Part 9

=Gave him a Roland for an Oliver.= Exactly what he gave me himself; a tit for tat. Roland and Oliver were two knights in the train of Charlemagne. Both were equally accomplished; what the one did the other essayed also with success. In the matter of fighting too they were exactly on a par, since, after having been put to the test in single combat, for a long time neither of them gained the least advantage.

=Gave him the Cold Shoulder.= Received him with scant ceremony. The allusion is to the fare generally set before an unexpected visitor who has not dined.

=Gave him the Grand Shake.= An Americanism for finally breaking off an acquaintance.

=Gavelkind.= A custom among the Anglo-Saxons whereby all the sons of a family inherited alike. Lord Coke traces it from the Teutonic _gif eal cyn_, and translates it literally “give all kinde.” Inheritance by Gavelkind obtained in Kent long after the Norman Conquest; indeed, it is said that some Kentish lands are still held by this ancient tenure.

=Gavotte.= A dance familiar to the Gavots in the French province of Dauphiny.

=Gay Lothario.= A seducer. From the leading character in Nicholas Rowe’s “The Fair Penitent,” produced in 1703.

=Gazette.= From the Italian _Gazzetta_, the name of a Venetian coin valued at about ¾d. of English money, which was charged for the individual reading, from hand-to-hand, of a written sheet at Venice containing news of the war with Soliman II., _temp._ sixteenth century.

=Geneva Gown.= The habit of Low Churchmen, so called from its resemblance to the gown worn by the Calvinists of Geneva.

=Genre Painting.= One on a pastoral subject, with figures, that does not properly come under the definition of a landscape. The word is French for a kind, a sort.

=Gentleman in Black.= A chimney-sweep, who, like a clergyman, was formerly saluted out of respect for “the cloth.”

=Gentleman Jack.= John Bannister, a favourite actor of Drury Lane Theatre, respected by all for his integrity even more than for his histrionic accomplishments.

=Gentleman Smith.= William Smith of Drury Lane, the _beau ideal_ of a gentleman on the stage.

=Gentleman Turkey.= The Far Western description of a turkey cock.

=George.= An inn sign in honour of the patron saint of England. After the Hanoverian Succession, by which time pictorial signs had for the most part disappeared, and the name alone stood for a sign, the omission of the “St” made the sign complimentary to the reigning monarch. Reading of the execution of Charles I., we are told that the ill-fated King handed his “George” to Juxon, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who attended him on the scaffold. This was the badge of the Order of the Garter, representing St George on horseback piercing the fallen dragon with his lance.

=George and Dragon.= See “George.”

=George Ranger.= H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, who was appointed Ranger of the Royal Parks.

=Georges Sand.= This literary pseudonym of Mademoiselle Dupin, afterwards Madame Dudevant, arose out of her attachment to a young student named Jules Sandeau, with whom she collaborated in the production of her first novel, “Rose et Blanche.”

=Georgia.= In compliment to George II., the reigning monarch when this state was colonised.

=German Silver.= See “Sterling Silver.”

=Germany.= Called by the Romans _Germania_, from a Gaulish or Celtic word meaning “neighbours.”

=Gerrard Street.= After the family name of the Earl of Macclesfield, the ground landlord, when it was first built upon at the close of the seventeenth century.

=Gerrymandering.= An American political term for subdividing a constituency in such a way as to give one party an unfair advantage over all others. Its adoption was due to Elbridge Gerry, Governor of Massachusetts. When a map of this new electoral distribution was shown to an artist he remarked that it looked very much like a salamander. “A salamander, you say? Why not a Gerrymander!” was the reply. And a Gerrymander the name of the scheme remained.

=Get there all the same.= An Americanism meaning to succeed in any enterprise, despite all obstacles or opposition.

=Ghost.= One employed by an author or an artist to do his work for him, so called because, his name and personality being withheld from the public, he is kept in the shade. In other words, he is a mere shadow of his master. Originally, however, the term had reference to the friend who had inspired or suggested the work.

=Ghost walking.= A theatrical phrase. Actors assembling at the theatre for their weekly salaries generally put the question among themselves: “Is the ghost walking?” While those about to accept an engagement with a manager of whom they know nothing ask: “Does the ghost walk?” Its origin is as follows:--Many years ago a manager of the Bogus type had in his company a self-willed actor whose strong part was the Ghost in “Hamlet.” If his salary was not forthcoming on a Saturday morning he exclaimed: “Then the ghost won’t walk to-night.” Indispensable actor as he was, the manager invariably acceded to his demands. Sometimes it happened that he received only a portion of his salary, with a promise of the remainder in the course of the performance, in which case he refused to go on until the money was actually paid. It is said that the other members of the company would wait on a Saturday morning about the time for “Treasury” until they received word by a messenger that the ghost _would_ walk.

=Giaour.= From the Arabic _kiafir_, “unbeliever.” The Turks bestow this name on all European Christians, enemies of the Mohammedan faith. Readers of Lord Byron’s poem “The Giaour” may require to be informed of its meaning.

=Gibberish.= After Geber, an Arabian alchemist of the eleventh century, who employed an unintelligible jargon to mystify the ecclesiastics, lest by plain speaking he might be put to death as a sorcerer.

=Gibraltar.= From the Arabic designation, _Jebel-al-Tarik_, the Mountain of Tarik, in honour of Ben Zeyad Tarik, a Moorish General, to whose prowess the conquest of Spain in the eighth century was due.

=Gibraltar of America.= The city of Quebec, from its commanding and impregnable position on the heights.

=Gibson Girl.= A new type of womanhood popularised in America by the drawings of Charles Dana Gibson, and introduced to London by Miss Camille Clifford.

=Gibus.= An opera or crush hat, so called after its inventor.

=Gift of the Gab.= “Gab” is a very old word; it was used by the Anglo-Saxons for speech. The Scots employed it to describe the mouth; hence to “gabble.” The French had it too in the forms of “gaber,” to boast or talk wildly.

=Gig.= A term claiming the same origin as “Jig”--_i.e._ the French _gigue_, a lively dance--because this vehicle moves lightly.

=Gilbertines.= An English religious Order of the twelfth century, founded by St Gilbert of Sempringham, Lincolnshire.

=Gilly flower.= A corruption of _July flower_, from the month when it blossoms.

=Giltspur Street.= Said to have received its name from the gilt spurs of the knights riding to the tournaments in Smithfield. The greater probability is that the makers of gilt spurs congregated in this street.

=Gimnal Ring.= A love token of bygone days, so called from the Latin _gemellus_, joined. This ring was composed of two separate bands fitted into each other with little teeth. When lovers were betrothed it was divided, only to be put together again at the nuptial ceremony.

=Gin.= Short for Geneva. Not after Geneva in Switzerland, because this is the national spirituous drink of the Dutch, called at first by them _giniva_, from the French _genievre_, juniper. Juniper berries were originally employed to flavour the spirit distilled from unmalted rye. The native name for Dutch gin is now Schiedam, after the town where it is made. Dutch gin brought to England is called Hollands.

=Ginger.= Red-haired people are said to be _ginger_ because Guinevre, the Queen at the Court of King Arthur, had red hair.

=Gingham.= A corruption of Guingamp in Brittany, where the cotton stuff brought from Java, there called _gingang_, was dyed and made into umbrella covers before silk and alpaca came into use for this purpose. Hence the slang term for an umbrella. See “Gamp.”

=Gin Sling.= An American drink composed of equal parts of gin and water. See “Sling.”

=Gipsies.= A corruption of _Egyptians_, because, when first heard of in Europe, they spread themselves over Bohemia, and were thought to have arrived there by way of Egypt.

=Giraldus Cambrensis.= The Latinised pen name of Gerald de Barri, Archbishop of St David’s, and historian of Cambria or Wales.

=Girasole.= The Italian name of the sunflower, from the Latin _gyara_, to turn, and _sol_, the sun.

=Girondists.= Deputies from the Department of the Gironde who formed the Moderate Republican Party in the French Revolution.

=Girton Girl.= A student of Girton College, Cambridge.

=Give him Beans.= An expression derived from a French proverb: “If he gives me peas I will give him beans”--_i.e._ I will be quits with him.

=Give him plenty of Rope.= Let him do just what he thinks is best, and everything will come out right in the end. Following in your train, and, metaphorically, attached to your rope, the longer the rope the wider will be the sweep he can command; he can always be pulled in when it becomes necessary to check his movements.

=Given Name.= An Americanism for a Christian or forename.

=Gives himself Airs.= One who assumes a manner out of keeping with his social position. “Air” was formerly synonymous with deportment.

=Give up the Ghost.= Literally to yield up the Spirit.

=Gladiator.= From the Latin _gladius_, a sword. A slave trained to defend himself with a short sword in the mortal combats of the Roman arena for the amusement of the Emperors and the populace.

=Glad Rags.= An Americanism for holiday clothes or festive garments.

=Gladstone Bag.= So called in compliment to Mr W. E. Gladstone when, as leader of the Liberal Government, his name was “familiar in men’s mouths as household words.”

=Glamorgan.= From _Gwlad-Margam_, “the territory of Margam,” a Welsh chieftain of the tenth century. His name is correctly preserved in Margam Abbey.

=Glenlivet.= Whisky distilled in the Vale of Glenlivet in Banffshire.

=Globe.= An inn sign, the name of which was derived from the arms of the King of Portugal.

=Globe Trotter.= A tourist, a traveller in foreign lands.

=Glorious Fourth of July.= Another name for “Independence Day.”

=Gloucester.= The _Gloicastra_ of the Romans, in honour of Gloi, son of the Emperor Claudius, who was born here.

=Gloucester Road.= From Oxford Lodge, the one-time residence of the Duchess of Gloucester.

=Go ahead.= From the nautical phrase “The wind’s ahead”--_i.e._ blowing from the stern towards the vessel’s head.

=Goat and Compasses.= A corruption of the Puritan motto “God encompass us.”

=Goatee.= An Americanism for the typical Yankee chin tuft, in allusion to the beard of a goat.

=Gobelin Tapestry.= Made under royal patronage in the house originally occupied by Jean Gobelin, a wool dyer in Paris, _temp._ seventeenth century.

=God help you.= Anciently an invocation on behalf of a person subjected to the Ordeal of Fire.

=Godstone.= A corruption of “Good Stone,” relative to the excellence of the stone quarried here.

=Goggles.= Shaded spectacles, so called in allusion to gig lamps.

=Go in for Banting.= See “Banting.”

=Gold Coast.= The coast of Guinea, West Africa, where gold was found.

=Golden Cross.= The device of the Crusaders, extensively adopted as an inn sign.

=Golden Gate.= The entrance to San Francisco Harbour. This name had been bestowed upon it by the Spaniards centuries before the outbreak of the gold fever in 1847, from their own knowledge that this was the gate to the Land of Gold.

=Golden Lane.= A corruption of “Golding Lane,” after the builder.

=Golden Square.= Properly “Gelding Square,” from an old inn of this name.

=Go Marooning.= A southern state American expression for a picnicking party on the shore or up country which is to last for several days. See “Maroons.”

=Gone over to the Majority.= A Parliamentary phrase equally, if more generally, applied to one who has passed from the scene of his life’s labours to the spirit world. Ancient and modern authors contain passages in the latter connection. The Rev. Robert Blair in “The Grave” says: “’Tis long since Death had the majority.”

=Gone to Pot.= Vanished possessions. The reference is to the metalliferous melting pot.

=Gone to Rack and Ruin.= A corruption of “wreck and ruin.”

=Gone to Texas.= An American expression for one who has decamped leaving debts behind him. It was (and is) no unusual thing for a man to display this notice, perhaps only the initials “G.T.T.” on his door for the information of callers after he has absconded.

=Gone to the Devil.= From the twofold circumstance that money lost through lawyers would surely be spent by them at their regular resort, the celebrated “Devil Tavern,” hard by Temple Bar, and the not unusual answer tendered by a subordinate to a caller at a place of business in Fleet Street that his master had “gone to the ‘Devil.’”

=Gone to the Dogs.= Money that has been squandered uselessly, as the remains of a feast in Eastern countries are thrown to the dogs instead of being given to the poor. A vicious man is said to have gone to the dogs because in the East social outcasts are often worried by ravenous dogs that prowl about the streets by night.

=Gone under.= One who has sunk in the social scale; never recovered from financial embarrassments; who found it impossible to “keep his head above water.” The allusion is, of course, to drowning.

=Gone up the Country.= An expression implying that a person is insolvent; originally introduced into England from the Colonies. When a man could not make ends meet in the coast cities he went prospecting up the country.

=Gong Punch.= The American term for the bell ticket punch used by conductors on tramcars.

=Gonville College.= The original name of Caius College, Cambridge, founded by Edmund Gonville in 1348.

=Good enough Morgan.= An American phrase for an imposition, or any person or thing likely to pass muster for the reality. This originated during the Anti-Masonic riots in the state of New York, when it was alleged that the Freemasons had drowned a man called Morgan for having betrayed their secrets. A body was actually found in the river near Fort Niagara, and identified by Morgan’s wife chiefly on account of a missing tooth. It was, however, proved that the whole story had been trumped up for political ends. A prominent politician who had a hand in the affair indeed confessed that, when reminded that the body would never pass for Morgan’s, he declared: “It’s a good enough Morgan.” Hence the phrase.

=Goodge Street.= After the name of the builder.

=Goodman’s Fields.= After the owner of the lands upon a portion of whose farm the Prioresses or Nuns of St Clare built their priory. This name recurs in the “Life of David Garrick,” who established his fame at the old Goodman’s Fields Theatre before he migrated to Drury Lane.

=Good Old Town of Hull.= A name originally bestowed upon the “Third Port” by tramps and beggars, who, in common with the deserving poor, fared exceeding well out of the bounty of the Dominican and Carmelite Friars. The streets Blackfriargate and Whitefriargate fix the locality of these conventual establishments.

=Good Time.= An Americanism for a very pleasurable or festive time. See “High Time.”

=Good Wine needs no Bush.= An ivy bush was in former times displayed at the end of a stake wherever wine was sold, the ivy being sacred to Bacchus. Travellers who had once tasted good wine took careful stock of the place before leaving it; consequently they needed no bush to direct them when next they visited the neighbourhood.

=Goodwin Sands.= At the time of the Norman Conquest this comprised the estate of Earl Godwin, from whom it was filched and bestowed upon the Abbey of St Augustine at Canterbury. Neglect of the repair of the sea-wall caused the waves to rush in and overwhelm the land.

=Go off the Handle.= To lose one’s head or go insane. The allusion is to the head of an axe flying off the handle.

=Go one better.= Originally a sporting expression, meaning that by jumping farther a contestant would make a scratch on the ground beyond the one just scored.

=Goose.= The tailor’s smoothing iron, from the resemblance of its handle to the neck of a goose.

=Gooseberry.= A corruption of _Gorseberry_, rough or coarse, on account of the hairs or diminutive prickles which distinguish this berry.

=Gordon Hotels.= Established by the late Frederick Gordon, a solicitor of Bloomsbury. These middle-class hotels have supplied a long-felt want in London and elsewhere.

=Gordon Square.= In compliment to Lady Georgina Gordon, wife of the sixth Duke of Bedford, the ground landlord.

=Gospel.= From the Anglo-Saxon _God-spell_, “good news.”

=Gospel Oak.= From the oak-tree marking the juncture of St Pancras and Hampstead parishes, beneath which the Gospel was annually read.

=Goswell Road.= From an ancient spring, styled “God’s Well,” discovered in this neighbourhood.

=Gotham.= The city of New York. Washington Irving first gave it this name in his “Salmagundi.” Its people in his time were anything but fools, yet he may not have appreciated the singular wisdom attributed to them. By referring to the city as Gotham he made a playful allusion to Gotham in Nottinghamshire, England, which for centuries had merited a reputation for being a town whose inhabitants did and said the most foolish things.

=Go the whole Hog.= An expression derived from Cowper’s poem entitled “Of the Love of the World reproved,” in which he discusses the eating of pork by the Turks:

“But for one piece they thought it hard From the whole hog to be debarred.”

=Got my Back up.= In allusion to cats, which set up their backs on being confronted by their own species or by a ferocious dog.

=Got my Dander up.= The word _dander_ here is a corruption of dandruff, which, though it means only the scurf on the head, has come to be curiously applied to the hair itself; as when the fur of enraged animals is raised.

=Got the Bullet.= Suddenly discharged from one’s occupation; “fired out,” as it were.

=Got the Push.= Ousted from one’s place of employment. Metaphorically to have been pushed off the premises.

=Got the Sack.= An expression derived from the sack in which mechanics and artisans generally carried their own tools. When engaged to work the tools were assigned to a proper place in the workshop, while the master took possession of the sack. On discharging his men he returned them the sack.

=Go to.= An Old English expression which leaves something to the imagination. Originally it must have implied a place where there is much caloric. In its popular acceptation it meant simply “Get along with you!”

=Go to Bath.= An expression signifying that a person is talking nonsense. When the west of England was the fashionable health resort silly and slightly demented folk were recommended to “Go to Bath, and get your head shaved.”

=Go to Bungay.= The curt answer received by persons who asked where they could get the once fashionable leather breeches. Bungay, in Suffolk, was the only place where they were made. This expression travelled over to New England with the first emigrants, and is still common in that portion of the United States.

=Go to Jericho.= Jericho was the name given by Henry VIII. to the Manor of Blackmore, near Chelmsford, whither he often retired quite suddenly from affairs of State. At such times his courtiers suspected some fresh freak of gallantry, and said he had “gone to Jericho.” Moreover, when in a testy mood, his Queen would tell him to “go to Jericho!”

=Go to Putney.= A very old expression, tantamount to consigning a person beyond the pale of London society or civilisation.

=Got out of Bed the wrong Way.= From the old superstition that planting the left foot on the ground first on rising in the morning was a harbinger of ill luck for the day.

=Government Stock.= The origin of the word Stock is interesting. Down to the year 1782, when the practice was abolished, public money invested in Government securities was acknowledged on the two opposite ends of a piece of wood called a stock, from the Anglo-Saxon _stocc_, a trunk. The stock was then cut in two, one portion being handed to the investor and the other consigned to the Tally Office.

=Gower Street.= After the name of the builder on this portion of the Bedford estate.

=Gowk.= The Scottish equivalent for an “April Fool,” signifying a foolish person.

=Gracechurch Street.= From the herb market anciently held around the Church of St Benet, called the Grass Church. This edifice has in modern times been pulled down, and the money realised for the site devoted to the erection of a new St Benet’s in the Mile End Road.

=Gramercy.= From _grand merci_, “great thanks,” a phrase introduced when French was the language of the Court.

=Granby Street.= In honour of John Manners, Marquis of Granby, whose name is also perpetuated by many a tavern sign.

=Grand Hotel.= Not in the sense of magnificence, but true to the French meaning of the word “great”; hence Grand Theatre, the Grand Tour, and the Grand Canal at Venice.

=Grand Old Man.= The name applied by Mr Labouchere to Mr W. E. Gladstone on the occasion of Mr Bradlaugh’s expulsion from the House after his election for Northampton because he refused to take the oath in the prescribed manner. Referring to a conversation in the tea-room Mr Labouchere said: “I told some friends that before I left Mr Gladstone came to me, and that grand old man, with tears in his eyes, took me by the hands, and said: ‘Mr Labouchere, bring me Mr Bradlaugh back again.’”

=Grand Tour.= More than a hundred years ago each of the sons of gentlemen in their turn made the Grand or Extended Tour through France, Germany, and Italy, just as nowadays daughters are presented at Court as a preliminary to moving in fashionable society.

=Grange Road.= Marks the situation of an old mansion called “The Grange.” The word Grange expresses the French for a barn or granary.

=Granite State.= New Hampshire, from its staple product.

=Grapes.= An inn or public sign, denoting that the house contained a vinery.

=Grass Widow.= A married woman separated from her husband, but not divorced. In the eyes of the world she passes for a widow by grace of courtesy. The correct description is, therefore, a “Grace Widow.” The corruption came about quite easily.

=Grays.= Anciently the estate of the noble family who gave their name to Gray’s Inn, their town mansion. Lady Jane Grey came of this stock.

=Gray’s Inn.= The Inn or mansion of the Earls Gray, made over to the law students, _temp._ Edward III. See “Inn.”