1823. Nares, Glossary, s.v. Bickering and Bickerment. Skirmishing.
1847. Halliwell, Archaic Words, s.v. Bicker. To fight; to quarrel; to act with hostility. Ibid., Bickerment. Conflict. Ibid., s.v. Bikere. To skirmish; to fight; to quarrel. Also a substantive, a quarrel. (A.-S.) Cf. Leg. Wom., 2650; Piers Ploughman, p. 429; Minot’s Poems, p. 51; Arthour and Merlin, p. 206.
Biddy, subs. (Winchester).—A bath in College. [Fr. bidet.]
Big, adj. (Harrow).—Upwards of sixteen years of age; as “only able to go in for BIG sports.” See Small.
Big-game, subs. (Harrow: obsolete).—The chief football game.
1867. Collins, The Public Schools, p. 312. There is now a spacious piece of ground kept for the especial purpose, where as many as six separate games can be played at once, besides four smaller grounds belonging to different houses. The BIG-GAME, in which only the élite of the school players take part, is managed by the monitors under very stringent regulations. [Now called Sixth Form game.—Ed.]
Big-school, subs. (King Edward’s, Birm.).—The room in which the school assembles for prayers, or on any occasion when it is addressed as a whole by the Head Master. The room is also used for teaching, though not so entirely so as twenty-five years ago.
Big-side, subs. (Rugby and elsewhere).—The combination of all the bigger fellows in the school in one and the same game or run. Also the ground specially used for the game so denominated. Hence Big-side run = a paper-chase, in which picked representatives of all Houses take part, as opposed to a House run. See Little-side.
1856. Hughes, Tom Brown’s School-days, vii. “Well, I’m going to have a try,” said Tadpole; “it’s the last run of the half, and if a fellow gets in at the end, BIG-SIDE stands ale and bread and cheese and a bowl of punch; and the Cock’s such a famous place for ale.”
Bill, subs. 1. (Eton).—A list of the boys who go to the Head Master at 12 o’clock; also of those who get off ABSENCE (q.v.): e.g. an eleven playing in a match are thus exempt. See Appendix.