• BARM
n. 1. c950 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – a bosom, a lap
n. 2. c1275 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – the froth or ‘head’ of beer when poured out
n. 3. c1340 obs. rare – edge, brim
n. 4. 1740 Sc. & Eng. dial. – yeast
n. 5. Bk1911 Sc. – nonsense; foolish talk
n. 6. 1924 Amer. dial. – a large quantity
• BARMAN
n. 1657 obs. – a pleader at the bar; a barrister
• BARM-CLOTH
n. c1000 – an apron
• BARMECIDAL
adj. a1845 – like the Barmecide’s feast; imaginarily satisfying or sumptuous; unreal, illusory
• BARMECIDE
n. 1713 – one who offers benefits that are illusory or disappointing
• BARM-FEL
n. c1350 – a leather apron
• BARM-HATRE
n. c1300 obs. – an apron
• BARM-HEAD
n. 1865 Eng. dial. – a soft, foolish person
• BARMIE
adj. 1. 1786 – fermenting with thought
adj. 2. 1808 Sc. – passionate
adj. 3. 1824 Sc. – flighty, foolish
• BARMING
n. 1823 Sc. – interest arising from money
• BARMPOT
n. 1951 Brit. sl., orig. N. Eng. dial. – a foolish person
• BARM-SKIN
n. 1594 Eng. dial. – a leather apron
• BARMSTICK
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a person of weak intellect
• BARMY
adj. 1. 1808 Sc. – flighty; passionate; irascible
adj. 2. 1824 sl. – silly, weak-minded, half-witted
adj. 3. 1891 sl. – crazy, eccentric
adj. 4. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – drunk
n. 1887 Eng. dial. – a fool, a simpleton
• BARMY-BRAINED
adj. 1824 Sc. – foolish, giddy, flighty; light-headed
• BARMY-FACED
adj. 1724 Sc. – having a foolish or silly expression
• BARMY-FROTH
n. 1599 – a flighty, empty-headed fellow; a simpleton
• BARMY IN THE CRUMPET
adj. 1891 sl. – crazy, eccentric
• BARNABEE
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata
• BARNABY
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – an error; a mistake; a blunder
• BARNABY BRIGHT
n. 1670 – St. Barnabas’ Day, the 11th of June, in Old Style reckoned the ‘longest day’
• BARNABY DAY
n. 1650 – St. Barnabas’ Day, the 11th of June, in Old Style reckoned the ‘longest day’
• BARNABY THE BRIGHT
n. 1595 – St. Barnabas’ Day, the 11th of June, in Old Style reckoned the ‘longest day’
• BARNACLE
n. 1. 1591 obs. rare – one who speaks through his nose
n. 2. 1607 – a companion or follower that sticks close, and will not be dismissed; a constant attendant
n. 3. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – an incorrigible person
n. 4. M19 cant – a pickpocket
n. 5. E20 US sl. – a prostitute
• BARNACLED
adj. 1878 colloq. – wearing spectacles
• BARNACLES
n. 1571 colloq. – spectacles
• BARNAGE
n. 1. c1325 obs. – childhood, infancy
n. 2. 1790 Sc. obs. – a military company, army, followers
• BARNARD
n. 1532 obs. – the member of a gang of swindlers who acts as a decoy; a lurking scoundrel; a sharper
• BARNAUGH-BLOW
n. Bk1898 Ireland – the goal or winning stroke
• BARN-BOSS
n. 1. 1902 US – a horsekeeper
n. 2. 1969 Amer. jocular usage – a dominating wife
• BARN BURNER
n. 1. 1965 Amer. dial. – a kitchen match; a wooden match which can be struck on any surface
n. 2. 1968 Amer. dial. – a highly successful or enjoyable occasion
• BARN CHAMBER
n. 1838 Amer. dial. – a barn loft
• BARNDOOK
n. 20C Amer. sl., World War I usage – a gun; a rifle
• BARN-DOOR
int. Bk2004 Amer. sl., World War I usage – hello, good day; (French ‘bonjour’)
n. 1. 1547 – a target too large to be easily missed
n. 2. 1679 – in cricket: a player that blocks every ball
n. 3. 1865 Amer. dial. – a triangular tear in a piece of cloth
n. 4. 1885 Amer. dial. – a wide front flap on trousers, buttoned at the sides
• BARN-DOOR BRITCHES
n. 1885 Amer. dial. – a wide front flap on trousers, buttoned at the sides
• BARN-DOOR PANTS
n. 1940 Amer. dial. – a wide front flap on trousers, buttoned at the sides
• BARNDOOR-SAVAGE
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a clodhopper; a foolish, awkward, or clumsy person
• BARNET
n. 1969 Brit. sl. – the head
• BARNET (FAIR)
n. 19C UK rhyming sl. – hair; a head of hair
• BARNEY
n. 1. 1865 sl. – humbug, cheating
n. 2. 1868 Eng. dial. – nonsense, foolery
n. 3. 1882 sl. – a prize-fight
n. 4. 1888 Eng. dial. – a disturbance, dispute, altercation, an argument, a row
n. 5. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – an error, a mistake, a blunder; a piece of bad workmanship
n. 6. 1980s rhyming sl. ‘Barney Rubble’ – trouble
n. 7. 20C teen & high school sl. – an unattractive male
vb. 1876 Brit., Aust. & NZ sl. – to argue
• BARNEY BEE
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata
• BARNEY CLAPPER
n. 1. 17C sl. – sour buttermilk
n. 2. 1904 Amer. dial. – the lily of the valley
• BARNEY DILLON
n. 1930s Irish & Sc. rhyming sl. – a shilling
• BARNEY-GUN
n. 1746 Eng. dial. – an eruption on the skin; also, shingles
• BARNEYING
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – nonsense, foolery
• BARNEY MAGUIRE
n. 20C Aust. & US rhyming sl. – a fire
• BARNEY MOKE
n. 1940s rhyming sl. for ‘poke’ – a pocket
• BARNEY RUBBLE
n. 1980s rhyming sl. – trouble
• BARNEY’S BULL
n. 1. 1950s Aust. & NZ sl. – a worthless person or thing
n. 2. 1950s Aust. & NZ sl. – nonsense, rubbish
• BARN FLY
n. 1970 Amer. dial. – a rustic person; one from a rural area
• BARN-GUN
n. 1746 Eng. dial. – an eruption on the skin; also, shingles
• BARNISH
vb. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – to grow fat; to ‘fill out’; to look sleek and smooth
• BARNISHED
adj. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – fat
• BARNISH YOU!
int. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a mild imprecation
• BARN MONEY
n. 1994 US sl. – in horse racing: money bet by purportedly informed track insiders
• BARN’S-BREAKING
n. 1822 Sc. – a mischievous action; an idle frolic
• BARN-SITE
n. 1863 N. Eng. dial. – anxiety about children
• BARNSTAPLE FAIR WEATHER
n. 1893 Eng. dial. – cold, wet, windy weather
• BARNSTORMER
n. Bk1891 theatrical sl. – an actor
• BARNUMISM
n. 1862 – exaggerated advertising or display; boastful talk
• BARNUMIZE
vb. 1851 – to exhibit with a lavish display of puffing advertisements
• BARNYARD
adj. 20C US sl. – smutty, obscene
• BARNYARD BEAUTY
n. Bk1898 Sc. – a buxom rustic beauty
• BARNYARD BED
n. 1950 Amer. dial. – a bed that is made up the wrong way as a joke, as concealing beans and rice under the lower sheet
• BARNYARD EXPRESSION
n. 1968 Amer. dial. – coarse or vulgar language; slang
• BARNYARD GOLF
n. 1929 Amer. dial. jocular usage – the game of quoits or horseshoes
• BARNYARD PIPE
n. 1970 Amer. dial. – a corncob pipe
• BARNYARD PREACHER
n. 1805 Amer. dial. – an unprofessional or part-time lay preacher
• BARNYARD RELATION
n. 1967 Amer. dial. – a distant relation
• BARNYARD SALAD
n. 1968 Amer. dial. – manure
• BARNYARD TROTS
n. 1970 Amer. dial. – diarrhoea
• BAR OF SOAP
n. 1959 US sl. – in dominoes: the double blank
• BARON
n. 1. 1919 sl. – an army commander
n. 2. Bk2007 UK sl. – a prisoner enjoying a degree of power and influence over his fellow inmates
• BARON NABBEM
n. 1830 US sl. – a constable
• BAR PIG
n. 1915 Amer. dial. – a gelded hog
• BARR
n. 1998 US drug culture sl. – a mixture of codeine-infused cough syrup and soda
vb. 1653 obs. – to utter the peculiar cry of an elephant
• BARRACE
n. 1. c1470 obs. – hostility, contention, strife (as per NED: perhaps confused with ‘barrat’)
n. 2. 1480 obs. rare – a hindrance, obstruction, delay
• BARRACK
n. 1686 obs. exc. N. Eng. dial. a temporary hut or cabin, as for the use of soldiers during a siege, etc.
vb. Bk1898 N. Ireland – to brag, to be boastful of one’s fighting powers
• BARRACKER
n. Bk1898 N. Ireland – a braggart
• BARRACK-HACK
n. 19C Brit. sl. – a soldier’s prostitute; a camp follower
• BARRACKING
adj. Bk1892 Aust. sl. – bantering
n. Bk1898 N. Ireland – bragging, boastfulness
• BARRACKS 13
n. Bk1944 services’ sl. – the guardhouse
• BARRACK SCHOOL
n. 1894 – a disparaging term applied to a large district school for poor-law children
• BARRACKS FATIGUE
n. Bk1944 services’ sl. – a loafing in quarters
• BARRACOON
n. 1851 – a rough barrack, set of sheds, or enclosure in which Black slaves (originally), convicts, etc., are temporarily detained
• BARRACUDA
n. 1. 1930s US sl. – a violent, aggressive criminal
n. 2. 1950s US sl. – a domineering, argumentative person
n. 3. 1960s US sl. – a predatory homosexual, desperate to obtain a desired partner no matter what it takes
n. 4. 1970s US sl. – a sexual enthusiast, esp. female
n. 5. 1980s US college sl. – a nasty woman
• BAR RAG
n. 1919 US sl. – a regular in a given bar
• BARRAGE
n. Bk1944 services’ sl. – a party where a jug is produced and the spirited contents trickle musically into the glasses
• BARRAKIN
n. M19 – unintelligible language
• BARRANCA
n. 1836 Amer. dial. – a deep gully or ravine
• BARRANCO
n. 1892 Amer. dial. – a bluff or the steep bank of a river
• BARRAT
n. 1. c1230 obs. – trouble, distress, sorrow, grief, pain
n. 2. c1300 obs. – contention, strife, quarrel, fighting
n. 3. 1340 obs. – deception, fraud, fraudulent dealing
vb. 1600 obs. rare – to quarrel, strive, brawl
• BARRATER
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. obs. – a brawler; an inciter to lawsuits
• BARRATOR
n. 1. a1400 obs. – one who fights; esp. a hired bully
n. 2. 1427 – a person who buys or sells ecclesiastical preferments; a simonist; one who buys or sells offices of state
n. 3. c1440 obs. – a quarrelsome person; one given to brawling and riot; a rowdy
n. 4. 1847 – a ship’s master who commits ‘barratry’ (see Marine Law definition)
n. 5. 1864 – a judge who takes bribes
n. 6. Bk1898 Eng. dial. obs. – an inciter to lawsuits
• BARRATOUS
adj. 1430 obs. – contentious, quarrelsome
• BARRATRESS
n. 1583 obs. rare – a female fighter, an amazon, a virago
• BARRATROUS
adj. 1842 – in Marine Law: of the nature of barratry, fraudulent
• BARRATRY
n. 1. 1427 – the purchase or sale of ecclesiastical preferment, or of offices of state
n. 2. 1622 – in Marine Law: fraud, or gross and criminal negligence, on the part of the master or mariners of a ship, to the prejudice of the owners, and without their consent; e.g. dishonestly sinking, deserting, or running away with the ship, or embezzling the cargo
n. 3. 1645 – the offence of habitually exciting quarrels, or moving or maintaining lawsuits; vexatious persistence in, or incitement to, litigation
n. 4. 1773 – in Sc. law: the acceptance of bribes by a judge
• BARRED
adj. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – striped, streaked
• BARRED CAT
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a tabby-cat
• BARREL
n. 1. c1300 – the contents of a barrel; intoxicating liquor
n. 2. 1703 – the belly and loins of a horse, ox, etc.
n. 3. 1800 Eng. dial. – the curve of the surface of a road
n. 4. 1884 US political sl. – money for use in a political campaign, esp. for corrupt purposes
n. 5. 1971 US sl. – a tablet of LSD; usually in the plural
n. 6. 1990 US sl. – in pool: a betting unit; ‘if you have $1000 and you’re playing for $100 a game, you’re packing ten barrels‘
n. 7. 1990s US sl. – a gun
vb. 20C US sl. – to drink to excess; to consume ‘barrel’s of drink
• BARREL-ASS
n. 1940s US sl. – a fat person
vb. 1960s US sl. – to rush headlong, to charge at; to drive fast
• BARREL-BELLIED
adj. 1697 – having a round and protuberant belly; corpulent
• BARREL-BOARDER
n. L19 US sl. – an ageing, impoverished, alcoholic tramp who frequents low saloons
• BARREL-BREASTED
adj. 1884 Sc. – round-chested
• BARREL-CAMPAIGN
n. 1884 US – a political contest in which bribery is lavishly employed
• BARREL DOSSER
n. L19 US sl. – an ageing, impoverished, alcoholic tramp who frequents low saloons
• BARRELET
n. 1611 obs. – a little barrel or cask
• BARREL-FEVER
n. 1. 1791 Eng. dial. – sickness caused by excessive drinking
n. 2. 19C sl. – a hangover
n. 3. 19C sl. – the delirium tremens
n. 4. 19C sl. – a name for the cause of death when a lethal dose of alcohol has been ingested
• BARREL HOUSE
n. 1888 US – a low-class drinking-saloon
• BARREL-HOUSE BUM
n. M20 US sl. – a beggar drunkard
• BARREL-HOUSE DRUNK
adj. E20 US sl. – heavily intoxicated with alcohol
• BARREL-HOUSE STIFF
n. L19 US sl. – an ageing, impoverished, alcoholic tramp who frequents low saloons
• BARRELLED
adj. 1910s US sl. – drunk
• BARRELLED UP
adj. 1910s US sl. – drunk
• BARRELLIE
n. 1910 Sc. – a short, thickset person
• BARREL OF FAT
n. 20C Aust. rhyming sl. – a hat
• BARREL OF TREACLE
n. L19 sl. – love, esp. the outward signs of being in love
• BARRELS
n. 1970s drug culture sl. – the drug LSD
• BARREL SHOP
n. 1904 US – a low-class drinking-saloon
• BARREL-SICK
adj. c1770 Sc. – drunk
• BARREL STIFF
n. L19 US sl. – an ageing, impoverished, alcoholic tramp who frequents low saloons
• BARREL-STOMACHED
adj. 1884 – having a well-rounded belly
• BARREL-TEARS
n. 1864 Eng. dial. – ale
• BARREL-WASH
n. 1980s Can. sl. – illicitly distilled liquor
• BARREN
n. 1. c1420 obs. – one who bears no children; a barren woman or animal
n. 2. 1486 obs. – a drove of mules
vb. 1581 obs. – to make barren, unfruitful, or sterile
• BARRENHOOD
n. c1380 obs. – barrenness
• BARRENIZE
vb. 1649 obs. – to make barren or sterile
• BARREN JOEY
n. 1940s Aust. sl. – a prostitute
• BARRENTY
n. 1382 obs. – unproductiveness
• BARREY HOG
n. 1927 Amer. dial. – a castrated hog
• BARRICADO
n. 1. 1611 – any barrier or obstruction to passage
n. 2. 1644 obs. – a natural frontier or boundary line
• BARRICO
n. 1607 – a keg, a small cask or barrel
• BARRIE
adj. 1923 Sc. – fine; big; smart in appearance
n. a1714 Sc. – a woman’s petticoat
vb. 1908 Sc. – to thrash
• BARRIER
n. 1. 1709 obs. – a fortified frontier; a frontier generally; a name formerly given to a district which commanded the frontier of the Netherlands
n. 2. 1910s Aust. sl. – a bar
• BARRIER REEF
n. 1980s Aust. rhyming sl. – the teeth
• BARRIES
n. 2000 Black British usage – fellatio
• BARRIKET
n. 1611 obs. – a small cask; a firkin
• BARRIKIN
n. 1. 1851 Eng. sl. – high-flown language; unintelligible language; gibberish, jargon
n. 2. M19 sl. – a hawker’s sales patter
n. 3. L19 sl. – chatter
• BARRIO
n. 1939 Amer. dial. – a Spanish-speaking community or neighbourhood in an American city; a Latino or Chicano district
• BARRIQUET
n. 1611 obs. – a small cask; a firkin
• BARRISTRATION
n. 1837 nonce word – the action of a barrister
• BARRISTRESS
n. 1898 – a woman barrister
• BAR-ROOM
n. Bk1913-17 Amer. dial. – a bunk-room in a logging-camp
• BAR ROOM MAN
n. 1938 US lumberjacks’ usage – in logging: the chore boy around the camp who cut fuel, filled wood boxes, swept bunkhouses, washed blankets, fed pigs
• BARROW
n. 1. c885 obs. – a mountain, a mount, a hill or hillock
n. 2. a1000 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – a castrated boar, a swine
n. 3. c1000 obs. exc. Eng. dial – a mound of earth or stones erected in early times over a grave; a grave-mound, a burial mound; a tumulus.
n. 4. 1552 obs. rare – a badger
n. 5. 1781 Eng. dial. – a large heap of stones
n. 6. 1795 Eng. dial. – a grove, copse, dingle
n. 7. 1869 Eng. dial. – a mound or heap
n. 8. 1940s Aust. sl. – a police van
n. 9. 1950s Aust. sl. – a second-hand motorcar
vb. 1. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – to carry in a wheelbarrow
vb. 2. M19 – to take home a drunkard, who is reclining or passed out, in a wheelbarrow
• BARROW-BACKED
adj. 1885 Eng. dial. – bent from heavy work, such as wheeling barrows
• BARROW-BUNTER
n. 1771 obs. – one employed in wheeling a barrow; a female costermonger
• BARROW-GUTTLINGS
n. 1575 – pig’s chitterlings; intestines, bowels
• BARROW JOCKEY
n. Bk1944 services’ sl. – one who pushes a wheelbarrow
• BARROW-MAN
n. 1. E19 sl. – a convict under sentence of transportation
n. 2. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a lame beggar carried from house to house in a barrow
• BARROW-PIG
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – the smallest pig of a litter
• BARROW PIT
n. 1931 Amer. dial. – a roadside drainage ditch
• BARROWS
n. 1990s W. Indies sl. – a loan, esp. of money
• BARROW-TRAM
n. 1815 Sc. – a raw-boned person; a gaunt person
• BARRUH
n. 1922 Amer. dial. – a castrated hog
• BARRY
n. 1970s S. Afr. sl. – a fool; one who has newly arrived at a township from the countryside
• BARS
n. 1. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a rest from work
n. 2. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – peace, truce
• BARSE-ACKWARDS
adv. 1975 Amer. dial. – backwards; in reversed position or confused order
• BARSELETTE
n. c1340 obs. – a hunting dog, a hound
• BARSK
adj. Bk1898 Sc. – harsh, husky
• BARST
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a loud noise
• BAR STEWARD
n. 1888 – a person who serves drinks in a bar; a bartender
• BARSY; BARZY
adj. 1970s UK sl. – mad, lunatic
• BARTARIAN
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a bartender
• BARTER
n. 1859-1864 Eng. sl. – in cricket: a half-volley; a hard hit
vb. 1859-64 Eng. sl. – in cricket: to hit half-volley
• BARTERY
n. 1. 1570 obs. – traffic by exchange, barter
n. 2. a1638 obs. – wares for barter or exchange
• BARTH
n. 1573 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – a warm sheltered place or shelter for cattle and sheep
• BAR THE DICE
vb. 1673 obs. – to declare the throw void
• BARTHLESS
adj. 1886 Eng. dial. – houseless
• BAR TOAD
n. 1958 Amer. loggers’ usage – a man who goes into a saloon and squats there like a toad on a rock
• BARTOLIST
n. 1602 obs. – a student of Bartolo, an eminent Italian lawyer born 1313; one skilled in the law
• BARTON
n. 1. 1552 – a farmyard; the outbuildings at the back of a farmhouse
n. 2. 1552 obs. – an enclosure for poultry; a pen
n. 3. 1790 Eng. dial. – a large farm, esp. the demesne lands of a manor; a farmhouse
• BARUKHZY
n. 1895 – the Afghan hound
• BARVEL AND BOOTS
n. 1975 Amer. dial. – a little frosting on the cake; a special consideration
• BARY
vb. 1594 obs. rare – to utter the peculiar cry of an elephant
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