• BUOR
n. E19 sl., orig. tramps’ usage – a woman, esp. one seen as sexually appealing and/or of loose character
• BUOYANT
adj. 20C sl. – drunk
• BUP
n. L19 sl., chiefly juvenile usage – bread and butter
• BUPKES; BUPKIS
n. 1937 sl. – nothing (whatsoever)
• BUPPER
n. L19 sl., chiefly juvenile usage – bread and butter
• BUPPIE
n. 1. L19 sl., chiefly juvenile usage – bread and butter
n. 2. 1984 sl., orig. US – a Black upwardly mobile young professional
• BUPPY
n. 1980s sl., orig. US – a Black upwardly mobile young professional
• BUPS
n. L19 sl., usually juvenile usage – bread and butter
• BUPSIE
n. L19 sl., usually juvenile usage – bread and butter
• BUR; BURR
n. 1. 1600 – a person or thing difficult to get rid of; a hanger-on or dependant
n. 2. 1863 Eng. dial. – an impediment; an annoyance
• BURB
n. 1977 Amer. colloq. – a suburb (usually plural with ‘the’)
• BURBED OUT
adj. 1970s US middle-class usage – looking very middle-class and suburban; decked out like a suburban citizen; conventional
• BURBLE
n. 1. c1350 obs. – a bubble, bubbling
n. 2. 1555 obs. – a pimple, a boil
n. 3. 1812 Sc. – trouble, perplexity, disorder
n. 4. 1898 – a murmurous flow of words
vb. 1. 1303 obs. – to form bubbles like boiling water; to rise in bubbles
vb. 2. 1843 Sc. – to perplex, to confuse, to muddle
vb. 3. 1891 – to speak murmurously
vb. 4. M19 sl. – to chatter pleasantly
• BURBLE-HEADED
adj. 19C Sc. – stupid, confused
• BURBLY
adj. c1430 obs. – full of bubbles; bubbling
• BURCH
vb. 1966 Amer. dial. – to fart
• BURD
n. a1225 obs., poetic usage – woman, lady; later, chiefly a young lady, a maiden
• BURD-ALONE
adj. 1572 Sc. obs. – as a solitary person or being; entirely alone
• BURDENABLE
adj. 1. 1632 obs. – capable of bearing a burden
adj. 2. c1650 obs. – burdensome, causing expense
• BURDENOUS
adj. 1. 1529 obs. – heavy, ponderous
adj. 2. a1535 obs. – onerous, cumbersome; oppressive
• BURDETTS
n. 1920s rhyming sl. for ‘Burdett Coutts’, the bankers – boots
• BURDIE
n. 1790 Sc. – a young woman
• BURDIE-BEETON
n. Bk1911 Sc. – a fondling term for a little child
• BURDON
n. a1382 obs. – a mule between a horse and she-ass; a hinny
• BURE
n. 1. 1843 – a Fijian house
n. 2. E19 sl., orig. tramps’ usage – a woman, esp. one seen as sexually appealing and/or of loose character
• THE BUREAU
n. 1965 colloq., orig. & chiefly US – the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• BURERK
n. 1. M19 sl. – a flashily-dressed woman
n. 2. M19 sl. – a prostitute
n. 3. M19 sl. – a wife
• BURG
n. 1. 1843 US colloq. – a town or city
n. 2. 1980s S. Afr. – a fool, an idiot; an unpleasant person
• BURG
n. 1843 Amer. dial. – a town, village, hamlet
• BURGALIZE
vb. 1969 Amer. dial. – to burgle
• BURGALIZER
n. 1969 Amer. dial. – a burglar
• BURGE
vb. a1387 obs. – to bud or sprout; to begin to grow, to burgeon
• BURGEON
n. 1597 obs. – a slight swelling or pimple
• BURGER
n. 1980s US college sl. – a very sexy woman
• BURGERS
n. 1990s drug culture sl. – MDMA: usually as ‘brown burgers’, ‘white burgers’
• BURGESS
n. c1225 – an inhabitant or resident of a borough, esp. of a town; a citizen
• BURGH
n. 1. c1425 Sc. – orig. a borough; later, a town in Scotland possessing a charter
n. 2. 1843 Amer. dial. – a town, village, hamlet
• BURGHEN
vb. a1225 obs. – to protect, to save
• BURGHER
n. 1555 – an inhabitant of a burgh. borough, or corporate town; a citizen
• BURGHERESS
n. 1901 – a female burgher
• BURGLAR
n. 1. 1920s US sl. – a swindler, a bribe-taker
n. 2. 1960s sl. – a sodomite
• BURGLARER
n. 1598 obs. – a burglar
• BURGLAR HOLE
n. 1970s US sl. – a peephole in a front door
• BURGLARIA
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – Bulgaria
• BURGLARILY
adv. 1533 obs. – after the manner of burglary
• BURGLARIOUS
adj. 1769 – addicted to burglary; constituting the crime of burglary; burglar-like
• BURGLARY
n. 1533-4 obs. – a burglar
• BURGLE
n. 1889 – a burglary
vb. 1960s sl. – to sodomize
• BURGOISE
n. c1330 obs. – the wife of a burgess; a female citizen
• BURGOO
n. 1. 1743 US – a soup or stew made with a variety of meat and vegetables, used especially at outdoor feasts
n. 2. 1750 – a thick oatmeal gruel or porridge used chiefly by seamen
• BURGRAVE
n. 1551 – the governor of a town or castle; later, a noble ruling by hereditary right a town or castle, with the adjacent domain
• BURGULLIAN
n. 1598 obs. – a braggadocio, a bully
• BURIAL
n. 1. a1325 obs. – a burying place, grave, or tomb
n. 2. 1947 Amer. dial. – baptism by total immersion
• BURIAL CASE
n. 1851 Amer. dial. – a coffin, esp. one made of metal; a coffin made to close air-tight, for the preservation of a corpse
• BURIALER
n. 1832 – one who assists at a burial
• BURIAL GROUND
n. 1934 Amer. dial. – a cemetery, often a small one for a family’s use
• BURIAN
n. a1000 obs. – a tomb, a sepulchre
• BURICK
n. 1. M19 sl. – a flashily-dressed woman
n. 2. M19 sl. – a prostitute; a whore
n. 3. M19 sl. – a wife
• BURIED
adj. 1. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – drunk
adj. 2. 20C US criminal sl. – serving a life sentence
• BURIED IN A NAPKIN
adj. 19C sl. – asleep, stupid
• BURIED TREASURE
n. 1991 US sl. – in computing: an unexpected and usually poorly written piece of code found in a program
• BURIELS
n. 1. 854 obs. – a burying-place; a sepulchre, a tomb
n. 2. a1325 obs. – an interment, a funeral
• BURIER
n. 1535 obs. – one who buries a body; a grave-digger
• BURINESS
n. 1. c890 obs. – a burying, burial, sepulture
n. 2. 1175 obs. – a burial-place; a grave, a tomb
• BURIO
n. c1540 obs. – a hangman, an executioner
• BURIOR
n. c1550 Sc. obs. – a hangman, an executioner
• BURK
n. 1. 1936 sl., chiefly Brit. – a foolish person
n. 2. c1960 Amer. dial. – an instance of vomiting
vb. 1. L19 sl., orig. NZ – to avoid work
vb. 2. 1966 Amer. dial. – to fart
vb. 3. 1966 Amer. dial. – to vomit
• BURKE
n. 1936 sl., chiefly Brit. – a foolish person
vb. 1. 1829 – to murder; to kill by suffocation or strangulation, or for the purpose of selling the victim’s body for dissection
vb. 2. 1835 – to smother, to ‘hush up’, to suppress quietly
vb. 3. E19 sl. – to hang
• BURKING
n. 1827 – a stifling or quietly but effectively suppressing
• BURL
n. 1. 1607 obs. – a small lump or rising in the skin; a pimple, a pustule
n. 2. 1917 Aust. & NZ colloq. – an attempt, a try, a test
vb. c1440 obs. – to bubble, as a spring or fountain out of which water flows gently
• BURL (IVES)
n. 1989 Aust. rhyming sl. for ‘fives’ – in horse racing: odds of 5-1
• BURLAP
n. 1951 sl. – dismissal from employment
• BURLAP HAIR
n. 1967 Amer. dial. – false hair, worn by men
• BURLAP TOP
n. 1967 Amer. dial. – false hair, worn by men
• BURLE
n. 1563 obs. – disturbance, confused noise
• BURLED
adj. c1500 obs. – striped
• BURLESQUE
adj. 1. 1656 obs. – droll in look, manner, or speech; jocular; odd, grotesque
adj. 2. a1700 – ironically bombastic, mock-heroic or mock-pathetic
n. 1. 1753 – grotesque imitation of what is dignified or pathetic, in action, speech, or manner; a mockery
n. 2. 1870 – a variety show, frequently featuring strip-tease
vb. 1676 – to turn into ridicule by grotesque parody or imitation; to caricature
• BURLESQUED
adj. 1766 – caricatured; made ridiculous; travestied
• BURLETTA
n. 1748 obs. – a comic opera; a musical farce
• BURLEY
n. 1923 US sl. – burlesque
• BURLEYCUE
n. 1923 US sl. – burlesque
• BURLIBOND
adj. 1590 obs. – ‘burly-boned’, clumsy, unwieldy
• BURLILY
adv. 1863 – in a pompous or swaggering manner
• BURLIN
adj. 2002 UK sl. – drunk
• BURLINGTON HUNT
n. 1. 1960 rhyming sl. for ‘cunt’ – a fool
n. 2. 1960 UK rhyming sl. for ‘cunt’ – the vagina
• BURLY
adj. 1. a1400 obs. – stately, dignified, of noble or imposing presence or appearance
adj. 2. c1400 – stout, sturdy, massively built, corpulent; of large body or trunk
adj. 3. 1991 US sl. – very cold
adj. 4. 1993 US sl. – intimidating
n. 1. 1835 – a hurly-burly, a commotion, tumult, strife, uproar, turmoil, confusion
n. 2. 1923 US sl. – burlesque
n. 3. 1993 US teen & high school sl. – a hard thing to accomplish
n. 4. 2000 UK sl. – in foot-propelled scootering: a difficult trick or stunt which has pain or injury as the price of failure; a scooter-rider who specializes in such tricks
vb. 1635 obs. rare – to make burly; to puff out
• BURLY SHOW
n. 1981 US carnival usage – a burlesque show
• BURMA
phr. 1960 UK sl. – written on an envelope, or at the foot of a lover’s letter as lover’s code for ‘Be Undressed (or Upstairs) and Ready My Angel)
• BURMAN
adj. 1814 – belonging to Burma (Myanmar)
n. 1800 – a native of Burma
• BURN
n. 1. c1000 – a spring, a fountain; a stream or river; a small stream or brook
n. 2. c1375 obs, exc. Eng. dial. – a burden, a load
n. 3. 1941 Amer. sl. – a cigarette
n. 4. 1941 sl. – an act of smoking
n. 5. Bk1942 sl. – a scathing remark or retort; a particularly cutting insult
n. 6. 1960 Amer. sl. – a swindle; a deception; an instance of being cheated
n. 7. 1966 sl. – a race, ride, or drive in a motor car, etc., at high speed
n. 8. 1968 Amer. dial. – a mark on the skin where someone has sucked it hard and brought blood to the surface; a hickey
n. 9. Bk1990 drug culture sl. – the charge or ‘rush’ after the injection of a drug into a vein
n. 10. 2002 US sl. – an exhibition, a display
vb. 1. c1374 obs. – to burnish; to make metal shining by friction; to polish a surface by rubbing with a hard and smooth tool
vb. 2. 1529 obs. – to infect with sores, esp. with venereal disease
vb. 3. 1655 sl. – to swindle, to cheat
vb. 4. Bk1904 Amer. college sl. – to waste, to throw away
vb. 5. 1914 US sl. – to criticize, to reprimand, to berate; also, to insult a person in a particularly cutting or scathing manner
vb. 6. 1927 Amer. criminal sl. – to execute someone in the electric chair; to die by electrocution in the electric chair
vb. 7. 1929 sl. – to smoke a cigarette
vb. 8. 1935 US sl. – to anger, to infuriate, to incense
vb. 9. Bk1942 US sl. – of a motor car, etc.: to travel at speed
vb. 10. 1950 US sl. – in private dice games: to stop the dice while rolling, either as a superstition or to check for cheating
vb. 11. 1959 US sl. – to expose the identity of a person or place
vb. 12. 1964 Amer. drug culture sl. – to smoke marijuana
vb. 13. 1965 Amer. dial. – to kill, usually with a gun; to shoot someone
vb. 14. 1970 Amer. dial., African-American usage – to cook
vb. 15. 1972 Amer. dial. – to set off firecrackers
vb. 16. Bk1990 Amer. sl. – to rob someone
vb. 17. 1995 US sl. – to completer cover another graffiti artist’s work with your own
vb. 18. 1997 UK sl. – to put someone under an unfair obligation
vb. 19. 20C teen & high school sl. – to be put down
• BURN AND SMOULDER
n. 1992 UK rhyming sl. – the shoulder
• BURN AND TURN
n. 20C Amer. sl., World War II usage – the game of blackjack
• BURN AN INDIAN
vb. 1992 US sl. – to smoke marijuana
• BURN ARTIST
n. 1968 Amer. criminals’ sl. – someone who cheats or harms someone else; a cheat, a con man; an informer
• BURN COAL
vb. 1922 US sl. – of white person: to have sex with a Black person
• BURN DAYLIGHT
vb. 1899 Amer. dial. – to light candles before there is need
• BURN DOWN
vb. 1. 1934 Amer. dial. – to kill, usually with a gun; to shoot someone
vb. 2. 1953 US sl. – to overuse and thus ruin something
• BURN DOWN SOMEONE
vb. Bk1990 Amer. sl. – to humiliate someone
• BURNED
adj. 1. Bk1990 Amer. sl. – cheated; betrayed
adj. 2. Bk1990 Amer. sl. – disappointed; humiliated; put down
• BURNED BROAD
n. 20C Amer. sl.. World War II usage – a woman with a venereal disease
• BURNED HOOKER
n. 20C Amer. sl.. World War II usage – – a woman with a venereal disease
• BURNED HUSTLER
n. 20C Amer. sl.. World War II usage – a woman with a venereal disease
• BURNED OUT
adj. 1. 1978 Amer. drug culture sl. – recovering from drug dependence; no longer affected by a particular drug
adj. 2. 1980 Amer. sl. – tired; exhausted beyond mental or physical capacity; bored
adj. 3. Bk1990 Amer. drug culture sl. – ruined by marijuana smoking
adj. 4. Bk1990 Amer. drug culture sl. – having to do with the ruined veins of an addict
ׇ• BURNED QUAIL
n. 20C Amer. sl.. World War II usage – a woman with a venereal disease
• BURNED UP
adj. Bk1990 Amer. sl. – very angry
• BURNER
n. 1. 1838 US sl. – a swindler
n. 2. 1926 US sl. – a handgun
n. 3. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a fast throw
n. 4. 1950 US sl. – a criminal who specializes in breaking into safes using an acetylene torch
n. 5. 1952 US sl. – an extraordinary person
n. 6. 1978 US sl. – a very fast runner
n. 7. 1985 US sl. – a marijuana smoker
n. 8. 1992 US sl. – a drug addiction
n. 9. 1997 US sl. – a complete piece of graffiti art
• BURNESE
n. 1933 US sl. – cocaine
• BURNET
adj. c1200 obs. – of a dark brown colour
• BURNEY BEE
n. 1799 Eng. dial. – the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata
• BURNEYS
n. Bk1914 drug culture sl. – a catarrh powder containing an illicit proportion of cocaine, used as a snuff, administered with a combination detachable rubber and glass blowing tube
• BURN HEAD
n. 1980 Jamaica sl. – any Rastafarian who defies the norms and shaves
• BURNIE
n. 1. 1724 Sc. – a small burn; a brooklet
n. 2. 1933 US sl. – cocaine
n. 3. 1952 Amer. drug culture sl. – a partially smoked marijuana cigarette
• BURNIE-BEE
n. 1799 Eng. dial. – a ladybird
• BURNING
n. 1. 1466 obs. – lighting up; illumination
n. 2. 1542-3 obs. – a sore caused by fire or heat; a burn
• BURNING AND TURNING
adj. 1978 UK sl. – of a helicopter: with engine running and blades rotating
• BURNING LINE
n. 1553 obs. – the equator
• BURNING MARL
n. 1667 – the torments of Hell
• BURNING MOUNTAIN
n. 1690 – a volcano
• BURNING WITH A LOW BLUE FLAME
adj. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – drunk
• BURN-IRON
n. c1485 – a branding-iron
• BURNISH
n. 1646 rare – anything laid over a surface to give a bright and glossy look
vb. 1398 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – of the human frame: to grow plump, or stout; to increase in breadth
• BURNISHMENT
n. 1862 rare – metallic polish, lustrous adornment
• BURN LOGS
vb. 2001 UK sl. – to smoke marijuana
• BURN MY OLD WIG!
int. L18 – a mild oath
• BURN OFF
vb. 1984 Aust. sl. – to drive very fast, especially if showing off
• BURN OIL
vb. 1922 Amer. navy sl. – to chew tobacco
• BURN ONE ON
vb. 1969 Amer. dial. – ? to get drunk
• BURN ONE’S BOATS
vb. 1886 – to cut oneself off from all chance of retreat
• BURN ONE’S FOOT
vb. 1966 Amer. dial. – to become pregnant
• BURN ONE UP
vb. 1931 US sl. – to annoy or infuriate one
• BURNOUT
n. 1. 1906 Amer. dial. – a particularly destructive fire, esp. one that razes buildings
n. 2. 1973 US sl. – a person whose mental capacity has been diminished by extended drug or alcohol use
n. 3. 1987 US sl. – an uninhabitable, ruined tenement, whether it has been burnt or not
n. 4. 1988 US sl. – in drag racing: the pre-race spinning of the car’s rear tires to clean and heat the tires, producing crowd-pleasing smoke and noise
n. 5. Bk1990 Amer. sl. – someone no longer effective on the job
vb. 1974 US sl. – (as ‘burn out’) to make a fire in a prisoner’s cell as retaliation for real or perceived cooperation with prison authorities
• BURNOUT BOX
n. 1993 US sl. – in drag racing: the area where tires are heated and cleaned before a race
• BURN PAINT
vb. 1977 US sl. – of a car or truck: to be engulfed in flames
• BURN RUBBER!
int. 1996 US sl. – go away! leave me alone!
• BURN SEASONABLE WEATHER
vb. 1618 obs. – to fail to turn it to advantage; to consume, to waste
• BURNSIDES
n. 1875 US – a style of beard consisting of a moustache, whiskers, and a clean-shaven chin
• BURN SOMEONE’S BUTT
vb. 1875 US – to annoy, to irritate someone
• BURN SOMEONE’S EARS
vb. 1952 Amer. sl. – to scold severely
• BURN SOMEONE UP
vb. Bk1990 Amer. sl. – to make someone very angry
• BURNT
adj. 1. 1693 – affected by a venereal disease
adj. 2. 1995 US sl. – exhausted
adj. 3. 20C teen & high school sl. – terrible; tough; strict
• BURNT CHEESE
n. 1998 Aust. sl. – a fart
• BURNT (CINDER)
n. 1958 Cockney rhyming sl. – a window
• BURNT-CORK ARTIST
n. c1800 – a performer in a blackface minstrel show
• BURNT END
n. 1990 UK sl. – in bowls: a stage of play that has to be replayed when t he jack is driven out of bounds
• BURN THE BREEZE
vb. 1933 Amer. dial. – to run or travel very fast
• BURN THE EARTH
vb. 1903 US – to go at full speed
• BURN THE EARTH LIKE A CANNED DOG
vb. 1903 Amer. dial. – to run or travel very fast
• BURN THE HIGHWAY
vb. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – to go fast, esp. in a vehicle
• BURN THE LEATHER
vb. 1950 Amer. dial. – to hurry
• BURN THE LOT
vb. 1989 US sl. – of a carnival: to cheat a town so badly that no carnival will be able to come to that town for some time
• BURN THE MAIN LINE
vb. 1998 UK sl. – to inject a drug intravenously
• BURN THE MILL
vb. 1719 – to burn one’s bridges, to cut oneself off from all possible means of retreat; to do something which makes it impossible to return to an earlier state
• BURN THE PAVEMENT
vb. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – to go fast, esp. in a vehicle
• BURN THE PLANKS
vb. 1843 – to remain long sitting
• BURN THE PRAIRIE
vb. 1881 Amer. dial. – to run or travel very fast
• BURN THE ROAD UP
vb. 2002 US sl. – to leave
• BURN THE THAMES
vb. 1787 – to perform some startling prodigy, to ‘set the Thames on fire’
• BURN-THE-WIND
n. 1786 Sc. – a blacksmith
vb. 1891 Amer. dial. – (as ‘burn the wind’) to run or travel very fast
• BURN THE YELLOW
vb. 1992 Can. sl. – to race through a yellow traffic light
• BURN-THROUGH
n. 1970 US sl. – the process of cleaning tires on a dragster with bleach poured on the ground over which the tires are spun
• BURN THUNDERWOOD
vb. 1960 Amer. dial. – to be angry
• BURNT-MARKED
adj. 1705 obs. – branded
• BURNT MONEY
n. 1997 US sl. – a bet in a dice game lost because of a rule violation
• BURNT OFFERING
n. 1937 Amer. sl. – burned food; a badly cooked meal
• BURNT OUT
adj. 1. 1978 Amer. drugs sl. – recovering from drug dependence; no longer affected by a particular drug
adj. 2. 1980 Amer. sl. – tired; exhausted beyond mental or physical capacity; bored
adj. 3. Bk1990 Amer. drugs sl. – ruined by marijuana smoking
adj. 4. Bk1990 Amer. drugs sl. – having to do with the ruined veins of an addict
• BURNT TO A SCRATCHIN
adj. Bk1904 Eng. dial. – of meat: dried up and shrivelled from over-roasting
• BURN-UP
n. 1961 sl. – a ride on a motorcycle, etc. an extremely high speed
vb. 1971 Aust. sl. – (as ‘burn up’) to fall silent; to stop talking
int. 1971 Aust. sl. – (as ‘burn up’) be quiet!
• BURN UP ANYBODY’S MILL POND
vb. 1898 Amer. dial. – to accomplish a great feat; to ‘set the world on fire’
• BURN UP ONE’S TAIL
vb. 1954 Amer. dial. – to work very hard
• BURN UP THE HIGHWAY
vb. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – to go fast, esp. in a vehicle
• BURN UP THE PAVEMENT
vb. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – to go fast, esp. in a vehicle
• BURN UP THE TRACK
vb. 1969 Amer. dial. – to run or travel very fast
• BURN UP THE WIRES
vb. 1954 US sl. – to spend a great deal of time on the telephone
• BURN WITH A LOW BLUE FLAME
vb. 1. Bk1990 Amer. sl. – to be heavily alcohol intoxicated
vb. 2. Bk1990 Amer. sl. – to be quietly and intensely angry
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Lexicophilia 