Ganges. The sacred river of the Hindoos, thought by them to flow through Gang, the earth, to heaven. The name they gave to it, therefore, was Ganga.
Garden of England. The Isle of Wight. The mildness of the climate and the luxuriance of the vegetation bespeak a perpetual summer.
Garden Spot. The fertile centre of Kentucky, whence the Indians, after many a sanguinary encounter, were banished by the white settlers.
Garden State. New Jersey, from the fertility of its soil.
Garden Town. The name bestowed upon both Cheltenham and Leamington in virtue of their spas, public gardens, and promenades tastefully laid out.
Gargantuan. Anything out of all reasonable limits. We speak of a “Gargantuan Feast,” a “Gargantuan Thirst,” to express a capacity for enormous consumption. The word is derived from Gargantua, the hero of Rabelais’s famous satire of this title.
Garlick Hill. Where garlic was anciently brought to land at Queenhithe.
Garrick Street. From the Garrick Club, the premier rendezvous of the leading members of the dramatic profession.
Garrotters. Street marauders of the latter part of the last century who gripped their victim tightly round the neck while accomplices rifled his pockets. Their designation was derived from the Garrotte, with which malefactors are strangled in Spain.
Gas Bag. An Americanism for one who is always boasting of his own importance.