B-girl [was D-girl]

[Douglas G. Wilson]

I guess if you'd asked me 30 years ago or 1 day ago about the etymology of
"B-girl" I would have speculated "short for 'bar-girl'", and that's what my
OED and my Webster 3 show too. On second thought, though, it seems a little
odd to abbreviate a short word such as "bar".

"B-drinker" in essentially the same sense is still accessible on the Web,
although I don't think I've ever heard it. Clearly "bar-drinker" is not
likely as an etymology.

"Beading oil" is found on the Web in a US Government document, where it
clearly refers to an adulterant in whiskey. I can't find it in any
dictionary, however. (Of course, we hoi polloi don't have access to the
online OED.) I suppose the original "B" drink may have been colored with
this substance, whatever it may be. Can anyone enlighten me?

You learn something every day.

-- Doug Wilson