Chapter L

=Labadists.= A sect of Protestant mystics founded in the seventeenth
century by Jean Labadic of Bourg, Germany.

=La Belle Sauvage Yard.= The yard of the famous coaching inn of the same
name. The history of this sign was curious. Kept by Isabelle Savage,
it bore the name of “The Bel Savage”; but its sign was a bell
suspended within an iron hoop at the top of the usual “Ale Stake.”
Hence its proper name was “The Bell in the Hoop.” When in the year
1616 John Rolfe brought his Virginian bride Pocohontas to London,
the story of his remarkable adventures had anticipated his arrival,
and people spoke of this Indian heroine as “La Belle Sauvage.” It
was odd that these strangers within our gates should put up at the
“Bell Savage,” and the association resulted in the change of title
on their account.

=Labrador.= Called by the Portuguese navigators _Tierra Labrador_,
“cultivatable land.”

=Lackland.= The surname of King John, who, owing to his thriftlessness,
was left entirely without provision at the death of his father,
Henry II.

=Laconics.= Terse and pithy replies, so called from the Lacons, which
was the name applied to the Spartans, from the country whence they
came. When Philip of Macedon sent this message to the Spartan
magistrates: “If I enter Laconia I will level Lacedæmon to the
ground,” the reply was briefly: “If.”

=Lacrosse.= This name was given to the game by Charlevoix, who, seeing
it played by some Alonquin Indians with a stick between Quebec and
Three Rivers, called it _le jeu de la Crosse_.

=Ladbroke Grove.= This, with the square of the same name, was built upon
by the Ladbroke family, who acquired the lease of the land for the
purpose.

=Lad Lane.= A name frequently met with in connection with the old
coaching inn, “The Swan with Two Necks.” It was a corruption of “Our
Lady Lane,” so called from a statue of the Virgin.

=Ladrones.= Expresses the Spanish for “thieves,” the name given to those
islands by Magellan because the natives made off with the stores he
had landed.

=Ladybird.= A pretty species of beetle resembling a bug, and anciently
called “Our Lady’s Bug.” _Bug_ is the accepted American term for a
beetle.

=Lady Day.= The Feast of Our Lady, otherwise of the Annunciation to the
Virgin (25th March). Prior to 1752 this was also the first day of
the New Year; now it figures as Quarter Day, when rents and taxes
have to be paid.

=Lady Freemason.= The Hon. Elizabeth St Leger, niece of Sir Anthony St
Leger, who founded the stakes named after him at Doncaster Races,
and daughter of Lord Doneraile of Dublin. Chancing to overhear the
proceedings at a Lodge held at her father’s mansion she was
discovered, and, as the only way out of an unprecedented dilemma,
initiated to the craft. No other female has ever been made a
“Freemason.”

=Lager Beer.= The German “lager bier” is simply stock beer, the liquor
being kept in a _lager_, or cellar, until it is sufficiently ripened
for consumption. All over the United States the demand for “Lager”
is enormous.

=Laid on the Shelf.= A phrase implying that one’s period of usefulness
has been passed. The allusion is to books read and clothes laid
aside as of no further use.

=Laid up in Lavender.= Something put away very carefully, as a good
housewife preserves linen strewn with lavender in a press against
moths. At times we hear the expression allusive to an article put in
pawn.

=Lake Erie.= See “Erie.”

=Lake Huron.= See “Huron.”

=Lake Ontario.= See “Ontario.”

=Lake School of Poets.= A term applied by _The Edinburgh Review_ to the
imitators of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey, who communed with
Nature in the Lake District of Cumberland and Westmoreland.

=Lake Superior.= The uppermost and principal of the five great lakes of
North America.

=Lake Winnipeg.= See “Winnipeg.”

=La Marseillaise.= See “Marseillaise.”

=Lambeth.= A corruption of “Lamhithe,” the Anglo-Saxon for mud haven, or
a muddy landing-place.

=Lambeth Palace.= The historic residence of the Archbishops of
Canterbury.

=Lamb’s Conduit Street.= After William Lambe, a wealthy clothworker, who
at his own cost built “a faire conduit and standard” in the fields
here off Holborn in 1577.

=Lamb’s Wool.= A rural beverage of roasted apple juice and spiced ale.
It received its name from the Saxon _La Mæs Ubhal_, or “Feast of the
Apple Gathering.” From _lammas ool_ its further corruption was easy.

=Lame Duck.= The name given to a member of the Stock Exchange who cannot
meet his liabilities on settling day. Instead of walking erect, like
a man of strict integrity, he ducks his head, and waddles off, well
knowing that he has been black-boarded and struck off the list of
members.

=Lammas Day.= The ancient name for the first of August, when every
parishioner brought to church a loaf made of new wheat. The name
expresses the Anglo-Saxon for “loaf mass,” and the bread was a gift
of first-fruits to the clergy. Its modern equivalent is the “Harvest
Festival.”

=Lamp-black.= So called because this pigment was at first obtained by
burning resinous matter over the flame of a lamp.

=Lancaster.= The Roman _Lunecastra_, or fortified camp on the Lune.

=Lancaster Gun.= After the name of its inventor.

=Lancastrians.= During the Wars of the Roses the partisans of the House
of Lancaster in the contest for the crown of England as opposed to
the House of York.

=Lancers.= This dance received its name from a company of Lancers who
went through the evolutions of a quadrille on horseback about the
year 1836.

=Landau.= After Landau in Germany, where it was first made.

=Landes.= Expresses the French for heaths. The people of this marshy
and, in parts sandy, district walk on long stilts.

=Landgrave.= The Anglicised form of the German _landgraf_, count, a
ground landlord.

=Land o’ Cakes.= Scotland, which has always been celebrated for its
oatmeal cakes.

=Land of Green Ginger.= A square at Hull where, as popularly thought,
green ginger was anciently landed from the river and sold in open
market. The name is, however, a corruption of “Greenhinger,” being
the land owned by Moses Greenhinger, a boat builder, who lived in
Whitefriargate in the seventeenth century. This is proved by a
letter of Sir Willoughby Hickman, a candidate for the borough in
1685. Therein he states that a coach took him from the waterside to
the George Inn, “at the corner of the land of Moses Greenhinger.”

=Land of Promise.= The name of a short street in Hoxton, so called,
sarcastically no doubt, because it leads to the workhouse.

=Land of Steady Habits.= Connecticut, so called on account of the
excellent moral character of the people.

=Land of Sundown Seas.= Alaska. “Sundown” is an Americanism for sunset,
just as “Sun-up” is for sunrise.

=Land o’ the Leal.= The Scottish heaven, or “Dixie’s Land”; according to
the Baroness Nairne’s ballad the word _Leal_ means faithful.

=Land of the Midnight Sun.= Norway.

=Landscaper.= Local slang in the eastern counties for a tramp, vagrant,
or “Loafer.”

=Land Shark.= The name given by sailors to a boarding-house keeper in a
seaport town who preys upon them by systematic overcharges.

=Landwehr.= The German equivalent for our volunteers, or soldiers for
land defence. The term _wehr_ means bulwark, defence.

=Lane.= Actors refer to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, as “The Lane,”
the playhouse of London _par excellence_ since the palmy days of the
Drama.

=Langbourn Ward.= From the long bourn or stream, of which now no trace
remains.

=Langholm Place.= After the mansion and grounds of Sir James Langham,
which occupied what is now the street of the same name.

=Laodicea.= This ancient city was so called after Laodice, the queen of
Antiochus Theos, who founded it.

=Lap Dog.= One literally nursed in the lap of luxury. Mothers of
families are strangers to such pets.

=Lapsus Linguæ.= Latin for “a slip of the tongue.”

=Largess.= From the Latin _largitso_, to give freely, through the French
_largesse_. This word meant originally a fee or present bestowed
upon a butler or head servant by a departing guest. In its modern
acceptation it is a distribution of money amongst a number rather as
a matter of policy or necessity than from choice.

=Lascar.= The generic name for an East Indian seaman, though it really
expresses the Persian for a soldier, from _lashkari_, a
camp-follower. Lascars were first employed by the East Indiamen
homeward bound. Nowadays all Asiatic sailors, of whatever
nationality, are called Lascars.

=Lasso.= From the Spanish _lazo_, a noose.

=Latakia.= A Turkish tobacco, so called from the place (the ancient
Laodicea) where it is produced.

=Latch-string is always out.= An Americanism for a hearty welcome at all
times, without need for a formal invitation. The allusion to the
latch-string means: “You have only to walk in, like any member of
the family.”

=Lath.= A subdivision of land while certain portions of Eastern England
were held by the Danes, so called from the Norse “Lathing,” a law
assembly.

=Latins.= See “Italy.”

=Latin Vulgate.= The Roman Catholic Bible authorised by the Council of
Trent in 1546. This translation of the Scriptures was made by St
Jerome from the Greek into the Latin or vulgar tongue A.D. 405.

=Latitudinarians.= The opposers of the High Church party, and also of
the Puritans, during the Restoration period. Modern Latitudinarians
are those who hold very broad views in regard to orthodox doctrine.

=Laugh and grow Fat.= In allusion to Democritus, “The Laughing
Philosopher,” who waxed fat, and lived to be 109 years old.

=Laughing Philosopher.= Democritus of Abdera, from his habit of
humorously exposing the absurdities of his countrymen, whose
stupidity, he declared, was proverbial; the feeble powers of
mankind, contrasted with the forces of nature, likewise aroused his
contempt.

=Laugh in your Sleeve.= Anciently the sleeves of all outer garments were
very wide, and when a person covered his face with his hand there
was always a suspicion that he was making merry at someone else’s
discomfiture.

=Laugh on the wrong Side of your Face.= A person may preserve a grave
countenance while listening to a story, and at the same time wink
significantly to a bystander on the opposite side of the speaker.
The expression means that if, for his insolence, he received a
castigation, both his eyes would be made to wink or blink.

=Laundress.= The exclusive designation of a housekeeper or caretaker of
bachelor chambers in the Temple. This is because during the Crusades
a great many women of the town followed in the train of the Knights
Templars to the Holy Land for the purpose of washing their linen. It
afterwards transpired that, as a rule, they acted also as mistresses
to the Knights, and had tents set apart for them even within sight
of Jerusalem. Historians tell us too that, though a religious Order,
the Templars did not scruple to introduce these women into their
London house after their return from the seat of warfare, and this
irregularity, in fact, led to their suppression by Edward II. in
1313.

=Laundried.= An Americanism for “washed,” in relation to household or
personal linen. This, when one comes to look into the word, is
correct English, meaning _lawn dried_.

=Lavender.= From the Latin verb _lavare_, to wash, because this shrub
yields an essential oil employed in medicine and perfumery.
Laundresses also use it for preserving newly washed linen against
moths.

=Lavender Water.= A scent produced from the essential oil of lavender,
spirits of wine, and ambergris.

=Lawing.= An Americanism for “going to law.”

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

=Lawn.= The finest linen, which has been bleached on a lawn instead of
the usual drying ground. The greensward called a lawn received its
name from the Celtic _allawnt_, a smooth, rising ground.

=Lawrence Lane.= From the Church of St Lawrence, at its foot, in Gresham
Street.

=Law Sakes.= An American corruption of the phrase “For the Lord’s sake!”
which, current among the Puritans of New England, found its way in
this new form into neighbouring states.

=Laws, Laws-a-me.= A corruption of “Lord, have mercy on me.”

=Lawyer.= From the old English _Lawwer_, literally “lawman”; the suffix
is allied to the Latin _vir_, man.

=Lawyer’s Treat.= A phrase implying that each shall pay for his own
drinks. A lawyer never treats his clients at a refreshment bar; they
defray the cost between them.

=Lay-by.= The name given to an article, generally clothing, purchased on
the weekly instalment system, and laid by on a shelf until the whole
amount has been paid off.

=Lazar-house.= The old name for a poor-house, in allusion to Lazarus,
who picked up the crumbs under the table at the mansion of Dives. On
the Continent such an institution is styled a “Lazaretto.”

=Lazarists.= An Order of missionaries founded by St Vincent de Paul, so
called from their headquarters in Paris, the Priory of St Lazare,
between 1632 and 1792.

=Lazzaroni.= The beggars of Naples, and originally all the poorest
people of that city who had no regular habitation save the streets.
Their name was derived from the common refuge, the Hospital of St
Lazarus.

=Leadenhall Street.= After the edifice known as the Leadenhall, the
first in London ever roofed with lead, built in 1419 by Sir Simon
Eyre, and presented to the city for the purposes of a granary in
time of scarcity.

=Leading Article= (or =Leader=). There are three reasons for this term
applied to a large-type newspaper article. It is supposed to be
written by the chief of the literary staff, the editor; it leads off
the foreign and all other important news on the inside pages of the
paper; and it is intended to lead public opinion according to the
party views maintained by the journal in question.

=League of the Cross.= The title of a modern crusade among the Roman
Catholics for the total suppression of drunkenness.

=Leamington.= The town in the meadow on the banks of the Leam.

=Leap Year.= That which every fourth year leaps to the total of 366 days
by adding a day to the month of February.

=Leather Lane.= From “The Old Leather Bottle,” now modernised, at the
corner of this lane and Charles Street.

=Leave some for Manners.= A dinner-table phrase, which had its origin in
the ancient custom of making an offering of a portion of the viands
to the gods.

=Lebanon.= From the Hebrew _laban_, white; expresses “the white
mountain.”

=Lee.= A variant of the Anglo-Saxon _lea_ and _ley_, “meadow” or
“pasture land.” This word enters into many river and place-names.

=Leech.= The old name for a medical man in the days when bleeding the
patient, no matter what his ailment might be, was the common
practice.

=L. E. L.= The literary pseudonym, formed from the initials of Letitia
Elizabeth Landon, the poetess.

=Leg and Star.= A corruption of “The Star and Garter.” This, of course,
arose when a painted device, instead of a mere title, served as an
inn and tavern sign.

=Legend.= An Americanism for a written or printed notice. The term has
latterly come into use in England relative to a tradesman’s shop
announcement.

=Legitimate Drama.= That which is dependent upon its intrinsic literary
and constructive merits, quite apart from scenic effects.

=Leg Stretcher.= A Far Western expression for a drink. This arose from
the common travellers’ exclamation while the stage coach was waiting
for the mails: “I’ll get off a bit, and stretch my legs.”

=Leicester.= The _Leirecastra_ of the Romans, being the fortified camp
on the Leire, now called the Soar.

=Leicester Square.= Originally Leicester Fields, from the town mansion
built on its east side by Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester, in 1636.

=Leipsic.= Expresses the Slavonic for linden or lime tree town, from
_lipa_, lime-tree.

=Leman Street.= Properly “Lemon Street,” from a wharf at the Thames
side, where, before the construction of the docks, lemons were
landed and sold.

=Lemon Sole.= The species of sole found on the south coast of England;
really a mud sole, from the Latin _lima_, mud.

=Lent.= From the Anglo-Saxon _lencten_, the spring. The word has the
same origin as “lengthen,” since at this season of the year the
lengthening of the days becomes perceptible.

=Lent Crocking.= A popular old-time diversion of the schoolboys on
Shrove Tuesday. The ringleader, having knocked at a house door and
recited a garbled set of verses, to the effect that he had come
_a-shroving_, his companions kept up an incessant din with old
saucepans and kettles until they were paid to go away.

=Leonine Verses.= Those which rhyme both in the middle and at the end of
each line, so called after Leoninus, a canon of St Victor in Paris
midway in the twelfth century.

=Let the Cat out of the Bag.= To disclose a trick unwittingly. The
illusion is to a very old device at country fairs of selling a cat
for a sucking pig. One pig only was exposed to view; all the others
were supposed to be ready tied up for carrying away. If, on
occasion, a purchaser insisted on untying the sack before paying for
it, the cat leapt out, and the fraud was discovered. As to the other
victims who had taken away theirs on trust, they were forced to
admit, because their sack contained no sucking pig, that they had
been “sucked in.”

=Levant.= An Italian term for the Orient or East--_i.e._ all those parts
of the Mediterranean eastward of Italy. The word is also used in the
sense of to depart, and a defaulter was said to have _levanted_, or
gone to the Levant. This was in allusion to the “Grand Tour” which
all scions of the nobility were expected to make on reaching their
majority.

=Levee.= A French word applied to a royal reception, from _lever_,
arising, because in former times such a function took place in the
King’s bed-chamber at the hour of rising.

=Levellers.= The primitive Radicals or Socialists of the time of Charles
I. and long afterwards; their plea was that all men should be on a
common level in regard to office-seeking. Also the original name of
the “White Boys” in Ireland, who commenced their agrarian outrages
by levelling the hedges and fences on enclosed lands.

=Leviticus.= That book of the Old Testament which sets forth the laws
pertaining to the priests or Levites, the descendants of Levi, the
third son of Jacob and Leah.

=Lewisham.= From _Leesham_, the home or family settlement in the meadow.
See “Lee.”

=Leyden.= Originally _Lugdunum_, the Latinised form of the Celtic
_llwch_, a morass, and _dun_, a hill, fortress.

=Leyton.= The town in the lea or meadow.

=Leytonstone.= A corruption of “Leytonstowe,” the stock or wooded place
in the vicinity of a meadow.

=Lhassa.= A Tibetan word for “full of gods.”

=Liberal.= The modern designation of the Progressive or “Whig” Party.
This arose out of Lord Byron’s political magazine, _The Liberal_, in
1828, though the name was not formally assumed until the agitation
for the Reform Bill in 1831.

=Liberator.= The surname of Simon Bolivar, who established the
independence of Peru.

=Liberia.= An independent republic of free Negroes on the west coast of
Africa. The word is derived from the Latin _liber_, free, and the
Celtic suffix _ia_, country.

=Library.= From the Latin _librarium_, a bookcase, through _liber_, a
book.

=Lifting.= This technical term in the printing trade, because type is
lifted out of the columns prior to distribution, or, as may happen
in a newspaper, to be held over until the next issue for want of
space, has come to be applied by journalists to literary theft.
Facts, anecdotes, or jokes stolen from a contribution submitted to
an editor on approval are said to have been “lifted.” One newspaper,
too, often “lifts” matter from another without acknowledgment.

=Light.= A journeyman printer’s term for “credit.” Derived from the old
saying: “He stands in a good light with his neighbours.” The boast:
“My light is good,” has about it little to find fault with.

=Liguorians.= Another name for the Redemptorists or Preachers of the
Redemption, an Order founded by St Francis Liguori in 1732.

=Like a Thousand of Brick.= An Americanism for very heavily, as if a
waggon-load of bricks had been dumped down on one.

=Lille.= Properly _L’Isle_, the island.

=Lima.= A Spanish corruption of the Peruvian Rima, the name of the river
on which it is situated.

=Limavady.= From the Irish _Leim-a-madha_, “The Dog’s Leap.”

=Limehouse.= A corruption of _Limehurst_, or wood of lime-trees.

=Lime Street.= Where lime was sold in ancient times.

=Limoges.= Anciently called “Lemovica,” from the _Lemovices_, the people
who settled in this portion of Gaul.

=Lincoln.= Originally _Llyn-dun_, the Celtic for “Pool hill,” or the
town built on the eminence overlooking the Swanpool, which was not
drained until the eighteenth century. When the Romans established
themselves here they called it _Lindum Colonia_, or the colony
beside the pool. Of this name, therefore, Lincoln is a softened
abbreviation.

=Lincoln College.= Founded at Oxford by Richard Fleming, Bishop of
Lincoln, in 1427.

=Lincoln’s Inn.= Anciently the town mansion of the Earls of Lincoln,
built by Henry de Lacey, Earl of Lincoln, in the fourteenth century.

=Line of Business.= A theatrical phrase for the special kind of parts in
which an actor is experienced. One who plays the “Juveniles” would
not be entrusted with an “Old Man’s” part, and so forth.

=Liner.= A steamship belonging to a regular line or service of fast
sailers--_e.g._ the Cunard Line.

=Lingo.= Slang for language, derived from the Latin _lingua_, the
tongue.

=Lingua Franca.= A common language along the Mediterranean shores, being
a mixture of French and Italian. See “Lingo.”

=Linoleum.= A floorcloth, into the manufacture of which linseed oil
enters largely.

=Linseed Lancers.= The nickname of the Army Medical Corps.

=Lion.= An ancient inn sign derived from the heraldic device of a
particular monarch, or it might be, the Lord of the Manor. According
to the colour of the animal in that device, so the name of the inn,
after a mere name was substituted for the painted representation,
came to be designated. Hence “Red Lion,” “Black Lion,” etc.

=Lion and Key.= A corruption of “The Lion on the Quay,” by way of
distinguishing an inn or tavern from other Lions in the same
seaport.

=Lion Comique.= The name bestowed upon George Leybourne and other
music-hall vocalists of his class in days when comic singing was
very different to what it is now. The modern type of vocal comedians
is, happily, not “lionised” in the strict sense of the word.

=Lionise.= See “Lion of the Season.”

=Lion of the Season.= A distinguished musical executant or other
celebrity, generally a foreigner, at whose shrine society
metaphorically worships while his fame is at its zenith. The
expression is the outcome of the anxiety of the country folk in
former days to see the “London Lion” at the Tower. Hence to
“lionise,” make the most of a “stranger within our gates.”

=Lion Sermon.= This is delivered once a year at the Church of St
Katherine Cree in commemoration of Sir John Gayer’s miraculous
escape from death by a lion when he found himself separated from his
companions in the African desert. He bequeathed the sum of £200 a
year to the poor on condition of this sermon being annually
preached.

=Lisbon.= Anciently _Olisipo_ or _Ulyssippo_, after Ulysses, who,
visiting Portugal with Lucus, is traditionally stated to have laid
the foundations of the city.

=Lisson Grove.= Formerly Lidstone Green, a corruption of “Ossulton
Green,” the name of a Hundred cited in Domesday Book. Ossulton
Street in the Euston Road preserves the name in the original form.

=Litany.= See “Rogation Days.”

=Little Bit of All Right.= A popular expression meaning “Just the thing
I wanted,” or “It couldn’t have happened better.”

=Little Britain.= From the ancient residence of the Dukes of Brittany.

=Little Corporal.= The name bestowed upon Napoleon I., at the
commencement of his military career, from his rank and low stature.

=Little John.= The real name of this Sherwood forester was John Little,
but Robin Hood playfully inverted it because its owner was a tall,
strapping fellow.

=Little Man.= The affectionate sobriquet of the late Mr Alfred Beit, the
“Diamond King,” on account of his diminutive stature.

=Little Mary.= A modern euphonism for the stomach, popularised by J. M.
Barrie’s successful comedy of this title.

=Little too Thick.= The antithesis of a “thin” story; one so crowded
with extraordinary statements that it is hard to grasp or credit.

=Little Turnstile.= The lesser turnstile on the north side of Lincoln’s
Inn Fields, set up to prevent sheep from straying into Holborn.

=Live like Fighting Cocks.= From the days of the Greeks down to
comparatively modern times game-cocks were fed luxuriantly, so as to
increase their pugnacity; hence the application of the phrase to
good living.

=Live Man.= An Americanism for an energetic agent or canvasser.

=Liverpool.= From an extinct bird, somewhat resembling the heron, and
called the _liver_, that made the _pool_ on which this city was
built its home.

=Liverpool Landseer.= The sobriquet of William Huggins, who acquired an
equal celebrity for animal painting in his native place, as Sir
Edwin Landseer in the country at large.

=Liverpool Street.= After Lord Liverpool, one of the most popular
members of the Ministry at the accession of George IV. There is
another Liverpool Street named after him at King’s Cross.

=Liverymen.= Freemen of the city of London who on great special
occasions wear the distinctive livery of the companies to which they
belong.

=Llandaff.= Properly _Llan Taff_, the church on the Taff.

=Lloyd’s.= After Edward Lloyd, a coffee-house keeper in Abchurch Lane,
whose premises were first used by merchants and shippers as a sort
of club.

=LL Whisky.= That distilled by Messrs Kinahan of Dublin. When the Duke
of Richmond was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland between 1807 and 1813 he
in the former year sent to various distilleries for samples of good
whisky, and preferring that tendered by Messrs Kinahan, he ordered a
large vat of the same quality to be exclusively reserved for him.
This vat had LL painted on it, denoting “Lord-Lieutenant Whisky.”

=Lo.= An American term for an Indian. This originated in Pope’s “Essay
on Man,” a couplet of which reads:

“Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutored mind
Sees God in clouds or hears Him in the wind.”

=Loaded.= An Americanism for intoxicated or “primed.”

=Loafer.= This word is neither Dutch nor German, as generally stated; it
is distinctly Spanish-American. The early settlers of Mexico and
Texas gave the name of _gallofo_ to a vagrant, who, like the
_lazzaroni_ of Naples, hung about the churches begging for alms.
From the western states this word travelled to New York, and in the
process became changed into “Loafer.”

=Loan.= An Americanism for “lend.”

=Lock-out.= When artisans have struck for an advance of wages, and
afterwards decide to return to work on the former scale, the masters
retaliate by shutting them out of the works altogether and employing
fresh hands from elsewhere.

=Lock, Stock, and Barrel.= A sportsman’s phrase for the whole of a
thing, in allusion to the three parts of a gun. In the modern sense
it is used to imply the complete discomfiture of an adversary in
argument or of one utterly outwitted in his schemes.

=Loco-Focos.= The American term for lucifer matches. By a patent dated
16th April 1834 John Marck, a storekeeper of Park Row, New York,
brought out a self-lighting or friction cigar, which he called a
Loco-Foco. The first portion of this name was taken from the newly
introduced locomotive, which people generally thought to mean
self-moving; the latter half was a euphonism of his own. When
friction or self-firing matches came in they received the same
designation. The Democratic Party of the United States received the
name of “Loco-Focos” from the circumstance that at a great general
meeting held in Tammany Hall to confirm the nomination of Gideon Lee
as the Democratic candidate for Congress, a tumult arose, and the
lights were turned out; whereupon the adherents of the candidate,
who had provided themselves with loco-focos and candles, relighted
the hall in a moment.

=Loft.= An Americanism for storey. In the United States it is usual to
say a house contains so many “lofts” instead of storeys.

=Logger.= One employed in the North American forests cutting down trees
and sawing them into logs.

=Loggerhead.= A dull, stupid fellow with no more sense in his head than
a “logger” or lumberman. These loggers often quarrel for no visible
cause; hence the expression to be “at loggerheads.”

=Log-rolling.= Primarily a political term descriptive of mutual
co-operation on the part of individuals for the furtherance of a
general cause. It means: “You help me and I’ll help you”; “If your
party further my Bill through Congress I’ll pledge my party to push
yours along too.” The expression obtains also in a social and
journalistic sense: “If I propose a testimonial for you I expect you
to do the same for me”; “I’ll write you up in the Press if you
engage to return the compliment.” For the origin of the term we must
look to the lumber regions of the state of Maine, where the loggers
of different camps assist one another by turns to roll their logs
down to the river.

=Lollards.= Originally an association of pious people in Germany at the
commencement of the thirteenth century banded together for the
purpose of burying the dead. They were so called on account of the
solemn dirges they sang, from the Low German _lollen_, to sing
softly. After a time the same title was assumed by the followers of
one Walter Goilard, a dissolute priest, who was burned for heresy at
Cologne in 1322. The Wycliffites assumed this name still later, and
some of these it must have been who were imprisoned in the
“Lollards’ Tower,” Lambeth Palace.

=Lombard Street.= From the Jews of Lombardy, who here set up banks and
money-lending establishments, at the instance of Pope Gregory IX.,
as a means of assisting the people of England to raise money for the
payment of their taxes early in the thirteenth century.

=Lombardy.= Called by the Romans _Longobardi_ after its people, whom
they subdued. This name was not derived from their long beards, as
generally stated, but from the _longis bardis_, or long battle-axes,
with which they were armed.

=London.= This name claims the same origin as “Lincoln,” the first rude
habitations beside the Thames being situated on the rising ground
now known as Tower Hill.

=London Bridge was built on Woolpacks.= This expression had its origin
in the fact that, when the construction of Old London Bridge was
stopped for want of funds, Henry II. expedited its completion by
imposing a tax upon wool.

=Londonderry.= The town built by a company of London adventurers, to
whom it, with the county of the same name, was granted by a royal
charter of James I. _Derry_ is Celtic for a grove or oak forest.

=London Lion.= An expression derived from the Royal Menagerie at the
Tower of London ere the metropolis rejoiced in a Zoological Gardens,
and when travelling menageries were unheard of. Country visitors up
in town for a few days never failed at that period to feast their
eyes upon a real live lion, and on returning to their homes boasted
of having seen the London Lion.

=London Stone.= Marked the centre of Roman London, from which all the
great roads through the country radiated.

=London Wall.= From the Roman wall which here defined the northern
limits of the city. A portion of this old wall may yet be seen in
Cripplegate Churchyard.

=Lone Star State.= Texas, from the single star in her flag.

=Long Acre.= The Anglo-Saxon _acer_, like the modern German _acker_,
expresses a field. This was anciently a path across the fields
between Lincoln’s Inn and “Lomesbury Village,” or the manor now
known as Bloomsbury in the parish of St Giles’s-in-the-Fields.

=Long Friday.= The old name for Good Friday, both on account of the
length of the Church service and the long fast imposed on all good
Catholics.

=Longford.= The long ford on the River Camlin.

=Long Island.= So called from its shape.

=Long Lane.= This was a long, narrow lane extending from Barbican to
Farringdon Road before the greater portion of its one side was
cleared for the Smithfield Market.

=Long Lane that has no Turning.= An expression meaning that sooner or
later a turn of fortune must come, since no lane, however long,
exists that has no turning.

=Long Peter.= This name was merited by the celebrated Flemish painter,
Peter Aartsen, by reason of his abnormal stature.

=Long Parliament.= That which was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell after it
had lasted more than twelve years.

=Longshanks.= The surname of Edward I. on account of his spindle legs.

=Longshoreman.= Properly “Along-shoreman”--namely, a wharfinger, or one
employed in loading and unloading vessels.

=Look Daggers.= A phrase used when two persons look fixedly at each
other as if their eyes were dagger points ready to make a fatal
thrust.

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

=Lord Bobs.= The later nickname of Lord Roberts since the close of the
South African War.

=Lord’s Cricket Ground.= After Thomas Lord, the founder of the earliest
private Cricket Club in London, in 1780. First in Dorset Square, and
eventually on its present site--his own landed property--he set up a
private pitch for genteel folk far from the haunts of the city
apprentices and other enthusiasts of the game.

=Lord’s Day.= The name given to Sunday by the Quakers.

=Lordship Lane.= From the Lord of the Manor of Dulwich.

=Loretto.= Called by the Romans _Lauretana_ after Laureta, the lady to
whom the country villa, and a large tract of land on which the town
was afterwards built, belonged.

=Lorraine.= Anciently Lotharingia, the duchy of Lotharius II., grandson
of the Emperor Lewis I.

=Los Angeles.= Originally called by the Spaniards “Pueblo de los
Angeles,” the city of the angels, on account of its delightful
situation and climate.

=Lo Spagnoletto.= The surname of Guiseppe Ribera, the celebrated Spanish
painter. It means “Little Spaniard.”

=Lothbury.= A corruption of “Lattenbury,” where the workers in _latten_
ware, a species of bronze, had their shops in the Middle Ages. In
the modern sense latten is a kind of sheet brass.

=Loudoun Road.= After the name of the builder on the estate.

=Louis d’Or.= A gold coin first struck in the reign of Louis XIII. of
France. The name means a “Louis of gold.”

=Louisiana.= The name bestowed upon this State by M. de la Sale in 1682
in compliment to Louis XIV. of France.

=Louvre.= An adapted French word, from _l’ouvert_, “the opening,” which
expressed a kind of turret on the roof of a building by way of a
chimney to let out the smoke. A rude contrivance of this kind
distinguished the ancient hunting seat of Dagobert, on the site of
which Francis I. commenced the famous Parisian palace of this name
in 1528, completed twenty years later by Henry II. A _louvre_ window
partakes of the same character.

=Lower Berkeley Street.= See “Berkeley Street.”

=Lower Thames Street.= The eastern portion of Thames Street, from London
Bridge to the Tower.

=Lowndes Square.= After the ground landlord, lineally descended from
William Loundes, secretary to the Treasury, _temp._ Queen Anne.

=Low Sunday.= Not only was this Sunday at the bottom of the Lenten or
Easter Calendar, but prior to the alteration of New Year’s Day it
was frequently also the last Sunday of the year.

=Luciferians.= A sect of Christians in the fourth century, under
Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, who separated from the
Orthodox Church on the ground that the reconverted “Arians” should
not again be admitted to the fold.

=Lucifer Matches.= Early friction matches, so called from the Latin
_lucis_, light, and _ferre_, to bring.

=Lucullus Feast.= A sumptuous banquet, so called after Licinius
Lucullus, a famous Roman general, who in the days of his retirement
was no less distinguished for the costly suppers he gave to the
greatest men of the Empire. The sums expended on those
entertainments were enormous. As an epicure he was unrivalled; he
could also be a glutton on occasion. There is a story told that
after the feast had been prepared no guests arrived. “Lucullus will
sup to-night with Lucullus” was the explanation of the host.

=Lud-a-massy.= A corruption of the old exclamation “Lord, have mercy!”

=Luddites.= A name borne by the wilful destroyers of machinery in the
manufacturing districts; said to have been adopted from Ned Lud, an
imbecile of Leicester, who being, chased by boys, took refuge in a
house, and there broke a couple of stocking frames. These rioters
caused great havoc during the second decade of the last century.

=Ludgate Hill.= The testimony of Old Stow notwithstanding, there is
grave doubt whether King Lud, the reputed builder of the western
gate of the city, ever existed. In much greater likelihood this gate
received its name from its situation near the River Fleet, and meant
simply _Flood Gate_. See “Fleet Street.”

=Lug.= Northern and Scottish for “ear.” In England generally this word
is regarded as slang except when employed in connection with
“Lugger” and “Luggage.”

=Luggage.= So called because it is lugged about in transit by the
handles, as a Lancashire man would pull another by the _lug_ or ear.

=Lugger.= A small craft having _lugs_, or drooping sails, like a dog’s
ear.

=Lumber.= An Americanism for timber sawn into logs and sent floating
down the rivers for eventual shipment.

=Lumber-room.= One set apart for odds and ends of no practical utility.
The name is derived from “Lombard Room,” in which the Lombards, who
were the first goldsmiths and money-lenders in England, stored the
articles pledged with them.

=Lunatic.= From the Latin _luna_, the moon. The Romans persistently
cherished the idea that a person’s mind was affected at the several
changes of the moon.

=Lupercalia.= A Roman festival in honour of _Lupercus_, the god of
fertility. This occurred on the 15th of February.

=Lupus Street.= This keeps alive the name of Henry Lupus, first Earl of
Chester, from whom the Grosvenors, the ground landlords, are
descended.

=Lurid Waistcoat Banquet.= The latest style of “Freak Dinner” in
America, each guest disporting himself in a waistcoat of startling
hue and design.

=Lutherans.= After Martin Luther, the German Reformer.

=Luxembourg.= This celebrated palace of the French capital stands on the
site of that purchased and enlarged in 1583 by the Duke of d’Epinay,
Luxembourg. The title of the Dukes of Luxembourg is very ancient,
having been derived from a beautiful chateau called _Luici burgum_,
which was acquired by Siegfried, Count of Ardennes, in 963.

=Lyceum Theatre.= Opened in 1834 as the English Opera House. This was
originally a lyceum or academical establishment connected with the
Society of Arts. The word _Lyceum_ was correctly applied in this
case from the academy formed by Aristotle in the temple of Apollo
Lyceus, near the River Illissus.

=Lych-Gate.= A large gateway at the entrance to the churchyard where the
coffin can be set down while the mourners await the arrival of the
clergyman to lead the funeral service. The word comes from the
Gothic _leik_, and German _leiche_, a corpse.

=Lyddite.= So called because experiments with this explosive were first
made at Lydd in Kent.

=Lying around Loose.= An Americanism for being out of a situation,
lounging about the town.

=Lyme Regis.= This little Dorsetshire seaport on the River Lym was
honoured with a royal charter and the title of _Regis_ because it
furnished Edward III. with three ships to aid in the siege of Calais
in 1346.

=Lynch Law.= The summary justice meted out to public offenders in the
western states of North America. This term was derived from James
Lynch, a farmer of Piedmont on the western frontier of Virginia.
There being no Court of Law for many miles around he was always
appealed to in cases requiring a legal decision, and his judgments
were so sound and impartial that the people gave him the name of
Judge Lynch. The death sentence was by hanging at the nearest tree.
To “lynch a man,” however, in the modern sense is to dispense with
legal formalities altogether.

=Lynn Regis.= See “King’s Lynn.”

=Lyon King at Arms.= The principal at Heralds’ College in Scotland, so
called from the lion rampant on the armorial bearings of the
Scottish kings.

=Lyre Bird.= So called from the resemblance of the sixteen feathers of
its tail when spread erect to a lyre.