(Written 6–8 as two words, 7–8 with hyphen, 8–9 as one word.) [lit. Black Guard, concerning the original application of which there is some doubt. It is possible that senses 1 and 2 began independently of each other; or the one may have originated in a play upon the other, black being taken with a different sense; it would be difficult to assign priority to either. It is even possible that there may have been a guard of soldiers at Westminster called the Black Guard, or that, as some suggest, the attendants or torch-bearers at a funeral, or the link-boys of the streets, may have had this name.]
The following quotations, including the earliest known, show this uncertainty: they may belong to ascertained senses, but cannot be certainly located.
1532. MS. Churchw. Acc. St. Marg. Westm. (Receipts for burials), Item Receyvid for the lycens of iiij. torchis of the blake garde vjd.
1568. Fulwell, Like wil to like, B iij. Thou art serued as Harry hangman captain of the black garde, Nay, I am serued, as Haman [etc.].
1578. H. Killigrew, in Cal. State Pap., Dom. Add., Rolls Ser. 530. A woman has been murdered in Court by the black guard [cf. p. 532 certain soldiers, for the murder of a woman were condemned to die].
1621. Burton, Anat. Mel., I. ii. I. ii. (1651), 42. Inferiour to those of their own rank … as the black guard in a Princes Court.
1633. Shirley, Triumph Peace, 280. There rush in a carpenter, a painter, one of the black guard.
A. sb. I. A body of persons.
† 1. The lowest menials of a royal or noble household, who had charge of pots and pans and other kitchen utensils, and rode in the wagons conveying these during journeys from one residence to an other; the scullions and kitchen-knaves. Obs.
1535. Sir W. Fitzwilliams, 17 Aug., in Cal. State Pap. Two of the ring-leaders had been some time of the Black Guard of the Kings kitchen.
1579. Fulke, Refut. Rastel, 779. They ought not, nor yet any of the scullerie or blacke garde.
1612. Webster, White Devil, I. A lousy slave, that … rode with the black guard in the dukes carriage, ’mongst spits and dripping-pans.
1631. Braithwait, Whimzies, 56. In progresse time … shee followes the court; and consorts familiarly with the black-guard.
1678. Butler, Hud., III. I. 1407. Thou art some paltry Black-guard Sprite, Condemned to drudgery in the night.
† b. Those who held a similar position in an army; the servants and camp-followers; the rabble of irregular hangers-on and followers. Also fig. Obs.
1560. Jewel, Corr. Cole, iii. Haue the learned men of your side none other Doctors? for alas these that ye alleage … are scarcely worthy to be allowed amongst the blacke garde.
a. 1640. Day, Parl. Bees iv. (1881), 29. Such silken clownes, When wee with bloud deserve, share our reward—We held scarce fellow-mates to the blacke guard.
1640. Fuller, Joseph’s Coat (1867), 46. The black guard of Romish traditions, which lag still behind.
1654. Trapp, Comm. Ps. xviii. 13. Ye have lyen among the Pots, black and sooty, as the black guard of an army.
1702. Eng. Theophrast., 8. The Muses Black-guard, that like those of our Camp, have no share in the Danger or Honour, yet have the greatest in the Plunder.
† 2. A guard of attendants, black in person, dress or character; a following of ‘black’ villains. Obs.
1563. Foxe, A. & M. (1583), II. 801. The Blacke gard of the Dominike friers … were not all mute, but laide lustily from them.
1583. Fulke, Defence, x. 386. Pelagius, Celestius, and other like heretics of the devils black guard.
1609. Dekker, Lanth. & Candle-Lt., Wks. 1884–5, III. 214. The great Lord of Limbo did therefore commaund all his Blacke Guard that stood about him, to bestirre them.
1676. Hale, Contempl., 27. An Apostle, one of the twelve, he it is that conducts this black Guard.
1705. Hickeringill, Priest-cr., II. iii. 28. This Black-guard [Jaylors and Hangmen] is the only Life-guard of a High-flown, Persecuting … Ceremony-monger.
† 3. The vagabond, loafing, or criminal class of a community; the blackguardry. Obs.
1683. in N. & Q., Ser. I. (1854), IX. 15/2. A sort of vicious idle and masterless boyes and rogues commonly called the Black-guard … do usually haunt and follow the Court.
1688. Sir J. Knatchbull, Diary, in N. & Q., Ser. III. (1864), VI. 2/2. For fear of some of the black guard of Canterbury that had horsed themselves, and had been padding on the road ever since Sunday.
1704. in Stow’s Surv. (ed. Strype), I. xxvi. Such who are commonly known by the name of the Black Guard, who too commonly lived upon Pilfering Sugar and Tobacco on the Keys, and afterwards became Pickpockets and House Breakers.
1768. Tucker, Lt. Nat., II. 143. How prevent your sons from consorting with the blackguard?
† b. esp. The vagrant children of great towns; the ‘city Arabs,’ who run errands, black shoes, etc.
1715. Nelson, Addr. Pers. Qual., 214. The distressed Children called the Black-guard. Ibid., App. 53. The Children commonly call’d, Blackguard Boys, are destitute of all manner of Provision for Instruction.
1725. De Foe, Everybody’s Bus., 20. Above ten thousand wicked idle pilfering, vagrants … called the black-guard, who black your honour’s shoes, [etc.].
1736. Bailey, Black-guard, dirty tatter’d Boys, who ply the Streets to clean shoes.
II. An individual.
† 4. A guard or soldier black in person, dress or character. Also fig. Cf. 2. Obs.
1563. R. Baker, in Hakluyt, Voy. (1589), 133. The Captein now past charge of this brutish blacke gard.
1696. Brookhouse, Temple Open., 6. Satan … placed his Black Guards there.
1745. Lond. Mag., 391. He was oblig’d to set up his corps of Black-Guards to escorte him to and from the Senate.
† 5. A soldier’s boy; a street shoe-black; a ‘city Arab’ picking up a living by blacking boots, and other jobs, or in less honest ways. Obs.
1698. Boyer, Fr. Dict. (1719), Goujat, a soldiers boy, a Black-guard.
1725. Swift, Wood’s Petit., Wks. 1755, IV. I. 285.
| The little black-guard | |
| Who gets very hard | |
| His half-pence for cleaning your shoes. |
1785. Grose, Dict. Vulg. Tongue, Black guard, a shabby dirty fellow; a term said to be derived from a number of dirty tattered and roguish boys, who attended at the horse guards … St. James’s park, to black the boots and shoes of the soldiers, or to do any other dirty offices, these … were nick-named the black guards.
6. One of the idle criminal class; a ‘rough’; hence, a low worthless character addicted to or ready for crime; an open scoundrel. (A term of the utmost opprobrium.)
1736. Hervey, Mem. Geo. II. (1848), I. 284. This step so strengthened his Majesty’s enmity, that ‘scoundrel, rascal, or blackguard,’… never failed of being tacked to his name.
1773. Barrington, in Phil. Trans., LXIII. 259. If the singing of the ploughman in the country is … compared with that of the London blackguard.
c. 1780. Burns, Twa Dogs. And cheat like ony unhang’d blackguard.
1830. Macaulay, Bunyan. A man whose manners and sentiments are decidedly below those of his class deserves to be called a blackguard.
1836. Marryat, Midsh. Easy, x. You impudent blackguard, if you say another word, I’ll give you a good thrashing.
7. A name for a kind of snuff. Also called Irish blackguard.
[The story runs, that Lundy Foot, the Dublin snuff-merchant, when a shop-boy, made a mistake in the preparation of some snuff, for which his master called him an ‘Irish Blackguard’: but the mistake turning out a fortunate one, the new preparation obtained the name given to its author.]
1792. Wolcott (P. Pindar), Odes K. Long, Wks. 1812, III. 155. An ounce of blackguard or a yard of cloth.
1812. L. Hunt, in Examiner, 12 Oct., 643/1. Knowing the snuff to be real blackguard.
1871. Forster, in Lit. World, 370/1. Taking in moderate quantities the snuff called Irish blackguard.
B. attrib. or adj.
† 1. Of or pertaining to the shoe-black or street Arab class. Obs. (In 1670 applied to a link-boy.)
c. 1670. Earl Dorset, Song, ‘Dorinda’s sparkling wit.’ Her Cupid is a blackguard boy, That runs his link full in your face.
1734. Swift, Drapier’s Lett., Wks. 1755, V. II. 91. What is written we send to your house by a black-guard boy. Ibid. (c. 1735), Direct. Servants, Cook. Let a blackguard boy be always about the house to send on your errands.
1822. H. Mackenzie, Life Home, 42–3, note. In the time of public worship … idle and blackguard boys bawl through the streets.
2. Of or pertaining to the dregs of the community; of low, worthless character; brutally vicious or scurrilous; blackguardly.
1784. Cornwallis, Corr. (1859), I. vi. 166. The Duchess of Devonshire is indefatigable in her canvas for Fox; she was in the most blackguard houses in Long Acre by eight o’clock this morning.
1786. Burns, Earnest Cry & Pr., viii. A blackguard smuggler right behint her.
1788. Wolcott (P. Pindar), Peter’s Pens., Wks. 1812, II. 13. Instead of that vile appellation, Devil, So blackguard, so unfriendly, and uncivil.
1818. Byron, Lett., Wks. (1846), 397/2. I have heard him use language as blackguard as his action.
1857. Hughes, Tom Brown, viii. (1871), 163. Marking certain things as low and blackguard.
