Part 16

=Lion Sermon.= This is delivered once a year at the Church of St Katherine Cree in commemoration of Sir John Gayer’s miraculous escape from death by a lion when he found himself separated from his companions in the African desert. He bequeathed the sum of £200 a year to the poor on condition of this sermon being annually preached.

=Lisbon.= Anciently _Olisipo_ or _Ulyssippo_, after Ulysses, who, visiting Portugal with Lucus, is traditionally stated to have laid the foundations of the city.

=Lisson Grove.= Formerly Lidstone Green, a corruption of “Ossulton Green,” the name of a Hundred cited in Domesday Book. Ossulton Street in the Euston Road preserves the name in the original form.

=Litany.= See “Rogation Days.”

=Little Bit of All Right.= A popular expression meaning “Just the thing I wanted,” or “It couldn’t have happened better.”

=Little Britain.= From the ancient residence of the Dukes of Brittany.

=Little Corporal.= The name bestowed upon Napoleon I., at the commencement of his military career, from his rank and low stature.

=Little John.= The real name of this Sherwood forester was John Little, but Robin Hood playfully inverted it because its owner was a tall, strapping fellow.

=Little Man.= The affectionate sobriquet of the late Mr Alfred Beit, the “Diamond King,” on account of his diminutive stature.

=Little Mary.= A modern euphonism for the stomach, popularised by J. M. Barrie’s successful comedy of this title.

=Little too Thick.= The antithesis of a “thin” story; one so crowded with extraordinary statements that it is hard to grasp or credit.

=Little Turnstile.= The lesser turnstile on the north side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, set up to prevent sheep from straying into Holborn.

=Live like Fighting Cocks.= From the days of the Greeks down to comparatively modern times game-cocks were fed luxuriantly, so as to increase their pugnacity; hence the application of the phrase to good living.

=Live Man.= An Americanism for an energetic agent or canvasser.

=Liverpool.= From an extinct bird, somewhat resembling the heron, and called the _liver_, that made the _pool_ on which this city was built its home.

=Liverpool Landseer.= The sobriquet of William Huggins, who acquired an equal celebrity for animal painting in his native place, as Sir Edwin Landseer in the country at large.

=Liverpool Street.= After Lord Liverpool, one of the most popular members of the Ministry at the accession of George IV. There is another Liverpool Street named after him at King’s Cross.

=Liverymen.= Freemen of the city of London who on great special occasions wear the distinctive livery of the companies to which they belong.

=Llandaff.= Properly _Llan Taff_, the church on the Taff.

=Lloyd’s.= After Edward Lloyd, a coffee-house keeper in Abchurch Lane, whose premises were first used by merchants and shippers as a sort of club.

=LL Whisky.= That distilled by Messrs Kinahan of Dublin. When the Duke of Richmond was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland between 1807 and 1813 he in the former year sent to various distilleries for samples of good whisky, and preferring that tendered by Messrs Kinahan, he ordered a large vat of the same quality to be exclusively reserved for him. This vat had LL painted on it, denoting “Lord-Lieutenant Whisky.”

=Lo.= An American term for an Indian. This originated in Pope’s “Essay on Man,” a couplet of which reads:

“Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutored mind Sees God in clouds or hears Him in the wind.”

=Loaded.= An Americanism for intoxicated or “primed.”

=Loafer.= This word is neither Dutch nor German, as generally stated; it is distinctly Spanish-American. The early settlers of Mexico and Texas gave the name of _gallofo_ to a vagrant, who, like the _lazzaroni_ of Naples, hung about the churches begging for alms. From the western states this word travelled to New York, and in the process became changed into “Loafer.”

=Loan.= An Americanism for “lend.”

=Lock-out.= When artisans have struck for an advance of wages, and afterwards decide to return to work on the former scale, the masters retaliate by shutting them out of the works altogether and employing fresh hands from elsewhere.

=Lock, Stock, and Barrel.= A sportsman’s phrase for the whole of a thing, in allusion to the three parts of a gun. In the modern sense it is used to imply the complete discomfiture of an adversary in argument or of one utterly outwitted in his schemes.

=Loco-Focos.= The American term for lucifer matches. By a patent dated 16th April 1834 John Marck, a storekeeper of Park Row, New York, brought out a self-lighting or friction cigar, which he called a Loco-Foco. The first portion of this name was taken from the newly introduced locomotive, which people generally thought to mean self-moving; the latter half was a euphonism of his own. When friction or self-firing matches came in they received the same designation. The Democratic Party of the United States received the name of “Loco-Focos” from the circumstance that at a great general meeting held in Tammany Hall to confirm the nomination of Gideon Lee as the Democratic candidate for Congress, a tumult arose, and the lights were turned out; whereupon the adherents of the candidate, who had provided themselves with loco-focos and candles, relighted the hall in a moment.

=Loft.= An Americanism for storey. In the United States it is usual to say a house contains so many “lofts” instead of storeys.

=Logger.= One employed in the North American forests cutting down trees and sawing them into logs.

=Loggerhead.= A dull, stupid fellow with no more sense in his head than a “logger” or lumberman. These loggers often quarrel for no visible cause; hence the expression to be “at loggerheads.”

=Log-rolling.= Primarily a political term descriptive of mutual co-operation on the part of individuals for the furtherance of a general cause. It means: “You help me and I’ll help you”; “If your party further my Bill through Congress I’ll pledge my party to push yours along too.” The expression obtains also in a social and journalistic sense: “If I propose a testimonial for you I expect you to do the same for me”; “I’ll write you up in the Press if you engage to return the compliment.” For the origin of the term we must look to the lumber regions of the state of Maine, where the loggers of different camps assist one another by turns to roll their logs down to the river.

=Lollards.= Originally an association of pious people in Germany at the commencement of the thirteenth century banded together for the purpose of burying the dead. They were so called on account of the solemn dirges they sang, from the Low German _lollen_, to sing softly. After a time the same title was assumed by the followers of one Walter Goilard, a dissolute priest, who was burned for heresy at Cologne in 1322. The Wycliffites assumed this name still later, and some of these it must have been who were imprisoned in the “Lollards’ Tower,” Lambeth Palace.

=Lombard Street.= From the Jews of Lombardy, who here set up banks and money-lending establishments, at the instance of Pope Gregory IX., as a means of assisting the people of England to raise money for the payment of their taxes early in the thirteenth century.

=Lombardy.= Called by the Romans _Longobardi_ after its people, whom they subdued. This name was not derived from their long beards, as generally stated, but from the _longis bardis_, or long battle-axes, with which they were armed.

=London.= This name claims the same origin as “Lincoln,” the first rude habitations beside the Thames being situated on the rising ground now known as Tower Hill.

=London Bridge was built on Woolpacks.= This expression had its origin in the fact that, when the construction of Old London Bridge was stopped for want of funds, Henry II. expedited its completion by imposing a tax upon wool.

=Londonderry.= The town built by a company of London adventurers, to whom it, with the county of the same name, was granted by a royal charter of James I. _Derry_ is Celtic for a grove or oak forest.

=London Lion.= An expression derived from the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London ere the metropolis rejoiced in a Zoological Gardens, and when travelling menageries were unheard of. Country visitors up in town for a few days never failed at that period to feast their eyes upon a real live lion, and on returning to their homes boasted of having seen the London Lion.

=London Stone.= Marked the centre of Roman London, from which all the great roads through the country radiated.

=London Wall.= From the Roman wall which here defined the northern limits of the city. A portion of this old wall may yet be seen in Cripplegate Churchyard.

=Lone Star State.= Texas, from the single star in her flag.

=Long Acre.= The Anglo-Saxon _acer_, like the modern German _acker_, expresses a field. This was anciently a path across the fields between Lincoln’s Inn and “Lomesbury Village,” or the manor now known as Bloomsbury in the parish of St Giles’s-in-the-Fields.

=Long Friday.= The old name for Good Friday, both on account of the length of the Church service and the long fast imposed on all good Catholics.

=Longford.= The long ford on the River Camlin.

=Long Island.= So called from its shape.

=Long Lane.= This was a long, narrow lane extending from Barbican to Farringdon Road before the greater portion of its one side was cleared for the Smithfield Market.

=Long Lane that has no Turning.= An expression meaning that sooner or later a turn of fortune must come, since no lane, however long, exists that has no turning.

=Long Peter.= This name was merited by the celebrated Flemish painter, Peter Aartsen, by reason of his abnormal stature.

=Long Parliament.= That which was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell after it had lasted more than twelve years.

=Longshanks.= The surname of Edward I. on account of his spindle legs.

=Longshoreman.= Properly “Along-shoreman”--namely, a wharfinger, or one employed in loading and unloading vessels.

=Look Daggers.= A phrase used when two persons look fixedly at each other as if their eyes were dagger points ready to make a fatal thrust.

=Loosen your Purse Strings.= See “Purse Strings.”

=Lord Bobs.= The later nickname of Lord Roberts since the close of the South African War.

=Lord’s Cricket Ground.= After Thomas Lord, the founder of the earliest private Cricket Club in London, in 1780. First in Dorset Square, and eventually on its present site--his own landed property--he set up a private pitch for genteel folk far from the haunts of the city apprentices and other enthusiasts of the game.

=Lord’s Day.= The name given to Sunday by the Quakers.

=Lordship Lane.= From the Lord of the Manor of Dulwich.

=Loretto.= Called by the Romans _Lauretana_ after Laureta, the lady to whom the country villa, and a large tract of land on which the town was afterwards built, belonged.

=Lorraine.= Anciently Lotharingia, the duchy of Lotharius II., grandson of the Emperor Lewis I.

=Los Angeles.= Originally called by the Spaniards “Pueblo de los Angeles,” the city of the angels, on account of its delightful situation and climate.

=Lo Spagnoletto.= The surname of Guiseppe Ribera, the celebrated Spanish painter. It means “Little Spaniard.”

=Lothbury.= A corruption of “Lattenbury,” where the workers in _latten_ ware, a species of bronze, had their shops in the Middle Ages. In the modern sense latten is a kind of sheet brass.

=Loudoun Road.= After the name of the builder on the estate.

=Louis d’Or.= A gold coin first struck in the reign of Louis XIII. of France. The name means a “Louis of gold.”

=Louisiana.= The name bestowed upon this State by M. de la Sale in 1682 in compliment to Louis XIV. of France.

=Louvre.= An adapted French word, from _l’ouvert_, “the opening,” which expressed a kind of turret on the roof of a building by way of a chimney to let out the smoke. A rude contrivance of this kind distinguished the ancient hunting seat of Dagobert, on the site of which Francis I. commenced the famous Parisian palace of this name in 1528, completed twenty years later by Henry II. A _louvre_ window partakes of the same character.

=Lower Berkeley Street.= See “Berkeley Street.”

=Lower Thames Street.= The eastern portion of Thames Street, from London Bridge to the Tower.

=Lowndes Square.= After the ground landlord, lineally descended from William Loundes, secretary to the Treasury, _temp._ Queen Anne.

=Low Sunday.= Not only was this Sunday at the bottom of the Lenten or Easter Calendar, but prior to the alteration of New Year’s Day it was frequently also the last Sunday of the year.

=Luciferians.= A sect of Christians in the fourth century, under Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, who separated from the Orthodox Church on the ground that the reconverted “Arians” should not again be admitted to the fold.

=Lucifer Matches.= Early friction matches, so called from the Latin _lucis_, light, and _ferre_, to bring.

=Lucullus Feast.= A sumptuous banquet, so called after Licinius Lucullus, a famous Roman general, who in the days of his retirement was no less distinguished for the costly suppers he gave to the greatest men of the Empire. The sums expended on those entertainments were enormous. As an epicure he was unrivalled; he could also be a glutton on occasion. There is a story told that after the feast had been prepared no guests arrived. “Lucullus will sup to-night with Lucullus” was the explanation of the host.

=Lud-a-massy.= A corruption of the old exclamation “Lord, have mercy!”

=Luddites.= A name borne by the wilful destroyers of machinery in the manufacturing districts; said to have been adopted from Ned Lud, an imbecile of Leicester, who being, chased by boys, took refuge in a house, and there broke a couple of stocking frames. These rioters caused great havoc during the second decade of the last century.

=Ludgate Hill.= The testimony of Old Stow notwithstanding, there is grave doubt whether King Lud, the reputed builder of the western gate of the city, ever existed. In much greater likelihood this gate received its name from its situation near the River Fleet, and meant simply _Flood Gate_. See “Fleet Street.”

=Lug.= Northern and Scottish for “ear.” In England generally this word is regarded as slang except when employed in connection with “Lugger” and “Luggage.”

=Luggage.= So called because it is lugged about in transit by the handles, as a Lancashire man would pull another by the _lug_ or ear.

=Lugger.= A small craft having _lugs_, or drooping sails, like a dog’s ear.

=Lumber.= An Americanism for timber sawn into logs and sent floating down the rivers for eventual shipment.

=Lumber-room.= One set apart for odds and ends of no practical utility. The name is derived from “Lombard Room,” in which the Lombards, who were the first goldsmiths and money-lenders in England, stored the articles pledged with them.

=Lunatic.= From the Latin _luna_, the moon. The Romans persistently cherished the idea that a person’s mind was affected at the several changes of the moon.

=Lupercalia.= A Roman festival in honour of _Lupercus_, the god of fertility. This occurred on the 15th of February.

=Lupus Street.= This keeps alive the name of Henry Lupus, first Earl of Chester, from whom the Grosvenors, the ground landlords, are descended.

=Lurid Waistcoat Banquet.= The latest style of “Freak Dinner” in America, each guest disporting himself in a waistcoat of startling hue and design.

=Lutherans.= After Martin Luther, the German Reformer.

=Luxembourg.= This celebrated palace of the French capital stands on the site of that purchased and enlarged in 1583 by the Duke of d’Epinay, Luxembourg. The title of the Dukes of Luxembourg is very ancient, having been derived from a beautiful chateau called _Luici burgum_, which was acquired by Siegfried, Count of Ardennes, in 963.

=Lyceum Theatre.= Opened in 1834 as the English Opera House. This was originally a lyceum or academical establishment connected with the Society of Arts. The word _Lyceum_ was correctly applied in this case from the academy formed by Aristotle in the temple of Apollo Lyceus, near the River Illissus.

=Lych-Gate.= A large gateway at the entrance to the churchyard where the coffin can be set down while the mourners await the arrival of the clergyman to lead the funeral service. The word comes from the Gothic _leik_, and German _leiche_, a corpse.

=Lyddite.= So called because experiments with this explosive were first made at Lydd in Kent.

=Lying around Loose.= An Americanism for being out of a situation, lounging about the town.

=Lyme Regis.= This little Dorsetshire seaport on the River Lym was honoured with a royal charter and the title of _Regis_ because it furnished Edward III. with three ships to aid in the siege of Calais in 1346.

=Lynch Law.= The summary justice meted out to public offenders in the western states of North America. This term was derived from James Lynch, a farmer of Piedmont on the western frontier of Virginia. There being no Court of Law for many miles around he was always appealed to in cases requiring a legal decision, and his judgments were so sound and impartial that the people gave him the name of Judge Lynch. The death sentence was by hanging at the nearest tree. To “lynch a man,” however, in the modern sense is to dispense with legal formalities altogether.

=Lynn Regis.= See “King’s Lynn.”

=Lyon King at Arms.= The principal at Heralds’ College in Scotland, so called from the lion rampant on the armorial bearings of the Scottish kings.

=Lyre Bird.= So called from the resemblance of the sixteen feathers of its tail when spread erect to a lyre.

M

=Ma’am.= An Americanism for mother. See “Madam.”

=Ma’am School.= The American term for a young ladies’ seminary, or an infants’ school kept by a woman.

=Macadamised Road.= This system of road-making by means of broken stones pressed down by a heavy roller was introduced by John Loudon Macadam, a Scotsman, appointed Surveyor of Public Roads in 1827.

=Macaroni.= From the Italian _macare_, to crush, to bruise, through _Macarone_, a mixture, a medley. This confection originally consisted of cheese and bread paste squeezed into balls.

=Macaronies.= Fashionable dandies first heard of in London after the accession of George III. Their leaders hailed from France and Italy, where Macaroni Clubs abounded. These clubs arose out of Dilettante Societies, formed for the cultivation of what was styled Macaronic Verse, after a poetical rhapsody entitled “Liber Macaronicorum,” a jumble of Latin and other languages published by a monk of Mantua in 1520. Subsequently everything in dress or taste received the name of Macaroni.

=Macaroon.= A biscuit the name of which has the same etymology as “Macaroni.”

=Macassar Oil.= So called because it was first exported from Macassar, the Dutch capital of Celebes Island.

=Macclesfield Street.= After the Earl of Macclesfield, the landlord of the estate when it was laid out in 1697.

=Macedonians.= A fourth century sect of Christians founded by Macedonius, Patriarch of Constantinople.

=Machinaw.= A heavy blanket worn by Indians, and also nowadays in the western states used as a travelling rug and bed pallet. The term is derived from Machinac (pronounced _Machinaw_), the chief trading station with the Indians formerly. Western settlers also describe an overcoat as a Machinaw.

=Machine.= A bicycle is called a machine because it is a more or less complicated piece of mechanism made up of many parts. In the United States the term machine is applied both to a locomotive and a fire engine.

=Mackenzie River.= After Alexander Mackenzie, by whom it was first navigated in 1789.

=Mackerel.= From the Danish _mackreel_, “spots.”

=Mackintosh.= After the Scotsman who invented water-proofing material for over-garments.

=Macklin Street.= After Charles Macklin, the celebrated actor of Drury Lane Theatre. His name was really Maclaughlin shortened into Macklin.

=Macmillanites.= An offshoot of the Presbyterians under John Macmillan; also styled the “Reformed Presbytery.”

=Madagascar.= A corruption of the native name _Malagasay_, the island of the Malagese or Malays.

=Madam.= In New England the term applied to the deceased wife of a person of local distinction, such as the parson, doctor, etc. In the southern states it expresses the mistress or master’s wife universally among the Negroes. Elsewhere it is either _Madam_ or _Ma’am_ for a mother.

=Mad Cavalier.= Prince Rupert, so called on account of his rash courage and lack of self-control.

=Mad Dog.= A skull cap, from the old idea that keeping the head impervious to air was a remedy against the bite of a dog.

=Mad Poet.= Nathaniel Lee, who wrote some of his finest pieces while confined during four years at Bethlehem Hospital.

=Mad as a Hatter.= A corruption of “Mad as an atter.” _Atter_ expressed the Saxon for a viper or adder. The word “Mad” was anciently used in the sense of venomous; hence this expression really meant “venomous as a viper.”

=Mad as a March Hare.= Being their rutting season, hares are very wild in March.

=Made a bad Break.= An Americanism for having made a silly slip of the tongue, a sad mistake, or a great blunder. The expression is, of course, derived from a game of billiards.

=Made his Pile.= Although a Californian phrase for having amassed a fortune, this originated at the gaming-tables throughout the States generally.

=Madeira.= Expresses the Portuguese for “timber.” This island was at the time of its discovery covered with forests. Also the name of a rich wine imported therefrom.

=Madeleine.= The church at Paris dedicated to Mary Magdalen or Mary of Magdala.

=Maddox Street.= After the name of the builder upon the land in 1720.

=Madras.= From the Arabic _Madrasa_, “university.” Originally Madrasa Pattan, the name expressed “University town.” _Pattan_ is Sanscrit for town.

=Madrid.= In the tenth century this was simply a Moorish fortified outpost of Toledo, as expressed by its Arabic name, _Majerit_.

=Maelstrom.= Expresses the Norwegian for an eddy or whirlpool; literally “whirling stream.”

=Maffiking.= A word used to denote the madness which may seize upon an entire community on an occasion of great public rejoicing, as happened when news of the relief of Mafeking, during the South African War, reached England. Staid citizens--bankers, stockbrokers, and others--assembled in front of the Mansion House, cheering wildly, and losing all control over themselves to such a degree that they threw their hats high in the air. For the remainder of that day and far into the night all London went mad with joy.

=Magazine.= From the Arabic _Makhzan_, a depository for stores. In a literary sense this originally expressed a periodical whose contents were made up of elegant extracts from the best authors.