billy button, n.¹ — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

billy button n.¹

[rhy. sl.]

mutton.

1857		‘Ducange Anglicus’ Vulgar Tongue.
1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1882		Breckenridge News (Cloveport, KY) 23 Aug. 3/3: As for eating, we were lucky if once in a while we got a bit of ‘billy butter’ [sic].
1889–90		Barrère & Leland Dict. of Sl., Jargon and Cant.
1890–1904		Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.
1928		Bath Chron. 4 Aug. 25/6: An enthusiast arrived [...] to quote: [...] ‘Joe Savage,’ a cabbage; ‘bowl the hoop,’ soup; ‘Billy Button,’ mutton.