Yellow Book. A French Government report, so called from its yellow cover.
Yellow Boy. Slang for a sovereign.
Yellow Jack. A yellow flag which is flown from a vessel in quarantine and from naval hospitals as a warning of yellow fever or other contagious disease on board. See “[Union Jack].”
Yellow Press. By this term is meant that section of the Press which is given up to creating a scare or sensation. It has been derived from what in the United States bears the name of “Yellow-covered Literature,” consisting of trashy sensation novels, published chiefly for railway reading.
Yellow Sea. From the tinge imparted to its waters by the immense quantities of alluvial soil poured into them by the Yang-tse-Kiang River.
Yendys. The literary sobriquet of Sydney Dobell, being simply his Christian name reversed.
Yeoman’s Service. Originally that rendered to the State in time of war by volunteers of the Guilds or City Companies. The term “Yeoman” is derived from the German gemein, common, and applied in the sense of enlistment for the common good.
Yokohama. Japanese for “Cross Shore.”
York. The Eboracum of the Romans, a Latinised rendering of the British Eurewic (pronounced Yorric), “a row of houses on the Eure,” which river is now called the Ouse.
York and Albany. An omnibus stage in Camden Town named after Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, the second son of George III.