Pimlico

The derivation of this word is explained from the following passage in a rare (if not unique) tract now before me, entitled *Newes from Hogsdon*, 1598:— "Have at thee, then, my merrie boyes, and hey for old *Ben Pimlico's* nut-browne." Pimlico kept a place of entertainment in or near Hoxton, and was celebrated for his nut-brown ale. The place seems afterwards to have been called by his name, and is constantly mentioned by our early dramatists. In 1609 a tract was printed, entitled *Pimlyco, or Runne Red Cap, 'tis a Mad World at Hogsdon*. Isaac Reed (Dodsley's *Old Plays*, ed. Collier, vii. 51.…