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Fiddle
·vi To play on a fiddle.
II. Fiddle ·vt To play (a tune) on a fiddle.
III. Fiddle ·noun A stringed...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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fiddle
A contrivance to prevent things from rolling off the table in bad weather. It takes its name from it...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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Back
·noun A ferryboat. ·see <<Bac>>, 1.
II. Back ·adv (Of time) In times past; ago.
III. Back ·noun Th...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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back
is often used for ago; as in the phrase, "a little while back," i. e. "a short time ago."
Behind th...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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back
♦ To back an anchor. To carry a small anchor ahead of the one by which the ship rides, to partake of...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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Fiddle-faddle
·vi To talk nonsense.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Fiddle-shaped
·adj Inversely ovate, with a deep hollow on each side.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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fiddle faddle
Trifling discourse, nonsense. A mere fiddle faddle fellow; a trifier.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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scotch fiddle
The itch.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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welch fiddle
The itch.
See scotch fiddle.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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fiddle faddle
Trifling discourse; nonsense.--Grose. Johnson. Also used adjectively and as a verb.
She said that h...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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fiddle-block
A long shell, having one sheave over the other, and the lower smaller than the upper (see long-tackl...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fiddle-fish
A name of the king-crab (Limulus polyphemus), from its supposed resemblance to that instrument.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fiddle-head
When there is no figure; this means that the termination of the head is formed by a scroll turning a...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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Back door
·- A door in the back part of a building; hence, an indirect way.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Back fire
·add. ·- A fire started ahead of a forest or prairie fire to burn only against the wind, so that whe...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Back stairs
·- Stairs in the back part of a house, as distinguished from the front stairs; hence, a private or i...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Back-fire
·add. ·vi To have or experience a back fire or back fires;
— said of an internal-combustion engine....
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Diamond-back
·noun The salt-marsh terrapin of the Atlantic coast (Malacoclemmys palustris).
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Hog's-back
·noun A <<Hogback>>.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Warty-back
·add. ·noun An American fresh-water mussel (Quadrula pustulosa). Its shell is used in making buttons...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Water back
·- ·see under 1st Back.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Watteau back
·add. ·- The back of a woman's gown in which one or more very broad folds are carried from the neck ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Back Alley
See Little Bell Alley, Copthall Buildings.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back Court
North out of Cloth Fair at No.21 and east, parallel to and between Long Lane and Cloth Fair (P.O. Di...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back Yard
1) Out of Pelican Court, Little Britain (Strype, 1755-Boyle, 1799).
Not named in the maps.
2) Out ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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back biter
One who slanders another behind his back, i.e. in his absence. His bosom friends are become his back...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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back up
His back is up, i.e. he is offended or angry; an expression or idea taken from a cat; that animal, w...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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back door
(usher, or gentleman of the)
A sodomite.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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bloody back
A jeering appellation for a soldier, alluding to his scarlet coat.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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bully back
A bully to a bawdy-house; one who is kept in pay, to oblige the frequenters of the house to submit t...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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crook back
Sixpence; for the reason of this name, see CRIPPLE.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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back-blocks
n.
1) The far interior ofAustralia, and away from settled country. Land in Australia isdivided on t...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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back-block
adj.
from the interior.
1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `Sydneyside Saxon,' vol. xii. p. 215:
«`What a nic...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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back-blocker
n.
a resident in the back-blocks.
1870. `The Argus,' March 22, p. 7, col. 2
«I am a bushman, a ba...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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back-slanging
verbal n.
In the back-blocks (q.v.) of Australia, where hotels are naturally scarce andinferior, th...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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mealy-back
n.
a local name for the locust (q.v.).
...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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saddle-back
n.
a bird of the North Island ofNew Zealand, Creadion carunculatus, Cab. See also Jack-bird and Cre...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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to back out
To retreat from a difficulty, to refuse to fulfil a promise or engagement. A metaphor borrowed from ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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pick-back
On the back.--Johnson. We often use the word with children. To ride pick-back, is for a child to rid...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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u-back
U-BLOCK, &c. ; a christmas-block. See yu-batch. N.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
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back-board
A board across the stern sheets of a boat to support the back of passengers; and also to form the bo...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back-cutting
When the water-level is such that the excavation of a canal, or other channel, does not furnish eart...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back-frame
A vertical wheel for turning the three whirlers of a small rope-machine.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back-her
The order, in steam-navigation, directing the engineer to reverse the movement of the cranks and urg...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back-rope
The rope-pendant, or small chain for staying the dolphin-striker. Also a piece long enough to reach ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back-staff
A name formerly given to a peculiar sea-quadrant, because the back of the observer was turned toward...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back-strapped
As a ship carried round to the back of Gibraltar by a counter-current and eddies of wind, the strong...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back-sweep
That which forms the hollow of the top-timber of a frame.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back-water
The swell of the sea thrown back, or rebounded by its contact with any solid body. Also the loss of ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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beaten back
Returning into port from stress of foul weather.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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heckle-back
A name of the fifteen-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus spinachia.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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razor-back
The fin-whale (Balænoptera), so called from its prominent dorsal fin. It usually attains the length ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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strong-back
The same with Samson's post (which see). Also, an adaptation of a strong piece of wood over the wind...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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swart-back
The Larus marinus, or great black and white gull.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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thorn-back
A well-known fish of the ray kind, Raia clavata.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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walk back!
A method in cases where a purchase must not be lowered by a round turn, as "Walk back the capstan;" ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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(The) Cat and Fiddle
In the parish of St. Benet Sherehog, 1542 (L. and P. H. VIII. XVII. 393).
Earliest mention: "le Cat...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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calf-skin fiddle
A drum. To smack calf's skin; to kiss the book in taking an oath. It is held by the St. Giles's casu...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to play second fiddle
is to take an inferior part in any project or undertaking. A metaphor borrowed from a musical perfor...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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Back Bear Alley
On the south side of Bear Alley, Fleet Market, in Farringdon (Lockie, 1810 and 1816).
Former names ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Ebgate Back Alley
Mentioned in the registers of St. Laurence Pountney, 1628 (Wilson, p. 132).
Not further identified....
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Northumberland Back Alley
West out of Northumberland Alley. In Aldgate Ward (O.S. 1880).
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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back gammon player
A sodomite.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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back and forth
Backwards and forwards, applied to a person in walking, as, "He was walking back and forth." A commo...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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back-o'-beyond
Said of an unknown distance.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back off all
The order when the harpooner has thrown his harpoon into the whale. Also, to back off a sudden dange...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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canvas-back duck
An American wild duck (Fuligula valisneria), which takes this name from the colour of the back feath...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fall back, to
To recede from any position previously occupied.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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put back, to
To return to port generally the last left.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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The Cat and Fiddle Cheap
A shop called the "Catt and Fiddell" in the parish of St. Peter in Chepe, 4 Ed. VI. (Lond. I. p.m. I...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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to hang up one's fiddle
To desist; to give up.
When a man loses his temper and ain't cool, he might as well hang up his fid...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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The Back Alley, Cloth Fair
See Back Court.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back Alley, Bear Alley
South out of Bear Alley and west to Fleet Market (Rocque, 1746-Dodsley, 1761). See Back Bear Alley.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back Alley, Shoe Lane
East out of Shoe Lane, in Farringdon Ward Without (Rocque, 1746-Boyle, 1799).
Site now occupied by ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back Gravel Lane, Houndsditch
South out of Stoney Lane at No.40 to Gravel Lane (q.v.). In Portsoken Ward (P.O. Directory).
First ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back Streate, Cloth Fair
See Back Court.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back Street, Little Moorfields
See Moorfields.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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back, of a ship
The keel and kelson are figuratively thus termed.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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back of the post
An additional timber bolted to the after-part of the stern-post, and forming its after-face.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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Back Alley, Three Crane Lane
A passage to the Thames out of Three Crane Lane (Rocque, 1746-Boyle, 1799). In Vintry Ward.
The all...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back Alley, Three Foxes Court
Out of Three Foxes Court, Long Lane, West Smithfield (Strype, 1755-Boyle, 1799).
Not named in the m...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back Alley, Yard, Little Moorfields
West out of Back Street, Little Moorfields, with passage south to Moor Lane (Strype, ed. 1720), and ...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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pissing down any one's back
Flattering him.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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Back Alley, Great Gardens, St. Katherine's
North out of the Great Gardens, St. Katherine's Lane, East Smithfield (Rocque, 1746-Lockie, 1816).
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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Back, Backside, of St. Thomas Apostles
See Little St. Thomas Apostles.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
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try back for a bend, to
To pay back some of the bight of a cable, in order to have sufficient to form the bend.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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Back Alley, Dean's Court, St. Martin's le Grand
South out of Dean's Court to New Rents, east of St. Martin's le Grand, in Aldersgate Ward Within (Ro...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.