🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <63njl8$qrq@panix3.panix.com>, Bruce Tindall
<tindall@panix.com> writes
>John Davies  <john@redwoods.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>BB brain: according to Partridge's dictionary of slang and colloquial
>>English, "BB" (from "British Blue") used to mean a bluejacket, ie a
>>sailor of the Royal Navy. He dates it to early 20th century, but it was
>>not in use in the RN in the 1950s.  The only other meaning of BB that I
>>know of is Ball Bearing, but Partridge gives other slang meanings.
>
>It seems much more likely that "BB brain" means "a person with a
>very small brain."  A "BB" is a small round pellet fired from an
>air rifle; it is "0.175 inch in diameter", according to the
>Merriam-Webster 9th Collegiate Dictionary.
>
It all depends on the context, and the original poster has still not
told us what that is. From other expressions in the list, it seemed
highly likely that the text the phrases were taken from dealt with the
Royal Navy in the first half of this century, in which case the most
likely meaning of "BB" would indeed be as I suggested. So far as I know,
the usage you mention is confined to the US. Partridge mentions 3 other
slang meanings of "BB", none of which seem very likely in the
circumstances.
-- 
John Davies (john@redwoods.demon.co.uk)