subs. phr. (pugilistic).—1. A handkerchief (blue ground with white spots) sometimes worn and used as a colour at prize-fights and boxing-matches: see BILLY.
2. (mining).—See quot.
1887. ‘The Death of BLUE BILLY,’ in Chambers’s Journal, Dec. 17, 812. BLUE BILLY is the technical name given to the lime rendered foul in the purification of the gas.
