BOOZING-KEN, a beer-shop, a low public house.—Ancient.
BOOZY, intoxicated or fuddled.
BORE, a troublesome friend or acquaintance, a nuisance, anything which wearies or annoys. The Gradus ad Cantabrigiam suggests the derivation of BORE from the Greek, Βαρος, a burden. Shakespere uses it, King Henry VIII., i., 1—
“—— at this instant
He BORES me with some trick.”
Grose speaks of this word as being much in fashion about the year 1780–81, and states that it vanished of a sudden, without leaving a trace behind. Not so, burly Grose, the term is still in favour, and is as piquant and expressive as ever. Of the modern sense of the word BORE, the Prince Consort made an amusing and effective use in his masterly address to the British Association, at Aberdeen, September 14, 1859. He said (as reported by the Times):—
“I will not weary you by further examples, with which most of you are better acquainted than I am myself but merely express my satisfaction that there should exist bodies of men who will bring the well-considered and understood wants of science before the public and the Government, who will even hand round the begging-box, and expose themselves to refusals and rebuffs, to which all beggars all liable, with the certainty besides of being considered great BORES. Please to recollect that this species of “bore” is a most useful animal, well adapted for the ends for which nature intended him. He alone, by constantly returning to the charge, and repeating the same truths and the same requests, succeeds in awakening attention to the cause which he advocates, and obtains that hearing which is granted him at last for self-protection, as the minor evil compared to his importunity, but which is requisite to make his cause understood.”
BOSH, nonsense, stupidity.—Gipsey and Persian. Also pure Turkish, BOSH LAKERDI, empty talk. A person, in the Saturday Review, has stated that BOSH is coeval with Morier’s novel, Hadji Babi, which was published in 1828; but this is a blunder. The term was used in this country as early as 1760, and may be found in the Student, vol. ii., p. 217.
BOSH, a fiddle.
BOSH-FAKER, a violin player.