custard, cowardy cowardy

   This is the traditional taunt of British children to a child who is considered to be cowardly. Those who use the term would be hard put to it to explain the custard reference, though the fact that custard is yellow, and yellowness is associated with cowardice, might seem significant. ‘Custard’ in this context is in fact a variant of ‘costard’. A costard is a kind of ribbed apple (Latin costa ‘rib’), and its shape led to its being used as a term for the head. ‘Cowardy custard’ is there-fore equivalent to ‘cowardly head’. Until the twentieth century yellow was the colour associated with jealousy, not cowardice. It is highly likely that when the connection between ‘costard’ and ‘custard’ had been largely forgotten, ‘custard’ was thought of purely in its milk pudding sense and its yellow-ness transferred to cowards. Apart from its survival in mutilated form as a playground taunt, ‘costard’ survives in the modern ‘costermonger’, who was originally one who sold apples. See also Scaredy-cat.