Glossary (words starting with B)
babbler
foolish, repetitive talker
Babel
the Biblical Tower of Babel, as a result of the destruction of which the original, common Adamic language fractured into myriads of different tongues; and hence figuratively confused sounds
Bacchus
god of wine
bachelor's button
‘a name given to various flowers of round or button-like form; chiefly to certain cultivated double varieties of wild flowers; orig. and commonly, the double variety of a common yellow buttercup, Ranunculus acris’ (OED, bachelor, 6)
back
sexual stamina
back
away (OED adv. 2)
backs
mounts, rides on (OED back v, 10a)
backstairs
private staircase in a palace (OED 2a)
backsword
a sword with only one cutting edge
bad
(bade) instructed
badger nab
badger head (OED nab n2, 1); or possibly a hat made out of badger fur (LEME); badger was erroneously used to describe otter or beaver, the latter commonly used for hats
baffle
disgrace, affront; or to a lesser degree, a discomfiture or embarrasment
baffled
unworthily handled, injuriously used , abused (LEME)
bag-pudding
a pudding boiled in a bag and often served with bacon (usually made from sausage meat stuffed into a bag made from intestines, as is the case with haggis)
baggage
good-for-nothing, strumpet (punning on baggage as ‘luggage’ – one baggage has been exchanged for another)
baggage
good-for-nothing; strumpet, whore
bail
someone who procures the release of another person from custody or prison by giving security (either money or their own person) for the prisoner’s appearance in court (OED n1. 6)
Bailie
steward; one who has jurisdiction or delegated authority in a specific office
bailiff
the agent of the lord of a manor, who collects his rents, etc.; the steward of a landholder, who manages his estate; one who superintends the husbandry of a farm for its owner or tenant (OED 3)
bain't
dialect form of 'be not', 'are not', which Haarker again assigns to the Midlands
bait
an enticement, allurement, temptation (OED n1. 2)
baker-knees
deformities of the legs (e.g. knock knees) that bakers were supposedly prone to (OED baker 5); in Pus-Mantia, the Mag-Astro-Mancer, or, The Magical-Astrological-Diviner Posed and Puzzled (London, 1652), John Gaule writes that ‘loose-kneed, signifies lascivious, and baker-kneed, effeminate’ (p. 186)
balk
avoid or shun; refuse (OED v1. 2)
balladed
made the subject of a scurrilous ballad (OED v. 2)
balm
aromatic ointment used to sooth pain or heal wounds (OED n. 1)
band
the collar of a shirt, neck-band
band-strings
ties, usually of white linen, fastening a ruff or collar snugly at the neck
bandoleer
broad belt, worn over the shoulder and across the breast, with loops by which bottles or implements might be suspended (Obs.)
bands
bonds.
bank
amount or stock of money, originally referring to the table on which such money was counted, and then to the office in which such money was held (OED n3. II; and Cotgrave, in LEME)
bankrupts
insolvent traders or merchants (OED n. 2); people who bring themselves into debt through reckless living, fugitives from their creditors (OED n. 2b)
Bankside
the early modern 'entertainment district' on the south bank of the Thames from Southwark Cathedral west to Blackfriars Bridge. In the early modern period, the only way to get to Bankside -- the location of the Swan, the Globe, and the Hope theatres, as well as the Clink Prison, Paris Garden, and the Bishop of Winchester's palace --was by boat or by walking across London Bridge.
banquet
refreshments (at this date the term denoted more a light collation than a feast)
banquet
'a course of sweetmeats, fruit, and wine, served either as a separate entertainment, or as a continuation of the principal meal' (OED n1. 3)
Bantam
Small colourful and aggressive breed of rooster, used in cock-fighting.
bantling
brat (often used depreciatively, and formerly as a synonym of bastard) (OED)
bar
counter from which wine is served
bar
a lengthy log of wood or spar of metal like the Scottish caber
bar
prevent
barbarous
uncivilised, rough, savage
barber
a surgeon
bare
paltry, worthless (OED adj. 10b); simple, rude (OED adj. 10d)
bare
bare-headed
bare
mere, without addition (OED adj. 11); paltry, insignificant, meagre (OED adj. 10b)
bare
unconcealed
bargain
payment in a business transaction (OED n1. 2a)
bark
utter, burst out with
barley-break
a country game akin to tag but livelier, since it was played in pairs
barleybreak
a country game, much used for sexual connotation (see The Changeling (1622) 5.3.164: 'I coupled with your mate/At barley-break; now we are left in hell')
barn
South Yorkshire and North Midlands dialect term for child (compare 'bairn' from Scottish dialect)
barns
children or young ones; see also 'bairns' (Northern dialect)
baronet
the lowest hereditary rank in the English peerage, instituted in 1611 for the purpose of paying for the plantation of Ulster in northern Ireland; a baronetcy initially cost £1095, and although James I originally promised to limit their number to 200, Charles I continued to create them in the early years of his reign, and by 1629 there were just under 300; after 1628-9, however, what Kevin Sharpe calls 'the traffic in titles' was abruptly halted (see Sharpe, The Personal Rule of Charles I, second edition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), 419; Peck, Court Patronage and Corruption, 32-3)
baronetess
the wife of a baronet; this is the only early example in OED, and I have been unable to trace any others
barque
small boat
barred
deprived of, kept from (OED bar v, 6b)
barricado
a hastily formed rampart of barrels, wagons, timber, stones, household furniture or other materials readily available thrown up to obstruct the advance of an enemy; used figuratively to refer to any barrier or obstruction to passage
base
degrading mark, stain
base
(n) a term used in children’s games to define a particular territory, outside which anyone can be taken captive
base
low (of persons and actions), inferior; unrefined
base
born outside wedlock; bastard
base
contemptible, degraded, unworthy; inferior, unrefined
base
contemptible
base
contemptible, degraded, unworthy
basely
dishonourably, disingenuously
baseness
iniquity, contemptible behaviour
baser
lesser
bashed
abashed, disconcerted
bashful
shy, modest
basta
enough (Italian)
bastard-getter
one who fathers children out of wedlock: seemingly a Brome coinage
baste
beat
bastile
a tower or bastion of a castle; a fortified tower; a small fortress (OED 1)
bastinado
to beat with a stick, to thrash (OED v. 1)
bate
omit, lose, leave out (OED v2. 7); also means to lessen in force or intensity, to mitigate or diminish (OED bate, v2, 5)
bate
diminish, assuage, lessen the effect of (OED bate v2, 5) (now mostly found in the phrase ‘to bate one’s breath’)
bate
be impatient with (OED v1. 2b)
bate
to reduce or forgive, as in rebate
bate an ace
lose or abate a jot or tittle, to make the slightest abatement
battens
fattens
battery
charge for assault
battery-discoverer
one who detects the placement of an opposing force's ordnance
battledore
wooden bats used for washing clothes and for smoothing wrinkles out of them
battledore
an instrument like a small racket used in playing with a shuttlecock (OED n. 2)
battoon
a stout staff or stick used as a weapon, a cudgel, club, truncheon (OED 1)
bauble
baton or stick, usually decorated with a head, often with asses ears or a fool’s coxcomb, carried by a court fool or jester as the emblem of his office (OED 4)
bauble
a childish or foolish person, a silly trifler (OED 5b)
baubles
trifling things, toys
baulk
avoid or shun
baulk
a piece of ground missed in ploughing, and therefore unproductive
baulks
refuses: often used in the context of a horse shying or refusing to jump (OED balk v1, 3a)
bawd
procurer, go-between
bawdry
provision of sex for money
bawds
procurers, go-betweens
bawdy
dirty; vile, monstrous; lewd, unchaste (all senses of the epithet are applicable here in Joyless's usage)
bawdy-house
brothel
bays
a wreath of laurel or bay leaves: an emblem of victory or of distinction in poetry
be
are
be assistant
assist
be sudden
decide quickly
be't
be it
beadle
messenger of justice, a warrant officer; an under-bailiff; generally, a constable
beadles
low-ranking parish offers whose duties included punishing petty offenders such as beggars and whores
beadsman
man paid or endowed to pray for others; a pensioner charged with the duty of praying for the souls of his benefactor
beadswoman
almswoman: one who prays for a benefactor
beagle
small hound dog which relies upon its sense of smell to follow a trail
bear
endure
bear
maintain, support, sustain (the cost or responsibility of); but there is also resonant in this usage the sense of "bearing the weight of (a woman)" during sex
bear
uphold, profess, claim
bear
(v) supports a sexual burden (used in reference to women)
bear
i.e. as in 'bear a burden'
bear a brain
be cautious, thoughtful (OED brain 4b)
bear out
to support, back up, corroborate, confirm (bear v1, 3)
bear up
play one's part in
bear up
exalt oneself (OED v1. 21b; now obsolete)
bearing
behaviour, [good] conduct
bearing in hand
to maintain, assert (with false pretences) (OED, bear, v1. 3e)
beast
‘A human being under the sway of animal propensities’ (OED n. 4.a); used here as a rather abusive endearment
beast
‘a human being under the sway of animal propensities’ (OED n. 4a)
beat
labour, reason; persuade, convince (OED v1. 8)
beautify
make beautiful, adorn
became
befitted, suited
because
in order that (OED conj, 2)
become bound
co-sign a loan
becomes
suits, befits, is proper
bed-fellow
one who shares a bed with another
bed-right
conjugal rights
bedded
had sexual intercourse with
Bedlam
(by extension) an insane person, one who is or ought to be in Bedlam Hospital
Bedlam
an early mental asylum, the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem, situated next to Bishopsgate, on the edge of the City of London (see Sugden, Topographical Dictionary, 53-4, s.v. Bedlam)
Bedlam
the popular term for the Bethlehem Hospital, where the insane were incarcerated; hence a term for chaos and lack of order
bedstaves
slats or sticks that supported the mattress and held the bedding firmly on the mattress
beeking
warming (OED beek v1, 1), Scottish or northern English dialect
before
in front of
before
rather than, in preference to; sooner than
Begar
an intensitive, a variant of 'Begad!', 'By God!'
begat
caused
beget
generate, father
begets
breeds, encourages
begets
inseminates
beggar-braches
crude term for beggar-girls: beggar-bitches
beggar-nigglers
men who have sex with beggar-women
beggar–mauled
bruised or disfigured by beggars
beggingly
earnestly pleaded
beguile
charm from, draw (away) from
beguile
deprive
beguile
wile away (OED v. 5)
beguile
foil, disappoint (OED v. 3)
beguile
cheat
beguiled
cheated, deprived
beguiling
cheating, deceiving
behaviour
‘good manners, elegant deportment’ (OED n. 1.e)
behindhand
in arrears or debt
beholden
obliged (probably said with some degree of irony)
beholden
grateful
beholding
indebted
behoved
was required; was proper for
being
life
beldam
aged woman, hag
beldame
aged woman; loathsome old woman, hag (OED 2 and 3)
beldams
loathsome hags; ancient grandmothers or great-grandmothers, viewed as fearful or unnatural perhaps because of their unusually long survival
beldams
loathsome old women, hags; witches (OED 3)
belie
give a false impression, misrepresent
belied
told lies about
belike
perhaps
bell-metal
an alloy made from copper and tin, akin to bronze, from which bells are made
belly
uterus (OED n. 7)
belly work
Diarrhoea (this is not recorded in the OED but survives in some Caribbean versions of English)
bends
directs
bene
good (thieves' cant)
bene cribbing
good food (thieves' cant); ("crib" or "cribbing" can also refer to shelter)
benevolence
desire to help; financial support
benison
blessing
benisons
blessings
beseech
entreat, beg
beseeching
entreating, begging
beset
set upon, besieged
beshrew
curse
beshrew
this can be an imprecatory expression meaning 'plague on ...', and can be humorous or playful (OED v. 3b); here it is a reprimand and 'I beshrew you' means 'devil take you' or 'plague on you'
beshrew me
curse me, evil befall me (a not entirely serious curse: compare ‘hang me’) (OED v. 3b)
besides
other than mentioned (OED adv. 3)
besides himself
out of his normal mental state (OED besides prep, 5a)
bespeak
order, ask for (goods).
bespeak
order
bespeak
invite
bespoke
ordered
bessogne
a variant of bisogne: 'bisongne, a filthie knaue, or clowne; a raskall, bisonian, base humoured scoundrell’ (Cotgrave; the OED cites this line)
bestow
dispose of (OED v. 1)
bestow
give in marriage (OED v. 4)
besworn
i.e. I’ll be sworn
betake
take
betimes
at an early hour, early in the morning (OED 2)
betray
mislead; lead astray (here meant literally "out of the house")
betwixt
between
beverage
drink
bewray
betray, reveal
bewray
to expose...by divulging secrets (OED archaic)
bewrays
exposes, reveals (his true character) (OED bewray v, 6)
be’t
be it
biddy
little bird, a term of endearment
bigness
pomposity or swagger
bilbo
sword noted for the temper and elasticity of its blade, made of steel in Bilboa, Portugal
bill
to peck or kiss (OED v2. 3)
bill
documents listing charges for goods delivered or services rendered, in which the cost of each item is separately stated (OED n3. 6)
bill-men
soldiers armed with bills, which are weapons varying from ‘a simple concave blade with a long wooden handle, to a kind of concave axe with a spike at the back and its shaft terminating in a spear-head’ (OED bill n1, 2)
bind
become a surety for; make themselves liable to pay (OED v. 17) (there is possibly a specific use in relation to gambling, but I have not been able to locate one)
bind
restrain
bind
hold
bing awast
go you hence (cant) (Haaker)
birding-piece
firearm, gun
bishopric
the province of a bishop; a diocese (OED 1)
bit
small portion or amount (especially of food); used to allude to sexual intercourse (Williams, 1: 107-8)
bit
a) a small piece of food; b) with sexual overtones
bit in
restrained (OED bite v, 7)
bits
portions of food (OED n. 2)
blab
talk indiscreetly, reveal or betray secrets (OED v1. 3)
blabbing
indiscreetly revealing secrets
black
wicked, atrocious
black
dire, awful, dreadful
black
dismal (OED adj. 10a, where the earliest example given for this sense is from 1659). The adjective may perhaps also be taken literally, as an indication of costume.
black
a punning allusion in the context to the company playing at the Blackfriars Theatre, but the word also carries the meaning, evil or vicious
black jacks
large leather jugs for beer, etc. coated externally with tar (OED n2. 1)
blackamoor
a black-skinned African or (often in seventeenth-century usage) any very dark-skinned person (Coryat in 1611, for example, refers to Greek men and boys as "very blacke")
bladder
prepared bladder of an animal, inflated and used as a float, or as the wind-bag of a simple bagpipe (OED n. 3); anything inflated and hollow
blade
gallant (used contemptuously); given that ‘blade’ is often used in sexual contexts, it is possible that it here means ‘pimp’
blade
gallant, good fellow
blades
smart, fashionable young men, so called from the swords or rapiers they carried as signs of their prowess (although such a reference to gallants was often familiarly laudatory, just as frequently it was contemptuous)
blades
good fellows, gallants
blain-worm
a parasitic insect (OED blain, 3)
blame
find fault with
blame
find fault
blame
blameworthy, culpable (instances of this adjectival use are also to be found in Shakespeare, Jonson, Heywood)
blank
void of substance, empty, worthless
blaspheme
speak evil of, revile, calumniate, abuse
blast
bring infamy upon, discredit, ruin (OED v. 8b)
blast
wither, blight (OED v. 7)
blazed
proclaimed, published at large, divulged, made known
blazed
flared or dazzled like a blazing star, or comet (comets were thought to be omens of unusual events)
blazing
proclaiming, publishing (OED, blaze, v2. 2); celebrating
blessing
making the sign of the cross (OED vbl n, 1b)
blew up
shattered, destroyed (OED blow v1, 24a)
blind hole
dark or obscure prison. Cf. Lancelot Andrews, ‘A SERMON Preached before the KING’S MAIESTIE AT HOLYROOD House, in Edinburgh, on the VIII. of June A.D. MDCXVII being WHIT-SUNDAY’, in XCVI. Sermons by the Right Honourable and Reverend Father in God, Lancelot Andrewes, late Lord Bishop of Winchester (London, 1629): ‘These here are in prison: And in some blind hole-there, as it might be in the dungeon, where they see nothing [...] In prison; not above, but in the dungeon, the deepest, darkest, blindest hole there; no light, no sight at all’ (705). ‘Hole’ is also used as a ‘term of contempt or depreciation for any place’ (OED hole, n. 2.c). Cf. Samuel Rowlands, ‘A Cunning Man Alias Cozening Knave’, in The Knave of Clubs (London, 1609): ‘an odd blind hole, / Behind a painted cloth’ (sig. C2r)
bliss
extreme happiness
block
obstacle
blood
murder, death (OED n. 3a); used in the Bible and theological language to refer to blood shed in sacrifice (OED n. 3b); life (OED n. 4a); there is perhaps a pun on blood meaning family/kindred (OED n. 10), since Alinda is usurping Eulalia’s place in the royal family
blood
stock, family (OED n. 9a)
blood
murder, death (OED n. 3a)
blood
family, kindred, children
blood
family line, lineage
blood
passionate desire, lust
blood
family, kindred
blood
blood relationship, e.g. nephew
blood
passion, temper, anger (OED n. 5)
blood royal
royal race or family
blooded
purged of blood
bloodhounds
assassins, murderers; human hunters for blood
bloody
accompanied by bloodshed (OED adj. 4b); blood-thirsty, cruel (OED adj. 6)
blow
(v) storm, rage
blow
(n) attack, act of hostility (OED n1. 3)
blow abroad
to proclaim, publish, blaze, spread abroad (OED v1. I 13)
blow up
expose, betray (blow v1, 27a)
blown up
destroyed, ruined (OED blow v1, 25. Though OED does not record a usage before 1660, this is clearly the sense here.)
blubber
weep
blue
leaden-coloured from severe cold (OED 2a)
blunt
(of persons) plain-spoken, rough
blush
to make known by blushing (OED blush 3c)
board
table
board
take on board ship (OED v. 3)
boards
tables
board’s-end-king
someone who indulges in gambling; cf. Richard Head, The English Rogue Described in the Life of Meriton Latroon, a Witty Extravagant being a Complete History of the Most Eminent Cheats of Both Sexes (London, 1665): ‘There was not a billiard table, board’s end, and nine-pin yard, that I did not daily visit’ (sig. H5v)
boast
display proudly, possess as a thing to be proud of
boasted
bragged about
bob
to make a fool of, deceive, cheat (OED v1. 1)
bobbins
this term is used of a variety of implements used in weaving and sewing: the article around which thread or yarn is wound so that it can be used in weaving, sewing, etc. (OED n1. 1); a small wooden pin, with a notch, around which the thread is wound in lace-making (OED n1. 1a); a wooden or metal cylinder around which thread is wound in spinning, weaving, etc. (OED n1. 1b)
bobs
blows with the fist (OED n3. 1)
bobs
bunches of coloured yarn, ribbons; ornamental pendants or ear-drops
bodkin
common abbreviation or perversion of the term, baldachin, a costly brocade made of silk and gold thread
bodkin
a long pin or pin-shaped ornament used by women to fasten up the hair (OED 3)
body
main portion; the majority (OED n. 9)
boggle
to raise scruples, hesitate, demur, stickle (at, occas. about, over, etc., or to do a thing) (OED boggle v, 2)
boggles
hesitates, raises scruples (OED boggle v, 2) ; quibbles, equivocates (OED boggle v, 3)
boiled
brought to a high heat
boldface
impudent
boldly
confidently
boldly
impudently, shamelessly, presumptuously, brazenly
bolster
long pillow or cushion; support
bombards
leather jugs or bottles for liquor; black jacks; probably so named from some resemblance to the early cannons. Obsolete except for historical references (OED 3a)
bombast
inflated or pretentious language (especially when used to talk about a trivial subject)
bona fide
in good faith, genuinely (Latin)
bond
legal agreement or covenant
bondage
slavery, subjection
bonds
a pledge of oneself
bone-setters
(1) barber surgeons who set broken or dislocated bones; (2) people who apply remedies for venereal disease, which attacks the bones; (3) Williams (1: 130-1) notes that ‘bone-setter’ could mean ‘bawd’
bone-setting
those who (1) set broken or dislocated bones; or (2) apply remedies for venereal disease, which attacks the bones
book
the bible
book
learning, scholarship (OED n. 7)
books
financial records
boons
requests, favours; gifts
boot
(n) part of a coach, e.g. the external step (see OED n3. 4). The OED does not record the meaning as 'receptacle for luggage or parcels' until 1781 (see OED n3. 4c).
boot
profit
boot-hose
boot stockings
boot-hose top
elaborate decorative work displayed at the top of boot hose
bootless
useless, unprofitable
booze
liquor, alcoholic drink of any kind
boozing ken
drinking house, or tavern (cant)
bordello
brothel (an Italianate form of the English word, bordel)
bore herself so fairly
behaved or comported herself so properly or fitly
Boreas
the god of the North wind
borne down
overwhelmed, overthrown, vanquished
borrowing
begging
bosom
confidence, affection, favour (also with verbal sense of having been embraced, received into intimate companionship; OED v. 3a)
both our hands on't
that is, both Seely and Gregory offer to shake hands to seal the agreement.
bots
parasitical worm, often found in horses and cattle
bottle-gourd
kind of flask-shaped gourd
bottle-man
a servant or tradesman who has charge of bottles
botts
parasitical worms or maggots found in animals; exclamation like 'pox!'
bounce
(as a noun) a braggart, boastful man
bounce
proclaim boastfully
bounce up
talk up: boastfully proclaim the worth of
bounced
proclaimed boastfully
bounced
knocked loudly (OED bounce v. 2)
bouncing
big, healthy, strapping, as in 'bouncing baby' (see OED bouncing ppl. a), but in this context, the admiration is directed to the wealth she would bring as Matchil's sole heir
bouncing
swaggering (see OED bounce v, 4a), vigorous
bouncing
bragging; boastful exaggeration (OED vbl. n, 3, citing this usage).
bound
obliged, indebted (OED adj.2, 7a)
bounteous
generous, full of goodness (OED adj. 1)
bounty
kindness, generosity
bounty
wealth, munificence
bounty
kindness, generosity; wealth
bounty
kindness, generosity, munificence (but with possible sexual overtones)
bout
contest, match: often used to describe a round at fighting or a trial of strength (OED n. 2 3a)
bouts
rounds of drinking, but may include rounds of any activity (wrestling, dancing, singing, sexual encounters)
bove
above (OED prep)
bowed
bent, crooked (OED ppl.adj, 1)
bowels
feelings, heart (OED bowel n1, 3 and 4)
bower
place enclosed by trees and plants, and therefore private
bowers
arbours, leafy glades
bowls
drinking vessels
boy
rogue (OED n1. 2)
boykin
a little boy, as a term of intimacy and affection
brabble
quibble; squabble
brace
pair, two
brach
a kind of hound which hunts by scent; in later English use, always feminine, and extended to any kind of hound; a bitch-hound (figuratively, a term of abuse for a woman as sexual object)
brag
spirited, brisk, lively, mettlesome (OED adj. 1; now obsolete)
brain
intelligence, strength of purpose, intellectual objective
brain-confounding
destroying or overthrowing the brain; confusing the brain
brain-cracked
crazed
brain-trick
cunning device (OED)
brainpan
that which contains the brain; the skull
branches
Taking the image from the branches or limbs of a family tree (a diagrammatic representation of the succeeding generations of a given family), "branched" here relates to a collateral branch of that tree caused by Victoria's marriage, which will entail the loss of her surname but which will enable her to perpetuate the family honour and distinction through her children.
branches
anything analogous to limbs of a tree, in being lateral extensions or subdivisions of a main trunk (e.g. of mountain ranges, rivers, or roads (OED 2a); or components or subdivisions of a general concept or system (OED 7a, 8)
branching
the act of furnishing (a cuckold's head) with branching horns
brast
Northern form of `burst', here in obsolete sense (OED burst v, 1a) as `break', `snap'
bratling
little brat, infant
brave
ostentatious
brave
showily dressed (but also with overtones of braggart)
brave
bold! (in the sense of "braving something out") or excellent! (but delivered in an ironic or snide-tone)
brave
courageous, intrepid (OED adj. 1a); splendid, showy (in this context, splendidly or showily dressed) (OED adj. 2); worthy, excellent (OED adj. 3)
brave
intrepid, daring (OED adj. 1a); excellent, worthy (OED adj. 3)
brave
splendid, showy, fashionable
brave
splendid; courageous; worthy
brave
fine, famous (OED adj. 3)
brave
Capital! Excellent! Bravo! (OED int.)
brave
general epithet of admiration or praise: good, capital, fine (OED adj. 3)
brave
(v) challenge, defy
brave
splendid
bravely
worthily; fearlessly; splendidly, handsomely (OED)
braver
more splendid or abundant
braveries
fine fellows, gallants (see OED bravery 5, which cites Ben Jonson, Epicoene 4.6.5-9 (Herford and Simpson, vol. 5, p. 246); Philip Massinger, The City Madam 2.1.87; and Brome's Queens Exchange)
braveries
fine clothes; ostentation; bravado
braveries
gallants (OED `bravery' 5)
bravery
boast, daring (with overtones appropriate to The Antipodes of a calculated inversion of values)
bravery
'finery, fine clothes' (OED 3b); showy attire (worn with an air of bravado)
bravest
worthiest, most excellent (OED brave a, 3a)
bravest
acts with bravado
braving
challenging, defying
bravo
pimp or procurer
bravo
(in the singular) a reckless desperado; daring villain; an agent of the criminal underworld; (in the plural) desperadoes, criminals
brawls
a kind of French dance for paired dancers (OED n3. 2)
brawny
hardened, unfeeling
breach
injurious assault, violation
breach
breaking, violation
breach
a gap in fortifications made by an opposing force's battery
break
be destroyed or ruined
break
make it known
break with
begin to negotiate, open up discussions, start to barter
break-neck
i.e. breaker of necks
breakers
disturbers, disrupters
breasts
hearts (the breast is figuratively thought of as the seat of the affections and emotions) (OED n. 5)
breathe
exhaust, tire out
breathe
exercise but at a brisk pace to stimulate the heartbeat and increase the pace of breathing
breathe
speak
breathing-while
breathing space, short space of time
breathing-whiles
breathing-spaces (OED breathing vbl. n, 10)
breech
cloth used to drape over a sedan chair to conceal the traveller inside
breech
applied variously to both the garment covering the buttocks and also the buttocks
breed
bring up, in the sense of educate
breed
bring up
breeding
upbringing
bribe-free
incorruptible; incapable of being bribed
brickbats
pieces or fragments of bricks, typical ready missiles where stones are scarce (OED 1a)
bride it
be a bride (cf. Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew 3.2.253)
bride-ale
wedding feast (OED 1)
brided it
been a bride (cf. Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew 3.2.253)
bridehouse
house where a wedding is held (OED)
briefly
soon (OED 2); in few words (OED 1)
briefs
mandates, certificates giving legal (or royal) authority
brimstone
sulphur
bring
accompany, conduct
bring up
bring into fashion (OED bring v, 27c)
brings
gives birth to
broadcloth
plain-woven, black cloth, used chiefly for men's apparel
broadside
the discharge of all the armaments on one side of a ship
broke
this usage puns with three senses of "broke": to bargain (broker a deal); to break faith; and to break off (a relationship)
broked
bargained; acted as a go-between
broken
humbled (emasculated, because allowed no sexual relations whatever)
broken
bankrupt (OED 7)
broken
fragments (usually of leftover food, OED 1b)
brokenly
imperfectly
broker
middleman, agent
broker
a retailer of commodities, a second-hand dealer, pedlar
brokers
middlemen in bargains, agents (OED 3)
brook
endure, put up with (OED v. 3)
broomstaff
broomstick; the handle of a broom
brought
caused to be
bucking-tubs
wooden containers in which yarns, cloths, or garments were bleached or cleaned by being steeped or boiled in wood-lye
budge
pompous, stiff, formal (OED a.)
buds
children or young persons, or as a term of endearment (OED n1. 3b)
buff
a leather (made generally in England out of ox-hide, treated with oil till it developed a fuzzy, dull yellow finish) from which at this date soldiers’ clothing was fashioned
buffet
fight, cuff, knock about, thump
buffetings
blows
buffets
fisticuffs, fighting
bufflehead
a fool, blockhead (OED 1)
bug's-words
mumbo-jumbo; words used in magical incantations (OED suggests: words meant to frighten or terrify; words that cause dread; swaggering or threatening language. A bug is a figure of terror, usually an imaginary one; a bugbear, hobgoblin, bog (OED n1. 1.)
bugbear
nightmarish hobgoblins
bugbear
imaginary terror (applied as an adjective, OED 2). Compare Timon of Athens, 1.2.6.
bugbears
imaginary terrors
bullies
wild plums from the bullace tree (the local term appears in Edmund Robinson Jr.’s testimony in 1633)
bullion
gold or silver in the lump, as distinguished from coin or manufactured articles (OED bullion n2, II 2)
bulwark
a fortification
bum-creeper
'one who walks almost bent double' (OED)
bumfiddled
prickled in the buttocks
bungler
one who is sexually unskilled, a clumsy novice
bungler
clumsy person
burden
load
burgonet
helmet with a visor, fitted to the neck-piece so that the head can be turned without exposing the neck (OED b.)
burlakin
by our Ladykin
bush
head of hair
business
reason for visiting
business
affairs, concerns
business
affairs, concerns, tasks to attend to
business
i.e. the task we are engaged in
business
affairs, concerns, tasks to attend to; OED’s earliest citation for the use of this term in a theatrical context (where it refers to action, as distinct from dialogue) is from The Rehearsal, first performed in 1671, but there is possibly something of that sense here, given the use of the word ’scene’ in the next line
business
affair (possibly with sexual innuendo: see Williams 1: 179-80)
business
tedious chore: sense has been inferred from context and is not in the OED, which approximates with `trouble, difficulty; ado' (7a); and `action which occupies time, demands attention and labour' (13a).
business
task, affair
buskin
tragic -- `buskin' being a kind of boot and a high, thick-soled boot (`cothurnus') being a characteristic of the Athenian tragic actor (OED 1 and 2b)
buss
embrace, kiss
bustle
scuffle, struggle (OED v. 3)
bustle
display activity; often refers to an excessive or obtrusive display of energy (OED v. 2a)
bustling
energetic; Brome uses the term ‘bustle’ in connection with the law elsewhere: see The Queen and Concubine [QC 5.3.speech1234]
busy
interfering
busy
acting like a busybody
but
only
but
except; with anyone but
but
except
but
if
but
nothing but
but
but only
BUTLER
servant who keeps the buttery, in charge of the wine-cellar in particular
buttery
place for storing liquor and provisions
buttock
rump
buyings
stakes, shares
buzzards
ignorant people (figuratively) (OED n1. 2)
by
on account of, because of
by
near, close to (OED prep, 1a); in the presence of (OED prep, 3a); apart from, away from (OED prep, 8b: this is Scottish usage dating from the sixteenth century)
by lakin
'By our Ladykin', i.e. the Virgin Mary (a mild oath)
by pair and pair
in couples
by the by
‘as a matter of secondary or subsidiary importance’ (OED, by n2, 2b)
by't
by it: on account of it, because of it
By-blow
illegitimate child, bastard (OED n. 1a)
By-blow
bastard (OED 3)
by-lane
lane lying away from the main road
by-room
a side or private room
by-use
have sex on the side (i.e. out of marriage, in addition to marital relations; see OED use n. 3b)
by-walks
private or sequestered walks; by-paths (OED)
by-way
obscure route: figuratively, a disreputable method, a short cut
byrlady
contraction of 'by our Lady'; an oath or expletive (OED)
bywords
words beside the matter in hand (OED 4, citing CW 3.2)