beezer

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English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Unknown, perhaps from Spanish cabeza (“head”), though the meaning “head” appears to somewhat postdate “nose” in English.[1] First attested in 1908, originally apparently as American boxing slang. Various sources have suggested a borrowing, perhaps by American sailors or marines, from Mandarin 鼻子 (bízi, “nose”) (audio).[2][3] While the Mandarin may have reinforced an existing term,[4] an ultimate derivation from Mandarin is improbable given the context and time frame of early use.

Noun

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beezer (plural beezers) (originally US, slang, dated)

  1. Nose.
    • 1913, “Kid Ivanhoe”, in Adventure, volume 7, page 131:
      “In der beezer, Casey, slam him in der beezer!” ¶ At the ropes Casey fought back, but was obliged to clinch.
    • 1919, Charles Emmett Van Loan, Taking the Count: Prize Ring Stories, page 183:
      “Now, don’t be turnin’ up that busted beezer of yours so proud an’ haughty. […]”
    • 1937, Damon Runyon, A Piece of Pie:
      I am paying no attention to them, because they are drinking local ale, and talking loud, and long ago I learn that when a Boston character is engaged in aleing himself up, it is a good idea to let him alone, because the best you can get out of him is maybe a boff on the beezer.
    • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter V, in Jeeves in the Offing:
      She had an ink spot on her nose, the result of working on her novel of suspense. It is virtually impossible to write a novel of suspense without getting a certain amount of ink on the beezer. Ask Agatha Christie or anyone.
  2. Head.
    • 1921 July 24, Eleanor Pray, “[Letter home]”, in Birgitta Ingemanson, editor, Letters from Vladivostok, 1894–1930, published 2013, page 98:
      We were beating up into the wind, when Captain Pray decided to tack, and her concise order to me was “Duck your beezer!” and while I was wondering which part of the boat a beezer was, the boom just missed the top of my head and she remarked, “I told you to duck.”
    • 1928, Robert Joyce Tasker, Grimhaven, page 110:
      “ […] If the hogs ate your beezer with all the phony ideas you’ve got in it, they’d croak!”
    • 1936, Adolf Lorenz, My Life and Work: The Search for a Missing Glove, page 4:
      “If you’re mad, go to Lindewiese— / Then be glad, put an old hat on your beezer!”
    • [1937, “Slang: American Slang”, in The Encyclopædia Britannica, 14th edition, volume 20, page 768:
      Beezer, head]

References

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  1. ^ Ayto, John (1998) “beezer”, in Oxford Dictionary of Slang, →ISBN, pages 1, 3
  2. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008) “beezer”, in The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th edition, →ISBN, page 73
  3. ^ Anderson, Luther (1933 September) “Words With a Wanderlust”, in Education, volume 54, page 39
  4. ^ Compare for example Bollich, James (1993) Bataan Death March: A Soldier’s Story, →ISBN, page 132

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Scots beezer, beeser, of unknown origin.[1] First attested in the 1910s. The adjective is from the noun.[2]

Noun

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beezer (plural beezers)

  1. (UK, slang) A smart person, a bloke.

Adjective

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beezer (comparative more beezer, superlative most beezer)

  1. (UK, slang) Excellent, super.
    We had a beezer time at the party.

References

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  1. ^ “beezer”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
  2. ^ “beezer, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Anagrams

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