• BEAR
n. 1. c950 – barley, the original English name
n. 2. 1250 obs. rare – a wave, a billow
n. 3. 1369 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – a case or covering for a pillow
n. 4. a1400 obs. – bearing, behaviour
n. 5. 1638 sl. – a gruff, ill-tempered person; a difficult person
n. 6. 1674 obs. – pressure, thrust
n. 7. 1719 – on the Stock Exchange: a speculator for a fall; i.e. one who sells stock for delivery at a future date, in the expectation that meanwhile prices will fall, and he will be able to buy in at a lower rate what he has contracted to deliver at a higher
n. 8. 1719 sl. – a Russian
n. 9. 1751 – a rough, unmannerly, or uncouth person
n. 10. 1825 Eng. dial. – a door-mat
n. 11. 1832 UK sl. – the pupil of a private tutor, who is ‘led’ by his master like a keeper with a tame bear
n. 12. 1905 US sl. – an expert; an adept an excellent, admirable person
n. 13. Bk1913-17 Amer. dial. – a surly person
n. 14. 1915 US sl. – someone who overworks their employees or students; a hard taskmaster
n. 15. 1916 jazz usage – a remarkable first-rate person
n. 16. 1935 Amer. dial. – a hairy caterpillar
n. 17. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – something beautiful or attractive
n. 18. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – an attractive young woman
n. 19. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – something excellent
n. 20. 1947 African-American sl. – an ugly or unattractive man or woman; a physically repulsive man or woma
n. 21. 1968 US sl. – an African-American
n. 22. a1968 US college sl. – a well-dressed man
n. 23. 1972 Amer. sl. – a physically repulsive man or woman; an ugly woman
n. 24. 1975 sl., orig. & chiefly US – a police officer, mainly applied to a highway patrol officer or state trooper
n. 25. 1989 US sl. – a grasping person; a miser
n. 26. 1989 orig. & chiefly homosexual usage – a large, hirsute homosexual or bisexual man
n. 27. M20 US sl. – a difficult task
vb. 1. a1300 obs. – to thrust, pierce, stab a person through the body, or his body through, with a spear, etc.
vb. 2. c1400 obs. – to exalt or lift up oneself upon; to plume oneself, to presume
vb. 3. 1596 obs. – to take as a companion; to take along with one; to carry as a consequence
• BEAR A BOB
vb. 1. 1890 Eng. dial. – to aid, to assist
vb. 2. 1890 Eng. dial. – to be brisk or active
• BEAR A BRAIN
vb. a1529 obs. – to be able to think; to remember; to be cautious, thoughtful, or intelligent
• BEAR A BULL’S NECK
vb. 1790 Eng. dial. – to bear a grudge
• BEARANCE
n. 1725 arch. – endurance, patient suffering
• BEAR A PART
vb. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – to join in
• BEAR AT HAND
vb. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – to resent, to bear a grudge
• BEARAWAY
n. 1742 Eng. dial. – a bat
• BEAR AWAY THE BELL
vb. 1594 – to carry off the prize
• BEAR BAIT
n. Bk1980 Amer. truckers’ sl. – a driver without a Citizens’ Band radio; hence, one likely to be caught speeding by police who set up a speed trap
• BEAR-BRAT
n. 1583 – a term of contempt
• BEAR CAGE
n. Bk2006 US sl. – a police station
• BEARCAT
n. 1. 1916 US sl. – an aggressive, forceful, or powerful person; one of great energy or ability
n. 2. 1929 Amer. sl. – a beautiful, spirited, or passionate girl or young woman
n. 3. 1942 Amer. dial. – something extraordinary or excellent in some way; something of superior quality
n. 4. Bk1945 criminals’ sl. – a good prizefighter; one with plenty of gumption
n. 5. Bk1978 railroad usage – a fireman who was disliked by members of his train crew
n. 6. 20C World War II Amer. sl. – a hard-fighting soldier
• BEAR CATERPILLAR
n. 1935 Amer. dial. – a hairy caterpillar
• BEAR-CLIMB
vb. 1965 Amer. dial. – to shinny up a tree
• BEARD
n. 1. 1647 obs. – the train or tail of a comet when it appeared to precede the nucleus
n. 2. 17C sl. – the female pubic hair
n. 3. 1927 Amer. sl. – a bearded man; a bearded beatnik, hippie, or avant-garde intellectual; usually used derisively
n. 4. a1953 sl., orig. US – orig. in betting: a person who performs a transaction or, in later use, other action on behalf of another in order to conceal the identity of the principal
n. 5. 1957 Amer. sl. – an intellectual person; an egghead; a member of the avant-garde
n. 6. 1966 Amer. dial. – a corn tassel
n. 7. 1967 US police sl. – a Hasidic Jew
n. 8. 1968 sl., orig. US – a person who helps two people to conceal a clandestine love affair by escorting one of them in public
n. 9. 1971 homosexual sl., orig. US – a person who pretends publicly to be involved in a heterosexual relationship with a homosexual person in order to help to conceal that person’s homosexuality
n. 10. Bk1992 criminals’ sl. – a low-class prostitute or bar girl
n. 11. Bk1992 criminals’ sl. – a corrupt public official
n. 12. Bk1994 surfing sl. – a veteran surfer
n. 13. Bk1998 New York police sl. – an undercover agent
n. 14. Bk2002 criminals’ sl. – a man (possibly, but not necessarily, homosexual) used to take out to dinner the wife of a man in prison; his function is to prevent her becoming involved with other men
• BEAR-DANCER
n. c1850 UK criminals’ sl. – a young nobleman’s travelling tutor
• BEAR DAY
n. 1932 Amer. dial. – Groundhog Day (the black bear looks for his shadow, not the groundhog)
• BEARDED
adj. c1380 – of a comet, meteor, etc.: having a trail or tail
• BEARDED BUDDY
n. Bk1995 euphemism – any policeman
• BEARDED CAD
n. Bk1891 sl. – a porter employed by Winchester College to convey luggage from the railway station to the school
• BEARDED CLAM
n. Bk1998 sl. – the female genitalia
• BEARDED LADY
n. 1. Bk1944 services’ sl. – a searchlight that diffuses
n. 2. Bk1972 homosexual sl. – a homosexual who has a beard
n. 3. Bk1972 homosexual sl. – a homosexual hippy
• BEARD-GRAVE
adj. 1599 obs. – having the gravity of a bearded face
• BEARDIE
n. 1941 sl. – a bearded person
• BEARDIE-WEIRDIE; BEARDY-WEIRDY
n. 2000 sl. – a man with long hair and/or a beard and as such negatively stereotyped as an ‘intellectual’, eccentric, or fan of radical politics; a scruffy beatnik
• BEARDING
n. 1577 – open, resolute opposition; insolent defiance
• BEARD-JAMMER
n. 1927 US sl. – a whoremaster; one who conducts a brothel; a pimp
• BEARDLESS
adj. c1325 – youthful, immature
• BEARDLESS WONDER
n. 1952 US sl. – an incompetent or foolish person
• BEARD-LIFTING
adj. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – astonishing
• BEARDLING
n. 1622 obs. – one who wears a beard
• BEARDMAN
n. 1. 1956 US sl. – a go-between who places bets for another in order to protect his identity
n. 2. 1968 W. Indies – a Rastafarian
• BEARDNIK
n. 1967 Amer. sl. – a bearded beatnik, hippie, or avant-garde intellectual; usually used derisively
• BEARDO
n. 1964 sl. – a bearded person
• BEARD-SPLITTER
n. 1. c1698 sl. – an enjoyer of women; a seducer; a sexual athlete; a whoremonger; a libertine
n. 2. 19C cant – the penis
• BEARD-TREE
n. Bk1888 – the hazel
• THE BEARD WON’T PAY FOR THE SHAVING
phr. 1882 Eng. dial. – the result is not worth the trouble
• BEARDY
adj. 1598 – bearded
n. 1941 sl. – a bearded person
• BEARER
n. 1. 1382 – one who carries or conveys; a carrier, a porter
n. 2. 1633 – one who helps to carry a corpse to the grave, or who holds the pall in a funeral procession
n. 3. 1757 – in India: a palanquin carrier; a domestic servant who has charge of his master’s clothes, furniture, and (often) his ready money
n. 4. Bk1890 Sc. – a person, usually a woman or girl, who formerly carried coal in baskets from the workings to the shaft, and in many cases up the ladders to the surface; the bearer was usually the miner’s wife or daughter
n. 5. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a bridle
• BEARER-UP
n. 1. 1873 UK sl. – a gambling cheat; a decoy-duck at cards who induces strangers to play with sharpers by persuasion or by seeing him win
n. 2. 1886 UK sl. – a pimp who robs his prostitute’s client
n. 3. 1910 criminals’ sl. obs. – a robber who pulls his victim’s hat over the eyes to prevent identification or interference during a robbery
n. 4. 1947 Aust. sl. – one who pursues woman
• BEARESS
n. 1840 nonce word – a she-bear
• BEAR-FELL
n. c1350 obs. – a bearskin
• BEAR-FIGHT
vb. 1892 – to behave rowdily
• BEAR FIGHTER
n. 1968 Amer. dial. – in lumbering: the man who separates strips from boards in a sawmill
• BEAR-GARDEN
adj. 1687 – rude, turbulent
n. 1. 1596 – a place originally set apart for the baiting of bears, and used for the exhibition of other rough sports
n. 2. 1743 – a scene of strife, disorder, and tumult; a rude, turbulent assembly
n. 3. 1930 Amer. dial. – noisy domestic bickering
• BEARGERED
adj. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – drunk
• THE BEAR GOT HIM
phr. 1950 Amer. dial. – he was overcome by the heat; he had a sunstroke
• BEAR GREASE
n. Bk1944 services’ sl. – G.I. soap (pronounced B’ar)
• BEAR HARD
vb. c1400 obs. – to endure with a grudge, to take a thing ill or amiss, to have ill will to, to have a resentment against
• BEAR HEAD AGAINST
vb. 1612 – to resist successfully, to hold one’s own against
• BEARHERD
n. 1589 obs. – the keeper of a bear, who leads him about for exhibition
• BEAR-HUG
vb. 1965 Amer. dial. – to shinny up a tree
• BE A RIGHT OLD MISERY
vb. L19 sl. – to be a depressing person; to act in a self-pitying manner
• BEARING
adj. c1618 obs. – of food: sustaining, substantial
n. 1. 1548 obs. – upholding, supporting; maintenance
n. 2. 1674 obs. – spring, elasticity
• BEARING-BACK
n. 1607 obs. – a peddler’s staff for carrying his pack
• BEARING CLOTH
n. 1601 obs. – a child’s christening robe
• BEARING THE ENSIGN
adj. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – drunk
• BEAR IN HAND
vb. 1. c1300 obs. – to carry on, to manage
vb. 2. 1790 Eng. dial. – to take notice, to regard
vb. 3. 1863 Eng. dial. – to conjecture, to think; to foresee; to hold or maintain an opinion
• BEAR IN THE AIR
n. Bk1995 Amer. Citizens’ band radio sl. – a police officer in an airplane or a helicopter
• BEARISH
adj. 1744 – rough, rude, and uncouth. growling, surly
• BEARK
n. Bk1971 Boonville California jargon – an active, aggressive person; one who is difficult to manage
• BEAR-LEADER
n. 1749 – formerly a ludicrous name for the travelling companion or tutor of a young gentleman or nobleman, employed by the parents or guardians to watch over him and keep him from evil courses which he might fall into if left to himself; hence, an expert who teaches by example; also, a captor, a custodian
• BEARLESS
adj. 1611 obs. rare – barren
• BEAR-LIFT
vb. 1965 Amer. dial. – to shinny up a tree
• BEAR LOW SAIL
vb. a1300 obs. – to demean oneself humbly
• BEARM
n. 1928 Amer. dial. – excitement; agitation
• BEAR-MEAL-WIFE
n. 1825 Sc. – a woman who cannot pay her debts
• BEAR MOUSE
n. 1857 Amer. dial. – a field mouse
• BEARN
n. c1000 – a bairn, a child .
• A BEAR OF LITTLE BRAIN
n. 1960 – a person of little intelligence; often used self-deprecatingly
• A BEAR OF VERY LITTLE BRAIN
n. 1935 – a person of little intelligence; often used self-deprecatingly
• BEAR PARTY
n. M19 sl. – an all-male party, esp. on the night preceding the wedding of one of the men
• BEAR-PLAY
n. 1883 – rough tumultuous behaviour
• BEAR RAIDER
n. 1887 – on the Stock Market: an investor who initiates or participates in a bear raid (a speculative attempt to profit from a fall in the price of a stock, or to cause the price to fall in order to make a profit)
• BEAR’S ASS
int. 1942 Amer. dial. – an exclamation of disgust
n. 1. 1969 US college sl. – a fool; an ignoramus
n. 2. 1990 US sl. – a harsh taskmaster
• BEAR’S BREATH
n. 1942 UK sl. – a jocular or offensive term of address
• BEAR’S-HAIRS
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – threads of filmy white clouds, fringing greater masses of cloud, said to betoken some sort of weather
• BEAR SIGN
n. 1. 1839 Amer. dial. – bear droppings or tracks
n. 2. 1903 Amer. cowboy usage – doughnuts
n. 3. 1942 Amer. loggers’ usage – berry jam
• BEAR-SKIN
n. 1. L16 sl. – hair
n. 2. E18 UK criminals’ sl. – money
n. 3. M18 sl. – pubic hair
• BEARSKIN JOBBER
n. 1726 – early name of the ‘bear’ on the Stock Exchange, a speculator for a fall; one who sells stock for delivery at a future date, in the expectation that meanwhile prices will fall, and he will be able to buy in at a lower rate what he has contracted to deliver at a higher
• BEAR’S MUCK
n. 1846 – dead peat
• BEAR’S PAW
n. 20C rhyming sl. – a saw
• BEAR STATE
n. 1. 1859 US – the state of Arkansas
n. 2. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – California
• BEAR STORY
n. 1856 Amer. dial. – an exaggerated account; a ‘tall tale’
• BEAR TACK
vb. 1573 obs. – to be substantial, strong, or lasting; to hold out, to endure, to hold one’s own
• BEAR THE BELL
vb. c1374 – to take the first place; to have foremost rank or position, to be the best; to excel, to be pre-eminent
• BEAR THE BLUNT
vb. 1939 Amer. dial. – to bear the blame or consequences
• BEAR THE LANTERN
vb. a1483 obs. – to show the way as a leader
• BEAR THE WALLET
vb. 1546 obs. – to be a beggar
• BEAR TRAP
n. 1. 1835 Amer. dial. – a difficult or undesirable situation
n. 2. 1944 Amer. dial. – a saddle which had a small seat and cantle close to the fork, making it a major achievement to fall out of it
• BEAR TRAPPER’S HAT
n. 1990s sl. – a large, hairy vagina, esp. one that is dark in colour
• BEAR-UP
n. 1900 US colloq. – the act of ‘following’ a woman; the pursuit of a woman
vb. 1. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – (as ‘bear up’) to recall to memory
vb. 2. E19 sl. – (as ‘bear up’) to help in the commission of a swindle or fraud
• BEAR UP OIL
vb. 1390 obs. – to use flattering speech, to flatter
• BEAR UPON THE SPLEEN
vb. 1629 obs. – to endure with a grudge, to take a thing ill or amiss, to have ill will to, to have a resentment against
• BEAR-WALK
vb. 1965 Amer. dial. – to shinny up a tree
• BEARWARD
n. 1. 1399 – the keeper of a bear, who leads it about for public exhibition of its tricks, etc.
n. 2. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a term of reproach
• BEAR-WARDEN
n. 1884 – a bear-ward
• A BEAR WITH A SORE HEAD
n. c1638 – a gruff, irritable person
• BEAR-WOLF
n. 1545 obs. – a vigorous term of opprobrium
• BEAR-WORM
n. 1608 obs. – a hairy caterpillar
• BEASEL
n. 1922 US sl. – a young woman, with overtones of sexual precocity
• BEASEL HOUND
n. 1922 US sl. – a girl chaser
• BE A SHEET IN THE WIND’S EYE
vb. 1883 obs. – to be slightly intoxicated
• BE ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH
vb. L19 US sl. – to be inattentive, or not concentrating on a task
• BE ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
vb. 20C sl. – to be inattentive, or not concentrating on a task
• BEASLINGS
n. 1723 Amer. dial. – the first milk give by a cow after calving
• BE AS MIM AS OLD BETTY MARTIN AT A FUNERAL
vb. E19 sl. – to be walking in a prim, orderly manner
• BEAST
adj. 1970s sl. – White; pert. to White culture
n. 1. c1210 – a brutal, savage man; a man acting in any manner unworthy of a reasonable creature
n. 2. c1220 obs. exc. Sc. – the devil; evil spirits
n. 3. c1400 – a human being under the sway of animal propensities; a contemptible, despicable, or base person
n. 4. c1400 – a man who is filthy and debased in his manners and habits
n. 5. 1577 sl. – an unpopular or unpleasant person
n. 6. 1594 – a stupid person, a dolt, a blockhead
n. 7. a1603 sl. – a homosexual male prostitute
n. 8. 1684 Amer. dial. – a horse
n. 9. 1862 sl. – something unpleasant or undesirable
n. 10. 1890 Amer. euphemism – a male domestic animal used for breeding, esp. a bull
n. 11. Bk1891 sl. – at Cambridge; one who has left school and come up to Cambridge for study, before entering the university
n. 12. L19 sl. – a bicycle
n. 13. Bk1911 Sc. – a puzzle; what beats one to discover
n. 14. Bk1945 jive usage – a gloomy person
n. 15. 1946 US sl., chiefly college usage – a homely, unattractive, ugly, or slovenly woman, esp. if sexually passionate or promiscuous
n. 16. 1946 US & W. Indies – a girlfriend viewed in a sexual context, esp. when she has another established relationship already
n. 17. 1948 US sl. – a distasteful or disliked female
n. 18. 1950 US sl. – a lewd woman; one of loose morals; a prostitute
n. 19. 1958 US drug culture sl. – heroin; a heroin addiction
n. 20. 1960s US drug culture sl. – the drug LSD
n. 21. 1968 sl., orig. African-American usage, usually offensive – a White person
n. 22. 1980s sl. – cheap beer
n. 23. 1989 UK sl. – a police officer
n. 24. 1989 prison sl. – one guilty of an offence involving sex, a sex offender, a child molester
n. 25. 1990 Aust. prison sl. – a prison officer
n. 26. 20C Amer. sl., World War II usage – a cadet in preliminary training at West Point
n. 27. Bk2006 US sl. – a crude, violent, or sexually aggressive male
n. 28. Bk2006 US sl. – liquor
n. 29. 2012 US college sl. – an expert; one who is exceptionally good at something; an outstanding person
vb. 1. Bk1911 Sc. – to vanquish
vb. 2. 1980s sl. – to molest a child
vb. 3. Bk2007 UK prison sl. – to bully, to oppress, to humiliate
vb. 4. Bk2007 sl. – to move or act quickly and/or forcefully
• THE BEAST
n. Bk2007 drug culture sl. – heroin
• BEAST-BACK
adv. 1890 Amer. dial. – on horseback
• BEAST-BOY, BEAST-BWOY
n. 1994 Black British sl. – a policeman
• BEASTEN
adj. c1325 obs. – of beasts
• BEASTESS
n. 1934 US sl. – a coarse or degraded woman; a disliked girl or woman
• BEASTIE
adj. 1. Bk2007 US sl. – disgusting, coarse, disreputable
adj. 2. Bk2007 US sl. – impressive, powerful, enormous
n. 1. 1785 orig. Sc. – a little animal; an endearing form of ‘beast’
n. 2. Bk1984 sl. – anyone considered outside the group talking,. esp. if unattractive, empty-headed, etc.
n. 3. Bk2007 US sl. – a disgusting, coarse, or disreputable person
n. 4. Bk2007 US sl. – someone or something impressive, powerful or enormous
• BEASTING
n. Bk2007 UK sl. – a ‘dressing-down’, humiliation, or instance of physical bullying
• BEASTISH
adj. 1398 obs. – beastly, brutish
• BEASTISHNESS
n. 1530 obs. – brutishness
• BEASTLE
vb. 1867 Eng. dial. – to soil, to befoul; to make filthy
• BEAST-LEECH
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a cow-doctor
• BEAST-LICK
n. 1940s W. Indies sl. – a harsh, heavy blow, such as might be given to an animal
• BEASTLIHEAD
n. 1579 obs. – beastliness
• BEASTLIHOOD
n. 1612 obs. – beastliness
• BEASTLING
n. 1872 – a little beast or animal
• BEASTLY
adj. 1. 1558 obs. – inhuman, brutally cruel
adj. 2. 1584 obs. – unmanly, cowardly
adj. 3. 1603 – unpleasant; deplorable
adj. 4. 1854 Eng. dial. – dirty, soiled
adj. 5. 1950s African-American sl. – excellent, wonderful, very enjoyable
adv. 1844 sl. – exceedingly
• BEASTLYWISE
adv. c1440 obs. – in a beastly manner
• BEASTMAN
n. 1. 1311 – a cattleman
n. 2. Bk1989 Indies sl. – a police officer
n. 3. 1990s UK teen sl. – (as ‘beast-man’) a police officer or prison officer; any figure of authority
n. 4. Bk2007 sl. – (as ‘beast man’) an ugly or unattractive male
• BEASTMASTER
n. Bk1989 US college sl. – a guy who consistently dates ugly girls
• BEASTNESS
n. 20C W. Indies sl. – male promiscuity
• BEASTS
n. 1790 Sc. – lice
• BEAST WAGON
n. 1980s Black British sl. – a police van
• THE BEAST WITH TWO BACKS
n. a1616 – a man and woman in the act of copulation
• BEASTY
adj. 1980s US college sl. – disgusting, repellent, unattractive
n. 1781 – in India: the servant who supplies an establishment with water, which he carries in a skin slung on his back
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