Page:Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant (1889) by Barrere & Leland.djvu/129

 heels is first found, I believe, in the Irish saying, 'A Waterford heifer, beef to the heels.

Beefy (common), unduly thick, commonly said of women's ankles; also rich, juicy, plenteous. To take the whole pool at loo, or to have any particular run of luck at cards generally, is said by players to be very beefy (Hotten). Beefy is also applied to a bloated, red-faced person.

Bee-gum (American), a hollow gum-tree in which bees have hived. This is more technical than slang.

Bee in the bonnet (common). To have a bee in one's bonnet, is to be odd, eccentric, fantastical, whimsical, or half-crazy. It is supposed to be a peculiarly Scottish phrase, because Scotsmen wear "bonnets," and Englishmen do not. Its use, however, is not confined to Scotland, but was known in England in the seventeenth century, and is still common. It occurs in a song by Herrick, entitled the "Mad Maiden," of the date of 1648:—

A friend speaking to an Edinburgh lady of a late eminent professor in the University, said he was an excellent man, but he had a bee in his bonnet. "Don't say that," replied the lady, assuming a look and tone of reproof. "You under-rate him. A bee in his bonnet! Why, he has a whole hive of bees in it!" The French have the corresponding expression "avoir un hanneton"—a may-bug.

Been in the sun (popular), intoxicated, alluding to the flushed countenance of one who has been drinking heavily.

Been measured for a new umbrella (American), said originally of a man that nothing fitted him but his umbrella. An old joke, reproduced by Artemus Ward, who took his own generally wherever he found it.

Beeno (gypsy), born. "Ki sos o tikno beeno?"—"Where was the babe born?"

'''Been to Bungtown. Been to Boston''' (American). It is