barghest --- DEFINITION: goblin in the shape of a large dog whose presence portends misfortune or death “Barry’s one of those back-to-nature fellers who lives in a yurt down in Devon.” Hal commented. “Right,” Jack recalled “I met him once – about ten years ago at a music festival. Never seen a man so entirely bearded – the hair of it goes so far up his cheeks that there’s little room left for his eyes.” – “You should see him now!” exclaimed Hal “He makes his own clothes from sheep wool that he picks off hedges, eats burghul and burgoo, and looks more like a barghest than the most breebate burgher who ever bedded down in Bedlam.” Burghul: a dish made from whole-wheat partially boiled and then dried. Burgoo: a thick porridge stew. Breebate: one who causes mischief and strife. Burgher: An inhabitant of a borough or town. Bedlam: The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a hospital for the treatment of mental illness located in London, United Kingdom and part of the South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust. Although no longer based at its original location, it is recognised as British first and oldest institution to specialise in mental illness. It has been known by various names including St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlem Hospital, Bethlehem Hospital, and Bedlam. The word ‘bedlam’ meaning uproar and confusion, is derived from the hospital’s prior name. Although currently a modern psychiatric facility, historically it was representative of the worst excesses of asylums in the era of ‘lunacy reform’.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 15:59:32 +0000
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