billy n also belly. Comb billygale, ~ knocker.
   [1905] 1987 REEVES 517 'Billygale' was a "sobriquet to designate the laborers or peasantry of Newfoundland who came to Cape Breton to work" ([Corner Brook] Western Star 1 Feb 1905). A term used in this period, 'Billygale' was derived from a Newfoundlander named William Gale, a 'rough' and 'uncouth' character supposedly driven ashore in Cape Breton during a storm. 1986 Evening Telegram 14 Jan, p. 4 He felt [he] had the right to 'resist that unlawful arrest' by two [policemen] with belly knockers,' referring to the police batons.

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