Part 20

=Old England.= This term was first applied to the Mother Country after the colonisation of New England in North America.

=Old Fogey.= A term derived from the Danish _fjog_, a stupid old man, one in his dotage.

=Old Fox.= The sobriquet of Marshal Soult on account of his strategic cunning.

=Old Grog.= The nickname of Admiral Edward Vernon, who always wore a grogram cloak in foul weather.

=Old Harry.= A corruption of “Old Hairy,” as applied to the Devil.

=Oldham.= Expresses the old home or settlement.

=Old Hat.= A country tavern sign which must have been the original when the same premises was devoted to some other business, in days characterised by the display of signs by tradesmen generally.

=Old Hickory.= “Hickory” is an Americanism used adjectively for anyone who is tough, obstinate, or hard, after the tree of the same name. General Andrew Jackson merited the nickname of “Old Hickory” from his own soldiers on account of his tough, unyielding disposition. Its origin is thus explained by Parton, the author of the President’s “Life”: “The name of ‘Old Hickory’ was not an instantaneous inspiration, but a growth. First of all, the remark was made by some soldier, who was struck with his commander’s pedestrian powers, that the General was tough. Next it was observed that he was as tough as hickory. Then he was called ‘Hickory.’ Lastly, the affectionate ‘Old’ was prefixed, and the General thenceforth rejoiced in the completed nickname, usually the first-won honour of a great commander.”

=Old Jewry.= The original Jewish quarter of the city of London. See “Jewin Street.”

=Old Kent Road.= The South London portion of the Roman highway to Dover.

=Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.= The popular name of the Bank of England. There is a tradition that towards the end of the eighteenth century a demented old lady wandered up and down Threadneedle Street day by day for a long period until she suddenly disappeared. It was generally assumed that this old lady of Threadneedle Street must have been waiting for someone who had passed into the Bank, and, according to her idea, never came out again. When, therefore, in 1797 the Bank threatened a temporary stoppage of payment, and one-pound notes were issued, John Gilray, the artist, published a caricature entitled “The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street in Danger.” Since that time the Bank has been colloquially referred to by this title.

=Old Line State.= Maryland, whose famous regiment, the Old Maryland Line, saved the prestige of the army when Lord Cornwallis’s Grenadiers broke the American lines at Loughland.

=Old North State.= North Carolina, from its relative position to South Carolina.

=Old Paulines.= Old scholars of St Paul’s School.

=Old Pye Street.= See “New Way.”

=Old Quebec Street.= Laid out and built upon soon after the capture of Quebec by General Wolfe in 1759.

=Old Rep.= Short for “Old Reprobate.”

=Old Rowley.= A sobriquet of Charles II., from the name of his favourite race-horse.

=Old Rye.= A United States term for old whisky distilled from rye.

=Old Salt.= An old sailor who has sniffed the brine of the ocean from his youth.

=Old Scotland Yard.= See “Scotland Yard.”

=Old Soldiers.= An Americanism for cigar-ends, because they are the remnants of the originals that have done good service.

=Old Sport.= An Americanism for a broken-down gambler.

=Old Tom.= The name first given to gin by Thomas Norris, who, after having long been employed in the distillery of Messrs Hodges, opened a gin palace in Covent Garden, and perpetuated the affectionate name of “Old Tom Chamberlain,” his former master.

=Old Toughs.= The nickname of the 103rd Foot, merited during the Indian Mutiny.

=Old Woman.= In stage parlance an actress who plays old women’s parts. A fine distinction is, however, drawn between “old women” and what are called “Aristocratic Old Women.”

=On the Tapis.= _Tapis_ is French for a carpet; expressive also of the cloth or kind of tapestry which covered the table in the Council Chamber when French was the language spoken at the English Court.

=On the Tenterhooks.= To have one’s curiosity fully aroused; on the tiptop of expectation. The phrase has been derived from the mode of tentering or stretching cloth upon hooks after it is woven.

=On the Tiptoe of Expectation.= A phrase derived from the crowds awaiting a public procession. As soon as the music is heard everyone stands on tiptoe, and looks in the direction whence the sounds proceed.

=Oof.= A slang term for “money”; derived from the legendary “Oof Bird,” which from the Latin, _ovum_, an egg, traces its origin to the goose with the golden eggs.

=Olive Branches.= A man’s children are so designated from the Biblical simile in Psalm cxxviii. 3: “Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.”

=Olla Podrida.= A Spanish term for a mixture of meat and vegetables collected in a common pot for cooking as required. In a literary sense it signifies a miscellany of short productions. The French equivalent for the term is _pot-pourri_, which is also employed figuratively.

=Omnibus.= The dative Latin plural of _omnes_, all. In a public vehicle of this kind there is room for many, without class distinction.

=One-horse.= A term used adjectively for anything mean or insignificant. This figure of speech is derived from agriculture.

=Oneida.= Indian for “people of the beacon stone.”

=Ontario.= From the Indian _Onontae_, which expresses “the village on the mountain,” whence the tribe of the Onondagas derive their name.

=On this Side of Jordan.= An Americanism for “in this life” or “in this world.”

=Opal.= From the Sanskrit _opula_, through the Latin _opalus_, a precious stone.

=Oporto.= Portuguese for “the harbour.”

=Orange Lilies.= The 35th Foot, so called on account of the facings on their uniform.

=Orangemen.= The Protestants in the northern provinces of Ireland, so called on account of their adherence to William III., Prince of Orange, in opposition to the “Jacobites” or the adherents of the Stuart king, James II.

=Orange Peel.= One of the nicknames of Sir Robert Peel, owing to his strong anti-Catholic spirit. See “Orangemen.”

=Orange River.= This, the largest river in South Africa, received its name from the colour of its waters when in flood.

=Orange River Free State.= This name was given by the “Boers” to what is now British territory in South Africa because its early settlers were also emigrants from the principality of Orange in Holland. Its new title is the Orange River Colony.

=Orange Street.= In compliment to William III., Prince of Orange.

=Orator Henley.= The sobriquet of John Henley, an English divine who in 1726 attracted large and fashionable congregations in a so-called “Oratory” or chapel in Newport Market.

=Oratorio.= A term derived from the fact that the first sacred musical dramas or cantatas were performed in the Church of the Oratorians, which religious Order was founded by St Philip Nero at Rome in 1540.

=Orchard Street.= Off Portman Square, after Orchard Portman, one of the country seats of the Portmans in Somersetshire. At Westminster, from the ancient orchard belonging to the Abbey.

=Orchestra.= A Greek term applied to the place in the theatre allotted to the chorus of the dancers. Among the moderns it expresses the place assigned to the instrumentalists.

=Orchid.= From the Greek _orchis_, a testicle, which the root of this plant resembles.

=Oregon.= From the Spanish _Oregano_, “wild majorum,” which grows abundantly in this state.

=Orellana.= The original name of the “Amazon” River, after its navigator.

=Oriel College.= This college at Oxford was built in 1326 by Adam de Brome, the Almoner of Edward II., and called by him St Mary’s College. A few years later Edward III. added to its revenues a rich messuage hard by known as “Le Oriel,” from which circumstance the foundation received the name which it now bears.

=Orinoco.= Indian for “coiling snake.”

=Orion Horne.= One of the sobriquets of Richard Horne, author of “Orion,” which acquired an exceptional notoriety on account of its being published at the low price of one farthing.

=Orkney Isles.= Under the name of _Orcades_ these are mentioned by the ancient geographers. _Orkney_ is Gaelic for “Isle of Whales.”

=Orleans.= A corruption of _Aureliani_, after the Roman Emperor Aurelian.

=Orloff Diamond.= This gem, weighing 194 carats, and purchased by Catherine II. of Russia in 1775, preserves the family name of that Empress.

=Orme Square.= After the name of a printseller of Bond Street who bought the land and built upon it.

=Orrery.= After the Earl of Orrery, who first caused one to be made.

=Osnaburg Street.= Named in compliment to Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, the last sovereign-bishop of Osnaburg in Hanover.

=Ossulton Street.= See “Lisson Grove.”

=Ostend.= Literally the east end of Flanders in Belgium.

=Ostler.= From the French _hostelier_, an innkeeper.

=Oswestry.= A corruption of Oswaldstry, the “place of Oswald,” where Oswald, King of Northumbria, was slain in 642. Evidence of this is afforded by the original name of Oswald’s Well, which yields a spring of pure water.

=Ottawa.= Expresses the Indian for “traders.”

=Ottoman Empire.= That of the Turks, founded by Othman I. at the commencement of the fourteenth century.

=Ouida.= The pseudonym of Louise de la Ramée. This was suggested to her at the very commencement of her literary career by the infantile perversion of Louise into “Ouida.”

=Ouse.= From the Celtic _uisg_, water.

=Out of Collar.= Out of harness and the working habit. A horse has the collar slipped over its neck when put to work.

=Out of Sorts.= A technical phrase in the printing trade. “Sorts” are the different sizes and kinds of type used by a compositor. At times he runs short of “sorts,” so that the composition of the particular work in hand has to be suspended until the required sorts are obtained, either by distributing old matter put up in paper or sending to the typefounder’s for a new supply. Hence a person indisposed for work confesses to being “out of sorts.”

=Ovidius Naso.= See “Naso.”

=Oxford.= Cited in Domesday Book as _Oxeneford_. Literally a ford for the passage of oxen across the River Isis.

=Oxford Blues.= The Royal Horse Guards, from their dark blue uniforms and the circumstance that this regiment of horse was first raised by Aubrey, Earl of Oxford, soon after the Restoration.

=Oxford Movement.= The great Catholic revival in England, which, midway in the last century, resulted in the passing over of many of the most eminent Oxford scholars to the Church of Rome.

=Oxford Street.= After Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, landlord of the estate north of this principal thoroughfare.

=Oyez, Oyez.= The old French ceremonial exclamation (“Hear ye, hear ye!”) to enjoin silence. This obtained in our own country when French was the language of the Court. In modern times it has been corrupted by Court criers and town bellmen into “O yes, O yes.”

=Oyster Part.= In theatrical parlance a part which contains only one line or speech; like an oyster, the actor opens his mouth but once.

P

=Pacha.= See “Pasha.”

=Pacific Ocean.= So called by Magellan, who, after a tempestuous passage through the straits which bear his name, enjoyed a cruise of three months and twenty-one days across this ocean in continuous fine weather, and with the advantage of favourable winds.

=Pack Horse.= An inn sign denoting that the establishment provided accommodation for “Packmen,” and also that pack horses were let out on hire.

=Packmen.= The old name for commercial travellers, whose goods or samples were carried in packs or sacks fastened to the saddle of a pack horse.

=Paddington.= The ancient description of this parish was “Padynton,” the settlement of the Pædings. Another branch of the same family gave its name to “Padendene”--_i.e._ the wooded valley of the Pædings in Surrey.

=Paddington Street.= Originally a narrow lane leading northward on to the common known as Paddington Fields.

=Paddle your own Canoe.= Originally a Western phrase for self-reliance. A canoe is an Indian boat affording room for one person. If he cannot paddle it himself no one else is in a position to help him. The expression became extremely popular in England through a song of this title thirty years ago.

=Paddy.= The common name for an Irishman, being short for “Pat,” after St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

=Pagan.= This term had at first not the slightest connection with religion. Derived from the Latin _pagus_, the country, a _paganus_ denoted a peasant or villager. Removed from the refinement of the cities such a one had, of course, very little acquaintance with the complicated system of Roman mythology. On this account only could it be said that those who remained unconverted to Christianity were Pagans.

=Page Green.= See “Seven Sisters’ Road.”

=Painted Hall.= The picture gallery of Greenwich Hospital received this name on account of its superbly painted ceiling.

=Painter.= The rope by which the “Jolly Boat” or any other is attached to a vessel, so called from the Latin _panther_, through the French _pantier_, a drag net.

=Paint the Town.= An Americanism for a night’s drunken frolic; the allusion is to a drunkard’s red nose.

=Palace Car.= An Americanism for a “Pullman” or Saloon car.

=Palaver.= From the Portuguese _palavra_, “a talk.”

=Pale Faces.= The name popularly bestowed upon the whites by the North American Indians.

=Palestine.= From the Hebrew _Palæstina_, “the land of strangers.” This was the ancient _Philistia_, the country of the Philistines, a term derived like that of Palestine from the root _phalash_, to emigrate or wander.

=Pall Mall.= From a species of croquet, called _Paille Maille_, introduced by Charles II. after his involuntary exile in France, and played by him and his courtiers here when the thoroughfare was open to St James’s Park.

=Palmer.= The name bestowed upon a “Pilgrim” returning from the Holy Land who carried a palm branch, usually affixed to his head-gear, as a proof that he had actually accomplished his self-imposed task. On arriving at the place whence he had set out he repaired to the church or chapel, and offered the palm to the parish priest, who laid it on the altar on his behalf.

=Palmetto City.= Augusta, the capital of the Palmetto State.

=Palmetto State.= South Carolina, from the palmetto-tree in her arms. During the Civil War the soldiers of this state bore the name of “Palmetto Boys.”

=Palm it off.= A phrase derived from the usual procedure of a conjurer, who is an adept at concealing in the palm of his hand that which he pretends to have “passed” elsewhere.

=Palm Oil.= A bribe placed in the hand of a servant makes him the more willing to throw open the apartment of the great man to whom one wishes to gain access.

=Palm Sunday.= From the palms distributed to the congregation by the Catholic Church in commemoration of Christ’s entry into the city of Jerusalem, when the populace strewed palm branches and leaves in His path.

=Palmy Days of the Drama.= The days of our greatest exponents of the Drama, so called because, had such celebrated histriones as Garrick, Mrs Siddons, the Keans, and the Kembles lived in the time of the Romans, they would have been awarded a palm branch in recognition of their genius.

=Palsgrave Place.= In honour of Frederick, King of Bohemia, Palsgrave of the Rhine, married to the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I.

=Pam.= The popular name of Lord Palmerston.

=Pamphlet.= After Pamphilia, a Greek lady who kept a commonplace book for the collection of anecdotes and literary memoranda.

=Panama.= Expresses the Carribean for “mud fish,” with which the shores of this isthmus abound.

=Panama Hat.= A corruption of “Palmata Hat,” from the primitive head covering in equatorial South America made out of the large leaf of the _Cardulavia palmata_ tree.

=Pancake Tuesday.= From the pancakes eaten on this day. The custom arose in Catholic days with a view to using up the eggs and lard that were interdicted during Lent; also because pancakes were an excellent stay to the appetite while the faithful had to wait long hours in church to be _shrived_ by the priest in the confessional.

=Pancras Road.= From Old St Pancras parish church. New St Pancras church is situated in the Euston Road.

=Panel Den.= An Americanism for a brothel, in which the rooms are panelled off into small compartments.

=Pan-Handle State.= West Virginia, on account of its shape, rising up like a wedge between Pennsylvania and Ohio.

=Panorama.= Expresses the Greek for “a view of the whole,” as would be obtained from a monument or a natural eminence. This is the correct description of a picture exhibited in a circular building, where the spectators are placed in the centre; not at all of an old form of picture entertainment at one end of a hall, which approximates to a _Diorama_, because conformably to _di_, through, it is viewed through the darkness.

=Pantaloon.= One of the characters of the Italian comedy or “Pantomime,” so called because he was typical of the Venetians, wearing, like them, originally a close-fitting garment made all in one piece, known as a _pantaleone_. The Venetians were nicknamed _Pantaleone_ (“all lion”) from their common patron, St Mark, whose symbol was a lion; hence the application of the term pantaloons to tight-fitting knickerbockers or trousers.

=Pantaloonery.= An Americanism for trouser material. See “Pantaloon.”

=Pantechnicon.= A Greek word compounded out of _pan_, all, and _techne_, art. The large vehicle of this name was first used exclusively for the conveyance of pictures and art treasures to exhibitions.

=Pantheism.= From the Greek _pan_, all, and _theos_, God; the religion which recognises the Spirit of God moving throughout all the processes, works, and glories of His creation. The single doctrine expressed by Pantheism is that “God is everything, and everything is God.”

=Pantheon.= The Roman temple erected in honour of the gods collectively, so called from the Greek _pan_, all, and _theos_, god.

=Pantomime.= In the modern sense a pantomime is an entertainment in which current events or fashionable foibles are introduced by way of burlesque. Formerly it denoted a performance of Italian comedy in which the action took place in dumb show, so called from the Greek _pantomimos_, an imitator of all or everything. The Roman _mimes_ or _mimi_ were not theatrical performers, but mutes at funerals, whose function it was to imitate the characteristic actions of the deceased--_e.g._ the virtue of generosity.

=Panton Street.= After a noted gamester, Colonel Thomas Panton, whose daughter became connected by marriage with the family of the ground landlord, Lord Arundel of Wardour.

=Pants.= Short for “pantaloons,” an Americanism for trousers. See “Pantaloon.”

=Panyer Alley.= This was an alley behind an ancient church facing Cheapside, where the bakers stood with their bread paniers. The word “panier” is French for a bread basket.

=Pan’s Pipes.= The primitive reed instrument named after Pan, the god of shepherds.

=Pansy.= From the French “penseé,” which in the Language of Flowers means “thoughts.”

=Papa.= See “Pope.”

=Papal Bull.= So called on account of the _bulla_, a seal embellished with the symbol of St Peter.

=Paper.= From the Greek _papyros_, the Egyptian plant out of the reeds of which the earliest writing material was made.

=Paper King.= John Law, the projector of the Mississippi Scheme, whose prospectus promised fortunes that were never realised by the luckless speculators.

=Papua.= Expresses the Portuguese for “frizzled.” This name was bestowed upon the natives of New Guinea on account of their enormous heads of frizzled hair.

=Parachute.= From the Greek _para_, “beyond,” and the French _chute_, “a fall.”

=Paraquay.= Expresses the Brazilian for the country of the _Para_, or “great river.”

=Parasol.= This term is now obsolete, having been superseded by “Sunshade.” Derived through the Italian _parasole_, from the Greek _para_, beyond, and _sol_, the sun, its meaning was synonymous with that of its modern substitute.

=Parchment.= From the Greek _pergamenos_, through the French _parchemin_, so called after Pergamos, the city of Asia Minor where, consequent upon Ptolemy’s prohibition of the exportation of the Egyptian papyrus, dried goatskins were first utilised for a writing material.

=Paris.= Called by the Romans _Lutetia Parisiorum_, a name signifying the collection of mud huts inhabited by the _Parisii_, a Gallic tribe conquered by them.

=Paris Garden.= A notorious bear-baiting establishment in South London for several centuries, so called after Robert de Paris in the reign of Richard I. The entrance thereto is fixed by what bears the name of Bear Garden at the corner of Sumner Street, Borough.

=Park Lane.= Originally a narrow lane skirting the east side of Hyde Park; it is now one of the most fashionable streets in the West End of London.

=Park Street.= Leads westward from Camden Town to Regent’s Park.

=Parker Street.= In honour of Archbishop Parker, who founded two fellowships and five scholarships at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in addition to presenting it with a valuable library of ancient manuscripts. This street was at one time called Bennet Street, after the original name of the college, from the adjacent church of St Benedict.

=Parliament.= From the French _parlerment_, founded on the Latin verb _parler_, to speak. See “Parlour.”

=Parliamentarians.= The forces under the Parliament of the Commonwealth under Cromwell during the Civil War with Charles I. and the Royalists.

=Parliamentary Whip.= One whose duty it is to hunt up Members of the House of Commons when questions of grave import are being put to the vote.

=Parliament of Dunces.= That convened at Coventry by Henry IV. in 1404 because it did not number among its members a single lawyer. Sir Edward Coke styled this the “Unlearned” and also the “Lawless Parliament.”

=Parlour.= Originally the apartment reserved for visitors where conversation could be indulged undisturbed. See “Parliament.”

=Parnellites.= The Home Rule party in Ireland during the lifetime of their political leader, Charles Stewart Parnell.

=Parry Islands.= Discovered by Rear-Admiral Sir William Parry in the course of his search for the North-West Passage.