Betty

name

1. A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth.

   “People in the last century weren't afraid of homely names; now we are all so smart and fine: no more "Lady Bettys" now.”

   “But Mrs. Betty Carver respects tradition, and this, I'm afraid, is ours. - - - She smells like expensive soap and her teeth are shiny-white. She does not in any way look like her name. It's not her fault that she was born in a time when people believed in names like Wanda, Dottie and Betty. She's more of a Vanessa or Paulina.”

noun

1. A girl who hangs out with skateboarders or surfers.

verb

Etymology: From Betty (nickname for “Elizabeth”). In thieves’ cant a tool for wrenching locked doors is also called a Bess (from “Elizabeth”) or a Jenny. The “attractive woman” sense may relate to the character Betty Rubble in the cartoon The Flintstones.

1. To pick a lock, to open with a betty.

   ““Well then,” he said. “Let’s say you can betty the lock, hang on a rope, and break the drum, and then lock up again with nobody the wiser. How do I get on in the first place, past the Scots jack, with his sharp cool?””

   “The forty quid! Gone! ’Ow could she ’ave gotten in there? The peter ain’t broke, no sign of it bein’ bettied, and I the only one w’ the key.”

2. To be overly attentive to someone or something.

   ““I’m perfectly well, thank you, Miss Hester,” she said, coldly. “I detest being bettied.””

   “If anything on earth is reprehensible in a man and disgusting to a woman, it is to have said man hen-hussying and bettying about the kitchen”