugar, gave
the French word _candi_.

=Canned Meat.= An Americanism for tinned meat.

=Cannibal.= See “Caribbean Sea.”

=Cannon Row.= The ancient residence of the Canons of St Stephen’s
Chapel, Westminster Abbey.

=Cannon Street.= A corruption of Candlewick Street, where the
candle-makers congregated.

=Cannucks.= See “K’nucks.”

=Canonbury.= From the manorial residence of the priors of St Bartholomew
Church, Clerkenwell, of which the ancient tower remains.

=Cant.= After Alexander and Andrew Cant, a couple of bigoted
Covenanters, who persecuted their religious opponents with
relentless zeal, and at the same time prayed for those who suffered
on account of their religious opinions.

=Cantab.= Of Cambridge University. The River Cam was anciently called
the Granta; hence the Saxon name of the city _Grantabrycge_, or the
bridge over the Granta, softened later into _Cantbrigge_.

=Canterbury.= The fortified place or chief town of “Kent.”

=Canterbury Music Hall.= This, the first of the London music halls,
opened in 1848, grew out of the old-time popular “free-and-easy,” or
“sing-song,” held in an upper room of what was until then a tavern
displaying the arms of the city of Canterbury, and styled the
“Canterbury Arms.”

=Cantlowes Road.= See “Kentish Town.”

=Canvas Back.= A species of sea-duck, regarded as a luxury on account of
the delicacy of its flesh. So called from the colour of the plumage
on its back.

=Cape Finisterre.= Adapted by the French from the Latin _finis terra_,
“land’s end.”

=Capel Court.= The Stock Exchange, so called from the residence of Sir
William Capel, Lord Mayor in 1504.

=Cape of Good Hope.= So called by John II., King of Portugal, after Diaz
had touched this point of Africa, as a favourable augury for the
circumnavigation of the globe.

=Cape Horn.= Named Hoorn, after his birthplace, by Schouten, the Dutch
navigator, who first rounded it.

=Capri.= From the Latin _caper_, a he-goat, expresses the island of wild
goats.

=Capuchin Friars.= From the pointed cowl or _capuce_ worn by them.

=Carat Gold.= So called because gold and precious stones were formerly
weighted against carat seeds or seeds of the Abyssinian coral
flower.

=Carbonari.= Italian for charcoal-burners, in whose huts this secret
society held its meetings.

=Carburton Street.= From the Northamptonshire village on the ducal
estate of the ground landlord.

=Cardiff.= From _Caer Taff_, the fort on the Taff.

=Cardigan.= After Ceredog, a famous chieftain.

=Caribbean Sea.= From the Caribbs, which West Indian designation
signifies “cruel men.” Corrupted through the Spanish _Caribal_, we
have derived the word “Cannibal,” for one who eats human flesh.

=Carlton House Terrace.= From Carlton House, built by Lord Carlton,
later the residence of Frederick, Prince of Wales, the father of
George III.

=Carmagnole.= A wild song and dance which came into prominence during
the French Revolution. It received its name from Carmagnolas, a town
in Piedmont, whence the Savoyard boys carried the tune into the
south of France.

=Carmarthen.= A corruption of _Caer-merlin_, or the fortress built by
Merlin, in the neighbourhood of which he was born.

=Carmelites.= White Friars of the order of Mount Carmel.

=Carnarvon.= The fortress on the _Arfon_, or water.

=Carolina.= After Carollus, the Latinised name of Charles II., who
granted a charter of colonisation to eight of his favourites.

=Caroline Islands.= In honour of Charles I. of Spain.

=Carpenter.= Originally one who made only the body or wooden portion of
a vehicle. So called from the Latin _carpentum_, waggon. An ordinary
worker in wood was, and still is in the English provinces, a joiner.

=Carpet Knight.= A civilian honoured with a knighthood by the sovereign.
One who has not won his spurs on the field, like the knights of old.

=Carry Coals to Newcastle.= To do that which is altogether superfluous.
It would be ridiculous to take coals to a place where they are found
in abundance.

=Cartaret Street.= After John Cartaret, Earl of Granville, Secretary of
State, and one of the most popular ministers of the reign of George
II.

=Carte de Visite.= Photographs received this name because the Duc de
Parma in 1857 had his likeness printed on the back of his large
visiting-cards.

=Carthage.= From the Phœnician _Karth-hadtha_, New Town.

=Carthagena.= From _Carthago Novo_, or New Carthage.

=Carthusians.= Monks of La Chartreuse, near Grenoble. This name is also
given to former scholars of the “Charter House.”

=Carthusian Street.= Although some distance to the west of it, this
street leads to the “Charter House.”

=Caspian Sea.= From the _Caspii_, who peopled its shores.

=Castile.= In Spanish Castilla, from the castles or forts set up for
defence against the Moors.

=Castle.= An inn sign denoting a wine-house, from the castle in the arms
of Spain.

=Catacombs.= Italian _Catacomba_, from the Greek _kata_, downward, and
_kumbe_, a hollow, a cavity.

=Cat and Fiddle.= A corruption of “Caton le Fidele,” the faithful Caton,
Governor of Calais, whose name was honoured by many an inn sign.

=Cat and Wheel.= A corruption of the old inn sign the “Catherine Wheel,”
the instrument of the martyrdom of St Catherine.

=Cat Call.= A corruption of _Cat Wail_. When a theatre or music-hall
audience is dissatisfied with the performance, and impatient for it
to be brought to an end, the “Gods” indulging in “Mewing” like a
chorus of cats on the roof by night.

=Catch a Weasel asleep.= No one ever caught a weasel napping, for the
simple reason that he hides himself in a hole away from the sight of
man.

=Catchpenny.= Short for “Catnach Penny,” from the penny dying speeches
and yard of songs printed by James Catnach in Seven Dials, and
hawked about the streets. The “Catnach Press” was as great a power
in that day as the trashy “Bits” literature is in our own.

=Cathedral.= From the Greek _kathedra_, a seat--_i.e._ the chair of a
bishop. See “City.”

=Caucus.= From the Caulkers of Boston, U.S., who shortly before the
Revolution came into open conflict with the British soldiery.
Meetings were held in the calk houses, and a Caulkers’ Club was
formed. Since that time a political meeting of American citizens has
been styled a Caucus.

=Cavalier.= From the French _chevalier_, a horseman.

=Cavendish.= Tobacco pressed into plugs for chewing, from the name of
the first maker.

=Cavendish Square.= After Henrietta Cavendish, second wife of Lord
Harley, the ground landlord.

=Centennial State.= Colorado, admitted into the American Union one
hundred years after the Declaration of Independence.

=Ceylon.= Called by the Portuguese Selen, an abbreviation of the
Sanskrit _Sinhaladwipa_, “Island of Lyons.”

=Chadwell Street.= After the name of the source of the New River in
Hertfordshire. The well was anciently dedicated to St Chad.

=Chaff.= A corruption of _chafe_, to make hot with anger, as heat may be
produced by friction.

=Chalk Farm.= Originally “Chalcot Farm,” a noted resort for duellists of
a past day.

=Chalk it up.= In allusion to the drink score chalked on a slate against
a customer at a country ale-house.

=Champagne.= A light wine, from the French province of the same name,
which expresses a plain, from the Latin _campus_, field.

=Champs de Mars.= Expresses the large open space or “Plain of Mars,” in
Paris, set apart for military reviews.

=Chancery Lane.= A corruption of “Chancellor’s Lane,” from the town
house of the Bishops of Chichester, afterwards the residence of the
Lord High Chancellor of England.

=Chandos Street.= From the residence of James Bridges, Duke of Chandos.

=Chap.= Originally short for “Chapman,” one who sold his wares at a
_chepe_, or market.

=Chap Book.= A small book or tract sold by chapmen. See “Chap.”

=Chapel.= A printers’ meeting held in the composing-room, so called
because Caxton set up the first English press in a disused chapel of
Westminster Abbey. The presiding workman is styled “The Father of
the Chapel.”

=Chapel of Ease.= An auxiliary place of worship, for the convenience of
those who resided at a great distance from the parish church.

=Charing Cross.= The idea that this spot received its name from the
“good Queen” Eleanor, whose bier was set down here for the last time
on its way to Westminster Abbey has been exploded. It was even then
called the village of Charing, in honour of _La Chère Reine_, the
Blessed Virgin, this being the usual halting-place between London
and the venerable Abbey.

=Charlatan.= From the Italian _ciarlatano_, a quack, a babbler, a
loquacious itinerant who sold medicines in a public square.

=Charles Martel.= See “Martel.”

=Charles Street.= Built upon in the reign of Charles II.

=Charlies.= The old night watchmen reorganised by Charles I. These were
the only civic protectors down to the introduction of the modern
police system by Sir Robert Peel.

=Charlotte Street.= After the queen of George III.

=Charter House.= A corruption of La Chartreuse, one of the English
houses of the Order of monks of the place of the same name in
France.

=Chartreuse.= The liqueurs prepared at the monastery of La Chartreuse,
near Grenoble.

=Chauffeur.= The French term for a motor-car driver; it has no English
equivalent.

=Cheap Jack.= A modern equivalent for “Chap-man.” Jack is a generic name
for man-servant or an inferior person.

=Cheapside.= The High Street of the city of London, consequently
abutting on the _chepe_, or market-place.

=Cheese it.= A corruption of “Choose it better,” or, in other words,
“Tell me something I can believe.”

=Chef.= French for head or master. Employed alone, the word expresses a
head man cook.

=Chelmsford.= The ford over the Chelmer.

=Chelsea.= Anciently “Chevelsey,” or “Shingle Island.” See “Chiswick.”

=Chequers.= An inn sign derived from the arms of the Fitzwarrens, one of
whom had the granting of vintners’ licences.

=Cherry Bob.= An old summer pastime for boys. A bunch of cherries
suspended from a beam or tree-branch was kept swinging to and fro,
while the boys, with their hands behind them, tried to catch the
fruit with their mouths.

=Cherry Gardens Pier.= A name reminiscent of a popular resort of bygone
days in connection with the “Jamaica” in front of which rum, newly
arrived from the West Indies, was landed.

=Cherry Pickers.= The 11th Hussars, because, when captured by the French
during the Peninsular War, some men of the regiment were robbing an
orchard.

=Chesapeake.= Indian for “great waters.”

=Chester.= The city built on the Roman _castra_, or camp.

=Chestnut.= Edwin Abbey, the painter of the Coronation picture, is said
to have been responsible for the term “Chestnut” as applied to a
stale joke. While a member of a club at Philadelphia he always told
a story about a man who had a chestnut farm, but made nothing out of
it because he gave his chestnuts away. Abbey invariably began this
story differently, so that his follow clubmen would not recognise
it, but they soon interrupted him by exclaiming “Chestnuts!”

=Chestnut Sunday.= The first Sunday in June, when the chestnut-trees in
Bushey Park at Hampton Court are in bloom.

=Cheyne Walk.= After Lord Cheyne, lord of the manor of Chelsea in the
seventeenth century.

=Chicago.= Indian for “wild onion.”

=Chichester.= The Roman camp town taken by Cissa, King of the South
Saxons, thenceforth called _Cissanceaster_.

=Chichester Rents.= The site of the town mansion of the Bishops of
Chichester.

=Chili.= Peruvian for “land of snow.”

=China.= After Tsin, the founder of a great dynasty. Earthenware of a
superior quality was first made in China; hence the name.

=Chin Music.= An Americanism for derisive laughter.

=Chip off the Old Block.= A saying in allusion to the “Family Tree.”

=Chippendale.= Furniture of elegant design, named after its famous
maker.

=Chiswick.= Anciently “Cheoselwick,” or village of shingles, from the
Anglo-Saxon _ceosal_, sand, gravel.

=Chocolat-Menier.= The perfection of chocolate, introduced by M. Menier
of Paris, who died in 1881.

=Choke Him off.= The allusion is to grip a dog by the throat in order to
make him relax his hold.

=Christiania.= Rebuilt by Christian IV. of Denmark.

=Christian Scientists.= A modern offshoot of the Peculiar People, or
Faith Healers, who believe that sickness and pain can be cured by
faith and prayer without medicine.

=Christmas-box.= A relic of Catholic days, when a box was placed in all
the churches to receive Christmas alms for the poor. These were
distributed on the day following.

=Christmas Island.= Captain Cook landed here on Christmas Day, 1777.

=Christ’s College.= Founded at Cambridge by Lady Margaret, Countess of
Richmond, mother of Henry VII., for a master and twelve fellows,
corresponding to Christ and His apostles, to whom it was dedicated.

=Christy Minstrels.= After Charles Christy, who introduced the Negro
Minstrel Entertainment to England.

=Church Ale.= Specifically the ale brewed by the church-wardens for
merrymakers on the village green at Whitsuntide and other high
holidays. Later the assemblage itself came to be styled a “Church
Ale.”

=Chute.= The French for “a fall,” applied by the Americans to a
declivity of water. The exciting diversion of boating on such a
waterfall is styled “Shooting the Chutes.”

=Cicerone.= After Cicero, the prince of speakers. The comparison between
the celebrated orator and the “Roman Guide” befooled by Mark Twain
is rather painful.

=Cigar.= From the Spanish _Cigarro_, the original name of a particular
kind of Cuban tobacco.

=Cinderella Dance.= Because it is brought to an end at twelve o’clock,
in allusion to the heroine in the fairy story.

=Circumlocution Office.= A term first applied to the shuttle-cock
methods in vogue at our public offices by Charles Dickens in “Little
Dorrit.”

=Cistercians.= An Order of monks established at Cistercium, or Citeau,
near Dijon.

=City.= The proper and historic distinction between a city and a town
lies in the fact that the former is the seat of a bishop, and
accordingly contains a cathedral. In modern times many burghs or
towns have been advanced to the dignity of a city on account of
their commercial importance. These are, however, cities only in
name.

=City Fathers.= Aldermen of the city of London.

=City Golgotha.= Old Temple Bar, from the heads of rebels spiked on its
top. _Golgotha_ is Hebrew for “the place of skulls.”

=Claim.= A squatter’s term for a piece of land which he has marked off
and settled upon pending its legal acquisition from the Government.
During the gold fever the name also came to be applied to the land
parcelled out to each digger.

=Clare Market.= The site of Clare House, the residence of the Earl of
Clare.

=Clarence.= A carriage named after the Duke of Clarence, afterwards
William IV.

=Clarges Street.= From the mansion of Sir Walter Clarges, afterwards
taken over by the Venetian ambassador.

=Clarendon.= The black type first used at the Clarendon Press, Oxford,
which owed its foundation to the profits of Lord Clarendon’s
“History of the Rebellion,” presented to the University.

=Claude Lorraine.= The assumed name of the celebrated landscape painter
Claude Galée, who was a native of Lorraine.

=Cleaned Out.= Pockets emptied of cash. The allusion is to a saucepan or
other domestic cooking utensil which is cleansed after use.

=Clerkenwell.= The holy well beside which the parish clerks performed
their miracle plays on festival days.

=Clifford Street.= After Elizabeth Clifford, wife of the Earl of
Burlington.

=Closure.= A modern parliamentary term signifying the right of the
Speaker to order the closing of a useless debate. The Closure was
first applied 24th February 1884.

=Cloth Fair.= The great annual mart for the sale of cloth brought over
by Flemish merchants.

=Club.= From the German _kleben_, to adhere, cleave to, associate.

=Clyde.= The strong river, from the Gaelic _clyth_, strong.

=Coast is Clear.= Originally a smugglers’ phrase relative to
coastguards.

=Coat of Arms.= During the days of chivalry, when a knight was
completely encased in armour and the vizor of his helmet was drawn
over his face, his sole mode of distinction was by the embroidered
design of his armorial bearings on a sleeveless coat that he wore in
the lists at tournaments. In warfare the coat was dispensed with,
but he was known to his comrades by another device on the crest of
his helmet.

=Cobbler.= An American drink of spirits, beer, sugar, and spice, said to
have been first concocted by a Western shoemaker.

=Coblentz.= From the Latin name, _Confluentia_, being situated at the
confluence of the Rivers Rhine and Moselle.

=Cockade.= From the party badge originally displayed on a cocked hat.
See “Knocked into a Cocked Hat.”

=Cockade State.= Maryland, from the brilliant cockades worn by the brave
Old Maryland Regiment during the War of Independence.

=Cockney.= From “Cockayne,” a Fools’ Paradise, where there is nothing
but eating and drinking, described in a satiric poem of the
thirteenth century. The word was clearly derived from _coquere_, to
cook, and had reference to London, where the conduits on occasion
ran with wine, and good living fell to the lot of men generally.

=Cock-penny.= A penny levied by the master on each of the boys for
allowing the brutal sport of cock-throwing in school on Shrove
Tuesday formerly. The master himself found the bird.

=Cocktail.= Tradition has it that one of Montezuma’s nobles sent a
draught of a new beverage concocted by him from the cactus plant to
the Emperor by his daughter Xochitl. The Aztec monarch smiled,
tasted it, gulped it down with a relish, and, it is said, afterwards
married the girl; thenceforward this drink became the native tipple,
and for centuries it bore the softened name of Octel. The corruption
of _Octel_ into _Cocktail_ by the soldiers of the American Army
when, under General Scott, they invaded Mexico, about sixty years
ago, was easy.

=Coger.= A slang term derived from the members of the celebrated Cogers’
Club in Salisbury Court, Fleet Street. They styled themselves
“Cogers” from the Latin _cogito_, to think deeply.

=Cohees.= Natives of Western Pennsylvania, owing to their addiction to
the phrase “Quoth he,” softened into _Quo’he_.

=Coin Money.= To make money as fast as it is turned out at the Mint. Few
men are so fortunate.

=Coke Hat.= After William Coke, who popularised it. See “Billycock.”

=Coldbath Fields.= A district of Clerkenwell now long built over, but
famous for a cold bath; the site is marked by the present Bath
Street.

=Colchester.= The camp town on the Colne.

=Coldstream Guards.= The regiment raised by General Monk at Coldstream,
Berwickshire, in 1660.

=Coleman Street.= Said to have been built upon by one Coleman; but long
before his time the coalmen or charcoal merchants congregated here.

=Colleen.= Irish for girl. “Colleen Bawn” expresses a blonde girl.

=College Hill.= From a collegiate foundation of Sir Richard Whittington,
thrice Lord Mayor of London.

=College Port.= Inferior port served up to the older students at
college. It is said to be specially prepared for this market.

=Collop Monday.= The day preceding Shrove Tuesday, when housewives cut
up all their meat into large steaks or collops for salting during
Lent.

=Cologne.= The _Colonia Agrippina_ of the Romans, so called after the
mother of Nero, who was born here.

=Colonel.= A Far-West title of courtesy bestowed upon anyone who owns a
stud horse.

=Colorado.= The Spaniards gave this name to the state in allusion to its
coloured ranges.

=Colosseum.= Greek for “great amphitheatre.”

=Combine.= An Americanism for “Combination.” Applied in a financial or
commercial sense, this term is now well understood in our own
country.

=Come up to the Scratch.= A prize-fighting expression. A line was
scratched on the ground with a stick, and the combatants were
expected to toe it with the left foot.

=Commonwealth.= In theatrical parlance, a sharing out of the proceeds of
the week’s performances after all expenses have been deducted. This
generally happens when the manager has decamped with the entire
takings, and left his company stranded.

=Compton Street= (Old and New). Built upon by Sir Richard Compton and
Bishop Compton respectively.

=Conduit Street.= From a conduit of spring water set up here before the
land was built over.

=Confidence Man.= An Americanism for one who in this country is known to
extract money from strangers by the “confidence trick.”

=Confounded Liar.= Literally one who is covered with confusion on being
brought face to face with the truth.

=Congleton Bears.= A nickname given to the people of Congleton,
Cheshire. Local tradition has it that the bear intended for baiting
at the holiday sports died, and, to procure another, the authorities
appropriated the money collected for a new Church Bible.

=Congregationalists.= Independent Nonconformists, who are neither
Baptists nor Wesleyans, and claim the right to “call” their own
ministers, each congregation managing its own affairs.

=Connecticut.= From the Indian _Quinnitukut_, “country of the long
river.”

=Conscience Money.= Money sent anonymously to the Treasury in respect of
Income-Tax after the thought of having defrauded the Revenue has
pricked the individual conscience.

=Constance.= Founded by Constantine, the father of Constantine the
Great; one of the oldest cities of Germany.

=Constantinople.= The city of Constantine.

=Constitution Hill.= Where John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, took his
daily constitutional walk while residing at Buckingham House, built
by him in 1703. On the site of this mansion George IV. erected the
present edifice, Buckingham Palace, in 1825.

=Cook your Goose.= An old chronicler thus explains this saying: “The
Kyng of Swedland coming to a towne of his enemyes with very little
company, his enemyes, to slyghte his forces, did hang out a goose
for him to shoote, but perceiving before nyghte that these fewe
soldiers had invaded and sette their chief houlds on fire, they
demanded of him what his intent was, to whom he replied, ‘To cook
your goose.’”

=Coon.= Short for racoon, an American animal much prized on account of
its fur.

=Cooper.= A publican’s term for half ale and half porter. See “Entire.”

=Copenhagen Street.= From Copenhagen Fields, where stood a noted
tea-house opened by a Dane.

=Copper.= A policeman, from the thieves’ slang _cop_, to take, catch.

=Copperheads.= A political faction of North America during the Civil
War, regarded as secret foes, and so called after the copperhead
serpent, which steals upon its enemy unawares.

=Cordeliers.= Franciscan Friars distinguished from the parent Order by
the knotted waist-cord.

=Corduroy.= In French _Cord du Roy_, “King’s cord,” because ribbed or
corded material was originally worn only by the Kings of France.

=Cordwainer.= The old name for a shoemaker, because the leather he
worked upon was Cordwain, a corruption of Cordovan, brought from the
city of Cordova.

=Cork.= From the Gaelic _corroch_, a swamp.

=Cork Street.= From the residence of Lord Cork, one of the four brothers
of the Boyle family.

=Corncrackers.= The Kentuckians, from a native bird of the crane species
called the Corncracker.

=Corner.= The creation of a monopoly of prices in respect of natural
produce or manufactured goods. The allusion here is to speculators
who agreed in a quiet corner, at or near the Exchange, to buy up the
whole market.

=Cornhill.= The ancient city corn market.

=Cornwall.= Pursuant to the Saxon _Wahl_, the horn of land peopled by
foreigners.

=Corpus Christi College.= At Cambridge, founded by the united guilds or
fraternities of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin.

=Corsica.= A Phœnician term for “wooded isle.”

=Cossack.= The Russian form of the Tartar term _kasake_, a horseman.

=Costa Rica.= Spanish for “rich coast.”

=Costermonger.= In Shakespeare’s time a Costardmonger, or trader in a
famous species of apple so called.

=Cottonopolis.= Manchester, the city identified with English cotton
manufacture.

=Cotton Plantation State.= Alabama, from its staple industry.

=Cotton to.= An Americanism meaning to cling to a man as cotton would
cling to his garments.

=Counter-jumper.= The derisive nickname of a draper’s assistant, on
account of his agility in leaping over the counter as a short cut
from one department to another.

=Country Dance.= A corruption of the French _contre danse_, from the
opposite positions of the dancers.

=Coup de Grace.= The merciful finishing stroke of the executioner after
a criminal had been tortured by having all his bones broken on a
wheel. One blow on the head then put him out of his misery.

=Court Cards.= Properly Coat Cards, on account of their heraldic
devices.

=Court of Arches.= The ecclesiastical Court of Appeal for the
Archbishopric of Canterbury which in ancient times was held in the
crypt of St Mary-le-Bow, or St Mary of the Arches at Cheapside. See
“Bow Church.”

=Court Plaster.= The plaster out of which ladies of the Court fashioned
their decorative (?) face patches.

=Covenanters.= Those who entered into a Solemn League or Covenant to
resist the religious and political measures of Charles I. in 1638.

=Covent Garden.= A corruption of Convent Garden, the site of which was
converted into a market, _temp._ Charles II. The convent and garden
belonged to the Abbey at Westminster.

=Coventry.= A corruption of Conventry--_i.e._ Convent town. Before the
Reformation it was far famed for the number of its conventual
establishments. The suffix _try_ is Celtic for “dwelling.”

=Coventry Street.= From the residence of Henry Coventry, Secretary of
State, _temp._ Charles II.

=Cowcross Street.= Where the cattle crossed the brook in days when this
now congested neighbourhood was pleasant pasture land watered by the
“River of Wells.”

=Coxcomb.= A vain, empty-pated individual. So called from the cock’s
comb worn on the cap by the licensed jesters, because they were
allowed to crow over their betters.

=Cracker.= Although the origin of this term when applied to a juvenile
firework would appear to be self-evident, it is really a corruption
of _Cracque_, the Norman description of “Greek Fire.”

=Crackers.= The people of Georgia, owing, it is said, to the
unintelligibility of their speech.

=Cranbourn Street.= From the long, narrow stream of this name, when the
whole district hereabouts was open fields.

=Crank.= One whose notions of things are angular, eccentric, or crooked.
His ideas do not run in a straight line.

=Cravat.= Introduced into Western Europe by the Cravates or Croatians in
the seventeenth century.

=Craven Street.= From the residence of Lord Craven prior to his removal
to Drury House in Drury Lane.

=Cream City.= Milwaukee, from the cream-coloured bricks of which its
houses are built.

=Credit Draper.= The modern designation of a “Tallyman.”

=Cree Church.= See “St Katherine Cree.”

=Creed Lane.= Where the monks recited the Credo in procession to St
Paul’s. See “Ave Maria Lane.”

=Cremorne Gardens.= Laid out on the site of the mansion and grounds of
Thomas Dawson, Lord Cremorne.

=Creole State.= Louisiana. In New Orleans particularly a Creole is a
native of French extraction.

=Crescent City.= New Orleans, built in the form of a crescent.

=Crimea.= From the _Kimri_ or _Cymri_ who settled in the peninsula.

=Cripplegate.= From the city gate around which gathered cripples begging
for alms, the neighbouring church being dedicated to St Giles, their
patron.

=Crokers.= Potatoes, because first raised in Croker’s Field at Youghal,
Ireland.

=Cromwell Road.= From the mansion and grounds of Richard Cromwell, son
of the Lord Protector.

=Crop Clubs.= Clubs formed to evade Mr Pitt’s tax on hair powder. _The
Times_ thus noticed one of the earliest in its issue of 14th April
1795: “A numerous Club has been formed in Lambeth called the ‘Crop
Club,’ every member of which is obliged to have his hair docked as
close as the Duke of Bridgewater’s old bay horses. This assemblage
is instituted for the purpose of opposing, or rather evading, the
tax on powdered heads.”

=Cross Keys.= A common inn sign throughout Yorkshire, from the arms of
the Archbishop of York.

=Crowd.= Theatrical slang for members of a company collectively.

=Crow over him.= A cock always crows over a vanquished opponent in a
fight.

=Crutched Friars.= Friars of the Holy Trinity, so called from the
embroidered cross on their habits (Latin, _cruciati_, crossed).
Their London house was located in the thoroughfare named after them.

=Cuba.= The native name of the island when Columbus discovered it.

=Cully.= A slang term applied to a man, mate, or companion. Its origin
is the Romany _cuddy_, from the Persian _gudda_, an ass.

=Cumberland.= The land of the Cymri.

=Cupboard.= See “Dresser.”

=Curaçoa.= A liqueur first prepared at the West Indian island of the
same name.

=Currants.= First brought from Corinth.

=Cursitor Street.= From the Cursitors’ Office that stood here. The
Cursitors were clerks of Chancery, but anciently _choristers_, just
as the Lord Chancellor himself was an ecclesiastic.

=Curtain Road.= From the “Curtain Theatre,” where Ben Jonson’s “Every
Man in his Humour” was put on the stage.

=Curzon Street.= From George Augustus Curzon, created Viscount Howe, the
ground landlord.

=Cuspidor.= The American term for a spittoon, derived from the Spanish
_escupidor_, a spitter.

=Cut me to the Quick.= The quick of one’s fingers when cut into is most
alive or sensitive to pain. See “Quicksilver.”

=Cutpurse.= A thief who, in days before pockets came into vogue, had no
difficulty in cutting the strings with which a purse was suspended
from the girdle.

=Cut the Line.= A printer’s expression for knocking off work. Formerly
compositors finished the line they were composing; nowadays Trades
Unionism has made them so particular that they leave off in the
middle of a line on the first stroke of the bell.

=Cypress.= A tree introduced to Western Europe from the island of
Cyprus.

=Cyprus.= From _kupras_, the Greek name for a herb which grew on the
island in profusion.