King William Street. In the city, after William IV., who performed the inaugural ceremony of declaring the London Bridge open for traffic, 1st August 1831. The street of the same name west of the Strand was newly laid out in his reign as a direct thoroughfare to Leicester Square.
Kirkcudbright. Expresses the Celtic for “the Church of St Cuthbert.”
Kirkdale. The church in the dale or vale of Pickering.
Kirke’s Lambs. The nickname bestowed upon the 2nd Foot, under the command of Captain Kirke, during the “Bloody Assizes,” and having for their badge the Paschal Lamb.
Kirschwasser. German for “Cherry Water,” this beverage being distilled from the juice of the black cherry.
Kiss-me-Quick. The name of a small bonnet popular in England midway during the last century. Though of the “coal scuttle” pattern it did not extend beyond the face, and was chiefly worn by ladies going to parties or the play.
Kiss the Place and make it better. The expression, commonly employed by mothers and nurses to pacify children when they have hurt themselves, is a survival of the days of the sorcerers, who pretended to cure a disease by sucking the affected part.
Kiss the Scavenger’s Daughter. See “[Scavenger’s Daughter].”
Kit. A soldier’s outfit, which he carries on his person when on the march. The name is derived from the Dutch kitte, a wooden beer-can strapped on the soldier’s belt.
Kit-Cat. The name given by artists to a three-quarter length portrait, and also to a canvas measuring 28 by 36 inches, in allusion to the portraits of uniform size, and all painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, to suit the dimensions of the apartments occupied by the famous Kit-Cat Club. This club was long held at the house of a pastrycook called Christopher Cat in Shire Lane, Fleet Street (now Serle’s Place), after whom, familiarly styled “Kit-Cat,” it took its name. His own mutton pies were the staple refreshment, from which circumstance such pies were until quite modern times also called “Kit-Cats.”