Unlike most modern lexicographers, Johnson introduced humour or prejudice into quite a number of his definitions. Among the best known are “Excise: a hateful tax levied upon commodities…”; “Lexicographer: a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge…”; and “Oats: a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people” (it ought perhaps to be noted that the latter is arguably a legitimate observation, and moreover is not a significant departure from Bailey’s “a grain, food for horses”).