A Dictionary of Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words / Used at the Present Day in the Streets of London; the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; the Houses of Parliament; the Dens of St. Giles; and the Palaces of St. James.

by John Camden Hotten

BOILERS, the slang name given to the New Kensington Museum and School of Art, in allusion to the peculiar form of the buildings, and the fact of their being mainly composed of, and covered with, sheet iron.—See [PEPPER-BOXES].

BOLT, to run away, decamp, or abscond.

BOLT, to swallow without chewing.

BONE, good, excellent.

the vagabond’s hieroglyphic for BONE, or good, chalked by them on houses and street corners, as a hint to succeeding beggars. French, BON.

BONE, to steal or pilfer. Boned, seized, apprehended.—Old.

BONE-GRUBBERS, persons who hunt dust-holes, gutters, and all likely spots for refuse bones, which they sell at the rag-shops, or to the bone-grinders.

BONE-PICKER, a footman.

BONES, dice; also called ST. HUGH’S BONES.